Wingsby SkyMunkiChaptersFlightNo Mane, No TailThe HerbalistEnsnaredArrivalFlightFluttershy's cottage was quiet. It was usually quiet, but today it was oddly silent. It was for this reason that Rainbow Dash went to check on her. She knocked with a cobalt hoof and waited impatiently for an answer. There wasn't one. Dash shoved her head against the door and stared through the peephole, but nopony was in. "Angel! You there?" called Dash. The door swung open, and the mare looked down to see Fluttershy's pet bunny, Angel. He looked up with an eyebrow raised. "D'you know where Fluttershy is?" Angel ran across the room and came back with a book in his little paws. He stood infront of Dash and opened it, then shoved his head into the pages, as if reading. "Ah, she's with Twilight?" Rainbow gathered. Angel nodded. "Okay, just checkin'!" With that, the rainbow-maned pony trotted away. She heard the door shut and looked back, and to her surprise she saw Angel hurrying after her. "Oh? What's up Angel?" She asked, confused. Angel rolled his eyes, running alongside her. "Ah, you're bored without Fluttershy, huh?" The white rabbit nodded frantically. "I'm sorry, I'm not really an animal pony..." Rainbow hoofed the ground. Other than her tortoise, Tank, she never really liked animals that much. And cutesy-wootsey bunnies weren't exactly cool. She didn't wanna harm her reputation. Angel looked up at her with big, sad eyes. He put his hands together in a begging gesture. "Well actually, I was gonna go for a fly, but-" Angel nodded excitedly, then jumped a bit. Rainbow tilted her head, then opened her wings. "You want to come too?" she sighed. She leant sideways and placed one feathered limb down to the bunny, which he then scrambled up. Angel perched at the end of her neck and held onto her mane, smiling with excitement. Rainbow looked to the side and asked, "You ready for this, squirt? I'm the fastest flyer in equestria, y'know." Angel held on a little tighter. Rainbow grinned determinedly and kicked the ground with a hoof, before shooting off in a flurry of colour. The wind pushed against her but she shot through it, so hard that the air collapsed around her, leaving a rainbow-patterned streak when she flew. Angel was holding on for his life. Being a bunny, his feet had never left the floor, and if they had, they had certainly not broken the cloud barrier. He dared to take a quick peek over Rainbow Dash's blurred wings, and saw a huge stretch of lifeless dark green, and knew at once it was Everfree frost. Fluttershy had told him once about how scary it was. He wondered if she was right, or if she was just being, well, Futtershy. The thick treetops engulfed a huge section of land, growing darker and darker toward the centre, an eerie mass of mystery and monsters. Angel turned back to the front and ducked into the mare's mane for fear of falling. In the moment he turned, he saw something that would change his life, and change Ponyville, forever... It was like a shadow. A blur, a memory of a dark-pelted pony with a cyan mane, zooming past so swiftly that Angel wondered whether he'd actually seen it. But he had, because Rainbow Dash had seen it out of the corner of her eye, and inclined her head slightly to catch a clearer glimpse. As she did so, Angel did too. The dark pony turned back and stared with crystal eyes, that seemed to paralyse Rainbow Dash. And then, the shadow pony was gone. Angel yelled out to the mare but it was too late, and they were falling. Rainbow gasped but she couldn't move a muscle and they were being pulled down to the ground fast - and they were right above the centre of Everfree Forest. Her eyes were shut when she regained consciousness. Not that it made any difference when they were open. It was pitch black. She couldn't work out where she was, until she felt some tiny paws on her arm. All of a sudden Dash remembered the fall, and the shadow pony. She attempted to pull herself up, and found that her limbs had recovered most senses of feeling. All her limbs, that was, but her wings. As her magenta eyes adjusted to what little moonlight shone through the trees, Dash could just about see the sparkling eyes of a terrified bunny about a foot from her snout. She nudged him off. "Personal bubble." She muttered, propping herself onto her elbows and craning her sore neck to check out her wings. She let out a small scream, then began rubbing her hoof against her bare back. "My wings!" she wailed. "Where are my wings?" Angel scurried behind her and began searching for her wings. "It was her." Dash suddenly realised, two crystal eyes appearing in her mind. "She stole my wings." Angel didn't know what to say, not that Rainbow would understand him anyway. So he just sat beside her, totally useless. "Without my wings... I'm not a Pegasus anymore... I'm not... Me..." Rainbow felt so empty. The danger of the forest surrounding them felt like nothing compared to this. She stayed there, completely still, covered in cuts and bruises, for what felt like hours. The beats of the forest must have sensed her loss, for nothing came near the two. Not once. It was a long time later, that Rainbow decided on her way to deal with it. "We'll get em back." Dash exclaimed. Angel jumped at the sudden announcement, then immediately turned to listen to her. "We're getting my wings back no matter what, okay? And, to do that, we gotta get out of here." Dash continued. "We'll do it together, I guess." The bunny jumped up and nodded enthusiastically. We'll get them back, he chirped. Author's Note Okay, let's see how this is received. I just started writing and this came from my fingers. Around this, I built a plan, then wrote a description, and here we are. I hope you like this, there's plenty more to come~ No Mane, No TailCrunch. Crunch. Snap. The twigs on the forest floor sounded whenever Dash stepped on them. Angel, on the other hand, was hopping over them silently and gracefully, and a lot quicker than she was. Even though it was already dark, what little light they could see soon drained away, until both of them were bathed in darkness. "C'mere, we'll shelter in that cave. It's too dark to keep on trotting." Rainbow Dash suggested, turning into a gaping whole at the side of a boulder. Angel wasn't too keen on the dark, and definately wasn't fond of sleeping in creepy caves, but he would rather do so than loose Dash. The two had to stick together if they wanted to get out alive. He just had to convince Rainbow Dash. The bunny jumped along and slumped next to her in the mouth of the cave. A biting wind howled through it and Angel shook with cold, then snuggled into Dash for warmth and protection. She gently pushed him back with a hoof and muttered, "No hugging, it's not cool." It was a scary, freezing night and it was hard to hold onto reality, the only sound he could hang onto - the mare's soft snoring. Everfree Forest was too still. Too silent. They must have fallen asleep because all of a sudden there was light, and with it came warmth and, well, just a spark of hope. They got up and started walking through the trees again, without a word. So much walking. A few hours of trotting later, Dash suddenly spoke up. "It's no good, I can't walk any further with such an empty stomach." She looked down at her belly, which gave a wobbly growl in agreement. Angel jumped up and down, finally feeling useful. Fluttershy had taught him all about the kinds of berries a pony should and shouldn't eat, and he didn't know