Mach I

Chapters

High Velocity Transportation
'Welcome' to Ponyville
The Tree House
Explanations
Abilities
The Sonic Flameboom
Revelations
The Storm
Aftermath
Conclusions
Calm Before the Storm

High Velocity Transportation

I awoke from my deep slumber to the awful ringing on my left side. The dreaded alarm clock told me what time it was. I silently pouted for a moment, slipped out of bed, and slowly rose to my feet. Without any hope of going back to bed from here, I walked to my glossy white bathroom and completed my morning rituals of brushing my teeth and preparing to look nice for another day at Denson Aeronautics Center. The thought of an F-22 Raptor made chills go up my spine. I just couldn't wait! Getting to fly in a jet as fast as the F-22 was a dream come true! I could see myself soaring through the clouds in the majestic plane. There would be nothing stopping me from breaking my personal record of flying speed. Commercial jets were not a thing of the past, today I would fly one of the fastest jets around and beat my previous personal record of 450 miles per hour. Realizing I was daydreaming, I gave a glance at my Rainbow Dash plushie that I picked up a month ago and hurried out to my car and started the engine. I smiled to myself knowing that nothing could make this this great day go wrong. Boy, was I wrong.

I pulled into the parking lot and stepped foot on to the hot asphalt. I made my way to the entrance of the Aeronautics Center and was greeted by Gerard, the receptionist. "Hey Chris! Good luck today!" he shouted from across the lobby.

"I doubt I'll need it, but thanks anyway!" I shouted back.

After about five minutes of walking I finally arrived at the massive auditorium-like hangar. I saw a figure waving at me on the other side of the giant space, and I ran toward him knowing who he was. I noticed my friend, or otherwise known as Commander Anthony. "Glad you could make it. I bet you have been looking forward to this day Inferno." he said, grinning. My full name is Christopher Alton Jackson, although some of my close friends call me 'Inferno' after one of my flights ended near fatally as one of my earlier planes resulted in me barely sliding out of the fireball my aircraft became. Apparently a bird had gotten caught in an engine and caused it to explode and set the rest of the plane ablaze. "I'm so excited to do this! If it's alright, I'd like to get started right away." I said enthusiastically.

Anthony let off a small grin knowing his friend had studied the F-22 for over a year."Go on ahead, you know the procedure, after all."

I grinned back at him and ran toward the back of the hangar to get prepared. When I was done I headed to Anthony in the back where the faster planes were kept. I saw the F-22 Raptor, knowing its exact location, and grabbed onto the gray metal handles. After a few seconds of climbing I was inside the cockpit of the jet. Anthony walked up and said "You look like a natural, Inferno."

"I sure hope I fly like one!" I said, obviously overjoyed at what was happening.

My hand went up and snatched the small metal bar above me allowing me to pull the cockpit window down letting the cabin pressurize. There was a small hiss... before everything went silent. The cockpit was seemingly soundproof except for some small thuds from loud machinery. I pulled on my oxygen mask and flipped the engines on with a small toggle switch. I made sure to check all the systems before going. Looking down, I saw Anthony and gave a small salute. I slowly accelerated away with a cheesy grin on my face. My adrenaline was pumping and I wasn't even off the ground yet. The plane exited the hangar and I made my way down the asphalt tracks. I stopped at the runway and took a deep breath.

This is it I thought. This is the moment I have been waiting for. It is time to get my fly on!

The plane accelerated faster then I expected. Much faster than I expected. I slowed down a bit and continued to accelerate. With a small amount of runway left, I pulled up. My jet soared into the air and my stomach with it. I had never experienced such a force before. No amount of training had prepared me for the tingly feeling in my gut. I steadied myself and sailed smoothly through a sea of clouds. I flew through the highest clouds I could see and looked down at the specks of massive building below me. I thought about my speed record and talked into my microphone. "Can someone get Anthony on?"

There was a small fuzziness before a familiar voice came on. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Mind if I test this baby's speed against my previous record?" I said, holding in my excitement.

He replied "Sure, just don't go too fast. I'm not sure the plane could keep up with you."

I laughed at the slight joke, then got serious. I pulled the handle to my side forward more than what was probably needed. The plane distinctively changed pitch to a much higher tone. I watched the airspeed indicator move over to 600mph. I had already blown my previous record away by 200mph without even knowing it! This was become more amazing by every second. The needle spun over to 700mph. The plane began to shake a small amount. I realized I was approaching the sound barrier. The plane began to shake violently, making me almost lose my lunch. I smiled and prepared. My eyes darted from the windows to the airpseed indicator. 750mph. I noticed a white mist fading into view outside my cockpit. A vapor cone began to form as I approached the sound barrier. The shaking seemed to be intolerable until the cone blocked view of the sky. I thought about my Rainbow Dash plushie and smiled. I'd be making her proud right now. As I entered Mach I there was a loud explosion and I couldn't even smile before everything went black.

***

I woke up with my temples throbbing. Am I dead? Did the plane explode? I can't still be in the airplane, what is that feeling? I could feel softness under me. What is that? I lifted my head up an slowly opened my eyes. I was in a field of grass, clearly, but something was different. I took a look around and shrieked. There was something blue next to me. Wait, that wasn't next to me, that was me! How could this be?! My arms are blue! They are almost the color of the sky. My hands, I have no hands! There are stumps on my arms. No, hooves! I have hooves?! In a sudden instant everything smashed into me like a train. I was a pony. I was a freaking pony. What. The Freak. Wait a minute... Why am I angry? This is awesome! My memory was still fuzzy though, how did I end up here? There had to be a simple explanation. Ah Ha! I must be dreaming! It makes perfect sense! I smiled knowing this would probably be over soon and the parachute would automatically deploy in the F-22. Might as well enjoy this dream while it lasts. I tried to jump for joy, but found myself squirming on the ground with no way of controlling my limbs.. I really need to figure out how to use my new four legs. I mentally wrote down. I looked behind me and saw a tail. My tail and mane were a bright golden color. They almost seemed to glow. I looked at my flank and noticed I had a cutie mark. My cutie mark was exactly like Rainbow Dash's! The only difference was the streaks of rainbow were different hues of a vibrant orange-ish gold.

I slowly got up onto my new legs and took a better look around. I stretched my cramped neck and noticed I had other limbs. I looked behind me and saw two large sky blue wings. I stood there dumbfounded at my wings. I look a lot like Rainbow dash! I laughed and thought, Rainbow dash is best pony after all. I grinned a little and looked around again, hoping for no more distractions, and I saw a small village to my left a kilometer or so away. After about ten minutes worth of walking I made it to the first house in the town. I saw the design on the building and instantly knew my location. I'm in Ponyville! I let out a squeal of happiness.

'Welcome' to Ponyville

I looked around in awe at what was going on. Ponies were moving about the town square doing everyday activities at the stalls and various stands set up. I had never seen any of them from the show before. I assumed they were background ponies and I continued awkwardly strolling through the streets. I got a few strange looks, probably because I was new around Ponyville, ignoring them best I could I carried on. The streets were crowded where I came to, making me feel a little bit uncomfortable considering I knew next to nothing about real pony lifestyles. I kept walking through the streets, hopelessly lost, yet happy. Secretly I hoped to find one of the Mane 6's houses. After what seemed like an hour of walking I came to a sudden realization. I can fly.

One nice, hard facehoof later I stretched my wings. They came out about half way, before crumpling up onto my back. I thought for a moment on how easy it seemed to do something like this on the show. I tried again, getting my wings out fully this time. I silently cheered then tried to move my wings. They flopped around like my hand when it fell asleep. In the show the pegasi seemed to just flap their wings and zoom away. How can this be so hard? I tried flapping my wings like a bird, curling them up and jumping off small hills, but nothing worked! I decided to just figure it out later and I kept going on hoof.

