Becoming Rainbow Dash: A Tale of Two Worlds

Chapters

What Would You Do for a Bag of Apples?
Am I Alone?
Say What Now?!
That's Why They Call Me Loyalty
I Just Flew In from Wisconsin, and Boy, Are My Wings Tired
A Loyal Pain in the Flank
Watching the Sun as it Starts to Go Down
I Dream of a Genie with Rainbow Hair
Clouds Are Like... Plush Trampolines
On Wings the Color of Sky
Quiznos: the Nation's Number One Pony-Friendly Restaurant!
Making a Friend in Federal Airspace
Road Trip Schenanigans
"Me, Myself, and I" or "Taylor's Tailor"
Rainbow Dash: Fashionista and Part-Time Racer
Silas Nemitas: Disciple of Order, Hand of Chaos (Slightly Revised)
An Air-Sick Pegasus? Ridiculous!
Dealing With the Devil's Plaything
What Did I Ever Do to You, Chance?
I Suppose I Was Always a Role Model...
Promptly, Promptly, Promptly!
Servant of the Night
Loyalty's Wrath
Why Can't I Feel My Toes?
Is This Some Elaborate Scheme to Take Over the World?
Slenderman's Ukrainian Cousin?

What Would You Do for a Bag of Apples?

<> Day One <>

"Markus? It's eight in the morning, honey," my mom said, knocking on the wall from the entry. "You gotta get up and get showered. We're going to the reunion today."

I snuggled deeper into the covers, giving a false cough. "I'm not feeling myself today, mom," I grumbled, hacking again. "Can I stay in bed? I don't want to get anyone else sick."

"Oh Mark, your voice is all jumbled," she replied in a concerned tone. "Maybe I should check your temp–"

"No!" I shouted, my wings straining against the sheets. "I-I mean, I don't want you to catch whatever I have… What I mean is… I just feel really bad and I don't want you to feel like this either."

She sighed loudly. "Okay. If you need anything, I'm right here, alright?"

"Thanks mom." I waited until I heard her footsteps going up the stairs. Then, throwing off the covers, I rolled off the bed, using my 'plot in the air' standing method to get to my hooves. I don't think I could handle another close call like that

It had taken over three hours to salvage my sanity and crawl back into my bed. It didn't help at all that I was now smaller than the size of the average dog, except without fingers or thumbs. Yet the repair job to my shattered mind was still pretty haphazard, and I still found myself in a state of disbelief.

I'm Rainbow Dash… I don't know how… I don't know why… but I'm Rainbow flipping Dash, was my first coherent thought. Had this been an object of my own doing, I would have been celebrating. But that's just it; the fact that I had no idea how any of this happened other than 'suddenly Rainbow Dash' bugged me to no extent.

That, and the inevitable issue that I was now female.

Oh dear god, that's creepy, I realized as the thought crept into my mind while I stood in my wide stance. Why?! I just had to be a mare didn't I? It couldn't have been Thunderlane or Big Mac… hell, I would settle for Doctor Whooves! But noooo! I had to be Rainbow Dash!

In a fit of momentary rage I stomped my hoof, unbalancing me and casting me onto my side. I can't even stand right. I'm pathetic. I looked at the limbs I now had, fingerless and stumpy. Another terrifying thought occurred to me; without fingers, I couldn't type my story, or even do a blog post to tell my readers that my story wasn't going to be updated for however long this lasted. For buck's sake! I'm letting everyone down! Why am I so USELESS!?

I was confused when this prospect bugged me more than it should have. The fact that I was leaving my followers hanging… that I was restricted by circumstance… I broke down crying, curling up and holding my rainbow-maned head between my hooves. What's wrong with me? Why do I feel so guilty?

On the verge of becoming sick to my stomach, I tried to calm myself with controlled breathing, tears still wetting the cyan hair on my face. Whimpering slightly, I wished for it all to go away; for this to be a dream. But the throbbing feeling in my head, as a result of the sideways fall, told me that this was indeed reality.

Abruptly, a gurgling sound drew my attention to my midsection. Well great, I'm disembodied, depressed, and hungry. I glanced around my room for any source of food. My secret stash of Goldfish was on top of the wardrobe… and unfortunately out of reach for Rainbow Dash's body. Glancing at my wings, I wished I knew how to fly so I could reach them. Other than that, there was no other food except for a half-eaten ham sandwich on my desk, and I don't think Rainbow Dash would appreciate it if I ate meat in her body.

Which left only one option: the kitchen on the floor above.

Time to learn how to walk like a pony. Using the same technique to stand, I mentally went through the animation for a walking pony. Right foreleg, left hind-leg, left foreleg, right hind-leg, repeat I drilled in my head. …wait, that sounds exactly like how a human infant crawls! With this revelation, I ran the drill once more before taking my first true step as a pony…

…falling flat on my face four steps later. But I had immense satisfaction that it was my lack of balance, not terrible walking, that caused it. If only I had some way to spread out my center of balance, like a tight-rope walker… hang on a minute…

I stood once again, a new idea in my head. Screwing my eyes shut, I concentrated on the muscles that caused my wings to twitch every few seconds. With great care, I extended the foreign limbs on my back, feeling their weight as it evened-out my center.

Alright, pony walking, take two…

~+~+~+~

Walking as a hoofed quadruped? Easier than standing up as one. With my extended wings, I was able to complete four laps around the open area of my room without falling. Sure, I may have looked ridiculous and shaky, but at least I had mobility.

Another loud yowl from my stomach reminded me of why I originally needed to act like a neck-injury patient. With a determined, Rainbow Dash worthy smile, I made my way over to the…

…stairs. Schist.

An amputee's worst nightmare, and my new adversary. I stared at the steps leading up to the ground floor, pondering how I could climb them. I could try moving up them like the ponies in the show, but I highly doubt that'll work with my stability. Maybe if I grip the railing… no, no thumbs. Schist.

After five minutes of hunger-driven thinking, I decided on a sideways approach. Literally. Moving like a car into a parking spot, I paralleled my left side with the first step. In my mind, I thought I could put my left legs up first, followed by my right. Here goes…

I technically made it up the first step. The problem was, when I brought my right legs up, there wasn't enough balance to keep me upright. So back down I went, sporting a new bump on my already abused head.

"Damn it!" I yelled stomping in frustration. The resulting 'thump' startled my cat, who bolted past, going up the stairs as quick as running. Watching the orange blur, another inspiration hit me. Thanks again, you inspiring fuzzy alarm clock. My cat moved up the terraced incline as if she was still walking normally. So, in theory, I could mimic crawling up the stairs, like I would on the mornings I was too tired to stand.

Round two, enemy of the wounded citizen, I silently challenged the stairs. I stood again and approached the stairs. With another smile, I took the first step…

…and fourteen steps later, my hooves clopped down onto the wooden floor of the kitchen. It Keeps Happening? Not anymore. My confidence restored, I proceeded to my prize; the towering white refrigerator.

Taking the dry towel that hung from the handle between my teeth, I yanked the door open, the light from the fridge shining down upon me like the rays of heaven. Luckily, the bag of apples were kept in the bottom-most drawer, so all it took was another bite-and-pull and the glorious fruits were all mine. Luna be praised, I've hit the jackpot!

I decided that trying to fish one out of the plastic was a waste of time, so I simply took the whole bag, holding on to the top with my mouth. Before I left, I shut the drawer with my hoof and bumped the door closed with my hind-leg. I may be a pony, but I can still be civilized.

As I turned to go back down to my room, I stopped. Not a sound was being made in the vacant house. Shrugging my shoulders, (an awkward feat for a pony) I figured that everyone left for the reunion while I was learning to walk. If they had been home, getting the apples would have been impossible. Trust me, hooves are flipping noisy on a hard surface. I smiled at my fortune, and continued on my way to my room.

It wasn't until I was standing at the top of the steps did I realize a very disheartening fact. I had no idea how to go down.

Well, schist.

Am I Alone?

<> Day One <>

Okay… let's just take this one step at a– "GYYAAAH!!!"

THUMP! "WAH!" BANG! WHACK! "D'OW!" CONK! WUMP! CRASH! KA-BASH! "Oof!"

–time… Groaning, I rubbed a hoof to my head, trying to ease the pain. Thinking back, I had made the mistake of trying to imitate my cat again, instead of slowing down and thinking it through. With a slight decrease of a headache, I made a mental note to figure out how to go down the stairs, preferably without bruising myself.

Getting over the hurt that punctuated my body, I shook the daze from my eyes. At least I was where I wanted to go, and that in itself was good enough for me. Realizing something was missing. I looked around for the bag of apples I had thought were in my mouth during the descent. A bag of apples doesn't just disappear. Where could it have–?

CONK! I really should have seen that coming…

Cartoon physics aside, I now had the goal of my quest done. On the downside, I had a new head injury to contend with my others, but at least I could satisfy my hunger. Picking up the bag of galas, I moved into my room, throwing the fruits of my labor onto the bed. With less-than-graceful skills, I scrambled up the thankfully low side and flopped down beside them, then tearing a larger hole in the plastic with my teeth. Gingerly, I reached my muzzle in an plucked out an apple.

Now, because of my new equine tooth structure and tastes, I could easily crush through the core of the fruit in three bites, leaving nothing behind. No trash, more sustenance! Two more apples followed suit, meeting their demise in the same manner. My hunger sated, I reclined on the bed, entirely content. "To think half an hour ago, I was driven to tears," I mused to myself.

I gave a start, looking down at my muzzle. Is that… really my voice? The sound that came out of my mouth wasn't my own. The thought hit me like a grenade, dampening my spirits once more. Right… I'm still Rainbow Dash… I sighed, the severity of the situation weighing down my once-light mood. I still had no idea what happened to me, or why, for that matter. It was impossible, or rather, should be impossible.

But what was the reasoning? Did someone or something do this to me? If so, who or what would gain anything from turning me into Rainbow Dash? Discord has unpredictable powers, and he loves messing with ponies. He could be the culprit. While that may have been the case, I shoved that thought aside. Discord was in Equestria… and a statue.

That's assuming Equestria is real, which is a valid possibility at this point. On that note, another revelation hit me. If Equestria is real, and I'm Rainbow Dash, what happened to the real Rainbow Dash?

Oh sweet innocent loveable baby Luna in her crib… My eyes widened reflexively. What if… what if Rainbow Dash… is me?! My mind instinctively went through the scenarios of what the pegasus would be going through if this were true. At least I have a reference for being a pony. Rainbow Dash wouldn't have a clue about how humans walk.

In my head, a visualization occurred. My human body sitting on the ground with a confused look, staring at the fingers as if they were poisonous snakes. It was… actually kind of amusing, making me laugh to myself.

With the hope that Rainbow Dash could handle herself, possibly with Lyra's help, I sat back and closed my eyes.

…only to open them not thirty seconds later. Eeyup. I'm officially bored. I looked over at my computer. Without fingers, I couldn't type, and using a pencil with my mouth would be frustratingly slow, so working on Brony Recon was out of the question. Reading? Nope, I had finished every book in my collection, and reading fan-fiction from my computer had the same complications as writing. For a few seconds, I thought about trying to fly with my new wings, but chuckled inwardly a out how hard moving around horizontally was.

So I reached an ultimatum. I didn't like it all that much, but I needed something to do. Sighing, I rolled off the bed again and trotted my way out of my room and up the stairs again. Hopefully Dad brought the mail in today, I wished silently. Sure enough, a pile of letters and magazines littered the small table next to the sofa. Like a begging dog, I hopped my front hooves up onto the table. Sifting through the pile with my muzzle, I searched until I found what I was looking for.

The Sunday newspaper.

Man, if Rainbow Dash saw me now, she would call me such an egghead. I flipped the paper into my teeth, careful to grip it with my lips as to not get it ripped or soggy, and walked back to the… Oh hell no! I thought bitterly as I looked at the stairs. There is no way I'm going through that again. Deciding on a less painful alternative, I tossed the newspaper onto the couch and scrambled up after it.

Not even peeking at the front page, I nosed my muzzle into the folds and flipped to a random spot in the news. Sports… not exactly my kind of reading, but hay, anything works at this point. It's not that I didn't like sports; I just didn't find them entertaining on paper. Watching them on a HD flat-screen? Priceless.

Let's see… Brewers beat someone… Yankees owned the White Sox… Cubs still suck… I sighed, once again disappointed by the disability of the Sports section to provide entertainment. Baseball is the only thing on there I'm familiar with… the whole section takes two pages! Frustrated, I flipped back to the front page…

…and stopped dead cold. Had I been a passive observer, I would have witnesses my irises become pinpricks, and my jaw hang loosely on its hinges. The only other movements I would make for the next fifteen minutes was the occasional twitch of the eye. The headline stood out in bold print, burning into my brain.

<> Day -1 <>

Lauren Faust woke up to the sun shinning in her face. Any other day, she would have cursed the foul star for beaming into her eyes, but today, the warm rays seemed to empower her, and give her a natural energy that coffee alone couldn't. And a good morning to you too, world, she thought cheerily.

The silence of the home reminded her that Craig was still at his conference. Well, I have nothing else to do today. Might as well get some work done. Casually, she sat up on the bed and stood up.

The next second, she was on the ground. Lauren shook her head, confused. That's weird… my balance seems to be off. As a response to the pain, she put her hand to her head to ease the throbbing.

Only, it didn't feel like a hand.

What the…?! Lauren tore her hand away from her head, holding it in front of her gaze. Lauren Faust looked upon it in shock. What had once been her hand was now a stumpy appendage, with white-colored hairs covering it. On the underside, a hard material could be found in the shape of an upside-down 'u'. HOOVES?!?

"W-why do I have…" As soon as she began to hear her own voice, Lauren slapped a hoof to her mouth in surprise. She didn't sound like herself, instead sounding more regal and refined, as if her voice was trained to keep calm. Although it wasn't her voice, it still sounded all too familiar.

To confirm her suspicions, Lauren glanced down at her body. It was covered in a white coat throughout, and had long, slender legs. Two large wings fluttered at her sides, the tips occasionally tickling her flanks. Behind her, a tail of simmering rainbows flowed, as if an ethereal wind was passing through the room. At the edge if her vision, Lauren could see a long, spear like horn extending from her forehead. On her flanks was a bright orange sun.

I-I… I'm… Princess Celestia?!

Just like every other human being who would find themselves in a strange, yet familiar body, Lauren Faust fainted.

Say What Now?!

<> Day 1 <>

I slammed the pencil that had been in my mouth for nigh upon seven hours down on the desk, a big smile on my face. "New chapter of Brony Recon finished, plus another one ahead of time! Not bad for a guy without fingers." At the feminine sound of my voice, I frowned.

Fingers aren't the only thing I'm missing, I reminded myself in a depressed mood. Needless to say, my trip to the bathroom had been extremely awkward, with a ton of blushing involved. I won't go into the details, but I will say that I was very uncomfortable about it, like I was violating someone else's body. Out of all the changes I had gone through, the fact that I was a mare hit me where it hurt. My pride as a man had disappeared in mere seconds.

As if to distract myself from my haunting thoughts, I glanced at my alarm clock. In digital font, the numbers four-thirty-two on the display. My family won't be back for another four hours, yet. I glanced at my computer, debating what I could do. As much as I loved it, there was only so much writing one can do in a day. Deciding to actually see what was going on in the Brony community, I opened my browser and clicked on the Equestria Daily tab, refreshing the page.

When it had loaded, the very latest post caught my eye. 'Lauren Faust press conference tonight at five-thirty Eastern Standard time,' I read, confusion edging into my mind. But… Lauren Faust is Princess Celestia! I saw it in the photo! Why would she hold a press conference at a time like this? With interest, I glanced at the timeframe again. Five-thirty Eastern… wait, that's now!

I immediately clicked the link where the conference was streaming. Soon enough, the feed was up and running, and I looked upon a semi-full press room with a well-dressed man at the podium. Adjusting his collar, he cleared his throat and leaned into the microphone. "I… suppose you're all wondering why Lauren called this conference," he said nervously. It hit me then that this guy was Craig, Lauren's spouse. "You see, the past two days, she and her good friend Tara has been afflicted with a condition that was unknown to us, until the culprit revealed himself. I…" He hesitated, taking a deep breath. "Maybe it's best you all see for yourselves. No questions will be taken."

His opening speech left me reeling. Lauren Faust was not only revealing herself, but somehow Tara Strong was involved? Is she a pony too? If so, who would she be? The answer was almost blatantly obvious. Twilight. Tara Strong is Twilight Sparkle. Who else could she be?

An abrupt silence broke me from my thoughts. The press room in the feed had gone entirely quiet in a stunned silence, as if echoing the world around it. My own eyes widened, my irises the size of peas, and my jaw now just deadweight on my skull. All witnesses were locked on what had appeared on the stage. Madre de Díos…

Two figures had entered from the right of the stage, their hooves striking the hard surface making the only sound in the room. The first was a tall white mare, about four or five feet high, with a long rainbow-colored mane and tail that flowed in a nonexistent wind, with long, elegant wings, a sharp spiraled horn, and a sun cutie mark. Princess Celestia…

However, of the two figures on the stage, the second one was the image that caught me entirely off-guard. Following Celestia was a midnight-blue mare, a foot less in height from the Solar Princess. Her mane flowed like Lauren's, but instead was a perfect emulation of the night sky, the deep blue abyss dotted with starlight and a vastness that topped the rainbow mane of the leading pony. Two dark-flecked wings hung at her sides, and a horn protruded from her forehead. On her flank was a crescent moon. Princess… Luna… My mind was lost in the beauty of the Lunar Princess; my favorite (and of course, best) pony.

Whoa, stop right there, I berated myself. I can't let this distract me, even if… wait just a min– OH HOLY SCHIST! Like Mike Tyson's fist, the revelation hit me full swing, and my amazement simply grew. Tara Strong is Princess Luna!

Lauren Faust, who was visibly trying to ignore the stares of the humans in the room, trotted to the podium, placing her fore-hooves on the stand and bringing herself higher. "I-I…" she began shakily, something rather odd-sounding in the voice of the Princess, "I know you must all be, uh, shocked about this. Believe me, I am too. But please don't doubt me when I say that I am really Lauren Faust, and she," a white hoof is pointed toward Luna, "is really Tara Strong."

She took a huge breath before continuing. "The reason I called this conference today is not to tell the world about what happened to us. As you can see, it's obvious," she said, no humor in her voice. "I called for this because this is the only way to assure that I am heard by my target audience. You see…" Lauren stops to clear her throat. "There is one other out there who is like us. I don't know who, or where, but somewhere there is a person just like us. Changed. Into a pony."

Say what now?! Completely caught off guard by the comment, I gaped at the screen. She was talking about me. In that shining moment, I felt the world focus on me, or rather, the idea of my existence. I was the lost one, the mystery pony, the anonymous figure. Suddenly, I felt very alone.

"But this will not be the case for very long," Lauren continued, drawing me in from depression. "Everyday, someone else is affected, and this will continue until–" She stopped herself, as if she didn't want to say it. "Yet, the most important thing I have to say yet is this, to those that find themselves changed." She looked up, coincidentally looking into the camera that was generating my feed. Her pink gaze went through the screen, fixing upon my own. "If any of you find yourself to be an Element of Harmony, I need your help. You need to come to New York" He stare at my eyes ended with her turning her head away, sighing. "No further comment." With that, she trotted out the door with Tara and Craig trailing behind.

You know that one scene in the Spongebob Squarepants movie where they had just witnessed a big fish get eaten by the flipping huge fish? Imagine that face on me… scratch that, imagine that face on Rainbow Dash. That was my overall reaction, my eyes wide and unblinking, my mouth so wide any fly could have buzzed in.

Which it did.

"Gak!" I gagged, going into a coughing fit in an attempt to rid myself of the insect. Damn you, cartoon physics! Eventually, a black organism buzzed away, leaving me gasping for air. In hindsight, I could thank that little fly for getting my mind back to reality. I bucking hate insects…

Still wheezing, I glanced at the screen, which was flashing in bold font, 'FEED TERMINATED.' Placing my hoof back on the mouse, I closed out of the stream and sat back in my chair, running a hoof through my rainbow mane. Lauren Faust called me out… I thought. I need to go to New York City… but how?! How does she expect me to get there? I certainly can't fly there, I mean, a pegasus on an airplane? That just looks…

I stopped, thinking about what I had just thought. With a sidelong glance, I looked at my back, to which two cyan wings were attached. Facehoof. I can fly there! Stupid Markus! I slammed my head on the desk, frustrated at myself. I keep forgetting I'm a pegasus! Not a bucking unicorn or earth pony! A pegasus! Masters of the sky! Keeping my inflated ego down, I hop off the chair.

I've already proved I can glide, I thought to myself with an arrogant grin. Let's see what it takes to fly like a Wonderbolt… But before anything, I needed to pack. New York was a long flight.

~+~+~+~

Lauren Faust looked around the abandoned factory. The shoe-maker's factory was left for condemnation back in the fifties, but was never torn down, and was eventually forgotten by the city of New York. Even gangs didn't come to this part of the pier. A large, windowed wall separated the workspace from a two-story office complex that took up a third of the ground floor. All machinery had been removed from the workspace and the furniture from the offices. It was so empty, the sound of Lauren's hoofsteps sounded ten times louder.

The white alicorn smiled. It was perfect.

Increasing her pace, Lauren entered the office portion of the building, going up the flight of stairs clumsily to check on Tara. Unlike modern cubicle office floors, the factory had individual permanent rooms for each office, which was preferable for them. Continuing down the hall on the second floor, Lauren saw the midnight blue mare walk out of the last room in the corridor. Tara had her head slightly lowered.

"Well, Tara?" Lauren asked her friend.

The actress lifted her teal eyes to meet the pink gaze. "It's a great location for what we have in mind," she said. "Certainly has the space for it."

