With Eyes of Blue

We had no choice but to reject Braeburn’s invitation to stay for the rest of the day; it was already past noon by the time we solved the problem with the Cattle Rustlers and we wanted to reach Manehattan as soon as possible. That didn’t meant we had to reject the half a dozen of freshly baked apple pies they offered us as a token of thanks, mind you. And so, we found ourselves back on track and enjoying a small victory feast.

I took a bite of a slice. Amazing. It had the right amount of sweetness and the filling practically melted in your mouth. This certainly explains why Chief Thunderhooves was quicky to put an end to fight between this tribe and the Appleloosians after tasting one, even if it was slammed against his face at full speed.

We touched the subject of our duels. Spike whined about not being able to deal the finishing blow with his prized Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Applejack smiled sympathetically. “I’m no expert, Spike, but when you wanna harvest more apples, you go and plant more trees, if you get what I’m sayin’.” Spike protested. “But Twilight has only one Black Magician in her deck.”

Twilight quirked an eyebrow. She adjusted her glasses and explained in her best teacher tone. “A fact which is balanced by all the drawing, searching and re-arranging effects of the monsters, spells and traps I’ve carefully selected after weeks of research and testing.” She turned her nose up with a proud smile. Applejack chuckled.

Spike rolled his eyes and looked at me. “What about you, Joe? How do you manage to pull your Blue-Eyes White Dragon to deal the finishing blow?” That was a good question, actually. I mean, my Blue-Eyes didn’t help me when I played with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, sure, but in the two occasions where stakes where high, I managed to turn the tables with their aid. Heart of the Cards maybe? I decided to keep it simple. “I’ve got three copies, remember?”

Spike pondered for a moment then looked at Twilight. She frowned. “If you need more money you can look for a job.” Applejack flicked the tip of her hat with her thumb and smiled. She said. “We can always use an extra pair of hands at Sweet Apple Acres.” Heh. I’m definitely keeping that in mind for the next time she decides to fix the sprinklers. Spike pouted. “Come on, Twilight! Can’t you use your special card?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Spike! The Royal Treasury is not for buying trading cards.” He crossed both arms over his chest. “Not even when we’re using them to help others?” Twilight froze. Touché, huh? I put my hand over Spike’s shoulder and said. “Remember, Spike, that restriction breeds creativity.” He looked at me. “I could give you all the cards in the world, but if you don’t polish your skills, it would amount to nothing.” Spike curled his lower lip in doubt, but finally admitted. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Twilight gave me a thankful smile.

I decided to change the topic, just in case. “Say.” I began casually. “The way you girls took down those bandits was quite impressive.” Applejack crossed her legs, put her hands behind her head and leaned back with a proud grin on his face. “What can ah’ say? Years of applebuckin’.” I looked at Twilight and added. “You looked like you weren’t even trying.” She adjusted her glasses and explained. “Magic manifests differently for each one of us, but always under three categories.” She extended her thumb. “Earth Magic, for increased physical strenght and farming skill.” Her index finger. “Sky Magic, for the ability to fly and control the weather.” Her middle finger. “And Mind Magic, for specialized spells, enchantments and matter manipulation.” I nodded attentively. “As is the case with Applejack and her years of applebucking, our magical proficiency can be increased with training and studying.” I smiled. I wonder if they have a means to measure their magic. Spike, what does the scouter say about her power level? Heh. “Moreover, our magic is also influenced by our special talents.”

I interjected. “The ones indicated by your Cutie Marks, right?” Twilight nodded aprovingly. I thought about my first encounter with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Would Twilight and Applejack show me her Cutie Marks if I asked? Yeah, I don’t think I’m going to try that anytime soon. “For example, Applejack’s special talent improves her harvesting skills when it comes to apples.” Applejack pointed her finger at me. “And that’s why you ain’t goin’ to find better ones in all of Equestria than those of Sweet Apple Acres.” I smiled at her declaration. “And what about yours, Twilight?” She answered. “My special talent is magic.” Spike muttered. “I thought it was giving lectures.” Twilight shot him an unamused glare. I quickly asked. “What kind of magic?” She gave me an amusingly cocky smile. “All kinds of magic.” I quirked an eyebrow. “Oh? Does that mean there’s not limit to what you can do?” Twilight looked away flustered. “Maybe, I mean, talent helps, but it’s no substitute for hard work.”

