As Equestria Turns

Chapters

A Sudden Invitation! Dash's Stunning New Trick! Pinkie Parties Too Hard?!
Awake At Last! A Shattered Rainbow's Hard Recovery!
Pinkie's Inner Demon! Ruminations Over Mushrooms. Is There Solace in a Bottle?!
A Gathering Storm! - The Hunt For Pinkie - Histories Revealed!
Map! The useful location finding for movements and great battles!
Tragedy at the Air Show! Do Apples Make Your Heart Flutter? Don't Give Up, Pinkie!

A Sudden Invitation! Dash's Stunning New Trick! Pinkie Parties Too Hard?!

Rainbow Dash stretched her wings and prepared to launch, crouching down on the small, fluffy cloud that floated high above Ponyville. Practice, practice, practice -- always improving, keep adding more flash and dazzle. You don't get into the Wonderbolts by sitting on your flank all day. She pushed off. Soaring through the sky, picking up speed, she circled around the Town Hall, then flew towards the outskirts of town. She felt gravity tug at her as she performed a series of aerial loops, leaving her trademark rainbow-colored trail, then righted herself and shot back through the middle of the loops before the trail could fade. It was a trick she had come up with a few months ago called "Lancing the Loops." She smiled as she slowed to a stop. Four loops this time. She was getting better. She touched down to a perfect landing, just a few feet from Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing and cheering wildly.

Dash smirked, striking a pose. "Oh yea! Am I awesome, or am I awesome?" Her stomach grumbled loudly, interrupting her crowning moment of awesome and causing a slightly embarrassed blush to rise to her cheeks. "Heh. And awesomely hungry. C'mon, Pinks, let's go grab some lunch," she said, taking off in the direction of the Ponyville Cafe.

"Okie-dokie-loki," replied Pinkie, bouncing along beside her.

As they went along, Dash glanced over at Pinkie and smiled. Pinkie had always been a big support to her, cheering her on, even when some of her tricks went haywire. At first, Dash had just assumed that it was part of the party-loving pony's bright and bubbly nature - just "Pinkie being Pinkie" as some put it. It wasn't until after the Gilda incident a few years back that she had really started to notice that Pinkie was just a little extra bright and bubbly around her. When she had finally confessed her feelings six months ago, Dash hadn't been all that surprised. She was the awesomest pony in Ponyville, after all. What was there not to love?

The couple moved along through the hustle and bustle of Ponyville's streets. Dash was half-listening to Pinkie's animated chattering about a variety of ever-changing subjects. As they passed by Iron Hooves' smithy, the clanging of metal filling the air and Pinkie started talking about how she really should get some new shoes. They passed a stand selling a variety of handcrafted soaps, and Dash forced herself to wait as the bubbly pony bounced over to examine and sniff at them. Dash was careful to take a route that avoided the Joke Shop. If they passed that place, she would never get lunch.

As they got near the cafe, they spotted Twilight, who was carrying a load of scrolls in her bags. She waved at them and trotted over, beaming. "So, how's Ponyville's newest happy couple?"

"Oh, hi Twilight. We're doing great!" Pinkie gushed. "Dashie was just practicing some new tricks this morning."

Dash tried to look nonchalant. "Oh yea. I was totally awesome, as always."

"You should have seen her just now, she was all, like, 'WOOOOOSH' and then she went 'loop and loop and loop' and then 'SWOOOSH' back through the loops -" Pinkie pantomimed the actions, waving her hooves about wildly - "and then she landed and her tummy was all like, 'Grumble!' and so was mine and so we're going to get some lunch. Do you wanna have lunch with us?"

Twilight smiled and shook her head apologetically. "Um, I just ate, actually. I was headed to the library to drop off these supplies and then Fluttershy had asked me to stop by and help her with her animals. Maybe some other time, though."

"Okie-dokie-loki," replied Pinkie, bouncing onward, Dash flying along beside her.

