Flames on the Wind

by Bouffy

Rating: everyone
Tags: Romance, Comedy, Adventure
Length: 14628

When he wakes up in the Arctic, he doesn't know who he is. Where he is. What he is. He only knows, that it is cold.

His eyes opened. The blizzard blew through his thick red mane, as he stood up. He observed his surroundings. The blur of white that he knew was snow threatened to land in his eyes. This is a story of Hope, Love, Family, and War.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-11 07:40:02 UTC

Part 1

Part One

His eyes opened. The blizzard blew through his thick red mane, as he stood up. He observed his surroundings. The blur of white that he knew was snow threatened to land in his eyes, so he squinted them. He was underneath an evergreen tree, the only place where snow didn’t try to land near him. His ears grew numb in the freezing plain of white and grey. He had to find shelter, and fast. If this stallion was out for too much longer, he could’ve died.

He ran to... somewhere. Just away from where he woke up. The snow muffled the sounds of his steps, as he ran helplessly to the only hope he couldn’t even find. He didn’t know where he was, or let alone who he was. His face began to burn from the incessant amounts of cold surges to it. At least his body heat was... somewhat increasing. He saw a few more trees in the distance, also unseen by the wall of falling snow. He smiled and began to sprint towards the trees, the only thing that might help him. He approached the trees, to find the snow was melting around it. He gladly went in, at least it was warm, and not icy.

Now that he was in a safe spot, he tried to reflect. Step one, what was he? An earth pony? Unicorn? Pegasus? He looked at his brown colored sides. No wings. He looked for a horn sticking out. No horn. But... there was a small hurt in his forehead. He examined it with his hoof and was surprised to find that there indeed was a horn there, but it had been broken off. He suddenly remembered being hit with a blunt object, and watching his horn slide across the cement floor. Now that he found the wound, it started to hurt more intensely, and he began regretting trying to find out what hurt anyway.

Soon he was trudging through mud, the clouds moving by themselves, without any wind. It was... strange. A tropical forest in the middle of an arctic plain is highly unlikely. The heat started to bug him, as the sun began setting. He was sweating, and panting. Running in the freezing cold and suddenly entering a tropical forest had the same effect as rolling in the snow and then diving into a hot spring. His wobbly legs couldn’t take the heat much longer, and he collapsed onto the ground, passing out.

“So, uh, what’s this flower we’re lookin’ for again?” Applejack asked Twilight. Applejack’s light orange coat was tinted brown, from trudging through the muddy woods. Well, it wasn’t a problem, much.

“It’s called a luminescent. Princess Celestia asked me to find out what’s special about it, and told me it grows in the Everfree forest. That’s why I asked we bring Big Macintosh around, so we have backup if we run into any monsters.” Twilight explained, flinching when her purple hoof entered yet another mud puddle. “Why does there have to be so much mud?”

“I think it rained her a few nights ago. Didn’t it?” Applejack turned to Macintosh, who followed the girls closely.

“Eeyup.” He replied.

“I thought so.” Applejack confirmed, looking ahead.

“Okay, so we’re about deep enough into the forest. Let’s all look for it. It’s a purple flower, a small bit lighter than my mane color. It’s yellow on the inside, and glows. Should be easy to find, with that last trait I mentioned.” Twilight looked around in the bushes, and the other two began doing the same.

The brown unicorn woke, up, dazed. He struggled onto his hooves, and heard voices nearby.

“Is this it?”

“No, have you turned colorblind?”

“But it glows!”

“Still not it, keep looking.” Cautiously, he hid behind a nearby tree, and carefully watched the two ponies and a stallion pass by. Who were they? He listened to their conversation, and realized what they were looking for. Luminescent flowers are easy to find, and he saw one on the way. He ran off, catching the slight attention of Applejack.

“Ssh! Did y’all just hear that?” Applejack whispered.

“Nnope. What’d ya hear?” Macintosh replied.

“Rustlin’ in some bushes nearby...” Applejack was confirmed when the brown stallion stepped on a twig, and snapped it. He carefully picked up the glowing purple flower from the ground. He began to trot back, to place it on a bush while they weren’t looking or something, when he felt a rush of hot air on the back of his neck. He turned around, and smiled nervously.

“I don’t like this... Celestia said it was safe this time around.” Twilight looked cautiously around her. “I’m not entirely convinced it could be a monster though--”

“What else would it be?!” Applejack exclaimed, her accent growing thicker.

“I don’t know... a wild animal... it could be anything.” Twilight tried to make the situation a little more comfortable, but it wasn’t working. Macintosh looked like a bull about to charge, looking around frantically. He was ready to pulverize anything that came into view. The three stayed in their position, waiting for something to happen.

“Get back! I’m not afraid to hurt you!” A voice within the woods yelled, catching the attention of the three. The brown unicorn ran near them, saw them, and turned away. A gigantic timberwolf, the size of a two story building was after him. He continued to run, and the timberwolf stopped, and looked over at the group. It started to move towards them, when the brown unicorn jumped onto its leg and bucked its foot off. It lost balance and fell onto the ground. “Go! Now! I have this covered!”

Applejack and Twilight looked at the beast in fear, and heard more howls nearby. A pack of timberwolves came and assisted the giant one, and the brown unicorn tried to fight them off. They ran, and Macintosh followed, but kept an eye on the beasts. He looked back, and saw the unicorn smashing through their wooden bodies. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and continued to gallop with the other two. They made it out of the Everfree forest, panting.

“Who was that?” Twilight wheezed.

“Whoever he was, he needs help!” Applejack exclaimed, and started to go back into the forest. Macintosh grabbed her tail.

“Nnope.”

“But he needs help--” Applejack went wide eyed after hearing numerous whimpers, yelps, and crunches coming from inside the forest. After a small while, it went silent. Macintosh let go of her tail. “...You think he’s okay? Or did they overwhelm him?”

“Either way, he put up a good fight.” Macintosh responded. “Maybe we should check...”

“I agree, he might need help.” Twilight said, and began to walk into the forest. Applejack followed behind her, with Mac beside them. They ran down the trail, and eventually got to a giant pile of splintered wood. The unicorn wasn’t in sight. “H-hello?” Twilight asked. She was answered by some wood in the pile starting to move upwards. Finally they fell off to the side, and the unicorn poked his upper body out.

“Oh... you came back for me, how nice.” He said casually. “Do me a favor, and pull me out? My legs are stuck.” Applejack and Macintosh pulled the stallion out, and he tumbled down the pile onto his stomach. “So, you made it out okay, that’s good.” He said, noticing a log stuck on his hoof, and he casually shook it off. The three just stared at him in awe. “...You okay?--”

“Applejack! What’s yours?” Applejack suddenly exclaimed.

“Um... uh... shoot, it really is all gone.” He tapped his head and accidentally hit his broken horn, and winced. “I can’t remember.”

“You can’t remember your own name?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“Let alone anything... I do remember some things I learned, but I can’t remember how I learned it.” He walked past Applejack, who was still looking where he was standing. Macintosh waved his hoof in front of her eyes, and she blinked a few times, and shook her head.

“Oh, uh, pardon.”

“I’ll be right back!” The unicorn jumped over some bushes and went into the forest. The three looked at where he entered, and he came back out with the luminescent he found in his mouth. He put it on Applejack’s back. “I heard your conversation and automatically knew what you were looking for. When I found it, that big timberwolf attacked me.” He explained.

“Oh, thank you! I was looking all over for this!” Twilight exclaimed, and put it in a vase Macintosh had in his saddlebag.

“You’re welcome.”

“Ahem.” Applejack walked by Twilight, elbowing her.

“Oh, and thanks for, you know... saving our lives.”

“Oh, no need to thank me.” The unicorn smiled. “Well, I guess that worked out well. So... who are you,” He pointed to Twilight. “and you?” he pointed to Macintosh.

“Oh, I’m Twilight Sparkle. Personal student of Princess Celestia.” She bowed to the unicorn in front of her. He looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Who’s that? ...And why does the name, I don’t know, ring a bell?” He said. “Well, anyway, who’s the stallion you’re with?”

“My name’s Macintosh. Applejack here, is my little sister.” Macintosh said.

“I’m not little. You’re talkin’ to the girl that got blue ribbons in every single rodeo she took part in.” Applejack replied.

“But you’re still younger than me.” Macintosh said.

“That doesn’t mean I ain’t strong.”

“Why are we arguing about this?”

“No idea.” The two smiled at the unicorn, and he raised his eyebrows.

“Okay... well... any civilization nearby?”

“Yep! Ponyville is just outside of the forest!” Applejack exclaimed.

“Can you... take me there?”

“No.” He looked at her, surprised. Applejack laughed. “You really believed that? Come on, let’s go.” They walked in silence for a few minutes. The opening leading out was still not in view. Applejack and Macintosh seemed to start getting uncomfortable from the silence, so she piped up. “So, how in Equestria did you take down that gigantic timberwolf, and then a whole pack?! It’s amazing enough you managed to fend off a timberwolf of that size, but...”

“I don’t know, I guess my legs are kinda strong.” The unicorn kicked the air a few times behind him, grinning.

“Kinda?! You broke the thing’s leg in half!” Applejack exclaimed. “It was thicker than a redwood tree!”

“That’s an exaggeration. It was slightly thicker than an oakwood.”

“That’s still amazin’! The only other pony I’ve seen do that is Rainbow Dash, but that was number one, was not pure muscle, and number two, the tree wasn’t as thick as that thing!”

“Well, thank you, but-- who’s Rainbow Dash?”

“She says she’s the fastest flyer in Equestria, but I’m not totally sold on that one. If she isn’t, she’s pretty darn close.” Applejack explained.

“I’d like to meet her.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s gonna like you, too.” Applejack grinned.

“I think Celestia couldn’t even pull off a stunt like that!” Twilight exclaimed. “And I know her!” The brown unicorn winced, and shook his head a few times. He panted a few times, seeming to be struggling with fatigue.

“Ungh, everytime you mention Celestia... ngn... I don’t know what it is, but... it’s like my brain is using up all my energy to try and remember something...”

“What?”

