The Tale of KyuubiDash

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Element of Loyalty
Chapter 2: A trapped soul
Chapter 3: A dark night
Chapter 4: To each their own demon
Chapter 5 : Freedom
Chapter 6: Back to reality
Chapter 7: As the clock ticks
Chapter 8: Surviving the elements
Chapter 9: Weaponized Loyalty
Chapter 10: Broken
Prelude: Setting the scene
Fanart!

Chapter 1: The Element of Loyalty

Chapter 1 – The Element of Loyalty
Written by TheLunarArmy
Edited by Ezn

It is eve of the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration and Nigthmare Moon was on the loose. Inside the forgotten castle ruins in the Everfree forest we find Twilight Sparkle and the twisted Princess Luna facing off against one another, both deadlocked in a death-defying stare.

The young purple-maned unicorn clopped her hoof on the smooth stone floor, readied to charge straight at the dark mare.

Nightmare, surprised at the young filly’s enthusiasm, lifted her hoof in disgust and sarcastically murmured: “You’re kidding, right?”

The mere thought of a feeble unicorn charging at her malevolent beauty made Nightmare's wings cringe. However, this was not nearly enough to make her back down from a challenge. Just as Twilight started to charge, so too did the mighty alicorn. Mere seconds before the two would have collided, the crafty Twilight unleashed her spell and teleported herself right next to the five stone spheres. A deceiving move that stunned Nightmare, how cannot she lose to a mere filly! She quickly reacted by using her own telemorphing spell in an attempt to intercept the unicorn from reactivating the Elements.

But the dark mare was too late. The spheres had started to glow, and even though the unicorn suffered recoil from her spell, Nightmare could not do anything to stop the reaction.

“No. NO!” she yelled. But, luckily for her, the spheres turned back into their original stone states.

Twilight gasped: “But where is the sixth Element?”

Nightmare’s maniacal laugh filled the room with a terrifyingly dark atmosphere. She slowly raised her front hooves up into the chilled evening air. Her goal was clear: destroying the Elements would seal her victory. With a mighty stomp the alicorn shattered the stone spheres. Twilight sat in shock as she saw the fragments of the orbs tumbling all around Nightmare’s hooves. The mare gloated unconditionally.

It would only be after Twilight heard her friends approaching that she realized what the Elements of harmony actually meant. The spark of magic infused itself within in her. Twilight Sparkle now knew what to do.

"You think you can destroy the Elements of harmony just like that?” she proclaimed. “Well you’re wrong, because the spirit of the Elements of harmony are right here!”

All six ponies stood poised against the mare’s aggressive stance, ready to support one another. The shattered orb fragments also started to levitate, much to Nightmare Moon’s dismay.

As Twilight explained what each Element meant and how each of her friends had helped her along the way, the shattered orbs flew to each representative’s side, each having a different effect on the ponies as they bonded with their Element.

Applejack, the Element of Honesty, was given a vision of her friends together running through a field of wheat and enjoying the sun.

Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, saw a reflection of herself in the future holding onto a friend’s hoof.

Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter, also saw a vision of the future: not surprisingly a party scene with many types of cakes and confetti.

Rarity, the Element of Generosity, felt as if she was deeply in love with a mysterious dark stranger.

All four of the ponies were in bliss for a few seconds due to the bonding’s seemingly soothing effect, all of them smiled uncontrollably.

Noticing her friends in such states of euphoria, Rainbow Dash eagerly awaited bonding with her own Element.

“And Rainbow Dash,” Twilight continued, “who could not abandon her friends for her own heart’s desire represents the spirit of… Loyalty.”

With that the red fragments lifted into position and Dash could feel the Element bonding with her soul. It felt like she had just pulled off a Sonic Rainboom, like she did as a foal. She felt strong. She felt omnipotent. She felt ready to crush Nightmare Moon on her own. But the feeling soon subsided and she too smiled alongside her friends.

With the power of all the known Elements complete, Twilight Sparkle called upon the final Element, Magic, and together they ended Nightmare’s evil plans. The combined powers of the Elements utterly destroyed the alicorn’s defense. No-pony could withstand the power of the six most ancient Elements known to pony kind.

Nightmare Moon’s armor shattered and a purple filly fell to the ground. The room was filled with an ominous white glow. Everything became quiet as the mysterious Elements of Harmony continued to bond with their hosts, creating beautiful jewelry that resonated with each pony’s inner strength.

<>--<>

The ponies started to awaken, each utterly confused and in disarray. Rainbow Dash stood up, massaging her temple with a hoof.

“Ugh, my head,” she scorned.

Applejack made sure everypony was okay before Fluttershy and Rarity noticed all the new jewellery they were sporting. Each pony was excited at their new attire. Even Dash, who disliked wearing frilly, girly... things, expressed her opinion over the ruby lightning bolt. She felt even stronger now. An overwhelming light caught the group's attention. Princess Celestia had stepped into the castle to see if Twilight had followed her instructions. Victory was attained and the princess was happy to have received her sister back. Now it was time to return to Ponyville.

<>-<>

A short distance into the journey, Princess Celestia stopped and turned to the ponies. They froze in place as the white alicorn looked at their new jewelry. She knew that if they revealed their mystic powers to the rest of Ponyville, it would only be a matter of time before any number of dark forces would be after them. A worried look dawned upon her face.

“What’s the matter, Princess? You seemed worried,” inquired her faithful student.

Everypony glanced at Twilight and then looked anxiously at Celestia, who was still pondering about their current situation.

Celestia opened her eyes and spoke. “As grateful as I am for all of your strength in helping my sister free herself from Nightmare Moon’s grasp, but I need to ask you all to perform another task which could very well determine your future.”

“Sister?” asked Luna. “What are you saying?”

Everypony was confused by the white alicorn’s statement. What did she mean?

“I have to ask you all to hide your identities. The Elements of Harmony are a rare and powerful force, which, when combined, can create great joy or bring forth much pain. So for your own safety, I need you to hide each of your symbols in a safe place. Don’t use them unless I instruct you to. This is the path you must all take.”

The decisions was unanimous. The powers were too great and should remain hidden to the rest of Equestria. They all agreed to Celestia’s request, bringing a smile to the Princess’s concerned face. Before they move along she turned to each pony and made them swear not to abuse the power they received.

Twilight Sparkle agreed, and made an oath not to call upon the Element of Magic to further her studies.

Rarity swore not to reveal she was the Element of Generosity, but she would help all those who need it.

Applejack swore to her oath to stay honest and not to disobey the power she is entrusted to guard.

Fluttershy quietly agreed to her oath, saying she would rather lose her wings then stop being kind to others.

Pinkie Pie, swore not to tell anypony about what had happened that evening, as she did not want to lose anypony’s trust.

They all turned to Rainbow Dash who, disheartened by the thought of losing her new power, sighed and eventually agreed to her oath to “not disobey the Element of Loyalty blah blah blah...”

“Good, it seems your friends are trustworthy, Twilight,” said Celestia.

All the ponies giggled as one by one, they removed their jewellery. Rainbow Dash hesitated, and decided to keep it on while they were still in the forest. She explained that it was easier to fly while wearing it, rather than while holding it in her hooves or mouth.

But now, the rainbow-maned pony was wallowing in confusion. She had never felt this strong before – surely she could apply to the Wonderbolts if she felt this good. Then again, was it really her inner self this strong, or was this new Element of Loyalty providing a supplement?

The ruby started to heat up. It felt as if it was comforting her thoughts, resonating in perfect harmony. How weird, thought Dash, this new rock isn’t so bad once I get used to it. With the help of the ruby, the self-doubt washed away.

Dash’s friends all noticed the pegasus gleefully smiling. They were all thinking about how weird it was for a tomboy such as herself to enjoy wearing a flamboyant necklace like that. Rarity, for one, was almost impressed: she decided that Dash was finally maturing.

“You seem happier than usual dearie,” the white unicorn laughed. “Enjoying the fabulous jewellery are we, hmm?”

“Buzz off, fashion brain. Don’t ruin the moment.” Dash snapped back.

Both broke out in a laugh – they were feeling far too happy to be start throwing insults at each other.

<>-<>

Celestia greeted the fillies as they reached the edge of the forest. She said she would join them after dealing with some royal duties. In a glimmer the two alicorns disappeared.

Each pony started making their way to their respective homes. Twilight turned around and happily smiled at her new friends trotting along the different paths into Ponyville. However, she also noticed that Dash still hadn’t taken off her ruby.

“Hey Dash!” she yelled at the zooming pegasus.

“Yeah?” she replied.

”Don’t forget about the necklace!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll go drop it off at my house real quick. Be back down in ten seconds flat.”

Twilight giggled and proceeded to trot towards the library.

The rainbow pony shot straight into the sky, flying as fast as she could; fighting the planet’s gravitational force as she broke through the cloud barrier to lay eyes upon Cloudsdale, which was straight ahead.

Wow, she thought, even on a good day I would never be able to get up this high without taking a breather. Her eyes slowly glanced down at the ruby again. This thing must be helping me somehow. I don’t know why, but I like it. Her grin grew so wide that she couldn’t help but do a few barrel rolls on the way to town, just to see the ruby shine in the sunlight.

A few moments later Dash was at the door of her house. Nopony was around; they were all at the celebration, of course. She quickly slipped inside and galloped to her bed. She carefully reached behind her neck and unclipped the golden lock. As she removed the ruby from her body she could feel a hallow gap forming inside her stomach: she felt nervous. Shaking her head, she snapped out of it, thinking: A cool pony like me doesn’t get attached to frilly jewellery like this. She huffed and placed the ruby necklace underneath her pillow.

She slowly trotted to the door, but could not help looking back at the bed. It’s almost like she didn’t want to leave. All her friends were waiting at the celebration party; admiring the ruby would have to wait for another time. Dash raced outside and spread her wings. Just before taking off she stood her ground and looked back.

Why am I so fixated on their darn jewel? It’s just a red rock for goodness sake, get over it Dash! she scorned herself and took off. But try as she might, that mysterious, nervous feeling crept back into her stomach. What a day to have the butterflies.

To be continued…

Chapter 2: A trapped soul

Chapter 2: A trapped soul
Written by TheLunarArmy
Edited by Ezn

A cool mist loomed over the streets of Ponyville, as the sun slowly peaked over the hills. The light slumped to reveal the confetti, flowers and balloon-covered roads. The doors of the small Equestrian town started to open as the dawn brought another day to its citizens. It was the morning after the Summer Sun celebration and almost all the ponies were scurrying about, cleaning up the aftermath of a fantastic party.

Rarity was outside her boutique, levitating a consortium of brushes with her magic; ferociously scrubbing the doorway to her shop. Applejack was hauling a wagon in the boutique's direction, seemingly rushed but keeping a steady pace. Inside the cart was a large barrel, securely strapped to the wagon's floor, similar to an armoured truck.

"Morning Rarity," the earth pony opened, "it seems yah still got that gosh darn paint all over yer doorway again. Luckily Mayor Mare allowed me to fetch this barrel of acid to help you scrub it out."

The unicorn took a breather from all the "manual labour" and greeted her friend back.

"Oh yes. For some reason whenever a party is thrown somepony has go around vandalizing the stores with their accursed spray paint. Honestly, Mayor Mare should just ban those bothersome aerosols altogether."

Applejack couldn't help but giggle, which of course made Rarity huff out of frustration. Applejack untied her harness and slowly turned the lid on the barrel until it slid open. The putrid stench of sulphur loomed about the cart.

"You have to be mighty careful with this stuff, Rarity. If one single drop touches your mane it will melt a hole right through your skin."

Applejack snuck off the cart to stand next the unicorn, who used her magic to dip a cloth into the bubbling green liquid. The two fillies stood far clear as the cloth was levitated over and across the ground towards the paint. With a flick of her horn Rarity skilfully started scrubbing again while Applejack trotted off to her next odd job.

More and more doors opened as various earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns leave their homes with brooms and bags to help clear the streets. Twilight Sparkle and Spike, the newcomers to Ponyville, also joined in the fun by picking up the rubbish left by the snack tables. After disposing of the leftover cake and muffin wrappers, Spike caught a glimpse in the corner of his eye: a bush or something moved out of turn.

"Hey, Twilight!" the startled dragon yelled, unaware that she was standing right behind him. "Oops...sorry. Take a look at those bushes next the Quill shop. W-w-w-why did they rustle like that?"

The purple unicorn wittily responds: "I don't know, maybe it's those zombie ponies you've been reading about in your story books."

She was trying to be as obviously sarcastic as possible, but realized that the poor dragon froze in his tracks the second the "z" word was mentioned – the poor boy and his overactive imagination.

"Oh Spike, you know there are no zombie ponies, I was just kidding when I..."

Her words ground to a halt as she realized that he would probably stay like that for the next hour unless she investigated those bushes.

As Twilight approached the flora she too started to develop a lump in her throat: maybe she overdid it with the zombie pony scare. Nevertheless, she reached the foot of the bedding and peered over the leaves. Her vision was blinded by a flash of blue, red, yellow, green, purple and cyan, all at the same time. The unicorn jumped about two feet backward in shock, but quickly breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing what she had found.

"It's only Rainbow Dash sleeping in the bushes, Spike. You can come out now."

She stepped forward and peered over the bush again, but this time her expression changed. No time to think, I have to get unwanted eyes out of the area.

"Spike, stay back, it looks like she's sick. You'd better go find the nearest doctor and get help."

Spike was startled by Twilight's instructions but quickly gets his head in the game and rushed off without saying a word. After checking that nopony was around, Twilight rustled through the bedding to stand over the sleeping pegasus.

"Dash. Wake up. Right now," Twilight said as she levitated a nearby bucket of water over Rainbow Dash and poured its content over her.

"Yeaaaaaah!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

Dash flipped out of her resting spot and toppled onto the floor in front of the bush. She jumped up and flapped her wings, trying to shake off the cold water that was now running along her mane.

"What’s the big idea? I was taking a nap there!"

She stopped upon seeing Twilight's grim expression, but after cautiously staring into her purple eyes for a few seconds Dash finally continued: "What? Who woke you up on the wrong side of bed?"

Twilight's eyes narrowed and her mouth opened. In a low whispered tone she eventually spoke: "Dash, I thought the Princess made it clear that you were to keep your Element hidden. Why are you down here in obvious daylight wearing your ruby necklace?"

Dash looked down and noticed the red lightning bolt ruby neatly harnessed around her neck. Her eyes become fixated on the sparkling jewelry. How did it get there?

"I, uh, I... don't remember wearing this to the party Twi, I promise."

Dash quickly jumped back into the bush before shuffling around, trying to make sense of what was going on.

"I swear I took this thing off before leaving Cloudsdale last night. Don't you remember me arriving without it being on?"

"It's true that you weren't wearing the necklace when we shared that group hug. But after that I don't really remember seeing you at all." Twilight replied.

Twilight could see Spike running closer in the distance, followed by Applejack and what appeared to be a white mare wearing a nurse hat.

"Oh no! We can't show Spike or the mare your necklace!"

In a panic Twilight focused on her horn and with a white sparkle, teleported herself and Dash in a flare of smoke.

"What in tar-nation?" yelled Applejack. "Why would Twilight disappear after calling for help?”

Spike and the nurse unicorn shared a look; all three were now completely confused.

<>--<>

The library was dimly-lit as most of the curtains had been pulled shut by Twilight's magic. The door was locked and everything became quiet: the only faint sound being Twilight's hooves plopping on the wood floors.

After clearing her mind, Twilight walked into the main room of the library where Rainbow Dash was sitting on one of the sofa's pillows, glaring straight down at her ruby necklace, almost mesmerized by it.

"Dash?" Twilight called.

No response.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The pegasus didn't look up or move an inch, as if trapped inside her own body. Twilight was taken back by Dash's unusual lack of response. Maybe she's experiencing teleportation shock?

Twilight circled around the stone-like Dash before finally attempting to snap her out of her concussed state with a nudge. Still nothing happened. The unicorn was now really worried. Maybe the necklace is having an effect.

Her horn glowed as she tries to undo the lock on the back. No use. It was obviously protected by a charm of some kind which prevents weak magic from tampering with it. Twilight reached out with her hoof, slowly reaching towards the back of the necklace. As she grazed along Dash's mane, she finally detected movement.

Dash, still in her seated position, was now glaring at Twilight's mane, now right underneath her chin. Her magenta eyes narrowed, almost as if she was analyzing Twilight's neck in a distorted manner. The unicorn became aware that Dash was staring at her neck. She stopped moving towards the lock and pulled back to look at Dash's face. Their eyes met, but Dash's stern glare did not change.

"Hey... Dash...? Can you hear me?"

Still the pegasus did not flinch. Her eyes continued to track Twilight's. Twilight tried to negotiate with the petrified pony, unaware of what was really going on inside Dash's subconscious.

<>--<>

On a dark and featureless plateau, Dash lays in a pool of black water in a braced position. The pegasus was in a solitary lake, only about hoof deep but spanning the abysmal plane’s width. The only visible thing was a striking orange light in the distance: its bright haze provided ambient lighting across the reflective water. In this colourless and empty void the only persistent aura was anguish.

Ripples started to form around the blue pegasus as she began to stir about in the water. Her eyes opened, only to see the abysmal darkness surrounding her. She mustered her strength and forced herself upright; it felt like the entire world is trying to keep her down. Dash took a moment to stare down into the black pool surrounding her. She could barely see her reflection in the disturbed water, but the bright red ruby illuminating her neck made it unnoticeable.

She looked around, only to see the orange glow near the horizon. It was the only place with actual light present, so, if anything, that's where she would need to go. Dash spread her wings and kicked off into the sky, only to be pulled back down into the water; it seemed the gravity in this place was much stronger than Equestria, hence wings were off-limits.

"Man, as if waking up in dark place wasn't enough?" pleaded the rainbow pony, suddenly remembering how to talk.

In a huff she set off towards the light, dragging her hooves through the murky water, causing a noticeable disturbance. Dash's mind wandered as she made the long trek towards the horizon. What happened after Twilight told me about the necklace? Why am I still wearing this necklace? And why am I stuck in this infernal place?

A chill wallowed up her flank, across her spine and through her wings – causing them to spread spasmodically. It felt like somepony was stroking a hoof through her mane. Dash turned her head back, but saw nothing. With a distasteful grunt, she continued walking, but now cautiously slower, almost as if she was expecting something to sneak up behind her. The ominous feeling of being watched loomed. Somepony is definitely trying to freak me out.

<>--<>

It had been two hours and Rainbow Dash still had not moved from her seated position in the middle of library. Twilight had had to let Spike inside eventually and both the mare and her dragon were searching through ledgers, desperately looking for advice on their friend's predicament.

"Twi, I know you're not allowed to tell me about that necklace around Dash's neck. I can tell you're avoiding the subject. But are you sure she isn't somehow being possessed by it? I mean... that sounds way too... untrue, to be.... uh... true?"

Twilight took a moment from sifting through the large dusty book in front of her to take a good glare at Dash before answering. "There are some things I'm not allowed to share with you, Spike. It really hurts me to keep secrets from you, but it’s for your own good."

She put on the best smile she can, but it was clear that she was very worried about her friend.

Three loud knocks rattled the front door of the building. Spike quickly hopped off the ladder he was perched on and walked toward the entrance. Twilight cast a spell to conceal Dash on the pillow and gave a signal for Spike to open the heavy wooden door. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were all standing outside, gloomy expressions all around. "Heya Spike, can we come in?"

