The next afternoon in Ponyville was cool and dark, a warning of the approaching storms that were scheduled for the day. A harsh wind began to blow, heralding the oncoming rain and sending most ponies running for cover.

All except for two pegasi.

“Let’s go, dad!” Scootaloo cheered, clinging tight to her father’s back as he zigzagged and looped through the sky. Zipline rose above the treetops at a high speed, enjoying the sensation of the wind rushing through his mane, the exhilaration making his heart pound in his chest. A hundred feet above the ground, he stalled briefly, then turned and dove for the ground, speeding up to near-terminal velocity. At the last second, he pulled up, the tips of his wings kissing the grass as he pulled up, laughing.

“How was that, Scoots?” he said, hovering in midair.

“That was awesome!” Scootaloo replied, smiling from ear to ear.

Zipline grinned as well. This was everything that he had dreamed of! Flying free, flying high, his daughter on his shoulders. He was so elated, that he didn’t feel Scootaloo shivering, nor notice that her smile seemed stretched tight.

“Kind of wish Rainbow Dash was here,” Zipline commented.

Scootaloo nodded in agreement. “But it’s getting kind of late,” she added, looking up at the darkening sky. “Mom wouldn’t want us staying out during a storm.”

As if to emphasize her point, there was a distant rumble of thunder. A wave of dark clouds began to roll in over the horizon, bringing in icy winds and rain.

Seeing the storm coming in, Zipline got an idea. “Hang on tight, Scoots!” he shouted, banking hard.

“What are you do—?!” Scootaloo shouted in alarm as Zipline dived right into the midst of the thunderstorm. Thunder rumbled around them, as if trying to warn him off, but Zip ignored the warning. Laughing joyfully, he wooshed through the raging storm, trying to dodge the raindrops. A streak of lightning pierced the sky to his left; he responded by flipping over in midair. Scootaloo cried out in shock, tightening his grip around his neck.

“Dad, stop! Let’s get out of here!” she cried.

“Ah, come on, Scoots, where’s your sense of adventure?” Zipline replied. “Whoo-hoo!” he shouted, zipping up into the clouds. The dark storm clouds pressed around the two of them, as if trying to smother them. Rain pelted every inch of their bodies and thunder rumbled constantly in their ears, as if in disapproval.

“Dad! Stop!” Scootaloo begged.

Zipline just laughed, rolling over and over in midair. “Don’t worry, Scoots, I got—”

At that moment, a streak of lightning burned through the sky just inches from them. Scootaloo screamed in fright, burying her face in Zipline’s mane.

His daughter’s cry snapped Zipline out of his joyful delirium. He stopped in midair, suddenly acutely aware of the trembling, whimpering, delicate little life desperately hanging onto him.

What am I doing? he thought. He was putting his own daughter in danger! Immediately, he dove, flying out of the clouds into clearer, safer skies and making a beeline to home.

“Oh, Scootaloo, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” he shouted, pushing his wings as hard as he could to try to get her to safety. His daughter’s only reply was to whimper and hold him tighter.

As he sped towards their home, Zipline’s mind raced even faster than his wings. He had put both himself and his own daughter in deep danger; worse, he had not thought twice about it, not even realized what he was doing initially. The thought aroused confusion, but not fear.

Dr. Cure’s potion hadn’t just eliminated his fear of heights; it had eliminated his ability to feel fear entirely!

He growled to himself as he recalled Dr. Cure’s voice, his words of encouragement and praise. What a fool he’d been to fall for his honeyed words. Hot anger flowed through his veins, dispelling the chill of the rain. He knew what he had to do.

Finally, they reached their cottage, the lights burning through the surrounding darkness. Alighting at the front porch, Zipline pushed the door open and entered, gently pulling Scootaloo off his shoulders.

“Zipline!” Rain called sternly, entering the room and throwing a towel over the shivering Scootaloo. “I told you to come back inside before it started raining too heavily. Why are you two so wet? Did you go into the storm clouds? You—”

“Rain, not now,” Zipline said shortly, grabbing a rain jacket and tossing it over himself.

“Zipline?” Rain asked, suddenly concerned, a quivering note of fear evident in her voice. “What is it?”

