T.O.S.O.T.R Chapter 3

The Other Side Of The Rainboom



Princess Luna has confirmed the recent astrophysical rumour of the existence of "black holes". This new discovery has sparked many debates within the scientific community. One of which is whether a black hole could be created within Equestria under highly controlled circumstances. Most scientists believe that it would be impossible that enough energy could be created to perform such a feat.



Chapter 3




The metallic monsters loomed all around him, towering over his delicate body. Their massive mass giving them seemingly unstoppable power. Their mere presence was intimidating enough to humble most whose eyes came to rest on them, even for the briefest of time. Their purpose was unmistakable; they were created to cause death and destruction in the name of peace. These monsters were beasts and Michael was the beast master.

It had been two hours since Michael had left Colonel Ambler's office and he'd been wandering aimlessly around ever since as he had nothing specific to do.. He liked to come to the hangars whenever he could so that he could marvel at the wonders hidden within. It had always been a dream that he'd had, to fly one of these creations of man, to soar high above the clouds looking down on the mortals below, feeling free. It had been a dream that was just that; a dream. It had been forgotten and overlooked as he grew older and it wasn't until years later that he remembered his childhood reverie and endeavoured to turn it into reality. The training had been hard, harder than he had expected, but he fought through it. Over time he had felt himself becoming a well-oiled human machine. The training had pushed him to his limits. He had heard it being said before but he had never truly appreciated it. They were just words to him, not a life-changing experience. It wasn't until his body constantly felt like collapsing and his brain felt dead that he truly experienced his limits. Over and over, his limits were reached and then replaced until his body and mind were tested and honed to perfection. He had become the person that he had always wanted to be.

As much as Michael admired the planes, he knew that they could also end up being a steel coffin. This thought had never come to him before the incident but now it plagued him. He had feared that he would never be able to look at them in the same way again, or feel as confident inside one, yet coming here had reassured him of what he had always thought of them of as: metal angels.

As Michael left the hangar and looked up at the rapidly darkening sky he realised that it was his, and most of the other pilots', leave day. As if on cue he heard a voice shout from behind him.
"Oi, Michael!"
Michael turned around to be greeted by the grinning face of his wing-man Bravo-Two, also known as Jay. He had spent his last six weeks of holiday in England, and it was showing.
"Hey, at least your plane didn't malfunction on you as well. That thing nearly killed me and I don't even remember any of it."
Michael remembered that Colonel Ambler had said that Jay seemed to have amnesia from the ejection out of his plane. He also remembered the Colonels warning about not telling anyone about what he experienced. Even so, Michael decided to press on and find out what he could recover from the deep recesses of Jay's brain.
"So you don't remember anything about the flight then?"
"The last thing that I remember is looking down in the cockpit and then waking up in the base. I had a bit of a headache at first but I feel as fresh as a daisy now though."
Michael looked at him, the smiling face, steady hands, and wished that he had forgotten everything as well; he didn't feel as fresh as anything at the moment.
"Mike. As the doc says that I'm free to, me and some of the others," as he said this he gestured towards a small crowd coming towards them, "are going off base to the town, to celebrate me not being dead and all that. You can come if you want."
As the crowd grew closer, Michael began to feign thinking about whether to go but was interrupted by Jay.
"One thing though. You better bring your wellies, 'cuz we're gonna be knee deep in clunge."
A cheer of raucous laughter went up from the crowd and with that Michael made his excuses and left them behind as he quickly walked to his room, cradling his shaking hands with themselves.

Michael had the luxury of a room to himself. It was a comfort that he cherished as it gave him time to think and relax and these were two things that he intended to do. He got himself comfortable on his bed and switched on the television, which was another extravagance of his. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be much on but Michael wasn't focusing on the television. As images and sounds bombarded him, Michael's thoughts were on the Colonel and what he would be doing now. Most likely he would be co-ordinating the search for the downed enemy aircraft, by now the salvage crew had probably found it. His mind went back to the smile that the Colonel had had while discussing that. Something about it and his whole manner had put Michael at unease. Why had he seemed so happy to find it? It could mean a promotion or maybe it was so that he could get revenge on what had tried to kill him, but he seriously doubted that. The cold stare, the lack of emotions, Michael wondered if that would one day be him, if that was what power and stress did to you. His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"We have to go back Kate."
Michael stared in disbelief at that dishevelled beard and wondered if it belonged to the man that he once knew. Green eyes stared back at him, crazy eyed and wild. Michael wondered what troubles were hidden behind them, what had brought this sudden change on this once great leader of men. This man had once led men and women across vast areas of inhospitable land, with the constant threat of attack on their minds. They had shared what had seemed like years together, experienced so much together. What had happened since Michael had last set eyes on him? As Michael settled back to watch Lost he took no interest in the sounds of engines that reverberated outside of his room as they passed by, or the sudden halt and sounds of frenzied footsteps that followed it. Instead he focused on the many unexpected and exciting plot twists that were soon to happen in the coming story.

