Stubbornness of Pain

by Rexty

Rating: mature
Tags: Sad, Changelings, Queen Chrysalis, Adventure, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Rainbow Dash
Length: 53071

A Dark and cruel story about the fight against Queen Chrysalis, following for the most part Rainbow Dash. She have to endure both physically and mentally in violent and gory situations with barely any cheerful moments following up.

Queen Chrysalis and her Changelings have reached power to the heart of Equestria and are intended to expand even further in time. Darkness and cruelty lies in every corner of Canterlot and not too many colourful ponies remain. A lot has been lost but even more awaits to be devour and complete destroyed, if nothing now is to be done of course. Twilight and her crippled team has been through a lot, enough for lasting a lifetime and never again be the same. But despite being tired, fleeing and far outnumber, they will not give up as long as Queen Chrysalis is in dominance, even if it means risky choices and sacrifices, because in the end. Harmony needs to be restored.

Published 2012-12-15 13:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-07-24 03:22:44 UTC

Chapter 1: A Horrible Start

Chapter 1: A Horrible Start

The entire sky through the whole land so far the eye could see, rain gushed down and lightning penetrated the dark clouds frequently, as Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie rushed away from their home. Canterlot stands in flames and Ponyville is in ruins, the fate of Cloudsdale is yet unknown but nopony hoped too much on its condition. The team had been fleeing for hours to the south and at one point, Rarity couldn’t take any more, she stopped and almost fell to the ground by exhausted and shouted out panting.
“I... I can't take... one more step... I need... to rest!”
All the other stopped too abruptly in a hard brake and threw their gaze over to Rarity who almost coughed in search of air. Twilight turned around to the group and even if she also like Rarity and the others was in high need of air and rest, she said and manages to hold her voice steady.
“No we can't stop... we need to continue no matter what!”
“But we have been running for hours!”
Rainbow Dash replayed which made Applejack immediately to turn her head towards her and say a bit frustrated in her fatigue.
“Says the one which has been flying the whole time!”
Rainbow Dash gave Applejack the evil eye and was just about to say something fitting, but before she had time, Rarity had finally caught her breath and asked with compassion in her voice.
“How... is Pinkie Pie doing?”

Everypony dropped everything and looked in a second over to Applejack, because on her back a extreme shocked and lost to mind Pinkie Pie was at. Slowly Twilight and Rarity closed in on Applejack and while they did that, Rainbow Dash landed next to Applejack and helped her put Pinkie Pie on the ground. They all formed then a circle around her and looked down with strong concern at her. Pinkie Pie's whole face was pale and she held up her front hoofs just like a bunny, she was shivering uncontrollably and her eyes were stuck in place to look only forward. Twilight waved slowly her right front hoof in Pinkie Pie's line of sight for a reaction but didn't get anything from her, she was just like a vibrating statue. But the worst was that her whole face, was covered in no one less blood than Princess Celestia.
“I don't think she ever will be the same after this.”
Rainbow Dash added in the silence with only the rain in the background while looking up on the others downhearted. They all gave her the same look, except Twilight, she harden up her facial expression and said just before she went a couple of steps up the road towards where they had come from.
“Neither are we.”
Twilight then sat down in the mud the road had become of the rain, away from the others and just stared down the road to the north quietly.

Applejack looked after Pinkie Pie as good as she could together with Rainbow Dash and Rarity did like Twilight and just sat down in the cold, wet mud in a deep sigh. Nopony said or did anything special, not much hope was left in their hearts and the weather sure didn't help the mood. Rarity just by a habit started to feel on her mane softly with one hoof as it was muddy and soaking wet.
But for once, she didn't care the slightest if it was in a mess. She then after a while looked at her dirty hoof she had been stroking across her mane and sighed once more.
“Where... are we suppose to go now?”
Rarity asked not to happy with barely raising her head up to get a good view of the others. Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked over at each other with Pinkie Pie between them. They didn't know what to say and only gave away a depressed expression to the world in silence. But their words was not required because Twilight, with her back turned against everypony, she calmly and simply replayed.
“Nowhere.”
She of course got all the attention in her answer she expressed so dead and rough, but she didn't take long to stand up and walk proudly towards the others and then continue to speak.
“We're going back... we can't possibly leave our home as it is... and especially with Queen Chrysalis in its power.“
“But... what should we do?”
Applejack hopelessly said even if she couldn’t agree any more with Twilight. Twilight was just about to open her mouth and answer, but in that moment Rainbow Dash jumped in to the middle of everypony and said determined with a hard stomp in the mud.
“We fight!”
Everypony was quiet and had a bit of a surprised face first, but Rarity quickly rolled her eyes and said in a long sigh.
“Don't be silly... we could do nothing against an army of Cangelins... there is hundreds of them... maybe thousands and then you have Queen Chrysalis to deal with."

Rainbow Dash pulled a pair of angry eyes on Rarity, but before everything got out of hoofs, Twilight stepped in and exclaimed.
“Hey guys... don't you all understand... the Elements of Harmony is the answer... they have never failed us and they will continue not to!
“But they are not in our possession... and even if they were we still would need...”
Applejack added but she and the others got interrupted in their discussion by a terrifying series of howling that came from the north, far in the distance. They all got a bit jumpy in the screams that sounded just like a creature in agony with its throat cut open and the fear that stuck down on them all left them dead silence.
“We have delayed far too long here... Rarity... Rainbow Dash... help Pinkie Pie on to Applejack's back and let’s move... we far from safe”
Twilight said when the howling faded away in their echoes and only the rain and lightning was surrounding them. Everypony except for Pinkie Pie looked over at Twilight and without any defied, they determined and together clearly said.
“Aye!”
Twilight nodded satisfied and when everypony was ready, they all continued to run down the road further to south.
“Where are we exactly going Twilight?”
Rainbow Dash asked flying next to Twilight and before she got winded, Twilight swiftly answered.
“We continue a bit further until we reach the back of Everfree Forest... there we then enter the forest and search for a reasonably safe place to recover from everything... maybe we even get Pinkie Pie back to her sense."

With no more time to go to waste, they did just like Twilight had said and got back to working their way down the road. Night passed on quickly with a couple of more hours of running and just before the darkest hour arrived, they searched their way in to the Everfree Forest for protection. But in their luck, despite that no one of them ever had been in these parts of the forest, they randomly found a cave, far in to the surroundings of the trees that created a roof of leafs above their heads and that they took shelter in. The cave was far from deep but it's entrance was small and tight so the cave wasn't to exposed to be seen from outside, they just had the luck to notice it in their wandering.
Inside the cave the walls was filled with small, self glowing cave mushrooms in a light blue colour that lit up the whole area inside by itself. The cave didn’t exactly have a complete floor, except in the back for a small platform at an even level, because the whole cave was basically a hot spring. The water was up to their bellies and the feeling of the warmth from it was outstanding. Freezing cold and numbness had struck down on everypony's tired and small bodies and just the feeling to inhale warm steam that came from the water was comforting.

Rainbow Dash was floating around on her back and used her wings to paddle around while having her front hoofs rest behind her head. She didn't however have her relaxed smile on her face as she usually had when she was swimming around in her own little way, she instead held her eyes closed and her facial expression completely dead, while having thoughts she wished she could forget. Applejack was sitting in the water close to the platform further in to the cave and just rested her head on its upper level, her face was depressed and she just stared in to the wall while sighing once in a while. Twilight was laying on the platform next to Applejack, away from the water with her head hanging off its edge and just watching her own reflection, while thinking so hard that she looked angry and extremely tired. Last but not least, Rarity and Pinkie Pie was sitting away from the others and while they did that, Rarity tried to wash of Pinkie Pie. She still had some blood in her face that the rain hadn’t reached to wash off, and that was what Rarity tried to fix.

Pinkie Pie felt at the moment much better, but she was still far from the normal Pinkie Pie. Rarity also tried to clean of Pinkie Pie's mane from the mud and even if there was no way for Pinkie Pie to feel cold in a place like this, she was shaking. She had at least started to blink again properly, instead of having those pair of giant open eyes, staring into nothing, and while Rarity looked after Pinkie Pie, she couldn’t resist in feeling an extreme sympathy for her and in that say and ask.
“You poor thing... how are you feeling?”
Rarity continued to wash of the last of Pinkie Pie while waiting for her answer, if she even was about to give one at all that is. But Pinkie Pie actually spoke, she didn't say anything connected to the question, but she did slowly turn around to face Rarity and asked with the look of a scared pup.
“Where... where is Fluttershy?”
Time stopped for a moment for everypony when they heard Pinkie Pie's question, it created a cold bump that reached in to everypony's heart.

Rarity looked away immediately down in to the warm water with a miserable face on her.
Even the others raised their heads toward Pinkie Pie, but no one of them said anything, they felt just as dark on the inside like Rarity did and in their silence, Pinkie Pie pretty much got her answer. She didn't say anything or give away any notably reaction, she just kept her scared face and looked down like Rarity in the water and continued to shake. Rainbow Dash swam randomly and slowly pass Twilight and Applejack, and while she did that she turned her head to Twilight and asked concerned.
“Twilight... how are we even going to use the Elements of Harmony without Fluttershy... are we just... going to hope we five are strong enough?”
“I’m... I'm not sure.”
Twilight respond uncertain and with a sad looking face, but in everypony's depressed feelings, Applejack had enough of the feeling that tears wanted to be realised from her eyes so she stood up from the water in pure anger and shouted out at Rainbow Dash.
“If it weren't for you... Fluttershy would most likely be here right now!”
“What?!”
Rainbow Dash confused added and quickly rolled over and stood up out of the water.
“Yeah you heard me... you're more of a danger than help... always so naive and aggressive for anypony's good!”
Applejack continued to say without hesitate, which only of course added more fuel on to Rainbow Dash's already high temper.
“Aaah yeeeah?!”
Rainbow Dash simply said to Applejack with burning eyes of anger, Applejack then took a step forward and continued to scream out.
“You bet... you're completely useless in every way!”
The cave echoed in Applejack's shouts and when Rainbow Dash was forced to listen to the insults over and over again she had enough.
“That's it!”
She screamed and in the next second she leapt forward on to Applejack and both of them quickly got under the water’s surface.

No pony did really know what was going on, all that they saw was Rainbow Dash standing on top of Applejack and waving her front hoofs wild. But Rainbow Dash wasn’t the only one waving her hoofs, Applejack waved every single one of hers, desperately to get free so the whole area she and Rainbow Dash was at were a mess with water splashing all around the cave. Twilight and Rarity had since long jumped up on all four and started to scream that both of Rainbow Dash and Applejack would stop. But Rarity lost it early and fell apart in crying, it was simply too much for her, so incredibly much had happen the past couple of days. Pinkie Pie next to Rarity manage somehow to ignore everything going on in the cave just like she was deaf and blind, she only stared forward empty. Twilight jumped down in the water from the platform, scream even louder and especially to Rainbow Dash. She held Applejack in such advantage that she couldn't do a thing and before the situation got out of hoof even more, and before Rainbow Dash had seriously hurt Applejack, Twilight shouted in Rainbow Dash's ear.
“That's enough!”
Twilight than used her magic to grab Rainbow Dash's entire body and lift her of Applejack up in the air, but that wasn't the only thing she had to do to stop everything. Rainbow Dash still despite floating, tried to reach Applejack in anger and at that point, Twilight further used her magic and threw Rainbow Dash in to the wall of the cave, hard with her back first and held her stuck in place.

She tried to move but Rainbow Dash was completely caught in Twilight's magic and could barely move a muscle.
“Let me go!”
She exclaimed when she found out it was to no use to move free by herself.
“Not until you calm yourself!”
Added Twilight just before she looked over at Applejack that slowly got up on her hoofs again.
Her breath was on top of her lungs and she even had some blood coming from the corner of her mouth. She looked at Rainbow Dash that was stuck to the wall, but all her earlier anger was all gone, she only tried to catch her breath with a neutral face on her and wiped of the blood. Rainbow Dash was still struggling, but finally she gave up in a mad sigh, she looked up ashamed but kept her angry eyes. Twilight then yelled at Rainbow Dash, and there was nothing Rainbow Dash could do than listen to every word of hers.
“I can't say I total disagree with Applejack... you do let your anger out way to easy... even if some of what Applejack said is not true... just look at Rarity... she is completely...”

Twilight was about to turn around to face Rarity and so Applejack, even Rainbow Dash turned her head to be able to see her but what the three of them saw, made their hearts skip a beat and they all entered a vision of nightmare. Because away from them, closer to the exit of the cave, Rarity stood up on her hind legs, held from behind by a Cangeling that had its enormous white fangs, driven in to her neck and ripped apart half of her throat. Rarity's face was just like stone, with her weeping eyes wide open and her mouth likewise. Not a muscle did she move, only a couple of nerves was twitching randomly and the Changeling, it was looking directly over Rarity's shoulder on to the three of them with its cold blue eyes. Pinkie Pie was surprising, still sitting in her exactly same place in the hot spring, and at the moment, the one closest to the Changeling. But she didn't give away any fear, she just sat there calmly, glancing at the Changeling while it was twisting its teeth in Rarity's flesh.
A large amount of blood had left Rarity's body and it looked like it never would stop. Her whole front side was covered and red in its liquid, it even had passed along her legs to the water that at a slow pace took its colour.

Then all the suddenly, Rarity's lifeless body fell forward in to the water right in front of them all in a big splash of water and blood. The Changeling then roared hatefully while escalating and kicking with its front hoofs wildly in the air. Before the creature landed back on all its four legs again from its display, Twilight quickly grabbed everypony with her magic and threw them and herself on to the platform together. No one did really get a soft landing, except for Rarity and Twilight herself, and when the Cangeling saw that, it screamed out its battle cry and rushed towards them all. But before it reached them, Twilight's horn exploded in small, purple fireworks and created in its explosion a thin, dark pink shield around them for protection. The Cangeling rammed the shield with its blunt horn first but it did nothing, it tried however again to repeatedly cut through the shield by thrusting its head again and again against it and when it realized it was in no use, it attacked the shield with its whole, sharp and edgy body. But it realize even there that it was just a waste of energy so it jumped down from it. Creepy it started to walk back and forward with a disturbing smile and all the ponies could do was to watch it frightened. Then after a moment it changed its form into Rarity, but it wasn’t a pleasant eyesight. It had change into her currently state with the throat open in a big wound and covered in blood, it even had its mouth covered in blood after the bite.

Wicket it smiled and even talked with Rarity's voice that they all were forced to listen to.
“Come on guuuys... let me in... I feel so... exposed out here!”
Twilight gave it an extreme unpleasant face while Rainbow Dash just stared at it from the side with her eyes field with rage. Applejack was behind Twilight and Rainbow Dash and was on the ground with Rarity right in front of her and looking how her condition was. The fake Rarity then all the suddenly started to laugh from the reactions it got from them all, and its disgusting true voice broke free in echoes. Twilight tried her hardest to look tough, but deep inside she just wanted to cry hysterical. Rainbow Dash then with her gaze stuck on to the Cangeling, pulled herself up on all her four legs and went up closer to the shields surface. She stared with her burning rage on it and then asked rather quietly Twilight.
“Twilight... how safe is this shield really?”
Confused and with almost tear leaping free from Twilight's eyes, she looked over at Rainbow Dash and said.
“Don't worry... nothing can break this shield from the outside... but from the inside everything can exit it easily”.
“Good.”
Rainbow Dash just added simply to what Twilight said, which only made Twilight even more confused.

Twilight asked Rainbow Dash something but Rainbow Dash didn’t listen to a single word, she was too busy focusing on to the Cangeling. Its laugh drove Rainbow Dash's head mad from inside and her fury grow larger for every second. Her body got slowly but steady tense to every muscle, every nerve and when her mind had left her consciousness, no fear was to be find in her and a wild instinct in her awoken. She leaped out of the shield, right at the Changeling just like she had on Applejack but this time, she didn't hold in to anything and no Twilight was going to stop her. The Changeling's laugh stopped abruptly as its lungs got a pressure on them by Rainbow Dash's body and once again she was struggling in the water. Twilight got so shocked by Rainbow Dash's act against the Changeling that she lost her concentration on the shield and let it fail unaware.
“Dash!”
Twilight shouted so worried that she believed her heart was going to burst. Applejack was still on the ground next to Rarity's blood stained body, but her head was turned to Rainbow Dash and she was so lost in her mind, she didn't believe what she saw.

The fight between Rainbow Dash and the Changeling was nothing than a complete mess. They roller over each other in the water, and regardless if Rainbow Dash took some heavy hits by the Changeling's hoofs to her head, it didn't hinder her to do the something. But she did get some nasty hits, especially to her ribs.
At one point, the pain in Rainbow Dash's stomach from a good hit by the Changeling was so serious, she couldn’t move a limb, and the Changeling of course saw a window of opportunity in that. It managed to kick her down in the water with her back first, and before she had time to react and stand up again, it placed its both front hoofs at her throat to keep her down and drown her. Rainbow Dash really needed Twilight and Applejack's help from the situation she was in, but they were stunned, frozen stuck in place and deep inside a total black out in their minds. But in the end, Rainbow Dash didn’t need any help regardless her grim state, because she somehow succeeded to pull up her hind legs and place them on the Changeling's chest, and then push its whole body over hers. In a big splash it landed in the water and before it had time to understand what just happened, Rainbows Dash rushed up standing, and in a quick reflex she jumped towards the Changeling with help of a fast push from her wings and with all of her hoofs close to each other. She landed brutally right on it and after that, everything went silence and not too much movement was left in the cave.

The Changeling lost all its life and was now only a rag doll under the water, its state was unsure but easily figured out, because when Rainbow Dash looked down at her hoofs, a massive cloud of extreme dark blood spread pass around her. First now Twilight and Applejack returned to reality and got their mind working as they should. Twilight wanted to ask if it was dead, but her tongue inside her mouth didn't comply and she just stood there with enormous eyes and a scared face.
But she did find out later what the Changeling's fate was without asking, but she did not know how awful it would be. In Rainbow Dash's heavily panting, she raised a shaking hoof from the water and on that hoof, a bloody piece of the Changeling’s broken head was at. She simply throw it of in a small shake and carefully walked away from its corpse without caring too much, and in her steps a disgusting noise from what was left of its skull passed through the water to everypony's ears. Twilight gave away a sick face immediately, and threw herself to the edge of the platform and vomited in to the water.

The whole hot spring started to turn more and more into a revolting hot soup from everything that had been mixed in to it. But Rainbow Dash did sincerely not care at all what was swimming around her, she was just so tired, exhausted and her body was filled with small painful cut and bruises that her legs gave away and she was just floated around with her head above the surface, breathing hoarsely.
“She's... she's dead.”
Then all the suddenly a sobbing voice came from the back from Applejack and that made Twilight quickly drop everything she had seen just a second ago. She wiped of her mouth and ran up to Applejack as fast as she could and on the way, her eyes were watery. Twilight throw her body down on the platform next to Applejack and with Rarity right in front of her. Rainbow Dash didn't move a muscle, she just leered at the others from the water but that didn't mean she didn't care about Rarity, she merely had no strength but she was in fact worried sick. But from all the crying from Applejack and Twilight and especially Twilight that also screamed out with sorrow, Rarity's fate was not difficult to figure out. After all, Rainbow Dash had seen with her own eyes everything happen right in front of her, and even if she was close to fall unconscious, she also had tears leaving her eyes. A short time passed with nothing than the sound of grief owning the caves echoes, but no from Rainbow Dash, she did instead notice something else while being quiet. Weakly she pushed up her front body out of the water slowly and stood halfway up while looking around the cave. In an extreme tired and lost voice, just like Rainbow Dash thought she didn't see correctly she asked dizzy.
“Where... where is Pinkie Pie?”
Twilight and Applejack turned around with both of them having red eyes from tears, but Twilight had a significant worse, almost like she had an allergic reaction to something. She stood up and went up to the edge of the platform and passed her gaze through the whole cave, she couldn’t understand at all the madness that was going on, and she asked openly in a dreaded sigh.
“Where... where can she have gone?”
Rainbow Dash and Applejack also started to slowly look around but only in vain, Pinkie Pie clearly wasn’t there with them, and nothing seemed to ever get better in this world.

Author's Note

Well here it is... my very first story or at least the first chapter of it... I hope you like it and that you can endure the English and with that said... enjoy!

Chapter 2: Blood Filled Clouds

Chapter 2: Blood Filled Clouds

Rainbow Dash leaned against the cave wall for balance for the first couple of seconds after she stood up from the water and just tried to gain enough air for her head to work clearly again. Twilight wandered around in the cave lost and confused and Applejack just stayed in the back.
“I... I can check outside for Pinkie Pie... she maybe only went just outside the cave or something.”
Applejack said with a shaky voice and slowly went towards the exit.
“All right but be careful... and stay close... I don't want another pony to go out and look for.”
Applejack nodded and wiped of her face just before she went outside in to the rain and disappeared shortly. Twilight then made her way up to Rainbow Dash and carefully parried her way through everything in the water disgusted.
“How do you feel?”
Twilight asked Rainbow Dash who was holding up a leg against her stomach that she feared that she had broken a rib inside. Luckily the pain was nothing than a past hit that remained from the Changeling and what she answered was.
“Horrible... I did just after all let of my anger that everypony hate so much.”
It looked like Twilight was going to say and add something quick but she for some reason stopped herself from doing so.

She just decide to stare deeply into Rainbow Dash's eyes quietly with her mouth half open and when Rainbow Dash notice she wouldn’t say anything she continued.
“And why do you even care... I am like you agreed to only useless!”
“Dash... don't be like that.”
Twilight then finally said a bit sad and tried to help Rainbow Dash to stand up on her own without the support from the wall, but Rainbow Dash immediately lightly pushed away the help from Twilight and said in a frustrated sigh.
“I'm fine.”
She went past Twilight limping but only for the first couple of steps away to the dead Changeling, she then stopped and poked warily on its corpse under the water and said with a tough face.
“This must be a scout or something... he must have heard me and Applejack fighting so I assume this is my fault too... they will be looking for him when he doesn’t return so this place won't be safe for very long.”
Twilight sighed in that she felt that there was nothing she could say or do to even out Rainbow Dash's mind, but in time Rainbow Dash calmed her feelings and looked over at Rarity's dead body and asked gloomy.
“What... are we going to do with Rarity?”
Twilight went up to Rainbow Dash but kept a distance from the Changeling, she also gazed upon Rarity's poor body and then answered.
“There is nothing we can do... we have to leave her here... Pinkie Pie can be in danger so we need to find her as quick as possibly... we can't afford to lose her too... but come now... we have to go with haste and see what Applejack found.”
“Agree.”
Rainbow Dash simply added and together with Twilight they went to the exit of the cave, Twilight went first and while she passed through the small path, Rainbow Dash turned around with her head and continued to stare at Rarity empty. The feeling inside her felt awkward and somewhat painful, just like her whole body was on fire and the flames ripped her flesh apart slowly.
“Are you coming Rainbow Dash?”
The voice from Twilight came from outside in the rain and broke Rainbow Dash free from her hypnosis.

Rainbow Dash looked in a twitch over to Twilight nervous which gave Twilight a concerned face for a moment, but Rainbow Dash then just answered calmly and also exited the cave.
“Yeah... yeah I’m coming.”
In the rain outside it was completely dark, night had fallen and it would be extremely difficult to manoeuvre in the forest. Applejack hadn’t found any trace of Pinkie Pie and the three of them decided fast that the only thing they could do now, was to wander deeper in to Everfree Forest and try to find a new shelter, get rested and continue to search tomorrow for Pinkie Pie. They did this time not find any similar place like the cave from before and the darkness would pretty much make it impossible to do so. But they did end up at the foot of a small mountain were there was nothing else to do than to make a cave, which with Twilight's magic wasn’t an obstacle. The cave she manage to create was small but enough for them three, they slept close to each other for the sake of warmth but during the night, nightmares haunted Rainbow Dash's mind. Shady but strong in their image, she pushed herself up from sleep and rushed out from the little cave Twilight had made and fell to the ground immediately. It was morning and the rain had stop but the sky was still ruled with dark clouds so the whole forest stood in grey shadows. Rainbow Dash was panting on the ground, filled with panic and somehow Applejack and Twilight didn't wake up by her burst from sleep.

She was laying there on the ground for a good while till she calmed herself and when she finally did, she didn't bother to go in to the cave again. She instead slowly pushed herself up sitting and just looked up in the sky with her heart still beating fast. For a good half hour Rainbow Dash tried to gather her mind together alone, but the amount of thoughts that was flying between Rainbow Dash's ears was too much to handle. Her heart never stopped beating in its quick rating, not until a voice from behind broke her free from the tormented fog her mind was bound to.
“Dash... is you already awake?”
Rainbow Dash looked behind her and saw how Applejack had exited the cave and went up to her with a bit surprised face. Nothing did Rainbow Dash say, she just watched Applejack confused like she didn't see her.
“Dash?”
Applejack repeated and what Rainbow Dash did was to turn back her head to the sky and leave her wings to Applejack and say.
“Yes... yes I got up early.”
Applejack turned her head a bit to the side in wondering and went up to Rainbow Dash, she sat down next to her and actually looked concerned while asking.
“What's wrong... you look awful?”
Rainbow Dash smiled in a small laugh and said quickly.
“Do you really need to ask what's wrong?”
“I'm sorry.”
Applejack added and looked down to the ground, Rainbow Dash's smile disappeared immediately in a sigh and then she said quietly.
“Don't be.”
A short while with no words passed till somepony broke the silence and that somepony was Applejack.
“So... why did you wake up so early?”
She asked and Rainbow Dash's answer contained only one word.
“Nightmares”
“Do you... want to talk about it?”
Applejack added and Rainbow Dash continued to only use one word in her sentence.
“No”

After that Applejack didn't know what to say, she felt how something was heavy on Rainbow Dash's mind and very much was she right, but Applejack's words wasn't required because Rainbow Dash actually decide to speak by herself.
“But... there is something else I want to do.”
“What's that?”
Applejack asked and Rainbow Dash just knew she wouldn’t like the answer.
“I... I need to leave you and Twilight alone for a while.”
“What?!”
Applejack said loudly and stood up in a jump, Twilight right after that also came out of the cave and she asked with a normal but tired voice right after a gasp.
“Morning everypony... hope it wasn't too much of a pain sleeping in my home made cave... I think I will expand it to the coming night.”
“Rainbow Dash is thinking in leaving us!”
Applejack shouted which made Twilight's eyes to grow bigger and raising her energy.
“What?!”
She also shouted out and hurried up next to Applejack and while she did so, Rainbow Dash too stood up and said.
“Just for a while... it’s not like I going to be away for weeks!”
“But what are you intended to do... and where are you going?”
Twilight asked and left both her and Applejack curious for an answer, Rainbow Dash sighed and left her whole body hanging.

She held her head low to the ground and shamefully she answered.
“I... I need some time alone... gathering my thoughts... maybe circle around the sky for a while.”
“But the search for Pinkie Pie then?”
Applejack added which only made Rainbow Dash shake lightly at her head and say.
“I don't think I will be too much of a help there... I will only slow you down in my current state... and regardless... you two will do just fine together alone for a while.”
“But...”
Applejack started to say but Twilight interrupt her with stepping forward and talk over Applejack in a sigh.
“Well... if you have to... then go... let us take care of finding Pinkie Pie... you join us when you feel you're ready.”
Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash got surprised with Twilight's words, especially Rainbow Dash, she thought she was going to need struggling her way to convince Twilight.
“T-thanks.”
She after a while manage to get out of her and all Twilight did was nodding with a half-smile.
“I promise I will be back later today... you can bet on that!”
Rainbow Dash gratefully said and prepared to take off in to the air, but before that Twilight had one more thing to say.
“And Rainbow Dash... be careful.”
“HA... you say that to the fastest pony every existed... don't worry... I'm not going to lead an army of Changelings to you!”
Rainbow Dash proudly and with a cocky smiled said out loudly, both Twilight and Applejack pulled of a hopeless smile and just enjoyed to see Rainbow Dash as her usually state of mind.

Rainbow Dash then with no more time to spill took off in to the air in a small jump and left Applejack and Twilight behind her. Twilight and Applejack was quiet for a while as they watched Rainbow Dash disappear, but at one point Applejack couldn’t resist to ask.
“You do know where she is going... don't you?”
Without turning her head towards Applejack and just continue to watch Rainbow Dash, Twilight sighed once more concerned and then added.
“Yes... she is going to Cloudsdale.”
“Was it really wise to let her go?”
“Cloudsdale's fate is yet unknown... it’s her home... every piece of hope in her heart wants to believe it's still standing... I just hope she don't have to high expectation.”
Twilight answered Applejack and another short time passed with silence.
“I hope more for her returning in one piece.”
Applejack then said extremely quiet and Twilight simply added.
“Me too.”
They then watched together Rainbow Dash as she slowly reached the ceiling of dark clouds in the sky and disappear in to the distant. Rainbow Dash however didn’t look back, not even once, she knew very well that Twilight and Applejack was safe so far in to Everfree Forest as they were. They would do just fine together without her in the search of Pinkie Pie and in a additionally to that, Rainbow Dash needed some time alone and she did get plenty of that, because when she had been flying for a while she decided to fly through the clouds and stay above them.

