> Eye of the Storm
>  by VeryEpic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The streets of New York were surprisingly empty. The night was unusually calm for the city that never sleeps, almost unusually so. Never the less, the bag of shopping you had just purchased was in your hand and you were ready to make your way back to your apartment. Sure, you weren’t exactly living the high life, but you enjoyed what you had. All you really needed to be happy was a bed, a computer and a TV.

Of course, you also needed food to keep yourself alive, which is exactly why you were out right now. Why not buy food in the day? Well, you’d like to say you were busy, but in reality you just forgot. Your life wasn’t exactly busy, but quite often you find yourself getting wrapped up in TV shows, many in the likes of ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’. More often than not you get so engrossed the whole world seems to fade away around you, immersing yourself in that world. For some reason, the show always held a special place in your heart, due to its fantasy setting, un-plagued by the real world, and the amazing characters.

Anyway, right now you had to get back to your apartment and get some rest. It was surprisingly late, and the queue at the store was abnormally long. 

After a 5 minute walk, you finally reached the intersection that had been under some maintenance for quite some time. The only way to your apartment block from here was to cut through an alleyway. The dark, sinister, definitely not dangerous alleyway. The street lights failed to shine down this crack between buildings, leaving it left in the shadows. But you knew you had no choice but to pass through it.

You’re not scared of the dark, yet something about this alley set of a sense of panic within you. It had always made you feel uneasy, due to it being so close to you’re home, but never straight up panicked. Something was wrong, you could feel it. The presence of eyes piercing you suddenly made every hair on your body stand on end. Was it paranoia? You hoped it was, but to your dismay, you got to see firsthand the cause of your uneasiness. 

Three hooded figures, barely distinguishable, emerged from around the corner. Their faces were covered by shadow, yet a flash of light caught your eye, slightly below one of their waists.

“Grab ‘em,” The middle figure commanded in a leader-like tone. His voice was raspy, almost like he hadn’t talked in weeks. Frozen by your own fear, your arms are held behind your back by a fourth figure who had approached from behind. Forcefully, he pushed you against the cold surface of the wall, slamming your face into it.

The commanding figure grabbed you by the hair, twisting your head around to face him, but even then his face remained unidentifiable.
“Got any cash on ya?” He asked, but something told you he was gonna take something from you either way. His breath smelt like cigarettes, but that was the least of your worries. Now you were up close and personal, you could see what had caused the light reflection earlier. In his left hand he held a somewhat large knife. This was gonna end badly.

There was nothing you could do. You tried to fight, yet your pinned arms could not nothing but burn with effort. You couldn’t run, as you were surrounded by the figures friends. All you could do was answer.
“N-no...” You responded to him. And you were being honest. You had only brought enough money to cover the food you needed, but surprisingly, the figure didn’t accuse you of lying like most of these stereotypical muggers would do in this situation. Instead, he gave you a much more chilling response.

He laughed. Through the dark shadow on his face, you could faintly see a sick smirk grow on his face.
“Guess I’ll be taking something else from ya instead,” He stated. You wanted to question to him, but before long you didn’t need to.

The blade sunk into your chest as you were twisted around to face him. It didn’t hurt, not a single bit. You simply stared at the blade lodged in your chest. 
The mugger pulled the knife out of your chest, and plunged it back in slightly above the first wound. Again, no pain came. You watched the knife puncture your chest again, and then turned your gaze back up to him.

Your arms were free, yet you didn’t have the energy to fight. You saw the blood spilling out of your chest, and then felt your breathing become heavy. Now face to face with death, you stare at the knife wielding crook and smirk. You laugh softly, realising how stupid of a way this is to go out, but no laugh came out. Instead, drops of blood shot out your mouth and leaked slightly down your lip. The knife had done some serious damage to you.

You understood what he meant know. He meant your life. He was taking your life away from you.

Satisfied, the gang turned and left the scene, leaving you to bleed out. You slumped against the cold wall, sliding down until you sat on the floor. Your hand rested on your bleeding chest as black fog closed in around your vision. The empty void of death was welcoming you with open arms, and you accepted. 

As the dark embrace of death consumed you, the feeling of breathlessness vanished, replaced by a feeling of peace. A feeling of harmony. And it stayed like that for a while. All you could see was a wall of darkness. No pain, and no feelings other than relaxation. 

But then, once again, your senses had been warped around in less than a second. It almost felt like wind was beating against you heavily, as if you were...

Falling...

Then, almost expectantly, the dark void returned as you felt your body collide with the ground. You weren’t conscious long enough to feel the pain, yet the sound you heard. A horrifying crunch of what you assumed to be your bones shattering as your terminal velocity fall was halted in an instant.

But this time you were more than ready for death, for you already knew what it felt like.

But nobody will ever be ready for what comes after it.
> Chapter 1 - Awakening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At last, after what felt like hours of staring at nothing but darkness, your senses slowly began to return to you. The smell of nature filled your lungs, despite not fully knowing what exactly nature smells like. You could feel warmth on your body, making you realise you were outside as the sun beats down on you. Nearby, it sounds like a river is flowing, and it’s almost relaxing.

As you finally awaken, you realise that you’re in a forest. How the hell did you get into a forest?

You painfully recall the last few moments before you awoke here. The alleyway, the stabbing, and lastly the falling. You could have sworn you heard your bones breaking upon impact with the floor, yet you could feel yourself stretch out perfectly fine. You decide to roll over onto your back, yet all you can feel is unimaginable pain radiate through your entire body. It looks like the fall did some damage after all.

“Am I dead?” You ask yourself. Surely not, dead people can’t feel pain.

You stretch what you assumed to be your arms out in front in you, but something was very wrong. They weren’t a distorted mess of broken bones like you thought, but they weren’t exactly fine either. Before you, you’re arms had been transformed into two grey cylindrical limbs that did not have any form of hands at the end. They were just smooth.

“What the hell?” You say out loud.

Surely you didn’t lose both your hands in the fall. Especially this painlessly. Speaking of which, how did you even get that high up to begin with?

Despite the throbbing pain in your back, you attempt to raise yourself from the slightly sharp grass you were laying on. Similarly to your ‘arms’, you couldn’t feel any feet on your legs either. Using all your energy, you attempt to balance yourself on your hind legs, but to no avail.

Almost instantly, you fall back and another wave of unimaginable pain shoots through you, with a strange crunching sound. Sitting up, you stare at you legs and arms. Something about them seems incredibly familiar. With new courage, you decide to try getting up again, but, as embarrassing as it may be, decide to stick with all fours. Surprisingly, it feels strangely comfortable, almost as if it was what you were intended to do this whole time.

Suddenly, the feeling of thirst hits you. The dryness in your throat quickly makes itself apparent, and you rush over to the nearby river you had heard. You instinctively reach your forelegs into the rushing water and attempt to bowl the water, but quickly remember you were now lacking hands, so instead dip your head into the water. The river’s water quickly soothes your dry throat, and you slowly raise you mouth from the gushing stream.

Staring into the water’s reflective surface, you see something that you realise may explain the changes to your arms and legs. Your face now matched that of a pony from ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic‘. Your eyes were large and yellow, yet your coat was a contrasting grey colour. Your mane seemed almost similar to that of Rainbow Dash’s, yet a lot shorter and was a bright yellow, contrasting your grey coat.

And then you saw your cutie mark. It was simply a cloud, with a large yellow bolt of lightning emerging from it. Once again, pretty similar to Rainbow Dash. Slightly unoriginal, but you didn’t mind it. Unsurprisingly, you had no idea what it meant, but you were sure you’d find out at some point. Then, you saw the cause of the crippling pain you had been experiencing.

Cringing with slight pain, you see a pair of grey wings at your sides, folded unnaturally and unsymmetrically. That must have also been the cause of the horrific crunching sound you had heard. It was the sound of your wings folding and breaking against their will. You figured your now inactive wings were the reason you had fell from so far, but you had no idea how to fly so how did...

Then it dawned on you...

“How did I get here?” You ask yourself in a panic. There was no way to explain it other than that you died and went to the afterlife, but this all felt too surreal to be the afterlife. You reach a foreleg round to your broken wings and tap them lightly, and sure enough, you cringe with pain.

This was very real. And you had no idea how to process it.

This whole time, the show you had been adorned with was actually real, existing in an alternate reality. This whole time the characters you had been so engrossed with have been genuinely living their lives, with their own free wills. It was almost to much for you to handle. You could feel yourself about to pass out under the pressure, but before you could black out for a third time in the day, the sound of footsteps suddenly puts you on alert.

The soft steps sound like they are slowly approaching, as the occasional branch snaps beneath their feet. Whatever or whoever it is, you didn’t want a confrontation, especially as you had no idea what the hell was going on right now. You could not wrap your head around the fact that you were a pony. 

Making a split second decision, you decide to hide in a large bush that shrouded the base of a nearby tree. Looking out from between the leaves, you eventually saw the cause of the footsteps. Emerging from between the trees stood Twilight Sparkle, confirming your belief that you were indeed inside of Equestria.

“Hello?” Twilight shouts, loudly. She seems to be looking for someone, or somepony. “I saw you crash down! Are you ok?” She questions, still shouting. Finally, you decide to emerge from your bush and greet the princess.

“Princess-“ you say timidly, unsure of how to greet one of the princesses of Equestria.

A look of shock overcomes Twilight’s face as she stares at your crippled wings. “O-oh... you’re wings...” she states, a look of grimace on her face.

You were new to this world, more confused than you had ever been, but you still knew you had to act formally around royalty.
“Sorry if I caused any disturbance, Princess.” you reply, worried amount formalities.

Thankfully, the Alicorn didn’t question your knowledge of her royalty, and instead giggled at your formality. 
“Oh, there’s no need for that! Please, call me Twilight,” she says, smiling warmly. “But how exactly did that happen to your wings, if you don’t mind me asking.”

Great. How were you gonna explain something that even you didn’t understand. You had to make up a story, and fast.
“Um... well, I was out flying, and then out of nowhere I crash into a cloud and...” You pause momentarily. “I guess you know the rest.”
That was good, let’s just hope it’s believable enough for her.

“Well, it doesn’t look like you’ll be flying again any time soon,” she informs you, a look of regret on her face. “I don’t supposed you have any way back home?“
Back home. You didn’t even know where home is, let alone a way back to it. You shake your head, looking at the floor wondering how the Alicorn would respond to this.

“Don’t worry, you can stay with me until your wings heal up if you’d like!” The smile returns to her face, as well as a sparkle in her eyes.

“Really?” You ask. You were really blown away by the kindness Twilight was showing you, when anyone back on Earth would’ve just ignored you.

“Sure! As Princess it is my duty to look after other ponies. You can stay with me at the Golden Oak Library until you can get back home.” She states, reassuringly.

Knowing the characters as well as you do, you knew Pinkie Pie was going to throw a party welcoming you, wether you were supposed to be just passing through or not. You weren’t complaining, a party means free food. “Are you sure? I mean, you only just met me...”

That same smile never leaves Twilight’s face. “I’m sure, and in the condition your in without proper help you won’t ever be getting home.”
It felt strange having such kindness showed to you, especially after the events of New York City, which were still painful to recall.



The blade sunk into your chest as you were twisted around to face him. It didn’t hurt, not a single bit. You simply stared at the blade lodged in your chest. The mugger pulled the knife out of your chest, and plunged it back in slightly above the first wound. Again, no pain came. You watched the knife puncture your chest again, and then turned your gaze back up to him.



Snapping out of your traumatic trance, you quickly thank Twilight for her actions.
“Thank you, Twilight, but It really doesn’t feel right without doing something in return...” You politely state as you begin following her through the forest.

“Well, you could start by telling me your name!” Twilight laughs.

“O-oh, right!” You’re name. You had never thought of what your pony name could be. No human name, no matter how bizarre, would ever seem right here. Remembering your mane colour, you think of grey skies and lightning.
“Storm...” That’s a good start. But what next. There were so many words to choose from. Storm Bolt, Storm Surge, Storm Flash.
But eventually you settle with the name Storm Strike.

Was that a strange name? You had no idea, but you thought the alliteration sounds cool and your mane looks like a storm cloud, so you think it fits.

“So, Storm Strike, once we get to the library I’m gonna need to patch up your wings using some unicorn magic to let them heal up as quickly as possible.” It looks like your new name is just fine. “And, just by chance, do you happen to be living near or in Ponyville?”

Twilight turns to face you, waiting for your answer.
“I actually live in Cloudsdale, but you know... Wings...” you lie. Thankfully, even an Alicorn like Twilight didn’t have the magic to detect lies.

“Oh, good! Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to my friends! I’m sure they’ll all love to meet you!” Something about the thought of meeting the rest of the Mane 6 makes you incredibly nervous, but giddy all at the same time.

What would they all think of you? Would they even like you?
Then you realised that you’d have to meet Spike as soon as you got to the library. This wasn’t too much of a worry, since impressing Spike didn’t really concern you.

“What’re they like? Your friends, I mean,” you ask with a look of worry on your face.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get along with them fine,” she says reassuringly. “Some of them might be a bit hard to get to know at first, but I think you’ll like them!”

The two of you continue walking through the forest until finally Ponyville appears on the horizon.
“There it is! Ponyville!” Twilight lifts a foreleg and points at the town in the distance, smiling at you. You instantly recognise the thatched buildings and colourful ambiance, and then you turn you attention to the giant tree in the centre. You knew what it was, but you couldn’t let any of you knowledge of this world slip out.

“What’s that huge tree? It looks cool.” You say, in awe of how magical the tree looked in person. Despite, being very far away from the town still, the structure dwarfed all the surrounding buildings.

“That’s the Golden Oak Library! And that’s also where you’ll be staying with me for the time being.” Twilight states as she begins walking again.
You couldn’t really see any other notable structures from where you stood, but you could see the familiar apple trees of Sweet Apple Acres lining up even further on the horizon. The two of you continue walking towards to the village, and you begin to feel butterflies in your stomach. You had no idea how this was happening, but you were far from complaining.

Your brand new life was about to begin. And you couldn’t wait for it.
> Chapter 2 - Settling In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight leads you through the town of Ponyville as you look in awe at the bustling businesses and quaint buildings. The village had a unique comforting atmosphere that was present in the show, but had now been amplified many times. You passed by a few buildings you recognised, such as Carousel Boutique and Sugarcube Corner, home to Rarity and Pinkie Pie respectively.
You couldn’t let Twilight know that you knew of these things, however. The suspicion it would raise would be to much for you to handle, especially since you were brand new to this world.

“I can give you a tour around Ponyville, if you’d like. Maybe get to know the place better?” Twilight asked, politely, a warm smile on her face.
Despite wanting to accept to also be polite, you gently refuse, as you already know the majority of locations from the show.

Beyond the hills in the distance, you could see the castle of Canterlot poking out from beyond the mountaintops. Maybe you’d get to visit there one day. It’s not like you’d be returning home any time soon.

“Hey, Twilight, what’s that?” You ask, pointing to Canterlot in an attempt to make conversation.

She looked slightly confused, yet replied nonetheless. “Oh... Um... That’s Canterlot. You know, the capital?”

You suddenly realise how stupid that must have sounded, and rush to correct yourself. “Oh, right, Canterlot! Sorry, I’m not feeling to good after that fall...” You rub the back of your head with a hoof and look at the ground, awaiting Twilight's response.

“Don’t worry, you’ll feel better in no time!” She says, a reassuring smile on her face. Rarely have you seen that smile leave her face ever since you had arrived here.

Before long, you both arrive at the grand tree you had been moving towards for quite some time. The Golden Oak Library, residence of Twilight Sparkle.
It suddenly hits you that Twilight wasn’t living in her castle like she was in the show. This must be a time between the events of Twilight becoming an Alicorn, but before the destruction of the library. You weren’t complaining, as personally you found this time period to be the best.

The red door is swung open by Twilight’s unicorn magic, and the faint smell of books fills your lungs. It was almost relaxing, and homely.

“Spike! Spike!” Twilight shouts as soon as she steps through the door.
Before you even get to take in the interior design, you see the baby dragon balancing on a wooden ladder, organising the many books on the many shelves. He turns to look at Twilight, and instantly notices you stood beside her.

“Hey, Twilight, who’s the stallion?” He asks, a comedic expression on his face. The dragon jumps of the ladder, and surprisingly lands it without the need to climb down normally.

Twilight retorts with an unamused tone, “Spike, this is our guest, Storm Strike,”

“Hi.” You interrupt, feeling like she intended you to say something at that moment.

“And he’ll be staying with us until his wings are healed up.” The smile you were used to seeing on Spike’s face slowly appears as he approaches you.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Spike!” The baby dragon extends a claw to shake your hoof, and you reach out to him despite being unable to grab on.

“Nice to meet you too, Spike.” Something about the way this dragon spoke to you, you could tell you were gonna be great friends.
At last, you get to take in the surroundings of the majestic library. Books upon books line the walls, the majority of them being related to magic in some shape or form. You also spot the occasional window, giving you a view to the calming town as the now setting sun begins to disappear over the horizon.
The sky was glowing a beautiful orange, and it calms you, despite being in such a familiar yet unfamiliar world.

The three of you take a seat on each of the three couches spread evenly around the main room. Despite being a library, it also felt like a home.

“Hey, Storm, I never asked,” Twilight says suddenly, interrupting you from your admiration of her home furnishings. “What does your cutie mark mean?”

Great. Another question you didn’t know the answer too. Let’s see how far your lying skills can carry you this time.

“Well... Uh...” You try to come up with a convincing lie, yet no meaning behind a plain white cloud comes to mind. “I honestly don’t even know. It just appeared one day while I was flying. One minute it wasn’t there, the next it is.”
Convincing enough, you suppose.

A look of confusion, but also curiosity appears on Twilight’s face. “That’s strange. A cutie mark with no meaning. That’s practically unheard of.” Despite it being incredibly far fetched, she seemed to believe it just fine, and as for Spike, he seemed to believe it to. 

“Don’t worry, buddy! Every cutie mark has a meaning. Even mine!” Spike adds, cheerfully.
Can dragons even get cutie marks, you ask yourself.

“Spike, you don’t even have a cutie mark, right?” You ask him, confused as to what he even meant.

“Exactly!” Typical joker Spike. But he obviously just wanted to make you feel better about your unknown cutie mark, and that you appreciated.

Suddenly, a familiar pain washes over you. A subtle grunt leaves your mouth, catching the attention of both Twilight and Spike.

“Dude, what even happened to your wings to begin with?” Spike finally asks. You’d have to repeat your entirely fabricated story to the baby dragon, and just hope that each detail lined up.

As you open your mouth to speak, Twilight suddenly interrupts. “I’ll tell him, if you want. I doubt you wanna relive it again anytime soon.” Thank you, Twilight. Saving your sorry flank once again. If it wasn’t for her, you’d probably be sleeping in a tree tonight.
But, nevertheless, you still ended up sleeping in a tree anyway. Just a gigantic, comfortable tree that doubled as a house and a library.

“Long story short, he crashed into a cloud. It must’ve been incredibly dense to send a pony soaring down at enough speed to do that much damage.” It almost looks like Spike wants to laugh, but seeing the pain your wings are causing you, he holds it in.
“Speaking of your wings, wait there. I’ve got just the thing the help them heal.” Twilight gets up from the couch and walks out of the room, presumably to get medical equipment for your wings. Although, you didn’t know why she couldn’t just use unicorn magic to heal them right on the spot.

————————————————————

After a few minutes of you and Spike exchanging dialogue back and forth, Twilight finally re-enters the room, levitating some bandages above her with her magic. She walks over to you, bringing the roll of bandages with her.

“These bandages have been magically enhanced to help repair broken bones, so your wings should have healed in a few days!” She states, helpfully, as she begins wrapping the bandage around each of your broken wings. As much as you wanted to flinch and pull them in, your wings were unable to close due to their now unnatural shape.

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, Princess, but wouldn’t it be easier to use a spell that instantly repairs broken bones?” You ask, almost regretfully.

“Believe me, I considered it. But no unicorn magic no matter how advanced can heal broken wings instantly. But thankfully I can accelerate the healing process.” Twilight continues wrapping your wings with the enhanced bandages until they are fully encased in the white tissue.

“Well, thank you for all that you’re doing, Twilight.” Upon saying that, you see Twilight smile slightly, as well as Spike too. You can see that kindness counts for a lot in this world, and kindness was something you were missing in your life on Earth.

Finally, Twilight finishes tending to your wounds and takes a seat back down on the couch. By now, the sun had fully set over Equestria and the pale light of Luna’s moon shines down over Ponyville.
“I have to stop by at Sugarcube Corner tomorrow. Do you wanna come with me, Storm?” You were unsure of wether you wanted to venture into the town of Ponyville just yet, but you did agree to meeting Twilight’s friends tomorrow, so surely meeting only Pinkie Pie can’t be to difficult, right?

“Sure, I’ll come with you!” You reply, smiling back at her.

“Can I come too, Twilight?” Spike adds, with an excited yet pouty tone in his voice.

"Of course, Spike! I was planning on bringing you with me anyway!" Twilight replies, without even needing to think.

Now that your wings had been bandaged up, you could move around a lot more freely without as much pain. It obviously still hurt like hell, but nowhere near the amount of pain you once felt.
"What`re we going for?" you ask, curious as to why Twilight had to stop by at Pinkie Pie`s house.

She looks up from a book she had recently buried her head into. "Oh... well, I just have to pick something up, that`s all!". The look on her face is telling you she isn`t being entirely truthful, but you decide not to question it.

The rest of the night goes by, and now Twilight is  engrossed deep within her book, Spike is presumably sleeping, and you are deep in thought over how you got here.
"I most likely died and this is the afterlife," you thought to yourself. "But how does everything feel so real?" Every single one of your five senses you had back on Earth were still intact.
You could see everything, from different colours to the individual tiny details engraved in the wooden walls.
You could hear everything. You could hear the faint snores of Spike and each flip of the page as Twilight read.
You could smell the aroma of books, similar to that of a library, only it actually made you feel comfortable for once.
You could even faintly taste your own saliva, despite it not really tasting of anything.
And you could most definitely feel. The pain of your broken wings earlier was almost unbearable.

Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Twilight looking at you with a concerned expression. "Storm, are you ok?"

"Yeah, sorry. Just a bit tired that`s all." You say, rubbing your eye.

Twilight closes her book and uses her unicorn magic to levitate it over to the nearest bookshelf. "You can go to bed if you want. I was about to go anyway." she says, sitting up.

You glance over at Spike, who is seemingly content sleeping where he is. "Are we gonna wake Spike?"

Twilight shakes her head. "No, he seems fine where he is. Come on, I`ll show you where our guest room is!" she says as she starts walking up the stairs.
You finally get a good view of the second floor in person, and it seemed a lot different than in the show. Instead of just being an open floor plan, there was a large hallway with many rooms. One of them was most likely Twilight and Spike`s room, while another must be the guest room.

"This right here is your room!" Twilight gestures towards a door at the end of the wooden corridor, causing you to walk towards to it. "Sleep well." she adds, before placing a hoof on her own rooms doorknob.

"Twilight," You say, before she can enter her room. She quickly turn back to you, a surprised look on her face. "Thank you for everything you`ve done."
She simply nods with an understanding smile before finally entering her room, and you do the same.

Your own room is pretty undecorated, but you can`t really blame anyone for that. It is only a guest room after all. All that is in there is a wooden dresser with many draws, and a bed, but above that bed is a window that gives you the perfect view for your first night in Equestria.
You stare out over the rooftops of the many thatched houses and buildings, and can again see the apple trees of Sweet Apple Acres in the distance. But the thing that tops this fantastic view off the most, is the moon. It shines down majestically over Ponyville, draping it in its soft light and giving you a sense of relaxation. You can`t help but feel...
Happy.

Despite the thing that brought you to this world, you actually felt happy.

At last, you begin to drift off into sleep, and your dreams begin to take over reality.
> Chapter 3 - Surprise!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You had been sleeping for what felt like minutes, but you knew it had been longer than that. 
The sounds of birds tweeting outside had woken you up, but when you opened you eyes you couldn’t even remember where you were.

You had a dream where you had awoken in your apartment, yet the streets of New York outside your window were silent. The sky was a deep blood red, and the clouds were pitch black. 

A muffled voice called out to you, but you were unable to make it out. And then you woke up.

You had no idea what it meant, or who the voice was, but you didn’t want to question it now. Right now, all your focus was on settling in to this new world. 
Maybe it had some connection to how you were brought to this world, but you decide that that’s a question for another day.

Waking up in Equestria was a surprise to you, as the whole ordeal still felt very surreal, but it was a welcome one. You groggily get out of bed and leave your room, searching the few remaining doors that didn’t lead to either your’s or Twilight’s room for a bathroom. 

Hurriedly, you wash your face in the sink and then make your way downstairs to where Twilight and Spike were already waiting.

Both of them greet you with a “Good morning, Storm,” and a “Hey, Storm!” respectively.

“How’d you sleep?” Twilight asks. 

Despite your only memory of rest being the strange dream you had, you felt quite refreshed.

“Pretty good!” You reply, taking a seat on the same couch as last night.

You couldn’t help but notice Spike staring at your bandaged wings. 

“How are your wings?” he asks. 
That was a question you were expecting Twilight to ask, but you answered nonetheless.

“Better than last night. I can’t really feel the pain anymore.” 

You still couldn’t fold your wings in, but the majority of the pain you once felt had completely diminished.

“Can you move them at all?” Twilight adds.

You close your eyes and focus on moving your wings, even though you have no idea how to. Pulling your wings in was easy, since it was almost a natural reflex, yet flapping them was difficult for someone who had never flown before. After trying as hard as you can, you settle with the answer no.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to soon, don’t worry.” she says, smiling at your reassuringly.

You suddenly remember that there was something Twilight had to do at Sugarcube Corner today, and you promised you would come with her.

“Hey, Twilight, when are we going to Sugarcube Corner?” you ask as a wave of slight panic washes over her face.

“Oh, yeah! Probably in an hour or two, my friend Pinkie Pie has some business to attend to first.” 

At the mention of that name, you almost instantly assumed that this was a sting operation designed to surprise you and force you into a position where you would have to meet all of Twilight’s friends, also known as a surprise party, but even then you still looked forward to meeting them.

“Pinkie Pie is the pony who lives there, by the way,” Spike adds as he climbs a ladder, continuing his book sorting, “She’s slightly hyper, just as a heads up.”

You look at Spike and thank him, even though he isn’t looking at you. “Anybod- I mean anypony else I need a warning about for when I meet them?”

Somehow, neither Twilight nor Spike noticed your slip up. Probably because Spike had his head in a bookshelf and Twilight was to busy trying to cover up Pinkie Pie’s surprise party.

“Who said you’d be meeting my other friends at the same time?” Twilight says nervously, laughing slightly under her breath.

“You did. Last night. And, I mean, it’s pretty obviously a surprise party.” Your tone stays calm and monotone, unchanging throughout the whole sentence.

A look of suspicion grows on Twilight’s face. “Are you sure you’ve never met Pinkie before?”

Well, technically speaking, you have met Pinkie, she just hasn’t met you.

“No, I haven’t, it’s just a trip to Sugarcube Corner for seemingly no reason reeks of surprise party.” you lie. 

By the time this was all over, if it ever will be over, you might become a politician. The amount of lying you’ve been doing to prevent suspicion is unbelievable.   

“To be fair, Twilight...” Spike interrupts, his small head still half inside a bookshelf.

You can see what almost looks like slight annoyance building up in Twilight as she finally admits it. 

“Alright! Fine! It was gonna be a surprise party, but now it’s just a party, because all the surprise has been ruined!”

It’s hard to tell if she’s genuinely angry, but you figured one of the princesses of Equestria wouldn’t get mad over something so minor.

“Knew it.” you say with a teasing grin on your face.

——————————————————————————

The next hour went by with you and Twilight talking about books, different affairs going on in Equestria, typical small talk, as well as the occasional interruption by Spike, until it was almost time to leave for Sugarcube Corner.

“Now that you know about the party, can you promise to still act surprised?” Twilight requests as she approaches the door, but you could tell it was a promise that she wouldn’t take to heart.

You simply reply with a ‘maybe’ as the two of you, as well as Spike, leave the Golden Oak Library. 
You could honestly say you felt nervous for what was to come. You expected a party, but that expectation could only carry you so far.

The town of Ponyville was almost as busy as it was yesterday, despite it’s small population. The majority of ponies were buying items from markets or simply conversing with each other.

After a while of walking, you eventually arrive at the large candy themed building. It looked exactly like it did in the show, and that made you feel even happier than you already did, even slightly numbing the anxiety you could feel inside you.

“Ladies first!” you say nervously, before quickly realising your use of human terminology. 

Thankfully, Twilight didn’t seem to notice. The same phrase must be used here as it is on Earth.

Twilight rolls her eyes at you, smiling, before entering through the front door of Sugarcube Corner.

Spike stands there, looking between you and the door.

“Dragons last!” he says, gesturing towards the door.

You slowly move towards the door, your nerves beginning to get the better of you as you get closer. 

Spike let’s out a loud sigh, and simply shoves you through the door, tired of your slow speed. How does such a small dragon push a fully grown pony like you?

The first thing you notice about the interior of the building is that it is completely dark. 

You can`t see anything, and Twilight is nowhere to be found. In fact, nothing is anywhere to be found. You hear the front door swing open again, and Spike walks in, following you.

Suddenly, before you can even say anything, you are blinded by a flash of light, and a chorus of voices shouting "Surprise!" in unison. 

Despite knowing about the party, you couldn't help but let out a scream.

"Hey, you must be Storm Strike! I used to have a friend called Storm, but he was a rock, anyway, I made this party to welcome you and invited all of mine and Twilight's friends to it so that they can meet you and so you can meet them, and then we will all become such good friends! And I also made lots of cakes and-" 

You couldn't see to well, as your vision was still recovering from the flash of light, yet you could make out a bouncing mass of pink in front of you. 

Not that you really needed to see, you knew exactly who it was.

"Pinkie Pie, I think he needs some space to breathe." you hear a scratchy voice say. 

You knew instantly that was Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie moves back, still jumping up and down, allowing you to get your bearings. 
The inside of Sugarcube Corner also looked exactly like it did in the show, with its peachy yellow walls and green flooring. 

Again, you couldn’t believe you were actually stood inside of Sugarcube Corner, in front of the Mane 6.

"Storm, these are my friends I wanted to introduce you to!" Twilight says, breaking you out of your trance.

"We all heard about you from Twilight, there! Including what happened to y'all wings and such..." Applejack adds, a look of slight regret on her face upon the mention of your wings.

"We're so sorry for what happened." a quite voice says.
If it wasn't for the quiet setting, you wouldn't have even heard that, but you knew it was Fluttershy.

And, as silence fell, it was now up to you to make conversation.

"Hey, it's ok! Thanks to Twilight here they should be healed in no time!" 

Twilight rubs the back of hear head with a hoof, and smiles nervously, and then you notice that Rarity was nowhere to be found. 
You obviously couldn't bring it up, since as far as they know, you don't know who Rarity is, so you decide to keep quite.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash floats forward quickly. 

"Anyway, I'm Rainbow Dash, but I'm sure you've heard of me already." she says, her eyes closed as she smiles boastfully, her two forehooves crossed.

This'll be fun, you thought.

"Actually, I haven't heard of you." What better way to make a first impression than to mess with Rainbow Dash's ego. 

Her eyes open and a slight frown forms on her face, her forehooves drooping to her sides.

"What..."

All you could hear was a slight pout come from Rainbow's mouth as a door swings open. 
All of the Mane 5 stare at the door as a familiar yet unfamiliar pony enters the building.

"Sorry I'm late, dearies! I had a simply awful time trying to find the right dress for this occasion!" 

It was, of course, Rarity, although you didn't expect her to ever be late. However, it was Rarity, and therefore she must be fashionably late.

You hear a laugh come from Applejack, and everypony in the building turns their attention to her. 

"It ain't a formal occasion, sugarcube!"

Everyone else joins in the laughing as Rarity lets out a stoic harrumph.

"Oh, I simply must look my best, no matter the occasion." 
The dress she was wearing surprisingly matched the décor of Sugarcube Corner, almost looking like it was made of gingerbread.

"You must be Rarity, right?" you finally ask.

Rarity's ears perk up slightly as she realises that you've heard of her. "Why, yes, I a-"

"So you've heard of her, but not me?" Rainbow interrupts, causing you and Rarity to both laugh.

Rarity flicks her hair with a hoof. "Well, I am quite the model." she snickers. 

Sensing an incoming argument between Rainbow Dash and Rarity, you decide you'd rather not be there, and divert your attention elsewhere.

Everypony was now doing there own thing, Twilight was talking with Spike, Pinkie Pie was seemingly devouring the cakes she had recently made, and Rarity and Rainbow Dash were having a heated debate about who was more recognisable.

But where was Fluttershy and Applejack?

Beginning to explore the party, Applejack suddenly answers your question and appears right before you.

"Howdy, Sugarcube! Ah'm Applejack!" she says, cheerfully.

"Hey, you already know my name right?"

"Sure do! Twilight told us everything we really need to know." 

The two of you glance over at Twilight, who is now contently watching Spike inhale mountains of rare gems.

"So, you live on that huge farm right?" you ask her, feigning curiosity as you already knew the answer.

Instantly, you think of sweet apple cider. You had no idea what it tasted like, but Rainbow seemed to love it. Who knows, maybe you’d get a taste of it one day.

"Eeyup. Feel free to come have a look around some time!" she offers, enthusiastically, “we’ve also got plenty of work available, if you’re interested, that is...”

“I might just take you up on that!” You weren’t here to talk business, but everybody has to start somewhere right? And when an opportunity presents itself, you take it.

“Great! We could always use and extra helping hoof or two on the farm!” she says, happily, “Anyway, someone’s gotta help Pinkie clear that table of food!” 

Before you could say bye, Applejack turns around and makes for the table of cake Pinkie was already half way through demolishing.

And now, the only pony you had left to meet was Fluttershy. But where was she?

After a few minutes of searching, you eventually notice her looking out of a window attempting to blend in with the crowd. 

The moonlight was shining through the wind- 
Wait, it's night already?, you thought. Time sure does go by fast when you're having fun.

"Hi!" you say, enthusiastically.

Fluttershy quickly spins around and takes a few steps back, impulsively.

"Eek!" the timid pony squeals. 

In all the excitement of meeting the Mane 6, you had forgotten how shy Fluttershy really was. 
I mean, she literally has shy in her name.

Instantly, you feel guilt welling up inside you.

"Oh, no, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you or intimidate you or anything like that."

Fluttershy begins to regain some of her confidence, and moves back to where she originally stood. 

"Oh, no, it`s quite ok. I know you just want to introduce yourself." 

Despite her quite voice, you can still sense the undertone of happiness that the whole of Equestria seems to have.

"I'm Fluttershy." she says, her nervousness seemingly returning in an instant.

Your face twists into one of confusion, no matter how hard you tried to hide it. "Um... Sorry?"

You can almost see the panic in her eyes.

"I'm Fluttershy." This time you could hear it, even if it was only barely.

"Nice to meet you Fluttershy," you say with a smile on your face, “I heard you like looking after woodland animals."

Right now your priority was making your new friend feel comfortable.

"Oh, yes, I simply can't stand seeing them hurt. So I do everything I can to take care of them." The smile you had seen earlier had returned to her face, and you knew you had succeeded.

"That's amazing!" you say. This causes her smile to get even wider.

"Oh, thank you, Storm." Although she was now a lot more comfortable, that timid tone rarely left her voice. 

That was something you liked about Fluttershy in the show, and you were glad her living counterpart was the same.

——————————————————————————

The rest of the party went by incredibly quickly, until the only Ponies that remained present were Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Yourself, and despite not being a pony, Spike.

"Alright, y'all, I'll see ya around!" Applejack shouts as she leaves the building, the wooden doors slamming shut behind her. 

You had gotten to know everypony surprisingly well, even though you knew most details before you had even met them.

"Storm, me and Spike were about to start heading home, so don't take to long, ok?" Twilight tells you, smiling, a sleeping Spike on her back.

You nod before heading over to Pinkie Pie to see if she needs any help clearing up.

"Hey, Pinkie, need any help?"

"No thanks, Stormy Warmy! I can do it myself in the blink of an eye!"

Stormy Warmy? You had only been here a day, and Pinkie already had her own nickname for you.

"Ok then." you reply, choosing not to question the nickname. 

You approach the door, getting ready to head back to the Library and call it a day, when a familiar scratchy voice calls your name.

"Hey, Stormy Warmy!" Rainbow calls out to you with a mocking tone.

"Really? You too?" you ask with a joking grin on your face.

Pinkie suddenly turns out, frowning, and is that... tears in her eyes?

"Do you not like that name, Storm?"

Rainbow looks at you regretfully, and decides to answer this one for you. 

"He's joking, Pinkie." she says, looking at the pink earth pony with a warm smile on her face. 

That was the thing you liked about Rainbow Dash. Despite seeming cocky and egotistical on the surface, she was actually one of the most caring and compassionate ponies out there.
She was the Element of Loyalty after all.

The tears that were once in Pinkie's eyes suddenly evaporate into thin air. "Oh, ok!"

You were surprised nobody had become concerned with Pinkie Pie's sudden mood swings, but decided that everypony had just gotten used to them.

“So, Rainbow, what did you need?” you ask, turning your attention back to the cyan Pegasus floating next to you.

“Oh, I was just wandering if you wanted to hang out some time. Once your wings are healed, I mean.” she asks, a slightly nervous smile on her face.

You couldn’t really blame her for being nervous. She didn’t really have any Pegasus friends other than Fluttershy, but even then the two never hung out very often.

“Sure!” you reply, smiling back.

The magenta irises in Rainbow’s eyes get bigger, along with her smile.

“Just so you know, I am the fastest flyer in all of Equestria, so don’t expect to beat me in a race, ok?” It would appear the mare was subtly challenging you to a race.

“We’ll have to see about that, won’t we?” you reply, an equally cocky smirk on your face.

But then you remembered.
You have absolutely zero idea how to fly, let alone beat Rainbow Dash in a race.

“You’re on!” Rainbow’s eyes narrow into a challenging expression as she stares you down, smirking, “I’ll see how your wings are next time we meet!” she adds, before zooming out of the doors, leaving a rainbow coloured contrail in her wake.

“Rainbow sure is something, isn’t she?” Pinkie says, breaking you out of your deep thought.

You had just challenged Rainbow Dash to a race, without knowing how to fly. Well, she challenged you, but either way, you can’t fly.

“Hehe... she sure is!” you laugh, trying to hide your nervousness.

The walk back to the Golden Oak Library felt a lot shorter than the prior one, most likely due to you being in your own world of thought.
You open the door calmly, and are met by Twilight Sparkle sitting on the couch, book in hoof and Spike nowhere to be found.

“Hey, Storm, are you ok?” she asks, a concerned look on her face.

“Sure but... where’s Spike?” you ask, unable to remember that the baby dragon was sound asleep last time you saw him.

“Oh, he’s in bed.” Twilight replies, somewhat cheerfully, before turning back to her book.

“Speaking of bed, I’m gonna head there now.” You begin making your way towards the stairs, your thoughts a complete mess at the moment.
You couldn’t tell if it was genuinely your thoughts being this disarrayed due to your inability to fly, or just the party having a lasting effect on you.

“Are you feeling ok, Storm?” Twilight asks, the hint of concern returning to her voice.

“Yeah, just a bit tired after that party, that’s all.” you lie with a smile on your face.

Twilight smiles back and tells you to head to bed and rest up, so you do just that. You flop over onto your bed, your grey hooves sprawling out before you as you lay on your side, and instantly sleep takes over.
> Chapter 4 - Overtime
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You didn't sleep well that night.

The entire night was plagued with thoughts of how you would eventually have to come clean about your past, and how you would tell Twilight and Rainbow Dash that you didn't know how to fly.

To top all that off, that same strange dream returned. You awoke in your apartment, the streets of New York were empty, the sky was blood red and the clouds were black, just like last time.
The muffled voice wasn't any clearer either.

Brushing it off as just a reoccurring dream, you hopped out of bed and made you way to the bathroom.

You washed your face again, but this time decided it would be best to take a shower. You hadn't washed properly since you arrived here.

Turning the shower on, you felt the warm water dripping down your body, and it felt amazing. The temperature was spot on, something that rarely happened first try on Earth.

Afterwards, you get out of the shower and dry off with a blue towel before making your way down the stairs. Thankfully, clothes were not a necessity on Equestria, so showering didn't take too long.

"Morning Twilight! Morning Spike!" you greeted the two with a yawn. Despite not getting too much sleep, you still felt better than you did the day before.

Twilight and Spike were both busy doing there own things, the same things they had been doing the prior day. Twilight was reading a book and Spike was stacking the shelves.

"Morning, Storm!" they both replied.

"How'd you sleep? You didn't seem so good last night." Twilight asked, her ears drooping slightly.

"Pretty good, I suppose. I mean, as long as you feel rested you can't ask for much more, right?" That was a lie. You liked sleep a lot, so the more you got, the happier of a perso- pony you'd be in the morning.

"I don't know about you, but the more sleep I get the better I feel," Spike added, climbing down from his ladder, "That's why I love sleeping!"

You and Twilight both laughed. You knew how much Spike loved his sleep.

"Me and Spike have gotta run some errands around Ponyville for a while. We'll be leaving pretty soon." Twilight explained as Spike joined her on the couch.

"Is there anything I can do?" you asked, feeling the need to help out.

"No, it's ok! But if you get bored you can-" Before Twilight could finish that sentence, Spike interrupts with his own preposition.

"You can find some gems for me to eat!" he suggested, half joking, half not.

Twilight glared at him sternly.

"You can always go into town and meet with some other ponies!" she finishes. 

She didn't need to tell you twice. You already had plans to meet with Rainbow Dash, even though you couldn't fly. As much as you did want to hang out with Rainbow, you thought it best to not do that until your wings are healed and you can fly.
There was somepony else you had the intention of talking to though.

"Huh. Maybe I will." you replied, now knowing exactly what you were gonna do today.

Both Twilight and Spike smiled happily upon hearing this, before realising the time. How did they even do that? You haven't noticed a clock on any of the walls.
Nevertheless, Spike hopped on to Twilight's back as she hopped off the couch and sprinted over to the door.

"Oh, no, we're gonna be late! Have a good day, Storm, bye!" Twilight shouts before slamming the door shut hurriedly with her unicorn magic.

Normally, you would have been at a loss as to what to do. But thanks to the party last night, you knew exactly what you were going to do now.

————————————————————

After a long walk through Ponyville, you eventually reached the vast stretch of land name Sweet Apple Acres. The underpopulation of the area was soothing, and you realised that it must be how the apple family maintain their constant work schedule.

Walking through the large orchard, you couldn't help but appreciate the quantity of apple trees that were growing here. There were so many it'd likely be enough to keep the town fed for years. Even then, though, you knew the Apple families business went a lot further than just Ponyville, although it was where most of their efforts were located.

Soon enough, you reached the farm house, and knocked on the front door with a hoof. Much to your surprise, it wasn't Applejack who answered, but rather Sweet Apple Acres' very own Granny Smith.

"Well, hey there, sonny!" she said, cheerfully, "What can I do for ya?"

"Actually, I came by to see if their was any work I could help you with!" you replied just as cheerfully.

A look of realisation suddenly dawned on Granny Smith's face.

"Oh, you must be that new pony AJ was tellin' me about!"

She already knew about you. You didn't think you were important enough for ponies to tell others about you, but then again, the population of Ponyville was quite small.

"Speaking of Applejack, where is she anyway?" you asked. You figured if anypony could get you some work around here, it would be her.

"She's just over that way, dearie. I'm sure if your looking for work, she'll have plenty for ya!" the elderly pony laughed, pointing over at one of the many orchards.

Honestly, as rude as it sounds, you were surprised Granny Smith could still raise a hoof to point. 
Nevertheless, you thanked the old mare and began to make your way over to the orchard where Applejack was supposedly working.

It didn't take long before you found her bucking some trees. You watched contently as apples fell from the tree and piled up in the baskets placed below.

"Hey, Applejack!" you said, slightly scaring her as she turned around suddenly.

"Oh, howdy, Storm! Didn't see ya there!" she replied, continuing to buck the tree, "Here for work or just for a chat?"

"Work, actually." you said as if it was a surprise. She did offer it to you after all.

Applejack finally stopped bucking the tree upon realising that no more apples were falling, and turns around to face you. She looked pretty tired out from all the work she had been doing.

"Well, if that's the case then we've got plenty for ya'll to do!" she said, enthusiastically, "You can start by ploughing that there field!"

Applejack raised a hoof, pointing at a somewhat large plough positioned next to an even larger field. You simply stared in disbelief as you thought back to your injured wings.

Noticing your silence, Applejack noticed the cause of your hesitation.
"Oh, right... Your wings," she says, breaking the awkward silence as her ears droop, "How about you come with me and ah'll show ya how to buck a tree?"

"Sure!" you reply, happy that there was actually something you could do.

You follow her through a large field of trees, until you come to stop. You were confused as to why you didn't just stop at any tree, but you figured this tree must have the most apples.

"Ever done anythin' in this business before, sugarcube?" Applejack asked you.

"Not that I can remember." For once you could actually be honest without having to come up with some convoluted lie.

"Well how about you give it a try on this here tree?" she suggested, hitting the trunk of the tree you both stood besides.

Despite never bucking a tree before, you had a vague idea of how it was done from watching it on the show.
Attempting to balance yourself on your front legs, you raised your hind legs, keeping yourself held up by the tree. And then, as hard as you could, you moved your hind legs back and kicked with full force.

A measly single apple fell from the tree. You used as much energy as you could, and only one apple fell. Staring in disbelief, your thoughts were interrupted by Applejack.

"Not bad for a first time, if ah do say so mahself," she said, encouragingly, "But there's a much easier way of bucking a tree."

Applejack approached the tree you had previously 'bucked', and balanced on her fore legs. Without the need to balance her hind legs, she simply swung them at the tree at full force, colliding with the apple tree like a bullet.
You could have sworn you heard the tree cry with pain at the force it was kicked.

Apples rained from the green leaves of the tree, piling up in the conveniently place baskets.

"Woah." you said in awe, watching the mountain of red fruits growing before you.

"Eeyup. Simple and effective. Now how about ya try it out and that tree over there?" she said, pointing at a tree plentiful with juicy apples.

You approached the tree cautiously, like it was a supervillain that you had unfinished business with. Staring at the tree with narrowed eyes, you dug your front legs into the ground, securing yourself in place. You turned yourself around so that your hind legs faced the tree, and focused all your energy into the next swing.

Raising your hind legs, you quickly spun around, slamming them into the tree's trunk as hard as you possibly could. So much force was used that it hurt slightly when impact was made.
Much to your delight, however, you looked up to see fresh apples raining down onto you, filling the baskets.

"Nice job, sugarcube!" Applejack said, congratulating you.

You couldn't believe how many apples you had just bucked from the tree. It was practically picked clean.

"Granny's gonna have a field day with these!" she added, picking up the basket.

"Anything else I can do?" you ask, before she can leave for the house.

"Sure is! Just keep bucking them trees and me and mah brother Big Mac will come and take 'em back to Granny Smith!"

You didn't need to be told twice. Applejack made her way back to the house, carrying the mountains of apples you had just created, as you continued bucking trees.
Before long, Big Macintosh finally came out to help take back some baskets of apple, and introduce himself to you.

"Howdy. Ah'm Big Mac." he said in his usual deep voice.

"Hey, I'm Storm Strike," you reply, continuing to buck the tree you stood before, "You taking those apples back to the house?"

Big Mac reached down and picked up the basket of apples below the tree you had previously bucked.

"Eeyup." You remember that Big Mac was never really one for conversation.

Before you had the chance to continue the conversation, the large pony simply walked off, leaving you to continue bucking the many apple trees.

————————————————————

The sun was beginning to set over Ponyville, coating Sweet Apple Acres in a warm orange glow. Your hooves were hurting slightly. You had been bucking trees the entire day, but finally it was time to stop.
There were no unbucked trees in sight.

"Hoo-wee! You gone and done a right good job, Storm!" Applejack congratulates you, walking up behind you, "We have enough apples to last through the whole of the apple cider season!"

You had no idea it was apple cider season. Maybe you really would be able to get a taste of it.

"Hey, Applejack, when does the season start?" you asked, curiously. You weren't missing out on the chance to try some of the beverage Rainbow Dash loves so much.

"In a week, as a matter of fact," she says, happily, "Anyway, you better get headin' home. Ya must be exhausted after all that apple buckin' you've been doin'"

"Yeah, thanks Applejack." you replied before turning to make your way across the vast expanse of Sweet Apple Acres.

"Oh, wait!" you hear her call out to you, "Almost forgot your pay!"

She handed you a bag of bits, which as far as you can remember, is the form of currency used in Equestria.

"Don't spend it all in one place, now, ya hear?"

Before walking off again, you decided to ask one more question.
"Can I work here again? Like tomorrow?"

Applejack smiled, her ears perking up.

"Sure, sugarcube! Like ah said, we could always use an extra helping hoof!" she says, happily.

"Thanks, Applejack." you reply, contently, before turning around and leaving the scene.

The rolling fields of Sweet Apple Acres looked even more majestic with the orange glow of the setting sun coating them. Rarely on Earth had you seen such a beautiful sight, due to you living in the big city.

The town of Ponyville was a lot quieter than it was this morning, with far less ponies going about their business. Despite this, many ponies were still walking around the streets, some presumably lost while others were making their way to the famous club of DJ Pon-3.

You would've gotten lost too due to every building seeming the same, but the large, familiar structure of the Golden Oak Library was all to memorable.

Opening the door of the grand library, you noticed Twilight and Spike both in their usual positions, only for once Spike was sat contently on the couch, staring at the door. Maybe he was waiting for you to get back.

"Storm!" he shouted, getting up and running over to you. The baby dragon hugged your leg, which was something you really were not expecting.

“Hey... Uh...” is all you could respond with. What did you do to make Spike this sensitive?

“”Storm, where’ve you been all day?” Twilight asked with a worried expression.

You were surprised they didn’t know. If somepony went missing, you figured Sweet Apple Acres would be the first place they looked.

“You told me to go meet with some ponies, so I did just that!” you reply, slightly proud.

Twilight’s looks of worry quickly changes into a smile.

“Really? Who’d you meet with?” she asked.

“Oh, I just did some work at Applejack’s farm.”

This time, Spike is the one to answer you.
“What’d you get in return?” he asked.

As much as you would’ve liked to show off the bag of bits you had draped over your bandaged wing, you come out with something rather cheesy.
“Friendship.” you said with a smile.

“Dude, when did you get so cheesy?” Spike asked before slumping back onto the couch he was previously sat on.

All three of you laughed, before Twilight suddenly remembered that it was time to check up on your wings. She was supposed to do this every night, but you were too tired to stay up for long enough the night prior.

“Oh, I almost forgot, I have to check your wings,” she said, leaping up from the couch and flinging her book onto the floor untidily, “Rainbow Dash asked how they were.”

For some reason, your ears perked up at the mention of her name. Twilight clearly noticed this, as she let out a slight giggle at that exact instant.

“You saw Rainbow Dash?” you ask, curiously.

“Not intentionally. She kinda crashed into us.” Spike replied, lazily rolling on to his side and now facing the back of the couch.

You could feel your wings fall as the magical bandages were removed. They felt a lot more free than the last time they had been unattended, and most of the pain had subsided. Attempting to move them still caused pain, but you could now fold them in and out.

“I hear you challenged her to a race!” Twilight laughed, knowing that it was a grave mistake.

“I did not! She challenged me! And I accepted...” The thought of not being able to fly once again entered your head, reminding you of the many inevitable conversations you would have to have.

“Well your wings seem a lot better! They’ll probably heal fully within a day or two without the bandages.” Twilight stated, happily.

You thank Twilight over the faint snores that had recently began emanating from where Spike lay.

“I think it’s time we head to bed. Are you coming too?” The Alicorn asked you as she lifted Spike gently onto her back.
You were feeling incredibly tired after that long day of bucking trees.

“Sure.” you replied as you hopped up from the couch and began following her up the stairs.

Both you and Twilight opened your door simultaneously, stepping into the doorways in sync.

“Goodnight, Storm.” she said, gently, the faint snores of Spike hiding underneath her voice.

“Goodnight, Twilight.” you replied, just as gently.

And with that, both of your doors shut with a light tap, closing this day off with silence.
> Chapter 5 - Nightmares
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following day went exactly like the day prior.

You woke up, had a shower, worked at Sweet Apple Acres for the whole day, and then went home. The only real notable difference to the day was that you were introduced to Applejack's younger sister, Applebloom. 

She was exactly like she was in the show. Kind and obsessed with finding her cutie mark. Eventually, you figured you would meet Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo as well.
Nothing else notable happened that day, and you simply slung your bag of bits over your almost fully healed wing and made your way back to the Golden Oak Library.

Once again, you, Twilight and Spike conversed about the day. You told them about your meeting with Applebloom, and how many apples you had managed to buck from the trees.

"Applejack isn't gonna have any apple trees left to buck if you keep this up!" Twilight laughed.

After about an hour of conversation, you finally made your way to bed. Outside your window, Luna's moon was shining down brilliantly over Ponyville, casting a faint shadow into your room.
And then, in less than a minute, sleep overcame you.

However, when you awoke, you weren't in Equestria anymore. You were back home. Strangely enough, you weren't excited to be back on Earth. You wanted to go back. Desperately.

The muffled voice you had been hearing in your dreams circled you, and it slightly calmed you knowing that this was most likely a dream.
Wait, you though, Now that I know this is a dream, maybe I can control it.

You were quite familiar with the state called 'lucid dreaming' and had done it many times back on Earth, yet for some reason, this dream was resistant to your control.

This time you watched as the blue sky above Manhattan was corrupted by a deep red, as the sickly colour bled through it like spilt water.
The white fluffy clouds, as unrealistic as they looked, began to rot from the centre outwards, becoming a menacing black colour.

You remembered having this dream many times before, since you arrived in Equestria four days ago, but it had never been this... vivid.

Every time when you found yourself in this dream, the outside world had already been enveloped in those evil colours, yet this time, you watched as your home world corrupted.
The muffled voice circling you got louder, and louder, until you were slamming the floor of your apartment screaming "Wake up!".

And wake up you did.

Your familiar apartment began to blend with the guest room in Twilight's tree house, and you realised you were slamming your pillow with a hoof.

"Storm! What's wrong?" you heard Twilight shout as your door slammed open.

You realised you must have been shouting everything out loud.

"Nothing... Just a bad dream." you replied, still dazed by your strange dream.

Noticing your slight detachment from reality, Twilight took a seat next to you on your bed.
"You know if something's wrong, you can tell me, right?" she said, consoling you.

She was right. She was the one who decided to look after you after falling and breaking your wings, and she was one of the princesses of Equestria, after all.

After a lot of thinking, you finally settle on a decision. It was time to come clean about your past, but only to Twilight. There wasn't gonna be a better time for it

"Um, actually... There was something I wanted to talk to you about..." you said, weakly, not making eye contact.

"Whatever you need to talk about, I'm here." Twilight responded, trying her best to sound cheerful.

"Can Spike hear us?" You didn't want anypony other than Twilight knowing about this. Not yet anyway.

"Nope. He's still fast asleep." she replied.

Looking out your window, you noticed it was still night. Guess you weren't asleep for as long as you thought.

You didn't really know to tell her you were from another world, but you figured it'd be best to start off simple.

"You know how-" you gulped nervously before you could finish the sentence, "You know how I said I was originally from Cloudsdale before I crash landed here?"

Twilight nodded in response, listening contently.

"Well... I lied."

Twilight's face twisted into that of slight shock, and her ears drooped downwards.
"What do you mean?" she asked, not angry, but not happy either.

"I don't really know how to explain it, but..." You paused for a second, in case Twilight had something to say. But she didn't, so you continued, "I'm from a different world."

Eye contact has still not yet been met, but you can feel Twilight's gaze piercing you.

"Oh, so you've come from beyond Equestria? Like from another part of the planet?" she asked, slightly confused.

You never thought Twilight Sparkle could be confused by something, yet here she was.

"Not exactly. I've come from another universe."

You were met with silence once again. It was killing you anticipating her response.

"I think I might have heard about this before," she replied, surprisingly, "Yeah! I definitely read about the theory of alternate realities and universes in a book!"

Out of all the reactions you were expecting, this wasn't one of them. Seeing your despair, she settled down on the bed again.

"Sorry. What else happened?" she asked, calmly.

You weren't sure whether you should've brought up the show, but you figured as it was only Twilight you may as well tell her everything.

"I come from a world called 'Earth', and on Earth we watched this show," You look back at her to see if she's following, "And that show is a recreation of this world, with depictions of you, your friends, and even locations."

You felt yourself about to go on a rant, but stop yourself.

"And then, one day, I went out. I got attacked, and everything went black. And I woke up where you found me." You grimaced, reminiscing the pain of the knife when it was pulled out of you. The blood that seeped out of your open wounds as you collapsed against the wall.

"I'm guessing you wanna go back?" Twilight asked, surprisingly calm. You weren't expecting this at all. You were expecting shock, denial, and maybe even anger, but instead she was acceptant of you.

"That's actually what my dream was about." you replied, causing her to go silent again.

"In my dream, I woke up back on Earth. And it scared me. I wanted to come back here so badly," This caused some surprise to Twilight, yet she kept quiet, "I was looking out my window, and the sky turned red. It was like the whole world died."

You lifted your head to look at Twilight, who was busy thinking about what the meaning of your dreams could be.

"From what I know about dreams from my studies, the thing that is happening to you is severe homesickness. Your brain subtly misses this 'Earth' place, but you know deep down you are where you want to be," she explained with a smile, "And if Equestria is where you want to stay, then you're free to stay with me and Spike as long as you like."

You couldn't believe this. Twilight was actually accepting you, and letting you stay in Equestria.

"And you promise to not tell anypony about this?" you asked.

"Pinkie promise," Twilight laughed slightly, "You can tell the others if and when you're ready."

Your nerves were calmed slightly, knowing that the dreams were simply your own brain doing its thing, and that you had somewhere to stay.

"Thank you, Twilight," you said, smiling warmly at her, "I mean it."

“Hey, it’s ok! Now I know all that study wasn’t for nothing!” she laughed, “Are you gonna be ok, now?”

Now that you knew the cause of your disturbing dreams, you were adamant you could get a better nights sleep.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” you replied with a smile.

Twilight nodded happily in response, and got up to leave the room before asking one final question.

“You’re gonna have to race Rainbow Dash, and you don’t know how to fly?” she laughed.

Suddenly, the thought of how you were going to get around that hit you like a ton of bricks. Would you have to tell Rainbow about your past too? You had only talked to her once in your stay in Equestria so far, and you weren’t sure you were ready.

“I’m sure I’ll survive.” you replied, reassuringly.
You weren’t fully convinced of that yourself, but saying it aloud subsided your anxiety slightly.

Twilight giggled softly as she gently closed the door, blocking out all the light that had been creeping into your room.
Closing your eyes, sleep came quickly, and for once it felt peaceful.
> Chapter 6 - Flown the Coop
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You awoke to the sun shining down through your window, causing your grey coat to slightly heat up. It felt nice, waking up to warmth.

Going over the night in your head, you recalled the conversation you had with Twilight. You told her about your past, and the dreams you had been having.
Speaking of the dreams, you didn't have another one after you went back to sleep. This meant you could get an actual good nights sleep, despite waking up in the middle of it.

Hopping out of bed, you followed your usual routine you had established over the past few days.
Wake up, shower, then head downstairs to greet Twilight and Spike.

"Hey, Storm!" they both said, happily, in their usual positions. By now you had come to expect that Spike would be placing books on the bookshelves and Twilight would be reading.

"How'd you sleep?" Twilight asked, closing her book. You assumed she was talking about your dreams.

"Pretty good. No bad dreams or anything!" you replied with a smile, assuming Spike didn't know what that meant.

Despite being busy and stocking the bookshelves, the dragon still managed to contribute towards the conversation.

"How do your wings feel?" he asked, with a strangely happy tone.
You figured they both believed your wings would have been fully healed by now, yet they weren't.

You could move them painlessly, fold them perfectly fine, yet they were still bent slightly out shape. Noticing your silence, Twilight hopped up from the couch and had a look at your wings herself.

"They're almost healed! You wouldn't be able to fly with them yet, but by tomorrow they should have healed!" she explained happily.

You weren't entirely happy about the healing of your wings, thinking back to your conversation with Rainbow Dash.



“Just so you know, I am the fastest flyer in all of Equestria, so don’t expect to beat me in a race, ok?” It would appear the mare was subtly challenging you to a race.

“We’ll have to see about that, won’t we?” you replied, an equally cocky smirk on your face.



"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Twilight whispered to you with a smile on her face.
She must've known exactly what you were thinking of.

"Got anything planned for today?" you asked them, attempting to change the subject.

"Actually, we were gonna go down to the Everfree forest and pick up some things for Fluttershy!" she replied, strangely enthusiastic. Not even in the show had you heard someone be so happy to be entering the Everfree forest.

You were almost expecting the Alicorn to ask you whether you knew what the Everfree Forest was, but thankfully she didn't. You didn't want Spike to know about your secret just yet.

"Why can't Fluttershy go in there herself?" you asked, already knowing the answer, but decided it was best to keep up the act for Spike.

"Because she entrusts me, Twilight's number 1 assistant, to adventure into the forest for her!" the baby dragon retorted, turning around and striking a superman pose on top of the ladder.

Unsurprisingly, the ladder then proceeded to fall backwards, slamming Spike down into the floor. Both you and Twilight laughed before the purple scaled dragon stood up dizzily.
"I'm o-ok..." he said, holding the top of his head.

"Aren't you supposed to have a crush on Rarity?" Twilight asked the slightly injured dragon, laughing.

He didn't respond, and simply continued moving around groggily.

"Anyway, the real reason is that Fluttershy is afraid of the Everfree forest," Twilight explained, "But you probably knew that already..." she whispered with a wink.

You laughed nervously, hoping Spike hadn't heard, but thankfully he was too busy getting his bearings to notice what she had said.

"So, when are you going?" you asked, curiously.

Twilight turned and looked at the dazed Spike who was walking clumsily around the room.

"Right now!" she replied, thinking it best to get Spike out the house, "Come on, Spike!"

Twilight picked up Spike and threw him onto her back, before opening the door with her unicorn magic.

"You can always come with us if you want." she added, stopping in the doorway and looking back at you.

It was Saturday, and you didn't have to do work at Sweet Apple Acres on weekends. And that meant you had free time, and could do anything you wanted to do.

"You know what? Sure, I'll come with you!"

Spike let out a 'Yesssss!', seemingly recovered from his ladder incident, as you followed the duo out the door as it slammed shut behind you.

—————————————————————

After a quiet walk through Ponyville, you eventually saw the dark green trees of the Everfree Forest beginning to emerge over the horizon, as well as a small cottage with leaves growing out of its roofing.

You recognised it immediately as Fluttershy's house, as it looked almost identical to the show's counterpart.

Twilight knocked on the door, and you could hear a faint 'come in' resonate quietly from inside the building.

The three of you entered, and instantly you saw the familiar green flooring and red flower carpet, as well as the white brick fireplace.
Fluttershy was walking down the staircase, holding an empty watering can in her mouth.

"O-Oh, Storm!" she said, surprised, placing the can down on the closest surface she could find, "I wasn't expecting you!"

Her voice was as timid as ever, yet you could still hear the surprise.

"I'm just here to help out with your Everfree Forest problem." you replied, trying to speak as softly as possible as you were still not all that familiar with this pony.

Out of all the ponies at Pinkie Pie's surprise party, Fluttershy was the one to talk to you the least. You didn't really blame her. You knew the feeling of social anxiety and meeting new people, especially when you were already incredibly shy.

"Oh, it's no problem really!" A look of guilt was on her face. She must feel guilty about getting you to do her work for her, even when she barely knew you, "I only need some flowers from the Everfree Forest to feed some of my animals, and they aren't even that far in..."
She stopped suddenly to catch her breath.
"I would go myself, but, well..."

You almost wanted to laugh at how pure-hearted this pony is, but you kept it contained.

"It's ok Fluttershy! He wanted to come!" Twilight interrupted, smiling happily.

You saw Fluttershy's mood switch from guilt to happiness as a smile crept onto her face too.

"Well if that's the case, then you're welcome to help! I just need some Red Lionflower from the fores-" Fluttershy's ears drooped and her eyes widened with shock.
You looked over to where she was staring, right out of her window, and you saw that a hole had formed in her chicken pen.
A chicken had escaped, just like in the episode 'Stare Master'.

"Oh, no, my poor chicken!" Fluttershy commented, panicked. If she wasn't as timid as she was, you assumed she would've been shouting. 

She swung open the door, running over to the chicken pen with you, Twilight and Spike following.

The hole in the fence wasn't large, and likely wouldn't be too hard to fix, and thankfully only one chicken had escaped.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy! Me, Twilight and Storm will find the chicken and the Red Lionflower!" Spike exclaimed, extatically, feeling like a hero.

"Please just get my chicken back..." Fluttershy replied, solemnly, "I can always feed them something else."

You looked at Twilight, wondering what to do, and much to your relief it looked as if she was deep in thought.

"Ok, Me and Spike will go into the forest and find your chicken," Twilight explained with a determined expression, "Storm, you and Fluttershy stay here and fix the fence!"

"Just some time for you get to know her in person..." she added with a whisper.

You assumed she was talking about the show back on Earth. You already knew almost everything about all of the Mane 6, yet did you really know them?
No, you didn't. 

And this was your chance to get to know Fluttershy.

You nodded, smiling, in response, letting Twilight know you were onboard with this plan.

"Ok, Spike, let's go!" She didn't have any objections from Fluttershy or Spike, so they both sprinted off into the depths of the Everfree Forest, only Spike was always a few paces behind.

Both you and Fluttershy sat in silence for what felt like half an hour, yet in reality it was only a minute or two.
You approached the small hole in the iron wired fence, and realised that only the wires had been broken.

"Only the wires were damaged!" you explained, cheerfully.

"W-What does that mean?" Fluttershy responded, nervously.
Despite having talked to her before at the party, you still felt uncomfortable due to her nervousness. You knew she couldn't help it though.

"It means that we just have to re-attach the wires, and it'll be fixed!" you replied, hopeful that it really was this simple.

Turning to look at Fluttershy, you saw her standing there with a puzzled expression on her face. Maybe she doesn't understand? you thought.

Without a word, she turned around rapidly and disappeared through her front door. What had you done to annoy her already?

Not knowing what you had done wrong, you simply continued to examine the gap in the fence. Thankfully, the other chickens knew better and were keeping far away from the escape hole, presumably terrified of Fluttershy's infamous stare.
Hopefully you wouldn't get the stare treatment when she returned.

Suddenly, you hear the front door of the cottage swing open, quietly. Then you saw Fluttershy walking towards the chicken coop, smiling, a roll of duct tape in her mouth.

"Maybe this might work?" she asked, passing the tape to you.

Now that you thought about it, how were you even picking things up? You didn't have fingers to grip objects, it was like anything you wanted to hold simply attached itself to your hoof. It was very low effort, and frankly you loved it.

"Yeah, thanks Fluttershy!" you say, magically picking up the tape with your hoof.

For seemingly no reason, Fluttershy seemed a lot less nervous than she had moments prior. Maybe it was because she was helping?

The memory of attempting to find the end of the tape suddenly hit you. The pain of being unable to find it hurt more than being stabbed in the chest ever could. 
But thankfully, that wasn't a problem here. The tape had been magically created and altered so that the end was always visible and usable.

Holding down the four broken iron wires with one hoof, you carefully position the tape over the centre with the other. You gently laid the tape over it, and then twisted upon reaching the end, causing it to snap off.
You looked down at your handy work, anticipating the end result, and much to your surprise, it stayed together.

The fence had been fixed.

"Oh, thank you so much, Storm!" Fluttershy thanked you, the timidness once again returning to her voice.

"It's no problem! I did want to help after all," you reminded her, "So what do you want to do while we wait for your chicken to come home?"

Fluttershy thought for a second before finally coming up with an idea.

"Well, we only talked once at the party, so why don't we tell each other about ourselves?" she suggested.

That wasn't a bad idea. Although you already knew a lot about her due to Earth and the party, you never told her much about you.

"Good idea!" you reply, causing her to smile slightly, "I already know about you though..."

You were expecting this to be a slight damper on her happiness, but to your surprise, it wasn't.

"Oh, that's ok. We can talk about you instead!"

Maybe this was what she wanted to talk about to begin with, but she just didn't want to tell you. Either way, you were glad to finally have the opportunity to get to talk to Fluttershy properly.

But, now that you think about it, there wasn't too much to talk about. Your past in Equestria only goes back to the day you crash landed here, and you certainly weren't telling her about Earth.
Not yet anyways.

"Well, I like flying a lot, that's what my cutie mark means." you lied. Back at it again with the lies.

"Oh, I think you'd make great friends with Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy suggested, "She loves flying too!"

She didn't need to remind you. You could only delay that race for so long. While you could just say you weren't feeling up to it, you definitely weren't throwing away an opportunity like this when Rainbow practically gave it to you, flightless or not.

"Well, what about you? Don't you like flying?" you asked, attempting to take the conversation away from Rainbow Dash. Talking about her made you feel happy, yet panicked at the same time. And those two feelings together created an incredibly strange sensation that could be best described as stress.

"Well... I like flying, but... well..." she answered, timidly, "I'm afraid of heights..."

Normally, you would have laughed like a crazy pony, but you already knew about this, therefore eliminating any comedic effect it may have had.

"Hey, it's ok..." you said, attempting to console her. "Everyo-pony's afraid of something, right?"

You'd been here for nearly a week, yet the regional dialect still caused you to slip up from time to time. At this point, though, it could almost always be blamed as a slight stutter.

"I guess so..." Fluttershy responded, the quiet and weak tone in her voice now more noticeable than it ever had been since you'd arrived here.

Suddenly, before you could respond to her, you heard movement coming from the bushes of the Everfree Forest.
And it was coming your way.

"Eek!" you heard Fluttershy yelp quietly, but all you did was stare at the shaking foliage, awaiting the emergence of whoever was behind it.

Instead of some Everfree Forest monster, out of the brush emerged Twilight Sparkle and Spike, who was holding a small, white chicken.

“Hey, Fluttershy! Storm!” Twilight shouted over to you.

Fluttershy’s smile widened upon seeing the safe return of her chicken.

“Oh, thank you so much!” she said, thanking the two for returning the chicken. Despite her happiness, her voice maintained its quiet overtone.

“Nice to see you didn’t die!” you joke, moving around to unlock the chicken pen’s gate.

“Not even close.” Twilight laughed in response.

The wooden gate swung open, yet the chickens inside were to afraid of Fluttershy’s rare discipline that they stayed backed in a corner far away from the gate.

“We found this little guy hiding in a- Ow! You little bitch!“ Spike screamed as the chicken plucked its beak into his scales.

Your mouth hung wide with shock, and Fluttershy’s eyes widened. You had no idea swear words still existed in Equestria, let alone did you expect the first one you heard to be from Spike. You had definitely never seen them on the show, or even anything that featured these characters.

“Spike!“ Twilight roared back at him, anger in her voice.

“He bit me!” Spike retorted, showing a burning red mark on his arm.

All the attention was taken away from Spike, however, when you noticed the now free chicken attempting to make a break for it.

It didn’t get far however, as Fluttershy was quick to begin staring it down.

You couldn’t believe it. You got to hear Spike swear and see Fluttershy’s infamous stare all in the same day.

Before long, the now cowering chicken had been corralled back to it’s pen, and no more business remained.

“Thank you. All of you.” Fluttershy thanked the three of you, gratefully, glancing back at the shaken up chicken that was now huddling in its pen.

“It’s ok, Fluttershy! We all wanted to help, after all.” you replied, causing her smile to grow.

Spike took a few steps forward and looked down at the ground, solemnly.

“Sorry for what I said...” he explained, remorsefully.

Was swearing really that big of a deal? Fluttershy didn’t really seem too bothered, just a little shocked, whereas Twilight seemed furious. Maybe it was just a rule one of them had? You weren’t sure.

“Oh, It’s ok, Spike. Just be careful ok?” Fluttershy replied, consoling the baby dragon.

A smile grew on Twilight’s face, satisfied with his apology.

“Well, Fluttershy, we’d better get going now!” she explained to the yellow Pegasus.

“O-Oh, ok...” Fluttershy replied, sadly, “Are you sure you don’t want anything in return for your help?”

She quite clearly felt guilty making you work for free, but it was your own choice to help her.

“We’re sure.” Twilight said back, causing some relief to her worry.

“It was nice getting to know you, Storm.” Fluttershy said to you, smiling.

Most of the nervousness that was once there had vanished, yet the timidness was still audible. Some things never change, but maybe that’s a good thing.

“You too, Fluttershy.” you replied, smiling back, warmly.

And with that, you, Twilight and Spike turned to leave the scene, crossing the familiar stone bridge over the small stream outside the cottage.

“So, what happened while we were gone?” Twilight asked you, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Not much. We just talked about the party and stuff.” you lied, knowing Spike would be able to hear you.

You move closer to her so that she is in earshot of your whispering.

“I had to lie about my cutie mark, I still have no idea what it means.” you whispered to her, hoping Spike wouldn’t be able to hear you.

Probably for the better, you didn’t get a response. Neither of you wanted to risk Spike hearing.

The sun was now beginning to set over Ponyville. The days went by surprisingly fast when you were with friends, but you knew what awaited you in the coming days.

As anxious as it made you, pretty soon, you were gonna have to race Rainbow Dash.
> Chapter 7 - Secrets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Opening the door of the Golden Oak Library, you and Spike through yourself onto the nearest couch. You hadn't exactly done much today, but you still felt quite worn out.

Quiet clearly, Spike felt the same.

"How's your arm, Spike?" Twilight asked, apologetically.
She was picking up some books that were scattered across the floor of the library with her unicorn magic. Twilight must've been feeling guilty, as she never asked how he was as she was to distracted by the baby dragon's outburst.

"It's not too bad. Just a bit red, that's all." Spike replied, smiling reassuringly.

Twilight continued organising the scattered books for the next few minutes, while Spike prodded at his small wound with his tail.

"I'm gonna head off to bed," Twilight informed you, groggily, "It's been a long day."

You figured that she had done most of the chasing when it came to catching Fluttershy's escaped chicken. It would've made sense due to Spike's small infrastructure.

"Oh, ok! Goodnight, Twilight!" you replied, smiling happily.
Spike also said goodnight as the Alicorn disappeared up the staircase. 

"Goodnight, guys!" she replied as she fully vanished at the top of the stairs.

Now that Twilight had gone to bed, you were expecting Spike to roll over onto his side and fall asleep, but he didn't.
Instead, a serious look overcame him as he stared right at you.

"Are you and Twilight hiding something from me?" he asked, the usual quirkiness of his voice non-existent.

Suddenly, you feel panic start to well up inside of you. Had he heard what you and Twilight had been whispering this whole time. A pit formed in your stomach as you thought about who he might tell if he found out you had been hiding your past from him.

"U-Um... No? Why?" you replied, nervously.

The baby dragon simply stared you down in response, even rivalling that of Fluttershy.

Maybe you should tell him.

"Can I trust you?" you asked him, causing him to drop his stare. Some of his usual 'charm' returned at that moment, allowing you some relaxation.

"Of course. I'm your bro." he answered, jokingly. 
However, behind that joking demeanour, you knew he was being serious.

Over the course of time that you'd known him, he seemed pretty trustworthy, and you didn't expect him to tell anypony if you asked him no too.

"And you promise to not tell anypony?" you asked, your ears drooping slightly.

"I promise."
It wasn't a pinkie promise, but you weren't being picky.

And with that, you could now tell Spike about your past. The secret you and Twilight had been hiding from him for the entire day.

You shuffled around in the couch, uncomfortable with the situation you had gotten yourself into.

"Basically..." you began, "I'm from a different world."

At first you were met with silence, just as it was with Twilight, but soon...

"Cool!" the baby dragon replied, excitement in his eyes, "But is that all you were hiding, because I'm not all that bothered where you're from."

You were slightly puzzled, but then realised that maybe it was for the better that Spike didn't really mind. But it did make you think.
You were hiding your secret from him for nothing.

"Well... I think I died in my original world," you continue, causing Spike's excitement to be replaced with shock, "It's ok though, because honestly..."

Spike didn't interrupt and instead let you continue, letting you know he was taking this seriously. You were also slightly confused as to why he was trusting you so easily. Not that you were complaining. It was the truth after all.

"I prefer it here." you said with a smile.

Spike shuffled closer to you on the couch with a sad expression on his face, and then asked you something you hadn't really even told Twilight about.

"What was your world like?" he asked, curiously.

You had never really thought back to it since you arrived, but you remembered all the imperfections that Earth had. War, climate change, extinction, you name it.
But Earth did also have its fair share of good things.

"Now that I think about it, it wasn't that great," you said, causing some slight shock to Spike, "There were great battles raging all over the world every day. Natural locations were disappearing and entire species were being killed off."

"That's terrible!" Spike looked incredibly saddened at this news, but you didn't want him to pity you just because your home world had a lot of major flaws.
While your home world didn't have the magic that Equestria had, it still had many things that this world did not.

"But it did also have a lot of nice things. It had beautiful natural landmarks, like the Everfree Forest but less evil," you explained, making Spike a little happier, "And it had video games and cartoons..."

You hadn't really thought about technology since you had arrived here, either. Equestria seemed to thrive even without it, most likely due to their use of magic.

"Video games?" Spike questioned, wondering what was so great about something that sounded so boring.

Truthfully, you had no idea how to explain video games to someone with no prior knowledge of them. You decided that the best course of action would be to try and create something to show him.

"Let me show you." you replied, already thinking of how to demonstrate animation.

Getting off the couch, you walked over to a bookshelf that Twilight had previously organised and pulled out a book. The book you had picked up was entirely blank, most likely a sketching book.

You didn't think Twilight would keep these books around, but then again, her house did double as a library.

You walked over to a desk that Twilight occasionally studied at and picked up a quill with your free hoof. Slamming the empty book down on the desk, it flipped open onto the first page.

Hurriedly, you sketched a grassy meadow with a large orb hovering above it, intended to be the sun.

Flipping over to the next page, you sketched the exact same thing, but the sun had moved a little to the left.
You repeated this again and again, until the sun had moved all the way to the right.

You had made a flipbook. Sure it wasn't exactly a videogame, but rather a cartoon, much like this world once was.
You showed your flipbook to Spike, who was somewhat impressed, but not nearly as much as you thought he would be.

"Moving pictures? We've got them here too!" he said, happy that what he thought were video games existed in Equestria.

"No, Spike, this isn't an actual video game," you inform him, shaking your head, "In video games, you can control the pictures."

This caused Spike to desperately want to play one, but much to his disappointment, they did not exist in Equestria.

"Your world sounds like fun, Storm!" Spike said, glad that you had entrusted him with this secret.

Although you did miss some of the luxuries of Earth, it didn't come close to Equestria in any way. On Earth, kindness was a relatively rare thing to come by, yet here it was plentiful.

"It's not as good as here, trust me." you laughed in response.

Spike let out a loud yawn as he stretched his arms above his head.

"Thanks for telling me this, Storm, but I'm gonna hit the hay." he said, leaping off of the couch groggily.

"Wait," you almost shouted, causing him the turn back around quickly, "You promise not to tell anypony? Not even Rarity?"

You knew that he had a crush on Rarity no matter how much he denied it. You even recalled him admitting it to Twilight and Pinkie Pie, not that you could tell him that, though.

While you were telling him about your past, you still weren't going to tell him about the show that featured him as a character.

"Wha-? I don't have a crush on Rarity! I don't know what you're talking about." he replied, trying his best to sound confused.

You laughed at his comedic antics, causing Spike to begin laughing too.

"I promise, dude." he answered, stopping his laughing abruptly.

"Thanks." you replied, smiling warmly.

The baby dragon nodded, smiling back, before finally turning and walking up the stairs to join Twilight in slumber. Now that you thought about it, maybe you should get some sleep too. You did wake up in the middle of last night.

Walking up the stairs, Spike had already entered his bedroom, leaving you alone in the realm of consciousness. Your bedroom door crept open, and then swung firmly shut, blocking out any light that may have been entering your room.

Hopping into bed, you found yourself drifting into sleep almost instantly. Welcoming the dreamscape, you parted with the real world until the next day arrived...
> Chapter 8 - Inevitable
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before long, Celestia’s sun had risen once again, bringing light to a new day.

Sunlight shone down through your window, illuminating your room with a soft glow. It felt warm and cozy, and for once you didn’t want to get up.

Your dreams hadn’t returned, giving you the opportunity to get a full night of uninterrupted sleep. You had never felt so well rested since you arrived here on Tuesday.

Today was Sunday, meaning you didn’t have to go to work at Sweet Apple Acres.

Making the best of the opportunity given to you, you rolled over so that you faced the oak wall beside your bed, your grey legs sprawling out across the mattress.

Your eyes close as you basked in the soothing warmth of the sunlight, and felt yourself slowly drifting back into sleep.

Crash!

”Spike! What did I tell you about being careful on the ladder?” You heard Twilight’s voice resonate quietly through the floorboards, responding to the crashing sound.

The abrupt sound awoke you from your partial slumber, putting you into a state of awareness instantly.

Deciding that you weren’t gonna get back to sleep anytime soon, you hopped groggily out of bed. Funny how more sleep ended up with you being more tired. Nevertheless, you felt more refreshed.

Entering the now familiar bathroom, you stepped into the shower and turn it on. Warm water flowed down your body, and it felt amazing and calming all at once.

Instantly, you felt yourself waking up from your case of the morning blues.

After about 10 minutes, you turned off the shower and climbed out, drying yourself off with the same blue towel you used everyday. By now, it was essentially your towel. Twilight and Spike had plenty others to use, and they never seemed to use this one.

At last, you decided to make your way down the stairs and investigate the cause of the loud sound, as well as greet Twilight and Spike.

Upon reaching the base of the stairs, you saw a mess of books scattered across the flooring, as well as a ladder placed horizontally on the floor.

“Um... Morning, guys?” you greeted them, confused as to what was going on.

Twilight was busy picking up and stacking the fallen books with her magic, while Spike was moving the stacked books onto the nearest bookshelf he could find. It was like a conveyor belt, and you had to admit, it was kinda cool.

“Oh, good morning, Storm!“ Twilight responded, happily, looking up from the pile of books.

“Hey, Storm!” Spike also added, but not looking away from his shelving duty.

“What happened?” you asked, staring at the somewhat large sprawl of books.

Before Twilight could begin to explain, Spike decided he would give his own depiction of what happened.

“Basically, I was on top of that ladder,” he began, pointing towards the wooden ladder that was now on the floor,  “And then out of nowhere I get this allergic reaction. Then I sneezed and fell off the ladder, scattering those books everywhere!”

You looked to Twilight, who had an unimpressed look on her face.

“You did not sneeze! You just fell!” she corrected him.

“Maybe, but at least half of it was true!” Spike retorted, pointing an accusing claw at Twilight.

Looking down at the pile of books, you decided that it would be a lot more efficient if you helped out too.

“Do you need any help?” you asked them, leaving it as their choice as to wether you help or not. You did want today to be your laid back day, but if they needed your help, you would gladly give it to them.

It was the least you could do, considering what they had done for you.

“Actually, I don’t mean to be a burden, but...” Twilight began to explain, a look of slight guilt about her, “Me and Spike have to go down to the Carousel Boutique to help Rarity.”

You could see where this was going, but you didn’t mind sitting out one adventure. You could always get to know Rarity a little better some other time.

“So if it’s not any trouble, can you stay here and tidy up a bit?” Twilight asked in a apologetic tone, feeling guilty for what Spike’s accident had caused.

“Sure!” you answered with a reassuring smile on your face. Truthfully, you didn’t mind it. It had been a while since you had some time to yourself.

"You don't mind having to stay here all by yourself?" she replied, still feeling a little guilty.

"I'm sure." you answered, adamant with your answer.

You were pretty sure you could get this cleaned up relatively fast. The pile was a lot smaller than it was when you first came down the stairs, now reduced to only a dozen or so books.

"Thank you," Twilight said, smiling at you, "Come on Spike! We're going to see Rarity!"

Instantly, Spike dropped what he was doing and turned to Twilight, following her through the open front door. It kind of looked like he was floating.

Deciding not to question it, you turned to the largish pile of books Spike had created on the floor. All of the books seemed to be information books, which didn't interest you to greatly.
It didn't really come as a surprise to you, as even on Earth libraries kept their shelves organised to a certain theme.

You began stacking the books into neat piles, each four or five books in height, until none were left in the pile.

A wave of worry suddenly hit you as you thought about how you were going to carry the books to their shelves. You could pick up each pile and take it over to the shelf, but that would mean you'd have to walk on your hind legs, something you had not attempted since your first few minutes in Equestria.

Deciding it would be best to not risk recreating the mess you had just cleaned up, you settled with holding a single book in your hoof, while holding a second one in your mouth.

You began neatly placing the books on the bottom rows of the shelf, having no idea why Spike wasn't doing this to begin with. The bottom shelves were empty, so there was no need to reach the top ones.

After 15 minutes of organising books, you were finally done with your chore. Quite honestly, you had no idea how Twilight and Spike did this everyday. It was so boring.

Finally wanting to utilize your day off, you study the shelves for a book to read. Your brain instantly thought of Daring Do, but no matter how much you searched, you couldn't find any books from the series.

Disappointed, you settled with a book that seemed to be named after the pony that was taking care of you: Twilight. On the back of the book was some reviews, and one of them read 'The best love story of all time!'

This caused you to laugh, remembering a joke that was quite popular on Earth. However, maybe in Equestria it is actually a good book.

Opening the book, you saw the name of the first chapter.

It was the same book. Words had been altered here and there, but it was exactly the same book.
You continued reading nonetheless.

"Wow. This book is-"

Crash!

You had begun talking to yourself, in awe of how human texts had been rewritten in Equestria, but before you could finish your sentence, you were interrupted by a loud sound from upstairs.

Maybe Spike came home early and was causing more chaos?

No. It had only been half an hour. And this sound was a lot louder than the last.

Maybe it's a home invader, you thought, as you wings instinctively fanned out. You hadn't paid much attention to your wings today, but you could see them out of the corner of your eye.

There was no pain, you could move them freely, and the shape looked fine. They had healed.

You didn't have time to dwell on that now, however. The Golden Oak Library was potentially being broken in to.

Cautiously, you walked up the stares, aware of any hidden spots the invader could be hiding. You searched your room, the bathroom, and Twilight's room, which you hadn't been in up until this point.

Nopony was in any of them. That only left one door that you didn't know existed, probably because it was inside Twilight's room.

Opening the door, you noticed it led out to a balcony. You recognised it as the same one from the show, even if it was in a different location.

You didn't have time to take in the view though, as laying on the floor was Rainbow Dash.

She must have crashed down and landed here, you thought to yourself, wondering whether she was still conscious.

"Rainbow?" you said, cautiously, trying to get a response.

You didn't get one instantly, but after a few seconds, her eyes slowly crept open.

"W-Where-" she quietly questioned, looking around dizzily. Her question was cut off as soon as she saw you standing above her.

"Wah!" she screamed, flying up into the air. She didn't seem to recognise you, at first.

"O-Oh! Storm! I guess it worked!" Rainbow said, attempting to correct herself after being startled like that.

"You guess what worked?" you asked, curiously. As far as you could see, the only thing she had done was knock herself out on Twilight's balcony.

Rainbow Dash simply stared at you, a puzzled expression on her face.

"The Sonic Rainboom, duh! Did you not hear it?" she said, sounding a little insulted.

No, you did not hear the Sonic Rainboom, although now that she mentioned it, you were curious as to what it looked like. Judging from the fact that you didn't hear it, and she was knocked out on the balcony, it probably didn't work the way she planned.

"Are you sure it worked?" you asked her, trying to hint that it most likely didn't.

"Yep. I did a Sonic Rainboom to get all the way over here as fast as I could, and I got here, right?" she boasted, proudly crossing her front hooves.

"Right..." you replied, deciding not to try proving her wrong, "So what're you doing here?"

Rainbow flew down, landing next to you.

"I'm here for that race, dummy. You didn't forget, did you?" she laughed.

Ah. The race. The race you had been putting off for as long as you could.

You never told anypony, but you'd actually been sleeping in a position that caused your wings to heal slower. As much as you wanted to fly, your anxiety over this race had gotten the better of you.

Despite your best efforts, however, Rainbow just so happened to show up on the day that your wings healed.

"N-No... I never forget! How would I forget!" you laughed nervously.

Despite your fear being quite obvious, Rainbow seemed quite oblivious to it.

"How about we start the race from here. First one to the Everfree Forest!" she suggested, already getting in a position to make take off easier.

You had to figure out a way out of this. Fast.

"3..." you heard her say.

Looking down at her, her head was lowered down to the ground. She was putting all her pressure on her front hooves. It looked very similar to what Olympic runners would do at the start of a race.

"2..."

Her tongue was sticking out the side of her mouth, as if she was focusing on putting as much force into the take off as she could.

"1..."

This was it. You either come up with something now or you embarrass yourself. You would end up embarrassing yourself, either way, but you didn't want to lose your dignity like this.

"Wait!" you shouted suddenly, causing her to stand up and look at you with slight annoyance.

"What?" she said with an unimpressed tone.

"Twilight asked me to clean up the library. I can't possibly leave until I've done what she asked." you lied. You'd already done what Twilight asked, you just wanted to find a good time to tell Rainbow Dash you couldn't fly.

"Ugh! Seriously?" she whined as you opened the door to re-enter the library.

"We can always have the race after, right?" you asked, trying to keep the act up. 

"Yeah, but don't think I'm going anywhere until we've had the race!" she added, following you into the library.

"Suit yourself!" you laughed in response.

Now that you had successfully evaded the race for the time being, you needed to find something to clean up. You and Rainbow Dash walked down the stairs, and she took a seat on the couch.
You jumped onto the couch opposite her, much like how you and Spike are usually positioned.

"So what's she want you to clean?" she asked, laying down with her fore-hooves behind her head. Her hind legs were crossed over, one of her hoofs hanging in mid-air.

"The whole place. I've only got my room left to do, though." you explained. Truth be told, it didn't seem like she was listening, as the next thing she asked completely changed the subject.

"Why are you still crashing at Twilight's place anyway?" she asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

Your original reason was that your wings were injured, but now that they were healed, you didn't really have one.

"Um..." you began, causing her to look at you suspiciously out the corner of her eyes, "I'll explain when I've cleaned my room."

Before she could reply, you got up from the couch opposite her and speed-walked up the stairs. You didn't hear her respond. She just simply lay there, probably bored.

You entered your room, slamming the door shut behind you.

How exactly were you supposed to tell her you couldn't fly? You should've thought about this in advance, but you didn't think the moment would have arrived so soon.

"How about... I forgot. Yeah! That could work! I lost some of my memory when I crashed here!" you say out loud. You congratulate yourself on that idea, then heard Rainbow shouting up to you.

"Storm! How long are you gonna be! This is soooo boring!" you heard her whine.

Without replying, you left your room and made your way down the stairs.

"I'm done." you said as you reached the base of the staircase.

"Great! Can we race now?" she asked, excitedly, now hovering above the couch.

You took a seat on the couch opposite her once again, going over your reasoning in your head.

"Actually, I have to tell you something first." you said with a serious expression on your face.

In any other situation, Rainbow likely would've responded with a groan of boredom, but seeing the seriousness on your face, she gently lowered back down to the couch.

"What's up?" she asked. The competitiveness in her eyes had been replaced almost completely with a caring shimmer.

You braced yourself for the coming conversation, and what her reaction may be. This was inevitable, after all.

"You asked me why I'm still crashing with Twilight?" you said as a start to the conversation.

"Oh yeah! But honestly I'm not too bothered. You've got your reasons,  right?" she replied, laughing half heartedly to lighten the mood.

"I'm still staying here because when I crashed down and hurt my wings, I lost some of my memory too." you lied. Now that you said it out loud, it didn't sound as convincing, but she seemed to believe it.

"Where are you going with this?" she questioned, her eyes now full of concern.

"I think I forgot how to fly."

Rainbow Dash was silent for a while, as were you. Not a word was spoken for the next minute or two. You were half expecting her to ask why you accepted her challenge if you can't even fly, but to your surprise, she didn't.

Instead, she started laughing. All that care she had just shown dissolved in an instant as she fell onto her back, her legs writhing in the air as she laughed hysterically.

“Bahahaha! You’re a laugh, Storm!” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.

You looked down slightly out of shame, trying not to make any further eye contact. After a few more seconds of silence, Rainbow finally spoke up.

“Are you serious?” she asked, squinting with confusion. It wasn’t everyday somepony met a fully grown Pegasus who couldn’t fly.

You nodded your head weakly, still not making eye contact.

Rainbow Dash’s look of confusion quickly transformed back into the caring expression you had seen a few moments ago. Finally making eye contact, you saw a faint sparkle of light in her eyes.

“I...” she said, quietly, looking straight at you. Her eyes were squinted slightly, as if she was nervous about something. And then she said something to you that you never thought you would ever hear.

“I could... teach you. If you want.”
> Chapter 9 - Leap of Faith
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Really?" you asked to her, slightly shocked that she'd be willing to teach you how to fly.

"Sure! You can't really be a Pegasus if you can't fly, right?" she responded. Usually, you probably would've gotten offended by that, but you had only been a Pegasus for a week.

You recalled that Rainbow Dash taught Twilight how to fly, letting you know that you were in capable hoofs.

"You taught Twilight to fly, right?" you asked, reminiscing that episode.

Rainbow looked at you, confused. Had you said something wrong?

"No? I didn't? Who told you that?"

Suddenly, you realised that this must be a separate reality from the show. The show was just an interpretation of this reality, after all. To be honest, you were surprised you didn't realise this sooner due to the layout of the Golden Oak Library.

"Oh, I just assumed you did." you answered, quickly. It was the best lie you could come up with in that short space of time.