Dash and Pinkie took a seat at a table near the hedge that bordered the outdoor pavilion of the cafe. They had no sooner placed their orders, when a head popped over the hedge. Dash turned to look and saw the familiar wall-eyed face of the local mail-mare, Ditzy Doo. "Oh, hi Ditzy. How are you?"

"Fine as a plate of fresh muffins." Ditzy rummaged in her pack for a moment before producing a letter in a big, official-looking envelope, along with a small form. "I've been trying to get you this letter for a week, but it says you have to sign, and I could never find you home when I came by."

Dash rolled her eyes. She considered mentioning that the the usual procedure was to leave a notification and take the letter to be held at the post office, but decided there probably wasn't much point. She signed for the letter, and waved as Ditzy continued on her rounds, wincing as the klutzy pony crashed into a street lamp, a market cart, and several ponies along her way, demonstrating just why she had earned the nickname 'Derpy'. Dash just shook her head. It was a wonder any mail got delivered in Ponyville.

Pinkie's eyes widened as she craned her neck to look at the envelope's golden seal. "Ooohhh. Looks important. Are you gonna open it, Dashie? Are you? Huh? Huh?"

Dash looked at the envelope. Her heart started racing as she read the sender's name. "Cloudsdale Flight & Racing Commission - Events Planning Department". Hurriedly, she tore open the envelope and began reading.

Dear Miss Rainbow Dash:

It is with great pleasure that The Cloudsdale Flight & Racing Commission hereby informs you that you have been selected as a contestant in this year's X-treme Flight Spectacular, to be held in the royal city of Canterlot on November 17th. Enclosed you will find the required paperwork, waiver of liability, etc. Please return all required forms as soon as possible. Also enclosed is a ticket for a private suite at the raceway for the accommodation of any friends or relatives you may wish to invite.

Best Wishes,

Star Cloudmane, Planning Supervisor

Cloudsdale Flight & Racing Commission

Dash's face glowed with excitement. "Sweet! This is so awesome! Do you know what this means?"

"A PARTY!" exclaimed Pinkie, now out of her seat and bouncing around wildly once more. As she said this, she threw her hooves in the air and streamers and confetti appeared out of nowhere. Several nearby patrons turned to stare at the commotion.

"Yea, yea, that too," Dash continued excitedly, brushing a streamer out of her mane. She still wondered where exactly Pinkie's seemingly limitless supply of the things came from. "But more important, this could be my big chance! The Wonderbolts are always at the X-treme Flight Spectacular, looking for new talent. When I win, they'll notice me and sign me up for sure."

"YAY! Wonderbolt Dashie!" interjected Pinkie. "WOOOSH! SONIC RAINBOOM!" She pantomimed the move, bringing her foreleg down quickly to mimic the steep vertical descent. As she leveled her foreleg off, there was a faint 'pop' and multicolored streamers flew out from her hoof.

Dash rested her chin on her hoof. "Y'know, I've already done that a few times now. Hell, I even used one to demolish Applejack's old barn. It's old hat. I should come up with something even more extreme, some kind of new variant..."

"More extreme than a SONIC RAINBOOM? That's gotta be impossible, but then everypony thought the Rainboom was impossible until you did it that one day when we came to see you but then Rarity decided to compete..."

Dash's mind was already racing as she half-listened to Pinkie's rambling account of the near-disaster at the Young Flyers Competition. She pondered what kind of new stunt she could perform. What, indeed, could be more awesome than her signature Sonic Rainboom? Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of their food. As she brushed streamers aisde to make room for her plate, she paused, examining the corkscrew shape of one. "Hmmm. That gives me an idea."

Dash marveled at the decor as she flew into Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie had really outdone herself this time. A huge congratulatory banner hung from the ceiling, stretching the length of the room. There were streamers of every color, along with a rainbow of balloons that bore the likeness of her cutie mark on one side and the X-treme flight logo on the other. She slowly flew across the room, basking in the cheers and congratulations. As she landed near her friends, Applejack reached over and gave her a friendly poke in the side.

"Careful there, sugarcube. Your head's gotta fit back out the door, y'know." The others all giggled at the comment, except for Pinkie, who appeared to contemplate it rather seriously before producing a measuring tape from somewhere and moving off toward the door.

Dash tuned her snout up with a haughty air. "Hmmph. You're just jealous of all my awesome adoring fans." A starry-eyed Scootaloo thrust a small notepad and pen at her, and she scribbled her name down.

Applejack rolled her eyes at the comment, but said nothing further.

Pinkie, now sans measuring tape, stood on a small podium that had been put up at one end of the room. "Hey everypony, let's hear it for the bestest flyer in Ponyville. Dashie's superawesome tricks and stunts always make even the dullest days spectacular..."

As Pinkie continued her excited, rambling speech extolling Dash's awesomeness and flying prowess, the rainbow-maned pony struck dramatic poses based on the action being described.

After the speech, there was lots of food, punch, and dancing. The crowning moment came when Pinkie disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a large three-tier cake, frosted the same color as Dash's coat and decorated all over with the likeness of her cutie mark, the familiar rainbow striped thunderbolt. Dash was underwhelmed at first, until the cake was cut open. Each tier had seven thin layers, each layer having a different color. It had to have been the awesomest cake ever, which was only fitting, after all. After the cake eating and another round of dancing, the party gradually wound down.

Pinkie stood at the doorway waving as the last of the guests departed. Dash walked over and put her foreleg around the pink pony's shoulders. "I gotta tell ya, Pinks, that was one awesome party."

"Only the bestest and most awesomest for my super-awesome Dashie," replied Pinkie, leaning over and nuzzling against her. The two stood like that for a long while, staring out at the stars. After several minutes had gone by, Dash drew Pinkie into a long kiss.

As their lips parted, Dash reluctantly stepped outside. "Well, I guess I better get heading home myself, Pinks."

"Silly. You can't leave yet, you haven't had dessert," objected Pinkie, a sultry tone creeping into her voice.

Dash was momentarily confused. "Huh? I had, like, five slices of cake."

Pinkie giggled. "No, silly. I have some special dessert," she whispered into Dash's ear, her voice becoming even more sultry. She began leading Dash towards the stairway that led to her apartment.

"Oh." Dash grinned slyly as she got the idea, fixing her lover with a hungry gaze as they ascended the stairs.

Rainbow Dash stretched her limbs, basking in the morning sun as it streamed through the window. She rubbed her eyes, beginning to adjust to the light, when a shadow crossed in front of the window. A bouncing shadow.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" came the cheerful call as the shadow resolved into the familiar pink-hued form of her fillyfriend.

"Mmm.. wha? Oh. Morning, Pinks," Dash mumbled, sitting up. Suddenly she was jolted into full wakefulness by a loud, shrill noise. It was then that she noticed that Pinkie had a whistle hung round her neck and was wearing a baseball cap printed with the word 'Coach'.

Pinkie giggled. "Time to rise and shine and start training!" She grabbed the blue pony by the hooves and drug her out of the bed. Dash groaned. With Pinkie as her coach, she wondered if she would even survive till November. The party-happy pony was probably the only one that could outmatch her for sheer energy.

"Can I at least get some breakfast first? I don't train well on an empty stomach."

"Well of course, silly. I've got pancakes and omelettes all ready to go downstairs. C'mon."

As the pair chowed down, Dash pondered the situation. If she was going to develop a crowd-stunning new stunt, she wanted to keep it a secret. Considering she was planning a variation on the Sonic Rainboom, and that her first Sonic Rainboom had been visible from Ponyville to Manehattan, a remote location would be needed.

She expressed her concern to Pinkie, who concentrated for a moment, then exclaimed, "Appleoosa! We should go to Appleoosa. That's far away. Plus we can see all our friends there again like Braeburn and Silver Star and Chief Thunderhooves and Little Strongheart. It'll be so much fun. Can we train there, Dashie? Can we?"