It must been the best thing she ever done in her whole life because on the other side of the black smoke clouds, nothing than the pure blue sky was above her with the orange sun blinding her. It was like a new world that actually contained hope and beauty, the suns beam was warm and just by imagination it felt like her whole body became lighter and easier to fly, almost like she was floating without effort. Her mind finally felt relaxed but far from completely at peach. She was thinking a lot about Pinkie Pie, where she could be and why she in the name of Celestia would in the first place walk away on her own. But her Concern for Pinkie Pie thinned out when Cloudsdale appeared and started to be visible in the distance and Rainbow Dash just knew she had to be on her edge of her horseshoes, because Cloudsdale didn't rest in its former state. It was dark and gloomy but easiest thing to note was that it was empty. Not a single living creature was in sight or a single movement could be spotted and that in Rainbow Dash's eyes was a bad sign, it literally was in the same ruins as Ponyville. Rainbow Dash lowered her position in to the clouds under her for a better chance to approach Cloudsdale without being spotted, only her head was above the soft dark smoke that passed around her body as she was flying.

She landed on a discreet balcony, connected to a small structure and in the outskirts of Cloudsdale but enough for a view and to see most of the city.
It wasn’t a question about it, the city was dead silence but Rainbow Dash knew she wasn’t alone in it, she could possibly not be it. Queen Chrysalis would never have the city total abandoned by her Changelings, not with the chance of somepony maybe returning, like Rainbow Dash.
She circulated around the whole city but at a distance and in good cover. After a couple of hours with searching for something not even Rainbow Dash knew was, she landed at a roof of a large tower, connected to the archive building for another view of the currently dead city. Her home was destroyed, not because she believed that it still stood in its glory and in its blasting white ray from the clouds it was made of. But she still found it painful to witness its fall, there were no sign of a fight nor how long this place had been like this. With a great sorrow Rainbow Dash sighted while her eyes wanted to get wet by tears and just before she had time to spread her wings far apart and was just about to take of back to Twilight and Applejack, she heard something coming from inside the archive she stood on. Like a predator she immediately lowered her body to its surface and listened carefully, the sound she had heard was only one time but it sure was real and also by somepony. After a while Rainbow Dash straighten her body and stood up again, she started to think that it maybe was a survival but it could very well be a Changeling lurking inside as well. But just the feeling of a chance to find a living be that didn't want to rip her apart was so strong she couldn’t resist and if it now was a friendly creature she would never forgive herself to not have checked.

She flew down from the tower to the entrance and entered the archives through its giant gate, she right away ended up in an enormous hall with pillars at the sides and the floor shining like a mirror in its black, polished stone blocks. The hall was weakly light up and had a dark, creepy atmosphere to it and Rainbow Dash had to go to the other side of the hall to be able to gain access to the tower. She closed the gate behind her and with her head low and her gaze flying from right and left, Rainbow Dash worked her way forward tense. Finally at the other side there was a door that would lead up to the tower but the door wouldn’t budge and that for Rainbow Dash was sort of a positive sign. That would have meant that somepony maybe had looked themselves in for protection. Rainbow Dash tried again to open the door with her whole body strength but it was stuck solid, she turned around to the empty hall behind her and saw that alongside the walls through the giant room, sets of empty armours was standing posing and faced to the middle of the hall. Moving in the shadows, Rainbow Dash went closer to one of them and stopped right in front of it.
Its feature was magnificent and it really caught Rainbow Dash's eyes, but the thing that really had got her interest was the halberd it held between its jaws.

Its rod wasn’t longer than Rainbow Dash herself in height but its blade and hook was big and harsh, thin however for mobility and lastly its spear was extremely long but thin as a nail. The whole thing was made in shining silver and decorated in beautiful pattern and symbols.
Tenderly Rainbow Dash reached her head towards it and grabbed it in a bite in the middle of its rod the axe and spear was stuck to. Light as a feather was it but still heavy enough for giving out a strong punch. She carried it over to the locked door, pushed in its spear to the keyhole and then she jumped up on its long handle with her front hoofs and pushed brutally the whole thing down. The lock on the door just completely broke of and even fell of the door, all of its lose metal parts scattered all around her as it hit the shining floor and created a long echo through the hall. Rainbow Dash looked quickly behind her as the sound of the lock made her a bit jumpy, but when she saw that she was alone as she had been for the whole time, she turned back to the door that now stood open. She left the halberd on the floor carefully without a noise and then she walked up the stairs to the tower. Nervous was she for every step she took when she didn't know what to expect to find at the top. When the stairs then stopped and she then finally stood in front of the door to the inner archive, she swallowed her worry and tried to stand still and listen if she could hear anything on the other side. But even if she placed her head and her ear against the door it was dead silence. Uncertain, she at last decided to go in and just pushed in the door gently in a creaking sound. Prepared and tense was she the whole time, she just expected that someone would jump at her and tear the tissue of her face. But what she found inside to her relief was three young ponies that had crawled in to the corner of two bookshelves and was shaking in fear close to each other. In a enormous sigh Rainbow Dash's whole body fell from its harden stance and she couldn’t resist in giving away a small smile.

The three in the corner that was one light green and two dark blue pegasus ponies gave a similar reaction and just looked happily at Rainbow Dash.
“Thank Celestia.”
Rainbow Dash said while breathing out one time heavily and right after that one of the ponies next to the bookshelves burst out and said.
“Is it safe?!”
“The only living things I seen so far here are you three... but I highly doubt that we are the only one here because of that.”
Rainbow Dash answered which led that one of the other ponies immediately said.
“Then we should leave as quickly as possibly... we haven't dared to go outside by ourselves.”
“How long have you been here?”
Rainbow Dash asked as she went up to them and helped them one by one from their corner, one of the dark blue ponies which looked like to be sister to the other one and oldest of them three then said.
“We... we don't know... probably since this... nightmare started.”
“I guess then there is no use for us in to stay any longer here then.”
Rainbow Dash added and went back to the door that led to the staircase down, she turned her head around before she started to walk down and waited for one of the three to say something.
“Agree... do you think you can take us to a safe place?”
Rainbow Dash stood still for a while quiet and leered at the ceiling as she was thinking for herself.
“I... maybe know a place... but enough with that... let’s get away from this place while we can.”
No one of the three pegasus ponies disagreed with Rainbow Dash or said anything and just followed her down stairs close to her tail. When they reached the bottom and was heading their way to the main gate, one of the dark blue ponies asked in a whisper to the other one.
“Do... you think we’re going to make it?”
“Don't worry... we’re soon out of this.”
Said the other one and then the first one added immediately after.
“I'm scared.”
All of the suddenly Rainbow Dash stopped abruptly without a word that surprised everypony and the green one asked after a short while.
“Why are you stopping... is something wrong?”
“The gate... it's open.”
Rainbow Dash simply said which immediately got one of the others to add.
“So?”
Rainbow Dash turned her head gently a quarter back so she could she them with one eye and then she coldly said.
“I closed it when I got here.”

All three of the pegasus ponies behind her didn't really have time to process Rainbow Dash's words but her words wasn’t required for them to understand the situation they were in. Because behind the first pair of pillars from the gate, three Changelings appeared quietly and each of them had an amused facial expression.
“No... no.”
Said one of the ponies behind Rainbow Dash extremely frightened but before any panic broke lose, Rainbow Dash with her eyes stuck on to the Changeling said calm and clearly.
“Stay close to each other... and back of to the door we came from... slowly... and remember... stay behind me no matter what.”
The ponies on command did like Rainbow Dash said and slowly the fourth of them returned to the broken door, leading up to the tower. The Changelings spread themselves out to cover as much space as possibly through the hall and followed them all the way. Rainbow Dash didn't really know what to do and soon it would be too late to do anything, she literally had three lives that safety rested on her shoulders and she would not abandon them. If she was alone, Rainbow Dash knew she would have been able to outrun them but now when she wasn’t, she was clueless. A strong clang then all the suddenly sang through the hall and that was caused by Rainbow Dash steeping on something.

She looked down and there right in front of her hoofs, nothing else than the halberd that she had used to open the door was laying. Rainbow Dash looked in a twitch up at the Changelings and when she did that, they lost their disturbing smile and prepare their stance for an attack. She turned her head back to the ponies behind her and saw how incredibly scared and helpless they looked, she felt bad for them and really wanted to help them. Calmly she turned her head back to the Changelings and in a slow deep sigh, she picked up the halberd with her mouth. The eyes of the Changelings turned quickly from evil amusement to pure hate, but they weren’t the only ones, Rainbow Dash took a couple of steps towards them and her eyes as well were burning with rage. Like a duel they just stared at each other for a long time but then just like that, all three of the Changelings at the same time threw themselves back on their hind legs and roared out into the hall. Then one by on one they landed on all their four legs and rushed straight towards Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash too rushed forward to them as she wanted to increase the distance of the fight from them and the frightened ponies at the broken door. When they were in reach she did the only thing she could, she swept her halberd from one side to the other but she missed the first one when it reacted so quickly and dodged under the swing. It basically lowered itself down on to the smooth floor and maintained its speed forward sliding. Rainbow Dash had to let of her halberd because otherwise she would have got the first Changelings horn in her chest, but before that happen and before Rainbow Dash lost the halberd. Her swing hit the second Changeling that didn't have the same reaction as the first one and it was its hook on the backside of the halberd that landed in its head. It penetrated its right eye and went far into its skull, it died immediately as the brain got a fatal stab by the edge of the hook.

The silence and dead Changeling together with the halberd fell to the ground and to evade the thrust by the horn of the first one, Rainbow Dash had to jump up and fast get her wings moving. The sliding Changeling missed her as Rainbow Dash flew over him, she tried to get to the halberd again but she stilled had a third on its way and that now stood right over the dead one. She accidentally rammed him in the speed with her head, right in his jaw and because the Changelings have extremely hard skin, the impact was worst for Rainbow Dash. But she did manage to push away that Changeling to deal with him later at least, he landed on his back a couple of meters away from her but left her dizzy by the hit. Rainbow Dash still regardless her blurry vision got a new grip of the halberd with her mouth and pulled it lose from the dead skull it was stuck to, but she grabbed it to close to the blade for being able of swinging well. The first Changeling at this moment was literally right in front of the three helpless ponies when it finally had stopped along the floor, but it didn't care for them, it knew they wouldn't do anything so it immediately turned around and went for Rainbow Dash again. Rainbow Dash saw that but she couldn’t swing with the grip of the halberd she currently had and she couldn't ether change it to be lower. Luckily, combined with the already smooth stone floor and the blood from that had been pouring through the eye of the dead one during the cause of time, the Changeling slipped when it got close to her and lost control of its body. But even luckier, that Changeling was heading right towards Rainbow Dash with no control and all she could do was to stand still and let the Changeling go in to the blade of the halberd by itself. It did so too, the thin blade of the halberd landed right in the neck and Rainbow Dash got a giant explosion of blood right in her face.

She by the sudden feeling of warm blood covering her whole face released the halberd and closed her eyes harshly. The blade of the halberd got stuck deep into the Changelings body and with it fell backwards. Rainbow Dash got a bit shocked and didn't do anything for a moment but she then shortly realised that one more threat remained. She was intended to pick up the halberd again but instead she thought of quickly look behind her which was a big mistake. The first thing she saw was the last Changeling launch itself towards her and hit her back, its horn scratched a medium large wound on her left side under her wing. She made a short and light scream in pain and landed right in the blood covered floor. She didn't have any time to stand up when the Changeling immediately jumped up on her back and tried to bite her neck, she did however manage to turn her body around a bit and stop its head to reach her. They both desperately were fighting for the other ones death but Rainbow Dash had more to lose than it. She had three young ones that stared in silent panic at her.
They were like Twilight and Applejack back when she was about to be drown, paralysed in to every muscle and fear struck down on their confused minds. Rainbow Dash tried to reach the halberd a short distance from her as well as keeping the wild animal to Changeling at bay.

But it was in no use, the halberd was too far away and Rainbow Dash started to feel how her body was getting tired from the struggle. In the next second the Changeling snatched with extra power towards Rainbow Dash and it actually reached her, it bite her close to her collar bone and manage to tear of a small piece of her skin. The pain was burning and in that pain she lost even more strength, she started to whimper and the situation was getting more and more grim, but in a flash Rainbow Dash saw something that maybe could save her life. It was a long nail that had came from the lock she broke earlier and it was sitting right in front of her head in the pool of blood. The Changeling was literally at this point so close to her neck, so if it had stuck out its tongue from its mouth it had touched her skin. Its warm heavily breathing was down her whole neck but in the last second of a chance of surviving, Rainbow Dash shoved her muzzle in to the blood, grabbed the nail with her teeth and drove it right in to the Changelings temple. It died slowly with its every muscle to the cost of blood entering Rainbow Dash's mouth, it was more disgusting than anything else but well worth it for making her the one still standing.

She pushed of its body and without even a second to catch her breath, she jumped up on her hoofs, ripped of the halberd from the dead Changeling and said loudly with the halberd in her mouth.
“Come on!”
The three young ponies was still in a bit of a shock after all the blood, bodies and how Rainbow Dash now looked like. They didn't move at first and in the distance you could hear how things started to heat up. The same disturbing howling like at the road to Everfree Forest appeared in the air but luckily it was far away, but that wouldn't last forever, other Changelings in Cloudsdale must have heard these threes battle cry before attacking.
“Move!”
Rainbow Dash shouted again with a furious stomp in the blood she stood in and this time with frustrated and angry eyes. The three ponies did just like she said, but she was after all covered in blood, welding a weapon just as bloody as herself and having a fearsome face. The four of them left the enormous hall and took immediately off at the entrance up in the air. They flew low as long as they still was in Cloudsdale, but right after that they came out of the city they just concentrated in to increase the distance from it. It looked fine at first, Rainbow Dash was in the back and the three young ones were right in front of her.

But they didn't come far from Cloudsdale before they discovered that they were followed by a handful of Changelings. Rainbow Dash stopped and did her best to catch her breath, she looked back at the small group of bloodthirsty beasts coming directly at them and was awfully calm.
The other pegasus ponies also stopped to Rainbow Dash's surprising, she thought they would continue forward no matter what in their fear.
“What are you doing?!”
One of them screamed out in pure panic, the other two was just as frightened, almost like their hearts was about to explode in their ribcage.
“You three continue... I stay and keep them busy.”
Rainbow Dash replied with an extremely odd tone in her voice like everything was under control.
“You die... there is like seven of them... no way you can take on all of them!”
The green one exclaim sweating, Rainbow Dash didn't really listen to what she was saying, her eyes was to focus on the Changelings that was closing in on them.
“Look... if I don't stay we all are doomed... we can't outrun them... so what I want you three to do... is to fly in to the clouds under us... I know you won’t see a thing down there but just try to stick inside them till you're far away from here.”
Rainbow Dash explain and immediately when she was done the same green pony tried to say but was just as quick interrupted by a mad and impatient Rainbow Dash.
“But...”
“Listen... Get out of here... NOW... go to Everfree Forest and then... just so far away from everything as possibly... find somewhere safe... warn others... just... GO OR YOU WILL DIE!!!”
Rainbow Dash maybe scared them as much as the Changelings did in her screaming, but they finally did what she wanted, they turned away from her terrified and also crying every single one of them.

Rainbow Dash watched them as they flew away and later disappeared in to the clouds, she smiled in comfort and knowing that they were safe now, but she at the same time made a sigh and threw a glance behind her. They started to get really close and to be honest, Rainbow Dash didn't have a clue of what her chances were, to survive that is. But regardless of that, she licked clean the piece of the halberds rod that she had in her mouth from blood for some bizarre reason and after that, it was on. In a quick loop she turned around towards the Changeling and charged right at them.
Deep inside her, Rainbow Dash actually didn't want to, but she had to make sure they were not going to follow the others, she saw this as a opportunity to actually save somepony, something she had failed earlier at. Like a well-trained attack force, every single one of the Changelings that was coming towards Rainbow Dash, lowered their heads at the same time so their horns were like lances on prepared knights. They even made some sort of formation and in that, Rainbow Dash saw something that maybe would work, something that wouldn't end with her body parts scattered on their horns. She also pointed her halberd towards them as they did with their horns but she wasn’t going to stay in that position for very long. Her adrenalin was pumping through her body and the excitement she felt was overwhelming, she wasn't scared any more, the feeling of being cover in blood did something to her, something she wasn't sure in if it was good.

A little smile somehow even manage to reach Rainbow Dash's two corners of her mouth in the grip of the halberd and why she didn't know, she was pretty much rushing towards her death. Her little plan did however closing in to take its action and what she did was that just before she and the Changelings hit each other, Rainbow Dash used her advanced flying skills and did a extreme manoeuvre and pulled her whole body abruptly straight up in the air. She past just over all the Changelings head and every single one of them missed her, she did however in her quick move do a low wide swing and it actually hit one of the many beasts she passed by. She didn't know exactly what her hit did for kind of damage, but she quickly after that stopped and looked back. The Changelings was a bit surprised and didn't really know what just happened, they also stopped and from their little group, a lifeless Changeling fell straight down and disappeared in to the clouds.
Rainbow Dash looked amazed and couldn’t believe she managed to actually preform a fatal attack in such quick moment. But now came the part she not at all had been thinking on, all the rest of the Changeling turned around and gave her a brutal gaze, just before they attacked in their second round. This time they also learn from their mistake and spread them self out in a big half circle.
Rainbow Dash got completely surrounded and she didn't have the slightest of idea what to do now.
Every second that passed was devastating for her survival but it was still just like the world stood in slow motion. Every breath, every move felt slow and balanced like in a mediation, she saw how the end was close and how there was nothing she could do turn the event, but that didn't stop her from keeping resisting.

When the Changelings was in to her and just about to throw themselves at her, Rainbow Dash simply pulled in her wings and let herself fall down like a rock. The Changelings once more missed her and in that, Rainbow Dash managed to end another life. She immediately after she got away from the Changelings and let them bump in to each other above her, thrust her way back up again with a strong push from her wing and drove the spear head of the halberd in to one of the Changelings visibly chest. It screamed in pain but its voice quickly died out, Rainbow Dash pulled lose the halberd in one flexible motion and the bleeding beast lost its ability to fly and fell down through the dark clouds. But after that it was over for Rainbow Dash, like a swarm of bees they all dived on to her from every angle and in that they disarmed her. The halberd went flying in to a random direction spinning and now it was the Changelings turn to do some damage. Rainbow Dash tried to fight back but it was futile, she could at best keep two of them away from her and that wouldn’t cut it. One of them manage to jump up on her back and bite her at the base of her right wing, it tried to tear it off with violent moves but the bones and muscles it was made of was too strong to be teared apart. It did however leave a terribly open wound and a lot of pain for Rainbow Dash, but that wasn't it. The rest of the brutal group also tried to bite her almost were ever they could like at her neck and legs.

They also kicked her at the areas that were open of her body and soon, Rainbow Dash didn't know if she could handle any more pain. Like a lone wolf against the rest of the pack, Rainbow Dash tried desperate to resist her beating but it was all over when the one on her back changed its biting target. It let her wing go and instead drove its long and large fangs right in to the wound that was created close to her collar bone, there a piece of flesh was missing. In the sound of twitching muscles and nerves, Rainbow Dash screamed out her agony to the sky and made it be ruled by her strong voice.
But her scream got a rough end when she took a orderly kick right in the back of her head with all its power by a different Changeling. Her eyes rolled back and she lost her consciousness, like a dead object she fell to the ground that rested far down beyond the thick clouds, but only because of that the Changelings didn't stop. While Rainbow Dash was falling and before she passed through the clouds, all of the Changelings one by one rammed her over and over again. Their hard and almost rock solid skin scratched her entire body as well giving her more brutal wound by their horns. But when she finally reached the clouds it was over, they lost her immediately in its dense fog and left her be.

Rainbow Dash continued to cruise unknowing her way down to the ground and all she could she was darkness, but she was still alive somehow for some miraculous reason. Rainbow Dash herself however thought she was gone, preparing to pass over to the other side or whatever awaited after death. She heard a voice shouting her name in weak echoes in her head and that actually pulled her consciousness back to wake up.
“I am... dead?”
She asked tired and confused at the same time she slowly opened her twitching eyes. Rainbow Dash didn't notice right away where she was and that she was falling in an extremely high speed, but in time after have watched a landscape upside down, her mind got back in action. The voice she had heard was nothing else than the wind passing around her body in the speed she was going in and in a explosion of energy, Rainbow Dash exclaimed and turned her body in to flying position.
“What the?!”
She then spread her wings and was just about to grab the air with her feathers but then, the pain crept up on her. Her whole body was pretty much entire covered in wounds and blood, both from her and Changelings. Her right wing that one of the Changelings attempted to rip of was pulsating in a unbearable suffering, Rainbow Dash scream freely her pain in tears but at the same time she saw how she was closing in to the ground, fast.

She would never survive the impact in her current speed and had to even it out and the only thing that could do that, was her wings. Crying she looked back at her almost completely destroyed and bloody wing and in a reluctantly roar she spread them out anyway. The pain wanted Rainbow Dash to pass out again but it was ether pain or death. But regardless her will in to surviving, she could not manage to pull up as much as she wished to. The feeling her wing gave away was like it was about to break of from her back, but some altitude she actually was able to pull off and just in time.
She braked towards the ground that luckily was a big open field, she crashed in to the ground and tore up a wide line of grass and dirt till she finally stopped. Like a dead corpse she stayed right there she had landed and just tried to gather her strength, the pain from her body was now gone, she literally didn't feel a thing from numbness.
“Why...”
She started to say after a while and slowly turned over to her back and glanced up in to the cloud filled sky and then she continued to talk to herself.
“...why I'm I alive?”
A short moment passed with nothing else than silence and the beat of Rainbow Dash's heart resting inside her chest, but she saw then something in the sky that quickly blazed in a flash of light for a second.
Rainbow Dash looked carefully at it wondering and said in time tired.
“What's that... it almost looks like my...”
But before she could finish, her bloody halberd struck down in an incredible speed and shoved down its head to the ground right next to Rainbow Dash's head. Amazed but extremely tired she looked at its way it had stuck itself deep to the field she was on and then, finished of her sentence.
“...halberd.”
A small reflection of Rainbow Dash's face was visible in the halberds blood covered blade and all she decided to do was watching herself in a deep, heavy sigh. She couldn't believe how revolting she actually looked and quietly said to herself with sarcasm in another sigh.
“Great.”

Chapter 3: The Crying Forest

Chapter 3: The Crying Forest

“Where I'm I?”
Rainbow Dash asked herself while carefully standing up and feeling how the pain in her entire body broke lose in a wave of sweat, mixing with the fresh blood on her. She moved her head from side to side and studied her surroundings that at first were foreign for her but that in time changed. Rainbow Dash sort of knew where she was but not exactly, the most important thing however was that she at least knew which way Everfree Forest was at.
“I... I need to get back to Twilight and Applejack.”
She said to herself in pain while moving, slowly she spread out her wings and immediately she felt a burning feeling in her right one. In a quick and loud moan she pulled her wings back in to rest on her back and just stood still breathing heavily like she had been running for hours.
“I guess I won't be flying then.”
She added in a beaten sigh and cautious started to walk the way according to her knowing were Everfree Forest was at.

Every step she made pulled her body in to an uncomfortable shaking state that she couldn't prevent from happening. Regardless of all her wounds mostly only being superficial, the pain was cutting in to her bones and Rainbow Dash was actually laughing in how much it hurt, despite the tears from her eyes. But she didn't come too far away from where she crashed at till she stopped and turned around wobbly. She remind her halberd that was stuck to the ground and decided to turn back for it. For a short while when she came up to it, she leaned against it to recover for the whole ridiculous ten step she had been taking but that felt like days of walking.
Without even a glance on the halberd, Rainbow Dash pushed herself on her hoofs again and ripped of her weapon from the ground. Like a dying soldier too proud of releasing her weapon, Rainbow Dash pulled the halberd after her with its blade across the ground, tearing up the field lightly.

It was a burden to have with her for the moment, but Rainbow Dash just couldn't ignore what it had done for her, it had not only saved her life but also three others, it even returned to her like it was meant for her. But despite all that, Rainbow Dash continued in her extreme crippled state through the open and grassy field and beyond that towards Everfree Forest. She knew she wouldn't reach the forest before sunset and she also knew another thing, a thing she didn't look forward to. Because for her to find back to the same place as she left Twilight and Applejack, she had to get a view from above which in that meant she had to fly. Not for a long time, only for her to be able to see the one of many small mountains she, Twilight and Applejack stopped at last night, she would defiantly find it when she saw it. But that moment came faster then she wanted to. Rainbow Dash found herself standing at the edge of Everfree Forest after a long walk and knew what had to be done. Luckily the pain in her right wing and rest of her body has been significant better and she could actually walk normally, almost. She grabbed her halberd at a better place on its rod and then prepared herself to take off. She manage to jump in the air and let her wings carry her, it did hurt in her wing but nothing she couldn't handle for now.

A lot of the time she tried not to flap with her wing too much and instead just calmly glide through the sky, close to the ground. Without trouble, she discovered quickly the little tip of the mountain she was looking for and smiled at the same time lightly. The strange shape the mountain had couldn’t be missed and she immediately headed her way over there. But she didn't come too far, because right after she saw that particular mountain, her next flap with her wings gave away both a disturbing and painful noise at the base of her right wing.
It sounded just like her wing broke off but it was only cartilage between her skeleton that played a joke on her. Regardless, life had decided that Rainbow Dash hadn't suffered enough and she felt how her wing once more ruined her ability in flight. She pulled anyway both of her wings in and made a stinging expression as she fell down. She held in her screams that she very well could release freely but she at the moment focus at crashing once more in a fitting place than putting the surrounding in echoes by her voice. But a forest pretty much only contain one thing and one thing only, trees, trees so far the eye could see and that was the only landing position she could pull through.

In a concerned expression, Rainbow Dash swallowed her worriers and made herself in to a small ball. She closed her eyes and hoped for the best as she like a stone launched from a catapult closed in on impact. In an explosion of leafs and branches, scattered all over the place Rainbow Dash went through the forests celling and struck the ground under it. The ground was soft and drastically made the landing more merciful, but it also made her to bounce without any stop for a good while. When she finally however started to slow down her movement, she rolled a couple of more meter in to a small open spot in the forest that wasn’t easily visibly from above and hit a tree brutally with her back. She stayed at the ground with an extreme shocked face by the pain and her whole body tense in to the slightest muscle.
“That... hurt.”
Rainbow Dash manages to say with a hoarse voice and with a single tear leaving her eye. Slowly but careful, her body sank down to the ground in a relaxed state and Rainbow Dash sighed out while dealing with the pain.

“Pssst.”
Then all the suddenly Rainbow Dash heard coming from the thick forest right next to her which she looked right away towards. She didn't see anyone but then a voice expressed itself and whispered with a clear voice.
“Rainbow Dash... over here!”
Quickly Rainbow Dash turned her head where the voice came from and in the bushes not far from her, she saw Pinkie Pie.
“Pinkie Pie!”
Rainbow Dash immediately shouted and just completely forgot the pain her body was bound to, she just in a short moment got up on her hoofs and rushed towards Pinkie Pie and jumped at her in joy.
“You're still alive!”
Rainbow Dash continued to express with happiness while holding Pinkie Pie pinned down to the ground, hugging her with the same power as she had been fighting Changelings with.

“Oh Rainbow Dash... it makes me happy to know that you care so much for me.”
Pinkie Pie said much appreciated and which got Rainbow Dash to lean back from Pinkie Pie so she could see her and add.
“Don't be silly... of course I...”
Rainbow Dash stopped abruptly and got a pale face when she actually got a good look of Pinkie Pie, because Pinkie Pie didn't look much of a different from Rainbow Dash herself. Her whole body was covered in thin wounds that stretched far like a zebras stripes, it was like she had been swimming in a lake made of razor blades but the worst part, was that she looked exactly like everypony remember her as. She smiled and looked very happy and playful, regardless of bleeding from everywhere and having blood running down her body.
“I... I... you...”
Rainbow Dash only manages to get out of her as she still couldn’t believe what she saw.
“Oh oh are we playing charades?!”
Pinkie Pie exciting expressed with her eyes shining like two pearls, Rainbow Dash however was completely paralysed and didn't say anything, she even didn't know if it was real what she saw.

Pinkie Pie was just a second from starting to guess random things from the look of Rainbow Dash, but something got her mind caught on something else. She saw the light coming from the sun passing the leaf and branches of the tree above them and got a shocked face.
“The sun... the suuun!”
Pinkie Pie started to shout out all the suddenly which Rainbow Dash didn't understand at all why, she did neither get any time to ask anything from Pinkie Pie because she quickly and roughly pushed of Rainbow Dash from her and sprinted away.

Rainbow Dash unfortunately landed on her right which in that sentence meant she landed on her poor wing. Pinkie Pie ran right over the little opening in the forest which Rainbow Dash landed in and disappeared like a frighten animal in to the forest. Rainbow Dash rolled around for a moment in pain on the ground with a quiet but suffering face but quickly shouted towards were Pinkie Pie went to.
“Pinkie Pie... where are you going!?”
Rainbow Dash just knew she wouldn't get any kind of answer from Pinkie Pie and had to follow her as fast as she just could. Crawling at first, Rainbow Dash moved towards the clearing but she hurried up to deal with her wing and like Pinkie Pie let her hoof carry her away. Smoothly she passed by her halberd on the ground and picked it up while moving, she then continued into the unknown among the trees for Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash couldn't entirely admit she saw were she was going, weak branches and other growing in the wild covered her view and hit her in the face so she almost had to run with her eyes closed.

