Your Name Across The Multiverse -DASH SIDE-

by DATONETWIxDASHFAN

Chapter 7

"Rainbow Dashiell," smiled the black mage as she put her hand out for a handshake. "My name is Twila Sparkflow, a black mage in training."

"Twila?" said Dashie, as she felt she had seen this girl before. The feeling she knew was creeping up in her mind, and she didn't like it.

"I see you met the Divine Moon dragon, Kuu. Forgive her; she's a bit naive and hyperactive. A little weird with the licking," said Twila with a soft smile that made Dashie feel funny. "May I ask where you're from?"

"Oh, umm," said Dashie, having trouble coming up with an answer and not knowing why, like she was lost in her beauty. I'm from...umm."

"From where exactly?"

"I'm from," but before she could finish, a weird black aura filled the area, making everyone look behind her. Dashie looked too and could see a burned man with an open wound on his stomach as he was casting a dark magical spell.

"Ah! It's that monster again!" screamed Kuu.

"He's alive!" shouted a female thief with a full-coverage mask and hood as she took out her daggers.

"What's going on?" asked Dashie.

"This cult leader transformed into a monster and teleported away with our leader. We were tracking them, then we saw the light and thought she won, but..." answered Twila as she took out a tome and was ready for a battle.

"I will take back what was promised to me!" said the burned cult leader as the dark aura spread out more, creating a dark circle in front of him.

"He's going to open a portal! Everyone, ready for battle!" said a female Pegasus knight as she prepared her sword, but Dashie noticed the knight was missing an arm.

"Wait, that's not a portal!" realized Twila as she quickly used her tome to create a counter spell, but the cult leader was faster, made a giant ball of darkness, and started to suck in the group with great force.

"Damn it! Everyone, grab hold of each other!" yelled the big red knight.

"No! I can stop it!" said Twila as she grabbed her book bag and looked for something until she found it—a glowing purple horn. She tried to use it but couldn't right away, as the suction pulled her off the ground and pulled her into the orb.

Everyone was screaming for Twila as she was flying away, but Dashie quickly dashed to her and grabbed her hand, and with all her might, she tried to pull her back.

"Hold on!"

"My lady! The horn!" shouted the one-armed Pegasus knight as she grabbed Dashie by her jacket collar and pulled them. But she, too, started to get sucked in.

"Hold on!" yelled a small female axe fighter as she grabbed the light grayish heliotrope horsetail. She was soon joined by the big beefy red knight, the thief from before, a pink-haired white mage, a light green armor female knight, and finally, Kuu as she grabbed everyone and tried to fly away but couldn't.

"No, Kuu! Everyone!" shouted the green male knight. He and the remaining group watched in horror as their friends vanished into the black void. As they were gone, the spell ended, and the burned man laughed as he turned to black dust.

---

Dashie could hear screaming within the darkness as they all fell into the void, and she could feel a strong gust of air as it hit her face. It was so black that she couldn't see anything. Soon, the screams of the others vanished, and Dashie realized she was alone—or was she? She could see a purple light in the darkness and started to move towards it. As she got closer, she could see the outline of the black mage. She was chanting something, had the horn near her forehead, and was glowing.

"Twila!?"

Twila could hear a faint voice behind her and turned her head towards it to see Dashie, but only for them to headbutt each other. Both girls screamed in pain, and they could feel blood coming from their foreheads and falling on each other as they fell together in the darkness.

"Ugh, my head," groaned Twila as she wiped her forehead and could see a bit of blood.

"I'M SORRY, SORRY!" cried Dashie as she tried to wipe the blood with her sleeve, but everything went dark again as the purple light disappeared. Both noticed that the horn had dropped and vanished behind them.

"The horn thingy!"

"No!" cried Twila as the wind picked up once more.

Soon, the darkness faded, and they could see an old, ruined kingdom within the void. They were going to spit on the brick streets below. Twila grabbed Dashie by her waist and started to scream.

"Help us! Where are you, Eirika?"

As they were going to make an impact, Dashie could feel something as she held Twila in her arms. She remembers something—a fading memory. A girl fell off a roof as Dashie tried to reach out to save her. She looked down at her and felt a sense of deja vu.

"Not this time," whispered Dashie.

She used her strength to turn herself around, and Dashie's back faced the ground. She could see the fear in Twila's eyes as the wind rushed against her face. She closed her eyes, grabbed Dashie's chest, and repeated, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay..."

"Huh?"

"You'll be okay. I'll protect you. Just like I promised, Twil-," said Dashie as the bricks were getting closer. Dashie closed her eyes and waited for impact.

"Huh? Wh—" said Twila, but her voice was cut off as they landed on the bricks. A rainbow explosion of light engulfed the smoke cloud, creating a crater.

Soon, the smoke faded, and there were blue feathers around the girls as they lay in the crater. Twila looked around and could see Dashie was hurt and unconscious as she was bleeding.

"We...landed?" said Twila, a bit shocked that they had landed and were alive. "Thank you. I'm not sure how that happened, but thank you."

But Dashie didn't respond and breathed heavily, as her breathing became more labored.

"No, you're going to be fine. It's not that bad. Please don't die!" cried Twila as tears fell, and she tried her best to stop the bleeding with her cloak. She took a deep breath and placed her head on her chest. "Eirika! What will Eirika do?"

That was the last thing that Dashie heard as she closed her eyes, as her blurry vision could see a white moon getting closer to them.

---

Dashie slowly opened her eyes, and she could see a white ceiling above her and hear someone talking nearby. She blinked a few times, could listen to the voices a bit clearer, and could see two women sitting in a nearby chair. She slowly raised her body and could see it was her mother and a girl—the same girl she had seen before, but like always, her face was covered in prism colors. She tried to sit up but could feel the pain and fell back down.

"Honey! Stay down!" said her mother as she could feel her mom's hands on her shoulders.

"What...happened?" asked Dashie as she touched her bandage head.

"You've been out for days. We were worried that you had brain damage or something, but thankfully, that wasn't the case. You were hurt badly."

"Oh, right," said Dashie, as her memory was a bit foggy. The last thing she remembered was saving someone—this girl?

"How are you feeling, honey?"

"Fine, mom. My head hurts, but I'm fine."

"Good," said her mother. "Do you remember the fall?"

"I was in an accident."

"Yes. The doctors said it was a miracle that you were only hurt and not dead."

"Wait, where's the girl I was with?"

"What?"

"There was a black-haired girl with me. She was bleeding."

The girl quickly went to her side, crying, and placed her face on Dashie's shoulder.

"I'm fine!" said the girl.

"Who..." whispered Dashie as her head started to hurt and flashes of her memory filled her mind. She was on the roof of the house, helping her dad fix it. The girl came over and went up to Dashie's room, where she spoke about something.

"Anyone thirsty? I can get some drinks," said her dad, putting down his tool and turning to the girls. "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm fine, sir," said the girl as she waved her hand and was sitting on Dashie's bed as Dashie was cleaning her window from the work they were doing.

"What about you, kiddo?"

"Hmm, just water, dad."

"Alright, be right back."

As her dad descended the ladder and entered the house, Dashie felt her hands touching the wet rag and had a weird sensation. She looked at her hands and saw them changing into blue fur.

"W-What's happening?" Dashie said as her hands turned back into flesh.

"Are you okay, Dashie?" asked the girl, as she noticed something was up.

"Yeah, it's nothing," said Dashie as she returned to cleaning the area around the window.

"Dashie, do you need help with the cleaning out there?" the girl asked as she poked her head out of the window.

"No, no, it's okay."

"Come on, Dashie. It's not a big deal."

"I know, but you're my guest. I'll do it. Just relax and enjoy this hard-working girl in her element!" replied Dashie as she flexed her muscles.

"Pfft, sure."

"Seriously, I'll clean it. You go and relax or something."

"I'm helping!" said the girl as she stepped onto the roof through the window, moved next to Dashie, and could see the sun blasting the roof.

"Okay, just be careful. We'll clean it together then."

"Sure," smiled the girl.

As the sun's rays hit the girl's face, Dashie could see the girl's skin was purple for a few seconds before returning to normal.

"Are you okay?" asked Dashie.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"It's nothing."

Dashie could see the sun getting hotter as she felt her body sweating more. She was about to take her hat off when she noticed the girl was about to step on the nail.

