//------------------------------// // The Eyes of Sherastol - Chapter 4 // Story: The Eyes of Sherastol (Title in Progress) // by Twysted //------------------------------// Rainbow shut her eyes briefly. She wiped the tears from her eyes with her hoof and reopened them. “By what?” Dash's tone had changed instantly back to her usual cocky, yet caring attitude at the mention of her friend being hurt. She hoped to Celestia it wasn't a Roc. She couldn't deal with it if more of her loved ones were hurt by those beasts. “I... I don't know. I didn't see it. But I already have everyone else gathered at my cottage. We should head there n...” Fluttershy trailed off when she finally realized that Star Strider and Thundercloud were standing next to Rainbow. “Thundercloud?” she said blushing, “Star Strider? What are you doing here?” She looked at Rainbow and gave her a sorrowful look. She knew how much Rainbow had dreaded talking to her family. Fluttershy wondered if Rainbow had told them yet. Fluttershy directed her gaze back to Star Strider. Star Strider stepped forward. “Nothing, just visiting.” Star Strider had recognized the pegasus as a friend Rainbow had over to play when they were fillies. “What happened to Twilight?” He said this with a distressed tone. Fluttershy took a step back. “Uhm... Like I said, I... I don't exactly know. I'll tell you what I know on the way to the cottage.” She took off in the direction of the forest, and her cottage. Rainbow looked at her brothers. She could see the worry in Star Strider's face. “Don't worry,” she comforted her brother. “Twilight's a tough mare, she'll be fine.” Rainbow Dash grabbed her saddlebags and put the Eye and Stormy Skies in them and took off after Fluttershy. Star Strider took off after Rainbow, and Thundercloud did the same. A few seconds later all of the pegasi were flying together towards Fluttershy's cottage. Rainbow flew up next to Fluttershy's side. “So, what happened? With Twilight, I mean?” “Well... I was gathering up some flowers... You know just for displaying around the cottage. And I heard a scream. I jumped behind the nearest tree I could, but then I recognized the scream. I saw Twilight running out of the forest. I flew down to her, and saw that she was...” Fluttershy began to tear up. “Fluttershy, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to.” Fluttershy gave a timid laugh, “That sounds familiar.” It took Rainbow a second to recall that that was exactly what Fluttershy had said eleven years ago, when Rainbow had passed out on her doorstep. Rainbow gave a small laugh but shook her head. “But seriously-” “So you don't know what happened? At all?” Star Strider had flown up to Fluttershy's right side, leaving his brother behind. Fluttershy shook her head. “No. When I was picking flowers, I saw Twilight come galloping out of the forest. Well more limping than galloping, but I flew over to her, and she was... ” Fluttershy gulped a little. She hated talking about these things. “She was hurt. She had a huge gash on her left back leg, what looked like a bite-mark on her flank.” Tears were forming in the yellow pegasus' eyes. “She groaned a little and said 'lions' then fainted. I took her back to my cottage as soon as I could.” Rainbow had a look of shock on her face. She knew Twilight wasn't exactly the most athletic pony, but she could hold her own in a fight. And the lions. Thoughts went through her head at a million miles an hour. She began to tear up again. If any of her friends were hurt because of her, she didn't know if she could handle it. “Fluttershy?” Star Strider spoke up, snapping Rainbow out of her daze. “Is... is Twilight... she's okay right?” Star Strider couldn’t bring himself to ask if the unicorn was alive or not. “Yes, as far as I know. I cleaned and bandaged the wounds, and flew as fast as I could to Rarity's. She and I galloped back to the cottage, and she looked after Twilight while I got everyone else.” Star Strider let out a sigh at her words. This is stupid. Thundercloud thought to himself. He didn't want to be visiting one of his sister's little friends. Even if she was injured. He just wanted to go back home with his siblings. Wasn't that the whole reason we came here? To bring Rainbow back home? He frowned. “Thundercloud, you keepin' up back there?” His sister yelled. “Yeah!” The pegasus stallion changed his tone and pushed forward a little to catch up with the rest of the group. After a few more minutes had passed, the four pegasi had made it to Fluttershy's cottage. They landed and walked inside. And what was inside made Rainbow and Star Strider gasp. Twilight was on Fluttershy's green couch, which had been moved to the center of the