"Oh. Well, Fluttershy taught her to fly. I was busy on the day, and I figured Twilight wouldn't be flying in a way similar to me, anyway." she explained, almost boastfully.

"And what do you mean by 'similar to you'?" you asked her curiously.

"Incredibly fast, duh!" she answered with a mischievous smirk on her face, "Come on, we'd better get started with your lessons."

Rainbow Dash flew off the couch and hovered up the stairs. You knew she liked flying, but did she really have to rub it in that much?

Nevertheless, you walked after her, eventually reaching the balcony where you had previously found her.

The balcony seemed large enough to do basic hovering without crashing into anything, even with two ponies.

"We may as well start here." Rainbow stated as she finally lowered back down to the ground.

"So what're we gonna get started with?" you asked excitedly. Now that the looming pressure of the race had been subsided, there was nothing really stopping you from learning to fly, and you wanted to do it as quickly as possible.

"Well we're gonna have to start with the basic flapping of the wings and then some hovering." she instructed, demonstrating as she lifted off of the ground again.

You began moving your wings up and down, using all your energy to raise them as they fell effortlessly. However, despite your best efforts, you were not flying.

Rainbow Dash looked at you from above, watching your wing movement carefully.

"Try putting the same amount of effort into each movement." she suggested.

Trying what she had suggested, you used less energy when you raised your wings, and put more energy into the lowering of them. Surprisingly, this felt a lot easier than it had before.

Much to your happiness, and slight surprise, you felt yourself lift from the ground. You weren't very high up, probably only a few inches, but it was progress.

"I-I'm flying!" you exclaimed, extatically.

Looking up at Rainbow Dash, you saw a proud smile on her face. Although, whether it was for your progress or for her tutoring you had no idea. Looking at Rainbow, however, caused you to lose your concentration, and you fell.

Thankfully, as you weren't very high, it didn't hurt at all.

"How was that?" you asked, curious as to what she thought.

"Not bad, but we might have to work have to work on your concentration." she snickered, still floating in mid-air.

The joke she was making went straight over your head, and you were eager to continue your lessons.

"What now?" you asked her.

Rainbow grabbed an apple from a bowel that had been placed on the nearby table, and took a bite out of it. She seemed awfully smug for what next came out of her mouth.

"Jump off the balcony. If you land and don't die, you pass the lesson." she explained, lying back in mid-air with a hoof behind her head.

The balcony wasn't too high up, probably about 2 or 3 stories if it was a normal building, but it would surely kill you if you fell from it. Or at the very least, it would cripple you to the point of no return.

"Are you sure that's safe?" you asked, worried about your safety.

Rainbow's eyes were closed as she took another bite out of her apple. She didn't seem to concerned about it. You couldn't say for sure whether this calmed you or not, though.

"Sure it is. I've done similar stuff plenty of times!" Her eyes opened as she raised from her laid back position, "Watch."

She stopped eating the apple she was holding and threw it off the balcony. Upon impact with the grassy ground, it shattered into pieces.

"Um..." she said, nervously, looking at the mushy remains of the apple. "You'll be fine!"

Rainbow hit you on the back with a hoof, pushing you a little further towards the edge of the balcony.

"Fine, but if I die, I'm haunting you." you joked, as you braced to jump over the fence.

You heard Rainbow laugh behind you, but before you could respond you threw yourself over the fence. Fanning out your grey wings, you did exactly like Rainbow just taught you. You flap your wings up and down with equal amounts of effort, as too not tire you out.

Much to your relief, you felt your fall starting to slow, and before long, your hooves safely impacted the ground. The grass felt quite cushiony due to the slow speed you were falling.

"See, Storm! You did it!" Rainbow congratulated you as she flew down to you.

Despite how gracefully you floated down, seeing how Rainbow Dash flew down made you feel unaccomplished. How were you ever going to beat her in a race?

"Does that mean I can learn to fly now?" you asked, impatiently.

One reason you wanted to fly was because it was cool, but the main reason was so you could hang out with Rainbow Dash some more. You liked the others and all, but something about Rainbow made you want to be around her.

"Um... Not yet," Rainbow answered, laughing suspiciously, "There's one more thing you have to do first."

"And what would that be?" you asked, slightly disappointed.

Rainbow Dash smirked at you, not wanting to reveal what she had in store for you.

"You'll see." was the only answer you got as she began to lift from the ground again. She began flying forward at walking speed, so that you could keep up with her.

Whilst you had no idea where the two of you were going, you couldn't help but feel nervous. Knowing Rainbow Dash, it would be something that pushed what you had just learnt to the limit.
Although you were a bit confused as to why you couldn't just start learning flight right now, you chose not to question her. She knew what she was doing. She is the fastest Pegasus in Equestria, after all.

———————————————————————

After a long while of walking, the two of you eventually reached a large cliffy area. Large waterfalls dotted the landscape, causing you to recognise the area as Neighagra Falls.
You weren't going towards the waterfalls, however. Instead you were heading towards a large hill.

Rainbow Dash had no problem reaching the top of the hill, because she could fly effortlessly, however you had a much harder time. You had to walk up the large slope, not yet confident enough in your wings being able to carry you up.

Finally, you reached the top of the hill. Not much of note was there, yet you did see a sign that read 'Lover's Leap'. Not knowing what that sign meant, you walked over to it, only to see exactly what it meant.

Just beyond the sign was a huge cliff, leading right into a large lake at the base of it. There was no way you were jumping off that.

"Here we are!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed excitedly as she looked over the edge of Lover's Leap, "If you pass this lesson, you wont have to do anymore!"

You didn't quite understand what she meant, and jumped to the conclusion that you were gonna die either way.

"You want me to jump off this, don't you?" you asked her with a monotone voice.

"Yep!" she exclaimed, the mischievous grin not leaving her face.

"Yeah, no." you replied bluntly, turning around to head down the hill.

Before you could start making your way down, Rainbow Dash flew over you and blocked you.

"If you wanna fly, this is the fastest way to learn, Storm." she said to you, her voice full of both annoyance and concern, "Besides, it's perfectly safe."

She was lying. She knew full well this place was just called 'Lover's Leap' as it was a popular place for ponies who were dating to come, not to jump off. She wasn't gonna tell you that though.

The bottom of the lake was actually too shallow to break your fall upon impact with it, meaning anypony who actually jumped off would surely die. Sure, it was a major safety violation, but the place wasn't owned, so nopony bothered changing the sign. 

You turned back to face the large cliff, facing what could either be your ticket to the skies or your passage to hell.

"If I pass this, I'll know how to fly right?" you asked, worried. Rainbow nodded her head in response, "And if I fail?"

"You'll land in the water, just fine!" Rainbow lied. All she wanted was for you to be able to fly, so much so that she was willing to put your safety at risk.

She believed you could do it though. She wouldn't put your life on the line if she thought you wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Ok." you replied, staring down at the still water below you.

All you felt at that moment was wind beginning to pick up, slowly starting to whip at your body more and more. You were falling.

Your wings fanned out and began to flap, just like when you had jumped off the balcony. You moved them up and down, trying as hard as you could to keep the effort balanced. And, to your relief, your fall was being slowed.

That relief was short lived, however. As you picked up more and more speed, your slowed fall was beginning to deteriorate. You sped up faster, and faster, and faster.

Please fly. Please, please fly, Rainbow Dash thought as she watched you plummeting towards the lake.

But no matter how hard you tried, your inevitable collision with the surface was fast approaching. The reflective surface of the lake was getting close, and closer, and closer.

“Oh... shit.“ Rainbow muttered to herself, instantly flying down the cliff after you. She soared through the air, reaching a hoof out too you.

With only a few seconds left before your demise, you felt two hooves wrap around you. Still shaken, you could just about make out two cyan hooves holding you. Rainbow had caught you, and was now attempting to carry you back up the cliff.

Thankfully, she got you up there, and she dropped you down onto the soft grass. You didn’t land properly, instead you instantly collapsed onto your stomach, breathless.

Rainbow landed beside you and rubbed the back of her head, nervously.

“Are you ok?” she asked after giving you a few seconds to catch your breath. Her voice seemed full of care. None of her usual cockiness or competitiveness was present.

“I’m not... Doing that... Again...” you answered between breaths. Despite her showing a caring side of her that very few ponies ever get to see, you were too blinded by your second near death experience in a week to take any notice.

“Don’t you wanna be able to fly?” Rainbow asked, her voice full of defeat. Right now, you would’ve been expecting her to be calling you a chicken, or teasing you into giving it another go, but she wasn’t, “What about the race? It can’t happen if you can’t fly!”

Never in the show had you seen such sadness in her eyes. She seemed like she was really looking forward to your race with her, but all you’d been doing this whole time was dreading it. Despite not talking to her that much yet, Rainbow Dash actually seemed to care about you.
But right now, you were to shaken to see it.

“Is that all you care about? The race? Just so you can brag about it after you win?” you snapped at her. If you could’ve seen how she was acting at this moment, you probably would’ve regretted it, “I just nearly died, Rainbow. Again.”

You didn’t notice what you had just let slip out, but quite frankly, you were sick of nearly dying.

“What do you mean again?” she asked, her own frustration starting to build up.

You didn’t answer. You just turned around and began making your way down the hill.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll get Twilight to teach me or something.” you said, waving your hoof back at her. Despite how annoyed you were, you regretted that as soon as it left your mouth.

All of Rainbow Dash’s built up frustration subsided in an instant at that moment. As much as she wanted to come after you, she knew that you needed time to cool down after that experience.

All she could do right now though, was watch with saddened eyes as you disappeared over the hill. You knew deep down that you wouldn’t ask Twilight for her help, and Rainbow probably knew that too. You wanted Rainbow to teach you, and that‘s final. But just not yet.

Maybe tomorrow, you both thought.
> Chapter 10 - Final Lesson
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon arriving back at the Golden Oak Library, the sun had already set.

You went straight to bed, not saying too much to Twilight or Spike. Both expressed concern over your downtrodden state, but you didn’t want to talk about your near death experience just yet.

You just hoped the day wouldn’t rub off on your relationship with Rainbow Dash too drastically. It was only the first time you’d hung out with her.

Lying in your bed, you went over the events in your head, eventually coming to rationalise every thing that happened. You couldn’t help but remember the last thing you said to her, even though she saved your life.

You couldn’t get to sleep. Various different explanations as to why you couldn’t fly continued to pop up in your head.

Jumping off that cliff was intended to trigger your Pegasus instincts, which would cause you to fly. But you aren’t naturally a Pegasus, you were a human. This meant that your human instincts took over your Pegasus ones.

That explanation flashed into your mind as you were dozing off to sleep, as if you had just become a science book. Maybe living with Twilight was having an effect on you.

It wasn’t proven, but you strongly believed your new found explanation. With renewed courage, you felt yourself succumb to sleep. You just hoped she wasn’t mad at you.

The next morning you awoke, but something was off.

You were in your apartment.

Not this again.

The dream that had been absent from your life for a while had returned, a lot more vivid than it used to be. It played out just like last time, the sky and clouds all rotting away into their dark colours, but something was new.

The muffled voice was clearer.

It was familiar, but you didn’t know where you had heard it.

Suddenly it hit you.



 “Is that all you care about? The race? Just so you can brag about it when you win? I just nearly died, Rainbow. Again.” 



It was your voice. The voice of you clawing into Rainbow Dash after she had just saved your life.

Guilt had begun welling up inside of you. How could you treat her like that? She just wanted you to fly as soon as possible. She saved your life.

The guilt continued building up until it hurt. It physically hurt.

You screamed with agony as your insides burnt up, as if every ounce of guilt inside you was being replaced with molten lava. You saw your hands and arms reach out as they burst into flames. Your human arms.

The flames spread down your arms until they reached your body, the heat burning your flesh down to the bone.

And then it stopped. The pain stopped.

Your human arms morphed into their grey pony counterparts, and they fell down onto your equally grey chest. You just hoped Twilight and Spike hadn’t heard your screams.

Climbing out of bed, you followed your usual routine. But today it didn’t feel as relaxing.

The only thing on your mind was Rainbow Dash.

You wanted to see her again as soon as possible, and you wanted to apologise for being so insensitive.

Wow. Apologising to Rainbow Dash for being insensitive. You never thought you would have to do that.

But why were you so worried about her? You had your fair share of fights with friends on Earth, but none had worried you like this.

But then, something else interrupted your thoughts. You were climbing out of the shower when you remembered. It’s Monday.

You had to go to work at Sweet Apple Acres.

“Oh, crap!” you exclaimed out loud, hurriedly drying yourself off. You sprinted down the stairs, whizzing past both Twilight and Spike.

“Sorry guys, gonna be late!” you said to them as you reached for the door.

“Hold it!” you heard Twilight shout as she held the door shut with her unicorn magic, “Todays an off-day, so you don’t have to go in.”

Relieved, you walked over to your usual couch and slumped down onto it.

“So now will you tell us what was wrong with you last night?” she asked, a concerned look on her face.

“Yeah, dude. We’ve never seen you so upset before.” Spike added, taking a seat next to you.

You looked at both of them solemnly, and decided that venting to them might take away some of your stress. It was what they wanted anyway.

“Basically, Rainbow Dash came by, and I told her how I can’t fly, so she offered to teach me,” you begun. You looked at them again to make sure they were listening, and sure enough, they were both looking at you contently.

“She said I should jump off this huge cliff at Neighagra Falls, so I did, and I couldn’t fly. Then Rainbow caught me, and I flipped out at her because I nearly died. Now I’m really worried she’s gonna hate me for lashing out at her like that.” you explained. That was as short as you could make it, even if it made you sound like Pinkie Pie.

Distracting you from your own worries, you felt Twilight place a comforting hoof around you.

“Rainbow Dash is a lot of things. She’s cocky. She’s egotistical. But she’s loyal. She won’t give up on you because you got mad at her, trust me. If Rainbow is willing to go with you all the way up to Neighagra Falls and instantly put you up to a test like that, then she sees a lot in you.” Twilight informed you, consoling you.

You had to admit, it made you feel a lot better. But you still had to wonder wether she was mad.

Interrupting you from your meaningful conversation, you heard a faint yet somewhat aggressive knock on the door.

“I’ll get it!” Spike shouted, instantly jumping up and running over to the door. You couldn’t see who it was, but Spike seemed pretty deep in conversation with them. Maybe it was Rarity?

Or, at least, that was what you thought until Spike turned around and said it was for you.

Approaching the door, you saw nobody in the doorway. Exiting the house, you closed the front door behind you and looked around. Nopony in sight.

“Hey!” you heard a scratchy voice call out to you.

Instinctively, you looked in the one direction you didn’t check. Up.

And there she was, the mare you so desperately wanted to see, Rainbow Dash, hovering above you.

“Oh, uh... Hey, Rainbow Dash.” you said, weakly, as she lowered down to you. As much as you wanted to see her, you couldn’t help but feel nervous after recalling yesterday’s events.

“Gee, don’t look happy to see me or anything!” she joked, a somewhat sly smirk on her face.

The next few seconds were quite as you were almost hoping for Spike to come out and interrupt, but eventually you decided that now would be the best time for apologies.

“I’m... sorry, Rainbow. I shouldn’t have flipped out at you like that. I know you just wanted to help.” you said, apologetically while rubbing one foreleg with the other.

“Ya know what? I’m sorry too, Storm,” Rainbow admitted, surprising you slightly, “I should’ve taught you properly, instead of getting ahead of myself.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Rainbow Dash? Admitting her flaws? Nevertheless, she noticed your surprised silence and attempted to lighten the mood again.

“I’m so glad Twilights not here. She’d probably turn this into a letter for Princess Celestia.” she joked, causing you to laugh. Rainbow smiled proudly at getting you to laugh, before being interrupted by Twilight herself.

“I was here the whole time. And that’s not a bad idea! Spike!” you heard her shouting from the balcony you had jumped from the previous day.

“You are such an egghead, Twilight!” Rainbow replied, still a little surprised by the Alicorns sudden intervention.

“So... Can you still teach me to fly?” you finally asked, getting a slight smile from her in return.

“Do you want me to?” The cyan Pegasus asked, clearly self conscious of her ability to teach you. You simply nodded, causing her confident smirk to return, “Then I pinkie promise that I will be the best flight teacher ever!”

You giggled at her egotism, before she suddenly soared away with a trail of rainbows behind her. Quickly, she returned just as fast as she left.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” she apologised, before landing next to you to walk alongside you, “Follow me.”

Maybe this was her way of making amends after practically almost killing you and all, but instead of hovering beside you she was actually walking with you.

After a while of walking, you eventually found yourself in a large field. It seemed perfect for flight practice, even if you had no idea where it was.

After a single glance up, however, you knew instantly where you were.

You were below Rainbow Dash's Cloudominium.

"Here we are!" Rainbow stated as she quickly flew up and pulled down a cloud to sit on.

"Is that your house?" you asked, looking up at the structure in awe. It looked even better in real life than in the show.

"Yep! Pretty cool, right?" she boasted, laying back on the cloud and looking up at her home.

"Yeah..." you said, taken aback by the beautiful structure.

"Anyway," Rainbow sat up on the cloud, awakening you from your partial trance, "I'm gonna teach you properly this time. You already know how to hover, so how about gaining height?"

Although it seemed pretty obvious how to hover, you had no idea how to get any higher.

"Try putting more effort into lowering your wings. That might help." she suggested upon seeing your hesitation.

Following what she had instructed, you flapped your wings with equal effort in order to begin hovering. Once you felt your hooves leave the ground, you began focusing more on lowering your wings.

Instantly, you felt yourself beginning to get higher. And higher. And higher.

"Great, Storm! You're flying!" Rainbow congratulated you as she flew up beside you.

You continued ascending to the point that Rainbow’s house actually seemed reachable. The view was outstanding, but you were too worried by something that had just crossed your mind to bother taking it in.

"Um... Rainbow?" you asked, looking at her with concern in your eyes, "How do I get down?"

Upon hearing your question, she snickered slightly, but stopped it by placing a hoof over her mouth.

"What?" you asked, now in a stationery hover.

"Just do the same thing but put more effort into raising them, duh!" she laughed, making you feel slightly stupid.

Following what she said, you did the exact same thing again, but put more effort into raising your wings. Much to your relief, you felt yourself slowly descending.
This would've been useful to know when I jumped off that cliff, you thought as you rolled your eyes.

You felt yourself touch the ground a lot sooner than you though, but it felt more fluffy than it once did. Looking down, you saw you were still quite high in the air. At least a few dozen feet.

"Now for your next lesson, gliding!" you heard Rainbow say excitedly from below you. Looking down again, there was a large crash mat of clouds that Rainbow had quickly made in case you fell, "Don't worry, if you fall you'll be fine."

While you had trouble believing her, the clouds did feel soft enough to catch your fall.

"How exactly do I glide?" you asked, not wanting to jump until you knew exactly what to do.

"Oh, just fan out your wings and hold them there. Don't move them or anything." she instructed, confidently. For someone who had never taught before, she was quite good at this. If only she was like this yesterday.

"Ok..." you answered as you braced to jump.

Finally you leapt form the cloud and spread your wings. You held them in place as still as you could, and could feel them slicing through the air like a knife. Looking down, you saw that you were gliding. You were actually gliding.

You softly landed on the cloud as Rainbow flew over to congratulate you.

"Nice job, Storm!" she said, hitting you on the back with a hoof, "Now there's just one more thing for you to learn. Your final lesson..."

Her eyes were squinted with suspense, as if she was trying to intimidate you.

"Stop trying to be intimidating and tell me what is." you replied, bluntly.

"Jeez, fine," she said, grunting, "Soaring."

"Soaring?" you questioned, a look of confusion on your face, "As in, the Wonderbolt, Soarin'?"

"What? No! Soaring, as in, flying!" she answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Although, now that you thought about it, it was quite obvious.

"Ohhhh…" you responded rubbing the back of your head with embarrassment.

"Soaring is basically, actually flying. You can control your speed, you height, and all that," Rainbow explained, "I'm beginning to sound like Twilight."

That caused you both to laugh. While you couldn't imagine Twilight flying around at mach 40 speed, you could definitely imagine her ranting about the physics of flight.

"Oh, cool!" you exclaimed, no longer afraid of flight due to your new ability to glide, "When can we get started?"

Rainbow Dash's excited face quickly dissolved into a sad one. She landed next to you and sat on the cloudy surface.

"Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about first." she admitted, solemnly.

"Sure, Rainbow. What do you need to talk about?" you asked, sitting down next to her. You instantly figured it would be to do with yesterday, probably to do with the 'I-almost-died-again' line you accidently spurted out.

"You probably think I'm only teaching you to fly so I can beat you in the race, huh?" she asked, sadly.

"W-What? No?" you answered. That wasn't fully the truth, though. After she took you straight to the cliff and told you to jump off, you did have a suspicion that she was just trying to rush your lessons.

You were beginning to think that Rainbow put her own pride above her friends.

"Don't lie to yourself, Storm. I was trying to rush your lessons. I wanted to get to the race as fast as I could so I could beat you and make myself look good," she admitted, still as cocky as ever, "Because if there's one thing that makes me feel awesome, it's winning. But I can't win a race against a Pegasus who can't fly."

Your suspicions were being confirmed. Rainbow was just using you to add to her own ego.

"But when you nearly died after jumping off that cliff, I realised there's more to life than winning," she added, looking down at the clouds you both sat on, "What kind of element of loyalty would I be if I kept thinking like that?"

She definitely seemed different than she did yesterday. She still seemed like her usual self, but she seemed more caring and friendly. You saw it yesterday before you left too. She wasn't fighting back when you snapped at her, like she had a realisation.

"I forgive you."

As soon as those words left your mouth, Rainbow's ears perked up and she looked up at you.

"You do?" she asked, a little surprised.

"Sure! You realised that there's more to life than winning, and more to friendship than just competition. Sure, originally you were only friends with me because you wanted to beat me in a race to make yourself look good," that line caused Rainbow's ears to droop again as she realised how selfish that seemed, "But you realised that was wrong."

Rainbow smiled happily at you.

"Thanks, Storm." she said, quietly. This was like a whole other side of Rainbow you had never seen before. A quieter, less competitive side. Maybe your near death experience on the cliff unlocked this new side of her?

"Now let's finish your final lesson!" she exclaimed, back to her usual self.

You were glad you had everything cleared up with her. Even though you knew her true intentions were self-centred, her intentions had now changed. Now, she was gonna try to be the best friend she could possibly be.

Rainbow flew up into the air and hovered over to the edge of the cloudy platform you stood on.

"You're probably wondering how to soar, right?" she asked, looking back over to you.

"Nah. I think I got this." you answered confidently, remembering the line that popped into your head last night.
Don't let your human instincts override your Pegasus ones, you though as you approached the edge.

"Wait!" Rainbow almost shouted, holding a hoof out to prevent you from jumping, "Are you sure? I seriously don't want a repeat of yesterday."

"Trust me." you replied, confidently.

You were still slightly torn over whether she was genuinely worried about your safety, or was still only concerned about her ego.

Nevertheless, she moved a hoof away, a worried look on her face. The look she gave you alone persuaded you that she did care.

At last, you jumped from the cloudy platform. Instantly, Rainbow Dash braced for a quick take off in the event that yesterday repeated itself.

Thankfully, you spread your wings and felt yourself transition from a fall into a glide. You focused on not allowing your human fight or flight response to take hold, and instead you felt something different. You felt your Pegasus instincts kicking in.

It felt like your wings had taken control of themselves. You simply had to think the word up and you would be carried up by your wings. You were flying incredibly fast. Not as fast as Rainbow, mind you, but if you were put up against Twilight or Fluttershy, you’d probably win in terms of speed.

Rainbow Dash relaxed as she watched you fly, until you eventually landed next to her.

"Storm, you did it!" she exclaimed excitedly. You couldn't really believe it yourself.

"I... I did." you replied in bewilderment. Recovering from your slight breathlessness over what you accomplished, the adrenaline rushing through you got the better of you, "So do you want that race now?"

Suddenly, you felt like you actually wanted a race. You knew you would lose, but you felt like you could put up a good fight.

"Nah." Rainbow replied, still smiling, "Maybe when you're as awesome as me!"

She really had changed. Instead of focusing on boosting her ego, she was putting you first. She knew how easily you would lose a race against her, so chose to decline it, and that you appreciated even if it surprised you.

"Um... What?" you said, still a little surprised by her answer, "But I thought all you wanted this whole time was a race you could easily win."

"Yeah, but remember what I said? I realised there's more to friendship than that. Even if I did beat you, it wouldn't mean anything since you're so new to flying!" she explained. You didn't know whether to take offence to that, but decided it would be best not too.

"Yeah, that's right actually," you admitted, glad Rainbow understood why your were so upset yesterday, "I should probably head back to the library, actually. I've got work tomorrow."

"Oh, ok! Say hi to the egghead for me," she joked, causing you both to laugh, “And good job by the way.”

You smiled at her, warmly, but didn’t have time to respond before her abnormal sappiness melted away into her usual demeanour.

"See ya, Storm!" she shouted as she flew off towards her cloudominium with a rainbow streak behind her.

“Bye, Rainbow!” you called after her, not knowing if she could even hear you.

Well that went well. You didn't know what, but something made you want to hang out with her more than the others. You just couldn't place your finger on what, though.

The sun wasn't setting quite yet, but the day had still gone by quite fast. Time went by even faster with Rainbow than with anypony else.

Spreading your wings, you took off from the ground and began flying towards the Golden Oaks Library.

————————————————————

Dear, Princess Celestia...

Today I learned something quite important, just from a few words. My new friend, Storm Strike, had a brief argument with Rainbow Dash. I never told you about him did I? Well, there’s a lot about him that makes him quite unusual. You are the princess, after all, so I guess I can tell you.

Storm is a pony from a different world. He came from a world named Earth, where he believe he died, and was brought to Equestria after death. I’ve been doing study on this matter, but I can’t find anything to do with ‘Earth’. Despite his unfamiliarity with Equestria, he seems to be fitting in quite well. He’s been living with me and Spike, and just today Rainbow Dash had taught him to fly!

Oh, right, back to the point. Today, Storm told me that Rainbow had admitted to only being friends with him as it was an easy victory in terms of speed. Many would call this being a fake friend. I never saw Rainbow as a pony who would do something so selfish, but I’m glad to inform you that she learned her lesson. Storm later told me that, after a near death experience he had yesterday, Rainbow had begun to see the error of her ways.

Today, Rainbow actually took the time to teach him how to fly, and genuinely showed concern over his well being. I’m sure she would be writing this to you herself if she had access to a magical baby dragon, like me, but I am aware of the lesson she has learned.

Putting your friends first should always be your priority. Whether it be your pride or any other reason, other’s well being should always take priority. And I believe, and so does Storm, that Rainbow realises that now.

Yours, Twilight Sparkle.
> Chapter 11 - Homecoming
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The refreshing scent of apple nectar filled your lungs as the warm sun shone down on you. It had felt like eons since you last bucked a tree, when in reality it had only been a few days.

Getting to work at Sweet Apple Acres was a breeze today thanks to Rainbow’s lessons in flight. You didn’t have to get up as early, and if you did at least you’d have more time to converse with Twilight and Spike.

Despite how the two of you had gotten off to a rocky start during your first flight lesson, you were happy that you were now pretty good friends with her. Despite this, however, your dream returned.

This time, though, the voice was not of Rainbow Dash. It was nothing.

The voice had once again returned to it's muffled state. It was if your own mind was waiting for something that it could torment you with.

Looking to your side, you noticed Applejack approaching you, breaking your thoughts. You haven’t talked to her since you arrived, and since then you had bucked almost a whole field’s worth of trees.

“Howdy, Sugarcube! How’s it goin’?” Applejack asked, looking at the many baskets of apples you had created.

Apple Cider season started tomorrow, so the Apple Family needed all the apples they could get.

“Pretty good!” you replied with a sigh of exhaustion. You didn’t quite realise how many trees you had bucked clean.

“Hoowee! With this many apples ah recon we could last until next year!” Applejack joked, lifting up one of the baskets with her two front legs.

Somehow, Applejack seemed to have mastered the art of walking on her hind legs. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t recreate that talent. Even with human origin, it was still incredibly difficult.

“Do you need more?” you asked, silently hoping for a no.

No was not the answer you received, however.

“Sure do! The more the merrier ah always say!” she answered as she carried the big basket away towards the house.

You let out a slight grunt with the idea of doing more work, but you knew what you were working for. You were working for the chance to get a taste of the world famous Sweet Apple Cider.

With new courage, you continued bucking the trees to your heart’s content.

Between bucks, you saw Big Mac and Applejack happily carrying away the filled baskets you had been creating in your wake. You were certainly creating work for them, even if it involved making work for yourself.

Finally, you had completely cleared one field. Satisfied with yourself, you turned around to head back towards the house, only to see another huge field blossoming with Apple trees.

“Oh... Sweet... Merciful...” you muttered under your breath as you stared upon the vast amount of trees. Your jaw hung wide as you thought about your already burning hind legs. You could almost hear them talking to you.

No, please. No more bucking, you could hear them beg. Maybe you were going insane from the sheer amount of work you had been doing.

You shook off the feeling of laziness and fatigue, thinking back to the ungodly amounts of Sweet Apple Cider that would be at your disposal if you cleared this entire field.

“Challenge accepted.” you said to yourself with a competitive smirk, slowly picking up speed towards the field.

Quickly, you darted from tree to tree, hitting each one with your hind legs as you went. Each tree had already been lined with baskets, causing the red fruits to pile up like mountains.

At one point, you were bucking the trees so fast you were practically bouncing off them.

Upon contact with one tree, you pushed yourself off it and launched your hooves into the next. Maintaining that momentum, you had over half the field cleared in 15 minutes. That must’ve been a new record.

Gradually, you began losing your momentum, and began clearing the trees more casually. You didn’t feel any more tired than you did previously, but you just wanted to take it slow for a while.

You slowly bucked each tree you came across, to a point where it was almost calming.

All you could hear was your own thoughts, and the birds. As well as Applejack and Big Mac’s occasional conversation about Apple Cider in the distance, but you paid no mind to them.

You continuing going about your work as you listened to that peaceful sound of nature, as if in a trance.

Or, that was, until you came across a tree that had no apples growing on it. The green leaves of the silent tree had no apples in sight.

“What the?” you said out loud as you studied the tree.

Just beyond the leaves you could barely make something out. It looked fluffy, like a long brush.

Moving the leaves aside, you could begin to see colour appearing as the sun found its way into its surface. It was multicoloured, like a rain-

“BOO!“ Rainbow Dash screamed as she emerged suddenly from the foliage. Her sudden jump scare caused you to step back quickly, almost causing you to fall over. A rainboo wasn’t exactly what you had in mind, but it was close enough.

“Bahaha! You shoulda seen the look on your face!” She said between laughter. She wiped some tears from her eye with a hoof as you finally regained your composure.

“Rainbow! What’re you doing?” you asked, slightly annoyed by her ‘joke’, but also quite confused as to why she was in a tree.

"I came by to help! It's Apple Cider season tomorrow!" she explained as she flew out of the tree, and began hovering above you.

"You want to help with work?" you asked, slightly surprised by this.

Usually Rainbow Dash didn't like to help out with work. She rarely got up to do her weather pony duties on time.

"Yep! I even cleared the skies earlier than usual so I could come down here!" she said, pointing at the sky.

Sure enough, there wasn't a cloud in sight. You did notice that it was unusually sunny for the current time of day.

"Well, I kinda already finished my work." you told her, sadly, gesturing to the large field of cleared apple trees.

Rainbow didn't seem to bothered. She simply looked at the field of apple-less trees with slight disbelief.

"Eh. Less work for me!" she said, happily, with a shrug of her shoulders, "So, now that you've finished your work, wanna hang out?"

"Didn't we hang out yesterday?" you asked, slightly suspicious. As much as you wanted to hang out with her, you felt slightly guilty about leaving the farm on such short notice.

"Well, yeah, but it was fun, right?" she asked, smiling confidently.

"Alright, fine. But I've gotta tell Applejack where I've gone first." you answered, giving in. Rainbow's smile changed from confidence to happiness as you turned to find Applejack.

Before long, you found Applejack carrying away the piles of apples you had creating. Big Mac was also doing the same thing, but he was covering the other side of the field.

They had quite an effective system, clearing it from one side to the next until they both met in the middle.

"Howdy, Storm! And Rainbow Dash too!" she greeted the two of you.

"Hey, Applejack!" Rainbow greeted the orange earth pony, "Me and Storm were just gonna head out."

"Is that so? How much work yah done, Storm?" she asked, her tone suddenly shifting to that of a serious one.

"Well..." you begun, slightly startled by her sudden serious demeanour, "I cleared that whole field over there."

You pointed over at the field behind the house where you had found Rainbow. Applejack's jaw dropped as she looked upon the cleared field.

"Two whole fields in 3 hours? Hoowee, Storm! You deserve a payrise!" Applejack joked as she handed you a bag of bits.

"You bet he does! So how much are we thinking? 30%? 50%? 100%?" Rainbow interrupted, causing you to feel quite embarrassed.

"Actually..." you said, pushing the bag of bits back towards her, "Instead of paying me, could I just have some of that Apple Cider tomorrow for free?"

You didn't know whether that was greedy or selfish, but considering you turned down your pay, and helped collect the apples, you felt it was fair. Rainbow Dash seemed to agree with you too, as at the mention of Apple Cider her mouth almost began to water.

"Sure, Storm! Help yourself! Ya did help make it, after all!" Applejack answered, making both you and Rainbow Dash incredibly happy. Finally you could get a taste of the world famous Sweet Apple Cider.

"Well, you two have fun!" Applejack shouted as she began making her way back towards the farmhouse.

You turned back to Rainbow Dash, who had been hovering beside you the whole time. You had a large smile on your face, glad that your hard work had paid off.

"So, what do you have in mind?" you asked, curious as to what hang out plans she had. Quite frankly, you were still quite new to Equestria and had no idea where to go. Despite seeing it all on the show, you didn't know how to navigate around to each location.

Rainbow placed a hoof up to her head, as if thinking, and looked up to the sky.

"Well..."

————————————————————————

"Here we are! The most awesome place to hang out!" Rainbow exclaimed happily as she swung open her front door. She would think that though, considering it was her own house.

Flying up there was no problem, too your surprise. Flight came quite easily now, and you were relatively fast too.
Rainbow still had to slow down for you, but you were faster than the average Pegasus.

Last time you were here, you didn't get a proper look at her Cloudominium. It seemed to be inspired by Roman architecture back on Earth, but wether the Romans existed in Equestria was beyond you. Beautiful rainbow coloured waterfalls leaked from the cloudy surface around the house, as well as one giant rainbow that shot out from the roof of the tower-like structure.

"Woah... It's even better up close." you muttered with disbelief.

"Pretty cool, right?" Rainbow smirked with confidence as you stepped through the doorway.

"It's amazing!" you almost shouted as you looked around at the furniture. All of it was made from clouds.

Rainbow flew into the air and landed on her fluffy cloud couch. Next to the couch was a table with a Daring Do book on it, and next to that was a cloudy bookshelf with about a dozen more of the same book.

That must be why there were none in the library, you thought.

"Before you ask about the books..." Rainbow said, defensively. She paused trying to come up with a reason as to why she had so many, but she couldn't find one, "They're just cool ok."

She looked a little defeated, possibly worried that the image she had been trying to maintain would no longer have any effect on you now that you were aware for her love of books.

"I'm not judging. I like reading too!" you replied, taking a seat on the cloud couch next to her. Upon making contact, you felt yourself bounce off its cushiony surface.

"Ever read a Daring Do book?" Rainbow asked, lifting the book that was placed on the table and showing it to you.

"I can't say that I have." you answered, "I was gonna read one of them but somepony took them all from the library."

Rainbow glanced at the bookshelf that was stacked to the brim with Daring Do books, before chuckling nervously.

"How could anypony be so inconsiderate?" she joked, still laughing nervously, "But now that you're here, do you wanna read one?"

Rainbow handed you the book she was just holding, before walking over to the bookshelf and getting her own book to read.

"Um, sure, but you didn't really strike me as the type of pony who would want to sit here reading as a hang out." you said, suspiciously. If Rainbow wanted to hang out with her friends, you figured she would want to do something exciting. But here she was, reading.

"Normally, I'd be outside being awesome and all that," she bragged, causing you to laugh under your breath, "But I've gotta save my energy for the Apple Cider Season Opening Ceremony tomorrow!"

You already knew about the ceremony, due to working at Sweet Apple Acres. You originally planned on saving your bits to buy as much cider as you could, but thanks to Applejack, you now had as much as you wanted for free.

"What exactly do you need energy for?" you asked.

"To drink as much sweet apple cider as I can before other ponies take it all, duh!" she explained, rolling her eyes, "I've been saving my bits for tomorrow so I can get as much as possible."

"That's what I've been doing too." you replied, slightly paranoid as to whether Twilight or Spike had found your secret stash yet. All your savings from the past week were hidden under your bed.

"Well lucky for you, you can get as much as you want for free." she said, happily. Or, she was trying to be happy. In reality, she was quite jealous of that fact.

Little did she know that the whole reason you made that deal with Applejack was for her.

"I promise I won't take that much." you comforted her, using this as a coverup for what you really intended to do.

You planned to use your free apple cider privileges to get Rainbow as much apple cider as she wanted. Of course, you were gonna use it for yourself too, but that's given.

The two of you began reading your Daring Do books, and you had to admit, it was quite interesting. You could definitely see why Rainbow loved them so much.

As you were reading, a thought crossed your mind, breaking your immersion.

"Hey, Rainbow, where's Tank?" you asked, looking around the room. The friendly tortoise hadn't made an appearance the whole day.

"Tank? How do you know about Tank?" Rainbow asked, closing her book and now looking right you. She didn't sound annoyed by your pre-knowledge, but just simply confused.

"Twilight." you said, realising your slip up.

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Tank's ill." Rainbow said, sadly.

The thought of the tiny turtle being ill made you quite upset. Whether it's fatal or not, much like Fluttershy you didn't like animals going through pain.

"What's up with him?" you asked softly. You knew how much Rainbow Dash cared about Tank, due to her breakdown when he went into hibernation.

"I think it's the flu. I've been trying to take care of him, but I think he just has to recover on his own." Rainbow explained. She seemed thankful that it wasn't serious, but still seemed upset nevertheless.

Moving closer, you placed a comforting hoof around Rainbow Dash. You were almost expecting her to react badly, and maybe even hit you or something. But she didn't.

"Why don't you take him to Fluttershy?" you asked.

"I wanted to look after him myself, but Fluttershy does come up every so often to check on him," She seemed less upset now, but you could still see it pained her to talk about this, "I think you should probably go now, Storm."

That came as a surprise to you. Maybe you'd upset her talking about Tank's illness.

"Are you ok? Did I upset you?" you asked, worriedly.

Rainbow Dash was already hovering over to the cloudy staircase when she turned back around.

"Upset me? Nah. I just need to get ready for the Apple Cider Ceremony!" she explained, laughing at your concern, "See ya tomorrow!"

"Oh, ok. Bye, Rainbow." And as you finished that sentence, Rainbow disappeared up the staircase. Feeling it best to leave as quick as possible, you left the house almost immediately. You didn't see what there was to get ready for, but you knew how much she loved Apple Cider.

You approached the edge of the large cloud that Rainbow's house stood on, and took flight quickly. You had been working on your take offs so that it no longer took as much time to build up speed.

It wasn't too late, probably around 4 o'clock based around the sun’s position. You had been at Rainbow's house for almost 2 hours. Time sure goes fast when you're having fun.

Either way, you quickly made your way back to the Golden Oak Library.

You couldn’t wait to tell Twilight and Spike about the amount of trees you bucked at Sweet Apple Acres. You knew the day was gonna go slowly, however, as tomorrow was the day you had been waiting for for a week.

It was the Apple Cider Season Opening Ceremony, and you couldn’t wait for it.
> Chapter 12 - Ceremonial
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today was the day.

The day of the opening ceremony of Apple Cider Season.

Usually, you wouldn't find yourself getting so hyped over a single party, but this was special. The last time you had met with the entire Mane 6 all together was your surprise welcoming party. Since then, you hadn't seen Pinkie Pie or Rarity once.

Your dream had came back, but at this point it wasn't really a surprise. You didn't feel the need to tell anypony as you had slowly but surely been getting used to it.

While it still creeped you out, nothing abnormal had happened since the voice had gone back to being indistinguishable.

Nevertheless, you jumped out of bed and completed your morning routine. As far as you knew, you didn't need to go into work today, as the whole Apple Family was busy preparing for the ceremony. 

Now, a new issue faced you.

What were you going to do for the whole day. While the opening ceremony was usually held during the day, this time it was to be held at night.

You couldn't go into work, for obvious reasons.
You couldn't hang out with Rainbow as she was 'preparing for the ceremony'.

"Hey, Twilight, got any Daring Do books?" you asked after greeting her for the morning.

"Actually, we just got some in!" she answered, happily pointing over to a shelf that had previously been empty.

You thanked her before taking a book from the shelf. The book was simply titled 'The Adventures of Daring Do', so you assumed it was the first in the series.

You jumped onto the couch and flipped open the book onto its first page.

"Rainbow's been rubbing off on you, huh?" Spike said, smugly.

You weren't even aware he was in the room.

"Oh. Morning, Spike." you said, only glancing up from your book for a split second. Spike climbed onto the seat opposite you, like he normally does.

"Tell me, Storm. Was it you who took all our Daring Do books?" Spike asked with a suspicious tone. Looking up from your book again, you noticed he had a detective hat and coat on, as well as a notepad he was scribbling things down on.

"Are you seriously asking me that?" you asked, trying not to laugh. You found it quite hilarious that Spike thought you had taken all the books.

"Well, the only pony who likes Daring Do other than Rainbow Dash is you, and I've never seen Rainbow Dash take a book from the library before." he explained, still jotting down notes.

You glanced over to Twilight, wondering if she was gonna back you up, but she seemed to be engrossed in her study. She was sat at her desk, quickly darting her eyes between different texts.

"It was Rainbow." you said with a monotone expression, determined to get this over with as fast as possible.

"If you say so!" Spike said, quickly putting away his notepad and quill. Was that really all you needed to say?

Nevertheless, you went back to your reading.

Time passed incredibly quickly, and before long you were almost at the end of your book and the day was almost over. You had been reading for an entire day.

It didn't feel like that long, as the only thing that happened was the occasional conversation with Spike, but here you are 12 hours later.

Twilight slammed shut her large science book and got up from her desk.

"Storm, me and Spike are gonna be going to the ceremony pretty soon. Are you coming?" she asked, smiling warmly like always.

As if she even needed to ask.

"Definitely." was all you needed to say.

"We'll be going in 10 minutes." she added as her and Spike walked up the stairs to get ready.

You didn't really understand what there was to get ready for. This wasn't exactly an occasion where you needed to wear clothes. They were probably just getting their bits or something.

Thankfully, the bits you had been saving could now go towards something else, as Applejack was kind enough to give you unlimited free apple cider.

The 10 minutes passed quickly and both Twilight and Spike came back down the staircase carrying 2 bags of bits.

"Ready, Storm?" Twilight asked, opening the door with her unicorn magic.

You nodded at her, and followed the two out of the door.

The walk was quite long, and you desperately wanted to fly to save time, but you knew that wouldn't be fair to Spike. At last, you did eventually reach Sweet Apple Acres.

Many stalls were set up along the walk up to the farm house, all stacked with gallons of sweet apple cider. Paired with the now black night sky, and the soft glow of the firefly lanterns that were hanging from the trees, this atmosphere was unbeatable.

Up ahead, you saw the rest of the Mane 6, except for Applejack who was handling one of the many stalls.

"Hey, girls!" Twilight greeted them.

"Hey, guys!" Rainbow was the first to respond, followed by Fluttershy who you could barely hear over the crowds of ponies.

"Hello, Darling. And you too, Storm!" Rarity said with a flick of her mane. Honestly, you were slightly surprised to see her here.

"Stormy Warmy!" Pinkie Pie screamed as she pulled you into a hug. She shook up and down as she held you, almost giving you a headache.

"Pinkie, remember what we said about breathing?" Rainbow asked with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Oh, right. Sorry!" Pinkie said, laughing nervously.

"So what do all of you have planned for tonight?" Twilight asked, curiously.

"Well, I plan on staying well away from most of these stalls. Being around other ponies might ruffle my fabulous mane!" Rarity informed her, still tampering with her mane.

Every other pony just looked at her with confusion, including you.

"What? I simply must look my best at all times, and I am not risking my appearance just for a few drops of apple cider!" Despite wondering why she even came here if she had no plans to drink any cider, you found her reasoning quite funny.

"What about you Fluttershy?" you asked, trying to distract yourself from laughing.

"Oh, well, I was going to help Applejack manage the stalls." she explained, as quietly as ever. Before anypony could respond to her, however, Pinkie interrupted with her own plans for the evening.

"And I was gonna compete in the apple cider drinking competition!" she shouted, excitedly.

"Oh, yeah?" Rainbow added, her fore-hooves crossed, "We'll see who wins then, won't we?"

And that left you. You had nothing to really do other than drink cider all night.

"Hey, Storm, what're you gonna do?" Twilight asked you.

"Um..." was all you could say. Quite frankly, you didn't really know. You originally wanted to use your free cider privileges to get further onto Rainbow's good side, but she seemed like she already had plans.

"You can hang with me if you want!" a scratchy voice said to you. It was Rainbow Dash, but you thought she was busy doing the drinking contest with Pinkie.

"But aren't you doing the contest?" you asked, worried about getting in the way.

"That's not for at least another hour." she answered, making you feel a little stupid.

"Oh. Then, yeah, sure!" you said, a smile quickly forming on your face.

"Great! Let's go!" Rainbow was already flying slowly over to a stall.

"Um... Bye, guys!" you said as you turned back to the rest of the Mane 6. They all smiled and waved as you followed Rainbow Dash over to the stall.

There were a few wooden tables set up in front of the stall, and one of them was free. How convenient.

Both you and Rainbow Dash sat down at opposite ends of the table so that your were facing each other.

"So you think you can beat Pinkie in a drinking contest?" you asked in an attempt to make conversation.

"I think? No, I know I can!" she replied with feigned insult. She tried her best to seem offended, but you could see right through it. Despite this, you thought it was quite funny testing how far her ego could stretch.

"Are you sure?" you asked, stretching out the final word to add extra emphasis.

"Hey, I could drink a gallon of that stuff in 10 seconds flat." she said, confidently, now looking you in the eyes, "I'll prove it!"

With a smile on her face, she pulled out a bag of bits from her... pockets?

How did she do that? It was like she materialised the bag from thin air! Maybe it was some Equestrian magic you hadn't learned yet, but either way, you wanted to know how it was done.

You couldn't ask Rainbow though, as she didn't know the truth about you just yet. Maybe Twilight will know how it's done.

"Wait!" you shouted as she began hovering over to the stall.

"What?" Rainbow turned around to face you, slightly irritated. She was obviously quite impatient when it came to apple cider.

"Free drinks, remember?" you reminded her, with a sly smile. Rainbow flew back over to your table and took a seat again, this time next to you, rather than across from you.

"You mean you'd use some of your free drinks for me?" she asked, feeling slightly guilty.

"Sure!" you said happily. You didn't know how many free drinks you were allowed, but this was the whole reason you wanted the free drinks to begin with.

"Really?" she asked, still with a look of guilt in her eyes.

"Yes, really." you said, laughing slightly under your breath.

"Thank you, Storm!" she exclaimed, happily, before pulling you into a hug. While you were slightly shocked by her sudden break of character, you hugged her back, before she finally let go, "I mean- Thanks."

She rubbed the back of her head nervously as she rushed to regain her usual demeanour. Giving her a warm smile, you got up and walked over to the stall.

There to greet you was none other than Applejack, who was already preparing pints upon pints of apple cider for the vast amount of customers she was serving.

"Well, howdy, sugarcube! Ah expected to see ya'll here!" The orange earth pony greeted you in a hurry as she finished up serving the latest customer.

As the customer left, she finally diverted her attention to you.

"So what can ah get for ya! It's on the house remember." she whispered with a wink.

"Please could I get 2 fresh pints of Sweet Apple Cider!" you asked, politely.

"Ah know ya usin' your free cider on Rainbow Dash, there," she whispered to you, glancing occasionally over to Rainbow Dash. You felt yourself becoming a little nervous as she said that, "But ah'm not gonna be the one to stop yah!"

Cheerfully, she slid two glasses of apple cider along the counter of the stall so that it stopped right in front of you. 2 straws had already been placed in them.

You thanked Applejack before attempting to pick up the glasses. Much to your surprise, they didn't seem to respond to your 'magnet ability', as you called it.

You realised you would have to balance them on your hooves.

You slid each glass along the desk until they were resting on your hooves, and then slowly raised them into the air. You saw Applejack snickering, but decided to ignore it.

Somehow, you got the two glasses over to Rainbow Dash's table without them spilling at all.

"What took ya so long?" she asked with a mischievous smirk.

Truthfully, you didn't think you took too long, but all you had to say was the name Applejack for her to understand.

The two of you began to drink your apple cider, and as soon as it hit your mouth, you understood why Rainbow loved it so much. It tasted like pure apple juice, with a hint of alcohol mixed in there.
Thankfully, the cider for this ceremony doesn't contain alcohol, and instead recreates the flavour of it due to the large amount of drinks that are being served.

As you finally tasted your first drop of the angelic beverage, a smile slowly crept onto your face. Rainbow looked at you, slightly confused as to your sudden smirk.

"Are you ok?" she asked. But you didn't answer. Instead, you quickly downed the whole glass, savouring every last drop.

Rainbow's eyes were wide with shock. You had downed a whole pint of the stuff in less than a second.

"Woah..." Rainbow gasped in awe, "Never mind 10 seconds, that was 1 second flat!"

You looked at the empty glass, wondering how you just downed it so quickly.

"Y'know, you should enter the contest. There's enough space for 4 ponies each round, and not many enter it because they don't have the sheer awesomeness I have!" Rainbow bragged, but it did give you an idea.

You should enter the contest.

“Well, is there enough space for me?” you asked, worried that the 4 available places had been used up.

“Yep! Applejack has a private round that only has me, Pinkie and Applejack. So there’s space for you, alright!” she said happily before downing her own pint of apple cider.

Maybe you could actually win this. You would be against Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie, who would all give you a challenge. But nevertheless, it was a challenge you were up for.

With new determination, you looked up to Rainbow Dash.

“Where do I enter?”
> Chapter 13 - The Contest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're gonna join?" Rainbow asked, excitedly leaning over the table towards you.

You nodded your head enthusiastically, "Well, you're gonna wanna ask Applejack."

Thankfully, you already knew exactly where Applejack was due to your previous interaction with her. You got up and walked over to the stall Applejack was working at, and thankfully it wasn't as busy this time around.

"Howdy, again, sugarcube! More cider?" she asked, already preparing two more glasses.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could enter the cider drinking contest." you asked, worried about the possibility of her saying no.

She didn't answer straight away, and instead went to put away the two glasses.

"He is awesome at it. He downed a whole glass in a single second!" you heard Rainbow say as she hovered over to you.

"Is that so?" Applejack questioned, taking a seat opposite the counter.

"It sure is! So are you gonna let him in or what?" Rainbow seemed slightly overhyped about this whole ordeal, but you weren't gonna be the one to burst her bubble.

Applejack looked deep in thought for a moment, but deep down you knew she had already made up her mind.

"Ya'll bet ah am! Ah've been waitin' for some worthy competition for years!" she exclaimed, attempting to tease Rainbow.

"Hey! He might be able to do it fast, but he's no where near as awesome as me, and neither are you!" Rainbow bragged, sounding almost insulted.

"We'll see about that won't we?" Applejack replied, now looking her dead in the eyes. It didn't seem serious, but you knew that they took their rivalry quite seriously.

"Well, we've still got like 15 minutes to burn, so how about some more cider?" you asked, noticing more customers coming towards the stall. While Fluttershy was helping supply other stalls with cider, each stall still had large amounts of ponies coming to them.

"Can do!" Applejack said as she pulled out the two glasses she had just put away. She filled the cups with apple cider and put the straws into them, before handing them to you and Rainbow.

Carrying the glasses seemed easier this time, as before long you and Rainbow were sat back at your table.

You didn't down the beverage this time, and instead savoured it.

"Hey, Rainbow," you said, looking up to her.

"Yeah?" she asked after taking a large gulp of her drink.

"How's Tank?" you asked cautiously, not wanting to upset her.

"Oh, Tank..." You wondered if you had just upset her, even though last time she said that you hadn't, "He's getting better, actually!"

She seemed happier talking about this subject than she did last time.

"He's not fully recovered yet, but he's getting there!" she explained, before going back to her drink.

"That's great!" you said, before also going back to your drink.

"Fluttershy said that he'll be better in a day or two." she added, sliding her empty glass into the middle of the table.

Before you could say anything in response, you were interrupted by none other than Pinkie Pie slamming into the table at light speed, sending the empty glasses flying into the air.

"It's competition time!" she screamed, bouncing up and down whilst shaking the table.

You were slightly shocked that it had already been 15 minutes, but Rainbow seemed to be pretty excited.

"C'mon, Storm!" she said as she flew over to the stage.

You followed her over, and saw the past contestants leaving the wooden stage that had been set up just outside the farm house. There were different rounds going on all throughout the evening, but this one was the main event. Applejack was already there to meet the three of you, despite just being at her stall.

"Applejack! Their here!" Pinkie shouted over to her.

Applejack had finished helping prepare the round with her brother Big Mac, and then stepped down from the stage. Ponies were already gathering around to see the main event.

"Howdy, fellas! Ready to lose?" Applejack greeted you all, cheerfully.

"Ha! Says you!" Rainbow retorted, locking eyes with the earth pony.

Pinkie Pie glanced at you worriedly, and you did the same to her.

"Let's go, everypony!" she interrupted, cheerfully, as she began bouncing up to the stage.

"Yeah! Let's go!" you also said, tapping Rainbow on the shoulder lightly in order to get her attention. You knew their feud was all in good fun, but also knew how out of control it could get.

The four of you took your places at some wooden tables, where apple cider would be served to you. The competition was to be split into 2 rounds.

The rules of round one were whoever can drink 5 mugs of sweet apple cider wins, and  the top 2 move on to the next round.

Big Macintosh brought out a tray which held all the mugs of apple cider needed for the round. He placed the glasses in front of you, and then left the stage.

You looked at your friends, nervously, knowing that they had done this many times before. You were up against:

Applejack, the creator of the very apple cider you were drinking.

Pinkie Pie, the over hyped pony who could potentially down metric tons of the stuff before feeling any form of pain.

And Rainbow Dash, the fastest pony in Equestria. And that seemingly applied to drinking too.

"Ready to lose, Storm?" Rainbow shouted to you over the sound of ponies cheering.

"Are you ready for a silver medal?" you retorted, causing her to glare at you competitively.

Granny Smith walked over to the megaphone that had been placed on the edge of the stage and began her countdown.

"3..."

"2..."

"1..."

"Go!" Granny Smith commanded, and almost instantly you and the others began downing your drinks.

It hurt ever so slightly drinking so fast, but you loved the taste so much that you couldn't care less. You had finished your second glass, and were now onto the third.

Glancing around, you saw that Rainbow Dash was neck and neck with you, while both Applejack and Pinkie were a whole glass behind. Applejack may have made the stuff, yet she clearly wasn't the faster drinker.

Before long, you and Rainbow were onto your final glass, Applejack and Pinkie not far behind. You could barely focus over the sounds of ponies cheering, but you did it.

Slamming the mug onto the table, you looked around to see that Rainbow had finished at the exact same time as you, ensuring both of your places in the next round. Both Applejack and Pinkie Pie had been eliminated, but they weren't too far behind.

"Wow, Rainbow! You've never drunk that fast before!" Pinkie exclaimed with some slight surprise.

"Heh. Having new competition means I've gotta try even harder right?" Rainbow said nervously whilst rubbing the back of her head.

"Nice job, partner!" Applejack congratulated you, extending a hoof out to shake.

You obliged and shook her hoof happily.

"Now, you make sure to show Rainbow Dash what for, ya hear me?" she whispered, in a slightly more serious tone.

"I'll try." was all you could promise. You didn't know if you could beat Rainbow, but you certainly wouldn't go out without a fight.

Rainbow hovered over to you, a sly smirk on her face.

"I'm surprised you're still in, rookie!" Rainbow joked, crossing her hooves boastfully.

"Didn't you tell me to join?" you asked.

"Well, yeah, but I didn't actually expect you to get second place!" she exclaimed, uncrossing her hooves.

"Do you mean first place?" you corrected her with a joking grin.

Rainbow landed beside you, a competitive smirk on her face.

"We'll see about that, Storm." she said, quietly, almost as if to intimidate you. It didn't really work, but nevertheless you knew this wouldn't be easy to win.

The rules of round two were as follows. Whoever drank the most apple cider within 2 minutes, was the victor.

You and Rainbow Dash both took your places, and Big Mac walked on stage with his tray of cider. Each of you were given 10 mugs each, not that you were expected to get through them all.

You looked over to Rainbow, who was bracing herself for the ensuing stomach ache she was about to experience. You were probably gonna be experiencing similar pains, but you would cross that bridge when you got to it.

Granny Smith once again approached the megaphone and initiated the countdown. This time the crowd counted down with her, drowning her voice out almost completely.

“3! 2! 1!” the crowd shouted. You focused on the mugs of cider that was before you. You were already feeling slightly sick, but you wanted to beat Rainbow.

“Go!”

And with that, the final round of the evening begun. Both you and Rainbow chugged your first glass in a few seconds, and moved onto the next.

Out of the corner of your eye you could see Applejack and Pinkie stood on one side of the stage, while Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy and Rarity stood on the other. They didn’t seem to be cheering for either of you, so assumed they were taking both of your sides.

You were onto your 4th glass with a minute to go, and you were now feeling quite ill. Glancing over to Rainbow, she couldn’t seem to manage much more either. The fire that was once in her eyes had been replaced by pain, but she wasn’t one to give up.

And neither were you.

With 30 seconds left to go, you realised you would have to go full throttle to win this. Using all the energy you had left, you downed the final 2 glasses, and slammed the empty mug down onto the table.

The crowd gasped as the clock hit 0.

Rainbow still had 2 glasses of sweet apple cider that had not been drunk. She looked over to you, a mix of both defeat and shock on her face.

You had drunk all 10 glasses in under 2 minutes.

“Storm, that’s never been done before...” you heard Twilight say to you from the other side of the stage.

The crowd was eerily silent.

”That’s a new Equestria record!” Pinkie Pie screamed, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers.

“Nice job, sugar cube! You won!” Applejack congratulated you as she approached you, “And ya’ll prize is free apple cider all year round!”

You couldn’t quite believe what you were hearing. Free apple cider all year felt like a dream, even if you felt ill at the mention of it.

Suddenly, you felt yourself be pulled into a hug. You were quite startled, until you realised who it was. It was Rainbow Dash.

Twice in one night? You never expected Rainbow to ever hug anypony in public, let alone twice in one night.

“Nice job, Storm.” she congratulated you as she moved away. She was looking straight into your eyes, smiling warmly, and something about it made you feel like you were burning. Burning in a good way.

Eventually, the crowd had dispersed, and the Mane 6 were gathering at the base of the stage.

That is, except for you and Rainbow, who was still sat on the stage next to you. She didn’t seem to bothered about losing, and in fact seemed rather proud of you.

“Well, at least I beat Applejack!” she said, laughing slightly.

“You know, I could always share the prize with you.” you said to her, smiling.

“You’d do that for me?” she asked, seeming a lot more quite than she usually is. She seemed a lot more... vulnerable, when she was like this. You hadn’t seen her act like this since your flight training below your house.

“Sure!” you simply said. It wasn’t really a big deal.

She didn’t respond for a few seconds, but eventually she let out a quite “Thanks.”

Maybe the cider was getting to her, even if there was no alcohol in it.

“I”m gonna go check on Tank, but are you down to hang out tomorrow?” she asked, returning to her usual personality and tone of voice.

“Sure, but I’ve gotta go to work first.” you explained sadly, slightly upset that your work was taking away from your time to hangout with her.

“Don’t worry about that, sugarcube! Take the day off!” Applejack interrupted, “Think of it as part of your prize!”

The earth pony turned back to her other friends, and you turned back to Rainbow with a smile on your face.

“Well in that case, we can hang out all day!” you said happily. Rainbow had an equally big smile on her face.

“Great! I’ll see ya tomorrow!” Rainbow said before flying off into the night sky. Her rainbow colored contrail was even more prominent, and even more beautiful than it ever had been.

“Storm!” Spike called as he ran up to the bottom of the stage, “Me and Twilight are heading out now, if you’re coming.”

You looked up, and Twilight was looking at you with a smile, as if waiting for an answer.

“Sure, I’m coming.” you answered, leaping of the stage.

You said goodbye to the remaining members of the Mane 6, and then followed Twilight and Spike across the vast Sweet Apple Acres.

What an awesome night, you thought.
> Chapter 14 - Airtime
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning had arrived pretty quickly, and it left just as quickly.

You had been reading more Daring Do books up until the clock struck one. That was a metaphorical clock though, of course, as Twilight simply uses her unicorn magic to tell the time.

There was no real clock in the library, but you had a vague idea of what time it was based around the sun's position in the sky.

Once again, your dream had returned, but you paid it no mind. At this point, it was as big a part of your sleep schedule as actually sleeping.

It didn't really scare you anymore, nor did it really unsettle you. It was just the same thing repeated every night, over and over. It had only really differed once, and it had been almost a week since then.

Closing your Daring Do book, you placed it back on the shelf where you had found it and said goodbye to Twilight and Spike. Today you were going to hang out with Rainbow Dash.

You opened the door of the library and took off into the clear sky. She had clearly gotten up early to do her weather pony duties, as there wasn't a cloud in sight.

As you soared over Ponyville, you couldn't help but take in just how magical it looked. You had never really admired the small village from above before.

In the top corner of the town, you could see Carousel Boutique. You even thought you could make out Rarity drying clothes in the afternoon sunlight.

A few houses south of that was Sugarcube Corner, sticking out like a soar thumb. It looked almost like a ginger bread house, contrasting with the peaceful green grass.

All across Ponyville were the same thatched houses, copied and pasted across the whole village. But it added to the magical atmosphere. They reminded you of the medieval era back on Earth, which was quite well known for its wizards and witches.

And in the middle of it all was the Golden Oak Library, standing tall above everything else.

It really was quite beautiful.

Suddenly, your thoughts were interrupted when you crashed face first into a cloud. It didn't hurt, but it did surprise you.

You bounced backwards off the cloud, doing a backwards roll in mid-air. You didn't see that cloud there a second ago...

Once again, your thoughts were interrupted by a sound. The sound of snickering coming from a somewhat large sheet of clouds positioned above you.

Suddenly, the light snickering burst into full on laughter.

"Bahahahaha!"

It was Rainbow Dash, of course. You were on your way to her house to meet her, but you weren't really expecting her to meet you halfway.

"Oh, man. The look on your face!" she said, wiping some tears of laughter from her eyes. She flew out from the large sheet of clouds and hovered next to you.

"Did you put that cloud there?" you asked. It definitely wasn't there when you had checked your flight path, and you were relatively close to Rainbow's house.

"Yep! Pretty cool prank right?" she boasted, pushing the stray cloud back to its brethren. It slid over to the cluster of clouds like an ice shuttle, and then sent the clouds ricocheting across the sky upon impact.

"I mean, not really." you said, causing her to look back at you with a frown on her face, "But that was pretty cool."

You pointed a hoof over at the ricocheting clouds, that were still spreading slowly across the sky.

"I didn't even mean to do that." Rainbow said as she looked at the moving clouds.

"You didn't?" you asked, slightly confused as to why she would admit that.

"I mean- I totally meant to do that!" she boasted with a smirk. You laughed at her quick correction before she fook flight, you following not far behind.

The two of you flew the short distance that was left between you and Rainbow's Cloudomonium and sat down on the edge of the floating island. You watched as the magical rainbow waterfalls vanished into the air as they fell.

"How's Tank?" you asked, sadly, looking back at the cloud house.

"He's almost better actually!" Rainbow said, cheerfully, looking out over Ponyville, "Do you wanna see him?"

As much as you wanted to meet Rainbow's tortoise friend, you didn't want to risk contracting the illness he had. You didn't know if you even could get an illness from a turtle, but you didn't wanna risk it.

"I think I'd rather wait until he's fully better." you said, turning back to the open sky before you.

"Yeah. That's probably for the best." she said, still looking off over the horizon.

"So what do you have in mind for today?" you asked her, causing her gaze to turn to you.

"Well, I've got a few ideas." she said as she hovered into the air. A mischievous smirk was plastered on her face, "Starting with this!"

Before you could question her, you felt a hood grab you and forcibly pull you. Before you knew it, you were freefalling from Rainbow's cloud house.

You couldn't scream or shout, you couldn't really do much. The wind was knocking all of the breath out of you. All you could see was Rainbow Dash begin to stop flapping her wings and fall with you.

As scary as it was, it felt amazing. You could feel adrenaline coursing through you, further amplified by a Pegasus' instincts.

You continued to fall for quite a while, before those same instincts took over completely.

Your wings fanned out and you felt your fall become slowed. Suddenly, you felt yourself fly back up into the air and do a backwards roll. You weren't really sure how you did it, but it was awesome.

Rainbow suddenly flew up to at light speed, copying what you did. She did a backward flip in the air, and then came to a stop next you.

"So, how was that?" she asked with a smug grin on her face.

"That. Was. Awesome." you said, looking up to the large cloud you had fell from.

"You think that was awesome? You have no idea what's next!" Rainbow said happily.

It was silent for a while. Neither you or Rainbow said anything for what felt like 10 seconds. Suddenly, you felt something tap you.

"Tag! You're it!" you heard Rainbow shout as she flew away in a blast of rainbow colours.

"Hey! Come back!" you shouted back to her. She couldn't hear you, of course, but that didn't stop you.

You gave chase to her instantly, but you knew you weren't gonna catch her. You could see her flying in the distance, but no matter how fast you flew, she was always getting further and further away.

But then you thought about something. Without much effort, you stopped trying to move your wings, and instead let your familiar instincts take over.

You felt yourself soaring through the air, almost as if it was natural. Well, it was natural for a Pegasus to fly, but you were now flying at such speed it was as if it was meant to be.

Much to your surprise, you were actually gaining on Rainbow Dash. The once small dot that was her on the horizon was getting larger, until it was almost reachable.

"Woah! How did you-" Rainbow gasped as she turned her head to see you next to her.

Without letting her finish, you extended a hoof out and tagged her on the side.

"Tag!" you exclaimed, as you did a 180 and began flying in the opposite direction.

"Get back here!" you heard her shout from behind you as she instantly took flight.

You just kept flying forward, not wanting to risk turning around. Although you were somehow faster than Rainbow Dash in those few seconds, you didn't know if you could maintain that speed.

Regrettably, you glanced behind you, to see Rainbow Dash coursing along right next to you.

"Tag, you're it." She said, effortlessly. She did a large arch in the air as she turned around and began flying in the direction towards her house.

Naturally, you chased her, just for her to fly right over her house and continue ascending. Much to your surprise, she stopped mid-flight, now hundreds of feet in the air.

You didn't stop, however, and continued rocketing towards her.

Rainbow smirked at you, before suddenly turning herself to face downwards. She began to divebomb through the air, cutting through it like a knife through butter.

You wondered if you should follow her, it was tag after all. But, eventually, you decided not to. Rainbow was the fastest flyer in Equestria, and even she was having difficulty maintaining a straight face while doing this.

Remembering that you are a Pegasus, you grabbed the nearest cloud and pulled it over to you. You sat down on it contently as you watched the ensuing show.

Out of nowhere, a white vapour cone had begun to form around Rainbow Dash. You knew exactly what it was.

The edge of the cone formed into a sharp point as Rainbow continued to slice through the air, working with gravity. You were actually going to get to see the Sonic Rainboom in person.

Rainbow grunted slightly with effort, but at last, the vapor cone gave way, releasing a large shockwave of multiple colours. The rainbow ring spread across the sky quickly, sending magnificent sparkling embers flying down to the Earth.

It was the most amazing thing you had ever seen.

Sadly, the colourful aftermath vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving the blue sky as it was prior.

Despite being left in awe, you could still notice a tired out Rainbow Dash flying back up to the cloud that you were sat on.

"How was... That?" Rainbow asked, panting between her breaths.

"That was..." You couldn't find the words to describe how amazing that was, so you settled with her favourite word, "Awesome."

A smile crept on to her face, before the exhausted Rainbow Dash collapsed onto your cloud.

"Rainbow! Are you ok?" you asked, hovering off of the cloud to give her more space.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired out, that's all." she attempted to reassure you.

You had never seen Rainbow so tired from a Sonic Rainboom before. Something was definitely wrong, and you could feel it.

"Hey, Storm?" you heard her say with a shaky voice, "If it's ok with you I'm gonna head home."

"What? Why?" you asked, slightly concerned over her wellbeing. Usually she would hang out with you for the whole day, but it had only been half an hour.

"I'm just not feeling... myself." she said. Her voice was scratchier than normal. It was always scratchy, but never this much so.

"Do you want me to come with you?" you asked, now becoming quite concerned.

"Nah. I got it covered." she insisted as she began to take flight. Thankfully flying came easily to her, even when tired, "see ya, Storm."

"Bye, Rainbow." You replied before she slowly began flying back towards her home. You didn't know what was wrong with her, but you hated seeing her like this.

With nothing else to do, you started flying back to the library. You figured if Rainbow needed you she would come to find you.

Despite just pulling of a Sonic Rainboom, she seemed like she was in pain.

And that worried you.

That worried you a lot.
> Chapter 15 - Crusadin'
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day had soon arrived, and you were finally back to work at Sweet Apple Acres. It had felt like an eternity since you had last worked here.

In between your last shift here, there had been the apple cider ceremony, which they seemed to have cleaned up quite quickly. There was almost no trace of the event ever happening.

Thanks to your winning  of the drinking contest, you could now have free apple cider whenever you wanted, and that was a luxury you greatly appreciated.

You had also hung out with Rainbow Dash, and finally saw her perform the legendary Sonic Rainboom. It was the most amazing thing you had ever seen, even if the moment didn't last long.

Despite the spectacular sight you had seen, you couldn't help but remember how tired Rainbow was. Never in the show had she seemed so worn out by flying.

You were trying not to worry about it, but you had this feeling that something was wrong. Nevertheless, you figured if she ever needed anything she would come to find you, and that you shouldn't bother her.

You went about your usual work routine, of bucking trees, having a quick break, and then bucking more trees. There wasn't too much to do after you huge clearing of trees on Monday.

You had cleared a whole field in under an hour, and now there wasn't much more to do.

"Howdy, Sugarcube!" you heard a familiar voice shout from behind you, "Ah see ya cleared all the trees!"

You looked around, and sure enough, there wasn't an apple in sight.

"Oh, I guess I did!" you replied, unsure of whether to be happy or worried that there was nothing more to be done, "What do I do now?"

She looked deep in thought for a moment, before finally coming to a conclusion.

"Ya know, Applebloom's friends have been dyin' to meet yah!" she answered, pointing over to a club house in the trees.

"You mean, you want me to go over there and just say hi, or something?" you questioned, wondering how this was work.

"Not exactly, Sugarcube. Go on an adventure with them. Ah'm sure it'd mean quite a lot." she explained with a sincere smile.

As strange as you knew the Cutie Mark Crusader's adventures got, you did kind of want to see more of Equestria.

"Sure! I can do that!" you said, happily.

"Thanks, Sugarcube," she replied, "See ya in an hour or two!"

Applejack turned and began walking towards the barn. You had been here for over a week now, but you had still never been in or even near the barn. To be quite honest, you didn't even remember a barn like that existing.

Nevertheless, you began hovering over to the shrubbery that the Crusader's club house hid behind. It wasn't like you to hover places, but you figured since Rainbow wasn't here, it would be good to get in some practice.

You had to admit, you could see why she preferred this over walking. It was quite relaxing.

You weaved between two large berry bushes, and found yourself in a clearing with a large tree in the middle. On that tree was the familiar club house from the show you had come to recognise.

You flew up to the front door, still trying to get more flight practice, and knocked twice on its surface.

"Password!" you heard a voice shout from inside. It sounded like Scootaloo.

Since when did they have a secret password, you thought.

"Applebloom, it's Storm!" you called through the wooden door.

Almost instantly, the door opened and Applebloom ran out and hugged you.

"Storm! I haven't seen you in ages!" she exclaimed, as you attempted to break free from the hug.

"It's been less than a week!" you said, as you finally escaped the filly's grasp.

"Come in!" Applebloom said as she opened the door again. She vanished into the clubhouse, waiting for you to follow. You did so, and followed her into the treehouse. The interior looked just like its many appearances on the show.

In the room was two other fillies that you also recognised. A small orange Pegasus and an equally small white unicorn.

"Hey, Storm! I'm Scootaloo!" the small orange Pegasus greeted you as you entered.

"And I'm Sweetie Belle!" the familiar white unicorn said to you.

You figured you didn't need to introduce yourself, since they seemed to already know who you are.

"I'm guessing these are your friends?" you asked, looking down to Applebloom, who was smiling happily at you. She simply nodded, causing you to look back towards the two fillies in front of you, "Well it's nice to meet the two of you."

"Eh, skip the formalities!" Scootaloo interrupted, "We're going cliff jumping!"

Suddenly, a feeling of terror dawned on you. Sure, you could fly, but cliff jumping still held some fear after what happened last time.

"We're what?" you asked. When Applejack asked you to hang out with the crusaders, you weren't expecting to have to jump off a cliff.

"Cliff jumping! And we're gonna get our cutie marks in jumping off of cliffs!" Sweetie Belle explained enthusiastically. You weren't sure that was how it worked, but you couldn't really say much. You didn't even know what your cutie mark meant, let alone how you got it.

"Come on, Storm! Follow us!" Applebloom commanded, before sprinting out of the door at full speed. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle followed just as quickly.

You let out a faint sigh, wondering how you had gotten yourself into this, before following after the trio.

The four of you walked into the forest that was behind the clubhouse. The trees were not as dense as the Everfree Forest, yet there was still a large amount of them.

The walk was long and boring, and you had to fight the urge to use your wings. None of the three crusaders could fly, even Scootaloo, who was a Pegasus like you.

Before long, you came across a cliff edge, with a lake at its base which somewhat resembled a quarry. A beautiful sparkling waterfall poured down a cliff face, splashing into the pool at the bottom.

It wasn't very high up, but you were aware of the dangers if somepony missed the water.

"Well who's going first?" Applebloom asked, looking over the edge with an almost fearful expression on her face.

"What about Storm?" Sweetie Belle suggested, pointing a hoof at you happily.

A feeling of fear quickly welled up inside you. You knew you could fly easily now, but after what happened last time, you felt like you had gained some uncontrollable fear of cliffs.

"Nah, I think I'll pass. I've already got my cutie mark!" you said, despite not knowing its meaning.

"Are you scared?" Scootaloo teased, in an attempt to make you jump.

"No, I can fly. But if I can fly there's no point in jumping into the water."  you explained, a dead-pan expression on your face.

The three fillies looked uncertain, before Applebloom finally came to a decision.

"Scootaloo, why don't you go first, if you're so 'not scared'" she suggested, laughing slightly.

A scared look quickly appeared on Scootaloo's face, before it was quickly replaced with a look of false confidence.

"O-Ok... Just watch!" she exclaimed as she neared the edge of the cliff. Was this what Applejack meant when she told you to hang out with them, or would she actually be wanting you to stop this right here?

As Scootaloo neared the edge, you couldn't help but notice a pair of sharp rocks jutting out of the lakes glistening surface. If anypony fell onto them, they wouldn't be surviving. Much to the lack of your better judgement, you just hoped that Scootaloo wouldn't stay too close to the sharp spikes.

"You can do it, Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle cheered, as the orange Pegasus' front hooves reached the very end of the ledge.

"Here I go..." Scootaloo said, with a gulp, before finally jumping off of the cliff.

You kept an eye on the falling filly at all times as her screams of both terror and excitement pierced the air. Thankfully, she dodged the jutting stones by a mile, and landed in the water with a splash.

The orange filly didn't resurface above the water for a few seconds, and you got in a position that was ready to fly. You had been working on your take offs in your spare time, and you could now begin flight without hovering.

Much to your relief, however, Scootaloo re-emerged above the water, gasping for air.

"It's not that bad, guys!" she called up to the other two members, who simply stared with slight disbelief.

"You're next, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom said with a worrisome grin as she pushed the white unicorn towards the cliff edge.

"Why not you?" Sweetie Belle asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. You didn't really want to get involved with an argument, so simply stood in the side lines, maintaining your sight on Scootaloo who was quickly paddling towards the shore of the lake.

"Because you're closer to the edge!" Applebloom retorted, pointing a hoof at the ledge she was to soon jump off.

Sweetie Belle huffed in a manner similar to her sister, Rarity, before turning around and marching towards the cliff edge. Without a second thought, she leaped off the cliff, causing you to brace your wings for flight in the event of a missed landing.

Her screams pierced the air, but this time the excitement was lacking. Once again, the filly landed safely in the water, resurfacing almost immediately.

"Ok, Applebloom! Your turn!" Sweetie Belle shouted up to the cliff. Fear was written all over the filly's face, and you couldn't help but feel bad.

"You know you don't have to, right?" you said in an effort to make her feel better.

"I know, but..." she paused, before looking over to the ledge, "I want my cutie mark, and I want it now."

Applebloom approached the edge of the cliff, took a deep breath and finally jumped.

This time, you weren't too worried about a missed landing, as the other two were fine. But as you looked at the falling filly, you noticed something. She was falling straight towards the jagged rocks.

Instantly, you took flight into the air and prepared to grab the endangered pony.

Quickly, you grabbed Applebloom mere moments before she would have hit the rocks. Her eyes were squinted shut with fear, but before she knew it, she was back on the ground with her two friends.

"Woah, Storm! That was awesome!" Sweetie Belle congratulated you.

"Yeah! It was almost as cool as Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo added. That made you think, Rainbow Dash hadn't appeared at all today. But you figured if she had came to the farm looking for you, Applejack would tell you.

"Thanks for saving me, Storm." Applebloom thanked you sadly, her head tilted towards the floor.

"Hey, it's ok, but... Let's not tell Applejack about this, ok?" you asked, worried about how she would react to this.

The three crusaders nodded happily, before all agreeing they should head back. None of them had gotten their cutie marks from this event, but at this point you were used to it.

You walked the three ponies back through the forest, all the way up until you reached their clubhouse. They each said goodbye to you, and thanked you for hanging out with them, followed by a hug from Applebloom. 
You also said goodbye before at last making your way back to the farmhouse at the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres.

For some reason, work had felt like it had taken a lot longer today. Maybe it was to do with having to hang out with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but you didn't want to dwell on it. Either way though, you had to go tell Applejack that the three fillies were safe and that your work was done.

Applejack was already outside, moving some items from a small white shed into the farmhouse.

"Well, howdy, Storm!" she greeted you, seeing you approaching, "How'd it go?"

"Oh, I just took them down to the lake in the forest. They tried getting a cutie mark in swimming!" you lied, hoping it seemed believable.

"Well did any of them get their marks?" she asked, enthusiastically. Now that your thought about it, a cutie mark in swimming probably wasn't unheard of.

"No, but they had a lot of fun!" you said, not mentioning Appleblooms near-death experience. For some reason, you seemed to have incredibly bad luck when it came to cliffs.

"Well ah'm glad to hear that, Storm! Here's ya pay." Applejack said as she gave you a bad of bits. You thanked her before slinging the brown bag over one of your wings.

"Applejack, I was gonna ask you something." you said as she began lifting a box of house decorating supplies. You assumed the Apple Family was redecorating the inside of their house, but you probably shouldn't get involved in their business unless they asked.

"Shoot, Storm!" she replied, happily, as she raised the box and began standing on her hind legs. You still had no idea how she did that.

"Did Rainbow Dash stop by at any point today?" you asked, a worried tone in your voice. Applejack looked deep in thought for a moment, as if the whole day was flashing by in her head.

"Not as far as ah know," she answered, regretfully, "Last ah heard she was with Fluttershy."

At the mention of that name, you instantly knew where you were going next.

"Fluttershy. Thanks, Applejack!" you called as you quickly soared off into the air. You didn't hear her reply, as by the time she did, you were already high in the air.

You were most likely worrying over nothing, but the fact that she wasn't feeling great last time you saw her, and she was last seen with Fluttershy, put a sinking feeling in your stomach. Rainbow had told you Tank was practically better, so why would Fluttershy still need to visit?

Nevertheless, the quicker you reached Fluttershy, the quicker your worries would be put to rest.
> Chapter 16 - Pegasus Plague
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you flew through the air to Fluttershy's house, you couldn't help but worry. The thought of Rainbow being in pain hurt you. The thought of any of your friends being in pain hurt you.

As much as you would've liked to take in the view again, you were too focused on flying as fast as you could to bother.

At last, you reached the familiar cottage that was known to house Fluttershy. It had only been a week since you were last here, and you could see that the fence you had repaired was still holding strong.

Either that or the chickens were too afraid to try escaping again.

You approached the front door and knocked on it a few times, not heavily, but still loud enough to be heard. At first, there was no response, but before long you heard some light footsteps heading towards the door.

Fluttershy slowly opened the door, slowly like she always does. Upon seeing it was you at the door, however, she quickly opened the door fully and a smile emerged onto her face.

"O-Oh, hello, Storm!" she greeted you with a quiet tone.

"Hi, Fluttershy, you haven't seen Rainbow Dash around anywhere, have you?" you asked, hurrying to find out what was wrong with the cyan Pegasus. You didn't even know if there was something wrong with her, but you could feel it. Something felt off.

Fluttershy's smile quickly disappeared off her face, just as quickly as it had appeared.

"Wait there." she commanded, quietly, before swiftly closing the door. You stared blankly at the now closed door, wondering what she could be doing.

You stood outside for almost 5 minutes, watching the chickens roaming their coop, before the door finally reopened.

"She's, um..." Fluttershy said, looking down to the ground. You walked back over to the door from the chicken pen before she finished her sentence, "She's in here."

Those three words set of some alarm bells in your head. Typically, something or somepony would only stay with Fluttershy if they needed help. And of course, it is Rainbow Dash. She wouldn't give up a night in her floating cloud house unless she absolutely had too.

"She's in your house?" you asked, in a state of disbelief. For some reason, you didn't quite believe that Rainbow would be willing to stay in a small cottage on the ground, but deep down you knew she was being truthful.

Fluttershy nodded, weakly, before allowing you to continue your questioning.

"Why?" you asked, a hint of worry beginning to form in your voice.

"She caught Tank's illness." she explained, looking up to you, sadly. Well, that answered your questions. You now knew what was wrong with Rainbow and that tortoise illnesses can be passed on to ponies.

Although, it did leave you with other questions too. Like how Fluttershy hadn't caught the tortoise's illness. Nevertheless, you realise these aren't questions you should be asking yourself right now.

"Can I see her?" you asked. Fluttershy once again nodded in response, before stepping into her house and allowing you to enter.

"She's in the guest room." Fluttershy said, pointing a hoof up the stairs. You thanked her before making your way over to the staircase. To be honest, you weren't even aware her house had a guest room.

You couldn't hear anypony in the upstairs of the house, so you simply continued ascending the staircase. Much like in the Golden Oak Library, there was a hallway with 3 doors on its walls. Two must have lead to Fluttershy's room and a bathroom, while the other lead to the guest room.

You gradually opened the door, half expecting Rainbow Dash to jump out in an attempt to scare you. But she didn't.

Instead you saw her laying in a bed, her eyes half closed. The usual cyan colour of her coat was drained slightly, now paler than how it usually is. Even her rainbow mane seemed affected, the contrasting colour now seeming less vibrant.

Her legs were sprawled out in front of her, as she lay on her side staring blankly at a wall.

"Hey." you said, causing her to quickly turn her head towards you. She may be ill, yet she hadn't lost her speed.

"Heyyyyy…" was all she could say, before beginning to cough, "Sorry."

"It's ok, you can't help it." you relied, wondering why she was apologising for coughing.

"No, I mean I'm sorry you have to see me like this." Rainbow said, sitting up on the bed. She leaned against the wall, finding it difficult to sit up properly without help.

"It's fine but... How'd you even get ill?" You already knew, it was from Tank, but you still weren't quite sure how tortoise illnesses could be passed on to ponies.

"Tank-" she attempted to say, before bursting into a fit of coughs again, "Gave it to me."

"Is that even possible?" you asked. Rainbow was attempting to move away from the wall, using her forelegs to support herself. Thankfully, it worked, allowing her to move away from the wall.

"I don't know, but I'd say I just found a new illness!" she boasted, still holding on to her usual personality. Despite the cockiness, Rainbow's personality was what made you like her more than the others, and you were glad that some illness wasn't gonna change that.

"And what're you gonna name it?" you joked, with a smirk.

"How about..." Rainbow said, seeming to be deep in thought for a moment, "The Pegasus Plague!"

The two of you laughed, despite the fact that Rainbow's laughter was occasionally interrupted by coughing. You didn't think it could be called that considering she had gotten the illness from a tortoise.

"How about a cold?" you suggested, causing her ears to droop with mock sadness.

"Yeah. I guess that makes more sense." she admitted, before slowly sliding back down the back of her bed. She slumped back down under the covers of the bed, and rolled back over onto her side. This time however, she maintained her eye contact with you even whilst laying down.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" you asked, not really knowing what to do. You weren't usually used to Rainbow being this quite.

"You're already doing it." She smiled at you, weakly. Now that she was laying down whilst looking at you, you could see that the front of her mane was deflated slightly, now slightly covering one of her eyes.

"Doing what?" you asked, seeking some clarification.

"Talking to me, duh!" she said in her typical fashion. Her voice was a lot quieter and shakier than normal, yet it still had that usual boastful flare it usually had.

You chuckled at your own inability to see the obvious, causing a smile to grow onto Rainbow's face.

Glancing outside the window, you could tell it was beginning to get quite late. You had been working for a while longer today, as you had to look after the Cutie Mark Crusaders, too.

"Hey, Rainbow, I'm gonna have to go." you explained, sadly. You didn't want to leave her like this, but you knew she was in good hands. Besides, you didn't really have a choice. You had pinkie promised to help Twilight clean the library, and no pony breaks a pinkie promise.

"O-Oh. You'll be back tomorrow, though, right?" the weakened mare asked, her voice suddenly shrouded with panic. She had shot up from her bed, holding herself up with her forelegs, as soon as you announced your leave.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." you reassured her, placing a hoof on your shoulder.

"O-Ok. Thanks, Storm," she thanked you, a warm smile on her face, "Oh, and don't tell anypony about this, ok?"

Her voice now seemed to be riddled with worry, as she thought about her image being tarnished by her illness.

"I pinkie promise." you said with a smile, as you began to turn towards the door.

Rainbow once again smiled in response. Seeing her smile at your made you feel strange. It was a smile you had never seen her do on the show before. It almost felt more sincere and from the heart.

"I'm gonna get some sleep now. See ya, Storm!" Rainbow said, in an attempt to maintain her usual image, before her eyes slowly crept shut.

"Bye, Rainbow." you said, quietly.

Already, the cyan mare was snoring beside you. You couldn't help but smile at the way she looked while sleeping. It was almost... cute.

Nevertheless, you slowly walked out of the guest room door, taking one last look at the sleeping Pegasus before silently closing the door.

You knew the rest of this day was going to drag, but it would be worth it. As long as you knew that she was safe, you could get through anything.
> Chapter 17 - Grounded
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day had arrived following your big clean up of the Golden Oak library. The day went by incredibly slowly, but the process was sped up thanks to Twilight and Spike's help.

Before long, you had the whole place cleaned, and you were ready to call it a day.

For some reason, you couldn't get to sleep. It took well over an hour until you eventually drifted away into your own subconsciousness.

Thankfully, your dreams didn't seem to have too much of an effect on you anymore. They still happened, but they no longer startled you like they used too.

You were awoken once again by the warm sunlight heating up your dark coloured coat. Since your coat was a dark grey colour, it absorbed light and heat much more easily than other colours, meaning you were much more susceptible to heat.

You got out of bed and showered as quickly as possible, before rushing down the stairs to greet Twilight and Spike.

"Hey, guys!" you said, quickly, as you rushed passed them both. Twilight was sat on her desk, and surprisingly Spike was beside her, helping.

"Buy, guys!" you added, swinging the door open. They didn't even get to turn around to look at you before you were already out of the house.

You didn't get far however, as Twilight dragged you back inside with her unicorn magic.

"What's got you in such a hurry?" Twilight asked, smirking, as she turned around in her chair.

"I'm going to see Rainbow." you said, trying to escape the grasp of her magic.

"Don't you need to work today?" Spike asked, seeming a little skeptical.

You remembered one day when you had finished your work, Granny Smith had told you that you were allowed a Friday off once every season. What better time to use it than now?

"Nah! I get one Friday off every season!" you explained, still clawing to escape Twilight's magical grasp.

"Ok, then!" she said, as she released her magic sending you flying out of the open door. You understood why she was concerned about you heading out so quickly, as she knew about your past. If somepony from Equestria showed up on Earth, you'd probably do the same thing too.

"Have fun!" you heard Spike call after you as you took flight. Usually, that sudden release of magic would have sent you falling over, but thanks to your wings, you were saved from the embarrassment.

You quickly flew over the town of Ponyville over to the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, where Fluttershy's house resided.

You had never fully appreciated the surroundings of the small cottage, not even when you were here for the entire day. The small stream that flowed past her front garden gave the place a magical atmosphere, even more so than the rest of Ponyville.

The dark alpine trees of the Everfree Forest cast a great shadowy border along the side of her garden, contrasting the light appearance of the rest of her house. The grand trees of the dark forest dwarfed the small cottage, but in a way, it only amplified the magical atmosphere.

Finally done with you admiration of the surroundings, you gently landed on the grey brick bridge and walked up to the front door. You had mostly been flying everywhere for the duration of yesterday, so it felt nice to stretch your legs with an uphill walk.

Upon reaching the door, you gave it a few gentle knocks, much like you did yesterday. Before long, Fluttershy answered, seeming a lot more cheerful than yesterday.

"O-Oh, Hi, Storm!" she said, smiling sweetly as she took a few steps out of the doorway, "Are you here for Rainbow Dash?"

You nodded, happily, before she moved back into her house to allow you entry.

"I've gotta get go into Ponyville to get some things for my animals, so could you stay with Rainbow please?" Fluttershy asked, closing the door behind you, "I mean- If you wouldn't mind..."

"I don't mind. That's why I came here!" you replied with a smile, causing her nervousness to dissolve.

"Thank you. Rainbow's upstairs still." she said, gesturing towards the staircase once again.

"Is she any better?" you asked, deciding it best to know whether she was feeling any different before rushing into her room.

"I think so, yes. She's still not feeling like her usual self though..." Fluttershy explained, sadly, as she picked up a bag from a drawer as slung it over her wing.

You didn't respond, but instead looked up the staircase with a somewhat worried look on your face. As far as you knew, ponies getting illnesses from other species was a new thing in Equestria. You had no idea what this illness could be doing to her, whether it seemed harmless or not.

"I'll be back soon, ok?" Fluttershy said to you, sternly. You didn't question her sudden boldness, as you knew she was quite serious when it came to other's safety. Especially her friends.

"Ok, see you soon!" you said, attempting to seem as happy as possible. Fluttershy smiled back, before walking out the door. You were almost expecting the door to slam, as Twilight tended to do so with her magic, but instead it quietly crept shut, barely making a sound.

Now that Fluttershy had left, you diverted your attention back to why you came here.

Rainbow Dash.

You walked up the stairs slowly, anticipating the same mare that was drained of her colour last time you were here. You couldn't help but remember how the rainbow colouring of her mane seemed almost dull. It was as if her mane had been put through a black and white printer.

You reached the door, and cautiously opened it, but what you saw surprised you. Rainbow was sleeping, just like you had expected her to be, but the colour had been regained. 
The dull grey shading of her mane and coat had been replaced with their usual vibrant colours. Her snoring and breathing seemed far less raspy than it was last time, now seeming consistent.

You walked into her room, attempting not to wake the sleeping Pegasus, and sat down in a chair across the room from her bed.

You sat their for a few minutes, but nothing really happened. Rainbow continued to snore, with the occasional movement of her legs under the covers.

The thought of how creepy you would look if she suddenly woke up hit you, so you decided you should probably find something to do.

Cautiously, you got up from the wooden chair, and began slowly moving around the room, looking for something to do. The room seemed pretty baron. There was barely anything to do, not even a book lying around that you could read.

To be honest, you weren't really surprised. It was a guest room after all.

This was exactly how your room in the Golden Oak Library looked before you took it over.

Finally, after searching the whole room, you turned your attention towards the wardrobe that had been built in to the wall of the house.

You carefully crept over to it, and placed one hoof on the doorknob. Slowly, you turned the handle, and a faint click emerged from inside.

Before you could open it and relieve your boredom, however, you heard movement behind you. That movement was then followed by a yawn. Which was then followed by a-

"Oh, hey!" you heard from behind you. You turned around, slightly disappointed with yourself for waking her up.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" you asked. Rainbow was sat up and was seemingly readjusting her pillow. It was good to see she could sit up without support.

"Nah. This is when I usually wake up." she said, before slamming her head back down into the pillow.

You had a feeling she was just saying that to make you feel better, but you weren't gonna say anything. Honestly, you appreciated it.

"So are you feeling any better?" you asked, walking over to her bedside. She was staring blackly at the roof, but turned to look at you as soon as you approached.

"You bet I am! No dumb illness is gonna keep me down!" she bragged, before leaping into the air and flapping her wings.

A look of pain dawned on her face, before she crashed back down onto the bed with a grunt of discomfort.

"Woah! Are you ok?" you asked, your voice full of concern. Rainbow reached a hoof around to her wings, and rubbed them gently.

"Yeah, sorry. As much as I hate to admit it, I can't fly yet." she admitted, attempting to get a look at her aching wings.

