//-------------------------------------------------------// The Guardian Chronicles -by Travis the dog- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// I'm Travis //-------------------------------------------------------// I'm Travis Now before we even get into this story you should know a little bit about me. My name is Travis and I'm an aura I've only been alive 6 years in the world so I'm pretty young. I have no memories of my past life. When I re-entered this world I knew what my job was. The same as all auras: protect. We are assigned to a pony to protect forever when the time is right. They say that you feel a special connection when you meet that pony but I haven't felt it yet. some days I feel that I may never find my special pony and they will wind up hurt or worse. That is my greatest fear. Every aura gets the talent of their special pony that is really cool. My special talent is I'm fast. I have a lot of guts and I'm as they say "loyal as a dog". Every aura no matter what type has the ability to use magic. every year on the day we were reborn we gain a new power. Depending on how devoted you are to training determines how powerful you are. I've been training every single day since I got separated from my friends and if I'm not training I'm looking for my special pony. Oh, I forgot to mention one little detail, we auras aren't big. I mean not big at all. I mean I'm 6 and I'm 2 inches tall(probably explains a lot doesn't it?). //-------------------------------------------------------// I Found Her! //-------------------------------------------------------// I Found Her! I felt it! I felt it! the connection between me and my pony I'm sure of it. And get this, it's a mare! I've never seen a pony this close since I was reborn. She's huge! Like 10 times my size! She's so beautiful too, I've never seen anything as lovely as her. I'll try my best to describe her: She wore a light green seater which went great with her yellow body color. She also wore dark blue jeans that went all the was down to her light green sneakers. Her eyes had an amazing tint of sky blue to them. Her hair was the best part. it was long and flowing and looked very soft. she decided to take a shortcut down the alley where I was living and caught my attention immediately. I decided I would follow her but keep my distance. I didn't want to startle her. //-------------------------------------------------------// Bad Idea //-------------------------------------------------------// Bad Idea I followed her closely but not too close that she could see me. At times she would check to see if anypony was there. Ironically I was there but just not in her field of vision. As time went on she seemed to pick up speed getting farther and farther away from me. So I decided to pick up the pace. When she rounded a corner into an alleyway I followed but when I rounded the corner I saw nopony  there. 'Where did she go?' I thought. Then I heard a noise, I spun around to see a Chinese takeout box slamming around me. Then I let out a 'this sucks' sigh. //-------------------------------------------------------// The Trip //-------------------------------------------------------// The Trip A hand slid underneath the box. Having no other choice I stepped on. Then the box flipped right-side up causing me to face plant in some left over soy sauce. " Oh come on!" I cried. It didn't take me long to realize that my kidnapper was the exact pony I was following. The ride in the box was not very smooth because that crazy mare decided she was going to run home which caused me to go all over the place and at one point getting up close and personal with the soy sauce again. I felt like i was going to puke when Suddenly the ride smoothed out like we were flying but I shook the idea off thinking to myself that it was impossible. Suddenly I heard the creak of a door and hoofsteps on tile. ' This must be the kitchen' I thought. I felt the box land on something solid which I assumed was a table. Then, the box slowly tilted to the side. I transferred as the flaps to the box were opened letting in blinding light. The back of the box began lifting, I lost my balance and tumbled out onto the table. I stood up trying to regain my senses, and when I did I realized I was in a giant shadow. I turned around slowly and saw the mare, the one I was following studying me. "WOAH!" I cried falling backwards. I started crawling backwards until I hit something...her arm! I was trapped, no way out. I thought I would startle her but I was the one who was startled. After all that she finally spoke. " It's okay little fella I'm not gonna hurt you. Hi I'm Rainbow Dash". My heart raced, adrenaline blasted through my body. I had never been so scared in my short life. " Don't be scared little guy. Do you have a name?" She said in a calming tone. I was so scared that I just sat there silent. "Well I have to call you something" she said. She turned around and began to think of a name "T-Travis" I stuttered. She spun around and looked at me in awe. "So you CAN talk!" She said. She began to laugh and said " Well don't worry Travis you're in safe hands". After hearing those words some of the fear subsided 'ok' I thought ' she's not going to hurt me. That's a good thing'. Her hand moved behind me causing me to fall on to it. Then she lifted me up and carried me to a sofa where she lied down on her back, held me closer to her face, and asked " Huh, what exactly are you?" " An aura" I replied feeling a little more relaxed. She gave me a confused look and said " A whatta?" " An aura" I said. So I explained everything to her. My age, the magic, my talent, and how she was my special pony I was assigned to followed by an apology for kinda stalking her. Afterward she did the same. She told me all about her friends and how she was super fast and her age. Turns out she's 18. That night she left me a pillow to sleep on. It was huge but super comfy so I slept like a rock. I had never slept on something soft before. Since I was reborn I had slept on the ground or the bottom of a box. //-------------------------------------------------------// The fastest pony in equestria saves my life //-------------------------------------------------------// The fastest pony in equestria saves my life When Rainbow finished getting ready we headed out to meet her friends. She was meeting them at a place called Sugarcube Corner which sounded more like a place for when little fillies play make-believe but who cares. I walked beside her being sure not to get crushed by her huge feet. We approached the door and she looked down to me. "You better let me hold you" she said as she opened the door. "I've been an aura for 6 years. There is nothing I haven't already had to conquer" I said with confidence as I walked out the door. Then I fell. I looked up in shock at the cloud house I had lived on for a few days. Then I saw Rainbow dive out the front door and divebomb after me. I noticed she bagan to roll up the back of her shirt which confused me until to magnificent wings emerged. Of course! Only a Pegasus could live