Ponywarby GoliatheChaptersPrologue - A Sparkle of WarChapter 1 - FlutteringChapter 2 - Dashing outPrologue - A Sparkle of WarIt was a beautiful morning. Just like any other day, I forced my way out of bed, then after a quick and refreshing shower, I found the energy to pour myself some cereal, feed the birds outside and pick up the newspaper that was waiting for me on the welcome mat. Nowadays, it is rare to see someone receive the news via paper. Almost everything was affected by the technological revolution at the beginning of this 21st century. Most books are directly published in virtual libraries, music and movies can be found online and are completely free, etc. I sometimes ask myself what would my parents think of what our world had turned into. Internet had become the most precious thing one can own. But this place is not as cheerful as it seems. One trend that used to be seen all over the web were captioned pictures. Basically, people were adding white capital letters at the top and bottom of specific pictures in order to make funny stuff, or to create some things that would spread. Some of these were fun, most of the time they were boring... but one kind was particularly hated. Have you ever heard of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? All the fans of this show were labeled as “The Cancer of the Internet”. We were a nuisance. I said “we” yes. I tell the truth when I call myself a brony. I like the episodes, the fans' works, the music, etc. That definition never was clear; but in our days it does include everyone who watches it, or likes the show and the community around it. Although things are far way more different from what they were back then. To put it briefly, we are hunted. Not many of us will admit that we are a part of the herd. It is simply too risky. Those who are caught... well they disappear disappear. No one really knows what happens to them, but none were ever seen again. Pretty much all the population would report a suspect. Every method is good to identify a brony. Why? It would take too long to explain it entirely, nor would it be precise enough to rely on. All I can say is that it came from the simple fact that this show was intended for little girls, and people didn't like seeing boys and grown up adults enjoying it. The jokes that bronies should die, were gay, etc. still could be understood as jokes at the time, but it quickly went out of control. We thought that gender roles would change and that our society in general would be comprehensive, just like what happens usually with delicate stuff. Not this time. My journey with ponies began on the Internet. I probably took a long curve to get to My Little Pony, but at least it allowed me to meet awesome people and soon-to-be-called friends. It was just like the other days on the forum I was frequenting back then: checking threads, contribute a bit... then I think I ended up on the MLP-dedicated thread, I don't exactly remember why. Before taking part in the conversation (or most likely debates as whether the people who liked it were weird or not), I decided to actually watch the show a little; if there is one thing I dislike regarding debates is people who belittle things when they have no idea of what they are talking about. And this is what happened massively with My Little Pony all around the world. So, as I was saying, I watched the first episode of Season 1. What caught my attention to stay in front of my screen until the end, then search up for the second episode? I have no idea, honestly. But as I slowly went on from episode to episode, the characters, the plots, the music, everything seemed so enjoyable and nice to live with, and then later, after all the available episodes, I discovered the community around the show and I was more than impressed. The more the days and weeks passed, the more I became addicted. Addicted as in hooked, of course, but also, it became a part of my world. Then thousands of lifes, including mine, flipped over. Suddenly, we were hiding ourselves to remain in safety. This is where my story began, when I started to read that newspaper. While reading over the pages rapidly, more concerned with the rainstorm that was planned for the afternoon, I noticed a word that finalized my waking up period. That apparently meaningless string of letters would have a signification to those familiar with it. It's been a good couple of years since I saw that word for the last time. It was the pseudonym of the person who owned the forum on which I was a member, as well as the name of the said forum. I had to leave everything urgently when they started the “extinction”. A couple people I knew back then probably all had to do the same. It was hard to cut all the links I had with them, some of them being great friends, but I had no choice; what happened to the others remained in the dark for all these years. Memories assaulted my mind as I was realizing what I just read. This could mean trouble for me. What if I had been tracked back from the forum? Or simply this could concern someone else I knew. As I expected, the article was about these people liking the show on this forum, and the fact that some of them were caught or something. I didn't want to read the details too much, since I could see a name I knew and be sad, I don't know. Something unusual caught my attention though. What seemed to be a rectangular piece of paper was taped on the bottom of the page.. It looked hand written. The characters were hard to read, but I managed to understand all the text: There's a truck With the three letters Follow the adress That sounded like an enigma. I never was good at these, and sudden inspirations never strike me when needed. At least I had something to look for on the back on the paper. That address led to a place that wasn't too far; I could possibly make it there in 25 minutes by foot, maybe 20. I have never seen that many trucks in my life before today. There were a few buildings to my right, all part of the local pastry factory. And to my left were these hundreds of trucks, probably filled with thousands, no, millions of cookies, cakes, doughnuts and whatever other things they make here. How in the world was I supposed to find one particular truck? Especially at 8:00 AM, when my bed was calling me for a prolongation of our time together? Just when I was about to go and examine the closest one, I heard engines starting, and before I could even realize what just happened almost all of the trucks were gone. Only a few were still sleeping on their wheels there in the parking, maybe four dozens. I just hoped that the truck mentioned was one of these, or else my quest would be over before it started. I started walking in between the trucks, almost clueless about what to look for. “Three letters” is not a very specific clue when you think about it. I also had to figure where the letters would be. After a while of pointless of strolling there and there, I began to look at the trucks' license plates, as these were the first thing with actual letters I saw. CRT9511, JGP1862, YOV7526... I felt like help would be needed at some point. Then I saw it. MLP1306. These three letters were effectively representing something for the people who knew what they were. My. Little. Pony. As confidence made its way in my mind, I reached for the truck's lock, and it was unlocked. Someone, or some persons, want me to find something in there, it is all clear to me now. All of this was made on purpose. I removed the lock and opened the door. It was pretty dark inside, but as my eyes were getting used to the obscurity, I could see a pile of big wood containers facing me. I began to open the first one. I heard a loud cracking sound before a rain of muffins fell on me. Derp. I didn't know what I was looking for, but I surely was not in there. I continued to open the boxes. The sixth one's panel was a bit harder to break, but finally I could hear this particular sound again. It was completely weird inside. I expected another muffin rain, but nothing came out of that crate this time. It was pretty blurry, as if there was hot air moving. Intrigued, I got down on my knees and