A thought suddenly came to my mind. “Don’t you have some kind of term to distinguish between each other depending on the magic you have?” You know, like Pegasus and Unicorn? Not that I expected them to use those. Twilight cleared her throat and began. “Long ago, before the rule of the Princesses, Equestrians were divided in three factions and engaged in a constant struggle for power.” I nodded. That sounded like Heartwarming’s Eve. She continued. “Each side would use their magic to try to gain advantage over the others; be it controlling the weather, raising the sun and the moon or tending to crops.” Right. This was the part where the Windigos come in, wasn’t it? “The tensions kept escalating until war became inevitable.” I gulped. I have to stop trying to second-guess these history lessons. “It was at this point, the darkest one in the history of our world, that Celestia and Luna descended.”

I found myself picturing two radiant winged figures appearing over a battlefield, heralded by a chorus of trumpets, and announcing themselves by declaring “fear not” in a voice that shook the earth and the sky. “Wielding the magic of the three factions, the Princesses swiftly put an end to the conflict and brought everybody together under their rule.” Twilight finished. “Ever since then, we all refer to each other as Equestrians, regardless of the nature of our magic.”

Fascinating. I smiled. “Seems the Princesses have done a lot of good for this world.” Applejack nodded. “Eeyup! Princess Celestia gave the Apple Family a piece of land for our orchard.” Spike added enthusiastically. “It’s thanks to her that I met Twilight!” Twilight smiled nostalgically. “Princess Celestia was the one who invited me to her School for Gifted Wizards and made me her personal student.” She added firmly. “And Princess Luna works hard every day, protecting our rest and dreams, to atone for her past deeds.” Twilight looked at me directly into the eyes. “Do you understand, Joe? We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them." I nodded solemnly. No wonder she got so angry at King Longhorn’s words.

A loud thumping noise coming from the roof of the car got our attention. We listened attentively for a moment. Nothing. I shrugged. “A bird?” Just as we were ready to dismiss the whole thing, there was a second noise coming from the door. I asked. “Doesn’t that door lead outside?” Both, Twilight and Applejack, quickly stepped into the hallway, facing towards the door with Spike behind them. I readied my Duel Disk. You know, I hope nobody ever asks us about our combat roles. I mean, Twilight’s the wizard, Applejack the brawler and Spike the child with untapped potential. Me? I play a freaking card game.

We tensed as the doorknob twisted. Finally, the door burst open and a dark figure came inside the passenger car shouting. “Oh yeah!” Kool Aid Man? No! My eyes widened in shock. That long, messy rainbow colored hair sprawled over her shoulders and forehead; Rainbow Dash! She was a head shorter than me and wore a worn out, dark blue flight suit with black combat boots and fingerless gloves of the same color. The suit had a symbol of a lightning bolt on each shoulder.

I watched with a wide smile as Twilight, Applejack and Spike welcomed her with hugs. Rainbow Dash returned the gesture, albeit breaking it off a bit too quickly if you ask me. Applejack asked cheerfully. “What are you doin’ here, Rainbow?” Rainbow Dash grinned. She replied sarcastically. “Oh, I don’t know! How about looking for you, guys?” Spike said excitedly. “We were looking for you too!” Twilight smiled widely. “This is amazing! I was afraid we would have to travel for days to find you, but you got to us first!” She asked. “What’s the situation in the north?” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Can I take a seat first?” Twilight squeaked in embarrasment and pointed to the seats we were using.

Rainbow Dash stopped walking and looked at me up and down with her brown colored eyes. I smiled and extended my right hand. “Hi.” Spike quickly introduced me. “This is Joe. He’s a human from the Earth!” She nodded and patted me dimissively on the shoulder. “Cool.” Wow. That was cold. Not even cool, just plain cold. I decided to make nothing out of it. Rainbow Dash sat down with a sigh of relief. Applejack took the space next to her while Twilight, Spike and I sat in front of them, with him on the middle. Rainbow Dash declined Applejack’s offer of a slice of pie and began talking unprompted. “So yeah.” She cleared her throat. “About the mess up there, we’ve reached kind of a stalemate.”

Twilight blinked puzzled. “A stalemate?” Rainbow Dash nodded quickly. “Yep. The ground troops are not moving an inch and us in the air just go around doing recoinnassance stuff.” She shrugged. “Sometimes there’s a fight between summoned monsters, but that’s it.” Twilight rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Weird.” She elaborated. “King Sombra’s approach had been very aggressive so far, why would he decide to slow down right now?” Rainbow Dash poined her finger enthusiastically. “That’s what I’ve been thinking about!” She leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner. “What if—get this—King Sombra is not interested in the rest of Equestria?” I frowned.

