Equestria’s Speedy Demon

by DaiAtlas2016

Chapters

The Scale
Hide and Not Seek
Ponyville to Canterlot
Canterlot to The Crystal Empire
Crystal Empire to Las Pegasus
Home is Where Your Heart is
Las Pegasus to Ponyville to Appleloosa

The Scale

It was a bright sunny day in Ponyville, the birds were singing, and the flowers were blooming. And for some reason, Fluttershy was hiding in a bush, watching a plate of freshly baked muffins inside of a rope trap. “I’m almost positive it’ll show up, Angel, I know it will!” , Fluttershy whispered to her pet bunny. Angel just waved his paw dismissively.

Fluttershy turned back to the plate, only to find it empty. “Shoot!”, she hissed, leaving the bush to check her trap. When she stepped into the loop, the trap went off, leaving her to dangle in the tree. Fluttershy heard a snicker from somewhere in the trees.

“Angel! Was that you?!?”, Fluttershy asked in an annoyed tone. Angel shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. Then, she heard it again. “It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks! I know you’re out there! I know you’re real!”, Fluttershy shouted at the empty grove around her.

“Don’t be too sure!”, a voice replied, before snickering and going quiet. “Argh! I almost had it! How is it so quick?”, she growled, still dangling helplessly. Twilight came strolling through the grove and saw Fluttershy slowly spinning in the air. “Umm, Fluttershy? What are you doing up there?”, the purple alicorn asked.

Fluttershy sighed, “I almost had that critter that been in my garden, but it’s too fast. And now I’m here.” Twilight tilted back her head, “Funny, I came here because I was tracking a weird magic surge, particularly one that bends time.” As she helped Fluttershy down, Fluttershy interjected, “So maybe it’s not so fast? Maybe it’s just using magic?”

“Maybe, but I’ve only ever seen magic associated with time in legends, not even Celestia knows any time spells.”, the purple alicorn pondered. After she helped Fluttershy down, she noticed she stepped on a solid, warm object. She picked it up and examined it, it had green magic rapidly flowing through it. Fluttershy looked over Twilight’s shoulder, “What is it?”

“It looks like a scale, a dragon scale maybe? Let’s take this back to my place and run some tests on it, I have a feeling it might belong to your mystery mischief maker.”, Twilight replied. So Fluttershy and Twilight started back towards Ponyville, little did they know they were being watched. A pair of sky blue eyes peeked out of a nearby den. “That can’t be good, I better see what they plan on doing with my scale.”, declared the mystery voice, whose eyes shined from the den.

Meanwhile, back at Twilight’s castle, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Starlight were watching as the magic substance in the scale dissipated when dunked in in a glass of ice. “Wow!”, Starlight gasped in awe, “What do you make of this, Twilight?” The princess thought for a second, “So far, I can deduct that whatever this thing is, the cold is bad for it, see how some of the color is chipping away as well?”

She pulled out the scale and showed it to them, the orange scale had some gray flecks, from where it started to peel. “So how does it survive the winter? Hibernation could kill it, even if it ate enough to keep its body temperature up.”, Fluttershy wondered. Twilight replied, “Perhaps it doesn’t hibernate, see this?” She pointed to some burn marks along the top of the scale, “You know how an asteroid burns up when it travels very fast through the atmosphere? Theoretically, if you were to travel fast enough, you’d be able to do the same thing without leaving the ground.”

Starlight tilted her head, “But how fast would it have to be traveling to do that?” Twilight sighed, “This is where it gets crazy, usually for that to happen is average 10 to 20 miles per second, or 72,000 miles per hour. There’s no creature in Equestria that can move that fast, not even the Wonderbolts!” Fluttershy took the scale from Twilight to take a closer look, “That sounds dangerous though, that constant stopping and going at such a velocity can’t be good for your insides.”

“Exactly, and that’s what that time bending magic is for, this thing uses the magic to put its internal organs in suspended animation. That way, when it stops running, its organs remain in the same condition as before he started running. Of course, this is just a theory, I could be wrong, I’d like to get a hold of it to perform some experiments on it.” One of Twilight’s machines started wildly beeping.