slowly crawled towards the back. Was the absence of tons of muffins the sign that I was at the right place? I was not given more time to think about all that, because suddenly I heard a loud metallic sound and the whole area became dark, except for that strange stream of air, who seemed to generate its own pale gray light. “Finally we shall meet.” That voice was unnatural, of that I am certain. It was deep, gloomy... almost evil. The laughter that followed was the creepiest thing I've ever heard in my whole life. “Enter the portal now, will you?” I had no choice but to advance. I was forced into that “portal”. It was beginning to get cold, and all of a sudden I had the sensation of my mind quitting my body. Then I was unconscious. Chapter 1 - FlutteringAll of a sudden, I started feeling things again. This sensation of cold was more intense than before. I remembered entering a sort of portal, but I had no memories from what happened between that moment and the present. Nor did I know where I was. “Of course you don't know where you are.” I recognized that voice... although I wasn't sure if I should be scared or not. Ahead of me was a white and gray landscape. The trees stood still beside the calm lake, and the mountains that could be seen in the distance were so high that their peaks were playing hide and seek in the clouds. The sky itself was a strange mixture of light gray colors. All of this looked immortal, frozen in time. The only sign of life was my own breath, along with that mysterious cold stream of air. As I slowly began to turn around, I noticed there were ancient Greek looking columns, yet they were not supporting any roof. They were simply aligned to form a kind of path. I took a few steps on the marble floor, until I was able to see two doors a few meters away. A couple of seats and cushions were delimiting half a circle in front of them. There, sitting in one of the chairs, was an odd looking man. He seemed to be wearing a simple metallic armor, with a red royal coat laying on his shoulders. Before I could do anything, the man slowly stood up, as if he had sensed my approach. A small crown, apparently made of the same metal, covered his forehead and part of his long dark hair. But what hooked my attention were his eyes; never in my life had I seen anything close to these. The irises were red, and instead of being white, the rest of the eyes was filled with bright green. And vertical pupils, like those of cats, completed that frightening aura surrounding this man. “I wish I had the time to explain all of this to you,” said the man, again with this dark low voice of his, “but I don't have it. Someone else will take care of that, though.” “But, where am-” “Let me interrupt you: as I was saying, we have no time. Please enter the door to my left.” While speaking, he moved his left arm in a circular motion to show me the said door. I started walking slowly. I didn't really have the choice: I didn't know where I was, what I was doing here or even if I was still alive. Was this some sort of purgatory? As I was about to take my first step inside the door frame, I took a glance back. The last things I saw were a silver bracelet around the man's wrist, and his eyes glowing. Suddenly, I recognized him. “King Sombra,” I whispered. A last sinister laugh from him is all I got before losing consciousness again. “You can come now, my dear,” said Sombra. “I believe our new friend did not see you; that is a good thing.” From behind one of the columns emerged a changeling. He walked to Sombra slowly. No sound could be heard as his pierced hooves clopped on the marble ground. “Do you remember your tasks?” asked Sombra. “Perfectly, my lord,” replied the changeling. His voice sounded unnatural, as if more than one person was speaking. “Great. You should go then.” As the insect-like pony made his way towards the left door, Sombra added, “Oh... and tell her to plan it big. This is something all of Equestria might want to hear of.” When I woke up, I felt pretty dizzy, just as if I was recovering after being stunned. My head was an heavy load to carry, and it took a few efforts to stand up. I didn't really feel my legs either. I tried to walk, but immediately fell on the ground. I had no choice but to lie on my back until this strange feeling went away. As I looked at the course of the clouds in the sky, I noticed that something was not quite right about the sun. I realised after a while that it was moving faster than usual; I could see it slowly go down towards the skyline and the mountains far away. The sun's light was bright and pure, giving the clouds some peach tones as it swiftly went through and around them. A couple of minutes later, and the sun was reaching the top of the mountains. Strange patterns covered up the sky, ranging from fierce red and pink flames to frightening purple and blue waves. A sudden mild breeze pushed the last clouds afar, and the night began. I was not expecting a huge moon like this, though. I knew something strange was going on (and that giddy feeling refused to leave my mind), but this was the most unreal thing I had seen so far. I simply closed my eyes in an attempt to get some rest. This place was so silent and calm that it didn't take long for me to fall asleep. At least that's what I thought at first. I was awoken later at night after hearing a distant sound. I could not be sure of anything because of my condition and the odd timespan of this place, but after a quick glance, the moon didn't really seem to have moved, despite the impression I had of sleeping for hours. I heard the sound once more: it sounded like flapping, almost as if a bird was flying near me. I opened my eyes for good to see what caused this midnight melody. Everything I considered strange up to this point was nothing compared to what I saw. I must have still been dreaming, because what was before my eyes was undoubtedly impossible: somewhere between me and the moon was a flying creature, gently descending in my direction. The distance was too big for me to clearly tell, but the four-legged horse-like vision seemed to have a horn, and its color was similar to the gradients of dark blue surrounding the moon. I started to chuckle at my own imagination. "It has to be a dream." I repositioned myself and tried to get back to sleep. "Everything will be fine tomorrow, no more strange stuff. It's just a dream." "You are not dreaming... I mean, this is your dream for me, but reality for you." As these words were spoken, the dizziness disappeared and I almost instantly felt better. I managed to get on my feet, but I was still uncertain about if this whole scenario was real or not. I had a weird impression about my body. Right before me, a few meters away, was standing what I was afraid I had seen flying in the skies: an alicorn, the name given to unicorns with wings. I had no idea of how to react in front of a character of My Little Pony, but it was unquestionable: Luna was standing there. Princess Luna, to be accurate. "Creatures of your kind are not meant to exist here. Not in this dimension," added Luna. "What- what do you mean?" I asked in a shy voice. "My sister suffered obscure premonitions lately, and so did I. The moon has been speaking of an old and forgotten hallow place, one of which nopony besides us could have known its existence. Your aura is full of this millenary energy, young pegasus," she continued. "Young... pegasus?" I said, struck by confusion once more. Her horn glowed brightly for a moment, and a few seconds later, we were standing by a calm pond, under the branches of a willow. A mild fire was burning close to where we stood. Its warmth comforted me. She gently invited me to step to the edge of the water, and to bend over it. I was not expecting what I saw in this moonlight improvised mirror, yet at the same time, it seemed natural after the journey I had so far. I don't know how much time I spent there, looking at my new self. Instead of seeing the usual me, the reflection showed a creature similar to Luna, but smaller. His coat was of a light purple, lilac like, and as Luna stated, it was indeed a pegasus, seeing the folded wings laying on