Aliens & Rainbowsby Skyro503ChaptersOn the FringeRevelationsConfrontationMysteries UnansweredChanging WindsOn the Fringe1…2…3… An unexpected gust of apprehension… 4…5…6… A sudden shudder of regret… 7…8…9… A recollection of wasted chances … 10… A leap of faith… The icy night wind rushing past his face... For a few moments he felt alive… A sudden loss of control… A thunderous boom and an abrupt crash… *****Several Months Earlier***** On a somber moon lit night a lost soul wandered the streets. Unsure whether he had anything left to contribute to this world, or if he had ever made any in the first place. He had nowhere he needed to be, or anywhere he wanted to be. Maybe I need a change of scenery? He thought to himself. There’s nothing left for me here. He walked down the dimly lit street to an indiscriminate location. The crisp night wind gently blowing against him helped him feel a little sense of relief. Off in the distance a melodic tune of sirens played, breaking the would be peaceful night of its silence. Fed up with wandering aimlessly through the desolate city he decided to return to his own place of comfort. ********** He walked up to a familiar building. Taking out a key he placed it in the lock and proceeded into his sanctuary. His domain was cluttered with trash and unwashed dishes, which were indifferent to him. He sat down on his bed and turned on his lamp which flickered twice then faintly illuminated the room. With a sigh of disappointment he fell onto his cushion which expectedly caught him. A wave of disappointment soon followed. He wanted so badly to escape this world that had imprisoned him. Maybe someday I’ll escape it all… He wanted nothing more than to escape his problems, to run away from this bleak existence. He wanted to be someone else. With these thoughts he silently wept himself to sleep, forgetting, fatefully, that he left his faulty lamp on. As he drifted off into unconsciousness the last thing he noticed was the faint smell of charred wood. ********** He violently awoke to waves of furious heat blasting at him in all directions. He instinctively rolled off of his bed which was engulfed in flames, fiercely patting down the patches of flames that crept slowly on his body. Trying to stay close to the ground to avoid the smoke he made his way to the door. He stuck out his hand to turn the knob but was instantly singed. He winced at the pain but tried to remain focused. He got up to his feet and started to try to force the door out of his way by bashing on it vigorously. His attempts at escape were useless. He looked up and saw a blazing piece of debris fall onto him. Then darkness… ********** He woke from his peaceful slumber, finding himself in a vaguely foreign place. He found himself in a rather gloomily lit and small room. The place itself was empty, except for one thing, a strange door. The door was located in the middle of the room, not supported by anything, it gave an ominous glow that was dimly lighting the room. Not knowing what to do he walked up to observe the mysterious door. He inspected the door closely, noticing that indeed it was not propped against anything; nothing connected to its hinges, and he could clearly see around the door. What is this? He thought to himself. Am I dreaming…Am I dead? What is going on!? Is this purgatory?! Not knowing what else to do he decided to meet his fate, whatever it may be. He stuck out his hand to grab the knob on the door but he started to hear the faint screams of several people. Curious he pressed his ear against the door to listen more closely. He heard the faint shrieks of terror that were accompanied by the cackle of burning wood. Then, without warning, there was a loud bang from the other side of the door. Immediately after the bang the door swung open violently, thrusting him backwards against the wall of the dank room. Through the door stood giant flames, menacingly mocking him as they blast heat into his face. Then, once more without warning, a familiar force seemed to pull him into the door. He slid across the floor coming closer and closer to the searing hot flames that seemed to engulf the entire room. He slid through the door, which now looked more closely to a portal. As he fell through the portal he heard a loud bang from the sound of it shutting. He found himself passing through a cone of flames that seemed to engulf him entirely. The heat from the flames was unbearable; his clothes seemed to be burning off his body, as he watched his skin start to catch fire he heard the screams again, although they were drowned out by his own. He hadn’t stopped moving, a few seconds passed before he realized what was happening, he was falling. For what seemed like an eternity he endured the pain of the unending flames. “IS THIS HELL!” He shouted indiscriminately. “WHATEVER I’VE DONE I’M SORRY, I’LL CHANGE I PROMISE!” He screamed even louder as if trying to make a plea to God himself. But nothing happened, just endless falling, endless pain. He was screaming so loud in anguish that he hadn’t noticed the screams from before were getting louder. He started to see something at the end of the funnel of flames; it was bright, brighter than the blaze that was before him. The light was blinding. With the intensity of a thousand suns, it burned even more ferociously than the funnel itself. He realized that he was getting closer to it, and fast. In a panic he started to uselessly flail his arms, as if to impede his progress to the burning eternal. This, in fact, had the opposite effect he had somehow managed to accelerate his speed twenty fold. In combination with the fire, the accelerated velocity only increased his pain. He stopped screaming as he found it made him lose his breathe, precious air was scarce in the vortex of flames which seemed to suck it away from his lungs. As he drew closer and closer to the blinding light the flames became more and more intense, until he came so close to the light itself that it disappeared, and with it all of the flames. In its wake he found that he was suspended in the sky. He observed his surroundings and looked to the ground, which was now getting bigger and bigger with every second. He decided to stop thrashing, stop fighting, he found it useless, now accepting his brutal fate. Before making a thunderous crash to the ground, he remembered seeing a gorgeous rainbow trail on the horizon. Beautiful. He thought to himself, trying to find peace. ********** Beep… Beep… Beep… He woke violently yet again coughing profusely. His skin was burning; his lungs started gasping for air. A heart rate monitor that was strapped to his chest started to beep sporadically. His heart started pulsing violently accelerating the spread of adrenaline through his veins. His senses started to heighten, and with that so did the pain. But just as the pain became too unbearable he started to become disoriented. He started to scream uncontrollably in pain, which helped to alleviate at least just a little of it. He was starting to slip into unconsciousness when he noticed a white figure come into the room. Through his painful daze he noticed that there was something strange about it; it was rushing in on all fours! It had ran right up next to him and shouted some words that he couldn’t make out. He saw her inject something into him; soon an overwhelming sense of grogginess fell over him. He then slipped off into yet another dream, but this one was much more peaceful. ********** Will he be alright doctor? Foreign voices said worryingly inside his head. One was female with a raspy tone, and the other was a deep male voice. We aren’t sure as of yet, the burns were very severe, and he suffered a massive head injury. He will recover from the burns in time, but he may never wake up. One of the voices started crying. Is there anything that I can do? There was an eerie pause as the second voice tried to come up with something comforting to say. We don’t want to give you any false hope. The only thing you can do is wait, and pray to Celestia that he wakes up. ********** Beep… Beep… Beep… There’s the beeping again. He woke gently this time; calmly opening his eyes and surveying his surroundings. He noticed he was covered in bandages from head to toe, but something was off. He tried to move but the attempt was met with a wave of sharp pain throughout his body. I’m not going to try that again. He thought learning from his mistake. He still couldn’t shake the feeling something was off, he felt as though something were missing. He tried to move yet again, but not his entire body. He imagined the wiggling his fingers, but didn’t feel anything. What is this?!? Where are my fingers?!?! Shocked by this discovery his heart started to race. Beep…Beep…Beep… The tempo of the beeps started to pick up exponentially. His thoughts started to become a jumbled mess of questions, as he looked around trying to make sense of the situation. Where am I?!? Where are my fingers?!?! What is going on?!? An unsettling state of confusion and anxiety fell over him as a familiar figure entered the room yet again. It was still moving on all fours. “Calm down! Calm Down! It’s going to be ok, you’re in a hospital.” The four legged creature said in a soothing tone. “MmmMmm!” He mumbled trying to speak under his bandages. The creature was unsettling to him. But upon further inspection he notice that it was something he had seen before. Is that a pony?!?! What the hell is going on?!?! “I’m going to take off the bandages on your mouth and ask you a few questions, do you understand?” The white pony asked. He nodded to the proposition, hoping that he could get some answers. The pony took a nearby pair of scissors and carefully but surely cut away the bandages covering his mouth. “Alright, like I said I need you to answer a few questions. Are you able to speak?” “Y-yes” he said in a shaky voice. He took a closer examination of the pony; he looked to her flank and noticed a red cross on it. “Good, now I’m going to take these questions slow.” She paused, “Do you know where you are?” He took a moment to ponder the question that was put in front of him. He didn’t quite know where he was. “I don’t know…” “That’s understandable if you don’t, you were unconscious when we brought you in. You’re in Ponyville’s local hospital, Urgent Medical.” She paused for another moment while she scrawled something down on her clipboard. “Do you know why you’re here?” “Not quite…wait did you just say Pony Ville?” he said thinking he was losing his mind. “Yes, our hospital was the closest one to your accident, and you’ve been too unstable to move since you’ve gotten here.” She walked around to the other side of the bed. “I have one last question for you. Can you tell me what your names is?” Her last question didn’t register; he was still trying to figure out where he was, and what had happened. The last thing he could remember before waking up here was getting struck in the head by something, but what? “Did you hear me? I asked you a question; do you know what your name is?” He unknowingly ignored her, still hung up on the questions he was asking himself. He couldn’t shake the fact that he was in a hospital for ponies. Is this a dream? He thought to himself. What is going on here? Am I dead? And with that thought he started to struggle uncontrollably, violently kicking as he tried to get out of his restraints. I can’t be dead can I? The pain of forgotten burns soon erupted throughout his body yet again. But just as he was able to shake himself loose from his restraints he saw the nurse inject something into him yet again. Before he was pulled back into unconsciousness he muttered to himself, “What’s going on?” ********** I was just out for a second! What happened! A familiar female voice said in his mind again. He regained consciousness, and we were able to ask him a few questions. But we were only able to get a few answers from him, he seemed incoherent. What does it mean?! Will he be okay?! It’s too soon to say but we think he may have amnesia, and if it is, we don’t know how severe it is. We weren’t able to get a lot of information out of him before he started to panic, and we had to put him back under. He started to hear crying. But it wasn’t him that was crying. The tears being shed were that of the female voice in his head. This never would have happened if I was the one there, instead of him! The female voice tried to say between sobs. You can’t blame yourself for what happened, what’s done is done. Right now you need to go home and collect your thoughts; we’ll call you if anything else comes up. There was a long pause, and then the male voice started to say- It wasn’t your fault; you shouldn’t beat yourself up for something you didn’t do. The male voice sighed. Don’t worry; he’ll pull through Rainbow Dash. He’s a fighter. ********** “Please… wake up…” said the worried young voice from his dreams. He opened his eyes slowly. As they adjusted to the light he noticed a cyan shape sitting next to him, softly weeping to herself. He could feel the tenderness in her heart. “Why are you crying?” He said trying to figure out what was wrong with her. She slowly looked up at him revealing that she too was a pony. She was different though, she had a beautiful cyan coat, gentle rose red eyes that were still wet from soft mourning, a set of powerful yet lean wings that matched the shade of blue as the rest of her coat, and an astonishing rainbow colored mane that softly glistened in the morning sunlight. “You’re awake!” The Cyan Pegasus screamed in joy. Before he could reply the cyan Pegasus shot up both forelegs and took him into her warm embrace. He prepared himself for the wave of pain that was sure to follow, but nothing came. He noticed that all the burns from before were gone. How long was I out? “I thought you would never wake up, Blaze.” she whispered softly into his ear. Blaze… Had processed it for a moment, who is Blaze? He knew it wasn’t his name, but couldn’t remember his own. “Who is Blaze?” All the happiness that was left in the Cyan Pegasus was quickly drained from her with the utterance of those words. She broke out into another fit of crying. “You! You’re Blaze! Can’t you remember who you are?! Can you even remember anything?” she said knowing what the answer was. Blaze couldn’t remember much of anything other than waking up in an inferno and uselessly trying escape. He looked down over his bed. He was covered in blankets this time, not bandages. He pulled off the covers to reveal an unsettling surprise. He too was a pony, but not just any pony, he was a Pegasus. His coat was golden orange, and his mane was colored in two different shades of red. His seemingly newly acquired set of wings were strong, as though they were trained to be in top physical shape. “What’s going on here? Why am I a pony?!” Blaze shouted nervously. The Cyan Pegasus stopped crying and looked at him with confusion. “You’ve always been a pony, Blaze.” The Cyan Pegasus said slowly backing away from the delirious Blaze. “NO, I’ve always been a human!” Blaze said starting to hyperventilate. The world seemed to come down all around him. He started to sweat profusely. Blaze got up from his bed, no longer being held down by restraints, and ran outside of the room leaving a confused Cyan Pegasus alone to ponder the events that just played out. This can’t be happening right now! This isn’t real! Blaze thought to himself trying to deny this new reality that he found himself in. He couldn’t control his breathing, or his newly acquired wings, and had no idea where he was going. He exited the hospital hastily and ventured off into the bustling streets of Ponyville. Blaze stumbled around the crowded streets, bumping into fellow ponies. He ran across what seemed to be a playground, filled with little colts and fillies. Everyone and everything was giving him a weird look, especially a certain lavender pony accompanied by a purple reptilian. Blaze wandered into an alleyway to try to clear his cluttered thoughts. His wings were still flapping heavily as if they were trying to lift him away. Have I gone mad?!? Am I truly a pony?! Blaze tried to piece together all that had happened. As he went deep into thought about all of these events he didn’t notice 2 figures trot up to him in the alleyway. “There he is, that’s Blaze!” said the Cyan Pegasus from earlier. Before Blaze could respond to the assailants a colorful flash of light appeared, and something seemed to strike him across the head. He lost consciousness. RevelationsTears of sadness falling like monsoon. Emotions that came to soon. Rage flaring with the destructive power of a hurricane. Violent gusts of wind flowing through his mane. Dark gloomy skies of despair. The thickness of depression hangs in the air. Thunderous screams of regret. A storm we won’t soon forget. ********** Blaze awoke yet again, but this time not to the accompaniment of annoying beeping or the heart wrenching tears of a mysterious Pegasus. No this time he awoke to the calm and peaceful chirping of birds. Blaze opened his eyes to survey his surroundings. There wasn’t much light in the humble living quarters he was situated in, there was but one murky window letting in dirty light that created a nuance in the room. The room itself was a hospitable one, the bed he had awoken on was very comfortable, and the furnishings of the room were very pleasant, if not bland. But there was a similarity between the walls, floor, and ceiling. They were all made of wood, as if the room was carved out a tree, confused by this Blaze decided to inspect the room that he was in. Blaze pulled off his covers to reveal, yet again, the body of a pony. His body was a golden orange that seemingly illuminated the room, accompanied by the little light that there was. He stepped out of his bed, trying to resituate himself to his new body. I guess this isn’t a dream. He thought to himself worryingly. What the heck is going on? Blaze tried to make sense of the situation by investigating the room further. He noticed that there were many shelves in the room he was in. Upon further inspection they were revealed to have a vast assortment of books in them. He pulled out a book entitled: "A Brief History of Equestria". Equestria? That must be what they call this world. How cute… He thought incredulously to himself. He decided to read into this mysterious world that he now found himself in. In this book he learned about the history of Equestria. He learned about the terrible reign of Discord, and how he was overthrown by a pair of Alicorns, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. He learned how these two beings controlled the rising of the sun and moon, and how one tried to over throw the other. He discovered the Elements of Harmony, and magic. Magic? Am I in some kind of cartoon for little girls or something? Blaze thought smiling to himself. Blaze familiarized himself with the geography of Equestria, and even learned of cities in the sky made entirely out of clouds. Just as he was getting deeper in the study of the mysterious world he was in, he heard the subtle squeaking of a door opening. He hadn’t noticed the fairly large door in the corner of the room. The door slowly creaked open to reveal the silhouette of a figure, which stepped through the door. The room was too dark for him to make out who or what it was. The figure stepped closer and closer to Blaze, until it finally walked into the light revealing a rather small, lizard. It had light purple scales and emerald green spines, with eyes that matched. “Twilight! He’s awake now!” The small Dragon said to the doorway. “What do you want me to do?” “Make him feel comfortable! I’ll be over in a second.” A female voice shouted back from down the doorway. The little dragon looked back at the wide eyed Pegasus. Not knowing where to start he stepped closer to Blaze and greeted him. “Hello, it’s me Spike. I see you have a book there.” He said. Blaze still confused by the presence of the little talking lizard just stood there, staring at the creature. “Y-yah, it was on the shelf…” Blaze said nervously. He paused for a moment and blurted out “What are you?!” The young looking lizard recoiled a little bit. “Ouch that’s cold, I thought you knew me better than that” the lizard said, obviously hurt by the question. “Oh that’s right the whole amnesia thing. Well to answer your question directly I’m a Dragon and I’m also the assistant to Twilight Sparkle here in the Library.” Blaze pondered the comment for a second, he still felt confused towards the entire situation. How did he get to be here in Equestria? Just as he was about to ask a few questions pertaining to his predicament a second figure walked into the room, this one was walking on all fours. Is that another pony? “Spike, why are you talking to him in the dark?” The Figure said with a female voice. The figure then flipped a switch on the wall. A surprisingly harsh wave of light came upon Blaze. He closed his eyes instinctively, and