> Rainbow Dash and the Crystal Empire
>  by Rainbow Dash 55
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Cordially Invited
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie Pie bounced through Ponyville, happy as could be. She'd just won the Ponyville baking competition, and wanted to invite her friends to see her get the award.
Then, a rainbow-colored blur flew over her head, in the clouds, faster than anything she'd ever seen. Even herself. 
The rainbow blur was followed by a yellow and blue blur, moving almost as fast. It was catching up with the rainbow one, and Pinkie wanted to check it out. She gathered all of her speed she'd been saving for an emergency, and she decided this qualified as one.
She then took off after the blurs, mainly to see of they were okay. We couldn't have anypony hurt at her award ceremony! That would be terrible!




"I won!"
"No you didn't! I did!"
Rainbow Dash tackled Soarin, and neither one of them could stop laughing.
Soarin thought about something, then let Rainbow "hear" it. Actually, I'm the winner.
How so?, she smiled.
Because I have you.
And I have you.
Soarin kissed her, and she returned it.
"HYAAAHHH!" Out of nowhere, a pink creature attacked Soarin from on top of Rainbow.
"HOW DARE YOU!", Pinkie yelled at him, once she'd pinned him to the ground. "I can't believe you attacked this poor, helpless pony!" She shook him as hard as she could.
"Pinkie!", Rainbow shouted. "Get off of him! It's Soarin!" She used her telekinesis to pull Pinkie away, and she faced Pinkie toward her, right in front of her face.
"Oh. Hey, Dashy!" Pinkie smiled. "Don't worry. I saved you. Soarin's learned his lesson, right, buddy?"
"Uh--"
"Okay, Pinkie, thank you. You're work is done. Bye!" Rainbow set Pinkie down on the ground of the mountain.
"Actually Dashy, the kind thing for you to do is to thank me." Pinkie bounced along with them.
"I did thank you."
Pinkie Pie giggled. "No, silly! I meant to thank me in something else! Do you know what that something else is?"
"Oh, boy," Rainbow mumbled.
"A PARTY!" Pinkie somehow magically pulled streamers and a kazoo out of nowhere. She threw the streamers in the air, and blew on the kazoo once. "And you two are cordially invited!"
"Thanks, Pinkie," Soarin smiled. "We'd be honored."
"Well, it's not a party at the beginning. I'm getting an award for winning the Ponyville baking competition, but I'm throwing a party afterwards. It's tomorrow."
"Sounds great, Pinkie," Soarin kindly said. "We'll be there."
"YAY!" Pinkie flew all over the mountain, and back to them in less than three seconds. "Thanks, guys! The cerimony is at 10:00. Bye!"
Soarin sighed, then wrapped his forelegs around Rainbow. "Now, where were we?"
She smiled. "I think I remember."
> The Loud Wake-Up Call
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow woke up to a loud banging on her door.
"Whuh?", Rainbow mumbled. She squinted against the fierce morning light while the banging continued.
She walked over to the door and opened it.
"Twilight?", Rainbow asked. "What are you doing? What was all that noise?"
Twilight rubbed her head. "Sorry, Rainbow. I couldn't control my wings, so instead of gently waking you up, I, uh--"
Rainbow grinned. "It's fine, Twilight. But why couldn't you control your wings? I thought you got the hang of it."
"That's part of the reason I'm here."
Rainbow looked at her, an eyebrow raised. "For flying practice?"
"No, Rainbow. That's not it."
"...Is something wrong, Twilight?"
She sighed. "Yes, there is."
> Invaded
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That's awful, Twilight. But what's causing it?"
They'd been flying around for a few minutes, Rainbow carrying Twilight on her back. Where were they going? Rainbow couldn't be sure. Twilight gave her the directions, "Turn here," "Go up here," and all that.
"I know," Twilight said. "The reason I can't fly very well is because, well...the Crystal Empire."
"What's happening to it?"
"It's being invaded."
Rainbow stopped dead in her tracks, nearly dropping Twilight out of the sky. She continued to flap in place, however, something Twilight envied.
"WHAT? And we're just flying around aimlessly while it's being invaded?!"
"No, Rainbow, of course not! We're going to a place where I think somepony can help us."
Rainbow looked down, and she realized that the trail below them looked familiar. She followed it. "Who would even BE there?"
"You'll see." Rainbow could hear the smile in Twilight's voice.
> The Library Conference
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash was right: they were headed to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's old castle. Apparently, it was being renovated so they could live there again.
Rainbow soon found out why they were there.
"Celestia!", Twilight cried. She ran over to her.
"Twilight! Rainbow Dash! What is the meaning of this delightful surprise?", Princess Celestia smiled.
Rainbow bowed. "Your Highness, we have terrible news."
Celestia's smile faded. "Come with me."
She led them into the library, where Princess Luna was discussing blueprints with a construction worker, just like Celestia was when they got there.
"You may be dismissed. Tell everypony else to take a 30-minute lunch break." Celestia smiled kindly at him, but Rainbow could sense she was stressed.
The construction worker bowed, then left.
"Hello, sister. Twilight. Rainbow Dash," Luna greeted them.
Rainbow bowed again.
"Luna," Celestia said. "Twilight has something to tell us."
They all looked at her.
"Uh..." Twilight didn't plan this out very well.
"Allow me, your highness," Rainbow saved her. "This is very difficult to say, but. The Crystal Empire. Twilight believes it is being invaded, once again."
The sisters gasped, and Twilight gulped.
"What gives you a reason to believe this, Twilight?", Celestia asked.
"Well, my wings are hurting, and I can't fly well at all. I also saw a bright flash coming from the direction of the castle. I assumed it was, well--"
"Harmed," Luna finished.
"Oh, Celestia, I don't know what to do!", Twilight cried. "I came to you because you always know what to do, with the help of Luna, of course. I'm so sorry! I'm not ready to be a princess yet! I--"
While Luna and Rainbow comforted her, Celestia smiled. "Actually, Twilight. There's something I've been keeping from you. From everypony."
Twilight sniffed.
"You don't have to tell her, sister," Luna assured her.
"No. I do. It's the only way you can save the Crystal Empire." She sighed. "Many ponies believe that I am a great, problem-solving leader. A true princess. But the truth is...Luna's responsible."




"WHAT?", Twilight and Rainbow asked at the same time.
"It's true," Luna walked over to Celestia, and smiled. "I'm sort of the mastermind behind everything."
"It's just that, everypony expects me to be the brave, heroic, older, wiser sister. And I'm not. I try to be a loving sister, but I don't save the day or make all the conferences. That's all Luna's doing. She deserves all the credit. And always has. So, I want Luna to help you with this mission. I trust her."
She started to walk away, but Rainbow said, "That's it? You aren't going to help us at all?"
Celestia sighed. "I'll only get in the way." She closed the doors with a spell from her horn.
They looked at Luna, and she, too, sighed. "She's had some difficulties in the past with these sort of things. Do you two remember the story of when I was banished?" They nodded. "After I was freed from the moon, she told me there were hundreds of other ways she could've punished me. She told me a few dozen ways she could have, but I forgave her. And she forgave me."
"That's amazing," Rainbow said.
Then, a window shattered.
> The Unexpected Helper
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pegasus that broke the window attacked Rainbow Dash, and she struggled to break free from his grasp. She picked up a vase with her telekinesis, and was moving it toward the victim. But the dust started to clear, and Twilight could make out who it was.
"Rainbow! Don't!", she shouted.
Rainbow opened her eyes, and could also see who it was. She set the vase down. "Soarin?"
"Dash!", he said. "You're okay!" He pressed his mouth to hers, and she let him. But Soarin wanted more. He put his tongue in her mouth, never breaking the kiss. 
I was so worried, he telepathically told her.
Why? She tried to make him stop kissing her so she could look at him, but he wouldn't budge, except to take a breath or two of air.
I could sense you feeling worried, so I thought you were in trouble. I couldn't bear to see you hurt again.
She loved to hear him say that. It made her feel so protected, so sure. So she pushed harder into him, and he hugged her tighter. Before she knew it, they were making out.
But, unfortunately, they were interrupted by Luna clearing her throat. "Sorry to bother you, but I believe we have some work to do."
Rainbow broke the kiss, and blushed hard. "Oh, sorry! Guess I got caught up in the moment."
"I'm sorry too. Totally my fault. I thought Dash was in danger."
"She IS in danger." Twilight looked annoyed.
"What? Why?" Soarin instinctively stood up, in front of Rainbow, protecting her.
"There is trouble at the Crystal Empire," Luna informed him. "We need a plan to stop it."
Soarin gave his signature gorgeous grin to Rainbow, which made her blush even more. "Lucky for you, I'm excellent with plans."
> Saying Goodbye
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Everypony ready?", Raibow asked.
She looked at all of them, realizing, that, possibly, this was the last time she could see them. But she was willing to make the risk.
They nodded.
"Okay, Soarin, you're with Luna. Twilight, you're with me. I need Luna and Soarin to--"
"Dash?", Soarin asked quietly. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
They walked out of the library, while Twilight and Luna reviewed their posts.
"What is it, Soarin?"
"Dash, maybe this isn't a good idea. I mean, you could get hurt. I...I--"
"Could get hurt?"
"No, Dash. I could never see you again. We don't even know what we're up against! What if it's Spitfire again! What if she--"
She interrupted him by planting one on him. Hard. Powerfully. And he loved her for it.
"Then I'll kick her hindquarters like the last time." Rainbow smiled.
"Dash, I couldn't bear to see you get hurt. Last time was too much."
"Soarin. I love you. You know I do. But I can take care of myself. Have you forgotten how I beat her in the first place?"
"I guess you're right."
"And, if anything goes wrong, you know how to reach me." She grinned, and he gorgeously grinned back.
I know. You're right.
Of course I'm right. She was smiling now.
Yeah. That's one of the things I dig about you.
Rainbow frowned. I'll miss you, Soarin. Take care of Luna. She held back her tears, but Soarin could sense they were there.
I will, Dash. Then, I'll take care of you. Promise me you'll make it back safe.
I promise, Soarin. I love you.
I love you too, Dash.
She kissed him, just as she had seconds ago. If it was her last kiss with him, she would make it count. She knew he felt the same way. He pressed their mouths harder then they'd ever been pressed together. She loved it.
> The Takeoff
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay. So everypony knows their stations and what to do?"
"Yes, Rainbow! We're ready!", Twilight exclaimed. "Let's go!"
"While I enjoy Rainbow Dash's clarity and leadership," Luna said. "I really must agree with Twilight. We have no time to lose."
"Luna's right. We'll be fine, Rainbow. Let's go." Twilight flew out of the castle.
"Good luck, ponies." Luna took Soarin's hoof and flew off to their mission in a different direction.
Rainbow flew off with Twilight.




