Dusk and Rune: Shattered Days

"This is so annoying." Rainbow mumbled i frustration, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in for her afternoon nap.

After a long day of work in the clouds, more realistically practicing to apply to the Wonderbolts instead of real work, Rainbow Dash was ready to rest in her usual sleeping tree in the park. But this time was different. Perhaps it was because the branch was not as soft as before? Maybe the bark was scratching her? But mostly likely it was the sounds of ponies playing and their pets making their animal noises around her. Prying her eyes open and away from her pillow, Rainbow saw her friends playing with their pets. Rarity used magic to drag a to mouse for Opal to chase, Applejack used her tail to throw a stick for Winona, Pinkie played with Gummy, Fluttershy chased Angel Bunny, and Dusk was playing with Owlowiscious.

"Could you guys keep it down?" Rainbow asked, trying to find a better sleeping position.

"Sorry Rainbow but this is where we always have our weekly Pony Pet Playdate." Pinkie responded. "Sorry we didn't invite you, it's just you don't have a pet and we didn't think you'd be trying to sleep in the same tree we always play at."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rainbow said, jumping down from her tree in a minor annoyance. "Just because I don't have a pet, doesn't mean I don't want one."

"Oh! Really?!" Fluttershy squealed in sheer delight as she flew fast enough to catch Rainbow off guard in a tackle; grabbing her and flying the two of them towards her cottage. "I know exact what we can do! Let's look for a pet that's just right for you! Then you can be the bestest friends!"

'So uh what's going on here?" Rune asked, joined with the others as they all watched Rainbow Dash pacing back and forth in front of a large group of flying insects and birds.

"Rainbow Dash wants to get a pet." Dusk explained. "And she's holding a contest to see which is the best."

"That does sound like Dash." Rune chuckled. "But at least they're all flyers. So it's easier to test them I suppose."

"Not all of them." Pinkie commented, pointing her hoof towards the end of the line, where Fluttershy was pushing a tortoise to the line.

"A turtle?" Rainbow objected, flying over to Fluttershy. "Nuhuh. No way."

"Oh come on Rainbow, I promised he could try." Fluttershy answered. "Also, he's a tortoise."

"Whatever, just don't cry to me when he doesn't make the cut." Rainbow scoffed, returning to the other animals. "So you all think you can be my pet do ya?" She stared at the birds and bugs as if she was some taskmaster in the royal guard. "Well it ain't gonna be easy! So if anyone wants to leave, do it now and spare yourself the embarrassment!" She continued pacing back and forth, not surprised that some bugs and small birds were leaving from the pressure. "I thought so, there's only room for one pet on Team Dash, and I demand nothing less of the best for me!"

"Hey Pinkie?" Rune offered as he watched Rainbow go about her recruitment process. "Bet ya fifty bits the eagle wins."

"Oh yeah, I bet fifty bits the tortoise wins." Pinkie responded, meeting Rune's bet.

"You two shouldn't be gambling on who Rainbow Dash's pet will be." Dusk scolded the two ponies.

"Oh come on, it's not like we'll be doing anything else all day." Rune whined a little. "You just can't gamble to save your flank."

"Please, it has nothing to do with-" Dusk was caught off by the sound of Applejack's voice.

"I'll bet the bat wins." Applejack added in her own wager.

"Girls...and Rune...please control yourself." Rarity responded with a scoff. "Dusk darling is right after all, it's not dignified to bet on your friend getting a pet."

"If you won, think of the date you and Dusk could have." Rune whispered into Rarity's ear, getting her eyes to sparkle in excitement.

"The hummingbird will win as it has the best style." Rarity said, adding bits to the bet.

"Okay, so we got myself, Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity betting." Rune commented, holding out a bag for everypony to put their fifty bits in.

"Ahem." Came the strange sound of Fluttershy as she walked towards the group, throwing fifty bits into the sack.

"Fluttershy?!" The ponies gasped in surprise.

"Interesting." Rune chuckled. "So what's your bet?"

"Rainbow Dash will not chose based on a contest." Fluttershy replied with a giggle, looking back to the group of birds and one tortoise. "I have a feeling she'll choose her own pet."