on a cloud house. So when it felt like I was flying in the box I really was flying. Rainbow was moving fast and catching up to me but the ground was getting closer too. I closed my eyes and screamed thinking this was the end. But before I could become and aura pancake Rainbow swooped down and caught me. She stopped just above the ground and dropped down. She grinned at me and said "told ya you should have let me hold you". "Uh, yeah no kidding" I replied. "Thanks for uh, saving my life". "It's no biggie little buddy. now come on, let's get to Sugarcube corner" she said. //-------------------------------------------------------// Meeting the main 6 //-------------------------------------------------------// Meeting the main 6 After my little "skydiving" incident I gladly jumped off rainbow's hand and landed on the sweet ground. When we arrived at Sugarcube corner I couldn't believe my eyes. Ever heard that story about the 2 siblings who find a house made of candy and there's a witch that tries to eat them? Well, this place looked just how you would imagine it. It was pretty much a giant gingerbread house. Anyway, we walked inside and I hid behind Rainbow's leg. I was still feeling pretty nervous about meeting Rainbow Dash's friends. My stomach filled with butterflies as we approached an area where 5 mares were talking. 'Five!' I thought. 'There are five of them!'. And they were all as big as rainbow dash which didn't make me feel any better The first one to acknowledge Rainbow's arrival was a bright pink one with a poofy mane. "Hi Dashie!" She cried as she ran over and hugged rainbow tightly. I moved closer to Rainbow's leg to avoid being seen. When she finally let go the other girls said hi as well. Rainbow began to talk with them about well, everything. Everything except me which was kind of a relief. I heard one talk about making dresses and another about working at an apple orchard. Eventually, curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to see what the rest of these ponies looked like. So I poked my head out and this is what I saw. From left to right there was the pink one, 2 unicorns, one white with purple curly hair and another one which was purple with darker purple mane with 2 stripes going down the front. Then there was an orange pony with blonde hair dressed like a cowboy, and finally there was a yellow one with pink hair. Something was odd about this one though her eyes seemed to be fixed down. I followed the trajectory of her eyes until I realized she was looking right at me! I quickly ducked back behind rainbow's leg. My cover was blown! 'Wait' I thought. 'Maybe she wasn't looking at me. Maybe she was looking at something else on the floor'. I was wrong. I hard the yellow one say, "Rainbow Dash, there's something behind your leg!" Rainbow looked down at me and said, "Oh yeah I almost forgot" 'how do you forget about having a miniature magic dog with you?' I thought. "There's someone I want you girls to meet" rainbow continued. "Come on out Travis, I want you to meet my friends". I looked up at her nervously and replied. "I dunno Dash, their awfully big". "it's fine" rainbow said. "Now introduce yourself". So I emerged from my hiding spot and looked up at the giantess girls before me. "Uh, hi" I said. When their eyes locked onto me their jaws just dropped. It was just an awkward silence until the pink one who had hugged rainbow before ran up and crouched over me. "Awwww, he's so cute!" She said enthusiastically. I backed up uneasily. "Careful, pinkie pie!" Rainbow said. "He's not used to this much attention". Pinkie pie looked back down at me and said "oh, sorry little guy. I didn't mean to scare you". Rainbow crouched down next to pinkie and held her hand out. I climbed on and she lifted me up. Next the purple one approached me followed by the yellow one who had spotted me. The purple one was studying me while the yellow one was admiring me. "I can't believe this!" The purple one said. "This is an aura". "How perceptive" I replied. "Pinkie's right, he is cute" the yellow one said. This made me blush a bit. "Travis, this is pinkie pie, twilight, rarity, applejack, and fluttershy". Rainbow said. "Nice to meet you" I said. //-------------------------------------------------------// Rarity says "the word" //-------------------------------------------------------// Rarity says "the word" For a while the girls studied me and asked me what is was like to be so small. I answered cheerfully and told them all about what it was like being an aura. I looked over at Rarity who had a puzzled look on her face. Rainbow noticed this too and asked, "something wrong rarity?" "No, it's just... If he's a dog how can he talk?" Rarity replied. "Oh, that's simple!" I said. "I'm not a normal dog, I'm a diamond dog". "A DIAMOND DOG!" Rarity cried backing up uneasily. She put her hand over her collarbone like she was hiding something. "What's the big deal?" I said. "Rarity was kidnapped by diamond dogs a while back" fluttershy said. "Oh well, I'm not like other diamond dogs" I said. "Ohhhh no, he's just getting cozy with us so he can steal my necklace" rarity said. "All diamond dogs are the same. Selfish, greedy, mutts!" That's it! She said the word: mutt. I hated that word. But now I knew what rarity thought of me. Some kind of greedy, disgusting, beast! "I-I'm sorry I just-" I began to say before I ran out the front door. Well I kinda crawled underneath but you get the point. So I ran off and this is what happened after I left. Rainbow got up in rarity's face and said, "what's wrong with you!" "What's wrong with me!?" Rarity cried. "I will not be near one of those beasts that locked me up and forced me to mine gems" "Travis isn't like them, he's different" rainbow said. "Different how?" Rarity asked. "Different like he spent 6 years trying to find ME" rainbow said. "He's just like spike" "Don't you dare bring up spikey-wikey" rarity said. "Spike was a dragon, one of those giant monsters but he was different which is why he sacrificed himself for you" rainbow said. Tears began to build in rarity's eyes and also in twilight's. pinkie and applejack comforted rarity while fluttershy comforted twilight. "You're right rainbow dash" rarity said. "Lets go find your aura". //-------------------------------------------------------// Rarity's heartbreak //-------------------------------------------------------// Rarity's heartbreak I heard voices calling my name but I didn't respond. Apparently, I was a selfish, greedy, mutt. Eventually, rarity rounded a corner and found me sitting on a stone wall. She let out a sigh of relief "oh thank goodness I found you" she said. "What do YOU want?" I asked. "I want to apologize Travis. It was rude of me to not like you because of what you are without not knowing you first" she said in a tone that showed me she was sorry. She sat down next to me and pulled out the necklace she had mentioned before. "Where'd you get that?" I asked. She looked down and said, "it was a gift from someone very close to me. He...isn't here anymore". I could see her eyes getting moist. "I know it's not my place to ask but, what happened?" She let out a sigh and a tear trickled down her cheek. "We were getting materials for a dress I was working on. As we were crossing the street I didn't know a cart had lost control and was heading straight for me. He pushed me out of the way but couldn't save himself." She said. "He was killed on impact". Rarity was now sobbing. I went over and put my hand on hers. "It wasn't your fault" I said. "I know" she replied. "But I would do anything to get my spikey-wikey back". 