Laments of the Dimension-Stranded ⁽ᴿᵉᵐᵃᵏᵉ⁾

Chapters

I – Captive
II – Outside
III – Paranoia
IV – Stupefied
V – Betrayal
VI – Rest
VII – Shame
VIII – Rainbow Alone
IX – Solace
X – Adventure
XI – Interlope
XII – Relief
XIII – Magnetized
XIV – Captive
Epilogue

I – Captive

Plink. Plink. Plink.

Bioluminescent insects fluttered inside of a jar, tapping their bodies against the glass intermittently. The orange hue of their illumination bathed the room in a soft glow.

Rainbow Dash groaned softly, massaging her throbbing forehead with a hoof in a futile attempt to soothe the pain. The last memory she recalled was flying peacefully through the cheerful blue skies of Equestria, rehearsing a new stunt. While performing her acrobatic technique, she had lost control and spiraled toward the hard, unforgiving ground. But, instead of a collision, she had been met with suffocating darkness.

Then, she woke up.

At first, she was hopeful. She thought she’d been rescued by somepony and they’d transported her to a safe location where she could recover from her injuries. It wouldn't have been the first time she’d woken up in Ponyville General Hospital, aching bodily, blurry-headed, and bereft of memories. The sensation of hope, however, was short-lived.

The wooden table she lied atop was hard and uncomfortable, and the room was tiny and lacked windows. The oppressive concrete walls evoked a sensation of claustrophobia within her. She yearned to breathe fresh air, to clear her mind and focus.

Rainbow planted her hooves against the tabletop and shoved, attempting to lift herself, but, ultimately, she failed to rise to a standing position. She slipped and landed hard on the edge of the table, then toppled over the edge and slammed onto the floor with a pained grunt.

"Oof!"

She spread her wings to investigate the disturbance, and a newfound pain in her right wing elicited a groan from her throat. The joints were stiff and contorted slightly, and the large primary feathers of her right wing which she used to manipulate objects and fly were contorted and twisted.

"Ow..."

Her futile whimpers were promptly absorbed by the dense concrete walls. Overwhelming silence was again restored to the room. It was only then she realized how bizarre her situation was. Being escorted or carried to a safe place by a friend was comforting, but it couldn't have been one of her friends. Her friends didn't live in concrete boxes... Her friends didn't lay her out over hard tables...

That was when the first pang of fear struck her—painful fear which emanated from her gut and coursed through her, sending a chilling wave across her entire body.

She approached a flimsy metal door and shoved it open, wincing as its rusty hinges squealed. She peered around the corner, vigilant of possible danger. Beyond the threshold stretched a black hallway shrouded in gloom. Cold radiated from the concrete.

There were no signs of life in either end of the desolate corridor. Though, distantly, faint pings and clinks sounded, metal bits rubbing against each other and clattering against a hard surface.

Rainbow wasn’t unfamiliar with loneliness. She embraced it, even, as a necessary break from stardom. But there were few moments in her life where she was truly alone, entirely unable to contact anypony. It was deeply unsettling.

She entered the room she had previously been locked within and clamped her teeth around the jar of fireflies on the empty shelf. She wielded the light bugs to illuminate her way.

The grimy hallway was cluttered with scraps of metal and other junk. Flickering shadows crept across the walls, creating the stalking silhouettes of fictive monsters. Rainbow’s hooves crunched on some broken glass, and she whimpered fearfully, glancing over her shoulder. Despite her suspicions of the contrary, nothing prowled in the darkness behind her, though the moment she turned her back, chills resumed creeping up her spine, refusing to abate.

Her ears swiveled as she pinpointed the source of the unidentified sounds. She rounded the corner and peeked through the doorway. Her nostrils flared as she inhaled and smelled the metallic tinge of corrosion and the nauseating stench of lubrication oil.

One wall was composed entirely of windows and reinforced with wooden boards and nails. Dying twilight light feebly leaked through cracks in the boards. Dim light spilled into the room from her jar of fireflies, but, due to the inadequate lighting available and the immense size of the room, she couldn't see if anything lurked in the shadows near the corners.

Her eyes flicked as she tracked and locked onto movement. An unknown creature stood beneath a large machine suspended in midair, using a jar of fireflies to illuminate what it was working on. It was lanky, tall with elongated arms thick with corded muscle that ended with surprisingly small and delicate hands, a distinguishing feature which made it resemble a diamond dog or minotaur. Long, tangled black hair draped from its scalp. The tanned skin of its muscly back, splotched with smudges of oil, flexed as it reached upwards and tinkered with the machine using some tool. A small rod of metal fell and clattered against the floor.

The hair along Rainbow’s spine raised with alarm. She unfurled her healthy left wing in a precautionary defensive gesture and backpedaled rapidly, attempting to escape, but she accidentally tripped over and kicked a fallen wrench. The metal tool skidded across the hard floor and her jar of glowing insects clattered to the ground, rolling away noisily. The creature abandoned whatever it had been working on and turned to investigate the noise, gazing at her with tiny, beady eyes that glinted in the darkness.

"A–Alright, you... w–whatever you are!" Rainbow reared onto her rear legs to make herself appear larger and waved her forelegs in a display of aggression. "You think I'm afraid of you? No way!"

A beard growing along the southern region of the creature’s face partially obscured its mouth, which was agape in shock. It raised its jar of fireflies in an attempt to illuminate her further. “You can talk...?" The voice sounded rusty with disuse.

"What did you do to my wing?” She cautiously neared, ready to dart away if he lunged at her, and gingerly closed the distance between the two until they were mere feet apart. He was... tall. He was one of the tallest intelligent creatures she had ever interacted with, excluding dragons. Even Princess Celestia, she thought, was shorter. Even diamond dogs. She gulped, feeling a twinge of fear that was difficult to suppress.

She fluttered her wings instinctively in an attempt to fly and hover in front of him at eye level, before remembering she couldn't fly. She resorted to tilting her head back to gaze up at him, which felt incredibly awkward and demeaning.

“Relax! I didn’t do anything to you.” The creature thrusted his hands forward to protest his innocence. "I found you outside the other day. You crashed, didn’t you? You were passed out. I think you twisted your wing when you landed. You don't look so good." He waited to see if she would reply, then, when she remained silent, he deposited his wrench and firefly jar onto a wheeled metal cart and wandered away. He wiped his hands on a rag, cleaning them of oil and perspiration, then grabbed a shirt bundled in a little pile and dabbed at his eyes.

She was no longer afraid of him. After scrutinizing his form, she determined him to be harmless. His movements were slow and uncoordinated, and his gait implied he had a high center of gravity and was prone to toppling over. Sure, his thick muscles implied he was strong—far stronger than her, likely—but she knew she was faster and more nimble, even without the use of her wings.

He glanced over his shoulder quickly as if to confirm she hadn’t escaped when he wasn’t looking. He scratched at one of his lumpy, seashell-shaped ears and frowned, then grabbed an unlit jar of fireflies from a shelf on the cart and shook it gently to awaken the insects within. He neared her and squatted, the joints in his knees popping audibly, and looked her directly in the eyes.

They remained still, their eyes locked, for several seconds, both likely too confused to devise an appropriate remark. As more green fireflies awoke and shined their harsh verdant light, the glow intensified and forced Rainbow to squint. "Can you get that light out of my face?” When he didn't relent immediately, she tilted her head to the side to avoid the brightness. She saw spots, afterimages. Some strings of her rainbow-colored mane fell into her eyes, which she brushed aside.

He stood and returned the jar of green fireflies where he had retrieved it from. No longer being actively stimulated, the hyperactive little insects calmed and proceeded to extinguish their glow.

He looked her up and down once more, considering her short stature, hooves, and wings. "What... are you?" he wondered aloud, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and scowled, stifling a harsh insult by biting her tongue. "You're not so pretty yourself."

“Sorry, I just haven't had company in... a long time." A small smile adorned his face. "You came from somewhere else, right? I'm not from here, either. You were wandering around looking for something, and I guess that's when you crashed? Is that how it happened?"

"Stop with all of the questions! Please. I don't know anything, okay? I have a heck of a headache right now, and you're not helping." Rainbow clenched her eyes and massaged her aching temples with her hooves. She paused, breathed, and raised her head.

In the following period of silence, he seemed to read her facial expression and reasonably discern she was upset. “So, I'm Vincent Mills, from Arizona," he rattled off like a tired mantra. "Human, Homo Sapien, from Earth,” he clarified quickly. "And yourself?"

"Rainbow Dash. Wonderbolt. Element of Harmony." Rainbow nodded in greeting politely.

"So, is Wonderbolt a rank? Or a family title? Sounds like you're pretty important if you have two titles."

“I guess you could say that. I know my friends and my family and the Wonderbolts are going to miss me..." Her head drooped sadly. "Look, I know we just met and all, but right now, I want to be alone."

"You can go outside if you really want to. But,” he raised a finger, "don’t leave the parking lot, okay? Don't go wandering around, especially with that messed up wing." He squinted his eyes in a manner that indicated he was serious.

Rainbow desperately wanted to leave the claustrophobic building, breathe fresh air, and orient herself. He was correct, though. Her right wing had been crippled, and the damage was irreversible for a time—at least without unicorn magic. She had no option but to wait for her wing to naturally heal.

"Fine.” She tried not to appear disappointed.

He nodded. "Good. We’ll talk more in the morning, then?” He excused himself and slipped away. He approached one of the machines in the corner of the workshop, opened a door on the side, and slipped in, shutting the door behind himself. She almost neglected to notice. The human was surprisingly light on his toes despite his significant size and weight.

When alone, finally, she decided to rebel against his cautions and explore. It was simply too tempting.

Rainbow retrieved her jar of orange fireflies and circled the perimeter of the room in search of passages that lead outside. All windows she found were secured tightly with wooden boards or blocked behind improvised barricades. There were no obvious exits.

She retreated to the hallway and followed it. There were many locked doors. She respected her new acquaintance's privacy and didn't attempt to force his doors open, though she continued to remain skeptical of his innocence. Sure, he seemed kind and helpful, but he had, in fact, isolated her in a small, cramped room. No one who inherently distrusts others is entirely innocent themselves.

At the end of the corridor was a red neon sign labeled "exit". Below towered a reinforced metal door, fortified with two thick metal bars extending horizontally across the center and stacked atop one another. She tried shoving the door, but it resisted, not budging an inch. She changed her approach, setting her jar of fireflies down and rearing onto her rear legs, placing both forelegs onto the metal bars. She leaned all of her weight into her push and shoved them hard. There was a loud click. The mechanical door swung outwards slowly, struggling against its speed-regulating automatic door closer. Satisfied she had managed to solve the little puzzle, Rainbow gratefully trotted outside.

Unbeknownst to her, once she passed the threshold and exited, the door slowly withdrew inwards by its automatic door closer, then clicked shut behind her and locked tightly.

Outside, trash bins were aligned in an organized fashion adjacent to the wall. One had been toppled over, spilling its contents onto the ground. Ahead was an elongated flat strip of black material which dropped away abruptly at the edge. She saw the tops of trees beyond the precipice.

Cautiously, she approached the edge and peered over. She gasped. She was high in the air, standing on an artificial plateau. The natural ground where the grass and trees grew was dozens of feet below. Lacking the ability to fly, she retreated from the edge fearfully. She wasn't afraid of heights, but it had suddenly occurred to her that if she fell, she would have no method of slowing herself down during the descent.

The black platform encompassing the building sported multiple painted, white parallel lines near the front entrance. They were spaced at regular intervals and crossed occasionally. A few machines like those inside the building were situated between the lines. Four wheels, two on each side, giving the object the vague silhouette of a carriage. Metal body. One large window at the front and another at the rear, with smaller windows on the sides.

The large red glass letters of a neon sign were arranged above the front entrance to the building, no longer glowing. Some were partially shattered, obfuscating the original sentence.

_ _ _ ' S A _ T O R _ _ A I R

"Something... 'auto repair'?" She estimated.

There were no stairs or ladders leading to the roof. She was forced to improvise. Painstakingly, she dragged two of the waste bins to the front of the auto repair shop where the roof sloped downward at its lowest point. Using the smaller waste bin, she climbed onto the larger bin and launched herself onto the metal roof, quickly scrambling onto her hooves before she slid off. She ascended, trotting to the center of the roof, which was the highest point. Her hooves made unsubtle clanking noises with each step on the corrugated tin. She winced, hoping Vincent wouldn't hear her making excessive noise and come investigate.

After finally reaching the peak of the roof, she spun in a circle and examined her surroundings. She discovered the plateau wasn't suspended from the side of a hill or mountain like she had suspected, it was seemingly, inexplicably, illogically floating. She had witnessed floating objects before, it wasn't an impossibility, but the only instances she could recall which involved objects inexplicably floating were all associated with Discord…

She scowled and stamped a hoof against the tin roof. "Discord!" She raised her voice, bellowing into the purple sky of twilight. The last vestiges of the evening sun were slipping beneath the distant horizon. The sky gradually descended through the color spectrum, glowing blue, then eventually indigo as night arrived.

A tiny moon rose. It was perhaps half of the size of Equestria's moon, and it emitted far less moonlight. It wasn't Princess Luna's moon, and the stars weren't Luna's stars. She had been studying the night sky of home for many years; she could effortlessly recognize its elements. Yet, suddenly, she found herself supremely doubting her own knowledge.

Frustrated, she pawed at the roof with a hoof. She felt slighted, a feeling she hated with a passion. Discord enjoyed a good prank from time to time, same as her, but teleporting her somewhere far and distant would be cruel and unprecedented. He didn't even linger nearby to observe her reaction! And that was the best part of pranking!

Some wispy clouds drifted between her and the little moon. Translucent as they were, they didn't obscure her view. The evening was quiet and still. She considered flying into the evening sky, bucking a few clouds to vent her frustrations, and creating a cloud nest to sleep. Without her flight feathers, though, it was impossible.

She felt like the hapless victim of a cruel joke.

II – Outside

Rainbow's bleary eyes cracked open, and she peered into the azure sky above. Despite seeing nothing but an indistinct shimmer, she could sense the sun's comforting presence. While waiting for her eyesight to adapt to the blinding brightness, she twisted, stretching her limbs and torso, and her lips curled into a smile of pleasure. The soothing warmth of the morning rays lulled her into a state of tranquility. Balmy. Hot. Too hot! Too hot!

"Ow ow ow!" Rainbow yelped, hopping like ballerina with two broken fetlocks across the roof in an attempt to escape the hot surface as quickly as physically possible. The morning sunbeams had been beating down relentlessly, heating the thin tin sheet roof to the point where the curvature of the corrugated metal had practically branded itself onto her fur.

“Ahh!” She dove off of the roof and landed on the black pavement below, bending her knees to absorb the force of the impact. Relief briefly washed over her as she thought she had escaped, before, with a start, she realized the pavement had absorbed heat from the sun as well.

She dashed towards the auto shop’s emergency exit, but was horrified to discover it was sealed securely. She shoved the metal door, then tried tugging, but the locking mechanism remained intact.

"Vincent!" She wailed and pranced in place, hiking her legs up and stomped against the ground in a rhythmic tempo to ensure none of her hooves contacted the hot pavement for long. "It's so hot out here! Let me in!"

Inside, his trail boots tapped against the concrete floor as Vincent jogged towards the emergency exit. When he disengaged the locking mechanism, Rainbow immediately burst inside and flopped onto the floor, releasing a satisfied moan as the excessive heat accumulated in her body soaked into the cold concrete. For a brief moment, she considered kissing the floor, but she ultimately resisted the urge.

She glanced upwards to investigate a questionable noise, and, indeed, her suspicions were correct: her new acquaintance laughed at her. Much to her irritation, he mocked her predicament. "H–Hey! Shut up." She scrambled onto her hooves and assumed a sitting position. Despite not gazing at him, she could practically visualize the dopey expression he sported.

“Good morning, sunshine," he greeted sarcastically.

“I'm feeling fine. Thanks for asking." She fluttered her wings. Her left wing felt partially recovered, but, predictably, the joints in her right wing continued to ache, perhaps more so than the night prior. She could barely move the limb without eliciting a painful response.

"Ow!" she hissed. "Great, I think I managed to burn myself, too, on top of this."

"Cat on a hot tin roof," he sniggered.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow. "Whatever. I guess now that I'm up and about, you can give me a tour around this place if you're feeling up to it."

He waved, beckoning invitingly, in an offer to lead. She trailed behind his long legs and nursed her injured wing as they walked together.

Bright morning light spilled through narrow awning windows near the ceiling, illuminating the vast workshop without the need for firefly lighting. Situated in the center of the room was the gigantic silver machine Vincent had been tinkering with the night prior. She observed as he casually passed beneath it as if the concept of a gigantic machine suspended in midair and prone to falling and crushing anypony beneath weren’t completely insane. She approached with trepidation, cautiously slipped beneath the metal monster, then backpedaled once beyond it, locking her eyes onto it warily.

Countertops were littered with junk and tools. Some of the concrete walls bore hooks where cables and lengths of wire were draped. Posters and signs hung from the walls displaying text that, surprisingly, was legible. They sported gaudy, colorful depictions of machines and machine parts in a cartoonish style.

New Italian Liscio tires! Buy two, get up to 10% off of your order! Buy now and our skilled auto technicians will diagnosis your vehicle for free!

Despite not understanding the definition of some of the foreign words, she could deduce the posters were all useless advertisements. Her attention no longer captured, she decided to move on.

“This place is chaos. How do you find anything?"

"It's organized chaos. I know exactly where everything is, so don't touch anything." Vincent bent at the waist and unzipped a backpack on one of the countertops. Midway through his search, he paused to investigate the raucous tapping of her hooves against the worn, pockmarked concrete. "Do you mind?"

In a sudden and uncomfortable bout of awareness, Rainbow glanced downwards to investigate her hooves. With a concerted effort, she attempted to mitigate the sound of her hoofsteps, but when she was inevitably unsuccessful, she abandoned her efforts and returned to normal movement. "Hey, I can't help it! It's not my fault you're so quiet when you walk."

Vincent extracted a roll of paper from the bag, unfurled it, and spread it across the counter. A small white rectangle tumbled from the roll as it loosened, and when he noticed, he placed his index finger on it and stowed it surreptitiously beneath the paper. When it was prepared, he motioned and urged her to approach.

Rainbow reared onto her rear legs to raise her chin above the countertop and placed her forelegs onto the counter to balance. “Oh!” When she realized the paper was a map, she greedily scoured it for information. “Is this a map of where we are?”

“No. This is a map of my home.” He traced the coasts of the large country and underlined the title of the map with a finger. Distinct black lines divided individual states.

With new context, she curiously read the numerous names which dotted the landmass. “Wow, that sure is a lotta territories."

“I lived there." He tapped Arizona. “Near there is the Mojave, home of Death Valley, the hottest place on Earth.” His finger drifted north. “There’s the Great Basin near Sierra Nevada.” Finally, he pointed south. “And that’s the Chihuahuan, the largest desert in North America, some 200,000 miles."

“You live in a desert? I've walked through one of those. With no water. I can't imagine calling a place like that home."

Vincent rubbed Arizona with his thumb, gazing at the map longingly.

When she realized her acquaintance had zoned out and she would receive no immediate response, Rainbow unfocused. She curiously swept her gaze across the counter until she found something that piqued her interest. A corner of the small rectangle protruding from beneath the map was curious enough to attract her attention. "What's that?"

"This? Oh, it's nothing." Using two fingers, he plucked the rectangle, then, after drawing his wallet, he delicately inserted it into one of the slots. He folded his wallet and returned it to his pocket.

Momentarily, Rainbow glimpsed the profile of a human face on the opposite side of the rectangle, though she paid it no mind. “So, you don't have a map of this place?"

“I don’t need a map. I haven’t done much exploring; I never had a reason to. I just remember everything important. That's why I do this—if I don't remind myself, I'll eventually forget the basic stuff. I can't have that happen." He paused. "Something brought me here. And it brought you too, didn't it? I mean, you're here, with me, right now. I know I'm not explaining this very well... I'm not good at describing stuff." He chuckled in a self-deprecating manner.

Rainbow firmly nodded. "No, you have a point. Something definitely brought me here. Magical,” she estimated. “Maybe that could be our ticket out of here."

“'Magic'? Come on." He scoffed. "I'm trying to talk seriously, here. You're telling me you honestly believe in that crap?”

“Okay, well, fine, if my idea is so stupid to you, then you’re welcome to figure something out for yourself!” She scowled and rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna at least try to find a way out of here."

“I didn’t mean it like that! I just…” He trailed off and waved his hand dismissively.

As he hand extended and briefly encroached into her personal space, Rainbow flinched and withdrew. Her tail lashed back and forth. “I…” She inhaled deeply and exhaled gently to quell the anxiety within her. There was tension in the air. Vincent withdrew and inserted his hands into his pockets to show he was amiable.

“Look, I'm gonna head out and take a lap. I need to think. I’ll be back in a few." She departed from the workshop and entered the hallway. The distinct tapping sound of his trail boots against the concrete floor followed her.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said I’d be back.” She reared onto her rear legs, then placed her forehooves onto the metal bar of the emergency exit door and shoved it open.

“There’s a ramp on the north side of the parking lot that leads to the ground.” Vincent passed her and stepped into the threshold. "When you want to come back inside, just knock. I'll open it up for you.” He propped the door open with his body and stood, leaning, in the doorframe.

Rainbow glanced upwards to initiate eye contact momentarily. Her facial expression softened as she expressed her gratitude. “Thanks.” She sidestepped him and passed the threshold.

She adjusted her course, bearing in mind the directions that had been provided, and trotted across the hot black pavement. She neared the northern side of the parking lot and peered over the edge. Indeed, a ramp connected flush with the edge of the pavement, sloping downwards towards a tall hill. Vincent had made an intelligent decision by selecting a hill as the starting point to construct the ramp; the length from the apex of the hill to the parking lot was shorter than from the ground.

