My, Daughter, Maree

Dash dreampt during the time she was unconscious. It was perhaps one of the most vivid dreams she had ever

had. She was in the clouds, high above the ground, higher perhaps than even Cloudsdale. That was where she found

her. The mysterious White-Maned Mare of her dreams once again. In past dreams, Dash observed her from a non-

interactive perspective. The White-Maned Mare could see her, but she never interacted with her. However in this

dream, this particularly vivid dream, the White-Maned Mare flew right up to Dash. She had a gentle smile on her

face. She put one hoof on Dash's shoulder, and nodded approvingly, as if to say, "You are going to be okay.

Everything will be alright."

And that's when it occurred to Dash. Perhaps this White-Maned Mare was some sort of guardian angel,

watching her silently to guide and protect her. Dash never really held much stock in the concept of angels and

Heaven and Hell and such, but maybe, just maybe, if things turned out alright in reality, this might be a sign of

it's truth. When the White-Maned Maree began to turn away, Dash tried to call back after it, asking who she was

and what she was here for, but no sound came out of her mouth. Silence continued, and the White-Maned Mare drifted

slowly away into the clouds. Dash started after her, but suddenly felt like she was being pulled towards the

ground...

Dash awoke in a hospital bed yet again, something she had done more times in the last month than she had

for years previous. She found that waking up from an artificially produced state of unconsciousness wasn't quite

the same as waking up from sleep; she felt light-headed rather than drowsy, and a little weaker than normal. She

looked around, and noticed for once that she was not alone when she woke up. She could see a nurse and Dr. Leon

talking on the other end of the room. Dash noticed she'd been put in a hospital gown while she was out. Though she

had never totally forgotten why she was there, it was just now starting to return to her conscious mind what had

transpired recently. Maree's lung gave out, and Dash volunteered to give up one of hers. Dash took a peak down her

collar at her chest. Even knowing what had happened didn't do much to reduce the shock of the large and rather

unsightly scar, still bound by stitches, running lengthwise down her chest. It was a pretty gross sight, so she

decided to avert her attention from it.

Dash watched as the nurse was dismissed and Dr. Leon, having taken notice of Dash being awake, started to

walk over to her.

"Miss, Dash, you are awake I see. How do you feel?" He asked.

"Well, I'm doing okay, more or l-" Dash suddenly felt winded, and her shortness of breath made her cough. She took

another breath, and tried again. "I mean, I'm basically doing oka-" Again, her breath left her too early, and she

coughed again. "-Gah, Damn! What what is wrong..?" She took a slight breather, hoping to regather herself.

Dr. Leon "hm"ed understandingly. "Yes, this is common for someone in your position. You've only got one lung now,

remember? Now your breaths are shorter, and than means you need to speak either in shorter sentences, or make

regular breaks to breathe, or you'll have problems like this. It'll take some getting used to, I promise, but

you'll get the hang of it eventually, once you adjusted to your new speech patterns. So, as a test, let me ask

again. How do you feel?"

Dash took in a nice deep breath. "Fine." She answered. "Never mind me. How is Maree?" Dash, immediately leaped

into other matters.

Dr. Leon didn't give a verbal response. He simply looked Dash straight in the eye, and, for the first time

in a week, he smiled. Without uttering a single word, he spoke volumes to Dash's ears, and the news overjoyed her.

Despite being weak from the surgery, she could settle for no less than leaping right up from her bed and wrapping

her arms around Dr. Leons neck. After so much emotional stress, after life-threatening tribulation and hardship,

and a devastating state of depression that had ravaged Dash's mind and body, and an illness that nearly claimed

Maree's life, Dash once again cried the unrestrained and warming tears of joy akin to that which she had felt that

day she came home to see Maree standing before her for the first time, a proud, beaming face looking up at her.

"We've done it. Beating all odds, a true miracle has blessed this building and those who work inside of it, and

saved Maree's life." Dr. Leon thought aloud, returning Dash's embrace. "She's doing wonderfully. The swelling in

her left lung has come down significantly, and she's taken to her mother's donated lung quite nicely. Her fever is

breaking even as we speak; it's down to 100.5 and dropping. She's resting easy now, and She'll be healthy again in

just a couple more days, all of it resting. A true miracle."

