//------------------------------// // A True Pegasus // Story: Multiversal Voyage // by King Ice //------------------------------// Universe 19884 12 years ago “Why are we stopping?” A little filly questioned as she stepped on a cloud, looking up at the stallion who accompanied her to the sky. The gentle breeze and clear skies provided ideal flying conditions. Yet, after just 20 minutes of flight, her father instructed her to land on a seemingly random cloud in the vast sky. Frustration brewed within her. Every minute spent standing around was a minute she could have spent practicing. After all, she couldn’t become a Wonderbolt if she wasn’t the best, could she? “I thought we could use a break. Especially me,” Her father chuckled, gesturing to himself. He didn’t look old, which wasn’t surprising since he was only in his early thirties. His brilliant amber mane and his blue coat were well-maintained. However, you couldn’t say the same for his wings. While one appeared ordinary, the other bore a deep scar. “I can barely fly for half an hour with that stupid thing,” He pointed at his scar; however, his daughter simply rolled her eyes as if she had heard him say that thousands of times already. The stallion sighed. “Look, kiddo… Truth is… I didn’t bring you here for practice,” He admitted. “Of course!” The daughter threw her forelegs in the air in frustration before crossing them and sitting down. “I should have figured when you offered to train me instead of Mom!” She huffed, turning his back on him. "Yeah... Your mother has always been an exceptional flyer," The father murmured to himself. His daughter stayed in place, still avoiding eye contact. It was no secret she preferred practicing with her mother, so her lack of response didn't surprise him. "I wanted to have a chat," He admitted. “And we couldn’t do that at home?” She grumbled. "Don't you think the sky's much better?" Her father gestured all around him, but his daughter remained unmoved. "Lightning, please," He sighed. She had always been evasive when she sensed trouble, aptly living up to her name, Lightning Dust. She was as swift as lightning, leaving only dust behind when she needed to fly off somewhere. However, her mother likely hadn't anticipated the name would suit her that way.  “Can you stop beating around the bush already? I know what you wanna talk about! Mom told you, didn’t she?” Lightning snapped at him before turning away again. “I just want to know why. I don’t remember teaching my little girl to start fights,” Dad put a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m not the one who started it! The others did!” She denied it, but her father already knew the truth. She threw the first kick from what the school said. “They were making fun of me,” “Why?” “Because I won the race we were having, obviously! They were saying I got lucky or that I didn’t deserve the win…. Or that I cheated!” She retorted, fuming. Her father could see that she wanted to jump on her hooves and yell at the world. Thankfully, she contained herself. “Why does that matter? If you won, then just ignore them! How is getting into fights going to prove anything?” Her father inquired, almost offending the small filly with his question. “It matters ‘cause I wanna be the best! How can I prove that I’m the best if they won’t even admit it?” She argued, making her father shake his head. “I… I understand that you’re proud of your abilities, and believe me, I’m proud of you, too,” He softly said to her, slightly calming her down. “I know joining the Wonderbolts is your dream, but don’t you think it would be even better if you had fun along the way?” “Not this again,” Lightning Dust rolled her eyes in annoyance. “I know you don’t want to hear the boring old man talk, but I’m only speaking from experience,” He explained, much to his daughter’s curiosity, perked up once he finished his sentences. “I was just as good a flyer as your mother back then, but ten times more competitive,” He smiled with nostalgia. “So you were cool?” Lightning widened her eyes, flabbergasted. “Maybe. I’m not sure if being cool is all that great anymore,” He admitted. His daughter gasped in horror, unable to believe her own father would say something like that. “I wanted to be a Wonderbolt, too, actually,” “No way,” Lightning shook her head in disbelief. She simply couldn’t believe that her father was anywhere good enough to join them. “My talent is flying, so I’ve always been boastful about it. I loved being the best in every flying competition or even in school,” He reminisced with a faint smile. It wasn’t pride or joy. He simply remembered simpler times when he was still young and foolish. Her father looked down in shame. "I... Haven't always treated other ponies kindly, especially those I considered beneath me," he confessed. Lightning arched an eyebrow but maintained a stoic expression. "I was mean, I mocked and ridiculed them. Anytime somepony would talk behind my back, I would just… Just fight. Fight like an idiot. I was a bully, and I don’t want you to follow the same path,” “What?! You think I’m a bully? J-Just spare me the lecture! Mom already gave me one!” She suddenly snapped before crossing her forelegs again. “I just taught them a lesson, that’s all!” “Please, sweetie. Just let me finish,” He gently patted her head. “I only looked out for myself, and starting fights for something so petty was the first step. Even my parents didn’t know what to do with me,” He sighed a tinge of sadness in his voice. “Then one day… I decided to up my training. I wanted to be sure to be the best at the Wonderbolts Academy. One accident led to another and I broke my wing… badly,” He said as he unfolded his scarred wing. “I thought it would stay broken forever,” He wasn’t completely wrong. Even if he could fly now, that wing suffered damage that could never be repaired, limiting how much time he could fly without breaks. “As you might expect, I missed the tryouts,” “What are you getting at?” Lightning mumbled while looking down. “After that accident, I couldn’t fly for months,” Dad answered, folding his wing again. “The ponies who I thought were my friends left me once they assumed I would never fly again. The ones I bullied constantly stopped fearing me. Instead, they either pitied me or mocked me. I couldn’t blame them. It was only fitting after what I put them through,” He shook his head. Of course, at the time, he was mad at everyone. He hated them. It was only later that he understood why they even did that in the first place. It was because he did the same to them every day before that. “You know what was the most painful about that injury?” “No,” Lightning shrugged. She wanted to answer that it was the bone breaking out of the wing, but she had a feeling she was wrong. “Not being able to fly. I was stuck on the ground for months. It wasn’t the competitions or the races. It wasn’t to prove something. I just… missed flying,” He declared. “When I finally got to fly again, I had to take it slow. I still do. That was when I actually opened my eyes and paid attention to my surroundings. I watched the world through another lens,” He explained before walking forward. “And this is what I saw. Open your eyes and look, Sweetie,” He gestured in front of him. Lightning Dust glanced ahead, her attention still somewhat distant from his words. The sun dipped