"Well sure, anypony is welcome in the library," he greeted them as they somberly walk inside - even Pinkie Pie wasn't hopping like her regular self.

"Hi girls," opened Twilight. "What's the matter?"

"Twilight, dear, we're quite... worried," said Rarity. "The clouds around Ponyville are amassing and Dash normally keeps them cleared until a scheduled downpour."

"Yeah, we can't find Dashie anywhere. We looked everywhere around Ponyville, even up the trees at Applejack's farm!" said Pinkie Pie.

"I...I... even flew up to Cloudsdale. She wasn't there either," whispered Fluttershy.

"Now I know Spike mentioned Dash bein' hurt or something this morning, but we couldn't find you after you used your fancy magic, so we don't know what’s goin' on." Applejack began as the ponies surrounded Twilight. "Please, we are very worried about her. Do you know anythin' that might help us find her?"

Twilight was stricken with guilt. She knew hiding Dash would just hurt her friends more, and even Spike started to look concerned. She finally gave into her emotions and spoke.

"There is something terribly wrong with Rainbow Dash." Twilight said, her eyes watering.

Twilight did not shed a tear, she needed to be strong for everypony. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy cringed, while Rarity and AJ shared a stern look at the unicorn's face.

"What do you mean... wrong?" murmured Rarity.

Twilight sparked up her horn and in a flash of light revealed Dash in the middle of the room, still perked on the cushion, and glaring at Twilight's eyes.

Pinkie Pie jumped for joy and ran over to give her a big hug: "DASHIE!"

No response. The pink pony took a few steps back, her smile completely wiped off her face. Fluttershy was still cowering behind Rarity and Applejack, but slowly followed behind them as all the ponies gather around Dash.

"Is she...?" opened the farmer.

"No, theoretically she's fine. No injuries or anything. But she won't move," explained Twilight. "No matter what I do she just sits there and glares at me. I've tried every spell I know, nothing is working."

All five ponies and Spike huddled by the pegasus; they felt helpless about not being able to do anything for their stone-like friend. Pinkie and Fluttershy started to whimper, and it didn’t take long for Rarity to feel depressed as well.

"Twi," whispered Applejack. "We can't keep her this way."

"I know..." she responded.

"We have no choice. We must tell the Princess..."

Not the words Twilight was hoping for. She despised telling her mentor of her failures, but her friend's health was in danger. So with a flick of her horn she levitated a parchment and quill into Spike's awaiting hands.

"Spike, take a note please."

Everyone looked at Twilight. She was looking up at the ceiling with closed eyes, tears visibly pouring down her cheeks. After a short pause she continued.

"Dear Princess Celestia. I have terrible news..."

To be continued...

Chapter 3: A dark night

Chapter 3: A dark night
Written by TheLunarArmy
Edited by Ezn

The lone town hall in Ponyville was very quiet at late dusk. Most of the politicians and town officials had left for home as the sun began to set on the horizon. The only light still present in the dark halls emanated from Mayor Mare's office. The grey mare was focused on the parchment in front of her; some new bill had caught her attention.

A swinging door in the hallway interrupted her concentration. She took off her glasses as the sound of hooves resonated throughout the room. Something must have happened in town. That would be the only reason for this kind disturbance. She got up from her desk and walked over to the door, slowly peering into the dark corridor.

Twilight Sparkle, Applejack and Rarity were running at full speed down the long passage, obviously headed straight for the her office. They bore very serious expressions and both unicorns had a light spell at the tip of their horns. Mayor Mare walked outside to greet the three exhausted ponies.

"Applejack! Rairity! Miss Sparkle! What is the meaning of this?" she asked with a slight startle in her voice.

"Mayor Mare, we have an urgent letter from the Princess you must read," explained Twilight.

"Something has happened Rainbow Dash which has caused a great stir in Canterlot, please read it with post haste", continued Rarity.

Applejack opened the saddlebag on her back. Inside sat two neatly rolled scrolls, bearing the royal sun insignia. One had been opened and the other had not. Twilight levitated the unsealed scroll out of the bag and presented it to the Mayor, who had placed her reading glasses back on. She cautiously broke the seal and began murmuring the words as she read.

Dear Mayor Mare,

My gracious congratulations to the year's Summer Sun celebration, even with the return of Nightmare Moon and my abrupt disappearance from the initial festivities I feel that Ponyville, as hosts, handled the situation excellently. Now I must call on this service once again.

What you are about to read is highly classified and may only be known by yourself, my faithful student Twilight Sparkle, her associates and her assistant. As much as it pains me to write this, disclosing any information to the public is punishable by death.

Mayor Mare stopped to look at the ponies. They all seemed very stressed which causes her to start sweating as well. She continued.

My sister, Princes Luna, was not defeated by my magic this time, but by the Elements of Harmony absorbed by Twilight and her friends. All six ponies bravely stood against Nightmare Moon and managed to vanquish her evil spirit. Each of these ponies are guardians of the Elements now and will remain, hidden, in Ponyville. They may not reveal their power to others and you are to see that this order is carried out to the letter.

However, a problem which requires your immediate attention has already arisen. Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty, has gone into a near-coma state and does not seem to be recovering. It seems obvious that a higher magic is at work here and may be controlling the beloved pegasus. As of this writing I am already setting off to the mystical city of Bronkonia to consult with the council of unicorn magic. Until my return to Ponyville you are to ensure that Rainbow Dash and her friends stay safe and monitor her condition. My sister will patrol the night skies, so internal security will be handled by the the royal guards at your disposal.

Let us all hope for Rainbow Dash's well being.

Signed

HRH Princess Celestia of Equestria

Mayor Mare's eyes looked up at Twilight. She turned around, walked into her office and spoke.

"Follow me," she said.

The three ponies walked into the dimly-lit office and noticed the Mayor placing the scroll inside her safe. She turned around and the four ponies started discussing the current situation. The moon was in full view through the bay windows, and a dark figure was seen flying across the night sky.

<>--<>

Rainbow Dash felt exhausted from the trek across the dark lake. Her mane was soaking wet and her magenta eyes were focused on the rippled water in front of her; even her feathery wings had started to drag alongside her worn body. The ominous feeling of being watched had never left, in fact, she almost felt comforted by its presence. At least she wouldn't feel so lonely anymore.

The orange light began to grow closer, but it still appeared distant. The pegasus stopped to take another glimpse of it. The bright glow and warm heat it radiated gave her stamina to push forward. Now she definitely felt closer. Another chill started to creep its way across her flank, towards her back and through her mane. Not this time, she thought.

Dash leaped up into the air, spreading her wings to take flight. However, the dark water lashed out and dragged her back down.

In a fit of rage she yelled: "Alright, show yourself! I know you’re there!"

The pegasus's warm body and tattered spirit had affected her judgement greatly. She searched the sky with her bewildered eyes, unable to see anything. A defeated Dash sank into herself; she no longer felt the strength that she had had a few moments ago. The depressing feelings of loneliness and anguish ripped through her mind. At last she cried in her own brow.

The broken pony lay crippled in the dark lake. Her tears struck the murky water, causing the mixed fluids to create bright orange smoke that hazed across its surface. Dash's closed eyes did not see the smoke. As more smoke was being made, faint laughter started to echo from across the peninsula. Dash was finally able to hear the sinister chuckle through her own snickering. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see that the dark pool of water had been replaced by a bright room.

The cyan pegasus, still crouched and soaking wet, looked around the stone room with her swollen eyes. The walls to her sides and behind her had no real distinctive features, besides a few chains and torches that burned with bright orange flames. She still stood in the pool of water, but it had an orange tint about it; an improvement over the blackened sludge she had been trekking through earlier. However, these distractions were only masking the real feature, a large cage that spanned the entire wall in front of her.

Large wooden pillars stretched from the floor to the ceiling and were firmly braced with horizontal beams. In the middle was a large white sign, covered in strange markings. Dash walked closer to the paper to try and make out the scribblings, however, it was written in a language she couldn't understand. The paper seemed old and a small tear protruded from the top downward, about half a hooves length. Behind the large gate was a dark void, similar to the one she was walking in. It appeared to be a prison and Dash immediately felt shaken by the thought of being imprisoned.

A small chuckle resonated from behind the bars, startling the pegasus.

"Who are you, small creature?" asked a deep, sinister voice.

"I...I.. am Rainbow Dash! And I'm not afraid of anypony! Show yourself!" she replied.

"Any... pony?" questioned the voice, "What an interesting statement, ha ha!"

Its dark billowing made Dash cringe but she stood her ground. "Rainbow Dash, was it? Yes... yes... Rainbow Dash... bwhaha... Do you know who I am?"

"Yeah. You're the perverted creep who kept touching me while I was walking through this horrible muck."

"Ahaha, so you did notice me. Well I suppose an introduction is in order."

From the darkness a set of large white eyes opened to reveal the voice's figure. The eyes were not of any pony Dash ever saw, they had bright red irises with black pupils slicing through them; they looked very similar to Spike's eyes. Underneath the eyes, a set of pearl white teeth appeared; they were razor sharp, perfectly aligned and formed a large smile. Dash was certainly scared of the creature's mysterious face. She slowly backed away from the cage.

The creature licked its teeth before narrowing its eyes and continuing to speak.

"I am known by many names, but you may call me Kyuubi, the demon fox."

<>--<>

Canterlot. Princess Celestia was hurrying down the one of the large passage ways that lead from the royal court towards the castle's entrance. She was followed by two of her royal guards and what appeared to be personal assistant of some sort - a beige unicorn with bright red mane and a closed eye for a cutie mark. The unicorn was levitating a scroll in front of her face and quickly scribbling down instruction Celestia was whispering to her.

"One final note, Copper," said the Princess, "My trip to Bronkonia is to stay a secret; even the royals are to remain unaware of this situation."

"Of course, your highness. But what of Luna and the guards?" Copper said, looking up to the mighty alicorn who was magically creating a white cloak around her body.

"Even though it has only been one day since my sister's return, I can feel her heart is back to where it once was, before she was corrupted by Nightmare Moon. So, in my absence, she is to take full control over the castle and any responsibilities that come with it. The guards are to follow her orders without question."

The unicorn bit her lip as she scribbled the final sentence onto the parchment. The four ponies reached the door to the castle. The guards opened the door and bowed as the Princess stepped into the dark night; Luna ensured that the crescent moon reflected no light from the sun that evening. Celestia turned back to Copper.

"If anything goes wrong, or if you hear anything about Rainbow Dash, please contact me as soon as possible."

The unicorn nodded and bade farewell before the princess lit up her horn and dissipated into the darkness of the night. As Copper and the guards were slowly walking back to the main throne room they came across Princess Luna, who was staring at the stars through one of the palace’s many large windows. Copper cautiously approached the alicorn and cleared her throat. However, before she could say a word, Luna sparked a conversation.

"Copper, right?" asked Luna.

The unicorn smiled and nodded.

"Do you have any information about this... Element of Loyalty?"

Copper felt pinned against the wall, but luckily remembered one of the letters that Celestia had given her earlier that morning. With a bright red spark, the unicorn revealed an unsealed scroll in front of Luna.

"This is a letter from your sister's personal student, Twilight Sparkle. She wrote a detailed report on all the friends she met in Ponyville. It’s quite a co-incidence that each of them became a guardian for the Elements of Harmony."

"Ah yes," replied Luna. "My memories of the whole encounter are still a bit fuzzy, but I do remember this blue pegasus's loyalty: very admirable."

Luna was quite surprised to see the scroll nearly reached the floor: it was indeed very detailed. Each pony had a physical description, psychiatric analysis and strengths/flaws section.

"Looks like I will have some reading to do this evening."

Luna resealed the scroll and made it disappear. "It's time I took to the skies. See you in the morning, Copper."

The blue alicorn walked out onto a nearby balcony and took off, quickly disappearing into the night sky and leaving the beige unicorn to her duties.

<>--<>

The half-moon provided almost no radiance over Ponyville, so it came as no surprise that all the lanterns in town were burning furiously to provide suitable lighting for the dark streets. The library in the middle of town was under heavy lock and key. Royal guards were situated outside the door and others were patrolling around town. The noticeboards around town, usually littered with outdated posters and advertisements, were cleaned to make room for the new decree that Mayor Mare had posted only moments ago.

To all citizens of Ponyville.

Her royal highness, Princess Celestia, has put Ponyville into a state of emergency until further notice. Please do not be alarmed by the armed forces in town, they are merely there for your own safety. Please cooperate with the authorities and carry on with your daily lives. That is all.

Mayor Mare, Mayor of Ponyville.

Applejack, Rarity and Twilight entered the library. They were the only ponies allowed to enter and leave the premises unquestioned, so naturally they felt a little intimidated by the armed guards standing outside the door. Twilight walked over to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, who hae passed out next to Spike (fast asleep in his basket). The three of them snuggled closely by the base of the stairs, shivering slightly due to the cool evening frost.

"Twilight," said Applejack. "Don't worry too much ya' hear. I'm sure the Princess will find a way to cure Dash."

The unicorn almost didn't hear the earth pony as she pulled a blanket over her sleeping friends. She turned to face Applejack, hoping some inspiration could make her fib about her true emotions. However this was the Element of Honesty; lying now would just be a contradiction. Rarity walked over to Twilight and gave her a hug.

"Don't think for a second that this is your fault, Twi," said Rarity comfortingly.

Twilight turned away before finally speaking: "No, no, no. I'm sorry you guys, but you're wrong. If I hadn't come to Ponyville... if I hadn't met you... then none of this would be happening."

"Yeah, but then Nightmare Moon would have taken over all of Equestia!" replied Applejack. "We couldn't let our new friend take on a mystical being on her own."

Rarity also added "... This was much our own doing as anypony else’s Twilight. There is no need to be so hard on yourself."

All three ponies stopped to look at Dash, who was still motionless in the middle of the room. It had been a long and eventful day and everypony started to feel exhausted.

"Look Twi, we did everything we could today. Let's leave Dash in the princess's hooves now and get some shut eye. Tomorrow is another day," said Applejack.

Rarity nodded with her friend's resolution before turning towards the exit. "Please get some sleep Twilight."

Twilight tracked Applejack as the door closed behind her, however she could not help but stare at the idle Dash. Her eyes were watering again. How would she live with herself if Dash never recovered? Why would her mentor react to the situation like this? Why all the armed forces? Twilight's mind was spinning. The poor unicorn, disregarding Applejack's kind words, convinced herself she was to blame. This was her first time having actual friends and now she bound one of them inside a magical prison? This pushed her even deeper into thought. I need to help Dash right now. Mystical elements? Stone-like coma? Introduction of magic to a non-magical being?

Then it hit her. The dark magic section within Celestia's private library in Canterlot! Although Twilight was not supposed to know about that forbidden collection of books, she hadn't been able to help flipping through one of the dusty ledgers a few months ago while waiting for her mentor to meet her. She could recall that the index mentioned a cure for magic aftershock.

It took about three minutes for the unicorn to jump into action. She fetched her saddlebag, grabbed a coat and galloped out the library, only to momentarily look back at Dash and whisper: "I will fix this, no matter what the cost."

Once outside she addressed one of the guards patrolling the road: "I need to get to Canterlot right away, please."

To be continued...

Chapter 4: To each their own demon

Chapter 4: To each their own demon
Written by TheLunarArmy
Edited by Ezn

Rainbow Dash stood in front of the fortified cage, staring down the vicious eyes of her harasser. The “fox”, as he called himself, had started to reveal more and more of his figure as the orange light flickering from the pool started to illuminate the darkness. He was huge in comparison to the cyan pegasus - nearly thirty times her height. His name literally described his face and body, however he had one other feature that set him aside from a normal fox: nine long, hairy tails that seemed to move about autonomously.

Dash finally started to converse with the demon: "Where am I, fox?"

The fox lowered his face down to the pool and responded with a smile.

"You are inside your own twisted world, little pony."

"That makes no sense, I would never dream up a dump like this!"

"...No?"

The fox directed Dash to the floor in front of her. The pool of water rippled for a few seconds before revealing a vision. It was a compilation of Dash's grim, younger memories. It reminded her of all the times she got rejected from the Wonderbolts, all the times she failed to repeat the Sonic Rainboom and, naturally, all the times she spent bullying ponies with Gilda in flight academy. It was like a relapse of all her failures throughout her life and it struck a nerve in the poor filly's heart.

She took a step back, thinking hard on what she just saw. This must be some plan he's thinking up, thought Dash, I can't trust this creep... She raised her head again and, with her usual stark confidence, decided to snap back.

"Sure, I may have been in some bad moods, but my feelings would never make a dark place like this. Nor would I ever do anything to hurt my friends."

The fox leaned closer to the cage and whispered.

"But are you sure they haven't been hurting you?"

"My friends would never hurt me! What do you know about friends anyway, being locked up like that in a dirty cage, huh?"

In an instant the fox rolled back in his cage with a maniacal laugh; he got what he wanted. He now knew how to tamper with this pony's emotions. A way in, he thought. Excellent.

"I have only known you for a few hours now, Rainbow Dash. But I can already tell you're being held back by your so-called ‘friends’. You may be loyal to them, but are they really, truly, loyal to you?"

The pegasus doubted herself for a moment, but persisted in staring the demon down.

"Think about this," continued the Kyuubi, "Your dream is to one day captain the Wonderbolts, yes?"

The fox's expression became serious.

"If you stay with your friends, then you will never reach your goal. You may have some fun in their company, and I can even predict some adventures here and there. But every evening, before you close your eyes, you will have to acknowledge the fact that these Wonderbolts - and every other pony - will never see your talents. Eventually, you'll just become a nobody. Unliked and unloved. Is that what you really want?"

His words brought a chill to Dash's spine. As much as she tried to keep the sly demon out of her head, she could not help but to ponder the possibilities. It took several minutes for Dash to reply.

"I will prove you wrong, fox!" she yelled. "My friends are the best, and they wouldn’'t stab me in the back!"

The fox crept back into the darkness of his cage. "We shall see..."

<>--<>

The sky was beautiful that evening. The lack of light made the stars glow with such great intensity that Twilight could see all the constellations from the back of the chariot. She enjoyed the moment of tranquility before focusing at the task at hand. She would need to sneak past the guards, get inside Celestia's room and then retrieve that tome. Luckily, she knew that Celestia always stored valuable artifacts behind the paintings in her room: a useful tactic that Twilight had also started to employ.

Princess Luna was patrolling the sky overhead and saw the gold chariot with ease. Nopony had authorized an escort without informing her, so she flew closer to investigate.

"Hello Twilight," said the alicorn.

Twilight looked around until she finally recognized the voice above her. She saw Luna flying upside-down, parallel to the chariot.

"Oh, hello Princess. How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thanks to you and your friends. Once again, my gratitude for saving me."

"I'm glad to see you and Princess Celestia are still close, even after this whole fiasco."

"My heart was twisted by Nightmare's remorse... every day I spent on the moon I yearned to be free from its grasp... and you gave me that freedom."

Twilight tried to keep the petty talk going, but knew that Luna was there to find out where she was going. Eventually the subject came up.

"Twilight, I need to ask you something. Why are you going to Canterlot after my sister instructed you to stay by Rainbow Dash's bedside?"

Thinking fast, the unicorn quickly responded. "Her condition is stable, and I'm sure my friends can look after her for one night. I just need to... uh... fetch a book I left in the castle. It may have some clues to help solve this mystery."

Princess Luna gave a concerned look. She came all this way for a book? Really?

"Well, make it quick, Twilight. I'm sure your friends need you back in Ponyville."

