4- Rainbow Fall

[b][center]Name: Dean Tyronus [size=0.5em][s]Hanma[/s][/size] Starfield

Title: Pig

Age: 22

Plane: ???

Location: Mindscape[/center][/b]

He punched, kicked, swapped, and even blew away, it was pointless, nothing changed, nothing worked.

The Golden Mist simply ignored it all and dragged him without a care in the world.

Behind the monstrosity, from where it had come what could only be described as a crack in the very fabric of space stood.

It was as if Thor himself took his hammer and decided to break Space-Time for no reason other than to prove he could.

Somehow, the glaring crack managed to be even more blindingly white than the space around him.

As the mist suddenly pushed with more strength he fell to the ground, acting quickly, and perhaps somewhat desperately he clawed away at the white space in the vain hope of finding something to anchor himself in.

His finger found nothing as he was forcibly moved towards the crack in space, what passed through as his heart beat wildly at the scene.

He is afraid, no, terrified.

The creature made his entire soul crawl and tremble with its mere presence, he is sure many would freeze at the mere unintended pressure the thing gave off simply by existing.

But... Even then.

In this situation.

Helpless.

Fighting back to no avail.

Acting like a desperate man.

His mind couldn't help but think of one simple thing.

How utterly [b][i]pathetic[/i][/b] he was being.

He was humiliating himself with this... Display, no humiliating didn't even begin to describe it.

Here he was, at the mercy of a creature far stronger than him, unable to even put up a minor fight as it did anything it wanted with him.

This... [i]THING[/i] is making him act like a boy, a [i]child[/i] running away from his father in fear of being beaten.

This... Feeling of hopelessness, of weakness remembered him far too much of his earlier years.

Were his life was little better than that of a slave.

And that more than anything irked him.

Ah yes, his situation with the Ogre was little better but at least he could somewhat fight back, maybe even end himself and come back if things got too bad.

He still had his fists, feet, mind and the will to fight, nothing of which the Ogre or anyone else could hope to take away from him.

Death? It only meant failure, he could accept that.

Non-Existance? It only meant weakness, something he fully accepted as his fault.

His and no one else's.

If any of these things happened he would feel no fear, because, at the end of it all, he would still have his will.

Something truly [b]his[/b], something no other besides himself could ever take away from him.

And yet, here, being dragged away by the sun itself, his very soul trembled at the being's power.

Had it only been strong he would not have been afraid.

Had it only had the ability to erase him he would not fear it.

Had it only shown an ink of malice he would not be terrified of it.

And in a way, one he couldn't quite understand completely, he wasn't.

Yet he is, afraid, fearful, terrified.

[i]'But it's not me, is it?'[/i] His mind worked quickly as pieces of a previously unseen puzzle revealed themselves to him.

That's when he remembered something, humans... Don't remember their own birth.

What are the chances his Self is the same?

[i]'No, it's not "only" me'[/i]

His soul... is more likely than not, old, very, [i]very[/i] old.

Perhaps it was created together with the beginning of everything, perhaps even before that.

He doesn't know.

He probably never will.

Neither does he want to, no, what he wants to know is why.

Why his soul, the deepest part of who he is, is trembling before this creature?

No, Dean Tyronus Starfield alone did not tremble before it.

If his theory is correct he is just a facet, a part of who his true self is at the present, not the combination of who he was in eras past.

No, no, no, his [b]self[/b] trembled at the creature's power.

Dean Tyronus Starfield is just in the middle of it.

If a mountain trembles the hiker has no option but to do so together with it.

His self, from the deepest parts of him he knew,[b]he[/b] had encountered something like it in the past, one its current mind had the pleasure of not remembering.

This thing could do it, both of them, they could present him with a fate worse than non-existence, torture, or solidarity.

It could change him

The deepest part of who he is.

His Self.

Like a programmer altering an A.I it too could change who and what he is.

In the snap of a finger, it could do to him something he had hoped only in his nightmares was possible.

And that scared him more than anything, the threat of Inexistence and Yuujirou Hanma could ever hope to do.

Yet... he did not freeze, with a soul trembling more than a deer staring at the eyes of a lion he forced his Self to fight against every drop of fear it felt.

To do something, anything, be it clawing away or kicking mindlessly, he had to resist, he had to [b]fight back[/b].

Because that is who Dean Tyronus Starfield wants to be.

Because giving in to the demands of a God would be no better than letting it kill his soul and remake it into a tool.

Even if he died in the most profound sense today, he'd do so as Himself.

And not the coward he was so afraid of being.

Dean Tyronus Starfield, in this day he decided, if death would take him, he would not go willingly.

So he fought back.

Not in defiance of a predetermined fate.

Not to reject the Self he so hated.

No, he was remembering it slowly, fragments of deaths past, he didn't remember everything but he knows one single thing, Yuujirou Hanma, The Ogre, during the past hours taught him something he will carry on for the rest of his life.

To fight to win.

And nothing else.

Every punch, kick, elbow, knee, and sweep were delivered with the sole purpose of killing the thing.

And nothing else.

Because if his fists and kicks couldn't reach it now, he would make sure they did so in the future.

Oh, fear is still prevalent in his mind, but it was overshadowed by the sheer unadulterated Rage he felt.

There is a saying, one that states 'People hate what they fear' and for him, at this moment, this saying was absolutely true.

He'll kill it, rip it apart, and beat it to death with its own limbs.

One year, ten years a hundred years, it didn't matter how long it took.

[i]'Pride huh?'[/i] He thought grimly [i]'Now I understand, why so many would kill for having it tarnished.'[/i]

[i]His eyes turned black, an eery yellow glow permeated through his pupils.[/i]

An unnatural amount of anger swept his soul as his transparent hair darkened and started to float slightly.

He had never felt it before, [b]Rage[/b], [b]Fury[/b], a [b][i][color=#be4343]Warth[/color][/i][/b] so great no previous emotion from the beginning of his life to now could ever compare.

Even then, he could not bring himself to care, no, the Golden Fuck in front of him took all his attention.

[b]And it would regret doing so.[/b]

It will pay, he'll make it pay for this humiliation a thousandfold.

His jaw clenched, his lips opened to reveal his grinding teeth, veins popped from his face as a rage-filled expression unlike any other before it formed in his face.

It burned, his soul burned with rage as it darkened, slowly turning into a crimson color while the white of his form evaporated, forming a spectral mist around him.

Anger filled his will, nourishing his Soul with enough rage to kill grown men.

[size=0.5em]Crack![/size]

Like glass being hit by pebbles his soul cracked, the intensity of his rage being strong enough to overwhelm even himself.

Contrary to the brain, the soul does not generate emotions via chemical reactions, likewise it is not limited by it.

That is to say, the Soul is born without any limiter to its emotional cap.

In other words, the anger in his soul would be impossible to be felt with a body made out of meat and bones.

At his level this amount of anger, although it served to enhance him, it also served as poison, breaking him down and burning away his very soul.

A level of damage he could not simply brush off and come back fully healed.

It would not heal, perhaps not in a long time, perhaps not ever, he doesn't know.

The pain increased, warning him of the impending critical failure.

He ignored it, no, it would be more precise to say he did not care enough to register it, in his muddled mind a single thought was all he could turn towards.

All he thought about was how [b][color=#900C3F]That Golden Fuck would not dodge the next punch.[/color][/b]

A burst of unnatural Warth filled his being even more.

Bringing his fist back he clenched his muscles, ignoring the pain and blood soaking his crimson form he punched forward.

BOOM!

The inexistent air around his fist exploded outward as he suddenly froze.

A powerful voice, higher than any he had ever heard before resonated through the white space, cutting through even his muddled mind.

[i][size=0.5em]In the back of his mind he noted how the golden mist momentarily stopped.[/size][/i]

[color=#be4343][b]"Go little pig! Grow fat! Big! STRONG! Dream of becoming a tiger! Dream of becoming a dragon! And one day, when you believe yourself ready, come to me, and be [i]devoured[/i]."[/b][/color]

Snapping his face towards the Ogre the rage filling his soul suddenly left him.

His red form suddenly returned to its transparent white as a sensation he couldn't quite place his finger around danced inside his chest.

His eyes stood frozen fixed on the Ogre as the man completely ignored him and turned away, walking with his hands in his pockets.