Dash laid back down again, and felt her whole felt body give a great big sigh of relief. There's was

nothing to worry about. For the first time over a month, there was not a concern in all the world for Dash or

Maree. All she was obligated to do was sleep and rest, without any worry of what would happen to anyone. Yet of

course, she made herself do it anyway.

"Can I see her?" Dash asked.

Dr. Leon shrugged. "If you can make the trip." He said. "You'll probably feel pretty out of energy after what you

went through. The lack of sleep, malnutrition, dehydration, and a major operation. You might not be up to it."

"I'm going to try anyway." She stood up slowly, and

took a couple light steps. Her brain had ignored the tremendous amount of weakness in her body the passed few

days, and now that she was finally healthy, she was perfectly aware of how weak, tired, and hungry she was. She

could tell she wasn't going to make it, but unfortunately for her, she was even healthy enough to remember how

proud she was of her independence, and kept walking anyway. She made it to the end of the room, but had to stop.

"It's alright, Miss Dash, I'll get a wheelchair, and I'll take her to your room. There's no need to push yourself.

This is the time for you to relax." Dr. Leon walked passed, off to fetch a wheelchair. Dash's instinct was to try

again, but of course she had no idea where Maree's room was. You know what, she thought, I think I deserve a

break. I'll just stay  right here until he comes back with the chair.

Dash wheeled up into Maree's room with Dr. Leon's help, and she brightened up immediately to see her

daughter resting quietly. No coughing, no gasping, no harsh breathing, just steady, healthy sounding breaths. She put herself right next to Maree. She looked her child over, and put a hoof on her head, stroking her mane. To her surprise,

she saw Maree's eyes slowly open up, and they met her gaze quickly. It was the first time she'd looked into her

daughter's eyes in over a week.

"..Mommy.." Maree's voice was low and cracked. It was obvious her throat was still very sore. "Mommy... I missed

you..." She slowly picked herself up, giving her mother the best hug she could muster. Dash returned the embrace,

and lost herself in her daughter's arms.

"I've been with you... the whole time. I haven't left your side... for a moment."

..But... you were gone for so long, Mommy, I missed you..." Dash guessed that she might not remember Dash coming

to get her on that day, being comatose for so long. It wasn't a big issue, but it was a little odd that she didn't

remember it at all.

"Am I...sick?" Maree asked drowsily.

Dash chucked a little. "Not anymore. You're getting better now." Dash explained.

"Well, I sure feel sick." Maree stated, finally letting go of Dash.

Dash chuckled again, a little louder this time. It felt good to laugh again. "Just a fever, kid. No problem. You'll

get over it soon enough, then we'll go back to the house together."

"Really?" Maree's expression, which had been drowsy and groggy, brightened up instantly. "We're finally going

home?"

Dash smiled sincerely. "Yup, in a couple days... it'll be just you and me... back to the way things... used to be.

And this time, we're staying together. I promise."

Maree smiled brightly enough to light the whole room. "Yay! I can't wait, I missed you so much, Mommy. Don't ever

get sick again please, it's so sad without you..." Maree hugged her mother again, more tightly this time. It was

just a generally light-hearted conversation from there, talking about what was going on in Maree's life mostly

while she stayed with Applejack. She seemed to remember this with clarity, despite not knowing how or why she

ended up in the hospital. Dr. Leon explained it was a very common psychological defense mechanism to block out

traumatic events from memory. They may return to her in time, or they may not.

They continued to talk often over the next couple days, Maree progressively getting healthier and

healthier. They explained what had happened while Maree was at the peak of her illness, in as kid friendly a way

as possible. Maree was particular confused and surprised by the concept of one of Dash's lungs being inside of her

now. Of course, she thought it was kind of cool when it was finally explained in a way she could understand.

When the two finally returned home, things were very quiet at first, much to Maree's dismay. You'd think

she'd never been ill at all from the amount of energy she had. Dash was constantly telling her that she needed to

relax and to slow down, and warned her not to overdo herself immediately after a major operation. Maree wanted to

play constantly, but Dash knew that she wasn't up to it, which disappointed Maree. Everything was slowly settling

back into the way things used to be, and life was becoming normal once again. However, there was one thing Dash

still needed to face before she could return to an ordinary life. A single inkling in the back of her mid

regarding a certain somepony she needed to confront: Paragon.

