An Ancient Beast, But A Loving Sister

She felt life rush through her body once again. She relaxed, taking her first breathe such a long while, but she didn't understand how long exactly. For her, she had been sleeping that night, or possibly in a coma for weeks. She didn't realize how long it truly had been. Her wings laid limp at her lides, and her chromatic mane drooped over her eyes. She could hear a familiar voice, somepony congratulating themself. The pegasus opened her eyes, groggy and exhausted. She knew who the pony was, her old friend Twilight Sparkle, but something was off. The princess Twilight she remembered wasn't the one sitting in front of her. No, this Twilight was much taller, and her mane was longer. Even her wings were now sparkling. The groggy pony was confused, possibly Twilight changed while she slept? Where were the others? She lifted up her head a bit, looking around the room. There were magical items all over the place, set up in a specific matter. Her other four friends were each on a metallic table, similar to ones that were seen in scientific experiments, just as she was. Pinkie Pie was yawning, Applejack stretching out, but Rarity and FLuttershy were lying still, too still.

"Twilight?! What's going on here?!" The mare, no longer tired, sat up swiftly. Fluttershy had a dead stare, and she was looking up at the ceiling without a single blink or even a rising chest. Rarity's eyes were closed, as though she had passed peacefully. She saw cuts and burns on Pinkie, and Applejack had a broken leg. Rainbow Dash was truly confused at this point.

"Calm down, Rainbow, don't worry," The alicorn smiled, trying to calm her. But Rainbow Dash knew, she had every right to worry. She began to recall a few things, some lost memories. Two of her best friends were dead, and the others looked like they just came back from the dead, and Twilight was saying everything was alight? There was no way she was going to believe that! The pegasus tossed the blanket off herself and shot over to the nearest window. She banged her hooves against the glass, trying to break through as though she was imprisoned. She stopped when she saw the ponies. There were alicorns traveling through the streets as though they were everyday ponies, one even was covered with dirt like she was a farmer. Half the ponies she saw weren't even species she knew of. There were ponies with dragon-like tails and curved horns, ones with spikes and dragon wings, she swore she saw one with fangs and the hindlegs were similar to a bird's, and it had claws as well. It looked exactly like her sister had, before Dash died.

"Rainbow Dash, I said not to worry," Twilight put a hoof on RD's shoulder, and the pegasus say down, her wings drooping.

"What happened while i was sleeping?" Something felt strang to her, this didn't seem right. Her sister had been alone in the suffering of being, different, yet now there were ponies that looked like her walking around like they've been there all their lives? She didn't recognize anypony, not even her neice or nephew were there. The memories were flooding her mind, tearing her reality into shreds.

"Rainbow Dash, you weren't-"

"I wasn't sleeping, was I? I was...." Tears were flooding her eyes, as realization hitting her hard.

"Dead, for hundreds of years. It's been over a thousand years since you were born, and you won't know anypony but me, and of course the others," Twilight sighed. "The princesses are still here too."

"So, you revived us? And made us, younger? I died in my 80s, but i feel like i'm still 20..."

"Not all of you, i was about to explain bfore moving on to Rarity when you started to freak out."

"I'm sorry Twilight, i'm just, confused, i didn't remember..."

"Hey now, it's alright Dash," Applejack limped over, her injured leg in a cast. She still seemed weak and hurt, even though her body had been replenished. Rainbow Dash remembered how Applejack had been crushed under a dying apple tree, how her sister cried, and how Applebloom and Big Mac and everypony else cried. Rainbow's neice and nephew took a knife to their little hearts when it happened, their parents keeping them calm. Those little foals, so young and already had to face that everypony dies at some point.

"Ya Dashie! Twilight's just been bringing us back for a super secret mission!" Pinkie Pie looked like she wanted to jump around, but the wounds on her body told her otherwise. Pinkie Pie, she had been attacked by a dragon, one that seemed to be nearing adulthood. Dash remembered how hard her sister fought, trying to protect Pinkie, but it was too little, too late. The foals, they had been older, and Dash's nephew was strong-hearted but even her was cring. Her neice had sat by the coffin, her special somepony right by her side. He tried to cheer her up, but that joy and happiness ended with Pinkie. Pinkie Pie had been smiling, taking her parties with her even with death.

"What of my sister?" Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight with tears in her eyes. "Surely, you would bring her back as well? She wasn't an element, but she was strong and fast..."

"Gone, we've looked everywhere Dash. We sents guard into the Everfree, believing she may have disappeared there as she did when you were little, but not all the guards returned. The ones that did were injured, and couldn't tell us anything. All they found were feathers, but the yellow ones were the only ones i paid any attention to, but there were white ones as well."

"White? And yellow? Those were her original colors, but she never had white feathers. She didn't have colors when we found her, remember? So, how did they find yellow feathers?" Rainbow Dash was confused again, her sister hadn't had any color, just solid gray. She wasn't even much of a pony by then, having cat-like eyes and claw, and a dragon-like tail, and the fangs.

"That's why I doubted the feathers were hers, but I looked into the yellow ones when she vanished again after her husband's death, and somepony found a yellow-grey feather not far from his grave. I studied that feather, and they matched your sister, so i believe she regained her color over time. They golden feathers, I studied them, and they had the same DNA. Stranger still, they were fresh when they arrived, only a few hours fallen. That was a long time ago though, I haven't sent any guards out since.

"So you're saying?"

"That your sister could possibly be alive, i mean she was an alicorn wasn't she?"

"Yes, but she wasn't royal. She was just like a normal pony, she aged the same as well."

"Weird," Twilight pondered on the though for a moment, nothing adding up. A common alicorn, which were the ones you'd see anywhere now, wouldn't be immortal, but how could a dead pony's feathers be only a few hours old? It, it just didn't make any sense to her.

"Super duper weird!" Pinkie Pie mimicked Twilight's position, sitting with her hoof to her chin, eyes squinted slightly like she was deep in thought. The princess couldn't make sense of it.

Rainbow Dash took the moment to take in her surroundings. There were bookshelves, full of books, which wasn't a surprise. The floor was a redish brown wood, and the walls a light tan in color. There was chalk on the floor, designed in a special pattern. Probably to make Twilights spell easier, make it stronger. There were I.V.'s by each of the metal tables. There were bags fool of some strange pale liquid with tubes connected to them. It seemed like food, possibly nutrients so the body would still be livable. Rainbow's head began to hurt from all this thinking. Fluttershy and Rarity had the tubes connected in several different places, keeping the bodies fresh.

"I should revive the others before explaining the plan to the rest of you," Twilight muttered, standing up. She walked into the center of the chalk symbol, focusing on Rarity. "No distractions, if i mess this up, she'll be lost forever."

Rainbow Dash looked out the window, watching as the strange ponies wandered through the streets without a single care in the world, the others never bothering them about it. Canterlot castle could be seen in the distance, and night was coming. She watched the sun set and the moon rise up. She felt exhausted, though she just came back to life. Revival was exhausting, even though she was the one to come back. She had her hooves crossed on the windowsill, and she rested her head on top of them. Dash closed her eyes, but not before catching the glimpse of something lurking in the allies between the buildings, something quite deadly looking. "But, oh so familiar..." she whispered, her eyes closed fully and her mind resting.