As if it was just a Thursday.

His pupils shook as he stared at the Ogre's back.

[size=0.5em]"Don't turn your back to me."[/size]

He whispered while his entire body trembled.

"If you manage to last that long Wah Ha Ha HA HA [b]HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"[/b]

The anger came back, this time somehow even greater than last time.

With renewed vigor, Dean crawled at the white space even more.

Platting his fingers down he broke through the white floor and dragged himself towards the Ogre.

[b]"DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON ME YU-"[/b]

In the end, it was pointless.

The floor below gave out as he was once again dragged back.

[color=#e6b91f][size=2em][b]!CRACK![/b][/size][/color]

A sudden pain shot from his Legs.

Something broke.

Everything went white.

_____________________________________________________

[b][center]Name: Dean Tyronus [s][size=0.5em]Hanma[/size][/s] Starfield

Age: 22

Location: ????

Date:??? [/center][/b]

He snapped his eyes open and all he could see was red.

[b][size=1.5em]"-UJIRO HANMAAAAAAA!"[/size][/b]

In a blind rage he jumped out of whatever he was lying down in and punched forward with all his strength.

Exactly where a white furred equine with a large horn and waving mane stood.

Boom!

[size=0.5em]Crack![/size]

His fist broke the very air around it as it flew at speeds he should not have, with a strength he should not possess.

With more power than his muscles should ever have, he stuck the equine creature

ZZZZZZZZZZ*

Only for a blue dome to block his attack, taking all of its energy and not allowing even sound to escape.

Had he been in a normal state of mind he'd have stopped, calmed himself down, and backed off to assert his situation.

He is not in a normal state of mind.

With his vision surrounded by red, he could barely see anything in front of him, and so with more anger in his veins than blood, he stuck his feet on the ground, breaking the soil beneath and [b]pushed[/b].

Crack!

[b][size=2em][color=#be4343]"YOU FUCKING BASTAAAAAAARD!"[/color][/size][/b]

[size=0.5em]zzzzz[/size][size=0.75em]ZZZZ[/size]ZZZZ[b][size=1.5em]ZZZZ[/size][size=2em]ZZZZ!!![/size][/b]

Between the screaming voices of alien creatures and the crackling of energy surrounding his fist Dean, with a strength utterly alien to his body slowly moved forward.

Small... Somethings pitched his skin, he ignored it.

In the back of his mind, he heard the Ogre laugh, the mere sound only served to make him angrier.

[size=2em][b][color=#265daf]ZZZZZZZZZZZ!!![/color][/b][/size]

A red aura enveloped his fist as the blue forcefield slowly deformed around it, before suddenly bursting apart and giving way to his arm.

[h1] [b][size=2em][color=#3c26af]ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!![/color][/size][/b] [/h1]

Lightning shot out from the now open hole, gripping his hand and desperately pulling it back.

[b][color=#be4343][size=1.5em]"UhaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"[/size][/color][/b]

[size=0.5em]Crack[/size]

[size=0.75em]Crack[/size]

Crack

[size=1.5em]CRACK![/size]

The ogre's laugh reverberated through the air as both his bones and muscles were torn apart, trying to handle a power not their own.

"Ughk!"

Ssssssssssss!!!

He grunted as the forcefield clamped on his arm, the feeling of a thousand lightning strikes shot through his limb as his skin was rapidly shredded apart, revealing the disgusting red meat beneath.

His blood did not have the chance to fall as it was evaporated under the intense heat.

He felt it all, the pain, the struggle, the power, Dean Tyronus Starfield Felt. It. [b]All[/b], and still, all his mind could move towards was rage.

At the Ogre, At the Golden Fuck, At his situation, At his weakness, At his Will.

In the span of mere seconds, he unleashed all the anger he held back from the past 2 days.

"AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Still... Angry as he may be, at the back of his mind, the part where his rational self still stood, he noticed something.

All this power, all this speed, all this anger isn't solely his.

Even in this state he is no fool, the crimson image of an arm overlapping his own is already proof enough.

The Ogre's shard was forcing its anger on him.

His strength.

His power.

His will.

Giving him a taste of what he wanted to have.

Of what he wanted to be.

And that, Ironically, only made him angrier.

Here he is, experiencing a power he previously never thought possible, one he dreamed of having ever since he was a child.

But above even the strength to stand above everything and everyone, he yearned for something more.

The right to have it.

Power, temporary or otherwise, is not something he will [b]ever[/b] accept from anyone or anything else.

And if the Ogre wanted to humiliate him with this little display, [b]he'd have to send the fucker back to hell with his bare hands.[/b]

[b]"UHAAAAAAAAAA!"[/b]

With a shout that shook the entire area, Tyronus clenched his arm, and with a single burst of power.

CRACK!

The crimson energy around his body disappeared into motes of light.

[size=0.5em][b][color=#be4343]"Well done little pig."[/color][/b][/size]

Thump*

Between the sudden silence, something fell on the ground.

He did not need to look down.

He already knew what happened.

Really.

It is a familiar sensation, he felt it many times during the past 23 hours after all, or was it 24?

No... It didn't matter.

It happened again.

He lost.

A part of himself.

And this time he isn't sure whether or not he will get it back.

His heart thumped in his chest as he brought his right arm to his face.

Yes...

He remembered it.

279 times he died.

279 times he suffered.

279 times he returned.

His soul remembered it all.

His body did not.

[i]pain[/i].

Looking at the perfect cut just below his wrist he held his tears back.

Pain.

This body is weak.

PAin.

This body is small.

PAIn.

This body is pathetic.

PAIN

This body did not suffer enough

[b]PAIN![/b]

And above all, this body is fragile.

.

.

.

.

.

But his soul is not.

And so.

He refused, To give in, To cry, To shout, To beg.

To acknowledge the pain with anything besides cold eyes.

In this world, no, in that past World, he humiliated himself enough.

He'll not do the same here.

No matter what.

[b]Dean Tyronus Starfield will be a name related to strength.[/b]

Not shame.

Rssss!

Something hit his chest.

It didn't hurt.

He went down nonetheless.

"⌿⍀⟟⋏☊⟒⌇⌇, ⏃⍀⟒ ⊬⍜⎍ ⎎⟟⋏⟒?!"

A deep voice sounded through the place.

He didn't care.

His body felt weak, no, wait, not weak, more like... Lazy.

"⟟ ⏃⋔ ⎎⟟⋏⟒ ⌇⌿⟒⏃⍀⊑⟒⏃⎅, ⏁⊑⏃⏁ ⍙⏃⌇ ⎍⋏⋏⟒☊⟒⌇⌇⏃⍀⊬, ⏁⊑⟒ ⎅⟒⋔⍜⋏ ⌇⟟⋔⌿⌰⊬ ⏁⍜⍜☍ ⊑⍜⌰⎅ ⍜⎎ ⊑⟟⋔ ⎎⍜⍀ ⏃ ⏁⟟⋔⟒"

His anger rose.

Putting what was left of his right hand on the ground he slowly lifted himself up, the pain was good, it made him feel more awake.

"-⟟⋔, ⍜⊑ ⋔⊬! ⊬⍜⎍ ⍀⟒⏃⌰⌰⊬ ⏃⍀⟒ ⌇⍜⋔⟒⏁⊑⟟⋏☌ ⟒⌰⌇⟒, ⏚⎍⏁ ⋏⍜⋏⟒ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⏃⏁ ⌰⟟⏁⏁⌰⟒ ⍜⋏⟒, ⊬⍜⎍ ⋔⎍⌇⏁ ⍀⟒⌇⏁."

A gentle voice sounded in his ear, lifting his head he saw a white, spiraling, glowing horn coming near him.

He felt no malice.

It still did not stop him from trying to get up with his weakening body.

White enveloped the room as he turned his head to get a glimpse at the creature in front of him.

Black enveloped his vision, the last thought he formed before entering a dreamless sleep was how beautiful the creature seemed to be.

[spoiler][img]https://derpicdn.net/img/2023/4/29/3116067/medium.png[/img][/spoiler]

[b]And how utterly alien the very thought was.[/b]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[b][center]Name: Rainbow Dash

Time: 2:48 Hours prior (11:34 AM)

Age: 16

Planet: Equus

Year: 995

Day: Mane-day 01

Month: Whinnuary

Location: Ponyville [/center][/b]

Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolt aspirant, future fastest flier of equestria, a genius filly with prodigious talent in the art of power flying.