his back. The mane was relatively short, gently sliding down the neck to end up in three short spikes, with a similar tail. The tones reminded me of a deep night, alternating between royal and midnight blue. The eyes were sapphire blue, just like my own. When I raised my hand before my eyes, the image in the water moved, and I could now see a hoof instead of fingers; all of this was so strange. At least it explained the new body sensations: new morphology came with new anatomy. Without a warning, my wings spread out, and I almost suddenly felt a sort of pain to my new wing muscles. At least I got to know where they were immediately. As the first sensations disappeared, I was able to normally activate these parts of my body, and my wings began to flap. I would have tried to actually fly if Luna didn't interrupt me at this instant. "We do not know what happened to you. I think that it was planned by evil forces." She looked at the moon, gathering her thoughts. "You might know soon, in which case, please do tell us what is awaiting our world. We do not have much time before us." She sat by the fire, and after one last glance at the night sky, she closed her eyes and solemnly said, "May your journey help us all. Now, sleep well, my children.” I suddenly felt exhausted. I couldn't resist but to fall in a deep, calm sleep under the moonlight, by the remaining embers of Luna's fire. I dreamed of flying between clouds and skies. The sun was feeling nice on my skin – no, my coat – and the wind was gliding under my body as I soared up in the blue. When I reached a certain altitude, I folded my wings back to prepare a risky swoop. The high speed made me close my eyes, full of tears. The ground was coming; I could feel the tension in my muscles, getting ready for the last minute change of direction. A few more seconds... And I opened my eyes. I was laying on my back, wrapped up in my wings. Above me was a blue sky without any clouds. Waking up as a pony wasn't really different, except that I now had four legs instead of two, and that my back had been upgraded with a tricky pair of wings, which were not quite helpful to get up. As soon as I was standing firm on my new hooves, I panicked. I was not on the ground but on a cloud! The fear instinctively made me walk back, but I was not paying enough attention, and I fell off my only safety platform. I screamed for help, but I had to admit it to myself, who seriously would, by any chance, be passing by to rescue me? I put my front hooves over my eyes and hoped that my death would be painless. When I hit something, I thought my life was done and that I became a puddle of flesh and blood on the ground, but to my surprise, the ground shouted, "What in hell?!" The ground was not supposed to talk, of that I was sure. Either I was already dead, or all of this was a big hallucination. I still had the impression of going down, and as a matter of fact, me and the talking piece of soil crashed onto a pile of hay. When I managed to get my head out of there, I saw... wait, was this really what I thought it was? The hay was stacked on the wall of a barn, which happened to be located on a nice looking farm surrounded by orchards. Not too far away, I could see a town, with that recognizable crystal-tree castle in the background. Then out of nowhere came a pink pony, bouncing on her four hooves, and singing some welcome song to me. At the same time, I felt something moving under me, and a few moments later, I saw a rainbow-colored mane emerge from the hay. The pain in my head was not lying: this was happening for real. "Rai- Rainbow Dash?" was all I could mutter, before falling unconscious once more. Chapter 2 - Dashing outI woke up roughly, my heart swiftly pumping blood all around my new body as I sat on a comfy bed. I could feel the sweat covering me, even if the room was surprisingly cold. It took me a few minutes to remember what happened, yet I still couldn't figure where I was. Just as I was about to get out move the sheets away, I heard someone talk behind me. “Hey there, don't get too excited, Mr. I-Fall-From-The-Sky,” said the voice. I turned around, but I couldn't see any... anypony. “Up here, you silly head!” continued the mysterious pony with an exasperated tone. I finally managed to take a glance on my interlocutor by looking up the stairs. This bed had apparently been installed in the middle of what seemed to be a hall of some sort. I had no trouble recognizing Rainbow Dash, slowly moving down the steps. What struck me immediately was that her left wing was tied on her flank by a bandage. Oddly enough, I could see some blood stains scattered on it. “You can bleed?” That's the first thing that crossed my mind, given I had never seen such things in the show itself. I immediately felt dumb for asking this question, and her response made it clear I wasn't helping myself. “Well, obviously, duh. What did you expect? You nearly crushed me to pieces last week!” Last week? Did that imply that I slept all that time? At least she didn't follow on with the name calling. I probably was lucky enough that she thought my strange behaviors were the result of that accident and the record-breaking nap. “Sorry for that, by the way. I completely lost control,” was all I could say. “I think everypony noticed that. But, seriously, what happened up there before you tried to kill me?” she asked as she finally reached the bottom of the stairs. “Even Fluttershy flies better than that!” “That's... kind of a long story. I could always start at the beginning and-” “Nah, it's fine. We'll wait for the others. What's your name, since you seem to know mine so well when we've never met?” she questioned me. Oh, right. I never thought about my name. Clearly my human name would not fit in Equestria. I didn't have a lot of time to think. I turned my head to the right a bit and saw a small window, surrounded by Wonderbolts posters. I finally realized I was in her home. Out there, the sky was purplish, as it usually is during this particular moment between night and day, but when no sunlight can be seen. The moon was just above the skyline, ready to let the dawn come. I then recalled my encounter with Princess Luna, and was it caused by this or by pure coincidence, I witnessed a shy sparkle on this full moon just as it went to sleep. The name came with sudden inspiration, and before I could think any more on it, I already had spoken these words. “You can call me Aurora Shade, I guess.” “Alright, get out of bed, you must be starving. Pinkie Pie surely made tons of pancakes for you... again. She's been doing that every morning since you came in here, and she also eats them all when you stay asleep. Come on, let's go before nothing's left, I'm pretty hungry myself too”. I struggled again with my wings, and it took a lot of efforts just to get out of bed without the sheets attached on me. Rainbow Dash barely managed to hide a smile before she walked towards the door. I followed her, and I was surprised at how naturally I could walk on four hooves. The wings would be way tougher to master, I could feel it already. When I got outside, I almost instantly jumped back in as I took a first step on a cloud. My hostess looked over her shoulder, and shook her head, discouraged. “Ok, I don't know if you're doing this on purpose or not, but there's definitely something off with you. You're lucky I'm feeling kind enough to wait for the others to hear what you have to say, because you owe me explanations,” she said as when pursued her path onto the clouds. After a few seconds of hesitation, I followed her as we walked on this huge cloud on which ran rainbow rivers. And when I thought I had seen it all, we finally stopped in front of a big, pink air balloon. She offered, “Either you come with me in this, or you fall down back to the ground like last time.” I wasn't sure of how to react, so she simply pushed me inside and took a seat right next to me after she shook the rope attached to the balloon. “Down we go,” she said, “and hey, don't look so blank. I never meant to make fun of you or anything. This might take a while, so try to put a smile oh your face before we arrive.” She then put her front hooves on the rail, looking thoughtfully overboard as we commenced the slow ride down. They were all there, sitting in front of me, and looking at me with the most unreadable expressions I have ever seen in my life. We had finished breakfast for a while now (luckily enough, me and Rainbow Dash arrived just in time to grab a few pancakes), and since then, nobody had talked. Even Pinkie Pie. I wasn't sure of what kind of greetings I would get, but so far, everything seemed strange and unreal. I didn't say a single word, I simply let Rainbow take me to Twilight's castle and try not to mind all the others taking quick glances at me from time to time, only to proceed talking quietly so I would not hear them. We then all walked to another room. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity took a seat on the cushions in the middle of the place, while Rainbow Dash stood a bit behind them, near the window and the small bookshelf, leaving me alone near the door. It was clear that they had a lot of questions, and obviously, Twilight spoke first. “First of all, let me introduce ourselves. My name is Twi-” “I know all your names,” I interrupted her. “Mine is Aurora Shade, and I know much more than just who you are”. After I had proved my claims, they were surprised... and suddenly more suspicious. “Let me get this straight,” replied Twilight, “first you fall out of nowhere and nearly kill Rainbow Dash, and then, after a full week of coma, you wake up only to tell us that you know who we are when we've never met you before? Now that is strange, especially given the special circumstances.” “What special circumstances?” I asked. That was not a good question, apparently. “And you don't even know what day this is? Oh, you are definitely not from here,” she continued. She took a few seconds to think. “And he has no cutie mark yet...” she murmured. I was about say something, but I looked at my flank and noticed that I really had no cutie mark. How could I have not seen that before this moment? But before I could recover from my small confusion, Twilight used her magic to get an old, dusty book from the bookshelf. It looked familiar to me, but I couldn't figure out where I had seen it before. She turned the pages rapidly until she stopped near the end. She read the lines more than once, as if she wanted to make sure that what she understood was indeed written. It felt as if something important might be happening, and judging by the concerned look on her face as she turned over to her friends, I knew it wasn't just an impression. “There is no time to lose, girls. We have to be in Canterlot before the Summer Sun Celebration begins. I need to inform Princess Celestia of what I've found as fast as possible, in person. Hurry!” Before I could move a hoof, all of them were running past me in the hallway, except for Rainbow Dash. She was still looking through the window, lost in her mind. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but I walked next to her and looked at this exquisite summer sky. It wasn't long before she turned around and headed towards the door, and as she left the room, she simply said, “You sure seem to cause a lot of trouble around here. Follow me, we'll get to the train station together... Twilight always forgets the important things when Spike is not with her.” She was already in the hallway. I was about to go, when I noticed that the book was still opened on the page Twilight had left it. I couldn't resist to take a quick peek. To my surprise, the page on the right was just a blank one. There weren't many lines on the left, but they seemed pretty meaningful, because the letters were not straight... as if the writer added them into the book later, in a rush. The dawn will come on the brightest day Where his presence will cause an evil dismay Look for the colt with hidden identity As of eternal chaos he is the key The lord of shadows will open the entrance When the nightmare returns, the prophecy shall commence The stars once more shining silently Over the shades of this mare's destiny Everything was going too fast. First, this whole treasure hunt for a portal that led me to a mysterious place with King Sombra, then my transformation in what probably was Luna's Dream Realm, or whatever she calls it, followed by an abrupt entry in Equestria. Not to mention this sudden agitation around me when I haven't even been awake for a day yet. “These words could have a lot of possible meanings. I don't like where this is going at all.” I could still hear Twilight and her friends talk in the next wagon. We took the train from Ponyville to Canterlot not so long ago, and ever since we left, they have been talking about the lines in this book. Or was it really some sort of prophecy? I'm not an expert in this kind of things, but after I managed to recognize the book itself, it could really be one. That one book is the one that contained the story of Nightmare Moon's return during the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. Still, we will have to wait until we can talk with the princesses before we can assume if it is plausible or not. I'm not even sure why I say “we”. After getting in the train, I went into the last car left at the disposition of passengers. I was pretty sleepy, mostly because we had to wait a couple of hours before actually getting in a train (I learned that Twilight could have used her princess title to get us first in the line of people wanting to go to Canterlot for the event, but that never was something she liked to do), but I didn't go to bed immediately. Instead, I went by the only window to look at the sunset. I thought that my presence in their group would have simply been awkward, or even not desired. After all, I was the cause of this trouble. It wasn't long before I lost track of time. The sky became darker and darker, and to my pleasure, not a single cloud was covering the beautiful mountainous landscapes surrounding Canterlot. Probably because the celebration would make more sense without them. Anyway, when the first stars started to shine and the moon arose, I decided it was time for a nap. The rest of the night and the next morning could be long and demanding. I turned around and I almost cried out of surprise when I saw someone... no somepony on one of the beds. He, or she, was lying in a shadowy area, and I wasn't able to identity who it was at first. I could only align a few words that didn't really make sense, “How did- bed- who are- why not...” “Why am I not with the others?”, said the pony. I recognized Rainbow Dash. Oh. Why in the world was she always the one staying with me? “To be honest,” she continued in a quiet tone, “they went to sleep without even according a second of attention to you. Everypony is stressed up and a bit of rest sure will help, but, you know...” I wasn't sure of what she meant, so I simply took a second attempt at the questions I had first. “When did you enter the car?” I asked. “About 10 minutes ago, I'd say? You were definitely lost in your mind, hey. You looked super thoughtful and all,” she answered as she pointed another bed to me. “The night is young, but we'll arrive pretty soon. Take some sleep, and don't think to much, everything will be fine.” I was hoping she was right as I took place under the sheets. As she suggested, I tried to empty my mind. I was about to fall into slumber when my wings stretched out suddenly, propelling the clothes everywhere in the wagon. “How does one even sleep with this?!” I couldn't help myself but to rage out loud. “Haha, I know some princess who had the exact same reaction!” said Rainbow Dash before yawning quite loudly. “You'll get used to it, don't worry.” “Well, thanks... Rainbow.” I hesitated before simply calling her by her name. “No problem at all. I guess I could teach you some stuff when I recover from that injury – hey, don't blush, it's fine! - because for some reason, you like like a Pegasus that never used his wings. Good night now... Aurora. She didn't know how right she was. And wow, I felt something strange when she said my new pony name. I didn't have the chance to think a lot more than that, as her calm breathing soon attracted me to sleep.