Twilight, Applejack and Spike looked at Rainbow Dash like if she had declared she could make smoothies with mud and rocks as ingredients. Applejack asked in bewilderment. “What the hay are you talkin’ about, Rainbow?” Rainbow Dash waved her hand dimissively. “I know it sounds crazy, but hear me here, okay? We were the ones who attacked him first!” Applejack shook her head exasperated. “And?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “And maybe he will stop fighting if we do the same!” Spike scratched his head in confusion. He asked. “You’re saying that we should let him be?” Rainbow Dash nodded quickly. “Exactly! We forget about this war, get everybody home and build a wall or something to keep him out of our turf!”

Applejack’s left eye twitched dangerously. “Ah’ don’t know what kind of air you’ve been breathin’, Rainbow, but let me tell ya somethin’.” She flared her nose. “Just a couple of days ago, all of Ponyville fell under the control of that son of a hydra for two whole weeks!” She raised her index and middle fingers for emphasis. “And if it wasn’t for Joe here, we wouldn’t be telling it!” I gulped in embarrasment. That was a lot of credit to take. Thanks, Applejack. Rainbow Dash cringed, but stood up. Her whole body was trembling. “That only shows I’m right and we won’t gain anything with fighting!” Now it was Applejack’s turn to stand up. She growled. “Don’t tell me to just forgive and forget, Rainbow Dash!” Spike and I glanced at each other in worry. I felt like I was trapped in a small cage with two lioness about to fight with each other.

Fortunately, Twilight stood up between the two of them and said sternly. “That’s enough, you two.” She looked at Rainbow Dash. “I understand your point, Rainbow. But what about the inhabitants of the Crystal Empire?” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “What about them?” Twilight’s mouth fell. She asked indignant. “What do you mean with that? Don’t you care that they are being enslaved?”

Rainbow Dash shouted. “Don’t give me that, Twilight! How many of us know people from there? Not only that, how many of us have even heard about this Crystal Empire before the war?” She shook her head. “You don’t know what it feels like! Living in some camp surrounded by nothing but frost and darkened skies! Waiting for something, anything to happen so you don’t die of boredom and worry for your friends and family!” She pointed her thumb at her chest. “The Crystal Empire can fall into an ice pit for all I care!”

Twilight stood frozen in shock. Spike mouth fell. Applejack gritted her teeth and grabbed Rainbow Dash by the front of her shirt. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Rainbow Dash grabbed Applejack by the front of her shirt, bend down her knees and spun around, performing a shoulder throw that sent the apple farmer flying and crashing into the other side of the hallway like an empty potato sack.

Both, Spike and I, hugged each other in fear. Rainbow Dash sharply turned around and pointed her finger towards Twilight. She growled. “We are all going to get down on the next stop and go back straight to Ponyville!” But before Twilight could respond, Applejack was already back on her feet, holding Rainbow Dash by her shirt once more, and this time with her right fist aiming at Rainbow’s face. Oh shit. Rainbow Dash swiftly caught the punch with her left hand while holding Applejack’s left arm with her right. Both girls remained locked on that position, struggling with such strenght that the metal floor sank under their feet. Thinking quickly, Twilight held them both and, in a purple flash of light, teleported out of the passenger car.

Where did they go? The whole car shook. Spike pointed a finger upwards and declared. “They’re on the roof!” He quickly ran towards the door. Oh God. Don’t tell me she’s being under some kind of mind control too. I looked around and spotted Spike’s Duel Disk on the seat. That gave me an idea. I grabbed the disk and bolted outside. The train was going at full speed through the desert around Appleloosa. I spotted a ladder to my right and, after taking a deep breath to gather courage, I held myself firmly and started going up. The car shook again. I thought about about the Cattle Rustlers and how Applejack and Twilight made short work of them. I felt a chill going down my spine. I reached the top and saw Twilight and Applejack facing Rainbow Dash, who had her wings spread open; beautiful, traslucent blue wings that looked like they were made of ice. She reminded me of a bird of prey trying to intimidate a foe.