“What’s that?”, Starlight asked. Twilight gasped as she looked at her monitor, “It’s another surge with the same readings, right outside!” Fluttershy flew up to the open window, “Twilight! Another scale, and oh! Footprints! Leading towards Sweet Apple Acres!” The purple alicorn smiled, “Maybe this thing won’t be too hard to find.”

Hide and Not Seek

Applejack had finished breakfast and was heading out to the barn to drag out the some buckets to put the apples in. She heard a rustle from the barn when she got to the door. “Alright, who’s all in here?”, Applejack asked, opening the door. Inside stood a slender, orange dragon with sky blue eyes, they locked eyes as he said, “Uhh...hi?”

“Who, and what are you?!? And what are ya doing in my barn?”, the orange pony questioned, raising a brow. “Applejack! Twilight and Fluttershy are here to see ya!”, Applebloom shouted. The dragon yelped, “They’re here to get me!” Applejack turned to the distressed reptile, “Twilight and Fluttershy? What do they want with you?”

“They want to experiment on me!! You’ve got to hide me!! Please, they might turn me in to some other lab’s custody so they can dissect me!”, he cried, a pleading look in his eyes. Applejack sighed, “Okay, go hide in that haystack, I’ll go talk to them.” The dragon smiled, “Thank you so much!”

Applejack walked out to find Twilight and Fluttershy sitting on the porch. “So what brings y’all here?”, Applejack asked. Twilight smiled, “You haven’t seen any mysterious creatures lurking about have you? We followed a scale and some tracks leading here.” The cowpony inquired, “What kind of creature? Are you sure it wasn’t Applebloom?”

“No, Applejack, it’s about pony sized, judging from the tracks, scaly, and orange. Maybe it wandered into the orchard?”, Fluttershy corrected. “You’re more than welcome to look around! What do you plan to do with it once you find it?”, Applejack asked. Twilight replied, “If we do capture, I want to run some experiments to learn more about it. We could even discover a new kind of magic if we’re lucky!” The orange pony questioned, “So you won’t, oh, I don’t know, dissect it?”

“No, that’s not the plan. At the moment, anyway. Thanks for your help, Applejack!”, Twilight interjected. Applejack replied, “No problem, girls! Y’all be careful out there!” After Twilight and Fluttershy left, Applejack went back in the barn to find the mysterious dragon peeping out of the haystack.

“The coast is clear, they’re out searching the orchard, they’ll be a while.” , she grinned as the dragon struggled to get out of the haystack. The dragon smiled back, “Thanks for saving my life! I owe you, I’m Nitro, Nitro Braveheart.” Applejack took his paw and shook it, “I’m Applejack. So, what are you, a dragon?”

“Yeah, I’m a Speedster Dragon, the fastest in Equestria, and the last of my kind.”, Nitro replied, his heart sinking with every word he spoke. Applejack saw this and asked, “Where are you gonna go? You can’t stay here? You’ll be found eventually.” Nitro sighed, “Somewhere out west would be perfect, wide open space, very warm, no snow and ice! But I don’t know how to get there.”

Applejack stood there in thought, then she looked at Nitro, “I’ll tell you what, you seem like you’re in a pinch. So I’ll help you, you look like you really need help.” Nitro looked up in awe, “Really? You’ll help me?” “Of course, you seem nice enough, I’d hate for you to be cooped up in a cage for the rest of life. Nitro wrapped his paws around Applejack and replied, “Thank you so much! I’ve never had anyone be nice before. I usually stay hidden, I blew it this time.”

“Come on, let’s go catch a train.”, Applejack smiled, patting his back.

Ponyville to Canterlot

Applejack turned to look at Nitro, he was pony sized, as Fluttershy said. Sneaking him around was gonna be difficult, unless.... “Stay here, Nitro. I’ll be back in a second!”, she said, leaving the barn. Nitro replied, “You got it!”

Applejack ran to her closet and pulled out a flannel, some boots, and ten gallon hat that belonged to her father, before he passed. She tried sneaking through the dining room, but Granny was there. “Where are you going, AJ?”, the old mare asked. Applejack sighed, “Granny, I have a friend who needs help. I have to take him out west to Braeburn’s so he can find a new home.”

Granny smiled, “Well, I suppose you couldn’t say no. Be careful out there, dearie.” “I will Granny, see you later!”, Applejack nodded. “Do you want me to tell your friends where you’re going?”, Granny asked. Applejack thought for a second, “You can tell them what I’m doing, but not where I’m going, it’s kind of a secret.” Granny grinned, “I understand, sugar. Take care.”

