Suponynatural

Chapters

the storm
the forest
pegacas
the showdown

the storm

(Or: Welcome To My Night, Mare)

It was a dark and stormy night…

Dean Winchester stood at the rain-streaked window, gazing up at the raging sky. He shielded his eyes as a blast of lightning briefly turned night into day, accompanied by a sharp crack and a low bass boom that rattled the window in its pane. Then he looked away and pulled shut the hideous mustard-yellow and pea-green checkered curtains, silently hoping that if this had to be his last night on Earth, he wouldn't wind up spending it in this skanky hotel room.

He looked back towards the room's other occupants as another bolt of lightning caused the power to flicker, then go out. As it sputtered fitfully back on, the TV briefly flared to life, showing a grainy image of a news anchor with a yellow raincoat and umbrella, reciting an endless litany of disaster. Then the picture vanished in a burst of hissing static.

His brother Sam stood up from the edge of the rumpled, unmade bed, whacked the TV with the palm of his hand a couple of times, then gave up and switched it off. Looking over at Dean, he observed with concern, "These storms just keep getting worse, Dean. Much more of this and they'll tear the whole planet to pieces."

"That's why we need to stop it."

The brothers turned to look at the room's third occupant. He was slowly walking around the center of the room, where the beds had been pushed aside to leave an open space. As he walked, Castiel slowly poured a stream of gray ashes from a leather pouch, drawing a perfect circle on the manure-colored shag carpet. He continued without looking up, in a dryly resigned voice, "If we don't, even the Apocalypse may be a moot point."

"OK, Cas," Dean began, a bit resignedly, picking up a half-empty bottle of questionable liquor. "Why don't you explain it again. Y'know, for the slow learners in the audience."

"It's simple." Cas completed the ash circle, then tied off the bag and looked up. "These storms are not of natural origin."

"Yeah, we figured." Dean retorted. He took a drink, then gestured with his head towards the window as another blast of lightning painted the world in sickly, washed-out colors. "The green lightning was kind of a clue."

The angel gave him a disapproving look as he stepped inside the circle and set an ancient-looking wooden bowl down in the precise center. "So," he explained with visibly strained patience, "we need to journey to the origin of the disturbance."

Sam looked curious. "What do you mean? More time travel?"

"No. Time travel won't help." He poured the remains of the ashes into the bowl and stirred them with his finger, then looked up. "We'll stay at the same point in time, just move to a different reality."

Dean frowned. "Wait, how's that?"

Cas looked frustrated, glancing around the room as if seeking something. "Look at it this way."

He grabbed a stack of napkins from the dark wooden nightstand, each one emblazoned with a colorful Bloaty's Pizza Hog logo. He spread them out on the nearest bed in an approximate circle shape. "Think of these as different dimensions."

Dean looked amused. "If you say so." Then his expression darkened as Cas reached over and snatched the bottle from his hand. "Hey!"

Unperturbed, Cas held up the bottle and continued, "Now, think of this as the source of the disruption. It may be demonic, I'm not certain."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "A demon in a bottle?"

Cas exhaled heavily. "Try not to be so literal."

He held the bottle over the napkins. "Now, this entity is centered in a single reality. But the effects of its actions spill over into others, including our own. Like this." With that, he tilted the bottle and began to pour its contents in the center of the napkins, soaking their edges as the brownish liquid spread across the sheets.

"HEY!" Dean protested even louder, and rushed over to grab the now-mostly-empty bottle back from Cas. "Quit using my stuff for your visual aids, dammit!"

"Yeah, Cas," Sam observed, deadpan. "Dean paid almost five dollars for that booze."

Dean glowered at him. "SHUT up."

Castiel looked exasperated. "Do you understand? If it is a demon that's causing all this, we can't stop it from here. We need to travel to the dimension where it's strongest."

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze unfocused, as if he were listening to something human ears couldn't hear. "And we need to act quickly. If these storms continue unchecked, they'll rip this world apart. Along with any other worlds affected by this evil."

Dean took a swig of what was left of his drink as Cas crouched beside the wooden bowl again and dropped the empty leather bag inside it. "So," Dean said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "when we do this dimensional-travel gig, we bring along every anti-hellbitch thing we've got, right? Demon knife, holy water, the whole deal?"

Cas shook his head as he stood up. "No. You can't bring any physical objects with you."

Dean's sarcasm would've moved mountains. "Oh, terrific."

Sam blinked in alarm. "Wait, no physical objects at all?" He glanced down at himself, tugged at his shirt, then looked up again. "So will this be like a, you know…Terminator thing?"

Cas looked pained. "I never understand what you're talking about." Then he glanced down at the bowl. "I need one more thing." With that, he vanished with a familiar wing-flapping sound.

Dean sighed. "I hate when he does that." Lifting the bottle for another drink, he turned around, and nearly ran into Cas coming the other way.

"Excuse me." Cas moved around him, then crouched beside the bowl.

Dean glared at him, then looked at Sam in exasperation. "And I really hate it when he does that!" Sam could only give a resigned shrug.

Then Dean happened to notice the glittering, marble-sized objects Cas was placing into the bowl one by one. Blinking once, Dean asked, "Wait. Are those diamonds?"

"Yes."

Blinking again, he demanded, "As in real diamonds?"

Cas looked impatient, clearly not understanding why the subject was still under discussion. "Yes."

Dean let out a low whistle. "Damn." He shook his head. "Any one of those babies could probably buy us a house."

"Several houses, most likely."

Dean said no more, but silently consoled himself by tilting his bottle back and guzzling the last of its contents. Sam, who'd been watching without comment, finally asked as if he didn't really want to know the answer: "Cas…where exactly did you get those?"

He replied without looking up, "From a bank vault in Phoenix."

Dean sprayed his drink halfway across the room. Sam sputtered, "You can't just-!"

Cas interrupted, "Sam, don't you think there's a certain-" he made air quotes,"-'greater good' involved here?" Dean was too busy coughing violently to add anything as Cas insisted, "The ritual must be performed now. We won't get another chance at this. Are you two coming, or not?"

Dean fought down his coughs and spoke in a raspy voice. "Fine." He tossed the empty bottle in the trash, then stepped inside the circle of ashes. "But when we get back, you and me are gonna have a serious talk about finances."

Joining him inside the circle, Sam shot his brother a warning glare. "Don't even think about it."

Dean affected a pouty face. "Spoilsport."

Cas gestured towards the floor. "You should probably be seated."

They complied, sitting cross-legged on the floor across from him as he raised the bowl in his hands. The contents of the bowl made a rattling noise as he swirled it three times, then set it down again. Dean joked, "We're not gonna have a sing-along, are we?" However, he received no response other than an exasperated eye-roll from Sam.

Cas looked over his handiwork once more, then nodded in satisfaction. "Everything is ready." He glanced over at them. "You won't be able to remain in your human bodies, I'm afraid."

Dean's jaw dropped open with an incoherent "hwha?" sound as Sam demanded in a voice at least two octaves higher than normal, "Wait, WHAT?"

"You should prepare yourselves." Cas raised his hand palm-down over the bowl, closing his eyes.

A brilliant white glow consumed the room as, in overlapping voices, Sam protested "Whoa, wait, hang on," and Dean yelled, "Cas, you son of a-"

. . .

the forest

. . .

"-BITCH!"

The hollow echoes of Dean's shout died away into silence. He found himself surrounded by total darkness, damp and oppressive. For a moment, Dean heard nothing but the sound of his own heartbeat, and a faint whispering noise, like a distant wind. He scrambled to his feet, feeling a hard scraping sensation as he did so, as if the soles of his shoes were encased in metal. Every instinct he possessed was telling him something was different, very different, but he couldn't quite place what had changed.

Blinking rapidly, he strained to see through the inky blackness, to no avail. He swallowed hard, his throat dry and raspy as he called, "Sammie?"

A nervous-sounding voice came from his right. "Yeah, Dean, I'm here."

"You, uh…" He paused. "You OK?"

"I think so. I mean…nothing feels bad, anyway." There was a grunt and a rustling sound as Sam climbed to his feet beside him, along with that strange scraping noise. "How 'bout you?"

"Sure, I'm great." Dean's voice was high-pitched and tense. "OK, so…are we human?"

There was a long silence, then a hesitant response. "I'm…not sure."

Dean swallowed again. "Great. OK, fine, it's all good, I can deal." He took a deep breath, then went on, "I can't see a damn thing, can you?"

"Not really." Sam paused, then continued more confidently, "Wait, yes. It looks like it's lighter, straight ahead of us. I think maybe we're in a tunnel? Or a cave?"

"Perfect." Dean shuddered all over, the action feeling indefinably strange. He could feel a chilly breeze ruffling the hair on the back of his neck, moving all over his body. Then he realized: "Oh, crap, I think I'm naked."

Before he could say more, he heard Sam ask in confused tones, "Is it getting hot in here?"

"Yeah, it…whoa!" Dean flinched as a putrid stench assaulted his nostrils. "Dude! Did you have to hit the burritos before we left?"

Sam's voice sounded scandalized. "That wasn't me!"

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't m-!"

His voice cut off as a brilliant red glow flared into existence above and behind him. Slowly, unwillingly, he turned and looked up.

Flickering scarlet flames spewed forth from the mouth and nostrils of a gigantic red-scaled reptilian head that loomed over them. The creature's yellow slit-pupiled eyes narrowed as it growled at them, showing a mouthful of long, white, pointed fangs. And its deep, rumbling voice bellowed in tones that made the rock walls tremble:

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY CAVE?"

"WHOA SHIT-!" Dean yelled as the dragon reared up and sucked in a deep breath, drawing the flames back inside its mouth, plunging the cave into total blackness again. In the sudden darkness, there was a confused moment of thrashing and stamping and a noise that sounded like a panicked whinny before Dean pulled himself together long enough to shout, "RUN!"

They ran, just ahead of a roaring blast of flame that licked at their heels, the heat of it singing their bodies and stinging their eyes. The brothers bolted out into the night as fast as their legs would carry them, as a mighty roar came from behind. "AND STAY OUT!"