toward the horizon, casting the sky in an orange glow that mirrored the descending celestial sphere, making space for the rising moon. Several small clouds were scattered across, capturing a saturated version of the sun's hue as if they were reflecting its light. The warm gentle breeze from earlier had turned into the cooler embrace of dusk. The ground soaked in the amber hue, a stark contrast to the verdant green of the trees and grass. To their left, the clouds of Cloudsdale took on the same amber tint as those scattered across the sky. To the older stallion, it was the very definition of beauty -though he would consider it a synonym for his wife- which he loved and tried to witness every day. Unfortunately, Lightning Dust didn’t seem to have the same outlook. Once he turned to her, he expected her to be awed or emotionally moved. However, she bore an unimpressed expression, seemingly not caring at all about what she was watching. “Boring!” She exclaimed, drawing out the word. “I see that every time I practice with Mom! There’s nothing special about it, Dad!” The filly snapped, her patience having been worn out. “I don’t care about those stupid old stories!” “All I want is for you to do something you love. If you don’t love flying or witnessing sights like these, then what’s the point of flying at all? What’s the point of being born a pegasus?” Her father calmly explained, which only earned him a glare. “To be the best, duh! To be a Wonderbolt!” His daughter retorted, stomping the cloud under their feet. “And you do not need to get into fights for that. I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did,” The stallion replied, still somehow keeping his calm demeanor. “Most of all, I don’t want you to suffer the same thing I did to learn,” He said as he massaged his damaged wing. “I’m a good flyer, Dad. I’m not going to get into a stupid accident like you,” Lightning Dust narrowed her eyes. “You’re just saying all that because you could never be a Wonderbolt! You can barely get off the ground!” She pointed at his wing. “I’m not gonna waste time sightseeing when I can practice!” The filly shouted before turning around, ready to fly off. However, right before she did, she glanced at her father in disappointment. “The guys I beat up were right… You’re just a loser,” She muttered, then unfolded her wings and took off before the stallion could stop her. "Wait!" He reached out with one of his hooves, but she had already vanished. Swiftly, he unfurled his wings to pursue her, only to wince in pain as his damaged wing protested. Right... He needed a longer break. Her father peered over the edge of the cloud, gauging the distance to the ground, and sighed before settling back down. He gazed in the direction Lightning Dust had departed. “Maybe you’ll understand when you’re older,” He whispered, a sense of dejection in his voice. “I won’t always be here to help,” He added, taking another look at his wing before gazing toward the sun again. Present Time “I haven’t seen her sleep like that for so long…” Spike commented as he watched the lavender alicorn sound asleep in the cyan pegasus’ hooves. The group of ponies, dragon, and draconequus were sitting on the floor because of the general lack of chairs. Nevertheless, it didn’t seem to bother Twilight at all considering the way she calmly breathed into the other mare’s chest, softly snoring as she could finally enjoy a good sleep. “Poor dear… She looks dreadful,” Rarity whispered in shock. She still couldn’t believe the state one of her best friends was in. The lavender mare had been sleeping for an hour, and the others mainly remained quiet during that time, wanting to let her rest while Spike asked how things were in Ponyville. “What happened to her?” Fluttershy inquired while the others remained silent, choosing to listen to the dragon without interrupting him. However, Rainbow Dash dedicated half of her attention to the sleeping mare in her hooves, holding her as if she were a precious but fragile jewel. “As you heard earlier, Twilight blamed herself for… uhm… your death all this time,” The little dragon replied, throwing a look in Rainbow Dash’s direction. “I told her it wasn’t her fault, but she wouldn’t have it. We went directly here after leaving Ponyville, but it was supposed to be a short break since Twilight wanted to get away as far as possible. Then Tirek messed everything up. Because the castle was moved so much, she thought nopony would come looking for us here, so we stayed,” He began recounting. “She must have left the castle only a few times these past two years. She refused to go out or even do anything. I had to go out and look for food for both of us. As time went on, she talked less and less. She became more fidgety… like she was scared of her own shadow. Then the nightmares began,” “The nightmares?” Applejack arched an eyebrow. They all had nightmares after what happened, so the fact that Twilight was affected, too, didn’t surprise her. She was mostly wondering how serious hers were. “There wasn’t a single night where she could sleep longer than three hours. She would always wake up screaming and crying… and I didn’t know what to do,” Spike said, his face in his claws in shame. “Nothing I said got through to her. She was convinced you girls hated her because, in her mind, she’s the only one responsible for Rainbow Dash’s death,” He explained. “But she isn’t! Tirek did that! If anyone should be punished, it’s him!” Rainbow Dash hissed, trying to keep quiet so as to not wake Twilight up. Naturally, the others agreed with various ‘yeahs’ while Discord stood in silence, looking away with guilt. “I know that! I told her that. But she wouldn’t listen. For some reason, she even thought you would go on a revenge quest and kill her!” Spike gestured to the sleeping alicorn. “This is ridiculous!” Rarity placed a hoof over her chest in shock. “We could never hate Twilight this much,” Pinkie exclaimed, her mane switching from puffed up to straight. “Even if we did blame her for Rainbow’s death, killing is…” Fluttershy muttered as if she was scared to finish her sentence. “A mighty strong word,” Applejack interjected before shaking her head. “Oh, Celestia… What kind of nightmares did she have?” She wondered. “Not just nightmares… Hallucinations, too. After that, even eating got hard for her. I was so scared… I had no idea how to help her. I was a horrible friend,” Spike rubbed his forehead, sniffing back his tears. “Oh, no! Don’t ya dare say that!” Applejack quickly reprimanded him. “You’re the only one who stayed with her and even tried to help her. We’re the ones who gave up on her. If there’s a horrible friend in this story, then it’s us,” She gestured to herself and the others. “No, you had your own problems to deal with,” The dragon reassured them. There was no way he would blame them for anything after everything that occurred these past years. As he said that, Pinkie Pie suddenly remembered one of the things Twilight mentioned before falling asleep. Her brain didn’t quite register it at the time, so she didn’t even process it. However, now that things calmed down, the reminder of these words sent a shiver down her spine. “Spike… Earlier, Twilight said that she wanted to… to die in peace… What did that mean?” She inquired with a trembling voice. She already knew the answer, of course, but she was