> Wingless
>  by Ryonne
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A bolt of electricity shot through the sky, momentarily illuminating the world below before disappearing into the hefty storms clouds. As the first drops of rain began to fall on the sleeping earth, a light wind played with the desert plants’ withered leaves. For many creatures of the wilderness, this was a moment of beauty and salvation; after long periods of drought, this moment was almost paradise.
        It was that way for some; not as much for others.
        A figure tore over the sands, leaving a path of dust in its stead. Behind him fluttered the shadow of a large coat, kicked up in its momentum. As another flash of lightning lit the scene, an onlooker may have caught a glance of the fellow’s body. Wet, matted strands of hair clung to the being’s face, blocking most of its true countenance but revealing a single, panicked eye. There was an odd air of determination about it, evident in its steady forward pace, which conveyed a certain air of mystery. It was calm and collected in its forward gait, yet ever so desperate in its visage. It came to a sudden halt in front of a lofty iron gate. Straightening itself to full height, the silhouette considered its opponent.
        Dropping onto a knee, the being studied the dust below in a sort of silent contemplation. After a quick nod and a swift jump, it stood. Then, it vaulted onto one of the lowest reachable bars, wriggling its legs into a secure position before continuing. As the rainwater coated the slippery iron, the figure slowly but surely began its ascent up the fence.
        Suddenly, a small object fell from the silhouette, briefly taking from in a flash of lightning before disappearing once more into the darkness. Though the curious object made a thud as it hit the wet desert floor, the feeble noise was drowned in a sudden roll of thunder which intervened on the scene.
        The shadow scrambling up the gate halted suddenly and turned to stare at the object. For some reason, it seemed to be regarding it in the reigning twilight of the night. Shaking its head, the silhouette turned and flung its leg over the gate. Another flash of light, and the being's back was revealed. A yellowed, dirty lab coat was, though concealing the rest of the figure's body, completely visible, before it vanished over the fence. Once more, it returned to the shadows.
        As the shower intensified, the multitude of raindrops soaked the metallic device, slowly burying it in the wet sand.
        In the darkness, a single red dot lit up on the object.