"Wait! There's a."

"Ahh!"

"Look out!"

The girl could move back but stepped on a wet rag and fell. Everything went slow for Dashie, as she could see the girl was about to fall off the roof. She tried her best to grab her arm but couldn't. Dashie acted on her feet, jumped off, and quickly grabbed her. Dashie spun her body around. She would use her own body to break the fall for the girl. The girl closed her eyes and could feel Dashie's arms around her. Dashie was scared and didn't know what to expect, but she felt the sun's warmth as it covered them, and she could feel the hot driveway on her back and nothingness.

"Dashie!"

"Huh?" Dashie said as she was brought back to reality and was confused by what had just happened.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Wait," said Dashie as she tried to get up but could feel a sharp pain, and her head felt like it was spinning. Everything started to glitch out, and suddenly, things were different. She was still in bed, but her skin was blue again, and everyone in the room was gone.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash!"

Dashie looked to the door and saw the girl from before, but her skin was purple, and she was holding a board game.

"Uhhh."

"I brought your favorite board game! I know how much you like to win."

"Win...board games?" said Dashie. "Who are you?"

"It's me, static."

"What was that?" said Dashie, who couldn't hear the name.

"It's me, static."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you."

"It's me, static."

"What? Who are you?" asked Dashie as her head was screaming with pain, but she couldn't hear the name again.

"It's me!" static got loud.

"AH!" yelled Dashie as she held her head in pain and could feel the pain going away as she felt a hand on her leg. She looked down and saw her crying, as she looked hurt.

"Dashie, why can't you remember who I am?" the girl asked, tears falling from her prism-covered face.

"I'm sorry," said Dashie, her voice cracking and tears falling down her face. Her heart was breaking. This girl was her world, her everything, but she couldn't remember anything.

"It's me -faint static-."

"Please tell me. Who are you? I'm trying. I'm trying to remember you. Tell me."

"It's me, T."

Everything glitched out, and Dashie was back in the garden.

"Who's after you? What does she want from you?" cried the purple alicorn as she held Dashie, who was bleeding from chest wounds, close to her chest.

"What?"

"What is the name of the pony that did this to you?"

"I-."

"Please...tell me! Why do you keep things to yourself?"

"I'm not-."

"Why can't you tell me, Rainbow?"

"I don't...know..." said Dashie as she found herself back on the rooftop, looking at the setting sun as if it was in the middle of five rainboom halos. The town she lived in was on fire; everything was burning as far as the eye could see.

"What is happening?"

"Dashie."

Dashie could hear a different voice, but her body didn't want to move; she just kept watching the sunset.

"Remember her. Remember her. Please...please."

"Her..."

"Dashie, please."

"I'm trying..."

"We're running out of time. Everything's going to run out of time."

"Running out of time?"

"Time...you're running out of time. Dashie. I'm begging you. We promised her. Please."

"Who are you?" asked Dashie, as she felt the tears fall down her face.

"You know who I am."

Tears kept falling as she watched the sun increase in size and engulf the whole world in endless flames.

---

Dashie could feel something warm on her body. She opened her eyes and saw Kuu in her dragon form, as she was on top of her with her tongue out. Both girls stared at each other until Kuu did a big lick on her face, leaving it all wet.

"Ku-kuu!"

"Ew," said Dashie, wiping her face. She could see she was next to a campfire, and sitting not too far away from them was Twila. She laughed at the funny sight as she watched Kuu try to lick her again. Dashie was happy that Twila was safe, but her memories were a bit foggy; the last thing she could remember was that they landed on the brick ground.

"Hey, how am I not dead?" said Dashie.

"To be honest, I have no idea how we survived the fall, but you were badly hurt. Lucky for us, Kuu was behind us and healed you," Twila explained as she petted Kuu.

"Thanks for saving me, but my next question is, Where are we?"

"We're still in the Fallen City of the Void."

"What?"

"A city that fell to the demon dragon in the first war. A curse was placed on it—to drag anyone into it and never get out."

"O-Oh," whispered Dashie, with little clue as to what she was talking about. "So, there's no way of escaping this place?"

"There was, but I lost the Horn of Spark Magic."

"Oh, that purple horn... that I made you drop when I bumped into you. Sorry about that!" blushed Dashie as she bowed.
And repeated sorry to her.

"It's not your fault. It's mine. I should've paid more attention."

"No, it was my fault."

"No, it's not. I'm the one who is responsible for everything."

The two kept saying it was their fault, which made Kuu raspberry their pointless back-and-forth argument.

"Kuu wanna keep licking candy girl!" happily shouted Kuu as she tried to lick Dashie again, but she wasn't quick enough, and Dash was able to avoid her.

"Kuu! Stop it!" yelled Twila as she bopped Kuu with her staff. "Sorry about her. She's not like this when Eirika is around."

"Eirika tastes like cotton candy!" cheered Kuu as she returned to her human form and ran around the two.

That name again; who is that?"

"Princess Eirika is the future Queen of Equestria. She's the commander of our small group. By the way, have you seen her? She headed to that area where we found you and that cult leader, who we fought a few times before," asked the mage as she sat down and put Kuu on her lap.

"...she's missing? Hey, does she have rainbow hair like mine?"

"No, just normal blue hair, but her Pegasus has a colorful mane. Now I look at you better; you look like Aero."

"Aero?"

"Her horse."

"...I see. Hey, this is going to be weird, but let me explain why I'm here," said Dashie as she started to tell her story.

After the long talk, Dashie waited for Twila and Kuu's reactions as she sat there, worried.

"I see you are from another world! So the different world's theory was real! Amazing!" smiled Twila as she got up, her hands on her shoulders. "Tell me! Is there magic in your world?"

"Are there more candy-looking people?" chimed Kuu, who was in her human form, as she started to drool, making Dashie worry a bit.

"Magic, well, not really... I think so, but we have a lot of technology and candy-looking people. Uh, not really, but there are many weird and interesting-looking people. My world is very different from yours."

"Wow, a world with this "technology," what would that look like? Oh, how can I get to your world?" asked Twila, as she started to shake her.

"Uhh."

"I want to visit the candy people!"

"Uhh."

"Kuu, calm down. We have to help Dashie first, then we can explore her world."

"That's not how it works, sadly. When I found the shard, I was only teleported away, but at least Eirika would return to this world."

"That's true. That means she'll be stuck in your world if we don't find this rainbow shard. I'm not sure what will happen to her."

"That's right," said Dashie. "But if you can help me, I'll try my best to help you back. If we survived our fall, the others must have. I'll help you find them."

"Sounds like a deal. Come on, Kuu," said Twila as she held out her hand and grabbed Dashie's hand. "We can also search for the horn and escape this place."

"Okay, let's do this."

The trio walked away from the camp and entered the dark, dead city. The night sky was pitch black, and there were no stars or a moon. The three kept their guards up as they entered a dark alleyway.

"This alleyway is too narrow," said Twila, as she noticed how small the alley was.

"Do you want to walk through?" asked Dashie.

"No, let's keep going."

They went forward and could see the dead end.

"A dead end," sighed Dashie.

"Not really. This looks like a door," said Twila as she inspected a brick wall. "It looks like it's been sealed off by magic."

"What's this?" asked Dashie, as she could see some symbols on the door.

"These are ancient symbols, it says. The path will only open if a curse reveals their markings and accepts another marking to their flesh."

"Cursed?"

"It's not a surprise a doorway has this. After all, it is the fallen city of the void. Anything can happen in the darkness that the demon dragon cast."

"Right, so what does that mean for us?"

"It's asking for the cursed one. I have a solution to this."

"How?"

"You'll see," said Twila as she started removing her robe.

"Wait, what are you doing?" panicked Dashie, as her face was red from seeing Twila take off her clothes. Then she saw a white bra with a blue and yellow ribbon around the neck and matching white pants. She was stunned by the sight of her; she could see Twila was more fit than she believed and had a bit "more" down "there. But she noticed markings around her body.

"I'm the key," said Twila as she showed her markings.

"Uhh, why? And why are you undressing yourself?"

"Because the answer is my curse, silly. The symbols of the cursed one are these runes, and they can only be held by the cursed ones like myself," Twila explained.