whether they could find any in this Forest but he knew for certain he was going to try his best. He began scampering slightly further ahead, his sensitive nose searching. He continued to do so until his paws were red raw from so much travelling and his nose had been pricked by far too many thorns. And still, as they sat down in a clearing to catch their breath, Angel was rewarded with nothing. In the quiet of the clearing, Rainbow spoke up. "I'm done, I'm ready to be eaten by an Ursa." Don't say that! squeaked Angel indignantly. "C'mon, Squirt, how are we to know which way we're going? We could just be walking around in circles." She was right. Almost every tree, every crooked branch that grasped into the air so it could find sun in this deathly land, looked just like the next. Angel sighed. He flopped down on his back and closed his eyes. Maybe she is right, he thought sadly, maybe this is it. All of the sudden, he remembered something he saw in the split second he shut his eyelids. He jumped up, quick as a flash, and bounded over to a single red berry. He picked it up with a flourish and a huge grin, gave it a big sniff and realised that more of the very same smell was just to his left. He turned eagerly, to see a whole bushell of berries, that should do him for a while! Bubbling over with happiness, he picked each berry and stuffed it gleefully into his mouth. As stuffed as a teddy bear, he staggered back to the clearing and was about to lie back down when he noticed Rainbow Dash. She'd sat up and was giving him a look of daggers. Angel's belly was huge and his face smeared with berries, it was quite clear what he had done. "You found food and you didn't share it!?" Dash cried, standing up angrilly. Angel immediately felt guilty; in his excitement he had completely forgotten about the starving blue pegasus he had been walking beside all day. "I can't believe you! I knew all animals were selfish, greedy furballs, but I was just starting to think you were different." With each word, Angel sank a little further into a bubbling cauldren of regret, but he knew he couldn't defend what he did. Dash was right. "Leave me alone." she said, turning with a swish of her tail and striding away toward the trees. Wait! yelped Angel, chasing after her. She didn't stop, or even look back at him. "No mane, no tail, no friendship!" she hissed, before kicking off and galloping far ahead. Angel sat on the ground, alone with his over-zealous belly and the monsters of Everfree Forest. W-wait! The monsters! Angel panicked and scrambled up a tree, for fear of being attacked. What was he supposed to do without Dash to protect him? He hauled himself to the top of the canopy of leaves and searched for a rainbow mane. He couldn't see any sign of Rainbow Dash and knew for good he had blown it. He slumped into the curve of a branch and stayed there, feeling completely deflated. Out of the blue, a massive shake swayed the whole forest, making Angel fall down from his tree with a shocked squeal and a crash. He looked around, ears pricked and very alert. Something was coming. Something BIG. He sprung from the ground and bounded as quickly as his little legs could carry him away from the creator of the sound. He pounced through long grass and tumbled over protruding tree roots. Even though he was running, the sound was getting louder and the shake stronger; the beast was getting closer. He couldn't keep up his sprint for much longer, each jump was getting harder and the wind seemed to be pushing him back with such strong hands. Angel dared to look back, and as he did he slid into a wide Oak tree, landing upside down on his back. Through this confusing rotated vision, it took him a moment to realise what this towering purple creature was. Fluttershy had only mentioned it one before but it was in passing, he didn't know how to deal with it at all and doubted he ever could. It was a huge, red-eyed purple dragon with angry flames flicking like snakes from its gaping jaws. It stood hundreds of feet in the air and stomped its clawed feet, swung its spiny tail and sent all the nearby trees crashing down, sending lots of little creepy critters hurrying away. How Angel would have liked to do that, but before he could yell for help, he was swept up and trapped in the dragon's giant, squeezing talons. The Herbalist"You dragon, you beast, with eyes of fire Release that critter or the consequences will be dire!" Angel opened his eyes, and spotted a striped pony stood facing the monster. It was a zebra. what an Earth was a Zebra doing here, in Everfree forest? The dragon's tight grip on Angel tightened a little more, and from its chest came a deafening thunder-clap that sounded through the forest. "I shan't tell you again, don't you roar at me, Now let him go in one, two, three..." Angel raised an eyebrow sarcastically. Sure, he appreciated the effort to save his life and such, but how did this zebra expect to defeat a dragon? The zebra decided that the dragon had been given enough time to let the small animal go, and began to gallop to the side of the beast. She did a whole circle, dodging through trees and jumping over fallen branches until she was back where she started. But she didn't stop there. From where Angel was, he couldn't hear anything, but he noticed the zebra's lips moving frantically, speaking a complicated, lengthy passage. At her third loop, she stopped and sat still, panting slightly and watching the scaly monster. It also returned a gaze, seemingly confused as to what the zebra was up to. Without warning, the dragon staggered back. It's claws loosened and seconds later the forest seemed to creak under the weight of the dragon's fallen body. The zebra waited for a few seconds, just to be sure, then cantered up the dragon's claw, then his leg, then trotted over his huge stomach and pulled Angel gently from its grasp. She turned and placed him onto her back, then jumped down and trotted away. Hey! Where are we going? squeaked Angel, sitting up and peering ahead. The zebra made a shushing sound and carried on moving. With the grace of an elegant doe she cantered through the trees, continually changing direction and taking shortcuts over tall undergrowth. It wasn't a smooth ride and Angel had to cling to the zebra's mane as tightly as he could. Eventually they came to a clearing, where the Zebra stopped and helped him down. "You look dreadful, tired as can be, Won't you come in for a warm cup of tea?" she asked, turning and slowly walking toward a huge tree across from them. Angel folded his arms, thinking I'm not going in there. The zebra didn't look back, but continued toward her spooky house. A strange noise echoed from behind the bunny, and he jumped and looked back to see glowing green eyes in the darkness between the trees. With a frightened gasp, he sprinted after the rhyming zebra. Days after, Rainbow Dash was still walking. She was so hungry that she began to eat the dead grass she was walking on, and that never filled her up much. Every time she managed to fall asleep she would wake up even more tired, and begin to walk in another direction. She had no idea which direction she was going; for all she knew she could be trotting further into the woods, but she didn't want to stop. It was on one of these dreary, sore and hungry nights that Dash came across a familiar tree home. Grinning, she galloped as fast as she could and banged a dirty hoof against the door. "Zecora!" Rainbow Dash cried, as the zebra opened