She had hoped that over the years, she could have simply forgotten about him. She could let him do

whatever he wanted, no matter how terrible, and just not be a part of it. Let someone else resolve the problem for

once, so she could live an honest, normal life. But after what happened to her that night when she nearly died

because of that man... she couldn't just take that. She needed to get back at him, and she knew exactly how to do

it.

One day, she asked Pinkie to watch Maree yet again, promising to Maree that it was a temporary thing that

wouldn't take too long. She walked over to Twilight's house, knocking on the door.

"Hey, Dash! I heard the operation was a success! How are you and Maree?" Twilight asked in a cheerful, friendly

manner.

"We're doing good. More or less healthy." Dash, not really there for small talk, tried to get to the point as

quickly as possible. "Hey Twilight, I know this will sound... weird and out of the blue... but do you remember

how... back a few years when I lost... to Paragon, you said you could have... done something... to find out whether or not...

he was cheating?" Dash asked.

Twilight frowned a bit, thrown by the rapid change in topic. "Uh, yeah... you mean, you still care about that? I

thought you gave up on that old showboat a long time ago." Twilight pointed out.

Dash scoffed a little bit. "Yeah, well, you could say that... recent events have convinced me... to change my

mind... and that I just haven't had... the spare time to... look into it." Dash replied frankly.

Twilight thought for a bit, shaking her head a bit. "Are you sure you really want to get into it again with him?

You're not exactly in the best condition right now..."

But Dash was insistent. "I'm sure, Twilight. It's not for me... it's for all the ponies... he's been bullying

around... all these years who haven't been... able to stand up for themselves. We're going to put a hole... right

through his perfect image... and prove that he's not... the best flier in Equestria."

Twilight was still hesitant. "But, what does it matter to you? Even if he's not the best in Equestria, I think

it's safe to say you aren't either anymore. Sorry to say, but it's the truth."

"I just said it's not about... me!" Dash repeated. "I don't care about being... the best flier in Equestria. All I

care about is... that he isn't, and that... because we can prove he isn't... he'll leave Cloudsdale... alone!"

Dash stopped to catch her breath, slightly winded by the conversation. She wasn't quite used to breathing with

only one lung, but she was getting a little better at making breaks to breathe.

Twilight, after giving it some more thought, finally gave in. "Alright, if this is what you really want to do.

I'll need to grab Spike and to fire up my hot air balloon."

Dash looked puzzled. "What's that for?"

Twilight turned and threw her reply over her shoulder. "You'll see. Meet me out back."

One week later, Dash was ready. It was time to face Paragon one last time. She took off towards

Cloudsdale, leaving Maree with Pinkie Pie. This was the last time she'd need to do so for a long time, for after

today, one way or another, everything was going back to normal. She just had to do this one last thing and be done

with it forever. By the time she got to Cloudsdale, she already had to stop to catch her breath. Flying was a lot

more laboring now than it had been before. Luckily, she wouldn't have to do much flying if Twilight's plan worked

properly. She was immediately disturbed by what she saw in Cloudsdale. Very few pegasi were out, and the few that

were were being harassed and attacked by Paragon's crew. Most of the pegasi that Dash saw were all badly bruised,

and their wings were especially harmed. It was clear that Paragon had aimed to ensure no one could leave safely by

crippling them. Dash had only severely injured her wings a few times in her life, and it was a most wretched

feeling. Losing the ability to fly was bad enough, but wings were not easy to treat. The bones in a pegasus' wing

are very frail, and can easily be damaged. They're also exceptionally sensitive, and equally damaging injuries to

the wing are a lot more painful than a wound anywhere else. This had to end.

Paragon wasn't difficult to spot. He was roughly in the middle of town, as usual, his grandiose form

apparent form a small crowd of followers. She walked right in his direction, and was spotted almost immediately.

"Hm? Well! If it isn't the world's most colorful silver-medal, back from the grave! I thought I took care of you

already!" Paragon was obviously surprised, but apparently not terribly upset.

"I had something I still... needed to take care of... before I could... give up on life: you." Dash replied

flatly, venom pouring from her words.

Paragon laughed out loud to himself. "Is that so? What are you going to do, little filly? Hit me? I should warn

you, there aren't any town hall walls for you to crash into around here, if you miss, you could carry on for quite

a while before you hit one!" A laugh broke out amongst himself and his cronies.