WINGLESS


A fanfiction by Ryonne



Chapter 1


        A bolt of electricity shot through Rainbow Dash’s sleeping body, and she was awake. With the sudden jolt from her peaceful slumber, the cyan pegasus found herself on her hooves, her forelegs raised above her head and her teeth grit tightly. As she carefully studied her surroundings, the look of anger on her countenance transformed into that of slight confusion. The room she was in was… empty? As the rapid rate of her heart began to slow, the mare realized she was standing on her two hind legs. She promptly returned to all fours.
        She stared about herself. The room was comprised of a vast, milky white void, which stretched on as far as Dash could see. As the mare took a closer look, she realized that there was actually nothing in her immediate vicinity. Had she gone blind? She turned her gaze down to her chest. It was still there. Despite the fact that her mane was slightly shorter than she had remembered, nothing noticeable had changed.
        Spinning around and attempting to spread her wings, Dash jumped into the sky. For a brief moment, she felt the wonderful gliding sensation which had overcome her so many times before; she felt the wind in her mane, the whistle of air as it flew past her head, and the abrupt tap of her hooves as she came back to Earth.  She had only jumped four feet.
Quickly lifting her hoof to crane her neck backwards, she took a second to analyze her own body. A large metallic saddle was attached to her back, firmly restraining the two feathery limbs she loved so dearly. Just between the two wings was a single, blinking red light, which emitted a loud ticking noise with every flash it made. As the beat of her heart began to slow, she noticed that so too did the constant blink of the light.
        "Hello?" Rainbow Dash called out into the milky white void of the distant horizon. Her voice fell flat. She had expected some kind of echo, or any indication that the room wasn’t the endless chamber she was beginning to regard it as. Desperate to receive some kind of a response, she raised her hoof and brought it down against the cold, metallic ground. Again, she could only hear the dead clap. In a final attempt, she opened her mouth to scream.
        "Oh, it appears you have awakened," another voice interrupted. Suddenly, a small velvet pillow and wooden table materialized in front of Rainbow Dash, who closed her mouth abruptly. "We would ask that you seat yourself over there so that we may give you a briefing as to why you are here." There was an odd tranquility to the voice's tone. It was definitely male, but it was almost too deep to be the voice of an average pony. Rainbow Dash felt her muscles relax at its sound. However, her own instincts intervened as she took an aggressive step forward.
        Rainbow Dash cast an angry glare up to the sky. "Why don't you come out and show yourself, and maybe I will?" she shouted at nothing in particular. She didn't know what she was talking to, but, previous events considered, she had instinctually gone with the assumption that it wanted to kill her.
        "That cannot be executed at the moment," it replied, showing no change in emotion. At this, the ground beneath Dash began to transform, sprouting forth pebbles and rocks from the cold metal of the floor. As this new Earth began to mold itself, it transformed into a sort of fixed path, matching the position of Dash’s legs almost exactly. Correspondingly, she took a nervous step back and lifted her hoof off of the strange ground. On both sides of the passageway, a multitude of torches arose from the grass and began to rearrange in a frantic pattern, almost as if some alternate force were lining them up with the small path. Her eyes followed the gray stones back to the pillow and table, still sitting in silence as if to beckon towards the mare. Rainbow Dash took another step back. Leaning down, she tapped one of the stones. Yes, it was definitely there.
        "From past data, we have found reasoning with a subject to be more difficult when said subject is not even willing to approach its observer." The pegasus lifted her head and returned her glare to the heavens. The voice continued, "And we believe doing so contrasts what is customary of pony culture. Perhaps we could rectify some of your grievances with a little… illumination, if it is not a hindrance."
        With a sudden flash, the torches burst into life. The flickering lights of each individual flame danced up towards the white sky, which slowly began to dim to a dark shade of purple. Rising from the horizon, a mighty skyline, dotted with thousands of shining stars, began to take form in its depths, punctuated by the glow of a brilliant moon. At this, Rainbow Dash jumped back, then leaned forward. Her wings spread, she turned, a stupefied expression painted across her face, to the ground surrounding the path. The placid landscape had begun to give birth to fuzzy green blades of grass and numerous weeds. She returned her gaze to the first two items that had been created as her mouth dropped open.
        "Uh, what was that?" she called in a meek voice towards the sky. Shaking her head, she adopted a more gruff tone of voice. "Uh, I mean, whadda you think you're doing here?"
        "It will be explained when the subject agrees to seat herself," came the deep drone of the voice, which now appeared to be emanating from the very ground itself. "Averagely, subjects such as you willingly comply with the demands set forth by the test control unit, and do not cling to their own personal opinions. We trust you can adopt their abilities?" Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to retort, but closed it as she let loose an exasperated sigh. She began to walk down the path. It was odd; though she had assumed that the torches were artificial, she could smell their fire and feel its very heat as she walked past. The cyan pegasus halted on the large pillow and lay down.
        "Well," the voice said with a faint hint of exasperation. It now appeared to be emenating from behind her. "We may begin now, if we encounter no further complications—"
        "Who are you?" Rainbow Dash interrupted, shifting around on the soft fabric. She turned to shoot a menacing glare behind her, only to find herself face to face with a torch.
        "You have requested information of the control unit’s identity, but we fear the query is invalid. It is not exactly a pony in the conventional definition of the term," the voice replied.
        "Uh… right.” Furrowing her brow, she cocked her head as she stared intently into the torch's flame.
        "Yes. The official testing classification would be ATaMoTS, acting as an acronym for 'Artificial Testing and Manipulation of Terrain Simulator'. We would request that it be referred to as Adam, however, as it should come of more casual nature for both units to refer to themselves by conventional names, subject Dash. After all, the control unit is not the ATaMoTS itself; it is only the machine's representation. It truly is their mistake for--"