the door, "Have I ever been so glad to see you!" "The rainbow pony, do come on inside While you recover, here you can reside." Zecora stood aside and welcomed a very weary mare into her exotic home. Dash staggered gratefully in and barely made it to the seat before she slumped down with a huge, relaxed sigh. "I don't know how you live here, Zecora." "I seem to remember you with wings dear, Tell me pony, what brings you here?" the Zebra asked, closing the door and taking a seat opposite Dash. "You won't believe it Zecora, I fell down into the middle of Everfree forest with this annoying pet of Fluttershy's. We didn't stop walking for days and I was so hungry, but then he found some food and guess what the greedy furball did? He ate it all himself! Every last berry. And then I went off on my own, and I came across a timberwolf! But don't worry, even without my wings I'm still a very fast runner-" "Fascinating, but i wonder, why did you fall, And where are your wings, do you have them at all?" "Oh right, yeah, well this might sound a little weird, but when I was flying, this weird pony shot past, she was kinda shadow-coloured... And then she looked at me, with weird shiny eyes, and then she was gone... And so were my wings..." Zecora looked with interest at the blue pony as she told her tale. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. She jumped up and hurried into another room, then searched swiftly for a book in her many bookshelves. Content with her choice, she carried the leatherback novel back into the main room and placed it carefully on the table. With her black hooves she briskly flipped through the dusty pages with a searching eye. Dash watched her lazily, stretched back in the chair, feeling calm for the first time in what felt like years. Suddenly Zecora gasped, reading something wide-eyed. She then closed the book, fixed a saddlebag to her back and then slipped in a few supplies. "Rainbow-maned mare, we have an emergency, I have to go - it's a matter of urgency!" With that last rhyme, Zecora left the house and slammed the door behind her. Dash wondered what this emergency was, but she wasn't willing to let go of the feeling of relaxing just yet, so she slid back and closed her eyes. Angel woke up that night after a much needed nap in the nice zebra's house. What did she say her name was, again? Oh yeah, Zecora. Last night Angel had watched while she concucted a strange cauldren of orange liquids. It smelled disgusting, but as soon as she poured a drop onto the withering plant on the countertop it sprung back to life. She was quite the herbalist. Rubbing his eyes to wake himself up more, Angel scampered down the spiral steps and into the main room. He didn't even notice the sleeping pony until she gave a very loud and very surprising snore. He nearly yelped but managed to hold it in, then took a seat at the table and caught his breath back. What was he supposed to do now? The zebra had left him alone with that traitor of a Pegasus, who left him to fend for himself in the Everfree forest where he came far too close to being crushed by a dragon. As he mulled this over in his mind, he subconsciously crossed his arms and glared across at Dash. As if she sensed it, Rainbow suddenly woke up (perhaps from her own snoring) and jumped when she noticed the bunny glaring at her. She gathered herself right away, and stood up to stretch. "Look who it is." She said, with a twinge of malice. Angel stuck by his guns, arms crossed and brow creased. Dash pulled the dirty old book across the table curiously, then began reading the page Zecora had opened it to. As her mind registered the letters and strung them together into words and pieces those into sentences, her breath quickened and eyes dilated, and her voice began to speak, "The Shadowpony has escaped the moon... and she wants revenge. The whole of Equestria is in danger!" EnsnaredAs they galloped through the forest, Angel on Dash's back and clutching the book, Dash rapidly explained what she'd read. "Most of it is in this weird writing, but I think it said something about nightmare moon and... And this crazy evil pony who was banished with her... It's her, I know it, it's that shadow pony with the crystal eyes - who took my wings!" Where are we going? asked Angel. He wasn't sure about this. "I bet Twilight will know what to do. If not, Spike'll send a letter to Celestia ASAP. I don't know what Zecora's doing, but I can't just sit back and watch Ponyville burn down!" Rainbow gasped, galloping as quickly as she could dart through the forest. She roughly knew the way from here back to the outside, from her few trips with her friends. Angel held on tight; he hadn't forgiven Rainbow yet and she probably didn't much care for him either - but there was much more important things on their mind. "C'mon Twilight, hurry up!" Spike cried, confidently leading his pony friend through the Whitetail woods. "I know I saw it, right through here..." Twilight Sparkle cantered after him, followed by Fluttershy, concerned but curious. "What was it, exactly? It must be really important to interrupt us, I was right in the middle of a spell to help Fluttershy's fear of-" "It was this crazy blue squirrel with freaky red eyes, you won't believe it Twi!" the baby dragon explained with excitement, hopping over a large tree root. As sceptical as she was, the unicorn and her friend continued to trail after Spike until they stopped by the edge of a river. "Here!" A huge, furry creature with bulging muscles and demonic eyes was devouring some big rotten acorns, and paused for a minute to examine the two. "Look Twilight, what is it? Do you know?" Spike asked. "Shh, Spike, you might disturb it." The unicorn hushed him. The odd creature turned its head on its side and scrutinised them with its beady eyeballs. "I've never seen anything like this before..." Futtershy said quietly. As the Pegasus mare leaned in to get a closer look, the creepy creature stepped back. "It's okay little critter, I'm a nice pony. I won't hurt you..." Fluttershy whispered, reaching out a hoof very slowly. The squirrel-thing dived from the bank and into the river with a splash. It paddled across the water and and clawed its way up the other side. Standing there, droplets of water dancing from its wild fur, it gestured for the ponies to follow his path across the river with a hand curl and a screech. Twilight looked at her animal-loving friend, rather wary of this weird creature. "I've never seen anything like this before..." Fluttershy replied, curiosity grabbing hold of her and forcing her to plod her way through the river bed. "Fluttershy! Be careful!" Twilight warned. The unicorn sighed and helped Spike climb onto her back before following Fluttershy toward the opposite bank. Every time they got close to the ugly forest-dweller, it scampered back a few feet. They continued to chase it for ages, all the way to... "What? Where are we?" Spike suddenly realised that he had been so focused on the freaky critter that he hadn't been paying the slightest bit of attention to where he was walking. "Oh dear..." Fluttershy whimpered, "I don't like the dark..." "We appear to be in a huge, dark... Never-ending cave." Twilight concluded, rubbing a thoughtful hoof against her chin. The crimson eyes of the squirrel-beast appeared to almost... Smile... And then the critter just evaporated. Twilight looked around, determined to be the brave one. Pinkie Pie didn't know how she got into this mess, but