“I don’t know... just keep walking.” The four trudged on, and reached the entrance to the forest. The unicorn winced, holding his hoof over where the sun was. “Holy crap, that sun is--” He put down his hoof and looked forward. Applejack and Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Oh.”

“Oh what?” Applejack asked.

“I know my name.”

“You do? What is it?” Twilight asked.

“Sunspot, at your service.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Sunspot.” All three held out their hooves, and Sunspot put his in the middle.

“Yay! Progress!” He exclaimed.

“Maybe you can use your name as a thing to jog your memory.” Twilight suggested.

“Hey, yeah! That’s a good idea!” Sunspot sat there for a moment, thinking. His facial expressions changed, mostly looking angry, or trying hard to do something. “I’ve got nothing.”

“Aw.” Applejack said, discouraged.

“You think magic could help?” Macintosh suggested.

“Good idea!” Twilight exclaimed. “Worth a shot.” Twilight’s horn began to sparkle and an aura appeared around it, as she fired a shot of a spell into Sunspot’s ear. He perked upright, wide eyed, and his eyes began glowing white.

“Um... was this supposed to happen?” Applejack asked.

“This is the first time I’ve used this spell, so... how would I know?” The two watched, and after a few more seconds, his eyes stopped glowing. He shook his head. “Remember anything?”

“Nothin’.” Sunspot replied. “Shouldn’t we focus more on getting to Ponyville?”

“We’ve been here.” Applejack laughed.

“Oh... um, where am I staying?”

“I’m pretty sure there’s an inn in town... right?” Twilight asked.

“Eeyup.” Macintosh replied. The sun was directly over their heads, meaning it was noon. And for the Apples, that was chore time. “Looks like we’ve got some chores to do.”

“Yep, we should get to the farm and start buckin’ the trees.” Applejack began to walk with Macintosh to the farm, which was practically right in front of them.

“Wait!” Sunspot exclaimed. The two were startled, and looked behind them. “I don’t have money to get a room...”

“Oh, um, here.” Macintosh was about to take out some bits, but Sunspot held up his hoof to stop him.

“I’m not going to just take off with your money. The least I can do is work for it.”

“...Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” Twilight asked him.

“That wasn’t work.”

“But--”

“No buts. I will work for it.” Applejack and Macintosh looked at each other, and back at Sunspot.

“Uh... sure?”

“Excellent! Let’s go!” Sunspot joined the two. Applejack looked at him, then looked over to Twilight. She shrugged. “Wow, ten minutes and I’ve already made three friends!” Sunspot yanked Applejack to his side. “I’m on a roll!”

Applejack blushed, and smiled. “Yep, sure did...”

“What? You’re talking really quietly.”

“It’s nothin’.” They approached the barn, and Applebloom had everything set up. She was standing by the trees.

“Hiya, Applejack! Hiya Mac! Hiya... somepony!” Applebloom waved, happily. “Who’s that?”

“This is Sunspot, he’s gonna help with the chores today.” Applejack explained. Sunspot bowed.

“But we only have these buckets...”

“No problem, I’m sure there’s extras in the barn. I’ll go get them, you three can start. Oh, and, Sunspot?”

“Yeah?” Sunspot replied.

“Don’t buck too hard.” Applejack turned and went to the barn. Applebloom bucked her tree, and all the apples fell perfectly into the buckets. Mac bucked his, and the same result happened. Sunspot bucked his, and the apples fell out into the buckets. But the tree came uprooted and started to fall. Sunspot acted fast and got under, and put it back in the ground, like nothing happened. The two looked at him like he just stepped out of a UFO.

“I bucked lightly! I swear!”

“Jeez, how long does it take to find three buckets? It’s so messy in there it was almost impossible to--” Applejack came back with her buckets, and she dropped them all on the ground, in awe. Sunspot was all the way at the end of the row, pulling a cart full of apples. Attached to that cart was another cart full of apples. He trotted over.

“Hi.” He said, and started to pass her, but she stopped him.

“Where’d you get all those apples?”

“Bucked ‘em.”

“That fast?”

“What do you mean?” Applejack looked at the trees to the end of the row. All the apples were gone from them. Mac and Applebloom had to resort to the trees in the next row. Her eyes shot open. “That’s not that fast.”

“...I don’t even know what to say. You just got all-- more than the number of apples we needed per day... in five minutes.”

“Really? Huh.” Sunspot emptied the apples into the empty barrels they were to put the apples in. “Um... there’s not enough barrels.” Applejack sat, speechless. “...I’ll take that as a ‘You go get it.’” Sunspot departed from the carts and dragged four more barrels out of the barn, and filled them with his apples. One apple was left in one of the carts. “Bummer, only one left.” He paused. “Want it?” He picked it up and held it in front of Applejack’s face. She glanced at him, and then to the apple. She slowly took it, and ate a bite.

“So, are we done for the day?” Sunspot asked. Applejack silently nodded her head. “Guys, we’re done for the day!” He called.

“What? It’s a bit too early... we don’t have enough-- oh.” Applebloom looked at the nineteen barrels, filled to the brim with apples. “What?”

“I got a bit more than we needed... sorry.” Sunspot apologized.

“Why are you apologizing for that?!” Applejack exclaimed, with apple in her mouth. She swallowed it, then continued her statement. “That’s amazing!”

“It’s not that hard...” Sunspot said, putting the carts in the barn. “All I do is take the carts, kick the trees lightly with one hoof, and the apples fall in the carts! Just walk in a normal pace in a line, and you’re clear!”

“We’ve tried that before, but it didn’t work well with us. Were they too heavy? Or... could we not buck the trees hard enough with one leg?” Macintosh said.

“I don’t know.” Applejack shrugged. “Even if we could, we couldn’t have done it that fast.”

“Mister Sunspot, you’re a natural at this!” Applebloom exclaimed, hopping in the air. “If you helped for the time it takes us to buck one row, you’d have bucked every tree!”

“I wouldn’t say every tree.” Sunspot said.

“I would!”

“Oh, come on.” Sunspot countered. “I couldn’t do that.”

“I find that hard to believe.” Applejack agreed with Applebloom.

“Whatever you say.” Sunspot rolled his eyes, putting lids on the barrels.

“We have extra time... huh. What to do?” Applebloom said. “Can I go get Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and head to the treehouse?”

“Sure, you have all the time in the world!” Applejack smiled. Applebloom took off to get the others, and Applejack looked at Sunspot. “I would take this opportunity to go explore town for a bit, seeing how you’re new and all.” Applejack gave Sunspot the money he earned. Twelve bits, not too shabby. “I would go meet up with Twilight if I were you, she’d show you around. Probably show you our other friends, too.”

“Alright.” Sunspot poked the ground and looked around for a second. “Um, where does she live?”

“The library in town.”

“She lives in a library?”

“Yeah, but it’s been made into a house for her to live in. Just go into Ponyville, and if you see a house made from a tree, that’s her place.”

“A library in a tree? I’ve seen everything now!” Sunspot laughed, and started to turn. Applejack noticed his cutie mark, and wondered what it was.

“Hey, Sunspot, what’s your cutie mark?” Applejack asked.

“Um... it looks like... no idea.” Sunspot laughed. “If I ever get my memory back, I might find out.” He left for town, to find that treehouse. He laughed at himself. Treehouse. Heh.

He exited Sweet Apple Acres, and saw the town ahead of him. He smiled, and already saw the treehouse. He tried not to laugh, thinking about it. He walked into town, and Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo ran right into him. Sunspot didn’t budge, but the others fell on their backs.

“Oh, pardon, Sunspot. Didn’t see ya there!” Applebloom exclaimed.

“What’s his name? Sunspot?” Scootaloo asked.

“That’s what I heard. Kind of a weird name.” Sweetie Belle agreed.

“Oh, fellow crusaders, this is Sunspot! He helped with the chores today!”

“Is that why you came in only ten minutes?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah!”

“Thanks for the extra time!”

“Uh, no problem...?” Sunspot said. The three ran off behind him, laughing and fooling around. “Well... that was interesting.” Sunspot continued towards the treehouse-- alright, enough calling it that.

He reached the door and knocked. An unfamiliar face answered the door, peeking his head around the it.

“Hello?”

“Is this Twilight Sparkle’s house?”

“...Yes, do you know her?”

“Yeah, we met earlier today. I need to see her.”

“State your business.”

“What? I--” Twilight came to the door.

“Oh, Sunspot, how nice of you to drop by!” Twilight greeted. She looked at the-- er, not sure-- that opened the door. “Spike? ‘State your business’?”

“I wanted to sound royal, alright?” Spike folded his arms across his chest, and Twilight laughed.

“So, what brings you here?” Twilight asked.

“Applejack told me you could probably give me a tour of the town, and maybe to meet your other friends...?” Sunspot said.

“Oh, sorry, I’m trying to find out what’s so special about the luminescent, I still haven’t put my finger on it yet. Maybe you can help?”

“I can manage that. Can I come in?” Twilight opened the door, and Sunspot walked in. He looked at Spike, who was giving him a dirty look. He closed the door behind him, smiling at Spike, nervously. “So... luminescents, huh?”

“Yeah, I can’t find out what’s special about it, besides the fact it glows. And that doesn’t necessarily make it special, either. Celestia said it has to do with what its nectar does, but I’ve been doing tests with it all day and don’t have anything.

“What are you studying right now? It might be related to what it does.” Sunspot asked.

“Friendship. But I don’t see how--”

“Oh, I know! I get it now!” Sunspot exclaimed.

“What?”

“If you get near the nectar, once a day, you’ll meet a new friend!” Sunspot exclaimed.

“Oh, so... oh! That’s how we met you! You got the luminescent flower, and we met you! It all makes sense!” Twilight exclaimed. “Spike, take a letter.”

“Of course, my lady.” Spike took a scroll and opened it, preparing to write.

“Dear Princess Celestia, I learned that the luminescent flower, once a day, causes the pony or ponies, to meet a new friend. Which is exactly what happened today, when my new friend Sunspot found the flower, and gave it to us after protecting us from a pack of Timberwolves! Your student, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight said. Spike wrote it all down, and sent the letter.

“Oh, so are you a baby dragon, then?” Sunspot asked, observing his fire breath to send the letter.

