The Raindrop

by Sylif Daring Doo

Bad day, Good night.

_____*Ponyville, a few days later, 1:00 PM*_____

It was a quiet day in the town of Ponyville, for once anyway, the birds sang, the breeze was soft and cooling, the day was hot, the sun shone brightly, and a small Unicorn filly ran to the Golden Oaks Library, seeking her friend.

Sweetie Belle ran quickly to the door of the library, she stopped to catch her breath before knocking on the door.

It wasn't long until Sweetie Belle heard hoofsteps on the others side, along with the telltale rumbling of many falling books.

The door opened to reveal Mana with her hood up, a common sight lately. "Oh, hey Sweetie Belle, what's up?" She asked.

"Uh......are you free to play with us today?......me, AppleBloom and Scootaloo?" She asked curiously.

Mana blinked, though it was difficult to notice at first glance. "Let me check." She replied as she closed the door.

Sweetie Belle waited a few moments before Mana opened the door and stepped outside. "Alright, where are we going?" She asked.

Sweetie Belle smiled as she pointed towards the town. "We agreed to meet up in town, if that's okay with you?" She wondered.

Mana shrugged. "Why not?.....might as well get used to it." She said before beginning to walk.

Sweetie Belle followed her friend closely, she looked over at Mana as they walked, she noticed a twitch in her right hand, and a nervous eye twitch with her right eye. "Mana......are you alright?" She asked.

Mana gave a half nod. "I'm fine." She replied evasively.

Sweetie Belle however wasn't satisfied with that answer. "No, I want you to be honest with me, are you feeling alright?" She prodded.

Mana said nothing as she pulled her hood over her face further, instead just continuing to walk.

Sweetie Belle was visibly annoyed at Mana's evasive behaivor, but when she stopped to think about it, she could somewhat understand WHY she was avoiding the question, but she was still annoyed nonetheless.

Deciding to simply accept the silence, Sweetie Belle continued walking, the two walked until they reached the park, at which point they saw Scootaloo and AppleBloom waving them over.

"Hey girls!" Sweetie Belle greeted in her usual cheerful manner.

Mana nodded silently, she then looked around carefully, she spotted multiple small animals running around, she felt her stomach rumble as her urges began creeping in. "Mana?.....are you alright?" Sweetie Belle asked out of concern.

Mana shook her head clear of those thoughts and turned to her friends. "Yea, just trying to keep the urges in control." She replied calmly. "So, we got an idea of what we're doing?" She asked.

AppleBloom nodded. "Yea!" She replied. "All three of us agreed to go exploring the forest......staying as close to the path as we can anyway." She started.

"We.....were wondering if you would like to join us?" Scootaloo asked.

Even though Mana's face betrayed no emotion, she had deep concerns and fears about going into the forest again, she let out a breath and then thought on it some more. 'They are going to the forest with or without me, and they may run into more Timberwolves, or worse.......I would rather make sure they are safe, guess I'm going back in.' She thought. "I don't like this idea girls." She started.

"Are you serious about this?" Mana asked.

Seeing the nods from the other girls, Mana sighed. "Then I'm going with, better to have one of us who can at least fight back." She said.

With that, the group of four began walking, the three fillies believing that they would be alright.

Mana however believed that this was a horrible idea, and that if Twilight, Applejack or Rarity found out, they would be in so much trouble. 'If anything, I can at least keep us from getting hurt.' Mana said to herself.

______*Everfree Forest.*_______

The forest was just as dark and dreary as the last time Mana was here, she payed attention to everything, to twigs snapping, to leaves rustling, to the faint hoofsteps of her friends.

The group had strayed from the path, if only slightly, Mana made sure to make her own landmarks, so they could get back if needed.

Scootaloo quickly snapped her head in the direction of creaking wood. "What was that?" She asked nervously.

AppleBloom looked at her now nervous friend, the one who was usually the bravest of the group. "If I didn't know better Scoots, I would say your afraid." She replied with a grin.

"Um girls?" Sweetie Belle started, but nopony seemed to have heard her.

Mana looked back at what Scootaloo heard and or saw. "That would be wise." She said calmly. "Fear can be useful." She looked at Scootaloo. "But I think right now you need to keep calm, things didn't go so well for me last time I was here." She said as she continued looking around.