During my second hour of walking I noticed something in a bush. Were those... eyes? I had no time to react. Something jumped out of the bushes and pinned me down. I tried screaming for help but a hoof shot out and covered my mouth. I looked around but the sun and seemingly everything was blocked out by a grey mass. A strong voice finally broke the silence by saying "When I take my er... hoof off of your mouth you will not scream."

I nodded my head and it took its hoof off of my mouth. I gasped for air and viciously whispered "What did you do that for?!"

The grey mass turned its head and I saw it was a pony. I sighed in relief and the grey pony said "I'm sorry, I am a tad disoriented from what just happened."

"What do you mean 'what just happened'" I silently asked.

"I don't know how I got here or what is going on, but I could swear this isn't a dream."

My curiosity spiked as I realized this my dreams aren't usually vivid. How did that fall hurt? I am dreaming, right? A hint of doubt plagued my mind as I came to the realization that this was all too realistic to be a dream. But going into the My Little Pony world? How did that make any sense at all? For the moment, I would have to accept that I am stuck here and there is a very good possibility that this isn't a dream and I might somehow actually be in Equestria. I thought wether I should tell him about me being a human and somehow ending up here. Oh crap, earth! How could I forget that I have a home in Texas? My parents and friends have to be worrying like crazy! Did I explode and now I'm dead?

The grey pony interrupted my panicked thoughts and said "I- I'm not supposed to be here. I'm not from, well... Ponyville. This is Ponyville, right?"

I nodded and told him that I wasn't from Ponyville, or Equestria either. To my surprise he grinned.

"Doesn't that mean you knew about this place before you got here? Are you... a brony...?" He asked silently.

"As a matter of fact, I am" I stated proudly.

"You got here like I did then?" He asked.

"Yeah, I blacked out right as I hit the sound barrier in one of my test planes, then woke up here. How about you?"

He waited for a moment, causing a small awkward silence and said "I was about to to take a bullet to my chest when I blacked out. Could've sworn I died. I still am having doubts this is real, too."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait." You got shot at?"

He smirked and responded "Yeah, U.S. Marines and proud."

"Wow, who was shooting at you?" I asked eagerly.

"My squad was doing reconnaissance in Afghanistan when we were attacked by a group of rebels. " he said glumly.

Realizing he was still pinning me down, he got to his hooves as I awkwardly as I did. He apologized "Sorry about the whole 'pinning you down' thing, I thought you were just a regular pony around here who would've run from my surprise tackle."

As he stood up I noticed he was a grey unicorn that looked all too familiar to Twilight Sparkle. The only difference I could see was that his coat was a dark grey and his mane was a bright neon red. His cutie mark was even the same as Twilight's except for the fact that it too, was grey. The most prominent difference was his snout which looked a bit more like a colt's.

"It's fine, really. We never introduced ourselves. My name is Chris, although my friends call me Inferno."

Nice to meet you 'Inferno', I'm Grayson, but the ponies around here gave me the nickname 'Neon' because of my bright red mane."

"We should find somepony around here who knows what the heck might be going on." I stated.

Neon stifled a laugh and silently said "Somepony..." before he broke out laughing.

I sighed and said "You should follow me, I bet Twilight Sparkle would know what the heck is going on. She is supposed to be incredibly smart after all."

He eventually responded after the laughter subsided "Yeah, this is seriously weird. Let's hurry too, the sun doesn't look all that high in the sky."

"Yeah, your right. Let's hurry up and figure out where we are."

"He looked at me for a second, then said "Why don't you fly up and spot where to go. You are a pegasus after all.

"Sorry, I can't figure out for the life of me how to use these wings." I stated a bit melancholy.

"Well, let's just hurry along and and figure out where that tree house is."

We set off into the fading light around Ponyville talking about how strange everything was at the moment, searching for the large tree house which would hopefully help us get back to our old lives. That is, if we even want to go back to our old lives...

The Tree House

I woke up feeling very peaceful and- and itchy? I stood up, the fell back over. I slowly opened my eyes to the blinding light of the morning sun. Oh yeah, we're ponies... Looking down I noticed where I had fallen asleep. Great, I fell asleep in a field of grass. There was a rustling to my side. A grey and red pony began to slowly, but steadily rise to his hooves. He looked at me sitting on the floor, half tangled in my own hooves.

"You really need to figure out your new body, it's not that hard." He said, then laughed.

"I glared at him, "Thanks for the advice, Neon. So how did we fall asleep?"

"I just saw you pass out and I guess I passed near you." He said

"That makes sense, so... let's get going again."

We set off to look for Twilight Sparkle's tree house, again. On the way we noticed some ponies like Lyra. I could've sworn I saw Derpy fly above us. About 20 minutes after we set out, we found ourselves in a strangely familiar location. "Sugarcube Corner!" I shouted.

"Yep, sure looks like it. Should we go in though? I don't know if we should really see Pinkie Pie..." Neon said, a little cautiously.

"I don't see why not, after all, Pinkie can give us directions to Twilight's tree house."

We walked into the large Gingerbread house and were greeted with the smell of fresh cupcakes and sweet scents of unimaginably good treats. The walls were a brown, almost chocolate color. There were candy canes as support for some cabinets around the shop. The wooden floor seemed to be a blueish hue. Best of all, every singe counter top was covered in delicious cakes, cookies, cupcakes, and other unidentifiable goods.

A blue earth pony walked in through a door behind the counter. Her mane was pink and was scrunched up above her head. I almost instantly recognized her as Mrs. Cake. "Hey, look Neon. Its Mrs. Cake!" I exclaimed.

She walked over to us and said "Hello there! Looking to buy any sweet treats this morning?"

Neon responded, "We are actually looking for Pinkie Pie."

"Oh, well she should be in the kitch-" At that moment, a pink blur shot out from the kitchen door that Mrs. Cake come from. A very excited Pinkie Pie landed straight in front of us. How did she do that? She stood up and said, "I heard someone call my name!" louder than what was needed.

I began to talk, "Uh, yeah we were hop-"

"Oh, oh, oh, ohohohohohohohoh! I haven't seen you two around Ponyville before!"

I tried to talk again, "Yeah, we just someho-"

"You must have just got here! I mean, I think. I know everypony around here!" Pinkie shouted.

Neon asked, "Eh... Could you PLEASE let us talk?"

"Okie Dokie Lokie, ohmygosh, I don't know your name!"

"I'm Neon, and this is Inferno."

"So what did you want to ask me Neon?" Pinkie exclaimed.

"We were wondering if you could tell us how to get to Twilight Sparkle's house."

"I sure can!" Pinkie asked, still ready to explode in happiness at any moment.

"Uh, so from here, how do we get to Twilight's house?"

Pinkie began to tell us the instructions, too fast at some parts so it took a little while longer than we hoped. "..and then you take one more left and now you are at Twilight's house!" Pinkie said, still holding in some kind of excitement.

"Thanks Pinkie!" I shouted before we exited the shop.

I felt my stomach begin to rumble. "You know, I could really get a bite to eat."

Neon looked quizzically at me. "You do realize we have no idea what ponies eat, and we have grand total of... 0 bits!"

"Alright, alright. Let's just head to Twilight's tree house and figure out why we're here." I responded.

We walked out into the sun, which warmed our coats and made my golden mane and tail shine and almost glow. "Yeesh! That hair of your is really bright!" Neon said, covering his eyes.

"Sorry, let me turn the brightness down a bit." I said sarcastically.

Ponies gave me a strange look as I walked by. I could not see my mane except for my unkempt bangs which occasionally blinded me. I was grateful every time I got to head into a shadow, that way my mane wouldn't blind any onlookers. Neon and I chatted about our lives before we got sucked into the land of ponies.

Ten minutes of walking later, we made it to the front door of a massive tree library. I hesitated for a moment. How would we explain our situation? Would they even help? Could they even help? My concerned thoughts cut away as Neon broke the silence I had created, "So... should we knock?"