Dean's heart hammered in his chest, his feet pounding rhythmically against the grassy earth as he yelled, without turning around, "Dude!"

He heard Sam shout from beside him, "I know!"

Even through the shock and panic, some insistent thoughts were jumping up and down in the back of Dean's mind, trying to get his attention. Something about the way he was running just wasn't right. Plus his footsteps sounded too loud, and he seemed to be hearing way too many of them for just two people…

Without slowing in his headlong sprint, Dean turned to look at Sam. At the exact same moment, as if drawn by some shared instinct, Sam turned to look at Dean.

With incoherent yells and choked-off profanities, they lost their step, stumbled, and fell. Sam crashed into a row of bushes with a pained shout as Dean sprawled flat on his face, skidding for several feet across the wet turf before finally coming to a halt.

Groaning aloud, Dean hauled himself to his feet. He looked over at his brother, silently begging that what he'd seen had been just a hallucination. But a second look only confirmed what he'd seen before: his brother was a leggy, brown-coated creature with hooves, a mane and tail, and in the most blatant non-sequitur of all, a picture of an open book on his left flank.

"Sam?" Dean asked incredulously. "Is that you?"

Sam struggled free of the shrubbery, and returned his brother's stare with one of his own, his mouth hanging open in shock. "Oh, crap. Dean, you're-!"

"Oh, no, don't tell me…" Wincing as if whatever he'd see was likely to burn his eyes out, he turned his head to look back at himself.

"Oh my GOD, my ass is huge." He flicked his short, dark-brown tail back and forth. "And that feels totally wrong." Then he cocked his head sideways and blinked in bewilderment as he caught sight of his flank. "And why the hell do I have a BOC symbol on my ass?"

"A what?" Sam shook the leaves from his mane, then jerked his long tail free from the bushes with an "Ow."

"You know, Blue Öyster Cult? Like from that stupid Hell House case?" He pounded the ground with his hooves in near-insane frustration. "WHY THE HELL IS IT ON MY GODDAMNED ASS?"

Sam looked pained. "Uh…someone's idea of a joke, I guess?" He tried to look upwards at his forehead, shaking his head to sweep his parted forelock out of his eyes. Reaching up with his front leg, he froze, and tilted his head sideways to look down at his hoof. Then he lowered it back to the ground, as gingerly as if he were handling a live grenade. "OK. This? This is weird."

"You THINK?" Dean's voice was beyond incredulous. "Horses? Seriously?" He shook himself, ruffling his short, spiky mane. "Talking horses?"

"Um…" Sam looked at himself, then at Dean again. Sheepishly, he observed, "I think we're more like, uh…ponies…actually."

"Oh, great." Dean stomped in a circle, fuming. "So we're short horses." He snorted in disgust, letting out a visible cloud of steam. "What the hell was Cas thinking?"

Sam had a sudden realization. "Speaking of…" He looked all around them. "Where is he, anyway?"

Dean blinked. "Didn't he come with us?"

Sam shook his head, looking increasingly concerned. "I don't think so!"

"Cas?" Dean called. "Hey, dumbass, are you there?" Looking around, he saw nothing but an expanse of grass and forest ringed by distant blue mountains. Straining for any hint of sound, he moved his ears back and forth, which felt extremely peculiar. But he heard nothing but the murmur of the cold wind, and a distant rumble of thunder from the churning, cloud-blanketed sky.

Dean's expression turned horrified as he looked back towards the cave they'd recently vacated. A trail of black smoke still drifted from the cave mouth. "Oh God. Did he get eaten by the dragon?"

Sam swallowed audibly. "No way. He couldn't have." He lowered his head, his ears flattening back against his neck. "Maybe we should try, ah, praying for him?"

"Fine." Dean scowled and closed his eyes. "Castiel," he began, his voice a low grumble that sounded far more retaliatory than worshipful, "wherever the hell thou art, get thy ass over here if it's still un-eaten and un-fried, because we totally need to kick you into next freakin' week!"

He opened his eyes and looked around. Sam shook his head. "Nothing," he observed. Closing his own eyes, Sam spoke in more conciliatory tones. "Castiel, if you can hear this, we really…" He paused for emphasis. "…REALLY need to talk to you." He had a thought. "And if you're, I dunno, just embarrassed because you're a pony now, or whatever…"

"Serves you right," Dean broke in.

"…Don't worry about it, just, ah, come if you can, all right?"

Castiel…

Sam's eyes snapped open as Dean looked around frantically, demanding, "Dude, what was that?"

Castiel can't…save you…

The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, a scraping whisper underscored by a threatening rumble. The wind became a gale, setting the leaves and grass to shivering, whipping the brothers' manes and tails into a dancing frenzy. His eyes wide, Sam nervously observed, "I really don't think that's Cas!"

Dean glared up at the roiling sky, shouting, "Who the hell are you? Show yourself!"

You will…DIE…

A bolt of green lightning came screaming down from the heavens, blasting into the ground between them. The brothers reared up with loud, panicked whinnies that they would be very embarrassed about later, then ran for their lives. Hooves churning up the turf, they weaved and dodged as virulent green bolts struck at them, again and again.

"Head for the trees!" Dean yelled, lowering his head in grim determination as he ran.

Sam had to duck as they charged into the forest, galloping beneath the low-hanging branches. The booming voice came from the sky behind them, bellowing in insane rage, You…can't hide! I will…KILL YOU!

Dead branches flailed in the raging wind, snatching at the brothers as they ran, leaving cuts and welts on their necks and flanks. They leaped in unison over a fallen log, but Dean misjudged the distance and stumbled with a grunt, scraping his hind leg on the rough bark. Sam looked back in concern, but Dean only scrambled to all fours and took off again, shouting, "Don't wait for me! Keep going!

They finally broke from the forest, into an icy wind that slammed into their faces, turning every step into a heroic effort. Fighting for breath, Dean yelled, "What the hell did we do to piss this thing off?"

"I dunno!" Sam gestured sharply forward with his head, his voice raspy from exertion. "Look, over that bridge! There's houses, maybe a village!"

Dean nodded. "Head for that! Maybe it won't be able to spot us in there!"

It seemed as if Dean's hunch was right. The clouds swirled and seethed high overhead, and neon lightning shredded the sky, but no more bolts came near them. Finally, the green glow faded to a sullen gray, and with a final vindictive roar, the voice went silent.

Sam and Dean didn't even slow down. Hooves clattering hollowly over the wet, cobblestoned streets, they barreled full-tilt through the town. They found themselves surrounded by strange, fanciful buildings and straw-roofed houses, but saw no lighted windows, no signs of life. Dean's chest was starting to ache with his labored breathing, and his left hind leg throbbed with every step. "Looks like…place is…deserted?"

"Over there! That house…tree…whatever!" Sam veered to his right, Dean struggling to keep up. "There's light in the windows!"

Finally, they reached the door of the strange tree-building, skidding to a halt in front of a wooden door with a painted candle. For a moment, the brothers could do nothing more than try to catch their breath, heads lowered and sides heaving. Then Dean swallowed hard, trying to moisten his parched throat, and asked, "Now what? Do we knock?"

Sam glanced nervously back at the sky, then took a long, deep breath. "Guess we don't have much choice." Hesitantly at first, then with a look of resolve, he raised his right forehoof and rapped firmly on the door.

"Hello?" Sam called. "Could you let us in, please? We could really use some help!"

Dean thought he could hear voices and movement from inside, and his ears moved as he tried to pinpoint the sound. However, the door in front of them showed no signs of opening. "I don't think we're gettin' in, Sam."

Sam gave a long, frustrated exhalation. "Great. What else could possibly go wrong?"

With a loud BOOM of thunder, it began to rain. Within seconds, a drizzle became a downpour, soaking them to the skin, plastering their manes against their necks and foreheads.

Ears and tail sagging, Dean turned and glowered at his brother. "You just had to say it, didn't you?"

Sam opened his mouth, but didn't get a chance to retort as the door was cautiously opened from within. Inside the treehouse, backlit by a warm glow of candlelight, stood two ponies. They looked out at the unexpected arrivals with what appeared to be caution mixed with concern.

"Boy howdy," drawled the closest one, a yellow-colored pony who was, in what would have seemed incongruous any other day of the week, wearing a cowboy hat. She let out a long, low whistle. "Looks like you colts have seen better days."

The brothers looked at each other, then Dean finally spoke. "Yes…ma'am," he said, trying to sound as polite and deferential as possible, considering he felt like he was slowly turning into a block of dripping ice. "But it's really, really cold and wet out here, so would you mind if we came inside?" Another crack of thunder made him twitch, and he tried for his best, most charming smile. "Please?"

Another pony looked out from behind the first. This one was purple and had a small, spiraling horn in the center of her forehead. Sam saw this, lost his train of thought for a moment, then managed to say: "We won't be any trouble, we promise."

The two ponies inside looked at each other, then did the last thing either of the brothers would have expected.

"Why, of course you can!" the hat-wearing one said, as if astonished that any other possibility might have been considered. She stepped aside and waved them in, her expression turning sympathetic. "Poor things. Y'all look like you tangled with a nest of polecats."

Exchanging glances as if unable to believe, or trust, their good fortune, Sam and Dean stepped inside. "Thanks," Dean began, then let out a surprised "Whoa!" as warm blankets were apparently levitated from nowhere onto their backs and wrapped snugly around them.

The unicorn's horn was surrounded by a faint purple glow as the blankets tucked themselves into place. "Just try not to get the books wet, please!" she requested, smiling.

Sam looked all around the interior as if mesmerized. The walls were covered floor-to-ceiling with full bookshelves, and even the floor was piled with tomes of every size, shape and description. "Wow," he observed, in tones of amazement mixed with adoration.

Dean sighed. "Dude, you're totally having a nerdgasm, aren't you?"