Though wider than six broad-shouldered stallions stood side-by-side, the wood ramp appeared flimsy, held together by rope and an extensive supply of nails. It looked solid enough to bear her weight, being supported by a multitude of weight-bearing pillars from beneath, but, still, she didn't consider it trustworthy. It was unlikely for the entire thing to crumble to dust as soon as she laid a hoof on it, but it wasn't impossible. When she finally stepped atop it, she did so hesitantly, eventually accelerating to a cautious trot.

When she reached her destination, she glanced over a shoulder. The parking lot suddenly appeared so distant. The chunk of earth the auto shop was constructed upon was, in fact, not floating in midair. It hadn't ripped from the ground and proceeded to float randomly, it appeared to have been willed into existence in Nowhere arbitrarily and then descended due to gravity, colliding with and burying itself into the ground, appearing to bulge awkwardly from the earth like a splinter penetrating skin.

The world stretched before her. Its flat plains and gently sloping hills were reminiscent of home. The tall mint-green grass was wild and untamed, and the fields were adorned with patches of vibrant wildflowers standing erect as they faced the sunlight.

“Phew.” Rainbow brushed a lock of her mane away from her eyes. She had already started sweating. She squinted her eyes to protect her vision and gazed upward towards the blue sky. Distantly, silhouettes of large flying creatures soared, almost resembling dragons or giant birds. What she saw beyond them, however, made her pupils dilate with fascination: two suns. Nowhere was a planet in a binary star system. Two stars orbited it as opposed to one! Momentarily, she considered how excited Twilight would be to behold such a system with her own eyes, then she felt a twinge of sadness as she remembered the friends in Equestria she had left behind. She sighed sadly and massaged her eyes with her hooves. They were burning from gazing at the suns, and she was seeing splotches, afterimages.

South of the auto repair shop, a copse grew. The ochre-colored trucks of the trees spiraled as they grew diagonally, grasping for the sky like curly hair, sporting mint-colored leaves which provided sufficient shade. Rainbow hopped over a stump as she passed by.

Beyond the sparse copse, the land dipped downwards dramatically. A lake had formed in a large caldera, a depression in the earth that had likely resulted from volcanic activity in the ancient past. Rock formations ringed the northern edge of the lake, jutting away from the ground and forming a tall bluff. Soil transitioned into sandy gravel before meeting the water.

Rainbow cautiously analyzed her surroundings before proceeding. The lake was completely deserted. Vincent had implied hostile creatures were everywhere and being attacked was imminent if she left the safety of the auto shop, but that didn't appear to be the case. Maybe the hostile creatures of Nowhere were primarily contained in an exclusion zone, like how most dangerous flora and fauna near Ponyville resided in the Everfree Forest.

The crater lake's water was a gorgeous teal, though murky. The rock formations weren’t tall enough to cast shadows to envelop the water, so it was warm to the touch from exposure to sunlight. She bowed her head and drank eagerly to replenish the water in her body that had been lost in sweat. She considered wading into the lake to wash herself, but paused, hesitating. Cautiously, she swept her gaze across the crest of the rocky bluff. “Hello?”

A few pebbles were loosened from the rock formation and descended, clattering against the cliff wall as they fell. Her keen instincts alerted her that something wasn't right, though she was unable to pinpoint exactly what.

A tall wave caught her by surprise. She was swept, kicking and sputtering, underwater.

Rainbow paddled to the surface, coughing as she struggled to catch her breath. Her soaked mane draped over her eyes, partially obscuring her vision. “Agh!" She hissed, her torso tensing in response to a sharp, piercing sensation of pain in her injured wing. It protested loud and clear: it wasn't to be moved the slightest bit until it healed.

From the depths of the crater lake emerged a monstrous crustacean, armored with thick plates of chitin. It resembled a lobster, with a tiny head and shiny black eyes. Its primary pincers were wide enough to cleave a pony in half with a single powerful snap. Its numerous thin crustacean legs heaved, churning the water into a froth.

The monster reared, revealing a mouth packed with jagged mandibles that quivered hungrily. Briefly, she witnessed the monster's black pit of a mouth. There were rows of tiny, razor-sharp teeth all of the way down its throat.

It uttered a series of watery gurgling sounds and rushed forward. It was almost as large as a train car, and it scuttled towards her rapidly using its many crab legs.

With energy provided by copious amounts of terror-induced adrenaline, Rainbow cried fearfully and backpedaled in an attempt to escape. She tumbled and somersaulted underwater before washing onto the damp gravely shore in a soaked heap. In her peripheral vision, she noticed another crustacean emerge from the depths before she scrambled onto her hooves and darted away.

She galloped uphill towards the line of trees and weaved between them. Unfortunately, probably due to Vincent felling many of its tree, the copse was insufficient in impeding the creatures pursuing her. The closest had enough mass and momentum to demolish one of the trees with a huge crash and snapping of wood. It stumbled, a victim of its own persistence and stupidity, but, committed to its pursuit nonetheless, it persevered.

Rainbow reached the giant chunk of earth below the auto repair shop and attempted to circle around to head for the ramp, but one of the monsters moved to physically obstruct her path. Trapped between a flat rock wall and two huge armored monsters, she abandoned her dignity. The situation felt desperate.

"VINCENT! HELP!"

She tilted her head back and screamed as loudly as she could into the sky. Having delivered her distress call, she focused on the beasts before her. Without the ability to fly, her options were severely limited. She had no choice but to fight to escape. She widened the placement of her hooves and assumed a tactical combat stance.

Rainbow bounced nimbly and leapt backwards, expertly dodging a primary claw that sailed toward her. It snapped mere inches from her muzzle. Panting gently from exertion, she glanced at the other monster to analyze how it would approach. It tilted one of its primary claws in preparation to snap at her, and she tensed her rear legs, planning to evade and promptly counterattack. Though, she saw nowhere vulnerable to buck or bite with her teeth, as their armor plating looked thick and tough.

Suddenly, a deafening sound like the cracking of a whip erupted dramatically. She winced and cried out as her sensitive ears rang. One of the tiny heads of the crustaceans burst in a dramatic explosion of gore. Its body slumped onto the ground with a cacophony of joints snapping and armor plating squelching under their own weight as the creature went limp. Rainbow's mane and torso were splattered with blue blood.

The other crustacean hesitated, scuttling and shifting its weight. Rainbow claimed the opportunity to escape. She sidestepped the first monster's corpse and galloped towards the ramp. Acting almost entirely on instinct, she barely registered that Vincent was waiting for her at the top.

"Get behind me!"

She obeyed his order unquestionably. She decelerated to a canter when she reached the relative safety of the parking lot, then to a trot. Finally, she collapsed onto her haunches, and her head drooped limply. She groaned as her body tensed from pain as her wing repeatedly protested its unwarranted movement. Her ears folded stressfully.

Vincent lifted a hunting rifle and firmly braced its buttstock against his shoulder. The crustacean was scuttling up the ramp, determined to pursue its target. He patiently held his fire until the creature grew nearer, then nearer still. He aligned the rifle's iron sights with the creature's head, positioned his finger over the trigger and squeezed.

Another explosion of sound boomed as a bullet sailed through the air and connected squarely with the monster's head. No longer balancing itself, its lifeless corpse toppled over the edge of the ramp. It fell for four seconds before colliding with the earth below with a ghastly CRUNCH as all of its joints snapped simultaneously.

"Haha!" He cackled triumphantly, pumping his fist.

She didn't participate in the celebration. Partially deafened by an incessant ringing, she hyperventilated and massaged her ears.

The jubilant grin on Vincent's face vanished as he noticed her sitting dejectedly on the pavement, her eyes downcast. Concern flooded his face. He set the rifle onto the ground carefully and jogged over.

"You okay?” He squatted and touched one of her hooves as she rubbed her ears.

She avoided eye contact and turned aside. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words surfaced. She sniffled, tears forming in her eyes. Emotion welled within her, threatening to burst.

"I–I'm sorry, I..." She wanted to apologize, but she wasn't sure how to, or even why she wanted to in the first place.

He rested a hand on her shoulder. Blue monster blood seeped between his fingers, but if he objected, he didn't visibly react. “Don't mention it." He dabbed her cheeks with his sleeve, cleaning some of the blood.

Hearing a voice which had previously been so nonchalant, blunt, and flippant transform into one soft and caring for her sake was too much to bear. She clenched her eyes shut, trembling as she cried softly. Fat tears leaked from her eyes and streaked through the azure fur on her face, mixing with the horrendous monster blood.

“I can splint your wing whenever you’re ready.” Receiving a tiny nod from her, he continued. "How about I show you a great spot to get cleaned up? It's not too far."

"O–Okay... Okay." Rainbow blinked. Her eyes stung from irritation from crying. She stood and brushed a lock of wet and filthy hair away from her eyes. A glob of blood clung stubbornly to her hoof, which she scraped off onto the pavement. "What's... happening here?" The effort expended from speaking elicited her to cough, and she spat trace amounts of lake water that she had unintentionally swallowed.

His eyebrows furrowed as he frowned. "Look, that's the thing... I have no clue."

III – Paranoia

Rainbow inspected her reflection in a detached rearview mirror atop a workbench. Seeing her fur and mane sopping with sticky crustacean blood, she gagged and tore her gaze away from the mirror. Her muzzle wrinkling with disgust.

Vincent unzipped his backpack and withdrew a hunting knife in a sheath. He reached around and clipped the sheath's plastic clip onto the waistband of his jeans, then resumed sifting through the contents of the bag.

She shifted her weight unconsciously, tapping her hooves against the floor lightly. She blinked, having not recognized her legs had been moving initially, then set her hooves against the floor firmly and attempted to resist the urge to fidget.

Vincent withdrew a pair of black-tinted sunglasses from the bag and flipped them open with one hand, dangling them precariously from the collar of his t-shirt. He neared her and knelt on a knee so their eyes were level.

Despondent, she looked away, training her eyes on the concrete floor.

"No, up here. Eyes up here. I want to tell you something.” He snapped his fingers to capture her attention.

She raised her head reluctantly. Feeling embarrassed from when she had burst into tears earlier, Rainbow refused to make consistent eye contact. She shied away, crossing one foreleg over the other, but her futile attempt to disappear into her own shadow was a failure.

"Have you ever ridden a coaster?”

Her eyes subtly brightened subtly with nostalgic wonder. “Yeah, one time. The Wild Blue Yonder.”

“You know the tracks that go like,” he twirled a finger around, tracing loops midair, "and then—" His finger dropped abruptly, miming the rapid descent of an accelerating car.

“Yeah." She chuckled softly. "Those are the best parts. The Wild Blue Yonder had loops and drops for days.”

The sentimental smile he exhibited existed only momentarily as he reflected on the past. He stood and fitted the sunglasses over his eyes. "Well, that's life. We're near the bottom of a long drop. We've got to be nearing the station by this point, right?" He lifted the pack and slipped the straps over his shoulders.

She paused as she considered his succinct message. With a frown and a hoof rested over her lips, she looked at him again with a new pensive demeanor. "Oh. Hmm."

Together, they departed. Outside, on the concrete landing, Rainbow glanced into the sky and attempted to estimate the time. Nowhere's dual suns and the conflicting shadows they cast made ascertaining the time challenging.

"Try not to think about time passing," Vincent advised. "When the suns are aligned, the shadows are pretty normal, but as time passes, they start to split two ways. Makes keeping track of time really challenging."

She accelerated to catch up with him as he traversed the parking lot, taking longer strides than she was capable of. She trotted side-by-side with him.

He seemed perfectly content traveling in silence, but her hyperactivity was a persistent burdensome nuisance. If her brain didn't actively focus on something, she couldn’t function properly. So, once they reached the base of the ramp and the bothersome sensation refused to abate, her gaze drifted to and fro, tracking tall grass hypnotically swaying in the wind and little insects buzzing between flowers. A flock of the bioluminescent bugs of the type Vincent had captured in jars were congregated beneath the wrinkled petals of a flower, nesting peacefully.

Before Rainbow passed, she hesitated and sat, maintaining a close, yet safe, distance from the flock. "It's not right for him to keep you guys locked up." Her voice was a soft whisper so only those she was speaking to could hear.

Their lights ignited in synchrony and they crawled from beneath the flower petals, marching on stubby black legs concealed beneath their triangular wings. When a few flew too close, Rainbow instinctively withdrew in fear, but, instead of invading her personal space, the insects respected her boundaries and hovered before her, chirping quietly.

"Friendly...?" As she gingerly extended her hoof, the insects swirled around her foreleg like flowing water, purring softly like newborn kittens. Their lights twinkled, blinking intermittently to express what could have been contentment. Her ears raised excitedly. "Wow!"

"Hey! We've only been walking for like five minutes. We're not going to get anywhere at this rate." Several paces ahead, Vincent spun on his heel and stiffly planted his feet, visibly displaying his impatience.

As Rainbow withdrew, the flock of insects dispersed in search for a new flowering plant to nest in and call home. The moment as they flew, twinkling like dewdrops in the morning sunlight, felt magical. She stared in wonder.

"Well, congratulations, you managed to make friends with the bugs." He rolled his eyes.

"Hey, have you thought that maybe they just don't like you specifically? Maybe try not locking them up in jars."

Unfortunately, she didn't receive a response. Vincent's eyes widened as he spotted something in the distance, and he swore and unslung his hunting rifle from his shoulder with rapidity.

If something had managed to spook him, that meant it was a serious threat. Rainbow's body tensed as she attempted to follow his unwavering gaze.

"Get down!" In one smooth motion, he dove onto his belly and laid flat, concealing himself within the tall grass. He yanked her foreleg and physically forced her to the ground, and she complied, lying on her side to lie as low as possible.

"What was it? What did you see?" She attempted to peek through the tall grass swaying in the wind, but, despite her best efforts, it thoroughly obscured her view.

"I don't know. It almost looked like..." He fell silent. His face paled.

"What?" Frustrated with how he ignored her, Rainbow narrowed her eyes stubbornly, determined to receive an answer.

"I'm not really sure, but it looked like... a man.”

"Do you know him?” She curiously raised an eyebrow.

“I’m alone here...” His head swung like a pendulum with disbelief. “I’ve always been alone here..."

“Maybe we could—"

"No." His facial expression hardened. He uttered the word with finality, snapping his lips tightly.

“I was just gonna suggest we go and…” She trailed off. A pang of fear struck her after she witnessed her companion's somber reaction.

Vincent peeked through the tall grass cautiously, lifting his rifle. He checked their flanks, then scanned the distant trees meticulously. Where his eyes traveled, he preemptively aimed the weapon.

Rainbow only rose from her hiding spot in the tall grass when he motioned for her to. Her sticky fur caked with crustacean blood had also attracted dust and grime from her brief period of laying in the dirt. ”What does this mean for us now?”

His jaw tightened. “Trouble.”

When they finally arrived to the spot that had been alluded to, Rainbow felt a little excitement course through her. A thin waterfall steadily flowed from above, splashing into a gorgeous pool below. The pond was nestled at the base of a crescent moon-shaped rock wall and sheltered within a dense forest; it was isolated from the rest of the world.

The water looked cleaner than the water of the southern crater lake; it was a healthy blue as opposed to an opaque teal. She spotted the tails of fish propelling themselves through the depths and hiding among rocks. Vegetation grew in the pond, and though the blooming white and pink flowers blooming atop gigantic water lilies looked delicious, she didn't want to risk eating one, for fear of consuming something poisonous. Still, hunger pains continued to persist in her core.

Vincent glanced over his shoulder occasionally to ensure they weren't being followed. He deposited his backpack onto the ground near the pond's shore, then resumed gripping his rifle with both hands.

"I don't think anyone's been following us. It’s okay.”

Unconvinced, he held his rifle close for a moment longer, scanning the surrounding trees carefully. He peered around their ochre trunks, searching for creatures lurking in the shadows.

Receiving no response, Rainbow shrugged. She enthusiastically waded into the pond and eagerly headed for the waterfall. She clenched her eyes shut preemptively and plunged her head beneath the waterfall, scrubbing her hair with a hoof. It was like washing beneath a natural cloud shower.

A whistle sounded from the shore. She withdrew her head from beneath the waterfall, blinked rapidly to clear her vision, and turned to investigate the noise.

“Heads up!”

Small inbound object. Fast. Her keen reaction time allowed her to catch the flying rectangle with ease, snapping it from midair using her teeth. It was only when she transferred it to her hoof that she identified it. Soap!

“Doesn’t that… taste gross?”

She ignored the question directed at her and submerged her head beneath the flowing water again, then withdrew and lathered her wet mane. She spread the soap bubbles around and allowed the fresh water to flow over herself to wash the froth away. Throughout the process, she applied extra care to ensure her injured right wing wasn’t jostled considerably.

When she emerged from the waterfall, she sighed contentedly, stretched, and threw her head back to fling her wet mane out of her eyes. She couldn't be certain without the use of a mirror, but she felt cleansed of the horrid blue crustacean blood. The sensation was liberating.

Where the sandy gravel transitioned into grass, Vincent was rooted with his arms crossed as he leaned against a tree. "You done?"

She gazed at him and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

His eyes widened and his gaze immediately darted in a different direction as he noticed her focusing on him. He stuttered, flustered. "I–I wasn’t watching you when you were, y'know. I just want to know how you do that. I don’t understand.” He gestured vaguely to her hooves and shrugged.

She stood onto her rear legs and transferred the bar of soap to one of her forehooves for demonstration purposes. "Like this?"

"Yeah. What's that about?"

"Magic," she remarked nonchalantly. She settled onto all four hooves again, then transferred the bar of soap to her mouth and flung it in his direction with a flick of her neck. He caught it with ease.

"It's a genuine question."

"I'm not lying! It's magic. It's definitely not the most interesting thing I can do, so kinda weird how you're pointing it out."

Her explanation visibly confused him further. "Well, I... Okay, uh... Just hold that thought for a second. We're not done talking about this.”

Rainbow waded out of the pond and shook to dry herself off. She sat on the shore and curiously observed as her companion stripped and waded into the pond. Notably, he was so tall that while the water level had touched her stomach, it only reached to his thighs just above the knees.

While waiting for her acquaintance to bathe, she searched the backpack for any items of interest. Hidden beneath miscellaneous junk, she spied a plastic comb and brush.

Excitedly, she withdrew the toiletries from the bag and proceeded to comb her unruly mane and tail straight of any tangles, then gave them a thorough brushing. When she was finished, she sighed contently and laid on her side comfortably, crossing one rear leg over the other. As she waited, she scatted and tapped her hoof against the sand to create a little rhythm, maintaining a consistent pace.

She observed as her acquaintance drifted through the waist-high water, hiking up his legs in a surprisingly delicate and precise fashion. He resembled a stork hunting for fish. She smirked at the humorous mental image.

As he dressed himself, she decided to voice a concern that had entered her mind. "What's that all about?" She pointed to indicate a region of his torso that was dappled with patches of skin of a lighter hue.

"This?" He traced the large patches of burned skin atop his ribs using two fingers. "Is it still noticeable? You're probably not going to believe me when I tell you this, but... it was a giant lizard thing. Dragon, that’s what they’re called, I think. It almost cooked me alive."

She winced sympathetically. "Sheesh. Sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn’t your fault. Besides, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.”

"No way. I don't believe that. I couldn't live if I lost a wing.” She offered him the comb, which he accepted with a little hesitance, eying her ‘magic’ hoof with suspicion. He combed the tangles in his long, black hair carefully, wincing when a tangle snagged between the comb's plastic teeth.

"So, how did you get those? Why did you get those?”

Rainbow blinked. She followed where he pointed, looking back at her cutiemark. "My cutiemarks?"

"That's what you call those lightning bolt butt tattoos you got?” He snickered. "Wowie. That's the most gay shit ever.”

She blushed. Her eyebrows furrowed and her muzzle wrinkled as she glared. "They’re representative of my special talent! Got them when I was a filly for performing a sonic rainboom for the first time."

He waggled his eyebrows impishly. "Uh-huh, sure. Nice tramp stamps you got."

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up. You don't know what you're talkin' about, dude."

Vincent smirked. He sat cross-legged on the shore and drew the hunting knife from its sheath, then guided the sharp blade along his neck carefully using his delicate fingers to shave his facial hair. "Is magic, like, your religion? You honestly believe in that crap?"

“No. It’s not superstition. It’s real.” She gazed upward longingly. Between the intertwined mint-colored leaves of the branches overhead, herds of cumuli lazily drifted through the sky. With her confined to the ground, they were just out of reach.

When he finished shaving, he guided the blade into the sheath and inserted it. “Well, where I come from, magic has never existed. People have tried and failed since forever. It's always been a stupid myth, like the world being flat. So, I'm sorry, but I think I have to see it to believe it. I heard a lot of crazy shit from people over the years—made me question stuff.” He yawned languidly, scratched at his stubble-covered chin, then stood and retrieved his white t-shirt from where he had dropped it. He lifted both arms, slipped the shirt on, and tugged at the hem around the neck and waist.

“Some humans think your planet is flat? Why? Isn’t it obvious that it's round?”

“Not so much anymore, but yeah, some of them. Humans have thought the Earth isn’t round since forever, despite philosophers and scientists constantly proving them wrong. People latch onto an idea and defend it to the death because it’s theirs and everyone else’s are inferior. That's usually how it goes." When his eyes wandered and settled on her damaged right wing, there was a pause. He eyed the feathers bent in unnatural directions. “Come on, stand up. Let me see your wing. You’re long overdue."

She obediently stood and rotated to present her injured appendage. “Just try to be careful, please."

He neared and sat beside her, crossing his legs. “Extend it flat," he ordered.

“I don’t know if I can…” She attempted to follow his directions and unfurl her wing, wincing preemptively. When she extended the limb partially, a shock of pain traveled down her spine, causing her to tremble, but she gritted her teeth and persisted.