But then after a while Rainbow Dash passed some kind of line were the nature no longer had its greenery of growth, expect for the grass she stood on.
It was a little cliff, free from trees and bushes and furthest away to its edge, Pinkie Pie sat calmly and only looked down on the view in front of her.
“Look Rainbow Dash... isn't it beautiful!?”
Not to out of breath Rainbow Dash dropped her halberd and slowly walked up behind Pinkie Pie and from the cliff she and Pinkie Pie stood on a rather big valley was visibly. The valley contained a lake with a waterfall coming from a little mountain next to it and was also surprising enough really open like a field, Pinkie Pie was right, it was beautiful. It was the sunset Pinkie Pie meant earlier because if they would have been only a couple of minutes later they would have missed it.

The last of the of the suns warming, orange beams passed over the valley that rested in front of them and slowly disappeared over the horizon where there actually was a crack in the tense clouds. But despite everything being a really comforting thing to see and experience, so couldn't Rainbow Dash ignore how Pinkie Pie looked like, it was like she had been wiped across her whole body and tortured brutally. Having her skin hanging lose at many places or even missing so you could see her exposed fleshy muscles, but she still didn't look to care or feel anything.
“Pinkie Pie... what... what exactly have happened to you?”
Rainbow Dash asked with an unconformable face and sorrowful voice, Pinkie Pie immediately turned her head back to Rainbow Dash and smiled big. In a big jump, her whole body turned around to face Rainbow Dash and she then walked in a high pace a lap around Rainbow Dash and said.
“Wow look at us... we are pretty much the same colour now... we are like two... strawberry’s... or even better... two sisters!”

After Pinkie Pie's lap around Rainbow Dash she stopped right next to her and bumped her rear into Rainbow Dash's for fun. It was by a friendly force but the fact that Rainbow Dash's whole body was extremely sore by everything that had happened to her, so was it rather demanding on her. She draw all her muscles in together extremely tense and gave away both a weak moan and an anguished facial expression.
“Sorrysorrysorrysorry... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to do it so hard!”
Pinkie Pie with deep regret repeated quickly after she saw how Rainbow Dash reacted but herself not caring for any pain, Rainbow Dash got fast back on her hoofs again and straighten how she stood and added with a voice not completely out of pain.
“I'm fine Pinkie Pie... really... but please... tell me... how in the name of Celestia did you...”
But further than that Rainbow Dash didn't come because as from before, Pinkie Pie could very easily get distracted and she did get it now also.

“OOoooo... is that your halberd!?”
She said and rapidly made small leaps the way over to it, Rainbow Dash just watched and sighed hopelessly as she had lost Pinkie Pie's attention. There she than grabbed its bloody handle with ease with her mouth and looked down amazed at it.
“Wow... it's so cool.”
She said and then dropped it so the axe got stuck in to the ground.
“Pinkie Pie... we must...”
Rainbow Dash started to say but Pinkie Pie just didn't let Rainbow Dash to speak freely, she always interrupted her in some way.
“Do you thing I could have a weapon of some sort?!”
Pinkie Pie said excited and happily and got lost in her own imagination she created in her mind.
“Pinkie Pie... Please... listen for a moment... I...”
But once more Rainbow Dash couldn’t get a hoof in to a discussion with her and Pinkie Pie just jumped a short distance away and continued.

“What weapon would I want to have... there is so many to choice from!”
“Pinkie Pie... please!”
Rainbow Dash added with a trace of depression in her tone after starting getting really tired of this ridicules kind of conversation but once again only in vain.
“I know... a pike... that would be perfect... then you could call me Pinkie Pike... just think how awesome it would be!”
“Please Pinkie Pie for the love of... whatever... try to be serious just fore once!”
Rainbow Dash extremely loudly said, almost shouting while walking up in front of Pinkie Pie and looking into her eyes deeply. Pinkie Pie had her mouth wide open and was just about to say even more silliness, but when she saw how much Rainbow Dash really wanted her to listen to her, so did she like Rainbow Dash wanted. Slowly closed Pinkie Pie her mouth and relaxed before giving away a wide and warming smile and then add without the excitement from before.
“Yes... your right Rainbow Dash... we should get more serious.”

When Rainbow Dash finally had got Pinkie Pie in a more controlled state she actually didn't know what to say, but Pinkie Pie however had a lot to say it seemed like but at least she wasn’t as tedious as before.
“You know Rainbow Dash... you have always been... special from us other and there is no different from now... you have always obtain something we haven't.”
Pinkie Pie said and walked calmly over to the cliff and watched the last of the sunset lay itself at rest behind the horizon. Rainbow Dash couldn't lie, she was stunned in Pinkie Pie's acting and she still didn't know why she was so injured as she was.
“I don't understand... what do you mean?”
Rainbow Dash asked curious and walked up next to Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie once more avoided the question and just stood there with a happy face looking down the valley quiet, but she did utter words in time.
“Just look how beautiful it is.”

Rainbow Dash sighed but did however look down the valley as Pinkie Pie said her to do. The last of the sun’s rays reflected at the calm lake at the bottom of their little cliff and blinded Rainbow Dash's eyes lightly. Rainbow Dash sighed again but this time when a fresh wind passed by them and just made her want to grab that air with her lungs. She felt calm, and especially now in presence with a friend and also when even Pinkie Pie was at harmony with her mind.
“But what do you mean with me being... special... and what have I obtain?”
Rainbow Dash asked after another fresh wind passing by which got Pinkie Pie to say.
“Speaking of obtaining something... I have something for you.”
Both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie turned to face each other and then Pinkie Pie reached to her thick and fluffy tail with her head. She drove her whole head in to it and started move inside it.

“Where is it now?”
She asked herself and started to spin around amusing like a pup trying to catch its tail. Rainbow Dash rolled with her eyes in what she had to witness and then after that she pushed Pinkie Pie away from the cliffs edge so she wouldn't fall in her silly behaviour. But she then finally stopped with her back turned to Rainbow Dash and pulled her head free from her tail and mumble with something in her mouth.
“Here... this is for you.”
Pinkie Pie turned then around towards Rainbow Dash and looked patiently at her.
Rainbow Dash didn’t have a clue of what to expect from Pinkie Pie and she wouldn't lie, she was rather sceptical of what it was and didn't hope too much. She mostly just sighed in her awaiting, doubtful and not to eager, but when she saw what Pinkie Pie was holding she didn’t believe her first gaze upon the object.

Her second time looking at it, she raised her eyebrow’s in surprise and that expanded even further to extreme shock. Rainbow Dash even leaned forward almost so far that she fell and then she with enormous eyes said with an extremely stammer voice.
“Is... is... is that... is that... a piece of the Elements of Harmony!”
“And no one’s less than your piece... the Element of Loyalty.”
Pinkie Pie added right after and then putted on it around Rainbow Dash's neck and backed of.
Rainbow Dash was amazed, more than amazed she was so lost to mind she thought she was dreaming for a second there. If it weren't for the pain keeping her mind sharp she wouldn't have believed of what rested around her neck, it was simply unreal.
“How... how did you get this?!”
Rainbow Dash asked completely lost in her face and impatient for a answer, Pinkie Pie looked over at her like it was nothing special and reply with a quick shiver.
“Brrrr... well it wasn't easy I tell you... no no.”
Pinkie Pie then after her answer wandered away happily in small jumps, humming on something briskly.

“Pinkie Pie!”
Rainbow Dash shouted out after her which made her stop, turn around and say.
“Yeeees?”
Rainbow Dash looked deeply and indeed seriously in to Pinkie Pie's eyes and when Pinkie Pie as well caught the eye contact, they stared at each other for a while and then Rainbow Dash asked determined but still extremely confused and rather quiet.
“Please Pinkie Pie... tell me... what have happen and what have you been doing since... you know... Rarity?
Pinkie Pie's smile she had been having the whole time slowly thinned out when Rarity's name got mention but she never realised it completely, she just weaken on it, looked down to the ground and said.
“Now... that isn't really important anymore.”
Pinkie Pie only expressed herself and started to hum again in the same melody as before and continued wandering away.

She went to Rainbow Dash's halberd and jumped up on its long handle, pushing its axe blade deeper to the ground and then she started to balance on it with a playful gloss in her eye. Rainbow Dash watched Pinkie Pie having her strange fun and just sighed out heavily, she also looked more careful at Pinkie Pie's wounds and couldn't believe how she could ignore them. It must have been so painful Rainbow Dash thought for herself but still Pinkie Pie acted like there wasn't a scratch on her. Slowly Rainbow Dash closed in on Pinkie Pie and on the way she threw a gaze behind her on the last shine from the sun.
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
Rainbow Dash asked caring for Pinkie Pie.
“What?”
Quickly Pinkie Pie added which normally would have made Rainbow Dash roll her eyes but thinking in how the situation was like, she avoided it and immediately said.
“Your wounds of course... it must be so painful.”
“Pfffft... no... Why would it be... they’re so old.”
Pinkie Pie said and went of the halberd on its opposite side from were Rainbow Dash stood.

“You're hopeless Pinkie Pie... but come... let’s go to Twilight and Applejack now... it’s getting late.
Rainbow Dash said and really started to feel how her body needed some rest.
“Aaah that would be great Rainbow Dash... but I can't follow you.”
Pinkie Pie then surprisingly enough said with a little sigh but of course kept her smile on, Rainbow Dash got a shivering feeling through her body and didn't understand at all Pinkie Pie at the moment.
Though it was rather normal not to understand yourself completely on Pinkie Pie, but thinking on the circumstances, Rainbow Dash thought even Pinkie Pie would quit such games of hers.
“Pinkie Pie stop now... follow me and let us just...”
Rainbow Dash started to say inpatient but didn't get any further than that in her sentence, because one of the few times happening, Pinkie Pie showed some anger.
“No!”
She exclaimed quickly with a stomp on Rainbow Dash's halberd and with a frustrated facial expression.

Rainbow Dash actually jumped a bit in Pinkie Pie's little burst of stronger feelings than usual for her and just stared at her, maybe even a bit frightened. But Pinkie Pie's frustrated eyes quickly disappeared in to what Rainbow Dash saw as sadness and then she whispered out extremely sore.
“I can't.”
“Why?”
Rainbow Dash added in the same whispering tone as Pinkie Pie and after that, Pinkie Pie got her smile back on to her mouth in a smaller scale, she then calmly said.
“Well... you understand... it’s like...”
But Pinkie Pie interrupted herself early with a small laugh and after that she just stared in to the ground, thinking for herself.
“No... you won't understand.”
Pinkie Pie added to herself amused and then after a short while she look up at Rainbow Dash while at the same time saying.
“Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash sort of leaned forward with her ears sharp and all concentration stuck to Pinkie Pie, her eyes was big and her mouth half open, she was just so surprised by Pinkie Pie's way of acting.

It wasn't usual for her to be this deep, or for her to watch as deeply as she did in to anypony's eyes, but when she saw that she held Rainbow Dash's all focus, she smiled as wide as she could with a tear leaving her eye and said.
“You're all my very best friends... you... Twilight... Applejack... Rarity... Fluttershy... I couldn't have asked or dreamed for anything better... thank you.”
After these words Pinkie Pie uttered, she closed her eyes and lowered her head so the edge of the hook on the halberd got placed on the side of her throat. Without any hesitation what so ever, she slide her head towards the hook and slit up her whole front of her neck. Without a sound, Pinkie Pie escalated with her head far stretch back and her throat like a fountain. Rainbow Dash wanted to scream but she didn't know what, she by a pure reflex threw herself over the halberd and manage to grab Pinkie Pie before she hit the ground. With a hoof resting behind Pinkie Pie's head Rainbow Dash screamed finally right into Pinkie Pie's face total destroyed and crying so much that she barely could see.
“NO... NOOO... WHY?!!?!!”

Pinkie Pie was still in consciousness but a tired glance was easily visibly in her, she was fading away fast.
“I hate you... I hate you so much?!”
Rainbow Dash continued to say while driving her head into Pinkie Pie's chest and just keep crying. But Rainbow Dash felt then how a hoof pressed up her head to face Pinkie Pie's, Pinkie Pie only stared at her but even though she was dying, she smiled and that somehow calmed Rainbow Dash down. Pinkie Pie's cut open throat flushed with blood but blood didn't scare Rainbow Dash any more, Pinkie Pie then lowered her half closed eyes to Rainbow Dash's neck were her piece of the Element of Harmony rested at. She even touched it lightly with the same hoof she had steered up Rainbow Dash's head with and watched its shiny red surface happily. After that it didn't take long till Pinkie Pie's eyes slowly closed shut like she fell asleep, her body relaxed and became lifeless short after that.

Rainbow Dash in that moment found herself in panic and in a explosion of hysterical mix of strong feelings. She hugged Pinkie Pie's dead body as hard as she could and just let everything out, she didn't try to be tough or anything, she didn't care the slightest about that now.
Her own wounds on her body all the suddenly broke out in a massive pain and the blood from Pinkie Pie Rainbow Dash had got on her was like acid, burning through to the bones.
She both yelled in her own pain and for Pinkie Pie but mostly for Pinkie Pie, she could care less about herself. Fear was the first thing to strike down on Rainbow Dash's mind, the feeling of being left alone in such a brutal and abruptly way was breaking for her. She started to hallucinate, see shadows formed after ponies all around her and constantly hearing voices in whispers.

They hated her Rainbow Dash felt, even if she couldn't her a single word what they was saying and that awoke the next thing Rainbow Dash's mind created, guilt. She stepped up and went towards the shadows that actually didn't exist and yelled at them that it wasn’t her fault.
But the shadows didn't believe her because neither did Rainbow Dash.
“It's my fault... everything is my fault... why do other need to suffer?!”
She later was whimpering in cries and fell to the ground, she at first cover her tearing eyes but later she looked surprised at her bloody hoof that was shaking uncontrollably.
“Please... punish me instead of somepony else!”
She broke out in a obscurely scream and looked up at the shadows around her but when she did that, they were gone. Rainbow Dash could barely understand what was reality any more, everything was a mess in her head and at one point she even thought Twilight was next to her, acting like the shadows did. But finally after been able to see through her own insanity, anger ignited Rainbow Dash's soul and towards someone particular.

She pulled herself together and took her time in sitting up, her eyes kept realising tears like a waterfall but not a sound came from her. She looked up into the air with her mouth half open and gave away a face like she didn't know who or were she was, she stayed in this position for some time but then all the suddenly she yelled so loud out that her echoes would be heard far away and stay in the air for a long time.
“Chrysalis... do you hear me?!”
She started with and waited till the air went quiet again before continued.
“I will face you one day... and I will destroy you and every single Changeling of yours... you think I'm afraid of you... that I fear you... mark my word... in your end... HARMONY WILL RETURN!!!

Rainbow Dash could hear how her shout scared away birds and other wildlife close to where she was, her voice in the air seemed to never die out and in that she could swear on that her Element of Loyalty started to vibrate weakly around her neck. On the edge of passing out, Rainbow Dash once more broke out in crying screams, but regardless of that she went to were Pinkie Pie was and behold her body. Gently she lowered herself to the ground and hugged Pinkie Pie's cold body carefully, her big wide wound in her throat got squeezed against Rainbow Dash's shoulder but Dash didn't care, the feeling of blood and open fleshy wounds was irrelevant, but her goodbye to a dear friend wasn't.

Chapter 4: The Uniting of Sorrow

Chapter 4: The Uniting of Sorrow

Night was falling and most of Everfree Forest was left in shadows, the only light source that existed was the long timed passed sun that succeeded to brighten up some of the dark clouds.
But that wouldn’t last forever when the sun completely had disappeared far pass the horizon and only would be seen again the next day at morning on the other side of the land, if the clouds now allowed that. Stars and the moon would most likely neither be any help in lighten up the forest during the night thanks to the filthy sky having its dense filter of black smoke. But something else that maybe would provide with some light but at the same time wouldn't be too much appreciated was lightning, because that started to awaken in the same direction as Ponyville and would most likely follow with rain towards the whole forest. Twilight and Applejack at the foot of the small mountain and next to their little cave, sat down outside it and looked up towards the lightning in the distance.

They both were silent and only held their eyes stuck to the sky, they had been searching for Pinkie Pie over a large area around the mountain but not found a trace of her. But for the moment they were more concerned about Rainbow Dash and wondered for her safety.
“Twilight... where do you think Rainbow Dash is... shouldn't she have returned by now?”
Applejack asked while playing and tearing lightly up the ground in front of her with her hoofs and Twilight only sighed extremely slowly and said.
“I wish I knew.”
“You thing something have happen?”
Applejack added while turning her head towards Twilight and the answer she got wasn't the one she hoped for.
“I know something have happen... or otherwise she would have been her by now.”
In a bright flash everything lightened up around Twilight and Applejack by a lightning that wasn't that far away.

It didn't scare them however because the time between the light and the sound was so far apart that they could prepare themselves and expect the loud explosion in the distance. They watched were the sudden bright light came from and just waited out its following echo, the second after that, rain started to fall but only in a dripping amount.
“Let’s get inside the cave... there's nothing we can do than wait for Rainbow Dash... if she is on her way over her... she will find us.”
Twilight said downhearted and turned around towards the cave, Applejack decided to stayed a bit longer and just let Twilight fall back to the cave. But the moment Twilight did that, another lightning struck pass the sky far away from them, the only different now was that when the lightning threw its flare over the forest and made everything bright as day for a short half second, Rainbow Dash who stood right behind Twilight and Applejack scared them both almost to death.

Twilight pushed herself back in a short girlish scream and landed on her back, Applejack almost jumped out of her skin by Twilight's scream and turned in a twitch backward. Rainbow Dash just stood there while holding a stone face and didn't even flinch by the reactions she got from them, Twilight and Applejack however was far out on edge and didn't at first recognize Rainbow Dash in how that she looked like.
“D-Dash... is... is that you?!”
Twilight was still laying on the ground after a while asked frightened and unsure with another lightning brighten up the place. Rainbow Dash held her halberd in her mouth but dropped its bloody and heavy piece shortly to the ground in front of her two friends. It putted them even more out on edge when she did it so suddenly but the fact that Rainbow Dash continued to stay quiet without a single word and only stared at them empty made a cold wind pass down their spines. Blood was pouring down Rainbow Dash's shoulder from her right wing and other open wounds. The rest of her whole body was covered in dry blood from who knows how many other creatures, her mane was a mess and the same with her tail. The gaze that was upon Rainbow Dash's face was horrifying, she looked like a brainless, tired creature with her jaw shaking.

“D-Dash?”
Applejack just as scared as Twilight added carefully and went up closer to Twilight. Once more Rainbow Dash didn't express any kind of words, all her strength had been taken from her by just getting here and now when she was here, she could finally relax. She did so also by just simply passing out like a sinking rock to the ground with her eyes rolling back to her skull and her body in to birth position. Everything went black for Rainbow Dash but in her darkness she could swear on that she heard the sound of fire. It was like a never ending nightmare with flames of destruction in the background, tormenting her heavily. She could feel her heart burning in panic inside her body and she wanted it to stop, she tried to scream but couldn't, her whole body was stuck in a black void with her lungs and mouth filled with hideous mud. By pure fear Rainbow Dash broke loose from her nightmare and opened her eyes while checking her surrounding while breathing on top of her lungs.
The first thing she saw was fire immediately reflecting in her eyes, paralysing her right away.

But before Rainbow Dash's mind total went to madness, Twilight showed herself and appeared above the fire.
“Rainbow Dash!”
She shouted and got all Rainbow Dash's focus and continued after that with saying more calmly.
“You’re safe.”
Rainbow Dash right away started to throw her gaze all around her and discovered then that the fire in front of her just was a camp fire. Twilight had done as she said earlier and expanded their little cave significance and also adding with help from Applejack a rather large fire in it. Applejack was on Rainbow Dash right side, sitting next to the fire looking directly at her. She looked surprised but it was nothing compared to herself, Twilight went quickly around the fire up to Rainbow Dash and sat down next to her saying.
“Calm down... take a deep breath.”
Finally Rainbow Dash started to pull herself together and see the fact that she was indeed in safety.
She continued to not say anything but did pull of a relieved face while making a deep sigh towards the fire.

“What kind of trouble exactly did you pull yourself in to?”
Applejack asked caring without judging Rainbow Dash, Twilight immediately after Applejack's words reached a hoof to Rainbow Dash's neck and added lightly amazed while touching her Element of Harmony.
“And how in the name Celestia did you get this?”
Rainbow Dash looked down at her Element around her neck and also reached up a hoof to touch its small shaped red lightning. She then looked back up at Twilight and Applejack and really saw how they hungered for an answer. What was she going to say she wondered, the actually truth was that she didn't want to tell them anything she had been through. But at the same time as she looked down at her Element of Harmony she saw something else. Her whole body was clean from blood and her wounds had been taken care of with simply made bandage, most likely with help from Twilights magic.

“How... how did you wash me of?”
Rainbow Dash asked surprised in seeing her actually turquoise colour of hers, it felt like it was ages ago she did that.
“We took you to a lake not too far from her.”
Applejack answered and after that Twilight steeped in and added.
“We did that this morning... it's already closing in on sunset and... we have still not found a single trace of Pinkie Pie.”
Rainbow Dash felt how a tear forced itself to leave her eye and both Applejack and Twilight saw that, they followed her tear extremely surprised to run down to her chin and then fall off and disappear at the cave floor. Rainbow Dash struggled not to break out in more tears but she knew she had to tell them, they deserved that much.
“She... she's dead.”
Rainbow Dash simply said with grief while lowering her head, the mood in the cave suffered some substantial, Twilight and Applejack looked over at each other slowly but not to surprised, they had just kept the futile hopes for Pinkie Pie as Rainbow Dash had over Cloudsdale.
“How do know that?”
Applejack after a while in the silence asked, Rainbow Dash pulled in a quick sob and said.
“I... I just know.”

Another moment with nothing else than the fire to fill the empty air passed, Twilight must have made the largest sigh in her entire life and also got the most miserable face ever. Applejack went wobbly away from Twilight and Rainbow Dash and leaned towards the cave wall, she cried gently for herself but hid that from to be seen or heard. She then cleared her voice to cover up her cry and pretending it never happened and asked total wretched.
“What are we going to do now... how can we possibly do anything towards Queen Chrysalis when we barely can stay alive as it is?”
“We continue.”
Twilight simply said without hesitate, Rainbow Dash turned abruptly her head to her and added in a weak voice.
“Twilight?”
Applejack didn't turn around or move at all, only her ears got tensed up and sharp for the coming words from Twilight.
“We make our way to Ponyville tomorrow... and then... we see what happen.”
“Count me in.”
Rainbow Dash said a bit tired but still determined in her tone, Twilight looked over at her a bit shocked like she didn't expect at all Rainbow Dash to say what she did.

But how could Rainbow Dash not, she kept hearing her promise she yelled out across Everfree forest echoing in her head and setting her blood on fire.
“Applejack?”
Twilight then asked while looking at her together with Rainbow Dash.
“Don't be ridiculous!”
Applejack only said in a snort and quickly turned around, she looked at them a bit frustrated at first but calmed down and added.
“Like I wouldn't follow ye two to the end.”
A small but warming smile reached upon Twilight's and Rainbow Dash's faces and with that it was decided.
Nothing else to do than wait for the night to fully break out was left, the three of them crawled in together close to the fire but with a short distance between each other. The sun disappeared once more over the horizon, but regardless for Rainbow Dash that had been sleeping for most of the part, so was she still tired and couldn't wait to fall asleep. But even though it was night, she was tired, felt warm and safe so was it difficulty for her to feel relaxed.

She leered at Applejack discreet and felt her tongue tingling behind her teeth.
“Applejack?”
She awkwardly asked while looking in to the fire, Applejack turned her head and simply reply.
“Aye?”
Rainbow Dash stayed silence then for a while with her eyes still stuck to the fire and felt an incredible embarrassment embracing her.
Even Twilight looked more carefully and curious at Rainbow Dash across the flames by Rainbow Dash's acting.
Rainbow Dash herself even blushed when she accidentally caught up an eye contact with her through the fire and turned down her gaze even further. Rainbow Dash's eyes were now completely covered in shadows by her mane that fell over her forehead and she then swallowed and asked ashamed.
“Is it... is it okay if I can sleep next to you?”

Applejack pulled her eyebrows up in surprise by what Rainbow Dash just had asked for and also Twilight shaken her head tenderly by shock.
“I... I guess... if you want to.”
Applejack answered and the second after that, Rainbow Dash stood up with her head low so the shadow across her eyes still remained and then went over to Applejack.
Applejack thought that Rainbow Dash just was going to lay down next to her, but she didn’t expect her to do it so close as she did. Rainbow Dash literally pushed herself into Applejack and pulled in her legs like a little filly to its mother, she then adjusted her head and leaned it towards Applejack's shoulder with her mane like an airy pillow.

She tried not to look up at Applejack's face or over at Twilight because she knew they would have given her a strange face. They did also do that, both Applejack and Twilight was staring into each other’s eyes confused but shortly after that, Twilight also stood up and went over to her two friends. She did just like Rainbow Dash did but only differences was that Twilight did it to her, she crawled up next to Rainbow Dash and really squeezed Rainbow Dash between her and Applejack. Finally Rainbow Dash dared to look up and saw how both Twilight and Applejack smiled wide towards her. She blushed even more which of course amused Twilight and Applejack greatly, they were just not used to see Rainbow Dash like this, so soft and vulnerable so speak of. But even Rainbow Dash manage to get a little unsure smile on her face and after that, it didn't take long till all three of them was in a deep sleep.

The following morning was the first day in a long while with the sky almost completely clear from clouds and the sun actually warming the land with its beams. Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had got up early and had the plans to not linger to long before moving. They left the little cave and were just about to parry their way through the forest and hoped to reach the outskirts of Ponyville to the evening. But just before they was about to leave, Rainbow Dash stayed behind with a bit confused face which of course Twilight and Applejack saw and Twilight asked.
“Rainbow Dash... what is it?”
“Where’s my halberd?”
Rainbow Dash added and started to look around, but she didn't need any help in finding it because she turned her head to the right and saw then immediately how her halberd was standing against the mountain next to the cave.

“Come on Rainbow Dash... leave it... it will only slow you down.”
Applejack said but Rainbow Dash ignored her and went anyway up to it, she stopped right in front of it and whispered to herself.
“I have growth far too close to this thing.”
The halberd was still covered in blood and dirty from everything that it had been through, but Rainbow Dash could understand why Twilight and Applejack left it behind and didn't wash it of at the same time as they washed of her. She anyway grabbed it and went up to her friends and said with a neutral face while holding her weapon.
“I'm done now... let’s move.”
Both Twilight and Applejack gave away a not to pleasant facial expression while watching Rainbow Dash, after all, Rainbow Dash did hold in their eyes just a piece of silver, drowned in blood. But none the less they didn't say anything and just let her bring it with her and after that they finally started to move towards Ponyville. It actually wasn't too far of a walk to be honest, but thanks to that some troublesome terrain it did take more time. Twilight and Applejack went right next to each other and Rainbow Dash was just behind them with her halberd.

The three of them was at first completely quiet without a single words be utter, but Applejack couldn't resist in thinking what actually had happen Rainbow Dash while she was gone. Though Twilight herself nether could resist in think exactly like Applejack, so didn't she take that step in asking Rainbow Dash like Applejack did.
“Rainbow Dash... last night... you never told us what happen while you were gone... or what actually happened to Pinkie Pie.”
“Or were you got your Element of Harmony.”
Twilight added but she didn't really want to ask Rainbow Dash anything of what had happen, it felt to soon according to her, she wanted to give Dash more time. Rainbow Dash stayed quit but not because she didn't want to tell them anything, she just couldn't find any fitting words to use.
Twilight and Applejack went fast inpatient and leered back towards Rainbow Dash, but they didn't want to push her and in that didn't say anything more.

Rainbow Dash saw that and decided just to force words out of her mouth and keep her answer simple.
“I went to Cloudsdale.”
Twilight and Applejack looked discrete at each other and Applejack said.
“We thought so.”
“And how was its condition?”
Twilight added and before Rainbow Dash said anything, she sighed out with a heavy heart and lowered her head slightly.
“Empty... dark... cold... and dead.”
“We're so sorry to hear that.”
Twilight whispered out even though she kind of already knew the answer.
“You don't have to be sorry... we all have lost our homes... and friends... and I can understand that you want to know more of what actually happened to Pinkie Pie... but trust me... all you have to know it that she will not return... and that it was horrible. Rainbow Dash immediately added even more gloom than before but she wasn't the only one, Twilight and Applejack also got a depressed face and made their heads hang.

The three of them stayed quiet for a while but then, Applejack couldn't stand the silent and asked.
“What about your Element of Harmony then... how did you get your hoofs on that?”
Twilight and Applejack waited for an answer but didn't get any, they gave Rainbow Dash time but she took an awfully long one to find words to use. It even took such long time that Applejack turned her head back and asked.
“Rainbow Dash?”
But when Applejack got a good view behind her, she stopped surprised in that Rainbow Dash was gone.
“Dash?”
She silently said which got Twilight as well to stop and turn around just as confused as Applejack.
They begin with spinning around wildly, trying to find Rainbow Dash but it wasn't any question about it, she was really gone. Automatic without a single word, Twilight and Applejack split up and went in to two difference ways to search Rainbow Dash. But they stayed close to each other and always in line of sight of the other one.