“I’ve made a mistake,” Zipline answered, turning back out the door. “And I’m going to fix it.” Spreading his wings, he took off into the pouring rain, headed for the hedge maze. Rain watched in stunned silence as her husband into the distance, instinctively drawing her still-shaking daughter to her.

The distant rumbling of thunder echoed through the abandoned amusement park, though the rain was still some way off. Inside the back room of the rotting haunted house ride, the pale yellow pegasus bent low over one of his many tables. His hoof hovered over a large box of dirt containing several plants sitting beneath a heat lamp that gave off a low hum. The plants in the box were unusual: each one had five ragged, irregularly shaped leaves, with a marking in the center of each leaf that looked like a yellow eye. A low aroma like meat on the verge of rotting wafted from the leaves.

Doctor Nevermore carefully selected one of the plants, choosing the one that had the most well-defined eyes, and plucked it out of the dirt to expose the roots. The roots looked nothing like a plant: they were dark red and twisted, each root ending in a sharp, claw-like end. Smiling, Doctor Nevermore cut the roots off and placed them into a mortar.

“What is that stuff?” asked the pony standing at the door, nervously shifting from hoof to hoof as he watched the doctor work.

“Draco ungue radix,” Doctor Nevermore explained as he ground the root into powder with a pestle. “In common vernacular, the dragon claw root. It grows only in the warm jungles of the Mysterious South; the tribes there have used it in their rituals since time immemorial. The roots of the plant, when crushed into powder and burned, make a potent hallucinogen, known for generating visions that are both highly realistic and incredibly frightening. It took me years to learn to mix it properly with the correct neurotransmitters and other ingredients, but this plant is the primary component of my fear toxins.”

The other pony was silent. Nevermore glanced up and could tell with one look that most of his lecture had gone well above his henchpony’s head. He sighed and rolled his eyes. Well, it’s not like goons are recommended because of their intelligence…

“Are you sure that the patient is secure?” he asked, pouring the powder into a beaker of bubbling water. The water turned pale red instantly.

“Yes, doctor. She woke up a little while ago. Got quite a mouth on her.”

“We’ll see about that,” Nevermore said, pulling up the hood of his tattered, black cloak and exiting the storeroom. He walked out of the haunted house ride, walking down the dark midway, past the rotting stands of carnival games and snacks with their peeling paint and crumbling boards. The icy wind made his cloak flutter around him like smoke. After a short walk, he reached the former house of mirrors, a small circular building with holes in the roof. Two ponies in trenchcoats, a lanky pegasus with several faint scars around his mouth and a broad-shouldered earth pony with a scraggly beard, stood outside the front door, smoking cigarettes and chatting quietly.

“So that’s the famous Rainbow Dash,” said the pegasus, puffing on his cigarette.

The earth pony grinned, revealing three golden teeth. “Like to see if there’s a treasure at the end of her rainbow.”

The pegasus chuckled. “Me too. Maybe we could double team her. Between the two of us, we could teach her some manners.”

“Bitch got to learn her place,” the earth pony sneered. “She needs to—” He stopped suddenly, the smile disappearing from his blanching face as he saw Nevermore approaching. “Er, doctor,” he whispered.

“I appreciate your eagerness, gentleponies,” Doctor Nevermore said. “But not yet. She needs to be prepared first. Then you can have her.”

“Really?” the two thugs grinned. “Thanks, doc.”

Ignoring them, Doctor Nevermore proceeded to enter the house of mirrors, quietly opening and closing the door behind him. He walked down a short hallway lined with cracked mirrors, his distorted reflection following his every step. Another door waited in front of him; behind it, he could faintly hear angry shouting. Pushing the door open, he beheld a large circular room, harshly lit with a bright, powerful lamp. In the center of the room, right underneath the lamp, was Rainbow Dash. She was tightly strapped down to a metal chair and a blindfold was secured over her eyes. She struggled valiantly against her bonds, growling as she strained against the straps. Several tables loaded with a variety of medical equipment surrounded her.

“Untie me!” Rainbow demanded into the darkness. “When I get out of this, every one of you is going to get your sorry flank kicked into the next week!”