"Okay, but why are you stripping yourself?"

"You don't know. You're not from this world. A curse is like a living disease, as it can be spread through physical contact and by touching another curse item. I need to feel the brick wall and take the curse for myself.

"Ahhh! That means we won't be cursed, as the curse will see your body and only target you."

"That's correct."

"Wait, why are you cursed?" Dashie asked. Kuu went behind her back when she noticed something moving under Dashie's jacket.

"Let's just say I did something I shouldn't have, and now I'm paying for it. I'm a bad person and deserve this."

"What was it?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But."

"It's fine. Here, take this," said Twila as she handed her clothes, bag, and staff. Soon, her underwear

"Wait," shuttered Dashie as she turned around and beaming red.

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay with being like this?" Dashie asked as she started to feel something inside.

"Yes."

"I see. Just making sure."

"Let's go," said Twila as she approached the door.

She placed her hand on the brick wall, making it glow black, as the runes slowly crept up her hand and onto her body, leaving a new set on her back. The path was opened now, and she turned to Dashie for her stuff back.

"Come, let's keep going."

The three walked through the brick door, which revealed a small pathway. The brick walls were tall and close together, making it impossible to see what was up above. They reached the end of the path, revealing a dark, pitch-black hallway. The three entered it and walked further in until a few torches came to life.

"Woah."

The trio noticed the hallway wasn't that long, but there was something weird about it. They kept walking forward and could see a room up ahead. The room looked old and empty. Once they reached the room, it was a big, circular room. There was nothing but the floor, as the walls had nothing on them.

"We're in a room?"

"That's strange. There should be a door, but I can't see any doors or windows," said Twila, as she could see the wall had nothing but brick, and even the ceiling had nothing but the same bricks.

"Dead end?"

"Hmm, maybe not. Let's go around."

The three walked further in, hoping to find a way out. Dashie walked around the room, looking up and down, searching for a way out, while Twila used her magic to try and detect a way out. Kuu skipped in front of her.

"Nothing here," said Dashie.

"Hmm...let's see. There has to be something here," said Twila as she stopped looking around the room.

"Is there?"

"Let's take a rest. My mana is a bit low," said Twila, leaning against the wall as she sat down.

"Good idea," said Dashie as she sat beside her. Kuu started to play with herself as she hopped around the place.

"So, do you have any family and friends back home?" asked Twila as she took a mana potion from her bag.

"Well, I do have a family. It's just parents, though; there are no sisters and brothers," said Dashie.

"You're an only child?"

"Yep, just me and my folks. And friends, well, I do have a group of great friends...and there's one person, but..." said Dashie, as the memories were still foggy, and she knew something was missing.

"Someone important to you?"

"I believe so. She's my everything."

"Sounds like you love her," smiled Twila.

"I'm pretty sure I do... I can't just remember her name or who she is..."

"You don't remember her name or who she is?"

"Yeah...it's sad. It sometimes breaks my heart, you know? I have these memories of her and what we did, but I don't remember those events. Sometimes, I can feel her presence, like she's right here with me." said Dashie as she turned to Twila and looked deep into her eyes. "Other times, it feels like she's miles away, and I can't reach her. It's frustrating."

"I can see that..." frowned Twila as she could see how much she was suffering

"It's like...we had something between us, but now, it's all gone. Everything just faded away," said Dashie as a tear came down her cheek.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. You're going to find her, I promise," said Twila, giving Dashie a small smile while she wiped the tears from her face.

"Thanks," said Dashie as she smiled back.

"It's going to be fine. You'll remember everything one day."

"You think so?"

"I know so," said Twila, gently grabbing Dashie's hand and holding it. "Now, let's get out of here."

The two stood up, letting go of each other's hands, but Dashie didn't want to let go for some reason. She looked at Twila and felt something as she looked at her. She remembers these feelings when meeting other girls with the same hairstyle. Why was that? She wanted to know, but she was confused.

"Hey, Twila, there's something hidden on the floor." pointed Kuu as she kicked a brick and could see something under it.

"Let's take a look," said Twila as she and Dashie moved the bricks and found a large hole with a grill cover, almost the size of Kuu in her dragon form.

"Is that a hole?" asked Dashie as Twila pulled the grill off, took out a stick from her bag, and threw it down.

"Let's see."

"It's deep."

"It's really deep. It must lead to a room below us," said Twila as she pulled out a glowing stone and tossed it down. "Let's see."

The light slowly faded away, and they could hardly see anything below.

"Looks like a room indeed," said Twila.

"Should we check it out?"

"Yes. Kuu, can you carry us down there?"

"Okay!" said Kuu as she shifted into her dragon form.

Dashie took notice of the Dragon. The Dragon was the size of a large bear but looked almost like a horse. Her scales were dark blue. She had one long horn that curled upward from her forehead, and her tail was thick and long. She was a magnificent dragon.

"Ready!" smiled Kuu as she lowered herself to the ground, allowing the girls to get on. As they got on, Kuu jumped down the hole and slowly flapped down, using her horn to light up the hole. The three slowly descended, and the deeper they got, the bigger the hole got until they reached the bottom.

"We're here," said Kuu as she lowered herself.

"Wow," said Dashie as the three got off. She looked at Kuu and fully realized there was a dragon in front of her. "You're amazing, Kuu."

"Ehehe. Thanks," smiled Kuu as she returned to her human form.

"What is this place?" asked Twila as the three looked around.

"A library?" asked Dashie.

The three quickly looked around the place and saw it was a library with many books and papers lying around. They could see shelves lined up against the walls or fallen, dozens of books everywhere about. There were also tables scattered throughout the room and several desks placed on the door like they were used to keep something from coming in. The walls were stone, and the floors were covered with wooden planks. There was no light source other than the light coming from the Kuu horn. This place was giving off an eerie feeling.

"It seems this was a secret chamber or someone's study," said Twila.

"Why are the books all over the place?"

"They might've been thrown around during a fight," Twila explained as she picked a random book and noticed claw markings. It looks like something attacked in here. It might explain the desks that are blocking the door. It looks like they chased it outside before blocking the doorway."

"Who will be so mean and hurt all these books!?" cried Kuu

"Maybe a beast? Or a demon. But that's just a guess. Honestly, now I think about it, why haven't we seen any monsters? I heard the Fallen City had monsters before being sealed away in the void."

"That's a good question," said Dashie. The group was still on edge, and the atmosphere was getting worse. Kuu ran up to the block-off door and could see the outside through a tiny broken hole. She looked around and saw a large courtyard.

"It looks safe outside. Nothing out there," said Kuu.

"Good," said Twila. "Come on, let's leave this place. I have a bad feeling about this place. We better get going."

"Okay."

The three approached the door, pushed the desks out of the way, and stepped outside, inhaling fresh air.

"Much better."

Suddenly, they all heard something as they looked around. They were still standing in the courtyard, surrounded by crumbling buildings and a starless sky. The wind blew and whistled, making the atmosphere more eerie. The sound came from behind the group, who were slowly looking around and saw a giant monster hanging on the tower wall.

"Shit! Monster!" said Dashie.

"Get ready, everyone. Stay close and be careful," said Twila as the three prepared themselves.

"It's coming!" said Kuu as the enormous creature jumped from the tower and landed on the ground with a loud thud. It looked like a giant lizard but had many arms, each armed with sharp claws. Its face had many mouths and eyes, with a long tongue hanging out of one of the mouths. It roared, and the three could feel the vibrations in their chests.

"It's a mutated creature!"

"A what?"

"It's a mutated creature. Something that has mutated over the years has now turned into something else. They are very dangerous since they're created through the curse that is in the city. It is very likely to be a demon or a fiend."

"It's a fiend. I can tell," said Kuu, as she could identify the monster. The fiend got up from the ground and ran towards the group.

"Let's deal with it. Dashie, stay behind me and be ready to move."

"Understood."

The fiend charged at the group, but smoke bombs quickly intercepted it. The girls looked where the bombs came from, and they could see a flying Pegasus and its rider, along with two others.

The one who threw the bombs jumped from the flying horse, landed on the monster's back, and stabbed it with her daggers. She wore a black hood, and her cloak flapped behind her as she slashed at the creature. The monster roared in pain and tried to get the girl off, but it was too late as the Pegasus swooped down, allowing the thief to grab on and escape. The horse flew towards Dashie and the others and landed. The group could see the thief and knight arguing with each other as the thief and white mage jumped off the horse.