'Spikey-wikey?' I thought. 'That sounds familiar'. I brought my attention back to rarity. She looked like she needed an aura more than anyone. Or maybe she has one who hasn't found her yet like me. Either way I needed to help her find someone to spend time with her. //-------------------------------------------------------// I find my best friend //-------------------------------------------------------// I find my best friend It had been a few days since rarity had told me about her friend and I was going out every day to try and find somepony good for her. I had no luck so far until my dog ears picked up something. I approached a group of buildings to investigate which led me to an alley. There, I heard a familiar voice say "why do I always get lost? I wish Travis was here". I turned the corner and was thrilled at what I saw. Sitting against a wall was spike. I approached him and said "wish granted". He looked up and his face lit up as well. "Travis!" He cried. He got up and tackled me. "Nice to see you too bud" I said. "But where are the others?". Spike stood up and his face became depressed again. "I don't know. We got separated looking for you. I've been alone for a month". He said. "Jeez" I replied. "But I found you and that's all that matters right now" he said cheerfully. "So what have you been up to? He asked. "Aw man, it been wild. You're not gonna believe this but I found my special pony!" "No way!" He cried. "That's great!" Suddenly I remembered rarity and what she said. Spikey-wikey. Then I thought 'could spike be...' "Hey spike there's somepony I want you to meet". "She's been very lonely for a while and needs someone to keep her company" I said. "Sure" spike replied. "Great, follow me. She works at a boutique not too far from here". //-------------------------------------------------------// Spike's memory flash //-------------------------------------------------------// Spike's memory flash Spike and I arrived at the boutique after a long walk since we were so small. We walked up to the front door but the door knob was too high and the door was too low for us to slip under. "We'll this is just great" I said sacastically. "How are we suppose to get in now?" "Hey, what about that?" Spike said pointing to a vine reaching up to the window. We approached the vine and spike went up first. I stayed on the ground to spot him. Spike was almost to the top when all of a sudden he let out a scream and fell off the vine. As he fell I noticed a huge set if claws attempting to snag him. "What the-" I began to say before I caught spike and set him down. We looked up and saw whatever attacked spike jump from the window and land on the ground with a boom. I looked into the eyes of our attacker and knew what I was up against. It was a huge white cat! "Cats, I hate cats" I said. I gave the cat a angry glare and said "I got this". The cat grinned as I took a deep breath and began to bark letting all of the dog I had in me loose. I barked, and barked until I realized the cat was not affected in any way. "Ok, plan B" I said nervously. "What's plan B?" Spike asked. I ran behind spike and before he could protest I stomped on his tail. I burst of green fire shot out causing the cat to jump and run off. I released spike's tail and his stream of fire stopped. He gave me and angry look and shouted, "Don't you ever do that again!". "I got rid of the cat didn't I?" I said with a smile. "Let's just get up to the window" he said. So we both climbed, this time with no cats trying to kill us. When we reached the windowsill I walked to the edge into the boutique and looked around. Rarity was nowhere in sight. Spike tapped me on the shoulder and said, "is that her?". He was pointing to a small white filly who appeared to be drawing something. "No" I said "but maybe she knows where she is". So I moved towards the far end of the windowsill and shouted, "HEY!". Her ears perked up and she looked around. "Hello? Who's there?". "OVER HERE ON THE WINDOWSILL!" I shouted. She looked over at us and her eyes grew wide. She walked cautiously over and when she got to us stared down in disbelief. "Have I gone crazy?" She asked. "No, your perfectly sane me and my buddy were just looking for rarity" I said. "Oh, that's my sister. Hey, you must be that aura she was telling me about". She said. "She told you about me?" I asked. "Yeah, you're the diamond dog who's feeling she hurt" she replied. I sighed "yep, that's me". I looked over at spike expecting a grin or a snicker but is saw something worse. Spike was on his knees holding his head. "T-Travis" he moaned. "Spike? What's wrong?" I asked. The filly looked to spike and nearly fell over. "SPIKE?!" She cried. All of a sudden spikes eyes flashed entirely green drowning the entire boutique in a green glow. And as suddenly as it started the glow died and spike began to stand up. I ran over to help by slinging his arm around me. "Hold on bud, I got you" I said. "What happened?" He asked. "Congratulations spike, you just had your first memory flash" I said. //-------------------------------------------------------// The reunion pt.2 //-------------------------------------------------------// The reunion pt.2 Sweetie belle ran as fast as she could trying to keep up with her sister and the little aura she had possession of. After a few seconds of running she looked down to me and asked, "can you explain why spike came back from the dead?". "Yea" I replied. "You see, spike and I decided to become auras. When we died in our original life we were given an option to return to earth. But we would have to guard a pony for their entire life. We are normally brought down when we are needed the most but on occasion we are reincarnated early. Like I was". "Ok" she said. "But why were they glowing?". "When the aura meets his/her pony the thing that makes the pony unique begins to glow. Like rarity's horn like you saw" I replied. "What about earth ponies?" She asked. "I think just their cutie marks glow" I said back. Sweetie belle's expression seemed to dampen. "Hey, you okay?" I asked. "Yeah, it's just... I don't have my cutie mark yet" she replied. "Well you're just a filly, there's still plenty of time to get your cutie mark. I don't see why there so important though. I mean, I'm a diamond dog so I'll never have one but I know they're for and I'd rather have no cutie mark than a bad one. Like, just today I saw a filly with a spoon as a cutie mark. I mean really!? A spoon?!" I said. Sweetie belle showed a little smile and giggled a bit. We eventually reached a huge tree which was even big to an average pony. We saw rarity heading for the door and caught up with her. Rarity fling the door open and ran inside followed by me and sweetie belle. Inside was Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. When rainbow saw me in sweetie's hands I waved at her. Then, she focused her attention to rarity like the other girls. "Rarity! What's wrong?" Twilight asked. "It's not what's wrong twilight. It's what's right, great, it's a miracle!" She shouted. "What do you mean?" Twilight said confused. Rarity put her covered hands in front of twilight's face and opened them. Spike who was blinded by the light eventually got his sight back and stared up into the eyes of the purple pony. A huge smile spread across his face as he lunged at her and shouted "TWILIGHT!". He wrapped his arms around her neck the best he could and hugged her. "SPIKE! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Twilight cried. She hugged him back lightly so she wouldn't crush him as a few tears fell from her eyes. "Rarity, where did you find him?" Twilight asked. "I didn't find him" rarity replied. She them turned and pointed at me. "Travis is the one who found him". Twilight walked over to me and sweetie belle, spike in hand, couched down, and said, "Travis, thank you. You reunited me with someone very special in my life". "It's no problem twilight, spike and I were best friends since we became auras so I was going to find him anyway no matter what". Then I turned to spike and said, "but we still need to find the others" I said. "Others?" Applejack said. "There's more of yah?"  Spike looked like he had just remembered something or made a crazy realization. He looked at me and motioned for me to come in close. I leaned in and he whispered something that made my ears drop. The girls leaned in close attempting to hear what we were saying. I looked at applejack and back to spike. "Should I tell her?" I asked. "Tell me what?" Applejack said. Spike nodded and I turned to applejack. "Applejack? Did you lose your brother in a harvesting accident?" I asked. She looked as if her heart was about to stop. "H- how did ya'll know that?" She stuttered. "Because..." I said. "Big Mac's alive". //-------------------------------------------------------// Nightmares //-------------------------------------------------------// Nightmares Tonight was the first nightmare of a series that would come. All the same thing. I walked roughy a creepy warehouse surrounde by bodies of dead ponies. I would walk slowly to a huge metal door and start pounding my fist into it repeatedly. I would pound and pound until the door fell forward with a loud "smash!". I entered a room where. Saw something that made my fur stand up on my back. Standing in the room was some "thing". It had several body parfait animals. He had talons, claws, paws, you name it. But what really scared me was who he had possession of. He held in front of his body rainbow with a knife at her neck!  He poked into my eyes and smile. Then I would scream "WAIT!" as he move the knife across rainbow's throat. Then I would wake up and to my right, relieved to see rainbow sleeping soundly and peacefully. These dreams made me afraid to sleep but I would fall asleep anyway. //-------------------------------------------------------// Wonderbolt academy //-------------------------------------------------------// Wonderbolt academy I awoke to see rainbow looking down at me. "Hey sleepyhead, 'bout time you woke up". I groaned, "what time is it?" "Time for you to get up and get ready" she replied. "Ready? Ready for what?" I asked. "I'm supposed to go for a routine check-in at wonderbolt academy. They wanna make sure I haven't gone soft". "Can't I just sleep for ten more minutes?" I complained as I began to lay back down. "Oh no you don't!" She said grabbing me by my sweatshirt and lifting me into the air. "Hey!" I shouted kicking my legs furiously. "This isn't funny!" Rainbow laughed and replied, "it is for me". I crossed my arms and pouted. Then I sighed, "fine. Let's go." So rainbow shoved me into her pocket and ran to the front door. I poked my head out as she opened the door and without hesitation, dove out. She then rolled the back of her shirt up and spread her wings and when the wind caught them she took off like a bullet. The wind in My face made my eyes water and my cheeks to blow back so my teeth were showing. This kept up for a while until I saw a huge cloud in the sky. Except it wasn't just a cloud, it was a fortress! An entire base/academy on one cloud. My jaw dropped as I watched hundreds of pegasi fly by in streaks of color. Rainbow flew down and landed I the soft clouds. "Huh, slow day" she said looking around. "THIS, is a slow day!" I said to myself. We entered the nearest building which said "locker rooms/Main office".  We took a left then a right and approached a door that read "mares" I looked up at rainbow and shouted, "Hey! I can't go in there!" She looked down and said, "it'll be fine. Don't worry." "B-b-but-" I began to say before rainbow opened the door and walked inside. The locker room was pretty empty except for a few pegasi getting ready. I shielded my eyes so I wouldn't look like a perv. It's just, I respect females and it felt like I had learned this through experience. But, I don't remember my past so I had no idea where I cold have learned it. Anyway, rainbow approached a locker that read "R. Dash" and opened it up. Inside was a blue suit with yellow lightning bolts going down the sides. Rainbow reached her hand into her pocket and scooped me out. Then she gently placed me into the locker which was at her head hight. She then removed the suit from the locker. She in close and whispered, "could you uh, turn around for a minute?" Realizing what she was asking I replied, "Oh! Uh okay". So I turned around and covered my eyes while rainbow got undressed. When the rustle of clothes stopped and she didn't say to turn around I got suspicious, until something fell on top of me! I opened my eyes and saw I was under a giant shirt and shorts! I blushed and began to work my way out to the edge. When I escaped I saw rainbow trying to hold back a laugh in her skin tight flight suit. I rolled my eyes. Then, she came in close and whispered, "now you stay here and keep out of sight. I'll be back soon. I mean really, I could run this course blindfolded". She stroked my head with her finger which made my tail wag furiously. She smiled, closed the locker, and ran out of the locker room. So I was left alone with nothing but rainbow's clothes to keep me company. //-------------------------------------------------------// Intruder Alert! //-------------------------------------------------------// Intruder Alert! I sat in the locker for what felt like ages, in silence, with nothing to do. If I talked, it would echo off the walls and alert every girls in the locker room I was there. All I could do was sit and stare at the shorts and tank-top rainbow left in the locker with me. That was, until someone else, entered the locker room. This was after the last of the pegasi