"Uh......girls?" Sweetie Belle asked again.

"Your right Mana, I need to keep calm.....wait, last time?" Scootaloo asked.

Mana mentally cursed herself for her slip of tongue. "Let's......not talk about this right now." She replied, trying to avoid the question.

"Girls!" Sweetie Belle shouted, finally getting the attention of the others. "What is it Sweetie Belle?" AppleBloom asked.

Sweetie Belle took a breath and spoke, as the others looked at her. "The path." She pointed behind them. "It's gone.....we got lost just after Scootaloo heard the creaking wood."

Mana growled as she crossed her arms and looked away from the group. "How could I have lost it?" She muttered, proceeding to pace and shake uncontrollably.

AppleBloom and Scootaloo looked between themselves and then at Sweetie Belle. "Huddle." AppleBloom said.

The three crusaders huddles together. "Mana's not going to be any help here, not in that state.....we need to find our trail so we can get to the path, then go back to town." Scootaloo said.

"Do you think we should see if Mana is ok?" Sweetie Belle asked curiously.

The three looked and saw Mana fidgeting as she paced, her movement was sporadic. "Yea, ok.....do either of you remember what direction we came from?" AppleBloom asked.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both shook their heads and AppleBloom sighed, she then looked at Sweetie Belle. "Alright, go and check with Mana, I don't want her to lose focus.....not now, me and Scoots will figure something out." She said.

With that, Sweetie Belle walked over to Mana to see if she was alright. "Mana?" She asked.

Mana took a few breaths to calm down and soon she looked at Sweetie Belle. "Huh?" She said In confusion.

"Mana, are you alright?....we need your help to find our way home." Sweetie Belle asked.

Mana rubbed her eyes, she then shook her head rapidly afterwards. "I......what?" She asked, as though she couldn't see.

Sweetie Belle walked closer and placed a hoof on Mana's arm. "Mana.......are you sure your alright?" She asked carefully.

Mana blinked and backed up slowly, she seemed, scared.....of something. "I......I......no, no no no.......I'm sorry, don't leave!" She shouted out, she held her head and knelt down.

"Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo and AppleBloom ran up. "What's wrong with Mana?" She asked.

"I.....I don't know, it's like she doesn't know we're here." Sweetie Belle said.

Mana then stopped and looked up, breathing slowly, she looked around, she then spoke. "Onyx?......where are you buddy!?" She called out as she stood up.

"Mana!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

Mana gasped out loud and looked at her friends. "Wh.......what, what happened?" She asked.

"You were freaking out!" Scootaloo said.

AppleBloom winced at the words. "I, think what Scootaloo meant to say, was that you weren't yourself for a moment." She corrected.

Mana rubbed her eyes and sighed. "Right.....we need to get out of the forest, um.....lets just choose a direction, hopefully we will come across either the path or a landmark." She suggested as she calmed down.

The three looked between themselves and then at Mana. "If you say so, but Mana.....are you going to be alright?" AppleBloom asked.

Mana shook her head. "No way of knowing, we just need to get out of this forest, hopefully before I lose my mind again." She said.

Picking a random direction, the group of four began walking, carefully traversing the forest.

As they walked, Mana had a strange feeling they were being watched, she looked around quickly and saw two sets of green eyes staring at her, instead of fear and warning the others of the wolf, Mana simply growled, unbeknownst to her, her eyes flashed brightly when she did so, the wolf then backed off, either intimidated into retreating, or going for help.

______*a short while later*______

Scootaloo kept a close eye on Mana as they walked, her quick stand off against that Timberwolf had not gone unnoticed, what was strange was how the wolf backed off, but she decided to simply focus on getting out of the Everfree.

The group soon reached a small clearing, they decided to hold up a moment as they got their bearings.

Sweetie Belle noticed something odd about this clearing however. "Girls......does something seem, off, about this place?" She asked.

"It's the Everfree, everything here is off." Scootaloo argued.

Sweetie Belle then pointed to multiple trees surrounding the clearing, it looked as though they were forcefully relocated, and that they were bent in very strang angles. "The trees, they look like they were purposely moved." She said.

Mana looked around and saw what Sweetie Belle noticed. "Your right, something isn't right, even for this place." She said.