        "Hold on a second," Dash broke in again. "What do you mean by ‘they’?" She rose from her lying position and looked out on the wide landscape surrounding the small table.
        "Oh," Adam said with a pause. "They are the original designers of the control unit. Has that not been clarified yet? Adam is actually an artificial intelligence. The core—as the classification “control unit” suggests—is designed to oversee and control testing environments while providing a database of information from past tests. As to the current whereabouts of the original designers, the database finds no information, but Adam is now in complete control of the testing center. The user will not find data specifically notable about them." The voice stopped abruptly, and there was a sudden shifting noise in the distance. Dash started, turning to face the source of the sound.
        "You are here for a definite reason, however," the voice continued, causing Dash to turn back towards the cloud line. "You have been selected to take part in a testing course of their primary device: the ATaMoTS itself. The basis of the project is simple. We will run a sequence of scenarios, and you will simply need to relax and respond to them as you normally would in an everyday situation. Afterward, you will be queried as to the realism of the event. Do you comply?"
        Rainbow Dash glared up at the sky. "You—Adam, thing, or whatever you are—better lemme go. I got a life, you know! My friends need me. The last thing I want is to be roped into your silly little prison gimmick."
        A light breeze blew over the scene, playing with the flames of the nearby torches. "Prison?" Adam questioned, a note of confusion seeping into his normally emotionless voice. The cyan pegasus turned her attention to a lightning bug that had suddenly entered the makeshift campsite. It paused for a brief second, appearing to scan the pony before blinking away into the inky blackness of the night.
        "Ah," said Adam. Suddenly, Dash's saddle clicked off, falling to the stone ground with a loud clang. "It seems we learn more about the pony mind every day. Please excuse our momentary lack of judgment; it would certainly hinder our testing relationship to exhibit such mannerisms of hostility. We would like to apologize for briefly detaining you in this saddle."
        Rainbow Dash spread her weary wings and allowed them to hit the breeze. Feeling the cold air against her feathers, she released a long sigh of relief. However, the look of relaxation quickly turned to one of determination. In a flash, she was once more soaring through the sky. The thrilled pegasus tore through the cloud line above and pursued what she expected to be the ceiling. Once again, she felt the wind blowing through her mane; she could hear the faint whistling noise as her body slipped through the atmosphere. But no matter how fast she flew, she could still here the solemn voice of Adam pierce the night.
        "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Dash."
        A roaring sound, similar to the noise of a thousand gears grinding against each other, sounded throughout the world. Dash turned a curious eye downward and put on a slight frown. However, her mouth quickly dropped open as she watched the ground begin to draw closer to her. Soon, the familiar flooring of weeds and tall grass was level with her soaring form. The grass shook and dirt flew into the sky as if a heavy wind had disrupted them. She slowed her escape, and soon came to a rest on the soft dirt beneath her. Half defeated, she dropped onto her stomach and panted as she caught her breath. She turned to stare up at the sky, and listened as Adam cleared his throat.
        "We see you exhibit quite the aggressive attitude," he said with the faintest hint of annoyance. The world began to melt away until only the white, empty room remained. "This is an infinite testing course. Unless the coding calls for walls to be created, it will stretch on indefinitely. To put it in terms that you will understand, the testing chamber possesses the same qualities as your Equestria, to some extent. It certainly varies from subject to subject as to what they regard as relevant, but we certainly do not see a goal in flying for all eternity." Rainbow Dash only gave a soft whimper in response.
        Shakily rising to her hooves, the cyan pegasus watched as the atmosphere began to transform once more, generating a deep purple horizon before shifting to a pitch black. Once more, the millions of stars which had so recently been purged from the chamber returned, bathing the exhausted mare in their soft glow. The grassy floor beneath her melted away until only a single, white cloud remained.
        "To adopt a term you will easily understand, time does figuratively fly, does it not? Our records tell us it has already been a full day in Equestria! Now, we can infer many things from your actions, but the one thing that is most prevalent is that you seem a bit… exasperated? We suggest that you take this brief period to get some rest. It will allow the control unit time to arrange your first testing situation. To accommodate your slumber, a small scene has been arranged from your memory; please observe. Perhaps you may remember this? We discovered this within your subconscious. For now, we would request that you relax. After all, how could this testing experience possibly be beneficial if neither of us is actually enjoying it?"
        "Hold on," Rainbow Dash called out, "No, get back here! Tell me what's going on here! Lemme go! I--" She halted, and released a deep sigh, allowing her head to droop downwards. Her eyes trained on the soft cloud as ideas swam through her mind. The cloud was definitely from her memories, but how could he have known that? How had he accessed her brain without her awareness? The more she considered Adam, the less she trusted him. However, she could absolutely agree with one thing that he had said: she was incredibly tired. The weather pony dropped onto the soft fluff of her new bed. Though her eyes burned with the deep sensation of exhaustion, she didn't feel that she was able to drift off to sleep just yet.
        The events of the day weighed down on her psyche, challenging her perception on the situation as a whole. How long would she be there? What would need to be done before she could escape? Would this "Adam" attempt to hurt her? The small pegasus' eyes drifted towards the clouds above. It seemed like the tension which had been building in her throughout the entire day was reaching its capacity. She shifted around on the clouds, attempting to retain control of her actions. This echoed the crisis of a dam overloaded with water. Closing her eyes, she stood. It seemed that somewhere on that dam, a crack was formed. Raising her head high, she released a passionate scream which traveled through the air and pierced the reigning silence of the night. For the first time that day, she could hear her echo.
        With that, she dropped back onto the cloud and fell into a deep sleep.

        ~~~

        Cold.