the point is, she managed to get her balloon back. Sat under a damp, cold and uncomfortable arc of fallen boulders, she began to hear noises, like hoofbeats and squeaks. She sang quietly to herself to keep calm. "Giggle at the ghostiee..." she twiddled her hooves around the blue balloon she'd so valiantly rescued. "Pinkie?" came a voice with a strong Southern accent. "Eek! The cowgirl of doom! Please don't take me please don't take me please don't take my ballooooon!" Pinkie yelped. "Well I'll be darned Pinkie - it's you!" Applejack said, pushing the boulders away with her head. "How in tarnation did ya get in there?" "Ohh well actually-" Pinkie began, before being interrupted by another voice. "Applejack? Pinkie Pie? What are you doing in here?" Twilight asked, trotting over to her friends. "I might ask you the same thing!" Applejack replied, bucking away a huge rock so that Pinkie could squeeze out. "Oh woe is me! Just an innocent young mare led on a fake gem hunt into a lonely, lonely-" Rarity stopped mid-swoon and flicked her mane aside to see a little better. "Were you all having a tea party without me?" she gasped. "Well of course, we always have em without ya in dirty old caves miles away from Ponyville." Applejack said sarcastically. "Really!?" Rarity looked ready to faint again. "No, Rarity. No." Twilight sighed. Suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, a huge avalanche of rocks came hammering down like a thunderstorm from the mouth of the cave. It was like the sun had disappeared and the cold slunk in. The ponies screamed and frantically ran back, but the rockslide didn't touch them; it just blocked their escape. It was all going to plan. Arrival"Princess, we have a visitor." A white Pegasus in golden armour announced from the end of the throne room. "Oh?" Princess Celestia said, looking to her sister as if asking if she had any guests planned. "She told us... 'my name is Zecora, from the forest Everfree, I need to see the princess, it's an emergency!' ...Should I let her in?" The Royal Canterlot Guard queried. Concern crept over the Princesses' faces and Celestia gave a nod. The doors creaked open and a bedraggled Zecora trotted in quickly, pausing to bow swiftly before continuing toward them. "This is important, impending doom I need to hear from nightmare moon! When you were banished, were you lonely Or did you perhaps meet... another pony?" Luna look rather baffled by Zecora's rhyming question. "Ahem... That was a long time ago and... I'm not sure what you're suggesting." "Coat of shadow, ghostly mane that flows as she flies And of course, who can forget those powerful Crystal eyes?' Zecora hinted. "Oh..." Luna looked away, feeling her sister's heavy eyes on her. "I don't know why this has come up but... When I was, err, banished, I met another pony... We made a deal to escape together and when my time came... I just went, I didn't think about our promise." Princess Celestia frowned, turning to the zebra. "What brings you here?" "The shadowpony has had her will, And is heading straight for Ponyville!" Zecora cried. "What!?" Luna gasped, jumping to her hooves. "Guards!" Celestia called, "We're heading to Ponyville!" Twilight was pacing, Applejack was slumped against the rocky face of the cave and Rarity was stroking her mane, complaining that the damp would give her curls. "Hate to be the one ta tell ya, but your hair is curly." Applejack grumbled. Pinkie piped up, "actually, it's not as curly as mine. Not nearly as curly as mine! Mine is like POOFPOOFPOOF!" "Pinkie, please..." Fluttershy sighed. "POOFPOOFPOOF!" "Pin-" "POOOOOOOF!" "Pinkie Pie! Be quiet!" Fluttershy yelled. Surprised at the usually quiet pony's snappy order, Pinkie settled down. That was a relief for everypony. Twilight began to speak aloud. "You know what, guys, I think this wasn't an accident." "What do you mean, dear?" Rarity wondered. "Gathering us all into this cave together... Then trapping us all in here." Applejack shook her head. "But who would do that, Twi?" Twilight sat down and frowned with concentration as she idly picked at the fallen rocks. She then turned and looked at each of her friend's faces, barely visible in the dark. Each of her friends except... Finally, she realised. "Somepony doesn't want us to get to Rainbow Dash." "No Twilight, no Fluttershy, no Applejack, Rarity or Pinkie Pie! Where is everyone?" Sighed Rainbow Dash, rubbing a hoof across her forehead, sweaty from running all over town. Angel looked around, looking for any sign of Fluttershy or her friends, starting to feel worried. As much as he acted stroppy when she fed, talked with and cuddled him, he loved her more than anypony could. A heavy cloud was moving slowly toward Ponyville and Dash knew right away what was coming - she only wished she could fly up and sort her out. Upon seeing this menacing cloud, mares began to call their foals inside and stallions closed up their stalls to head inside. Dash stood up to find shelter too. What are you doing? Angel asked suspiciously. "No use sticking out here. What's a wingless Pegasus gonna help?" Rainbow muttered. Angel thumped his foot against her ribs. "Ouch!" You can't give up like that! You're the only pony who knows what's going on. You've got to save Ponyville! Angel cried, waving his arms dramatically. Rainbow shook her head, and continued to trot away, turning her back on the problem. Angel wasn't going to go with her. He scrambled off and tumbled to the ground, then gathered himself and folded his arms stubbornly. "Come on Squirt, you'll get hurt." Dash said half-heatedly. The bunny stayed put. The cloud loomed closer. Rainbow Dash waved a hoof dismissively as she entered the cafe nearby. "Fine. I don't care, your choice." Thunder crackled from the black mass of mist which was now hanging directly above the village. Not particularly wanting to stop glaring at the door where Dash had left, his eyes drifted up so he could catch a glimpse of the sky. Suddenly the ground shook, sending a wave like an underground tsunami across the street, cracking the ground and making Angel jump far higher than a bunny should be able to. He spun around and shrunk back as he was confronted by a slim, black pegasus proudly positioned in the centre of the market. Her wings beat slowly and her long mane of cyan blew with the wind in sharp jerks. The shadowpony had arrived. Angel slunk back into the shadow of the cafe, but it was too late and he had been spotted. The strange pony sent him flying into the air with a thump of her hoof and she flew past, snatching him in her teeth. The bunny kicked and squirmed and struggled but it was useless. For the second time that day, he was about to die. Rainbow pushed the sandwich about her plate and looked lazily out of the grimy windows. She wasn't much hungry. Without warning, a ripple shook the whole cafe; ponies started to panic and talk and move around. Dash blinked, and all of a sudden a towering, dark form was stood in the centre of the clearing, and she closed her eyes, ready for whatever happened. And then it occurred to her; Angel was still out there. She leapt up and shot out of the cafe, her hooves slamming onto the ground with such purpose she was sure she sent out her own tremors. She didn't mean it when she said she didn't care; of course she did. In fact, she cared so much that Rainbow didn't think about the consequences; as soon as she saw the white bunny in the Shadowpony's mouth, she hurled herself with all her might directly at the beastly mare.