The unicorn nodded as Luna barrel rolled out of formation and back into the darkness of the night. Twilight failed to notice that the princess had embedded a sensory spell onto one of her saddlebags' insignias. Whatever Twilight saw, telepathically, so would Luna.

<>--<>

Rainbow Dash was pacing around the stone room, looking for a way out. The black and orange water was still clinging to her hooves, causing much discomfort with the added weight to her step. She searched all the walls, from corner to corner, but found nothing of any use. This dungeon certainly was meant to prevent its prisoners from leaving.

After spending another hour searching, Dash stopped to have a rest. The Kyuubi was still watching her every movement. He knew how to play the waiting game. Eventually she will become curious.

Dash took off the necklace around her neck and stared into the glimmering ruby.

"I still don't know how this thing got back around my neck." she whispered to herself, unaware that the fox's keen sense of hearing could detect exactly her every word. He stood up, stretched his forelegs and decided to toy with her again.

"Don't you remember pony? You went back to your house and fetched it?"

"What?" said Dash, startled by the fox's sudden reappearance. "I think I would remember flying back to Cloudsdale. Duh."

"You silly filly. Although your mind my drift away from the truth, your body is yearning to wield that crystal's power. Without it, I sense your weak spirit will eventually drive everyone you love away."

Dash curiously stared back at the necklace before tossing it aside.

"I don't need any power boosts! I can handle anything on my own!"

"Oh?" said the fox, pointing at the pony's chest. The necklace was back to its original position and Dash was shaken to see it again.

"T-t-that’s not possible. I just... how did you do that? Are you using magic?"

"I did nothing of the sort, pony," chuckled the fox. "Here, look for yourself."

The bubbling pool of water in front of Dash suddenly revealed another vision. This one was of just a few moments ago. After Dash had tossed the necklace aside her body started to shake. The seemingly docile pony rushed over to the glowing ruby and cuddled it close to her nervous body. The necklace attached itself back around her neck, ending the vision.

"It... can't be..." said the pony, completely stunned by despair. "This thing is ruining my life! How can I get it off?"

This was the moment the patient fox had been waiting for. Dash had taken his bait.

The Kyuubi pushed out as much empathy from his black heart as he could: this next statement had to be as convincing as possible.

"Let me help you Rainbow Dash. Come closer."

Dash couldn't help but listen to the fox's comforting words. It had been a long day and her bottled-up emotions couldn't help but make her move closer to the cage.

<>--<>

The chariot ground to a halt on the asphalt path leading into the castle grounds. Twilight hopped off and proceeded to walk along the road, towards the entrance of the large white fortress. She felt a little nervous trotting past the guards that patrolled the walkways. This would be the first time she had ever truly done something dishonest.

A familiar face saw her from across the main lobby as Twilight approached the receptionist pony.

"Twilight! Twilight Sparkle!" called Copper, who was trotting over to her location.

"Oh hello, Copper," replied the Twilight, "Nice to see you're managing things while the Princess is away."

"Yes, Celestia was in awful hurry to get to Bronkonia - we are all very worried about the Element of Loyalty."

Both unicorns walked along the main hallways towards the door leading into Celestia's room. Twilight paused for a moment, and corrected Copper's statement.

"Rainbow Dash. Her name is Rainbow Dash."

"Of course, Rainbow Dash."

"Look Copper, I'm in a bit of a hurry as well. I left one of my notebooks in the princess's room. Is it possible for me to go in and fetch it?"

The beige unicorn shot a stern look at Twilight. Access to the either of the princess' quarters was absolutely forbidden during her absence.

"Can it not wait until Celestia's return, Twilight? I think there is a more important matter to attend to, don't you think?"

Twilight knew this maneuver. Copper had a knack of changing the subject immediately after she was asked to do anything even mildly illegal. Twilight knew this first-hand after she had begged Copper not to tell Celestia about the 'explosive pixie dust' experiment she had conducted a few months before. Twilight now knew that she wouldn’t be able to worm her way into that library. Both ponies were standing in front of Celestia's door alone; the guards had taken their hourly hay break.

"This is a very important book! I need to get it, Copper."

The beige unicorn turned away from the door before speaking. "Sorry Twilight, but rules are rules. I cannot allow you inside the princess' room withou--"

Copper was cut short. Twilight had magically levitated a nearby menorah and slammed it into the back of her head. The unicorn crashed to the ground, covered in blood caused by the gash. Twilight was a little shocked by her own strength and rushed over to Copper to see if she was okay. She was still breathing, so Twilight removed the golden key necklaced around Copper's neck before whispering in her ear.

"Sorry Copper, but I need to save my friend."

At that same moment, Princess Luna saw what had happened and immediately turned wing straight back to Canterlot.

Twilight quickly unlocked and opened the heavy door leading into Celestia's room. She knew it would only be ten minutes before the guards would return, so she wasted no time running across the red carpet towards a painting of the royal sisters. She carefully lifted the painting off its hook and placed it neatly to one side. A small wooden chest was revealed and Twilight quickly lowered it to her eye level. The box bore a grim skull insignia on it, but it didn't scare Twilight's determination. She opened the box and blue magic aura sliced through unicorn's body, sending little lightning jolts jumping from hair to hair.

Luna's connection with her spell was suddenly lost. The box obviously had some shield to protect its wielder from magic. What kind of book did Twilight pick up? wondered the alicorn as she sped closer to the castle.

Twilight was surprised to see her Element sudden appear on her head. The purple and gold tiara created a white orb around the book, somehow helping Twilight to maintain the book's dark energy.

"I don't have time for this!" yelled Twilight.

She levitated the book into her saddlebag and then placed her tiara next to it. After placing the painting back on its hook, she proceeded to sprint back towards the door. Outside, the guards were standing over Copper's body as they helped the semi-conscious unicorn onto her hooves. After opening her eyes she noticed Twilight leaving the room. The order came in loud and clear.

"Seize her!"

Twilight turned tail and ran down the hallway as fast as she could, guards in hot pursuit. An alarm bell started to ring and more guards appeared in doorways. The chase didn't last long: it ground to a halt when Twilight stopped in the middle of the lobby. All the doors leading back into the castle were blockaded by guards, but only one obstacle stood between the unicorn and her escape...

Princess Luna.

To be continued...

Chapter 5 : Freedom

Chapter 5 - Freedom

Written by TheLunarArmy

Edited by Ezn and SciontheKitsune

The entire Canterlot castle was dead quiet as two of the most powerful ponies in Equestria stared at each other in a grim showdown. On the one side there was the infamous, former, dark mare of the moon, Princess Luna, well-known for her harsh treatment of traitors and Princess Celestia’s magical equivalent. Twilight Sparkle was on the opposite side of the large room, standing on a velvet carpet lined with the royal pony sisters' insignia. The purple unicorn was also well respected by the Canterlot population, if not by her peers, then certainly by the various lecturer ponies from the School for gifted Unicorns; many of whom were standing behind the guards blocking the doors.

The dark alicorn bore a very displeased and subtly angry face; one could cut the tension with a knife. The whole room remained absolutely still, as nopony dared to make a move on either pony. Twilight knew she was in serious trouble. She had one plan to get out. This was her only chance to save Rainbow Dash.

"Twilight. Just, stop," said Luna, "I will not let you leave with that tome. You don't understand what power you are dealing with..."

Twilight angrily snapped back at the alicorn.

"No Princess. It is you who don't understand friendship."

All the spectators in the room started to whisper to one another.

"Twilight, I know this must be hard for you, but this is not how you should save your friend. You may be loyal to her, but there are safer ways to..."

"No no no!" cried the Twilight, "For the first time in my life I have real friends who didn't abandon me when I needed them most. And now I can't face them. All because I led them into danger and somepony got hurt!"

Her face was pouring with tears, but the distressed pony still held a focused, somewhat angry, glare at Luna.

"Maybe if you never showed up... Princess..."

Twilight suddenly realized what she said. How could she? Nightmare Moon wasn't Luna's fault! Oh, by Celestia, what have I done? Scorned the unicorn.

"That is enough, Twilight. I promise if you back down, then we will pardon this entire episode and I will escort you back to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash needs you at her side, not going crazy and dipping into dark magics."

The crowd gasped in disbelief. Princess Celestia's most powerful student? A dark unicorn? This certainly caused everyone to stir, and a few of Twilight's former lecturers even fainted. The guards were now on full alert, drawing swords, pikes and various other weapons, clenching them in their mouths.

Suddenly Twilight's saddlebag flung open, casting a blinding light throughout the entire room. The mystical book and her Element had somehow reacted with one another, causing the entire room to become frozen in time. All of the guards, ponies and staff remained absolutely motionless, no pony blinked moved or even breathed! Twilight looked around, noticing all the various expressions on every pony's face as they remained static in position.

Twilight opened her saddlebag to take a look inside the ledger. Inscribed on the front page was a note. Strangely, it was directed at her.

Twilight Sparkle, guardian of Magic.

This codex was written to preserve the power of those who need it most.

In dire situations it has the power to pause time for a single hour.

Use this time to accomplish goals you would otherwise not be able to.

Be warned that after the sixty minutes expire, so will these pages.

Act wisely.

Wasting no time, Twilight sprinted past the idle alicorn and straight towards Ponyville. She could feel her muscles ache but it didn't stop her. Nothing could hold her back from her goal. She continued to read the black ledger while maintaining a steady pace towards home.

<>--<>

After about forty minutes worth of running, Twilight finally managed to get back inside her library. Everything was still frozen, and naturally the noiseless, motionless surroundings gave hollow conjecture. The unicorn's mind was racing with all the various incantations she had memorized; all this while fighting the exhaustion from the punishing run she just endured. Twilight took a few seconds to catch her breath before placing the large book in front of Dash. She had about fifteen minutes before the spell wore off.

She opened the ledger with her magic and turned to the section she was looking for. Page 645: Unbinding non-unicorns from arcane comas.

The instructions were clear and precise. This would be the first time Twilight was to attempt a powerful spell without the help of Spike. So after a nervous sigh, she closed her eyes and mimicked the words from the page, causing her horn to glow with an ominous orange haze. Various symbols appeared around Dash, cryptically branding themselves into the wood floor. Additionally, some arcane halo-like chains wrapped around the pegasus, covering her body, hooves and wings in a bright orange snare.

Twilight opened her eyes and yelled the enchantment while bowing her head to focus the built-up magic straight at Rainbow Dash's stomach. In a beautiful display of colour, a powerful streak of light extruded from Twilight's horn and sliced right into Dash's flesh. However, it caused no visible damage, so it was obviously an ethereal blade. Twilight continued to make an magical incision though Dash's stomach and towards her neck, slicing through the ropes wrapped around her.

<>-Meanwhile-<>

Inside Rainbow Dash's conscience, the pony slowly waddled through the dark pool, nearing the Kyuubi's cage. Dash had no expression on her face - she was completely mesmerized by the fox's tempting proposal and willingly moved closer to his grasp.

"Yes, haha, YES! Rainbow Dash!" he yelled. "Join me, and together we will make all your dreams come tr-"

However, before the demon could finish his sentence, a bright light pierced between the cage and the pegasus, who was literally inches away from the fox's claw. White lassos poured out of the tear and ensnared the fox's body, suppressing the demon deeper into his prison. At the same time, a single rope latched around the paralyzed Dash. It secured a tight knot around the pony's waist and pulled her towards the tear.

It was at this moment Dash finally snapped out of the Kyuubi's mental bind. Her body felt weak, unlike she anything she ever felt. It was like the fox was drawing the very life essence out of her. If the ropes had not appeared when they did, things may have ended for her. She could only manage to open her eyes a crack, but it was enough to see what was happening.

"Huh, what they hay is going on?" she whispered, seeing the magical lassos holding the fox down as it snared and snapped at its attacker. The mighty beast fought valiantly, but it was no match for ethereal constraints. The fox could do nothing but back away as the ropes slowly dragged Dash into the crack in the floor. Even though he was defeated, the demon managed to send one more chill down the weak pegasus' spine.

"It seems our meeting has been cut short, pony!" chuckled the fox. "Rest assured, I will still be here. Watching! Waiting! Don't forget what I said! You'll see! Ahahaha!"

The laughter soon faded as Dash was pulled to safety. She saw the dark room disappear in the distance as the magic lassos rapidly closed the hole they had made, sealing the dreadful prison from sight. However, the pony could not keep her eyes open anymore, and she embraced the warm energy enveloping her as the scene slowly faded to white.

<>--<>

Just as the spell's energy wore off, Twilight Sparkle found herself back in Canterlot, standing in the middle of the castle's lobby. There were many guards covering the doors leading away from the room and many ponies stood in shock at the spectacle in front of them. Princess Luna stood opposite Twilight's position, in front of the large doors leading to the outside. Twilight was completely confused about what was going on; only a few seconds before, she had been casting a release spell on Rainbow Dash when...

Twilight’s mind 'clicked'. The book had sent her back to before the spell had been released!

Almost expectantly the dark alicorn spoke: "That is enough, Twilight. I promise if you back down, then we will pardon this entire episode and I will escort you back to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash needs you at her side..."

This was her cue to clean up the mess she made. To everypony's surprise, Twilight immediately dropped the saddlebag and ran towards the alicorn, her eyes doused in fake tears. Luna initially thought she was charging at her, but soon saw the pony's disconsolate expression as form of surrender. The sympathetic princess immediately dropped her guard and wrapped her wing around the poor unicorn's trembling body, attempting to brace her.

"There, there," said Luna, "It's okay."

"I'm so... so... sorry... Princess. I don't know what came over me," cried Twilight. "Please... please forgive my actions, and those mean things I said about you."

Princess Luna comforted the unicorn as she continued to sob. She looked up at the guards and, with a silent nod, they backed down and returned to their posts. She wasn't sure how to deal with the situation on hoof. Twilight had broken many rules and injured an innocent bystander in the process. However, could she really blame the poor, confused unicorn? It was only two nights before that she attacked the Summer Sun Celebration. Had Celestia punished her? This thought decided Luna’s next course of action: she would show the same kindness as everypony else had during her crusade as Nigthmare Moon.

"It's okay Twilight, you were just confused about what to do. Take my advice: have faith in Celestia and have faith in Rainbow Dash. You need to show them the same faith they had in you - that is the magic of friendship!"

Twilight relinquished a hidden smirk, away from Luna's sight. She still pretended to pour her eyes out into the alicorn's brow. The clever strategist had successfully convinced Luna to believe her; she was unaware of the book's powerful time stopping spell that had given Twlight the opportunity to save her friend.

Twilight felt exhausted after the entire fiasco. After looking into Luna's eyes, she unwillingly passed out, surprising the alicorn a little. The benign princess couldn't help but smile at the sleeping unicorn as she wrapped her completely in her large wings.

Luna called for the nearby maiden ponies, who quickly carried Twilight to one of the bedroom suites down the hall. Another maiden came to fetch her bag, but she was stopped momentarily. The alicorn carefully removed the tome from the bag before allowing the maiden to take it to Twilight's room. All the other ponies cleared the way as Princess Luna walked back to Celestia's room.

<>--<>

The sand dunes cast a majestic atmosphere over the city of Bronkonia. The large emerald city was enveloped by an impressive dome, about the same size of Canterlot and with one entrance. Many chunks of earth hovered around the city’s mind-blowing skyscrapers, all of which nearly touched the large protective bubble. Inside the city, one could see lush green parks with trees and flowers, all surrounded by plazas, walkways and libraries. Although Canterlot was known for its School for Gifted unicorns, it was Bronkonia that possessed the perfect environment for unicorns to test their magical prowess.

Princess Celestia galloped over one of the large sand dunes and headed straight for the main gate. She was wearing her white cloak and it reflected a beautiful blue and pink haze in the moon’s crescent glow. Even though there was little light around, the few ponies awake at this time witnessed the alicorn's arrival from inside the dome.

The two unicorn guards bowed as Celestia walked past them and onto the mosaic plaza leading towards an impressive jade castle directly in front of her. She had not visited Bronkonia in the past year, but the urgency of this matter did not excuse her presence. She had to speak with the Council of Magic before Rainbow Dash became locked in statis for all eternity.

It did not take long for the mighty alicorn to burst into the main lobby of the castle. The massive halls echoed with the slamming of doors. At the receptionist table, Celestia could see a familiar unicorn. She walked over to the stunned pony, spreading her wings in almost dominant manner.

"Faerie Fyre, am I glad to see you," said the alicorn, lowering her hood to reveal her sparkling mane that somehow flowed in the windless room.

It took the unicorn a few seconds to grasp her situation before breathing a sigh of relief.

"Princess Celestia! What a surprise! It’s been almost a year since we last saw you here. How do you fare?"

"Not well, Faerie. It seems a dark and mysterious force has crept its way into Equestria again, and I fear it may have corrupted one of the Elements of Harmony."

The silver unicorn shuffled her orange and teal mane away from her face to get a better look at Celestia. The alicorn was known for her subtle jokes every now and then, but Faerie Fyre could see this was not one of them.

"We need to assemble the council as soon as possible," said the unicorn. "Give me a moment."

Faerie Fyre walked to the middle of the marble floor, and her blue eyes ignited with a bright orange flame as her horn sprung to life. The unicorn levitated off the ground and cast a powerful spell, sending many colourful sparks through the castle's walls. Celestia intensified the expression on her face as, one by one, the Council of Magic appeared around the room.

Poly Cure, a tall black unicorn with bright green mane who was the Master of Potions, appeared in blaze of green smoke. His cutie mark was a set of dragon wings.

A scroll also appeared in a puff of smoke. It opened and out jumped Daylight Scribble, Mistress of Scrolls and Seals, a majestic crimson unicorn with dashing white mane bearing a quill cutie mark.

The final council member then appeared in a lightning strike. She was Ginger Blitz, an orange unicorn with yellow mane bearing a thundercloud as a cutie mark, and the Mistress of Nature and Incantations.

Faerie Fyre then dissipated in a flash of blue fire, only to reappear alongside her fellow council members. This surprised Princess Celestia, as she did not know of the unicorn's promotion.

"My, my Faerie, you made the council as well?"

"Yup," boasted Faerie Fyre. "I now bear the title of Spell Mistress, teehee."

"Now with pleasantries out of the way, let’s get down to business," said Celestia. "The Elements of Harmony have been summoned once more, and I fear a dark spirit may be looming over Equestria."

The council seemed a little shocked by the news. They looked at one another before Ginger Blitz spoke.

"Once more? You mean... you know of this entity?"

Princess Celestia lowered her wings. She had hoped that this day would not come, but she had no choice in the matter; Rainbow Dash was in grave danger.

"Yes. Back when I used the Elements of Harmony to free my sister from Nightmare Moon's grasp, I could feel a spirit living inside the Element of Loyalty."

"What kind of spirit?" interrupted Poly Cure.

Celestia closed her eyes as her own horn sprung to life. Behind her the sun started to rise, slowly bringing light through the windows of the jade castle. The unicorns watched intently as she mumbled her spell. The sun stopped moving, castling a white halo over Celestia's figure. The council could only watch in awe at the alicorn's beautiful aura.

At last she reopened her eyes and spoke.

"A cunning demon from another dimension!"

<>--<>

It had been a long and eventful evening. Luna stood on the balcony facing east, concentrating while awaiting the sun's slow ascent over the mountains. On cue she focused her magic and brought the moon down in a geosynchronous fashion; a perfect dawn to a dark night. The princess walked back into the marble hall and slowly made her way towards Twilight's room.

The unicorn was already up, bathed and ready to leave for Ponyville. The alicorn crept into the bedroom to see her packing the elemental tiara into her saddlebag and then tossing the loose baggage over her back. Luna smiled when Twilight's eyes finally met her own.

"I don't usually say this, but uh... good morning," asserted the alicorn. "I see you're ready to go?"

Twilight returned the greeting but immediately looked away from the princess, ashamed at the harsh words she had used the previous night. Luna, however, could see that something was troubling the young mare and decide to have a heart to heart.

"Listen, Twilight. What happened last night was a proof to me that you really care for your friends. You were willing to pay a terrible price and I commend you for your loyalty. But sometimes it's better to just take a step back, and approach things with caution."

The unicorn was willfully keeping herself from telling the truth. Nopony should know that her spell had actually succeeded and Rainbow Dash would likely be back to her normal tomboy self later that day. Twilight simply nodded and smiled innocently at Luna's touching words.

"Never forget to have a little patience, young one. Greed and the desire for power can turn you away from your goal. Remember this."

"Thanks for understanding, Princess," said Twilight, "I hope I can put this entire experience behind me."

"Don't worry too much about. Now, let’s get you onto the next chariot leaving for Ponyville, shall we?" smiled Luna.

“Sure thing. But first I should pay a visit to Copper.”

To be Continued...

Chapter 6: Back to reality

Chapter 6: Back to reality

Written by TheLunarArmy

Edited by Ezn

Applejack and Rarity were walking through Ponyville at a moderate pace, heading straight towards the town library. Both ponies had woken up particularly early that morning in hopes of dedicating all their effort towards Rainbow Dash for the entire day.

"I hope Twilight didn't overexert herself last night," pondered Rarity, "I hardly know her, but she seems like a very pedantic pony."

"Shucks Rarity. You shouldn't be saying those harsh things; she seemed awfully guilty about this whole mess."

"Oh, I know, I know. But you have to admit, she did seem to overreact. I, for one, have great faith in Princess Celestia's capabilities."

Applejack couldn't help but agree with Rarity's comment. Twilight was being too harsh on herself, but judging by her reactions during the whole Nightmare Moon fiasco, Applejack could see that unicorn did not really know how to deal with new friendships.

The two mares reached the large tree house’s entrance. The guards slowly shifted away from their posts, allowing Rarity to open the door. As the ponies walked inside they could hear sobbing coming from upstairs. It only took a subtle eye-lock between Applejack and Rarity for both ponies to run up the wooden staircase into Twilight's bedroom.

Both ponies froze at the door leading into the room. They saw Spike bracing Pinkie Pie, who was sobbing in the dragon's arms. He was stroking the back of her mane in attempt to comfort the distressed pony. He looked up to meet Applejack's eyes. She suddenly felt her spine chill all the way to her flank.

"You... you... guys should go into the next room..." said Spike as he scurried off, his eyes to the floor.

The two mares continued into the adjacent room. Fluttershy was at the window, covering her face with her one wing and Rainbow Dash with the other. The rainbow pegasus was standing on her own four hooves, staring out into the horizon. Fluttershy moved her wing to reveal a smile across her tear-covered face. Both Rarity and Applejack's expressions changed to match that of the joyful pegasus.

"... Fluttershy," said Applejack, "...is she?"

Dash slowly turned around to meet all the ponies’ expressions. She let out a soft sigh and then stood in her typical proud Rainbow Dash pose.

"Hi guys! Did'ya miss me?"

<>--<>

Celestia stood in front of four very shocked masters. Their minds were racing with questions. The serene white light from the morning sun caused the emerald castle to flood with a green luminescent glow. The ponies blandly stared into Celestia's magenta eyes, utterly stunned with news of an inter-dimensional demon inside Equestria. It took a good four minutes of shell shock before Poly Cure finally broke the awkward silence.

"Celestia, if you knew of this demon... why did you not stop it from inhabiting the Elements of Harmony?"

Celesta stared daggers at the black stallion. She expected to be scrutinized, but not this soon. She tapped her hoof on the cold floor before responding.

"Over a thousand years ago, I had to call upon the Elements of Harmony's power to banish Nightmare Moon. During our battle I only had a fraction of each Element's true power." Celestia took a moment to recall the story. "It was at this time that I saw the demon, a fox, sitting in a cage inside Loyalty. Although I had to focus on the battle at hand, I saw great evil flowing from outside its prison, but I needed all the power I could... so I... accepted its existence.” The council remained quiet, both in shock and intrigue.

“It s-s-spoke to me,” stuttered Celestia, “I retained my concentration on Nightmare Moon, but in the back of my mind I could hear it whispering my name.” The princess was obviously very dis hearted by revealing this secret. Her eyes glimmered across the room, with soft sigh she then continued.

“Although I did not aspire for the demon’s power, it was there for the taking. I realized the magnitude of problems that Equestria would face in eternal darkness. So I... I accepted his offer. With the power of the Elements and this demon’s strength I was finally able to banish Nightmare to the moon.”

"So you harnessed the power of a demon? This is heresy, Celestia!"

"Silence, Ginger Blitz, you have no right accuse me or heresey!" snapped Celestia, "If I hadn't seal Nightmare Moon, then her darkness would caused famine, death and chaos across the country! Do you think that would have been a better solution the problem?"

The unicorn quickly backed down after seeing Celesta’s fury, a grim sight to behold. Their teachings forebode accepting assistance from evil beings, however after reflecting on Celestia’s reasoning for a few moments the zealot pony actually accepted the princess’ resolution. The princess took a few moments to regain her composure, but soon continued.

"After the banishment spell was complete, the Elements returned to their stone state, making it impossible for me to access the Element of Loyalty again. It and the others remained untouched until three nights ago."

Although she was a new addition to the council, Faerie Fyre finally scavenged up enough courage to enter the conversation. This would be her first time to make an impression with her new teammates.

"How strong is this demon, Celestia? And if it’s trapped inside the Element of Loyalty, then surely it poses no real threat?"

"We cannot make that assumption, my dear. As for its true power: I don't know. All I can say is that this demon is obviously very dangerous."

"From my studies I can tell that it would be very difficult to unseal Princess," included Daylight ,"So why the rush all the way from Canterlot?"

"I'm afraid the demon may be manifesting itself in the new Element of Loyalty bearer: a pegasus from Ponyville named Rainbow Dash. I believe the demon is trying to talk to her. Possibly trying to weaken her will, I wonder what his true intentions may be..."

The meeting was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a spiral of green smoke in the middle of the room. A scroll suddenly appeared and opened itself in front of Celestia. She quickly read the scribbled text, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Its seems things may have turned for the better, friends. I just received message from my faithful student's assistant, saying that Rainbow Dash has snapped out of her comatose state."

"This is excellent news, Princess!" smiled Faerie Fyre, "Maybe the demon didn't affect her after all..."

"Another assumption we cannot afford to make, Faerie. But I agree, the news is excellent!"

"We should observe Rainbow Dash to check for any anomalies," explained Poly Cure. “Better safe then sorry.”

Under normal circumstances Celestia would agree with such a proposition, but she knew what happened to ponies under "observation" . It’s not a pretty thought. The fear of constantly being followed would surely only provoke Dash into submission. No! She could not stand the thought of doing that to Twilight Sparkle’s new friend. There had to be another way.

"Poly Cure, I have a better idea," explained Daylight Scribble, as if she was reading Celestia’s mind ,"Why don’t we simply use a protection potion to seal away any demonic energies that may be within the pegasus? That way we can spare her life from ruin while avoiding disaster."

The dark stallion raised a hoof to his short stubby beard, giving a few strokes and then opening his eyes on the unicorn’s prospect.

"It could work, but that potion will only last for a year! What will we do once it expires?"

"Then we should have enough time to prepare for any threat," Ginger Blitz said confidently.

"I agree with Blitz," said Faerie Fyre, garnishing a thanking nod from the Princess.

All the unicorns seemed to agree as well, and Poly Cure focused his horn on his summoning spell. With another puff of smoke, a bright blue bottle appeared in the middle of the room.

"Pour this potion on the bearer's coat, Celestia, and it should seal any demonic energies within her for one whole year," he said.

Celestia thanked the council and concluded the meeting. "I need to get back to Canterlot right away so I'd best make haste."

The council agreed and, one by one, scattered back to their respective quarters, all except Ginger Blitz. The orange unicorn watched closely Celestia as put her coat back on. She cautiously approached the lone alicorn.

"I meant to tell you something Celestia,” she began. “I recently discovered a faint communication signal on one of the crystal balls in the laboratories.” The alicorn halted in her tracks. Could it actually be possible? Celestia turned to Ginger and gave her her full attention.

“It seems to be reflecting from one of the nearby stars, but it we cannot focus on its frequency to get a clear response. If we were able to do this then we may be able to contact celestial beings. We may finally prove your theory of the existence of other sentient life."

"After all those years of wondering, do you think it could actually be true?" enquired Celestia, “Although I have more pressing matters to attend to, I’m sure I can help. What do you need Ginger?”

"A project assistant mentioned remembering one of her peers from your School for Gifted Unicorns had a natural affinity for long distance communication. Maybe we could... uh... borrow him? His special talent may be what we need to solve this conundrum."

The princess took a moment to remember all the ponies that were in Twilight's peer group. She smiled upon realizing who the unicorn was; she was sure he would like the challenge too. The alicorn then responded to Ginger.

"I'll see what I can do."

<>--<>

Twilight Sparkle and Luna were walking through Canterlot castle’s main corridor. The princess was quite tired after staying up all evening, but she felt obliged to escort Twilight to the awaiting chariot. She could see the young mare was still feeling rather sad and decided to give her one last word of advice.

"Twilight," said Princess Luna, "Before you go, I need to tell you the tale of Nightmare Moon and myself."

The unicorn froze in place, curiously attaching her concentration on Luna's statement.

"The sense of control can really diminish a pony's sense of reality, Twilight. The real reason I became Nightmare Moon was because of the jealousy that developed in my saddened heart. I wanted all the ponies to love and enjoy the night. I wanted to control how they spend their time. It is this sense of control that caused me to become Nightmare Moon."

The unicorn could do very little but close her eyes and nod. Luna had really struck a chord with her there. Thinking back, Twilight realized how out of control she had really been. Breaking the law? Sacrificing her own safety to use black magic? Actually hurting an innocent pony? Twilight couldn't help but feel guilty and, in doing so, finally understood what the princess meant. Her sudden epiphany made her turn Luna and give a grateful response.

"Princess, you’re right. I am very, very sorry for what I did, and I appreciate your advice." Twilight blushed a little, causing her to cover her face with a hoof. "Would you like to be my friend too?"

Luna froze midway into taking her next step. It had been over a thousand years since another pony, beside her sister, had asked for her friendship. Her heart melted at Twilight's small proposition.

Looking into Twilight's eyes, the mighty alicorn's face was smeared by a joyful smile. She lit up her horn causing a small gold ring to appear in front of her...

"Why, of course Twilight," said Luna, as she handed the ring to Twilight, "If you ever feel like sending me letters, just place a wax seal on the parchment using this ring."

Twilight gratefully accepted the Princess' gift as the two ponies reached the main door of the castle.

"Well, have a safe trip back to Ponyville, Twilight..." yawned Luna. "I need to get some sleep. You certainly provided some excitement this evening."

Twilight hugged the alicorn before hopping onto the chariot.

"Thanks for everything Princess! Expect to hear from me soon!"

With that the guards took off, leaving Princess Luna to stare after her new friend as she disappeared into the clouds.

<>--<>

Back in Ponyville, the library's usual serine and quiet hallways were alight with laughter and music. It had taken almost no time for Pinkie Pie to arrange balloons, streamers, confetti, punch and cupcakes in celebration of Dash’s recovery.

All five ponies - and also Spike - were having a fun time playing various games and enjoying each others’ company. Everypony was overjoyed to see Rainbow Dash back to her normal self, and even though the ruby was still firmly stuck around her neck, it was as if nothing had happened.

Dash was also happy to be out of the nightmare of her own subconscious. If those mysterious ropes had not saved her, she would shot past sanity's edge. She was so happy that she lit slide her usual facade of "coolness" and joined in playing Pinkie Pie's silly party games.

"We should really wait for Twilight, don't ya'll think?" laughed Applejack.

"Of course we should, but the guard outside said she went over to Canterlot quickly. She should be back soon." replied Rarity. "Also, this punch is absolutely divine!"

"And there's lots and lots of cupcakes to go around!" giggled Pinkie Pie who was happily munching on said cupcakes.

Rainbow Dash walked over to Spike and gave him a small nudge with her hoof.

"Hey, uhh, Spike, was it? Why did Twilight rush off to Canterlot anyway?"

"To be honest, I don't really know. She seemed very worried about that rock around your neck. I think she may have felt a little responsible for the entire episode. My guess is that she rushed back to our library in Canterlot to fetch the books on pony anatomy she left behind."

Dash couldn't help but smile upon hearing the dragon's reply. Wow, she dropped everything she was doing to help me? Twilight Sparkle looks like an amazing friend to have! Even if she's a bit of an... egghead.

A loud knock on the front door broke the party atmosphere. All the ponies, bar Dash, rushed to the door in hopes of greeting Twilight. The heavy door flung open, and it was indeed Twilight Sparkle on the front porch.

The unicorn was a bit shocked to see everypony in her face, jumping up and down, smiling, and trying to tell her things, but the mixed conversations made it nearly impossible for Twilight to figure out what they were saying.

"Woah, woah!" yelled Twilight with a large smirk on her face. "One at a time please!"

All the ponies cleared out of Twilight's way and replied, unanimously: "LOOK!"

Twilight finally laid eyes on Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was standing the middle of the library, head lowered in a shy smile, and with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. It took less than ten seconds for the unicorn to drop her saddlebag and nearly crush Dash in an embrace. The unicorn's eye watered up in joy, both because Dash was okay and because her spell was success.

"Thank Celestia you’re okay!"

The pegasus struggled to keep her footing against the overpowering hug, and spanned her wings around Twilight's neck to hug back.

"You're quite the hugger, Twilight," laughed Dash. "But you don't need to worry about me."

"But I do, Dash. Your friendship is very important to me... and if anything were to happen to you..." Twilight broke off. Dash reassured her friend with another hug before the rest of group huddled together, all of them unaware of white flash that enveloped the entire room.

“It looks like every pony is having fun!” exclaimed a familiar voice.

The ponies all turned towards the staircase to see Princess Celestia smiling at their show of affection. Twilight quickly trotted over to her mentor's side for a reassuring greeting.

“Princess! I’m so glad to see you.”

“I'm very glad to see you too, Twilight. Even more so is the headstrong Rainbow Dash up on her own four hooves!”

The pegasus blushed a little at that remark, but she shook her head and regained her cool stature. However, Celestia’s smile faded into a slightly dark frown.

“Tell me,” asked Celestia, “What did you see on the other side?”

Everypony looked intently towards Rainbow Dash. She had closed her eyes and a visible tear streaked across her cheek. This was the one question she had hoped no pony would ask. The thoughts of the hell-hole she just went through still lingered on her burdened soul. She felt like melting down, but instead bottled up her sorrow. She opened her eyes, wiped the tear off her face, and gritted her teeth in a stalwart attempt avoid facing the truth.

“I was trapped in a room alone for a few hours. No big deal. I’m back now and that’s aaaall that matters.” said Dash, forcing out a smile.

Princess Celestia easily saw through the pegasus’ fib, but used the opportunity to create amnesty for her friends’ sake; in the end it would be better if they didn’t know. Celestia winked at Dash’s courageous response, she knew that deep down Dash knew that the Princess knew.

“I have to go soon, but I’m glad to see you’re all doing well.” Celestia smiled at the happy ponies and turned around, remembering the potion Poly Cure gave her.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” She turned back levitating the sparkly bottle in front of her.

“Oooh shiny!” laughed Pinkie Pie.

Celestia gave a slight giggle at the party pony’s spontaneous outburst before looking back at Rainbow Dash.

“This is a gift for you Rainbow Dash, made by the four unicorn masters of Bronkonia.”

“What is it?” demanded Rarity with her curious demeanour.

“It is a potion that will prevent this from happening again. A safety spell which will last one whole year.”

Rainbow Dash’s smile grew for ear to ear. Although she tried to retain her bravado, the thought of never seeing that dreadful prison again was enough to make any pony feel safe. Celestia hovered the bottle over Dash’s wings and poured its magic contents all over her.

All the ponies stared in amazement as the rainbow coloured powder streamed over Dash’s body, causing it flicker and shine before ultimately settling into her coat. After the bottle was empty, Celestia walked over to the pegasus and performed a quick scan with her shimmering horn. The potion had taken its full affect and Celestia could sense the protection barrier around her.

“Excellent, now I must be off, royal duties call! Don’t forget about those letters, Twilight.”

Celestia disappeared in a haze of white light, leaving all six ponies - and the dragon - to enjoy the rest of their party.

<>--<>

However, deep inside Dash’s heart, sat the fox. And, although barrier surrounding his cage made it difficult for him to communicate with his possessee’s conscious, he watched her movements very closely. The patient hunter was back in his familiar habitat. Waiting for the moment to strike.

To be continued...

Chapter 7: As the clock ticks

Chapter 7: As the clock ticks

Written by TheLunarArmy

Edited by Ezn and SciontheKitsune

It has been twelve months since that fateful day when Rainbow Dash met the fox for the first time. The pegasus pony was resting on top of a single cloud hovering over Ponyville. It was like a spec of dust on the clean canvas of the beautiful blue skies and lustrous sun, which brought warmth over the entire area.

However, unlike the serene atmosphere and crisp afternoon air, Dash was a bundle of emotions and unhappiness on top of her perch.She had dark rings around her eyes, her face was blushed in a puffy red coloring and from her tangled mane one could see had not had a decent night's rest for days. She had been on the cloud for nearly a day now, too weak to fly home and too insecure to hover down to Ponyville below.

Dash had been crying. It was hard to accept, but even under her cantankerous persona, cool bravado and stubborn exterior was a sad pony with a heart made of glass. On this day, a crack had appeared on said glass and the events that were to unfold would forever change the fate of the Element of Loyalty.

"Rainbow!" came a yell from down on the ground.

Dash wiped the tears from her face and slowly peered over the side of her puffy mattress. Down below was Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash and Twilight had become very good friends over the last few months. However, this made the reality of her actions all the more shocking. How could they have done this to me? Why now?

Dash kept staring at the unicorn, trying to search for an emotion to help the situation. Her magenta eyes met with Twilight's purple ones. Her mind raced until finally... How could they? How... dare they? Dash had found anger instead of remorse.

"Dash, PLEASE! Please come down and talk to me!"

The pegasus stood up. Her sadness was no more. Where once there was a broken and betrayed pony now stood a pony with a vendetta. The white cloud underneath her hooves turned dark. Not just a simple rainstorm grey, but nebulous black. Electricity could been seen dancing around the rim of the cloud - this was the type of cloud any regular weather pony would be terrified to face.

Dash looked down at her "friend" again. This time she had an answer. This time she would not place her loyalty in her.

"No."

<>--<>

Two months prior, the six Elements defeated Discord, the evil lord of chaos, and sealed him back into a stone statue. For this, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash were the heroes of Equestria.

Who would have thought the six ponies from Ponyville would be able to divert danger for a second time?