“I will, Granny.”, Applejack confirmed as she headed back to the barn. Nitro was still there. The orange pony smiled, “Here, I’ll help you put these on...my stars! What happened to your paws?” Applejack stepped back in shock, the bottom of Nitro’s paws were all scratched and burnt.

Nitro sighed, “I’ve been running my whole life. I haven’t really had time to let them heal.” “Do you want to bandage them before we go?”, Applejack asked, tilting her head in concern. Nitro shook his head, “Your friends might be back soon, we won’t have time. It can wait.” Applejack helped him put on the outfit.

The duo left the barn and started for the train station as Twilight and Fluttershy went into the house. “I can’t believe we didn’t find anything! I thought for sure we had it!”, Twilight murmured. Fluttershy turned to Granny, “Where’d Applejack go?” “Oh, Applejack had some business out of town.”, Granny smiled.

Fluttershy, satisfied with her answer, turned to Twilight, “Should we search the rest of Ponyville?” Twilight beamed, “Excellent idea, Fluttershy! Maybe it saw us coming and ran off! Let’s go!” So Fluttershy and Twilight made their way back to Ponyville.

Meanwhile, at Ponyville Station, Applejack and Nitro stood at the counter. “Two tickets to Canterlot, please.”, Applejack said, turning to find Nitro looking around in wonder. She smiled, as she took the tickets and handed one to Nitro, “You haven’t been out much, have you?”

“Is that obvious?”, Nitro asked, tilting his head. They got on the train, gave the conductor their tickets and sat down. Nitro turned to Applejack, “We haven’t really known each other for that long. Why are you being so nice and helping me?” Applejack smiled, “Because that’s something I do. That’s what friends do.”

“I’ve never had a friend before. Does that mean we’re friends?”, Nitro inquired. The orange pony grinned, “Of course. I like you, you’re an interesting little critter.” Nitro laughed, “The only pony who’s said that to me wants to dissect me!” Applejack sighed, “That’s where I disagree with Twilight. It’s not okay to dissect living things, sure if they’re dead and don’t care. But if they’re like you, and say no, then you should respect that wish.”

Applejack looked over to see Nitro fast asleep on her lap. “You must be tired of running all the time.”, she smiled, petting his head, “Don’t worry, you won’t have to run much longer. I promise.” Applejack stared out the window, watching the scenery pass by. “Hey, Applejack! What are you doing here, Darling?”, a voice piped.

Applejack turned to see Rarity and Sweetie Belle. “Mind if we sit in here with you?”, Sweetie smiled. “Sure! I don’t mind.”, Applejack replied. Rarity opened her bag and pulled out an apple and handed it to Sweetie, “Are you on your way to Canterlot, darling?” The cowpony answered, “Yeah, then I’ll take another train to the Crystal Empire. I’m helping Nitro here find his way home.”

After she said that, one of Nitro’s boots fell off, revealing his battered paw. Rarity gasped, “Oh my goodness! His poor paws! Are they all like that?” Applejack sighed, “Yeah, I offered to bandage them before we left, but he declined. And my Pa’s boots seem to big for him, but I had to cover his tracks.” Sweetie piped in, “Is he a fugitive?!?”

Applejack laughed, “No, Twilight wants to catch him and use him as a test subject for one of her crazy experiments.” Rarity sighed, “She just doesn’t know when to stop, and poor Nitro is wounded as it is. Here, I have some things in my bag that might help.” Rarity pulled out some bandages and gauze and wrapped up all his paws. Then she pulled out some bright blue, Velcro sneakers and put them on him.

“There, now he’s much more comfortable!”, Rarity beamed, at a job well done. Applejack smiled, “Thank you, Rarity.” Nitro started to stir, “Are we there yet?” “Almost, darling. About two more minutes.”, Rarity grinned, excited to see his reaction. Nitro looked down at his feet, “Hey...I’m looking good and feeling good!”

Rarity, Sweetie, and Applejack smiled watching him jog in place. “Rarity bandaged your paws so they could heal a little better, and gave you those shoes.”, Applejack told him. He turned to look at Rarity, “Thank you. You all are being so nice to me. And I didn’t do anything to deserve it.” Rarity laughed, “Oh, Nitro. Most ponies in Equestria are nice, except the ones who are trying to experiment on you.”