Sam shot a withering look at his brother, but was distracted from any possible comeback as steaming mugs were placed before them with a clink and thud. "Here ya go, boys," the yellow pony offered with a smile. "On the house. Only the first round's free, though," she added with a wink.

The brothers hesitated barely a second before plunging muzzles-first into the hot cider. She continued, "Name's Applejack, by the way. And this here's Twilight Sparkle."

Under normal circumstances, Dean might have made some wisecrack about that name (or possibly both of them), but was too blissfully deep in cider to care. Sam was likewise enjoying himself, but came up for air long enough to say, "I'm Sam, and this is my brother Dean. Pleased to meet you."

Dean glanced up at them without raising his head, vaguely waving a foreleg with a mumbled "H'lo."

The cozy scene was somewhat marred by another crack of green lightning, followed by a shuddering roll of thunder that shook the treehouse to its roots. Twilight shivered and looked over her shoulder at the nearest window. "Sorry we can't stop to talk. But we're trying to figure out what to do about these crazy storms."

Sam put his head to one side, looking intrigued. "Have you found out what's causing them?"

She shook her head sadly. "No. And they keep getting worse." Her ears and tail drooped, and she seemed almost on the verge of tears. "I'm supposed to be better at magic than this! But everything I try just keeps failing!"

Applejack nudged her companion. "Now, don't be so hard on yourself. You're still the best dang magic-user in all of Equestria." Twilight looked uncertain, but managed a weak smile. Looking back towards the brothers, Applejack continued, "So you two relax and stay in here for a while. Twilight'll figure this thing out, don't you worry."

With that, the two fillies moved off towards the other side of the library. Dean waited until they were deeply involved in rummaging through precariously-stacked piles of books. Then he shouldered his brother to get his attention.

"Dude," Dean asked in an urgent whisper, "What kind of insane crap have we gotten into? Purple unicorns and libraries in trees? Seriously, what the hell?"

Then he looked alarmed, and pushed his empty mug away with a hoof as if fearing he might have drunk something poisonous. "And why are they being so nice to us?"

Sam shrugged, and whispered back, "Maybe they're just nice…ponies?"

Dean hissed under his breath, "Nobody's ever this nice to us! They must be, I dunno, fattening us up to eat us or something!"

Twilight looked up from her book. "Everything OK over there?" she asked brightly.

With a big smile, Dean replied, "Sure! Absolutely! Couldn't be better!"

She smiled back. Then her eyes flickered towards Sam, and her smile grew even wider as her eyes seemed to drift out of focus. Shaking herself, she looked away as if embarrassed, and took a big bite out of a gleaming red apple that sat atop the nearest stack of books, munching away as she returned to her reading.

Sam chuckled at his brother's misgivings. "Somehow I don't think we're on the menu, Dean." Then a thought occurred to him. "Hey," he whispered. "Think we should ask if anybody's seen Cas?"

Dean shook his head. "What do we say? 'Hi, we're looking for our friend, except we're not actually what he looks like now, or if he's even in this dimension'?" He sighed. "Look, I'm worried about him, too, Sam. But for now, I think he's on his own."

Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But maybe they can still help us."

With that, Sam shook the blanket off his shoulders and trotted over to the fillies. "Actually, we were wondering…do you have a, ah…" He ran though a mental list of possibilities including phone and computer and rejected them all as unlikely before finally asking, "…do you have any contact with the outside? Anypony outside your village, I mean?"

He barely had time to think, Did I just say 'anypony'? That was weird, as Applejack shook her head sadly. "Sorry. All of Ponyville's been holed up since this crazy weather started kickin' in." She lowered her eyes. "I sure hope my family's doin' OK back at the ranch."

Twilight gave her friend a consoling pat on the shoulder, then looked over at the brothers, her large purple eyes filled with concern. "My letters to the princess aren't getting through, either." Sam and Dean looked at each other, concluded that apparently this was supposed to mean something to them, and only nodded in confused silence. She continued in a sympathetic voice, "Spike exhausted himself trying to send them. The poor dragon's asleep now."

Dean's ears shot up in alarm. "Dragon? Where?"

Applejack raised a forehoof to her mouth to stifle a chuckle as Twilight assured, "No no, it's OK! Spike's just a baby dragon. Look!"

The brothers followed her pointing hoof and saw a tiny purple-and-green lump curled up inside a wicker basket, snoring rhythmically. They both visibly relaxed. Thinking it best to change the subject, Sam looked around at the piles of books heaped on every possible surface. "You've got quite a library here," he observed with a smile.

"Really? Wow, thanks! I mean," Twilight gave a nervous laugh. "Not all of these are mine, of course. But, um…"

She looked away bashfully, then looked up at him again. "You see, I, well, um…" She lowered her eyes and shuffled her hooves before continuing, "I couldn't help but notice you had a book for your cutie mark…"

Dean was suddenly seized with a coughing fit as Sam almost choked in alarm. "My what?"

She seemed not to notice as she went on, "So, I figured you must really like books, and, um, I really like books a lot too, and, ah…" She trailed off, then gazed up at him with wide, glistening eyes, and said, her voice trembling with emotion: "You're REALLY tall."

Dean and Applejack both tried to hold back snorts of laughter, with limited success. Her cheeks turning a violent shade of red, Twilight immediately snatched up the nearest book and pretended to be deeply engrossed in it. Unfortunately, this book happened to be entitled Principles of Pony Accounting, and also happened to be upside down.

Sam shot a withering glare at his brother, who tried to look innocent. Then movement from outside the window caught Sam's attention, and he asked, "Hey. Am I seeing things, or is that a pony…flying?"

Twilight and Applejack leaped up at once. "Rainbow Dash!" they exclaimed.

A drenched, wind-blown shape battered against the window from outside. "Hey!" an aggravated-sounding voice shouted against the roar of the storm. "Open up in there!"

Twilight hurried towards the window as Sam protested, "Wait, be careful!"

"It's OK!" she assured him. "She's our friend!" With that, she flung open the window, and a wet, bedraggled blue Pegasus came zooming in. She hovered in mid-air for a moment, rainbow-colored tail streaming behind her in the wind. Then her eyes rolled upwards as she moaned and collapsed to the floor with a thud.

Rainbow Dash rubbed her forehead wearily as the other fillies helped her scrabble to her feet. "I've been trying everything," she complained. "I tried kicking away the clouds, I tried making a whirlwind…I even tried to do a Sonic Rainboom!" The way she said this implied it was something incredibly impressive, so the brothers didn't ask questions.

She lowered her head and shook her dripping wings, glowering in frustration. "Nothing works on this stupid storm!"

Then she caught sight of the Winchesters, and narrowed her eyes. "Who are these colts?" she asked, not sounding impressed.

Twilight assured, "They're friends. We'll explain later."

Sam and Dean looked at each other. Then Sam began, "Uh, Rainbow Dash, is it? When you were up there, did you happen to hear a…" He hesitated, then went on, "…a voice?"

Applejack snorted. "Sugarcube, I think you've been hittin' the cider a little too hard."

However, Rainbow Dash put her head to one side, regarding him quizzically. "How'd you know that? I thought I was just hearing things!"

Dean asked urgently, "What did it say?"

She shook her head, flapping her wings as she rose into the air. "Nothing, really. It just kind of…laughed." She snorted in annoyance, crossing her forelegs in a sulky gesture. "Really made me mad, too."

With fading hope, Dean went on, "You didn't hear a name? Like, say…Castiel?"

She gave him a puzzled look. "Nope. What kind of a name's 'Castiel'?"

Dean looked at the floor, unable to hide his disappointment. "He's a friend of ours," he finally admitted. "And he's kind of missing."

Applejack looked sympathetic, trotting over to Dean and patting his shoulder. Then her attention was drawn to the still-open window as a fresh burst of rain and wind spattered the inside of the room. Her eyes widened and she blinked several times, asking, "That wouldn't happen t' be him up there, would it?"

The brothers' ears perked up in unison as they ran over to look out the window. Squinting against the driving rain, Dean could barely make out a distant winged shape. It was wheeling and dodging in all directions, fighting its way through the relentless fury of the storm. Vicious green lightning bolts lanced down around the flier, the deafening thundercracks sounding like shrieks of thwarted fury.

"Cas? Cas?"Dean yelled at the top of his lungs, rearing up and propping his forelegs against the windowsill. "Hey! Over here!"

Sam added his shouts to Dean's, waving frantically. "Get inside! Hurry!"

Rainbow Dash shielded her eyes with a forehoof as she joined them at the window, flapping in place above them. "Whoa!" she observed, sounding genuinely impressed. "Those are some totally cool moves he's AAAH!"

The entire group barely had time to leap and/or duck out of the way as a tan-and-black blur zoomed in through the window, accompanied by a deluge of rain that caused Twilight to shriek in alarm and telekinetically fling dozens of books out of harm's way. Then the figure collided with the far wall with a treehouse-shaking, book-scattering, ladder-toppling crash.

Struggling to his feet, Dean groaned and shook a fallen book off his head, then aimed his gaze at the new arrival.

A tan-colored Pegasus with black wings aimed an upside-down blue-eyed glare at him. He was slumped with his back against the wall and his golden-halo-marked hindquarters straight in the air, all four legs waving vaguely as his light brown tail flopped wetly to one side. He shook his head irritably, further scruffling his wet, spiky mane, and causing the blue tie around his neck to go violently askew. Books continued to tilt and fall off the shelves all around him as he said, in a low, gravelly, and thoroughly displeased voice, "That was completely intentional."

Dean didn't know whether to shout for joy, burst out laughing, or deliver the biggest beatdown of his life. "Cas? Is that you?"

Castiel's expression suggested that, if he was ever asked to numerically rank the stupidest questions he'd ever been asked in his entire existence, that one would definitely make the top five. "Yes."

He paused as another book fell past him with a thud, then went on insistently, "Listen. I know what's caus-"

"Uh, Cas?" Sam interrupted, pointing out, "You're upside down."