waited a moment to let them recover. Once he opened them he saw that the four legged figure was indeed what he anticipated. But this one was different from the one he encountered in the hospital it was a lavender color, with a purple mane that had a couple streaks of violet and pink. This pony also had a horn garnished on top of its head. Blaze sighed. “I take it that you’re Twilight Sparkle.” “Why yes how did-” Before she finished her sentence she looked down to the baby Dragon. “Oh, yes it must have been him. Well yes I am indeed Twilight Sparkle, and I’m sure you have many questions as to where and who you are, and I’ll be glad to answer any of your questions.” Blaze was astonished by her knowledge of her situation. Although confused as to why she said he might not know who he was, “Yes, thank you, I know where I am but, uhh, how exactly did I get here?” “Well when you stormed out of the hospital in such a rush Rainbow Dash came to me overly distraught about how you took off, I was the first she came to so I decided it was my duty to help her find you. You were confused and incoherent when we found you, and I decided that the best course of action was to incapacitate you.” “Incapaci-what?” Spike was eager to answer, “Number 53! Razzle Dazzle, A huge flash of lights that disorients whoever is unlucky enough to be looking at them.” “Yes, once we saw that you were pacified we brought you over here to the library, after getting dismissed from the hospital of course. We brought you here because we thought it was-” “That’s not what I meant. How did I get here in Equestria?” Blaze interrupted looking at the two of them with incredulity. Now it was Twilights turn for confusion. She looked upon the dumbfounded Pegasus in front of her. Did he just say what I think he said? He must have hit his head harder than I thought! She thought to herself.How do I handle this? “What do you mean? You’ve always lived here in Equestria. We know you might have a case of amnesia but why, or how, do you think you’ve lived anywhere else?” “Well, that I can’t really explain to well. One day I was a human, and then an accident happened. I had a weird dream and then I woke up in the hospital, A PONY!” “Oh my, this is bad, this is very bad.” “Bad? Bad! How Bad?!” Blaze said starting to get anxious. Twilight sighed openly expressing her frustration with herself. She trotted over to Spike and whispered something in his ear, immediately after hearing it he bolted off in a hurry as if to retrieve something. “You didn’t answer my question!” Blaze said almost angrily. “Calm down, I’ll explain everything, in time, but we need to take things slow. You see we’ve had a few run ins with your kind before, but never have they come across as a pony, let alone manifest themselves as somepony we know.” “Wait, Wait, WHAT?” Blaze shouted showing his obvious confusion. “As I said, all in due time, I’m going to pay a visit to our esteemed Rulers Princesses Celestia and Luna. But before that, I must ask a couple of questions. What was your dream about? This is very important; you need to describe it thoroughly.” Blaze reluctantly relived the entire scenario in his head, the pain of the ordeal still fresh in his memory. He described how it truly frightened him, and how powerfully surreal it was. As he went into greater detail he hadn’t noticed the small dragon come running back into the room scrawling something down on a piece of parchment. “Goodness, this is even worse than I had previously anticipated; I will need to speak with the Princesses immediately. But before I take my leave, and leave you in Fluttershy’s care I must ask. What had you called yourself in your dimension?” “Umm…” Blaze took a second to think about this question. It wasn’t a difficult question, but he just couldn’t answer it. It appears that the blow he took to the head in his dimension was much more severe than he thought. “I… I don’t remember…” “Oh dear, this just makes matters worse.” She muttered something else to herself and started up again, “Well, we’ll just call you by what we used to call you, Blaze.” Hmph, Blaze how fitting. He thought looking himself over once more, examining his golden orange coat. But this time he paid particular attention to a mark on his flank, which was partially covered by his wing. It resembled a tattoo. He lifted up his wing to look at the mark; it resembled an avian creature that was engulfed in flames. Why is there a Phoenix on my thigh…err flank? Blaze snapped out of his slight stupor, “Wait, how did you carry me all the way from the hospital?” He questioned, "No offense but you don't look the most, physically capable..." Twilight was quick to respond, “Oh it wasn’t just me, Rainbow Dash helped me.” “Rainbow Dash?” “Yes, Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus with the rainbow mane from the hospital who helped me find you.” Blaze blushed slightly at the thought of the Pegasus. He didn’t quite know what it was about her, but he found her attractive, for a pony of course. But still he couldn’t shake a strong feeling of longing for her, like he knew her from a past life. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that one, why was she there? At the hospital, waiting for me, I mean.” “Well she is…err was you’re…” Twilight started to blush, getting nervous in her current situation. She felt it wasn’t really her story to tell, “Let’s just say that you two hold…err held a special connection…” “But that doesn’t answer my question.” Blaze said stating the obvious, “and what do you mean ‘special connection?’” Now Twilight was getting on the defensive, she tried to think of a reason to get out of her situation and fast. “WELL, I have to go talk to the Princesses. And Spike try took keep this under wraps alright?” She started to trot away, getting as far as the doorway before Spike asked. “Wait, where is he supposed to stay?” “Like I said earlier, Fluttershy’s. Just show him where Fluttershy lives!" Twilight shouted while leaving the library at full gallop. Blaze looked out the window to see the lavender pony’s horn flicker once with a burst of light, and then she disappeared. “HOLY COW!” Blaze screamed, “SHE EXPLODED!!!” Spike giggled at the naiveté Blaze showed. “Calm down,” He giggled once more, “She didn’t explode, she just teleported. You know unicorns can do that right?” “No…” Blaze said embarrassingly. “Well, you do now.” Spike said with a sincere grin on his face. “C’mon let’s go introduce you to Fluttershy, and her cottage. That’s where you’ll be staying.” “Umm…alright I’m anxious to get out of this filthy library.” “Hey! I try my best to keep it in good shape!” Spike said obviously getting offended. “Whatever, let’s just get going.” The two of them walked out of the library, and were instantly blinded by the harsh light that was shown by Celestia’s Sun. Spike started to lead the way to Fluttershy’s Cottage, which was on the other side of the town. ********** The two of them walked slowly through the town. It was mid-summer there and the energy in the air reflected it. Blaze observed little fillies playing in the distance; their antics reminded him of his own childhood. A feeling of nostalgia swept over him as he walked through the town of Ponyville. It reminded him of the town he grew up in. It felt, friendly. Friendliness, an emotion Blaze hadn’t felt in what seemed like ages. As he walked past fellow ponies, they didn’t ignore him; they greeted him with a genuine smile. It made his heart flutter a little to know he was finally in a place where people cared, ponies cared. Although there was a bubblegum pink pony that Blaze accidentally bumped into. But before he could apologize the pony turned around, jumped into the air, let out a squeal, and ran off! Blaze was starting to get use to the tame insanity of this world, and continued onward with Spike. Spike led the way across the bustling market, Blaze following close behind. He observed the wide assortment of stalls, and products. He also took note of the buildings, and a particularly flashy building. “What’s that building?” Blaze asked “Oh, that’s the Carousal Boutique; it’s where the most beautiful pony in Ponyville sells clothing.” Spike admired the building with a dreamy look on his face. Wait that Pegasus from the Hospital sells dresses? Blaze thought to himself, reminiscing about the little contact he had with the Cyan Pegasus, Rainbow Dash. He half noticed a unicorn with a diamond white coat, and an amethyst colored coat, that shined elegantly in the summer sun. “That’s her,” Spike said slightly drifting off yet again into a dreamy state of admiration. The unicorn quickly noticed the small dragon that stood out from the usual gaggle of Ponyville's market district, although, her attention quickly shifted to the golden orange Pegasus that stood next to him. A swirl of emotions filled her face as she quickly trotted over to the Pegasus, as if she thought he was Resurrected from the dead. As the unicorn drew closer to Blaze he prepared himself for the inevitable. The unicorn quickly shot up her forelegs and nearly tackled Blaze to the ground. “Oh my goodness I was so concerned for you! Rainbow Dash just told me you woke up!” She squealed, soft tears flowing from her sapphire eyes. She tightened her grasp even more, getting Blaze into a vice like grip. “Umm… Spike who is this pony?” Blaze said squeezing out just enough air to say it. The unicorn let go, and backed away from Blaze giving him a dejected look. Even more tears started to well up in her eyes. “Of all the worst things that could happen! This is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!!!!” The unicorn said in a histrionic tone, falling over with a hoof half-pressed to her forehead. “Rarity! It’s going to be alright, he just has some amnesia is all!” Rarity perked up a little bit, and managed to get up on all hooves. Blaze was stunned by Spikes blatant lie. “But I don’t have-” “Wait! Twilight said to keep this under confidential, besides it’s best she doesn’t know quite yet.” Spike said cutting off Blaze. Rarity looked at both of them with some confusion. “Spike,” She started with a stern expression. “Would you care to elaborate?” “I can’t, Twilight would get angry with me.” Spike said staying true to his mentor. Rarity trotted closer to Spike, making sure to swipe her tail over his muzzle ever so gently. “Oh please!” She said in a way that made Spike buckle under pressure. “Fine!” He said with a sense of disgust in himself. “But you can’t tell anypony else! Especially Rainbow Dash, or at least until we understand what exactly is going on.” Rarity waited a few moments for Spike to fill her in, “Well out with it then!” she exclaimed eager to understand what was going on. Spike sighed, “Do you remember that one pony who stumbled into town a few months ago?” “Oh yes, the one who was claiming to be something called a human, poor thing must’ve gone insane! But what does that have to do with Blaze here?” Rarity walked over to Blaze inspecting him very closely, scrutinizing every particular detail about him. “Well…” Spike sighed even more deeply than before. “It’ll take a while to explain, can we go somewhere more private than here?” Rarity finally picked up on the sensitivity of the topic. Soon they all started to make their way to the Carousal Boutique. As she invited them both in Blaze took note of the marvelous dresses that were on display. Spike and Rarity walked over to take a seat in the living area, while he took closer examination of the flashy style of pony fashion. Blaze decided to explore further into the building he found himself in, not noticing the gasps and hushes from the other two he entered with. He wandered off finding himself in an office, which he deduced was Rarity’s. He trotted over to a desk that had the pictures of several ponies wearing glorified dresses. A couple of them he recognized. Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Blaze didn’t pay much attention to the photo of Twilight, as he found himself gazing at the stunning Pegasus. He didn’t know what exactly it was that was compelling him to look at the picture of her. Was it the magnificent dress she donned on her toned Pegasus form? Maybe it was the tender compassion she showed Blaze at the hospital, and her persitence to find him when he ran off. Or perhaps it was her body itself? Her amazing smile sent shivers throughout his body, making him tremble. Her magenta eyes seemed to burn with a fiery passion. Her stature was cocky, but elegant. It melted his heart to look upon such a beautiful creature. But he found himself second guessing himself after a few minutes of gazing upon the picture of the Pegasus. She’s just a pony. Why am I so… so… “There he is!” Rarity chimed to Spike, interrupting Blazes thoughts. “Come darling, we must get you to your arranged dwellings immediately.” Rarity took notice of the picture he was staring at. “Oh my, I see you’ve noticed Rainbow Dash… She was going to be your… I mean his…” Rarity soon found herself at a loss of words. “How do I put this?” “She certainly is something.” Blaze said sincerely, finding himself looking caringly upon the picture. “Oh my, you- you like her don’t you!” Blaze quickly turned to Rarity. Looking at her with a sheepish grin on his face, he started to turn a bright red, accenting his golden colored coat. “Oh this is marvelous! Maybe there still is hope!” Before Blaze could utter a response Spike walked in and exclaimed, “We gotta go. See you later Rarity” Blaze, still flustered by Rarity’s previous comment, was more than eager to exit the premises. They exited the building hastily and made their way to the outskirts of Ponyville, where Blaze saw yet another amazing landmark of the town, a sprawling orchard that was spread over several hundred acres. As he stopped in his tracks, mouth agape, something nudged him in the side. “Yep, the apple buckin seasons comin up, I trust ya’ll be able ta help me now that yer all fixed up from the accident.” An unfamiliar female voice spoke in a southern accent. Blaze turned to the voice to see, yet another, pony. This one had a cowboy hat adorned on top of her mane, which was blonde and tied at the end with a red ribbon. Her coat had an orange tint to it, and her cutie mark was that of 3 red delicious apples. Blaze looked at the pony with confusion, a recurring feeling for him. Tired of all that had happened today Blaze let out a long sigh and rolled his eyes at the pony. This had greatly disgusted the blonde pony. “Oh what, ya to good fer apple buckin now?! Well ya don’t have ta be so stuck up about it!” She said giving a quick jab to Blazes chest, making him recoil back at the sudden change in tone of the situation. He gave her a stern look, before being pushed slightly aside by Spike who noticed the confrontation. “Woah! Hold up on him now. He isn’t well, Applejack.” Applejack was quick to administer an apology, “Oh, mighty sorry bout that Blaze.” She said sticking out a hoof, which Blaze shook reluctantly. “It’s just I could never tell with you.” Blaze continued to give her a bewildered look. “Umm, Spike who’s this one?” Spike let out another groan, realizing he would need to explain their predicament to yet another pony. Applejack, obviously wondering about the current situation, spoke up, “Yah mind ta explain, Spike?” Just as their conversation, or rather explanation, picked up Blaze wondered off yet again. He walked into the organized rows of the orchard. The sun was starting to set, and there was a crisp breeze that caused Blaze to shiver slightly, mostly because of how surreal it all was. He sat down against one of the trees and faced the setting sun. He took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the skies, when an overwhelming sensation came over him, realization. Blaze didn’t know why it took him so long to realize, to truly realize, that he was in a whole other world. Everyone he knew and loved, were gone. He didn’t know how long he would be in this world, or if he’d even leave. He doesn’t even fully remember who he is, and why. With that thought tears started to well up in his eyes, and he started to silently weep to himself. Where am I now? Who am I now? Blaze got so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice a certain cyan Pegasus land near him, and admire him quietly. It wasn’t until she noticed he was crying that she trotted up next to him and sat down, admiring the sunset with him. “It’s beautiful.” Blaze looked over to the Pegasus, finally noticing her presence. “Don’t you think?” Blaze, remaining silent, wiped away his tears. He turned back to look at the sunset, admiring its beauty. The sunset itself was a golden orange, much like Blazes coat, and stretched across the entirety of the tired skies. A smile managed to creep onto his face. “It is.” He finally managed to say. “Everything is going to be alright.” Rainbow Dash spoke softly. She was right. No matter what would happen next, everything was going to be alright. ConfrontationGusts of wind that change the Tide. And with this I must confide. That not everything is as it seems, Because life is but a dream… So appreciate the things you have done, For tomorrow it may be all gone. ***** Rainbow Dash awoke from her usual slumber in her cloud home. She remembered the pleasant evening she just had, where she found Blaze alone at Sweet Apple Acres, and how they had shared a beautiful moment. Rainbow looked over at the other side of her queen-sized cloud bed. Seeing nothing she grimaced to herself, realizing her true reality. It was just a dream? Silently shedding a tear to herself she walked out of bed and over to a window to inspect the time of day. I just want everything to go back to normal. It was mid-morning, she had slept in. A habit Blaze had almost helped her break. Rainbow hadn’t realized how much she took Blaze for granted. All the little things he did to make her better, to make her happier. She was, although, relieved to finally get a good nights rest. She hadn’t slept well since the accident, and subsequent hospitalization, Blaze had. She couldn’t help but blame herself. I miss him so much. Rainbow felt that if she was their instead of Blaze, maybe all of this wouldn’t have happened. She missed him greatly, and longed for his companionship. At least he’s still alive. With that thought Rainbow Dash flew out of her cloud home, stretching her powerful, yet lean, wings. She took off for the Everfree Forest with amazing celerity. Letting the early morning winds carry her along to her destination she took a moment to appreciate what she had, what she still has. Midway through Rainbow Dashes flight she decided to take a detour, just for the hay of it. She shifted her weight and took a sharp turn towards the North. Thrusting her wings towards her new objective she took off even faster than before. The wind rushed past her mane, making her feel alive. The warm and glowing sun illuminated everything. It made everything so much, happier. After a few more minutes of sustained flying, Rainbow Dash found herself at the base of a daunting mountain, the largest in Equestria. She took a few moments to catch her breath, and take in the tranquil setting that was before her. A vast and beautiful prairie sprawled out across the base of the steep mountain. Animals playfully scurried about, consumed in their own daily tasks of foraging. Squirrels gleaned the landscape of nuts. Little bunnies basked in Celestia’s glory. Butterflies fluttered by, suckling the nectar of the vibrant flora, which was just as spectacular as the fauna. Even the birds took a moment to praise Celestia for the wonderful day through song. Rainbow Dash smiled to herself. I should show Fluttershy this place sometime. Rainbow Dash, almost sad to depart, flapped her wings once again ascending to the heavens above. The entire landscape she just appreciated had become a blur as she took vertical acceleration. She busted through several clouds causing them to disintegrate into oblivion. Rainbow gave her powerful wings one last thrust, intentionally overshooting the peak of the mountain. She then hit the apex of her flight, making sure to take in the jaw dropping scene that was before. She had ascended past the cloud canopy to the tip of the troposphere. Rainbow gazed into the ever expanding world clouds covering most of it. From this high she could see Ponyville, she could even see all of Equestria and its neighboring countries. She just wished she had somepony to share this Radical moment with. But she digressed not wanting to spoil the moment. She was just barely entering the stratosphere when gravity took its inevitable hold of her, and started her haste descent to her, and Blazes, special place. Rainbow Dash spread her wing slowly descending back down to the mountain. Once she was at the same altitude as the mountain she flapped her wings once more, circling around to the other face of the mountainside. She finally landed on the barren mountain to give