//------------------------------//
// I Need Some Air 
// Story: Sky Blossom 
// by SnoringDragonProductions 
//------------------------------//

     “Can I ask you guys something?” Sky Blossom said with a tremor in her voice.
“OF COURSE YOU CAN!” Pinkie Pie yelled in her face.
Trying to ignore the dreadful ringing in her ears, Sky Blossom shook her head and cleared her throat. “Well, when I almost um…” She glanced up at Rainbow Dash and smiled slightly. If she showed Rainbow Dash she bared no ill will towards her, she might stop staring at her with those fiery eyes. “hit the ground… I saw something.”
“Does that something have anything to do with who you were just mentioning?” Rainbow Dash asked with a scowl. Her wings were spread to the sides as if she was ready to fly, or attack, at a moment’s notice.
“I don’t know.” Sky Blossom had to stop and take a few deep breaths before she was able to continue. It had been such a long time since she had talked to others. Her voice was beginning to become softer and her throat felt dry. Once she had collected herself, she continued to explain what she had seen. “There were these eyes. They were yellow and red and um… they had no body. But a voice spoke to me. It was male and sounded a little like he was mocking me.” 
“Mocking you?” Rainbow Dash said quietly. Her wing tips twitched as she thought of who would be capable of mocking someone without the use of a body. She growled and opened her mouth to speak. Before she could warn Sky Blossom to stay away from those eyes and the thing they belonged to, Pinkie Pie interrupted her.
“Oh! I know who those eyes belong to! Dashie you remember right?” Pinkie Pie asked innocently. She gazed at Rainbow Dash in blissful ignorance of the Pegasus’s seething anger.
“Who?” Sky Blossom dared to ask.
“He’s a friend of ours! Or at least he was a friend until he totally betrayed all of us, including Fluttershy, and joined up with a mad, power crazed thingie named Tirek and stole all of the magic from Equestria. Now I’m not sure what he is. But he does make super, duper, yummy chocolate milk rain!” Pinkie Pie rambled on to Sky Blossom.
“But what is his name?” Sky Blossom asked with the slightest bit of irritation in her voice. She quickly quelled her emotions before they could show. After all, who knows what could happen if she offended anybody.
“His name is-“ Pinkie Pie began. 
“Pinkie…” Rainbow Dash growled.
“But Dashie-“ Pinkie whined while waving her hooves in the air.
“No!” Rainbow Dash said sternly.
“It’s not like it will hurt anyone!” Pinkie Pie complained.
“But he could! I won’t have you putting anyone in danger.” Rainbow Dash said with a fierce glare. She turned to Sky Blossom. The small pony seemed to shrink when under her gaze. Rainbow Dash sighed and forced herself to soften. It was not Sky Blossom’s fault that they had all been hurt by Discord. Like a melting glacier, she forced her heart to thaw for the frightened pony’s sake. “Listen, don’t get yourself mixed up with… the person who owns the eyes all right? He is bad news and I don’t want him hurting anyone else.”
“He made a mistake Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie Pie said in defense.
“Putting a book in the wrong place is a mistake. Joining up with an evil villain and stealing magic is a betrayal.” Rainbow Dash said in a hard voice.
Before Sky Blossom could say another word, Twilight walked over to join them. “Who put a book in the wrong place?” She asked with a worried voice. Her purple eyes darted around as if she could zoom in on whatever book was not right. Spike chuckled as small beads of sweat appeared on the alicorn’s brow.
“No one Twilight. We were just talking.” Rainbow Dash explained in a weary voice. Although Sky Blossom was not making any sounds she could see in her light blue eyes that she was not satisfied. If she knew that look, and she did because it she had worn it many times, Sky Blossom would find a way to learn more. All she could do was hope she was there before somepony actually told her about Discord.
“Well, I was able to find a few maps that might be able to help us.” Twilight said with triumph in her voice. Her wings clutched several large rolled up pieces of paper to her sides. As she dropped them on the floor they unrolled to reveal sprawling landscapes. Some of the maps seemed to be of only the sky, while others showed large grasslands. Sky Blossom chuckled as she read the names written on them. Fillydelphia? Manehatten? Suddenly she was feeling a little bit more at home. At least the names there were similar to what she was looking at right now. 
“So, where are you from?” Twilight asked with a hint of excitement in her voice. If the pony could not find her town or city on the map, maybe she was from an entire new territory that was yet to be discovered. ‘Princess Celestia would be so proud of me if I discovered a brand new land and made friends with the inhabitants there.’ Twilight thought with giddy excitement.
“Well, I… um” Sky Blossom answered as she entered a panic. It would be easy for her to say she was from any of the far off cities but if they started asking her questions she would be caught for sure. Although they seemed pleasant enough, Sky Blossom wasn’t sure how they would react if they found out she was from another world. Her eyes darted to the small dragon next to Twilight before resting on her wings. ‘Maybe it would be nothing strange to them at all.’ She thought hopefully. Her legs shuffled in place as she pretended to be reading the maps sprawled on the ground. She picked up the sound of Rainbow Dash shifting slightly behind her, no doubt impatient for her to hurry up. 
“Oh my. Someone is in trouble.” A voice gently caressed her ears. She shivered slightly with a mixture of fear and excitement. She knew that voice. For a moment she wondered why no one else was reacting to the new arrival. As if he could read her mind, her question was answered. 
“You are the only one that can hear me right now. Let’s say magic is one of my many skills.” The voice answered cockily. Sky Blossom could imagine whatever was talking to her stroking a hoof, paw, or whatever through whatever he had on his head. Her mind began to ache as she tried to gather her thoughts. It was difficult thinking about something when you did not even know what it looked like. She refrained from speaking just in case he was unable to stop the others from hearing her voice. Hope coursed through her when he began to speak again. 
“I can help you, but just this once.” His syrup voiced dripped slowly past her ear, as if he was walking past her. “You really need to learn how to take care of yourself. I am not your foal-sitter.” He chuckled in a deep voice. “After all, we can’t have you leaving yet.”
Sky Blossom’s eyes widened as she was given a set of instructions of what to say and how to say it. When she was sure the voice had said all he needed to, she cleared her throat. “I am from Mustangia.”
“Really? We met a mare from Mustangia once in the Crystal Empire.” Twilight said with a small hint of disappointment. No new city or town. “Why couldn’t you remember the name of where you lived?”
Sky Blossom gulped quietly as she met the gaze of the three ponies and dragon in front of her. “Well, I lived on a small patch of land in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t really know where I was.” She motioned to the largest map with her hoof. “But I noticed that river and remembered that the same one ran past my house, so I figure I must have been living in Mustangia.” Her voice began to dry up from talking so long but she fought through it. The voice had been very specific on what to say and a small part of her felt like she could trust him… at least this time. “Not much news comes into Mustangia so I ventured away from home to learn about the world. That is why I don’t know much about other places in Equestria. We were kind of out of the way.” She finished with an apologetic smile.
“No problem! At least we know and you know where you came from.” Pinkie Pie cheered.
“Yeah.” She smiled. For a moment her eyes seemed far away, then she politely told them that she wanted to look around Ponyville. Relieved when they finally said yes, Sky Blossom trotted out of the castle quickly. 
“I might as well explore this place while I’m here.” She muttered to herself.
She began to trot towards…