hoping -no, begging- that Spike would give her a different answer. “She… As I said… Things have been hard. Her mental state wasn’t… ideal,” The dragon looked down, refusing to elaborate further. Cold wind washed over the ponies and the draconequus, their fears confirmed. There was no need for further explanation; the issue was that they didn’t even know how to respond or to help. Of their whole lives, the challenges they faced after Tirek’s arrival were the worst. Before Rainbow Dash’s ‘return’, they didn’t even have hope anymore. Even if they weren’t as distressed as Twilight was… they may have wished for death, too, in a few more years. When they were all broken to this point, how could they possibly help fix someone else? It was even worse for Discord because he was partially responsible, and the guilt would follow him until the end. Thankfully for them, they didn’t need to respond. Rainbow Dash sliced through the silence with a single sentence. “We’ll fix everything. Now that I’m here, Tirek won’t stand a chance!” She confidently assured them. While it gave the others hope, Spike gazed at her quizzically. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but how are you back?” He asked skeptically. He had never heard of anyone being revived except in fictional stories, so it was understandably hard to believe. The others weren’t exactly fond of the truth either. They would have preferred if Rainbow Dash did come back from the dead with no explanation. They wouldn’t have cared for an explanation. “Did he have something to do with it?” He questioned with spite, glaring at Discord. The Lord of Chaos couldn’t even exchange glances for longer than a few seconds before looking away. “No… It’s more complicated than that. The truth is… she isn’t our Rainbow Dash,” Rarity finally revealed, replacing Spike’s hateful glare with a look of confusion. “Huh? What do you mean?” He inquired. The ponies looked at one another, silently agreeing that it was time to reveal the truth. Applejack was the first one to speak, telling him how she found Rainbow Dash and the state she was in after fighting the Timberwolves. The cyan pegasus then explained who she really was and where she came from, including how she got here in the first place. Understandably, Spike didn’t know what to say at first. He knew there was no point for them to lie like this to him. However, the existence of multiple universes was difficult to believe. It was just like those special issues in the Power Ponies comics! “That’s… a lot to take in,” Spike’s claws were shaking. He was disappointed this wasn’t the Rainbow Dash he knew and befriended. He had a hard time not thinking of that version of her as a stranger. Most of all, he was afraid of Twilight’s reaction. Couldn’t they have something good happen for them for once? “So, what now?” “Well… We’ll wait for Twilight to wake up and tell her about Rainbow Dash. Then we’ll finally deal with Tirek,” Applejack replied. “I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Spike scratched his right arm. “Maybe we should wait before telling her? Let’s take care of Tirek first,” He suggested, making most of them gasp. “What the heck are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash arched an eyebrow. She didn’t look happy at all. “That’s not a detail you can just mention later, Spikey-Wikey!” Rarity reprimanded him. “Look, I know! I know! Lying is bad! But think about her!” He gestured to the sleeping alicorn. “If she realizes that Rainbow Dash is still… gone… Then the last bit of remaining fighting spirit she just got back will get snuffed out! I’m not sure she’ll get back from it this time,” Spike explained. The others understood the implications of his words well. However, they were still having none of it. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to protest, only to be interjected by another mare. “No,” Applejack’s voice was firm. “There has been enough pain. Ah can assure learning the truth when RD has to leave will hurt her a lot more than if we tell her now,” She affirmed, unwilling to argue about it. Spike was quiet. Once Applejack spoke in such a tone, you knew there was no room for discussion. Moreover, he couldn’t deny she was right. No matter how much he wished to protect Twilight’s feelings, he couldn’t do it forever. “I suppose we should wake her and tell her, then,” Fluttershy concluded. Before any one of them could reply, another voice cut in. “You don’t need to tell me,” Someone coldly spoke. It was Twilight! The alicorn glared at her friends before pushing Rainbow Dash off her and backing away hurriedly, nearly tripping on her tail. “Twilight! How long have you-” Spike asked, only to be interrupted. “Long enough!” She shouted back with her lips quivering. “I should have known. I should have known it was too good to be true,” She clenched her teeth, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. “Nothing will change the reality… I…” Twilight stopped herself as the cyan pegasus was suddenly covered in blood, glaring at her with hate-filled eyes. The lavender mare averted her eyes. “Rainbow is dead… It’s over…” She turned her back on them. “Please, leave,” “So you could kill yourself? No way!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Why do you care? You’re not even my Rainbow Dash. You’re not my friend,” Twilight muttered. Rainbow Dash carefully walked up to her while the others stayed back. If there was somepony who could get through to the lavender mare, then it was the pegasus. “That doesn’t matter. I could be in any universe, and I would still be your friend,” The pegasus affirmed. “No matter the universe, Rainbow Dash will always be Twilight’s friend, and Applejack’s, and Fluttershy’s, you get it! No matter where I am, I’ll always help you,” She declared. The others smiled softly at her words. Applejack could tell the cyan mare was telling the truth. No matter the version, they fully believed that they would have her in their corner. Twilight finally turned to look at her, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t get it,” She shook her head. “How can you be so confident? How can you be so sure? You don’t have a shred of doubt in your voice…” She sniffled. “Because I mean it, and because I know we can win. As long as we’re together, there’s nothing we’ll lose against,” Rainbow replied. Twilight wanted so badly to retort that they already lost. Even though she and her friends were together, they lost. However, she didn’t find the strength to as she gazed into the other mare’s eyes. “We can stop Tirek,” Twilight’s eyes shifted to the weapons they carried, watching them with disdain. “Is that why you have those… horrid things?” She questioned, glaring at the blades. “You’re the only one who even has magic, so how do you expect to win?” “I’m not the only one. You know that, Twilight. We have pretty strong magic when we’re all together like this,” Rainbow Dash retorted before pointing at the medallion around the alicorn’s neck, the one Discord gave her so long ago. “This will help us. It’s the last key to the chest in the tree,” She revealed, much to the mare’s surprise. “That’s a reminder of my failures. It is no key,” Twilight shook her head. Before the others could protest, she continued. “I’m not as brave as you. I… I can’t leave. If we go out, Tirek will find us. He’ll come,” She shook her