were leaving the locker room. I heard the door creak open and the sound of feet hitting the tile floor. She sounded like she was getting closer which worried me. I looked through one of the holes in the locker to examine. She was like a sea-foam green with blondish spiked up hair. Sure enough she was heading straight for the locker I was in. "What would she want to break into rainbow's locker?" I thought. But that thought was quickly cast aside when I heard the locker click and the door began to open. I quickly moved to the side of the locker and pressed myself up against the wall. A hand reached in with a bag containing something that stung my nose. She finally spoke and said, this'll teach rainbow dash not to mess with me". She dropped the bag on top of rainbows clothes and closed the locker quietly. I had to find out what she was up to so I tip-toed over to the bag and opened it up. Inside was a shot, and a fairly big one too. I sniffed the inside of the bag and the smell stung my nose like a wasp. "Steroids!" I whispered. She was going to sabotage rainbow! "No way" I whispered. "No one messes with my girl". So I grabbed the shot out of the bag and held it like a javelin. I aimed for the hole I looked through before and lined up my shot. Turn I wound up and chucked the shot like a dart. It flew through the air and straight through he hole. "yes!" I whispered doing a little fist pump. Suddenly, I heard something cry "OW!". My ears dropped and I immediately went to the hole. I looked through and saw the pony who planted the shot attempting to pull it out of her rear end! "Ooo, right in the cutie mark!" I whispered to myself wincing a bit. "What!? How did this get here?!" The pony cried. Then she turned her attention toward the locker and approached it again. I ran back to my hiding spot and remained still. The locker "swung" open this time and the pony stuck her entire head in this time. I closed my eyes and prayed she didn't look to her left. "What the hay?" She said. I felt her hand wrap around me but I stayed perfectly still. I felt her lift me up and she held me in front of her face. Then, she began to laugh. "HAHAHA!" She laughed. "Rainbow dash still plays with dolls!? This is priceless!" She squeezed me a bit which hurt but I could take it. "Huh, guess it doesn't squeak" she said. "Maybe it talks when you pull it's tail!". "Don't you FRIKIN dare!" I thought. But sure enough she grabbed my tail with her thumb and index finger and pulled. "OOWWWWW!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "I guess it does" she laughed. I looked her dead in the eye ad shouted, "YOU JERK! DON'T YOU KNOW THAT'S CONNECTED TO MY SPINE! I OUGHTA BURY YOU ALIVE FOR THAT!" She continued to laugh hysterically. "YO BLONDIE IM TALKIN TO YOU!" I shouted. The laughing stopped and she looked down to see my angry little face lookin right back up. Her ears dropped and we eyes grew wide. "GAH!" She cried. "IT'S ALIVE!" "I'm not a toy!" I shouted up to her. "I'm an aura" She looked confused, but then a big smile spread across her face and she said, "actually, you're my ticket to getting rainbow dash kicked out of the wonderbolts". I swallowed hard with a nervous look on my face. //-------------------------------------------------------// Captain Spitfire //-------------------------------------------------------// Captain Spitfire The green pony clenched me tight and ran out the locker room quick as a flash. She sprinted down the hallway and bangs a right instead of the left rainbow and I took. She ran down the hall and I saw several offices with different names that I couldn't make out because we were moving so fast. But there was one door at the end of the hallway. The one we were approaching. It read: captain spitfire. The pony slowed down when she reached the door and knocked. A voice from inside said "come in" and the pony holding me hid me behind her back as she turned the knob and walked into the office. Inside the office was several wonderbolt posters and medals and at the center of it all sitting at a desk was a fiery-haired mare with yellow body fur. She looked up and sighed, "what now lighting dust?"  The one I now knew as lightning dust said, "I finally have proof that rainbow dash is cheating". "That's what you said the last 10 times" she replied annoyed. "But this time it's true!" Lightning dust cried. "Alright, let's see it" spitfire said. So lightning dust tossed me on the desk and I landed with a hard "thump!"  Spitfire looked down at me and then back up to lightning dust. "Seriously? A toy?" She said. I jumped to my feet and shouted, "Why does everyone think I'm a toy!" Spitfire gasped and nearly fell out of her chair. "What in the world?!" She asked. I looked to lightning dust and said, "you could have been nicer putting me down". Spitfire looked at lightning dust and said, "go get rainbow dash. I'll take care of our little guest." She saluted and ran out the door. Then spitfire grabbed me by the back of the sweatshirt and lifted me into the air. "You" she said. "What are you doing here and what do you have to do with rainbow dash" "I'm her protector" I replied. "My job is to keep her safe no matter the cost". "YOU protect HER?" She said. "I would give my life for her if I needed to". She seemed to relax and she put me down on the desk where she leaned in close and asked, "why don't you tell me abut yourself, so we can clear this up". I nodded and began to explain. Meanwhile outside, lightning dust was out looking for rainbow dash she finally spotted her running a course the was on the east side of the cloud. She walked over to a blue stallion who's name I would learn later was soarin' and told him that spitfire wanted to see her. Soarin' called rainbow down and she abandoned the course to obey. She landed softly on the cloud below her and soarin explained the situation. Rainbow nodded followed by a salute. Then she noticed lightning dust smiling at her. Confused she began to head to the office with lightning dust next to her. "What are you so happy about?" She asked. "Oh nothing, I just found out your 'little' secret" lightning dust replied. "My little-, oh no" Rainbow then sprinted towards the office building with lightning dust close behind. "I swear if you hurt him you'll be sorry" Rainbow said. A she rounded the corner towards the office. "Oh, captain spitfire is taking GOOD care of your little puppy" lightning dust said. Rainbow opened the door forgetting to knock and saw me sitting on spitfire's shoulder having a conversation with her about basic stuff like, which wonderbolts have set records and such. Who knew rainbow had beaten so many of them! We looked up and saw the two pegasi walk into the office. Rainbow was sweating and stuttered when she spoke, "N-now captain. I-I can explain". "No need" spitfire said. "Travis here explained everything". She then looked over to lightning dust and with an angry and annoyed look said, "you and I are going to have a talk. Breaking into somepony's locker and attempting sabatoge?! That's even low for you". Lightning dust hung her head in shame and