“Well... yes.”

“Cool! I’ve never seen one before! Not that I remember, anyway.” Sunspot circled Spike, examining him. “Interesting.”

“Uh, could you cool it with the whole examining thing?” Spike asked. Sunspot burst out laughing, and he fell onto the ground, with large guffaws.

“Cool it! Hahahahahaha!” Sunspot laughed. “It’s too ironic!” Spike held his stomach, and burped, and a letter appeared. Twilight opened the letter.

“Coming to Ponyville as soon as possible... Princess Celestia + Princess Luna.” Twilight read out loud. “That’s all it says.”

“That’s kind of weird...” Spike said. “If that’s all it is, it sounds kind of urgent, doesn’t it? And the fact both Princesses are coming, makes it seem even more... you know.”

“Yeah, what’s up with that? And why does Luna sound familiar, too?” Sunspot asked. He suddenly remembered something. He remembered Luna, as a young filly, laughing with him in a grassy area. That was it. “...Whoah.”

“What is it?” Twilight asked.

“I just remembered something.” Sunspot said.

“You did?! What?”

“I remember laughing with her... in a grassy area. But she was just a little filly then...” Sunspot said.

“Wait, hold on. She was a little filly in your memory?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s impossible, Celestia and Luna haven’t aged in a thousand years!”

“Maybe it’s somepony else, I don’t know. But I’ve got memory progress, that’s good.” Sunspot said. “Let’s go around town now, you’re done your project.”

“Okay... but something fishy is going on...” Twilight said, walking out the door with Sunspot. “Where to, first?”

“Just lead me places, and just tell me what they are.”

“Okay.” Twilight and Sunspot walked around town for a bit, her explaining the places around them. Everywhere they went, ponies looked at Sunspot. He eventually grew uncomfortable.

“Um... why is everypony looking at me?” He whispered in Twilight’s ear.

“Probably because you’re new. In Ponyville, they take newcomers as almost like a compliment.” Twilight explained.

“This town is nice so far, pretty small, and simple.” Sunspot smiled. “Somewhere I’d like to live--” He heard an explosion coming from the sky, and he looked up to see a circular rainbow streaking across the it. A rainbow trail streaked behind... something. Upon closer inspection it was a pegasus. And it was coming straight for them. Another memory entered his mind.

Sunspot looked up at the amazing sonic rainboom before him. A streak of rainbow came down next to him, and a light blue pony with a white, puffy mane and tail landed next to him. “Did you see that?! Wasn’t that awesome?!”

“Yeah, that was amazing!” Sunspot said to the younger stallion.

“I’ve been practicing, and I think I’m getting better at doing two in a row. I just need a little more practice.”

“Two in a row would definitely be a sight to see.”

“Yeah, brother. Definitely.”

Sunspot snapped back to reality. The pegasus landed next to them. The light blue pony with a rainbow colored mane and tail looked at Twilight.

“Hi, Twilight! Who’s this guy? Is he new?” The pony asked her.

“Hi, Rainbow Dash! This is Sunspot, and yes, he’s new. He saved me, Applejack’s, and Macintosh’s life not too long ago.”

“Hm. I’ll have you know, Mr. Sunspot, don’t expect for everypony to bow down to you because you saved three ponies’ lives. Because I, have saved a lot more than three.” Rainbow Dash boasted.

“Ah, so you’re the town hero?” Sunspot asked.

“Don’t encourage her, Sunspot.” Twilight elbowed him.

“Pretty much-- whoah, what happened to your horn?! It’s broken off!” Rainbow Dash noticed. “Without any bandages at all? You must be tough, like me.” She lightly punched his shoulder.

“Well, I guess. I did just fight a giant timberwolf and another pack of timberwolves a few hours ago.”

“Wait... but your horn’s broken off.”

“I know that.”

“Did you break it off during the fight?”

“No.” Rainbow Dash started laughing, and it took awhile for her to stop.

“Okay, okay, ahem, so you’re telling me that you fought those things without any magic? All hoof?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Actually, he did. Ask Applejack or Big Macintosh, he did it all with his hooves as weapons.” Twilight said.

“I accidentally uprooted a tree while bucking for apples, too.” Sunspot said. “Luckily I didn’t break the poor thing in half.”

“Hmph. That’s never been done before, how do you expect me to--” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, seeing Pinkie Pie bounce happily down the streets. She passed Twilight and Sunspot.

“Um, who’s that?” Sunspot asked. Pinkie immediately whipped around when she heard an unfamiliar voice. She gasped, and zoomed off somewhere.

“Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow Dash responded. “Don’t ask.”

“Trust me, I won’t.” Sunspot said.

“She’s quite the mare, I tell you.” Twilight added.

“I can tell already.” Sunspot started walking more down the road, with Rainbow Dash walking next to him.

“So, just how strong are you? You’re a unicorn, and from what you’re telling me, you’re stronger than an earth pony. I’m not really sold on that.” Rainbow Dash said. “If you follow me, maybe you can prove to me you’re that strong.”

“Sure, if you want.” Sunspot said.

“Alright, keep up with me, then!” Rainbow Dash began to sprint, and went off the road. Sunspot followed her.

“Where are we headed?”

“Straight!”

“Aye.” Sunspot increased his speed, and he passed Rainbow Dash easily. Rainbow Dash looked at him, surprised, but started sprinting faster. She caught up with him.

“See you at the finish line!”

“I’ll meet you there.” Sunspot laughed, charging ahead even faster.

“Huh?!”

“Didn’t expect this from me, huh? I can go faster!” Sunspot called. Rainbow Dash grunted, and started to sprint slightly faster.

“You aren’t using magic, are you?”

“Of course not, my horn’s broken off! How could I? And if I did, you’d probably be able to see it!” The two were neck in neck at that point, Rainbow Dash struggling to keep up with him.

“I have to admit, you’re good, but can you keep up with me while I’m flying?” Rainbow Dash spread her wings out, and started to fly forward. She passed him easily. Sunspot wasn’t done just yet. He broke out into his top speed, and eventually caught up to Rainbow Dash, who didn’t notice him right underneath him.

“How’s it going, Dash?” Sunspot shouted, panting.

“Huh?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Sunspot passed her, and Rainbow Dash went into her real speed. Sunspot kept up with her, and they finally got to the end of the track. Sunspot halted to a stop, and sat down, panting and sweating. Rainbow Dash hovered to the ground, and did the same.

“Nice run. I needed one anyway.” Sunspot smiled, competitively.

“You’re pretty fast, I’ll give you that. But I still beat you.” Rainbow Dash said.

“I don’t care if I lost, if I kept up with a pegasus while they were flying at their full speed without any gravity help, that’s another achievement for me.” Sunspot laughed.

“You’re not that bad. But how strong are you?” Rainbow Dash stood up. “You may have proven you’re fast, but are you strong?” She motioned for him to follow, and he walked with her to Applejack’s barn. They walked to it, and Applejack noticed Sunspot.

“Oh, hi Sunspot. And Rainbow Dash.” Applejack said.

“Can I have that cart? You know, the one with tons of weights in it?”

“Oh, sure.” Rainbow Dash walked into the barn, and pushed out a cart with three one hundred pound weights and a fifty pound weight.

“Sunspot, this is my maximum weight lift, meaning I can lift it once. If you can lift it more than once, you’re stronger than me.”

“Oh, sweet Celestia, is she putting you through physical tests?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t mind.” Sunspot responded, getting under the cart. He put his hooves on the underside.

“And... go.” Rainbow Dash said, confidently. Sunspot began to push it upwards, slowly, and his muscles weren’t allowing him to push it up. He finally got it to the point where his elbows were locked, then his muscles were used to it. He lowered it and raised it again, followed by another “Huh?!” from Rainbow Dash. She counted one hundred fifty times before he set it down, and got out from underneath.

“Did I do good?”

“Huh?!”

“...What does that mean?” Sunspot smiled, and lowered his eyebrows.

“I-I-- huh?!” Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped. “Y-yeah, sure, but that was with the front hooves. You haven’t done the back hooves yet!”

“Okay, put five hundred pounds on the cart.” Sunspot said.

“Dude! You’ll kill yourself!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Trust me, I won’t.” Sunspot grinned.

“Are you sure about this, Sunspot?” Rainbow Dash asked, chewing on her hoof.

“Actually... no, I’m not.” Sunspot said. Rainbow Dash sighed in relief. “Make it six hundred!” Her hooves shot up to her head.

“What?! Applejack, are you sure you’re going to let him do this?!”

“He’s welcome to try, but I do have to admit, that’s a lot of weight...” Applejack said, putting the last weight on. “There, six hundred. But are you really gonna do this, Sunspot?”

“Of course.” Sunspot got underneath. He put his back hooves against the cart.

“Ready... go.” Rainbow Dash hesitated, and her mouth hung open when Sunspot immediately started lifting the cart up and down with his hind legs. He went on for a good three minutes. “35... 36... 37...” Rainbow Dash counted, then he put the cart down.

“My legs feel all wobbly!” Sunspot laughed, climbing out from underneath the cart. “Don’t you love that feeling?” Rainbow Dash just stood in front of him, mouth open wide.

“Hello? Rainbow Dash?” Sunspot waved his hoof in front of her face.

“H- huh? What?” Rainbow Dash looked around, as if she didn’t know where she was.

“...Are you feeling okay?” Sunspot asked.

“Y-yeah... but... wow.” She responded. “Six hundred is... unbelievable. The strongest pony lifted nine hundred... and you were close to that.”

Sunspot looked up at the sky, the sun was setting. “Uh oh, I never got a room at the inn! I guess it’s a bit late for it by now!” He pounded the ground with his hoof, leaving a small indent in it. “Shoot!”

“Oh, it’s getting dark, isn’t it? Looks like I have to be off... cloud busting tomorrow.” Rainbow Dash said, beginning to fly to her house. “Can’t wait to hang out with you again, Sunspot!”

“Right back at ya!” Sunspot exclaimed, waving bye. He hoofed the ground again, realizing it was too late to get a room. “Where am I gonna stay now?” Sunspot sighed.

“Well... you could always...” Applejack began.

“What?”

“You could stay in the barn... if you want.”