“I haven’t done this in years," he admitted. "I forget what to look for." He gingerly pressed his fingertips along the bone in her wing. She hissed when he pressed a spot that was particularly sensitive near one of the joints.

“Alright. Well…” He removed his fingers and sat upright. He nodded sagely. “I don’t think any bones are broken. It’s probably just a bad sprain."

Rainbow attempted to remain still. It was challenging. She focused on her breathing and whistled softly to distract herself as Vincent proceeded to withdraw the necessary supplies from his backpack, attach a slender wooden pole to her wing with cord, and tug the binding taut to secure it.

"Done."

When she received the signal, she gratefully folded her legs beneath herself and laid to rest. She instinctively attempted to withdraw and fold her extended wing, but the reinforced splint opposed the movement, ensuring the limb would remain motionless until it healed.

He assessed his handiwork and nodded approvingly. "That should do it."

"Thanks. Maybe in a few days I'll recover enough to be able to fly again. Or a few weeks. Or, uh, well... maybe never." She glowered and shrugged.

"Hey, not forever. Don't use absolutes. Only Siths deal in those—and mad girlfriends."

She considered countering his remark with a remark of her own, but she hesitated, having recognized thinly veiled truth concealed beneath the silly joke. "That picture—who was she?"

He shifted his weight to gain access to his pocket, then drew his wallet and unfolded it. Using two fingers, he withdrew the tiny photograph and delicately cradled it in his fingertips. The unknown girl with the striking blue eyes and silky brown hair.

She contemplated the young woman in the photograph. “Do you miss her?"

His forlorn, downcast eyes watched ripples lap against the calm pool's sandy shore. “Five years ago, I died. Everyone I knew and everyone I cared about think I'm gone forever. I don't think I'm ever going to prove them wrong." He returned the photograph to his wallet. As his hands rested in his lap, he clasped them together and interweaved the fingers.

He initiated eye contact again. She gazed into his eyes and nodded in acknowledgement gently. "I'm sorry."

He smiled a little. "Thank you."

She reciprocated the smile, then thoughtfully looked away into the ring of trees surrounding the isolated pond.

“Hey, I know things are... confusing for you right now, but I promised things would get easier—and it’s true, they will. When your wing is healed, don't worry about figuring out what to do next. You can stay with me as long as you want."

"Five years. You've been here for so long..." Her eyes drifted to the sand below. "Is no one else out here?"

"No clue." His face wrinkled as he frowned, a subtle feature of his facial expression that indicated he regretted being honest.

"Well, come on, let's get going." He retrieved his rifle from where he had deposited it near the shore, raised it in both hands, and flipped the safety lever to the off position. "We shouldn't loiter around outside for too long."

Rainbow quickly glanced over her shoulder, glimpsing the forest. Between curling tree trunks and slender grasping branches, the mint foliage was obscured in shadow. She and her acquaintance were seemingly completely alone, but...

She shivered anxiously.

IV – Stupefied

A subtle popping noise caused Vincent to jolt as if he had been shocked by electricity. He stood, motionless, tilting his head as he listened carefully. An identical popping noise echoed again, and, that time, it was obvious the noise originated somewhere in the east. Rainbow associated the unknown noise with the distinct report of a distant firecracker exploding, despite the fact that probably wasn't what it was.

"Who's doing that?" he mused.

"What is it? Sounds like firecrackers," she commented naively.

"Loud gunshots. From a rifle. They're a few miles away."

"The human you saw earlier?"

"I thought I could have been seeing things earlier, but…" His eyes narrowed. "There's definitely someone out here with us."

She opened her mouth to comment, but she was interrupted by a noisy growl which erupted from her stomach. She grimaced in discomfort.

"Focus on eating. You’ll heal faster with something in your belly."

Rainbow stabbed the leaves and veggies of her freshly mixed salad with a fork, popped the greenery into her mouth, and happily munched. Her vegan salad was composed of fresh vegetarian ingredients sourced from local plants her acquaintance had identified as safe for consumption. When she was finished eating, she temporarily left her seat to place the empty bowl onto the hood of an abandoned car, then rejoined him near the edge of the parking lot.

"Thanks." She rested a hoof on her belly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm feeling better already. I guess even Daring Do couldn't go on heart-palpitating adventures on an empty stomach."

He sat with his legs dangling precariously over the edge and folded his arms in his lap. "Who's Daring Do? Popular action hero?" He glanced sidelong at her, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Hero, ruins-explorer, treasure-hunter, villain-defeater, and my friend," she enumerated proudly.

"Sounds... insane." He chuckled. "Have you gotten up to crazy stuff like that, too?"

"Yeah, I have! I've done so much for Equestria, and I've met so many cool ponies." Before them stretched ambling mint grasslands and sprawling forests of ochre-barked curling trees. Distantly, to the southwest, wispy black smoke billowed into the air. Rainbow admired the enticing, fluffy white clouds rolling across the sky overhead. She fluttered her healthy left wing, then begrudgingly returned her gaze to the earth with a sigh. "I'm just worried... I've never been away from them for so long before."

She stood and stepped away a few paces. "Sorry, I think I'm all story-ed out right now. I think I'll just—"

Rainbow froze. Though the sensation was indescribable, it was actual. A vague sensation welled within her. It was as if she had suddenly remembered something critical and impactful. Clarity. It felt like the gentle, cool embrace of levitation magic against fur, except It was internal, within her body. She felt...

"I think we need to go south."

Vincent raised an eyebrow. He leaned aside and craned his neck to look over his shoulder awkwardly. "Huh? What do you mean? And stop standing in my blind spot like that. Come back around."

She was dizzy, as if she had recovered from a wild midair barrel roll and her brain was topsy-turvy. She shook her head forcefully, attempting to focus, but, frustratingly, whatever had been tempting her had abruptly silenced. She pounded a hoof against the pavement in anger. "Agh! What the hay?"

"Hey! Mind sharing what all that was about?"

“I just got this weird feeling... It's gone now, but I think we need to head south. Past that smoke."

He squinted with annoyance. “Yeah, that's the one part you've already shared. And?"

"I don't know! It just disappeared! I can usually sense when something is wrong, and trust me, something is definitely wrong. Either I'm being messed with, or, actually... it could be magic." Rainbow sat alongside him with a grunt of annoyance. "I can't keep doing this. I can't stay cooped up here until my wing heals. I need to get out there! Don't you want to find whatever's out there? Haven't you ever thought about it?"

"I know how you feel." Vincent gestured with both arms in a gentle motion to indicate she should calm down. "When I first got here, I drove my car until I almost ran out of gas. I managed to crash it into a ditch, then I walked some more. If there's anything else out here, I never found it. This auto shop is the only landmark. We're surrounded by empty plains and hills for miles. This place is cursed. We're stuck out here. Possibly forever. And I figure if anyone wanted to rescue us, they would have been here a long time ago. That's what I think." He pursed his lips. "But... I have been trying to fix up a truck recently. I guess if I manage to get it up and running, we could do some driving. We probably won't find anything, but it'd be a nice change of pace, I guess."

"Maybe." Rainbow observed as the distant smoke plumes undulated in airborne wind streams. The dizziness persisted, clouding her mind and obfuscating thought.

V – Betrayal

"One! Two! Three! Four! Hoo! Haa! Augh!"

Rainbow counted and grunted in tune with the rhythm of her exercises, her heart thrumming as she skipped, hopped, twisted and jumped. The scorching black pavement of the auto repair shop's parking lot seared her hooves unremittingly, but she paid no mind. Despite being unable to fly, she was determined to experience a real workout in order to discharge all of the energy she naturally mustered from being athletic.

Panting rhythmically in tune with her rapid heartbeat, she decelerated, trotted in place, then gradually came to a halt. She beamed with gratification. Nothing quite brightened her mood like a session of intense exercise. She pursed her lips as she pondered new thoughts which entered her dopamine-swamped brain. She recalled having slept curled up on the passenger seat of a Mazda parked inside the workshop the night prior, then having awakened early the next morning with an intense craving for physical exercise. She hadn't spoken to her acquaintance yet.

After a bout of stretching, she neared the auto shop's emergency exit. Deliberately, the door had been propped open with a stack of heavy cinder blocks, allowing unimpeded passage through. She passed the threshold and stepped beneath the cool shade provided by the roof.

She found him seated, motionless, in the driver's seat of a Ponetiac Flamebird with his gaze affixed to the car's metal roof as if he were counting the individual patches of rust.

"You get any sleep?" Vincent swiveled in the seat, withdrew his legs from beneath the steering wheel, and exited the vehicle.

"Enough." She moved aside to provide room for him to exit. "You said you're looking for parts, right? What are you building? Why can't we just leave now?"

"'What am I building?'" He pointed to the silver machine held aloft in midair by the gigantic lift, gesturing with both of his wrists and swinging his arms. "That little number right over there: my Magnum Opus. It’s a beautiful pickup. Or at least, it was before I started jury-rigging parts. It's not in perfect shape, but it should get us from point A to B. I just need a way to jumpstart the dead battery." He clicked his tongue in disapproval as he scrutinized the vehicle, searching for minute details Rainbow lacked the right expertise to see unaided.

"You're really an engineer? Is it hard?"

"Mechanic," he corrected, raising a finger, "not engineer. And, no, it's not that difficult when you learn the basics. I picked it up easily enough."

"What's the difference?"

"One's paid twice as much and respected a lot more." He chuckled flatly. “When I was younger, I thought I'd get into engineering. That sure didn't pan out."

She tilted her head to the side. “You seem like a smart-enough guy. What happened?”

"I made some bad choices." He nodded sagely, then paused. In the silence that followed, he quickly claimed the opportunity to change the topic of conversation. "Are you ready to throw our new neighbors a welcome party?"

"Really? But you said we should steer clear of them."

"Well, this morning I realized they probably have supplies. Or a car. And if it's a running car, it's got juice."

"That’s a stretch. You have no idea who they are. Even if they do have stuff, you’re thinking of stealing from them?” She frowned disapprovingly.

"Trade and help each other out, maybe, in the best case scenario. We'll see what happens."

Rainbow voiced a question she had intended to propose for a while. "Why don't you just use the parts from those?" She gestured to the vehicles stationed in the corner of the workshop.

"I don't need parts right now; I need electricity. Battery for the truck is out. Those things are junk, anyway, even the Ponetiac there. Most of the valuable parts were picked clean by the guys used to work here. They didn't get a chance to siphon the gas, though, so those corpses weren't completely useless." He knelt on a knee and assumed direct eye contact, then released a sigh. "Look, I know you can veto this immediately, but I think you should stay here where it's safe."

"No way! I'm coming with you. You need backup."

“You’d just get in the way! I'll be back soon, trust me. It'll only take a few hours."

She immediately shook her head and expressed her firm disapproval, but he disregarded her. He neared the workbench where he stored personal belongings and lifted his hunting rifle where it had been leaning against the concrete wall. He detached the magazine, clutched ammunition delicately in the palm of his right hand and effortlessly used his thumb and pointer finger to smoothly insert the rounds, then reinserted the magazine.

Admittedly, she marveled at the dexterity of her human acquaintance's hands, but, simultaneously, she also was disgusted by the sheer complexity of the machine of death. The artistry required of humans to invent machines with so many moving parts was incomprehensible. They were brutish, yet clever when necessary for use in warfare—a tragic combination, she cleverly noted.

He slipped the backpack's straps over his shoulders and tightened their fit so the straps hugged him securely, then suspended the rifle over a shoulder by its sling. He glanced in her direction, and, noting she watched him intently, he nodded and released a sigh of defeat. "You really are that stubborn, huh? Alright, well, I'm heading out now. If you need anything, grab it quick."

"Aye. Be back in a sec'." She saluted casually and sloppily, not thinking much of it.

"Hey!" He pointed a finger accusingly, sporting a hostile glare in response to her disrespectful behavior. "Do it right or don't do it at all."

Rainbow frowned, unsure of her wrongdoings at first. Then, she recalled how it was considered disrespectful for civilians to salute EUP Royal Guards or Wonderbolts, especially if said civilians performed the salute incorrectly. Though she wasn't a civilian, her superior, Captain Spitfire, certainly would have chastised her for her indecency if she were on-duty.

Firstly, she straightened her posture, then placed her hooves the signified length apart, firmly planting them against the concrete floor with an audible clop. Finally, she aligned her hoof to her forehead in a singular smooth, sharp motion, precisely as she had been formally instructed by her captain.

Vincent scrutinized her posture with narrowed eyes. "Okay. Not bad. I've seen worse. At least your posture is straight and you look like you give half a shit."

"My captain taught me well." She relaxed and lowered her hoof to the ground. "You were in service, and they taught you how?" she astutely estimated.

"Yeah. Among other things. That was years ago in '02. They set me straight, alright."

"Do you want to talk ab—"

"No."

She hung her head disappointedly. "Maybe later?"

Rainbow brushed sweat from her forehead using her healthy left wing. She sighed with frustration. The rolling hills and intermittent patches of trees obscured vision. If she were capable of flight, she could easily spot their targets while airborne, though, unfortunately, she was forced to remain grounded.

“Are you sure you know where we're going?"

"I won't turn us in circles. Trust my sense of direction.” Vincent slung his rifle over his shoulder and withdrew a little cardboard box from a pocket of his jeans. He plucked a small, white and orange cylinder from within before slipping the box back into his pocket. He wielded a lighter and rolled a thumb over the wheel, summoning sparks, then cradled the cigarette and lighter with both hands to shelter them from wind. Satisfied with the orange glow which emitted from the tip of the cigarette, he pocketed the lighter and puffed liberally.

"What's that?"

He exhaled a small volume of smoke. "It eases the nerves. You want one?"

“Nah, not interested, just curious. Hey, if you've been here for so many years, how do you still have some of them left? Do you space 'em out that well?"

“Sort of. The manager was a huge smoker. He had packs in his office and the truck. With my own, they've all lasted me this long. I—” He cut himself off and shot a hand into the air vertically in a "halt" motion. He promptly spat out the cigarette and stomped on it a few times to extinguish it.

Ahead, nestled in a small, inconspicuous clearing, were a cluster of outbuildings and a strip of black pavement. A short asphalt road. The mysterious, powerful force that had ripped the circular disk of ground from somewhere and deposited it onto the surface of Nowhere had done so erroneously. The pavement was several feet above the ground atop a chunk of earth.

"Let’s go welcome our new neighbors to the neighborhood.” He unslung his hunting rifle, planted one hand around the under-barrel grip, and curled his opposite hand around the stock with his pointer finger hovering near the trigger.

Warily, she eyed the weapon he brandished. “You aren’t going to hurt them, right?”

He narrowed his eyes as he meticulously scanned the windows and rooftops of the distant buildings in search of movement. "I’m protecting us."

"Why do you think they're dangerous? Do you trust anyone at all?"

"No. You'd be smart not to, as well." He gestured with his head, indicating she should follow, and began descending the hill.

"Yeah, well, you aren't ever gonna make friends with that attitude. You could live your whole life being paranoid. See how far that gets you.”

Rainbow shrugged her shoulders anxiously. His words had instilled doubt in her. No matter how she tried, she couldn't shake the paranoid feeling that ambushers waited for them.

"We'll be fine if you stay calm,” he reassured her. "And tight-lipped."

A car lied among the tall grass adjacent to the elevated road. The hood was open, and its guts had been painstakingly extracted. One of the tires and its accompanying rim had been detached from the axel. Vincent eyed the butchered vehicle curiously as he approached. "Someone here wanted parts," he mused.

He utilized the abandoned car by climbing onto its roof to give himself a boost. He tossed his rifle onto the plateau, leapt off of the vehicle, and caught the edge of the pavement with both hands. He bent his elbows and yanked himself upward. Again, Rainbow marveled at his sheer strength.

Leaping onto the road was effortless. She hopped onto the abandoned car and effortlessly launched herself into the air and onto the pavement using her muscular legs.

Vincent nodded approvingly at her maneuver, impressed. He retrieved his rifle from where he had tossed it and gripped it securely in both hands, then proceeded to creep down the street cautiously.

Rainbow swept her gaze across windows, doorways, and rooftops, searching for movement or signs of recent habitation. The unidentified buildings were small, no larger than mere sheds. They looked decrepit and abandoned, lacking obvious signs of occupancy.

A colorful poster caught her attention. It was a poster designed to caution readers of local hazards with its red and gray warning symbol. The text was composed of foreign, illegible letters. They resembled the modern Equestrian alphabet vaguely, but with reversed, upside-down, or otherwise warped characters.

“Can you read this?”

He squinted, and his eyes flicked across the hazard sign as he studied the letters. “It’s definitely a Slavic language. I'm not sure which one exactly.”

“Which means?”

“Which means no, I can't read it, and no, we might not be able to communicate with these guys if we actually manage to find them. Shit.” He pinched his nose in frustration.

“So how are we supposed to tell them we’re friendly?"

“We could just go with plan B."

She promptly opened her mouth to retaliate, but he shushed her by extending his pointer finger upwards. “Cut the chatter. We need to move on."

“What if the parts are already attached? Did you think of that? What are you going to do, take the whole thing apart on the fly? I'd like to see that." She rolled her eyes defiantly.

He dismissed her protests with a wave of his left hand. He resumed clutching the under-barrel grip of his rifle and continued stealthily creeping down the asphalt road.

“You’re making me regret this.” She watched him silently open a door and sneak through, then reluctantly followed despite her better judgment.

He quickly searched the garage, and wherever his eyes went, his rifle followed. When he determined they were alone, he relaxed his posture and lowered the gun.

When he spied a car parked ahead, he cocked his eyebrows. “Hello there, beautiful.” He slung his rifle over his shoulder, then opened the driver’s side door and reached into the interior of the vehicle to yank a lever and pop the hood.

Rainbow’s ears raised as she detected a noise from outside. She almost dismissed it as her imagination, but when the unidentified noise repeated, it confirmed the worst of her anxious thoughts: they were footsteps. She had no time to turn around. Behind, a deep, gruff male voice spoke in a foreign tongue, with guttural, trilling pronunciations of words.

Vincent stiffened. She copied his movements as he slowly rotated to face those who had slunk behind them. Her eyes drifted between the three strangers who crowded into the garage. Though they were equally as bulky and burly as her companion, and they wielded rifles, their eyes bulged, and they looked just as confused and apprehensive as she felt.

"Any chance you guys speak English?”

The men flinched. The frontmost man in the squad aimed his rifle and uttered another string of foreign words. His tone sounded aggressive, threatening.

Vincent withdrew a metal chain that had been concealed beneath his shirt. Attached to the metal chain were two flat ovoid sheets of metal which displayed stamped text. He flourished them pointedly. “My name is Vincent Mills. I’m American. You guys are Czechs? Romanians? Sorry, I haven’t brushed up on my knowledge of European flags in, uh, years.”

With two fingers, the frontmost man in the squad touched the small badge depicting a flag below the collar of his blouse. He brushed the dog tags hanging from his neck, suspended by a silvery chain. He shook his head. “It no longer matters.” His accent was thick and challenging to comprehend.

“So you do know what I’m saying.” Vincent maintained unwavering eye contact. “What do you mean, 'it doesn’t matter'? We don’t need to do this. I'm just looking for some car parts."

The frontmost soldier subtly leaned forward. His eyes expressed elevating interest. “You had a vehicle?”

“It doesn't run anymore. Hasn't for a long time.” Vincent maintained a consistent neutral facial expression. He meticulously selected which words to say, attempting to defuse the escalating situation that threatened to erupt. “Just some junk I thought I'd try to get running again."

The men leered among each other. "And it has fuel?" The frontmost soldier in the group leaned closer. He expressed vehement desire behind his eyes.

Vincent cursed. He waved his hands in a bid to retain control of the situation, but, ultimately, the soldiers were undeterred. It seemed a peaceful solution to the conflict had been rendered impossible. He dropped his hunting rifle with a sigh and surrendered by extending his arms away from his body and splaying his fingers.

The squad leader barked orders to the underlings in his native tongue. One of the men retrieved some rope hanging from a peg protruding from the wall, then confiscated Vincent’s rifle and bound his wrists together behind his back to ensure he was completely defenseless.

Rainbow considered attempting to flee or to stealthily creep away, but all disloyal thoughts abandoned her mind when she witnessed Vincent being shoved and bullied by the three dangerous thugs. He was her only potential friend, and they coerced him with threats of violence.

"Come on." The leader aimed his rifle at her, forcing her to comply. Reluctantly, she stepped in line beside her friend. They were led outside and ordered to march. Vincent was shoved aggressively and he stumbled with a grunt, tripping over his own feet.

Rainbow glanced into the sky as she weighed her options. She concentrated and desperately attempted to devise a plan to resist. Surely without use of her wings, and lacking any tools at her disposal, attempting to overpower three armed soldiers would be an ill-advised plan. However... Her eyes flicked back and forth as she devised a devious scheme. She only required was speed and accuracy. Fortunately, those were skills she had practiced all her life.

“Hey.” She looked up at the armed soldier who marched beside her.

“Hmm?" The man made a quizzical noise and gazed down at her.

“I’m gonna feel bad doing this, buddy, but you are threatening me and my friend with violence, so I think it’s justified at this point. Sorry!” She shifted her weight and, swiftly and precisely, delivered a buck directly into the man’s knee. He crumbled under his own weight with a cry of pain and shock. She kicked his rifle away, then rammed her rear hoof into the second soldier's gut with lightning-fast speed, toppling him onto the ground before he could react.

Vincent threw his entire body weight onto the leader and swept the man off of his feet. They flopped onto the pavement in synchrony. “Shit!” He scrambled onto his knees and wiggled his wrists, straining the ropes which bound his hands together, but there wasn’t enough time for him to free himself.