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Colonel Ambler met the gaze of each face as he walked into the dark room. Each face belonged to a man that he could trust, which was a rare thing. The faces stared back, patiently awaiting orders.

"So what have we got here gentleman?" asked the Colonel. His voice wasn't loud or aggressive yet it always made men snap to attention whenever they heard it and to listen as if their lives depended on hearing what he had to say. Now he wasn't sure whether it actually did. He'd been told that he seemed to have no accent. He liked that, it gave nothing away. He only wanted others to know what he wanted them to know, nothing else.

"Sir," said a face at the other end of the table. Colonel Ambler set his gaze upon him, silently allowing him to carry on. "At 1800 hours, Delta Squad found the hostile which then proceeded to escape on foot."
The Colonel was slightly confused as to how a seemingly unmanned plane could travel by foot, and the lack of any information about the wreckage, but he gave no sign of it and allowed the man to carry on.
"After a short chase the target was then subdued and brought back to base. They arrived two hours ago and the target was then brought into a holding cell."
The Colonel's confusion was now even greater. Even so he carried on putting on the appearance that had gotten him this far in life, and acted as if he had already known all of this and wasn't surprised in the least.
"What is the condition of the prisoner at this moment in time?"
"The prisoner is highly aggressive and prone to violent outburst of both the physical and linguistic kind and so has been put in a reinforced holding cell with no outside contact. One of Delta Squad was injured during the capture and another during the transfer to the holding cell, but there were no fatalities. The target was unarmed and so posed no serious threat."
The Colonel stared hard at the man and at each of the others in the room. His eyes wavered over each of the faces in turn. All of them were meeting his gaze but there was something hidden behind the masks, there was something that they hadn't yet told him.
"Do you have any more information about the prisoner at this time?"
The man's eyes held steady and controlled, yet the Colonel had known men for long enough to see what was hidden there. He carried on looking at the man, examining him, tearing away his layers of protection, exposing his flaws to the world. Eventually the man replied with a stout, "Come look at this sir."

The Colonel rose up out of his seat and walked towards a set of monitors, which the other figure was now standing by. The room was full of monitors that flickered with life in the dark room, casting everything inside into random shadows and patterns of darkness that adorned the walls. It gave the room an unnatural feel, yet was the amount of power that this room commanded not an unnatural thing as well? As he came closer to the screens, the man gestured towards the screen for "cell 3". The Colonel knew that this was in a more obscure part of the base, hidden deep within the compound, out of view. Ideal for situations like this.

The screen showed the inside of a holding cell similar to every other within the base. There were no windows, no signs of escape, and just three plain, drab walls adorning each side. The camera must have been mounted above the door as there was no sign of one. The most striking thing within the cell was the thing that was being held inside. It was walking back and forth within the cell, and it was painfully obvious that it was angry. He had seen prisoners do this before, striding across the small cell, showing off their anger to anyone watching and to themselves, but it was always just a front for something. Hidden behind that anger was fear. Fear for the force that had brought them to that cell. Fear for what could happen to them at any moment. Fear for the uncertainty of their future and what it would bring. This prisoner was no different in this sense but in others it was a whole world apart.

"What am I looking at?" said the Colonel, in his normal, unassuming tone.

"This is prisoner RD. It seems to have the bodily structure of a small pony but there are several irregularities that are inconsistent with any type of Equidae that currently exist or has ever been known to exist. It seems to be a simpler version of existing ponies and yet has features that are unheard of. It also seems to have some sort of mark on its flanks that could be a sign of its rank or terrorist organisation, although we are unsure at the moment."