Lauren frowned at the pseudo-Luna. "That's not what I meant. I mean how are you handling this?" she asked softly. "And don't dodge the question. I'm concerned about you."

Tara sighed, slumping back onto her haunches. "I miss my voices…" she said glumly.

Lauren raised an eyebrow. "Like, the ones in your head or–"

"I mean MY voices!" Tara bellowed, bordering on Royal Canterlot volume. "Timmy, Bubbles, Raven…" Tears sprung to the alicorn's eyes. "…Twilight…" The mare broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Pained at the sight of her distressed friend, Lauren walked up beside her and draped a large wing around her shoulders. "It was what made me special. It was my talent; my cutie mark."

"Tara, we're going to fix this," promised Lauren, nuzzling her de facto sister. "Soon, everyone that turned into the Elements will be here, and then…" The white mare's eyes narrowed in anger. "…we can stop this chaos from spreading, and get our lives back."

Author's Note

Hey everyone, Markus here. Just gonna let everyone know that doesn't already that this story is the spawning ground of a multiple-story universe called the PonyEarthverse. Check it out for the stories of other people who have woken to find themselves without fingers.

That's Why They Call Me Loyalty

<> Day 1… Still <>

"Gah!"

Ker-piff!

Okay, I think I have to face the facts, I admitted inwardly, spitting out a mouthful of dirt for the hundred and twenty-fifth time in an hour's span. I suck at flying.

It wasn't that I was unable to get any lift, or couldn't hold a hover. Actually; the opposite was true in this case. As I discovered, pegasi have amazingly strong wing muscles, and their hollow bones and aerodynamic form, coupled with the fact that I was now inhabiting the body of a developed flier, made takeoff easy as a flap of the wings. The problem is that, because of my ease in flight, my ascents were very uncontrolled and unbalanced, resulting in me either pitching too far forward or back. Which, in turn, caused me to spend most of the time eating dirt.

"Come on!" I yelled at myself. "I'm a better pilot than I am a driver, I have a knowledge of aviation that would make Orville and Wilbur jealous, and to top it all off, I'm incarnating a creature that spends more time in the sky than they are awake! Why can't I hold a simple hover?!" I stomped my hoof into the ground, grinding into the soil.

"I'm just…" I faltered, my wings slowly drooping. "I'm useless. If I can't fly, then getting to New York is out of the question. Hell, I can't even walk there without attracting attention!"

My heart fell into my stomach, a lump forming in my throat. I flopped down on the grass, turning over to look at the darkening sky. Why did this have to happen to me? I asked silently. Out of all the fan-fiction writers in the world, why me? Why not someone better, like Pen Stroke or Rust?

I closed my eyes, letting the situation in my mind distill; all the facts floating to the surface of my consciousness. When I opened my eyes, I was staring at a cyan hoof. I can never play guitar, or flute again. I can't drive my car. I can't get a job. I can't get a decent education, or fly a plane, or have anything a normal person could! The stumpy appendage blurred, my eyes filling with tears. Any chance I had for any kind of life in this world is gone. Stolen away by some freak accident… With that thought, I curled up on the well-trimmed lawn, letting the sadness and emotion flow down my cheeks without a sob. I wish this could all just go away…

My eyes shot open with revelation, then narrowed with angst. This wasn't an accident! Someone wanted to turn me into a pony! I flared my wings, propelling myself into a flip and landing perfectly on my hooves, but I was too angry to notice my feat.

Somewhere, deep within the ground, a spot among the rock began to glow an indescribable light. Soon enough, choice minerals were drawn to the site, a mixture of rubies, platinum, and gold.

I stood with a scowl on my face, looking to the dark-blue sky opposite the setting sun. Whoever did this, I'll find them. I'll make them change me back. Not only me, but Lauren Faust, Tara Strong, and anyone else whose lives they've stolen away! Turning my gaze up, I locked on to a solitary puff of cumulus in the sky.

The minerals shifted, bonding and warping into the shape the magic deemed necessary. More and more energy was poured into it, the mass of crystal and precious metals taking on a refined form. Finally, the rubies simmered, binding each singular gem into one solid individual.

It was in the shape of a bolt of red lightning.

In the subconscious of my mind, I became aware of a faint tug on my thoughts, as if egging me on. But I didn't care. Lauren Faust and Tara need me. I will not leave them hanging! I'm going to go to New York, find them, and then I can help them with this. I glared at the offending cloud. It probably should have bothered me that I was now glowing with a brilliant red light.

And I'll be damned if I'm going to let something like distance get between me and the ones depending on me! In my brain, a deep magenta enveloped my vision. That very moment I saw the answer to my problem. Wing movements, muscle timing, angle of attack, air drag… they all flew through my head in less time it took to blink. My mind made the connections between the mechanics and the nerves in my body.

Snatching my pre-packed bag containing my ten-inch notebook laptop, phone, a few snacks and a Mountain Dew off the ground, I slung it across my back and readied myself. The red glow was stronger than ever. With the cloud as my goal, I crouched low with my forelegs, spreading my wings out and up. When the moment was right, I tensed my muscles…

…and propelled myself through the air. About half a second later, most of the cloud had disappeared from a powerful kick of my back hooves, leaving only a square yard for me to sit on. I stood on the perch, gazing with a triumphant look at the orange sun.

That's when my brain kicked back in, and I gave a startle. "Holy schist! I was flying!" I exclaimed, slapping a hoof to the side of my head. Experimentally, I looked down at what I was standing on. I can stand on Earth clouds? Freaking awesome! At first, I worried about how I was going to get down, but as soon as I stepped to the edge and opened my wings, I felt the breeze in my feathers, and a kind of muscle-memory activated. Somehow, learning to fly just became instinct.

Suddenly at the edge of my peripheral vision, there was a small glint, just enough to get my attention. Mildly curious, I looked down…

…and gasped. The reflected light had come from a ruby, embedded in a gold and platinum necklace, which hung around my neck. It weighed absolutely nothing, but remained hanging firmly tight to my body as if it was twice the weight it appeared to be. The gem in the center was shaped like a lighting bolt.
T-the… Element of Loyalty?!? My logical mind wanted to find out more. How did it get around my neck, and why? Could it do anything special? Was it the cause of the strange flying revelation?

I shook my head, distorting my thoughts. Stop right there, egghead! I berated myself. There's no time for that! So what if I have an Element of Harmony? If anything, it means I have another asset… however useful it is. Smiling, I turned away from the sun. In the darkening shadow, the ruby in the Element seemed to glow. No more wasting time! "Onward and upward!" I shouted to the wind. In a single move I dove off the cloud, gave a powerful thrust down and back with my wings, and propelled eastward for the city that never sleeps.

~+~+~+~

Mrs. Knight got home early from the reunion, closing the front door and setting her bags of groceries down. "Markus, I'm home, honey!" she called ambiguously, knowing well that her son was not paying attention, as usual. She made her way to the kitchen, and was about to open the fridge when a piece of paper on the countertop caught her attention. Curious, she moved to it and read it.

A full minute later, she was slumped on the couch in disbelief.

To my family, whoever should find this note,

I am leaving. Maybe not forever, but a long time I think. Please don't think that I don't love you all, because I do, but there's something I need to do. Something's happened to me, and the only chance of me fixing it is if I leave, and none of you try to find me. Hopefully I can get these dang feathered weights to work by the time you get home, and I won't be there. I need to go now; writing with hooves is extremely time-consuming.

Your loving son (or daughter, considering the circumstances),
-Markus

~+~+~+~

Discord suddenly lurched, startling John. The draconequus' eagle talon was gripping at his heart, as if he had heartburn. "What is it? What's wrong?" inquired the human, looking at his counterpart with concern.

Slumping back in the chair and summoning a glass of chocolate milk, Discord wiped his brow. "Well, that was certainly unexpected," he stated, chugging the glass right of the milk. "And that's saying something. I am the king of unexpected!" John gave him a quizzical look, prying further. "If you must know, I think I felt a little… nah, that's impossible! I should know; I'm the baron of impossible!"

"Care to elaborate, lord of nonsense?" the actor asked, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, John, you flatter me," Discord chimed. "If you must know, I had the weirdest feeling of… harmony…"

John de Lancie's brows furrowed. If the feeling was correct, then their plans could possibly be compromised. Deciding not to rile the chimera, he changed the subject. "So how do you want to redo the foreign policy when all is said and done?"

Discord smiled. "With horses and bayonets, of course."

Author's Note

A/N: Badly-written joke is written badly. Comments? Criticism? That's what the comments section is for, nimrod!

•••

Side note: Nimrod actually meant 'great warrior' at one point in time.

I Just Flew In from Wisconsin, and Boy, Are My Wings Tired

<> Day 2 <>

I sat perched on a piece of cloudstuff, looking at the scene before me. Half the skyline was covered by high-rise skyscrapers, towering over the ocean and other surrounding residential and undeveloped land. I had never been to New York, although I was planning on going there on my summer break if I graduated high school. Blinking the tiredness from my eyes, I glanced at the spaces between the buildings. There was guaranteed to be hectic air currents and rough turbulence. I smiled. It's perfect.

My flight from the dairy state to the big apple had taken almost a full day, the megalopolis coming into sight twenty-two hours after my takeoff. My snacks ran low after about six hours, and, half-starving, I had decided to stop in Toronto, Canada for a seven-o-clock breakfast, and maybe rest my wings for an hour at a small diner on the outskirts.

While eating a nice vegetarian omelet (which was heavenly!), a few of the restaurant patrons who had caught news of the broadcast, and saw that I was a blue rainbow pegasus, came over to wish me luck on my journey. Everyone there was friendly, and a pair of Bronies actually wanted to take a picture with me, to which I complied. Give it two hours, tops, for it to be all over the Internet. To top it all off, the owner of the diner turned away my bill, saying it was on the house. Being a pony had it's advantages, but I still felt terrible for taking advantage of their generosity.

Luckily, the diner had wireless Internet, and I opened my browser to see what other developments had sprung up. To my dismay, there wasn't any new developments, but then again, the next victim of 'pony-itis' could still be waking up. For all I knew, they could be in Australia!

My thirst for knowledge sated, I had a fleeting idea. I asked the two squealing Bronies if I could have a digital copy of the photo, which they sent me gladly through e-mail. Chuckling at my own antics, I posted it on my Facebook page, putting in the caption, 'Having breakfast and chilling with the Toronto Bronies on my way to New York! Canada has the Rainbow Dash stamp of approval!'.

That was about nine hours ago. I breathed in the cool late-autumn air, opening my wings to catch the breeze in my feathers. After the event with the Element of Loyalty, while I was flying over Lake Michigan, I realized that I was making minute adjustments with my wings for stability and knew exactly when to initiate a power flap by instinct. But the issue was that I had to learn how to do everything else, like walking and gliding, by myself. When I was in the air, my body seemed to know how everything worked perfectly. The closest theory I had that could be acknowledged was that the Element had given me the natural instincts of a pegasus.

Which meant I had the irresistible urge to fly. All the time.

I smiled at this. Well, I have been sitting here wasting time, might as well submit I threw myself off the cloud, performing a forward backflip and plummeting twenty yards before flaring my wings, locking into a glide. Having checked the updates on the feed website, I circled the island city for half an hour before spotting my destination. The pier looked like it was run down before the sixties. Of all the places to rally ponyfied Bronies, why an abandoned shoe maker's factory?

Don't get me wrong, I saw the logic behind it. There would be plenty of space and all that, but what about rats and other pests? And wouldn't this place be subject to gang activity? I shrugged midair beside myself. Lauren Faust probably had a good reason for setting up a sanctuary there, and I wasn't one to argue.

Angling my wings to increase the rate of my descent, I began to circle the factory to survey the area. Four good-sized moving vans were parked outside, with a team of eight human movers hauling various pieces of furniture and other articles inside. I nearly lost my in-flight balance as on my third lap around, a familiar white figure exited, her mane a flowing rainbow.

This startled me. Wow, I can see each color in her mane from way up here! Indeed, everything was as clear as it would be if I was only a few feet away. Now, this coming from someone with twenty-seventy vision normally, you think I would have noticed this earlier. Stupid ADHD… in any case, I still have better sight than every human on the planet.

I frowned at my own thought. It bothered me that I had begun to think of myself as a separate entity from the human race, as if I wasn't one of them. One look at my hoof reminded me that it was partially correct. For a general look at the entirety of what I once was, I glanced at the walls of concrete and glass.

Our actions and values make us who we are, not what we look like or view ourselves as.

What's so good about being human that I want to be one again? The human race was one of ingenuity and innovation. They are industrious and creative. Apex predator, dominant race, master engineers. What they couldn't do by themselves, they turned to technology for the answer. All because of two things, the fact that they harnessed fire before anything else, and their anatomy. Most significantly, their fingers and thumbs.

Yet, for everything they were, humans are driven by their nature for dominance. When they discover how to generate massive amounts of electricity by breaking down atoms, what do they do? They use it to create the most powerful weapon known to man. Granted, the creator of said weapon received a Nobel prize, but only for movements against the thing he made. Throughout history, it was simple fact that many human advancements were made in wartime. But why? Why did there have to be death and destruction to keep moving their race forward.

Why would I want to return to being one of them?

A sharp whistle drew my attention earthward, out of my philosophical journey. One of the human movers had noticed my circling and was waving me down. Even from a few hundred feet in the air, I could see his excited expression. Smiling, I decided to show off a little.

Instead of gliding to a landing, I began an unpowered climb, causing me to pause and stall. The air rushed past me as I tumbled uncontrollably, a smug grin on my face. Putting trust in my newfound instincts, I metered my descent and, at the last possible moment, flared my wings and caught the air beneath them. Still going at an extremely high velocity, I pulled up into a loop, increasing my pitch until I was directly above a sofa being carried by two movers, then flopped onto the cushions, landing in a reclined position.

"That's how we get it done in Wisconsin, mo' buckers," I stated, a smirk crossing my face. Everyone's jaws were now swinging on their hinges. "So, we gonna get this couch moving or am I gonna have to walk inside?"

"Now aren't we humble?" chided a regal voice, causing me to startle and fall off the sofa. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Holy schist! It's Princess Cel– no, wait –Lauren Faust! "L-Lauren Faust! Oh my gosh, it's really you!" I pressed my hooves to my cheeks and gave a fanboy squeal. "So awesome!" Immediately, I scrambled upright, going into a bow. "I am not worthy of your presence, great Fausticorn."

Pseudo-Celestia facehoofed. "Please don't do that, it makes me feel like royal… oh, right…" she said. Complying, I picked myself up from the floor, giving a nervous apology. Lauren, however continued to stare at the object hanging from my neck. "You… have the Element?"

Nodding, I glanced down at the ruby. Even in the daylight, it glowed slightly. "It just kinda appeared," I told her. "Good thing it did. If not, I'd be stuck flightless at home still."

She raised an eyebrow at this. "Why?"

"Well, I still have no idea how the hell magic works, but the way I figured was that it gave me the instincts of a pegasus to fulfill my role as Loyalty and come here." I sighed inwardly. "I can't tell you how tired my wings are. The only stop I've gotten was in Toronto, and that was hours ago."

"Wait, so that photo wasn't faked?" asked Lauren. "It seems I owe my 'dear sister' fifteen dollars…"

I blinked at her answer. "You saw the picture? It hasn't been that long since then." It was then that the weight of my nonstop flying hit me, and my wings began to ache fiercely. "Ah…" I hissed in pain. "You wouldn't happen to have any place I can crash, would you?"

The white alicorn raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to meet Isaac? He showed up earlier with a stunning resemblance to Twilight Sparkle. Or his friend, Saw Blade?"

Turning toward her I slumped. "Not right now. I don't think I can take much more pony today. I had enough yesterday to last my whole life, and now I faced it again. With all due respect, Mrs. Faust, I just want to nap."

Just for a second, I swear she just glanced at me with fear.

~+~+~+~

Lauren looked on as the Brony-turned-Rainbow-Dash entered the room set up for his use and flopped onto the bed. She sighed, imagining her magic closing the door. Her mind flashed back to what Discord had told them. If what Markus said was true, that he became a pony yesterday… that would mean… She glanced back at the now closed door. Then he is the chronicler…

A/N: The last few pieces of this chapter kinda made me cringe whilst writing. In any case, if you all have read the Twilight standpoint, I wonder how I'm going to react to a week being a year, among other things I have planned for our poor protagonist.

A Loyal Pain in the Flank

<> Day 3 <>

I woke to the sensation of someone prodding me in the side, which in all honesty doesn't exactly fit the bill for the best way to wake up. In protest, I groan and swat away the offending poker. "Mm… lemme sleep," I moaned at the intruder.

"You've been asleep for over half a day, now," chided the voice. "Come on, up and at 'em. Time for breakfast."

Well, when you put it like that… I sat up, looking toward the owner of the voice, but was over taken by a yawn. It felt really good to stretch my wings, even though they felt a little itchy. The first thing that greeted my pegasus eyes was a tray of vegetarian breakfast, with oats, an apple, and two eggs. I grinned when I smelled freshly brewed coffee. "Thanks Mrs–" Turning to the helpful figure, I nearly jumped out of my skin as I was met with the face of Princess Luna. "Uh… hello, Mrs. Strong…"

"Please, call me Tara. 'Mrs' makes me sound old," she replied, motioning to the tray on my bed. "From what Lauren tells me, the last time you ate was in Canada. Also, you missed a wonderful veggie pizza dinner."

As if to confirm Tara's words, a loud rumble rang out from my midsection. Heh, I guess I was flying on empty yesterday. With gusto, I tore into the oats, attempting to eat as politely as I could without utensils. Once the bowl was gone, I took notice that Tara was still looking at me. "Is there something I can help you with?" I asked politely.

She looked from my face to the base of my neck. "You slept with the Element of Loyalty on," she said. Sure enough, the glowing ruby was still around my neck, weightless as ever. "We tried to remove it with magic, but it keeps repelling it. Even Lauren's magic was no match. When we tried levitating your body and taking it off physically, but it's like its grafted to your body."

"Wait a minute, how in the heck did I sleep through that?"

"You were out cold. Wisconsin is a long flight for someone with wings of flesh and bone, and you had fallen asleep instantly."

Returning my mind to the issue at hand– er, hoof, I glanced at the supposedly irremovable Element. Experimentally, I slid my hoof under the pendant and lifted the golden jewelry off my head as if it were as light as one of my feathers. "Uh… ta-da?"

Tara's jaw made a very valid attempt to hop a flight to China. "Uh… I'm gonna go get Lauren," she finally managed to say, avoiding the question of how I got the necklace off so easy. "She wanted to talk with you when you woke up. In the meantime, enjoy breakfast."

"Wait!" I stop her before she exits. "Uh, this is gonna sound weird, but can I, um, give you a hug?"

Tara looks uncomfortable for a minute, then nods. "I guess I don't mind… Oof!"

As fast as Rainbow Dash, I sped over and wrapped my forelegs around her neck in a pony-style hug. Then, still hanging in midair, I curled up with a squee of delight. "I just hugged Luna and Tara Strong… at the same time! Eeeee!"

Tara rolls her eyes with a giggle and leaves the room, abandoning me to my breakfast. The eggs are a little over-cooked, but I was too hungry to care. Of everything, the apple had made my day. I'll have to ask for another one later. Apples are second only to cheesecake, after all.

With a full meal resting in my belly, I took account of my quarters. The whole room was the size of a small office, and by the appearance, had once been one. In this small space, the only furnishings were the bed, which was pushed to the back-left corner, a small love seat to the right, and a desk at the back of the room. On the desk were the contents of my bag, the laptop open at the center and plugged into an outlet. Cozy, but needs a little more cloud.

Hoofsteps alerted me to a visitor at the door. Lauren Faust, in Princess Celestia's form, looked in. "Are you decent?" she joked.

Giggling, I hovered over to the bed and flipped onto it, reclining against the headrest. "Nah, don't mind me. Just chilling in my room flank-naked." Heh, ponyisms for the win. "You wanted to talk to me?"

She nodded, then levitated my phone over to me. Taking it in hoof, I looked at her. "I'm sorry, but this is the easiest way to explain things." Lauren looked a little anxious, which was odd expression for Celestia. "Check your calendar, and if at all possible, don't panic."

I shrugged, tapping the home button and unlocking my smartphone. Locating the calendar app, I carefully aimed the tip of my hoof to open it. As soon as it loaded, my mouth became a cavern. In an entire four-week month, there was one-thousand, four-hundred-sixty days. "H-how…?"

The white alicorn's face grew dark. "Discord." The name chilled me to the bone, as if the very mention was made to be feared. "Everything that's happened is his doing. Apparently, there was a big ancient Egyptian prophecy about him being defeated in a fortnight, so he made a week the length of a year." She pauses to take a breath. I notice that Celestia looks… rather beautiful without her regalia, as if the regality spoils it. "Markus, I need you to be honest with me. Did you receive any strange messages since you became Rainbow Dash? Particularly, one mentioning a 'chronicler'?"

Nodding slowly, I gave her a look. "Yeah. That was Discord?" She nods. "He… he said he made me a pony to experience what he would do to the rest of us. Also, about the whole 'chronicler' thing, he just wants me to record his rise to power for the generations, or some schist."

Lauren looked surprised at this. "Seriously? That's it?!" She began to laugh, as if she just realized the punch line to a joke. "Oh thank god… he made you sound like some big disciple of chaos or something!"

Wow, Discord having a flare for the dramatic? As if we all didn't know that… "Yeesh, Discord sounds like a real prick. I'm glad he isn't hell bent on destroying us."

She immediately stopped chuckling, looking at me with a dead stare. "Actually… he did make an attempt on the life of Twilight's counterpart. It was something called an 'SCP-173'."

