• Published 16th Apr 2014
  • 17,724 Views, 744 Comments

It's a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door - Jetfire2012



When an accident leaves Twilight Sparkle seriously ill, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity must undertake a perilous journey to find her a cure. What adventures await them beyond Equestria's borders?

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Chapter 13

“And he said they go all over the world delivering messages!”

“Uh-huh,” Applejack said nonchalantly, taking a bite of grass.

“Can you imagine that? All over the world! Think of the awesome things he's seen! All the cool creatures he's met!”

“Uh-huh,” Applejack murmured again.

“Are you even listening?” Rainbow Dash asked in annoyance.

“Uh-huh,” Applejack said. She looked up and smiled. “Sorry, sugarcube, what was that?”

Dash groaned. “I've been trying to tell you all morning about the awesome creature I met last night! He's a pronghorn! I didn't even know there was such a thing!”

“I've been listening, Dash,” Rarity said, using her magic to roll up her blanket. She drew out the air from it to compress it, then slid it into one of her saddlebags. “I think it's certainly fascinating. A whole worldwide system of messengers, zipping around and connecting all the lands! How sophisticated.”

“Hold up, now- messengers?” Applejack asked, pricking up her ears.

“Um, duh, yes! That's what I've been saying!” the sky-blue pegasus cried. “I met one last night! His name is Niles Nigellus, and I'm going to meet with him again tonight!”

“And you were sayin' somethin' about lightnin'?” the orange earth pony said, her previously placid expression beginning to harden.

“Yeah! That's the best part!” Dash was quivering with excitement. “Niles said that the pronghorns get around the world by riding lightning bolts! It's super-fast, they can travel all the way around the world in one day! And,” she squealed, “he said they might be able to teach me! After all these years I would finally get to learn to control lightning! You don't understand how amazing this is! I've been waiting for this almost my whole life!”

Applejack had grown more and more upset as her friend had talked. Now, she was grimacing. “So... this lightnin' ridin' business, it's real fast?”

“Yeah, that's what I just said!” Dash exclaimed, still caught up in her excitement. “Around the world in one day!”

“So I reckon it wouldn't take any time to get to Ponyville from here that way, would it?”

“Nope, it sure wouldn't!”

Applejack's face contorted with anger. “So let me get this straight. You met some creature that can travel real fast- around the world in one day- and you didn't think to ask him, not once, if he could go and get the Beneviolet from the Archback Mountains?”

The good humor vanished from Rainbow Dash's face. “Oh. I... I didn't think...”

“No! You didn't think!” Applejack yelled, advancing on Dash. “You didn't think about Twilight at all! You didn't think about us! You were just focused on how good this was for you!”

Dash began to stumble backwards, retreating from the orange earth pony. “I... I'm sorry...”

“If you were less selfish and immature, we might have the Beneviolet right now! It might even be in Ponyville right now ready for Twilight to chomp it down! But no! You were too caught up in your lightin' dreams!”

“I'm not selfish!” Dash snapped, finally rising to her own defense. “I... I have to learn this! That's why I didn't think of Twilight! This is important to me!”

“More important than the life o' your friend?!”

“Applejack, I think-”

“No!” Applejack snapped. “Don't you defend her, Rarity! She needs to hear every bit o' this! She needs to feel ashamed!”

“I simply think that-”

Rarity!” the orange earth pony snapped again.

“Don't yell at me!” Rarity said angrily.

“You don't understand...” the sky-blue pegasus said lamely.

“I understand plenty! I understand that you just don't care!” Applejack was well and truly angry now. Her dark red armor made her appear even more ferocious, and Dash quailed under her furious gaze. “Honestly, Rainbow, why'd you even come on this trip?! It can't have been because you wanted to help Twilight Sparkle. I seem to recall you only wantin' to come so you could prove how fast you were! You weren't thinkin' about Twilight at all! You never were!”

“Don't you dare say that!” Dash roared, striding up to Applejack and putting her snout in her face. “Don't you dare say that about me! I would give up everything for Twilight! I would die for her! For any of my friends!”

“Yet you won't think to get her help when it's slappin' you in the face!”

You don't understand!

“I UNDERSTAND PLENTY!”

“That is enough! Enough!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash suddenly shimmered across their entire bodies. They were dragged apart, Applejack's hooves leaving grooves in the dirt. Rarity's horn didn't shimmer, it shone, casting stark shadows across her graceful face. Cutting off her magic, the white unicorn turned to Applejack. “Applejack, you haven't given Dash much chance to defend herself.” She turned to Dash. “Rainbow Dash, you have to admit, she has a point. Your pronghorn friend could have solved our problem swiftly. Why didn't you think to mention Twilight?”

The sky-blue pegasus' whole body drooped. “I... I did mention her a little... but I just couldn't think about anything but lightning once he mentioned it.”

Rarity raised one elegant eyebrow. “Why?”

Dash's rose-colored eyes wavered. “B-because. It's something I've never been able to learn and I wanted to learn it.”

Rarity fixed her with a careful stare. “No,” she said, “there's more to it than that, isn't there? Why is this so important to you, Dash?”

Dash's whole body suddenly grew pale. “I... it's like I said! It's something I've always wanted to do!”