"What the hell is your problem, Vaida?! You were supposed to wait until I gave the signal!" yelled the knight.

"You're too slow, Isadora. They needed help," replied Vaida as she faced Isadora.

"I'll show you," said Vaida, pointing her blade at her.

"Oh yeah? Bring it one arm, knight!"

"Girls, please stop. We are in the middle of a fight." said the white mage as she got between the two

"I'm sorry, Flora. We will settle this later, you dishonorable thief! Twila, are you and Kuu alright?"

"Yes, we're fine," said Twila as she and the others prepared for the coming fight.

"Let's finish it then."

The monster stood up and shook off the blood from its wounds. It roared and ran towards the group. It was faster than expected, but the knight ordered her Pegasus to jump into the air and block its attack with its body. The Pegasus pushed the monster back and away from the others, allowing the thief to sneak behind it and stab its legs. It howled and fell to the ground, unable to stand. The Pegasus jumped back, and the knight charged at the creature, stabbing it in the face with her sword.

"We almost have it! Everyone attack!" ordered Isadora as she pulled out the blade from the monster's bleeding face.

The others joined her and attacked the fiend. Kuu charged up her mana and unleashed a powerful black lightning strike, followed by a barrage of fireballs from Twila. The monster was engulfed in flames and electricity, causing it to cry in pain and anger. It tried to swat them away, but its attacks were easily dodged. The two girls kept their distance as they continued their assault. Dashie wanted to help, but she was no fighter and had no weapon to use; she could only watch with the white mage, as she was staying behind but ready to use healing magic if someone got hurt.
The battle raged on, but the fiend was growing weak. It was on its last leg, and it could barely stand. Isadora, Vaida, and Kuu charged at the fiend while Twila took out her tome, and dark green energy appeared around her. She unleashed a powerful blast of magical wind energy and struck the monster head-on. The air explosion sent the three girls flying back, but they were fine as they watched the head of the monster slide off its neck and onto the ground, dead on the spot. The white mage was healing Kuu and the others while Twila checked up on Dashie.

"Wow! That was so cool!" said Dashie.

"Thanks. How are you doing?" asked Twila.

"Fine, just I could have done something," admitted Dashie as she watched the group check on the monster and confirm it was dead.

"Don't worry, not everyone is a fighter. Not a lot of people are, and that's fine."

"I know, but... it's just that I don't like being useless."

"You're not useless. You're a person who is helping us. Everyone has their roles, and everyone has their place. You have your place, and that's helping me find the others and the horn." smiled Twila as she gently took hold of Dashie's hand, which caused Dashie's heart to beat faster.

"Twila!" said the knight as she and the other returned to the group. "Are you okay? We feared the worst, as you didn't unleash the magical disable spell from the Horn of Spark. You had us worried sick."

"Sorry, but I lost the horn mid-flight, but Dashie here saved me. We were searching for it with her help," explained Twila, who explained Dashie's story and how she got here.

"Is that true?"

"Yeah," said Dashie nervously.

"Well then, my apologies." "We thought you were a blue-skinned demon, but saving and helping Twila, who is a stranger to you as you came from another world, With such great loyalty and kindness, you are no demon. Forgive us for judging you by your skin. Could you keep joining us in finding the horn if you could?"

"Sure," said Dashie.

"Very well," smiled Isadora.

"I don't know; I still don't trust her. It was still odd that she was there while Eirika was nowhere to be seen, and that cult asshole was still alive." Vaida said it in the most cold tone as she crossed her arms.

"Vaida, I'm sure she's a fine person. You can trust her, can't you?" Flora softly said.

"We can't trust her fully until we get to know her better. We can't take any risks, not now. We're nearly ending the demon dragon's life and saving the land. I will not let anything or anyone stop us," said Vaida, as her tone changed into a serious one. She looked very menacing and intimidating, making Flora shrug back in fear as she pulled down her white hood.

"Vaida!" shouted Isadora as she was finally done with her shit, but her horse stepped between the two. "Starlight? What is it?"

"Something's not right," said the white mage, Flora, as she looked around. "We should go. I don't want to fight anymore."

"She's right," said the knight, as she could hear a soft sound. "Starlight, go search for the others."

The horse nodded, opened her wings, took off into the sky, and flew randomly.

"What's going on?" asked Dashie. She joined them as they hurried out of the courtyard and into the connected building.

"Dashie, can't you hear something?" asked Twila.

"Not really. Why?"

"There's something wrong," said Kuu, as her ears twitched and she looked around. Her eyes were glowing dark blue. "It's faint, but I can hear growling. They're coming."

"What's coming?"

"Monsters," said Vaida as she took point, and Ninja ran. They must've sensed the fiend's death and are now coming after us."

"That's not good. How many of them?" asked Dashie

The group soon found themselves on an open, windowless hallway bridge; they all stopped as they saw it. Outside nearby buildings was almost a sea of monsters, as their red eyes glowed with evil. They were all types of monsters. Zombies, skeletons, ghouls, goblins, orcs, ogres, wolves, lizards, and other unidentified monsters. It was an army—a horde, one can say. They were crawling and moving towards the group as the building started to shake from the number of monsters beginning to fill up.

"Does that answer your question, Blue?"

"This isn't good," said Dashie, as they all could see the monsters were coming.

"We need to leave, fast," said the white mage.

"We'll have to make a run for it. Dashie, Twila, and Flora follow me. Vaida and Kuu, take the rear and hold off the horde," ordered Isadora.

"Understood," said Vaida as she was about to turn her back but stopped and hesitated. "Be careful, everyone. Don't die; I don't want a repeat."

"We won't, Vaida. Same to you, my dishonorable friend. See you soon," smiled Isadora.

"Yeah, whatever, miss One arm. Come on, Dragon," VDragonaid said as they took up their position and waited for the horde to approach their building.

"Come on, girls. Stay close," said Isadora as they quickly made a break for it.

"Why did we leave them alone!" yelled Dashie, who was easily keeping up with the group.

"Kuu is a divined dragon; she can hold her own in a battle like that, and Vaida is very skilled in horde battles. She won't be killed easily. They'll catch up later after we find a safe spot." explained Twila

Dashie was following the three. She looked back and saw Kuu shooting her breath attacks from the top of the building, holding off the horde. As they were running, a group of creatures tried to cut them off, but Isadora was able to deal with them before they could stop them. However, the monsters were not letting up and were now starting to catch up with them.

"They're getting closer. What are we going to do?" asked Flora, hearing the growls and screams of the monsters, who were now running down the hallway toward the group.

"Don't worry. We have this handled," said Isadora as the four reached a door.
The knight opened the door and allowed the three to go in first, then shut the door. The group found themselves in a large room with several pillars and a huge hole in the floor.

"Isadora, where are we?" asked Dashie.

"Some kind of warehouse, I think," answered the knight as she looked around. "There's a door on the other side of the room. Let's go."

The group made their way across the room but was soon stopped as a giant armor hand emerged from the hole. It pulled itself up and stood; there was a large knight as smoke came out of its armor's cracks.

"What the hell is that?" screamed Dashie.

"An undead titan knight," replied Isadora.

"A what?"

"It's an undead monster created by the curse."

"How do we kill it?"

"It's not strong, but it's big and armored," said the knight.

"I can take care of it," said Flora, as her hands started to glow white.

"What are you going to do?" asked Dashie as she could sense a white aura around Flora.

"I'm going to make it weak."

The knight nodded and ordered the others to back up as Flora stood her ground and raised her hands. A magic circle appeared below the titan as it started to glow.

"Let's hope this works," said Flora as the light was getting brighter.

"What's going on?" asked Dashie, as the room was becoming blinded by light.

"Her magic is draining its strength."

The knight's words were soon proven right as the light faded, weakening the titan knight. Its body was now fragile and had a hard time standing, and it soon fell backward and crashed onto the ground as the shock wave caused the building to shake.

"It's all yours, Isadora," said Flora as she lowered her hands.

"With pleasure. Stay here; I'll be back," said the knight as she raised her sword.