Something reached out and poked Dash. Amidst her peaceful slumber, she could feel it cut into her like a knife. It struck directly through her coat, enveloping her entire body in a strange burning sensation. The absent thought of cold lingered in her mind, dancing through her world of sleep. With another gust of wind, however, it jumped to the forefront. And with her eyes burning and mind reeling from confusion, she was awake.
        Quickly finding her hoofing, a quivering Dash rose from her position on the ground. After a quick but wide yawn, she turned a puzzled eye on her surrounding environment. The sky above had turned a dark shade of gray, and small crystal white snowflakes fell from its icy depths. As she ever so slowly began to come to her senses, she studied the ground beneath her. The previously grassy plains had transformed into an icy terrain, punctured by large, spikey rocks, which protruded from the thick snow. The cyan pegasus turned to the horizon, a confused expression dawning on her groggy visage. In the distance, Dash could just make out the outline of several mountains piercing the small hills in their circumference.
        All of a sudden, something clicked in Rainbow Dash's mind and she understood the situation completely.
        The weather pony sprung off the ground and soared across the mountaintop. Reaching the surface's precipice, she halted abruptly. Taking great care in her hoofwork as she strode to the edge, she peeked over the cliff to view what lay below.
        The mountain dropped off into a vast and intricate forest. The trees scattered about the distant ground appeared almost as minuscule blades of grass, peeking up from winter's frozen soil. It would seem that an average pony would be absolutely horrified when placed in an event such as this, but Dash merely raised her eyebrow as she took a step back. She turned her head to the sky. Right now, the one thing she needed was an explanation, and the only place she could get it was from the heart of the machine itself.
        "Adam, what the hay happened here?" Dash cursed towards the sky, shooting her invisible foe a menacing glare.
        A sudden loud grating sound, echoing the noise from earlier, suddenly filled the room. Rainbow Dash jumped slightly and spun around, searching her surroundings for the cause. Immediately following it, a rising whirr sounded, stretching out for a few minutes before terminating. Then, the entire world shook, a loud rumble resonating through the mountains and disturbing the multitude of trees on the ground. For a split second, it seemed even the lights of the sun had dimmed before abruptly returning to their brilliant glow. Finally, she could hear the familiar noise of Adam take a deep breath in, and let it release.
        "Hello, subject Dash?"
        "Um, anything to say about - I don't know - everything?" the confused mare replied, absently waving a hoof at the ground. "Where'd all the snow and mountains come from?"
        "Our processors had assumed that you were familiar with this landscape," Adam said. There was a pause before he continued, “The observation core was exploring the depths of your mind further while you slept. We have always found the absent thoughts of a pony while they sleep to be quite… interesting. At any rate, it reached a section about extensive pony history, and began to analyze the psychology surrounding it and your personal reactions. To abbreviate what could be an extensive monologue, we will simply state that the control unit was curious as to how an average pegasus like yourself would react to the same extreme temperatures that your ancestors experienced. Regard it as one of our first little science experiments, so to speak."
        "Wha—Are you crazy?" Dash countered, shaking her head in disbelief. "You—You know what’ll happen. You saw that the ancestors couldn't-"
        "Oh calm down, will you?" Adam interrupted, suddenly switching to a peculiar low tone of voice. Shifting back to his formal way of speaking, he continued, "Pardon that- It perplexes us as to how surprised you are by this. You are a pegasus, after all. You should possess the dexterity necessary to survive through a situation such as this. It is only for a brief period of time; we can’t be expected to hold you forever. Besides, we understand you're a weather pony, correct?"
        "I—Well—Uh," the mare stammered, reaching for a good comeback. "You're right." She paused to turn her glance to the ground and then brought her head back up. "Alright, that's it. I've had it with this cryptic mumbo-jumbo you've been feeding me. I want to know what you're doing with my head, and I want my answers now!" She raised her hoof and spread her wings, a piercing glare decorating her face. 
        "We would suggest for you not to be so bold with the testing core, subject Dash; know your place. You’ll soon find that this place isn’t exactly as it seems. At any rate, the test protocol states that—to ensure the stability of a testing situation such as this one and to ensure its results will not be influenced—we are not allowed to speak to you until this has concluded. Good luck!"
        "But wait!" Rainbow cried, jumping up into the air and hovering slightly. "Adam, I want to--"
        Only silence answered her plea.
        Rainbow Dash released a sigh and lowered herself back to the ground. “Well,” she mumbled to herself, “I guess there's only one thing left that I can do.” The cyan pegasus began to trudge through the snow. As she felt the icy cold powder hit her hooves, she quickly concluded these weren't the best conditions to be walking in. Returning to the cliff side, she jumped off the mountain and plummeted towards the ground below. Just as she was about to hit the treetops, her wings flew open and she made a sharp turn away from the ground. The soaring mare glided over the trees, their leaves rustling in her wake. As she flew on in the freezing conditions, she slowly felt her energy draining at an alarmingly quick rate. Reluctantly, she slowed down before coming to a halt in a clearing.
        The second her hooves touched the ground, she swallowed a large gasp of air, graciously welcoming the oxygen which flooded her lungs. Almost immediately after, the welcoming gasp gave way to one of pain. She caught herself, and took a slightly more moderate breath in. Her eyes widened in surprise. Though she had been expecting the situation to be somewhat dangerous, this seemed a bit… severe. She turned to face the trees.
        Rainbow Dash trudged on through the piled snow. She shuddered as a freezing gust of wind rustled the snowy trees' leaves. Regaining her composure, the pegasus continued. Despite her efforts, the terrain was becoming more and more difficult to traverse; she suspected that she was now walking in two feet of snow. As her forward motion grew sluggish, she froze in her tracks. In a sudden jolt of realization, the mare’s eyes lit up.
        Something was wrong.
        Until now, Rainbow Dash had never felt like she was in true danger. However, this was different. She was a weather pony—one of high regard, at that—if the temperature was growing this frigid...
        An overwhelming sense of terror washed over Dash as her heart began to rise in pace. Each bated breath which accompanied a shaky step through the mounds of snow burned her throat. The pegasus did her best to maintain a forward pace, pausing at intervals to take what struggled breaths she could muster. It had seemed a certain instinctual sense of determination had overtaken the mare, temporarily blinding her to her own fears as she scanned the environment for any method of warmth available.
        A stinging sensation had attacked her hooves, making it at once known as a serious threat. As Rainbow shambled forward, she could feel her knees almost buckle with every reluctant step. Gradually, her hooves began to lose feeling before turning completely numb; the very tips of what she required to continue on had absolutely lost all warmth. The cyan pegasus' eyes watered as she struggled to keep them open. Desperate to attain some end to the pain, Dash halted in her tracks and began to bite at her own skin, tearing at the dampened fur of her coat. Eventually, the pain of the situation became too much; the mare's legs gave out beneath her and she felt her body land on a strangely comfortable pillow of snow.
        As her vision grew hazy, her mind played with the concept of rest. Though she knew it wouldn't help her at all in her journey for shelter from the cold, it suddenly seemed like a Heaven awaiting her, beckoning to her through the frozen wasteland. A bit of mist lingered on the far edges of the forest, moving slowly through the trees. If she could just get a bit of sleep… The onset of fog approached at a rapid rate. Soon, it enveloped her entire vision, coaxing her exhausted body into a deep and peaceful slumber... 
A faint voice called to her, ushering through the sudden darkness which encircled her view.