Smirking, Nevermore walked towards her, passing by one of the tables as he did so, pausing briefly to admire the sharp surgical blades arranged on the white plastic. He walked up next to her, so that she heard his hoofsteps and felt his presence. She paused her struggling, turning towards him. “Twilight? Applejack? Who’s there?” she called out uncertainly.

“Your friends aren’t coming to save you, Rainbow Dash,” Nevermore hissed into her ear.

She stiffened in shock, recognizing his voice. Her chest heaved as her breathing accelerated. “You don’t scare me,” she whispered in a tense voice.

“I haven’t tried to yet,” Nevermore replied, reaching for a speaker on a table next to her. He took the attached microphone and strapped it to Rainbow’s chest, right over her heart. She gasped in surprise, flinching from the sudden cold touch. Nevermore then turned the speaker on.

Thud-thump. Thud-thump. Thud-thump. Thud-thump. The sound of Rainbow’s quickening heartbeat filled the room.

“Nopony knows where you are,” Nevermore said, walking to the table with the knives on it. He selected a long, thin scalpel with a triangular blade, designed to slice with precision and strip away the skin. “It will take time for others to realize that you are missing, and even when they do, they will not know where to look.”

“They’ll come,” Rainbow Dash said. He could hear her struggling to keep her voice even. “They’ll come, and when they find you—”

Nevermore interrupted her by turning and placing the scalpel against her neck, applying just enough pressure that she could feel the sharpness of the blade. She gasped and fell silent. Thud-thump, thud-thump, thud-thump, thud-thump.

“It’s all right. I won’t need long,” he explained, allowing the blade to slowly travel up and down her body. “I’ve had a treatment plan prepared for you for many months now.” He allowed the blade to pause at the joint to her wings.

Thud-thump, thud-thump, thud-thump, THUDTHUMP.

“But if you insist on maintaining hope, please do so. The longer you try to hold out, the harder you will feel the blow when it finally falls.” He brought the blade back up to her neck, leaning in close so she could feel his breath on her. “I’m going to bring you to the edge, Rainbow Dash. I’m going to take you into the darkness, and guide you in so deeply that you will never find your way out. You’ll fight and resist every step of the way, but all in vain.

“And then, when I’ve peeled you apart, layer by layer, and stripped your soul bare, when I have broken every shield that you can try to hide behind, when you are literally begging me to kill you just to make the pain stop…”

THUDTHUMPTHUDTHUMPTHUDTHUMPTHUD—

Nevermore suddenly yanked the microphone off her chest, cutting off the sound of her heartbeat. Rainbow Dash froze at the sudden silence, not even daring to breathe.

“Then I’ll kill you,” Nevermore hissed. Rainbow began to breathe again, taking in short, quivering gasps that Nevermore relished. “Oh, hush, little one, don’t cry,” he whispered into her ear in the tone of a parent soothing a child who had just woken up from a nightmare. “It’s okay to be afraid.”

Rainbow shuddered, then renewed her struggles with new, desperate vigor. “HELP! HELP! SOMEPONY HELP!” she screamed out, knowing that there was nopony to hear her.

Laughing raspily, Nevermore replaced the scalpel on the table and selected a glass jar filled with a yellow-green liquid. Unscrewing the top of the jar, he filled a syringe with the liquid, then pressed the syringe against Rainbow’s arm, allowing her to feel the prick of the tip. She stopped struggling, a whimper escaping her.

“Shall we begin?”

Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, Phillip exited the train onto the station platform, rubbing a hoof over his eyes. It had taken him most of last night and yesterday to arrange with the Dodge Junction sheriff and local Guard post for the drug dealer to be extradited to Canterlot for holding and trial. And on top of that, he had slept badly: his dreams were haunted by the feeling of being watched and followed, the familiar face of his phantom stalker flicking in and out of his mind.

The rain on his face revived him a little bit and he started to trot towards his house. Hopefully he could get some rest now...maybe Rainbow Dash would have found something on that convention…

Looking up, he saw Fluttershy trotting towards him, clutching a raincoat around her shivering form. She looked worried; her eyes were wide and searching, and her jaw was clenched. As soon as she saw him, she rushed towards him. “Phillip, Rainbow Dash is missing!”