The knight ran towards the titan as the others stayed back. She jumped into the air and landed on the titan's chest. With a single blow, the armor shattered, and the body was revealed. It was a skeleton wearing a full-body suit of black armor rather than an undead zombie. The knight was about to finish it, but the skeleton had other ideas and pushed the knight off it and threw her across the room. The knight's body crashed into a pillar and fell to the ground.

"Isadora!" shouted Twila as she rushed over to the knight.

"I'm okay. I can still fight," said the knight as she struggled to stand up.

"No, you're hurt. I'll deal with this," said Twila as she stood in front of her friend and raised her staff up in the air. A green energy circle appeared.

"Be careful, Twila. It's a skeleton, which means it can't be cut by wind magic," warned Isadora.

"Yes. I know. Dashie and Flora, come over here."

"Coming," said Dashie and Flora as the two were about to join Twila.

The skeleton was walking towards the group, but it was stopped as it stared at the sealed door that others came from. Everyone notices something. There was no sound—no monsters scratching at the door or even the noises of the horde. Complete quiet...until a musical harp note was heard behind the door. With a flash, the door was cut down, and slowly walking into the room was a caped light green knight; her long hair came out of her helmet, and the horn on it glowed with great green magic. A sword floated behind her and stopped as it was in front of the knight.

"Who the hell is that?" asked Dashie.

"She survived!" cheered everyone

The knight's eyes glowed a dark green under the face mask as her sword was raised. Within seconds, it dashed at the monster, and with each blow, a musical harp note played. It sliced the monster's body, arms, and legs and finally pierced its head, causing the skull to explode. The sword stopped in front of her, and she turned her attention to the group and started to walk towards them.

"Who is she?"

"Her name is Sir Lyra, the Harp-String Wind Knight," explained Isadora in the most honorable voice as she bowed to the passing knight, who walked over to a fallen weapon shelf and sat down in the unique way she found comfy. She opened her face, masked, and smiled at everyone.

"What's up?" Lyra said it in the most chill and carefree tone.

"And the most unique knight in our group..." softly explained Isadora as she looked over to the weirdly sitting knight and sighed.

"Nice to see you, Lyra. You have a habit of making a dramatic entrance," said Flora as she walked to her teammate.

"Sorry. It was getting annoying to hear those things on the other side. So, how's everyone doing?" asked Lyra

"We're fine. I just had some problems," said Dashie, now feeling comfortable with these people.

"What's up, new girl? Guess you can be trusted if you're with the others," smiled Lyra as she looked over to the knight. "Hey, Starry, what's the sitch?"

"We're escaping the horde, as you can see, and don't call me that," sighed the knight.

"Cool, cool. I'll help out."

Lyra summoned her sword and tossed it out of the building. Soon, the group could hear dying screams in the distance, and just as quickly, the blade returned and was deeply covered in blood and guts.

"Okay, problem solved," smiled Lyra.

"You just killed all of the hordes?" asked Dashie.

"Nah, I doubt it. Those things are tough to kill. I just took care of the ones that were near the building. The rest will come, but I think they'll get the idea to stay away for a while. Okay, let's do whatever you guys were doing!" said Lyra as she got up and clapped her hands.

"Right. We were running from the horde, but since that's not a problem right now, we better head back where we came from and meet up with Kuu and Vaida," Twila said, as the others agreed.

The group returned the way they came and headed back to the bridge. Soon, they could see the two as they were with Starlight, who had returned. Starlight took notice of the coming group and flew towards them. She landed next to her rider and started pushing her face all over Isadora's.

"Easy, girl. Easy. I'm fine. Everything is okay," chuckled the knight.

"It's good to see you too, Isadora," Kuu said as she flew towards them, and she smiled before licking the knight's face.

"We're all glad you're all safe, one arm," smiled Vaida as she landed near them and noticed Lyra. "I knew it was you. Who else could use a magical sword like that?"

Lyra and Vaida gave each other a high-five and then did a fist bump.

"So, I'm guessing you were with the others?" asked Vaida.

"Nope! I landed by myself. I was sitting on a bench waiting for anyone to show up until I heard the horde and followed a group chasing something. That was how I found Twila and the others," explained Lyra.

"I see. Glad to see you safe and well, at least."

"Same. So, guessing the sibling duos are still missing?" asked Lyra.

"Yup," said Vaida.

"You didn't see them, Starlight?" asked Isadora as she hopped on her horse, who shook her. "Then we better find. Come, let's go."

As they were all about to leave, Lyra said to stop, as she was looking at Dashie with an odd look.

"So, did you always have a rainbow tail?" asked Lyra.

"Uh...what?" asked Dashie as she looked behind and could see a rainbow tail coming out above her butt area. She was confused by this as her flashes of memories filled her eyes before she turned back to the group with a smile. "Well, yeah, I always had a tail."

"Interesting," said Lyra, now wondering what happened to this human.

"Are you okay, Dashie?" asked Twila.

"Yup, never better. Now let's go find the others and get out of this place." smiled Dashie as she ran past everyone with surprised speed, almost like she was the wind as she ran off.

"She seems odd. She acted like nothing was wrong when she had a tail now—not a bad tail, mind you. It's just strange she has one now or that she's not questioning her speed," said Lyra.

"Yeah, hey Twila, how did she save you again?" asked Flora.

"Uhhh, she took the impact from the fall for me, but it was weird. I didn't see or feel any magic. I remember seeing blue feathers, though. She was also hot; I mean, her clothes!" panicky corrected Twila as she went red in the face, but the others didn't notice it.

"That doesn't make sense. She wasn't using magic or had a transformation item on her like Kuu has," said Lyra to herself, but it was quickly explained where Dashie came from. "I see, but it still doesn't make sense about her body."

"Lyra, we need to go. If you want to talk about her later, that's fine, but for now, we need to find the others and leave," said Isadora.

"Okie dokie!" happily said Lyra as she hurried past the group and chased after Dashie at the same speed as she ran off.

"Why am I surrounded by weird, colorful people?" sighed Isadora as she ordered Starlight to give chase, and everyone followed.

The group was now running, or in this case, flying, trying to catch up with the blue human girl. Kuu was carrying Twila and Flora on her back, while Isadora and her horse were flying not too far from them. Vaida was in the back, running on the wall until they finally exited the building and were in the open streets, allowing Vaida to start running on the rooftops. Lyra was almost near Dashie as she called out to her.

"Hey, Blue. You can run fast," smiled Lyra.

"Yeah."

"I'm faster," said Lyra as she was beside her, her armor glowing green with wind magic.

"Oh yeah?" asked Dashie with a competitive smile.

"Yeah," smiled Lyra, as she suddenly started to run faster and left Dashie behind, laughing.

"Hey, get back here," laughed Dashie as she gave a big jump and ran at great speed to catch up. She was leaving behind a rainbow trail.

"I guess there's a few people like that. Even in other worlds," chuckled Isadora.

The group soon made it to the center of the city, where they saw the two siblings lying low in the city square building and quickly noticed Lyra and the blue-skinned girl running laps around the square.

"Lyra, is that you?" shouted the axe fighter, as she was wearing a checker pattern shirt with a small red scarf and blue shorts with boots.

"Hey, buddy. Long time no see," waved Lyra as she stopped before the small woman and her big brother.

"What's going on? Why are you running around here?" asked the red knight as he limped out of the building.

"Just racing with Blue here," smiled Lyra as Dashie stopped beside her.

"And winning!" laughed Dashie.

"Yeah, right. You wish," chuckled Lyra.

Both siblings stared at each other, confused. Soon enough, the rest of the group arrived and explained everything. Flora sat the red knight down as she started to heal his broken leg.

"AJ and Big Matthew, how did you survive the fall?" asked Twila, as she could see how badly hurt Matt was.

"It was pure luck, Twila," explained AJ. "When we were falling, Big Matt grabbed me and saw a giant pool of water in a building, and we landed there. Matt broke his leg when he broke the water's surface. "If it weren't for that, we would have been flat pancakes, I tell you what."

"You're lucky that you survived, sir Matthew," sighed Isadora. If we lost you or your sister, your father, Johnny Appleseed, would have had my head. I promised him that I'd make sure you two returned to him alive and in one piece.