A gust of wind hit me in the face, throwing me off balance, but Spike quickly grabbed me by the neck of my coat and helped me to get on the roof. Now, before we continue, let me tell you something. All those movies where you see the guy walking on the roof of a moving train? They’re bullshit. The damn thing moves so fast and vibrates so much that even kneeling makes you feel the slightest breeze will knock you down.

I handed Spike his Duel Disk. “Throw it at Rainbow Dash!” He protested loudly. “Seriously? Do you know how expensive this thing is?” I insisted. “Just do it, please!” Spike bit his lower lip, but did as I asked. The Duel Disk flew like a frisbee towards Rainbow Dash and she easily caught it with her right hand. I shouted. “Rainbow Dash! I challenge you to a Duel!” Twilight and Applejack looked at me in surprise as I crawled my way through the roof of the passenger car. “If you win, we’ll go back to Ponyville!”

Twilight waved her hands in a circle and created a purple, magical field around the cart that greatly lowered the force of the wind. Whew. Applejack lifted me up with ease. “Thanks.” I took a few breaths to recover and said. “I take you haven’t been able to hold much of a conversation.” Applejack looked away. Twilight shook her head. I nodded. “Is she under the influence of dark magic or something?” Rainbow Dash’s face was red and she was breathing heavily. Twilight frowned. “I don’t think so.”

Rainbow Dash glared at me and her wings vanished. She adjusted the Duel Disk around her left arm, took a pile of cards from a pocket on her right leg and placed it on the appropiate slot. No words were necessary. We activated our disks simultaneously and our life points appeared above us at 4000 each.

I drew six cards, summoned X-Head Cannon in attack position and set a card. “Your turn!”

“DRAW!” Rainbow Dash ripped the six cards from the top of her deck and immediately played Fusion to combine Featherman and Burst Lady from her hand. She called the new monster name angrily. “Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!” Flame Wingman soared through the sky, beyond Twilight’s magic field and above the clouds. Rainbow Dash pointed her finger. “Flame Shoot!” At her command, Flame Wingman launched himself down with his body enveloped by flames like a meteor. Shit. I’ve watched enough Yu-Gi-Oh! GX to know where this was going. I braced myself, covering my face with my arms. The onslaught of flames pushed me backwards, but did not hurt. "Fusion Cancel!" My eyes widened in shock as Flame Wingman separated, with Featherman and Burst Lady taking his place, ready to strike. I quickly activated my face-down card. "Holy Elf's Blessing!" The combined attack of the heroes of air and fire took my life points down to a mere 300. I heard Spike exclaimed. “Whoa! That was brutal!” You said it, bud. It was almost a one-turn kill. Phew. I did not see the Elemental Heroes coming, but this fast and aggressive play style was exactly what I would have expected of Rainbow Dash.

Behind me, Twilight gasped. Evidently the fact I was not writhing in pain after the attack was enough to clue her this wasn’t a Game of Darkness. Applejack asked worriedly. “Rainbow, what happened to you? What’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “None of your business!” She looked at me, set a card and said. “Play!”

“Draw!” I nodded in approval. “Y-Dragon Head!” My monster appeared on the field with a mechanical roar. I followed by playing Resurrection of the Dead to bring back X-Head Cannon. Alright. My Y-Dragon Head went in first, vaporizing Burst Lady with an electric beam, while X-Head Cannon blasted Featherman with a shot of its cannons. Rainbow Dash’s life points went down to 2900. She activated her face-down Hero Signal. “Come, Sparkman!” Sparkman emerged from her deck with a crack of thunder. I lifted my right hand and declared. “XY Union!” My Y-Dragon Head equipped itself to my X-Head Cannon, increasing its attack up to 2200. I set a card. “Turn end.”

Rainbow Dash drew a card and activated Miracle Fusion, fusing Featherman and Burst Lady in her graveyard to bring back Flame Wingman, followed by equipping Sparkman with Spark Gun. I frowned. This was her second turn and she had already emptied her hand. What was she in a rush for? Sparkman fired a spark blast at my X-Head Cannon. The mechanical monster screeched as it was forcefully changed to defense position. Rainbow Dash fiercely declared the attack of Flame Wingman. “You’re done for!” Flame Wingman launched a fireball at my monster, but only succeeded at destroying Y-Dragon Head. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. I explained. “When a monster equipped with a union monster is destroyed, I get to destroy the union instead.” She gritted her teeth and cursed her forgetfulness. “Spark Flash!” Sparkman destroyed my X-Head Cannon with a single lightning strike. Rainbow Dash grunted and said. “I’m done!”