The train stopped and they all got off. “Rarity, can we go up the tower?”, Sweetie asked. “I don’t know, it’s awful high up, it would take a good fifteen minutes to get to the top.”, Rarity replied. Nitro took Sweetie and put her on his back, “Hang on tight, and I’ll take you up there.” Before Applejack could turn and say no, they were already gone.

Applejack and Rarity turned to see an orange comet spiraling up Canterlot castle and stop at the top of the tower. Rarity gasped, “Now I see why Twilight would want to take a closer look at him.” “I just hope no one saw them.”, Applejack sighed, as her and Rarity made their way to the castle.

Canterlot to The Crystal Empire

“Uggh...”, Twilight groaned, as her and Fluttershy sat on a bench at the Ponyville Station, “I don’t understand...it’s not like it could’ve left town. Could it?” Fluttershy spotted something on the platform next to the tracks. “Twilight! Another scale!”, she exclaimed, picking it up and giving it to the purple alicorn.

Twilight analyzed the scale, noticing the green magic writhing inside. “Wait, where did Granny say Applejack was?”, Twilight asked. “She said that Applejack had some business out of town. You don’t think...” Twilight sighed, “I don’t know, but we need to find this thing. It could be dangerous.” She turned to the counter, “Two tickets to Canterlot!”

Meanwhile, Applejack and Rarity reached the entrance of the castle, just as the orange comet came spiraling back down and stopped in front of them. Sweetie jumped off of Nitro’s back, her mane all messed up from the velocity, “That was awesome! Thanks, Nitro!” She jumped up and hugged Nitro’s neck.

“You should really be more careful, Nitro! Someone might have seen you!”, Applejack scolded. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”, Nitro apologized. Rarity smirked while fixing Sweetie’s mane, “You’re pretty fast. How do you do that?” A scale fell of Nitro’s tail as she asked the question.

Nitro picked it up and showed it to them, “See the magic inside of it?” There was green and white magic swirling around in the scale, but the white disappeared as soon as they saw it. “The white magic gives me my speed, and the green magic helps to keep my insides intact at such a high velocity.”, he explained. Sweetie stood there slack jawed, “Cool! That’s so awesome!”

Nitro smiled and handed it to Sweetie, “Here, you can have this. Take good care of it, and don’t tell anyone where you got it. Alright?” “I promise! Thank you, Nitro!”, she beamed, hugging Nitro once more. Nitro replied, “No, thank you for showing me some stuff here in Canterlot.” He turned to Rarity, “And Rarity, thank you for everything you’ve done. You didn’t have to.”

Rarity grinned, also giving him a hug, “Oh, Nitro, it was nothing! Anything for you and Applejack.” “We should get going, I’ve got our tickets.”, Applejack reminded, smiling at the display they were putting on. Rarity and Sweetie stood on the platform waving as Applejack and Nitro boarded the train.

“Good luck on your trip! Take care!”, Sweetie shouted, as the train pulled out of the station. Nitro waved until the station was out of sight. “It must be nice to make friends now, huh?”, Applejack smiled. “Yeah. So where are we going now?”, he replied.

“The Crystal Empire, hopefully we can find a place to spend the night. Then we can finish the last leg of our trip tomorrow, then you’ll finally be home sweet home.”, Applejack answered, smiling as she watched Nitro look out the window. She unconsciously leaned on Nitro and closed her eyes. There was something about him that put her at ease, she couldn’t quite place it, but it made her heart flutter.

“Nitro?”, Applejack sighed, “What are you gonna do when you get to where you’re going?” Nitro chuckled, “I guess I go back to being alone. Make sure I stay out of sight, cause I won’t have you to bail me out.” Applejack hummed for a while, before she looked up at the orange dragon, “Aren’t you gonna be lonely?”

“Maybe, but I’ll remember what few friends I did have. I’ll probably be fine.”, Nitro replied, staring out the window. Crystals started becoming more prominent in the landscape. “We must almost be there. We’ll find a hotel and call it a night.”, the orange pony yawned. Nitro smirked, “Sounds like a plan to me.”