head, trying to wipe her tears with one of her hooves. “And one of us will die again, or maybe all of us. Please, I don’t want to lose anypony again… I don’t want to… Don’t make me, please,” She whimpered, stepping back in fear. “Maybe we can all stay here!” “You know I can’t, Twilight. I have friends I need to go back to,” Rainbow Dash responded. The lavender alicorn lowered her eyes in defeat. “We know you’re scared, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie stepped forward, a bittersweet smile across her lips. “So are we. Maybe if we go all together, we won’t be as scared… Maybe we can laugh like before,” She suggested. “But you hate me. You hate me because I killed Rainbow Dash,” Twilight whimpered, struggling to stay up. “If anyone here is responsible for her death, it’s me,” Discord declared with shame. “I’ve been selfish because despite having everything, freedom, and friends, I gave it all up for power. I gave it up to join that monster, Tirek. I hurt countless ponies, and… I’m as responsible as Tirek for Rainbow Dash’s death. I’m the one who told him about your friends in the first place,” The alicorn shook her head frantically. “It doesn’t matter… You still hate me! I know you do!” She yelled. “It’s thanks to you that all of us became friends. Our lives only changed for the better the day we met. I have so many wonderful memories of us, and if it weren’t for all of you, I would probably be working in my boutique 24/7 just for the chance to go to Canterlot one day. I’ve learned a lot thanks to you and the girls, and I couldn’t have asked for a better life. You are one of the best friends I ever had or will have,” Rarity grinned, standing by Pinkie’s side. “We could never hate you,” Twilight’s lower lip quivered again while she held back another wave of tears. “Even if you forgive me… Even if you never hated me in the first place… You can’t say the same for everypony else! Because I gave Tirek all the alicorn magic, I ruined the lives of everyone!” The alicorn argued desperately. "Well now, if anypony's pointin' fingers at ya for this mess, then that's their own loss. But let me tell ya, Twilight, Ponyville knows ya. All our other friends know ya too. Ain't a single soul in Ponyville holdin' any grudges against ya. Ah can tell ya for sure, my family sure don't. You and the rest of the gang have helped us so dang much, I reckon Granny Smith might even consider y'all as family." Applejack interjected confidently. “But… But… I’m a failure. Why should I go with you? If all you need is the medallion, then take it,” Twilight stammered. “I’ll only hold you back,” “I thought the same thing about myself, Twilight,” Fluttershy admitted softly. “Before becoming your friend, I could barely hold a conversation for longer than ten seconds. I thought I couldn’t do anything right besides taking care of animals. You girls proved me wrong, so let us prove you wrong, too,” The shy pegasus smiled. Twilight sniffled back her tears. Everything she said, her friends had an answer for. The fear that gripped her heart, the fear that Tirek instilled inside her… was wavering. She was beginning to believe them. She started to believe that they may have been right. Nonetheless, that fear remained as did the guilt. Could she truly move forward when her whole being was trapped in Tirek’s clutches? “We don’t stand a chance. Even the magic of friendship can’t defeat Tirek,” She whispered. “Now, I know even you don’t believe that,” Rainbow Dash snickered in amusement. “This time, Tirek doesn’t stand a chance. Trust me. Trust us,” The pegasus gestured to the group of friends behind her, each bearing a confident expression. Pinkie’s mane even turned back to its usual puffed-up self. “If we go down, at least we’ll go down together. Better than being alone, isn’t it?” She asked. Twilight was unresponsive, staring into the cyan mare’s eyes before nodding. “Besides, you must have missed a lot of ponies, didn’t you?” “I miss my parents,” Twilight admitted, her eyes stinging because of her previous tears. “I miss my brother. I miss Cadance, and I miss Ponyville. I… I missed you,” She finally looked at her friends, her eyes slightly brighter. Maybe, she finally had hope again. Small claws patted one of her legs, lowering her gaze to Spike. “Then let’s finish this once and for all, and let’s go back home,” The small dragon declared with a small smile. The alicorn blinked a couple of times, then breathed out. “Okay,” She finally decided. Instantly, all her friends jumped on her, trapping her into a large group hug that filled her with warmth. The alicorn cried again. However, this time, they were tears of joy. She was happy for the first time in 2 years! Of course, she couldn’t say she was completely confident. She honestly wasn’t even sure they would win. However, she was willing to try. After a couple of minutes, they broke the hug. Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence. “Let’s find that tree and open the chest,” She declared. “That I can help with,” Spike interjected immediately. “I’ve been flying around for the past 2 years to look for food every day. I found the tree only a few weeks after we got into the castle,” “Good! Is it far?” Rarity inquired happily. “It’s only half an hour away, but it’s out of the forest, now. That means, if there’s any timberwolves flying around, they’ll spot us instantly,” Spike warned them. “That’s fine. We’ll take care of them! Our priority is to get to the tree,” Rainbow Dash affirmed before turning to Twilight. “So? Ready to leave, Egghead?” Twilight smiled faintly. “I am,” Then it was time to go. They swiftly left the castle, not wanting to waste any time. The group needed to go around the castle since the Tree of Harmony was further down that path. It was quickly apparent that Spike had been telling the truth as the trees were becoming scarce. Spike was the head of the formation since he was the one guiding them. Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow were right behind him while the others watched their backs. “Are you sure ya don’t want a weapon?” Applejack questioned Twilight as they marched behind Spike. “No, I really don’t. I’m sorry… I just can’t,” The alicorn shook her head. She could barely look at their weapons without flinching, so there was no way she could hold one. “I understand. Ah just want ya to stay safe,” The farm pony replied with a hoof on the alicorn’s shoulder. “I know, but I doubt a weapon will help considering the danger there is,” Twilight retorted while glancing to their right. They were on the edge of a cliff because the ground had been lowered after Tirek’s rampage. While the bottom led to mostly dead trees, there was also a dark ravine right under the cliff. With no magic and no way to fly, if she fell and Rainbow couldn’t catch her, then she doubted she would survive. Unfortunately, this was the quickest way to the tree. “Don’t worry! If you fall, I’ll be there to catch you!” Rainbow Dash assured her while flexing with her wings. Before Twilight could respond, someone else abruptly interjected. “I’d love to see you try, Rainbow Crash!” A feminine voice mocked. “That voice…” The cyan pegasus perked up as the others looked around in surprise. Suddenly, a metallic wire planted itself in one of the trees behind before something zipped right after it. A hoof slammed right into Rainbow’s