[spoiler][img]https://img2.joyreactor.cc/pics/post/full/Rainbow-Dash-mane-6-my-little-pony-8020317.png[/img][/spoiler]

Before today she'd describe herself as a brave Mare, one who wouldn't have any problem in beating back the monsters of the Everfree out of her town.

In Ponyville, she's the fastest, in equestria? Just a matter of time -[i]and not too much at that[/i]- for her to gain the title.

She knows she's great, she knows she'll be the best, and above all, she knows she's awesome.

At least, she thought she did.

Now... she's asking herself whether or not those little, snarking voices were right, right in calling her cocky, wannabe athlete, narcissist, day dreamer.

Of course, before today she would never have thought of these... words.

Thoughts like these were put to rest a looong time ago, together with Rainbow Crash, she made sure of it.

If before she doubted herself now she had full confidence in herself.

And it showed both outside and inside.

She acted cool, was cool and thought cool, in other words, she's awesome.

But... If there is something she will never forget this day... Is that imagination and reality are two very different things.

Oh sure, all ponies know that, but really, who doesn't overestimate themselves a little bit, thinking they are stronger than they actually are?

[i]'I can beat that guy' 'That long to fly a kilometer? Please I can do better than that with a wing tied behind my back 'Weather schedule? I can do it in 50 seconds flat!'[/i]

Yes, all creatures think they are more than they actually are, but normally, it's something tame, nothing that will harm anypony.

Most of the time that is.

Reality whoever has a way of kicking one in the teats, and proving that a delusional pony is just that, delusional.

For her, well, everypony actually it happened without warning, rhyme, or reason, from clear skies and a sunny day tartarus came to their doorstep.

In but a moment a wave of [i]something[/i] covered the entirety of Ponyville.

And then... a feeling of dread settled in her mind, she froze, not because she wanted to, no, it was an instinctual response, one she had no control over.

From her peripheral vision she saw everypony, from elderly to Foal, doing the same, freezing in place with confused eyes as their brains couldn't quite comprehend what was happening.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

Even without knowing it herself her heartbeat quickened.

If she had to compare it to something it would be like when she played hide and seek with Gilda, moments before the griff pounced on her she always felt like something was looking at her.

This time however, that something made the entirety of her body refuse to do so much as twitch.

None moved as the air stilled, birds went quiet, leaves stood still, sound itself seemed to have left the world as nothing dared to move.

Far too scared to draw attention to themselves.

That single second of absolute silence extended for what felt like an hour, one where nothing and nocreature dared to move.

More by instinct than anything else, all ponies tensed, preparing for something.

It didn't help.

But they were right to do so.

She doesn't know what they saw, or felt, but she surely knows that if it was anything like what she did then nopony would ever forget today, their nightmares wouldn't let them.

She knows her's won't.

Honestly, the only reason no creature screamed was because they lost all of their breath.

Whatever they saw took all the air out of their lungs.

She personally? She was forced to feel the pain of having her wings ripped out of her body, together with whatever muscle, skin, fur or bones were in the way, she felt every little part of her being torn out of her body.

Perhaps she should have asked herself why she managed to feel everything with so much detail, unfortunately, her mind couldn't focus on anything other than the agony she was feeling.

It alone was more than enough for her to wish to die, but it wasn't the worst, no, the worst was to lose the one and only thing that made her dream possible, that drove her to get out of her bed every day.

Her wings.

The monster took them, and together with it, her destiny, her dream.

A wordless scream left her mouth as her body stood stiff as ice.

Tartarus, it felt like Tartarus.

It wasn't real, in the back of her mind she knew it wasn't, even still, she lost all semblance of control, tears fell from her face as imaginary pain, born from an imaginary attack surged from her body.

She fell to the ground like a rock, unable to stand up, to even move her legs, for a moment she thought she was paralyzed, before her body suddenly contorted into a fetal position.

She trembled and shook uncontrollably as, much like an armadillo she curled into herself, trying to gain some semblance of security.

It didn't work.

At that same moment, she felt it, something looking down on her, looming over her body.

She didn't have the courage to look up.

[b][color=#be4343][size=0.5em]"hahaha~"[/size][/color][/b]

A low, almost unnoticeable but still deep voice laughed above her, she trembled even more.

Hiding behind her forelegs she desperately tried to not look up, to look at it.

Tears continued to fall.

In the past she imagined herself beating back a timber wolf, a cragadile, and even a manticore.

Now, trembling on the grassy ground, almost pissing herself and crying like a filly she couldn't help but think how idiotic her past self was.

Beating monsters?

How ridiculous.

All she could do was run, no, not even that, just hide, freeze in place and hope it ignored her.

THUMP!

THUMP!

[b]THUMP![/b]

She forgot how to breathe, her head felt dizzy, her stomach twisted and turned, she tried desperately not to throw up as her heartbeat increased to a point she thought she would have a heart attack.

Here, on the ground, fighting just to stay awake she realized something.

No, perhaps it is right to say she finally stopped lying to herself.

She accepted the truth

Rainbow Dash... is a coward, one who talked too much and did too little.

"MONSTER!"

Dr. Fauna screamed in the background as ponies snapped out of their trance and started to run like headless chickens.

Using all her remaining strength Rainbow lifted herself, even then, she couldn't walk, her legs kept shaking in but a moment she realized she was unable to do so much as move a leg.

Memories assaulted her mind.

Broken bones, ripped limbs, punctured organs, shredded skin, [b]Death[/b].

Her visions did not stop simply because she fell, they continued, on and on and on...

It kept playing with her.

Until it got bored.

Tears fell down her face.

She knows, she [i]knows[/i] it didn't happen but...

'[i]How... how can any creature be this evil?[/i]'

All the discomfort she knew in her life came from failed landings and fractured bones, her parents were very attentive and took good care of her all the time, she had a good life.

And in that same life she had never... [i]Never[/i] felt so much pain.

So much fear.

So much disgust.

She... she thought killing herself would have been better than enduring that.

Leaving her family, friends, just... Dying to stop that [i][b]thing[/b][/i] from paying with her would be better than enduring even a second more of that torture.

Maybe... maybe she could do it now? Before it arrived?

"Uwhaaaaaaa!"

The sound of a crying foal snapped her out of her trance, more instinctively than anything else her face turned toward the sound.

There she saw it, the image of a white-coated pegasi filly with a light blue mane.

She was crying, not like a foal that wanted attention, food or even one that harmed herself slightly, no.

[b][size=1.5em]"Uwhaaaaaaa!"[/size][/b]

She cried like a desperate animal, like a bunny about to die by the teeth of a wolf, trashing around with the predator's mouth already in its neck, begging for help to any who would hear.

It would not receive any.

Not because nopony wanted to.

But because nopony could.

Defiance? What would that help if in the end all would die anyways?

Better run and have a chance to live than die braver than most, right?

Who is she kidding?

Making excuses.

Giving herself reasons.

Using a so-called 'logic'.

In the end nothing matters, the truth stays the same.

Rainbow Dash is a coward, and that is that.

One who refused to do anything as she watched a foal experience death before even having the chance to fly.

Cotton Cloudy, a 6-year-old pegasus filly, she saw the foal before, talked and played with her even, but now...

"AAAAAAAAAH!!!*

Now she couldn't do anything as she watched the child she foalsat once cry in pain after being tortured by a heartless monster.

[i]'Can't or won't?'[/i]

Thump*Thump*Thump*

Her heart beat wildly at her chest as she came to a realization.

[b]They would die.[/b]

Nopony could fight against it, it was ridiculous.

The very idea of fighting back against a monster that managed to do this to the entirety of Ponyville before even coming near the village was nothing short of insane

Even then...

She couldn't let it get near Ponyville.

Her family didn't live here, fortunately, but many others did, Chipcutter, Cotton Cloudy, Featherweight, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Snips, Diamond Tiara, Button.

They'd all die, a slow and painful death at the claws of a monster, they'd die before they even had the chance to properly live.

Just because something decided it would be fun to do it.

She couldn't let it happen.

Even if she dies.

Even if it takes her destiny away.

She can't let it do as it pleases.