"Yeah, sorry" I said.

I hit my hoof awkwardly on the wooden door a few times. I heard a voice yell out something, then the door opened. I looked down and saw a small purple dragon. Spike! "Uh, hi there." I said.

Spike looked up at me with a weird look on his face and said "Rainbow Dash?"

I gave him a strange look and said, "No, my name is Inferno. Can we See Twilight Sparkle?"

He hesitated then looked at Neon with an even weirder expression before he opened the door all the way to let us in. He shouted for Twilight, then walked to what looked like a kitchen. The inside of the tree house was made of a light wood. Bookshelves lined almost every wall that wasn't absolutely needed for something else. There was a staircase leading to what was probably Twilight's living quarters. The door at the top of the stairs opened and a purple pony walked out. Twilight Sparkle came to the bottom of the stairs and turned to look at us. She just stared at us for a minute in shock.

"R-Rainbow Dash?" she asked.

"Uh, no actually. My name is Inferno." Why did they both think I was Rainbow Dash? I don't look that much like her do I? She turned her head to Neon and shrieked.

"Whats the matter?!" Neon asked a bit frightened at her reaction.

"You look like- like- like me!"

"I do? Inferno! Why didn't you say that before we walked in?!"

"Sorry Neon, I didn't think about that..." I apologized.

Twilight spoke up, "Sorry to interrupt you two, but why do you sound like you barely know what you look like?"

"We are sorry to make you the one to deal with this, but we came here because... well... We aren't...." Neon stumbled over his words.

I decided to finish what he couldn't say, "We aren't supposed to be here. We are from... another world... We were hoping you could help us figure out what is going on."

She looked at us like we just punched her in the snout. "You came from another world, and you look like me and-" She turned to me "Rainbow Dash. Now you want me to help you figure this whole thing out?"

Neon began to talk, "Well, if you put it like that, yeah, pretty much."

Twilight looked at us and asked, "Why? Why did you come to me exactly?"

"We knew that you are probably the smartest pony in all of Ponyville, or Equestria for that matter."

She blushed a little. "Well, I don't know much about other worlds. Sorry."

"What about Canterlot? Aren't there like, secret archives full of really dangerous and forbidden magic and stuff?" I guess that episode where Twilight time traveled might pay off after all.

"I thought you just came from another world, how do you know about Canterlot's secret archives? How do you know me?" She looked skeptical.

I froze. Neither me, nor Neon were about to reveal that she is from a children's cartoon show in our world. I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Good job Chris, you just put yourself in the worst possible situation imaginable.

Explanations

This moment could not get more akward. How could I have said anything worse? Twilight was staring at us still, waiting for our answer. I didn't handle awkward moments easily, so I nudged Neon with my back leg. It turns out that wasn't a great idea since I can barely keep my balance in my new legs. I fell flat on my face even with three more legs to support me.

Twilight began to laugh even though she was still waiting for a serious answer. Neon joined in and my cheeks heated up. At least I have a few more moments before I have to answer to Twilight. Twilight stopped laughing and looked at me. "Sorry about putting you on the spot. Why don't we sit down and talk about this?"

"I'd like that very much" I responded.

The three of us walked over to Twilight's kitchen. Neon and I sat down at Twilight's table. She came over to the table and asked, "First of all, how did you end up here?"

We both told Twilight about Earth and how humans were the dominant species. We also told her of how we were transported. Twilight cringed when Neon had to explain about the war in Afghanistan. She told me how Rainbow would find jets very interesting.

"So tell me, how did you know about Equestria before you came here?" She finally asked.

I knew I couldn't avoid the question any longer so I decided to just spill the beans. "Well, you see... In our world... We have entertainment on Television which is a box that shows video. You have video here don't you?"

"Yes, we do."

I continued, "We have a certain entertainment show on there called... erm... My Little Pony..."

"And? What is this 'My Little Pony' like?" She asked, now very skeptical again.

"Well, it is like... You." I finally said.

"Me? The show is about me?" she asked shocked.

Neon began, "Well, you are a main character in it, but it also is about Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie P-"

"We are a form of entertainment in your world?!" She screamed.

"Yes, I'm sorry if it sounds bad." I said.

"Does that mean... I'm not real? Just some drawn out creation?" She began to get teary.

Neon spoke up, "It's not like that Twilight. You are obviously in a full, real world. If it wasn't how could be be here in full, erm... pony form?"

Twilight began to wipe her eyes before any tears could fall. "I guess that makes more sense. Sorry to get emotional like that." She said, shakily.

"It's fine. We just need to know how this happened." I said

Twilight spoke clearly now, "Right now, I have no idea. I think we would have to go to the Canterlot archives like you suggested earlier."

"When can we get there?" I asked, excited.

"In a week. That is when I have to go to Canterlot and meet Princess Celestia about one of my... spells..." Twilight said, a little down.

Neon spoke up, "So, does that mean we have to stay here in Ponyville for a week and try to fit in?"

"Yes, I would let you two stay here in the library but there isn't much space." Twilight said. "You could probably find a hotel around here. I have never actually been to one, but I know there is one by Carousel Boutique."

Yes! Looks like we might meet Rarity. "I guess we'd better go check in there." I said, then got up from the table. Neon got up with me and we began to walk to the door.

"Thanks for helping Twilight. We will be back in around a week, maybe before then."

"How are you going to check in with no bits?" twilight yelled at us before we could walk out the door.

"Oh... Good point. I don't want to take any of your bits though Twilight." Neon yelled back.

Twilight walked over and spoke, "Being the princess' personal student has its perks. Bits are no problem to me."

She handed us about 50 bits and said, "Don't think I don't have enough."

"Thanks Twilight! I hope we don't have to come here and ask for more." I said

Neon spoke up, "Alright then, let's go check in."

I shouted "Thanks again!" before I closed the door. By the time we walked outside it was noon. The sun greeted us by warming our coats. I hadn't realized how cold the library was. We walked into the pathway outside the library and began to walk down the street. Bang! The sound of a massive explosion rocked the sky. I looked around and saw the source. There was a rainbow shooting across the sky. Towards me. I tried to jump out of the way, but my legs were frozen. A massive force smacked straight into me sending me flying. After tumbling across the dirt pathway for what was way too long to be safe, I stopped face down. I tried to look up but everything hurt too much. I heard a familiar voice, "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I- I didn't mean to!" Why was that voice so familiar? Was that- Oh my god, it was! I tried to speak, but I couldn't. The wind got knocked out of me at a supersonic speed and I knew that for a fact.

I finally managed the strength to look up. I was staring into purple eyes. I quietly croaked, "It's fine. I'll just try to get up..." I sat there for a minute trying to move my legs. This may take a little while... "Okay, maybe not." I spoke quietly, then passed out.

***

I had no idea how long it was when I regained consciousness. I tried to move my eyelids open. Well, at least I'm not dead I thought. I could hear voices. It was Twilight's voice. Who was she talking to? "How can he look that much like me?!" Oh, it was Rainbow Dash. I could hear them talking in a pretty angry tone.

"This is weirding me out, Twilight!" Rainbow exclaimed

"I don't know what else to do then let them stay in Ponyville until I go to Canterlot, Rainbow." Twilight responded.

"Just take them now, that train comes and goes all the time."

"I know, I just don't want to face Princess Celestia until I absolutely have to."

Rainbow almost yelled back, "Twilight, for the last time, it wasn't that big of a mistake! You just didn't teleport the dragons out right. Big deal."

"I know, but how can I tell her that the dragons are still out there somewhere and terrorizing villages?" Twilight exclaimed. "The worst part is, I think I am the reason that the Neon and Inferno are here. I'm almost certain I mis-teleported them to Ponyville and I don't know how to send them back!"

Twilight is the reason we are here? Not much I can do now. Straining my ears I heard Twilight said quieter now, "I'm just going to wait the week, I'm sorry Rainbow."