jaw, making her bounce off the ground multiple times before landing at Spike’s side. “Rainbow!” Her friends shouted, astonished by the sudden attack. The pegasus grunted, holding her jaw and checking if it wasn’t broken. The group brandished their weapons at the sudden attacker, poised to strike back, while the alicorn took a few steps back, startled by the enemy's sudden appearance right in front of her. The air filled with more whirring sounds, causing the others to whirl around as three additional figures zipped past them and perched on the trees nearby. “What in tarnation is going on?!” Applejack yelled, brandishing her hammer. Rainbow Dash glared at what appeared to be the boss of the band. “Lightning Dust,” She spat with anger. Indeed, it was none other than Lightning Dust in the flesh. She, along with the other pegasi accompanying her, appeared just as worse for wear as the other ponies Rainbow had encountered since arriving in this universe. However, what set them apart was their attire. They were mostly unclothed, save for the leather harnesses encircling their torsos. Each harness sported two holes on either side, from which protruded sharp-tipped metal wires. It seemed they used those to move around considering how they arrived here. The pegasi accompanying her were also ponies neither Rainbow Dash nor Fluttershy weren’t fans of. Hoops, Dumb-Bell, and Score. Their former bullies. “Missed me, Rainbow Crash? Last I heard you were supposed to be dead,” Lightning sniggered, ignoring the threatening stances the ponies around her took. “What the hell are you doing here?!” Rainbow questioned with gritted teeth. “We’ve been looking for an opportunity like this for months! Someone who still had magic. I didn’t expect we’d find something even better!” Lightning responded excitedly. “Once we take you and the others to Tirek, we’ll be rewarded handsomely. We will finally get our magic back in exchange for giving him yours!” She revealed, pointing at the cyan pegasus. “Do you really think Tirek would accept a deal like that? He’ll just take me! There’s no way he’s returning any magic!” Rainbow shouted. Twilight wanted to agree. She wanted to voice her opinion, too. She wanted to convince them to stop this madness. However, her voice was stuck in her throat. Her heart was pounding. Her breathing was getting ragged. She was scared… She watched those ponies, and fear gripped her heart as she was reminded of his laugh. She… She needed to breathe. “We have no other option anymore,” Lightning replied, clearly refusing to talk any further. “As if we’d let ya!” Applejack suddenly cried out, lifting her hammer right above her head with the clear intent of crushing Lightning’s skull. When they were so close to fixing everything, she couldn’t pull her punches. They were faced with threats actively looking to harm them, so even if they were ponies, she wouldn’t hesitate to take that life! Unfortunately, her strike had been cut short when a kick nearly broke her neck and sent her flying against a nearby boulder. Score had zipped right in time to save his comrade. “Sorry, but my fight’s with Rainbow Crash,” Lighting chuckled dismissively before shooting her wires and flying toward the cyan pegasus. “C-Can’t we talk this out?” Fluttershy proposed fearfully. “I’ve always wanted to do this!” Dumb-Bell laughed as he shot toward the quiet mare and punched her in the guts. The poor mare yelled out in pain as she was thrown back, spitting out saliva and dropping her axe. “Don’t you touch her!” Discord thrust his spear toward the male pegasus, who swiftly dodged it by jumping back and then using his harness to throw himself forward again. Pinkie attempted to slice one of their wires with her sword, only to be met with a ‘cling’ as the blade bounced off the metal. The others faced similar issues, either unable to hit them since they were so quick on their feet and because of their tools or their weapons could not damage the cables they used to move around. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, was faring much better. She still had her magic. She could still fly. With her superior speed and strength, Lightning had no way to hurt her. In fact, the cyan pegasus only avoided her attacks and kept dealing blows at a minimum. “Come on, Lightning! We’re just about to beat Tirek!” Rainbow Dash attempted to convince her. “Like you did two years ago?!” The opposing pegasus growled with rage. “You had your chance, and you blew it! Now all of us have to deal with it! I’m getting my magic back and no one’s gonna stop me!” She screamed before shooting one of the cables toward Rainbow’s wings, which she expertly avoided without breaking a sweat. Lightning shot herself forward once the cable hit the wall behind the cyan pegasus and tried to swipe at the other mare’s throat. “Damn it!” Rainbow dodged again before countering with a kick to her face and sending her enemy to the ground. “It’s obvious you’re outmatched, so just stop!” “Never!” Lightning glared. No, as long as she breathed, she wasn’t giving in! She refused to give in after coming all this way! After having lost so much, she was finally close to getting back the one thing she cared about the most in this world, and she wouldn’t let Rainbow Dash get in the way! Why couldn’t she just surrender and let Lightning capture her? It would be so much easier for everyone! Even if the pegasus couldn’t use her wings nor hurt Rainbow Dash, she still showed great skill at using that strange harness. She used every breeze to propel herself and gain more speed. Every maneuver she used to circle her enemy or to attack her were flight techniques that she adapted to the harness. Only someone with intensive knowledge of flying and the weather could use this tool as skillfully as she did. The cyan pegasus had to admit Lightning’s moves impressed her. However, they were ultimately inconsequential. While they would be enough to defeat any magicless pony, it couldn’t give her the edge over a Rainbow Dash who still possessed her magic. “YAAG!” Someone screamed, getting the flightless pegasus’ attention. It was Dumb-Bell, pinned to the wall with Discord’s spear planted in his chest. The pegasus spat out blood, though it was nothing compared to the amount spilling out of his wound. “I… really didn’t want to do this, for the record,” Discord muttered guiltily. Fluttershy, who was standing only a meter away, averted her eyes. “Can’t… end… like this…” The pegasus breathed out. “Shit!” Rainbow Dash cursed, slightly queasy about the blood spilled. “Please, just give up!” Lightning clenched her teeth. What should she do? She… She couldn’t give up, now. She couldn’t… “Fuck!” Score narrowly dodged Applejack’s hammer, which cracked the ground once it hit. He was immediately forced to roll on the dirt to avoid having his brain thrown out of his skull by Rarity’s mace. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” He shouted with every roll. They weren’t simply outnumbered. They were outmatched, too! Lightning and her gang were good, but they weren’t the best. They had been training and trying to hunt any trace of magic for months so that they could offer it to Tirek with the hopes of him giving back what they lost as a reward. Even if they hadn’t found anything until today, they still faced several threats that only made them stronger. Whether it was natural disasters or wild and dangerous animals. Unfortunately, none of it prepared them to face the bearers of the elements of harmony, even if they were magicless. Hoops kicked Pinkie Pie twice in the face, dodging her sword strikes, before shooting both wires into her gut, spilling a pained scream out of her. He zipped forward, using her body to propel himself toward her and deal a blow that would take her out permanently. However, the pink mare suddenly bent down just as an axe flew above her head in the pegasus’ direction. The stallion widened his eyes but had no time to react as blood poured onto the ground and a lifeless body followed behind. “Thanks, Flutters,” Pinkie meekly said as she pulled the sharp ends of the wires out of her. The yellow pegasus could only sniffle in response before looking away. The party mare couldn’t blame her. Even if the world got crueler after Tirek’s reign began, and ponies formed groups of bandits, she and her friends never had to take another pony’s life. They all knew it could happen, but were they truly prepared for it? They only told themselves that they were ready, but nothing else. “You’ll pay for that!” Score screamed from his spot the moment he noticed his friend’s life fading. A mace was slammed onto the ground, right between his legs, which forced him to crawl back in a panic. “Will ya give up now? Please!” Applejack begged him. No matter how scummy he was, she didn’t want to hurt him… or worse. “I… I…” Score stuttered, his eyes shifting between his friends’ corpses and Lightning Dust. His leader was in a much similar dilemma. Even with her arrogance, she had a hard time envisioning victory in their current situation. Maybe brute force wasn’t the solution. Perhaps she could trick them?! Instead of surrendering right away, she attempted to imagine a scenario that would favor her. A tactic that would lower her enemies’ guards. However, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud cry. “Lightning, look out!’ Score screamed, pointing a the large shadow rising behind his leader. “Huh?” Lightning uttered, turning around. A massive winged timberwolf had landed right behind her. Before she could even make a move or speak, the creature swiped at her with its claws, slashing her stomach open and letting her blood flow freely out of her body. She was thrown against a nearby rock, breaking most of the bones in her back. The pegasus gasped for air, staring in terror as even her guts threatened to spill out. “N…No…” She spat out in pain. “Lightning!” Rainbow rushed toward the fallen pegasus, hoping to help her. Unfortunately, with her guard down, the large timberwolf struck her out of the sky with a single paw strike, making the cyan mare bounce off the ground multiple times. “Oh, no… There are more of ‘em!” Applejack pointed out as several more timberwolves flew down. It seemed they weren’t as big as the one who attacked Rainbow Dash, but they weren’t sure if they could deal with all of them without the mare’s assistance. “Then we fight them!” Pinkie swiftly threw herself at the nearest monster and planted her sword in its head. It didn’t kill it, but it certainly hurt it… and royally pissed it off. The others were quick to wake out of their stupor and counterattack these monsters before they could hurt any of them. They couldn’t lose when they were so close to saving the world! Surviving alone wouldn’t be enough! They needed to kill them all, too! If even one of them reported to Tirek, then he would get here before they could reach the tree! Discord and Fluttershy fought one of them in a 2vs1 with the battle going in their favor. The timberwolf couldn’t focus on them both. Somehow, Pinkie had found herself straddling the back of the one she began fighting earlier, wiggling her sword inside its head to kill it once and for all. “N… No way! I’m getting the heck out of here!” Score screamed in fear before using his harness to propel himself away. With his maneuvers, he dodged the timberwolves’ strikes, swirling between them to try to get away. “Ya damn coward!” Applejack shouted in his direction as she crushed the paw of the timberwolf she faced. Rarity also would have loved to give him a piece of her mind if she weren’t already busy fighting the monster currently trying to eat her alive! Luckily, Spike’s fiery breath greatly improved her odds of survival. Miraculously, Score disappeared back into the forest after successfully avoiding the timberwolves’ attacks. Whether he lived or died, they wouldn’t find out unless they went after him. Of course, none of them were going to do that. They couldn’t care less about his fate, now! While most of them were fighting to the death. Two ponies were out of the fight. Rainbow was only now trying to stand up, groaning in pain while doing so. The other one was Twilight, who was frozen in horror. The massive timberwolf stood in front of her, growling. The alicorn’s lips quivered while her hooves were stuck to the ground, preventing her from moving from this spot. The creature slashed upward. At this moment, the alicorn cried out before falling on her butt. The claw was only an inch away from her face. It didn’t injure her… However, her medallion was sent flying into the sky. She didn’t care. She didn’t even see it go. Instead, the mare was still frozen. Timberwolves weren’t supposed to look like that! They weren’t supposed to be so big! Then she sensed the fire burning inside them, something familiar… It was something that belonged to him. Tirek. It was with this realization that Twilight understood… This was another hallucination! It was! “Y…Y-You aren’t real… No… You’re not real…” Twilight screamed, her voice shaking with fear. She wasn’t brave. She was a scared little pony, who had no will to live left earlier… But at least, she could confront that thing, couldn’t she?! “You are NOT REAL!” However, the monster did not care for her outburst or her words. It needed her to be gone. “He IS real, Twilight! Get down!” Rainbow Dash suddenly came shooting straight into the creature’s chest, sending it to the ground. The timberwolf roared in anger and pain. It raised its paw while the pegasus consecutively punched it in the guts. Perhaps if she wasn’t so panicked and in such a hurry to kill it, she would have used more sense and flown away to deliver an attack with more strength. However, she remained on its torso, dealing little damage. Ultimately, the monster pinned her down with a single strike, trying to crush her under its palm. Rainbow Dash used her four hooves to push against it. While she wasn’t flattened, she couldn’t push it back completely either. If this went on, she would lose all her strength… The mare turned away to call for assistance, but just as she opened her mouth, she noticed something else. “Twilight! The medallion!” “Huh?” Twilight uttered as she looked in the same direction. The medallion had been thrown on the edge of the cliff, threatening to fall. Because of the deep ravine, they had no idea if they could get it back if it were to fall down there. Every earth shake caused by the massive timberwolf only made it closer to the edge. “B-But what about you?!” Twilight screamed in panic. Even if she wasn’t battle-hardened, it was obvious even to her that Rainbow Dash was losing strength and that the rabid creature was gaining ground. If nothing was