/Heyoooo! Dang, that chapter got some nice reviews! Thanks, guys, you're too sweet. Thanks to HarmonyDash9, Guest SM1, Skyrider5, and Guest for the reviews! Oh, and don't worry about Spike. He'll be getting some backstory very soon. Let's see where this chapter goes now, eh?/
I sit up slowly, rubbing my forehead with my one good wing. My vision blurs and Sunset Shimmer turns her head to me.
"You're awake." She remarks.
"Oh, you don't say?" I snark.
Sunset Shimmer rolls her eyes and continues bustling about the dark room. I jump at hearing a loud vibrating noise. Sunset jumps, too, and runs toward a large brown book with a symbol to match her cutie mark on the cover. She wrenches the cover open in a hurry and flips through the pages, eyes scanning the book with panic. Suddenly she shuts it and stands, looking around the room.
"Spike!" She shouts.
A small purple and green dragon wanders out from the hallway. I raise my eyebrow. He looks familiar in an awkward way. Almost as if I've seen him before, but he's changed a lot since the last time.
"Hey, Sunset." Spike says, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, then jumping. "Rainbow Dash?!"
"Don't bother. She doesn't remember you." Sunset says, turning him away from me. "You'll want to read this."
She places the book in Spike's claws while I rack my brain, trying to figure out why they both look so familiar to me. Sunset said she was the one who made a monster out of me, whatever that means. She was my medic back in the refuge... Depending on the situation she would fix me whenever my head hurt. Sometimes I would recognize without it hurting and sometimes I wouldn't be able to control it. Like when I ran into that crazy pink pony in the Crystal Empire. I knew who she was and my head didn't hurt, but as soon as I saw her with the other one things started to get bad again.
If this was making a monster out of me, does that mean she was brainwashing me?
Spike and Sunset murmur to each other. I stagger to my hooves and drag myself beside them.
"Maybe if we meet Twilight and the others, I can try to find a spell that can undo the damage I've done. It's my fault she attacked them, and I have to fix it."
"What did you do? Did you brainwash me?" I ask.
Sunset turns around and glares at me.
"How long have you been listening?" She demands.
"Five seconds."
"Sheesh." She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I suppose I did brainwash you. But it was all for your own good. Lucky for you, your old friends just contacted us. Spike and I are going to take you to them so we can try to find a spell to fix you back up. Once we've found it you'll be right back to your old self again."
Sunset hoists Spike up onto her back. He wraps his arms around her neck as she bends down to write in the book. She jabs her quill into the page and shuts the book, then sits to wait.
"Why did you brainwash me?" I ask quietly.
"See, I told you." She said to Spike.
"Ha! She's lucky they didn't get Twilight. Her spells would be so strong they'd be irreversible!" Spike laughed. Sunset glared at him. "Not to say that your spells weren't strong, too!"
"I was holding back. If I was really still out for power, I'd have completely overridden your normal consciousness, Rainbow." She begins. "But I've reformed since then. Once I returned to this world and saw it in ruins, I made a plan to get you and the others to the other side of the mirror, where it's safer. The only problem was I couldn't find you. The mirror portal closed and I wouldn't be able to get you through for another two years. And obviously I don't know where Princess Twilight's castle is to get to that portal."
"I'm pretty sure it was destroyed," Spike cuts in. "It'd be no use anyway."
"That's why he hasn't taken me there." Sunset glares at the dragon, who grins sheepishly. "Anyway, I kept trying to find you all. I looked wherever I could think, fighting off revolutionaries left and right until I was kidnapped by General Gilda. She interrogated me, and since I knew any question I answered truthfully would cost my head, I lied. The only truths I told were about my past with Princess Celestia and how I left when I didn't think I was being given what I deserved."
Sunset continues with her story, explaining that once General Gilda learned of her magical 'prowess' she was appointed medic. She said she knew they were looking for a pony named Rainbow Dash, who she'd known years ago. Sunset knew that name from her other world and decided it had to be one of Twilight Sparkle's friends. Once I arrived, she said, was the first time she'd been really put to work. She was taught a brainwashing spell and told to replace all pleasant memories I had of Princess Twilight Sparkle with bitterness and obedience.