Noticing a soldier grasping for his rifle hurriedly, Rainbow bucked his arm aside and leapt onto the gun. With a herculean effort and a grunt of exertion, she hefted the immensely heavy and unwieldy device with both forelegs while sitting on her haunches. She barely managed to aim the heavy barrel.

“You're struggling!" One of the soldiers taunted her as he rose to his feet, inched closer, and reached for the weapon.

“You shouldn't have thought I was harmless! Dang, this thing is heavy...” She planted the rifle's stock between her legs to distribute a portion of its weight onto the ground so she could hold it while straining less. Obediently, the soldier ceased inching closer. He scowled.

“Cut him free. He has a knife on his side there. Use it.” She oversaw that the soldier freed Vincent of his bonds. She eyed the other men warily. She coerced those who refused to remain still with threatening motions.

Vincent swiped the hunting knife from the soldier’s grasp and sheathed it safely after his hands were freed. “Give me the gun!” He waved his hands urgently. “Toss it to me! Now!”

She glanced at him, paused with nervous sweat pouring from her forehead, then swung her forelegs and awkwardly tossed the weapon in his direction.

Vincent leapt for the rifle, snapped it from the air, and raised it.

All order was lost, and chaos broke out.

The deafening eruption of explosions made her flinch and cry out. She dove onto the asphalt, cowered, and clamped her hooves over her ears. Alarmingly, gunfire was exchanged all around. Despite her hooves enveloping her ears, her hearing was sensitive enough that the muffled bangs and rapid successive pops caused her to repeatedly flinch. A bullet narrowly zipped past her head and ricocheted off of the pavement with a dramatic ZING!

When the oppressive cracks of gunfire concluded, Rainbow dared to slowly raise her head and look around. She spotted Vincent close by, kneeling and panting stressfully. He waved to signal he was okay. Disoriented and incapable of responding, she could only blink and repeatedly wince at a headache throbbing in her temples.

The world was still. The wind breathed, blowing a lock of her mane into her eyes. She ceased holding her breath and finally released it, then shakily inhaled fresh air.

One tiny glance in the direction of the bodies revealed everything. Discarded rifles. Yellow-green protective garb and helmets. Brown boots. Pale faces. Real, expressive faces, locked in horrific grimaces of anguish. She briefly glimpsed a pair of glassy eyes which stared directly at her before she forced herself to look away. Bile seethed in her throat. “NO!” She bowed her head in a solemn gesture of mourning. Her face scrunched as emotion overwhelmed her and tears leaked from her clenched eyes, streaking down her cheeks and matting her facial fur. A vacuum quaked deep within her core, her stomach curling into a knot and collapsing inwards, eating her alive from the inside out.

When she raised her head, she noticed Vincent unsystematically rummaging through the soldiers’ pockets and pouches for magazines and other useful supplies. She avoided eye contact. As she turned and stumbled a short distance away, she felt his eyes on her.

He retrieved one of the Kalashnikov-style rifles the soldiers had wielded and ejected the curved polymer magazine. He shook it to estimate how full it was, then reinserted it.

Rainbow's mouth fell agape in incredulity at his indifferent attitude. White-hot fury bubbled in her throat, and her body trembled with anger. “You killed them!” She thrusted one of her hooves forward to point accusingly. Hot tears burst from her eyes like lava exploding from an erupting volcano.

Vincent's eyebrows raised in shock. He spread his arm in a gesture that expressed exasperation. “Jesus, they were going to do the same to us! What's your problem?!" His tone was cruel and blunt in its expression, as fine and precise as a honed shaving razor.

“Argh! What's wrong with me?!" Rainbow stomped the pavement so forcefully, it elicited a painful protest from her muscles. “Go jump off a bridge with your wings tied!” She stomped across the road and leapt off of the plateau without a moment of hesitation. The landing was hard and painful. She bent her knees to partially absorb the shock of the impact and grunted with exertion.

She swiped her foreleg across her eyes to brush tears away. With no method of expelling the energy she harbored within, she hyperventilated, pacing in circles until finally collapsing onto her haunches. Her body fell limp, and her head bowed low. The fury within her faded, and all that remained was a cold, lonely sensation of despondency.

VI – Rest

Rain drummed against the forest floor. Water droplets dripped among the leaves as they descended and eventually struck the soil, being absorbed. Rainbow observed the process silently from her shelter beneath the ochre trunk of a curly tree. She shivered in a desperate struggle to retain body heat.

“Rainbow Dash…”

A gust of wind banished the storm clouds, sweeping them away. She rose to her hooves and looked around. “Hello?”

The wind whistled. Chilling mist poured forth, churning and billowing as it pooled on the ground. From the smoke emerged the distinct silhouette of a familiar tall, lithe pony. She didn’t attempt to speak. She merely sat on her haunches, extended one of her forelegs, and motioned welcomingly.

“Luna? O–Oh my gosh, I—!” At a loss for words, Rainbow stuttered, choking. She staggered forward, tripping over her own hooves, and grasped Luna with her forelegs and drew her into a tight embrace.

Princess Luna smiled and reciprocated the hug. She unfurled one of her extensive alicorn-sized wings and gently rested it over her. “I’m so relieved to see you’re alright. I've meditated ceaselessly attempting to locate your mind in the dream realm. You are well and truly lost. It’s a miracle you and I are together tonight as your body rests."

“Is everypony okay?” Rainbow partially withdrew from the hug enough to gaze upward. She blinked rapidly, delaying the tears which threatened to fall from her wetted eyes.

“That's what I like to see. Your first thoughts are of the wellbeing of your friends and family. You’re a good pony, Rainbow. You have a heart of gold inside, even if it's hidden by a tough exterior.” She smiled and tenderly brushed the tip of one of her feathers beneath Rainbow’s eyes to dry them. “When you awaken, I’ll deliver the news that you are alive and in good health."

“Can we… talk for a little bit before then?"

Luna nodded wordlessly.

“I don't know where I am. Everything and everyone around here are so ignorant. One of them named Vincent, he… killed three others. They were the first humans he had seen in years, but... he killed them. He did it without even thinking."

“It seems he was pressured to make a decision quickly by their aggression.” Luna raised her foreleg and waved her hoof. The world which surrounded them melted and dripped into the black infinite abyss like hot candle wax. Their surroundings altered. Rainbow saw Vincent and the soldiers from her own viewpoint. She witnessed him raise the rifle she had reluctantly relinquished to him, and with a draw of the trigger, he…

She tore her eyes away from the gruesome scene and buried her muzzle into Luna’s side below her wing. Her muscles tensed and her ears folded in anticipation of deafening gunshots, but the scene was silent. It faded from view.

“How do you know about all of this?"

“We are in your dream. Our minds are connected, and the dream is the medium that allows us to communicate. Through this tenuous link, I have access to all of your memories, everything you’ve witnessed and experienced."

"He's a monster. He’s selfish. He doesn’t care about anything but himself. He’ll hurt anyone to get what he wants." Rainbow sniffled. Tears welled in her eyes. "I need to leave! I'm next, I know it! I–I ju–just... I don't know where to go!"

Luna gently nuzzled the top of her head between the ears to alleviate her sudden onset of panic.

Rainbow bit her tongue. Several offensive thoughts crossed her mind, words she felt guilty for even considering saying. "He tricked me. He’s only acting this way because he wants someone to be there for him. Years of being alone could make anyone feel desperate. But I'm not that way. I could never be there for someone like that.”

"To be deprived of everything and everyone you once cared for and violently thrust into a foreign world far from home, to suffer there, imprisoned, in isolation and silence…” She gazed into the night sky thoughtfully and sighed sadly. “...that trauma is ruinous. He requires someone to help guide him along the path to redemption. It will be difficult, but not impossible.”

“I can’t! This isn't my job! Anypony else could do this better! I'm not..." She lowered her head. "I'm not a wise pony. Not like my friends. Not like you."

“You’re capable of more than you think.” Luna raised Rainbow’s chin using her feathers and smiled. “You’re courageous. And kind. You’re humble when it matters most. But, most importantly, you’re loyal to just causes. You have to overcome this. I know you will rouse the inspiration—you’re anything but undetermined.”

Rainbow’s eyes wetted as emotion surged within her and threatened to imminently burst forth. “I wanna go home! I’m not ready for this! I was never prepared to try to be friends with someone as awful as him!”

“You’re an Element of Harmony. That is the burden a hero must bear: great suffering for the betterment of others. Besides, there is light within this darkness. You have eyes to see it. ‘Evil’ is but a matter of true intentions.”

"What do you mean? You're too smart for me, Luna." Rainbow glanced aside thoughtfully. Her eyebrows furrowed with frustration. "When can I come home?"

“Locating your mind required rigorous meditation for many days. This means, regrettably, I will likely be unable to locate it again for a long time. You may think of the dream realm like breathable air—it thins across vast distances, like the air atop the summit of a mountain. Everyone is working tirelessly to invent a magical solution, but there's still much research to be done. Until then, I’m afraid we will be separated."

Luna nuzzled Rainbow's cheek affectionately. "The time for you to wake draws near. Don’t think of this as an eternal goodbye. We shall see each other again.” She withdrew from the embrace, stood, and folded her wing against her back. She gradually retreated. As she drew further away, the mist absorbed her. Her form blurred and darkened until she was naught but a silhouette, then a shadow, and, finally, she vanished entirely.

In a clearing, sheltered beneath the shadow of the elevated asphalt plateau, Vincent had trampled the grass and fashioned a cross. A rifle protruded from the ground vertically, surrounded by pairs of boots and crowned with a helmet atop the butt of its stock. It marked a grave which contained multiple bodies. The soil was still fresh and loose.

Rainbow neared and firmly pressed her hoof against the ground, creating a hoofprint-shaped indentation in the soft earth. Then, she plucked a wildflower from the grass and rested it delicately before the grave. She stepped backward to contemplate her new offerings to the memorial.

“I made a mistake. I realize that now. You have to understand, I never wanted this to happen." She bowed her head, closed her eyes, and hushed her breaths, adhering truthfully to the method she had been taught to formally convey respect of the utmost degree. "I can't believe that I'm still standing here, but you're not." She released all of her breath in a long, sad sigh. "Maybe if I had made better choices, then I could have changed that. I'm sorry."

VII – Shame

Vincent sat upright and tugged the chain that dangled from the lamp on the bedside table. The lightbulb switched on and illuminated the small, cozy bedroom. He hesitated momentarily, then breathed and inhaled the scent of lavender that emanated from the clean bedsheets. A breeze blew through the nearby open window and lacy curtains swung in the wind and kissed the floor.

He withdrew his legs from beneath the bedsheets and swung them aside as he assumed a seated position on the edge of the mattress. As his socked feet touched the floor, a loose wooden floorboard nearest to his pillow emitted a raucous squeak that disturbed the tranquil stillness.

“Come back to bed…” a feminine voice implored him sleepily.

“You know I have a long day ahead of me today. It'll take an hour to drive to the park—and that’s without considering traffic.”

“Don’t go. You only get so much time off. Let’s do something together.” Anna drew the bedsheets beneath her chin as she staved off the cold of the room.

“Well, I already made plans with my friends. They’re sort of expecting me to meet them there."

“You always have an excuse.”

“Come on, give me a break.” Vincent leaned over the mattress to kiss her.

There she was, with her facial features caressed by the soft orange glow of the adjacent lamp. Vivid blue eyes, luscious brown hair that spilled over the shoulders, a thin nose, and a subtly-square jawline—they were distinctive features of his girlfriend that he accurately recalled, despite the years that had passed since they had last been in each others' company. When he saw her smile again, it all came violently flooding back. He brushed away tears that gathered beneath his eyes with the tip of a finger.

"That's the thing about last words," he murmured. "They're so... informal."

The winsome smile that adorned her lips conveyed the beauty and blissful ignorance of a woman who wasn't in mourning. "You speak as if I died."

"No... I did. Five years ago." His voice cracked. He swallowed, licked his lips, and stroked and covered his mouth with his fingers as he desperately stifled his emotion. "And you know what? No one will ever know what really happened. Even you."

"Why do you always return here?" Anna gazed around and examined the bedroom and its contents.

"This room is where I died. That's what you think, isn't it? This is where you last saw me. You probably memorialized it. Or it made you feel so sick, you left as soon as you could. You sat by the phone anxiously, listening for its ring, waiting for someone to call and clear up the confusion... How long did it take?"

She looked at the window and listened to the patter of raindrops against the frame and glass. "It sounds like rain."

He blinked. In an instant, as fast as his eyelids could shut and reopen, they were in a new location. Considering the situation was not real, not tangible, he didn't see the shift as anomalous. He hadn't yet decided if the illusory state of unreality he found himself in was a dream or something else entirely. But it hardly mattered.

Anna opened an umbrella and held it above her head. "The city is never quiet like this. Why aren't you remembering the cars or the people?"

Vincent's response was automatic. "In my years of living here, I'd learned to tune the noise out." His gaze wandered across the deserted streets devoid of the local populace and inherent traffic. Along the way, blurry, indistinct silhouettes of a young man and a young woman walked side-by-side down the sidewalks, jogged across crosswalks, and danced merrily through the streets, negligently and with no regard for safety.

As they drew closer, the definition of their forms focused. Facial expressions were plainly visible. The satisfying crackle of subdued sunshower thunder sounded, and, as pleasant summer raindrops fell, the young woman brushed her sopping hair aside to reveal a mirthful grin concealed beneath.

"You didn't need an umbrella then!" he chuckled lightly.

Anna tilted her head in acknowledgement.

"Our house is in that direction, and," he pointed to the nearby yellow, glass-coated highrise, "that's the apartment we thought we'd move into." He paused to reconsider, then adjusted his aim to be slightly lower so he pointed directly at a specific window. "No. Right there."

"..."

He reached into the rear pocket of his jeans and withdrew his wallet, then unfolded and flattened it. He retrieved the small photograph stored within one of the compartments and admired it wistfully. "You're beautiful... I wish I had taken more pictures."

He hugged his torso as he shivered involuntarily. "It's cold. Are you—" His voice cut off abruptly as he rotated to face Anna and noticed she had vanished. "Ann? Anna?!" The familiar street of his home town had vanished. All that remained was claustrophobic darkness that encircled and constricted him like a predatory boa snake.

Below, inside of sidewalk, spanned an infinite black expanse of nothingness. Cautiously, he stepped forward. The frigid air resisted his weight like how magnets repelled one another, so he appeared to nonsensically hover above the void. Overhead, furious thunder rumbled menacingly and storm clouds black with malice diffused to blot out a picturesque night sky dotted with stars.

The sound of breathing caused him to start. He flicked his chin and glanced over his shoulder to investigate. He spotted an unfamiliar figure who rested on her haunches and presented her deep blue back and wings as she refused to turn around to initiate eye contact. He blanched. “W–What? Where am I? God, I’m not— I'm not dead, am I?"

Before her, a rifle surrounded by brown boots and crowned with a helmet protruded from a patch of freshly excavated dirt. Her head was bowed low in a respectful gesture of mourning. One of her ears flicked attentively as she heeded his words. "Not yet." She rotated her head to gaze at him. Her turquoise eyes, dilated with emotion, pierced directly through him. "Concerned for yourself, are you? You worry not for the suffering of others, yet you also stubbornly cling to your sense of self-preservation."

“I’m not—” He frowned and lowered his head shamefully. “You don't know me.”

“In all of my years, banished to the moon in isolation to contemplate, toiling beside my sister to rule Equestria and stave off animosity and dissention, I’ve yet to encounter someone so… cruel. You truly are willing to hurt anyone if you can first justify it, it seems.” Princess Luna pawed at the nonexistent ground and traced little circles with the tip of her ornamented hoof. “Come. Closer.” When he didn’t comply immediately, she illuminated her horn and dragged him with levitation magic. He yelped and wriggled desperately in a bid to escape, but his efforts were futile.

“Kneel.” She physically forced him down and shoved him onto the invisible ground. He grunted uncomfortably, folded his legs, and sat.

“Watch.”

“Watch what?” He looked around. He touched his shins and shrugged his shoulders anxiously.

Luna waved her hoof. As commanded, the dream realm was assaulted by gusts of warm air. Grains of sand were lifted by the rushing wind and blown into his face. Vincent sputtered and coughed and scratched at his face. When his eyes opened, their surroundings had shifted. He saw sun-bleached walls, pillars, and roofs. Beyond sprawled dusty-brown sunbaked hills and hardy succulents that poked out from the ground. The temperature was unbearably hot; the climate was arid, eager to siphon moisture from the body. A path split from the main dirt road and led to a concrete landing. The front door had been demolished.

The memories of the chaotic raid assaulted him without his consent in uncompromising detail. Late at night, 4:00 A.M. Targets were asleep and never saw them coming. A crash as the door was flung open. Boots stomping. Orders being shouted. A hail of gunfire. A young girl who cowered and wailed in horror.

“That night of her life, you were a monster to her."

Vincent thoroughly scrutinized his hands to verify he wasn't clutching his assault rifle. His flaccid arms drooped onto his thighs listlessly. “I di–didn't... I didn’t hurt her."

“But you killed her father. And for what? What meaningful resolution came of it?"

His hands balled into fists, and he gazed at the parched soil despondently. “I’ve been asking myself that exact same question since..." He grimaced and shook his head.

The breeze swung a small bell suspended from a rope, which caused it to ring subtly. The silence that followed the screams of anguish was deafening.

Luna gestured with her hoof, and the dream realm shifted. Before them stretched a dense forest of impenetrable undergrowth. The air was moist and teemed with noise. All around were the sounds of wild animals as they screamed, ate, and fought while they competed among each other for survival. Ahead stretched a barren, orange-tinted expanse of withered flora that contrasted sharply with the surrounding environment. Chemicals designed to decimate flora. What was once a dense part of the jungle had been rendered to naught but a shadow of its former self.

Bursts of rifle and machine gun fire rattled. Voices screamed indistinct orders amid the mayhem. The earth quaked as explosions boomed distantly and gigantic fiery clouds rose above the jungle canopy. The distinctive roar of planes soaring overhead echoed. Through eyes wide in dismay, Vincent beheld the world awash with fire, decay, and death. Spilt human blood seeped into the soil.

"My father..."

The jungle faded from view as it melted away like a fleeting afterimage. Darkness greeted them. The turbulent storm rumbled, and lightning flashed in the night sky.

Luna released the tension from her shoulders with an accompanying sigh. “A doomed cycle, is it? Of brutality humans are fated to repeat forever?"

Their eyes met. He gazed into her enthralling turquoise irises, and, for a moment, he considered raising his voice and speaking to utter some pitiful attempt at an explanation or justification, but he cowardly remained silent.

"You knew, didn't you? You always knew. But you never tried to fight it."

He hung his head disgracefully. "Yeah."

"My sister was wise to recognize I required time in solitude to understand the truth. I held fiery anger inside of myself for so long, until, eventually, it consumed me. But I was wrong. In the end, in my banishment, I realized my fatal mistake: I had transformed into a monster not of my own volition. In the end, when Twilight Sparkle and her friends showed me the error of my ways, my heart pined for Celestia so that my grief was inconsolable. Unlike my younger, misguided self, blinded by envy and wrath, I don't believe you deserve to be stranded like this."

"How long were you banished?"

"1000 years." Her soft facial expression betrayed the guilt she withheld. "In the end, the coherence was illuminating, like nothing you have ever experienced yet. You will understand one day. We experience phases in our lives as we grow. All are temporary. When this phase of your life ends... well, I wish I could be there beside you."

"You're saying I have to do all of this... alone?"

"For the time being, you won't be." She smiled and coiled a wing around his shoulders. "If not for our memories, loneliness would prevail in times of solitude. I hope, later, when you need, you'll recall this memory."

Though hesitant initially, he lifted his arms when he was ready and wrapped them around her torso to reciprocate the embrace.

The thunder boomed, quieter then, as it retreated. The storm clouds parted to reveal the stars that glistened and the moon that gleamed brilliantly. They withdrew from their mutual embrace and sat side-by-side, content with merely existing for the brief moment of respite, and admired the picturesque celestial beauty together.

VIII – Rainbow Alone

The collapsed tower before her laid neglected in the dirt, embraced by tall grass. The dilapidated ruins were decayed, overgrown with interloping flora. Countless years of exposure to harsh weather had marred the stone walls and interior wood.

After she'd fled the small shantytown and angrily left Vincent, how long had she walked? At least the remainder of that day, plus some of the next night and, after the sun rose, a few hours after that. With how repetitive the environment was, but the energy and motivation from spite alone carried her far; she wondered if her absence hurt him. Would he care enough to wonder if she were alright? How long would she have to stay away for him to? Or would he never care at all?

Though, even as Rainbow proceeded to explore an intriguing new landmark that she had spotted earlier, she, inevitably, kept him in her thoughts. She wondered if he had ever been so far from his impromptu, improvised home. Did he know where she was? Did he have any inkling where she had gone? Again, did he care at all to even think those thoughts? It had been an unconscious whim, and when she pressed onward, she forcefully dismissed it.

Within the walls of the ruin, her hooves padded on torn, faded red carpet as she explored in her search for recent signs of occupancy or valuables to loot. The place had definitely seen better days, she internally mused as she brushed her hoof against one of the weathered stone walls. Several loose pebbles detached and clattered against the wood floor.

She picked over the corpses of destroyed furniture and used her nose to gently flip the top cover of a book. The ancient spell tome contained illegible text and unrecognizable symbols and diagrams, its weathered pages stained and crinkly. She kicked aside the remains of a broken porcelain mug carelessly, focused on her detective work.

An opulent statue stood proudly, positioned at the rear of the ruins, and absorbed sunlight. It depicted the form of a lithe unicorn mare with long, elegant legs and two curved, spiraling horns. No cutiemark. Her delicate features were eternally preserved in fine marble, blemished from sustained exposure to the unrelenting dual suns of Nowhere. Vines had long since overgrown and obfuscated the words that had been chiseled into the base.