Applejack held her head high towards the trees and Twilight held low towards the ground, she walked some steps back from where they had come from and while doing so she thought she heard something in some bushes next to her. Twilight locked her head in a blink towards those bushes and think she saw some movement in them as well. Unsure she turned her head to Applejack behind her, just to make sure she wasn't alone and when she saw Applejack holding her gaze up to the treetops she turned her head back to the bushes.
The sound that came from the thick leafs and branches the bush was made of was rather quiet like it was from a little mouse. Regardless of Twilight feeling her heart being a bit jumpy and unease, she swallowed her worriers and went towards the bush anyway.
The weak sound was still existing and the small movement as well and she then asked carefully.
“D-Dash... is that you?”

Applejack however a bit further away didn't feel as concerned as Twilight did at all, she jumped up on one of the trees with her front hoofs and asked up towards the top of it a bit frustrated.
“Dash... I know you here somewhere... stop playing games and show yourself... you’re just making us jumpy.”
No answer did she get and just sighed out annoyed down between her front legs, she then raised her head and looked all around the dead silence forest and added for herself.
“Were in the name could she have gone?”
Applejack jumped down from the tree and started to walk up north to the way the three of them was heading from the beginning, she still kept her head high but then all the suddenly, she heard a quick scream coming from Twilight.

Like a lightning hitting the ground, Applejack turned around just as fast and saw that further away from her how Twilight was laying on the ground with a Changeling over her.
“Twilight.”
Applejack said to herself and the second after that running in full speed towards them.
The Changeling hadn't hurt her yet but that was because it didn't need to, Twilight was so terrifying that she was paralysed in to every limb and literally couldn't move.
“Twilight!”
Applejack shouted with a tough face when she got closer, she planned in to ram the Changeling of Twilight but in her yell, the Changeling saw her and immediately took an action. It reached down its head to Twilight's throat and open it jaws and placed her neck inside its mouth. Twilight screamed absolutely in fear and horror like it was tearing her body apart and open, but it actually only did that to stop Applejack.
“NOOO!”
Applejack loudly screamed out and made her four legs work as fast as just they could and that Applejack felt how her chest started to hurt from her front legs rough movement.

“No stop Applejack!”
Twilight then shouted out and made Applejack extremely confused but she did stopped, barely.
“It's... it's talking to me!”
Twilight said while whimpering with tears in her eyes and the Changeling actually spoke to her telepathic. She could hear it foul words in her head and it wasn't either any kind words it used.
It called her things, grotesque things and that it was going to feast on her organs if she didn't do as it told her to. Twilight's throat got quickly drowned in disgusting slimy saliva from the Changeling and its caustic smell reached her nostrils all the way from her neck.
The Changeling held Twilight pinned down and right were it wanted to, it could easily close its jaws hard and kill Twilight in mater of second. Twilight held her eyes closed and tried not to sob even if it was impossible, she felt the Changeling's two enormous fangs being placed and lightly pushed just on top of her carotid with the rest of its teeth surrounding. Applejack was total frozen, she couldn't do a thing other than watch Twilight and the Changeling and it also seemed like Twilight and the Changeling held some sort of conversation.

The Changeling stayed in its position and looked passed Twilight's wet face of tears with a rather calm face, immediately after that Twilight started to twitch like her skin crawled infinity and exclaim.
“No... no... you're lying!”
After Twilight's words she screamed out with more tears leaving her eyes, the Changeling pushed its fangs harder into Twilights throat, it appeared not to have liked what she said but neither did Applejack in how it treated her.
“You stay away from her!”
She screamed furious which got the Changeling's blue eyes to change over to Applejack and look ill-tempered at her. It stared for a while at Applejack but drove its eyes once more over to Twilight, though Applejack couldn't hear if the Changeling actually was taking to Twilight so could she fell inside how it did.
“No... I won't do it!”
Twilight yelled out fully crying now and the Changeling definitely didn't like that answer, it both bit her so it scratched painfully on her skin with its teeth and also placed a hoof on top of her chest and added weight on that leg.

Twilight felt how she barely could breath and how her ribs got bend towards her insides and pushing distressful on her organs. A long painful scream Twilight made in to the air, totally breaking her apart in weeping and the Changeling didn't seem to have any hurry to let her scream to die out.
“Stop... I do whatever you want to!”
Applejack then said in panic and wanted to stop the pain for Twilight to any cost.
“No Applejack... it wants you to surrender!”
Twilight then said with finally opening her eye in a long time which was currently completely red and pouring with tears. The Changeling stepped of Twilight's chest and study carefully both Twilight and Applejack but mostly at Applejack, it was curious on what she was going to say next.
Applejack looked back at it frightened but only because she was fearing for Twilight.
“I-I do it... just stop torturing her!”
She then said when she saw how the Changeling gave away an inpatient glance in its eye and how it any second again would hurt Twilight even more. The Changeling smiled evilly and while it did that Twilight once more exclaimed.
“Don't do it... for some reason it want me alive... it's just going to kill you when it can!”

This time the Changeling didn't do anything to Twilight, it just kept its eyes on Applejack and figured that she regardless of what Twilight just said would submit anyway, and it was right.
Applejack slowly laid down on the ground and pulled in her legs like a small filly, the Changeling was far over satisfied of what it saw and placed then both its front hoof on Twilight's chest.
It was standing so it didn't hurt her but enough for having her fate in its own hoofs, it then pulled away its enormous gape from Twilight's neck and straighten its body. It watched Applejack and Applejack it, the Changeling once more smiled mysterious but evil and giggled for itself with something that sounded like two voices that was of sync from each other. The Changeling looked amused but its amusement went rather unexpectedly short, because from absolute nowhere, Rainbow Dash jumped out of the thick forest surrounding them in every direction. She wielded her halberd as always and held her head high and prepared to give away a strike from her bloody weapon.

She was swinging it down with its axe blade first, hitting the Changeling right in its back and breaking through its thick bug shell and completely destroying its wings. The sound of the impact was a loud cracking that even felt painful just to hear, but the Changeling of course was the one suffering, it literally had its whole back exploded in blood. It roared out its pain to the sky in an ear-splitting sharp tone and while it was too busy dealing with the pain, Rainbow Dash twisted her halberd and broke completely of one side of its bug shell. The Changeling at this point wasn't a threat, at least not for Rainbow Dash and while its scream just continued to cleave through everypony's ear, Rainbow Dash then tackled it of Twilight. In a quick jump Rainbow Dash went over Twilight that immediately started to crawl away as fast as she could after she got free from the Changelings grasp. She headed towards Applejack in pure panic while Rainbow Dash finished her business and it was definitely not going to be clean.

The Changeling was currently laying on its side a short distance from where Rainbow Dash pushed it of Twilight and it was kicking wildly with all its legs in pain. Rainbow Dash moved quickly towards it and without any kind of delay, she drove the spear of the halberd in to its belly that was visibly. She then in a quick movement ripped up its whole chest in a clumsy small roar and backed up as its all inner organs got spilled out on the ground. The Changeling lost all its sign of life in matter of seconds and was now laying there, silent and still just as anyone would have done if they were dead. Its bloody pale intestines flowed out on the blood, together with other things that wasn't to attractive to watch. Twilight and Applejack that was a bit further away stayed down on the ground, holding each other firmly and only watched paled as ghost at Rainbow Dash. Luckily for them they didn't need to see too much of the butchering, because the Changeling had its back towards them and in that hiding its belly. Rainbow Dash however saw everything and she really wished she never had stared at the mess so long as she did.

She wanted to throw up but avoided to do so, she instead sharpen her ears and looked up to the sky and said stressed.
“More of them are coming... I can hear them... we need to move!”
Applejack and heavily breathing Twilight tried also to listens to their surrounding but they couldn't hear a thing that wasn't the leafs in the trees rustle by the wind.
“I don't hear anything.”
Applejack said which in the same second got Rainbow Dash to turn her head quickly back after hearing more.
“Their wings... I can hear them in the distance... follow me!”
Rainbow Dash said and hurried to jump over the dead Changeling and help Twilight up on her hoofs. She was shivering like she was cold and her face was still filled with sadness from when the Changeling had its way with her.
“Are you okay... I carry you on my back if I have to?”
Rainbow Dash asked Twilight but Twilight was only shaking her head while sobbing lightly in that she was fine.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack made sure to take good care of Twilight, they even leered at each other discreet to make sure that both of them was willing to do anything for Twilight.
With not too much time wasting than helping Twilight back to get a grip on her focus, they then immediately started to run towards Ponyville. Rainbow Dash was this time in the lead and Twilight and Applejack right behind her and following her every step. They trusted her and Rainbow Dash also tried to do sharp and unexpected turns through the forest to make them a harder target to find.
Sometimes even Twilight and Applejack had problems to keep up with her but if it was one thing Rainbow Dash made sure to do, so was it not to leave anyone behind. Their running however took without knowing a stop in that Rainbow Dash braked in hard and stood absolutely still.
“W-why are we stopping?”
Twilight asked and with the body of a statue and with a whispering voice Rainbow Dash simply replied.
“We're surrounded.”
“What... we're alone... how could we possible be surrounded?!”
Applejack said denying despite believing Rainbow Dash fully out.
“They are coming from every direction... they’re soon here... and... and I don't know what to do!”
Rainbow Dash said with heavy anxiety words and throwing her head to every direction for an escape.

She however didn't find any and she also could hear how the Changelings rustles wings got closer.
“Quick... hide in a bush!”
Twilight said whispering loudly and without any one defying her, all three of them dived right in to the closest bush. They crawled to its centre and kept close to each other, Rainbow Dash had some trouble fitting with her halberd but she did manage to get it in too and hide it at the bottom.
Not long after that the Changelings came from every direction and created a big group of them just were Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Applejack had been standing. They looked at each other with silence and for some reason Twilight's head started to twitch while the three of them watched the Changelings through a small gape of the bush.
“T-they are talking... I... I can hear what they are saying... barely.”
Twilight whispered out and without delay Applejack added with some curiosity in a same whispering voice.
“What are they saying?”

Twilight nodded carefully and target the Changelings with her eyes, she stared at them deeply and concentrated like she was in some sort of trance and soon words started to exit her mouth which was what one of the Changeling was saying.
“They are not far from here... search for them... and remember... don't hurt the purple one... to much that is... our queen wishes for her at a consciousness level.”
All of the Changelings nodded except one and then all of them spread out over the area.
They searched high and low and the situation didn't look good, they were many and slowly but carefully worked their way over to the bush were Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Applejack was hiding in.
“They are going to find us!”
Applejack frightened said and looked at Twilight which in the same second added just as scared and still a bit shaken from the encountering with the Changeling.
“I-I don't know what to do!”

Both Applejack and Twilight then looked over at Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Dash clearly saw how they putted all hope on her and Rainbow Dash just couldn't understand why.
“Dash?”
Twilight asked with a dreaded facial expression, hoping for that Rainbow Dash had some sort of plan. Rainbow Dash just stared shocked at Twilight and soon also on Applejack, Applejack also like Twilight hopped for the best from Rainbow Dash. They left everything on Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Dash just wanted to cry by the extremely heavy burden she got on her shoulder.
She looked at her friends, caring more for them than herself, she also looked at the Changelings from the bush and saw how time was thinning out.
She bit her tongue inside her mouth and felt the pressure overwhelming her, breaking her mind.
”I...”
Rainbow Dash said and in that single word, both Twilight's and Applejack's eyes got bigger and they even leaned forward to Rainbow Dash extremely inpatient for her to continue. Rainbow Dash once more wanted to cry by the feeling of them putting their lives in her hoofs. She looked quickly down to cover her sadness and fear in her own eyes but made it short when she felt how she of them all needed to be the strongest one.

“I... have a plan.”
She then said and Twilight and Applejack went completely still like two frozen statues in Rainbow Dash's words, they didn't say anything, they didn't move a muscle and carefully focus on Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash then in a sigh, smiled some while looking at them and then saying.
“I'm sorry.”
Twilight and Applejack didn't understand but they soon unfortunate they would, because in the next moment, Rainbow Dash exited the bush together with her halberd and yelled to all the Changelings with cocky face.
“You looking for a battle... you found one!”
All of the Changelings turned their head to Rainbow Dash and just watched her surprised, Twilight and Applejack almost got their hearts exploded in what she did and Twilight from the bush whispers immediately to her.
“What are you doing... you're insane!”
Rainbow Dash leered at both of them in the bush and said also in a whispering voice so the Changelings couldn't hear her.
“Look... I can lure them away... it's more important that you two make it.”

“Why!?”
Twilight added almost too loud for her and Applejack's own good, Rainbow Dash noted after that how all the Changelings started to move carefully like predators towards her and she quickly whisper out again.
“Don't you understand Twilight... you're the only one who can do anything towards Queen Chrysalis... you was after all Princess Celestia's student and your magic maybe is the only thing that can do something.”
“No... don’t do this.”
Twilight added while shaking her head hopelessly.
“I left my Element of Harmony in the bush... take it... and do whatever you must with it.”
Rainbow Dash said and in that, Twilight and Applejack looked down and there they saw Rainbow Dash element. Total destroyed and lost to mind Twilight touched it and then looked back up at Rainbow Dash.
“You're wrong.”
Twilight said with tears leaving her eyes but it was just the beginning for her.

“No... she's not.”
Applejack all the sudden said and also exited the bush next to Rainbow Dash and yelled to the Changelings insulting.
“What are you waiting for y’all barn-yard skunk-sprayed beetle-headed coxcombs?!”
Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash didn't expect Applejack to do what she just did and Rainbow Dash even said to her not to happy but still quietly.
“What are you doing?!”
“Rainbow Dash is right Twilight... out of all us three... you're the most important on.”
Applejack added and Twilight didn't approve on one single thing she hear.
“Don't do this to me... don't leave me alone!”
She said and while there was still some time, Rainbow Dash whispered out with two angry eyes on Applejack.
“I don't need you help!”
“Yes you do... just look at them all... there is at least a dozen of them.”
Applejack said and it was now also things started to heat up, the Changelings looked inpatient and some of them even hissed aggressively towards them.

“No... no!”
Twilight started to repeatedly say and wanted to cry fully out, Rainbow Dash saw how the time went to an end in standing still and she in a sigh said.
“Listen Twilight... stay were you are till you're alone and then make your way to Ponyville as fast as you can and then... finish this... we trust you.”
In the next second all the Changelings roared loudly and openly ran towards Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
“Run!”
Rainbow Dash screamed and in a flexible movement both Applejack and Rainbow Dash turned around and ran away from the bush Twilight was in. The last thing they saw Twilight do was to lower her head and disappear in bush and then they only had to make sure all of the Changelings was after them.
“It worked!”
Applejack said after a while to Rainbow Dash who was running next to her and saw how not a single Changeling stayed behind, they all was after them.

“Good... but we still need them further away from Twilight but... why did you follow me... I can handle myself!”
Rainbow Dash expressed furiously to Applejack but she only smiled with a tough face and added.
“You wouldn’t survive a second against all of them... you thing only because you have a weapon you're unstoppably?”
“Who said anything about surviving... and trust me when I say I know how to handle a Changeling!”
“Why are we even fighting in a moment like this?!”
Applejack then finally broke the dilemma on their conversation and started to breathe heavily from the running.
“I... I don't know... just continue to...”
Rainbow Dash started to say but her sentence got a quicker end then she thought.
While Rainbow Dash and Applejack was running they didn't spend as much attention to where they was heading as they should have, because after a thick wall of bushes and other plants and small trees the forest just ended in a extremely steep dirt ramp.

Both of Rainbow Dash and Applejack fell forward and rolled right next to each other, they didn’t have a clue of what was happening in their surrounding but soon it took stop for them. They landed on a small dirt cliff with dust delirious all around them and they could hear regardless of being dizzy and somewhat lost in their minds how the Changelings were getting closer.
“App... Applejack... are you okay?”
Rainbow Dash said stressed while trying to get a grip of reality.
“Yeah... maybe... I think so.”
She reply while trying like Rainbow Dash to stand up, in a short moment both of them was standing wobbly and started to cough by the dust in the air. When their throats then was clear from the dusty powder and everything had been fallen back to the ground, Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked up to where they had fallen from.
“The Changelings are here any second... what are we going to do?!”
Applejack said and Rainbow Dash immediately threw her head to look around her for a option of action.

The cliff they were on was rather big but it was a dead end everywhere, at the cliffs end another just as steep ramp of dirt led to a thick part of the forest. Rainbow Dash saw her halberd in front of her hoofs and without hesitate she grabbed it and said clumsy while playing with her tongue around the halberds rod.
“We make our last stand here!”
Applejack looked concerned at Rainbow Dash but she didn't say anything against Rainbow Dash words, she just did as Rainbow Dash and looked up to the top of the dirt ramp. In just matter of seconds later, the group of Changelings appeared from the forest but they didn't do any better at the abrupt downfall as Applejack and Rainbow Dash then what they did. Like a bunch of boulders rolling, the Changelings closed in on the platform were Rainbow Dash and Applejack stood and there Rainbow Dash saw an opportunity to do some damage. She rushed up the dirt ramp towards the Changelings but Applejack stayed behind and didn't know what to do. When Rainbow Dash then later encountered the Changeling, she manage to slit up half of the head of one Changeling with the hook on the halberd but at the same time lose her grip in all the small stones and fall back with them.

In an explosion of body’s, the Changeling group got scattered all over the cliff and some even fell off and continued to roll even further. The dust cloud around them once more made an appearance but this time more dense then before, the remaining Changelings on the cliff was now in the stadium that Applejack and Rainbow Dash was in and took themselves a couple of second to get up. But before they had time, Rainbow Dash struck down another one with her halberd with a carefully swing that landed in its neck. She almost got its head to come off as she cut through its thick and hard skin to the flesh and making its open throat to a fountain of blood. But Rainbow Dash wasn't the only one doing things, when Applejack finally could see pass the powder smoke in the air she notice how a dizzy Changeling was on the ground right in front of her and with its back turned to her. It was slowly standing up but before it had time to do so, Applejack turned quickly around and launched her hind legs right in the back of its head.

Applejack had some serious strength in her legs but the fact if she killed the Changeling or just putted it out for the moment was unsure, regardless it fell to the ground with its whole body relaxed. The Changelings that now had landed on the cliff and was still alive, started to get a better approach of the situation as all of them now stood up and had Rainbow Dash and Applejack surrounded. Rainbow Dash and Applejack was touching butts and had half of the view of the platform for them self. They were both breathing so heavily that they barely could talk but Rainbow Dash actually manage to get an idea and said.
“You thinking what I think?”
Applejack took some extra breath before answering but her voice was steady and clear.
“Covering the other ones way... just give me the signal.”
It was a total of seven Changelings remaining and still standing. They tried to spread out but the cliff was rather thin but long so they had only one direction to attack Rainbow Dash and Applejack from and that was head on. While thinking that the tiredness that Rainbow Dash and Applejack was in to a advantage, one of the Changelings from Rainbow Dash's way rushed towards her with two others behind him.

Rainbow Dash didn't react to much, she just stood still with her muscles tense and when the Changeling in the front was close enough, she yelled and jumped a step to the side.
“Applejack!”
Without looking Applejack once more launched her hind legs and by that the Changeling that went for Rainbow Dash missed her, it got hit by Applejack's brutal kick. It flew back and hit its two friends, taking them all down to the ground for the moment, but at the same time one of the Changelings from Applejack's way did the same thing and they dealt with it the same way.
“Dash!”
Applejack shouted and Rainbow Dash immediately after.
“Dodge!”
Applejack cast herself down on the ground and Rainbow Dash swing her halberd back in a wide motion.
She hit the Changeling in its lower jaw, breaking in it in half and with to power that followed, she managed to throw it of the cliff. Before Rainbow Dash had time to recover from her attack backwards, two of the Changelings that just a moment ago was on the ground with a third one, jumped up in the air with a few flaps with their wing and then they landed grossly on Rainbow Dash's back.

She dropped her halberd and started to jump and just make it as difficult as possibly for them to stay on her. They were persistent to get off but at the same time they couldn't do anything to hurt her, Applejack of course saw this and in a quick moment of planning she for the third time kicked with her hind legs and managed to get of one from Rainbow Dash. But now Applejack was total open and vulnerable and the Changelings took that to their advantage. Two of them jumped on Applejack, pulling her of the cliff together with themselves.
“Applejack!”
Rainbow Dash screamed in fear as she saw them disappear rolling down the second dirt ramp.
The Changeling on Rainbow Dash just didn't want to get of her no matter how much she moved or jump.

There were three more Changelings in Rainbow Dash's present but they all for a brief moment went up to the cliffs edge and looked down to see what happen to the others. Rainbow Dash thought they were going after Applejack so she felt the adrenalin hit her body in a second, igniting her anger at the same time.
“I had enough of you!”
She screamed to the Changeling on her back and turned her head back as far as she just could while making small and annoying jumps for the Changeling. Just by pure luck she reached to the Changelings neck and bit firmly it right on the throat. She then pulled it off and held it down on the ground. It was struggling and Rainbow Dash had to change that fast and she knew what she had to do. She stepped over the Changeling, placing it under her and then, she sunk her teeth in to it.

Its skin was rough but she managed to penetrate it and then warm blood taste spread through her mouth. Like a dog she started to shake the Changeling like a toy and thanks to her solid grip of its throat, she pulled of a major part of its front side, seeing how that was enough for making it bleed to death in time. Rainbow Dash immediately pitted out that bloody flesh piece she had ripped off and stared for a half second on the Changeling. Its pain was easily spotted and how it reached up to its neck with its front hoof which immediately got drowned in blood. It looked surprised and even scared at Rainbow Dash while dying and without the slightest sympathy for its life Rainbow Dash yelled with pure hate towards it.
“That was for Rarity!”

The last three Changelings at the edge of the cliff turned around in Rainbow Dash scream but more than that they didn't have time to do, because Rainbow Dash grabbed her halberd in a wink and threw herself at them. With help of the rod on her halberd she managed to pull all three with her and she was now on her way down the ramp uncontrollable just like Applejack a moment ago. Before hitting the bottom it was a lot of other things Rainbow Dash bumped into, some were the Changelings she was travelling with and some was bigger rocks on the ramp. When they reached the thick forest at the bottom it was still surprising enough far to the real bottom. The just passed a ceiling of leafs and branches, both thick and thin. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and felt how weak branches snatched all around her together with the Changelings but she also unfortunate hit a fully grow branch that didn't budge the slightest by her body.

She got it right in her stomach and felt how her ribs took the blow, she almost passed out or she maybe even did it for a couple of seconds for the last thing she remember was that it was completely quiet and how something warm was in front of her. Her eyes was closed but when she tried to move she felt something extremely painful stinging in her chest. She open her eyes and saw right in front of her how the Changeling that she had broken its lower jaw earlier basically was leaning towards her chest.
Rainbow Dash got scared out of her mind and fell backwards, feeling that stinging pain in her chest again. She landed on the ground and saw then how the Changeling was dead by a wooden stake that had penetrated it skull and how the edge of the stake came through its mouth. It was also the tip of that stake that had curved in to Rainbow Dash's own flesh but thanks to the Changelings body that had stopped her body to go further, her wound wasn't all that deep. Rainbow Dash tried to gather herself from what she just had seen and looked around her.

Her surrounding was a nightmare, there were some trees but not many, the main thing that was growing here wasn't either bushes or other plants, it was these strange locking wooden stakes that came from the ground. They looked like giant stings on a rose and they were exactly everywhere, it was a minefield of them. The worst part of it was that the whole area was scattered with Changelings body, Rainbow Dash could at least see four other Changelings that had suffer the same fate as the one with the broken jaw. They were dead every single one and it wasn’t a pleasant sight, one for example had three stakes driven in to its body and was hanging in the air. Blood was pouring from every entrance of the stakes in to it and the ground quickly took its red colour, the ground also was completely made of dried dirt and maybe even some sand, it looked strange and it was filled with dried cracks, making it hard and were the stakes was growing out from. Rainbow Dash stood up and in panic she looked around while screaming.
“Applejack... Applejack... can you hear me?!”

Rainbow Dash stayed quiet and she actually heard a short distance from her in a weak voice.
“I'm here!”
Rainbow Dash locked her head to the direction as the voice she heard came from and started to run immediately towards there. A couple of trees she had to zigzag through that were in the way and parry her way through numerous of these strange stake-plants. She knew she was getting close and leaped over an old fallen tree that blocked her path. When Rainbow Dash landed on the ground again the first thing she saw was another two dead Changelings, pierced on the stakes and next to them, Applejack, but she hadn't been as lucky as Rainbow Dash had. She had in her side under her left front leg, a stake driven in to her and that went through her and exited from her back.
Rainbow Dash couldn't run or utter words for a second, she just calmly walked up to Applejack shaking and then finally say simply.
“No... no.”

Applejack was laying on her side, breathing irregular and making strange noises every time.
The stake she had gotten in her was smaller than the others and she most likely must’ve snatched it on impact. Rainbow Dash carefully lay down next to Applejack, looking deeply at her and slowly express.
“Applejack?”
Applejack was breathing with her mouth wide open but slow and with her eyes closed, like she needed to concentrate in just keeping her lungs working. She didn't say anything, she just opened her eyes and leered tired at Rainbow Dash.
“I don't know how we did it... but... we did... they are all dead.”
Rainbow Dash said trying her hardest not to cry, Applejack however just smiled and added hoarse and weak.
“Would... you have been able to do this alone?”
“N-no!”
Rainbow Dash answered sobbing and was on the edge of breaking out in full crying.
Applejack just watched Rainbow Dash and continued to smile lightly.

She then all the suddenly started to cough up blood which scared Rainbow Dash so much that she forget to breath in the gaps of her sobbing. She quickly helped Applejack up but not too far, the pain the stake gave her pulsated extremely in every movement she did and made her moan in grief. Applejack cough up even more blood but this time with not as much problem, Rainbow Dash got some on her but she didn't care, she instead in panic and stress said.
“A-Applejack... the... the stake... we need to take it out of you or... or you will die!”
“No.”
Applejack just simply said which made Rainbow Dash furious and yelled.
“How can you say that... you won't survive otherwise!”
Tears leaped down Rainbow Dash's face like a waterfall but she manages to keep in her whimpering, Applejack just looked up on Rainbow Dash with a shining glance in her eye and said calm.
“Who said anything about surviving... you remember?”
“No... don't do this to me!”
Rainbow Dash said and finally let her crying out while lowering her head.

Applejack immediately steered back up Rainbow Dash's red eyes of tears and created an eye contact with her and said.
“I wouldn't survive anyway sweetheart... at least one of us did... that's more than expected... right?”
Rainbow Dash reluctant nodded carefully but she stilled thought it was wrong.
“It's not fair... why had you to and not me?!”
Rainbow Dash confused asked and Applejack just started to shake her head, losing her smile while saying.
“Life is not fair.”
Rainbow Dash shoved her head in to Applejack's mane and started to cry even louder and Applejack just let her to do so.
“Come on now... where’s that tough... and fearless Dash I know?”
Applejack said with her smile back on her mouth and small amount of blood dripping in their corners.
“I don't want to be tough... I don't want to be fearless... I just... don't want to see you guys disappear from me... I want this to end!”
Rainbow Dash screamed in to Applejack's mane, Applejack started to feel how her strength failed her and how she wanted to sleep, she knew what was awaiting her.

“Quick... you must go to Twilight... she needs your help more than ever.”
Applejack said and Rainbow Dash could hear Applejack's voice failing her.
“How about you then... I can't just leave you here!”
Rainbow Dash said breathing heavily and with her whole body twitching like needles were pushing in to every single nerve of her body, Applejack just laid down back on the ground and sighed before saying.
“Don't worry about me... I think... I'm just going to take a short nap... right here... maybe dreaming about the barn... the apple seasons... you and Twilight.”
Applejack closed her eyes and made a relieved face despite the ground being relative hard. She looked so peaceful Rainbow Dash thought, even Rainbow Dash couldn't resist to get a little smile while crying.

“I'm sorry... I'm so sorry for everything I done and said to you in the past... for picking that fight in the cave... and everything else.”
Rainbow Dash said and Applejack without looking, only giggled some and Rainbow Dash continued after that.
“Leave this to me and Twilight... we won't fail... I promise... I will protect her to the end... no matter what fate I must endure.”
Applejack gasped slowly and took some calm breath between that and before adding quietly in a whisper.
“I have no doubt in you two... I trust you for the whole Equestria and so should everypony else do too.”
Applejack after those words went quiet and didn't say anything more, she did have some small movement on her chest by her breathing but Rainbow Dash knew that wouldn't last long. She started to cry again loudly, almost screaming and she stayed with Applejack at her side while placing a hoof on her and wait till she was completely gone.

A couple of hours later towards the sunset, Rainbow Dash had managed to drag her body and her halberd all the way to Ponyville through the forest. She stopped at the end of Everfree Forest and behold its downfall, it was literally standing in ruins but without delay, Rainbow Dash started to move towards Twilight's house, it was the only place she could imaging finding her at.
Even Twilight's house didn't look to well, the tree it was made of looked like it was about to fall, placing the thing slightly on its side. A big chunk of the treetop was also missing but the actually roof looked solid an intact.