        "This place… isn't exactly as it seems."

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2


A warm feeling enveloped Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus awoke and gasped, glancing rapidly around her surroundings before squeezing her eyes shut once more. As air flooded through her lungs, Dash held back the sudden urge to vomit. With a few blinks and another collection of easier breaths, she opened her eyes once more, bracing herself for any onslaught of attackers or snowy void or gigantic hoof preparing to crush the poor pony which may have been lurking in front of her.
        Again, her eyes slid shut.
        A blinding light had enveloped the world around her, stabbing her eyes the second she had opened them. It didn’t take long for Dash to realize that the worry of going totally blind outweighed her desire to view her surroundings; she kept her eyes shut for a few more seconds. However, she reasoned that she could make do, and a few blinks later, she was able to reopen them.
        With this, a soft feeling of peace grazed the pegasus’ hooves, gradually washing over her until it covered her entire body. Her expression mellowed, and soon changed to that of a smile. Stretching out her wings, she urged herself through the air, practically swimming through its warm depths. It felt absolutely wonderful. Dash’s crescent of a smile broke into a wide grin as she waved her legs about in midair. She played around for a bit more before shifting into a comfortable position. Her eyes sliding into mere slivers, she relaxed her muscles.  She breathed a short, peaceful sigh.
        However, in a sudden spur of movement, the white light disappeared, and Dash found herself once more alone in the cold, bitter blackness. Her eyes opened and she shifted around to study her surroundings. Her lips curled into a frown as she squinted into the darkness. Somewhere within the dark depths, she could make out a tiny, brilliant light: the very same light she had just left. The pegasus found herself floating towards it. With every inch closer she grew, the air grew warmer. It was just a bit closer. Biting her lip, she helplessly waved her wings as she willed herself towards the small light. She could practically extend her hoof and touch it.
        Then, it disappeared, and the entire world returned to its former inky blackness. She felt the illusion of buoyancy disappear completely, and she began to fall. The wind flew past her face as she plummeted through the air, plunging through infinite darkness. Something in her mind was screaming for help, but another instinctual sense gave her the sudden feeling that she would be safe. It felt like she was going somewhere, like she was preparing to take an alternate train of course...

        ~~~

        The falling sensation ended.

        Her teeth grit and her heart pounding, the curled up mare opened one curious eye. She was in a room. That much she was certain about and that was enough to provoke a sigh of relief. Opening another eye, she sat upright.
        Yes, she was indeed in a room—a nice room, at that. A smile dawned on her face as she turned to take a closer account of her surroundings. Before her was a decent bedspread, and decorating the walls were numerous bookshelves, all labeled with various and trivial subjects and pictures, but none listing their authors. On the far side of the room was a simple, blue door, and on its opposite side was a large painting, covered with cracks and—in some areas—signs of rot, depicting a large pony composed of green light floating above a large hill. As she busied herself with observing the room, a pleasant smelling waft of air caught her nose. She turned to the side.
        On a table near the bed was a fresh loaf of bread, and small slices of lettuce and assorted flowers decorated its side. With that glance, she was able to catch sight of the floor. The place was a complete mess, even for her standards. Most of her sheets collected at the bed’s foot, where they met a multitude of scraps and assorted piles of litter. Myriad papers, plates, bits of glass, and even small piles of scrap metal were strewn about the floor, and the rest was taken up by books and notepads, all opened and some dusty.
        Curiosity overtaking her, Rainbow Dash leaned down and retrieved one of the works in her teeth. Falling back onto her bed, she flipped it open across her stomach. The book was titled—in clear Equestrian at that—“Life of Natives in Modern Equestria,” and accompanied a sketch of a completely gray pony, a fur coat resting on his shoulders, standing atop a pile of snow. As the eager mare opened the book, her expression devolved into a small frown. Instead of an average book's following of a standard typed format, this one was entirely handwritten. She looked up, away from the heavy tome.
        Besides that, there was a small fireplace on the room's left side, a painting of a white unicorn directly above it, the same white unicorn at the doorway...
        Dash suppressed a gasp as she double took. Where did she come from? The thrilled pegasus jumped from her position under the covers into a full battle position, her wings flying out and raising a hoof defensively. Rainbow's gaze darted around her surroundings, rapidly attempting to rediscover the vanished unicorn.  With a quick turn left, she found the pony again, directly beside her. This time, however, the pegasus was ready; she raised her hoof and prepared to clobber her assailant's lights out.
        However, she quickly realized that the pony before her wasn't actually doing anything. It was merely standing there in a calm, collected manner, studying the cyan pegasus' every move. For the second time in what she supposed to be that day, she found herself in a standing position. Offering a quick sigh of exasperation, she dropped back onto the pillow and locked eyes with her observer.
        The unicorn had remained resolute and completely still, watching Rainbow Dash with two wide, icy blue eyes. Her coat was completely white, though layered over with dirt, as was her mane—yet a slightly grayer color. Her cutie mark was that of a wide open book, a golden pen resting on one of the pages. Before her, enveloped in a blue glow, was a tray with what appeared to be a steaming hot cup of tea. As if completely unbothered by Dash's reaction, she set the tray lightly on her chest and stepped back. After a while of the pegasus simply staring at her, she nodded towards the tray and adopted a small smile.
        Rainbow Dash nodded slowly and trained her eyes on the tea, trying to catch any waft of poison or harmful substance its server might be trying to slip by her. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, the cyan mare leaned forward and bit down on the cup, leaning back as she took an easy sip. However, the tea came out a bit quicker than she had expected. In an instant, Dash felt a raging fire envelop her entire throat as the steaming water poured from the cup. Her eyes widening, she spat the cup out, hyperventilating slightly as she flailed helplessly. After a few moments of this, she felt another glass pressed to her lips. Not caring bout its contents, she simply downed it. The cold liquid soothed her burning throat. It was water!
Breathing a sigh of relief she turned towards Wintry. Instantly, she felt a wave of realisation wash over her. That action didn't exactly complement her brave self image. Despite this, the mare's expression had not changed whatsoever, and she still sat there, silently regarding Dash. Measuring whether or not she should be drawn towards the mare for this or vaguely frightened by it, she nudged the tray back towards the mare and gave a somewhat supportive smile.
        "Uh, thanks," she said.
        The unicorn's mouth practically gaped open at this. Her eyes seeming to widen with delight, she took a step back, nervously calculating this absolutely riveting change of events. Dash however, kept her mouth closed as she observed the mare's disproportionate astonishment.
        "You—You can talk?!" the unicorn squealed out. "How on Earth can you talk? What are you? Are you a native? Were you cast out by your society? How much can you remember? What's your name? Are your—“
        Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on the unicorn's mouth. "That's, uh—That’s good enough. Please, gimme some time to actually talk."
        As Dash's hoof dropped from her face, the white mare cleared her throat. "Oh- I'm sorry. Well, who are you then?"
        Observing the mare's tentative gaze, the pegasus responded, "I'm Rainbow Dash. I'm just a pony. Now calm down." At this, the mare's eyes widened.
        "A pony? You even classify yourself as an offshoot of your precise species! Oh, please tell me, where are you from? What happened before I found you? I—“ The unicorn halted, and a look of sudden realization washed over her face. "I'll go get you a warm towel." In a flash, she was gone.
        Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow, but soon released a sigh. Shifting around to the end of the bed, she began to ease herself out from beneath the covers, securing a safe position before dropping onto the stone ground. Her legs wobbled as she maintained a secure position. It felt like they hadn't been used in days, even weeks. Stretching a bit, she tried to collect her thoughts. What had happened before she arrived here? Before she could create a clear thought, the unicorn reappeared.
        In a second, a warm, wet towel was thrown over her head, and Rainbow Dash collapsed onto the ground. Not even caring enough to take notice, the unicorn was off, bouncing around her wide room and throwing books off shelves. Meanwhile, a constant stream of monologue exited her lips as she excitedly wondered to herself.
        "Oh dear! A talking native! What a victory this is for my personal science! I could teach other ones to talk, perhaps develop my own religion! First though, I have to question this one. Oh, what to ask it first! What to do first!"
        "Well, for starters, you could take this towel off my face," deadpanned Rainbow Dash.
        "Oh, yes, that." With a quick aim of her horn, the towel flew off Dash's face and landed on the floor next to her.
        "So, how, um—How did it happen?"
        "How did what happen?" Dash drew herself up into a standing position.
        "Well, I found you passed out in a small hole off the forest. I don't think a mare would normally do that on a whim."
        Suddenly, the images returned to Dash. She recalled the freezing cold weather, her legs burning as she trudged through the snow, and the deep voice of something she couldn't quite put her finger on. The flood of memories caused her to go slightly lightheaded for a brief moment. Then, an obtrusive thought caught her mind. She had almost died. A pegasus like herself, one of such high regard, had almost perished of hypothermia out in the very cold she was meant to control. The unicorn before her had saved her life.
        "What was your name?" the pegasus asked, a curious eye turned on the mare.
        "Wintry," she replied.