The Colonel could see that this was true. On each flank was some sort of tattoo or branding, the camera didn't show a high enough detail to be able to distinguish any more specifics about it. Sprouting out of either side of prisoner RD's back were two small wings that were currently folded against its body. If the monitor wasn't in colour then he wouldn't have believed it, but the mane and tail of the prisoner seemed to be in a colouration similar to a rainbow. Its body was covered in blue hair as well. This was an exact match for the object that the pilot had glimpsed at hours earlier. The prisoner, as it was on all fours, looked to be about 3 feet high and did not seem too imposing and yet it had managed to bring down one fighter and nearly destroyed another. It was more dangerous than it looked, that was for certain. Suddenly the Colonel remembered something that the pilot had said.
"Have you checked the prisoner for any signs of radiation?"
The man responded instantly. "We checked once it was brought in. There seems to be no sign of any radiation or existing radiation poisoning."
The Colonel nodded, he had expected as much.
"Have you checked the Geiger counter in the pilots' plane and the black box?"
"We have. It showed a sudden large spike in radiation levels," as the pilot had said, thought the Colonel, "yet it lasted only a few moments. This may be because the pilot was moving away from the radiated area."

All the planes had recently been outfitted with Geiger counters in case they were to carry nuclear material and to warn the pilot if there was a leakage. Though if there was a leakage then the pilot would be unlikely to know about it as he would be dead, the Colonel had thought when he had first been told about them. Now though he was glad that the base commander had deemed them mandatory.

The Colonel once again looked at the monitor and saw something on it that caught him completely unaware. Looking back at him was the reflection of confusion on his face. He stared through the face, as he had done to countless others before, and looked at the figure within the cell.

"We'll find out what the fuck you are," he promised to no one in particular in that dark room, full of emotionless faces patiently awaiting orders.

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She was in the corner of the room, slumped on her back legs, defeated. At first she had strided across the room, back and forth, venting her anger. She had felt angry with herself at how easily they had captured her, whatever these things were. They must have thought of her as a frightened filly, it was hard not to feel like one though when she thought of how they had captured her. They walked on their hind legs like dragons, yet that was where the similarities ended. They had no scales, or not as far as she could tell. She hadn't seen any of them without clothes covering their tall bodies. She had caught glimpses of pinkish red skin before she had been thrown into this horribly small room. A prison, she thought. They had covered her in something when she was caught in the forest and then time had seemed to never end. All she could use were her ears as she was carried towards what had sounded like an awaiting dragon. She had realised that this was what she had heard before and what she, so rightly, had fled from. The sound had grown louder and she had been felt herself being thrown. She had been horrified and that she was being fed to the monster, but she didn't die. Instead she landed heavily on something hard; the wind was knocked out of her. It was then that the growls of the monster had shaken the floor beneath her.

She travelled in darkness. No light or sound came through what was covering her, except the sound of the beast. She had no sense of anything near her and yet she knew that they would be close, watching her, stopping her from escaping. There was little chance of that. Eventually the shaking and constant noise eventually became rhythmic and she gave into the desire for rest. Her fears and worries were forgotten as her eyelids became heavy and she slipped into that heavenly realm of the mind.

Her eyes shot open. Her wings opened up, ready for action. She flung herself into the air, ready for anything, challenging the world. There was nothing waiting to attack her, nothing to carry her away. Instead she found herself in a place that she thought she would never set her eyes upon again. She was back in Ponyville.

Rainbow Dash's mouth broke into a smile that threatened to envelop her whole face as she flew as fast as she could to find her friends. She seemed to have woken up just on the edge of Ponyville. The wind buffeted her as she flew onwards towards the town, it coming ever closer, coming to greet her like a long lost friend. She rocketed towards the entrance to the town and skidded to a halt. She broke into a trot so as to not knock over any other ponies that would be there. There was none.

Rainbow Dash looked from side to side for any sign of any other ponies as she walked through the deserted streets. They were normally bustling with ponies going about the average day. Vendors would sell their goods in the square while other ponies sauntered about, seemingly doing nothing. Aromas and sounds would spread out from their respective shops and entice ponies to depart with their gold. Ponyville was bigger than most ponies imagined it to be. During certain times of the year it attracted lots of tourism from Canterlot, which was a major boost for the economy within. All of the apples within Ponyville were supplied by the Apple family. They basically controlled a monopoly within the town and the surrounding area. They were the major, and only, supplier of all the apples within the region, not that it wasn't deserved. Poor Applejack worked herself to the bone bucking tree after tree. It did give her a strong flank though, thought Rainbow Dash.

Within all of this commotion her friends would be there somewhere, doing whatever it was that they did. Well they would have been if anypony had been around. Rainbow Dash walked through the centre of the town and looked around for any trace of a pony or her friends. As she did so something glinted in the afternoon sun. Moving closer she saw that it was a small, dull gold tube, lying on the ground. There seemed to be a few more of them scattered around the square, glistening in the sun, winking at her. Craning her neck down she went to grab it with her teeth and as she did so a strong, unfamiliar smell nearly overpowered her. It smelt of evil and like nothing she had ever experienced before. It stuck to the inside of her nose and made it itch. She gave it a little tap with her hoof and it rattled over the uneven ground, a light metallic sound ringing out over the deserted square.

