Chapters The skies of Equestria were bathed in deep blue, the sun shining high in the sky. Rocketing across the horizon, on her usual afternoon flight path, was the high spirited Rainbow Dash. She looked down on the valleys surrounding Ponyville as she passed them by, feeling the wind rush through her mane and tail. She let out an annoyed sigh as she did a quick dive and recover. Every day she would fly the same path, moving along the breeze, it was enough to drive a pony insane. Looking over the eastern sky, she spotted the small mountain range that separated Ponyville from it's neighboring town, Campolina. Straying off toward them, she made her way through the peaks to the other side, looking down on the unfamiliar town. Even from above the skies looked different from those she was familiar with. Campolina was slightly larger and more together than Ponyville, it's streets hidden amongst the buildings. Distracted by the scenery, she didn't happen to notice the pegasus colt speeding toward her until he knocked her aside passing by. After getting her bearings back, she looked ahead to see the rude pegasus who had brushed her by. His mane and tail were a fiery red with a streak of black flowing through them. His body was a deep grey, a storm cloud on his flank. He turned his head and gave her a smug smirk, his confident emerald eyes staring at her. She glared back, racing after him as he sped away. Seeing he had caught the competitive mare's attention, he went into a dive into the streets of Campolina, leading her through dangerous turns and twists. Nonetheless, Dash stayed directly on course, keeping tabs with her challenger. Seeing that the winding streets were doing nothing to discourage his fellow aerial acrobat, he emerged from the city, moving into a nearby forest. Even through the unpredictable trees, however, Dash managed to keep up with the colt. Finally, Dash was able to push herself enough to get a lead. Feeling proud, she turned back and stuck out her tongue at the colt. Unfortunately, her shameless gloating worked against her, as she failed to miss the branch in front of her. She slammed her head hard into the branch, rolling to a stop on the ground before blacking out.
Amethyst eyes and Ruby Necklaces
It was a normal, uneventful day in Ponyville. Ponies roamed the streets, shopping and conversing with friends and neighbors. It was a very calm day for everypony except for Ponyville's local speedster. High above the streets, Rainbow Dash was moving from one cloud to the other, clearing them from the sky with a swift kick. Though her head was in the clouds, her eyes constantly stared at the clock on top of town hall. As the clock struck noon, Dash finished the last cloud in the sky and immediately began flying in the direction of the mountains. “Rainbow Dash! Wait up!” came a voice from below.
Morning had descended upon Ponyville, the bright sun making it's way across the horizon, drying the dew from the grass. There was one dampened spirit, however, that the sun couldn't dry. Applejack made her way down the dirt roads of Ponyville, her head hanging in guilt over the previous night's events. No matter how many times she tried to convince herself otherwise, she couldn't help but feel that she was in the wrong backing Rainbow Dash into that corner, no matter what she had done. With her thoughts in tow, she found her way to her destination, the Ponyville Library. The door swung open without much difficulty, and the orange apple picker stepped in. “Twi? Are you in here? I wanted to talk about what happened last....what in the name of Granny Smith is goin' on in here?”
Princess Celestia paced back and forth, taking the occasional look around at the group of worried ponies in front of her, getting her thoughts together. “Princess,” Twilight spoke up, “Whatever is going on you can trust us enough to tell us. We care about Rainbow Dash, we just want to know what's going on so we can help her.”
Rainbow Dash woke up, picking herself up off the cold cave floor. Her head was extremely sore, there was a bump under her mane. She rubbed the lump, wincing a bit as she took in her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was the cave, the same cave she was in, where she had gone with Dark to lay low. There was a significant difference in this cave's features, a large hole in the ceiling. She stared out of the hole and saw that the sky was painted with black clouds. As she stared at the billowing dark sky, her memory began coming back, and she jumped up into the air and darted out the hole, flying toward Ponyville.
