Alicorns are not so Rare

     Twilight Sparkle woke from a very strange dream to a loud pounding sound. At first, she assumed that it was just thunder from the large storm covering Ponyville, but then, as she listened, she realized it was coming from downstairs. She hurried down the stairs and used her magic to undo the sealing spell she'd put on the wooden library door.

     As she flung the door open, a gust of strong wind blew in, effectively toppling over the purple unicorn. A cyan pony tumbled through the open doorway. Twilight thought it was Rainbow Dash, until she saw that this pony's mane was brown and that she was a unicorn. Her horn was clearly visible. Her body, however, was swathed in sopped, white bandages. After closing and resealing the door, Twilight went to the young mare's side, throwing a blanket over her. The mare shivered for a while, eyes closed tight, as Twilight performed a drying spell on the cyan unicorn and herself.

     "Hello?" Twilight asked, "Are you okay? What were you doing outside in this weather?" The mare looked up at Twilight, and the purple pony gasped. Her eyes shone  like double rainbows. The entire color spectrum in each eye. It was dazzling. Twilight had never seen a pony like this before. "What's your name?"

     "Chroma," the cyan unicorn said softly, "My name is Chroma Flash." Chroma looked around the tree library, still shivering slightly. Then suddenly, the rainbow-eyed unicorn froze in place, closing her eyes tight. Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but before the words could come out of her mouth, Chroma let out an ear splittingly loud sneeze and a rainbow of sparks burst out of her horn. Twilight looked around the library to see that her usual assortment of dark colored books had all turned rainbow colored. The blanket that had covered Chroma also now had rainbow hues and it lay on the floor, having been thrown off of the unicorn from the force of her sneeze.

     "Bless you," Twilight said politely, "Chroma, you should let me change your bandages. They're still wet and I haven't got the energy to conjure up a drying spell strong enough for them." Chroma's face went hard.

     "The bandages stay," she said. Twilight took a step towards Chroma.

     "You're going to catch a cold if you run around in those wet bandages."

     "I will be fine," she looked around and cast another spell on the books and blanket, turning them back to their original color. "Sorry about that." Suddenly, there were footsteps coming down the stairs.

     Spike came down the stairs, panting slightly. "Twilight, what was that noise?" He looked at Chroma, instantly focusing on her eyes. "W-whoa." She blushed and looked away from him before she froze in place like she had earlier. Twilight's eyes widened and she jumped behind the couch. Spike looked confused until Chroma sneezed, even louder than the time before, causing twice as any sparks to fly from her horn. Spike closed him eyes and tried to shield himself, but when he opened his eyes, he saw that one of his hands was red and the other was purple. He looked down to see that he was showing every color of the spectrum.

     "Sorry," Chroma said softly, her blue face turning pink at her cheeks. She put Spikes colors back to normal. The baby dragon smiled at her.

     "That's okay," he said, "Twilight makes weird stuff happen when she sneezes too." He laughed at the glare Twilight threw at him. "By the way, I'm Spike."

     "Chroma," the unicorn said, with a shy smile. "Um...you wouldn't...by any chance...I mean, if it's okay...do you think I could stay here tonight?"

     Twilight nodded and picked up a blanket and pillow with her magic. She set them on the couch. "You can sleep on this couch tonight. We'll be upstairs if you need anything."

     "Thank you," Chroma Flash said, "You are very kind." She laid down on the couch and was asleep instantly. Twilight and Spike went back up to bed.

-MLP-FiM-

     When Twilight awoke, the first thing she did was check on her guest. Chroma was awake already, watching Celestia's sunrise. Suddenly, a pink blur burst through the door, despite the magical seal. Pinkie Pie zoomed over to Chroma. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie. Whats your name? Are you moving to Ponyville? What's your favorite color? Where are you going to be staying? Are you-" The party pony stopped and looked at Chroma's multicolor eyes, her mouth gaping.

     "Um...I'm Chroma, and I am moving to Ponyville. I'm not sure where I'll be staying though. I don't have a favorite color, they're all nice."

     "Just Chroma, or do you have a last name too? Oooh! I know! I bet you want me to guess! Is it Jacobs? Apple? Sparkle? Dash? Pie? No wait, that's my last name."

     "Miss Pinkie Pie, My full name is Chroma Spectrum Flash, but just Chroma is fine."

     "Ohhhh, okay. Anyway, since you're new here I'm gonna have to throw you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party. It's gonna be my best party ever. Yay!" With that, Pinkie left Chroma and Twilight to stare at each other. Chroma had no clue what she had just gotten into.

     "Um...I'll see you later, Twilight." Chroma began to walk towards the door.

     "Wait, Chroma, I need to know. Why do you have those bandages?"

     "I don't want to talk about it right now."

     "Why not? You need the bandages changed anyway. I read that bandages should be changed every six to eight hours at least." Chroma took another step towards the door. Twilight tried to shut it with her magic, but Chroma Flash was gone, literally, in a flash that was almost as bright as the Celestial sun. In the seconds that it blocked her view, Twilight ran up to it, trying to catch Chroma, but she was just a speck almost to Sugar Cube Corner by then. That pony was fast.

     Twilight saw the cyan pony enter Sugar Cube Corner. Using a burst of magic, Twilight transported there. Chroma jumped, startled, and didn't have time to run before Twilight got hold of her tail and transported them both back to the library.

     "Fine, but I'm changing the bandages myself." Chroma magicked a roll of bandage out of thin air and stormed into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came out again with new bandages around her body from front legs to back legs. "Now, I'm going to go around to meet some new ponies." Chroma walked out the front door, and Twilight didn't see her for about a week after that.

     Applejack walked into the library a week after the Chroma incident with a bit of a predicament. Twilight saw her friend in the unnatural rainbow colors and knew exactly what the problem was.

     "So, I see you've met Chroma."

     "Yeah, she was visiting the orchard, and, well..."

     "She sneezed, didn't she?"

     "Yup, she had one of the apple flowers fall on her nose, and before I know it, I'm as colorful as Dash. I came here because she ran away all embarrassed, and I figured you'd be able ta turn me back and I'll be able to go look for the poor pony. She's gone out somewhere around Fluttershy's, I think."

     "Applejack? I...I can't get it off."

     Applejack tensed. "Whad'ya mean ya can't get it off?"

     "I guess only Chroma can get it off."

     "Well then, we better go find her."

     "Oh, Applejack?"

     "Yeah, Twi?"

     "How was Chroma's...er...wound? You know, the one around her main body?"

     "I didn't ask, Twi. How long has she had it?"

     "I don't know. At least a week if not more."

     "What in the hay happened to her that she needs bandages fer more than a week?"

     "I don't know, but once we find her, I'm gonna find out. Let's gets the others and get looking for her. Have the others met her?"

     "Yeah, okay Twi. Lets find her."

     Applejack and Twilight ran out of the library and collected the other four element bearers to help them. They searched around Fluttershy's house, but it didn't take long before Chroma gave herself away with a loud sneeze. They found her in a large field of flowers, where she sneezed again. The flowers turned rainbow colored.

     "Celestia bless you, darling," Rarity said as they circled her. Twilight came up to Chroma.

     "Chroma, what are you hiding? What's under those bandages?"

     "Nothing, Twilight. I told you I didn't want to talk about it."

     Twilight was having none of that, she approached Chroma slowly, circling to her side.  Then, Twilight put the end of the bandage in her mouth and unwound it, letting it fall to the ground. The element bearers all gasped at the sight in front of them. Chroma Spectrum Flash wasn't a unicorn.

     She was an alicorn.