It was, Dash had to admit, as good an idea as any. Appleoosa would be decently remote. And it would be nice to see the buffalo again. Plus, she was looking forward to spending some time with Pinkie without other things getting in the way. Between her awesomeness attracting so many fans, and Pinkie playing hostess for an almost constant stream of parties, their lives were insanely busy in Ponyville.

Dash glanced nervously at the clock on the wall as she paced back and forth. The train was due in fifteen minutes and Pinkie was nowhere to be seen. She tried to keep herself occupied by mentally working through possible flight routines. She looked up at the clock again. Ten minutes. Still no Pinkie. Then she spotted her in the distance, a bouncing pink figure headed towards the station - and four others with her. Dash frowned. Had Pinkie invited the others along? That wasn't what she had in mind. She managed a forced smile as the group arrived. "Hey Pinks. Hey everypony. What brings you all here?"

"Oh, come now darling," said Rarity. "You simply didn't think you could give us the slip that easily did you?"

"Look, guys. I don't know what Pinks told you, but I'd really rather...," Dash started to protest. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the sentiment but she had really planned on just taking Pinkie. Less ponies made less distractions. And there were... other reasons.

"Oh, relax sugarcube," Applejack reassured her. "We know you'd rather train with as little distraction as possible. Ah'm the same way when it comes ta rodeos. And ah'm sure you'll have enough distraction with Pinkie there as it is." The orange earth pony winked slyly, prompting a somewhat embarrassed blush from Dash.

"We just came to see you off and wish you good luck with your training," explained Twilight, apparently oblivious to Applejack's innuendo. "We're all really proud of you and we can't wait to see you compete."

"Umm. Yes. We're, umm, really excited for you. We'll all be there, cheering for you," managed Fluttershy, meekly. She followed up by attempting a cheer, which came out as a subdued, "Yay."

After their friends had said their goodbyes, Dash and Pinkie made their way through the ticket booth and got to the gate with two minutes to spare.

The next day, the train arrived in Appleoosa. They were greeted by none other than Braeburn, as Applejack had sent a telegram ahead of them, letting her cousin know of their arrival. He was eager to show them how much the town had changed in the years since they had last been there. Dash, however, was more keen to find a out of the way place where they could stay while she trained. In the end, they all headed to the town hall, Dash leading the way while Pinkie and Braeburn followed, chattering animatedly.

Dash left Pinkie and Braeburn to converse about the growth of Appleoosa, while she consulted a map of the town and its environs. She noted a marker indicating an old fort about fifteen miles out of town. When she asked about it, Braeburn stated that it had been abandoned for a few years, since relations with the buffalo had grown more peaceful. After some more talk, they took a stagecoach out to see the old fort, Braeburn pointing out sights along the way.

When they arrived, Dash examined the fort. It was a rather sturdy sort of building, despite its abandonment. With a little cleaning out and some supplies from town, it would serve as a fairly decent place to stay for a couple months.

It had been six weeks since their arrival. Dash had practiced long and hard. For the first two weeks she had concentrated on her new 'Lancing the Loops' trick. She was now able to do eight loops with it. The next two weeks had been occupied by refining older stunts and planning out how her flight routine would go. Amidst all this, they had also squeezed in some trips to town and a visit with the buffalo tribe. And of course, there were the nights. Oh, the nights. It was probably a good thing they were so far out of town as anypony within earshot at night would certainly not have been able to sleep.

Most recently, Dash had spent the past two weeks practicing the two elements of her newest idea, the Twisted Rainboom. The Sonic Rainboom part was already familiar to her, of course, but she still went through it a few times. The new element, which Dash had taken to calling the 'Streamer Spiral', had been a bit more difficult. The hardest part had been overcoming the natural dizziness that came with high-speed spiraling. Now, with the competition only two weeks away, it was time to combine the two and unleash Equestria's first ever 'Twisted Rainboom'.

Rainbow Dash stretched forward, her wings flaring out behind her, making sure her muscles were good and limber before starting. Pinkie, meanwhile, sat on a nearby wooden fence, kicking her legs idly and humming happily to herself.

Seeing that Dash was ready to start, Pinkie hopped off the fence and trotted over. "Kiss for luck!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Dash, and planting her lips firmly against the blue pony's.

Dash returned the kiss, holding the embrace for a moment. As the kiss ended she lightly gripped Pinkie's shoulders in her hooves and looked in her eyes, grinning widely. "Okay, Pinks. Are you ready to see some serious awesome."

"Oh boy, are you gonna do your new trick now? I can't wait to see it, Dashie. I just know its gonna be superspectacular, cause you're the bestest flyer ever and all your tricks are superspectacular but this one's gonna be even more superspectaular!"

Needing no further encouragement, Dash took to the sky. She went far higher than she would for an ordinary Rainboom, since she would have to transfer some of the momentum into the spinning motion once she leveled off. Finally, reaching the right height, she looked down. Far, far below, she could see a tiny pink speck bouncing about wildly. She smiled. This is gonna rock!

Dash began her descent, picking up speed as she flew towards the ground at an angle just shy of being straight on. Soon she felt the familiar tug of g-forces, feeling for all the world like her hide was about to be ripped straight off her body. At what she judged to be nearly twenty feet from the ground, she adjusted her wings slightly, leveling off, still accelerating. So far, so good. Here we go, then. She tilted her wings slightly in opposite directions and began to spin. Straight past a madly cheering Pinkie she went, still accelerating and spinning faster and faster. She had both front hooves extended now. Just... a little... more.

BOOM! Large, bright, multi-colored spirals ascended into the sky flowing upwards like party streamers. Pinkie jumped up and down and proceeded to do cartwheels. "YAY!!! RAINBOW STREAMERS!!! YOU DID IT, DASHIE!!!!"

Dash felt the familiar jolt as she went supersonic. Mentally she counted off. When she reached ten, she adjusted her wings, gradually righting her spin, then slowing, and finally touching down. She turned around and watched the spiraling rainbows spread upwards and outwards. "YES!", she shouted, giving a hoofpump, "I am so gonna win! Wonderbolts, here I come!"

Dash watched with some concern as Pinkie began on her fifth mug of hard cider. She wondered if coming to one of Appleoosa's myriad taverns to celebrate had been such a good idea. "Umm... Pinks, don't you think you'd better go easy on that stuff?" They had only been there an hour and Dash herself was only barely starting her second mug.

"Oh, don't be shuch a shpoilery McShpoilshports, Dashie. Theresh nothin like a good schider to make thingsh more funner." The pink pony paused, blinked, then leaned toward Dash and whispered. "Shay, Dashie, you didn't tell me that they shpin the roomsh around here. Ish really shuper fun. I bet if I shpin around too, it'll be twish ash fun. Wheeee!"

Dash just shook her head and buried her face in her hoof as Pinkie whirled around several times, sloshing the contents of her mug all over the place, before tripping over her own hooves and collapsing on the floor. Everypony in the bar was staring now. "Okay," said Dash, quickly settling up with the bartender, "time to go." She scooped her inebriated companion off the floor and flew off towards the fort.

As Pinkie finished a second round of vomiting, Dash gently stroked her mane and wrapped a wing around her. She felt sorry for her fillyfriend, knowing well from past experience how bad a hangover could be, especially the first one. She also felt kind of guilty. The bubbly pony threw so many parties, Dash had just assumed she had tried alcohol before, or at least knew what it was. It wasn't until Pinkie woke up at 3:00 a.m., sick and complaining that the 'fizzy sour cider' must have been bad that Dash began to suspect she had no idea what she'd been drinking.

Dash helped Pinkie get cleaned up and get back to bed. There was no ice about the place, so she wet down a clean rag with cold water and placed it on Pinkie's forehead. She watched until Pinkie drifted off into sleep, then gradually succumbed to her own fatigue.