FlightFluttershy's cottage was quiet. It was usually quiet, but today it was oddly silent. It was for this reason that Rainbow Dash went to check on her. She knocked with a cobalt hoof and waited impatiently for an answer. There wasn't one. Dash shoved her head against the door and stared through the peephole, but nopony was in. "Angel! You there?" called Dash. The door swung open, and the mare looked down to see Fluttershy's pet bunny, Angel. He looked up with an eyebrow raised. "D'you know where Fluttershy is?" Angel ran across the room and came back with a book in his little paws. He stood infront of Dash and opened it, then shoved his head into the pages, as if reading. "Ah, she's with Twilight?" Rainbow gathered. Angel nodded. "Okay, just checkin'!" With that, the rainbow-maned pony trotted away. She heard the door shut and looked back, and to her surprise she saw Angel hurrying after her. "Oh? What's up Angel?" She asked, confused. Angel rolled his eyes, running alongside her. "Ah, you're bored without Fluttershy, huh?" The white rabbit nodded frantically. "I'm sorry, I'm not really an animal pony..." Rainbow hoofed the ground. Other than her tortoise, Tank, she never really liked animals that much. And cutesy-wootsey bunnies weren't exactly cool. She didn't wanna harm her reputation. Angel looked up at her with big, sad eyes. He put his hands together in a begging gesture. "Well actually, I was gonna go for a fly, but-" Angel nodded excitedly, then jumped a bit. Rainbow tilted her head, then opened her wings. "You want to come too?" she sighed. She leant sideways and placed one feathered limb down to the bunny, which he then scrambled up. Angel perched at the end of her neck and held onto her mane, smiling with excitement. Rainbow looked to the side and asked, "You ready for this, squirt? I'm the fastest flyer in equestria, y'know." Angel held on a little tighter. Rainbow grinned determinedly and kicked the ground with a hoof, before shooting off in a flurry of colour. The wind pushed against her but she shot through it, so hard that the air collapsed around her, leaving a rainbow-patterned streak when she flew. Angel was holding on for his life. Being a bunny, his feet had never left the floor, and if they had, they had certainly not broken the cloud barrier. He dared to take a quick peek over Rainbow Dash's blurred wings, and saw a huge stretch of lifeless dark green, and knew at once it was Everfree frost. Fluttershy had told him once about how scary it was. He wondered if she was right, or if she was just being, well, Futtershy. The thick treetops engulfed a huge section of land, growing darker and darker toward the centre, an eerie mass of mystery and monsters. Angel turned back to the front and ducked into the mare's mane for fear of falling. In the moment he turned, he saw something that would change his life, and change Ponyville, forever... It was like a shadow. A blur, a memory of a dark-pelted pony with a cyan mane, zooming past so swiftly that Angel wondered whether he'd actually seen it. But he had, because Rainbow Dash had seen it out of the corner of her eye, and inclined her head slightly to catch a clearer glimpse. As she did so, Angel did too. The dark pony turned back and stared with crystal eyes, that seemed to paralyse Rainbow Dash. And then, the shadow pony was gone. Angel yelled out to the mare but it was too late, and they were falling. Rainbow gasped but she couldn't move a muscle and they were being pulled down to the ground fast - and they were right above the centre of Everfree Forest. Her eyes were shut when she regained consciousness. Not that it made any difference when they were open. It was pitch black. She couldn't work out where she was, until she felt some tiny paws on her arm. All of a sudden Dash remembered the fall, and the shadow pony. She attempted to pull herself up, and found that her limbs had recovered most senses of feeling. All her limbs, that was, but her wings. As her magenta eyes adjusted to what little moonlight shone through the trees, Dash could just about see the sparkling eyes of a terrified bunny about a foot from her snout. She nudged him off. "Personal bubble." She muttered, propping herself onto her elbows and craning her sore neck to check out her wings. She let out a small scream, then began rubbing her hoof against her bare back. "My wings!" she wailed. "Where are my wings?" Angel scurried behind her and began searching for her wings. "It was her." Dash suddenly realised, two crystal eyes appearing in her mind. "She stole my wings." Angel didn't know what to say, not that Rainbow would understand him anyway. So he just sat beside her, totally useless. "Without my wings... I'm not a Pegasus anymore... I'm not... Me..." Rainbow felt so empty. The danger of the forest surrounding them felt like nothing compared to this. She stayed there, completely still, covered in cuts and bruises, for what felt like hours. The beats of the forest must have sensed her loss, for nothing came near the two. Not once. It was a long time later, that Rainbow decided on her way to deal with it. "We'll get em back." Dash exclaimed. Angel jumped at the sudden announcement, then immediately turned to listen to her. "We're getting my wings back no matter what, okay? And, to do that, we gotta get out of here." Dash continued. "We'll do it together, I guess." The bunny jumped up and nodded enthusiastically. We'll get them back, he chirped. Author's Note Okay, let's see how this is received. I just started writing and this came from my fingers. Around this, I built a plan, then wrote a description, and here we are. I hope you like this, there's plenty more to come~
No Mane, No TailCrunch. Crunch. Snap. The twigs on the forest floor sounded whenever Dash stepped on them. Angel, on the other hand, was hopping over them silently and gracefully, and a lot quicker than she was. Even though it was already dark, what little light they could see soon drained away, until both of them were bathed in darkness. "C'mere, we'll shelter in that cave. It's too dark to keep on trotting." Rainbow Dash suggested, turning into a gaping whole at the side of a boulder. Angel wasn't too keen on the dark, and definately wasn't fond of sleeping in creepy caves, but he would rather do so than loose Dash. The two had to stick together if they wanted to get out alive. He just had to convince Rainbow Dash. The bunny jumped along and slumped next to her in the mouth of the cave. A biting wind howled through it and Angel shook with cold, then snuggled into Dash for warmth and protection. She gently pushed him back with a hoof and muttered, "No hugging, it's not cool." It was a scary, freezing night and it was hard to hold onto reality, the only sound he could hang onto - the mare's soft snoring. Everfree Forest was too still. Too silent. They must have fallen asleep because all of a sudden there was light, and with it came warmth and, well, just a spark of hope. They got up and started walking through the trees again, without a word. So much walking. A few hours of trotting later, Dash suddenly spoke up. "It's no good, I can't walk any further with such an empty stomach." She looked down at her belly, which gave a wobbly growl in agreement. Angel jumped up and down, finally feeling useful. Fluttershy had taught him all about the kinds of berries a pony should and shouldn't eat, and he didn't know whether they could find any in this Forest