her wings a rest. I can walk the rest of the way. And so she did. She walked up the side of the mountain following an indiscriminate trail. After a few seconds of thoughtless travel she reached the summit, which was an unsurprisingly desolate place. But the scenery wasn’t the reason she was there, no, it was what was extended beyond this location. Rainbow Dash turned around to look upon her world. She was once again able to look upon the far reaches of Equestria, her sight no longer hindered by the cloud canopy. She looked upon the gracious prairie below. The tall grass looked as if it were a golden quilt upon the lush and green landscape. She observed the sylvan territory that was the Everfree Forest, the site of the horrific accident. And finally, trying to take her mind off the bad, Rainbow looked upon Ponyville. Ponyville, it seemed to be located in the center of everything, it certainly was the center of her life. All the good, and bad, memories she had there, too many memories. For Rainbow Dash just the thought of all that was going on, and all that had happen, was too much for her. She just wanted everything to go back to normal, to be like it was before the incident. She even contemplated flying away, forever, and leave everypony behind, all the memories behind. No… I can’t do that to everypony, not again… And so, with a thrust of her wings, she took off for Ponyville. The Center of her life… ***** Rainbow Dash, finally reaching her original destination, touched down in front of a cozy cottage that sat on the edge of the Everfree Forest. She couldn’t help but remember how kind the Pegasus inside the cottage was, always willing to help anypony. But now was the time that she needed help the most, she needed somepony to talk to, and Fluttershy was always the most understanding. Rainbow Dash trotted up to the door and raised a hoof to knock, until she heard a commotion from inside. She listened in closer to hear a loud bang, the shattering of porcelain, and the squeal of Fluttershy. “Hang on Fluttershy, I’m a comin!” Rainbow shouted sensing trouble. Rainbow bashed open the door, and expecting the worst, flew inside to the source of the commotion. But what she saw nearly broke her heart. She saw her best friend lying on top of Blaze, both of them blushing wildly. “What is this?” Rainbow said with a tear starting to form in her eye. She felt betrayed by her best friend, taking advantage of Blaze in his vulnerable state. Both of the stunned ponies looked over and noticed Rainbow Dash. “It’s not what it looks like!” Fluttershy yelped, which was out of character for a pony such as herself. She jumped off of Blaze, both of them got up on their hooves. Indeed it wasn’t what it looked like. “You better start explaining NOW!” Rainbow screamed, slowly approaching the flustered Fluttershy. “Woah! Everyone calm down!” Blaze finally spoke up, coming between the two pegasi. ***** Several minutes earlier… Blaze trotted down the stairs of his temporary living arrangements. He felt a renewed sense of vigor, having finally gotten a good nights sleep since this entire ordeal started. He was starting to adjust to his new life, starting to accept it. He noticed a very enticing smell coming from the kitchen. As he trotted into the kitchen he ran into the mare he met with last night, the owner of the house he found himself in. Fluttershy was spreading out a delicious home-style meal across the table. “Oh good, you’re awake!” Fluttershy spoke softly, “You can help me set up our meal.” “Sure, what do you need me to do?” “Can you take that pot on the stove over there, and put it on the table? Carefully though it’s still warm.” “Alright” Blaze said trotting over to the pot, observing its contents closely. He noticed that it contained the source of the aroma he smelled seconds earlier. Blaze sniffed at it voraciously. “Wow! This smells great! What is it?” Blaze said as he started to get up on his hind legs to pick up the over-sized pot. “Well, it’s nothing special.” She started off shyly, “It’s just carrot stew with some seasoning.” She turned to Blaze noticing his peculiar way of holding the pot. Blaze slung the pot over his head, still standing on his hind legs. As he made his way to the table he started to lose his balance. “Oh no!” Fluttershy screamed softly, dashing at Blaze with surprising speed. She got up on her hind legs, shooting out her forelegs to help support the falling pot. But her attempts were in vain as it was too late to save the soup. Fluttershy yelped quietly as the pot came crashing down upon the table, spilling its contents and breaking a good many of her plates. Fluttershy soon lost her balance as well, with nothing supporting her she fell on top of Blaze sending him tumbling to the ground, with an audible bang. Both of the pegasi found themselves lying on the floor, Blaze on his back and Fluttershy placed suggestively on top of him. “You’re not a human anymore; you can’t do things like that anymore.” Fluttershy giggled to herself. Fluttershy stopped giggling. The tone of the situation quickly changed, as she looked at him intently noticing his many fine features. No wonder Rainbow Dash likes him so much! She thought to herself lustfully, suddenly realizing the position that they were in Fluttershy unknowingly shot up her wings. She looked back at her wings, noticing what she had done she started to blush wildly. “What is this?” said the shaky voice of a familiar pony. Fluttershy looked over to see Rainbow Dash standing in her living room, in a very aggressive stance. “It’s not what it looks like!” The wide eyed pony exclaimed before she jumped off of Blaze. “You better start explaining NOW!” ***** “Well, I guess that explains the spilt soup.” Rainbow Dash said mild mannerly, “But that doesn’t explain that.” Rainbow Dash pointed to the still flustered Fluttershy. “What?” Fluttershy looked over her shoulder to see her wings, still flared open. She embarrassingly closed her wings, and looked pitifully to the ground. A few moments of awkward silence followed, between the two pegasi, as Blaze had walked out a few moments earlier to wash some of the stray soup that had found its way onto his mane. “So, when were you going to tell me Blaze was staying here?” Rainbow Dash finally spoke up. Are you trying to steal away Blaze from me?! She thought ferociously to herself. “I only found out last night, Spike just dropped him off at my doorstep. He said he was going to need to stay here for a while.” A likely story! “Besides I think it’s best that he does stay here so I can make sure he’s healing well, both physically and mentally. I also feel like this is the only way I can give back to him for what he did.” “Wait, wait, wait, what you’re telling me is that you want to observe Blaze?” Rainbow said disregarding the last part of her statement. “Yes...” Rainbow Dash started to get furious. “NO, No, no not like that!” Fluttershy said picking up on the hostility. “Major traumatic events, like the one we were in, have detrimental effects on not only the body, but the mind as well! I just want to make sure he’s alright.” There was a state of uneasiness that filled the room. Fluttershy couldn’t keep eye contact with Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash picked up on this. “Alright, what aren’t you telling me?” She said interrogating the pink maned Pegasus. “Well…” Fluttershy spoke even softer than before. “Well WHAT!” Fluttershy recoiled back at the harshness of her tone. “Well… you see he isn’t exactly himself…” “I already knew that! He has amnesia!” Rainbow Dash shouted obviously getting frustrated. Fluttershy recoiled back even more. “It’s not that, he doesn’t have amnesia…” Fluttershy explained barely audibly. “What aren’t you telling me!?” Rainbow Dash yelled not hearing Fluttershys previous statement. Fluttershy started to curl up into a ball, obviously unable to cope with the diatribe Rainbow Dash was giving. She started to cry softly to herself. “TELL ME!” Rainbow Dash screamed, not realizing the volume of her voice. “Hey!” shouted a stern voice, “What’s wrong with you! Yelling at her like that!” Rainbow Dash looked over to see Blaze trot over to Fluttershy, and whisper something into her ear. Fluttershy sniffled to herself and got up. Blaze turned over to Rainbow Dash. “What kind of friend are you!” Blaze’s mordant words stung Rainbow Dash like wasp stings. She backed up against the wall, hurt by Blaze’s harsh tone. She was distraught over the change in personality of her close friend. Tears started to well up in her eyes, and before Blaze could say anything else she stormed out of the house, and took off into the sky. “What is wrong with her?” Blaze said turning to Fluttershy. “I thought everyone was nice here in Ponyville!” Fluttershy wiped away the last of her tears, “You just don’t realize what she’s been going through lately.” “That doesn’t give her the right to yell at you like that!” “She was just trying to figure out something.” “What could be so important that she would treat her friends like crap?!” Fluttershy was silent for a few moments. “You…” She finally managed to say. ***** Blaze and Fluttershy exited the Cottage. They were on their way to a ‘super-secret special meeting’, or at least that’s how Applejack put it. The meeting, however, was located at Sugar Cube Corner, which Fluttershy found very suspicious. She shrugged it off though. “Wait, I’m still trying to get this straight. I was her what?” Blaze said continuing their conversation from inside. “Fiancé…Or at least you were…It’s more complicated than you think…” Blaze looked at Fluttershy with incredulity and pondered the word for a moment. Fiancé? Blaze had a mixture of emotions about that statement, suddenly regretting the way he treated Rainbow Dash. Great now how do I handle this? “She just wants you back…” Blaze remained silent for a few moments, and then stopped. Fluttershy turned around to look at Blaze. Blaze just stared back at Fluttershy. “What do I do?” Blaze said quietly. Fluttershy looked off into the distance. The day had been so hectic for her, an unpleasant change of pace from the usual tending of animals. She took little relief in the harmonious chirping of birds that she usually sang along with. Everything had changed since the accident. “I don’t know…” She finally managed to say. Fluttershy turned around gloomily and spoke to herself, “Nothing is going to be the same again…” The two of them continued their semi silent walk to Sugar Cube Corner. ***** The two pegasi finally made their way to the Confectionery. The lights were peculiarly shut off. And Fluttershy was able to make out the silhouettes of several ponies inside the building. “Huh? That’s weird, are buildings usually closed in the afternoon here in Ponyville?” Blaze asked. Fluttershy just smiled at him realizing the true meaning behind the secret meeting. “Blaze, can you please open the door for me?” she said with a slight giggle. Blaze trotted up to the door still ignorant to the crowd of ponies anxiously waiting on the other side. He pushed open the door slowly, letting his eyes adjust to the light, or the lack there-of. Just as he stepped inside, followed closely by Fluttershy, a familiar pink pony sprang into the air, simultaneously turning on the lights, and screamed, “SURPRISE!!!!!” Blaze reeled back in excitement, nearly bumping into Fluttershy. “Bwaaah!” He yelped. Before he could even react, the pony, seemingly, flew toward Blaze and wrapped her forelegs around him. “I was so happy when I saw you out and about in the streets that I decided to throw you a combination surprise, welcome back, get well soon, and welcome to Ponyville party!” “Welcome to Ponyville? Wait!” Blaze looked back at Fluttershy who was equally confused, “How did you know I’m not the Pony you think I am?” The pony was quick to reply, “Well it’s not exactly the best kept secret! Duh! Everypony in Ponyville knows what happened now!” Blaze was a shocked at how quickly word spread in this town. He was equally surprised at how accepting and friendly everypony was in Ponyville. “Okay silly, enough with all this standing around, LET’S PARTY!” And with those words streamers and confetti burst into the air, and a catchy tune started to play. All of the ponies started to mingle, eager to start the party. As the crowd started to shift Blaze was able to make out the figure of a cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane. She quickly noticed him also and moved deeper into the morphing crowd. Blaze, eager to apologize about before, pursued Rainbow Dash. Just as Blaze was able to get to Rainbow Dash, she left the main crowd and ran into another room. Blaze wasn’t ready to give up chase, as he readily followed her into the room. Upon entering the room though, he found that she was nowhere to be found. Puzzled by this he turned around to exit, but heard the distinct sound of somepony crying. He quickly spun around and walked deeper into the room. With each step he took the crying became louder, until he finally found himself looking up a door, which he suspected to lead to a closet. He opened the door only to be surprised that it had a staircase inside of it that led to the basement. Blaze, eager to find the source of dismay and Rainbow Dash, followed the pathway into the cellar. As he neared the end of the staircase he came into a dimly lit room, only illuminated by a ray of dirty light coming from a window. He was, although, able to make out the shape of a pony curled up in the center of the room. She was the source of the crying. Blaze drew nearer to the pony and tried to comfort her. “Hey, why are you crying?” Blaze said caringly. “You wouldn’t understand…” The voice said dejectedly. “Try me.” The pony sniffled to herself and started to speak up again, “Have you…Have you ever loved somepony, but they didn’t love you back?” “She wasn’t a pony, but I know what you mean.” “Well, there’s this pony that I really loved, and I mean a LOT!” she said starting to cheer up a little bit. “But this thing came up…and…well he changed, he may never be the same, but I still love him!” The pony started to shift a little to look upon Blaze. “He’s the reason I get up in the morning. He’s the joy in my heart, the love in my soul! The source of my inspiration, the wonder in my world…” She paused for a moment, and stood up. “and I just want him to love me back, to love me again!” She stuck out her fore legs and gave Blaze a tender hug. She started to cry uncontrollably. Blaze felt her warm tears fall upon his back. He shifted his head a little to look the pony in her eyes. Her beautiful magenta eyes sent chills throughout his body. “I’ll learn to love you again.” Blaze said passionately taking Rainbow Dashinto a tender embrace. Rainbow Dash continued to cry even more. She shifted her weight towards Blaze to draw him in closer. As they held each other for a few moments Rainbow Dash felt Blaze nuzzle her gently, causing her to fill with love. She had finally gotten him back. “Thank you.” She spoke softly. Rainbow looked up at Blaze, for a few moments she drew closer to his face, until she found herself less than a hair away from touching his lips. She held that position for a moment, quietly admiring his gentle, but warm breath. Before she could react Blaze touched his lips to hers, passionately kissing her deeply. She eagerly returned the long awaited kiss, and held it for several minutes. Both ponies reluctantly pulled away to regain their breath. They both fell to the ground, so that they could draw closer to one another. They held each other for a few minutes without saying a word. Blaze was the first to break the silence. “RAINBOW DASH WAKE UP!!!!” he shouted loudly. “Huh?” ***** Rainbow Dash wiggled awake, finding herself in a new place. She was lying face down on a cloud. The cloud itself was surprisingly moist. That’s when she remembered where she was. After she flew away hastily from the confrontation with Blaze, she came to her favorite cloud perch. Still distraught over having Blaze yell at her, she cried herself into a pleasant dream state. “RAINBOW DASH WAKE UP!!!!! WE’RE GONNA BE LATE!!!!” said a familiar southern voice. Rainbow Dash peeked over the side of her cloud to see a familiar orange earth pony. “Late for what Applejack?” she shouted lazily. “The party!” Oh right! She thought to herself, jumping down from the cloud, descending to meet Applejack. “How long do we have?” “The party’s not fer nother hour.” “Wait, what! Then why did you wake me?!” She just smiled back at Rainbow Dash, “You seem like you need somepony to talk to.” “What would make you think that, AJ?” Applejack just continued to give a soft smile, and pointed up towards the sky. Rainbow Dash looked up to see that the cloud she was perched upon was dripping down precipitation. “We aren’t scheduled fer any rain today.” She said looking back at Rainbow Dash, “Now seriously RD, what’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash looked back at the mare before her. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of insecurity in Applejacks presence. She didn’t want to show any weakness to her rival and longtime friend. Rainbow sighed to herself, “You wouldn’t understand.” She quietly whispered, turning away to look back to the skies. It was a beautiful summer day, not too cloudy, not too windy, and just sunny enough, a perfect day for Rainbow Dash, as these were the best flying conditions. That and the sight itself was amazing. Applejack took a few steps closer to her distressed friend, joining her in the quiet appreciation of the sky, “Try me…” Dashes ears perked up. Déjà vu. She thought to herself. Rainbow Dash was silent for a few seconds, and looked sullenly upon the ground. She didn’t know quite what it was that made her open up to her friend, but she accepted the relief it brought. “Applejack, have you ever loved someone who didn’t love you back? Have you ever been cursed to spend your days with that person, knowing that they may never love you again?” She paused for a moment to regain her composure. “Have you ever wondered, what could’ve been, had the circumstances changed?” Tears cascaded gently across Applejack’s face, trickling down to drench the parched soil. Rainbow Dash looked over to see the tears of the strongest pony she’d ever met, fall to the ground ungraciously. “Yes…” Mysteries UnansweredFlickers of hope, Dashes of lights. Illuminating the stormy night. And so with great tragedy, Comes great memory. Because no matter what you do, He’ll always be there for you. ***** Rainbow Dash looked upon her old friend with understanding. Taking a moment to let the silence sink in, both of them stood still. The gloominess of the situation hadn’t reflected the serene scenery. Rainbow Dash finally decided to join in her friends silent suffering, letting her own tears trickle from her magenta eyes. “Then you know how I feel?” Rainbow Dash finally said after a few minutes of silence. Applejack wiped away excess moisture from her soaking eyes. She turned to look upon Rainbow Dash to find that she had an equally drenched face as hers. “All too well…” Rainbow Dash looked upon her friend with compassion, noticing how close the two had gotten to each other. “I just want him back Applejack, I’ll always love him!” The two ponies shared another moment of tender silence. A soft breeze tussled at their manes gently, lightening their mood. “I don’t care if he has amnesia! I’ll teach him to love me back! I’ll…I’ll” Applejack looked upon Rainbow Dash with confusion. Did she just say amnesia?! That’s not what Spike said. She thought to herself. “What? Why is everyone looking at me like that today?” Rainbow said remembering her altercation with Fluttershy earlier in the day. Applejack felt uncomfortable having to tell her best friend the truth under such circumstances. “Ya mean ya didn’t know?” “Know? Know what?” Applejack took a moment to choose her next words carefully. “Now Sugarcube, ya know I would never lie to ya right?” “Of course!” “Well, ah don’t know how ta put this, but…” Applejack started to say biting her lip. “WHAT!” Applejack was slow to respond, showing her remorse in telling her friend the truth. “Blaze isn’t the pony you remember, and no ah don’t mean he has amnesia. The old Blaze is gone, forever…” Applejack revealed this information with unintentional harshness in her tone. Rainbow Dash backed away, unable to cope with her reality. “W-what do you mean?” Rainbow Dash said in a shaky voice, her words tumbling from her mouth. “As ya know after the accident Blaze and Fluttershy were in critical condition. Blaze had done everything in his power ta protect Fluttershy, but at a cost to himself.” “No! No! I don’t want to hear it!” Rainbow Dash screamed as she backed away from the orange earth pony. “But yah have ta Sugarcube, you need ta hear this!” Applejack shot out both forelegs to prevent the delirious Pegasus from flying away, simultaneously drawing her in to an embrace. Rainbow Dash started