Rainbow Dash entered the house, immediately seeing how the floor was far from straight, it leaned to the right and everything was in a mess. Dozens of books were laying on the floor and in the corners were the house was tipping to. Rainbow Dash closed the door behind her and didn't realise till then how dark it actually was. Only small amounts of light came through the windows but it was sunset now and when the darkest hours was about to arrive it would be total pitch black Rainbow Dash could guess.
“Twilight... are you here?!”
Rainbow Dash yelled but didn't hear a thing responding to her.
“Twilight!?”
She repeated and the second after that she actually heard a voice coming from upstairs.
“Dash?!”
Rainbow Dash looked up at the top of the stairs and heard how somepony was running towards her, in just matter of seconds Twilight then stopped at the top, staring down at her in the darkness only seeing shadows of Rainbow Dash.
“DASH!”
She yelled and skipped the stairs and only jumped down from them on the side, she then sprinted to Rainbow Dash and landed in a solid hug with her.

“Oh Dash... I thought I never would see you again!”
Twilight was overwhelming with joy and happiness in seeing Rainbow Dash but Rainbow Dash herself didn't feel the same like Twilight, but Dash was indeed happy to see that Twilight had managed to get to Ponyville safe. Rainbow Dash hugged back Twilight but soon Twilight would notice something was missing, or in fact somepony. Twilight looked over Rainbow Dash shoulder and saw how she had closed the door behind her, Twilight lost her smile and asked without thinking the whole thing through.
“Where’s Applejack?”
Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight but didn't say anything, she just started to shake her head in regret and that was enough for Twilight to understand. She immediately started to cry and Rainbow Dash embraced her as she almost fell to the floor. No more words was going to be shared for some time now forward, Twilight was in that state Rainbow Dash was in before, were she just had to realise her sorrow. But that didn't mean that Rainbow Dash stayed silent, she also started to cry, she tried not to but found no reason to hold it in and together with Twilight they shared tears in the darkness.

Later that night when both of them had calm themselves down, Twilight's whole house or what's was left of it, had a thin gloomy atmosphere to it and Rainbow Dash was actually sitting at the frame of a window on the second floor. Thanks for the house tipping, it made that window Rainbow Dash was at to be facing a strange angle up and the view it had, was nothing else than Canterlot itself in the distance. She stared empty up at it as darkness was falling and consuming everything and after a while, Twilight joined her. She sat next to her but didn't say a word, she still could get weak sobs to struck her throat but nothing major. For a long time they just stared at nothing else then the sadness of what was left of Ponyville, but there was one thing Rainbow Dash couldn't stop in thinking at, something that couldn't be ignore. She looked over at Twilight and knew very well that she was very wise and decided in that to ask when she knew the answer she would get was going to be the truth and nothing made up.
“Twilight... I must ask you something.”

Twilight looked to her left at Rainbow Dash and waited patiently at the question, Rainbow Dash swallowed before she said anything and when she did she had to look to a different direction.
“Tell me the truth... do you really think we have a chance against Queen Chrysalis and all of her Changelings?”
Even Twilight looked away after the question was finished and she sighed out heavily.
It took some time for her to answer but she did in time.
“I... I don't know to be honest.”
Rainbow Dash felt how everything was hopeless but before she fell in an infinite hole of depression, Twilight added.
“But I do know that... it's not completely impossible... it's only... very few gaps of failure that is allowed to happen.”
“Can you promise me one thing Twilight?”
Rainbow Dash asked while this time looking straight at her, Twilight also looked over to Rainbow Dash and asked simply.
“It depends... but shoot.”
Rainbow Dash for some reason started to breathe slightly heavier and she felt how her body became warmer, she didn't want to say this but decided to do it anyway and she held a most serious voice and facial expression while doing it.
“If one of us are going to die in the future... please... make sure it's me.”

“Rainbow Dash!”
Twilight exclaimed and jumped abruptly in to the house from the window frame, she was far from happy by Rainbow Dash's request and shouted at her.
“How can you say something like that!”
Rainbow Dash tried to make herself smaller and said with shame in her voice.
“I... I just don't think I could manage to go own if I was alone.”
Twilight calmed herself down, seeing what Rainbow Dash meant and said in a sigh.
“A lot have happened today... we both need some rest... luckily my bed is still intact... maybe at a strange angle but... would you care to join me?”
“In a moment... just give me a minute or two... I close the window after me.”
Twilight tried to smile but found it hard, she then just nodded to herself and went away to her bed further inside the house. Rainbow Dash felt a unbearable headache pounding the inside of her skull and she really was looking forward to sleep in a warm bed at a familiar place and also with somepony she cared for. They should be safe here she thought for herself as long as they were discreet, but with no more thoughts she also jumped down from the window frame, close the window and made her way to Twilight.

Chapter 5: Twilight's Heavy Words

Chapter 5: Twilight's Heavy Words

The leaning bed was a strange feeling to sleep in, but the fact that it was impossible to sleep away from each other and instead literally on top of each other felt even more awkward. It wasn’t uncomfortable or so, it was the exactly opposite, the bed was soft and wide and its thick dark blue cover rapped around them kept them warm. Rainbow Dash was laying on top of Twilight, having her head over her shoulder and resting right next to Twilight’s, which she had a peaceful look on to and resting on her giant white pillow. Twilight’s warm back was against Rainbow Dash’s chest and sometimes when Rainbow Dash moved, Twilight’s mane tickled her neck. It was dark in the whole house and a layer of coldness was flouting in every room that came from the outside through damaged areas on the tree. The sky outside didn’t have a single cloud on it and the moon shined bright together with stars over what was left of Ponyville.

A medium thick fog was slowly passing by the town which came from Everfree Forest. Rainbow Dash waked up by a chill running down her spin and that continued through her legs. She looked tiredly outside the window, seeing the grey fog outside and above it the moon in the clear black sky. Carefully she turned her head back to the rest of the house, seeing that everything stood in shadows. It was really quiet but regardless of that so could Rainbow Dash hear strange noises that were similar to whispers. It wasn’t disturbing she thought though, she could feel that it was caused by the fog outside and that it was the mist that made these sounds while slowly flouting around. She looked down at Twilight that was sleeping deeply and smiled in her tiredness when she saw that Twilight was dreaming something. It couldn’t be a nightmare Rainbow Dash knew, Twilight was to calm and only twitched in small movements time to time. Rainbow Dash lay back down onto Twilight, placing her mouth next to her ear and whispered extremely slow and quiet.
“Twilight… are you sleeping?”

Not a single reaction did she get from Twilight and at the same time she got her answer.
Rainbow Dash then gasped and went back to sleep to pass over to the morning and when the morning arrived, a grey and timeless day stood upon them. The sky was once again filled with clouds but this time they were grey and depressing and not dark as ash. It wasn’t much better but at least it was something new for once, the fog from the night was still flouting outside and this time, more dense and thick then what Rainbow Dash saw under the night. Rainbow Dash stayed in bed on Twilight and just turned her head to the window and stared out. She let a little sigh pass through her jaws as she thought it looked like they were floating on clouds when it wasn’t much else to see out the window then the mist. It was like she was in her own little cloud house.

“Are you awake Dash?”
Twilight then all the suddenly asked rather silent so she wouldn’t have waked up Rainbow Dash if it now was so she was sleeping.
“Yes… I just woke up.”
Rainbow Dash reply just as quiet with another light sigh and later after have made a couple of breaths she asked.
“You then… how long have you been awake?”
“Quite some time actually… but I didn’t want to disturb you so I stayed in bed.”
Twilight said and Rainbow Dash was just about to get of the bed while saying.
“You didn't need to do that for me... here I move.”
“No stay... please.”
Twilight then added immediately which surprised Rainbow Dash but she did do like Twilight said and slowly laid back down again on her.

Both of them were quiet for some time without a single word being uttered, but Twilight then said with heavy words.
“I... don’t know why I have realized this so late but... it's only you and me left.... have you thought about that?”
Rainbow Dash didn't say anything right away, she just continued to stare out the window before adding.
“Yes... I have... and I'm sorry to be the last one with you... I can understand if you wanted somepony else to have my place.”
“Why are you so hard on yourself?”
Twilight asked and leered back at Rainbow Dash who didn't delay with an answer.
“Because... I'm not to any help... I'm just in the way... I been it sense the start.”
“Those words in the cave really got into you... didn't they... just so you know... I'm happy to have you at my side... please... hold me... it's cold.”
When Twilight was done talking, Rainbow Dash did just like she said. She pushed her front hoofs under Twilight's belly and squeezed herself into her.

“What are we going to do today?”
Rainbow Dash asked calmly and actually at peach with her mind.
“To be honest... I have no idea... I need to think... maybe study in some of the books I have in a mess downstairs... but other than that... I think it's just a good idea for us to stay low for one or two days and gather our strength back.”
Twilight said with a neutral voice and laying completely still.
“What do you want me to do?”
Rainbow Dash asked curiously while pushing her head forwards so it appeared at the side of Twilight’s.
“I want you to just relax... you have after all a large amount of unhealed wounds on your body... it must be painful.”
Rainbow Dash shivered by getting a random image in front of her of how Pinkie Pie looked like when she found her, that must’ve been pure pain Dash thought.

Other than that Rainbow Dash couldn't say that she liked the whole idea of not doing anything, but she also thought how Twilight actually was right in her words and decided in that to reply.
“If that’s what you want me to do… I might as well.”
Twilight was satisfied with what Rainbow Dash said and sighed happily while just relaxing together with her. For a little bit longer they both stayed in bed, they just enjoyed the silent and the unstressed feeling.
“I was thinking in to go downstairs and get started… soooo… could you let me go?”
Twilight asked and though she saw Rainbow Dash’s upcoming words at first as a joke, so realized she that Dash was fully serious.
“I could never let you go.”
“But what if you have to?”
Twilight asked but Rainbow Dash didn't say anything, she could simply not find any words to use.
“Dash... we need to be strong... remember that... stay in bed a bit longer and just rest... I'm downstairs if you need me... just come down when you feel to”
Twilight then said knowing how hard her earlier question must’ve been, Rainbow Dash didn't let go off Twilight immediately, instead she continued to hold her firmly for a moment in silent but in the end, she pulled away her hoofs around Twilight and stood up so she could get off the bed.

Twilight then crawled off the beds edge under Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Dash just stared at her a little bit scared for some reason.
“Try to relax... if there is any pony that should do that... it's you.”
Twilight said with a small smile and then finally went downstairs. After she was gone, Rainbow Dash just tipped over back on to the bed miserable. For some reasons she felt sick, almost like she wanted to throw up and quietly said to herself.
“I feel awful.”
She started to roll around, trying to flatten out the sheets under her and making the bed her own now when she was alone.
But Rainbow Dash had trouble to relax which was strange, she had felt so calm and at ease while Twilight was with her just a second ago. Dash could also hear from downstairs how Twilight already was moving her books in full speed, it must’ve been difficulty for her to see her house such as it is. But she did also regardless of how her house looked like, seem to handle it rather good.
When Rainbow Dash looked out the window, she could barely see over to the next house thanks to the thick fog. It was almost like jelly that you could push around, she even wondered if you could breathe outside in that stuff.

Rainbow Dash gave it another one or two tries to relax and maybe even fall asleep again for a shorter nap, but it was impossible. Her whole body tingled like she was nervous, but she actually only did so because she couldn’t stay still for another moment, she needed to do something she felt. In a loud and annoyed sigh she threw her head up in the air, staring at the celling for a half second before stepping of the bed. Rainbow Dash went downstairs to see what Twilight was doing and saw that she currently stood on her hind legs, leaning towards one of her many bookshelves and looking as far back she could in it.
“You really couldn’t get any more rest?”
Twilight asked rather surprised when she saw Rainbow Dash and all Dash did was to shake her head.
“Everything is in a complete mess… I don’t even know where to start… but I do know what to look for… I hope.”
Twilight said and turned back her head to the darkness of the shelf. Rainbow Dash continued to stay silent and only watched Twilight use her magic to grab a group of books all around her and made them all circulate her while she flipped some pages in them when them passed by.

She then just threw all of the books in the shelf in front of her and jumped down. Without saying anything, Twilight kept a concentrated face while passing by Rainbow Dash and walking upstairs to her other books she had there. Again Rainbow Dash could hear how Twilight moved books everywhere and bumped them in to other objects. She was really looking for something but what, was a mystery, all Dash did was to hope it would actually help them in the end because Dash herself had no idea of what they could do. Rainbow Dash went up to a window next to the door out and was really amazed in how thick the fog really was. She even decided to go outside, knowing that there was no chance for her to be seen by any Changelings if they didn't stand right in front of her. But when she opened the door she immediately heard from upstairs.
“Dash?!”
Twilight just in a second later appeared half way down the stairs behind Rainbow Dash and continued right away when Rainbow Dash had turned around.
“What are you doing?!”
“Don't worry... I'm just outside the house... I won't go any further than that... I would never leave you alone.”
Twilight looked most unsure and even a bit twitchy, she moved her legs awfully a lot in place and then finally said.
“But... but what if you get seen?!”
“In this fog... don't worry... they must then stand right outside the door and if they did... they would just be hearing us talking right now.”
Rainbow Dash said rather amused in how silly she thought Twilight was, but Rainbow Dash could at the same time understand why.

Twilight stayed a bit on edge even after what Rainbow Dash said, she looked out the window next to the door at the fog and then added.
“I guess you're right... but please... do stay close.”
“Just call for me and I be there.”
Rainbow Dash said immediately after with a determined nod and smile.
She then went outside and looked discretely at Twilight that still held an edgy facial expression.
Rainbow Dash closed the door behind her and took a deep breath, the mist was warm but the ground was wet and cold. The air Dash pulled in to her lungs was fresh and bracing.
It was just like it had been raining by the smell she felt and Dash just took her time to take a calm lap around Twilight’s house. She didn't see anything else either then the house, if she looked to a different direction, the mist just made a grey wall that stopped her sight only a couple of steps away.
When she then was bored and had reached the entrance again to the house, she pulled out her wings carefully and looked up.

The pain in her wing was almost completely gone, only small itching stings that felt just like muscle soreness was left. The rest of her body felt just fine, some areas hurt more than others but overall, only one or two more days would have even out that also. She jumped up in the air and flew very slowly another lap around the tree. Rainbow Dash smiled big for herself in that she could fly without major pain and at the same time, realize how much she actually loved to fly. It was her whole life, it was what she was made to do, she only wished she could launch herself up to the sky and fly above the clouds once more where the sun was visibly. But she would never leave Twilight, no matter how much she desired freedom around her. She continued to fly some more around the tree till she found how silly it actually was of her and then landed on a thick branch. The branch was just outside the window she yesterday together with Twilight sat on its frame and stared at Canterlot in the distance.

Rainbow Dash did look towards where Canterlot was, but she couldn't even see the slightest part of the mountain it was built on, she could barely even see the ground from where she was. Anyway, regardless of there not being too much to see or do, Rainbow Dash laid down on the branch and felt warm inside by her little flight. There wasn't much more that happen that day, Twilight was inside, working with her books in search of something unknown and Rainbow Dash was resting outside. Towards the night at sunset when it was like the fog got so thick that not even light could pass through it but actually only was the sun falling over the horizon. The window not far from where Rainbow Dash was at open and there stood Twilight.
She only stared amused at Rainbow Dash not looking to bother, Rainbow Dash swallowed unsure if she really wanted to know but she asked warily anyway.
“Made... any progress?”
Twilight's amused face faded away to a neutral expression while she was shaking her head and looked down.

Rainbow Dash sighed in a hopeless breath and felt how every wound on her body twitched.
“Well... maybe not completely empty hoofed.”
Added Twilight for herself but loud enough for Rainbow Dash to hear.
“So... you have a plan?”
Dash asked immediately rather curiously and Twilight just kept her neutral facial expression and only continued to look down.
Twilight was quiet for a while but she finally then said.
“I'm not sure... I have though one thing in mind but I don't want say anything till I'm completely sure... I think I need to sleep over it.”
Rainbow Dash nodded slowly in that she accepted Twilight's decision and then just looked out in the empty space in front of her.

“How about you then... how do you feel?”
Twilight asked but Rainbow Dash didn't answer her, she only starred away like she didn't hear her. Twilight sighed a bit depressed with her eyes stuck onto Dash and then said.
“Well... I was just thinking into go to bed... the cold is so much worse when the sun disappear... just come in when you want.”
Twilight was then just about to close the window but Rainbow Dash turned her head immediately towards her and said rather loud.
“Wait... I join you.”
Twilight stopped and looked up at Dash who right away made her way down to the window and quickly jumped in. Twilight then finally closed the window and both of them made their way over to the bed. They then stopped in front of it and while looking with a small trace of the colour pink by blushing on Twilight's cheeks, she asked.
“Are we... going to sleep the same way as last night?”
Rainbow Dash was close to blush herself, but she instead jumped up on the bed and said.
“I... think there is a way for us to sleep next to each other instead of on top... give me just a second.”

Rainbow Dash grabbed Twilight's enormous pillow with her mouth and pulled it away from where it was. She then started according to Twilight, making a fuddle with the sheets and the cover and not seeing at all what she tried to accomplice.
Twilight gave Rainbow Dash a strange look but that look went quickly away when Twilight actually saw the results. Rainbow Dash had placed and used the size of the pillow like a own, small bed itself on the leaning real one and then placed the sheets and the cover on it.
“There.”
She then said simply and laid down furthest in with her back against the some weird angled headboard of the bed.
“And now... you can just lay down right in front of me.”
Rainbow Dash said surprised in that her idea actually worked. Twilight stepped up on the bed and crawled under the cover on the pillow and made herself comfortable.

“You’re right... this worked really well.”
Twilight said and looked directly into Rainbow Dash's eyes, Rainbow Dash smiled but she then saw something she hadn't thought about. She and Twilight maybe didn't need to sleep on top of each other to fit any more but they still needed to be close to each other, really close in fact.
They had almost their noses touching and when Rainbow Dash notice this, she couldn't hold it in and blushed her whole face pink and light red.
“T-this... maybe wasn’t such a great idea after all.”
She said and tried to look away though it was close into impossible. Twilight placed a hoof in front of her mouth and started to giggle rather uncontrollable with her eyes closed. Rainbow Dash blushed even more and had to close her eyes by embarrassment and then say.
“Please stop.”
But it didn't help, Twilight only continued and in her unawareness she accidentally slide even closer to Rainbow Dash.

They were now literally touching noses and the only place to look was in to the other ones eyes. Both of them went completely silent, not saying a single word for a long time.
Twilight pretended to cough a couple of times to neutralize the remaining giggles stuck in her throat and after that, silence once again surrounded them.
“This is so awkward.”
Rainbow Dash after some time said but Twilight added quickly with a grin and with some maliciousness in her voice.
“Only if you look at it like that... then yes.”
Rainbow Dash dared to look at Twilight a bit more normal after what she said but only for a short moment. Because the next thing Rainbow Dash saw her do was to reach around her hoofs around her and hug her close up to. Dash went still like a statue when she got Twilight's chest pushed in to her own and how they rested their cheeks against each other.
“Still awkward?”
Twilight then whispered into Rainbow Dash's ear after have let some time pass in their hug.
“Oddly enough... no... not the slightest.”
Rainbow Dash answered her with also a whispering voice which made Twilight get a warming smile on her mouth.

They then decided to stay quiet for some time, close to a half hour passed without any of them saying a single word or move more than their breathing torsos against each other. They both could feel the other ones heart beating in their chest, making the situation all strange.
“Twilight?”
Rainbow Dash finally said very unsure and Twilight answered her of course.
“Yes?”
It took actually a while for Rainbow Dash to say what she wanted but that was understandable, it was after all a really emotional thing Dash wanted to express.
“Can't... can't we just tomorrow leave this place... forever... and travel together far away were we can be safe?”
“Dash... how can you say that... of course we can't do that.”
Twilight answered and said it at in a way like it was obvious.
“God dammit Twilight!”
Rainbow Dash immediately shouted after she got Twilight’s answer which surprised Twilight greatly.

“Why do we make ourselves endure this... we don't deserve it!”
Rainbow Dash continued and this time, while crying lightly, but Twilight had found Dash's words insulting and she didn't care for the moment that she was crying.
“We don't deserve it?!”
Twilight shouted back and quickly left her grasp of Rainbow Dash and stood up in the bed.
She then looked down at Rainbow Dash with an extremely frustrated look on her and continued to yell at her.
“Our friends then hmm... what do they deserve... they died for us... they died so we could get here and now... you just want to run away... to safety!”
Rainbow Dash started immediately to cry even more but Twilight didn't care at all, Rainbow Dash even on the look of it, tried to protect herself from Twilight's words like they being knifes thrown at her.
“Look at me.”
Twilight said with an angry face but Dash didn't look up, she only cried with her head down, letting her tears making small wet circles on the pillow she was laying on.

“Look at me!”
She repeated, shouting this time and that actually scared Rainbow Dash so much so she couldn't deny looking up. Her eyes was red and tears was pouring down her cheeks, her front legs that she pushed up her front body was shaking and she also made loud whimpering together with everything. Twilight pushed away all feelings that had the slightest trace of sympathy in them, she stared at Rainbow Dash angry, shaking her head slowly and then say extremely disappointed.
“I know it's not true... but I really wished right now that you were a Changeling... transformed into the form of Rainbow Dash... because I would’ve never believed that the real Rainbow Dash... Rainbow Dash who is the one welding the Element of Loyalty... would show the least loyalty to her friends that loved her so much.”
Rainbow Dash got completely quiet, not a single sound came from her but her tears continued though to pass down her face. She stared up at Twilight like a little scared filly, but Twilight wasn't done yet, she had more to say and with this time, her own tears passing through her eyes and down her angry face.
“If running away is what you really want... then I won't stop you... I can't decide over you... only you can... but mark this... I won't stop till I have succeeded to take down Chrysalis... or till I have died trying... you know where the door is... I think its best that you leave already tonight.”

Twilight got more and more tears to show themselves, but not even close to what Rainbow Dash had, without any hesitate she then jumped down from the bed and walked downstairs in a fast pace. The sound of the door out opening echoed through the darkness and then, everything went quiet again. Rainbow Dash was now alone and in a quick series of breathing that got louder and heavier for every time, she broke out in pure grief by the loneliness. She shoved her head down in to the bed among its sheets and covers and just screamed out. She cried so much that she almost felt dehydration and how that made her extremely tired and weak. Dash cried so hard that she barley could breath, but her body didn't tell her to do anything else then that. For minutes she did this and heard over the time how the wind swept through the open door downstairs over and over again, making her wish it was Twilight that was returning every single time.

But Rainbow Dash heard then something else all the suddenly and that wasn't coming from downstairs. At first she didn't care what it was, but she then realized it was coming somewhere beneath the bed. She looked up and tried to make out what the sound was while breathing irregular and confused but it had a strange and unfamiliar tone to itself. In a quick move Rainbow Dash wiped of her face and crawled to the edge of the bed towards the sound. She then leaned out of the bed so far that she could look under it and what she saw there made her face broke out in pure shock.
It was her Element of Harmony, just lying there in the darkness, Twilight must’ve putted it there when she got away from the Changelings in Everfree Forest. But it was also her Element that was making the sound she had heard, it was shaking brutally and even glowed light red in the shadows.
Rainbow Dash wiped of her face once more so she could see more clearly and then she slowly reached her hoof towards the necklaces.

The little red lightning on it gave away heat Rainbow Dash felt before she even touched it and when she did touch it, an incredible bright flash struck her eyes that both hurt and made her fall of the bed. She hit her head and moaned quickly for herself while recover from the impact with the floor. Slowly she then rolled over to her belly and when she saw her Element of Harmony again, she felt how the flash just a second ago had images in it.
Tears stopped to pass through Dash's eyes in matter of seconds and she just stared at the vibrating and glowing lighting on the floor. It was like the little gem stared back at her, in to her soul and also spoke to her. Rainbow Dash crawled closer with an intense and focused face and having both her mouth and eyes wide open. She then stopped and became absolutely still and just continued to stare at the little red shaped lightning. Not long after that, her Element of Harmony then all the sudden also went completely still and dead with its glowing light fading away. Shortly it was as at its normal state but Rainbow Dash felt how it had given her something.

Frightened she looked over to the stairs down in a twitch and held a facial expression of panic.
Rain then without the slightest expectation started to fall and it was rather a heavy downfall of it also.
“Twilight... something have happened to her!”
Rainbow Dash said and threw herself up on all her legs and rushed downstairs to the slamming door out to the rain.
“Why did I leave her alone?!”
She said to herself on the way down and when she reached the first floor, she grabbed her halberd next to the door and sprinted out.
“Twilight... Twilight!”
She immediately started to yell when she got out and looked all around her but there was no Twilight to be found anywhere.
“Where can she be?”
Rainbow Dash asked herself worried sick and while she passed her gaze random to the north, a giant lightning struck pass the clouds right in front of her eyes. Thanks to the thick fog, the lightning’s flash barely lightened up anything, but what it did light up was the contour of Canterlot in a dark shadow behind the mist. Rainbow Dash stuck her head towards its direction and stood still for a long time, she got soaking wet immediately and right after a deep swallow, she said.
“I know where she is.”

Chapter 7: A Heavy Price

Chapter 7: A Heavy Price

Chrysalis lowered her shield around Twilight and Twilight felt immediately how the air around her got occupied by Chrysalis magic and for whatever reason made Twilight's horn start itching. Twilight was unable to use magic she felt, Chrysalis influence had done something but for the moment she didn't care. She rushed away to Rainbow Dash in a straight line without even throwing the slightest glaze at Chrysalis or her Changelings. In loud splashing sounds Twilight walked in the thin layer of blood surrounding Rainbow Dash and just stood there.
She didn't know what to do than lower herself to the floor and whisper Rainbow Dash's name in her ear. Rainbow Dash leered at Twilight but didn't dare to move in fear of massive pain.
No one in the entire hall said a single word, it was completely quiet except from Twilight's small movement in the blood. She wanted to hold Rainbow Dash close to herself, but she saw how a simple warm breath on her skin made her whole body get tense by pain. A second later a shadow appeared over them from behind and that wasn't no one less than Chrysalis.

“Don't worry... it may look brutal but I can asssure you... ssshe isss far from dying... a pony'sss body may be sssmall and sssoft to their sssurface... but as one... they are rather sssussstainable.”
The Cangeling queen said which made Twilight to add while she turned her head and gave away a angry looking face regardless of having her eyes filled with tears.
“Does it matter... I hardly believe you even let us survive to dawn.”
Chrysalis kept quiet and made a lap around Twilight and Rainbow Dash, she then sat down on the other side of Rainbow Dash in her blood and stared down at her. Twilight watched closely as Chrysalis for once made a small and friendly looking hand out of her mane and started to pull its finger through Rainbow Dash's messed up hair.
“Well... maybe not you.”
She simply said out weak as she smiled some with her eyes stuck to Rainbow Dash, Twilight lost her frustrated face and became somewhat confused.
“W-what do you mean?”
She asked but had to wait rather long for an answer, Chrysalis almost looked like she cared for Rainbow Dash which she obvious didn't, but she finally decided to raise her head up to Twilight and say.
“I don't really care if one sssingle pony isss out there in the wild free... I mean... I have you.”

Chrysalis smiled big and made another hand out of her hair and reached over to Twilight there she pinched loosely at Twilight's cheek. Twilight pulled immediately away her head from Chrysalis little grasp which made the Changeling queen to laugh some with her mouth closed and then right after that, continue to speak.
“Ssso... I sssuppossse... I could let your friend over here... to walk away.”
“You're lying... you would never do that!”
Twilight shouted out furiously without delay and immediately receiving a strong slap from Chrysalis that made her fall over.
“Why would I lie... give me one good reassson for that!”
Chrysalis this time screamed out to Twilight who tried to get up on her hoofs, she also at the same time was thinking on what Chrysalis had said and actually couldn't see any reason for her to lie, but there was still something that didn't feel right. The look Chrysalis had was somewhat suspicions and Twilight strongly didn't like it. She and Chrysalis watched each other closely and didn't let go of their eye contact easily. It was almost like they had some sort of competition between them but immediately after Twilight got up she asked with a tough voice.

“So... what you're saying is that... you're willing to let my friend go?”
“For a prize... which isss you... one life for another.”
Chrysalis said right away with a facial expression that contained a nasty trace of evil cunning and left Twilight in silence. Twilight was lost in her mind but felt how something touched her right front hoof among the blood. She looked down and saw how it was Rainbow Dash that had reached out for her and lightly looked up at her with her head.
“Don't do it.”
She said and nothing more with a weak and tired voice.
“Husssh husssh.”
Chrysalis then said and reached out a couple of arms to pull Rainbow Dash closer to her, Twilight didn't have time to react and could only stand there she was and do nothing than watch. The Changeling queen stepped over Rainbow Dash, lowered herself to her and hugged her awfully close while wrapping her up in her mane. She was gently and made sure to cause the least pain she possibly could to Dash and then continued to speak.

“You're to hurt to be a part of thisss dissscusssion... jussst relax and let usss with a clear mind take care of thisss... I'm sssure your friend over here sssee reasssoning in her few but exisssting choicesss... am I right... Twilight... Sssparkle?
Chrysalis looked right into Twilight's eyes when she was done and only continued to hold Rainbow Dash in a firm grip with her whole body. Twilight was breathing slowly but each breath was heavy and made her whole torso to move. Once again the entire hall stood silence from nothing else then the storm outside and the sounds Rainbow Dash made in her painful, sweating shivering.
Twilight lowered her head so her eyes disappeared in the shadows of her mane and with a dead facial expression behind these shadows she simply said quietly.
“On one condition.”
“No Twilight!”
Rainbow Dash immediately screamed out but Chrysalis quickly grabbed her muzzle to keep her quiet and focused with shining eyes on Twilight and saying.
“Well... not becaussse you're in any ssstate of making demandsss but... I guesss hearing you out won't hurt.”