but he knew for certain he was going to try his best. He began scampering slightly further ahead, his sensitive nose searching. He continued to do so until his paws were red raw from so much travelling and his nose had been pricked by far too many thorns. And still, as they sat down in a clearing to catch their breath, Angel was rewarded with nothing. In the quiet of the clearing, Rainbow spoke up. "I'm done, I'm ready to be eaten by an Ursa." Don't say that! squeaked Angel indignantly. "C'mon, Squirt, how are we to know which way we're going? We could just be walking around in circles." She was right. Almost every tree, every crooked branch that grasped into the air so it could find sun in this deathly land, looked just like the next. Angel sighed. He flopped down on his back and closed his eyes. Maybe she is right, he thought sadly, maybe this is it. All of the sudden, he remembered something he saw in the split second he shut his eyelids. He jumped up, quick as a flash, and bounded over to a single red berry. He picked it up with a flourish and a huge grin, gave it a big sniff and realised that more of the very same smell was just to his left. He turned eagerly, to see a whole bushell of berries, that should do him for a while! Bubbling over with happiness, he picked each berry and stuffed it gleefully into his mouth. As stuffed as a teddy bear, he staggered back to the clearing and was about to lie back down when he noticed Rainbow Dash. She'd sat up and was giving him a look of daggers. Angel's belly was huge and his face smeared with berries, it was quite clear what he had done. "You found food and you didn't share it!?" Dash cried, standing up angrilly. Angel immediately felt guilty; in his excitement he had completely forgotten about the starving blue pegasus he had been walking beside all day. "I can't believe you! I knew all animals were selfish, greedy furballs, but I was just starting to think you were different." With each word, Angel sank a little further into a bubbling cauldren of regret, but he knew he couldn't defend what he did. Dash was right. "Leave me alone." she said, turning with a swish of her tail and striding away toward the trees. Wait! yelped Angel, chasing after her. She didn't stop, or even look back at him. "No mane, no tail, no friendship!" she hissed, before kicking off and galloping far ahead. Angel sat on the ground, alone with his over-zealous belly and the monsters of Everfree Forest. W-wait! The monsters! Angel panicked and scrambled up a tree, for fear of being attacked. What was he supposed to do without Dash to protect him? He hauled himself to the top of the canopy of leaves and searched for a rainbow mane. He couldn't see any sign of Rainbow Dash and knew for good he had blown it. He slumped into the curve of a branch and stayed there, feeling completely deflated. Out of the blue, a massive shake swayed the whole forest, making Angel fall down from his tree with a shocked squeal and a crash. He looked around, ears pricked and very alert. Something was coming. Something BIG. He sprung from the ground and bounded as quickly as his little legs could carry him away from the creator of the sound. He pounced through long grass and tumbled over protruding tree roots. Even though he was running, the sound was getting louder and the shake stronger; the beast was getting closer. He couldn't keep up his sprint for much longer, each jump was getting harder and the wind seemed to be pushing him back with such strong hands. Angel dared to look back, and as he did he slid into a wide Oak tree, landing upside down on his back. Through this confusing rotated vision, it took him a moment to realise what this towering purple creature was. Fluttershy had only mentioned it one before but it was in passing, he didn't know how to deal with it at all and doubted he ever could. It was a huge, red-eyed purple dragon with angry flames flicking like snakes from its gaping jaws. It stood hundreds of feet in the air and stomped its clawed feet, swung its spiny tail and sent all the nearby trees crashing down, sending lots of little creepy critters hurrying away. How Angel would have liked to do that, but before he could yell for help, he was swept up and trapped in the dragon's giant, squeezing talons.
The Herbalist"You dragon, you beast, with eyes of fire Release that critter or the consequences will be dire!" Angel opened his eyes, and spotted a striped pony stood facing the monster. It was a zebra. what an Earth was a Zebra doing here, in Everfree forest? The dragon's tight grip on Angel tightened a little more, and from its chest came a deafening thunder-clap that sounded through the forest. "I shan't tell you again, don't you roar at me, Now let him go in one, two, three..." Angel raised an eyebrow sarcastically. Sure, he appreciated the effort to save his life and such, but how did this zebra expect to defeat a dragon? The zebra decided that the dragon had been given enough time to let the small animal go, and began to gallop to the side of the beast. She did a whole circle, dodging through trees and jumping over fallen branches until she was back where she started. But she didn't stop there. From where Angel was, he couldn't hear anything, but he noticed the zebra's lips moving frantically, speaking a complicated, lengthy passage. At her third loop, she stopped and sat still, panting slightly and watching the scaly monster. It also returned a gaze, seemingly confused as to what the zebra was up to. Without warning, the dragon staggered back. It's claws loosened and seconds later the forest seemed to creak under the weight of the dragon's fallen body. The zebra waited for a few seconds, just to be sure, then cantered up the dragon's claw, then his leg, then trotted over his huge stomach and pulled Angel gently from its grasp. She turned and placed him onto her back, then jumped down and trotted away. Hey! Where are we going? squeaked Angel, sitting up and peering ahead. The zebra made a shushing sound and carried on moving. With the grace of an elegant doe she cantered through the trees, continually changing direction and taking shortcuts over tall undergrowth. It wasn't a smooth ride and Angel had to cling to the zebra's mane as tightly as he could. Eventually they came to a clearing, where the Zebra stopped and helped him down. "You look dreadful, tired as can be, Won't you come in for a warm cup of tea?" she asked, turning and slowly walking toward a huge tree across from them. Angel folded his arms, thinking I'm not going in there. The zebra didn't look back, but continued toward her spooky house. A strange noise echoed from behind the bunny, and he jumped and looked back to see glowing green eyes in the darkness between the trees. With a frightened gasp, he sprinted after the rhyming zebra. Days after, Rainbow Dash was still walking. She was so hungry that she began to eat the dead grass she was walking on, and that never filled her up much. Every time she managed to fall asleep she would wake up even more tired, and begin to walk in another direction. She had no idea which direction she was going; for all she knew she could be trotting further into the woods, but she didn't want to stop. It was on one of these dreary, sore and hungry nights that Dash came across a familiar tree home. Grinning, she galloped as fast as she could and banged a dirty hoof against the door. "Zecora!" Rainbow Dash cried, as the zebra opened the door, "Have I ever been so glad