“Really? Thank you!” Sunspot took off into the barn, closing the big doors.

“I’m really glad I’m not a pegasus right now.” Applejack muttered to herself, and went inside the barn house. Sunspot took a haystack and threw it into one of the carts, and used it as a pillow. He closed his eyes, and another memory flashed through his mind.

“Cloud, what am I thinking?” A white filly with long, flowing hair asked the same colt in the rainboom memory he had.

“Piles and piles of muffins!” ‘Cloud’ said.

“You’re too good at this!” The filly laughed.

“Of course I am, Celestia. ‘Cause I’m awesome.” As the memory replayed itself and allowed nothing more to come out of it, Sunspot drifted into a deep sleep.

“Surprise!” Sunspot woke up startled, and fell out of the cart. He got up, rubbing the back of his head, to see an... abnormally pink young mare in front of him. “Welcome to Ponyville!” The pony exclaimed. She blew through the kazoo in her mouth.

“Uh, who are you?”

“My name’s Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you!” Sunspot looked around. Tons of ponies from Ponyville were in the barn, including his friends. Lots of games, food, and... confetti were there.

“Why has this party been thrown for me? What is this party?”

“It’s a welcome party, silly! Welcome to ponyville!” Pinkie blew through the kazoo again.

“Um, thanks...”

“You’re welcome! By the way, when I was in the streets and I saw you and gasped because I never saw you before and if I never saw you before that means you were new because I know everypony in this town and if you were new that means you needed a party so I left as quick as I could to arrange one!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Yeah, interesting... I’ll go look around a bit.” Sunspot answered, uncomfortably.

“Wait, you’re missing the best part!” Pinkie zoomed in front of him. “When I was writing out all the invitations I saw you and Rainbow Dash racing and I love it when I see this stuff and I saw you almost beat Rainbow Dash and I was really impressed because not many ponies can run that fast, or let alone catch up to a pegasus while it was flying!” Pinkie Pie inhaled deeply. “So then after that I thought about how you beat Rainbow Dash and how I would find your name so I went up to Twilight in a disguise and asked her what your name was and she said it was Sunspot so I--”

“Yeah, thanks for the storytelling, but there’s some ponies I’m probably gonna have to meet.” Sunspot interrupted, and began to walk towards Applejack, who was with a yellow pegasus with a light pink mane and tail. The mane and tail curved slightly at the end, and made Sunspot think she did her mane well. He walked over, Pinkie Pie following him, bouncing happily.

“Howdy, Sunspot! Enjoyin’ the party?” Applejack asked him over the loud, catchy music.

“So far.” Sunspot said, looking around. He began to subconsciously tap his hoof to the beat. He noticed the pony next to Applejack was trying to back away. “Who are you?”

She made an ‘eep’ and crouched on the ground, in some weird kind of fear.

“...Well?”

“I’m Flutter...” The pony said so quietly, Sunspot didn’t hear anything.

“What’d you say?”

“Flu-Flutter...” She began to say slightly louder, but it still wasn’t enough.

“What?--”

“She’s Fluttershy.” Applejack said. “She’s just a bit shy, is all.

Just a bit? Sunspot thought to himself. “My name’s Sunspot, it’s nice to meet you, Fluttershy.” He held out his hoof for a hoofshake. Fluttershy just looked at his hoof and back to him. After a while of her not shaking his hoof, he put it back on the ground. “Okay, um...”

“Do you like animals?” Fluttershy suddenly asked, but still quiet.

“Oh, uh, sure! Depending on the animal, of course.” Sunspot answered, happy he got something out of the nearly mute pony in front of him.

“Oh, I love animals. I’ve been told I’m really good with them.” Fluttershy said.

“You’ve been told? You know!” Applejack responded.

“Fluttershy’s animals are the coolest things! She got a swarm of butterflies to pick me up and carry me around! It was so much fun!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Yeah, that was fun.” Fluttershy happily stated.

“You can do that?” Sunspot asked.

“Oh, yes!”

“That’s amazing!” Sunspot noticed a squirrel, scurrying around nearby. “See if you can get that squirrel over there to come to you.”

“Oh, why hello, little one.” Fluttershy said warmly, to the squirrel. It looked at her. “What’s your name? I’m Fluttershy.” It squeaked. “Get on my back, and tell me all about it!” The squirrel scurried over and sat on her back, and began to squeak more, while Sunspot stared in awe.

“That’s awesome!” He exclaimed, and the squirrel scurried off. “Aw. Sorry.”

Fluttershy sniffed a few times in the air. “Oh, I know why they’re going away from you.”

“Why?”

“You have the smell of timberwolf on you. Very faint, but it’s there.” Fluttershy explained.

“Oh, maybe I should wash off after the party.” Sunspot said. He looked over and saw Twilight and a... model, conversing. He began walking over.

“Hi!” A gray pegasus with yellow hair flying upside down popped up in front of Sunspot, and he jumped backwards.

“W-whoah, hi.” Sunspot stuttered. “I’m Sunspot.”

“I’m Ditzy Doo!” She exclaimed.

“Hello, Ditzy Doo-- um, so can I go over to my friends now?”

“Sure!” Ditzy stayed in that place, and Sunspot looked behind him. Fluttershy and the others just looked at him, with confused expressions.

“Um...”

“Well, I’m your friend, so... doesn’t that mean I still did it?” Ditzy smiled.

“Sure, yes.” Ditzy flew away, satisfied. A barn door opened and Rainbow Dash walked in.

“Whew, cloudbusting was tough today-- Derpy, why weren’t you cloudbusting today?” Rainbow said to Ditzy.

“My name’s Ditzy. Don’t call me Derpy.” She said, annoyed.

“That doesn’t change the fact you didn’t show up to help!”

“Do we really have to argue about this? Come on, everypony expects me to screw it all up somehow anyway.” Ditzy said, sadly.

“Uh...”

“You know, whenever you call me Derpy, it’s just another painful reminder of how useless I am!” She shouted. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, and walked to Sunspot.

“Hi... don’t mind her. She’s a little twisted up in the head--” Sunspot walked past Rainbow Dash, and towards Ditzy.

“Oh, come on, you’re not useless.” Sunspot assured her.

“Yes I am! I can’t even be a mail pony for Celestia’s sake, because I can’t read good from my lazy eye! So instead I have to be a mover, and still somehow screw it up!”

“That’s not your fault. And accidents will happen, but you can’t beat yourself up over something that isn’t even your fault.” Sunspot explained, then started to remember some of the kids from his school. “I’ve met tons of clumsy ponies, but that doesn’t mean they’re useless.” Ditzy raised her eyebrows. Sunspot thought for a moment, more memories coming in from school. “Just because you’re clumsy, does not mean you’re useless. Being a mover, you’re still helping Equestria, even if it’s only a little.” Ditzy smiled. “Don’t destroy yourself over nothing.” Sunspot started to go back, but Ditzy stopped him.

“Thanks.” Ditzy said. Sunspot smiled, and walked back to Rainbow Dash. “Next time, try to resist calling her Derpy. I’d rather not explain all of that again.” Sunspot joked, and passed her, going over to Twilight and the other pony.

“Of all the places to have a welcome party, why in a barn?” The pony complained. “It’s filthy in here!”

“I don’t see Sunspot complaining.” Twilight observed.

“Oh! Is that him right there?”

“Right next to you? Yes.”

“Oh! I need my scarf and tiara! Give me a moment, Sunspot, dear!” The pony started to shuffle through an overly perfected saddlebag, and took out a scarf. She kept shuffling through, and went wide eyed. “Where’s my tiara? Did I bring it?!” She kept searching through, and couldn’t find it. “Of all the things that could happen this has to be the worst possible thing!” She used her magic to pull up a red velvet couch, and pouted on it.

“Where did that couch come from?” Sunspot raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t even ask.” Twilight said, picking up a tiara that was on the table next to her. “Rarity, it was right next to you.”

“Oh, thank you, Twilight! Thank you thank you thank you!” She put the tiara on. “Do I not look fantastic?”

“Um...” Sunspot looked away, uncomfortable.

“Hmm?!” Rarity shoved her face into his. Sunspot started backing up, and bumped into somepony.

“Oh, sorry-- how did you get behind me?!”

“Hmm?!” Rarity smiled, elegantly. Sunspot sighed in frustration.

“Your beauty is blinding.” He said.

“I thought so, too.” Rarity smiled, and turned to Twilight. Sunspot rolled his eyes once she wasn’t looking at him. Twilight chuckled. “What?”

“Oh, nothing.” Twilight grinned. Rarity looked at her suspiciously, then proceeded to get some punch. Twilight and Sunspot started chuckling, and eventually it turned into a full out laughter. Rarity came back, confused.

“What are you laughing about?” Rarity asked, answered by even harder laughter. Her eyebrows lowered, and she headed over with Fluttershy and the others. The two finally stopped laughing, and tears were streaming down their cheeks.

“Oh gosh, that was too funny.” Sunspot chuckled, wiping the tears off.

“Don’t remind me about it, I’ll burst out laughing again.” Twilight warned.

“Let’s go see the others.” Sunspot said, turning and going to the group of friends. Twilight followed behind him. Applejack noticed Sunspot coming over, and waved. The group talked with each other, and started bonding with their new friend. It was late at night by the time the party ended. Applejack and Sunspot stayed behind, while the rest left. They approached the doorway and waved goodbye to them all.

“Well, that was fun, huh?” Applejack smiled.

“Yeah, your friends are really cool.” Sunspot answered.

“Am I really cool, too?”

“Of course!” Applejack blushed, she had never been complimented by a stallion that wasn’t Macintosh. It made her feel a lot better about herself.

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Everythin’.”

“Oh, um... it’s no trouble.” Sunspot blushed too. “It’s still kind of unspecific, though.” He realized that it was too late to get to the inn again. “Come on, really?! I can’t get to the inn again!”

“Why should it matter?”

“What do you mean?”

“You can still stay in the barn.” Sunspot hugged Applejack, and she started blushing more.