Dash! There's a major problem!
What, Soarin?! What's wrong?!
She could now hear the smile in his voice. I miss you too much!
Soarin! We've only been apart for a minute and a half! Now she was smiling, too.
I know, but it's been an eternity for me.
Thanks, Soarin. You're great. That means a lot.
Yeah, I am pretty great, aren't I?, he joked.
She giggled, out loud and in her head.
"What?", Twilight asked.
"What? Oh. Nothing. Look!" Rainbow pointed in alarm to a black cloud in the distance.
"It's around--"
"The Crystal Palace," Rainbow finished.
> Soarin and Luna
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Got any ideas on how to get in?"
Soarin and Princess Luna were down at the Crystal Palace from a storm cloud.
"I don't know how you civilians break and enter, but we do it with our magic spells," Luna said. "But we don't know who or what is inside, so it could be dangerous to use a spell."
"I agree," Soarin said. "If only Dash were here. SHE would think of something." He rolled over on his back, looking at the rest of the clouds in the sky.
"I beg your pardon?", Luna demanded.
"It's just that, Dash can do anything. She's amazing. I know she has powers not and everything, but I still think I need to protect her, you know? I mean, she can obviously--"
"Soarin."
"Yes, Luna?" He rolled onto his side, and faced who he thought was the princess. But it wasn't.
"So good to see you again."
"Lightning Dust?!", Soarin exclaimed. He jumped up. "Where's Luna?!"
Lightning Dust smiled evilly. "I don't think that's important. What's important is, where's Dash?"
Dash? No answer.
Dash! Nothing.
> Goldengrape
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That doesn't look like Spitfire," Twilight said.
Rainbow blushed a little. "Oh. You heard me talking to Soarin, huh?"
Twilight grinned. "I WOULD like to see you kick her hindquarters again. Good call."
Rainbow rolled her eyes, but she grinned too. "Thanks."
They reached the Crystal Empire, but they didn't dare go in it. Instead, they hid behind a boulder that was covered in dark, pointy crystals.
"Black Magic," Twilight narrowed her eyes.
"Queen Chrysalis?"
"I don't know. But I guess we'll have to find out. Operation: Bolt."
Rainbow looked to see if anypony was around, but nopony was. She bolted from object to object, boulder to boulder, at the speed of light. Twilight was a little bit slower, but she did the same. Soon enough, they were halfway through the village of the Crystal Empire. Rainbow dashed behind a fruit stand, followed by Twilight. Rainbow turned to ask Twilight where she thought would be a good place to get into the palace would be, but instead of Twilight, she was looking at a little colt, sitting next to a cart full of strawberries.
They stared at each other for the longest time in shock, until the colt asked, "Who are you?"
"Who are you?", Rainbow questioned.
He stared at her for a few more seconds before answering, "I'm Goldengrape. Why are you wearing those clothes?"
Rainbow looked at her black clothes, and pulled her black hat on tighter. "Why aren't YOU wearing them?"
They had a staredown for a few more seconds, until Rainbow was bored and antsy. "Okay, here's the deal, kid. I'm sorta kinda a little busy with...big-pony stuff. So we should really get going. Okay, bye!"
"We?" The colt turned and saw an alicorn, wearing the same clothes as Rainbow. He gasped. "Princess Twi--"
She put her hoof over his mouth. "Yes, that's me. Listen, we're doing some very important business, so if you could please be quiet, that would be great. Okay?"
He nodded, and she released him.
"Now run along, little foal." Twilight gently pushed him, and he trotted off.
> The Most Powerful Bond
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What have you done to her?!"
Lightning Dust laughed. "Oh, Soarin. You're still as adorable as I remembered." She walked over on the cloud with him, and he stuck out his chest, wanting to avoid her gaze, but still wanting to be bold. 
He remembered how she practically exploded when she couldn't be a Wonderbolt. She almost killed the guards trying to get to the Wonderbolt's mansion.
Lightning put a wing around Soarin's shoulders, bringing him closer, so their noses almost touched.
"Maybe we can be adorable TOGETHER," she hissed.
He pushed her away. "No." He walked to the edge of the cloud, ready to take off after Luna and Rainbow.
"Soarin, you don't understand. I can help you find Dash. I can't guarentee she's still alive, but I can get you to her."
He stopped walking, looking out to the horizon.
"Trust me, Soarin."
He turned his head so it was almost facing her. "...What's it gonna take?"
He didn't see it, but Lightning smiled. "You won't believe me." She turned around and frowned, her hindquarters facing him.
He turned, this time, looking at her. "What is it? I'll do anything to save them."
"It's crazy. I don't even know why it has to be done."
He walked over to her, so he was breathing on her ear. "What has to be done?"
"Well...In order for us to enter the castle, which contains a shield of powerful magic, we have to...kiss." She'd told an awful, blatant lie, but she couldn't help it. She loved Soarin so much.
"Kiss?"
She looked at him, which reminded her of how close they were. "Yes. It also helps if we love each other, or feel a...a bond. An emotional bond." She looked back down. "I told you it was crazy."
He continued to look at her. "Dash told me that love is the most powerful bond there is. I don't think it's crazy."
She still wouldn't look at him. "Really?"
He pushed her chin up, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Really." And with that, he pressed his mouth to hers, opening, then closing it, trying to feel her love, but it wasn't nearly as strong as his love for Dash.
She seemed to enjoy it more than him, though. She seemed like she wanted it her whole life, the way she did that thing with her eyebrows, like she was worried. Soarin noticed how some mares did that, when they really wanted something, usually love, and they finally got it.
Soarin gently broke away from the kiss, and looked at her eyes. She did the same, but she seemed flustered.
"Uh...," she said. "Well, that was good. Another thing that could break the spell is hugging and stuff, but that should be good. I'll test it out." She flew to the castle, and pretended to be shocked. She flew back, clutching her side.
"Lightning Dust! Are you okay?"
> Tunnel Divers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Who was that?"
Twilight and Rainbow were still crawling around the village, and nopony else had spotted them.
"Goldengrape," Rainbow replied as she darted behind a small house.
Twilight followed her. "And you've met him before?"
"No, actually. He came out of nowhere." Rainbow closed her eyes, concentrated, and split the ground open with her mind, force, and strong forelegs. The open ground turned out, to Twilight's surprise, to be a tunnel, leading to the Crystal Palace.
"Riiight." Twilight smiled. "Do you think he had a crush on you?"
"Twilight!"
"Just asking!"
"Why do you assume that every stallion and gelding that talks to me has a crush on me?!" Rainbow, irritated, crawled into the tunnel, then closed the opening when Twilight was inside. Twilight turned on her horn, providing them with plenty of light.
"Because it's true!" Twilight couldn't stop smiling. "You didn't happen to notice Soarin talking to you every second of your life before he kissed you?!"
Rainbow blushed from her comment, the heat, and the effort of crawling. Rainbow told herself that it was only the heat and the crawling, though.
"Ah, Soarin. None of us would admit it, but we all had, and have, crushes on Soarin," Twilight said. "Especially Rarity. She would do ANYTHING to be with him. Anything."
Rainbow continued to squirm through the tunnel.
"I wouldn't do ANYTHING to be with him, just most things." Twilight sounded as though she was curious about the weather. "I would maybe eat a bug, or give away some of my books in my library, or--"
"Twilight?"
"Oof!" Twilight bumped into Rainbow's tail. "Yes?"
"Are you done?"
"No! Of course not!"
Rainbow sighed and continued to creep through the tunnel, followed by Twilight.
"I mean, how could you NOT like him?!", Twilight exclaimed. "He's the hottest stallion I've ever SEEN!"
"Twilight."
"I know that doesn't exactly sound like me. But I've recently discovered these new romance novels."
"Twilight."
"And they're really good! I know I've been kind of putting them off because they can get too gushy, but--"
"TWILIGHT!"
"Yes, Rainbow?"
"Do you feel that?"
"Feel what?"
They listened, and Rainbow felt and heard the Earth's vibrations. 
"Oh, no!", Rainbow exclaimed. "It's raining!"
"So?"
"SO!" Rainbow panicked. "What happens when dirt and water mix?!" She quickly crawled forward.
Twilight thought. "Oh...Oooh." She gasped. "OOOOOOOOHHH! OH NO! RAINBOW! WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN?! WE'RE GONNA DROWN!" She charged onward, practically running over Rainbow.
> Embracing the Bond
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yeah. I'm okay." Lightning Dust pretended to try to fly, but she collapsed on the cloud. "But the bond isn't strong enough, and I can't fly."
"How do we make the bond stronger?" Lightning couldn't believe he'd fallen for this trick, but she loved it.
"Hug?", she suggested. "Kiss?"
"Let ME try to get to the castle." He tried to fly down to it, but Lightning grabbed his wrist, pulled him so he was lying down next to her, and wrapped her forelegs around his strong neck. She kissed him hard.
"You know, Soarin," she said. "I think that maybe...I do love you. Not just because I have to to get into the castle."
"Thanks, Lightning. But I...I kinda have somepony else in mind."
"You do?" She was infuriated, but she controlled it to look like curiosity.
"Yeah. Not that I don't want to save Dash and Luna." He smiled, but he felt so guilty to be doing this.
It's for Dash, he told himself. I'm not cheating on her. This is for her.
They made out, and Lightning scooted so she was on top of him. She pressed every part of her body harder to him. She loved him, but she didn't exactly know why. She didn't know him very well, other than his kind personality and good looks.
But once again, Soarin broke the kiss.
"We should probably see if it worked," he said.
"Oh. Of course," she said. "But what about my wing?"
As an answer, Soarin flew down, with Lightning Dust still lying on top of him. He then moved so she was lying in his forelegs instead, so he could see where he was going: the Crystal Palace.
> The Mud Flood
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It's okay," Rainbow assured Twilight. "If we hurry, we can make it out." But even Rainbow didn't think that was true. She couldn't bend the mud, but even if she could, she was too weak to do so.
"Can't you curve the mud or something?!"
"No, I can't BEND it. I don't know why, but I can't bend mud. I can bend water, dirt, and rocks, but not mud."
"Are we almost there?", Twilight asked, frightened.
"Yes. It's getting harder to feel the vibrations, though. I can't feel them through mud. Only dirt and rock...Wait! Your horn! Can you push the mud away with a spell?"
"Uh, not exactly."
"What?! What do you MEAN, 'not exactly'?!"
"Most pegasi and earth ponies don't know this, but unicorns have weaknesses. Mine is mud. Even if a LIIIITTLE mud touches my horn, I won't be able to use it for at least three days."
Now it was Rainbow's turn to worry. The walls were still closing in, all made out of mud, and there was nothing she could do about it. For once in her life, she couldn't do anything. She felt useless.
"Rainbow?"
Rainbow tried to look at Twilight through all the mud, but it was nearly impossible. "Yes, Twilight?"
"Is this the end?"
"Twilight, don't say that!" Now both Twilight AND Rainbow were crying over the loud thunder. "We'll make it!"
"Rainbow, I just wanted you to know, you've been a really great friend! I'll never forget you!"
"You've been a great friend, too. If somepony were to take away my memory, I would never forget you!"
Rainbow and Twilight reached out, and touched each other's hooves. Not even the mud, rain, and dirt could separate their soaked hooves.
Rainbow took her last breath, and she guessed Twilight did the same. The mud devoured them.
> Entering the Crystal Palace
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So...I guess the bond is embraced enough, huh?"
"Yeah." Lightning snuggled closer to him. "We passed the forcefield a while back."
"Good." Soarin landed in front of the front door of the castle, and placed Lightning on the ground. Are you sure we should be breaking-and-entering from the main entrance? Lightning tapped the beat of a song Soarin had heard of before, and the doors opened. Inside, there were a dozen palace guards, only they didn't look like the ones Soarin had seen before. These ones wore dark armor, and they matched their mane and tails.
"Uh, hi," Soarin began. "I'm here to see Rainbow Dash? She's--"
"It's him!", one of the guards exclaimed.
Then, all of the sudden, they pounced on Soarin, and one of them knocked him unconscious.
> The Ice Room
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow opened her eyes and tried to pick up her head, but it was as though somepony had beat it with a hundred hammers. 
I'm. Alive?!
She looked around the room, which turned out to be made completely out of ice: one of the few things she couldn't bend.
Still lying down, she turned her head slightly to look for Twilight, Luna, or Soarin. But none of them were there.
"Twilight!", she shouted, but the pain was too much. She passed out.