The remainder of the couple's final week in Appleoosa went much more smoothly... and soberly. Pinkie, in fact, swore she would never touch alcohol again, which Dash concluded was probably a good thing, since she was crazy enough when she was sober.

Over the course of the week, Dash had run through her complete routine several times. She was certain she would win. Nopony could top her Twisted Rainboom, after all, and the rest of her routine was equally stunning and flawless.

It was late in the evening when Dash and Pinkie stepped off the train in Ponyville to find their friends already waiting for them. Applejack was the first to speak up.

"Howdy, sugarcubes. Y'all have a good time in Appleoosa?"

"Oh, we had a super-duper fantastic time," bubbled Pinkie. "Well, except for the bad cider, but that was only one day and Dashie was really nice and took care of me." Here she paused, smiling and giving Dash a slight nuzzle. "Oh, but you should have seen all of Dashie's flying! She trained super-duper hard. She was always like 'WOOSH' and 'ZOOM' and rainbows and loops and everything! And then there was her new trick. I can't tell you what it is, cause it's a secret and if I told you it wouldn't be a secret anymore, but it was superamazingly spectaular and awesome!"

"Oh yea. I'm guaranteed to win this show," said Dash. "I bet the Wonderbolts will have me signed in ten seconds flat after my awesome performance next week."

Applejack and Twilight both rolled their eyes at the blue pony's cocksure attitude. As the group left the train station and started to go their separate ways, Applejack sidled over to Dash. "What's this about 'bad cider'?" she whispered. "Ah know Braeburn's orchard makes all the cider for Appleoosa, and Ah don't want anypony lookin' badly on the Apple family name."

"Oh that," Dash snickered. "It wasn't bad cider. Pretty good, actually. It was just Pinkie's first time trying hard cider. If I'd known she didn't know what it was, I would have stopped her before she bolted down five mugs in under an hour."

"Ouch. Poor Pinkie. Ah know Brae makes some right powerful hard cider. Ah'll bet that was a doozy of a hangover."

"As your brother would say, 'Eeyup'." Both ponies chortled at that before Dash flew over to rejoin Pinkie, who was bouncing merrily along towards Sugarcube Corner.

After sharing an extended kiss goodnight with Pinkie and stopping by Fluttershy's to pick up Tank, Dash flew back to her house. She put Tank back in his terrarium and crawled into her familiar comfortable cloud bed. The past two months had been exhausting - day and night - but it was going to be so worth it. She drifted off to sleep, dreaming of what her debut as a new member of the Wonderbolts would be like.

Awake At Last! A Shattered Rainbow's Hard Recovery!

Pinkie sighed softly as she walked into the hospital room. Dash still lay in the bed, her condition unchanged. It had been eight long months since the accident. Everypony else had just about given up hope. She had even overheard Twilight once dictating a letter to the Princess about finding a new bearer for the Element of Loyalty, just in case a crisis should come while Dash was still comatose. Through it all, though, Pinkie never gave up hope, though it was getting harder. Every day she would come, desperately wishing to find her Dashie awake. Every day she would be disappointed. It was odd. For some reason she had really thought today would be different. Ever since she had gotten up this morning, there had been the strongest feeling that today would be the day. She sighed again, then went over to the chair next to the bed. She picked up the copy of "Daring Do and the Legend of the Ruby Knight" that was sitting on the nightstand, opened it to the spot where she had left the bookmarker last night, and began to read aloud. She had done this for months now, advancing through almost the whole series. She had no idea what she would read to Dashie when all the Daring Do books were finished.

"The dark tunnel that Daring was crawling through opened to a massive antechamber, with the ceiling being at least four ponies high; giving Daring Do more than enough room to spread her wings. Light pooled in gently from a hole in the upper right side of the makeshift room, the cool moonlight cast the jagged edges of the wall in nightmarish shadows. Nothing stirred at Daring's entrance..." Pinkie paused in her reading, as a noise that was not her voice, nor the beeping and humming of hospital equipment, came from her right. She held her breath, then slowly lowered the book and turned her gaze to the bed.

