> This is how it all ends > by cutie pi > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > In the beginning > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1 A/N: First I would like to say that I am by no means a hater but quite the opposite. I just thought it would be neat to see how a PoE (Pony on Earth) would play out if a hater got a hold of a pony instead of a Brony. Anyways, as said by DJ BRON3, on with the chapter! “So this is how it all ends…” Rainbow Dash thought to her as the gun was pointed between her sobbing eyes. Her forelegs tied off in opposite directions as her back two were weighted down so much she could not feel their presence. The pure exhaustion from the months of torture disabled her ability to fly. All she could do now was waiting, just a little longer. The metallic sheen of the pistol gleamed into her eye slightly as the single bulb above shone down on her. The menacing look of the dark, almost unrecognizable, figure standing in front of her paralyzed her very being and immediately annihilated all thoughts of a possible way of escape, thoughts of a savior appearing, thoughts of hope… There she was; Hung in midair. She was unable to muster up enough energy to even try to escape. The thought of it all finally ending was…soothing. She could not think of anything else but how good she would feel after this, if there was a place to go after she died. The man standing over her noticed a smile come to her muzzle. “So you finally accept the fact that no one wants you here. No one will love you. Ever,” He hissed to the rainbow-maned mare. “Well I won’t make you wait for the inevitable.” The man smirked knowing that he is going to kill the very thing that Bronies everywhere loved so dearly. His warped brain then sent the nerves in his trigger finger the signal to end it. The trigger was then pulled. The bullet sprung into the chamber of the pistol. The hammer swung and smacked the end of the bullet. A spark was thus created. The ignition of the gunpowder began. The expanding heat from the chemical reaction caused the projectile to burst forth from the barrel faster than Dash could ever fly. This is how it all ends… Wait? What’s that!? IS THAT-wait. Why am I at this part? Why would I start here? I’m sorry; I should have started at the beginning. Let me first explain why Dashie is here in the first place… Ponyville: 6 months earlier: "I’ve done it!!” Twilight ecstatically announced to her assistant. “I have finally discovered the final component of the spell for interplanetary transport! I’ve always dreamed of visiting space after my first time stargazing.” After her parents took a notice to the little stargazer’s interest in space, they gave her her first telescope, which only fueled her desires. She began mapping the stars and their many constellations, reading all she could on the subject, and even to this day still has dreams of her visit to these planets and discovering a new form of life. “Life…” she thought of the word constantly. She would have something new to study. She could analyze all their cultures, languages, and technologies that she might of never heard of. The word also plagued her thoughts. What if she found a race of beings that have no sense of morality? No sense of justice? No sense of remorse? What if she found a life form bent on seeking and destroying everything that they didn’t consider ‘normal’? She pushed the thought out of her head. “What are the odds of that?” She said to herself. “What are the odds of what?” asked a certain purple scaled dragon as he tuned back in. “Oh it’s nothing, never mind.” she said to her curious counterpart. “Whatever,” said Spike as he waved a claw in the air and worked his way to the kitchen. Later that week: “Everypony here?” Twilight asked her friends. “Here!” Pinkie blurted out as she was bouncing from her excitement and unlimited reserves of energy. “Here, darling,” Said Rarity. “Ah’m here,” Exclaimed Applejack. “H-here…” Fluttershy said nervously. … “Where’s Rainbow?” Twilight questioned. “HERE!” screamed Rainbow Dash as she soared in at almost top speed. “Sorry I’m late girls; my nap took a little longer than I thought it would.” “Well as long as everypony is here I’m fine with it. You’re going to need the energy where were going,” Said Twilight with a smile. “Where exactly are we going again, dear?” asked Rarity. “Well based on my research, I found a planet within a short distance of ours that’s inhabitable. The atmosphere is made of a similar makeup as ours, it is covered in green grass and vast oceans, and I casted a spell and detected life!” Twilight announced with a sense of giddiness. Well Ah’ll be darned. There really is somepony else out there, ain’t there?” proclaimed Applejack. “Yep, now we just have to go there and meet them! I just hope we’re greeted like I hope…” she whispered. The plaguing thought of the possibility of the race they discover being malicious still in her mind. “Anyways, everypony ready? If so, please gather in the prepared circle.” They began to collect into a circle covered in strange patterns and markings in which none of them were familiar. Twilight began to conjure up the spell, bringing all her magical energy into one spot at the end of her horn. A light began to appear, growing brighter and brighter. The wind started to pick up. The markings on the circle started to glow; each a different color. The air was now a raging torrent circling around them. The symbols and various lines underneath them slowly started to spin. The light at the end of Twilights horn was now too bright for their eyes to bear. Lightning began to shoot from the horn in all directions. Then a final beam of light flashed. Everything turned silent. Not a thing stirred, though something didn’t feel