room. She was in horrible shape. Her breathing was short. Her left back leg was, as Fluttershy said, bandaged. Though the originally white bandage was now a deep red. Twilight was laying on her side while all of the other ponies surrounded the couch. “I brought Rainbow Dash... along with her brothers.” Fluttershy said to the group. The other ponies walked over to their two friends. “Fluttershy, is Twilight gonna be alright?” Pinkie asked. Her usual happy demeanor was gone. Her smile was replaced with a frown and she had tears in the corners of her eyes. “O' course she's gonna be alright. Twilight's a strong little filly. She ain't gonna let nothin' keep her down.” Applejack said, with a bit more confidence than she thought. She didn't even know if a strong pony like Big Macintosh could pull through this, let alone Twilight. “Okay...” Pinkie didn't sound real happy about Applejack's answer. The group resumed talking. Rainbow didn't say much. She just listened to the others talk about what happened. Rainbow felt horrible for what had happened to Twilight. When Fluttershy said 'lions' it had hit Rainbow like a ton of bricks. She knew she was the reason her friend was now lying here like a rag doll. While the other ponies talked, Star Strider slipped out and walked over to the unicorn. She was laying completely still. Maybe a few twitches here and there. He leaned down and nuzzled the unicorn's cheek. “It'll be okay Twilight,” he whispered. Applejack smiled when she saw Star Strider nuzzling Twilight. “Well look at that Rainbow,” she said quietly, so the stallion didn't hear her. Rainbow smiled. She had just been teasing him the other day, but she was happy to see her brother happy. The rest of the ponies turned to look at the two ponies. Twilight Sparkle's eyes fluttered open. It took her a moment to realize where she was, but she recognized it as Fluttershy's house. She looked around for the voice that had spoken to her a few seconds earlier. She was soon face to face with Star Strider. She managed a weak smile and blushed a little. She still wasn't completely sure how she felt about the pegasus. “Star Strider?” The pegasus just smiled. “Hey Twilight. How are you feeling?” “Better.” She shut her eyes. Seeing Star Strider made her happy, but confused at the same time. Twilight opened her eyes and smiled again at the stallion that was looking into her eyes. Twilight moved her injured leg a little which made her gasp in pain, alerting the other ponies to come over and help their friend. “Twilight! How are you feeling, darling?” Rarity asked. “I'm... fine Rarity. It's just a couple of scrapes and bruises.” Rainbow surveyed her friends condition. “That doesn't look like just a couple of scrapes and bruises.'” “I'll be fine, girls.” Twilight moved herself off of the couch to stand up. She managed to stay up for a tenth of a second before she fell over. Her bad leg couldn't support the weight. Applejack managed to catch her falling friend. “Definitely not 'just a couple o' cuts an' bruises.'” Applejack helped Twilight back onto the couch. “Ah' think you should just stay layin' down right now sugarcube.” “Thanks Applejack,” Twilight grudgingly said; She hated feeling helpless. “So, Twilight. How'd all of this happen?” Rainbow asked. Applejack and Rarity scowled at her. “What? I'm just saying what everypony's thinking.” “Girls, it's fine. I don't mind talking about it, especially with you, Rainbow.” Rainbow tensed up when her friend said this. “Uh... Yeah sure. Whatever.” “Good.” “Well if y'all don't mind tellin' us, we'd all like to hear how,” She gestured to Twilight's injuries, “that happened.” Twilight took a deep breath and began to tell the story. Twilight was having a rough morning, to say the least. It started out with her actually falling out of bed, after having a bad dream. “Stupid Trixie,” she muttered to herself. “Thinking she can sick an Ursa Major on me.” She trotted down Ponyville's main street, thinking heavily. Her mind then drifted to her studies, which were a whole different story. Of all days, Spike had to go to Canterlot today. Twilight had been in a huge studying fit lately. She and Spike had decided that today would be a good day to clean up the library, but Spike belched up a letter from the Princess asking him to come to Canterlot. He said Princess Celestia wanted to talk to him about how Twilight was doing in Ponyville, even though it had been about a year. Twilight tried to argue that she could go, but Spike said it was better not to question the Princess' methods. Twilight sighed. She needed her number one assistant to help her clean up the library. She couldn't do it all on her own, even with her magic. The purple