Adjacent to the statue led a flight of winding stone stairs into dark depths incapable of being penetrated by the sunlight. She directed her gaze into the uncanny black abyss and gulped fearfully. It could be a grave, and the statue could be somepony's memorial. Surely, it would be inappropriate to desecrate such a site...

A whoosh of air behind her scared her and made her start. She glanced over her shoulder to investigate. The aged wicks of candles affixed in a gold candelabra she had previously overlooked had inexplicably ignited.

"Hello?"

Her call received no response. Cautiously, she lifted the candelabra using her healthy left wing and delved into the crevice that led beneath the surface. She held the candles aloft to illuminate where she descended. The flight of stairs spiraled as they wound deep into the earth. Sticky webs brushed against her body as she passed through strands of cobwebs. Her ears swiveled as she listened carefully, but she detected nothing but the sound of her own hoofsteps against the hard stone.

The flight of stairs led to a decrepit chamber. She swept the dim glow of her candles across the dusty stone walls. Depictions of pillars, arches, and other architectural artwork had been painstakingly engraved into the walls. They were obscured by cobwebs, clusters of unlit candles, and antique pottery. She ignited the abandoned candles as she passed with her own source of fire to create a visible trail that indicated the path to the exit.

An eerie glow that shone from the rear of a second chamber gave Rainbow pause. It was the only source of artificial light below the surface she had yet encountered. She cautiously neared to investigate.

"Wh–Whoa..." As she spotted the light's origin, the fur along her spine raised with alarm.

The glow emitted from a creature who was inert in a confining position with its form curled unnaturally. It was composed of shimmering, scintillating golden light that illuminated the altar it laid imprisoned atop. Its silhouette vaguely resembled a lithe unicorn with long legs and twin spiraling horns, but it pulsated intermittently, swirling and wavering like wispy clouds, as if a mere stiff breeze would be enough to rend its ethereal form apart. It was bound by lengths of opaque blackness that enveloped its limbs and horns.

The creature raised its head. It bore two small, shiny white orbs where eyes would have been positioned normally. "Be not afraid." The voice appeared to come from no particular source. She almost thought she had imagined it.

Rainbow hesitated as she gazed intently into the creature’s eyes. To be imprisoned, to kneel, fastened with chains, on a stone altar, for Celestia knew how long... Who deserved that? Pity welled within her. Her fear melted away, and she felt, undeniably, that they required her assistance. She trotted and ascended the stairs until she reached the final few steps, then set down her candelabra and stood before the creature. "Do you need help?"

The creature maintained persistent eye contact. Their small white orbs were intelligent and piercing, yet emotionless. Despite earnestly attempting to determine what emotions the creature felt, she couldn't conclude anything concrete.

Cautiously, she stepped forward and placed her hoof onto the altar. The black tendrils coiled tighter around the golden creature’s extremities as if emboldened by her approach. Their eyes widened. Although they were silent, Rainbow thought she saw fear in their expression. She abandoned her reservations, rushed forward and circled the creature to examine them from every angle. “How do I help? Tell me, please!”

Without guidance, she had no choice but to improvise. She placed a hoof against one of the black tendrils that bound the creature to test the strength of its grip. Immediately, in a fashion so rapid it startled her, the tendrils evaporated into smoke. The creature uncurled their form and rose. Their long, graceful legs dangled as they hovered several feet above the altar in a nonsensically defiance of gravity. "Courageous one," the voice that occupied her head purred contentedly. "Charitable one. For thy deed, a fair recompense is in due order." They bowed respectfully.

"Uhh, 'recompense'?" Rainbow echoed the unfamiliar word questioningly.

The creature was motionless and silent.

She cocked her head to the side as she examined their ethereal form. "You look like one of those angels Vincent told me about..."

“Such foolish faith we associate with not.” The creature's white orbs narrowed. “He was responsible for a tribulation. A slaughter. Ye mortal beings art alike. Humans…” The creature pronounced the unfamiliar word imprecisely. “From peculiar lands afar they hail, howbeit, their manner... art not dissimilar to our and our sisters’ erewhile we were of flesh and blood. Thou should deem fell deeds not so in the pursuit of extraordinary knowledge, no? Yet not for he, insolent one, vain one."

"I, uh... I'm sorry, I don't know. Wait, how do you know who Vincent is? You—" Rainbow intentionally cut herself off. It had occurred to her, suddenly, that when she conversed with god-like beings like Discord or the golden specter before her, traditional logic wasn't fixed and predetermined. She resolved to not dedicate too long trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. “Your sisters? Flesh and blood? What do you mean?"

“We beseech ye: ye shalt free our sisters. Four remain in this world. We fear the worst hast come to pass. Trapped, perchance. Prisoned in the earth, as we art now. Or..." The creature hesitated.

"Or what? What could be worse than that?"

The creature was silent.

“Where are they?” Rainbow nodded resolutely. "I'll try my best to help."

“It summons thee. Thou shalt hear the call.” The creature bowed. “Fare thee well, charitable one, and beware. Accoutre thyself in sapphire. May we and thou chance to meet hereafter."

Rainbow was disappointed to witness the creature vanish. The ethereal glow that emanated from their body faded, but their disappearance coincided with all of the candles scattered across the chamber igniting simultaneously.

She decided, wholeheartedly, that she had done a good deed when she decided to free the mysterious ghost-like creature. If she were in the same predicament, she would expect a stranger to help her. It seemed only natural to her.

A glint of light in the corner of her eye attracted her attention. A brilliant sapphire gem mounted in a gold setting reflected candlelight. The pendant was suspended from a gold chain as it rested, neglected, on the altar, sheltered beneath a set of ribs. A forsaken skeleton laid at the precise location the angelic creature had rose and vanished from.

"Oh..." Rainbow's ears folded sadly. "I'm sorry you were down here so long and nopony came to rescue you."

She delicately plucked the pendant and rotated it to examine it. As she observed the immaculate sapphire shine, the familiar sensation of magic within her outstretched and interweaved with magic contained within the artifact. By second-nature, she wielded the enchanted artifact in her hoof, and it glowed and emitted subtle flickers of violet haze. One of the lit candles on a corner of the altar was encompassed by a purple-and-green aura yet refused to levitate in defiance of her order.

She tilted her head to the side and frowned. "Wow, Twilight made casting spells sound easy..." She raised the pendant above her head with her wings, but, before she slipped the chain over her ears, she hesitated. The purple-and-green magical aura had been vaguely familiar, but, then, after retrospection, she identified it as the infamous appearance of dark magic.

She lowered the amulet. Despite its deceptive innocent veneer, it harbored powerful, nefarious energy. She wrestled with the prospects of abandoning the magical artifact or keeping it to use for her own purposes. By her numerous encounters with dark magic that had spanned years of her service as an Element of Harmony, she had personally witnessed its terrifying capabilities. Yet, she knew it could serve as an invaluable aid in her quest to return home if utilized properly...

In one swift motion, she lifted the pendant over her head, slipped the chain past her ears, and suspended the necklace from her neck. The chain wasn't too loose or snug. It fit perfectly.

"I'll keep it safe for you now that you're…” She gazed at the forlorn remains crumpled upon the altar, then looked up at the ceiling. “I hope that's what you'd want."

IX – Solace

The source of the smoke she had used for guidance to return was a small fire that had been ignited near the sealed entrance to the auto shop below the tin-sheet eave. A blurry figure crouched near the fire, but, in spite of the distance between them, Rainbow knew who they were. She drew near and collapsed onto her haunches with a weary sigh beside the fire.

“Hey.” She gazed into the crackling flames and refused to initiate eye contact.

Vincent reached into a pocket of his blue jeans and retrieved the carton of cigarettes. He ignited one over the fire, then drew it to his lips and puffed liberally. When Rainbow inhaled, the vile second-hand smoke invaded her lungs and overwhelmed her, which triggered a rapid succession of coughs and heaves.

He withdrew the cigarette from his mouth, extended his arm outward, and tapped the cigarette to discard some of the fresh ashes. When he was finished with it, he flicked the filter aside to discard of it.

Rainbow raised her voice. "I saw that mark you made for the grave."

“Crosses like that are supposed to be honorable. I figured... they deserved it, right? Even if they did make a stupid choice.” Vincent reached for his carton of cigarettes again, but he changed his mind midway through the motion and lowered his hand. “I, uh... I'm sorry about what happened."

Her ears folded guiltily. “I should be the one apologizing. I’m sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said to you."

“It's fine. I’m not mad at you.”

Her eyes bulged and her pupils dilated with emotion. “But I said some terrible things..."

He shook his head dismissively. “I get it. People do that when they’re mad. They get emotional. But you don’t get into an argument with someone and break up. You pause and come back after you've thought it out. And you've thought it out now, right? You've been gone since yesterday."

She gazed into the crackling fire. In the silence that followed as she remained quiet and didn’t offer a reply, she was alone with only her unsolicited thoughts. Her imagination depicted the wavering flames as semblances of the soldiers. She visualized the facial expressions she had witnessed the moment before she had closed her eyes and everything had went black. Desperation. Shock. Pain. Slumped on the ground in the dirt like a heavy sack of cold coins. The vivid memories furiously that churned within her threatened to explode.

But…

She blinked, refocusing. The flames before her were inanimate and inexpressive, nothing but burning wood. She looked upward. “Hey, did you also have a dream last night?”

The unexpected question attracted his attention. “No. Why?" His eyes snapped to hers, and he fidgeted anxiously, his fingers flexing as his hands wrung in his lap. Without so much as a warning, before Rainbow could protest, he was on his feet, and he strode across the parking lot.

She observed for a moment as he walked several paces away from the fire and disappeared behind an abandoned vehicle, then she stood to pursue. “Hey.” She approached stealthily so as to not disturb him, placing her hooves delicately against the hard asphalt to generate minimal noise. He glanced over his shoulder, and when he initiated eye contact, she firmly affixed her eyes onto his and refused to relent. “What did she say to you?”

“What?!” He froze. His eyes widened in shock and his pupils dilated. “How do you know?"

“I talked to her too! Luna’s just trying to help. She's a wise pony. She has more experience than you and me combined. I trust her. You should, too."

He sighed and knocked the rear of his head firmly against the vehicle’s hard metal body that he leaned against as he chastised himself. Despite the fact he didn't wear his helmet, his dense skull still made an audible clang. “I shot them because they would have done the same to you and me. That's why." He curled his legs beneath himself and sat on the ground. "She was furious. She hated my guts. I could feel it. She looked... like you, the way you did yesterday. But… she forgave me, even after everything."

She sidled close and sat beside him. She knew when she looked into his eyes that an idea had surfaced in his mind. It was evident by his facial expression.

"Did she tell you?" His tone was a soft murmur.

"Tell me what?"

He lifted his hands and scrutinized them carefully, then heaved a soft sigh. "Nothing. It's nothing, alright? Don't worry about it."

X – Adventure

Rainbow planted her rear hooves firmly against the concrete and performed a mighty heave as she the rear bumper. Unfortunately, the steel truck withstood her endeavor and remained stationary.

"I told you, on three," Vincent insisted. "It's in neutral; this won't be too hard if we push at the same time."

"Holy haystacks, this thing is heavy!" She paused to breathe and sweep aside her colorful bangs, then nodded to indicate she was ready. She braced herself and reassumed her position.

"One, two, three!"

With a grunt of exertion, she shoved the bumper. In synchrony, their substantial combined strength budged the huge vehicle. As the wheels rotated, its gathering momentum aided their efforts. When the rear bumper passed the auto shop's metal sliding garage door, Rainbow removed her hooves, relaxed, and released an unabashed weary sigh.

"Nice job." Vincent sighed and wiped his brow with the rear of his hand. "Head to the driver's seat. The key's in the ignition. I'll give you the signal." The engine of the car he had plundered from the soldiers ticked over nearby, and its battery was connected to his truck’s battery with crocodile clips. He stepped into the driver's compartment and depressed the stolen car's accelerator to rev the engine. It was securely parked, so the vehicle remained immobile throughout the process. Electricity soared through the wires to, in theory, provide the truck with just enough juice to start once. "Go ahead, start it now!"

Compared to the abandoned vehicles parked outside of the auto shop, the pickup's proportions were ludicrous. The step to climb into the driver's seat was so high off of the ground, Rainbow elected to jump into the seat instead. She hesitated for a moment and looked around in awe. The interior of the vehicle was incomprehensibly complex. Many buttons, levers and mirrors everywhere.

She reached beneath the steering wheel where she had been instructed to look and rotated the key in the ignition. The engine sputtered momentarily before it erupted with a furious roar that made her jump in fright. The chassis vibrated so aggressively she felt her body gently quiver. The vehicle's barely restrained power was intimidating.

Vincent cackled. He leapt from the stolen car and pumped his arm into the air in victory. "It's alive! It’s alive! Now I know what it feels like to be God!"

Rainbow grinned enthusiastically and leapt out of the driver’s seat, hopping onto the pavement below. "It's a real monster, alright!"

"Okay! One more check; I'm going to make sure everything’s running smoothly." Vincent crawled beneath the pickup, tools in hand. When he reemerged, his white shirt and hands were splattered with black oil and possibly gasoline.

She shuddered in disgust. "What the heck were you doing under there?"

He shot her a thumbs up.

"So, that means we’re good? Can we go?"

"Well, in my professional opinion, I say this with confidence: I have no fucking idea. This pickup was sitting unattended for God-knows-how-long. Best we can do is cross our fingers and hope nothing vital fails." He wiped his hands on a rag, then unclamped the crocodile clips from the truck’s battery and tossed them haphazardly away, their purpose fulfilled. He slammed the hood shut, then jogged into the workshop beneath the lifted sliding door one final time.

While she waited for her companion to return, she leapt onto the passenger's seat, sat on her haunches, and shut the door. She tapped her hooves against the hard dashboard to create a little rhythm.

When Vincent returned and climbed into the driver's seat, she noticed he wore new clothes. His wiry frame made the scavenged yellow-greenish military uniform and combat helmet he donned appear heavy, slightly baggy, and uncomfortable. The salvaged clothing had more pockets and was tougher, which provided more protection. Though macabre, it was also, indisputably, a logical decision. Rainbow refused to acknowledge it or consider the implications. The very concept of making progress toward escaping Nowhere and returning home was exhilarating, and she didn't want to ruin the moment.

"You're wearing those again? With the chain? What are they?"

He brushed his fingers against his dog tags. "Yeah. These are my old tags, the ones I wore back in the day when I was still in service. One's got my name printed there. Other information, too."

"Real fancy." She reclined in her seat and gazed through the windshield. Fortunately, after she adjusted the passenger seat to its maximum elevation, she could comfortably see through the windshield to the ground below.

“The Initiator is roomy, right? Comfortable?” He adjusted his seat slightly.

Her eyes flicked over at him, and she firmly shook her head. “I don't care how many times you say it, you aren't convincing me that isn't a dumb name."

“Hey, every cool car has to have a cool driver and a fittingly cool name.” He raised his hand and counted with individual fingers. “Max Rockatansky’s Interceptor. Doc’ Brown’s ‘81 DeLorean. Frank Bullitt’s ‘68 Mustang.”

“The 'Interceptor’ sounds pretty cool, actually,” she conceded. “But this thing is silver. Silver isn’t a cool color. It barely even counts as a color, actually.”

“Firstly, it's steel, not silver, and secondly, we’re sticking with my idea and you’re gonna shut up, how about that?"

"How about I think you like this big thing because you’re compensating?” Rainbow smirked briefly to express she joked. "So, will it be fine in the grass? There's no roads."

"Roads?" He plucked a pair of black-tinted sunglasses from the dashboard and flicked them open, then fitted them over his eyes. "Where we're going, we don't need roads.” He snapped his fingers and pointed in her general direction. “Alright, click it or ticket."

“What?” She looked around, though she was unsure exactly what to search for.

He waved his hand dismissively. “Ah, fuck it, whatever. You don't need a seatbelt. I’m a good driver. ” He motioned to the center console behind the gearshift. “Open that up. Pull the little handle. The CD cases. Yeah, those, the plastic squares, grab me a few.” When he was passed the stacks of cases, he flipped through them effortlessly as if he knew precisely what he searched for. “Perfect.” He tapped the cover of a plastic case and, with a finger, traced a lightning bolt that soared across a dark patch of clouds.

Rainbow leaned over the gearshift and squinted as she struggled to read the small font printed on the case he had selected. "What's Thin Liz—"

"You'll see." He inserted the CD into its designated slot in the dashboard and spun a dial to select a specific song on the album. He shifted into reverse, rotated the steering wheel, and reversed the Initiator until its beautiful steel hood pointed north. He shifted into drive, and the engine purred eagerly in response.

A riff of harsh, grating electric guitars sounded loudly through the pickup’s sound system. Rainbow winced. For the first initial few seconds, she considered the noise barely tolerable. Then the rhythmic drums kicked into gear. A squealing high note made her ears flop painfully.

"Felt a chill on my backbone," he sung along with the male vocalist as he rested the sole of his trail boot lightly over the truck's accelerator pedal. He hesitated as he patiently waited for the ideal moment, with his toe tapping to the beat, then slammed the gas. The pickup’s tires screeched against the pavement briefly before they caught and launched the truck across the parking lot at a ludicrous speed. Rainbow yelped and clutched her seat in horror.

The truck rocketed off of the pavement, landed onto the ramp with a thump, and accelerated the entire way down like they descended the apex of the world's fastest, most insane, most unregulated and lawsuit-prone roller coaster. Vincent whooped and hollered insanely, tilting his head and arching his back. "Stone cold sweat!” he sang along gleefully.

When the Initiator struck the hill at the base of the ramp, it launched upward with a surging VRROOOMM!, sailed through the air magnificently, and collided with the ground with a deafening CRASH!. The truck rattled loudly as it apparently threatened to violently shatter into pieces, but, fortunately, the superior suspension absorbed some of the force of the impact. Rainbow was launched upward and struck her head hard against the pickup’s solid metal roof, which elicited an unconscious squawk of pain from her throat.

"Cold, cold sweat! Nothing left to lose!" Vincent flicked the steering wheel right briefly before he clamped the wheel at 5 o'clock and whipped it to the left as far as it could rotate. He guided the vehicle so it performed a graceful 180 degree rotation, then he flicked the steering wheel to the right to straighten their trajectory to ensure the truck didn't fishtail. Rainbow was flung against the passenger's door by centrifugal force, and her muzzle smashed against the glass of the window. She moaned, disoriented.

They tore south, going hell-for-leather at a velocity that would make a professional drag racer faint. The truck's wide tires flung up dirt and pebbles as it practically flattened the very earth itself and created grooves in the soil like carriage wheels in fresh wet mud. A massive cloud of dust billowed behind them.

A blistering guitar solo blared from the Initiator's sound system. The pickup’s powerful V8 engine roared in tune with the meritorious solo as Vincent slammed the accelerator. The truck zoomed over another hill and sailed through the air, and electric guitars wailed high notes and screeched beautifully. Like an angel who ascended to heaven, the glorious vehicle had sprouted sacred wings as it sung along in harmony with the melody.

The song concluded with an aggressive pounding of drums. Vincent cackled madly.

"Slow down!!” Rainbow yelped and cringed in terror as they weaved between obstacles and barely avoided head-on collision after head-on collision. Each tree trunk audibly ZOOMED! past as it was narrowly evaded, and the air whipped against the chassis audibly.

“Alright, alright! Keep your pants on.” He tapped lightly on the brake. The Initiator decelerated responsively until they cruised at a comfortable 40 mph.

Gentle chuckles originating from Rainbow evolved into howling laughter. "O-Oh my gosh, t-that was so... awesome!" The adrenaline that swamped her system by the stressful situation was invigorating. As a daredevil at heart, once her expectations had been calibrated, she desperately wanted the ride to be pushed to its absolute limits again.

"Yeah. That one was great, right?" Vincent effortlessly steered with one hand and ejected the CD, then reinserted it into its case. “I guess the manager had good taste in music.”

“Watch where we’re going.”

He balanced glancing upward occasionally to monitor the way ahead and expertly weave the truck between trees, stumps, boulders, and other obstacles in their path with glancing intermittently in her direction to catch her concerned magenta gaze.

“Hey! Watch where we’re going!”

“Relax! Driving in traffic is harder than this. Trees don't move! I could do this with my eyes closed.” Vincent returned both hands to the wheel.

“Rather you didn’t do that, actually. Can I choose a song instead?”

“Pick Elton John. I love his ‘73 album.”

“Nuh-uh, I want to choose.” Rainbow flipped through the CD cases slowly as she appreciated the artwork that adorned each cover. When she reached a blank case, however, she frowned. The plastic was translucent, which allowed her to gaze directly through to the CD inside. “This one’s blank.”

“Yeah, because he burned that one. You should probably just pick another. There could be anything on there."

Curiosity overwhelmed her. Rainbow inserted the CD into the player in the dash and smashed a few buttons as she ignorantly repeated the actions she had watched Vincent perform out of order.

“That’s the eject. No, that one. That one’s play.”

“Why is that the start symbol? It’s just a triangle!"

An acoustic guitar intro and soft vocals, quickly followed by an electric guitar riff and a rhythmic drum accompaniment. It was a departure from the last rock song. Less aggressive, more restrained. “Hey, wait, don’t touch anything. This is 'Take It On the Run'.” Vincent rotated the knob to adjust the volume. He quieted and gripped the steering wheel securely, focused on driving. His other arm drooped. His padded elbow leaned on the center console.

As they neared their destination, he pressed the brake pedal lightly, and with a harsh grinding of wheels against earth, the pickup decelerated and halted. The song concluded with a reiteration of the gentle intro, with a brief acoustic guitar section and a repeat of the intro lyrics.