Prologue - A Sparkle of WarIt was a beautiful morning. Just like any other day, I forced my way out of bed, then after a quick and refreshing shower, I found the energy to pour myself some cereal, feed the birds outside and pick up the newspaper that was waiting for me on the welcome mat. Nowadays, it is rare to see someone receive the news via paper. Almost everything was affected by the technological revolution at the beginning of this 21st century. Most books are directly published in virtual libraries, music and movies can be found online and are completely free, etc. I sometimes ask myself what would my parents think of what our world had turned into. Internet had become the most precious thing one can own. But this place is not as cheerful as it seems. One trend that used to be seen all over the web were captioned pictures. Basically, people were adding white capital letters at the top and bottom of specific pictures in order to make funny stuff, or to create some things that would spread. Some of these were fun, most of the time they were boring... but one kind was particularly hated. Have you ever heard of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? All the fans of this show were labeled as “The Cancer of the Internet”. We were a nuisance. I said “we” yes. I tell the truth when I call myself a brony. I like the episodes, the fans' works, the music, etc. That definition never was clear; but in our days it does include everyone who watches it, or likes the show and the community around it. Although things are far way more different from what they were back then. To put it briefly, we are hunted. Not many of us will admit that we are a part of the herd. It is simply too risky. Those who are caught... well they disappear disappear. No one really knows what happens to them, but none were ever seen again. Pretty much all the population would report a suspect. Every method is good to identify a brony. Why? It would take too long to explain it entirely, nor would it be precise enough to rely on. All I can say is that it came from the simple fact that this show was intended for little girls, and people didn't like seeing boys and grown up adults enjoying it. The jokes that bronies should die, were gay, etc. still could be understood as jokes at the time, but it quickly went out of control. We thought that gender roles would change and that our society in general would be comprehensive, just like what happens usually with delicate stuff. Not this time. My journey with ponies began on the Internet. I probably took a long curve to get to My Little Pony, but at least it allowed me to meet awesome people and soon-to-be-called friends. It was just like the other days on the forum I was frequenting back then: checking threads, contribute a bit... then I think I ended up on the MLP-dedicated thread, I don't exactly remember why. Before taking part in the conversation (or most likely debates as whether the people who liked it were weird or not), I decided to actually watch the show a little; if there is one thing I dislike regarding debates is people who belittle things when they have no idea of what they are talking about. And this is what happened massively with My Little Pony all around the world. So, as I was saying, I watched the first episode of Season 1. What caught my attention to stay in front of my screen until the end, then search up for the second episode? I have no idea, honestly. But as I slowly went on from episode to episode, the characters, the plots, the music, everything seemed so enjoyable and nice to live with, and then later, after all the available episodes, I discovered the community around the show and I was more than impressed. The more the days and weeks passed, the more I became addicted. Addicted as in hooked, of course, but also, it became a part of my world. Then thousands of lifes, including mine, flipped over. Suddenly, we were hiding ourselves to remain in safety. This is where my story began, when I started to read that newspaper. While reading over the pages rapidly, more concerned with the rainstorm that was planned for the afternoon, I noticed a word that finalized my waking up period. That apparently meaningless string of letters would have a signification to those familiar with it. It's been a good couple of years since I saw that word for the last time. It was the pseudonym of the person who owned the forum on which I was a member, as well as the name of the said forum. I had to leave everything urgently when they started the “extinction”. A couple people I knew back then probably all had to do the same. It was hard to cut all the links I had with them, some of them being great friends, but I had no choice; what happened to the others remained in the dark for all these years. Memories assaulted my mind as I was realizing what I just read. This could mean trouble for me. What if I had been tracked back from the forum? Or simply this could concern someone else I knew. As I expected, the article was about these people liking the show on this forum, and the fact that some of them were caught or something. I didn't want to read the details too much, since I could see a name I knew and be sad, I don't know. Something unusual caught my attention though. What seemed to be a rectangular piece of paper was taped on the bottom of the page.. It looked hand written. The characters were hard to read, but I managed to understand all the text: There's a truck With the three letters Follow the adress That sounded like an enigma. I never was good at these, and sudden inspirations never strike me when needed. At least I had something to look for on the back on the paper. That address led to a place that wasn't too far; I could possibly make it there in 25 minutes by foot, maybe 20. I have never seen that many trucks in my life before today. There were a few buildings to my right, all part of the local pastry factory. And to my left were these hundreds of trucks, probably filled with thousands, no, millions of cookies, cakes, doughnuts and whatever other things they make here. How in the world was I supposed to find one particular truck? Especially at 8:00 AM, when my bed was calling me for a prolongation of our time together? Just when I was about to go and examine the closest one, I heard engines starting, and before I could even realize what just happened almost all of the trucks were gone. Only a few were still sleeping on their wheels there in the parking, maybe four dozens. I just hoped that the truck mentioned was one of these, or else my quest would be over before it started. I started walking in between the trucks, almost clueless about what to look for. “Three letters” is not a very specific clue when you think about it. I also had to figure where the letters would be. After a while of pointless of strolling there and there, I began to look at the trucks' license plates, as these were the first thing with actual letters I saw. CRT9511, JGP1862, YOV7526... I felt like help would be needed at some point. Then I saw it. MLP1306. These three letters were effectively representing something for the people who knew what they were. My. Little. Pony. As confidence made its way in my mind, I reached for the truck's lock, and it was unlocked. Someone, or some persons, want me to find something in there, it is all clear to me now. All of this was made on purpose. I removed the lock and opened the door. It was pretty dark inside, but as my eyes were getting used to the obscurity, I could see a pile of big wood containers facing me. I began to open the first one. I heard a loud cracking sound before a rain of muffins fell on me. Derp. I didn't know what I was looking for, but I surely was not in there. I continued to open the boxes. The sixth one's panel was a bit harder to break, but finally I could hear this particular sound again. It was completely weird inside. I expected another muffin rain, but nothing came out of that crate this time. It was pretty blurry, as if there was hot air moving. Intrigued, I got down on my knees and slowly crawled towards the back. Was the absence of tons of muffins the sign that I was at the right place? I was not given more time to think about all that, because suddenly I heard a loud metallic sound and the whole area became dark, except for that strange stream of air, who seemed to generate its own pale gray light. “Finally we shall meet.” That voice was unnatural, of that I am certain. It was deep, gloomy... almost evil. The laughter that followed was the creepiest thing I've ever heard in my whole life. “Enter the portal now, will you?” I had no choice but to advance. I was forced into that “portal”. It was beginning to get cold, and all of a sudden I had the sensation of my mind quitting my body. Then I was unconscious.