right. They weren’t conscious to know it, but the spell malfunctioned. That single beam of light, instead of engulfing the whole group, shot forward and hit the pony directly in front of Twilight: Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash was completely surrounded by white. There was no up or down, left or right. There she floated for what seemed like forever. She did not know what to do. She tried to breath but her expanding lungs were not filled. “But how am I still alive?” She thought. She tried to speak, but with no air, this is rendered impossible; same with flight, nothing. This strange place she was in: that’s all there was, nothing. She took notice to something: a small black dot appeared in the distance. She smiled and made a mental squee knowing that she might finally get out of this ‘place’. After a bit more time passed, the dot, which now took shape of a door, got ever closer. She was now close enough to touch it. She immediately regretted this decision. The moment she touched the door, it swung open and a tremendous force began to pull her in. She could feel her body stretching as it yanked her very existence into its dark corridor. She tried to hold onto the edge of the door, but her attempts were futile. The door closed behind her. Darkness was everywhere. She began to spiral as if she was in a whirlpool. At the bottom was a white light. She felt a strange feeling throughout her body. She looked down at her hooves. They were slowly evaporating off her body. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. She could see the bits of her slowly disintegrating appendages moving towards the center of the hole. Then it happened again: a flash of light. She felt a rush of air as she was hurled towards the body of water she appeared over. She found herself completely trapped in the water. She was having a tough time registering what just happened. The choking feeling quickly brought her back to reality. She kicked her legs as hard as she could. She worked her way up to the surface while fighting for consciousness. After breaking the surface, she took a much needed gasp of air. She stopped and tried to figure out what was going on around her. She was surrounded. Water; there was water everywhere. Not a single glimpse of land was in sight; only the strange sun near the horizon casting a range of hues of purple and red. “Where am I?” she cried. End Chapter 1 A/N: This is my first time writing fan fiction so I am accepting criticism. Please tell me if I should continue. If you find any grammatical errors please me know. Helpful tips are also appreciated. > What should I do? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2 A/N: I will be putting certain part in italics. please note that these parts are Rainbow Dash's thoughts unless otherwise specified, such as it being a situation where RD is not present. I hope you enjoy the chapter! “Where am I?” Rainbow Dash said with a grievous look on her muzzle. She looked up to the sky to determine what time it was. Good; it’s a little after dawn. This gives me almost the whole day to get my flank out of here. The estranged place she appeared in was not of recognizable origin to her. She did not know what to do or where to go. For the first time in a long time, she was scared. In her mind, all she could do was play back the recent events and try to make sense of it all. She paused for a moment to recollect herself and calm down. Okay, let’s take a second to think about this…Hmm… What was Twilight talking about before we got in that weird circle? Something about a planet and it being inhabitable or something like that… “What was it!?” she shouted while taking a swing at the immense body of water surrounding her. Unfortunately for her, before she could react, a small wave of water engulfed her and filled her lungs. She was too busy hacking up the salty, disgusting water to notice the dark figure swimming below her. She started to feel a slight current as if somepony was moving around in the water. She felt a slight brush against her hind leg; this caused her to recoil from shock. Panic was beginning to set in. Fear of the unknown was one of the worst things in her opinion. She needed to get away from whatever was currently threatening her existence. It brushed up against her leg again, this time with a little more force. She felt the smoothness of the skin as it rubbed against her wings. It calmed her a bit when she thought that it could just be a few harmless fish swimming around. She held her breath and stuck her head under the water to see what it was that was bothering her. Though she failed to remember that the water was very salty, and not clear like lake or pond water, so she accidently opened her eyes. The searing pain in her eyes brought her back into her panic mode. She held her hooves to her eyes and started to scream. “Mother of Celestia, my eyes!” she hollered to the sky. Her bloodshot eyes began to water as the salt started to eat at her corneas. After the pain started to subside, she slowly opened her eyes, still squinting slightly from the burning sensation. The brush-ups stopped for some reason. My flailing must have scared them off. Her blurred vision began scanning the surrounding waters once again, though she did notice something in the distance: about 200 feet away from her was something protruding from the water. She thought the strange object was going towards her faster and faster. Nah, it’s probably just my blurry eyes playing tricks on me. She rubbed her eyes with her hooves again to try to clear up her vision. This only helped a little, but enough for her to see that her hypothesis was correct. It’s coming… She started to freak out again. She swung around as fast as she could and swam away with