Twilight looked down at Rainbow Dash that desperately tried to break free but Twilight couldn't bear to watch her for too long. She changed her gaze over to Chrysalis and expressed her words with haste.
“I... I want you to give my friend at least one day of safety knowing you won’t just right away go after her... and I also want you to give her the fair chance of actually leaving the castle!”
Chrysalis face changed into an odd expression, an expression Twilight didn't know what to expect from.
She also stood up slowly but continued to hold Rainbow Dash down and her mouth shut.
“Agree... I hereby promissse that your friend will be sssafe from me to the dawn that isss in roughly one day from now... and that I will make sssure ssshe leavesss the cassstle in one piece before that.”
Chrysalis said but Twilight found her words extremely hard to trust and this saw Chrysalis in Twilight's face and added shortly.
“I know what you think of me... but I asssure you... when I make a promissse... I keep it... and why wouldn't I in a sssituation like thisss where I have the upper hand?”
Twilight sighed in hearing the foul words of the Changeling queen being true, she could very well just kill both of them right here and that actually bothered Twilight why she didn't. As she looked upon Chrysalis she saw something hidden in her eyes, something that scared her more than death.

“Then it isss decided!”
Chrysalis said out loud and suddenly and let Rainbow Dash completely free from her grasp.
The queen made a quick jump closer to Twilight and grabbed her in a second in every limb by her mane. Rainbow Dash tried her hardest to stand up, but fell immediately and hit her jaw on the stone floor hidden under the small pool of her own blood. Without delay, Chrysalis raised Twilight up above her and placed the tip of her giant horn in the center of Twilight's torso.
“Anything you want to sssay before I end you?!”
Chrysalis asked rough while Twilight struggled some by the harsh grip she was stuck in but she stopped immediately after the words she had heard. She looked away to Rainbow Dash and stared for a long time empty into her eyes, Chrysalis showed patient and allowed the delay of her act.
Dash once again tried to stand up but failed just like the last time, she started to crawl with only the help of her front hoofs towards Chrysalis and Twilight.
“Dash...”
Twilight said which made Rainbow Dash to stop and look up with blood dripping down from her jaw and when they saw into each other’s eyes, Twilight continued.

“I'm sorry I couldn't keep that promise you wanted... and I'm sorry for what I said earlier... you will always be my friend no matter what... always... remember that.”
Twilight slowly smiled then, why couldn't Rainbow Dash understand because herself started to cry silently. But that little smile Twilight performed was all she had time to do after her speech before Chrysalis pulled her towards her and impaled her on her horn. Rainbow Dash right away closed her eyes as hard as she possible could and looked away. She heard the sound of soft flesh get torn apart by something sharp, something she had heard before when she had used her halberd against the Changelings. She also heard Twilight making sounds of difficulty with breathing but other than that, she was rather quiet. A long but very hard to hear whimpering sound passed through Twilight's throat and mouth that she held wide open. Her eyes was as well wide open and watery with tears, her legs was shaking and her skin crawling by the tickling warm blood flowing past her belly and over to her hind legs where the blood then dripped of. Rainbow Dash still had her eyes closed and just cried for herself, till a loud thump following with a splash appeared right in front of her. Dash in a twitch open her eyes and looked forwards to see that Twilight's body was laying there in the blood with her back turned facing her.

“Twilight.”
Rainbow Dash said to herself extremely upset with a second away from trying to get over to her if it wasn't for Chrysalis who grabbed her while saying.
“And now to the promissse I made.”
“Don't touch me you disgusting thing!”
Rainbow Dash screamed out in sorrow but Chrysalis didn't care, she did however find Dash's resistance rather frustrating and didn't feel shy in being a bit rough with her. She grabbed Rainbow Dash's front and hind legs with two separate hands made out of her mane and stretched her out.
Through the whole time Dash struggled, swore and screamed both in pain and hate out to the giant hall. Chrysalis just completely ignored her and while having Rainbow Dash where she wanted, she used her magic to grab and rip of one side of the curtain that hanged at one of the many windows in the room. While pulling it towards her, she at the same time tore it even further into long thin stripes like bandage and then finally wrapped it around Rainbow Dash's belly to cover up the two wounds on each side of her. Rainbow Dash cried in pain when Chrysalis tensed the cloth firmly around her and stuffed it under an earlier layer there she lastly tied it stuck. Dash now had a red coloured dressing around her stomach and when the queen was done with her, she putted her down on the floor.

The first thing Rainbow Dash did was to make her way over to Twilight in her limping movement and make a turn so she appeared on her front. She stopped and felt her whole body tingling, her eyes was shaking in their sockets of her skull as she looked down on Twilight.
Her chest leaked with blood from the small wound which Chrysalis horn had pierced her at. The wound itself didn't look to bad, but it was its depth which was, it had penetrated many organs and Rainbow Dash could see directly in to Twilight's lifeless face.
“W-why... why is everyone dying around me!”
Rainbow Dash screamed out even though she shouted to herself, she then just fell to the ground right in front of Twilight's body and stared at her with grief. She reached out an unstable hoof towards Twilight's cheek and felt the warmth from her skin, she touched her carefully just like she was the most fragile thing that ever existed.

“I tried to protect you... I really did... but I failed.”
Rainbow Dash whispered out and leaned forward to hug Twilight's head. She shoved Twilight's face into her chest and rested her own head on Twilight’s forehead next to her horn and sighed while crying. All the suddenly Dash felt a warm breath reach her chest and in the next second she could feel Twilight actually moving.
“You’re alive!”
Rainbow Dash said shocked and pushed her head back so she could see Twilight's face. Right away Twilight started to cough lightly and to a good sign that no blood came with it, her lungs was unhurt but in her small coughs she felt great pain.
“Dash... the pain... it unbearably.”
She said miserly and scared like a child, it didn't take long for Chrysalis to finally appear on the other side of Twilight and peak over her with her head.
“Ssshe wont sssurvive for long with a wound like that.”
Chrysalis said after a while with her head turned to Rainbow Dash and that made Rainbow Dash to explode from the inside with rage.

“Stay away from her!”
She yelled out and that actually made Chrysalis to slowly straighten her body and give Dash and Twilight some space. Rainbow Dash looked down at the suffering Twilight was enduring and how she barely could open her eyes by the lack of strength, she then looked back up at the Changeling queen and said with a lower voice this time.
“I... I hate you so much... and I swear... if it wasn't for my weak body... I would be fighting you right now.”
Chrysalis gave away a face that she didn't care to much of Rainbow Dash's words. She instead stayed quiet for a while and just looked away to the end of the room where she used her magic to open similar doors out to a balcony like where Dash had entered the castle.
“There'sss your freedom... you can take your friend with you if you want to... I don't care.”
Rainbow Dash was almost out of breath from her earlier screaming and tiredness and just looked away through the doors out to the storm in the end of the hall. She turned back her head with tears in her eyes that at the same time was burning with hate and once again used a loud voice.
“You really think I can fly with such burning pain right under my wings... why not just kill me right here and forget about your promise... it's not like you have any honour to protect!”

Chrysalis actually gave away a rather angry look to Rainbow Dash, it appeared that Rainbow Dash's words hit a weak spot in insulting her. Without saying anything, Chrysalis just continued to hold her highly unfriendly face and made her way slowly up to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash actually expected Chrysalis to kill her on this very spot by what she had said and just continued to lay there on the floor next to Twilight. She stared with a tough face right into Chrysalis shining eyes by a lightning that appears outside through a window and awaited death with acceptances.
But to Rainbow Dash's surprise, Chrysalis just grabbed quickly and harshly the side of Dash's head and angled it to the side so her neck got visibly. Without delay Chrysalis then reached down to her and sunk her giant fangs straight into her neck. Rainbow Dash screamed in the disgusting feeling of having two thick needles shoved down her neck and then feel how something was happening to her.
Her whole body froze in place and a strange taste in her mouth appeared that tasted just like some sort of weak burning acid combined with mud. Chrysalis then pulled out her teeth from Rainbow Dash and backed off while watching her with a ill-tempered face.

Dash covered up immediately the two small wounds Chrysalis fangs had made on her neck with a hoof and gave away a painful, stinging facial expression. But the pain quickly just from nowhere disappeared and so did it from her wounds under her wings. She was surprised and confused by the strange feeling of no pain and stranger it become. In just matter of seconds later, Rainbow Dash could barely feel her body, everything had went numb and she looked up surprised and asked rather frightened with heavy breaths.
“I-I... I can’t feel anything!”
“And ssso you won’t neither for a ssshort time... ssso I sssuggessst you leave with hassste... immediately!”
Chrysalis yelled with a strong stomp to the ground which got Rainbow Dash's hating face to return.
She stood up which felt uncomfortable in not feeling her own legs as she should have, she took some time on her to get use to the feeling but hurried up with getting Twilight on her back. Twilight made immediately sounds that easily were linked to great suffer and pain despite Rainbow Dash trying to be as carefully as she possibly could. But her effort in making Twilight to feel as little pain as possibly was nothing than in vain when the only way to carry Twilight was to have her laying on her back with her wound in her chest, pushed into Rainbow Dash's back. Though Twilight was for the most part rather quiet so could Rainbow Dash just imagine the pain she had to go through, she turned her head back to her and whispered with heart.
“Hang in there Twilight.”

Chrysalis just shaken her head back and forth and then just turned around to leave and go further into the castle. Everyone got a bit surprised by that, even the Changelings followed her with their eyes rather chocked. Rainbow Dash then looked around her at all the Changeling and saw how they did the same thing. Slowly started Rainbow Dash to back off towards the balcony in the end of the room and the second Dash thought all of them would swarm over her by the look they all gave her, they just stayed quiet and hurried up in the same direction as Chrysalis disappeared in.
Extremely chocked Rainbow Dash stopped and lost all expression in her face by confusion.
She couldn't believe she was alone with Twilight after a while and looked back to the exit which lead to freedom. Twilight started then to make even more painful sound and that actually snapped Rainbow Dash lose from her thinking. Without caring any more about Chrysalis or her Channellings, Rainbow Dash turned around to the balcony and rushed out on it.
On the way she spread her wings wide and didn't feel the slighted pain, it felt amazing but at the same time not right. Twilight's weight wasn't too bad, but the thing that actually made Rainbow Dash feel unease was Twilight's open wound against her back.
When she reached the balcony Rainbow Dash didn't stop, she immediately jumped up in the air and swept through the storm. She made sure Twilight wouldn't fall off her and took it rather easy on the way down, not because Dash could go too much faster when she barely could control herself with her numbness.

With not too much time spending in the air, Ponyville quickly appeared through the mist down at the ground. Rainbow Dash steered herself right away to it when she couldn't think off any better place to go to and it was lucky she did to. All the suddenly Dash felt how her body started to turn normal and she could actually feel the proper cold from the rain surrounding her, but that also meant that her pain would return. Slowly but sure her sides itched like needles got pushed into her and how Twilight's weight on her back there she had been whipped started to sting.
It wasn't too bad at first and Rainbow Dash took that chance to hurry up and get as close to the ground and Ponyville as she could. She angled her entire body steeply down to almost just fall freely while feeling how whatever Chrysalis did to her when she bit her was wearing off.
Carefully flaps while closing in on the ground made Rainbow Dash to keep her steady but she felt how for each new flap she did that her body became normal again. The pain was back and in that, Dash lost the ability to fly flexible, she could only now glide her way down in a still motion.
She could feel how the slighted muscle on her body made her entire nerve system to scream in pain.

Her wings were giving away for the weight and soon she knew she would crash. The ground under her and that was the streets of Ponyville was just a short distant away, if she was to land from here that wouldn’t have been too bad but she wanted it to be as smooth as possibly for Twilight's sake.
Rainbow Dash had her hoofs almost touching the ground but she came in fast and would just slip immediately if tried to land, however, she didn't have much of a choice. Her wings yelled in exhausting and when she tried to resist the speed and air, the muscles under her wings there her two wounds where she couldn't handle it. All she could do was to pull in her legs and head to her body and close her eyes. She hit the ground where it was grass and not actually a stone road in a soft bump and made sure to take the worse of the hit. Twilight of course fell of when they both bounced a couple of times into two different directions and landed with their backs turned against each other.
None of them made a single word, they didn't even move, it was just like they both were dead.
Rainbow Dash tried to catch her breath and just stared forward at the leaning world with a lost mind.

She felt fine expect from the marks Chrysalis had left on her body, the landing hadn’t hurt her at all but she just couldn't believe what she saw and what she was doing. The beautiful and once peaceful Ponyville was no more and here she was in what was left of it with one of her dearest friends. The grass tickled one side of her face in the fresh and heavy winds the storm contained of and she emitted for herself that she had no idea of what to do. It was still night and far from morning, Dash just continued to lay there on the ground and so would she have kept doing if it wasn't for Twilight shouting her name hoarse and scared.
“Rainbow Dash... where are you?!”
Immediately Rainbow Dash threw herself on her legs and rushed to where Twilight was laying with her back turn to her.
“I-I'm here Twilight!”
Rainbow Dash replayed with and crawled closer to her. Twilight had her head stretched up and she looked rather stressed while asking with a worrying voice.
“W-where are we?!”
“We're back in Ponyville... or what’s left of it.”
Dash reply which made Twilight not to wait a single second before adding tiresome but still exhilarated by fear.
“N-no... no... we can't stay here... you can't stay here!”

Twilight was literally shouting to Rainbow Dash in concern but Rainbow Dash could see it in her eyes that Twilight was in some sort of chock. Her breathing was irregular and loud and thinking about her wound in her chest so was this no place for her. Rainbow Dash ignored what Twilight was saying and started to work her way to get Twilight on her back again.
“N-no!”
Twilight yelled weak like it was in her sleep but once again Rainbow Dash didn't listen, Twilight didn't struggle as she pretty much got forced up on Dash's back.
“You need a place where you can rest and where it's warm... I think it's best for us to go back to your house.”
Rainbow Dash said and immediately started to walk through Ponyville to Twilight's house.
“No... it's not safe her in Ponyville anymore!”
Twilight whimpered in a fatigued panic, Rainbow Dash just continued to walk forward as she saw Twilight being lost in her mind by pain and added with a sigh in how she felt horribly seeing Twilight suffer.
“Nowhere is safe for us with Chrysalis lose.”

But just as they passed through Ponyville's town square, Twilight leaned forward to Rainbow Dash's head and whispered something directly into her ear, something that made Dash to stop and feel how her spine shivered brutally.
“But it's you who she wants now.”
“W-what?!”
Rainbow Dash added rather scared and turned her head back to Twilight, but only to see how she had passed out.
Rainbow Dash's heart was at first close to stop as she thought Twilight had died, but as she felt Twilight's weak breathing on her back so knew she that her body only tried to regain her strength back by making her fall asleep. But Rainbow Dash could still not understand what she meant with what she said, she looked up and saw Canterlot far away in a small crack in the clouds and the mist till it disappeared shortly again.

She continued then her way over to Twilight's house where she stuffed Twilight in her own bed and tried her best to look after her wounds.
She was sleeping like a baby at first but she just after a couple of hours started to get fever and sweating like there was no tomorrow. She woke up and all Rainbow Dash could do was to stay at her side and keep her company. Dash had one hoof on the bed and that went under the cover to one of Twilight's own hoofs, she held her head low and couldn't stand watching Twilight directly.
She felt so pathetic, so useless and powerless, she tried not to cry and manage that by thinking in how much she hated Chrysalis and how cruelly enough she had enjoyed killing her minions.

By her thoughts she could feel the taste of blood coming back from the Changeling she had once torn apart its throat when she was fighting together with Applejack. Her sorrow quickly faded away and got replaced with the strong feeling of wanting to destroy something. But in Rainbow Dash boiling body she got interrupt by Twilight.
“Rainbow Dash?”
She simply said but was well enough for her to get Dash's all focus.
Twilight only glanced at Rainbow Dash with her half opened eyes as she felt to weak to actually look at her straight while her sweat ran pass her entire body. Both of them were quiet and only stared into each other’s eyes, Rainbow Dash's eyes turned scared and frightened as she slowly once again wanted to cry. Twilight however only gave her tired and weak facial expression and said with a voice like she was sick.
“Dash... I'm really tired... and we both know that if I fall asleep... I won't wake up again...”
“Don't say that!”
Rainbow Dash shouted in the middle of Twilight's sentence but after she was done, Twilight just continued.

“But there is maybe still some hope... a small shard of light... one last thing we could try.”
Rainbow Dash only looked down to the floor and sobbed some for herself. Twilight did however manage to reach out her other hoof that she didn't hold Dash's hoof with and turned Rainbow Dash's head to face her.
“Listen... I'm afraid that all is on you now.”
Twilight said which immediately got Rainbow Dash's mind to go crazy, she pulled away from the bed and walked a couple of steps away deeper into the house there she then stopped with her back turned to Twilight.
“Please Dash... I believe in you.”
Twilight said which Rainbow Dash herself added to.
“Well... I don't.”
“Are you... going to run away?”
Twilight then asked and left Rainbow Dash quiet for a long time.
Deep in the shadows of the house where Rainbow Dash stood, everything was a mess in Rainbow Dash head. She felt how her wounds over her entire body was healing in there itching, pulsating stinging waves.

She leered back over her shoulder to the bed and on Twilight and just watched her as she could she Twilight was waiting for an answer. But Dash saw something else too, something that was shining red from underneath the bed and she knew immediately what it was.
She returned to the bed and grabbed her Element of Harmony and just held it in her hoof, she stared at it carefully for a long time with no facial expression whatsoever and Twilight just kept quiet as she watched her. In time Rainbow Dash made a deep long sigh while discreetly glancing over on Twilight. Dash thought for herself as she looked at Twilight and saw it as her fault that Twilight was in her current state, it had happen when she tried to run away and she wasn't going to allow that to happen again.
“What do I have to do?”
She asked finally with turning her whole head depressed to Twilight, but her depressed face wasn't for feeling forced in keep fighting, it was for seeing Twilight suffer. Twilight however smiled a little in her hopeless stage and coughed some in middle of it. She kept her little smile even after she hoarsely coughed and then she simply said in a whisper.
“Come closer... and I will tell you.”

Chapter 8: The Disorganized Mind and Soul

Chapter 8: The Disorganized Mind and Soul

“Twilight… you… you can’t be serious.”
Rainbow Dash said and slowly backed off from the bed, Twilight crawled to its edge with difficulty and added with a sharp look at Rainbow Dash.
“I have never been more serious Rainbow Dash.”
“But… but just listen to what you’re saying… it’s completely insane!”
Rainbow Dash continued to defy and Twilight just once again added calmly with a sigh.
“It can’t help… it’s the only way.”
“But to bring in Discord in this will just worsen everything!”
Rainbow Dash shouted and right after that, Twilight started to cough so brutally that Dash thought it was the end of her.
“Twilight!”
She yelled in fear and rushed up to her, she helped her head up a bit so she easily could cough and when Twilight finally calmed herself, Rainbow Dash added worried.
“Are you alright?”
Shaking like a leaf in a wild storm Twilight slowly looked up, her face was miserly and her breaths were heavy.
“Rainbow Dash… soon… only you will be left… and if you want to run… I won’t judge you… I can't decide what your upcoming action will be... only you can … maybe we never had a chance from the very beginning… I don’t know… but I do know however that Discord is powerful… maybe not as powerful as Chrysalis but still… him on our side… maybe is the only way to have a chance.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t say anything this time, she just kept holding Twilight and stared down at her with fright for her life. Twilight was trying to catch her breath and when she did, she continued to speak a few words.
“Dash… it’s your call… and your alone.”
“But… but Discord will hardly just help like that… and not only that so is he in his stone form!”
Rainbow Dash said and instead of using words, so turned Twilight her head over to look at Rainbow Dash’s Element of Harmony in her hoof and shortly after that to bow down her head so her horn touched it. A weak spark awoken deep inside the red little gem and even after Twilight removed her horn from it so stayed the light inside it. Rainbow Dash watched closely her Element after Twilight was done and while she did that, Twilight started to explain.
“All you have to do to release him from his stone prison… is to touch his body with your Element… but something you need to remember and something I feel you need to know… is that you can’t trap him back… after this stage… he’s pretty much free for life… and how you’re going to get that stubborn thing on your side… I actually don’t know.”
“But what is stopping him from just leaving when he’s free?”
Rainbow Dash asked rather concerned and Twilight’s answer didn’t really calm her.

“To be honest… nothing… but in the end what does it matter… if Chrysalis isn’t stopped here… all is lost anyway.”
Rainbow Dash lowered her head and stayed quiet for a couple of breaths before saying.
“But… but how…”
Dash got though interrupt by Twilight pulling in her front hoofs to her chest and started making whimpering sounds of pain. The sweat just poured down from Twilight’s mane pass her face, she closed her eyes and bit firmly together with her jaws trying to keep her sane from her burning wound.
“Dash… the window… quick… open it and help over to it!”
Rainbow Dash’s own jaws was shaking, she wanted to say something but couldn’t find any words and ended up doing just as Twilight wanted. She forced the circle shaped window open and immediately receiving the cold rain in her face, the lightning seemed to have stopped but the storm itself hadn’t changed the slightest.

The rain was also perfect angled towards the window and just in matter of seconds the whole floor in front of it was wet. Rainbow Dash then helped Twilight over to the window just as she wanted and there she hanged over the window frame with her front hoofs and just enjoyed the cold the rain gave her. Dash thought the icing cold was unbearable and backed off from the window and waited for Twilight to ask for help to get over to the bed again. But Twilight under a rather long time didn’t say or do anything, the cold that had taken her entire body neutralized the feeling of the burning fever she had and the warm pain in her chest. Rainbow Dash could just feel from there she stood that the weather was freezing by the wind she felt and asked by worry for Twilight.
“Twilight… I don’t think it’s good for you to stay in such cold.”
“But it feels so great… I can barely feel the pain.”
Twilight responded with while having a big tired smile on her face and resting her head against her hoofs.

Without saying anything more, Rainbow Dash moved up next to Twilight and kept her company in the freezing rain. She immediately became soaking wet and started to shake by the icy feeling, Twilight however seemed not to be bother by it so much and just continued to smile out to the storm with her eyes closed. There they stayed for a while without trading a single word with each other, but it wasn't too much time that passed before Rainbow Dash just couldn't bear the rain and said.
“That has to be enough Twilight... I think you're in great need of rest.”
The next thing Dash did was to immediately help Twilight back to the bed even if she didn't want to, but Twilight actually allowed Rainbow Dash to do so and didn't add a single word. When Dash finally got Twilight on the bed and stuffed her under the cover she shortly joined her after have closed the window. She could feel how Twilight's entire body was cold as ice and decided to push herself against her so she could share the warmth from her own body.

“Dash... you can't stay her in Ponyville anymore... it's not safe... you need to hide for a while from Chrysalis while you have the chance.”
Twilight whispered out but all Rainbow Dash reacted to that was to push herself further against Twilight back with her chest and say.
“I will never leave you.”
A small sigh heard Rainbow Dash coming from Twilight and shortly after that Twilight added.
“You have always been stubborn... you know that right... but can you promise me that... if you do find yourself alone... you try to stay away from Chrysalis?”
It was quiet from Rainbow Dash's part and Twilight didn't wait too long before asking.
“Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash just continued to stay quiet but after a while she finally broke her silence.
“If... and only if I find myself alone... I will leave Ponyville.”
Without Dash seeing it so smiled Twilight and added lightly.
“No matter what happens tomorrow... I will be at your side... you knowing it or not... and I'm sure the rest also will that... goodnight my friend... and I'm sorry for not being able to keep that promise you told me one night.”
“Don't talk anymore... you need to rest to gather your strength.”
Rainbow Dash said a bit upset but as calmly as possible when she felt how she slowly was going insane in her mind by Twilight's way of talking. Twilight just smiled tired for herself and added with the last words for the night.
“Of course... we both need it after all.”

After that both of them shortly fell asleep and when the morning arrived, only Dash woke up. But despite not acting like it yesterday so knew Rainbow Dash very well that this would happen and she grieved harshly over have lost the only thing left in life that she really cared for. She left Twilight's house early and with Twilight peacefully in her own bed. There was only one place to go to felt Rainbow Dash and that was directly to Discord's statue, just outside Ponyville in the park next to the labyrinth there she remember how she completely failed her friends under Discord's influence once. Dash really didn't know what her honest feelings towards Discord was like, she obvious didn't like the idea of freeing him but at the same time she saw how Twilight most likely was right in that he maybe sadly was the only hope. In time she reached his statue and there he stood, in the exactly same and surprised pose as when he had been trapped. The rain poured down his stone form and it was in this moment Rainbow Dash just got the feeling in how this was a really bad idea.

She took her time and didn't hurry, she went around him thinking and speculate in how it would end and what she possibly could choice in terms of words towards someone so unpredictable. But in the end she wasn't any wiser as before and just decided to do it. She went up to him at the front, looking up his long body for a couple of seconds before pressing her Element of Harmony against his leg. The little shining light in the gem immediately died out and at first, nothing happen at all. Rainbow Dash took a step back and just waited patient while observing. Awhile passed and still not a thing had happen, Rainbow Dash looked down at her Element, thinking it had lost its power and meaning. But it was then how she notices something on Discord's statue, she looked at his griffin arm and saw how small fragments of stone fell from his fingers.
“Here we go.”
Rainbow Dash said to herself in a sigh and not to enlighten in her current mood, she tried to prepare for the upcoming but deep inside her mind she wonder if anyone ever could be prepared for someone like Discord.

Soon the entire statue was set in motion and small stone pieces fell from every limb of his body, his tail tried desperately to break free and his lower jaw vibrated brutally. Dash expected this to be a rather long process for him to break completely free but as soon as she thought so for herself, a giant crack appeared in his chest and followed with the entire statue to literally explode. Stone pieces flew to every direction and Dash raised a hoof to protect her face from its splitter that wasn't that bad to be honest when it hit her. Discord after the explosion reached to the sky with his head and made a satisfied roar. Rainbow Dash lowered her hoof and there she saw him, a worrying eyesight. He stretched his long back in a disturbing sound while gasping just like he woke up from sleep. After that he straighten his body and looked down at his hands in a way like it was the first time he saw them and said to himself cheerful in his rough voice.
“Ooooh how much I do hate to be a decoration in a park... twice also for that matter... can't anyone come up with a more original way?”
A big and kind of disturbing smile was on his face and shortly after he got to know his body once again, he looked up at Rainbow Dash with his smile intact. In a small jump he made his way down the little stone platform he had been placed on and walked up to Dash.
In front of her he stopped and bowed his head to her in a elegant motion and said with a voice of maximum sarcasm.
“I would thank you for releasing me... you know... if it wasn't for the little fact that you were one of those who putted me in this extremely overused prison.”

“You have no one else to blame then yourself for that!”
Rainbow Dash reply immediately harshly.
“Oh and why had it to be you of everyone who freed me... why couldn't it be that pink one... she seemed to be the only one with a mind even remotely aimed to the right direction?!”
Discord asked like it was unfair for him and instead of turning towards the more aggressive part of herself, so added Rainbow Dash just heartbroken and far from being in the mood of taking part of a argument.
“Well... there is the small fact that... she is dead.”
“Dead... you mean like... really dead... but... where's the rest then... like that orange one with a hat?”
Discord asked rather surprised and once more Dash gloomy answered.
“She is dead too.”
“And Twilight then... where's that 'precious' student of princess Dull!?”
He continued and at this point Dash didn't want to hear anymore.
“Look... everyone is dead... gone... I'm the only one left!”
She screamed out angry while Discord's surprised face faded away and he added rather not bother with his back straight.
“Figures... but I hardly believed that Twilight died by her studying and that the pink one laughed herself to death... there's something else in the air... isn't it?”

“And her name is Chrysalis... the queen of Changelings.”
Rainbow Dash said neutral which lead with Discord give away a rather thinking facial expression before continue speaking.
“Chrysalis you say... it looks like to me that even you have approached her a bit to close... seeing those two black eyes and the rest of your body.”
“Yes... I have faced her... and I'm going to do that again... but I need your help.”
Rainbow Dash added with finally mentioning what she wanted and why she in the first place released him. But Dash immediately heard in his upcoming words that he was far from willing to help her just like that. With of course sarcasm in his words, he cleared one of his ears while saying.
“Excuse me but I think I got a bit of stone left in my ear... I thought you asked me that you needed my help.”
Rainbow Dash was on the edge of losing it all together, she was tired in both body and soul and hadn't felt any confidence in days, with her both black eyes she stared into Discord's calm eyes and yelled.
“God dammit Discord... I released you for this purpose!”
“If you want to see it as I own you something for releasing me than I think we are even... you where along them who trapped me and now you released me... I think that's fair shared.”
Discord said and turned his back on Dash like he was about to leave.
“Fair shared?!”
Rainbow Dash screamed out furious which made Discord to stop and turn back to face Rainbow Dash.