"Yeah, well, that's life, ain't it?" sighed Matt, as he could feel his pain being taken away by Flora's magic. He removed his helmet, revealing his white beard and hair despite looking young.

"I'm so happy you're all safe," cried Twila as she hugged both siblings.

"Thanks, Twila. We're glad you're all safe, too," said AJ as she hugged Twila back.

Dashie poked Lyra's side, asking what their story was. In fact, what's everyone's story? She wanted to know everyone here.

"Okay. Let me explain since I'm the fastest. This is AJ, short for Abby Jasmine Appleseed. She might be small, but she's very skilled with an axe, and over there is her older brother, Big Matthew, or Matt for short. He's a big guy but a sweetheart. They're both from a well-known marketing group called Apple Core. Starry knows their father, a former knight, before quitting and starting his band of knights. AJ wants to be like her father and wants to prove it. Matthew joined us after we saved his sister from the living forest." explained Lyra

"The living forest?"

"It's where the forest is alive, filled with sentient trees that will crush anything or anyone that steps in their territory."

Dashie pictured it in her mind, and she suddenly flashed the Everfree Forest and nodded as she knew what Lyra was talking about.

"Starry, there is a well-known knight from the sky kingdom of Torna. She lost her arm years ago in a duel with her former lover. She doesn't want to explain that further. She joined us after we saved the floating kingdom from falling into the mountains."

Lyra pointed to Flora next. "She's pretty new. She's a wandering healer who overhears a plot to kill Princess Eirika during the knight race tournament in Winterfall Kingdom. She joined us as their bounty on her head now."

"Who is after her?"

"The Church of the Demon Dragon. Remember that loser? He was one of its cult leaders."

Lyra turned her attention to Kuu next, who was trying to lick the siblings but failing.

"This is Kuu. She's the divine moon dragon. She's the last of the divine dragon clan and a baby sister to the Sol dragon goddess, Helios. Princess Eirika found her in an underground cave, saving her from a cult leader she was following. She has a weird habit of licking people. Said I tasted like mint?" laughed Lyra

"You do taste like mint," said Kuu, as she was standing next to her and licking her armored hand.

"Right...Moving on. We don't know why she was in that underground cave, but after Eirika and the group she befriended, Kuu returned to the holy mountain of Sol before I came along. I was told that Eirika was chosen to save our world from the returning Demon Dragon and to seek out the holy weapons," explained Lyra as she pointed to herself. "Now, this is my story."

Lyra did a drama pose and spoke in a cool voice: "I'm a magical knight from the Windrunner kingdom. I was on vacation, enjoying my time off from protecting my kingdom, until I met Eirika and her group. They were fighting the cult and trying to save a baby holy bear after its mother was on a rampage. I joined them and have been with them since."

Lyra pointed to Vaida next, as she was on the rooftop and keeping watch. "Vaida there. She's the leader of the Black Sun, a famous group of thieves. The cult hired her and her gang to steal an ancient scroll that would allow them to find the key to remove the demon dragon seal. However, once Vaida read what was written on the scroll, she and her gang refused the contract and tried to stop the cult."

Dashie could see Lyra becoming sad as she went on.

"Her whole gang was killed, but we saved her, and she joined us. It wasn't until a week later that we entered a cult hideout, where she found her dead husband's body. He didn't know about her second life, and she blamed herself for everything. She's a nice woman. Just misunderstood with the anger she has."

Lyra moved on and pointed to Twila.

"And Twila, the first person to join Eirika on her quest with Kuu, was captured at a very young age and was tested with different curses by the cult for years. But she was saved by Eirika. She's a very kind, smart, and caring person. She's friendly to anyone or anything. She learned that she could use magic and was trained by the great wizard of the Xeno tower, as Eirika was there to deal with its "rat" problem." explained Lyra as she put her arm around Dashie's shoulder, got closer to her face, and whispered, "Also, she has a nice butt, right?"

"What?!"

"I know you were staring at her butt." chuckled Lyra as Dashie turned bright red. "I'm guessing you like her. It's okay. She's pretty, smart, and kind. I would like her if I were you. She's a keeper."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," panicked Dashie.

"It's okay. It's okay. Your secret is safe with me. We butt lovers got to stick together!" laughed Lyra as Dashie couldn't look away from Twila's butt and felt something warm inside her. Her heart was pounding, and that warmth was building up until she thought it exiting out of her back.

"What!" shouted Lyra in awe and confusion as she and everyone else turned to Dashie. They saw two enormous, beautiful blue wings blasting through her jacket and standing tall and stiff.

"Whoa, that's amazing," awed Flora as she finished healing Matt's leg, and he was now looking at the wings as amazed as everyone else.

"How did this happen?" asked Lyra.

"What?" said Dashie as she looked behind herself and saw the wings. That's when memories flashed in her eyes. "I always had these," replied Dashie before quickly turning red as she tried to lower them. But Starlight hurried over and pushed Lyra away, using her own wing to hide Dashie behind it. Dashie could see Starlight's disappointed face, which read "Pervert."

"You had wings this whole time and never knew it? What happened to you and your memories?" asked Lyra, as Starlight was still covering Dashie with her wing and not letting anyone close.

"I'm sorry, guys, but she needs some space. Something is going on with her. Let her process what's happening, and hopefully, she'll explain. But for now, let her have some space." Twila said as Starlight nodded, slowly moved her wing away, pushed Dashie, guided her to an alleyway, and left the group.

"What was that all about?" questioned AJ, scratching her head.

"Maybe she has amnesia?" suggested Flora.

"It would make sense. When I talked to her earlier, she said she didn't have any memories of someone or remember her name," added Twila.

Vaida jumped down from the rooftops and stood in front of the group. "I don't trust her at all! Even more now! We should push for more information!"

Vaida started to walk to the area where Dashie went, but Isadora stopped by putting her hand on her shoulder. Vaida could see the knight blushing and asked what was wrong.

"I believe she's some form of Pegasus race in her world. Going by Starlight's actions, it's best we wait for them," said Isadora, her face turning red and her eyes looking away.

"Why?"

Isadora sighed and whispered something to Vaida, who quickly turned red.

"Right! Let's wait for her!" nervously said Vaida, while Matt and Lyra understood and nodded, leaving the others confused.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that Dashie, with her wings finally down, and Starlight returned. Everyone could see Dashie hanging her head in shame while Starlight was making angry horse noises as she returned to her master's side and was still giving the same look to Dashie. Whoever wanted to die as she sat on the ground couldn't face anyone.

"Are you okay?" Twila asked as she stood in front of Dashie. She was worried because she noticed her face was still red.
Dashie looked up at her and could feel her heart beating again. Her wings were slowly moving up again, so she quickly slammed her back on the ground floor and pointed two thumbs at her with a bit of pain in her voice. "GOOD! I'M GOOD!"

Twila was confused by this, but before she could ask, everyone but Dashie could feel something in the air—something evil—as they prepared themselves and searched the area for it.

"I can feel a dark aura. It's solid. Whatever it is, it's not friendly," said Flora as she prepared her staff.

"I can feel it as well. This isn't normal. It's too powerful. Whatever it is, it must have a huge mana level." added Lyra.

"Isadora, what should we do?" asked Matt as he stood beside his little sister and got his sword ready.

"We need to stay calm. Whatever it is, we can feel our fear," stated Isadora as her armor started glowing, as she was charging up her magic and ready to defend her allies.

Kuu, feeling the dark aura, was frightened and quickly jumped behind Twila and cried. Twila held her tightly and whispered to her, "Don't worry. We're here."

Vaida, being an expert thief who trained her senses for danger, could hear something moving in the shadows and quickly drew her two blades. "Everyone, prepare yourself. It's coming."

Everyone readied themselves and waited for the incoming enemy. The air around them was becoming heavier and darker. Everyone could feel the cold breeze, which made their skin crawl.

"It's here," said Vaida deeply as she stared down at a man wearing a cloak. Everyone knew who it was—it was the cult leader, as he approached them with an evil smile.

"Long time, no see. You all seem well," greeted the cult leader as he stopped just a few feet away, and everyone was ready to fight.

"We have nothing to talk about. Leave, or you'll regret it," demanded Vaida.

"You are in no position to give orders, thief. In fact, no one is. All you worms need to listen to his voice, the real and true ruler of our world," replied the cult leader as he held something in his hand, and Twila quickly noticed what it was.