Shaking the entirety of her body she forced herself to stop trembling and shouted.

"CALL THE GUARD AND RUN I'LL HOLD IT OFF FOR AS LONG AS I CAN!"

BOOM!

Maybe it was bravery, a sense of purpose, or even a need to prove that at the end of her life she wasn't just a cocky mare, perhaps it was all three of them.

In the end, it didn't matter as she shot up at a speed of over 300 kilometers per hour directly toward where she could feel the monster.

"RAINBOW WAIT!"

Ignoring Applejack's shout she flew toward the monster, and in mere seconds she managed to locate it.

Her vision, even compared to other pegasi was better than most, and so, even so much further away she managed to see the creature.

It had clothes, meaning it was intelligent, meaning it knew exactly what was about to do.

It had a mane but If it possessed any fur besides that she didn't know, the thing walked on two legs, much like minotaurs, and like them it also had fingers.

Smaller ones yes, but she didn't doubt what it could do with them, she felt it after all.

The thing didn't look particularly strong, she'd go as far as to say it seemed to be out of shape, but in the end, it didn't matter

Independently if it looked like the most beautiful pony or the most hideous monster she knew only one thing.

That it would end her life and everypony's else if it had the chance.

Forcing her shaking to stop she flew forward even faster and brought her left foreleg back, reading herself to launch the strongest buck of her life.

Gritting her teeth she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Take this monster!"

[b]Crack!*[/b]

Her hoof hit the creature's surprisingly soft chest, sending it flying back meters away.

[i][size=0.5em]She did not notice the look of horror on the creature's face.[/size][/i]

For one second her mind froze, confused at the scene before her, watching the thing spiral in the air she stood frozen in place, looking in bewilderment at the scene.

Thud!*

When the thing finally landed she finally snapped back to reality.

Thump!!!

Thump!!

Thump!

Her heartbeat slowed down as the adrenaline left her body.

She... she won?

In the midst of her hopeful yet chaotic thoughts a smile formed on her lips, this, she means... The thing isn't strong! It probably just has some kind of illusion magic to freeze anypony that gets near it.

With a gigantic smile on her face, she put her hooves on her hips and shouted in joy.

"Yeah take tha-"

Only to freeze as she looked at the monster's body.

A hole, a gigantic gap the size of her hoof stood in the creature's chest, blood, muscles, bones and even its heart, she could see it all.

Her stomach curled up inside itself as her breakfast tried to leave her mouth.

She held it in.

She wanted to tear her eyes away from it, she... she had never thought about it before.

In her dreams, in her imagination, even in the movies every time somecreature beat a monster no wounds would be shown.

Not a single time.

The monster would just, fall and stay down.

And that's it.

But she's not in a movie is she?

'Ah... yes.'

[i]The smell of burning flesh floated through the air.[/i]

She had forgotten.

[size=0.5em]The smell of blood hit her nose.[/size]

She's isn't daydreaming now.

In a trance she couldn't escape from Rainbow's eyes stood glued to the creature's chest.

'[i]Ididthis,Ididthis,IdidthisididthisIdidthisididthisIdidthisididthisIdidthisididthis[/i].'

In the back of her mind she continued to analyse the creature's situation.

Its clothes seemed to have been eaten away as some sort of glowing, crimson thing disintegrated everything it touched, including its skin.

Even worse, its muscles bent in such a way one might think an explosion went inside it.

She felt like puking.

She did.

Blaaaargh*

Landing on the ground her entire breakfast left her stomach at the sight of what she had done.

But it wasn't done, no, the world seemed set on making this the worst day of her life.

From the creature's open chest what she could only describe as some sort of crimson... Slime wriggled.

Wiping the vomit out of her lips she cautiously approached the thing.

Suddenly a wave of... Something hit her.

Although different she recognized it almost immediately, it was the same as the one that came just before those visions.

This time however she didn't feel like the monster wanted to kill her, no, it felt more like... like it was excited.

Her eyes widened as the crimson goop forced its way inside the creature's heart where bone shards still were lodged.

Ice shot up from her heart as she finally understood what she had done.

And it only made everything worse.

It... it wasn't the monster.

The creature she punched, Isn't. The. Monster.

She heard it... a shattering sound, before its bones broke she heard it, she swears she did! It... it was probably carrying that red thing inside a container.

Her eyes moved unconsciously around the creature's body, and in a single second, she found it, a small string, attached to a broken, glass shard, coated in red.

Her breathing quickened.

Suddenly the glowing crimson slime slammed into the creature's heart.

For but a second Rainbow stood frozen, watching as the innocent creature she might have doomed opened its mouth in a silent scream of agony.

She couldn't do anything but scream at what she had done.

"no, no, no, NO, NO NONONONOOOOOO!"

"...ђค....ђคђคђคђคђค." The creature seemed to... laugh? Before suddenly gripping his own beating heart, and squeezing it.

More by reflex than anything, she shot forward, gripping the creature's hand with her hoof's aura she forced its arm away from its heart.

[i]It was so easy, much like moving a stick around it offered no resistance.

Not that it could, any strength left in its body was rapidly fading.[/i]

A moment was all it took for her to realize what had happened.

[i]'It... it tried to kill itself?'[/i]

Her mind worked a hundred times faster as more tears threatened to leave her eyes.

She... what had she done? She just wanted to protect everypony, beat a monster back, and die knowing she wasn't a big muzzle Coward.

Her eyes stayed fixated on the creature as life rapidly started to leave its body.

Maybe dying would have been better than this.

Losing her life would have been preferable over taking the one of an innocent creature.

Suddenly blood squirted from the creature's heart, hitting her directly in the face.

"Oh Shit shit shit shit!"

She panicked as she finally remembered the creature was still alive, its eyes slowly closing as it fought to stay awake.

[b]It wanted to [i]live[/i]. [/b]

And she'll make sure it does just that.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I-i swear in my name, [b]You won't die.[/b]"

Taking him in her arms she beat her wings the strongest she could and shot off toward Ponyville.

"DASH?!"

Ignoring Applejack's shout Rainbow landed in front of the hospital, looking around for help all she saw were panicked ponies running toward their homes.

Nopony seemed to notice or even care about her or the creature in her arms, too panicked to think of anything else but running.

With no other option she breathed in, moving her magic toward her lungs she shouted with all her power.

[b][size=1.5em]"EVERYPONY CALM. DOWN!"[/size][/b]

Her scream was no Royal voice, but still managed to gain the attention of Every pony in the village

All froze and turned toward her, the ones hiding in their homes peeked their faces outside their windows.

Before she could do so much as open her mouth an autorative voice sounded behind her.

"What the buck is happening here?!"

Snapping her face toward the voice she saw Nurse Neightingale.

The earth pony mare had a scow on her muzzle, she served as the head nurse of Ponyville's General Hospital, some say she is an ex-guard due to her curt nature.

Considering how she is acting even after what happened Rainbow is starting to believe those rumors.

But that doesn't matter now, what matters is saving the creature in her arms.

"A monster cast some kind of illusion that made everypony see... very bad things, look that doesn't matter, what matters is that I thought this... Creature was the monster and attacked him."

She sighed in defeat.

"He wasn't, the monster was" Taking the broken glass shard, or what was left of it Rainbow showed it to Neightingale "Inside this thing, I attacked him and broke it, now..."

She looked at the hoof-sized hole in the creature's chest, somehow it stopped bleeding, ignoring the bizarre scene she decided not to count her blessings.

Its exposed heart, even with bone shards kept beating, but now an eerie crimson glow surrounded the thing, even worse it spread through its veins.

Glowing, macrabe veins pulsed with energy as the thing slowly ate the creature alive.

It's a miracle in itself that it's even alive.

And not one she'll take for granted.

"And now it's eating it alive."

She heard gasps all around.

She ignored it.

Breathing deeply she looked directly into the head nurse's eyes, she knew the mare was harsh and curt, if she didn't want to help her the rest of the hospital ponies would follow.

Oaths mattered very little in the face of herd mentality after all, her years at flight camp with Gilda's remarks made that very clear.

If somepony got in their heads the creature was dangerous they would just let it die in her arms.

So, she did something she never thought she'd do for anycreature besides her parents.

She begged.

"Please, [i]please[/i] help it, this creature doesn't deserve to die because of my mistake, much less suffer."