Twilight and Fluttershy arrived in Canterlot, looking around for any signs of the creature they were looking for. “I’ll be right back, Fluttershy. You might ask Rarity if she’s seen anything.”, Twilight said, before teleporting them to who knows where. Fluttershy found herself in front of Rarity’s boutique. She walked inside, seeing Rarity working on a dress, while Sweetie was in the corner reading.

“Oh! Fluttershy! What brings you here?”, Rarity asked, pausing on her dress. Fluttershy replied, “Actually, I’m here with Twilight. We’re....looking for Applejack. Have you seen her?” Rarity raised a brow, “Yes, she came to visit me, but she left a couple of hours ago.” Fluttershy inquired further, “Did she tell you where she was going?”

“No, dear. I’m afraid I don’t remember her telling me anything like that . I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.”, Rarity sighed. Twilight appeared in the middle of the room in a bright flash of light. “Hi, Rarity! Mind if I borrow your table?”, Twilight asked before running towards the biggest table. She pulled a scale out of her satchel.

“What are you doing, Twilight?”, Fluttershy asked. The green magic was still swirling around in it. “I found one of my old books that showed me how to reveal magic that can’t be seen by the pony eye! And if my theory is correct...”, the purple alicorn replied, surrounding the scale with her magic, until white magic started spiraling inside along with the green.

“Of course! This must be what makes it so fast! I knew it!”, Twilight excitedly shouted. Sweetie Belle looked up, “That’s one of Nitro’s scales!” “Sweetie!”, Rarity hissed. But it was too late, Twilight had heard everything.

“You saw it?!?”, she exclaimed. Fluttershy interjected, “Rarity told me that Applejack was here too. We don’t know where she is now though.” Twilight gasped, “So she is helping it to escape!” Rarity growled, “HE has a name you know! And what makes you think he’s so special that you have to chase him down across Equestria?”

Twilight smiled, “HE has magic at his disposal. Magic that not even Celestia knows about! We could learn so much from him if I got a hold of him! The knowledge would revolutionize magic as we know it!” “Twilight, I think I know where they’re going next! You said that the animal in question doesn’t fare well in cool temperatures right? What if Applejack is taking him out west? They might stop by the Crystal Empire on the way.”, Fluttershy said with realization.

Twilight gasped, before cackling, “Of course! How could I have been so dense?!? Fluttershy!” “Yes, Twilight?”, she answered. Twilight grinned, “Let’s find a place to spend the night, then tomorrow we head towards the Crystal Empire. I think I know how we can harness this magic so we can actually use it!”

As Fluttershy and Twilight left, Rarity and Sweetie looked at each other. “I messed up, didn’t I?”, Sweetie asked, her eyes watering. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll be alright. They had a head start. I just hope they get there before Twilight finds them.”, Rarity sighed.

Crystal Empire to Las Pegasus

Applejack and Nitro has already checked in to a small motel, they opened the door to find a cozy room with a bed and a small sofa. “Here, you can have the bed, I’ll take the sofa.”, Nitro yawned. Applejack grabbed his shoulder before he could move a muscle. “Wait. We can share the bed. I don’t take up that much space...”, she muttered, twiddling her hooves.

Nitro smiled at her sleepily, “If that’s what you want.” They climbed into bed, Applejack pulling the covers over them as she snuggled into Nitro’s chest. “I’m gonna miss you, Nitro. I know we haven’t known each other for too long, but I...”, she started, but paused with a sigh. Nitro wrapped his paws around her, “Go on. I’m listening.”

“It’s just, my heart breaks every time I think of you leaving. I almost don’t want to take you home. But I don’t what you to be stuck in a cage for the rest of your life either. It’s...I...”, Applejack sobbed, her heart pouring out all over the place. Nitro kissed her muzzle, “I can come visit, you know it’s only a three minute run for me.”

“Really?”, she looked up, her emerald eyes shining in the moonlight wafting through the blinds. “Of course, we can figure something out. Let’s go to sleep, we got to get up early tomorrow.”, the orange dragon grinned, comforting his travel buddy. Applejack kissed his forehead before closing her eyes, “Good night, Nitro. I love you.”

Nitro smiled, “I love you too, Applejack.” He laid there, Applejack in his paws, smiling in her sleep. The constant rising and falling of her chest put Nitro at ease, yet worried at the same time. What was he going to do when this was all over?