Her smile had now faded, to be replaced by a look of uncertainty. She began to break into a gallop as she ran to where one of her friends should be. She arrived at Sugarcube corner. The door was wide open. Slowly Rainbow Dash plodded inside, carefully placing her hoofs in front of herself as she went. Her wings were by her sides but would be ready in a moment's notice if they were needed to spring into action. Despite her fear at what may lie within, she managed to call out for her friend.
"Pinkie. You here?
There was no reply. Rainbow Dash looked around at the empty kitchen but there was nothing. There was no sign of where anypony could be, so she began to go up the stairs towards where Pinkies room would be. She kept her eyes locked straight ahead in case anything was in wait at the top, patiently waiting to ambush her. She tried to be as quiet and gentle as possible with each step but still the stairs beneath would occasionally give out an odd creak as the old wood stressed beneath her hooves. Each creak resulted in a pause as Rainbow Dash froze in fear as to what may have heard her. She would tense, ready to strike, or flee, if something happened. Nothing did and when she reached the top of the stairs and peered over, the room was empty.

She stood there in the centre of the room, once again listening for any signs of disturbances. All she heard was the butterfly-inducing sound of absolute silence. This household would normally be the home of constant noise and entertainment for anypony, but now all it gave to guests was the uneasy feeling of being constantly watched. She could feel eyes digging into her and yet there was no pony around. She scoured the room for any sign of Pinkie's whereabouts. What could have happened to have caused everypony to disappear? Had they all set about to try and find her? How long had she been missing? How did she even get back to Ponyville? All of these thoughts were running through her brain when she heard a faint familiar creak.

Her head shot around. Something was coming up the stairs and like her, it was trying to be as quiet as possible. She looked around the room for any sign of escape. She could feel the fear began to creep up inside her. It could easily overtake her and she didn't want that to happen again. Last time it had got her caught, she didn't want to once again find herself in that situation. Looking around she saw the only possible haven, the bed. Rainbow Dash silently flew over to the bed, lifted the covers that were draping across the floor, and rolled beneath. As soon as she had done so she regretted it. There was hardly any space under the bed and it was an obvious place to check. Why didn't I just fly upwards to the ceiling? thought Rainbow Dash sourly.

She lay there, listening. The creaking had stopped. She lay there beneath the bed, the long covers of the bed concealing her from the outside world. Briefly Rainbow Dash considered peeling them back to look for any signs of the mysterious intruder. Her hoof crept closer towards the covers onto to reel back as she heard a loud creak on the other side. Her breath caught in her throat as the fear crept back up. Her stomach tightened with fear as the blood was taken from it and used to feed her muscles. The urge to scream began to overwhelm her; she could feel it forming in her throat, being fed by the terror she felt but instead she held it in. Her eyes had never gone off the spot where she had heard the creak. Suddenly she heard thumping. It seemed to be coming from everywhere, it was shouting in her ears, revealing her hiding place to whatever was on the other side. Her chest felt as if it was about to explode with the force that her heart was pumping. Her body wanted her to run, to run as fast as her legs could take her out of this horrible house. The room was silent. Only the thumping of her heart was all she could hear. She couldn't hold back the scream any longer but before it could escape her lips she heard the sound of hoofsteps begin to recede away, moving towards the stairs. She heard the stairs creak, one after the other as it climbed down them, more confident this time. Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief.

Rainbow Dash let her heart and nerves settle before pulling back the covers and peering out. The room was once again empty. She crept out from underneath the bed and began to flap her wings, flying made less noise. Hovering above the wooden floor, she began to make her way out of Sugarcube corner, checking every corner just to be safe. As she left the bakery she knew where she must head. If Twilight was still around then she would know what's happening or at least have been smart enough to have left some form of message telling anypony where she was headed. Her home was also the unofficial meeting place for any of her friends whenever something happened so it was the most likely place to find the rest of her friends.