“Thank you!” He threw the hay back in the cart and jumped in. Applejack shyly left, and closed the barn doors. She smiled, and trotted into the barnhouse. Granny Smith was in her rocking chair, sleeping. Macintosh and Applebloom were just about to go to bed. Applejack trotted past them up the stairs, and they stopped, and raised their eyebrows.

“Applejack? You okay?” Applebloom asked, nearly falling down the stairs when Applejack whipped her head around, her smile stretching from ear to ear.

“More than okay!” Applejack hopped up and down, almost looking like Pinkie Pie. She ran into her room, leaving Applebloom and Macintosh looking at each other, each as confused as the other. Applejack did a small dance in her room, that leaped into bed. She fell asleep.

However, that night, Twilight didn’t sleep at all. She stared between a copy of her letter, and Celestia’s response. “What could Celestia’s letter have to do with mine? Was it because of mine, or was she writing it before the letter even arrived?” Twilight paced the floor, with Spike watching her. “Could it have been because of the giant timberwolf? Does that mean something terrible? Spike! Hand me the book on timberwolves!” Spike stood up and saluted her, then got the ladder. He took out the book “Timberwolves: Everything you need to know” and handed it to Twilight. She scanned the pages, looking for anything mentioning a giant timberwolf, and found a section on it. “Aha! It says here that... it only says it’s a giant timberwolf, that is a lot stronger and is treated as a pack leader. There’s nothing saying it brings something else terrible! So why is Celestia and Luna coming on such short notice?!” Twilight put the book back on the shelf, and started pacing again.

“This may sound kind of crazy, but what if it’s Sunspot that’s the reason they’re coming?” Spike said.

“They wouldn’t write this without any additional information just to meet one of my new friends!” Twilight re-read the letter. “Ahem. Coming to Ponyville as soon as possible... Princess Celestia + Princess Luna.” Twilight put it down in front of Spike. “Whatever this is, it’s urgent!”

“Twilight, I’ve known that you tend to overreact to a lot of things, so what if it isn’t urgent?”

“Did you even read the letter?! How does this not sound urgent to you?!” Twilight started pacing again, and chewing her lip. “This could be bad, both princesses are coming, this could be really, really bad, Spike!”

“Come on, Twilight, isn’t it a bit late to be stressing out about this?”

“In a situation like this?! I say the night isn’t long enough!” Twilight stopped, suddenly. “Wait. Spike, what’d you say was crazy?”

“I said what if Sunspot was the reason they’re--”

“Spike! Remember his horn?”

“What about it?”

“It was broken off! And he can’t remember anything! What if Celestia and Luna know him, and that he’s in danger? Or worse... what if he’s the danger?!”

“I don’t think he’s the danger, Twilight. Remember? He said that he remembered Luna as a filly... so, why would that mean he’s the danger?”

“Spike! You’re bringing up so many useful points, right now!” Twilight exclaimed. “But then again, that could still mean something terrible, if you think about it. He couldn’t possibly be that old and still appear young and healthy, unless...” Twilight’s face appeared surprised, and alarmed. “Unless he was their sibling! Spike, hand me the book on Celestia!”

“Here.” Spike handed her the book called “The Royal Family” and she flipped through a small bit, and appeared discouraged.

“...It only talks about Celestia and Luna. There’s no other information. The rest of the book is all redacted!” Twilight said, disappointed. “But there’s definitely more to Celestia and Luna’s family than I know...” Twilight skimmed through the book again.

“Twilight! There’s a picture that isn’t redacted! Well, -ish...” Twilight flipped to the page. It was a family portrait of Celestia and Luna, but everypony else in the family was colored over in black marker.

“I thought so.” Twilight sighed. “But there definitely is more to this situation than I originally thought.” She was about to close the book, when she noticed the front of it. On the dedication page, it was dedicated to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. “Huh? Wait, if this was dedicated to Celestia and Luna, why is all of this stuff redacted?”

“Maybe she didn’t want anypony else to see it?”

“But if it was dedicated to her, nobody else would see it... maybe she didn’t want to see it.”

“Why would she not want to see her own family?”

“I could think of a few reasons-- Spike, look at this!” Twilight pointed to two pages stuck together. She put them out, and a water stain was right on one of the redacted pictures. “Do you think she... cried on it?”

“Maybe, but...” Spike yawned. “It’s really late. Do you mind if I go to bed?”

“Sure, Spike--” Twilight watched Spike collapse on the ground, asleep. She giggled. Twilight looked at the book, and frowned. What was going on here? “I have to find out more before they get here.” Twilight continued flipping through the pages of the book, looking for something that could enlighten her.

Sunspot woke up early in the morning, well rested and ready for the day. He let out a yawn and headed for the door. Sunspot tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. It was locked.

“Oh, great.” Sunspot said to himself. He remembered locking it last night after Applejack left, but not where he put the key.

“But Granny!” Sunspot could hear Granny Smith and Applejack outside the barn. “I-”

“Should be very careful. You still don’t know very much about that stallion, and neither do I. He could be dangerous.” Sunspot didn’t feel comfortable listening to this, but he didn’t want to interrupt, so he continued searching. “All I’m saying is that you should find out a little more about him before you go asking him crazy things like that.”

“But.. I... oh okay, Granny.” Sunspot wondered for a moment. Were they talking about him? And if so, what did she want to ask? He finally found the key, underneath his hay bail pillow. He took it and unlocked the door, pushing it open. He spit out the key to his side, and walked out. His sore muscles screamed at him as he walked. Applejack came out of the house too, still... seemingly optimistic. “Howdy, Sunspot! The roosters didn’t even wake ya today!”

“Hard to believe.” Sunspot chuckled, in a slightly lower tone. He yawned. “What time is it?”

“About nine o’clock.” Applejack responded. “You covered about half today’s chores two days ago, so if we just do it now, real quickly, we’ll have even more time for the rest of the day!”

“Alright, if you insist.” Sunspot dragged his sore body along, and hitched himself to one cart. It’s all he needed anyway. Applejack hitched herself to the other cart, and Sunspot raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“I want you to teach me how you did that.” Applejack said.

“Okay... follow me.” Sunspot and Applejack walked to the second row of trees. Sunspot told her to go to the opposite end. “Alright, so, pretty much follow the treeline, and buck the tree with your good leg.”

“Well, when you say it like that, it seems really easy.” Applejack lined herself up with a tree and got her hoof ready. She bucked it with her right leg, and it barely shook. Only one apple fell out, and it landed on her head. Sunspot began to laugh, making her blush and look at the ground.

“Watch me, I’ll demonstrate.” Sunspot started trotting down the treeline with the cart bouncing along with him. He took a swift kick to the tree to his left, and the apples fell into the carts. “Like that, and try and keep it fluent.” Applejack nodded, and kicked the tree again, and the apples spilled out into the cart. She grinned, and looked ahead. “Good! Now just do that down the row.” The two walked down the treeline, kicking every tree next to them, getting the apples to fall out. They did it until they reached each other in the middle. “High hoof!”

“As fast as I thought it’d go, too!” Applejack exclaimed. “That’s awesome, because I was so confident we’d get it done lickity split, that I invited the others to go camping with us!”

“Camping?” Sunspot asked. “Where?”

“I don’t know the name of the forest, but it’s not the one with the timberwolves and such.” Applejack said. “No way we’d ever camp in there.”

“Good.”

“So, meet me back here in fifteen minutes or so, I need to gather everypony up--”

“Sunspot! Sunspot!” Twilight was running full speed to the two, and nearly trampled Sunspot.

“What?!” He exclaimed.

“Celestia and Luna are your sisters and they’re looking for you and we need to go right now!” Sunspot went wide eyed, and his mouth hung open. He gasped.

“Celestia... Luna...” Sunspot passed Twilight, and broke out into a full sprint. “I’m coming!” Applejack went wide eyed, too.

“Did you just say they were his--”

“Come on, we need to go!” Twilight shoved Applejack forward, and they ran after Sunspot.

“Are you telling me--”

“Can it wait?!”

“Twilight--”

“Please?!” The two ran after Sunspot, who was still at full sprint. He burst through the gates and entered Ponyville. He didn’t stop running. Twilight and Applejack tried to keep up with him, but he was out of sight after a while. The two slowed down and stopped. “Where’d he go?!”

“Look! Celestia and Luna’s ride here is coming!”

“He’s gonna go where it lands! Come on, with me!” Twilight and Applejack started running again, and eventually halted to a stop, in the middle of the gravel road. Celestia and Luna touched the ground, got out of the cart, and gasped. Sunspot ran into the middle of the two, and hugged them both.  All three squeezed their eyes shut.

“Oh my goodness...” Celestia whispered. “It’s really you.” Tears started streaming down Luna’s face.

“We-we thought you were dead, that you weren’t going to come back...” She stuttered, pouting. She opened her eyes, and gasped. “Sunspot! Your horn!”

“It’s still tender...” He chuckled, his voice surprisingly shaky.

“We’ll heal it.” Celestia and Luna both used their magic, to have Sunspot’s horn grow back. He lifted a rock off the ground with his fiery-in-appearance magic, and he hugged them again. “I’m so glad you’re back...” Celestia laughed, beginning to cry herself. Applejack removed her hat and held it to her chest, smiling.

“Now ain’t that just precious...” She said. She flinched at the sound of a sonic rainboom, then continued. She was interrupted by another one, and them multiple more in a row.

“Uh, Applejack?” Twilight elbowed her. “Look at Sunspot.” Sunspot was now charcoal black in color, and his mane and tail were made of fire. Only the ends curled up to rise in the air. Applejack’s jaw dropped, and then she ducked when the pony behind the rainbooms went straight into Sunspot, sending him flying into the gravel.

“Bro! Where have you been?!” A light blue pegasus stallion with a cloud-like mane and tail hugged Sunspot, who was on his back, from the impact.

“Cloud!” Sunspot exclaimed, and hugged him back. “How’s heaven doing?”

“Epic! So’s the Underworld! I looked over it while you were gone, you smelly jerk!”

“Guys, did you see that sonic rainboom?! It was connected to like four--” Rainbow Dash began, flying over, but stopped when she saw Celestia and Luna hugging two strangers, and crying over them. “Um, I hate to ruin the moment, but who are those two?” Twilight gave Rainbow Dash a dirty look as Celestia and Luna turned to her, smiling.