The next morning they got on a train to Las Pegasus, Applejack and Nitro seating themselves in a booth next to a window. “Well, Well, who do we have here?”, a competitive voice sounded off to their left. They turned to find Rainbow Dash taking a seat across from them. “Rainbow? What you doing here?”, Applejack asked, surprise smeared all over her face.

“I’m going to Las Pegasus for some chills and thrills! What about and your colt friend?”, the pegasus smirked. Applejack replied, “This is Nitro, I’m helping him get to Appleloosa so he can live there in peace.” Rainbow laughed, turning to Nitro, “What Ponyville not peaceful enough for you?” Nitro chuckled, “Not when a certain purple pony wants you dead or alive, because you may or may not have a rare type of magic infused into your scales.”

Rainbow Dash stared at him blankly before grinning, “Ahh, is Twilight playing mad scientist again?” “Rainbow, this is serious! She wants to take him apart to see what makes him tick!”, Applejack snarled, pounding her hoof on the table. “Alright, sheesh I’m sorry! I didn’t realize this was serious, AJ.” Nitro smiled, trying to calm Applejack down, “It’s alright. You didn’t know. And if anyone asks, I was never here.”

Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Twilight arrived in the Crystal Empire, now they were looking around in a crystal field. “Twilight, what are we looking for?”, Fluttershy asked, tilting her head. Twilight picked up a red, pointy crystal and grinned evilly, “This.” She took the scale out of her satchel and held it with her magic next to the crystal.

Twilight growled in concentration, as green and white magic spewed from the scale and into the crystal. The scale, now colorless, fell to the ground with a cold clatter. Twilight took the crystal, now glowing a hazy reddish brown, and put it on a string around her neck.

“Now I have the power! And now I’ll have no trouble catching that speedy demon!”, Twilight cackled, frightening Fluttershy. Fluttershy gathered up all of her courage before saying, “Twilight, I think this has gone too far. I just wanted to find this creature to ask him to please stay out my garden. Not to chase him and Applejack across Equestria, just so you can use him for your little experiments. I’m sorry, Twilight”

“Well that’s alright. I’ll get my prize with or without your help. And if Applejack gets in my way, well, we’ll see. Farewell, Fluttershy! I will return with the future of both science and magic!”, Twilight laughed before disappearing in a purple comet towards Las Pegasus.

Back in Las Pegasus, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Nitro had taken an elevator to the top of a skyscraper, admiring the view. Rainbow smirked, “I’ll give you two some alone time, I have an appointment with some slot machines!” “Later, Dash!”, Applejack smiled nuzzling up against Nitro, “This view is sure something, huh?” Nitro replied, “But it’s nothing compared to the view I woke up to this morning.”

“Oh, Nitro you flatterer! My mane was a mess.”, the orange pony smiled, pecking his cheek. “You’ve done so much for me. I just wish I could’ve done something for you.”, Nitro sighed stroking her mane. “You are doing something for me right now by holding me.”, Applejack replied, nuzzling Nitro harder than before.

“Well, look what we have here. Applejack, do you want to explain why you ran away with my test subject?”, a voice from above growled. They looked up to see Twilight hovering over them, the crystal glowing brighter than ever. “Why can’t you just leave Nitro alone? He’s done nothing to hurt anyone?”, Applejack shouted at the insane alicorn.

“There’s so much we could learn from him! He could hold the secret to time travel for all we know! And to do that, I need to study him.”, Twilight replied, malice dripping from her voice. “Your tracking skills are impressive! But you’ll never catch me!”, Nitro smirked , shuffling Applejack behind him. “We’ll see about that.”, Twilight snarled, charging her horn with magic.

Home is Where Your Heart is

Applejack sat next to Nitro in the Canterlot Hospital. She had only gotten a couple scrapes and bruises from the whole ordeal, but Nitro had a massive burn, and had lost a good deal of his scales, which were all very brittle from the magical impact. Tears rolled down her face, as she held a paw in one hoof, and stroked his head with the other. Twilight came into the room and smiled weakly as Applejack ignored her.

“Applejack...I’m sorry.”, Twilight sighed, sitting down next to her. Applejack said nothing in reply, her gaze focused on Nitro’s bandaged back. Twilight continued, “I know the past couple of days, I have been a bad friend. I should have left well enough alone. But I let my curiosity get the best of me. I’m sorry.” Applejack growled, maintaining her vigilance over Nitro, “I loved him. You let your curiosity take away the one being I loved, with all my heart! Twilight, he might not ever get out of this hospital bed because of you! I don’t know if I could ever forgive you!”