Dash's expression didn't change. "No. I want one last race." She said with an even tone.

Paragon laughed even more now. "Another? Perhaps the very simple pattern that has arisen from our previous

encounters has not yet permeated your unusually thick head, but you cannot beat me. It is a waste of both of our

respective times to even try."

Dash smirked, and said, in an effort to provoke him, "Are you saying no? Is the mighty Paragon... master of the

sky... backing out of a challenge?"

Paragon's smile receded into a glare, and then a cocky grin again stretched across his cheeks. "You would think

defeating the same opponent a third time would begin to bore me. Alas, there is indeed something special about

besting you. It never gets old." Paragon walked directly up to Rainbow Dash, towering over her with his grand

physique. "You're on, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash took the lead, showing Paragon to the starting point she had planned out. "Follow me."

The two combatants, followed by a large entourage, walked clear to the edge of town, in approximately the

same location they had faced off last time.

"This is the spot." Dash said. "It's the same race as before... a straight run to Ponyville... from here."

Paragon shook his head in wonder. "The exact same race I beat you in already, and you want to go through an

identical experience again? A curious one you are, Rainbow Dash." He stood directly next to her, preparing to

start the race. On cue, one pegasus stepped out of the crowd and started to count them down.

"On your marks... get set..." He paused briefly for suspense. "GO!" And the two took off with a powerful gust of

wind. This time, rather than taking a direct path to Ponyville, Dash stayed with Paragon, going straight out

ahead. It was difficult to keep up now that she had a drastically limited oxygen intake, but she knew she wouldn't

have to keep up for long.

Paragon noticed Dash tailing him, and a cross look came about his face. "W-what are you doing?" He asked.

Barely able to keep up with breathing, Dash somehow managed to reply with a simple "taking a... flying lesson...

from you."

Paragon was clearly agitated with this mockery, and fixated his attention on the goal ahead.

In the distance, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack, carried by Twilight's hot air balloon, watched as the

racers approached them.

"I still don't know why y'all needed ta come up here ta watch this here race, ya won't be able ta see nothin'

considerin' that this is the highest point of the race. They'll spend the rest of it way below this point."

Applejack commented, watching Dash and Paragon gradually close in. "And I especially don't get why y'all needed ta

bring me into it. I love watchin' Dashie fly N' all, but I just don't trus' this dang ol' thing, It makes me

nervous..." Applejack regarded the hot air balloon with a suspicious glare. Twilight simply said nothing, watching

as the two racers started to draw near. She looked down. She was directly over Ponyville. Perfect.

"Applejack, you've been paying attention to the flying lessons I've been giving you, right? You think you can land

this thing by yourself now?" Twilight asked over her shoulder, keeping her eyes on Dash.

"Well sure I can, it's as easy as apple pie! But why did I need to go through that god awful week of flying lesson

when I don't like fly-" Before she could finish her question, Twilight Sparkle leaped over the edge, and began

falling rapidly towards the ground, much to Applejack's horror. He eyes practically popped out of her head and she

screamed in terror. She looked over the edge to see her friend plummeting, headed directly for the clouds below.

"TWILIGHT! WHAT ARE YA DOIN'?! ARE YA CRAZY?! oh geez, what do I do, what do I do..." Applejack was panicking, and

decided to prep the balloon for landing as quickly as possible.

Twilight continued in a controlled fall, until she saw Dash and Paragon flying right up near her. Alright,

this is it, she thought to herself. You've been practicing this, you know you can pull it off. Just stay calm and

focused... Simultaneously, all three of them entering a diving position, and all three began to fall very

rapidly towards the ground. Dash and Twilight both smiled, knowing that so far, everything had gone perfectly.

Paragon, on the other hand, was dumb-founded. He had no idea what the two had planned, and no way of finding out.

All he knew is that regardless of what they were plotting, he had no intention of losing to either of them, and

certainly not both of them.