Rainbow silently reflected on the music she had experienced. The quality was... unexpected, to say the least. "Hey... you guys actually write pretty good music. That was catchy." She hesitated, then glanced out of the passenger's side window. "Why'd we stop? Where are we?"

"I wanted to show this place to you before we move on. Go ahead and take a look. Just stay away from the edge."

She shrugged and nodded in acknowledgement, then opened the door and hopped to the ground below.

The first abnormal quality of the surrounding area she noticed was the jet-black rock that ringed the cliff edge. There was no transition; the earth yielded to rock immediately. It definitely appeared unnatural.

She approached the precipice cautiously to assure she didn't slip, and her mouth dropped agape when she saw beyond the edge. It was an enormous effervescent ocean of opaque, vivid-green sludge that extended as far and wide as her eyes could witness. Huge bubbles inflated, engorged, and burst on the surface, which belched toxic black gas into the atmosphere. The jet-black rim of rock that ringed the sea was uniquely resistant to the corrosive properties of the sludge and, thus, was capable of containing it.

"Whoa." Rainbow kicked a nearby rock over the edge and watched it be absorbed instantaneously.

The driver's side door slammed. Vincent approached from the rear and stepped alongside her. "Yeah. I remember my reaction when I first saw this." He eyed her shocked facial expression and chuckled. "I probably looked a little something like that."

"It's kinda scary. It looks sorta... alive."

"There's scarier stuff out there, trust me. But this is pretty unique, though. I figured we might as well stop, since we were heading in this direction anyway, and we're not coming back here any time soon."

She plucked a single blue feather from her wing and released it. It floated on a gentle breeze and descended into the pool below. The infernal guck absorbed the delicate feather, then spat furiously and emitted bursts of hot green glop like grease from hissing bacon frying on a pan. It disintegrated the morsel instantly, almost hungrily.

Rainbow shivered with great dread and fascination.

XI – Interlope

They drove southward until they hit a wall. It was a giant mountain, a steep cliff of rock that blocked their path. They were forced to drive northwest in an attempt to circumvent the insurmountable obstacle.

They drove until the dual suns of Nowhere disappeared below the horizon and chilling mist spilled forth from the forest. They stopped to rest for the evening.

Rainbow shivered and scooted closer to the inelegant fire they had created. It was no more than a bundle of twigs set alight, but it emitted pleasant warmth and staved off the chill of the fog.

"It's cold tonight, isn't it?"

Vincent leaned against the trunk of an ochre curly tree, puffing a cigarette and exhaling smoke. "Maybe a little. I'm wearing two layers of clothes, though. You're naked."

"But it's summer, right? It was so hot earlier today."

He withdrew the cigarette from his mouth and tapped it lightly with his index finger to discard ashes. "Try not to think too hard about it."

She huddled near the fire and rubbed her extremities. Her wings fluttered as she shivered.

He snickered. "You look like a dying wasp. I packed some blankets if you want some."

Before she could reply, a gust of chilling air doused their fire, and the cherry of Vincent's cigarette extinguished. He rolled his thumb over his lighter's metal wheel to summon sparks and ignited it once again, then puffed

In the pause that followed, Rainbow had the audacity to believe the weather had subsided. Then another blast of chilly air struck her. The air inexplicably came from the south, despite the fact they had specifically chosen their camping spot because it was adjacent to the southern rock wall so it would serve as a natural windbreak. She stood to investigate.

When Vincent noticed her movement, he scrambled to the pickup to retrieve a jar of fireflies.

The fog hampered visibility, but, fortunately, the dim glow of Nowhere’s moon aided minimally in the illumination of their surroundings. Rainbow identified the wide mouth of a cave before them, nestled behind camouflage of dangling vines and dense undergrowth. Another wave of chilly air validated her suspicions: there was something magical inside of the cave that expelled the cold air. "I... think there’s something magical in there. It’s just a gut feeling I have. We should check it out. Maybe it's what we've been looking for."

Vincent shook the jar of fireflies he clutched to awaken them from their slumber. "It's not that I don't have faith in you, Dash, but... your sixth sense hasn't exactly been spot-on accurate so far." He paused, then shrugged and offered the jar to her. "Screw it. Hold the light for me."

Fog that originated from outside spilled through the cave mouth and pooled on the floor. Residual twilight glinted on the walls eerily. Rainbow intentionally raised her foreleg and clopped her hoof against the grey stone, and the loud sound echoed, bouncing briefly before being absorbed by the black void.

"You must be freezing." Vincent walked alongside her while he clutched his rifle securely in both hands, prepared to react to any dangerous situations should they arise.

Rainbow tucked her multicolored tail between her rear legs as she shivered. “Yeah, maybe a little." She gently tapped her jar of orange fireflies in an attempt to persuade them to generate more light, but they were unconvinced.

"Wait." He thrusted his palm vertically in a 'halt' gesture, then cautiously approached the precipice of a vertical drop before them. He stepped carefully and deliberately to assure he didn't slip. “Light, please.”

She neared the precipice and gazed down into the hole. Predictably, the dim glow of the jar of fireflies in her wing failed to properly illuminate the bottom. The opaque darkness was impenetrable.

"Watch your step." He circumnavigated the obstacle slowly and cautiously to avoid the danger of tripping and falling.

"Don't have to tell me twice. Geez. This place must go down pretty far." She shimmied around the hole. "Gosh, it's dark. This place sure looks like Tartarus, but, dang, I really wish it glowed like it, too."

"I got a flashlight just in case. We'll be fine.” Vincent tested the flashlight attachment mounted to the rail on the handguard of his Kalashnikov rifle. Confirming it was functional, he deactivated it in order to conserve its meager charge. "Are you afraid of the dark?"

"No, not normally," she protested. "It's just... it sounds like..." A wave of cold air washed over her, and she trembled. "It sounds like breathing.”

"The cave is alive!" He mocked her mercilessly and smirked.

She stopped walking and pondered the prospect. “Don't pretend you aren't scared, too. You can't lie.” She kicked some small stones with a hoof in an attempt to distract herself from her fright.

“No, not really. This isn't a horror movie—I'm not scared of the dark because I already know what's there. Most creatures in Nowhere aren't much of a threat. I can keep them off of us, no problem."

“Movies?”

“Film, you know? Moving pictures?" Vincent sighed in a bittersweet fashion as he engaged in nostalgic remembrance. As they took a brief break, he halted and leaned against the wall. "Hey, if we make it out together, you want to watch some with me? My dad introduced me to some old classics. I could share ‘em with you if you'd be interested.”

“What makes you think we’ll be together? Best case scenario is... we both go home, right?”

“Oh." He pursed his lips.

“Well, if it means anything, yeah, I’d like to hang out with you and try some of your movies." Rainbow was silent momentarily. “You and me, we're not... We weren’t ever meant to be together, you know. I hated you the first few days I was here. Sorry, I just... ” She considered retracting her words, believing she had gone too far, but Vincent spoke and interrupted her doubtful thoughts.

“I know. I get it. It was hard enough for me to believe this was real, so, I get why you think the way you do. You are different from me. We came from different places, didn't we?" He trailed off and left the thought incomplete.

Rainbow was unsure how to respond to such a remark. She walked in silence as she considered what little knowledge of Vincent’s world he had divulged. She pondered information about his home she had inferred without any explicit explanations. It sounded like... chaos and anarchy. Definitely not a place where she would want to live, and one she perhaps couldn't tolerate at all. But that didn't make the prospect of losing her friend any easier to accept.

"What about her?"

"I know. I was just thinking about that, too." He sighed. "I don't think I'm going to have the ability to choose what happens with us, so... I hope I can see her again."

"I wish you could be there, too." That was the implication for both of them, she thought.

The tunnel broadened into a cavern with a ground scattered with stalagmites and encrusted with a flat sheet of opaque ice. The illumination provided by Rainbow's orange fireflies reflected brilliantly off of the smooth teal ice and cast blueish-greenish light onto the walls of the cave.

"Whoa—!" Her hooves slipped. She scrambled on the unstable surface in an attempt to regain traction, but, inevitably, she fell onto her flank. Her glass jar clattered noisily onto the hard surface and skidded away.

Vincent snickered. He observed from the safety of the mouth of the cavern and silently judged her blunder from afar.

"Hey, I can hear you over there! Shut up! This is a lot slippier than it looks." She stood slowly to avoid slipping and carefully approached her jar with her healthy wing extended to maintain her balance. When in range, she bowed her neck and plucked it from the ice with her teeth delicately. "Phew..." Her flank was freezing. Her body quaked as she shivered, and she hugged her torso with her wing in a desperate attempt to retain her body heat.

"Try not to do that again, alright?"

Rainbow transferred the jar from her mouth to her wing. She attempted to walk as she gingerly placed one hoof in front of the other. Unfortunately, due either to her body as it trembled involuntarily as she kept herself warm or the lack of sufficient traction on the slick ground, one misstep proved to be fatal. She slipped again and was propelled, hurtling and yelling, over the precipice of an unseen hole down into a pitch-black void. She tumbled on the way down. Her ribs struck a hard surface, and her body weight compressed her chest, which forced a sharp squawk from her throat as oxygen rapidly evacuated her lungs. Once she finally collapsed onto the bottom of the fissure, her jar of fireflies quickly followed. They crashed against the hard rock ground and smashed loudly, and the delicate plinking of glass shards bouncing sounded.

"Dash! You alright?!" Vincent's distant concerns echoed in the fissure.

Rainbow groaned painfully. She summoned willpower and she stood, but she swayed, overwhelmed by dizziness. There were sharp stabs of pain in her chest and legs, but, overwhelmingly, her sprained wing loudly protested its unwarranted movement. She tasted the unmistakable tang of blood. She had probably bit her own tongue.

Free of the confining walls of the jar, the orange fireflies ascended into the air and chirped confusedly as they explored. A gentle glow of light behind them attracted Rainbow's attention, and she squinted and peered into the darkness.

The blue glow brightened as the creature that emitted it uttered a quiet clicking sound. It uncoiled its massive serpentine body and opened one gigantic eye to examine the interloper with the contempt one might feel when being pestered by an annoying insect. It inhaled and snorted irritably. It appeared emaciated, bony with shrunken skin. Bands surrounded its elongated body that emitted blinding vivid artic-blue luminescence that illuminated the entire gigantic chamber.

Rainbow's cry of alarm was drowned out as the colossal dragon opened its gaping maw and roared resoundingly. It spat a cloud of tiny water particles that descended and clung to every surface, including her coat and mane, where they magically froze upon contact. She hurriedly shook the ice crystals off of herself, scurried away with a cry of fear, and started to climb the chasm wall as quickly as physically possible.

"Oh fuck! Holy shit!" Vincent fired a burst of shots at the dragon that pursued her. In the tight confines of the tunnels, it was deafeningly loud. The bullets ricocheted audibly off of the monster's impenetrable spiky armor as they failed to penetrate.

As she climbed and neared the precipice of the plateau where her companion stood, he kneeled and extended a hand. She grasped it, and he hauled her from the abyss.

She galloped the precise moment her hooves touched the ground. Vincent was right behind her. He attempted to hold his rifle steady and shine the flashlight beam in the direction they recklessly sprinted. The thin beam that swayed erratically in tandem with Vincent's bodily motions as he sprinted was their only source of light in the otherwise pitch-black darkness.

They emerged from the cave, and Rainbow darted into the forest. She shoved aside branches and bushes as she dashed through.

The dragon relentlessly pursued them. It effortlessly demolished trees. Its enormous mass snapped their dense trunks like flimsy twigs. It roared furiously, which coated the forest in a mist of magical ice crystals.

"Where the hell are we going?!” Vincent demanded as he kept pace with her.

Rainbow panted exhaustedly as she struggled to control the pace of her breaths during the manic sprint. "I don't know yet! Stay close!"

She detected her hooves clopping on stone, which confused her briefly. It was only when she gazed down that it occurred to her the terrain beneath her had transitioned from grass to jet-black stone. "GET BACK!" She planted her hooves firmly against the ground and came to a screeching halt. She decelerated not a moment too soon before she sent herself careering over the edge into the effervescing ocean of green sludge below.

Behind, the dragon smashed through a final line of trees. She had just enough time to rotate to face it before it withdrew its massive body inward, bent its joints, angled its snout toward her, and pounced. In a heart-palpitating moment of terror, it sailed through the air and spread its claws in preparation to tear her to shreds. It soared… and landed directly into the acid lake beyond her position. It had fatally miscalculated its jump.

The dragon convulsed, thrashed, and wailed in agony as the voracious acidic sludge clung to its body and dissolved it. The vivid blue glow that emanated from its bands faded as its lifeforce waned. Its corpse withered like a dying flower and finally decomposed into ash that was absorbed by the lake insatiably. Whatever particles remained were swept away by the wind.

Rainbow collapsed onto her haunches and heaved a sigh of exhaustion. By the thoughtless green tide, the dragon had died. She understood exactly what had happened, and she suspected she should have felt relieved, but... she felt guilty. Yet another victim had been claimed by the unfairness of the world.

"Vince... I caused this. We shouldn't have gone down there. I woke it up.” Her ears drooped sadly. "It was just angry we..."

Vincent knelt beside her and gingerly pressed an abrasion on her shoulder where her blue fur and skin had worn away. She winced and jerked aside instinctively. As the adrenaline that flooded her system dwindled, she became keenly aware of her injured wing's persistent objections and the new small injuries that dotted her body.

He retrieved his rifle from where he had inadvertently dropped it. "Come on, let's head back to the truck. Those IFAKs had small plasters that'd be perfect." He waved to indicate that she should follow and began to head back. To avoid snagging thorns and thick undergrowth, he passed unimpeded through the gigantic way tunneled through the forest by the dragon. She regarded the new path with sickening guilt, then, hesitantly, followed.

Even while she uneventfully rested on her haunches, Rainbow swayed to and fro. The sensation of dizziness persisted. Maybe she had struck her head against the ground harder than she’d initially thought.

"Alright..." Vincent curled his legs beneath himself and sat on the ground. He waved and beckoned with a hand. "Come on. It's okay."

She was tentative initially, though Rainbow eventually relented and neared. She crawled into his lap, rested her body weight on the ground, and placed her head atop his crossed legs. Aided by the light provided by the pickup's headlights, he employed his dexterous fingers to delicately pluck small chunks of ice from her fur and freezing flesh. It was unpleasant, but she gritted her teeth and resolved to remain as still as possible.

"I can't believe we went in a huge circle these past few days." Rainbow heaved a sigh. "I guess that means... you were right, my sixth-sense stuff doesn't work."

He patted her on the head reassuringly. "I don't think so. You knew that big lizard was down there. In the future, if you mention you feel something, I'll be more inclined to believe you, alright?"

As the numerous cuts and scrapes that dotted her body were dabbed with antibacterial wipes and covered with small plasters, she unfurled her left wing partly to permit access beneath it. "Can I tell you something? It's something I've never told anypony before... I haven't even told my friends."

”Yeah, of course." His facial expression was solemn as he patiently waited for her to continue.

After her injuries were treated, Rainbow remained in his lap. She looked up and maintained consistent eye contact. "A few years ago, I had a dream. There was a war in the Frozen North. King Sombra returned and imprisoned Princess Cadence and her family and led an army against Celestia. I served with the Wonderbolts on the frontlines near the Crystal Empire... and... I lost my wing to a magic blast." She clenched her eyes tightly as she recalled the painful memory. "Twilight and Spike retrieved the Crystal Heart and stopped Sombra when he came back. But if they had failed, then... maybe that’s what my world would have become under his control.

"Even though the Elements of Harmony and the princesses do their part to keep the peace, and Equestria hasn't seen a big conflict for hundreds of years, I'm constantly doing drills with my team under Spitfire's command. Mostly about looking the best and representing the Wonderbolts properly. But every now and then, we're instructed on how we'd be expected to react to a serious threat to Equestria—war. It's my job. It would be my responsibility. I have to be there for the sake of Equestria. And that thought... really scares me." She lowered her head and clenched her eyes in remorse. "I never really thought about that part when I signed up. I just wanted to be on a pro flight team and practice with the best of the best."

Vincent patted her head and tenderly stroked one of her ears. "Based on what you've told me about your home, I don't think you have to worry about being ready for that any time soon. The chance of that happening sounds pretty low. For now, being a good flier, representing the Wonderbolts—that sounds like a great gig to me. You look good in uniform?"

"I was born to wear it. My friends definitely thought so, the first time they saw me." Her remark was accompanied by a small, fleeting smile as she remembered her friends' cheers and encouraging remarks.

"I'd like to see that." He chuckled lightly, but his tone indicated he was sincere.

"So, what happened with you? Were you enlisted? Did you go because you were ordered to?"

"No, I signed up for it. I was looking for my big break. Back then, I thought the meaning of my life wasn't... personal enough to me, I guess. Recruitment promised me I'd find purpose with them, but I never did. I get now that's just somethin' they tell everyone. They're there for a couple reasons, and making friends isn't one of them."

"Is it... really that horrible when you're out there?"

Vincent was silent as he considered the magnitude of her query. "Yeah, it is." He gazed thoughtfully into the nearby perimeter of the forest. "I was one of the lucky ones, actually. I went back home. A lot of other guys I knew didn't get that."

The reminder evoked vivid imagery in her mind of the faces of the soldiers, distorted in grimaces of anguish. Rainbow flinched and whimpered. She rolled to her side and hunched her shoulders as she retreated into a sad huddle.

Accompanied by the subtle rumble of the truck’s engine, the sounds of nature were all around. Insects chirped. Herds of fireflies concealed beneath flower petals chittered and emitted subdued illuminations. She reminisced about the nostalgic memory of crickets chirping in the meadows that heralded the settling of every dusk back home, but it offered little relief from her sorrow. A lone teardrop descended her cheek and trailed through her facial fur.

Vincent breathed a long, drawn-out exhalation. "Look, I don't know what you like to hear, but... I don't have any lines of bullshit to help win you over. I know the worst things always seem to happen to the best people. That's how it is, isn't it? I think you've learned that by now. So, you have to appreciate what you have when you have it."

Rainbow craned her neck to look. Through wet eyes blurry with tears, she was surprised to see an unanticipated expression on his face: a feeble smile, a courageous defiance of hopelessness, a silent communication that he recognized the internal fear she battled, saw it and called it by name. She thought it was the type of bravery she could only seek to inadequately imitate and could never hope to truly achieve.

As she felt the consoling weight of his arms over her, her ears folded, and she smiled peacefully. She coiled her forelegs around his waist and reciprocated the hug. It felt a little awkward, what with the position of her body, but it felt right.

XII – Relief

Rainbow directed her gaze through the windshield and observed as the Initiator flew by yet another damaged utility pole with its severed and frayed wires dangling loosely. "Those things aren't gonna lead anywhere. This is a waste of time." Accompanying her pessimistic remark was a lethargic sigh.

Raindrops continued to fall, and the weather gradually transitioned to stormy. Vincent briefly glanced downward and lifted his hand from the steering wheel to activate the windshield wipers. "Hey, we can either go with your vague sixth sense or follow the literal breadcrumb trail." When his eyes returned to the windshield, they suddenly focused and widened in shock. "Holy shit!" He firmly slammed the brake.

The vehicle came to a screeching halt beneath Rainbow and her body lurched as momentum carried her forward. She slammed against the dashboard with a grunt. "Wh–What's happening?! Why'd you do that?" When she raised her head to investigate their surroundings, however, what had attracted his attention became apparent. Through the windshield under assault by sheets of rain, beyond the crest of the hill they were parked atop, was a massive foundation of concrete and runways miles in length. A wide expanse of steel and concrete buildings encompassed practically their entire view.

"Holy haystacks!"

Vincent cackled with the unabashed lunacy of someone who had discovered an oasis after previously being stranded in a desert. "Stuff!"

Rainbow grinned and echoed his succinct exclamation. "Stuff!"

"I thought that feeling of yours was bullshit! Boy, am I glad I was wrong!" Vincent slammed the accelerator and they soared down the hill. With an inelegant and bumpy ascent, he guided the Initiator onto a collapsed section of the crumbling foundation and ascended it to access the elevated parking lot.

As they passed, he gestured to a small car with a distinct curved hood and curved roof, its metal shell overgrown with a carpet of thick mint-colored moss. "Check it out. Slug bug!"

Rainbow grinned giddily. She deeply enjoyed seeing her companion joke around and smile, even if most of the jokes were foreign and incomprehensible to her. "Park this thing somewhere so we can get inside already!"

Vincent navigated through the derelict parking lot, its chipped and mossy asphalt worn by the elements, and wove between its many abandoned vehicles, drove across one of the huge runways, and finally halted the Initiator near a wall of smashed windows.

"What was this place? It's so huge. What were all of these buildings for?" Rainbow looked around in wonder.

"This used to be an airport. Humans can't fly, so we made machines that do it for us." He motioned to one of the huge commercial airliners which lied abandoned in the runway. "Those are the hangers down there, the ones with the giant doors. That’s where the engineers, mechanics and other crew maintained the planes and prepared them for flight. That's one of the terminals where passengers waited for their flights. And that tower up there is air traffic control. They monitored traffic and authorized landing and departure.”

He jerked the gearshift lever and shifted into park. Rainbow bounced in her seat excitedly. "Do you think there's food stashed away somewhere here? Like, real food?"

"Probably!" Vincent took a deep breath to steel himself, opened the door, and leapt onto the ground outside. He retrieved his rifle from the rear seat, then rushed to one of the broken windows and vaulted through quickly to escape the unabating downpour.

As Rainbow emerged from the pickup, she unfurled her healthy left wing and spread it above her body, using the interlocked feathers as an umbrella to shelter her head. She traipsed through the sea of broken glass carefully, and, when inside and sheltered from the rain, she folded her wing.