“I know a lie when I hear one,” Applejack said, her voice somewhat less fierce. “Is there a reason lightnin' is so important to you, Rainbow?”

“I...”

“Please, Dash,” Rarity said gently, “please tell us. We're your friends. You can trust us.”

The sky-blue pegasus flinched back from her friends, her rainbow-striped mane hanging limply over her forehead. She looked at the ground, painful feelings playing out across her face. Then she raised her head, and she looked as though she were badly hurt. “Okay... okay. You can't tell anypony this, okay? Nopony in Ponyville gets to hear this. I... I can't bear for them to know. The only ponies that really know besides me are my parents and a few of the old ponies in Cloudsdale. I've never actually told anypony about this.”

Applejack and Rarity exchanged glances. “We promise, Dash,” Rarity said. “Not a word.”

If this is good,” Applejack added menacingly.

“Applejack,” Rarity scolded her.

The orange earth pony bit her lip and relaxed her face. “All right, fine, I promise. Now start talkin'.”

Rainbow Dash took a long, deep breath, then let it slowly out, until her lungs were nearly empty. She breathed in again, and out again. She raised her eyes and looked right into her friends' faces. “When I was little, just a foal, I was... small.”

“Heh, you're still kinda small, Shorty,” Applejack remarked.

“Do you want to hear this or not?” Dash snapped. When Applejack said nothing, Dash grimaced and continued. “But I mean, I was really small, and really weak. I was a runt. Most foals take their first steps right after they're born, and pegasuses always flap their wings right after. But my mom said I just laid there. I didn't even open my eyes for a day. A whole year went by, and they said I could barely move- that I would just lay in my bed. I wouldn't even cry. I eventually learned to stand and walk, but I couldn't flap my wings. And I couldn't run, either. My parents thought I would just be a late flyer, but by the time I was two they were really worried. They started looking around for trainers- pegasuses that could help me get stronger and learn how to fly. I went through two, maybe three; I barely remember them. But I do remember the day my parents took me to meet the next one. She was waiting for us in a big field of clouds. She was so big to me, she towered over me. Her coat was hot pink and her mane was bright blue.” A smile slowly crept over Dash's face. “Her name was Firefly.

“The first thing she said to me, the first words I actually remember anypony saying to me, were 'This one wants to fly.' My parents say she agreed to help me for free. When we had our first lesson together, she was very polite to my parents, and she promised she would take good care of me.” Dash's smile grew broader. “Then when they were gone, she said 'Every pegasus knows in their heart how to fly. You just need to do it.' Then she threw me off the edge of the cloud.”

“Good heavens!” Rarity gasped.

“I fell, and I screamed, and I cried, but I flapped- for the first time, I flapped my wings. Firefly let me fall a long way before she flew down and caught me. I know she wouldn't have done that if she hadn't been sure she could catch me. She never put me in real danger. She said to me, 'Dash, I know when you stare with your eyes at me that you have the spirit of a great flyer. But you don't have the body of a flyer, and the spirit can't go far without a body to support it. You must make your body. And I'm going to help you.'

“We met every day, and every day Firefly pushed me farther than I thought I could go. We ran, we lifted weights, she even made me wear weights around my legs and on my back. She taught me to buckbox. She would push my wings against my sides and make me try and open them. Every night I came home, I was exhausted. My parents were worried at first; they thought Firefly was working me too hard. But she told them this was what I needed. And she promised she would never hurt me. She never did.

“After a month, I could actually run. She took over my meals, making sure I ate more protein and got more... iron, I think. And she made me work harder than ever. It's all kind of a blur to me now; it was just week after week and month after month of hard work. I got taller and stronger. I could run a little faster every week. And my wings were growing stronger and stronger. Then there was one day. I remember it really well. The sun was setting, we had just finished lifting weights. A breeze blew through my wings, they were open, so I started to flap them. I flapped harder and harder. Then... I lifted off the ground.” Dash's rose eyes wavered. “I remember Firefly's face. She was so happy. She said... she always knew I could do it.

“Once I could get airborne, she started teaching me about actual flying. That went by fast. It turns out that once I could actually fly I was a natural at it! She kept making me train hard, on top of the flight training. By the time I was ready for school, I was running and flying almost nonstop.” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Ha! On my first day I saw some other fillies picking on this one girl. I challenged the leader to a race, and I won. Then I punched her in the face! I got kicked out and my parents had to sign a form so the school would let me come back. Best first day of school ever!” Her smile dimmed a bit, her eyes lowering to the ground. “Firefly stopped being my trainer once I was in school, but she never stopped visiting me. At least once a week we would go flying together, and she was always showing me her amazing tricks! I wouldn't be the pony I am today without her.”

“So where does the lightnin' come in?” Applejack asked.

“That was Firefly's thing. She could control lightning- she was amazing at it! Sure, the other weather ponies could buck it and sometimes make it appear during storms, but Firefly could make it out of thin air, and she could make it do whatever she wanted. It was her special talent: her cutie mark was two lightning bolts on either flank. I could sometimes see her outside my window during the big storms. She would fly and wrap herself in lightning until she shone. She could run the electricity through her body and channel it through her wings. I think part of it was- oh, yeah, I have to tell you girls about this part, it's... it's important.” Dash's face darkened. “You know how I've said that pegasuses don't get cold?”

