The strange pony.

Dusty could see the scene so clearly in her minds eye, and she ran faster. She couldn't allow any living creature to endure what she had. She had to block the vision out, or else Brain might find an idea in there. If I can just get to the field, or maybe even the castle of the sisters, then I can maybe turn before she breaks through. She thought. I'm almost there. But for some reason, Rainbow tackled her when she was about a mile away. So close. "Oof."

Yes, finally I can get some answers. Rainbow thought, and she would, just not as she expected; a dust cloud burst upon impact of the two, and a long time after the dust (almost) settled, Brain and Twilight finally caught up. They stopped at the bridge to the castle. Twilight was giving up hope.

"Brain, I think that we've lost them. We should go back." Twilight stated. He wasn't paying attention, he was staring intently at the ground. He backed up a bit and politely shushed her questions. Then he lit up his horn and did something to the ground. Again she tried to ask him what he was doing, but before anything else could happen, a small twister came out of nowhere, and then after that, a ghostly, flickering Dusty appeared. He smiled.

"Brain." Dusty smiled back, relieved. She frowned quickly and looked up as a faint voice could be heard, along with a scream, seemingly from above.

"As you were saying, Princess?" He smiled to her.

"What the-" Twilight couldn't finish her sentence because Dusty interrupted her.

"I can't stay much longer." She jumped. A small flash of blue, then her tan came back. And a faint rumble could be heard in the background. "Your friend is here, and will not be able to come back - AH! - soon. She's let too much come."  She looked past the two, and a different voice was heard.

"Say your goodbyes. It's time. Hahaha!" A crash was heard from somewhere else, and Dusty backed away.

"You must be quick. I have left some of it for you." A cackle, then a flash of darker blue took the picture away. Twilight stood there, mouth open in confusion. Brain started to collect something from the ground, and then explained.

"She meant that Rainbow somehow transported into Dusty's mind realm, and has made a huge mess in the process, including, from what I heard, releasing Brain. What you must do, Princess, is gather the rest of your friends, the Elements, and bring them close by for when I come back with Ms. Dash. Please do that, and as quick as possible, Princess." Twilight understood, and after she muttered something, left.

Earlier......

"What the- where am I?" Rainbow wondered. She'd landed on top of Dusty, as she'd planned, but she didn't plan transporting into a type of dining room without her, or crashing into the table in said room. The one thing that she noticed immediately was it is so dusty! Then she saw all of the pictures. Mares of all shapes, sizes and colors were on the wall. Every single inch was filed with colors. Thankfully though, she found the door quickly, and escaped all of the eyes staring at her. She shut the door behind her. "What is this place?!" She asked as she saw the long hallway filled with doors. She walked up to one, and opened it, and then quickly shut it. So many pictures! She coughed. It must be Dusty's. As she walked down the hallway, she noticed signs on top of the doors. Most of them had a name, and a date next to that. She was going back in the dates, and soon she heard crying. When she found where it was coming from, the sign said "Keep Out" with a few boards over the doors. As the crying grew quieter, a blue mist came from the door and wafted over Rainbow. Her eyes turned a bit more blue, and then she broke down the boards and opened the door. A blue maned unicorn mare was in the picture filled room.

Sniff. "Wh-who are you?" She asked so innocently. Rainbow never noticed the little smile that she wore.

"I'm Rainbow Dash." Rainbow looked around the room. "Where are we?"

Sniff. "This is Dusty's house." She looked at Rainbow with suspicion. "Why are you here?"

"It - it's complicated. But - why are you here?"

"Oh, never mind that." She told Rainbow. "Do you know where Dusty is? If you're here, she's surely here too."

"I don't. But maybe we should try to get out of here." Rainbow replied, nervous.

"She's the only one that can get out. But, have no fear, I know this place inside and out. We can find her in no time. Come." She walked past Rainbow and gestured for her to follow. She did. As they walked down the halls, the pictures kept on creeping her out.

"What's the story with these pictures? I'm seeing them everywhere."

The mare took a look towards the pictures. "Those are every pony that Dusty has ever known. A lot of them were while I was locked away in that room, although I've met a few." She looked back down the hall. "Ah, there's the room that she's usually in. It's time to unlock those doors." The mare grinned. Rainbow still didn't notice anything suspicious. The mare opened the door seemingly the outside. It was beautiful, green with flowers and bushes. The only thing that was missing was some ground. Literally, a giant ravine was in front of them, and Rainbow almost fell in. Rainbow turned to run back to the house that she'd just come out of; it was gone, like it was never there. But for some reason, wherever the mare stepped the ground turned bare instead of the lush grass that was there before. Rainbow just now realized the crazed look on the mare's face, and she was looking at Dusty, who was at the other side of the ravine. She then snapped back into reality and remembered Rainbow, only to hold her wings in a magical grip. "I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Brain. Welcome to Dusty's dreams and nightmares." Brain's grin widened. She turned back to Dusty, who looked kind of fuzzy. The ground rose higher than she'd ever been, even flying. Brain called to Dusty. "Hey, friend. CATCH!" She threw Rainbow off the ledge. For some reason, she was terrified! She knew the reason quickly after the feeling; she couldn't use her wings! The magical grip was on them, keeping them tightly secure to her body so that they couldn't move. Rainbow closed her eyes to the death that surely awaited her at the bottom. When she did though, she was still alive, listening to Dusty talk. She thought that she heard Twilight for a second. Then she heard a rumble, and opened her eyes to walls coming up from the ground. She also heard so many hoof beats. They were all pounding on the walls. She got up and marveled at how calm Dusty sounded, although it could be that she was so blurry. Then she heard Brain's voice again.

"Say your goodbyes. It's time. Hahaha!" A CRASH sounded as the walls crumbled. Dusty walked back just a bit, then Rainbow fell down a slide that just appeared under her hooves. A cackle sounded, and everything turned black.

"Rainbow." Rainbow heard a tiny whisper. Dusty? "Rainbow. You need to listen, and listen carefully; I have a friend that will meet you soon. He will help you get back to your friends. Listen to him and answer his questions. Don't be afraid.

A few moments after that, she came to the end of the slide. As she hopped off, she realized that she was in the dining room. Then she noticed that the pictures were blank now. None of them had anything in them except for red. This terrified her. Where did they go? Then she heard a thump. She turned to look, and a blue and gray unicorn was on the table. Uh oh.