to cry uncontrollably, returning the comforting hug of her friend. The two ponies relived the harsh terror of that tragic night. ***** Rainbow Dash awoke from her irregular slumber, at an irregular time; evening. She hopped out of the tree she took refuge in. Rainbow never quite understood why she slept in trees when she was able to enjoy the plushness of a fluffy cloud. Perhaps she wanted to be more down to earth, be closer to her friends. Her friends. The ponies who were always there for her, the ponies she had so many good memories with, the ponies who always supported her. But now, the only pony that mattered hated her and probably never wanted to see her again. Blaze… Words cannot describe the sacred love and bond the two share. Although their relationship was still young, it seemed as though the two had known each other since foalhood. In the few short months they had been together they grew so much, learned so much. But now that may all be gone… Rainbow grimaced at her reckless actions that drove Blaze away. But how was she supposed to know the value of such a seemingly useless trinket. Had she known the sentimental value Blaze held upon it she would have taken much better care of it, and not have lost it in the Everfree forest. That crummy stone! That stone was one of Blaze’s most valued possessions, and the memento of a forgotten past. Although, Rainbow never was the one to sit idly by whilst her chances at true love dwindled away. No, she would make it up to Blaze…somehow. Rainbow looked upon the fading cerulean sky, her daily weather duties taken care of long ago earlier in the day. How can I make it up to Blaze? She knew that there was only one thing she could do. One and only one true way she could win back the affection of Blaze. To find the stone, wherever it may lie in the depths of the endless Everfree. Rainbow Dash took to the sky, stretching her wings as she let the waning evening winds carry her off into the setting sun. Rainbow contemplated an easier way of tracking the stone on her way to the Everfree. Rarity should be a prime candidate for the job, as she had a gem seeking spell. But that wasn’t quite suited for Rainbow’s needs, as the stone she was looking for was just a stone, nothing more. Maybe Fluttershy could enlist the help of the nearby woodland creatures, if they ever happened by the ruby rock they could bring it to her. Yah! That’ll work! Rainbow snickered at her own shrewdness. In no time I’ll have that stone and everything will be back to normal. Rainbow Dash picked up her speed, she wanted to waste no more time away from Blaze’s loving embrace. She started to near Fluttershy’s Cottage. But something was amiss. There, held above Fluttershy’s cottage, was a dark and ominous cloud. Its sheen was black as night, but seemingly illuminated the waning light of day. Ponyville doesn’t have any storms scheduled for tonight. Rainbow changed her direction to inspect the seemingly ubiquitous cloud. As she drew nearer and nearer to it, though, she noticed the screams of her friends. Upon further inspection of the cloud Rainbow found that it was a blazing fire set in the Everfree Forest. When she realized this she took off for the scene with great celerity. Although, midway through her accelerated flight she saw a huge explosion manifest itself slightly above the raging forest fire. And through the fire and the flames Rainbow Dash saw him fall. Blaze fell to the ground with a sickening thud, his seemingly lifeless body kept still. Rainbow Dash, seeing that the fire had been choked out by the explosion, sped over to the pony she still held feelings for. She landed near the scorched earth where Blaze now laid. He shuffled around in his recumbent position. Seeing this Rainbow picked up Blaze and held him in her hooves. His body resonated heat from the previous explosion, and heat dried blood was caked across his face. “Blaze! Blaze! What happened! Are you alright?!” Rainbow exclaimed to the pony she clenched so dearly. Blaze just gave Rainbow Dash a sincere smile, a smile she had come to love. “I saved… The… Forest…and…Fluttershy…” Blaze was weak from the explosion. His words were intermittent and barely audible. Rainbow Dash was greatly confused, her mind still reeling from the previous explosion, and Blaze’s current condition. She surveyed her surroundings, her vision reduced to a haze through all of the smoke. Blaze tugged at Rainbow’s hoof. “Rainbow…” Blaze tried to muster up enough energy to relay his message, “I…I just wanted you…wanted you to know…” I’m sorry… With his words finally given Blaze let go. The smile on his face slowly faded away, and so too did the soft pounding of his heart. Rainbow Dash let out a heart wrenching squeal, as she let her tears flow. She watched as his fiery spark faded from his eyes. Rainbow Dash was unaware of her surroundings. Through the smoke and haze a familiar unicorn galloped to her side. “He’s dead! HE’S DEAD!!!” Rainbow screamed thrashing her head violently, trying to shake the reality away from her mind. The unicorn, without thinking, knelt down and touched her horn to the lifeless corpse. Her horn gave off a bewildering glow as sparks started shooting off from it. The unicorn, however, soon lost control. Her eyes gave an ominous glow that was brighter than her horn. With a powerful bang a spark shot from her horn sending the unicorn backwards and stumbling to the ground. There were a few eerie moments of uneasiness. The body that was lifeless just seconds ago sprang back to life. While still unconscious, Blaze started to hack and wheeze, showing his regaining of life. Rainbow Dash, seeing this, wasted no time to carry Blaze off into the sky towards the hospital, Urgent Medical. She left an amazing Rainbow trail in her wake. One thought raced through Rainbow’s mind… Please, be alright… ***** There was a moment of awkward tension between the two mares. “That spell Twi’ put on Blaze changed him. He wasn’t the same… He’ll never be the same…” Applejack explained. Rainbow Dash pushed away from Applejack and fell to the ground, unable to cope with reliving the trauma of that event, and the honesty of her words. “What does it mean? Who is he then?” Rainbow Dash said to the pony looking over her. Applejack sighed deeply to herself. “He’s still Blaze, just different. He’s just got himself a new brain is all.” Applejack said even confusing herself with that statement. Rainbow just looked away with disgust. Her friend’s words carried no comfort. Only pain, pain she just wanted to escape. It seemed that everything she had done, all those pleasant moments with Blaze were in vain. The pony she had come to love was gone, and she needed to come terms with that. Or maybe not. Maybe she still had a chance to win him over once more. To restore the love she once had, restore the life she craved for so enviously. And with that Rainbow Dash found new vigor, new reason to push forward. I still have a chance The cerulean pony regained her footing on all fours. She took a moment to stabilize her hysterical breathing, which she just noticed. She turned to look upon the pony which revealed to her so much. “Applejack?” The orange earth pony was relieved to see her dear friend regain her composure. “Yeah Sugarcube?” Rainbow cocked her head slightly to give herself a jocular appearance. “I think we have a party to get to.” The earth pony just smiled at her friend. She trotted up next to her to start their journey to the ‘super-secret special meeting’. Midway through their walk Rainbow wanted to break the tranquil silence. “Hey Applejack, who were they?” Applejack stopped in her tracks to question the meaning of Rainbow’s statement, “What’dya mean?” “You know, the pony you love…what happened between you two?” She took a moment to think about her answer. “We just decided to stay friends, I think it’s fer the best though.” Rainbow Dash looked upon her friend intently. Applejack tried to hide her true emotions, and her true intentions. But Rainbow Dash decided not to pry, now was not the time, for if they procrastinated any longer they actually would be late for the party. The two mares carried onward, both feeling some sense of relief. ***** “THEY’RE COMING!! EVERPONY HIDE!!!” Everypony in Sugar Cube Corner hunkered down, hiding behind anything that would obstruct somepony’s vision from the windows. An unusually energetic pony scurried over to the wall and killed the lights. She then stealthily crept up to the side of the door, as if she were going to attack the next pony to enter. “Everypony ready?” She asked in an excitedly hushed tone. A series of giggles filled the room as a sign of approval. Ponies shuffled around in the room trying to get a better position. The pony near the door peaked out the window to see two familiar ponies. She gave an excited squeal as she signaled to everypony else in the room. “Huh? That’s weird, are buildings usually closed in the afternoon here in Ponyville?” One of the ponies questioned on the other side of the door. “Blaze, can you please open the door for me?” The other voice said. A few moments passed before the door slowly creaked open, sending streaks of light that filled the room. Just as one of the ponies from outside stepped through the door the pony near the door jumped out from her hiding place. She squealed with joy! “SURPRISE!!!!!” Blaze reeled back in excitement, nearly bumping into Fluttershy “Bwaaah!” He yelped. Before he could even react, the pony, seemingly, flew toward Blaze and wrapped her forelegs around him. A familiar conversation ensued. These actions were observed by two ponies from within the crowd, who just barely made it to the party on time. Although, one pony seemed to be confused. “Wait, Pinkie knew about what happened to Blaze too?” Rainbow Dash said incredulously to her orange earth pony friend. The earth pony just gave an unsure shrug. “Word travels fast in a town as small as Ponyville.” Applejack explained. Rainbow Dash brushed off the inconsistency, that didn’t matter right now. What mattered now was Blaze and winning back his affection. What better time to do this then at his own party? “Okay silly, enough with all this standing around, LET’S PARTY!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed in her usual state of energetic happiness. Ponies around Rainbow Dash threw colorful hooffulls of streamers and confetti into the air. And a familiar tune filled the room with jovial sound. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel as though this had just happened, inside of her dreams. She shrugged it off as a mere coincidence. “Well Sugarcube, Ah don’t know bout you but I’m gonna get me some of that punch before Berry Punch hogs all of it. Catch ya later.” Applejack trotted off into the already shifting crowd of ponies. Rainbow Dash found herself alone, figuratively speaking of course. Although surrounded by other ponies she couldn’t shake this overwhelming feeling of incredible loneliness. She was still looking for somepony, but she couldn’t find him through all of the confusion. The mingling bunch of ponies shifted continuously. But as the crowd shifted so did Rainbow’s view. That is until Rainbow found the pony she was looking for. Their eyes met for just a moment. Rainbow still wanted to win Blaze over, but first she needed to apologize for earlier, and in the crowd was not the place. She broke away from the crowd and walked away into a nearby room, trying to escape the craziness of the ensuing party. Suddenly an overwhelming sense of Déjà vu came upon Rainbow Dash. But yet again Rainbow Dash shrugged it off as a coincidence. She walked over to the nearby window, and looked outside for no apparent reason. “Hey Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow Dash turned to inspect the source of the voice. The question had come from Blaze, who had pursued her into the room. Rainbow returned the unclear greeting. “Blaze.” Rainbow Dash said surprisingly colder than she wanted. A few moments of awkward silence followed. Neither one wanted to continue the conversation. Rainbow Dash looked upon Blaze, as if trying to find out what he was thinking. Blaze started to become nervous, and it showed through the beads of sweat that were trickling down his coat. “So…was there something you wanted to say?” Rainbow Dash asked. Blaze was slow to reply, his gaze shifting from object to object within the room. “Uhhh…yah…I just…I wanted to…to say…” Before Blaze could finish his sentence he felt something press up against his lips. He shifted his eyes to see exactly what was obstructing his mouth. To his surprise it was Rainbow Dash’s hoof, and Rainbow Dash was looking upon him caringly. Somehow she was able to close the distance between the two in less than a second. “Don’t…It was my fault…I’m sorry.” How’d she know what I was going to say? Blaze was confused and he showed it. But this only made Rainbow Dash giggle softly, which melted Blaze’s heart. “Let me try to make it up to you.” She smiled at Blaze gently, trying not to show her true feelings. “You probably don’t know how to fly. Well I just happen to be Ponyville’s best flier!” Rainbow was tooting her own horn yet again; a habit Blaze never got her to break. She started to trot out of the room. But before she excited she turned back to the confused Blaze. “We’ll start training tomorrow,” She gave Blaze a soft peck on the cheek. “You’re cute when you’re confused.” She started to trot out of the room once more leaving the bedazzled Blaze to contemplate the meaning of her statement, and the kiss. But before Rainbow Dash fully excited the room she left Blaze one last message. “Oh, and Blaze, you might want to get your wings checked before going back to the party.” She said with a large grin on her face as she left the room. What does she mean check my wings? Blaze thought as he looked upon his wings, which were uncontrollably flared open. When did that happen? He thought to himself not fully understanding the meaning behind the erect wings. Regardless, he managed to will himself to close his wings, an appendage he was still getting used to. Maybe I do need some training Blaze still had a party to attend, one that was thrown in his honor. He had guests to mingle with. Well I guess I should get to know everypony here in Ponyville… ***** The waning light of day partially obstructed Blaze’s view of the cottage. The party, it seems, went on much longer than anticipated. Chuckles of a surprisingly tipsy pony filled Blaze’s ears. It also appears that somepony had spiked the punch at the party, and Fluttershy had a bit more than she could handle. To say she was drunk off her flank would be the understatement of the century. “Hehehe, look at me I can fly!” Fluttershy said as if it were the first time she discovered this. Blaze just gave a gentle smile to the intoxicated pony. He knew he would have to help guide her home, so he left the party at the same time as her. Fluttershy zipped around through the air, barely keeping her body above the ground. Blaze lazily kept his hooves on the ground; his judgment was not clouded by a suspicious party beverage. Together the two Pegasi continued onward through the growing darkness of the evening. Fluttershy continued her drunken mishaps all along their journey. Occasionally stumbling over a peculiarly placed rock in the road, or smacking face first into low hanging branches. But eventually the two ponies finally made it to their destination, just before the inevitable setting of the sun. Blaze opened the door to let the overly tipsy Fluttershy in. As she went through the door, however, she stumbled over one of the stools placed in the living room, causing her to fall over. Blaze, shocked by this event, galloped over to aid the seemingly injured Fluttershy. But, much to his surprise, he found that Fluttershy was giggling uncontrollably to herself. “Oops!” She finally managed to say. Blaze, after observing these events play out before him, decided Fluttershy wouldn’t be able to make the trivial task of climbing the stairs on her own. He, much to Fluttershy’s surprise, slung her over his back. Fluttershy was too weak from her constant antics on the way home and just accepted the free ride. Although, she still wasn’t incapacitated… “Hey, hey Blaze wanna hear a secret?” Blaze just sighed to himself, knowing that whatever the answer may be, it was going to be stupid regardless. But he decided to humor her. “Sure…” Fluttershy only giggled to herself as Blaze started the journey up the stairs. “I think Rainbow Dash Likes you!” This time Blaze giggled to himself. No kidding. He thought to himself with a smile on his face. Blaze finally made it to Fluttershy’s room. He set Fluttershy upon her bed. To his surprise though, he found that Fluttershy was already in a deep slumber. He deduced that she must’ve fallen asleep when he was carrying her. Blaze decided to show some care back to the pony who had given to him so much. He covered up the sleeping Pegasus with a blanket. She was quick to take the blanket into her embrace, as if it were a cuddly bunny. She continued to sleep happily as Blaze started to exit the room. But before he left the room he felt something draw him towards the window. A mysterious force, unknown to Blaze, pulled him towards the window. As he came upon the opening he found himself looking upon a recently scorched Everfree forest. What happened next not even Blaze could explain. He opened the window and jumped out of the cottage. Blaze started walking towards the forest, still not under control of his own body. ***** It was already night time, the moon had long since risen, becoming the only source of light for Blaze as he still inexplicably walked through the burnt soil and brush of the Everfree. For what seemed like an hour Blaze had been wandering through the Everfree, yet somehow he knew all too well where he was, and where was going. The forest, for the most part, was lifeless. Not even the chirp of a cricket was audible in the dead silence of the night. With each hoofstep he felt himself getting closer and closer to his destination, wherever it may be. But something glinted off in the distance, it broke Blaze’s trance like state. He looked over to see what the source of the glinting was. In the direction he looked at he saw several trees overturned around what seemed to be the epicenter of an explosion. He decided to investigate further. As he drew nearer to this epicenter he found the source of what was shining at him earlier. It was a small red stone, which was conveniently located at the origin of the epicenter. He picked up the stone with his hooves, and almost immediately he felt a surge of great power fill his body. The stone he held was surprisingly warm, as if it were radiating heat. Blaze couldn’t help but shake a feeling of great importance towards the stone. What does this mean? As Blaze looked upon the object it started to glow brightly, blanketing the once dark landscape around him in an amazing ruby tinted light. He felt familiar voices start to speak inside of his head, but he didn’t understand what they were saying, or who was saying it. The intensity of the light started to grow, expanding into the sky, giving the night a new source of light. As the light grew more powerful, so did the voices inside of Blaze’s head. The intensity of the light gave Blaze a splintering headache, accompanied by the voices Blaze started to become dazed. He dropped the stone unable to cope with the trauma it was unleashing upon him. Just as he slipped into unconsciousness he noticed a silhouette manifest itself above the stone. It uttered an undecipherable phrase. “Si go, Nu nu alem…” Blaze slipped off into unconsciousness yet again… Changing WindsShifting Winds Change the seasons, Of this we can't pretend, That no matter what the reasons, Everything must come to an end. I am sorry to say this but this isn't really an update, rather this is me letting everyone know that I am discontinuing this story. But please can't you see? That in order to have a beginning, An equilibrium must always be, One thing is always achieved, an ending... Even though this isn't really an ending, it is going to have to suffice. This is the end of this story. I am only updating this to let everyone know, rather than leaving them hanging for something that will never come. But hay, It was going to have to end sometime, and don't worry, I will be doing a complete rewrite of this story later on. (Remember this was my first story I've ever written!) And so when one door closes, Another one opens, The contents of which may be roses, Or rustic weapons. Well whatever the future brings I have this to say, that no matter good or bad, I am here to stay! So please stick with me as I make new stories (remember "Splinters"? Well I am not done with universe, not by a long shot!) And as a parting note I want to say, Thank you yet again! I have nothing else to say There is nothing else to do, It was always this way, I'm sorry but, Thank You... I now defer you to the comments section...