Despite seeing how upset she was over temporarily losing her ability to fly, you saw this as an opportunity to lighten the mood.

"Welcome to the club. I couldn't fly for a full week when I first got here!" you said, jokingly. She didn't seem to see the joke however.

"What do you mean when you first got here?" she questioned, looking at you with squinted eyes.

"When I first got to Ponyville, I mean." you added, trying to stay calm whilst correcting yourself. Even now, you still tended to forget that you were still trying to hide your past.

"Well, yeah, but I'm Rainbow Dash!" she boasted, looking back up to the ceiling as if deep in though, "I have to fly!"

You could see how much this was affecting her, so decided it would be best to try comforting her. You pulled the chair you were previously sat on over to the bed, and sat down.

"You know you're gonna be able to fly again soon, right?" you reminded her.

"I know, but it's sooooo boring!" she said with a sigh, her forelegs stretching out above her head. Her stretched out legs fell down onto the bed beside her head, as she continued to stare blankly at the roof.

"If you're bored I could go get a book from the library or something." you said, wanting to help in any way you could. You remembered there being quite a few Daring Do books being left on the shelf.

Rainbow didn't answer, but instead sat up, her gaze looking directly out of the window.

"I've got a way cooler idea..." she said, not moving her eyes from the window. You traced her gaze to see what she was looking at, only to be met with the dark trees of the Everfree Forest.

She turned to you, a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Let's go on an adventure! Just like Daring Do!" she exclaimed, moving out of the covers cautiously. You looked at her blankly, not knowing wether to agree with her or be concerned.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, you can't fly!" you reminded her, knowing the dangers of the Everfree Forest. Despite her illness, she seemed to be walking fine. Maybe it was just her flying that was affected now.

"What're you, chicken?" she asked, turning her head towards you. She had already opened the guest room's door, not waiting for your answer.

That same mischievous grin was plastered on her face, taunting you. That alone was enough to convince you.

"Fine. Let's go." you muttered, shaking your head slightly as you placed a hoof on your face.

You could hear an excited 'yesssss' leave the cyan pony's mouth as you finally surrendered to her idea. Even though she was ill, she seemed strangely confident in herself.

As you were walking through Fluttershy's quaint cottage, you thought you could see Rainbow's smile change. Out of the corner of your eye, it looked like her expression changed from one of mischief, to one of happiness.

Nevertheless, it felt strange actually walking with Rainbow for once. Typically she tended to hover beside you rather than walk with you.

As you approached the ominous trees of the Everfree Forest, Rainbow Dash's face twisted into one of anxiety. Her eyes widened as she looked up at the huge dark green trees that were towering over her. She clearly wasn't used to being grounded like this.

"Ya know, Storm? That book sounds like it'd be a lot of fun!" she said, nervously. She had begun to turn around, before you unintentionally stopped her.

"And i'm the chicken..." you joked, in an attempt to get back at her. You had turned around to follow her, relieved that her mind had been changed, when she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

"Yeah, you are!" she exclaimed, turning back around towards the forest, "And I'm gonna show you just how not scared I am!"

Crap, you though, as you realised you had just destroyed the one chance you had of not going into the forest.

Rainbow marched towards the forest, a look of determination on her face. Without saying a word, she disappeared through the shadowy layer of bushes.

"Wait up!" you called, following through the same darkened bushes that Rainbow had previously passed through.

Emerging on the other side, the forest seemingly became a lot less dense. The canopy still prevented the majority of sunlight from entering, however, shrouding the entire forest with darkness.

"So, you got any ideas of where to go?" you asked, immediately noticing the lack of a path. Rainbow turned her head in your direction, a smirk on her face.

"Nope!" she said, faintly laughing to herself.

She turned back around and began walking deeper into the forest, ducking under rogue branches and brambles. Despite being aware of the threats that lurked within these trees, you followed her. You knew that if anything did attack, she wouldn't be able to fly away from it.

A few minutes passed, and nothing adventure worthy had happened. You could even hear Rainbow groan with boredom at the lack of excitement.

"This is a lot less fun than I thought." Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. You where about to suggest going back, when you noticed something not far to your left.

A small, blue orb of flickering light had appeared, not far ahead of you. It was floating, flickering as if trying to communicate with you.

"Rainbow, what's that?" you asked, confused as to what the flickering ball was trying to do.

"I dunno, but it looks pretty boring." Rainbow said, already starting to journey into the other direction. You saw that she was leaving you behind, but you didn't care. Something about this flickering orb compelled you to follow.

And follow you did. You slowly walked towards the orb, but before you could reach it, it began moving away at a speed equal to you.

"Hey, Storm! Where are you going?" Rainbow asked, worriedly. She sprinted over to you, but you didn't take your eyes of the orb.

"I'm following it." you whispered, trying not to disturb anything the orb might be doing.

"It's something to do, I guess." she replied, with a sigh. The flightless Pegasus begun walking beside you, also fixing her attention on the orb.

Fixed within your trance, neither you or Rainbow noticed the flickering light lead you into a circle of trees. Brambles and thorns that would surely cut you to shreds formed a wall around you, meaning the only way to leave was to go back the way you came.

Suddenly, the orb vanished, exploding into a puff of blue dust.

"Where'd it go?" Rainbow asked, seemingly disappointed.

Before you could respond, your thoughts were interrupted by a loud rumbling. Not far from you, a mound of grey rocks was rising into the air, sending lumps of earth and tree roots flying in all directions.

Much to your disbelief, the rocks had taken the form of a human, with hands and feet.

"What is that?" you asked, backing away from the stone creature.

"It's a golem," Rainbow said, also backing up. You could hear her gulp faintly, before she began sprinting in the opposite direction.

"Run!" she commanded. 

You didn't need to be told twice. You turned away from the creature and began sprinting as fast as you could, trying not to pay attention to the terrifying thumps of its footsteps.

As the two of you neared the one exit from the thorny encirclement you had been trapped in, the golem lifted a separate boulder from the ground, and hurled it through the air.

To you surprise, however, it went straight over both of you, and instead landed in the one place you didn't want it too.

It had blocked your one escaped.

"Oh, shit!" you shouted, as the boulder impacted the ground.

"Storm! Reckon you can take him?" Rainbow asked, worriedly, looking around for an alternate way of escape. Usually she probably would've attempted to take the beast down herself, but without her wings, she wasn't confident enough in herself to even try.

You didn't answer. Instead, you surveyed the area in search for a way of defeating the creature.

You didn't find any.

You saw only one way out of this situation. You just hoped you were strong enough to pull it off.

"Nope. But I have a plan!" you said, beginning to hover above the floor.

"Are you seriously about to leave me here?" Rainbow asked, dodging out of the way of an incoming boulder. You had to act fast; she couldn't keep dodging forever.

"I wouldn't even consider it." you said in response as you hovered above her. Your forelegs wrapped around Rainbow Dash, holding her by her stomach.

"Woah!" Rainbow cried as you lifted her from the ground. To your surprise, she was quite light.

The golem roared with fury as a third boulder came soaring in your direction.

"Storm! Look out!"

Mere seconds before the boulder would have knocked you from the sky, you moved to the side, barely evading it. Finally getting used to the added weight of Rainbow Dash, you saw no reason to stick around.

You flew upwards towards the dark layer of canopy above you, listening to Rainbow's muffled screams and the golem's roars of rage.

Before long, you broke through the layer of leaves. The sunlight burnt your eyes slightly, as you had been submerged in darkness for quite a while. The flight back to Fluttershy's was gonna take at least 5 minutes, as you couldn't exactly go fast with Rainbow bound to your chest.

While she was more than used to being in the air, she wasn't used to not having control of her flight. She was scared of you dropping her, as she knew full well that she wouldn't be able to save herself if you did.

Thankfully, her fears were short lived, as before long you dropped her down onto the ground outside Fluttershy's front door.

"I'm..." Rainbow began, looking down to the ground, "I'm sorry for... that."

She nodded her head in the direction of the Everfree Forest, and you knew exactly what she meant.

"Well I'd say we learned a very valuable lesson today..." you said, half jokingly.

"What, that you're cool as hell?" she said, with a smirk. As much as you tried to resist it, you felt yourself blush slightly as she said that.

You attempted to begin a new sentence, yet every attempt ended after the first word. Upon hearing Rainbow laugh, you finally decided to stop.

"I feel pretty tired after all that. Let's go inside!" Rainbow said, opening the front door.

"Yeah, and let's hope Fluttershy's not back yet!" you added, causing her to laugh again. You had to admit, the fly back here had made you feel pretty tuckered out too.

The two of you went back to the guest room, and Rainbow groggily slid into the covers of her bed. She placed a hoof under her head, smiled at you warmly, and closed her eyes.

You took a seat in your usual chair beside her bed, trying not to disturb the slumbering Pegasus. Even though she seemed well today, she was still ill.

After a few minutes of silence, the light snores of Rainbow Dash had begun to echo around the room. You smiled to herself as you watched her sleeping, before feeling yourself start to succumb to the dream realm.

"Storm?" you heard a quite voice say. At first you thought it was a dream, before you realised you weren't dreaming. You weren't even asleep.

Your eyes shot open and you jumped off of your chair, hoping you didn't wake Rainbow Dash. You quickly left the guest room and rushed down the stairs, wondering who had called you.

It was Fluttershy. Of course it was. You were literally in her house.

"O-oh, hey, Fluttershy!" you said, somewhat surprised at yourself for forgetting you were in her house.

"Hi, Storm! How's Rainbow doing?" she asked in a soft, caring voice. She placed a bag of shopping down on the table, a few carrots rolling out of it.

"Oh, yeah, she's fine! Nothing dangerous happened!" you explained nervously, rubbing the back of your head. You were trying your best not to make eye contact with her, "she's actually sleeping now!"

"Then I probably shouldn't disturb her..." she said, seemingly to herself, as she moved a few of the carrots onto a cutting board for later use.

You didn't feel right being here after what had just happened in the Everfree Forest, so you wanted to get out as soon as possible.

"I'm gonna go now! I've got... Um..." You hurriedly thought of an excuse that you could use to get out of this situation, "Work! Yeah, I've got work!"

Immediately you turned towards the door, your hoofs naturally moving in its direction.

"Oh, ok! Well, thank you for staying here, Storm!" Fluttershy thanked you.

"It's no problem!" you replied, quickly, as you swung the door open. She didn't have time to say anything back, as you where already long gone.

You did plan on going back tomorrow, but for now you were just glad that Fluttershy didn't know about your 'adventure' in the Everfree Forest.

You sighed with relief as you glided through the air. It had been a while since you had felt relaxed, but you were glad you could feel it now.

You found the nearest cloud, and sat on it, embracing its cushiony surface. It felt like a bed, but far more bouncy.

Your head and chest lowered down, and your legs sprawled out to your sides. You had never tried resting on a cloud before, but you understood why Rainbow loved it so much. The way the sun shone down on you and warmed your fur was a relaxing feeling like no other.

It was almost relaxing enough that you considered staying there for a whole day...

"I've got nothing else to do," you said to yourself as you shuffled into a more comfortable position, "Why not?"
> Chapter 18 - Sky Surfers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wind beat against you as you flew forward at a high speed. You weren't flying any faster than your normally would, but the wind seemed stronger today than it had been before.

It made flying a lot more difficult, as your wings sought to maintain your altitude while also battling the strong winds. Despite this, it felt quite nice.

The way the wind weaved through your mane felt somewhat relaxing, not to mention it looked incredibly cool.

Since your mane was yellow, it almost looked like a lightning bolt as it streaked across the sky, like a streamer. Where were you flying? You were once again visiting Fluttershy's house, to check on the ill Rainbow Dash.

While she seemed a lot better yesterday, you didn't quite know what this illness was capable of. For all you knew, it could hide its symptoms before striking again.

At last, you could make out Fluttershy's small cottage in the distance, dwarfed by the familiar trees of the Everfree Forest.

At this point, you were confident enough in yourself to not let her know about your adventure in the forest. You honestly regretted the choice of entering the forest, as it almost costed you and Rainbow Dash your lives.

You landed gently at the front door of Fluttershy's house, and gave it a few soft knocks.

There was no answer.

There was always the possibility that she wasn't in, but then again, maybe she just hadn't heard you.

You knocked again, but still there was no answer.

You were considering leaving and coming back later, but then you decided to knock one last time. You slammed your hoof onto the door, making as much noise as possible.

You could only just hear the knock over the sound of the howling wind, but at least you could actually hear this one.

Before long, Fluttershy opened the door. Almost instantly, her own pink mane began blowing in the wind, seeming almost like a kite.

"O-Oh, hi, Storm!" the yellow Pegasus greeted you, not smiling, but not frowning either.

"Hi, Fluttershy! I'm here to see Rainbow again." you explained, the wind calming down ever so slightly.

"Oh, she's gone back home!" Fluttershy exclaimed. You weren't really surprised, as she did seem almost better yesterday. You just didn't expect her to regain her flight this quickly.

"Ah, I'll just fly up to her house then!" you said, as the wind once again began to pick up, "See ya, Fluttershy!"

You began to flap your wings, but it seemed a lot more difficult to gain height due to the wind.

"It might be kinda hard getting up there..." she said, remorsefully. You knew what she was talking about. These high winds where nothing but trouble for Pegasi, even if they were the ones that created it.

"You're telling me," you sighed, hovering a few feet above the ground, "But I can try, right?"

Now putting double effort into your wing flaps, you felt yourself begin to hover normally. You had full control over your flight, even if it exhausted you more.

You looked back down to Fluttershy's house once you where somewhat high up, and saw her waving to you, happily. You waved back, before taking off towards Rainbow's cloudomonium.

Now that you had adapted to the strong winds, it seemed not too much different from normal flying. Since your wings were naturally aerodynamic, you only had to put in a little more effort to cut trough the added pressure.

Rainbow Dash's large cloud house had begun to appear in the distance, and you begun putting even more effort into your flying. You remembered that on Earth, Olympic sprinters would use more energy towards the end of a race, in order to go faster. And that was exactly what you were trying to do here.

It worked surprisingly well, as in less than 2 minutes you had practically arrived at the Cloudomonium. You landed on the very edge of the cloud platform, stopping for a few seconds to catch your breath.

Your wings felt pretty tired now, but the more you used them the more they'd get used to added pressure such as the wind.

You walked up to Rainbow's front door and gave it a slam, trying not to let the sound be drowned out by the howling of the wind.

The door opened up pretty quickly, and Rainbow was stood ready to greet you.

"Hey, Storm!" she said, a smile on her face. It was almost as if she knew it was you.

"I see you can fly now!" you said happily.

"Yeah! Pretty cool, right!" she replied, fanning out her wings so she could get a look at them.

Suddenly, the cold chill of the wind began to start having an effect on you. You shuddered slightly as you felt your yellow mane being whipped in all directions by the strong gale.

"You know you can come in, right?" she said, looking at you with concern.

"Are you sure?" you asked. You did feel quite cold, but you also didn't want to intrude.

Rainbow simply looked at you and snickered as if you had just told a horrible joke.

"Of course I'm sure, duh!" she said, waving a hoof at you with a joking grin on her face, "It's not like you've never been in here before! And besides, you're my friend!"

You opened your mouth to reply, but she was way ahead of you. She somehow grabbed you with her left hoof and pulled you into the house, slamming the door shut behind you.

"So what brings you all the way up to my awesome cloud house?" Rainbow asked, turning towards a large fridge that seemed to be made of clouds.

You casually walked over to the cloud couch and flung yourself lazily onto it, before answering the question.

"Originally to see how you were doing, but since you're all better now how about we just hang out?" you suggested as Rainbow pulled a single carrot out of the somehow operational fridge.

"What've you got in mind?" she asked, placing the carrot in a bowl that was sitting on the floor. The bowl, much like everything else, was also made of clouds.

"I actually don't know. I mean, it's pretty windy outside. Seems pretty dangerous." you explained, recalling your difficulty when you attempted to take off from Fluttershy's house.

Rainbow didn't seem to be fully focused on you, but was instead watching a familiar green tortoise walk slowly around the corner. Tank saw you and instantly smiled, sweetly, before beginning his gradual march towards the carrot.

You waved in response, before Rainbow finally turned her full attention to you.

"What were you saying?" she asked.

"The wind is dangerous." you said, a dead-pan expression on your face. Rainbow once again waved a hoof into your face, a smirk on her own.

"Pffft! Danger's my middle name!" she boasted, proudly. A feeling of worry overcame you, as last time she had an 'adventurous' idea it almost ended with you both being crushed by a stone golem's boulders, "How about we do some cloud surfing!"

To be honest, that didn't sound all that bad. Especially when compared to a flightless expedition into the dreaded Everfree Forest. Even then, however, you didn't really know what it even was. You didn't recall hearing about it in the show back on Earth.

"Cloud surfing?" you asked. You were confused, for sure, but your voice was full of intrigue.

"You know, cloud surfing?" Rainbow asked, a puzzled look on her face. You didn't respond, but instead sat still in silence, "Geez, you did lose a lot of your memory."

You weren't sure wether to be offended by that, as even though you really did have all your memories, you couldn't recall what cloud surfing was.

Rainbow Dash scratched her head as she hovered above the floor, thinking of the best way to explain cloud surfing to you. Of course, actual surfing wasn't really a thing in Equestria. Or, at least, it was very rare. It definitely was doable, but as far as you knew, Rainbow had never attempted surfing the waves.

"Ok, it's just like standing on a cloud, and riding it as the wind carries it along. Yeah! Just like that!" she explained, the excited smile returning to her face.

Honestly, that did kinda sound like fun.

"Sounds cool!" you said, hopping up from the couch and immediately taking flight.

"You bet it is! Let's go find a cloud!" she suggested, as you hovered alongside her. You nodded in agreement as she began moving towards the door.

"See ya, Tank!" you both said as you waved at the eating tortoise. Tank sluggishly lifted his head, and nodded farewell with a smile, before continuing to much on his carrot. He was just as slow of an eater than he was a walker.

As soon as you where outside, you immediately noticed plentiful amounts of smaller clouds that had gathered in the sky above Rainbow's Cloudomonium.

"How about that one?" you suggested, pointing towards a relatively small cloud that was floating not far above you.

"That could work!" Rainbow said as she begun flying up to it. She pulled the cloud down to you, catching it as it blew in the wind. As soon as she released her grip on the fluffy cloud, it instantly began making a hasty getaway.

Thankfully, Rainbow grabbed the cloud before the wind could carry it too far. She pushed the cloud towards you, as if hinting for you to get onto it.

"How exactly do I do it?" you asked, not wanting to attempt it if you didn't even know how to do it. Rainbow's excited expression shifted slightly as she pulled back the cloud.

"Ha! Watch and learn, rookie!" she boasted, a cocky grin on her face. You watched as Rainbow hovered onto the loose cloud, putting as much pressure onto the cloud as possible to maintain her balance, "You need to fan out your wings so you become more aerodynamic!"

Just as she said that, her cyan wings fanned out beside her. Just like that, the cloud began moving slightly faster. Despite this, however, it was still barely moving.

"Is it supposed to be this slow?" you asked, watching the cloud sluggishly make its way a few inches forward.

"No..." Rainbow said in defeat, her ears drooped down beside her head. She looked down at the cloud, examining it to see if there was any extra weight attached to it.

Suddenly, a huge gale of wind surged past you, forcing the cloud forward at breakneck speed.

"Woah!" Rainbow cried in excitement as she rode her cloud through the air. You kinda figured this was what cloud surfing was, but you were really interested in how you control the cloud.

Seemingly answering your prayers, Rainbow's left wing lifted slightly. Responding to her wing movement, the cloud began to turn to the left, maintaining its momentum from the wind.

You watched, a huge smile on your face, as Rainbow's cloud cut through the air at a high speed. Her wing lowered after doing a full 180 turn, and she was now heading back towards the house.

"Hey, Storm!" she called, both of her wings tensing up simultaneously, "Watch this!"

Both of her wings raised up, still tensed, and it seemingly gave her full control over the cloud. She weaved through the air as the strong wind maintained the clouds steady pace.

You saw a look of concentration on her face as the cloud began lifting upwards. It curved up towards the sky, and just like that she did a full roll in midair, somehow still standing on the cloud even while upside down.

After finishing the loop, she rode the cloud down to where you stood, magically coming too a stop.

"What do ya think?" she asked, leaping off of the cloud with a proud grin on her face.

"Cool!" you exclaimed, excited to get your own turn on the cloud.

"Heck yeah, it's cool! Now get on, it's your turn!" Rainbow said, patting the top of the cloud as if gesturing for you to get on. She held the cloud with her hooves to prevent it from being carried away as you boarded it.

Your own wings carried you up to the cloud. As soon as you felt your hooves make contact with its cushiony surface, your wings fanned out in order to become more streamlined and keep balanced.

"Ready?" Rainbow asked, a smile on her face as she prepared to loosen her grip on the cloud.

"Yep!" you answered, your eyes on the skies ahead of you.

Just like that, Rainbow had released the cloud, and immediately you were being carried away by the wind. Keep balanced was hard, but it was nowhere near as difficult as you expected it to be.

Just like Rainbow, your left wing raised, and the cloud began gradually turning to the left. Now that you had changed your direction, you levelled out your wings in order to maximise your speed.

You rocketed through the air, barely noticing a proud Rainbow Dash watching you with a smile on her face. You were about to attempt the loop that she had performed, but before you could, something went wrong.

An abnormally strong gust of wind came surging through the air, sending your cloud spinning and throwing your balance off. Quickly, you lost all control of the cloud and began to spin out like a car drifting on ice. Out of the corner of your eye, you got a quick glance of Rainbow Dash, who's expression had shifted from pride to panic.

She hastily flew over to your crashing cloud, but even she wasn't faster than clouds themselves. Well, unless she did a Sonic Rainboom, but unfortunately for you, she had neither the time or the resources to perform one.

Finally losing your balance, you fell from the cloud platform. Still dazed from the spinning, your wings refused to function. Terminal velocity had come quickly as you blazed through the air at a high speed.

All seemed lost as the green grassland of the ground below grew closer and closer. Flashbacks of when you jumped from Lover's Landing appeared before you, as the situation reminded you greatly of the scenario.

Not a great final thought, you thought as you braced for the inevitable impact. Who knows, maybe it's only break your wings again?

Mere moments before you would have hit the floor, you felt something grab you. Rainbow's fore hoofs wrapped around you and gently lowered you the remaining distance to the ground.

Releasing her hold on you, you fell to the floor, exhausted after that long fall.

"What happened? Are you ok?" Rainbow asked, her eyes seemingly to shine with worry.

"Yeah, just a really, really strong gust of wind..." you panted. Now that you thought about it, you seemed to be cursed when it came to falling.

Your wings had been broken via a fall when you first arrived here.
You had almost died after jumping from Lover's Leap, and then got into an argument with Rainbow.
You had to save Applebloom from skewering herself after jumping from a cliff into a lake.
And most recently you had almost died falling from a cloud surfboard.

For a Pegasus, you sure seemed to have a track record when it came to falling.

"Well, even then I think you did pretty awesome!" Rainbow reassured you, giving you a comforting smile.

"Thanks, Rainbow." you replied as you smiled back at her.

You got up from your seated position after catching your breath, and stretched out your wings to check that they weren't injured. Sure enough, they both felt fine.

"But I think I'm gonna head home." you said, sadly. As much as you wanted to continue your 'surfing' with Rainbow, something had happened during that fall that was causing you some discomfort. It felt almost... sickly.

"What? Why?" Rainbow asked, sounding a little panic. The worry once again returned to her eyes as she stared into yours.

"I don't know, I'm just... not feeling so good." you said, the sickly pain you had recently been feeling advancing to your head.

"Well you can have as much time as you need. I'll still be here being awesome whenever you need me!" she joked, in an attempt to make you feel better. You appreciated it.

A slight snicker left your mouth, earning a quick smile from her.

"I'll see ya later, Storm!" she called as she turned away from you. Her wings fanned out once again as she braced for takeoff.

"Bye, Rainbow." you said back. A smile formed on her face as she quickly took off into the windy sky, the familiar trail of rainbow behind her.

Wanting to get back to the Golden Oak Library as soon as possible, you had already begun walking towards Ponyville. You didn't feel like flying, partly because of the wind, but mainly due to the sickly pain now doubling as a piercing headache.

The once blue sky was now a murky grey, explaining the strong winds. It also told you that rain was coming, further amplifying your craving to get home.

You slowly walked through the town of Ponyville, dragging your hooves as you went. You hurt all over, but you didn't know if it was from the fall or from something more.

The headache was now causing your eyes pain, as they burnt and ached every time an inch of light touched your retinas. Ponies seemed to notice this, as they stopped what they were doing and looked at you for a second with worry in their eyes.

You didn't care.

Finally, you saw the Golden Oak Library. It was only a few steps in front of you, a few painful steps. Every one of those steps you took, the strange pain increased in intensity.

You reached the doorstep of the library, the door within a legs reach. And then you collapsed.

Fuck, you thought as your vision began to be swallowed by a black aura.

A single drop of rain splashed onto your coat, and your vision went fully dark.

The sound of a door creaking open was the only sense you had left.

"Spike! A little help!"
> Chapter 19 - The Coming Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything was dark for quite a while. You simply stared at a black abyss, your entire body numb without feeling. You weren't sure if you had somehow died, or were just in some state of deep sleep.

The last thing you recalled was Twilight Sparkle's voice calling to Spike for help. They must have found you laying on the ground outside and brought you in. You couldn't tell any different though, as even if you where still outside, you wouldn't have been able to tell.

After 15 minutes, the dark abyss before you began to weaken. You had only been out for about half an hour, but already you could feel yourself beginning to wake up.

A white flash of light appeared in the centre of your vision. If you where awake right now, the light probably would have hurt you due to your severe headache, but it was completely painless. The white light grew and grew, like a sunrise on the horizon.

Eventually, the wall of black that was once before you had been replaced by a wall of bright white. Despite not being conscious, the blinding light was finally beginning to hurt. At least your sense of touch had been restored.

The blinding white void began to shift, and a grey crack formed straight down the centre. Just like that, the bright light before you began to part, slowly moving apart from each other until it was out of your vision.

And then it all went dark again. Or so you thought. As it turned out, you where now perfectly awake, but the light level of the room you resided in simply took your eyes a while to get used too. After a few seconds, your eyes adjusted to the low light level, and you could almost make out the furnishings of the room.

You recognised it instantly as the ex-guest room of the Golden Oak Library, now your room. It turned out you were correct when you suspected that Twilight and Spike had brought you indoors.

Looking out your window, it was somehow the middle of the night. You had only been unconscious for about half an hour, so you didn't understand how several hours went by without you noticing.

The library wasn't silent tonight, either. The pattering of heavy rain on your bedroom window filled the room, causing it to feel distinctively like a horror game back on Earth.

Your room was dark, but not dark enough for you not to see. The room, however, was occasionally lit up by the striking of lightning outside. Every time the lightning flashed, a wave of pain shot into your head, telling you that your headache was indeed still there.

It must be quite a storm, you thought as you rolled out of your bed. It hurt a shocking amount to even attempt to move, but you could do it.
You cautiously walked over to your bedroom door, and opened it even slower. The main room light was switched on, so you figured that either Twilight or Spike was still awake.

"Twilight? Spike?" you called. You tried to shout them, but your voice seemed a lot quieter than usual. Every time you attempted to speak, pain coursed through your throat. Nevertheless, you hoped that one of them had heard you.

You felt a little happiness upon hearing hoofsteps from the downstairs room, but they were slower and heavier than both Twilight and Spike's. On top of that, they weren't even coming towards the stairs.

Suddenly, the downstairs light flicked off, and the corridor you stood in was plunged into darkness. A feeling of worry overcame you as you nervously shut the bedroom door, returning to your room.

You were about to get back into your bed and sleep your way through the storm, but as you turned to your bed you saw something that caused your heart rate to shoot up.

Standing at the foot of your bed was Twilight Sparkle, her entire body silhouetted by the night. The entire upper half of her body was almost invisible, blending in with the rest of the darkened room. It was quite sinister, actually.

"Twilight?" you asked, confused as to how she got into your room without you noticing.

"What's wrong, Storm?" the Alicorn asked, motionless. Her voice seemed... off, expressionless.

You stared at the purple alicorn, not knowing what to make of the current situation

"Um... Well... I..." you stuttered, completely forgetting how to talk as a feeling of unreasonable fear overwhelmed you. It was a feeling like the which you had never ever felt before.

Your whole body locked up, unable to move, as a series of chills coursed through you. The sensation of multiple pairs of eyes piercing you suddenly dawned on you, reminding you of the feeling you got in the alley before being stabbed.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost." Twilight laughed, still motionless.
A flash of lightning illuminated the room, and you could finally make out Twilight's features. Everything was all wrong.

Her coat was a murky grey, much like Rainbow Dash's when she was ill that day. Her usually vibrant eyes were lifeless, lacking irises and colour. They were simply white canvases, like golf balls rolling around in her skull. Her mouth had twisted into a sickening grin, her teeth sharp and unnaturally curved.

This wasn't Twilight.

"You're not Twilight. What are you?" you asked, somehow still able to talk. Every word you said felt like a blade being forced down your throat, but you had a feeling that wasn't this entity's doing.

'Twilight' giggled mischievously, her features once again being consumed by the darkness.

"That's up to you..." the creature said, seemingly enjoying playing with your mind. You weren't quite sure what it meant by that, but your confusion was soon corrected.

Suddenly, your own body and the fake Twilight switched places in time with the lightning strike. Her sickening grin pierced you from across the room as you magically appeared at the foot of your bed.

A strange force had begun pulling at you, like a thousand claws dragging you backwards. You didn't have the energy to speak, as your throat felt like sandpaper, so you simply tried resisting the invisible claws.

The Entity's grin grew as she saw you struggling, but it proved futile. The force pulled you down onto the bed, and you lay there as if you were having an episode of sleep paralysis.

'Twilight' approached the bed you had been restricted too, and climbed onto it.

"Your fear is delightful," it said, as she walked over your disabled body, "But you're not broken yet."

Between your blinks, Twilight had vanished. Now above you was Rainbow Dash, her eyes and coat just as lifeless as Twilight's. Her bared teeth looked unnaturally Earth-like, almost like that of a coyote.

You forelegs naturally felt the impulse to push her off, as even though it now looked like Rainbow Dash, it wasn't her. You wanted to shout for help as the evil entity neared you, but your voice refused to work.

The blank eyes of the Rainbow imposter began to glow red in the centre, as her evil smirk grew. She got closer to your face, as if about to bite you, as the red glow got brighter.

"No..." the creature said, turning its head away from you. The red glow in its eye deteriorated as fast as it appeared, "It's not time yet..."

Her voice now sounded almost identical to the real Rainbow Dash's, aside from now sounding more monotone.

If you where able to talk, you would have bombarded it with questions, but unfortunately you couldn't. 'Rainbow' walked off your bed, keeping her lifeless eyes on you as she returned to the floor. Her sinister grin had disappeared from her face, now replaced by a look of worry.

"We are not your friends..." she said, turning her head away from you. You didn't exactly need to hear it from her, but the word 'we' confused you. As far as you could tell, there was only one of these demons.
"But know this..." it said, walking slowly over to the window.

The Entity's form shifted from Rainbow back to that of Twilight as it stared out of the window, watching the torrential rain pour down onto Ponyville.

"There is a storm coming," she said, turning her head ever so slightly. Immediately, you thought of the name you had chosen for yourself upon first arriving in this world, Storm Strike.
Just a coincidence, you thought, attempting to calm yourself.

'Twilight's' blank eyes shifted in your direction, but her head still peered out over Ponyville. Lightning strikes continued to illuminate the night, as terrifying as it was.

"Yes, there is a storm coming..." she repeated, her lifeless eyes now locked onto you. Her grey body turned and faced the door, before beginning to trot towards it. To your surprise, she stopped upon reaching it, and looked at you for one final remark.

"And you are the eye of it." she said, her voice suddenly shifting into an unrecognisable mix of sounds. It was deep and evil, to the point where it chilled you to the bone.

The door swung open, and the Entity left your room, leaving you alone once again.

You struggled to escape the invisible grip that was pinning you to your bed, but for a few seconds it proved futile. But thankfully, you were soon released.

You instinctively leapt up from your bed, hoping to give chase to the creature. As soon as you did so, everything seemed to die down.

The rain calmed slightly, now hitting you window with less force, as well as the lightning no longer striking.
The intense darkness that once shrouded the entire library had been replaced by the usual calming darkness of the night.
And most notable of all, the sharp sensations in your head and throat had subsided ever so slightly. They where still there, and they still hurt like hell, but they were now at least manageable.

Quickly, you sprinted over to the door that the Entity had left through. Not wanting to waste any time, you burst through the door, not bothering with the handle. Sure, it made a lot of noise, but you wanted to know what that creature was, and what it wanted.

Was it simply here to warn you of something? Or was it here for something more? It didn't seem friendly, but then again, it didn't harm you.

You ran down the hallway, reaching the staircase, before sprinting just as quickly down them. Upon reaching the base of said staircase, it appeared your efforts where not in vain.

As you took your hoof on the bottom step of the staircase, you crashed head first into the Twilight impersonator.

"Got you, you creepy bitch!" you yelled, tackling the creature to the floor, and in the process sending a few book piles flying into the air.

"Excuse me?" you heard a familiar voice say, sternly.

It was Twilight's voice, but it now seemed less monotone. Getting a good look at her face, her eyes seemed to have the features. It was the real Twilight.

"Oh, crap! Sorry! Sorry!" you exclaimed, getting up from the incapacitated Twilight. Now no longer fuelled by your adrenaline, the natural pain of whatever had caused you to pass out yesterday seemed to intensify. Your muscles began to ache severely, so the less time you spent down here, the better.

"Oh, and just who were you looking for? Spike?" Twilight asked, standing up and giving you an angry glare.

Your eyes squinted with apology, as you looked at her sadly. The room was illuminated by one candle, and that was enough for you to see most of the room. You weren't sure why she was down here still, but judging from the piles of books you had just knocked down, she had been doing some pretty intense studying not long before.

"N-no, there was this... thing," you stuttered, finding the whole experience unexplainable, "This... demon thing... And it looked like you, and Rainbow Dash, and..."

Before you could finish, you felt yourself out of breath already. Whatever was making you feel like this was really having an effect on you.

"Storm, I know you're not from this world, but I promise that it's fine!" she exclaimed, her angry expression dissolving into a look of sadness.

You couldn't help but feel guilty as you watched her pick up the knocked over books. The urge to help was overwhelming, you had just tackled her after mistaking her for a demon, after all. The pains you were currently feeling, however, won the fight for bodily control and eventually persuaded you to not help her, as horrible as it made you feel.

"B-but... It felt so real!" you exclaimed. Surely it wasn't a dream. No dream could transition that well into reality.

"I promise you that it's just your illness, ok?" she said, turning her attention towards you. The caring smile that you had gotten used to had returned to her face, making you feel a little bit better. But even then, you weren't quite sure what she was talking about when she said 'illness'.

"My what?" you said, all four of your legs feeling progressively weaker.

"Based on how you where collapsed outside the library, I'd guess that you caught Rainbow's illness." she informed you, regretfully, "And, chances are, it's gonna have an increased effect on you since your not from this world, which might explain whatever problem you just had!"

As much as you didn't want to admit it, and as real as the experience felt, you had a feeling she was right. Not to mention, it did feel a little better knowing that the creature was simply created by your illness.
But still, you couldn't shake the feeling that it meant something.

"I guess that makes sense..." you said, deciding not to worry about it for now. At this moment, fighting of your illness was at the top of your priorities.

"And if you want to get rid of that illness, you need to go and rest!" Twilight instructed, pointing a hoof towards the stairs. Now that the pains of your illness had fully awoken, you wanted nothing more than rest. There was still one final thought that worried you, however.

Tomorrow is Monday.

"But I have work tomorrow!" you said with a worried tone.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Applejack will understand if you miss a few days!" Twilight replied with a comforting smile, "Now go and get some rest."

Now with the stress of both the creature and work behind you, you thanked Twilight and began walking back up the stairs.

"Night, Twilight!" you called as you saw her climb onto the closest couch.

"Goodnight, Storm!" she replied, as the one candle that lit up the room was extinguished. Now that you thought about it, using a candle inside a giant tree seemed a little unsafe.

You entered your bedroom, slightly confused as to how Spike hadn't woken up during the commotion, and slipped back into your bed, the faint tapping of rain on your window breaking the silence of the night.

Sleep came quickly, but the pain in your muscles and head persisted, and so did a feeling of dread.

This was going to be a long night.
> Chapter 20 - Rainbow Remedy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just as you suspected, the night went by incredibly slowly. Sleep had came somewhat quickly, as you felt indescribably tired, but it still felt uncomfortable.

One minute you were freezing cold and had to wrap yourself up in your blanket, and the next you were overheating and were sweating profusely. In combination with a splitting headache, stomach pains and a throat that felt like a razor blade, it all combined to a terrible night.

Once you fought through all of that, however, sleep felt like the best sensation in the world. There were no dreams, no uncomfortable pain, so sleep paralysis demons. It was just peaceful.

It felt like all of your troubles and all of your pains melted away as you relished your silent state of unconsciousness that you were rarely granted. The last time you had such a peaceful sleep was a very long time ago. Nowadays, your sleep schedule was constantly plagued by nightmares and visions of your home world.

Quite honestly, you wanted to never wake up. Your entire body felt relaxed, and you didn't want it to end.

You remained in that resting state for a while, until finally you did wake up. Or, at least partially. Your cloudy vision was parted by the rays of sunlight shining in through your window. There wasn't a sound coming from the house, so you figured that Twilight and Spike had let you sleep in.

As your blurred vision slowly began to return to normal, you didn't seem to notice anything out of place. That was, until you looked into the corner of the room.

Sat on a stool in the corner of the room was Rainbow Dash, looking out the window with her head resting on her hoof. You weren't sure what she was doing here, but you figured she must've been really bored.

Just as you were about to say her name, the pain returned. Shockwaves of pain rippled through your brain, enough to persuade you to stay in bed.
It was safe to say that you now understood why Rainbow could hardly move from her bed that day.

"R-Rainbow..?" you asked, groggily, looking over at the cyan mare with half closed eyes.

Rainbow Dash jumped slightly, as if startled by your sudden awakening, before quickly turning from the window to you. Her slightly panicked expression quickly change into a smile.

"Hey! Your awake!" she exclaimed, happily. You smiled back at her before she began scooting the wooden stool she was sat on over to you. 
As funny as it looked, the way the legs of the stool scraped on the floor created an unbearable screech, making your headache even worse than it already was.

"Ow! Can you stop that? Please?" you asked, snapping slightly under the pain of your headache. You had quickly added a please onto the end, in an effort to correct your anger, but this headache was affecting your patience badly.

"Sorry." Rainbow said with a guilty smile as she hopped up from the stool. Instead of scraping it along the floor of your room, she now picked it up and hovered over to your bedside, laying it down gently beside you, "So how are ya feelin'?"

As much as you didn't want to admit it to her, it did hurt. It hurt more than any illness you had ever felt on Earth.

"It hurts." you said, your head laid down on your pillow. You were expecting Rainbow to start teasing you over your intolerance of pain, but to your surprise, she didn't.

"I can agree with you on that!" she exclaimed, placing her hoofs on the side of your bed, "I'm guessing you already know what's wrong with you?"

You most certainly did. Everything that happened last night was as clear as day. Everything from the demon that had entered your room, to tackling Twilight into a pile of books.

"Yeah, I do." you said, looking at her out of the corner of your eye. You could raise your head, but it was way to much effort to be bothered doing.

"Well in that case, you know why I came by, right?" she asked, smiling at you slyly.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe to apologise for making me bedridden?" you said, not being entirely serious. You even laughed softly under your breath.

A wave of guilt washed over Rainbow's face, causing you to feel twice as guilty as her.

"It's not really your fault!" you reassured her, giving her a slightly painful grin. Thankfully, that seemed to return her to her normal demeanour.

"Oh, well, good! Because that's not why I came here!" she pouted, crossing her forelegs over her chest.

You made an effort to raise your head, and as difficult as it was, you did it. The price of this, however, was that you needed to lean your head on the wall in order to stop yourself from falling back onto the pillow.

"Then why did you come here?" you asked, giving her a curious smirk.

"Wellll..." she began, her eyes lighting up with excitement, "I figured that, since your nowhere near as awesome as me and all, you wouldn't recover nearly as fast as I did..."

To be honest, you weren't really surprised by that explanation. But it didn't really explain why she had came by.

"So..." you said, not really understand what she was getting at.

"So I came over to help you recover! Just call me Doctor Dash!" Rainbow exclaimed, proudly, as she flew up into the air with her hoofs placed heroically at her sides.
She lowered back down to the stool, and looked into your eyes awaiting approval.

You stared at her blackly for a few seconds, before asking a question that had just appeared in your mind.

"Where's Twilight?" you asked, shifting in your covers slightly. You partly were genuinely concerned as to where Twilight had gone, but were also just unsure as to wether a Rainbow was being serious or not.

"Oh, Twilight? She left." she replied, holding her hoofs together and glancing evilly at the door. She almost looked like a super villain planning their next scheme.

"What, did you kill her or something?" you asked, jokingly. Your head plummeted back down into your pillow, carelessly.

"What? No! I literally mean she left!" she retorted, seeming slightly offended that you just assumed she murdered one of her best friends. After a few seconds of silence, however, she seemed to understand that you were joking.

"Where'd she go?" you asked.

"She went to look after Fluttershy and her animals. She caught it too." Rainbow explained, sadly.

You were a little shocked that this illness was spreading so rapidly, but then again, you shouldn't really have been surprised. It did originally transmit from a tortoise to a pony after all.

"Wait, so aren't you and Twilight gonna get the illness from caring for us?" you asked, rolling your entire body over to face her.

Rainbow placed a hoof on your coat, and you had to admit, it felt quite soothing. Due to the illness, your coat seemed to be hyper-sensitive to touch.

"Don't worry, I doubt I can get it again." she reassured you, "And as for Twilight, she might get it, but then you and Spike will just have to try your best to take care of her!"

You nodded at her in response, as if silently promising that you would take good care of her friend. Twilight was the one who had taken you in after you first landed in this world, after all. You weren't just gonna leave her hanging when she needed help.

"Speaking of Twilight, why aren't you taking care of Fluttershy, and why isn't Twilight here? I mean, Twilight lives here, and you and Fluttershy practically grew up together!" you asked, watching as Rainbow got up and carried her stool back over to the corner of the room.

"Heh, just a change of scenery, you know!" she replied nervously, waving a hoof in your direction. She didn't make eye contact, and instead fixed her eyes on the corner of the room as she placed the stool back where it belonged.
"And how do you know about me and Fluttershy growing up together?" she asked, now fully turning to you. Her voice had shifted from caring and compassionate, to suspicious and slightly aggressive.

You gulped nervously, as you had once again let some of your human knowledge slip out. If it was your choice, you would have no memories of your life on Earth.
If anything, they were a curse at this point.

"Um... Twilight told me! Yeah!" you explained, quickly finding an excuse for your cursed knowledge.

Rainbow stared at you from the curse, sternly. You could feel her magenta eyes piercing through your soul.

"Hmm..." she said, quietly. You were beginning to have your doubts wether she believed you, "I suppose that makes sense."

And with that, everything returned to normal. You let out a relieved sigh as all the tension dissolved. Well, all the tension aside from the physcial tension in your muscles.

"Now, what services of Doctor Dash do you require?" she asked, walking over to your bedside once again. Seemingly out of nowhere, she pulled out a head mirror that doctors used whilst in surgery and placed it on her head. Her mane didn't get in the way, as it seemed to slide right over it.

You laughed softly as you looked at the cyan Pegasus beside you, who was now role playing as a doctor. Out of all the things you never expected to see in your life, this was definitely one of them.
Then again, this whole world was something nobody would ever expect to see in their life.

"How about a massage!" Rainbow suggested, enthusiastically. She didn't strike you as the type of pony to go around offering free massages for seemingly no reason. You laughed once again, before letting out a slightly reluctant 'sure'.

You weren't sure how a massage from Rainbow Dash was going to feel, but your approval seemed to make her happy. Not to mention the fact that your muscles were aching quite a lot.

You rolled over onto your back, like most usually do during a massage, and awaited the oncoming treatment. Wether it would be relaxing, or torturous, you weren't really sure. But either way, it would be something for sure.

"Ok, now watch Doctor Dash work her magic!" she exclaimed as she leapt up onto the bed, trying her best not to trample you into oblivion.

You closed your eyes in anticipation, but also tensed up, as you had no idea how this was going to feel.

After a few seconds you feel her hoofs begin massaging your lower back, gently at first. It actually felt quite nice, as most of the built up tension seemed to melt away.

"Um... Is that ok?" Rainbow asked, obviously quite worried over whether she was doing a good job. You nodded into your pillow, not wanting to move at all.

Rainbow began speeding up, putting more pressure into the massage. Now this was how you imagined it was going to be. It did hurt slightly, but you had to admit, it seemed to be working quite well in relieving the tension.

You had never had a massage in Equestria before, but it did feel pretty similar to how it did on Earth. It felt incredibly good. Maybe that was in combination with the thought of Rainbow literally being above you, but nevertheless, it was nice.

Once all of the pressure in your lower back had been relieved, she moved onto your wings, that seemed to be naturally fanned out. She massaged these much more gently, as a pegasus' wings were are fragile. Of course, they are also incredibly strong in the right circumstances, but they are made of feathers.

You were even more unsure of how a massage to your wings would feel, as on Earth you didn't have wings. It felt a little strange at first, but after a while it began feeling just as relaxing as a massage anywhere else.

The way it felt seemed to relax your wing's bones, and allowed them to settle down beside you, comfortably.

Finally, Rainbow climbed off of you and jumped off the bed.

"How was that?" she asked, worriedly.

You lifted your head from it's fallen position and rolled over much more easily thanks to what she had done.

"That was amazing!" you exclaimed, happily. A smile quickly grew onto her face and her eyes lit up with happiness.

"Well, I am just that awesome!" she boasted, proudly, "So do you need anything else?"

You were a little surprised that she was willing to do so much for you. She seemed like the type of pony who would attempt to escape work whenever she could, but then again, she was the element of loyalty.

"Are you sure you don't mind doing all of this?" you asked, a look of worry on your face.

"Sure! I mean, what kinda friend would I be if I just left you hangin'?" she said, now hovering beside your bed.

You weren't sure of anything else she could do to make you feel better, but there was something you could think of to pass the time.

"In that case, could you go get a book from downstairs?" you asked. Seeing as you lived in a library, the one thing you could think of to make the time go by faster was reading.

"On it!" Rainbow said, smiling with determination, before hovering over to the bedroom door. Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks, seemingly for no reason.
"Oh, crap!" she exclaimed, quickly turning around with an urgent expression plastered on her face.

"What's wrong?" you asked, seeming just as worried as she was.

"I rushed to get over here this morning, and I forgot to do my weather pony duties!" she explained, panic in her voice, "I've gotta go fast!"

She quickly swung open the door, but stopped herself once again.

"I'm really sorry!" she said, turning to you one final time.

"Hey, it's ok! You already helped a lot!" you replied, which seemed to calm her down a little bit, "I'll see you later."

"See ya soon, Storm!" Rainbow said happily, before closing your door, lightly. As much as it hurt your throat, you shouted a thank you through the almost empty library, to which she also responded with a 'you're welcome'.

You heard the distant sound of the front door opening and then closing, and then the library was silent once again. You weren't sure how long it was gonna be before Twilight and Spike got back, but you felt like you could catch up on some sleep much easier thanks to the treatment Rainbow Dash had given you.

The one thing you were certain of however, was that you certainly weren't going anywhere.

Not for a day or two, at least.
> Chapter 21 - Curing Memories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You hadn't been sleeping for very long, but you had once again had you slumber interrupted by a strange dream. Quite honestly, you weren't even sure wether you could call this a dream.

Your body felt as if it was drifting through a large white tunnel, large yet sharp pieces of glass floating throughout the void around you. They seemed to be shards of broken mirrors, as the white light of the tunnel you found yourself in seemed to refract of off their surfaces.

The sense of touch didn't really seem to exist, and all you could do was look around at whatever realm your dreams had brought you to. You couldn't really see your own hands, or your own hoofs, so you believed that you were in the body of neither your human form or your pony form.

Out of nowhere, large bubbles began rising from the unknown depths of the abyss. They seemed bouncy and cartoony, just like the world you now found yourself living in.

At first, they were just that. Bubbles. But before long, you began to make out movement within each bubble that rose. Each bubble seemed to be showing you a scene of something that had happened in your life on Earth, ranging from when you learnt to walk, all the way up until your 'death' in the alleyway.

It was quite mystifying, to say the least. You felt quite relaxed watching each of your memories drift past you, reminiscing on what was essentially your past life.

That was, until they started popping. For every 10 or so memories that drifted by, the occasional bubble would burst, causing you to completely forget what you were looking at. You couldn't quite comprehend the bursting of each bubble, as each time it happened, you forgot it even had.

Yet somehow, you seemed to be capable of understanding what was happening. Some form of magical power overcame you, and you were able to witness each bubble burst individually.

Still, after each bubble had burst, you didn't quite understand the meaning behind what was inside the burst bubble. This eventually lead on to your realisation of what was happening.

For every few memories that you saw, you forgot one. Each time a bubble burst, you would forget the memory that it held within.

The memory of your 7th birthday party, gone. In an instant, all traces of that event ever happening in your life had been removed. You knew it had happened, but you couldn't remember a single detail about it.

You weren't quite sure whether this was a natural process, but you couldn't say you had ever experienced this before, nor had you ever heard any recounts of it.

Once the bubbles began to slow down their appearances, you were hoping that your ordeal would be over.

How wrong you were.

Just as you were about to relax, and fade off back into whatever state of sleep you were previously in, the single most important memory of your life slowly raised into your field of view.

Your parents.

The two figures that had raised you up to your life on Earth rose up to your line of sight, trapped within their bubble. pop.

And just like that, any trace of your parents ever having existed in your life was gone. You remembered seeing the two people in the bubble before it burst, but you didn't know who they were.

You didn't have time to contemplate, as quickly after a familiar voice began shattering the dream world you were stuck in.

"Storm? Wake up, Storm!"

The voice echoed throughout the dreamscape as if you really were in a long tunnel. It reminded you of one time when you were on Earth, when you and your friends had foolishly wondered into a train tunnel hoping for adventure. It almost costed you your lives, but they way your voices echoed along the tunnel was something you could never forget.

Thankfully, that was an experience you could still remember. Not many of your memories had been lost, but the few that had been removed from your memory banks were quite important ones.

You weren't too bothered though, as you would never really know what memories you were missing.

"Storm! Wake up!" you heard a different voice say. This voice was a male's voice, whereas the last one was a female's. You didn't fully recognise the voices, but you knew you had heard them before.

Suddenly, the white tunnel you were in began to be flooded by a pink mist. It seemed to sparks with yellow stars, and was quickly approaching you. As soon as it did, you began having difficulty breathing, which was then followed by blindness.

Thankfully, the blindness only lasted a few seconds, as before long you had woken up to a familiar setting. Your own bedroom.

The voices you were hearing in your dream were none other than Twiligt and Spike's, who had been attempting to wake you up for some time.

"W-what? Where am I?" you asked, rubbing your head with a hoof. Both of them were looking down at you from your bedside with large smiles on their faces.

Had something happened that you weren't aware of?

The last thing you could remember was being with Rainbow Dash, who then had to leave for work. After that, you fell asleep pretty quickly.

"Storm! We found it!" Spike exclaimed, bouncing up and down excitedly whilst holding onto your bed for dear life.

"Found what?" you asked, still slightly dazed after being pulled from your dream like that.

Twilight pulled out a small bag of purple powder, which seemed to have small specks of yellow dotted around in it. It looked incredibly similar to the dusty cloud that had flooded your dream.

"The cure!" Twilight said, pointing her other hoof towards the pouch of purply substance.

All you could do was look at the pouch and smile, as you finally had some relief to the pain you were feeling. Rainbow had somehow recovered naturally within a few days, but Tank seemed to have had it for weeks. While he was a tortoise, you didn't want to risk being bedridden for that long, so a cure was incredibly welcome.

"Well how do you use it?" you asked, wanting to get rid of the illness before it could do any more damage.

Both Twilight and Spike laughed slightly, causing you to feel quite confused. Now that you thought about it, there was no splitting headache anymore. Nor was there any stomach pains, or any grating sensations in your throat.

"You've already used it, haven't you?" you asked, happily.

"Yep! We tried waking you up, but you weren't having any of it, so we just threw it over you and hoped it worked!" Spike explained, finally managing to hop onto your bed.

"Well did it work?" Twilight asked, obviously planning to use this for future research and study.

Judging from the lack of pain you were feeling, it had indeed worked.

"I think so!" you replied, happily, causing large smiles to form on both of their faces. Finally glad to no longer be bound to your bed, you shot up into the air, hovering for a few seconds, before landing back down on the floor, "How'd you make it?"

"Well..." Twilight began, but she was quickly cut off by Spike, who quite clearly didn't want to listen to one of her lectures.

"We went into the Everfree Forest while Fluttershy was asleep and found a few plants. The end!" Spike explained, quickly, before jumping down from your bed.

"Well, actually... Yeah, ok, that's what happened." Twilight responded in an attempt to defend herself. Her ears drooped down, defeated, but you both knew that Spike was only joking around.

"Well, thanks! I mean it!" you said, sincerely. You were honestly really glad to not have all those pains in your system anymore, "But can I ask you one thing?"

Twilight's ears perked up once again, and she looked up to you with interest.

"Of course you can!" she said, gladly accepting your request.

You had tried asking Rainbow this question, but all she had told you was to ask Twilight. Not to mention she had changed the subject not long after.

"Seeing as how you live here and all, why was Rainbow Dash here instead of you?" you asked. You weren't worried, so to say, but more interested. Whatever the reason, it must have been a pretty good one.

"Well, because Fluttershy lives so close to the Everfree Forest, I thought that it would be a good opportunity to look for ingredients to a cure!" Twilight explained, seeming slightly nervous.

You had to admit, that reason was a little more boring than you were expecting it to be. Before you could respond, Spike interrupted with his own side of the story.

"That's just a cover up," he said, "Allow me, Storm!"

Twilight looked over at him, a look of slight anger on her face.

"Spike! We pinkie promised!" she said, sternly. Ok, now this was getting interesting.

"You pinkie promised. I didn't!" the baby dragon retorted, seeming to win the argument.

"Alright. Fine. Go ahead." Twilight reluctantly agreed, rolling her eyes slightly. She wasn't really breaking a 
Pinkie Promise by doing this, so technically speaking it was fine.

"Yes!" Spike exclaimed, "Listen up closely, Storm!"

He hopped back up onto your bed, before beginning his story.

"You see, Twilight was going to take care of you, but Rainbow Dash came by to see if you were ok. Twilight then told her that you were ill, and that she believed Fluttershy was ill too," he explained, having your full concentration, "Twilight told her that Fluttershy need her care, but Rainbow insisted that she had to stay here, and that Twilight should go and care for Fluttershy. And when I say insisted, I mean begged."

You looked at Twilight, as if seeking confirmation in what Spike had just told you. Sure enough, she nodded, confirming what the baby dragon had said.

"Storm," Twilight said, looking at you with a slightly more serious expression that she had prior, "I don't know what it is about you, but Rainbow seems to care about you a lot more than other ponies."

You weren't really sure how to respond to that, so simply sat and stared.

"Make sure you look after yourself, and make sure you look after her. If anything bad happened to you, it would hurt her even more." Twilight continued. You weren't quite sure why, but hearing this didn't add any stress or any pressure onto you. Instead it made you happy.

"I promise I won't hurt her, and I promise I won't put myself in any danger." you said. Back on Earth, you weren't particularly well known to keep all your promises, but this was one of those rare promises that you intended to keep.

"Pinkie promise?" Spike added, now back at the side of your bed.

"Pinkie promise." you replied, with a reassuring smile.

That was enough for Twilight, as she seemed to trust you quite a lot already. After all, nopony breaks a pinkie promise. Not if they value their life.
Her look of seriousness shifted into a smile, matching that of your own.

"Oh, and Twilight, one last thing?" you asked, having one last question, "When does Applejack expect me back into work?"

You were almost hoping that you had atleast another day off. It had been a while since you had hung out with Rainbow Dash, if you exclude this morning.

"She said you can have the whole week off, so you can do whatever you like!" she explained with a smile.

Now that was what you were hoping to hear. Now you had the whole week to hang out with Rainbow, and maybe even get to know some other ponies a little better.

"So... Can I go out?" you asked, seeking approval as if she was actin good as your guardian. Technically speaking, Twilight was your guide in this new world. You had obviously seen this world before your arrival, but you were still a stranger to it, and Twilight had been your guide.

"Of course you can! Maybe take it easy with the flying for a day, though?" she requested, not yet knowing the limits of the cure she had worked up.

"Yes!" you cried, happily, leaping out of your bed and sprinting out in the hallway. It felt amazing to finally be able to properly stretch your legs and wings.

Neither Twilight nor Spike were able to respond before you were already metres out of the front door, but you knew they were subtly laughing at your eagerness. As soon as you met the outside world, you spread your wings and took flight.
While you didn't want to risk flying fast, she had never said you couldn't fly at all.

After what felt like an eternity, you were finally back in the skies, feeling better than ever. Never had the wind blowing through your mane felt so relaxing.

Since you weren't able to fly incredibly fast, you didn't want to waste Rainbow's time with a hang out, so decided to stay alone for this one day. You had all the time in the world to spend.

After all, it was a brand new day.
> Chapter 22 - Crash Course
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I've got a challenge for ya, Storm!" Rainbow Dash said, a wide smile on her face.

You had spent the remainder of yesterday flying around Ponyville aimlessly, lost in your own thoughts. After that, you had just gone home and went about your usual nightly routine.

As far as you could remember, you hadn't returned to that dreamy white tunnel that you had found yourself in not long before. You didn't quite know the meaning behind it, so you weren't sure whether not returning was a good thing or a bad thing. Nevertheless, you decided to not worry about it.

Rainbow had seemed pretty surprised by your swift recovery, and had seemed even more surprised when you told her that Twilight had found a cure. She was happy for you, but unsurprisingly got a little jealous when she realised that she had to fight through the illness without the cure.
Thankfully, she seemed mostly happy, and before long the two of you were back to hanging out together just like old times.

"Oh, yeah?" you said in response.

Not long ago, you had mockingly said that Rainbow wouldn't be able to put you up to a challenge that scared you. There wasn't much that could really scare you anymore, not now that you knew how to fly.

She smiled mischievously at you, hovering above the floor of her cloud house.

"Let's see if you can pull off a Sonic Rainboom!" she exclaimed, crossing her forelegs as if she knew she had won.

Almost instinctively, you leapt up from her cloud couch with shock. You didn't want to admit it, but that did scare you a little. Nopony other than Rainbow Dash had ever pulled off a Sonic Rainboom before.

"Seriously?" you asked, now hovering up to face her.

"Yep! Have I scared you?" she asked, mockingly. She had leant her head towards you a little, as if trying to tease you.

"N-No! I can do a Sonic Rainboom just as easily as you can!" you lied. Truthfully, you barely had any idea how it was done. Did you just have to fly incredibly fast? If so, then it didn't seem too hard.

To your surprise, Rainbow began laughing slightly. You must've been a really bad liar if she could see through it that easily.

"Was that a stutter?" she asked, finally ending her fit of laughter.

"I don't know what your talking about." you replied, nervously. You were trying incredibly hard to keep your nerves concealed, but it wasn't really working.

Rainbow finally landed besides you, after hovering in place for almost 15 minutes. You were surprised that hovering motionlessly never got tiring, but then again she was the best flier in Equestria.

"I guess we'll see how scared you really are, won't we?" she teased, nudging you slightly with her foreleg. At this point, you had enough of her teasing, and were finally ready to prove her wrong. Or at the very least, attempt to anyway.

"Oh, yeah? Let's go, then! I'll show you just how not scared I am!" you replied, adamantly, before marching over to the door.

All you could hear behind you were Rainbow's snickers. She was either incredibly confident that she had scared you, or just liked seeing you so worked up like this.

"I've got the perfect spot!" she said, following you out of the door. At last, her constant snickering finally stopped, and she began taking this more seriously.
She could clearly tell that you were being serious about pulling of a Sonic Rainboom, even though she had suggested it with the intent of you not doing one.

"Where?" you asked, looking into the sky for a vantage point that you could leap from.

Once again, Rainbow began hovering above you. You had started to wonder whether it was a habit for her, or she just really liked excersising her wings.

"The sky, duh!" she said, pointing up into the air at nothing in particular.

You followed her gaze, looking straight up at the clear blue sky. The easiest way to perform a rainboom was to have a clear path, after all.

Now that the moment had arrived, you felt even more nervous. It was even to the point that you were almost about to chicken out.

"You, know..." you said, looking down from the infinite expanse of the sky, "Maybe I'm in over my head."

You weren't exactly ashamed, but you were slightly disappointed in yourself. You didn't fully blame your nerves for your decision, but also partly the promise you had made to Twilight Sparkle.

You had pinkie promised to never put yourself in danger, and from what you knew about the sonic rainboom, a failed attempt could hone some potentially devastating results.

"So I win? You admit that I managed to scare you?" she asked, double checking her victory.

Right now, you were unsure as to whether you should give up and admit defeat, or attempt a rainboom. You didn't know what was classed as putting yourself in danger, but if Rainbow had told you to do it, it wasn't putting yourself in danger, right?

You looked back up to the sky, before turning your gaze back towards Rainbow Dash with newfound confidence.

"Not just yet." you said, smiling at her with determination.

"That's the spirit, Storm!" she said, giving your more of the courage you needed. While initially she had only suggested the idea to scare you, and was actually quite worried of you trying to attempt it, she now saw it as an opportunity. 
An opportunity to find a flier that could rival her.

"But... What exactly do I do?" you asked, still not fully sure on how a sonic rainboom was performed. You knew it was caused by flying fast, but you had no clue how to reach such speeds.

"Just fly up as fast as you can, and then come rocketing down even faster!" Rainbow explained, "And don't stop until you either pull it off or get close to the ground, ok?"

You nodded your head, encouragingly, before fanning out your wings.

"Here I go!" you said, quickly taking off into the bright blue sky.

Rainbow didn't respond, but instead watched you soaring up into the air. Your lightning yellow mane blew in the wind, making you look like a bolt of electricity surging through the air.

Upon reaching a somewhat high speed, you turned 180 degrees in midair, now facing the ground. You began flying through the air, cutting through the atmosphere like a knife. 
Gravity was quite clearly on your side, as you felt yourself reaching speeds you had never reached before. The high speed winds made it quite hard to see, and even harder to breath, but you pushed through it.

Rainbow looked on hopefully as a white vapour cone began forming around you, in the shape of a dish. It looked like a meteor coming into impact with the atmosphere.

You could feel the vapour cone about to give way, but you felt an unprecedented release of energy forming within it, pushing against you with all its might.

Nope, you thought, beforehand slowing down significantly. You saw what had happened if you didn't have enough energy to break through the cone. You would be slingshotted across Equestria, probably only to land in some crater somewhere in the middle of the Everfree Forest.
Or even worse, the Galloping Gorge.

You shamefully flew back down to Rainbow Dash, who was looking at you with slight confusion.

"What's wrong? You almost had it!" she said, watching as you landing softly on the cloud platform.

"No. I didn't. There's no way I'm getting past that point!" you said, defeated. As cool as it would be to perform a sonic rainboom, you thought it best to leave it as Rainbow's signature move.

Rainbow landed gently next to you, a sad yet determined look in her eyes.

"Hey, do you think I learned how to do the sonic rainboom overnight?" she said, a warm smile on her face. You did remember the constant practice she was doing before her performance at the Cloudsdale best fliers contest.

"No, but I just don't see how it's possible!" you admitted, recalling the sheer pressure of the vapour cone.

"If you believe you can do it, then you can! Trust me!" she said, nudging your foreleg against hers once again. No response.
"C'mon, Storm! Think of it like an early birthday gift!" she added, seeing that her previous statement had no effect on you at all.

That last sentence caused your ears to perk up in an instant. You had no idea it was Rainbow's birthday soon. Never mind that, you didn't even know the date today.

"It's your birthday soon?" you asked, curiously.

"Yep!" she replied, hovering quickly into the air, once again.

"When?" you asked. You wanted to know when it was as soon as possible, so that you had longer to find a gift for her. You had plenty of bits that you had saved up for the Apple Cider Opening Ceremony, but obviously you had gotten your drinks for free.

Rainbow crossed her forelegs in midair, closed her eyes and gave you a mischievous smirk.

"I'm not telling you unless you get up there and try again!" she teased. You would've tried arguing with her, or tried changing her mind, but something told you she wasn't budging.

You looked back up into the sky one more time, contemplating over your next decision carefully. You didn't really have much to lose by giving it another shot.

"Ok. One more try." you said, giving her a weak but determined smile.

Rainbow returned the smile before giving you an out of character hug. She swooped down to you and wrapped her forelegs around you, followed by a sudden 'thank you'.

It was pretty out of character, but it was nice. More than nice actually. It was amazing.

She released her grip on you, and continued hovering in the air not far from you. Her face had a slight red tint to it, which caused you to snicker slightly.

"What?" she asked, returning to her usual character.

"Nothing," you said with one last quite snicker, "Wish me luck!"

And with that, you took of into the air once again. Your speed peaked after roughly 30 seconds, but you continued gaining height. The higher you were meant you could gather more speed as you fell.

After ascending for nearly a minute, you turned around and began flying back down towards the ground. Rainbow watched with a worried yet hopeful smile on her face as you gathered more and more speed.

Before long, the familiar vapour cone had begun forming around you, causing your nerves to set in once again. Things would be different this time, though.

This time you weren't giving up.

You pushed against the cone, using the forces of gravity to your advantage, and you felt it begin to shift into the shape of a drill. It began slicing through the air with you, and it made a distinct, highpitched whooshing sound as you flew.

You were almost there, but the pressure was still building up. It was almost at the point where it was too much for you, and pretty soon it was.

The speed you had developed quickly dissolved into nothing, and the vapour cone struck back at you with all its might. It shot you into the air, launching you like a trampoline.

"Storm!" Rainbow cried, instantly taking flight after you.

Somehow, she wasn't fast enough. Not long after your initial launch, you came crashing down into some large bushes, scraping along the muddy ground.

Too your surprise, it hadn't killed you. It hadn't even injured you at all. It just hurt.

I need to stop falling from high places, you thought, attempting to lift yourself from the muddy ditch that you had landed in. Your grey coat was covered with patches of mud, but they could easily be washed off.

"Storm! Are you ok?" you heard Rainbow ask as she gradually lowered down to you.

"I'm fine but I think I'm gonna call it a day." you said, disappointed with yourself. You had wanted to pull of a sonic rainboom incredibly badly, both to impress yourself and Rainbow.

"That's fair enough," she replied, seeming slightly upset that you were leaving, "That did look like it hurt."

"Yeah. See ya, Rainbow." you replied, not fully invested in the conversation. Your voice seemed sadder than it had been moments ago, and she could tell.

"Wait, you're forgetting something!" Rainbow called before you could take off.

You weren't entirely sure what she was talking about. You hadn't brought anything with you, so what could you have forgotten?

You looked down to Rainbow, now hovering above her. It wasn't very often that you were airborne and looking down at her, as it wa and typically the other way around.

"I gotta tell you when my birthday is!" she said, hoping to cheer you up.

You were a little shocked with yourself that you had forgotten that, but were glad that she reminded you nonetheless.

"Oh, yeah!" you exclaimed, landing besides her.

"But first, you gotta promise me the best gift ever, otherwise I'll have to let you find it out yourself!" she said, half jokingly. You couldn't tell if she was being serious, but Rainbow being Rainbow, you never could be too sure.

"Sure, I'll get you a Daring Do book you already have." you joked, in response to her.

She smirked at you mischievously, telling you that your sarcasm had been received well.

"Funny," she replied, with equal sarcasm, "It's in a week."

At last, she finally gave you the date. You were almost beginning to think she was never going to tell you. Even if she didn't, you could've always gotten it from Pinkie Pie, as she seemed to know everything about every pony.

"Thank you! Finally!" you sighed with relief.

Rainbow laughed at your exhaustion, before hovering in the air as if bracing for takeoff. You did the same, as you were planning on heading home.

"So, hang out again tomorrow?" she asked.

You did like hanging out with Rainbow, even though it tended to end with you crashing into the ground at light speed, but you had made other plans for tomorrow. The plans had been made in the last 5 seconds, but they were plans nonetheless.

"Nah, I've got plans tomorrow, but the day after, sure!" you said happily.

"I'll see ya then!" Rainbow replied, happily, before taking off with a familiar trail of rainbow following behind her. Secretly, she was going to tell you the date of her birthday anyway, whether you attempted the rainboom again or not. She just liked seeing you work for it.

You watched her disappear up to the cloud house that was barely visible on the horizon with a smile on your face. Now that you saw the distance you had covered, that sonic failboom sure had launched you far.

To end off your day, you took off towards the Golden Oak Library. Your new plan for tomorrow may just be the most important thing you will do in Equestria yet.

It sure was a good thing you had all those bits left over...
> Chapter 23 - Hard Bargain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as the next day arrived, you went about your usual morning routine. That being getting up, showering, saying good morning to every pony, and then doing whatever the day called for.

This day called for something incredibly important. It might just be the most important thing you have ever done up until this point in Equestria.

You rushed back up the stairs after saying good morning and hurried back into you room, not bothering to close your door behind you.
There was no real need to rush, but for some reason you felt eager to get out and begin looking for a gift for Rainbow. You still had a week before her birthday, but the quicker you found her a gift, the better.

Laying down on the floor, you scanned the darkness that was under your bed, searching for the bag of bits that you had been saving. Surely enough, you found it just where you had left it last time you had been payed.

Using a single hoof, you swooped it up from under your bed, singular specs of dust flying out with it. 

Not paying the dust any mind, you held the bag of bits tightly before walking back down the stairs, a little quicker than you normally would.

"Hey, Twilight?" you said, interrupting Twilight from a book that she was studying at her desk. She somehow turned the whole chair around to face you, with a smile on her face, "Is it ok if I go into town to buy some things?"

"You haven't got to ask for permission, Storm!" she laughed in response. Now that she said that, you did feel a little stupid for asking to go out. You were a fully grown Pegasus after all.

Spike had just walked down the stairs, carrying a large stack of books for the shelves. He seemed to be having some difficulty, but before you could offer some help, he spoke up first.

"Watcha buying, Storm?" he asked, snickering slightly as he glanced at the large pouch of bits you had in your hoof. Looking at the amount of bits you had, you were wondering if you would even need this much.

"Just a gift for Rainbow's birthday." you said. Looking back to Twilight, her face now a look of terror.

"Um... Twilight?" you asked, confused as to what had suddenly gotten her so panicked. Initially, there was no response, but pretty soon, there was.

"I completely forgot! Come on, Spike! We've gotta get Rainbow Dash a birthday present!" she said, running over to Spike and throwing him onto her back. Unsurprisingly, the pile of books he was carrying collapsed down onto the floor, "You can come too, Storm!"

You weren't about to argue against it. Shopping was pretty boring on its own, but with friends it could be a little more fun.

"What about those books?" Spike cried, looking at the mess that Twilight had made.

"I'll just clean them up when we're back!" she replied, sprinting out of the door with you following. It seemed you weren't the only one in a rush to find a gift.

The three of you ran into town, not really knowing why you were rushing so much. You had a full week to prepare for the birthday, so you had plenty of time.

"Why are we running?" you asked, already out of breath.

You had reached what seemed to be an open market place, with different coloured stalls which all sold different things. Each different colour seemed to correspond with what it sold. For example, the orange stall sold carrots.

"Sorry, I just got so caught up with my studying that I completely forgot about getting Rainbow Dash a gift!" she explained, seeming to calm down slightly.

Spike climbed down from her back, somehow exhausted from the sprint even though he hadn't done anything.

"Well we've got a whole week to find something, so there's no rush!" you said, being slightly hypocritical.

"I guess," Twilight replied, sounding a little disappointed in herself for getting so worked up, "Have you ever been to this place, Storm?"

She pointed a hoof at the bustling marketplace, which was crowded with ponies. You had never been to this place in particular, but plenty marketplaces like this existed on Earth.

"No, but I have been to someplace similar on Earth." you explained, seeming to catch her interest.

"You never told me much about that place. I know you said you prefer it here, but what was it like?" she asked, seeming to ask her question she carefully. She had no idea what Earth was like, and didn't know whether it was a sensitive subject or not.

There wasn't much she could say about Earth that would upset you. The only thing you didn't wanna talk about yet was your 'death'. Could you even call it that?
You had definitely died, and been reincarnated as a Pegasus in Equestria. But that made zero sense, as you were already and adult. Then again, even as a human you couldn't remember your early childhood. Maybe as a pony that effect was amplified.

Anyway, this was beginning to get off track.

"Maybe we should focus on finding Rainbow a gift, for now?" you said, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry." Twilight replied, her ears drooping down beside her head.

"Hey, it's ok," you said, not wanting to upset her, "I'll answer as much as you want about Earth at some other point, ok?"

That seemed to cheer her up, as she looked up at you with a smile as her ears perked back up. She replied with a quiet yet content 'ok' before the two of you, along with Spike who was being unusually quite, continued walking into the bustling marketplace.

You weren't quite sure where to begin, and quite frankly neither was Twilight. She usually got her a copy of the recent Daring Do book, but she was out of that option this year. The newest book in the series hadn't arrived at the library yet, and besides, Rainbow already owned every book in existence.

Wondering through the marketplace aimlessly, you didn't notice anything that would make a good gift for Rainbow. Every stall consisted of carrots, cherries, apples, potatoes, all the usual stuff you would expect to see at a marketplace.

Until...

"Hey, guys! What's that?" Spike called, looking curiously at a stall that seemed to stand out like a sore thumb. How neither you or Twilight hadn't noticed it, you had no idea.

It was a bright gold in colour, with blinking yellow carnival light dotted around it. It seemed pretty important, emphasised even more so by the huge crowd of ponies that was surrounding it.

"What's that?" Twilight asked. You simply answered with a shrug, eager to get closer.

And get closer you did, passive aggressively nudging ponies out of the way to get a better view. Eventually you could make out the sign that was plastered on the front for all to see.

The Wonderbolt's Canterlot Derby!

If they were selling tickets to the Wonderbolt's Derby, then that'd make the perfect gift for Rainbow. Though, you figured that Twilight would be thinking the exact same thing.

You looked at Twilight, sadly, as if knowing that she would want to get a ticket as her gift. At first, she responding with a similar look, but it quickly changed into an understanding smile.

"You could get her a ticket to the derby, Storm!" she said, glad that you had finally found a gift. Your sad expression didn't change, as you knew that if you bought her a ticket, Twilight wouldn't have a gift.

"But... Don't you wanna get it for her?" you asked, feeling slightly guilty.

"I've got something different in mind." she replied with a giggle. She had obviously came up with an idea for a gift that must've been pretty good to pass up on a gift like this.

"Are you sure?" you asked, still feeling a little guilty.

"I'm sure. And besides, somepony's gotta go with her anyway!" she said, nudging you slightly towards the stall.

You thanked her with a smile, before joining the queue. Atleast 10 ponies were in front of you, but after a long wait it had finally died down.

You were now at the front of the queue, bits in hand and ready to purchase some tickets.

You were greeted by an older looking stallion, who practically looked like a walking advertisement for the Wonderbolts. He was wearing almost every form of merch that existed, from the hat to the keychain.

"Tickets, I presume?" he asked, in a rough voice. From the way his expression simply stared at you, coldly, you could tell he probably hated his job.

"How much?" you asked, wanting to get this out the way as soon as possible.

The stallion looked away from you, and at a wall that was out of sight. You assumed he was checking the prices, although you were confused at to how he didn't know them off by heart by now.

"50 bits." he said, turning back to you.

"Per ticket?" you asked. If it was 50 bits for a ticket, that was a ripoff. It was going to cost you all of your bits just for a birthday gift.

He nodded at you, emotionless. It was as if he knew the price was outrageous, but didn't care either way.

"That's kinda a joke." you replied. You didn't want to start a scene, but 50 bits for a single ticket was just that. A joke. You got that the Wonderbolts were famous, but that was ridiculous.

He stared at you a little more sternly now, as if his impatience was starting to get the better of him.

"Look, kid," he said in a rough voice, "I've got a business to run here. Look at all those ponies just dyin' to get their hoofs on one of these tickets. If you don't like the price, then you can just skedaddle."

You stared at him, anger in your eyes, but you didn't wanna push your luck. You turned to walk away, but before you could, you saw Twilight and Spike approaching you.

Funnily enough, she walked right past you and approached the pony behind the stall.

"Excuse me, sir!" she asked, politely. It instantly caught the attention of the salespony, who at the time was distracting counting the tickets he still had left to sale.
"Would it be ok if you lowered the price just for my friend here? It's incredibly important." she said. You didn't take Twilight for the type of pony to hustle down prices like this, but because of the circumstances, you weren't complaining.

The stallion looked at you in disbelief, and a look of slight apology on his face.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I had no idea you were a friend or royalty!" he exclaimed, "I'd be willing to lower the price to 20 bits per ticket!"

You looked at Twilight with a confused expression, realising that this was somewhat corrupt. The fact that royalty and people of importance got treated differently never sit well with you, but in Equestria you figured it must be the norm.

"Um... Sure." you said, not entirely happy about the discount, but willing to take it anyway.

You gave the stallion 40 bits, and he gave you 2 tickets in return. You thanked the Stallion before turning back to Twilight. 

"How did you do that?" you asked. Spike figured that this would be a good time to chip in, as he came up with his own answer for her.

"Being a princess has its uses!" he joked, causing both you and Twilight to laugh.

"It also has its fair share of stress." she retorted, as the three of you weaved back through the crowd. You spent a few minutes wondering through the market, before Twilight finally said where they needed to go.

"We should head back to the library now, if you've got everything you need, Storm?" she said, waiting for your confirmation. This confused you slightly, as Twilight hadn't bought Rainbow Dash a present.

"But you haven't bought anything!" your exclaimed, looking at Spike in case he was carrying something that you hadn't noticed.

"I know!" Twilight replied, an all-knowing grin on her face. You decided not to question her, assuming that she knew exactly what she was doing.

"Ok, sure, we can go back!" you said, as Twilight lifted Spike onto her back. You couldn't help but notice that Twilight seemed a lot less stressed about Rainbow's gift now, despite not having anything to give her yet.

The three of you casually walked back to the library, satisfied with the gifts you had gotten. Well, you had only bought one gift, but Twilight had something planned.

By the time you were back at the library, you were eager to prepare the gift for the big day. You told Twilight and Spike that you were just going up to your room to hide your bits, but in reality you just wanted to make sure that the tickets seemed presentable.

You closed your door, and began the search around your room for something to hide the tickets in. Of course, you flung your bag of bits under the bed first, and then was when it hit you.

Quickly, you emptied you bag of bits, leaving them on the floor under your bed in a messy pile. You weren't bothered by the ugly mess on the ground, as it would easily be cleaned up after the birthday.

The bag would make for an amazing way to hide the tickets until Rainbow eventually searched the bag, like a present. Now content with what you had done, you reached for the magical bands that were on the desk opposite your bed, to seal up the bag.

But you couldn't help but feel like it wasn't enough. Like it was missing something.

Opening one of the desks drawers, you found a quill and a few sheets of paper. Surprisingly, you had never searched these draws before, and were shocked to have actually found something in them.

Instantly, you knew what was missing. It would make the perfect second gift for Rainbow, and better yet, it would potentially cost you nothing at all.

Either that, or it would cost you everything.

You placed a single piece of paper on the desk, and scribbled two very important words on it. Two very important words that could be harmless, but could just as well be deadly.

You folded the piece of paper as many times as you could, and buried it at the bottom of the bag, hidden below the Wonderbolt's Derby tickets.

Satisfied with what you had prepared, you hid the gifts under your bed alongside the pile of bits. There wasn't much more you could do to prepare now.

All you had left to do was keep yourself and Rainbow busy.
> Chapter 24 - Rematch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The whole remainder of the week went by in a flash. Nothing much happened that differentiated it from any other normal week.

On both Thursday and Friday, you had hung out with both Twilight and Rainbow Dash, nothing much happening with either pony. Like always, the wait for a birthday slowed down time drastically.

Of course, it didn't really slow down time, that was just what it felt like.

The rest of the week brought in nothing special, nothing noteworthy, nothing at all. That was, until Saturday arrived.

Waking up, you expected it to go like any other day. And at the beginning it did. You got up, got a shower, and spent some time with Twilight and Spike. You had started reading the third book in the Daring Do series, and you were almost surprising yourself how quickly you were getting through them.

After about an hour of reading and conversing, it was time to go out and meet with Rainbow Dash. You said goodbye to Twilight, and then to Spike who was once again transporting stacks of books from one side of the library to the other.

Quickly taking off from the ground, you began flying towards the Cloudomonium. The town on Ponyville was bustling, as always, but you couldn't help but notice that the marketplace was a lot less busy than yesterday.

The golden stall that was selling tickets to the Wonderbolt's Derby in Canterlot was nowhere to be seen, even from your height. They must've sold out of tickets, which explained why it was a lot quieter this time around.

Before long, you had reached Rainbow's cloud house, and were expecting the usual. You would sit down, talk for a bit, then go out and relax on a cloud for the entire day. That was how it had been going for the past couple of days.

But to your surprise, she had other ideas.

"Relaxing on clouds is getting a little boring as a hang out," Rainbow said, as you leapt onto the cloud couch, "So why don't we do something different?"

You didn't have any objections, and from the look on her face, it seemed like she already had an idea.

"Sure! What've you got in mind?" you asked, curious as to what Rainbow could find more appealing than sleeping on a cloud all day.

"Well," she began, looking a little embarrassed, or maybe even nervous, "Rarity asked me if I could get her some gems."

"Ok..." you said, not quite seeing where she was going with this.

"But that sounded really boring, but I found out a way to make it fun!" she exclaimed.

Your curiosity had peaked. She didn't seem like the type of pony to enjoy work, so it must've been a pretty fun idea. Noticing your curiosity, Rainbow didn't wait for a reply.

"Twilight once told me that the rocks thrown by Golems have some of the rarest gems in Equestria hidden inside them." she explained, hovering above you. You looked at her, confused. You could guess what she was getting at, but you didn't want to believe it.

Don't say it, you thought.

"So why don't we go give that Golem in the Everfree Forest a nice workout?" Rainbow said, enthusiastically.

She said it.

At first you didn't respond, and simply gave her a stern look, but before long, you found the correct response.

"Do you have a death wish?" you asked, with a monotone expression. Now sitting up on the cloud couch, she could quite clearly see that you were being serious.

"No! I mean, we can both fly now, so it'll be a lot easier than before!" she said, attempting to persuade you into going with her.

You let out a quite sigh, placing a hoof on your face as if facepalming.

"You're gonna go either way, aren't you?" you asked, defeated.

"Yep! I just thought some extra help would've been nice." Rainbow replied, crossing her hoofs over chest. If she was gonna go either way, you were gonna go with her.
You didn't want to risk her getting hurt, and there was no chance she could take on a Golem on her own.

"Fine. I'll come with you." you said, finally giving in. Rainbow was already heading towards the door, but upon hearing that, she turned back around with a surprised smile on her face.

"You will?" she asked, sounding a little shocked.

You nodded, happily, while also trying to supress your hidden nervousness. To your surprise, she hovered back over to you and gave you a quick hug.

"Thanks, Storm!" she said, smiling even more than before. For once, she didn't seem flustered after pulling away from the hug. Maybe it was because nopony else was here to see her break of character.

"Now lets go. We've got a Golem to fight!" she added, the two of you turning towards the door.

_______________________________________________________________

After a quick flight, the trees of the dreaded Everfree Forest had begun to appear in the distance, along with Fluttershy's familiar cottage. As far a second you were aware, Rainbow wasn't a very big fan of the place, based on her hesitation to enter the forest last time you had faced the Golem.

"So what does Rarity need the gems for?" you asked, curious as to what would make Rainbow Dash want to go into the forest for seemingly no reason other than sheer boredom.

"You know, she didn't tell me," she said, barely audible over the sound of the wind, "She said I couldn't know, no matter what."

"No matter what?" you asked, now confused as to why Rainbow in particular couldn't know.

"Yeah. It did seem a little suspicious." she replied, now looking skeptical. She looked as if she was deep in thought, but managed to maintain her momentum whilst flying to stay at the same pace as you.

Not wanting to break her out of the trance she had put herself into, you continued to scan the ground, searching for spaces between the trees where the Golem could have been hiding.

So far, there was nothing more than a few small crevasses between trees for the light to pass through.

"And how are we getting the gems back?" you asked, realising that you had nothing to carry them. Rainbow gave you a smile, before pulling out a large sack that would be capable of holding many gems.

Again, you had no idea how ponies kept doing that. It was like any object they needed would just materialise right in their hoofs whenever they needed it.

"Ah. That'll work." you said, continuing to search the ground.

Once again, you had no luck, but before long, Rainbow had found something.

"Storm, down there!" she exclaimed, pointing down at a large clearing of trees. Thick brambles circled the clearing, as if forming an arena.

You remembered the area well. In the centre was a large boulder, dotted with colourful gleaming gem spots that were carved into it. This was definitely the place.

You hovered lower, along with Rainbow Dash, now able to examine the Golem prior to battle. Last time, you had the disadvantage of a flightless Rainbow Dash, not to mention being lured in by that glowing orb.

After returning to the library after that event, you had done some studying to figure out what the orb was. Twilight's books held info on almost every known mythical creature there is, and surely enough, the glowing orb was one of them.

As it turns out, the orb was known as a 'Will-ò-Wisp', a sentient ball of light that lures in its prey via mystification. It causes its enemies to become curious of its presence, before making them follow it into a location where they could be easily picked of by another form of threat, in your case, the Golem.

This time, however, there was no Will-ò-Wisp to help the Golem get the first strike. You had the advantage this time.

Both you and Rainbow settled an a tree branch, claiming one each to stalk the stone brute from above. You didn't know much about combat, but one thing you were familiar with was the term 'know your enemy'.

Relaying the creature from above, you noticed a lot of things about it that you hadn't before. The most obvious of which was its gleaming crystal weak spots that were dotted all around its body. They were like gashes, open wounds that may have been caused by the environment. The Everfree Forest was a dangerous place, after all.

If the Golem was made entirely of gems, then taking it down would come with a huge payoff. It would be a much needed pride boost for you and Rainbow, it would provide Rarity with the gems she needed for whatever she was planning, and just for the sake of it you would be able to singlehandedly keep Spike fed for weeks with the leftovers.

You had to take down this monster, and you knew it. You had promised to never put yourself in danger, but if it was for two friends, you could make an exception.

That being said though, you didn't know if you could bring yourself to straight up kill another creature.

"We don't have to kill it, you know?" Rainbow whispered, noticing your worried expression.

"We don't?" you replied, looking over at her from the branch you lay on.

"Of course not, duh! What, did you think I brought you here for a fight to the death?" she said, jokingly, "We just need the gems from the rocks it throws!"

You didn't respond, instead you looked down at the Golem, who was still slumbering six feet in the ground. You couldn't believe you had actually thought about killing it, even though you knew you could never kill another creature just for a bigger payoff.

"Ready?" Rainbow asked, noticing your silence. She was looking at you with determined eyes, awaiting your response. The sooner this was over with, the better.

"Yeah. Let's go." you said, finally finished with your study of the creature.

Rainbow was the first to jump down, landing directly in front of the dormant creature. She seemed a little too excited about this whole thing.

You jumped down after her, landing behind the sleeping beast.

"Wake up!" Rainbow shouted, whacking the creature with her hind hoofs. If that was how you were going to defeat the creature, then it was going to be easy. Working at Sweet Apple Acres had made you a bucking pro.

With a shaky groan, the Golem rose from the ground, causing the surroundings to shake. Rainbow looked a little startled by the beast's sudden gain of height, but she stood her ground.

The Golem let out a mighty roar, seeming pleased that its earlier prey had came back. It swung a huge boulder at Rainbow, who jumped out of the way seemingly effortlessly.

"That all you got?" Rainbow mocked, seeming to aggravate it.

The boulder that had previously been swung down had erupted into a dozen or so sparkling gems. They were just what Rarity needed.

"Rainbow! Give me the bag!" you shouted, as she dodged another giant boulder.

Rainbow threw the bag over to you, and you caught it in your mouth with ease. Now holding the bag in your hoofs, you flew around the arena, staying close to the ground.

The few piles of gems that there were got quickly swooped up in your bag, ready to be used in Rarity's project.

Honestly, this wasn't as bad as you thought it would be. All you were doing was picking up gems and putting them in a bag.

"Why couldn't Rarity do this herself? This is eas-"

"Storm! Watch out!" Rainbow cried, interrupting you. Turning around, you saw a great boulder being hurled at you. Moments before it made contact with your face, you darted out of the way as fast as you could.

The Golem let out another mighty roar, it's attention now fixed on you. Glancing at Rainbow Dash, you nodded at her with determined eyes, before tossing the gem-filled bag to her.

Moments later, another boulder came flying your way. You dodged it easily, and countered with a well placed buck to the creatures stone legs.

Truth be told, it probably hurt you more than it hurt the creature, but it seemed to keep its attention focused on you.

Now mad with rage, the Golem summoned a storm of smaller boulders, throwing them at you at a faster speed than should be possible for such a huge creature. The rocks rained down on you like a torrent of pain, but thankfully none of them hit you directly.

Taking the few seconds of down time you had been given, you glanced down at Rainbow Dash to see how many gems she had collected.

To your horror, she wasn't as lucky as you. A rock had hit her directly, and she was now knocked to the ground.

The Golem's attention had once again shifted, now prioritising the weakened Rainbow Dash over you. It held a boulder over her, the shadow casting down like a rain cloud.

Rainbow regained consciousness, as she seemed to have lost it for a few seconds upon impact.

"Gah!" she cried, noticing the boulder held above her.

The Golem let out a menacing laugh as it prepared to strike, cherishing the moment. Rainbow had begun crawling backwards, her wings frozen by terror.

You didn't have time to talk. It was now or never.

Moments before the Golem could deliver the killing blow to Rainbow Dash, you flew up behind it and delivered a powerful buck to one of its glowing crystal weak spots.

The raised boulder dropped to the ground, harmlessly, as Rainbow held her hoofs over her face in an effort to protect herself. 

Finally, the Golem let out a roar of pain as it collapsed to the floor. A giant crack formed, slowly spreading across its entire body, before finally splitting apart into dozens of shiny gems.

Rainbow peaked out from behind her hoofs, still awaiting what she believed to be her death, but was instead met with a clear view of the sky.

You simply hovered still, suddenly realising that you had killed the Golem. But should you be feeling bad about it? It threatened the life of your friend, so in a way it was justified, but it was only protecting itself.

"S-Storm, you did it..." Rainbow said, flying up to with a look of both happiness and sadness on her face. The two emotions mixed together, cancelling each other out.

"I killed it..." you said, in disbelief. You had never killed another living being before, unless you count the occasional ant or fly back on Earth.

"No, dummy! I mean you just saved my life!" she said, breaking you out of your remorseful trance. You couldn't find the words to say, so instead she pulled you in to another out of character hug, "Thank you."

Still not able to find the words, the two of you separated, each of you blushing slightly. Rainbow rubbed the back of her head with a hoof nervously, before you finally found the words to say.

"We don't need anymore gems, right?" you joked, pointing at the huge pile of multicoloured gems that were resting on the broken remains of the Golem.

"The bags already full!" Rainbow laughed, swooping up the fallen bag of gems.

"So I killed it for nothing..." you said, once again falling back into your trance. You weren't sure whether it was justified or not, but it was technically self defence, and it was just a beast that lurked in the Everfree Forest.

You were interrupted by Rainbow Dash placing a comforting hoof on you, but her face showed an expression of seriousness.

"No, it wasn't for nothing. You saved my life, remember?" she said, a smile shifting onto her face. You responded with a smile of your own, "Now what do ya say we get out of this place?"

"Nothing has ever sounded so appealing." you replied, causing her to giggle slightly.

The two of you set off flying into the air, set for Rainbow's house. After what had just happened, you didn't want to be anywhere near the Everfree Forest for a long time.

"You know," you heard Rainbow say over the sound of blowing wind, "I think I've had my share of near death experiences for now."

Both you and her laughed as you soared through the air, the bag of hard earned gems slung over her wing.

Whatever Rarity needed those gems for, it better be worth it.
> Chapter 25 - A Rare Occurence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So Rarity," you began, passing her the bag of gems that you and Rainbow had collected, "What exactly do you need these things for?"

You passed through the door into Carousel Boutique, and to your surprise, it looked just like it did in the show. You didn't know why it surprised you, as so far everything had seemed pretty accurate, but it did nonetheless.

"Well, you see dear... I don't know if I can really tell you." she said, nervously.

Closing the door behind you with her unicorn magic, she turned around and placed the gems on a dresser, preparing them for later use.

"Why not?" you asked, a little annoyed due to the fact that getting those gems had almost cost Rainbow Dash her life.

"I'm not sure how much I can trust you. We haven't exactly talked too much." she explained, sitting down on one of the many fancy couches.

You could see where she was coming from, but surely if you were trustworthy enough to be able to live alongside one of the princesses, you could be trusted with one little secret.

"What if I told you that Rainbow nearly died getting you those gems." you said, attempting to blackmail her into telling you her secret.

Now that you thought about it, that probably wasn't the best idea.

"She did? How did you get them?" she asked, pointing a hoof at the bag of gems. She seemed a little aggravated, but more concerned.

"We fought a Golem in the Everfree Forest." you said, rubbing the bag of your head nervously.

Rarity simply stared at you with a blank expression, before finally replying.

"You know there's plenty of spots where you can dig up gems around here, right?" she asked. You wouldn't really blame her if she thought you were a little deranged after fighting a Golem just for some gems.