unicorn had decided to go to Zecora's hut for some tea and maybe to discuss some books that the zebra could lend Twilight. “Maybe all I need is some relaxation to get my thoughts together,” she said to herself. “Hey, Twilight! Twilight!” Twilight turned her head to see a sea-green pony running up to her. “Oh, hey Lyra. How are you today?” Twilight wasn't real great friends with the unicorn. Twilight had talked to her a couple of times and had gone to see Lyra's concerts on more than one occasion. “Doing fine.” She just brushed off the question. “Now what's this I hear about you having a coltfriend?” Lyra was bouncing up and down excitedly, with a wide grin on her face. Her light green and white mane was all mussed up from her running and bouncing. Twilight sighed, but blushed a little. She had already dealt with four other ponies questioning her about the navy blue pegasus. Twilight told them all the same thing. “Star Strider's just a... wait a second. Who told you I had a coltfriend?” “Bon Bon. Who heard it from Pinkie Pie.” Note to self: Never tell Pinkie Pie anything again. “Well I'm afraid Pinkie was just teasing. Star Strider is just a friend.” Twilight didn't want to lie to Lyra, but she didn't even know how she herself felt about him. She figured it was better to call him a friend, than try to explain it to Lyra. Twilight resumed walking down the street, with Lyra following on her right. “So who exactly is Star Strider? I've never heard of him.” “He's Rainbow Dash's brother. I met him when he landed in Ponyville. He asked me if I knew a blue pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane. I immediately said yes, and we went out looking for Rainbow. He talked a bit about his home life, but avoided it if I asked about Rainbow.” “Weird,” Lyra chimed in. “Yeah... Anyway, we found Rainbow and she, Pinkie Pie, and Ditzy Doo gave him a tour of the town.” “Is he cute?” Lyra asked abruptly. “What?” Twilight was taken aback by the unicorn's question. “Is. He. Cute?” Lyra asked again, giggling a little. “Oh. W-well, you see,” Twilight stammered blushing. Lyra had a sly grin on her face. “That's a yes.” She laughed a little. “Well if he's as cute as you say, you better claim him before somepony else does,” Lyra winked at her. “But I don't like him like-” “Whatever you gotta tell yourself Twilight,” Lyra winked at her again. “But anyways, I gotta go meet Bon Bon for our lunch date. See ya later Twilight!” “Bye Lyra.” The other unicorn ran off in some random direction leaving Twilight with her thoughts. That pony, I swear. Twilight's thoughts soon drifted to the navy blue pegasus she met the day before. Maybe I really do like him. Twilight shook her head. No. That's silly. He's Rainbow Dash's brother. I can't like him like that. Twilight just kept walking, trying to push the thoughts of Star Strider out of her head. Soon she came up to the entrance to the Everfree Forest. She walked inside the thick forest and kept cautious. Zecora's hut wasn't too far into the forest, but far enough that something could still attack her if she wasn't careful. After what seemed like half an hour, Twilight knew something was wrong. “Lets see, straight until you hit... the poison joke...” She hadn't seen the small blue flower at all. Her ears perked up when she heard a branch snap. She spun around, but all that she could see were trees. She looked up to the sky to see rays of moonlight shining in through the treetops. “Wait, it can't be night already!” “And why not my darling unicorn?” a voice hissed from the shadows. “Anything can happen in my presence.” The sudden voice startled twilight. It sent chills down her spine. She snapped around to see where the voice had come from, but couldn't see anything but the inky blackness that the trees produced. “W-where are you,” she demanded. “Why I am everywhere. And nowhere.” “What does that mean!” “You're a smart little pony. I am sure that you can figure it out, Twilight Sparkle.” “Who are you and how do you know my name?” “I am nobody; Just a figment of your imagination. Or am I somebody that you just cannot perceive? Honestly, the pony mind is so limited these days.” “What are you talking about?!” Twilight was not only frustrated; She was scared. This voice was unlike anything she had ever encountered in this forest. She kept looking all around for the source of the voice, when the thick forest around Twilight dissolved and was replaced with a large dirt arena, with a thicket of trees surrounding it. The moon disappeared and was replaced by a blood red sun. “Welcome to my domain, Twilight Sparkle. I do hope you enjoy it here.” “Your... domain?” Twilight shouted. “What the hay are you talking