After the festivities in Canterlot were concluded, Princess Celestia and Luna decided to evaluate each pony. They could see Discord’s game had affected them personally, and their will needed testing. A few guards escorted the six to throne room. Pinkie Pie was especially worked up, thinking that the royal bakery would give them all some of their famous donuts as reward. Her antics lightened the mood a little, but Rarity and Applejack were still on edge.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash walked into the large, marvelous court room first. Celestia and Luna both sat upon their respective thrones. The two alicorns heartily welcomed Twilight and her friends, before jumping right into business.

"WE ARE VERY INTRIGUED BY DISCORD'S RETURN. WHAT EXACTLY DID THE DASTARDLY DRACONEQUUS DO?!" said Luna with her royal Canterlot voice.

The six ponies, Celestia, guards and all were surprised to hear her overpowering voice; it was obvious Luna still had not been able to differentiate between personal conversations and common prattle. Fluttershy cowered in fear behind Applejack.

"Luna, you don't need to speak to the Elements like that," giggled Celestia, "After all, they did save our hides."

The moon princess felt very embarrassed. She blushed, took two steps back and then lifted her head in remorse.

"You're right. Sorry."

"Aw shucks, don't worry about it Princess. Honest mistake!" reassured Applejack, as Fluttershy crept out from behind her.

"Back to your question," said Twilight. "Discord tried to turn our strongest attributes against us. He knew exactly how to hit us where it hurt." She felt a little nervous, but knew full well Luna’s question was inevitable.

"So you had to face the harsh realities of your true inner spirits?" asked Celestia, "Tell me, what have you all learned?"

Each pony’s ears spit upright, ready to answer her majesty’s question. Applejack took the lead: "Stick to the honest truth, no matter how harsh reality may be."

"Always be HAPPY with everypony around you! Even if they seem a bit down in the dumps!"

"Don't place your own personal interests above those around you."

"...Don't be mean..."

It was now Dash's turn. Knowing full well she had chosen to leave Discord's game, she felt a bit ashamed to answer, but came up with a response nonetheless

"Give your loyalty to those you trust."

"Always stay true to your friends," finished Twilight, looking at all her friend's proud expressions.

"Excellent!" said Celestia. She pretended not to notice, but Dash's false statement was very easy to detect. When one expresses their true feelings they do not hesitate or doubt, and Rainbow Dash failed did both of those. This brought worry to Celestia. The Element of Loyalty was showing signs of weakness.

The Princesses thanked the ponies for their hard work once again and then allowed them to leave for home. However, before leaving the door Celestia called Twilight for a private consultation. Twilight had her suspicions about Dash, and when Celestia told her to stay back she knew exactly what the subject of discussion was going to be.

"Spike, why don't you head back with Rarity? I'll be back home before you know it."

"You got it!" replied the daydreaming dragon as he wallowed aimlessly behind the rest of the group.

Celestia and Twilight walked into the Element vault. The guards were not at their posts. Twilight knew that this had to be a very serious discussion - even more serious than the Discord ordeal they had just been through.

Celestia opened the vault and levitated out the magical case where the Elements were stored. Twilight her mentor closely as she levitated the ruby necklace out of its place. At first they she saw nothing out of place, but after a quick enchantment Celestia revealed her worries to her student.

The ruby necklace was fractured; a sign known among all magic users of broken spirit.

“Princess… what does this mean?”

Celestia could no longer withhold the truth from Twilight. Poly Cure’s spell would wear off within the next six weeks and nearly all the preparations had been made. Judgment was around the corner and the princess would have to inform the other Elements of the upcoming events.

“Your friend, Rainbow Dash… is possessed.”

“What?” yelled Twilight in utter disbelief. “That can’t be true! She’s the Element of Loyalty! She’s my friend! No way is she possessed.”

“Twilight, I am sorry to say this, but it’s true. Dash has a demon locked inside her soul. This demon once lived inside this necklace, but when Rainbow Dash first used its magic to defeat Nightmare Moon, we fear it may have escaped and trapped itself within her heart.”

“We?”

“Yes, we,” said a voice from behind her.

Twilight jumped out of shock to see Luna behind her, levitating a crystal ball with her telekinesis. Inside the crystal ball was another unicorn with a bright red mane.

“I am Faerie Fyre, you must be Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic. I am impressed.”

“Don’t feel threatened Twilight,” explained Luna, “We are all desperately trying to find a way to save Dash, but so far very little can be done without sacrificing her life.”

The sudden rush of information was difficult for Twilight to comprehend, her mind was racing. So many questions started to pop up and her own suspicions started to take on new light as well. She took her time evaluating every pony’s facial expressions. They seemed very serious about the matter; this was no joke.

“What can we do then?” asked Twilight.

“Right now: nothing,” answered Celestia. “The potion we used on Dash will expire in about two months’ time. Until then we-”

“Potion?” interrupted Twilight, “Are you talking about that protective potion you poured on her nine months ago? It wasn’t a protection spell?!”

“No,” said Faerie, “It was a special brew that suppressed a mystical energy we identified as Chakra. All beings, from creatures to plants seem to posses it, however this demon seems to have an unnatural reserve of the stuff."

“So why suppress some mystical energy? I don’t understand!”

“If we hadn’t intervened then Dash would have been slowly consumed by the demon’s energy and who knows what would happen next? We can tell she isn’t very strong willed, you know.”

“Hold on one second! Rainbow Dash has one of the most pure and powerful spirits of any pony! She bears the Element of Loyalty, after all.”

Both the princesses and Faerie could see how emotional Twilight became over her friend. They needed her on their side, or else they might lose the Elements of Magic and Loyalty for good. Celestia could also see how she is getting hurt, so she walked over to Twilight and wrapped a wing around her.

“It’s okay Twilight,” she whispered. “We have a plan to save her, but we need you, and all your friends’ help.”

“What can I do? What can we all do?”

Celestia took a step back and used her magic to levitate the elemental tiara out of the case. She placed it on Twilight’s head where it instantly disappeared.

“I had found a way to seal each Element into its bearer for storage until you need it,” replied Celestia. “Keep your tiara close to you and keep watch over Rainbow Dash. The demon feeds on negative thoughts, so do everything in your power to keep Dash happy for the next six weeks.”

“If she can strengthen her will,” continued Luna, “Then we may have a fighting chance against this evil. However, if she-”

Luna stopped. Faerie Fyre gave her a stern look.

“If she what?” queried Twilight.

“If she were to give into her hatred, then the demon would be able to take over.”

Twilight could now comprehend the entire problem. She gazed at Celestia and delivered her response: “I swear I’ll protect my friend, Princess.”

“I know you will Twilight,” replied Celestia, “Be careful: do not under any circumstances reveal our plan to Dash. Soon we will be able save her with Faerie Fyre’s help.”

The princess handed the other Elements to Twilight and explained how to bond them to Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. The ruby necklace would remain in the vault for safe keeping.

“Good luck Twilight,” said Faerie Fyre, before disappearing from the crystal ball.

Both alicorns walked Twilight to a waiting chariot. The moon was in full view, their plan was set in motion and all they could do was hope that their preparations would be good enough.

<>--<>

Six weeks later, an infuriated Dash stood over Ponyville on top of the dark cloud she had manifested. The Element of Loyalty stared down at Twilight Sparkle. It had taken her a whole month to unravel what she had been doing behind her back.

“TWILIGHT!” cursed Rainbow. “I thought you were my friend! How could you have done this to me?”

“We did it to protect you Dash!”

“You mean Applejack, Rarity and others were in league with this sinister plot?”

Twilight bit her lip - the one rule was not to reveal what was going on. But at this point, there was no longer any need to keep her lie. With tears in her eyes, she responded: “We all love you, Rainbow! Celestia, Luna and myself devised a plan to help you with your ‘problem’, but we needed every pony to go along with it. We didn’t want any of this to happen!”

“You mean you told them to lie to me?”

“Yes.”

“You all pretended to be my friends this entire time? Just to make sure I didn’t give in to that damn fox’s temptations?”

“NO! We truly are your friends Dash!”

“THEN HOW COULD YOU LIE TO ME?! I am the damn ELEMENT of LOY-AL-TEE. How can I trust any of you now?”

Twilight was in tears. She thought back to the last few weeks, when she tried to keep Dash happy. Her friends had done everything to make sure no pony would complain about the weather, Dash had front row tickets to the Wondershow in Cloudsdale and she even had a chance to meet with Spitfire and Soaren afterwards. It was Dash’s dream come true. Now it all came shattering down around her as she discovered it had all been a lie.

“I’m sorry Dash. We just wanted you to be happy…”

The rainbow pegasus’ rage started to overwhelm her. She wanted to accept Twilight’s apology, but something was forcing her to let her hatred to flow. Her body started to move by its own accord. Dash lifted her forehooves and slammed them into the dark cloud, causing a massive bolt of lightning to jolt across the sky and hit the roof of the mayor’s office, setting it ablaze.

“Dash!” yelled a familiar voice from down below.

All her friends were now alongside a weeping Twilight. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie embraced Twilight while Applejack and Rarity tried to talk to the pegasus.

“Dear, please calm down and talk to us!”

“Yeah, we’re all your friends here.”

“Yet you LIED to me for two months! You, the princesses, Twilight, the whole lot of you couldn’t tell me about your plans to capture me and betray me to…”

“I told you!” whispered a dark voice within Dash. “I told you they would betray you.”

Dash froze in horror. She could hear the fox’s voice in her ears. It was clear as day and the sheer force of his words rattled her nerves.

“Sugarcube? Are you okay?!” yelled Applejack

All the other ponies now stared up to Dash. She stood motionless on the cloud. The same way she had stood in one spot the previous year.

<>--<>

Dash found herself back in front of the fox’s cage. This time it was different; instead of him lurking in the darkness, he was in full view, openly talking to her.

“It’s been a while, Rainbow. You must thank whoever kept you away from me. But now that we meet again, let’s have a chat. Hmmm?”

“I have nothing to say you,” said Dash as she looked away from his bright red eyes.

“No? What about your friends? You said it yourself, they betrayed you. Aren’t you upset?”

Dash peered back at the fox. He was reading her like a book.

“So what if I am?” snapped Dash, “Friends lie to one another every now and then…”

“Hahaha!” laughed the fox, “You silly pony! You think this is the first time they have lied to you?”

“What do you mean?”

The dark pool of water around Dash stirred, revealing her memories of the previous twelve months. One by one the fox manipulated her thoughts to show her friends betraying her. The twisted images he used caused Dash to stand in absolute shell shock. Although her memories didn’t actually change the true events that occurred, the fox warped her perspective of what happened.

These visions, coupled with the recent string of lies her friend had sold her, were enough to win over Dash. The pony crumbled back into the dark water as an absolute wreck.

“They never… they never wanted me around at all?! But I was so loyal! I was always there for every pony!” whimpered Dash.

The Kyuubi marveled at his victory. Now it was time to claim his prize.

“Rainbow Dash.”

The pegasus looked up.

“Let me be your friend.”

“Wh-why… why would anypony want to be my friend? Just look at me. Everypony just wants to stab me in the back.”

“Why have a group of bad friends when all you need is one good one?"

The Kyuubi extended his claw between the bars and held his hand out to Dash.

“I promise. I will never betray you, pony. Together we have a beautiful future.”

Rainbow Dash looked at his hand, then at his face. She could not detect any sarcasm or deception. His offer was irresistible and at this point it seemed like nopony would care what her decision would be. She smiled.

“Friends? You and me?”

“Of course,” said the fox, “Together we will have more fun then you have ever had before!”

Dash wiped the tears from her eyes. Her sadness was gone. She looked straight into the Kyuubi’s eyes one more time and then reached out to his awaiting claw.

The Kyuubi picked her up and pulled her closer the cage. Her smile grew as sinister as his. The demon’s influence was now in full swing.

“How’s about we had a talk to your old friends again? What was it… Dashie?”

The pony giggled at the name Pinkie Pie gave her, weird, it was used by a being she never thought existed.

“Yeah, I think I should give them a piece of my mind,” whispered Dash in a dark voice.

The fox pointed at the seal on his cage.

“Let me out. With my strength, you can punish all those who have abused your loyalty. Fair, don’t you think?”

Dash didn’t even doubt her actions. She simply reached out, clenched the piece of paper firmly between her teeth and, in one swoop, ripped it off the wooden bars.

The Kyuubi gently put Dash down and proceeded to smash his prison to pieces using his tails. The pegasus stood in awe of her new friend’s might - his violent attack somehow excited every fiber in her body. Maybe being this bad would be fun.

After the fox was satisfied with his rage he looked down at the small pony in front of him. He had grown fond of her. Her new dark personality was strangely appealing: it was as if his influence had shaped her character - she was a splitting image of himself in the making. For years he had tried to accomplish this goal with Naruto, yet in a measly twelve months his new host bowed to his every whim.

There had to be a change in the plan. Instead of killing Dash, he thought about giving her the power she needed instead. Let her have the fun she wanted, and gain a powerful ally in the process.

He picked up Dash and brought her closer to his face.

“I like you, pony. I truly mean it. You may take all the power you need. Get your revenge.”

Rainbow Dash felt a burning sensation ripple across her skin. It felt… tantalizing. She closed her eyes in pain for a second, only to reopen them to her new self. Her magenta irises were gone. In their place were two bright red fox eyes, glaring with fury.

“You look beautiful, my dear.”

The new Dash blushed at his compliment.

“Thank you.”

“Now, go and have your fun. If you need any help, just let me know.”

Dash nodded, disappearing a black haze.

<>--<>

“…are you okay?” came a voice from a distance. Dash recognized it. It was that liar, Applejack.

In reality, Dash had only been contact with the Kyuubi for a few seconds, and she returned to find herself still perched on top of her cloud. She could feel her eyes starting to burn, and she knew her body was transforming to match her new awesome persona. She closed her eyes and smirked.

“Am I okay?” she laughed.

All the ponies were shaken by her response. They saw her spread her wings and jump off the cloud straight into the skies above. She flew high into the cloudless atmosphere. Her body was tingling all over as she felt the fox’s strength seep into it. It felt amazing - even more amazing than the power she felt a year prior.

Her eyes remained closed as she performed one of her signature loops with precision accuracy. Then she bolted straight down towards the ground at full speed, causing her friends to yell her name in shock.

“DASH NO! Pull up! Don’t do it!” yelled Twilight.

“Dashie! No! What are you doing?!” cried Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy and Rarity stood in shocked silence.

“Arr Dee! We are your friends! We can help you!”

Dash could only laugh maniacally as she swooped out of the dive mere meters away from ground, swooping low and landing in front of the group of shocked ponies.

It was at this time that they saw her new appearance for the first time. Her coat had become darker, her wide grin bore large sinister teeth and three whisker tears had developed on each cheek. At long last she opened her eyes, revealing her bright red irises and dragon-like pupils.

“My friends, you say?” giggled Rainbow Dash.

No pony said anything; they slowly took a step back, unsure of what has happened to Dash.

“Let me tell you guys something… about friendship…”

To be continued...

<>--<>

Writer's Note: Thanks for everyone's continued support. As a reward I will release the next chapter within 24 hours! Additionally thank you ScionTheKitsune for the great Rainbow Dash vector artwork.

Chapter 8: Surviving the elements

Chapter 8: Surviving the elements

Written by TheLunarArmy

Edited by Ezn

Alarms rang. The usually serene emerald castle in Bronkonia was filled with absolute chaos as unicorns scrambled throughout its great halls, quickly scurrying to fetch scepters and artifacts kept in the magical armories.

In the great lobby, Faerie Fyre was readying her own armour. Her silver shoulder guards and horseshoes fit snugly in their respective places. Her green cape bore the Master of Magic symbol and her flank shields matched her cutie mark.

The masters had certainly not wasted their twelve month grace period. They had spent every minute researching demonic energies, looking for ways to detect and weaken their power in the case of a full manifestation. Faerie and Daylight Scribble were the leading researchers in the matter, so all the other unicorn guards would follow their commands to letter.

"Attention! Bronkonia Magic Korps!" yelled Faerie.

All the guards stopped in place, paying close attention to their commanding officer. Faerie scanned their faces, seeing both fear and anxiety.

"You have been scrambled because our greatest fear have come true. Three minutes ago our Chakra sensors rang off the hook due to a massive influx of demonic energy detected overhead Ponyville. This has most likely been caused by the demon in the Element of Loyalty."

Everypony started to whisper to one another. The Element of Loyalty? A demon? Confusion lingered.

"We have anticipated its presence for quite a while now but have not seen its full potential until just a few moments ago. Princess Celestia has kept us on standby should the other Elements of Harmony fail to suppress the demon's power. This may be your first encounter with this kind of evil, but as long as you follow my orders correctly, you will come home alive."

Faerie paused until a nod from Daylight bade her to continue.

"Alright! We are moving out in ten minutes! Make sure you have your cloaks ready and your teleportation spells warmed up. Dismissed."

She vanished in a flash of blue flame and then reappeared next to Daylight. The two masters scurried down an empty hallway, discussing their plan of attack. Both looked very nervous.

"Faerie, are you sure you can handle this? I mean, from what I've read, demons don’t go down easy, nor do they play fair."

"I am a bit worried, yes, but I need to be strong for Celestia and the troops. Additionally, I believe Twilight and her friends will be able to calm Rainbow Dash. All they need to do is trust in their friendship."

"Have you thought of a backup plan? Just in case the demon takes over completely?"

Faerie stopped in her tracks. She looked at the floor and closed her eyes. Her backup plan was not pleasant. It was considered the ultimate fail safe against an entity they could neither defeat nor control. Faerie doubted if the princesses would allow this technique, but it was available if there was no other way to save Dash.

"I do, but it's a horrible one. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."

The masters continued through the only doorway leading out of the passage. They entered a room with a large crystal ball (roughly the size of a juvenile hydra) placed directly in line with the sun. There were also various wooden tables, chairs, bookshelves and opened ledgers scattered across the room.

This was the new Inter-Stellar Communication Array that Ginger Blitz had constructed in the castle. The room was the center of all communication between castles throughout Equestria and beyond. Faerie and Daylight used this room regularly to relay messages to Canterlot and today would be no exception.

"Hey, White Noise!" yelled Faerie, "Where the hell are you?"

A set of grey eyes peered out from behind a large pile of books. The stack of codexes tumbled down to reveal a white unicorn stallion with bright blue mane and a set of speech bubbles for a cutie mark.

"Sorry ladies," said White Noise. “Guess you caught me daydreaming again.”

"No time for chit-chat, we need to talk to Celestia right away!"

White Noise lit up his horn and projected his magic into the large crystal ball. He had to focus all his power into establishing a connection to Canterlot castle, which was an impressive distance from Bronkonia. After a few seconds the crystal ball flickered to life and they could suddenly see a grey unicorn with red curly mane looking directly at them.

"Morning, Copper," said White Noise, "We’d like to request an urgent audience with Princess Celestia immediately!"

"No can do, Bronkonia," replied Copper. "She is currently out on royal duties. Is there any way I can help?"

"Listen!" yelled Faerie Fyre, "This is bloody important! Our demonic sensors are off the hook this side, so something is happening in Ponyville at this very moment. You'd better get a hold of Celestia immediately! Hell, even Princess Luna might be able to help!"

Copper's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates.

"D-d-did you say demon? I-I-I'll wake Luna right away! Thank you for the heads up."

The crystal ball dimmed again as the Copper cut the connection from her side.

"Connection lost," confirmed White Noise.

"Damnit! I had hoped to tell Celestia my plan before heading out, but it looks like I'll have to inform her while in the field."

"What should I do from this end, Faerie?" asked Daylight.