“I seem to recall you mentioning that,” Rarity said.

“Well, we don't. No matter how cold it gets, it never bothers us. But we feel heat just like earth ponies and unicorns- we can't take any more of it than you all can, maybe a little less. But Firefly never got hot. She wasn't affected by heat at all. I once saw her stand in the middle of a fire, and she wasn't even singed! I think that's part of why she could run the lightning right through her body. But she never said it was because of that. She always told me a regular pegasus could learn to do it. She... she said one day she would teach me how...” Dash's voice hitched.

Rarity's blinked her deep blue eyes. “Something happened to her, didn't it?”

“I...” the sky-blue pegasus swallowed hard. “Okay, I just said that pegasuses don't get cold but do get hot, right?”

“Uh-huh,” Applejack said.

“Well, like I said, Firefly could take the heat- a lot of heat. But it wasn't just that. She was the complete opposite of a normal pegasus. She never got hot, but she got just as cold when the temperature dropped as a unicorn or an earth pony. She had to sleep in real blankets at night, not cloud blankets, because it gets so cold at night in Cloudsdale. She couldn't help with the preparations for winter because she couldn't stand the cold. But there was one day.” Dash took a deep breath. “I... was just about five. The autumn was really wet, so there was a lot of moisture in the air, and then one night it got really cold. A huge storm formed completely randomly out of the north and started heading towards Cloudsdale. It was so big it took the entire Weather Patrol to go deal with it. But then the spotters noticed another storm, this one coming out of the east. This one was even bigger, and it was dropping sleet and freezing rain. It's really bad when super-cold stuff falls on Cloudsdale, because it makes the clouds that form the buildings less stable. If enough of it falls whole chunks of the city can collapse, and it looked like there was a lot of cold sleet in this one. So all the big ponies were getting together and deciding which of them were gonna go and try to stop this new storm. The problem was that all the really fast and slick ponies were already in the Weather Patrol, and they had all gone out to stop the first storm! Everypony who was left was either too old or too young or just too slow and stiff. My parents were at the meeting; they said there was a lot of arguing over who was even capable of flying through the storm.

“While they were talking, they set another watch outside Cloudsdale to keep an eye on the new storm. My parents said that suddenly the watchponies burst in and yelled that the storm was breaking up. All the pegasuses flew out to look, and it was true! The storm was splitting up and drifting apart in two different directions. Nopony could believe it. It parted almost perfectly around Cloudsdale, and the whole city was safe and dry. The Weather Patrol dealt with the first storm, and when they came back everypony was talking about the miracle that had saved Cloudsdale. It seemed like there was a party in everypony's house, and the mayor even threw a celebration!” Dash's brow grew heavy. She glanced toward the ground. “Then... after a few days... I... I realized I hadn't seen Firefly in a while.”

“Oh no,” Rarity whispered.

“I went by her house. I thought I would just knock on the door... but it was open. She... she wasn't there. But on her table I found a note. I was still too young to read, so I brought it to my parents. My mother started to cry as she read it. Then she read it again... out loud... to me.” Rainbow Dash raised her head and looked with haunted eyes at Rarity and Applejack. “Firefly wrote that she knew she was in the best shape of anypony left in Cloudsdale. She knew she could stop the storm all on her own. Even... even though it was going to be so cold. She said to tell everypony goodbye. And she...” Dash closed her eyes tightly and let out a shuddering breath. “She said goodbye to me.” Her eyes snapped open. “Me! She didn't have any family, so the only pony she mentioned by name was me! She said she was so proud of me!” She lowered her head again. “I never even saw her...”

Neither Rarity nor Applejack could find their voices for a moment. “I...” Rarity began. “I'm so sorry, Dash.

“She never got to teach me how to control lighting,” the sky-blue pegasus said softly. “And now I have to learn it. I have to learn it for her. But I've tried and tried and tried. I've gone through so many teachers and so many different lessons, but I just can't get it. For a while now I've just... given up. But now- now Niles says he thinks I can learn. So I have to take this chance. I can't let it pass me by! And... that's why I was so excited. I forgot about everything else. I'm sorry.” Dash finished and looked hopefully at Applejack and Rarity.

Applejack was staring hard at the ground, her green eyes betraying only the faintest hint of a waver. Rarity seemed to be fighting back tears. “But Dash... why don't you want anypony to know that story? I know it's very sad, but... it's so beautiful.”

“Because I have a reputation in Ponyville,” Rainbow Dash said, rising to her hooves. “I'm Rainbow Dash- the bravest and fastest pony of them all! I know I inspire other ponies, and don't say that's me getting a big head, because it's true! You know how all the kids look up to me. Some of them practically worship me!” She smiled, though her eyes were still sad. “They need their hero, right? What would they think of me if they knew I used to be so... weak?”

“But you overcame that weakness, didn't you?” Rarity said. “You're an even more amazing pony for having started where you did.”

“Maybe...” Dash murmured. “But it is what it is, now. I need to be what they need me to be. And that's another reason I have to learn to control lightning. So I can come closer to being as amazing as everypony thinks I am.”