Cas glowered at him. "I'm aware of that." However, he seemed uncertain of what precisely to do about it. He kicked at the air with his hind legs, then arched his back several times, producing no visible result. Scowling even more than usual, he opened his mouth as if to say something. However, the point was made moot as he was barreled over with an "Oof!" noise by an extremely enthusiastic Rainbow Dash.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, barely giving him time to stagger up to all fours before vigorously pumping his right foreleg in congratulations. "That was some AWESOME flying!"

She let him go, and he wobbled in place for a moment with his hoof still up in the air. Barely pausing for breath, she went on, "Well, not as awesome as mine, of course. But still, it was way cool!" Cas was forced to duck several times to avoid being smacked in the head as she enthusiastically gestured, "You were all like, WHOOSH! And then, ZOOM! And then-!"

Applejack chuckled. "Ease up there, Rainbow." She shouldered her friend away from the befuddled Cas as Twilight stifled a giggle. "Give that pony room to breathe." Applejack took his skewed tie in her front hooves and straightened it out, then reached up and gave him a fond pat on the head. "You OK there, sugarcube?"

Cas only stared at her in wide-eyed bewilderment, seeming to have utterly lost his train of thought, and possibly had a complete mental breakdown as well. Sam nudged Dean in the ribs to stop him snickering, then prompted, "You were saying you know what's causing the storms?"

Cas turned to face the brothers. "Yes." He nodded once, as his expression settled into its usual grim stoneface, which didn't look quite as impressive on a tie-wearing Pegasus. "I should have realized it from the start. I've encountered him before, a long time ago."

Rainbow Dash looked confused as she flapped all around him. "Encountered who?"

Lowering his head, Cas shook himself vigorously from head to tail-tip, spraying water in every direction and causing his audience to flinch and protest in unison. Then he looked confused, and glanced back at himself as if wondering why he'd just done that. However, he composed himself and continued, "His name is Asfaloth."

Dean flicked an ear back and forth, repeating, "Asfaloth? So who's that? Some high-ranking demon?"

"A high-ranking what?" Twilight asked skeptically, putting her head to one side.

Sam glanced over at her, his voice heavy. "Trust me. You're better off not knowing."

Folding his wings against his sides, Cas shook his head wearily, his expression changing to one of sorrow, even regret. "No. Asfaloth isn't a demon." He hesitated, and a reverberating thundercrack added an appropriate dramatic underscoring as he said:

"He's an angel."

. . .

pegacas

. . .

Dean blinked several times, demanding incredulously, "An angel? That…Perfect-Storm-with-an-attitude thing is a freaking ANGEL?"

Cas nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so."

Twilight looked confused. "What do you mean, an angel?"

Both Dean and Cas opened their mouths at once to define the word, probably in vastly different ways, but Sam quickly overrode them. "We'll explain later." He turned towards Cas. "So how do we stop him?"

"And by 'stop' we mean 'gank'," Dean added, in a low growl.

Twilight opened her mouth as if to ask him to clarify this term, then seemed to have second (or third) thoughts, and closed it again.

Cas shook his head. "We can't."

Sam gaped at him. "What?"

Ears flattened, Cas let out a snorted breath. "We. Can't. Stop him," he said very slowly and deliberately. "What part of that am I failing to make clear?"

There were a few moments of very uncomfortable silence, broken only by the hammering rain against the walls and windows, and the occasional muffled baby-dragon snore. Finally, Sam turned around to look at the group. "Ladies, could you give us a moment, please?"

The three girls looked at each other, then Applejack slowly nodded. "Sure, no problem." She and Twilight turned and headed for the far side of the library, while Rainbow Dash remained stubbornly flapping in place. "You too, Rainbow," Applejack insisted, grabbing Rainbow by the tail and dragging her off.

"But I wanna…! Aww," Rainbow protested sullenly as she finally gave in and joined her friends. Sam waited until they were all deep in conversation on the other side of the room. Then he and Dean moved in towards Cas, huddling together as Sam spoke in a low, aggravated whisper.

"What's going on, Cas?" he demanded. "I mean, you dump us in this dimension, then you vanish and we don't know what the hell happened to you…"

"Not to mention you turn us into barnyard animals," Dean added irritably.

"And now you say we can't even stop the thing that's causing all this? I mean, what the hell?" Sam angrily lashed his tail back and forth, looked back as he realized what he was doing, and quickly pressed it against his body to hold it still.

Castiel looked defensive. "I'm sorry if you find your circumstances…unpleasant," he said. "But I did try to warn you. Humans can't exist in this reality." He flared his wings, nearly whacking Dean in the face. "This was the best I could do, believe me."

Dean took a step back to avoid any more wing attacks. "Yeah, well, never mind that now. What happened back there? Why'd you bail on us?"

Cas looked away, his mouth setting in a hard line. "Asfaloth attacked the instant I completed the ritual. I had only a fraction of a second to act." He looked at them both in turn. "So I transported myself as far away from you as possible, hoping to draw him off." He nodded towards their scratches and scrapes. "From the looks of things, I assume I didn't quite succeed."

Sam and Dean looked at each other uncomfortably. Finally, Dean offered, "Yeah, well…guess you did your best. So thanks for that."

Cas nodded. "You're welcome," he replied, without a trace of irony.

Sam exhaled heavily. "OK, fine. Now we know what we're up against. So why can't we do something about it?"

Cas' ears and tail drooped. "Because I'm powerless."

"WHAT?" the brothers yelled in unison.

From the other side of the room, the three fillies looked up from their conversation, staring at them. Dean tried to give his absolute best don't-worry-everything's-fine smile. From the dubious looks on their faces, it didn't go over as well as he'd hoped. However, they turned away and went back to their own conversation, Twilight insistently pointing to the page of an open book.

Dean leaned in towards Cas, his voice an extremely dangerous whisper. "Cas, this better not be your idea of a joke, because I swear…"

Cas snapped, flaring his black-feathered wings again, "It isn't a joke, Dean-!"

Dean narrowly avoided another wing-smack. "And watch it with those things, willya?"

"It took an immense amount of power to transport us here! Then Asfaloth nearly destroyed you the moment we arrived, and I had to use the last of my energies just to stop him!" He lowered his wings again, and his voice grew acidic. "So I'm sorry. But for the moment, I have no more power than any other…" He glanced back at himself. "…flying…hooved mammal."

Sam gave a weary sigh, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his forehead with a hoof. "Pegasus, Cas. You're a Pegasus."

Dean smirked. "PegaCas," he observed, in the tones of someone who'd just come up with something very clever. His only reward was a pair of withering looks. "What?"

Cas exhaled heavily and sat down on his haunches, nudging the bookcase behind him. "Asfaloth has been drawing power from the very storms he creates, blending it with his own. So he's not entirely an angel, not any more."

Sam looked worried. "So we can't do the banishing thing on him?"

"No. The energies he's absorbed have bound him to this world. We can't banish him without causing substantial damage to the planet." He shook his head. "And we can't just-gank him-" he added, with a significant look towards Dean, "either. He has no physical body to kill."

Dean stomped a hind hoof in frustration. "There's gotta be something." He wracked his brain for a solution, but came up with nothing. He looked pleadingly over at Sam. "Well, come on, Sammie! You're supposed to be the brains of this outfit!"

"Well…ah…" Sam looked thoughtful. "Maybe we could, I don't know, contain him somehow?"

"A-hem," came a hesitant voice from behind him.

"Just a second, Twilight," Sam said, without turning around. "You know, maybe there's some kind of ritual, or binding spell…"

"Excuse me," Twilight said, more insistently.

Dean snapped, more angrily than he'd intended, "Hang on, OK?" Then he frowned, forehead creasing in thought. "So, what, you think we can find some way to trap him, or something like…"

FWHEEEEEEEEET!

An ear-piercing whistle caused the trio to startle in unison. They all stared at Applejack, who lowered her hoof from her mouth with a smug expression. Rainbow Dash, smirking from overhead, looked towards Twilight. And the unicorn telekinetically floated an ancient-looking tome in front of them, gestured towards the open pages, and asked in triumph:

"Is this what you're looking for?"

. . .

In short order, three colts and three fillies gathered around a large, antique-looking book laid open on the floor. A ring of candles surrounded them, the warm orange light casting flickering shadows as the group peered intently at the thin, angular writing and faded diagrams. A distant rumble of thunder made the treehouse vibrate, but the storm's wrath seemed to have subsided for the moment. And the interior of the library was much cozier now that someone had actually had the idea to shut the window.

Twilight moved her hoof across the open pages. "This is really old magic," she explained. "I don't think anypony's tried it for over nine hundred years. But it talks about a malevolent force of pure energy, and how a group of ponies managed to imprison it forever."

Dean nodded. "OK, we're listening."

She seemed briefly intimidated by the weight of all the eyes upon her, but visibly gathered her courage and continued. "The magic-users of old used this incantation to split the evil force into pieces." She tapped an archaic-looking, stylized drawing of a unicorn with wavering beams of light emanating from its horn. "They bound its energy into several large gemstones, then buried the stones deep underground, imprisoning it for all time."

Sam looked intrigued. "So I don't suppose you happen to have some really big gems lying around?"

Applejack smiled mysteriously. "We don't. But I know somepony who probably does."

Dean glanced towards the solemn-looking Pegasus beside him. "Well, Cas, whattaya think?"

Cas looked thoughtful. "It's a start," he acknowledged. "But it may not be enough. However…" He looked up at the group. "If we bind his energies, bury the stones, and I place an anti-angel sigil over them…"

"Don't ask," Dean quickly told the confused-looking fillies.

"…then that might be enough to keep him confined." His expression became unreadable, the wavering candlelight casting dark shadows beneath his eyes. "Trapped and helpless, alone beneath the earth, forever."

Rainbow Dash burst up into the air. "Well, what're we waiting for?" she demanded, throwing forehoof punches. "Let's take this thing out!"

Applejack said, "Hold on, sugarcube." She pointed towards the page. "This here spell says we need three in the air, three on the ground." She looked around at the gathered group. "By my count that leaves us one flier short."