Dash groaned as she came to her senses. She opened her eyes - and quickly shut them again, struggling to adjust to the sudden light. She tried to remember where she was. The last thing she could remember was the ground approaching at incredible speed. Then pain. Blinding, agonizing pain.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched voice as a pink blur invaded her vision and she felt herself gripped in a powerful hug. "Dashie! You're awake!"

Dash blinked, attempted to gain her bearings and figure out what was going on. "Mmmph... Wah? Pinks? Where am I?"

"In the hospital. Oh, Dashie, I've been so worried. We were all worried and everypony was here to visit you almost everyday for a while but then they all had things to do so they couldn't come as much but I kept coming all these eight months, just like I promised I would. Twilight and all the others kept saying you might not wake up, but I just knew you would. Oh, that reminds me, I need to call them and let them know you're awake. Be right back." Pinkie gave Dash a quick peck on the lips before racing off.

Dash lay there for a moment, trying to absorb all that Pinkie had said. Eight months? Geez, I knew it was bad, but not that bad. Another thought occurred to her. Aw horsefeathers, eight months of laying here? It's gonna take me forever to get back into top flying condition. She sighed and looked around. The cover of the book lying on the nightstand caught her eye, and she read the title. Huh. Don't remember that one. Has Pinks been reading to me all this time, too?

Her musings were interrupted as Pinkie bounded back into the room, followed by a doctor.

"Ah, Ms. Dash. How good to see you awake. I'm Dr. Wellhooves."

"Great. Pleased to meet you, Doc. So, now that I'm up, when can I leave?"

The doctor chuckled politely. "Straight to business, I see. Well, we need to run some tests to assess your recovery. Depending on the results, you may be here another one to two weeks. Then you'll need to start rehabilitation to build up your muscles so that you can walk and fly again. That could take two months or more."

Dash groaned, annoyed at the prospect of spending another couple months confined to the hospital.

Before she could voice a complaint, however, there was a purple flash in the middle of the room and Twilight and the others appeared.

Dash smiled. "Hey, gals. Err... and guy," she quickly corrected, noticing Spike's frown. The purple dragon was much more intimidating looking now, standing a little taller than a pony and with spines that were quite a bit sharper. He must have had a growth spurt while I was out of it.

Fluttershy rushed to the bedside and embraced Dash, tears of happiness coming to her eyes. "I'm so happy you're awake. We were all so scared. It... it had been so long. We were starting to think maybe...," her voice trailed off and she found herself unable to finish the thought.

"Aw, c'mon, 'Shy. You know it takes more than a little accident to do me in." Dash tried to sound confident, but inside she was actually beginning to feel quite shaken as her mind began wrapping itself around the situation.

Eight months. She had been in a coma for eight months. It was finally starting to sink in how lucky she was to even be alive. While part of her mind listened as her friends began telling her about all the developments in Ponyville that she had missed, another part was busy contemplating a newfound awareness of her own mortality. An awareness that, quite frankly, scared the living shit out of her, for reasons she couldn't quite fathom.

In between her musings, she picked up snippets of recent events that were of interest to her. Scootaloo's wings had fully grown in now, much to the consternation of her earth pony mother, who now had an even harder time keeping up with the adventurous filly. Dash couldn't wait to teach the little squirt how to fly. Well, as soon as she herself could fly again.

Spike, as she had thought, had experienced a growth spurt, though, much to everypony's relief, it hadn't altered his personality this time.

Another, much more surprising bit of news was that Applejack and Fluttershy were dating now.

Much too soon, visiting hours were over, leaving Dash alone again to mull over her situation. Eventually, she drifted off to a somewhat uneasy sleep.