"Ugh, fine." Rainbow said, obviously angry.

I heard hoofsteps . They came near me and stopped right next to me. My ear twitched, switching to its normal position, not having to strain to listen anymore. I tried to make a sound but only made a groan. More hoofsteps backed away right after. Oops, must've startled somepony. I heard Rainbow Dash whisper "Sorry Inferno..." then the hoofsteps backed away. I heard a door open, then close. A few minutes afterwords, I fell back unconscious.

Abilities

My consciousness returned again. This is getting annoying. Why can't I just get up and check in to that hotel already? I have probably been resting here for a day or more! I heard hoofsteps again. I slowly opened my eyes. I finally got control of my eyelids! Thank God. Twilight was sitting on a bench reading a book on the other side of the library. I looked to my left for the source of the hoofsteps. I could see Neon standing next to me. "Hey sleepyhead! Taken you long enough!"

"Is he awake?" Twilight called out.

"Yeah, he's up. Probably not ready to stand though."

I looked at him and challenged, "Not ready to stand, eh?"

I rolled off the small bed that was set up under me and landed with a thud.

Twilight stood up and looked down at me, "What possibly could have possessed you to do that?"

"Sorry, I thought I could handle it. I didn't realize how much force a pony at the speed of sound could put on me."

I began to rise off my hooves. I stood up up slowly and made it to my feet. "Ha! I knew I could do it!"

I began to take a step and fell back over. I flipped my tail in annoyance. Wow, I didn't even know I could do that. I stood up again. "This isn't worth it. I am going back to my bed." Subconsciously, I lifted my wings and floated over to my bed with ease. I looked back and Neon was grinning.

"What's up, Neon?" I asked.

"I knew you could do it!" He exclaimed.

"What, what did I do?" I asked, starting to get excited.

"How do you not realize it? You just flew over to your bed!" Neon shouted.

How did I not notice? I just flew over to my bed without even realizing it! "Wow, I did, didn't I?"

I felt really good knowing I had just successfully used my wings. I tried to pull my wings out again, but to no avail.

"Ugh, how come I can't use my wings again? I just flew!" I said, very annoyed.

Twilight spoke up, "Most pegasi learn to fly when they are young. Although, the fact that you just flew with ease like that and you didn't even notice means that your probably a natural."

I smiled at that. I always loved flying, how could flying with wings be any different? "Alright." I said.

"I am going to learn how to use these wings and nothing will stop me." I stated.

Neon looked back to me, "Good idea, Twilight has already showed me how to use a little of my magic. You should really learn to use your wings."

"Well, you wouldn't happen to know a flying teacher, would you Twilight?" I asked, half jokingly.

"Oh, well I don't actually know any flying teacher. Rainbow Dash is the only flyer I know. She's practically an expert."

"Great!" I said. "Where can I find her?"

"Oh, well... She's uh... busy..." Twilight stammered. "Besides, you still need to rest. You aren't fully recovered."

I knew she was lying, but I really did need my rest. I sighed and closed my eyes, dozing off again.

***

Bang! I woke back up and my eyes bolted straight open. I know that noise! That was what I heard earlier. Did somepony just do a sonic rainboom? Rainbow Dash is the only one who can do that. I slid off my bed to my feet, feeling much better. I walked out the door with confidence, knowing I had probably made a full recovery. Looking up, I saw a huge rainbow soaring across the sky. The rainbow had one end in place at one end of the sky, while the other end was being created by a small dot in the sky. Twilight walked up from behind me and looked up. "She is becoming really good at that."

I jumped in surprise. "Oh, sorry. I didn't see you Twilight."

"Sorry to startle you, but the noise caught my attention too."

"So... is Rainbow still busy?"

"I'm sorry... I kind of lied about that. Rainbow just finds it a little bit weird that you came from another world and look strangely like her." Twilight explained.

"Yeah, I kind of figured. I wasn't really unconscious the whole time..."

Twilight blushed "Oh, so I guess you heard how you got here..."

"Yeah... I don't blame you though. This is actually a dream come true for me. I have always secretly wanted to be able to come and see Equestria as a pony."

"Well that's a small relief, just try to enjoy yourself here. I don't know how long you might be stuck here." she said, sadly.

Twilight walked inside. I decided it was time to go explore some more of Ponyville. I closed the door behind me and walked into the street. There were lots of ponies around going about everyday activities. I started to feel happier than I had been in a while. Smiling, I strolled along the streets seeing how everything worked. I passed through the town square and past Sugarcube Corner. I made my way out to the field where I had first appeared. The sun was just past noon and my mane and tail were glowing again, reflecting the sun with a golden light. Over a hill in the field I noticed a stream. There were many small animals running about down there. That made me think of Fluttershy. I should probably see her and the rest of the Mane 6 sometime soon.

My thoughts were interupted by a small thud next to me. I looked to my right and saw Rainbow Dash standing next to me.

"Oh hi there!" I said, a little excited to finally meet her.

"Hey, sorry about flying into you. I kinda missed my aim." She said apologetically.

"I'm alright now, but I probably could've dodged you if I could just get my blasted wings to work!"

She looked at me strangely, "You don't know how to fly?"

"No, I've only been like 'this' for a short time." I said, pointing to my wings.

"You really have to try flying. It's awesome!" She said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, but my wings flop around any time I try to fly." I said, almost pouting.

She got excited and said, "I could teach you to fly, after all, I am the greatest flyer in all of Equestria."

I stifled a laugh and nodded my head. "I'd like that. My wings would be really useful."

"Well come on then, let's start!" Rainbow shouted.

The Sonic Flameboom

The feeling of the wind in my mane was amazing. There was nothing like flying with your own wings. Rainbow Dash was flying way ahead of me, obviously holding back to let me catch up. She showed me how to control my wings earlier in the day. It wasn't difficult, it just took some practice and a lot of willpower. I was pretty good at using my wings, although nowhere near as good as Rainbow. Ahead of me, Rainbow Dash shot into the air and did an almost 90 degree turn. I struggled to an almost stop, then shot up after her. How does she expect me to keep up? The speed I could achieve without being trapped in a the frame of jet was exhilarating. Wait, where did she go?

"Hey there, slow-poke!" a voice said to my side, making my almost lose my concentration to fly. "Pick up the pace, I'm getting bored waiting for you."

"Heh, sorry Rainbow. I guess I'd better..." I shot off into the distance faster than I had flown so far. "...pick up the pace!" I yelled, hoping she could hear me at my current speed.

Rainbow came up behind me with no struggle. "This is my kind of speed!" She yelled, then accelerated past me. Wha- How am I supposed to do that? I concentrated and strained my wings even more, causing me to gain a small amount of speed. Almost a kilometer ahead of me, Rainbow soared up again, and swooped down by me. "Watch this!" She shouted, barely audible with the sound of the wind ripping through my ears.

She rolled to the right of me, going down, then began to do a complete loop far above me. Rainbow found a cloud near us in the almost empty sky and flipped it around, sending it crashing in my direction.

"Hey!" I yelled, too late. The cloud smacked straight into me, sending me spiraling downwards. I caught myself and zoomed up back to Rainbow, who was laughing hysterically on the cloud that nearly killed me.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" I shouted.

"That wasn't dangerous, I knew you would pick back up." She shot back. "Anyways, let's head over to those mountains ahead. They are a lot of fun to fly around, but I haven't really been near there since I was a filly."

I nodded my head with a determined expression on my face. We shot off to the snow capped peaks of the large purple mountains north of Ponyville. The landscape was huge, the mountains were bigger than the empire state building stacked a few times. I stared in awe at the massive range before me. I turned to the left, and Rainbow followed. There wasn't much to see around the peaks except the city of Canterlot, which hung from a large mountain almost directly under me. An idea began to form in my mind, and it was a good one. Time to get back at Rainbow. I thought, deviously. I shot down towards Canterlot and zoomed underneath the cliff side city. Behind me, Rainbow Dash followed looking a bit questionably at me. I quickly turned up and then back around, now going in the opposite direction, upside down, almost able to touch the bottom of Canterlot. Rainbow however, did not see this coming, and smacked her head straight into the bottom of the city. She sat there for a second, then fell.