"Yeah, I know. Rainbow didn't seem to like that idea though." you explained.

"Of course it was Rainbow's idea." she joked, mocking Rainbow Dash's recklessness. You couldn't really blame her for mocking such a thing. The first time you had hung out with Rainbow, she had crashed into Twilight's balcony.

"So can I know now?" you asked, bouncing up and down like an impatient filly.

Rarity let out a sigh, before asking one final request.

"Ok, but you promise not to tell Rainbow Dash?" she asked, seeming pretty serious about it, too. You didn't really need to be told not to tell Rainbow. After all, you had to bring Rarity the gems because Rainbow was told not too.

"I pinkie promise." you replied, adamantly. Even without a pinkie promise, you weren't planning on going behind her back to tell others anyway.

"Ok..." Rarity said, seeming a little disappointed, or maybe even nervous, "I need them to design a special dress for her birthday, but all of the current designs I have look simply hideous!"

She quickly darted over to a closed curtain, before pulling it back and revealing 3 prototype dresses, all of which were rainbow coloured.

"They, um..." you said, slightly disappointed that her secret was so anticlimactic, "They look fine."

You stared at the dresses, expressionless. You and Rainbow had risked your lives just because Rarity didn't like the way some of her dresses look. Granted, they were a gift for Rainbow Dash, but still.

"They do not!" Rarity protested, stomping a hoof down onto the floor, "And that is why I needed these gems, you see! To add a little more... pizzazz!"

You continued your monotone stare, not reacting in the slightest.

"Right..." you said, squinting slightly.

Rarity let out a sigh, before moving back over the fancy looking couch. She softly settled down onto it, picking up a cup of tea that had somehow appeared there.

"You're just like her, you know that?" she said, taking a sip from the magical cup. You could tell it was a magical cup because it had the ability to materialise out of thin air, already filled.

"Like who?" you asked,  finally having your attention caught.

"Like Rainbow Dash! I can certainly see why the two of you hang around together so much!" she laughed, before taking another sip from her cup.

Already you could feel a slight blush coming on, but you couldn't quite say why.

"Is that a compliment?" you asked, rubbing the back of your head with a hoof.

"Why, yes, I suppose it can be!" she exclaimed, placing the cup of tea back down on the table, "Anyway, back to the point."

Once again, Rarity rose from the couch and approached the 3 dresses. You weren't quite sure why she had made 3, as they were all practically identical.

"What do you suppose I do to make these atrocious creations somewhat bearable?" she asked, studying her handiwork hopelessly.

The best thing you could do in this situation was find a way out quickly. You didn't know the first thing about fashion, let alone how to actually make a dress.

"Rarity, I'm not sure I'm the pony you should be asking..." you said, hoping that she would agree.

Unfortunately for you, she didn't.

"Nonsense, I'm sure you know a thing or two about colour coordination!" she said, walking up behind you and attempting to push you towards the dresses.

You didn't fight it, and instead let her push you along the floor towards the 3 dresses.

"I'm not sure colour coordination will help here. I mean, rainbows have every colour!" you exclaimed, finally getting an up close look at the gifts.

You couldn't see anything wrong with them. They looked pretty similar to the dress Rainbow had worn in the episode 'The Best Night Ever'.

And that got you thinking.

Had every episode happened in reality? Or was that just Earth's depiction of this world? You couldn't say for sure, but you had been in Equestria for almost a month now, and nothing that happened in the show had happened in reality.
Twilight still lived in the Golden Oaks Library, and Rainbow Dash isn't a Wonderbolt. Quite frankly, you did always hate Twilight's castle. The library was much better.

"Hello, Storm? Are you even listening?" Rarity said, waving a hoof in front of your face. Realising that you must've gotten lost in your thoughts, you immediately snapped out of it and responded to her.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" you asked, unaware of anything that Rarity had said over the past minute.

"I was giving you some ideas about what I could do with those gems," Rarity explained with a smile, "Perhaps I could coat the whole thing in gems. Or perhaps I could use gems to divide the colours."

It seemed as if she was about to go off on a rant about her own thoughts, but thankfully she stopped herself before she was too far gone.

"What do you think?" she asked, levitating the bag of gems over to you.

You held the bag in your hoofs, switching your gaze between it and her. Reluctantly, you poured out a few gems and just so happened to get one of each colour.

"Um... How about this?" you asked, giving a fake smile as you magically attached each gem to end of the dress, aligning them at the centre of each respective colour.

Again, you thought that they looked great as they were, but if some more pizzazz was what Rarity was after, that was the best she was going to get.

At first, Rarity simply gave the 'new' dress a sceptical look, but pretty soon, her attention shifted to you. You laughed nervously as she stared at you blankly.

"Storm," she said, her expression unchanging and her voice monotone, "You are a genius!"

And with that, Rarity quickly levitated the bag of gems out of your hooves and into hers, as she rushed off towards the dress.

"Maybe I can continue the pattern along here," she said, tracing along the centre of one of the coloured stripes, "Or maybe I should leave it as it is?"

Quite frankly, you were getting pretty bored at this point. While it was pretty hilarious seeing Rarity stress out over something so minor, you were never really one for fashion.

As you were about to speak up, Rarity interrupted with her own dreaded question.

"What do you think?" she asked once again, turning towards you in a flash.

"I think I should be leaving the design choices up to the professional," you said, receiving a confused look from her, "You know, you?"

You were once again met with no reply, but after a few seconds of awkwardness, Rarity broke the silence with a nervous laugh.

"Well, yes, I suppose that would be ideal..." she said, flicking her mane with a hoof.

"And besides, I should probably get going now anyway." you explained, "Lots of stuff to do to prepare for Rainbow's birthday!"

That was a lie. You had already done all that you needed to do. You just didn't want to spend any longer in this fashion fiesta than you had too.

"If you are going, please do thank Rainbow Dash for these gems! They are simply wonderful!" she said, turning back towards one of the rainbow dresses and tampering with the gems you had placed on them.

"Yep, will do," you said, quickly making your way over to the door, "See ya, Rarity!"

"Goodbye, Storm!" she replied, but you were already halfway out the door.

It wasn't that you dislike Rarity, you just didn't like fashion. It never really was your thing, even on Earth. Usually you would wear a bland hoodie, and sometimes something a little more fashionable, like a suit, depending on the occasion. You were just lucky that ponies rarely needed to wear clothes.

Already, the day was beginning to come to and end. You hadn't really done much today, other than give Rarity the gems. You had told Rainbow that you didn't want to hang out today because of the crazy events that had happened the day before, so all you had really done was read Daring Do.

And that was your plan for tonight, too. Read Daring Do until sleep called.

And that was exactly what you did.
> Chapter 26 - Twilight's Fanfiction
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just like you had planned, you had been reading Daring Do all the way up until sleep called. You couldn't stay awake much longer, so made your way to your bedroom.

You said goodnight to Twilight and Spike, before closing your door and sliding into your bed.

Like always, it didn't feel like you were asleep for very long, as you woke up after what felt like 10 minutes. Of course, it hadn't really been 10 minutes, as in reality it had been a few hours atleast.

You weren't quite sure why you were awake, as the moonlight still shone through your window. It was the middle of the night, so there was no point in trying to stay awake.

Closing your eyes, you felt sleep nearing once again. You were thinking about Rainbow Dash's birthday, and that thought had begun to transition into a dream.

You were at Sugarcube Corner, and you were giving Rainbow Dash her gift. It seemed like it made her happy, and she opened her mouth to talk.

Slam!

Instead of her voice, you heard a loud groan and the sound of something hitting something else. That was enough to awaken you from your dream, which didn't really please you as it was one of the few peaceful dreams you had in Equestria.

You shot up in your bed, holding yourself up with your forelegs, listening for the cause of the sound.

It didn't repeat, but you notice something that you hadn't before. There was a faint light creeping underneath your door, faintly illuminating the hallway outside.

The light was coming from downstairs.

Not again, you thought. This was almost exactly how your encounter with that nightmare thing had began when you were sick.

Cautiously getting out of bed, you crossed your room and approached the door.

Opening it even slower, you crept out into the hallway to see where the light was coming from. Sure enough, the light was coming from downstairs.

The library was entirely illuminated, as if it was still the middle of the day. That wasn't the only thing coming from downstairs, though. The sound of scribbling and pages turning also followed.

Now convinced that this was reality, and not some nightmare realm, you slowly made your way down the stairs.

The first thing you saw upon reaching the bottom was a sleeping Spike slouching on one of the couches. If Spike was still downstairs, then that meant that Twilight was too. And if Spike was asleep, then that meant that Twilight was the cause of the sound that had woken you up.

Sure enough, the next thing you saw was Twilight sat at her desk with a quill levitating besides her. In front of her was an open book that she seemed to be writing in.

"Twilight?" you said, causing her to instinctively turn around out of fear. She didn't make a sound, but she seemed a little startled by your sudden appearance.

"Oh, hey, Storm!" she said, seeming a little relieved to find that nopony had broken into the library while she was distracted, "What're you doing up?"

You could ask her exactly the same thing, and that was what you did.

"More like what're you doing up?" you said, approaching her desk to see what she was working on.

"I was just working on my gift for Rainbow Dash!" she explaining, turning back to the book and scribbling down a few words.

"In the middle of the night?" you asked, curious as to why she was doing this now rather than in the day when she is supposed to be awake.

"Sure! The night is one of the best times to work on things alone!" she said, continuing to scrall more words into her book, before flipping the page.

Now getting a closer look at the book, you still couldn't quite make out much of what was on it. Either the writing was too small, or your pony form's eyesight wasn't as good as your human's.

"So what is it?" you asked, suddenly realising that you might've sounded a bit too demanding, "If you don't mind telling me, I mean."

Twilight dropped the quill that she was holding, and got up from the chair that she was sat at in order to give you a better look at her project.

"It's my very own Daring Do book!" she said, enthusiastically.

You had to admit, this wasn't what you were expecting. You had only been here a month, but you still knew that Twilight usually gave Rainbow Dash a book that she already owns for her birthday. Writing her own book was quite a step up.

"Woah! That's awesome, Twilight!" you exclaimed, finally getting to read a few of the words that were on the page.

Twilight's enthusiastic smile suddenly deteriorated into a nervous grin, followed by an even more nervous laugh.

"But I'm having some trouble keeping Daring Do in character..." she said, rubbing one of her front legs with the other.

"I'm sure it's not that bad!" you said, taking a seat at the desk. You looked down at the page, eager to see the events that Twilight had came up with.

-

Daring Do approached the library, the sky nothing but a blank grey canvas. Nopony had been to this corner of Equestria in a very, very long time.
Nopony dared enter the lost city, for it was a cursed place that none returned from. Even worse, the library had not been restocked in over a decade!

The eerie silence of the lost city created an unnerving atmosphere, but Daring Do pressed on, determined to find the legendary book of cooking recipes that was hidden deep within the library.

Entering the silent library, there wasn't a soul in sight. Cobwebs filled the corners of the grand hall, but even worse than that, rows and rows of empty bookshelves lined the halls!
How was Daring Do ever going to find the legendary cookbook here?

-

You stared the story blankly, not quite sure what to make of it.

"Well, what do you think?" Twilight asked, giving you an eager grin.

You didn't want to hurt her feelings, but this wasn't exactly the ideal Daring Do story. While traditional Daring Do stories had her breaking into temples and fighting skeletons, this one had her panicking over the lack of books in a library.

While it did feel very Twilight Sparkle, it didn't feel very Daring Do.

"It's good," you began, not wanting to start with criticism, "But I think some more adventure would make it even better!"

To your surprise, Twilight didn't seem to take offence. If anything, she saw it as an opportunity to improve the story to make it as good as it can be.

"I thought about doing that, but I'm not sure how I can make something adventurous out of a library." she said, as you moved off of the chair, allowing Twilight to sit back at her desk.

"It's an abandoned library, right?" you said, seeing this as a chance to help her improve her story. One thing you were good at on Earth was your creativity.

Twilight simply responded with a 'yeah', and with that, many ideas started flooding into your head.

"So how about, skeletons swarm the inside of the library, all of which were once residents of the lost city." you suggested, proud of what you had came up with.

"Too overdone." Twilight said with a frown.

"Maybe the Headless Horse could be hiding in there?" you said, remembering that the Headless Horse was quite a popular horror story, especially around Ponyville.
Not only that, but it was bound to give Rainbow Dash a few scares considering she was scared of the creature, at first.

"That'd be a crossover, and they don't really end well." Twilight said with a sigh.

You gave her a frown, already out of ideas. It wasn't like you to run out of ideas this quickly, but maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was the middle of the night.

Slam!

Twilight slammed her face into the desk with another loud groan. How that didn't wake Spike up, you had no idea.

"I'm never gonna get this finished on time for Rainbow's birthday!" Twilight exclaimed with horror.

You looked deep in thought for a moment, and one final idea came to mind.

"I've got one more idea, but... It's a little more complex." you said, seeming to catch her attention. Her ears perked up and she turned fully in your direction.

You could tell that she wanted to hear it, so you didn't wait for an answer.

"Maybe the library can be filled with mythical creatures that were created by a legendary book that is found deep in the centre of the library. The book acts as a prison for tormented souls, allowing all that are held within its pages to break free into Equestria!" you suggested with great enthusiasm.

At first, Twilight looked at you as if attempting to process your plot line. You were worried that it was going to be another fail.

"Storm, that's amazing!" she exclaimed, hurriedly picking up the quill with her magic, "Now that I've got a plot, this'll be a piece of cake!"

You didn't interrupt her, as she seemed pretty engrossed in her writing. The quill was moving so fast you were afraid the book might catch on fire.

"How's this?" she said, lifting the book over to your face so that you could read it.

-

Daring Do approached the library, the sky nothing but a blank grey canvas. Nopony had been to this corner of Equestria in a very, very long time.
Nopony dared enter the lost city, for it was a cursed place that none returned from. Even worse, the library was home to the tormented souls that once resided in the book of binding!

The eerie silence of the lost city created an unnerving atmosphere, but Daring Do pressed on, determined to find the mythical cursed book that was supposedly the doom of this ancient city all those years ago.

Entering the silent library, there wasn't a soul in sight. Or, atleast, that was what Daring thought, as she crept down one of the empty aisles of bookshelves.

It was cold. Abnormally cold. It felt as if something was following her. Something supernatural.

Daring Do turned around in an instant, and before her was the spirit of Valgamore the Enraged, a character that was once the stuff of fiction. He must've been brought to life by the book of binding, and was now nothing more than a tormented spirit.

This ravaging beast earned his name. He was well and truly enraged, and was now chasing Daring Do down the empty aisles of the grand hall of the library.
What was more, Valgamore wanted nothing more than another soul to add to the cursed book of binding.

-

After reading all that, you almost found yourself hoping that it was a real Daring Do book, but unfortunately it was just some fiction made by Twilight. Although, it was some pretty good fiction.

"You wrote all that just now?" you asked, a little stunned that she had wrote all that in what seemed like less than a second. Twilight gave you a happy nod, eagerly awaiting your opinion, "I love it!"

You held the book close to you as if giving it a hug, like it was a piece of art or something.

"You do?" Twilight asked, surprised.

"Sure! If you keep writing like that, Rainbow Dash will be all over it!" you said, giving her a reassuring smile. That seemed to be enough to restore her confidence.

She lowered the book back down to her desk, ready to begin writing again.

"Thank you, Storm! I'm gonna keep working on this right away!" she said, hurriedly picking up her quill with her magic. Already, she had begun writing more of the story.

"Don't you think you need some rest?" you asked, seeming a little concerned.

Twilight didn't look up, and instead kept her gaze focused on the page. You had seen this in the show before. Once she had her mind set on something, especially late at night, you weren't gonna change her mind.

"I will, but I've got all night, right?" she said, still not looking up.

You rubbed the back of your head with a hoof, slightly concerned as to her well being. Being one of the princesses, you didn't want her to be sleep deprived.

"Um... Whatever you say, I guess." you said, deciding it best not to try and persuade her, "Goodnight, Twilight."

"Goodnight, Storm!" she replied, still not raising her head from the book.

You weren't quite sure how Spike had barely even budged at all, but somehow he was still in a deep sleep. Speaking of a deep sleep, that was exactly what you needed right now.

And a deep sleep you got.

Sliding into your bed once again, you had barely closed your eyes before you were passed out, subconsciously awaiting the next day to arrive.

…

…

"You'll never impress her, you know?"

…

…

"You'll never perform a sonic rainboom…"
> Chapter 27 - Electric Shock
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

That line kept on repeating in your head.

"You'll never perform a sonic rainboom."

Over and over it repeated, mocking your failures. Whatever it was that was speaking to you, it knew what you had been doing. It knew that you had attempted a sonic rainboom, and it knew that you had failed.

Whatever it was, all it wanted to do was anger you. It seemed to enjoy irritating you, as it continued mocking you with that single line throughout the entire night.

Maybe it was that 'entity' that had appeared in your room that night. Although, the voice was unrecognisable. Then again, it did take the form of Twilight and Rainbow Dash, and that included their voices.

You had never heard the creatures real voice. Not once throughout that night had it pertained a true form.

After what felt like an eternity of being trapped with nothing but a looping taunt, morning arrived.

"Gah!" you screamed, shooting up in your bed. The morning sun shone in through your window, brighter than you had ever seen it before.

It must've been really early, as the sunlight was almost directly level with your window, as if it had only just begun to rise.

You looked around your room, trying to get your bearings. On Earth, whenever you had a nightmare, you would completely forget where you were, and it would take a while to remember.

You were in your room, in the Golden Oaks Library. Exactly where you had been for the past month.

Other than your bearings, the only thing on your mind right now was the sonic rainboom.

You had failed it twice before, and because of that you gave whatever monster your mind was creating a reason to taunt you, mocking you to the point where you couldn't get a good night's sleep.

If anything, Twilight had gotten a better sleep than you, and she was up all night writing Daring Do fan fiction for Rainbow Dash.

The most logical explanation was that your dreams fed on your fears, and your fears involved failure.

Failing to perform a sonic rainboom.

Failing to impress Rainbow Dash.

You didn't want to admit that these dreams you were continuing to have were the work of something more. Something more complicated than just your mind playing tricks.

But you weren't going to admit something that had no proof.

All that you wanted to do right now was succeed. Succeed at the thing that so far only one single pony had achieved.

You shouldn't be beating yourself up if you can't do it, but you were anyway. It wasn't like you were doing it willingly, though.

And with that, you had found your plan for today.

Become the second pony ever to perform a sonic rainboom.

It wasn't going to be easy, you knew that for a fact. But if it had a chance of stopping that taunting dream from returning, you would give it all you had.

How hard could it really be, right? Rainbow Dash accidentally caused a sonic rainboom as a filly, so if you were trying your hardest, you could surely achieve it too.

Speaking of Rainbow Dash, that was exactly who you needed for this to work.

You didn't need her to perform a sonic rainboom, so to say, but if anything went wrong, like it did last time, you needed someone to be there for you.

Now more determined than ever before, you leapt out of your bed and stormed out of the door.

You rushed down the corridor, and moved even faster down the stairs, completely unaware of any sound that you may have been making.

It was that early that even Twilight and Spike weren't awake. It was relieving to see that the two of them had gone to bed, though.

Already, you were out of the door and out in the fresh morning air of Ponyville. You had never been outside this early before, and as a result had never seen Ponyville this quite.

There were a few ponies here and there, but most were probably still inside, either still asleep or preparing for the day ahead.

You didn't want to waste any time, and were already flying quickly through the air. Flying somehow rarely got tiring, not even with the amount you did it.

As fast as you could, you flew all the way over to Rainbow's floating cloud house, which seemed just as quite as the rest of Ponyville.
The only sound you could hear was the sound of birds chirping. Not even the wind was audible.

You were considering knocking on her front door, but you weren't even sure whether she would be awake. It was very early, after all.

Before you could make up your mind however, you slammed face first into one of the cloud walls of Rainbow's house.

Despite it's cushiony surface, it still made a loud enough sound to instantly awaken Rainbow Dash from her slumber. You weren't even sure if she was sleeping, but you could assume that she was.
You couldn't exactly imagine a time when Rainbow would be up before Twilight.

"Gah!" Rainbow screamed, shooting up in her bed. She didn't know what the cause of the loud thump on her wall was, but she wanted to find out as quickly as possible.

She walked over to one of the upstairs windows and looked down at the cloudy surface below her. All that she could see was you laying on the ground after bouncing of the soft wall.

"Storm? What're you doing here so early?" she asked, staring down at you with her eyes still half closed.

You got up and regained your balance, already recovered from your collision with the wall.

"I'm here to find you!" you exclaimed, not wanting to tell her what you had planned.

"Yeah, but-" she interrupted herself with a yawn, stretching her hoofs out above her, "It's sooo early!"

You knew it was early, you didn't really need to be reminded. If you didn't get up so early then you would've had to wait until after work to attempt the sonic rainboom, and by that point, you might have lost confidence.

"I know, but I've gotta do this now." you said, trying to maintain the confidence that you had mustered.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, now looking at you with a speculative expression.

You gave her a somewhat determined grin, which was followed by her flying out of her window and lowering down to you, landing softly besides you.

"You'll see." was all you said as you turned to fly away, assuming that she would follow you. To your surprise, when you turned around, she wasn't moving.

"I haven't even fed Tank yet." she said, still yet to fully wake up.

"Oh! Right! Well, you go do that and I'll just wait here." you said, nervously rubbing your head. You were in that much of a hurry that you forgot that she had a pet that she needed to feed.

Rainbow turned around and re-entered her house. Thankfully, you had a feeling she wasn't going to take to long, as she wasn't the type of pony to brush her mane every morning.

Just as you suspected, she reappeared outside in under 10 minutes. She looked a lot more awake than she had prior, and now had a warm smile on her face.

"So, what's so urgent that you had to wake me up this early?" Rainbow asked, flying up next to you with a smirk.

You weren't sure whether you should tell her yet or not, but ultimately decided that it would be a better idea if you didn't. You didn't want her to get her hopes up for nothing.

"Oh, nothing much. Just some flying." you lied, trying to make some distance form the cloud house. Rainbow followed at the same pace, even though it was a lot slower than the speed you normally flied.

"That's it? You woke me up this early just for some flying?" she said, seeming a little annoyed.

"Just wait, ok?" you said, with a reassuring smile.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea getting Rainbow to come with you. You weren't even sure you were gonna be able to do it, and if you failed, Rainbow was for sure going to be mad at you for waking her.

"Ok, but it better be good! If there's one thing other than my friends that I like more than winning, it's sleeping!" she exclaimed, still following, but now seeming a little more excited.

She quite clearly didn't want to admit that she was feeling excited, but you could tell that she was. Her eyes seemed to light up more than they had been back at her house, and her flying seemed more sporadic.

The two of you reached a spot that had a few clouds that she could spectate from, and it made the perfect area. While you could have just moved some clouds, you didn't want to be too close to Rainbow's house in the event that it failed. The last thing you wanted was to be crashing into the side of her house twice in one day.

"Ok, wait here!" you said, your own excitement growing. Or, at least you thought it was excitement. In reality, it was probably just your own nerves toying with you.

Rainbow didn't say anything, and instead lay back on a cloud waiting for whatever you were about to do.

Now you could feel your own nerves beginning to build up. You knew not to let them get the better of you though. With Rainbow Dash watching, you begun flying as fast as you could into the sky. Already, you could feel the forces of gravity fighting your wings, attempting to push you back down towards the ground.

Rainbow sat up on the cloud, realising what you were doing.

"Wait. Storm, you're not-"

She didn't finish. She was hopeful that you could do it, but a feeling deep within her knew that you couldn't. And that feeling annoyed her.
You had woken both her and Tank up for no good reason other than to watch you fail.

She watched with both worry and annoyance as you stopped at a high altitude. Your wings carried you around, and you began soaring down towards the earth, gravity now choosing to work with you rather than against you.

Just like last time, the familiar vapour cone began to form around you. It was a little off putting, but you tried your best to ignore it.

To your horror, the pressure of the cone once again was becoming too much for you, and your speed began to decrease.

Rainbow couldn't take it anymore. She knew that you couldn't pull of a sonic rainboom, and she knew that you knew that too.

"Stop!" she shouted. And you listened.

If you didn't stop, you would've been shot off to who knows where. The vapour cone vanished, and all the built up pressure deteriorated with it.

"What were you thinking?" Rainbow said, angrily, as she flew up to you in a flash.

You were feeling a little bad about it now. Had you just broken your promise to Twilight? You had promised to never put yourself in harms way, but...

Didn't you just do that?

You looked around, not yet wanting to respond to Rainbow Dash. Right now, the thought of Pinkie Pie suddenly appearing in the clouds was the single scariest thought you could possibly think of.

Much to your surprise, she didn't show up. Maybe you had only broken the promise once you actually hurt yourself? You weren't sure though.

Maybe you had broken the promise, but she was an earth pony after all. She wouldn't be able to get up in the clouds.

"I thought I could... You know..." you said weakly. You didn't feel like you could tell her about the taunting voice in your dreams. You hadn't even told Twilight about it.

If it truly was the same thing that appeared in your room that night, you didn't want to worry anypony else with it. It was a monster made by your mind, therefore it was a problem you should deal with.

"No, Storm! Why would you even try to do a sonic rainboom again after what happened last time?" she retorted, angrier than you had ever seen her before.

She really did get snappy when she was woken up.

"I wanted to impress you!" you said, not entirely lying. You thought that finally pulling off a sonic rainboom would impress Rainbow, but you also thought it could defeat the mocking voice, or at least silence it for a while.
It seemed to thrive off of failure.

Back near when you had first arrived, it took your own voice and used it against you. After Rainbow had made you jump from the cliff, you had clawed into her with your anger.
That dream voice took your words and used them against you.

In a way, what was happening here was the same, only the roles were reversed. Now Rainbow was the one who was mad at you for putting yourself in harms way.

Now all you had done was give even more reason for your subconscious to torment you.

"Impress me? By abruptly waking me up and then doing that?" she said, angrily. You didn't respond, and instead hovered, still in silence, "You know what? Come find me when you're not trying to kill yourself."

As soon as she finished that sentence, Rainbow turned around and began slowly flying back towards her home, which was still in view. Almost immediately, a wave of guilt washed over her.
Maybe she was being too harsh?

Feelings of both guilt and anger built up inside you. Not only had you essentially broken your promise to Twilight, you had also angered Rainbow Dash in the process.
And she was right. You knew that you weren't gonna be able to do it. But you knew that you had to try.

With your emotions now overrun with guilt and anger, all you wanted to do was fly up to her and apologise for putting yourself in danger. But with your judgement being clouded, you made what seemed like a terrible choice.

You were going to try it again.

You had already broken your promise to never put yourself in danger, and you had already angered Rainbow Dash. What did you have to lose from trying it again?

With nothing else to focus on, you flew up into the air as fast as you possibly could, pushing your wings further than you ever had done before. If there was a time where you were going to succeed, this would be it.

After gaining a lot of speed, you turned around and began flying back down, as per usual. Already, the vapour cone had begun to form around you.
Usually it took quite a while longer for it to form, but you were going a lot faster than normal.

The pressure of the cone was once again pushing at you, but you pressed on. If it launched you, so be it.

To your surprise, you maintained your flight. The vapour cone shifted into the shape of a drill, but you didn't want to get your hopes up.

Using the guilt and anger you were feeling, the pressure of the cone began to dissolve and give way. You were this close to finally doing it.

And then... It finally happened.

Boom!

The vapour cone shattered, and all that built up pressure exploded into the air. A bright white shockwave coursed through the air like a wave.
It wasn't followed by a rainbow, though.

Instead of the bright prismatic colours of a rainbow spreading across the sky, there was a bright yellow wave. It rippled through the sky, multiple mini yellow shockwaves following it.

Tiny yellow lightning bolts occasionally shot out from the spreading wave, giving it an electrical appearance. It took you a while to notice, but it was the same exact shade of yellow as your mane.

Hearing the unmissable boom, Rainbow turned around to see the source of the sound. Her jaw dropped with disbelief as she watched the yellow wave spread across the sky, before she took off in your direction.

All you wanted to do now was rest on a cloud. And that was exactly what you did. Finding the nearest cloud, you lay down on it and panted.
You had actually done it. You had actually done a sonic rainboom.

"Storm!" Rainbow called, flying quickly up to the cloud you lay on, "You did it!"

You were a little surprised that she wasn't mad at you anymore, but you didn't see any reason to hold it against her.

"I-I did?" you muttered, still not able to believe it yourself. From the looks of things, Rainbow couldn't quite believe it either.

"Heck yeah, you did! That makes you the second pony ever to do a sonic rainboom!" she said, excitedly. You weren't really expecting her to be happy about another pony being able to do her signature move, but maybe she was happy to have some competition.
It was her who first got you to attempt it, after all.

"It wasn't as... rainbow as I expected." you said, looking up to the now disappearing shockwave. You were a little upset that the moment was being lost already, but it was amazing while it lasted.

Rainbow Dash also looked up to the almost completely vanished wave, seeming to be in awe of its electrical appearance.

"Yeah, we might have to change the name for you..." she said, only partly joking, "How about a sonic yellowboom?"

She seemed to think that 'sonic yellowboom' was an amazing name, but you weren't too sure. It didn't really roll of the tongue so well.

"How about... Sonic surge?" you asked after thinking for a few seconds.

At first, Rainbow didn't respond. You were a little worried that you had hurt her feelings by refusing the name she had suggested, but you didn't think her feelings would be hurt by something so minor.
Thankfully, you were wrong.

"That. Sounds. Awesome!" she exclaimed, flying forwards with excitement, "Can you do it again? Please?"

As much as you wanted to see it again, you really didn't think you had the energy. Not to mention, you still had work to go to today.

Wait...

"I've gotta go to work!" you shouted with sudden realisation. You had gotten so caught up with your sonic rainboom attempts that you completely forgot that you had to go to work today.

Instantly, you shot up off of the cloud and into the air.

"Wait! Can I come with you?" Rainbow asked, seemingly out of nowhere. You didn't have the time to question it though, you were late as it is.

"Sure, but we've gotta go now!" you replied, urgently. Applejack would probably kill you if you were late. You had missed the entirety of last week a second it is due to your illness.

"Well getting there won't be a problem seeing how fast you can fly, now!" Rainbow joked with a smile, getting a slight snicker out of you.

You didn't have any more time to waste, though. Instantly, you bolted off towards Sweet Apple Acres, Rainbow following behind you.
> Chapter 28 - Double Trouble
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a few minutes of flying, both you and Rainbow Dash arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. It didn't take that long to get there now, thanks to your speed whilst flying.

You just hoped that Applejack wouldn't be mad at you for being late after you missed the entirety of last week.

Looking down at the farm, you couldn't see Applejack or Big Macintosh outside working. The whole farm was silent, aside from the occasional chirping of birds.

Shifting your attention to the farm house, you saw Applejack and Big Mac stood outside, staring into the air with disbelief.

"What're they staring at?" Rainbow asked, looking down at them. You responded with a simple shrug, before beginning to land beside them.

Applejacks gaze into the sky was broken as she noticed you and Rainbow landing besides her.

"Did you do that, Rainbow Dash?" she asked, looking at her with anticipation, "And why were all the colours so strange?"

Assuming she was talking about the sonic rainboom, or in your case, the sonic surge you had just pulled off, you weren't surprised by her questioning.
There had never been a sonic rainboom that wasn't rainbow coloured before.

"Um... Did what?" you asked, trying to play dumb for the time being.

"Ya know, that yellow rainboom thing?" she replied, still seeming a little shocked by it.

"Nope! That was all Storm!" Rainbow answered, giving you a little nudge. For some reason, you felt a little nervous being one of the only two ponies that could do such a thing.

Applejack looked at you with a blank expression, which quickly turned into a smile.

"So you can do a sonic rainboom, to, huh?" she said, slyly. She was probably just happy that Rainbow seemed to have some competition now, "Maybe you'll be a good rival to Rainbow Dash!"

"Eeyup!" Big Mac interrupted, giving his own opinion.

While you knew for a fact that you could fly fast enough to pull of a rainboom, you weren't sure whether you would be able to do it as consistently as Rainbow Dash.
Despite this, you did remember the race that the two of you had planned when you had first met. It was obviously called off because of your inability to fly, but now that you could fly, maybe a challenge like that would be a good opportunity.

"No way! Nopony's as awesome as me!" Rainbow retorted, seeming confident that you wouldn't be able to act as her rival. Quite frankly, you weren't sure whether to take that as an insult, or just her defending her pride.

"But ya gotta admit, that was quite a spectacle!" Applejack replied, attempting to subtly change the subject before Rainbow's ego got out of control.

"Heck yeah, it was!" Rainbow said, making you realise that maybe she wasn't insulting you after all.

"Eeyup!" Big Mac added, with his signature catchphrase.

You rubbed the back of your head, not knowing how to respond to all of this. You didn't like attention as much as Rainbow did, since it made you feel pressured, but nevertheless, it was nice.

"Thanks." was all you could say. Seeming to notice your uncomfortableness, Applejack once again went to change the subject.

"Anyway, ah got some pretty interesting work for ya, sugarcube!" she said to you, with a smile on her face.

"What could be more interesting in bucking trees?" you joked. Truthfully, you were expecting to just be bucking more trees. Although, it would be significantly more fun with Rainbow Dash doing it with you.

"Your gonna be makin' your very own apple cider!" Applejack exclaimed, causing both yours and Rainbow's ears to perk up instantly.

Well that was unexpected. Once upon a time, you thought you were never even going to taste sweet apple cider, yet here you were about to make it.

"Hey, I wanna do that too!" Rainbow interrupted. This wasn't much of a surprise, as you knew how much she loved the stuff.

"Sure ya can, Rainbow!" Applejack replied with a smile.

"But why not just make me buck some more trees?" you asked, confused as to why you were suddenly being entrusted with the duty of making apple cider.
This was usually a task left up to the Apple Family themselves, as they knew exactly how to make the best cider.

"Well, ya see..." Applejack began, looking over to a field of what would normally be filled with apple trees, "Ya kinda bucked all of our trees, and now we've got more than enough apples to last the season!"

You knew that you had bucked a lot of trees, seeing as how the cider never ran dry at the ceremony as it usually does, but you didn't think that there was still enough apples to last the entire season.

"So you're letting us try making some cider?" you asked, double checking just in case you somehow hallucinated it.

"Ah sure am! Got any idea how to make it?" she asked. While the farm had more than enough apples to allow wasting some, the more cider that was made, the better.

Thankfully, you had a vague idea of how to make apple cider. You recall the few processes that there were from an episode where the Apple Family had a cider making contest with the Flim Flam Brothers.

"I think so." you said, reassuring Applejack that you at least had a grasp of what you were doing.

"So do I!" Rainbow added. While you weren't really expecting her to know how to make apple cider, it also didn't come as a surprise thanks to her love of it.

"Well, in that case, ah'll leave you both too it!" Applejack said, turning back around to head back in to the farm house, "All the stuff ya'll need is in the barn!"

"Thanks Applejack! You too Big Mac!" you and Rainbow both said, thankfully. You never once thought that you would have the opportunity to make your very own apple cider.

"Eeyup!" Big Mac replied, before also turning back towards the house.

Now it was time to make the cider. Or, at least attempt too. As far as you knew, neither you or Rainbow Dash had ever attempted to make apple cider before.
Both you and Rainbow looked at each other, smiling, before beginning to fly over to the barn.

"Hey, um..." Rainbow said, unexpectedly as you flew slowly towards the barn, "I'm sorry."

"What for?" you replied. You couldn't think of what she did wrong, but If she felt the need to apologise, it must've been important.

"For getting mad at you earlier." she explained, feeling a little guilty. She didn't make eye contact, and instead looked down at the ground, only getting quick glances at you out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey, it's ok! I know you get snappy in the morning anyway!" you joked, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Rainbow laughed a little, but didn't directly respond to you. She must've been feeling pretty guilty, considering you had ended up doing a sonic surge anyway.

"So... you're not mad at me?" she asked. You couldn't think of any reason to be mad at her, so the answer to that was no.

"Nope. Not at all," you said, causing her to finally make eye contact. She gave you an encouraging smile, showing that you had succeeded in making her feel a bit better, "Now how about we make some cider?"

Already set out in the barn was a wooden table with a pile of a hundred or so apples stacked on top of it. Next to that was a few wooden mugs, quite clearly what the finished result would end up in.
Besides the table, there was a large grind stone with what looked like a treadmill next to it. You knew exactly what that was for.

"So..." Rainbow said, looking at the equipment cluelessly, "Any idea what we do?"

Looking at all that had been layed out before you, you had a pretty good idea of what to do.

"Yep!" you said, as you picked up a mug and placed it under the tap at one end of the grind stone. If you were correct, any apples that were crushed beneath the grindstone would end up coming out of said tap in the form of fresh cider.

Now picking up a single apple, you placed it in the grindstone. At first, nothing happened, but you knew exactly what to do now.

"I got this!" Rainbow said, before leaping onto the treadmill next to the grindstone. She began galloping as fast as she could, and just like that, the large stone wheel began to spin, crushing the apple like a shredder.

Surely enough, moments later the juice from the previously crushed apple came pouring out of the grindstone, and into the wooden mug. It wasn't enough to fill it, though. It was gonna take a few more apples to do the job.

Quickly, you tossed a few more apples into the grindstone, forming a queue of fruits that were about to be crushed. Having an agile pony like Rainbow Dash working the grindstone seemed to be quite efficient, as in less than 30 seconds, every apple you had thrown had been grinded into a liquid and added to the mug.

That was enough to fill the first cup, but you had plenty more apples to work with.

"Wanna try it?" you asked as you picked up the filled mug.

"Sure!" Rainbow replied, taking the cup out of your hooves. In no time at all, she had somehow already downed the entire mug, "We need to make more of that stuff!"

Wasting no time, Rainbow jumped back on to the treadmill and began grinding down the apples that you had already thrown into the grindstone. There wasn't a cup placed under the tap yet, so you had to act fast before all that cider went to waste.

Picking up one of the cups, you threw it across the barn. Miraculously, it landed directly under the tap moments before the cider began to flow. Needless to say, it was incredibly satisfying.

Mug after mug filled with cider, but still you weren't running low on apples. You could definitely understand what Applejack meant when she said they had more than enough of them.

Now starting to grow a little bored, you had begun walking over to the grindstone and placing the apples in it, rather than throwing them. Even Rainbow seemed to be getting bored, as her pace was beginning to slow.
You already had dozens of mugs of cider prepared, so you didn't really blame her for wanting to slow it down a bit.

Once again walking over to the grindstone, some of the barn's ground clutter caught one of your hoofs. The barn wasn't exactly a good working environment.

The apples that you were holding went flying into the air as you reached out your hooves to stop yourself. They continued to fly through the air until they finally stopped and hit something. They hit Rainbow.

"Hey! Watch it, Storm!" she exclaimed, rubbing her head where the apple had hit her.

Suddenly, an idea hit her. Her running stopped completely, and she looked blankly at you, before a sly smirk formed on her face.

She picked up an apple from the ground, and then locked her eyes with yours. Not breaking her gaze, you knew that her aim was locked onto you.
Before you knew it, there was a shiny red apple flying towards your face.

The fruit exploded into fruit juice upon contact, causing you to both giggle and groan simultaneously. Before you could have any real reaction, however, Rainbow was way ahead of you.

"Food fight!" she exclaimed, grabbing hoof fulls of apples from the seemingly unlimited pile.

This seemed more like something Pinkie would do, but you weren't complaining. Anything to abbreviate the boredom. You had never expected bucking trees to be more enjoyable than actually making the cider.

Rainbow pelted at least a dozen apples in your direction, like a fruit turret. Darting behind the grindstone for cover, all of them missed you by an inch.

"Wanna give me some time to retaliate?" you joked, still hiding behind a grindstone.

"Nah. I'm gonna win anyway!" she replied, throwing an apple into the air and catching it effortlessly. You could clearly see how comfortable she was, and she quite clearly believe that she had you pinned down in cover.

But what she didn't realise, is that there were a few apples already in  the grindstone, waiting to be crushed down into cider.

Stealthy, you reached up and grabbed a few apples, trying your best not to be noticed by Rainbow Dash.

"If that's the case, why don't you let me fight back?" you said, retrieving a few apples and bringing them down into cover with you.

"I don't wanna risk you getting a lucky shot!" Rainbow replied, confidently. You chuckled slightly to yourself, looking down at the apple that was soon to collide with her.

Not wasting any more time,  you popped up from cover, and before Rainbow could react, multiple apples were already flying in her direction.

Thankfully, the apples here didn't really hurt upon collision. On Earth, they would have hurt a lot if they hit someone at the force which you were throwing them, but apples in Equestria seemed a lot softer and more delicate than Earth apples.
That must've been why they made such amazing cider.

"Woah!" Rainbow shouted, as the apples all hit her. So far, you were winning the food fight.

"Bahaha!" you laughed, as Rainbow recovered from the barrage of fruits that had hit her. In the midst of your laughter, you failed to notice Rainbow picking up a hoof full of apples.

Before you knew it, 4 apples were flying at you all at once, like a catapult of apples. Every single one of them hit you, causing Rainbow to laugh just as hard as you.

The fight was neck and neck. Both of you had been hit the same amount of times.

"Whoever hits the next one wins!" you announced, preparing to grab for an apple that was laying on the ground.

"You better hope your a quick dodger!" Rainbow replied, giving you a worrying grin.

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?" you asked confidently. You knew that she was up to something, but so were you.

Without giving a response, Rainbow tossed a final apple in your direction. You countered by doing the same, sending an apple in her direction.

Seemingly by chance, both apples hit each other in mid-air, exploding into fruit juice. The tie still stood.

"Ok, that was kinda awesome." Rainbow admitted, after watching the two projectiles collide with each other.

Before you could reply, the sound of hoofsteps filled the barn. Not your hoofsteps, and not Rainbow's either. It was Applejack's.

"Oh, no." you said to yourself, realising the mess you had made. Broken apples couvered the ground of the barn, even covering the grindstone and the many mugs of apple cider you had made.
If Applejack saw this mess, you had a feeling this wasn't gonna end well.

You glanced at Rainbow Dash, who had an equally worried look on her face.

"Let's get out of here." she said, beginning to hover off the ground. You gave a quick nod in response, before following her to an open window higher up in the barn.

The two of you landed on the roof of the barn, preparing to listen for the shouting that was about to ensue.

"What in tarnation?" Applejack screamed, causing both you and Rainbow to burst into fits of laughter. You had a strange feeling you were going to have to clean up the mess you had made tomorrow, but it would be worth it.

"Let's go before she finds us and makes us clean up." you suggested, deciding that you would rather save that chore for another day.

Rainbow, seeming to agree with you, took off into the sky with you following. Wherever the two of you went, trouble seemed to follow.
But with that trouble, came fun.

From angry golems, to food fights in a barn, who knows what else you would end up getting yourself into.
> Chapter 29 - Party Planners
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One day remained...

One day remained until the big day finally arrived.

Rainbow's birthday was soon arriving, and you couldn't wait. In all your time in Equestria, you hadn't yet found yourself in an event as major as this.
Of course, it was only a birthday, but whenever one of the Mane 6 had a birthday, it was always a big deal. Especially when it came down to Rainbow Dash.

But still, one whole entire day stood between you and the birthday. One whole day of boredom, and a lack of things to do. All the buildup to the big day had been getting to you, and now time was passing over twice as slowly as usual.

Combining that with the fact that the only thing you had to do was go to work at Sweet Apple Acres, it was gonna be an excruciatingly long day.
Both of your gifts were still hidden under your bed, waiting to be received, but you would still have to bare another day of work to see Rainbow's reaction.

While you were almost certain she would like the Wonderbolt's tickets you had gotten her, the other gift you were... unsure about.
It was merely a piece of paper, but the two words that were on that piece of paper could change your life in this world forever. For better or for worse.

Nevertheless, the quicker you got to work, the sooner the day would arrive. There was still the matter of cleaning up the barn after the food fight you had with Rainbow yesterday. Applejack was almost definitely going to make you clean that up.

It was something to do, though. Anything to abbreviate the boredom or speed up the time.

"Heya, sugarcube!" Applejack greeted you cheerfully, as you landed in front of her. You were attempting not to make eye contact, fearing her reaction to the mess you had made of her barn, "I, uh... Don't suppose you had anything to do with that mess in mah barn?"

Just what you had feared. Of course she was going to bring it up as soon as possible. Well, there was no point in denying it. Only you and Rainbow had even been near the barn during that timespan.

"Ok, yes, I may have had something to do with it." you admitted, lowering your head shamefully, "I'll clean it all up as soon as possible."

Wanting to bear the brunt of your punishment as soon as possible, you had already turned towards the barn, but Applejack stopped you.

"There'll be no need for that, sugarcube!" she said, cheerfully, and stopping you dead in your tracks in the process, "Ah already cleaned it up!"

You quickly spun around in her direction with shock. She had really cleaned up the entire barn by herself?

"You did? But why? I made that mess!" you said, the guilt now getting more intense.

"Well... after seeing all the cider the two of you had made, I figured it was the least ah could do. Besides, ya'll helped get all those apple, remember?" she explained, giving you a reassuring smile.

That did make you feel a little better about the whole situation. You had bucked every single one of the Apple Family's fields clean of apples. Not a single tree remained unbuckled.

"I guess, but..." you said, not managing to fully suppress the guilt. While the trouble you and Rainbow got up too, it always tended to have its repercussions.
Whether that be illness, or tedious chores, the fun you had usually came with a price. It would always be worth it though.

"But nothin', sugarcube. Anyway, ah got another job for ya today, anyway."  Applejack said, diverting your thoughts from the guilt that was once again beginning to build up.

If Applejack had a new job for you, that was definitely gonna help this day go by faster.

"Oh really? What is it?" you asked, eager to find out what you would be working with today. As long as it wasn't as boring as making apple cider, you would be fine with whatever the orange earth pony threw your way.

"Well, it's not exactly work for me..." she explained, giving an anxious smile, "Ah want you to go and help Pinkie Pie plan the birthday party for tomorrow."

That wasn't what you were expecting, but you'll take it. Everything was fun when Pinkie was involved. Somehow, that pink bundle of joy managed to brighten up every situation. It was only fitting that she would be planning the party.

"Sure! Where do I go?" you asked, eager to see what she had planed for the big day.

"Sugarcube Corner. You've been there before right?" Applejack asked, still remaining conscious of the fact that you were still relatively new to Ponyville.

"Yep! My welcoming party was there, remember?" you reminded her.

Quite honestly, if you could relive a day, you would choose that one. Being able to meet all the Mane 6 for the first time was like a dream come true. Not to mention, now you were best friends with the majority of them.
It didn't get much better than this.

"Heh, right... Anyways, ah'll see ya'll tomorrow for the party!" Applejack said, walking off towards the barn whilst waving a hoof to you. You saved back as she disappeared into the barn for some unknown reason. Maybe she hadn't finished cleaning the place just yet.

Anyway, you had work to do. Lifting from the ground, you shot off in the direction of Ponyvill, and before long were standing before the entrance of Sugarcube Corner.

It had been quite a while since you were last there. In fact, it had been quite a while since you had last seen Pinkie Pie. As far as you could remember, the last time you had even spoke to her was at the grand opening ceremony of apple cider season.

Realising you were getting lost in your own nostalgic thoughts, you snapped back to reality and walked up to the front door. Already you could feel the vibes of a party resonating through the door.

Finally entering the building, rows and rows of tables all stacked with different cakes lined the walls. The majority of which were decorated with rainbow coloured icing, and multicoloured candles. Mr and Mrs Cake never failed to amaze you with what they could do.

Despite this, Pinkie was nowhere to be seen. You almost expected her to be rushing from one side of the room to the other, hurriedly preparing the party even though she had more than enough time to do so.
But she was nowhere to be seen.

"Pinkie Pie?" you called. If she was anywhere in the building, she would surely react to somepony calling her name.

"You broke your pinkie promise!" Pinkie Pie screamed as she emerged from a potted plant in the corner of the room.

"Holy shit, Pinkie!" you screamed, falling back slightly as the angry pony moved away from the pot she had just emerged from. Out of all the things you were expecting, this was not one of them.
Although, it was Pinkie, so it wasn't too strange of a thing for her to be hiding inside of a plant pot.

And that reminded you, you had broken your promise. She hadn't appeared when you broke it, but you had a feeling she was going to confront you eventually.

"How dare you break your pinkie promise to Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed, walking up towards you fiercely. You had never been so strangely intimidated.

"I know, I'm sorry, but I had to get rid of my bad dreams!" you said in a futile attempt to calm the raging earth pony.

"Save it! Nopony who breaks a pinkie promise is a friend of mine!" she exclaimed, turning away from your and crossing her hoofs.
You stared at her, sadly, not knowing how to respond. Never in all your time in Equestria had you upset somepony like this, "But you are still new here, so I guess I can forgive you!"

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie turned around with a beaming smile on her face, as if all your past mistakes had been forgotten. You gave her a puzzled look, but her smile didn't change.

"I'm-"

"Oh, I know! You're not really a pony, and you're from another world! But in that other world, you died, and then got turned into a pony and sent to Equestria!" Pinkie Pie explained, enthusiastically.

What in the actual...

How did she know all that? All you were going to say was that you were sorry, but somehow Pinkie knew all of this. You had a feeling that you shouldn't have been surprised. It was Pinkie after all.

"I'm right, right?" she asked, noticing your puzzled silence.

"Right..." was all you could say, still trying to recover from Pinkie's slightly concerning knowledge of your past, "So what do you want me to do here?"

Slightly shaken up, you wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"Oh, right!" Pinkie exclaimed, hurriedly tidying up every table in the room in less than a second, "I just need you too..."

Her voice was interrupted by another voice coming from outside, but from the way it sounded, it was almost like she intended to be interrupted.

"Hey, Pinkie! Can I see what you've been up too in there?" a familiar voice called. That voice was the all too familiar voice of Rainbow Dash, and if she entered Sugarcube Corner and saw the party early, then everything that Pinkie had planned would be ruined.

"Stop that from happening!" Pinkie finished, finally concluding the sentence that was interrupted.

You gave her a nervous grin, knowing that you had to stop Rainbow from entering if it was the last thing you did. Walking up to the door, Rainbow Dash was already hovering there, an eager smile on her face.
At least she had the manners to wait at the door and not barge in.

"Heyyyyy, Rainbow..." you said, giving her the same nervous grin you had given Pinkie.

"Oh, hey Storm! What're you doing here?" she asked, currently not seeming to suspicious of your presence.

But know that you thought about it, how exactly were you going to explain yourself. There was no real reason for you to be at Sugarcube Corner, but nothing was stopping you from making up a reason.

"I'm, um..." you began, quickly trying to think of a reason, "Getting some... cakes for Twilight?"

You didn't think it was very convincing, but she seemed to buy it. At least for now, anyway.

"What's Twilight want with cake?" Rainbow asked, crossing her hooves.

"Something about Princess Celestia, I don't know..." you lied. Speaking of Celestia, you were still yet to meet the Alicorn princesses.
That was a moment you were looking forward too, but were scared of nonetheless.

"Oh, well is Pinkie in there?" she asked, attempting to see past you into the building. Quickly, you flew up in front of her in order to block her vision.

"Nope! Pinkie is not here!" you exclaimed with a nervous laugh. You couldn't let her see the party that Pinkie had planned no matter what

"Well got any idea where I can find her then?" she asked, in a somewhat aggressive tone. She must've been getting annoyed by you blocking her view.

"Nope, but you might wanna try Canterlot." you lied, trying to make her give up her search for Pinkie.

You knew that she wasn't fond of flying long distances, so a trip to Canterlot would surely seem like to great of a pain to go through just to find one pony.
And surely whatever she needed to find her for wasn't that important right?

"Ugh! Canterlot? No way am I flying that far!" she exclaimed. Your plan had worked, "Oh, and don't forget about tomorrow, ok!"

Oh, you wouldn't miss it for the world. She was already turning to leave, seeming to give up her search for Pinkie.

"I don't plan too!" you called as she fanned out her wings to take flight. She gave you a quick yet sincere smile before darting off into the sky, a rainbow trail streaking out behind her.

That went surprisingly well.

You closed the door, watching the colourful rainbow contrail begin to deteriorate from the sky. Turning around, Pinkie was already rushing between tables trying to organise different decorations.

"Is she gone?" she asked, stopping dead in her tracks whilst holding a huge pile of party hats. You nodded your head, and her fore legs shot into the air with relief, "Phew!"

The pile of party hats she was holding collapsed down to the floor as she exaggerated wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.

"So is there anything else you want me to do?" you asked. You hadn't been there for long, so you figured there was at least one more thing she wanted your help with.

"Nope! That's all, Stormy Warmy!" she called, as she picked up a large stack of paper plates, completely disregarding the mess of party hats on the floor.

"That's all?" you asked, refusing to believe that the only thing you needed to do was stop Rainbow from finding the party. It was almost like she knew that she was going to show up.
Then again, she also somehow knew about your past, even though you hadn't told her. You suspected Twilight may have told her, but as far as you could tell, both her and Spike would keep a secret. Especially one as big as this.

"Yep! You can stay if you want too!" she suggested, happily placing each plate at each different table.

As much as you would've liked too, something else you could do to pass the time had come to mind. Reading.

"Nah. I'm gonna go catch up on some Daring Do." you said. There were still plenty of books in the series that you still had to read, and hell, maybe Twilight would give you a copy of her fan fiction: Daring Do and the Library of Lost Souls.

"Oh, ok, Stormy Warmy! Have fun!" she called, giving you a familiar energetic smile.

"Thanks. See ya, Pinkie!" you called, getting a cheerful wave in response. Despite her cheerfulness, you still couldn't help but be shocked that she knew about your past. It was just a Pinkie thing, of course, but it still kinda creeped you out.

Nevertheless, your new goal was to read the next book in the Daring Do series, and hopefully that would carry you to the next day.

After all, tomorrow was the big day.
> Chapter 30 - Happy Birthday!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At last the day had arrived.

Finally it was time for Rainbow Dash's birthday party.

The week leading up to it had been a long one, as was typical with the days leading up to important events, but you were glad it was over. But even though the initial wait was over, you still had a whole day to get through until the party later in the night.

Of course, you knew exactly how you were going to keep yourself occupied for the time being. Daring Do was practically a never ending series, and you definitely weren't going to run out of new reading material any time soon.

Even while reading however, the day didn't exactly shoot by. Each hour felt like two, and you found yourself wondering whether forgetting about the birthday for now would help speed things up.
By the time point though, you were just giving yourself more of a reason to think about the party, and time went by even slower, if that was possible.

After what felt like an eternity, the sun was beginning to set. You weren't sure why Rainbow had asked Pinkie to host a party at night rather than at day, as you figured she'd like spending time with her friends for the day, but you weren't about to question her over it.

"Hey, Storm!" Twilight called from the top of the stairs, instantly snapping you away from your book. You hadn't even noticed that the sun had started to set, as time had been going by so slowly, "Are you ready to go?"

Now that you thought about it, you weren't ready at all. The presents you had gotten for her were still sitting under your bed in a bag.

"Yeah, I've just gotta get the presents." you said, walking up the stairs and past Twilight.

Looking under your bed, you were almost expecting some serious dilemma to happen. Something so terrible that it would stop the party from happening, such as your gifts being missing.
But the bag was still there, filled with the two tickets and piece of paper. You weren't sure why that surprised you, but it did.

"C'mon, Storm! Let's go!" Spike yelled excitedly as he hopped upon Twilight's back.

"Got everything?" Twilight asked, now waiting by the door. You could tell that the two were eager to get going, so you didn't want to waste their time anymore.
You gave them a happy nod as you walked down the stairs, your bag of gifts slung over your wing, "Let's go!"

And with that, the three of you departed into the sunset set for Sugarcube Corner. This was a night you didn't want to miss for the world.

As you walked through the town of Ponyville, you found yourself walking ahead of Twilight, unknowingly walking a little faster than her. You could hear her giggling slightly, but didn't bring it up.

After 10 long minutes of walking, you finally reached Sugarcube Corner. You weren't sure who had already arrived, as ponies didn't exactly use cars to get around, but you were assuming the Rainbow Dash wouldn't be here yet.

Walking through the front door, the room looked pretty similar to how it did yesterday, only now it was decorated with colourful balloons and multicoloured rainbow lights.
Much like you presumed, everypony except for Rainbow Dash was present.

Everypony greeted you happily, even Fluttershy who was previously hiding in the corner of the room antisocially. It wouldn't be long Rainbow herself appeared, and sure enough, you and the others were only waiting a few minutes.

"Happy birthday, Rainbow Dash!" everypony shouted as she walked through the door. She seemed to jump a little bit as she entered, even though you were pretty sure she knew what to expect.

"Woah! This is all for me?" she asked, looking in awe at all of the colourful decorations and food. You would have been in disbelief in her position too.

"It sure is, Sugarcube, but how about we start with the presents?" Applejack suggested, knowing that the presents were what Rainbow liked the most.

Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the first up. She had gotten her some unique looking attachments for Tank's flying machine. You didn't take Fluttershy for the type of pony that would buy such things as a gift, but you didn't question it.

Next up was Pinkie Pie, who gave Rainbow her very own party cannon, complete with rainbow coloured confetti. This wasn't really a surprise to you. There wasn't much else you would expect Pinkie to get her.

Then there was Applejack, who had gotten her a large basket of apples, as well as a large sealable mug of apple cider that would never expire.
Upon seeing the apple cider, Rainbow's eyes lit up with joy. This was going to be a hard gift to contend with.

"So what have you got Rarity?" Rainbow asked, Rarity nervously attempting to hide her gift. She had absolutely nothing to be nervous about, as last time you had seen her, the dress she had made was amazing.

"Well, I... Um..." she began, before finally revealing the dress, "I made you this dress."

She almost sounded disappointed in herself as she revealed it.

"Rarity..." Rainbow said, looking at the dress that was propped on a mannequin behind Rarity, "I love it!"

That almost came as a surprise to you, and it definitely came as a shock to Rarity. This was practically the first ever dress that Rainbow had genuinely said that she loved.

"You do?" Rarity asked, in a slight state of shock, but also relief.

"Sure! I'd wear it if we ever go to the gala again! Thanks, Rarity!" Rainbow exclaimed. It was rare to see Rainbow ever act this genuine and not take it back afterwards to 'maintain her reputation', but when it did happen, it was always heart warming.

Now it was Twilight's turn.

"What about you Twilight?" Rainbow asked, curiously. Applejack's gift was still yet to be topped, and it was beginning to seem like nothing was going too.

"I wrote you my very own Daring Do story!" Twilight exclaimed, levitating her book over to Rainbow with her magic. She didn't seem nervous in the slightest, as opposed to Rarity's reluctance to reveal her gift.

At first, Rainbow simply stared at the cover. She read the title aloud: Daring Do and the Library of Lost Souls, causing Twilight to show some slight embarrassment.

"That. Sounds. Awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed, looking up from the book to Twilight, "Thanks, Twilight!"

If you had to guess, that probably ranked equal to Applejack's as the best gift so far. But there was still one more contender.
All that was left was you.

"And now it's your turn, Storm!" Rainbow said, turning towards you with an excited smile. Looking into the bag that was slung over your wing, you looked at the two tickets, then to the piece of paper that was buried at the bottom.
It didn't feel like a good time to give her it yet, so you figured it would be best to only give her the tickets for now.

"Happy birthday, Rainbow." you said, smiling as you removed the two tickets from the bad and gave them to her.

Instantly, her eyes widened and she stared in disbelief. The sparkle in her eyes grew a thousand times brighter than usual as a huge smile spread across her face.

"Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh!" Rainbow screamed as she stared at the two Wonderbolts tickets that she was holding.

Without a second though, she ran up to you and pulled you into a hug. This one felt more genuine than ever before, and she didn't even seem embarrassed by it.

"How did you-?" Rainbow asked, not even able to get all of her words out as she pulled away from you.

"I had some help." you answered, glancing over at Twilight who was smiling at the two of you happily.

"Well... You got two tickets so..." Rainbow began, even seeming a little nervous. It was a very rare sight to see Rainbow getting nervous, "Wanna come with me?"

Despite that being the reason you got too, you were almost surprised that she asked. You were expecting that you would have to ask her, but this was a lot easier.
The derby was still a week away, so you had plenty of time to prepare.

"I'd love too!" you replied, causing her already wide smile to grow even more. You weren't sure you had ever seen her so happy before, not even on the show.

"Thank you so much!" Rainbow said as she stared into your eyes. It was almost as if they had their own magenta glow, brightening up the already glowing room even more.

The two of you were silent for a moment, almost awkwardly so, as you stared into each others eyes. It made you feel as if you were at peace.

"Enough of that! Let's party!" Pinkie interrupted, completely destroying the mood. Rainbow still stared at you, smiling warmly, before she finally spoke up.

"Let's go party!" she suggested, hovering over to the table of cake that Pinkie had rushed over to.

Honestly, you could go for some cake right about now. You hadn't ate in quite a while, as you were saving your appetite for this party.

"Hey, Pinkie, what's this cake?" you asked, looking down at one of the complex cakes that Mr and Mrs Cake had so generously created.

"Oh, that? That's just a double super strawberry multi-layered jam-coated surprise, seasoned with rainbow sprinkles, the colour red, and a dash of molten lava!" Pinkie explained, as if it wasn't the most simple thing in the world.

You stared at her cluelessly, and then to Rainbow, who was staring at all of the cakes in a trance.

"So... It's a double super strawberry... What?" you asked, barely able to comprehend what she had even just said.

"Red velvet..." Rainbow muttered, staring at the cake you had previously questioned. Well, that answered your question.

Not wanting to break Rainbow's cake fuelled trance, you reached for one of the smaller cakes. This was a simple cake that you could easily recognise: a muffin.
Simple but satisfying, a plain old muffing was always better than some fancy decorated cake. Needless to say, it tasted a thousand times better than anything you had ever eaten on Earth.

"Woah! That was amazing!" your exclaimed, savouring the lasting taste of the delicious chocolate muffing, "Pinkie, make sure to tell Mr and Mrs Cake that they have outdone themselves!"

"Will do!" Pinkie replied, giving you a mocking salute before rushing away to another room.

Now with a full stomach, something else had come to your attention. You still had Rainbow's second gift. The note that had two words that could change things for better or for worse.
There wasn't going to be a better time to do it, so now was when you seized the moment.

"Hey, Rainbow..." you began, nervously approaching her. Instantly, she was broken out of her trance, turning her attention from the mouth watering cake before her towards you.

"Yeah?" she asked, seeming a little disappointed that she was still yet to even taste that cake that was designed for her own birthday.

"I've got one more thing to give you." Without saying another word, you removed the folded piece of paper from the bag, instinctively unfolding it as you went.

She had a confused look on her face as you passed the piece of paper to her, as if she wasn't really sure how a folded piece of paper could be a gift.
Thankfully, she seemed to accept it anyway.

A feeling of worry began to overwhelm you as she stared at the piece of paper, her confused expression only amplifying. You had only put two words on that note. Two words that Rainbow was now reading.

The truth.
> Chapter 31 - The Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Umm... What does this mean?" Rainbow asked, looking up from the note you had passed to her. That puzzled expression still lingered on her face, unchanging, as if she assumed the worst.
You couldn't exactly blame her. If someone passed you a note with the words 'The Truth' scrawled on it, you would be pretty concerned too.

"I'll tell you after the party." you said bluntly, trying to hide your own nervousness. Quite clearly you failed, as Rainbow was quick to notice your change in behaviour.

"Y'know if there's something wrong you can tell me, right?" she said reassuringly, as she swooped down to the ground. You were thankful for her reassurance, but it wasn't really helping to prepare you for what was to come. The only other pony you had told was Twilight, who admittedly did accept you for who you were.
Of course, you had also told Spike, but he was a dragon, and Pinkie Pie somehow knew already.

"Thanks, but it's a little more complicated than that." you replied, making it clear that you were being serious. You were worried that you were coming across to harshly, but the pressure was building up on you.

Despite all that though, the one thing that remained a priority was to avoid ruining her big day. This was Rainbow's birthday, and if the truth about your past ended up being too much for her to handle, then you would stop.

"Hey, lay it on me! I can take whatever you've got!" Rainbow stated proudly, her enthusiasm never faltering.

You gave her a sad, worried expression, which seemed to get the point across. You appreciated her happiness, though, as it made you feel a little less worried about the whole thing.
Maybe it would turn out ok like it had done with Twilight and Spike. Maybe you were overthinking it, like you did most things.

"Ok, I get the idea! After the party, but then you tell me!" Rainbow demanded, taking on a more serious yet caring tone. You gave her an encouraging smile, along with a nod of agreement, before she flew off to mingle with the other ponies.

There was still some time to burn, and of course you couldn't spend it all with her. She had other friends to talk too. Thankfully, you had piles upon piles of uneaten cake begging to be tasted, and you knew exactly which pony was going to be sampling them.

Not long into your cake-eating spree, you heard a pair of hoofsteps approaching you. By now, you had eaten so much cake that you couldn't bare the thought of it, so a distraction was welcome.

As you turned around, you noticed that Twilight had walked up to you, a happy yet somewhat concerned look on her face. You thought she would be hanging out with Rainbow, but you assumed that she was spending some time with each pony individually.

"Hey, Storm, are you ok?" she asked, attempting to maintain her warm smile, but the worry and concern continued to shine through.

"Yep! Never better!" you lied with a faint laugh. Truthfully, you couldn't remember ever being this worried about something before, not even on Earth.
Your friendship with Rainbow meant way to much to you just to throw it away because of some past life that you were slowly beginning to recall less and less off.

Whatever it was about Rainbow, she meant more to you than the others. You didn't know what just yet, but something made her special.

"Storm, you've been living with me and Spike for a while and I'm pretty sure I can tell when there's something wrong with you." Twilight said, taking a seat next to you.
Her smile had fully faded now, replaced by a look of worry. You didn't like making her and Rainbow worry like this, but you couldn't help it.

You were debating whether to tell her what was wrong or not, but you couldn't see why you shouldn't. After all, she had kept your secret for as long as she had known.
Or, at least, as far as you were aware, anyway.

"I'm gonna tell Rainbow." you said bluntly, seeming to surprise her a little. Thankfully, her look of surprise quickly changed into one of encouragement.

"I'm glad. The sooner the better, right?" she said, with a faint laugh. That you had to agree with. If you didn't tell her now, it would only be an even more difficult conversation to have later.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." you admitted, turning away from her, yet quickly turning back as soon as the table of cakes came into view. You didn't even want to see another crumb of food for the time being.

"So when are you doing it?" she asked, lifting a slice of cake up with her magic. Now you had no choice but to look at the sickly slice, but you could work through it.

"After the party, probably." you replied. That was what you had told Rainbow, and that was the plan you were sticking too, not matter how much you disliked it.
You couldn't exactly complain, though. You had gotten yourself in this situation, and now you had to get out of it.

"Well, I'm gonna leave you to it. The party's ending soon, so good luck!" Twilight said, encouragingly, as she got up and began to walk over to Applejack and Fluttershy who were conversing in a corner.

At this point, you were pretty sure Twilight trusted you to be by yourself enough that she allowed you to be out at night on your own. You had a somewhat decent awareness of Ponyville, and so far you had never gotten lost. After all, you spent most of your time with Rainbow Dash, and nopony was going to mess with her.

The remaining duration of the party went by pretty quickly. The rest of Twilight's friends had came over and talked with you for a bit, including Mr and Mrs Cake, who's names practically made you gag at this point.
Thankfully, the time had come for all the guests to go home. Or maybe that wasn't such a good thing. You still had no idea how this was going to play out.

"I am ever so sorry, dearies, but I simply must be on my way now!" Rarity called, nearing the exit, "Fashion waits for nopony!"

That was something you had never heard her say before, and hoped she would never say again.

"Yeah, more like you need your beauty sleep!" Rainbow joked, hovering in the centre of the room with her hooves crossed.

"Hmph! Happy birthday, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said, her mood suddenly shifting mid-sentence as if she was experiencing a mood swing.

By now, every guest had left, including Twilight and Spike. She had entrusted you to return home safely, but it wasn't like there was anything particularly dangerous lurking in Ponyville.
Except for Derpy.

All that was left was you, Rainbow and Pinkie. Pinkie, being her usual hyper self, rushed straight to the clean up of the party, and was more than likely already planning an after party. As for Rainbow, she was flying quite quickly towards you.

"So are you gonna tell me now?" she asked, flying straight up to you leaving no more than a few inches between you. You could tell that she was either incredibly excited or extremely paranoid. Either way, she was desperate to find out the meaning of your note.

"I guess." you said with a sigh, "Follow me."

Even though Pinkie somehow already knew about your secret, you would rather tell her somewhere else. You didn't know who else was listening.

Saying goodbye to Pinkie, you set off towards somewhere more private, with Rainbow following, still seeming a little giddy. You had seen a pretty quite spot nearby her house that seemed to be pretty solitairy.
Located on the field below Rainbow's cloud house was a large hill, perfect for sitting and relaxing on. You could've easily just found a cloud, but the scenery of the sky was beginning to become a little too common for you.

"Come onnnnnn... Tell meeeeeee..." Rainbow whined as you settled down on the hilltop. Instead of sitting with you, she continued to hover impatiently at your side.

It was now or never.

"You know how I told you I was from Cloudsdale?" you began, staring off across the open plains. It was strangely beautiful; nothing but an open expanse of grassland stretching for miles with nothing but the occasional tree to decorate it.

"Well, yeah..." Rainbow replied.

"I lied." you said bluntly. Well, that was putting it simply. It was far more complicated than just you lying.

"What, so you're from Canterlot or something?" she asked, seeming a little disappointed. You could tell that she thought this whole situation was pretty anticlimactic.

"Not exactly," you replied, still staring off into the distance, "I'm... I'm not even from this world."

Rainbow stared at you with a puzzled expression, with nothing but the sounds of her flapping wing she breaking the silence.

"So you're like an alien?" she asked, maintaining her confused stare.

Finally, you turned to her to make eye contact, and gave her a plain and simple nod. You weren't exactly from another planet, but you were still technically an alien to this world.

Another few moments of silence passed, and you were almost expecting Rainbow to up and leave you, but she didn't. Instead, she did something that surprised you.

"Bahahaha!" Rainbow giggled, suddenly erupting with laughter. Her wings folded inward and she fell to the ground in a hysterical fit, rolling around on the floor. You looked down at her, not knowing what emotion to be feeling right now. Should it be shame? Anger? You weren't sure.
At last, Rainbow got up, wiping a tear from her eye with a hoof, "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

You could tell pretty clearly she wasn't taking you seriously, but then again, would you have? Either way, you were gonna have to prove it to her, one way or another.

"Twilight did. Spike did." you retorted, suddenly taking on a deadly serious tone. The grin that she had on her face was wiped clean, taken aback slightly by your sudden seriousness, "Pinkie's pinkie sense could even detect it, somehow."

"Ha! Yeah, right! You look just like a pony. You sound just like a pony. If anything, Twilight and Pinkie are just in on this prank." she replied, the grin returning to her face.
You couldn't believe she was being this arrogant.

"Prank? Since when did pranks involve dying and being taken to a world that you only knew through cartoons?" you said, feeling yourself beginning to let go of your anger. As far as you knew, cartoons didn't even exist here, "Fuck, I didn't even know how to fly remember? A fully grown Pegasus that can't fly? Doesn't that seem weird to you?"

Rainbow didn't reply. All traces of amusement had vanished from her face, replaced by a look of guilt.

"You're being honest, aren't you?" she replied, with a much softer voice than what you usually heard from her.

"Why would I lie to you? Especially on your birthday?" you said, and that was finally enough to convince her.

"Well... What was it like?" she asked, still seeming a little hesitant to believe you. You couldn't really blame her though. The idea of being from a different world did seem pretty far fetched.

"It was a lot different from here. We couldn't fly, we couldn't use magic, none of that stuff." you explained, thankful that she was at least starting to believe you.

"Wait, so what could you do?" Rainbow asked, seeming to become pretty interested in the world that was once your home.

"I'll tell you tomorrow, but I think I better get going." you explained, suddenly aware of the time. The moon was positioned at its highest, showing you that it was midnight.

"Aww, c'mon! You can't just leave me hanging like that!" Rainbow whined, wanting to find out as much as she could about your previous world. You were glad that she was taking this much of an interest, but for some reason, you were finding it hard to remember.

All the little things from your life on Earth, they all seemed... distant.

But that was future you's problem. Right now, your main problem was your need for sleep.

"Sorry, I just really need some sleep." you said, slightly upset that her birthday was already at its end. With that being said, though, this had gone surprisingly well.

"Ok, but tomorrow we're gonna talk about this world of yours!" she demanded. Whether she was simply curious, or still a little sceptical of you, you couldn't really blame her for wanting to know more.
The only other pony who knew quite a bit about your past world was Twilight, who you had told almost everything to.

"Sure, that can work." you replied, actually feeling quite eager to talk to her about you previous life, even if you were having trouble remembering it all.

"Awesome! See ya tomorrow!" Rainbow exclaimed, turning around to take flight. Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks, "Oh... And thanks...."

That surprised you slightly.

"For what?" you asked, a little confused as to what you had done.

"For tonight. If it wasn't for you... I don't think it would've been as awesome as it was." she explained, still with her back turned to you. Quite honestly, you didn't think you had even done that much. All you did was sit alone at a table stacked with cake.

Despite her having her back turned to you, you could see a slight smile on her face. Instinctively, a similar smile began to creep onto your own face.

"Happy birthday, Rainbow Dash." you said, happily. She turned her head a little, allowing you to clearly see that smile that she wore. For once it wasn't a smile of pride, it was a genuine smile of happiness.

Without a word, she took flight towards her Cloudomonium, leaving you alone of the grassy plateaue. Nothing else was left to do now, aside from head home.

At last, the heavy weight of your past had been lifted, yet something bad still lurked in the corner of your mind. But what was it?

Deep down, you knew why that feeling of stress and worry was there, but you couldn't remember.

Why couldn't you remember?
> Chapter 32 - Friendship is Magic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So if you're really from another world, tell me what it's like." Rainbow said, sitting down on the cloud sofa, facing you with anticipation. This topic must interest her quite a bit, as it was pretty uncommon for her to stop flying and actually sit still for a prolonged period of time.

You wanted to tell her everything about your past life, as you had never truly opened up to anypony about it. Not even Twilight.
While Twilight knew most of the important things from you previous life, such as your 'death' and the Friendship is Magic TV show, nopony knew too much about your world.

The only problem was that you were struggling to remember quite a few things. You couldn't remember the town you had grew up in. You couldn't remember your friends. Any trace of your family had been wiped clean from your memory.

Different aspects from your life had been ripped from your mind. More specifically, memories of your childhood. Honestly, it didn't bother you too much, as without any memory of them, did they really even happen?

Despite this, there was still quite a lot that felt burned into your memory. Events and locations that felt like they could never be forgotten, or you were always intended to remember.

Your apartment was one. It had shown up plenty of times in your dreams, in the midst of strange visions and hallucinations. 
Another was your supposed death. The pain you experienced felt so unreal that it would always be real.

You didn't want to start the conversation with something like that though, so you thought it best to start on happy things that you hadn't yet forgotten.

"Well, my home world was called Earth, and on Earth we all walked on two legs." you explained, seeming to confuse Rainbow a little.

"How is that even possible?" Rainbow asked, getting up the sofa and attempting to walk on her hind legs. Despite her best efforts, she failed and collapsed backwards, saving herself with her wings.
The only pony you had successfully seen stand on two legs for a prolonged period of time was Applejack, and even then, you had no idea how she did it.

"Trust me, a lot is possible. Back where I'm from, magic is the stuff of legends." you said, recalling stories like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Back then, things like magic and flight seemed like impossible feats, yet here you were, successfully able to fly.

"And if you couldn't fly, how did you get around?" Rainbow asked, seeming genuinely curious about your means of transport. Thinking back to it, not being able to fly after being used to it for so long would have been a curse.

"We used something similar to carriages. They were called cars." you explained, deciding to leave out the technicalities.

"Well could they atleast fly?" she asked, sounding a little disappointed at the lack of flight in your previous world.

"Kinda. We had different things that could fly." you said, quite clearly referring to planes. Thankfully, Rainbow didn't inquire anymore about the ways you got around. You really didn't want to go into detail about planes, as you knew little to nothing about them.

"That sounds kinda lame." she exclaimed, sitting back on her cloud couch once again before taking a sip from her bottle of apple cider. It was nice to see her making use of Applejack's gift.

Now that you thought back, your world was a lot more... dull than Equestria. Every day seemed the same. Wake up, go to work, come home, sleep, rinse, repeat. Nothing exciting ever happened.
But here, everyday was different. Not once on Earth had you ever had a life threatening encounter with a giant stone Golem.

"It... was kinda lame," you admired, getting a slight snicker out of her, "But there was something on my homeworld that I wanted to talk to you about."

Intending to tell her about the TV show she unknowingly starred in, you didn't really want to talk her about it. More so, you wanted to know what she thought about it. Whether it would creep her out, or give her a big unneeded ego boost you weren't sure, but nevertheless it would make for an interesting conversation.

"Sure, but make it sound interesting this time!" she joked, persuaded that your world was nothing more than a bore. Despite this, the idea of another world was undeniably awesome.

You weren't sure there was a way to make a TV show starring the pony you were currently talking to sound boring, but then again TV didn't exist here. Well, not as far as you knew, anyway.

"On Earth we have these... moving picture called TV shows," you explained, seeming to catch little of Rainbow's interest, "And you're in one of them."

Suddenly, Rainbow shot up from the cloud couch, hovering above you.

"So you mean... I'm famous?" she exclaimed. That seemed more like something Rarity would be concerned about, but Rainbow was always worried about her popularity.

"Well, kinda? I mean, everypony from around here is in it, including your friends," you explained, seeming to deflate her a little. You didn't want to be mean, but you also didn't want to boost her ego, "Except for me..."

And at that moment a dozen thoughts entered your head. All of this could just be dream, and you would never know. Surely if this was real, you would've been in an episode, right?
Then again, maybe the cartoon was just a window into a fabricated version of this world. That was what you originally thought, you were going to stick with it.

Now that you on the topic of the TV show, you could also finally answer a question that had been on your mind for some time.

"Also, I've got a question for you." you said, faster than she could respond to your previous statement.

"Sure!" Rainbow replied. Now you had to think of the most memorable event, or maybe even villain, that you could remember from the show.

The first ever episode was pretty memorable. Nightmare Moon was the first villain, so surely if it really happened, Rainbow could never forget her.
Then again, Queen Chrysalis was quite an iconic villain. She had almost taken over Canterlot from the shadows, only barely being discovered by Twilight.

But the villain that stood out the most to you was King Sombra. Each pony had to do their part to keep him at bay, and stop him from invading the Crystal Empire. If that really happened, then nopony was ever going to forget it.

"King Sombra. Was he real?" you asked, seeming a little more serious than you did prior.

"Heck, yeah, he was real! And he almost enslaved the Crystal Empire twice! But thankfully I stopped him!" Rainbow bragged, relishing her own accomplishment.

"You mean you and your friends stopped him?" you corrected her. Defeating King Sombra, or any other villain for that matter, was no easy task, but ultimately it was friendship that had beaten them all. The show was called Friendship is Magic after all.
If it wasn't for that friendship, who knows what could happen.

Well... You did know. Seeing the show in its entirety was essentially seeing into the future. But who knows? Maybe this worlds future was set to be different all on its own.
Maybe in this timeline the future was altered, meaning the Golden Oak Library was never going to be destroyed, Celestia and Luna would never retire, and who knows what else. You already knew for a fact that this was a different timeline, as Rainbow didn't teach Twilight to fly, but you could only hope.

It was hard fighting the urge to tell Rainbow Dash about all the events that unfold in the future, but you didn't want to worry her with a future that wasn't even set in stone.

"Ok, I may have had some help." she admitted, seeming a little nervous about maintaining her image, but still sounding grateful for her friends.

"Thanks for talking about this. All of this is still so confusing." you said, thanking her.

"No problem! Not gonna lie, I think it's kinda cool that you're from another world!" Rainbow replied, slightly boosting your confidence in yourself.

"You think it's cool?" you asked, a little surprised by her opinion. You were expecting her to think it was weird, or at the very least not even believe you.

"Sure! I mean, it's not everyday I meet somepony from another world!" she explained. She did have a point. If you met someone, or somepony from another world, you would think it was cool too.

Lost in the conversation, you had completely forgotten about your work. You usually didn't need to rush to get there, but right now you had no idea what the time was.

"I guess, but I've really gotta go to work now." you said, trying to hide your urgency.

"Well don't work too hard because I've got something planned for you tomorrow!" Rainbow said, giving you a mischievous smirk.
You weren't sure what she meant by that, but typically you would assume that it meant something dangerous.

"Can you tell me now?" you asked, the urgency in your voice suddenly becoming apparent.

"Nope! You're gonna be late for work!" Rainbow mocked, maintaining her mischievous smile. You gave her a suspicious stare, too which Rainbow responded with an even more mischievous smirk.

Either way, you weren't gonna find out what she had planned until tomorrow, so there was no point in stalling. At this point, you really were gonna be late.

"Ok, seriously, you're gonna be late, dude." Rainbow said, dropping her smile completely.

"Ok, yeah, bye." you said, turning and heading out of the door with slight embarrassment. Quite honestly, you didn't want to leave. While the entirety of Equestria made you much happier than Earth ever could, the presence of Rainbow Dash amplified that feeling even more.
And whatever she had planned for you was hopefully going to give you even more time to spend with her. Either that, or it would kill you.

Either way, you still had a whole day before she was going to unveil whatever she had planned. It was time to get working once again.
> Chapter 33 - Elements
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You had no idea where you were.

You found yourself in a place you didn't recognise; a place that seemed similar to the Everfree Forest but was different in just as many ways.

One thing was for sure though. This wasn't real.

You weren't sure how you could tell, but you knew this was a dream. Whether it be that your last waking memory was of your bedroom in the library, or the mist was incredibly thick even for the Everfree Forest.

The trees stood tall around you, dwarfing even the tallest structures. The top of the trees weren't even visible to you, as the mist was incredibly strong.

But the worst of it all was that you couldn't move.

Firmly, you were locked in place, only able to turn around in circles to get a view of your surroundings. Not that it helped. You couldn't see more than a few feet in front of you anyway.
Even your wings refused to function.

The question remained, why were you dreaming of this. What had lead you to dream of some vague recreation of the Everfree Forest?

In the midst of your questioning, six bright lights appeared hovering before you. The lights were indistinguishable, almost blindingly bright when put against the dull background of the forest.

But as you eyes adjusted, you could make out what they were.

They were the elements.

The six elements of harmony hovered before you in all their colourful glory.

The dark purple gem, known as the element of generosity, was the first in the line, then followed by a familiar orange apple, known to be the element of honesty.
Next was a pink butterfly, which was evidently the element of kindness, followed by a blue balloon. This clearly belonged to Pinkie Pie, as it was the element of laughter.
Lastly, there was a large pinkish star, recognisable as Twilight Sparkle's element of magic, followed by Rainbow Dash's signature lightning bolt, the element of loyalty.

All six of those legendary elements hovered before you, but why? Why were the elements appearing before you, as if manifesting in a physical dream-like form.

The six elements began shifting, suddenly, the first three moving to the left, while the other three moved to the right. It was as if they were moving in formation, making room for something in the middle.

Suddenly, a seventh bright light burst intimacy existence in between the elements of harmony, this one glowing a bright yellow. It was as if a surge of electricity had erupted in the fabric of your dream.

Finally, manifesting out of the yellow light was...

A seventh element?

No. It couldn't be. There were only six elements, and there had ever only been six element. Right?

Hovering between the six original elements was a yellow inverted lightning bolt. It took the same shape as Rainbow's element, but this looked as if the lightning bolt had been reflected off the ground and was now striking back up at the sky.

In addition to it's yellow electrical colour, there seemed to be a black shadow-like boundary creeping in from around its edges.
But what this meant, you had no idea.

It was quite clearly a seventh element, but there was nothing left for another element to fulfill. The six elements alone had done an amazing job at maintaining harmony on their own.

This was just a dream, after all. In all honesty, there was much, much higher chance that this was simply a creation of your subconsciousness.

"You must be confused," a voice said from the fog. It was a voice you had never heard before, but it gave off a... familiar aura. Like you had heard it before but had simply forgotten.

"Well, yeah. There's a seventh element right there." you said, wondering how anypony could not be confused by that. You knew this was another one of your dreams, but like your other dreams, this felt real. Too real.

"Understandable. Allow me to explain," the voice said. It was a deep, foreboding voice, almost like that of King Sombra's. Was it King Sombra? Probably not.
Although the voice seemed similar, it was quite different to his.

"Wait! Could you tell me who you are first?" you asked, curious as to who this was talking to you. You swear you had met this 'pony' before, if it even was a pony talking to you, but you couldn't recall where from.

The voice let out a dark chuckle, still choosing not to reveal themselves.

"I'm afraid not. To show you my true form would be foolish of me," the voice explained. At this point, you had a feeling that the voice wasn't a force of good.

"Ok, just explain already," you demanded, the urge to escape this dream growing more and more by the second. Whatever it was talking to you gave you an unnerving feeling, like you shouldn't be around it for too long.

"Very well," the foreboding voice began, "There is a seventh element. There has always been a seventh element."

But there was no way. There was no possible way that there had always been a seventh element. The six elements that already existed functioned perfectly fine on their own.

"Impossible." was all you could say. You had watched the whole Friendship is Magic series many times over, and not once had there been any evidence at all of a seventh element.

"But it is possible. The only issue is that this final element has never been discovered. Not even the princesses know of its existence. Right know, we are the only ones that know of this element." it explained.

You still weren't sure whether this was real. After all, this was still only a dream.

"But this is a dream right? So none of this can't be real!" you exclaimed, frantically searching through the fog for the source of the voice.

"Oh, this is real, Storm. Now listen closely, I will only say this once. The fabric of this dream isn't strong enough to hold for much longer." the voice demanded, still maintaining its cover in the mist.

Attempting to speak, you let out a muffled squeak. Whatever the being was seemingly had just as much control over your dream as you did, if not more.

"Find the seventh element. You are the only one that can," it explained, the other six elements disappearing into the mist, "When you wake up, you won't remember any of this, but as long as you stay on this path, you will find it."

You weren't sure you would. You didn't even know what the secret element was, let alone finding it without any knowledge of its existence.

"Once you find it, we will meet again. And remember..." the voice said as your grip on the dream work began to weaken. You could feel the tug of the waking work pulling at your consciousness, "There is a storm coming."

Your stomach dropped. Chills shivered down your spine a smile those words were processed in your mind. That sentence has been said to you before.

"And you are the eye of it." turning around one last time, you got a good look into the fog. A menacing pair of glowing red eyes pierced your soul.

You knew who this was now. And you knew why its presence felt so familiar.

This was the same creature that had taken the form of Twilight and Rainbow Dash. The same creature who had somehow infiltrated your room that night.
But was the entity a friend or a foe? That question still remained, and it was quite likely that it would remain for some time.

As the dreamscape collapsed around you, pieces of the waking world began to intercept your vision. The memories of your dream began to fade out of existence as your bedroom in the Golden Oak Library began to fade into it.

Just like that, any trace of the event that had just unfolded had been wiped from your mind.

"Wh... What just happened?" you asked yourself, sitting up in your bed and staring out of the window over Ponyville. What faint light the moon provided illuminated the village in a cosy haze.

All you could remember was the fog. The endless mist that shrouded your mind, clouding your memory of the conversation you had just had.

"I guess I'm just tired..." you said to yourself, falling back down into your bed. Your wings also seemed to be strangely tense, as is something had just caused you to brace yourself.
But no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't remember what.

Nevertheless, Rainbow Dash had something big planned for you tomorrow. Or, at least that was what she called it.

Tomorrow is another day.
> Chapter 34 - Limits
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, Rainbow! Are you in here?" you called, slowly opening her front door. If she was asleep, you didn't want to wake her, but at this point you had probably already done that with your shouting.

Slowly walking into the cloud house, the usual warm presence of Rainbow Dash was missing, instead replaced by a cold feeling on loneliness.

She wasn't in here. You searched every single room, including her room. Whether that was an invasion of privacy or not, you weren't too sure, but the fact of the matter was that Rainbow was missing.

You were about to leave and get some help, before Tank slowly but surely walked over to the front door, blocking you. Well, he wasn't exactly blocking you, but his presence alone was enough to stop you.

"Oh, Tank, you're still here!" you said, surprised by the tortoises sudden yet cautious appeareance, "Have you seen Rainbow Dash?"

The tortoise didn't respond, and you felt yourself becoming a little impatient. You weren't sure what you were expecting, as tortoises couldn't talk, even in Equestria.

Tank slowly turned his small head towards one of the houses many open windows, lifting one of his legs as if attempting to point.

Surely enough, outside the window you sure the blurred shape of a Pegasus pony slicing across the air, leaving her trademark rainbow contrail in her wake.
As it turns out, you were too focused on searching for Rainbow inside of the house, that you hadn't even bothered to check the outside.

"Heh... Thanks..." you thanked the tortoise, apologeticly rubbing the back of your head, before taking flight out the front door.

You weren't sure what she was doing out here flying around all by herself, but it most likely had good reason. Either that, or she was incredibly bored, as usual.

"Hey, Rainbow! What're you doing?" you asked, hovering stationary a safe distance away from her flight path.

No response. She must've been pretty engrossed in whatever she was doing.

"Rainbow!" you called, in a futile attempt to get her attention.

Once again, there was no response. Rainbow continued soaring through the sky, creating a knot of colours besides her cloud house.

"Rainbow!" you called, in one last attempt to get her attention.
Finally, you got her to stop whatever it was she was doing and turn to you, "What're you doing?"

Rainbow stopped dead in her tracks, taking in heavy breaths of air. It wasn't surprising, flying around that fast for that long would surely tire anypony out.

"Practicing..." she muttered between breaths. It had tired her out so much that she could barely even talk.

"For what, exactly?" you asked, curiously. As far as you knew, she had something planned for you, not something planned for herself.

"For... Today... Duh!" she panted, slowly floating down to your level. Whatever it was she had planned, you weren't sure it was a good idea to go through with it when she was this tuckered out.

"Andddd... What's happening today?" you asked, cautiously. Of course you were excited to find out what she was practicing for, but you were also concerned. If Rainbow Dash felt the need to practice, it must be a pretty difficult task to accomplish.

Suddenly, Rainbow grabbed you with her front hooves, beginning to shake you violently.

"We're gonna pull off the first ever Double Rainboom!" Rainbow screamed, seeming to regain all of her stamina in an instant.

"We're..." you could barely even comprehend what she had just suggested, "What?"

Rainbow continued to stare at you with the most hyped-up expression you had ever seen, rivalling even Pinkie Pie. She clearly had a lot of adrenaline built up for today.

"You heard me!" she replied, clearly wanting to waste no time with this.

"Yeah, but... I've only ever done one rainboom. How am I supposed to do a double one?" you asked, almost certain that you would fail.
At this point, you were practically dead set on the fact that you weren't even going to attempt it.

"It's just the same as when you did a Sonic Surge!" Rainbow suggested, attempting to persuade you, "Besides, I'm doing half the work anyway, right?"

She did make a good point. You only had to do one rainboom each, then that would equal a double rainboom. But still, you couldn't help but feel like such a thing as a double rainboom was simply a myth.

"I... Just don't think it's possible." you muttered, sitting down on the fluffy ground of Rainbow's front yard. She didn't sit with you, and instead remained hovering above you like a training coach.

"Aww, come on, Storm! Where's your confidence?" she asked, trying to maintain positivity even though you were making it quite difficult too.

As much as you really didn't believe it could be done, this clearly meant a lot to Rainbow. And hell, you didn't think you would be able to perform a Sonic Rainboom, but in the end you did it.

"Ok..." you said with a sigh, "We can try it."

As soon as those words left your mouth, you saw Rainbow's smile widen drastically.

"Yes! You're the best, Storm!" Rainbow exclaimed, swooping down and pulling you into a hug. She pulled away after about a second, not even reacting to it before she began talking about the double rainboom again, "Ok, so what we're gonna need to do first is find a good spot for it."

Almost instinctively, Rainbow began looking across the horizon, looking for a good place to attempt the rainboom. The best place for something as drastic as this was a place packed with clouds, as they could be used a crash pad in the event of a failure.

"Um... Rainbow?" you said, getting her attention instantly, "How about right here?"

You pointed a hoof towards the centre of her front 'yard', which was practically a giant cushion as it is. If you were to fail, you would have a few square kilometres to safely crash into.

"Heh... Yeah, that could work!" Rainbow laughed, looking down at the huge cloud that was her house, "Are you sure you're up for this?"

Did she really just ask you that? After just trying her hardest to persuade you to try it, she was asking you if you were sure about it?

"Hey, you're not changing my mind now!" you stated, adamant on the fact that you were going to attempt it. If you failed, so be it, but at least you tried it.
And even if you did fail, it wasn't like it was going to kill you. You had survived so many falls at this point that they practically didn't even harm you anymore.

"That's more like it!" Rainbow exclaimed, a beaming smile on her face, "We should probably have a practice run first."

Truthfully, you were expecting her to just dive straight into it. Literally. She had just been training outside for who knows how long.
But it made you happy that she was thinking of you, letting you get some practice in before the main event. You wondered what she could have planned. A short flight? An obstacle course?

"A Sonic Rainboom! Or... A Sonic Surge!" she suggested.

Ok. That was slightly more... extreme than you were expecting. But who knows, maybe you could make it work.

"Wouldn't that just tire us out?" you asked, attempting to find a reason to get out of this situation. You weren't against attempting a double rainboom, at least not anymore, but the thought of pulling off two Sonic Surges back-to-back just eluded you.

"Sure, it might. But it'll also give us the adrenaline we need!" Rainbow exclaimed. Surprisingly, she knew quite a lot about excitement and adrenaline, almost like she had studied it.
Of course, she almost certainly hadn't studied it. It wasn't Rainbow a Dash after all. More likely than not, she just knew so much about adrenaline from feeling it so often.