Twilight looked thoughtful. "Well," she suggested, "I could use a spell to give one of us wings…"

Dean scooted backward with a look of terror. "Uh uh. No. No way."

Sam looked wickedly amused, but said, "Nice thought, but it looks like this spell needs seven participants." He tapped the top of the drawing with his hoof, reading aloud from the text. "Three in the sky, to split the power's will." Then he tapped the bottom. "Three on the ground, to draw the power into the earth."

"I volunteer for that," Dean said quickly. Cas rolled his eyes, but offered no comment.

Sam continued reading, "And one in the center of all, to speak the words and bind the power for eternity." He smiled across the book at Twilight. "So I'm guessing that'd be you."

Twilight giggled nervously, giving him a starry-eyed look. Then, at a pointed throat-clearing from Applejack, she shook herself and said, in exaggeratedly serious tones, "Ahem. Yes. I can do that." Then she seemed to deflate as she added meekly, "That is…I'll do my best."

For what seemed like a long time, no one spoke. Then, slowly, Cas nodded once. "This is a reasonably intelligent plan," he said. "It almost has a chance of working."

The others looked dubious, but Dean only shrugged. "Hey, from him? That's like jumping up and down and cheering."

Then he looked around at the three fillies, and gave a slightly wicked grin. "So whattaya say, ladies? Do we do this?"

Rainbow Dash and Applejack chorused, "Yeah!" while Twilight leaped to her feet and shouted, "Group hug!"

Several blank pairs of eyes stared back at her. Slowly, with a weak, embarrassed smile, Twilight sat back down. "Or…not."

. . .

Less than an hour had passed as the wind and lightning grew quiet, and the rain subsided to a sullen drizzle. Dean stood outside the library, gazing up at the featureless, iron-gray sky. He cautiously took a few steps out from under the shelter of the tree, looking up as if expecting to be incinerated at any moment. When this failed to happen, he visibly relaxed and glanced back towards Sam and Cas. "Looks like the coast is clear."

The other two approached him, both sporting a pair of white saddlebags across their backs. Dean snickered at them. "Dudes, nice fanny packs." He smirked openly. "What, were they having a sale down at the Gap?" However, his smirk vanished as Applejack came up behind him and plopped a matching set on his own back.

Sam affected a look of saintly innocence. "Nice fanny p-"

"Dude, I will break your face."

Applejack glanced back towards the library's front door, where Twilight was saying her farewells to a pair of new arrivals. One, a white unicorn with a curling purple mane, appeared to be having a moment of drama as she flung herself into a rib-crushing hug with Twilight, sobbing as if her friend was heading for certain death. The other, a bright pink pony with an exaggeratedly curly mane and tail, was gleefully bouncing around in circles, seeming completely unfazed by anything up to and including the prospective end of the world.

Noticing the boys' expressions, Applejack chuckled. "Rarity an' Pinkie Pie'll be OK," she observed. "They're gonna stay at the library and look after Spike in the meanwhile."

Sam looked doubtful. "Uh…OK." Then he blinked as Rainbow Dash approached, flying at a much slower speed than usual. This was because she was forcibly dragging along a pale yellow Pegasus with a pink mane and tail. The latter was trembling violently and digging all four hooves into the ground so hard she left scrape marks. Sam blinked again. "So, ah…she's our third flier?"

Applejack sighed, shaking her head sorrowfully. "Yep, that'd be Fluttershy."

"Uh huh," Dean said, in flat, disbelieving tones, as Fluttershy curled herself up into a tiny ball and emitted high-pitched whimpers. Rainbow flapped over the other Pegasus with her forelegs folded, her expression surly as Dean concluded, "I can see this is gonna go real well."

Sam leaned in to whisper to Dean, "You could always change your mind and get a pair of wi-"

"NO."

"Fine, fine." Sam somehow managed to look innocent and evil at the same time. Cas only watched without comment, as if nothing in Heaven, Hell, Earth, or Equestria could faze him any more.

Rarity and Pinkie Pie entered the library, the latter singing a festive and off-key song as they shut the door behind them. Twilight approached the rest of the group, looking pensive. She nodded at them all, then pointed her muzzle back at her own saddlebags. "All right. I have the spell book, everyone else has a gem."

Applejack warned, "Now, remember, six o'these things was all Rarity could get for us. So don't nopony go losin' any of 'em."

Dean nodded and gave a lopsided smile. "Yes, ma'am." Then his expression turned serious. "OK, this is it, guys and gals. We head out, and we do this. Right?"

He was answered by overlapping replies of "Right!", except for Fluttershy, who was circling around in place trying to dig a hole in the ground and hide in it.

Sam looked dubious at her, but decided not to comment. Then a thought occurred to him. "Cas, can we even get close to this guy without him noticing? I mean…" He made a rueful face. "Seems like he's managed to spot the three of us pretty well so far."

Cas shook his head. "I believe Asfaloth is dormant for the moment, regaining his strength. Besides, he'll expect us to be hiding, not attacking."

Rainbow Dash laughed and kicked at the air. "Ha! He's in for a surprise."

"Still," Cas continued quickly, looking at her in alarm as if she might decide to kick him in the ribs next, "It might be best if we proceed quietly, and not speak any names. Especially not my own." His expression turned wry. "His visual perception may not be acute, but he can hear very well."

Applejack nodded, then turned to address her friends. "All right, ladies. Let's move it out."

Rainbow Dash snorted as her friends broke into a fast trot. "Finally! Some action!"

Then she whirled around and came up behind Fluttershy, pushing her firmly with her forehead. Fluttershy protested, "But…but…!" Then she trailed off with a squeak as she was shoved along the path out of Ponyville.

Dean turned to look at his brother and Cas. "Well, guys, guess we hoof it from here." He grinned. "Get it? Huh?"

Sam glowered at him. "I'm not walking with you." With that, he turned and trotted off ahead of them, kicking up a cloud of dust behind him as he went.

"What? What? I swear," Dean observed in disgust to the silent Castiel as they started to move forward, "that kid's got such a stick up his ass sometimes."

For a while, the two of them trotted along without speaking, the only noise the sound of their hoofbeats and the rush of the ever-present wind. In a matter of moments, they'd left the village and found themselves out in open country, fields of grass lying gray and silent beneath the threatening sky. They passed by several skeletal trees, stripped of their leaves by the storm, thin black branches creaking in the cold wind.

Still, Cas stared straight ahead in total silence, not even acknowledging Dean's presence. Finally, Dean couldn't stand it any longer, and turned his head to look at his friend. "Hey, Cas. You all right?"

"Yes," he replied immediately, without looking at him. Then he lowered his head, swishing his tail once. "No."

"So what's the problem? I mean," he corrected himself sarcastically, "besides that this whole situation's completely batshit insane?"

Cas sighed, and finally turned his head to look Dean in the eye. "It's Asfaloth. Whatever he's become, he was once a brother angel." He looked down at the road under his hooves, his expression growing dark. "And we're about to condemn him to an eternity of imprisonment."

Dean shook his head, his pace slowing as the road grew steeper and rockier, heading for the top of a high ridge. "Well, sorry, Cas, but I don't see that we've got much choice. You said yourself the guy was a threat."

Then he gestured with his head towards the fillies, trotting in a tight group up ahead. "Besides, we gotta help these gals, right? It's not like they asked for this crap to get dumped on them."

"No, you're right," Cas admitted, turning his gaze towards the sky. "I just…wish there was another way."

Dean followed his gaze as they reached the top of the ridge. Up ahead, a swirling mass of clouds glowed in violent shades of green against the black night. The ponies left the road behind, and finally came to a halt in the center of a wide, flat field. The long grass billowed in waves all around them with a sound like sullen, whispering voices. Dean shivered, thinking, Man, this whole field looks like one giant buffet to me now. That is goddamn SCARY.

Dean and Cas slowed, then stopped as they joined Sam. He stood some distance behind the four fillies, who were huddled together looking up at the sky with various degrees of concern, caution, defiance, and total paralytic terror.

"Hey, Cas?" Sam asked under his breath. "Is that…" He pointed with his head towards the glowing, churning mass high above them. "…what you look like? I mean, what you really look like?"

"Of course not," he replied, deadpan. "I'm much bigger."

. . .

the showdown

. . .

The storm seemed to rouse itself from slumber, and a threatening roll of thunder shook the air as the three Pegasii headed skyward. Castiel took the lead, his expression grim and determined. His eyes narrowed as his mane and forelock were blown back by the wind, his blue tie rippling against his neck. Beside him, effortlessly matching every beat of his wings, was Rainbow Dash, her expression cocky and self-assured, like this was a race she was sure to win. And behind them both, Fluttershy flapped weakly along with downcast eyes, quaking as if she was being dragged towards some dreadful, inevitable doom.

Rainbow looked back over her shoulder and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "C'mon, Fluttershy! You gotta be brave! You can do it!"

Fluttershy turned a trembling gaze towards her friend. "I-I th-think I'm too sc-scared to be brave!"

"Well…uh…" Rainbow aimed a 'could-you-help-me-out-with-this-please' look at Cas, whose only response was a blank stare. Rainbow groaned, then finally said, "Just think of…um…all your cute critters! You know, the fuzzy bunnies and stuff!"

Fluttershy blinked repeatedly. She put her head to one side. "I…can be brave for the fuzzy bunnies." Then she narrowed her eyes, gritted her teeth, flared her wings, and zoomed past them, moving like a rocket. "For the fuzzy bunnies!"

Rainbow smirked at Cas as they had to double their speed to catch up with her. "I knew that'd work."

Finally, they reached the heart of the storm, its brilliant white center surrounded by whirling spirals of green energy, glaring down at them like an unblinking eye. The three of them stopped and hovered in place in a triangle formation, Cas at the front, Rainbow Dash to his right, Fluttershy to his left. The former flapped proudly in place as if eager to pummel their enemy into submission with her own hooves. The latter's burst of reckless courage seemed to have deserted her, as she curled herself up into a tiny ball, looking all around her in horror and repeating, "Ohmygosh…ohmygosh…"

"Hey!" Rainbow yelled at the churning sky, sticking out her chin in challenge. "You better start worrying, 'cause you're in trouble now, you big jerk!"