"I have no clue why you think that, but doesn't matter." Rune chuckled some more, closing the sack tight. "That's two hundred and fifty bits to the winner of this bet."

"Shouldn't we focus more on what Rainbow's doing?" Dusk suggested.

"Fine, fine." Rune groaned a little, then shouted to Rainbow Dash. "Hey Dash! What's the first event?"

"I'll show you. Follow me." Rainbow replied, taking off to the flaps of the birds that remains. And the slow motion of the tortoise.

After a few long minutes of walking, Rainbow guided her would be pets to a sizable race track. The pets lined up to get ready for what could be a race. Rainbow paced back and forth at the sides of the pets as Dusk, Rune, and the other girls watched from the side line. Of the pets that started, only the eagle, hummingbird, the bat, the tortoise, an owl, and a falcon was all that remained.

"All right, here is the first test...speed." Rainbow explained, looking at the remaining animals. "I want you all to move around the track to see how fast you move."

"Isn't that a little counter productive because they all move at different speeds by nature?" Dusk called.

"Hey, babe....stop being a nerd and let me handle this." Rainbow playfully snapped back.

"What does she mean by "babe"?!" Rarity snapped, glaring angrily at Rainbow.

"Look, they probably did it after Eris was sealed away, are you really so surprised?" Rune commented, looking at Rarity in an apathetic expression. He then looked at how angrier Rarity was getting from his comment. "Oh, come on, like you or any of the other girls never had sex with Dusk." Rarity then looked at the others and the expression on their faces told her he was right.

By the time Rune had finished talking to Rarity, Rainbow was just finishing testing the pets' speed. The eagle was at the lead, with the owl closing in and the humming bird speeding by, but it was the falcon that really showed itself by forcing its way through the pets with a quick burst of speed. In second came the eagle, then the humming bird, the owl and bat tied, and finally the tortoise...having only hit the start of the track.

"That's just sad." Rainbow shook her head in disappointment. "Okay, on to the next text." After the speed test, Rainbow started testing the animals' agility, to which the hummingbird was effortlessly able to out show the others. "That's not too shabby. Don't leave me hanging." The hummingbird went to wing hoof Rainbow, but fell the moment it stopped beating its wings. "I'm gonna have to scratch off a point for that."

The next text was a test of guts and courage. The animals had to try and take Opal's favorite toy from her. Though all trembled at the vicious display and hiss Opal gave, the pets still had to try. But after several minutes of intense stares, no pet could work up the courage to make the first move. But it was the tortoise that slowly made his way to toy, grabbing it with his mouth and bring his head and the toy back into his shell as Opal flailed and clawed at him, but her claws could not penetrate or harm the reptile.

"Meh, not bad turtle." Rainbow scoffed, more disappointing in the fear the other animals showed.

"Tortoise!" Fluttershy called.

"Whatever!" Rainbow called back. "Now comes an important part of being my pet...style!"

"Well if that wasn't a big waste of time." Rune commented looking over the photos with the others. "What do you think Dusk, especially the sweater...I bet you'd love to give that book an intense reading."

"Shut up!" Dusk responded in a near comical aggression, with a faint red blush on his face. "Rainbow, have you decided yet?"

"Not yet." Rainbow responded, looking over the photos again. "I mean what can I do?"

"If only there was some crazy ass test to really prove who's worth it." Rune openly commented, not really talking to anypony in particular.

"That's it!" Rainbow commented hugging Rune in the joy of her idea, then letting go when she realized she was hugging Rune. "A massive test, one so dangerous and risky that the winner would definitely deserve to be my pet!"

On the outskirts of Ponyville, a tad beyond the Everfree Forest lay the Ghastly Gorge, a massive cut of stone and land that stretched for miles. Standing at one end of the Gorge was Rainbow, along with the possible pets; with the exception of the hummingbird, it flew away at the first sight of the Gorge and it's violent winds. At the top portions of the Gorge, Dusk, Rune, and the others looked on in shock. The rules of this test were simple, who ever would finish the race with Rainbow Dash, would be the mare's new pet. But the Gorge had more than just a long span to worry about. There was also violent winds, thorn covered vines, and worst of all, the ravenous Quarray Eels. Suffice to say, the pets were trembling in fear.

