The strange pony.

"Princess, would you know of anypony that might know where she was, or she maybe confided to?" Brain asked Twilight.

"I can't - wait! Rainbow mentioned that she woke up at Zecora's after Dusty'd picked her up. If we can find her, maybe we can figure out where she would go." Twilight replied.

"Where would this Zecora be?"

"She's usually out shopping for supplies today. We should be able to find her." After they had a wonderful brunch, because they couldn't pass it up and Twilight had insisted, they found Zecora at the Quill and Sofa buying some strangely beautiful feathers.

"Ah, Princess, how do you do? It's been a while since I last saw you." She bowed. Twilight blushed.

"Zecora, we were actually looking for you."

"Hello, Zecora. My name is Brain Storm. How do you do?" He acted as if he tipped his hat, although he did have one. Zecora started at his name. She took a quick look at him, and gasped in realization. "You come to ask after your friend? She has told me that only you would understand." She beckoned them to follow her out of the shop. She talked as she walked toward her home. Then when there ane she made sure that they were comfortable, she told them how she and Dusty had met. (This is her story, but not in so many words.)

One day Zecora was out walking through the forest, after another day of closed stores, she'd thought that a new route was in order. A field of Poison Joke was in between her and home, but this was before she recognized it, so just before walking into it, a voice whispered "Wait." Zecora spun around, scanning the area, but nopony was there. "Poison Joke isn't the best to walk through, miss." The whisper came again.

"Who are you?! Show yourself, you pony who seems to like to help!" Zecora started as a shadow appeared.

"I am Dust, miss medicine mare. I try to help ponies who seem unaware." Woah, she can speak my language. "You do not seem to recognize the Poison Joke before your eyes. Do not walk in, or you'll regret. There isn't a pony that hasn't yet." She laughed playfully, then shrank back into the shadows.

Who does she think she is, trying to tell me that I'm standing in front of Poison Joke and I didn't know about it. But when she looked at it carefully, it was. She backed away and turned a bit, and found a path through the patch. She almost thanked the pony, but she was already gone. Was that real?

Zecora found herself surrounded before she knew it. It wasn't her first encounter, and probably wouldn't be the last. She prepared to defend herself, but the mare that she thought that she'd imagined years ago stood in front of her, somehow making a barrier of wind in between the mares and the approaching Timberwolves. It made an eerie howl that made the Timberwolves stop in their tracks.

"Miss medicine mare. My friends will not hurt you, not even dare." Dusty smiled. Zecora was grateful that she wouldn't have to fight anymore, and was surprised to see that mysterious mare again. After many more encounters the mares finally introduced themselves, and day by day, with every bit of talk, and an accident in the patch (Dusty turning into stone and whatnot), became friends. And that leads to today.

"She is close to her end, sooner than she expected. Her walls are breaking, from the one rejected." She looked at him gravely and finished, saying "If you find her, she would like you to know, sooner or later, she will explode."

"I told you, stay away." The two had landed close to Zecora's hut. Dusty had thought that maybe she could talk some sense into the mare. A quick scan came up with three ponies, Zecora along with the Princess Twilight and Brain. No! Dusty thought in despair. They slowly approached the edge of the forest; Dusty backed away from the approaching Rainbow.

"Who are you?!" Rainbow asked, but the answer never came because then two voices came from Zecora's house, seemingly exiting. One Twilight's, one a stallion that Rainbow didn't recognize, thanking a pony on the other side of the trees. Dusty apparently did. Her ears flattened against her head in fear. She turned and ran. Twilight had heard the rustling in the brush, and then Rainbow's call of

"Dusty, where are you going?!" really caught her attention. Brain noticed immediately, and ran into the forest, horn blazing blue. Twilight followed.

Twigs and branches scratched against her face, but she didn't care. He asked the PRINCESS for help! Cornering her would be as easy as levitation now. Dang it! Why? She ran and ran, into the forest, trying to lose the three on her tail. Rainbow would just slow her down, now. A purple flash blinded Dusty for a second. Thud! Whoosh! Dusty swerved to miss Twilight, but didn't miss the tree. A big dust cloud type fog covered as far as Twilight could see, which wasn't far. A few seconds after, Rainbow flew straight into the fog, and promptly crashed into Twilight, who'd just gotten up.

"Where did this come from?" Rainbow asked Twilight.

"I - think that I teleported and crashed into Dusty." Twilight said, a bit confused. "I didn't think that it would do this, though."

"You WHAT?! And how do you know her name, anyway?" Rainbow asked. The answer was never said, because an (almost) ear shattering "NO!" caught their attention. They both figured out who that had come from very fast, and walked (because of the fog,) toward the sound.

Brain finally reached the fog right when the wail started. "No, please, no. No no no!" Brain muttered as he lit his horn and split the fog. He walked briskly into it, also toward the sound, while the other two found two lights of blue light at their eye level. Brain ran between them towards the light, and the two ran after him, calling questions unanswered.

What happened next was very strange. A type of clearing was where the lights were. As they approached, the light changed color to green, then purple, then orange, etc. Basically, one color flashed and then faded to another. Dusty strained against her earthen shackles, but they held as tightly as before. The memories hurt too much, she couldn't hold on for much longer, and Brain had known that.

Rainbow was the first to see her. Her mane was fading to blue in some places, and her coat had gray patches. "Dusty, no!" Rainbow almost rushed to her side, but was stopped by Brain. "Get offa' me, you -"

"No - please! I - can't - hold - on - much - longer. She's coming." Different voices came out of her mouth; raspy then high as a fillys, as fleeting as the wind then as final as an avalanche's last rock's crash, among others. The last one was full of fear, as high and shaky as Fluttershy's when she's scared. Rainbow was startled by this. "I'm - so - sorry." She labored to speak. "Go. NOW." The colors stopped as she closed her eyes to her fate; her tan mane turning into blue as quick as a changling's. Tan coat turned gray just as fast. Blue eyes opened as if they hadn't been used in a long time, and then a very villainous smile crept onto her face as she inspected the three in front of her. The earthen shackles crumbled at her movement.

"Ah." She exclaimed, surprised. "She was helpful after all." She mused. Brain was the center of her attention. Twilight was fearful from what Brain had told her. Rainbow was frozen in fear. What had happened to Dusty?!