Out of nowhere, Paragon starting pulling away from Dash and Twilight. Dash tried tucking herself in as

much as possible, but she could only go so fast. She began to fall behind. Seeing this, Twilight's horn began to

glow, and suddenly she started to catch up to Paragon, leaving only Dash in the back. Though she was now behind

them both, Dash was satisfied; her part was done now. The look on Paragon's face was one of horror when he saw that

Twilight was gaining on him. A unicorn, of all things, was rivaling him in a diving contest. He watched her horn

with suspicion, knowing that she was doing something dastardly, but kept focusing. He pulled away further.

Twilight caught him again. The remainder of the drop was like this; he would pull ahead inexplicably, and Twilight

would just catch him again. Eventually, when they got too close to the ground to be safe, Paragon's speed peaked

out, reaching a blistering, yet unseen speed that Twilight couldn't hope to measure. Twilight didn't bother to

follow him this time. She simply nodded with satisfaction and changed into a face down, belly-to-ground position

and allowed her speed to drop harshly. After a few moments, Dash finally caught up, and caught her with several

seconds to spare.

"Did you see what you came here to see?" Dash asked, as she headed for Paragon's location.

Twilight grinned back at her friend. "More than enough."

Paragon finally landed on the ground in front of the Town Hall once again, panting heavily, as though he

had flown the entire distance rather than dive it. Shortly after his arrival, Twilight and Dash caught up, and

Dash dropped Twilight off, landing next to her.

Paragon, badly out of breath, tried to keep his cool as he addressed his opponents. "You see... Rainbow Dash? I am

still... The best! No matter what; or WHO; you challenge me with, I will... I will always win!" He coughed a

couple times, trying to catch his breath.

"Why so short of breath, Paragon?" Twilight asked rhetorically, with a certain smugness about her. "Have you been

overexerting yourself with magic?" Many people in the crowd about them stopped after hearing this. Paragon

furrowed his brow angrily.

"W-what in the world are you talking about, magic? What nonsense is this?" He snarled.

It's simple. Underneath that mask, you're hiding a horn, with which you are able to manipulate air pressure to

increase your movement speed through the air. That is how you are able to accomplish such a high diving speed."

Twilight explained. "A terminal velocity is when the downward force of gravity is matched by the upward force of

drag, causing one's speed to level out and cease accelerating. At no point during that fall did you reach anything

that could resemble a "terminal velocity", as you constantly were accelerating. Theoretically assuming your body

abides by the natural laws of physics, you should have stopped accelerating within the first 20 seconds or so, but

you didn't. You kept moving faster and faster, and I suspect that in that last spurt, you may have even gone

super-sonic, yet no sonic boom was made. Both the fact that you were able to move that fast and the fact that no

boom was created could only be possible in a vacuum, which you created by manipulation the airwaves to simply flow

around you rather than passed you, allowing you to fall uninhibited by drag for a few moments. You could have

easily just held your breath for that." Twilight said all of this with total confidence, and Paragon saw no place

to correct her. When she took a break to hear his response, he found one thing he could say.

"But then, how could you explain my moving more quickly in a straight, linear path? Surely, creating a vacuum, if

such a thing could be done, would only inhibit my ability to fly a straight path?" He made a good point. Twilight

was ready to counter it, though.

"Simple. If you can make air pressure drop, you can surely make it rise. You simply did the reverse; you increased

the density of the air immediately behind your wings, allowing you generate a greater amount of thrust on each

flap, giving you more speed."

Paragon was increasingly frustrated, and was becoming quite self-conscious of the crowd forming around them. "How

can yo be so sure that this is the only way I could have made myself dive faster?" He asked.

Again, Twilight was ready to immediately answer. "Easy. Because I did exactly the same thing. It's how I kept up

with you."

Paragon's argument was growing weak, and he knew it. "This is preposterous! I haven't an ounce of magic in me!

Can't I simply be a supreme flyer? Ha, all of you are merely jealous of my abilities!" Paragon boasted.

Now it was Dash's turn. "Then would you mind explaining how you managed to tie a knot in a length of rope binding

my wings together with both of your hooves full and your mouth flapping? Can we also attribute that to your

'supreme flying skills'?" Twilight hadn't heard this story yet, and frowned in disgust.

Paragon had been backed into a psychological corner. It felt like every pony in Ponyville was watching

this conversation, and he was finally out of excuses. With no other options, he started to crack up laughing.