On the Fringe1…2…3… An unexpected gust of apprehension… 4…5…6… A sudden shudder of regret… 7…8…9… A recollection of wasted chances … 10… A leap of faith… The icy night wind rushing past his face... For a few moments he felt alive… A sudden loss of control… A thunderous boom and an abrupt crash… *****Several Months Earlier***** On a somber moon lit night a lost soul wandered the streets. Unsure whether he had anything left to contribute to this world, or if he had ever made any in the first place. He had nowhere he needed to be, or anywhere he wanted to be. Maybe I need a change of scenery? He thought to himself. There’s nothing left for me here. He walked down the dimly lit street to an indiscriminate location. The crisp night wind gently blowing against him helped him feel a little sense of relief. Off in the distance a melodic tune of sirens played, breaking the would be peaceful night of its silence. Fed up with wandering aimlessly through the desolate city he decided to return to his own place of comfort. ********** He walked up to a familiar building. Taking out a key he placed it in the lock and proceeded into his sanctuary. His domain was cluttered with trash and unwashed dishes, which were indifferent to him. He sat down on his bed and turned on his lamp which flickered twice then faintly illuminated the room. With a sigh of disappointment he fell onto his cushion which expectedly caught him. A wave of disappointment soon followed. He wanted so badly to escape this world that had imprisoned him. Maybe someday I’ll escape it all… He wanted nothing more than to escape his problems, to run away from this bleak existence. He wanted to be someone else. With these thoughts he silently wept himself to sleep, forgetting, fatefully, that he left his faulty lamp on. As he drifted off into unconsciousness the last thing he noticed was the faint smell of charred wood. ********** He violently awoke to waves of furious heat blasting at him in all directions. He instinctively rolled off of his bed which was engulfed in flames, fiercely patting down the patches of flames that crept slowly on his body. Trying to stay close to the ground to avoid the smoke he made his way to the door. He stuck out his hand to turn the knob but was instantly singed. He winced at the pain but tried to remain focused. He got up to his feet and started to try to force the door out of his way by bashing on it vigorously. His attempts at escape were useless. He looked up and saw a blazing piece of debris fall onto him. Then darkness… ********** He woke from his peaceful slumber, finding himself in a vaguely foreign place. He found himself in a rather gloomily lit and small room. The place itself was empty, except for one thing, a strange door. The door was located in the middle of the room, not supported by anything, it gave an ominous glow that was dimly lighting the room. Not knowing what to do he walked up to observe the mysterious door. He inspected the door closely, noticing that indeed it was not propped against anything; nothing connected to its hinges, and he could clearly see around the door. What is this? He thought to himself. Am I dreaming…Am I dead? What is going on!? Is this purgatory?! Not knowing what else to do he decided to meet his fate, whatever it may be. He stuck out his hand to grab the knob on the door but he started to hear the faint screams of several people. Curious he pressed his ear against the door to listen more closely. He heard the faint shrieks of terror that were accompanied by the cackle of burning wood. Then, without warning, there was a loud bang from the other side of the door. Immediately after the bang the door swung open violently, thrusting him backwards against the wall of the dank room. Through the door stood giant flames, menacingly mocking him as they blast heat into his face. Then, once more without warning, a familiar force seemed to pull him into the door. He slid across the floor coming closer and closer to the searing hot flames that seemed to engulf the entire room. He slid through the door, which now looked more closely to a portal. As he fell through the portal he heard a loud bang from the sound of it shutting. He found himself passing through a cone of flames that seemed to engulf him entirely. The heat from the flames was unbearable; his clothes seemed to be burning off his body, as he watched his skin start to catch fire he heard the screams again, although they were drowned out by his own. He hadn’t stopped moving, a few seconds passed before he realized what was happening, he was falling. For what seemed like an eternity he endured the pain of the unending flames. “IS THIS HELL!” He shouted indiscriminately. “WHATEVER I’VE DONE I’M SORRY, I’LL CHANGE I PROMISE!” He screamed even louder as if trying to make a plea to God himself. But nothing happened, just endless falling, endless pain. He was screaming so loud in anguish that he hadn’t noticed the screams from before were getting louder. He started to see something at the end of the funnel of flames; it was bright, brighter than the blaze that was before him. The light was blinding. With the intensity of a thousand suns, it burned even more ferociously than the funnel itself. He realized that he was getting closer to it, and fast. In a panic he started to uselessly flail his arms, as if to impede his progress to the burning eternal. This, in fact, had the opposite effect he had somehow managed to accelerate his speed twenty fold. In combination with the fire, the accelerated velocity only increased his pain. He stopped screaming as he found it made him lose his breathe, precious air was scarce in the vortex of flames which seemed to suck it away from his lungs. As he drew closer and closer to the blinding light the flames became more and more intense, until he came so close to the light itself that it disappeared, and with it all of the flames. In its wake he found that he was suspended in the sky. He observed his surroundings and looked to the ground, which was now getting bigger and bigger with every second. He decided to stop thrashing, stop fighting, he found it useless, now accepting his brutal fate. Before making a thunderous crash to the ground, he remembered seeing a gorgeous rainbow trail on the horizon. Beautiful. He thought to himself, trying to find peace. ********** Beep… Beep… Beep… He woke violently yet again coughing profusely. His skin was burning; his lungs started gasping for air. A heart rate monitor that was strapped to his chest started to beep sporadically. His heart started pulsing violently accelerating the spread of adrenaline through his veins. His senses started to heighten, and with that so did the pain. But just as the pain became too unbearable he started to become disoriented. He started to scream uncontrollably in pain, which helped to alleviate at least just a little of it. He was starting to slip into unconsciousness when he noticed a white figure come into the room. Through his painful daze he noticed that there was something strange about it; it was rushing in on all fours! It had ran right up next to him and shouted some words that he couldn’t make out. He saw her inject something into him; soon an overwhelming sense of grogginess fell over him. He then slipped off into yet another dream, but this one was much more peaceful. ********** Will he be alright doctor? Foreign voices said worryingly inside his head. One was female with a raspy tone, and the other was a deep male voice. We aren’t sure as of yet, the burns were very severe, and he suffered a massive head injury. He will recover from the burns in time, but he may never wake up. One of the voices started crying. Is there anything that I can do? There was an eerie pause as the second voice tried to come up with something comforting to say. We don’t want to give you any false hope. The only thing you can do is wait, and pray to Celestia that he wakes up. ********** Beep… Beep… Beep… There’s the beeping again. He woke gently this time; calmly opening his eyes and surveying his surroundings. He noticed he was covered in bandages from head to toe, but something was off. He tried to move but the attempt was met with a wave of sharp pain throughout his body. I’m not going to try that again. He thought learning from his mistake. He still couldn’t shake the feeling something was off, he felt as though something were missing. He tried to move yet again, but not his entire body. He imagined the wiggling his fingers, but didn’t feel anything. What is this?!? Where are my fingers?!?! Shocked by this discovery his heart started to race. Beep…Beep…Beep… The tempo of the beeps started to pick up exponentially. His thoughts started to become a jumbled mess of questions, as he looked around trying to make sense of the situation. Where am I?!? Where are my fingers?!?! What is going on?!? An unsettling state of confusion and anxiety fell over him as a familiar figure entered the room yet again. It was still moving on all fours. “Calm down! Calm Down! It’s going to be ok, you’re in a hospital.” The four legged creature said in a soothing tone. “MmmMmm!” He mumbled trying to speak under his bandages. The creature was unsettling to him. But upon further inspection he notice that it was something he had seen before. Is that a pony?!?! What the hell is going on?!?! “I’m going to take off the bandages on your mouth and ask you a few questions, do you understand?” The white pony asked. He nodded to the proposition, hoping that he could get some answers. The pony took a nearby pair of scissors and carefully but surely cut away the bandages covering his mouth. “Alright, like I said I need you to answer a few questions. Are you able to speak?” “Y-yes” he said in a shaky voice. He took a closer examination of the pony; he looked to her flank and noticed a red cross on it. “Good, now I’m going to take these questions slow.” She paused, “Do you know where you are?” He took a moment to ponder the question that was put in front of him. He didn’t quite know where he was. “I don’t know…” “That’s understandable if you don’t, you were unconscious when we brought you in. You’re in Ponyville’s local hospital, Urgent Medical.” She paused for another moment while she scrawled something down on her clipboard. “Do you know why you’re here?” “Not quite…wait did you just say Pony Ville?” he said thinking he was losing his mind. “Yes, our hospital was the closest one to your accident, and you’ve been too unstable to move since you’ve gotten here.” She walked around to the other side of the bed. “I have one last question for you. Can you tell me what your names is?” Her last question didn’t register; he was still trying to figure out where he was, and what had happened. The last thing he could remember before waking up here was getting struck in the head by something, but what? “Did you hear me? I asked you a question; do you know what your name is?” He unknowingly ignored her, still hung up on the questions he was asking himself. He couldn’t shake the fact that he was in a hospital for ponies. Is this a dream? He thought to himself. What is going on here? Am I dead? And with that thought he started to struggle uncontrollably, violently kicking as he tried to get out of his restraints. I can’t be dead can I? The pain of forgotten burns soon erupted throughout his body yet again. But just as he was able to shake himself loose from his restraints he saw the nurse inject something into him yet again. Before he was pulled back into unconsciousness he muttered to himself, “What’s going on?” ********** I was just out for a second! What happened! A familiar female voice said in his mind again. He regained consciousness, and we were able to ask him a few questions. But we were only able to get a few answers from him, he seemed incoherent. What does it mean?! Will he be okay?! It’s too soon to say but we think he may have amnesia, and if it is, we don’t know how severe it is. We weren’t able to get a lot of information out of him before he started to panic, and we had to put him back under. He started to hear crying. But it wasn’t him that was crying. The tears being shed were that of the female voice in his head. This never would have happened if I was the one there, instead of him! The female voice tried to say between sobs. You can’t blame yourself for what happened, what’s done is done. Right now you need to go home and collect your thoughts; we’ll call you if anything else comes up. There was a long pause, and then the male voice started to say- It wasn’t your fault; you shouldn’t beat yourself up for something you didn’t do. The male voice sighed. Don’t worry; he’ll pull through Rainbow Dash. He’s a fighter. ********** “Please… wake up…” said the worried young voice from his dreams. He opened his eyes slowly. As they adjusted to the light he noticed a cyan shape sitting next to him, softly weeping to herself. He could feel the tenderness in her heart. “Why are you crying?” He said trying to figure out what was wrong with her. She slowly looked up at him revealing that she too was a pony. She was different though, she had a beautiful cyan coat, gentle rose red eyes that were still wet from soft mourning, a set of powerful yet lean wings that matched the shade of blue as the rest of her coat, and an astonishing rainbow colored mane that softly glistened in the morning sunlight. “You’re awake!” The Cyan Pegasus screamed in joy. Before he could reply the cyan Pegasus shot up both forelegs and took him into her warm embrace. He prepared himself for the wave of pain that was sure to follow, but nothing came. He noticed that all the burns from before were gone. How long was I out? “I thought you would never wake up, Blaze.” she whispered softly into his ear. Blaze… Had processed it for a moment, who is Blaze? He knew it wasn’t his name, but couldn’t remember his own. “Who is Blaze?” All the happiness that was left in the Cyan Pegasus was quickly drained from her with the utterance of those words. She broke out into another fit of crying. “You! You’re Blaze! Can’t you remember who you are?! Can you even remember anything?” she said knowing what the answer was. Blaze couldn’t remember much of anything other than waking up in an inferno and uselessly trying escape. He looked down over his bed. He was covered in blankets this time, not bandages. He pulled off the covers to reveal an unsettling surprise. He too was a pony, but not just any pony, he was a Pegasus. His coat was golden orange, and his mane was colored in two different shades of red. His seemingly newly acquired set of wings were strong, as though they were trained to be in top physical shape. “What’s going on here? Why am I a pony?!” Blaze shouted nervously. The Cyan Pegasus stopped crying and looked at him with confusion. “You’ve always been a pony, Blaze.” The Cyan Pegasus said slowly backing away from the delirious Blaze. “NO, I’ve always been a human!” Blaze said starting to hyperventilate. The world seemed to come down all around him. He started to sweat profusely. Blaze got up from his bed, no longer being held down by restraints, and ran outside of the room leaving a confused Cyan Pegasus alone to ponder the events that just played out. This can’t be happening right now! This isn’t real! Blaze thought to himself trying to deny this new reality that he found himself in. He couldn’t control his breathing, or his newly acquired wings, and had no idea where he was going. He exited the hospital hastily and ventured off into the bustling streets of Ponyville. Blaze stumbled around the crowded streets, bumping into fellow ponies. He ran across what seemed to be a playground, filled with little colts and fillies. Everyone and everything was giving him a weird look, especially a certain lavender pony accompanied by a purple reptilian. Blaze wandered into an alleyway to try to clear his cluttered thoughts. His wings were still flapping heavily as if they were trying to lift him away. Have I gone mad?!? Am I truly a pony?! Blaze tried to piece together all that had happened. As he went deep into thought about all of these events he didn’t notice 2 figures trot up to him in the alleyway. “There he is, that’s Blaze!” said the Cyan Pegasus from earlier. Before Blaze could respond to the assailants a colorful flash of light appeared, and something seemed to strike him across the head. He lost consciousness.
RevelationsTears of sadness falling like monsoon. Emotions that came to soon. Rage flaring with the destructive power of a hurricane. Violent gusts of wind flowing through his mane. Dark gloomy skies of despair. The thickness of depression hangs in the air. Thunderous screams of regret. A storm we won’t soon forget. ********** Blaze awoke yet again, but this time not to the accompaniment of annoying beeping or the heart wrenching tears of a mysterious Pegasus. No this time he awoke to the calm and peaceful chirping of birds. Blaze opened his eyes to survey his surroundings. There wasn’t much light in the humble living quarters he was situated in, there was but one murky window letting in dirty light that created a nuance in the room. The room itself was a hospitable one, the bed he had awoken on was very comfortable, and the furnishings of the room were very pleasant, if not bland. But there was a similarity between the walls, floor, and ceiling. They were all made of wood, as if the room was carved out a tree, confused by this Blaze decided to inspect the room that he was in. Blaze pulled off his covers to reveal, yet again, the body of a pony. His body was a golden orange that seemingly illuminated the room, accompanied by the little light that there was. He stepped out of his bed, trying to resituate himself to his new body. I guess this isn’t a dream. He thought to himself worryingly. What the heck is going on? Blaze tried to make sense of the situation by investigating the room further. He noticed that there were many shelves in the room he was in. Upon further inspection they were revealed to have a vast assortment of books in them. He pulled out a book entitled: "A Brief History of Equestria". Equestria? That must be what they call this world. How cute… He thought incredulously to himself. He decided to read into this mysterious world that he now found himself in. In this book he learned about the history of Equestria. He learned about the terrible reign of Discord, and how he was overthrown by a pair of Alicorns, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. He learned how these two beings controlled the rising of the sun and moon, and how one tried to over throw the other. He discovered the Elements of Harmony, and magic. Magic? Am I in some kind of cartoon for little girls or something? Blaze thought smiling to himself. Blaze familiarized himself with the geography of Equestria, and even learned of cities in the sky made entirely out of clouds. Just as he was getting deeper in the study of the mysterious world he was in, he heard the subtle squeaking of a door opening. He hadn’t noticed the fairly large door in the corner of the room. The door slowly creaked open to reveal the silhouette of a figure, which stepped through the door. The room was too dark for him to make out who or what it was. The figure stepped closer and closer to Blaze, until it finally walked into the light revealing a rather small, lizard. It had light purple scales and emerald green spines, with eyes that matched. “Twilight! He’s awake now!” The small Dragon said to the doorway. “What do you want me to do?” “Make him feel comfortable! I’ll be over in a second.” A female voice shouted back from down the doorway. The little dragon looked back at the wide eyed Pegasus. Not knowing where to start he stepped closer to Blaze and greeted him. “Hello, it’s me Spike. I see you have a book there.” He said. Blaze still confused by the presence of the little talking lizard just stood there, staring at the creature. “Y-yah, it was on the shelf…” Blaze said nervously. He paused for a moment and blurted out “What are you?!” The young looking lizard recoiled a little bit. “Ouch that’s cold, I thought you knew me better than that” the lizard said, obviously hurt by the question. “Oh that’s right the whole amnesia thing. Well to answer your question directly I’m a Dragon and I’m also the assistant to Twilight Sparkle here in the Library.” Blaze pondered the comment for a second, he still felt confused towards the entire situation. How did he get to be here in Equestria? Just as he was about to ask a few questions pertaining to his predicament a second figure walked into the room, this one was walking on all fours. Is that another pony? “Spike, why are you talking to him in the dark?” The Figure said with a female voice. The figure then flipped a switch on the wall. A surprisingly harsh wave of light came upon Blaze. He closed his eyes instinctively, and waited a moment to let them recover. Once he opened