My Little Pony: An Unexpected Return

Upon seeing her childhood home, Cloudsdale, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but grin and look back to look at Moonshadow. "Come on, we're almost there!"

The stallion stopped by her, breathing heavily. His wing beat was continuously slowing down by the minute, and his fur was completely soaked with sweat.

"You...need...to...slow down..." Moonshadow stated through gasps. "Haven't...flown for...long distances...since...I fled...Canterlot...Whew..."

"Oh...Sorry, Moonshadow." Rainbow Dash turned towards the cloud city. "On the plus side, Cloudsdale is right over there. Think you can hold on for about another five minutes?"

"Yeah...Let's go..."

...

Moonshadow practically collapsed onto the clouds when he landed, sighing in appreciation.

"Wow." He looked up to see Rainbow Dash looking at him confused. "Are you really that tired/"

"Uh...maybe?" The stallion responded with a sheepish grin.

The pegasus laughed until she heard somepony cry her name.

"RAINBOW DASH!!!"

She turned to see an older pegasus fly towards her. He was a grayish-blue pony with a short rainbow mane and an unshaven face. He rammed into Rainbow Dash and crushed her in a hug.

"Oh, Rainbow! It's good to see you home!" Bow Hotfoot cried in joy.

"Good to see you to, Dad," Rainbow Dash struggled to say before squishing her way out of the hug. She waved her hoof towards her new friend. "Dad, this is Moonshadow Meteor, my good friend. Moonshadow, this is my dad, Bow Hotfoot."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Hotf - " Moonshadow started to say before feeling multiple eyes falling on him. Looking around, he noticed the other pegasi hiding from him and glancing at him from a distance, deciding if he was friend or foe. "Hey, Rainbow...I'll be right back."

"Huh? Hey, Wait!" Rainbow Dash cried, but already the dragon-pony was gone. "Ugh, what is WRONG with you ponies?!" She cried, looking at the hiding pegasi. "He constantly feels self-conscious, and you only made it worse!"

"Hey, Rainbow, calm your flank," Bow said reassuringly. "They just didn't understand, that's all."

"Yeah, okay," Rainbow huffed, but sighed and began to blush furiously. "I just hope he's okay..."

"Oh, so THAT'S why you reacted like that!" Bow laughed. "You got a crush on him!"

"I do NOT, Dad!" Rainbow cried furiously, but the statement only made her blush even harder until she muttered, "Is it... is it that obvious?"

Bow only laughed, then pulled rainbow Dash back to their house, with the young pegasus still blushing.

...

Flying into the sky, Moonshadow had a perfect view of the city. It was truly a magnificent place, and he would have appreciated it had he not been looking for a place of solitude. Finally, he settled for the stairs of an empty track area on top of a mountain.

Landing, he was instantly amazed by the area he landed in. The entire mountain it was on had a crop-top, completely flat so the whole area was perfect for training. Along the middle was a paved runway, with flags, hoops, and other obstacle courses around the runway. To the complex's left was a building, which Moonshadow assumed to be the main building - and made him that this was the old Wonderbolts Headquarters.

What the hay? He thought, looking at it again with reopened eyes. Not bad, but why the sudden change? He stopped in the middle of the runway, then used his horn to create a small circle that completely surrounded him. Closing his eyes and sitting down, the circle began to glow and start emitting strange symbols as Moonshadow began to levitate off the ground.

He had started meditating when he woke up after healing Lazuli, where he had a strange dream, one he was still trying to find the meaning of...

...He was standing in front of the Crystal Empire. All around him were fallen Crystal Ponies, along with a few Royal Guard soldiers. Standing before him was none other than Sombra, who snarled upon seeing him.

"You're going down, Sombra," he stated, but the Shadhavar only laughed. "I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY, LONGMA..." Sombra cackled.

Before either could strike, however, there was a bright flash of light above them. Looking up, they could see a creature completely covered in light. It strongly resembled a pegasus, but it's tail was too long - in fact, it strongly resembled his...

The pony flew into the air, then it made a dive over Sombra. Upon impact, the pony cried, 'BEGONE, DARKNESS!!!' There was a bright flash of light, and then Moonshadow awoke to hear Luna talking about Brisk...

'There are so many questions to ask,' Moonshadow mumbled to himself. Sometimes, when he was alone, he said his thoughts out loud to help him see them better. 'First of all, am I what Sombra calls a 'Longma'? If so, are there others like me, too frightened to show their faces?

'Second, who was that pony? It might have been another dragon-pony, yet it's body resembled a pegasus too much - no horns, no draconic eyes...

'Thirdly, what darkness was the pony talking about? Was it Sombra, or is there another force that I have to be concerned - '

Moonshadow was ripped out of his thoughts when he heard the most bloodcurdling scream in his entire life.

Looking up, he saw two uniformed pegasi. The uniforms they wore were blue, with yellow lightning bolts along the chest, hooves, and over their cutie mark. They had goggles, but they weren't on at the moment. The only difference he could find between the two were their manes - one was short, orange and dark yellow, the other snow white, and somewhat longer, but not by much. Apparently, the one who'd screamed was the orange-maned pegasus, since her mouth was wide open as if she was going to scream again.

The white-maned pegasus, however, looked more curious than frightened.

"Sorry for scaring you, sir," she said shyly. "My name's Fleetfoot, and this is Spitfire. Did you come for training? Because if so, we could really use - "

"Thanks, but no," Moonshadow replied. "I was just looking for a place to think. I'll leave now."

"Wait, what's you're name? You didn't tell us your name yet."

The dragon-pony looked at them sideways. "Moonshadow. Moonshadow Meteor."

"Moonshadow Meteor? Well, if that's the case, you really don't need to be a part of their team," a voice stated, and Moonshadow turned to see an orange-yellow pegasus wearing old Equestrian armor fly up to him. He had a red mane, hidden by his helmet, and a bronze shield on his back, along with a sly grin on his face. "Instead, you should consider our request from the last time we met."

"Flash Magnus? Is that really you?"

"Well, I suppose." The pegasus hugged his old ally. "It's good to see you, my friend."