done, the pegasus would be flattened! “I’ll be… fine! Just grab it before it’s too late!” Rainbow Dash ordered, making the alicorn freeze. It was as if the world paused and time stopped. Twilight’s eyes shifted between the medallion and the struggling pegasus. She only had a second to decide, and it was the hardest choice she had to make in her whole life after the bargain Tirek offered. When she had the choice between the world and her friends, she chose the world, only to lose both. Now she was faced with the same choice again. She wished she died so that she would never have to be in this situation again, but it seemed the universe loved to torture her. However, this time, she had a clearer picture of the possible outcomes. She already lost one of her best friends once, and it left a gaping hole inside her heart that would never be filled. Maybe this would end the world… but if she could wake up next to her friends tomorrow and for the remaining of their lives, wouldn’t that be worth it? Twilight gazed at the pegasus again. A rainbow suddenly flashed into the princess’ eyes as she finally made her decision. She narrowed her eyes with determination. “Let her go!” The lavender mare released a war cry before charging head-on toward the timberwolf. She was filled with terror, she still wasn’t even completely sure this monster was real in the first place. She didn’t fully believe she would accomplish anything. She was a failure in every way and doomed everyone in Equus including the ponies she cherished the most, so she had no expectations. Nevertheless, nothing counted but saving her friend! The alicorn slammed her head into the timberwolf, getting it off Rainbow Dash as it crashed to the ground. The medallion was thrown over the edge. The instant the pressure was gone, Rainbow flew off the ground and rushed high in the air before bursting ahead with renewed speed. The monster, which was about to slash Twilight’s body open, held no resistance against the rainbow cannonball flying toward it. The pegasus ran straight through its head, killing it in a single blow. Instead of stopping there, she used that accumulated speed to go after the medallion before it could disappear into the darkness. “Ha!” Applejack shouted, slamming her hammer over the timberwolf’s head and blowing it to pieces. “That… was the last of ‘em,” She remarked, panting with exhaustion. The others didn’t look much better. “Thank Celestia, it’s over,” Rarity whispered as she and the farm pony were joined by the rest of the group. “Are you alright, Fluttershy?” Discord inquired silently while walking beside her. The timid pegasus nodded but gave no audible reply. He already knew what that meant, and if he ever got his magic back, he would use his whole eternal life to comfort her. Unfortunately, for now, they needed to move. They were so close… While Pinkie didn’t comment, she did put a foreleg over Fluttershy’s shoulder, bringing her into a side hug. “Ya okay, Twilight?” Applejack turned to look at their alicorn friend, who nodded with a trembling body. “I… I am. I just want this to be over,” She responded. “I got the medallion!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, landing among them. The cyan mare turned to Twilight. “Why did you help me instead of taking it? We could have lost it,” Her tone wasn’t admonishing. She didn’t wish to scold her friend. All she wanted was an explanation. They were so close to losing it all. The other ponies and draconequus glanced at the alicorn, some of them having noticed the dilemma she was faced with earlier. “I’m… sorry, but I’ve already made this mistake once. I will always choose my friends over anything else,” Twilight replied, her eyes wandering over the five ponies. “I love you all too much… If I were to lose any of you again… I don’t think I could ever live with it,” “Aw… We love you, too, Twilight,” Pinkie declared with a small smile. The others didn’t need to say it, but their expressions conveyed the same meaning Pinkie shared with her words. Love, mushy as it was. “Geez, always using the big words, egghead,” Rainbow Dash grinned warmly. “I saw you back there. Your legs were shaking so much I was surprised you could even stand. You were about to piss yourself, but… you charged into that thing despite that. You didn’t even have magic or weapons. That takes serious guts,” The pegasus complimented her. “No matter what happened in the past, you’re a good friend, Twi. You always have been,” She stated before putting the medallion back around the alicorn’s neck. “Don’t lose it this time,” Twilight glanced at the necklace before looking into the other mare’s eyes. “I won’t. I swear it,” She smiled back at the pegasus. Just as she was about to throw her forelegs around her and embrace her friend, a wheeze pulled all their attention away. It was Lightning Dust, spitting out blood while desperately holding her organs inside. “Lightning!” They rushed to her side, Rainbow Dash being the first in line. “I… It’s gonna be alright!” She reassured her while looking the other pegasus over. “Damn it… Shit!” Lightning Dust spat out blood. “I’m not an idiot… I know it looks bad…” She glared at the group surrounding her, her breathing getting ragged. “Fuck… I don’t wanna die…” “This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t attacked us!” Rainbow Dash accused her, earning her looks from the others. Even if the mare was an enemy, they weren’t looking to attack her physically or verbally as she was bleeding out. “Shut up! I… sure as hell… wasn’t going to trust you to take care… of things… You had your chance 2 years ago…” Lightning sniffed, attempting to keep her breath steady and her shaking at a minimum. Even in this situation, she didn’t wish to appear weak. She refused to! “We have a way to win! We can fix everything!” Twilight interjected, making Lightning’s glare shift to the alicorn. If she had to rank who she hated the most, then the pegasus would definitely say the princesses were on top of that list, even above Rainbow Dash. They were the ones whose duty was to protect the kingdom. “I know it’s hard, but you needed to hold onto hope…” “Hope? Hope?!” Lightning gritted her teeth. “Don’t talk to me about hope… All my friends left me, and I just lost… my new group… One of them left me to die without even… looking back. I lost my home… my magic… My mom, my only parent left is gone because of that bastard, Tirek… I have NOTHING! So… don’t give me that shit about hope,” She spat with fury. “And ya still try to earn a favor from ‘im,” Applejack remarked. To everyone’s surprise, Lightning paused. Her lower lip quivered, but her hardened gaze remained. “Yeah, I did… I’m a piece of shit, right?” She sniffled. This time, she was unable to hold the tears down as they sprinkled the corners of her eyes. Rainbow Dash’s expression slightly softened. Twilight, who held no animosity toward the other mare in the first place, looked down in shame. No matter the circumstances, the alicorn was still convinced everything happened because of her. Because she wasn’t good enough. Whatever pain Lightning suffered through, it was due to Twilight’s weakness. “Why? Why did you do it?” Rainbow whispered. “I thought I told you already…” Lightning muttered in response. Her glare was nearly gone, slowly replaced by guilt. They had no idea whether that guilt was due to what