Beyond The Cemetery
Author: Doom Master 1990
Chapter 1
It was the end of a long day of flying for Rainbow Dash. She had been practicing non-stop throughout the day. She had to keep herself in top physical condition if she wanted to join the wonderbolts, after all.
"Ah. I can't wait to lie down and stretch. I should probably take a shower first though."
Upon finishing her sentence, Rainbow headed towards the bathroom. After arriving at her destination, she turned on the shower, and entered the tub.
"Mm, that feels so good."
Rainbow let the hot water soak her mane. She was completely lost in relaxation. She hadn't realized how sore her muscles were until now. She had gotten so used to intense workouts that she felt hardly any strain until she had finished for the day. Now, she was concerned with letting the strain melt away.
After finishing her shower, she dried off and prepared for bed.
"Phew, now I can finally call it a night."
She lied down on her bed and pulled the blanket over her. She was determined to get a good night's rest.
…Little did she know…A dark cloud was about to descend over someone close to her…
"Mm…Huh?"
Rainbow dash could feel the sensations in her body. She felt as though she were awake. However, when she opened her eyes, she awoke not to her room, but to a small graveyard.
"W-what the…!?"
Surrounding her were seven tombstones, six of which were large while the last one was relatively small by comparison.
"What is this place!? It's so creepy!"
Just then, a voice spoke up.
"This is the graveyard in my soul."
Rainbow turned around quickly, and saw a bipedal creature with medium-length brown hair and rather gothic clothing. For a few moments, neither of them said a word. The creature broke the silence first.
"What are you, and why are you here?"
"Shouldn't I be the one asking the questions, pal!? All I remember is going to sleep and then winding up here!"
"Answer me. What the hell are you?"
Rainbow couldn't believe her ears. Had this THING just used obscene language towards her?
"Look bud, you don't wanna' start anything with me. I'm the toughest and fastest pony in Equestria."
"So you're a pony, huh?"
"Yeah, and what the hay are you? Some kind of monster?"
"You could say that."
"Well, I'm not afraid of you."
"Well, as long as you don't go causing trouble for me, you won't need to be afraid."
"Ya' think you could scare me?"
"It wouldn't be that hard for me."
"Tough guy, huh? I like that."
"Why are you here?"
"Beats me. One second I'm sleeping and the next thing I know, I'm in this place. You said it was a graveyard, right?"
"Yeah, and now that you're here, I'm guessing those guys have some business with you."
The creature pointed to four levitating masks above a giant door.
"What are THOSE things!?"
"The four masks. They prey on the souls of the weak."
"The souls of the weak?"
"The souls of people seeking death."
"Wait, so YOU'RE one of those 'people' that Lyra is always talking about?"
"Lyra?"
"She's a friend from Ponyville."
"Ah, alright. To answer your question, yes, I'm a person. I'm assuming you've never seen a person before since you asked that question."
"Nope. I've never seen any other person besides you."
The man held his hand out to Rainbow.
"My name is Yuri."
Rainbow grabbed his hand.
"My name's Rainbow Dash."
"Hehe."
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
Yuri turned his attention back to the masks.
"We need to figure out why you're here. As much as I hate those guys, we have to talk to them."
"Why do you hate them?"
"…"
"Oh….Sorry."
"It's fine. Let's just get this over with."
"Okay."
Yuri and Rainbow walk up to the masks.
The grail mask is the first to speak.
"Hehehe, if it isn't the boy who failed to save his lover."
Yuri remained silent. The gold mask spoke next.
"If it isn't Rainbow Dash! We've been waiting for you!"
"Me? Why?"
The staff mask was the next to speak.
"Your poor friend is starting to wither away."
The tone with which the staff mask spoke instantly enraged Rainbow.
"Poor friend!? Who is it!? What are you doing to them!?"
Yuri spoke up.
"Cool it, Rainbow. These guys will try to get to you. Don't let them."
Rainbow Dash calmed down a bit, and then the sword mask finally spoke.
"Your dear friend Pinkamena Diane Pie is losing a battle for her happiness, bit by little bit."
"No…Not Pinkie."
The grail mask spoke once more.
"Teehee! You can't stop her from shutting herself away from you and everyone else!"
Rainbow dash could feel her blood begin to boil. These masks were doing something to Pinkie, and she didn't know what it was or how to stop it.
"How about you guys shut it." Yuri responded.
The gold mask took his turn to speak.
"A poor fool like you is telling us to be quiet? How laughable."
"Rainbow, we're done with these guys for now. Let's leave."
"But…"
"We know why they brought you here. That's all we needed."
"…Okay."
Just before they walked away, one of the masks spoke one last time.
"Your friend is doomed, Rainbow! Mwahahaha!"
Rainbow said nothing and went back to the edge of the cemetery with Yuri. When they were finally out of earshot of the masks, they began speaking to each other.
"So, it looks like your friend is in trouble."
"Yeah…"
"Are you alright?"
"This isn't making sense. Pinkie is one of my best friends. I know her like the back of my hoof. I can't believe she really wants to…die."
"Those masks are feeding off her pain. They're going to drain her happiness until she eventually dies, one way or another."
"I can't believe they would be so cruel."
Rainbow stared at the ground, on the verge of tears.
"Hey, don't worry. I know how we can stop them."
Rainbow's ears perked up at that statement.
"We need to collect four items; the oath grail, the amber ring, the carnelian ring, and the lazurite ring."
"Got it."
"Good. Once you get the oath grail, meet me back here."
"Okay."
"Alright then. We're off."
Rainbow walked through the gate with Yuri.
As soon as she went through those gates…She awoke in her own room, shaken by the dream, not understanding why it felt so real.
"What…What in Equestria was that?" She said out loud.
She gave it some thought for a while.
"That was…Disturbing. It was so real."
Rainbow eventually got out of bed after thinking for a while. She prepared for her day, but couldn't get the dream out of her head. Death existed in Equestria, but the kind of anguish in that dream did not.
Little did she know, she was about to learn how real the dream was.
To Be Continued…