It was time to end this. “Angel's Charity!” I drew three cards and discarded two. "Pot of Greed!" I drew two cards. I continued by playing Soul Absorption, followed by Soul Release to banish my Resurrection of the Dead, X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head and the discarded Z-Metal Tank from my Graveyard and increase my life points to 2300. “Dimension Fusion!” My life points went down to 300. Rainbow Dash summoned Featherman and Burst Lady in defense position, while I brought my X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Tank. I declared loudly. “XYZ Fusion!” My three monsters broke apart and combined spectacularly to form an impressive battle machine. “XYZ-Dragon Cannon!”

I discarded the last card in my hand and my XYZ-Dragon Cannon fired every single one of its barrels, decimating Flame Wingman. “Hyper Destruction!” Sparkman followed suit, lowering Rainbow Dash’s life points to 1700. She growled. “Is that all you have?” I gritted my teeth. Why did it have to be like this? Why I can’t play fun games with the good guys while beating the bad guys to the ground? I pointed at my set card. “Trap card open! Return from the Different Dimension!” My life points went down to 150. The air around me warped as X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Tank returned to the field. Rainbow Dash was helpless. My Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Tank destroyed her Featherman and Burst Lady, respectively, while my X-Head Cannon attacked directly, pushing her back and lowering her life points to zero. The monsters vanished.

Rainbow Dash fell on her knees and let out a cry of frustration. She slammed both fists on the roof of the car, leaving a dent on the metal. What strenght. Twilight and Applejack quickly approached her, while Spike stood next to me. Twilight asked. “Rainbow, are you okay?” Rainbow Dash was crying. Her sobs were barely audible, but her eyes were swelling with tears. She repeated between hics. “He told me he would give me wings.” I quirked an eyebrow. Doesn’t she already have those? Both, Twilight and Applejack, held her tightly. Applejack said softly. “There, there…”

After a swift teleportation courtesy of Twilight, we were back inside the passenger car. Applejack had taken Rainbow Dash to the toilet to clean herself up; leaving Twilight, Spike and I silently waiting in our seats. I turned to her and asked. “Do you know what Rainbow Dash was talking about back there?” Twilight nodded gloomy. She asked. “Do you remember her sister? Scootaloo?” I nodded. “A girl of her age should be already able to manifest her wings and fly freely.” Should? I asked in shock. “Does that mean she can’t?” Twilight sighed. “Yes and no. She can manifest her wings and, while perfectly functional, they are simply too small to allow her to hover over the ground even.” I covered my mouth with my hand. Unbelievable. I asked if there wasn’t a way to fix that. Twilight curled her lower lip. “It is possible to create wings using magic, but they are quite fragile and would require somebody with advanced magical knowledge to cast and maintain.” She added in defeat. “We were hoping that getting her Cutie Mark would solve the issue, but it wasn’t the case.”

I bit my lower lip and asked tentatively. “Would…one be able to help her with dark magic?” Twilight adjusted her glasses and smiled slightly. Funny. She looked like a teacher dealing with a curious child trying not to offend with his questions. “The thing with dark magic is, Joe, that it’s fueled by negative emotions. Anger, hate, sadness, etc. It will give you power, but eventually consume you, both in mind and body.” I nodded and muttered. “Quicker, easier, more seductive.” Twilight blinked and smiled bemused. “I understood that reference.” Spike lifted a hand and added. “Me too!” I chuckled. Guess Starswirl the Bearded had a lot of stuff on his archives.

Applejack came into the car, followed by Rainbow Dash. She declared cheerfully. “We’re back, everybody!” My jaw fell. Rainbow Dash had ditched her flight suit completely and now sported black tight shorts and a tank top of the same color. She didn’t have much in the breasts department, sure, but her muscles were amazingly defined, like those of an olympic marathoner, and constrasted noticeably with the soft features of her face, creating a beauty that would probably cause more than a single car accident if she went jogging on the street.

Rainbow Dash sat down with a heavy sigh. She looked at us, at the floor, then at us again. She opened her mouth, closed it and gulped. Applejack smiled in amusement. After scratching her head in frustration, she finally blurted. “Im sorry, guys.” Twilight placed her right hand over Rainbow Dash’s shoulder, a gesture Spike imitated, and said. “It’s okay.” I remained silent. I certainly did not feel comfortable attempting a gesture like that myself.