Nurse Neightingale stared at her, and then at the creature in her hooves, all ponies kept quiet, staring at the scene with apprehensive eyes.

The mare approached, with a clinical eye she looked attentively at the wound.

Suddenly her eyes widened, the next second she turned toward the hospital and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"COME OVER HERE YOU FOOLS, TAKE IT TO THE EMERGENCY WIG AND HOOK IT TO A LIFE SUPPORT!"

4 ponies rushed from the hospital's entrance, all supporting a Stretcher in their backs, in seconds they took the creature from her arms and ran back inside.

"AND GET ME AN ANALYSIS CRYSTAL WE KNOW BUCK ALL ABOUT THIS THING'S BIOLOGY!"

A doctor quickly ran towards the hospital, the sound of the doors shutting was the last thing she heard from the building.

Turning to face her Neightingale spoke with a serious tone.

"This is no simple matter Miss Dash, and neither is this thing a simple monster."

With narrowed eyes she looked directly at her.

"You may have just done something far worse than simply kill this creature Miss Dash, you dammed his soul."

Turning her face toward the creature in the stretcher she frowned.

"We can't deal with this alone"

With this she turned around and ran toward the hospital.

Unable to stop herself she lifted her foreleg up and shouted.

"W-wait! What did you mean by that?"

Sighing in exasperation Neightingale stopped and turned to face her.

"Congratulations Miss Dash, you broke this abomination's seal, because of you we are dealing with a demon."

Cold enveloped her body as her heart started to beat rapidly.

"You understand it, good, do not even think about running Miss Dash, the princess may just want to have a word with you, stay here and don't move a muscle."

Rainbow gulped, with a nod, she did just that.

Returning to the hospital with a serious look on her face Nurse Neightingale went to contact Canterlot.

This shit just got over her pay grade.

A demon so close to the Everfree? That could spell doom for all of Equus.

Behind the worried nurse Rainbow stood on her hind legs, sitting completely still as she waited for whatever would happen to the creature.

Suddenly, clouds thundered as water began to fall.

Feeling the drops fall on her she chuckled.

It seems like even the everfree forest doesn't like her.

Water drops fell on her face as she continued to chuckle, then sob.

[b]"Luna damn it."[/b]

.

.

.

.

.

[b][center]Name: Rainbow Dash

Time: 7 minutes prior (14: 15)

Age: 16

Planet: Equus

Year: 995

Day: Mane-day 01

Month: Whinnuary

Location: Ponyville [/center][/b]

Rainbow stayed in place for more than 2 hours, fortunately, the weather team came in and cleared the clouds from the everfree.

She could have done it herself but for the first time in her life, she was truly dedicated to doing something other than flying.

And so, she stayed in that exact same spot, not moving a muscle as she looked directly at the creature's room.

It wasn't hard to find out where it was, the creature's body -[i]a him the nurses told[/i]- or perhaps the demon inside released something remarkably similar to magical pressure.

An event that normally occurs when creatures of remarkable magical prowess are present, their... Magic density affects the surrounding area at differing levels according to their prowess, well at least according to what she can remember from that class.

She wasn't the best student.

But she remembers one thing or another.

All creatures native to Equus can feel magic, when a particularly powerful magic creature, or somebeing gets near enough one can feel their power.

Most can only do so when a truly powerful being is near them, but some have the talent to sense lower 'frequencies' of magic.

The only difference between magic aura and, whatever that... Thing did is that it isn't magic, as a matter of fact, it doesn't have even a lick of it.

Even she could tell that much.

No, what she felt wasn't magic, it's... weird, like something so close to it but yet so much different.

Something... alien, not of Equus.

Something... curious.

But that doesn't matter, the fact is that because of that pressure, she knows exactly where the creature is.

After the clouds were kicked away, Cheerilee, the professor for Ponyville's school was kind enough to take a towel and dry her, she was thankful, really, but it was unnecessary.

A pegasus getting a cold isn't common after all.

Her ears turned as she heard something, snapping her eyes toward her right she saw a sphere of light appear and expand rapidly.

Zap!

From one moment to another a platoon of soldiers appeared, instinctively she counted them.

20 in golden armor, the royal guard, 20 in flying suits, the Wonderbolts, and 10 in full plate armor, all of their faces hidden as they walked with different types of swords at their side.

The magical pressure combined with the runes in their equipment made it obvious to her who they were, the order of Marcus.

50 in total, but that was only counting the ponies, besides them she could see many hippogriffs, minotaurs, a dragon? And some diamond dogs.

She knew the military was comprised of many creatures but seeing in Pony was a whole different matter.

All of them whoever could not manage to stay on par with the single creature that led them, in a low enough voice even she couldn't quite pick up Princess Celestia spoke with her troops

The ruler of Equestria stood tall and with a serious expression as she wore her golden armor.

[spoiler][img]https://img2.reactor.cc/pics/post/full/Princess-Celestia-royal-my-little-pony-%D1%84%D1%8D%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%8B-8160438.png[/img][/spoiler]

Instinctively she bowed, adrenaline filled her blood as her heart threatened to leave her mouth, fear gripping her body after each silent second.

If the princess of all creatures is here, and with more than 100 creatures then that demon is more important than what she thought.

Meaning her buck up is more severe than she thought.

She seriously hopes she doesn't end up in a dungeon, or banished to the sun.

As she pondered with her head on the ground all creatures suddenly started moving.

Most either entered or surrounded the hospital, others ran toward the village, and some went toward the forest.

After so long something finally seemed to have been done, of course, she understands why it took so long for them to arrive.

Ponyville isn't a village with the same technological advancements as the more populated areas due to the abundance of earth ponies that prefer to live in the simpler days.

Not an unusual belief but one that dwindles after each year.

More importantly, messages will take longer to arrive at their destination considering how the village itself doesn't have a proper crystal fiber grid.

Even more, gathering so many creatures must've taken time.

She isn't angry, just annoyed, a creature's soul is at stake here, couldn't they have come faster?

Suddenly, something poked her head.

"Excuse me, are you Rainbow Dash?"

An old voice asked her from above.

Looking at it her eyes almost sparked at seeing the stallion's face.

Wind Rider, the record holder for the sub-Rainboom long-distance speed flight

with a maximum velocity of 2984,1 meters per second and a starting one of 686.

In the past, there were pegasi significantly stronger than him but in modern equestria, he is the record holder for the sub-Rainboom speed holder.

The record is somewhat confusing, to have it a creature needs to try to achieve the speed of mach10 but fail during a minimal period of 30 years.

A record of losers, some might say.

Those that clearly don't know how monumentally difficult it is to achieve a sonic rainboom that is.

Achieving a sonic rainboom is not unheard of, it consistently occurs when a creature, not specifically a pegasus manages to go over 10 times the speed of sound.

The feat in itself is extremely hard, to achieve it a creature needs to have the right mindset, high thaumaturgic particles, and be highly connected to one of the 6 principles of harmony.

[b]Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic[/b] as all know.

The journey in itself to reach that point is extremely harsh and demanding, only those of immense will can surpass it but after it the growth of speed of one who achieves it becomes exponential.

Somnambula for example -[i]One of her fillyhood heroes[/i]- was said to have a starting velocity of 359,742,416 kilometers per hour the moment she took off, instantly she gained one-third the speed of light.

Magic is... absurd, if a Mare having the power to control the sun and the stars of the night sky is not enough to clarify that she doesn't know what will.

Suddenly she heard a voice, shaking her head she snapped out of her trance and looked directly at the stallion in front of her.

"You know filly maybe some civilians were impressed when you did that Sonic Rainboom at flight camp, covered half of the continent in rainbow light, caused many... accidents too.'

"But that's okay, you were practically a foal, you weren't expected to know the consequences of your actions, but now? Now you don't have that excuse."

Wind Rider sighed as Rainbow straightened her posture.

"You are fast, I've read your file, but being the fastest isn't what the Wonderbolts are about, what we are all about is inspiring ponies, Pegasi mostly, to be something bigger."

Rainbow's eyes widened, seeing this the old stallion chuckled.

"Did you think we wouldn't keep an eye out for the filly that did something that hadn't happened in over 200 years?"

Flickering her eye down Rainbow nodded, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

A second later however the stallion came back with his stern voice.