“I have been fighting for my very own survival for days now... I have seen every last one out of my friends die right in front of me because I couldn't protect them... my mind is about to explode by all the struggling and you think that's fair?!”
Dash's breaths was heavy and all Discord did was to give her time to catch air and then ask far from bother over Dash's story.
“Then may I ask you something... if you only keep losing what you hold dear... why are you continuing this pointless struggle?”
“Because no one else will... and at this point... I have nothing else to lose!”
Rainbow Dash continued to yell, shaking by her mixed feelings of anger and sorrow.
“You have one think to lose... your life.”
Discord added and when Rainbow Dash heard that, she went quiet for a couple of seconds before bursting out in a small and short laugh that took Discord of guard, making him look strangely at her. When her laugh slowly went quiet she lost every bit of emotion in her face and said.
“My life... lost every bit of meaning this morning.”
This time didn't Discord add anything clever, he instead looked down at the ground in front of him with a rather unhappy face, almost like Rainbow Dash's words this time actually meant something.
“But enough with this... I'm only going to ask this once... will you help me fight Chrysalis?”
Rainbow Dash asked and the answer she got from Discord was short and hopeless feeling.
“No.”
He said with a straight face with his dark voice and Dash didn't like that at all.
“Then what are you going to do?!”
She screamed hostile towards him.

“I don't know... most likely leave Equestria.”
He continued calmly and at this point, Rainbow Dash didn't know what to say.
“You... you... I wish I never freed you... you don't care about anything else then yourself... you don't even feel the slightest care hearing that most one are dead... you're just a big cower!”
“That's not true... I'm sorry about your friends... I'm even sorry to hear that Celestia didn't make it... I truly am... but this is not my fight... you have my thanks for releasing me if that means anything... if you of course aren’t planning in re-stone me with your Element of Harmony you have there.”
Discord explain and raised a hand to point at Rainbow Dash's Element of Harmony she held.
Dash then herself looked down at her Element and just stared at it empty, it's surface looked dark and weak, almost like it's power had faded away. It didn't reflect herself in it anymore Rainbow Dash felt, it was for the moment nothing else then a gem, a stone, a piece of nothing.
“You mean this... here... just take it... everything is lost anyway!”
Rainbow Dash yelled and threw it at Discord without hesitate, he catch it in a quick motion with his hand and looked down at it in his hand.

Silent he leered up at Rainbow Dash with an unamused face and when Dash saw that she continued yelling with the feeling in her throat of the desire of weeping.
“Go ahead... do whatever you want with it... it's yours... nail it up a wall... carve a little statue out of yourself in it!”
“I'm sorry but this is nothing I want.”
Discord said and threw it back to Rainbow Dash, it landed in the grass in front of her hoofs and just the sight of it made her hating everything, even herself.
“Well neither do I!”
She screamed and stomped firmly at it so it went far into the ground through the layer of the grass and into the wet mud. Discord just watched her as she did it and with nothing more to say he turned once again his back to Rainbow Dash and made himself ready to take of.
“Wait!”
Rainbow Dash yelled when she saw that but this time with a frighten voice, Discord stopped but kept his back turn to Dash as she continued to speak.
“Please Discord... what do you want from me... I do whatever you want... anything... just please... help me.”
Helpless she said with a begging voice.

“These lands are dead... and I don't think there is any more to them at this point... which you also should see while you have the chance.”
Discord lastly said and immediately when he was done he jumped up in the air and flew away. Rainbow Dash watched him heartbroken, quiet and feeling the loneliness creeping up her back.
“What's the purpose of your life really... is it just to be annoying... having fun with your bizarre use of magic... making chocolate rain and such?!”
She screamed as loud as she possible could before he got too far away, she did however not know if he heard her because he just continued to fly further away. For some time she watched him till she couldn't see him anymore, sitting there in the rain all quiet.
“It's over.”
She said with a miserly face.
“It's truly over... I did everything I possibly could... and I still failed.”
She added and just fell forward so her jaw hit the ground. Her eyes stared away into the distance of the dismal lands with a dead facial expression. A heavy sigh passed through her lungs and in the next breath, she started to cry.

First it was just some few tears passing by her eyes silent but later, it broke out more, she started to sob and feel how her eyes twitched and then the actually weeping started. It was rather quiet but that also changed with time, after just a short moment her emotion broke wild with screaming and crying into the wet grass that she was laying on.
It was like there was no end to it, but her exhausting kicked in and she simply couldn't continue to release any more tears. She looked up at the small hole where her Element of Harmony was at its bottom and asked herself confused with a shaky voice.
“W-was it you who fail me... o-or was it I who fail you?”
She didn't stop staring at the hole in the ground, it was like she waited for a answer, but of course she didn't get one. For some time she stayed but after feeling how the weather got the better of her, she made her way up on her hoofs and walked into Ponyville, leaving her Element of Harmony. Not once did she turn her head to look back and neither did she know where she was going. Rainbow Dash hauled her body forward with her wings hanging dead on each side, the wounds under them hurt and the curtain she had around her torso to cover them up was more than soaking wet.

She gazed with a miserly face around her at Ponyville, it was so quiet and still, not a movement was to be seen anywhere. House by house she passed with each of them barely being standing.
It was dark in every single one of them and as Rainbow Dash moved forward to the end of Ponyville, she saw something truly unexpected. On what was a small hill on a giant meadow that stretched far away all the way over to Everfree forest, Chrysalis was sitting calmly and looking down its view. What Dash though found rather odd was that she didn't pay any attention to her, it was like she didn't see her but that knew Rainbow Dash she did. It was just like she didn't care, she just sat there in the rain, breathing out relaxed. Rainbow Dash stopped and watched if she would look away at her but she didn't, her eyes was focused on the view in front of her that the little hill provided her. Rainbow Dash doesn’t know why, maybe she didn't have any real reasons for it but when she saw that Chrysalis ignored her, she turned and moved up towards her.

Smoothly she left Ponyville behind her and moved up the small hill at the front, it was then how Chrysalis turned her head slowly and looked directly at Rainbow Dash with a harmless facial expression. Dash stopped with an extra heartbeat in her chest and awaited while swallow a bit of fear. But Chrysalis didn't do anything, she just stared for a while at Rainbow Dash and returned her head into its former position. Without hesitate, Rainbow Dash continued up the hill and funny enough, she sat down on the grass next to Chrysalis, facing the same way as she did. In front of them, they had Ponyville and beyond that, the mountain with Canterlot on its side. The rain as usual poured down as it had for days now but the air was somewhat clear from the fog. Rainbow Dash felt horrible, her entire body was shaking but not enough to be notice by the eye. Her eyelid wanted to fall down and make her fall asleep, she could feel the soreness of her two black eyes as she blinked and it didn't take long for Chrysalis to say.
“You look tired.”

With great delay before adding something, Rainbow Dash wiped of her face slowly as her eyes hurt when her hoof passed by them.
“I am... I feel awful... I also think I got a fever from the rain.”
“I wouldn't be sssurprisssed.”
Chrysalis added as she clearly leered to her side at Rainbow Dash but Dash didn't care. She just tried to feel comfort from the calm view in front of her and ignored the fact that she could have if she wanted to be able to lean against Chrysalis shoulder.
“I'm terrified.”
Rainbow Dash said all the suddenly with an extremely weak voice without actually knowing why she did it, it was so random and irrelevant even she thought. It did however make Chrysalis to first smile but quickly to burst out in giggles and finally laughing with control.
“You're one cruel creature.”
Rainbow Dash said unamused after have turned her head over to Chrysalis, but she got quickly word from Chrysalis in her defense.
“You have to excussse me but my amusssement are not coming from your fear... but the fact that you're sssaying that you feel it.”
“Why?”
Rainbow Dash asked and a well explained answer she got.
“Jussst think about it... a normal pony would run in fear in jussst the sssight of me... they would sssquall and cry and maybe even passs out in a sssimple touch from me... but you... you walked up to me by your own power and are sssitting here... even talking to me with a sssteady... ssstill... relaxed voice... and then you sssay that you're afraid.”

“I'm not relaxed... or any of those other things... I'm just to tired.”
Rainbow Dash said a bit grumpy but Chrysalis didn't agree, it was almost like she tried to accomplice something, to prove something for Rainbow Dash.
“But if you were afraid... you wouldn't be tired... your body would heat up and react to that fear... no matter how weak or lack of ssstrength your body are... that'sss just nature.”
The Changeling queen said very confident, it followed then with silence between both of them but Rainbow Dash looked up at Chrysalis face and felt that she had to admit something for her.
“Chrysalis... do you... do you know... that I have killed Changelings?”
“Yesss.”
She simply reply with without turning her head, her voice and acting was smooth as she didn't care and that found Dash odd.
“And... you don't want revenge over them?”
She asked curious, not knowing what the outcome would be but Chrysalis seemed rather friendly, for the moment.
“Revenge... no... my revenge isss already granted... if 'revenge' isss even the right word that isss... and I knew from the very beginning that the chance of losssing Changelings exisssted... and ssso did they.”
“I see.”
Rainbow Dash added lightly as she looked down at the ground, thinking for herself.

“But you however...”
Abruptly Chrysalis started with saying and actually stood up and moved over to Rainbow Dash. There she then grabbed Dash's chin from underneath in a soft motion with her hair and forced her to look up at her as she then continued speaking.
“You... I can sssee in your eyes the hate... you lussst for revenge over me more than anything elssse... I'm I right?”
Rainbow Dash just stood there with her mouth wide open, knowing exactly what to say but at the same time, she couldn't get out a single word. The problem was that she thought she hated Chrysalis more than anything else in the whole wide world and maybe she truly did. But as she was sitting there with Chrysalis right in front of her, even touching her so was her anger towards her surprisingly not that strong.
“I-I... I don't know... in the beginning... I hated you with passion... I just wanted to fight you and your Changelings... and nothing else... but now... now I...”
Rainbow Dash started to explain showing that she was confused over her feelings, not being either afraid in speaking the truth of those feelings, but Chrysalis made another finger out of her made up hand from her mane and placed it on Rainbow Dash mouth as she interrupted her.
“Husssh... don't sssay anything more... you don't need to... I'm sssure that deep inssside you... you want to tear me apart... and will alwaysss have that feeling and desssire... I can underssstand that.”

Chrysalis actually made a warm looking smile when she was done and slowly returned her hand into her mane. Confused out of her mind, Rainbow Dash watched her as Chrysalis did the same thing but with a much more certain facial expression then herself.
“W-why have you come here in the first place... what could possibly grab your interest here in Ponyville?”
Dash asked and the answer was simple from Chrysalis.
“You.”
She said and Rainbow Dash's entire body shivered when she heard the answered but at the same time, she didn't feel too alarmed. She was pretty much untouched by the single word and just quietly said.
“Oh.”
“Not sssurprisssed to hear that... are we?”
Chrysalis asked and lowered her head so it was in more of the same height as Rainbow Dash's.
“No... even Twilight told me that you would come for me.”
Rainbow Dash said without breaking her eyesight of what she was watching in the distance.
“Ssshe isss truly not to me underessstimated.”
Chrysalis added with a straight face, knowing for sure that she wasn't in life anymore.

“But you know what... even though I have come for you... ssso will I give you a head ssstart.”
She after a while continued saying but in Chrysalis offer, Rainbow Dash just sighed and shaken her head.
“I don't care anymore... you're free to kill me... I either don't care about the promise you made... the promise about my safety that would run out next sunrise.”
Rainbow Dash said, knowing that she literally gave herself over to Chrysalis but she honestly didn't care anymore, if it wasn't for what Chrysalis then said.
“Oh... but I'm not here for your life.”
Rainbow Dash felt immediately her blood freeze and her breaths ripped through her lungs and throat as ice shards passed down them. Slowly she turned her head over to Chrysalis that already watched her with a smile on her face and as confused as Rainbow Dash just could be, she with a shaky voice asked.
“W-what?”
“I'm here to take you with me.”
Chrysalis reply with like it wasn't a big deal but as she said that, Rainbow Dash stood up and started to back off.
“N-no... what do you want with me?!”
She yelled anxiety as she made her way away from the Changeling queen, but her distance from her didn’t really increase because also Chrysalis stood up and followed Dash as they both moved down the hill.

“Thaaatsss... a sssecret... you're a ssstrange one I must sssay... when you thought that I was going to kill you... you don't even flinch... but when you hear that I have come to take you with me... you're actually preparing to flee.”
Chrysalis said as she laugh lightly in between her pauses as she found Dash's acting amusing, but as for Rainbow Dash, she didn't approve the slightest bit the situation.
“I don't want to follow you anywhere!”
She continued to yell while Chrysalis kept her normal voice.
“I'm sssorry... but... that’sss not in your power to decide.”
Rainbow Dash just backed off and backed off, but Chrysalis was right after her, she didn't know what to say anymore but Chrysalis however did.
“Don't worry... you ssstill have your head ssstart... I'm sssure you can make a sssignificant and exciting chassse from what I have heard from you.”
In pure regret Rainbow Dash stopped which also Chrysalis did, Dash stared down into the ground with a low head, keeping her tears from releasing as she then looked up again and said with the same regret in her voice as her facial expression was.
“But... but I can't fly... my wound would only stop me and make a quick turn to the ground again!”
Chrysalis looked beyond Rainbow Dash's face over at her wings that you could clearly see was in a weak stage.

She then looked back into Dash's eyes and showed that she was a bit disappointed but none the less accepting the easy work.
“Well... that'sss unfortunate... but hey... you can ssstill run.”
“That's... that's not fair.”
Rainbow Dash said far over the edge of keeping a straight face and all Chrysalis did to that was to cruelly enough count down what was left of Rainbow Dash's head start.
“Ten... nine... eight...”
Rainbow Dash's head was about to explode, but she did do as Chrysalis had suggested and started to run away from her as fast as she could. But as she felt the wind in her mane, she started to cry, it was a open field she was heading to and she knew she wouldn't have a chance. Her tears passed by her cheeks horizontal by the speed and got absorbed in her mane, Rainbow Dash was literally running with her eyes closed while trying to make as little noise from her crying as possibly, and then it happen. Her body stopped in half a second and not by her own force, she couldn't move her legs at all. A strange burning feeling in her hoofs appeared like a shock and as she looked down, she saw how her hoofs were frozen to the ground with each of them being trapped in solid ice.
Behind her Chrysalis slowly walked up to her as she had used her magic to trap Rainbow Dash.
But Rainbow Dash tried to break free and actually managed, sort of.

She was capable of tearing lose her right front hoof from the ice but as soon as she putted it down again on the ground to do the same on her other hoofs, it froze back into pure ice and this time in a worse state. Her entire leg from top to bottom got trapped in thick ice and after that, the rest of her legs did the same to prevent her from breaking free again. But that wouldn't happen again because Rainbow Dash was too busy shouting out the freezing pain that had occupied half her body. She could feel how her heart in tearing beats struggled to keep her limbs warm and shortly followed with her shaking, in just matter of seconds she went pale and also at that moment so had Chrysalis shadow reached over her. Dash which was in a lot of pain looked up futile at Chrysalis and actually tried to beg, but her voice was so shaken and barely a single word was understandable that came out from her.

Not though that would change Chrysalis mind as she determined grabbed Rainbow Dash around her throat with a hand from her mane and looked deep into her eyes.
“Don't try to fight it... it will be easssier that way.”
She said and slowly squeezes her grip at Dash's throat so no air could pass through. Immediately started Rainbow Dash to make hoarse sounds and trying to desperately wave of Chrysalis in panic, but the lack of movement Rainbow Dash's body was in made it impossible. Her body went quickly weaker than it already was and her eyes slowly went white as her pupils rolled back. Everything went in time dark and the last thing Rainbow Dash saw, was Chrysalis. The last feeling Rainbow Dash felt was fear, fear that no words ever could describe. But that fear wasn't for dying, it was for knowing that she would once again wake up, wake up in a world she now hated and wanted to leave as her friends had.

Chapter 9: A Sore Back

Chapter 9: A Sore Back

The dripping sound of water, hitting a flat surface of stone echoed through the air and reached Rainbow Dash's consciousness. Before opening her eyes she felt how her body was weak and sore and how she was laying on something strange. She really had to force her tiresome eyes open and when she saw her surrounding and current state she was in, so couldn't she help it but to feel fear creep up her back. She was laying on top of some kind of odd triangle shaped thing with its top cut flat and which were she had her chest resting against. Its length was about as her own and it was actually not uncomfortable to lay on when the whole thing was covered in dark red cloth which was both soft and thick. It was however strongly uncomfortable due to the fact that she was strapped and tied to it with some kind of thin leather strips around her all four legs that then connected to chains that pulled them towards the floor. She was firmly stuck to it and couldn't move at all.

By fright Rainbow Dash immediately tried to break free, but all she manages to do was to make the chains echo through the room she was in. Speaking of the room she was in so couldn't she say it made her feel any more calm as she looked around. She was surrounded by a few candles but that was it, everything else was pitch black. No rain or lightning could be heard which could only mean two things, the storm had either stopped, or she was somewhere deep, far away from the outside.
In front of Rainbow Dash she had something big that stood up and was covered in a white sheet with total darkness behind it. She also had on her right side, next to some candles a similar sheet on the stone floor covering something else as well. Her head went left and right as she tried to get a hang on where she was but it was simply too dark. All she saw was the first couple of meters around her by the light the candles provided and the two covered up things with sheets.

“Ssso we are finally awake.”
A voice unexpected broke loose from the darkness and that could only have been one particular creature. Dash looked around her as much as she could but the darkness was all that she could see.
After the voice had died out, only the dripping water from before were there to be heard and Dash even had trouble in just determining which direction the voice had come from.
“W-where are you... show yourself!”
Rainbow Dash yelled but not with anger, but with worry as she was leering all around her for movements in the dark. But in the next second appeared Chrysalis next to the covered up object in front of Rainbow Dash with jumping into the light and adding amused.
“As you wisssh... and here I am.”
Rainbow Dash twitched her head over to Chrysalis and stared long at her like a frightened child.
“What'sss thisss... why ssso tenssse sssky pony?”
She asked a bit surprised when she saw Dash's expression but kept her cruel smile despite that.

“W-w... what are you going to do with me!?”
Rainbow Dash desperately continued to ask and this time, Chrysalis actually lost her smile all the way through. She looked dead in her face, turned back and walked behind the covered up object and as she disappeared behind it so fell the white sheet off it. A giant mirror then got revealed with Chrysalis coming up on its other side. She didn't say anything and just watched Rainbow Dash as she watched her own reflection in the mirror. Dash got even more scared when she saw how frightened she actually looked in her humiliated position and didn't know what to say.
Her heart pounded and her hind legs was shaking but she wasn't sure if it was just fear or because of her fever, or both. Anyway so was she sweating rivers in the unbearably heat of her body but at the same time feeling a painful cold in her legs. All her muscles were tense like mountain and the swelling on her two sides were Chrysalis had made two giant wounds earlier was so tight it pushed harshly against her ribs. Every breath, every movement she made was a torturing experience and with the chains pulling her legs roughly apart from her body made it even worse.

Chrysalis after a while went up to the other sheet on the floor next to Dash and while she did that, Rainbow Dash asked.
“W-what is the meaning of this!?”
Chrysalis stopped and grabbed the sheet on the floor and before pulling it off, so stared she deeply into Dash's eyes for a couple of breaths. In a sweep the white sheet then flew off behind Chrysalis into the darkness and what had been laying under it was almost too much for Rainbow Dash.
Next to her there now was laying a big rectangular shaped piece of wood with pale grey cloth almost covering the whole thing and on it, a wide selection of twisted tools.
Rainbow Dash lost her sanity there for a second as she saw all the knives, hooks, tongs, saws and other sharp objects. There were mostly knives, shaped into all kinds of strange angels and spirals.
Dash watched them with her eyes vibrating and slowly looked up at Chrysalis.
“C-Chrysalis... I-I beg of you... p-please.”
She said close to burst out in cry but held it in, Chrysalis went then up to her and stroke her mane carefully and added.
“I am sssorry but... thisss hasss to be done.”

“W-what have I possibly done to deserve torture... why isn't killing me just enough for you... do you want me to beg for mercy... because I will do that if it means an end to this?!”
Rainbow Dash started shouting desperately with tears in her eyes, she was basically crying but not fully out just yet. Her voice was filled with dreaded terror which Dash very well knew, she wanted to prove that she really was terrified as she had mention on the small hill outside Ponyville, but that wouldn't help her.
“Ssshhh... itsss okey.”
Chrysalis just whispered out, trying to ignore everything Rainbow Dash said and she actually this time didn't have her cruel facial expression.
“No it's not... do you really hate me that much... is there something you want from me... please tell me?!”
Rainbow Dash was more than desperate at this point, her words left her with haste and she really was giving in to the crying.

The fear of more pain and the imagination of the suffering these tools could provide to Rainbow Dash were overwhelming. It was almost like Dash already could feel how Chrysalis picked up one of the many hooks laying next to her and shoved it in her already existing and on-going healing wound on her side, just to rip it wide open and tear out her organs.
“Thisss hasss nothing to do with hate or anything elssse... and to be honessst... I don't want to do thisss to you.”
Chrysalis said which only made Rainbow Dash's mind more confused than ever, she could understand if Chrysalis wanted to hurt her with simply her cruelty. But not showing any dislike what so ever towards her and even tell her that she didn't want to harm her didn't make sense.
“But why are you then doing this?!”
Rainbow Dash continued to yell and looked up in a quick motion at Chrysalis.
She really looked miserly in her face with the two black eyes which now were red by the tears and far from being done with releasing them. Her imaginations were currently at the moment causing more harm to Dash than Chrysalis herself.

“It'sss... complicated... but sssoon... you will underssstand.”
Chrysalis just simply answered as she continued to only use calm and as few words as possibly to give Rainbow Dash, which in one way only made the whole situation worse.
“Please Chrysalis... d-don't do this... you can't possibly deny my fear now... just look at me!”
Rainbow Dash screamed with so much tears in her eyes that everything was blurry.
Her weeping were loud and the sound of the water from her eyes, hitting the stone floor as she waved her head brutally left and right made even Chrysalis to give an expression like she thought bad for her. In time, Rainbow Dash calmed down herself somewhat but far from completely, but when she did let her head hang lifeless down, facing the floor and with her face in shadow, so forced Chrysalis her to look up at her again.

Sobbing without a stop didn't really affect Chrysalis that much more then she trying to comfort Rainbow Dash with patting her on the head and then saying.
“Everyone have a fear for pain... and that'sss good... becaussse that help usss avoid it... I do not sssee you as sssomeone weak or as a coward for ssshedding tearsss in moment like thisss... ssseeing what'sss sssurrounding you while being tied up... I can underssstand that.”
Rainbow Dash was far over the edge of being broken, Chrysalis had bested her and was in full control.
“Chrysalis... please!”
Continued Dash to beg for mercy but she was willing to do much more than just that. Because of her mind being so weak and easy to manipulate at the moment, Chrysalis wouldn't have any difficulty with getting Dash to do pretty much anything for her. But Chrysalis already knew what she was going to do with Dash and nothing was going to stop her, especially not the stranger for her which was the emotion sympathy.
Chrysalis stayed quiet and went slowly up behind Rainbow Dash which forced Dash to look into the mirror in front of her to be able to continue to see the Changeling queen without turning her head painfully back. There she then sat down and made a small sigh as she watched over Rainbow Dash's head into the mirror where they created an eye contact for a while. Dash's crying seemed to never have a stop, she was already exhaust from the terrified fear she was bound to and the screaming she had let go off every time she had said anything.

She wasn't the slightest afraid in showing Chrysalis her wrecked face and her true emotions, but if it just had been a couple of days back when she wasn't alone, so would it have been a big different.
Chrysalis then turned coldly enough her head simply away from the eye contact with Rainbow Dash and looked over at the tools and selected one to pick with a thin and flexible hand out of her mane.
Rainbow Dash didn't see what she exactly choose due to her panic and neither wanted she really to know. She gave attempt after attempt to break free but once again, only in vain and losing more strength. She was so weak and tired plus being in so much pain that she wouldn’t have been able to stand up on her own. Chrysalis then leaned over Rainbow Dash's exposed back and stroked it with one of her hoofs.
“Your ssskin... it'sss ssso... sssoft and fragile... beautiful in itsss colour as well... and as much as I would hate to harm it... ssso will itsss fragility make thisss easssier.”
She said while looking at Dash's back and almost lose herself while touching Dash's boiling hot skin. In the reflection of the mirror so saw Rainbow Dash how Chrysalis eyes were focused down on her and how those eyes of her had an obsessed look on them.

It must have been one of the scariest things Rainbow Dash had ever seen which made her to look down at the floor when she couldn’t bear to watch what was happening in the mirror any more. She cried for herself while feeling her back being gently touched, but then all the sudden a cold wave hit Rainbow Dash's entire back and that spread quickly through her body. She threw her head up to face the mirror and screamed terrified out, but all that had happen was that Chrysalis had poured some water over Dash's back with a bowl she apparently had the whole time next to her. Surprised she looked up at the mirror and saw Rainbow Dash's facial expression, she found it rather sad that Dash was so twitchy already before she even had started.
“Please do try to gather your thoughtsss and relax... if you sssimply would accept thisss ssso would it be ssso much easssier... mossstly for yourssself.”
Chrysalis said and from now on, Dash could barely handle using words any more, all she did was to cry and scream loud and wild which made Chrysalis just to shake her head in a sigh.

She knew at this point that nothing could calm her down, but at the same time she could understand why and knew that what was coming up next wouldn't help.
“I'm sssorry to sssay thisss but... I think have to remove your wingsss... they are sssimply too much in the way.”
Chrysalis said and in that moment the world just stopped for Rainbow Dash, she froze in place and her crying just died out and became silent. A strange sound came from her throat like a dagger got driven into her chest and followed shortly with her nose to start bleeding. Soon after that, Chrysalis grabbed firmly the base of Rainbow Dash's both wings with two hands and pulled them tight and at that point, Dash just dropped her head hanging. Chrysalis was simply going to just break the hard parts like bone and cartilage an such with brutal force and then cut the flesh and muscles with something sharp, but in the abrupt silent Rainbow Dash fell in to made Chrysalis to also stop by surprise. It was quiet for once wherever they were and after have been thinking some in the silent so had Chrysalis strangely changed her mind.
“Well... when I thing about it... ssso can the wingsss ssstay... they aren’t that much in the way.”
She said and without looking up, Rainbow Dash just kept her head low and with long drawn-out words, she ignore her sorrow for a second and spoke with a clear voice.

“You really deserve the Changelings as a family... because no one else would ever want you.”
Rainbow Dash whispered out quietly with no fear in her voice, but she didn't realize those words would have such impact on Chrysalis because the first thing the Changeling queen did when Dash was done, was to jam a curved blade right into Dash's lower back. The thin cold blade dug deep into her flesh and scratched lightly a part of a bone. Rainbow Dash twitched with her whole body and screamed quickly out. She threw her head back immediately and saw the blade still being stuck in her body just above her right cutie mark. Her eyes started to get tears in them and as she looked up to face Chrysalis, so felt she a wind filed with unease pass by. Chrysalis face was terrifying, she looked like a creepy doll with no facial expression, meaning she didn't look mad or anything else.
Rainbow Dash just kept as quiet as she possible could with her eyes watering and throwing her gaze back and forth at Chrysalis face and the blade stuck in her.
“You know... I have myssself thought about that.”
The Changeling queen said calm as nothing had happen and brutally pulled out the blade from Dash.

A disgusting sound was created as she made a long cut in the same motion as she pulled it free along her lower back and made Dash to moan in pain.
She then reached for a different tool on the side and while doing it she continued to speak.
“Maybe... maybe I'm jussst unlucky being the one I am.”
Chrysalis voice was still calm and horrifying and whatever she had picked up so shoved she it between Dash's shoulders without delay. Rainbow Dash bit firmly her jaws close and was fighting the pain, Chrysalis slowly then pulled along Dash's spine with her new tool like a zipper and made a line in the middle of Dash's back. Rainbow Dash managed to keep her screams for herself in the beginning, but the further Chrysalis pulled the harder it got. In the very end she couldn't take any more and gave into the pain, shouting.
“No more please!”
Chrysalis stopped with some space to spare to Dash's tail and once again pulled loose the blade without caring.

When Rainbow Dash's shouts of pain faded out, placed Chrysalis each of her front hoofs on each side of the line on Dash's back she just had made and stretched out the wound.
While Rainbow Dash gave birth to new screams of agony so didn't the Changeling queen care this time and talked over it.
“I'm going to give you a mark... but which purpossse aren’t relevant for you to know jussst yet... sssee it as a tattoo... a tattoo made out of your ssscarsss.”
“I... I don't under...”
Rainbow Dash tried to ask while breathing heavily and enduring massive pain, but she got interrupt with another sharp tool being forced into her skin and breaking it apart which this time happen extremely quickly. Rainbow Dash never got the chance to talk or to use words at all, she every time had to release a long crying roar but Chrysalis, she spoke in every opportunity while Dash had to keep her mind in handling the fresh cuts on her back.

“You sssee... cutting in sssinge linesss makesss relative thin ssscarsss... making them hard to be visssible.”
Chrysalis started to explain but all that Dash could feel or hear was her own blood flowing on her sides and the burning pain which echoed with her high voice.
“But you know how to force the body to create a good ssscar... it'sss pretty sssimple... you jussst make another line next to an already exisssting one.”
She continued and once again Dash felt and heard her back being tortured but Chrysalis who seemed strangely experienced in curving flesh made it quick this time and was already to the next step. Rainbow Dash felt how her throat was sore from all the screams she had released but her crying oddly enough wasn't that bad, she handled the pain with screams and emotion with tears.
Chrysalis leaned over Dash's back and put a pressure on her, the Changeling queen’s skin was crude like mountain and it felt according to Rainbow Dash like laying on her back on a cliff. Chrysalis stretched her head over to Rainbow Dash's ear and pulled in a breath as she smelled her mane, she then went even closer with her head and whispered with slow words, making the warm air from her mouth to make Dash's skin to crawl.