Twilight felt the tears stream down her face as she got up. “I don’t expect you to.”, she sniffed, “I had no reason to do what I did, except for my being selfish.” A cough came from the hospital bed, “Wait a minute...” Applejack and Twilight turned to see Nitro up and looking at them with half lidded eyes. “Nitro! Oh my gosh! I was so scared!”, Applejack cried, tears welling up more than before.

“Did you really think I’d leave you alone? No matter how much I have to slow down, I will always wait for you, Applejack.”, Nitro grinned , holding the orange pony as she nuzzled his neck. Twilight smiled at the scene before sighing, “Nitro. I’m sorry. I let my thirst for new discoveries go to far. I didn’t mean to hurt you or Applejack. Could you ever forgive me? You don’t have to.” Nitro smiled, “Looking at Applejack before turning back to Twilight, “I could, on one condition...”

It was wintertime in Ponyville, six months later, everyone was shoveling snow and clearing paths to their houses and businesses. Applejack and Applebloom were walking through town, admiring the soft blankets of snow. “Wow! Isn’t this snow amazing!”, Applebloom shouted, jumping up and down. Applejack replied, “Yeah, it’s beautiful!” In the distance they could see something tunneling through the snow towards them, which made Applejack smile. She turned to find Nitro standing next to her with his new winter coat.

“Sugar, you’re late.”, Applejack smiled, kissing his snout. “Sorry, honey. I’m a dragon, not a snowplow.”, Nitro smirked, kissing her back. Applebloom beamed as she hugged them both, “It was awesome that Twilight let you stay in Ponyville with Applejack! And she even wed you two!” Applejack grinned, “It was nice of Rarity to make a coat just for you!” “Oh yeah!”, Rainbow Dash shouted as she landed in front of them along with Twilight and Fluttershy.

“Oh my gosh! Applejack! I heard the news, it’s so exciting!”, Twilight exclaimed, hopping around the couple. “Congratulations, you two! This gonna be totally wicked!”, Rainbow Dash grinned, hovering in the air. “What are they talking about?”, Nitro asked turning to Applejack. Rarity appeared out of nowhere, holding what looked like a small, orange onesie, “Hello, Nitro! Are you enjoying your coat? Is it warm enough?”

Nitro replied, “Yeah. Keeps me from migrating all the way to Appleloosa. What’s that you’ve got there?” Rarity gasped, “Oh! Sorry, Applejack. So much for keeping your secret, dear.” “Can someone explain what is going on?!? What secret? What news?”, Nitro exclaimed, losing his mind. Applejack wrapped her hooves around his neck and smiled, “Nitro. We’re gonna have a daughter.” Nitro stood there in shock, “You mean...you’re pregnant? And I’m gonna be a dad?”

“Yeah. Not only do you have friends, you’re gonna have a family too.”, Applejack sighed, lost in her husband’s eyes. “It’s a nice change from always being alone. Thank you, Applejack. Thank you for helping me to find home. You taught me that home is where my heart is, and my heart was with you.”, Nitro smiled, nuzzling his wife. “Do you have a name for your baby?”, Fluttershy asked. “I was thinking something like Lightspeed. “, Applejack beamed.

“That’s a weird one. But I’ve heard weirder.”, Rainbow said, tilting her head in confusion as she hovered next to Nitro. Nitro laughed, “Honestly, all pony names are pretty weird to me. I mean, Rainbow Dash? What kind of name is that?” Rainbow glared at him, “Oh? You wanna race? From her to Sweet Apple Acres and back!” Nitro grinned, “You know I’m gonna win, right?” And off they went, Applejack and Applebloom slowly trailing after them.

Las Pegasus to Ponyville to Appleloosa

Applejack stood there, feeling so helpless, as she watched Twilight charging her magic, which was now the same hazy reddish brown as the crystal. “We can do this two ways . The easy way, or the hard way. Oh, and a piece of advice: Don’t run.”, Twilight evilly grinned. Nitro sniffed the air before whispering to Applejack, “Get on my back, I smell a D-Cut around here.” Applejack looked at him with a look of confusion, “What’s a D-Cut?”