"Tell me, when you saw one of our shows did you think how awesome and cool it was? How you wanted to be just like us?"

Instinctively Rainbow lowered both her ears and eyes, her parents didn't scold her much despite the pranks she did in her infancy but when they did they knew how to make her feel absolutely horrible.

Wind Rider felt the same as her parents just... Worse.

When a military pony scolds you, you don't fear being forced to stay in your room, you fear being thrown into a dungeon.

And despite knowing there would be no escape from her punishment, and not even wanting to in the first place Rainbow Dash still didn't wish to be thrown in a dark cell.

She wants to make up to that creature, being thrown in prison after that would be acceptable, but not before it.

"Good, that is what we want to do, make Ponies realize there's always something higher to inspire for, it is incredibly easy for ponies to remain where they believe their destiny leads them to."

"Why do you think all those heroes and legends of the past are so hard to surpass?'

Without giving her a chance to respond he continues.

"Because they were forced to get stronger, or die in the dirt, the old era isn't like the modern one filly."

"No, conflict was rampant in the past, it forced creatures to fight just to live another day, and as much as it pains me to say this that conflict, as bad as it was, birthed legends and leaders."

"Creatures that could inspire entire nations to stand behind them, Chairman Isaac being one such man."

"Princess Celestia was there you know, she saw everything that led to the birth of those legends while she was a filly, that's why she is who she is today."

"A fair Mare who wants harmony above all, unfortunately just as hard times breed powerful creatures so do peaceful times breed weak ones, this is why the Wonderbolts, the order of Marcus, the Equestria games, and the Guard exist."

"To create strong creatures even in peaceful times."

He snorted, blowing air over the small mare.

"Rainbow Dash, you may be a pegasus destined to greatness but if what happened today, combined with what I found in your file, unless you change significantly I can say with certainty that you are no Wonderbolt material."

Rainbow's heart quickened as she forced herself to stay quiet, she could shout, try to explain herself or even get angry but in the end, she knows very well what military ponies are like.

Much like Gilda only actions matter to them, if you can't put your heart where your muzzle is everything you say is pointless to them.

She will make sure, everycreature sees her the way she wants to be seen, but for now, she can only stay silent while one of her idols scolds her.

Seeing the tears falling the old stallion did not relent.

"Your bravery is commendable, and this is the only reason why we are not dragging you in cuffs, but make no mistake, your recklessness put an innocent man in the hospital."

"One that is holding onto life, on his soul, the very crux of his being. By. A. Thread."

She lifted her head and looked at the eyes of the Stallion looming over her.

Her vision was blurry but she could still see him, roughly that is.

With a coarse voice, she spoke.

"I understand, and... I am sorry for what I've done, I just hope you can let me speak with him when he wakes up, simply to ask for forgiveness if nothing else."

Turning his eye toward the Princess who was speaking with Nurse Neightingale Wind Rider continued speaking.

"This is why I hate self-entitled heroes Miss Dash, always thinking you are the knight in shining armor in your own histories, let me make something very clear, just as a princess does not need to boast her title to be respected and obeyed so do heroes."

"They don't need to constantly say to themselves, I am good, or, I'm a hero, no a hero is somecreature that does the right thing just because it's right, not because they want to be famous and tell themselves they are good while looking at a mirror."

"No, heroes are creatures that can't stand still while either injustice or evil exists Miss Dash, and I know for damn sure you didn't just attack that creature because you wanted to save everypony, at least not solely for that reason."

Raising his brow the stallion looked at Rainbow skeptically, the mare on the other hand stayed quiet.

She understood what she did, she spent two hours thinking about it in fact, she didn't need anypony to make it more clear to her.

But, even then... it still stung.

She understands of course, mistake or not an innocent creature is now being... [i]tortured[/i] by a demon, because of her.

The same demon that did those... things to her is now torturing, not just an innocent creature's body, but also his soul.

She couldn't imagine how much pain he must be in right now.

The only difference between her and him is that the [i]thing[/i] has been inside him for over 2 hours now.

1 minute.

All it took for her to think about killing herself to end the pain was a single minute at the hands of that monster.

She can't take it back, what she did.

Now that Princess Celestia is here -[i]and isn't that something[/i]- the chances of that creature being saved are almost certain.

That should make her happy, and it did, but... it also made her anxious in a way she had never been before, even as a filly.

What the buck is she even going to say to I- no, to him?

'[i]Sorry I almost dammed your soul, I was too scared and impulsive to think straight?[/i]'

As if that will fly.

[i]No.[/i]

She will have to make up to that creature, no matter what, and maybe... maybe one day it will forgive her.

[i][size=0.5em]Her cutie mark burned, making a point to remind her of her promise.[/size][/i]

"What you should have done is call the guard, organize your weather team, and make a barricade of thunderclouds to slow down the threat, then you should have evacuated your village and ran towards Canterlot."

He stared at the diminutive mare intently.

"But you didn't do that, you know why?"

Before she could respond he continued, this time in a higher tone of voice.

"Because you are just a civilian Miss Dash, because you were not trained to take those threats on, a brown belt in karate doesn't change that."

"Some creatures might think ponies are easily scared and prone to run away from threats instead of facing them, but the truth however is that even foals know to let the guard, made up of creatures that trained for years to take down threats and protect civilians, to do their work uninterrupted."

"And while your village does not possess a guard post you should have not run towards danger! And it's exactly because of this!"

He gestured to the hospital, instinctively she turned her eyes toward it, there she could see it, slight warps in the air, muddying and twisting the hospital's visage as if it was a hot day.

He didn't need to, everypony near the building could feel it, excitement, amusement, pain, misery, malice, and recently... Determination coming off from the building.

Whatever was happening there, she was sure that demon wasn't having an easy time.

The thought briefly made her form a smile on her lips, just before the Wonderbolt snapped her out of it with his stern voice.

"You don't know how to assert a situation, make split millisecond decisions, the nature of exotic threats, how to identify monsters or possessed creatures by subtle tells, you don't even know how to take down bigger opponents non-lethally."

"So answer me, if you are not a guard with years of training behind your back, why did you see fit to act like one?"

Trembling, at the Wonderbolt's harsh tone the mare lowered her head and stood quiet.

"You better pray to Luna that this man doesn't die because of your recklessness, accident or not you [b]will[/b] answer for this Rainbow Dash, as you know Equestria does not look kindly at murderers.,"

Rider turned around and started to trot away toward the hospital's entrance where the princess and her guards stood.

Seeing the Stallion walk away made something inside her snap.

"W-[b]wait![/b]"

Freezing in his tracks at the loud shout Wing Rider turned his head around and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"P-please, let me go with you."

Before the Stallion could answer she spoke again.

"I bucked up, I know I did! But I'm sorry, and I know being sorry doesn't help anything but I promised!"

The stallion rolled his eyes.

"Miss Da-"

[b][size=2em]"I PROMISED BY MY NAME LUNA DAMN IT!"[/size][/b]

She shouted at the top of her lungs, and in a moment all eyes were on her.

With tears still in her eyes and a trembling body, she followed with a diminutive voice

[i][size=0.75em]"Please, I don't want to become a murderer, [size=0.5em]please[/size][size=0.75em], I will do anything, just, don't let somecreature die because of me."[/size][/i]

Wing Rider turned his face toward his Princess, the Mare in question regarded the blue with a clinical eye.

The mare nodded and then turned around to enter the hospital.

Sigh*

"You are in luck Miss Dash, you have one chance to fix this mess, do not buck it up."

A small smile formed on her face as she got up and followed the old Wonderbolt inside.

Entering the hospital she was immediately assaulted by the sight of ponies running around and shouting.

"-er detection spe-"

"-ulation."

"-topoiesis"

Surprisingly enough Poniville's General Hospital doesn't receive many patients beyond health checks and minor bruises from foals.

The damages born from the demon's attack were mental, so most ponies only needed to be hugged by their families, the presence of so many military creatures also calmed them down further.

In other words, the hospital is almost void of patients.

But even then, receiving a completely alien creature on the edge of death and suffering soul damage was already something stressful enough.

Having it be possessed by a demon at the top of it is a whole other thing.

Seconds passed as she kept following Wind Rider, keeping her slight red eyes forward she still managed to see a remarkable number of guards stationed everywhere.

'How strong is this demon?'