she tried to do to them or something else in her life, but they knew they could hardly blame her for the anger she held against them. “It was to get my magic back… Even if Tirek were to steal it again… I would have been fine with it if I got to fly one last time…” She revealed, tears finally freely streaming down the mare’s face as she struggled to speak. “I missed my wings so much… I missed being in the air so much… It’s horrible, Rainbow Dash,” She cried, coughing out her life juice. The cyan pegasus placed a hoof over Lightning’s in a comforting manner. She couldn’t say she understood as she had never been grounded for 2 years, but she could imagine the immense pain. The sky was her life, and it was likely the same for Lightning Dust. “Only once… If I could back up there at least one more time… I would have been fine with letting Tirek keep my magic,” Rainbow Dash remained silent, watching her former rival weep, something she never expected she would be sad to see. Her friends didn’t seem to be doing much better. They didn’t know Lightning Dust enough, so they had no words to comfort the mare. Instead, they could only despair over letting another pony die without doing anything to help them. However, to everyone’s shock, the cyan mare did something unexpected. Carefully, she slipped her forelegs under Lightning Dust and lifted her, carrying her in a bridal style while ignoring the blood staining her coat. “What are you… doing?” Lightning questioned. “What do you think? You said you want to fly, didn’t you?” Rainbow Dash replied before glancing at her friends. “I’ll be right back,” She told them, to which they nodded as their friend flapped her wings and rose in the sky, slowly going higher and higher. “You don’t have to…” Lightning began wheezing. “Sit back and enjoy, alright? I don’t give a joyride to just anyone, you know?” Her rival chuckled. Lightning figured arguing was useless. Instead, she preserved her strength. The higher Rainbow Dash flew, the less Dust seemed to be worried. It was like her fears were alleviated and sent away. The cold from the blood loss was soon forgotten, replaced by the sun’s warm sun rays. Was she truly warmer? Or was she simply losing her mind because she was so close to death? She didn’t know. Instead, she just opened her eyes and watched as Rainbow finally stopped. The sun dipped low, enveloping the world in its familiar orange hue. Equus had undergone significant changes since Tirek's reign began. It bore little resemblance to the world she remembered from her youth. Much of the once-thriving forest had vanished, leaving behind dry, barren land that stretched to the horizon. Not a single cloud marred the sky. Yet, against the odds, the sun's radiant glow persisted, as resplendent as ever. No matter how miserable the world below looked, the light shining from above seemed to cleanse it of its ugliness. She was reminded of that scene she witnessed so long ago. At that moment, she couldn’t help but think… “It’s beautiful, Dad,” She whispered with nostalgia, a small smile spreading across her lips. One last tear rolled down her cheek before she addressed the mare carrying her. “Hey, Dash,” “Yeah?” “Make that bastard pay,” “I swear on my life that I will,” Rainbow assured her confidently. Lightning Dust closed her eyes, the last bits of light finally fading from them. The bearer of the element of loyalty flew back down to where her friends stood. “I may not have liked you… but you were one heck of a flyer,” Rainbow Dash commented as she laid the mare down on the ground. “I’m sorry,” Twilight mumbled as she placed a hoof on the cyan pegasus’ shoulder. “We’ll give her and the others a proper burial once this is over,” She assured. “Nah,” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “She was a pegasus through and through. She wouldn’t want to be stuck in the ground,” She replied, letting out a tired breath. “Let’s get this over with,” She declared with a determined gaze. The others nodded, just as determined. They wouldn’t let anyone else lose their lives because of Tirek anymore. Today was the day they would put an end to his reign and fix what he broke. They placed the bodies beside one another, reminding themselves to come back for them and bring them to their families once this was over. After that, they wasted no more time and hurried to the Tree of Harmony. It was only minutes away! “There! It’s in this crevice!” Spike pointed toward the ground, which seemed split in half widely enough to let ponies pass through. “Seriously? Another ravine?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as they all ran up to it. “I can see there’s a cave in the wall. I guess the cave the elements were in fell to ground level after Tirek’s doing,” Twilight theorized, making the others exchange looks. “Is it safe, then?” Fluttershy inquired worriedly. “Don’t worry! I went in once, but I can say for sure nothing collapsed in there!” Spike confirmed with a smile before taking off the ground, flapping his wings excitedly. “Come on! Let’s get in already!” “Now wait a second, Spike! You and Dashie might be fine, but we can’t get in there!” Pinkie nervously peered over the edge. Maybe they could jump down and try to grab on the ledge of the cave? “Obviously, I am going to carry you all down, don’t worry,” Rainbow Dash assured her friends while flexing her wings. “I haven’t been hurt enough to need rest,” “Ah guess we should leave our weapons here to make it easier for ya, then,” Applejack nodded, dropping her hammer. “We won’t need them anymore, anyway,” Oh, Rainbow Dash could confirm they wouldn’t need them considering the magic in the chest. The others, just as determinedly as Applejack, all dropped their weapons to the ground except for Discord, who watched as the cyan pegasus took each pony down to the cave one by one. After a couple of minutes, only Fluttershy remained on the surface. The pegasus turned to look at the draconequus as the rainbow-maned mare joined them. “See you down, Discord,” Fluttershy said as Rainbow placed her hooves under Fluttershy’s armpits to lift her off the ground. “No, you all go in without me. I don’t think I deserve to be inside after everything I did,” Discord shook his head, much to Rainbow’s surprise since she didn’t expect him to be so thoughtful suddenly. “But…” Fluttershy tried to protest, only for the draconequus to head pat her. “Don’t worry about me. It’ll take you, what, a minute to do this? You’ll all be back before I can even blink,” He snickered carefreely, ruffling the pegasus’ mane. “It’s best if one of us stands guard here in case of danger. I can defend myself, so I’ll be safe,” He argued. Fluttershy bit her lower lip, looking thoughtful… until she seemed finally won over by his words. The mare wrapped her forelegs around him, giving him a light embrace before breaking off. “I’ll see you soon, then,” The pony smiled warmly at her friend. “And… thank you for everything, Discord. You helped us so much… I’m sure the others will forgive you soon. I hope,” “I don’t need forgiveness. Now, go,” Discord shooed her away in amusement. “I can’t wait to see you kick that centaur’s butt!” He laughed as Rainbow Dash grabbed Fluttershy and flew her down into the crevice. Discord watched them go with a bittersweet smile, not noticing the gigantic hoof that touched the ground a few meters behind him.