“And then... you sssimply peel of the ssskin... in the thin ssstripes you made.”
“No... no... please.”
Tiredsome Rainbow Dash said both weak and slow but it was already too late. Chrysalis did exactly as she had explained and a tearing sound then broke lose. It sounded just like thick spider web being torn apart except for louder, Dash didn't feel any pain more than she already was in and was at first confused in the sound she was hearing. But then the horror once again laid itself to peace as a long stripe of pale, light blue skin was thrown in front of the mirror with its backside red and moist by blood. It hit the floor in a weak splashing sound and as Rainbow Dash saw it, realized she what it actually was. Slowly but sure her mouth opened and her facial expression changed drastically, she felt the pain on her back raise as if she was reaching a hoof over a fire. In the beginning it only stung a little bit but it quickly increased and Rainbow Dash was prepared to release her charged up scream, if it wasn't for Chrysalis. The Changeling queen grabbed Dash's muzzle and forced it close so Rainbow Dash's upcoming roar of pain only became a muffled scream like she did it into a pillow.

“Sssave your agony... and your preciousss voice... thisss isss far from done little one... I didn't think I would enjoy thisss but it'sss jussst sssomething with your voice that makesss my ssskin crawl!”
Chrysalis shouted and she wasn't lying, in the next past hours she tortured Rainbow Dash in the same means and it was awkwardly calm actually. Of course in the beginning Dash couldn't bear to stay silent, but as she lost with time the feeling of pain expect for those time when Chrysalis went deep, so was she only crying lightly as she knew what in fact happen behind her. Stripes of her skin went left and right and in time she was surrounded by them, she felt butchered, being the poor animal as she was while getting partly skinned for some sick purpose. Chrysalis used most out of her tools and they quickly grew to a bloody mess on the grey cloth they were laying on, except for the saws which Chrysalis most likely were going to use to get rid of Rainbow Dash's wings.
Why she decided to spare them was unknown but they ended up anyway on the side, all clean and untouched.

During the course of time so started Dash to throw up at a regular base, probable just a different reaction to the pain that she now couldn't feel anymore, she didn't want to know how her back looked like but she could guess it was completely destroyed. But after a couple of hours that felt like an eternity, so straightened Chrysalis her body from have been leaning over Rainbow Dash's back and just sat their quiet. Rainbow Dash didn't believe it was over yet and didn't hope for anything, she felt like there was no more hope for her in the first place. She could hear and partly see how Chrysalis reached for something behind her as she stared into her own eyes in the mirror.
The Changeling queen then appeared with a bowel grabbed with her mane and leered to her side at Dash in the mirror. She reached the bowel in front of Dash's nose and immediately so could Dash feel a strong smell. It set her nostrils on fire but she didn't flinch more than her eyes twitching a bit, Dash saw that it was something similar in the look of water but that obviously wasn't.
When Chrysalis then saw that Rainbow Dash had gotten a good smell out of it, so pulled she in the bowl to her and said as she looked at Rainbow Dash through the mirror.

“Now little sssky pony... I'm going to pour thisss fluid over your back to make sssure your woundsss ssstay clean... now... as you may guesss... it'sss pretty ssstrong and I don't expect you to be able to take thisss without passsing out... but the next time you sssee me... I will tell you everything... why I did thisss to you... and more.”
Rainbow Dash stared twitchy and half consciousness into Chrysalis dark but yet calm eyes while struggling to say only two simple words.
“B-b-b... b-bite me.”
Chrysalis pulled half a smile but only for a brief second, she found it rather cute how Rainbow Dash still resisted but at the same time she tried to realize the situation. Her cruel face soon enough once again returned and she then did it, she released whatever was in the bowl over Rainbow Dash and as it flushed away some of the blood so could Dash feel something strange happening. Her legs got hard as rock and stretched out by themselves, she couldn't bend them and soon after that she felt how her entire body started to itch some extremely. Without be able of controlling it so fell her eyes shut slowly and she couldn't understand why, but the reason for that was that she was passing out by the pain, pain that her body was to numb to feel but still was there.

Author's Note

As you may have notice, my story is now cancelled due to lack of interest and inspiration from my part. I don't even know if there’s anyone following the story but if that's the case, I guess no one got disappointed. I had tons of fun writing what I did and I have no clue if I ever will finish it.
I'm extremely grateful for those who actually took their time to read/rate/comment/favorite the story and are super thankful for you all, even though I maybe didn't say that to everyone, Thanks.

Chapter 6: To The Beast's New Lair

Chapter 6: To The Beast's New Liar

With a solid bite and grasp around her halberds handle, Rainbow Dash took off from the fogy Ponyville and made her way in a straight line over to Canterlot. The rain was thick as a shower on its maximum effect and she regular had to dodge lightning that struck down from above like thin and unstable pillars. As a flexible and slippery eel she passed them in quick turns without any problems, flying was after all a part of her. She ignored all her wounds, not knowing if they actually hurt or not while creeping up toward the mountain to Canterlot. Her wings flapped at full speed and her warm breath passed her nostrils in a dense steam. The rain was ice-cold and almost like freezing needles that struck her skin and melted immediately on impact. Rainbow Dash’s mind was only set on one thing for the moment and that was Twilight. But she didn’t think too much on her to be honest, she couldn’t dare to let her fantasy go free and think of everything that possible could have happen to her at this point.

Twilight was alive, Rainbow Dash knew that, she felt it in her heart but she was more concerned about what would happen to her next and why Queen Chrysalis had the interests of having her alive. Rainbow Dash passed the mountain on its side and appeared from beneath, she was flying straight up and despite the thick mist both at the ground and the air, she felt watched. She tried to look around at all time as carefully as she just could to see if she was followed or if she juts was observed from a distance. But there was no one there, she was alone in the darkness and surrounded by the night all alone and that really frightened her. She expected to have to fight her way to Canterlot, being forced to kill more Changelings than she ever had in her life which she wouldn’t have hesitated in doing if she knew that could lead her to Twilight. But that wasn’t the case, she reached the edge of Canterlot without have seen a single living being and that made her feel far from at ease. She landed on a rather large balcony with the feeling of something being horrible wrong and looked in to where the balcony lead. It was dark inside with some few torches on the wall, Rainbow Dash didn’t see too far in thanks to the lack of light but she saw at least that it lead to some sort of giant hall. Strangle alike the one in Cloudsdale where her halberd for the first time got the taste of blood.

Rainbow Dash stayed on the balcony and felt unsure to walk inside, she more than one time looked back over the edge of the balcony to its view but saw nothing then mist and the heavy raining night. Lightning of course echoed in the air together with the rain and Rainbow Dash started to feel how her wet and cold body started to shake by it. She wanted to make sure that she really was alone but regardless of how much she tried to look around and not seeing anyone, she still felt far from eased. Before the cold really made Rainbow Dash’s body stiff and total numbness so swallowed she loud and decided to walk in. Immediately when she got roof over her head, the sound from the storm outside changed to be quieter. The entrance in was huge with soft turning sides and where they met in the middle with a pointy spike. Some windows was on the left side of the hall that was few but enormous, they had many images in them in their colourful glass and almost told a story just by watching them.

Rainbow Dash made small and slowly steps forward with her head low and with her halberd firmly griped between her teeth. About one third through the hall, a quick cracking sound came from Dash’s left that made her jump in to a battle position towards the sound. Her heart immediately started to beat so you could dance to it and her body got tense and still. She searched with her eyes what had made the sound but found nothing, she was confused and felt more and more worry but then the cracking sound appeared again and this time, she had her eyes at the right place. It was one of the big windows along that wall that started to crack at the bottom by the weather. She could see and hear how the many small cracks grown further up the window by the cold outside. Rainbow Dash was expecting the whole window to explode at any second and made herself prepared for it to do so. But the window went quickly quiet again and it appeared so it was only a strange timing for it to have happen right now. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and looked back to the balcony where she had come from.

A trail of water was behind her and that she had made across the halls floor to where she stood right now. Rainbow Dash sighed in how edgy she was and turned back to the hall, she walked some couple of steps deeper in and then something else happen. The torch in the end of the hall went out with heavy smoke from it almost like it was shoved into water. Rainbow Dash stopped and only stared for a while at the abruptly extinguished torch and made then a small step forward. When her hoof reached the floor, another torch burned out just as suddenly and left the end of the hall pitch black. This time Rainbow Dash took a step backwards by the feeling of something really being strange, but that only trigged another event. The opening out to the balcony had two giant doors on each side and these door by a pure gleam, closed themselves fast in an extremely loud bump that echoed through the hall.

By surprise Rainbow Dash looked back in a twitch and saw then how the two wooden door now blocked the way out and how the sound of a lock go off also echoed weakly. The torches behind her then also went out just like the ones further in and left now both ways in complete darkness. But the torch closest to Dash stayed in flames for some reason and she heard after that how another torch in front of her hissed in its death from being burned out.
She looked forward and saw the last smoke leaving a third torch that had went dark and now it wasn't many left. A laugh and some small giggles then all the sudden circulated the hall in weakly amusement, but there was no one to be seen.
“What have we here?”
A foul voice broke loose from the darkness with a entertained tone to itself. Rainbow Dash was breathing a bit more heavy then usual but she stayed somewhat calm.

Her head searched desperate the voices owner, but there wasn't much space left that was lighten up to see and less space it also became when the touches deeper in continued to burn out one by one.
“A lossst little child... or maybe only an ssshortsssighted creature.”
The same voice said with a hissing pronunciation and Rainbow Dash didn't know what to do.
“S-show yourself!”
She decided to scream out to the darkness and the only thing she got was once again words with an amused sound to them.
“And ssspoil the fun?”
“I know your kind of fun... don't even try to lure me in your different forms... show me your true... disgusting self!”
Rainbow Dash said with a strong and clear voice and in the next second a giant wind came towards her and blew out the rest of the torches in front of her and left her in complete darkness.

Not a single thing could she see, it was completely pitch black but soon enough her halberd started to glow in a soft orange colour.
“W-what’s happening?!”
Rainbow Dash asked herself while her halberd only continued to grow brighter and brighter and she started to feel also how its metal started to burn. In the end she had to drop it by the heat to her teeth and tongue it gave her and when it hit the floor it really started to take a fiery form. It was almost like it was made of the sun and it was currently also the only light source in the entire hall.
“You really thought you could even out an encounter with me... wielding a physssical weapon?”
The voice said in echoes and this time coming from behind Dash. She looked back but of course saw nothing, the voice once more spoke and this time it came from a total different direction.
“I mussst sssay... it'sss intresssting to sssee sssomepony jussst walking in like thisss... what are your purpossse here?”
“You know very well why I'm here... you have my friend!
Rainbow Dash shouted out but she wasn't exactly sure where to look while doing it.
“Ahh... a dear friend to the ssstudent of the fallen princesss!”
The voice expressed itself in extreme excitement and from absolutely nowhere, Queen Chrysalis jumped out of the darkness in to the light on the other side of the glowing halberd.

Rainbow Dash flinched back a couple of steps by surprised and gave away at first a scared face in the sight of the Queen of Changelings. Chrysalis was far bigger than Rainbow Dash and had her hoofs wide and solid with a crude look to themselves. They were covered in strange holes and her skin almost looked like black stone. Her eyes were enormous with a poison green mist to their colour and both her pupils were a deep dark green like two shining gems. The horn on her forehead was massive, almost like the head of Rainbow Dash's own halberd and it had an awfully strange shape to itself.
A bit further back on top of her head behind her horn, she had her bizarre outgrow of four small egg-looking things coming directly out from her skull and that Rainbow Dash didn't have a clue on what they were. She was quiet and only stared in silent with a big evil smile at Dash and Rainbow Dash herself, she changed quickly her own facial expression.

A gaze made of pure hate she gave Chrysalis and which amused her greatly, she even had to smile bigger and say half laughing.
“What's thisss... I feel no fear from you... that'sss a rare thing for me to sssee... isss it jussst that your brave and filled with courageousss... or are you jussst arrogant beyond ssstop?”
“Does it matter?”
Rainbow Dash simply added with her angry look and that once more made Chrysalis to laugh and say.
“Nay.”
Chrysalis took after her single word a step forwards to the halberd laying on the floor and stopped right in front of it. There she then puffed up her mane softly with a hoof like Rarity used to do and leered at the same time at Rainbow Dash. Dash was a bit confused why she did that but soon she would know. Queen Chrysalis dark-blue and glorious long mane was after all not just a bunch of silken smooth hair, it was imbue with magic as well as her horn.

She transformed a strand of hair of her mane in to big solid hand with three big boxy fingers that she grabbed the burning hot halberd on the floor. Rainbow Dash don't know how but the sound the hand of hair made when it came in contact with the halberd and small parts of the stone floor was just like it was metal itself.
She didn't suffer the slightest by the glowing hot handle of the halberd and the next thing she did, was to point it to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash finally lost her tough and secured face when she saw how Chrysalis started to walk towards her with her own weapon against her.
She started to walk backwards away from her but when she did that, Chrysalis was shaking her head amused and said quietly.
“Nooo yooou dooon't.”
Another hand she made of her mane but on the other side of her head and that she immediately reached out to Rainbow Dash, grabbing her neck and pulling her towards the halberd.

It was impossible to fight the hands strength and it stopped her right in front of the glowing blade. Rainbow Dash tried to pull back her head as far as possible to get away from the weapon and her eyes actually was filled with fear and worry in felling the heat from it.
“Ssstill brave... or arrogant?”
Chrysalis asked with a wide smile while closing in on Rainbow Dash with her own head. Rainbow Dash answered but not with words, she instead got back her hating look and spat right across the glowing halberd in Chrysalis face. Dash hit her just under her left eye and made her flinch a bit by the surprise. She looked over at Rainbow Dash and just smiled not caring too much, she then open her mouth and used her long and thin reptile tongue to lick it up and just say humiliating.
“Deliciousss!”
Rainbow Dash was disgusted, but despite that she tried not to care of what she just had seen and asked simply.
“Where is Twilight?”
“Twilight Sssparkle... yesss... an amusssing ssstory actually... my minionsss found her as random as it wasss right in Ponyville... wandering itsss streetsss in the missst... she mussst been extremely confusssed in mind to do sssomething like that.”
Chrysalis answered Dash which made Dash to blame herself for everything, she tried not to show her regret however and only continued to ask things that she somewhat wondered about.
“And... and what will be of me?”

Chrysalis for the first time lost her smile and amusement and only looked at Rainbow Dash with a thoughtful expression. It took some time for her to say anything but when she did, so didn't Rainbow Dash like it.
“Hmm... you can actually be to my advantage when I think about it.”
“W-what do you mean?!”
Rainbow Dash asked rather frightened and Queen Chrysalis didn't delay with and answer.
“Well... you sssee... your dear friend have made it rather complicated for herssself... my foolisssh minionsss sssomehow lossst their grasssp of her and now ssshe have trapped herssself in some kind of protective bubble.”
“Ha... you will never be able to break through to her... there's nothing I can do and even if I could... I would never help you!”
Rainbow Dash confident said but Chrysalis didn't show too much concern and only added shortly after.
“It'sss jussst a matter of time till her ssshield will fall my little missstresss... ssshe mussst after all sssleep sssooner or later... and don't you worry... you don't need to cooperate... you living body isss all I need.”

In the next second everything went dark, the halberd lost it glow to it and Rainbow Dash tried to quickly ask what Chrysalis was going to do. But she didn't however have time to utter a single word because the next thing that happened was that Dash heard how the halberd got dropped to the floor and how a made up hand from Chrysalis mane grabbed her muzzle. It stopped Rainbow Dash to say or make any sound and then she felt how she got carried away in the darkness. With time they exited the dark hall and Rainbow Dash could actually now see her whole surrounding. She was laying on Chrysalis back, rapped in her mane and stuck in place. They walked through the castle and the whole way, Dash saw how Changelings were following them. They looked curiously at her and she couldn't lie, they were many. Later they entered a similar hall to where they had left from and though Dash didn't see what waited in that hall, so was it Twilight in the end, completely surrounded by Changelings.

She was sitting on the floor with her eyes closed and her face turned down to the floor, she was concentrating to hold up her little pink coloured shield around her and outside it. Queen Chrysalis herself had made her own shield so Twilight impossible could go anywhere or even teleport pass it.
Chrysalis held Dash hidden for now and stopped before reaching her shield that was around Twilight's. She was quiet for some time before asking Twilight calmly with a sneer.
“Ssso... have you decided be a nice girl thisss time and lower that ssshield by own power?”
Twilight looked up immediately but slowly and opened her eyes and said while trying to hold her voice strong when she actually was rather tired.
“There... there is nothing you can do or say to make me lower this shield spell voluntary!”
Rainbow Dash on Chrysalis back tried to move free and make as much noise as she possible could but Chrysalis magic was far too powerful for a single pony to break free from it by pure body strength.
“Oh but you jussst ssso wrong there my little... annoying filth.”
Chrysalis said which got Twilight to lower one of her eyebrows by surprised and being confused.

The next thing Chrysalis simply did was to reveal Rainbow Dash and throw her with her mane towards Twilight. Dash landed brutally on the floor between Twilight and Chrysalis and when she looked up so could she clearly see the chock in Twilight's face.
“D-D-Dash!?”
She said in huge panic by the sound of her voice and though Dash didn't want so looked she directly in to Twilight's eyes and said rather weak in her voice.
“I'm sorry... I'm sorry for everything.”
Twilight was covered in small bruises, most likely after have encounter the Changelings in Ponyville and she only continued to stare speechless at Rainbow Dash and quiet for herself she repeated in grief and close to get tears in her eyes.
“No... just no... why?”

“Oh ssso touching... but I think it'sss bessst for ussse to get to the purpossse of thisss reunion... now... Twilight... thisss isss the lassst time I will asssk nicely... lower you ssshield and give up your resssissstance... or I maybe jussst have to hurt your friend over here.”
Chrysalis said and all Twilight did was to start to shake and all the Changelings around them started to get excited and jumpy in await of her words, but it was actually Rainbow Dash who broke the silent.
“Don't do it Twilight!”
She screamed out which got everypony's attention, even Chrysalis looked down in front of her surprised.
“Whatever happen to me... don't lower that shield!”
Dash continued to shout, Chrysalis went up then to her and putted a hoof on Rainbow Dash's back and said surprised in what she had heard.
“Well well... aren’t you a loyal one.”

Dash looked back right in to Chrysalis eyes and she without knowing it smiled when she heard that particular sentence from the Changeling Queen. Chrysalis got a blizzard facial expression and whispers quietly for herself.
“You... sssmile?”
She then immediately looked back up at Twilight and quickly added.
“Well Twilight... what isss it going to be?”
Twilight bounced her gaze back and forth between Rainbow Dash and Chrysalis with her jaws shaking in confusion. Rainbow Dash was shaking her head while watching Twilight with determined eyes and that actually got Twilight to say.
“N-no... I won't lower it.”
Chrysalis sighed in hopelessness but didn't fear the slightest, she only thought all this was a waste of time.
“As you wisssh.”
She said and grabbed Rainbow Dash's left hind leg with a hand from her mane and threw her over to the side in to a wall.

She used a lot of power in her throw but that was merely the beginning.
It took some time for Dash to recover from the hit with the solid stone wall and right after that, Chrysalis said out loud to the hall.
“Well my Changelingsss... give her what ssshe dessservesss... but don't be to harsssh... I want her to be able to ssstand after you done with her!”
All the Changelings looked at Chrysalis and nodded satisfied and then, all of them moved over to Rainbow Dash.
“No... please don't do this to her!”
Twilight yelled and stood up in her bubble and all Chrysalis did was to say while looking away at Rainbow Dash.
“Thisss wasss your and your decisssion alone... lower the ssshield and I may order them to ssstep back.”
“Don't do it Twilight... whatever you do don't do it... I can handle this!”
Rainbow Dash shouted which got Chrysalis to look down and sigh and not long after that, Rainbow Dash was surrounded.

She was pinned to the wall by them all and took a harsh beating, she didn't even try to fight back, they were way too many for that. She only laid down on the floor with her back against the wall, accepting what she got and while trying to protect her head. Constantly she got kicked and hit by the Changelings and also for a long time. Twilight had turned around because she simply couldn't stand to watch, she heard everything happen behind her and she held her eyes closed firmly to hinder her tears to pass by.
“That'sss enough!”
Chrysalis then shouted in a annoyed sight and though the Changelings continued to harm Rainbow Dash more, so did they after a while thin out and leave her.

Twilight turned back to see how Rainbow Dash was holding up and though she technical was fine from injure, so didn't it look like it. She was completely covered in bruises and light scratch wounds with minimal blood coming from them, she had a black eye on both her eyes and was currently trying to be standing up that took some major time.
“Come over here... or sssuffer more when I pull you over myssself!”
Chrysalis yelled far from friendly to Rainbow Dash and Dash actually saw it to be best to obey her even if she didn't want to. Slowly she started to limp her way over to Chrysalis while facing down and also tried to discretely look at her at the same time.

It was a frightened sight Rainbow Dash had to admit, the giant Changeling Queen was her true self now. When Rainbow Dash got a bit closer but still had some steps to make to reach her, so charged Queen Chrysalis unexpected towards her and tackled Rainbow Dash violent in to her shield she had made around Twilight's.
Rainbow Dash flew like a feather strapped to a small rock through the air and hit the shields surface more brutally then the wall before she got her beating. She whimpered there on the floor in pain and saw how Twilight was crying on the other side of the two force fields.
“Why did you come here... why?!”
Twilight screamed to her but all Rainbow Dash did was oddly enough smiling. Twilight thought she did that because she was so lost and muddle-headed by all the pain that she had endured but Dash did that with intention, because she saw how it was herself who suffered and not somepony else.
But once again, it was far from over her.

Chrysalis went up closer to Rainbow Dash but kept some distance. She then made a hand out of her mane and transformed it even more after that.
All its three fingers melted in to each other and became one single but extremely long strand of hair that she allowed to rest on the floor. The next thing she did was to throw back her head in a small movement but enough for her whole strand of hair to follow in a quick and flexible move. Then she sort of nodded towards Rainbow Dash and her hair followed short after and hit Rainbow Dash's body with its tip, Chrysalis had made a whip out of her mane. In a loud and painful lash it hit Rainbow Dash's lower body and she made a short-lived scream.
“Dash!”
Twilight yelled and ran up to her shield where Rainbow Dash was laying just outside.
“No Twilight... don't you dare to give in because of me!”
Rainbow Dash screamed out when the pain from the lash somewhat had faded away in fear of that Twilight was going to lowering her defence because of her agony.

Immediately after that Chrysalis launched another hit with her hair-made-whip and that struck Dash right in her back. She held in her scream but barely, she crawled in to be as small as possible against the shield next to her and then just try to endure everything. Chrysalis went early wild and just preformed hit after hit with an angry face and Twilight was just broken-hearted, she fell to the floor by her legs giving up and made a facial expression like she was insane.
“No more... please.”
She whispered out total ruined while watching Rainbow Dash who held her body tense and eyes closed. After a while Dash couldn't hold in it anymore, she now made a loud echoing scream for every hit she received and her body was filled with tormenting red lines that hurt some incredible.
It was a burning feeling and she even started to cry herself just by the pain.

Chrysalis saw that no progress was really made, she only wanted one thing and that was to break Twilight. She made another hair-whip on the other side of her head and putted it in action immediately. The whole room echoed in Rainbow Dash's poor scream and the sound of her getting lashed every second. Twilight had shoved her head down to the floor between here front hoofs and cried while trying to blocking out everything, but that was a purely impossible thing to do. All the Changelings around them just stood there, watching the torture with a neutral facial expression and not giving a single reaction away. They were many, the hall was big and maybe even around eighty of them stood there but still rather far away from their queen. More of them were outside in lack of space for them to fit, they wanted after all just to stay close to their queen or was just curiously about the screams that flowed through the castle. But Rainbow Dash's screams started to go more and quieter for every hit by the loss of strength she had suffered from.

She was just crying now while laying there on the floor though she continued to receive a heavy beating from Chrysalis.
“Thisss isss ridiculesss!”
Queen Chrysalis yelled out by inpatient and hit Rainbow Dash hard with both of her whips at the same time which actually made Dash to scream weakly while whimpering. A short time of silent then passed by with only the crying from Dash and Twilight and the lightning and rain coming from outside. Chrysalis was furious and was even breathing heavy because of that.
She threw her two whips to Rainbow Dash but not in a harming matter this time, she only did so to be able to grab her both hind legs and then pull her towards her. Twilight looked up with weeping eyes and looked confused, Chrysalis placed Rainbow Dash right in front of her and only looked down at her with not a single trace of care for her. She leered at Twilight and Twilight saw that but didn't react in any special way.

The Queen of Changelings then stepped forwards and stood now over Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash herself manage to roll over to her back that made her give away an extremely painful gaze back up at Chrysalis. Chrysalis stared deep into Dash's eyes and Dash in to hers. Both of them were silent which Chrysalis in person found odd, she actually expected Dash to beg of an end to this, which she maybe should have done.
“You’re not even going to pray for mercy... are you?”
She asked Dash quietly with a surprised voice while slowly shaking her head in that she never ever had seen such stubborn mind to a creature.

Dash was indeed persistent, maybe too much to be honest because all she did was to shake her head tiredly and weak. Chrysalis only sighed and made then without delay four hand out of here mane. She used them to flip Rainbow Dash so she had her belly against the floor and held with one pair of her hands Rainbow Dash front hoofs in place.
She then stepped up with her own front hoof onto Rainbow Dash hind legs and held them down as well with her own body weight. Rainbow Dash was no total pinned down to the floor and couldn't move a limb expect for her wings that wasn't going to help her the slightest in a situation like this.
Dash tried to look back at Chrysalis but the Changeling queen only made a fifth hand out of her mane and held Dash's skull down to the floor, facing so she had Twilight right in front of her.

“W-what are you going to do with her?!”
Twilight asked breathing on top of her lungs and twitchy to every nerve on her body.
Chrysalis didn't say anything, she had enough of this and decided not to hold in anymore.
With her last pair of two hands she grabbed around Rainbow Dash's waist just above her hips and transformed and made the thumbs into long and sharp curved spikes. She placed the sharp edged pieces of her mane on each side of Rainbow Dash chest, just where her ribs started and with not a single second to waste, she shoved them deep in to Rainbow Dash's body. Immediately Dash opened her mouth and made the loudest scream she ever had in her entire life. Blood poured out from the two wounds onto the floor and made quickly a little pool of the red fluid under her.

Chrysalis twisted the thumbs back and forth, focusing in making the pain constant and remaining.
She stroke the first pair of ribs inside Dash's body and pushed harshly on her inner muscles surrounding them.
“Nooo... stop!”
Twilight screamed trapped inside the two shields, crying without stop but more focus on to what happened to Rainbow Dash then her tears. Chrysalis ignore Twilight, she was to concentrated in making Rainbow Dash suffer beyond belief. Dash screamed and screamed in a never ending agony and tried desperately to break free but Chrysalis was far too superior in her grip over her. Her eyes were like two waterfalls and all she could see was Twilight further away, whimpering herself by seeing this on-going torture. Though no one really saw this then Chrysalis, knowing that she did it and Rainbow Dash who actually felt it. So while having her spikes inside Rainbow Dash, added the queen small razor sharp blades to come out from them, causing even more damage and pain.

Rainbow Dash's screams after that became awfully strange, she could barely breath and when she did, her lungs that expanded by the air only pushed her insides for more suffer.
“I... I do it... I lower my spell if you just stop hurting her!”
Twilight yelled when she had enough and didn't care anymore, Rainbow Dash of course heard this and regardless of her state so managed she to scream out.
“NOO TWILIGHT!”
But it was already too late, Twilight allowed her shield to fail and now only Chrysalis shield was left. But what Twilight quickly notice was that Queen Chrysalis didn't stop, she continued to harm Dash which made her confused beyond anything.

“It's... it's down... do you hear me... it's down... I give up!”
She continued to scream but Chrysalis ignored her too fully.
She was currently sawing in and out Rainbow Dash's body with her two hands and held a focus but cruel face while doing so. Twilight didn't understand a thing and was sweating as much as tears left her eyes.
She sprinted away to the middle of Chrysalis dark green bubble shield and aimed her horn to its inner surface. Her horn then started to glow like magma and a massive fire beam left her forehead to it. It hit the force field in a lump of thick floating lava but it did absolutely nothing, it only got stuck there for a while and then fell down onto the floor where it then slowly melted a small pit around itself.

Chrysalis continued to tormenting Rainbow Dash and Twilight felt how she was going to pass out soon. She did fall to the floor in front of her smoking lava pile and said this time not screaming, she was too weak to yell.
“Please Chrysalis... I beg you... stop... I do... I do anything you want... just... just stop.”
In a immediately flash Queen Chrysalis stopped moving about her made up hands inside Rainbow Dash and leered away at Twilight. Twilight looked up at her when Rainbow Dash screams finally took an end and followed with Chrysalis asking while Rainbow Dash was whimpering in the background.
“Anything?”
Twilight started to nod her head desperately and added quickly.
“Yes... yes... anything!”
Queen Chrysalis held Rainbow Dash still in place and with her spikes still in her, Rainbow Dash cried but Chrysalis didn't care, she only straighten her body a bit and said with a relived sigh.
“Finally.”