Once again defeated by Rainbow's reasoning, you agreed to doing a warm up Sonic Surge.

"Ok, fine. I'll try it." you said, with a sigh. Beginning to flap your wings, you sat up from the cloud and floated up into the air. Too your surprise, Rainbow didn't follow, and instead landed on the cloud you were previously sat on, "Aren't you gonna do it?"

"Nah. I've just done some warming up!" she explained, giving you a teasing smirk.

"What was all that about adrenaline?" you asked, beginning to get the feeling that she was just being lazy. Quite honestly, it wouldn't surprise you.

"Eh. I've got enough." she replied, stretching out one of her front legs.

Not even bothering to respond, you gave her a simple sigh, to which she responded to with a mischievous giggle. You knew she was only doing this to irritate you, but you also knew this was her way of teasing you.

She most likely did intend to attempt a double rainboom at some point today, but felt the urge to try and mess with you beforehand. Quite honestly, it was kinda funny seeing her attempts at getting under your skin.

Flying as high up as you could, the weight of gravity was already pushing you down. Relieving all of your effort, you let the natural forces of the world turn you around and begin pulling you down towards the ground.

The vapour cone was already forming around you, but this time it felt natural. It still felt like an added weight, but it seemed to be a lot easier to push through than last time.

Using a lot less effort than the previous Sonic Surge you had performed, the vapour cone shattered, releasing a burst of electrical yellow sparks across the skyline.
It was just as beautiful as last time, and quite clearly Rainbow though so too, as evident by her dropped jaw.

"How... Was... That?" you asked, between pants. By this point you were in a state similar to Rainbow when she had finished practicing.

"That was so awesome." she said, her gaze still locked on the spreading yellow shockwave in the sky, "Oh, yeah! Double Rainboom time!"

Before you could even process what was happening, she shot off into the sky with intrepidation, seemingly expecting you to follow her.
She turned around, giving you a confused look.

"Hey, are you coming or not?" she asked, becoming a little impatient. She clearly wanted to get on with this.

"Just... A minute..." you panted, causing her look of impatience to turn into that of compassion. She didn't seem too bothered now that she knew your reasoning behind not following her. She knew firsthand how much a rainboom could tire somepony out.

"Are you ok, Storm?" she asked, flying down to your side.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." you said, still breathing quite heavily, "Let's do this thing!"

You gave her a confident smile, too which she responded with her own concerned yet hopeful smirk. Despite not wanting to show it, you knew that your previous Sonic Surge had tired you out for the time being.
Nevertheless, you were gonna give it your all.

"Let's give it all we've got, ok?" Rainbow instructed, motivationaly, before flying up to you and matching you speed. You gave her a confident yet tired nod in response, attempting to regain as much staminate as you could during the build up.

The two of you stopped directly above her cloud house, planning to use her roof as a safety net in the event that one you falls. You both extended your wings outwards, preparing for what was about to happen.

"3..." Rainbow said, beginning the countdown.
"2..."
"1..."

There was no changing your mind now. Either you fly up there with her, or stay behind only to let both yourself and her down in the process.

"Go!" Rainbow exclaimed, before shooting off into the blue Equestrian sky. Instantly, you shot up after her, somehow matching her speed.
You were both too focused on the open air ahead of you to even acknowledge your synchronised flight.

Just like before, the forces of gravity had begun making their appearance. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Rainbow rotating around in mid-air, preparing to build up enough force to shatter the sound barrier.
You copied exactly what you had done last time: flipping over to face the ground and flying with the force of gravity.

The two of you soared down towards the ground at mach speed, the wind tossing your yellow mane around like a rag doll. Maybe it was the fact that their was another pony next to you, but the wind had never been this intense the previous two times you had done this.

Before long, that same familiar vapour cone begun forming around your's and Rainbow Dash's hoofs. But instantly you knew you couldn't take it.

The two cones began to fuse into one as they grew, pulling both you and Rainbow towards each other. The unbelievable weight that this was putting onto you was borderline unbearable in your tired out state.

Almost like it was a gut instinct, you stopped. You stopped dead in your tracks, hovering in place as you panted for air.

"What the- Storm!" Rainbow called in annoyance, not seeming even remotely tired out. You weren't sure what training she was doing earlier, but it must have been some military training excersises if even this didn't tire her out.

Turning around, she saw the state that you were in and immediately regretted her outburst. She seriously cared about this double rainboom, but upon seeing you this worn out, she had this gut feeling to put you first.
Call it what you like: loyalty, pity. Either way, something deep down inside her was telling her to put you first.

And she listened to it.

"Hey, come on, don't go crashing down on me!" Rainbow said, in a somewhat gentle tone as you felt your wings begin to give out.
Were you... falling asleep?

"Woah!" was the last thing you heard her say. The last thing you felt was your wings completely stop flapping, and a pair of gentle hoofs catching you, holding you tightly in their embrace.

All you knew at this point, was that everypony has their limits. 

Maybe you had found yours?
> Chapter 35 - Cloud Nine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blinking rapidly as you awoken from your slumber, you looked around the room that you slept in. The bright white colour of the wall, as well as the sunlight shining in through the wide open window felt as if it was burning your eyes to a crisp.

Everything that had happened previously was quite a blur. Where were you? How did you get here?

Glancing around the room, you noticed a few things that stood apart from the white walls, floor and ceiling. First of all, the bed cover had a large rainbow coloured lightning bolt on it.
On the bedside table, there was a picture of six familiar ponies. Of course, you weren't there, as this was most likely taken long before you had arrived.

By now, you knew where you were, but the question still remained. How did you get here again?

Recalling the last waking moments you could recall before you awoken, you could remember an intense aching in all of your muscles, especially your wings. It was a burning sensation of effort like the which you had never felt before.

No matter how hard you tried, all you could retrieve from your lost memories was the fatigue of whatever it was you were doing. You must've been pretty tired to completely forget, huh?

Wait...

You were in Rainbow Dash's bed.

You didn't... Did you?

No. There was no way. Surely if that had happened one of you would have stopped it. And at the very least you wouldn't have forgotten about it immediately after.

Speaking of which, where was Rainbow Dash? 

Almost as if on queue, you could hear some subtle movement coming from somewhere else in the house. She was definitely home.
Either that, or Tank had put on a metric ton of weight.

Groggily getting out of Rainbow's bed, you set your hooves down on the soft fluffy surface of the floor. As best as you could, you attempted to make the bed so that it looked slightly like you had never been there.

You had never tried making your bed with hooves, but it was strangely difficult. You couldn't grip the covers, and ended up having to use your mouth.
It was times like these that made you wish you could use unicorn magic.

After spending far too long making Rainbow's bed, you slowly made your way out of her room and into the hallway. Just as slowly, you walked cautiously down the stairs, making an effort not to trip in your waking dizziness.

Rainbow was in the kitchen, feeding Tank what looked like a small carrot, when you reached the bottom of the stairs.

At first, she didn't seem to notice you, and was instead solely focused on feeding Tank his carrot. It was only when you spoke up that she noticed your awakening.

"Hey." you said, groggily, whilst rubbing one of your eyes with a free hoof.

Immediately, Rainbow turned to you, happily.

"Hey, Storm! You're finally awake!" she exclaimed, placing Tank's carrot down on the cloudy surface. It bounced up a little, yet the tortoise seemed to catch it and place it back down, like a circus act.

"Yeah, um... Why was I in your bed?" you asked, seeking for the answer as to why you were even in her house to begin with.

"Well..." Rainbow began, walking over to you after taking a bit out of her own carrot, "You kinda passed out during a Sonic Surge."

She looked at you, trying her best to smile, when in reality she knew how dangerous of a situation it was. If she hadn't been there to catch you, there was a high chance that you would have died.

"So I fell asleep mid-flight? Is that possible?" you asked, giving her a confused expression.

"Well, you were once a... human right?" she asked, to which you responded with a nod, "And that means that you're still pretty new to flying."

That did make sense. Humans weren't particularly known for their ability to fly.

"Your wings probably aren't used to this much strain, so doing two Sonic Surges in a row probably overworked them a bit." Rainbow explained, in a pretty technological manner that you wouldn't really expect from her.

"Wait, wait... Two surges in a row?" you asked, feeling your memory starting to come back to you.

Right on cue, the memories of the moments before you fell into your deep sleep began returning, like a flood forgotten events. You remembered the Double Rainboom, and how it was that that caused your defeat.
Knowing that it was that which caused you to pass out, you felt new determination arise within you, pushing you to want to try it again.

"I remember! The Double Rainboom!" you exclaimed, causing her to shift uncomfortably, "We've gotta try it again!"

You began to move quickly towards the front door, but Rainbow flew in front of you, blocking it.

"Woah! Not so fast!" she said, sealing the exit away from you, "You're in no shape to go and do another Sonic Surge!"

As nice as it was to see her caring about you like this, you really wanted to get this done. Plus, you knew deep down that Rainbow wanted to do it too.

"Don't you wanna do it too?" you asked, in a futile attempt to persuade her. Much like you expected, your persuasion failed, but it was worth the attempt. 

"Well, yeah, but..." Rainbow muttered, giving a heavy sigh, "Look, just put some of this on your wings, ok?"

She pulled a small flask of blue sparkling powder out of thin air, and threw it into the air. Thankfully you had a pretty decent reaction time, meaning you could catch it effortlessly.

You weren't sure what it was inside the flask, but it looked pretty similar to the cure that Twilight had made for your illness, only this time it was blue.

"Um... What is that?" you asked, staring cautiously at the glowing blue substance.

"Something Zecora made, I don't know," she explained, "You know who she is right?"

Thankfully, you did know who Zecora was. If you didn't, then there was a high chance you would've given the blue powder back.

"Yeah, she lives in the Everfree Forest, right?" you asked, seeking confirmation just in case.

"Yeah, and she said to use that blue stuff to enhance your flight, or something." Rainbow explained, not really seeming to understand what she was saying.

The way she was describing the blue powder seemed pretty familiar. It reminded you of the stuff people would use on Earth to enhance their physical fitness and strength.

"So like steroids? Is that even allowed?" you asked, with a hint of concern in your voice.

"Like... what?" Rainbow asked. Right. Rainbow wouldn't know what steroids are. Why would she?

"I mean, like, I don't wanna use this if it's gonna make me better a flying. I wanna get better on my own terms, not with the help of some... powder." you said, staring at Zecora's mystery powder with disgust.

Rainbow stared at you blankly for a second, before her expressionless stare changed to a proud smile.

"Ya know what? I'm glad you think that! It shows that you have perseverance!" she exclaimed, giving you a playful hit on your side, "But you need to use it. Just this once so that your wings get used to heavy strain."

You looked up at Rainbow Dash, who was hovering above you, then back down at the blue powder in your hoof.

"Please? Just this once." Rainbow begged. You had to admit, it was nice seeing her care so much about your safety.

"Fine." you said, with a heavy sigh. You pulled off the cap of the flask with your teeth, then lifted it over your extended wings. Cautiously, you tilted the glass so that a few specs of powder fell onto your wings.

Too your surprise, it actually burnt a little. The specs of powder settled on your wing, then seemed to desolve into it, causing that burning sensation.

"Yeah, it... hurts a little..." Rainbow said, with a nervous laugh. She must've forgotten to tell you, or she didn't tell you on purpose to see your reaction.

Instinctively, you had pulled the flask away from you as the burn radiated through your wings.

"Do or die..." you muttered, as you poured the entire glass onto your wings at once. Every inch of powder gathered on your wings, dissolving into a magical dust, but also leaving a painful burn in its wake.

Rainbow gave you a concerned glance, but that concern quickly deteriorated as she saw your wings begin to straighten. Whatever that powder was had naturally made your wings ready to fly, making them faster, stronger and more resilient.
If you used this time well, it would be the perfect time to get used to the natural strain of your wings.

"So how's that feel?" Rainbow asked, hovering confidently above you.

"It feels... natural," you said, looking up at her with a grin, "Like I've always had these wings as a part of me."

After using that powder, it made your Pegasus body feel more familiar than your old human once, which you were stuck in for years. Whatever Zecora had made had surely made your life in Equestria a thousand times easier.

"So... Wanna try your new wings?" Rainbow asked.

While they were the same wings you had always had, they definitely didn't feel like it. If you trained right, then maybe your wings would remain feeling this natural forever.

"Definitely." you said, not wanting to waste any time. The more time you had to practice for the Double Rainboom, the better.
> Chapter 36 - Supersonic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as you left Rainbow's house, you could already feel your flight beginning to feel more natural. As you moved your wings up and down, it had begun to feel like your ability to fly had always been there, hidden below you human instincts.

"Hey, Rainbow!" you called, "Did Zecora tell you what that stuff was?"

That was probably a question you should have asked before using it, but it seemed to be doing you good so far. As shameful as it was, you wanted to make more of it yourself. With flight now feeling this natural, it would be almost impossible to return to how it felt prior.

"Eh, not really," Rainbow replied, much to your disappointment, "All she said was 'Use this substance as I say, and it will keep your instincts at bay,'"

Neither you nor Rainbow knew what that meant, but it was quite a task to understand Zecora's riddle-like statements.

"So, anyway, Double Rainboom time?" you asked, eager to take down the beast of a task that had defeated your previously.

"Not yet. How about something to warm up first?" Rainbow suggested, not wanting you to get yourself hurt. As much as you wanted to try the Double Rainboom now, a warm up was probably for the best.

It was funny. Not so long ago, Rainbow Dash was the one who could barely wait to do a Double Rainboom. Now the roles had completely swapped.

"Ok, sure! What've you got in mind?" you asked, hovering patiently besides her.

Rainbow looked around for a second, searching for a task that could serve as a suitable warm up to a Sonic Surge. Quite quickly, she came up with an idea.

"5 laps around my incredibly awesome house!" she suggested, swirling one of her hooves around in a circular motion as indicating the route.

"Is that all?" you asked, trying your best not to sound cocky.

"What, don't think you can take it?" Rainbow mocked, in an attempt to tease you.

"I don't think I can take the boredom." you said, looking at the incredibly small lap or a circuit that was Rainbow Dash's house.
In terms of housing, Rainbow had an incredibly large house to be living in in her own. In terms of a flying route, not so much. At the average Pegasi's flight speed, it would probably take two or three seconds to complete a lap around her house.

"10 laps!" Rainbow suggested.

"Boring." you said, tracing the lap route with your vision. It was particularly boring, like you were saying. It was more so that it didn't serve as a good warm up to a Double Rainboom.

"15 laps!" she suggested, giving you a sly smirk as if testing your limits.

You gave her a sigh of boredom, as well as your own smirk, as if wanting her to push you further. She seemed to get the message.

"Daring today aren't we?" Rainbow mocked, "25 laps around my house in under a minute with your eyes closed!"

Well that went from a zero to a hundred incredibly quickly.

"I'm not doing that last part." you laughed, preparing to take off into a high speed flight.

Usually taking off at a high speed required quite a bit of effort from you, but this time it felt almost effortless; natural. Even preparing yourself for the takeoff felt weightless.

"Remember, one minute, Storm!" Rainbow added, in an attempt to to add some pressure to you. She was clearly having a lot of fun seeing how far your 'new' wings could take you.

You weren't really fazed by the added pressure. In an instant, you shot off in a burst of speed that was nearly double your usual speed. It was strange how your familiarity with your wings effected your flying.

In under five seconds, you had already circled the house once. Only 24 more times to go.

Rainbow Dash watched you, intrigued as too how you would overcome this challenge. This was something that even she would find difficult.

Within 15 seconds, you had completed four laps around the house. This wasn't gonna work.

At this rate, you were gonna get nowhere near the 25 laps you needed to complete. You were gonna need to pick up the pace.

"Maximum overdrive!" you said to yourself, attempting to push your wings as far as they could go. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt you, but instead it just felt like a regular excersise.

It felt as if the air was splitting around you, but not to the point where it would form a vapour cone. You wanted to go fast, but not fast too the point where you would cause a Sonic Surge.
This was only a warm up, after all.

After increasing your speed, you had completed 16 sixteen laps within 30 seconds. If you kept this pace up, you were gonna do it easily.

There's no way he's gonna do it. Even I probably couldn't do that, Rainbow thought as she watched you spiral around the cloud house repetitively.

How wrong she was.

By the time that 50 seconds rolled around, you were already finishing up your last lap. Proud, yet also somewhat exhausted, you halted to a stop.

"How... Was... That..." you panted, instinctively folding in both of your wings.

Rainbow Dash stared at you in disbelief, barely able to process what you had just done. Going that fast without causing accidental causing a rainboom was impossible, yet you just did it.

"Pfft! I could've done it way faster than that!" Rainbow boasted, knowing full well that she couldn't. Well, technically she could, but she would almost definitely cause a Sonic Rainboom in the process, "But that was good."

Zecora's 'spell' must've really changed your wings if you were able to have that much control over them.

"So are we ready?" you asked, quickly recovering your stamina as you prepared yourself for the Double Rainboom. You were determined to get this done, whether it hurt you or not.

"Don't you want a break first?" Rainbow asked, worriedly. At this point, she was more nervous about the Double Rainboom than you were. Seeing you pass out like that must've really gotten to her

"Nah, I'm fine." you said, panting a little. You defineoty hadn't fully recovered your stamina, but it was good enough, "Are you nervous?"

If Rainbow Dash was going to try and persuade you to have a break, you were gonna persuade her otherwise.

"Nervous? Me? Do you even know who you're talking too?" she asked, boastfully.

"Um... You?" you said, sarcastically. From the amount of time you had spent with Rainbow, you had learned that one sure fire way to get through to her was via her ego.

"And you think that I would get nervous over a rainboom?" she asked, maintaining her boastful attitude.

You simply nodded your head, and that proved to be enough. Sometimes, your actions could speak louder than your words.

"Well I'll prove you wrong, Storm!" she exclaimed, flying up above her house, "We're gonna do the Double Rainboom right now!"

You see? Using her own ego against her works every time. Well, almost every time.

"I promise not to pass out this time, ok?" you said, reassuringly as you followed her up above her house. Rainbow turned too you with a thankful smile.

"You'd better keep that promise." she replied, warmly. Something about the way she smiled at you made you feel... safe. You were about to attempt to perform a stunt that had never been done before, and you felt safe.
You couldn't explain it, but just looking into Rainbow's eye made you feel safe as a whole. Was it the work of magic? Who knows, but right now you had a Sonic Surge to create.

"Sooooo... Are we gonna do this or what?" Rainbow asked, snapping you back to reality. You didn't realise you had been staring at her for a while.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, right." you said to yourself, getting a giggle from Rainbow. Nevertheless, it was finally time to achieve the impossible. Or at least, it was impossible at the time. Most ponies never thought another pony would ever be able to do a Sonic Rainboom.

"On the count of three..." Rainbow said, preparing to countdown. The two of your unfolded your wings, preparing to takeoff at an extreme speed.

"1..."

Usually, the countdown would start at three, but you weren't going to question it.

"2..."

It was now or never.

"3!"

And with that, the two of you shot off into the air at a remarkable speed. It felt like the air itself was bending around you as you rocketed upwards, matching Rainbow's speed.

As you sped upwards side by side, the two of you glanced over at each other, giving each other a confident smirk. This time, you weren't giving up so easily.

Upon reaching a desirable height, you stopped flying upwards. Rainbow copied this manoeuvre, allowing gravity to rotate you around much like usual.

Instantly, the force of gravity began pulling you down, but unlike your previous attempt, you didn't start moving your wings.
Rainbow glanced over at you, confused as to what you were trying to do, but copied you in order to maintain synchronisation. If this was to work, it was important that you stayed at the same speed.

After falling for a few seconds, it felt like a good time to start flying downwards. With a single powerful flap of your wings, you shot forwards.

"Woah!" you heard Rainbow say, before repeating the same manoeuvre. The two of you shot forward like bullets, the all too familiar vapour cones forming around you.

Both yours and Rainbow's cones began to merge, mixing into one larger cones as it pulled the two of you together. Last time, this was where you gave up.
This time, you didn't intend on giving up.

Side by side, both you and Rainbow pressure the cone as hard as you could. You could feel it about to spring back and launch you intimate the distance. Even Rainbow looked like she was struggling.

But thankfully, you pulled through. In a satisfying moment of relief, the cone shattered, allowing the two of you to fly freely once again.
You were too relieved to have actually pulled it off to even bother looking at the sky to see what you had done.

"Storm! Look!" Rainbow gasped in amazement, staring at the sky with a sparkle in her eyes.

You had never seen anything like it. Not even in the TV show. Nothing as beautiful as this had ever been witnessed before.

Rippling through the sky in a wave was a rainbow coloured shockwave, but each second bolts of yellow electricity shot out of the rainbow. Above that was a smaller shockwave; this shockwave was coloured grey, much like your coat. This grey was incredibly dark, almost making it look black.

The secondary black shockwave contrasted nicely with the multicoloured wave of the Rainboom, sending beautiful sparks of light down towards the ground. It was incredible.
What were the other's going to say about this?

"Y'know, Storm," Rainbow said, breaking the silence. She still remained staring at the spectacular shockwave, "I think you're ready."

That confused you a little. As far as you knew, the two of you had just pulled off the impossible.

"Ready for what?" you asked, nervously. If anything could top that, then it was bound to be good. Rainbow gave you a mischievous smirk.

"Remember that race we planned a while ago?" she asked.

Oh great. Of course you remembered. You had agreed to race Rainbow Dash, but at the time it was called off due to you inability to fly.
It was bound to eventually happen, anyway.

Seeing the panicked look on your face, Rainbow chose to respond to herself. Even after pulling off a Double Rainboom, the thought of having to beat Rainbow Dash in a competition of speed still worried you.
What if the spell on your wings wore off?

"But first, we need a crowd!" Rainbow said, before speeding off towards the town of Ponyville. How was she not tired out?

Either way, this was going to be... interesting.
> Chapter 37 - Speed Demons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Rainbow Dash, what was-" Twilight asked, staring into the sky out of her open window.

"I know! Pretty awesome, right?" Rainbow interrupted her, enthusiastically. She hovered impatiently outside her window, clearly looking forward to the race.

You had managed to catch up to her, but she had flew over faster than you had expected. You weren't sure if the spell on your wings was beginning to wear off, but this definitely wasn't a good time for it to do so.

"But... What was it? I've never seen anything like it before!" Twilight exclaimed, happily. The original Sonic Rainboom was how the mane 6 were brought together in the first place, so seeing something like that must've been pretty remarkable.

You also hovered by the window, partially hidden by Rainbow Dash, who was practically in her face.

"Ask Storm! I'm sure he can answer you!" Rainbow explained, moving over enough so that Twilight could see you. Now the attention was on you.

"Storm, you did that? How is that possible?" Twilight asked, recalling your original Sonic Surge. While the colour of your shockwave whilst solo was yellow like a lightning bolt, it transferred to a much darker black whilst performing a double rainboom in order to contrast the brightness of Rainbow's rainbow.

"We did it together. It was a-" you attempted to explain, once again being interrupted by Rainbow Dash.

"Double Rainboom!" she yelled, once again blocking Twilight's vision.

"A Double Rainboom? That was said to just be a myth!" Twilight exclaimed, seeming as surprised as you were when you pulled it off.

"Wasn't the Sonic Rainboom just a myth before I did it?" Rainbow bragged, seeming to brush it off as if it was no big deal. If it was anypony else, her big ego would come across as obnoxious, but somehow Rainbow managed to twist a usually bad trait into something positive.

"You wouldn't mind if I studied it a bit more, right?" Twilight asked, excitedly, "I'd need you to do it again at some point, though."

You couldn't see a reason as to why she couldn't. Well, other than the fact that you might not be able to do it again.

"Sure, but I'm not so sure I can do it again." you said, almost sounding a little shameful.

"What?" Rainbow exclaimed, turning around to face you, "C'mon Storm! You pulled it off like it was nothing!"

She always made it sound so easy. Maybe that was what you liked about her, but she was clearly forgetting about your enhanced wings.

"Heh. I guess you're right." you said, deciding to play along for now. You weren't even sure when the magic powder's spell was going to wear off, or even if it would at all.

"By the way, Twilight..." Rainbow said, turning back to her, "Me and Storm were gonna have a race across Ponyville if you and Spike wanna watch!"

Oh, right. You had almost forgotten.

"Sure, Rainbow! We'd love to watch! We'll meet at Sugarcube Corner in an hour!" Twilight said, happily, before closing the window.

Ugh, you thought. The more ponies that want to watch, the better. The more humiliated you'll feel when you lose.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Rainbow asked, nudging you a little. She had clearly noticed your worried expression.

"Huh? Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" you said, instantly attempting to regain your positive attitude. Thankfully, it seemed to work.

"Ok, well we've still got a few more places to stop by!" Rainbow explained, "C'mon, Storm!"

In the blink of an eye, she shot off towards Fluttershy's house without even waiting for you. You let out a small sigh before following her, just as quickly.

This was going to be a long day.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Attention everypony!" Twilight called out, standing in front of Sugarcube Corner. All of the Mane 6 had been gathered, and now even more ponies had appeared to watch.

Both you and Rainbow stood on the imaginary track that you were to race on. She was obviously taking this pretty seriously, as she seemed to be doing some form of excersise to get ready.

"We've all been gathered here to watch a battle between the two fastest Pegasi in Equestria!" Twilight explained, only adding to your anxiety. She was announcing it like it was some sort of competition.
As far as you knew, this was only a friendly race.

"Nervous, Storm?" Rainbow asked, seeming a little uneasy herself.

"Nope." you lied, pretty unconvincingly, "Are you?"

"Ha! Like I'd be nervous!" Rainbow said, giving you a falsely confident smirk. You could tell that deep down she was worried about this. Maybe she was scared of losing her pride if she lost to you, but either way, there had never been a Pegasus that could rival her speed before.

The rest of the Mane 6 watched from the sidelines, most trying to find higher ground in order to get a better view of the event that was about to unfold.
It was about time for Twilight to relay the course to you.

"Both Storm and Rainbow Dash will race from here to Carousel Boutique, from which they will then race to the Golden Oak Library, ending the track back here at Sugarcube Corner!" Twilight announced. It wasn't the most difficult course you could imagine, but it's sheer length may cause an problem.
"The first one to complete two laps will be the winner!" she added, further adding to the courses length. This worried you, as you still had no idea if or when the spell on your wings would wear off.

"Remember you two," you heard Applejack say from the side of the track, "This is a friendly race. So no cheating, Rainbow Dash."

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Rainbow give her a nervous smile.

"Cheat? Me? I would never dream of it!" she said, smirking nervously. At that moment, you begun to have flashbacks to when her and Applejack competed in the Running of the Leaves.
You just hoped it wouldn't end up like that.

"Ready you two?" Spike called from Twilght's side.

"Ready!" you both called, your voice sounding slightly more reluctant. Even now, after pulling off the world's first Double Rainboom, the idea of racing against Rainbow Dash still scared you.
But even then, there was no backing out now.

The two of you began to rev up your wings, preparing for a take off at as high a speed as possible. You had to remember that you had a speed limit, however. You didn't want to accidentally cause a Sonic Surge.

"3..." Twilight said. And thus began the longest three seconds of your life.

"2..." she said. Beside you, Rainbow Dash had a concentrated look on her face that you hadn't seen before.

"1..."

Here it comes.

"Go!" Twilight exclaimed, and just like that, it begun.

Rainbow shot off in an instant, leaving nothing but a multicoloured trail in her wake. Thankfully, you too had a large burst of speed saved up, and within a few seconds you no more than a few metres behind her.

Before long, the two of you had circled Carousel Boutique, beginning to make way towards your home: the Golden Oak Library.

You hadn't been in Equestria for long, but this part of Ponyville had become incredibly familiar to you. That should have given you a slight advantage, but all it did was make your flight through the area slightly easier.

Upon beginning your circle around the familiar tree, something began to feel off. You were still neck and neck with Rainbow Dash, so you could conclude that she wasn't cheating.

No...

This strange feeling of discomfort was originating from you. More specifically in your wings.

Oh, no. Zecora's spell was beginning to wear off.

"Oh... shit." you muttered to yourself, unheard by Rainbow Dash who was now speeding ahead. The sudden shift in your wings had caused you to lose focus on your race, and had almost sent you plummeting towards the ground.

There was no way your wings were going to be able to adapt to such a sudden change without landing, but doing such would sacrifice the race.
And there was no way you were giving up that easy.

"Storm!" you heard several voices called, mainly that of Twilight and Applejack. Rainbow was likely too focused on the race to notice the sudden interference with your flight.

Nevertheless, something deep within you saved you from having to land. The determination to at least go out fighting had begun to build up within you, and with it your wings power.

In a sudden burst of yellow energy, your wings once again felt as if they were under Zecora's spell. Only this time, it felt more... permanent.

You felt yourself flying at a speed you had not believed to be possible without causing a Sonic Surge, but here you were flying at such a speed.

You weren't sure what you had done, but whatever it was had given you a chance to win this race. You weren't that much faster, yet it still seemed like you were beginning to gain on Rainbow Dash.

And in the end, you were right. In a blaze of glory, you shot passed Rainbow as you proceeded onto the second lap.

"Huh?" Rainbow gasped as you zoomed past her in the blink of an eye. Cheers erupted from the crowd of ponies that had gathered below as you overtook the fasted Pegasus in Equestria, even despite the setback you had prior.

Rainbow simply stared ahead in disbelief as you continued to gain an even greater lead.

"I guess you're asking for it, huh?" Rainbow said to herself, before preparing to fly at an even greater speed. At this rate she was bound to cause a Sonic Rainboom.

If such a thing was to happen at such a low altitude, it would surely cause some major damage to the structures in Ponyville. Not to mention, it might cause even more damage to the actual residents of Ponyville.

An all too familiar vapour cone had begun to form around Rainbow, as she suddenly began to regain the lead she had previously had. She shot past you, leaving you in a slight state of shock as you stared at the cone forming around her.

"Rainbow! Stop!" you called, slowing down you flight in an effort to stay as far away from incoming Rainboom in the event that it did happen.

"What?" Rainbow called in response, seeming to be enough to slow her down. Unfortunately, the cone of vapour that was forming around her had already gained enough pressure to launch a full grown pony, meaning that as soon as she finished those words...

Snap.

Rainbow let out a scream as she was launched through the air, possibly all the way over to the Everfree Forest. Seeing that she had practically eliminated herself from the race, there wasn't really a point to continue flying.

You flew back down to Sugarcube Corner, preparing to tell them that you were about to head out to find where Rainbow had landed.

"Sorry, I've got to go and find R-"

"That was amazing!" Pinkie Pie interrupted you, seeming to buy time for Rainbow to find her own way back.

In less than a few seconds, Rainbow had already flew back over, seeming more eager than ever to continue the race.

"Storm! You tired out or what?" she taunted, in an effort to get you back up into the sky. She didn't exactly look ready to race. She had a few bruises on her, presumably from when she impacted the ground, and had leaves intertwined with her mane.

"Rainbow Dash! You look hideous!" Rarity said, instantly reacting to the sight of leaves in ones mane.

"Eh. it's just a scratch." Rainbow replied, brushing off the near-rainboom she had just created. Nevertheless, she still seemed to want a second round of the race.

"How about we call it a draw?" you suggested, not wanting to hurt her pride, but also not wanting to physically hurt her by getting her to race again. Your suggestion was met by silence from her, "I mean, you kinda just nearly did a Sonic Rainboom!"

That seemed to make her see sense.

"I guess I got a bit carried away, huh?" Rainbow admitted, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"Speaking of that..." you heard Twilight say, interrupting you, "Storm, you were flying at the same speed as Rainbow, but you didn't cause a rainboom-"

"Surge." Rainbow interrupted, correcting the incorrect usage of the term 'rainboom'.

"Right. Surge. But how was that possible?" she questioned, looking just as confused as you were. Truthfully, even you didn't know.

"Yeah! Were you cheating?" Rainbow accused, flying up close to you with a suspicious expression.

"Now Rainbow Dash, I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason as to how Storm was flying that fast." Applejack said, saving you when you had nothing to come back with.

You hadn't been cheating. Not as far as you knew. But even then that sudden burst of speed was unintentional.

"Storm, when you began to speed up, you flashed with this yellow light," Twilight explained. You hadn't noticed, but then again how could you?
You were too busy trying to stay in flight to notice a quick flash of light, "If it's ok with you, I'd like to research it a bit more."

You saw no problem with that. If anything, you could discover what it was that caused you to fly so fast.

"Sure! I live with you anyway, so it's not a problem!" you reminded her. Upon mentioning the fact that you live with Twilight, Rainbow shuffled uncomfortably in the air, visibly noticeable.

"Rainbow, are you ok?" Fluttershy asked, seeming to notice her sudden uncomfortableness before even you.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" she insisted, "Just tired from the race, that's all!"

She seemed like she was being truthful, but even then, you never really could know. It wasn't exactly too unbelievable that she would be tired out after being launched by a rainboom, though.

"I'm gonna head home and rest up! See ya guys!" Rainbow said, before shooting off in the direction of her house. She was definelty acting strange, but for now, you figured you shouldn't question it.

"So when do you need to research my wings?" you asked, shifting your attention back to Twilight.

"How about tonight?" she suggested. You weren't sure how she was going to research your flight inside of a small library, but you were sure she knew what she was doing.

And besides, the more you knew about your own wings, the better.

...

Right?
> Chapter 38 - Determination
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You slowly entered the Golden Oak Library, already feeling a little tired out from the race you had just had with Rainbow Dash.
It felt as if as soon as you made contact with your bed you would simply pass out right there and then.

Obviously, you couldn't do that, though. You had promised Twilight that you would help her research the cause behind your mysterious burst of speed.

You couldn't blame her for wanting to research such a thing. Even you didn't understand, and they were your wings.

In the end, there was always a possibly that it was simply one final effect of Zecora's spell, but something told you that wasn't the case.
The powder you used on your wings was blue, while the energy you emitted during that burst of speed was yellow.

"I'm guessing you're pretty tired out?" Twilight asked, already heading for a bookshelf which seemed to hold books about Pegasi anatomy and other scientific junk.

"I am, for sure!" Spike answered, leaping down onto the nearest couch.

"You didn't even do anything, Spike." Twilight replied, but Spike was too busy sinking further down into the couch to respond.

Now that Spike was busy lazing around, you could actually give an answer to her question.

"Yeah, a little bit." you said, rubbing your eyes tiredly. Oh, how much you craved the warm embrace of sleep, no matter how terrifying the dreams you may have are.

"Well, the quicker we do this, the quicker you can end up like Spike!" Twilight joked looking down at the baby dragon, who was already fast asleep.

Speaking of which, Twilight had found a book and was now holding in the air with her unicorn magic. It wasn't a book about Pegasi specifically, too your surprise.
Instead, it was simply a book about magic, and the different types of magic commonly used by ponies.

"What's that?" you asked, curiously, before taking a seat next to the sleeping baby dragon.

"A book about different forms of magic!" Twilight exclaimed, placing it down enthusiastically on the table, but still quietly enough as to not wake Spike.

"I thought only Unicorns could use magic?" you questioned. Quite honestly, you wouldn't be surprised if there were more types of magic users in this world.
After all, the show back on Earth was merely a small window into this world you know found yourself in.

"Technically, they are. But other ponies can have passive magic abilities." she announced, as if she was teaching a lesson at a school.

You looked at her, curiously, desperately wanting to know more about the magic used by other ponies.

"For example, I've always had a feeling that Pinkie's pinkie sense is magic!" she explained, much to your interest. You never really found out much about Pinkie Pie's sixth sense, even after watching the entire show multiple times over.

"Ok, well what do you think my passive ability is?" you asked.

Twilight looked down at the book, staring at a page that was out of view to you, then back up to you. It was impossible to tell if it was good news or bad news.

"All Pegasi usually have one common ability, which is the ability to move clouds," Twilight explained. This you already knew, as you could even do it yourself, "But have you ever tried to manipulate a rain cloud, Storm?"

You couldn't say that you had, or that you really had any reason to. That was mainly a weather pony thing, and that wasn't really your forte.

"No, why?" you asked, a little confused but still maintaining interest.

"Well, if you did try to form, or even move a rain cloud, you would fall straight through it." Twilight said, sadly. Now the question on your mind was: why?
And how did this relate to your wings?

Seeming to be able to read your mind, Twilight answered your questions.

"Because you were once a human, you're mass is still too different to that of a normal Pegasus and therefore you can't safely interact with water vapour at the density it currently resides at whilst in a rain cloud!" Twilight explained, tracing words from the page.

You were at a loss for words.

"How do you know all that?" you asked, seeming a little suspicious.

"Oh, I didn't! I read it from the book!" Twilight laughed, "But I don't know how all that got in the book. As far as I know, there's never been another human in Equestria before!"

That did seem pretty strange. Was there another human in Equestria before you? And if so, what happened to them?

"It's a plot device!" you heard a voice whisper, as if they were directly next to you. It almost sounded like it was Pinkie Pie, but there was no way she got into the library without anypony noticing.
You must've been hallucinating. After all, you were pretty tired.

"Anyway," Twilight said, returning back to the point, "Since you were once a human, that came with a magic trade off."

You had no idea what that meant.

"What does that mean?" you asked, seeming a little nervous. All of this talk about magic was still pretty new to you. After all, on Earth magic is merely a myth.

"It means that even though you can't manipulate rain clouds, you have a different magic ability." Twilight explained, much to your curiosity, "And it's not exactly a common one, either."

This made your curiosity spike. You simply sat there waiting for her to tell you what your trade-off magic ability is.

"That yellow energy is called... 'determination'," she told you. You could have sworn you had heard about this in a video game back on Earth, "And so far only one other pony has ever been known to be able to use this kind of magic!"

That made you feel pretty... weird. If not even the two princesses had this kinda magic, then that made you pretty unique. Honestly, if you had a magic ability that was this rare, you were surprised you hadn't even met the princesses yet.

"So who else had this kinda magic?" you asked, wondering whether you could go to them for advice.

"Well, um..." Twilight said, studying a page that was once again out of your sight, "We're not really sure..."

Well, that probably wasn't good.

"There were only ever sightings of a pony draped in shadow wondering around the outskirts of major places in Equestria, like Manehatten and Canterlot. It almost seemed like they were using their magic on the cities themselves," Twilight explained, "And they were always seen using yellow magic, just like yours."

You weren't sure whether this scared you, or comforted you. It was nice to know that there was another like you, but as far as you could tell, this other 'pony' could've been up to no good.

"What happened to them?" you asked, still maintaining the question as to whether you could ask them for help.

"Nopony knows. One day they just... vanished." Twilight said, still reading from the book.

"Well, if nopony ever got close to them, how do you know the yellow magic's name and stuff?" you asked, wanting to know as much as you could.

"Oh, we don't. That was just a name given to it, seeing as how the pony was so determined to continue stalking the cities for some unknown reason." Twilight explained, finally seeming to come to an end of the page she was reading.

Now another question had entered your head: how did anypony know what this 'determination' could do? After all, nopony had ever really seen it in action.

"How do you know what the magic can do, then?" you asked.

"That's why we're talking now, Storm! Seeing as how you seem to be the second pony to ever have determination magic, you can tell me anything weird that happens to you!" Twilight said, delighted by her idea.

That didn't sound like a bad idea. If you could find out more about determination, maybe you could find out about this mysterious pony, and maybe even what happened to them.

"Ok, yeah! We can try that!" you replied, much to Twilight's happiness.

"Great! That means I can further my research and help you out at the same time!" Twilight exclaimed, happily.

Suddenly, Spike awoke from his slumber, probably due to Twilight's enthusiastic yelps.

"Yeah, yeah, that's great and all, but some of us are trying to sleep!" Spike grunted, turning over to face the back of the couch.

Speaking of sleep, that was something you had wanted to do for a while.

"I should probably go get some sleep now, too." you said, already beginning to make your way over towards the stairs.

"Oh! Right! Sorry!" Twilight said, apologising for keeping you up so long. You quickly reminded her that you didn't mind staying up a bit longer, before reaching the stairs, "Goodnight, Storm!"

You replied with your own goodnight to both Twilight and Spike, before finally reaching your room.

Determination, huh? You had never really viewed yourself as that determined. Then again, it was only a name given to it by the ponies who saw that mysterious figure in action.
Chances are, the magic itself had absolutely nothing to do with determination at all.

You also found yourself wondering how to use this magic. You weren't a unicorn, and you certainly weren't an alicorn. You were simply a normal Pegasus, yet somehow you had the ability to use a form of magic that is relatively unknown to Equestria, even to the Princesses.

Last time, you triggered it without even knowing how. At some point, you would have to learn how to use this magic and keep it under control. While it initially seemed helpful, you had no idea how you were going to control the magic without a horn.
After all, there had never really been a non-horned magic user before.

Anyway, these were questions best left for another day.

Right now, sleep called. And you were definitely going to answer.
> Chapter 39 - The Derby
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Storm!"

You could hear a faint voice calling out to you, but the embrace of sleep was too tight. For once, you didn't have a bad dream, so you wanted to savour the peaceful night you had for as long as you could.

"Storm, will you wake up?" the voice asked, seeming a little more impatient this time.

Wait. Was that-

"Oof!" you cried as you jolted awake. Rainbow Dash had been forced to slam herself into you in order to get you to wake up. Despite it being drastic, it clearly worked.

"Jeez, finally! Hurry up, we're gonna be late!" Rainbow instructed, already turning around to fly towards your bedroom door. Why was she here? What day was it?

"Late for what?' you asked, still feeling the desire to fall back to sleep.

Rainbow stopped dead in her tracks and turned around, giving you a confused stare. Had you really said something that dumb?

"The Wonderbolt's Derby, duh!" she said, which only made you even more confused. As far as you knew, you still had several days until that was due to happen.

"Already? I thought that was in like a week!" you exclaimed, "How long was I asleep for?"

Rainbow continued staring at you, even more confused than before.

"One night. Are you losing it or something?" she asked, beginning to seem a little concerned. You placed a hoof up to your head, rubbing it slightly as if you had a migraine.

"I-I'm fine..." you reassured her, but you weren't really sure what was happening. How had a whole week just flashed by in the space of one night, while the nopony else even noticed.
It simply wasn't possible.

"Ok, well, I'd get ready quick or we won't make it in time!" she reminded you, before turning to the door once again and quickly flying out. You were glad about how excited she was for this.

As fast as you could, you got out of bed and entered the bathroom. Like usual, you got shower, but this time your mind was running rampant with thoughts.

You still had to find out how to control the... determination that you had. You didn't even know if you were going to be able too, unless you somehow grew a horn or something.

Then there was also the fact that you somehow skipped nearly an entire week of your life without anypony noticing. That was simply unexplainable.

Nevertheless, today was a day both you and Rainbow Dash had been looking forward too, and you weren't going to take that happy day away from her.

Quickly, you dried yourself off and made your way down the stairs. Twilight and Spike were both sat on the couches reading, whilst Rainbow Dash was hovering back and forth near the door, excitedly.

"Are you ready?" she asked immediately after seeing you reach the bottom of the stair.

"Morning Twilight, Spike." you said, rubbing your eyes instinctively. They both greeted you with a 'good morning' back.

"You two make sure to have fun, ok?" Twilight said, but it sounded more like a request than a demand.

"Oh, we will!" Rainbow replied, "Can we go now?"

She seemed really impatient, but then again, could you blame her? She had been waiting for this day since you gave her the tickets on her birthday.

"Yeah, let's go." you said with a sigh, trying to hide your laughter. You found it pretty funny that she was being this impatient, "See you, guys!"

"Bye!" both Twilight and Spike replied as you both exited the library.

The flight too Canterlot was gonna be a pretty long one. It surprised you that Rainbow was willing to fly this far, as usually she doesn't like to fly long distances, but then again it was the Wonderbolt's after all.

Much like you suspected, the flight was quite long. It had been almost ten minutes and Ponyville was barely out of view. Ten minutes wasn't that long usually, but it was quite a long time to stay in flight for.
At this point, it was safe to say that you understood why the Mane 6 always used the train.

At last, you finally arrived at the Capital of Equestria. Too your surprise, it looked even grander than it did it the cartoon. Every single little detail of every single building was more detailed; more refined.

"That took way too long." Rainbow Dash grunted, landing on the roof of a building. You weren't sure if it was even legal to sit on the roofs of buildings, but your wings were too tired out to care.

"So where do we go?" you asked. You could vaguely recall the location of the Derby, as you had seen it before in an episode, but where that location was...
There in lies the rub.

"Oh, right! You've never been here before, have you?" Rainbow said, reminding herself that you hadn't always been a pony. She wasn't sure how she had forgotten, because it had to be one of the most awesome things she had ever heard, even if it sounded outlandish.

You responded with a simple 'nope', which seemed to be the answer that she needed.

"Well fear not, Storm! I will show you the way!" Rainbow replied, which made you laugh a little.

Seeming to have recovered from the long flight over, she began to lift off of the house. She began flying in a direction, seeming to head towards the edge of Canterlot.

Thankfully, she wasn't flying too fast, as your wings still hadn't recovered. If there was ever a time for your determination magic to activate, now would've been nice.
How amazing it would have been for your magic to come alive and fully recover your wings in an instant, relieving any and all muscle ache you had.

Of course, at this point that was merely a dream, as you still had no idea what the magic could do. That and you also had no idea how to use it.

"Look down there!" Rainbow exclaimed, pointing a hoof down towards something. You had been following her at a slow pace for a few minutes, so it would make sense for you to have arrived.

Following the direction she was pointing in, you spotted a track made of clouds, hovering over a large drop. On one side of the track was a grand spectator seating area, where many ponies were already gathering.

This must've been it. It looked nearly identical to the one you recognised from the show.

"Well let's go down there!" you said, wanting to get a closer view of the track before the derby began.

You assumed that you could simply fly on in, considering it was literally hanging off a cliff's edge, but you were wondering what you needed the tickets for if that was the case.
It would've been pretty annoying if you didn't even need the tickets, especially after you had just spent all of your bits on-

"Stop right there!" a pretty bulky looking Pegasus in armour said, holding out a hoof as if attempting to force you to a halt. You weren't about to argue with a royal guard, and hopefully Rainbow wouldn't either, "You can't go down there without tickets."

"He's got the tickets! Show him, Storm." Rainbow said, seeming to get a little impatient once again. You couldn't really see why, especially considering there was still a good 15 minutes until the event started.
Funny how she had woken you up saying that you were going to be late, but even despite the long flight you had still ended up arriving early.

Obliging to Rainbow's request, you pulled out two tickets from your imaginary pockets.

Wait...

How long had you known how to do that for? You don't remember learning it. Who knows, maybe it was something you had just picked up over time.

Satisfied, the royal guard took the two tickets from your hoofs, and began to fly over to patrol the outskirts of the track once again.

"Have a good day." he said, before quickly flying off stop another group of Pegasi from entering the event illegally.

You weren't surprised that there were multiple ponies entering through the air. There was probably an alternate entrance for Earth Ponies and Unicorns, but most Pegasi were most likely going to want to fly.

"Now we can go down there." you said, giving Rainbow Dash a smile.

The two of you quickly flew down into the stands and awaited the start of the event. If this was a race between the fastes Wonderbolts, then you were looking forward to seeing who would win.

"So..." you said, striking up conversation, "Who do you think will win?"

"Huh?" Rainbow replied, seeming to snap out of a trance. She seemed to be engrossed in the surrounding landscape. You figured that was something you were going to be doing, but you couldn't really blame her.

"The race. Who do you think will win?" you asked again, hoping she would understand this time.

"Ohhhh! Well, I'd say my money's on Spitfire." she explained, no surprise there. She was the leader of the group after all, "What about you?"

Quite honestly, you had never seen the Wonderbolt's in person yet. You had only ever seen them in the show, so you couldn't really gauge their differences in flight speed.

"I've never met the Wonderbolt's, so I can't really say." you explained.

"Hey, that's ok! But trust me, Spitfire is the fastest out of-" she was cut out by the sound of a loud echo resonating throughout the nearby area.

The event was starting.

Speaking through a megaphone was the Alicorn who you had wanted to meet for such a long time. Princess Celestia.

"Fillies and gentlecolts! It is my honour to announce the annual Wonderbolt's Derby!" the princess announced, cheerfully. This was clearly a major event if the house were having one of the princesses announce it.

Speaking of which, where was the other princess, anyway. Princess Luna was nowhere in sight, but then again, she was the princess of the moon.

As soon as Celestia finished her opening, you could see a large crowd of Wonderbolt's gathering down at the raceway, preparing for the race. At the front you could see the three main members: Spitfire, Soarin and Fleetfoot.

Rainbow watched excitedly, as did you, as Princess Celestia began to speak into the microphone once again.

"Wonderbolts, are you ready?" she asked, bracing them for the beginning of the derby.

There was a moment of silence for a few seconds. The crowd stopped cheering, Celestia stopped talking, and everypony was staring down at the Wonderbolts in suspense.

In reply to Celestia's question, Spitfire nodded her head in her direction. Taking that as the heads up to begin, she once again began to talk into the megaphone. 

"Go!" she announced, and just like that, they were off.

Already shooting way ahead of the pack was Spitfire, Soarin and Fleetfoot, leaving the rest of the group in the dust. There even seemed to be some new trainees being left in a cloud of dust, way at the back of the pack.

Whilst most of the Pegasi seemed to be flying at a similar pace, the main three shot ahead, already half way through their first laps.

"How many laps are there?" you asked Rainbow, but she didn't seem to hear you. Either that, or she was too focused on the event to reply.

Almost seeming to answer your question, Celestia once again talked via the megaphone, as if commentating.

"And here we see Spitfire and Soarin completing their first lap of five, with Fleetfoot not far behind!" she announced, as the trio quickly sped on to their second lap.

Could she see your thoughts or something? She was the one of the Alicorn princesses after all, but why would she single out your thoughts?

"Woah! Storm, look!" Rainbow exclaimed, tapping you ferociously to get your attention. Well, that broke your train of thought.

Looking down, it looked like the three were getting into some form of formation; Spitfire and Soarin at the sides, whilst Fleetfoot hung back in the middle. It looked kinda like an inverted paper airplane.
Whether this manoeuvre was intended or not, you really couldn't tell, but it didn't seem to be doing all that much.

"What're they doing?" you asked, but were once again met with no response. Rainbow was practically flying above her seat in suspense. While this was exciting, it wasn't as immersive as you thought.

But how was that?

You were literally inside a TV show, experiencing the impossible. But for some reason, it felt normal. Thinking back to your old life, or what you could still remember of it, this world felt more real than Earth ever could.

Wait, it is called Earth, right?

Anyway, you were here for the Wonderbolts, so you should probably have been putting more of your focus onto the race. But now that you were on the topic of the Wonderbolts, that got you thinking.

Why hadn't Rainbow joined them?

As far as you could remember, by this point in time Rainbow at least had some connection to them, but right now she didn't even seem to know them all that well.
Maybe you should try asking her at some point.

And then there was also th-

"And now we have Spitfire leading into the final lap!" Celestia announced, bringing you back to reality. Had you really been that deep in your own thoughts that you had missed out on over half of the event?

As the three crossed the halfway point of the lap, still in their airplane formation, you could see the crowd growing wild with excitement.

"Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh..." Rainbow muttered to herself in suspense. By now, she was literally flying above her seat.

It seemed neck-and-neck between Spitfire and Soarin as they neared the final stretch. Surely one of them would win the race.

But at the last second, Fleetfoot broke formation and shot forward, utilising the other two's streamline energy to propell herself forward.

Just before time ran out, Fleetfoot overtook the other two and won won the race. That was something neither you or Rainbow Dash was expecting.

The entire crowd erupted into cheers.

"Fleetfoot won?" Rainbow asked, seeming a little surprised.

"Yeah! She did!" you confirmed, still a little surprised yourself.

Now that the event was over, you weren't too sure what you were supposed to be doing. You figured you should probably have been going back to Ponyville, and talking to Rainbow about the race, but something in your mind was telling you not to just leave.
Something deep within your consciousness was telling you to leave the racetrack the normal way, without flying. Stay in Canterlot a little longer, and something good will happen.

"So..." Rainbow said, "Now what do ya wanna do?"

You had just the idea.
> Chapter 40 - Trust
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something in your mind was telling you stay in Canterlot. You had no idea why, or what it was that was telling you to do so, but it felt incredibly compelling.
So compelling that you actually decided to go along with it.

After all, it was only a voice in your head, so in the end it was merely your own thoughts. You could call it an instinct, if you will.

In response to Rainbow's question, you reply asking her whether she wants to stay in Canterlot for a little longer.

"Sure! I haven't got much else to be doing." she replied, enthusiastically.

Now having a little longer to spend to together, you began to leave the large area where the Derby took place. The majority of ponies that had been spectating had already left, leaving the main exits relatively clear.

"So do you know anywhere to go?" you asked, still not knowing your way around Canterlot.

"I think I've got somewhere in mind." Rainbow answered, thinking of every possible location in Canterlot. Now that you thought about it, couldn't this be classed as... a date?

Probably not. I mean, if it was, she probably wouldn't have even agreed to it.

Following Rainbow through the crowded streets of the capital, you were beginning to wonder where she was taking you. But before long, the destination came into view.
It was none other than Pony Joe's Donut Shop.

"Well, here it is!" Rainbow exclaimed, instinctively flying forwards towards the entrance.

"I've heard of this place!" you said happily, as you neared the entrance. You could recall its few appearances in the show, and it looked almost exactly like it.
More so, you could remember the fantastic dessert that Pony Joe had created for the National Dessert Competition. If things like that were being made on the daily, then you were in for a treat.

"Then you already know why it's the best donut shop in all of Equestria!" she added, before entering the shop. Hurriedly, you followed her and was immediately greeted by the best scent you had ever smelt.

It was the scent of freshly baked donuts, and you had ever smelt anything like it before.
Unfortunately, the place was quite busy, but you couldn't really be surprised. While it did mean you would have to wait longer for your food, at least it meant that business was booming.

"You go sit down and I'll go get something!" Rainbow said, about to begin walking over to the counter. You were quick to stop her.

"Shouldn't I be paying since it was my idea?" you asked, feeling a little guilty.

"Nah. It was my idea to come here," she replied, which made you feel a little better, "Besides, I'm faster than you anyway!"

Rainbow stuck her tongue out at you in a teasing fashion before quickly disappearing towards the counter.

"I wouldn't be so sure." you added, but she didn't seem to hear you. If the queue was as long as you envisioned, she wasn't going to survive very long.

Nevertheless, you began exploring the building for a place to sit down, and sure enough you eventually found one. The place was a lot bigger than it looked in the show.
You had managed to find a booth near the window that was somehow vacant and hadn't been taken yet. This was surprising, as there were already many ponies sat at the counter and waiting at ordinary tables.

You took a seat, beginning to reflect on the past day as you stared out the window. Somehow, the sun was already beginning to set, coating Canterlot in a beautiful orange haze.

How is this possible? you asked yourself, I'm in this incredible world, surrounded by the most amazing ponies. Just how is this possible?

"I believe I could help you with that question." a voice said from behind you. You didn't dare turn around. That voice sent a shiver straight down your spine. Not only could this pony read your thoughts, it was also the voice of Princess Celestia herself.
Was Celestia even able to read thoughts? Whether she could or not, she clearly could now.

You slowly turned around, unsure of how to greet one of the twin princesses.

"You must be Storm, right?" she asked. You found yourself wondering how she knew who you were, but then again you were living with Twilight.

"Um... Yeah... I'm..." you replied, still unsure of what to say.

"Don't worry about formalities. We'll meet properly soon enough." Celestia explained, which relieved you slightly, "Twilight has told me all about you."

"She has?" you said, sounding surprised. In reality, you weren't all that shocked by this. She did tend to report most things that happened to her to the princess anyway.

"Indeed she has. And I would say there's a lot more to you that meets the eye." she said, crypticly. That worried you a little. 

Had Twilight been telling ponies about your past?

"Don't worry. Nopony else knows." Celestia reassured you.

"I'm guessing you want me to explain." you said, despite not remembering all that much of your past life. It seemed like every day your memories of your past became foggier and foggier.

"Not here. There will be time for that, don't worry." she explained. Oh, you weren't worrying. In fact, you were glad you didn't have to explain. You had already done it twice now, "In fact, I was only coming by to introduce myself. I can see you're well acquainted with Rainbow Dash."

Both you and Celestia looked over in her direction, to see that she was impatiently hovering above the ground with her hoofs crossed.

"Y-yeah..." you stuttered, still nervous in the princess's presence.

"Well..." Celestia began, "I can tell she makes you happy. And I can tell you do the same to her."

Your ears suddenly perked up, and your nervousness vanished in an instant.

"How so?" you asked, eager to learn more but also not wanting to sound desperate. Especially in the presence of Princess Celestia.

"From the things Twilight has told me in her letters, you seem to mean something to Rainbow Dash. That's not a privilege many ponyies get. Don't waste it." Celestia explained with a sincere smile on her face.

You didn't respond, and instead stared over at Rainbow Dash, who seemed to be getting more and more irritated by the long wait.

"Anyway, I should probably be getting back to my royal duties," Celestia said, preparing to leave, "It was a pleasure to finally meet you, Storm!"

"It was an honour to meet you, princess." you replied, attempting to sound as respectful as possible.

Celestia gave you a farewell nod, before leaving through the front doors. You were surprised she didn't just teleport, but as the princess she likely had to get around in a 'royal' fashion.

"Ugh!" you heard coming from the direction of the queue. Much like you suspected, Rainbow was reaching the point of frustration.

To save herself from public embarrassment, she left the queue, frustrated.

"Getting bored?" you asked in a teasing manner.

"Yeah! This stupid queue won't move!" Rainbow exclaimed, taking a seat opposite from you. Instinctively, she glanced out of the window, enamoured by the beautiful sunset.

"I can go if you want." you suggested, not minding about having to pay.

"Nah," she replied, still staring out of the window. She had a sparkle in her eye, like something was on her mind, "Wanna go somewhere else?"

That kinda surprised you. She seemed pretty enthusiastic about visiting this place in particular, and you were really looking forward to getting a taste of Pony Joe's renowned donuts.
But to be honest, you didn't mind going somewhere else.

"Are... you ok?" you asked, curiously. She was still staring out of the window, seeming like she was somewhat lost in her thoughts. She almost looked worried about something.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I'm fine!" she replied, finally breaking her gaze with the orange sunset, "So are we gonna go somewhere else or what?"

"Sure, let's go." you answered, seeming to cheer her up slightly. She was acting positive once again, but something still told you that something was weighing on her.
And that something must've been pretty big if it was managing to have an effect on Rainbow Dash.

The two of you left the shop, and immediately took flight. You were beginning to think that this place wasn't in Canterlot.

Despite wanting to stay in the Capital, Rainbow clearly had a place in mind that she wanted to visit. And I feel she wanted to go there, then you would too.

After flying for about 10 minutes, Canterlot was beginning to look like a spec in the distance.

"Hey, Rainbow?" you began, attempting to make your voice audible over the wind, "Where exactly are we going?"

"You'll see!" she replied, happily. She all of a sudden seemed a lot more cheerful than she had been a few moments prior. Who knows, maybe the sunset was simply having an effect on her?

Another 5 minutes passed, and you could see Ponyville not far off in the horizon. This wasn't really what you had in mind, but you were willing to see where it went.

Too your surprise, both you and Rainbow flew straight past Ponyville and continued in the direction of a large field. Perhaps you were going somewhere you hadn't seen before.

But then you saw Rainbow's Cloudomonium hovering above the field. The sun had set now, so it was slightly hard to see it with none of the lights on, but it was definitely her house.

What was near her house that she could posssible want to visit?

"Down there!" she exclaimed, swooping down at a high speed. She landed surprisingly softly on a large hill, not that far from her floating cloud house.

You had been here before, and you could recall exactly what for. This was the same hill where you had told Rainbow the truth about your past.

"This is..." you began, but Rainbow was quick to interrupt.

"You remember this place too, huh?" she said, her voice seeming a little sadder than it had done previously.

"Yeah. It's the place where I told you the truth about me," you replied, "How come we've came here?"

Rainbow sat down on the grass, staring off into the distance at nothing in particular. You were surprised she wasn't staring at her own house, taking in all of its awesomeness.

"Because..." she began, letting out a deep sigh, "This place is special to me. This one measly hill."

You weren't quite sure how to respond.

"This hill is special to you?" you repeated, just to make sure you were hearing her correctly. She didn't seem like the type of pony to have a place that meant something to her.

"Yeah, I know. Cheesy, right?" she replied, pretending to sound insulted. Throughout this entire conversation, you hadn't made eye contact once. She still simply stared off into the horizon.

"No, it's not, but... why?" you asked, trying to be careful with what you said. She was clearly upset because of something.

"Because it was where you opened up to me. You told me something that nopony else could ever find out," she explained, "Nopony has ever trusted me with a secret like that before."

You wanted to talk, but you also wanted to see where this was going.

"Sure, I've been trusted with big responsibilities. I mean, I'm awesome! Why wouldn't I? But somepony trusting me with a secret like that, especially somepony as special as you... that really meant a lot." Rainbow explained, briefly making eye contact out of the corner of her eyes.

"There's something bothering you, isn't there?" you asked, as softly as you could. It sounded like she was attempting to explain a happy memory, but another memory was preventing that happiness from showing.

All you got in response was a simple nod of her head as she continued staring off into the distance. You could feel that something was off with her. You could sense it, almost like instinct.
All the courage she usually had was gone.

"Anything that is ever on your mind, you can talk to me about. If it's something that you think might hurt your reputation," as soon as that left your mouth, her ears drooped a little lower. That was one mess up down, who knows how many more to go.
"I will always be here, ok?" you said, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind.

After another brief moment of silence, Rainbow made a move that surprised you. She shuffled closer to you, and lay her head down on your side. Her multicoloured mane felt warm compared to the cold night.

Instinctivel, you felt yourself turn to stone. You liked being this close to her, but at the same time it naturally terrified you.

"Storm... I think I'm jealous." she admitted, staring into the sky despite her head leaning against you. Jealous? What did Rainbow Dash have to be jealous of?

"Of what?" you asked with a soft voice. At this moment, you wanted to be as comforting as possible.

"Of you and... Twilight." she muttered, barely whispering the final word. It was almost inaudible, to the point where you weren't even sure what she said.

"Um... Of what?" you asked again.

Suddenly, Rainbow shot up and stared you straight in the eye, her own eyes filled with worry and... fear.

"I'm jealous of you and Twilight, ok!" she exclaimed. You wanted to ask why, but she was already one step ahead, "I mean, you literally live with her! She knew about your secret before me! No matter how awesome I am, I can't compete against that!"

Once again you were at a loss for words.

"But... What is there to be jealous of?" you asked, still not sure what she was getting at.

"Don't tell me there's nothing going on between you two! Again, you live with her! Why wouldn't there be!" she exclaimed. It also seemed like she was beginning to get frustrated, but the prevailing emotion was fear.
Rainbow Dash was scared.

"Rainbow, you know I've spent more time with you than anypony else since I got here, right?" you reminded her. You could almost see her heart racing, even though it was impossible, "If I liked Twilight like that, wouldn't I have chosen to spend that time with her?"

There was another moment of silence, followed by Rainbow forcefully nuzzling against your side. Despite this, there wasn't a word said by either of you.

The two of you simply sat and watched the stars, with Rainbow leaning against you.

"I guess there's never gonna be a better time for it, huh?" Rainbow said interrupting the silence. You weren't sure what she meant, but a break in the silence was welcome.

"What do you-" you began to ask, but Rainbow cut you off with her own question.

A question that you had always wanted to hear, but never thought possible.

"Storm... Will you be my coltfriend?" she asked, still gazing at the stars. You couldn't respond, as you were a little in shock, "Nevermind, it was a stupid question."

She began shifting, as if about to get up to fly away.

"Yes." you said. Rainbow stopped and turned to look you straight in the eye.

"What?" she asked, as if surprised. You weren't really sure why she was, though.

"Yes. I will be your coltfriend." you repeated with a warm smile.

In an instant, Rainbow wrapped her forelegs around you and pulled you into the tightest hug you had ever experienced. It was nice.

"Thank you." she said, softly. I feel it wasn't for the fact that her head was right next to yours, you wouldn't have even heard her.
You had to admit, for someone as confident as Rainbow Dash, she had an incredibly sensitive side. And that wasn't a bad thing.

After what felt like hours, the two of you finally let go.

"So... What now?" you asked, suddenly taking note of the time.

"Well... You could come stay up at my place for the night?" she suggested. It seemed like she hadn't regained her full confidence just yet, even after that. Hopefully, she would be back to her normal self.

"You mean it?" you asked, unsure of whether she was being serious.

"Yeah, duh! Come on!" she demanded. Despite not having all of her confidence, she was at least making an effort. In the end, that was what was most important.

Either way, you weren't complaining. You couldn't remember a time where you had been happier. And now, you were about to experience what could potentially be...

The best night ever.
> (MATURE) Chapter 41 - Best Night Ever
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as you entered the familiar location that was Rainbow's house, you let out an audible yawn. After the long flight to Canterlot and back, you were about ready to pass out.

The cloud house was cloaked in the darkness of night, yet the multicoloured carpets and portraits still managed to brighten it up.
Back on Earth, a house that had entirely white walls, ceilings and floors would usually be considered pretty bland and boring, but in this world, it just gave off positive vibes.

Tank was already fast asleep in the corner, further strengthening your desire to go to sleep yourself. Speaking of which, where do you sleep?

"Um... Rainbow?" you asked, trying not to be too loud in order to not wake up Tank from his slumber.

"Yeah?" she replied, already heading towards the staircase. She must've been feeling a natural impulse to head to bed too, which was understandable.

"Where do I sleep?" you asked, thinking it to be a genuine question. Rainbow stared at you, before a slight smirk formed on her face. It almost looked like she was fighting off laughter.

"You know the only reason I'm not laughing at you right now is because Tank is asleep, right?" she mocked, still smirking at you.

Honestly, you weren't sure what was so funny.

"Did I do something?" you asked, feeling a little self conscious. It would've been really bad if you had messed up already. The two of you had only been dating for, what? 15 minutes?

"You sleep with me, duh!" Rainbow exclaimed, gesturing up the stairs with a nod. Immediately, you felt your heart beginning to race, "C'mon!"

No questions asked, you followed her up the stairs and into her room. You hadn't really seen her room in person before, and it looked just as awesome as it did in the show.

"Ok, I like this room." you said, looking around at all the vibrant colours.

"Pretty awesome, right?" Rainbow replied, grabbing the multicoloured bed sheet with her mouth and pulling it back in order to get into bed.
You had never thought of using your mouth to move the bed sheet. Normally, you just used your hoofs, and that came with difficulty despite its strange 'magnetic' ability.

Rainbow flew above her bed before dropping into it, and honestly it looked like she had practiced her landing many times before.

"I'm actually able to sleep next to you?" you asked, still in a state of disbelief. Living in what was once merely a fictional world was one thing, but this was on another level.

"Yeah! Did you not do this on Earth or something?" Rainbow asked, starting to get a little worried that she was approaching this the wrong way, "Sorry, I'm kinda new to this. Relationships and alternate universes."

"No, no, we did do this. It's just that once... You weren't even real, but now..." you said, feeling yourself about to begin zoning out again.
Thankfully, Rainbow stepped in before you could get too lost in thought.

"I guess it must be weird. But I promise you, Storm... This is real," Rainbow reassured you. Hearing it come from her was enough to convince you, "Now come and get into bed! It's really late!" 

Not wasting anymore time, you leapt into bed and pulled the covers over you. Rainbow did the same, and reached over to turn off the light.
The room was now almost pitch black, with only the moonlight shining in through the cloud house's open windows.

While the two of you were in the same bed, you weren't exactly lying close to each other. You both lay on opposite ends of the bed, facing outwards.
It didn't bother you all that much. Simply being this close to her made you happier than ever.

"Goodnight, Rainbow." you whispered, closing your eyes.

"Night, Storm." Rainbow replied, causing a smile to grow onto your face.

Ten minutes passed, but sleep never came. You weren't sure why, as a few moments ago sleep had seemed like that most welcoming thing in existence.

Suddenly, the silence of the room was broken by Rainbow shuffling around slowly. Whether she was asleep or not, she was almost moving in a way that made it seem like it was intentional. Almost as if she didn't want you to hear it.

You didn't move, and instead lay still, staring at the wall in front of you. Rainbow still continued moving, and at this point it felt as if she was moving towards you.

Without warning, a hoof wrapped around you and pulled you tightly, followed by something warm nuzzling up against you. Her multicoloured mane brushed up against you, and it was very comforting.
Almost comforting enough to keep you awake.

Things stayed like this for a while, and you were almost hoping that she was simply doing this in her sleep. Remaining as still as you could, you tried feigning sleep.

After 30 or so seconds passed, she began to move again, now pushing he nuzzle up against your own. You had to admit, it felt nice. She was so close to you now that you could almost smell her, as strange as that seemed.
She had this strangely familiar scent of... colours and spices. How colours had a smell, you weren't sure, but it seemed so familiar to you.

You moved your head a little more so that you were looking directly into her eyes. Or, you would have been if her eyes were open. You were beginning to think that she was genuinely asleep, but something was off.
She was smiling.

Before you could even process the fact that she was awake, she shuffled forward even more, pushing her lips against yours. Your eyes widened in shock.
You weren't expecting this to happen so quickly.

You almost wanted to say something, but you could feel yourself melting into the kiss. Your own eyes closed as you began to reciprocate.

Instinctively, Rainbow continued to shuffle in your direction, despite already being as close as she possibly could. It was now at the point where she was moving on top of you

"Are you... ok with this?" Rainbow asked, breaking the kiss, and now practically sat on top of you.

"Why wouldn't I be?" you asked.

"Just checking..." she replied, rubbing the back of her head nervously. Naturally, that nervousness faded as she moved down to kiss you again.

Your own hoofs wrapped around her, stroking her multicoloured mane as the two of you kissed.

This continued for another few minutes, and you could honestly say that it was the best few minutes you had ever experienced.
But then something else happened.

You felt your... thing touch her, and quite honestly you didn't even know that it still existed. The question had never occurred to you about how ponies repoduce. Even now, you were still wondering why it was invisible. You weren't exactly complaining though, as it would've been incredibly uncomfortable If it was visible.

Upon contact, Rainbow broke the kiss once again, and gave you the most suggestive smirk you had ever seen. Despite her obvious eagerness, you felt yourself questioning the morality of the situation.

"Rainbow... Are you sure about this?" you asked, worriedly. If this was anything like Earth, then this could go wrong in many, many ways.

"Oh, I'm sure..." she replied, smirking. She seemed incredibly into this, and despite your worries, you kinda liked that.

"Ok..." you said, repeating the situation one more time in your head, "Let's do it."

Rainbow squinted her eyes mischievously before slowly lowering herself downwards. Instantly, she let out a pained moan, that almost seemed uncomfortable.

You felt yourself want to stop, but she was quick to change your mind.

"N-no! Don't stop..." she whispered, closing her eyes as if she was in a lot of pain. But then again, she wouldn't be telling you to carry on if it hurt that much, right?

Following her instructions, you began moving back and forth into her. Her head lowered down, pushing her jaw into you as if trying to suppress herself.

"Mmm... f-fuck..." she moaned quietly, keeping her eyes shut as her head lay on your chest. Already, you could feel yourself reaching your limit. This strangely felt a lot different than on Earth, and clearly you weren't used to it.

Just as you were about to finish, a wave of thoughts overcame you in an instant, making you reconsider.

This wasn't right. It hadn't even been a day, and you were already doing this. You had agreed to it, and sure you both seemed to enjoy it, but in the end...
Was it too soon?

At the last minute, you stopped.

"Huh?" Rainbow said, her eyes shooting open, "Why'd you stop?"

She seemed a little irritated by your sudden change of heart, but then again, wouldn't anypony?

"Don't you think it's too soon?" you asked, seeming to spark some thought within her. At first, you didn't get a response from her. She simply stared at the floor out of the corner of her eye, thinking.

"Sorry." she said quietly, in an almost defeated manner.

"Hey, it's ok. You enjoyed it, right?" you asked, attempting to cheer her up.

"Well yeah, but... Did you?" Rainbow asked, a look of worry on her face. Did she even need to ask? That was something that was, once upon a time, simply impossible. Yet here you were experiencing it.

"Yeah, it was amazing! But I just don't understand how-" you were about to ask a question, but Rainbow seemingly knew what you were going to say.

"Yeah, yeah! I'll get Twilight to give you a lesson in that." she joked, seeming to be a little happier after you admitted to your own enjoyment. She moved off of you, and rolled back into bed, this time facing you.

"Please don't." you replied, dreading the thought of it. You rolled over so that you were facing her, still close enough that you could feel her body giving off heat.

"I'm only messing with you." she said with a smirk, before letting out a loud yawn, "Wanna go to sleep now? For real this time?"

At this point, you were even more tired than you had been previously, thanks to your... actions.

"Sure, I'm really tired." you replied, letting out your own yawn, "Night, Rainbow." 

"Night, Storm." she replied, giving you the most sincere smile you had ever seen from her. Before you could fall sleep, you could feel her snuggle up to you, followed by a wave of happiness washing over you.

As you felt your self on the brink of sleep, held in the embrace of Rainbow Dash, you couldn't help but feel excited for the future.

After all, nopony knows what it has in store.
> Chapter 42 - Dawn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following morning came quickly. It seemed like night went quickly when all the dreams you could have had already came true.

Rainbow wasn't awake just yet, but you weren't really expecting anything else. Sitting up in bed, you rubbed your eyes, attempting to adjust to the blinding brightness of the white walls.
This was a far cry from the usual yellow-brown colours of the Golden Oak Library.

Eventually, your eyes stopped burning, and you stretched out your wings and hoofs with a yawn. That was by far the best nights sleep you had ever had. It was a shame you couldn't experience it more often, since you were still living down in the library.

Now that you thought about it, what was stopping you from just moving out? It might upset Twilight and Spike a little bit, but surely they would understand.

Nevertheless, that was something to be thinking about after you got ready for the day.

Not knowing the way around the upper floors of Rainbow's house, and not having her awake to guide you, you simply roamed the cloudy corridors looking for the bathroom. After a while of searching, you eventually found it and attempted to turn on her shower.

Ah. There was a slight problem.

Her shower was a rain cloud. As amazing as it was, you remembered the night that Twilight tried explaining your new magic abilities to you, and when she explained that you wouldn't be able to manipulate rain clouds. Because of that, there was no possible way to turn on Rainbow Dash's shower.

You had died and somewhat sustained your memories of your previous life, gained a new form of magic relatively unknown to ponies, and caused a Sonic Surge, yet turning on a shower was what defeated you.

"Do you know how to use that?" you heard from behind you. Sure enough, Rainbow Dash was stood in the doorway of the bathroom, groggily rubbing her eyes.

"N- Yeah! Of course I do!" you lied, not wanting to look stupid. Every Pegasi knew how to cause rain. Every Pegasi except for you.

"It sure seems that way," Rainbow mocked, crossing her hoofs in an amused manner. She slowly flew over to the shower, and gave the grey cloud a light tap, seeming to be enough to cause rain, "There!"

You looked at the rain cloud, and then back to her, feeling a little disappointed in yourself. You weren't sure why though, as it wasn't like you had done anything wrong. It wasn't your fault you physically couldn't interact with water vapour.

"You're not... dissapointed because I don't know how to create rain, right?" you asked, trying to keep in mind that she didn't yet know about your 'determination'. You wanted to tell her, but there wasn't much you could tell her. You knew just as much about your magic as anypony else did.

"Of course not! You can't really help it, right?" she replied, giving you a reassuring smile, "Tell me when you're done, I kinda need to use it too."

"You could just use it now." you said. Your eyes widened as you realised what you had just said.

Rainbow stopped in her tracks, and turned around slowly. To your surprise, she wasn't mad at you. Why would she have been, especially after last night.

"I was hoping you'd say that." she replied, giving you a smirk before walking back up to the shower. Despite being awake well before her, she still ended up getting into the shower before you, "C'mon!"

She gave you a playful tap on the side, giving you the final push to step under the rain cloud. Surprisingly, the water falling from it was warm.

After a somewhat long shower, you decided you were going to emerge first. You never did tend to take long, but you had spent a lot longer than normal in the shower thanks to the company you had.

Quickly drying off, you were once again ready for the day ahead.

Not long after, Rainbow emerged from the shower and dried off, seemingly not minding using the same towel as you. You had to admit, she looked even better than normal with a wet mane.

"So any plans for today?" she asked, leaving the bathroom and beginning to head down the stairs. You followed her, still feeling a little strange having a somewhat free reign of Rainbow's house.

"Actually, yeah!" you said, patting Tank on the head. Thankfully, he didn't seem to mind, and he even seemed to like it, "I was gonna ask Twilight if-"

Halfway through your sentence, a wash of sadness overcame her, yet she seemed to try and hide it. It seemed that some of her previous jealousy still remained.

"-I could move in with you," you finished, causing her ears to perk up. Unfortunately, she didn't give a response straight away, and you felt yourself becoming self conscious of the situation, "If you want me too, I mean."

"That would be..." Rainbow said, still seeming to show little reaction, "Awesome!"

That was a relief, you had to admit.

"So you're ok with it?" you asked, double checking. You had a feeling that wasn't going to be the only time you asked that today.

"Heck yeah! Let's hurry and go ask!" she exclaimed, hurriedly grabbing a carrot and mowing it down. That was probably gonna cause some stomach pain a little down the line.

"I haven't even started to eat yet!" you replied, lifting a carrot up off of the table.

"Just do what I did!" she exclaimed, already heading out the door at light speed.

You took a single bite of the carrot, shrugged, and through it over your shoulder. Already, you could hear Tank feasting on its remains. If you weren't outside right now, she was most likely going to be at the library whole minutes before you.

"Hey, wait up!" you called, seeing that she was already flying off into the distance.

"What? I thought you were faster than me!" she joked, turning around to wait for you. You were thankful that she actually stopped, as if it had been anypony else, she probably wouldn't have.

"Funny." you said, catching up to her. She gave you a smile, before the two of you shot off towards Ponyville. Thankfully, due to the close proximity of Rainbow's house to Ponyville, you were there in minutes.

It felt as if it had been an incredibly long time since you had last been here. In the space of time between when you had last seen the small town, you had been to a Wonderbolt's event, met Princess Celestia, and got into a relationship with the most amazing pony you had ever seen. But despite all that, this town and the ponies that lived within it were what made you fall in love with this world to begin with, and for that, Ponyville would always hold a special place in your heart, no matter how many lives you were forced to live.

Before long, you had arrived at the Golden Oak Library. It was strange for Rainbow Dash to enter through the front door, as usually she just crashed onto the balcony.
Despite living there, you still felt it necessary to knock due to your dissapearance last night.

"You know she's gonna ask you where you were, right?" Rainbow reminded you, idly hovering besides you.

Before you could even process a response, the door opened.

"Storm? Where were you?" Twilight asked, not seeming angry or upset, but more so just concerned. Behind her, you could see Spike attempting to get a view of you from the couch.

"I was with-" you began to explain, but Rainbow quickly took it into her own hoofs to do the explaining for you. You weren't sure whether this was a good or a bad thing.

"He was with me, so don't get mad at him, ok?" she explained, taking on a somewhat stern tone. Her forelegs were crossed, and you could almost see some of that past jealousy shining through.

"I wasn't going to get mad at him, I just needed to make sure he was ok." Twilight replied, trying her best to deescalate the situation before Rainbow could take it any further.
Usually, you wouldn't expect an argument over something so minor, especially between two good friends. But jealousy is a destructive tool, even when there is only a tiny piece of it present.

"What was the occassion?" Spile asked, finally deciding to walk over to the door.

"Huh?" you asked, not quite understanding what he meant.

"Rainbow said you stayed with her," he said, sensing that something was off, "What was the occasion?"

Looks like you weren't going to have to reveal it after all. Instead, you were going to be forced too. Either that, or Rainbow was going to do it for you.

"Well, uh..." you said, attempting to find the right words for the situation.

"We're kinda dating." Rainbow announced, happily. Usually, you would expect her to be a little more secretive about this kinda thing.

"That's great, you guys!" Twilight exclaimed, not seeming in any way jealous. Hopefully that would put Rainbow's own jealousy to rest for good.

"Rainbow, I thought you once said you were 'too awesome' for a relationship." Spike mocked, yet still trying to maintain a more serious attitude.

"Yeah, well..." she began, yet pausing upon seeing you staring at her, "I changed my mind. Relationships are ok if the other pony is just as awesome!"

"Just ok?" you asked, somewhat jokingly.

"Ok, they can be pretty awesome." she replied, correcting herself.

As those words left her mouth, you couldn't help but think about last night. You weren't sure as to whether you regretted it or not. It was great and all, but that wasn't all you wanted your relationship to be, especially this early on.
It was safe to say, you wished you had waited longer. But right now, it wasn't time to dwell on that. There was a more important question at hand.

"Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you something, Twilight." you said, turning your attention back towards the unicorn and the baby dragon.

"Sure!" she replied, enthusiastically.

"I wanted to know if it would be ok for me to move in with Rainbow." you asked, trying to hide your nervousness. You weren't sure what her reaction would be, or Spike's for that matter.

There was a brief moment of silence between the four of you. Or at least, it felt like there was. In reality, the timespan between responses was probably no longer than normal.

"Oh, that's fine!" Twilight answered, not seeming to be all that bothered, "I kinda figured you'd eventually need to move out anyway."

That was partially reassuring to hear. It meant that she wasn't mad or upset with you, but also hit you with the reality that this was happening. You had never really lived anywhere else in Equestria yet. Sure, you had slept in somepony else's house before, but never permanently stayed there.

"So... You don't mind?" you asked, instinctively double checking.

"Not at all." she reassured you with a friendly smile.

"Yes!" Rainbow exclaimed, excitedly. Instantly, she shot into the sky, as if doing a victory lap throughout the air.

You gave Rainbow a smile, but she was too busy flying around with happiness to notice. Nevertheless, seeing her this happy made you happy, and for that you were happy.

"Storm?" Spike said, in a much more sincere voice than normal, "Can't you stay just a little longer?"

As much as you wanted to move in with Rainbow right away, you would've been grateful if you had a few days to prepare, even it meant making her wait a little bit longer.

"Spike, you can't just make him-" Twilight whispered, seemingly a little irritated by Spike's request.

"Ok, I will." you replied, seeming to surprise both of them. While Twilight seemed a little shocked, a smile was already forming on Spike's face.

"Huh?" Rainbow said, quickly flying down besides you, "I thought you were moving in, like, right now!"

"I know, but I just want a day or two to get ready, y'know?" you explained, attempting to quell her disappointment. Thankfully, it seemed like she understood.

"Oh, yeah! It can be a bit overwhelming to live with somepony as awesome as me! Just ask Tank!" she replied, still maintaining her somewhat cocky enthusiasm.

"Hey, Rainbow, remember when Tank saved your life?" Twilight joked.

"Yeah, yeah, I get the point!" she replied, sounding a little offended, "Anyway, I should probably head back. I've got weather pony duty."

That reminded you, it was still pretty early. So early, in fact, that you still had about half an hour until you had to be at Sweet Apple Acres for your own shift.

"Yeah, I've gotta go to work, too." you said, not really feeling like working today, but knowing that you had too nontheless, "And then I've got to start packing my stuff. And then maybe go buy a cake. And then-"

"Yeah, we get it." all three of them said, smirking. You blushed with embarrassments, realising that you had just been reciting your routine out loud.

"See ya, guys!" Rainbow said, before flying off into the distance to presumably cause torrential rain somewhere.

The three of you responded with your own goodbyes, and then decided that it would probably save you a lot of the day if you started packing now. You did still have half an hour, after all.

There was lot to be done today. Let's see how fast you can do it.
> Chapter 43 - Lucid Dreams
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why..." you sighed, exhausted from the work you had done today at Sweet Apple Acres, "Why is there so much to pack!"

You stood in the middle of your room, staring at one side of the room where at least a dozen different objects were located. During the amount of time you had lived here, you had no idea that you even owned this much stuff.

To start, there was a desk that you rarely used. You probably didn't need to bring furniture with you, but what was on the desk was a different story. 
At least three different Daring Do books were piled up neatly on one side of the desk, as well as a fourth one laying open in the middle. You rarely used the desk, but the last time you did you clearly forgot to put your book away afterwards. Looming over the open book was a small desk light, and you were unsure about whether you would need that.

By Earth's standards, this wasn't a lot, but in Equestria? Cardboard boxes were a lot less common than you would think, and even then, there was still the issue of having to get said boxes up to Rainbow's house.
Which, in case you forgot, was floating.

"Do you need any help?" Twilight asked, cheerfully poking her head into your room through your open door.

"Probably..." you said, slowly looking around your room with an increasing feeling of dread in your stomach. The amount of packing you were going to have to do was beginning to play on your mind.
Or at least, that was what you thought was causing the sense of dread that was lingering over you.

At least Twilight seemed pretty happy about packing stuff away, so that made you feel a little better.

"Why do I even have this stuff?" you asked yourself, deciding to take a look under your bed. There was a few bags of bits, which was to be expected, as well as an empty shoe box. Pony's did not wear shoes, so how that got there was beyond your comprehension.

"This might speed things up a little." Twilight said, her horn suddenly starting to glow purple. You watched as almost everything in the room was swept up in a torrent of purple smoke and placed into the one box that wasn't full. Even then, there was still quite a lot of things remaining under your bed.
It was like a portal to another world. A world where everything was made of junk and bits

"Yeah, I think it did." you said, watching as Twilight finished up closing the box, "Hey, why doesn't Spike come up and help?"

"That's not a bad idea. Spike!" Twilight called. You weren't sure what Spike would do to help, but his company would have been welcome nonetheless.

As Twilight continued to call for the baby dragon, you could feel yourself becoming increasingly dreary. It was like every day you had ever worked at Sweet Apple Acres had suddenly been thrown onto you in an instant.

"Twilight, I don't feel so good..." you said, very much aware of your increasing fatigue, "Maybe we could finish packing tomorrow?"

Twilight instantly stopped calling for Spike, who seemed like he hadn't heard her anyway. Chances are, he was already asleep.

"Sure! Are you feeling ok?" she asked.

You didn't feel bad, so to speak. It was just a tiredness like you had never felt before. The only thing that really did make it feel bad, was that you didn't understand why you were feeling it.

"Y-yeah, just tired..." you answered, the need for sleep still on the rise. You instinctively began to make your way towards the bed, which thankfully didn't need to be packed.

"Ok, well... Get some rest, ok?" Twilight instructed, maintaining her usual positivity, "We'll carry on packing in the morning."

Twilight seemed to be staying optimistic about your sudden fatigue, but in reality she was a little worried by it. She had never seen somepony go from perfectly fine to almost asleep in under a second.

"Ok. Night, Twilight." you replied, slowly getting into your bed.

Twilight switched off the light with her magic, and slowly closed the door. Now, the only thing illuminating your room was the faint yellow light of the corridor. Even the moon seemed darker than normal, as if it's usual keeper was busy with something else.

You closed your eyes, your sleepiness still escalating due to unknown reasons, and instantly you were asleep. It was almost scary how fast it happened.

And then you opened your eyes again, only to be greeted to something that was oh so familiar. The recurring dream from when you had first arrived in Equestria was back, and it was just as vivid as you remembered.

Your old apartment room was still just as you left it, only this time you weren't in your human form. You couldn't even remember it. That part of you was long gone; now only faint recollections of past experiences remained.

Sitting up in your bed, you attempted to stretch out your wings, but to no avail. You were well aware that this was only a dream, but this felt real.
It almost felt like you truly had entered another world.

Looking out your window, the sky was still blood red, just like last time. The clouds were dark, and the streets of Manhatten were abandoned. Nothing living was here, except for you.

Or that was what you thought.

That constant unintelligible voice that always seemed to be present in this dream was still humming away in the back of your mind, but something else was here. Another being was lurking in the dream with you, and its presence felt malicious, to say the least.

Confirming your suspicion that you weren't alone, the relative silence was interrupted by a clawing at your window. Whatever it was that was out there, it wanted to get in.
You wanted to get away from it, play it safe, but you also felt the desire to stay and watch. Your instincts were telling you to stay back, but your curiosity told you otherwise.

Soon enough, the cause of the clawing made an entrance. Clinging onto the outside of your window was the most horrific entity you had ever seen.

It was all black, almost as if staring into a void, and had four long, spindly legs which connected to its spherical body. It almost resembled a spider, but with far less legs. The only facial feature it had was one huge red eye dead centre in the middle of it's body.
The most surprising thing about it was that, despite clearly not being a pony, it had it's own cutie mark. On the side of it's pitch black body was an orange ball, with a yellow disk in the centre. It almost looked like the yellow colouring of its cutie mark was being locked away by the orange.

The creatures glowing red eye pierced you, but still you didn't feel the need to run. It was now beginning to claw at your window even more aggressive, and you could now see scratch marks forming on the glass.

You could feel yourself beginning to become a little scared, but then you felt something else.

The feeling of another presence in your dream. And, thankfully, this one felt a lot less... evil than this creature. It felt calming, in a way.

Whatever that other presence was was either invisible, or simply hadn't showed up yet, as right now it was still only you and the creature. That was until you felt a tap on one of your forelegs.

Turning around in an instant, all you could see was Princess Luna standing before you. This was a fairly strange situation to meet in, but at last you were able to see her in person. But... was she even real?

"Run." was all she said to you, forcing you out of your bed with a powerful gust of magic. You were about to question why, but you instantly understood when you heard the sound of shattering glass.

The creature was in your room. And that wasn't all, there were also multiple of them, each with the same exact cutie mark.

"Oh, shit!" you exclaimed, as you quickly turned towards your bedroom door. 

Princess Luna fired a purple beam of light towards one of the creatures, causing it to dissolve into nothingness in a spectacular array of purple lights, "Go! I'll hold them off!"

You weren't about to argue with her. Swinging open your door, you immediately began sprinting down the corridor that waited outside. You thought about what a strange dream this was to be having, but something told you this wasn't just a dream.

After what felt like a minute of nonstop running, the corridor never seemed to end, constantly expanding further and further into the foggy horizon.
Perhaps you hadn't been running all that fast after all, as Princess Luna had somehow caught up to you, without any of the creatures giving chase.

"Walk into the wall." she instructed, a manner of seriousity about her.

"Ok..." you replied, a little confused. Even though this was a dream, you had your doubts that walking into a wall would-

Oh. It seemed that walking into the wall actually did take you to somewhere. In fact, you couldn't even recall a room like this being here.

It was a plain room, with no real decorations, and just boxes. Boxes were scattered everywhere. Chances are, this room didn't really exist, and simply existed right now due to your dread of packing the remaining items back in your room.

Princess Luna let out a heavy sigh, before taking a seat on one of the many boxes.

"You probably have a lot of questions." she said.

Despite being in the presence of royalty, you didn't feel it necessary to be all that formal. Especially considering what had just happened, "Yeah, what were those things?"

"I, and the many other ponies who have seen them, call them 'Observers'," Luna explained, "We call them that because of what they do. They observe dreams."

You took a seat on the box opposite her, instinctively stretching your wings to fly up to it, but then remembering that you couldn't fly.

"Are they meant to attack like that?" you asked, having a slight feeling that their names were misleading.

"No, but they seem to be... attracted to you quite strongly, Storm." she said, looking up finally meet your eyes.

"Me? What for?" you asked, "I mean, aside from being from another world."

Despite never directly telling either princesses, if Celestia already knew about your secret, then Luna almost certainly did too.

"I trust that Twilight has told you about your abilities?" she inquired. Assuming she was talking about determination, you nodded your head, "That is why. While we don't know much about your magic, the Observers seem to take a liking to it."

"If that's the case, then doesn't that mean that they've been exposed to determination before?" you asked, feeling your mind filling up with different theories.

"It may. There was only one other pony to ever use determination magic, and he dissapeard without a trace. Maybe the Observers got to him?" Luna explained.

You remembered the stories that Twilight had told you about that mysterious pony. About how a mysterious shadowy figure would roam the outskirts of cities, a yellow glowing horn with untraceable magic.

"Did you... know anything about that pony?" you asked, feeling a hunger for more information. If you were ever going to get anywhere with this power, you at least needed to know how to use it.

Luna closed her eyes for a brief moment, staring at the floor as if in recollection.

"It would be wise that you don't find out more than you need too." she said, opening her eyes.

Was that a threat? Maybe, but you also couldn't understand why she was still being so formal. Of course, she was one of the princesses, and this was a pretty serious situation, but now that the immediate threat was gone, there was no need to be so formal, "It appears your waking time is soon. We don't have long."

"Long for what?" you asked, feeling a sudden sense of urgency.

"Your task." she replied. As if you didn't already have enough to do. You had to pack boxes. That was more than enough things to do, thank you.
Noticing your lack of a reply, Luna continued, "You must find out how to control your magic, Storm."

"How do I do that? I don't even know what my magic is!" you exclaimed, suddenly feeling incredibly pressured.

"I'm sure your friends would be willing to help you." Luna said, with a smile. That had given you some ideas, to say the least. 

Surely 'determination' wasn't just a name, right?

"Once you have control of your magic," she added, her smile quickly fading. You stared her dead in the eyes for a second, but her smile returned, "I will tell you what to do next."

"What do I need my magic for though?" you asked, suddenly wondering why you had to learn your magic. So far, you couldn't see any real reason to learn it, other than to learn more about it.

Luna didn't reply, and instead all you could hear was the shrill cry of an Observer in the distance.

"Just try to learn your magic, and we'll meet again." Luna said, reassuring you with a smile. You weren't really sure how you were supposed to contact her, but your trusted her.
Maybe you could get Spike to send her a letter?

"Ok..." you replied. You had to admit, you were a little unnerved, "It was nice to meet you, princess. Except for the part when we got attacked."

"It was nice to meet you too, Storm. Farewell for now." Luna said, laughing slightly under her breath as you felt yourself begin to awaken. The dream world around you, aswell as all the characters within it, began to fade away.