A wave of motion passed through the clouds, like ripples spreading across a pond. Then a rasping voice emanated from the heavens, underscored with a deep bass rumble that felt like it could grind bones to powder. I THINK…NOT.

"YEEOOOOWW!" Rainbow jerked back as a bolt of lightning came searing past her, coming within inches of taking off her head. She spiraled out of control, plummeting towards the ground before regaining herself and flying up again.

Fluttershy gasped., "Rainbow! Oh no! Ohmygosh!"

"Enough!" Cas snapped, flying straight up to confront their attacker, his muzzle inches away from the swirling green morass. "Leave her alone!"

A low, guttering laugh came from the clouds. SUCH…CONCERN FOR THESE PATHETIC CREATURES, CASTIEL.

"Ouch…" Rainbow gave a hissing intake of breath as she flapped her way back up, holding her singed foreleg aloft. But she glared up at the sky and demanded, "Who you callin' pathetic, creep?"

"…ohmygosh…ohmygosh…"

"Asfaloth!" Cas demanded, flapping as hard as he could to hold his position in the chaotic winds. "What happened to you? Why are you doing this?"

A snakelike hiss surrounded them, seeming to come from all directions at once. RAPHAEL ORDERED ME TO JOIN THE FIGHT ON EARTH. TO TAKE A VESSEL. The last word dripped with contempt. I REFUSED. AND SO I FLED TO WHERE HE COULD NOT FIND ME.

There was a pause, then another rumble of laughter. SOON, MY POWER WILL BE LIMITLESS. I NEED NOT FEAR EVEN THE ARCHANGELS.

Rainbow Dash put her head to one side, looking thoroughly bewildered. "The who of the what now? Is this making any sense to you guys?"

"…ohmygosh…ohmygosh…ohmygosh…!"

Cas looked almost as confused as Rainbow. "Why would you refuse to take a vessel?"

The deafening voice hammered down from the heavens, sending them tumbling like leaves in a hurricane. YOU ASK ME THAT, CASTIEL? YOU, OF ALL BEINGS?

Lightning crashed and thunder boomed all around them, the air stinking of ozone, crackling with limitless energy. I WILL NOT POLLUTE MYSELF WITH MATTER! The voice rose in intensity, shrieking like razors on a chalkboard. I WILL NOT BE BOUND TO SOME DISGUSTING LUMP OF MORTAL FLESH! I WILL NOT!

Cas shook his head, glaring up at his former compatriot. "You whine like an infant."

Rainbow laughed out loud. "Ha! Good one!" She flew up and slapped Cas on the shoulder, causing him to fumble in place before catching himself.

SILENCE! Lightning shot through the air in all directions, turning the sky into a latticework of deadly light. Then the firestorm subsided, the clouds flickering green with barely suppressed energy. I TIRE OF THIS. FLEE NOW OR DIE, CASTIEL.

Fighting to stay aloft as the vicious winds spun her around like a top, Rainbow demanded, "Hey, Cas! Are you…whoa…gonna…whoooaaa…put up with that…?"

"…ohmygosh…ohmygosh…ohmygosh…ohmygosh…!"

Cas narrowed his eyes, shouting to be heard over the wind. "I will stop you, brother!"

Asfaloth began to laugh again. AND HOW WILL YOU ACCOMPLISH THIS, TINY CREATURE?

A gale-force wind slapped Cas like a giant hand swatting a fly, sending him tumbling. Then another wind struck him, and another, snapping his head back, sending black wingfeathers swirling away into the void. His mind reeling, Cas was distantly aware that Rainbow was frantically flying back and forth yelling to him, trying to catch him. Such courage, he thought vaguely, and here I am, too weak to stand against one of my own…

Castiel opened his eyes. His wings snapped out, and sheer force of will drove them up and down, up and down. He fought his way up through the hammering wind, every muscle throbbing with exertion, every instinct he possessed screaming at him to flee for his life. No, he told himself. Even if I die here, in this body, I will not give in…

"Come on, Cas!" Rainbow urged as he struggled back up to hover between them, each pony forming the point of an airborne triangle once again. "That's it! You got it!"

"…ohmyg…!" Fluttershy's voice became a squeak, then deserted her altogether.

LOOK AT YOU, CASTIEL! Asfaloth's mocking laughter seemed to shake the heavens to their foundations. YOU'RE NO LONGER AN ANGEL! he boomed, every syllable a teeth-rattling blow. YOU'RE NOT EVEN A HUMAN! YOU'RE JUST AN ANIMAL, FLAPPING ITS LITTLE WINGS!

Cas looked down and away, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath, then let it out again. Finally, he looked straight up into the glowing maelstrom that was the center of Asfaloth's power. And he smiled grimly as he said:

"Maybe. But this animal has friends."

Then he looked back and shouted, "NOW!"

He snatched the gem from his saddlebag and held it aloft. Without hesitation, Rainbow reached back and did likewise, gripping the gem between her teeth with a look of triumph. And finally, with a final "ohmygosh!" so tiny it could barely be heard, Fluttershy did the same.

A dazzling white light flared from each of the gems. The light grew stronger and brighter, accompanied by a glassy tone, almost too high-pitched to hear.

WHAT IS THIS? Asfaloth demanded, his voice incredulous as the churning mass of his energy-form began to surge and shudder. BUT…NO…! YOU CANNOT…!

Castiel's blue eyes narrowed to slits. "Yeff," he said through a mouthful of brilliantly glowing gem, "I fink youll fimd I cam."

. . .

Far below, Twilight Sparkle hovered in place, suspended between earth and sky in a glowing corona of violet energy. An open book floated in the air before her, and her voice echoed strangely as she read the words of the spell. Her eyes squeezed shut, then snapped open, glowing a brilliant, featureless white.

Dean looked unsettled. "OK, that's creepy."

"Dean!" Sam shouted from the other side of the field. "Keep your eyes on the fliers!" He glanced over at Dean, then back up in the sky, squinting as the wind whipped through his mane. "Once Asfaloth starts to break up, we need to-!"

A bolt of lightning blasted down from the heavens, nearly blinding Dean, obliterating Sam from his view. "SAMMIE!" Dean called in terror as he reared up, blinking back spots from his eyes. As his vision cleared, he saw Sam lying flat on his side in the grass, and for a moment panic gripped his insides as he feared the worst. He was galloping towards his brother before he even realized what he was doing. Standing over him, he felt a surge of relief and gratitude as Sam moaned and opened his eyes, blinking repeatedly as if uncertain of what had just happened.

"Sam, you dumbass!" Dean's voice was choked with emotion as he helped his brother to rise, as best as his lack of opposable thumbs would allow. "Don't you do that to me aga-LOOK OUT!"

They frantically scrambled in separate directions as more lightning crashed down around them, scorching craters in the earth, spattering them with mud and bits of burned grass. Applejack reared up, pawing the air and shouting, "Whoa nelly!"

Then she planted all four legs, looking determined, and shouted to the brothers, "Come on, boys!" She galloped towards where Rainbow Dash hovered high overhead. "Sooner we get these things in the ground, the sooner this'll all be over!"

Applejack pawed the ground with a forehoof, gouging a shallow hole in the turf. Then she tilted her head skyward, the brim of her hat waving wildly in the hurricane wind. "Hang on, Rainbow!" she shouted.

Reaching back, she yanked the gem from her saddlebag, then plunged it into the earth. Stomping it down for good measure, Applejack shouted in triumph, "One down!"

Then she was forced to rear back as a bolt of crackling energy leaped down from Rainbow's gem to her own. The blast blew her hat off her head, sending it spiraling away in the wind. Applejack looked over her shoulder with an irritated, "Consarn it!"

Up above, Rainbow gave a surprised "Whoa!" as she let go of her gem, flapping backwards to avoid the corona of glowing white energy that surrounded it. The gem hovered in place, as if suspended on a pillar of light by the one below. All around her, streams of green energy flowed towards the gem like water, vanishing as they were drawn inside the stone. "Cool!" she observed.

Sam shouted upwards, his voice barely audible over the crack of lightning and the screams of Asfaloth's rage, "Rainbow, get out of there!" Still shaken from his near-electrocution, he charged towards the second point of the triangle.

Fluttershy was flapping in place directly above him, silhouetted against the raging storm. Her body was curled up into a tiny ball as her wings beat as frantically as a hummingbird's, but she held her position with all the courage of a warrior.

Sam skidded to a halt, snatching the gem from his bag and holding it in his mouth. Dean tried to shout, "Sammie, be careful!", but his voice was snatched away by the wind.

NO! Asfaloth's' voice was distorted and echoing. Bolts of electricity rained down around Sam, causing him to dodge and whirl, keeping him from planting his gem.

Dean was in a near-panic at his inability to help his brother, yelling over and over, "Sonofabitch sonofabitch sonofaBITCH!" Then he lowered his head, gritting his teeth in determination as he ran in the opposite direction, leaving Sam and the others behind.

He could hear Rainbow Dash yelling, "Dean, where are you going?", and Sam calling his name through a mouthful of gem. He ignored them. Screeching to a halt, he whirled around, then reared up on his hind legs, pawing at the air. He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Asfaloth, you freakin' DICK! You want someone to shoot at? Shoot at me!"

His head lunged up and down with every snorted breath as he scraped the ground, gouging up furrows of earth. "I SAID SHOOT AT ME, DAMN YOU!"

The hissing crackle of the lightning grew quiet, then a slow roar began to build. The white eye of the storm whirled around, focusing on the tiny figure far below it. "Yeah, that's right!" Dean bellowed in triumph. "I'm talkin' to you, you stupid, arrogant, worthless piece of WHOA!"