them he saw that the four legged figure was indeed what he anticipated. But this one was different from the one he encountered in the hospital it was a lavender color, with a purple mane that had a couple streaks of violet and pink. This pony also had a horn garnished on top of its head. Blaze sighed. “I take it that you’re Twilight Sparkle.” “Why yes how did-” Before she finished her sentence she looked down to the baby Dragon. “Oh, yes it must have been him. Well yes I am indeed Twilight Sparkle, and I’m sure you have many questions as to where and who you are, and I’ll be glad to answer any of your questions.” Blaze was astonished by her knowledge of her situation. Although confused as to why she said he might not know who he was, “Yes, thank you, I know where I am but, uhh, how exactly did I get here?” “Well when you stormed out of the hospital in such a rush Rainbow Dash came to me overly distraught about how you took off, I was the first she came to so I decided it was my duty to help her find you. You were confused and incoherent when we found you, and I decided that the best course of action was to incapacitate you.” “Incapaci-what?” Spike was eager to answer, “Number 53! Razzle Dazzle, A huge flash of lights that disorients whoever is unlucky enough to be looking at them.” “Yes, once we saw that you were pacified we brought you over here to the library, after getting dismissed from the hospital of course. We brought you here because we thought it was-” “That’s not what I meant. How did I get here in Equestria?” Blaze interrupted looking at the two of them with incredulity. Now it was Twilights turn for confusion. She looked upon the dumbfounded Pegasus in front of her. Did he just say what I think he said? He must have hit his head harder than I thought! She thought to herself.How do I handle this? “What do you mean? You’ve always lived here in Equestria. We know you might have a case of amnesia but why, or how, do you think you’ve lived anywhere else?” “Well, that I can’t really explain to well. One day I was a human, and then an accident happened. I had a weird dream and then I woke up in the hospital, A PONY!” “Oh my, this is bad, this is very bad.” “Bad? Bad! How Bad?!” Blaze said starting to get anxious. Twilight sighed openly expressing her frustration with herself. She trotted over to Spike and whispered something in his ear, immediately after hearing it he bolted off in a hurry as if to retrieve something. “You didn’t answer my question!” Blaze said almost angrily. “Calm down, I’ll explain everything, in time, but we need to take things slow. You see we’ve had a few run ins with your kind before, but never have they come across as a pony, let alone manifest themselves as somepony we know.” “Wait, Wait, WHAT?” Blaze shouted showing his obvious confusion. “As I said, all in due time, I’m going to pay a visit to our esteemed Rulers Princesses Celestia and Luna. But before that, I must ask a couple of questions. What was your dream about? This is very important; you need to describe it thoroughly.” Blaze reluctantly relived the entire scenario in his head, the pain of the ordeal still fresh in his memory. He described how it truly frightened him, and how powerfully surreal it was. As he went into greater detail he hadn’t noticed the small dragon come running back into the room scrawling something down on a piece of parchment. “Goodness, this is even worse than I had previously anticipated; I will need to speak with the Princesses immediately. But before I take my leave, and leave you in Fluttershy’s care I must ask. What had you called yourself in your dimension?” “Umm…” Blaze took a second to think about this question. It wasn’t a difficult question, but he just couldn’t answer it. It appears that the blow he took to the head in his dimension was much more severe than he thought. “I… I don’t remember…” “Oh dear, this just makes matters worse.” She muttered something else to herself and started up again, “Well, we’ll just call you by what we used to call you, Blaze.” Hmph, Blaze how fitting. He thought looking himself over once more, examining his golden orange coat. But this time he paid particular attention to a mark on his flank, which was partially covered by his wing. It resembled a tattoo. He lifted up his wing to look at the mark; it resembled an avian creature that was engulfed in flames. Why is there a Phoenix on my thigh…err flank? Blaze snapped out of his slight stupor, “Wait, how did you carry me all the way from the hospital?” He questioned, "No offense but you don't look the most, physically capable..." Twilight was quick to respond, “Oh it wasn’t just me, Rainbow Dash helped me.” “Rainbow Dash?” “Yes, Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus with the rainbow mane from the hospital who helped me find you.” Blaze blushed slightly at the thought of the Pegasus. He didn’t quite know what it was about her, but he found her attractive, for a pony of course. But still he couldn’t shake a strong feeling of longing for her, like he knew her from a past life. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that one, why was she there? At the hospital, waiting for me, I mean.” “Well she is…err was you’re…” Twilight started to blush, getting nervous in her current situation. She felt it wasn’t really her story to tell, “Let’s just say that you two hold…err held a special connection…” “But that doesn’t answer my question.” Blaze said stating the obvious, “and what do you mean ‘special connection?’” Now Twilight was getting on the defensive, she tried to think of a reason to get out of her situation and fast. “WELL, I have to go talk to the Princesses. And Spike try took keep this under wraps alright?” She started to trot away, getting as far as the doorway before Spike asked. “Wait, where is he supposed to stay?” “Like I said earlier, Fluttershy’s. Just show him where Fluttershy lives!" Twilight shouted while leaving the library at full gallop. Blaze looked out the window to see the lavender pony’s horn flicker once with a burst of light, and then she disappeared. “HOLY COW!” Blaze screamed, “SHE EXPLODED!!!” Spike giggled at the naiveté Blaze showed. “Calm down,” He giggled once more, “She didn’t explode, she just teleported. You know unicorns can do that right?” “No…” Blaze said embarrassingly. “Well, you do now.” Spike said with a sincere grin on his face. “C’mon let’s go introduce you to Fluttershy, and her cottage. That’s where you’ll be staying.” “Umm…alright I’m anxious to get out of this filthy library.” “Hey! I try my best to keep it in good shape!” Spike said obviously getting offended. “Whatever, let’s just get going.” The two of them walked out of the library, and were instantly blinded by the harsh light that was shown by Celestia’s Sun. Spike started to lead the way to Fluttershy’s Cottage, which was on the other side of the town. ********** The two of them walked slowly through the town. It was mid-summer there and the energy in the air reflected it. Blaze observed little fillies playing in the distance; their antics reminded him of his own childhood. A feeling of nostalgia swept over him as he walked through the town of Ponyville. It reminded him of the town he grew up in. It felt, friendly. Friendliness, an emotion Blaze hadn’t felt in what seemed like ages. As he walked past fellow ponies, they didn’t ignore him; they greeted him with a genuine smile. It made his heart flutter a little to know he was finally in a place where people cared, ponies cared. Although there was a bubblegum pink pony that Blaze accidentally bumped into. But before he could apologize the pony turned around, jumped into the air, let out a squeal, and ran off! Blaze was starting to get use to the tame insanity of this world, and continued onward with Spike. Spike led the way across the bustling market, Blaze following close behind. He observed the wide assortment of stalls, and products. He also took note of the buildings, and a particularly flashy building. “What’s that building?” Blaze asked “Oh, that’s the Carousal Boutique; it’s where the most beautiful pony in Ponyville sells clothing.” Spike admired the building with a dreamy look on his face. Wait that Pegasus from the Hospital sells dresses? Blaze thought to himself, reminiscing about the little contact he had with the Cyan Pegasus, Rainbow Dash. He half noticed a unicorn with a diamond white coat, and an amethyst colored coat, that shined elegantly in the summer sun. “That’s her,” Spike said slightly drifting off yet again into a dreamy state of admiration. The unicorn quickly noticed the small dragon that stood out from the usual gaggle of Ponyville's market district, although, her attention quickly shifted to the golden orange Pegasus that stood next to him. A swirl of emotions filled her face as she quickly trotted over to the Pegasus, as if she thought he was Resurrected from the dead. As the unicorn drew closer to Blaze he prepared himself for the inevitable. The unicorn quickly shot up her forelegs and nearly tackled Blaze to the ground. “Oh my goodness I was so concerned for you! Rainbow Dash just told me you woke up!” She squealed, soft tears flowing from her sapphire eyes. She tightened her grasp even more, getting Blaze into a vice like grip. “Umm… Spike who is this pony?” Blaze said squeezing out just enough air to say it. The unicorn let go, and backed away from Blaze giving him a dejected look. Even more tears started to well up in her eyes. “Of all the worst things that could happen! This is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!!!!” The unicorn said in a histrionic tone, falling over with a hoof half-pressed to her forehead. “Rarity! It’s going to be alright, he just has some amnesia is all!” Rarity perked up a little bit, and managed to get up on all hooves. Blaze was stunned by Spikes blatant lie. “But I don’t have-” “Wait! Twilight said to keep this under confidential, besides it’s best she doesn’t know quite yet.” Spike said cutting off Blaze. Rarity looked at both of them with some confusion. “Spike,” She started with a stern expression. “Would you care to elaborate?” “I can’t, Twilight would get angry with me.” Spike said staying true to his mentor. Rarity trotted closer to Spike, making sure to swipe her tail over his muzzle ever so gently. “Oh please!” She said in a way that made Spike buckle under pressure. “Fine!” He said with a sense of disgust in himself. “But you can’t tell anypony else! Especially Rainbow Dash, or at least until we understand what exactly is going on.” Rarity waited a few moments for Spike to fill her in, “Well out with it then!” she exclaimed eager to understand what was going on. Spike sighed, “Do you remember that one pony who stumbled into town a few months ago?” “Oh yes, the one who was claiming to be something called a human, poor thing must’ve gone insane! But what does that have to do with Blaze here?” Rarity walked over to Blaze inspecting him very closely, scrutinizing every particular detail about him. “Well…” Spike sighed even more deeply than before. “It’ll take a while to explain, can we go somewhere more private than here?” Rarity finally picked up on the sensitivity of the topic. Soon they all started to make their way to the Carousal Boutique. As she invited them both in Blaze took note of the marvelous dresses that were on display. Spike and Rarity walked over to take a seat in the living area, while he took closer examination of the flashy style of pony fashion. Blaze decided to explore further into the building he found himself in, not noticing the gasps and hushes from the other two he entered with. He wandered off finding himself in an office, which he deduced was Rarity’s. He trotted over to a desk that had the pictures of several ponies wearing glorified dresses. A couple of them he recognized. Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Blaze didn’t pay much attention to the photo of Twilight, as he found himself gazing at the stunning Pegasus. He didn’t know what exactly it was that was compelling him to look at the picture of her. Was it the magnificent dress she donned on her toned Pegasus form? Maybe it was the tender compassion she showed Blaze at the hospital, and her persitence to find him when he ran off. Or perhaps it was her body itself? Her amazing smile sent shivers throughout his body, making him tremble. Her magenta eyes seemed to burn with a fiery passion. Her stature was cocky, but elegant. It melted his heart to look upon such a beautiful creature. But he found himself second guessing himself after a few minutes of gazing upon the picture of the Pegasus. She’s just a pony. Why am I so… so… “There he is!” Rarity chimed to Spike, interrupting Blazes thoughts. “Come darling, we must get you to your arranged dwellings immediately.” Rarity took notice of the picture he was staring at. “Oh my, I see you’ve noticed Rainbow Dash… She was going to be your… I mean his…” Rarity soon found herself at a loss of words. “How do I put this?” “She certainly is something.” Blaze said sincerely, finding himself looking caringly upon the picture. “Oh my, you- you like her don’t you!” Blaze quickly turned to Rarity. Looking at her with a sheepish grin on his face, he started to turn a bright red, accenting his golden colored coat. “Oh this is marvelous! Maybe there still is hope!” Before Blaze could utter a response Spike walked in and exclaimed, “We gotta go. See you later Rarity” Blaze, still flustered by Rarity’s previous comment, was more than eager to exit the premises. They exited the building hastily and made their way to the outskirts of Ponyville, where Blaze saw yet another amazing landmark of the town, a sprawling orchard that was spread over several hundred acres. As he stopped in his tracks, mouth agape, something nudged him in the side. “Yep, the apple buckin seasons comin up, I trust ya’ll be able ta help me now that yer all fixed up from the accident.” An unfamiliar female voice spoke in a southern accent. Blaze turned to the voice to see, yet another, pony. This one had a cowboy hat adorned on top of her mane, which was blonde and tied at the end with a red ribbon. Her coat had an orange tint to it, and her cutie mark was that of 3 red delicious apples. Blaze looked at the pony with confusion, a recurring feeling for him. Tired of all that had happened today Blaze let out a long sigh and rolled his eyes at the pony. This had greatly disgusted the blonde pony. “Oh what, ya to good fer apple buckin now?! Well ya don’t have ta be so stuck up about it!” She said giving a quick jab to Blazes chest, making him recoil back at the sudden change in tone of the situation. He gave her a stern look, before being pushed slightly aside by Spike who noticed the confrontation. “Woah! Hold up on him now. He isn’t well, Applejack.” Applejack was quick to administer an apology, “Oh, mighty sorry bout that Blaze.” She said sticking out a hoof, which Blaze shook reluctantly. “It’s just I could never tell with you.” Blaze continued to give her a bewildered look. “Umm, Spike who’s this one?” Spike let out another groan, realizing he would need to explain their predicament to yet another pony. Applejack, obviously wondering about the current situation, spoke up, “Yah mind ta explain, Spike?” Just as their conversation, or rather explanation, picked up Blaze wondered off yet again. He walked into the organized rows of the orchard. The sun was starting to set, and there was a crisp breeze that caused Blaze to shiver slightly, mostly because of how surreal it all was. He sat down against one of the trees and faced the setting sun. He took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the skies, when an overwhelming sensation came over him, realization. Blaze didn’t know why it took him so long to realize, to truly realize, that he was in a whole other world. Everyone he knew and loved, were gone. He didn’t know how long he would be in this world, or if he’d even leave. He doesn’t even fully remember who he is, and why. With that thought tears started to well up in his eyes, and he started to silently weep to himself. Where am I now? Who am I now? Blaze got so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice a certain cyan Pegasus land near him, and admire him quietly. It wasn’t until she noticed he was crying that she trotted up next to him and sat down, admiring the sunset with him. “It’s beautiful.” Blaze looked over to the Pegasus, finally noticing her presence. “Don’t you think?” Blaze, remaining silent, wiped away his tears. He turned back to look at the sunset, admiring its beauty. The sunset itself was a golden orange, much like Blazes coat, and stretched across the entirety of the tired skies. A smile managed to creep onto his face. “It is.” He finally managed to say. “Everything is going to be alright.” Rainbow Dash spoke softly. She was right. No matter what would happen next, everything was going to be alright.
ConfrontationGusts of wind that change the Tide. And with this I must confide. That not everything is as it seems, Because life is but a dream… So appreciate the things you have done, For tomorrow it may be all gone. ***** Rainbow Dash awoke from her usual slumber in her cloud home. She remembered the pleasant evening she just had, where she found Blaze alone at Sweet Apple Acres, and how they had shared a beautiful moment. Rainbow looked over at the other side of her queen-sized cloud bed. Seeing nothing she grimaced to herself, realizing her true reality. It was just a dream? Silently shedding a tear to herself she walked out of bed and over to a window to inspect the time of day. I just want everything to go back to normal. It was mid-morning, she had slept in. A habit Blaze had almost helped her break. Rainbow hadn’t realized how much she took Blaze for granted. All the little things he did to make her better, to make her happier. She was, although, relieved to finally get a good nights rest. She hadn’t slept well since the accident, and subsequent hospitalization, Blaze had. She couldn’t help but blame herself. I miss him so much. Rainbow felt that if she was their instead of Blaze, maybe all of this wouldn’t have happened. She missed him greatly, and longed for his companionship. At least he’s still alive. With that thought Rainbow Dash flew out of her cloud home, stretching her powerful, yet lean, wings. She took off for the Everfree Forest with amazing celerity. Letting the early morning winds carry her along to her destination she took a moment to appreciate what she had, what she still has. Midway through Rainbow Dashes flight she decided to take a detour, just for the hay of it. She shifted her weight and took a sharp turn towards the North. Thrusting her wings towards her new objective she took off even faster than before. The wind rushed past her mane, making her feel alive. The warm and glowing sun illuminated everything. It made everything so much, happier. After a few more minutes of sustained flying, Rainbow Dash found herself at the base of a daunting mountain, the largest in Equestria. She took a few moments to catch her breath, and take in the tranquil setting that was before her. A vast and beautiful prairie sprawled out across the base of the steep mountain. Animals playfully scurried about, consumed in their own daily tasks of foraging. Squirrels gleaned the landscape of nuts. Little bunnies basked in Celestia’s glory. Butterflies fluttered by, suckling the nectar of the vibrant flora, which was just as spectacular as the fauna. Even the birds took a moment to praise Celestia for the wonderful day through song. Rainbow Dash smiled to herself. I should show Fluttershy this place sometime. Rainbow Dash, almost sad to depart, flapped her wings once again ascending to the heavens above. The entire landscape she just appreciated had become a blur as she took vertical acceleration. She busted through several clouds causing them to disintegrate into oblivion. Rainbow gave her powerful wings one last thrust, intentionally overshooting the peak of the mountain. She then hit the apex of her flight, making sure to take in the jaw dropping scene that was before. She had ascended past the cloud canopy to the tip of the troposphere. Rainbow gazed into the ever expanding world clouds covering most of it. From this high she could see Ponyville, she could even see all of Equestria and its neighboring countries. She just wished she had somepony to share this Radical moment with. But she digressed not wanting to spoil the moment. She was just barely entering the stratosphere when gravity took its inevitable hold of her, and started her haste descent to her, and Blazes, special place. Rainbow Dash spread her wing slowly descending back down to the mountain. Once she was at the same altitude as the mountain she flapped her wings once more, circling around to the other face of the mountainside. She finally landed on the barren mountain to give her wings a rest. I can walk the rest of the way. And