Pretty soon, you were back in the Golden Oak Library, resting on your bed. Turning yourself around so that you were no longer facing a wall, you could evidently see that it was very late at night.
There was no point in getting back up, so you assumed it best to actually get some sleep now.

After all, now there was even more for you to do. You had to move in with Rainbow and learn your magic as soon as you possibly could.

You had to admit, learning this ability that was practically unheard of seemed... impossible.

But if you stayed determined, maybe...

Just maybe...

You could do it.
> Chapter 44 - Moving Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Awakening from your second sleep of the night, you glanced around your room trying to recall the events of your dream. It was somehow already the middle of the day, so you had clearly been very tired.

Eventually, you slowly began to remember your dream more clearly, along with everything that Princess Luna had told you.

You had promised her that you would train your power, but the only question was how do you do that? You hadn't exactly used any magic before. Not intentionally, anyway.

As you continued to look around your room, the few boxes laying throughout reminded you of something else.

"Ugh..." you groaned as you suddenly remembered the chore that was packing your stuff. You couldn't decide which to do first, pack things away, or train magic that you didn't know how to control.

Thankfully, Twilight soon entered to make that choice for you.

"Hey! You're finally awake!" she exclaimed, entering your room. Had it really been that long?

"What time is it?" you ask, groggily climbing out of bed.

"About mid-day," she answered. You were about to ask why she didn't wake you up, but she seemed to be one step ahead of you, "I didn't wake you up because you seemed pretty... exhausted."

You were glad she didn't. It honestly felt like you weren't even asleep during that dream.

"Thanks."  you replied, giving her a smile, "But now you want me to keep packing my stuff up, huh?"

Twilight nodded, "Yeah. Rainbow's getting pretty impatient."

"Rainbow was here?" you asked, seeking more help with packing and moving your things. Honestly, the packing didn't worry you all that much. It was the moving that concerned you. After all, there weren't any moving vans in Equestria.

"Yeah, but I told her you were sleeping. I said you'd move in by today though, so that's a promise you'll have to keep!" Twilight explained, attempting to make you actually want to work.

"Ugh! Fine!" you exclaimed, causing her to giggle slightly. Combined with your waking tiredness, you almost seemed like you were enduring a sudden mood swing,

You didn't want to pack everything, but you eventually figured that the quicker you did it, the less work there would be.
So far, that philosophy seemed to stand true.

There was still one whole cardboard box worth of stuff to pack, and in 10 minutes you had packed half of said box without the help of Twilight's magic. Even after using her magic yesterday, so much stuff still remained. You didn't recognise how much stuff you actually had until you had to actually move it all.

If you were being honest with yourself, half of the stuff you were packing was probably just going to end up in Rainbow's attic or something, never to be seen again.
Speaking of which, did Rainbow Dash even have an attic?

"I think you're nearly done, Storm!" Twilight informed you, giving you the last bit of encouragement you needed to not die of boredom. As you placed a random stuffed animal you had found in a drawer into the box, you realised that everything in your room had been packed.

"Finally..." you sighed, falling onto your soon-to-be ex bed in relaxation. While this was only a small victory, it was a victory nonetheless.

Quickly, however, you realised that your job was not yet done.

"Now you've gotta get all three of those boxes up to Rainbow's house!" Twilight said, as if it was no big deal. She explained it to you as if it was an easy feat that was performed daily.

"How is that physically possible?" you asked, lifting yourself up from your bed, "How can one Pegasi get three huge boxes up to a floating island?"

Whilst it sounded like you were being sarcastic, you were genuinely wondering. This required at least two Pegasi per box, especially with the height of Rainbow's house.

"You could always ask Rainbow and Fluttershy to help." Twilight suggested. That was always an option, but it also seemed a little embarrassing.

"Nah, I'll find my own way." you insisted. You weren't sure how, but you had a feeling that it could be done. Maybe you could lift each box one at a time.

As you attempted to lift one of the boxes, you quickly dropped it as it's full weight was placed onto you. That plan wasn't happening any time soon.

"Twilight, can you teleport them or something?" you asked, knowing that Twilight was able to teleport things at least somewhat effectively.

"I can, but not all the way up to Rainbow's house." she explained, much to your disappointment. You were about to lose hope, and resort to asking for Rainbow and Fluttershy's help, but then a thought crossed your mind.

Maybe your magic could teleport them. Your magic was almost unheard of, so who knew what it was capable of. If this was to work, then you could knock out two tasks in one. It was a win-win.

"I'm gonna try something, but don't laugh if it doesn't work, ok?" you asked.

"Sure!" Twilight replied, optimisticly. Although she promised to not laugh if nothing happened, you had a feeling she would anyway.
Now the question was, how were you going to use your magic?

Going off of the name, you had to be determined in order to use it. It was only that, a name, but surely it was a good enough place to start, right?

Blocking out everything in the room other than the three large boxes before you, you began to channel all of your energy and all of your will power into them. The only thought on your mind was the teleportation of each of the boxes, yet there was still the nagging thought in the back of your mind that it would never work.

Much like you suspected, nothing happened. To your surprise, Twilight actually didn't laugh.

"What are you trying to do?" she asked, curiously.

You didn't respond. Instead, you began questioning yourself, searching for something you may have done wrong. Maybe you weren't focused enough? Maybe that thought about it ever working distracted you?
Nevertheless, you began to try again.

You blocked out Twilight, who was watching with a confused expression, along with everything else in the room. You focused all of your intent into moving the three boxes into Rainbow Dash's bedroom, until it was the only thought on your mind.

To your disappointment, nothing happened once again.

"Storm, what are you doing?" Twilight asked, seeming to be getting more and more confused.

"Something." you replied, still not giving up hope. This was the only lead you had in terms of controlling your magic, and you weren't letting go that easily.

Focusing all of your energy into the boxes one more time, you wished for their teleportation. Third time's a charm, right?

Almost surprisingly, the three boxes began to glow yellow, along with the lightning bolt on your cutie mark. Something was actually happening.

"Woah..." Twilight gasped, not quite sure what she was looking at. She knew about your magic, but was quite taken aback that you had learnt to use it like this so quickly.
Of course, you hadn't fully learnt it yet. This was merely a single act, and you hadn't even completed it yet.

Still maintaining focus on the boxes, you pictured Rainbow's bedroom in your head, and pictured the boxes being teleported into it.
Just like that, it became a reality. The three boxes containing your stuff vanished from your room in a yellow flash of light, leaving nothing behind.

"That was... Amazing! I have to do more studies on this!" Twilight exclaimed, hurriedly examined the last known spots of the boxes.

All you could feel at this moment was pain and exhaustion. Using your magic had taken a lot out of you, but you figured that was how it got its name.
Sometimes the most painful choices required the strongest wills, or something like that.

"Oh, Storm! Are you ok?" she asked, suddenly realising your that you were holding yourself up against the bed.

"Y-yeah. Just a little exhausted, that's all." you lied. In reality, it felt as I felt you could sleep forever. It was a form of tiredness you had never before felt, but thankfully it didn't seem to last too long.

Within the next few seconds, it felt as if you had fully recovered. You had no idea how, or why, but you felt fine.

"Ok, I think I'm better now." you reassured her.

"If you say so." Twilight replied, still seeming a little concerned, "Now you have to go up and check if those boxes got where they needed to!"

"I promise that if they did, I'll let you study my magic sometime!" you said, not realising how cocky that seemed until after you had said it.

"And if they are up there, I guess that means you won't be living here anymore?" she asked, seeming a little upset by the news.

You gave her a sad nod in response. As excited as you were to be moving in with the most awesome Pegasus ever known, it was pretty sad to be leaving. Especially when this was the only home you had ever really known in Equestria.

"It's ok! I knew you'd have to find some place, and somepony, eventually." she replied, her usual optimism replacing the sadness.

"We'll still see each other quite a lot, too!" you added, hoping to maintain a positive atmosphere.

"Yeah, you're right!" Twilight said, giving you a smile that seemed to last for minutes, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

There wasn't much left to do here. Everything you needed to pack had been packed, and every preparation you needed to make had been made.
It was time to leave.

"One last thing, Twilight..." you added, "Thanks for taking care of me."

Twilight paused at the door, before turning around to give you a smile.

"It's ok! It's always great to meet new ponies! Especially when they're from another world!" she joked, but it also seemed sincere.

"I'll see you tomorrow." you said, trying to hide your own sadness. Although it wasn't a permanent goodbye, it still felt like it was for a much longer time.

Now that you had said goodbye to Twilight, you now only had to say goodbye to Spike.

On second thought, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. He seemed more bothered by your moving when he found out about it than Twilight did, so maybe it was best to keep him in the dark for now, whatever the consequences were.
Sometimes it is best to be blissfully ignorant, after all.

Exiting through the front door, you took one final look at the Golden Oak Library. Your home. It wasn't the last time you would see it, or even enter it for that matter.
But this was the last time you would ever see it as your home.

This tree had been your home, and it was beautiful, but now it was time to move on. Your new home awaited, and you were desperate to see it.

After taking one final glance at the Golden Oak Library, you shot off into the air towards what was to be your new life.

While Rainbow's Cloudomonium was pretty far away, the distance didn't seem to be too far considering the speed of your flight. Within a few minutes, you were already there.

Landing on the soft cloudy surface of Rainbow's front door, you knocked on the door to get her attention. Did you even need to knock anymore? After all, it was partly your house too.

Quickly, Rainbow Dash answered the door, but her reaction wasn't what you expected.

"Storm!" she exclaimed, in a more annoyed tone than you were expecting to hear, "Some stupid unicorn teleported boxes of their stuff into my room!"

Oh, this was gonna be fun.

"Really?" you asked, trying to keep a smirk from forming on your face.

"Yeah! Come look! I didn't even know they could teleport stuff that far!" she said, encouraging you to follow. Obiding by her request, you entered the house and followed her into her bedroom.

Just as you had hoped, the three boxes you had previously attempted to teleport now resided in her room, somehow not falling through the clouds.
Maybe your magic had naturally adapted them to the cloudy surface?

"Maybe they didn't know what they were doing?" you asked, still pretending like you didn't know who teleported the boxes.

"Well, any unicorn who messes up a spell that badly must be pretty new to magic!" Rainbow mocked, attempting to get a look into one of the boxes.

You couldn't resist anymore.

"Rainbow..." you said, still trying to hold back the smirk that was growing on your face, "I teleported them up here."

Instantly, Rainbow Dash's face transformed into one of disbelief, then into one that looked like she had just heard a funny joke.

"Ha! As awesome as you are, Storm, I don't think a Pegasus can use magic like that!" she explained. You were beginning to realise that it may be better to not tell her about your magic. At least for now.

"Yeah, ok. It was Twilight moving my things up here." you lied, seeking to keep your magic hidden from her for the time being.

If you were to attempt to persuade her, she most likely would deny it until you showed her. While that seemed simple enough, you really didn't think you had the energy to use your magic again.

"So... We have to unpack all of this?" Rainbow asked, pointing towards the several boxes. Now that you looked at them, it seemed like there was even more stuff than you had originally packed.

"Yep." you said, suddenly dreading what was to come.

"That sounds so boring." she replied, looking towards the boxes with a deadpan expression.

If you thought that packing away your things was tedious, then the unpacking was a different story. Not only did you have to take everything out of the boxes, but you also had to find a place to keep all of your stuff.

"I know, but we have to do it I guess." you sighed. Normally, you would have procrastinated until you absolutely had to unpack, but in the presence of Rainbow, you felt the need to show maturity.
Funny, as maturity was something Rainbow Dash often lacked.

"Ugh!" Rainbow groaned, flying over to one of the boxes.

"The quicker we get started, the faster it'll be done." you said, in an attempt to persuade her. As much as you really didn't want to unpack just yet, it would've made you feel better if Rainbow did it with you.

"But-" she said, but was instantly cut of by you.

"Less complaining, more unpacking." you said, reaching into one of the many boxes and pulling out a large pillow. You weren't sure what you were to do with it, so you simply through it onto Rainbow's bed.

"Fine..." Rainbow groaned, before also reaching into a box.

This was almost certainly going to be boring, but it was also going to be worth it.

The next chapter of your life in Equestria had officially begun.
> Chapter 45 - Time Trial
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a long night of unpacking, the day eventually came to an end, rewarding you with a peaceful rest in Rainbow's bed. Her bed was much more comfortable than the one in the Golden Oak Library, partly due to her comforting presence, but mostly because it was made from clouds.

As you drifted off into sleep, you were expecting to wake up in your old apartment alongside Princess Luna, but to your surprise, you awoke in the very same bed you had fallen asleep in.

Perhaps you hadn't trained your power enough? After all, you had only used it once.

Perhaps you could use your first full day with Rainbow Dash to train your magic a bit more. Of course, you couldn't tell her about it since she seemed to have trouble believing you, but at the very least you could have fun hanging out with her.

"Rainbow, do you have anything to do today?" you asked, sitting down at the kitchen table. Below you, Tank was hungrily munching on some lettuce, something which you hadn't tried tasting yet.

Rainbow looked as if she was thinking for a moment, before responding, "Nah. I was thinking of something, though."

"Let's hear it." you said, taking a bite out of your carrot. Carrots were pretty much all you had been eating since you arrived in Equestria. They were literally your source of life.

"No offence, but I think you cheated when we raced." she accused, before taking a bite from her own carrot. Well, she technically wasn't wrong. 
Unintentional use of magic you didn't know you had probably wasn't in the guidelines.

"I mean, you kinda almost pulled of a Sonic Rainboom and got shot all the way to the Everfree Forest, remember?" you retorted, giving her a witty smirk.

"Yeah, ok, anyway..." she replied, seemingly not wishing to continue that conversation, "I want a rematch."

That surprised you a little, but you weren't complaining. This could be an opportunity to train your magic aswell as a chance to hang out with Rainbow.
You didn't want to use magic during the race itself, though. This time around, you wanted it to be as fair as possible.

"Ok. We'll go to Sugarcube Corner in about 15 minutes, and we'll settle this." you said, feeling pretty determined that you would be able to win without your magic. After all, if you were to train your magic after the race, you had to be as determined as possible.

"Actually, I kinda wanted this race to be a little more... private." she explained, almost looking a little nervous. She usually wasn't one to hide her awesomeness.

Figuring that she didn't want her defeat to be seen once again, you chose not to question it, and simply asked where she wanted the race to happen.

"Um... Ghastly Gorge." she said, causing you to pause.

You had never been to Ghastly Gorge, but from what you heard about it, and saw from it in the show, it was not a place to mess around in.

"Ghastly Gorge? Remember what happened last time you raced through there?" you asked. Hopefully, she wouldn't be freaked out by your knowledge of past knowledge of past events. She did already know about your past, after all.

"Yeah, yeah, I got stuck under a boulder, big deal!" she exclaimed, taking a bite out of her carrot. She was brushing off a near-death experience as if it was an everyday occurrence, which it wasn't.

"You nearly died, that's the big deal." you replied.

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh, as if realising that it was a bad idea but still not wanting to give up hope, "What are the chances of it happening again? Besides, I'll have you there with me, right?"

She did make some pretty good points. If anything like that was to happen, then you would be there to save her. If a small tortoise could do it, then so could you.

"Alright, fine. A race through Ghastly Gorge." you sighed, much to Rainbow's excitement.

"Yes! You're gonna get destroyed!" she exclaimed, enthusiastically flying out of her chair, "C'mon, let's go now!

"But I haven't finished my carrot!" you replied as she quickly flew towards the front door. You could have sworn something like this had just happened.

You let out a sigh as you got no response; Rainbow was already well on her way towards the Ghastly Gorge. Seeing that there was once again no time to lose, you tossed what was left of your carrot to Tank, before flying out of the door to catch up.

After about five minutes, you had caught up to Rainbow despite her brief headstart. After another five minutes, the two of you had reached the Gorge.

It looked even more intimidating in person than it did in the show. It was a like a huge crack spreading and weaving across the planet, leaving only a thin crevasse in its wake.

"Ok, how about we start the race right there?" Rainbow suggested pointing towards a flat piece of terrain near to what looked like an entry to the large ravine.
The ground at the base off the Gorge slowly raised up, forming almost what looked like a road straight down into it.

"And where will it end?" you asked.

Rainbow hovered up a little higher, in order to get a better view into the horizon, "The other side, I guess."

She gave a shrug before lowering back down. From what you could guess, she couldn't see the end of the ravine despite how high in the air you both were.

"Well, let's go!" you exclaimed, flying towards the lowered piece of ground near to the 'entrance'. Rainbow Dash followed you, landing next to you.

"I hope you know I've gotten a lot faster since we last raced." she said, flapping her wings as if warming them up.

"Good! Twice the pride, double the fall." you replied, referencing something you could vaguely recall from your past life. Rainbow gave you a determined smirk, before beginning to countdown from three.

...

You could feel your heart racing, but why?

This wasn't anything new. You had raced Rainbow before and won, but something was making you feel nervous.

Something was wrong, and you could feel it. Maybe it was the setting? Yeah, that had to be it. Everypony would surely be nervous the first time they saw the Ghastly Gorge, especially considering the creatures that live within it.

"Go!" Rainbow called, shooting off into the ravine, leaving her signature Rainbow trail behind her.

"Hey!" you shouted, the deafening sound of your own heartbeat once again going silent.

Instantly, you took off after her, leaving behind an opaque yellow trail that you never even noticed you had. You had to admit, it looked pretty damn cool.

Before long, you and Rainbow reached a thin section of the gorge, with sets of strange looking caves dotted along the sides of the ravine. As she flew through, multiple large, red, snake-like creatures emerged from then, attempting to bite her and presumably kill her.

This was definelty not safe.

"Look out for the Quarry Eels!" Rainbow called as she cleared the obstacle, continuing to fly onward without a care in the world.

Nearing one of the nests, a single Eel shot out, snapping at you furiously. You let out a startle scream as you slowed down your flight a little in order to avoid irritating more of them.

Precious time was being wasted, but it was always said that the slow and the steady win the race. This may not be true, as Rainbow Dash was most likely miles ahead of you by now, but at least being slow and steady is keeping you from certain death.

After all the Quarray Eel nests had been cleared, you began to fly at full force once again, hoping to make up for the time you had lost trying not become the lunch of a terrifying beast.

Thankfully, it wasn't long until you came across Rainbow struggling on a certain obstacle.

"Having fun?" you asked. Rainbow was flapping her wings incredibly fast as she fought to get through the wind tunnel. You didn't recall her having difficulty with any of the obstacles last time, but maybe the wind in the tunnel had picked up a little.

"Huh?" Rainbow said, suddenly noticing you had caught up, "Oh, yeah! I'm just not trying!"

You let out a faint laugh, but then she started flapping her wings even harder. Seemingly fuelled by sudden competition, she began to fight through the wind and made it to the other side.

Turning around to give a final remark, she gave you a grin, "See you at the finish line!"

And with that, she was off again. Oh, she was most certainly going to see you at the finish line. But you were most certainly going to be the first one there.

Fuelled by the exact same energy, you entered the wind tunnel and began to fly through it like it was nothing. The wind was strong, a lot stronger than you expected, but thanks to your determination it was nothing you couldn't overcome.

You hadn't lost as much time on this obstacle compared to the last, but Rainbow was still ahead. That meant you had some catching up to do, yet again.

For a while, it was simply an expanse of open air. Nothing but space and the walls of the ravine at your sides, and it honestly felt nice. 
It felt like it had been a while since you had been flying with no obstacles in your way.

But before long, the third and final obstacle revealed itself.

Before you lay a layer of thorns and brambles, all precariously placed in order to prevent a quick passing through. If you wanted to get through, you were either to be incredibly slow, incredibly skilled, or be willing to take the pain and accept a few cuts here and there.

On the other side, Rainbow Dash was there, leaning against the side of the ravine as if taking a break.

"About time you showed up!" she exclaimed.

"Have you been waiting for me?" you asked, a little confused as to why she would stop and wait, especially considering she was taking this race pretty seriously.

"Yeah. I figured it was gonna take you a while to get through that," she said, pointing at the mass of brambles, "So I thought I could take a break."

"Well, I'll have you know I'm gonna get through this in a matter of seconds!" you exclaimed, flying head first into the spiky trap that lay before you.
Probably not your greatest idea.

On the bright side, it seemed like you had almost broke through to the other side. On the other hand, several small cuts were scattered across your body, each of which stung a surprising amount.

"Ow..." you said, suddenly realising that you were stuck.

"Bahahaha!" Rainbow laughed, slamming a hoof into the side of the ravine, "You know instead of flying straight through, you could try to dodge the thorns!"

To be fair, you probably need a very high I.Q. to figure that out, but you still decided to take the challenge head on.

Realising that you may need help, Rainbow stopped leaning against the wall, preparing to come down to get you, "Need some help?"

"Nah, I got it." you said, despite very clearly needing her help. Using all your effort, you attempted to break free from the thorny vines grip, but to no avail.
Every attempt at escape you made was another painful jab into you.

"Yeah, that's what it looks like." she replied, crossing her hoofs. 

You opened your mouth to give a response, but a sound much more powerful than your voice cut you off. A loud rumble erupted from the earth, echoing throughout the Gorge.

Both you and Rainbow glanced around worriedly. What was happening?

The ground began to shake violently, causing Rainbow to hold herself up against the side of the ravine, despite being in midair. Each time the ground shook, many thorny vines stabbed into your sides.
The thorns were not big enough to leave visible wounds, but they hurt nonetheless.

After a brief moment of chaos, the ground settled and silence washed over the Ghastly Gorge.

"What was that?" Rainbow asked, seemingly panicked. Briefly stunned by the shaking earth, you looked up to her, but it wasn't her that caught your attention.

Teetering on the edge of the Gorge was a huge boulder, postioned directly above Rainbow Dash. And surely enough, as soon as your eyes lay upon it, it rolled the small distance needed to send it falling into the ravine.

"Rainbow! Look out!" you called.

Instantly reacting to your warning, she looked up above her, prepared to take flight. But as soon as she saw the huge rock flying towards her, you knew it was too late.

Or, you thought it was too late. The logical side of you was telling you it was over, that she was as good as dead, but another part of you, something deep within you, was telling you to not give up hope.

Telling you to stay determined.

Telling you to save her.

And that was exactly what you were going to do.

Mustering every bit of strength you had, you ripped apart the thorny brambles that held you in place. It didn't even feel as if you were using magic, until you looked at your hoofs.

Your body and wings were glowing yellow, the brightest yellow you had ever seen.

Looking towards the falling boulder, it almost seemed like it had frozen. Rainbow was also unmoving, simply staring up at the rock in terror as she knew what was about to happen.
Was it really that your magic had frozen time?

Despite your shock, you didn't know how long your magic would hold, so you had to act fast.

Flying quickly up to the frozen boulder, you attempted to push it to the side. You weren't sure what you were expecting, but it didn't budge. You may have temporarily frozen time somehow, but you didn't have super strength.

Realising that the boulder's fall was inevitable, the only other thing you could do was move Rainbow.

Hurriedly, you flew down and pushed Rainbow Dash to the side, safely moving her out of the way of the falling boulder. Coincidentall, as soon as she was out of harms way, time resumed as normal.

A startled yell echoed through the Gorge as Rainbow looked into the open air above her, not yet processing that the boulder was no longer above her. This was followed by the sound of the boulder imoacting the floor, sending dust flying outwards.

Rainbow looked at you with a shocked expression, but she also seemed confused.

"Wha... How did... Did you just... Teleport?" Rainbow asked. That wasn't what you would call it, but to others it probably did look like teleporting. Although to you it did look like time had frozen, you once again had no idea how you did it.

"I think?" you answered, seeming a little confused yourself.

Rainbow gave you a confused look, before flying closer to you, "You weren't lying, huh?"

You nodded your head, assuming she was talking about your magic. You had attempted to tell her about it once, but she didn't believe you. It was funny that she believe interdimensional travel straight away, but refused to believe that a Pegasus could use magic until she had seen proof.

"Ok, forget the race! This is way more awesome!" she exclaimed, "Let's go home, you've gotta tell me all about it!"

Honestly, you were glad that the race was over. If things kept going the way they were going, you probably would have lost by a landslide.

"I don't really know that much about it myself." you said. Whilst you had a vague idea of how to control it, you still couldn't pinpoint the exact cause.

"C'mon! I wanna at least know what you know!" she whined.

"Ok, but I don't know that much." you explained, but it didn't seem to affect her, "Let's go."

Both you and an incredibly bouncy Rainbow Dash set off towards the Cloudomonium. It had been a while since you had seen her so excited over something. You couldn't really blame her though, it wasn't everyday somepony met a Pegasus from another world that also happened to know magic.

While you still didn't know much about your magic, telling Rainbow Dash seemed like a good idea. Heck, perhaps she could even help you figure out how to control it better.

But even if you can't control it, at least you had the potential to accidentally trigger it.

There's always a place to start, right?
> Chapter 46 - Element of Determination
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Soooo..." Rainbow said as soon as you entered her house, "How the heck are you able to use magic?"

That was a question you had been wondering yourself. You had always been thinking about how you can use your magic, but never really considered how you had magic to begin with.

"I actually have no idea." you said, only to be met with another question.

"Well what can you do? I mean, what you just did has to be the most awesome thing I've ever seen!" she said, making you blush despite not knowing how you did it. It wasn't very often that Rainbow Dash gave somepony a compliment like that.

"I think I froze time..." you said, reliving the moment over and over again in your head. It was quite difficult to comprehend, honestly.

Rainbow gave you an abrupt laugh in response, as if not believing such a thing was possible, "No way! You just teleported or something!"

Right. Anypony that saw you would think you teleported. They wouldn't exactly be able to see you when time was frozen. That being said though, maybe you didn't actually freeze time.

"To me it seemed like time was frozen, but maybe my magic just makes me fly faster?" you wondered, moreso talking to yourself rather than responding to Rainbow.

"So you were flying that fast that it looked like you teleported?" she asked, beginning to seem a little more confused. You could understand why, as time was quite a difficult concept to understand the more you thought about it.

"No, but maybe I was flying faster than time..." you theorized, beginning to realise that your magic seemed to primarily affect your flight speed, "That would also explain how I didn't cause a Sonic Surge when we first raced..."

"I knew it! You did cheat!" she exclaimed, seeming amused that you finally admitted it.

"Yeah, but..." you began, "I still don't really know what causes it."

Rainbow could tell that you were disappointed, as despite saving her life, you still didn't understand what caused your abilities to trigger.

"Why not try doing it again? I mean, I think it'd pretty cool to see it again." she suggested, but you really weren't feeling up to it. It was pretty difficult flying back up to the house; using that much of your magic had taken a lot out of you.

"I don't think I can. I might go take a nap or something." you said, beginning to make your way towards the stairs.

"Huh? What for?" she asked, seeming a little disappointed. Despite her eagerness to see your magic in action, you hoped that she would understand.

"Using that much magic has really tired me out. Pegasi aren't even supposed to use magic, after all." you explained.

Rainbow gave a frown, realising that maybe she was being to demanding. She couldn't really expect you to use your magic for no good reason when you didn't even know how to activate it.

"Oh, right. Sorry." she said, apologetically.

You gave her a warm smile, hoping to lift her spirits, "Hey, it's ok. I'll see you when I wake up."

Rainbow responded with her own smile before you turned and continued your way up the stairs. Entering Rainbow's bedroom, you leapt onto the fluffy cloud bed and felt warmth embrace you. It still surprised you how nice lying down on clouds felt.
For once, you could fall asleep with the sun shining down on you, rather than the moonlight.

Almost instantly, sleep came.

Not long later, you opened your eyes, but you were not in Rainbow's room. Instead, you were in a black void, illuminated only by magical yellow streaks that lit up the sky like galaxies.
It was really quite beautiful.

There were no stars, simply colourful novas of yellow light that streaked across the sky like tye die. Ontop of that, it was also strangely silent. Nothing at all made a sound.

"Greetings, Storm." you heard a familiar voice call from behind you. Almost proudly, you turned around to Princess Luna standing with you in the void.
If she was in your dream, then you had surely made some progress with your magic training.

"Hi." you said, awkwardly. Even though you had met both the princesses, you were still unsure of how to start a conversation with them.

"I see you've made some progress in your training." she said with a smile.

"Not really. I know how to use it, but I don't know how to activate it." you said, sadly. You were hoping that after the events of that race, you would know at least a little more about your magic.

Luna let out a faint laugh, as if knowing something that you didn't, "I'm sure that deep down, you'll know how to use it when it's needed."

You weren't sure what that meant, but were thankful for her encouragement either way.

"I did say I would tell you more once you had learnt your magic, right?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer, "Well, I suppose the time has come."

Even though you didn't know what there was to tell just yet, she was building it up like the climax of a story. Surely it must've been important.

"That Unicorn that once stalked the cities of Equestria... He had no name, but his goals were known. Atleast to me and my sister, anyway," Now you could see where this going, "With the amount of ponies in places like Manehatten, determination was quite a common trait there."

This didn't feel like the time to interrupt, so you simply sat and let her continue her story.

"Although you and him are the only ponies able to use determination magic, any pony who feels determination excretes it into the air, like a magical aura. This Unicorn seaked to absorb as much of this energy as he could in order to enhance his magical power. If he was to succeed, Equestria would fall."

As she explained, you began to wonder what happened to this evil unicorn. Thankfully, the answers to all of your questions were coming up.

"Me and my sister found out about his plans, and I banished to the dream world and destroyed his physical form. Now he lives as..." Luna paused for a second, before continuing, "Now he lives, shattered into many pieces, as the Observers. We simply call him 'Null' as he lacks the ability to exist in the physical world. This is also why the Observers seem to be so attracted to you, Storm. They can sense your magical capabilities, and wish to harness it for themselves in order to become whole again."

You could feel worry beginning to well up inside of you. If you were to be caught by the Observers, dream or not, there was a chance that Equestria would be put into danger. Danger that the elements of harmony potentially wouldn't be able to save it from.

"I can see that this is worryingly you..." Luna said, solemnly. You had to admit, it didn't exactly make you feel good that the shattered soul of an evil unicorn was trying to drain your magic from you.

"Yeah... A little..." you sighed. 'A little' was probably an understatement. The fate of Equestria had been resting on your dreams for a long time, and you ever even knew it. 
Thankfully, the Observers had only appeared once, and Luna had appeared to save you. But if she wasn't there to save you... That was something you didn't want to think about.

"Don't worry. Pretty soon, you will awaken the seventh element. Then, no matter what the Observers try, they will never be able to break you." she said, reassuringly, "Actually, you may have done just that already."

Princess Luna gave you a smirk, once again indicating that she knew you something that you didn't.

"What do you mean?" you asked.

"You haven't happened to be glowing yellow recently, have you?" she asked, an all knowing smirk on her face. Then you began to recall that moment...

The moment when you saw that boulder falling towards Rainbow Dash, almost ensuring her death. But then you began to glow yellow, and time stopped.

"Yeah, actually." you said, thinking back to your theory about being able to fly faster than time.

Princess Luna gave you a proud smile, "Then the seventh element is already awake."

She turned to face the swirling yellow novas that were strung across the black sky, and so did you. Your jaw dropped with amazement as the golden yellow swirls began to moved, weaving across one another, until they finally met.
Together, the yellow swirls formed the seventh element. Your element. A golden yellow lightning bolt, flipped upside down as if reflecting off of something.

"The element of determination." Princess Luna said with a smile, watching over it proudly, "This element represents something, much like the others. While the element of kindness represents ones ability to feel compassion, and the element of loyalty represents ones ability to stay true to something or somepony, this element represents your ability to bounce back after a defeat."

You had honestly never been more proud. You actually had your very own element of harmony.

"No matter how many times you are knocked down, you will always get back up again. In the end, that is what determination is." Luna explained, turning to face you.

Despite the overwhelming feeling of proudness you could feel, there was a question lingering in the back of your mind.

"Where are the black stains?" you asked, the smile disappearing off of your face as you stared at your element. Compared to the time you had seen it in your dreams prior, it looked to... shiny.
It looked to new, too colourful. While the element in your previous dream wasn't emitting any light, and had shadowy stains all over it. The outline was black, emitting dark fog as if corrupted, while here it glowed the brightest yellow.

"What do you mean, Storm?" Luna asked, seeming confused. Perhaps the last time you had seen your element in a dream, it had been merely that.

A dream.

"Oh, nothing, it doesn't matter." you said, deciding to forget about it for the time being. After all, you would much rather focus on the positives of this moment.

"Very well," Luna said, a smile returning to her face, "Now that this element has awoken, Null should not be able to drain your magic. Even the Observers cannot overpower the strength of an element of harmony."

Luna looked at you proudly, before giving you one final task, "Now all you need to do is tell the others about your element. If you ever need to use it, it will be at it's most powerful with the other elements alongside it."

So all you had left to do was tell the others? Easy enough. You could organise a meeting at Sugarcube Corner and tell them all there.
Although, you were unsure how they would all take a seventh element being added to the roster.

"But don't I need something to wear? Like, to summon my element?" you asked, recalling the crown that Twilight needed to wear in order to use her element of magic.

"No. As long as you are determined enough, you can summon it whenever you need to. You already did it once." she said with a wink.

The one time you had used it, it had been an accident and Rainbow's life was on the line. Surely it wouldn't come down to having to use it again, right?
Despite this, you could feel excitement welling up within you.

"It seems our time is running short." Luna said, sensing the end of your dream nearing.

You only had a few moments left before you would wake up in Rainbow's bed, but you still had one thing left to say to her.

"Thank you." you said, a smile on your face.

Luna seemed almost surprised by your sudden gratitude, "What for?"

"For guiding me." you explained.

"It was my pleasure." Luna replied sincerely, with an equally warm smile on her face. As soon as those words left her mouth, you could already feel your grip on the dream world loosening. You were waking up.

You gave your element of determination one last look, before closing you eyes.

A blinding flash filled your vision, and as soon as you opened them, you were met with white walls and sunlight shining onto your face.

"Finally! I was about to get in and fall asleep with you!" a scratchy voice exclaimed behind you.

Rolling over, you were met with Rainbow Dash standing at the foot of the bed. Honestly, it hadn't really even felt like you had slept, but clearly it had been quite a while.

"How long has it been?" you asked, sitting up and rubbing your eyes. The light hurt your eyes a little, but the more of the pain you fought through, the quicker your eyes would be able to adjust.

"A few hours at least," she explained, "But now that you're awake, we can go finish that race and see who the better flyer really is!"

As much as you would have liked to finish the race, it didn't really seem safe anymore. Not that it ever was, but you get the point. Besides, you had something else you needed to do.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. I've got something else I need to do though," you said, giving Rainbow Dash a look of curiosity, "We have a meeting to attend."
> Chapter 47 - Soulbound
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So you might all be wondering why we've called you here..." Rainbow said, patrolling back and forth across the library. Originally, you had planned to meet everypony at Sugarcube Corner, but ultimately decided it would be more convenient to meet at the Golden Oak Library.

This was partly due to it being close to Rainbow's house, but mostly due to the fact that it felt more private. While it was technically a public place, there was a far lower chance of somepony overhearing.

"Are we having a party?" Pinkie Pie asked, in her usual upbeat manner.

"No, Pinkie, we're not having a party." Rainbow replied with a sigh.

"Are we having a sleepover?" she then asked. While you appreciated her cheerfulness, you wanted to get to the point as fast as possible, as to not wast everypony's time.
Ontop of that, you also wanted to finish your race with Rainbow Dash, but this time somewhere less prone to deadly events and hazards.

"It's something more serious, actually." you interrupted. You didn't want to begin making it out as if it was a bad thing, but you weren't really lying. A seventh element of harmony was a pretty big deal.

"Is everything alright, Storm?" Rarity asked. It had been quite a while since you had last seen her, but you were glad that she decided to show up nevertheless.
That is what friends are for, anyway. To be there for you when you need them most.

"Yeah, Storm! If something's wrong, ya'll can tell us!" Applejack added, giving you full confidence that they would accept your element.

For a while, you had been worried that they wouldn't accept that there is now a seventh element. For such a long time, it had only been six. You hadn't even told Rainbow Dash about the element yet, so you were also quite unsure as to how she would take it.

You didn't really have anything to worry about, though. If anything, another element of harmony symbolises an even stronger friendship. And true friends would never look at something like that as a bad thing.

"It's not actually that something's wrong. It's actually a good thing." you explained, but it didn't seem to satisfy their curiosity.

"Well you're gonna tell us anyway, right?" Spike asked. Not to sound rude, but you had honestly forgotten that he was even there. It wasn't that you had forgotten about him, but you were primarily focused on the Mane 6 while thinking about how to announce your element.

"Yeah. That's why we've met here." you said. The wait was almost killing you. You were nervous, but you were also looking forward to seeing their reactions, "I..."

You were about to say it, but Rainbow cut you off with her own impatience, "Storm can use magic, everypony!"

Everypony except for Twilight and Rainbow Dash gave an audible gasp, but you couldn't tell whether that was a good or bad thing.

"He can?" Fluttershy asked in a quite tone.

"Yep! Pretty cool right?" Rainbow replied, crossing her hoofs proudly. This was one of the only times you had ever seen Rainbow Dash being almost as proud of somepony else as she is of herself. It honestly made you very happy, even if it wasn't really what you brought them all there for.

Twilight gave you a smile, as if congratulating you for learning your magic, even if it was only a little bit. It was either that, or she was congratulating you for telling Rainbow the truth.

"That's not actually what I-" you attempted to say, only to be cut off once again. It would've been nice if you could say one full sentence without being interrupted.

"This calls for a party!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, excitedly. Maybe you could throw a party after this was done, but you definitely couldn't just yet.

"There's something else I need to tell you all." you said, but it didn't seem like everypony heard you over Pinkie Pie's excited yelling.

Thankfully, Twilight was there to quite everypony down, "Everypony, listen! Storm has something else to tell us."

Immediately, all eyes turned you. You instantly felt nervous again, as you could see worry in Rainbow's eyes. You let out a sigh, and then figured that there was no use stalling any longer.

"I..." you began, once again taking a momentary pause. You glanced at Rainbow Dash, hoping that she wouldn't interrupt you this time, "Am an element of harmony."

"What?" Everypony exclaimed, looking at you with shocked expressions. Although you had expected this, it still made you feel as if you had been put on the spot.

"But... How is that possible?" Twilight asked, immediately turning to a bookshelf to search through it. Using her own magic, she pulled out book after book, skimming through pages for any mention of a seventh element, "There are only six elements!"

Honestly, you weren't even sure why there was a seventh element to begin with. You still had so many questions about your magic, but for now it was probably for the best that they remained unanswered.

"You didn't tell us about this?" Rainbow questioned, seeming a little annoyed. This was the reaction you were afraid of getting.

"I only found out last night! Princess Luna came to me in a dream and told me!" you replied, trying to defend yourself.

"I ain't gonna lie, subarcube, but I ain't seen you're magic in action yet, and I find it hard to believe that there's a seventh element." Applejack said, in a more understanding tone. While she didn't believe you, atleast she wasn't mad at you.

You weren't sure how to prove you that you did in fact hold the seventh element of harmony. While Rainbow Dash was there to defend you in terms of your magic, as she had seen it herself, she also didn't believe that there was a seventh element.

"I'm sorry, Storm, but... Where is the seventh element?" Fluttershy asked, in her usual quite and timid tone.

You thought for a moment, but then you remembered what Luna had told you. It had no physical form, unlike the others.
But as if they were going to believe that?

"I... Don't know..." was the best you could say. At this point, the quicker this conversation was over and done with, the better.

"See? As awesome as you are Storm, I don't think there can be any more elements than six!" Rainbow explained, seeming to have calmed down a little more now.

Choosing to ignore Rainbow's remark for the time being, you turned your attention to Twilight, who was furiously studying a book and incomprehensibly mumbling to herself. Whether you were telling the truth or not, the idea of a seventh element of harmony was something that Twilight had never heard of.

"Hey, Twilight. What's-" you said, before once again being cut off. However, this time it was not by somepony talking. Instead, it was by the most intense pain you had ever felt.
It was so sudden. One minute you felt fine, the next you felt as if you couldn't continue to stand up straight.

Your entire body felt like it was being squeezed, as if your life energy was leaking out of your body.

"Agh!" you yelled as a sharp pain coursed through you. It was like nothing you had ever felt before, even when compared to your injured wing when you had first arrived in Equestria.

"Storm!" Rainbow was the first to react, rushing over to you to see if you were ok. This was followed by everypony else, hurrying over to your side to support you as you stumbled over to the nearest table.

"Storm, are you ok?" Twilight asked, attempting to manoeuvre you to the table as painlessly as possible.

Responseless, you slammed your hoofs onto the table, putting your full weight on it. The pain you were feeling didn't allow you to respond.

Almost instinctively, you glanced above your head, to see your element hovering above you. Everypony gasped as they realised that you had been telling the truth all along.

Something was off, however, and you didn't just think that because of the pain.

Dark black smudges of ink corrupted the once bright yellow glow, starting from the top of the lightning bolt. It seemed like it was eating away at your element, and not only that...
It looked like it was spreading...

"Ah don't think that's supposed to be there." Applejack stated, looking at the slowly spreading mass of corruption. While it  wasn't spreading very fast, it was certainly noticeable that it was moving.

You continued to look up at your element, responseless, as you fought to keep yourself upright against the table. But then something changed.

Almost as if in slow motion, you watched your element crack. The cracks were not large, but as you watched them form, you could almost feel them physically.

The pain was too much for you to handle any longer, and you collapsed to the floor, coughing a few specks of blood onto the table.

"Storm!" Rainbow yelled once again, her voice full of concern. It almost seemed like she was about to cry.

"Oh... shit." Twilight said, muttering the last part under her breath. After that time she had yelled at Spike for his language, you never though you would ever hear her swear.

Was this actually going to be the day you died? And not only that, but to some invisible force attacking your element that you couldn't even see?
Unlike the other elements, this one seemed to be bound to you physically. That was both a blessing and a curse.

"C'mon, Storm!" Rainbow pleaded, fighting back tears as your eyes closed. By now, all sounds were incredibly quite. You could almost hear your own thoughts.

And then...

Nothing...

...
> Chapter 48 - Reawakening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"W-Where am I?" you asked yourself as you stared into the vast abyss before you. You couldn't see anything, only a vast expanse of blackness.

Had you died? Again?

Surely not. You were still in your pony body. Atleast when you looked down, you could see your own hoofs standing in the abyss.

"Rainbow? Anypony?" you called out, but you had a feeling nopony was going to answer you.

All the pain you had been feeling had completely dispersed, as if completely wiped from you. It was as if you had never felt anything at all, even if you could recall every second of it.

It wouldn't be long until you found the cause of that excruciating pain.

"If anypony is here, please say something!" you called, hoping that Princess Luna would reply. For a brief moment, there was no sound. Just...

Silence.

...

"Greetings, Storm." a voice said, in a calm, yet deep tone. Despite it's calmness, the voice still managed to unnerve you.

You were about to ask for whoever had spoken to reveal themselves, but you didn't yet realise that they already had. Before you stood a large black unicorn, atleast twice your size. He had glowing yellow eyes, but everything else was the exact same shade as the endless void you stood in, "It's about time you saw my physical form."

At first, you had no clue what he was talking about, unless...

"You're... That thing that took the form of my friends!" you exclaimed, not seeming angry, but also not friendly. At the most, you felt neutral towards this pony.

The Entity gave you a toothy grin, "Yes... I am. But I'm now I'm better known as... Null."

You felt your heart sink down into your chest. All this time Null had been communicating with you through you mind, watching you through the Observer's eyes. But how was he here? Luna had told you that he had no physical form, but simply existed in the dreamscape in the form of the Observers.
So how is it that he is here talking to you?

"Impossible. You don't have a physical form." you said, refusing to believe that this pony was the very creature that had been after your magic all along.

Null shrugged, "True, I don't have a physical form. But the mind can do some wonderful things!"

He gave you a sinister smirk, before his form vanished into black clouds of smoke. As the smoke cleared, at least a dozen Observers came rushing towards you, stacked ontop of each other in the shape of a large pony. He wasn't even really there...
He was just an illusion.

"You're not even real!" you exclaimed, jumping out of the way of the charging spider ponies. You watched as the black smoke concentrated on one point once again, returning Null to his original form.

"I'm very real, but maybe not in this form just yet," he explained, "But soon, I'll be able to take any form I want!"

He gestured to his side, and there you saw you element hovering next to him. Long, black strings held it in place, as if siphoning its energy.
That was what had been hurting you.

"No... Luna said-" you began, before being interrupted.

"Luna lied. She wanted you to feel safe, but see what that did? You were unprepared." Null mocked, a sly smirk on his face.

"Then how about you come to the real world, where you can't steal my energy, and see how you hold up there!" you said, in a futile attempt at weakening his moral.

Null face palmed a little, "You really are dumb, aren't you? That is exactly why I need your element. Without determination, I can't exist. The power that comes with it is just a bonus."

With that explanation, he didn't sound that evil. He simply needed determination to survive.

"And then I take over Equestria with the power of your element!" he exclaimed.

Ok, never mind. He was definitely evil. You figured that he had originally wanted to use determination magic alone to take over, which resulted in his banishment to the dream world.

"You didn't get away with it last time, did you?" you asked, "Princess Luna will stop you again, just like she did last time!"

Null stared at you, as if actually worried by what you had said, but that quickly turned into a smile.

"Where could she banish me to this time? The moon?" he joked. Despite the circumstances of the current situation, you found what he had just said rather ironic, "Nopony can do anything! All those warnings I gave you, all of them I gave you to slowly wither away your determination. To make you fear a threat that didn't exist."

You remembered the first time that Null had ever appeared to you. The time that he took the form of Rainbow Dash and Twilight.
He had warned you of a coming storm, but in reality, that storm was him. Now you were in the eye of it, waiting for it to hit again.

"All that time you spent building bonds with your friends, training your magic... All that time I was slowly building up the chains around your element." he explained. You truelly felt like there was nothing you could do.

Noticing your silence, Null siezed the moment and gave you one final mental blow.

"Go and enjoy your life, because when your element is mine, there will only be one pony able to use determination." he said, giving you a serious stare.

You tried your hardest to not give in to the pressure and helplessness you currently felt, and returned the stern stare. You didn't want to show that you were afraid, as that would give Null an even greater chance to attack you.
His stare turned into a smile, as he knew that he had defeated you this time. You couldn't leave this place on that note. You had to say something back. You had to prove that you were not afraid.

"You're right about one thing," you began, "There will only be one pony able to use determination. And that pony will be me."

Null's smirk of victory dissapeared, turning into a frown of annoyance as you grinned at him, proudly. He wouldn't have time to respond; you could already feel the real world beckoning.

The evil unicorn faded away into the void, glaring at you as he did so. As soon as you awoke, you needed too tell the princesses about what had just happened.
You just had too. This wasn't a battle you could fight alone.





As you opened your eyes, all you were met with was a blinding white light. You definitely weren't in the Golden Oak Library anymore.
Maybe you were back at Rainbow's house.

"Storm?" you heard a familiar voice say from besides you. You sat up, realising that you were in a bed, but it wasn't made from clouds, "Ohmigosh, you're awake!"

Rainbow said that with so much excitement and relief. How long had it been?

Now that you were sat up, you looked around the room you were in. Instantly, you recognised it as a hospital room, and surprisingly, it seemed pretty similar to those that were on Earth.
That is, if you were remembering it right. Recently, your memories of Earth had been getting worse and worse. It had always been happening, but recently it seemed more intense.

"What happened?" you asked, your voice full of energy despite just waking up. You could still feel panic within you, due to the events that had just unfolded within your dreams.

"Y-You were unconscious for three days. I was... worried about you..." she said, her eyes full of fear. You could remember everything that had happened to you before you had passed you out, and it must have been uncomfortable to watch. Especially for her.

The only thing that felt reasonable to do on this situation was to comfort her, so that was exactly what you did, "Don't worry, I'm fine now."

You gave her a confident smile to reassure her further, to which she responded to with her own smile. She pushed her face against yours and nuzzled you, sending sparks through your entire body.

As she moved away, you heard several pairs of hoofsteps moving through the doorway of your room.

"Guys, he's awake!" Rainbow exclaimed. You slowly turned to face the ponies who had just entered, and were pleasantly surprised when you saw Twilight and Fluttershy standing at the other end of the room.

"Oh my goodness, Storm!" Fluttershy exclaimed, seemingly surprised at your awakening. You could recall coughing up quite a lot of blood before passing out. If you witnessed something like that happen, you'd be surprised if they woke up within three days too.

Too your surprise, Twilight hadn't said anything just yet, and instead walked to the opposite side of your bed from where Rainbow Dash stood.

"Are you ok, Storm?" she asked, in a concerned tone. You nodded your head in response, even though it hurt to do so. Although the cause of your pain was nothing to do with your physical body, movement still hurt.

Twilight glanced down at the floor awkwardly, before speaking up again, "I think I found what caused you so much pain."

Your eyes widened with surprise. How did she know about Null?

"When excessive amounts of determination is used for the first time, it may cause intense side effects up to a day later." she explained, quoting an information book she had read. It seemed that although not much was known about determination magic, enough was known that a book could be made about it.

You appreciated that she went out of her way to find out the cause of your pain, even if she wasn't entirely right. That may have been a part of your pain, but Null draining your element definitely played a major part in it.

"Y-Yeah! Maybe!" you exclaimed, going along with it. You didn't want anypony to know about Null just yet, as to not worry them. Your main course of action was to tell the princesses, and then follow their lead from there, "You know, That reminds me! I need to go and see the princesses!"

You slowly climbed out of your bed, grunting with pain as you did so. As much as you wanted to stay and chat, you couldn't rest easy knowing that Null was slowly draining your life energy away from you.

"Woah, there!" Rainbow said as you took a step away from the bed, only to lose your balance. She quickly flew over to you, lifting you back in the direction of your bed.

Fluttershy gave you a frown, "I think you should stay here. You aren't well enough to go out just yet."

As much as you wanted her to be wrong, Fluttershy was by far the best out of the Mane 6 when it came to health. She did care for a ridiculous number of animals, after all.

"We can get the princesses for you! They're in the hospital right now, actually!" Twilight exclaimed, trying to be optimistic. You had to admit, it was pretty convenient that they happened to be in the hospital at the same time as you.
Almost as if they knew...

"What do you need the princesses for, anyway?" Rainbows asked, crossing her hoofs. Usually, Rainbow could be pretty pushy when it came to this kinda thing, but due to your condition, you hoped she would lay off.

"Uh..." you said. But before that, you needed to actually find a convincing lie, "I wanna talk to them about my element."

Hopefully that would surfice.

"We have elements! We could help with that!" Twilight suggested. If that was the real reason you needed the princesses, then you would've been all for it.

"Can I please just see them?" you pleaded. With the condition you were in, what else could you do?

The three of them glanced at each other, worriedly. You were worried that they knew something was going on with you. By now, Rainbow and Twilight both knew you well enough to tell when something was wrong.
Fluttershy didn't know you quite as well, but thanks to her knowledge, she could probably see through a lie anyway.

Speaking of Fluttershy, she was the first to adhere to your request, "Ok, Storm. We'll go and get the princesses."

You smiled warmly at her, as if silently thanking her. Twilight also smiled, giving her a nod of approval.

"We'll talk to you when the princesses leave, okay Storm?" Rainbow said, placing a comforting hoof on one of your forelegs. Oh, she could definitely tell something was wrong.

The three of them made their way towards the door, but before they left, Rainbow gave you one last glance. It wasn't a smile, but rather a look of worry.
You couldn't blame her though. If you saw somepony that you cared about collapse whilst coughing out blood, with seemingly no cause to any outside viewers... Why wouldn't you be worried?

For the next ten minutes, you simply lay in your bed, staring at the wall and thinking about everything that Null had said. As it stood, there was nothing you could do.
You just had to hope that Celestia and Luna had something planned.

"I'm glad you're awake, Storm." somepony said from the other side of your room. To your delight, you looked up to see both Celestia and Luna stood at the foot of your bed. It was quite weird to think that this is technically the first time you had met Luna, despite meeting her in your dreams, "I know I said we'd meet again, but I didn't expect it to be under these circumstances."

"We already know what happened to you, and Twilight believes she knows the cause. Has she told you this?" Luna inquired, moving around to the side of your bed.

You nodded your head regretfully, as you knew the true reason, "Yeah, but... She's wrong."

The two princesses stared in silence for a few seconds, as if not really knowing what to say. The only lead they had was Twilight's theory about first time use of your magic, but you had a different lead althogether.

"My element's power is being drained." you said, staring down at your bed. Celestia eyes widened, followed by Luna asking you a question in a worried tone.

"Do you know what's doing it?" she asked.

You didn't answer straight away, but you had to tell them. That was why you had brought them here, after all, "It's Null."

The two princesses gasped with shock. Luna had thought that the power of an element of harmony was strong enough to resist being drained, but as Null was once a determination user himself, that may have changed things.

"If he drains your element completely, then..." Celestia said, looking at her sister in despair. As of right now, Celestia couldn't do anything. Only Luna held the power to enter dreams and interact with Null.

"Then nothing will be able to stop him..." Luna finished, also looking her sister in the eye.

Luna knew that she was the only one here that had the ability to do something about this coming threat. Even if you were able to communicate with Null at will, you weren't going to do much with your condition.
She knew what she had do.

"Storm, I'm going to try something I have never done before." Luna said, turning to face you.

"Luna, no. It's too risky." Celestia interrupted, strictly. Whatever Luna wanted to attempt, she was having none of it.

"I have to. What other option is there? Sit here and wait for Storm to be completely drained of magic?" Luna exclaimed. You didn't understand what she was trying to do, "Storm, I'm going to lock myself in your thoughts."

Well, you definitely didn't see that coming. You weren't sure how or why that was even possible to do, but right now you didn't care. The main thought now playing on your mind was how she was going to get out.

"Luna, what if you get trapped? I had to go centuries without you! I don't want to do that again!" Celestia exclaimed, recalling the events of when her sister was banished to the moon.
It must've been a lonely rule for that duration of time.

"Once my duty is done, I can come back at any time. But remember, sister, Equestria comes first. Always." Luna explained. Celestia gulped, swallowing her love for her sister for the good of Equestria, "Storm, next time you fall asleep, expect me to be there. I'll hold Null off for as long as possible, but you should prepare just in case."

Whether she wanted you too or not, you were going to prepare anyway. You couldn't just sit there doing nothing while one of the princesses is risking her life for yours.

"Should I tell the others?" you asked, contemplating the assistance of the other elements.

Celestia nodded, "If you wish. Whenever you feel like, tell them. Friendship is magic, after all."

You gave her a smile, understanding the reference that she probably didn't intend to make.

"Well, Storm, get some rest and you'll be out of here soon. We'll be counting on you pretty soon." Luna explained, before turning to leave the room.
You were expecting a more formal goodbye, but she must've been feeling a lot more stressed than normal. Pretty soon, her life would be on the line.

"Goodbye, for now." Celestia said, trying her best to remain positive. It can't have been easy knowing what her sister was about to go through.

You said goodbye back, and with that, the twin alicorns left the room. You hadn't even left your bed yet, but already you felt more stressed out than you ever had done before.

You wanted to sleep badly. Despite being unconscious for three straight days, it felt as if you hadn't slept at all. Not long after, you could feel yourself dozing off...

"Storm, what happened?" Twilight asked as she entered the room, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy following behind. Your eyes shot open, startled by your sudden guests.

"Princess Celestia just walked by and she seemed worried about something..." Fluttershy said, sadly. Usually, the twin princesses tried to keep a positive outlook on the situation, in order the not scare the residents of Equestria, but when your sister's fate was unknown it must be pretty hard to stay positive.

"I... I don't know what's wrong. She didn't say anything when she was here." you lied. You were going to tell them eventually, but you wanted them to be all together.

Rainbow's eyes narrowed as she gave you a suspicious stare, "You're hiding something, Storm."

She quickly hovered over to your bed, maintaining the stare. Was this supposed to intimidate you into revealing the truth? If so, it wasnt really working.

"Even if I was, I wouldn't tell you. That'd defeat the purpose of hiding it." you said, smirking at her. Rainbow groaned, realising that her attempt was in vain.

"So did you find out everything you need?" Twilight asked, giving you a friendly smile. You responded with a clueless 'huh?', as you weren't sure what she was talking about, "About your element?"

Oh, right. You had lied about why you needed to talk to the princesses too.

"O-oh, yeah! Luna said I need to practice using my magic more." you explained. Now that wasn't a lie, even if you hadn't told her the reason.

"Are you sure? If Twilight's right, then using your magic lead to this." Rainbow reminded you, gesturing at the hospital bed you lay in.

Even though you knew that wasn't the truth, you had to play along for the time being, "It's only the first time I use it, right?"

Twilight nodded, easing Rainbow Dash's worries about you using your magic again. The last thing she wanted was for you to be hospitalised twice in a row.

"Do you know how long you'll be in here?" Fluttershy asked. Thankfully, Celestia and Luna had given you a good space of time during which you could expect to get out.

"Eh, only a day or two probably." you said, causing a happy smile to appear on all three of their faces.

"Well in that case, I should probably go home and prepare!" Rainbow exclaimed, preparing to take flight in the direction of the door.

"Why do you need to prepare?" Twilight asked, smiling awkwardly.

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head nervously, "Well, I, uh... I've only been home once a day to feed Tank, so my house is a mess!"

"Then where have you been sleeping?" Fluttershy asked, worried for her wellbeing.

Rainbow pointed a hoof towards a small chair in the corner of the room. She had really been sleeping on a chair for three straight days?
Surely that wasn't healthy.

"You slept here to keep an eye on me?" you asked, feeling an unusual happiness that you hadn't really ever felt before. She nodded in response, rubbing a foreleg with the other, "What for?"

It was at that moment when all of her nervousness vanished completely, replaced by her reaction to your dumb question, "Because I care about you, duh!"

Everypony laughed, including you. You didn't realise how stupid of a question that was until after it had left your mouth.

"Thanks." you said, giving her a smile.

"Don't mention it," she replied, giving you her own smile back. She suddenly took a few quick glances around her, realising that she was being watched by Twilight and Fluttershy, "I-I, uh... See you guys later!"

She suddenly flew towards the door, making her way quickly towards the exit. It didn't seem safe to fly that fast in a hospital, but you didn't want to question it.

"That was nice." Fluttershy whispered, smiling timidly at you.

"I've never seen Rainbow act like that before," Twilight said, looking at the door she had just left through, "You really are special to her, you know?"

That meant a lot to hear. Rainbow wasn't the type of pony to admit that kind of thing to somepony, but hearing it from Twilight was almost the same.
Twilight didn't seem like she would lie about this kind of thing.

"Anyway, I have some things to do in the Library. Spike burnt some books and I still haven't cleaned it up!" Twilight exclaimed, causing both you and Fluttershy to laugh slightly, "I'll see you when you've recovered, Storm."

Twilight gave you a warm smile, before beginning to make her way towards the door of your room. Before leaving, she took one last glance towards you.
It still must've been pretty strange to have a seventh element of harmony, especially one as... unique as yours. Even without the whole 'magic being drained' part of it, there was still the fact that your element was bound to you spiritually, rather than physically.

"I should probably go too." Fluttershy said, timidly. You weren't expecting her to give you a reason, so you weren't offended when she left without a real goodbye.
Much like Twilight, she too gave you one last look, but you felt like this was more to do with the fact that Rainbow Dash had finally found somepony she could truly be herself with. They had been friends for a long time, after all, so it was only natural that she cared about her a lot.

After she had left, you were alone once again. The only thing you could do now was reflect while you awaited sleep. You couldn't exactly go anywhere.

On the plus side, your bond with the Mane 6 felt stronger than it ever have been, especially with Rainbow. You hadn't talked to Pinkie Pie or Rarity nearly as much as the others, but you still felt as if you could call them your friends.

Perhaps after you had prepared for Null's potential arrival, you could spend some time with them. That would be nice.

Speaking of Null...

When were you going to tell them?
> Chapter 49 - Anger
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another day passed, and it went as slow as it possibly could. Rainbow did not stay at the hospital over night, as she was busy taking care of her house for when you returned.

Even when you slept, it felt as if time was slow. Sleep felt especially draining, as you also met with Princess Luna. The two of you exchanged farewells for the time being, and then she was gone, locked away in thoughts.

You just hoped she would be able to put up fight until you were ready to take down Null once and for all.

After you had said your farewells to Luna, your sleep was filled with nothing but darkness. No dreams. No visions. Nothing at all.
Even those creepy dreams of your apartment from Earth had ceased.

Of course, now you knew the cause of those strange dreams. It was Null scrounging through your memories, searching for your weaknesses so he could reach your element easier.

It was safe to say that your final night in the hospital was the single worst night's sleep you had ever had. Even when compared to your first encounter with Null at the Golden Oak Library, you still ended up getting more sleep that night.

Several times during that night, you had woken up due to strange sounds interrupting your dreamless sleep; the sounds of battle, and the sound of magic, all converging into one unexplainable sound.
Every so often this eerie sound would interrupt your sleep, awakening you with a chill down your spine.

You had never been so relieved when the morning came. It felt as if that night would never end, and all you wanted to do was go home to see Rainbow.
It felt like it had been an incredibly long time since you had last seen here, when in reality it had only been a single day.

By today's standards, a day was quite a long time, but if you were to rewind back to a month ago, you sometimes went a full week without seeing Rainbow Dash.
Hell, you didn't even meet her until a few days after you had arrived.

As much as you wanted to see her, however, you still had to tell her about everything. She needed to know about Null, your nightmares, and Luna's potential sacrifice.

Not only that, but the others had to know too.

Perhaps you had been hiding too much from them? It seemed like almost everyday you found out something new that you had to hide from them.
You had to promise yourself that this was the last secret you would ever keep from them. Being an element of harmony yourself, you had to trust them. You just didn't like the thought of worrying them.

You didn't want to focus on that right now, though. First, you actually had to get home. Triumphantly, you left the hospital and took in a deep breath of air. You hadn't been outside for who knows how long.

Then you realised that hadn't flown in even longer.

It felt like you were just learning how to fly again, as you stretched out your wings for the first time in a while. You just hoped they wouldn't let you down, literally and metaphorically.

Thankfully, they seemed to work just like they used too, as you soared into the air at a high speed. You had considered taking it slow at first, but that seemed pretty boring.
You just wanted to get home as fast as you could.

As you flew over Ponyville, the usual magical sense of peace and security you usually had was... missing.

Well, it wasn't missing so to say. It was definitely still there, but it felt off. It was as if a form of dread was hanging over the whole town.
Perhaps you were the only one who could feel it, but if that were to be the case, you knew exactly why. You just hated the fact that you would have to share this dread with your friends.

Pretty soon, you could see Rainbow's house coming into view. It had felt like an eternity since you had last been here, even if you had been unconscious for most of it.

You landed and gave her front door a few knocks. Almost instantly, the door was practically thrown open by Rainbow Dash.

"About time!" she exclaimed, as she pulled you into a mid-air hug, "When you said a day, I didn't think you meant a whole 24 hours!"

You rubbed the back of your head sheepishly, "Yeah, sorry. I didn't get that much sleep."

Truthfully, you were able to leave whenever you wanted, but the strange sounds in your head constantly broke your sleep. You wanted to atleast get a few hours of sleep before you came back home.

"Eh, it's fine! Come in!" she commanded. She seemed pretty excited to have you back, even though it had only been a few days.
Even Tank seemed happy to see you, as he flew up to you and gently licked one of your forelegs. That seemed more like a dog thing to do, but you didn't want to question it.

"So did anything happen while I was away?" you asked, taking a seat on the comfy cloud couch that you had came to know so well.

"Not really. I mean, I was with you in the hospital most of the time." she explained, "Do you have anything you wanna do now though?"

You could tell that she pretty eager to go do something with you. It had been three days she had last had a real conversation with you, after all.

You thought for a second, but nothing came to mind. Well... Aside from telling her that Luna is currently fighting a dream demon in your mind.

"We could finish that race! I've been wanting to show you that I'm the faster flyer for a while now!" she exclaimed, but you didn't think that was a very good idea.

"I don't think we should do that, since I've just got out of the hospital." you said. You could fly perfectly fine, but if your rematch with her went anything like your last one, one of you was gonna get hurt.

"Yeah, right. Sorry," she replied, apologetically, "Well, we could... Y'know..."

She glanced towards the staircase, rubbing the back of her head nervously. You understood what she meant. If this was any other time, then you would've been all for it, but considering the news you had for her, it just wouldn't feel right.

"I've actually got to tell you something. And it's important." you said, a serious look on your face.

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh, as if tired of all the strange surprised you kept unveiling. First it was that you couldn't fly, then that you were from another reality, then that you were an element of harmony. You could understand if she was getting tired of it.

"Again?" she sighed, flying over to the couch to take a seat next to you. She sat down and waited for you to explain everything to her.

Well, there was no point in delaying it any further, no matter how much it may worry her.

"Since I arrived in Equestria, I've been having these strange dreams, and I never knew what was causing-" you had only just started talking, before Rainbow cut you off.

"Yeah, yeah, just get to the important stuff." She seemed way more laid back and impatient than usual. One hoof was slung over the back of the couch casually, as if waiting for you to finish talking.

"There's an evil pony in my head and he's draining my element's power." you explained, quickly. Rainbow stared at you wide-eyed, as if not knowing whether to take you seriously or not, "And Luna has locked herself in my thoughts so she can hold him off."

Rainbow's jaw dropped in disbelief as she stared at you, confused.

"Why is there always so much going on with you?" she asked, hovering up from the couch, "We've gotta tell the others about this!"

You couldn't agree more. You gave her a nod, getting up from the couch with her. Maybe one of them might know what you could do to help.

"Let's go." you said, realising that time was not something you had to waste. No matter how much time you had before Null drained your element, you knew that it wasn't infinite.

You followed Rainbow out of the front door of her house, and set off in a burst of speed towards Twilight's home.





"Everypony!" Rainbow called as she bucked open Twilight's front door with incredible urgency. She could sense the importance of the situation.

Looking into the library, everypony that you needed to talk to was already present, and each of them looked worried about something.

Pinkie Pie looked less hyper than usual.

Fluttershy looked even more shy than usual.

And Twilight...

Twilight was busy flipping through a book in the corner of the library, Spike standing besides her. She was flipping through it so fast that it didn't even seem like she was reading the pages, but was simply flipping them to relieve stress.

"What's wrong?" you asked as you cautiously stepped into the place you once called home.

At first nopony responded. Rainbow slowly flew into the room, worriedly looking around at all of her friends. What had happened?

"Princess Celestia told us about everything that's been happening with this 'Null' character, and Princess Luna." Rarity explained, sadly.

Celestia had already told them?

"Wait, what?" Rainbow exclaimed, "Why didn't she tell me?"

"She figured that we'd tell ya'll, or Storm would. He told you, right?" Applejack asked. You were thankful that you had told her when you did, because she almost definitely would have gotten mad at you right now.

"Yeah, he did, but..." Rainbow said, not quite able to understand what was happening. You had gave her a vague idea about what was happening, but she didn't really know the entire story.

It felt like everypony except for Rainbow Dash was mad at you for not telling them about this. They were justified, of course, but it wasn't a very nice feeling to have.

"We're not mad at you, you know." Fluttershy said, quietly. You appreciated that, but you couldn't shake the feeling.

"Yeah, you were in the hospital. It's not like you could've told us even if you wanted too." Spike said, trying to make you feel a little better.

Next to him, Twilight was still sat facing a wall, but she had stopped flipping through her book.

"Hey, Spike, is she ok?" Rainbow asked, looking worriedly at Twilight. Spike looked up to her, but didn't say anything in response.

Silence fell for a few seconds, but finally, Twilight said something.

"How can you all be so calm during this?" she muttered, her voice shaky. Everypony looked at her sadly, including you, "So many weird things have been happening, and I can't explain any of them."

Everypony decided it best to just let her vent for the time being. Considering everything that had been happening, it wouldn't hurt to let off some steam.

"First, a pony from another world appears, who just so happens to be a seventh element of harmony," she said, pointing a hoof towards you, "And now some evil pony is taking the power of that element so he can take over Equestria!"

That felt like a jab towards you, but for now, you didn't want to mention it.

"Hey, it's not Storm's fault all of this is happening!" Rainbow exclaimed, jumping to your defence, "For all we know this has been happening since long before he arrived!"

Twilight turned around, now seeming to be getting a little angry. It wasn't often that you saw Twilight like this, but when she was angry, things were going to get nasty.

"I didn't say it was his fault, but for all we know he's been keeping this a secret since he arrived!" she exclaimed. That hurt, even though you knew that it was far from the truth. You had been hiding things, sure, but only to not worry your friends.

When Rainbow didn't reply, Twilight turned to you. It felt horrible seeing the pony that once cared for you turn on you like this, but stress and fear could do some horrible things to a pony, "Do you even care, Storm? Princess Luna is risking her life in your mind, but do you really care about us?"

"Twilight, I think that's quite-" Rarity attempted to say, but was quickly silenced by Twilight's magic. You had never seen Twilight act like this before.

Every word that Twilight said stung like tiny daggers, but you knew that you were going to have to defend yourself.

"Of course I care. I couldn't sleep last night because all I could think about was Luna's wellbeing. So don't you ever say that I don't care about you again." you said, maintaining a serious and somewhat intimidating stare throughout.

"If you care so much, then why didn't you tell us about this?" Twilight retorted, getting incredibly close to you. Her intimidating stare went straight through you.

"Twilight, he was in-" Fluttershy whispered, but just like Rarity, she was silenced by Twilight's unicorn magic.

From the corner of your eye, you could see Rainbow Dash getting visibly frustrated. Her hoofs were crossed, but she couldn't say anything or she would be muted just like Fluttershy and Rarity.

The only thing you could do in this situation was prove to Twilight that you cared.

"You know what, Twilight? Cast a sleep spell on me, and I will gladly go and risk my life for Luna." you said, glaring at her. Twilight's eyes widened a little, as if shocked by what you had said.

"What? No!" Rainbow exclaimed. She understandably didn't want you to do that, but if that was what it would take to persuade Twilight that you cared, then you would do it, "Twilight, if you do that, I'll..."

She was unable to find the words to finish. Twilight looked at Rainbow with a hint of remorse in her eyes, but then she looked back at you, her horn beginning to glow purple.

"Twilight." Rainbow growled, but it didn't stop her.

Her horn began to glow purple as her eyes closed. If this was going to be the last time you saw your friends, it wasn't a very good last impression.

"Twilight!" Rainbow screamed, causing everyone in the room to gasp. The glow on Twilight's horn vanished into thin air as she looked up to her with a surprised and regretful look.

"I'm..." Twilight whispered, quietly. Rainbow looked down at her angrily, whilst the purple Alicorn stared down at the floor in shame, "I'm sorry everypony. Especially to you, Storm."

This was the Twilight that you had come to know. It was honestly scary seeing her like that, but you felt like you understood her reasoning behind it.

"It's ok. I get that all of this has stressed you out," you said, calmly, "But I've actually got an idea."

Everypony looked at you, expectantly. Truthfully, you had already told them your idea, but you figured you would have to repeat it to them in a less... hostile environment.

"I was being serious about that sleep spell thing, you know?" you said. If you were to fall asleep, you could theoretically find Princess Luna and help her, but you only wanted to do so whilst surrounded by your friends.
You wanted them to be there in the event that something went wrong.

"Ugh! Storm, no! It's too dangerous!" Rainbow exclaimed, worried about your safety.

True, it was dangerous. But without danger you never would've ended up in Equestria anyway. Without the threat of death lurking around every corner, you would still be on Earth right now.

"Yeah, it's dangerous. But if it means that Equestria will be safe, I'll do it." you said, giving her a determined stare.

For once, she didn't say anything in response. Instead, she simply stared back in fear. Out of everypony in the room, you were the one she was afraid of losing the most.

"Well..." Applejack began, interrupting the silence, "Have ya'll ever fought anypony before? Ah'm kinda hopin' you haven't."

You couldn't say that you had fought anypony. You did accidentally kill a golem in the Everfree Forest, but all you really did back then was distract it.
And besides, if you were to fight Null, you were going to use your magic. Or at least attempt to.

"No, I don't think so." you replied, realising that you might not be that much help in a fight.

"Well, in that case, we're gonna need to show you how to use your magic... Offensively!" Twilight announced, seemingly returning to her usual self.

You hadn't really thought of using your magic as an attack before. You had considered trapping Null with your magic, but never directly attacking him.

"But... How are you gonna teach me that? I thought barely anything was known about determination!" you exclaimed, noticing a large flaw with this plan.

Rarity shrugged, "I'm sure it can't be that different from normal magic."

That was slightly reassuring, but you couldn't recall normal unicorn magic being able to enhance your speed and practically freeze time.

"This calls for a montage!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, excitedly. You were aware of her constant fourth wall breaks in the show, but how would that translate into life?
Perhaps she was just saying it out of force of habit? Nevertheless, you decided to humour her.

"We could, or we could take our time and make sure I actually understand how to attack with magic." you said, not directly opposing her idea, nor agreeing with it.

"Eh. I'm sure the time will fly anyway!" she replied, happily. It was nice to see that she had also returned to her usual bubbly self when compared to how she was when you arrived.

"So, what exactly are we gonna do to help Storm's magic?" Rainbow asked. That was a question you found yourself wondering too.
In reality, they knew just as much as you did about your magic.

Twilight looked up towards Rainbow, "I've got a few ideas."
> Chapter 50 - Magic Training
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What exactly are we doing here?" you asked, as the seven of you arrived at the vast rolling plains below your's and Rainbow's house.
It felt as if no matter what you did, you were always drawn back towards your home.

Twilight gave you a confident smile, "We're going to test your magic by fighting you! In a friendly way, of course!"

That didn't sound like a very good idea.

"Were... What?" Fluttershy asked, quietly. It didn't seem like any of them wanted to fight you, even if it was to improve your magic skills.
Well, except for Twilight.

"I don't really want to fight any of you..." you said, seeing Twilight's idea as strange and a little stupid. As one of the princesses, you didn't expect her to come up with such a violent idea.

"Oh, we won't be hurting each other!" she laughed, "We'll just be acting as targets for your magic, which hopefully shouldn't hurt if you do it right."

If that was the case, then she worded it incredibly weirdly. And even then, you weren't sure you trusted yourself to not hurt any of them.

"Allowing myself to get attacked just simply isn't my style." Rarity exclaimed, pouting at Twilight's idea.

"Yeah, I don't really wanna just sit there and let myself get destroyed." Rainbow added, crossing her hoofs.

Twilight let out a sigh, "Like I said, his attacks won't hurt you unless he intends for them too! You can dodge his magic, but we want to make sure he's trained for when he goes to help Princess Luna!"

Even then, you couldn't see either of them agreeing to it. Rarity cared too much about how your magic may effect her appearance, and Rainbow Dash cared too much about her pride.
There was only one solution to this.

"You know what? You can fight back as long as you don't hurt me, ok?" you explained. As much as you didn't want a real fight, a simple round of target practice most likely wouldn't prepare you for the battle that was to come.

Rainbow looked at you for a second, before making up her mind, "Eh, alright. But don't expect me to go easy on you!"

You would expect nothing less.

"Before we start though, you need to know the basics!" Twilight explained, "All you have to do is focus on some form of attack, like a beam or a magic ball or something like that. As long as you don't intend to do damage with it, it shouldn't."

You supposed that made sense, but you wondered how magical beams would form considering you didn't have a horn to act as a catalyst for your magic.

"So does anypony want to go first?" Twilight asked. You didn't expect her to force anypony into it, as a fully fledged fight was quite a thing to experience, especially among friends.

The Mane 6 looked at eachother in silence for a few moments, before Fluttershy finally spoke up, "I-I don't really like the thought of fighting Storm..."

"Yeah, I'm all for fun, but this doesn't seem very fun!" Pinkie Pie added, skeptically. 

Twilight looked as if she was about to consider another option, before Applejack interrupted, "Ah'll go first. Ah may not like fighting you, Storm, but in the end, Equestria may depend on it."

Now that this was really going to happen, you felt a little nervous. You had never used magic to fight before, especially not one of your friends.

"Are you sure about this, Twilight?" Rarity asked, worriedly.

"No, but it's the only way we can teach Storm how to fight with magic!" she exclaimed. There were probably other ways, but you simply didn't have the time to spare to search for them, "Ready, Applejack? Storm?"

"As ah'll ever be." Applejack replied, preparing her trusty lasso like a western standoff.

You gave Twilight a nervous nod, confirming that you were ready to start. For your first ever time using magic offensively, perhaps Applejack was a bit too tough of an opponent.

For once, there was no countdown. Whenever somepony made the first move, it would begin.

Focusing as much energy as you could in front of you, you attempted to manifest a yellow ball of magic. It took a few seconds, but eventually the ball appeared.
Everypony gasped as they stared at you, surprised at seeing your magic first hoof. Apart from Rainbow and Twilight of course, who had already seen your magic in action.

Closing your eyes, you focused on shooting the ball forwards, towards Applejack. Thankfully, she was too taken aback by your magic to react.

The yellow magic orb fired forward at a lightning fast pace, colliding with her in an explosion of dust. Once again, everypony gasped as she was sent flying backwards.
Had you messed up? Had you hurt her?

"Ah'm fine, everypony! Just knocked me back, that's all!" she exclaimed, regaining her balance. Twilight gave you a quick smile, as if congratulating you on your first successful attack.

Distracted by the purple Alicorn, you didn't notice Applejack's lasso being flung across the air, directly towards you. Without enough time to react, the rope bound tightly around you, restricting your movement greatly.

"Looks like ah win, Storm." Applejack bragged, competitively. At first, it felt like there was nothing you could you could do, but then you recalled the primary focus of your magic.

Speed.

Focusing all of your energy towards your wings, you began to flap them as fast as you possibly could. Everypony watched with shocked expressions as your wings began to glow yellow momentarily, and you ripped free from the restraints of Applejack's lasso.

In a burst of speed, you soared into the air, turning around to make your way back down. These seemed like it would be a good time to end it.

As you continued to rocket downwards towards the ground, you once again focused your energy, this time on a magical beam. A few seconds later, a large yellow ray of light appeared in front of you, firing downwards at a faster speed than you could fly.

Applejack, taken aback by your sudden burst of flight, didn't react to the incoming ray of magic, and was hit head on. She fell to the floor as the collision knocked her to the side, ending the fight.

"That was... Awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed, staring at you as you landed on the ground, panting. As cool as it may have looked, that took a lot out of you, and you weren't sure if you could go for another round.

"Applejack, are you ok?" Fluttershy asked as Applejack got up from the ground.

To your surprise, she smiled proudly. Even if your magic didn't hurt her, surely her collision with the ground must have, "Nice job, Storm!"

"Didn't that hurt?" you asked, worried that you unintentionally hurt her.

"Nah!" she replied, "Besides, it'll make up for it when I watch you beat Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow crossed her hoofs, letting out a sigh of effort, "Hey! I could destroy Storm if I wanted to!"

You weren't sure whether to take that as a threat, but you were hoping she didn't mean it. Even if she did, you were about to have a chance to prove her wrong.

"Rainbow, are you going next?" Twilight asked, looking up at her with a nervous smile. Seeing her natural competitiveness was making her further question whether this was a good idea or not.

"You bet!" she replied, as she landed on the ground not far ahead of you. Although it wasn't a real fight, this was battle you weren't going to be forgetting any time soon.

You looked at her nervously, but she didn't reciprocate that nervousness in any way. All you saw on her face was confidence.

Once again, there was no countdown. Whoever made the first move would begin that battle.

Naturally, Rainbow was the first one to make a play, firing towards you at a lightning fast speed. Luckily, you had a feeling that she was going to use her own speed to her advantage, and leapt out of the way of her incoming attack.

For just a moment, you felt pride that you had successfully dodged her, only to turn around to see her flying towards you at an even faster pace.

This time, you weren't as lucky, and she launched you into the air upon collision.

Right now, you had two choices you could consider. Either you begin flying, as you instincts are telling you to do so, or you counter attack. As much as you wanted to ensure your safety, the first thing you did was focus your magic on a large beam, which soon manifested in front of you.

The large magical blast fired down towards the ground, tracking Rainbow Dash across the field as she flew around, attempting to evade it.

Second by second, the yellow beam slowly but surely began to catch up with her. Unless she did something, then it would eventually hit her.
Unfortunately for you, the brief flightless air time you had been experiencing was coming to an end, forcing you to take flight once again. As fast as you could, you began flying in the direction of Rainbow, attempting to keep your magic trained on her at all times.

Now it was like a game of cat and mouse, one chasing the other. Rainbow flew forward quickly, attempting the occasional roll to evade your magical blast, while you gave chase.
You weren't sure how long you could keep this up for, so you had to hope that your attack would hit her at some point.

Expecting the chase to go on for a while longer, you weren't prepared for Rainbow performing a 180 degree turn, slamming into you and sending you crashing in the opposite direction.
Unless you thought of something fast, this fight was over. Even your wings wouldn't stop you at the speed you were going. Thankfully, Twilight and Rarity were at the ready in the event that one of you happened to drop out of the air at any given time.

There was one way you could see of getting out of this situation, but it was something you had never tried before, and you weren't even sure if it was possible for you to do.
Watching Rainbow hover idly as she watched you fall, crossing her hoofs as if she had already won... It made you feel more determined than ever.

With every last bit of energy you could still muster, you closed your eyes and ignored the impending approach of the ground. You focused on the exact point above where Rainbow Dash hovered, and pictured yourself appearing there, and just like that, you felt yourself warp.

You had successfully teleported. It required work to make it more time efficient, sure, but you were technically the first Pegasus to ever teleport, or use magic at all for that matter.

Almost as if in slow motion, Rainbow turned around with a shocked expression only to see you above her, ready to strike. In the blink of an eye, your hoof collided with her, sending her flying down towards the ground.
You just hoped that punch didn't hurt her.

Surprisingly, Rainbow didn't let out any screams as she fell, indicating that she was probably fine. Either that, or she was unconscious. 
You were hoping for the first one.

As she neared the ground, it was becoming obvious that was no longer able to make a comeback. Mere moments before imminent death, a purply-blue glow wrapped around her, catching her, and lowering her safely to the ground.

Rainbow stumbled around as she regained her senses, unable to stand up straight, "I-I've never fallen that far before- Dizzy..."

Everypony let out a laugh, as the fall had made her that dizzy that she was unable to talk in clear sentances. You didn't laugh though, as you were just glad that neither of you had been hurt.

Swooping down towards the ground, you set your hoofs on the grass and let out a heavy pant. It was safe to say that you didn't want to do anymore of this.

"Ah'd say you know what you're doing now, Storm!" Applejack said, giving you a proud smile. Her hoof rested on Rainbow's back as she attempted to recover from her dizziness.

"Yeah, I'd say your about ready to take on Null!" Twilight explained, suddenly filling you with a familiar feeling of dread, "If you still want to that is..."

You appreciated that she wasn't forcing you to do this, but you felt like you had to do it. It almost felt like you owed it to them for all that they had done for you.

"Wait!" Rainbow called, seemingly returning to normal. You were almost expecting her to ask you to not go, once again, but to you surprise, she didn't, "I want a rematch!"

Of course she would. Right now, you didn't feel like fighting anymore. Even during that brief time, you had been worried that you were going to hurt her. Thankfully, you didn't, but you might not have been so lucky the next time.

"I'm... Not so sure that's a good idea, Rainbow..." Twilight replied.

"Yeah! Plus Storm's got something really important to do!" Pinkie added enthusiastically, despite the 'thing' you needed to do being incredibly dangerous.

"Ugh. I guess you're right." Rainbow sighed, finally admitting her defeat.

Now if felt like the time had arrived. The opportunity you had been waiting for was nearing. This was your chance to defeat Null before he can take his plan any further, and with Princess Luna's help, there was no way you could fail.
Right?

"Ready, everypony?" Twilight asked, preparing to teleport everypony back to the Golden Oak Library. You thought that she couldn't teleport things long distances, but perhaps in this situation she was making an exception. It must've required a lot of magic to do such a thing.

Everypony nodded, including you. There was no point in delaying it any further, as once again, time wasn't infinite.

"Then let's go." Twilight said, her horn glowing purple. In a blinding flash, the seven of you teleported back into the main room of the library...

Just in time for the greatest fight of your life.
> Chapter 51 - Dream Duel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Storm..." Twilight said, standing in the centre of the Golden Oak Library, "You know you don't have to do this, right?"

You had heard that many times. The amount of times Rainbow Dash had tried to talk you out of this, but it still felt like you had to do it. It was technically your fault you were all in this mess, after all.

"Yeah! We could just wait until Null gets here and beat him then!" Rainbow exclaimed, still searching for an alternative.

"Rainbow, if Null gets here then I'll have no magic and Princess Luna might..." you explained, deciding not to finish that last sentence. You knew how much the princesses meant to Twilight, so talking about their potential deaths might have upset her.

The twin princesses were supposed to be immortal, but their were still ways to restrain them to the point that they were essentially dead. Plus, in the dream world, a lot more was possible than there was in reality.

Rainbow Dash looked at the floor in shame, realising that attempting to persuade you otherwise would have been selfish. Allowing Null to proceed would only put Equestria at even greater risk.

"Wake me up if anything goes wrong, ok?" you told everypony.

"How do we know if anything's wrong?" Fluttershy asked, quietly. Thankfully, nopony else had any questions, otherwise you probably wouldn't have heard her.

She actually made a pretty good point. How were they going to know what's wrong?

"Um..." you began, thinking of things that ponies would usually do in the event of a nightmare, "If I start seeming scared, wake me up."

That was the best you could think off, and it wasn't like there was no chance of it happening. Fluttershy seemed to think that it sufficed, and gave you a nod.

"So, um..." Twilight began, nervously, "Are you ready, Storm?"

You took one glance at Rainbow Dash, then a glance at your friends, then turned your eyes to the window. It had suddenly began to rain, lightning crashing down every so often, but it had been sunny not too long ago.
Ontop of that, nopony else seemed to notice the storm outside.

Turning back to Twilight, you answered her question, "Yeah, I'm-"

"Wait!" Rainbow Dash called, interrupting you. Whilst she interrupted you quite a lot, you were never bothered as it was usually for something important. This time was no different.

Not missing a beat, Rainbkw flew up to you and pulled you into a tight mid-air hug. Everypony was watching, with large smiles on their faces, but she didn't care.
And neither did you.

"Make sure you wake up, ok?" she asked, breaking the hug with a smile.

"I promise." you replied, smiling back. You had a feeling you knew what she was going to say next.

"Pinkie promise?" she asked. You called it. You knew that she was going to ask you to Pinkie promise, but you didn't mind. Last time, you had broken your Pinkie promise to Twilight, but you didn't intend to repeat that mistake.

"I Pinkie promise." you said, giving her some sense of relief.

Instinctively, you turned towards Pinkie Pie, who had a huge grin on her face, "Now that you've Pinkie promised, you have to wake up, or I'll put you into a sleep you'll never wake up from!"

Your eyes widened as you stared at her, confused. Did she just threaten your life... cheerfully?

"O...k?" Twilight replied, slowly turning away from Pinkie to face you, "Now are you ready?"

You nodded your head, a determined grin on your face. So long as you didn't give up, you could achieve anything, and this was no different.

Everypony watched, having full confidence that you would awaken with Princess Luna at your side, as Twilight closed her eyes. Her horn began to glow purple, getting brighter and brighter, until...

Darkness...

It seemed that the spell had worked, but as of right now, you weren't dreaming. You were simply stood in a void, once again.

You attempted to get your bearings, but there were no bearings to get. Not until you started hearing sound.

Mysterious sounds were coming from a purple light not too far away, and you had a feeling that was where you were supposed to go.

Somehow, you were able to fly, unlike the last time you had visited this void. Thanks to this, you were able to reach the light in no time at all.
Or at least, you would have if it was getting any closer.

No matter how fast you flew forward, the purple light never seemed to be getting any closer. You were almost considering giving up, until another blinding light consumed your vision.

After a while, your sight returned, and you looked around.

You were still in a void, but there seemed to be a red border surrounding the area around you, as if it's was the perimeter of this dream. Not far from you stood Princess Luna, who had a large purple beam of magic shooting out from her horn. It looked as I felt she was struggling to hold it.

"Luna!" you called, too taken aback by your happiness to see her that you didn't bother to look at where the beam was heading.

Hovering overhead was the same shadowy pony that you had talked to in your dream not so long ago, but this time he looked more real. More... complete.
He was surrounded by a dark purple sphere, which seemed to holding him in place, but he was making efforts to escape.

Using all his might, he was crashing against the sides of the sphere, occasionally attempting to use your drained determination to try shattering it, but Princess Luna's own magic was too powerful.
However, her limit was nearing. 

"Luna, can you hear me?" you asked, seeing the struggle that she was undergoing.

"Storm?" Luna asked, opening her eyes to see you, "What are you doing here?"

You were expecting her to ask this, but you didn't feel like you had the time to answer, "I'll explain later, but it looks like you need some help."

Princess Luna looked away from you, going back to putting all of her effort into keeping Null contained, "I think I have it under con-"

Half way through her sentence, the glow around her horn began to fade. She was beginning to reach the limit of which her magic could take her. 
Even Alicorn goddesses could still feel fatigue.

"Yeah, it doesn't look that way." you said, not worrying about the slight rudeness of your statement. You were aware that it was no way to talk to royalty, but you were too focused on the sphere around Null, which was slowly beginning to blink in and out of existence.

"Storm, get out of here. I'll handle this, you just need to get ready!" Princess Luna pleaded, but that wasn't a plan you were intending to follow.

"Not happening, princess." you replied, continuing to watch the fading prison that kept Null restricted. Upon noticing the barrier beginning to fade, he gave you a grin.

"Nice of you to join us, Storm! It'll be a lot easier to drain your element if you never wake up from this dream..." he said, sadisticly. You braced your wings for flight; as soon as the sphere's restraints wore off, the fight would begin.

"There's one problem with that..." you began, giving him a determined stare, "I know I'm going to wake up after this."

Null gave you a patronising smirk, sneaking glances at the weakened Princess Luna as if studying for potential threats, "And how would you know that?"

Your wings fanned out as the bubble vanished, releasing him from his temporary prison.

"I Pinkie promised."



His smirk didn't fade, as if amused by your 'promise'. In the end, it was up to him and you as to who was making it out of this place.

Without a word in response, Null launched at you, a yellow spear manifesting in his hoof. If that was to hit you, it was going to hurt a lot.

Leaping out of the way of his weapon, he turned around and leapt at you once again, this time almost hitting you. You weren't expecting a second attack that soon after, but you had one advantage.

Wings.

Taking flight in order to dodge his attack, you began to prepare your counter. Focusing your energy on the shadow pony before you, you fired a magical yellow beam in his direction.

At first, he seemed worried, but upon realising that he too held a piece of your element, a yellow shield appeared before him, blocking the laser.

It seemed like you were gonna have to try a little harder than that.

Too your surprise, he seemed to have a way of attacking you in the air. Despite the training you had done with Mane 6 a few hours ago, there were still a lot of things you didn't know about your magic.
It seemed like Null was going to teach you a few new tricks.

Your eyes widened as his horn began to glow yellow, firing a barrage of yellow balls of energy at you. They didn't seem too hard to avoid, but then you realised that they were following you.

If you planned on staying in one piece, you were going to have to use your magic for something other than offence. Focusing your magic on your wings, you began to fly at twice your precious speed, easily outrunning the yellow balls of death.

"I see you are trained in the arts of determination..." Null said, his horn still glowing yellow despite there being nothing happening, "But nopony is as experienced as me."

You gave him a confused look, but then you felt your wings starting to feel strange. You were slowing down, and you didn't know why.
If you didn't descend towards the ground fast, then the fall that was soon to come would most likely kill you.

As fast as you could, you descended, suddenly realising what was happening. Null's own determination was cancelling out yours.

"Now you've got no way to escape..." he said, smirking, as he prepared another barrage of attacks. Before you knew it, three more homing balls were launching towards you.

You couldn't escape, but what if you could do something else? If Null could cancel out your magic, then what was stopping you from cancelling out his?

This time focusing on the yellow spheres before you, you could feel the magical forces behind them slowly falling under your control. Moments before they made impact with you, you gained control of them.

"What? How!" Null cried as his own attack was turned against him. His expression changed to one of shock and hopelessness as the homing balls locked onto him, quickly advancing in on his position.
If you were lucky, this could be the end right here.

Unfortunately, luck was not with you, as just like before, a magical yellow shield formed in front of him, protecting him from the blast.
Thankfully, the shield was shattered in the process, sending shards of yellow glass into the air before vanishing completely. You weren't sure of how it worked, but it didn't seem like he would be able to use that again. Not any time soon, at least.

Sensing an opportunity, you fired several rapid blasts of lasers at him. You had never learnt to use this, but it seemed like the most basic form of magic attack.

Much like you expected, Null's large size made him an easy target for the laser blasts, and since he had no method of protecting himself, every last shot hit.

"I've had enough of this!" he roared, his yellow eyes fading completely to black. It was as if every bit of determination he had was focusing on one thing.
Killing you.
And in the process, that determination manifested into something more. At heart, it was still determination, but this magic's only intent was to kill and to harm.

His horn glowing a deep black, he began to charge a large magical blast. You had a strong feeling of what was to come, and chose to prepare for it.

After a few seconds, Null fired a huge black beam of shadow in your direction, vapourising every last thing in its path. In retaliation, you fired out your own magical yellow beam, and both collided in mid-air.

Despite the circumstances, it was honestly the second coolest thing you had ever seen, rivalled only by the spectacle that was the Double Rainboom.
Two forces of good and evil clashing in the air, but only one can win. Who was it going to be.

Just for a moment, it felt like you were winning, but that hope was quickly crushed. The beam of shadow began to overpower your magic, pushing it back further and further. If you didn't do something, pretty soon it would be the end.
It seemed like Null's will to kill you was somehow stronger than your will to succeed.

The black beam of death was progressing, closer and closer, and it was beginning to look like there was nothing you could do. You braced for the moment that it would hit you, vapourising every last remnant of you, but it never came.





Opening your eyes, you were surrounded by a purple bubble. The beam of shadow was still hitting the bubble, but it was not hitting you.
Princess Luna had stood up, her horn glowing purple, and was smiling at you.