“All right,” Applejack said abruptly, rising to her hooves. “We've wasted enough daylight. Let's pack 'em up and move 'em out.” She went to check her saddlebags. The other two travelers shared a final look, then went to their own provisions.

The three of them packed up and moved out, Rainbow Dash galloping once again, moving at the same brisk pace they had tried to keep throughout the journey. Galloping was still harder work than flying, but now Dash needed the strain and the stress. She felt spiritually drained, as though she had vomited up a meal and her stomach was empty. The work and the sweat were welcome distractions, so for the ensuing hours she threw herself into the journey, matching Applejack at the front. The orange earth pony studiously avoided her eyes, staring straight ahead. Thoughts crept into Dash's mind despite her efforts. Is she still disappointed in me?, she thought. She probably is. She probably doesn't think that was a good excuse. I bet she wanted to say that I should suck it up and move on. But she couldn't. She had tried 'sucking it up.' She had tried to forget about lightning, tried to tell herself that she didn't need to learn to control it to remember Firefly. But every time she saw a thunderstorm, every time a bolt or a sheet of lightning lit the turbulent sky, all her memories and all her regrets poured back in. Maybe Firefly didn't need her to learn lightning, but she needed it- for herself.

They stopped for lunch when the sun was high in the sky, baking the golden fields. There was almost no breeze; the air was hot and still. Dash had been almost blind to her surroundings, focused on the exertion and swept up in her thoughts. Looking ahead of her, she saw the Archback Mountains huge and solid, a dark empire of rock capped at its jagged peaks by the white of snow. Beneath the mountains, a darker band, black with a hint of green, ran across the whole expanse of the horizon. With her pegasus eyes Dash could begin to pick out a few well-defined individual trees. “So...” she spoke, her voice thick with lack of use, “I guess that's the Shimmerwood.”

“It don't seem to shimmer much from where I can see,” Applejack remarked. “Rainbow, can you see much inside?”

“Not yet,” Dash said. “I can just now pick out a few trees.”

“Well, keep an eye on it,” the orange earth pony told her. “From what Lord Hammer Hoof said, it ain't just gonna be a normal forest.” She looked over her shoulder; Rarity was lying on the ground, breathing hard, using her magic to move the air around her into a faint breeze. Squaring up her withers, Applejack walked around Rainbow Dash until she faced her, looked her in the eye. “Rainbow.”

“Huh?” Dash said, catching her friend's eyes. The seriousness of Applejack's expression made Dash's ears flatten. “What? What's wrong?”

“Rainbow, I...” Applejack broke eye contact, then forced herself to resume it. “Rainbow, I'm sorry.”

“Oh,” Dash said softly. “No, it's okay.”

“No, it ain't,” Applejack said. “I didn't know about your thing with Firefly. I didn't know that lightnin' was so important to you. And even if that weren't the case... I... I shouldn't have gotten as cross as I did.”

“No, seriously,” the sky-blue pegasus said, “I understand. I'm sorry I didn't mention how serious our journey was to Niles the first time. I should have, even if lightning is that important to me. I promise to mention it to him tonight. I promise, even if he tells me that he can't teach me. If he can't help me, he can still help Twilight Sparkle.”

“Glad to hear it,” Applejack said. Then she leaned her head in close. “And Rainbow,” she stared hard at Dash, “don't ever assume me or Rarity or any of us won't understand what you're goin' through. Between me and her and Twilight and Fluttershy and Pinkie, one of us'll always know where you're comin' from.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I know what it's like to lose somepony important to you.”

“I... yeah,” Dash whispered.

“If you ever wanna talk about it, I'm always ready,” she said. “Now come on, let's eat.” The orange earth pony wandered toward a patch of tall grass and ripped off a chunk in her mouth. Dash, feeling considerably less gloomy, joined her by her side. They ate in silence, but it was once more the comfortable silence that they both so cherished.

After allowing Rarity a bit more time to rest, the three of them resumed their journey. The sun traveled slowly across the sky. They heard komagas howl once in the distance, but the great lizards never showed themselves. The Shimmerwood crept closer and closer as they galloped. More and more, both the size of the forest as a whole and the size of its great trees were apparent. The top of the canopy towered off the ground, far taller than the Ponyville Library's highest branches. As evening began they had to cross another small river. The sun sank low, and the Archback Mountains now so dominated the horizon that before the sky was more than faintly orange the sun was touching the peaks. The mountains turned black in the stark shadows. The sky grew more fiery, and the long shadow of the mountains muted the burning orange that had so regularly characterized Gildedale at sunset.

Rainbow Dash almost didn't realize the significance of the time. “Oh!” she exclaimed, suddenly remembering. “We need to stop soon! Niles said for me to be visible at sunset!”

“Just a little bit further!” Applejack called. “I wanna get us closer to the wood!”

As Dash looked back ahead, she noticed something on the horizon. At first she wondered if it might not be another marker, signifying the western portion of Gildedale like the eastern marker they had seen days earlier. It quickly proved to be nothing of the sort. “Look!” she cried. “Up there! Dead ahead!”

Applejack and Rarity looked. Though it was difficult for them to see, soon the horizon revealed a small speck. It grew larger as they approached, and soon they could clearly make it out: it was a tree! “Let's head for it!” Applejack cried, steering them toward the unusual sight.