        ~~~

        Wintry and Dash sat in silence across from each other, two piping hot cups of tea sitting between them. Dash paused briefly and took a sip of water as she felt the warmth of the fireplace on her back. This place was especially pleasant, even in comparison to the bedroom she had awoken in. Several more paintings adorned the wall, either of the peculiar gray ponies or the strange, green alicorn. The area was lit by several dim candles, which flickered in the window, casting light on the numerous fur rugs spread across the wooden floor. On the far side of the room was what appeared to be an iron door; on it, across a makeshift shelf, was a small crowbar. Suddenly, Wintry interrupted Dash's observations.
        "So that's all?"
        "That's all," Dash replied, allowing her shoulders to relax in the atmosphere of the room.
        For a while, they both sat in silence, the only audible noise being the ticking of a clock on the wall nearby. Wintry seemed to be staring down into her tea, either mesmerized or horrified by it. Dash wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter; she still couldn't quite explain the odd behavior of the mare.
        "So, anyway, what did you say the name of that voice was?" Wintry said, her head drifting upwards and her eyes locking on the pegasus. Dash furrowed her brow and looked upwards for a moment.
        "Uh, I think it was Adam," the pegasus finally replied.
        "Peculiar, simply peculiar."
        "What is?"
        "Nothing." Silence for a brief moment, and then she continued, "Actually… Well, I don't quite know how to explain this. You're description of this 'Adam' character was interesting. You see those paintings scattered about the walls?"
        Rainbow Dash nodded.
        "They're actually based on true visions I've had. For a long time, I had this strange, recurrent dream. In it, I was always face to face with that large, green thing." Wintry absently waved a hoof at one of the larger portraits.
        "An alicorn, you mean?" Dash interrupted.
        "Oh? What's that?"
        "It's sort of a mix of a pegasus and a unicorn. I—Hold on, you don't know what one is?"
        "No." The unicorn's face was painted over with a completely clueless expression.
        "Oh, well, it's not really too important. So, what were you saying?"
        Wintry paused momentarily. "Well, in the dream, I was right up next to this thing. Its voice was deep, just like you said. However, it was always… slightly cruel. He demanded things of me. They were related to my survival, but they were always lofty, lofty commands. I don't know. I guess I've come to view him as… something else, perhaps otherworldly."
        Another period of silence followed. Then, Wintry arose and pushed her cup of tea deeper into the table. Crossing the room and adopting a sudden jubilant expression, she began to tear books from her shelf, pausing to look at the cover of each one before throwing it aside.
        "What in Equestria are you doing?" the confused pegasus queried from the couch.
        "Searching around… There's something I wanted to show you. I can't remember its specific name, though. I thought this would perhaps jog my memory. Aha!"
        Wintry produced a thick yellow book and waved it victoriously over her head. Promptly, she returned to the couch and threw the book in front of Dash, flipping rapidly through the pages before coming to an abrupt halt. The picture before her was a large portrait of the exact same alicorn, posing in a standing, courageous pose with two lightning bugs at his lower hooves. The scale of the pony was majestic, almost on-par with somepony else… Dash's memory seemed to be slipping her again. Presently, however, Dash realized that the picture was not the main focus of Wintry's display. A single, white hoof tapped on the practically scribbled words beside it.
        "Atamots," Dash read aloud, "a character from ancient native mythology, practically dating before the ponies rose to power as the dominant race. The 'Green Unicorn,’ as the natives call it, is a majestic creature supposedly responsible for the origins of the universe. So far, minimal solid evidence has been found on it, but it can be assumed that it is regarded as a deity by many of the tribes, and is worshipped quite profusely. Despite this, nothing would suggest that it actually exists." With these final words, the book snapped shut and was returned to its position on the shelf.
        "Wow," Dash said as Wintry walked about her room, "that's freaky. Who wrote that?"
        "I did," replied the white unicorn. "I wrote every single book you see here. It's my hard research, and I initially meant to reserve it for my eyes alone, at least until the natives..." Her monologue devolved into a collection of incoherent mutterings, before her voice rose once more as she addressed Dash. "Anyway, those details are irrelevant." She paused again, this time in silence, before speaking once more, "There's something I really want to show you."
        "What is it?" the mare asked, shifting off of the couch and landing on the floor with an abrupt pat.
        "It's… a bit shocking, and it's more or less solely related to my studies, but I think you'd like to see it."
        Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and studied the mare. The look on Wintry's face was seemingly that of pure innocence; there wasn't anything to reveal that the unicorn was lying from what she could see. If this mare had actually saved her life, then Dash suspected that she was one to be trusted. Rainbow Dash let loose a sigh, and smiled at the unicorn.
        "Alright, I'll see what you have to show me."
        "Fantastic!" the suddenly excited pony replied. "Hold on, I'll go gather some shoes for your head and a hat for your feet! Wait--" The mare paused and stared upwards, then shook her head. "Never mind. I'll just go get you appropriate clothing."
        Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and turned to look at the fire. As she felt the warmth graze her skin, she moved closer to it, finally sitting down upon the cold, stone hearth. After the nightmare she had just experienced, the warmth of the fireplace seemed so relaxing. Before she knew it, she was coaxed into a somewhat dreary state, almost hypnotic. Her eyelids drifted shut, and she felt herself slipping away into a pleasant slumber.
        "Hello again, subject Dash. How are you cooperating with subject Wintry?"
        Rainbow Dash opened one weary eye to look upon the fire. Two small circles of intense fire had appeared in them, practically protruding from the rest. As she stared into those flaming orbs, she could almost make out tiny ones and zeros flying across them, moving so fast she could hardly make them out in the blur.
        "Adam?" the sleepy mare answered, pausing for a yawn. She almost felt as if she should have been angry, but the warmth of the fire had grown intoxicating. Any hostilities she felt quickly mellowed out into meditative peace.
        "Yes, this is the control unit," he replied, his two eyes almost shifting into a devious expression.
        "What're you doin' here?"
        "We have decided it would be most beneficial to permit regular status updates with you, as our primary subject. Did we not speak of that? Anyway, as is stated in protocol, how realistic do you find this setting?"
        "Hold on." Rainbow Dash paused, and trained her eyes on the ground. Then, she raised her head once more, turning to look behind her. "Are you saying that this entire world is phony? You made it to just—I dunno—test what I'd do in it?"
        "Well, we can assume it is more or less realistic, then," Adam replied, his own eyes training on the mare. "Anyway, to answer your question, yes, in some ways. This world was predetermined many years ago. It was a habitat that was set up to simulate life on a mass scale. Subject Wintry was placed in it when she was a foal. You merely have been inserted into it to accompany her. She has, after all, never seen another pony before. We decided that our chambers would almost matter nothing if an element of cooperation was not implemented. You do, after all, enjoy adventure, don't you? We thought that this environment would be most suitable for a pegasus like you."
        "Uh—Yeah, I guess," she answered half-mindedly. Suddenly, something within her clicked, and she began to feel herself returning to lucidity. "Wait a second. Why did you throw me in to that really cold place earlier on?"
        "It's simple," replied the flames, its two eyes shifting into a more relaxed expression. "I was testing to see whether you could withstand those types of conditions or not. We cannot take every mare we choose for testing, you know. I guess you could say your primal survival instincts truly saved your flank back there, did they not?"
        The cyan pegasus furrowed her brow as she frowned at the flames, now rising to a standing position. "Wait, that doesn't explain why you'd--"
        "Farewell, subject Dash. We think your friend wants to speak to you. We will give you another checkup later on. Please, withhold your queries until then."
        "Dash?" another voice interrupted. “Who are you talking to?” The two eyes in the fire swirled back into an inconsistent lick of flames. Rainbow Dash shook her head and turned to see Wintry at the doorway. She was dressed in a large fur coat, and a pair of protective goggles was fastened around her head. Levitating next to her was a matching outfit.
        “Uh, nopony.”
        "Ah. Well, anyway, I don't specifically know why I made two pairs of these things, but you never know, right?" the mare spoke as she placed the clothes at Rainbow Dash's hooves. "Anyway, get these on. We're going to venture out into the unknown, fighting life as it comes to us. Fantastic, no? It's going to be so much fun exploring this place with somepony else! I mean, I've never really done it with anypony else. I could take you to—Wait, Dash, is there something wrong?"
        Her head snapping back up, Dash looked at Wintry. For a moment, she looked suspiciously at the bright-eyed pony, but then turned away. She shook her head, and put on a smile. "No, nothing's wrong. Let's go."
        "Great!" the mare replied, closing her eyes as her own grin popped onto her face.
        Dash quickly slipped on the clothing. In the warmth of the house, it was almost overwhelmingly hot, but it didn't matter. She turned to Wintry. The unicorn was watching her intently, and with this done, she turned to the large iron door. With a quick flick of her horn, it flew open. The unicorn stepped forward, onto the far side. Turning back, she beckoned with her hoof as she spoke a few confident words:
        "Just follow my lead."

> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


CHAPTER 3


        A flutter of snowflakes caught onto Rainbow Dash's nose. She looked down at them, crossing her eyes to get a better view. Sighing, she shook her snout quickly, flinging the ice to the ground, and began to trudge through the deep snow. The heavy coat's soft wool and overly large size was an excellent defense against the bitter cold hanging in the air. At this, Rainbow smiled as she stepped through the snow. Across the clearing, Wintry was tapping her hoof expectantly as she stared deep into its multitude of trees.
        The conifers extended to kiss the sky, jutting out from the horizon as skyscrapers would in Manehattan. Bits of snow hung on their long branches, which dipped from the weight into the bushy undergrowth. Above, mighty mountains punctured the skyline, with their snow-capped tips touching the clouds and their deep valleys extending ground level. All over, small ponds littered the countryside, and lengthy rivers trickled down the tall hills. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. She suppressed a gasp of surprise as she stood in an amazed stupor.
        "Wow, Wintry," she said, shifting her gaze to the waiting unicorn, "this is awesome!"
        "I know," replied her friend, somewhat dreamily. "This has been my world my entire life. It's why I stay on the constant move: so that I can renew its beauty with every new home." She shifted around, and slipped off of a tree stump she had been resting on. "Anyway, we need to get moving. It's best to catch 'em by surprise. They'll move on if we're too late. Oh, please let them be there."
        Rainbow Dash nodded in reply. After a second of staring at the forest, Wintry began to walk, stepping directly into the bush. Almost instinctually, Dash moved to jump into the air, but quickly found that her wings were suppressed. A wave of fear washing over her, she peeked backwards, only to see her coat fastened tightly around her body. Her muscles relaxing, she let go a sigh of relief.
        "Oh, yeah, that," she commented to nopony in particular. Raising her voice, she continued, "Well, that's kind of dumb, isn't it?"
        Wintry halted and turned round. "Just keep with it, Dash," she replied, shifting her gaze forward and continuing on. "Though it may seem inconvenient, it's only to keep the cold out. Come on."
        Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and nodded. After joining Wintry in the underbrush and narrowing her eyes in an excited expression, the two walked on for a while, neither one specifically speaking to the other. The only sound was the faint calls of the birds that echoed through the trees as the two ponies crushed sticks beneath their hooves. After a long period of walking, the mighty trees gave way to a wide clearing. As the clouds began to part, the sun shone on a single cracked sign at the field's edge. Dash drew closer and locked her gaze on a few familiar words.
        "Welcome to Ponyville."
        Something within Dash's mind a memory stirred. She recognized this sign. Somewhere, in the vague recesses of her mind, she could remember seeing it before. Stepping to the side, she peered around its edge.
        Despite the wool of the coat, a cold sensation washed over Rainbow Dash as she stared at a single house, half of it reduced to rubble. As she walked into the town, her gaze passed over several more houses. A few of the buildings had rotted away, leaving only a few floorboards and support beams still standing. Others had frozen over, barring all access to their contents, and perhaps, Dash thought as another chill ran down her spine, their residents. She shook the feeling off as she continued on her path. Meanwhile, Wintry had produced a large crowbar and was banging it on one of the rotting doors.
        "Wintry, what're you doing?" Dash called out as she cantered over to the unicorn.
        "Come on, open up!" she yelled, ignoring the mare. "Open up, you idiots!" As she spoke, her assault against the door grew stronger, until she was putting leaning fully into it, pausing at intervals to catch her breath. Finally, the door gave way and the unicorn crashed through the hole. Dash followed, jumping through and offering a hoof to help Wintry up. She rose shakily to her feet and returned the crowbar to a small leather holster on her back. "Well," she said, "they certainly aren't stubborn."
        The interior of the building looked almost no different than its exterior. With every step Dash took across the rotting floorboards, a cloud of dust flew into the musty smelling air. A few areas of the house had frozen over completely, and coverings of snow had collected near many of the broken windows which shed the only source of light in the dark house. A strange silence hung about the room. Dash crossed the floor and met Wintry, who was standing in a small corner next to a lump of trembling covers against a wall. She was lightly tapping the lump with her crowbar.
        "Wintry, what're you--"
        "Sh!" The unicorn turned round abruptly, raising her weapon to her lips. After a moment of staring into Dash's eyes, she looked back at the covers, holstering her bar.
        "Alright, alright, don't hide!" the unicorn said reassuringly, "I'm good. It's Wintry, remember? Remember Wintry?"
        With a sudden shift of the large, furry mass, the covers slipped off. A single, nervous, glowing eye peeked out of the shade, followed by another. Soon, an entire pony slipped out of the covers, brushing itself off as it studied Wintry. It turned from her to Dash, and stopped cold.        Another moment and it was rushing towards the door, away from the newcomer. In a flash, Wintry was at the door, blocking its escape.
        "It's good!" the surprised unicorn said, "It's good! Calm now. She's a friend. No need to worry! Just calm down, alright?" The peculiar gray pony gave a short whimper in response. It was at this time that Dash caught a good view of the newcomer. It was completely gray, from head to hoof, with a matching mane. Directly under its mouth was a large seal, covered completely in stitches, which seemed to act as its mouth. Two glowing white eyes punctuated its face, and its flank was completely barren, though it appeared to be a fully grown mare. The pony shuffled around nervously as Dash studied her.
        Rainbow Dash turned to Wintry, whose eyes were still locked on the pony. "Who's that?"
        "That," Wintry answered, "is a native of this land. I've never been able to fully understand them, but they're quite friendly. They populate these small ruins. While they don't exactly live sanitarily, sleeping here's definitely safer than the woods, so I can't judge them. Terribly frightened of strangers." Wintry walked over and patted it on the back. "This is Dash. She's nice."
        The mare nodded and looked over at the pegasus.
        "You had anything to eat today?"
        Another nod.
        "It's the problem with these things," the unicorn sighed, turning to Dash. "Totally mute. You can't get any words out of 'em. Still understand you, though. And very loyal." Wintry turned to the door and motioned to both ponies. "Come on, guys, we need to get out of here." Nodding, Rainbow Dash followed suit. The native, who had been watching the pegasus intently, mimicked the nod and followed Dash's path.
        As the group walked out into the town, Rainbow allowed her gaze to wander about the environment. Her eyes locked on a long, tall building and she cocked her head. Something was familiar about it, but she couldn't quite put a hoof on exactly what. As she grew closer, her vision became hazy. She tried to focus her eyes as she studied a sign at the building's doorway.
        "Sugarcube Corner"

        ~~~

        Dash found herself sitting in a small room, which was covered from top to bottom in a cloudy haze. Before her was a table, but nothing beyond there was visible. As she squinted, she could just make out the darkened silhouettes of five other ponies beyond the fog. Now, as she listened closely, she could hear them too! She could faintly pick up giggling, and the ponies chatting amongst each other. As she took a deep breath in, she could smell the scent of sweets, and something baking in the other room.
        As she sat there, her mind completely boggled by the sudden occurrence, she could just make out a voice calling to her from somewhere in the distance. "Rainbow..." She looked around, and turned left. Directly beside her was a completely pink pony, a wide smile painted across her face. As she stared into her deep blue eyes, three words echoed through her mind.
        "An earth pony."
        The words made her muscles relax. They were pleasant to hear, and caused a pang of nostalgia to cross her mind. However, the clouds began to circle, and soon her entire world was swirling violently, the fog encircling her vision. She squeezed her eyes shut. Through the darkness, two eyes peeked through.

