It was a dark and stormy night.
Right on schedule. Timeturner wasn´t the least fazed by the roaring thunderstorm just outside the window of the Town Hall. After all, he was the one who scheduled the downpour, giving a severe scold to the weather team for slacking off during the first day of the summer season. Every year it was the same, the pegasi were late on their shifts, especially a certain rainbow-mane one; the farmers work was late due to the lack of rain water and who did they go to complain to? Of course, the poor Mayor Mare.
Timeturner frowned; he had been a friend of the bespectacled mare for years. They met each other in college and since then had been close acquaintances. He was the godfather of her child. He even kept the secret of her natural mane color all this time! And understandably was upset and disappointed at those little three fillies for exposing it in public. In all those years of friendship, he learned to accept that ,while smart and dedicated to her job, Mayor Mare had a tendency to relegate certain duties, not out of vagrancy, far from it; but because she believe that leadership demand taking a step aside. The result? The population of Ponyville was under the impression that she liked skipping work. Timeturner frowned again. Mayor Mare was more than willing to get her hooves dirty, didn´t she work alongside all the other ponies during the last Winter Wrap- Up? But when it came to paperwork and damage control she lent those duties to her staff, among them was Timeturner. Organization was definitely not one of her skills, that was a task more fitting for ponies attentive to details, as Twilight Sparkle proved some time ago, again during the latest wrap of winter. Although Timeturner wished she had done so without making the Mayor look like an incompetent clerk.
Timeturner hold a voluminous pile of paper on his mouth as the rain hit the windows of the base floor. He was on his element, helping sort all of the due paperwork while Mayor Mare rested on her house with her family. That was perfect, he didn´t had a family to return, only his work. Timeturner had no worries in the world whatsoever.
Except that sound. That sound, barely noticeable. He put the papers on the table and perked his ears. There it was again, a small repetitive sound, like dripping water or tiny footsteps. At first he thought it was the rain, hitting the window but the sound was different and it was getting louder, no, it was getting closer. Timeturner turned over and looked around the office. The only source of light was the desk lamp, a small oil lamp whose light only covered said desk and few steps ahead. The rest of the room was covered in darkness. An occasional lightning bolt will clear the room, bathing it in a dim white light but that did little to ease Timerturner nerves.
There was something in the room with him.
He knew it wasn´t any other pony. He had sent the entire staff to rest about an hour ago and the pegasi retired after setting the storm cloud. No, this was something else entirely. This was some other kind of creature, stalking him, watching his every move. He could feel it, whatever it was; it kept just outside of his sight, out of the corner of his eye.
He looked behind and saw nothing.
He turned back and that was the last he saw.
******
Doctor Monitor levitated a chart while the nurses run around the room, moving all sorts of equipment. He frowned at the results; there was no medical explanation for this. This was a magical affliction and despite being a unicorn himself this was way beyond his filed of expertise. He needed the town best scholar in magic. Luckily she entered the room in that exact moment.
Twilight Sparkle made her way into the room, led by Nurse Sweetheart. The second she saw her, Mayor Mare jumped to her arms. After the initial shock, Twilight began caressing her, trying to calm the sobbing mare down. She felt strange acting like this with a mare old enough to be her mother.
"Glad you could make it, Miss Sparkle." Doctor Monitor said.
Twilight simply nodded and pulled Mayor Mare aside. The devastated mare was tended by the nurses while she moved next to the bed. She first looked at Doctor Monitor who nodded once and then removed the sheets.
Terror. Pure raw terror. That was what was written all over Timeturner´s face. His jaw as locked in a mute scream, his eyes were devoid of all semblance of color and even his coat and mane were whited. It was like he was frozen in time, forever trapped in a state of fright.
Twilight couldn´t handle the sight anymore and turned over so Doctor Monitor covered him again.
"What happened to him?" she asked.
"I was hoping you could provide an answer, Miss Sparkle."
"Me? You´re the doctor!"
"Yes but his condition has nothing to with medicine. According to all our tests he´s perfectly fine..."
"FINE?! Does that seem like fine?!" Twilight yelled and her words made the Mayor broke into tears again.
"What I meant is that psychically there’s nothing wrong with Mr. Timeturner." Doctor Monitor continued while the nurses scolded Twilight with their looks. "All of his body functions are stable but he´s not reacting to any kind of stimuli. I recall there´s a spell that can cause a similar effect."
"Yes, spell number 14. I accidentally froze my brother in a stand position for four hours. Everypony assumed that he was just practicing for the Royal Guard like usual..."
"Well, this is definitely no innocent prank." Doctor Monitor adjusted his glasses, ignoring Twilight offended look. She didn´t do it as a prank, it was an accident. She said so. "Whoever did this to Mr. Timeturner it froze him permanently and, unfortunately since I have no idea what spell was used on him, I have no means to help him. Any suggestions miss Sparkle?"
Twilight tried to think of something but she simply didn´t have a solution. She shook her head, resigned. Unable to hold back her tears for her friend, Mayor Mare broke down again.
Doctor Monitor let go a stoic cough and moved back into the table. The nurses did their best to calm the Mayor and Twilight looked back at that frozen corpse in the table, shivering at the mere thought of who could do such a thing.
Or what.
******
"So let me get this straight, there´s a ghost in the Town Hall..."
"I never said it was a ghost Rainbow." Twilight said, double-checking her list while her friend hovered over her head.
"Ghost, spectre, apparition, animus anima; whatever you want to call her! The point is there´s a dangerous monster in the Town Hall!"
"I never said it was a monster either. I only said something attacked Mr. Timeturner. Wait, how did you last call it?"
Ignoring Twilight, Rainbow shouted with her chest pumped with excitement. "All right! So there´s a monster on the loose and we´re gonna catch it!"
"Uh uh are we gonna be Ghostbusters!!" Pinkie Pie jumped in excitement.
"No Pinkie, we´re not chasing ghost; and we´re not going to chase a monster either. I´m going to search for the thing that attacked Mr. Timeturner"
"Excuse me but why do you keep calling it a thing, sugarcube?" Applejack asked while Rainbow pouted.
"To be honest, I just simply can´t believe anypony could do something so horrible to Mr. Timeturner." Twilight confessed.
"Could it be it was simply a thief who was caught in the act and simply performed the first spell he could think off?" Rarity suggested.
"I don´t think so Rarity. After they found Mr. Timeturner they searched the entire building and found nothing was missing. Besides, nopony could perform such a horrible spell."
"Twilight, you´re making me nervous..." Fluttershy said, her wings tucking on her back.
"I´m sorry but you didn´t saw his expression. What was done to him was...in-equine."
The girls all looked at each other with different degrees of both concern and fear.
"Anyways girls, tonight I´ll spend the night in the Town Hall searching for the source of this attack."
"And what makes you think you can do just that?" Applejack stepped in.
"Because, Applejack, I´ve developed a spell to search for magic sources. I need to do a thoughtful search over the entire building and it must be done tonight." Twilight explained.
"What I meant is what makes you think that you will be doing it alone?" and the other four girls stood behind Applejack, making it clear that the six of them we´re going together.
"That´s right! We´re all going with you, Twilight!!"
They turned over to the source of the voice and found a pretty hilarious sight. Spike wielding what he assumed to be an armor, made of course of cookware; and standing on the doorway with a wooden spoon for a lance.
Rainbow and Pinkie wasted no time to fall into the ground and laugh while Rarity and Fluttershy covered their wide smiles.
"Spike, what do you think you´re doing?" Twilight demanded to know.
"I´m not letting six girls go into a haunted house! You need a man to protect you! Especially such a delicate lady as Rarity..." he explained with dreamy eyes.
Rarity faked an "Oh my" gesture while Applejack shook the bowl that he used as a helmet. "Is that so, tough guy?"
"Oh my, thank heavens we have some brave knight like Spike to protect us!" Fluttershy said, trying to sound sincere.
"Yeah otherwise we will be defenseless!" Rainbow said, making no effort to hide her sarcasm.
Spike didn´t notice any of that and just puffed his chest, filled with male proud.
"All right girls, enough chitchat. We have work to do!" Twilight ordered and all the ponies and Spike headed for the Town Hall.
*****
Standing in front of the tall building, the group remembered that expression that say that schools are terrifying at night. This may not be a school but under the moon light it was terrifying. This was one of those occasions when Twilight preferred that Princess Luna dropped her sense for dramatics and removed those clouds from the moon. It only made the atmosphere creepier.
"Maybe this wasn´t a good idea..." Fluttershy said, already cowering in fear.
"Come on girls. Let´s go in." Twilight said and she magically opened the doors.
Inside the place was even more terrifying. There were still some leaks and patch holes from the last time the place needed emergency repairs, making the building seem like an old wounded animal. There was no wind blowing but the sound of Rainbows wings flapping caused an echo eerie enough to make them clinch. Twilight levitated a set of flashlights, she brought enough so they wouldn´t need to depend on her and Rarity’s magic for light.
"Okay, the first thing we must do is..."
"SPLIT UP!" Pinkie Pie interrupted Twilight.
"Pardon?" Applejack said.
"It´s mystery research 101! Any team of mystery solvers knows they need to split up in the dark creepy mansion!"
"Mystery solvers?" Rainbow asked.
"That´s right! Twilight here is the bespectacled egghead who solve the mystery, Rarity is the fashion obsessed one who always get kidnapped, AJ is the tough guy who´s full of himself, Fluttershy is the cowardly comedy relief who´s always running away, Dashie is the loud obnoxious sidekick who´s always after a fight, and me and Spike are the comedic duo who wave at the audience! Hi audience!" and she waved at thin air.
Suffice to say, nobody understood any of that and they were a bit offended by their assigned roles.
"Pinkie Pie, that´s ridiculous! Splitting up is the worst idea we could have!" Twilight chastised her.
"I don’t know Twi. I mean, Fluttershy and me could cover a lot more ground if we just fly to the upper floors." Rainbow suggested.
"I´m sure that YOU and Fluttershy could easily just fly around but if there’s something lurking around here I believe we must rely in the strength of numbers." Twilight countered.
"That seems all nice and sound, sugarcube. But I think Pinkie is right on this one. Staying all together actually makes us an easy target. I suggested we split in pairs, that way we could cover each other´s backs." Applejack said.
Twilight sighed and conceded. "Fine. Rainbow Dash, take Fluttershy to the second floor."
"I´ll escort lady Rarity!" Spike interrupted.
"I´ll take Rares to the first floor. Twilight, you take Spike and Pinkie and search across this floor." Applejack basically took command of the group.
Still it seemed like a good plan so they follow through. Rainbow made a salute and took the reluctant Fluttershy away, Pinkie happily hopped after the pouting Spike and the concerned Twilight and finally Applejack lead Rarity to the stairs, holding a flashlight on her mouth.
Once they left, they took the comforting light with them, submerging the doorway in hideous darkness.
*****
Rarity was not an easily frightened mare but the whole atmosphere was making her feel nervous. The decoration alone was enough to make her cringe but it was the idea that the building wasn’t empty, that something else beside the seven of them was there, something that they couldn’t see but could be very well watching them.
"Applejack, what do you make of all this?"
Applejack tried to said something but she was still holding the flashlights so Rarity levitated it away. "I was saying that I´m actually more concerned about Twilight."
"Why? She seemed fine to me, maybe a little nervous."
"She was more than just nervous. She´s scared. She saw something, whatever it was that made all the hairs on her tail stand up straight. She is feeling something and she´s not sharing it with us."
"What could she possibly be hiding from us."
"I don´t know, some unicorn mumbo jumbo. We wouldn´t get it anyways."
"Excuse me but in case you haven´t noticed it, I am a unicorn."
"Oh you are? Since you hardly make any fancy magic I kept forgetting."
Rarity put on her best offended face. This was hardly that moment to be teasing her, especially about that matter; but it helped ease Rarity’s nerves so she decided to ignore it.
They kept walking for a few more minutes until they hear it.
"Applejack..."
"I know. I heard it too."
What was it? Was it footsteps? No, they were lighter. Almost like flapping wings. But Rainbow and Fluttershy were already in the upper floor and they were in a closed hallway. There was no possible way they could be hearing them. Rarity felt something soft caressed her and she dropped the flashlight. Luckily it didn’t catch fire instead it just went off the problem was it led them into pitch darkness.
"Rarity, I can´t see a thing! Light up!" the hallways had no windows. Now rarity was their only source of light. She tried to light up her horn but she couldn’t.
Rarity was feeling both embarrassed and terrified. There was something in there with them and she couldn´t even cast a tiny light to see it. Maybe, because she didn´t want to see it.
"Ah! Who’s holding my hoof?!"
"It´s me Rares. Now calm down and do your magic."
Applejack comforting tone and warn hoof were the needed fuel for her magic to work. Slowly a beacon of white light covered the hallways revealing the two ponies’ figures. Rarity smiled at Applejack who smiled back. Their smiles disappeared once they remembered the third wheel.
They looked over their backs but there was nobody there.
*****
"...and then Celestia send it to the moon."
"Woah, that was quite a story Spike. Did you hear that Twilight?!"
Twilight didn´t, she was searching Timeturner´s office for any clues and was getting more and more frustrated for the second. It was nothing more but simply paperwork, profits from the town fair, the weather patrol schedule, several orders of hair dye, and so forth; nothing that could point at the identity of the assaulter. It seemed like Rarity’s theory had no grounds which could only meant that Twilight´s theory was right all along.
This was the work of some other creature.
"Uh uh dry tongue! Dry tongue!" Pinkie suddenly jumped and yelled.
"Hold on, I think I brought some juice..."
"It’s not that Spike! When my tongue gets dry it means that somepony is hiding something..." Pinkie searched across the room finally stopping at Twilight, who simply arched an eyebrow in confusion. "YOU! You have been hiding something from us Twilight!"
"What?"
"Ever since you returned form the hospital you have been acting all suspicious-malicious! You didn’t tell us the whole truth, now. You. Must. Talk!" and Pinkie added a push to each dot in that sentence.
"Pinkie, stop being ridiculous! I already told you everything, I visited Mr. Timeturner, he looked like he had seeing a ghost and then I went back home and you guys insisted in coming with me...."
"THAT¨S NOT IT! I know you´re hiding something else....something that only you know."
Twilight clinched. "Wha-what do you mea..."
"I don´t like when ponies lie Twilight. Especially not my friends."
Spike looked nervously at Pinkie and Twilight back and forth. He didn´t like how tense the ambiance was, but he couldn’t gather to courage to say anything.
The scream that engulfed the entire building did it for him.
****
"All right Fluttershy, it´s time to go monster hunting! Fluttershy? Fluttershy, come out!" and Rainbow pulled the shivering pegasus from behind a desk. "What are you doing?"
"I...I think we better go back to Twilight and the rest." she stuttered.
"Oh no, you heard her! We need to split up and cover each other´s backs!"
"That was Applejack..." Rainbow lifted Fluttershy and held her close in a confident hug.
"Come on, you can´t possibly tell me you´re scared of the dark, uh?"
"...yes. I´m also sacred of dragons and heights and loud noises and milk..."
"Fluttershy, you have nothing to worry right now. Remember that I´m at your side."
Fluttershy smiled back at Rainbow. She may be loud, rude and obnoxious but Rainbow was the most loyal and brave of all of her friends. She picked the lamplight and moved into the darkness.
They walked for a few minutes. Fluttershy did, too afraid to flap her wings while Rainbow hovered over her, the harsh flicker of her wings the only sound in the entire building. They couldn´t hear Rarity and Applejack going up the stairs or the trio in the base floor entering the office.
"Boy, this place is reallyyyy creepy. I mean, look at this old geezer!" Rainbow said pointing at a painting.
"Rainbow, that´s Ponyville first Mayor."
"Uh, I thought Granny Smith was Ponyville first Mayor."
Fluttershy was about to say something when she instead turned over.
"Ra-rainbow did you hear that?"
"Stay here."
And Rainbow ventured into the darkness, leaving Fluttershy behind.
She held the lamplight closer to her chest. She wished that some other pony could be there with her. Rarity or maybe Twilight, she even wanted Spike to be there and act all brave and knightly. She needed somebody else there to protect her, to remind her that there was nothing lurking in the shadows.
But there was something there.
Twilight said so and now Rainbow had foolish ventured into the lion´s den. Fluttershy gulped and sat straight. If there´s was something in there Rainbow won´t face it alone. She was her friend and she was going to protect her.
A vague shape was visibly in the darkness. Fluttershy did her best to stand still.
The shape was getting closer. There was not enough light to make out what it was but it definitely wasn´t Rainbow.
Fluttersh held her ground. She wasn’t going to move. The shape kept getting closer and closer. Fluttershy couldn’t control her shaking, her entire body was trembling. The shape was now almost visible, but Fluttershy didn´t need any light to make out its terrible features, to distinguish its sharp claws, to feel its fiery breath, to recognize the hungry roar of its stomach.
Fluttershy remained still thought, even when the dragon loomed over her.
"Fluttershy, I didn’t found anything....Fluttershy! What happened? Fluttershy!"
She wasn´t responding. She was hardly breathing. Fluttershy was petrified, her face locked in a mute scream and her eyes devoid of any color.
Rainbow turned over to face the source of the loud stomping. She saw it coming, all hairy and dirty, with all her hideous teeth and stinky drooling.
"You did this to Fluttershy?!"
It got closer.
"You´re gonna pay for that, you hear me?!"
It got closer.
"You´re not scaring me! You´re not scaring me...You´re not sca-"
*****
Twilight, Spike and Pinkie busted into the first floor running into Applejack and Rarity who came out form the hallways door.
"Did you guys hear the scream?" Spike asked.
"What scream? We just get off an awful situatio..." Rarity began but Twilight ignored her and ran straight to the floors, hurrying to the second floor, all the while praying to Celestia for her suspicious to be wrong.
But they were right. Lying in the floor there were two frozen pegasi.
"Fluttershy!" Rarity cried and hold her friend, trying to wake her up.
"It´s the same...its exactly the same." Twilight mumbled.
"MY TONGUE IS DRY!!!"
"Oh please Pinkamena, this isn´t the time! Spike, be a dear and fetch her a drink."
Spike was about to do just that, used to follow everyone of Rarity’s commands but Pinkie pushed him aside.
"You know something Twilight! Now say it!"
"Calm down, y´all. We better get these two downstairs so we can take a good look at them."
Like always, Applejack was the voice of reason. She effortlessly carried both pegasi on her back and made her way to the main hall.
****
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy rested on a couch, still frozen in those frightened poses.
"What´s wrong with them?" Rarity asked, taking the time to clean Fluttershy´s forehead with a handkerchief.
"It’s the same as Mr. Timeturner. Some kind spell that...locks them in a state of permanent fright, like they forever trapped screaming." Twilight explained.
"Can you do anything for them?" Applejack asked.
"I´m trying but since I ignore which spell it was I’m afraid that anything I could try may hurt them."
"AGGGH! I can´t stand it! My tongue is desert-dry!"
"Pinkie for Celestia´s sake, just have a drink!" Rarity complained.
"It´s not that! It´s Twilight! She´s had been lying and tying and keep secrets form us!!"
"Stop it Pinkie! I already told you I’m not lying!"
"But you are hiding something for us, aren´t you sugarcube? I was talking that with Rares a moment ago, ever since you came from the hospital you have been acting strange. What is it that you´re hiding?" Applejack pressed her.
Twilight backed down, moving into the wall.
"Twilight, what’s´ happening dear?" Rarity inquired.
She moved further back.
"Twilight..." Spike was almost in the break of tears, filled with confusion and fear.
Twilight finally hit the wall.
"SAY IT!"
"STOP IT! Stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it!! Stop whispering at me! Ever since that moment, since I saw those blank eyes, I´ve had been hearing you! I can´t stand it anymore! It’s driving me crazy!!"
Twilight had completely lost it. She looked at her friends and now they were the ones backing down in fear.
"It’s one of you, isn´t it? You replaced one of my friends! When was it? At the doorway when we split? Or even in the library before we came here? It doesn’t matter! I prepared a spell because I know, I know you were in here!" and Twilight lighted her horn preparing a powerful spell.
"She´s gone crazy! Pinkie, help me restrain her!" Applejack barked and both earth ponies grabbed her arms.
Twilight struggled and fought with her friends until she couldn’t hold back her magic anymore and it exploded, engulfing the hall in a white light.
Rarity rubbed her eyes, trying to get her vision back. The first thing she saw was Applejack standing right in front of her.
"Oh Applejack, thank Celestia! Wha-"
Sharp teeth, insect wings, holed legs, broken horn and worst of all; green eyes. Green alien eyes that suck Rarity in filling her mind with nightmarish visions.
Rarity fainted.
Spike, Pinkie and Twilight in that order, regained consciousness. Spike rushed to hold Rarity while Pinkie and Twilight stood in horror watching the holed shaped pony monster.
"A cha-cha-changeling?" Pinkie stuttered.
"I knew it. That was the magic I felt, the magic that had been trying to get into my head this whole time." Twilight said.
The changeling grinned and lighted its horn. Twilight kept a stern face, her mind now cleared of all intruding thoughts. The changeling smiled wider and shot a magical blast at her.
The blast was interrupted by a pink body jumping in between.
"PINKIE!!"
Twilight grabbed her friend. Her body was smoking and a burnt mark stained her bright coat.
"I´m...sorry Twi. I´m so..."
"No, don´t be. It was the changeling; it was messing with our minds. You´re were right, you´re always rights. That damn Pinkie Sense of yours I can´t get it but it’s always right!"
Pinkie smiled at this and then passed out.
At the same moment, Rarity regained conscience. She noticed Spike standing next of her, then Twilight holding Pinkie and then the panting changeling. The changeling looked back at her and a sudden surge of power flooded the room.
"What´s happening?" Spike yelled among all the wind and magical energy flowing around.
"It´s feeding on our fears!" Twilight yelled back.
"But they feed of love!" Rarity yelled too, holding Spike close.
"This one doesn´t!"
"Why?" Spike and Rarity yelled.
"Because you were afraid, didn´t you?" Twilight was talking to the changeling who was starting to grow and change, getting more and more monstrous. "You crashed here when my brother and Cadence expelled you. You crashed through the roof and hide in the attic. You probably scared somepony by accident and then you felt it, fear. Just like love is an emotion, an emotion always left residual magic, magic that your kind can feed on. So you stay here, scaring other ponies and feeding on their fear but unlike love that feeling is intoxicating, you started to need more and more, you couldn’t control the hunger. Now you’re not just feeding with fear, you’re creating fear, getting into our heads and absorbing all of our life energy!"
The changeling cut Twilight exposition with a growl so strong that it actually stomp her against a wall. Rarity couldn’t do anything but cry and cower in fear. Spike held her closer, willing to put his life in risk to protect her. The changeling got closer at them, its teeth dripping with vicious hunger and then Spike opened his eyes.
The change was instantaneous. One second a tiny baby dragon the next, a roaring purple beast. The now adult dragon Spike clobbered the changeling with a fierce fist. The changeling roared back at Spike who pinned it to the ground in response. The changeling bit him, its teeth sharp enough to pierce through his scales. Spike roared again and let go a wave of green flames. The changeling began absorbing the magic of the flames, wishing to get stronger, instead its body began to shiver and crumble, it trembled more and more. Twilight saw it and understood was happening. She yelled at Rarity to take cover. The changeling shrieked and then exploded in a massive light of green magic.
And then silence.
*****
"Okay I got that whole changeling feeding on fear and what-have-you but what about Spike, why did he go all like Spikezilla?" Rainbow Dash asked while waving her hoof.
They were all back in the library, the morning sun had already vanquished the nightmare. The girls were gathered around Twilight bed, where Spike was loudly snoring.
"My guess is that his desire to protect Rarity was so strong that he was actually able to gather all his potential and let it go. Unlike that time he let the greed possessed him, this time he was acting out of pure love." Twilight ventured.
"Oh my darling Spikey-wikey! You did were my knight in scaly armor!" Rarity said and planted a big kiss on his cheek. While he didn´t wake up he put on the biggest smile.
"Well, I´m glad he saved us all. Otherwise you will have never found me in that closet." Applejack said, scratching her head. She barely remember anything expect being rendered unconscious. Unlike the others, the changeling didn’t have time to feed on her, so it just knocked her down and locked her.
"Yeah and me and Flutters will still be stiff like statues." Rainbow joked and Fluttershy slightly blushed.
A few hours ago, Timeturner woke up in the hospital. The Mayor cried and hugged her old and confused friend while the nurses let go of their tears, one of them hitting Doctor Monitor to stop checking his notes and just smile along.
"Hey girls! You know what this calls for? A paraauhauhauah!"
"Pinkie, don´t jump around! You´re still recovering!" Twilight chastised her.
"Ugh okie-dokie...hey girls, I just remembered something I wanted to ask! Twilight, you say the changeling was taking the form of our worst fears, right?"
"Umh yes..."
"So what did you girls saw? I didn´t saw anything because I was zapped right away and AJ was knocked down but what about you?"
"I di-didn’t saw anything. What, you think I’m a scaredy cat or something?" Rainbow lied.
"I don´t want to talk about it." Fluttershy admitted.
"I rather not discuss it, Pinkie." Rarity bluntly said.
"Rainbow Dash." Twilight said and everypony gasped and then looked at Rainbow, whose face was a mix of anger and confusion. "I saw you falling to perform your Sonic Rainboom. Without it we would have never met and to have never met you, any of you, is my biggest fear."
They didn´t try to hide her tears. The five of them moved and hugged Twilight.
Outside, a bright and sunny day welcomed Ponyville.
Free of any nightmares.