about?!” “Shouting at him does nothing.” Another voice came from behind the pony. Twilight spun around to face the new voice. She was face to face with a lion. But this wasn't only a lion. A grotesque goats head was sticking out of the small of its back. A snake was in the place of where its tail should be. A long scar ran down its right front leg. “You're a chimera.” Twilight planted herself to the ground. The chimera smirked. “My name is Aratuk. And we've been waiting for a pony to wander this way.” Twilight stiffened herself and went into a defensive stance. “What do you mean by we?” Twilight certainly tried to refrain from violence most of the time, but she got a bad feeling from this creature. “My... extended family and I.” Creatures began to come out from their hiding places in the thicket. They looked like the Chimera minus the goat head and snake tail. Many of them were snarling, baring their yellowed fangs. A low growling came from the throats of others. Twilight tensed up, but concentrated her magic to make her horn glow. “Stay back!” “Now now. Calm down. My lions here just want to talk.” “Lions?” Twilight asked. Aratuk sighed. “The mind of a pony is such a sad thing. I mean, honestly what are they teaching you in those schools?” Twilight disregarded the statement and kept herself low to the ground. Her horn glowed a little brighter One of the lions laughed. “We could tear you to shreds. Don't even think about it.” The lions were now circling Twilight. Twilight was about to use a teleportation spell when one of the lions slammed his side into her causing her to fall over. “Now now, we can't have you leaving... Hey,” He turned his head to Aratuk. “Isn't she supposed to be blue?” “What are you talking about?” Aratuk questioned the lion. “The pony, isn't she supposed to be blue?” Aratuk thought for a minute then lowered his head. “I do believe you're right, Sharashon. The pony we want is supposed to have a blue coat. A blue pegasus with a rainbow mane.” Aratuk walked over to Twilight and put his face right in front of hers. “Tell me my pony, do you know what the Eyes of Sherastol are?” Twilight shook her head timidly. Aratuk slapped her snout lightly. “I thought not.” “So than what do we do with her,” the lion called Shrashon nodded in Twilight's direction. Twilight was still on the ground staring at Aratuk as he smirked Oh Celestia no... Her eyes began to well up with tears. “BOYS!” Aratuk yelled. “We're eating pony tonight!” One of the lions grinned and made a lunge for the pony, but soon felt himself encased in a strange field. He was floating in the air. He scrambled around as the unknown force slam him against a tree. The lion name Shrashon lunged and slashed at the unicorn. She tried to avoid it as best she could, but he manged to hit her left back leg, leaving a long gash along it. Twilight screamed in pain, but managed to stay upright. She began to run. Everytime her injured leg touched the ground, an almost immobilizing wave of pain shot through her body. The unicorn did all she could to keep herself going. She used a spell to block out the pain, but it didn't mask it completely. It barely masked it at all. She ran towards the thicket of trees. She knew she couldn't outrun the beasts. She only knew what they were from books, books of myths. Goodbye everypony. Fluttershy. Rarity. Applejack. Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash. You were all so good to me. I'm proud to have had you as my friends. I love you all. You've made me one of the happiest unicorns in Ponyville. The purple unicorn shut her eyes to keep the tears from running down her face. Even though she had accepted her fate, she wasn't going to give up without giving the lions a fight. She quickly shot them open when she almost ran into a tree. She pushed forward with all she could. Just then, she felt a sharp pain on her flank and saw that one of the lions had jumped and bitten down on her flank. She flung him off with a telekinesis spell. She could barely stay upright as it was, and now the bite marks in her flank weren't doing anything to help her. She kept running, as best she could with a bloody leg, through the trees when she felt a warm sensation hit her, like the sun had just been intensified. She shook her head, but kept running. This was no time to think about her body temperature. She screamed at the top of her lungs hoping somepony would hear her. She tried to keep running, but the loss of blood was affecting her. She began to push herself to go faster. She could see the entrance to the forest coming up on her. Her leg and flank were burning with pain, but she pushed through it. But she also saw something else. More like somepony else. “Fluttershy!” The yellow pegasus flew over to her unicorn friend, who was now standing at the entrance to the forest, shaking. “Twilight, I... Oh my! Twilight! You're hurt.” “Lions,” Twilight started before fainting. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “And the next thing I knew, I woke up in Fluttershy's house,” Twilight said, finishing her story. “So you're saying you were attacked by... What now?” Applejack asked “Lions, Applejack, Twilight answered. She knew her friends wouldn't understand. She barely understood it herself. If she didn't have the wounds and bandages to prove it happened, wouldn't have believed it herself. “Right. But I ain't never seen those lion things in Equestria before.” “Neither have I Applejack, but why would I lie about being attacked.” “She has a point,” Rainbow cut in. She knew instantly that the chimera in Twilight's story was the same one that attacked her eleven years ago. She wanted revenge. Not only for hurting her friend and murdering her father, no. She wanted revenge for everything that the beast had caused to happen to her, psychologically and physically. Rainbow began to shiver out of the storm of emotions that was welling up in her. Guilt and anger took precedence in her mind. “Dashie? You cold?” Pinkie asked, seeing her friend shivering. “No Pinkie, just,” she bit her lower lip. “Just shaken up by Twilight's story. That's all” “Okie dokie lokie,” Pinkie smiled. Twilight laughed a little, then shot a quick glance at Rainbow Dash. A glance that said “We need to talk. Soon.” Rainbow got the message. She stepped back a little, but nodded. Twilight turned to the rest of the ponies. “Girls, I'm fine. I just need to get back to the library.” “No. Twilight, you can't leave. It's only been a few hours since the attack. You have to stay here and get your rest.” Fluttershy said. She was worried about her friend. “You need time to heal.” Twilight sighed. She needed to get back to the library so she could do some research on lions and chimeras. She had a book of legends, Mythological, Mystical, and Majestic Creatures In and Around Equestria, that, if she remembered correctly, said something about at least chimeras. “Fluttershy, I have to get back to the library.” “Twilight, I'm sorry, but you have to stay here. You need to give those wounds more time.” Twilight rolled her eyes, but knew that Fluttershy was right. There was no way that Twilight would be able to make it to the library in her current state. “Fluttershy, can I stay here while this heals?”All of her friends were surprised that the unicorn had given in so quickly. “Y-Yes of course Twilight. I'll fix up the bed so you can sleep there.” “Thank you Fluttershy, but I'll be fine on the couch.” “Twilight,” the yellow pegasus sighed at her friends stubbornness. “I can't ask that of you.” “I don't mind. Really.” Twilight smiled warmly at her friend. “Okay.” “Thank you.” Twilight then turned her attention to Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie I need you to do something for me?” “What is it Twilight? You want me to throw you a get well party? I can do it! But I'll have to make up invitations, and get some streamers, and-” “Pinkie.” “Oh! And can't forget the balloons. Not to mention I'll have to bake a bunch of cupcakes-” “Pinkie Pie!” Twilight said sternly. Her pink friend stopped talking. “I'm sorry, but I really need you to go back to the library and get a book for me.” “Okie dokie lokie! What book do ya need Twilight?” “A book called Mythological, Mystical, and Majestic Creatures In and Around Equestria.” “Will do. Be back in two shakes of a pony's tail!” Pinkie trotted out the door. Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight, puzzled. “You sent Pinkie out to get a book?” Twilight nodded. “I figure she found the last two easily when I needed them, why not now? Rainbow smirked a little. “Good point.” She was putting on a front for her friends. She was still torn up inside about her mother. She wanted to talk to Star Strider and Thundercloud more, but this was neither the time or place to do it. Rainbow looked around the room, when her eyes came to rest on her saddlebags. She walked over to her saddlebags and pulled out Stormy Skies. She clutched him under her wing and walked over to Rarity and tapped the purple unicorn on the shoulder. Rarity spun around to see her cyan friend with a look of hurt on her face. “Hey... Rarity?” Rainbow asked. “What is it, darling?” “I... I need a favor,” she said as she gently unfurled her wings. Stormy Skies hit the floor with a tiny squeak. Rainbow quickly scooped him up in her hooves. “Could you...” “Would you like me to fix your doll, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity could see how much the doll meant to her friend. Rainbow only nodded. Rarity smiled. “I'll have it for you in a few days. It will be good as new.” “Thank you Rarity.” Rainbow smiled at the thought of having her best friend back. “Why it's no problem at all, darling.” Rarity smiled at her friend. Suddenly a thought shot through her mind. Somepony wasn't here. “Hey,” she said, getting everyponies attention. “Where's Thundercloud?” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thundercloud had left the cottage when Twilight mentioned the chimera, Aratuk. Nobody heard him as he silently slipped through the door. He headed for the forest that was less than a days flight away. One thought was going through his mind. The thought of revenge. At Twilight's mere mention of the chimera, he began seeing red. This ends here. He will pay for killing my father. Thundercloud flew until he hit the entrance to the forest. The Everfree was bigger than he expected. The tree line seemed to go on for miles. He gulped a little. No. If some mare can do this, then I can. He shut his eyes and thought of his father. This is for you, dad. Thundercloud took a step inside the forest. He decided to walk through the Everfree, figuring it was less of a risk than flying. He walked through the thick forest, keeping his ears open for anything he could hear. There was the occasional hiss from a snake, or a bird flying off in a different direction, but no signs of a chimera. Thundercloud kept his defense up. Suddenly, it felt as if he passed a barrier. The air became colder, and the trees began dissolving. They were replaced with large red columns. The ground was now a large dirt circle. In front of Thundercloud was a large statue. It looked like a lion, but was much too big to be life size. It was made out of some sort of black stone and was in a position that made it look like it was going to attack him. Eighteen diamond-shaped holes covered the statue. Six ran down each side, while another six were arranged in a circle on the statue's chest. One large circular hole was in the middle of the ring of diamonds. “Thundercloud?” a voice from behind the pegasus made the gray pegasus jump. Thundercloud turned around to see the owner of the voice. It was a black pegasus stallion, whose orange mane seemed to glow in the sunlight. Thundercloud didn't believe what he was seeing. His eyes widened as tears formed in the corners of them. He floated to the ground and folded his wings. “Dad...” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Twilight Sparkle was resting on Fluttershy's couch. All of her other friends had gone home, and Fluttershy had gone out to gather more flowers. The only ponies left in the house were Twilight and Star Strider. He had volunteered to stay with Twilight and help her out if she needed anything. Luckily, Pinkie had come through. Not ten minutes after Twilight had asked, Pinkie Pie had come bounding through the door with the correct book in her mouth. Twilight wondered how the pink pony was so fast at the time. The unicorn was now flipping furiously through Mythological, Mystical, and Majestic Creatures In and Around Equestria. She found a small tidbit on chimeras. “The chimera is a mythological creature, said to have the three heads. It is able to breath fire, and poison its victims through a bite.” Twilight sighed as she kept going through the book, looking for any sign of lions or chimeras she could find. “You okay?” Star Strider asked The pegasi's voice made the unicorn jump. “Y-yes. Just a little flustered.” “Looking up information on lions?” “Yes. How did you know?” “What else would you be reading about?” “Touche,” Twilight said. The conversation stopped for a bit. Twilight resumed flipping through her book. Star Strider was kneeling on the ground next to the couch, reading one of the newest best sellers, Harry Trotter and the Sorcerers Saddle. “Hey, Star Strider,” Twilight said breaking the silence once again. “Yeah?” “Do you believe me? About the lions I mean?” Star Strider had to think carefully about how to answer this. On one hand he didn't want himself to start pouring out his heart to Twilight and tell her about his father, but on the other hand, he didn't want to sound like a mule and say no. “I really don't know Twilight. I mean, it's kind of hard not to with that gash on your leg.” “Thank you,” Twilight smiled. “And thank you for staying here and helping me.” “By 'helping' you mean being your personal slave? 