“Hang on tight.”, he replied, before grabbing her and dashing down the skyscraper, wrapping around the building. Twilight smiled, “Fast it is.” She spread her wings and took off at a high speed, in hot pursuit of the dragon. Applejack turned to see Twilight right behind them, blasting balls of red magic at them, each one closer than the next.

“How is she keeping up?!?”, Applejack panicked, her grip around Nitro tightening. Nitro replied, “I don’t know, but here it comes!” Just when it looked like they were about to smack the pavement, a hole ripped into existence, Ponyville being on the other side. The sudden shift in gravity made Nitro stumble, but he kept running. Twilight followed them through the D-Cut before it closed up, continuing to fire shots at them.

“Ponyville? But...how?”, Applejack asked, her brain still adjusting to the shift in scenery. “A D-Cut is a dimensional cut in space and time, they’re scattered all over Equestria.”, Nitro answered, bobbing and weaving through town and trying to not hit an unsuspecting pony and run them over. Twilight was getting closer, her shots increasing in accuracy.

Celestia happened to standing in front of Ponyville Castle, as they sped by, catching only a nanosecond of their figures. She turned to one of her guards, “Was that Twilight?” The guard simply shrugged his shoulders. Nitro turned so he would start heading towards Sweet Apple Acres. “Here comes another one!”, Nitro exclaimed, his eyes on the new D-Cut, showing Canterlot Castle from below on the other side.

Applejack blinks and next thing she knows, they’re running up the side of Canterlot Castle, Twilight closing up the distance. Nitro starts to speed up, to where his scales start to grow a little warm, but Twilight didn’t seem to be slowing down. If anything, she was getting faster, her feathers started smoking, her shots getting closer and closer to hitting the two runaways.

They speed by a balcony where Luna happened to be having lunch, her sandwich almost flying away. “Twilight?”, Luna asked, looking up in confusion. “I can’t shake her, here...”, Nitro said to himself, approaching another D-Cut, with the inside of the Crystal Empire Castle through the hole. Nitro was ducking and dodging, taking care to not knock butlers and maids over.

Cadence and Shining were about to step in the hallway when Nitro shouted, “Coming through!” Shining jumped in front of Cadence as Nitro and Applejack blurred by and down the stairs. Twilight came speeding by, determined to not let them get away. “Twily?”, Shining muttered, as he and Cadence gave each other a look.

Nitro and Applejack were outside the castle , making their way through the empire. “We can’t lose her!”, Applejack shouted, her hooves getting sore from gripping so tightly. Twilight was right on top of them, charging up one final blast, determined to take out the dragon. Nitro knew he wasn’t going to be able to outrun her, they were coming up to a D-Cut that led right to Appleloosa. Just as they were going through the hole, Nitro spun himself around wrapping his body around Applejack so he would take the brunt of the shot, as Twilight fired her final shot.

Nitro and Applejack went flying through the portal, tumbling in the desert dust until they came to a stop, orange scales scattered all over the place. Twilight slowly hovered through the hole, as she landed in front of Applejack, still recovering from the crash. “What an amazing creature he is. I didn’t even know about these dimensional shortcuts! Just imagine what else we could learn!”, Twilight cackled.

Applejack got up and stood in front of Nitro’s body, ready to fight. “You’re going to have to get through me first.”, she growled. Twilight smiled, “And what makes you think that’s a problem?” She went to charge her magic, when her crystal was snatched from her neck, and destroyed in front of her. “Enough is enough, Twilight.”, a regal voice said from behind.

Twilight turned to find the other princesses and Shining standing behind her. “Twilight? What is going on?”, Cadence asked, worry etched on her face. Twilight replied, “This could be a breakthrough in magic and science! The discoveries could be revolutionary!” Luna glared, “Perhaps, we are not meant to know some things. Perhaps we aren’t meant to control this power that doesn’t belong to us.”

Celestia sighed, “Luna is right. The only reason he uses his magic is to protect himself, as well as his friends. From ponies like you.” Shining looked at her in disappointment, “You don’t need to know everything to be the smartest pony in Equestria.” Twilight turned to see Applejack sobbing over Nitro’s body, a large patch of scales missing on his back, replaced by a large burn. “What have I done....”