all her might. She still had no idea what it was, but she didn’t want to stick around to find out. She was starting to run low on energy after a while of swimming full speed. She stopped to take a quick breath and take a peek behind her; there was nothing following her anymore. She heaved a sigh of relief, knowing she escaped possible danger. “I am so awesome!” Dash yelled as she pumped her hoof in the air, but her rants were cut short due to the unexpected. She felt a quick rush of water as something sped past her back hoof. She looked down to see that what she feared was right in front of her: a long grey creature with a slender snout and pitch black eyes, that she felt piercing her soul, was staring directly at her. “Oh bu-“she was not able to finish her phrase before the gray figure burst forth from the water in front of her. The creature did a quick somersault in the air over Dash as she just watched in awe. She hated to admit it, but it was beautiful. The pure majesty of the flip, the way the sun glistened off the grey skin; it was just beautiful. She could feel her pain and fear just melting away as this wonderful animal completed the jump and dipped gracefully back into the water. Rainbow just sat there floating, watching the spot where the strange creature popped back in the water. How could I run away from something so awesome? This ‘thing’ was not a creature of pure evil threatening to eat her: it was a gentle animal that just wanted to play. ”This animal is…cool,” She thought to herself as the animal swam up next to her and nuzzled her with its snout. “Have any more cool tricks?” she said to it, expecting a verbal response. It just made a high pitched clicking sound while bobbing its head up and down in the water. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said to it before grabbing the top fin. What’s this? As soon as it felt the embrace, it shot forward. Dash was holding on for all she was worth. “Hey! What…are…you…doing!?” she tried to ask as she was pulled in and out of the water. As the thrill-loving Pegasus she was, she took this as a challenge. Time to bring out my inner Applejack! Her grip on the top fin got tighter as she worked her way to being on the back of it. This is so cool! After a few more jumps, the animal dove deeper than any of the other times and then quickly swam straight up. It rocketed out of the water and got some serious hang time. “YYEEEEHHAAAWWW!!!” she yelled near the climax of the jump. Just after the scream she let out, she let go of the creature and was now falling in mid air. She opened her wings and let the air catch her on her way down. Now she was gliding along the surface of the water, and the animal was jumping in the same direction as her. She occasionally tipped her body so that her wing slightly grazed the top of the water; she loved this. For the first time since she was here, she actually smiled from pure ecstasy. This went on for several hours and it was around the afternoon when the odd creature stopped. Rainbow Dash noticed this and flew down to see what was wrong. “What’s wrong, buddy?” she asked her new friend. Just as she finished her comment, a few more heads popped up from the depths of the water. “Oh, is this your family?” she asked. It responded with clicking noises and a head bob. “Family…” the word replayed in her head a few times.I have a family… my friends are my family. She cursed at herself under her breath for being so stupid. I totally forgot about them! I need to find them so I can get out of here. “Sorry! I have to go to my own family now! See ya!” she yelled to it as she started on her way. It did a little flip then swam away in the opposite direction as Dash. Ponyville: three months after the mishap: “Are they going to be all right?” Nurse Redheart questioned. “They should be. I’ve had my own experiences with time travel, so based on what I’ve been told, they should awake soon,” Doctor Whooves responded. They both heard a groan from behind them; Twilight was the first to wake. She awoke with the worst headache she had ever felt. “Ow, my head,” she said after sitting up slightly and putting her hooves to her sore temples. “Oh good, you’re awake.” He started trotting over to her, “Good morning, Miss Sparkle. How are you feeling?” “Well besides the massive headache, I’m fine,” she said while taking a quick scan of the room. She took notice to the unfamiliar room and four strange ponies sitting in beds similar to hers’. “Umm…where am I and who are they?” “Why, you’re in the Ponyville Hospital of course; and those are your friends. They appeared around the same time you did. After that enormous spell relapse and the time travel, you all were in dire need of medical attention,” he explained. “They’re my friends? The only friends I remember having are my books; and why am I in Ponyville? I remember going to bed in my room in Canterlot and now I’m here.” “Oh is that so? Well it seems the time travel had a bigger effect on you than I thought,” he said while trying to hide his worry. “Time travel, huh? How far back or forward did we go, and what do you mean bigger effect?” she asked. “About three months into the future; two months and three weeks to be exact, but all of you have been asleep for the past week, and it seems you have a slight case of memory loss,” he proclaimed. “THREE MONTHS!? I’ve missed a whole three months of my life!?” she blurted out as she began to panic. “Actually, you were not affected by the passage of time: only everypony else. Time travel is a tricky thing, Miss Sparkle, maybe a little too tricky. It also seems that time is playing its tricks on your memory,” he said with a chuckle. She heard a few more moans and groans from around her as the other four ponies started to wake up. She