AppleBloom looked at the ground and noticed something odd. "Roots." She said as she knelt down to inspect them. "They are dead now, but look at them, they were cut off and left to wither, whatever happened here, it was intentional." She said before looking at Mana's back. "Strange." She said.

Mana looked at AppleBloom. "What is it?" She asked.

"Mana, let me see that symbol quick." AppleBloom said.

Mana blinked but allowed AppleBloom to look. "Why, what's wrong?" She asked.

AppleBloom looked at the ground then at the symbol on Mana's jacket. "Mana......this symbol is on the ground." She stated.

Mana's eyes widened and she looked at the ground, she didn't know how it was possible, but the symbol for the water tribe covered the clearing. "I.....i....." She looked around once more, but this time, she remembered her arrival, she recognized the trees, she recognized the rocks and the earth. "I.....remember this place." She said as she walked around.

Mana walked over to a particular spot of dirt was. "This is where I woke up, me and Onyx agreed to search for shelter, we went that way." She said, pointing in a direction.

The group made their way, following Mana's directions, or more importantly, tracing her memories, they eventually found a small stream that Mana recalled. "I cleaned up here, then I started walking again." She said as she continued moving.

The group approached a tree, at which point Mana continued. "I was ambushed by a Timberwolf here." Mana said, as though in a trance. "I ran, it chased me.......I raised my arm to defend myself." She stopped at a stained patch of grass, it was red and dry.

"The wolf mangled my arm here, I.......I....." She then spaced out, comepletely oblivious to the world around her. "Mana?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Oh no, not again." Scootaloo complained.

Mana began to breath frantically, she looked around and knelt down, she clutched her side and breathed heavily as she grunted in pain. "Why us?......why us?" She asked over and over.

Sweetie Belle gently shook her friend. "Mana, snap out of it!" She shouted, hoping it would work again.

Sadly, it did not, and Mana continued talking. "I hope she's alright......I hope she got away." She muttered, soon she let out a shocked gasp. "......L.....Lune?........a......are you?" Her eyes then widened and she began to silently cry.

The three crusaders huddled around their friend, waiting for the trance to be over. "Mana?......come back to us." Sweetie Belle said quietly.

A few moments later, Mana let out a loud scream that made the girls cover their ears, she then fell over backwards, now unconscious. "Mana!" Scootaloo shouted as she shook the girl trying to wake her up.

As the crusaders attempted to wake Mana, they soon heard a growl, followed by a pungent odor. "Oh no." Sweetie Belle turned and saw two Timberwolves approaching them.

The crusaders quickly got up and stood next to eachother, putting themselves between the wolves and Mana. "Stay back!" AppleBloom warned.

The wolves did not listen, instead they began to circle the girls patiently. "What do we do?" Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie Belle looked around, trying to find anything that could help them, all she could find were twigs, and a few small stone shards, she looked back and forth between Mana, Scootaloo and AppleBloom, and the two wolves, she closed her eyes and thought on a strategy......she then bit her lip and spoke. "Keep Mana safe girls." Sweetie Belle said as she walked towards a Timberwolf. "Sweetie Belle no!" AppleBloom shouted desperately.

Sweetie Belle looked at her friends, she smiled and nodded as she focused on the Timberwolf, her expression turning serious. "You won't take Mana." She stated as she ignites her horn.

The Timberwolf did not back down, instead it took her words as a threat and charged her wildly.

Sweetie Belle poured all of her magic into a spell, she felt it falter however and she spoke under great stress. "Come on.......magic!......don't......fail.......me now!" She roared and fired a magical blast at the Timberwolf.

The wolf had no time to react as the quick magical bolt impacted hard, causing the wolf to fly back and land hard on the ground, the blast also set the wood itself aflame, however, it left Sweetie Belle drained as she fell to the ground, panting as she felt a dull pain in her horn.

The other wolf howled and soon, two more crept out of the woods.

Sweetie Belle grunted as she forced herself to move, she was back with her friends shortly, but they now had three wolves to deal with, not just two.

"Mana......please get up." Sweetie Belle said quietly.

AppleBloom and Scootaloo gulped as the wolves began to circle them, as if waiting for something, soon, one of them growled and stopped circling.

The girls shook in fear as the Timberwolf charged it roared as its claw was poised to strike AppleBloom hard.

The girls closed their eyes and screamed as the wolf's claw neared them, but the strike never came, they opened their eyes and saw that the wolf was frozen.