"The Horn of Spark!"

"That's correct. I won't allow you to escape this void! Not until what was promised to me! You'll stay here forever as our Lord takes back what was his. The world!" shouted the cult leader as he lifted the horn and crushed it with his hand.

As the horn broke into dust, the ground began to shake, and everyone tried to stay balanced. The cult leader laughed as shadow hands broke through the ground and grabbed him.

"Yes! Thank you, my Lord! Give me the power so I can strike her down!" shouted the mad cult leader as he pointed at Twila. "So I can free her! FREE MY DAU," but before he could finish, he was dragged into the ground by the shadow hands, and with a mighty earthquake, the square scattered as a giant demonic light darkish blue unicorn came out.

"I WILL NOT BE STOPPED BY MORTAL FOOLS! My daughter shall be set free! No matter the price!" roared the demonic unicorn as it stomped the ground, making a giant earthquake.

"Daughter?" whispered Twila.

"Twila!" shouted Vaida as she jumped at her and knocked her out of the way of the falling building behind her.

"Thanks," said Twila.

"Be careful!" shouted Flora, casting a protective barrier around the group as the shadows were attacking the barrier.

"What is that thing?!" shouted Lyra.

"A holy unicorn?" said Isadora.

"No. This one looks too demonic and has a mane made out of shadows," replied Matt as he pointed at the mane. He was right, as the mane was made out of shadows.

"What should we do?" asked Vaida, as the group was stuck between a giant demon and shadow hands.

"Everyone, let me, Lyra, and Starlight take care of it," stated Isadora as she got on Starlight's back and raised her sword in the air, making it shine with light.

"I'll keep us protected!" added Flora as she raised her staff and began to cast another spell.

"Let's take the shadows down," said Matt as he charged toward the nearest shadow and sliced through it.

"Yee-haw! Right behind you, brother!" shouted AJ as she ran towards a shadow and chopped it with her axe.

Lyra leaped on Starlight's back and summoned her sword.

"Starlight, let's go!" ordered Isadora as the trio took off toward the demonic unicorn, and with a mighty roar, the battle began.

"I WILL END YOU!"

"We won't let you, pal!"

The unicorn opens its mouth and shoots a large energy ball at the trio, who easily dodge it.

"Starlight, charge the horn, and attack!"

Starlight nodded and flew towards the demon while Isadora and Lyra got ready to strike.

"Take this!" shouted Lyra as she rocketed her sword at the unicorn horn, which bounced off, and a small crack appeared.

"Nice one, Lyra! It can hurt!" said Isadora.

However, the demon wasn't finished, and it used its crack horn to cast a lightning spell. Isadora and Starlight barely dodged it, but it didn't help much, as Lyra fell off but could summon her sword and use it as a hoverboard.

"We're not finished!" shouted Isadora as Starlight flew back towards the demon and charged at the unicorn, allowing Isadora to slash its forehead. The monster roared in pain as a big gash was seen.

"Isadora!" shouted Lyra as she saw many shadow hands going after her.

Isadora saw the shadow hands and used magic to blast them away with a magic wave from her sword.

"Nice job!" smiled Lyra as she was near them.

"I couldn't have done it without your warning, Lyra."

"We're not done yet! Let's take that ugly demon down!"

"Agreed! Let's get it, Starlight."

Starlight nodded as she and the duo charged at the demon while the others dealt with the shadows.

"AJ, Matt, we're running low on mana. We can't keep this up," warned Flora.

"Can you blast them? Since these things are weak to light magic?" asked Matt.

"I would if I could, but we're surrounded. There's too many of them."

"We'll have to take them down ourselves then," stated AJ. She sliced through a shadow, and Matt followed suit as they fought.

"Keep fighting! We got to hold out until Isadora and Lyra can take that unicorn down!" ordered Vaida as she tossed paper bombs at a group of shadows trying to grab Twila and the others.

"Kuu! Keep watch over Twila and the horny one!" ordered Vaida, as Kuu was shaking in fear but nodded as she stood between the two, trying her best not to be scared.

"Don't worry. We're safe. Nothing can get past her," smiled Twila as she hugged Kuu and whispered, "Thank you."

"Gonna be brave! Just like Eirika!" Kuu said as she shook her head, and her body was glowing with a small amount of moonlight.

"That's right. Remember what she told you when she left?" smiled Twila.

"No matter what, no matter the time or situation, you'll be brave! Brave enough to shine through the darkness!" roared Kuu as she shot out a sea of night sky-looking flames and burned any shadows that came near.

Twila chuckled as she hugged her. "Be the light that the people need."

Dashie could only watch as everyone was doing their best, while she watched from the backline. She hated this, hated not helping anyone, as something inside of her was growing. She looked up and saw the fight happening above them. Isadora was exhausted, as the demon was too much for her and Lyra.

"We can't win," whispered Isadora as a magic wave hit her and almost fell off Starlight.

"Isadora!" shouted Lyra as the magical knight caught her from falling while the duo was able to dodge the next attack.

"We're not going to last long. We're losing too much mana. We can't get close anymore."

"Don't give up, Isadora! We can do this! We can win! For our friends, family, and loved ones! If you give up, all that's going to happen is that the demon is going to destroy everything and kill our friends."

Isadora sighed. "You're right, Lyra. Let's do this! Together!"

Lyra smiled as they charged again at the unicorn, which was charging a significant magic attack.

"Starlight! Dodge! It's preparing to attack!" ordered Isadora as Starlight nodded and avoided the magical beam, but it wasn't the end of it.

"WHAT THE-" shouted Lyra in surprise as the magic attack changed direction and was heading towards the others on the ground.

"NO!" screamed Twila as she tried to cast a spell to protect the others. The attack was about to hit them, but something stopped the magical attack. Everyone was stunned at what they were looking at.

"This girl..." smirked Lyra. She could see Dash holding the beam in place with one hand while her wings were up, and a rainbow halo was behind her back.

"Dashie...?" whispered Twila.

"I've had it! I'm not going to be useless!" snarled Dashie as she tossed the magic attack up and soared into the air, quickly passing Isadora and Lyra, amazed by the supersonic speed.

"That speed!" awed Isadora.

"That girl can move! Can you put us Wind Knights to shame?" smirked Lyra.

"Hey, ugly demon! Let's go, pal!" shouted Dashie as the unicorn looked at her, while the others on the ground were shocked by the bravery Dashie was showing.

"How dare you, fool? To stand in my way when you should be bowing before the demon dragon teachings!" roared the unicorn.

"You may have a big horn and be powerful, but that will not scare me, pal! I fought way more ugly monsters!"

"Insolence, fool!"

"Enough talking! Time for the main show!"

Dashie quickly dodged the unicorn's attacks, while the demon grew annoyed with her as its attacks weren't working.

"You're fast. But that's not going to stop me!"

"Not bad, pal! You got some speed, but not enough to catch me!"

"ENOUGH OF THIS FILTHY FOOLS MOCKERY!"

The unicorn's body was now engulfed in a dark flame, while its horn was glowing with a powerful magic attack.

"Is it casting a high magic spell!" asked Twila, worried about Dashie.

"That's a powerful magic spell! Dashie's not going to survive!" panicked Isadora.

"KID! RUN!" screamed Lyra as she tried to reach her. "DAMN IT! I WON'T REACH HER! SHE WON'T GET AWAY IN TIME!"

Dashie, floating in the air with her arms crossed, was staring at the demon as it was charging up its most potent magical attack. The unicorn fired a magical beam covered in black flames, and Dashie quickly raised her hands and pushed back the beam with super strength and speed. Everyone was shocked by the feat as she made the demon's attack back, showing no signs of struggle.

"Glad this sugar cube is on our side," said AJ.

"Eeyup," replied Big Matt.

"Amazing," gasped Flora.

"Incredible," whispered Twila, as she could only stare in awe.

"I can't believe it! She's pushing back the attack! WITHOUT MUCH TROUBLE!" screamed Isadora, who was also in shock.

"This power," muttered the demon. "What are you, brat?"

"Oh, you want to know my name, pal?" smirked Dashie.

"DON'T PUSH YOUR LUCK!"

"The name is Rainbow Dashiell! One of the protectors of my world! And you're going to lose, pal!"