“Oh, this is Sunspot and Cloud, our brothers!” Celestia exclaimed. Dash’s mouth dropped, looking straight at Sunspot.

“You aren’t the Sunspot I met, are you?--” Sunspot went back to his disguised form, and back to his normal form. He smiled. “You’re Princess Celestia’s brother?!”

“Yep! Just don’t tell anypony that I’m the same pony as the old appearance I had.” Sunspot whispered.

“Why?”

“Because that’s like... my disguise, sorta. It’s for when I don’t really want to be tackled by reporters.” Sunspot said.

“Oh, that actually makes kind of sense.”

“Wait, did Cloud say he looked after the Underworld for you?” Twilight asked, walking up.

“Yes, why?”

“Does that mean you’re the Prince of the Netherworld?!”

“Yeah...” Sunspot replied.

“You’re evil?!--” Sunspot shoved his face right in front of Twilight’s.

“I’ll have you know, Miss Sparkle, that I’m very disappointed your higher level thinking didn’t already figure this out.” Sunspot hit the ground with his front hoof, and blew out of his nose. “The Nether is just the same as Overworld, and it’s just the same as Heaven. The only reason why it’s considered evil is because that’s where the terrible souls go to spend the rest of their eternity, and they deserve every bit of it.” Sunspot looked up, and tapped Twilight’s horn. “I’m actually quite surprised that you’re insulting the very place you came from.”

“What?!”

“That is where all the unicorns came from, am I wrong? Years of cross-breeding just made you the varying colors you are now, rather than the native look, which I have.” Sunspot stood up straight. “So you tell me, am I evil?”

“...I’m sorry, I just-- didn’t know.”

“It’s cool!” Sunspot ruffled her mane. “Heh, cool. Irony.”

“It must be annoying to remind ponies constantly that the Netherworld is not that bad a place.” Applejack said, joining in.

“Oh, gosh, it’s terrible.” Sunspot complained. “It’s so annoying.”

“I could imagine.”

“So, then you are Prince of Heaven?” Rainbow Dash pointed to Cloud, who was smiling. He nodded.

“Pegasi came here from Heaven, you know.” Cloud said. “So I’m a natural at flying and weather duty!”

“So am I!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “My wing power is 16.5, what’s yours?”

“Last time I measured it, about 15.7... not sure what it is now. Then again, last I measured it was before I even stopped aging.” Rainbow Dash grinned.

“Well, let’s find out then!”

“In a minute? We’re still, you know, catching up.” Sunspot asked, smiling. Rainbow Dash joined Twilight and Applejack, and they walked behind a nearby building.

“Well, that was something I didn’t expect at all.” Applejack said.

“I didn’t expect it either! We’re non-expectant buddies!” Pinkie Pie blurted out, suddenly right near them.

“Pinkie, how long were you watching that?”

“Ever since it started! I saw you guys run by so I wondered where you were going so I followed you and all this happened!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“Of course you did... look, you can’t tell anypony what you just saw.” Rainbow Dash warned.

“Why?”

“Sunspot was brown in color because he was disguised through magic. If anypony find out that he’s Sunspot disguised, they’ll will be on top of him.”

“They’ll stand on him?”

“W-what? Pinkie! I mean the everypony will go crazy over him, and disrespect his personal space, not... that...” Rainbow Dash asserted. “Did you hear everything, too?”

“Yup!”

“Okay, so yeah. Just don’t do that to him, okay?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie swore.

“Good.”

“Ahem. Rainbow mane girl? You said something about testing my wing power?” Cloud poked his head around the corner, the same colors as Sunspot’s disguised self. “I’m ready.” He smiled.

“It’s Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Let’s get the wing power measurer thing.” Sunspot, Cloud, and the four girls went to a flat plain nearby. Rainbow Dash put down a machine that resembled a windmill, and held it in place. “Fly past this thingy here.”

“I know what I’m doing, I’ve done it before.” Cloud got into an athletic stand, and furrowed his eyebrows confidently.

“Show her what you’ve got, Cloud.” Sunspot grinned. “She likes to boast. I’ve already beaten her strength, now you show her your stuff.” Cloud turned to Sunspot and nodded.

“Ready...” Rainbow Dash said. “Go!” Cloud charged up his wings, his lower body raising up into the air, while his front hooves kept him in place.  He shot forward like a blue missile, and a huge surge of wind pushed the blades of the windmill, leaving it spinning as fast as a power saw. The blades slowed down, and came to a halt by the time Cloud finished walking over.

“How’d I do?” Rainbow Dash didn’t respond. “Hello? Rainbow mane girl?”

“32.7...” Rainbow Dash said. “Is there some mistake, here? Is this working?”

“Looks fine to me--” Twilight said.

“No no no no, something’s wrong with this.” Rainbow Dash frantically searched around the thing, while Cloud tried to keep back from laughter. Pinkie Pie bounced over to it.

“Let me see it!” She snagged it from Rainbow Dash’s hooves and looked it over. “Everything’s in working order!”

“Sure, you have good wing power, but can you do stunts like this?” Rainbow Dash flew up into the air, sending clouds spinning in place. She pulled off a sonic rainboom, and hit the ground with the rainbow trail behind her, making a rainbow mushroom cloud. She trotted over to Cloud. “Top that.”

“Alright, if you insist.” Cloud shot up into the air, and bashed straight through a thick layer of clouds, then sent other clouds spinning together, into a small vacuum. He agitated them, and rain, and lightning started shooting out of it. He flew down, then through the thing, sending him flying even faster. He performed a sonic rainboom going upwards, and created seven more sonic rainbooms in a row. He flew back through the agitated clouds and the clouds burst apart, changing into the colors of the rainbow. He did a few loop de loops and landed on the ground, with friction so hot it left a trail of fire behind where his hooves grinded into the dirt. He trotted over to Rainbow Dash. “You insisted.” And turned away, laughing. Rainbow Dash sat staring up at the sky, shocked.

“I give up.” Rainbow Dash looked at the ground sadly, and started to walk away. “I’m nothing compared to you.” Cloud turned, and got a sad expression on his face, too. He went over and walked with Rainbow Dash.

“You’re the fastest flyer in Equestria, though. Doesn’t that mean something?” Cloud said.

“Wait... I never told you that. Who did?”

“Oh... you did.”

“No I didn’t.”

“Your brain did.”

“Huh?”

“I’m psychic.”

“Oh, great! Now another reason why you’re better than me!”

“Rainbow Dash, if I were in the wonderbolt academy at any single moment, I’d pick you as wing pony-- or even lead pony in a heartbeat.”

“Why?”

“Well, duh, you’re fast, agile, fastest flyer in Equestria, right?”

“No I’m not, you are.”

“I don’t live in Equestria, Dash. You’re still fastest.” Rainbow Dash’s eyebrows raised. They lowered again.

“That may be true, but I could never beat you.”

“Dash, you could beat me any day.”

“No I couldn’t! 32.7! I can’t compete with that!”

“Maybe not, but you can’t beat yourself up over nothing. Dash, I’m Prince of Heaven. I have to be fast, or else ponies could be hurt up there! It was never my choice to be this fast and agile!”

“...What do you mean?”

“I mean I don’t like it, Dash.” Cloud sighed. “I look at the positive side of things, and that’s being fast and all, but the negative side is I not only have extreme responsibility for it, but also the fact that it hurts other ponies. They get jealous of me, sad, or even angry. Some ponies actually hurled rocks at me when I was at a local park because I was ‘too good’. So many kids in my elementary school looked up to me, but there were the kids that bullied me, because of their jealousy. That went up through middle school and even high school. Dash, someone even killed themselves because they let their jealousy and hopelessness get to their heads.” Rainbow Dash looked at him, wide eyed. Has that ever happened before on her side? “The only reason I show off is because some ponies want to see it done. I thought you wanted to see it, not to see if I was better than you.” Cloud looked down at the ground. “I would have never done it if this would be the outcome.”

“Wow, um...”

“On the bright side, that rarely ever happens.” Cloud perked up his head, smiling again. “Dash, I’m just trying to get you to realize that you’re good enough as you are. And if not, you’re welcome to train with me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I might be up for something like that.” Cloud dragged Rainbow Dash next to him with his wing.

“Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!” Rainbow Dash’s face lightened up, and she smiled really widely.

“Why are you so excited about this?” Cloud grinned.

“Because I’ve just been taken under the wing of the best flyer I’ve ever seen!”

“Aw. Thanks, rainbow mane girl.”

“It’s Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow Dash giggled.

“Yeah, I know.” Cloud released his wing and went back with the others. Rainbow Dash followed along. “You know, I went so quickly to say that I wouldn’t mind you being my partner because I shouldn’t have any doubts in the first place. You represent the element of loyalty, right?”

“How did you-- oh, right. I really don’t know how you do that.”

“It’s really helpful, because I can usually sense when something bad is about to happen, so that lets me--”

“Is Pinkie psychic too, then?” Cloud looked at her, raising an eyebrow. He focused in on her, and stared at her for a moment. “Oh, right, you don’t know her--”

“Well, I guess in some cases Pinkie could be psychic, but she can’t really read minds or guess exactly what the future will be.”

“This is unbelievable.”

“You get used to it.” Cloud walked over to Sunspot, and Rainbow Dash joined the three girls, still somewhat amazed at the show Cloud put on. “Hi.”

“Oh, guys, this is Cloud. I’m assuming you already know who they are, Cloud.”

“Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and rainbow mane girl.”

“It’s Rainbow Dash!” She shouted, laughing.

“I’m teasing you.”

“How do you already know our names?” Applejack asked. “Sunspot never showed you us before.”

“He’s psychic.” Rainbow Dash explained.

“Psychic? Please. Obviously while we were behind the building, Sunspot talked about us.” Twilight said. “There’s no such thing as a psychic!”

“Well, ask me what you’re thinking about.” Cloud said.

“Try me.”

“You’re thinking and or worrying about what Spike could possibly be doing at your house, and also thinking through of what lessons of friendship you’ve learned lately. Your assignment from my sister Celestia, am I wrong?” Twilight looked surprised for a moment.

“I told Sunspot I was studying friendship, he could’ve said that to him!” Twilight explained.

“Alright, let’s go again.”

“O-okay.”

“You’re thinking of blue monkeys being fired out of a cannon, spinning around in a remarkably large washing machine, colored red.” Suddenly a flash of cobalt blue light blinded everypony as a blonde coated stallion, no older than eighteen appeared out of nowhere, passed out on the ground. “...And now you’re thinking how the heck that stallion came here.” Quick as a flash the knocked out stallion woke up and stared at everypony.

“Ahem. Do excuse me, I’m terribly sorry if I startled anypony, my name is Cobalt Flare.” Said the slightly dazed stallion.

“I can see why.” Cloud blinked a few times, washing the blinding light from his eyes. “Teleportation magic messed up?”

“How’d you--”

“Lucky guess.” Cloud turned to Twilight and winked, but Twilight was too busy being blind to notice.

“Do you need help getting back?” Sunspot asked.

“No, I was on the road over there. I can just walk back.” Cobalt Flare passed them, and continued walking down the road. “Sorry, again.”

The four girls rubbed their eyes, and blinked a few times. “How did you know what I was thinking?” Twilight asked.

“You thought of something that outrageous?” Applejack chuckled.

“It was something random that he couldn’t predict, but he did...”

“It’s still funny.” Rainbow Dash chuckled. Pinkie, upon hearing this, burst into laughter, and fell on the ground, kicking the air with her hind legs. Everypony looked at her, confused.

“She’s right!” Pinkie cried.

“Um...” Rainbow Dash began.

“Wrong time?” Pinkie opened an eye.

“Yeah.” Pinkie bounced back up to her hooves. everypony still looked at her, Cloud and Sunspot raising an eyebrow.

“Oh! I almost forgot about camping!” Applejack remembered.

“That’s right! I totally forgot!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “And I have the perfect horror story for tonight!”

“Rainbow Dash always tells the scariest ghost stories!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“Ghost stories, eh?” Sunspot asked.

“Yeah!”

“I’ve got a really good one up my sleeve. Good luck sleeping tonight.” Sunspot grinned.

“Ooo! A ghost story from the Prince of the Underworld?! Cool!” Sunspot silently reminded her not to call him that in public, and she nodded her head.

“This should be an interesting camping trip. Who else is coming?” Twilight asked.

“Fluttershy, but Rarity’s not coming. As usual.” Applejack replied.

“Did I hear camping trip?” Cobalt Flare asked from about five feet away, he hadn’t walked far.

“...Yes?” Applejack responded. He zoomed over next to her.

“Can I come?”

“We barely know you...”

“Well, then this is a good bonding activity!”

“Are you seriously willing to go on a camping trip with complete strangers?” Twilight asked.

“Got nothing better to do with my weekend.”

“...But it’s Thursday--”

“Great! Let’s go!”

“But--”

“Wait, where are we even camping?”

“How’s about Sweet Apple Acres? Plenty ‘a space to camp there!” Applejack suggested.

“Is that a forest, or an orchard?” Sunspot pointed out. “And we’ll pretty much be right next to your barn, so it kind of defeats the purpose of camping.”

“I can cast an anti-combustion spell. I’m rather useful.” Cobalt Flare pointed out.

“...Okay-- um, so how about that forest we camped in with Rarity and the little ones?” Applejack said.

“I wonder if we’ll see the trees I got logs from that were leveled down.” Rainbow Dash smiled.

“Y’all agree--”

“I don’t care where we’re going, let’s camp!” Cobalt Flare exclaimed.

“...Yeah, I think we all agree.” Sunspot grinned, eyeing Cobalt and frowning at him.

“W-what?” Cobalt said, looking around.

“You’re kinda making us uncomfortable.”

“Oh, sorry, I can stop.”

“Thank you.” Cobalt stayed exactly where he was. Sunspot waited for him to leave, but he didn’t. He raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said you’d stop.”

“I did.”

“But you’re still here.”

“And?”

“And it’s making us uncomfortable.”

“Oh... so... my presence is enough to... make you uncomfortable?”

“No... it’s the way you’re acting, which has made it so, yes.”

“Oh...” Cobalt frowned. “I-I’ll excuse myself. Terribly sorry for... upsetting you.” He walked out back onto the road, and continued walking forward.

“I hope we meet again... under different circumstances.” Sunspot called, and Cobalt took a turn in the road, then was out of sight.

“Yay! Camping!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Were you a little hard on him?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, he’ll be fine. He’s a trooper.” Cloud said.

“Literally, or--”

“No, not literally.”

“Oh.”

“Let’s camp! I’ll get Fluttershy!” Suddenly another cobalt light blinded the group, and there stood Cobalt Flare, once again.

“Really? Again?” He said, turning to the others. “Sorry, I’ll just go again. I was just really excited that I had a chance to camp...”

Cobalt Flare attempted to cast a spell of teleportation but it exploded in his face, sending him flying. He face was covered in what looked like teal coloured soot.

“Gyuhhh...” Cobalt said as he lay on the ground.

“Oh shoot! Are you alright Cobalt?!” Rainbow Dash called.

“Cobalt? You mean old meanie Cobalt? Oh! That’s right! I’m Kingman!” Cobalt explained.

“Are you o-” Cloud began before getting cut off.

“I like sugar and kittens and fluffy things and friendship and- and... Um, what are your names?” Cobalt asked.

“Oh! Me too!” Pinkie jumped in the air.

“Yay! Wanna be friends?!” Cobalt asked Pinkie with an inferno of enthusiasm.

“Yeah! Now I’m friends with everypony  in Ponyville!” Pinkie grinned.

After some hopping and a lot of name telling and explaining Cloud finally said: “Let’s go camping now...”

“Wait, what about Fluttershy?” Applejack asked.

“Fluttershy has some stuff to do with the animals, she’ll meet us there during the story.” Rainbow Dash said.

It took about three minutes for Pinkie to act like she had forgotten all about the embarrassing incident back at the flat plain. She was bouncing happily along before anypony was able to say a word. “...so when I went to shop with Twilight the other day we say you at the mall but we didn’t say hi because we were too busy but I waved for you! You saw me, right?” Pinkie asked Rainbow Dash, flying alongside Pinkie, who was beside Cobalt.

“No, I was too busy looking for a good ball to use. I’m so close to breaking the ball bouncing record!” She said. “They didn’t have any. I really need to find one soon.”

“I could find you one!” Pinkie offered.

“Thanks, but I think I can find one myself.”

“If I find one I’ll zoom it on over to you!”

“Thanks.” Rainbow Dash and Twilight noticed Applejack just kept looking forward and straight, despite the fact she was in back. “Applejack? You okay?”

“U-uh, fine! Never better!” Applejack responded.

“You’ve been staring at Sunspot for the past ten minutes.” Twilight said.

“And just what are you implyin’?” Applejack’s expression grew sour.

“...I didn’t say anything about that--”

“That’s right, you didn’t. Right, Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow Dash looked at Applejack, confused.

“Uuh... yes?” She responded.

“I’ve got my eye on you.” Applejack did a gesture with her hoof towards Twilight, raising one of her eyebrows, and continued walking forwards.

“What... was that?” Twilight whispered to Rainbow Dash.

“I have no idea.” She responded.

“Sorry, what’d ya say? I didn’t hear you.” Applejack said, walking right up in between the two.

“...Applejack, you’re not yourself. What’s gotten into you?” Twilight asked, concerned. Applejack looked at Twilight, and her expression grew sour.

“Oh, it’s nothing...”

“No, based on what you just did, it’s something.”

“...It’s just--” Applejack sighed. “It’s really stressful, and I don’t want to talk about it right now. We should just focus on camping.”

“Hey Pinkie, what’s up with them?” Cobalt asked and gestured towards Applejack and Twilight.

“Twilight’s trying to make Applejack less miss grumpy pants and more miss happy love love!” Pinkie explained cheerfully

“Poor AJ, I wonder what is going on behind the scenes of her brain... I wonder if the viewers know?” Cobalt said.

“Um, viewers?” Pinkie asked, utterly perplexed.

“Yeah! Viewers! You know! Those ponies and the big guy with a typewriter!” Cobalt tried his best to explain his view of reality.

“Whaaat? ponies are watching us?” Pinkie trembled.

“Pinkie, he’s just being... Kingman? Yeah. He’s making it up.” Rainbow Dash said.

“MAKING IT UP? Are you trying to say I’m a liar?! Meanie...” Cobalt said, looking really upset.

“Believe what you want... it just sounds ridiculous to me.”

“Re... Redic...” Cobalt tried to say but began tearing up. “...What..?”

“Aww man! Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie said, sounding slightly angry and protective of her new friend.

“That could be the case.” Cloud said, from up ahead.

“You really believe it?” Rainbow Dash said, folding her front legs.

“In fact, I do, but I don’t believe it’s here.” Cloud turned his head for a few moments, before turning back to look ahead.

Cobalt instantly teleported uncomfortably close beside him. “You believe me?!” Cobalt said, uber overjoyed as he started springing up and down rapidly.

“Actually, I’m positive it’s true.” Cloud smiled. Cobalt bounced around happily, as Rainbow Dash flew up to Cloud.

“Please tell me you’re trying to make him feel better.” Rainbow Dash said.

“To be honest, I believe him.”

“Why--”

“Let me explain. My mother, Stardrifter, is a dimension traveler. She’s been through far reaches of the universe, or, well, universes.” Cloud said. “There’s an infinite number of universes, each with it’s own laws of physics, rules, beliefs, galaxies, and realities. And if there’s infinite of them, Cobalt is right, there’s one dimension out there where one pony writes the entire happenings of the universe.” Twilight overheard, and trotted over.

“So, if I said there was a universe exactly like ours, except the entire population consisted of boy and girl Pinkie Pies, I wouldn’t be lying?” Twilight asked.

“In fact, I’ve been there!” Sunspot laughed. “I think I lasted twelve seconds!”

“You beat my high score.” Cloud grumbled. Twilight looked at them, beginning to grin.

“So, no matter what, whatever I say is true in another universe?!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Yep!” Sunspot said. “And pigs can fly!”