"Don't come back for me, ok?" she said. You weren't sure what she meant by that, "Oh, and... Tell my sister I'm sorry."

'Sorry? Sorry for what?' you wondered, looking at her with a confused expression from within your bubble of safety.

Within a blink of an eye, your vision flashed purple, and you were no longer in that bubble. Turning around, you saw Princess Luna stood in your place, taking the full blast of the beam.

Your jaw dropped as you watched the dark beam consume the Alicorn, but she didn't scream. In fact, she didn't make a sound.
Even Null looked surprised by her actions.

He stopped firing the dark beam, and looked in the direction of Luna. She was still there, but was laying on the floor, unmoving.

"Luna..." you whispered, staring at the unmoving Alicorn is disbelief.

Null approached the body, but you were too taken aback by what had just happened to care. He placed a hoof on her horn, "Did I just..."

You could tell whether she was dead or not, but it didn't vapourise her like it should've done. That was meant to kill you and that was it's primary purpose. Perhaps it had had a different effect on her.

"Luna!" you cried, beginning to gallop towards Null at full speed. Her turned around, a surprised expression on his face. You couldn't tell whether he regretted what he had done, but he had won this fight.

Moments before you collided head on into the dark unicorn, your vision was once again blinded by white as you began your return to reality. Luna was the reason for that dream's existence, and without her consciousness present, that dream could no longer exist.

Rubbing your eyes, you vision began to return, and you felt yourself laying on the cold, hard floor of the Golden Oak Library, all of the Mane 6 staring down at you with worried expressions.

"Storm?" Rainbow Dash was the first to ask, as you slowly but surely regained your senses. You groggily got up of the floor, rubbing your eyes with a hoof, "What happened? Are you ok?"

You had to admit, it was nice to see her so concerned about you, "I'm fine... I think..."

Everypony moved to the side in order to give you some space, before Twilight asked you the one question that you didn't want to hear; the one question that you wished didn't need to be asked.

"Where's Luna?" she asked in a concerned tone.

That was a question you didn't want to answer. Instead, you stared down at the ground, your ears drooping. Truthfully, you weren't sure if she was dead, but either way, she was trapped in the dream realm with seemingly no way of escape.

The best answer you could give her was: "She's not dead, but..."

Seeing everyone's mood suddenly drop made you not want to continue your sentence. You didn't want to lose hope, though. If she wasn't dead, then there was surely a way to bring her back to reality.

"And Null?" Rarity asked. You weren't sure of his fate either. Sure, you didn't kill him yourself, but maybe the collapse of your dream did some damage to him?

Looking above your head, you could see your element hovering above you, the dark black shadow still creeping up it like vines.

"He's still alive." you said, staring at your element with worry.

"Well, we have our elements," Twilight said, letting out a sigh, "We'll just have to wait for him to come to us, and then we'll save Princess Luna!"

That seemed like a good idea, but surely you had a day or two to spare before he arrived. Your magic seemed strong enough to hold your own, and with the other elements helping you, surely you would win the fight.

"What do we do while we wait?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight though for a moment, but eventually came to the conclusion that there was nothing else they could do at this moment, "Do whatever you want. Enjoy the few days we have before the battle arrives."

It seemed like she had said that with the hopes of cheering everypony up, but all it seemed to do was bring them down further.
She was right about one thing though.

Now matter how much you prepared for it, and no matter how ready you were for it...

A battle was coming.
> Chapter 52 - A Day With Dashie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neither you or Rainbow Dash said anything to each other as you both flew up to her house. The fact that you had lost the fight against Null was still playing on your mind, and clearly Luna's dissapearance was playing on hers.

There was a lot at stake now, so it was going to be hard to treat today like normal.

Even as we speak, your element was being drained, and nopony could do anything about it. There was no point in sitting in despair, though.
If you had to wait for Null to come to you, you may aswell do something in the meantime.

"So whatcha wanna do?" Rainbow asked, attempting to sound cheerful. You could tell that she was a little downtrodden, but were thankful that she was atleast trying to seem positive.

"I'm... Not really sure," you admitted, "I wasn't expecting today to be normal, if that makes any sense."

Rainbow tossed a spare carrot onto the floor of her house, allowing Tank to eat it, slowly but surely. Atleast he didn't seem any different due to the current situation.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Rainbow replied, but she had her own idea about what to do, "We could always finish the race at Ghastly Gorge?"

You laughed slightly under your breath at the idea of that. At this point, another race had been suggested so many times that it had begun to sound like a broken record.

"No, thanks. I think that's getting a little unoriginal." you said, sarcastically.

Rainbow crossed her hoofs, feigning offence, "Oh, yeah? You don't have any better ideas!"

While that was technically true, there was something you had wanted to do for a while now, but were unsure of when to do it.

"I do have one, actually..." you said, peaking Rainbow's interest.

"Oh, yeah? Let's hear it!" she demanded, competitively. So far, it seemed like you were succeeding in taking both of your minds off of the looming threat. Of course, you were giving yourself too much credit, as Rainbow was also contributing towards it.

You weren't sure how exactly to word your idea, so you couldn't really tell her what it was just yet. The best you could do was show her what you had in mind.

"Follow me." you said, with a smile. You opened the front door to Rainbow's house, shooting off into the distance. It was about time you were the first one out of the house.
So many times, Rainbow had left you behind; it felt good to finally be the one leaving her in the dust.

You heard her call out something, but didn't quite catch it. Nevertheless, not long after a multicoloured trail was soaring after you, but it didn't seem like it wa she catching up.
It seemed like you were going to have to wait for her.

That was something you never thought you'd have to do. Waiting for Rainbow Dash? Unheard of.

"Where are we going? Can't you just tell me what we're doing?" she asked. As much as you would like to tell her, you still weren't sure how to word it.

"Nope. You'll see when we get there." you said, flying alongside her.

Rainbow let out a loud groan of dissatisfaction, causing you to laugh slightly. Despite the events that had just unfolded in the dream world, it was incredible how fast Rainbow Dash could brighten your day.

After a few minutes of flying, you finally reached the place that you wanted to take her. It was a place that you had visited when you first arrived in Equestria, back when you didn't really know Rainbow Dash, or anypony for that matter.

"Do you remember this place?" you asked, landing at the top of the mountain. Ontop of the mountain was a ledge overlooking a shallow lake. A fall from this height would surely kill you, as the water wasn't deep enough to break your fall.

To your left there was a sign which read: 'Lover's Leap'.

"Yeah, but... Nothing happy happened here." Rainbow said, looking down at the glistening blue lake. It had been a long time since you had been here, but this time atleast you knew how to fly.

"Exactly," you replied, seeming to confuse her a little, "So I thought we could give this place some happy memories."

The only things that you could recall happening here was that you nearly died, and that you and Rainbow had an argument, but even then, this place was special to you. It was the first time you had ever hung out with Rainbow, so you wanted to overwrite those bad memories with good ones.
After all, when Null arrives, you might not get another chance.

"I think I get what you mean!" Rainbow exclaimed, happily.

Last time you were here, she had asked you to jump off into the lake below and take flight, but you had failed. This time, you weren't counting on Rainbow to save you.

"This seems like a pretty good place to get some air, if you catch my drift." you said, looking at the large open space above the blue lake.

"We could've just gone anywhere else to do some flying, you know?" she asked, also seeming to want to do something else. Honestly, it had been a while since you had done something that didn't involve flying or competing with her, "Got any other other ideas?"

Now that you thought of it, simply jumping off the ledge and flying did seem pretty boring. The two of you did cause the first Double Rainboom, after all. There was another idea you had, however.

"I think so..." you said, looking down into the lake. Too your surprise, there was a section of water directly below the cliff that seemed to be a darker shade of blue. Ordinarily, that would mean that the water was deeper there, but you had to be sure, "Wait here."

Rainbow seemed confused as you flew off the edge of the cliff, descending down towards the lake's surface. Nevertheless, she followed your instructions and remained on the cliff, watching you curiously.

As soon as you reached the bottom, you dipped a hoof into the section of water that you suspected to be deeper. Surely enough, you couldn't reach the bottom. Next, you dunked your entire body into the water, except for your head. Once again, you couldn't reach the bottom.

Still, you weren't quite sure that it was deep enough to break your fall.

"Storm! What're you doing?" Rainbow called from the edge of the cliff. Wanting to get back up there as soon as possible, you dived into the water as quickly as you could, but even then you didn't reach the bottom.

It seemed safe to assume that the water would be deep enough to save you if you were to fall.

Now knowing that jumping from the cliff was safe, you flew back up to Rainbow Dash, wanting to waste no time. This almost reminded you of the time you watched the Cutie Mark Crusaders jump into a lake off of a cliff. That still probably wasn't a good choice, but it ended up ok in the end, right?

"Ok, here's what we're gonna do," you began, landing besides her on the edge of the cliff, "We're gonna jump off this ledge, and we're gonna land in that dark pool of water, ok?"

"Can't we just fly?" she asked, snarkly, "That'd be a lot more fun than just falling."

"No flying allowed. It's gotta be unique and fun in some way, right, rather than just racing all the time." you explained, wanting to do something different rather than racing for a change.

"But, y'know... My wings..."  she said, looking down cautiously at the pool of water, "Th-they make me cooler!"

She almost seemed nervous. You never really realised how much Rainbow actually depended on her wings, but then again, she was a Pegasus.
You had to admit, it was going to be fun seeing how she fared without them.

Was this safe to do without the ability to fly? Probably not, but the place was called 'Lover's Leap' for a reason, right? It wouldn't be called that if ponies weren't supposed to leap off. Besides, there was no way this was going to be as dangerous as a race through the the Ghastly Gorge. The pool of water that was safe to land in was reasonably large, and surely you would only miss it if you actually tried too.

"Are you worried about not being able to fly?" you asked, attempting to tease her.

"W-What? No! I could do this with my wings tied!" she exclaimed, seeming to be a little offended. If what she said was true, though, she was going to have to prove it to you.

Using your magic, you bound her wings together using a glowing yellow rope. It hurt you a little, and you felt like you knew why, but this was potentially your last day to enjoy yourself. You didn't want to think about that now.

Rainbow looked at her wings in shock, attempting to break free. You smirked, realising that she was far less confident now that she couldn't fly.

"Now your wings literally are tied!" you exclaimed, a smirk on your face.

"Maybe we could do something else, instead?" she asked, faking a smile. She was clearly afraid of this, but didn't want to show it.

"Are you chicken?" you asked, teasing her. Usually it was her jokingly mocking other ponies, so it honestly felt good to see the tables get turned.

"Ha! Me? No!" she laughed, her voice a little shaky as she looked down at the lake. It was as if having the ability to fly completely nuetralised the fear of heights.

"Well, let's jump then. Both of us together." you said, nearing the edge of the ledge. Looking to the left of you, Rainbow was looking a thing her wings worriedly, "Don't worry, ok. If something goes wrong I'll catch you."

At first, she seemed unresponsive, but then she gave you a smile.

"Ok. Let's go." she said, her confidence seeming to return.

Both of you looked down at the pool of water below you, and took a few steps forward. The two of you glanced at eachother, a hint of worry still in Rainbow's eyes, as you prepared to jump.
Not long after, you both took a step over the edge.

Rainbow's panicked screams were all that you could hear as you fell, and you couldn't help but laugh. If it wasn't for her, you probably would've been the one screaming. Sure, you could still fly, but that would've been unfair.

Her wings instinctively struggled to escape the grasp of your magical restraints, but to no avail. You just kept falling, and falling, until...

Splash!

Both of you hit the water, and were thankfully fine. Surprisingly, Rainbow was the first to resurface, gasping for air, with you following not long after.

"That was... scarily awesome..." Rainbow admitted, taking a breath after every word. You too panted for air after the slightly unexpected collision with the water.

"It... Was..." you replied, taking in as much air as you could. Realising that you still had Rainbow's wings restrained, you released the magic that you had put on her wings, and she immediately shot into the air, "Wanna do it again?"

"Not really. There's something I've kinda wanted to do for a while now, and I don't see a better time." she explained, hovering above the lake.

Upon realising that you also had wings, you floated out of the water, shaking yourself dry, "You could've told me that earlier, and you could've gotten out of this."

"Yeah, but I wanted to see if you would've been too scared to jump or not!" she exclaimed, defensively.

"Ok, ok!" What's been on your mind?" you asked, wanting to know what activity was occupying Rainbow's thoughts.

Rainbow stared at the reflective surface of the lake, staring at her own reflection for a few seconds. It was as if she had just gotten lost in another world, "It'd be best if you just followed me."

She looked up to you, giving you a grin, before flying off into the sky. Once again you had been left behind, but she wasn't gonna wait for you.
You'd better catch up now while you still can.
> (MATURE) Chapter 53 - A Night With Dashie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Um, Rainbow?" you asked, as the two of you landed on the cloudy surface of her front garden, "Why have we come back home?"

You had to admit, when she said that there was something she had wanted to do, you were almost expecting her to take you back to the Ghastly Gorge to settle your unfinished business.

"Because it's late, duh!" she said, pushing open her front door. It was beginning to get quite late. The sun had set a while ago and now the moon was in its place.

Although Luna was still 'unconscious' in the dream world, the moon had somehow still raised. Princess Celestia must've been working over time in order to keep the time of day in check.

"Yeah, but... I thought there was something you wanted you wanted to do." you replied, confused. Following her through the front door, you could see Tank sleeping in a strange position on the cloud couch.

You couldn't help but laugh at the weird position the tortoise had found himself in; flipped over onto the back of his shell.

"There is something I want to do!" Rainbow replied, as you closed the door behind you.

"Well, where is it?" you asked, still feeling as confused as ever. You glanced around the cloud house, seeing nothing of interest or out of the ordinary.

"It's... Upstairs!" she exclaimed, immediately taking flight towards them. She seemed nervous for some odd reason.

You let out a puzzled sigh, realising that she was most likely improvising in order to get out of jumping off of that cliff again. Honestly, you couldn't blame her though. Having the ability to fly for your entire life, then having that ability stripped from you temporarily must've been an experience.

Realistically, though, it wasn't something she had never experience before. Discord had once removed her wings using magic for a short time, so surely she knew what it was like to not be able to fly.

Nevertheless, you followed Rainbow Dash up the staircase, being sure to not wake up Tank. A tired, angry tortoise was not what you wanted to deal with right now.

"Rainbow?" you asked, reaching the top floor of her house. You had no idea where she was, or what room she was in, but she wasn't making a sound.

Cautiously, you crept around the top floor of the cloud tower, searching from the bathroom all the way to her bedroom. If she was anywhere, she would be in her own room.

"Rainbow, where've you gone?" you asked, as you approached her bedroom door. It would only be you that could get lost in your own house.

Slowly, you opened the door, and immediately you felt a pair of hoofs wrap around you, lifting you into the air. Before you could react, you felt yourself get swung around and thrown through the air, landing on the bed.

"Does that answer your question?" Rainbow asked, laughing as she flew over the the foot of the bed. If you weren't a Pegasus, she most likely wouldn't have been able to lift you right there.
You also wouldn't be here right now, as you would've been falling to your death.

"I guess it does," you began, not yet attempting to get up from the bed, "But I have another question."

Rainbow crossed her hoofs, smirking slyly. That seemed to be your indication to go ahead with you question, "What exactly do you wanna do up here?"

Rainbow continued smirking for a second, before letting out a sigh. She hovered further over the bed, until she was positioned directly above you.

"You haven't figured it out yet?" she asked, confusing you even further. She let out another sigh before flying down and landing ontop of you, "It's you."

Now you understood her, but before you could make any form of response her lips met yours.

She tasted like... rainbows. You weren't sure how you knew what's a rainbow tasted like, but if they tasted like anything, this was it. There was also a hint of spice, but that you expected.
The rainbow water at the cloud factory did literally set Pinkie Pie on fire, after all.

After a few moments, Rainbow broke the kiss in order to breathe, but after a few seconds, you were right back to it. This felt a lot more passionate than last time.

Before long, the inevitable happened.

You could feel your hormones rushing to a certain area of your body, and you definitely understood why. While last time you were a little embarrassed about it, this time you weren't ashamed in anyway.

Upon noticing this, Rainbow broke the kiss once again, "So... Do you wanna...?"

Honestly, you weren't expecting her to be so straight forward, but you preferred it this way anyway. You didn't want to risk this getting awkward, even for a second.

"Yes," you said bluntly, not even giving it a second thought. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to do, but you felt as if you could justify it, "We might not get another chance."

Once again, your thoughts were driven back to the battle that was slowly impending. Sooner or later it would arrive, but for now, you were free to enjoy yourself.

Rainbow gave a compassionate smirk, before beginning to lower herself. Too your surprise, she stopped moments before touching you.

"Wait! What about... Y'know... Foals...?" she said, worriedly, "I don't think I'm ready for that kinda stuff yet."

This was something that had been worrying you too, but you hoped that you had found a solution. Via some research that you had done, you had discovered that your magic had some... unique uses.

"Don't worry," you said, as your wings began to glow a soft yellow, "I've got that covered."

The two of you grinned at each other before she finally closed the remaining distance between you and her.

"Mmph..." Rainbow groaned, as if in pain. Instantly, a wave of electricity shot through you, and she must've been feeling it too, even if not positively.

"Are you ok?" you asked, moving back and forth slowly.

"Uh huh!" she replied, nodding her head. Her eyes were closed, so she was either loving it, or she was trying to drown out the pain.

A few minutes had passed before she began to speed up, moving up and down at a slightly faster pace. You were thankful to see that her pain was beginning to lessen.

"Fuck..." Rainbow moaned, beginning to pick up the pace even more. Her wings had fanned out, in order to keep balance as she sat up.

She continued moving quicker and quicker, slowly getting a little fast every few seconds. Too your surprise, she eventually collapsed down onto you, her face burrowing into your neck.

Her warm breath felt nice against you, almost comforting in a way.

Realising that her speed was beginning to steady out, you realised that you needed to take it upon yourself to finish this. Slowly, you began to pick up your own speed.

"Ah..." Rainbow moaned, letting out even more warm air into your neck. You could safely say that this was the best you had ever felt in your life. Despite the looming threat, you had never felt so safe.

Eventually, you had almost matched her pace, and could begin to feel the end nearing. Rainbow began to rub her face into your neck vigorously, her breathing shaky.

"Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh!" she exclaimed, over and over again like a broken record. Unlike a broken record, however, this was a sound that you liked hearing.

Within in a few moments, you had finished and your pace began to slow. Rainbow's breath continued to stay shaky, but her pace too began to slow down, until eventually you both parted.

Her head rose from your neck, staring at you with loving eyes. A sincere smile that you didn't see very often began to grow on her face.

"That was... so awesome." she exclaimed, before collapsing onto you once again. Her head rested on your chest, her multicoloured mane rubbing gently into you. With every breath you took, you saw her rise and fall.

She seemed incredibly tired after that, and honestly, so did you.

You wrapped a single hoof around her, gently pushing her wings back into their usual position, and closed your eyes. All you could hear were the sounds of both your's and Rainbow's breathing, and that was all you needed to hear.

The two of you fell asleep in each other's hoofs, drifting off into a peaceful sleep. Whatever the coming days threw at you, and whatever Null had planned...

You would take it on together.
> Chapter 54 - Manifest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia sat on her throne, trying her best to look cheerful for her citizens. On the inside, however, she was anything but cheerful.

It had only been a few days since her sister, Luna, was locked away in the dream world.

Occasionally, she could hear her voice talking to her through her thoughts. She might've been hallucinating, but something told her it was real.
Something inside her was telling her that the voices she was hearing were definitely that of her sister.

It was hearing the voice of her sister that kept her motivated to atleast try to seem happy. To atleast try to appear that nothing was wrong.

It reassured her that there was still hope that Luna could return. After all, she returned after being banished to the moon, didn't she?

Of course, there had to be a reason that Luna was still able to communicate with her. Perhaps it was simply her powerful ability to manipulate and interact with dreams? Or maybe it was simply the fact that they were sisters?

Nopony really knew. Not even Celestia.

Despite her rule lasting for longer than she could remember, nothing like this had ever happened before. Previously when they had fought Null, Princess Luna had banished him to the dream world before he could act.
It was funny how the tables had turned now.

How she was communicating with Celestia wasn't the only question to be answered, either. There was also the matter as to why she was communicating.

Being stuck in the dream world, Luna had vastly more knowledge than those in the physical world. Everything that Null did or said, she would hear. They were both trapped inside of your mind together, after all.

Luna wasn't just communicating with her sister for a chat. It was only a matter of time before something was to happen, and it was only a matter of time before she would have to warn Celestia about the coming threat.

"Sister..." a voice echoed in Celestia's mind. If it wasn't for the fact that she knew who was talking to her, she would have been startled.

"Sister... Can you hear me?" Luna's voice asked, her voice seeming urgent.

"Yes, Luna. I can." Celestia replied instantly, sensing the urgency in her voice. Naturally sensing that something was wrong, her natural instincts to protect her kingdom began to kick in.

"Look up..." Luna's voice advised, seeming to confuse Celestia at first.

Cautiously, the Alicorn Princess turned her head to look up, only to see something that she had never seen before.

A large black stain lay on the roof of her throne room, occasionally moving like black ink. It was exactly the same substance that seemed to be coating your own element of determination. Tiny white stars lay flashing against the dark, sinister background, giving life to an otherwise eerie smudge.

"What is..." Celestia asked herself, about to call for her guards. She stopped herself, realising that two Pegasi wearing armour wouldn't be able to do anything about an entity that even she didn't know the existence of.

She glanced to the ceiling again, only to see something that shocked her. The stain was beginning to grow, slowly expanding from a small circle into a much large one. Eventually, it stopped growing, and maintained it's position in a shape about the size of Celestia.

The Alicorn Princess continued to stare as the edge of the circle began to glow yellow. The small white stars began to sparkle more intensely as the yellow glow got even brighter.

Celestia gasped as she finally realised what the circle was.

It was a portal.

Moments after realising, a large black unicorn, roughly just under the size of the portal, began to emerge, a sinister smirk on his face. There was no doubt that it was Null, and he had finally harnessed enough determination from your element to manifest in the real world.

Celestia didn't speak, and instead just stared, her eyes wide with shock, at the shadowy unicorn before her.

"Hello, Princess." Null said, standing mere metres away from the throne.





That night was the best sleep you had ever had. Instead of a strange dream or vision, your slumber was simply filled with thoughts of Rainbow Dash.

It was a sleep you didn't to wake up from, but you knew you'd have to eventually.

After such an amazing rest, you expected to slowly wake up with the sunlight shining down on you, embraced in Rainbow Dash's hoofs.
While technically that did happen, you didn't wake up the way you expected.

"Storm..." a voice whispered, waking you up, but also keeping you stuck in a dream. It was as if you were unconscious, but conscious at the same time.

And that voice...

You could have sworn that you recognised it.

"Canterlot..." the voice added, and then you began to realise who it was that was speaking to you. It was none other than Princess Luna. While she could talk to her sister thanks to their undeniable link, you weren't quite sure why she was able to talk to you.

The answer was quite obvious, though. Null could communicate with you when he was trapped inside your mind, so there was no reason why Luna couldn't aswell.

"What do you mean? What about Canterlot?" you asked, despite not being able to see anything. Lifting your hoofs up to your face, you couldn't even see them. Even whilst attempting to fly, you didn't move.

Much to your concern, Luna didn't respond. Something was happening, and you needed to get to Canterlot fast. The first question, however, was how you were going to wake up. Princess Luna wasn't responding, but you were still 'unconscious'.

Not long after that thought crossed your mind, a familiar pain that you never wished to feel again began growing inside of you. 
It started in your chest, slowly spreading outwards to your legs. After that, it grew outwards towards your wings, and then finally along your neck and to your head. Instinctivel, you fell to the ground, despite not being able to see it. There was nothing you could support yourself with, so you simply collapsed onto the ground, coughing up a few drops of blood as the pain beat against your chest.

"Gah!" you cried, shooting awake in Rainbow's bed. You hurriedly took in breath after breath as you looked around the bedroom, and surely enough all of your pain had vanished.

Rainbow's eyes opened as she gently removed her hoofs from around you, rubbing her eyes, "W-What? What's wrong?"

Despite obviously seeming tired, she sat up and began to listen to you, even though she could have easily pretended to ignore you and go back to sleep. Even then though, Luna's words, however few, seemed very urgent. You weren't sure how much time you had.

"We need to go to Canterlot." you said, still panting a little. It was very early in the morning, and you were half expecting Rainbow to just brush you off and go back to sleep.

"What? Why?" she asked, seeming confused. You couldn't blame her, though. You were pretty confused too, but you knew that something bad was happening. Otherwise, Luna wouldn't have wasted her energy trying to communicate with you.

"I'm not certain, but I think it might be in danger." you explained. She could tell that you were being serious, as all traces of tiredness were wiped from her face as soon as you mentioned the word 'danger'.

"How do you know?" Rainbow asked, but deep down she knew you were being truthful.

"Princess Luna told me. Kinda." you explained, and that was all she needed.
Rainbow Dash grabbed your hoof and pulled you out of the house via the bedroom window. It wasn't an ordinary way to exit the house, but atleast you hadn't been left behind this time.

Both you and Rainbow Dash knew that, If Luna was right and Canterlot really was in danger, then you needed to be ready. You needed your friends.





Both Null and Princess Celestia stood, staring at eachother with hatred. Her royal guards most likely would lose a fight against such a foe, so this was going to be up to her.

"It's been a while since I last saw you, princess." Null said, with an un-wholesome smile, "The last I saw you was when you and your sister banished me to the dream world."

Celestia stared at the shadow unicorn angrily, but she didn't want to let her own anger consume her. The fate of Equestria was hanging more and more in the balance, and every choice she made would count.

"What have you done with her?" Celestia asked, sternly.

"Oh, nothing much." Null began, a smirk on his face, "I never meant to hit her, but thanks to her sacrifice, I managed to make this part of my plan much easier!"

The Alicorn Princess was confused, but she didn't want to show it. Surely Luna's sacrifice had lead on to become something good, right?

"What do you mean?" Celestia asked, preparing her magic just in case.

"If Luna didn't do what she did, then I would have to fight both of you right now," Null explained, closing of the dream portal that he had entered through. Although Luna theoretically couldn't return to Equestria without the help of determination, he didn't want to take any chances, "Because she's no longer here, it'll be a lot easier to take just you on!"

Princess Celestia narrowed her eyes, her horn beginning to glow. It seemed that the only choice in this situation was to fight, whether she liked it or not.

"My sister might be gone for now, but I'm going to fulfill what her final wish would have been," she said, her horn glowing brighter than anypony had ever seen before, "To send you back to where you belong."

Null was unfazed by the Alicorn's threat, but the multicoloured beam of light flying in his direction was a different story.

Unprepared for such an attack, the beam hit the unicorn head on, sending him flying into the wall of the throne room. Unfortunately, the blast wasn't enough to kill him, but it seemed to incapacitate him.

"H-how..." Null groaned as he attempted to climb to his hoofs, "How is your magic so powerful?"

If any other pony attempted to perform such an attack on him, it wouldn't have any effect. By now, he had harnessed enough determination from your own element that almost all attacks should have been like nothing to him.

"I suppose you could say that I'm having some help..." Celestia announced, her horn flashing purple briefly. She took a few steps down from the throne, and began to advance towards the fallen unicorn.

Still, he was attempting to get back on all fours, but that was something Celestia couldn't allow. Realising that she had the upper hand, she used her magic to collapse one of the many pillars that supported the roof of the throne room. Piles upon piles of rubble rained down upon Null, trapping his two hind legs. This would surely cost a lot of bits to rebuild, but it would be worth it.

Null roared with pain as rubble buried his entire lower half. It seemed as if he had been defeated. All of that time spent preparing, only for Celestia to best him immediately upon his return.

"I expected more from you." Celestia said, approaching the fallen unicorn whilst preparing a spell that would cast him back to the dream world where he belongs.

Null stared at the ground, defeated, but for some odd reason... He was smiling.

"You expected more from me?" he said, still looking down at the floor. He laughed, as if somepony had just a told a horrible joke and he was just trying to be polite, "Look above the throne."

Startled by the shadow unicorns sudden confidence, Celestia turned around to face her and Luna's throne. What was hovering above it left her speechless.

Mere metres above her throne was the element of determination, now more than three quarters of the way corrupted by Null's black substance.

"Do you understand now, princess?" Null asked, rising from the pile of rubble as if it was nothing. His eyes flowed yellow, a contrast to the deep black that they were when you last fought him, "I now hold the most powerful magic in Equestria!"

Celestia, speechless, remained unaware of the ginormous yellow hoof that was flying in her direction. It seemed like determination could create its own artificial punches.

The magical hoof slammed into the Alicorn, like a full force punch from a minotaur. She went flying across the throne room, crashing into the the stained glass panes above the throne. Somehow, it didn't break, and she fell to the floor with pain.

"C'mon, Princess! Where's all your fight gone?" Null mocked, knowing that there was no way that her magic could beat his, "What happened to that 'help' you were getting?"

Although Luna was helping Celestia create more powerful magic, this would have no effect in the latter couldn't even muster the energy to use magic to begin with.  

To add insult to injury, Null repeated the same process that was performed on him, only this time the roles were reversed. Using his own magic, he sent an entire pillar crashing down on the weakened Alicorn, rendering her unable to fight.

"Looks like I win, after all!" Null announced, approaching Celestia, "After that lacklustre fight, I think I have several years of frustrations to take out on... Hm..."

Null pondered, standing mere inches away from the incapacitated princess.

"Ah, yes! Manehatten will do nicely!" he announced, planning the next step of his plan, "That place holds plenty of ponies to drain of there magic!"

"Don't..." Celestia whispered, weakly.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't quite hear you." Null mocked, laughing sadisticly. Although at first Null acted menacing and even ominous, it seemed as if the power of almost an entire element of harmony was going to his head.

Despite it being entirely unnecessary, the evil unicorn shattered the stained glass window above the thrones, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a city to terrorise!"

Null magically grew a pair of wings, glowing yellow like the sun, before shooting up and out of the window he had previously shattered. It seemed he had defeated both of the princesses.

You and your friends had almost arrived, but it was moments too soon. Null was already long gone, and Celestia was unable to move.
Both you and Rainbow Dash crashed through the doors to the throne room, ignoring the guard's calls from the opposite end of the corridor. The rest of your friends followed, before letting out a gasp over what they saw before them.

Upon seeing the remains of the throne room, you froze in mid-air, your jaw dropping.

"Celestia!" Twilight cried, galloping past both you and Rainbow. Using her magic, she began to pick up and move pieces of the rubble that trapped the Alicorn Princess underneath, "Everypony, help me!"

Adhering to Twilight's request, you, along with the rest of your friends, began to assist her.

Rarity helped by removing pieces of rubble, much like Twilight, whereas Applejack and Pinkie Pie simply picked up individual pieces of threw them off to the side. You, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy each helped by clearing large pieces of rubble, and carrying them elsewhere.

Eventually, Celestia was no longer trapped below rubble, but it seemed as if she was still unable to move.

"What happened here?" Rainbow Dash asked, glancing at the broken pillars and smashed glass panes. It certainly looked like a battle had happened.

"I... I don't know..." Fluttershy answered, looking worried by the current events.

Twilight had sat down by the princess' side, resting a single hoof on her with the intention of comforting her. You had already lost one princess for an uncertain amount of time, the last thing you all needed was to lose both.

Celestia let out a few coughs, seemingly conscious again. Slowly and cautiously, her eyes began to open, staring in horror at the ruins of her throne room.
"T-Twilight..." she stuttered, confused. The last thing she could remember was looking up as mountains of rocks and rubble collapsed onto her.

"Princess! What happened to you?" Twilight asked, tears almost forming in her eyes.

"Yeah, princess. You ain't exactly lookin' so good." Applejack added.

"Null was here. Null has came to the real world," Celestia began, seeming to be panicked, "You have to go to Manehatten. Warn the ponies there about him."

It seemed that Luna had been correct; Canterlot was indeed in danger. You were too late to stop Null this time, but if you could reach Manehatten in time, you could put an end to it right there.

"C'mon everypony. We've got a city to save." you announced, new found determination in your eyes. You knew that your element was no longer fully in control, but nothing could take away your determination. Nothing could ever take away your courage.

You really wings fanned out, ready to take flight, but Twilight stopped you, "I'm gonna stay here with Celestia."

That seemed fair. You knew how much both of the princesses meant to her, and she wouldn't be able to bear losing them both.
You gave her a simple nod in response, smiling warmly.

"Make sure you all come back, ok?" she added, smiling in response. On the outside, she was smiling, but on the inside you knew that she was hurting more than she ever had done before.

Rainbow Dash laughed, flying over to you and nudging you, "Why wouldn't we when we've got me and Storm to protect us?"

It honestly made you happy that even in times like these, she never lost her usual spark.

Twilight laughed in response, rubbing her eye. Even Celestia seemed to smirk a little.

"Good luck, everypony." she said, hoping that this would be the last ever time she would have to hear the name 'Null'. You had similar hopes, but it was up to you and your friends to make those hopes become reality.

Slowly, you approached Twilight and pulled her into a hug. Honestly, you didn't care about whether or not this made Rainbow Dash jealous. She needed this.

"Thank you." Twilight said, smiling as the two of you parted.

The rest of your friends said their goodbyes, and thankfully Rainbow didn't seem too jealous over your previous action. Honestly it would have kinda annoyed you if she was.

"Ready, Storm?" Rainbow asked, waiting near the door with the rest of her friends.

You looked up to her, a determined grin growing on your face. 

"Let's go, everypony."
> Chapter 55 - Spirit Tracks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"All aboard the train to Manehatten!" the conductor announced to the station. Pretty soon, the train you were scheduled to catch was set to depart for the city. You could have easily flown there, but three of you were lacking wings, and Rainbow Dash wasn't fond of flying long distances anyway.

It kind of surprised you that trains were still travelling to the city, considering Null had chosen it to be the place that he terrorises. Clearly whatever he intended to do hadn't been done yet.

Thinking back to the story that Twilight had told you about Null, what felt like years ago, you could recall her saying that he stalked the edge of the city, silently draining pony's determination without the realising. Perhaps he intended to do something similar to that, but on a much larger scale.

Speaking of Twilight, she was practically ruling Equestria for the time being. Atleast until Celestia recovered or Luna was released from the dream world.

"I say! This train is rather spectacular!" Rarity exclaimed, stepping into one of the first class carriages. Seeing as how you were best friends with one of the princesses, the six of you had been granted access to first class privileges, with all expenses paid for.
Sure, the entirety of Equestria was in danger, but nopony ever said you couldn't try to enjoy yourself.

"It looks like the kinda thing you'd see in an antique shop." you replied, looking at the delicately carved furniture and fancy lights. The carriage looked good, but it felt... inspirationless.
To put it simply, it felt more Canterlot than Ponyville.

Pinkie Pie looked as if she could barely contain her excitement, bouncing up and down enthusiastically as she wondered along the carriage to find her seat.

"Woo!" she exclaimed, almost knocking her head against one of the chandeliers, "I like the colour of that curtain!"

You didn't quite understand why she was excited over the colour of a curtain, but it was Pinkie Pie after all, so maybe it was best to question to it. On top of that, the curtain in question was only a simple red. Nothing really that unique.

"Y'know, when you said 'first class', this wasn't what I had in mind..." Rainbow sighed, taking a seat next to one of the windows.

That was something you could agree with. The carriage that you were in looked nice, but it felt anything but that.

"It feels kinda overbearing..." Applejack added, taking a seat opposite Rainbow Dash as the train began to move. You had a few hours to kill, at least, so you had better get comfortable.

Taking a seat next to Rainbow, you had to push yourself up against her to make enough space for Fluttershy. Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind having you grazing against her, and even seemed to like it.

For the first few minutes, nopony said anything, and simply let the train leave the station. Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the first one to initiate conversation.

"Uhm..." she whispered, quietly. Although she didn't say much, it seemed to be enough to spark some life within you and the rest of your friends.

"So what in the hay happened to Celestia?" Applejack asked, seemingly a little irritated. Nopony could blame her though, as she wasn't the only one being effected by it. You could remember seeing Twilight fighting back tears at the princesses side, and for upsetting one of your friends like that...

Null was going to pay.

"Null escaped the dream world." you explained, instantly, "That evil pony in my head that imprisoned Luna got out."

The way you explained made it seem like you were ashamed. You firmly believed that this was your fault, and that if you had defeated him when he was still in your dreams then this never would have happened.

"C'mon, Storm," Rainbow replied, placing a comforting hoof on you, "It's not your fault."

She was right, but you couldn't help but feel like you played a part in it. You were quite possibly the most abnormal pony in Equestria, with being from another reality and all.

"She's right! Even without you, this probably would have happened anyway!" Pinkie exclaimed, suddenly. It was strange seeing her attempting to cheer you, all the while maintaining her chirpy, fun attitude.

"But then without you, we might not stand as much of a chance." Rarity added, giving you a smile.

It was nice seeing everypony attempting to cheer you up. It made you really feel like you meant something to them. It really made you feel like their friend.

In your previous life, you never would have believed that upon your death, you would end up living among the characters you once called fiction. Once upon a time, this world was only the creation of another human, but now it was more than that. Now this world was real, and it was in danger.

"Thank you everypony." you said, feeling slightly more relaxed. Despite the threat that may potentially await in Manehatten, you had never really spent an extended period of time with the Mane 6.
Well, all of them except for Twilight that is. Still, she definitely had her reasons to stay behind, nopony could deny that.

Time passed, and the train was passing through a vast open countryside. It was quite peaceful, but there wasn't much scenery to look at.

Applejack and Fluttershy had began to fall asleep. You couldn't blame them; this had been a hard day for everypony so far. Rarity had gotten up to explore the train, mostly likely to examine the architecture and fashion of the other carriages. Pinkie Pie continued staring out of the window, most likely turning every little thing she saw into the wildest creations she possibly could with her own imagination. Rainbow Dash was reading, seeing as how everypony had found something to do.

That only left you. You had never really found a hobby that didn't include flying, so maybe when all of this was over, that was something you could add to your to-do list.
Perhaps something to do with art? Anything the involves creativity had always inspired you, but you had never really acted on it.

For a while you considered going to sleep, and shut your eyes to attempt do doze off. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie didn't seem to mind, and promised to wake you if anything happened.

Getting to sleep seemed like it would be more difficult, what with the train shaking and all, but in reality it was much easier. The constant shaking of the train and the comforting feeling and Rainbow Dash occasionally brushing against you was almost relaxing in a way.

As you finally began to doze off, you began to hear something.

"Storm? Can you hear me?" a voice asked, and to you it was instantly recognisable. It was once again the voice of Princess Luna.

"Wh-?" you responded, still a little confused as to how she could still communicate with you.

Rainbow looked up from her book, giving you a confused look, whilst Pinkie seemingly didn't notice and continued staring out of the window. Not paying her any mind for now, you closed your eyes again, and she went back to her book.

"From your reaction, I'm guessing you can hear me." Luna said, realising that holding a conversation may be difficult when you can't respond to her.
"I believe I know what Null is planning..." she explained.

"You have?" you exclaimed loudly in response. Instantly, both Rainbow and Pinkie diverted their eyes towards you. You were almost worried that you had woken Applejack and Fluttershy up, but thankfully they were still sleeping soundly.

"Are you... ok?" Rainbow asked, a concerned yet confused expression on her face.

"I don't have much time left to talk to you. I need to tell you this now." Luna said, seeming panicked and desperate.

You wanted to tell Rainbow Dash about Princess Luna being able to talk to you, but you weren't sure how much time she had.

"Just wait a second, you two." you replied, concentrating on your 'conversation' with Luna.

Rainbow Dash let out a faint 'uh...' in response, whereas Pinkie simply gave you a giddy smile. Neither responses surprised you in any way.

"Null is going to trap the residents of Manehatten in the dream world to power the element. You can try to stop it, but whatever you do, don't try to fi-"

Whatever Luna had tried to warn you about, time had ran out. Whatever form of magic she was using to talk to you must have been pretty advanced, and it must've been pretty difficult to conjure. As a result, it obviously couldn't keep a sustained link between the dream world and Equestria forever.

"Don't try to what?" you replied, trying to get an answer out of her, "Luna?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened, and she slowly closed her book with a single hoof.

"Wait, did you just say Luna?" Pinkie questioned, in a suspicious tone. You were almost expecting her to pull out a detective hat and a magnifying glass.

Next to her, Applejack had begun to stir. It seemed as if she was awakening from her sleep, probably due to the noise you were accidentally making. Fluttershy too was seemingly waking up next to you.

"What's happenin', everypony?" Applejack asked, rubbing her eyes as she sat upright in her seat.

"Well, Storm here just randomly started talking to himself and he mentioned Luna!" Rainbow exclaimed, but you couldn't tell whether she was irritated, impatient or both.

"You can talk to Luna?" Fluttershy asked. You were surprised that was the first inference that she made, but it was right.

You nodded your head, "Null is going to trap the residents of Manehatten in the dream world to make his element more powerful."

As you told them this, you remembered that Rarity was still off exploring the train. There was nothing that could be done to help that. You could always just tell her the next time you saw her.
Speaking of Rarity, mere moments after you stopped talking, the unicorn entered that carriage.

"Rarity! Null's going to trap the pony's from Manehatten in the dream world!" Pinkie exclaimed, seeming a little panicked. Although she was usually cheerful, she knew when something serious was happening.

Rarity flicked her mane back, giving her a confused look in response, "He's... what?"

"We've gotta do something!" Rainbow exclaimed, seeking to help the ponies before Null could get to them. Then you remembered Luna's warning. She didn't get to finish, but you would remember what you had heard just in case...



"But whatever you do, don't try to fi-"



You weren't sure what it meant just yet, but you were sure that as soon as the situation arose, you would know what to look out for.

"Findin' him won't be easy in the big city." Applejack explained, even though you already knew this. Thankfully, you didn't intend in finding him. 
You were hoping that he would find you.

"Well..." you began, staring out of the window across the open plains and meadows, "We'll just have to hope we find him before he does whatever he's planning."

As you looked across the rolling fields outside of your window, you began wondering about what was about to happen. If you were to fight Null, would you win?

You didn't have the elements, and even if you did, you didn't have full control over yours anymore, and Twilight wasn't here. There had to be another way to win aside from brute force...

There just had to be...

"Hey! I think we're nearly there!" Pinkie Pie cried excitedly, placing her hoofs against the glass as she stared at something that was just out of your vision.

As the train continued to move, eventually you could begin to make out the silhouettes of skyscrapers in the distance. It looked like your destination was arriving.
Pretty soon, you would be getting off of the train at the Manehatten station.

You just hoped it wouldn't be your last stop.
> Chapter 56 - Flashbacks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Is it just me, or does nothing seem different?" Rainbow Dash asked as the six of you stepped off of the train. The station was bustling with ponies, all boarding different trains to go to different places. It seemed just as busy as ever, if not more. Clearly the ponies here weren't aware of Null's threat.

"I guess Null hasn't made his move yet." you replied, looking around the station for an exit. Surely enough, you eventually saw a way out of the station hiding behind the crowds of ponies.

You gestured towards the exit, and then began to fly, hovering over everypony that was walking along the ground. As soon as Rainbow and Fluttershy began to follow, you began to wonder why more Pegasi weren't doing this.

"What are we supposed to do?" Rarity asked, insulted that you would choose to simply leave her behind.

"We'll wait for you at the exit." you replied, giving her a smile. You knew that she was only jokingly insulted, but didn't want to push your luck.

As the three of you flew over the crowd, you occasionally caught a glance out of a window. Already, you could see packed streets and huge buildings towering over you. This place was a lot different when compared to Ponyville, and even Canterlot. It felt... Out of place, to put it simply.
On top of that, it made you feel strange. You weren't quite sure why, but it somehow made you feel nostalgic, as if you had visited Manehatten before.

Rainbow Dash landed on the ground below the archway that lead to the outside world, followed by you and Fluttershy. Before long, you could see Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie wading through the large groups of ponies towards you, at a relatively slow pace.

"About time!" Rainbow mocked, crossing her hoofs.

"Now, about that 'Null' character..." Applejack began, as you exited onto the busy streets, "What exactly does he intend to do, again?"

Thanks to Luna, you had an idea of what he planned, but you still had no idea how he was going to fulfill those plans. To be honest, you had absolutely no idea of what to look out for.
Well, aside from Null himself of course.

"Oh, I know!" Pinkie cried, in an excited manner, "He wants to trap all these ponies in the dream world! It sounds pretty fun to be stuck in a dream!"

You admired that she could explain it as if it was a good thing, but you knew that being trapped in a dream was anything but a good thing, "For each pony trapped there, his element-"

"You're element." Rainbow interrupted, still crossing her hoofs in midair.

"Right. My element, more powerful." you explained, unsure as to whether that made any sense.

Applejack seemed to look confused, telling you that maybe you hadn't explained it very well, "But if it's making your element more powerful, ain't that a good thing?"

"He has more control of my element than I do, now." you explained, shaking your head, "If my element gets stronger, that power goes to him."

Seeking to change the subject, you continued looking around. Atleast a dozen different buildings surrounded you, as you stood in a large open square. Each of the buildings towered over you, making you feel dwarfed even for a Pegasus. Considering the fact that Null seemingly hadn't arrived just yet, you saw no harm in making the most of the time you had here. After all, you had prepared all you could for the battle that would eventually arrive.

"We've got some time. How about we go enjoy ourselves for a bit?" you asked, a smile on your face.

"Storm, are you a mind reader?" Pinkie replied, happily.

While you weren't sure how much time you had, you felt like you could get something done within that time. What you wanted to do, however, you weren't sure.

"Everypony meet back here in two hours, okay?" Applejack said, to which everypony responded with a nod. Two hours felt like a long time, but you were unsure if you were going to be able to get even that.

Stood in the centre of the square, you watched each of your friends scatter towards a different activity. Naturally, Rarity began heading towards a clothes store. It had been a while since she had visited one that wasn't ran by her. Pinkie Pie began heading towards a bakery, which was also natural.
Fluttershy, who hadn't said a word since you had arrived in Manehatten, began following the signs towards the nearest park, whilst Applejack simply began wondering the streets, taking in the highrise city buildings. It was certainly a different and unique sight, especially when compared to normal everyday farm life.

Unsurprisingly, Rainbow Dash began heading towards a book store which also happened to have a Daring Do book featured in the window. You had nothing better to do, so you began to follow her, catching up to her in a few seconds.

"Oh, hey, Storm! Came to join me?" she asked, giving you a smirk.

"Yeah, there's nothing else around here that really interest me..." you said, sadly. Out of the many shops and stores located around the square, not one featured anything that you would like.

"Well I'm sure this store will have something that interests you!" she said, happily, pointing a hoof towards the book store across the street. Now that you were closer, you could get a better look at the cover of the book in the window. To your surprise, it happened to be the cover of an unreleased book in the series, set to release later in the month...

'Daring Do and the Dark World.'

Straight away, the title struck your interest, and you wanted to read it. It also kinda reminded you of the story that you had helped Twilight write for Rainbow Dash's birthday: 'Daring Do and the Library of Lost Souls'.

"Pretty cool, right?" Rainbow asked, turning to see your opinion. She had clearly noticed that you had been encaptivated by the cover of the story.

"You know, that does look pretty cool." you answered, agreeing with her. You didn't see why it mattered whether or not you liked the book, though. Either way, you were gonna go with Rainbow because you had nothing else to do for the time being.

As you crossed the street, you found yourself wondering why you didn't just fly across like you did at the station. Come to think of it, why didn't you just fly everywhere? It would take considerably less effort, and would be a lot quicker.

Breaking you out of your thoughts, you felt something... pulling against you. It was as if something you couldn't see was tugging on your left wing.

"Was that you?" you asked, turning to Rainbow Dash.

"Was what me?" she replied, and then you realised that it was a stupid question. Rainbow was walking on your right side, so there was no way she could've touched you on your left wing.

"Nevermind." you said, simply choosing to brush it off as the wind. Rainbow gave you a confused glance, before continuing to cross the street.

Eventually, the two of you reached the other side, and Rainbow excitedly began to move quickly towards the entrance of the book shop. You weren't quite sure why she was so excited, considering she had every last book in the series at her house.

"C'mon, Storm!" she exclaimed, hovering towards the front door and holding it open for you.

As you begin to enter the book shop, you felt it again. The same tugging at your left wing that you had felt a few moments prior. This time you couldn't ignore it; it couldn't just be the wind doing it.

"Where are you going?" Rainbow asked in a concerned tone, as you suddenly turned and began walking away from the book store. At first, you didn't give her a response, and instead decided to walk along the path in the direction that you wing was tugged.

"Something keeps pulling my wing..." you said, looking around for anypony that could potentially be the culprit.

"Well there's nopony around that's gotten close enough to do that." Rainbow replied, "Maybe it's, I don't know, wing strain or something?"

Wing strain. Somehow you doubted that.

Pretty soon, the path you were following split into several directions. One path continued down one street, while another path went straight through the park that you had seen Fluttershy head towards. Honestly, you were unsure of where to go next.

Seemingly sensing your indecisiveness, your wing pulled again, telling you to turn to your left. As you did, you were met with a dark alley.
You could quite say why, but something about that alley felt incredibly off. It was just an ordinary alleyway, but as soon as you layer your eyes upon it, you froze with fear. As you looked down between the two buildings at the street on the other side, the overwhelming sense of nostalgia grew ever stronger, combined with that of fear. You couldn't move.

"Storm? Are you ok?" Rainbow asked, shaking you lightly. Still, you didn't move, "Storm!"

Rainbow's sudden yell seemed to be enough to snap you out of whatever trance you had been put into. You still weren't sure why, but something was definitely wrong with this alleyway.

"S-sorry..." you said, a little startled by the sudden feeling of overwhelming fear, "It was pulling me towards this alleyway."

You weren't sure whether Rainbow Dash was confused, concerned, or even both. Either way, it definitely wasn't common to see somepony suddenly freeze with fear.

"What's so special about an alley?" she asked, flying into the shadow being cast by one the buildings. She picked up a crushed cup, examining it, before throwing it over her head onto the ground behind her.

"I don't know, but..." you said, slowly walking through the alleyway whilst looking at the walls that lined the sides, "It feels familiar, somehow."

As you continued tracing the walls with your vision, you were beginning to give up hope of finding anything, until you noticed something. Out of the corner of your eye, you caught something glinting on the floor, shining despite the fact that no sunlight was reaching it.
As you approached, you began to make out what it was, and it made you feel sick to your stomach.

"What is that?" Rainbow asked, staring down at the switch blade on the ground.

Ordinarily, a simple knife wouldn't have worried you, but as far as you knew, switch blades didn't exist in Equestria. On top of that, the blade that was laying on the ground lacked the cartoony aesthetic that the rest of the world had. It looked way too... Earthly.
It was at that moment when you began to realise what made this place so familiar.



Three hooded figures, barely distinguishable, emerged from around the corner. Their faces were covered by shadow, yet a flash of light caught your eye, slightly below one of their waists.



You stared at the other side of the alley, beginning to recall your final moments on Earth. Slowly, you turned your vision back down towards the small pocket knife, completing the chain of events.



The blade sunk into your chest as you were twisted around to face him. It didn’t hurt, not a single bit. You simply stared at the blade lodged in your chest.



That was the moment that your life as a human ended, and your life in Equestria began. In a way, it was both the worst and best thing that had ever happened to you, but right now, something else was playing on your mind.

If your memories served you correctly, your apartment on Earth was only a short walk away from here. If the alley where your previous life had ended somehow existed in Manehatten, there was a small chance that your old apartment did too. Of course, there was also a pretty high chance that it wouldn't belong to you anymore, but you weren't sure of the punishment for breaking and entering.

"Follow me." you instructed, immediately making your way towards the other end of the dark alley. This was incredibly strange, as the layout of Manehatten was unrecognisable, but for some reason the area around your 'death' seemed to be an almost exact replica of Earth, except for the cartoon aesthetic.

"But..." Rainbow whined, "Daring Do!"

"Daring Do can wait," you said, not really bothered about disappointing her right now. Something was happening and you knew it, "I have to check something."

Rainbow flew along the path at your side as you walked down the street, looking closely at every high-rise building you passed.

"Check what?" she asked, seeming a little irritated that she couldn't go to read her books.

After a only a few minutes of walking, you thought you spotted something familiar. There was a large building, several stories tall, and it looked almost identical to your apartment block. You couldn't remember much about your previous life, but the place you could recall the most was the place that you once called your home.

"We need to go up there." you said, pointing a hoof at the window and then looking to Rainbow to see if she understood. Unfortunately, she simply looked at the window, and then back to you with a confused look on her face.

"What? Why?" she asked, "You know somepony probably lives there, right?"

She almost seemed angry that you would suggest breaking into somepony's house for seemingly no reason, but you thought otherwise. You didn't know for certain, but you had a gut feeling that nopony lived in that room.
In fact, something told you that that room couldn't exist at all. The same could be said for that knife you found in the alleyway.

The way that knife looked was so... off. Almost like they had been ripped directly from Earth, or what Twilight would probably call them: 'anomalies'.

"Just trust me, ok?" you replied, trying to get her to side with you, "I don't think anypony even lives there."

You didn't wait for a response, and began to fly up to the window. You recalled that you never locked it, so it should've been easy to open from the outside.

"Ugh! Fine! You'd better be right!" Rainbow exclaimed, following you up to the window with her hoofs crossed.

As you reached the window, you peered into the room, and surely enough, no furniture was present. Not even any furniture that you once owned was in their. To you, this confirmed your suspicion that nopony was living in the room to begin with.
Hearing no protests from Rainbow Dash, you attempted to open the window, and surely enough, it was unlocked. Double checking that nopony was looking, you slid it open and flew inside, Rainbow following behind you.

"Why'd we have to come up to this old, dirty room when we could be reading Daring-" Mid-sentance, she was cut off as she turned around to face where the main door should have been. Your own jaw dropped as you looked upon the strange black portal before you.
Or, atleast, you assumed it was a portal.

Hovering mere inches away from the back wall was a large circle of pure black energy, white stars twinkling inside of it. Bordering it was a familiar yellow glow; the glow of determination magic.

Null had been here.

"Storm, what is that?" Rainbow asked, in a surprisingly fearful tone.

"We need to go." you explained, not taking your eyes off of the portal, "Null is here and we need to tell everypony."

Right now, your main concern was alerting the rest of your friends of the threat. You knew that Null was going to attack at some point, but you weren't sure when. Atleast now, you knew where his attack would be coming from.

"Ok, yeah. You go to the square and I'll gather everypony." she suggested hurriedly, as the two of you began moving back towards the open window.

As you neared the exit to what was once your apartment, sounds began to emanate from the portal. The sound of voices, but not the voice of Luna.

"Like what I've done with your memories, Storm?" the voice taunted, and it was clearly the voice of Null. Choosing to ignore it, you spread your wings to take flight out of the window, "Come and live in your past forever!"

As the dream demon finished speaking, a yellow tentacle made of magic energy shot out of the portal, black ink stains coating it in places. As your back was turned, it came close to hitting you, but thankfully Rainbow was there.

"Storm!' she exclaimed, as she pulled you to the side, barely allowing you to dodge the incoming attack. You turned to her, giving her a nod as if signalling to get out of there. Following your orders, the two of you took flight towards the window, and split up.

First, Rainbow headed towards the nearest location, the park, in order to find Fluttershy, whilst you headed straight to the square. While you were there, you could collect Rarity and Pinkie Pie too.

Landing outside the clothes shop, you instantly headed inside to find the white unicorn. After a while of searching, you eventually found her busily browsing hats. Personally, you didn't see the appeal of hats on a unicorn, as it hid their horn, but that was besides the point.

"Oh, Storm! Funny seeing you here!" she exclaimed, placing a hat back on display and placing another on her head, "Have you come to examine this marvellous selection of clothes with me!" 

"No, it's something more serious." you replied, causing Rarity to look at you with concerned eyes. Sensing that you were being genuine, she placed her hat back on the shelf using her magic, and gave you her full attention.

"We found Null."

"Already?" she cried, looking around upon releasing that other ponies may have heard her, "I simply haven't had enough time!"

"I know, but we need to be ready." you said, attempting to reason with her.

Rarity looked at the many different articles of clothing she was yet to try on, thinking of her friends. She thought of Princess Luna, who was still trapped away in the dream world unable to help protect her kingdom. She thought of Celestia, who was injured to the point where she could also no longer protect her kingdom. And then she thought of Twilight, who the two ponies who she looked up to the most had been both been on the verge of death.

"I suppose I can shop another time." Rarity said with a smile. You responded with your own smile, as if thanking her. She had yet to meet Null, but when she did, she would understand why you needed everypony's help.

As the two of you left the shop, you saw that Rainbow Dash had already arrived, along with Fluttershy and Applejack.

"That was fast!" you called, catching their attention. You were honestly surprised that she was able to find Applejack that quickly, considering she had simply wondered off into the city aimlessly.

"Where's Pinkie?" she asked, looking around.

Almost as if answering her question for you, the pink Earth pony began walking out of the bakery cheerfully. Having her come to you beat having to go get her, after all.

"Oh, hey everypony!" she exclaimed, excitedly.

Before anypony could respond, the entirety of Manehatten began to shake fiercely, accompanied by a faint rumbling sound. Whatever it was, it didn't feel like an earthquake. 
It felt less natural.

"What in tarnation is happenin'?" Applejack cried, attempting to maintain her balance. For you, Rainbow and Fluttershy, the shaking was not a problem as you could simply fly above it.

Looking over towards the direction of where you had found Null's portal, you could see something happening. Something was changing within the air, a bright yellow beacon beginning to shine from one of the tall buildings, "I think that answers that question!"

Everypony looked toward such the bright beacon of light, unsure of what it was, as it flowed brighter and brighter, illuminating nearby buildings in the same coloured light.
And then the shaking stopped.

In an instant, the artificial earthquake ceased completely, returning the city to stillness, only it was stiller than it once was.

You and your friends stared into the distant light, watching the figure that hovered in its heavenly glow. Basking in the glow of determination was none other than Null.
You were just glad that you and Rainbow grabbed your friends when you did. Next to you, you heard Fluttershy gulp with fear, while Rainbow looked ready for a fight.

"That's Null, right?" Applejack asked, still looking at the black pony hovering in the beacon. 

You nodded in response, "The one and only."

You couldn't help but make a sarcastic comment about the pony, considering all of the pain that he had caused you and your friends. He was going to pay for it eventually, if not here, then somewhere else. You knew what he had planned, but you didn't know if you could stop it.

The only thing you knew for certain, was that the battle for Manehatten had begun.
> Chapter 57 - Null Takes Manehatten
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Staring up at Null, you couldn't help but wonder about how he was to fulfill the plan that Luna had told you about. For the time being, it seemed like he had completely forgotten about you, which could potentially buy you and your friends some time.

Thinking back to Luna's warning, you still weren't sure what she was trying to say, but you couldn't dwell on that now. You had to act in the present, not the past.

"We need to get closer!" you suggested, believing that the closer you were to the evil pony, the better. That way, if he tried anything, you would be able to intervene.

"We should just fly up there and end this now!' Rainbow said, seeming angry that this unicorn would threaten her friends.

As much as you wanted to end this quickly, you had a feeling flying up there would end badly. Not only wasn't Twilight here to help, but you would also have to leave Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity behind.

"Wait!" Pinkie exclaimed, seeming to have an idea, "What about the Wonderbolts?"

"Oh, yeah!" Rainbow replied. Speaking of which, you never asked why she hadn't joined the Wonderbolts in this world, "We can just wait until they get here!"

You had to admit, that was a better plan that just outright fighting him and risking everything, "Ok, yeah. They can't take too long to arrive, right?"

"Hopefully. We still have no idea what he's doing up there, though." Applejack said sadly, looking up to the yellow beacon in the sky.

You too looked up to the yellow glow, curiously. You weren't expecting anything much to happen until the Wonderbolts arrived, but could you have been more wrong. With a sparkle of magical dust, the beacon began to form something in the sky. Something that looked like a dome of some sort.

"What is that?" Rarity asked, looking at the expanding wall of the dome in shock.

The bright yellow force field spread across the sky, coating the entire city in a magical yet ominous yellow glow. Before long, the entirety of Manehatten had been covered by the barrier, and it began making its way towards the ground. Within seconds, the whole city had been locked away, separated from the rest of Equestria.

"Well, there goes our Wonderbolts plan." you sighed, looking up at the golden force field above your head.

"Any ideas, anypony?" Applejack asked, seeming like she was unsure of what to do.

"I've got one," Rainbow Dash began, and you could already see where it was heading, "We fly up there, and buck his ass ourselves!"

From the looks of things, it seemed like Rainbow was getting more and more irritated with everything that Null did. She just wanted him gone now, but Applejack didn't seem to agree fully, "Any other ideas, anypony?"

Rainbow Dash glanced at her aggressively, offended that she didn't agree with her. She figured that if anypony would agree with her, it would have been you and Applejack, "You agree with me, right Storm?"

"I don't see any other way out of this," you said, looking along the edges of the dome that encased you, "So sure."

Applejack looked to Rarity, then to Fluttershy, then to Pinkie Pie, but none of them seemed to have any ideas.

"We could try talking to him..." Fluttershy suggested, quietly. You knew she was a veteran when it came to communicating with animals, but when it came to communicating with other ponies, she was significantly less so. Especially when that pony was evil and had three quarters of an element of harmony in their possession.

"Pfft!" Rainbow exclaimed, laughing in response, "As if that would work!"

Applejack looked at Fluttershy sadly, knowing that in this scenario they had no choice but to fight Null, "Sorry, Fluttershy. We have to fight him."

Fluttershy looked at the ground, but she knew she had no choice. It was either fight Null, or risk losing Equestria forever. Even as you spoke with your friends, the evil unicorn was still draining your element without the need to even try.

"Ready, everypony?" Rainbow asked, immediately taking flight.
Suddenly, an important question crossed your mind. As if reading that very question straight from your thoughts, the cyan Pegasus answered you without you even saying it out loud, "We'll just have to carry you all up."

Whether it was a coincidence or not, it still made you smile. It made you think of the times you spent with her before everything with Null started. When this ends, you couldn't wait to go back to that.

"Ready." you answered, fuelled by newfound determination as you remembered all of the happy things that have happened to you in Equestria.

Nodding in response, Rainbow Dash flew above Pinkie Pie, preparing to begin lifting her up to the roof of the large building that Null hovered above. Following her lead, you flew above Applejack, and Fluttershy flew above Rarity.
Applejadk grabbed your forehooves tightly, suddenly realising that if she lost her grip, she would probably die. Rarity and Pinkie did the same, and at first, Fluttershy seemed to have to difficulties keeping hold of Rarity.

As quickly as ever, Rainbow flew off in the direction of the apartment block. It seemed like Pinkie's added weight didn't affect her all that much. All you could hear was the pink party pony's cries of excitement as she soared through the air with Rainbow.
The same couldn't be said for Applejack and Rarity, however.

"Put me down! Put me down!" you could hear Rarity screaming from behind you as you flew through the air, Fluttershy following closely behind. You didn't want to fly too fast, as you didn't want to leave Fluttershy and Rarity all on their own.

You noticed that Applejack didn't seem to have any reaction to flying, that was until you looked down. Then you realised that her usual orange coat had turned a much paler colour. Flying wasn't really an Earth pony's thing, after all.

Eventually, the four of you reached the rooftop, only to see Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie already up there. Rainbow's eyes were locked on Null, and his eyes were locked on her. Meanwhile, Pinkie bounced up and down next to her, not a care in the world. It seemed like the flight may have made her a little over excited.

"Null!" Rainbow exclaimed, angrily, "Get down here!"

Null stared at the cyan Pegasus, amused, "Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash! Storm here has lots of memories about you!"
The black unicorn turned his attention towards you, "Speaking of memories, you might've recognised a few of those places down there..."

You weren't sure what he was doing, or why he was trying to talk to you as if it was a normal conversation, but you were up here to finish what the two of you had started in the dream world.

"I don't care if you have my memories, we're here to stop you." you said, avoiding his question.

"Well, that might be a problem for you because..." he said, not seeming at all threatened, "You might be forgetting about one small detail."

Null held out a hoof, manifesting the Element of Determination before him. Only the very top of the lightning bolt remained golden now, while the rest was corrupted but the dark black ink.

"We don't need the elements!" Pinkie Pie interrupted, suddenly snapping out of her giddy mood as she saw the threat before her.

"Yeah! We've got friendship!" Applejack added, courageously.

Null let out a sigh, as if tired by your aimless threats. He had a pretty good feeling that you wouldn't win against him, as not even all of you were present, "Fine, then. Let's see what you've got."

His bored expression turned into a smirk, as he realised that he had just inititiated a fight that he couldn't lose. This was going to end here, and not in your favour.

"I've got him!" Rainbow cried, as she shot in the direction of the evil unicorn. His smirk widened as his horn began to glow a soft yellow, as if preparing something to counter.

Instead of helping, your mind wandered to something else. You froze in place as your thoughts wandered off to Princess Luna, almost freezing time. The entire world seemed to stop as you recalled Luna's warning.

"Whatever you do, don't fi..." you said to yourself, attempting to fill in the gap, "Whatever you do, don't..."

Fight.

Instantly, the world sprung to life again as you watched Rainbow Dash flying towards Null at a high speed. You had to stop her before she got herself hurt, or even killed. Luna had been right about Null's plan, so what reason did you have not to trust her here?
That is, if your assumption about her warning was even true.

Using some of the magic you still had, you froze the cyan Pegasus before Null could launch a counter. His expression changed to one of confusion, as did Rainbow's, as you began to pull her back towards you.

"Storm, aren't we meant to be fighting him?" Rarity asked, seeming as confused as Rainbow did.

"I figured out what Luna was trying to tell me." you said, catching everyone's attention. Even Null himself seemed interested in what you had to say, "She told us not to fight."

Everypony seemed to freeze on the ground and looked at each other anxiously. Well, except for Rainbow, who still seemed to be out for blood. If you couldn't fight, then what could you do with nowhere to go?

"So... Princess Luna has been talking to you?" Null asked. You suddenly realised that you had just let him know about Luna being a form of inside agent.

"What? No! Did I say that?" you said, trying to cover up your tracks.

"Well, there's nothing that can be done about that now..." Null said, with a sigh, "It won't do you much good anyway."

The six of you stared up at him, wondering what he was to do next. You were wondering why he didn't just finish all of you off, but if you had to fight, you would. For the moment though, you trusted the princess.

"If you're not gonna fight me, then I'll be off! You'll just be locked away in the dream world with that princess anyway, along with all the others," he said, pointing down at the streets of Manehatten, "Anyway, I'll be off! Ponyville's the next place on my list!"

"Hey! Get down here!" Rainbow shouted, upon hearing that her hometown was in danger. Rarity used her magic to hold her back, sparing you the effort. If you could, you would fight him with everything that you had, but you couldn't chance it. Not after hearing Luna's warning.

Null gave you a victorious grin, before his horn flashed a bright yellow. And with that, he was gone.

Rainbow let out a frustrated scream as Rarity released her magical grasp on her, sending her flying towards Null's last location. She hovered in the air, looking into the distance, "So we've lost, then?"

"No, we'll find a way out." you said, going back to looking at the dome that surrounded you. Now you were under timed pressure.

"I don't care what Luna said, we should've fought him!" Rainbow said, angrily, "How does she even know what he's planning, anyway?"

Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the first to respond, "Rainbow, he already told you, remember?"

"No! I don't!" Rainbow yelled in response, seeming to startle Fluttershy. You understood that you were in a bad situation, but anger wasn't going to help in any way.

You let out a sigh, about to explain once again, "Null's dream world is linked to me, meaning Luna can tell me everything that Null plans."

Rainbow didn't give you a response, and instead turned around, going back to looking out across the now darkened city. The bubble surrounding the city made it quite a sight, but you couldn't just sit back and take in the view.

"Rainbow Dash, don't you think you're being a bit unreasonable?" Rarity asked, in a concerned manner.

"Yeah, Rainbow!" Applejack added, "We're all gonna need to work as a team to get outta here!"

Rainbow simply scoffed in response, crossing her hoofs as she looked out over the city. You understood why she was angry, she just wanted to make sure her friends weren't in any danger, but you hoped that she would get over it as fast as she could.
Frustrated or not, you were going to need her help to get out the city before Null reached Ponyville. That wasn't the only thing that you were being timed on, either...

Just like when you were stood in the square, the city began to shake once again, only this time the occasionally yellow spark rose into the air, colliding with the dome. The minor earthquake only lasted a few seconds, but you had a feeling it wasn't the last one to come.

"We need to hurry," you said, having the faintest idea of where to start, "Rarity, think you can teleport us to the street?"

Rarity looked at you panicked, "I-I don't know! I've never tried teleporting multiple ponies before!"

"Just focus..." you said, trying to reassure her. Fluttershy stood by her side, smiling calmly, "You can do it."

Rarity closed her eyes, and her horn began to glow a bright blue. With a blinding white flash, the square where you once stood reappeared around you.

"You did it!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bounding up and down happily. You have Rarity a quick smile, as if thanking her, before going straight back to focusing.

Once again, you quickly scanned the bubble that surrounded the city, but still, no ideas immediately came to mind. Suddenly, your thoughts were interrupted by another unnatural earthquake. Even Rainbow Dash, who was still hovering with her hoofs crossed, seemed startled by this one.

This time, as well as the yellow sparks, you saw the occasional white star twinkling in empty space, hovering like small diamonds.

"Anypony know what's doin' that?" Applejack asked, curiously.

"I've got no idea..." Fluttershy replied, quietly, as she looked down at the ground. It was almost as if she was anticipating the next quake.

Golden sparks, you thought to yourself, attempting to piece together what was happening, White, twinkling stars...

Then it hit you.

Manehatten itself was becoming a dream.
> Chapter 58 - Reclamation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Each and every time that an earthquake shook Manehatten, the world inside the yellow dome of magic seemed to collapse even more. Nopony seemed to know what was causing it, but you had a strange feeling that it wasn't anything good.

"I think I know what's happening..." you said, watching the yellow sparks rise into the air. Everypony turned to face you, curiously, "Everything inside the bubble is becoming part of the dream world."

"So that means we'll all be trapped if we don't escape!" Pinkie exclaimed, panicked.

"I think I can teleport us out of here..." Rarity suggested, realising that she had the capability to teleport you and her friends out of the bubble. You wanted to save the city, but the fate of the entire kingdom was more important.

"We can try." you said, saddened by the fact that you wouldn't be able to save everypony in the city.

Rainbow Dash gave her a nod, agreeing to the plan, however she didn't speak a word. It seemed like she was still a little annoyed that you stopped her from fighting Null, even though you knew that it would have been a fight she would have lost.

Rarity once again closed her eyes, her horn beginning to glow a soft blue. The glow began to grow more intense, until a familiar blinding white light once again took over your vision, but when your sight returned, you hadn't moved an inch.

You were still in the exact same spot.

"Um..." Rainbow asked, dazed by the surprising lack of movement.

"Why haven't we moved?" Applejack asked, seeming just as confused as Rainbow Dash. You couldn't blame either of them, as you were also wondering why you were still in the same exact place.

"Null's bubble doesn't let magic pass through," Rarity said, rubbing her horn as if the magic had strained her slightly, "So in other words, we can't teleport out."

Rainbow Dash let out a frustrated sigh, clearly getting more and more frustrated and stressed, "Ugh! Now what do we do?"

Truthfully, you were considering the option that there was nothing more that you could do. You had tried everything, but still here you were trapped in a dome of magic, with both of the princesses out of commission for who knows how long.

But that wasn't your element. Giving up wasn't in your nature.

"I have an idea." you said, looking at each of your friends to ensure you had their attention, "But it's little bit of a stretch, though."

Applejack gave you an encouraging smile, "Let's hear it, Sugarcube. Any plan we have is worth shot."

You knew that you were under timed pressure, but you appreciated that nopony was letting it get to them. Well, except for Rainbow Dash, that is.
Honestly, keeping calm was the key to a lot of situations, and you had learnt that the hard way.

"What if we close the portal?" you suggested.

Applejack glanced towards Fluttershy, and then to Rarity, confused.

"What do you mean, 'close the portal'?" Rainbow asked, seeming to take an interest in your idea. Perhaps it was because it seemed to have a bit more depth than simply teleporting away.

"Remember that portal we saw?" you asked, to which she responded with a nod, "Maybe we can use magic to seal it shut. Then the dream world will be cut off."

Personally, you thought it was the best shot that you had at escaping, not to mention saving, Manehatten, and clearly everypony else seemed to think so too.

"Well, it's our best bet." Applejack stated, "Where's the portal, again?"

You looked towards Rainbow Dash, them back towards Applejack, giving her a determined smile, "Just follow us!"

Now that you seemed to have a plan, Rainbow seemed slightly less stressed and panicked about the whole thing. Sure, the kingdom was still under imminent threat and you were still under timed pressure, but atleast now you knew what you were doing.
Even if it didn't work, atleast you tried something.

This time around, you didn't want to fly. Your old apartment wasn't too far away from the square, and simply running there seemed more ideal for Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack.

As the six of you ran, the city continued to shake occasionally around you, causing the air to flash white with dreamy white stars. Although it meant something evil, it was honestly quite beautiful.

Even without your wings, you reached the apartment block in only a few minutes, and it was in a much more sorry state than it had been prior.

"What happened to this place?" Rainbow asked, staring at the fallen piles of rubble that surrounded the building. It seemed like the earthquakes had been hitting this building the most. It made sense, considering this was where they had all originated.

"The earthquakes destroyed it..." Fluttershy stated, looking up to the roof of the building. It felt strange knowing that you were just up there with Null.

"It seems that way." you said, realising that the fallen rubble simply made it easier to reach the portal to the dream world. Of course you could just fly up, but others weren't so lucky, "But it also seems like we can climb the rubble!"

"Oh yeah!" Pinkie exclaimed happily, as she began to bounce up the piles of broken concrete and loose pipes. Rainbow gave her a puzzled expression as she simply flew up the pile, you following closely behind her.

About half way up the ascent to the dream portal, Rarity let out an exhausted sigh, "How much longer?"

"Rarity, we ain't even a floor up yet." Applejack said, with a sigh. Thankfully, the room that contained the portal to the dream world was only on the third floor, but it still seemed to be taking its toll on the unicorn.

As you and the other two Pegasi neared the room that you were aiming to reach, you realised that a convenient hole had appeared in the side of the wall. Something seemed off, however...
A few earthquakes wouldn't have broken down an entire wall in a circular shape, no. Something else caused this.

Almost seeming to answer your question, a few observers came scuttling out of the gaping hole in the wall.

"What in the..?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, stopping mid flight as she looked at the spider-like ponies that were lunging in her direction. You were just as surprised as she was. How were they still surviving? You thought that they were segments of Null's physical body, so how was it that there were still observers roaming around.

"Yeah, that'll be a problem." you stated, staring at them as they began crawling down the pile of rubble straight towards the climbing ponies.

"Applejack!" Fluttershy squealed as a single observer began crawling in her direction.

"Don't you worry, ya'll!" she said, as she pulled out her trusty lasso, maintaining her grip on the pile of rubble with one hoof, "I got this."

Swirling the lasso around in the air whilst gripping it with her mouth, she brought the large rope crashing down onto the spider pony, causing its fragile legs to go sprawling in all directions. As far as you knew, her lasso wasn't that heavy, so the observers must have been pretty fragile.
With a pained, almost robot like groan, the dream creature began to fade into a black foggy substance, before vanishing completely.

"Ew! What is that thing!" Rarity cried as a second observer neared her. You were that distracted by Applejack's performance that nopony had noticed a second one of them heading towards her.

"I got it!" Rainbow called, before dashing off towards Rarity. With a single swing of her hoof, she sent the creature flying down two stories into the street below. Just like the prior, it let out a robotic groan before dissolving into black smoke, before it was completely gone.

You looked down the pile of rubble, scouting for any more that may have stumbled through the cracks, but thankfully you could see none, "Everypony okay?"

"I think so! Those things were creepy!" Pinkie exclaimed, looking down at the street as if she could still see the body of the observer that Rainbow had just killed.

"Yeah. All good here!" Rainbow replied, brushing herself off as she flew above the street.

You looked to Fluttershy expecting her to say something, but instead she just hovered there, staring at you with a scared expression.

"Fluttershy, what's wrong?" Rarity asked, finally reaching the top of the mountainous pile of rubble.

"B-behind you!" she replied, shakely.

Confused at first, you instinctively turned around upon hearing the sound of rubble shifting behind you. Leaping out of the hole in the wall, a third observer pounced onto you, knocking you down onto the street below. A wave of pain shot through your wing, but thankfully it hadn't damaged them in any way.

"Storm!" Rainbow Dash cried as she quickly flew down to help you. She grabbed onto the spider pony, and attempted to pull it off of you with all her might, but to no avail, "Fluttershy, help me!"

Adhering to Rainbow's demand, the yellow Pegasi flew down and also attempted to pull the observer off of you, but it was still no use. The more they attempted to pry the demonic pony off you, the tighter its four legs gripped you, almost to the point where it would begin penetrating the skin and damaging the coat.

You let out a grunt of effort as you pushed against it, yet even with the combined strength of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, it still wasn't enough to get it off of you.

Suddenly, the area flashed with a blue glow, and your eyes instinctively closed. The moment you opened them, the evil pony that was once holding onto you for dear life was nothing more that a few scattered plumes of ash. Looking back up the top of the rubble, you saw Rarity stood with some smoke coming from her horn.

"I've... never had to do something like that before..." she said, referring to the fatal blast she had just fired from her horn.

"Thanks," you replied, flying back up to her alongside Rainbow and Fluttershy, "I might've died if you didn't."

Rainbow Dash gave her a thankful smile, before giving her a high five with her hoof, despite not having fingers. You would have asked them about it, but they didn't even know what fingers are.

"Know let's find what we came for!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, sprinting into the room that was once your home.

The five of you followed her into the room, and it was an even bigger mess than it was before. Light yellow cracks lined the floor and walls, sparkling with an energy that linked the dream world to the real one. Metal beams stuck out of the roof where the earthquakes had destroyed it, leaving piles of concrete laying scattered on the floor.

"The portal..." you said, staring at the circular abyss in the centre of the room.

Each of your friends stared into the portal in disbelief. It's beauty was almost paralysing; it was like nothing else that they had seen before.

"It's beautiful..." Fluttershy said, staring at the twinkling stars with a sparkle in her eyes. She slowly began to approach, forgetting the danger of it.

"Woah there, Sugarcube!" Applejack said, holding out a hoof to prevent Fluttershy from moving any closer, "That thing's dangerous."

If anypony was going to be taken aback by the portal's beauty, you expected it be Rarity, not Fluttershy. Instead, she see,ed to be preoccupied by the glowing yellow energy surging throughout the floor.

She reached a hoof into a crack in the floor, and then pulled it out, coated in a yellow substance that glowed even brighter than the portal. You considered stopping her, as you didn't know what that stuff was, but it was a little too late for that. A few seconds after being on Rarity's hoof, the yellow fluid began to crystallise, reacting to the temperature of the air around it.

"I say, this yellow... thing is remarkable!" she exclaimed, looking closely into the newely formed rystal.

"Ooo! Crystals!" Pinkie added, pushing her face up against the yellow gems on Rarity's hoof. For a second, you thought she would break them, but they seemed sturdy enough.

Out of nowhere, another earthquake shook the building, and this one seemed more intense. You and the other two Pegasi in the room immediately took flight, whilst Rarity naturally attempted to protect her newest discovery from the trembling earth.

After a few seconds, the tremor finally settled, but you could still see the yellow energy rippling through the air outside. Time was beginning to run short, "We really need to pick up the pace."

"Rarity, take some crystals, you can look at them later," you demanded, too which she responded with a 'hmph', before placing the neon-yellow crystal in the invisible pockets that every pony in Equestria seemed to have, "Now, we need to find out how to close this portal."

"Any ideas?" Applejack asked.

You shook your head, looking at the portal and the methodical yellow glow that surrounded it. You had no idea where to start. But then you noticed something.

On either side of the portal, there were two small... slots burnt into the floor, so small that you hadn't noticed them before. You were no expert, but they didn't look natural and almost thought that something was supposed to fit there.

"Why don't we try sealing it from the inside?" Rainbow suggested, "There can't be anything too dangerous on the other side, right?"

You shook your head, "You won't be able to get back. Besides, look at those two holes in the floor."

You pointed a hoof towards one of the small slots in the floor, and everypony looked down towards them. Unfortunately, it only seemed to make them more confused.

"What are they?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the two unnatural spaces. They almost looked like keyholes.

"It's like something's supposed to fit there..." Rainbow added, looking between them as if trying to spot any differences. The two keyholes were identical.

Looking to Rarity, you could see that was staring at the slots with intrigue, but then you remembered the crystals that she had collected from the energy cracks in the floor.

That gave you an idea.

Turning towards one of the glowing cracks in the floorboard, you reached a hoof down, and pulled it out covered in the glowing yellow liquid. Everypony stared at you in confusion as the yellow goop began to crystallise, forming golden yellow crystals on your hoof.

"Hey! More crystals!" Pinkie exclaimed, shooting forward to get a better look.

"Wait, Pinkie!" you called, not wanting her to accidentally damage or break them. You weren't sure what the magic energy contained within could do, "I think we can use them."

If you were correct, then these crystals would fit into the slots on either side of the portal. You weren't sure what it would do, but hopefully it would close it for good.

"Use them? How so?" Rarity asked.

You simply gave her a smile, and walked over to the portal with the mass of crystals in your hoof. It sure would look embarrassing if they ended up not fitting into the slots.

Reaching down to the first slot on the left of the portal, you placed a single yellow crystal inti the hole, and surely enough, it fit perfectly. The gem began to glow brighter, and the cracks that covered the flooring of the room began to pulse, becoming more vibrant every few seconds.

"Storm, what did you do?" Applejack asked, looking worriedly at the glowing veins of energy as they pulsed brighter and brighter.

"These crystals are like keys," you explained, "The magic inside them can seal the portal. Probably."

The moment you finished speaking, another earthquake began to shake the city, and this one seemed to be the most intense yet. Small chunks of debris and plooms of dust began falling from the roof above you, and white, dreamy stars began twinkling around you. Coincidence or not, it seemed like the portal was trying to defend itself.

This time, not only was the shaking more intense, but it didn't stop.

"What do you mean, probably?" Rainbow Dash asked, seeming panicked by the unending earthquake.

"There's also a chance it could speed the process up, hence the very, very bad earthquake..." you said, now worrying that maybe you had made the wrong decision inserting that crystal. You realised how much you sounded like Twilight right now, but when the world was practically ending, it would make someone a little stressed out.

You moved over to the second slot on the right of the portal, being force to fly due to the earthquake, and held out your hoof. But instead of placing the crystal into the slot, you paused. This single choice would determine the fate of Equestria. Either it saves all of you, or dooms all of you, and you had no idea which it was going to be.

"Storm! Do it!" Rainbow called, being the only pony other than you and Fluttershy that was able to speak. The shaking had gotten so intense that every pony that couldn't fly had to focus all of their energy on not collapsing onto the ground.

"But... What if it doesn't work?" you said, staring into the crystal, "What if it just speeds it all up?"

"Storm, you need to do it. It's our only chance." Fluttershy said, a little louder than she usually would. It seemed like she figured she had to say something.

Turning to face your friends for the potentially last time, you turned back to the crystal. Closing your eyes, you lowered your hoof and placed the crystal into its place.

The shaking stopped.

You didn't want to open your eyes, out of fear that when you opened them, all you would see would be a black void of nothingness.

Out of nowhere, you felt something on your shoulder. Somepony's hoof.

Finally opening your eyes, you saw Rainbow Dash hovering in front of you with a smile on her face and her hoof outstretched. She lifted her other hoof and pulled you into a hug, and you felt a warmth that you hadn't felt in a long time.

"Storm, ya did it!" Applejack exclaimed, happily.

The sunlight shone in through the large hole in the wall, replacing the murky golden glow created by the magical dome that once surrounded the city. The portal, aswell as the two crystal slots, had completely vanished, and the cracks that once contained the magical energy were nothing more than dried up wounds on the floors surface.

"No, we all did it..." you added, moving apart from Rainbow and giving her a smile.

"Y'know..." she said, rubbing the back of her head nervously, "I don't normally like showing affection in public, but this is an exception."

The five of you laughed, and you remembered the many times where she had hugged you in front of ponies before. You didn't mention them though, because you actually wanted to not die today.

"Hey! What's funny!" Rainbow asked in an irritated manner.

"Oh, nothing, Rainbow." Rarity said, brushing her mane behind her ear. It had been a while since you had felt so... relieved and layed back. For a moment, even if only for a moment, it felt as if the whole thing was over and done with.

"I think this calls for a party!" Pinkie exclaimed, jumping into the air and tossing out confetti that had seemingly appeared out of thin air. After the things you had seen recently, you had learned not to question Pinkie's logic.

For the first time in a while, everypony seemed happy. 

"Sorry to break the atmosphere, everypony, but..." Applejack began, her cheerful smile fading from her face, "We all know it's not over yet, right?"

You nodded your head, sensing the atmosphere of the room shift from one of happiness back to one of urgency, "We know. We've still got to deal with Null."

"It's about time!" Rainbow interrupted, enthusiastically, "I've been seriously wanting to kick that guys butt since, like, two hours ago!"

"So have I. I dare say I have held a grudge against him ever since he trapped Luna away in that dream world!" Rarity added, seeming to have her own reason for wanting to take down Null.

"And he can't be forgiven for what he did to Celestia and Twilight." Fluttershy added, shaking her head.

"He's trying to take over Equestria, too!" Pinkie Pie added, just in case you had all forgotten.

"Wait!" Rainbow Dash cried, interrupting the conversation, "There's no way we can get to Ponyville in time! I mean, I could probably get there in time, and so could Storm, but the rest of you?"

Now that you thought about it, how could you get back to Ponyville? There was no way that trains were still operating after what had just happened, and Rarity couldn't teleport such long distances. That being said, however, you had never tested the limits of your teleportation.

"I think I've got that covered." you said, focusing your energy on your wings, much like you always did. You had no guarantee that this would even work, since the majority of your element wasn't even under your control anymore, but it was worth a shot.

Closing your eyes, you pictured Ponyville in your head, and your wings began to glow softly. Everypony shielded their eyes, unsure of what you had just done, as a blinding white flash took over their vision.

It had worked.
> Chapter 59 - Lost
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As your vision slowly began to return you, the first thing you could make out was the dark green grass that was growing beneath you. You certainly didn't see things like that in Manehatten, no matter how many parks they have there. The next thing you were expecting too see would have been the familiar thatched buildings of Ponyville, but as you looked around, that wasn't what you could see.

"I don't think this is Ponyville..." Rainbow said, rubbing her eyes as she continued to recover from the blinding flash caused by your teleportation spell.

Instead of buildings, the next thing you saw were dark green bushes that circled all the way around you. As far as you knew, bushes of that colour weren't grown in Ponyville.

"Where are we?" Pinkie Pie asked, glancing around with a confused expression.

"Ah ain't no expert on geography, but if ah had to make a guess..." Applejack began, looking between the bushes towards a writhing thorn that connected to the ground.

You let out a loud gulp as you suddenly realised where you were, "The Everfree Forest."

Thankfully, you were in a clearing, allowing the sunlight to shine down onto you through the gap in between the trees, but the problem still remained. The six of you were lost in the Everfree Forest.
It seemed like the further the distance you teleported, the less accurate your magic became. The fact that you were teleporting multiple ponies probably didn't help either.

"T-the Everfree Forest?" Fluttershy stuttered, taking a step back.

"Oh, don't worry Fluttershy," Rarity consoled, understanding her fear of the forest, "I'm sure we'll be out of here in not time at all!"

The forest wasn't particularly dangerous to you, as evidenced by the fact that you and Rainbow once accidentally killed a Golem in it before, but being completely lost may have changed things a little. It was a well known fact that the forest was self-sustained, unlike the rest of Equestria. That could definetly have come with its own issues if you didn't find your way out of there fast.

"Rainbow!" Applejack called, "Think you and Storm can fly up and tell us where we are?"

"Sure can!" the blue Pegasus replied, lifting up into the sky a mere moment later. Quickly, you followed her up into the air until you eventually passed through the trees, getting a view over the entire forest.

Immediately you noticed how incredible a view over the entire forest looked when you were in the heart of it. You had seen over the Everfree Forest before, but never from this deep within it.

"It's a nice view." you said, looking off into the distance across the seemingly endless expanse of trees.

"Yeah, it is. I don't fly here much for... obvious reasons." Rainbow explained, looking in the opposite direction of you, "You see anything?"

Covering your eyes with a hoof to block the sun from shining down into them, you squinted in order to get a better view into the distance. At first you couldn't see anything noteworthy, until you noticed a tree that was much larger than the rest. Not only that, but the shade of green on its leaves was much brighter than those of the forest's trees.

"Is that..." you said, looking at the large tree intently, "The Golden Oak Library?"

Rainbow turned around, getting a good look at the tree in the distance, but she couldn't get a good enough view. Taking advantage of her wings, she flew up a little bit higher to see the structure more clearly.

"Yeah! It is! Nice job, Storm!" she said, flying down at playfully hitting one of your forelegs.

You couldn't help but smile as she flew down to tell the others. This big battle you were facing... You hadn't fought it quite yet, but you could honestly say that you were happy. 
Still, there was no point in simply hovering around above the Everfree Forest, so you flew down to join your friends.

"I'm sorry, how far in that direction?" Rarity asked, an innocent smile on her face and a single hoof pointing in the direction of Ponyville.

"Like, half an hour of walking..." Rainbow explained, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

She couldn't help but show an amused smile as Rarity's face twisted into one of panic, as she realised the long distance that she would have to treck.

"Oh, this is the worst possible thing!" she cried, placing a hoof on her forehead, as if about to faint.

"Oh, don't be dramatic!" Rainbow replied, letting out a snicker.

"We should probably get going, ya'll." Applejack suggested, interrupting Rarity's slight breakdown, "If we don't start moving soon we're gonna be stuck out here in the dark."

She had a point. The few times you had ventured into the forest, it had always been day. You had no idea what kind of horrors awaited you at night time.

Each of your friends agreed, and finally you began making your way in the direction of Ponyville. Already you could see many obstacles before you, ranging from spikes brambles to-

"Are we there yet?" Pinkie asked, bouncing up and down cheerfully.

"I... don't think we are, Pinkie..." Fluttershy answered, gently hovering over a large thorn that blocked the path. Both you and Rainbow did the same, whilst Pinkie simply leapt over it.

"We've only just started walking." you reminded her, continuing in the direction of your home town.

"Yeah, I know," Pinkie said, happily, "I just like saying what's on my mind, you know?"

You definitely understood where she was coming from. The amount of things you had to hide in the few months you had spent in Equestria was unbelievable, and you were surprised you were even able to keep all of them.

The next few minutes passed by with little to nothing of interest happening. Occasionally you passed by a broken tree, it's decaying roots reaching up from the ground, and a pair of red eyes staring up at you from a hole in its trunk. Each of you simply stared at it, a little unnerved, before continuing onwards.

Spikey brambles were definitely in abundance too, as every few turns you were confronted by-

"Are we there yet?" Pinkie asked, just as cheerfully as the previous time.

"No, Pinkie, we ain't there yet..." Applejack said with a sigh. By now, you had cleared quite a few brambles and were simply on a straight path, winding between old, decaying trees.

You also saw the occasional flower, which confused you, as they were barely getting any sunlight under the thick foliage of the trees. That then lead you to wonder how many ponies it must have took to grow the many flowers around Equestria, as they couldn't grow without the help of them. Well, unless they were in the Everfree Forest of course.

"Are we there yet?" Pinkie asked one more time, breaking your train of thought. Rarity let out a heavy sigh, whilst Applejack simply rolled her eyes, a slight grin on her face.

"Pinkie, knock it off!" Rainbow exclaimed, seemingly irritated by her constant disruption, "You'll know when we're nearly there, ok?"

Pinkie Pie enthusiastically nodded her head, giving her a big smile in response. Rainbow turned around, and began flying back along the path at the same speed as the average pony could walk, before turning her attention towards you.

"Hey, Storm. I'm sorry, by the way..." she said, looking down at the ground with a worried look in her eyes.

"Huh?" was all you could say in response. Honestly, you weren't even sure what she was apologising for, let alone why she was doing it, "What for?"

"For being so... aggressive back in Manehatten..." she said, her voice sounding a little disappointed in herself. This was a big contrast to the confidence that she usually showed, but you had seen this side of her a few times before.

Such as that night on the hill below her house. The night that the two of you became something more...

"It's ok. You were just doing it to protect your friends." you said with a smile. Sure, the aggression hurt you a little, but it turned out okay in the end, even if you haven't fully won the battle just yet.

"I guess, but I don't just mean towards Null," she said, turning towards you as she continued flying forward, "I'm talking about towards you, too."

You nodded your head, as you already knew that was what she was talking about, "I know you had your reasons. You wanted to stop Null, and I stopped you from doing that. You were only being loyal to you friends, and your loyalty is one of the many things I like about you."

You gave her a smile, too which she reciprocated. You thought you heard her mutter the word 'thanks', but you weren't certain. From the way she continued to smile, though, you had a feeling that your ears weren't playing tricks on you.

It was strange how one of the worst days ever could end up turning into a moderately decent day, and only with a little help from your friends. Okay, you had a lot of help from your friends. If it wasn't for your friends, you would probably be dead by now, but the point still stood.

"Ooo! Glowey!" Pinkie exclaimed suddenly, staring into the foliage at something that you couldn't see.

"Pinkie, what are you looking at?" Rarity asked, turning to look in the same direction as her. As she looked deeper into the woods, her eyes lit up with a faint blue glow, "Wow..."

You glanced at Rainbow Dash, confused, and then gave Applejack a similar look. Finally, you walked back a few steps and looked into the foliage that both Pinkie Pie and Rarity seemed so enamoured by, and your blood ran cold.