The Master of Combat Magic stared at White Noise, who attempted to shuffle out of her uncomfortable glare. She knew well his recent achievements in the field of long distance communication and, somehow, she got the feeling that he would be a vital asset in the upcoming confrontation. Faerie turned to Daylight.

"I need you and White Noise to get in contact with them again."

"What?! Do you have idea how much magic it would take to bridge a stable conn-" White Noise couldn't finish his sentence, as he was being held quiet by Daylight.

"Don't worry, you silly stallion," said the Master, "With your brains and my scrolls, I'm sure we can make a plan."

White Noise gave an unsure huff. Although he had not yet mastered the frequency stabilization, he knew that they might be able to help.

"Alright, fine, we'll give it try. But I can't promise anything."

On that cue, Faerie closed her eyes and disappeared in a puff of blue flame once more.

<>--<>

Back in Ponyville, a dark storm was brewing overhead. The fire from town hall was starting to blaze out of control, causing a lot of heat to seed the overhead clouds, fueling the ever-growing tempest. Any pony not involved in stopping the inferno was desperately trying to evacuate their friends and family from their homes, hoping to save what little they could.

In the grassy fields between the town and the Everfree forest stood the six Elements of Harmony - five of whom were mortified to see what had happened to their closest friend.

Rainbow Dash had unleashed the fox's full strength and, bit by bit, he was feeding her hunger for vengeance. She remained eerily calm, soaking up the terror expressed by her former friends while buying time for her body to adapt to the demonic energies.

"Friendship," said Dash in an ominous tone, "What a truly laughable concept. I mean... I spent all this time sharing my loyalty with you guys, just to be betrayed for a little suck-up action with Celestia."

"Horseapples Dash!" scorned Applejack. "These last few weeks were to help you keep your emotions under control. To prevent... this."

Rainbow took a few slow steps forward. Every pony watched her, unsure what to expect. Suddenly she moved again. Her movements were so fast that all her friends saw was a splash of rainbow before she stood in the middle of the group and placed her head on Applejack's shoulder. Her coat was so corrupted with dark energy that Applejack could feel her flesh burning just by making contact with Dash.

"Feels bad, doesn't it?" whispered Dash. "This is how I felt every day since you guys abandoned me."

Applejack shrugged Dash off her shoulder and crumpled to the ground in pain.

Pinkie Pie’s mind started to flicker - seeing Applejack throbbing in pain and Dash slowly growing into a monster caused her fragile mind to slowly rattle under the stress of the situation. A slightly harsher Pinkamina now stepped forward.

"Dashie, why are you hurting Applejack, huh? She has been nothing but honest with you! You’re becoming such a meanie."

"Haha! Oh, Pinkie Pie. You're still the same weak fool you’ve been since the first time I met you. Applejack, honest? What a laugh. Just look at her. You all knew about Celestia's little plan for two months. Did she come forward to tell me about? No. I had to force it out of Twilight."

"But we were trying to keep you safe, Dashie! Doesn't that count for anything?"

Dash placed her hoof on Pinkie's chin.

"You silly, little fool! Why don't you just go back the candy shop and fill your gluttonous face with sugar? Leave the serious business to the real ponies."

As tough as Pinkie tried to be, there was no mistaking that the burns on her chin were excruciating. It was not long before she joined Applejack on the floor, crippled by intense heat generated by Dash’s deadly touch.

"Who's next?"

Rarity took her chance leap at Dash, landing a solid kick in her torso.

"Rarity! No!" yelled Fluttershy. "We said we wouldn't..."

Rarity landed back on the grass, perfectly poised. Her eyes focused on Dash.

"This is not Rainbow Dash, my dear. Rainbow Dash would never knowingly hurt our friends.”

"Then you are not the real Rarity," laughed Dash, "because the real Element of Generosity would never selfishly withhold secrets from her friend, now would she? Oh wait... you never gave a rat's ass about sharing squat, you selfish cow!"

"WHAT?"

"You heard me. You've selfishly tried to grab everything within your grasp, from the Photo Finish contract to the diamond dogs’ gems, and even the Best Young Flier award - the one that rightly belonged to me. You've always been generous to number one and no-one else."

Rarity softly whimpered: "I... I... never intended to."

"Haha! You're just as weak as Pinkie Pie, you selfish filly. Now let me return the generous smack you gave me."

"No! Dash... I...."

Twilight and Fluttershy jumped in between the two. Fluttershy's anger was now at a level sufficient to oppose Dash. While Twilight tried to comfort Rarity, the two pegasi locked each other in a stare down.

"Now there’s a sight I never thought I'd see: wimpy little Fluttershy pretending to be tough," mocked Dash.

"Oh no? Well I can say the same about you, demon! Using an innocent pony to do your dirty work for you! How shameful!"

"Demon? You think the demon is controlling me? It's me, Fluttershy - the REAL me. All he's doing is giving a little help... since, you know, real friends do that for each other."

"No! Dash would never need some corrupt evil thing's help to be strong! She’s not weak!"

Their eyes were still firmly locked, and neither pony backed down for a even a second. However, from deep within Dash's mind, the Kyuubi made a startling discovery while looking into Fluttershy's eyes through Dash's sight. It can't be, he thought. This pony possesses enough willpower to... DASH! GET AWAY FROM HER!

Dash followed the fox's orders immediately and pulled up into the sky. She soared high into the dark clouds, with Fluttershy right behind her.

"Running away? Who's the big scaredy cat now, huh? Come out and play, Dash!" mocked Fluttershy as she entered the clouds.

This turned out to be a big mistake. Just as Fluttershy got above the cloud cover, Dash swooped in from above her and kicked between her wing joints with all four hooves, knocking Fluttershy back down to earth.

Back on the ground, Pinkie Pie's tail starting twitching and, although her skin was still burning, she let out a ear splitting yelp: "TWILIGHT! Look up!"

Twilight saw a motionless Fluttershy break through the clouds, falling towards the ground like a rag-doll. The monster was nowhere to be seen.

"Quickly Twilight!" urged Pinkie. "Dash won’t be far behind."

Twilight quickly got on her hooves and fired up her horn with her magical maroon aura. After saying a few enchantments, Twilight opened her eyes to reveal her spell. With a sudden burst of lightning, she summoned the Elements of Harmony.

Each one appeared on its respective bearer, except for Loyalty. With the sudden boost in power, Twilight easily teleported next to Fluttershy and used her protective bubble to catch her. The bubble slowed their descent until they touched down on the ground.

"Are you okay, Fluttershy?" asked Twilight.

"Yes. She got me with a cheap shot, but luckily this necklace healed me and got my strength back."

Twilight then teleported herself and Fluttershy back the main group. Both Pinkie Pie and Applejack's wounds had healed, and even Rarity snapped out of her emotional lockdown. The five ponies were now certain that their friend had been taken by the demon. Holding back would only endanger the citizens of Ponyville.

"Listen girls," said Twilight, "We have to stop Dash before the demon takes complete control. She still has the strength of the Element of Loyalty; so don't worry about holding back. If we need to break every bone in her body to get her back, then I say we do that."

Applejack took off her hat to reveal her trusty rope nestled inside. She took it out and knotted a loop in it. At that moment Pinkie Pie's Pinkie sense started to kick in. Eye flutter, twitchy tail, knee wobble and ear flop? Uh oh.

"Look out! Behind us!"

Sure enough, Pinkie’s sense were spot on. They could see a darkened rainbow streak above Ponyville - curving down and then parallel to the ground. Rainbow had taken the opportunity to gain speed from the high altitude and was proceeding to form a Mach cone around her fore hooves.

"That's the Rainboom! We have to slow her down!" yelled Rarity.

They knew a point-blank Sonic Rainboom could easily shatter their eardrums, causing massive hemorrhaging and ultimately death. Time was short and they had to act fast. Luckily Applejack noticed a nearby stack of hay bails.

"Rarity, Twilight, use yer magic and toss those bails of hay directly at Rainbow. Fluttershy, fly up and intercept her when she gets closer to us. Pinkie, you stay behind me and hold on. I'm gonna lasso me a bucking bronko."

The two unicorns sprung into action, combining their magic to instantly lift the bails of hay into the air and firing them at Dash in an artillery-style salvo.

Rainbow had to take evasive action, narrowly dodging several bails but slowing her speed in process. She flew faster to compensate, causing the Mach cone to ripple but leaving herself wide open. Just as she got in range Applejack flung the lasso at Dash, scoring a direct hit on her left wing. She pulled back, and with Pinkie's help, was able to swing Dash over their heads and crash her into the ground behind them, immobilizing the deranged pegasus.

Suddenly from out of the sky came a streak of yellow and pink. Fluttershy had also gained massive momentum thanks to the high altitude and promptly used all of it to crash into the grounded Rainbow Dash, delivering the same maneuver she had experienced earlier right back at her.

This time Dash could definitely feel the pain. She let out a deafening scream as both her wings were snapped in half. Fluttershy quickly hopped off her back to rejoin the others, who were racing towards the crash site.

Dash struggled to her hooves, burning with pain, and with her wings hanging limp at her sides. She had underestimate her former friend’s creative solutions, a mistake she did not intend to make again.

"You...you think this will stop me?!" muttered Dash.

"Dash, please stop. We don't want to hurt you anymore. Just come back to us," begged Rarity.

"Like hell I will!"

"Then you leave us with no choice, Dash," said Twilight, "If you won't come quietly, then we will drag you back to Princess Celestia."

<>--<>

Dash knew she wouldn't be able to harm the others in her present state - she needed more power. She retreated to her thoughts and quickly manifested herself back in front of the Kyuubi. The fox was at ease, sitting in his former cell and enjoying the performance all the ponies were putting on.

"I need your help. Can you fix my wings? It's the only advantage I have over them, and the only way I can beat their Elements."

The fox raised a claw to his chin, looked down and snapped his fingers.

"Done. Oh, and one more thing: the Element of Loyalty is bound to you; this relationship is inseparable. Using it is just a matter of willpower."

Dash could fell her energy being restored, but her strength felt much darker now.

"What is this power?" asked Dash, with a wide grin.

"That? Just a little boost I thought you might like."

"This is... awesome! Hell, with this I don't think I even need Loyalty!"

"Don't underestimate your former friends - especially not that yellow one! Avoid eye contact with her at all times."

"You got it," said Dash, before disappearing in her usual puff of black smog.

<>--<>

Back outside, the five Elements were encroaching on Rainbow when she suddenly sprung back to life. She laughed maniacally, causing the air around her to ripple with such power that it actually ignited the grass around her hooves. Dash stared daggers into Twilight Sparkle.

"Let’s up the game, shall we?"

A bright, sinister red mist formed around her entire body, enveloping it in a translucent armour of some kind. Additionally, Dash's teeth became longer, the tears on her cheeks widened, and small black lines formed around her eyes. The next step of her transformation was now complete.

"My buddy likes to call this a demon fox cloak, hehe. And it's wicked-awesome," taunted Dash.

"Dashie..." whimpered Pinkie, "What is happening to you?"

Dash's dark expression almost spoke for itself. She had had enough with games - now was the time to get serious. Her “demon cloak” started to bubble and swirl as the pegasus jumped into the air.

"I’m aligning my Loyalty elsewhere," exclaimed Dash with a dark, sinister voice, "and without it, Harmony will be extinguished."

<>--<>

Copper ran through the white halls frantically, startling various business ponies and guards. It had been a long time since the assistant had ran at top speed, but she needed to wake the princess as soon as possible.

Her eyes narrowed as her destination came into view. She opened the door and stepped into the dark room.

Princess Luna lay in her bed, fast asleep. She spent her nights keeping watch over Equestria, and was therefore very exhausted during the day. As much as Copper respected Luna's rest, this matter demanded her immediate attention.

The unicorn slowly walked over to the bed. She placed her hoof on the princess's shoulder, nudging it slightly.

"Princess, princess! Please wake up, we are in grave danger."

Luna's eyes sprung wide open as soon as she heard danger. Copper took two steps back and knelt as Luna stood upright.

"What's going on, Copper?"

"Bronkonia contacted us. It seems the Element of Loyalty has gone wild."

The princess sighed, remembering the instructions her sister had given her, should this day ever come. She quickly used her magic to attach her clothing to her body and then walked out the door. Copper was close behind her.

"What are you going to do, Princess?" asked Copper.

"Where is my sister at this moment?"

"Oh...uh... Botanical Garden opening in Fillydelphia. She should return within the next hour or so."

The two ponies made haste toward the vault in the west wing of the castle. Upon arrival, Luna opened the vault, revealing two cases protected by a luminescent blue barrier. The guards on duty and Copper watched closely as Luna slowly removed the necklace from the box using her telekinesis.

"Princess... are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"Oh yes. I’ve been wondering how powerful this thing still is..."

It was at this time that Copper noticed the another case hanging on the wall inside the vault. With Element in hoof, Luna now levitated the second case down. The long black box had a crescent moon engraved on its cover and silver adornments attached to its sides. The curious guards and Copper stood around Luna as she slowly creaked open the black box. They immediately gasped upon seeing the large curved blade nestled in between the purple padding; the marvelous saber was well known throughout pony legend.

"Is that... the Dusk Blade, milady?" asked a guard.

"Thou art correct," smiled Luna.

"But...but... it’s only a legend! How...?" gasped Copper

"The moon holdeth many secrets, my dear. Now, let us see if this will work..."

Luna levitated her sword out of the box, revealing an incomplete hilt. She moved the necklace close the blade, causing both to vibrate. The ruby necklace disassembled in midair, startling the three observers. Luna watched in awe as the gold pieces created a new hilt from the bits of necklace. After assembly, it had a new red glow which stood in stark contrast to its sleek black finish. The ruby lightning bolt was firmly attached to the chappe.

With the transformation complete, Luna placed the sword in its scabbard and strapped it to her back. She signaled for the guards to follow her as she walked towards the main lobby, donning her infamous black cloak. As usual, Copper was following close behind.

"As soon as my sister returns, tell her to come to Ponyville."

"Are you going there now?"

"Yes. Without the Element of Loyalty, I fear Twilight and her friends might not be able to hold out against a possessed Rainbow Dash for very long."

"But... Princess, isn't Dash the Element of Loyalty?"

"Well, we are about to find out."

Luna and the guards extended their wings and took off into midday sky, flying straight toward the dark clouds lingering in the direction of Ponyville, and leaving the tranquil Canterlot for battle.

To be Continued...

Writer's note: Chapter nine may be a little delayed due to upcoming examinations, expect it around the 10th of November. Thanks again for all your comments!

Chapter 9: Weaponized Loyalty

Chapter 9: Weaponized Loyalty

Written by TheLunarArmy

Edited by Ezn

Applejack was fighting fiercely to maintain control of the rope clenched in her mouth. In the perfect opportunity Applejack managed to lasso Dash left wing again, but unfortunately the rope had started to smoke, confirming Applejack's suspicion that the demon cloak acted as a protective barrier. Dash turned her attention to Applejack, who was keeping her firmly grounded.

"Haha, looks like you're still as weak as you were during our tug of war at the Iron Pony compitition, Applesmack!" taunted Dash as she pulled back on the rope, causing Applejack to slip forward and fall to the ground.

Rainbow took the opportunity to rush forward and lift both arms over Applejack, in an attempt to crush her under hoof. Twilight and Rarity quickly sprung into action, using their magic to create a temporal shield over Applejack and pull her to safety, respectively. But Dash delivered her attack anyway, driving her mighty hooves straight through the arcane magic and shattering it with ease. Applejack had luckily made it clear of the impact zone and was back on her hooves

"This is gettin' us nowhere, sugar cube!" yelled Applejack, "Why are you fighting us? This is not like you at all."

The rope had turned to ash and Dash took flight. She hovered a few meters off the ground, staring intently at the four ponies in front of her.

"Let's just call this revenge for the abuse you guys put me through. Why talk things out when..." Dash quickly ground her sentence to a halt as she realized Fluttershy was missing. She realized that Applejack had been distracting her so she wouldn't notice Fluttershy's disappearance. Not wanting to spoil the fun, Dash decided to make short work of the rest of the group before her they could execute their plan.

The demon cloak started to bubble and warp outward, creating two large ethereal arms out of the haze’s main body. Dash had full control of the arms, as if they were attached her body physically; stretching them outward to test their reach.

"Cool, huh? Let’s see if they can let’s see how sharp they are," said Dash who was slowly losing more of her sanity due to the Kyuubi’s psychopathic will. Although she was aware of her thoughts being corrupted by darkness, she embraced it. No pony cared about her feelings anymore anyway.

The arm on the left stretched upward, creating a massive shadow that eclipsed the sun from every pony's sight.

Pinkie Pie felt another combo and quickly yelled for Twilight to duck left. Twilight did so and could feel a light graze of the demon cloak as the claw swung past her right side. Dash pulled the arm back and decided to aim for Pinkie instead. However, after another combo she easily dodged the claw as it struck the ground a few centimeters in front of her.

"Enough of this!" yelled a frustrated Dash, "You guys will pay for what you've done. As the Element of Loyalty, I swear I would bring justice."

The Kyuubi chuckled.

"Maybe a little more power will drive her over the edge," said the fox out loud as he channeled additional Chakra energy to Dash's heart, making it overflow with corruption.

Twilight and Rarity levitated cobblestones from a nearby road to shield the group from Dash's relentless demon claw assault. The two unicorns cringed every time the claws made contact with the stone shield. Applejack was starting to worry about how long they would be able to hold out.

"Listen, I really hate to say this, but it looks like we're gonna hafta unleashed all the Elements’ powers to strike Dash down."

"No," said Twilight, "We can still saver her - she’s just being manipulated!"

Another claw struck the shield, causing Rarity to lose focus for a moment. She quickly sparked up her horn to maintain the shield, whinging at the mental strain it had on her.

"Twilight..." whispered Rarity, "I... can't... hold out any longer. Please... reconsider Applejack's offer."

Twilight turned to Pinkie Pie, hoping to find empathy - but even she bore a grim expression on her face.

"Pinkie, what do you think?"

Pinkie Pie looked directly into Twilight's eyes. When she spoke, she sounded as sure as any pony there had ever heard her being.

"It’s like you said, Twilight: if we have to break every bone in her body to get her back, then I say we do it."

"Alright," said Twilight, "I was hoping we would only need to use the Elements to protect us from the demon's power, but it seems like Dash has really betrayed us."

"Sorry, Twi. But if we don't stop Dash here, there’s no telling what she or that demon will do to Ponyville, or to the rest of Equestria!"

Twilight nodded.

"Okay. Let’s buy as much time as we can, so that Fluttershy can bring in the reinforcements."

<>-<>

The stone shield collapsed and a surprised Dash found herself staring at four very different faces than the ones she was used to. Her friends seemed different, almost as if they had had complete personality changes while they were hiding behind the stone shield. She liked it. Maybe she would finally be able to have some fun.

"Finally decided to stop behind some dirty old rocks, huh? Alright, let’s see what you got."

Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie lit up their necklaces. Dash knew this move, and used the demon cloak claws to form her own barrier just as the three ponies fired their energy blasts at her. The bolts hit the cloak and it whittled, but then regenerated, too quickly for the bolts to actually get through to Dash.

"Haha! Is that all you got?" laughed a sadistic Dash.

"No, Rainbow," came a whisper from behind her.

To her horror, Dash turned around to see Twilight behind her. She was hovering alongside Dash, with both her eyes and tiara glowing in a bright white haze. The Element of Magic had tapped into her well of power and was readying a terrifying spell that no pony had seen for over a hundred years.