The second time Rainbow awoke, she guessed it was the next day.
She stood up, and the room seemed infinite. No end.
She walked around the infinite ice room, and, gathering her strength, shoved the wall with her shoulder.
Nothing. Not even a crack.
She tried again, this time, with a running start. It must have been her imagination, but the ice somehow seemed to thicken.
Testing her theory, she tapped the ice wall with her hoof. It thickened again!
How am I supposed to get out now?!
Then, it hit her.
Soarin!
She waited, but she got nothing.
Soarin!
Then, in the faintest back of her mind, she heard him.
Dash?
Soarin! Are you okay? Where are you?
I don't know, Dash. All I know is, I'm in an endless room made out of rocks and stone.
I'm in an endless room made of ice!
Really?! Are you okay? I--
Then, Rainbow heard a voice other than Soarin's. "Daaaaash."
"Who's there?!" Rainbow spun all around her, and finally saw something. She cautiously approached it, and soon got close enough to see that it was a hologram.
It laughed. "Oh, Dash. You're so funny sometimes."
"Lightning Dust?! What are you doing here?!"
"Well, Dash. I'm starting to get the feeling that you don't want to see me." It walked past Rainbow.
"What do you want?!"
"Dash, calm down! All I have to offer is some news that you might find interesting."
Rainbow considered this. "Like what? You're the one who ruined the Crystal Empire?"
"Oh, no, Dash. Not at all. I am a mear servant, a helper, in all this glory."
"I. Am the cause of it."
Rainbow spun around to see another hologram, one that she thought she'd never see again. "Sombra."
> The Cloud Room
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight woke up in a room made out of...clouds? 
She looked around her, surprised to have survived the mud, then realized her horn was packed with mud, dirt, and rocks. She tried to clear the stuff clogging her horn with her powers and her hooves, but it wouldn't go away.
She couldn't use any spells.




"Princess Twilight! So good to see you!"
Twilight jumped, and, on instinct, tried to shoot a spell at her.
"Oh, sorry about that, your highness. The king has requested some...removal. Of all powers and spells. My apologies."
"Who are you?" Twilight examined the hologram.
"Oh, my apologies for that too, your highness. My name is Lightning Dust."
"Lightning Dust? ...Wait! You're the pegasus who competed with Rainbow! You almost killed us in a tornado!"
Lightning looked infuriated. "Dash almost killed you too!"
"Mares, mares, please!", a voice out of nowhere said calmingly. "No need to argue! What is in the past is in the past!"
They both looked at the hologram of a black stallion.
"And YOU are?", Twilight inquired.
"Oh, forgive me, your majesty. I am King Sombra of the Crystal Empire."
Twilight glared at him. "I remember you. You will NEVER be king!"
"Oh, but Princess, I already am. Well, for right now, I am considered a prince...Would you like to be my queen? We shall rule all of the world together!"
Twilight lowered her eyebrows. "Why would I EVER in my right MIND marry you?!"
He frowned. "Very well. You will just have to be one of my many servants in the village."
His hologram disappeared, so only Lightning's was left.
"You two WILL be stopped! I know it!"
Lightning looked at her. "I'm afraid that's not possible, princess. We've captured Cadance, Celestia, Luna, Soarin, Dash, and you. NOTHING can stop us." She vanished.
> The Earth Room
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soarin woke up with a horrible throbbing pain in his head.
He looked all around the room, and saw that it was made out of rocks and dirt.
He tried to stand up to explore, but he could only crawl because of his injured head. He saw that the room was, in fact, not just a room.
It was endless.




Soarin felt as though he'd been wandering for hours. He already tried to break through the rocks, but it seemed like they grew larger when he did.
He stopped walking when he heard a familiar voice.
"Soarin?", it said.
"Lightning! I'm so glad to see you!" He ran over and hugged her.
"Kiss me," she said.
"Uh..." Soarin didn't want to sound rude telling her about Rainbow, so instead, he said, "Do you know where the others are?"
"Who?"
"Well, I kinda got the feeling that Dash was here. And you said Luna is."
"Dash?"
"Yeah. Rainbow Dash."
"Oh, right! Dash! Yeah, she's..."
"She's what?! Is she hurt?!"
"No, she's not hurt. But...they're gonna take away her powers, Soarin!"
"What?!"
"It's true. I overheard them talking when they put me in here."
"We have to stop them!" Soarin pounded the walls, making them worse.
"What can we do?!" Lightning began to cry. "He's too powerful."
He walked back over to her, then wiped a tear off of her face. "Who's too powerful?"
"I believe she's talking about me."
Soarin looked over, and saw a glowing form of a black stallion.
"Hello, Soarin."
"Sombra," Soarin muttered. "Let us go!"
He chuckled. "Now, Soarin. I can't possibly release you without you seeing your marefriend."
"Marefriend?", Lightning asked.
"What? She's--"
"Yes, Soarin. She's here. And I wouldn't want to tear the family apart, so I'll pick you up in a few." After Sombra said that, his hologram vanished.
"Soarin," Lightning said. "I'm scared."
He embraced her in another hug. "I know. We'll get through this."
"So...who's your marefriend?"
"My...Oh. Uh, it's Dash."
"DASH?"
"Yeah, kinda."
"Oh. I see." She walked away.
"You're a great mare, Lightning. It's just that. I love Dash. I always have."
"Oh. Of course."
Then, a door opened out of nowhere, and in came two of Sombra's guards.
"We're here to take Lightning Dust," one of them said.
"You're not taking her anywhere." Soarin stepped in front of her.
"You gonna stop us?"
They looked each other square in the eyes, until the guard tried to punch him, but Soarin blocked it. He twisted the guard's wrist, and he fell onto the ground.
While Soarin wasn't looking, the other guard took Lightning Dust away, just as planned.
> The Fire Room
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Luna squinted when she woke up, expecting to be in her room in her castle.
But she wasn't.
She bolted up, and searched around the enormous place that she was in.
It seemed as though this place went on forever, never ending. The walls were covered in fire, but the place didn't burn down.
Luna guessed that whoever had captured her knew that fire was one of her weaknesses, because she was the moon; the sun was her opposite.
She tried to shoot the fire with snow or water, but her horn didn't obey. It was covered in wax.
Whoever had put wax on her horn knew it was also her weakness. She didn't stop to think about how they could know that, but she did know one thing for sure:
She couldn't perform any spells.