to see you!" "The rainbow pony, do come on inside While you recover, here you can reside." Zecora stood aside and welcomed a very weary mare into her exotic home. Dash staggered gratefully in and barely made it to the seat before she slumped down with a huge, relaxed sigh. "I don't know how you live here, Zecora." "I seem to remember you with wings dear, Tell me pony, what brings you here?" the Zebra asked, closing the door and taking a seat opposite Dash. "You won't believe it Zecora, I fell down into the middle of Everfree forest with this annoying pet of Fluttershy's. We didn't stop walking for days and I was so hungry, but then he found some food and guess what the greedy furball did? He ate it all himself! Every last berry. And then I went off on my own, and I came across a timberwolf! But don't worry, even without my wings I'm still a very fast runner-" "Fascinating, but i wonder, why did you fall, And where are your wings, do you have them at all?" "Oh right, yeah, well this might sound a little weird, but when I was flying, this weird pony shot past, she was kinda shadow-coloured... And then she looked at me, with weird shiny eyes, and then she was gone... And so were my wings..." Zecora looked with interest at the blue pony as she told her tale. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. She jumped up and hurried into another room, then searched swiftly for a book in her many bookshelves. Content with her choice, she carried the leatherback novel back into the main room and placed it carefully on the table. With her black hooves she briskly flipped through the dusty pages with a searching eye. Dash watched her lazily, stretched back in the chair, feeling calm for the first time in what felt like years. Suddenly Zecora gasped, reading something wide-eyed. She then closed the book, fixed a saddlebag to her back and then slipped in a few supplies. "Rainbow-maned mare, we have an emergency, I have to go - it's a matter of urgency!" With that last rhyme, Zecora left the house and slammed the door behind her. Dash wondered what this emergency was, but she wasn't willing to let go of the feeling of relaxing just yet, so she slid back and closed her eyes. Angel woke up that night after a much needed nap in the nice zebra's house. What did she say her name was, again? Oh yeah, Zecora. Last night Angel had watched while she concucted a strange cauldren of orange liquids. It smelled disgusting, but as soon as she poured a drop onto the withering plant on the countertop it sprung back to life. She was quite the herbalist. Rubbing his eyes to wake himself up more, Angel scampered down the spiral steps and into the main room. He didn't even notice the sleeping pony until she gave a very loud and very surprising snore. He nearly yelped but managed to hold it in, then took a seat at the table and caught his breath back. What was he supposed to do now? The zebra had left him alone with that traitor of a Pegasus, who left him to fend for himself in the Everfree forest where he came far too close to being crushed by a dragon. As he mulled this over in his mind, he subconsciously crossed his arms and glared across at Dash. As if she sensed it, Rainbow suddenly woke up (perhaps from her own snoring) and jumped when she noticed the bunny glaring at her. She gathered herself right away, and stood up to stretch. "Look who it is." She said, with a twinge of malice. Angel stuck by his guns, arms crossed and brow creased. Dash pulled the dirty old book across the table curiously, then began reading the page Zecora had opened it to. As her mind registered the letters and strung them together into words and pieces those into sentences, her breath quickened and eyes dilated, and her voice began to speak, "The Shadowpony has escaped the moon... and she wants revenge. The whole of Equestria is in danger!"
EnsnaredAs they galloped through the forest, Angel on Dash's back and clutching the book, Dash rapidly explained what she'd read. "Most of it is in this weird writing, but I think it said something about nightmare moon and... And this crazy evil pony who was banished with her... It's her, I know it, it's that shadow pony with the crystal eyes - who took my wings!" Where are we going? asked Angel. He wasn't sure about this. "I bet Twilight will know what to do. If not, Spike'll send a letter to Celestia ASAP. I don't know what Zecora's doing, but I can't just sit back and watch Ponyville burn down!" Rainbow gasped, galloping as quickly as she could dart through the forest. She roughly knew the way from here back to the outside, from her few trips with her friends. Angel held on tight; he hadn't forgiven Rainbow yet and she probably didn't much care for him either - but there was much more important things on their mind. "C'mon Twilight, hurry up!" Spike cried, confidently leading his pony friend through the Whitetail woods. "I know I saw it, right through here..." Twilight Sparkle cantered after him, followed by Fluttershy, concerned but curious. "What was it, exactly? It must be really important to interrupt us, I was right in the middle of a spell to help Fluttershy's fear of-" "It was this crazy blue squirrel with freaky red eyes, you won't believe it Twi!" the baby dragon explained with excitement, hopping over a large tree root. As sceptical as she was, the unicorn and her friend continued to trail after Spike until they stopped by the edge of a river. "Here!" A huge, furry creature with bulging muscles and demonic eyes was devouring some big rotten acorns, and paused for a minute to examine the two. "Look Twilight, what is it? Do you know?" Spike asked. "Shh, Spike, you might disturb it." The unicorn hushed him. The odd creature turned its head on its side and scrutinised them with its beady eyeballs. "I've never seen anything like this before..." Futtershy said quietly. As the Pegasus mare leaned in to get a closer look, the creepy creature stepped back. "It's okay little critter, I'm a nice pony. I won't hurt you..." Fluttershy whispered, reaching out a hoof very slowly. The squirrel-thing dived from the bank and into the river with a splash. It paddled across the water and and clawed its way up the other side. Standing there, droplets of water dancing from its wild fur, it gestured for the ponies to follow his path across the river with a hand curl and a screech. Twilight looked at her animal-loving friend, rather wary of this weird creature. "I've never seen anything like this before..." Fluttershy replied, curiosity grabbing hold of her and forcing her to plod her way through the river bed. "Fluttershy! Be careful!" Twilight warned. The unicorn sighed and helped Spike climb onto her back before following Fluttershy toward the opposite bank. Every time they got close to the ugly forest-dweller, it scampered back a few feet. They continued to chase it for ages, all the way to... "What? Where are we?" Spike suddenly realised that he had been so focused on the freaky critter that he hadn't been paying the slightest bit of attention to where he was walking. "Oh dear..." Fluttershy whimpered, "I don't like the dark..." "We appear to be in a huge, dark... Never-ending cave." Twilight concluded, rubbing a thoughtful hoof against her chin. The crimson eyes of the squirrel-beast appeared to almost... Smile... And then the critter just evaporated. Twilight looked around, determined to be the brave one. Pinkie Pie didn't know how she got into this mess, but the point is, she managed to get