As they drew closer, they could see it more clearly. It was an oak tree, alone amidst the golden fields. Its spreading branches were thick with the wild green leaves of early spring. The three ponies slowed to a trot. Applejack immediately scoured the ground beneath the tree, and to her delight saw just what she was looking for. “Boy howdy! Dead branches!” she exclaimed. “We can have us a real fire tonight! No more fast-burnin' grass!”

“So can we stop here? Please?” Rainbow Dash said, looking anxiously at the sky. It was dark orange, rapidly darkening further to red.

“Yep, this is a great spot for camp tonight,” Applejack said. “And we're real close to the Shimmerwood.” The wood was black in the shadow of the mountains, a dim cluster at the base of the jagged stone. “I bet we can get there by mid-mornin' tomorrow.”

“Okay yeah great!” Dash said swiftly, flapping her wings. Shooting into the sky, she rose more than a hundred feet before slowing to a hover. She looked toward the west at the shadowy mountain peaks. She hoped there was enough light in the sky for Niles to see her. She didn't even know where he would be coming from. She flapped her wings and rose a dozen feet more. She spun slowly around, scanning the ground for miles in every direction as she rotated. She didn't know how sharp his eyes were. The moon wasn't up yet, being past full and rising later. Could he see her? He hadn't been bothered by the prospect, or at least he hadn't said anything. I hope he can find me, she thought.

Suddenly, a lightning bolt flashed down from the sky to her left. It was from the south, and there were no clouds in the sky. Smiling, Dash dove toward the ground, pulling up in a swirl of wind that scattered the pile of dead wood Applejack and Rarity had been gathering. “He's coming!” she cried excitedly. “He's coming he's coming he's coming! He sees me!”

“Wonderful,” Rarity remarked, using her magic to pick up the wood once more. “So what's he like?”

“Well, he's... kinda weird,” the sky-blue pegasus said, touching down on the ground. “He's super nice, and really polite. He talks funny, kind of like you, Rarity.”

“Pardon me,” the white unicorn said primly, “but I do not 'talk funny.' I speak as befits a lady of distinction.”

“Yeah, that's what I meant, he talks kind of like that. Only it's not really the same.”

Rarity sighed. “Well, I hope he is as polite as you say. I would certainly appreciate some courtesy when-”

“Good evening everyone!” A voice cried brightly from behind Rarity, and before anypony could blink Niles Nigellus was in their midst. “Hello, hello, hello! Hello there, Rainbow Dash! And these must be your friends!”

Applejack and Rarity stared wide-eyed at the pronghorn, lithe and lean and built for speed. Dash grinned. “Hi there, Niles! Yeah, these are the two friends I was telling you about last night! That's Applejack, and that's Rarity!”

Niles bowed, lowering his head. “I am Niles Nigellus, Messenger of the Pronghorn Network. I am delighted to make your acquaintance.”

Rarity regained her composure and lowered her head. “Good evening, sir. It is a great pleasure to meet you.”

Niles approached her. He daintily extended a long front leg, cupping a foreleg under Rarity's own front hoof; he raised it, lowered his head, and kissed it softly. “It is a supreme delight to make the acquaintance of so charming and polite a unicorn. Among a type of ponies known for their grace and poise, you are truly distinct.”

Rarity angled her head and fluttered her eyelashes. “Why, good sir, you flatter me. I didn't know I was in the presence of a gentlecolt.”

“I am not much of a colt, I'm afraid,” Niles said, lowering her hoof. “But to meet with your approval is high praise indeed.” He turned toward Applejack, who had watched their greeting with some apprehension. He smiled. “I take it no kisses for you, my dear?”

Applejack took her hat off and inclined her head. “If'n you'd like, sir, you can kiss me, but I've no great need of it. A simple hello is fine by me.”

“Then hello. It is very nice to meet you.”

“You as well, sir,” Applejack said. “It's mighty nice to meet somep- er, some creature so upstandin'.”

“It comes with the job, dear Applejack,” Niles said. “Good manners are essential for a messenger. It gains us access to reluctant destinations and wins us favor with hesitant recipients. Not to mention it saves us from the wrath of bad news.”

“My word,” Rarity said, “does that happen often?”

“With a smile and a how-you-do, not as much,” the pronghorn said. “But I'm sure you've heard the axiom 'don't shoot the messenger.' Well, the saying came to be for a reason.”

“I guess you guys have to be pretty careful,” Dash said. She was trying with all her might to keep calm and be polite. But inside she was burning. She had to know. “So... did you have a nice trip? Er... I mean, here?”

“It wasn't far at all,” Niles said. “It's gotten nice and cool, too; very good evening for a run.” He looked into her rose eyes. “Oh, yes...” His long face grew solemn. “Rainbow Dash: I have consulted with two of my colleagues.”

“Yeah?” Dash said, a forced smile on her face.

“Between the three of us, we have decided...” Dash almost flinched, bracing for the worst. “... that we are willing to give you a try at learning our magic.”

The sky-blue pegasus' brain froze for a moment. She haltingly regained herself. “So- so you'll teach me? You'll let me learn?!” A huge smile stretched her mouth from ear to ear.