left the office grumbling some language not for little ears. Spitfire turned her attention back to rainbow. "That's one heck of a kid you got here rainbow dash" she said as she lifted her hand to her shoulder allowing me to step on. She then extended her arm and me out towards rainbow who also held her arm out and took possession of me. It felt good to be in the hands of the pony I trusted the most. "Yep" rainbow said. "He's something all right". She began to stroke my head which made my leg move in circles. To this day I have no idea why dogs do this but it just feels right. "I think you've been through enough for today, why don't you head home?" Spitfire said. Rainbow saluted just as lightning dust had before and left the office. As we walked out rainbow placed me on her head. Her hair was softer than my pillow and felt nice and smooth. "You know you saved my flank today" she said. "Hm?" I replied. "If it wasn't for you I would probably not even be in this academy anymore" " well my job is to protect your flank in case you didn't remember". I said with a huge grin across my face. She smiled as she entered the locker room to change again. "Also, you must really care about me" I said in a sly tone. Rainbow blushed and asked, "W-what do you mean?" "I saw the way you charged into the office and the terrified look on your face when you thought something had happened to me" I replied. "I... Uh..well..." She began to say before she realized it was true. "Okay, maybe I was a little worried" she finally admitted. "HAHA I knew it!" I cried. //-------------------------------------------------------// Showing my special power //-------------------------------------------------------// Showing my special power We flew home feeling nice and the breeze felt good against my face.  But, something was troubling me. I tapped rainbow's head and she looked up. "Hey could you fly down for a minute? I got something to show you" I said. "Uh, sure" she replied confused. So she hovered down to a field about two miles from home. "Okay" I said. "Now go about 50 yards out that way". "Travis? What's this about?" She asked. "Remember when I told you I have certain characteristics of you?" I said. She nodded. "Well I want to show you one" I said. Confused at what I meant she flew out into the field about 50 feet and stopped. She landed on the ground and looked in my direction. She had to squint but I could tell she could see me. A thought ran through my mind, "I had never pulled this off before!". But there was no turning back now. I had rainbow waiting for me and there was only one way I was getting to her...run. I began to sprint towards rainbow at the average speed I  normally run. I could do it this time, I had rainbow to support me. I pushed myself harder and felt my legs speed up. I was getting tired but I couldn't rest. No, I needed to do this. If I just did it once it would be easy t do it again. I channeled my magic, sending it to my legs. "Come on!" I shouted. My legs sped up even more to a point where they were blurry from the motion. Rainbow watched as my speed gradually increased. "T-Travis?!" She cried. Now all I needed was a little push. I took all the magic I had and brought it down to my speeding legs. "Here I...GO!" I shouted. I pressed off the ground hard and as I did so I sent a shockwave of energy through my body. Once the shockwave hit ground I was launched forward in a streak of blue light! I didn't even notice that I had ran right past Rainbow! But when I ran past her I saw her shocked expression out of the corner of my eye which made me laugh a bit. I was doing it! I was running as fast as rainbow could fly! "WOOHOOHOO" I cheered as I blasted through the field. Remembering I had to go back to rainbow I turned on a dime and began to head back. I saw rainbow coming up with that shocked expression still frozen on her face. As I was heading back something felt...off. I was feeling weaker and was slowing down. The blue streak was shortening which made me nervous. Then my legs gave out from under me and I hit the ground hard. I tumbled across the ground traveling about ten feet every time I made contact with the ground. When I did stop I was in serious pain and was about to black out. The last thing I saw as my vision grew dark was rainbow flying towards me shouting my name. When I awoke I was on my pillow looking up at the nervous face of rainbow dash. She let out a sigh of relief whe we saw my eyes open. "Travis! Your awake!" She said. "Yeah" I replied. "I'm good". When I attempted to sit up she used her hand to assist me. "Thanks" I said. She smiled which made me smile a bit too. "Travis, what you did in the field. It was so AWESOME! I had no idea you could run that fast" she said enthusiastically "Yeah but I blew all my energy attempting it" I said. "Who knows how long it will take one fully restored". I attempted to stand up but felt a sharp pain which made me yelp and sit back down. That's when I noticed the bandages around my side. I stared in awe at the spots of dried blood that had soaked through. "Oh, you had a nasty fall after you gave out and cut your side up. I'm not the best medic but I stopped the bleeding and wrapped you up." She said fairly proud of herself. "Wow good job" I replied making her smile wide. "I want you to rest. If there's something I learned, it's that bed rest is great for injuries" she said. I nodded and lied back down on my pillow. I almost instantly fell asleep which wasn't a good thing because the nightmares started up again. //-------------------------------------------------------// Can I Protect Her? //-------------------------------------------------------// Can I Protect Her? The nightmare started off the same, I was charging a heavy metal door past several dead bodies. I pounded the door just like last time until it burst open. Inside was the creature from before. This time I focused more on him more than anything. He wore a sit of different colors and contained a horn on one side of his head and an antler on the other. He looked like some kind of Frankenstein experiment. His yellow eyes met with mine and a smile crept across his face. He finally spoke in a voice that made chills roll down my spine. "Last time I saw you I was driving a sword through your pathetic body. It was absolutely, CHAOTIC" he said. "Wha-what do you mean?" I replied. He laughed and said, "you'll find out soon enough". "Why are you doing this to me. What the hell are you!" He snapped his fingers and something began to materialize. It molded into several colors and shapes to form the body of the cyan mare I cared about. My eyes grew wide as he raised his claw and said, "what am I? I... Am chaos." With that he dug his claws into rainbow's neck. I woke up sweating and panting. I felt a hot tear roll down my cheek as I looked over to check on rainbow. She was still there, still breathing. I got up from my pillow shakily, my side still hurting. But I worked through the pain and climbed up to rainbow's pillow. I still had tears in my eyes from the nightmare. "I am chaos" he had said. What did