For the record, I hated that bucking game. "Oh…" I say, shocked. So instead of hanging out as a pony for the next two years– er, weeks –I'm going to be fighting for my life against the god of chaos. It's official, my life is bucked up the wazoo. "Um, yeah, if its alright with you, I'm going to deposit myself in a bank vault for the duration."

Lauren shook her head. "Markus, like it or not, you are the Element of Loyalty, and we both know– Um, is there something wrong?"

As soon as I told her that I was going to lock myself away, my head felt like it was plowed into by a Green Bay Packers linebacker. I gripped my temples with my hooves, desperately trying to make the pain stop. Even through the agony, I was vaguely aware that the Element of Loyalty, which I had set on the desk, was once again around my neck and shining a brilliant magenta N-no…! I can't abandon them for my own safety. They're counting on me to beat Discord. I can't leave them hanging! I… AM… LOYALTY!

Everything stopped. The glow of the ruby in my necklace had dimmed down to it's normal hue, and a comfortable silence filled the room. Yet, I was shivering from the pure terror of the thought of letting everyone down. In a medical standpoint, I had just experienced what could be described as a mental breakdown of my thoughts.

Lauren looked at me with an expression of horror. "W-what happened?l

"I… all I did was, just for a second, consider actually abandoning you for my sake," I gasped, looking down at the Element. "It won't let me be disloyal… which explains why it gave me pegasus instincts when I was restricted by circumstance. And if I try to willingly turn tail…"

"It punishes you," finished Lauren. "A little harsh for something that supposedly is a force of friendship and harmony." She looked a little surprised when I removed the Element, but didn't say anything of it. "There is another topic I want to talk about. Tell me, do you notice anything different about your personality lately?"

I shook my head, confused. "No, not really. Why?"

Lauren gave a dismissive wave of her hoof. "Nothing you need to be burdened with. If you'll excuse me, I have other things to attend to." She rose and trotted to the door. "If you need anything, just call."

Watching the Sun as it Starts to Go Down

<> Day 4 <>

"MARKUS!!!"

"Aaugh!" The over-loud shout bolted me into the waking world, causing me to nearly fall off the bit of cloud I was napping on. I had brought the puff of cumulus I brought to the factory for other potential pegasi who might have found their way here. "Tara, what gives?! That was the best sleep I had all week!"

"Heh, sorry. It's hard to control the Royal Canterlot Voice," the dark alicorn said abashedly. "You slept through dinner… again."

Jeeze, I never slept this much during the day. Must be my pegasus metabolism. "Heh, yeah, sorry. I'll be down in a minute."

Tara shrugged her wings and began moving away. "I left the tray in your room. Have a good night, Markus"

I raised my brows, confused. "You're leaving?"

She paused at the double-door entrance, sighing. "However much we would like to stay and do what we can to help you, Lauren and I still have our respective loved ones. Right now, I would say that their company is the best thing for us, currently."

I smile at her. Having had a significant other before, I could relate. "I suppose. G'night!" As Tara exited the factory, I flipped over the edge of the cloud, keeping my wings open as I landed perfectly on all four hooves. Best flier in Equestria and Earth. No competition. The thought made me take a moment's pause. For a second, I thought I sounded a little out of character.

Probably just being paranoid… Shrugging off my quirk, I took wing and flew up to the second story, where the hall windows were left open. So precise was my maneuvering that I was able to glide through without pause, silently thanking my implanted instincts and small frame.

When I landed in my room, I stopped to think. Small frame… I hadn't really taken the time to examine my own body since this whole thing started; the only time I had truly glanced in the mirror was back in Wisconsin, and I was in a bit of a panic mode then.

Remembering there was a mirror on the backside of the door, I closed it, waving to Twilight in the hall before it shut. From there, I backed up a few paces and stared at the glass.

Whoa. The pony that looked back at me was definitely not what I had expected. Surprisingly, I didn't look drawn or animated at all, as if I was a living organism. My cyan coat was smooth, naturally matted down over my skin and, at first glance, appeared to be entirely whole. My wings looked, well, like wings. There isn't much to say about that, dispite my compulsive preening.

The first time I preened happened by accident. I had been telling Saw Blade about my hometown the day before, when suddenly I took true notice of the itch in my wings. In reality, I had been trying to ignore it since I woke up that morning, but it was getting harder and harder. Finally, when the mare was commenting on something I said, I gave in to my impulse and began to nose the grit and oils out of my feathers with the tip of my muzzle, simultaneously realigning skewed primaries. Yet when I became aware that my sanitary activity was being watched, I immediately excused myself to continue in solitude.

Continuing my once-over of Rainbow Dash's body, I paused over my flank. The cutie mark of the cloud and rainbow-bolt seemed to be composed of the same hair that made up my cyan coat. However, there was no evidence to suggest dyes or coloring were involved. I wonder if anypony knows how that works.

Yet the most intriguing feature of my host form was the mane and tail. Unlike the show, the colors were blended together, each fading into the next without a break in the hues. I took notice that Rainbow Dash's mane was styled so that, while flying at high speeds, the red-through-yellow bangs would merge with the green-through-purple part, creating an entire spectrum.

All-in-all, I was indeed Rainbow Dash. It's like looking at a stranger… but why do I feel like this is how I'm supposed to appear? Is the thought of being human again that alien to me?

Turing away from the mirror, I stared at the ruby necklace in my desk. Next to it, was my dinner of a tossed salad and a few assorted berries. As if on cue, a voracious growl emitted from my stomach. Yikes, I completely forgot about that. I hopped up to the chair, sliding the tray closer with my hoof.

However, just as I'm about to take my first bite, I glimpsed the view outside the window. Actually, this is as warm as it's going to get for a while. Nice weather for a cloud-meal. Carpe Diem.

Standing on the desk, I push open the window. On a whim, I flipped the Element of Loyalty into the air and caught it on my neck. Even though it has a magical homing device, I'd rather be safe than sorry on the off chance Discord decides to pull something. With the tray of food in my teeth, I flew out the window, careful not to let anything spill into the foaming waters below.

Really, if there's one thing they don't specify about pegasus magic, it's that we can transfer cloud-solidity to inanimate objects in an immediate vicinity. And given that our world has a massive untapped pool of magical energy, I could probably do that with a large house. There was probably a way to make it permanent, but I didn't have the attention span to figure out how.

Plucking a small chunk of cloud from a cumulus, I brought it lower to the ground and set my tray on it, imagining my energy wrapping around the dinner. With a ravenous hunger, I buried my muzzle in the edible stuff, scarfing it down, not caring about the taste.

When everything had been masticated, I sat back on the cloudstuff and looked out over the water, the sun casting a warm glow over the Atlantic. The wind off the sea blew through my mane, giving the feeling of accelerating flight even though I was at rest. I felt like I belonged there, in the sky, laying against a pillow of pure white, the sounds of New York muffled by the breeze and distance.

Maybe… turning into a pony isn't all bad… With that thought, my contentment lulled me into a sense of security and comfort, and I passed out into a deep slumber.

~+~+~+~

Discord, the master of chaos and disharmony, was now snoozing on the sofa, occasionally stirring. John de Lancie accredited this to an extraneous use of power to fuel both the calendar spell, as well as the incantation that was effectively changing ordinary Bronies into pony counterparts. Why else would an all-powerful god need rest? Or perhaps he is just doing so because it doesn't make any sense to, pondered de Lancie.

John looked from his counterpart back to the screens. There was worldwide panic about the change in the number of days in a week, as per the plan. Most were blaming it on divine wrath, as punishment for humanity's crimes along with the ponyfications. Some, like a newly-formed terror organization, blamed the ponies directly for it, especially those suspicious of magic and such. So far, the most accurate theory, unsurprisingly, had come from the Brony fan-base itself. The theory that Discord had come to Earth.

John chuckled as he read through the threads. "How predictable, that the collective being targeted knows better." He sipped a small bit of Merlot from a tornado-shaped glass. A run crossed his face. "Perhaps… I can make a little chaos myself, humanity-style."

With that, John de Lancie punched a number in a keypad, putting a headset on. The sound of a phone ringing came through, and was soon cut off by a heavy Eurasian accent. "Speak," the foreign voice said.

"Silas, how good to hear your Ukrainian voice once again," greeted de Lancie. "Do you prefer being called 'Silas'? Or would you rather I call you… Mr. Silence?"

There was no reply for a while. "It shall be done, Mr. De Lancie. Now, if you will pardon me, I have an organization to run."

I Dream of a Genie with Rainbow Hair

<> Day 5 <>

The cloudstuff beneath me, gave only slightly to the force on my hooves striking it, giving the illusion that the clouds were more compact and permanent. Around me, constructions of the white condensation lined what I assumed were streets. Most every building had a resemblance to Greek or Roman architecture, with pillars and terrace platforms. Even though there were walkways, it became obvious that this city was built for flying inhabitants.

I walked on one such walkway in what I assumed was a market place in the clouds toward a very accurate remake of the coliseum. I'm in Cloudsdale… I took wing, soaring with greater pace through the acropolis. Wait, I can't be in Equestria. Since when does falling asleep on a cloud take one to-?

Midair, I facehoofed. A lucid dream… I'm having a lucid dream… In the past, the only lucid dreams I ever had were either nightmares or desire-dreams, visions that show me what my greatest desires. I smiled as I remembered my latest; going to Equestria and meeting Luna. Ah Luna… my love.

"Watch out!"

"Wah!" I yelled as I was tackled midair, then carried off between a set of hooves. Looking back at my original flight path, I saw that I had nearly ran headlong into a cloudstuff wall. Note to self: don't have romantic fantasies about ponies while flying.

"Romantic fantasies? Dude, crushing on the Princess is weirder than Twilight having a crush," said the rough female voice of my savior. "You gonna thank me for saving your flank, or what?"

Wait… I know that vo-

"Well duh, feather-brain. It's the one you've been borrowing for four days now." I looked up. At first, I thought I was looking into a mirror, but considering that we were both flying through the air, that was immediately discredited. The pegasus carrying me looked down at me with the same magenta eyes, rainbow mane, and cyan coat. "You alright, there? You look a little pale."

"Yeah, um, just let me get over the fact that I'm carrying myself through an acropolis after nearly running into a wall of cloud."

The mare set me down on a platform, near a building that looked a little like a factory with rainbows pouring out. As she fluttered next to me, she glanced around. "So… why Cloudsdale?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Beats me. I go where my dreams take me."

She looked disappointed. "Yeah, I know, but…" the mare stumbled over her words. "Markus, you've created entire worlds… entire UNIVERSES! Yet the only thing you have to do is sit in your room, close your eyes and just… imagine! You must be the coolest egghead I've ever met!"

That is true; I could spend hours doing that. It's always been my natural state to create, not only the settings, but the characters, the situations, the conflicts and governments, an entire history leading up to the main events. The result is always another story to be written or forgotten.

"Who are you?" I asked the doppelgänger. "I mean, you look like me, but you don't act like me."

To my confusion, the mare burst nearly burst into laughter. "Actually, it's you who looks like me."

Her statement hit me like a brick to a social recluse's window. "So… you're Rainbow Dash?"

She gave me a smug grin. "The one and only!" She saw my perplexed face and chuckled. "Sorta. I'm the part of Rainbow Dash that is slowly merging with your mind. At least, that's how Twilight puts it." Her face suddenly got very shaded.

"Wait… so, are you saying that you're taking over my mind?!" I yelled, panicked.

She shook her head wildly. "No! I'm not! It's just… do you remember what Lauren asked you? About your personality changing?"

The memory stirred in my head, as if called up on command. "Um… yeah? What about it?"

"Okay, don't freak out when I tell you this, but…" she paused looking at me nervously. "We're both changing. You haven't noticed because you apparently have worse attention deficit than me. Think, Brony! Has anything you thought or said not match up to your character?"

Her voice drove my thoughts into high gear, focusing them to the task, as if she was forcing them to. "I don't know… maybe a little more ego but–"

"But nothing, Markus! That's me! My mindset is touching yours, making you more like me! We're both changing."

I raised a brow at her. "Both?"

Rainbow Dash sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hoof. "You may have gotten my… uh… self-confidence," I snorted at this. "…but if there's one thing I had to get from you, it was your damned itch to just… imagine!"

I smiled at her, laying back on the plush cloud-wall. "Is that why Cloudsdale is so disappointing? Because we could be in the Silver Citadel of Planet Arcanum, or maybe the city of Craedolor and its seven towers?" I asked, referencing two fantasy universes I had created for future use. Possibly after I finish my hobby as a Brony writer. "I guess Equestria is 'utopia' enough for me."

"Hay, do you see me complaining?" she said, following my lead. She was silent for a long time, and in that span, I decided that 'thoughtful' was a weird look for Rainbow Dash. "Actually, I need to tell you something… about the 'our minds are merging' thing." She bit her bottom lip, like I would do I'm pensive or nervous. "The thing is, you're not really… resisting. You're already just as loyal as me, even without the Element, and your arrogance is rising kinda fast. But it's not happening as fast as it should.

"Twilight said that… at a certain point …we would eventually be a single pony. A perfect blend of you and me."

"Like that one story where you and Twilight are fused and you're both sharing a mind and a body? Without all the existential crisis stuff, of course"

She shook her head. "No, it's more like we would just be… one soul. A combination of our thoughts and personalities." Rainbow Dash curled up, putting her hooves over her eyes. "But that hasn't happened yet, because you're not the one resisting…" She looked at me with sorrowful eyes. "…I am."

~+~+~+~

The loud ruckus of rotor blades sprung me from my dream. One of the disadvantages of sleeping on a cloud: air traffic. In the defense of the blue news helicopter, I did pick a pretty low cloud mattress. It wasn't even full cumulus; just a piece of overcast that dropped altitude during my slumber.

In the groggy hours of sunrise, I became aware of something wedged between my teeth. I sputtered, expelling the offending object. What the–?! In my cyan hooves was held a fluffy rectangle, covered in white cloth. How the buck did a pillow get up here?!

A/N: I suck at dream scenes. The only other dreams I recall doing before this are the very beginning of Brony Recon 2, as well as Crimson Bolt's prophecy and Shift's inner talk. If you have no bucking clue what I'm talking about, don't worry about it, although I think Rarity would know what I'm talking about, right Gold Heart?

As for the two 'references', they don't exist. Don't try to find them.

Clouds Are Like... Plush Trampolines

<> Day 6 <>

A/N: Revised to match timeline.

Flying up to the cloud formation above the city, I gripped a piece of cloud from the wisps of overcast that hung over that part of New York. Making use of the large amounts of magic in the world, the piece I grabbed was relatively large, at least five times the size of my napping clouds.

All the while, I couldn't get the thought of my dream out of my head. I didn't even consider the possibility of our minds fusing. Is that why I'm not resisting? Because I'm not aware of it?

Slowly, as to not break up the formation in my hooves, I moved the group of developing clouds to a lower height. Luckily, while clouds were under the influence of my weather-control magic, they were not susceptible to wind currents, and would stay in place for an hour following any contact with it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not even sure I know how to resist if I wanted to. But… that's the thing… do I want to have our minds intertwined? Would I lose myself if I did?

I met Carol yesterday while flying around between buildings. She owns a penthouse apartment in one of the buildings I passed more often than others. On the roof, she maintains an impressive collection of plants. When I was flying past for the sixth time in a half-hour, she waved me down to offer some homemade punch and muffins. And sweet Celestia, were they delicious.

Carol, who is about fifty years old, is one of those people that sees past what's on the outside to start a conversation, and we were soon chatting idly, as if I wasn't a pony at all. At one point, she told me that some of the plants she owns don't get enough rain from New York weather. Fortunately for her, she was talking to Ponyville's premier weather pegasus.

Even if I don't get overwritten, would I want to share a consciousness with Rainbow Dash? I mean… I would change… I wouldn't be me. Not completely, anyway. But how do I know this change is for better or for worse? How would this help against Discord?

I eventually set the clouds at a standstill above Carol's roof-garden, spacing them over the respective plants. As the middle-aged woman watched from a lawn chair off to the side, I hopped on the clouds in rapid succession, causing them to rain on their designated areas.

I suppose this shows how bored I am, I thought to myself. I glanced over at Carol, who was smiling and sipping a cup of punch. At least I get gratification in the fact that I'm doing something productive and helpful.

"That will be enough, dear," she asserted softly.

I ceased my cloud-to-cloud bouncing and circled around to shove the mass of cloud away, the last of the precipitation dripping out. "It's no prob', really," I replied. "That was really kinda fun."

She smiled warmly at me as I fluttered into the chair opposite her. "Now, I must insist that you be compensated for your time," she said, pulling out her purse.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" I stopped her. "I mean, it's really no big deal. Besides, your amazing muffins are pay enough."

Carol rolled her eyes at me, putting the handbag down. I could feel her eyes on me as I consumed my first muffin, but it wasn't anything creepy. More like the company of an acquaintance. "You should know that my husband supports you."

I looked up at her. "Really?"

"Yes. He's a United States congressman, down in DC, and is a strong supporter of pony rights. After all, you are still humans."

At this, I frowned. "I'm not so sure about that," I told her with a solemn voice. When she remained silent, I continued. "You see, my mind is slowly becoming one with Rainbow Dash's, the pony whose body I'm inhabiting. The only reason I'm not calling myself 'Markus Dash' is because she is resisting the merge; she's scared she will lose herself." I chuckled half-heartedly. "I suppose that's her undying pride and ego, but she's also worried that I'll change, and lose my imagination."

Carol shrugged. She's awesome like that, I can tell her about an internal crisis and she reacts as if this is a normalcy. "Well dear, I do hope you and her work it out eventually."

"Thanks. Oh, if at all possible, try to keep the whole 'mind-meld' thing under wraps. The last thing any of us need is another public freakout over this." She smiled, mimicking zipping her mouth shut. "Well, I wish I could stay, but I should report back to the factory. With everything that's going on, Lauren and Tara don't want me outside for an extended time. If it's not too much trouble, send your husband my best wishes."

"I'll be sure to do that," Carol replied, taking a bite of the remaining muffin.

With a parting wave, I took off, careful not to cause a backdraft. I smiled, weaving my way through the multitudes of high-rise buildings. Carol was one of a rare variety. Compassionate, kind, and made your day better. Not many humans behaved like that in this day and age. Of course, when has that ever been the status quo?

Any further thought was lost in the wind that swept past my face. These past few days, my only release was in flying. The rush of my aerodynamic form cutting through drag, feeling the air currents on my feathers, experiencing the pull of the g-forces in turns and dives. This was my natural high, my retreat from the world, to stop thinking and just jet through the air, letting my senses guide me.

Even before I was a pegasus, I had a love of the air and traveling through it. Many a summer saw me either at the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association), which was based in my hometown of Oshkosh, or at their aviation camp. Really, there is no human replacement to flying than a small single-engine aircraft, high above the city. I was a natural, too, able to land and take off with little assistance my second time flying.

Deciding to return to the sober world, I shook off the drug that was flight and examined my surroundings. I frowned at what I saw. Of course I would end up in the trashy part of Manhattan. Schist. Not being native to the megapolis, I had no idea where my flight-trance had taken me.

I just need to look for a landmark… Aha! Amid the many tall skyscrapers, I picked out the looming form of the Chrysler Building. Revving my wings midair, I sped for the familiar construction dominating the New York Skyline.

~+~+~+~

Silas clicked his mobile phone shut, smiling. The Ukrainian had spent all night online, planting suggestions and anarchist ideals into anti-pony threads under the screen name, 'Mr. Silence'. Eventually, every individual organization an Internet hate group against the ponies had met each other under his hand.

In two nights, Silas had formed orchestrated the massive anti-pony online gathering, featuring people from every corner of the globe. Each individual participant, one by one, soon began to recognize the name Mr. Silence as their superior, and joined in hands for the common hatred.

Silas stood, and took in his creation on the screen. The People Against Ponies Association had been formed.

A/N: Transitional chapters… no me gusta.

On Wings the Color of Sky

<> Day 7 <>

"Ah! R-Rainb- I mean Markus! Fancy seeing you here!"

I winced. Schist, he caught me. "Um, this is my room…" I said to Twilight, who was standing in the doorway. With the exception of my laptop, I had loaded my things into my bag, which wasn't all that much to be honest.

"Oh… well, hehe, sorry…" he said nervously, very much like Twilight. "Anyway, how are you?"

I sighed, picking up my laptop from the desk and trying to slide it into the bag. Packing without fingers is harder than it sounds. "Been better, I guess."

"It's just…" he began, "yesterday, Twilight Sparkle and Isaac fused, creating me."

With a half-hearted chuckle, I smiled at the purple unicorn. "So can I call you Twisaac, now?"

Twilight looked at me with offense. "No!" he argued. "Just Twilight… and anyway, that wasn't all of Twilight. Just her memories, feelings toward others, and her magic."

I was half listening at this point, focusing on getting the computer into the travel bag. "Uh huh…" I mumble, finally shoving the black rectangle into my pack and swinging it over my back.

"Well…" he hesitates, as if unsure of his wording. "You wanna say goodbye first?"

Blinking at the dreaded word, I turned to him. The pony I saw there wasn't the same one I had met earlier. He was much more docile than a few days ago, like he had just experienced a worldly fact. "What gave me away?" I asked with light-hearted sarcasm.

He replied with a sarcastic tone, "The fact that I'm the only other Element of Harmony you've met?"

This lifted my spirits a little, so I smirked playfully. "Really? I would think the bag would be a bigger clue."

"I know. That's a clue too," he said matter-of-factly.

I gave him a sad smile, then threw the Element of Loyalty over my head to rest on my neck. "I'm just… restless," I told him… er, her. Stop calling her a male. She's more female than male at this point. "It's in my nature, Twi. I always needed to keep moving, I just didn't have a… way to move. Now…" I gave my wings a shake for emphasis. "…I'm finally free."