“Whether you learn is ultimately up to you. But we are willing to teach you.”

“WOOHOO!!!” Dash yelled, shooting off the ground. She did several loop-de-loops in the air, spiraling and corkscrewing around. “WOOHOO! WOOHOO! WOOHOO! I'M GONNA DO IT!!”

“Thank you very much,” Rarity said to Niles. “This really does mean a great deal to her.”

“I can see that,” Niles said, watching the pegasus' acrobatics.

“All right all right this is awesome!” Dash exclaimed, landing on the ground with a stomp of her hooves. “So when can we go?! Can we go now?! I wanna get started right now!”

“Hold up, Rainbow,” Applejack said. “We haven't even had dinner yet. It can at least wait til after that.”

“Yes, that's a good idea,” Niles said. “The business could take some time, and it wouldn't do for you to get hungry in the middle of it.”

“Awww,” Dash grumbled, crossing her hooves over her chest. “But I wanna go now...”

“Patience,” Niles gently said. “Be calm.” His eyes closed. “Breathe.” He opened his eyes again.

Dash's lower eyelids raised in uncertainty. “Um... okay.”

“Would you like to join us for dinner, Master Nigellus?” Rarity asked. “We would be most grateful for your company.”

Niles grinned. “I don't see why not, provided I won't be eating some other creature's food.”

“There's plenty to go around,” Applejack said. “We got apples and carrots and potatoes and bread, and there's always lots o' grass around. Actually, we were just gonna build a fire.” She motioned toward the pile of wood that she and Rarity had recollected. It was in a small pit they had dug close to the base of the oak tree.

“Oh, wonderful,” Niles said. “Will you be doing any grilling?”

“Er- I didn't think so,” Applejack said. “I mean, I've had grilled apples before-”

“And they're delicious, aren't they? I've had them once before in Laplaula. Nice and tart and warm.”

“Oh, sure, I love 'em too,” Applejack said brightly. “We love to make big ol' applekebabs back at Sweet Apple Acres on summer nights. But I didn't bring a knife to cut 'em with.”

“Oh, for goodness sake, Applejack,” Rarity remarked, “you know I can cut them with magic, right?”

The orange earth pony blinked. “Huh, I guess I forgot. I also wasn't real sure you'd have that fine a control-”

“Well if you're asking me to dice them, that's one thing,” the white unicorn said. Her horn shimmered, and Applejack's saddlebags were thrown open. “But if it's a simple matter of splitting them down the middle...” There was a rustling through the saddlebags, and Rarity narrowed her eyes in concentration. Four apples were lifted from the right bag after more searching. Setting three of them on the ground, Rarity levitated one of them right in front of her and focused on it, her blue eyes fixed on the shiny red skin. Her horn began to shine brighter, her brow furrowing in concentration. There was a soft tearing sound, then a sharp rip, and the apple split in two, juicy white flesh glistening on both halves.

“Please,” Niles said, “allow me.” A shimmering field enveloped his two horns, and the three remaining apples rose off the ground. He fixed his dark eyes upon them, inclining his head gently. There was another sharp rip, and one of the apples split down the middle. With a third rip, the second of them split.

“I'll do the last one,” Rarity said, not wanting to be shown up too badly. She wrapped her magic around the last intact apple. Niles released his own hold, and she once more bent her will upon the fruit. She was more prepared this time, so with little further effort the apple split down the middle.

“Heh, this'll be a taste o' home,” Applejack said brightly. “If y'all are willin' to keep 'em floatin', we can grill 'em right over the fire. Now I just need to get the firestarter...”

“I can take care of that as well,” Niles said, stepping over to the pile of logs. With a crackle, sparks began to race up and down his horns. A bright white line rose between them, and a lightning bolt shot through the air. Applejack braced herself for the bolt to blast the log pile apart, but the crackling blaze of energy instead coiled itself around the logs, wrapping them in its white-hot radiance. The logs were quickly smoking, and soon a fire sprouted, enveloping the dry tinder. As briskly as it had appeared, the lightning vanished.

Rainbow Dash could barely contain her excitement. “That was so cool!” she exclaimed.

“You're right handy to have around, Mister Nigellus,” Applejack remarked.

“Please,” he said, “call me Niles.”

“Well then, if you and Rarity will get those apples grillin', I'll strip out o' this here armor and get out the rest of the provisions,” Applejack said, sitting down and beginning to undo the straps on her champron.

Niles glanced curiously at her as he floated his four apple halves over the roaring flames. “That armor is from Gildedale, isn't it?”

“Uh-huh,” Applejack said. “It used to belong to the daughter o' the Lord of the Dale.”

“My word!” the pronghorn exclaimed. “However did you come to have it?”

“Prince Ashtail himself gave it to her, as a reward for solving Gildedale's komaga problem,” Rarity said. She levitated the four apple halves she controlled over the fire besides Niles'.

Four apple halves wobbled; Niles quickly steadied his magic. “Solved? What do you mean, solved?”

“Oh, it was so cool!” Dash said, scooting closer to the fire. “See, apparently for like hundreds of years the Daleponies have been killing the komagas when they came across them, because that's what they thought they had to do, right?”

“I am familiar with that.”