Six white spheres started to orbit around Twilight, each a miniature sun spinning on its own axis. Dash considered extending a claw to disrupt Twilight's concentration but it would allow the other Elements to damage her with their energy blasts. Whatever Twilight was planning, Dash would simply have to bide it out.

"I'm sorry, Dash." yelled Twilight.

One sphere struck her, followed by another, and then another, every strike enveloping Rainbow Dash in its own blazing inferno. Rainbow fell to the ground, wrapped in the scorching-hot fire. The other Elements quickly ran over and pinned her to the ground, using their own power to shield them from the fire and the demon cloak.

Even though Dash was in tremendous pain she quickly bucked herself loose and backed away, using her demon claws to pat out the remaining fire. She immediately sprung back into action, attempting to strike Twilight with her claws, but with Pinkie's warning, her strikes were quickly avoided.

"Alright, let me help you out, Dashie," whispered the fox in her conscious.

The demon cloak bubbled again, causing two more "tails" to form alongside Dash's current single tail. Even more of the demon's power seeped into Dash's body, causing her fox-like appearance to sharpen. Dash let out a deafening shriek as the power overwhelmed her body.

Pinkie was twitching again, but before she could say a single word, the new three-tailed demon Dash moved directly in front of her and swiped her sides with her cloak claws. The other three ponies watched in terror as Pinkie Pie was pushed aside helplessly, trailing a stream of blood from three large gashes in her side.

"DASH!" yelled Applejack.

Rainbow swooped towards her and proceeded to headbutt her in the ribs, knocking her over. Dash's new speed made it impossible for Twilight or Rarity to keep up with her movement, so it came as no shock when Rarity was also forced to the ground with a single smack from Dash's demon cloak.

Only Twilight remained. Her friends were unconscious and Fluttershy was still nowhere to be seen. Dash slowly walked towards her prey. Twilight unleashed another volley of magical blasts from her horn, which dispersed helplessly in front of Dash. Admitting defeat, Twilight fell to her knees in tears.

"Please, Dash, please don't do this," cried Twilight. "We... I love you... and it pains me to see what you're doing... please stop..."

Dash stood still. She glanced down at the helpless pony in front of her. It struck a nerve. Twilight's confession and the overflow of emotions caused Dash to reconsider.

She tried to reach out and touch Twilight's face in remorse. However, this action was met by massive surge of pain that streaked across her forearm.

She turned around to see Princess Luna wielding a massive black saber. Before Dash could react, Luna lunged forward, the massive blade to slice through the section of the demon cloak that protected Dash's bleeding forearm. Luna bounced backwards and lit up her horn, wielding the blade professionally above her head.

"Cometh at me, demon," said Luna as she poised herself.

<>-<>

Deep within the Everfree forest flew Fluttershy. She swerved left and right, dodging tree branches and other obstacles that littered the forest floor. The ground beneath her started to shake, knocking many of these branches off their trees.

Fluttershy stopped for moment, landed to the ground and turned around.

"Please hurry, Thornreeds," yelled Fluttershy, "We... we don't have much time..."

The trees in behind the pegasus suddenly split apart, revealing a big, no, really big green dragon with super sharp claws and extra spikey tail, breaking through the forest overgrowth.

"I don't understand what the rush is, Fluttershy. I haven't seen you since my last back message and now you drag me out of my cave? What is going on?" demanded the slightly annoyed Thornreeds.

Fluttershy kicked off back into the air, turned tail and resumed her flight, with the dragon close behind. She had to think carefully about what to say to the scaly behemoth following her - she was still unsure whether or not it was okay to hurt Dash. Her judgement was so clouded that she narrowly escaped flying straight into an overhanging tree branch, swerving away just to miss it by a hair’s breadth.

"I uh... need your help stopping my... friend," said Fluttershy as she continued to lead the dragon out of the forest.

"You need me to stop a pony?" laughed the dragon, "That sounds ridiculous! What, is your friend being possessed by a demonic force that makes him invulnerable or something?"

"Well, actually...."

The party of two reached the edge of the forest but ground to halt by the bright lights that had formed just outside the clearing. In a burst of blue flame the lights disappeared to reveal a silver, armour-clad unicorn. Fluttershy and Thornreeds were surprised to see the pony, but were even more surprised when more armoured unicorns teleported into formation around her. Faerie Fyre turned towards the forest and noticed the odd pair peering through the foliage.

"Reveal yourselves," demanded the master.

Fluttershy flew out and landed in front of her, with the mighty green dragon trailing close behind. The soldiers gasped upon seeing the dragon up close, but were too focused on keeping in formation to show fear.

Faerie looked at Fluttershy’s necklace and instantly recognized it as an Element of Harmony.

"That necklace..." said Faerie. "You are the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy, correct?"

The pegasus nodded.

"Who's your friend?"

"Oh... his name is Thornreeds. I asked him to help me uhh... stop... my friend."

"Rainbow Dash? What has happened to her?"

"I don't know, but it looks like she's gone crazy. So crazy, that I think only dragon would be strong enough to stop her."

"It's the demon, right?"

"Uh-huh - wait, how do you know...?"

"I am Faerie Fyre. Princess Celestia sent me to help contain Dash in the event that she got out of hand. Looks like I got here just in time."

"We'd better hurry. There’s no telling what she could be doing to my friends right now."

The master nodded and with a simple wave of her hoof, the entire battalion of thirty or so soldiers started galloping towards Ponyville.

"Stay close, Fluttershy. And, uh... make sure your dragon friend knows exactly who we're fighting," said Faerie as the trio followed close behind.

<>-<>

Back on the outskirts of the town, an epic battle was underway.

Princess Luna gracefully dodged the claws while simultaneous trying to carve away at Dash's demonic cloak with her Dusk blade. She brought the sword in back to her mouth and held it tightly: this way she had more control over its movement.

Dash flung two claws, which impaled themselves into the ground on either side of Luna's wings. With a swift nudge of her head, Luna quickly sliced into the ethereal cloak and severed the claws from the rest of its body. Dash's leg had healed from her initial attack.

The two ponies stood equally matched. Luna was able to successfully dodge any attack Dash made, and Dash was able to degenerate any injuries she received. After fighting in this way for some time, the two took a two steps back to catch their breath.

"You fighteth well in pony's body, demon," said Luna as she levitated the blade out of her mouth. "But I will bring you down and return the fair Rainbow Dash to her former self."

"Dream on, princess," lamented the pegasus, "this is the real me, and I ain't going nowhere with you royalty scum!"

"Rainbow, why in Equestria are you attacking your friends? Have you forgotten everything about friendship?"

"Like what?! You know this is all your fault anyway, Nightmare Moon."

Luna cringed at that name, but was still curious as to why Dash was blaming her.

"You say it is my fault that you are savagely hurting your friends?"

Dash leaped forward, grinding against the Dusk blade with her demon cloak claws. Sparks sprinkled as the two forces were equally matched.

"When Nightmare Moon had to be stopped," continued Dash as she attempted to snap the blade with her claws, "I was given the Element of Loyalty with the demon inside it. It was because of you that it is living inside of me."

The two broke apart again and Luna stumbled a little. She regained her footing and took a few precious seconds to look around. Her guards had been able to move the four remaining Elements of Harmony away from the fight and were applying first-aid to them. Although Twilight was still conscious, she was in no condition to stop Rainbow, and the guards were making sure she did not interfere with the fight.

Luna looked back at Dash.

"I am afraid that title does not belong to you anymore, Rainbow Dash."

"Say what now?"

Luna levitated the Dush blade horizontally, revealing that Dash's necklace was attached to the sword like a hilt. The blade started to glow in an ominous red colour as the sword fed off the Element's power.

"I used your necklace to power my Dusk blade. So you have been fighting against your own power. The Element of Loyalty is no longer yours, but mine."

The anger on Dash’s face soon faded and was replaced by a large, dark smile.

"Ahahaha," laughed Rainbow Dash, "You think an Element of Harmony is some title and a lousy necklace given to a pony who shows that quality? You are more daft than you look, princess. I do not own the Element of Loyalty, I am the Element of Loyalty. Let me demonstrate."

Dash extinguished her demon cloak and walked closer to the blade. Her body still had fox-like features on it, but she was walking up to he sword completely defenseless.

"Oh come now, Dash. Here I thought you were going to put up a fight," said Luna as she levitated the blade upward and swung it straight down at Dash.

The blade stopped inches from Dash's neck. Luna tried to force the blade down further, but it wouldn't budge. Some mysterious force was holding it back.

"You see? I AM the Element of Loyalty. And any weapon you try to use against me will fail."

"But..." demanded Luna, "How did you know it wouldn't...?"

"The same way Twilight had a mentor that teaches her magic, I have a mentor that teaches me power."

"The demon is teaching you?!"

"That's right," answered Dash. "He also says it’s safe for me to do this."

Dash turned around and gave a mighty buck, shattering the blade from its hilt. A surge of energy burst outward and pushed Luna aside.

The smoke cleared, revealing Dash, fully enveloped in her three-tailed demon cloak and wearing her necklace as well.

Luna saw in horror that the reawakened Element of Harmony had fused with the demon cloak's dark energy and had started to glow bright red. It too was now giving power to Rainbow Dash. Dash used a demon cloak claw to sweep the hilt-less blade aside, making a path directly to the seemingly defenseless Princess.

"Now," said Dash. "Let's see how well you defend yourself without that silly toothpick sapping my power..."

Chapter 10: Broken

Chapter 10: Broken

Written by: TheLunarArmy

Edited by Ezn

The sudden increase in energy was starting to play mind tricks on the possessed pony. Rainbow could have sworn she heard something call out to her - it was like a faint whisper, similar to that of the fox's. She shook her head and retained focus on the matter at hand: a stunned Luna slowly trying to scamper away from her.

The pegasus's instincts finally kicked in. Luna was within her grasp and nothing would get between her and her revenge. Dash moved forward, extending her demon cloak claws outward and reaching out towards the alicorn. Just as they were to reach the Princess, her royal guards jumped intercepted, blocking her from her prey.

"Out of my way."

A simple sweep of her claw made short work of the two white pegasi. Dash continued walking forward. The Princess's desperate attempt to distance herself from Dash ended in vain. The claw reached out and wrapped itself around her with ease. Luna lit her horn and casted a protection enchantment around her body. It was weak, but it would be enough to shield her from the cloak's incendiary effect.

Dash pulled the princess closer - bringing her face to face. Luna gazed deeply into Dash's twisted eyes, trying to understand what was really going on. She could see the demon's influence; its madness - but also... something... unexpected. At first Luna had thought she was dealing with a blind psychopathic monster, but now it was different.

Dash's grip tightened and Luna's magic started to fade. Her guards stumbled onto their hooves but could barely move under the excruciating pain the cloak had caused. She tried to signal for them to stay back, but this only alerted Dash to their presence.

"You guys never learn do you?" scorned Dash. "Looks like I'm going to hafta deal with your little bodyguards first, moon princess."

Dash tossed the alicorn aside and set about lunging at the two pegasi. Luna managed to roll the impact off and now stood on all four hooves, staring as Dash pinned the guards to the ground with her claws. Their screams filled the early evening air; it was unlike any holler anypony had even heard.

"Dash!" begged the princess, "Leave them be, please. They're just following orders; they are innocent."

Dash peered over her shoulder bearing a sickening grin.

"With royalty and their plans there is no such thing as ‘innocent’, my dear princess."

The guards had stopped screaming and were dangling limp in Dash's claws. Satisfied that they were out of the picture, she tossed them aside. The brief victory, however, left Dash's blind spot wide open.

Luna swiftly moved close behind the deranged pegasus, wielding the Dusk Blade's broken blade with her aura - this time she had no remorse. Although Luna could see there was a deeper meaning to Dash's current state, she could not allow her mindless murder spree to continue.

The blade seared through the air, exactly perpendicular to Dash's neck. This was known as Luna's Crescent Moon Strike - a decapitation maneuver. Dash could sense the blade moving at a blindingly fast speed toward her. Unable to move in time, she instead thickened the cloak near the back of her neck, soaking the blade's razor sharp edge with her powerful shield.

Dash took to the skies, leering at Luna as she struggled to maintain control of her weapon. Since the blade fed of the energy of its wielder, Luna was sacrificing her own magic and life energy to fuel its power. Dash reached her desired altitude, and noticed that her former friends had recovered and were slowly making their way toward the lone alicorn.

"Excellent!" yelled Dash, "Since you're all together, I can finish you off in one go."

Dash limbered up, stretching her limbs and savoring the calm.

"We can't stop her. No pony can stop her," murmured Rarity, tears slowly drizzling down her cheeks.

"I hate to say it gals, but it looks like we may never get Dash back. We lost 'er for good," said Applejack.

Luna quickly turned around.

"No," said the princess, "Dash is still in there; she is still in that monster. We just have to get her out."

"Are you crazy?" yelled Pinkie, "Just look at Dashie! She is nothing but a mindless crazy pants now. Look at the guards..."

Twilight remained quiet. She was too focused on keeping track of Dash, hoping to catch glimpse of the formerly beautiful pegasus.

"The princess is right, Pinkie," said Twilight, "We just have a lot of hate to break through."

Luna, Twilight and Rarity then noticed an influx of magical energy approaching from across the field. Unicorns were able detect even the faintest bits of magic, and this massive buildup was impossible to miss. Twilight nodded to others - their plan had finally reached its pinnacle. With that, Applejack took her cue.

"Go on then, murderer. Finish me off, if ya have the guts."

Dash laughed.

"There is no silly rope to hold me back this time, ya know," responded Dash, "Hold on to your horsehoes!"

Dash swooped forward, piercing through the sky like a smoldering red meteor. She gained impressive speed, forming a Mach cone around her forehooves.

One second... two seconds.. three.... counted Dash. It's all in the timing now

Suddenly Thornreeds made his appearance - directly in front of Dash's path. The dragon towered over the fast moving flyer blocking her intended projecotry of her friends. He swung around and with a flick of his spiny tail, he sent the pegasus plummeting towards the ground in a red and rainbow streak.

"Looks like we got here just in time," whispered Fluttershy.

<>--<>

The ponies watched for a few seconds as Dash and Thornreeds clashed in a deadly dogfight over the fields. The rest of the Bronkonia Magic Korps took the opportunity to set a parameter around the surrounding area, erecting jade relay antennas of some kind while Fluttershy and Faerie made their way to the group.

"Wow-wee Fluttershy, could ya' cut it any closer?" sighed Applejack.

"Not her fault, Applejack," responded Faerie, "I kinda held her up for a minute or so."

"And who the blazes are you spose' to be then?"

"My name is Faerie Fyre, and I am..."

"Master of Unicorn combat magic," exclaimed Twilight. "Normally, I would love to have met you Master Fyre, but..."

Twilight paused, widening her eyes upon the realization.

"...you are here to... exterminate.... Rainbow..."

"What?" yelled Rarity and Applejack in unison.

The unicorn shuffled her hooves in the dirt, looking for the right words to say. She looked up, bulged out her chest and responded with all the confidence that she could muster.

"It is my duty to uphold peace in Equestra. Rainbow Dash has become too great of a threat to keep alive and I..."

"Horseapples!" yelled Applejack, "I can see right through your lies, Flary, Frarie or whatever your name is. Judging from your delayed response I can tell ya' don't want to kill Dash any more than we do."

Faerie was a bit shocked at Applejack's quick response.

"Heh, you bear the Element of Honesty very well, young Applejack. Alright I'll be on par with you gals. See those emerald towers we are setting up?"

Faerie pointed at the field where her troops were situated around the battlezone.

"We are going to catch Dash and keep her in that field. Once she is there, we will pin her down and forcefully extract the demon from her body through dissection."

"An exorcism of some kind?" asked Twilight.

"No, no, we will be using a... unique... technique to slow down time and take the demon's evil spirit out of her."

This rang a bell in Twilight's mind.

"Wait, ‘slow down time’?" questioned Twilight, "Isn't that forbidden dark magic?"

Faerie narrowed her eyes.

"Well, yes it is, Twilight, but how do you know?"

"That's irrelevant. You said you can take the demon's spirit out of her with dissection? How does that work?"

"Well, you see. Every celestial being has a yin and yang part, sort of like a good side and a bad side. By using this technique we will extract the demon's yang, or dark, side, leaving only a harmless good side dormant in Dash's body."

Twilight suddenly realized what had actions caused twelve months ago. She had used that very technique in an attempt to revive Dash from her comatose state - but what she had inadvertently done was slice Dash's yin side out of her body, leaving a darker version of herself alone with the demon fox.

"What would happen to the dark side of the demon then?" asked a nervous Twilight.

"We don't exactly know, which is why we set up those towers. They will prevent any matter from leaving the forcefields they’re about to generate.

Luna finally managed to join the conversation; she had been looking over the guards, who were surprisingly still alive, but in wrecked conditions. The princess walked over to Faerie and acknowledged her with a nod. The master knelt in respect, only to stand up again and face her.

"What can the rest of the Elements and myself do to help?" asked Luna.

"Firepower and distraction. I am sure Fluttershy's friend is holding out well against Dash, but we have no idea how strong that demon truly is."

A soldier suddenly teleported next to Faerie, whispered something in her ear and then teleported away.

"Looks like we're ready to go. Can I rely on you six to give it your best? Remember, we are dealing with a demon here - not an innocent pony."

The five ponies and Luna nodded simultaneously as they trotted towards the ongoing battle.

<>-<>

Thornreeds was becoming exhausted. Rainbow Dash was more than a match for the mighty green dragon, since her astonishing regeneration quickly patched up any damage he caused. He had to figure out a way to hold her still so he that could attempt to snap off the demon cloak protecting her body.

Dash, on the other hand, was experimenting with the cloak; testing out new moves and perfecting her precision.

"I think you're about ready for my signature move," whispered the fox.

"What would that be?" asked Dash subconsciously.

"It's quite simple really. All you have to do is focus your energy directly in front of you, sort of like when you concentrating on pulling of your Sonic Rain-whatever."

"RAINBOOM!" scorned Dash.

"Focus!" responded the fox, "Fuel all your hatred and fury directly in front of you. Imagine that it is a ball that you can reach out and grab."

Dash closed her eyes and concentrated.

"NO! You fool, don't lose track of your ene-"

The fox was cut short by Thornreeds’s midair tackle. Dash opened her eyes again and could see she was between the dragon's large teeth, luckily being protected by her cloak.

"Why, you!" Dash yelled as she bucked her way out of his grasp.

She flew higher to put some distance between herself and the behemoth, but he was right behind her, keeping up with her speedy stride.

"Concentrate, and keep your damn eyes open this time!" yelled the fox.

"Yeah, yeah, I got this. Ball. Ball. Ball."

The green dragon pulled out of his loop and managed to grab hold of Rainbow's leg, yanking her down. He grabbed onto her wings and pulled her down.

"I have you now, creature," bragged Thornreeds.

"That’s what you think," responded Dash as she turned to face the dragon, wielding a dark sphere directly in front of her face. The energy build-up was so immense that all the unicorns in the area could sense Dash's powerful aura.

With a simple snap of he mouth, the sphere was flung out and impacted with Thornreed's neck. A massive explosion erupted and the dragon was covered by a smog of black smoke and fire. A circular rainbow pattern - similar to Dash's Rainboom effect - wrapped around the smoke.

Thornreeds fell out of the cloud and plummeted straight towards the ground, completely covered in a soot and obviously unconscious. Fluttershy stood in shock as she saw her dear friend falling to his doom.