Chapter 1 - FlutteringAll of a sudden, I started feeling things again. This sensation of cold was more intense than before. I remembered entering a sort of portal, but I had no memories from what happened between that moment and the present. Nor did I know where I was. “Of course you don't know where you are.” I recognized that voice... although I wasn't sure if I should be scared or not. Ahead of me was a white and gray landscape. The trees stood still beside the calm lake, and the mountains that could be seen in the distance were so high that their peaks were playing hide and seek in the clouds. The sky itself was a strange mixture of light gray colors. All of this looked immortal, frozen in time. The only sign of life was my own breath, along with that mysterious cold stream of air. As I slowly began to turn around, I noticed there were ancient Greek looking columns, yet they were not supporting any roof. They were simply aligned to form a kind of path. I took a few steps on the marble floor, until I was able to see two doors a few meters away. A couple of seats and cushions were delimiting half a circle in front of them. There, sitting in one of the chairs, was an odd looking man. He seemed to be wearing a simple metallic armor, with a red royal coat laying on his shoulders. Before I could do anything, the man slowly stood up, as if he had sensed my approach. A small crown, apparently made of the same metal, covered his forehead and part of his long dark hair. But what hooked my attention were his eyes; never in my life had I seen anything close to these. The irises were red, and instead of being white, the rest of the eyes was filled with bright green. And vertical pupils, like those of cats, completed that frightening aura surrounding this man. “I wish I had the time to explain all of this to you,” said the man, again with this dark low voice of his, “but I don't have it. Someone else will take care of that, though.” “But, where am-” “Let me interrupt you: as I was saying, we have no time. Please enter the door to my left.” While speaking, he moved his left arm in a circular motion to show me the said door. I started walking slowly. I didn't really have the choice: I didn't know where I was, what I was doing here or even if I was still alive. Was this some sort of purgatory? As I was about to take my first step inside the door frame, I took a glance back. The last things I saw were a silver bracelet around the man's wrist, and his eyes glowing. Suddenly, I recognized him. “King Sombra,” I whispered. A last sinister laugh from him is all I got before losing consciousness again. “You can come now, my dear,” said Sombra. “I believe our new friend did not see you; that is a good thing.” From behind one of the columns emerged a changeling. He walked to Sombra slowly. No sound could be heard as his pierced hooves clopped on the marble ground. “Do you remember your tasks?” asked Sombra. “Perfectly, my lord,” replied the changeling. His voice sounded unnatural, as if more than one person was speaking. “Great. You should go then.” As the insect-like pony made his way towards the left door, Sombra added, “Oh... and tell her to plan it big. This is something all of Equestria might want to hear of.” When I woke up, I felt pretty dizzy, just as if I was recovering after being stunned. My head was an heavy load to carry, and it took a few efforts to stand up. I didn't really feel my legs either. I tried to walk, but immediately fell on the ground. I had no choice but to lie on my back until this strange feeling went away. As I looked at the course of the clouds in the sky, I noticed that something was not quite right about the sun. I realised after a while that it was moving faster than usual; I could see it slowly go down towards the skyline and the mountains far away. The sun's light was bright and pure, giving the clouds some peach tones as it swiftly went through and around them. A couple of minutes later, and the sun was reaching the top of the mountains. Strange patterns covered up the sky, ranging from fierce red and pink flames to frightening purple and blue waves. A sudden mild breeze pushed the last clouds afar, and the night began. I was not expecting a huge moon like this, though. I knew something strange was going on (and that giddy feeling refused to leave my mind), but this was the most unreal thing I had seen so far. I simply closed my eyes in an attempt to get some rest. This place was so silent and calm that it didn't take long for me to fall asleep. At least that's what I thought at first. I was awoken later at night after hearing a distant sound. I could not be sure of anything because of my condition and the odd timespan of this place, but after a quick glance, the moon didn't really seem to have moved, despite the impression I had of sleeping for hours. I heard the sound once more: it sounded like flapping, almost as if a bird was flying near me. I opened my eyes for good to see what caused this midnight melody. Everything I considered strange up to this point was nothing compared to what I saw. I must have still been dreaming, because what was before my eyes was undoubtedly impossible: somewhere between me and the moon was a flying creature, gently descending in my direction. The distance was too big for me to clearly tell, but the four-legged horse-like vision seemed to have a horn, and its color was similar to the gradients of dark blue surrounding the moon. I started to chuckle at my own imagination. "It has to be a dream." I repositioned myself and tried to get back to sleep. "Everything will be fine tomorrow, no more strange stuff. It's just a dream." "You are not dreaming... I mean, this is your dream for me, but reality for you." As these words were spoken, the dizziness disappeared and I almost instantly felt better. I managed to get on my feet, but I was still uncertain about if this whole scenario was real or not. I had a weird impression about my body. Right before me, a few meters away, was standing what I was afraid I had seen flying in the skies: an alicorn, the name given to unicorns with wings. I had no idea of how to react in front of a character of My Little Pony, but it was unquestionable: Luna was standing there. Princess Luna, to be accurate. "Creatures of your kind are not meant to exist here. Not in this dimension," added Luna. "What- what do you mean?" I asked in a shy voice. "My sister suffered obscure premonitions lately, and so did I. The moon has been speaking of an old and forgotten hallow place, one of which nopony besides us could have known its existence. Your aura is full of this millenary energy, young pegasus," she continued. "Young... pegasus?" I said, struck by confusion once more. Her horn glowed brightly for a moment, and a few seconds later, we were standing by a calm pond, under the branches of a willow. A mild fire was burning close to where we stood. Its warmth comforted me. She gently invited me to step to the edge of the water, and to bend over it. I was not expecting what I saw in this moonlight improvised mirror, yet at the same time, it seemed natural after the journey I had so far. I don't know how much time I spent there, looking at my new self. Instead of seeing the usual me, the reflection showed a creature similar to Luna, but smaller. His coat was of a light purple, lilac like, and as Luna stated, it was indeed a pegasus, seeing the folded wings laying on his back. The mane was relatively short, gently