'Star Strider could you help me find this book? Star Strider could you get me a cup of tea,'” he mocked Twilight a little, but saw that she had a look of hurt in her eyes. “Twilight, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I was just joking around, nothing serious.” “Oh...” “I'm sorry.” “No, it's okay.” Twilight smiled. “See? All happy!” Star Strider shook his head and rolled his eyes a little. “You're lucky you're cute,” he said, a little louder than he meant to. Twilight blushed at this comment, and Star Strider realized what he said. The stallion also felt a blush reddening his cheeks. “You think I'm cute?” the purple unicorn asked timidly. “W-well, I. I meant to say-” A knock on the door cut the stammering pegasus off. “I'm assuming you want me to get that?” Star Strider said quickly, diverting Twilight's attention from his earlier statement. Twilight nodded and he flew downstairs. He opened the door to the mailpony. “Hey Ditzy. How are you today?” Ditzy looked confused. “Star Strider, you're here too? Fluttershy said Twilight was here, but she didn't say anything about you.” “Twilight's hurt, and I'm taking care of her.” “Hurt? It's nothing too serious is it?” Ditzy had a look of concern in her golden eyes. “Nah. Just a bit of a cut,” he lied. He felt horrible for lying to his friend, but he didn't want anypony else worrying about Twilight. “Oh, well I have something for her.” Ditzy reached into the mailbag and pulled out a muffin. She popped the baked good into her mouth, then reached into her mailbag again. This time she pulled out a large boxy item wrapped in brown paper. “Could you give this to her? I gotta go meet Screwball for lunch. This was the last stop on my route.” “Will do, Ditzy. Stay safe.” Ditzy saluted. “Will do.” She took off and a few seconds later he heard a thud. He turned around to see Ditzy flying away from a tree. She looked more dazed than hurt. Star Strider walked back upstairs with the package in his mouth, to find Twilight engrossed in her book. He chuckled a little and Twilight looked up from her book. “A package? For me?” Star Strider put the package down gently. “Apparently.” “Could you bring it over here please?” “Lazy,” Star Strider teased. Twilight just stuck her tongue out. Strider picked up the package and placed it on Twilight's bed, on top of her book. “Hey! I was reading that!” This time Star Strider stuck his tongue out. Twilight sighed. She opened up the package and stared at the contents. She didn't speak for at least a minute. “Twilight? You okay? What is it?” “A... Book.” “A book?” “Yes but... it came with a letter.” “a letter from... ?” “From Princess Celestia...” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Dad...” Thundercloud said. Despite everything that had just taken place, his heart melted seeing his father again. Thundercloud flew full speed at his father, but just went through the pegasus as if he was a ghost. The gray pegasus ended up crashing. “Dad? What's going on?” Thundercloud shook his head and turned around to see his father was gone. “What is going on!” “Welcome, Thundercloud,” said a voice. “Welcome to my domain.” Thundercloud quickly floated up into the air. “Show yourself beast!” He automatically assumed it was the chimera. The voice laughed a little. “Oh I would if I could my little pony, but unfortunately, I don't have the luxury.” The voice trailed off leaving Thundercloud floating in midair. He looked around for the chimera, but saw nothing. Then something next to the large black statue caught his eye. He flew down to see Rainbow Dash; she was a mess. She was missing both of her wings, with only bloody stumps in their place. Her face was torn up from claw marks and her normally cyan coat was covered in blood. “Rainbow Dash?” Tears were welling up in Thundercloud's eyes. “Thundercloud... you... Where were you? I needed help. And you weren't there.” Thundercloud was frozen in place. This was a sight worse than his mother. This was his little sister. “Rainbow... I...” Suddenly the image of his sister disappeared right in front of him. “Oh your pain is so lovely, Thundercloud,” the voice from earlier said. “WHAT ARE YOU!?” “Oh calm down. You're making a scene. Now answer me this. What is your deepest desire? Go ahead, say it out loud for everypony to hear!” “I'm not answering anything I can't see.” Suddenly, a black mist began to swirl around the ground in front of Thundercloud. The mist began to take shape, forming into something that was familiar to the gray pegasus. It was a mare. Not just any mare. It was Fluttershy. “Fluttershy?” “Hello Thundercloud.” Fluttershy's misty image flickered in the sunlight. She was a smoky color, not her usual yellow. “What, What are you doing here?” “Oh let's not fuss about that, Thundercloud. I have a very important question for you.” Thundercloud took a defensive stance. “Ask away,” he said