that mean? How did he know me? I reached out and began to stroke rainbow's mane lightly as another thought crossed my mind: "can I protect her?". That creature. Only seemed to want me. Did it mean I'm protecting rainbow from myself? I shook the idea from my head as I stopped stroking rainbow, her breathing was steady and soothed me because it showed me she was alive and safe. I approached her face and kissed her cheek. "I promised I would protect you" I whispered. "And that's a promise I intend to keep" With that I turned and went back to my pillow. I laid there thinking until my eyes grew heavy and I fell back asleep. //-------------------------------------------------------// Return of the Mac //-------------------------------------------------------// Return of the Mac As far as I knew Applejack was spending all the time she wasn't working looking for Big Mac. I was as worried as she was. Big Mac was one of my close friends and there's no telling what kind of danger could be out there. Even though he's the strongest of the group he's still small and could be killed by a single step. I had never been to Sweet Apple Acres before and I had no idea how big it was. I had to have Rainbow fly me over because I was still healing from my crash. So I only got a glimpse at all the apple trees but man I could tell there was a lot of them. We approached the huge red barn and knocked on the door. It opened and Applejack poked her head out. She looked exhausted! She had bags under her eyes, her hair was a mess, and I don't know when the last time she showered was. "Oh, howdy you two. What brings y'all by?" She said. "We uh, wanted to see how the search was going" I replied. She sighed, "not too well. I'm afraid we haven't made much progress". A voice from inside the barn spoke up. "HEY SIS! Who's at the door?". She sounded young, around the same age as Sweetie Belle. "It's Rainbow Dash and the little aura fella' I was telling y'all about" she shouted back. The voice gasped and said, "the little dog fella is here!? Why didn't ya say so!" I heard footsteps sprinting towards the door. A head poked out beneath Applejack's. "Aww he's cute. Hi there, I'm Applebloom" she said. I blushed followed by a little wave. "Can I hold him?" She asked looking at Rainbow. "It's fine with me. Travis?" She replied. "I'm okay with it" I said. " *gasp* he can talk too?!" Applebloom said. I smiled and jumped into her hands where the began to stroke my head. This caused my tongue to hang out and me to groan in pleasure. "Petting!" I thought. "My only weakness". Applebloom giggled and brought me inside the barn. Rainbow and Applejack followed behind us. While Rainbow and AJ talked about finding the big guy, Applebloom brought me over to the corner of the barn and sat on a pile of hay. She had a big smile on her face as she wrapped a hand around my body and lifted me up and snuggled me against her cheek. "You're so cute an' soft!" She said. "heheh thanks" I replied. She kept me pressed up against her cheek for a while before she held me in her palms again. Then she leaned close and kissed me on the cheek! This made my face light up bright red like a tomato. "W-w-woah, didn't see that one coming" I said. "Heheh sorry" she said. "Ah keep forgettin' that you're not a normal dog" she replied. "Eh it's alright, cool guys get kisses all the time" I said. "Well, 'cool guy' how about helping us over here" Rainbow said. I blushed as Applebloom sat up and approached a table on the other side of the barn which had a map of Ponyville  on it. On the map there were multiple Xs that indicated where AJ had looked already. There were Xs on the apple orchard, the market, a schoolhouse, and Sugarcube Corner. There was a spot on the map that want marked. Which was a small area of houses that created several alleyways. "Hey! This is where I got separated from my friends" I shouted pointing to the spot on the map. Then rainbow pointed to a spot on the map that was almost entirely on the other side of the group of houses. "And that's where I found you" Rainbow said. "Man, that milk crate launched me far!" I said looking at the distance I had wound up. "Milk crate?" Rainbow asked. " yeah" I replied. "There was this HUGE storm that blew everything all over the place. A milk crate went flying and struck me right before I could make it to my friends. Boy did that hurt!". Rainbow's ears dropped and her face was shocked. "A...storm?" She asked. Her head hung and she whispered to herself, "it's all my fault". "Rainbow? What's the matter? What's your fault?" She looked up, "It's all my fault!" She cried. "I'm the reason you were separated from your friends!" "Wait...what?" I asked confused. "I'm in charge of the weather around here. I was the one who created that storm. The only reason you never see me do it is because you're napping or it's early in the morning" she said. I was stunned, I had no idea she had caused it to happen but, to be honest I didn't really care. "I'm really sorry Travis" she said. "I put my paw on her hand just as I did to Rarity when I comforted her. "Rainbow, you do realize if you hadn't had made that storm that I would probably have never met you and wound up dead. If anything, you saved me" I said. "But if it wasn't for me, you're friends wouldn't be alone and in danger like Big Macintosh" she said. "I know for a fact that my friends can take care of themselves and for all we know Big Mac could be inside the barn with us". "Eyyyyyup" said a voice behind us. We all spun around an saw something that made my jaw drop. Standing on a bucket of apples was Big Macintosh! We all stood there mouths agape for an awkward amount of time before the two apple sisters charge their brother and began to smother him in hugs. Rainbow and I couldn't help but smile at the scene. Family was being reunited right in front of my eyes and it filled me with joy. I looked up to Rainbow and said, "we should let them have their time alone". "Uh, yeah" she said. "Good idea. I'm not one for mushy stuff anyway". She lowered her hand to the table and I climbed on. Then, she brought me up to her shoulder and let me get off. I satdown Inge shoulder and left the apple family to have their reunion. On the way back, a thought occurred to me; joy wasn't the only thing I was feeling when Big Mac was returned to he family. I had also felt emptiness. I had never known my family because I never had a memory flash. Rainbow saw the sadness in my face and immediately asked, "Hey, you okay?" "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine" I lied. "Really? Because you look a little... Depressed" she said. "Honest, it's nothing" I replied. "Travis, I know you're lying. Tell me the truth" she said. "Wha?! Lying?! I... Fine I'll tell you" I admitted. "It's just... Big Mac looked so happy back with his family it just made me think... If I had a family". //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue It was already a pretty bad-looking day when me and my friends got separated. It was late afternoon, spike and I were out gathering materials for our shelter with Big