Dean's diversion worked almost too well, as a cascade of lightning came pouring down like the wrath of a thousand gods. He galloped for his life as the lightning chased him across the field, scorching the grass around him with a nostril-stinging smell, the impact of countless blasts causing the earth to tremble beneath his pounding hooves.

On the other side of the field, Sam wasted a moment with an incredulous stare, then plunged his gem straight into the ground. Then he leaped forward and broke into a run as the second pair of gems linked with a brilliant white light. Asfaloth screamed once again, as if in agony, but the barrage of lightning never ceased.

High overhead, Rainbow zoomed in a wide circle, then shoved the near-paralyzed Fluttershy out the way. "You did it, 'Shy!" she yelled in genuine pride. "Now go on, get out of here!" Fluttershy managed a half-crazed grin before she turned and flew groundwards for all she was worth.

Then Rainbow paused and aimed a triumphant look towards where Cas was still fighting to hold his position, dodging wind and lightning alike. "Almost got it, Cas!" she shouted, pumping a forehoof in the air. "Just one more and AAAH!"

A violent downdraft sent her plummeting out of control, hurtling towards the earth. Cas' protesting shout was muffled by the gem he still held in his mouth as he dove towards her, only to be forced back by another relentless gale.

Rainbow hit the ground like a meteor, plowing up a line of dirt behind her. Applejack cried out in dismay and raced towards her friend as Fluttershy let out a tiny shriek and flew back towards them. Between them both, they managed to get the groaning, dirt-plastered Pegasus to her feet and haul her away.

All the while, Twilight was beginning to tremble with effort, her voice shaking as she continued to chant the strange language of the spell. Sam had finally managed to catch up with his brother, and skidded to a halt, his hooves slipping sideways on the rain-dampened grass. Then he looked straight up at the sky, squinting to see against the blinding light.

The storm clouds were visibly shuddering now, tossed about like a turbulent sea. Long streamers of energy poured into the glowing gems, linked by quivering beams of white light. Their high-pitched tone grew in intensity, but Asfaloth still roared his defiance.

The fallen angel's voice was slurred and distorted, overlapping strangely, like multiple voices trying to speak at once. I KNNNOWWHAT… YOU'RE… DOIIINNNNG! An incoherent, rasping scream followed, filled with rage beyond words. WINNN…CHESSSTERS! the voice hissed like some primordial reptile. MOST… HAAAATED OF…HUMANSSS!

Dean flattened his ears and flicked his tail once as he bellowed at the heavens, "Newsflash, genius! We ain't humans!"

Sam pointed with his head towards Twilight. She was visibly beginning to sag in weariness, her eyes half-open as the purple corona that surrounded her began to grow dim.

"This isn't gonna work, Dean!" Sam had to shout to be heard, even though he and Dean stood side-by-side. "Twilight's a sitting duck up there! And Cas can't get in place while he's dodging that lightning!"

"Then I guess we better hurry!" Dean started to run, calling back, "You go help your girlfriend! Me an' Cas'll finish this!"

Sam stomped the ground in frustration. "She's not my-! Never mind," he finished, as Dean was already beyond hearing. Sam broke into a run once again, mane and tail streaming behind him like banners, dodging and weaving at full gallop like a champion barrel racer. As he reached Twilight, he leaped into the air and snatched up the book, just as her telekinetic hold on it failed and it began to fall to the earth.

He held it up as high as he could, wobbling in place as he reared up on his hind legs, holding it open with his mouth. "I got it!" he called as best as he could through a mouthful of paper. "Don't worry about holding it up! Just finish the spell!"

A flicker of gratitude passed across Twilight's exhausted face as she began to chant the final verse of the spell. Meanwhile, Dean raced towards Cas, barely pausing as he reached back to his saddlebags and grabbed the last remaining gem.

We're gonna make it, he thought triumphantly, ignoring his exhaustion, the stitch of pain in his side, the pounding in his head as the dying throes of the storm assaulted his senses. He looked towards Cas, an indistinct figure high overhead, his outstretched wings a black shadow against the lurid clouds. We're gonna make it, it's gonna work, we're gonna…!

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. A crackling bolt of lightning ripped down from the heavens and struck Cas dead-on. Dean couldn't even scream in protest as his friend began to fall, smoldering feathers trailing from ruined wings. But Cas was still moving, still conscious, clutching the gem as if Hell itself couldn't pry it free…

Dean lowered his head and ran like he'd never run before. He ran beneath where Cas was falling, slammed to a halt, and plunged his gem into the ground. "Let it go, Cas!" he yelled up at the falling figure. "Let it go!"

Cas stirred and released the gem, then fell back unconscious as a brilliant white light shot from the earth to the sky. Dean leaped up and caught his falling friend on his back, the impact sending them both tumbling. He heard shouts from behind, heard his brother's voice coming closer. Struggling to all fours, he shouted back towards Sam, "Save Twilight! Get her out of there!"

Sam whirled in mid-gallop and sped back to the center of the field, where Twilight sagged in place with a moan, the white light in her eyes going out as she began to fall. Sam made a flying leap and snatched her up, holding her by the nape of the neck with his mouth. He recoiled with a snort as the beams of energy connecting the gems flared into blinding brilliance, their sound becoming a painful high-pitched whine. Then he lowered his head and charged for safety, finally letting Twilight go as he reached the spot where the other ponies were huddled protectively over the bleary-eyed Rainbow.

Beside Dean, Cas moaned and raised his head. Dean urged, "Time to run, Cas!" Without argument, Cas stumbled to his feet and broke into a shaking gallop as Dean shouted to every pony within earshot, "LOOK OUT-!"

With a deep, vibrating thrumm that made the ground quake, concentric circles of light exploded out from the pattern of gems. Every pony in the field was knocked over by the blast, rolling with grunts and yells of protest across the slick grass. High overhead, the clouds broke and disintegrated, flowing down into the blinding brilliance of the stones. The vile green radiance began to fade, then finally went out. There was a sound that might have been a roar, or a scream, or a dying curse in a language older than time.

Then, with a final, almost pathetic cry, the light vanished, and the last echoes of thunder died away. The gems flared once more, then went dark. The three stones that had been suspended in the sky dropped to the ground, bouncing once or twice before coming to a halt. There was a final whisper of wind across the field, then nothing but silence.

Slowly, the sky began to lighten. The horizon grew brighter as a bird began to sing, somewhere in the distance. A faint breeze moved through the grass once again, but its sound was calm and reassuring, and carried with it a fresh scent of dawn. Then, into the serene morning stillness, Dean's voice called out loud…

"…Well, THAT sucked."

. . .

As the sun's light grew stronger, a much-recovered Rainbow Dash zoomed back and forth over the field, gleefully kicking away every remaining wisp of cloud as if it had personally offended her. Applejack patted down a mound of soil with her dirt-covered hooves, flattening the top to form a small plateau of raised earth. Then she looked around at the other two mounds and observed, "That's the last of 'em. All six gems, buried nice an' deep."

Cas nodded. "Good." Slowly, wincing with every movement as his tattered wings sagged at his sides, he made his way towards the nearest mound. Looking down, he moved his forehoof in a circular motion through the damp earth. Then, inside the circle, he drew a series of lines intersected by a triangle, followed by a single long curve over the entire thing. As he finished, he turned to face Twilight.

"One of these sigils must be placed on each mound. This way no angelic power can be used near it, ever again."

Noting her quizzical head-tilt, he anticipated her question. "Once it's drawn, no natural force can remove it. Neither wind nor rain will damage the symbol, or cause it to lose its potency. I…" He tried to take a step, but all four of his legs wobbled, and he had to struggle just to stay upright. "I will…"

"It's OK," Twilight assured him. She looked exhausted, with limp ears and a mane that looked like birds had nested in it, but her voice was calm and confident. "I watched you draw the symbol. I can do it myself."

Cas raised his weary gaze to Sam, who said, "And I'll take the third one. Don't worry, Cas, you've done enough for one day."

Cas looked relieved. "I'm inclined to agree with you." With that, he sat down with a thump, lowering his head with a long, exhausted breath.

Not far away, Dean still lay sprawled in the soggy turf, his legs and belly spattered with mud and grass stains. "Ow," he griped, struggling to raise his front half up off the ground. "Ow, ow, freakin' OW. Stupid goddamn angels."

Applejack shook her head with a fond chuckle as she approached him from behind. "C'mon, now. Up and at 'em, lazybones." With that, she lowered her head and grabbed Dean's stubby tail in her teeth, hauling his backside upright.

"Whoa HEY!" Dean protested, his eyes wide. As he got his legs under him, he looked back at her with an incredulous stare, pressing his tail in against his body. "No offense, lady. But you at least oughtta buy me dinner before you pull a stunt like that."

She only put her head to one side with a smile. "Y'know, Dean, y'all might be halfway charming if you ever once made a lick o' sense."

Then she spotted her hat tumbling end over end in the fitful breeze. She reached out, snatched it, and tossed it in the air, letting it drop expertly on to her head. Without so much as a backwards glance, she trotted off towards her friends.

Shaking his head, Dean muttered to himself, "What kind of Bizarro world is this? I'm the only one who can't get a chick?"

With a sigh, he managed to stumble into a stiff walk as he approached the weary-looking Sam and the battered Castiel. Fluttershy was carefully winding a long strip of bandage around Cas' midsection, binding his wings against his sides. Dean asked, "You doin' OK, PegaCas?"

Cas winced. "Logically, I understand the purpose of physical pain as an evolutionary function." He looked back at himself, his ears sagging against his skull. "But I confess to wondering if this much of it is really necessary."

"Now," Fluttershy began gently, tucking the end of the bandage into place, then straightening his tie. "Those wings need time to heal. So that means no flying."

Cas frowned. "But I…"

Fluttershy leaned forward. She looked him directly in the eye. And she repeated, in a voice that would shatter worlds, "NO. FLYING. Got it, buster?"

Stunned, Cas could only nod. "There's a good colt," she went on in her normal sweet tones, patting his foreleg.