She pondered before suddenly stopping just as Wind Rider did, looking at the scene in front of her, her mouth almost dropped.

6 unicorns lighted up their horns as a dome surrounded the room, a slight headache hit her head as, after seconds just staring at it, she noticed how the room seemed to be bigger on the inside.

"-bily strong-willed to have survived until now Princess, all our spells were able to deduce is that this... Thing is fusing with him."

Suddenly, just as she entered the room together with Wind Rider she heard Nurse Nightingale's voice.

The princess turned her head sideways, Rainbow might not know how to read ponies well but even she noticed how the Mare was struggling to keep herself in check.

Having an innocent creature, -[i]One most likely seeking help with whatever that vial held inside[/i]- attacked by one of her subjects out of nothing but fear is not something she'd want to hear had she been in the princess's position.

No creature would understand her side of the history, they weren't there to see how that thing made Everypony see themselves dying over and over and over again.

Honestly, she didn't want to either.

Tricked or not she almost kil- no, she did something worse, if what Wing Rider said is true she dammed his soul to be consumed by a demon.

A fate far, [i]far[/i] worse than death.

Something inside her twisted and curled at the very concept.

She doesn't know if the histories she heard are correct but if they are, then she might have done something only wyches would dare to do.

Being consumed by a demon doesn't really erase somecreature's soul, at least not immediately, no, first all that is erased are the memories, feelings, everything, good or bad, and then...

Then they are digested.

In the beginning, when a soul is born they are pure, much like a newborn, and demons like that, they like it very, [i]very[/i] much.

Tortuting a newborn soul with pure agony while slowly eating it is the high of amusement for a demon.

They enjoy giving pain to those pure of heart above anything else.

Oh, demons don't feel happiness, no, amusement, glee, and excitement? Yes, Happiness? No.

They are miserable monsters whose only objective is to spread their misery and bring everycreature else to their level.

The guards may not think she's that bright, but she [b]understands[/b] it.

She understands what she did, she understood it immediately after seeing that... Thing forcing its way into his body.

Maybe not completely, but enough.

That's why she promised to save him with her name, her destiny mattered little in the face of what would happen to that creature if they didn't manage to save him.

Tears kept falling from her eyes.

200 years, what she did may just be the most cruel thing any creature ever dared to do in over 200 years.

And ain't that something.

[b][size=1.5em][color=#be4343]BOOM![/color][/size][/b]

"AH!"

Suddenly a shockwave of crimson energy shot out from the creature's body throwing all but the guards into the air and slamming them against the wall.

[b][color=#be4343]Krrrrrrrrr[/color][/b]

Not a second later a horrible ripping sound reverberated throughout the room making the fur of everycreature stand up.

Lifting herself up and ignoring the pain in her back Rainbow looked directly in the creature's direction.

Bip*BIp*BIP*BIP*BIP!*BIP!!*BIP!!!*[b][size=1.5em]BIP*[/size][/b]

Only to widen her eyes at the familiar sight.

The creature's chest, from one moment to the other suddenly ripped itself open like an explosion had gone off.

Blood leaked in droves at the wound as the red meat beneath became visible once again, this time however the bones were not exposed.

Below the broken bed, the ground cracked as if hit by a particularly heavy boulder, out of apparently nowhere the creature's body had suddenly slammed down.

Before, Nurse Tenderheart was kind enough to tell her of the creature's treatment and condition.

Previously the nurse ponies had managed to regrow and fix most of the wound with a combination of their analysis crystals to discover what was wrong with his alien biology and then using crystals imbued with healing matrixes to fix the issue.

Hence taking the creature out of his critical state, although it was unlikely he would die because of the demon, simply because monsters like it liked to torture their victims before killing them, none wanted to risk anything.

"What is happening?!"

"I don't know! Soul-body synergy should not be high enough to reflect wounds in the material plane, we tested it!"

Nurse Snowheart screamed as she desperately looked at the monitor.

"Then test it again and tell me what it says!"

Doc Top shouted as all the medic ponies ran toward different monitors, in the middle of it all Princess Celestia moved towards the creature with a serious look on her face.

A golden light illuminated the room as the creature levitated, below him the hospital bed slowly fixed itself.

Suddenly the princess's armor disappeared, returning back into her crown, boots, and regalia.

And then, from one moment to another, the alicorn [i]changed[/i], and Rainbow understood why most thought her a God.

From colored mane and tail her appendages turned into a fiery orange, her coat darkened into a light beige as her eyes turned into a deep, crimson red.

[spoiler][img]https://temp-ca.s3.amazonaws.com/cdn-files/822689867169853376020231028225600sst.jpeg[/img][/spoiler]

[color=#e6b91f][b]D̶̻̳̥̬͈̒̃̒̔͠ͅ∆̶̘̯̫̦̽̀̑̓̈́͝√̵̡̧̠̼̪̭̝͉͇̇́i̴̱̊̒̐̐͠&̸̞̖̘͎̥̇̍̾̽̿̈͗͘͝è̵͉̟̥͈̲̗̲̱̪̫̗͇̐̊͗̔͆͜͝[/b][/color]

[b][size=2em][color=#e6b91f]"You will not take his soul abomination!" [/color][/size][/b]

Her entire body trembled as the Princess's echoing voice reverberated through space, making the very air quake around her.

She couldn't move, not out of fear, no, the Princess's magical pressure was more comforting than anything she had ever felt in her life, she froze because of the power surrounding her.

The concept of it that is.

She had never felt so much of it before, and she had been at the center of a sonic rainboom that covered most of the continent, she [i]knows[/i] what power feels like.

And yet... this eclipses anything she had ever felt before.

A day ago, no, three hours ago she would not feel any fear at the sight, only admiration and the certainty of security.

But now? After everything that happened?

She could only tremble at the sight.

Realization comes only after what one thinks is true, after today she doesn't think she will ever be certain of anything anymore.

But if there is something the world made clear to her today is that she... really isn't anything.

Maybe even less than that.

After all...

What could you call somepony whose own life isn't in their hooves?

A slave?

A corpse?

A doormat?

No.

You call that pony [i]nothing[/i].

Because they [u]are[/u] nothing, if one can only move with the current, without wish or ability to do anything else then they are simply dead ponies walking.

And isn't that what she is?

When that Demon came she couldn't do anything at first, then, when she did, she only played right in its claws.

And now... Feeling and seeing the very power of the [i][b]sun[/b][/i] in front of her she had to ask herself one thing.

If creatures above her could dictate the path of her life at a whim, turning her into a helpless filly at their hooves and claws, is she really free?

Is she a puppet, waiting for its strings to be made?

Is she really Rainbow Dash?

Heh~ maybe Gilda is starting to get to her after all.

She boasted before, without anything to back it up, and now she truly realizes it, [b]how much of an ant she really is.[/b]

"[size=0.5em]He...hehehehe[/size], hahahahahaHA[size=1.5em]HAHA!"[/size]

She chuckled, and then laughed.

Really... what was she thinking about? Rainbow Dash... will never be anything besides that.

Thump!*

Besides nothing.

But...

She doesn't want to, being made to realize how insignificant one truly is, twice, on the same day would have broken most.

It certainly broke her, her dreams, her thoughts, her destiny and most of all... Her confidence.

Being shown the truth was painful, but... she is thankful, living in a delusion is far worse than living in the dirt and filth after all.

At least those starving don't reject the world, they live despite it, survive despite it all, and resist, even if their lives can end on a whim.

And... even if she doesn't believe that she can achieve that, even if she believes she can't live in a world where, demons and...

[i]She looked at Celestia's golden form as a gigantic orange sphere formed outside her horn and entered the creature's body, immediately healing his wounds.[/i]

[i]Gods[/i] exist, she will at least try.

Because, even if most of what she thought herself to be is a lie, an illusion she told herself, she will at least make one thing true, One. Single. Thing of that illusion will be held true.

Rainbow Dash never gives up.

Forcing a smile to form on her lips she lifted herself up and sat properly once again.

Looking at the Princess's frozen form and glowing white eyes her smile turned more genuine as she felt the magical pressure increasing together with the temperature.

Yes... she can do it, live despite everything.

[b][size=2em]"-ยןเг๏ ђคภ๓คคคคคคค!"[/size][/b]

Her heart almost leaped out of her chest as the creature suddenly shot up.