so she did. She walked up the side of the mountain following an indiscriminate trail. After a few seconds of thoughtless travel she reached the summit, which was an unsurprisingly desolate place. But the scenery wasn’t the reason she was there, no, it was what was extended beyond this location. Rainbow Dash turned around to look upon her world. She was once again able to look upon the far reaches of Equestria, her sight no longer hindered by the cloud canopy. She looked upon the gracious prairie below. The tall grass looked as if it were a golden quilt upon the lush and green landscape. She observed the sylvan territory that was the Everfree Forest, the site of the horrific accident. And finally, trying to take her mind off the bad, Rainbow looked upon Ponyville. Ponyville, it seemed to be located in the center of everything, it certainly was the center of her life. All the good, and bad, memories she had there, too many memories. For Rainbow Dash just the thought of all that was going on, and all that had happen, was too much for her. She just wanted everything to go back to normal, to be like it was before the incident. She even contemplated flying away, forever, and leave everypony behind, all the memories behind. No… I can’t do that to everypony, not again… And so, with a thrust of her wings, she took off for Ponyville. The Center of her life… ***** Rainbow Dash, finally reaching her original destination, touched down in front of a cozy cottage that sat on the edge of the Everfree Forest. She couldn’t help but remember how kind the Pegasus inside the cottage was, always willing to help anypony. But now was the time that she needed help the most, she needed somepony to talk to, and Fluttershy was always the most understanding. Rainbow Dash trotted up to the door and raised a hoof to knock, until she heard a commotion from inside. She listened in closer to hear a loud bang, the shattering of porcelain, and the squeal of Fluttershy. “Hang on Fluttershy, I’m a comin!” Rainbow shouted sensing trouble. Rainbow bashed open the door, and expecting the worst, flew inside to the source of the commotion. But what she saw nearly broke her heart. She saw her best friend lying on top of Blaze, both of them blushing wildly. “What is this?” Rainbow said with a tear starting to form in her eye. She felt betrayed by her best friend, taking advantage of Blaze in his vulnerable state. Both of the stunned ponies looked over and noticed Rainbow Dash. “It’s not what it looks like!” Fluttershy yelped, which was out of character for a pony such as herself. She jumped off of Blaze, both of them got up on their hooves. Indeed it wasn’t what it looked like. “You better start explaining NOW!” Rainbow screamed, slowly approaching the flustered Fluttershy. “Woah! Everyone calm down!” Blaze finally spoke up, coming between the two pegasi. ***** Several minutes earlier… Blaze trotted down the stairs of his temporary living arrangements. He felt a renewed sense of vigor, having finally gotten a good nights sleep since this entire ordeal started. He was starting to adjust to his new life, starting to accept it. He noticed a very enticing smell coming from the kitchen. As he trotted into the kitchen he ran into the mare he met with last night, the owner of the house he found himself in. Fluttershy was spreading out a delicious home-style meal across the table. “Oh good, you’re awake!” Fluttershy spoke softly, “You can help me set up our meal.” “Sure, what do you need me to do?” “Can you take that pot on the stove over there, and put it on the table? Carefully though it’s still warm.” “Alright” Blaze said trotting over to the pot, observing its contents closely. He noticed that it contained the source of the aroma he smelled seconds earlier. Blaze sniffed at it voraciously. “Wow! This smells great! What is it?” Blaze said as he started to get up on his hind legs to pick up the over-sized pot. “Well, it’s nothing special.” She started off shyly, “It’s just carrot stew with some seasoning.” She turned to Blaze noticing his peculiar way of holding the pot. Blaze slung the pot over his head, still standing on his hind legs. As he made his way to the table he started to lose his balance. “Oh no!” Fluttershy screamed softly, dashing at Blaze with surprising speed. She got up on her hind legs, shooting out her forelegs to help support the falling pot. But her attempts were in vain as it was too late to save the soup. Fluttershy yelped quietly as the pot came crashing down upon the table, spilling its contents and breaking a good many of her plates. Fluttershy soon lost her balance as well, with nothing supporting her she fell on top of Blaze sending him tumbling to the ground, with an audible bang. Both of the pegasi found themselves lying on the floor, Blaze on his back and Fluttershy placed suggestively on top of him. “You’re not a human anymore; you can’t do things like that anymore.” Fluttershy giggled to herself. Fluttershy stopped giggling. The tone of the situation quickly changed, as she looked at him intently noticing his many fine features. No wonder Rainbow Dash likes him so much! She thought to herself lustfully, suddenly realizing the position that they were in Fluttershy unknowingly shot up her wings. She looked back at her wings, noticing what she had done she started to blush wildly. “What is this?” said the shaky voice of a familiar pony. Fluttershy looked over to see Rainbow Dash standing in her living room, in a very aggressive stance. “It’s not what it looks like!” The wide eyed pony exclaimed before she jumped off of Blaze. “You better start explaining NOW!” ***** “Well, I guess that explains the spilt soup.” Rainbow Dash said mild mannerly, “But that doesn’t explain that.” Rainbow Dash pointed to the still flustered Fluttershy. “What?” Fluttershy looked over her shoulder to see her wings, still flared open. She embarrassingly closed her wings, and looked pitifully to the ground. A few moments of awkward silence followed, between the two pegasi, as Blaze had walked out a few moments earlier to wash some of the stray soup that had found its way onto his mane. “So, when were you going to tell me Blaze was staying here?” Rainbow Dash finally spoke up. Are you trying to steal away Blaze from me?! She thought ferociously to herself. “I only found out last night, Spike just dropped him off at my doorstep. He said he was going to need to stay here for a while.” A likely story! “Besides I think it’s best that he does stay here so I can make sure he’s healing well, both physically and mentally. I also feel like this is the only way I can give back to him for what he did.” “Wait, wait, wait, what you’re telling me is that you want to observe Blaze?” Rainbow said disregarding the last part of her statement. “Yes...” Rainbow Dash started to get furious. “NO, No, no not like that!” Fluttershy said picking up on the hostility. “Major traumatic events, like the one we were in, have detrimental effects on not only the body, but the mind as well! I just want to make sure he’s alright.” There was a state of uneasiness that filled the room. Fluttershy couldn’t keep eye contact with Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash picked up on this. “Alright, what aren’t you telling me?” She said interrogating the pink maned Pegasus. “Well…” Fluttershy spoke even softer than before. “Well WHAT!” Fluttershy recoiled back at the harshness of her tone. “Well… you see he isn’t exactly himself…” “I already knew that! He has amnesia!” Rainbow Dash shouted obviously getting frustrated. Fluttershy recoiled back even more. “It’s not that, he doesn’t have amnesia…” Fluttershy explained barely audibly. “What aren’t you telling me!?” Rainbow Dash yelled not hearing Fluttershys previous statement. Fluttershy started to curl up into a ball, obviously unable to cope with the diatribe Rainbow Dash was giving. She started to cry softly to herself. “TELL ME!” Rainbow Dash screamed, not realizing the volume of her voice. “Hey!” shouted a stern voice, “What’s wrong with you! Yelling at her like that!” Rainbow Dash looked over to see Blaze trot over to Fluttershy, and whisper something into her ear. Fluttershy sniffled to herself and got up. Blaze turned over to Rainbow Dash. “What kind of friend are you!” Blaze’s mordant words stung Rainbow Dash like wasp stings. She backed up against the wall, hurt by Blaze’s harsh tone. She was distraught over the change in personality of her close friend. Tears started to well up in her eyes, and before Blaze could say anything else she stormed out of the house, and took off into the sky. “What is wrong with her?” Blaze said turning to Fluttershy. “I thought everyone was nice here in Ponyville!” Fluttershy wiped away the last of her tears, “You just don’t realize what she’s been going through lately.” “That doesn’t give her the right to yell at you like that!” “She was just trying to figure out something.” “What could be so important that she would treat her friends like crap?!” Fluttershy was silent for a few moments. “You…” She finally managed to say. ***** Blaze and Fluttershy exited the Cottage. They were on their way to a ‘super-secret special meeting’, or at least that’s how Applejack put it. The meeting, however, was located at Sugar Cube Corner, which Fluttershy found very suspicious. She shrugged it off though. “Wait, I’m still trying to get this straight. I was her what?” Blaze said continuing their conversation from inside. “Fiancé…Or at least you were…It’s more complicated than you think…” Blaze looked at Fluttershy with incredulity and pondered the word for a moment. Fiancé? Blaze had a mixture of emotions about that statement, suddenly regretting the way he treated Rainbow Dash. Great now how do I handle this? “She just wants you back…” Blaze remained silent for a few moments, and then stopped. Fluttershy turned around to look at Blaze. Blaze just stared back at Fluttershy. “What do I do?” Blaze said quietly. Fluttershy looked off into the distance. The day had been so hectic for her, an unpleasant change of pace from the usual tending of animals. She took little relief in the harmonious chirping of birds that she usually sang along with. Everything had changed since the accident. “I don’t know…” She finally managed to say. Fluttershy turned around gloomily and spoke to herself, “Nothing is going to be the same again…” The two of them continued their semi silent walk to Sugar Cube Corner. ***** The two pegasi finally made their way to the Confectionery. The lights were peculiarly shut off. And Fluttershy was able to make out the silhouettes of several ponies inside the building. “Huh? That’s weird, are buildings usually closed in the afternoon here in Ponyville?” Blaze asked. Fluttershy just smiled at him realizing the true meaning behind the secret meeting. “Blaze, can you please open the door for me?” she said with a slight giggle. Blaze trotted up to the door still ignorant to the crowd of ponies anxiously waiting on the other side. He pushed open the door slowly, letting his eyes adjust to the light, or the lack there-of. Just as he stepped inside, followed closely by Fluttershy, a familiar pink pony sprang into the air, simultaneously turning on the lights, and screamed, “SURPRISE!!!!!” Blaze reeled back in excitement, nearly bumping into Fluttershy. “Bwaaah!” He yelped. Before he could even react, the pony, seemingly, flew toward Blaze and wrapped her forelegs around him. “I was so happy when I saw you out and about in the streets that I decided to throw you a combination surprise, welcome back, get well soon, and welcome to Ponyville party!” “Welcome to Ponyville? Wait!” Blaze looked back at Fluttershy who was equally confused, “How did you know I’m not the Pony you think I am?” The pony was quick to reply, “Well it’s not exactly the best kept secret! Duh! Everypony in Ponyville knows what happened now!” Blaze was a shocked at how quickly word spread in this town. He was equally surprised at how accepting and friendly everypony was in Ponyville. “Okay silly, enough with all this standing around, LET’S PARTY!” And with those words streamers and confetti burst into the air, and a catchy tune started to play. All of the ponies started to mingle, eager to start the party. As the crowd started to shift Blaze was able to make out the figure of a cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane. She quickly noticed him also and moved deeper into the morphing crowd. Blaze, eager to apologize about before, pursued Rainbow Dash. Just as Blaze was able to get to Rainbow Dash, she left the main crowd and ran into another room. Blaze wasn’t ready to give up chase, as he readily followed her into the room. Upon entering the room though, he found that she was nowhere to be found. Puzzled by this he turned around to exit, but heard the distinct sound of somepony crying. He quickly spun around and walked deeper into the room. With each step he took the crying became louder, until he finally found himself looking up a door, which he suspected to lead to a closet. He opened the door only to be surprised that it had a staircase inside of it that led to the basement. Blaze, eager to find the source of dismay and Rainbow Dash, followed the pathway into the cellar. As he neared the end of the staircase he came into a dimly lit room, only illuminated by a ray of dirty light coming from a window. He was, although, able to make out the shape of a pony curled up in the center of the room. She was the source of the crying. Blaze drew nearer to the pony and tried to comfort her. “Hey, why are you crying?” Blaze said caringly. “You wouldn’t understand…” The voice said dejectedly. “Try me.” The pony sniffled to herself and started to speak up again, “Have you…Have you ever loved somepony, but they didn’t love you back?” “She wasn’t a pony, but I know what you mean.” “Well, there’s this pony that I really loved, and I mean a LOT!” she said starting to cheer up a little bit. “But this thing came up…and…well he changed, he may never be the same, but I still love him!” The pony started to shift a little to look upon Blaze. “He’s the reason I get up in the morning. He’s the joy in my heart, the love in my soul! The source of my inspiration, the wonder in my world…” She paused for a moment, and stood up. “and I just want him to love me back, to love me again!” She stuck out her fore legs and gave Blaze a tender hug. She started to cry uncontrollably. Blaze felt her warm tears fall upon his back. He shifted his head a little to look the pony in her eyes. Her beautiful magenta eyes sent chills throughout his body. “I’ll learn to love you again.” Blaze said passionately taking Rainbow Dashinto a tender embrace. Rainbow Dash continued to cry even more. She shifted her weight towards Blaze to draw him in closer. As they held each other for a few moments Rainbow Dash felt Blaze nuzzle her gently, causing her to fill with love. She had finally gotten him back. “Thank you.” She spoke softly. Rainbow looked up at Blaze, for a few moments she drew closer to his face, until she found herself less than a hair away from touching his lips. She held that position for a moment, quietly admiring his gentle, but warm breath. Before she could react Blaze touched his lips to hers, passionately kissing her deeply. She eagerly returned the long awaited kiss, and held it for several minutes. Both ponies reluctantly pulled away to regain their breath. They both fell to the ground, so that they could draw closer to one another. They held each other for a few minutes without saying a word. Blaze was the first to break the silence. “RAINBOW DASH WAKE UP!!!!” he shouted loudly. “Huh?” ***** Rainbow Dash wiggled awake, finding herself in a new place. She was lying face down on a cloud. The cloud itself was surprisingly moist. That’s when she remembered where she was. After she flew away hastily from the confrontation with Blaze, she came to her favorite cloud perch. Still distraught over having Blaze yell at her, she cried herself into a pleasant dream state. “RAINBOW DASH WAKE UP!!!!! WE’RE GONNA BE LATE!!!!” said a familiar southern voice. Rainbow Dash peeked over the side of her cloud to see a familiar orange earth pony. “Late for what Applejack?” she shouted lazily. “The party!” Oh right! She thought to herself, jumping down from the cloud, descending to meet Applejack. “How long do we have?” “The party’s not fer nother hour.” “Wait, what! Then why did you wake me?!” She just smiled back at Rainbow Dash, “You seem like you need somepony to talk to.” “What would make you think that, AJ?” Applejack just continued to give a soft smile, and pointed up towards the sky. Rainbow Dash looked up to see that the cloud she was perched upon was dripping down precipitation. “We aren’t scheduled fer any rain today.” She said looking back at Rainbow Dash, “Now seriously RD, what’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash looked back at the mare before her. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of insecurity in Applejacks presence. She didn’t want to show any weakness to her rival and longtime friend. Rainbow sighed to herself, “You wouldn’t understand.” She quietly whispered, turning away to look back to the skies. It was a beautiful summer day, not too cloudy, not too windy, and just sunny enough, a perfect day for Rainbow Dash, as these were the best flying conditions. That and the sight itself was amazing. Applejack took a few steps closer to her distressed friend, joining her in the quiet appreciation of the sky, “Try me…” Dashes ears perked up. Déjà vu. She thought to herself. Rainbow Dash was silent for a few seconds, and looked sullenly upon the ground. She didn’t know quite what it was that made her open up to her friend, but she accepted the relief it brought. “Applejack, have you ever loved someone who didn’t love you back? Have you ever been cursed to spend your days with that person, knowing that they may never love you again?” She paused for a moment to regain her composure. “Have you ever wondered, what could’ve been, had the circumstances changed?” Tears cascaded gently across Applejack’s face, trickling down to drench the parched soil. Rainbow Dash looked over to see the tears of the strongest pony she’d ever met, fall to the ground ungraciously. “Yes…”