The atrium was well-illuminated with natural sunlight. Beyond the rows of fenced galleries overhead was a glass ceiling that had miraculously survived unscathed, albeit overshadowed partially by creeping vines. The integrity of the walls, however, was a different story. Most of the windows had been smashed, spilling a tide of shattered glass. Rain surged inside through the countless entries and had flooded the bottom floor. Exuberant vegetation sprawled, thriving in the pooling water, and the creeping vines snaked through the open window frames. Rainbow avoided the deep pool, sparing herself the indecency of trudging through filthy, brackish water.

She deftly hopped onto a metal fence and perched atop it to avoid the flood water, shoving aside an interloping creeping vine. She gazed around in awe. The modernity of the architecture reminded her of Equestria's most advanced, densely-populated metropolises, though the lack of color was stark. Mint foliage contrasted harshly with the dull grey and white artificial surfaces. She closed her eyes and attempted to envision the locale before it had been abandoned and subsequently subjected to decay. The airport was so large in order to accompany hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of humans—a feat of incomprehensible magnitude. Equestria wasn't nearly as populated. So many individuals in one location would truly be a sight to behold.

Where had they all disappeared to? What had they succumbed to, in the end? She didn't want to ponder the questions. The very notions were painful.

"Hey! You around?" Vincent's call echoed in the tall atrium. "Come over here! 'Employees Only' door! Red plaque!" There was a pause. "Near the Starbucks!"

"'Starbucks'?" she echoed confusedly. Reluctantly, she descended from her perch and hopped into the flood water, producing a big splash. She painstakingly sloshed through the deep water, lifting her long legs high with every step, and went to investigate the various surrounding signs suspended from walls or hanging from the ceiling. Though none seemed to reference any 'Starbucks', she did successfully locate the Employees Only door. She shoved it open and entered. Immediately, she was plunged into darkness.

"Hey." Vincent raised a hand in greeting. "Did you notice how the floor of the big room out there slopes downward? That's what's preventing this whole building from flooding."

"If the rain doesn't stop, that might just change soon." Rainbow shook rigorously to rid herself of the excess water clinging stubbornly to her fur.

"We're safe in here, at least," he reassured her. "For now."

The windowless room was narrow, only designed to provide the minimum quantity of space to accommodate a few workers and contain several rows of tall metal boxes. Rainbow curiously knocked on the side of one of the boxes with a hoof, and the sound echoed loudly inside of the hollow machine.

"This is the room where they controlled the power." Vincent raised a jar of fireflies to illuminate what they were examining. "All of those breaker boxes have switches that deactivate power to different sections."

The circuit breaker panels contained hundreds of switches all labeled with little white numbers corresponding to legends recorded on slips of paper. A drooping, disorganized mass of exposed colored wires connected to each individual switch and ran from the metal boxes. It was a tangled mess, like spaghetti that dangled precariously from a fork.

"Looks like the switches are still on," she observed. "But it's dark in here."

"Well, the main wires are down. We saw them on the way in. They're not connected to any power sources out here, so this place isn't being supplied with electricity anymore. That's why."

Rainbow flipped some of the switches for fun. They made satisfying clicking sounds, but, predictably, nothing happened. She pondered momentarily, and an idea suddenly appeared in her mind—an insane, brilliant idea. "So, you're saying these boxes power this whole place, right?"

"Yeah?"

"And it's electricity that runs through those wires?"

"...Yeah?" Vincent repeated, raising an eyebrow.

She rubbed her hooves together. A small smile broadened on her muzzle, one which rapidly enlarged into a big grin. "Wait here and don't move. I've got an idea."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Please don't do anything stupid. You're thinking of doing something stupid, aren't you?"

"Maybe. Or it might actually work! You never know about these kinds of things!" Rainbow shoved the Employees Only door and rushed through the flooded atrium to the exterior.

She approached a ladder she had spotted during the ride through the parking lot. It was a narrow human-designed ladder, built at a sheer 90-degree angle as opposed to the diagonally-angled ladders back home. Creeping vines surged and coiled over and around its rungs, grasping for the bleak, overcast sky. Above, thunder boomed and lightning flashed, which only served to bolster her confidence in her plan. The downpour certainly didn't aid in her chances of successfully climbing, but she was confident in herself and her capabilities. She ascended slowly and steadily, careful not to slip on the slick creeping vines.

The view of the ground from atop the roof was anxiety-inducing. Not because she was afraid of heights, of course, but because she knew a single mistake would certainly spell her untimely doom were she to fall.

Without the ability to fly, wrangling a storm cloud would be challenging. Fortunately, the roof was tall and the water-bloated clouds sagged in the sky due to their immense weight. The conditions were perfect. All she had to do was identify an adequate specimen. And she spotted one. A huge, fat rogue exhibiting aberrant behavior and drifting solo below the herds of clouds.

Rainbow retreated to provide the maximum amount of distance with which she could use to accelerate, then threw herself forward, kicked off of the steep edge of the roof, and launched herself into the air. With an almost-comical poof sound and a splash of frigid rain water onto her coat, she landed onto the small cloud and was promptly absorbed into its puffy mass.

She wrapped her forelegs around the storm cloud and hugged it tightly to ensure she didn't slip. A quick glance downward confirmed her fears: the ground was terrifyingly far below her flailing rear legs. She gulped.

"Come on, get down!" She hauled herself onto the small cloud and balanced precariously. She hopped on top of it, bouncing on its springy surface in an attempt to convince it to descend. Eventually, it did, but not before it shocked her with a small burst of electricity as if to express its irritability.

When the cloud was low enough to the ground, Rainbow hopped off. She molded the storm cloud, decreasing its size and increasing its density so it was easier to handle, then escorted it by giving it little nudges in the direction she wanted to travel.

She followed the intact power lines while escorting the unruly storm cloud. Along the way, she ensured the wires were intact and undamaged, a state that allowed electricity to flow through unimpeded, she logically assumed.

Rainbow paused at the first pole that supporting severed wires. She guided the storm cloud so it was adjacent to the utility pole, then fastened it with the severed wires to ensure it didn't float away. When she was certain the little storm cloud was secure, she bucked it to encourage it to expel its accumulated electrical energy. Her coat and hair bristled as she was shocked.

She didn't hesitate to examine her handiwork. She returned to the airport and hopped through one of the atrium's shattered windows.

Though she would have likely smirked and gratefully accepted the opportunity to boast about her excellence had she noticed her companion's shocked reaction, she, in reality, failed to notice. She was too engrossed in her own amazement. Neon colors and gaudy flashing lights assaulted them from every angle. She fondly recalled the memory of her first encounter with DJ-PON3 and the music pony's fashionable nightclub raves.

"Whoa—!" she breathed. Apparently, some humans were creative enough to utilize color and decorate in beautiful ways.

"What... happened?" He looked at her with bulging eyes.

Rainbow smiled and nodded proudly. The reply was subtle, but Vincent seemed to comprehend its meaning nonetheless.

They departed from the atrium to explore together. Illuminated by harsh ceiling-mounted light fixtures, the colossal corridor they traversed was cluttered with furniture and appliances. Televisions, signs, cameras, and other electronics cluttered the walls. Most were broken. There were shops everywhere with attractive logos and titles plastered on the walls, adorned with colorful blinking letters. As they retreated farther and farther from the atrium, and the average wetness decreased, the vegetation thinned and dispersed.

Vincent vaulted one of the railings of a fenced-in dining area. His trail boots crunched on a carpet of broken glass that littered the floor as he navigated around tables and misplaced chairs tossed haphazardly about. He circled around a bar at the rear of the restaurant to access the beverages displayed prominently behind.

"Booze!" he cheered as he lifted an ornate bottle of fancy whiskey.

Rainbow cocked an eyebrow and eyed him suspiciously in response to his excitable attitude. Though she wasn't entirely sure why, exactly, she sensed possible trouble.

"Hey, don't give me that look. We're both adults here." He stowed the bottle in his backpack, saving it for later.

"Getting hungry. Is there...?" The wide variety of beverages with their bottles and labels displayed on shelves behind the bar were visually impressive, but, unfortunately, she had yet to spot any snacks.

"No, I don't see any chips or peanuts or anything." Vincent swept aside shattered glass and other debris as he scoured the ransacked bar. He experimentally rapped a knuckle against a metal keg at knee-level and revealed it was hollow and had been drained. When he withdrew a jar from beneath the counter to scrutinize it for damage, he identified what was inside, and his eyes lit up. "Maraschinos!"

"Cherries?!" Rainbow jolted as if she had been electrically shocked. She grinned, and her tail wagged eagerly.

"Hey, wait, hold your horses!" He hugged and cradled the jar like a newborn to protect it.

Seeing the delectable treats and their accompanying sweet syrup withdrawn from her grasping hooves, she groaned in frustration. "What? What's wrong?"

He used his hunting knife to break the jar's stubborn seal, then, using a stirring stick, he attempted to fish one of the cherries from their container.

"Oh, come on! I'd eat them off of the floor if I had to! Don't be a baby." Rainbow tapped her hoof against her enchanted pendant to summon its power and utilized levitation magic to extract one of the cherries from the jar. She momentarily considered the purple-and-green magical aura which shrouded it, then floated it through the air and popped it into her mouth.

Vincent gaped in awe at the demonstration of magic. "Wh–What are you— How the hell are you doing that?!"

"Mmm..." She closed her eyes in delight as she chewed the cherry tactfully to appreciate its potent flavor and overwhelming sweetness. She knew a proper response to his inquiry would be polite, but, at that moment, she was too busy to care about courtesy. "Not me, it's the necklace. Story's too long. Will explain later."

"So, magic is real... I thought you were just... damn." Vincent frowned. He mounted the bar and sat on the edge of the counter, then used his stirring stick method of obtaining cherries and successfully extracted one.

"It's everywhere in Equestria. It's just how the world is. I've lived my whole life with it." She fidgeted absent-mindedly with the pendant. "I can't imagine living without it. It'd be hard."

As the cherry entered his mouth and he chewed, his eyes lit up and his demeanor visibly shifted. He smiled blissfully, and his eyes closed peacefully.

She raised the sapphire pendant above her neck and over her ears, then presented it. "Do you want to try? Twilight said different creatures have different magic, so maybe you do have some, but you just don't know it yet."

"Really? Well, I guess I've never actually tried. I always figured it was a stupid myth." With hesitance, he accepted the offered necklace. He held the gold setting delicately in his fingertips and inspected the flawless sapphire mounted within. "Who's Twilight?"

"She's my friend. I love her, but she's a total nerd."

"Well, if your nerd friend said that, then who am I to doubt it?" He chuckled. "So, what do you do?"

"Hold it close to your heart. You should feel something. Do you?"

"Uh, no." He clutched the gold chain, thrusted the pendant forth in the direction of one of the bottles of alcohol displayed behind the bar, and waved it like how a magician might handle a wand, but nothing happened.

"It's okay." Rainbow smiled reassuringly. "Twilight said some creatures take extra time to learn how to use magic. Besides, no one gets how to do something on their first try."

"Or, realistically: I just can't do it at all." He returned the pendant.

She slipped the chain over her ears to safeguard the necklace for the foreseeable future. "You want another one?" She presented the jar.

Vincent gladly scooped another cherry from the jar, then accepted it and fastened the lid. "Definitely saving these for later." He stood and stowed the jar in his backpack.

"Where do you want to head next? Where's all of the real food?" She leapt over one of the fences and waited on the other side.

He stretched with a groan, then vaulted the fence and assumed his position ahead as they walked. "Bound to be a sandwich shop around here somewhere. Airports always have a shitty, overpriced sandwich shop. That's, like, their hallmark. It's practically a law of nature."

She consulted signs hanging from the ceiling. They offered directions to various gates or other key destinations and included helpful arrows.

Concourses B & C ↗

✈ Gates B1, B2, B5, B7 ↗

↖ Luggage Retrieval 🏷

↖ Information Kiosk ℹ

"Hey, watch your step."

She lowered her gaze to confirm she wasn't walking into a wall or other obstacle and gasped when she spotted what lied ahead. Escalators were present to transfer passengers to and from the elevated floor above. "The stairs move!?" She crowded all four of her hooves onto one step of the escalator and rode the machine up.

Vincent stood at the base of the flights of escalators and observed. He raised his voice to caution her. "Hey, if you're coming down, be careful not to—"

"Whooo!" Rainbow leapt onto the handrail of the descending escalator and slid down, extending her wing to provide stability and ensure she remained upright.

Vincent raised his hand to interrupt and warn her again, but, partway through the motion, he lowered his hand and silently watched with a smile.

On the way down again, she reclined her body across both handrails of a descending escalator and crossed her rear legs. As the handrails slowly transported her, she assumed a mock sultry facial expression and mimed inserting a rose between her teeth with a waggle of the eyebrows. "Hey there, handsome."

Vincent slapped a palm over his lips to conceal his amused grin. "Alright you idiot, you've had your fun. Are you satisfied, now? Can we go?"

When she reached the curve of the handrails at the base of the escalator and slipped off, Rainbow struck the floor with a thump. She rolled and hopped onto her hooves energetically, giggling boisterously. "Very."

Rainbow downed the final swig of her steaming coffee and tossed aside the scavenged Starbucks cup. She munched a cherry and absent-mindedly fidgeted with her paper plate as she gazed through one of the adjacent windows and observed the gradual descent of Nowhere's dual stars. One dipped below the horizon while the other remained partially set. As a result, the sky was awash with blinding scarlet light. Dusk had yet to fall, so shiny bits in the vast ocean of black asphalt outside reflected the sunlight and sparkled like stars dotting the night sky.

"Do you think the suns rotate by themselves?"

Vincent's eyebrows shot up. He quickly dropped the shitty, overpriced sandwich he had been eating so his hands were free for gesturing. "What kind of question is that? We're rotating around them, Aristotle. Didn’t you pay attention in school?"

"I paid attention in school! Mostly. Where I come from, Celestia rotates the sun from east to west starting at dawn and ending at dusk, then Luna raises the moon."

"Well, back home for me, Earth rotates around its sun and Earth's moon rotates around Earth. But... I guess Nowhere breaks the rules both of us are familiar with, huh?" He bent at the waist and unzipped his backpack lying beside his chair. He withdrew the ornate bottle of whiskey, then assumed a casual slouch and unscrewed the cap, taking a sip. "Not that it matters anymore..."

"So, you're telling me you guys know how to make lots of fancy contraptions, but you have no idea how your sun moves, and you think it isn't magic?" Rainbow stabbed the leaves and veggies of her mixed salad with a fork and popped the greenery into her mouth, happily munching.

"Well, when you say it like that..."

"I think you just need to relax and consider that maybe magic could exist. For everyone. Even you and for everyone back at your home. Maybe you've been thinking wrong this whole time and tricking yourself, and you managed to overlook something important."

"I wish that were true." He swigged and set the bottle down. He flipped the cap on his thumb like it were a coin.

Rainbow gazed longingly through the glass. After the rain clouds had dispersed and the storm relented, after the suns descended and the harsh light of sunset faded, the day said its final goodbye by alighting the sky with mesmerizing red, orange, and yellow colors, like a layered sundae that melted beneath the oppressive sunbeams of a hot day. Enticing, fluffy white clouds ambled through the sky.

"Must be some really great views from up there. Do you miss it?"

She begrudgingly returned her gaze to the table and hung her head sadly. "You have no idea."

He reclined in his chair and folded his arms, releasing a sigh. "I think I do. Maybe a little. Sounds amazing."

"I need to get home. I need to fly again." She sighed wistfully. "Don't you feel the same way? I had fun with you today, but... we can't stay here. We're not free yet. We need to keep going—I really think we're getting close."

Vincent rolled his wrist and waved his hand dismissively. "Dash, you've repeated that like three times by now. I don't care about leaving, and, frankly, the way I see it, neither should you. There's lots of food here; we could live here for months, easily. We should just stay."

"Well, you're right, it was nice to finally eat some real food for once. But..." Rainbow crossed her forelegs stubbornly, and they engaged in a period of prolonged eye contact.

"So, that's the way it's going to be, huh?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"Sorry. I just can't go back to doing nothing again."

XIII – Magnetized

In a haze, Rainbow gazed through the passenger's side window, observing smudges with the profiles of trees and other flora disappear from view in a blur as the Initiator zoomed past. Raindrops tapped against the metal roof and the windshield wipers squeaked repetitively. REO's Keep on Loving You droned indistinctly in the background.

Rainbow felt her form hug every hop, bump, and oscillation of the suspension. With every elevation or descension, her body responded in tune. It reminded her of the sensation of turbulence during flight. She hummed pleasurably and closed her eyes in appreciation as she cherished the soothing motions.

Her eyelids drooped, forewarning of an impending nap as she was lulled to sleep.

"Are we still going in the right direction?"

The unanticipated question startled her from her stupor. She blinked hard, clenching her eyes shut tightly and reopening them to clear her vision. She focused and consulted the sensation within her. It hummed softly, quietly enough she frequently forewent considering it and directed her attention elsewhere. When she concentrated, however, she could detect its vibration. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure. Feels... muffled, somehow. Like we're close, but there's a mountain between us and it."

A wide shadow briefly enveloped the pickup. Rainbow, naturally, paid it no mind, as trees, rocks and small cliffs had frequently casted shadows onto the moving vehicle since their adventure had begun.

Vincent cocked an eyebrow. "That doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. Are you sure you're feeling alright? Do you still have a headache?"

"I'm feeling fine, thanks. I got some good sleep. My head is clear. I'm just a little dizzy, that's all. The feeling comes and goes; it doesn't have anything to do with what happened yesterday."

Again, another shadow swept over the Initiator. Rainbow's curiosity had finally been piqued. She leaned against the passenger's side window and tilted her head to gaze upward to investigate.

"Whoa, Vince, it's—!" Upon first glance, she misinterpreted what she spotted as griffons and felt a twinge of hope surge through her heart, but, unfortunately, upon further inspection, she realized the truth: they were just large birds. The huge avians soared overhead, maintaining an organized formation and keeping pace with the vehicle. The feeling of hope draining away was painful. Sure, the feathered folk from Equestria wouldn't have been the most ideal of chance encounters, but it still would have been welcome.

"It's what?" Vincent glanced in her direction, then promptly returned his gaze to the windshield.

"Sorry, false alarm."

An avian in the rear of the formation gazed upon the pickup with suspicion and opened its beak to release a loud, high-pitched cry. The others in the formation followed suit, each contributing to the harsh dissonance.

Rainbow winced and her ears folded painfully. "They don't seem too happy to see us! What are they?"

Vincent leaned against the driver's side window and looked upwards in an attempt to spot what she was referencing, but to no avail. He returned his gaze to the windshield. "No idea. I haven't been this far south before. Probably nothing, don't worry about it. We'll be safe inside—" His voice was abruptly interrupted as the chassis of the vehicle, which had already been gently vibrating due to the aggression of its superior engine, proceeded to vibrate to a far greater degree than was standard.

She bounced in her seat uncontrollably. "Whoa, h-hey! Is t-this normal?!"

"No!" He tapped the brake lightly, but the deceleration did little to reduce the vehicle's vibration, as it wasn't the engine that was vibrating, but, rather, the ground below the wheels. Ahead, soil and solid rock were violently severed and divided apart. A crevasse snaked across the ground, rapidly enlarging as it approached. Vincent slammed the accelerator and attempted to steer the Initiator away from its path, but he reacted too slow. With a gaping maw of earth, the very planet seemed to open and swallow them like they were a mere tasty morsel.

"Holy shit!" His eyes bulged in panic and he grasped the wheel tightly, rotating it in a vain attempt to steer. However, with few wheels touching the ground, it was impossible to direct the vehicle. They weren't so much soaring down into a crevasse as they were plunging vertically. Down they fell, and further down still, into the shadow of a needle-thin fissure.

In a spine-tingling moment of terror, Rainbow observed her and her companion ascend as they were exposed involuntarily to the conditions of freefall, devoid of gravity. The vehicle was no longer a safe recluse, it was a steel-barred cage that they would ricochet off of like pinballs.

They hit the bottom with an enormous CRASH! The vehicle's remaining momentum caused it to career, bounce, and roll, dashing against sharp rocks. Rainbow cowered and cried out as the side windows fragmented and spilled a sea of shattered glass. The windshield announced the damage it had sustained with a rapid succession of crackles as a spiderweb of cracks dispersed across its surface. Somewhere in the backseat, several jars of fireflies smashed and their inhabitants twittered softly as they abandoned their previous prisons and ascended in search of freedom.

"Ougghh... Rainbow groaned and massaged her aching head. At some point in the chaos, she had whiplashed and struck her skull hard against the pickup's dense metal roof. "Vince, you okay? That was a heck of a fall..."

"I'm fine. Phew..." Vincent clasped a hand against his armored vest and, beneath, his throbbing heart. "I thought we were going to die for a second there. Holy shit. Good thing I wore my seatbelt. Maybe you should have, too." He rotated the key and deactivated the vehicle's engine. In the silence that followed, the pattering of raindrops striking the Initiator's upturned side was emphasized significantly.

Rainbow leaned her head back and gazed upwards through one of the shattered windows, examining the confines of the crevasse. Above, beyond the rocky rim of the crevasse, grey storm clouds swirled in the sky and boomed angrily. A raindrop hit its mark and landed directly into her eye, and she blinked rapidly to clear her vision. "Hey, this isn't so bad," she reassured. "We're not trapped. I can still see the sky. Maybe we can find a way out of here."

Vincent unbuckled his seatbelt and swung his legs over the center console. He hauled himself through the only unobstructed exit, which was the smashed driver's side window. Outside, he rested his hand onto the Initiator's magnificent steel hood. His head drooped. It wasn't a living creature, but, regardless, he had dedicated years of hard labor to restore it, and now, after witnessing the extent of the damage it had sustained...

He sat on one of the pickup's tires and planted his elbows in his lap, cupping his face with his palms in despair.