Everything happened too fast.

Red light enveloped his form as his eyes turned black and his pupils glowed with a sinister yellow.

A slight pressure, as if she were being crushed on all sides gripped her.

A scream of what any creature could identify as pure rage left his mouth, making the entire hospital shake and most creatures fall as the wood walls and ceiling of the building began to crack together with the windows.

Inside the chaos, Rainbow could do nothing as the creature brought his arm back and punched forward.

Right where the princess was.

Boom!

[size=0.5em]Crack![/size]

ZZZZZZZZZZ*

A blue dome suddenly appeared, blocking the enraged creature's attack, taking all of its energy and not allowing even sound to escape.

"STOP HIM!"

"PROTECT THE PRINCESS"

None could attack as the Princess formed a shield behind her, blocking their line of fire.

"WHERE IS SPEARHEAD?! HIT HIM WITH A DISABLING SPELL ALREADY!"

[b][size=2em][color=#be4343]"ץ๏ย Ŧยςкเภɠ ๒ครtคคคคคคคг๔!"[/color][/size][/b]

[size=0.5em]zzzzz[/size][size=0.75em]ZZZZ[/size]ZZZZ[b][size=1.5em]ZZZZ[/size][size=2em]ZZZZ!!![/size][/b]

Another scream of pure rage left the creature's mouth as he started to move forward breaking the ground below with a strength she was sure he did not possess.

A wave of what she could only identify as killing intent exploded from the creature, freezing all in their tracks.

Rainbow had experienced it before, and still, the only reason she could do so much as twitch was because the wave wasn't aimed at her.

She tried, again, again and again she attempted to move, but if before the demon's aura was like a waterfall, now it felt like being hit by a tsunami.

Had she drank any water she was sure she'd have pissed herself by now.

But even in this situation, she understood, why her body refused to move, contrary to before the demon's aura now had a single extra thing.

The wish to kill.

No, the thing only wanted to scare her enough to attack before.

Now it wanted to kill something.

And she couldn't do a damn thing about it.

Every cell in her body trembled as her brain gave orders to both stay still and run as fast as she could.

She couldn't fight against any of them.

So, she simply stood still, trying, but failing to do something, anything besides staring at the scene.

In front of her the Alicorn stood unmoved, staring at the creature with what she could only identify as pity.

Besides her, the guards and mages forced themselves to move, even with trembling bodies and weakened legs they slowly prepared themselves to fight.

She felt envy, for the first time in her life she felt it, the wish to be like somepony else while while simultaneously being resentful of them.

In the midst of the chaos, her mind decided to suddenly remind her of the talk she had with Wind Rider and suddenly, everything left her.

Yes, YES! Thats it!

She isn't a guardsmare or a soldier pony, she doesn't have their training.

Even as the wave of killing intent enveloped her a gigantic smile formed on her face.

Before she wanted to be a Wonderbolt, to be just as cool as them, but seeing all of these ponies giving their all to protect something made a... Weird sensation spread through her chest.

She wants to be like them.

She wants to be part of the E.U.C, she wants to be part of Equestria's United Creatures

[b][color=#be4343][size=1.5em]"ยђคђคђคђคђคђคђคђค!!!"[/size][/color][/b]

[size=0.5em]Crack[/size]

[size=0.75em]Crack[/size]

Crack

[size=1.5em]CRACK![/size]

A sudden deep laugh resonated through the air, maybe it was instinct or something else but Rainbow almost immediately related the voice to something else.

The demon.

That... is the demon's voice.

That's when she realized, the crimson energy, dark, glowing eyes, floating hair, and murderous rage.

"AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

The creature was being possessed.

And if the sound of bones shattering was any indication, his body couldn't handle it.

He'd be crippled if this continued, or worse.

Ignoring the burning sensation in her cutie mark she forced herself to move, promise or not, she didn't need to be reminded of her own words.

Running toward the creature as his fist forced its way closer and closer to the princess she tried to force her trembling body to stop.

She doesn't want him to be condemned for something he didn't have control over, but most of all, she wants to save him.

She bucked it up, and she will fix it, no matter what.

[b][size=1.5em]"ยђคคคคคคคคคค!"[/size][/b]

She suddenly stopped as the creature screamed in rage, his voice now lost of its echoing sounded much more pleasing, and much, much less creepy.

With a shout that shook the entire area, the creature clenched his arm to a point where all could see the very fibers of its muscles as veins full of blood exploded open covering most of his limbs in gore.

With a single burst of power.

CRACK!

The crimson energy around the creature's body disappeared into motes of light.

[b][color=#be4343][size=0.5em]"#&#%^£¢€¶×π"[/size][/color][/b]

Her ears moved as she thought she heard a whisper.

Then... Silence.

Thud*

Snapping her face toward the sudden sound that disrupted the quiet atmosphere she narrowed her eyes at the object that had fallen.

And immediately threw up once again as she saw the creature's severed hand.

Looking up she watched as he brought his arm to his face and stared at with with what she could only describe as a serious expression.

He showed, no pain, discomfort, or even displeasure at the stump where his arm once was.

Rainbow gulped, at the sight.

[i][size=0.5em]"So cool~!"[/size][/i]

In front of the creature Princess Celestia stood with what seemed like a surprised expression, a light smile formed on her lips and slowly grew by the second as she stared intently at the creature's eyes.

Her transformation had long since gone away and the magical pressure receded to manageable levels.

Suddenly a blue bolt of light hit the creature in the chest, sending him down.

She almost growled at the guard pony before he spoke.

"Princess, are you fine?!"

Looking at her guard Celestia's smile vanished, her tone however kept being just as kind.

"I am fine Spearhead, that was unnecessary, the demon simply took hold of him for a time."

She smiled again.

"To have banished the demon from his body, even if temporarily is a feat of remarkable will, for some reason he refused my help but we will still aid him"

Thud*

Looking down at the sudden sound the Princess's eyes widened as she saw the creature still trying to get up.

After being hit by a sleep spell, one that should have shut down his brain, and by extension his nervous system.

"Oh my! You really are something else, but none of that little one, you must rest."

Lowering her head she touched the creature's back with her horn, sending him to a dreamless sleep.

Using her telekinesis she took the decepated hand and put it on the creature's arm, with a brief glow she reattached it to the limb and put him on the bed again.

Turning around she directed herself to a dark blue nurse.

"Nurse Tenderheart, could you tell me the results of his Soul-Body synergy please? Past and present if you could."

"A-ah, yes! Here when we took him in his synergy was approximately 0.5 normal for most creatures, but now... Now it read a-as a 37.75, it must be wrong, this is a 75.5 multiplier in just 2 hours!"

"Aaaand, it's not going down." Doc Top said as he looked at a monitor.

[i][size=0.5em]"Mind over matter hmm."[/size][/i]

The princess murmured while touching her chin with her hoof.

"Take him to a more comfortable bed, I made sure he couldn't dream, this way the demon won't have access to his mindscape, but this won't be enough for a permanent solution."

She frowned.

"For some reason, he stopped me from exercising the demon, I do not know why but I do have the feeling he wants to face the thing by himself."

"They most likely have some kind of history, I will allow it, but not without supervision."

"The O.O.F. will stay here until he wakes up, Hammerstrike, stay in this village and monitor his state at all times, help him if he asks."

The armored pony simply nodded.

"For now, I have done everything I could to help, the guard will stay here for the time being to stabilize the situation and calm down the civilians, as for the rest, with me to Canterlot."

"Oh, and Nightingale? Make sure to set up a better communication network, this was an oversight of mine we will not repeat."

Turning around the Alicorn walked toward the exit with an unreadable expression on her face, most creatures with the exception of the medics and the ponies in full plate armor left together with her.

"Filly?"

Snapping her face toward the sound Rainbow saw Wind Rider.

"The Princess may not have ordered us to do anything to you but you aren't out of the grid quite yet, so you better keep that promise of yours."

Nodding she stood still and watched as the Wonderbolt left the building.

Bip*

Bip*

Bip*

Ignoring the pain in her stomach and the horrible smell she went to find a mop and clear the mess she made.

She'd stay in the hospital, helping as much as she could until the creature recuperated.

Time passed, she helped and talked to the ponies in the hospital.

Finally, on the seventh day, the human woke up.