Mac. "are we done yet?" Spike asked. "Almost" I replied. "We just need a few more sticks for our shelter". "I wouldn't call a old cardboard box a shelter" he said. "Well it's all we got so you'll just have to deal" I said. I looked over to Big Mac and shouted "everything good on your end big guy" he looked over and responded with a "eyyyup". "Good cause I think we have enough we should get back, vinyl's waiting for us" I said. Spike, Big Mac, Vinyl, and I have been friend since we found each other. I found vinyl when I was only 3 years old as an aura. Then we found Spike, followed by Big Macintosh. Spike had been my best friend for a while. We really connect and enjoy the company of eachother. Whenever I need a pal he's there for me. But back to the story. As we walked back the wind began to pick up. We decided to pick up the pace but it wasn't enough. The boom of thunder shook the world. Being a dog I hated thunder it was like a scream in your ear. I looked up at the sky and saw what came next. Millions of raindrops pouring down making giant splashes as we ran for our lives. We had to dodge the raindrops the best we could. We had to drop the sticks in our hands to avoid slowing us down. We saw the box in the distance and vinyl shouting for us to hurry up. Big Mac was the first to make it. But then spike tripped and tumbled forward. I couldn't leave him so I ran over and helped him up. After he got up we darted for the box. Then I saw the milk crate. It was hurtling towards us! I knew what I had to do so I grabbed spike by his sweatshirt and tail. "Travis what are you-" he began to say before I threw him into the box. It was just me now I had to run before the milk crate hit me. I ran and dove forward but it wasn't enough. The crate hit me and I was sent hurtling back. The last thing I saw was the horrified faces of my friends as I hit the ground hard and blacked out. //-------------------------------------------------------// I'm Not Cereal! //-------------------------------------------------------// I'm Not Cereal! When I woke up the next morning I woke up the same time as Rainbow dash. Anyway, she picked me up and carried me into the kitchen where she prepared her breakfast. She asked me if I was gonna eat anything but auras don't need to eat so I declined. Rainbow Dash poured herself some cereal and started eating while I sat on her shoulder like a parrot. For a second I forgot where I was the first time I got a real good look at her that didn't involve me being terrified or awestruck. I got a little to distracted because I fell off her shoulder just as she was bringing the spoon to her mouth. I fell on and I fell into her mouth. I guess she was still drowsy from waking up because she didn't even notice. I felt a sharp pain and yelped. Rainbow must have realized what happened  because she instantly spit me out. "Travis are you oka-" all of a sudden she started screaming. " What? What is it?" I cried. Then I had realized what had happened. She had bitten off both my legs! I started screaming too, my eyes going from my wound to Rainbow until I ran out of breath. Then I noticed my legs lying next to cereal bits Rainbow had spit out. Rainbow was still screaming and was not even paying attention anymore. She was just so shocked that she was just screaming at nothing anymore because I crawled over to my legs. Luckily the 2 year power is limb re-attachment. Without it millions of auras would die before they meet their pony. I grabbed both of my legs and in a stream of blue, swirling magic re-attached them. Then I stood up and thought 'Huh, and I never thought I would use that trick'. I looked up at Rainbow who was still screaming. 'Geez how much air does she have in her' I thought. I had to wave my hands over my head and shout to get her attention. "Wha- how did you do that?" She asked after she noticed I was in one piece again. "It's a power I got when I was like 2" I said. Rainbow sighed and said " I don't want that to happen again" "The feeling's mutual" I replied. "Now I'm gonna go get dressed and then we're gonna meet up with some of my friends so they can meet you" She said. "Sound good. Now I'm gonna go fix my pants because unfortunatly they have giant bite marks in them" I said. //-------------------------------------------------------// The reunion //-------------------------------------------------------// The reunion Spike examined his surroundings and said, "I-I know this place". "I hoped you would" I replied. Spike then looked over towards the filly who had pressed herself against the wall, eyes wide, scared out of her wits. "Sweetie Belle? Is that you?" Spike asked. Sweetie belle covered her face and tears rolled down her cheeks. "spike" she sobbed. She approached the miniature dragon slowly she held out he hand and spike climbed on. She brought him close to her face and nuzzled him softly. "I never thought I'd see you again" Sweetie Belle said softly. "Me either" spike said. "I hate to break up you two love birds but I'd imagine there's another somepony that would love to see you... Spikey wikey" I said. Spike blushed "you know about that?" He said. I just smiled. Sweetie Belle carried us both up the stairs to a door where she knocked on the door. "Yes?" I heard Rarity's voice say. "Hey sis you have guests" sweetie said. "Sup Rarity!" I shouted throughout the door. "Is that Travis?" She asked. "Yep!" I shouted. "Come on in darling" she said. So sweetie opened the door and we entered. Rarity was hard at work on a new dress and had her back to us. "Hey rarity" I said. "I brought someone here to meet you that I think you're familiar with already. Rarity just replied with an "uh huh". She seemed to be way too focused on her dress to care at the moment. That was until spike spoke up. "Rarity?" He said. Her ears just dropped. "T-That voice" she said. She spun around quick as a flash and saw spike in sweetie belle's hands. Her eyes couldn't hold back the waterfall of tears that was about to fall. "S-Spike?" She asked as she walked slowly towards sweetie belle. She held her hand out and spike transferred over. "Is it really you my little spikey-wikey?" She asked. "Yes rarity" he replied. She dropped to her knees which made spike fall over in her hands. Than she brought spike in for a huge hug. She held him close and didn't notice that rarity's horn and spike's back scales were beginning to glow. Sweetie Belle looked down to me and said, "Travis, what's happening?!" "It's the connection" I replied. "Spike is Rarity's aura!" Something similar had happened when rainbow and I had the connection. When she walked past me in the alleyway all four of my paws began to glow along with her wings. She never really acknowledged it because she walked past so fast. Rarity and spike hugged for a long time before rarity pulled spike out of the hug and used her free hand to wipe the tears. The. She made a realization. "Ohmygoodness... TWILIGHT! She needs to see you!" Rarity cried. So she stood up, ran down the stairs and out the front door. Sweetie Belle and I looked at each other, then chased after them.