Mysteries UnansweredFlickers of hope, Dashes of lights. Illuminating the stormy night. And so with great tragedy, Comes great memory. Because no matter what you do, He’ll always be there for you. ***** Rainbow Dash looked upon her old friend with understanding. Taking a moment to let the silence sink in, both of them stood still. The gloominess of the situation hadn’t reflected the serene scenery. Rainbow Dash finally decided to join in her friends silent suffering, letting her own tears trickle from her magenta eyes. “Then you know how I feel?” Rainbow Dash finally said after a few minutes of silence. Applejack wiped away excess moisture from her soaking eyes. She turned to look upon Rainbow Dash to find that she had an equally drenched face as hers. “All too well…” Rainbow Dash looked upon her friend with compassion, noticing how close the two had gotten to each other. “I just want him back Applejack, I’ll always love him!” The two ponies shared another moment of tender silence. A soft breeze tussled at their manes gently, lightening their mood. “I don’t care if he has amnesia! I’ll teach him to love me back! I’ll…I’ll” Applejack looked upon Rainbow Dash with confusion. Did she just say amnesia?! That’s not what Spike said. She thought to herself. “What? Why is everyone looking at me like that today?” Rainbow said remembering her altercation with Fluttershy earlier in the day. Applejack felt uncomfortable having to tell her best friend the truth under such circumstances. “Ya mean ya didn’t know?” “Know? Know what?” Applejack took a moment to choose her next words carefully. “Now Sugarcube, ya know I would never lie to ya right?” “Of course!” “Well, ah don’t know how ta put this, but…” Applejack started to say biting her lip. “WHAT!” Applejack was slow to respond, showing her remorse in telling her friend the truth. “Blaze isn’t the pony you remember, and no ah don’t mean he has amnesia. The old Blaze is gone, forever…” Applejack revealed this information with unintentional harshness in her tone. Rainbow Dash backed away, unable to cope with her reality. “W-what do you mean?” Rainbow Dash said in a shaky voice, her words tumbling from her mouth. “As ya know after the accident Blaze and Fluttershy were in critical condition. Blaze had done everything in his power ta protect Fluttershy, but at a cost to himself.” “No! No! I don’t want to hear it!” Rainbow Dash screamed as she backed away from the orange earth pony. “But yah have ta Sugarcube, you need ta hear this!” Applejack shot out both forelegs to prevent the delirious Pegasus from flying away, simultaneously drawing her in to an embrace. Rainbow Dash started to cry uncontrollably, returning the comforting hug of her friend. The two ponies relived the harsh terror of that tragic night. ***** Rainbow Dash awoke from her irregular slumber, at an irregular time; evening. She hopped out of the tree she took refuge in. Rainbow never quite understood why she slept in trees when she was able to enjoy the plushness of a fluffy cloud. Perhaps she wanted to be more down to earth, be closer to her friends. Her friends. The ponies who were always there for her, the ponies she had so many good memories with, the ponies who always supported her. But now, the only pony that mattered hated her and probably never wanted to see her again. Blaze… Words cannot describe the sacred love and bond the two share. Although their relationship was still young, it seemed as though the two had known each other since foalhood. In the few short months they had been together they grew so much, learned so much. But now that may all be gone… Rainbow grimaced at her reckless actions that drove Blaze away. But how was she supposed to know the value of such a seemingly useless trinket. Had she known the sentimental value Blaze held upon it she would have taken much better care of it, and not have lost it in the Everfree forest. That crummy stone! That stone was one of Blaze’s most valued possessions, and the memento of a forgotten past. Although, Rainbow never was the one to sit idly by whilst her chances at true love dwindled away. No, she would make it up to Blaze…somehow. Rainbow looked upon the fading cerulean sky, her daily weather duties taken care of long ago earlier in the day. How can I make it up to Blaze? She knew that there was only one thing she could do. One and only one true way she could win back the affection of Blaze. To find the stone, wherever it may lie in the depths of the endless Everfree. Rainbow Dash took to the sky, stretching her wings as she let the waning evening winds carry her off into the setting sun. Rainbow contemplated an easier way of tracking the stone on her way to the Everfree. Rarity should be a prime candidate for the job, as she had a gem seeking spell. But that wasn’t quite suited for Rainbow’s needs, as the stone she was looking for was just a stone, nothing more. Maybe Fluttershy could enlist the help of the nearby woodland creatures, if they ever happened by the ruby rock they could bring it to her. Yah! That’ll work! Rainbow snickered at her own shrewdness. In no time I’ll have that stone and everything will be back to normal. Rainbow Dash picked up her speed, she wanted to waste no more time away from Blaze’s loving embrace. She started to near Fluttershy’s Cottage. But something was amiss. There, held above Fluttershy’s cottage, was a dark and ominous cloud. Its sheen was black as night, but seemingly illuminated the waning light of day. Ponyville doesn’t have any storms scheduled for tonight. Rainbow changed her direction to inspect the seemingly ubiquitous cloud. As she drew nearer and nearer to it, though, she noticed the screams of her friends. Upon further inspection of the cloud Rainbow found that it was a blazing fire set in the Everfree Forest. When she realized this she took off for the scene with great celerity. Although, midway through her accelerated flight she saw a huge explosion manifest itself slightly above the raging forest fire. And through the fire and the flames Rainbow Dash saw him fall. Blaze fell to the ground with a sickening thud, his seemingly lifeless body kept still. Rainbow Dash, seeing that the fire had been choked out by the explosion, sped over to the pony she still held feelings for. She landed near the scorched earth where Blaze now laid. He shuffled around in his recumbent position. Seeing this Rainbow picked up Blaze and held him in her hooves. His body resonated heat from the previous explosion, and heat dried blood was caked across his face. “Blaze! Blaze! What happened! Are you alright?!” Rainbow exclaimed to the pony she clenched so dearly. Blaze just gave Rainbow Dash a sincere smile, a smile she had come to love. “I saved… The… Forest…and…Fluttershy…” Blaze was weak from the explosion. His words were intermittent and barely audible. Rainbow Dash was greatly confused, her mind still reeling from the previous explosion, and Blaze’s current condition. She surveyed her surroundings, her vision reduced to a haze through all of the smoke. Blaze tugged at Rainbow’s hoof. “Rainbow…” Blaze tried to muster up enough energy to relay his message, “I…I just wanted you…wanted you to know…” I’m sorry… With his words finally given Blaze let go. The smile on his face slowly faded away, and so too did the soft pounding of his heart. Rainbow Dash let out a heart wrenching squeal, as she let her tears flow. She watched as his fiery spark faded from his eyes. Rainbow Dash was unaware of her surroundings. Through the smoke and haze a familiar unicorn galloped to her side. “He’s dead! HE’S DEAD!!!” Rainbow screamed thrashing her head violently, trying to shake the reality away from her mind. The unicorn, without thinking, knelt down and touched her horn to the lifeless corpse. Her horn gave off a bewildering glow as sparks started shooting off from it. The unicorn, however, soon lost control. Her eyes gave an ominous glow that was brighter than her horn. With a powerful bang a spark shot from her horn sending the unicorn backwards and stumbling to the ground. There were a few eerie moments of uneasiness. The body that was lifeless just seconds ago sprang back to life. While still unconscious, Blaze started to hack and wheeze, showing his regaining of life. Rainbow Dash, seeing this, wasted no time to carry Blaze off into the sky towards the hospital, Urgent Medical. She left an amazing Rainbow trail in her wake. One thought raced through Rainbow’s mind… Please, be alright… ***** There was a moment of awkward tension between the two mares. “That spell Twi’ put on Blaze changed him. He wasn’t the same… He’ll never be the same…” Applejack explained. Rainbow Dash pushed away from Applejack and fell to the ground, unable to cope with reliving the trauma of that event, and the honesty of her words. “What does it mean? Who is he then?” Rainbow Dash said to the pony looking over her. Applejack sighed deeply to herself. “He’s still Blaze, just different. He’s just got himself a new brain is all.” Applejack said even confusing herself with that statement. Rainbow just looked away with disgust. Her friend’s words carried no comfort. Only pain, pain she just wanted to escape. It seemed that everything she had done, all those pleasant moments with Blaze were in vain. The pony she had come to love was gone, and she needed to come terms with that. Or maybe not. Maybe she still had a chance to win him over once more. To restore the love she once had, restore the life she craved for so enviously. And with that Rainbow Dash found new vigor, new reason to push forward. I still have a chance The cerulean pony regained her footing on all fours. She took a moment to stabilize her hysterical breathing, which she just noticed. She turned to look upon the pony which revealed to her so much. “Applejack?” The orange earth pony was relieved to see her dear friend regain her composure. “Yeah Sugarcube?” Rainbow cocked her head slightly to give herself a jocular appearance. “I think we have a party to get to.” The earth pony just smiled at her friend. She trotted up next to her to start their journey to the ‘super-secret special meeting’. Midway through their walk Rainbow wanted to break the tranquil silence. “Hey Applejack, who were they?” Applejack stopped in her tracks to question the meaning of Rainbow’s statement, “What’dya mean?” “You know, the pony you love…what happened between you two?” She took a moment to think about her answer. “We just decided to stay friends, I think it’s fer the best though.” Rainbow Dash looked upon her friend intently. Applejack tried to hide her true emotions, and her true intentions. But Rainbow Dash decided not to pry, now was not the time, for if they procrastinated any longer they actually would be late for the party. The two mares carried onward, both feeling some sense of relief. ***** “THEY’RE COMING!! EVERPONY HIDE!!!” Everypony in Sugar Cube Corner hunkered down, hiding behind anything that would obstruct somepony’s vision from the windows. An unusually energetic pony scurried over to the wall and killed the lights. She then stealthily crept up to the side of the door, as if she were going to attack the next pony to enter. “Everypony ready?” She asked in an excitedly hushed tone. A series of giggles filled the room as a sign of approval. Ponies shuffled around in the room trying to get a better position. The pony near the door peaked out the window to see two familiar ponies. She gave an excited squeal as she signaled to everypony else in the room. “Huh? That’s weird, are buildings usually closed in the afternoon here in Ponyville?” One of the ponies questioned on the other side of the door. “Blaze, can you please open the door for me?” The other voice said. A few moments passed before the door slowly creaked open, sending streaks of light that filled the room. Just as one of the ponies from outside stepped through the door the pony near the door jumped out from her hiding place. She squealed with joy! “SURPRISE!!!!!” Blaze reeled back in excitement, nearly bumping into Fluttershy “Bwaaah!” He yelped. Before he could even react, the pony, seemingly, flew toward Blaze and wrapped her forelegs around him. A familiar conversation ensued. These actions were observed by two ponies from within the crowd, who just barely made it to the party on time. Although, one pony seemed to be confused. “Wait, Pinkie knew about what happened to Blaze too?” Rainbow Dash said incredulously to her orange earth pony friend. The earth pony just gave an unsure shrug. “Word travels fast in a town as small as Ponyville.” Applejack explained. Rainbow Dash brushed off the inconsistency, that didn’t matter right now. What mattered now was Blaze and winning back his affection. What better time to do this then at his own party? “Okay silly, enough with all this standing around, LET’S PARTY!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed in her usual state of energetic happiness. Ponies around Rainbow Dash threw colorful hooffulls of streamers and confetti into the air. And a familiar tune filled the room with jovial sound. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel as though this had just happened, inside of her dreams. She shrugged it off as a mere coincidence. “Well Sugarcube, Ah don’t know bout you but I’m gonna get me some of that punch before Berry Punch hogs all of it. Catch ya later.” Applejack trotted off into the already shifting crowd of ponies. Rainbow Dash found herself alone, figuratively speaking of course. Although surrounded by other ponies she couldn’t shake this overwhelming feeling of incredible loneliness. She was still looking for somepony, but she couldn’t find him through all of the confusion. The mingling bunch of ponies shifted continuously. But as the crowd shifted so did Rainbow’s view. That is until Rainbow found the pony she was looking for. Their eyes met for just a moment. Rainbow still wanted to win Blaze over, but first she needed to apologize for earlier, and in the crowd was not the place. She broke away from the crowd and walked away into a nearby room, trying to escape the craziness of the ensuing party. Suddenly an overwhelming sense of Déjà vu came upon Rainbow Dash. But yet again Rainbow Dash shrugged it off as a coincidence. She walked over to the nearby window, and looked outside for no apparent reason. “Hey Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow Dash turned to inspect the source of the voice. The question had come from Blaze, who had pursued her into the room. Rainbow returned the unclear greeting. “Blaze.” Rainbow Dash said surprisingly colder than she wanted. A few moments of awkward silence followed. Neither one wanted to continue the conversation. Rainbow Dash looked upon Blaze, as if trying to find out what he was thinking. Blaze started to become nervous, and it showed through the beads of sweat that were trickling down his coat. “So…was there something you wanted to say?” Rainbow Dash asked. Blaze was slow to reply, his gaze shifting from object to object within the room. “Uhhh…yah…I just…I wanted to…to say…” Before Blaze could finish his sentence he felt something press up against his lips. He shifted his eyes to see exactly what was obstructing his mouth. To his surprise it was Rainbow Dash’s hoof, and Rainbow Dash was looking upon him caringly. Somehow she was able to close the distance between the two in less than a second. “Don’t…It was my fault…I’m sorry.” How’d she know what I was going to say? Blaze was confused and he showed it. But this only made Rainbow Dash giggle softly, which melted Blaze’s heart. “Let me try to make it up to you.” She smiled at Blaze gently, trying not to show her true feelings. “You probably don’t know how to fly. Well I just happen to be Ponyville’s best flier!” Rainbow was tooting her own horn yet again; a habit Blaze never got her to break. She started to trot out of the room. But before she excited she turned back to the confused Blaze. “We’ll start training tomorrow,” She gave Blaze a soft peck on the cheek. “You’re cute when you’re confused.” She started to trot out of the room once more leaving the bedazzled Blaze to contemplate the meaning of her statement, and the kiss. But before Rainbow Dash fully excited the room she left Blaze one last message. “Oh, and Blaze, you might want to get your wings checked before going back to the party.” She said with a large grin on her face as she left the room. What does she mean check my wings? Blaze thought as he looked upon his wings, which were uncontrollably flared open. When did that happen? He thought to himself not fully understanding the meaning behind the erect wings. Regardless, he managed to will himself to close his wings, an appendage he was still getting used to. Maybe I do need some training Blaze still had a party to attend, one that was thrown in his honor. He had guests to mingle with. Well I guess I should get to know everypony here in Ponyville… ***** The waning light of day partially obstructed Blaze’s view of the cottage. The party, it seems, went on much longer than anticipated. Chuckles of a surprisingly tipsy pony filled Blaze’s ears. It also appears that somepony had spiked the punch at the party, and Fluttershy had a bit more than she could handle. To say she was drunk off her flank would be the understatement of the century. “Hehehe, look at me I can fly!” Fluttershy said as if it were the first time she discovered this. Blaze just gave a gentle smile to the intoxicated pony. He knew he would have to help guide her home, so he left the party at the same time as her. Fluttershy zipped around through the air, barely keeping her body above the ground. Blaze lazily kept his hooves on the ground; his judgment was not clouded by a suspicious party beverage. Together the two Pegasi continued onward through the growing darkness of the evening. Fluttershy continued her drunken mishaps all along their journey. Occasionally stumbling over a peculiarly placed rock in the road, or smacking face first into low hanging branches. But eventually the two ponies finally made it to their destination, just before the inevitable setting of the sun. Blaze opened the door to let the overly tipsy Fluttershy in. As she went through the door, however, she stumbled over one of the stools placed in the living room, causing her to fall over. Blaze, shocked by this event, galloped over to aid the seemingly injured Fluttershy. But, much to his surprise, he found that Fluttershy was giggling uncontrollably to herself. “Oops!” She finally managed to say. Blaze, after observing these events play out before him, decided Fluttershy wouldn’t be able to make the trivial task of climbing the stairs on her own. He, much to Fluttershy’s surprise, slung her over his back. Fluttershy was too weak from her constant antics on the way home and just accepted the free ride. Although, she still wasn’t incapacitated… “Hey, hey Blaze wanna hear a secret?” Blaze just sighed to himself, knowing that whatever the answer may be, it was going to be stupid regardless. But he decided to humor her. “Sure…” Fluttershy only giggled to herself as Blaze started the journey up the stairs. “I think Rainbow Dash Likes you!” This time Blaze giggled to himself. No kidding. He thought to himself with a smile on his face. Blaze finally made it to Fluttershy’s room. He set Fluttershy upon her bed. To his surprise though, he found that Fluttershy was already in a deep slumber. He deduced that she must’ve fallen asleep when he was carrying her. Blaze decided to show some care back to the pony who had given to him so much. He covered up the sleeping Pegasus with a blanket. She was quick to take the blanket into her embrace, as if it were a cuddly bunny. She continued to sleep happily as Blaze started to exit the room. But before he left the room he felt something draw him towards the window. A mysterious force, unknown to Blaze, pulled him towards the window. As he came upon the opening he found himself looking upon a recently scorched Everfree forest. What happened next not even Blaze could explain. He opened the window and jumped out of the cottage. Blaze started walking towards the forest, still not under control of his own body. ***** It was already night time, the moon had long since risen, becoming the only source of light for Blaze as he still inexplicably walked through the burnt soil and brush of the Everfree. For what seemed like an hour Blaze had been wandering through the Everfree, yet somehow he knew all too well where he was, and where was going. The forest, for the most part, was lifeless. Not even the chirp of a cricket was audible in the dead silence of the night. With each hoofstep he felt himself getting closer and closer to his destination, wherever it may be. But something glinted off in the distance, it broke Blaze’s trance like state. He looked over to see what the source of the glinting was. In the direction he looked at he saw several trees overturned around what seemed to be the epicenter of an explosion. He decided to investigate further. As he drew nearer to this epicenter he found the source of what was shining at him earlier. It was a small red stone, which was conveniently located at the origin of the epicenter. He picked up the stone with his hooves, and almost immediately he felt a surge of great power fill his body. The stone he held was surprisingly warm, as if it were radiating heat. Blaze couldn’t help but shake a feeling of great importance towards the stone. What does this mean? As Blaze looked upon the object it started to glow brightly, blanketing the once dark landscape around him in an amazing ruby tinted light. He felt familiar voices start to speak inside of his head, but he didn’t understand what they were saying, or who was saying it. The intensity of the light started to grow, expanding into the sky, giving the night a new source of light. As the light grew more powerful, so did the voices inside of Blaze’s head. The intensity of the light gave Blaze a splintering headache, accompanied by the voices Blaze started to become dazed. He dropped the stone unable to cope with the trauma it was unleashing upon him. Just as he slipped into unconsciousness he noticed a silhouette manifest itself above the stone. It uttered an undecipherable phrase. “Si go, Nu nu alem…” Blaze slipped off into unconsciousness yet again…
Changing WindsShifting Winds Change the seasons, Of this we can't pretend, That no matter what the reasons, Everything must come to an end. I am sorry to say this but this isn't really an update, rather this is me letting everyone know that I am discontinuing this story. But please can't you see? That in order to have a beginning, An equilibrium must always be, One thing is always achieved, an ending... Even though this isn't really an ending, it is going to have to suffice. This is the end of this story. I am only updating this to let everyone know, rather than leaving them hanging for something that will never come. But hay, It was going to have to end sometime, and don't worry, I will be doing a complete rewrite of this story later on. (Remember this was my first story I've ever written!) And so when one door closes, Another one opens, The contents of which may be roses, Or rustic weapons. Well whatever the future brings I have this to say, that no matter good or bad, I am here to stay! So please stick with me as I make new stories (remember "Splinters"? Well I am not done with universe, not by a long shot!) And as a parting note I want to say, Thank you yet again! I have nothing else to say There is nothing else to do, It was always this way, I'm sorry but, Thank You... I now defer you to the comments section...