Hovering in the bushes was a small flickering orb of blue light; A Will-ó-Wisp. It was potentially the very same one that lead you to the Golem all that time ago.

"Pinkie, get away from it!" you exclaimed, flying in front of her in an effort to block both her and Rarity's vision. The longer you looked at it, the stronger the urge to follow it became.

"Oh, not this thing again!" Rainbow cried, flying up to the orb, but not falling under its spell for she knew the danger.

"What's going on?" Applejack asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Rainbow replied, hurriedly approaching the blue orb. The closer she got, the further away the wisp retreated, just as it had done the last time you encountered it, "Me and Storm have it covered!"

"Storm, move! You're blocking my view of that beautiful light!" Rarity whined, giving you a frustrated look.

You shook your head, continuing to block their view of the wisp as Rainbow chased it away, "It's not just a light. It's a trap."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake tremble, and the sounds of wood creaking could be heard from behind you. Applejack and Pinkie's face turned into one of horror as they stared up at something behind you.

As you turned around, all you were able to see was a large type of wooden beast. It was shaped like a tree, but it's branches formed arms and claws, whilst it's roots provided it with long and spindly legs. It's mouth and nose were jagged, carved into the bark that made up the original tree. And most terrifying of all, it's eyes glowed a menacing red, intimidating enough to pierce your soul.

How had you not noticed it before? The answer was simple. Rainbow hadn't been careful enough, and had gotten too close to the Will-ó-Wisp's trap, and this beast was the punishment, just as the Golem had been beforehand.

"Run!" Rainbow Dash cried as her wings fanned out, beginning to fly back towards the path.

You stared up at the creature as each of your friends turned to run down the path, but you didn't feel scared. Instead you felt intrigued by the creature.
That still didn't change the fact that it was going to kill you, though.

"Storm! Move it!" Rainbow called as she flew back and grabbed you. Now having sense knocked back into you, you quickly began flying down the path alongside your friends.

Behind you, the tree beast let out a terrifying roar. That with the sound of creaking wood and it's many footsteps as it gave chase was a combination that no one would ever want to hear. Taking a single glance behind you, the monster seemed to be gaining on you. 
There was no way you were going to outrun it.

"In there, everypony!" Applejack called, gesturing towards a small cave not far from the path. Realising that there was no other choice, you followed your friends into the cave.
It was large enough to fit the six of you, and even had another exit on the other side, but it was still small enough to keep you safe from the beast outside.

A few moments passed before the creature reached one of the entrances to the cave, letting out a deep and foreboding roar as it reached a long, wooden claw into it. The three flight-less ponies hid behind one of the many loose boulders, whilst you and the other two Pegasi hugged the wall, maintaining your altitude.

The beasts claws scratched at the floor of the cave a few times, leaving long marks and a few splinters in its wake, before finally giving up. It gave a sigh of defeat, before slowly walking away back to it's trap.
The six of you remained completely still until its heavy, creaky footsteps were no longer in hearing distance.

"What... Was that?" Pinkie asked, panting for air.

"I have no idea," Fluttershy answered, "But I don't really want to see it again."

"Well, we're still alive and that's what counts!" Rainbow added, enthusiastically.

"By the way," Rarity began, changing the subject of the conversation, "How did you and Storm know what that orb was trying to do?"

You and Rainbow both looked at each other anxiously, remembering the time when the two of you had wondered into the Everfree Forest out of boredom. The time that Rainbow had caught the 'Pegasus Plague' from Tank, and had then passed it on to you and Fluttershy before Twilight finally found a cure.
Now that you looked back on it, exploring the Everfree Forest while Rainbow couldn't fly was probably not a very smart decision.

"We ran into one of them while we were getting those gems for you, remember?" you asked, recalling your accidental murder of the Golem. On the bright side, you did get the gems that Rarity needed.

Rarity nodded, before Rainbow Dash added to your answer, "We got into a similar situation. Only then it was with a Golem and not some weird... tree thing."

The unicorn nodded once again, seeming to understand. Admittedly, she still seemed a little guilty knowing that you risked your lives for the gems, even though you could have sworn you had already told her how you got them.

"Anyway, uh..." Applejack began, looking out of the cave and into the forest beyond. It now looked noticeably darker than it had done previously, so daylight must've been running short, "We should hurry back to Ponyville. It looks like it'll be night soon, and who knows what Null is doing right now."

Although she had a point, it would've been nice to just stay in the cave for a little while longer. From the looks on everypony else's faces, they thought so too.

"Do we have to walk all the way back?" Rarity whined, lifting one of her hoofs off the ground, "Sometimes I wish we all had wings..."

Hovering next to you, Rainbow Dash let out a sarcastic 'pfft', amused by Rarity's wish.

"Well, the longer we wait here then the longer it'll take too get back!" Pinkie exclaimed, joyfully bouncing out of the cave's exit. You weren't entirely sure that was how time worked, but by now you knew not to question Pinkie's logic.

Rarity let out an exhausted sigh, before the five of you followed the pink Earth pony out of the cavern. By now, it was entirely night outside, and the moon shone down on the Everfree Forest despite its princess still being trapped away in the dream world.

"Are we there yet?" Pinkie exclaimed, mere seconds after leaving the cave.

Rainbow Dash lifted to a hoof up to her face, letting out a defeated sigh. You were about to say something to her, before something stopped you.

The dark night sky lit up with a familiar golden yellow, its source glowing the brightest as it slowly faded the further away it got. The glow must have covered the entirety of the Everfree Forest and Ponyville, replacing the relatively calming night with one of slight unease.
But what you did know was what this light was, and you knew that it definitely wasn't coming from Ponyville.

"Maybe we don't have to go back to Ponyville just yet after all..." you said with a smirk, looking into the sky towards the source of the bright light.

The Castle of the Two Sisters...
> Chapter 60 - The Battle for Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mystical golden glow quickly spread across the entirety of the Everfree Forest and Ponyville, turning what was once a beautiful night into what seemed like a form of eclipse. No matter how beautiful it may have looked, you knew what it was, and you knew the danger it would soon bring.

That glow was nothing more than the opening of another portal to the dream world, created by none other than Null. It was something that needed to be stopped, and that was exactly what you intended to do.

The six of you soon reached the fabled Castle of the Two Sisters, which was overcome almost entirely by the golden glow. The centre of which shone bright in the night, emanating from the middle of the overgrown ruins.

"Everypony okay?" you asked, looking at each of your friends. Surprisingly, Pinkie Pie seemed the most tired out.

The walk to the old castle was significantly shorter than the one back to Ponyville, but it still seemed to have taken a toll on you since you had ran half of the distance.

"We'll manage, but we all know what that beacon means, right?" Applejack said, panting slightly as she stared at the yellow aura the was spread across the sky.

You nodded your head, but Rainbow Dash was the one to answer her, "Yeah, it means somepony's gonna get their butt kicked!"

"But not us, right?" Fluttershy replied, shaking slightly.

"No, Fluttershy," Rarity replied, comforting her. She looked across the old wooden bridge that connected the Everfree Forest to the ancient castle, a slight hint of anger hidden in her expression, "Although I do have a pretty good idea as to who will be getting their butt kicked!"

Each and every one of you stared across the bridge at the glowing ruins, both anger, courage and determination growing within all of you.

"Well, are we ready?" you asked, now hovering above the ground alongside Rainbow Dash.

"You bet!" Pinkie exclaimed. It almost surprised you to see the fire that had ignited inside of her eyes too, as it was a rare sight to see Pinkie angry at somepony.

You took in a single deep breath. The moment you had been preparing for for so long was finally arriving.

"Then let's go stop this once and for all." you said, a courageous smile on your face.

After successfully saving Manehatten and escaping that tree creature with your life, you truly felt over the moon. You felt hope; hopeful that this battle would end today, before it became a full on war. Hopefully with the six of you together, you could achieve that.

In fact, you were all so determined to end it right there, that it never once occurred to any you that you were lacking one of the elements of harmony. Ever since you left for Manehatten, you hadn't seen Twilight, or Spike for that matter, once. It would've worried you, if you weren't so dead set on defeating Null right now.

Each of your friends crossed the bridge hurriedly, including Fluttershy despite the fact that she had wings. Actually taking advantage of your Pegasus features, both you and Rainbow Dash simply flew over the small ravine in an attempt to reach the castle sooner.

Surely enough, the two of you were the first to reach the front door, but neither of you felt like knocking.

Crash!

It seemed like, for once, Rainbow's old nickname 'Rainbow Crash' actually made sense.

"Null! I think me and you are long overdue a little talk!" she exclaimed angrily as she flew straight into the old throne room. Much like you expected, Null himself stood at the foot of the throne, an intense yellow glow burning behind him.

The shadow pony turned around, a smirk on his face, "Ah, it's you. Much like I... wait."

Quicker than the smug smirk appeared on his face, it twisted back into a frown as confusion and anger overcame him, "How did you get out! You were supposed to get trapped in the dream world along with the rest of that city"

"Well unfortunately for you, we stopped the city from vanishing before it could happen." you said, a hint of cockiness in your voice.

Null growled softly, giving you an intense stare, "Like many of your life choices, that will be one you soon regret."

"Yeah, yeah! We've heard it all before!" Pinkie called, strolling into the throne room with the rest of your friends following. It seemed like many of them were still on edge about the place, as the last time they had been there was when Nightmare Moon first attacked.

The only one who didn't seem unsettled was Rainbow Dash, probably because all she was seeing was the colour red.

"Now before we kick your butt," Rainbow began. Too your surprise, Null didn't interrupt her and simply stood, listening intently, "You better tell us how to bring Princess Luna back."

Seemingly dodging Rainbow's question Null gave a dark laugh, before taking a few steps to the side. Now that there was no longer another pony in the way, the six of you got a good look at the source of the golden beacon, and the burning yellow glow that had engulfed the sky.

"This right here is my magnum opus," he announced, pointing at the portal before you.

The six of you stared down at the portal confused. Whilst it emitted a pretty fierce glow, the portal itself was... quite disappointing honestly.

"Is that all?" Applejack asked, unfazed.

Null gave yet another smirk, and suddenly the once small portal transformed, growing up to a dozen times it's size. By now, the dream portal covered the entire back wall of the castle. Not only that, but this portal lacked slots for the crystals.
To put it simply, there was no way to close this portal.

"This beautiful portal is what I needed your magic for, Storm! Without you and your element, none of this would be possible!" Null explained. You gritted your teeth and growled; something which you never though you would do, "With a portal of this size, the entirety of Ponyville, no, Equestria will become nothing more than a mere dream."

"Hey, dumbass!" Rainbow called angrily, "You gonna tell us how to get Luna back? If we're gonna die anyway, at least tell us that!"

At first, you couldn't tell how that was supposed to help you. If you were going to lose anyway, he had no reason to tell you anything. But somehow it worked nonetheless.

"You can't," Null said, the smile unfading from his face, his golden yellow eyes piercing you, "Well, you can, but I'm afraid one of you will have to take her place..."

"Now what do you mean by that?" Rarity asked, concerned.

"I mean that one of you will have to sacrifice yourself to bring back your 'princess'", Null mocked, seeing an opportunity to taunt you, "Not that it matters. Pretty soon, there won't be anypony left to sacrifice anyway."

For a moment, you and the evil unicorn before you locked eyes. Your rage-filled eyes of hatred pierced his, but his stare back was lacking the rage.
All that he felt towards you was hatred, and the desire to kill you. You were simply an obstacle in his plan.

"Alright, I've had enough!" Rainbow cried as she darted towards Null. You wanted to stop her, but before you could even process her action, she had already slammed a hoof directly into Null's face. 
Zooming past him, she flew high into the sky. It was lucky that the castle seemed to be lacking a roof.

Each of the four ponies behind you let out a gasp as Null recovered from the hit, his eyes glowing a little bit brighter, "You shouldn't have done that."

Without warning, a golden ray of electrified light shot out from the unicorn's horn, heading directly towards Rainbow.

"Rainbow!" you called, flying up to her as fast as you could. Moments before the potentially fatal attack hit her, you launched into her, knocking her down to the ground. The two of you made impact with the ground outside of the castle, tumbling and rolling along the dark green grass and barely avoiding falling into one of the many ravines that surrounded it.

You were about to ask her if she was okay, but before a single word could leave your mouth, a large explosion came from the castle. Now looking towards it, Null had exploded a large hole in the side of the throne room, giving him a direct line of sight towards you and Rainbow.

"Putting your life on the line for one of your friends?" he said, his horn beginning to glow once again, "Respectable, but it won't make any difference!"

Rainbow attempted to fly, but Null's overpowering magic held her in place. You attempted to pull her into the air, but you too couldn't use your wings. You closed your eyes, anticipating the painful blow that would be delivered as soon as the beam hit you, but...

It never came.

Opening your eyes, a large, transparent, blue wall shielded you from the attack, and besides you stood Rarity.

"If you want to kill these two, then you'll have to kill me aswell!" she said fiercely, standing her ground next to you and Rainbow. Somehow you didn't see Applejack and Pinkie Pie walking up besides you, but they also seemed to have their own things to say.

"If you wanna rule Equestria..." Applejack began.

"Then you're gonna have to go through us!" Pinkie added, completing Applejack's sentence.

Flying down from above, Fluttershy had also decided to chip in, and it felt like all of her nervousness and shyness had dissapeared, "And that's not gonna be easy..."

Both you and Rainbow Dash climbed up from the ground, still a little staggered from that fall. It didn't bother you though, not when you had friends like these by your side. Null stared at you, and then at your friends, the amused smile wiped from his face.
Now instead of a proud smirk, there appeared to be one of intrigue. Almost like he was thinking of something.

A few moments passed with not a word spoken. All that you could feel was the slight breeze flowing through your mane and the bitter nighttime cold of the Everfree Forest, until...

"Okay, then!" Null said, the smile returning to his face.

Rainbow Dash's eyes filled with shock as a huge ball of magic energy hurtled towards you, surely strong enough to knock all of you out of the fight if it were to hit. Your wings fanned out, but before you took flight you pushed Pinkie to the side to allow her to escape the blast.
You, Rainbow and Fluttershy eached dodged the attack by quickly flying above it, but unfortunately Applejack and Rarity didn't seem to be so lucky.

The two of them flew through the air, both hitting the castle wall and falling to the ground.

"Rarity! Applejack!" each of you called, quickly running over to the two injured ponies.

The orange Earth pony let out a cough, lifting herself up with a single hoof. A few bruises covered her, but other than that she seemed relatively fine. "Ah'm fine, everypony."

"Yes, so am I! It's going to take more than that to make me give up!" Rarity added, climbing to her hoofs.

Null let out a menacing laugh, his horn glowing once again, "Are you sure about that?"

Not allowing either of the injured ponies time to recover, another blast of magic energy collided with them. Rarity and Applejack fell to the ground once again, this time unresponsive.

"You see? I'm simply too powerful for you now!" Null laughed, egotistically.

"No, no, no!" Fluttershy gasped, rushing back to the two ponies. She placed an ear up to each of their chests, listening for a sign of life, "Th-they've still got a heart beat."

The once cheerful Pinkie Pie looked down at Applejack with sadness, her fluffy mane beginning to deflate. It took a lot to upset her, but this was enough.

"Pinkie, are you-" you began, walking over to the pink ponies side.

"That's it!" Rainbow Dash cried, fuelled by both adrenaline and rage. Once again, she shot into the air, but this time it was different.  This time, she was flying at such a speed that her signature rainbow contrail was being left behind her.
Even Null looked at least a little bit scared.

You didn't want to stop her. Whatever she was going to do to Null, he deserved, "If you hurt my friends, I'll hurt you twice as badly!"

Another hoof slammed into Null's face, knocking him down to the ground. Attempting to retaliate, he fired a magical beam into the air, but she was too fast for him. Effortless dodging his attack, Rainbow flew high up into the sky, before turning around and flying downwards at a high speed.

A familiar vapour cone formed around her, slowly but surely beginning to give way to her extreme speed. Another ray of magical energy fired from Null's horn, but once again it only missed.
You couldn't help but smirk as a look of horror overcame Null as the cyan Pegasus got closer and closer to the ground, until the vapour come finally gave way.

A multicoloured shockwave spread across the sky, giving some life to the sickly yellow glow that coated the entire forest. Shooting downwards faster than ever, Rainbow readied a hoof to deliver one final blow to the evil Unicorn that stood helplessly below her.

But then Null grinned.

With a flash of his horn, Rainbow Dash froze into place, unable to move and mere metres from the ground.

"No! Don't you hurt her!" you cried, beginning to charge towards him aggressively. Both Pinkie and Fluttershy held you back, preventing you from getting any closer, but you refused to stand by and do nothing.

"Storm, you'll just get yourself hurt!" Fluttershy said, holding you back as best as she could.

Struggling against your friend's grasp, you eventually saw only one way to even get a chance to help your marefriend. Your wings began to glow a soft yellow and you closed your eyes, focusing on the flat surface in front of Null.

"Storm! Don't!" Rainbow called, desperately trying to keep you and her friends out of harms way. But it was too late to change your mind now.

In a bright yellow flash, you teleported directly in front of the unicorn, releasing your friends grasp on you. For some reason, using your magic hurt you quite a lot, but it was worth it to keep Rainbow safe.
Appearing below Null, you used the skills that you had picked up at Sweet Apple Acres and delivered a powerful buck to his stomach, causing him to repulse backwards out of pain

You used your magic once again to teleport above the evil pony, and this time it hurt even more. A slight grunt of pain left your mouth as you reappeared above Null, ready to strike. Your hoof came crashing down onto the pony's head, causing him to almost lose balance completely.

As you kept Null distracted, Pinkie Pie snook over to the frozen Rainbow Dash, ready to help her down from her suspended state. Little did either of you realise that Null's magical grip on her was the only thing stopping her from crashing into the ground with the full force of a sonic rainboom.
The more you glows you delivered to Null, and the more you injured him, the less magic that still held Rainbow in place, until...

She was no longer frozen.

Crashing into the ground at an inconceivable speed, the entirety of the Everfree Forest shook. Birds retreated from their nests in the trees, and cracks spread from the crater that had been left behind by the impact.

Realising what had happened, you moved your attention away from Null to look at the aftermath: a simple cloud of dust that blocked both your's and Fluttershy's vision. By the time it had dissapeared, both Rainbow and Pinkie were laying in the center of the crater, covered in bruises.

"No..." was all you could say as you stared down at the two ponies.

Fluttershy, with tears forming in her eyes, cautiously flew down to the center of the crater where the ponies lay.

"Th-they're still b-breathing..." the yellow Pegasus exclaimed, weakly. It was hard to sound even the slightest bit optimistic when you were fighting back tears, after all.

Behind you, the pony who had caused all of this let out a cough, "Do you see now? No matter how much damage you do to me, my determination outshines yours. Any damage you do to me, I will retaliate with double that amount."

As if nothing had even happened, the few bruises that covered Null's body were healed in the aura of a golden flame, healing him back to health.
You couldn't believe what you were seeing. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had all been defeated by this pony. 

No... He wasn't a pony.

He was a monster.

A monster that lurks in the deepest corner of your mind, taking advantage of your thoughts and desires and twisting them to be used against you. The type of monster that transforms the things you love into physiological weapons to manipulate you. And most of all, the type of monster that strikes when you are at your most vulnerable, existing as nothing more than a passing thought until the right moment arises.

"There's no point in dragging it on any longer..." Null said with a sigh. That familiar glow radiated from his horn as another beam fired directly towards Fluttershy.

She was too busy taking care of her unconscious friends to notice that in only a moment she would be just like them.

"Fluttershy! Move!" you yelled, flying over to her as quick as you could in order to get her out of harms way, but just like always, you were too late.

The one friend you still had standing fell to the ground alongside her two friends, leaving you alone.

You couldn't find any words to say. Usually you would have said something either insulting or cocky towards Null, but this time... You just couldn't find the words to even begin.
In only a single night, it seemed as if you had lost everything.

"I think it's time we brought this to a close. Wouldn't you agree?" Null mocked, that sickening smirk plastered all over his face once again.

You gave him an empty stare, lacking in any form of emotion. You could feel what was left of your determination fading, and the small part of your element that was resisting give up completely.

All you could see was that horrible yellow glow as you closed your eyes one final time.

The war was over, and you had lost.
> Chapter 61 - Strength of Will
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your eyes closed as you lay on the ground, bracing for the inevitable pain that would come as soon as Null's magical attack hit your body. You couldn't believe what was happening.

Every single one of your friends had been defeated, and now nothing stood between Null and Equestria.

After everything you and your friends had been through, all of the hard times you had faced, it had all came down to this. Even then, you had still failed to save Equestria.

To put it simply, you had lost. Seeing how things were, you couldn't find the determination to keep on fighting.

The only thing that you could see was the growing yellow glow that shone through the darkness of your closed eyes. He was savouring every moment of this.

"Storm..." a voice whispered to you, seemingly from nowhere.

At first, you thought you were hallucinating it, but eventually you realised that you recognised the voice. Although you recall her power running out, somehow Princess Luna was once again communicating with you.

"You can't give up just yet, Storm..." Luna said, encouragingly. It felt as if time had frozen, as if you were stuck in a place between realities.
A place that existed between Equestria and the dream world.

"Open your eyes..." she said.

You saw no reason to open your eyes, unless you wanted to see your own death unfold right in front of you. But even though you knew that all you would see would be the final moments of your life, you did it anyway.

And that wasn't what you saw.

Instead, Twilight Sparkle stood in front of you, casting some form of magical shield around the two of you. Immediately, you felt a small piece of hope return to you.
You could feel a percentage of your will to succeed return, and it made you realise that you hadn't lost until you gave up.

"Storm, are you alright?" Twilight asked, focusing on keeping her shield bubble up as Null blasted a large laser directly at it.

"Yeah, but... our friends..." you said, taking a sorrowful glance at the crater left behind by the Sonic Rainboom. It made you think of the many ways that this could have gone differently.

Twilight nodded, "Yeah... I know. That was how I was able to find you."

Suddenly, the purple Alicorn let out a pained grunt as the force field began to crack. A few shards of magical energy flew up into the air, before disappearing completely.

"Listen, we don't have much time," Twilight began, attempting to explain while also holding the shield around you, "I did some studying, and I found out that the best counter to determination... Is determination."

You had to admit, that was confusing.

"We need our friend's help. I found out that your magic but might be able to heal them if it's strong enough, but you have to activate it first, if that makes sense."

You nodded your head, but in reality you were still a little confused. Truth be told, you had no idea where to even start, "So what do I do?"

"We'll have to fight him with the expectation to win," she explained, "After all, you can't win anything if you've given up."

Instantly, you could feel your magic return to you ever so slightly. It was only a minor sensation, but you could tell that your magic was there.
Without warning, the magical bubble that shielded you shattered completely, and the two of you dove to the side instinctively.

"Hey, Null!" you called, mockingly. Immediately, his attention turned to you, a furious glare on his face, "It's gonna take more than that to take me out!"

"So you've still got some fight in you?" Null asked, firing a ray of energy at you at the same time. You dodge it pretty easily, buying Twilight time to attack from behind. In retaliation, she cast a large magical ball of energy, which Null had to use a large amount of magic to block.
A large yellow shield appeared above him, acting as a protective barrier that shielded him from the Alicorn's attack.

"You bet I do. And pretty soon, it won't just be me and Twilight that you have to contend with." you replied. The more you persevered, and the stronger your will became, the more powerful your magic felt. 

It felt like your element was returning to you.

Using the magic you had just regained, you teleported under Null and repeated one of your previous moves, delivering a forceful buck to the Unicorn's stomach. Null let out a pained grunt as his magical shield dropped, sending Twilight's energy ball crusading directly towards him.

Boom!

Null went rolling across the dark grass of the Everfree Forest, bruises covering his pitch black coat. Despite the force of the explosion, he still managed to climb back up onto his hoofs almost instantly, "You think something like that is all it takes to defeat me?"

"No..." Twilight replied, "We know it!"

Suddenly, you felt a great surge of magical energy flow through you, straight towards your wings. The longer this continued, the more of your element that was returned to your control.

Null let out a pitiful laugh as his entire body began to glow. You knew what he was doing. He was healing himself, but this time you weren't going to let him do that.
Countering his magic just like he had done during your fight in the dream world, your wings glowed the exact same yellow as his own horn.

"W-what? How?" Null exclaimed upon realising that his magic was no longer effective.

"It's quite simple!" Twilight exclaimed, seeming to want to answer for you. You weren't really surprised, she had spent quite a lot of her time researching your magic while the rest of you were away in Manehatten, "He's more determined than you!"

A look of panic washed over the evil Unicorn's face as he diverted his attention towards the crater left behind by the Sonic Rainboom. At its center, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had begun to glow.

"Storm, it's working!" Twilight exclaimed, happily. You could feel more and more of your element returning to your control, slowly but surely refuelling your magical abilities. A smile slowly grew on your face as you saw the towards the castle, both Rarity and Applejack were also glowing.

"Stop that!" Null cried, firing another beam at you. Once again, you dodge it effortlessly. For a pony that was supposed to be one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria by this point, he sure had a bad aim.

Twilight's smile widened as the five ponies that once lay on the ground unconscious began to awaken, slowly getting up onto their hoofs with a tired groan.

"Just five more minutes..?" Rainbow Dash groaned, a hoof placed on her head.

Immediately, you felt your wings take control of your body, sending you quite literally flying over towards the cyan Pegasus.  Your front hoofs wrapped around her, pulling her into a mid-air hug.

"Woah, Storm!" she exclaimed, seeming a little startled. Nevertheless, she eventually returned the hug, "How long were we all out?"

"Not that lo-" you attempted to say, only to be interrupted by Pinkie.

"Twilight!" she exclaimed, enthusiastically bounding towards her. For someone who had just woken up, she sure was full of energy.

"Pinkie... Everypony..." Twilight began, seeming like she was about to get emotional, "I'm so glad that you're all okay."

Applejack glanced at her surroundings, looking from the large hole in the side of the castle to the even larger crater that Rainbow Dash had left, whether she remembered it or not, "Actually, how long were we out?"

"Not very long." you managed to finally say, glad that you weren't interrupted by any pony this time. It had been a while since you had felt like this. So full of hope and relief, surrounded by all of your friends. You had spent a while with most of them sure, but it had been quite a long time since all of them had been together.

Twilight looked towards Rainbow Dash, a hint of concern in her eyes, "You... Kinda crashed into the ground back there. Are you ok?"

You felt like you should have asked that a little sooner, but it didn't really matter.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to reply, but before she was able to speak, a bright yellow sphere surrounded Twilight, trapping her. The sentence that Rainbow once planned to say now simply came out as: "Uhhhh..."

"Ok, that might be a problem..." Twilight said, followed by a nervous laugh.

"Enough of this!" Null shouted, the magical bubble that contained Twilight floating over to his side. You had been so relieved to see that all your friends were alive, that you had completely forgotten about the cause of all this mess.

You and the Mane 5 glared at Null intensely, but he seemed unfazed. All you saw in the Unicorn's eyes was anger, "You are all going to watch each other die one by one!"

The magical sphere that held Twilight in mid-air began to shrink, forcing the already claustrophobic space into an even tighter environment. If you didn't do something soon, then she would surely be crushed, "Now if you want your friend here to even have a shot at living, you lay down on the floor and admit defeat!"

There were only two ways out of this. Either you give up, or you risk Twilight's life for the rest of Equestria. You knew which one Twilight would want, and you were never really a fan of giving up.

Defying Null's demand, you took a step forward.

"No matter what you do, I refuse to just let you win," you said, seeming to take him aback a little, "Whether you like it or not, I am determined."

Too your surprise, Rainbow also took a step forward. You thought that you would be the only one willing to risk Twilight's life, but it seemed that she saw things the same way as you. This is probably what she would want, after all.

"If you think i'm gonna go out without a fight, then you're wrong!" she exclaimed, giving him an angry stare.

Following the two of you, Fluttershy was the next to step forward. This surprised you, as usually Fluttershy wasn't a big fan of confrontations, but in this situation there wasn't much of a choice, "Release her or you'll have to see a side of me that most ponies never get to see."

"Now you'd better listen to her," Applejack advised, also taking a step forward, "Ya'll wouldn't like Fluttershy when she's angry."

You could feel your element continue to fall back under your control, and as each of your friend stood by your side, it only accelerated. Last but not least, Rarity and Pinkie Pie moved forward to stand with you.
Placing a hoof on your heart, you looked above your head to see a sight that you had never seen in person before. A sight that, before now, had only been that of a dream.

Above you was the completed element of determination. There was no corruption, just pure magic.

"Do you see Null?" Twilight said, feeling his magical grip on her loosen, "When true friends work together, nothing can stop their combined determination!"

The pitch black Unicorn's horn began to glow faintly, despite his magic being weaker than it was previously. His eyes, too, began to glow the same colour as his horn, and a pair of bright yellow wings formed at his sides.

"We'll see about that, won't we?" he said in an ominous tone.

Rainbow's wings instinctively fanned out, preparing to take off much like yours. 

This was it.

This was the final battle. 



Before Null could make the first move, the six of you charged at the pony, seeming to take him by surprise. He attempted to use his magic, but before he could, Rainbow Dash slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

Fluttershy, fuelled by her own anger, hovered over him, ready to deliver a painful slam from above. As she prepared to fall onto the unicorn, a bright yellow flash radiated from his body, and just like that he was gone.

Suddenly, he reappeared directly behind Applejack, a huge blade of magical energy in his hoof. Seemingly in slow motion, he raised it into the air, preparing to slice downwards. Fortunately, the orange Earth pony seemed to know what was coming, as she quickly turned around and bucked the blade out of his hoof and onto the ground.

In retaliation, Null attempted to punch her with a hoof, but she managed to block it. With all of their might, they began a form of tug of war, pushing against each other's hoof whilst constantly building up energy.

"Is this really what you would call victory?" Applejack asked, angrily.

Null seemed to think for a moment, but in reality he already had his answer.

"Yes." he said, as a sudden burst of magical energy surged into his hoof, sending Applejack flying back towards the forest. Seeing what had just happened, you used your regained magic to teleport ahead of her, holding out your hoofs to catch her.

"I've got you." you said, catching her and returning her to the ground.

Applejack gave you a nod, silently thanking you for saving her life, before charging back into the fight like nothing had happened.

"I have had enough of you!" Pinkie Pie cried, walking up to Null as if unfazed by the power that he possessed, "Everything that you've done... You'll pay for all of it!"

Through some unknown power, Pinkie began circling the evil unicorn at a speed that was faster than the eye could see. Even he looked like he was having a hard time keeping up, until eventually he started seeing double. Countless Pinkie Pies were sprinting around him at an impossible speed, and it was throwing his sense of direction of completely.

Taking advantage of his weakened state, Rarity's horn began to glow. Giving him a taste of his own medicine, a ray of blue energy shot towards him. One that he was unable to dodge, thanks to Pinkie's 'abilities'.
The magical beam hit Null in the side, leaving a slight burn mark in its wake. He let out a roar of pain as he stumbled a few steps backwards, causing Pinkie to back off.

The yellow bubble around Twilight flickered, slowly losing its brightness before it quickly returned. It seemed like his magic was fading.

Not much longer now.

"Is that all you've got? A little bit of magic?" Null asked, laughing at the small wound that Rarity's attack had made. Despite the arrogance that he showed, his voice seemed... different. Perhaps it was worry, or perhaps it was fear.

"No, not a little bit of magic..." Rainbow said, answering his question. She hovered directly in front of him, high above the ground with her hoofs crossed as if about to challenger him.
Just as planned, all of his attention was drawn to her, buying you the time you needed to potentially end this once and for all.

"We have a lot of magic!" you exclaimed, as you appeared above him in a brilliant flash of yellow light, a magical sword in one hoof.

You swung down fiercely, aiming straight for the pony's head in an attempt to kill him for good, but even whilst distracted his reaction was too quick. Turning around quickly, he manifested another glowing blade in his hoof, raising it to block your strike.
The two blades struck each other, sending a metallic clang echoing across the forest.

The two of you exchanged blows, yet every time you swung your sword it was met with his. All the while, the two of you continued moving backwards as you were unable to land a successful hit on him.

Although at this point your magic was superior, Null was still a much larger pony than you, and could hence go longer without tired. Every time his magical sword hit yours, you could feel yourself growing more and more fatigued as time went on.
Sensing that you were growing weary, he began putting more effort into his attacks, delivering multiple heavy blows with his own blade.

You were nearing one of the many ravines that surrounded the Castle of the Two Sisters, and if something didn't happen soon he would surely overpower you, sending you falling to your inevitable death. 
At this point, you wouldn't have had the energy to fly back up.

"Ready to die, Storm?" Null asked, as he raised his magical blade one final time, preparing to end your life once and for all.





Despite your death being right in front of you, your attention wasn't fixed on that. Instead, you couldn't help but notice that each of your friends were glowing a bright yellow, smiles on each of their faces. Even Twilight, who was still trapped in a claustrophobic bubble, was smiling hopefully.

"Hey, Null!" Rainbow called, seeming to catch his attention. He turned around, but kept the sword hovering above your head, ready to kill you at a moments notice.

"There's just one thing you're forgetting..." Pinkie Pie added.

Null gave them all a stern stare, confused as too what they were talking about, "What do you mean? I have won!"

"The one thing that is stronger than determination, and even the elements..." Twilight said, as her own element appeared above her in a similar manner as yours. The rest of your friends also had their elements appear, each of them glowing yellow.

"Is the strength of one's will."

Suddenly, you felt an enormous surge of magical power as your own element appeared above you. Null turned towards you in a panic, and began to lower his sword, but it was already too late for him.
Using an enormous, but also minuscule amount of your magic, a powerful laser manifested in front of you, consuming Null almost entirely.

The evil unicorn let out a scream of pain as the magical energy tore him apart, burning him from the inside out. Every fibre of your being wanted him gone. Your will was to get rid of him.

This was a moment you should have been enjoying. At last, you had finally defeated Null, but it felt... wrong. Even your friends, who once had smiles on their faces, now wore conflicted expressions as smoke began to appear where Null once stood.

With another horrific scream of pain... you stopped, and the unicorn fell to the floor covered in painful burn marks and bruises.

Twilight dropped from her magical container as his magic wore off completely. He wasn't determined anymore. He no longer had any hope.
The six of your friends ran over to the defeated unicorn, as did you, and stood by his side.

"I-I..." you said, looking at the damage you had done. Despite the many wounds that he had suffered, he was still alive and breathing.

Null let out a laboured cough, "Well... you've won."

Nopony dared to answer him. They couldn't bare to look at what they had reduced him too, but they knew that it was either this, or leave Equestria to burn.

"Not that it matters though," he added, between coughs, "Pretty soon, my portal will absorb this world, and the astral conscripts will never come to pass..."

"The what?" Twilight asked, concern suddenly filling her voice.

"Don't worry about that. It was up to me to stop it, and pretty soon that portal will finish my work." Null said, taking a glance towards the castle. The same yellow glow still plagued the sky, and the portal remained active, just as it was prior.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Rainbow exclaimed, angrily.

"You won't..." Null replied, letting out another painful cough. His breathing seemed to be getting slower every second, "Pretty soon, this will all be just a bad dream, one way or another..."

As he finished his sentence, any sympathy that you may have had for him dissapeared. He looked up into the sky at the glow of the dream world, satisfied with the ending that he had achieved, even if he hadn't won, so to speak, before letting out one final breath.
The evil unicorn's eyes closed, and he began to crumble. In less than a few seconds, Null's entire body had turned into dust, scattered in the air just like the Observers before him.

It was finally over...

Null was dead...

"Is... Is that it..." Rarity asked, staring at the spot on the ground where Null once lay. Everypony was shocked by his final words, and even more so by the way that he had died.

"I think so..." Twilight replied, seeming to be deep in her own thought process. Null had been the villain of your story this entire time, and it felt strange now that he was gone.

Nevertheless, Equestria was safe.

"Equestria isn't safe yet!" Pinkie exclaimed as the ground began to tremble beneath you. The portal didn't close when Null died, and was still actively attempting to consume all of Equestria as you spoke.

"Quick, Everypony!" Twilight called, already galloping towards the interior of the castle.

The ground continued to shake, making the earthquakes you experienced in Manehatten seem like nothing more than mild tremors. Reality was tearing at the seams as this huge portal continued to absorb the world.

"How do we stop it..." Fluttershy asked, staring hopelessly at the portal as she entered the throne room alongside you. Unlike the previous portal, this one contained no slots for crystals.

Essentially, there was no way to close this portal.

"I..." Twilight said, examining the portal worriedly, "I have no idea..."

Even as you spoke, the entirety of Equestria was beginning to fade into a fabrication. The whole world was becoming seperate from reality, becoming a mere dream.
And there was no way you could stop it.

"I guess this is it!" Rainbow cried, panicked, as the shaking began to grow more and more intense. It was really seeming hopeless.

But then you remembered...



"I mean that one of you will have to sacrifice yourself to bring back your 'princess'", Null mocked, seeing an opportunity to taunt you, "Not that it matters. Pretty soon, there won't be anypony left to sacrifice anyway."



In order to bring back Princess Luna and save this world, you would have to sacrifice yourself. You would have to take Luna's place.

"I know how to stop this!" you exclaimed, barely audible over the sound of the trembling earth.

"You do?" Pinkie Pie asked, somehow still sounding enthusiastic despite the hopelessness of the current situation that you found yourself in.

You nodded your head, flapping your wings and hovering above the ground.

"I'm going to get Princess Luna." you said, bluntly.

Before anyone could even consider objecting, you immediately flew straight towards the huge portal. Twilight's jaw dropped as you dissapeared completely through the portal, seemingly never to be seen again.

"Storm, don't you even-" Rainbow cried, but you didn't get to hear her finish her objection. 

That was the last thing you heard before you were no longer in that world.
> Chapter 62 - New Moon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You closed your eyes as you stepped through the portal, disappearing into what was essentially your own dream. It felt strange being in your own dreams despite being awake. The final thing you heard before entering the other world was Rainbow's pleads for you to not continue.



"Storm, don't you even-" Rainbow cried, but you didn't get to hear her finish her objection.



It felt horrible to put her in a situation like that, but you had to do it. If it was for the safety of Equestria, you would put yourself at risk.

Opening your eyes, you stepped out into the vast abyss of your dream, only this time the ominous presence of Null was completely missing. Turning around, the portal you entered through began to close, warping itself in a distorted flash of light before dissapearing completely.

Now that Null was defeated, you were alone in your dream.

But then you remembered the second reason you had stepped through that portal. Of course, you had to enter it for it to be closed and save Equestria, but you would also get to see Luna again. 
It had been a while.

"Luna?" you called out into the empty abyss.

You had never seen a dreamscape so empty. Every other time you had entered the dream world, novas of yellow light would streak across the horizon like streamers, and small pieces of yellow stardust would sprinkle from above. Usually, it was quite beautiful, but this time...

Nothing...

Just darkness.

"Princess Luna?" you called out again. Once again, there was no response at first. Until a faint blue glow appeared in the distance.

"Over here." a familiar voice beckoned, seemingly coming from the direction of the dark blue glow. You recognised the voice instantly; it was the very pony you were looking for.

Not wasting time by giving a response, you began to gallop quickly towards the light, but it didn't seem to be growing any closer. Another twenty seconds passed, and still Princess Luna remained the same amount of distance away from you as she had done prior.

You began thinking that it was a trick, until out of nowhere, the blue light shot forwards, seemingly covering miles in mere seconds.

You stood in shock, staring at the blue glow. For the amount of times you had visited the dream world, you would think you'd be acquainted with the surprises that it brought with it, but nope. The light began glowing brighter and brighter, until finally out stepped Princess Luna.

"So you did it? You beat the dream demon?" she asked, walking down a pair of seemingly invisible stairs.

"I didn't," you replied, seeming to confuse the Alicorn, "We did it. If it wasn't for my friends, we surely would've lost."

Princess Luna's confusion quickly turned into a proud smile, one of which managed to make you feel proud of yourself and your friends, "You and your friends all learnt a lot about each other. I'm sure my sister would be proud."

Upon the mention of Celestia, your subtle smile quickly faded. You hadn't really asked Twilight for the details about how she was doing.

"How is she doing? My sister?" Luna asked, her voice changing to that of worry. You and your friends had won the battle against Null, but everything couldn't just go back to being normal just like that. This wasn't just a cartoon anymore. This was your life now.

"I... Don't really know," you said, sadly, "I didn't really get a chance to ask. One minute we're all fighting, and the next Equestria is being sucked in by a giant dream portal..."

Feeling as if you were about to rant about the events that had just unfolded, you glanced back up at Luna, who, to your surprise, was smiling, "Don't worry. Let's go see her now."

You had to admit, that confused you a little.

"But..." you began, already wondering how she planned to escape the dream world after being sealed in, "The portal closed behind me. How are you gonna get out?"

"I'm not," Luna said confidently, a warm smile still on her face, "This world is your dream, remember?"

At first, you weren't sure what she was getting at, but then you started to understand. Even now, the elements of harmony continued to help you. Moreso your own element, the element of determination, as the way you harnessed its magic may very well have been the way back to Equestria.

Princess Luna knew that you understood, and didn't need to say anymore. Instead, she simply stood back and watched.

One more time, you focused your energy. This time you weren't only focused on you, but the entire dream. You had always been told that you could change the world if you tried, and this time it wasn't to be taken lightly. Your wings began to glow yellow as you focused on the very fabric of the dream, channeling as much determination magic as you possibly could.

With a lot of focus, and even more determination, you eventually manage to rip a tear in the dreamscape, creating a portal back to the real world. This was a form of magic that could only ever be performed in a dream, and by the looks of things, Luna had already seen something similar as she seemed relatively unfazed.

You, on the other hand, were shocked at what magic was truly capable of in this world.

"Don't worry about it. Remember, this is your dream. Without Null, you have full control over your dreams again." Luna explained, putting your mind at ease.

You figured that the reason you felt so strange about being able to change your own dreams was because all this time, you had never been in control of them. Ever since your arrival in Equestria, Null had been in the background pulling all the strings. He was constantly manipulating your dreams, making you see what he wanted you to see.
It just felt strange being free of that.

"Enough thinking about the past," Luna said, looking ahead to the future and into the portals you had created, "Let's go see your friends."

And you couldn't have agreed more.
> Chapter 63 - Tears of Joy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Storm!" Rainbow cried as she flew rapidly towards the quickly closing portal. Despite her immense speed, she still wasn't able to join you in the dream world before the portal sealed completely, seemingly never to open again. Rainbow Dash fell to the floor, not even bothering to move her wings. She and the rest of her friends stared at where the portal once was in disbelief.

Twilight was the first to snap out of her shock, and began cautiously walking over over to the shaken Rainbow Dash. Slowly, she placed a single hoof on her shoulder, "Don't worry," she said, "He'll come back."

Mere moments after Twilight finished speaking, Rainbow shook off her hoof and turned around angrily.

"Oh, yeah?" she exclaimed. She had no reason to be angry at her friends, but that anger was the only thing she could feel right now, "You just saw that! The portal closed!"

She was right. The final portal to the dream world had closed for good, and the only one who could make them, Null, was dead. Of course, Luna could also make portals to the dream world, but she was already trapped inside one, and even if there was another pony that could do such a thing, they wouldn't have the same link to your mind that Null had.

"We could maybe open it again..." Fluttershy suggested, weakly. She had no idea how to do such a thing, but making her friend feel better was her top priority right now.

"And how would you do that?" Rainbow replied, frustrated, "Suddenly have Rarity and Twilight conjure up some dream magic?"

"Rainbow, she was only trying to help." Twilight interrupted, feeling the need to intervene before things escalated.

This was supposed to be a happy moment, possibly the most happy moment you would have experienced since you had arrived in Equestria. The pony that had been messing with your head since your arrival had finally been defeated, but still you didn't have that happy moment.
Rainbow Dash let out a frustrated sigh, before turning back around and falling fully down to the ground.

"Now listen here, sugarcube..." Applejack said, taking a brief glance at Pinkie Pie before she started talking. She was frozen in place, her usually fuzzy mane completely deflated, "Storm just sacrificed himself to safe Equestria, but if ah know Storm, he ain't gonna go out without a fight."

She couldn't completely tell if she had gotten Rainbow's attention, but she definitely had everypony else's, "Now do you really think he's gone to the other side of that portal and given up? Or do you think he's looking for a way back as we speak?"

Rainbow didn't respond. Not at first anyway.

"Th-thanks... everypony..." she said, quietly. Despite the quietness of the Everfree Forest, it was still incredibly hard to hear her unusually quiet voice.

"Rainbow, are you..." Rarity began, looking towards her with concern in her eyes.

"Crying?" Rainbow finished, completing the sentence herself, "Pfft. No way!"

Nopony believed her, and nopony dared respond to her out of fear of making it worse. Even though she said she wasn't crying, sometimes you could just sense the emotion behind someone's words. 
This was one of those moments.

"I'm sorry, ok..." she muttered, once again being barely audible, "I just wanna be alone for a bit."

Twilight nodded understandingly, before turning around to give her some space. They didn't plan on wandering too far into the forest, as leaving Rainbow alone probably wasn't a very good idea, but they atleast wanted to move far enough away so that she could have some space.

The five of them began to walk away from the ruined castle grounds, but something stopped them.

Shining bright from the castle's ruin, a golden glow coated the Everfree Forest once again. The five ponies turned around, and the jaws instantly dropped. Rainbow Dash immediately leapt up from the ground as she stared at the intensifying glow before her.

The portal was reopening.

To be honest, none of them had even thought it to be possible. They had only said that it could be reopened to make Rainbow feel better, but they weren't completely lying after all.

"Everypony! Come look!" Rainbow cried happily, but they already had a pretty good idea as to what was happening.

"Is it-" Rarity attempted to say, before immediately being interrupted.

"It is! It has to be!" Rainbow answered, believing it to be the only answer. Hope was returning, and at the same time was Pinkie's usual frizzy mane.

The portal seemed to reach its maximum glow, emanating magical sounds as beautiful streaks of golden energy weaved outwards. There looked to be a small flame in the centre of the glow, shining a brighter yellow than the rest of the wall. Without warning, the flame spread outwards until it covered the entire back wall of the castle.

The Mane 6 stood silent, eyes wide as they stared at the portal that was once threatening the entirety of Equestria. Rainbow couldn't help but feel like she had to take a few steps back, in the event that the pony that returned through it wasn't the pony they were expecting.

The chances of that happening were slim to none, but just to be safe...

In the dream world, you placed your front two hoofs through the portal, Princess Luna stood not too far behind you. When you had entered the dream world, you recalled that you weren't transported instantly. It took a few seconds of a sensation that felt similar to sleeping before you came out on the other side. You weren't even certain that this portal would take you to where you needed to go, or if it would even work at all. You had never used your magic to such an extent, but putting your trust in yourself was your only option.

Back in the Castle of the Two Sisters, the portal began to show signs of activity, pulsing and rippling with a magical energy. It wasn't only a matter of time until...

You appeared back in the real world.

The Mane 6 stared in shock as you fell out of the centre of the portal. This portal was a lot bigger than the one in the dream world, so it wasn't a surprise that the exit was more difficult.

"Storm?" Rainbow was the first to ask. Even she wasn't sure that she could trust her own eyes.

"Hi." was all you could say as you climbed up off the ground. A small smile appeared on your face as you looked at your friends, the same friends that you wondered whether you would even get to see again.

"Stormy Warmy!" Pinkie exclaimed as she enthusiastically bound towards you.

You didn't have time to move out of the way before the hyper earth pony came crashing down on top of you, sending you falling back down to the ground once again.

"Wondered whether we'd be seein' ya again, sugarcube!" Applejack said as you climbed up off the ground for a second time.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily." you replied, sarcasticly, earning laughs from everyone except for Rainbow Dash. For whatever reason, she still seemed to be upset, as if in some sort of daze. You looked at her, concerned, "Hey, Rainbow. Are you... ok?"

Immediately, the cyan Pegasus launched forwards, pushing you backwards with a hoof, "What were you thinking? Why would you just fly through the portal like that?"

Her push probably would've sent you falling to the ground for a third time, but thankfully this time you managed to regain your balance, "I came back, didn't I?"

"Well what if you didn't?" she replied, hovering mere centimetres away from you as if trying to be intimidating.

The five ponies that stood watching the argument unfold remained silent, fearing that they would only make things worse if they attempted to intervene. Your dissapearance through the portal probably hit Rainbow Dash the hardest, after all.

"I would've been perfectly fine with it, and do you know why?" you asked, not expecting an answer. Rainbow remained silent, waiting for you to continue, "Because all of you would've been safe. If being trapped in my own dream is what it takes to save all of you, then I'm ok with that. I've already died once, after all. How bad can it be?"

Rainbow Dash backed off a little, seeming a little taken aback by your speech. The next thing you noticed were small but noticeable tears forming in her eyes.

"Don't do that again, ok?" she said, pulling you into a hug. It had felt like a very long time since you had last experienced a moment like this, although it probably hadn't been all that long. So much had happened in that time that you honestly couldn't remember.

"Hey, shouldn't that portal be closed by now?" Pinkie Pie said, interrupting your heartwarming moment.

"Oh! Right, about that..." you said, slowly but surely parting from the hug. You slowly turned to face the portal, and then simply waited.

A few seconds passed, and you began to grow concerned. It shouldn't take this long to pass through the portal, but Princess Luna still hadn't appeared.

"Is something supposed to be be happening?" Rainbow asked, looking at the portal with a confused expression.

"Yeah, I thought-"

Before you could finish your explanation, the Alicorn Princess you had been waiting for slowly flew out of the portal, and unlike you, actually to stick the landing.

"Princess!" Twilight exclaimed, already galloping towards her at full speed.

"Twilight! Everypony!" Luna replied happily as she welcomed the purple unicorn with a hug. It had been quite a while since they had last seen eachother, "It's been a very long time..."

"We were worried we wouldn't get to see you again..." Twilight said, keeping back tears that she had been holding in for quite some time.

Behind the Alicorn Princess, the final portal to the dream world had already began to close. At last, this chapter was beginning to near its end.

"You shouldn't have been so worried, although I owe my safe return to Storm. If it wasn't for his magic I don't know if I would've ever escaped." Luna said, causing the six ponies to turn to look at you. Immediately, you felt a rush of embarrassment flood through you.

"I mean, I'm sure you would've found your way out without me!" you replied, trying to turn their attention back towards her, "You do know the most about dreams."

"Ah, come on, Storm! Admit that you're awesome this one time!" Rainbow said, flying over to you and playfully nudging your side.

You let out a deep sigh, and then looked around. Still, everypony's eyes were still trained on you. It looked like this conversation wasn't going anywhere until you did what she asked.

"Alright," you began, "I'm awesome." 

A chorus of laughter drowned out the silence of the Everfree Forest, only causing you to feel even more embarrassed. Despite this, the laughter reminded you that this whole ordeal had finally come to a close. At last Null was defeated for good, and life could return to normal.
Now that you thought about it, had you ever really been living a normal life in Equestria?

"Pinkie Pie, I'm surprised you haven't suggested a party to celebrate just yet," Rarity said, finally interrupting the laughter. It was nice to hear your friends being happy again, but it was beginning to make you feel a little bit awkward, "Are you feeling okay?"

Looking over to Pinkie, she looked like her usual old self. Her mane was frizzy, unlike its deflated appearance only a few moments ago, but something still seemed off, "Oh, I'm fine! I just feel like I'm forgetting about something..."

You too could feel that something was missing. It felt as if, amid all of the excitement of Null's defeat and Princess Luna's return, you had forgotten something.

"My sister!" Princess Luna exclaimed.
> Chapter 64 - Rejuvenation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Celestia!" Twilight called as she burst through the doors of Canterlot Castle, you and the rest of her friends following closely behind. Surprisingly, she seemed to be in an even more worried and distressed state than Celestia's own sister, Luna.

The first room that she ran to check in was the throne room. It surprised you to see that all of the damage done by Null had been entirely repaired. The stone pillars that had been reduced to piles of rubble stood proudly once again, and the stained glass window that was meaninglessly shattered had been rebuilt and looked better than ever. Whoever had been in charge of reconstruction deserved way more credit than they would probably get.

Surprisingly, Celestia was not in her throne room. It always seemed like when you were searching for someone, they never appeared where you would expect to find them. 

"Where is she? How much harm did Null do her?" Princess Luna asked, feeling her inner panic building.

"I left her with Spike and she seemed ok, but..." Twilight answered, double checking the throne room one last time. With a panicked sigh, she turned to leave the room with you and the rest of the Mane 6 still following, "You can never be too sure..."

As the seven of you left the throne room, a familiar baby dragon that you had not seen in a very long time stood in your way, causing Twilight to stop in her tracks.

"Guys, you're all okay!" Spike exclaimed, happily, "Storm! Rainbow Dash! I haven't seen you two since-"

"Yeah, yeah, how's Celestia doing?" Twilight interrupted, looking Spike dead in the eyes. You weren't sure whether it was intentional, but she was honestly being pretty intimidating.

"She's... okay?" Spike answered, nervously. Something about the way he spoke told you that he wasn't telling her the whole truth, and quite clearly Twilight knew it too. The unicorn gave him a stare, as if signalling to him that she didn't believe what he was saying, "She's not doing too good."

"Take us too her." Luna said in a somewhat demanding yet caring tone.

Immediately, Spike obliged, turning to lead the seven of you further down the corridor. Soon, you reached a winding staircase that eventually ended in another corridor with one large door at the end. You walked down the corridor, Spike and Luna already opening the door.
It lead to Celestia's bedroom, and you had to admit the architecture was grand. As amazing as the room looked, it was the first thing that caught your eye.

"Celestia!" Twilight called, hurrying over to the Alicorn princesses bed side. In the bed lay Celestia, significantly drained of colour and fast asleep. Her cutie mark, which usually looked like the sun, now looked like a dying rock, as if all of the suns energy had been drained.

"Spike, what's happened to her?" Applejack asked.

Rainbow Dash hovered by your side, looking worriedly down at the exhausted Alicorn. Once again, Pinkie Pie's mane had deflated, returning to its straight, sinister appearance.

All eyes turned to Spike for an explanation, except for Twilight and Luna, who kept their attention on Celestia. The baby dragon stayed silent, unsure of what to say, until Luna answered for him, "I believe I know what's happening..."

Everypony, including Twilight, turned toward Luna, who looked to be deep in thought. She didn't look worried by her sister's condition anymore, more so reflective or acceptant.

"During their fight, I believe Null may have planted a failsafe in my sister's mind. A backup plan in case he were to fall. If he were to be defeated, the failsafe would activate, sending Celestia into a deep sleep." Luna opened her eyes, looking down at the sleeping Alicorn. Still, everyone's attention remained on her. Somehow, Luna seemed to know quite a lot about the situation, "During her sleep, her dreams would be drained of their magic energy. This magic would be similar to the kind that you possess, Storm. Eventually, this magic would form a portal between Celestia's dreams and Equestria, fulfilling Null's plan even after his death."

The seven of you stared at her, blown away by he knowledge of the situation. You wanted to ask how she knew all of that, but you figured that it wasn't really important. After all, she did already know all of Null's plans after being stuck in the dream world for so long.

"Princess, how are you so calm?" Fluttershy asked, trying to make her question seem as polite as possible.

Luna closed her eyes again, and, to the surprise of everyone, smiled.

"That's because I know how to stop it..." she explained. Everypony gasped, before starting to bombard her with questions. Most of those questions now started with 'How'.

Opening her eyes, a pouch of glowing golden powder appeared before her in a flash of purple magic, "This is dream dust, and it's why I took so long to leave the dream world. It can be found in every dream, but yours is special, Storm."

Princess Luna began to hover the pouch over Celestia, keeping it a certain distance away from her at all times. Everypony watched carefully as Luna's magic began to pull at the ribbon that kept the pouch together.

"This dream dust might just be able to reignite Celestia's dreams. If it works, she'll be up in no time." she explained, before finally releaseing the ribbon. Beautiful golden specs of light began to float gently down onto the resting Celestia, landing softly before settling. The dust began to gather, surrounding the princess in a golden glow that was remarkably similar to your own magic.
The dust began to vanish, slowly, along with the glow, until everything returned to how it was moments ago.

As for first impressions, you would've had to say that you weren't impressed. Celestia was still drained of colour, resting lifelessly on the bed, but you reminded yourself that all medicine takes time to take effect. It might've been magic, but those rules still applied.

"How long will it take?" Rainbow Dash asked, hovering above Celestia's bed.

"Only time will tell." Luna stated as the last of the dream dust disappeared. She looked down at her sister sadly for a moment, before lifting her head up and smiling, "Come on, we'd best leave her alone."

The princess left the room, with the majority of your friends following her, however you chose to stay behind, along with Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Spike.

"You doing okay?" you asked Twilight, who still had her lead lowered sadly.

"I'll be fine. That dream dust will change her back to her old self in no time!" she replied, managing to muster up a smile, "Sorry for being so demanding earlier, Spike."

"Don't worry about it, Twilight! I've seen that side of you more times than anypony else!" Spike joked, earning a chorus of laughter.

"How do we know that dream stuff will actually work?" Rainbow asked, looking at Celestia intently.

"It's Princess Luna," Twilight replied, trying her best to sound confident despite there being no clear improvement to Celestia's condition yet, "If anyone understands dreams, it's her."

Looking at Celestia laying there, drained off her energy, reminded you of a time that felt like years ago. Rainbow Dash had caught the Pegasus Plague, or atleast that was what you named it, and was unable to fly, yet the two of you still decided to venture into the Everfree Forest and almost payed with your life.
Even though Rainbow couldn't fly, and you had no experience fighting as a pony, the two of you still came out of that forest just fine, if not stronger. Although Rainbow was sick, she emerged more confident than ever, and the same could be said for Celestia.

"C'mon. I think we should actually leave her alone now." you suggested, causing your friends to nod in approval.

"Yeah. Probably for the best." Rainbow replied, already heading towards the door. You could tell that she cared a lot for Celestia's well being, but you could also tell that she wanted to hurry and get home.
It had been quite a while since she had last seen it.

Then the thought hit you.

Maybe it wasn't best that you went home just yet. Twilight and Spike definitely weren't going home yet, and as far as you knew, the rest of your friends weren't going home either. They would have to get a train from Canterlot, and that wouldn't be happening unless you and Rainbow Dash were with them.

"There's a hotel you can stay in until we're all ready to leave if you want." Twilight said, answering your question without the need to say it. Rainbow Dash frozen in mid-air, and you could already tell she wasn't a fan of the idea.

Turning around to face her, she replied, "Thanks, Twilight, but I think-"

"We'd love that, thanks." you said, interrupting Rainbow Dash before she could finish.

"But... Don't you wanna see our house again? It's been, like... forever!" she whined. Admittedly, you did want to see the house again, but this was far more important.

"I think us being here for the princess is a bit more important than that." you replied, already knowing that you had won the argument.

Rainbow let out a frustrated sigh, "Ugh. I guess you're right."

"Come on, I'll show you the way and we can meet everypony else there!" Twilight exclaimed, already seeming to be in a better mood than she had been moments prior.

The three of you went to leave the room, Spike following not too far behind, but you couldn't help but take one last look at Celestia. She would get through this. You just knew she would.

After all, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
> Chapter 65 - End of a Chapter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You opened your eyes slowly, gradually adjusting to the bright light of the sun shining down through the hotel's window. It had been a very long time since you had managed to have an interrupted night of sleep, not to mention a night without any bad dreams.

Cautiously, you got out of bed, trying your best to not wake Rainbow Dash. Next, you walked over to the ensuite bathroom and had a shower. It was basic needs like this that you had been drained of for so long, so it felt good to finally have them back again.

A few minutes passed, and you were done with your shower. You got out, and dried off with a towel that the hotel had provided, ready to start your day slow before going to check on Princess Celestia.

Crash!

Hearing the loud sound, you immediately rushed out of the bathroom to see what had caused it. The first thing you saw was Rainbow Dash sprawled out awkwardly on the floor, surrounded by a pile of pillows.

"Woah! Are you okay?" you asked, instinctively.

"Yeah, I think..." she replied, lifting herself from the ground and rubbing her head with a hoof.

"So... How did that happen?" you asked, curiously. As far as you could remember, she was sleeping soundly far away from any off the bed's edges.

"I... Had a bad dream." she said, almost seeming a little embarrassed. You resisted the impulse to reply with 'first time?' and let her continue, "It was about the Sonic Rainboom. Y'know, the one I messed up..."

Something immediately struck you as off. When Rainbow messed up her Sonic Rainboom, she was unconscious and should've had no memory of it. The lead up to it probably just seemed like a normal Sonic Rainboom, so why was she having nightmares because of it?

"You remember that?" you asked, confused.

"Yeah... Well, kinda..." she replied, only confusing you even more, "I remember flying straight down towards the ground, and then... nothing. Just darkness."

Rainbow flew into the air briefly, before sitting gently down on the side of the bed. You joined her, sitting at her side, not seeing any point to remain standing.

"That darkness was terrifying. Something could've happened to all of you, and I wouldn't have been there!" she exclaimed, her voice beginning to sound shaky. You turned to look into her eyes, and you had never seen her look so genuinely afraid before.

"You wouldn't have known you were there, but you were." you said with a smile, "If you were to never wake up from what happened, you would've been loyal to the end, and that's what counts."

All of the fear that she seemed to be keeping inside of her seemed to melt away as you finished speaking, as her usual spark returned.

"I guess you're right. Sorry, I... I've never felt like that before." she said, apologetically. You had seen her scared before, but you had never seen her this genuinely terrified.

"It's okay," you replied, in an effort to make her feel better, "It went against your element."

A sincere smile appeared on her face, before she pulled you into a hug. It seemed to last forever, almost as if time had stopped, and you never wanted it to resume.
Unfortunately, time had to continue as you had to go and check on Princess Celestia.

"C'mon," you said, ending the hug, "Let's go see Princess Celestia."

Rainbow nodded agreeingly, "Yeah, the others are probably already there."

You looked at the wall clock, and immediately felt panicked by what you saw. It was half past eleven. The others were probably awake at the crack dawn worried about the princess, but here you were getting up at nearly midday.
That being said, you hadn't had a good night's sleep in such a long time that it might just have been excusable.

"Oh, shit!" you cried, "We've gotta go!"

"What's the rush?" Rainbow replied, falling back down to the bed and laying on her back, "I doubt that magic dust has changed much. She's probably still exactly the same as she was yesterday."

"Even if she is, we still promised that we'd stay here to check on her." you replied.

"You promised. I'd seriously like to go home and feed Tank." Rainbow said.

"Are you okay?" you asked, causing her to look confused, "I figured you'd be more concerned about the wellbeing of one of the princesses."

Rainbow Dash sat up, and let out a loud sigh. Perhaps the dream that she had had affected her subconsciously, even though the initial fear had wore off. It almost seemed like the curse of bad dreams had transferred to her, despite it most likely being a one off.

"Sorry. It's just that so much happened over the last few days that I'm worrying about everything. I'm worried about Tank and home, and I'm worried about Celestia at the same time." she explained.

Rainbow wasn't one to really worry about things that weren't her pride, so immediately you knew that something was wrong. Thankfully, due to your experience with long nights and bad dreams, you instantly understood exactly what was wrong with her.

"I think you're just suffering from sleep deprivation." you stated.

"From what?" Rainbow replied.

"Sleep deprivation." you said again, "It's basically when you didn't get enough sleep, and basic things feel harder to do and you start worrying over the smallest things. Tank probably doesn't even need feeding."

"Now that you mention it, I do feel a little tired." she replied, stretching out her hoofs.

"So why don't we go see Princess Celestia and then go home so you can get some sleep." you suggested. You thought that it was a pretty reasonable idea, and thankfully, Rainbow seemed to agree.

"Eh, alright. Let me go get ready first." she said.





After a short flight across Canterlot, the two of you finally reached the bridge to the castle. Surprisingly, none of your friends were waiting outside. That being said, by the time that you had arrived they would've probably already been inside.

"Do we just go in?" you asked, as you walked across the bridge.

"Yeah, I don't feel like waiting around." Rainbow replied, walking by your side.

As you entered the castle, two guard ponies blocked your path with their spears. The castle never usually had such fierce security, as they would typically let somepony like Rainbow Dash through without a second thought. The only other time you had ever seen such fierce security was during the Changeling attack on Canterlot.

"Halt! We're under strict orders from Princess Luna to not let anypony into the castle while Princess Celestia recovers." one of the guards stated, looking blankly into the distance.
Sometimes it was quite off putting how little emotion these guards showed.

You opened your mouth to speak, only for Rainbow to stop you, "I've got this."

"We're with Twilight Sparkle." she said, a smirk on her face. Was it really that easy to get past the Alicorn Princess' royal guards?

The two guard ponies hesitated a second, before lifting their spears back to their sides, letting the two of you through. You were a little shocked that it was really that easy, but were surprisingly thankful.

"That's all you need to do?" you asked.

"Well, Twilight is a very well respected pony, even all the way out here in Canterlot, " she explained, "And when you've been around with Twilight as much as me, the guards just start to trust you."

Soon, you reached the hallway where you had met with Spike yesterday. It seemed incredibly silent, considering the heavy security that was outside.

"Nopony here, huh?" Rainbow stated, confused. She looked down both ends of the hallway, and not a single pony was in sight.

You gestured towards the large door that was just a few metres in front of you, also the door that you knew lead to the throne room. Once again, there were no guard pony's outside the door, leading you to believe that the heavy security was simply on the exterior.

You opened it enough slowly, as to not cause any disturbance. Any little sound echoed throughout the entire castle, and if Celestia was still sleeping, you didn't want to wake her and possibly worsen her condition. The throne room was empty, just as it hadn't been yesterday. In fact, the throne room hadn't been touched. It seemed like nopony had even entered the room since Spike began caring for Celestia. Not even Princess Luna.

"Think she's still in her bedroom?" you asked, closing the door to the throne room.

"If she is, our friends will probably be up there too." Rainbow suggested, "And they're probably gonna wanna know why we're so late."

"Don't worry," you replied, "I'm sure you're nightmare works as a genuine reason. They're good friends. I'm sure they'll understand."

Rainbow looked worried for a second. If it was anypony else, she probably would've looked up and said that she wouldn't admit that she had been scared by a bad dream, but you weren't anypony else.

"Thanks," Rainbow replied, a smile forming on her face, "Now let's go see our friends."

You walked down the hallway, eventually reaching the spiral staircase that lead to the Princess' bedroom. Soon, you reached the top and proceeded down the second hallway, before finally reaching the bedroom's door. Through the door, you could almost hear what sounded like talking.

Cautiously, you opened the door, Rainbow behind you. The first thing you were expecting to see was the rest of your friends gathered around the bed, where Celestia lay in no different of a condition than she was the day before.
To your surprise, Celestia was not even laying down. She was sat up, seemingly healthy.

"There ya'll are!" Applejack exclaimed happily. You were surprised that she didn't seem even a little bit annoyed by your late arrival, "We were beginnin' to think you were to gonna show."

"Yeah, sorry, uh..." Rainbow began, rubbing the back of her head nervously, "I kinda had a nightmare and overslept."

"It's okay, Rainbow Dash," Celestia replied, her voice seeming a little raspier than usual. Despite her voice, she seemed a lot better than she had been yesterday, "I know that Storm has also had some bad experiences with dreams."

"Some, to put it lightly." you replied, sarcasticly. In the end, that was what this entire thing revolved around.

Dreams.

"And that's why-" Twilight attempted to say, before being interrupted by an overly excited Pinkie Pie.

"We're having a festival!" the pink Earth pony exclaimed, happily. A festival seemed amazing, but to celebrate the thing that caused all of this just felt weird. You didn't want to be a killjoy, though. A party was a party, no matter what it was about,

"A festival?" Rainbow asked, "What for?"

"Why, to celebrate dreams, of course!" Rarity answered, flipping her mane behind her ear.

"There's only one dream that I want to celebrate..." Spike said, quietly. Twilight glanced at him awkwardly, which seemed to give him the message,

"Dreams might have been the thing that got us into this mess," Celestia explained, answering Rainbow's question, "But they were also the thing that got us out of it."

With all of this talk about dreams, you couldn't help but think of Luna, who you suddenly noticed was not present at Celestia's bedside.

"Excuse me, Princess," you asked, trying to be as formal as possible despite probably not needing too, "Where's Princess Luna? I figured she'd be here."

"Oh, Luna's already making preparations for the festival right now!" she replied, seemingly happy despite being practically bedridden.

"Yeah, and it's gonna be happenin' at Sweet Apple Acres!" Applejack added, enthusiastically.

The more you heard about this festival, the more you found yourself looking forward to it. A party at Sweet Apple Acres would be like a throwback to the old times, back when you first got a taste of sweet apple cider back during cider season. Thinking about it, you really hoped that apple cider would be being served at the festival.

"Sorry, but..." Fluttershy asked nervously, "When will this be happening?"

"In two weeks! So we'll all have plenty of time to go back home." Twilight explained.

After talking about a festival for so long, you suddenly rememberered a very important question that you probably should've said as soon as you saw that Celestia was awake.

"Sorry for not asking sooner, Princess, but how are you?" you asked, causing Celestia to smile. It seemed like it was difficult for her to smile given her condition, but still she didn't let it get her down.

"I'm feeling a lot better than yesterday, that's for sure," she replied, "In fact, I think my sister can take things from here."

The seven of you, and Spike, looked at Celestia, not quite understanding what she meant, "You can all go home."

"What?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. To be honest, you were surprised to see her so bothered by the fact that she was allowed to go back home.

"I thought you couldn't wait to go home." you asked, confused.

"Well, yeah, duh! But I also wanna stay and make sure Celestia is okay!" she replied.

"Rainbow, I'll be fine. My sister knows the most when it comes to my condition," the Alicorn replied, understandingly, "Now please go home and enjoy your time before the festival."

The cyan Pegasus remained quite for a moment, ears drooped and unsure of what to do. Eventually, her ears perked up again and she nodded, settling on a decision.

"Are you sure you'll be okay, Princess?" Twilight asked, concerned.

"Twilight," the princess began with a smile, "I give you my word that I will be fine. I'll see you at the festival."

"Pinkie promise!" Pinkie interrupted.

Princess Celestia let out an amused sigh, almost as if relieved that things had returned back to normal. She knew that once a pinkie promise had been made, it could never ever be broken, but thankfully this promise wouldn't be broken, "I pinkie promise."

Twilight gave Celestia a warm smile, before gesturing towards Spike, as if asking him to follow, "Come on, everypony! Let's go home."

The purple unicorn opened the bedroom door, but took one last look at Celestia before leaving, much like you did the day before. The two gave each other another smile, before she finally exited the room. You and the rest of your friends followed closely behind.

Before long, the seven of you reached the front of the castle. The guard ponies raised their weapons to let you pass, and after a short walk you had reached the train station.

"It feels like such a long time since I've been home..." Fluttershy said, seemingly looking forward to seeing her animals again, "I hope Angel's doing okay..."

"Ah'm sure Angel's doin' just fine, Sugarcube," Applejack replied, easing Fluttershy's worries, "Ah do wonder how Sweet Apple Acres is holding up, though. It needs to be in mint condition for the festival."

Thinking about the festival, you honestly couldn't wait. After the events of the last few days, it'd feel nice to just let go for a while. It'd be nice to spend some time with your friends again without the threat of imminent death awaiting around every corner.
Soon, you had become so enthralled in your own thoughts that you hadn't even noticed each of your friends stepping onto the train carriage before you. If it wasn't for Rainbow waiting behind and snapping you out of your thoughts, you wouldn't have been surprised if it left without you.

"Hey, Storm." Rainbow called, waving a hoof in front of your face, "You coming or what?"

Immediately after snapping back to reality, you made eye contact with her, and an amazing idea filled your head.

"Actually, why don't we race back home instead?" you suggested, a mischievous smile on your face. It had been quite a while since your last friendly competition, and it was about time you beat her again.

"Well, it has been a while..." she replied, thinking, although deep down she already knew her answer, "You're on!"





Rainbow Dash flopped down onto her fluffy cloud bed, wings extended to her sides with exhaustion. She let out a loud sigh as she made contact, flailing out her four legs besides her.
Next to her, you already lay on the bed in a much more composed position: head resting on your hoofs as you stared up at the ceiling, smiling.

"Told you... I'd beat you..." Rainbow said between breaths.

There was a reason that she was out of breath and you weren't. It was because you had let her win. After all that each of you had been through, you figured she deserved it.

"You sure did," you laughed, "Looks like it's taken it's toll on you, though."

"Hey!" she whined, sitting up in the bed, "I didn't see you flying at mach speed just then!"

You let out another laugh, "Well, I guess you were just better."

Strangely, instead of the usual cockiness you were expecting, Rainbow Dash didn't say a word. Instead, she lay back down on the bed and shuffled closer to you, rubbing her multicoloured mane against you. It felt warm, a warmth that you hadn't felt in a long time.
It felt nice.

"I wouldn't normally admit this, but..." Rainbow said, quietly, "I've missed this."

"I didn't think I'd ever hear you say such a thing," you mocked, pushing yourself further into her mane. It felt almost like a second blanket, only this one was far more comforting.

"Well there's more where that came from," she added in response. You let out a faint grunt of confusion before her hoof wrapped around you, pulling you into a hug.

"I love you, Storm."

Your eyes widened as you stared up at the cloudy roof. Your breathing momentarily became heavier before thankfully returning back to normal, but even then you still couldn't believe what you had just heard.
Rainbow Dash just admitted that she loved you.

Noticing the lack of a response, Rainbow perked her head up, giving you a concerned glance. Before she could say a single word, you said the very thing that you had wanted to say for so long.

"I love you too."

The cyan Pegasus gave you a sweet smile as her ears perked up, and you felt your heart flutter. Her head lowered back down, now resting on your chest, and you could hear her breath against you. With every intake of oxygen you took, her head raised slightly, and with every exhale it lowered.

You wanted to talk about everything that happened, reflect on the journey that you had all shared together, but right now it was just you and her. What's done is done, and you sure as hell weren't going to ruin this moment with what had happened earlier.

This was the end of a chapter, and now it was time for a new beginning.
> The Festival of Dreams
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The quite calm of sleep was so peaceful. Even now, after 2 whole weeks, being able to sleep without some form of bad dream or nightmare still seemed strange to you.

Every night for those 2 weeks since Null's defeat, you would lay in bed feeling the safest you had ever felt. As you would lay waiting for sleep to come, you would think back to all the horrible things that had happened. To Luna. To Celestia. To your friends.

To you.

But then you would eventually begin thinking about how it ended. With your friend's help, you had won, and Equestria was safe. And then, with Rainbow Dash already snoring at your side, you would fall into a deep sleep that wouldn't be broken until the morning sun shone down on you.

You couldn't remember much about your life on Earth anymore, but you had a feeling that even during your time there, you had never felt this safe and protected. Come to think of it, you couldn't remember anything anymore.

It was like after Null's death, the only thing keeping you connected to your past life had been killed with it. The bridge had been burnt.
It didn't matter though.

Why would you want to go back there when you had everything you had ever wanted here?

"Storm!"

Strangely, through the deep darkness of sleep, you could hear your voice being called. It was barely audible, but still you could hear it clearly.

"Storm, if you don't wake up I'm gonna drag you there!"

Drag you there? Drag you where?

And then you remembered.

"We're gonna be late!" you cried, bolting up in bed.

You were meant to be at Sweet Apple Acres for the festival at 1 o' clock, but on the one day you had to get up somewhat early, you had overslept. It seemed like Rainbow Dash really was rubbing off on you.

"Yeah, and for once it's not me who overslept," Rainbow replied, hovering in the air with her hooves crossed.

"Sorry, I guess I'm still not used to actually getting sleep," you replied, rubbing the back of your head apologetically.

"Eh, I'm sure it'll be fine," she said, hitting your side reassuringly, "We're the two fastest flyers in Equestria! Like we're actually gonna be late."

There was some truth to that, seeing as how you were the only two ponies capable of creating a Sonic Rainboom, but your flight speed had no impact on how fast you got ready. Actually, you wouldn't have been surprised if it took you longer to get ready than to actually fly to the festival.

"I think you're forgetting about how long it takes me to shower," you explained.

"Well, you're gonna have to hurry it up this time," she replied, seeming impatient. It seemed like she really wanted to get going.

As much as you like starting your day by showering using a rain cloud that somehow produces hot water, you could always save it for later. You'd be saving time, and it wasn't like there was a rush to get it done.

"Actually, I'll have one later. Let's go," you said, a smile on your face as you hovered towards the window.

"Finally!" Rainbow exclaimed, happily, "I've been waiting to go for like, an hour!"

"Why didn't you just wake me up?" you asked, confused.

"That's what I was trying to do, duh!" she replied, playfully nudging you in mid-air, "But it seems like you're even better at sleeping at than me."

"Woah, you admitted that I'm better than you at something?" you mocked, a mischievous grin on your face, "You don't hear that every day."

"Pfft. You're not that much better." she added.

"There it is." you laughed, surprisingly earning a laugh out of her too. You were expecting her to redact her statement and proclaim herself the best sleeper, but, much like how she was rubbing off on you, you seemed to be rubbing off on her.

It seemed strange how only a few months ago you had no idea how to hover above the ground, let alone fly. Yet now here you were able to hold conversations with the fastest Pegasus in Equestria while flying at just under the speed of sound.

"Wanna make an entrance in style?" you suggested.

Immediately, Rainbow knew exactly what you meant.

"Heck yeah, let's do it."

Without another word, the two of you began to ascend rapidly, Sweet Apple Acres appearing in the distance. A few seconds later, you turned around in the air and began plummeting towards the ground in perfect synchronisation with Rainbow Dash. As you fell faster and faster, you felt the ever so familiar vapour cone forming, before inadvertently moving towards Rainbow and combining the cones.

Bang...

The Double Rainboom was heard across all of Ponyville. The beauty of a Sonic Rainboom combined with a Sonic Surge, one more time for the entire festival to see.

Incredible colours of black and gold weaved across the sky, merging with the prismatic colour pallet of a rainbow as it went.

You glanced at Rainbow as you soared towards the ground, who gave you a proud smile. How far you had came, and it was all thanks to her.
Mostly, anyway.

As you finally neared the farm, you could hear Princess Celestia rounding out her introductory speech on the stage that Big Mac had built, however the crowd seemed more focused on the colour stained sky than on the speech.

"Without further ado, let the Festival of Dreams begin!" Celestia announced, before stepping down from the stage.

Princess Luna, who was also stood on the stage, saw you and Rainbow arriving and gave you both a warm smile, before following her sister towards the farm house. Honestly, you were surprised that she wasn't delivering the speech, considering how knowledgeable she is of dreams.

"Rainbow! Storm!" a familiar voice called as you set one hoof down on the ground. Much like you were expecting, your friends were quick to find you. Or, at least, Spike was.

"Spike, where's everyone else?" Rainbow asked, looking around the now bustling farm. She would never be able to spot her friends with the amount of ponies that were wondering around, not to mention the number of stalls that blocked her view of the otherwise clear orchard.

"They're over there," the baby dragon explained, pointing in the direction of the opposite orchard, "They've been looking for you for a while."

You couldn't help but feel a little guilty. You weren't late, but you had still somehow missed the opening ceremony.

Spike proceeded to run off in the direction that he had pointed, causing you and Rainbow to follow him. After a short walk through the bustling crowds, you eventually found your friends.

"Hey, guys! They're here!" an overly enthusiastic Pinkie exclaimed.

"We weren't late, right?" you asked. As far as you knew, you had arrived on time, but it was worth double checking. Rainbow's clock could have always been wrong.

"No, don't worry," Rarity replied, easing your worries, "The princess just thought that she'd perform the opening ceremony a little early considering how busy the festival already was."

You looked around once again, taking in all that was around you. She wasn't kidding. You had never seen anywhere so busy, not even in Canterlot. This festival must've really been a big deal. It wasn't really a surprise though. The whole of Equestria was probably worried about Luna's disappearance, so it made sense that so many ponies would be here to celebrate her return.

"Don't worry, ya'll. You didn't miss much," Applejack added.

"Hey, Applejack," you began, still looking at the countless numbers of stalls and booths that had been set up around the farm, "You helped prepare all of this, right?"

"Ah sure did! We all wanted this to be a festival worth remembering, so we put our all into it!" she explained, proudly. It really did seem like her entire family went all out.

"I think you've done a great job, Applejack," Fluttershy added, seeming just as blown away as you were.

"Well shucks, Fluttershy, ah didn't even do that much," she responded, but you had a feeling that she was lying about that part.

You glanced up to the sky briefly, only to see Rainbow hovering a few feet in the air, most likely trying to see over the large crowds that had amassed. After taking in the sights, she began to lower back down, "So what do you all wanna do first? I saw somepony selling apple cider, so I kinda wanna check that out. Then again, I did also see a few game stalls."

"Well, how about we start with one of the games," Twilight suggested, laughing briefly at Rainbow's enthusiasm.

"Oh, how about the pie eating contest?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, excitedly. Immediately, you remembered that Rainbow didn't actually like pie.

Glancing to Rainbow once again, you could see her face scrunch up.

"How about something simpler?" Twilight suggested, pointing a hoof towards a different stall. You could see several buckets filled with water, and in each bucket was a trio of apples bobbing gently on the surface.
Instantly, you knew what the game was.

"I've never, um..." you attempted to explain, "I've never really used my mouth to pick up things. Magically magnetic hooves, remember?"

"Well, it'll be good practice for you then!" Rainbow said, before speeding off towards one of the water filled barrels.

You quickly glanced towards Twilight, who gave you a smile in response. It was like her own way of saying 'you'll be fine' without actually saying anything. After all the time you had been here for, you still relied on your unexplainable ability to hold things with your hoofs, instead of using your mouth like every pony else had to do.
Of course, you had used your mouth occasionally, but it wasn't enough for it to feel natural just yet.

Deciding that you'd give it a try, you followed them over to the barrels. Conveniently, there happened to be just enough barrels for each of you. You positioned yourself behind the barrel between Rainbow and Fluttershy. The cyan Pegasus to your right looked incredibly determined to win, while the yellow Pegasus on your left looked just as nervous as you.

"Hey, Fluttershy," you said, catching her attention, "You'll do great."

She gave you a warm smile, before looking back down at her barrel, noticeably less nervous than she was just a few seconds ago. You, on the other hand, felt exactly the same.

"Storm, are you nervous?" Rainbow asked. She didn't seem to be mocking you, more so she seemed genuinely confused as to why you would be nervous about apple bobbing.

"Huh?" you replied, "No, I'm just not really used to holding things with my mouth. That, and I don't think I've ever been underwater."

"Don't worry," she said comfortingly, before quickly returning to her competitive demeanour, "Even if it's new to you, I'm sure you'll still get second place."

You opened your mouth to respond, but were interrupted by the ringing of a bell. The game had begun, and already Applejack and Rainbow Dash were busy attempting to fish their apples out of the barrels.

Figuring that you couldn't just stand there looking like an idiot, you dunked your head into the barrel and attempted to bite one of the apples.
Much like you expected, you failed.

After making several attempts, you eventually had to resurface for air. The first thing that you saw upon raising your head was an excited Spike, standing on a pile of empty boxes. Part of you wished he was tall enough to join in, but another part of you was thankful that there wasn't another competitor.

On both of your sides, you saw that Rainbow Dash and Applejack had already fetched one apple out of the water, and Twilight was in the process of getting her first apple too. Even Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie seemed like they were making progress.
Rarity on the other hand, was delicately trying to get a hold of an apple without dipping her mane in the water.

You had to get at least one. At this rate, each of your friends was going to finish before you had even retrieved a single apple. This was a challenge, to say the least.

A challenge that you were determined to overcome.

Suddenly, you noticed that your wings had started to glow yellow. Slightly panicked, you looked around hoping that you hadn't attracted any attention. Thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed as you began to supress the magical glow.
No magic. Not today.

Deciding to try again, you dunked your head into the water, and after a few attempts, you finally got a grip on an apple. Trying desperately to not accidentally let go, you lifted your head and placed the apple on the table at your side.

One down, two to go.

Looking around, Rainbow and Applejack were now on their final apple. Everypony other than Rarity was in the same position as you: one apple retrieved and two remaining.

Lowering your head once again, you attempted to grab a second apple. Several attempts passed before you almost managed to grab one, but the sound of a bell ringing cut you off.

The game had ended, and you had managed to get one apple out of the three. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, had gotten all three, along with Applejack.

Overall, Rainbow had won, getting three apples in the fastest time. This was followed by Applejack and then Pinkie, who had somehow gotten all three apples despite you only ever seeing her get one.
You couldn't help but feel disappointed in yourself. Surely you could've gotten at least two.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up, Storm!" Twilight said, happily, "Honestly, I'm impressed you got one considering this isn't really what you're used. What do humans usually use? Hands?"

Upon the mention of humans, you immediately felt yourself wash over with a wave of confusion, and then nostalgia as you briefly remembered Earth, before forgetting all over again, "Hands? O-Oh, yeah. Hands. That's what we used."

Before your thoughts could be scrambled by your failing memories, Rainbow flew over, presumably to rub in her victory.

"Twilight's right! You didn't get second place, but you still did pretty good!" she exclaimed, lifting your spirits once again, "I'm just worried that Rarity got none."

Rarity scoffed at the Pegasus' mocking tone, "I couldn't allow my mane to get ruined just for some game!"

Each of you laughed, thinking back to how delicately she was attempting to pick up the apples. When placed side by side with everypony else, the results were hilarious.

"So now what do ya'll wanna do? We prepared a heck of a lot, so we might not even have time for it all." Applejack asked, looking towards a few stalls that were slightly less populated.

"Pie eating contest!" Pinkie exclaimed, throwing her hoofs into the air enthusiastically.

Twilight let out a laugh, and surprisingly Rainbow didn't object this time around, "Ugh. Fine."





Minutes passed, and eventually so did hours. It was surprising how fast time could fly when you were having fun. Before long, the sun had begun to set over the farm, and it was almost time for the main event.

"Applejack, what do you have planned for this big event?" Twilight asked, curiously glancing towards the stage in front of the farm house. The stage was lined with what looked like several cannons, each filled with some form of gunpowder.
You honestly didn't even know that Equestria had gunpowder, let alone enough to load several cannons.

"Ah dunno, to tell ya'll the truth," Applejack admitted, seeming just as curious as Twilight, "Princess Luna was the one who planned this."

You glanced at the cannons, and all of them were positioned towards the sky, each facing a direction so that any projectiles fired would eventually collide. Following the predetermined axis, you could conclude that each projectile being fired, if maintaining enough speed, would hit each other with such force that-

"It'd be my pleasure to tell you all about the event," a familiar voice said from behind you.

Each of you turned around quickly, only to be met by Princess Luna herself. As far as you could remember, this was the first time you had met her in such a carefree environment.

"Princess, are you sure you should sneak up on ponies like that?" Rainbow asked, seeming to be flapping her wings a little faster than usual.

"Did I startle you?" Luna asked, an amused grin on her face. Rainbow Dash let out an insulted 'pfft' before turning away, followed by the Princess' laughter.

"So, Princess, what exactly do you intend to do with those cannons?" Rarity asked, intrigued.

"They're party cannons, obviously!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, jumping into the air the excitement, "They're supposed to fire confetti and other party stuff all around the farm!"

"Not exactly," Luna replied, turning to face you, "It's a special ceremony that we have never performed before, because we needed a pony that could wield determination magic."

You could see where this was coming.

"So my sister and I would like Storm to come up on stage and help us perform the event," the Princess added with a smile. You already knew what your answer was.

"Yes, of course I will!" you replied, without even asking what you'd need to do.

"Storm, you're like the Princess' guest of honour! That's awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed, flying next to you enthusiastically. If you were allowed to bring a second pony up with you, you'd definitely choose her.

"So what exactly do I need to do?" you finally asked. There wouldn't be much point in going up there if you didn't even know what you were doing.

"Those cannons are a form of firework, and they're going to have dream dust added to them," Princess Luna explained, "The only way for the dream dust to have an effect on the firework, is for Storm to light the fuse with his magic."

"What if the fireworks scare all of the animals?" Fluttershy asked, concerned.

"Don't worry," Luna added, "These fireworks are silent. You'll see."

Seeing that a crowd had begun gathering around the stage, Luna said a temporary goodbye and began to make her way over. It wouldn't be long until you followed her.
So much for no magic, right?

"Don't worry Storm, you've got this." Spike said, reassuringly.

You gave each of your friends a smile. You always had stage fright, but all you had to do was use your magic, something you had done many times before, "At least I don't have to give a speech, right?"

All of you laughed, before the sound of laughter was drowned out by Celestia's voice.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," the Princess announced, catching the entire farm's attention. The stage seemed to glow under the illumination of the moonlight, "It has been an honour having you all here today, but now it's time for the final act."

"Our kingdom was under threat from an evil entity. This entity threatened to remove Equestria from reality, and take the elements for himself. Thankfully, due to the help of one pony and their friends, the entity failed. These ponies kept hold of their dreams, and those dreams pulled them through. One pony in particular may not have always been used to Equestria. He may not have known how to fly, or how to defend himself, but like his friends, he kept hold of his dreams. Now, I'd like that pony to come up and begin the ceremony of dreams."

Celestia looked to you, a smile on her face, and you felt momentarily frozen. The only thing that eventually got you to move was Twilight giving you a nudge forward. Now, it was either you fly over yourself or she carries you over using magic.

Staring straight at the stage, you ignored the gigantic crown of ponies that had amassed throughout the farm, and eventually landed besides Celestia.

Looking up for one brief moment, you saw what you could only assume to be every pony in Equestria looking directly at you, expectantly. You felt yourself begin to freeze up again, but then you saw Rainbow Dash. You saw all of your friends staring at you, encouragingly.
You didn't feel nervous anymore.

You felt proud.

Celestia took a few steps to the side, and you took a deep breath. Through your closed eyes, you focused on your wings one more time. Your wings unfolded from your sides, a distinct yellow aura surrounding them, glowing bright in the night. You heard the crown gasp, and you felt your nervousness return, only to be washes away by pride once again.

With one single outburst of magic, five bright yellow beams of magic made contact with the cannon fuses. Immediately, the cannons fired, sending a sparkling, golden ray of magic spiralling into the sky.
It was almost as beautiful as the Double Rainboom. Almost.

As the golden ribbons reached a point in the sky where they would usually come falling back down, instead the golden strands began weaving throughout the air, almost as if in a dance with each other. They weaved in and out between clouds, overlapping  with each other as if they had their own sentience. It was truly a sight to behold.

They really didn't have things like this on... What were you thinking about again?

As you stared up at the stunning array of yellow lights, you had completely forgotten where you were.

"Storm!" Rainbow called, barely audible over the crowd. She was tapping you on the shoulder repetitively, trying to get your attention. Finally snapping you out of your trance, you made eye contact with her, "C'mon!"

"What? Where?" you asked, confused.

"Somewhere that's less busy than here," she replied, grabbing your hoof. You weren't going to protest, but if you wanted to you wouldn't have been able to, as she was already dragging you into the air away from the stage.

"Are your friends okay with you disappearing?" you asked, concerned that Twilight and the others wouldn't be to happy about the two of you vanishing like this.

"Yeah, I already asked them." she answered, dragging you further away from Sweet Apple Acres.

You continued allowing her to drag you along in silence as the sound of the crowd slowly grew quieter and quieter. At least Princess Luna wasn't lying about the fireworks being silent.

Eventually, Rainbow began to descend, finally landing on a small hill next to a forest. A small stream flowed gently along the edge of the treeline, marking the divide between meadow and forest. The only sounds that filled the nights silence were the sounds of water flowing, bugs chirping and your own breathing.

Rainbow released her grip on you, on sat down on the small hill. Following her, you took a seat on the grass next to her, facing Sweet Apple Acres. Even from here, you could still see the endless crowds of ponies moving between the countless stalls and stands. The golden ribbons still soared gently through the sky above the farm, casting a faint golden glow down on the farm land.

"It's really beautiful, huh?" Rainbow said, looking at the golden display of colours hovering in the sky with a sparkle in her eye, "I mean, it's not as cool as the Double Rainboom, but still..."

It's almost like she can read my mind, you thought.

"You did that, you know?" she added, pointing a hoof towards the sky, "Never forget how awesome you are, because you are the only pony in Equestria that can do that. Heh, not even I can do that, and I'm pretty awesome."

"I never thought I'd hear you talk this way about anypony," you replied, "And hey, if it wasn't for you, I'd still be a flightless Pegasus right now."

Without giving a response, she gave you a smile before resting her head on your shoulder. You could feel her multicoloured mane brushing against you. Sat here with Rainbow Dash looking out across the festival...

This was the best moment of your life.

You never thought there'd be a situation where you could say that with such confidence, but if there ever was going to be one, then this was it.

"You do like it in Equestria right? You've... Never thought about going home?" Rainbow asked, lifting her head to look into your eyes. She was most likely trying to hide it, but you could see in her eyes that the thought of you returning back to where you came from terrified her.

"Truthfully, I don't even remember anything before Equestria. Like, at all," you said, causing her eyes to light up, "Equestria is my home now. All that time I've spent with you and your friends have been the best times of my life."

Rainbow suddenly bolted off the ground excitedly, hovering only a few inches in front of you, "Pfft! You thought that was awesome? We're just getting started!"

You weren't quite sure what to say. The only thing you could currently see was Rainbow Dash hovering directly in front of you, contrasting the golden glow of the sky.
Before you could change your mind, you moved your own face closer to hers.

As your lips touched, her wings ceased to function, and she fell back down to the ground.

A few moments later, the kiss had ended and the two of you parted, the Pegasus sat at your side once again. Her head returned to your side as you looked out across the farm land.

"I love you, Rainbow," you said.

"I love you too, Storm," she replied, nuzzling her head against you.

The two of you remained sat on the hill for what felt like five minutes, when in reality it had probably been much longer. Almost all of your thoughts were of the cyan pony beside you, the few thoughts that weren't consisting of the beautiful view.

Finally, your thoughts were interrupted by a purple unicorn approaching the base of the hill, along with four other ponies and a small dragon who you had came to know so well. She gave you a wave, a smile on her face.

This was your life now...

And you wouldn't have had it any other way.