        ~~~

        Indeed, both Wintry and the native were staring at her. The faint voice of the unicorn spoke, as if muffled, into her mind, and she began to come back to her senses.
        "Dash? Dash? Are you okay?"
        Rainbow found herself on the ground, turned over on her back. Her eyes shot open, and she frantically waved her hooves around, trying to find a comfortable position to stand. She could hear Wintry let loose a giggle. Quickly, the pegasus stood and shot the mare a piercing glare. This only elicited another giggle before she turned away. The native looked on ever so curiously. Sighing, Dash stood upright and walked over to the unicorn, holding back the urge to clobber her in the forehead.
        "Don't you dare laugh at me, you--" Dash paused mid-sentence. Wintry had her eyes trained on the tree line. She wasn't even paying the smallest sliver of attention the mare. "Wintry, what's wrong?"
        "I hope we don't have to find out," she answered, her eyes still trained on the edge of the forest. Turning, she looked down briefly, then up once more. "We'd better get going. It isn't wise to hang around here when night falls."
        "Why's that?"
        All of a sudden, the sound of a stick cracking echoed across the field. Rainbow stopped, and turned to face the forest. There, in the pitch black shade beneath the leaves, peeked out a few pairs of gleaming yellow eyes, unblinking. As the three ponies looked on, a few of them stepped forward into the dying light of day. At first glance, Dash assumed them to be average natives. They had the same blank flanks, eyes, and even stitched over mouths. However, as she squinted against the setting sun, she could make out a few differences. Their coats were absolutely black, and their manes were all a dark shade of purple. As they gathered into groups, the pegasus turned to Wintry.
        "What in Equestria are those things?" Dash questioned, staring on at the still, silent group, who were all staring at the trio of ponies.
        "They're the hostile natives, known as the ‘Nasties’ in friendly native terminology. They--"
        Before Wintry could finish her sentence, the entire group broke into a charge. Beside the two, the friendly native's eyes curled into two small, glaring dots. Suddenly, he began to charge at the Nasties himself. However, the second the two met in the middle of the field, he was instantly knocked aside as the group advanced, heading straight for the unicorn and pegasus. With a loud grating sound, Wintry drew her crowbar, holding it in the air beside her face.
        "Dash! Take this!" Wintry shouted, throwing a large stick in her direction. The pegasus caught it with her mouth midair, and instantly turned to see the a Nasty only five feet away. Then, both sides sprang into action.
        Rainbow Dash swung her stick at one of the Nasties’ heads, and it connected with a sickening crack. The pony fell to the ground, its legs sprawling across the floor as it let out a faint moan. Swiveling around on her hoof, she found herself face to face with another. This one had opened its wide mouth, revealing rows of shimmering, sharp teeth. Dash, her mouth hanging open, desperately attempted to shift away as the pony jumped her. Feeling a stab of searing pain, she looked down to see the pony's mouth latched on to one of her legs, blood trickling down its chin. Dash acted quickly, throwing the pony off and hitting it with the now heavily-damaged stick.
        "Dash, help!" Dash turned to notice Wintry, who was desperately swinging her crowbar at a group of oncoming Nasties. However, she was too far away to reach her on hoof. With her wings restrained, there was no way she could reach her quickly enough. Unless…
        Dash quickly stripped off her coat and spread her wings. In a flash, she was over to Wintry, biting the back of one of the Nasties. As she flapped her wings as hard as she could, she began to lift the pony off the ground. The monster kicking around under her, she flew into the sky, directly over the forest. Then, in one single action, she threw him through the air, watching as he dropped toward the trees. Turning, she repeated the action with another. When she saw that Wintry was doing fine with her battle, she quickly swooped down and assisted her.
        There were two Nasties left. Rushing into the center of battle, Dash turned round and bucked one of them directly in the face, turning to see it fall to the ground. Swiveling to face her rear once more, she caught sight of Wintry. The unicorn was levitating a large, limp object before her, swinging it around as an ensuing Nasty lunged at her. Around the object, she was defensively swinging her crowbar, trying to land whatever hits she could. As Dash turned to approach her friend, she got a better view of what exactly Wintry was using to defend herself. Now, she could see that it was large, and gray. As her gaze ran up the supposed shield, she caught sight of something that made her mouth drop open.
        The two dim yellow lights of the native's eyes.
        She acted quickly. Breaking into a gallop, she charged Wintry, quickly turning round and bucking the helpless Native out of harm's way. In doing so, she opened herself to the wide attack of a Nasty, who quickly jumped forward to take a large bite out of Dash's leg. She cringed, but stayed put, keeping herself between the monster and her own friend. Then, with the swift kick of her foreleg, she brought the pony to the floor.
        Both ponies turned to stare at the last Nasty, who had left himself completely open in the middle of the field. He looked left and right, and then, calculating his odds and deciding they weren't exactly in his favor, quickly twirled around and galloped into the forest. Dash spread her wings and prepared to give chase, but Wintry quickly stuck out a hoof, preventing her from moving forward.
        "It's not worth it; let him run."
        Rainbow sighed and retracted her wings.
        "Alright," said Wintry, shifting around on her hooves, "that was close. Too close. We'd better get going. Now."
        "Hold on a second," Dash said. She turned and stared at the fallen native, who was spread out across the floor, breathing heavily. His body was covered in scrapes and gashes, and a few deep bite marks decorated his neck. Beside him, a scene of carnage stretched out. The bodies of Nasties were sprawled across the ground, some giving forth labored breaths, but others totally still. A multitude of feelings were rushing through Dash's head; some were of a deep sense of horror, and others of awe. Besides in storybooks, she had never seriously seen death. This was the first time she had taken another creature's life. It was oddly exhilarating.
        However, her eyes narrowed as they fell on the body of the Native once more. She crossed the field and placed a hoof on his coat, attempting to shake him awake. After a few small, easy nudges, one of his eyes opened, only to close once more. His breath was coming out with much difficulty. It sent a shiver down Dash's spine. Turning, she locked eyes with Wintry, who had followed the pegasus.
        "Wintry--I--How could you--Why did you throw that native in front of you back in the fight?"
        Wintry raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
        "You used somepony who you called a friend as a pony shield." Dash's words were half sputtered out, and her two eyes were burning with a fiery light.
        "It's only a native." Wintry's expression was grim, but more or less blank. "Their main purpose in life is to protect their tribe. If they die doing so, they'll have achieved their greatest goal. There really isn't too much to say besides 'I'm sorry.' Just leave him, and we'll move on."
        "I--" Dash coughed, and stamped a hoof on the ground. "No! You can't just…" Dash dropped to the ground, and put a hoof on the native's body. "He's still breathing, and his heart rate's fine. I think. If we can get him back to the shelter, we can fix him up. We can't just let him die here."
        Wintry rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Alright. If you want to save him, you can." She turned around and began to walk through the snow, back towards the forest. Dash, biting onto one of the native's hooves, began to drag him across the ground, taking glances behind as she did so. The white unicorn walked close ahead. Her head was turned towards the forest, and her visage was decorated with a look of contemplation. As she walked, she clicked her tongue slightly. Finally, she spoke, peircing the silence that had formed between the two.
        "Dash. Frankly, I'm quite surprised. I had no idea you were that sensitive to this type of thing. I mean, this is nature." Rainbow remained completely silent. Hearing no response, the unicorn's ears pricked up, and she turned around, frowning.
        
        "You really have to learn to sacrifice a few lives if you want to get by in this day and age."