“Yeah, well, see, Applejack figured out that the komagas actually don't want to attack anypony at all! They're just scared and stampeding when they run across Gildedale! So she made three lassos, and she and Rarity and I all went out and changed the direction of a huge komaga herd! We herded them, just like you'd herd stampeding cows!”

“My word!” Niles cried again. “I... I would never have dreamed of such a thing. And not a single one was killed?”

“Not a one,” Applejack said with pride. She unfastened the straps on one of her leather greaves. “It was mighty shockin' to the Daleponies, too.”

“I'll say!” Niles said. “To hear that the komagas aren't at all aggressive... it... it goes against everything the Daleponies have ever told me. To buck centuries of tradition like that... How did Lord Hammer Hoof take it?”

“He was a real gentlecolt about it,” the orange earth pony said. “Admitted he was wrong and everythin'. Even gave us free passage across Gildedale, now and whenever we want.”

“For performing a feat like that, I can imagine so,” the pronghorn said. “You three... you are quite the ponies. To come all this way and still have the strength to do so much is remarkable.”

“All in a day's- oh!” Dash's mind flashed with the reminder. “Oh! Niles! We need your help!”

“We? Your friends don't want to learn about lightning also, do they?”

“No! I mean, we need your speed!”

“Yes, please,” Rarity said. “We need you to help save our friend Twilight Sparkle.”

“The one who's sick, right?” Niles asked. “Rainbow Dash mentioned you were going to the Archback Mountains to find a Beneviolet.”

“Our friend's in powerful need of it, too,” Applejack said, sliding the cruppers off her hindquarters. Finally bare, she flipped her hat back onto her head and trotted over to the fire. “She has Horn Rot, a real bad case of it. Our zebra friend said she has only about two weeks, and that was more than a week ago!”

“You have a zebra friend?” Niles repeated. “A zebra living this far from Zvaha is a story in itself. I wonder if...” he paused. “It's not important. But two weeks? That's outrageously fast for Horn Rot. My species gets it from time to time- with the powerful magic we use it's to be expected. But it moves so slowly, it would usually take about a month to cripple or kill us! For your friend's Horn Rot to be moving so quickly it would need a great deal of internal magic to feed it. Is your friend a particularly powerful magician?”

“Oh, absolutely!” Rarity said. “She's an incredible sorceress. I've never met a unicorn who had her skill or her power, excepting Princess Celestia, of course.”

“That would explain it,” Niles said. “That's the rub about Horn Rot- the more powerful you are the more deadly the disease is for you. If you've just got weak magic, or you don't use magic often, it can be a years-long ordeal without doing you harm. Bison can live with Horn Rot. On the other hand, if you've got big horns and lots of power, it eats you alive. I've known kudu that got it; they barely last a week. Poor blighters.” He lowered his head.

“What's a kudu?” Dash asked.

“It's- oh oh, apples are done,” Niles broke off, noting the way the apple slices were steaming and sizzling. He and Rarity used their magic to levitate them away from the fire. The smell wafting through the air was indeed delicious.

“Hold on,” Applejack said, rustling through her saddlebags. She yanked out her tarp and unfolded it partially. “Set 'em down here.” Niles and Rarity complied, gently laying the apple slices skin-down on the waxed cotton surface. Rainbow Dash pulled out a loaf of bread and some carrots, setting them beside the apples.

“Now this is a meal,” the sky-blue pegasus said with a grin.

“Not every day I get hot food,” Niles remarked.

“Welp, dig in everypony- er, and pronghorn,” Applejack said, sitting down around the tarp. “Sorry about that, Niles.”

“I've just learned to say 'creature,'” he said, settling back on his thin haunches. “It's the most convenient catch-all term.”

“So, you were saying?” Dash said. “About the kudu?”

“Oh, right, kudu. They're antelopes. They're big antelopes, great massive beasts with big shoulders and great muscles.” Niles raised his front hooves in an intimation of size. “Their coats are slate gray, and their eyes are always an orange-red that smolders in the dark. They have massive, corkscrewing horns rising high off their heads. They are powerful magicians, and most of them are famously short-tempered. It doesn't help that their speciality is fire magic. When it's time for the Magus Courts to choose a new Kingshaman, they'll torch the savannah for leagues all around in their displays of power. The really great ones can even summon Fire Elementals to do their bidding.”

“Wow,” Dash said. “It must be amazing to see.”

“You sound like you've seen a great deal in your travels, Master Niles,” Rarity said.

“Do I?” Niles asked her. He chuckled softly. “I suppose I do. My, what have I seen?” His eyes half-closed. “I have seen the crumbling obsidian castles where the Lord Of All The Herds plotted and schemed... I have sat at the great bonfires, watched the zebras and the giraffes dance around the flames to summon the ghosts of their ancestors... I have snatched a wayward parcel from the grasp of a slimy kappa, at a waterfall in a silent forest... I have wandered through llama cities where the streets are paved with gold... I have stood upon the polar ice and watched the narwhals join their horns to summon the Grand Aurora...”

The three ponies were enraptured. “Golly,” Applejack whispered, “sure makes little ol' Ponyville sound small.”

The pronghorn smiled at them. “Don't think yourselves unimportant,” he said. “The world would be a much poorer place if not for Equestria and its ponyfolk. Your land is a font of life, a source of energy from which all the world draws. The world needs Equestria. And of course, there is only one Sun and one Moon, and they both live in Equestria.” He used his magic to levitate a slice of apple to his mouth, where he took a careful bite. “Mmm, delicious. It makes me long for tea.”

“Oh, my, yes,” Rarity remarked, tearing off a chunk of bread. “A good black tea would go delightfully with these strong flavors.”

“You know who makes a great tea?” He said nonchalantly. “Nagas. Great ivory serpent gods with golden fangs. You can see forever when you look into their eyes. Really kind of terrifying. But they serve you the most delicious red chai tea.”

“Huh,” Dash said. “That's kind of cool, I guess.”

“Hold on a second,” Applejack interjected, “we got way off our original point. The thing is this, Niles: Twilight needs the Beneviolet as soon as possible. We're still at least two or three days from the Archback Mountains, provided the trip through the Shimmerwood is quick, and...”

“You're wondering if I could go get it for you,” the pronghorn said.

“Please, we're desperate,” Rarity said.

“Hmm,” Niles said, taking a bite of a carrot. He chewed it thoughtfully, slowly. He swallowed. “Our first duty as messengers in the Pronghorn Network is to the rulers of nations. They're the ones that make the decision to go to war, which is what we strive to prevent above all else. So we must always be on-call to receive the messages they wish for us to send. Their needs must be prioritized above anyone else's.”

“Oh,” Applejack said, her ears flattening.

Niles' dark eyes wavered. “But... if I can find the time... I don't see why not.”

“Really?!” the orange earth pony exclaimed.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, sir!” Rarity said.

“Don't thank me yet,” Niles said. “I can only get the Beneviolet for you if no messenger duties demand my attention. Even if I'm available, getting to the Archback Mountains is a different matter than finding a Beneviolet there.”

“You've been all over the world and seen all sorts of stuff! I'm sure finding a Beneviolet wouldn't be that hard!” Rainbow Dash said.

“I suppose you're right,” said Niles. He glanced up at the sky, where the stars were appearing in the vast darkness. “The night is getting on, though, so we'd best finish up our dinner. I'm not sure how long Rainbow Dash's instruction is going to take.”

With a nod of understanding, the three ponies focused on their meal, passing small talk between themselves and the pronghorn. In a short while, the food was gone, and Dash rose to her hooves, quivering with excitement. “So?” she asked, trying to keep the giddiness out of her voice. “Can we go now? Is it time?”

Niles closed his eyes. He breathed in slowly, then breathed out. “Yes, I think it is time. If you will follow me.” He stood, turned to Rarity and Applejack. “I'll try to have her back by morning.”

“I wish she wouldn't be up all night,” Applejack said. “We still have a ways to go in the mornin'.”

“Trust me, she won't be tired.” He smiled. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Applejack.” Niles extended a front hoof, raising up Applejack's own foreleg. He kissed her front hoof gently. “You said you didn't need it... but I think every female should get to feel like a lady from time to time.”

Applejack blushed. “Shucks, sugarcube, that's... well, thank ye kindly. It was great to make your acquaintance.”

Niles turned to Rarity. “Madam Rarity, your company was delectable. Thank you for sharing your food and your time with me.”

Rarity bowed her head. “The pleasure was all mine, Good Sir Niles. Do try and take care of our Rainbow Dash.”

“With luck, I shall do better than that.”

“All right, come on! Let's get going!” Dash cried, fluttering impatiently in the air behind Niles.

Chuckling, the pronghorn turned towards her. “Very well, then. I'll take you to our Waystation. Follow me.”

“Bye AJ! Bye Rarity! When I come back, I'll be lightning powered!” the sky-blue pegasus cried. The pronghorn turned toward the south and pumped his legs. He was running almost instantly, and in the blink of an eye he vanished, the grass beyond the oak tree parting dramatically in his wake. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings hard and soared after him, so in very short order the two of them were long gone.

“I do hope Dash knows what she's doing,” Rarity said.

“I'm not sure that filly ever knows what she's doin',” Applejack remarked, picking up her tarp in her mouth and shaking it to scatter the bread crumbs.

“Now I wouldn't say that,” the white unicorn countered. “Dash seems to be in control of herself most of the time. But I wonder if her enthusiasm hasn't blinded her to the risks she could be taking. What if she gets hurt?”

“Lightnin' has to be pretty dangerous,” Applejack agreed. “Rainbow said so herself. And how exactly are these pronghorns gonna teach her to use it? Is she gonna get shocked or somethin'?”

“I hope they don't hurt her,” Rarity said again. She raised her head and blinked. “Why is it that whenever the two of us talk, we're worrying about something?”

“Dunno,” Applejack muttered, folding up her tarp and carrying it over to her saddlebags. “It might be because worryin's what we do for a livin'. You have your dress shop, I got my farm. It's part o' our jobs to worry.”

Author's Note:

The story of Rainbow Dash and Firefly was made up entirely off the cuff, along with much of Dash's particular experiences. In hindsight, it's quite impressive that it turned out to be some people's favorite part. I can only thank my readers; they are the ones who suggested that Dash have extra motivation for learning lightning.