As she flew across town and through the deserted streets she began to feel like eyes on her, just as in Pinkie's. Twilight's house was further north in Ponyville than Sugarcube corner and so she had to pass more houses and buildings to get there. One of these, she realised, was Rarity's. She thought about not checking inside for her friend but although she hadn't seemed like it recently, she was the element of loyalty and she quickly persuaded herself to check inside. She silently dropped to the ground in front of the door to Carousel Boutique. This time the door was closed. Rainbow Dash gently placed a hoof on the sturdy wood and pushed. As the door opened something hit her in the face. Reeling back, Rainbow Dash shook her head and pushed through the strong smell. The boutique was ruined, that was obvious. Dresses that were once proudly displayed were now lying on the floor, ruined, their stands seemingly thrown to the ground. Boxes of accessories and tools were strewn about the floor and within them Rainbow Dash saw something give her a familiar wink. The same dull gold tubes were scattered around the room as well, their presence marking each scene of destruction. Giving another quick look around the room showed that the colourful walls were riddled with small holes. It was obvious that no pony was here, especially not Rarity. She would never leave her boutique in this state. Deciding not to call out, she left the once-beautiful home of fashion and set off to Twilight's.


Rainbow Dash flew quickly but cautiously as she didn't want to fly into a bad situation. As she flew, she shot worried glances to either side of her, checking for whatever seemed to be watching her. There was nothing. The streets were still deserted and the silence deafening. The streets soon cleared and she was presented with the sight of a surprisingly large tree, which looked out of place with its surroundings. She glided towards the ground and approached the wooden door. A sense of foreboding overshadowed her as she went to open the door; it opened before she could touch it.
Standing in front of the open door was a smiling Twilight.
"Rainbow Dash are you alright?" asked the purple unicorn, "Please come inside, you don't look too well."
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile to herself as she walked inside the hollowed tree. She had been expecting a similar scene to Carousel Boutique, a scene of destruction, but instead she had found one of her friends, safe and apparently unharmed. As she sat down she turned to Twilight and gave in to her rising curiosity.
"Twi?"
"Yes?"
"Where is everypony? I haven't seen anypony since I came back," asked Rainbow Dash quizzically.
"Well they've all gone searching for you haven't they?"
Rainbow Dash cocked her head to one side. "You mean the whole town?"
"Of course," answered Twilight matter of factly.
Rainbow Dash tried to hide her smile. The WHOLE town had gone off to search for her; she couldn't help but feel her ego grow. Scenes inside of Rarity's shop, and her concern for her, flooded back.
"But what about Rar…" asked Rainbow Dash before she was interrupted.
"Hold that thought. I just need to go get some cupcakes that Pinkie brought around before she went out to search for you," said Twilight before walking off to where, Rainbow Dash presumed, was the kitchen.
Left to her own thoughts for a few moments, Rainbow Dash began to think about what she had experienced since she had woken up outside of Ponyville. Maybe someponies had gone to Rarity's and in their enthusiasm for finding herself, had accidentally ruined the whole boutique. And while she was hiding under the bed at Pinkies that could have been another pony trying to find her, she felt like such a scared filly. Yet something still didn't seem right with the whole scenario.

It was still nagging her when Twilight returned, levitating a tray full of delicious looking pink cupcakes. Rainbow Dash rose and walked towards Twilight and the floating cupcake tray, a bright smile on her face. She stopped in front of the tray and looked down, her smile instantly faded. Lying amongst the cupcakes was a familiar tube. Her eyes widened. She looked up to her friend. All she saw was two glowering eyes staring at her through a mask of darkness. She tried to back away from the creature but it lashed out at her, grabbing her front legs. It thrust her to the ground, pinning her there. She tried to struggle out of the vice-like grip but it was impossible. Rainbow Dash looked down to her legs and saw the claws of the monsters that had captured her. She screamed.

The scream had filled the inside of the sack that she was in, muffled by the thin fabric wall. Through the darkness she had felt herself being held with the same grip that she had felt in her dream. Her weight had disappeared as she was hoisted up and carried. The terror from the dream had not gone, instead it had been added to by the real life nightmare that she was in. She kicked out wildly in her panic, shouting and screaming as she did so. What she had said she didn't know, what she did know was that she'd hit something. A grunt of pain, as she came into contact with something soft, confirmed this. From then on she had been carried more forcefully and then found herself being emptied in this prison.

How long she had been in here, she couldn't tell. Telling the time here was impossible. There was no sun in this room, only darkness. Yet not even Luna could control the darkness within here. Where she was now was no Equestria, it had never been. She was not meant to be here, nopony should be here, yet she was.

She heard hoofsteps, but they weren't hoofsteps. They were a horrible sound, the most horrible noise that she had ever heard, pounding at her ears, willing her into defeat. She heard them stop in front of the iron door. She retreated to the corner of the room, trying, in vain, to stay as far away as possible from whatever was on the other side. The door opened, blinding her. She shut her eyes as hard as she could, her eyelids becoming a shield against the horrors that she now knew. The sounds came to stop in front of her and she once again felt herself in that iron grip. This time there was no scream.