I was laughing too hard to notice her begin to fall. When I finally opened my eyes I noticed Rainbow wasn't next to me. I looked around and searched for her. I noticed a blue speck falling into the depths of the mountains. Oh my god! I shot down toward her at an alarming speed. The speck got bigger and bigger. She is too close to the ground, I'll never make it in time! No, I have got to catch her! My wings began to burn as I forced them harder than I had ever thought possible. The air around me seemed to heat up. I kept flying faster, and faster until I couldn't hear anything but the deafening whistle of the wind. I struggled to keep my speed. I kept feeling like I would lose my balance and fall along with her. No! Keep flying! I shouted at myself. There was a a definite change in temperature around me as I felt my mane begin to burn on my back. Literally. My mane burst into flames with a deafening Boom! as I began to fly at twice my speed straight down. I had entered Mach I. Rainbow was almost within reach now. I extended my hooves ahead of me and grabbed onto Rainbow Dash. I did a perfect 180 degree turn back up and just in time to see behind me. A fireball was still ripping across the landscape where I had broken the sound barrier. With a trail of fire behind me, I sailed at supersonic speeds towards Ponyville.

**********

Nobody strolling outside Twilight Sparkle's house expected anything out of the ordinary to happen on such a sunny and peaceful day. That is- until a massive fireball struck the ground, sending dirt and gravel flying in all directions. I stepped out of the massive crater I created and looked around with Rainbow still over my shoulders. Some ponies were still covering their faces, while other stared at me in shock. I shrugged them off and ran into the Library behind me. The door swung open and slammed into the wall. Twilight shrieked in surprise as I entered the room.

"I'm sorry, Twilight. I was flying with Rainbow and we were messing around, and-"

"Woah, whoa!" Neon interrupted as he walked in. "What's going on?"

Twilight looked at the unconscious Rainbow dash, and said "It looks like Rainbow bumped her head, hard."

"Yeah, well, I might have tricked her and caused that..." I said, as quiet as Fluttershy.

"Why would you do that?" Twilight asked, almost yelling.

I spoke up, "Well, we were just messing around and she threw a cloud and-"

"It's fine." Neon interrupted, again. "It looks like she just bumped her head. At least now you are even on hurting each other."

I smiled a little, and put Rainbow Dash down on the bed where I had recovered. Twilight asked "What was that loud crash outside, anyway?" She walked to the door. I tried to say something before she got to the open door. She took one look outside, then looked back at me with her jaw on the floor.

"How did you manage to put a giant flaming crater in the road?!" She screamed.

"I don't exactly know... I think I may have broken the sound barrier on my way here..."

Neon walked up from behind me and spoke up. "So, you did a Sonic Rainboom?" he asked, jumping a little excitedly.

"It wasn't exactly a Sonic Rainboom. It was more of a Sonic 'Flame'boom." I said shrugging casually even though I felt proud about what I had done.

A voice from behind us said "How can you put it off like that? That was awesome!"

Rainbow Dash was looking at me, very woozy. She flopped over onto the cot and managed to mutter something like 'thanks' before going unconscious.

Neon looked back to me, changing the subject "You've got to see what Twilight has been able to show me about magic since you were gone. I think your going to be amazed."

Revelations

Neon vanished again with a flash of light. An instant later, he was standing to my left, smiling. The grey pony began to light up again, slowly at first, then in the blink of an eye, vanished. The room seemed empty, except for Twilight, who was standing by the door, also smiling. "Where did he just go?" I asked casually.

"I'm not sure. He should have reappeared by now."

The door swung open by the force of an angry Neon. "I teleported into bushes." He growled, pulling leaves from his mane. I tried not to laugh, I really did. I just couldn't hold it, I burst out into laughter with Twilight.

"Ha-ha, very funny." He said, glaring at me.

"You got a twig in your tail." I managed to say in between laughs.

There was a slight groan from behind me as Rainbow Dashed turned to face us. She was looking at us, eyes wide open. "What happened?!" she shouted. I quickly got my composure and stared at her blankly.

"Erm, well." I began. "I-" Neon cut me off before I could say something stupid.

"Inferno 'accidentally' got you to bump your head on something, then bravely rescued you from certain doom."

"Why do you have to make it dramatic like that?" I asked, looking at the floor.

"Because it was like that! On top of that, you managed to break the sound barrier to a Sonic Flameboom!" Neon exclaimed.

Rainbow Dash stared at me, then said "Heh, thanks." She stood up and walked over to me. "But still, it was your fault I almost died anyways!" she shot her hoof out and landed it straight on my face. I plopped down on to the floor, rubbing my snout.

"Ouch..." I moaned. "I guess that's true, sorry Dash."

She walked out the door, "Still, you saved my life. I won't forget it soon." then flew off. I looked to Neon, the to Twilight, who was pawing at the floor nervously.

"What's the matter Twilight?" I asked.

"Oh, it's just that I am still worried about that dragon. I already explained to Neon about how I am probably the cause of you two being here, but that means that the dragon that was terrorizing Canterlot is still somewhere in Equestria!"

"Hang on a sec' Twilight." Neon said. "You told me that there was a dragon, but you never really gave me the whole story. Mind explaining?"

Twilight looked up and said "Alright, I'll start from the beginning."

**********

It was morning in Ponyville. Twilight was already up and about, frantically searching through books in the center of the library. Spike came down the stairs. "Ugh, Twilight! Can't you make tons of noise after the sun is up?"

Twilight Sparkle looked up from her pile of books. "No Spike, a fully grown dragon is heading for Canterlot right now! she yelled.

"Okay, okay. Sorry to have bothered you Twi." Spike groaned, then headed back upstairs to get more sleep.

There has to be a spell to defeat a dragon, I cannot let this monster get to Canterlot and destroy everything! Twilight began to shred through pages of books, looking for the answer. Hours passed, and Twilight still had no answer. One last book caught her attention. She used her magic to float it down in front of her. Odd, this book was in the archives of Canterlot. she thought. Her horn glowed as she opened the cover of the book. The title was "Dragons Slaying". Well, that sure is strangely convinient. The book told of mighty ponies from medieval times, who defeated mighty dragons with their mighty enchanted swords, or their incredible magic. Of course they were all myth, but something caught Twilight's eye. On the story called "Grizwald and the Hidden Temple" there was a side note on the bottom corned of the informational page. It read: The spell Grizwald used to defeat the massive red dragon is supposedly lost to time, although it is rumored that it may remain in the hidden archives of Canterlot. "That's it!" she shouted. "That's how I'm going to defeat the dragon!" Twilight set off on the nearest train for Canterlot.

Upon arriving, Twilight headed straight for the Royal Library. Right now, she had no time for Princess Celestia. The doors to the Forbidden Section of the Royal Library were massive and covered in large locks and chains. One of the guards looked down at Twilight. "I need to get in there, it is urgent!" Twilight shouted. The guard, recognizing her, began to unlock the door. Twilight entered. Obviously it had been a few months since anyone entered this room. A fine layer of dust coated everything, from scrolls and tablets, to the shelves themselves. Twilight searched frantically for the rumored scroll. There were dragon summoning spells, dragon feeding spells, even dragon nurturing spells, but she just couldn't seem to find anything on dragon slaying. At last she sat down in defeat at a wooden table, sending a fine cloud of dust shooting around her. She coughed a few times, uncovering a scroll that was covered by more dust. "Grizwald's spell list." it read. "Yes! I found it!" she exclaimed happily.