"Well, see you, I guess," she said, her expression falling. "I'll miss you."

I chuckled. "Oh c'mere, you big egghead." I trotted over and gave her a big hug. "I'll be back, not for a while, but I am still the Element of Loyalty."

Twilight wrapped her forelegs around me in return. "Thank you." She released me, looking a little better. "Well, goodbye… and see you in a couple days."

"Count on it," I said, opening the window and perching on the window sill. Just as I'm about to take off, I turned back to my friend. Friend… yeah, that fits perfectly. "Tell Saw Blade that she slaps like a mare."

With that, I gave a powerful flap, launching into the air. I was too down to perform any aerobatics or maneuvers. As I rose above the cloud level, I glanced back at the factory. The Element around my neck gave a small twinge, reminding me I still had friends at that building, who cared for my safety. I mean, I know Saw Blade was a little… harsh, but even so, I still considered her my friend.

Rivalry is just another word for friendly competition.

But still, I'm not doing any good sitting idly while there are ponies out there who could need help or guidance. With Discord on the rise, he's sure to cause some grief.

The days were becoming shorter. With all that was going on, I didn't really notice how late the sun rose. A chill blew past me, the sun only an hour past rising. It was a good chill, the coldness seeping through my feathers and my coat, soothing my worked flight muscles. Mornings like this were only going to get colder as it got darker and the Earth tilted away from the sun. I don't mind. Pegasi are resistant to the cold and heat, as well as other kinds of…

I stopped my thoughts. Where did that come from?! Sure, there were fan theories about the extent of pegasus magic, as well as how magic itself worked. But they way I thought it… it was like I knew it was fact.

I sighed, knowing full well what the reason was. Rainbow Dash isn't exactly the most… mentally fortuitous pony. Her control over the merge must be slipping. As soon as I mentioned the mare's pensive willpower, I felt a twinge of annoyance in the forefront of my brain, causing a headache. "Ow! I'm sorry, alright? You don't need to make a fuss!"

Yelling at a pony in your head, Markus? I'm starting to doubt your own mental status.

"Shut up, brain."

Heh… gladly.

Pushing aside my troll of a conscience, I continued on my southwestern path. The way I had it figured, I could stop in DC, which was a five hour trip by my reckoning. Which meant a late lunch. Buck… I'm gonna be flying on empty by the time I reach Baltimore.

The reason I wanted to stop by DC wasn't really anything other than to show our nation's capitol that we existed, as well as a pit stop for food and rest. More for the food, as politicians can't be bothered lift their noses out of their disputes, even for a rainbow pegasus flying right over their heads.

Of course, there is still Carol's husband. The congressman. At the thought of the middle-aged woman, the Element gave another twitch backward, drawn toward the place I had made so many friendships.

Dismissively, I swatted at a bit of wispy cloud. Friendship… Isn't that what the show we love is all about? Back in Wisconsin, I didn't make many new friends. Not because I was unlikable, but because I was unnoticeable. Being five-foot-four didn't help either. Most friends I did have were those that the status quo look at with a raised eyebrow. Band and choir geeks, weirdos, Bronies, and nerds were amongst us. Heh, if Ben could see me now…

As the thought process continued, I began to frown. I never said goodbye to any of them… or my family, technically. I just flew off… My altitude began to falter, so I gave a few power flaps. Maybe I can visit on my nationwide tour. Just show up and chat a bit, and say a formal farewell.

Don't take what you're given for granted, and don't focus on what was taken.

I smiled. I can go anywhere, do whatever I want! Wings for the win! As if to prove my own point, I performed a small inverted roll. It was then that I saw the true blessing of all this. I had gotten my wish. All this time I've been worried about losing my fingers and my old life that I didn't recognize what I had been given. A dream answered, and a new life!

The sun glinted off the Lower Bay, reflecting my newfound elation and excitement. C'mon Dash. We have a world to see and new friendships to forge…

In my subconscious, I felt a jump of anticipation.

A/N: I'm trying to bring back the inner writer. I had been neglecting him, and don't want him to go to waste. Granted, my mind is being merged with a pony, but that's certainly no excuse!

Quiznos: the Nation's Number One Pony-Friendly Restaurant!

<> Day 7 <>

"…with a thousand lies and a good disguise, hit 'em right between the eyes, hit 'em right between the eyes. When you walk away…~" I sang as I rested myself on a good-sized chunk of cloud. Using my cloud-retention magic, I had set up a base of operations on said cloud, setting up my laptop and plugging the charger into a charged section. Amazingly, electronics can run on the dormant lightning in any viable cloud. Weather pony abilities are amazing!

I had arrived in our country's grand capitol at twelve-thirty in the afternoon, stark hungry. It took me about half an hour to condense the rising fog into a proper platform, which I had anchored directly above the Washington monument. All the while, my stomach gave out a low grumbling in response to being very low on sustenance.

After another such growl, immediately following finishing my base camp, I sighed in frustration. If you so insist, you raucous internal organ… With my high vantage point and pinpoint vision, I spotted what looked like a Quiznos adjacent to the US Trade Representative building, not even a mile away from me.

In anticipation of sinking my equine teeth into a roasted sandwich, I licked my lips, slid a makeshift money pouch around my neck, and dove from my perch. In less than a minute, I hovered to a landing in front of the restaurant.

Upon entering the building, however, self-awareness pounded against me. Every eye was on my rainbow-maned head, whatever noise there was dying to a whisper. I hated being the center of attention. It made me feel even smaller than I was, and at the moment, I was barely topping two feet.

Don't worry about them… I told myself. Just get some food and get out. Trying to hold my head high and ignore the collective gaze, I trotted up to the counter. It was easier in New York, where people would just glance and shrug. But here, everyone was more aware of the strange and abnormal, they continued to look on. I guess it would come naturally to a city that faces an average one or two terror threats a day.

My hooves echoed with cringing volume, only abating when I had to hover in the air to keep my head above the counter. To my surprise, the cashier didn't even bat her eyes at the pastel-colored pegasus floating across from her.

"Welcome to Quiznos, can I take your order?" Her calm demeanor made the unwanted attention I had gained much less harsh.

A friendly face can make any stressful environment more positive.

I gave her a friendly smile. "Sure, I'll have the…" I began, but frowned as I looked at the menu. Had I been human, the choice would have been simple: turkey, lettuce, provolone on Italian, no mayo. However, I had no knowledge of what tasted good to a pony aside from no meat, no tomatoes, and no mustard. "…um…"

The cashier smiled at me when I looked her with a hopeless expression. "Hey, Eddy," she shouted into the kitchen. "Lettuce and diced onions on garlic herb, no sauce!"

"Pony Special, coming up!" came the reply.

Behind the counter, the cashier chuckled at my perplexed face. "We had two other pony customers yesterday, one at lunch, one at dinner," she explained. "Rumor around our national locations is that the 'Pony Special' is what they like best."

"Oh… thanks for the help," I said. "I still have no idea what tastes good or bad."

The cook, Eddy, wrapped my sandwich and placed the tray on the counter, giving me a friendly smile. Carla, the cashier, led me to an isolated table where the other patrons wouldn't bother me. I fumbled with the pouch around my neck, producing the cash needed for the meal.

She took the money in hand and set a cup of water on my table. "Just call if you need anything, hon."

"Thanks," I said. With my muzzle, I nosed open the wrappings. Yet, instead of the expected footlong, what was concealed in the folds made my eyebrows defy the laws of gravity.

In truth, I was half right… literally. Half of the contents composed a neatly constructed six-inch sandwich of garlic herb bread and it's respective fillings. On the other half was a pile of wedge shaped pieces, seemingly fried, made up of a multitude of fibrous strands, almost like someone dumped a bunch of grass in a deep-fryer.

For obvious dietary differences, Equestrian cuisine would evolve on par with the equine tastes, including grassy plants such as hay or flowers.

Within the depths of my subconscious, Rainbow Dash was emitting waves of excitement, which I immediately shared with her. Hay fries! Rainbow Dash's favorite! Only slightly off-put by the fact that I knew the pony's culinary preferences, I happily dug into the crispy lengths. In that moment, Quiznos soared above all other restaurants.

Oh dear sweet Celestia how I've missed you! my mind exclaimed in a fit of delectable bliss. So good… almost as good as Pinkie Pie's hay fries!

I paused in my gorging. Wait, how could I miss the taste of something I've never eaten before? On top of that, how do I know how Pinkie Pie makes them?!

Abruptly, the ambient enthusiasm within my subconscious faded, replaced by dread and regret. I frowned, staring at the lone sandwich on the wrappings. She was slipping, I realized. Rainbow Dash, despite her efforts, couldn't hold back the inevitable merge of her and I. Whether or not her fear of losing part of herself, or overriding my own creativity, was valid, it was becoming a very real worry. My wings drooped with a quiet sigh as I began on my sandwich, with much less enthusiasm than I had with the hay fries.

Some may argue that I could try to resist, to aid Rainbow Dash in her fight to keep the two of us separate. I would tell them that it's impossible. My mind is an open one, without any stops or barriers, and unbelievably complex. To combat the merge, I would have to narrow down which parts of my mind and personality Rainbow Dash is fusing with, then maintain a mental barrier for that point. On top of that, keep track of the point in the ever-changing enigma of my mind.

And for someone who considers holding a coherent thought for more than two minutes a personal record, this is a challenge. As a result, the most I can do is try to act like me as opposed to Rainbow Dash.

Which is harder than it seems, given her and I share a lot of commonalities. For one, we both love flying, and have an in-depth knowledge of aviation and aerodynamics. From what I learned from the show and the ambient memories in my head, we both have stage fright, and dislike being in front of crowds. The greatest thing we shared, however, was our loyalty. Even before becoming a Brony myself, my most valued phrase followed the virtue.

The greatest thing you can give a person is friendship. The greatest thing you can give a friend is loyalty.

With a gulp, the last of my sandwich disappeared down my throat. Garlic herb, a bread I usually didn't prefer, complemented the onions and lettuce. I flew the refuse over to the trash and flapped out the door, thanking Carla on the way out.

As soon as I began to accelerate, I immediately regretted it, gripping my abdomen. Ugh… note to self: never fly on a full stomach ever again. Taking more care with to smoothen out my flight, I slowly made my way to my lofty base camp. Now that I think about it, I probably shouldn't have put it a hundred meters above a conspicuous white obelisk. National security and all that malarkey. For all they know, I could have a bomb ready to deploy on the monument from there.

With a few more steady flaps, I was able to reach my cloudstuff platform without too much trouble from my gastrointestinal tract. However, upon landing, I heard a low rumbling noise, including a queasy feeling in my-

"BUUUURRRRAAAAAAP!" Oh. Huh. I suddenly felt much better.

With a contented smile, and my stomach feeling much less bloated, I turned to my laptop to announce my tour to the world of Facebook…

I stopped cold. What the schist?! Lying on the cloud next to my stuff, snoring softly, was another pegasus. The mare had a candy-pink coat, the same color as Fluttershy's mane. Her own mane was a nut-brown, long and unkempt, matted down by flight goggles. On her flank was a white cloud with an electric yellow lightning bolt.

Eyes wide, I gaped at the napping mare. Another pony…

Making a Friend in Federal Airspace

<> Day 7 <>

In the span of a few moments, my initial shock over seeing the other pegasus faded. Despite my decidedly loud belch (no regrets), the mare was still napping peacefully, her bellows rising and falling with every breath. Dear Celestia… why do all ponies have to look so cute when they're asleep? my inner fan-Brony sighed.

A mental jab from Rainbow Dash snapped me from my perpetual d'aww. Right, pony I've never seen before sleeping on my cloud-base. Sorry, Dash. After an affirming sense of spiteful forgiveness from the pegasus in my head, I padded across to the napping pink pony.

At first, I was unsure how to approach her. Do I wake her up, or wait until she finishes her nap? Two distinct choices… should I put it to chance? Fumbling with the coin pouch around my neck, I was able to withdraw a shiny, newly-minted dime. With the tip of my hoof, I threw the coin into the air, catching it on the back of my hoof. Heads…

Two Face is the most efficient Batman villain. He has a flawless decision-making process.

Some part of me, be it Rainbow Dash or my own mischievous tendencies, thought of something extremely comical. I was honestly surprised I haven't done this earlier. Positioning myself so I was adjacent to her head, I lowered my muzzle next to her ear and inhaled…

"LOUDER!!!"

"AAH!"

The mare's eyes snapped wide open, her wings flaring defensively. Unfortunately for me, my face was in the path of the accelerating feathers. With a loud 'smack!', I went down, clutching at my smarting muzzle. All the while, despite her 'fight' opposed to 'flight' response, I was laughing my flank off.

When my back thudded against the cloudstuff, I heard the mare gasp. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! You just… scared me and I…" she paused, letting me giggle a little more. "I just hit you in the face, and you're laughing about it?"

"Your face…!" was all I could gasp between bouts of laughter. "Bucking priceless!"

She was silent for a few moments; I guessed she was waiting for me to calm down. Still chuckling, I rolled over and trotted to my computer, pressing the power button with my hoof-tip. Realizing she had been quiet for a little too long, I turned back to the mare. Her light blue eyes were wide, her jaw swinging on its hinges. It took me all of ten seconds to facehoof. Sometimes, even I forget that I'm a more famous pony than most.

Fame is an illusion. The populace recognizes your face, not you.

"Yeah, I'm Rainbow Dash," I said, rolling my eyes. "Now, you gonna tell me what you're doing on my cloud?"

The pink mare realized she was gaping, and quickly snapped her mouth shut, chuckling nervously at herself. "I'm sorry… Rainbow Dash is my favorite pony," she explained. "Anyway, to answer your question, I was flying over DC on my way to New York from my home in Richmond, and I saw your cloud here, which was a little too close to the Washington Monument to be coincidence. Then when I found all your stuff up here, I knew that there was another pegasus somewhere around Washington, so I decided to wait until they came back, and I… I guess I dozed off…" She blushed a little in embarrassment. "I just can't believe it was you! Rainbow Dash is the awesomest pony ever!"

"Yeah, I am pretty awesome aren't I–" I shook my head, as if to rid myself of a fly on my muzzle. Dash, that was your thought. Keep your ego to yourself, please. The pony responded with a mental image of herself pouting, but otherwise returned to the depths of my mind. But not before she gave me a few parting thoughts.

Airheart, she said, simply. The name sprung a wellspring of memories, making my head hurt a little. Airheart, from what Dash's memories told me, was one of the few weather ponies that lived in Ponyville. She was on the same team that formed the water-spout in 'Hurricane Fluttershy', and was one of the pegasi not afflicted by feather-flu. The only thing Dash didn't show me was what she looked like.

Why tell me all you know about a random pony, but not tell me what she…? Oh… At this point, I became aware that I had been clutching my head with a hoof for a span of a few seconds, the pegasus I now knew as Airheart looking at me with concern.

"Um, you okay?" she asked, stepping toward me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured. "Rainbow Dash was just telling me about your pony, Airheart."

She gasped, a smile lighting up on her face. "You have your pony in your head, too?!" she exclaimed. "Yes! I'm not going insane!" Airheart fist-pumped, elated at her newfound mental stability.

I snickered at her excitement. "That's still debatable." If she was bothered by my comment, she made no sign of it. Remembering my manners, I held out my hoof. "My name's Markus, by the way."

Airheart smiled warmly and bumped hooves with me. "Nice to meet you, Markus. I'm Chloe."

My friendly grin disappeared from my face. "Um… can I just call you Airheart?"

She frowned a little at this. "Why can't you call me by my real name?"

"Trust me," I assured her. "It would be really awkward." Before she could answer, I turned to my laptop, which had powered on and was loading my Google Chrome tabs. "After I'm done here, I'm packing up and leaving for the next stop. You wanna come with?"

"Oh my gosh YES!" she exclaimed, bouncing in a midair three-sixty. "I can't WAIT to get to New York! So many ponies are going to be there! I mean, there's you, Applejack, Fluttershy, Princess Luna–"

"I'm not going to New York," I interrupted. "I just left from there today, actually. I'm touring the country, looking for other ponies that need help or direction. In New York, I wasn't really doing anything besides sit around, and believe me, neither Dash or I like to be in one place for a long time. If you still want to go there, that's your choice. But I wouldn't mind the company."

Airheart looked at me with confusion. Then, she placed her chin on a hoof, looking decisive, occasionally adjusting her flight goggles. Finally, she smiled and nodded. "I'll come with you. Besides, I don't want to be stuck in the Big Apple waiting out this whole thing."

"Sweet deal." Looking back to the screen, I moved the cursor to the Facebook tab. The number of comments on my Toronto photo had risen to almost a thousand, but I disregarded it. Time to make my public announcement… "Hey, Airheart, how 'bout a team photo?"

The pegasus was more than happy to comply, wrapping her foreleg around my shoulder in front of my computer's webcam. I returned the one-limbed embrace, smiling at the camera with my trademark smirk. The timer hit zero, and the picture was saved as a post. In the caption, I typed with a pen in my mouth: "Heading off on a nationwide tour! Helping the ponies of our country, joined by Airheart!"

With my status updated, I closed out of the tab and started to pack up camp, turning to my new companion. "Next stop, Columbus, Ohio."

A/N: Could someone with better artistic ability than my mediocre scribbling draw that photo? Also, for anyone who doesn't know what Airheart looks like:

Road Trip Schenanigans

<> Day 7 <>

"So, your human name is Markus, right?"

I glanced back at Airheart. We were thirty minutes out of DC, still over Virginia. In order to appeal to my avian instincts, I instructed Airheart to fly directly behind me. It was a pair-flock technique to have the faster flier at point to take the blunt of the drag, so the slower of the two could ride the wake and keep pace. That way, we could still travel at my faster-than-average airspeed.

"Yeah, why?"

She began to snicker audibly. "So let me get this straight; you're a guy… in a mare's body?" At this point, she lost it, laughing to the brink of flight-unbalance.

"If I were you…" I growled, "I would never speak of that again." The venom in my voice was enough to quiet her. However, the sudden silence of the empty sky was disheartening, and I looked back at her.

"How'd you learn to fly, anyhow?" I asked.

Airheart looked a little uncomfortable at my question, her flight swerving a little. "Um… the pony in my head taught me…"

I was silent for a minute. "You know, a week ago I would have called you crazy, but then again, I wasn't Rainbow Dash a week ago." Absently, I did a half aileron roll, as if to watch the world turn upside down to match the metaphorical state. "Back then, people stayed people and ponies stayed ponies."

Airheart watched my maneuver with fascination. "Where did you learn to fly? I couldn't do that to save my life!"

Now upside down, I looked down my tail at her. "I, um, kinda cheated…" I explained. "Hold on one second." I closed my eyes, focusing inward. Within the confides of my mind, in the back of my consciousness, I probed around a sort of psychic tether. Taking it in my mental grip I tugged, and back in reality, the space around my neck flashed a brilliant magenta, and I felt the comforting presence of the Element of Loyalty. "This thing kinda downloaded pegasus instincts into my head. It helps to know a schist-ton of aviation stuff."

She remained face-frozen for the next fifteen minutes.

"That cloud looks like a duck from this angle!" called Airheart, pointing at the indicated cloud.

I searched the expanse of sky, looking for some cloud formation to match her cloud-shape. But whenever I tried to see a form in a cumulus, my aviator/pegasus mind immediately began to analyze wind currents and thermals around it. I grumbled. "This is stupid."

"So, where did you get those flight goggles?" I asked Airheart.

"I woke up with them on. Evidently, these are a family heirloom from Airheart's grandmother, and she never likes taking them off," she replied. "At least, that's what she told me." She looked at me and giggled a little. "You're jealous, aren't you?"

"I'm not, but Dash is rather vocal about the idea of getting a piece of unique headgear."

"Um, Markus?" inquired Airheart. "I gotta go…"

"Go?" I asked, confused. "Go where?"

"No, I mean… go."

"Go?"

"Go!"

"Oh! You have to– right, of course," I stammered. "Wait a minute, why didn't you take care of that when I asked you after dinner… ten minutes ago?!"

"I didn't have to go then!" Airheart quipped.

I groaned and facehoofed. "Fine, we can stop at the next town. If it's an emergency, you can just land in that small forest and–"

I didn't have time to finish as the pink mare dove, plummeting for the grove of deciduous trees.

One thing about being a pony that amused me to no extent was the singing. All ponies have this sort of dormant harmonious magic that makes them prone to breaking out into an original song. Because this magic is identical in every pony, any one could join into a song, even if they didn't know the lyrics.

Step out of your front door
The road ahead is vast
Your destination awaits
Home is in the past!

I soloed out, letting my (Rainbow Dash's) improved singing voice ring out over the Appalachians. After my verse, Airheart joined in on her own accord.

Still a long way to go
But we're closer with every beat
The scenery will pass us by
With every mile that passes beneath

She finalized her solo, and we joined together for the next verse.

Let's fly away (let's fly away)
Into this beautiful and shinning day
Let's fly away (let's fly away)
And keep the journey on it's way!

As usual when I get into a song, the rest was a blur of harmony and light-hearted singing. It's really kinda hard to recall a song when the magic around you is driving it, not yourself. But what was most memorable for me was the finale, the two of us on a cloud, ringing out that very last note.

But soon enough, we were smiling about it and continuing on our way.

"So… now that you're female, would you date mares, or stallions?"

"I SAID DROP IT!"

I alighted down on our makeshift platform of cloud, setting the bag in my mouth down, making sure it had cloud-retention. "It's only a few donuts, but we now have breakfast for tomorrow."

Airheart shrugged from her reclined position against a puff of cloud. "Better than nothing," she said with a smile. The mare looked over the edge at the grid of lights that was Columbus, Ohio. "I have a friend here who's a Brony. We can visit her tomorrow, if you want."