"Now, who's ready to race?" Rainbow announced, spreading her wings in preparation for the event. "Ready?" The pets reluctantly lined themselves up to race, even the tortoise was getting ready, with more fire in his eyes than the others. "Set?" The pets gulped the last bits of courage, their bodies were tense and ready to set off.

"Still feeling strong about that bet Fluttershy?" Rune asked, smirking in his possible victory over the others.

"Oh I still think Rainbow will make the right choice." Fluttershy smiled, confident in her bet.

"Go!" Rainbow shouted, taking off with a burst of wind and speed, leaving only her signature rainbow trail behind her.

The pets soon took to the sky, following after Rainbow, though the tortoise followed behind. Rainbow, in the high of her lead and her competitive nature guiding her, she flew as fast as her wings could carry her. Her first passed landmark was the infamous wind caves, a small tunnel where concentrated air would blow through, turning a gentle breeze into a burst of wind. Rainbow was able to make it through with little issue, but the pets met it with some small struggles, blowing the bat clear out of the other side.

"Come on, you want to win don't you?" Rainbow egged on the pets, showing off her skills at moving through the thorn covered vines with ease.

The animals eager to please Rainbow Dash, flew recklessly into the thorns. Because of their great wingspans, the eagle and the falcons both got their wings caught in thorns, while the owl was unable to fit through most of the tight spaces. But out of seemingly nowhere, the bat, finally able to make it through the wind cave was able to use its small size and echo location to navigate through the thorns. Not wanting to lose to the cheeky bat, the falcon and eagle forced their way through the vines, at the cost of some of their feathers, which slowed down their flight speed enough for the owl to fly over the thorns and catch up.

"Not bad, but watch out for the Quarray Eels." Rainbow boasted, flying dangerously close to the rock hole where a massive reddish eel creature emerged, but Rainbow was easily able to dodge the attack. "They don't like it when you get too close to their nest, like this." Rainbow continued to fly too close to the nests, causing more and more eels to emerge, to which she effortlessly dodged them. The other pets did well to follow after Rainbow, but lost quite a number of feathers avoiding the eels' assaults.

"See, easy peasy." Rainbow laughed, drunk off her own ego and enjoyment; so much so, that she completely failed to notice that she was flying at full speed to a rock wall. The impact was enough to force a few loose stones to break from the rocky wall, falling down to Rainbow. "Avalanche!" Rainbow tried to fly away as best as she could, but too many rocks were falling for Rainbow to avoid. As the rocks finally stopped, Rainbow looked to see if anything was broken, but the sight of her rear hoof caught under the rubble brought a small look of panic over the mare's face. "Oh no?! Oh no oh no oh no!!" Rainbow struggled to pull herself loose to no avail, nor did the pets notice her as she flew over head. "Wait, don't leave me! I was suppose to win!"

"Wasn't that an avalanche?" Dusk asked, looking as far into the Gorge as she could see, his friends waiting with him now at the finish line. "Shouldn't we go check?"

"Nah, I'm sure she's fine." Rune commented.

"I never said anything about Rainbow, I was only saying...you had nothing to do with this, did you Rune?" Dusk asked.

"Me? No, no, I-I have nothing to do with what you might be accusing me of." Rune responded, his eyes tarting back and forth. "Oh look, here they come." Emerging at the finish, the other pets flew by, with the falcon coming in first. Followed by the eagle, then the bat, and finally the owl. After a few second of cheering, everypony noticed that Rainbow wasn't with them. "Okay, so I lost my bet."

"Shouldn't we care more about Rainbow?" Dusk snapped at Rune.

"I'm sure she's fine." Rune nodded. "So it looked like nopony won the bet."

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that." Fluttershy commented, looking into the Gorge with binoculars and pointing her hoof. "Look!" Slowly moving out of the Gorge, was the tortoise, with Rainbow sitting on top of his shell. Her leg was even bandaged.

"Rainbow!" The ponies called out to her as she and the tortoise eventually crossed the finish line.