The scroll was made of rough parchment and cracked a few times before it opened. There were a number of spells on the list, but one caught her eye. "Dragon Slayer - Use with caution" Twilight read the ancient words below it over and over, trying to memorize them. She seemed to finally be able to recite them in her head without struggling. Her victory was cut short by an earth-shaking roar. Screams outside verified her suspicions. The dragon is here. Twilight burst out of the Royal Library and looked up. A gigantic green, scaly beast was standing over the city. The dragon reached its hand down and tore a building off its foundation, then threw it across the city. It landed somewhere close to the Palace awakening the princess. Twilight looked up at the dragon fearfully. She knew what had to be done. Twilight closed her eyes and began to recite the ancient words in her head. Her horn began to glow brighter and brighter. Sparks flew from it as a massive flash blinded everyone nearby. The massive dragon shook backwards and let out a small yelp. The beast took a step back, then flew away fearfully. Is that it? It is just going to run off? Princess Celestia landed beside Twilight. "Is that it princess?" she asked quietly.

"Yes. It appears the dragon won't be coming back any time soon. Good work, Twilight Sparkle. I would continue here, but I need to tend to my subjects." The princess expanded her wings and flew off. "How do we know it won't go to Ponyville, or- or Manehattan? We can't be sure it won't come back!" It was no use though, the princess was out of sight, helping to repair the damages. Twilight sighed, knowing the princess probably already knew what she was asking. She set off to the train station once again, and got the first ticket to Ponyville.

*********

"...and then I got back here. A few hours after I returned, you two came to my door."

"Interesting, so do you want us to help by any chance? I would gladly try and defeat this 'mighty dragon'." I said, boldly as ever.

"No, I could never ask that of you, it is too dangerous." Twilight sighed.

"Too dangerous?" I asked. "Twilight, danger is my middle name."

The Storm

Instantly, I was wide awake. I hadn't opened my eyes yet, but I could see a window had to be open, because the light in front of me was so bright, all I could see was red through my eyelids. What was that sound? What is that ringing? I slowly opened my eyes. I could see the bright blue sky, dotted with wisps of clouds. All I could hear was ringing still. I felt a tug at my side. My head slowly turned to Rainbow Dash, who looked very panicked. She was pointing behind me. I blinked, incoherently, and then I looked behind me where she was pointing. My brain struggled to register what I was seeing. I jumped out of bed into mid-flight as my senses came back and the ringing ended. Half of the wall in our room was gone, and I could see the city of Canterlot beyond. Smoke was rising from many buildings across the city. I could hear Rainbow shouting something behind me, but the sound of the outside crashing, screaming and explosions drowned her out. I turned to her with a determined expression on my face. I nodded to her, as if I understood what she was telling me, then flew out the massive hole in our building. An incredibly large dragon was wreaking havoc and creating a path of death and destruction as it went.

Rainbow floated over near me, then shouted almost inaudibly, "We have to find Twilight! Her room was not touched, I checked, but she wasn't in it!" I glanced at the dragon in disgust. The sound of death was ringing through the air.

"The least we can do is to help ponies on the ground before they are hit by the dragon!" I shouted. Rainbow flew to the ground and I followed. We got to the ground and saw ponies fleeing in all directions. I flew over to a pink pony with a white mane and pointed to an exit of the city that wasn't near the dragon. She nodded, then galloped away. We cleaned up a few more streets of panicking ponies, then sat down for a rest.

Whir! Whir! Whir! The sound of a mechanical engine roared throughout the street. I looked around for the source of the strange noise. Rainbow pointed to my left, and I saw a blue box beginning to materialize out of thin air. What the- I stopped my thinking as the box finished materializing. A sign on the box read: Royal Public Call Box

"What in the world?" I asked aloud. A door on the box opened and a chestnut colored pony stepped out. He turned back to the box and shouted, "Dinky! Hurry up!"

I stared out him, speechless. What the hell?! Derpy Hooves stepped out of the box and smiled. She noticed me and Rainbow Dash staring at her and the chesnut pony. Derpy looked at her friend.

"I think maybe we should leave, Doctor..."

The Doctor looked at her and nodded casually, then walked back into the blue telephone box. A few moments later the box began to whir again, than vanished out of sight.

"Inferno?" Rainbow asked, still staring at the location where the box stood.

"Yes?" I answered.

"What just happened?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say that Doctor Whoov-" I was cut short by an earsplitting roar from behind me. I shot around and saw the massive dragon barreling down our street. Rainbow grabbed my arm and pulled me from my trance. We shot off and watched as the dragon ripped up the place where we had just been standing. Shops, Cafes, Apartments, all destroyed. I tried to shout over the racket to Rainbow, who was staring in disbelief at the sight before her, "We need to find Twilight like you said, right now!"

She snapped out of it, then nodded. We bolted away to the Royal Palace. We stopped at the entrance of the palace, which to my surprise, had nobody guarding it. I could imagine where they were right now. We galloped to the princess's chamber to find it empty. "Darn it! where could Twilight be?!" I shouted. We continued on, searching every inch of the palace, but to no avail. The whole place was empty, probably evacuated. Rainbow and I ran back outside and found Twilight sitting on a bench holding a scroll. She was crying. We walked over, seeing Neon trying to comfort her. "What is going on?" I asked.

"I can't do it." Twilight said, her voice very shaky.

"Yes you can!" Neon almost shouted.

"So many ponies have already died because I can't perform the spell." she said again, still bawling.

"No, Twilight." I said, bold as ever, " You can do it. There is nothing that can stop you."

A roar from the massive lizard shook where we were standing. The dragon is close, too close.

"Twilight! Listen to me!" I shouted over the sound of destruction coming towards us. "You have to do this. The fate of even more ponies depends on you right now!"

A large red, scaly head poked out from the large street ahead of us.

"It's not that I'm afraid to do it Inferno." Twilight said, "It is that I can't. The skill level on this spell exceeds far past even my talent."

I sat for a moment, absorbing what she had just said. This can't be happening. This just can't! The trees in front of us cracked and ripped as a massive clawed foot stepped down on them. I turned to Twilight and threw her over my shoulders while Rainbow did the same with Neon. The two of us shot off to the other side of the city with our companions over our backs. We set them down in an abandoned street near a school.

"Twilight," I said calmly. "I know that you think you can't do this, but let me just assure you, there is nothi-" A horrible ripping sound came from behind us as a building hurdled through the air towards Twilight. Neon saw what was happening, and dived into Twilight to try and save her. The giant building struck the street and destroyed the ground under it, leaving cracks and craters where paved road once was. I looked in shock as the dust settled. Twilight was laying on the sidewalk where she had been pushed by Neon. Neon! He was nowhere to be seen. There was a noticable red color from the rubble, standing out. I rushed over to the spot and began to dig through the chunks of dirt and stone. A minute later, I was facing a bloody Neon. I ran my hoof to his neck, checking for a pulse. It was there, but it was incredibly faint. With all my strength I pulled on him. Slowly, and probably painfully, he slid out onto the ground. His legs were badly bruised and one was bent out of shape. There was a large gash down his side, bleeding onto the road. His face was scuffed in a black dust. Twilight walked up from behind. "Oh my gosh!" she shouted.

"You need to take him to the care of a doctor or nurse immediately." I said, with a rock hard expression on my face. Twilight just nodded, and then trotted off with Neon on her back at full speed. I looked at Rainbow, then spoke, "I have to do something about that dragon."

"Oh no you don't." She said. "Not without me at least."

"Wha- Why?" I asked, quizzically.

"Well, because... I don't want to see you get hurt, or worse. Anyways, I am coming with you, period."

"I can't let you do that Rainbow." I said."I can't let you get harmed. I just couldn't bear it. You have to stay here and help the rest of your friends."

"You are my friend, Inferno. That means I need to help you."

I sighed, knowing that she was too stubborn to persuade. "Fine then. Just don't get yourself killed, alright?" I asked jokingly.

She smiled, then said "Let's go kill this thing."

Somehow, we both knew exactly how we were going to do it. Simultaneously, we flew into the air and stopped at the same height. We stared at the massive red beast, killing thousands and destroying homes. I looked at Rainbow, and then she looked back at me. We both nodded and began to speed straight toward the dragon. Time seemed to slow as we accelerated. I focused all my attention forward as a massive sonic cone began to form around the two of us, forcing us together. The large mist began to spark with electricity as we got ever closer to the speed of sound. A thunderous noise echoed through the whole of Canterlot as we approached our destination. The cone around us began to swirl and distort and limited our view of the horrible thing that was ahead of us. My wings burned as I kept flying much faster than I should have, but I kept on going despite the danger. Rainbow and I became a single white blur that was too fast for anypony from the ground to see. I could see straight into the eye of the beast as we came within meters of it. Bang! The loudest noise imaginable shot through the streets of Canterlot as we broke the sound barrier. We exploded forward straight into the face of the dragon at twice the speed of sound. The dragon stood no chance, there was nothing it could do to stop the deadly blow from the two of us. The dragon's skull shattered under the impact of us, killing it instantly.

Many bystanders of the event swore they saw a single white pegasus smash into the dragon and destroying several nearby building with the force of the sonic boom.

-----------------------------------------------------

This is not the last chapter, so keep waiting for the end!

Aftermath

Ponies from all around Canterlot gathered around the point of impact where we had struck the dragon down. Around the dead beast was a massive crater that spanned almost two blocks. The force of two ponies doing two forms of sonic booms at the same time and the same place was devastating. Anything within a two block range was destroyed and reduced to dust. Thankfully, no ponies were dumb enough to get near the dragon, so the only collateral damage was a block or so of buildings. All of the dust and smoke began to settle around where the dragon was slain. Some curious ponies slowly crept over to the epicenter and saw two motionless pegasi. Us. I woke up with a startle. Where am I? What is going on? Oh wait, the dragon! Did we kill it? I noticed the ponies around me and stopped for a moment as they stared in awe at me. To my left, Rainbow Dash laid, unmoving and bloody. I tried my best to regain my strength, ignoring the ponies staring at me. I put my arms under Rainbow and lifted her up. I threw her over my back, and then began to fly upwards.

Each wing flap was agony, but ever so slowly, I got above the site of destruction that the dragon had created. There was a hospital on the other side of Canterlot, standing out in the ruins. I flew hurriedly to the oasis and was greeted by hospital personnel staring at me in shock. "Please." I said, panting and gasping for air from my long flight. "Take care of-" Before I could finish, I passed out from exhaustion.

***

I opened my eyes slightly. I had regained consciousness a few moments ago, definitely. Nothing in my head was making sense. My surrounding were blurry, so i blinked a few times to get moisture back to my eyes. I was in a white room. There was a beeping sound coming from my left and I heard the occasional cough. I realized quick enough, I was in the hospital.

"Inferno?" A familiar voice said.

I tried to open my eyes wider to get a clear view and was almost blinded by the lights above me.

"Take it easy, I don't expect you to be able to do much after what you did." The voice same familiar voice spoke. "And, thanks. If it wasn't for what you did, I probably wouldn't be here if you hadn't."

There was a small silence, and then it broke when something soft touched my cheek. The sensation went away with the sound of lips smacking. Wait a second, did somepony just- Who... I realized I knew the answer to all of my questions, and then drifted back off to sleep.

"Ugh, PLEASE wake up Inferno." Twilight's voice said from my left. I began to open my eyes and was greeted by Twilight.

"You're awake!" She exclaimed.

"Where am I?" I asked, barely audible.

"The East Canterlot Hospital. The doctors told me you brought Rainbow here and it seems as though you might have needed some medical attention too. They also said you will probably make a full recovery." She responded.

"What's wrong with me anyways? I feel pretty fine, just a little sore." I said.

"That's probably just the pain killers, Inferno. You broke your left-back leg, one of your wings, and three ribs in the impact, plus a lot fractures and a few sprains."

I realized what this meant for not just me, so I asked frantically, "What about Rainbow? Is she okay?!"

"Yes, yes. She's fine. Just a few cuts and bruises. You saved her after all." Twilight said.

"What? I saved her? When?"

Twilight spoke up again. "Don't you remember? Rainbow sure does. At the last second you must have realized that the impact would be too serious, so you moved in Front of Rainbow to soften the blow. You hit the the dragon and Rainbow, while she hit you instead of the hard, sharp scales of the dragon."

It all flooded back to me in an instant. I could see the scene like I was there again. Rainbow was flying next to me in the electrified sonic cone, barely able to stand up to the winds like I was. The dragon appeared for an instant through the cracks that appeared and I saw a scale glimmer in the almost-clouded out sun. I realized that impacting the dragon would be like hitting a stone wall covered in large spikes. I quickly flew to the front of Rainbow at the last second and took the full force of the impact. The next thing I could remember was waking up in the crater.

The door in the hospital room crept open and a cyan head popped through the door. "Oh, uh, hey Twilight." Rainbow said. Twilight looked at me, then back to Rainbow. I was happy to see that Rainbow was in pretty good shape, considering that she was up and walking.

"I'll just let you two be alone." She said, and then walked out the door. Well now, that doesn't make this awkward at all, does it? I thought, sarcastically. Rainbow walked over to my bedside and smiled.

"So, um. Are you feeling better?" She asked, looking down at her hooves.

"Yeah." I responded. "I'm starting to feel the pain killers wearing off, but the doctors say I will be fine soon."

She looked back up at me and said "That's great! Anyways, Twilight and the rest of us have agreed to stay in Canterlot until you and Neon recover."

"Oh my god, Neon. Is he alright?" I asked frantically.

"Yeah, he's not doing as bad as you, though."

I smiled and said "Thanks.", sarcastically.

Out of nowhere, Rainbow leaned in and hugged me. My face turned a slightly purple color, but I returned the embrace. "I'm glad you're alright, Inferno." She said.

"I'm glad you're alright, too, Rainbow." I spoke softly.

I felt my consciousness begin to drift away. No! why now? I shouted at my brain. My arms slumped down to my sides and everything faded black again.

Conclusions

It has been a week since I first awoke in the hospital. Rainbow Dash came to visit me every day since. We talked about lots of things like flying, adventures we had both had, even books. There were occasional awkward silent moments, but I usually ended them pretty fast by speaking. Rainbow has just left a few moments ago, and I decided to try and sleep. A few seconds later I heard the white hospital door creak open. A familiar grey and red unicorn walked in, covered in bandages.

"Neon!" I said.

"Hey Inferno." He said back, "Long time, no see."

"Heh, too long. So how have you been holding up?" I asked

"Oh, pretty good. The doc' let me walk since I'm improving pretty fast." Neon walked closer. He began to speak in a low tone. "Between you and me though, I think Twilight has got a crush on me."

"Really?" I asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, she has been being strangely nice to me, and she kissed me before she left last night!"

"Wow, lucky you." I paused. "Well, that is if you like her, of course."

"As strange as it sounds, I kind of do." He said even quieter.

"That's alright. You are both ponies, after all." I said. Before we could carry the conversation any further, a large white mare entered the room. Princess Celestia gracefully trotted over to me and Neon.

I recognized her instantly, and then said. "Hello Princess.", slightly confused.

"Hello there, Inferno." She responded back.

"So, uh, why are you here Princess?" Neon asked, equally confused.

"I am here to ask you both a very important question." She said. "Your coming here was accidental. We did not mean for the two of you to purposely appear here, and I apologize for this."

"There is no need for apology princess." Neon said. "I think being here in Equestria is one of the greatest things to have happened to me."

Princess Celestia spoke again. "Yes, and that brings me to my question." She switched her gaze back and forth between me and Neon, and then said, "Would you like to return to your world?"