They all looked back and saw Mana crouched in a feral posistion, her left arm now ice and extended, she roared and the frozen wolf shattered.

Mana moved in front of the girls and stared at the two Timberwolves, she growled at them as she lowered herself to all fours.

Sweetie Belle, AppleBloom and Scootaloo were completely shocked but chose to stay out of the way, the two wolves were now focused on the angered Mana.

Mana transformed her arms and legs to that of a Timberwolf and growled as her right arm ignited, her hood fell down as well, revealing her elongated ears, fangs and showing off her misty green eyes.

Still not intimidated, the remaining wolves roared and charged at Mana.

Mana's eyes widened and she ferociously charged back, she swung and took out the right front leg of one of the wolves, she dodged the other wolf and lept at it in a frenzy.

She collided with the wolf, and the two clashed, the wolf attempted to bite and claw Mana, while she attempted to freeze or burn it.

The clash ended after Mana managed to freeze and break the head of the wolf, she focused on the other one which had already recovered.

Mana growled and shattered the body of the wolf she had just clashed with, by freezing it then smashing it, she then had a standoff with the remaining wolf, they circled eachother like animals, Mana could feel sudden relief, and she discovered why, she had frozen the wolf's leg for a moment so she could look back, she saw that her bone tail was now free, it was thick and sturdy, it also felt very powerful, she looked back at the wolf and charged it.

The wolf just barely had time to break free of the ice when Mana struck, she broke off its claw and then set it comepletely on fire with one quick breath.

The wolf died soon after, leaving Mana alone with the girls, she looked at them and took a breath as she stood back up, reversing her transformation. "Can we get out of here now?" She asked.

With shock and the desire to leave the forest still in their minds, the crusaders followed Mana as she managed to lead them out of the forest.

The group quickly put some distance from the Everfree and now they walked to town. "Mana......that was awesome!" Scootaloo declared.

Mana shrugged. "I don't know what came over me actually, I just felt a very powerful urge to protect you three......that's all." She replied.

"What happened to you back there anyway?" Sweetie Belle asked as AppleBloom helped her walk, seeing as she was still pretty fatigued from her spell.

Mana was silent for a moment, until she sighed. 'No point hiding it I suppose.' She thought.

"I......don't know what was going on to be honest, when I zoned out, I ended up in what seemed like a ghost world, I saw visions, nightmares......things I wish I hadn't seen." Mana explained.

"We also heard you mention a name, Lune?" Scootaloo asked.

Mana went to answer, but found that she didn't know. "I.....have no idea who that is." She answered honestly.

As they walked, the crusaders would ask something, Mana would answer, or vice versa, but one question had Mana curious the entire trip. 'Who is Lune?.....I've never heard of him or her, and why did I say that name?' She thought as they walked.

______*Ponyville, 4:00 PM*______

The four had split up afterwards, apparently Rarity and Applejack found out that they went into the Everfree, Scootaloo's parents weren't happy, and Twilight was mostly concerned, she was angry, but concern took most of it away.

Mana sat quietly as Twilight talked and lectured her. "What were you thinking!?.....going into the Everfree Forest?.....trained guards and soldiers know better than to search that place!" She scolded.

"You can't just wander into that forest because you want to explore! you shouldn't go there at all!" Twilight continued.

Mana sighed and nodded quietly as Twilight took a moment to calm down.

After a few moments, Twilight spoke. "At least tell me you didn't have another episode." She said hopefully.

Mana was reluctant, but she soon shook her head. "I, turned feral, the girls also say that i acted weird beforehand, like I was possessed." She answered.

Twilight bit her lip as she paced. 'That's not good, if she's experiencing changes in her mentality, that means the change is speeding up, we need to find this shrine.' She thought to herself as she looked at Mana. "Do you........remember, anything from this, possession?" She asked.

Mana thought on it, but only one word came to mind. "Lune." She muttered under her breath.

"What?" Twilight asked curiously.

Mana looked at Twilight. "I remember a name, Lune.......I......I have no memory of anyone with that name." She replied.

At mere mention of this, Twilight grew curious. 'She isn't lying.....she has no reason too, but I wonder, is it possible that Mana suffered some form of stress to make her forget about this person?' She pondered.

"Mana, for now, let's just focus on doing something about the changes, we need to find a way to slow them down, or preferably stop them." Twilight said.

Mana blinked and chuckled. "If you have an idea, tell me, it can't get any worse." She replied.

Twilight tapped her chin in thought as she then looked at Mana. "Do you mind if I test something really quick?" She asked curiously.

Mana shrugged. "As long as it doesn't make it worse." She replied.

Twilight's horn lit up, she then built up a spell, once it was ready, she used it on Mana.

Mana felt a soothing sensation cover her, she grunted and closed her eyes as she soon felt a sudden jolt of pain in her arms, they felt as though they were being ripped open, she felt the pain subside and she opened her eyes, she gasped at what she saw.

To her astonishment, her lower arms were back to normal, if only slightly, she could feel that her upper arm was still altered, but her lower arms and hands being back to normal was good enough. "How did you do that?" She asked in amazement.

Twilight took a breath and sat down. "Healing spell, I figured, since Timberwolf magic is causing this problem, why not try to counter it by healing faster than the damage." She said, clearly out of breath.

Mana was still amazed by the return of her arms, but then she realized what Twilight had said, and she thought on it for a moment. "What do you mean, damage?" She asked.

Twilight froze as her eyes widened in fear. 'Crap.......me and my big mouth!........oooh.....what do I do?'

As Twilight mentally berated herself for her slip of tongue, Mana stood up. "Twilight?.......what aren't you telling me?" She asked, worry starting to take effect as was clear in her voice.

Twilight took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, she looked up at Mana. "Mana.......do you know what makes Timberwolves special?" She asked, trying to subtly hint.

Mana paused and placed one hand over her chest, where the Timberwolf splinter was. "They.....they can repair damage they take, as a form of regeneration." She replied, slightly confused by the change of subject.

"And what happens to the body when somepony........passes?" She asked quietly, trying hard to avoid saying what she knew.

Mana's mind returned to her home, she remembered her grandfather, the day he passed away, and the amount of sorrow and anger she felt afterwards. "They.......wither away, slowly decaying and eventually......becoming a skeleton." She replied.

Twilight then took one more deep breath, and spoke. "I don't want to remind you.......but Mana." She looked directly into Mana's foggy dark green eyes. "You died in your world." She said, hating herself for bringing it up.

Mana unconsciously clutched her left arm. "........So what, what does that have to do with......." She gasped as realization struck. "You mean......i?" She looked at her hand, as she did, she could feel it slowly decaying, as though it were long dead.

"Mana......you are changing because you died, and your body is slowly decaying." She finally said, guilt filling her thoughts.

"But that's impossible!" Mana argued defiantly. "I didn't die here!......right?" She asked, doubt and sorrow clear in her voice.

Twilight sighed. "Mana, you ended up in Equestria by means unknown, you woke up in the Everfree Forest, after who knows how long, anything could have happened." She replied, sounding cold, but in truth, she was tearing herself apart just to force herself to talk, her eyes let out tears as she fought the urge to cry.

Mana shivered and shook, her breathing was sporadic as she looked at Twilight. "H-how long.......have you?......."

"Ever since the visit to Canterlot, I......didn't have the heart to tell you." She replied, cutting Mana off.

Mana felt all forms of emotions right now, but the most prominent were fear and anger, she gazed at Twilight, the mare who had gone out of her way to help her, who, out of the goodness in her heart, took her in.....had lied to her, kept this a secret.

Mana wanted to hate that, she wanted a reason, any reason, to lash out, but all she could manage, was a step backward.

Twilight silently cried, but when she heard footsteps heading away from her, she forced herself to look up. "Mana...." She started.

Before Twilight could continue her sentence, Mana bolted out the door and took off as fast as she could.

"Mana!" Twilight immediately rushed to the door and saw no trace of the girl, she exited the building and looked around, she saw nothing, she cursed under her breath, and used her magic to search the area.

When her results turned up nothing, Twilight immediately started running to find either Mana, or her friends to help her search.

______*Ponyville, Carousel Boutique.*______

Rarity was quite surprised when Twilight came over asking if Mana was here, she told the frantic unicorn no, and asked what was wrong, after hearing Twilight's explanation, Rarity immediately left with Twilight to find out, leaving Sweetie Belle alone.

Sweetie Belle was shocked......she heard everything, and she could not believe her ears. "Why would Mana run off?" She asked herself.

She walked to the main room of the Boutique and paced. "It doesn't make any sense.......unless she found something out." She said quietly.

As she walked around, Sweetie Belle remembered something that Mana had told her one day. 'You remember that game we played, hide and seek?.....well, while searching for a hiding place, I found something.' Mana's voice said.

'What did you find?' Sweetie Belle asked curiously.

Sweetie Belle sighed. "I really hope that's where you are." She muttered as she opened the door and left.

_____*Ponyville, five minutes later.*_____

Mana buried her face into her arms as she sat down, silently crying to herself.

Mana was in the park, or, a different one, apparently, there was an old park that no one ever went to, there were old trees, old flower beds, old benches with dust and warped wood covering them, thick shrubbery and some small animals, hidden behind the thick shrubbery however, was a small garden and a pond, perfect condition, as though someone was maintaining it.

Mana quietly cried as tears fell down her face, she just felt so much fear and sorrow right now, and she couldn't think straight right now.

"I hoped I would find you here." Said a familiar voice.

Mana looked over to her right and saw Sweetie Belle walk up and sit down next to her. "Leave me alone." Mana said, holding back the tears.

Sweetie Belle looked over and saw Mana's misty green eyes. "Is that really want you want?.....to be alone? trust me, that won't help." She said.

Mana looked down into the pond. "How would you know?.....you have your family, your friends, even others of your kind, you aren't alone." She said.

Sweetie Belle looked at Mana with a stern gaze. "Do you seriously think I'm not alone?......as much as my parents traveled, I had to abandon my friends, time and time again, Rarity doesn't remember I'm there half the time, and my friends can only help so much......believe it or not Mana, I always feel alone." She said as she looked into the pond.

Mana looked at her friend. "My parents died......I died, I think Onyx died......I had maybe one friend, and i wasn't even able to say goodbye to my parents before I died.......and as far as I know, I'm the only human in this world, not to mention, Twilight, lied to me about what was happening to me, at no point did she think to have us sit down, and tell the truth, that I am decaying because I'm dead." She stated grimly.

Sweetie Belle looked at Mana. "Do you seriously blame her for lying about that?" She asked In a disbelieving tone.

Mana looked back at the pond. "........No, I can't hate her for wanting to keep it a secret......I.......I.........." She sniffled as she felt her tears return, she decided to stop fighting them and she let them out.

Sweetie Belle was surprised as Mana broke down on the spot and leaned into her for support, she was not sure of what to do, so she started to gently rub Mana's head, falling back on some words she told herself a long time ago. "Its alright, let it out......i won't leave." She said quietly.

As Mana cried into Sweetie Belle's coat, the filly said nothing, instead allowing her friend to get the tears out of her system.

Soon however, Sweetie Belle spoke as she patted her friend on the shoulder.

"Mana, listen, your confused, and upset, Twilight will understand that......I heard her when she was at the Boutique, she is very concerned." She started.

Sweetie Belle looked at the pond, and saw their reflections in the water. "Mana.......I'm not saying you have to forgive Twilight for keeping your condition a secret, but you should at least tell her you understand it." She advised as Mana stopped crying.

Mana wiped her eyes, she then repositioned herself, she sat down straight and placed her left leg over the right leg, she rested her left arm over her left leg and spoke. "I........Sweetie Belle I.........just, thanks I guess......thanks for letting me cry it out." She said as she looked at the pond, she noticed that she had her right arm across Sweetie Belle's shoulder, but the filly did not move.

"Sorry." Mana said as she removed her arm.

Sweetie Belle smiled. "I never said you had to move it, but at least your considerate." She joked.

Mana chuckled a little, she did notice something odd though, she shook her head and smiled. "Well, that's a good sign I suppose." She said.

Sweetie Belle looked and smiled. "Your eyes are normal again?" She asked.

Mana shook her head. "Look around us, you'll see what I'm talking about." She said, pointing at the pond.

Sweetie Belle focused, and she soon saw what Mana was talking about, she giggled at the sight of it.

There were leaves in the pond, and they formed a heart around the two kids reflections.

Mana looked at Sweetie Belle and crossed her arms. "I'm not your girlfriend." She said quickly.

Sweetie Belle shook her head. "And I'm not your fillyfriend." She replied firmly.

______*Ponyville, Golden Oaks Library, 6:59 PM*______

Twilight sighed to herself as she and Rarity walked towards the library. "I'm sorry that we couldn't find her Twilight." Rarity said.

"I'll just have to look longer, but I need to make sure Spike will be alright until I go back to search." Twilight replied.

Rarity looked at her friend. "Darling, the way your talking, it sounds as though you think I will not help you search." She pointed out.

Twilight took a breath as she reached the door to the library. "Was it?......sorry, I'm just worried is all." She replied.

Rarity nodded. "I understand Twilight dear, but you shouldn't panic, Mana probably came back and is waiting inside." She said positively.

Twilight scoffed. "Yea, as if, knowing our luck Rarity?" She asked as she opened the door.

The two entered the library and both Twilight and Rarity were surprised at what they saw.

They saw Mana on the floor, sitting across from Sweetie Belle, they were currently in the middle of a game, The Game of Life.

"Mana!" Twilight used her magic to grab Mana and proceeded to practically choke Mana with the bear hug that followed.

Rarity however, approached her sister calmly. "Sweetie Belle.......did I not say you were grounded?" She asked.

Sweetie Belle nodded sadly. "Yes." She replied, clearly rehearsed.

"So instead of staying home, you went and found Mana, and came here, am I correct?" Rarity asked.

"Yes." Sweetie Belle replied, trying not to laugh at the sight of Mana getting bear hugged.

Rarity sighed. "Sweetie Belle, do not get used to hearing this......but for once, I am glad that you didn't listen." She stated.

Sweetie Belle blinked. "Come again?" She asked.

"You found your friend and helped her when she needed you, that is very kind of you." Rarity replied.

Before Sweetie Belle could talk, Rarity interrupted her. "No, you are still grounded, but If it's alright with Twilight, you may finish your game." She said.

Twilight let Mana go from the bear hug, finally allowing the girl to breathe, so as Mana caught her breath, Twilight spoke. "I suppose, there isn't any harm in it, so long as it's quick." She replied.

Mana finally recovered and looked at Twilight. "Uh......missed you too?" She said as she blinked.

Twilight looked at Mana's mist green eyes. "Are you alright though?......seriously?" She asked.

Mana nodded. "Yea, I'm alright......Sweetie here helped me come to my senses........and to lose a lot of tears." She replied.

Sweetie Belle and Mana sat down to continue their game. "Yea, then by coincidence, a bunch of leaves formed a heart around our reflections in the water." Sweetie Belle said.

Mana chuckled. "Yea, complete coincidence." She added.

_____*later that night, 10:48 PM*______

Twilight sighed to herself as she laid back in her bed, she and Mana had a long discussion after Rarity took Sweetie Belle home, she had told Mana everything, of the shrine, of the books purpose and why she was translating it, she even explained multiple theories on how Mana was transported to Equestria.

They eventually decided not to settle on any ideas unless they found out for sure, Mana had also apologized for running away, Twilight understood her reasons for it, though she didn't agree with Mana running away in the first place.

Twilight for one was just happy that Mana was back, while she doubted that Mana was done grieving, she believed that the girl could begin to heal from her ordeals, even if it would be slow.

______*later that night, 12:00 PM*______

Mana looked out into the town, she had to admit it, she loved the nighttime look of Ponyville, and of the night sky.

Mana looked at her right hand and had it engulf in a small flame, she reached and touched the fire with her other hand and felt only a soothing warmth, she took in a breath of air and extinguished the flame, she then walked to the bed and laid down under the covers, Spike moved over and said something. "I thought you said you wouldn't lay down on the bed?" He asked tiredly.

Mana yawned and rested her head on the pillow. "Time for a change I guess." She replied sleepily before closing her eyes.

Spike closed his eyes and heard Mana mutter something. "Night bro." She muttered.

Spike was unsure how to respond at first, he opened his eyes and looked at Mana who was already fast asleep, he blinked and rested his head, eventually speaking. "Night sis." He muttered.

Author's Note:

So this chapter wasn't hard to write, but it was mildly frustrating at some parts, particularly the pond scene.

So, some crazy stuff happened, possible forgotten memories, possible temporary solution to the change, and emotions ran high.

All in all, good progress, hopefully the next chapter I can get things going again.

Anyway, as always, See You Next Time!