I sped towards Rainbow Dash, willing her to survive the flames. Aw, shoot! I just need a barrier for now… I thought. Instantly, a translucent red sphere enveloped me and the cliff wall around Rainbow Dash, dispersing the flames across its exterior.
A strange feeling suddenly overcame me, and I felt as if I had forgotten something important. W-wha…? I thought, looking down, suddenly realizing that I was in the air. The Element hat had disappeared, revealing an ornate helmet with a short horn protruding from the top. It extended to a small metal plate that ran down the back of my neck and ended at my shoulders. From two holes at the base of the plate burst a brilliant pair of glowing wings, seemingly fabricated by pure energy. I gazed at the wings admiringly.
The dragon snapped me out of my thoughts, pulling Rainbow Dash away from the wall, its arm exiting the protective bubble. I reacted by kicking the nearest column. The top half of the stone pillar disconnected with its base almost instantly, flying straight into the dragon’s jaw. As the protective bubble dissipated, the same feeling of forgetfulness overcame me once more, but I was able to ignore it this time.
Dazed, the dragon dropped Rainbow Dash. Swooping low, I snatched her up, dropping her next to my sister and Applejack. Not wasting any time (as I had no idea how long this would last), I zipped back upwards, facing the dazed dragon.
I imagined the canyon walls splitting and cracking, ultimately breaking into more large chunks. The visualization came true; the canyon around the dragon broke into pieces, surrounding the creature. They swirled around the dragon, eventually gravitating and pressing towards the creature’s center. They pinned its arms and legs with pure pressure, paralyzing it.
A third wave of forgetfulness hit me, although I could now easily ignore it since I forgot what I had forgotten. Shaking off the effect, I examined the creature closely. Something didn’t seem right with its behavior. It was a lot more vicious and homicidal than in previous episodes.
I lifted a large rock up with my newfound psychic powers. “Maybe it just needs a nap…” I said thoughtfully, swiftly dropping the huge rock on the creature’s head. This time, the dragon stayed down, knocked out cold.
The forgetfulness hit me again, although I still couldn’t figure out what I was forgetting. However, I noticed a red haze leaving the dragon, as if evaporating out of the dragon’s very scales. It dissipated when a fair breeze blew through the canyon, dispersing it into thin air.
I frowned. “So it wasn’t the dragon, huh?” I said to myself. Suddenly, the wings and helmet disappeared, leaving me twenty feet off of the ground with just an Element hat. I looked down, my frown deepening. “Oh, sack.” I cursed as gravity took effect.
I landed on my flank, which surprisingly hurt more than I thought. Rubbing the sore area, I stood on all fours, approaching the two unconscious figures of Rainbow Dash and my sister.
All of the ponies and buffalo backed off in awe and fear. I looked at all of them, confused. “What’s the matter? It’s Keith, remember?”
Applejack rushed over to pick up Rainbow, who was still out cold. “Hang in there, Dash! We’re here!”
Twilight galloped over. “Thanks for that, Keith, but what the hay <i>was</i> all of that?!
“I-I don’t know! I didn’t know about this, either!”
Possibly wakening from the yelling, my sister slowly opened an eye. Her large pupil rested on Twilight. “Wh-wha…? She stammered quietly.
My attention suddenly shifted to her. “Kelsey! You’re awake!” I rushed over to her.
Kelsey squinted at me, recognizing the voice, but not the face.
“Keith? Is that you?” She asked hesitantly.
I sighed deeply, relieved that she was both physically and mentally intact. “Phew… Sorry, I thought you wouldn’t recognize me. Yeah, it’s Keith. You okay, sis?” I asked, helping her to her hooves.
She trotted in place, testing her legs as if walking for the first time. “F-Fine, I guess…” She started, struggling to walk on all fours. She suddenly stopped, looking down at a small pebble on the ground. Her bangs fell across her eyes, hiding her emotions.
Confused, I tried to look under her bangs. “Sis..? You okay?” I asked.
Her shoulders started shaking, as did her voice. “I…I…” She started.
Expecting her to throw a fit of hysteria, I tried to calm her down. “Uh… Kelsey, it’s all right. The dragon’s knocked out cold, we’re safe, and it’s going to be—”
She leaned forward a little, planting her forehead against mine. I felt a few drops of something wet running down her face, and it tasted salty.
“I’m so glad to see you!” She sobbed. Embarrassed, I tried to pull away, but she held me fast with her chin. She shook violently from the hiccups, making her speech halting and hard to understand. “I was so s-scared! The dragon—hic—came out of nowhere, and—hic—I just kept wondering where you were… I remember the fall, and you let me go, a-and I—hic—got scared that you—”
I shushed her, starting to sing an old family lullaby. Good thing the girls didn’t know what the Mickey Mouse Club was. “Everthing’s gonna be alright, we’re all with fa-mi-ly. K-E-L, C-E-Y, la-la-la-la-laaa…” I kept singing until Kelsey stopped shaking, and her hiccups slowly went away.
She blushed profusely. “I thought you said I was too old for that.” She said, pouting a little.
I grinned. “Hey, it helped, didn’t it?”
Kelsey nodded, smiling back. “Yeah, it did.”
Our brother-sister moment was broken from Fluttershy’s comment. “Aww, you two are so cute together.” She said.
My sister’s eyes suddenly grew as wide as dinner plates. “F-Flu—”
I pulled her aside, shushing her again. “Okay, Kelsey, remember what I told you about them not knowing me?” I hissed. She nodded, unable to speak with my hoof on her mouth. “Okay, they don’t know that they have their own TV show, and I wanna keep it a secret for now. So try and keep yourself from fangirling all over them.”
“But—” My sister started. I stared her down, making sure she knew I wouldn’t have it.
I was distracted by Rainbow Dash regaining consciousness. She sat up slowly, shaking the dizziness from her head. “Wha… what happened??” She asked nobody in particular.
I trotted over, sitting down next to her. “Good to see you, too. You okay?” I remarked.
She put a hoof to her head, rubbing a bump forming underneath her mane. “Ugh, a little bruised up, no thanks to you.” She started. She stood, whipping her colorful mane off of her face. She beamed me a smile. “But not extra crispy, very much thanks to you.” She said.
I was slightly stunned, as this was the first time she had smiled at me since I had arrived. And it wasn’t one of those cheesy, photo smiles. It almost looked like she was giggling, but not as deep of a smile; one that radiated pure warmth and appreciation.
And it felt nice.
I blushed a little, getting an uncomfortable mushy feeling in my stomach. “Hey, I had to fulfill my role as the hero.” I said, shrugging.
Rainbow Dash laughed a little, another pleasant surprise. “Hey! That’s my line!” She replied.
Spike approached us, a frown on his face. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’ve gotta get going. Princess Celestia asks that we meet her in person. And that we bring Keith in for questioning.”
I gulped. “Questioning??” I asked Spike. He nodded, his jaw set.
I looked back to Rainbow Dash expectantly. She just gave me a gentle nudge. “We’ll back you up; you seem like a nice pony.” She said. With that, she trotted off, following her friends back towards Apple-Palooza, who were closely followed by the remaining Buffalo tribe members.
I looked back to my sister, who trotted up next to me. I nudged her forward. “Cmon, we’ve got a long conversation ahead of us.”
She looked up to me. “Aw, more explaining?” She asked. I nodded.