her balloon back. Sat under a damp, cold and uncomfortable arc of fallen boulders, she began to hear noises, like hoofbeats and squeaks. She sang quietly to herself to keep calm. "Giggle at the ghostiee..." she twiddled her hooves around the blue balloon she'd so valiantly rescued. "Pinkie?" came a voice with a strong Southern accent. "Eek! The cowgirl of doom! Please don't take me please don't take me please don't take my ballooooon!" Pinkie yelped. "Well I'll be darned Pinkie - it's you!" Applejack said, pushing the boulders away with her head. "How in tarnation did ya get in there?" "Ohh well actually-" Pinkie began, before being interrupted by another voice. "Applejack? Pinkie Pie? What are you doing in here?" Twilight asked, trotting over to her friends. "I might ask you the same thing!" Applejack replied, bucking away a huge rock so that Pinkie could squeeze out. "Oh woe is me! Just an innocent young mare led on a fake gem hunt into a lonely, lonely-" Rarity stopped mid-swoon and flicked her mane aside to see a little better. "Were you all having a tea party without me?" she gasped. "Well of course, we always have em without ya in dirty old caves miles away from Ponyville." Applejack said sarcastically. "Really!?" Rarity looked ready to faint again. "No, Rarity. No." Twilight sighed. Suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, a huge avalanche of rocks came hammering down like a thunderstorm from the mouth of the cave. It was like the sun had disappeared and the cold slunk in. The ponies screamed and frantically ran back, but the rockslide didn't touch them; it just blocked their escape. It was all going to plan.
Arrival"Princess, we have a visitor." A white Pegasus in golden armour announced from the end of the throne room. "Oh?" Princess Celestia said, looking to her sister as if asking if she had any guests planned. "She told us... 'my name is Zecora, from the forest Everfree, I need to see the princess, it's an emergency!' ...Should I let her in?" The Royal Canterlot Guard queried. Concern crept over the Princesses' faces and Celestia gave a nod. The doors creaked open and a bedraggled Zecora trotted in quickly, pausing to bow swiftly before continuing toward them. "This is important, impending doom I need to hear from nightmare moon! When you were banished, were you lonely Or did you perhaps meet... another pony?" Luna look rather baffled by Zecora's rhyming question. "Ahem... That was a long time ago and... I'm not sure what you're suggesting." "Coat of shadow, ghostly mane that flows as she flies And of course, who can forget those powerful Crystal eyes?' Zecora hinted. "Oh..." Luna looked away, feeling her sister's heavy eyes on her. "I don't know why this has come up but... When I was, err, banished, I met another pony... We made a deal to escape together and when my time came... I just went, I didn't think about our promise." Princess Celestia frowned, turning to the zebra. "What brings you here?" "The shadowpony has had her will, And is heading straight for Ponyville!" Zecora cried. "What!?" Luna gasped, jumping to her hooves. "Guards!" Celestia called, "We're heading to Ponyville!" Twilight was pacing, Applejack was slumped against the rocky face of the cave and Rarity was stroking her mane, complaining that the damp would give her curls. "Hate to be the one ta tell ya, but your hair is curly." Applejack grumbled. Pinkie piped up, "actually, it's not as curly as mine. Not nearly as curly as mine! Mine is like POOFPOOFPOOF!" "Pinkie, please..." Fluttershy sighed. "POOFPOOFPOOF!" "Pin-" "POOOOOOOF!" "Pinkie Pie! Be quiet!" Fluttershy yelled. Surprised at the usually quiet pony's snappy order, Pinkie settled down. That was a relief for everypony. Twilight began to speak aloud. "You know what, guys, I think this wasn't an accident." "What do you mean, dear?" Rarity wondered. "Gathering us all into this cave together... Then trapping us all in here." Applejack shook her head. "But who would do that, Twi?" Twilight sat down and frowned with concentration as she idly picked at the fallen rocks. She then turned and looked at each of her friend's faces, barely visible in the dark. Each of her friends except... Finally, she realised. "Somepony doesn't want us to get to Rainbow Dash." "No Twilight, no Fluttershy, no Applejack, Rarity or Pinkie Pie! Where is everyone?" Sighed Rainbow Dash, rubbing a hoof across her forehead, sweaty from running all over town. Angel looked around, looking for any sign of Fluttershy or her friends, starting to feel worried. As much as he acted stroppy when she fed, talked with and cuddled him, he loved her more than anypony could. A heavy cloud was moving slowly toward Ponyville and Dash knew right away what was coming - she only wished she could fly up and sort her out. Upon seeing this menacing cloud, mares began to call their foals inside and stallions closed up their stalls to head inside. Dash stood up to find shelter too. What are you doing? Angel asked suspiciously. "No use sticking out here. What's a wingless Pegasus gonna help?" Rainbow muttered. Angel thumped his foot against her ribs. "Ouch!" You can't give up like that! You're the only pony who knows what's going on. You've got to save Ponyville! Angel cried, waving his arms dramatically. Rainbow shook her head, and continued to trot away, turning her back on the problem. Angel wasn't going to go with her. He scrambled off and tumbled to the ground, then gathered himself and folded his arms stubbornly. "Come on Squirt, you'll get hurt." Dash said half-heatedly. The bunny stayed put. The cloud loomed closer. Rainbow Dash waved a hoof dismissively as she entered the cafe nearby. "Fine. I don't care, your choice." Thunder crackled from the black mass of mist which was now hanging directly above the village. Not particularly wanting to stop glaring at the door where Dash had left, his eyes drifted up so he could catch a glimpse of the sky. Suddenly the ground shook, sending a wave like an underground tsunami across the street, cracking the ground and making Angel jump far higher than a bunny should be able to. He spun around and shrunk back as he was confronted by a slim, black pegasus proudly positioned in the centre of the market. Her wings beat slowly and her long mane of cyan blew with the wind in sharp jerks. The shadowpony had arrived. Angel slunk back into the shadow of the cafe, but it was too late and he had been spotted. The strange pony sent him flying into the air with a thump of her hoof and she flew past, snatching him in her teeth. The bunny kicked and squirmed and struggled but it was useless. For the second time that day, he was about to die. Rainbow pushed the sandwich about her plate and looked lazily out of the grimy windows. She wasn't much hungry. Without warning, a ripple shook the whole cafe; ponies started to panic and talk and move around. Dash blinked, and all of a sudden a towering, dark form was stood in the centre of the clearing, and she closed her eyes, ready for whatever happened. And then it occurred to her; Angel was still out there. She leapt up and shot out of the cafe, her hooves slamming onto the ground with such purpose she was sure she sent out her own tremors. She didn't mean it when she said she didn't care; of course she did. In fact, she cared so much that Rainbow didn't think about the consequences; as soon as she saw the white bunny in the Shadowpony's mouth, she hurled herself with all her might directly at the beastly mare.