Sam and Dean watched the scene in stupefied silence. Dean leaned sideways and spoke out of the side of his mouth. "Dude. Remind me never to piss her off." Sam nodded vigorously.

High overhead, Rainbow made one last triumphant circle through the clear, bright sky. Then she gracefully soared down beside her friends as they exchanged victorious hugs and hoof-slaps.

Dean looked towards Sam. "Well, we did it, bro."

Sam nodded, smiling fondly at the group of fillies as they began to walk away, talking excitedly amongst themselves. "Yeah," he replied. "We all did it." Then he looked back towards Cas, who remained silent.

Cas turned his head and looked back over the field, and the three mounds of earth, barely noticeable in the waving grass. Whatever he was thinking, or feeling, his face revealed nothing at all.

Sam looked sympathetic as Dean turned to face his friend. Dean said wearily, "Let it go, Cas. There was nothing else you could do."

Cas nodded once. "You're right," he replied, not a trace of emotion in his voice. "There wasn't." Then he turned and walked away, not looking back.

The brothers followed, walking a short distance behind the group of friends. Rainbow flew in circles over and around them, insisting, "C'mon, we just saved all of Equestria! We totally need to celebrate!" She licked her lips in anticipation. "With lots of awesome, gooey, sugary snacks!"

Applejack added, "And apples!"

Fluttershy gave a bashful smile. "And all of our wonderful friends!"

"And apples!"

Twilight added, with a tired head-shake, "And a long, long nap!"

"And apples!" The group laughed. Then Applejack looked back over her shoulder and called, "You colts comin'? Don't be bashful, y'all are invited too, y'know!"

Dean called with a smile, "Yeah, we'll be right there!" She nodded and headed off with the others as the trio continued their weary walk behind them.

As soon as the fillies were out of earshot, Sam looked towards his brother and Cas. "So," he said with a weary exhalation, glancing back at himself and flicking his tail once for emphasis. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm kinda starting to get used to this, and that seriously scares me." He paused, and turned a near-pleading gaze to his companions. "So yeah. I'm ready to go home now."

"You sure about that, Sammie?" Dean gave a wicked grin. "It'll break your sparkly little girlfriend's heart."

"Bite me," Sam retorted sullenly.

"No thanks, but I bet she'd like to-"

"DEAN!"

"All right. Geez. You're such a grump." Dean shook his spiky mane. "But yeah, I'd like to start walking on two legs again myself." He glanced to his left. "So how about it, Cas? Ready to head back to the world of burgers and trenchcoats?"

"I can't promise anything," Cas warned. "Remember, I used up most of my power when we arrived. And my…" He grimaced in discomfort. "…injuries will slow my recovery even further. I'm not certain when I'll able to transport us back."

"Hey, no worries," Dean observed with a casual shrug. "So we hang out for a while, get some r'n'r, eat a few apples. I mean, c'mon…" He laughed. "…how long could it possibly take?"

. . .

Six months later.

Fall had arrived in Ponyville. Red and orange leaves swirled down from the trees, and were tossed by a mild breeze down the bustling streets. A lanky brown pony and a small purple unicorn sat companionably in a patch of afternoon sun beneath the spreading branches of the treehouse library. The former had a large open book propped up between his forehooves, while the latter was scowling in such intense concentration that she looked like she might explode at any moment.

Sam prompted, "OK, chapter twenty-four. Starswirl's First Rule of Alchemical Transmutations states that…?"

Twilight scrunched up her face, wracking her brain. "The first rule states that…um…ooh." Her front hooves did a rapid tap-dance of frustration. "The mass of a transmutated object cannot be greater than…no, I mean, cannot be less than…AARGH!" She smacked her forehead in frustration. "I'll never get this right!"

Sam laughed. "It's OK! Don't get so stressed out. You're doing great!"

Twilight aimed a gaze of starry-eyed adoration up at him. "Really, Sam?"

"Um…" Sam looked disconcerted, then vastly relieved at the sight of an approaching figure. "Hey, Dean!" he called.

Twilight smiled, mimicking, "Hey, Dean!"

Dean nodded in greeting, but was limping slightly with his right hind leg as he approached. "Hey, Twilight. Think you could spare my brother for a bit?"

"Oh." Disappointment flickered across her face, but she quickly brightened up. "Sure. I need to write my letter to the princess anyway." She stood up and started to walk off, waving back at Sam and swishing her tail once as she entered the library. "'Bye, Sam! See you later!"

Sam placed a bookmark with his teeth, then expertly flipped the book shut with his forehoof. "So what's up?" He gestured with his head towards Dean's limp, looking concerned. "You hurt your leg?"

"Enh, think I just kicked that last tree too hard." He flopped down wearily beside his brother. "I tell you one thing?" He shook his head. "I have definitely got a lot more respect for apple farmers these days."

Sam shook his head with a sardonic chuckle. Then he sighed. Sounding as if he'd already repeated the same question a hundred times and wasn't expecting anything better now, he asked, "Anything from Cas?"

Dean snorted and looked down, vaguely scraping at the ground with a forehoof. "Besides the usual? As in, 'sorry, dunno why I still don't have enough mojo to light a freakin' candle, let alone get us home and un-ponied'? Nope. Not a damn thing."

Sam let out a long, frustrated breath. "Unbelievable." He shook his head sadly. "I mean, I've been researching spells day and night here, and I still can't find anything with the kind of power we need."

"Yeah." Dean shook himself, ruffling his mane. "Face it, bro," he went on in resigned tones, "You and me are gonna be stuck doin' the Mister Ed routine for-" His eyes widened in sudden alarm. "-whoa, duck!"

They flattened themselves to the ground, just in time to avoid a maniacally laughing, tie-wearing Rainbow Dash zooming past at near-warp speed, hotly pursued by a grim-faced and distinctly tie-less Castiel. As the brothers sat up again, Dean called after them, "Yeah! Go, R.D.! You kick his ass!"

Sam shook his head with an ironic half-smile. "You'd think he'd figure out that she'd quit stealing his tie if he didn't always get so pissed off about it."

Then his expression turned pensive, and he peered after the Pegasii as they zipped and weaved their way through Ponyville, accompanied by the occasional echoing crash, tinkle of breaking glass, and at least one distant scream.

"You don't think…" Sam cut himself off, shaking his head. "Nah. It can't be."

Dean looked confused. "What?"

"Nothing. I just thought…" He looked towards Dean, and went on hesitantly, "…what if Cas doesn't want to leave?"

Dean frowned. "You're kidding me."

"I know, it's nuts, right? But what if he's not really powerless, and he's just saying he is because he, I dunno…" Sam looked sheepish, as if even he couldn't believe what he was saying. "…likes it here?"

For a moment, Dean looked genuinely horrified. Then he burst out laughing. "Get out. As if Cas could ever lie about anything."

Sam visibly relaxed. "Yeah, you're right. I mean, even if he tried, he couldn't possibly fool both of us. That's just crazy."

"Seriously." Dean ran his gaze over the village, bustling about its usual routine. "Anyway," he went on briskly, "'least you get to spend more time with your study buddy." He winked.

Nettled, Sam retorted, "Shut up. It's not like you don't run off to AJ's ranch every chance you get."

Dean leaned back, the very picture of innocence. "Strictly business, Sammie boy. Somepony's gotta earn our keep around here." Then he blinked, looking disconcerted. "Damn, it's weird how that always comes out as 'somepony'."

Getting his train of thought back on track, he gave a wry half-smile. "'Sides, she's got nothing to worry about. That steroid-freak brother of hers wouldn't let me try anything, even if I wanted to."

"Hmm." Sam gave a lopsided grin. "An overprotective big brother, huh? Who would've thought."

For a while, they sat in silence, watching the Ponyville residents going about their late-afternoon business before Sam spoke again. "Well, at least Cas says he should be able to send us back to the same time as we left. So it's not like we'll have missed anything. Assuming he ever gets us back at all, of course," he added dryly.

"Yeah," Dean replied, unable to keep the sarcasm from his voice. "Back to the Apocalypse, the demons who want to kill us, the angels who want to kill us, the monsters who want to kill us and eat us…oh, yeah, and the humans who want to lock us up or shoot us on sight…"

"Yeah, I know," Sam sighed. He swished his tail once as he shifted position, looking thoughtful. "I mean, it's not like I don't wanna go back. I do," he insisted, as Dean gave him a suspicious look. "I mean…" He grimaced. "…just the sheer nonstop cuteness is enough to drive you nuts."

"Can't argue with that," Dean muttered. "Plus I haven't had so much as a freakin' beer in months. I didn't think that was physically possible."

But Sam's voice turned vaguely wistful as he observed, "Still. You gotta admit, it's kinda nice to not be hated, or miserable, or on the run all the time. It's not bad, getting to…" He trailed off, then continued. "You know. Actually feel like the good guys for once." Sam looked at his brother again. "Right?"

Dean broke into a grin, then stretched out and lay his chin on his outstretched forelegs, closing his eyes for a leisurely afternoon nap. "Amen to that, brother," he said. "Amen to that."

. . .

Epilogue.

Dear Princess Celestia,

It's been another quiet week here in Ponyville. Sam's been a big help with my magical studies, as always. So I suppose my only lesson about friendship to report is that it's great to have a friend who loves books as much as you do. I know, I've already mentioned that in a couple of letters-OK, a lot of letters-so I hope you're not tired of reading it.

But I don't think I ever told you after that huge storm we had back in spring…Pinkie Pie, of all ponies, had a great idea to keep that from ever happening again! She said if three of those "funny circle-y line-y things" (meaning the protective sigils we placed over the buried gems) (I think) were good for keeping those "big green nasty storm things" away, then a bunch of them would be even better. I thought this actually made a lot of sense…especially for Pinkie.

So ever since then, I've been placing those sigils all over Ponyville and its surroundings, keeping them hidden so nothing bad can ever find them. So now that type of power can never be used anywhere near our village again.

I keep forgetting to show Sam what I've done, though. Well, one of these days I'll remember. I'm sure he'll be awfully proud of me!

As always, your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle