The Lost Oneby dragonofshadowsChaptersSomething Strange This Way ComesOnce You Start Running...RevelationSomething Strange This Way Comes“OhmyCelestiayou’renevereverEVERevergonnaguesswhatIsaw!” Pinkie Pie had burst into Twilight’s library right in the middle of one of the purple unicorn’s magic practices. The twelve colored balls she had been balancing in midair suddenly shot off to all different corners of the room, toppling statues and displacing books. Twilight glared at the hyper pink pony. “I was just in the middle of Magic practice Pinkie!” Pinkie blushed. “I’m sorry Twilight. I know you told me never ever to interrupt you after lunch and even made me Pinkie Promise. But I just saw the weeeeiiirdest thing!” Twilight huffed as she used her magic to straighten up the mess. “What did you see?” Pinkie inhaled deeply, and Twilight knew this might be the longest story ever told in Equestria. “I was walking down to Fluttershy’s house to invite her to my weekly party that I throw for everypony who might be needing a little pick-me-up in their week, and I saw a pony in the Everfree forest.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Wow Pinkie, that IS weird…” Pinkie snuffed. “I haven’t got to THAT yet! The weird part is that he was all alone and he looked like a Pegasus that was missing his wings! And no, he wasn’t an Earth pony. There were places where he used to have wings.” At this, Pinkie’s usual chipper attitude wilted somewhat. “And the worst part is, he looked really sad. I was gonna invite him to the party so we might have a new friend, but as soon as I started towards him, he ran off!” “Hmmm, that is odd Pinkie.” Twilight trotted over to her as she put the last of the displaced objects in place. “Do you know who he was?” Pinkie shook her head. “Uh-uh.” Twilight rested on her haunches and thought for a minute. A Pegasus without wings? I’ve never heard of such a thing. To Pinkie she said, “Why don’t we go ask Fluttershy if she’s ever seen this pony before? Maybe she might know since she lives close to the Everfree forest. Or, if not, maybe we can ask Zecora?” From out of nowhere, Pinkie produced a Sherlock-style hat and bubble pipe. “A mystery! I looooove Mysteries! I’ll go round up the other girls and we can solve it together!” And she was off like a pink bullet. Twilight Sparkle slapped her forehead. She called out to the little purple and green dragon that was her assistant, “Spike, I’m going out for a while, so look after the library!” Ten minutes later, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie, resplendent in her “Mystery Solving Costume” were trotting down the road to Fluttershy’s house. “You mean ta tell me he had stumps er sumthin’ where his wings were supposed ta be?” Pinkie answered Applejack. “I couldn’t really tell, he was far away. But he just reminded me of what Dashie would look like if she didn’t have wings.” Above them, the cyan pegasus shuddered, if it were possible to do a thing like that while flying. “That gives me the creeps Pinkie, I wish you’d quit sayin’ it like that! The white unicorn, Rarity, shook her head. “The poor darling! If that’s the case he must feel dreadful! It would be like running around with last year’s fashions on. Ugh!” As they chatted, the approached a small cottage, and in the meadow surrounding it was a pink and yellow pegasus surrounded by a legion of forest animals. Pinkie cried out “Hey Fluttershy, we’re here!” The little pegasus jumped, startled at the loud outburst. “Oh, h-hi everypony. I was just taking care of some of my animal friends, and I guess I was too busy to notice you. I’m sorry.” Rainbow dash landed next to her. “Don’t sweat it Fluttershy! We know how you get when animals are involved.” Applejack slapped her on the back. “Yeah, sugarcube! In fact we might oughta apologize fer sneakin’ up on you.” “Th-thanks girls, but you really don’t have to worry about it. Unless you want to, of course…” Twilight spoke up, “Actually Fluttershy, we have a kind of unusual question for you. Pinkie said she was coming to your house and saw a strange pegasus with no wings near the Everfree. We were wondering if maybe you had seen him too?” Fluttershy perked up a little. “Oh, yes, on several occasions! But he always seemed to want to be by himself, so I never bothered him.” “So you never asked him for his name?” “Oh, no, I would never bother somepony who wants to be alone. But he looked so sad, I wanted to.” Pinkie Pie puffed on her bubble pipe. “Hmmm, so now we have two witnesses! But still no clues! So I guess we go to Zecora’s now, huh Twilight?” Twilight nodded. “If anypony would know about something strange, it would definitely be her!” And once again, now with Fluttershy in tow, the ponies headed down the road and into the Everfree forest. When they knocked at the house built into a tree, Zecora, the mystical Zebra who lived there greeted them, as always, in rhyme. “Welcome, ponies, to my humble shack! Perhaps you would like a little snack? Or is it maybe that Ponyville is under attack?” Applejack shook her head. “Actually Zecora, we kinda got a question we were hopin’ you could answer. Pinkie and Fluttershy both said they seen a strange pony hereabouts that nopony’s ever seen before, and we wanted to know if you’d seen him. Pegasus fella, lookin’ like he lost his wings?” Zecora smiled. “The lonesome pony that stays all alone? And where he had wings there is now only bone? I have seen him here in the Everfree, and he never talks or bothers me. If it is the lone one you seek, he lives in a cave by Laughing Stone Creek.” “Thanks, Zecora!” said Twilight. “We were hoping you could help us get to the bottom of this.” “Helping you girls is my great pleasure,” quipped the zebra, “And your friendship is always my greatest treasure!” As they left Zecora’s hut, Rarity noticed Rainbow Dash lagging behind a little bit, not her usual fast-as-lightning self. “What’s the matter Rainbow darling?” The cyan pony landed next to her and trotted. “I dunno Rarity. But I have a weird feeling about all this.” The white unicorn smiled. “Are you having a ‘Pinkie Pie Forecasting Feeling’?” Pinkie Pie’s head popped up. “Someone say my name?” Rainbow ignored her. “Nah, just something makes me feel like I’m having Déjà vu, ya know? I guess we’ll find out when we meet this guy.” Later, all six ponies were crouched underneath the bridge that spanned Laughing Stone Creek. Their eyes were trained on the cave that was about thirty yards away from them. “See anything yet?” Rainbow shushed Pinkie Pie. “No! But if you keep asking every ten seconds, you might scare him off!” Just then, they heard hooves clopping across the bridge. They held their breath as a black pony with white hair came around the corner and trotted toward the cave. He had saddlebags on, filled with firewood. And true to the witnesses, where he should have had wings, there were only two stumps with bone showing out of the top where the skin had healed around it. “My goodness!” Rarity gasped. His ears perked up. “Who or whatever you are, show yourself! I am not frightened by any creature, nor will you surprise me. So you might as well come out and face me!” The six friends slowly came out from under the bridge and Twilight spoke. “Hi there! My friends had seen you before, and we let our curiosity get the better of us. I’m Twilight Sparkle, what’s your name?” “My name is Razor Wing. I’m sorry if you own this forest, and I’ve been trespassing.” “We don’t own this forest sugarcube!” Applejack smiled. “We were just kinda wonderin’ who would live out here besides our friend Zacora.” The whole time, Rainbow Dash had been staring at the stranger with her mouth hanging open. Pinkie Pie noticed. “Hey, Dashie, Opal got your tongue? If you don’t close your mouth the horseflies will get in!” Razor Wing had noticed Rainbow Dash too. “Rainbow? Has it been so long?” Rainbow Dash just stared. “You should be dead.” Once You Start Running...Five ponies stared, first at Rainbow Dash, then at Razor Wing, then back at Rainbow. Applejack broke the silence first. “Ahm assumin’ ya’ll know each other?” Razor Wing smiled. “Of course we do! Rainbow only lived a couple of houses down from mine in Cloudsdale. Since she figured out how to use her wings she was always zipping up and down the street, and she made foal-sitting VERY difficult for me.” Pinkie Pie jumped up and down. “Oh my goodness! You were around Dashie when she was young? That’s so amazing! We should have an Old-Friends-Reunited Party!” Rainbow Dash still had a look of shock on her face. “No, this isn’t right! I heard the reports! I went to your funeral! We all thought you were dead! Where have you been? Why didn’t you come back?” The black pegasus’ eyes fell. “I don’t want to talk about that.” Rainbow persisted. “You vanished without a trace, except for the feathers and the blood! Why are you still alive?” The six ponies stared at Razor Wing. He turned his back to them. “I said I don’t want to talk about it.” Twilight sidled up to Rainbow. She whispered, “Maybe it would be better if you just left it alone?” Fine, thought Rainbow. But he better explain all of this real soon. Aloud she said, “Alright, Razor, I’ll drop it. But why are you living way out here?” Razor Wing turned back towards the group. “Because I like it out here, away from everypony. It’s just me and nature. Nopony around to ask questions.” The awkwardness was palpable. Rarity spoke up. “Look at the time! I must return home soon, and fix supper for Sweetie Belle and I. Why don’t you all come to my boutique for supper? I just found a recipe for the most divine Bluegrass Soup!” The other ponies nodded their heads, except for Razor. “I’m good out here. I’ve already prepared some daisies and sunflowers for dinner.” Rainbow frowned. “Can I come back and see you tomorrow?” The black pegasus smiled, and everypony present could see the pain in it. “Of course you can, Dash. I’ve got enough firewood for a couple of days, so I’ll be here all day tomorrow.” The six ponies waved to Razor, and headed back toward Ponyville. As they walked, Applejack pulled Rainbow aside. “Y’know, Rarity is gonna pump ya for details at dinner, right?” The cyan pony grimaced. “Yeah, I know.” Twenty minutes later all six ponies were gathered at Rarity’s Boutique around a fantastic supper, and the white unicorn was almost vibrating with excitement. “So, Rainbow, dish! How and where do you know Razor from, and whatever did you mean about him supposedly being dead?” Applejack elbowed Rainbow Dash. “Told ya!” Rainbow sighed, and put down her spoon. “Well, like Razor said, he used to live down the street from me. He was an instructor at flight school, one of the best. I remember him being like this awesome older brother, who always asked how my flying was coming along. He was never too busy to talk to me or foal-sit. He was the one who recommended me to flight school, and even helped me practice when I had a tough time with something.” Twilight smiled at her friend. “Aww, that’s so cool!” Rainbow’s smile was less enthusiastic. “Yeah, it was. But then one day at flight school, he had dropped by to cheer me on for my advanced flight test. I did great, naturally, and he was so proud. But then, one of the colts tried a maneuver that was really dangerous, and broke his wing taking too many gees. As he fell, Razor noticed, and leapt to the rescue. They both fell for a really long time, and it didn’t look good. Finally, at the last second, he grabbed the colt and tried to pull up, and wound up disappearing into some trees. When the other instructors went to investigate, the colt was fine, but there were blood and feathers everywhere. But no sign of Razor Wing. They searched for hours, and found nothing. So they declared him dead, and held a funeral. I cried so hard. And now the jerk shows up here!” Pinkie Pie wiped a tear from her eye. “Hey, I know what you need! How about an I’m-Sad---“ Rainbow interrupted. “Actually, Pinkie, a party is the last thing I need. I’m gonna go home now.” As the door closed behind the pegasus, the other five ponies stared at each other. Who knew a reunion between friends could be so sad? thought Twilight. The next day, Rainbow Dash flew back to Razor Wing’s cave. She flew much slower than normal, her head full of doubts and questions. Why couldn’t we find him? And after he got better, why didn’t he come back? She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost ran into a tree at the edge of the Everfree Forest. She shook her head, and flew on. When she arrived at the cave, there was nopony there. She panicked, running all around the clearing. “Razor Wing! Where are you? You told me you’d be here you jerk!” She heard splashing behind her, as Razor Wing came up from the water of the river beside the camp. “Jeez, Dash, can’t a stallion take a bath around here?” He was smiling from ear to ear. “Razor! I thought maybe you were gone again. I dunno what I would have done if you… I mean, nice hiding spot!” The black Pegasus shook himself, and trotted over towards the cave. “So, uh, what’s been happenin’ lately? Did you ever graduate from flight school? “Uh, yeah! With my natural talent and the best mentor ever, how could I fail?” Razor smiled. “Still the same old Dash I remember.” “But you’re not the same.” Once again, awkward silence filled the little glade Razor had made home. Neither pony knew what to say, or how to say it. “You know, Razor, we were like brother and sister growing up. Why can’t you just tell me what happened and why you disappeared?” Razor hung is head. “Dash, I…” “Halt in the name of Princess Celestia!” Suddenly, there was a flurry of wings, and the glade was filled with both pegasi and unicorn guards bearing the royal crest. Rainbow Dash’s eyes were as big as saucers, and Razor Wing’s Mane bristled. “Come quietly, and nopony has to get hurt. You are wanted on accusations of theft, trespassing, and destruction of property.” Razor Wing began to bolt. “I’m not going to some stinking prison!” Purple magic bound him, and he slammed to the ground, completely incapacitated. “I’m sorry Dash. But it looks like you aren’t the only part of my past that’s caught up to me.” Revelation“I cannot believe that Razor is a criminal!” Twilight Sparkle was getting dizzy. She watched as Rainbow Dash did yet another lap around her table. She worried that the pegasus might actually wear a trough in the floor as she paced around. She had arrived at Twilight’s door with eyes on fire and mouth going almost as fast as Pinkie’s. From what she had gathered Rainbow’s friend Razor Wing, whom they had just met a day ago, had been arrested and dragged off to Canterlot for some pretty serious charges. “Maybe he’s been mistaken?” Rainbow stopped in her tracks, and Twilight was glad she had distracted her. “There’s no way! They had a wanted poster that described him down to his Cutie Mark! What am I supposed to do?” She resumed her pacing, and Twilight just shook her head. “What if we went and talked to Celestia for him? You’re her favorite student Twilight! Maybe you can help him!” Now it was Twilight’s turn to stop cold. Did Rainbow Dash just have a reasonable thought? The world must be ready to end! Rainbow shook her head. “Actually, nopony’s seen him in years. Let’s go break him out!” Twilight shook her head. “No, I think you had it right the first time. Let’s go to Canterlot and see what we can find out.” Rainbow snorted for the umpteenth time as she stared out the window of the train. Sitting still wasn’t actually her thing when there was something to be done. Sure, she liked to take naps when she wasn’t busy orchestrating the weather for Ponyville, but when there was action to be had, she wanted it right then. How could Razor have changed so much since I saw him last? Was this the thing that was bothering him? Is he ashamed because he did do something wrong? I’m so confused and I want to know what the buck is going on! She stomped her hoof at the last thought, and broke out of her reverie. She looked over to her friend, who had always been able to help her. “Sorry Twilight. Just a little impatient.” The purple pony smiled. “Actually, we’re pulling into the station now. Just try not to fly to the castle as fast as you can. I kinda have a hard time keeping up with you when you’re breaking the speed of sound.” They got off the train, and Rainbow tried her best to keep her wings from going into overdrive. Princess Celestia had a very rare look of confusion on her face as Twilight and Rainbow explained why they were there. “I’m very sorry my little ponies. But I haven’t ordered my guards to arrest anypony. I had heard of a pony that destroyed an entire village once, and we searched for quite a while for him, but after two weeks we simply gave up and helped rebuild the village. We didn’t quite know what to make of the stories anyways, as most described a wingless pegasus that suddenly grew wings, as well a growing three times his size. He then supposedly spewed fire all over the village, and disappeared.” It was Twilight’s turn to be confused. “But that sounds like high-level unicorn magic, not something a pegasus could do.” Celestia nodded. “Indeed. Which is why we let it go once we never heard anything else.” Rainbow piped up. “But if you didn’t know about him being in Ponyville, then who had him arrested?” “I did!” All three ponies looked up, as Princess Luna strode into the throne room. She radiated a dark beauty, and all who beheld her couldn’t help but be a little afraid, no matter how long it had been since her reformation. Celestia came down from her throne. “What is the meaning of this, sister? Why did you have somepony detained in my name, and on hearsay and rumor?” Luna stood tall under her sister’s withering gaze. “I did not have him detained under false pretenses. He IS the pegasus responsible for the destruction in Plowston. I hadn’t ascertained his identity until he slept close to our realm. He has horrible dreams about what happened there, and as I watch over ponies dreams at night, it was this that lead me to detain him.” Twilight stepped in. “But Princess Luna, he couldn’t possibly have the kind of powers the stories described! Unless he had a unicorn accomplice, then he might have just been there when it happened.” “Hey!” The two Alicorns and Twilight spun to see a very disturbed Rainbow Dash. Her face was red, and her eyes held pain and anger in equal doses. “That’s my friend you’re talking about! Not some shady criminal, or evil wizard, or legendary destroyer of villages! He’s the pegasus that taught me to fly, who was like my big brother cheering me on and listening when I had a problem. And then he disappeared after a horrible accident making everyone think he was dead! I want some bucking answers now!” Twilight grimaced and waited for one of the princesses to tongue-lash the impertinent pegasus. But Luna just looked concerned, and Celestia walked over to Rainbow and put her wing around her. “I’m very sorry Rainbow Dash. We forget sometimes that you are the Element of Loyalty, and once again you have shown yourself admirably. But we are all just trying to figure out what these events have to do with each other. Aren’t we Luna?” Luna frowned. “The thing is this. As I was watching his dreams, I saw something in Razor Wing’s memories that startled me. I daresay I was even a little scared. You see, when Razor Wing destroyed Plowston, he was possessed by Nightmare Moon. Her magic did those things to him, making him bigger and giving him wings.” Rainbow turned pale. “My friend is the new host of Nightmare Moon?” “Not anymore” There stood Razor Wing, bound in chains and surrounded by guards. There wasn’t a sound as he spoke his next words. “I exorcised myself.”
Something Strange This Way Comes“OhmyCelestiayou’renevereverEVERevergonnaguesswhatIsaw!” Pinkie Pie had burst into Twilight’s library right in the middle of one of the purple unicorn’s magic practices. The twelve colored balls she had been balancing in midair suddenly shot off to all different corners of the room, toppling statues and displacing books. Twilight glared at the hyper pink pony. “I was just in the middle of Magic practice Pinkie!” Pinkie blushed. “I’m sorry Twilight. I know you told me never ever to interrupt you after lunch and even made me Pinkie Promise. But I just saw the weeeeiiirdest thing!” Twilight huffed as she used her magic to straighten up the mess. “What did you see?” Pinkie inhaled deeply, and Twilight knew this might be the longest story ever told in Equestria. “I was walking down to Fluttershy’s house to invite her to my weekly party that I throw for everypony who might be needing a little pick-me-up in their week, and I saw a pony in the Everfree forest.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Wow Pinkie, that IS weird…” Pinkie snuffed. “I haven’t got to THAT yet! The weird part is that he was all alone and he looked like a Pegasus that was missing his wings! And no, he wasn’t an Earth pony. There were places where he used to have wings.” At this, Pinkie’s usual chipper attitude wilted somewhat. “And the worst part is, he looked really sad. I was gonna invite him to the party so we might have a new friend, but as soon as I started towards him, he ran off!” “Hmmm, that is odd Pinkie.” Twilight trotted over to her as she put the last of the displaced objects in place. “Do you know who he was?” Pinkie shook her head. “Uh-uh.” Twilight rested on her haunches and thought for a minute. A Pegasus without wings? I’ve never heard of such a thing. To Pinkie she said, “Why don’t we go ask Fluttershy if she’s ever seen this pony before? Maybe she might know since she lives close to the Everfree forest. Or, if not, maybe we can ask Zecora?” From out of nowhere, Pinkie produced a Sherlock-style hat and bubble pipe. “A mystery! I looooove Mysteries! I’ll go round up the other girls and we can solve it together!” And she was off like a pink bullet. Twilight Sparkle slapped her forehead. She called out to the little purple and green dragon that was her assistant, “Spike, I’m going out for a while, so look after the library!” Ten minutes later, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie, resplendent in her “Mystery Solving Costume” were trotting down the road to Fluttershy’s house. “You mean ta tell me he had stumps er sumthin’ where his wings were supposed ta be?” Pinkie answered Applejack. “I couldn’t really tell, he was far away. But he just reminded me of what Dashie would look like if she didn’t have wings.” Above them, the cyan pegasus shuddered, if it were possible to do a thing like that while flying. “That gives me the creeps Pinkie, I wish you’d quit sayin’ it like that! The white unicorn, Rarity, shook her head. “The poor darling! If that’s the case he must feel dreadful! It would be like running around with last year’s fashions on. Ugh!” As they chatted, the approached a small cottage, and in the meadow surrounding it was a pink and yellow pegasus surrounded by a legion of forest animals. Pinkie cried out “Hey Fluttershy, we’re here!” The little pegasus jumped, startled at the loud outburst. “Oh, h-hi everypony. I was just taking care of some of my animal friends, and I guess I was too busy to notice you. I’m sorry.” Rainbow dash landed next to her. “Don’t sweat it Fluttershy! We know how you get when animals are involved.” Applejack slapped her on the back. “Yeah, sugarcube! In fact we might oughta apologize fer sneakin’ up on you.” “Th-thanks girls, but you really don’t have to worry about it. Unless you want to, of course…” Twilight spoke up, “Actually Fluttershy, we have a kind of unusual question for you. Pinkie said she was coming to your house and saw a strange pegasus with no wings near the Everfree. We were wondering if maybe you had seen him too?” Fluttershy perked up a little. “Oh, yes, on several occasions! But he always seemed to want to be by himself, so I never bothered him.” “So you never asked him for his name?” “Oh, no, I would never bother somepony who wants to be alone. But he looked so sad, I wanted to.” Pinkie Pie puffed on her bubble pipe. “Hmmm, so now we have two witnesses! But still no clues! So I guess we go to Zecora’s now, huh Twilight?” Twilight nodded. “If anypony would know about something strange, it would definitely be her!” And once again, now with Fluttershy in tow, the ponies headed down the road and into the Everfree forest. When they knocked at the house built into a tree, Zecora, the mystical Zebra who lived there greeted them, as always, in rhyme. “Welcome, ponies, to my humble shack! Perhaps you would like a little snack? Or is it maybe that Ponyville is under attack?” Applejack shook her head. “Actually Zecora, we kinda got a question we were hopin’ you could answer. Pinkie and Fluttershy both said they seen a strange pony hereabouts that nopony’s ever seen before, and we wanted to know if you’d seen him. Pegasus fella, lookin’ like he lost his wings?” Zecora smiled. “The lonesome pony that stays all alone? And where he had wings there is now only bone? I have seen him here in the Everfree, and he never talks or bothers me. If it is the lone one you seek, he lives in a cave by Laughing Stone Creek.” “Thanks, Zecora!” said Twilight. “We were hoping you could help us get to the bottom of this.” “Helping you girls is my great pleasure,” quipped the zebra, “And your friendship is always my greatest treasure!” As they left Zecora’s hut, Rarity noticed Rainbow Dash lagging behind a little bit, not her usual fast-as-lightning self. “What’s the matter Rainbow darling?” The cyan pony landed next to her and trotted. “I dunno Rarity. But I have a weird feeling about all this.” The white unicorn smiled. “Are you having a ‘Pinkie Pie Forecasting Feeling’?” Pinkie Pie’s head popped up. “Someone say my name?” Rainbow ignored her. “Nah, just something makes me feel like I’m having Déjà vu, ya know? I guess we’ll find out when we meet this guy.” Later, all six ponies were crouched underneath the bridge that spanned Laughing Stone Creek. Their eyes were trained on the cave that was about thirty yards away from them. “See anything yet?” Rainbow shushed Pinkie Pie. “No! But if you keep asking every ten seconds, you might scare him off!” Just then, they heard hooves clopping across the bridge. They held their breath as a black pony with white hair came around the corner and trotted toward the cave. He had saddlebags on, filled with firewood. And true to the witnesses, where he should have had wings, there were only two stumps with bone showing out of the top where the skin had healed around it. “My goodness!” Rarity gasped. His ears perked up. “Who or whatever you are, show yourself! I am not frightened by any creature, nor will you surprise me. So you might as well come out and face me!” The six friends slowly came out from under the bridge and Twilight spoke. “Hi there! My friends had seen you before, and we let our curiosity get the better of us. I’m Twilight Sparkle, what’s your name?” “My name is Razor Wing. I’m sorry if you own this forest, and I’ve been trespassing.” “We don’t own this forest sugarcube!” Applejack smiled. “We were just kinda wonderin’ who would live out here besides our friend Zacora.” The whole time, Rainbow Dash had been staring at the stranger with her mouth hanging open. Pinkie Pie noticed. “Hey, Dashie, Opal got your tongue? If you don’t close your mouth the horseflies will get in!” Razor Wing had noticed Rainbow Dash too. “Rainbow? Has it been so long?” Rainbow Dash just stared. “You should be dead.”
Once You Start Running...Five ponies stared, first at Rainbow Dash, then at Razor Wing, then back at Rainbow. Applejack broke the silence first. “Ahm assumin’ ya’ll know each other?” Razor Wing smiled. “Of course we do! Rainbow only lived a couple of houses down from mine in Cloudsdale. Since she figured out how to use her wings she was always zipping up and down the street, and she made foal-sitting VERY difficult for me.” Pinkie Pie jumped up and down. “Oh my goodness! You were around Dashie when she was young? That’s so amazing! We should have an Old-Friends-Reunited Party!” Rainbow Dash still had a look of shock on her face. “No, this isn’t right! I heard the reports! I went to your funeral! We all thought you were dead! Where have you been? Why didn’t you come back?” The black pegasus’ eyes fell. “I don’t want to talk about that.” Rainbow persisted. “You vanished without a trace, except for the feathers and the blood! Why are you still alive?” The six ponies stared at Razor Wing. He turned his back to them. “I said I don’t want to talk about it.” Twilight sidled up to Rainbow. She whispered, “Maybe it would be better if you just left it alone?” Fine, thought Rainbow. But he better explain all of this real soon. Aloud she said, “Alright, Razor, I’ll drop it. But why are you living way out here?” Razor Wing turned back towards the group. “Because I like it out here, away from everypony. It’s just me and nature. Nopony around to ask questions.” The awkwardness was palpable. Rarity spoke up. “Look at the time! I must return home soon, and fix supper for Sweetie Belle and I. Why don’t you all come to my boutique for supper? I just found a recipe for the most divine Bluegrass Soup!” The other ponies nodded their heads, except for Razor. “I’m good out here. I’ve already prepared some daisies and sunflowers for dinner.” Rainbow frowned. “Can I come back and see you tomorrow?” The black pegasus smiled, and everypony present could see the pain in it. “Of course you can, Dash. I’ve got enough firewood for a couple of days, so I’ll be here all day tomorrow.” The six ponies waved to Razor, and headed back toward Ponyville. As they walked, Applejack pulled Rainbow aside. “Y’know, Rarity is gonna pump ya for details at dinner, right?” The cyan pony grimaced. “Yeah, I know.” Twenty minutes later all six ponies were gathered at Rarity’s Boutique around a fantastic supper, and the white unicorn was almost vibrating with excitement. “So, Rainbow, dish! How and where do you know Razor from, and whatever did you mean about him supposedly being dead?” Applejack elbowed Rainbow Dash. “Told ya!” Rainbow sighed, and put down her spoon. “Well, like Razor said, he used to live down the street from me. He was an instructor at flight school, one of the best. I remember him being like this awesome older brother, who always asked how my flying was coming along. He was never too busy to talk to me or foal-sit. He was the one who recommended me to flight school, and even helped me practice when I had a tough time with something.” Twilight smiled at her friend. “Aww, that’s so cool!” Rainbow’s smile was less enthusiastic. “Yeah, it was. But then one day at flight school, he had dropped by to cheer me on for my advanced flight test. I did great, naturally, and he was so proud. But then, one of the colts tried a maneuver that was really dangerous, and broke his wing taking too many gees. As he fell, Razor noticed, and leapt to the rescue. They both fell for a really long time, and it didn’t look good. Finally, at the last second, he grabbed the colt and tried to pull up, and wound up disappearing into some trees. When the other instructors went to investigate, the colt was fine, but there were blood and feathers everywhere. But no sign of Razor Wing. They searched for hours, and found nothing. So they declared him dead, and held a funeral. I cried so hard. And now the jerk shows up here!” Pinkie Pie wiped a tear from her eye. “Hey, I know what you need! How about an I’m-Sad---“ Rainbow interrupted. “Actually, Pinkie, a party is the last thing I need. I’m gonna go home now.” As the door closed behind the pegasus, the other five ponies stared at each other. Who knew a reunion between friends could be so sad? thought Twilight. The next day, Rainbow Dash flew back to Razor Wing’s cave. She flew much slower than normal, her head full of doubts and questions. Why couldn’t we find him? And after he got better, why didn’t he come back? She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost ran into a tree at the edge of the Everfree Forest. She shook her head, and flew on. When she arrived at the cave, there was nopony there. She panicked, running all around the clearing. “Razor Wing! Where are you? You told me you’d be here you jerk!” She heard splashing behind her, as Razor Wing came up from the water of the river beside the camp. “Jeez, Dash, can’t a stallion take a bath around here?” He was smiling from ear to ear. “Razor! I thought maybe you were gone again. I dunno what I would have done if you… I mean, nice hiding spot!” The black Pegasus shook himself, and trotted over towards the cave. “So, uh, what’s been happenin’ lately? Did you ever graduate from flight school? “Uh, yeah! With my natural talent and the best mentor ever, how could I fail?” Razor smiled. “Still the same old Dash I remember.” “But you’re not the same.” Once again, awkward silence filled the little glade Razor had made home. Neither pony knew what to say, or how to say it. “You know, Razor, we were like brother and sister growing up. Why can’t you just tell me what happened and why you disappeared?” Razor hung is head. “Dash, I…” “Halt in the name of Princess Celestia!” Suddenly, there was a flurry of wings, and the glade was filled with both pegasi and unicorn guards bearing the royal crest. Rainbow Dash’s eyes were as big as saucers, and Razor Wing’s Mane bristled. “Come quietly, and nopony has to get hurt. You are wanted on accusations of theft, trespassing, and destruction of property.” Razor Wing began to bolt. “I’m not going to some stinking prison!” Purple magic bound him, and he slammed to the ground, completely incapacitated. “I’m sorry Dash. But it looks like you aren’t the only part of my past that’s caught up to me.”
Revelation“I cannot believe that Razor is a criminal!” Twilight Sparkle was getting dizzy. She watched as Rainbow Dash did yet another lap around her table. She worried that the pegasus might actually wear a trough in the floor as she paced around. She had arrived at Twilight’s door with eyes on fire and mouth going almost as fast as Pinkie’s. From what she had gathered Rainbow’s friend Razor Wing, whom they had just met a day ago, had been arrested and dragged off to Canterlot for some pretty serious charges. “Maybe he’s been mistaken?” Rainbow stopped in her tracks, and Twilight was glad she had distracted her. “There’s no way! They had a wanted poster that described him down to his Cutie Mark! What am I supposed to do?” She resumed her pacing, and Twilight just shook her head. “What if we went and talked to Celestia for him? You’re her favorite student Twilight! Maybe you can help him!” Now it was Twilight’s turn to stop cold. Did Rainbow Dash just have a reasonable thought? The world must be ready to end! Rainbow shook her head. “Actually, nopony’s seen him in years. Let’s go break him out!” Twilight shook her head. “No, I think you had it right the first time. Let’s go to Canterlot and see what we can find out.” Rainbow snorted for the umpteenth time as she stared out the window of the train. Sitting still wasn’t actually her thing when there was something to be done. Sure, she liked to take naps when she wasn’t busy orchestrating the weather for Ponyville, but when there was action to be had, she wanted it right then. How could Razor have changed so much since I saw him last? Was this the thing that was bothering him? Is he ashamed because he did do something wrong? I’m so confused and I want to know what the buck is going on! She stomped her hoof at the last thought, and broke out of her reverie. She looked over to her friend, who had always been able to help her. “Sorry Twilight. Just a little impatient.” The purple pony smiled. “Actually, we’re pulling into the station now. Just try not to fly to the castle as fast as you can. I kinda have a hard time keeping up with you when you’re breaking the speed of sound.” They got off the train, and Rainbow tried her best to keep her wings from going into overdrive. Princess Celestia had a very rare look of confusion on her face as Twilight and Rainbow explained why they were there. “I’m very sorry my little ponies. But I haven’t ordered my guards to arrest anypony. I had heard of a pony that destroyed an entire village once, and we searched for quite a while for him, but after two weeks we simply gave up and helped rebuild the village. We didn’t quite know what to make of the stories anyways, as most described a wingless pegasus that suddenly grew wings, as well a growing three times his size. He then supposedly spewed fire all over the village, and disappeared.” It was Twilight’s turn to be confused. “But that sounds like high-level unicorn magic, not something a pegasus could do.” Celestia nodded. “Indeed. Which is why we let it go once we never heard anything else.” Rainbow piped up. “But if you didn’t know about him being in Ponyville, then who had him arrested?” “I did!” All three ponies looked up, as Princess Luna strode into the throne room. She radiated a dark beauty, and all who beheld her couldn’t help but be a little afraid, no matter how long it had been since her reformation. Celestia came down from her throne. “What is the meaning of this, sister? Why did you have somepony detained in my name, and on hearsay and rumor?” Luna stood tall under her sister’s withering gaze. “I did not have him detained under false pretenses. He IS the pegasus responsible for the destruction in Plowston. I hadn’t ascertained his identity until he slept close to our realm. He has horrible dreams about what happened there, and as I watch over ponies dreams at night, it was this that lead me to detain him.” Twilight stepped in. “But Princess Luna, he couldn’t possibly have the kind of powers the stories described! Unless he had a unicorn accomplice, then he might have just been there when it happened.” “Hey!” The two Alicorns and Twilight spun to see a very disturbed Rainbow Dash. Her face was red, and her eyes held pain and anger in equal doses. “That’s my friend you’re talking about! Not some shady criminal, or evil wizard, or legendary destroyer of villages! He’s the pegasus that taught me to fly, who was like my big brother cheering me on and listening when I had a problem. And then he disappeared after a horrible accident making everyone think he was dead! I want some bucking answers now!” Twilight grimaced and waited for one of the princesses to tongue-lash the impertinent pegasus. But Luna just looked concerned, and Celestia walked over to Rainbow and put her wing around her. “I’m very sorry Rainbow Dash. We forget sometimes that you are the Element of Loyalty, and once again you have shown yourself admirably. But we are all just trying to figure out what these events have to do with each other. Aren’t we Luna?” Luna frowned. “The thing is this. As I was watching his dreams, I saw something in Razor Wing’s memories that startled me. I daresay I was even a little scared. You see, when Razor Wing destroyed Plowston, he was possessed by Nightmare Moon. Her magic did those things to him, making him bigger and giving him wings.” Rainbow turned pale. “My friend is the new host of Nightmare Moon?” “Not anymore” There stood Razor Wing, bound in chains and surrounded by guards. There wasn’t a sound as he spoke his next words. “I exorcised myself.”