With one final push, Dashie could push the beam away from her and the group, sending it into the air, and it disappeared. The demon was now starting to grow nervous, as this 'Rainbow Dashiell' was a threat, and she could counter its magic attack with ease and speed.

"This is my chance! Rainbow, we got this!" said Lyra as she and Isadora flew beside her.

"Good timing. You two will get the best seats!" smirked Dashie as she blasted off, leaving the two in the dust.

"Hey, ugly! You wanted me! I'm right here!" taunted Dashie as she raced around the demon, making it dizzy.

"ENOUGH!"

The demon was about to fire another magical beam but was suddenly punched in the chest by Dashie and was being pushed into the sky.

"I won't lose!" shouted the demon as it was pushing back.

"We'll see, pal! This is just the start! Get ready for my best move!"

Rainbow Dashie then increased her speed until the sound barrier cracked with multiple colors. The unicorn monster could feel its body being crushed by the G force.

"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! I JUST WANTED TO SET HER FREE!"

"Enjoy my Sonic Rainboom!"

Rainbow Dash then released her full strength, breaking the sound barrier and unleashing her Sonic Rainboom. This sent the monster into the sky while the rainbow circle blasted across the void of nothingness.

"This...power," groaned the demon.

"You're going to regret messing with me, pal!"

The two kept going until they slammed into the void ceiling, but that didn't stop Dashie as she kept pushing.

"I won't die here! I must live, for her sake!"

"Sorry, pal, but the show is over!"

"IT'S NOT OVER YET!"

"IT IS!"

Dashie took all her power, and with one big push, she blasted through the ceiling, Scattering the void and freeing the dead city as a blue sky appeared. The rainbow light went further up, and the monster could feel its body breaking apart as the rainbow energy was now burning it.

"I'M FALLING APART! THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! THIS ISN'T HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO GO!"

"Too bad, pal. Now you're going down!"

The rainbow energy was now burning away the demon's body as it screamed in agony.

"IT'S HURTS! Make it stop! PLEASE! DON'T BURN ME!"

"Sorry, but you've messed with the wrong girl! So, good night."

"IT HURTS! I CAN'T TAKE THIS PAIN! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU?!?"

"Because you threaten my friends! That is reason enough!"

The demon's body was now being destroyed as it screamed, crying in pain.

"WHY! What have I done to deserve this?"

"For being a jerk."

"I ONLY WANTED TO FREE HER!"

"I'm not hearing an apology, pal!"

"SORRY!"

"Louder!"

"I'M SORRY!"

"Now, you're going home!"

The demon screamed in terror as its body was burned away by the rainbow energy until nothing was left of it. Rainbow Dashie, on the other hand, was fine. She finally stopped and floated there. She turned around and could see nothing but a beautiful sun.

She smiled at it but noticed it was getting closer and more significant.

"Wait a sec. Suns are not supposed to get that big, and why does it feel so warm rather than hot?"

Suddenly, the sun became a super-large white female dragon before turning into a human, and to Dashie, it was this version of Celestia.

"CELESTIA?! YOU'RE HUGE!"

"Well, hello. You have done well. You saved this city and set free the cursed people who lived here, as they were the monsters in this ruinous kingdom. I, Helios, thank you."

"Uhh, you're welcome. So, where are we?"

"My dimension. The sun realm, and it's just me. Tell me, otherworldly hero, what do you wish for?"

"I need to get home; can you send me back?"

Helios shook her head, as she didn't have the power to break the wall in between.

"Then, can you show me where the rainbow shard is?"

"I'll do you one better," smiled Helios as her eyes glowed with yellow light. The rainbow shard appeared in front of Dashie. Like always, her shard started to glow and floated out of her pocket. Both watched as the shards slowly became one as reality broke down.

"Go, little one. I pray that you return home and help my chosen one. You and they are running out of time. Here, take this orb. She's going to need it when you return home," said Helios as she handed Dashie a rainbow orb and placed it in her pocket.

"Who? Do you mean this Eirika person? And what do you mean, I'm running out of time?" asked Dashie, but Helios said nothing as she vanished, and Dashie fell into a bright void as the shards were still fusing. The bright light engulfed the city as Twila and her friends covered their eyes.

---

"They're back!" shouted a crossed-eyed archer as Twila and the others saw they were back in the field. Both groups were celebrating, but Twila looked around and didn't see Dashie anywhere.

"Where's Dashie?" asked Twila, as Lyra and Isadora could only shake their heads.

"She was fighting the demon, but I lost sight of her after the explosion," explained Isadora.

"What!? Are you saying she might have died?" shouted Twila, as she was trying not to cry.

"There's no way; she died. If anything, the explosion probably killed that cult asshole. Bet Blue is fine," reassures Lyra.

"Right, but where is she? We can't leave her behind!"

"Twila, it's okay. She's," said Flora, but she was cut off as everyone shouted to look at the sky. The sonic rainboom was still there but slowly faded into the sea of clouds. In the middle, they could all see a falling rainbow star.

"It's her!" cried Twila as she turned to the group. Isadora, on Starlight, quickly hurried over to Twila and got on.

"Starlight! Go!" ordered Isadora as the Pegasus opened its wings and took off. The two quickly went through the clouds and could see Dashie, slowly falling and being surrounded by rainbow energy as she held something.

"Dashie! Don't worry, I got you!" cried Twila as she reached out her arms, as Starlight was flying faster.

"Just a bit more!" cried Isadora.

"Almost there!" shouted Twila as she and Isadora almost caught Dashie but were blasted away by a pillar of rainbow light.
Twila could see Dashie disappearing into the light and could not reach her.

"DASHIE!" cried Twila, tears coming from her eyes.

Dashie opened her eyes and could see Twila, Isadora, and Starlight. Soon, she could see Kuu, Lyra, and other Pegasus knights that were part of the Eirika's group flying behind Lyra.

"See you around..." cried Dashie as she gave Twila and the others a see you later hand gesture and disappeared into the light.

"DASHIE!" shouted Twila, but she was too late; the rainbow pillar disappeared, and the sky was returning to normal. "Dashie..." cried Twila. She shed a tear before looking back into the sky, and a rainbow appeared between the clouds. "I hope you find and remember her. See you around," smiled Twila as Lyra and the others arrived. Lyra put her hand on her shoulder, letting her cry some more.

---

Dashie opened her eyes, and she found herself back in the garden. The alicorn was there as she looked at her.

"They're not going to last for much longer. Do you remember her yet?"

"No, but memories of her... I think I'm remembering the time I had with her. I think I'm starting to remember her face." explained Dashie as she held her chest as she was crying again.

The alicorn closed her eyes, and the garden was freaking out as Dashie could see a black ooze pony with bright white eyes behind the alicorn.

"Please, hurry. If not, everything and everyone is doomed."

"Don't worry; I'm not going to forget you. You and I are the same; I remember that now." Dashie smiled, causing the alicorn to open her eyes and shake.

"Wait, do you remember?" But she was cut off as everything disappeared into the rainbow light, but Dashie smiled as she floated within it.

"I'm not letting you go again. I'll save you this time, even if I'm not really "me." Right, Dash and Dashie." softly whispered Rainbow Dashie as she flickered between Dashie, Dash, and a third Dash wearing a dark blue jacket.

---

The rainbow light disappeared, and Dashie could feel herself floating without falling. She opened her eyes and saw a purple moon as it started to glow brightly and blow up with great force. She could see the earth before her as the moon chucks disappeared. She realized she was in space. She closed her eyes and felt herself pushed back into the planet. Her body was hot as she re-entered and fell towards an island. She crashed face-first into the grassy field. She wasn't in pain, and she didn't know why. She could hear voices, and she slowly looked up and could see Pony AJ, Pegasus Pinkie Pie, wearing a red dress, and Scoots as a griffon.

"Who is she? Where's Bolt?" asked Pinkie

Scoots took out a tablet and scanned Dashie, and he was surprised by the readings.

"Can't be? The readings are a match for Bolt! This is Bolt the Pegasus!"

Dashie stood up, and unknown to her, her human ears were replaced with pony ears. Her face looked more like a pony now, while her body remained human.

"My name isn't Bolt. My name is Rainbow, Rainbow Dash!"

end of chapter 7