"Rainbow, are you okay? What's with the bandage, are you hurt?" Dusk asked, worrying over his friend's injury.

"Well I'm fine, sorta. Kinda got hit with some falling rocks." Rainbow replied, telling her story. "But after it all cleared, I found my leg was caught under a rock I couldn't move. And after well...panicking a little bit, I decided waiting was the best option."

"You probably were freaking the buck out and then the tortoise showed up, moved the rock with his head or something, and then you decided to stay with him." Rune cut Rainbow off, telling the rest of her story.

"Well...yeah...kinda..." Rainbow replied with a faint blush, then she looked at her leg. "But the weirdest thing was, after getting free, I swear to Celestia, medical bandages literally fell down on me and I was able to wrap up my leg."

"But now that, that cleared up. Time to meet your new pet." Rune commented, presenting Rainbow with the eager falcon.

"Yes, the falcon won the race." Rainbow commented, then turned her gaze to the tortoise. "But I said whoever crossed the finish line with me would be my pet."

"She did say that, she did, she did, she did!" Pinkie cheered, already guessing where Rainbow was going with this.

"So you're saying..." Dusk asked.

"That the tortoise is the one who was there when I needed help." Rainbow responded, getting off his back. "So its the tortoise who is going to be my pet."

"So thee tortoise won!" Pinkie cheered. "That means, I win, I win, I win!"

"Actually, I win." Fluttershy interjected, placing her hoof on the bag of bits. "Rainbow chose the tortoise as her pet."

"She's right." Rune shrugged his shoulders, levitating the bits to fit on Fluttershy's back. "Congratulations Rainbow!"

"Yeah, what are you gonna name him?" Dusk asked, looking at the smiling new pet.

"I think...Tank! Especially with how he was able to lift that huge rock." Rainbow commented, hugging her new pet.

"I can't believe how well that worked." Fluttershy commented, putting her new gained money down by her door. After the contest, Rune helped Fluttershy bring her new winnings, along with the other pets back to her cottage. "I mean, your acting could've been way better, but all in all, it went great. I'm so glad he was able to find a home after so long."

"Yeah..." Rune commented, not really feeling like himself. "Thank Luna nopony noticed me run off, make an illusion of myself, sabotage the Gorge rocks to break if Rainbow hit them, and allow them to fall on her."

"I also suspect you gave her those bandages?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well yeah, I even blasted any rocks that might've killed her. Not that she noticed, but its actually a good thing she didn't." Rune responded, then sighed. "I really need to stop doing these behind the scenes sort of deals. I mean I was shocked when you asked me to help, hence why I agreed to it; you've never asked me to do something like this. But I really need to be more...not sketchy. I mean, I'm a family stallion now, I have Midnight, Zecora, and that new foal coming."

"Oh yeah!" Fluttershy's eyes sparkled at the thought of what the foal would look like. She always loved the sight of cute things like critters and babies. "How is Zecora?"

"She's fine, but some Zebras from her tribe are to arrive soon and well...I don't know where to go from there." Rune commented, not too sure how to finish his sentence. "I guess maybe that's why I haven't been quite myself lately. I mean, this is just so new and different for me. I just hope it all works out."

"I'm sure it will." Fluttershy responded, patting Rune on the shoulder. "Thank you again, I won't forget what you did for me."

"You're welcome." Rune smiled, turning to head home. "I'll see you all tomorrow then."

Rune quickly returned home to his shared hut with Zecora, to see that there was more than just Zecora in the hut. The sound of some foreign language and many hoof clops only told him that the Kusaidia had arrived. Entering the hut, Rune immediately felt an intimidating, almost threatening pressure from the six cloaked Zebras that were in the room. Though their bodies were covered, their head and faces all looked like various versions of Zecora, both male and female. Rune wasn't racist against Zebras, but his only interactions with Zebras has only been with Zecora; that was all he had to go on.

"This is the outsider in question?" One of the Zebra mares asked Zecora, to which she nodded; Midnight holding her close in a bit of a worrisome expression. The mare then turned back to Rune. "Hello, Dawn Rune was it? Please, have a seat, we have much to discuss."