through gritted teeth. “You know that little jewel that Rainbow found in her doll?” Fluttershy said this is in a sensual tone, closing the distance between her and Thundercloud. Thundercloud found himself becoming less tense. “I... W-what. Y-yes. Why?” “Well I need you to bring it to me, right back here in the forest.” her face was now inches away from Thunderclouds. Her eyes were staring into his. He felt as if his heart was melting. The male pegasus stepped back and narrowed his gaze at Fluttershy. “And why should I help you?” Suddenly his mind was filled with visions and a voice. The same voice from earlier. The same icy voice that sent chills down his spine. “Think about it Thundercloud. If you help me, I can give you anything. I can bring your parents back to you.” A murky vision appeared. It was Thundercloud, Rainbow Dash, and Star Strider, all standing around laughing with their parents. They were all at home in Cloudsdale, where they should be. Thundercloud and Rainbow began to zip around the house, while their parents watched. Star Strider joined them, and all three siblings began to laugh and play, as if they were foals again. “Mom... Dad...” Thundercloud shook his head and the vision disappeared “No! I will not give into your temptations demon! My parents are dead! Nothing can fix that!” Thundercloud was shaking from what he had just seen. “I can also see the way you feel about your siblings.” A vision in Thundercloud's head switched to a scene from his colthood. He, Rainbow, and Star Strider were all flying together. He was lagging behind the other two. He hated the fact that he couldn't be as fast as them. He hated the fact that they always had to prove they were better than him. “C'mon slowpoke! You gonna keep up or what?” Rainbow yelled at her brother. Thundercloud mumbled. “Show-off” “Ah, I struck a nerve didn't I?” The voice said. The scene changed again. It was now Thundercloud, flying with the Wonderbolts. He saw his brother and sister in the stands, with a look of bitter disappointment on their faces, and it made Thundercloud feel good. It made him feel good to know he was finally better than them at something. “Thundercloud, I can make you the fastest flier in all of Equestria.” “Fastest... flier in Equestria,” Thundercloud murmured. He shook his head again. “Wh- what if I refuse?” The vision in his head quickly answered his question. It was a horrible scene. Rocs were flying in the sky above both Ponyville. Thundercloud was seeing through the eyes of one of the Rocs. He looked at the horror that lay before him. Ponies and lions were entangled in combat on the ground below. Of course, the ponies were no match for the clawed terrors. Bodies of the injured and dead were scattered all about the ground. Thundercloud saw the body of Pinkie Pie being swarmed by three or four lions. This isn't right. Stop! Please! Stop! he thought, but the vision kept itself going. The large tree that served as the library was in flames. The smell of burning flesh and loud screams filled the air. Thundercloud felt himself turn sharply. He outstretched his talons at a pony who was trying to fly away. It was a gray mare. Her yellow mane streaked behind her as she flew away, but she wasn't a match for the bird. Thundercloud felt his Roc body pick up the pegasus in its talons. He squeezed around her body to knock the wind out of her. Make it stop! Just make it stop! I'll do whatever you want! The Roc dropped the dazed pegasus from high up, knowing she wouldn't survive the fall. She wouldn't be able to regain her senses before she hit the ground. DITZY DOO! The vision then stopped. Thundercloud was panting heavily from the vivid “dream.” Tears were streaming down his face and he was shaking all over. “You asked me what would happen,” the voice in his head said. “And I showed you.” “So what do you say,” Fluttershy asked, snapping the other pegasus back to reality. The mare had a smirk on her face, but it quickly changed to a sensual smile. “Will you help?” Thundercloud said nothing. He was too shaken up to speak. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead. The visions of his family and him being in the Wonderbolts swirled in his head again. They seemed more realistic now. They seemed within reach. Like they could actually happen. Thundercloud smiled at the thought of Star Strider and Rainbow Dash's face's when he was accepted into the Wonderbolts. He nodded his head. “Oh, There's one other thing I need you to do for me, my little pony.” Fluttershy drifted closer and ran her hoof down Thundercloud's cheek. “I need you to bring me your sister also.” Thundercloud slowly nodded his head in agreement again. “I'll do it,” he said.