Rainbow Dash smiled, looking like the entire weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulder and said. “Thank you, everybody.” She sighed. “Guess you wanna know what happened back there, huh?” We nodded simultaneously. Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “I was doing some scouting when a sudden snowstorm caught me by surprise and forced me to land.” She gritted her teeth. “That’s when I met him.” Spike whispered. “King Sombra?” Rainbow Dash nodded. “I fought him, of course.” She admitted reluctantly. “And he kicked my ass.” She shook her head. “Just when I thought I was done for, he told me he didn’t care about Equestria, only for the Crystal Empire.” Rainbow Dash gulped. “And that if I kept you away from the northern territory, he would leave us alone and…give me wings.”

I bit my thumb. How diabolically cunning. Offering her a great reward for a seemingly small favor that would benefit those close to her too. I frowned. On one hand, I’m sure King Sombra wasn’t this devious in the show or the comics. On the other, this world was so similar yet so different it made me doubt of everything I knew.

Spike exclaimed angrily. “What a slimeball!” Rainbow Dash nodded. She said softly. “He had wings too, you know. Big and scaly.” We looked at her in surprise. “Once he finished talking to me, he spread them and shoot to the sky.” She made an upwards gesture with her hand to emphasize her point. “After that, I came looking around for you.” Nobody spoke for a while. What could we possibly say? Chew her on? How many of us were in a position to do that?

“Hey, Joe!” I snapped of my trance to find Rainbow Dash looking at me with rouguish grin that could have charmed a Buckingham Palace Guard. She chuckled. “Sorry about before, yeah?” I nodded. “N-No problem.” Twilight, Applejack and Spike watched us with amused smiles across their faces. Rainbow Dash extended her right hand towards me. “What do you say we try again?” I smiled and shook her hand. “I’m Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolts reserve, frequent breaker of the sound barrier and all around awesome.” Applejack rolled her eyes and said. “Oh boy, here we go.” Twilight and Spike giggled. I went and asked. “Wonderbolts? Who are they?” Rainbow Dash leaned back on her seat, putting both hands behind her head and spreading her legs comfortably. She said casually. “Oh, just the most elite team of fliers in all of Equestria.” I nodded slowly. “Whoa.” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “I know, I know.” God bless your ego, Rainbow Dash. I have a feeling she wouldn’t have liked to know my awe wasn’t due to her qualifications, but because of her cameltoe, that was acting like an industrial magnet to my eyes.

“Say, Joe!” I shook my head rapidly. I swear I wasn’t fantasizing about burying my face on your crotch! She grinned and asked. “Would you like to see something awesome?” I dunno. How many things would be more awesome than seeing you wearing a tank top and tight shorts? I shrugged and said. “Sure.” Rainbow Dash stood up and walked towards the door leading outside the passenger car; my eyes locking themselves on her perfectly toned ass. My right hand opened and closed by itself. Applejack laughed. “Easy there, partner! It looks like your eyes are ‘bout to pop from your skull!” I felt my face burning. Twilight did not even bother trying to supress her laughing while Spike looked around puzzled. God bless your purity, bud. I desperately tried to change the topic. “W-Where did Rainbow Dash go?” Twilight pointed at the window next to us and said. “Look!”

My eyes widened in awe. Rainbow Dash was out there, running next to our car, kicking up a cloud of dust with each step and leaving rainbow colored trail behind her. I exclaimed. “S-she’s not even flying!” She looked at us and waved casually. Applejack chuckled. “That girl never changes.” She put her hat on the seat and walked towards the door. I glanced her, then at Twilight. “Don’t tell me she’s going to…” Yep. A mere ten seconds later Applejack had caught up with Rainbow Dash. Her stature allowed her to take longer strides and keep up the speed of her friend. I laughed. “This is incredible!” I felt like I was watching a race between the Flash and Superman.

Twilight stood up without a word, took off her glasses and disappeared with a flash, reappearing out there next to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. She wasn’t as fast as them, sure, but every time they left her behind she would teleport ahead.

Spike and I watched transfixed. I asked. “Aren’t you going out there too?” He smiled. “Maybe in a couple of years.” Suddenly, there was a flash of light and the three of them appeared back on the hallway of the passenger car, laughing and panting. Rainbow Dash hugged both, Twilight and Applejack, she muttered. “I missed you, girls.” They returned the gesture and Spike quickly joined them in their group hug. I smiled fondly. Even in this world, their friendship remained as strong as ever.