Firstly out of amusement, but soon it became a very cruel, sinister laugh. It's eeriness chilled Dash and

Twilight, who were confused by his change in attitude. When he finally stopped laughing, he fixed the two with a

deadly look, a cynical smile cracked across it's lower half.

"Guess the cats out of the bag." He tore away his blue, axe-shaped mask, to reveal exactly what had been

anticipated; a great, majestic horn more than fit for an Alicorn his size. Numerous gasps and whispers spread

through the observing crowd.

"I knew it!" Dash exclaimed, unsurprised.

"So, you knew I was an Alicorn. You figured out my trick. Looks like you did your homework, kid. Bright child,

indeed, gold star. Although, I'd be even more impressed if you knew who I really was." Paragon said challengingly.

Twilight's confidence wavered slightly. "As a matter of fact, I can honestly say I have no idea who you are." She

admitted. Seemingly taking this as a leaping point, she regained her confidence again, and continued. "And I find

that rather strange. I haven't even so much as glimpsed a single piece of information on you. Not one book, text,

scroll, poem, not even so much as a mere fairy tale about you or anyone immediately related to you. It's quite

apparent someone is either covering up your tracks, or perhaps you are being deliberated ignored by history."

Twilight said.

Paragon chuckled a little. "That's too bad, that Celestia would really go to such lengths to ignore me. I thought

she was the mature one of the bunch... very well, I shall explain to you who I am, but first, a history lesson!"

*DISCLAIMER* I DO NOT INTEND ANY OF THE FOLLOWING TO BE TREATED AS CANNON. IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CURRENTLY

CONFLICTS WITH THE CANNON OF MLP FIM, OR IS LATER RENDERED INVALID IN A FUTURE EPISODE, I ASK THAT YOU DISREGARD

IT. I HAVE TAKEN EVERY PRECAUTION I CAN THINK OF TO ENSURE THAT I HAVE NOT CONTRADICTED ANYTHING THAT HAS BEEN

SAID, BUT MISTAKES ARE MADE BY PEOPLE ALL THE TIME.

He began to pace as he spoke. "A great many years ago, thousands of years before even the current reining

princesses of Equestria were born, this world had never seen Alicorns. It had been watched from an mere

observational point on another plane of existence by the ones known as the 'Silent Watchmen', shapeless, faceless

gods of infinite power and wisdom in their own dimension, but powerless overseers in this one. it is they who

watched our universe be born, finding worlds filled with life to watch over. When they see it fit, they would

would send some from their ranks to live on these worlds to rule over them. One day, they descended 8 gods from

their ranks to this world, it's dominant species still in it's infancy, to command them. Upon their arrival, they

took a form that would accurately represent the dominant species of this land; the strong, robust bodies of the

Earth Ponies, the majestic, elegant wings of the Pegasus, and the commanding power source that was the horn of the

Unicorn. These being would become known by the inhabitants as the Alicorns."

Twilight seemed troubled. "All of this doesn't make any sense, how can you possibly know this is true?" She asked.

"Paragon continued. "Ah, I assure it's very true, I am well in touch with the true history of this world. The

ponies of this world had never seen such majesty or power, and treated the Alicorns as kings and queens, as their

masters and lords. They reined for many centuries, until they realized that something was drastically different

about their new bodies that they hadn't been told about when they become of this world: they were now mortal. They

breathed, they live,d they aged, and so they would also inevitably die. In order to continued the cycle of the

gods, they began to pair up and take mates among their own kind, and created their own offspring, who each

possessed as much power as their ancestors. Essentially, each generation, they become even more powerful to

compensate for their shrinking numbers. They were able to continue for a few more millennia before the final

pairing between the last remaining Alicorns, Hayperion and Equest. Equest disliked Hayperion, and did not

initially accept him as a husband, but eventually realized that she was obligated to do so in order to continue to

cycle of the Alicorns and leave a legacy. When Hayperion discovered that their first born, who we now know as

Celestia, was a female, he insisted they try again, believing that if only one more cycle shall come to pass, it

should be run by a man. Though Equest disagreed, she accepted Hayperion's demands to keep him pleased. Hayperion

was outraged to find that yet again, he was denied a son by the birth of his second daughter, Luna. When Equest

denied Hayperion a third attempt, saying there was nothing wrong their daughters taking over Equestria, he was

outraged and lashed out against her. He managed to inflict fatal wounds upon her, but with the last of her

strength she cursed him with a spell that banished him to a small settlement far away removed from his home,

forbidding him to return or to permit anyone he knew to return. Shortly following Equest's passing, the 3 tribes of

ponies finally united, and even named their country after the deceased Alicorn! It was there that Celestia and

Luna were raised ever since." Paragon stopped pacing, allowing this information to sink in.