"Obviously that was the point I knew for sure you were an Element of Harmony. So I learned the brainwashing spell, because of course I had to use it. If I didn't use it on you, they'd be able to tell. So I used it, but I left extremely vague memories of your friends."
"Like what they look like." I murmur, glancing at Spike.
"Their voices, too." Sunset confirms. "That way you'd be able to vaguely recognize them and hopefully hold back if you were told to attack them."
I sit on the cold floor, thinking over everything I've just heard. So that constant pain and droning in my head wasn't just because of my injuries? It was because somepony had been screwing with my mind. I'd have decked Sunset Shimmer right there for screwing with me if she hadn't saved me. Of course, there's still some doubt in my corrupt mind. That buzzing still wouldn't go away. I groan and collapse on the floor.
The book vibrates again and Sunset flips through it, scanning the pages hurriedly.
"They want us to meet them on that mountain in Ponyville. Spike, do you remember where it is?" She asks.
"I do." Spike confirms.
"Good. It always makes teleportation spells easier on me when there's someone who actually knows where we're going."
Spike tightens his grip around Sunset's neck and she places a hoof on my shoulder, firing up her horn again. The light engulfs us and the rushing blackness speeds before my eyes before disappearing and dropping us on a rock ledge.
"Twilight?" Sunset shouts.
"Sunset!" Another voice, I'm assuming Twilight's, shouts back from an above ledge. "Wait there, we'll meet you!"
The ponies from earlier zoom down the mountain to meet us, Twilight (The purple alicorn) carrying the pink earth pony who attacked me and the pink pegasus carrying the white unicorn. The orange earth pony slides down the mountain herself and the yellow pegasus (Fluttershy?) flies down to meet me.
"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy cries, hugging me tightly.
I tense up and she flinches, letting go of me and stepping back. I see the fear in her eyes and nudge her with my good wing, giving her an awkward smile. She smiles back at me.
"Spike!" Twilight cries, sweeping the dragon up in her large wings.
"Twilight!" Spike hugs her chest tightly, tears filling his eyes.
"Oh, I can't believe you're alive!"
"I almost wasn't. I would have died if Sunset Shimmer hadn't found me. Thank goodness she recognized me."
Sunset smiled and nuzzled the scales atop Spike's head affectionately.
"So, Sunset Shimmer..." The crazy pink pony (I think I remember her name is Pinkie Pie) drawls. "How can you be sure she won't attack us again?"
"Wow, you're a lot different from the Pinkie Pie in the other world..." Sunset remarks under her breath. Pinkie Pie shoots her a glare. "She won't attack you, though. I know that because... Well... I'm the one who brainwashed her."
The orange earth pony balks, eyes narrowing. Her stance is a fighting one, as if she's ready to pounce on Sunset Shimmer any minute.
"Now why on earth would you do that?!" She demands
"Hey, hey! I did it to protect her! General Gilda would have killed us both if I didn't. But just to clarify, I could have really brainwashed her. You're all lucky I didn't do the spell as strong as I could have."
"How can we get her back to normal?" The pink pegasus asks.
Sunset shrugs, but moves towards Twilight and whispers something in her ear. Twilight responds and Sunset stares at the other pegasus in astonishment. I'll admit, I'm pretty astonished, too. I remember seeing this princess die. I recognize her without her horn, but the revolutionaries killing her shouldn't have just taken her horn away. Obviously I have some serious catching up to do.
"That's why I'm glad you guys got in contact with me. Now that Rainbow Dash is aware of the situation at hand, I need to find a spell that can undo all the damage caused to her cerebral cortex. But I'm going to need Twilight's help." Sunset explains. "Twilight?"
"Anything for a friend." Twilight smiles.
Sunset returns the smile.
"Are we done with the love fest?" I demand. "Because as soon as this stupid buzzing gets out of my head, I'd love an explanation!"
/Huzzah! Another chapter out of the way! Sorry this one was mostly dialogue... I'll do some more descriptive chapters later. And you know, I originally wasn't even planning to have Spike with Sunset Shimmer. But after I got that review asking about him I thought back on Rainbow Rocks and how they seemed to be hanging out the whole time. More backstory on that later./