"Wow. You really ARE as pretty as the moon."
Luna flung around, and looked at a horrifying black stallion, a few inches taller than her. He had fangs, red and green eyes, and a red and black horn.
She reared up, ready to pound him, but he moved so she accidentally pounded the ground instead.
"Wow, we've got a feisty one here," he smiled.
He picked her up with a spell from his horn so she couldn't move, and lied her down next to him. The only thing she could move were her eyes, and her mouth.
"Kiss me," he whispered.
Because of the spell, she was forced to follow his orders. She made out with him, kissed him like she'd never kissed anypony else. He did the same.
She hated every moment of it, but she couldn't let go. No matter how hard she tried, the spell was too strong.
"I hate to interrupt," a voice said.
He sleepily pulled out of the kiss, and they both looked up at another pony.
"Shouldn't we get going? The world's not gonna take over itself."
"Fine, Lightning Dust. And I haven't even told my future wife my plan yet!", he exclaimed.
"Did your 'future wife' agree to marry you?", Lightning asked.
"Ah, yes. My apologies, my queen." He cleared his throat. "My name is King Sombra. I am the king of the Crystal Empire. Well, I will be. Once you marry me and I get yours, Rainbow's, and Twilight's powers. But that's besides the point. I love you, Luna. Will you do the honors of being my wife?"
She saw him twist his hoof in the slightest way, making her say, "Yes, King Sombra. I love you too. Together, we will rule over the world."
He smiled. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Come, my queen."
He picked her up with his horn spell, and took her into another room.
> Sombra's Plan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It's KING Sombra to you!"
Sombra used a type of black magic to thrust Rainbow against an ice wall, immediately making it grow thicker.
She slowly and painfully got back up.
"And once I have yours, Twilight's, and Luna's powers, combined with yours and Soarin's strength, I will be INVINCIBLE!", he shouted, then laughed evilly.
"No," Rainbow whispered.
"Oh, yes, Rainbow Dash. Then I'll claim what is rightfully mine: the Crystal Empire. I just need you to say a few magic words for me, in the Power Chamber."
"Then what? Those words will give you my powers?"
"Yes. I'm sure you're familiar with the concept. I've heard you were captured before, and that pony tried to take your powers from you?"
Rainbow glared at the ground.
"You won't get away this time, Dash. I'll make sure of it. Spitfire might have been vulnerable, but I'm not." He looked up at the ceiling of the icy room. "I'll start with the Crystal Empire, and then, the world!"
He, once again, laughed uncontrollably, and Rainbow couldn't take it anymore. She pounced at him, planning to rip him apart.
But the hologram disapeared, leaving her and Lightning.
"You won't get away with this, Lightning."
"You don't know that, Dash!", Lightning shouted.
Rainbow, enraged, shoved her hooves into the air, at Lightning's stomach. But nothing happened. She tried again to bend the ice, but it didn't budge.
"You're wasting your energy, Dash. This room was designed to stop your powers from working." And with that, her hologram vanished.
> The Escape
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow was exhausted. She'd been flying around and banging on the walls and ceiling for hours, and the best she could do now was tap her hoof against the ice.
She lied down on the ice floor.
She was temporarily blinded by the ceiling opening, and she painfully rose to her hooves.
She looked up and saw two guards. She assumed they were Sombra's, since they were dressed head-to-hoof in dark clothes.
"Rainbow Dash, it's time."
Soarin!
"Time for what?", she asked.
They didn't respond. Instead, they flew over to her, and tried to grab her. But she flew out of the way as fast as her injured wings could carry her.
The guards chased after her, but she was too fast. She dodged them for as long as she could. She flew up, up, up, until she was thousands of feet above the ground. The guards were wearing out, which is exactly what she wanted. She dropped, which made the guards clunk heads, but they recovered. They, too, dropped, following Rainbow.
Rainbow stretched her hooves out in front of her, each second moving faster and faster to the ground.
She released all of her energy from her sides, and it formed a rainbow circle of the energy.
A sonic rainboom.
The guards were chucked against the walls of the ice room, and, amazingly, they broke right through it.
Rainbow chose one of the holes and escaped.
> The Information
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight paced around the room, thinking of all the possible and logical ways to get out of this room made of clouds. If only Rainbow was there. She'd easily blast through them.
Wait!, she thought. That's why this room is made of clouds! I'm an alicorn! I can't move the clouds like pegasi can.
Then, all of the sudden, the clouds opened up, and in came two of Sombra's guards. Twilight backed up against a wall of clouds, and prepared to fight.
"The king requests your attendance for the taking of the world," one of them said.
The other lashed out at her unexpectedly, and took her out of the cell.




Twilight slowly rose to her hooves. She felt tired and hungry.
Her eyes moved back and forth, scanning the dark room. Then, a huge door opened.
A guard entered.
"Princess Twilight. The king has asked me to inquire if you know where Rainbow Dash is."
"What?"
"He believes that you and Rainbow Dash have been planning something. Something that the king would not like."
"Rainbow escaped?! That's amazing! Is she hurt, though?"
He glared at her. "She appears to be injured, but she flew fine. Now, where is she going?!"
"Why does it concern YOU?"
"I'll tell you why. If the king does not have all of you together in one place, the spell will not work. He will not be able to take all of your powers."
"Rainbow is the only one with powers."
"But you and Princess--excuse me. QUEEN Luna. Have spells. Soarin has strength. As does Rainbow Dash. Now, back to the point."
He grabbed Twilight's horn, forcing her to look at him. "Where. Is she?!"
Twilight thought fast. "Okay! Okay! She went to the Evergreen Forest! She thought that you wouldn't find her there! It was all part of our plan!"
The guard dropped her, and walked out of the room in disgust and anger.
> A Way Out
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soarin was ready to give up. He had no idea how to get out of this place.
Then, when all hope seemed lost, a rock split on half, and two guards that must have belonged to Sombra entered.
"Soarin?", one asked.
Soarin glared at him.
"It's time," the other said.
They tried to attack him, but Soarin was too fast. He bolted, and the guards followed him.
Soarin waited for them to approach him, and when they did, he flew up, causing them to crash land. But somepony's hooves grabbed him from behind, and he couldn't break free.
They took him away.




When Soarin woke up, he saw that he was in a small room. He was also in a very comfy bed.
He sleepily scanned the bedroom, and noticed that somepony else was in the same room. He or she was sleeping in a different bed.
Soarin got up, and threw the pony off the bed.
"Hey! What did you do THAT for?!", she cried.
"Oh. Lightning Dust. It's just you." Soarin relaxed, and then helped her back up. "Sorry...Wait. Where are we?"
"I honestly have no idea. But we have to get out of here. It could be a trap." She walked around the chamber, and Soarin did the same.
"I think I found something!"
"What is it?" Soarin flew over to her.
They looked down the air vent.
"A way out," she replied.
> The News about Rainbow Dash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna awoke from a tiring and painful sleep.
She looked around the room, and wasn't surprised to see Sombra sleeping on a bed, while she was on the floor.
This was her chance. She charged at an open window, ready to escape. But when she was inches away from it, something jerked her backward. She fell on the floor, and then looked to see what had grabbed her.
She was chained to something!
Luna furiously tugged at the chains, then checked to see if her horn worked, but didn't.
She felt it, and it still had the wax on it. The same wax she'd tried to get off in the fire room.
"I see you're awake," a voice ripped her out of her thoughts.
She bolted at him, but he was quick. He used his horn to grab the chain behind her, and held it, so she couldn't go any further.
However, she still continued to claw at him.
"Let. Me. Go!"
Sombra laughed. "Sorry, my dear, but that is not possible. We still have to wait for the others to arrive."
"The others?"
"Haven't you heard? I thought I told you. You're pony friends are here. I believe their names are..." He thought for a moment. "Princess Twilight? Midnight? Soar-in? Soar-out? And Rainbow Dash. Or Rainbow Flash."
"Twilight, Soarin, and Rainbow Dash," Luna said through gritted teeth.
"Ah, yes. That's them," Sombra brought her close to his face and smiled.
"Sire!"
The doors to Sombra's bedroom suddenly burst open, and Sombra jerked away from Luna.
"WHAT?!," Sombra demanded. "Can't you see I'm trying to get romantic with my queen?!"
"Sire," the guard repeated, still out of breath. "It's Rainbow Dash. She broke free from the ice prison. She's gone."
"Gone?!", Sombra exploded. Then, he seemed to ponder something. "Tell all of the other soldiers to put the place on lockdown. Has everypony else made it to their new rooms?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Keep it that way. In the meantime, I'll need the maids to get my queen fitted for her dress, the caterers to bake the cake, the guards to find Rainbow Dash, and the staff to take away their powers and strengths."
"Yes, sir." He left the room, closing the door behind him.
> Getting Help
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow flew so fast to Ponyville, she thought that another sonic rainboom would erupt from her. But it didn't. She knew how to control her powers now.
She just wished that one of her powers was to stop time, so she could save her friends.
"Applejack!", Rainbow called.
She looked all around the farm, but nopony was home.
So, she decided to try her other friends. But they were all gone too.
Then, Rainbow got a sickly feeling. She went to the one place she might get answers. And help.




Rainbow circled around the quaint, yet disgraceful (in Rainbow's opinion), house in the clouds.
She was trying to decide whether to sneak in through a vent, go through the front door, or break through a window. She chose the vent. It seemed safest.
She crept through the small space, trying to be as quiet as possible. When she got to the end of the tunnel, she looked through the slots of metal, and saw just who she was looking for.
Rainbow produced a little snowflake with her right hoof, testing her powers. Then, when gathering her strength, she kicked out at the door. It flew off the hinges, and hit the pony in the head.
Bulls-eye.
Rainbow lept out of the vent, right on the pony.




"Rainbow Dash?!"
Rainbow stood on the pony's ankles and looked at her. "Spitfire. Tell me where it is!"
"Where WHAT is?!"
"The potion you used to give youself powers!"
Then, all of the sudden, a sky blue pegasus threw Rainbow off of Spitfire, and pinned her the same way Rainbow did.
"Ugh! Get off me!"
"No."
"Eh, let her go, Mist. It's not like she can beat us...Oh. Right." Spitfire remembered what happened the last time they met.
Misty Fly got off of Rainbow, and looked at Spitfire.
Spitfire eyed Rainbow with disgust.
Rainbow did the same to Spitfire.
"So. What do you want, Dash?", Misty asked.
"Dash thinks we still have the potion we stole from Twilight."
"You DO have it! I know you do!" Rainbow lashed out at Spitfire, ramming her against a wall.
"Dash, stop!", Misty yelled. She ripped her off of Spitfire. "What do you need the potion for, anyway?"
"Look." Rainbow wondered how to tell them her situation. "The Crystal Empire is in danger. The WORLD is in danger. You guys are the only ones who can help me. With the help of that potion. I still have my powers, but I'm the only one. Right now, at least." She looked at Spitfire.
"No. It doesn't concern me," she decided.
When she turned to walk away, Rainbow said, "It concerns you when you die when you don't help me."
Spitfire stopped walking, but didn't face her.
Rainbow continued. "Spitfire. Soarin will die if you don't help me."
Spitfire turned her head almost all the way to Rainbow.
Rainbow grinned. "Yeah, I know about your crush...So, what'll it be?"
Misty stepped forward. "I'm in."
Spitfire looked slightly surprised when Misty said that, but she quickly recovered. "...I might have a few drops of the potion left for us to use."
> The Fearsome Discussion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have to get out of here, Luna thought. I can't marry him! There is no way--
"Sorry, dear, but you're going to have to marry me," Sombra ripped her from her exploding thoughts.
She slowly turned, keeping all of her bubbling anger from eruption, and walked over to him. He actually seemed to look slightly afraid.
"Sombra. Explain something to me." She circled him. "If YOU were viciously thrown into a room with no food or water, much less OXYGEN, would you want to marry the pony who held you against your will? Oh, did I mention that that pony held you in a room made out of FIRE?!"
Sombra picked her up with his horn, and brought her lips to his.
"You're even more beautiful when you're mad."
"You won't get away with this. Rainbow Dash has all the powers in the world. You'll never get her."
"That's what you think." Sombra placed her on his bed while he walked to the door. "I WILL get Rainbow Dash and I WILL be the most powerful pony in the world...And who knows?" He walked out the door and peeked his head back in. "Maybe even the universe."
> The News About the Letters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Princess Twilight?", another goon entered the dark room. "The king requests your presence."
Twilight scoffed at him.
Four more guards came in, and surrounded her. They all walked forward, forcing Twilight to do the same. They walked into another room, this time, much bigger.
"Ah, my beautiful princess!"
Twilight forced herself to look up at Sombra's ugly face.
"So glad you're here!" Twilight couldn't believe how happy he seemed. Then again, he WAS about to take over the world.
Twilight saw Luna and Soarin tied up behind Sombra.
"You're okay!", Twilight joyfully exclaimed.
They gently smiled at her, but it seemed pained. They looked like they'd been through a lot.
"What's wrong?"
"What's WRONG?!", Sombra erupted. "What's WRONG is my star is missing! Now my taking over the world will have to be postponed until we can find her!" He forced himself to calm down. "So, what I've done is made some...preparations. You will all write a letter to Rainbow Dash, and we will send it to her with a messenger bird. If the bird returns with no letters, we know he got them to her."
"What sort of letters?", Soarin asked.
"Good question. As we all know, I need all of you to be here in order to take all of your powers. Without all of you HERE, I cannot take anypony's. But, fortunately, Rainbow Dash does not know that. So, you will send her your final. Letter."
Luna gasped.
"What do you mean, our final letter?", Twilight inquired.
"It is the last letter you will ever write."
Soarin let out a gust of air as though he'd been punched.
"I'm sorry to inform you, but when the machine takes your powers, it also takes your lives. I cannot do that without Rainbow Dash. So, you will all lure her here."
"I don't believe this," Luna mumbled. "How can you DO this, you MONSTER?!"
"Oh, sweetheart, don't worry. I will send the letters, and while the bird takes them to her, we will get married. That will make me the leader of the kingdoms you rule over. Therefore, making me king."
"Ugh!", Luna viciously turned her head away.
"Now, onto other matters," Sombra continued. "SOLDIERS!"
On cue, twelve guards ran into the room, and three of them carried a pen and scroll. The guards around Twilight broke away.
Then, the guards with the pens and scrolls stood in front of Soarin, Luna, and Twilight.
> Soarin's Letter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The guard standing in front of Soarin made him sad. He had a lightning bolt cutie mark, which reminded him of Rainbow.
That's it.
Dash?
Nothing.
Dash!
"Don't. Bother." Suddenly, Sombra was right in front of him, breaking his telepathy to Rainbow. "This room is used to TAKE your powers, not use them. Now." He began to pace the room. "You are all probably thinking of ways to escape. But don't bother. There is no way to escape." He looked at Rainbow and Luna. "Your horns are still useless." He then looked at Soarin. "And your strength and telepathy are gone. Now--"
The bonds broke from Luna, Twilight, and Soarin's right hooves.
"--you will each write the letters to Rainbow. If not, you will be electricuted."
Their eyes widened in shock.
"Your letters will tell Rainbow to either come here, or don't. She'll have to come either way. Tell her your situation. Your guards will read the letter. If they see any faults, such as you telling her I need her here, then he will make you start over. Begin."
The guard told Soarin the things he needed to write in the letter, and Soarin hesitantly obeyed.
He took the feather pen and began to write, remembering something he told Rainbow to do if she was ever in danger.




Dear Dash,

I'm sorry to say this, but Sombra finally did it. He took my strength. I'm so sorry, but he won, Dash. He's almost taken over the world. Now he just needs to combine all of our powers and strengths. But Dash, this is for the best: Give yourself up. It's the only way. I wish it wasn't. I also wish I could do more. You've done so much for me Dash. I love you so much. I'll never forget you. Hopefully, I'll see you sometime. If not, always follow your heart. Make a flight to the finish, Dash!

All my love,

Soarin.

P.S. Dash, I just remembered something. I forgot to pick up some rain water for the clouds today. Would you mind doing it for me? I don't think the stallions will be mad if you do it. But if they are, it's not like they'll go after you or anything. Stand your ground. Also, would you mind taking care of my house? It's empty and there's a spare key in the front plant.
Always keep moving forward, Dash. Never back. I mean it.
> Luna's Letter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Dearest Rainbow Dash,

It is in my deepest apologies that I say this, but I do not request that you come to the Crystal Empire. It is far too dangerous. However, I wanted to tell you that you are an amazing, brave, and intellegent pegasus. I have faith that you will be alright. Stay strong, my loyal pony. King Sombra and I will be getting married today (I have no say in it), but that does not mean you should lose hope. Never give up, Rainbow Dash. As I have raised the moon all of these years, you will raise the skies. You will be exceptional at everything you do. I am certain of it.
I am proud of you, Rainbow Dash. And I am more than proud to call you my friend.

Yours Truely,

Princess Luna
> Twilight's Letter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Rainbow Dash,

I just wanted to tell you that Sombra won. He's going to become king. He's marrying Luna today. If you use your super speed to get here, I don't think you'll make it. I'm so sorry, Rainbow. But even though Sombra's taking over the world, I'm so proud of you. I never doubted that you would get your powers. I never COULD doubt you in a thousand years. You're incredible, Rainbow. Never forget me or your other friends. I know we'll never forget you.

Your Friend Forever,
Twilight
> Reading the Letters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh. Hey, there, buddy!"
Rainbow let the messenger bird settle onto her hoof, using it as a branch.
"Wow, three letters?!", Rainbow exclaimed.
"Hel-lo?!", Misty interrupted. "Aren't we supposed to be saving the world here?!"
"You're just jealous because Soarin and I are gonna be together forever!", Spitfire said.
"Am NOT! I'll show--"
As they argued, Rainbow read the first note, from Luna. She pictured Luna saying it, with her long, beautiful mane flowing from pure magic.
Next was Twilight's. Rainbow read the part about Sombra marrying Luna, and couldn't believe it. But she loved the part about always being friends.
Finally, she read Soarin's.




Dear Dash,

I'm sorry to say this, but Sombra finally did it. He took my strength. I'm so sorry, but he won, Dash. He's almost taken over the world. Now he just needs to combine all of our powers and strengths. But Dash, this is for the best: Give yourself up. It's the only way. I wish it wasn't. I also wish I could do more. You've done so much for me Dash. I love you so much. I'll never forget you. Hopefully, I'll see you sometime. If not, always follow your heart. Make a flight to the finish, Dash!

All my love,

Soarin.

P.S. Dash, I just remembered something. I forgot to pick up some rain water for the clouds today. Would you mind doing it for me? I don't think the stallions will be mad if you do it. But if they are, it's not like they'll go after you or anything. Stand your ground. Also, would you mind taking care of my house? It's empty and there's a spare key in the front plant.
Always keep moving forward, Dash. Never back. I mean it.




Rainbow loved the first part of the letter, but she couldn't put her hoof on the last part. Why would Soarin put that in a farewell love letter?
Wait a minute. Rainbow thought carefully as she read the last part again and again. Then, she found out what it meant.
> The Translation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        P.S. Dash, forget everything I told you in that first paragraph. He's got his goons coming for you. He's really mad that you escaped, Dash. Somepony said they told him you were headed to the impossible forest. They're after you. They're probably looking everywhere else for you too, Dash. Go to the unexpected. Don't go to yours or my house. Stay protected, Dash. I couldn't bear to see you get hurt. If anything happens, if you're ever in doubt, fly, Dash. Fly.




"Fillies!", Rainbow shouted over their bickering.
They looked at her.
"Look at this!" They obeyed Rainbow, reading Soarin's letter.
"So he gave YOU a love letter and not US?!", Misty asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, and who puts a note saying for you to get the rainwater?", Spitfire said. "That's just plain rude."
"No, it translates to this--" Rainbow told them the translation of the P.S. note.
"What?!", they demanded.
"How do you know that, anway?!", Spitfire demanded.
"Soarin and I made a secret language in case we're ever in danger. But I have to get somewhere safe. Soarin said that somepony told Sombra I'm in the impossible forest. That must be--"
"The Evergreen Forest," Spitfire finished.
"Exactly."
"Well, if his letter translates to THAT, what do THESE ones translate to?" Rainbow looked over at Misty and saw she was reading through her private letters from Luna and Twilight.
"Hey!", she shouted. "Give me those!" she snatched them from her grasp.
"They don't translate to anything," Rainbow said. "They're just letters."
"Then why are you clinging to them?", Spitfire asked.
Rainbow looked at them, but realized that Spitfire was just trying to make her let go of them so Spitfire could read them. Rainbow kept her grip, but also sighed sadly. "Because they might be the last things I have left of them."
> Escaping
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So let me get this straight. You're just gonna waltz on in, breaking Soarin's rule, to your friends' houses?!"
"No," Rainbow replied.
"What?", Misty asked.
"You fillies are coming with me." Rainbow kept packing her things for the trip.
"What was that thing Soarin put in his letter?", Misty asked. "Something about going to the unwanted? The unthought of?"
"The unexpected," Rainbow corrected. "But I don't know what that means. He doesn't want me to go to the castle, or the empire. So, where am I supposed to go? I'm not safe here. They're probably on their way here now."
"Well, wouldn't they check your friends' houses too?", Spitfire said.
"We'll see," Rainbow replied.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Oh, no!", Misty yelled. "What are we gonna do?! They're here! We're gonna die! What if they--"
Rainbow slapped her hoof on Misty's mouth as she continued to nervously rant.
"Spitfire," Rainbow ordered. "Distract them. We'll sneak out the back vent."
"What back vent?"
Rainbow blushed. "Uh, nevermind. Just meet us under Cloudsdale, okay?"
Spitfire ran out of the room.
"Okay, Misty. Help me get those bags. And you can put your gear on once we get to the ground. Got it?"
"Oh, my gosh! They're here! I can't do this! This can't be the end of my life! I can't--"
Rainbow tied a rope around Misty's stomach that had two small saddle bags on either side. She pulled her by the rope and searched the walls.
"Mist, do you know where the vent is?"
"--and then, they're gonna turn us into jello and use it for--"
"UGH!", Rainbow said in annoyance. Then, she spotted it, right in the corner of the room, was a small vent. It was tiny, but they could fit.
Rainbow brought Misty over to it. She hopped in, pulling Misty behind her. They both slid down the vent like a slide. But the exit came up fast. Too fast.




Rainbow pressed all four hooves against the metal, screeching to a stop with Misty on her back.
They both looked down. About 3,000 feet down, was the earth. They both breathed heavily.
"Dash, I hear them coming. Let's go! We have wings! We'll be fine."
"We might have wings, Misty, but they won't help us. Pegasi can't fly that far down, especially at the pace we need, without getting hurt. At about 2,600 feet, we'll be crash-landing, unable to stop ourselves. Even with our wings."
"What are we gonna do?!"
"Misty, we have no choice. Do you trust me?"
"WHAT?!"
"Do you trust me?!"
Misty looked at the ground, and then back at Rainbow. "Yes."
"Good. We've never been able to do this in the Wonderbolts competitions, but I know how. You're gonna try to do a sonic rainboom, okay?"
"WHAT?!"
"You won't actually have to do one. It'll attract too much attention, anyway. You're just gonna get so close to doing one, that you either bounce away from it, saving you from the earth, or you'll go through the force, bending up at the last minute, right above the treetops. You'll be able to control yourself from there. Got it?"
There was more banging on the top of the vent. Misty closed it on the way down, but they were no doubt breaking it.
"Dash. I'm scared."
"I know. We'll be fine, okay? For Soarin?"
There was a short pause. "For Soarin."
"Okay. One, two, three!" Rainbow let go of the metal, and plummeted to the ground below.
> Surviving the Rainboom
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow put one hoof on top of the other in front of her, and made her whole body like a pencil, stretching it out as she sliced through the air. She felt the sonic rainboom coming, and slowed down just enough so it wouldn't erupt.
She looked around her, but Misty Fly was nowhere in sight. She must've bounced off already, or she was falling behind slightly.
Rainbow sped up, feeling the rainboom about to emerge from her, but she didn't let it go. She went through the force, and she was once again, in control.
The trees came up faster than ever, and Rainbow flew above them, just skimming the tops. She slowed her pace down, and landed right where she planned:
Pinkie's bakery.




Rainbow became frantic. She'd been waiting a while for Misty Fly to come to the bakery, but she still wasn't there.
Maybe she bounced off of the force like I told her to, and she's on her way here now...Or maybe she caught on fire when she entered the Earth's normal atmosphere! Or maybe--
Rainbow shook her head forcefully. Dash, stop. You're being ridiculous. It's not even possible for somepony to do that from where we were. She's probably--
"MISTY!" Rainbow charged at her, and gave her a huge hug. "I was so worried!"
"Uh, thanks, Dash. But I'm fine...Well, I am now."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, remember how I fell out of the sky AFTER you?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, because I was right behind you, and still couldn't control my flying, while you went through the force, I spun around in yours, and then it threw me miles away."
"Oh, no! I totally forgot about that! I'm so sorry!" Rainbow scanned Misty's body, and noticed that it was covered in twigs, grass, and other things from nature.
"Where did you land, anyway?", Rainbow asked as she eyed the bug on Misty's back.
"I landed in the Evergreen Forest."
Rainbow gasped.
"Yeah, but it's cool. I got out as soon as I got up, and found my way here." Misty looked at the bakery. "So. You ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever--" Rainbow let out a scream as somepony grabbed her from behind.
> The Helpers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow tried to scream, kick, and punch. But the pony holding her was too strong.
He held on tight, covered her mouth, and dragged her behind the café.
"Dash," he whispered. "Dash! Stop! You're gonna get us caught!"
He turned Rainbow around to face him, but he still held her tight.
She gasped. "Fire Streak?"
He smiled. "Hey, Dash."
She blushed blood-red at his stunning face. If she wasn't with Soarin, he would totally be her second choice. Fire Streak was also a Wonderbolt. He was athletic, kind, smart, and cute.
No, gorgeous.
Oh, my gosh! I'm even sitting on his lap!, Rainbow thought, suddenly mad with herself. What am I DOING?!
Rainbow was pulled out of her thoughts by the sounds of squealing.
She looked over and saw four other ponies in the shadows with them. In one of their forelegs held a squealing and frightened Misty Fly.
Rainbow lunged at the stallion, but Fire Streak caught her.
"Let her go! You guys are working for Sombra, aren't you?!", Rainbow yelled. She squirmed again.
Fire Streak clamped a hoof over her mouth. "Dash, stop! They're practically right above us! And no, we're not working for Sombra! We're here to help you!"
That calmed Rainbow down, and also that she could now see who the other three ponies were. She already saw Misty Fly, but it turned out that she was being held by Wave Chill, another handsome Wonderbolt. Then, she saw Spitfire, being released by Lightning Streak, also a handsome Wonderbolt. Not to mention Fire Streak's younger brother.
"Guys," Rainbow whispered. "You're okay! Spitfire, you made it!"
"HYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Another pony tackled Rainbow for the second time that minute.




Rainbow struggled against the pony's hold. She summoned the plants, but she wasn't as fast as Fire Streak, Wave Chill, and Lightning Streak.
Fire Streak ripped her off of Rainbow, and pinned her against the wall. Wave Chill and Lightning Streak stood in front of the fillies protectively.
To all of their surprise, the victim giggled.
Apparently she's not the only one who thinks Fire Streak is handsome. Rainbow rolled her eyes and stepped forward.
"Silly!", Rainbow heard her say familiarly. "I'm here to HELP Dashie, not CAPTURE her!" More giggling.
Rainbow smiled.
"Yeah, right!", Fire Streak said. "WE'RE here to help Dash, and that's all she needs!"
"Fire Streak!", Rainbow interrupted. "Let her go. She's my friend."
"But she just attacked you!", Fire Streak looked at Rainbow.
"He's right!", the victim said as she used her crazy-fast speed to get in front of Rainbow.
Fire Streak screamed. "How did you--"
"I'm so glad you're okay, Dashie!", she said as she hugged her.
"I'm fine, Pinkie," Rainbow replied. "But where are the others?"
"Oh, they're still looking for you. Hold on." Pinkie blew an ear-piercing whistle that she pulled out of her mane.
"What are you DOING?!", Fire Streak scream-whispered.
"I'm calling my friends. There names are Rarity, Apple--"
"You're gonna get us KILLED!" Fire Streak tried to get the whistle from her, but she was faster. He landed on the ground.
"Fire Streak?", Rainbow said.
"Lightning Streak?", Spitfire asked. He disappeared, too.
"Misty Fly?"
"Pinkie Pie?" 
"Wave Chill?"
Rainbow gulped. "Spitfire?"
She was alone.
> The Avatar State
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow's adrenaline kicked in. 
She charged out from behind the bakery, throwing away her hiding place.
Sombra's guards reacted just as fast. They were running towards her, but she easily whipped them away with her airbending.
She saw a carriage try to escape with her friends, Sombra's guards pulling it at full speed.
Rainbow felt so angry. She could feel the Avatar State coming. Her vision was blurred, a sign of her eyes beginning to glow, but she pressed on. 
She bolted for the carriage, and right as she was temporarily blinded, she pulled the ground up on front of the carriage, forming an enormous wall.
She then let the Avatar State take over.




Rainbow groaned and rubbed her eyes.
She lifted her head, and saw Fire Streak's beautiful face.
"Morning, sleepyhead," he grinned.
She screamed. "Where am I?!"
"We're still outside of Pinkie Pie's bakery."
Rainbow saw that she was, again, resting in Fire Streak's forelegs.
"What happened?"
"You don't remember?", he asked. "Your eyes glowed white, and then you earthbended Sombra's guards away. You ripped the carriage apart with your telekinesis, and then you said in a voice that sounded like thunder, 'Go to the Crystal Empire. Wait for me outside of the empire's gates'. But I couldn't, Dash. You asked me why I wasn't leaving, and I said...actually, it's not that important. But then you floated back down, and closed your eyes. The others left awhile ago. I've been sitting here with you, in case somepony else decides they want to beat you up or something."
Rainbow smiled, unable to pull her gaze from his big, beautiful eyes.
But then she ripped her gaze down to the ground, which wasn't easy, still laying in Fire Streaks strong forelegs.
"So, uh, what did you say?", she asked.
"When?"
"When I asked you why you didn't leave." She looked up at him again.
"Oh, uh, I..."
"Fire."
"I sorta said that I couldn't, and then you waited for me to continue, and I said...Well, that I love you, Dash."
Her eyes widened. "You do?"
He grinned. "Yeah. I do."
She grinned back. "I love you too."
He leaned in, and pressed his lips to hers. She returned the gesture, opening and closing her mouth when it felt most comfortable. 
They made out.
Rainbow wrapped her forelegs tighter around Fire Streak's powerful neck, unable to get enough of him. He did the same to her waist, and rubbed his hooves slowly up and down her back. 
After a few minutes, they gently pulled apart, trying to tell each other without words that they could both easily make out again if they wanted to.
"Wow," Fire Streak breathlessly said.
"Wow."
"That was amazing."
"I know."
Fire Streak's smile faded. "Wait. What about Soarin?"
Rainbow's smile went away too. "Oh. Him."
"Are you two still together?"
"Um. Yeah," Rainbow said quietly. She still wouldn't meet his gaze.
"Oh...Well, we should probably get going."
"Yeah. Of course."
> Finding Their Friends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where do you think they are?", Fire Streak whispered.
They crept around the gate of the Crystal Empire, looking for Rainbow's friends.
"I'm not sure. I told them to--"
"PPSSSSSSTTT!"
"What was that?", Fire Streak asked.
"Guys! Over here!", the familiar voice whisper-yelled.
They looked all around them, and finally found several bushes strangely lined up near each other.
"Pinkie Pie?", Rainbow said to one of the bushes. She peered over the top of the bush.
"SURPRISE!" Pinkie exploded from inside of the bush, followed by confetti.
"Pinkie, keep it down!", Applejack commanded as she emerged from another bush.
"Yes, Pinkie, I think we need to be quiet so nopony finds us," Fluttershy gently told her as she poked her head up from the third bush.
"Ew, gross! Ew, slimy! AH, it cut me!", Rarity cried. She was covered in thorns and leaves as she got out from her bush.
The Wonderbolts Rainbow had met from earlier that day all came out from their bushes, too.
"You're all okay!", Rainbow said.
"Of course we're okay, silly!", Pinkie happily said. "But are both of YOU okay? Your mouths are red."
They blushed furiously.
"Okay, Pinkie, that's enough," Rainbow said. "Here's the plan."
> Team C
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, please! I was BORN for this!", Applejack shouted.
"Shh!", Rarity ordered. "Keep your voice down!"
"What do ya mean?!" Applejack was confused. This was how she always 'talked'.
Rarity rolled her eyes. "Okay, fillies, Dashie says we need to take apart the castle from the inside. How are we going to do that?"
"Uuuhhhh..." Pinkie and Applejack weren't sure.
Rarity smiled mischievously. "I'll show you."




"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Pinkie Pie dashed out of sight from the guards, and hid with Applejack after she finished screaming with Rarity.
"Oh, somepony help me!", Rarity cried.
"Miss, what's wrong?" A guard was at her side, followed by at least three dozen others.
"Somepony was chasing me and she said nopony was supposed to find out she was here!"
"What did she look like?", another guard asked.
"She was blue with a rainbow colored mane!", Rarity bawled.
The guards looked at each other, wondering what they should do. Sombra had his guards looking for Rainbow, so they should've probably told him, but instead, the first guard asked, "Where is she?"
Rarity sniffled. "Follow me."
"Wow, Rarity's a pretty good actress," Applejack whisper-yelled.
"I know!", Pinkie exclaimed. "She's so--"
Applejack slapped a hoof on her mouth just as Rarity covered up their voices with more crying. "I JUST CAN'T BEAR IT! She practically snapped me in half!"
"Don't worry miss." The guard smiled. "We'll take care of her."
Another sniff. "Thank you. She went in here."
Rarity opened a door to an enormous room, and the guards piled in.
"Search the room, boys," Guard Number One commanded. "She could be anywhere."
As soon as all of the guards were inside, Rarity went back outside with Pinkie Pie and Applejack, and said, "Well, thank you so much for your help, but we really must get going." They slammed the gate shut, and locked every lock on the humongous door. The guards banged on it from the inside.
"The windows!", one of them exclaimed.
They all flew up to the windows, but they couldn't open them.
"Don't bother," Rarity said. "They're locked too. And this entire room is made out of either titanium or steel, so I wouldn't bother trying to get out."
The guards growled at her.
"Oh, and two more things," Rarity continued. "One: black is SO over right now. And two: damsel in distress?" She laughed once, then instantly turned serious again. "I think not."
Pinkie Pie and Applejack cracked up as they walked away from the guards' priceless faces.
> Team B
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, guys, Rainbow gave us the mission to take the castle apart by the outside. And to be on lookout. So. Fluttershy? Wave Chill? You know what to do."
They nodded in understanding, and Misty finished, "Then Fluttershy, we'll see you in a few."
Fluttershy flew off, and Wave Chill and Misty Fly got to work.




"Okay, animals," Fluttershy said. "Does everypony--uh, everyanimal--understand what we need to do?"
They all chirped, growled, and howled as if to say yes.
"Oh, wonderful! Thank you so much. This is for a very good cause."
They all looked at her with big, excitement-filled eyes.
Fluttershy exhaled. "Well, without further ado, let's get going!"




"Wave Chill, think you can get that one?"
"Sure, Mist! Good eye!", he replied.
Misty blushed from the compliment, and she was glad he didn't see it.
Wave Chill swooped down to kick a loose brick, making most of that part of the castle collapse.
He gave Misty a hoof-bump, and they smiled.
"Hey, did you see that?"
"Where did it come from?"
"Hey, up there!"
"Uh-oh," Misty said, looking at Wave Chill after seeing all the guards on the ground.
"Hey," he put his hoof on her shoulder, making her light-headed. "We can do this."
She grinned. "You're right. For Dash."
"For Dash!"
They charged at the guards.
> Team A
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow, Lightning Streak, Fire Streak, and Spitfire crawled through the halls of the castle.
Rainbow sighed at the sight of more guards around the corner. "I hate to say it, but I think we need to split up into even smaller groups."
"WHAT?", Spitfire yelled, grabbing the guards' attention.
The four of them flew up to the ceiling, avoiding the guards. They ran past them, looking for the source of the cry. The four safely landed on the ground.
"That's crazy! We can't go without you, Dash!", Spitfire continued. "We'll be killed!"
"Yeah, Dash," Lightning agreed. "We don't even know our way around this place, let alone how to get to Sombra's room!"
"Look, I just think that we'll cover even more ground if we split up again!", Rainbow said.
"Ponies!", Fire Streak interrupted. "Stop! We should be working together, not apart."
"Exactly," Spitfire smiled. "We'll stick together so we don't get killed."
"No. What I'm saying is," he continued, "I think we should split up." He gazed into Rainbow's eyes.
"You do?", she gazed back, thinking of the glorious kiss.
"Yeah. I do."
"So you're saying we should listen to Dash," Spitfire cleared it up.
"Yeah." Now Fire Streak was thinking of the kiss, and how good it felt.
Spitfire sighed. "Fine. But can I take Dash?"
"Actually, I thought I could be your partner," Lightning Streak suggested. "I think it'll, you know, give us some time along together."
While Rainbow obviously knew about their blooming romance, Spitfire still blushed furiously.
"You do?", Spitfire asked.
"Yeah." Lightning grinned. "Then it's settled. I'll go with Spitfire, and Fire, you go with Dash."
"Mmm," Rainbow said, absent-minded. Fire Streak's eyes were almost hypnotizing.
"Great." Lightning took Spitfire's hoof, and together, they flew off.
"Well, you heard him," Fire Streak said dreamily to Rainbow. "Guess we better go." He romantically took Rainbow's hoof, never breaking eye contact with her once, and flew upward. They flew in slow circles, dancing, all the way to the top of the massive castle ceiling.
"I love you, Dash," he said quietly, but enough so she could hear.
"I love you too, Fire," she said.
He kissed her, more confident and powerful than the first one. She melted, and he felt it. So, he pressed harder, opening and closing his mouth and taking the lead. He was so sure of himself, so much like somepony Rainbow knew. But who?
Fire Streak held her in the air, then slowly turned over, so she was lying on his stomach, still making out with him. Who else did that?
Wait a minute, Rainbow thought. Now I remember. He reminds me so much of--
Rainbow hesitantly broke away from the kiss, and Fire Streak lingered.
"What is it?", he asked. His face became worried. "Was it too fast? I'm so sorry! I just thought that--"
"No, it was great!", Rainbow said.
"Oh," he smiled evilly. "Good." He pressed his mouth to hers for more, but again, she broke away.
"I'm so sorry, Fire, but..."
"But what, Dash?"
"...Soarin."
He looked down. "Oh...I'm so sorry, Dash. I completely forgot! I just--"
Rainbow cut him off by a hard kiss. It was deep, but quick.
"What was that for?", Fire Streak inquired.
"That was to tell you that I would totally be interested in going out with you. After I see if I like you or Soarin better."
"And now?"
"And now...I'm not sure. But I know I need to see Soarin."
Fire Streak grinned in understanding. "Okay. I get it. Let's go find your coltfriend! Hopefully he won't be able to tell that your lips have been on somepony else's."
She laughed. "Yeah, that would be bad."
> Lightning and Fire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, um, when you said that you wanted to spend some alone time with me, is this what you meant?"
Lightning Streak and Spitfire flew through the quiet halls of the palace.
"Yeah, it is," he answered, looking deeply into her eyes. She did the same. "Spitfire, I've been wanting to tell you this for a long time...I like you."
Her eyes widened. "You do?!"
"I know, it's crazy. I should be focusing on my career as a Wonderbolt, not dating."
She tilted his head back to her, and they eye-gazed again. "I like you too."
They kissed each other at the same time, and they both loved it. It was such a beautiful kiss. One of those first-love kisses. They both hoped there would be more kissing to come, from one another.
Spitfire sighed into the kiss, "Mmmmm".
Just as Lightning Streak was about to reach down to Spitfire's strong and beautiful hindquarters, they heard a crash.
They lazily stopped the kiss, and turned to look at a palace guard.
They gasped at the confused and scared-looking pony.
"This is not what it looks like!", Lightning informed him. He started to explain themselves and say that they meant no harm to him, but the guard pulled something from behind him.
"Lightning!", Spitfire exclaimed.
"--and I'm sure if you just--" Lightning was cut off by the guard. He threw an enormous dart at Lightning's leg, and he saw spots.
He fell to the ground, unable to move, and soon after, Spitfire did the same, with the same sized dart sticking out of her leg.
> Finding Sombra
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fire Streak peeked around a corner, and did hoof-signals to Rainbow from far behind him.
She sped past him with her super speed, and busted down the titanium door with one strike.
She peeked around the corner just as Fire Streak had, and did different hoof-signals. Fire Streak got the message.
He sped as fast as he could from around the side of the corner, followed by Rainbow. They attacked several guards in the small room, each putting up a bigger fight than the next.
Once they'd knocked all of the guards unconcious, Fire Streak said, "Wow. You are some fighter."
She returned his smile. "Thanks. But you haven't seen anything yet." She busted down the next door, and they continued the pattern.	




Rainbow exploded the next door with her firebending, and she and Fire Streak emerged from the smoke. As soon as he could see them, he said in disbelief, "Rainbow Dash?"
"Sombra," Rainbow growled.
"Seize them!", he commanded.
All at once, the guards lept on Fire Streak and Rainbow, and all at once, Rainbow's powers helped her fight.
But Fire Streak didn't have those powers.
He fought with everything he could, but he was becoming weak. He was unaware of a guard sneaking up behind him. The guard lifted his sword, and struck through Fire Streak's stomach.	




Fire's world went black. He felt a sharp pain through his stomach, and hunched over, too weak to scream.
He saw Rainbow Dash glow over him as he layed on his back, unless it was just his imagination.
She cried and yelled, but Fire Streak heard nothing.
His blood pounded, but it became slower and slower.
I'll never forget you, Dash. You gave me two things I never had.
Hope, and love.
> The Activation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"FIRE STREAK! FIRE! Please, wake up!"
Rainbow heard Sombra cackling behind her, but she could only think about Fire Streak.
"Fire Streak, please!", she continued begging. "Wake up!" She listened to his heart pounding, but it got slower and slower.
She reached out to heal him, but she was pulled away by five guards. They settled death grips on her, but she tried to get to Fire Streak anyway.
She saw Fire Streak's color disappear from his face.




Rainbow Dash felt it coming all along, but she didn't activate it until now.
She pulled all of the energy from the room, and used it to fuel her powers. Her eyes glowed bright, and the Avatar part of her decided to keep taking in energy and release it "little by little", when it was really causing extreme damage around the room.
First, Rainbow released the airbending force. She threw all four hooves out, and airbended the guards away from her. They crashed through the walls the instant they made contact with them.
Then, Rainbow spun upward, pulling water from the clouds above and the oceans below. They were soon surrounding her, drawn to her energy. She struck out once again, and sent the water flying in twelve different spears. The spears sliced through Soarin, Luna, and Twilight's chains, breaking the four chains on each of their hooves.
Rainbow called the element of earth. She pulled up four crates of rock around Soarin, Luna, Twilight, and Fire Streak, and lifted them up to her height.
"Tell everypony in the empire to leave their homes," Rainbow's Avatar self commanded in a loud boom. "Get everypony and their families to safety."
She sent the crates to three different parts of the village surrounding the castle, Fire Streak with Luna.
Rainbow slowly turned around, struggling to keep all of the power under control. It wasn't agreeing with her powers; it wanted to be free, and destruct everything.
She stopped turning, still flying in mid-air, and her white eyes landed on none other than.
King Sombra.
> The Fight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"HOW DARE YOU!", Rainbow boomed.
Sombra lowered his eyebrows, not backing down.
"YOU DESTROYED THESE PONIES' LIVES, YOU ALMOST FORCED A PRINCESS INTO MARRYING YOU, YOU ALMOST KILLED ME AND MY FRIENDS, AND YOU STILL AREN'T SATISFIED?!"
Sombra cackled. "Oh, sweet Rainbow Dash. You don't understand. I didn't want anything to do with your friends. The only reason they're here is because they're good bait for you to come back."
Rainbow listened.
"I knew you would escape, Rainbow," Sombra shouted over the fierce winds she was making. "I knew you would get free of our forces. Nothing can contain you, Rainbow. Nothing can contain the Avatar, even if she doesn't have her powers. Don't you see? Look at what we can create! Look at everything you've done! You have amazing powers, I have amazing spells, and together, we can rule the world!"
He held up his staff that takes away all powers. "You just have to trust me. All you have to do is place your hoof on this staff, and we'll be invincible."
Rainbow lowered to the ground, but the wind continued.
"You'll have everything you've ever wanted," he said.
Rainbow walked over, and reached out her hoof. Sombra smiled an evil, disgusting, and filthy smile.
Rainbow reached out so she almost touch it, and she could feel its power.
Rainbow gathered up all of her strength, and released the last element: fire.




Rainbow aimed the fire specifically at Sombra's head, and it did the trick. He flew back, screaming and clawing at his face. The staff went flying out of his hoof, and Rainbow caught it with her telekinesis. She wrapped the elements of air and water around it, and it exploded into thin air.
Once Sombra saw what she did, he became possibly angrier than her. He screamed, and threw himself at her. His horn glowed, his eyes turned totally green, and his temper exploded. He threw a spell from his horn, and it caught Rainbow slightly off guard.
She was electrocuted.




Rainbow came crashing down to earth at an amazing speed. She tumbled, freefalling.
Suddenly, she felt a force around her. But it wasn't her magic.
It was black magic.
The force lifted her up, and brought her to Sombra.
"The only reason I didn't let you die is because I need you alive!", Sombra yelled.
He threw her on the ground, and her eyes began to fade; she was loosing her Avatar powers.
Sombra landed on the ground with a sharp thud. He folded his wings, and walked over to Rainbow. He gathered up his powers, and struck Rainbow before she could run.
> The Sonic Rainboom of Fire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sombra went flying backwards, and was lucky to hit a tree only a few feet away. But the tree fell back, because of Rainbow's force.
Well, most of Rainbow's force.
"WHAT?", he demanded in disbelief.
Rainbow rose from the ground, and her eyes glowed bright, once again.
She released a sonic rainboom of fire: one of her strongest powers.
Sombra was tossed like a ragdoll through the air. He landed on the other side of the forest.
Rainbow flew over to him, and landed. Her eyes shone as bright as the sun, and she breathed like a bull. She lifted her hoof, telekinetically lifting Sombra (and crunching a few bones of his), and her Avatar voice said, "Thanks for sparing my life. But I won't be sparing yours." She brought him down to her.
Sombra saw Rainbow's eyes glow even brighter than the sun. He also saw the reflection of the flames of the forest fire in her white eyes, too.
Rainbow closed her eyes, put her right hoof on his forehead, and commanded her powers to take his away.




Rainbow felt an incredible force of new energy. Only, this time, she would use Sombra's powers for good, unlike him.
Sombra screamed from the pain, but no one could hear it over the powers of Rainbow Dash.
Once she had all of his powers, she called unto all of hers, and all of the elements. Sombra was rose into the sky, where Rainbow locked him in a force field of fire, earth, water, and air. Her forearms were tired from all of her bending, but she couldn't feel it; the powers were making the aches and pains go away.
Rainbow worked her powers and focused all of them on Sombra. She stopped moving her arms in circles, which she did to make Sombra's force field tighter, and held them in one place. She gave in to the powers that wanted so badly to be free, and used them all up on Sombra.
The force field exploded, leaving behind the biggest sonic rainboom the world had ever seen. It let out a fierce force that ponies could feel for miles.
Sombra was dead, and the Crystal Empire was at peace.
> The Search for Rainbow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dash!"
"Dash!"
"DASHIE!"
"Rainbow!"
Twilight sighed. "Where could she be? We felt the rainboom."
"And I SAW it!", Pinkie exclaimed. "It was the biggest rainboom in HISTORY! It was all like, 'BOOM!' Get it? Like a sonic rainBOOM? Get it? No? I'll explain it to you. See, the--"
While Pinkie ranted, Twilight continued searching.
"It looks like there's been a forest fire," she said.
"Yes, and I bet Dashie was the one who started it," Rarity said. "But I'm sure she had her powers under control and did it for a very good reason."
Twilight gasped. "Over there!"
"Oh, thank goodness! EVERYPONY--" Twilight shoved her hoof in Rarity's mouth before she could finish.
"Rarity! She's with Soarin. Let's give them some alone time."
Rarity smiled, then gave Twilight her hoof back. "Um, everypony, I think I heard something over there."
As they all walked in a different direction away from the lovebirds, Twilight lingered for a moment longer. She then went with the others.
> Never Letting Go
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow's eyes faded, and then returned to normal. But she felt weak. So weak. She collapsed, unable to stand up.
But somepony caught her.
She found the strength to lift her head, and saw the stallion's beautiful eyes.
The eyes she came to know and love.
"Dash!", he said. "Please tell me you're okay!"
She replied with a strong kiss, and the stallion relaxed a little.
"I'm fine, Soarin," she said after the kiss. "But I thought I told you to get with the others. Was everypony safe?"
"They're fine, Dash," he assured her. "I just came back because, well, I couldn't leave you, Dash. And when I came, you were on the ground, and Sombra was coming towards you, so I...I..."
"What, Soarin?"
"I gave you my powers. There. I said it."
"WHAT?!"
"I had to, Dash. You would've died."
Rainbow thought of the blast of energy she had a moment ago. It certainly wasn't hers.
But she was still mad! "Soarin! You can't get your powers back! It's not possible!"
"You would've died!"
They stared at each other for a long time, until, finally, Soarin's eyes softened. "I love you, Dash. That's why I gave you my powers. And it obviously did the trick. That was an amazing stunt you pulled. But Dash, I told myself I could never let anything happen to you. And that's exactly what happened! You almost died! I--"
Rainbow stopped him with another powerful kiss. She used her newest power to give him the emotion of love and happiness. It worked. He held her head in his hoof, kissing her back.
"Soarin. Nopony's blaming you. You helped me. Thank you so much. And, by the way, I still love you too. Nothing can ever change that."
"I love it when you talk like that," his flirty, husky voice returned. Rainbow missed that voice.
Soarin kissed her this time, and she loved it. His kisses were MUCH better than Fire Streaks. Soarin knew all of Rainbow's weak spots: the places that made her craziest. She knew his, too.
Soarin rubbed his body against Rainbow's, making her breathless. His mouth found hers once again, and she opened and closed it faster this time.
Soarin traced Rainbow's legs and hindquarters with his hooves and forearms. He'd missed Rainbow so much, but now he had her.
And he was never letting her go.