Her words woke him up instantly. “How long?”

“At least since yesterday,” Fluttershy responded. “I got back from visiting Tree Hugger this morning, and when I went to see her, she wasn’t at her home. I found this note, though.” She pulled out a small folded note and handed it to Phillip.

“‘If you want to know the truth about cure, come to the whitetail woods at eight tonight,’” Phillip read out loud.

“Do you think she’s been kidnapped?” Fluttershy asked, looking horrified at the very thought.

Phillip did not answer her question, although he was sure that he knew the answer. “Come on, I’ll examine this at my lab.”

The two ponies rushed through the rainy streets to 221 B Boulevard, pushing through the door just as the rain began to pour down hard. Not even pausing to shake the rainwater off, they went down into the basement, where Phillip kept his homemade crime laboratory. Dropping the note onto the worktable, Phillip pulled down a magnifier and turned on the lamp so that he could examine the note more closely. Fluttershy hovered over his shoulder, watching him work.

“The only pony who could have known that Rainbow was investigating the seminar would be somepony who attended or worked there,” Phillip said, thinking out loud more for his sake than Fluttershy’s as he examined the type. “Hmm...Fluttershy, on the middle shelf over there, there should be a green notebook, fifth from the left.”

Fluttershy turned to the bookshelf that Phillip had indicated and quickly found the book, handing it to him. He opened it up and began to flip through it; Fluttershy saw that it was a collection of samples of different kinds of type, accompanied by hoofwritten notes.

“Took me two and a half years to make this,” Phillip said, comparing the typed letters taped down to the note to the samples in the book. After several minutes of silence, he tapped his hoof twice on a selection of letters. “Slate type 6. Used in some newspapers, including The Chicoltgo Sun. Makes sense.” He leaned in and examined the paper more closely. “There’s something written underneath here.” Gently, he peeled away the taped-down letters with a tweezer, revealing some words underneath it in a swirling script.

“‘Dedicated to Gentle Glow, the northern star that keeps me moving forwards,’” Phillip read. “This note is originally from a book.”

“Wait a minute,” Fluttershy said. “I know that name…” She closed her eyes in thought for a moment, then said, “Gentle Glow is the wife of Noir Novella. He writes the Detective Wild Goose series.”

Phillip snorted. “I’ve read his work. Penny dreadful sensationalist garbage with an incompetent main character. Might as well be used as manuals to teach detectives what not to do.”

“I like them,” Fluttershy frowned.

Phillip blinked a couple of times, then grunted. “Doesn’t matter. What does matter is that whoever wrote this note cut the letters out of a newspaper and taped them down onto a page from one of Manuscript’s books. And in all likelihood, it was somepony who was working at Dr. Cure’s seminar.”

“Which means we should go over there and start asking questions,” Fluttershy said, then immediately let out a squeak of fright when a thunderclap sounded right above the house.

“You sure?” Phillip asked, looking at her in concern.

“I’m sure,” Fluttershy said, pulling the hood of her raincoat over her head.

“Then let’s go,” Phillip said, tucking the note into his vest and zipping his vest all the way up. The two ponies exited the house and started to trot quickly towards the hedge maze through the rain.

Suddenly, Phillip stopped, freezing in place. His head snapped straight up towards the hedge maze, his eyes narrowing as a small shiver that had nothing to do with the icy rain traveled up his body.

“Come on!” he shouted, spurred into a sprint by his crime sense warning, Fluttershy flying close behind.

When Zipline reached the center of the hedge maze, the rain was coming down hard. The seminar was closed for the weather, although the tents still stood sentinel. A couple of security ponies were wandering around, clutching rain jackets and flashlights, and Zipline landed right in front of one. This pony, a pegasus with the name tag Star Watcher, jumped slightly at his sudden appearance. Zipline’s eyes briefly drifted down to the distinctive bulge underneath the other pony's left shoulder.

“Where’s Dr. Cure?” Zipline demanded.

Star Watcher blinked a couple of times, then turned and gestured for Zipline to follow him. He led him over to a private tent near the back of the setup. Opening up the flap, he stuck his head inside. “Dr. Cure, somepony here to see you.”

Zipline pushed past him and entered the tent, shaking his sopping mane out of his eyes. He glared at Dr. Cure, who was sitting at a small table, sipping from a steaming flask of tea and playing solitaire. He smiled up at Zipline as he entered. “I thought I’d be seeing you again, private.”

“What did you do to me?” Zipline demanded.

“I did what I promised to do,” Dr. Cure said evenly. “I took away your fear. All of your fear.”

“You didn’t say that it’d take away my common sense!” Zipline shouted. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Star Watcher standing at the entrance to the tent, slowly raising his right hoof towards his coat. “You made me put my daughter in danger!”

“No, you did,” Dr. Cure said, his snake-like smile never leaving his face. “It was your decision, your choices. I merely took away your inhibitions, let your true self emerge.”

“I didn’t—” Zipline sputtered. “You...give me the antidote!”

Dr. Cure took another long sip of tea, staring at Zipline the entire time. “I will,” he said. “But first, you need to do something for me. It’s taken me ages to perfect this formula, and it cost quite a bit. I’m going to have to ask for some of my investment back.”

“I’ll pay you. Whatever you want. Just—”

Dr. Cure chuckled once. “I’m afraid it’s more than you can pay. However, there is a way you can repay me. I was just reading in the local paper that Spoiled Rich has just bought a collection of very expensive diamonds.”

“What?!” Zipline shouted. “You want me to steal for you?!”

“I imagine with your lack of fear and your tactical ability, it would be an easy task for you,” Dr. Cure said. “But if you don’t want to, or if you discuss this with anypony, I’m sure that I could make some time to visit your daughter. The two of us could probably discuss what it’s like to be the daughter of a pegasus who is afraid to fly, and how that has affected her life…”

Dr. Cure had planned this out. He had spent whole nights imagining this moment when he laid down his cards on the table and made his threat, when he saw the fear spread across his puppet’s face.

But he had made a serious miscalculation; he hadn't figured on the possibility that his grip on the strings wasn't as tight as he thought. He had forgotten that his puppet was no longer afraid of anything, and you cannot threaten somepony who fears nothing.

With a roar of fury, Zipline tossed the table aside and seized Dr. Cure by the throat, tightening his grip like a vice. Star Watcher reacted immediately, pulling the gun out of his holster and taking aim. Seeing the movement out of the corner of his eye, Zipline seized the flask of tea that had spilled on the ground and threw it into Star Watcher’s face. The hot liquid scalded the guard’s face, causing him to flinch. Dropping Dr. Cure, Zipline flew forward, seized Star’s gun, and smashed him in the face with it, breaking his nose and sending blood flying. Twisting the weapon out of his hoof, Zipline struck him across the jaw, knocking him down.

“Guards! Guards! Help!” Dr. Cure screamed, stumbling and sprinting out of the tent and into the open area. Flying out after him, Zipline tackled him to the ground, pinning the smaller unicorn in the mud. Other security ponies began to run out into the open, some of them drawing their own weapons.

“Get back!” Zipline shouted in the commanding, authoritative voice that he had been trained to use in the Royal Guard, rising up on his hooves and aiming the stolen weapon in Dr. Cure’s face. “Get back or I’ll shoot him!”

The guards stopped immediately, staring in uncertainty. Having momentarily taken care of the threat, Zipline looked down at the whimpering, shaking unicorn beneath him, staring up at him utter terror, his suit ruined by the rain and mud. Despite his fury, Zipline’s mind was clear; his hoof did not shake as he aimed the weapon directly between his enemy’s eyes.

“Now listen to me,” he snarled. “I’m going to give you til the count of five. And if you don’t give me the antidote, I’m going to open up your skull and spread your brains out over the mud.”

Author's Notes:

Here's where the story kicks up. This is also usually where my writing just flies right out the window.

I really didn't like writing the scene with Nevermore and Rainbow, but I knew it was necessary. Besides, what did you think a sadistic sociopathic mad scientist would do with his prisoner? Play charades?