immediately started analyzing them to see if they would jog her memory. Let’s see… one frou-frou unicorn, one ordinary Pegasus, and two earth ponies; one that looks sort of worn like she’s a farmer, and another that…smells like cotton candy? Why does she smell like cotton candy? Was she at a carnival or something? The strange pink pony was the first to wake up. She instantly sat up with her eyes spinning in opposite directions. With a quick shake of her head, she jumped out of her bed. Out of nowhere she started shaking violently. Oh dear… “HEEYYY TWILIGHT!! Thatwassofunweshouldtotallydoitagainsometime, butafterI’mdonewiththesepinkiesenses!” she said while she was exhibiting the very strange behavior. “Um, why are you shaking so much?” Twilight asked. She stopped shaking after a few seconds and said, “Well that was about three months worth of Pinkie Senses, so I’m guessing after your little spell thingy, we travelled into the future three months.” “How did you kno-“she was interrupted by a certain orange earth pony. “Twi, don’t you know better th’n to ask Pinkie HOW? That pony has done stuff not ev’n Princess Celestia can’t explain.” “I’m going to have to agree with Applejack; Pinky can do some strange things,” said the white unicorn. “Umm… Twi? Why are you lookin’ at us like that?” asked the farmer. “Miss Sparkle is experiencing a slight case of Interdimentional Amnesia. After she cast the spell, the time travelling affected her brain and cut off her memory to a certain degree. This effect should wear off within a few hours, but if it doesn’t by the end of the day, then she is going to need some therapy,” Doctor Whooves said, filling in the rest of the group with the necessary information. “So what is the extent of the damage, if you don’t mind me asking,” said the shy Pegasus. “Well,” he began, “she seems to have all her motor functions intact and her vitals are all normal, though she says she doesn’t know who you all are or why she’s in Ponyville. I’m guessing her memory was cut off somewhere between her life in Canterlot and before she moved here.” “Wow! That’s like two years that she doesn’t remember! Wait… that means she doesn’t remember my parties…” she instantly turned into Pinkamena: hair flattening, gloomy look, and sad, puffy eyes. Almost as quickly as she turned into Pinkamena, she exploded with a smile: her hair puffing back up, and even more bouncing ensued. “That means she can experience her first super-spectacular-extra fantabulous- Pinkie Party again! I have to go set up! Bye!” she blurted out just before rocketing out of the room, leaving behind a Pinkie-shaped dust cloud. “Well that was interesting…” Twilight said to nopony in particular. “That’s Pinkie for ya. Anyways, you said you don’t remember us, right? So I reckon Ah should introduce myself. My name is Applejack, this ‘ere is Rarity-” “Why Applejack,” she said while interrupting the earth pony, “I’m sure Twilight can remember her best friend. Isn’t that right, Twilight?” she then looked at Twilight with a puppy face that just begged for her to answer “yes”. Before Twilight could answer, Applejack continued. “As ah was sayin’, this one here is Fluttershy.” “U-umm... Hello... Do you remember me, Twilight? I mean you don’t have to, I was just wondering,” murmured the shy Pegasus. “I’m sorry, but I just do not remember all of you. Now if you will excuse me I need to go back to my home in Canterlot where things actually make sense,” she said before a light started to gather at the end of her horn. Before any objections could be made, she was gone. “Well that’s no good,” said Applejack as she sighed. “Wait a minute, Where’s Rainbow?!” Pinkie inquired while frantically searching every nook and cranny of the room. She somehow appeared under the bed, inside a potted plant and behind a painting faster than Twilight could teleport. “Pinkie, why are ya back here? Did ya finish the party preparations already?” questioned Applejack. “Yep! And it’s going to be the most super-spectacular-most-awesomest-party EVER!” She said very enthusiastically. “Excuse me, doctor…” Rarity paused. “Whooves,” he answered. “Doctor Whooves, was there another Pegasus that appeared with us?” asked Rarity. “Nope, sorry. Only you five appeared. Also, you all do not seem to be exhibiting the same symptoms as Miss Sparkle, so you’re free to go. But if you find her and she still doesn’t remember anything, she is going to have to come back here.” “Thank you, Doctor Whooves, for your assistance. Come on girls, we need to find Rainbow and then go remind Twilight who she really is!” Rarity said being quite disgruntled from Twilight not remembering her. “WOOHOO! PARTY!!” Pinkie shouted, causing a ringing in the ears of the mares in the proximity. Mark: Morning of the mishap “MARK!!! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!!” screamed Mark’s mother from downstairs. “I’M COMING!!” Mark yelled down the stairs, being quite agitated by his mom’s constant verbal abuse. Mark is a teenager just like any other: he wakes up in the morning and starts getting ready for school. He’s an average student: not good or bad in any of the classes he’s taking. He has an average amount of friends, and he does not discriminate. He hangs out with jocks, cheerleaders, goths, nerds, etc., but there is one group he was not fond of at all: the bronies. He always showed hatred towards them and their ponies, especially in front of his friends. Some might call him a bully for what he does to them, but others understand why he doesn’t like them. Like all haters, he is too afraid to risk his image of being manly. Mark turned off the show he was watching, and turned off the monitor on his computer with the unimportant background. He got up from his computer chair and started his way down the creaky stairs. After he made his way to the kitchen, he began making a customary bowl of “Nasty-o’s”. No one really talked in his family. The only time anyone talked was when they were making a complaint, answering somebody else’s question, or answering the phone. His mom was the one to abuse the first part. No wonder dad left… I’m going to do it too if I have to deal with moms constant complaining any longer. After his silent breakfast, he started packing his school supplies and headed out the door. The school was pretty close, so walking was not a problem. He enjoyed the walks because they helped him clear his head. All the negative thoughts he had to endure when in the presence of his mom were a little too much for him to handle. He instead thought about them. Fifteen minutes later, he was at the front steps of his school. He let out a sigh. Here goes another day in hell… Class after class went by-as usual-he was not able to stop thinking about thosethings. Lunch time came around, so he headed to the cafeteria. “Mark!” Mark turned around at hearing his name; it was his friend DJ. DJ was about 5 foot 8 inches tall, built, short brown hair and he had a beard that he shaved every 3 days, so it tends to be a little rough. “What’s up Mark?” DJ asked with a smirk on his face. “Oh, nothing much...” Mark said with a straight face. “Yo, what’s wrong? You gotta cheer up buddy, remember were going to that party tonight!” He said with an enthusiastic smile. “Oh yeah, the party… gonna be great,” he said getting quite annoyed by his friend. “I know what will get you in a good frame of mind: how ‘bout when we get to the party, we get us some girls and we have some fun?” DJ said while making an awkward gesture and a stupid face. “I don’t know if I’m going to make it…” Mark said with a sense of doubt. “Awww, c’mon man. You have to come! It won’t be a party without my best bud there,” DJ said to Mark in the attempt to cheer him up. “Oh my… Fine, I might come. You happy now?” “Yes, yes I am,” DJ said with a chuckle. They both finished purchasing their lunches, and went to sit down at their normal table. There was one thing that they loved about their table: in a clear line of sight there was a table right in front of them. A table filled with bronies. “Hey Mark, you wanna mess with the bronies again?” DJ said with a grin. Mark responded by tearing a small piece of a nearby paper and placing it in his mouth. He then took the cover off of his straw and with his mouth, made the paper into a small ball. He took aim directly at one of the brony’s head. Just before he shot, he hesitated. He then let out a quick breath and shot the wad of moist paper straight at the head of the brony. Mark could make out the words “…remember: love and tolerate…” from one of the other people sitting at the table. DJ responded by busting out laughing and punching Mark in the arm in a playful manner. “Dude, that was great! HAHA!” he said as he was slapping the table. “Yeah… great…” Mark said while trying to put on a smile. After school, Mark started his walk. He kept walking until it was dark, trying to get what he did at lunch out of his mind. Before he knew it, he was at the beach. He enjoyed walking on the beach about two times as much as his normal walks. Mark sometimes even kicked off his shoes and took his socks off just so he could feel the sand between his toes. He was walking along the beach, and could smell the rain in the air. Hmm… seems a storm just passed. He looked off into the distance and saw small flashes over the ocean. He walked on for a little longer before noticing something washed up on the beach. “Well that’s a strange shape. It sorta looks like…A BODY!” He started running over to what he found, but he was not expecting what happened next. “OH MY GOD!!” Rainbow Dash: just after leaving the dolphins: “Family…” She said to herself as she was flying along, doing an occasional flip and spin. Without realizing it, she zoned out. How am I going to get out of here? Where do I go? What do I do if I can’t find my friends…? These were the kinds of thoughts that were flooding into her mind. She did not have an answer for any of them. Then, there was a flash. What was that!? BOOM!! There it was again. She immediately zoned back in, unknowing that she flew directly into a very bad storm. BOOM!! This one was a little too close, just missing her by a few feet. The rain felt like pieces of glass hitting her fur. She was going as fast as she could, trying to dodge all the flashes of lightning and the… “WATER SPOUT!!” She screamed at the top of her already straining lungs. Rainbow Dash immediately turned around and tried to fly in the opposite direction. The wind was too strong. She got knocked off balance by a quick gust of wind. A lightning bolt then exploded right next to her, grazing her wing. An immense pain pulsed through her body. She could not fly with one wing. As she was falling, she could feel the tip of her left wing burning. All she could do now was fall. After she hit the water, causing another wave of pain to course through her body, she gasped for air. She could see the water spout coming in her direction. The wind beginning to pick up even more as it got closer. She started to swim, even though she knew she could not outrun the monster that was now chasing her down. It was almost over her as she felt herself being lifted from the water. She gave up hope knowing that she could not escape. As her body was yanked through the air, she could feel some of her feathers being pulled from her wings. There was another flash; she blacked out. Sometime later she awoke to the feeling of sand underneath her. All she could do was lie there. The previous events had completely sapped her energy. After a bit more time passed, she heard something that would immediately fill her with hope. “OH MY GOD!!” End chapter 2 A/N: HOOOWEEE I hope you liked it. It took me a lot of thinking to help tie the events together but I feel I have succeeded. Just like the first chapter, please comment and tell me what you think! It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad! Remember, Love and Tolerate! > Beginning Or End? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3 Mark: Just meeting Rainbow Dash: Mother of god… The day has finally come… Mark could not believe what he was witnessing. What he found laying in front of him defied all that he knew. Lying in his midst was a blue technicolor Pegasus. But this was not just any ordinary Pegasus: this was the legendary Rainbow Dash. She had the rainbow mane and everything; it was all there. Right in front of him was something that could change his whole life. ”This is not possible… Is it? Wait…” Realization was dawning upon him. ”If she is here than where are the others??” Mark started swinging his head around, scrutinizing every single detail of his surroundings in search of a sign left by the others. Nothing… He cursed his luck under his breath. He was not ready for the next event: Rainbow Dash started to move. Mark heard a small groan and before he knew it, a large pair of beautiful moderate cerise-colored eyes staring at him. The moon was casting a perfect shadow, accenting her whole body as she strained to get up. Mark noticed that one of her wings was damaged. This sent a stabbing pain straight through his heart. He also noticed how beaten up she looked: her mane was all matted and dirty; the half of her body that had been lying against the ground was covered in sand, and she had a few cuts and bruises. They each just stood there staring at each other. Rainbow occasionally cocked her head to the side, but eventually brought it back up to its normal position. Mark was still attempting to process everything and figure out the best course of action to take. I wonder what she’s thinking… Probably something flying related. Haha. This brought a slight grin to his face. Rainbow didn’t seem to be phased by his slight chuckle either. Though there was something that Rainbow Dash did do that made him flinch: she started laughing! At first a low giggle, but then just full out laughter! Why is she laughing?? Is she laughing at me!? “Oh my gosh! You sir are the strangest looking creature I’ve ever seen!” She said through each burst of laughter. She was currently on the ground laughing off her flank. Oh great…can this get any worse? Unfortunately, it did. The laughter started to die down and out of nowhere he heard a snore. Is she asleep!? What do I do now!? This is just perfect… I can’t just leave her here. I guess I can take her to my place… He took off his sweatshirt and kneeled down next to Rainbow Dash. He began to slide his hand under her head. Good god… her fur is as soft as silk and her mane feels amazing. He started to wrap his arm under her body as well. He used the sweatshirt to dry her off slightly before finally exerting enough energy to pick her up off the sandy ground. Wow she’s a lot lighter than I thought she would be. He estimated her weight to only be about seventy-five pounds. After a few moments of staring at her intently, he turned his focus towards heading home. ====================================Canterlot================================ “Wow, Canterlot sure has changed since I last remember,” Twilight said as she arrived. Twilight appeared right in the center of town. She started looking around, noting all the new stores, architecture, and ponies. The old bakery she used to go to as a filly was now a restaurant, the library was redecorated completely, and the old pony’s home was now a law firm. ”I do have to admit, things have changed. I better head to the castle. Maybe I can get an explanation from the princess about what happened in Ponyville.” A shiver went through her body as the thought of being wrong went through her mind. She didn’t feel like teleporting again, so she starting trotting towards the castle. She instead took this time to admire her surroundings and take more notes on what stayed the same and what had changed. She stopped just outside the castle gates to look up and grace her eyes with the splendor of Celestia’s castle. ”It looks just as massive and beautiful as before. At least that didn’t change.” She started making her way through the castle while greeting guards and several other ponies that were strolling about. She turned a final corner before seeing a large door with two guards outside. “Salutations, Miss Sparkle. Are you here to see the princess?” The guard on the right asked as she approached them. “Yes, yes I am. I have some important news from Ponyville that I need to relay to the princess,” she remarked as she came to a stop before reaching them. “Well I wish you a pleasant visit then, and I hope everything is handled accordingly,” The guard on the left said with a smile. “Thank you,” she finished. The guards used their magic to open the heavy gilded doors to reveal a large room with a single carpet going straight towards a staircase with Princess Celestia seated at the top. Celestia took notice to her prodigy’s entrance and rolled up the scroll she was reading and placing it to her side. She then propped herself up and started descending the steps. Just before they met, Twilight quickened her pace towards her teacher. “Twilight, my prized pupil, what brings you to Canterlot?” Celestia questioned. “Princess Celestia, I have some important news from Ponyville that I wish to speak to you about,” Twilight said after her embrace with the princess. “Would this have anything to do with the large explosion that happened three months ago?” She said quizzically. “Actually, as a matter of fact, it does. I was informed after I woke up that after the disruption, I traveled through time and appeared in Ponyville last week. I was also made aware of a situation that has to do with my memory. Doctor Whooves said that the time travel had affected my memory and that I have forgotten quite a bit of things including my initial arrival to Ponyville two years ago. Is this all true?” She said in worried tone. Celestia began stepping towards her student with a small light gathering at the end of her horn. Just as she touched Twilight’s head, a powerful surge of magic started to flow into her. She could feel it coursing through her body until a final surge struck her skull. An immense amount of images then began to flood into her mind. Her eyes started to glow white and her body rose slightly off the ground. This continued on for another minute before she stopped floating. Then, a final bolt of light emerged from her body and she fell to the ground, with several spots on her that look like they had been scorched. All the previous events were then explainable with her new found memories. ==========================Earth: Rainbow Dash’s perspective========================= Rainbow Dash woke up to the feeling of hard wood under her. After a few minutes of just laying there, she slowly started to open her eyes. She began to look around the strange room she was now laying in. ”Wow, this looks like Twilight’s house…” She saw bookshelves against almost every wall, not counting the small door and the desk with scrolls and quills sprawled across it, and she saw a staircase leading up to another room. She then propped herself up and started to walk around the room. ”This looks a lot like Twilights!? It’s almost an exact replica! But how did I get back to Ponyville??” Moments later a lavender mare trotted down the stairs. “Great, you’re awake!” Twilight said happily. “Umm… Twi’? How did I get back to Ponyville?” Rainbow said while still being quite flustered on her random appearance. “Oh we don’t need to go into details; the important thing is that you’re okay. Now let’s go notify the others of your awakening,” Twilight said as she opened the front door. “If you say so…” Rainbow Dash said being unsatisfied by Twilights answer. After a short walk to Sugar Cube Corner, RD saw her friends gathered in a circle. Twilight trotted to the open spot at the end of the circle and filled in the gap. Rainbow just followed and stopped near the center of the circle. “Hey everypony, I hope you all were not worried about me, but rest assured, Ponyville’s coolest pony is just fine,” said Rainbow as she looked to her friends for answers, but for some reason, all of them were completely silent. They all had straight faces too; even the always smiling and hopping Pinkie was emotionless. Rainbow started to get worried and turned to Twilight. “Umm… Twi’? Why is everypony acting all weird? It’s really starting to freak me out.” She just stood there motionless. It seemed like everything was completely lifeless; even the other ponies in the vicinity had stopped moving and were staring at Dash. Twilight finally spoke after a few minutes of silence. “Oh Rainbow… We miss you Rainbow…” Twilight said very mechanically. “Yes Rainbow, Why did you leave us? Do you not like us anymore?” The others said in perfect unison. Rainbow Dash was starting to freak out. She looked around at her friends to see if this was all a joke but they just stood there. The sky was starting to darken as well. She looked down and eventually noticed a circle under her; the same circle from when Twilight cast that spell before. She tried to move but she was frozen in place. Her friends started to gain a little bit of life in them as they started moving and going into a small group, leaving Rainbow Dash still frozen in the center of the circle. “C’mon girls… Rainbow doesn’t like us no more,” Applejack said while holding a sobbing Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash tried to scream to them but nothing came out. After her friends walked away a bit they disintegrated into nothingness. The world around Rainbow started to spin as it got darker and darker. The horrible feeling of spiraling to her doom met her stomach again as she looked up towards her disappearing friends. She looked down while sobbing and saw the familiar white light. Rainbow Dash awoke completely covered in sweat and heaving for air. She flailed her head around trying to shake the lurid dream she just had. She noted a soft object that she was laying on and a blanket over the top of her. She slowly started to look around and take in the surroundings. ”Let’s see… Pictures, more couches, bookshelves, random creature staring intently at me, several doors … WHOA!” Rainbow dash fell off the couch onto a hardwood floor. She grunted on impact and quickly brought a hoof to the back of her head and started rubbing the spot where her skull had connected with the ground. She was instantly reminded of the previous day’s events through a sharp pain returning in her wing. “Ow…” was all she could muster up while grasping her wing. “Well it seems you’re awake,” the creature said to her. “Umm… Yeah. Where exactly am I?” She questioned. “Well you are in my house, and you just hit your head on my floor,” he said with a snicker. “Ha ha, very funny,” she said very sarcastically. “Would you like something to eat or drink?” he pondered. This question reminded Rainbow that she hasn’t eaten since before she left Ponyville. Her stomach growling was enough to answer the strange being’s question. He started to get up and head towards one of the doors that she guessed was the kitchen. She propped herself up and followed him. She thought the weird beings kitchen was quite strange. There were a lot of items and food on the counters. She started to walk over to the counter out of curiosity. “What’s this?” She said as she touched a button on a strange contraption on the counter. The machine burst to life and started making a loud noise, causing Rainbow to fall to the ground from shock. “Hey! Be careful with that!” He said while lurching forward and pressing another button on the machine causing it to stop. “I’m sorry… I was curious…” she said with her ears flopped down and her head low. “It’s okay. Just don’t touch anything without asking me first…” He trailed off before heading back to preparing the food. She just sat there for a little while inquiring what he was doing. Soon he presented her an apple while he had a bowl filled with some sort of food she was unfamiliar with. “What’s that?” she asked while pointing to the bowl. “Oh this is just some ramen.” He said back to her. Another “What’s that?” escaped her lips after a few moments of her thinking if she had heard of it before. “It’s just warm noodles in flavored water.” He said intently. “Oooohhhh, that’s cool,” she said with a smile across her muzzle. After he sat at the table to eat his cliché meal, she stood on the other side of the table and started shooting questions at him. “So what exactly are you? What is this place?” Questions like these started flying at him. He was surprised that she was so open with him and was not sure how to answer or react to this situation. He started to answer her questions with very straightforward answers which seemed to only fuel her to ask for more. After every answer another question popped up; this seemed to go on for hours. Eventually they were interrupted by a sudden burst of light through the window causing both of them to wince. “Oh my god! We’ve been up the whole night! I have to go to school!” He said while frantically running through his house attempting to put some different pants and a new shirt on. “Hey! Can I come with you to school?” RD asked him as he put his backpack on. “No! It’s weird enough that you even exist, but you coming to school with me!? HA! My entire reputation would be ruined!” He retorted just as he started out the door. “Fine…” she said as she lowered her head and started heading towards the living room. After she was out of sight, Mark headed out the door and started his normal route towards school. “Ha! He thinks I’m going to stay here all day!? I have this whole new world to explore!” She said out loud as she opened the back window. She burst from the window and started flying around, but was not able to do many tricks due to her injured wing. Not too long into the exploration she spotted Mark on the ground walking to school. ”I should totally follow him and see what he does,” she thought to herself as she grabbed a nearby cloud and brought it down and started floating above Mark. He eventually got to school and walked into the building. Oh great, what do I do now!? She ultimately came to the decision to wait for everypony to go away and, after they’re all gone, she’d go down and sneak in. She floated down and punched the cloud so it dissipated, walked up the stairs, pushed the door open, and went inside. Wow. The schools in this world are surprisingly similar to the ones back home. There were long and winding hallways, lockers lining the walls, posters everywhere, and doors leading to enormous classrooms filled with people like Mark. Around an hour later though, the bell rang and people started flooding out from the classrooms. MOTHER OF CELESTIA!! WHAT! WHO! WHEN! WHERE! She started frantically running around in the attempt to not be noticed. She spotted an open door with some weird sign on it. ”GOTTA HIDE!!" She dashed straight into the open door to find a room filled with strange stalls. She then opened one of the stalls and quickly closed it behind her. Rainbow just sat there and waited. About 5 minutes later, the sounds from the hall ended. She sighed from relief and plopped herself onto the floor making a loud clacking sound that echoed a lot louder than it should of. She then heard a shuffling coming from the stall next to her. RD heard a “what the hell?” come from the stall as a hand reached out from under the stall wall and touched her hoof. She jumped with a squeal and burst forth from the stall and flew out the door. She soared down the hallway and hid behind a wall. Then, after a couple minutes, she peeked around the corner. Lucky for her, there was nobody around the corner except for the one reason she came here. “Mark!” She screamed in her head, mainly because of the massive scare from earlier. She tip-hooved out from the corner and started following Mark, hiding behind every other corner so she wasn’t spotted. She was sweating slightly due to her heart pounding from excitement. Her wings flared; ready for the moment she might have to make a quick escape. Mark rounded a corner after he finished talking to his friends. Rainbow quickly ran to the corner only to be stopped by a cloth covering her mouth. She felt somepony grabbing her waist while applying pressure to the strange smelling clothe over her muzzle. For some odd reason, the world around her started to get darker, until she lost consciousness. End Chapter 3 A/N: Sorry it took so long! A lot has been going on and I was not able to write as much as I liked. I made the Twilight part so short because I figured since her perspective is approx. 3 months in the future and I wanted to keep you all up to date on what she’s doing, I should tell her side slowly. Also sorry it’s so short compared to the 2nd chapter, I just thought this was a good place to stop and begin the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!