"Sure," I replied. "We can go after breakfast." In terms of sleeping as a pony, we were very human-like, laying on our backs and sides. I settled in next to Airheart and pulled a blanket of cloudstuff over myself, the other pegasus doing the same. Much to my surprise, the condensation was actually insulated, countering the chill of the night as we two pegasi fell into a comfortable sleep.

"Me, Myself, and I" or "Taylor's Tailor"

< Day 8 >

Dash and I lay side-by-side, staring up at the impossibly star-filled sky of the dreamscape. I wasn't sure what part of my mind this was, with orange grass, spiky-shaped clouds, and fruit that had working animal appendages (I mean, an orange with frog legs? How ridiculous is that?).

"Morning should be coming soon," I observed. "You gonna be okay?"

Dash chuckled. "You make it sound like being in your head is a bad thing. It's like Discord's 'Chaos Capital', but more fun. You're mind just doesn't like to stop thinking."

As if on cue, the scene around us transformed into the stargazing hill in Ponyville Park. "Alright, then," I concluded, turning to her. "See you again tonight?"

She smirked. Not an ordinary smirk. My smirk. Raised eyebrow and everything. "Yeah."

~+~+~+~

Slowly, I came back to the world of the waking. It was still dark, but the eastern horizon was flush with pinkish color. Birds overhead and beneath sang their song, some beginning their long trek south.

All this was lost on me as I returned to consciousness, keeping my eyes shut. Something really warm was wrapped around me, enticing me to stay in its comforting embrace. I didn't make anything of it, snuggling closer to the source of the warmth. Dash's snap-to reflexes and my own nonconformity to sitting idly kicked in, and my mind rose to full alertness.

Sometimes, sobriety is a curse.

Or at least, alert enough to recognize that the thing wrapped around me was a pink-tinted wing. What the buck?!

My pegasus mind did not like that whatsoever. Somehow, I could tell Rainbow Dash was blushing furiously, matching my own face. Whatever comfort I had in this immediately turned to the same feeling I got when I preened in front of someone, only about ten times worse.

Airheart stirred, roused by my initial waking movements. There was a moment when everything paused.

"GAAH!!!" We both screamed, leaping away from each other. Airheart's blush, despite the coloration of her coat, was all-too-obvious, as was my own. We were both silent for at least a minute before I spoke up.

"Shall we never speak of this as long as we both draw breath?"

"Agreed. Breakfast now?"

"…yes."

~+~+~+~

"So your friend is a tailor?" I asked Airheart as we passed over the city of Columbus, Ohio. A sugary breakfast of many glazed donuts dispersed the awkward start to the morning, and if the buzz in the back of my head was any indication, this was a good day to be alive. For the entire time I was in the air, I couldn't resist pulling a few stunts and rolls, much to Airheart's amusement.

The pegasus nodded. "Ever since this whole 'people into ponies' thing, she's been capitalizing on it! We talked yesterday before I left, and all she could talk about was the amount of clothing for ponies she's made. To be honest, the girl has too much fun with what she does."

I thought about that for a few minutes. Of course people are trying to make money off this. Why would I expect any different? Sighing inwardly, I continued to follow Airheart.

Capitalism is a product of free market… and people taking advantage of any given situation.

"You think she might have an olive green aviator's jacket in pony size?" I asked, prompting a questioning look from my companion. "I had one back in Wisconsin before all this. It's sorta like my trademark. I feel barren without it." Somewhere in my head, Dash was sifting through memories of it, and ultimately agreed.

Airheart shrugged. "I don't know. Only one way to find out, I guess..."

Without warning, the pink mare dove, spiraling downward. I simply folded my wings, plummeting straight down through the center of the other pegasus' circling. Although Airheart began her descent before me, my more direct path let me flutter to the ground a few seconds before her.

As the pink mare skidded to a landing beside me, I examined the establishment in front of me. 'Taylor's'? Really? A tailor named Taylor? I thought as I read the sign. "How… original…" I grumbled to my friend.

"I, for one, think it's kinda clever," she argued. "Besides, she can't help what her parents named her. That aside, the clothes Taylor makes are really good. She even made my homecoming dress for me when I lived here a year ago."

Finishing her recount, Airheart led me into the building. With a sideways glance, I noticed an advertisement in the window. 'Pony-Sized Clothing Sold Here!' the sign read. Pony-Sized clothing… is Rainbow Dash an adult small or medium pony?

'Pegasi have smaller body frames,' Dash replied, startling me. 'It's more aerodynamic. I'd go small.'

To be honest, I wasn't entirely surprised by the fact we could communicate more directly now. The inevitable merge was slowly becoming more obvious, to the point where some of Dash's own thoughts overlapped mine. I'll keep that in mind…

'Hilarious,' came the deadpan.

Remembering my flesh-and-bones companion was waiting for me, I shook my head and followed the brown ends of her tail into the store. I stopped at what I saw.

"Whoa…" we both breathed. While the store itself wasn't that big, there were multitudes of clothing racks, all filled to the brim with textile creations of all colors and styles. Dresses, shirts, jackets, shorts… and many other articles were among them. About a fifth of what was on display did not appear to be made for human figures.

'Rarity would have a field day in here,' Dash commented.

"Indeed…" I whispered to both myself and the pony in my head. I looked between the rows of clothing. The whole array was completely disorganized, which I personally respected. Organization limits creativity, while anarchy and disorder inspires it. By nature, I hated being organized, so to find a place where chaos was comfortably present was relaxing for me.

Trotting out from the racks, I looked toward the back of the shop. What I saw stopped me dead in my hoof-prints.

A girl with deep blue hair, black tank top and jeans, and pale skin looked back at me, her purple eyes staring at me. But it wasn't the eccentric appearance of the human that shocked me.

She was leaning over a pony, stitching what looked like a pony-form sweatshirt. The mare with the cyan coat looked at me with large magenta eyes, and swished her rainbow-colored, expertly-styled tail. On the earth pony's flank, was a rainbow arcing between two puffs of cloud.

"What." was all I could say in reaction to the third-generation Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash: Fashionista and Part-Time Racer

<> Day 8 <>

"Hey, Markus, check out this neat…" Whatever excitement Airheart had about the Rainbow Dash bandana she had found disappeared as she left the rows of clothing, perplexed at what she saw.

Facing the design space, mouth slightly ajar, was a cyan pegasus mare with a ragged rainbow mane. Across the room, a cyan earth pony mare with a curled rainbow mane and a matching expression looked back. Between them, off to one side, was a girl dressed in all black clothing, and straight, blue-dyed hair that swung back and forth as she looked between the two light-blue ponies, a look of studious interest crossing her features.

Casually, Airheart trotted over to the only human in the room, sitting back on her haunches. "Hey, Taylor. Long time, no see!" she said cheerily, as if oblivious to the staring contest between myself and the other Rainbow Dash.

Taylor looked down at the pink mare. "Chloe?" she snickered. "Wow, you too, huh? I told you that pony stuff was trouble."

"Just call me Airheart. Markus doesn't really like my name," she replied, looking at the two gaping ponies. "How long have they been like that?"

"'Bout five minutes, now." Taylor looked over at me. "So the other pony is Markus, huh? Why does he not like your name?"

"Shipping reasons," I said, breaking eye contact with the other 'me' in the room. "Trust me, it would be awkward." The shock from meeting my wingless G3 clone hadn't passed fully, but Dash had given me enough of a mental kick to snap me out of it.

That kinda hurt by the way…

'Meh, you deserve it for being a slack-jawed egghead.'

"So…" I began, looking back to the other Rainbow Dash. What I saw made part of me cringe. "Seriously, I can't get over the fact that she looks like me… er, Rainbow Dash… with a styled mane and no wings. Who are you, anyway?"

The wingless Rainbow Dash harrumphed. "Darling, you got the better half of the cake," she said with a sort of country-poshness accent. "What I wouldn't do for such absolutely extravagant plumage like yours!" Suddenly, the earth pony had all but disappeared from the elevated platform.

Something brushed against my feathers, causing me to jump. "Gah! What the…?! How did you…?! What?!" While my pegasus brain was in full-on awkward-mode at somepony touching my sensitive appendages, my human mind was reeling at the speed of the other pony.

"Oh don't look so surprised, darling. I was the premier earth pony racer back in Fillydelphia," she clarified, still examining my body, which was becoming very uncomfortable. "Oh, but where are my manners! I'm Gloria, Taylor's assistant and her model for all the pony-shaped clothing you see here." Gloria continued to stare at me, and it must have shown on my face, if the heat in my cheeks was any indication. "You don't have to appear so flustered, my dear Rainbow Dash. I'm simply taking your measurements!"

"Um… okay…" I tried to stay still as Gloria eyed me. Across the room, Taylor and Airheart were snickering their heads off. Abruptly, within the confines of my subconscious, there was a light… fluttering, as if part of me was enjoying this. Dash, are you serious?!

'What? You gotta admit she's kinda hot.'

This threw my entire thought process– and balance –for a loop, and I pitched forward onto my face. "Er… darling? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I like face-planting. It's fun," I said with the utmost deadpan. Airheart and Taylor had no regrets apparently, and were laughing their respective posteriors off. "If only a certain pegasus in my head could learn to keep her personal thoughts to herself."

Dash, we are in the middle of an existential crisis, Discord is on the loose, there are people that want to KILL us, and all you can think about is the flanks of the first decent-looking mare you come across?!

'So you agree that she's hot?'

Throwing a spear of frustration at Dash hard enough to knock her thoughts back into dormancy, I got to my hooves and shook out my mane. Gloria smiled at me. "I was finished anyway," she reported, then turned to Taylor. "Taylor darling, you will be glad to know that you cut the slits for pegasus wings just right."

The seamstress wiped her brow, somewhat comically. "Good. I had to guess on that."

My inner ordeal settled, I decided to take a closer look at the disorganized racks of pony clothing. Neither Rainbow Dash nor myself was ever concerned about fashion, but it couldn't hurt to take a look. Sweatshirts, a few dresses, heavy coats… nothing I would need or– wait, what's that?

You don't have to know what you're looking for to find what you want.

My eye fell across a coat hanger loaded with hooded sweaters and collared jackets. One in particular caught my attention. On the top of the pile was an olive green, military-aviator style jacket, with two slits in the back to accommodate a pegasus' wings.

A tear sprang to my eye as I was reminded of a similar jacket I had worn as a human. It's beautiful…

~+~+~+~

Rainbow Dash huffed in frustration. Of course, she didn't actually make a noise in reality, as being a mental construct in another's mind didn't allow her the privilege. But she still felt the rush of air from her nostrils, even if it was hallucinated.

She was set on her goal, speeding through the ever-changing realm of Markus' mind, every imaginary flap of her wings propelling her deeper into the chaos. While Rainbow Dash still felt and sensed everything Markus did, she was persistent in her seeking, trying not to let reality or the trial of maintaining her own individuality skew her focus.

Her quest was one that evaded her from the very beginning. Why did Discord call Markus the Chronicler of Chaos? I mean, sure he was the first pony besides Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, and I'm the Element of Loyalty, but why him? What makes him so special?

One night, while Markus was sleeping dreamlessly, she made use of the writer's thoughts to figure out how to discover Discord's plan for him. In a moment of brilliance, she realized that the draconequues must have left some kind if influence in Markus' mind, similar to the one used to corrupt the Elements of Harmony, but much more harmless. Which, unfortunately, made it very hard to locate.

Something flickered in the corner of Dash's proverbial eye. What the…? Taking immediate interest, she turned toward the point of golden light, which persisted far longer than anything else in the mindscape. Deeper into Markus' mind than she had ever dared venture before, Rainbow Dash began to wonder what she might find.

What she didn't expect was a royal blue pegasus stallion, his golden eyes emitting the glow she saw. "You want to know why Discord chose Markus." It was a statement, not a question, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Rainbow Dash looked at the stallion with confusion, eyeing his quill and moon cutie mark. "Who the hay are you?"

"Markus calls me Skyblaze, the name of his OC. I am the embodiment of creativity. The one that whispers in his ear," the pegasus, Skyblaze, introduced himself. "The only answer I can give you is that everything Discord does doesn't have to make sense. Or maybe the reason he chose Markus is that Discord likes him. They both appreciate chaos, and have more in common than either would care to admit."

Dash nodded, understanding. An upside of the merge between her and Markus, she had found, was the writer's vocabulary was at her command. "I guess that makes sense…"

"Just remember, Rainbow Dash," Skyblaze concluded. "When it matters most, a united mind is better than one divided."

~+~+~+~

Hours ago, an airfield in Ukraine…

Silas Nemitas was a fearsome figure. Granted, standing at five-foot-eleven, many of his underlings (or enemies, given certain situations) could tower over him. Height, however, was an insignificant factor in his eye; Joseph Stalin and Napoleon being prime examples. No, Silas was not tall, but he still held a threatening appearance.

He owed most of his satanic appearance to his monstrous albino father. Most took one look at Silas' pale face and deadly crimson eyes and walked the other way. A long overcoat of black wool was often draped over his broad shoulders. He walked in long, powerful strides, almost as if he were a one-man army.

Especially now, with a scowl on his face and a black metal briefcase, he looked as if he were trying to intimidate Death himself.

He strode quickly down the runway, heading for his small single-engine Piper Cub, painted black and red. With the hand that wasn't holding the briefcase, he pulled out his smart phone and pressed a number on speed-dial. The other end of the call rang twice before the phone was picked up.

"Thank you for calling Primatech Paper," a cheery American female voice greeted, sounding almost too happy to work for a paper company. "How can we help you today?"

Silas ignored the greeting. "I will be arriving at the Illinois location in a few hours. I expect the landing strip to be cleared for my arrival," he said bluntly. "I also expect there to be a helicopter. Fully stocked and competently manned."

"Of course, Mr. Silence." The woman on the other end had dropped the false cheer, and now spoke with a cold seriousness. "Will there be anything else you need done?"

"Yes…" Silas entered the Cub, preparing the plane for takeoff. "Upon arrival, I would very much like a hot cup of herbal tea. Unsweetened. And a steak would be lovely. Medium rare."

He could tell the woman had to resist sighing. "If course, sir. It will be done."

Silas Nemitas: Disciple of Order, Hand of Chaos (Slightly Revised)

’You’re staring at her again,’ Rainbow chuckled.

I tore my gaze away from Gloria, growling inwardly at my *yäwe. I was not. I was just... browsing some of the merchandise. Looking back to the mirror, I straightened the jacket and plain white tee I had purchased from Gloria at a reasonable price. It felt good to be wearing something familiar. The surplus cotton was like the smoothest silk on my coat, and the wing-slits were cut perfectly. Almost as if it was made for me.

’Oh yeah, some ‘merchandise.’ Can I get that plot in a size Dash?’

For the love of sanity, shut up! I yell back. I had just about had it with the prismatic pegasus’ constant jeers. For the record, I was just looking at a bandana and Gloria had just happened to move in front of it. Just a victim of circumstance. I’m merging with your perverted mind, Dash. If I’m looking at a mare for just her ass, then that’s all your half.

’...so you admit you were looking, AND that you think she has a hot flank?’

I hate you so much right now.

“Um... darling?” I turned to see Gloria, Taylor, and Airheart looking at me with concerned expressions. Well, actually... Taylor’s was more of a look of curiosity than worry. “You were glaring at your reflection,” Gloria continued. “Is something wrong with the jacket?”

“Not at all!” I said quickly. “I mean, the jacket is perfect. I love it. Fits better than the one I had when I was human.” I emphasized by straightening the collar again. “I was just wondering if it would hurt my flying any with the extra drag or weight.”

“Not at all, darling,” Gloria flicked a hoof, as if casting aside a worrisome bug. “It’s been crafted with lighter material, but is still insulated very well.”

“As if that would be a problem for someone who can carry four ponies while traveling at ten times the speed of sound,” Airheart commented.

I gaped at this revelation, my jaw going a similar speed to the one described. Rainbow Dash could go Mach Ten!? ’Technically, I can hit Mach Five, but that’s when I do a Sonic Rainboom. The blast propels me twice that,’ Dash remarked casually as I continued to hold my look of surprise. ’Yes. I know. I am awesome.’

I stayed silent for a few moments. You’re so OP, Dash.

~+~+~+~

Silas peered out of his Piper Cub at the scenery passing by below him. While he could direct a larger portion of his attention to flying and keeping the plane level, his remarkable ability to multitask allowed him to appreciate the rolling hills of Indiana at the same time. This knack of his, to devote his mind to multiple tasks at one time and keep every thought organized and efficient, was the key to his success as an international expert on technology and sociology.

...and on the side, becoming a multimillionaire through multiple profiles on several major stock markets.

A notification alert drew some of his attention to the display docked on the dash of the cockpit. The display was cluttered with several windows, including chatrooms, stock numbers, and a search program that was plugging all levels of the web for certain keywords and phrases in dozens of news sites and social networks.

Dow Jones average down one-point-three-seven in the last hour, consider revision of current holdings within industrial field, one portion of his thoughts reported. Another was drawn to the search program display. Facebook post by Markus Knight, currently occupying the form of Rainbow Dash, using an overweb server address based in Columbus, Ohio. Previous post made in District of Columbus. He’s moving away from New York. Next destination most plausibly Chicago, travelling by direct route.

Silas reached over with his free hand to a number pad and quickly punched in an American phone number. A second later, the sound of a ringing phone played in his headset, interrupted when the call was answered by a neutral male voice. “Thank you for calling the Primatech Paper headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. My name is Dan. How may I help you today?”

“Subject Zero is inbound on your location, and will arrive roughly half an hour before me,” he replied, unfazed by the cover. “Make sure she is greeted properly.”

“Yes, Mr. Silence,” Dan said, his cheery voice gone. “Will you be needing anything else, sir?”

Instead of answering, Silas simply hung up. No mistakes. No taking chances. He repeated the mantra several times before glancing back at the screens. Dow Jones average up point-eight points since last check. Allocate stocks to match unusual fluctuation...

~+~+~+~

“Did you ever get the feeling you’re being watched?” Chloe asked me.

I gave her a glance, then looked around at the empty sky, then at the ground far below. From what I could tell, we were well over Indiana, with Columbus far behind us.

We left Taylor’s Tailors promptly after lunch, anxious to get on our way again. Chloe had picked out a brown fleece vest and scarf, which, in my opinion made her look like Amelia ‘Airheart.’ We paid for our clothes, which came at half-price at Gloria’s insistence and Taylor’s rolling eyes, and said our goodbyes. There was a lot of hugging and thanking and well wishing and laughing and...

’I think you enjoyed that hug a little too much.’

SHUT! UP! DASH!

“We’re in the bodies of cartoon ponies, a thousand feet above the ground, with the world in possible mortal peril, and we’re sharing our heads with other beings,” I pointed out a little harshly, still fuming at Dash. “Frankly, anyone that isn’t paranoid is either stupid or lives under a rock in Antarctica.”

“Not paranoid, just…” Airheart glanced around. “Watched.”

“It’s probably nothing,” I assured. Personally, I thought it may have just been her imagination, so I turned back to watching the sky ahead, trying to keep my bearings and ignore the voice in my head. But after a few moments, there was a light brushing feeling in the back of my mind that I couldn’t. ’You feel it too,’ Dash remarked.

Huh?

’You feel like you’re being watched. You’re just too focused on flying to realize it or in total denial of it.’

I rolled my eyes at her. Anything else while I’m being psychoanalyzed by a pony in my head? I snapped back, on the edge of my nerve.

’Hey, if you wanna be a featherbrained plothead, that’s no hide off my flank!’ she chastised, making my head hurt a bit. ’But for Celestia’s sake, at least listen to me instead of blowing me off! Focus on the problem.’

YOU are my problem!

Author's Note

*yäwe: A bond of trust, an elvish word from the Inheritance Cycle.

This chapter feels weird. Does it feel weird? I think it feels weird.

EDIT: There really isn't much difference in this chapter. I just added a little more to the strain between Dash and Markus.

An Air-Sick Pegasus? Ridiculous!

There was no response.

...Dash? For what seemed like ages, all I heard was the sound of the air rushing past my ears at nearly half-again the speed of sound, and the flapping of Airheart’s wings trying to keep up. In the distance, I could hear a single engine plane buzzing along. Dash, I'm sorry, okay? I was stressed out and I just... just... please say something...

Guilt hung heavy on me. My wing-flaps became strained, and I began to slow. It seemed like someone had turned the air in my lungs into burning lead. For the first time in days, the inside of my head held only my thoughts. An empty feeling crept into my mind, causing a dull headache at the top of my forehead.

I had never felt so alone.

“Hey, you okay?” Airheart asked from behind me. “You’re slowing down. I almost ran into you.”

“I’m fine,” I snapped, trying to hide my turmoil. With a few powerful flaps, I regained my speed and nearly left the other pegasus in my wake. “Sorry for my schist earlier. I’m a little moody.”

Airheart was quiet for a while. Below us, an overcast concealed the ground from view. “You wanna take a break?” she asked. “Those clouds look really fluffy. We could just nap for an hour or two and keep going.”

“I’d rather get to Chicago as fast as possible,” I stated curtly. My headache increased slightly, making me wince. That, I thought to myself. Plus the flying will distract me... hopefully. Maybe Dash will come back if i don’t think about it...

~+~+~+~

Dash! Come on! I said I was bucking sorry!

Remember that plan I had about not thinking about it so Dash would come back? The one I had about an hour before? Well, I didn’t even make it past phase one of it. I tried to focus on the beat of my wings, but they were too rhythmic to hold my attention. An attempt at playing riddles with myself only made my now-ever-present headache throb painfully. Airheart and I tried talking for a bit, but I couldn’t focus on the conversation with worry eating at the edge of my mind.

Meditation only works if you want it to work.

So now I had resorted to shouting angrily inside my head, trying desperately to coax Rainbow Dash out. You fucking selfish bucking piece of schist! I thought you were supposed to be the fucking Element of Loyalty! Thanks for abandoning me, you slutty, no-good, thrice-damned--!

Suddenly, my headache hit with an unexpected and severe spike in intensity. My flight path wavered and I dropped about ten feet before catching myself again. I heard Airheart yelp behind me, plunging down and grabbing me to steady my faltering flight pattern. “Markus!” she called down to me, which somehow resulted in another spike of pain and more disruption in my struggle to right my flying. “C’mon, Dash! Fly!”

Clamping down on my teeth, I got a grip on myself and flared my wings, then ripped myself from Airheart’s grasp. The headache from the emptiness continued to thunder on in my head, but I drove myself onward. I’d be damned if I was going to let it slow me up.

With powerful, strong flaps, I propelled myself forward, as if trying to break through the pain itself. My ears popped as I passed Mach two, then again as I blew by Mach three. I couldn’t think, clouded by frustration, hurt, and loneliness. All I could do was fall back on my basest instinct: the one given to me by the Element of Loyalty.

So I suppose I did exactly what Airheart told me to do.

I flew.

~+~+~+~

Chloe just hung there in the air, looking at her hooves, unable to process what had just happened. One moment she was supporting Markus, who had suddenly just started flailing in the air like a pigeon having a seizure, then found no trace of the rainbow pegasus the next. She looked at her empty hooves, still in shock.

Did Dash just go crazy and fly off? she pondered when her mind began to work again. Chloe looked off into the distance, thinking for a few more seconds. Son of a bitch. She just left me behind.

’I told you Rainbow Dash can be an ass,’ Airheart reminded her.

Author's Note

This was so forced trying to write. It's like I just crapped out the word hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian and added a whole lot of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Dealing With the Devil's Plaything

A loud groan escaped my lips. I was dazed, so much so that I swore felt blades of grass brushing my fingertips. But that would be impossible; I was Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow Dash didn’t have fingertips. Schist, she didn’t even have hands.

Moving around, I discovered that someone had completely clothed me. Denim brushed my hind legs and my surplus jacket weighed lightly on my forelegs. From the redness behind my eyelids, I was somewhere with a lot of sunlight, so I tried to open my eyes slowly to avoid being blinded. To move was a little awkward, like I wasn’t quite moving the right joints.

That was when the headache hit me again. “Gah!” I grunted, holding my head. My hooves felt odd on my hair, again, as if I had fingers. Which was, as previously stated, impossible. I was a pony, after all. I must be delirious, I thought. This headache is... clouding my judgement.

“No, I can assure you that you’re very much lucid,” said a very familiar voice.

A shiver shot up my spine. Oh schist... I froze, trying not to make any sudden movements. Discord!?

“Wrong again.”

Huh? I opened my eyes. To my surprise, the sun didn’t glare as much as I thought it would, letting me see the owner of the voice. He was a taller man, dressed in some kind of black and red jumpsuit, like the ones from Star Trek. The Next Generation, not the original. His face was well past his prime, with dark hair that was laced with grey. Then it hit me who it was. “John de Lancie?”

The actor nodded. “In the flesh,” he said.

Not that I heard him. The sound of my own voice had startled me into another discovery; one that sent me into confusion. My voice was male again, with no trace of Dash’s rough tomboy speech. Looking down at myself, I saw my own two legs, ending in my black tennis shoes. I saw my arms and my hands as they were before I had changed. Flexing them now, they felt more alien than hooves. At the edge of my vision, I could barely see the bangs of my long, shaggy brown hair.

Am I dreaming? I asked myself.

“No, actually,” John said, somehow hearing my inner thoughts as he was before, as he turned to look off somewhere else. Following his gaze, I found that we were perched on the crest of a large, grassy hill, surrounded by similar rises and other wooded areas. Cutting through it was a gravel boreen that wound between the hills into the distance, where I could barely make out the rooftops of a small town. “You fainted. You can’t dream when you’re unconscious,” John de Lancie continued. “This is just a projection. Tell me, what do you think this place is?”

I took another glance around the landscape. “Ireland, I think, somewhere near Banbridge,” I answered. It did look a lot like a picture my grandparents sent me during their trip to Ireland a few years ago. “Does it matter?”

“Discord wanted to know.” John looked back at me with a grin.

This instantly put me on the defensive again. Hefted myself up to my feet (rather awkwardly, since I had just gotten used to walking on hooves) and backed away. “You’re working with Discord!? What the schist, man!?” That would explain how he projected himself into my head. Now if only I could get him out.

“He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” he replied cooly, holding his palms to me innocently. “It was a similar offer he made to you.”

“That chronicler thing? Forget it. That schist is more rigged and shifty than a politician’s lawyer.”

John shook his head. “I apologize about my associate’s methods,” said john sincerely. “Discord sent me here to explain things more plainly. No tricks. No gimmicks. Just plain and simple English. Ask any questions you may need.”

So he wants to discuss contracts huh? I’d sooner trust Crowley the Demon King with contracts than any friend of Discord’s. “Fine,” I grunted, relaxing my muscles but still keeping my guard up. “What’s in it for me? What do I get from this?”

“Full immunity for yourself and those close to you; you would be safe from the oncoming storm that will inevitably send this world into eternal chaos,” John began. “You would also be immediately separated from Rainbow Dash upon acceptance, with all memories and your mind intact; Rainbow Dash would also be granted the same immunity; and both of you will have a sanctuary of your choice. This, on top of a monthly salary of your choosing; no limit.”

I noted each benefit and considered them. “When you say Rainbow Dash gets the same immunity...”

“I mean that she is also able to protect those close to her.”

With a nod, I proceeded with my next question. “What exactly does Discord want me to do?”

John snapped his fingers, and two chairs appeared behind himself and I. While he sat, however, I remained defiantly standing. “Discord is a child in a god’s body, and I feel that he thinks as much as well,” he explained. “I assume you are familiar with Metatron?”

“The Decepticon or the angel?” I sassed back sarcastically. Of course, I knew very well about the scribe of the Christian God.

“You would become a sort of Metatron for him,” he continued, unperturbed. “You see, Discord can be very disorganized and can procrastinate. He calls it ‘being busy,’ but I know better. In his chaos, he would like a reference to look back on; a story of his deeds. He doesn’t like repetition, so he needs to keep track of what he’s already done so he doesn’t end up doing something similar twice. Also, he needs someone to be the...” He reached into the collar of his jumpsuit and pulled out a slip of paper. “...the High Marquis of Cheesecakelandia.” John sighed audibly and facepalmed. “I hate him so much sometimes.”

I groaned at the play on my name. “You’d think someone like him would have a bucking sense of humor.”

“In any event, that’s the entire deal,” he concluded. “As you can see, much more simple than he makes it out to be. To accept, all you need to do is speak his name with that intention, and he will find you.”

“What makes you so sure I’m going to accept?” I retorted, keeping a glare on him.

John chuckled amiably. “I’m not. I just want you to consider it.” He looked off into the distance for a moment, seemingly to admire the Irish landscape. “Tell me, since we have the time, how are you doing in the world as a pony?”

“You try walking with hooves,” I spat.

“I mean as a whole,” clarified John. “You haven’t run into any trouble? Nothing with that whole anti-pony movement that’s starting up?”

“Anti-pony movement...” I thought back to the news surfing I did before we departed Taylor’s place. One thing that was mentioned a lot was a large gathering of people that blamed this whole crisis on the ponies. Some rogue sects even went so far as hunting and hurting people that had turned into ponies, but that was thankfully rare. “PAPA? No, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of them.”

“Mmm...” de Lancie looked thoughtful for a few seconds. “Be wary. From my contacts, their reach is longer than you think. Very near you somewhere is one of their... key players. He is a very powerful man, with extraordinary capacities beyond most other humans.”

I blinked in surprise. “Powerful?”

“In human standards, probably the greatest mind of the age. Watch out for him. He can be curious about things he doesn’t know much about, and this pony phenomena is curious for everyone, including him.”

“Wait, why the hell would you tell me this!?” I exclaimed, pointing at him accusingly. “You’re working for Discord! Why warn me about anything!?”

“You’re a smart boy, Markus,” stated John, getting up from the chair. Around us, the world began to blur, and my headache throbbed back into existence. “Figure it out.”

Author's Note

Holy schist I am a writing machine this week! LET'S DO SOME MORE! WOO!

What Did I Ever Do to You, Chance?

~+~+~+~

<> Day 9 <>

I decided that I hate waking up. Waking up has statistically never done me any good, especially in these last few weeks. Let us count shall we? One, becoming a cartoon pony; two, becoming a girl cartoon pony; three, several bumps on my head; four, pillow in the mouth; and five, being blasted with the Royal Canterlot voice. At this point, I should probably give up even trying to climb out of consciousness.

When I first opened my eyes, I became slightly disoriented at the lack of change in lighting. It was pitch black wherever I was. Shifting around and moving my appendages, I once again found myself in the body of a certain cerulean pegasus. As if I expected anything else, I grumbled inwardly. My migraine started up again, but it was more dulled.

Dash...? I tried, seeing if my experience with John de Lancie had somehow drawn her out of wherever she was in my head. But there was no answer: only silence. It was worth a try, anyway. Now, where the hell am I?

If darkness could blind, then I would have needed to use braille for the next year. Feeling around, the floor appeared to be made of some kind of composite plastic. I rose to my hooves, only to hit my head against a ceiling of the same material. Wincing in pain, I sat back and cradled my head as the impact made my headache even worse. My wings brushed against some kind of metal. Curious, I felt my way over to it and explored it with my hooves. It was some kind of metal grating, almost like a cage of some sort...

I nearly screamed. I’m in a motherbucking dog carriage!

Trapped in the dark. Closeness like death.

It became hard to breathe. I panicked, frantically searching for a way to get out of this cramped space. But all I found were walls and the grating. In a desperate move, I fiddled with the lock, but I couldn’t get at it through the metal bars. Even if I did, there was no way I could work it with hooves. “Schist... c’mon... c’mon...” I pleaded desperately as the lock rattled on the latch. “Buck.” Slumping against the wall, I groaned and planted my face in my hooves. How the hell did I get into this mess?

“...hello...?”

My ears perked up, swivelling toward the cage door. A small voice, not too far away by the sound of it, whispered in the darkness outside the cage. “Hello?” I answered, also keeping my voice low. “Is someone there?”

“Pipe down,” a low male voice grumbled. It definitely wasn’t the voice I had heard earlier. “Can’t a guy suffer captivity in peace?”

“Lay off and have a heart, Daz,” a soft female voice berated from somewhere else in the dark, still not the voice I first heard. “It’s not their fault that they’re stuck here like the rest of us. Heck, the new gal’s probably as scared stiff as the little one is.”

Suddenly, a bone-chilling chuckle rang through the space outside, sending a shiver down my spine. It was quiet, as if whoever was doing it made a joke to himself and was laughing about it. “Darkness and slience... cloaked in it he is,” the falsetto voice giggled. “The loudest quiet you ever heard.”

“Oh great,” groaned Daz. “Your noise woke up the loon. Now I’ll never sleep.”

“Dazzle! For shame!” the soft voice yelled. “Zach is our friend.”

“Was our friend,” Dazzle asserted. “Now listen to him! He’s gone absolutely mad!”

“She’s in our midst, she is!” Zach exclaimed. “Undying, her spirit is! She won’t abandon us here! She has come to liberate us from the dark!”

“HEY!” I shouted into the black, banging on the cage for emphasis. Everything went silent outside. “Can someone tell me where the hell I am and who the hell put me in a motherbucking cage!?”

A few moments of further silence passed. “I don’t think the poor gal knows,” the unidentified soft voice whispered.

“No shit, Deedee,” Daz grumbled. “I told you: I saw them drag somepony in here, and she wasn’t putting up much of a fight. Probably went and got herself jumped, the fool.”

As you probably understand, my patience was growing incredibly thin. “Then cut the bucking suspense already, jeeze!” I shouted at them. From the way they spoke, I gathered that everyone present was a pony of some kind, and that they had also been taken here against their will. I still hadn’t worked out who the owner of the first voice was, as they didn’t say anything else. “Where the hell am I!?”

“So much passion...” Zach giggled quietly. “...passion to burn away the shadows...”

Daz’s sigh was heard throughout the space.

“We don’t know where we are, miss,” Deedee replied. “Whoever took us, they took us by surprise. They threw bags over our heads and knocked us out. Next thing we know, we’re in dog cages in a dark room and, well, you know the rest. We’ve been here for nearly two days. I think. It’s hard to keep track of time here.”

“Feels more like three or four...” mumbled Dazzle.

So I’ve been kidnapped. It hit me like a heavy iron weight. Backing away from the cage door, I slumped against the back wall, my wings drooping. Part of me didn’t believe it: one moment, I’m flying as fast as I can, blind with pain; the next, I’m talking with John de Lancie about a deal with Discord himself; then right after that, I’m stuck in a cage. I must have fainted from the pain... they must have got me when I crashed...

With a long sigh, I rubbed my face into my hooves. What did I do to deserve any of this? I peered accusingly at where my hooves would be if it wasn’t too dark to see them. If this is some bullschist about me being fated to this, I will have many words for the guy in charge. This is just too unfair to be rotten luck.

Sometimes, Chance is the only god you can pray to. Be wary... for Chance is a deceitful bitch.

“Hey, miss?” Deedee called out after a few minutes. “Miss, are you alright?”

“Markus,” I muttered back. “My name is Markus.”

“...Markus?” My ears perked up again. It was first voice, the one that I had heard before. This time, it was louder, enough that I could tell that the owner was quite young. Maybe a filly, barely in her teens at the oldest. But there was something else about the voice that made my brow furrow. It was very familiar, I just couldn’t name who. “Excuse me?”

“Yes?” I answered.

“Markus...?” the voice repeated. “As in... Markus Knight?”

...What the schist...? I blinked, then sprang up to the door of the cage. “Who is that?” I called out. “How did you know my name?”

“Markus, it’s me!” I could hear a loud clanging noise as the filly pressed herself against her own cage. “It’s me! Anna! Your sister!”

“Circles and circles and circles...” Zach muttered with a giggle.

I Suppose I Was Always a Role Model...

<> Day 8, Anna <>

I remember having this dream.

My footsteps made no sound on the cobblestone road. It was like walking on clouds; no sound or feeling of terra firma beneath my feet. All around me, there were disorganized rows of small houses. The whole village’s color scheme was a little too bright for me, with thatched hay roofs and pink wooden trimming. Then all the heart-shaped architecture. It all seemed like something out of a little girl’s imagination.

Well... some other little girl’s imagination, I grimaced to myself. I certainly wouldn’t have thought up this tacky place. Ew.

When I thought about it more, I realized that there was something familiar about this place. For some reason, I suspected it had to do with my oldest brother. What did Markus have to do with this place?

“Hello?”

I paused. With a quick look around, I observed that the town was still as empty as it had been since I had arrived here. “Is someone there?” I called out. The only answer I received. “Anyone? Hello? My name is Anna.”

Silence.

“Markus?” I called again. “Markus, is that you? Where are we?”

“Who...?”

Great. Even the disembodied voice in my head doesn’t know anything. “Who are you?” I asked to the air. “Could you... show yourself or something?”

“I... I don’t...” the voice answered, sounding confused and a little frightened. I could make out enough of it that I could identify the voice of a young girl, maybe a little younger than I. “Where am I? Who are you? What’s going on?”

Suddenly I was whisked off my feet and sent hurtling through the air. Higher and higher I went, past towers of cumulus and wisps of cirrus. Up and up, past more and more clouds. At first, I thought I was going to go right into space, but instead, I seemed to be travelling through an endless sky, forever ascending. Below me, the town was lost in the fog of hundreds of clouds.

“What’s happening!?” the voice screamed, sounding panicked and afraid. Somewhere, I could hear a heartbeat, beating fast and frantically. “Why can’t I see!? Why is everything dark!?” A piercing scream slammed into my ears. “Help me!”

~+~+~+~

I remember waking up.

Yesterday, I felt a little out of place in our house, what with Mom and Dad worrying about Markus constantly and spending all day on their computers, scouring the internet trying to find out where he was or if he’s okay. I didn’t really see what the big deal was. I mean, sure, he turned into a magical flying girl pony that makes rainbows when she flies, but from what I heard and researched online, Markus had some kind of power attached to him that can gank gods (and apparently leave burn marks on our yard in the shape of a lightning bolt). He’s probably the safest he has ever been.

Anyway, with my parents on the fritz, I asked a friend of mine, Kenzie, if I could sleep over at her place, if only to get away from the anxiety hanging over my head. That night, I felt more relaxed and carefree than I had all week. Kenzie and I played on her brother’s Xbox until the small hours of the morning and fell asleep playing Halo Reach, controllers still in our hands. Who knew round after round of fighting an alien menace could be so tiring?

As the last echoes of the dream faded in my ears, consciousness slipped back to me. What hit me first was how sleepy I still was. Ugh... I grumbled inwardly. Maybe we should have listened to Mrs. Dalton when she told us to turn the games off at eleven...

Within the sleeping bag, I shifted groggily. The lining was warm and comfy, and I was tempted to stay in it for another hour or so. But there was something about it that made me change my mind. It felt too close, too tight. Like something was constricting me. Weird, I thought to myself. I don’t get claustrophobic. But why... ugh... I shook my head, trying to clear it, but as the tight space of the sleeping bag grew ever closer, there was no way I could think at maximum capacity. I need to get out...

I started crawling forward toward the opening. Immediately, I noticed something was off: there was no way I had wriggled this deep into the bag. Sure, I did a little, but the top was much farther than it should have been, like it had grown considerably bigger than me. Or I had shrunk. Whichever.

When I finally broke free of the enclosed area, I took a dramatic breath and laughed at myself, a little out of groggy deliria. “Whew...” I breathed, rolling over to look at the ceiling of the room, which was illuminated by the first rays of sunrise. “That was just crazy...”

What the..? I scrunched up my nose and peered ahead as my ears picked up the sound of my voice. I didn’t sound like myself for some odd reason. The words that came out of my mouth sounded the same pitch, but it was more scratchy and tomboyish. It was eerily familiar... as if I had just heard it a minute ago.

Just then it hit me. The voice from the dream sounded exactly like this! I got up quickly, but just as fast found myself tumbling head-over-heels into the wall. “Ow...” I grumbled, sitting up and rubbing the spot on my shoulder where the impact happened.

That’s when I saw my body. Now, I know I’m only twelve, but I was never that small. Nor did I have a full coat of orange hair, a tail, or hooves.

Needless to say, I screamed. Then the next several hours disappeared from recollection.

~+~+~+~

I remember waking up again.

With a groan, I sat up and rubbed my head. I nearly jumped when I discovered that my hands were still replaced by hooves. Even more startling was the wetness on the hoof that came from my head. Bleeding... Shaking the last of the unconsciousness from my head, I tried to recall what had happened. All I could remember was screaming, and then... then...

Nothing.

Concussions are horribly nerve-racking.

Glancing around, I was shocked to find myself in some kind of pet carrier. What the heck!? I scrambled over to the bars, trying to peer out and get my bearings. Much to my further dismay, the cage had been placed with the opening facing the wall, with only a small amount of light filtering in. Where... how did I...?

I looked down at the things on the end of my arms (forelegs?), and stared. For an indeterminable amount of time, I peered at the empty space that once held my hands. the orange stubs remained, mocking me with their existence. I’m a pony... As the thought hit me, I reeled back and fell against the walls of the cage. No... not me too...

“This can’t be happening...” I told myself. But, however much I wanted to deny it, there was really no question in my mind that what I was experiencing was reality.

I was a pony.

~+~+~+~

Like brother, like sister...

Author's Note

Before anyone rants at me that a twelve-year-old couldn't possibly have this big a vocabulary, you should know one thing: my sister is the brain-child of the family. She makes my brother and I look like idiots. Constantly.

On another note, I did get her to read this chapter. All she had to say was, "Weirdo."

Promptly, Promptly, Promptly!

“I’ve been waiting... for a boy like you; to come into my life... I’ve been waiting...” I sang to myself as I leaned up against the composite plastic wall of the dog carrier. I couldn’t remember how long it was since I had woken up in here, but it seemed like ages. I dared not to try to sleep for fear of my brain being damaged by whatever head trauma I may have experienced. My brain was the one thing I had left, after all.

Even my own voice was gone. Sure, my singing ability had improved a ton, but it wasn’t my voice. It was that of this small pony I had become. This orange and purple filly whose name I didn’t even know, yet whose body I now inhabited.

“...for someone new; to make me feel-- Ah, screw it,” I growled, giving in. The sound of the voice was getting on my nerves, anyhow. Slamming a frustrated hoof into the carrier, I sighed and slid to the bottom, my tiny wings brushing against the sides. All I want is to know how I got here, and what it has to do with my becoming a pony.

Suddenly, I heard a loud clanging noise, like someone opening up a latch on a large door. Instantly, I jumped over to the grating to call out for help. But something stopped me just as I began to form the words in my mouth: I didn’t know if the intruder was the same person who put me here in the first place. So I kept quiet and listened, my ears swivelling on my head.

“...still need to discuss payment,” a voice continued from a conversation unknown to me. I had to keep myself from gasping in shock as I recognized the speaker as Mr. Dalton, Kenzie’s dad. Mr. Dalton did this to me!? I wondered in fright. Why!? What did I ever do to him!?

That even those you think you know may be the devil himself.

“Yeah, man. You’ll get your cut as soon as you deliver these things,” someone else affirmed with an uncaring tone. “The Boss down in Chicago can sort ya out good.”

“Good,” Dalton’s voice said curtly. “Help me get the rest of them in here.”

“That’s why I’m here, dude.”

Without warning, something slammed into the side of the dog carrier, turning the door away from the wall. As light flooded in, I finally got a good look at the world outside the carrier. To my surprise, I found that the carrier was in the bed of a moving van. Dalton and the other guy- a scrawny blonde man that was maybe nineteen or twenty -were standing just outside and leaning over to pick something up.

“Mr. Dalton!” I called, pleading loudly. “Please, for mercy’s sake! It’s me, Anna! Let me go!”

“Shut up!” Dalton snapped at me over his shoulder, then got up to face me. The glare on his face was full of hatred. “How dare you use her name, you monster! Anna was the girl that you killed coming into this world! Don’t you dare disrespect her memory!”

What!? I was dumbstruck as his words hit me like an iron weight. For several seconds, I looked at Dalton with a confused look, trying to decipher what he meant. Does he really think that’s what happened? That I died? “But--!”

“Oh shut it, the both of you!” the other guy barked at us, then turned his attention to Dalton. “You gonna help me or not, mate?”

“Yeah, sorry,” Dalton replied, bending over again to help the guy lift something else up.

Together, they hefted up another dog carrier, similar to my own. To my further horror, I made out the limp form of an adult pony within, their light-blue coat showing through the grating. With a great heave, they slid the carrier into the van. It hit the back wall with a loud, resonating thud. I realized that what had turned my carrier earlier was another such carrier colliding with mine.

After they had five carriers loaded- my own included -Dalton and the guy started closing the loading doors of the van. “Dalton!” I cried out desperately as the doors swung closed. “Dalton, please! Don’t leave me!”

But it was too late. Darkness slammed down on me as the doors closed, sealing the bed of the van. After a moment, the roar of an engine started up, causing the whole vehicle to shudder. As the van began to move, I could only sit in the dark and wonder where I was being taken. ...and pray. Pray for something... anything... to save me.

~+~+~+~

“Little lost one, floating with the lost...”

My sleepy eyes snapped open at the voice in the dark. It had been several hours since we had started this drive, but I hadn’t heard a peep from the other ponies with me. At first, I thought I was imagining the voice, but it continued.

“Shh... to hear the Who you must be quiet. Very, very quiet.”

“Uh... hello?” I asked to the dark. “Is someone there?”

“Here, there, everywhere... and nowhere, too... hehehehe...”

Oooookaaaay... that isn’t creepy at all. The voice had a very crazed tone to it; to the point where I wouldn’t give it a grain of credibility beyond mad ramblings of someone who had clearly lost their marbles. But, for some odd reason, I heard a very... well, to say it was comforting would have been a lie, but it somehow made me feel a little better. “Who’s there?”

“One for whom Hell’s bells have tolled in Heaven, to sound the coming of dawn from the precipice of dusk.”

I sighed. Yep. Batshit insane. “Could you at least tell me your name?”

“To none I am God. To all I am none. To some I am Zigzag.”

“Your name is Zigzag?” I replied, riddling his name from the speech patterns. “Interesting name. You doing okay, Zig?”

“Promptly, promptly, promptly!”

In an odd way, I began to find his meaningless rambles a little entertaining and, if a tad unnerving, a little funny. “That so?” I humored with a giggle. “So where do you think we’re headed?”

“Look at it play in the sky! Watch it dance and swirl! Spires and spires!”

“Indeed,” I answered, laying down on the floor of the carrier, staring up at the dark. Maybe I was trapped with a nutcase pony in a van going who-knows-where, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy his company a little.

Author's Note

Kudos to anyone that can find the method behind Zigzag's madness!

Servant of the Night

<> Day 9 <>

“Who the heck was that?” Anna’s voice asked as the door slammed shut, shrouding us once more in darkness.

“Dunno,” I answered quietly, staring into the dark at where the door was. “Whoever... or whatever... that was, there is no chance in Tartarus that I’d like to meet him again.”

A silence hung in the room. “...Tartarus? Like Hades’ Pit of Despair?” my sister inquired.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s like Hell for ponies, only Tartarus physically exists in Equestria.”

“You would know that, pony-loving weirdo.”

“Look who’s talking, orange-butt.”

“At least I’m the same gender!”

“HEY!” Deedee shouted, banging on her cage for emphasis. Anna and I immediately clamped out jaws shut, ceasing our sibling altercation altogether. In a large contrast to the kind and collected person I initially thought her to be, Deedee could be heard seething in her cage, taking angry breaths. “Do you two have any idea what just happened!?”

Neither of us answered for a few seconds, stunned by this sudden mood shift. “...we were scared stiff by an albino-dude?” I guessed.

“They took Dazzle, you idiot!” the irritated mare yelled at us. “Didn’t you hear what he said!? That man means to hurt Daz, and he’s coming for Zach after that! If we don’t get out of here, he might come for all of us!”

“Here in the shadows she commands... our exodus from the dark... listening... a servant of the night.”

“Shut up, Zach!” Deedee continued, substituting Dazzle. “I’m sick and tired of your mumbling! Your friend just got carried off to some torture chamber god-knows-where, and you’re too fucking crazy to care! I don’t even know who you are anymore, Zachariah! Ever since this whole pony thing started you’ve been acting weird, and now you can’t even talk without sounding like a psychopath!”

“Whoa, okay...” I tried, speaking as calmly as I could. My headache was amplified by her yelling, and it certainly wasn’t helping the situation anyway. “Lay off the kook, lady. He’s probably just scared and in shock... or something.”

“Well he isn’t the only one! But we’re not spouting freaky gibberish, now are we!?” retorted Deedee. “I can’t stand him anymore! I can’t stand being a god damned pony! I can’t stand being kept here by lord-knows-who and waiting to starve to death!” There was a loud slam from the room that shook the entire stack of carriers as the mare rammed herself against her cage door. “And I can’t!” Wham! “Stand!” Wham! “This!” Wham! “Fucking!” Wham! “CAGE!”

WHAM!

With one last impact, Deedee fell immediately silent. Straining my ears, I could hear the mare shift around in her cage, probably peeling herself away from the carrier door. It was an unsettling change for me, to hear the pony that I had thought to be the most collected of the three burst into a rage, much like Dazzle did, then to drop into such harsh silence. Probably broke her spirit, watching her friend get taken away... I thought to myself. A memory of my sister surfaced in my head, her image floating in my mind’s eye. Wouldn’t I feel the same if they did that to her?

“My-oh-my... quite a temper on that one, eh? Always the quiet ones.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin, hitting my head on the roof of the carrier. Ow! Schist! Somewhere in the dark room, away from the cages, a grim female voice was chuckling in amusement. It wasn’t a voice of anypony that had spoken before, and their laugh came from a point that wasn’t close enough to be in a carrier.

“You should have seen your face!” the voice continued to laugh. “Oh Jesus almighty, that was just priceless! Need some aspirin there, Rainbow-Butt? I’ll pick some up with Angry-Face’s sedatives.”

See my face? I can’t even see my own nose in this room!

“What the heck!?” Anna exclaimed. “Who’s out there? Where are you?”

More cackling laughter came from the new voice. “Right... sorry, I always forget you sunlovers don’t have my eyes. Here...” A sharp crack split the dark, then suddenly the room was washed in the bright green light of a glowstick, laying in the center of the room. In the light, I made out an equine figure by the door.

But it was no normal pony. This pony regarded us curiously with slitted yellow eyes set in a gray face, flicking along the cages. Folded neatly at her sides were two leathery bat-like wings, a single claw folded at the joint. White fangs seemed to glow in her grin, extending a few inches below her upper lip.

“Consort of shadows,” Zach giggled in his usual maniacal voice. “The silent guardians in the night.”

“What’s up with Stripey over there?” the mare asked curiously, eyeing Zach’s carrier.

Holy schist, you have got to be kidding me... “You’re a batpony!” I exclaimed.

“Wait, that’s actually a thing?” Anna asked me, incredulously. “How is that even a thing?”

“I am a thestral, thank you very much,” the pony growled, sounding offended. The thestral flapped her wings a few times, hovering over to my. She made no sound in flight, which made me feel uneasy. “At least, I have been for a week now. Name’s Ariel, and the sexy pony you see here is Aeres. It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Loyalty.”

“...Lady- what now?” Anna and Deedee asked simultaneously.

“Rainbow Dash isn’t in, presently,” I replied with a little bit of a sarcastic tone. “Markus; Markus Knight. Now, maybe you haven’t noticed, but I’m IN A BUCKING DOG CAGE!”

“Ow!” Ariel winced, covering her ears. “Not so loud! I have sensitive ears!” I did observe her ears at that moment, to find them almost adorably fluffy. “That, and the guards will hear us and investigate. It wasn’t easy getting in here, and rescuing you without getting caught is going to be even harder.”

Almost as if fate had heard, there was an abrupt slam from outside the room, along with muffled voices. Ariel jumped in surprise, glancing back at the door. “Oh, shit.” Suddenly, the thestral hovering in front of my face was gone. Not simply fled, mind you, but vanished into thin air, as if she hadn’t been there at all! Part of me started to believe just that.

Seconds after Ariel had disappeared, the door to the room slammed open. Two humans rushed in, one of them I recognized as the oaf from earlier. “Quick, grab a cage!” the oaf ordered, moving toward us. “Jefferson is already waiting with the truck. If we hurry, we can get them southward bound in a few minutes’ time.”

“Shit, got it!” the other guy responded simply, following the oaf’s lead. I finched back as they moved toward the carriers, picking up the two cages to my left.

One of them- the oaf, I think -hit my carrier, knocking it to the floor with me inside. I tumbled down, slamming hard into the ground. Nothing too bad, but I’d have a faint bruise on the joint of my wing. The two men, not bothering to pick the cage back up, made a hurried rush for the door, each carrying a dog carrier. I almost could have cared less about who was in it, until...

“MARKUS!” Anna’s scream pierced the air. “MARKUS HELP ME!”

My dog carrier had landed in just the right position, so that the cage was facing toward the open door. As the oaf lumbered out of the room, I caught a glimpse of the pony within the carrier in his grasp. An orange pegasus filly pressed her hooves against the metal of the cage, looking out at me with pleading fuschia eyes. Instantly, I recognized who my sister had become.

But before I could react, something stirred within me; within my head. It burned up inside my subconscious, boiling over into my eyes. Crimson red filled my vision, an energy pulsing through my body. Suddenly, I felt my consciousness yanked out from under me, as I lost my physical functions to something else. Something that was inundated with rage and passion.

~+~+~+~

Jack Preacher liked his metal detector a lot. Since he got it for his eleventh birthday three years ago, Jack had developed a healthy hobby of looking through the nearby Spears Woods for bits of metal some misguided soul may have left behind. Not the he found much of anything most of the time, but he enjoyed the activity nonetheless.

This particular day, Jack had been making his regular rounds in the trees, sweeping his detector along the ground for any trace of metals for him to collect, when he noticed something rather odd on the ground. A small, dirty crater, perhaps eight feet at its widest, made a significant dip in the land. Cautiously, Jack stepped over to it. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary that he could tell about the mysterious divet. Perhaps someone had been digging up an animal den.

BEEPBEEPBEEP! BEEP! BEEPBEEPBEEP! BEEP!

Jack jumped in surprised as his metal detector, the sensor hovering over the rim of the crater, abruptly began to sound off wildly. Crater forgotten, Jack smiled and crouched down, shifting through the overturned dirt. Maybe he would find another cast iron Monopoly piece and complete the set. Or maybe it was another collar button or safety pin. Whatever it was, he was going to find out!

“What in the world...?” Blinking, Jack couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Embedded in the dirt was a small, golden necklace with a ruby in the center. Blinking in disbelief, Jack stared at the gem. It was cut perfectly in the shape of a lightning bolt, and somehow, seemed to glow with an inner light, suggesting a mystical quality about it.

Jack reached down for it, wanting to hold it. “What are y--?”

ZZABAM!

Suddenly, an intense scarlet light blasted from the gem. Jack Preacher stumbled backward crying out as the flash blinded him. A few moments later, when he was able to recover, the hobbyist would discover no trace of the mysterious necklace.

Loyalty's Wrath

Rainbow Dash’s fury burned with explosive energy.

Quite literally, as I discovered. As Dash regained control of her body, I felt the pulsing electricity of the Element of Loyalty course through her body and soul as it appeared around her neck. From my backseat in Dash’s head, I could make out piles of melted slag scattered about the immediate area, likely the pieces of what once was the animal cage that had held me prisoner, destroyed by some kind of shockwave from the Element’s emergence. I was stunned by the sudden volatility of the magical artifact.

What happened next was all but a blur to me. Rainbow Dash’s berserking fury was a haze through which I could only get flashes and blurred images of what was going on. There was a lot of loud noise, a bunch of color, and a few occasions of screaming. Sometimes, I felt Dash’s mind suddenly rifle through my memories at a rapid pace, skimming a very specific part of it that left me perplexed; why would Dash, in the middle of a rage, want to know about my freshman anatomy class?

Through it all, I could feel Dash’s mind holding on to a thought; some memory that flashed through my head in pieces and barely-comprehensible fragments of emotion. The one thing that I heard perfectly clearly was Dash’s voice, much younger than she was now, saying “...promise I’ll watch her. I’ll keep her safe.” There was another detail, less focused but still present, that made especially little sense to me.

Suddenly, for a few seconds, everything went black. Slowly, I began to feel the sensation of a physical body return to me. It felt like I was coming down from an intense adrenaline spike; my heart was beating an allegro in my ears, I was breathing heavily in huffing gasps, and the energy and alertness from whatever ordeal Dash went through still flowed through my blood. The familiar weight of the Element of Loyalty hung around my neck. My wings ached at the base from some kind of strain, like a lot of sharp mid-air turns. Yet my vision remain dark, for some unknown reason.

‘Your eyes are closed,’ Dash said flatly from within her usual spot in my head.

Dash...? I answered still very confused. What... what the hell...?

‘Just open your eyes, Markus.’ She sounded almost somber, a dejected tone in her voice.

Doing as Dash said, I opened my eyes. The first thing I noticed was my forelegs and wings wrapped around a small body of orange and fuschia, which shivered in my grasp. It took me several moments to remember who the pony was...and who had become her.

“...Anna?” I asked the filly.

Scootaloo’s head nodded, but she didn’t speak. My sister seemed shocked about something.

But...the last thing I remember was seeing her in that cage, being taken away, then... I recounted the destruction caused by the Element of Loyalty again. How did she get out? What did Dash do to...

Then I became aware of my surroundings. We were against the back wall of what looked like the loading garage of some office building, the main door ajar and letting light in around the outline of a moving van parked outside. Along the sides of the garage were several animal crates, identical to the one that had held me. In the middle of the room was a sight that I found very disturbing: the thestral mare that had come in to rescue us, standing victoriously on a large human body. From the size of him, I guessed it was the oaf from before, knocked out cold.

The thestral--Ariel, I recalled--was looking at me with a curious light in her slitted eyes. She leaped off the body and glided over to me. “Despite how reckless you can get, you’re pretty handy in a fight,” she suddenly said, adding to my confusion. “Or at least... provided a good enough distraction with your angry yelling and rager thing so I could take them out.”

“Take them ou...” I stammered, still disoriented. My grip around my sister tightened for security. “I... I don’t remember what happened... Dash took over and everything just...”

“Markus,” the orange pegasus gasped. “Markus, I can’t breathe.”

“Oops, sorry.” I let the filly go, letting her roll to the ground. To my relief, Scootaloo’s body looked mostly untouched beyond a ruffled mane. “Glad you’re okay, squirt.”

“Wait wait wait... back up,” Ariel interjected. “You don’t remember everything you just did, like, two minutes ago?”

I shook my head. “Rainbow Dash took control... I was mostly blind in her head,” I replied. “Why? What’d she do?”

“She kicked butt,” Scoo-- Anna reported.

...That was a weird slip, I thought to myself.

“Excuse me, I was the one kicking ass!” Ariel declared in an offended tone. “All she did was smack ‘em around a ton. Knew what she was doing too: hit ‘em where it hurts most every time. That gave me an opening to swoop in and lay them out like a badass ninja!” It was almost comical to watch the thestral pantomime the scene with her forelegs, then make an expression of delighted self-accomplishment. “Being a Night Guard thestral is so fucking kick-ass.”

Well, that explains why Dash was suddenly interested in anatomy class, I thought with a chuckle. She wanted to know all the soft spots on a human.

‘You have a lot of them,’ the pegasus taunted. ‘Especially right between their legs’

I grimaced. That’s cold.’

‘I was bucking pissed,’ Dash argued. ‘NOPONY lays a hoof on Scootaloo. Nopony.’

“Markus, what’s that look for?” Anna asked, referring to my sudden grimace.

“Nothing,” I responded. “Just... talking to the pony in my head.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Weirdo.”

‘...she doesn’t know,’ Dash noted.

That’s probably a good thing, right? I reasoned, chuckling at my sister’s reaction. It means she and Scootaloo haven’t merged too much yet. Any chance of--

‘--getting them separated--’

“--we should be--”

“--thankful for.”

“We should be thankful for...what?” Ariel asked suddenly, raising an eyebrow at me. Anna had a similar expression.

I blinked, then realized both Dash and I spoke out loud and in turn, sounding like a single thought. “Sorry, just...” I stammered, my wings twitching nervously. “For being alive?” What the schist just happened?

Ariel looked unconvinced, but shrugged. “We need to get moving anyway,” the thestral said to the two of us, turning toward the garage entrance and trotting over. “The others are already outside and ready to leave. Besides, there’s a friend of yours that would like to see you again, Markus.”

I tilted my head as I followed along. “A friend?” I asked.

“Uh... guys?” We turned back to look at Anna, who simply stood with her hooves in place. The pegasus filly seemed to have a very shaky stance. “How do you walk?”

‘...son of a bitch,’
...son of a bitch,
Dash and I thought together.

“Here...” I flapped over and scooped the small pony up and set her gently on my back. It felt... familiar, almost. Like from when I would fly her around Ponyville because she liked to feel the experience of flying in-- No, that’s Dash’s memory, I reminded myself. Must be all the stress getting to me. With my sister on my back for mobility, I followed Ariel out of the garage, leaving behind many bad memories.

~+~+~+~

“MARKUS!”

“Chloe? Is tha--?” WHAM! “AAH SCHIST WHY!?!”

Thump.

That was basically how Chloe and I started our happy reunion. When Ariel and I left the complex where I was being held, I found a minivan waiting for us, the other captured ponies already inside. As soon as Anna, Ariel, and I mounted up, Ariel’s human friend, Jeff, drove us off to safety, namely Jeff’s apartment near Chicago.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Dazzle--a cream-colored unicorn stallion with a wand cutie mark--to have been recovered and mostly unharmed, aside from a slightly-blood-stained bandage at the base of his horn, and sleeping soundly next to Deedee, an emerald earth pony with a dollop of whipped cream on her flank. In the back of the car sat Zach (or Zigzag, as Anna told me). The odd zebra looked a lot different than Zecora in that his stripes were jagged and haphazardly patterned. Luckily, he kept his psychotic rambling to himself on the ride.

“Gidoff,” I grunted at the pony that had tackled me to the ground in a hug.

“Sorry! Got excited!” Chloe apologized, jumping off me.

Smiling at my pegasus companion, I got to my hooves and properly hugged her. “Never thought I would see your pink butt again,” I chuckled.

Chloe returned the hug. “I’d say the same, but your butt is kind of a big deal on the internet.”

‘Hey, that’s MY butt!’

Duly noted, Dash.

“We wouldn’t have come after you if it wasn’t for Chloe,” Ariel claimed, hopping up on Jeff’s couch. The thestral yawned, looking nonchalant. “We found her scoping out the complex you were being held in. I had been doing a little reconnaissance into the place after Jeff overheard two PAPA mugs talking about taking about trafficking ponies into it for transport to their main HQ in St. Louis.”

“I’m like a mole,” Jeff said, the rugged-looking human taking a seat next to Ariel. “I go to PAPA-friendly hangouts and find all sorts of stuff.”

“Stuff for what?” I asked. Why would they go through all that trouble?

Ariel and Jeff shared a glance. “Uh... we’ll talk about it later,” the thestral replied with a yawn. “Right now, we all need some shut-eye.” She glanced over at where the other ponies were on the rug, my sister included, to find they had mostly collapsed into slumber. “Captivity hasn’t been good on them, I suppose.”

“You either,” Airheart bantered at me, flicking her tail on my nose. "You look tired."

My face formed a frown as I considered the idea of a nap. It would be good for me, sure, and it would let me talk face-to-face with Dash in depth about what happened back at the warehouse. There was something nagging at the back of my head, though; some sort of instinct that said sleep was a very bad idea. It was nothing from Dash's side, either... rather, I felt that it was my own subconscious that was trying to tell me something. I Relayed this thought to Dash quickly.

'Yeah, same here,' she replied, shifting around in my head. 'It sorta feels like when I'm standing at the edge of a cloud about to take a free fall dive into a loop. That weird feeling that tells you it's gonna be dangerous.'

I nodded, biting my tongue. Self-preservation, I thought to her. Our minds are trying to preserve themselves now that our barrier is fading... maybe being together in a dream isn't so good?

'My vote is for staying awake.'

"Hey, Colors, I'm talking to you," Chloe snapped, clapping her hooves together in front of me.

"Yeah, sorry, just thinking," I told her, fluttering my wings to the pile of sleeping ponies. Standing over the orange form of Anna in Scootaloo's body, I felt a small pang of guilt for both, that they will go through the same thing Dash and I are at the moment: struggling to keep a hold on one another's identity. Even now, as I stared at the pegasus filly, I saw memories of Scootaloo that I couldn't have known myself; eating ice cream on a cloud on a hot summer day and talking about how I pulled off my latest awesome stunt, kicking a hoofball around in the fall when Scoots' small form seemed to blend with the color of the freshly-fallen leaves, carrying her home every time she had a bad crash on her scooter... then there was the time I had her help with Fluttershy's animals when she--

A sharp pain shot through my head, shattering the memory. Hissing, I turned away from Anna and scolded Dash. Uh, OW!? What the flying fuck was that for!? When Dash was silent, I pressed again, yelling at her in my head. Nothing. She was there--I could feel her blocking herself out, but the rainbow pegasus let me have no ground. Fine, then.

"I'll just... rest my head for a few minutes," I told Chloe. "I think we both need a breather after all."

Author's Note

A/N: I changed the end away from "OOH YELLOW EYES OOOOHH~" because I honestly forgot where I was going with that. Besides that, I added much more that I think should have been in the first edition, and this expands much more on what I want to do with Scootaloo and Dash later on.

Why Can't I Feel My Toes?

<> Day One <>

It would have been easier if I didn't get up that Sunday morning. Never mind that, I would have been infinitely more happy if I had slept for the whole two weeks. Unfortunately for me, I'm a morning guy, and once it's five in the morning, I'm up. No exceptions. Besides, even if I did force myself to sleep in, my cat would wake me up anyway.

But that morning, on that eventful weekend day, I woke up like always; at five AM sharp or earlier. Why so early? I don't know. It probably started when I was about six or so, and I got into the habit of waking up when the kitchen light turned on. But I was thankful for it, as it let me have some free time before driving myself to school every weekday. The only downside was I had to go to bed at nine to get my solid eight hours in.

One of the first things I noticed when I woke up was that Tabby wasn't curled up next to me, like she usually is. I will never understand that cat… I thought to myself. I noted my digital clock on the bookshelf across the room, the numbers glowing green in the dark. Four-thirty… on Sunday, no less. Schist. I rolled over, drawing up the blankets to my nose, which, in hindsight, felt bigger than it should have. Meh… I can rest my head for a few more minutes.

"Mrrow."

I sighed, peeking my eyes open at the feline shape at the threshold to my basement room. "About time you showed, fatty," I grumbled at the cat, who was strangely keeping her distance. Whoa, what's up with my voice? I wondered as the words that came out of my mouth were garbled by rough, higher-pitched vocals. It was almost feminine-sounding, like a tomboyish sort of style. I must be coming down with something…

Deciding to put my Boy Scouts first aid skills to the test, I reached up and placed my hand on my forehead to see if I had a fever. At the time, I had no clue what I was doing. Why the heck would I check myself for a fever if the symptom was a jumbled throat? Lets just say that I didn't really stay in Scouts long enough for that particular merit badge.

Anyway, when I placed my hand on my head, something didn't feel right. I stimulated my nerves in that area, eliciting a response and a reading. Why the hell can't I feel my fingers?

Experimentally, I waved my hand in front of my face, trying to make out the silhouette in the glow of the dim nightlight in the entryway I used to navigate at night. My eyes widened at what I saw. Holy schist my hand! It's gone!

To say I panicked a little was an entire understatement. I'm usually not one to flip out, but when I do, I flip the hell out. In a full on reflex I had developed sometime over the years, I leapt to my other side, slamming the button on my reading light with the stump of my hand. As the brighter light flickered on, I was anticipating what I would see. A bloody end of an arm? Wrapped in bandages maybe? Or possibly a Frankenstein-type horror where the wound was sewn haphazardly?

The light stopped flickering. I stared at the appendage that used to encompass my arm, hand, and fingers. The entire length of the extension was covered in a bright blue fuzz, and was about two-thirds the length it was previously. Instead of a hand, the arm ended in a hard yet flexible nail-like substance that matched the color of the coat. Turning my new appendage palm-up, the cyan nail-stuff was seen in the shape of a…

A hoof?

Bringing my other arm into view revealed the same sight. Why… why do I have… hooves? Instantly, my brony writer's mind flashed with fan-fiction clichés. None of which comforted me.

Oh dear God… I'm a pony…

I tried to keep my cool, holding my breath and waiting for the adrenaline in my system to wind down. Once my heartbeat returned to its normal rhythm, whatever that meant for a pony, I exhaled. Okay, I told myself, get out of bed; assess the situation before anything.

Unceremoniously, I rolled to my left out of bed in my typical fashion, scaring the fur off my cat and sending her running, as well as landing belly-down on the carpeting. With exceptional reaction-time developed over years of practice, I initiate my muscle memory and push myself upright with my forelegs…

…only to stumble humbly backwards, my flailing left hoof sending the empty glass I keep on my bedpost for a drink of water before bed flying, the cup hitting the wall with loud 'bang'.

First things first, I guess… Tentatively, I rolled back over onto my stomach and carefully positioned my front and back hooves. The way I had it figured, I could mimic my cat when she stretches and raise my hindquarters first, therefore gaining the right leverage to bring myself up to an upright stance.

Picturing Tabby in her yoga-like pose, I reached out my cyan forelegs, slowly straightening my hind-legs. Well this is dignifying… I grumbled to myself as the mental image of a cyan pony with it's plot in the air entered my head. Leaning forward with my hind-legs, I levered my front up, using my forelegs as a fulcrum.

It was a really wide stance, but I couldn't help but grin at my achievement. "Aw yeah!" I said in exuberance. Why does my voice sound so weird? …and oddly familiar? Getting a hold of my excitement, I mentally kicked myself for celebrating such a mediocre task as standing up.

I calmed my nerves with a bit of deep breathing, feeling my new lungs as they expanded in my chest, a lot larger than I was used to proportionately. Once my mind was at ease, it resumed its normal functions, and I immediately became conscious of the burning curiosity regarding my own appearance. In the light of my bedside reading light, I turned to face the full-body mirror attached to my wardrobe door.

My jaw broke the sound barrier as it fell open at the sight.

The top of my head came barely above the average human's knees, making my full height about two-and-a-half feet. A cyan coat covered my entire body, sleek and soft-looking. At my sides, two wings fluttered anxiously, revealing that I was of the pegasus variety.

None of this, however, was the source of my astonishment.

My mane was a myriad of color, the bangs being red, orange, and yellow and the ends green, blue, and purple. The tail, on the other hand, was a solid rainbow all throughout. Befuddled magenta eyes stared back at me. Yet, most significant of all, on my flank was a white cloud with a multicolored lightning bolt jutting from it.

I… I'm… Rainbow Dash…?!

All things that could be described as coherent thought left my mind, leaving only a broken shell. Had I been of weaker constitution, I would have fainted just then. So, being strong-willed as I was, I did the next-best thing.

Falling over in a heap, I placed my hooves over my ears and curled into ball, the shards of my sanity fracturing into smaller and smaller pieces, eventually slipping through the cracks and into the void.

Is This Some Elaborate Scheme to Take Over the World?

<> Day 0 <>

C'mon, Tara, John grumbled. Pick up your phone, damn it!

A faint crackle was heard on the other end. "J-John?" said an extremely shaky female voice. John de Lancie shrugged, guessing this was another voice the actress was trying out.

"Hey, Tara. I was wondering if you heard anything from Lauren yet," John said into the mouthpiece of his cell phone. "She isn't answering my calls, and we were meeting today. Could you possibly see if you could contact her?"

"I-I… would except…" Tara's new voice stuttered, "it's hard to dial on a phone without fingers…"

<> Day 1 <>

I didn't need to look at the headline. The photo was all I needed.

On the front page of the newspaper was a blurry color photo, taken with a subpar camera. It was the front of a house, more specifically, a window looking into the interior. In the window, slightly more blurred than the rest of the, photo, was a pure white figure, and what looked like a rainbow hanging off the head. The house, according to the caption, was Lauren Faust's.

It… it's Princess Celestia… but… My curiosity finally overtaking my shock, I took the time to read the article.

This photo was taken yesterday by a novice photographer, Joe Schissel, while the nineteen-year-old was walking home after attending what he calls in an interview with CNN a 'brony meet-up'. Schissel saw the figure in the window, and fumbled for his cellphone's camera setting.
"There's no question about it," exclaims Schissel in his interview, "that was Princess Celesta, in Lauren Faust's house!"
The house in the photo was indeed the home of Lauren Faust, executive producer for the popular girls' cartoon, 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'. Princess Celestia, the name mentioned by Schissel, is the ruler of Equestria, the fictional setting of the show, and personal mentor to the main character, a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle…

I stopped reading, sitting back on my haunches in absolute shock. I'm not alone… The thought echoed around my head, banging against the walls of my skull. I'm not alone… A mix of emotions fought for control of my attention. One was pity, that others had to experience this horrible fate, another was fear, that this… condition …was spreading and causing more and more chaos, and the last was elation. Elation that there were others in the world, feeling my pain and sympathizing with me. Eventually, the strongest emotion won out over its inferiors, and a large grin split Rainbow Dash's face. I'm not alone!

Whoa… slow down, Markus, I told myself, you don't know how severe the situation is. It could just be two or three more people that were affected. Silently, I pondered how I could find out just what the extent was. Where could I find information about vague topics and weird stuff? I promptly facehoofed. "Where else?!" I asked the world. "To the Internet!" Dear Celestia, that sounded awesome in Rainbow Dash's voice.

With my spirits high, I hopped down from the couch and trotted over to the top of the stairs… Oh come on! I cursed inwardly at the terraced surface.

I eyed the steps as if each one was a predator that wished harm upon my borrowed body. With the excitement of my discovery still pumping through my head, I worked as fast as possible, running strategies and their respective scenarios in my head, visualizing the result. Each one ended in the same way: me tripping or stumbling down the steps. No other alternative in mind, I turned to thinking outside the box. How would Rainbow Dash walk down steps? I paused for a slight moment, pondering this, then facehoofed. She would glide down! You're a pegasus now, you incompetent buffoon!

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the twitching muscles of my wings. Slowly, I inched the feathered appendages out until they were full-spread, then locked them in place with a slight incline. Hopefully those lessons at aviation camp help. Opening my eyes, I surveyed the air in front of me. I would have to keep myself balanced enough for the entire glide, or else risk physical harm.

Wait… why the hell am I being cautious? the part of me that was Rainbow Dash asked. If I have to be the Element of Loyalty, I'm gonna make her proud that I'm the one inhabiting her body! Giving a determined grin, I narrowed my eyes and threw caution to the wind. Then, I threw myself to the wind. I pushed off the top step with a powerful shove of my hind-legs. In a panic moment of hanging over open air, I half expected to crash painfully. I held my hooves out, bracing for the crunching impact…

But the only impact I felt was the soft touch of my hooves to the carpeting. Holy… that was… Adrenaline flowed through my veins, pumping behind my eyes and into my brain. The rush made my pupils dilate and my heartbeat increase. Bucking awesome! I felt like I could take down the entire changeling army! Is this how Dash feels after she flies? Confidence irradiated my body, daring the world to a challenge.

FOCUS!

I shook the feeling off. However amazing it felt, I still had things to do! A new determination in me, I trotted off to my computer. Placing my fore-hooves on my chair, I hoisted myself up (thank Celestia for hollow pegasus bones) and into the chair. Facing the computer, I moved for the power button… God damn it, I don't have fingers! In frustration at my rotten luck, I slammed my hoof onto the table, spilling the cup of pencils and pens.

I stared at the pile of writing utensils, an idea coming to me. Facehoofing at my own stupidity, I rolled a pencil over to where I could pick it up between my teeth. With my de facto finger, I pressed the power button, the screen coming to life and displaying my Princess Luna background. Oh Luna, you are best pony… I thought fleetingly.

Blip-bloop!

A Skype message? I glanced down at the icon, a number one floating above it. Placing my hoof on the mouse, I moved the cursor to the icon and clicked with the tip of my hoof. Their credentials are blank… My eyes narrowed suspiciously. It seemed too coincidental, what with me turning into a pony the very same day. I shook my head, laughing at the notion. C'mon, no one knows about me being a pony. The chances of the two being connected is low. It's probably some government guy that wants me to do a survey or something. Reassured that it was nothing to be worried about, I clicked on the message and began to read.

> Why so blue, Mr. Knight? Of course, I would be down in the dumps as well if I was disembodied. I suppose you are wondering who I am, but that information is restricted for the moment. For now, I await your reply, writer, as I am in need of your services.

That was it. No name or profile picture, just the cryptic message. I sat back in my seat, baffled. Who was that, and how did he know about me? This guy knows something, I thought decisively. Maybe he knows what happened, and possibly how to undo it! Excited at the prospect, I typed a reply with the pencil in my mouth.

>I'm here

>Oh good. I was worried you had ignored my obviously insane-sounding text. You must be so perplexed about me, but that isn't why I contacted you. You see, I am in need of a chronicler, someone to record my rise to power. My associate and I have plans for this wonderfully chaotic world, and you will have the honor of writing the story of my conquest. So for you to better understand the situation, I've invoked the first part of my plan upon you. I must apologize though, as typing with hooves seems like a hassle.

I blinked. The reply came almost as soon as I hit 'send', faster than I had time to think. Did… he just say… hooves?! I reread the message over and over, my teeth clenching tighter and tighter. Whoever he was, he did this to me. He turned me into Rainbow Dash, and made me go through all this chaos! Now I can't even type a flipping story without fingers! He stole my life!

Finally, the pencil between my teeth snapped. The sound brought me out of my rage to stare at the shattered pieces of wood. Like the shattered pieces of my life… I thought grimly. This thought echoed back, and spelled something else. A revelation brought on my the broken pencil.

"No," I stated out loud, Rainbow Dash's voice adding a hardened edge. "You may have stolen my body, my life, and possibly my very humanity, but if there's one thing you can't ever take from me, it's writing. So, whoever you are, if you think you can stop me from being loyal to what I love, you have another thing coming!" I stood up on my chair, raising my hoof in defiance. "Because I am the Element of Loyalty, and I will never abandon what I enjoy the most in life!"

My heart and soul set, I selected another pencil and shoved it between my molars. I set to work immediately, opening a large word document. Tomorrow, I will find out who he is. But today, I have a chapter to finish, and I have all day to spare!

~+~+~+~

John de Lancie walked back to his office, a smile splitting his face. Glancing around to be sure he wasn't being followed, the actor opened the door and entered. One wall of the room was covered in screens, each on a different channel or website. All of them had either the report on the Celestia sighting or a pony-related item.

In front of the screens was an unnecessarily large swiveling armchair, hiding its occupant from view. "Everything goes well, Mr. de Lancie?" asked a very familiar voice.

"As smooth as a polished whistle, yes," John said with a grin. "You sent our chronicler his recruitment?"

"Mm, yes. Though it was quite rude, not responding to my calls," chortled the voice in the chair.

"And now we inform her of our existence?"

"Yes…" the throaty voice chuckled. As the laugh escalated, a lion's paw reached for a knob, while an eagle's talon began typing on a keyboard. "Everything is going awry… and so perfectly whimsical…" The maniacal laughter was shared between John and his voice.

Slenderman's Ukrainian Cousin?

<> Day 9 <>

“They unloaded us all here sometime later,” Anna said, shakily continuing her story. “I don’t know how long we’ve been here, or why they put us here in the first place.”

“Pokes, prods, pricks, and pins... let the needle sink slowly in...” Zigzag chuckled.
“Shut up, Zach,” Daz grumbled.

I sighed deeply, leaning against the wall of the dog carrier. My wings twitched in anxious irritation at the whole situation, particularly my sister’s description of what happened to the ponies in this place... and myself. Of course humans would act like this, I snarled inwardly. Dangle something they don’t understand in front of their faces and they immediately try to rid themselves of it. A headache rose to my forehead alongside my angst.

“Wait a moment,” Deedee cut in. “You said there were five crates in the truck. So if your... sister--”

“Brother,” I interrupted, still rubbing my head. The last thing I need is Anna egging me after this about being her big sister.

“--sister- given the circumstances -arrived later than us, where did that last crate go?”

“I... I don’t know,” admitted my ponyfied sister. “Maybe it was just a spare crate or something.”

“...torn, shattered they are...” Zigzag muttered sadly. “Pieces in a flame.”
“Shut up, Zach.”

“Alright, it’s nothing to get worked up over,” Deedee cooed to Anna. “I was just curious is all. I was concerned that they had someone else locked up here.” There was a few moments of silence between the ponies in the room. Even Zigzag kept quiet for a decent length of time. It was getting a bit eerie, but it certainly agreed with my headache.

But after a while, maybe a half an hour or so, my ears twitched as they began to pick up a very soft noise. At first, I thought it was Anna coughing politely. However, as it grew in volume and duration, I realized that it was Deedee, crying to herself and trying to hide it.

“It’s not fair,” she whispered, sobs wracking her speech. “They can’t keep us locked up like this like a couple of stray animals! We didn’t ask for any of this pony shit!” The sound of something striking the bars of the cages, probably Deedee’s hoof, echoed through the room. “They can’t do this,” she repeated. “We’re human beings.”

Life isn’t fair to the lesser.

“No we’re not,” I answered, lifting my hoof up to what I thought would be eye level, but invisible in the darkness. “We stopped being human the moment we woke up with hooves.” Shocked silence answered me, but I wasn’t quite done. In my head, the pain dragged on, like something ripping from my skull. “But you know what? If being human groups me with these monsters, then buck it all. I’m glad I’m not human.”

“Once bitten, thrice shy... Shy daughter, shy mother, now their shy cerulean angel...”

“GRRAAAH!” We all jumped as Dazzle let out a violent yell, then began bashing the cage, making a huge ruckus. “I can’t take it anymore! Shut up, Zach! Just shut up you maniac! Shut up! SHUT UP! JUST! SHUT! UP!”

Suddenly, a door swung open. I let out a pained cry as the light beyond blinded me, doubling the pain in my head. Footsteps pounded into the room, a heavy stride suggesting a heavy owner, and another set that struck the floor loudly, likely with some kind of boots. Beyond the white spots in my vision and the bars of my cage, I could see two human shapes standing in the middle of the room. One of them was tall and wearing something colorful, while the other was a pitch black splotch in my sight. On the black splodge at an extremely pale, bald head. I might have mistaken the figure for some kind of vampire.

Now that I could see the room in the light, I realized that it was structured like some sort of pound, with the door on the wall opposite myself. From where my eye level was at, I judged that my dog carrier was probably stacked onto two others, each most likely joined by the others to sit flush with the wall behind me.

“Alright, here they are,” the taller one said, his voice slightly burred with a midwest-american accent. His arm moved around, motioning to the “Take your pick. That one there is one of those zebra varieties, we got a little winged one down here in that cage, a unicorn, regular one right there, and this one here...” I jumped as the oaf slammed a palm on the top of my carrier. “This one was quite a find. Our boys say they saw it crash in a streak of color. Found it in a decently-sized crater, out cold.”

Well, that certainly explains this headache... I thought to myself.

“Did it sustain any injuries?” the black clad figure asked. To my surprise, he didn’t sound at all American. If I knew better,I could probably distinguish it between some kind of Russian or Eastern European voice. Suddenly, my vampire theory looked very accurate.

The oaf shrugged. “Why should we care?”

“Injuries, you ape,” the man repeated.

Once again, the man shrugged. “Other than a nasty bump on its head, nah,” he elaborated. “Why are you so concerned, Mr. Creepy-Face? Thought you were supposed to be some big honcho from PAPA HQ.”

“Something like that,” the pale guy replied. “It would seem that these creatures are more durable than they appear.” By this time, my vision had cleared enough that I could see even more details. Though, when I beheld the man in black, I began to wish I was blind again. Monstrous red eyes glared at me, made even more piercing on a backdrop of paper-white skin. There was something about him that made me want to run away to a safe place and curl up in terror. Fear hung around his black trench coat like an aura. But his eyes... I couldn’t stop staring at those red orbs... I couldn’t move... so helpless...

“Hey! Slenderman-dude!” My paralysis snapped as the cringing gaze was taken off me and focused instead on Dazzle, off to my right and down one cage from the direction he turned his head. “Let us out, coward!” Daz continued to shout. “I’m not afraid of your damn viper eyes! Let me out of here so I can put the hurt on you!”

“Daz, hush...” Deedee tried to shush the angered stallion, to little effect.

“That one,” the pale monster ordered, motioning to the offending pony’s cage. Doing as told, the oaf shifted away a stray cage that was resting atop Dazzle’s, then picked it up with a strained grunt.

“Whoa! Hey!” Dazzle protested loudly. “Put me down!”

As the oaf passed the cage to the pale man, there was nothing to show that the latter had any trouble lifting the cage, unlike the former. “You speak of cowardice and hurt,” the pale man growled at the pony. “I will show you hurt like you have never known.”

Wow, that was... I groaned inwardly. ...incredibly cheesy.

Dazzle clammed up immediately, but I could still hear a defiant growl from the cage. That stallion was not about to yield any time soon. In spite of his sour disposition I had to admire his stoic bravery, especially in the face of someone like that.

“A pale man robed in black. On his path there is no ‘back.’” Zigzag began to start up a rhythmic mantra. I gritted my teeth, praying for him not to provoke the frightening figure. “His spider’s fingers hold too many puppets. Soon his web will be carried off in buckets.”

The pale man took pause at Zigzag’s rhyme. His crimson gaze briefly glanced at the cages, but then turned toward the exit. “Keep the striped one handy,” he ordered the oaf as he carried Dazzle’s carrier out the exit. “This will not take long, I think.”

“Whatever, boss-man,” the oaf said, following out the door as well.

“Please, call me...” To my extreme frustration the pale man actually paused for effect. Who the hell actually does that!? No one! Nobody actually does that! “...Mr. Silence.”

Sweet sanity I hate him so much...

Author's Note

I know it's slow right now, guys. Hang in there.