A Troubled Shared By Two

The strong smell of smoke filled the air. The sky reflected the colour of the violent, uncontrolled flames that engulfed Ponyville.

The screams of the burning ponies could be heard from all directions while the smoke killed others without a sound , like a ninja in the night. As the peaceful nature of this once innocent town was being strangled to death.

A single Pegasus with seven colours in her hair, darted around the sky. Worried and disorientated, she fought threw all the flames looking for the last ponies she could hope to save.

I gotta find them, where are they, WHERE ARE THEY!!

“PINKIE! TWILIGHT! AJ!” Her callings were met with nothing. “RARITY! FLUTTERSHY!” Somewhere, at the back of her head she knew what could of happened to them, but couldn’t bring herself to face the odds.

A familiar scream broke her chain thought.

That was Twilight!

The rainbow mare followed the sound of the screams, to find Twilight Sparkle on the ground, crushed by a burning house roof.

“Rainbow…” the simple power to speak seemed harder to Twilight now than anything else the world.

“Yes Twilight…“ The rainbow mare held the dieing mares face in her hooves to hear her last words.

“You could have stopped this”.

The rainbow mare turned away, she could not bare the thought of being able to protect everyone and failing.

She found no comfort for behind her was an alicorn.

Black, wreathed in flames and hatred for anything different than itself.

The Rainbow mare screamed, she screamed like she never did before as true fear crushed soul.
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Rainbow Dash jumped out of her bed, panting and sweating. She looked out of her window to find that it was early morning, Celestia’s sun was just creeping over the top mountains.

She slumped back into her bed and tried to shrug off the bad dream as nothing more than that. A bad dream.

It was only a dream Rainbow, nothing more, now pull yourself together and get something to eat

She walked slowly to her table, poured out some cereal and pondered what she was going to do that day.

There’s no point in going back to sleep, I’m meeting the girls in a little while, maybe Twilight knows something about this dream.

Rainbow imagined Twilight getting all worried and obsessive over nothing, making her giggle a little.

Knowing Twilight, she would diagnose me with some kind of mental complex or something!

She remembered when Twilight was counselling her about destroying Applejacks barn with her Sonic Nukeboom.

That Nukeboom was so awesome! No wonder the Wonderbolts invited…

Her mind stopped when she remembered the Wonderbolt academy a few months back and more specifically a certain lightning pony.

How could Lightning Dust treat her fellow flyers like that?! I understand her dreams but barging past others is just selfish.

Even if Rainbow disliked Lightning a great deal after what she did to her friends, she could not hate her. Rainbow loved having someone who was just as competitive as she was, someone who she could truly connect with.

Still…I wonder what she is doing now since the Wondebolts expelled her.

After finishing her breakfast, she swiftly left her house to met her friends.

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“That does sound like a doosy of a dream there Dash, you sure you didn’t eat anythin funny?” asked a curious Applejack.

The six friends sat outside a café, enjoying the nice weather as they ate their lunch.

Rainbow had gathered the courage to tell her friends about the nightmare she had, hoping that one of them would have some kind of answer to this abnormal nightmare.

“I didn’t AJ, it just sorta happened but the one thing that I hated…” The five friends noticed that Rainbow lowered her head, her hair covering her eyes, “Is that I was completely helpless”.

The five friends were in silent shock. The Rainbow they knew was not helpless and seeing their cocky friend like this caused all of them to realise that this was more than just a dream.

This is not like Rainbow at all, thought Rarity, whatever this dream is its got Rainbow vexed and I don’t like it.

“Oh come now Rainbow!” Rarity left her seat and sat next to Rainbow, trying to peer under Rainbows hair to see her eyes, “We all know that you can handle anything this world throws at you.”

Rainbow was still staring at the ground despite Rarity’s pep talk, until a pink ball of fluff appeared behind her, making her jump.

“Yeah Dashie, I mean you’re the most awesomest incrediblest super fun terrific awesomest pony in Ponyville, one little dream can’t change all that”.

“Urr Pinkie, you said awesomest twice.”

“That’s cause Dashie is twice as awesome as she is incredible, DUH?”

Rainbow looked up and glanced at all of her friends, all of them trying hard to help pull her out of this, and it only was a dream as well.

“Thanks guys” she said quietly “I really appreciate you guys trying to cheer me up”.

“It really is no trouble Rainbow,” whispered Fluttershy in her usual manner “What are friends for after all.”

Rainbow had a humbling smile and Rarity thought that this was the opportune time to do the final step in ‘cheer Rainbow up’ operation.

“Anyway are you ready for tonight Rainbow?”

Rainbow looked at Rarity, confusion clear upon her face.

“Bonbon and Lyra’s two year anniversary?”

“Oh yeah I completely forgot about that.”

“Well are you attending?”

“Yeah sounds like fun.”

“How about the rest of you then hmm?”

The message behind Rarity’s face was as clear as a written note tied to a rock being flung at their faces.

If we all go with Rainbow then it will make her happier!!!!

“Matter of fact, we’re all goin” said Applejack followed by the nodding of the other three ponies at the table.

“Well then that settles it!” giggled an excited Rarity “We will meet at the garden of ‘the rusty stable’ at nine, ta ta” and quickly galloped back to her house to get ready.

Rainbow knew she was lucky that she had wonderful friends that would circle around her when she needed it.
However when everyone had left to get ready or do other jobs she noticed something. She and Twilight were the only ones left at the table and she was being unusually quiet, Rainbow thought that Twilight would be all over this unrest and trying to link it back to a past experience to show of her physiological prowess.

But Twilight did not say anything during the lunch, not a word.

“Hey Twi, you alright?”

Twilight turned away from here and galloped off back to her library, not so much as a goodbye or eye contact was shared between the two mares.

“Twi!” shouted the confused Rainbow “Where you going?!”

Just what in the hay was that all about? Rainbow thought is she pissed with me?

Rainbow Dash was at a complete loss.

Well, maybe this party will help both of us clear our heads.

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Fireworks shot off into the sky. Little foals and grown ponies alike watched in awe at the dancing lights in the sky.

Some of them were small, delicate sparks that gently glided across the Ponyville for all to see.

Whilst some were giant explosions of all matter of colours, as they showed off their worth to their fellow peer fireworks to see who had the greatest flare. Some of the larger ones tried to up stage the large, glorious star in the sky. That star had been hanging over Equestria for a week now and was the most beautiful thing thing that nature could conjure up.

The food table was a massive buffet with a collection of savoury treats. Hayfries, Yorkshire puddings, Daises on blankets and dips of all manner of flavours.

Drinks ranged from juice for the little ones to more mature beverages for the older ponies (and Berry Punch).

However, even though there was a lot of alcoholic beverages, ponies were never a race to abuse its content or ruin its reputation with drunken behaviour (except for Berry Punch who after one particular drunken evening found herself in the crystal empire).

The party was coming to a close and all the ponies joined in as they watched Lyra and Bonbon dance on a wooden table with their one hoof around each other and with the other holding a flagon, singing the last drinking song of the night. To have Pinkie cut in at the very last line.

Hey ho! To the Cider I go
To heal my heart and drown my woe
Rain may fall and wind may blow
But there still be
Many miles to go
Sweet is the sound of the pouring rain
And the stream that falls
From hill to plain
Get off the suit and that mangy old tie

And get another cake inside this Pie!!

The ponies raised their flagons and cheered to a happy party, where goodwill and happiness was the only thing on the minds of everypony there.

Even Rainbow felt like that the dream was nothing more than a distant memory, a poor nightmare of a filly.

As some ponies walked out of the bar with no difficulty, some ponies had trouble remembering that awkward transaction from building to Equestria.

But Berry Punch took home the drunkenness trophy when she walked out of the bar and fell flat of her face.

“Alright gals“ said a tired Applejack “I better help Berry get home in case she wakes up finding her self in Manehatten with a coughed up lung!”

“Let me assist you Applejack” said a slightly tipsy Rarity “I may have had a few drinks but I can still help you and get home just fine, besides that star in the sky will keep this place light enough to at least see where I am going.”

As they both helped a rambling Berry Punch back home and Fluttershy flew off back to her cottage, only Twilight and Rainbow Dash were left.

“Where’s Pinkie?” asked Rainbow not so much for receiving and answer but to avoid an awkward silence after the earlier situation.

Twilight tilted her head to inside the bar to show Rainbow where Pinkie was.

She was sleeping on the table with a lampshade on her head, covered with cake and a slight smell of cider. The two mares giggled together before watching the bartender take her to one of the rental rooms.

After Rainbow paid Pinkies fee, she and Twilight walked out of the bar to make their way home, however the two friends had not spoken to each other for five of the longest, most awkward minutes of all pony kind.

Ok Twi that is it!!

“What is the matter Twilight?!” Rainbow did not yell but could certainly frighten Twilight with he assertiveness of her question “Did I do something to upset you or make you angry cause if I did I gotta know!”

Her questions went unanswered as the violet mare just stopped in the middle of the pathway, much to Rainbows already erratic frustration.

“ANSWER ME!”

“I HAD THAT DREAM TOO!”

Everything was silent for fifthteen seconds, as both mares started to collect their thoughts together. Rainbow was the one to break the silence.

“You had the same dream, what does that have to do with anything?”

“You remember that dream Rainbow, it felt different, more powerful then any dream before, this may be important.”

Rainbow would normally argue but the evidence is staring her in the face. Same dream, the fear, the realism.

“So what do you suppose we do Twi?”

“We go to the library and we look up what this could be and if we are really pushed we will send a letter to the Princess to see if she has anything that can help us.”

Rainbow normally hated the idea of reading non-fiction books late at night but she knew that this was not a normal time.

“Ok lets go!”

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Canterlot Palace could be a very scary place at night, but a scary sight to see was this night as the two princesses were in the royal throne room, barely lit.

Celestia gazed out of her window at the giant star in the sky before turning to her sister who was in some kind of meditated state.

“Have you made any progress Luna?”

“Scanning ponies dreams take time Tia and concentration”.

“Time is a loose cannon right now Luna, The Dawnstar approaches and you know what it brings!”

“I do know and you yelling at me is not making the process go any faster Tia.”

Celestia calmed down, she knew that Luna was right.

“How many have you found?”

“Two as of now, A pegasi aspiring to be a wonder bolt and a very talented Unicorn”.

“Well at least we are half way their.”

Celestia returned to the window and stared at the star in the sky.
“When the dawnstar comes to claim lifes core, the life will reveal the destined four…as the old rhyme goes.”

Author's Note:

There is a Lord of the Rings reference if you can find it. :)

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