sliding down the neck to end up in three short spikes, with a similar tail. The tones reminded me of a deep night, alternating between royal and midnight blue. The eyes were sapphire blue, just like my own. When I raised my hand before my eyes, the image in the water moved, and I could now see a hoof instead of fingers; all of this was so strange. At least it explained the new body sensations: new morphology came with new anatomy. Without a warning, my wings spread out, and I almost suddenly felt a sort of pain to my new wing muscles. At least I got to know where they were immediately. As the first sensations disappeared, I was able to normally activate these parts of my body, and my wings began to flap. I would have tried to actually fly if Luna didn't interrupt me at this instant. "We do not know what happened to you. I think that it was planned by evil forces." She looked at the moon, gathering her thoughts. "You might know soon, in which case, please do tell us what is awaiting our world. We do not have much time before us." She sat by the fire, and after one last glance at the night sky, she closed her eyes and solemnly said, "May your journey help us all. Now, sleep well, my children.” I suddenly felt exhausted. I couldn't resist but to fall in a deep, calm sleep under the moonlight, by the remaining embers of Luna's fire. I dreamed of flying between clouds and skies. The sun was feeling nice on my skin – no, my coat – and the wind was gliding under my body as I soared up in the blue. When I reached a certain altitude, I folded my wings back to prepare a risky swoop. The high speed made me close my eyes, full of tears. The ground was coming; I could feel the tension in my muscles, getting ready for the last minute change of direction. A few more seconds... And I opened my eyes. I was laying on my back, wrapped up in my wings. Above me was a blue sky without any clouds. Waking up as a pony wasn't really different, except that I now had four legs instead of two, and that my back had been upgraded with a tricky pair of wings, which were not quite helpful to get up. As soon as I was standing firm on my new hooves, I panicked. I was not on the ground but on a cloud! The fear instinctively made me walk back, but I was not paying enough attention, and I fell off my only safety platform. I screamed for help, but I had to admit it to myself, who seriously would, by any chance, be passing by to rescue me? I put my front hooves over my eyes and hoped that my death would be painless. When I hit something, I thought my life was done and that I became a puddle of flesh and blood on the ground, but to my surprise, the ground shouted, "What in hell?!" The ground was not supposed to talk, of that I was sure. Either I was already dead, or all of this was a big hallucination. I still had the impression of going down, and as a matter of fact, me and the talking piece of soil crashed onto a pile of hay. When I managed to get my head out of there, I saw... wait, was this really what I thought it was? The hay was stacked on the wall of a barn, which happened to be located on a nice looking farm surrounded by orchards. Not too far away, I could see a town, with that recognizable crystal-tree castle in the background. Then out of nowhere came a pink pony, bouncing on her four hooves, and singing some welcome song to me. At the same time, I felt something moving under me, and a few moments later, I saw a rainbow-colored mane emerge from the hay. The pain in my head was not lying: this was happening for real. "Rai- Rainbow Dash?" was all I could mutter, before falling unconscious once more.
Chapter 2 - Dashing outI woke up roughly, my heart swiftly pumping blood all around my new body as I sat on a comfy bed. I could feel the sweat covering me, even if the room was surprisingly cold. It took me a few minutes to remember what happened, yet I still couldn't figure where I was. Just as I was about to get out move the sheets away, I heard someone talk behind me. “Hey there, don't get too excited, Mr. I-Fall-From-The-Sky,” said the voice. I turned around, but I couldn't see any... anypony. “Up here, you silly head!” continued the mysterious pony with an exasperated tone. I finally managed to take a glance on my interlocutor by looking up the stairs. This bed had apparently been installed in the middle of what seemed to be a hall of some sort. I had no trouble recognizing Rainbow Dash, slowly moving down the steps. What struck me immediately was that her left wing was tied on her flank by a bandage. Oddly enough, I could see some blood stains scattered on it. “You can bleed?” That's the first thing that crossed my mind, given I had never seen such things in the show itself. I immediately felt dumb for asking this question, and her response made it clear I wasn't helping myself. “Well, obviously, duh. What did you expect? You nearly crushed me to pieces last week!” Last week? Did that imply that I slept all that time? At least she didn't follow on with the name calling. I probably was lucky enough that she thought my strange behaviors were the result of that accident and the record-breaking nap. “Sorry for that, by the way. I completely lost control,” was all I could say. “I think everypony noticed that. But, seriously, what happened up there before you tried to kill me?” she asked as she finally reached the bottom of the stairs. “Even Fluttershy flies better than that!” “That's... kind of a long story. I could always start at the beginning and-” “Nah, it's fine. We'll wait for the others. What's your name, since you seem to know mine so well when we've never met?” she questioned me. Oh, right. I never thought about my name. Clearly my human name would not fit in Equestria. I didn't have a lot of time to think. I turned my head to the right a bit and saw a small window, surrounded by Wonderbolts posters. I finally realized I was in her home. Out there, the sky was purplish, as it usually is during this particular moment between night and day, but when no sunlight can be seen. The moon was just above the skyline, ready to let the dawn come. I then recalled my encounter with Princess Luna, and was it caused by this or by pure coincidence, I witnessed a shy sparkle on this full moon just as it went to sleep. The name came with sudden inspiration, and before I could think any more on it, I already had spoken these words. “You can call me Aurora Shade, I guess.” “Alright, get out of bed, you must be starving. Pinkie Pie surely made tons of pancakes for you... again. She's been doing that every morning since you came in here, and she also eats them all when you stay asleep. Come on, let's go before nothing's left, I'm pretty hungry myself too”. I struggled again with my wings, and it took a lot of efforts just to get out of bed without the sheets attached on me. Rainbow Dash barely managed to hide a smile before she walked towards the door. I followed her, and I was surprised at how naturally I could walk on four hooves. The wings would be way tougher to master, I could feel it already. When I got outside, I almost instantly jumped back in as I took a first step on a cloud. My hostess looked over her shoulder, and shook her head, discouraged. “Ok, I don't know if you're doing this on purpose or not, but there's definitely something off with you. You're lucky I'm feeling kind enough to wait for the others to hear what you have to say, because you owe me explanations,” she said as when pursued her path onto the clouds. After a few seconds of hesitation, I followed her as we walked on this huge cloud on which ran rainbow rivers. And when I thought I had seen it all, we finally stopped in front of a big, pink air balloon. She offered, “Either you come with me in this, or you fall down back to the ground like last time.” I wasn't sure of how to react, so she simply pushed me inside and took a seat right next to me after she shook the rope attached to the balloon. “Down we go,” she said, “and hey, don't look so blank. I never meant to make fun of you or anything. This might take a while, so try to put a smile oh your face before we arrive.” She then put her front hooves on the rail, looking thoughtfully overboard as we commenced the slow ride down. They were all there, sitting in front of me, and looking at me with the most unreadable expressions I have ever seen in my life. We had finished breakfast for a while now (luckily enough, me and Rainbow Dash arrived just in time to grab a few pancakes), and since then, nobody had talked. Even Pinkie Pie. I wasn't sure of what kind of greetings I would get, but so far, everything seemed strange and unreal. I didn't say a single word, I simply let Rainbow take me to Twilight's castle and try not to mind all the others taking quick glances at me from time to time, only to proceed talking quietly so I would not hear them. We then all walked to another room. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity took a seat on the cushions in the middle of the place, while Rainbow Dash stood a bit behind them, near the window and the small bookshelf, leaving me alone near the door. It was clear that they had a lot of questions, and obviously, Twilight spoke first. “First of all, let me introduce ourselves. My name is Twi-” “I know all your names,” I interrupted her. “Mine is Aurora Shade, and I know much more than just who you are”. After I had proved my claims, they were surprised... and suddenly more suspicious. “Let me get this straight,” replied Twilight, “first you fall out of nowhere and nearly kill Rainbow Dash, and then, after a full week of coma, you wake up only to tell us that you know who we are when we've never met you before? Now that is strange, especially given the special circumstances.” “What special circumstances?” I asked. That was not a good question, apparently. “And you don't even know what day this is? Oh, you are definitely not from here,” she continued. She took a few seconds to think. “And he has no cutie mark yet...” she murmured. I was about say something, but I looked at my flank and noticed that I really had no cutie mark. How could I have not seen that before this moment? But before I could recover from my small confusion, Twilight used her magic to get an old, dusty book from the bookshelf. It looked familiar to me, but I couldn't figure out where I had seen it before. She turned the pages rapidly until she stopped near the end. She read the lines more than once, as if she wanted to make sure that what she understood was indeed written. It felt as if something important might be happening, and judging by the concerned look on her face as she turned over to her friends, I knew it wasn't just an impression. “There is no time to lose, girls. We have to be in Canterlot before the Summer Sun Celebration begins. I need to inform Princess Celestia of what I've found as fast as possible, in person. Hurry!” Before I could move a hoof, all of them were running past me in the hallway, except for Rainbow Dash. She was still looking through the window, lost in her mind. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but I walked next to her and looked at this exquisite summer sky. It wasn't long before she turned around and headed towards the door, and as she left the room, she simply said, “You sure seem to cause a lot of trouble around here. Follow me, we'll get to the train station together... Twilight always forgets the important things when Spike is not with her.” She was already in the hallway. I was about to go, when I noticed that the book was still opened on the page Twilight had left it. I couldn't resist to take a quick peek. To my surprise, the page on the right was just a blank one. There weren't many lines on the left, but they seemed pretty meaningful, because the letters were not straight... as if the writer added them into the book later, in a rush. The dawn will come on the brightest day Where his presence will cause an evil dismay Look for the colt with hidden identity As of eternal chaos he is the key The lord of shadows will open the entrance When the nightmare returns, the prophecy shall commence The stars once more shining silently Over the shades of this mare's destiny Everything was going too fast. First, this whole treasure hunt for a portal that led me to a mysterious place with King Sombra, then my transformation in what probably was Luna's Dream Realm, or whatever she calls it, followed by an abrupt entry in Equestria. Not to mention this sudden agitation around me when I haven't even been awake for a day yet. “These words could have a lot of possible meanings. I don't like where this is going at all.” I could still hear Twilight and her friends talk in the next wagon. We took the train from Ponyville to Canterlot not so long ago, and ever since we left, they have been talking about the lines in this book. Or was it really some sort of prophecy? I'm not an expert in this kind of things, but after I managed to recognize the book itself, it could really be one. That one book is the one that contained the story of Nightmare Moon's return during the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. Still, we will have to wait until we can talk with the princesses before we can assume if it is plausible or not. I'm not even sure why I say “we”. After getting in the train, I went into the last car left at the disposition of passengers. I was pretty sleepy, mostly because we had to wait a couple of hours before actually getting in a train (I learned that Twilight could have used her princess title to get us first in the line of people wanting to go to Canterlot for the event, but that never was something she liked to do), but I didn't go to bed immediately. Instead, I went by the only window to look at the sunset. I thought that my presence in their group would have simply been awkward, or even not desired. After all, I was the cause of this trouble. It wasn't long before I lost track of time. The sky became darker and darker, and to my pleasure, not a single cloud was covering the beautiful mountainous landscapes surrounding Canterlot. Probably because the celebration would make more sense without them. Anyway, when the first stars started to shine and the moon arose, I decided it was time for a nap. The rest of the night and the next morning could be long and demanding. I turned around and I almost cried out of surprise when I saw someone... no somepony on one of the beds. He, or she, was lying in a shadowy area, and I wasn't able to identity who it was at first. I could only align a few words that didn't really make sense, “How did- bed- who are- why not...” “Why am I not with the others?”, said the pony. I recognized Rainbow Dash. Oh. Why in the world was she always the one staying with me? “To be honest,” she continued in a quiet tone, “they went to sleep without even according a second of attention to you. Everypony is stressed up and a bit of rest sure will help, but, you know...” I wasn't sure of what she meant, so I simply took a second attempt at the questions I had first. “When did you enter the car?” I asked. “About 10 minutes ago, I'd say? You were definitely lost in your mind, hey. You looked super thoughtful and all,” she answered as she pointed another bed to me. “The night is young, but we'll arrive pretty soon. Take some sleep, and don't think to much, everything will be fine.” I was hoping she was right as I took place under the sheets. As she suggested, I tried to empty my mind. I was about to fall into slumber when my wings stretched out suddenly, propelling the clothes everywhere in the wagon. “How does one even sleep with this?!” I couldn't help myself but to rage out loud. “Haha, I know some princess who had the exact same reaction!” said Rainbow Dash before yawning quite loudly. “You'll get used to it, don't worry.” “Well, thanks... Rainbow.” I hesitated before simply calling her by her name. “No problem at all. I guess I could teach you some stuff when I recover from that injury – hey, don't blush, it's fine! - because for some reason, you like like a Pegasus that never used his wings. Good night now... Aurora. She didn't know how right she was. And wow, I felt something strange when she said my new pony name. I didn't have the chance to think a lot more than that, as her calm breathing soon attracted me to sleep.