“And I’m a mare!” Cloud said. The three laughed, and eventually the entire group was telling lies and imagining them into a reality.

“So, I really am better than you!” Rainbow Dash said, furrowing her eyebrows, confidently.

“Technically!” Cloud smiled.

“And I’m sisters with Daring Do!”

“Yup!”

“Ew! Wait, does that mean I like english muffins?!” Pinkie said.

“Yes...” Cloud said.

“I’m not going to that universe.” Everypony started laughing.

“Wait, wait, wait. That means, that I could be married to Twilight?” Applejack said, snorting and laughing. Everypony except Twilight burst out into harder laughter, while Twilight just looked disgusted.

Cobalt was literally rolling on the ground, laughing while his horn shot out confetti shaped bolts of magic.

“Ohh, pretty!” Pinkie Pie said with glee. After more walking and crying from laughter, the group finally reached their first destination.

“Alright, we’re here! Dash, you go get logs to sit on, and I’ll grab the firewood.” Cloud said, going full speed into the forest around them. As the sun just finished setting, Cloud came back with literally multiple hooffuls of firewood, and put it all down in the middle of the circle of stones Rainbow Dash had placed.

“Do we need that much?” Applejack said.

“What? Don’t want a bonfire?”

“We’d burn down the forest!”

“Right. Sunspot, move those branches away.” Sunspot moved all the the branches and placed them somewhere else. He sat down in the middle and engulfed himself in flame. He sheepishly grinned.

“I’m your fire.” Sunspot laughed.

“Just take some of the firewood and put it there, we don’t need you sitting there all night.” Cloud laughed. Sunspot unlit himself, brought a quarter of the firewood back, and blew some fire on it, lighting it. “Alright... what now--”

“Now, I make all of you pee yourselves!” Rainbow Dash grinned evil-like, floating around the group. Pinkie and Cobalt perked their heads up and grinned. “This is the story of the chain-linked pony. A terrifying beast loosely wrapped in chains, limping everywhere. It’s said that he roams these very woods-” Began Rainbow but-

“Shouldn’t it be the chain limped pony?” Cobalt said with a giant grin.

“--As I was saying, he’s said to take unexpecting ponies and bring them to a world of infinite darkness, just... like... us.”

Cobalt and Pinkie Pie gasped and held tightly onto Sunspot, as he radiated light. “Let... go of me. --Ugh, fine.” He said, after they did their helpless filly expressions.

“This is the tale of six ponies who were sitting calmly by a campfire, just... like... us.” Sunspot rolled his eyes as the two hugging him clenched even tighter. Cloud chuckled. “The first pony, a strong stallion a lot like Sunspot, was the first to go.” Pinkie and Cobalt fired to Cloud and hugged him instead. It was Sunspot’s turn to laugh. “He was out collecting the firewood, certain nothing was wrong, when all of a sudden, a twig snapped behind him. Turning around to find no one had broken any twig, he grew nervous. He had heard the legends before, but didn’t believe them, despite he was still slightly afraid of it. He returned to the campfire, as they sang their campfire songs and told their scary stories. Just like we’re doing... right... now.”

Cobalt and Pinkie squeezed Cloud, and he let out a few coughs. Rainbow Dash tried not to laugh, and focused on telling the story. “So when the fire was put out, and the rest retreated to bed, the stallion felt as if he were being watched. Even inside his tent he didn’t feel safe. Just before he was going to drift to sleep, he heard a metal chain being--” Pinkie gasped.

“Did you hear that?!” She shivered. Cobalt began getting scared as well, even though he didn’t hear anything.

“What? I’m trying to tell a story, here.” Rainbow Dash said.

“I-I heard a chain! We’re gonna die!” Pinkie Pie trembled, choking Cloud as he tried to pry her off.

“Pinkie, nothing’s out here. Dash, continue.” Twilight said.

“Being rattled. He darted up, and looked out the tent, to find a chain right outside the tent. He raised his eyebrow, and went to reach for it. The chain moved, and his hoof, in instinct, flew backwards and he crawled to the back of the tent. The back wasn’t there anymore. He felt a cold chain fall onto his shoulder, and looked up... to see... the chain-linked pony!”  Cobalt and Pinkie Pie screamed and dove to the ground, trembling. Cloud was awarded a breather.

“Wasn’t expecting that.” Applejack said, sarcastically, despite the fact she was beginning to grow nervous. Sunspot grinned, and looked at the ground, laughing silently.

“The others woke up to find him mysteriously gone, without any lead on where he could’ve went. As time passed and their search not getting them anywhere, they reunited to find that three more of them were missing. Visibly scared, the two ponies started to run for themselves, trying to get out of this forest. They heard chains being dragged behind them, and suddenly as they came, they stopped.” Most everypony, except for Cloud and Sunspot, were at least visibly scared. Pinkie and Cobalts’ reactions were just overkill. The ponies slowed down, panting, to find they only heard one panting. The pony realized that her friend was gone. Terrified, she backed up, looking around frantically. She backpedaled into a tree to see the chain-linked-pony looking her straight in the eyes! It’s eyes were cold and dead as it stared. The terrified pony closed it’s eyes as the monster lashed down upon them!” Rainbow Dash continued.

Cobalt and Pinkie screamed simultaneously, which made Fluttershy, who was hiding in the bushes jump up in fear and throw chains everywhere. They continued to scream as they closed their eyes and hugged each other for dear life. Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop laughing at this, neither could anypony else. The mood was lifted by the two screaming like little girls.

“Well, that was a good story!” Pinkie Pie suddenly became drained of fear, and bounced along as her cheery self. Cobalt was left trembling on the ground, drained of whatever sanity he had left. Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop laughing, and high hoofed Fluttershy is she flew over.

“That was great!” Rainbow Dash guffawed.

“Thanks.” Fluttershy smiled.

“Alright, cool, just in time for my story.” Sunspot grinned.

“Oh, hey Sunspot--” Fluttershy saw Cloud and Cobalt, and died down into her shy mode.

“Hi.” Cloud waved, smiling. Fluttershy directed her eyes away, but not her head.

“H-h-hi...” Fluttershy whispered.

“What’d you say? Oh, nevermind. Hello to you, too.” Cloud smiled. “What’s your name?”

“Fluttershy.” She said.

“Fluttershy? I’m Cloud, nice to meet you!”

“N-nice to meet you, too.” Fluttershy weakly smiled.

“You’re gonna have to sit here with me and Dash, the others are filled.”

“Okay.”

“By the way, how’s Angel doing?” Fluttershy stopped dead in her tracks, walking to the log.

“H-how? What?”

“You know, your bunny Angel. She doing okay?”

“Yes, she’s fine, but h-how did you know about that?” Fluttershy trembled.

“This is his way of telling you he’s psychic.” Rainbow Dash explained.

“You’re psychic?” Fluttershy’s head perked up in surprise.

“Mhm!”

“Okay... what am I thinking right now?”

“You frollocking in daises with your friends and a beautiful double rainbow streaking through the sky.”

“Wow! You’re right!” Fluttershy smiled. “I didn’t expect to meet a psychic anytime soon!” She sat down next to Rainbow Dash, and Sunspot moved to a higher point near the campfire site.

“Just so you catch up, Sunspot is Celestia and Luna’s brother and he’s the Prince of the Underworld. As you can tell, he’s not evil, and neither is the Underworld under his rule. Also, Cloud is Prince of Heaven and his wing power is 32.7 and he did like four sonic rainbooms in a row.” Rainbow Dash explained really fast. Fluttershy’s eyes opened wide.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah.”

“So... I’m camping with royalty?”

“Yep!” Fluttershy hardly was able to contain her excitement. Her smile grew wide and she began slightly bouncing up and down.

“Tone down the excited notch, please. I know it’s exciting, but just chill out. As far as anypony else knows, we’re ordinary ponies. Okay?” Cloud looked at Fluttershy, and she froze, and blushed.

“O-okay...” She said, and stopped.

“So, Rainbow Dash’s story was quite amusing...” Sunspot began. “And dead true.”

“What?!” Everypony except Cloud exclaimed.

“Yeah, the chain-linked pony is indeed real, I’ve seen him with my own eyes. He’s a Shadow, mythical creatures that take on the form of something unusual, unsettling, or even downright terrifying. This forest... happens to be a hotspot.”

“What?!” Everypony exclaimed again. Twilight gasped.

“I remember reading a few pages about them before! He’s right!”

“The olden pony, the headless horse, the chain-linked pony, they’re all true, and in this dimension.” Everypony gasped again, And Pinkie held on to Applejack, who was sitting next to her. Cloud seemed unphased by the story. “Shadows will take land that is undiscovered or abandoned, and if anypony tries to take it, or even walk on it, they’re considered a threat. The shadow will use the art of fear to drive the threat away, and if need be... kill it.” Everypony looked around, nervously. “But it’s okay... as long as I’m here, you’re all safe.”

“Why is that?” Applejack managed to squeeze out, Pinkie restricting her vocal cords from functioning properly. Cloud laughed.

“You know, that actually brings me to a good story regarding the shadow...”

“Are you gonna tell them about the bullies?! Cool!” Cloud exclaimed, startling Fluttershy.

“When me, Cloud, Celestia were in elementary school--”

“Yes! Tell them!”

“Anyway, we were bullied quite a bit--”

“Why in all of Equestria would kids bully royalty?” Twilight asked.

“Same reason they bully Fluttershy. Same reason they bully Rainbow Dash. Same reason they bully anypony else.” Sunspot stated. Fluttershy looked down, sadly. “I was called Burnout for a very long time--”

“I like that name! It sounds... 20% cooler!” Rainbow Dash said.

“I would agree, but the meaning behind the name when I got it was a lot more mean than just to sound cool. You see, I had extreme troubles with my horn. It didn’t grow as properly as it should have, so I wasn’t able to use magic until I had special education to get it to even spark.” Sunspot explained. “They called me Burnout because my mane and tail are constantly burning in my normal form,” He switched to his normal form, smiling at himself. Fluttershy was surprised, once again. “And because also everytime I tried to do magic it would, well, burn out.” Sunspot started pacing back and forth. “So I knew, and it was common kn