There was a silence. Neon spoke up, saying "No, princess. If it is alright with you, I would like to stay here. My life in my world has been much hard labor and incredible danger every day. I have always felt a sense of pride for my country, but Equestria is much more than my world could ever be. I feel much happier here and I feel my mind is made up."

The princess nodded, then turned to me and said, "And you Inferno? Would you like to stay, or would you like to go back to your world?"

My world. Earth. I haven't thought a bit about my job, my friends, or my family. I had a pretty great life back there. I never really had a girlfriend besides back in High School, but I still missed my parents. What about here though? Neon, Twilight, and Rainbow. I couldn't leave any of them behind. It would be more painful than if I lost my old life again. Going through these experiences with Rainbow Dash and Neon has made this the best two weeks of my life, even if one of those weeks was sitting in a hospital bed. Plus, Rainbow has been with me this whole week. My emotions conflicted for few seconds, and then I remembered the one thing that made me want to stay here much more then anything else. Rainbow.

"Princess." I said, directly facing her. "I would like to stay here in Equestria."

"Alright then. I respect your wishes, and I will leave you two here to live as you like."

"Thank you princess." I said, wincing as I stretched my bandaged leg to far.

The princess looked at me, and then said "That reminds me, you two need to be fixed up." Her horn began to glow, and my pain began to diminish. Neon was glowing next to me, almost levitating. I looked down at my hooves and noticed that I too, was glowing. A few moments later the aura subsided. The sore pain I had felt before was gone. My casts and bandages began to slide and break off. I felt as if I had never been injured. To my left I looked at Neon and saw that his bruises and cuts were gone.

"I- I don't know what to say. Just, thank you so much." Neon said.

"It is no problem for me, after all, you two need to go find your mares." Celestia said.

I stared in shock for a moment, realizing what she meant.

I started to speak up, but was cut off by the princess. "Hurry along now, you don't want to wait until tomorrow do you?"

Without talking, I slid out of my white bed and trotted out the door, down the hall. I approached the front desk and asked, "Have you seen a cyan pegasus walk through here in the past few minutes?"

The tan colt across the counter nodded and pointed down the hall to my left. I looked in time to see a rainbow tail slide out of view around the corner. Quickly, I galloped down the long hall, made the turn, and ran straight into Rainbow.

"Hey! Who do you think you are bumping into me like that?" She asked angrily. She got up onto her hooves, and then looked at me. "Inferno? What are you doing up? I thought you were seriously injured!"

"I am, I mean- I was. The princess came and- and she healed me. She asked if me and Neon wanted to stay in Equestria." I paused for a moment to catch my breath. "I said yes. I said yes because I didn't want to leave you, Rainbow."

She stared at me for a few moments, blankly, then moved forward and kissed me. It wasn't what I expected. In actuality, I didn't know what to expect. Instead of thinking more, I returned the kiss. We sat there for what seemed like forever. Eventually the kiss broke and I took a much need gulp of air, realizing I held my breath the whole time. Rainbow smiled at me, blushing. I could feel the heat in my own face and tried to ignore it. I could only feel happiness at the moment, and I smiled back.

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Thank you guys for all the support through this story. Expect a Mach II because this was just too much fun to write.

Calm Before the Storm

Nopony was informed of the situation developing in Canterlot. Everything about the attack was being held secret by the princesses and us. The only people who would suspect something was wrong would be the Royal Guard, as they were put on high alert. Twilight had agreed to allow me and Neon to help with the dragon problem. The train to Canterlot takes about two hours in total, and Neon was sleeping across the aisle next to me, beside Twilight, who was sleeping as well. Rainbow Dash was looking out the window to my right, watching everything that passed by. Applejack walked down the aisle with Rarity following right behind. She looked at me quizzically, then carried on behind Applejack. I slouched back into my cushioned seat, wondering how we could beat a dragon even with the Elements of Harmony to help. If Twilight failed with the only way to defeat the dragon before, how can we be sure the dragon will beaten by it this time? My brain hurt as the question flowed through my mind for the thousandth time today. I just need to have faith in her, that's all. She can do it. I know it.

The train slowly came to a stop, making me slide out of my seat. I regained my composure and looked at Neon. He was poking Twilight to get up. The mane 6 walked out without saying a word, not even Pinkie Pie. Neon and I followed behind, knowing we all were worried about what might happen. It was dark by the time we exited the train and the stars twinkled above us. We all made our way to the castle, still, none of us dared to speak a word. The guards allowed us to pass, and we made our way to the princess's chamber. The long walk to Celestia at the other end of the massive red carpet was nerve wracking. After what seemed like an eternity, we reached the princess. I sighed in relief as she broke the silence. "I am glad you all could make it here. Although, I wish it could be under better circumstances." She stood up and walked to face us at full height. "As you all know, a dragon is coming to Canterlot. The specific dragon that is making its way here is much stronger than any ordinary reptile. It has been sleeping for hundreds of years. This dragon is older and more dangerous than anything we have ever encountered in the wild before."

Twilight spoke up, "I am sure we can defeat it, after all, we have the Elements of Harmony here to help vanquish it." she said, pointing to Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.

"I apologize Twilight, but the Elements of Harmony were made to destroy all that is evil. This dragon is not evil, it is merely going on its instinct. The Elements will not harm the dragon." The princess spoke softly.

"B- but then how are we supposed to defeat it?" Twilight asked.

"We are relying on you, my faithful student, to use your knowledge of the 'Dragon Slayer'."

"Can't you help us then princess?" I asked. "Can't you help to defeat it?"

"No, Inferno. I have taken an oath to never harm a creature that has done nothing out of its nature." The princess said sadly. How did she know my name? "You should all rest up now, you have a lot of difficulties ahead of you."

Everyone walked away without saying a word. I realized now how bad the situation really seemed. The fate of Canterlot, or even Equestria now rested in the hands of Twilight Sparkle. I shouldn't doubt her. I mean, after all, she has saved Equestria three times before. I reassured myself. There was a long walk to the rooms we were staying in. As we came to the entrance of the doors, Twilight pulled out a scroll and read, "Rarity and Fluttershy, you will be staying together. Applejack and Pinkie Pie, you will be staying together." Applejack groaned, while Pinkie jumped in the air and shouted "YAY!"

Twilight continued reading. "Rainbow Dash, you will be staying with Inferno." Big surprise. I thought. "And finally, I will be staying with... Neon." Twilight finished. We all walked in to our correct rooms. I trotted on in through my door. The room I was staying in was huge. The ceiling was 20 feet high and the two beds looked something like they were from the queen of England's bedroom. Rainbow Dash flew to her bed and smashed down, causing her to bounce a few feet into the air off the springy mattress. I found my own bed and did a flip in the air before smashing down on the comfy cushions.

"Ah... This bed is the most comfortable thing I have slept on. Ever." I said, appreciating the designs on the comforters. I looked at Rainbow Dash and she was laying down just as lazily as me. I hit the light switch to my right and the whole room went black.

"Inferno?" Rainbow spoke, in an almost relaxed trance.

"Uh-huh?" I responded, almost in full sleep.

"Why do you think it is that you look so much like me?" She asked.

I thought for a moment. "Where I came from, I loved to go very fast while flying in the jets I piloted. I knew you were really fast and that you could even go faster then sound." I paused, then spoke again. "I think because I could relate to you in a sense, that made you my favorite out of the six of you ponies." There was a silence. Rainbow Dash did not respond for a while so I began to doze off. I instantly was kicked out of my comfortable almost-sleep state by Rainbow's quiet voice. "Are you having doubts that Twilight can defeat the dragon?"

I spoke in a similar quiet tone as hers, "I believe that she can do it. Even though she didn't make it before, doesn't mean she can't do it this time. I just have faith in her."

Rainbow Dash did not speak for the rest of the night, and neither did I. A few minutes later, I fell asleep.