"Dash who had been quiet for a long time, was the first one to start asking questions. "So wait, what did that

have to do with you?" She asked.

"Ah, you see Rainbow Dash, one thing that has been forgotten by history is that Equest had a sister, who was not

fond of her, but was indeed fond of Hayperion. She accepted him as her husband, bringing with her a moderate

settlement's worth of loyal ponies who had faith in their ways. This was before the ponies of this world were so

uniform in their thoughts and beliefs, you see. And finally, as my father entered his last quarter-millenia of

life, he was granted with the son he had sought after for so long." Paragon stood proud, having finally completed

his long story.

Dash, surprisingly, was the first one to catch it. "Your father? You're Hayperion's son?" She exclaimed.

"And... and you said that Celestia is Hayperion's first daughter, which means... you're... you're.."

"You two are siblings. Brother and sister!" Twilight finished.

Paragon rolled his eyes irritably. "She's my HALF-sister, and it pains me to even admit to that." He muttered.

"But, you said the curse prevented Hayperion, as well as anyone connected to him, to come back here. Has Hayperion

died?" Twilight asked.

Paragon shook his head, almost seeming disappointed by it. "No, he's not long for this world, my father, but

before you ask, I'll explain how I can be here now; the curse said that Hayperion cannot knowingly send his

followers to Equestria. Whether he says yes or no makes no difference; if both persons are aware of the

suggestion, they are affected. However, I discovered a loophole. I simply left without my father's knowledge, and

thus he cannot approve or disapprove my actions." Paragon noted. "Thus I am before you today."

"Well, that won't last long. You'll be on your way now. You might have won, but you didn't do it fair or square,

so what have you got left? You're done here Paragon, and I want you out of my skies!" Rainbow Dash demanded.

Paragon started laughing again now, harder and more maliciously than ever before. "Your skies? You really

haven't been listening to the stories, have you?" Paragon commented, still chuckling. "Each generation was more

powerful than the last, and I am of the 4th generation. My sisters have the power to raise the sun and the moon,

and you think all I get out of it is a couple of parlor tricks that help me cheat at sporting events? You rally

have no idea what I'm capable of..." As he spoke, a breeze starting to pick up ever so gradually. "I am no mere

trickster, and I'm not just some big shot athlete with a big mouth." The wind started getting stronger, and now

some clouds had started to collect in this sky. Twilight had noticed that just the very tip of Paragon's horn had

begun to shimmer. This wasn't costing him an ounce of strength. "I am what your inferior, barbaric kind once

called a god. I am what happens when you take one of the lords of the universe and mix him with several others

over the course of thousands of years." The clouds began to cluster together thicker and thicker, and spread wider

and wider, quickly covering all Ponyville and several hundred yards surrounding it. An ominous dark shadow of

cloud loomed over the normally peaceful village, and it's inhabitants began to tremble in fear, backing away from

Paragon. "I am the master of storms, and the lord of the skies. I can create storms that even your nightmares

would fear." Low thunder began to roll through the clouds, and the wind had picked up to a considerable gust.

There was even some rain now. "I want you to know one thing, if anything, before I make you weep with fear, child.

I RULE THESE SKIES!" A loud crash of thunder broke through the skies right on cue at the tip of his sentence, and

many ponies began to run in fear of Paragon. "I was hoping to take this country little by little, subtly and with

as much entertainment as possible. But you know what? Screw subtlety. It's just not my thing." Paragon took a

couple steps toward his two opponents. "Let me ask you this, kiddies. Have you ever been in that perfect storm, the

one that is truly awe-striking, one that's so mighty, so torrential that you are humbled by its very presence, as

you slowly realize that no matter how strong you are, no matter how much success you garner, you will always be

inferior to the might of nature, who can do so little as sneeze and cause so much chaos as the death of hundreds."

Paragon chuckled cynically. "That feeling cannot even begin to prepare you for what I'm about to instill in you."