The desire to abandon hope and concede was tempting, but... there was something else welling within her. Though the sensation was indescribable, it was true. A vague sensation was welling within Rainbow, like the tantalizing tingling of a memory on the tip of her metaphorical tongue. Clarity. It felt like the gentle, cool embrace of levitation magic, except It was internal, within her body. Dizziness, as if she had just recovered from a wild midair barrel roll and her brain was topsy-turvy. She shook her head forcefully, attempting to focus, but, frustratingly, whatever had been tempting her had abruptly silenced, and only the dizziness persisted.

Rainbow climbed onto the Initiator's upturned side and gazed upwards. Overhead stretched several gargantuan crystals which spanned the length of the crevasse, twisting through the rock like veins and snaking their way to the ground. Hopping to the ground, she selected a specimen to investigate and knocked a hoof against its hard surface. It replied with a low resonant ringing noise. It was softly humming, pulsating with magical energy, though, lacking a horn and the wherewithal to communicate with it, she couldn't identify it.

She tried whistling, which evoked a look of confusion from her companion, but she received no audible reply from the crystal. There was only one option left to attempt. She tapped a hoof against her enchanted amulet and attempted to encourage it to fire a magical blast. It was a maneuver which she had witnessed countless times, though had, obviously, never attempted before. Unfortunately, due either to the pendant's lack of sufficient magical capability or her own ignorance, it denied her order.

Rainbow's ears perked up as she detected noise originating from somewhere nearby. Only after she turned to investigate did she notice Vincent had reentered the Initiator's interior and started the engine. The pickup's speakers produced Chicago's If You Leave Me Now. She neared and sat on her haunches, listening. It was a rich and melancholy piece, featuring a predominant guitar melody and a significant string and brass accompaniment. The lyrics were basic yet elegant in their simplicity, with the lead singer expressing a powerful desire to recuperate a broken relationship.

As the song concluded, he rotated the key and deactivated the engine. With a pathetic sputtering sound, the Initiator released its final breaths. The audible gyrating of its crankshaft and pistons halted as they decelerated, and overwhelming silence was once again restored to the desolate chasm. With the ambiance of the hot machinery ticking as it cooled in the background, they locked eyes through the cracked windshield. It was clear Vincent had surrendered all hope.

Seated on the center console, he swung his leg and firmly kicked the glove compartment, releasing a bitter grunt. "Goddamn it! I can't believe this is how I die, trapped at the bottom of a fucking hole!"

"Hey! It's okay! Relax!" She waved her forelegs in an attempt to quell his swelling anger. "I think I have an idea. Just take a breath, okay? Let me think. Please."

Vincent inhaled and exhaled deeply. He slipped through the shattered window, careful to avoid the hazardous broken glass, and descended to the ground below. "Fine, I'm hearing you out. What do you got?"

"I think those crystals shifted and dropped us down here. Before they did, though, I noticed those birds were circling us and calling. Maybe their voices, you know... caused the crystals to move?"

"Can you prove it? Nowhere has a tendency to do shit on its own."

She shrugged. "Well, no. But we have to try something. Their calls were high-pitched, right? I remember hearing a blast from one of those..." She paused as she recalled the unfamiliar terminology. "...rifles bounce off of the ground near me with a loud sound. Maybe if the rock is hard enough here and if you could get the angle right, then..."

His interest suddenly restored, Vincent's eyebrows raised. "That's a hell of a theory, but I guess you're right, anything is worth a shot right now." He climbed onto the Initiator and retrieved his rifle from the rear seat, then hopped to the ground. He scrutinized the fissure's walls in search of a flat section ideal for a proper ricochet. "Plug your ears! This is gonna be loud down here." He shooed her away with a few waves of his hand.

Rainbow nodded, expressing her gratitude, and scurried away. She hunched behind the pickup's overturned engine compartment and preemptively shielded her ears. When properly prepared, she signaled with a whistle.

BANG!

Despite the preventative measures, the violent explosion of sound penetrated her defenses and overwhelmed her ears. It reverberated in the narrow confines of the crevasse. echoing repeatedly. Initially, all her ears detected was an intense ringing sound, but after a brief pause, the walls began to tremble. The crystals awoke from their slumber and vibrated and glowed. Before her very eyes, some rapidly expanded and others contracted. Dust and loose pebbles cascaded from above. A cluster of crystals embedded in the wall withdrew, contracting to reveal a hidden passage.

"A door...?"

"My thoughts exactly." Rainbow approached and peered into the tunnel, but it was too dark to see. The dim gleam of the crystals did little to penetrate the gloom.

Vincent stepped alongside her and activated the flashlight attachment on his rifle. He glanced down quizzically at her. "Do you think your friend is in there?"

"Maybe. It—" Lightning traveled through her spine and the hair along her back raised. "Whoa! Holy haystacks, there's something in there alright!"

"That's settled, then. We're going in." He raised his rifle and marched forward.

XIV – Captive

Branching paths split from the tunnel and wound downward or upward. It was an ancient labyrinthine network, as complex as it was dark. A thin cloud of dust pervaded the atmosphere. Deep beneath the earth, the stale air smelled of soil and must.

"Déjà vu, huh?" Vincent directed the beam of light cast from his rifle's flashlight attachment to the path they followed. Occasionally, he swept it aside to investigate the unremarkable clattering of pebbles as they loosed from the ceiling or walls.

"Sorta. At least this place isn't as cold. And at least there's no scary giant monster in here." Rainbow paused as she reconsidered. She shivered frightfully. "I hope."

"There probably isn't. And if there is, well... we'll be fine, I promise. Everything worked out fine last time, didn't it? We just have to stick together."

She looked up at him and nodded firmly, reassured. "Okay."

Light spilled from an aperture ahead. They glanced at each other and nodded to affirm they were ready. Vincent led with his rifle raised.

He stepped through the entrance and waved the beam cast from his rifle in a wide sweeping motion as he passed it over the chamber. Situated in the center was an intricate altar painstakingly chiseled from stone, and, around its base, was a carpet of bones. At the very top laid a hooved, horned creature—quite similar to his friend in profile alone—inert, either dead or comatose. Above it, tethered via a thick, opaque cord black as ink, rose a golden specter, like a grand spirit who levitated on angelic wings. Its fantastic form projected copious quantities of light that illuminated the chamber of worship clearly. Its small, shiny white orbs appeared to regard Vincent with curiosity as he approached.

"Holy Jesus..." He gawked in awe of the macabre display.

The silence and lack of comment from his companion gave him pause. He looked in her direction and discovered that Rainbow was frozen. Her head was glued in the direction of the altar, and her eyes were glazed and unfocused.

"Hey, you alright?" Vincent kneeled and reached to touch her. He planted his hand on her shoulder and gently shook her, but she was still and unresponsive.

Without so much as a reply or any gesture to indicate she was alright, Rainbow proceeded to advance. She stepped clumsily, and she teetered and appeared to be at risk of toppling over.

Vincent's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he observed her walk past him as if he were invisible. "Hey!" He hugged his rifle and jogged forward with the intent to physically stop her.

Three creatures who had once prostrated in reverence before the altar stood and neared. With their manes, tails, hooves, and long, elegant legs, they resembled his friend with their pony-like features, though they lacked wings and cutiemarks. Their twin curved, spiraling horns looked exceptionally sharp.

Vincent halted and examined the newcomers. "Uh, hello? Who are yo—" He cut himself off and abandoned his query. Their faces displayed no obvious signs of intelligence or awareness, and their eyes, or, rather, the space where the eyes had once been, emitted a swirling purple and green haze.

"Ah! It has returned! At last, her sapphire is ours!" One of the sisters neared Rainbow and delicately removed the pendant that dangled from her neck. She raised the sapphire before her vacant eye sockets, and a thin crack of a grin broadened across her muzzle. She lifted the chain and slipped it over her horns and ears to suspend it from her own neck. Meanwhile, Rainbow mindlessly plodded past the three sisters and sat in prostration before the altar.

"Hey! Don't touch her!" Vincent pointed his rifle threateningly.

The three sisters rotated in synchrony. Their vacant eye sockets locked onto him as if they hadn't noticed his presence before. "Interloper!" They howled in synchrony. "Leave!"

"Get the fuck away from my friend!" Vincent raised his voice and shouted firmly. Unfortunately, he knew, judging by their attitude, they had no interest in negotiation. But neither did he.

The three sisters scowled, and their bodies tensed as they threateningly inched closer. In turn, he stepped away and retreated until his back touched the wall. There was a moment of perturbing silence as they eyed each other steadily and calculated and predicted their next moves.

Then, together, the sisters pounced.

Vincent's finger twitched as it eased over his rifle's trigger. He maintained his composure and aligned the rifle's iron sights with the first sister's chest, then squeezed the trigger, which loosed a burst of three accurate shots. One bullet ricocheted audibly off of the hard sapphire that adorned her stolen pendant, but the remaining two bullets hit their target squarely, which elicited a yowl of agony from the unicorn's throat. She reeled from the recoil, stumbled, and slumped, twitching, to the ground. The two remaining sisters swiftly leapt forward and brandished their horns.

There wasn't enough distance between them for him to continue shooting. Vincent resorted to using the rifle as a melee weapon. He firmly clutched the handguard and receiver with both hands to utilize the heavy buttstock as a bludgeon. He waited for the perfect opportunity as the second sister approached, then swung an uppercut into her jaw, using all of his might with a grunt of exertion. She staggered, which provided enough time for him to raise his rifle overhead and cleave its heavy buttstock directly into her nape. It was a devastating blow, one that produced a loud snap and made her collapse limply to the ground with a sharp yelp.

The final sister charged, intent on goring him. Vincent gritted his teeth. He raised his rifle and fired a quick burst of three inaccurate shots. Two bullets sailed ineffectively over her shoulder, and the remaining bullet punched through her leg. Undeterred, she stubbornly persisted in her charge. He knelt, clutched his rifle like a baseball bat, and patiently waited for the opportune moment to strike.

"Aagghh!" He swung, and the rifle's heavy stock collided with her head. One of her horns shattered with a ghastly snap, and she screamed in agony. With a furious snort, the third sister counterattacked with a swift, inaccurate stroke of her horns and sliced a gash into Vincent's cheek. She thrusted her horns again, but Vincent clutched his rifle with both hands, ducked, and thrusted the rifle up. He deflected the unicorn's horns upward overhead, but while he had successfully protected himself, the maneuver made him lose his grip. The rifle hit the ground and skidded several feet away, out of reach. "Shit!"

He retreated and unsheathed his hunting knife. He clutched it tightly in his right hand and curled his left hand into a fist as he assumed a tactical stance as he prepared to receive the charging third sister, who rushed like a furious bull. He utilized his left arm to shove her head aside to deflect her incoming horns, then jabbed his blade into her torso, which elicited a yelp of pain from her.

They retreated from one another and panted wearily. As they planned their next moves, they examined each other keenly. Vincent adjusted his grip of the hunting knife, the blade slick with the third sister's blood. With every blow he deflected, he felt he rapidly lost energy and morale. She, in contrast, appeared to have no limit to her resolve.

She had observed his fighting style and adapted accordingly in their next skirmish. The third sister threw a flurry of rapid bucks that Vincent couldn't compete with. He extended his arms defensively and occasionally dodged successfully, but a final buck struck his armored torso hard and cracked the plastic shells of the two remaining full magazines in his chest rig. He staggered and fell to the ground in a heap. Even with his combat helmet strapped on, still, the impact rang his skull like a tolling bell. He choked, tasting blood after he probably bit his own tongue.

The third sister leapt on top of him and straddled him. She withdrew her head and thrusted her horns downward, aimed for his jugular. Vincent dropped the hunting knife and used both hands to firmly grasp her horns mere inches before they pierced his throat, and with a herculean effort, he firmly shoved her off of himself.

Vincent's eyes widened as he eyed the third sister as she waved her horns threateningly. He sensed terrifying impending danger. He managed to scramble to his feet and grasp her horns when she thrusted them, but she had predicted such a maneuver. In one swift motion, she jerked free of his grip and thrusted her head again. That time, her effort was finally successful. Her horns, one long and the other a sharp shattered stump, jammed deeply into his unprotected abdomen below his armored vest.

Vincent swayed on his feet. He wobbled, then finally collapsed backward against the rock wall of the cave and slid down until he was seated. He instinctively clutched his hands over the puncture wound in his stomach and released a moan of agony. His fingers smeared with his blood.

He hyperventilated, and his eyes darted around fearfully. In the confusion of the unremitting battle, he had, coincidentally, stumbled upon the position of the first sister's corpse. Nestled against her neck, still attached by its chain, was the sapphire pendant. He hesitated at first in a failure to comprehend the significance of the magical artifact, due to the stupor of overwhelming fear. His bloodied fingers curled around the gold setting, and he ripped it forcefully from the first sister's neck. He then presented the pendant as if it were a shield. If it contained any magic at all, if Rainbow's assurance that anyone could use magic was true and not a white lie, if his time spent with her as he witnessed her incredible feats meant anything at all, then, perhaps, he had a chance, however miniscule. He clenched his eyes shut as he refused to stare at the sharp horns that soared toward his throat to deliver a brutal final blow. He inhaled a gasping breath that he suspected would be his last.

He held his breath, and, for a brief moment, all was still. But when the time came for him to finally exhale, and he found himself still alive and breathing, he dared to crack open his eyelids.

A magical shield had been summoned between him and the third sister. He gasped aloud, and his eyes widened in shock. He wielded the sapphire pendant like a holy string of rosary beads designed to ward off evil, raised it aloft, and communicated with it to send an order. At once, the sapphire responded. A huge blast of dark magic erupted from the gemstone. In a blinding purple-and-green flash, the third sister was incinerated instantly. The scream of the enormously-powerful magical explosion echoed in the confines of the chamber of worship, and the accompanying shockwave soared across the surrounding area, which blew everything into the air and showered the chamber in a cloud of the third sister's fresh dust.

The silence that followed the fury of battle was deafening.

"Hhhnngghhh!" Vincent wheezed in pain. He released the pendant and clasped his right hand over the puncture wound in his abdomen. Fresh flowing blood stained his clothes and trailed down to pool on the ground.

In his peripheral vision, he noticed movement. His eyes flicked to the side to observe Rainbow convulse once she had finally been freed from the prolonged hypnosis from having been slammed against the rocky wall from the powerful shockwave. When she regained control of her body once more, she inhaled bouts of air to fill her empty lungs, squashed from the impact, and she choked, overwhelmed.

She spotted his limp form, and she gasped. "N–No! No! What happened?!" She scurried to him, and her hooves hurriedly raced across his body. When she located the vile rent in his abdomen, she exhaled sharply and raised her head. They locked eyes and communicated silently. Though a sea of flowing thoughts inundated her, they all proved inconsequential, because one rang true in its significance: his lifeforce flowed from his body at an alarming rate, and they were powerless to stop it.

"W–What d–do I do? I don't know what to do! I've n–never—"

Vincent rasped and breathed short, shallow breaths. When she opened her mouth to speak, he firmly shook his head and grunted in exertion. She understood the message and remained silent despite her intense desire to share the deluge of thoughts that flooded her mind. She tenderly cupped his cheek with her hoof where he had received a gash during the struggle.

He reached with his right hand and grasped the chain that secured the dog tags to his neck, then firmly ripped and severed it. He placed the twin tags against the hoof Rainbow had used to touch his chest. Together, they simultaneously cradled the tags and gazed into each others' eyes. In the fleeting moment of calm stillness and clarity, Rainbow's eyes widened with perception. The final symbolic gesture made her ears fold and lie flat against her head in horror. "N–No! Keep them! Take them! I promise, I'm gonna figure out what to do, just... I just need a minute! Please!"

"No." He withdrew his hand and returned it to his abdomen as he clutched his wound. He produced several feeble choking coughs. He stubbornly shook his head and shoved aside her hoof when she attempted to return the dog tags. "It's p–proof. All this t–time... y–you've been there. For me."

She gently placed her hoof onto his outstretched hand. "I'm sorry I doubted you, I just... I didn't—" She grunted with frustration at her inability to properly communicate. "I was too stupid to understand then! I'm sorry..." Her cerise eyes bulged with emotion.

Somehow, in spite of everything, he managed to smile faintly. "I–It's ok–kay..." His fingers curled around her hoof and the tags they clutched together, but as the world swirled and spun relentlessly and the definition faded from her face, the strength in his fingers waned and his wrist drooped. His eyelids fluttered and closed. Briefly, before he lost consciousness, the familiar parching heat of the Arizona desert soaked into his skin again and the growls of motor vehicle engines and the indistinct chatter of the residents of his home city filled his ears. A tender feminine voice orbited distantly, far above, and called and beckoned.

Darkness eagerly descended and collapsed upon him.

Epilogue

Rainbow unfurled her healthy left wing and rested her feathers over her eyes to protect her vision from cascading rays of blinding light. Her bleary eyes cracked open and she gazed into the cyan sky. The grand yellow sun above, offering soothing warmth and comfort with its sublime presence, was flanked by cheerful cumuli of the white, puffy variety indigenous to home.

With much exertion, she rose to her hooves. She scrubbed the dirt from her face and raised her head, examining her surroundings. All around was luscious green grass and gorgeous flowers flourishing in the sunlight. Robust elm trees grasped for the comfort of Princess Celestia's benevolent sun.

Behind, at the bottom of the crater that had formed as a result of her crash, shone a glint of light. She realized, with a start, it was the sapphire pendant. She clutched its mangled chain and raised it before her eyes. Its elegant gemstone had been scuffed and scratched in the fury of the battle. A bullet had ricocheted off of its hard surface, creating a visible indentation. She had been clutching it before she lost consciousness, and then, after regaining consciousness and awakening, it was with her.

Had it possessed enough power to return her home?

Not caring enough to consider the possibility, Rainbow tossed the pendant aside, as it no longer held value to her anymore. That which had lied adjacent to it in the crater was far more valuable: a broken metal chain threading two defaced dog tags. She cradled the memento in her mouth securely and emerged from the shallow grave. Her leaden left wing unfurled and drew across the ground as she dragged her tremendously-heavy body.

The crystal-clear water of a nearby river reflected a battered visage of Rainbow she didn't recognize. Her cerise eyes, once brimming with exuberance, were pale and anemic. She held her quivering hooves before herself to analyze them and realized they were coated in blood that wasn't her own. Her mouth gaped open in horror and the dog tags dropped into the grass below.

"Aughh!" She howled in anguish and collapsed onto her haunches, punching the ground furiously with her hooves. Boiling-hot tears burst forth from her eyes, streaking through her facial fur and trailing down her cheeks. She tried desperately to breath, but the involuntary quaking of her torso forced the fresh air from her lungs. With the pittance of air she managed to breathe, she could muster nothing but sobs.

Briefly, the hysteria inundating her quieted. Birthed from the chaos was a powerful moment of intense clarity. A yearning, desperate desire struck her. But she cried again, because she knew it was impossible—she could never go back.

Rainbow alighted on the apex of the hill and folded her wings against her back. The expansive blue fields on the left and on the right spanned as far as the eye could see. A glittering creek carved a trailing path through the earth like melting butter rolling across hot bread fresh from the oven. Above, a brilliant full moon gleamed, accompanied by stars glowing like the dots of light adorning frosted windows of houses in Canterlot distant.

The return of her ability to fly in the dream realm did little to distract her from her misery. Despite her best efforts to the contrary, she recalled memories of her adventures in Nowhere. Above all, however, a single persistent memory dwelled in her mind and refused to lift...

She was so immersed in her own thoughts she failed to notice Princess Luna had emerged from the darkness between the stars and descended from the heavens. Her lips had moved, and one eyebrow had cocked. She had asked a question. Vivid images swamped Rainbow's brain and swum before her eyes. Startled from her stupor, she shook her head and blinked hard, clenching her eyes shut tightly. "Huh? Luna? What...?"

"I was just asking a question." Luna frowned, her facial expression communicating concern.

Rainbow sniffled. The tears she wanted desperately to release had already been shed. She was dry and withered, like a flower shriveled beneath scorching summer heat. "Do you... know? How m–much?"

"Enough." Luna neared and nuzzled her atop the head.

Rainbow folded her legs and collapsed onto the silky grass, laying her head on the ground limply. "I'm so, so tired, Luna. I'm so—"

Luna laid alongside her and draped one of her extensive wings over her. Silently, she bowed her head and closed her eyes in a respectful gesture of mourning.

"I saw so many creatures in Nowhere, but... only I made it out."

"You aren't responsible for anything. I understand you feel guilty for failing to save them, but don't chastise yourself for surviving. You aren't at fault."

"Everyone would be so disappointed if I told them the truth, especially my friends." The tension briefly released from her shoulders. "My friends, are they okay?"

"They're okay. They've been waiting for you. We all have been."

Rainbow's eyes tracked a meteor streaking across the sky, burning brightly and dramatically. "I don't know what to do anymore. I finally have what I wanted, but... there's such a huge hole in my heart..."

"Even after everything, you want to go back, don't you?" Before Rainbow could formulate an appropriate response, Luna gently shook her head and shushed her. "It's okay. You don't have to feel embarrassed. I know how it feels to love someone, only for that relationship to be torn." Her eyes lowered pensively. "You have something you'd like to say, don't you? Would you care to share it with me?"

Rainbow's ears folded in sorrow. Though it was difficult, she raised her voice and spoke. "All I wanted were for things to be okay. But even though they never were, even though things just kept going from bad to worse, no matter what was in my head, even with all of the doubts, when I was with him, I felt... something. I felt like I belonged. I was, well... I loved him."

Author's Note

That's all. Good job making it to the end. Thanks for reading! This edit took more than a year to write, and I'm so happy I stuck by it and saw it to the very end. I hope you enjoyed.

If you'd like to hear more of my thoughts about this rewrite and also some esoteric ramblings about the writing process in general, check out my blog post:

Quality is indeterminate—on the topic of fearing you aren't good enough