"THORNREEDS!!" yelled the canary pegasus.

Faerie and Twilight lit up their horns and quickly teleported closer to the dragon's impact zone. They used their magic to create an ethereal blanket around the dragon, which slowed his descent enough for them to catch and lower him gently to the ground. Faerie walked over the black beast and checked his vitals.

"He's still alive!"

"Oh good!" yelled Dash. "Enough reason for me to hit him again. Whatcha think of my new move huh? I call it the Rainbolt! Ahaha..."

Dash’s laughter was cut short by a powerful blow to her face. The cloak was still actively protecting her, but it was too weak to hold against the punch. Her cheek bone broke instantly.

Everypony stood in awe as Fluttershy hovered where her friend had been. She was the one who had delivered the deadly blow.

"I....I...." whispered Fluttershy.

Dash stood up out of her crater, rubbing her cheek and noticing Fluttershy in the middle of the field. Her Element was glowing a fierce pink haze and her tail and mane stood on end.

"I am going to crush you!" yelled an absolutely enraged Fluttershy.

"...Uh oh," whispered the fox.

To be Continued

Writer's note:Sorry for the delayed and short chapter, examinations kinda ate up my free time and now the holidays are taking its toll. Additionally my faithful editor is without internet so please excuse any grammar mistakes you come across. Hopefully I'll be able to release another chapter next week As always, thanks for your continued support: I am working on something special for all my loyal readers!"

Prelude: Setting the scene

The Tale of KyuubiDash

Written by TheLunarArmy,

Edited by ScionTheKitsune and Ezn

Consulted by R4g3d, theunlovablerouge and wolf

Writer’s notes:

Sorry for lack of ponies in this prelude. However the reason for this is to set the stage for the rest of fanfic and without it will make the story feel soulless. More so this fanfic captures the essence of the Naruto lore and combines it with a new adventure for the Equestrian girls. Feel free to drop me an email at thelunararmy@hotmail.com for any suggestions and comments!

Prelude: Setting the scene

A perfectly cloudless day began to shine down upon the village of the Hidden Leaves. A slight breeze brought a cool and delightful aura about the streets. The dusty roads puffed up with brown powdery clouds as the doors to the various shops open for business. Each opening door greeted by a villager with broom in hand to sweep away the grime from the previous day. The marketplace had slowly started to awaken.

As early afternoon passed, a slightly annoyed Naruto and Sakura are standing outside the Ramen shop, impatiently waiting for Kakashi’s arrival. The pink haired ninja is sporting her usual short hair and red outfit. Both ninja take a look at each other and sigh as they realize that the Copy Ninja is living up to his “late arrival” reputation. Two patrons walked out of the noodle bar and with into Naruto, causing the three of them to topple over one another.

“Hey, watch when you’re going,” yelled the one patron at Naruto.

“Me? I was just standing here, you watch out!” replied the ninja. “Idiot…”

All three quickly stumbled to their feet, Naruto and the patron began to start a juvenile argument while Sakura and the other person watch the two aimlessly debating. Unfortunately things started to escalate. The patron delivered a swift punch to Naruto’s face which caused him to fall backward; a solid bull’s-eye on the nose. Sakura almost jumped in, but realized that Naruto probably deserved it for being so rude.

“Yeah take that, you bastard demon fox,” shouted the patron. His friend was in shock at what he did just done and Sakura clenched her fist.

“You might be tough enough to stand against the Hyuuga family’s best genin. But you’re still a punk with the damned demon inside of him.”

A crowd was now beginning to form around the four. Naruto lifted his head, blood from his nose now covering his mouth.

The patron’s friend pulled his buddy back, “What are you doing? You just punched a Konoha ninja - who is also the demon fox’s host - for no reason!”

“You think I’m intimidated by this punk? He should leave the village; he is an embarrassment to all ninja! Just look, I took him down in one hit...”

Realizing this, the crowd started siding with the angry patron, yelling harsh language and taunting the blood-faced Naruto. Sakura decided she had to get Naruto out before something terrible happened. She quickly unsheathed a smoke bomb from her pouch and slammed it towards the ground. However before it landed Kakashi appeared, grabbing both ninja in each hand jumping them out of sight onto the rooftops. The smoke bomb exploded in a harmless cloud of pink powder causing the surprised crowd to disperse.

The three ninja jumped across the town and towards the city’s border, where they stopped and walked along the grassy paths and into the cool forest.

“I didn’t need your help Sakura-chan,” Naruto said while wiping the blood with his sleeve. “That guy really had it coming. If you hadn’t…”

“What would you have accomplished, eh? Except get more people wanting to hurt you?” she scorned back at him.

“Sakura is right,” Kakashi interfered, “I know it’s hard to ignore what the people say, but you have to remain calm. Like the Hokage, the only way to gain respect is by showing you’re mature and mindful.”

“I guess so, but I really wish I socked that loudmouth at least once.”

Sakura delivered a swift bump to Naruto’s head to remind him to stay focused. By now they were at the base of the mountain and Kakashi turned around and started explaining the basics of channeling chakra to their feet, to help them scale the walls of the loose rocks. It took about an hour for Naruto to finally understand concept, and soon all three of them were sailing upwards, dodging the loose rocks with each footing.

Sakura seemed to be faster, but in classic Naruto rivalry style, he would not let her take the lead for too long. They reached the top, where they found a large clearing of stones which seemed to have been excavated; like some sort of quarry. Kakashi looked back at his exhausted students, who had taken a small break by sitting on the peak of the mountain drinking water from the cantinas.

His mind wondered to the missing stone. How odd, usually the Jonin are informed by Tsunade if there are materials excavated from outside the village. I didn’t read about any of this in the daily report. He walked to a section of smooth rock to examine the stone up close, with a flick of his wrist he unsheathed a kunai from his pouch and slit a small cut in his thumb.

His hands quickly formed seals. Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram.

“Kuchiyose no Jutsu.”

A puff of smoke dispersed and in front of Kakashi awaited his eight loyal ninja dogs.

“Ah Kakashi, it’s been a while since you called for all eight of our noses. How can we help you, friend?” asked Pakkun.

“This quarry is new and within thirty kilometres from the village, bordering Orochimaru’s domain. I need you to search the area and report any unusual scents; I feel that this stone doesn’t look like it cut by normal methods.”

“Right,” said Pakkun, “Spread out, do a thorough search of the area, leaving nothing unsniffed.”

Sakura looked up, “Do you think Orochimaru is behind this, Kakashi-sensei?”

“Alright,” yelled an enthusiastic Naruto, “let’s looks for the slimy snake and his evil plans!”

“TajūKageBunshin no Jutsu.”

The area filled with hundreds of orange jumpsuits and they began to search around the rock walls alongside Kakashi’s hounds, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

<>-<>

As the sun began to set, clones started to disappear one after another, bringing an exhausted Naruto to his knees. “Nothing,” he whimpered. Pakkun had finished talking to his team, after which they disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Only the pug remained behind to talk to Kakashi.

“You were right Kakashi, the stone was not cut or damaged but rather moved. I suspect an Earth style user may have caused this large section of the mountain to sink into its current shape.”

“Hmmmm, this is very peculiar; anything else to report?”

“Not from a dog’s perspective,” responds the smiling pug, "However I wouldn’t stay here for long Kakashi, Orochimaru isn’t blind to a technique like this.”

“Yeah. Thanks for the help Pakkun. That will be all.”

“Very well, good luck Kakashi,” the small pug said before disappearing in a puff.

Looks like a better investigation team is needed for this, thought Kakashi as he ascended to the peak of the mountain. As he reached the top he saw Naruto almost passed out on the floor and Sakura, with kunai in hand, scratching dirt off a particular section of stone.

“Kakashi come look at this!” she shouted.

While taking a step back, her eyes expanded in awe. In front of her was a marking similar to the symbol on Kakashi’s jacket. As he and Naruto joined Sakura’s side, his eye closely examined the dirt-covered insignia; engraved in the solid rock.

“Wha--- Why is a Konoha symbol engraved in this wall, Kakashi sensei?” enquired Naruto. Unbeknownst to him it was actually an Uzumaki insignia, a fact that Kakashi was forbidden to reveal.

“It looks like this site was used by the Hidden Leaf, but it’s strange we haven’t heard from its existence, or that it’s not marked on any of the maps,” explained Kakashi as he wiped the remaining dirt from the engraving. “Someone must have uncovered this recently and failed to report their findings.”

Naruto stepped forward to take a closer look, suddenly the ground started to tremble. The insignia glowed and a sudden rip caused a doorway leading to a secret passage hidden behind the stone face. The trembling stopped and the three stunned ninja stood at a newly created opening. The passage revealed a well-kept hallway, lit by candle light.

“Aha, a secret door,” yelled Naruto. “No wonder the ninken could smell its existence!”

“We should probably report this to Lady Tsunade, right Kakashi-sensei?” asked Sakura.

“In a normal situation like this I would, Sakura, but we are so close to the Sound’s border we cannot risk leaving Konoha property within Orochimaru’s hands. As much as I hate adventuring, we have no choice but to see what’s inside this cave.”

<>-<>

The trio walked inside, the door closing behind them, causing both genin to shake a little in fear. Kakashi walked ahead, searching for any traps, but only found a single door at the end of the hall with an inscription, which read: “For those sealed with fear, for those loyal to bear the pain”. Underneath it was another Uzumaki insignia. As Naruto and Sakura approached the door the insignia glowed and the stone door lowered into the ground.

As they passed through the door and entered a large dome shaped structure. The walls curved to meet up at the ceiling where a large chandelier was hanging from a single chain. It had many lit candles flickering and it brought an ambient glow to the entire room. Littered across the room were many strange iron contraptions and chains. In the middle of the room stood three stone statues; the middle one held a staff in his left hand while his right contained a large stone sphere with a triangle engraved in it. The other two statues were identical ninjas, each hosting a forehead protector and flak jackets bearing the Uzumaki symbol.

A sudden rumble caused the dust to fall from the walls around the ninja; again the door slammed shut behind them. The same ominous aura that Kakashi first felt when he entered the quarry arose again. Something was about to happen. The ninjas quickly leaped into formation as the statues started to move and shake their stone limbs.

“Who dares enter this sacred temple of the Demon Fox? Only those with loyalty are able to save the ones who suffer, no others shall enter this domain,” boomed the middle statue.

Kakashi quickly stood his ground and kneeled, the genin following his actions. “Our pardon, great golem, we simply stumbled on this place by accident. Please pardon our intrusion and allow us a safe passage.”

The statue, now revealed to be a golem, laughed at the ninja and responded. “We have read your mind, Kakashi of the Sharingan, son of the White Fang. You care deeply for your students but it seems your loyalty is at risk; for it was you who lead to the death of your former teammates, didn’t you?”

Kakashi bit his lip. It was true, but he had to find a way out, by any means necessary.

“Your pass has been denied, Kakashi of the Sharingan. For trespassing with a disloyal heart, I sentence you to death.”

With that the two ninja golems leaped forward, rushing the group.

It took seconds for the golems to cross the distance of room, more than enough time for Kakashi to form his hand seals.

“Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu.”

A giant water dragon burst from the ground, snapping at the golems who now took up defensive positions to block the water’s mighty onslaught. However they appeared to be more than a match for the water jutsu as they quickly used a mud wall technique to snap its head in two. The water drizzled away, revealing hundreds of Naruto clones and Kakashi, with Sharingan revealed, standing ready to fight.

<>-<>

Sakura stayed at the back, keeping her eyes on the mage golem, who appeared to be staring at Naruto’s clones. It did not take long for Kakashi and Naruto to jump into combat with the remaining golems.

“Alright, let’s give them a taste of our kunai!” shouted Naruto, as all the clones unsheathed explosion tags from their pockets and threw them at the duo.

“Uzumaki Naruto Nisen Rendan.”

All the kunai hit their mark and ignited, but when the smoke cleared the golems remained unscathed.

“My turn,” said Kakashi, performing more hand seals before taking a deep breath in positioning his hand in front of his mask.

“Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu.”

A giant fireball flew straight towards the golems and they both prepared another wall to block the attack. “Now is our chance, Naruto!”

They both stood side by side while all but one of Naruto’s clones disappeared. Naruto moved his hand back and the clone started spinning a ball of chakra in it. Kakashi followed with weaving more hand signs then holding his right hand with his left, electricity started to build at his fingertips.

“Ready?”

“You bet, Kakashi-sensei!”

Both ninja sprinted toward the wall, thrusting their hands at the mound of stone; easily breaking through revealing one of the golems standing right behind it.

“RASENGAN!”

“CHIDORI!”

<>-<>

The room was filled with smoke as the two jutsus collided with the golem, rendering it to dust. The two ninja smirked at their accomplishment only to find the mage golem laughing in front of them. “You fools, where is your loyalty is now?” he said smirking.

The missing golem has flanked them and captured Sakura by her arms. Naruto turned around and shouted: “You bastard, let her go!”

Kakashi started forming hand seals for one last time in an attempt to strike the remaining golem.

“Naruto, I need you to distract the main golem while I try to free Sakura. Keep him busy for as long as you can,” whispered Kakashi to Naruto before sprinting across the room, Chidori ready.

Naruto didn’t hesitate to make five more clones and readied three Rasengans to strike the mage. He charged forward, straight towards his target. The mage did not move, but instead summoned rock walls to block the path of the clones, destroying them, leaving only Naruto and his own Rasengan remaining. As he reached the golem, it grabbed his arm and in swoop pushed Naruto to the ground, negating the attack.

“You are no match for a guardian of the Uzumaki,” said the golem. When he attempted read Naruto’s thoughts he made startling discovery. “You are….the Kyuubi’s Jinchuriki?”

Naruto struggled to loosen his arm from the stone hand, but the monster’s grip did not falter. He looked back as Kakashi battled the other golem; unbeknownst to him the mage was enchanting a ninjutsu with his other hand. Kakashi leaped back to catch his breath as he saw a circular rock wall enclose around Naruto and the mage golem. He didn’t have time react as he was more concerned over Sakura’s condition. Whatever the golem had planned for Naruto, it would have to wait.

<>-<>

Inside the circular room the mage released Naruto. He paced around the kneeling genin and then used a technique to make the stone walls transparent. They could see Kakashi being beaten by the other golem.

Naruto yelled at his mentor but the mage responded: “He cannot hear or see you; all he sees is a stone wall. We are alone in this room.”

“What do you want from me, bastard?”

“I want to test you. I want to test your will and your heart.”

“And what if I refuse?” demanded Naruto.

The mage snapped his fingers and revealed two more golems hidden in the wall behind where Kakashi was fighting. “I will send them into battle.”

Naruto stayed on his knees, tears started to form as he saw he was helpless to assist his friends. With much courage he stood up and spoke: “Please, take me instead. Please replace me with Kakashi sensei and Sakura. Let me fight your friends!”

The golem smiled and with a snap of his fingers the other golem disintegrated into dust, leaving Kakashi to tend to Sakura’s condition. The mage smiled, as the walls become opaque again.

“You have the spirit of loyalty, Uzumaki Naruto. But I sense you have become corrupted by the monster that resides in you.” spoke the golem. “If you wish, I can grant your greatest desire.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can take away the pain the Kyuubi has caused you. I can take away the hate the Kyuubi has bestowed upon you. I can take away the nightmares the Kyuubi has caused you. In short, I can take away the Kyuubi. Forever.”

Naruto held his stomach with his left hand and fell to the ground. A chance to get rid of the demon fox… forever? But how… wait… do I really care? I could be free. For good.

Naruto raised his head, tears of joy clearly visible. “What would happen to me, and to my friends?”

The golem continued: “They are no threat to this place anymore, and are free to leave. As for you, I will merely extract the fox and seal it in a different container. You will be free to live your life without it.”

Naruto started to tear again, so much that he could feel the ground shaking. Oh, it was shaking!

“Your friends are trying to break through the wall, but I fear they won’t be kept out for much longer. Now is your chance, loyal Naruto. Do you want to be free?”

Naruto thought back at what happened earlier that day, at the ramen shop. To be free would remove the pain of knowing the hatred of the other villagers. To be free could make Sakura finally fall in love with him. To be free might mean he would be acknowledged by everyone in the village. This is was an opportunity of a lifetime!

Naruto quickly kneeled in front of the golem again and gleefully yelled: “Yes, please free me golem. Take away this damn Kyuubi.”

<>-<>

The golem levitated his staff and orb back into his hands and with a powerful enchantment he started to make them glow. The staff splintered into small toothpick-sized spears which proceeded to pierce Naruto’s skin, causing him to lay flat on his back, similar to a complex acupuncture. With his left hand free, the mage focused all his concentration into the orb and the stone crumbled away to reveal a glass sphere inside. The golem placed the sphere on Naruto’s stomach, right on top of the Fourth Hokage’s seal. With the sound of thumping on the walls filling the room, the mage hurried and started forming hand seals while preaching the forgotten Uzumaki sealing ninjutsu incantations.

The empty sphere started to fill with ominous orange goo. It boiled and bubbled inside the glass orb as it slowly started to fill from the bottom up. While the golem kept chanting he could feel his own body starting to weaken, a side effect caused by the power of the kyuubi desperately clinging to Naruto’s soul.

“We are nearly done, Usumaki Naruto,” he spoke, “I have unsealed three quarters of the Kyuubi’s power and trapped it inside the orb.”

Unfortunately Naruto was lapsing in and out of unconsciousness due to the pain. But he could feel the darkness in his heart leaving him.

Just as the mage started the final verse in the incantation, Kakashi broke through the wall using his Raikiri jutsu. This threw off the mage’s concentration and caused the glass orb to crack. Thinking Naruto was in danger, Kakashi leaped forward and struck the mage with his Lightning Cutter.

“No, you fool!” the mage yelled. “You will release the Kyuubi!”

Kakashi looked at the orb and could see the demon cloak forming around the crack he caused. The mage started to crumble. Kakashi realized the horrible mistake he just made, as a he clearly saw the evil chakra with his Sharingan.

Facing what was left of the mage he frantically asked, “How can we stop the Kyuubi before the orb shatters?”

“I can grant you a fraction of your Sharingan’s true power, use it to send the orb into another dimension… do so now… before it’s too late…”

The golem crumbled into dust but not before stabbing Kakashi’s eyes with one of his staff’s fragments. Kakashi felt an intense burning sensation in his Sharingan as he felt its power momentarily increasing. It would be a once off jutsu, he thought. I’d better make it count.

Kakashi stood up and closed his Sharingan eye while observing the hovering sphere above Naruto with his own. It was not completely full with the orange goo but he had to follow the golem’s commands, for better or worse. He reopened his left eye and revealed a Mangekyō Sharingan. The power was overwhelming and he could feel the remainder of his chakra rapidly depleting. Sparing no time he created a rift in the dimension and forcefully pushed the sphere through it. The sphere reacted by regrowing its protective stone hide, even though the cloak tried to resist, however it was engulfed in wormhole’s attractive force.

In the blink of an eye the contained Kyuubi was gone and Kakashi finished the technique by yelling: “Kamui!”

Kakashi was so bewildered by the Mangekyō’s power that he passed out next to Naruto. Sakura quickly ran to their aid. She stood watching as the remainder of the Kyuubi’s cloak receded back into Naruto’s seal, unaware of the mysterious orb that was now banished into a dimensional rift.

To be continued…

Fanart!

A loyal fan sent in some fanart for chapter three. Check it out!

Source, Thanks ScionTheKitsune!