The next day, Dash was pleasantly surprised to see that Pinkie had the rest of the gang in tow when she arrived. They must have taken the first train here. Wow, Spike has grown quite a bit.

Dash smiled at their entrance. "Hey everypony. Long time, no see, huh? Guess I've got a bit of catching up to do."

All five ponies (and one dragon) froze, exchanging looks, first of puzzlement, then of concern. Dash found herself quickly growing irritated and she wasn't entirely sure why. "What?" she snapped, much more harshly than she had intended. "Why is everypony looking at me like I just grew another head?"

"Um.. Dashie. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes! Sundamnit Pinks, I'm fine." Dash was practically yelling now. "I'm finally awake after eight months, everypony should be happy. So why are you all frowning and muttering?"

Fluttershy was cringing behind a frowning Applejack at this point and Rarity looked uncertain what to do.

Finally, Twilight reluctantly stepped forward. "Because, Dash...," she sighed, "because we were all here yesterday. For several hours. Don't... don't you remember?"

Dash's mind was racing. She couldn't remember that. She thought back. She remembered Pinkie greeting her when she woke up, talking about how relieved she was, then leaving to inform the others. After that... after that, everything was blank. Fear crawled into her gut as she looked up at Twilight and slowly shook her head. "No. I don't remember anything yesterday after Pinkie left to tell you I was awake." She reached out and grabbed Twilight by the shoulders, staring her in the face. "Twi. What's happening to me?"

"It's likely that you have some residual traumatic cerebral neurological injury." announced Dr. Wellhooves, as he entered the room.

Dash blinked and looked at the doctor with an annoyed frown. "Could you repeat that in Equestrian, Doc?"

Before Wellhooves could respond, Twilight spoke up. "Brain damage, Dash. He said you have brain damage."

"Now, of course, we'll need to do an MRI of the head to determine the extent," said the doctor in a somewhat softer tone, "and, of course, some of the problems may only be temporary. While we have you up and about, we'll run some other tests as well."

"Well, let's go, then." Dash sat up and dangled her hind legs over the edge of the bed, getting ready to get up. Both Twilight and Dr. Wellhooves immediately stepped forward to stop her.

"Hold up there, speedy." Wellhooves placed a restraining hoof on Dash's shoulder. "Those leg muscles haven't been used in eight months. You hop out of bed like that and you'll wind up on your face. We'll get you a wheelchair."

Dash grimaced. She had completely forgotten about that particular problem. For a while at least she was going to have to be dependent on others to get around. She frowned as the doctor and Twilight levitated her into the chair. She was Rainbow Dash, the fastest pony in Equestria. Now here she was, stuck in a wheelchair, possibly brain damaged, and Celestia only knew what else.

Dash gritted her teeth against the pain of the nerve conduction tests on her wings. Damn, these things sting like hell. Feels like a million tiny lightning bolts. These were the last of the tests for today, Dr. Wellhooves had assured her. She was glad. Being wheeled around was really beginning to grate on her. Being dependent on others quite honestly pissed her off. She shook her head to clear it. Where is all this aggression coming from? I never used to be so quick-tempered. Impulsive, sure, but not mad at the world like this. C'mon, Dash, get your head on straight.

After the tests were finished, Pinkie and the others accompanied Dash back to her room. They passed some time just talking and reminiscing about their past adventures, which put Dash at ease. After about an hour, the doctor came back, test results in hoof. The serious look on his face caused a somber hush to fall over everypony.

Dash swallowed nervously and tried to play it cool. "So, Doc, what's the word?"

"Would you like to hear the good news first or the bad news?"

"Bad news first, Doc. Let's get it over with."

"Very well. The first bit of bad news is about your brain scans. Unfortunately, there is some damage to the right side of your temporal lobe, specifically the areas that control memory storage and emotions, so that would serve to explain your memory lapse."

"Okay, what can we do about it?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. There's a very good chance that the blackouts will lessen with time, however. It's possible that you may also experience some emotional instability. If it were a chemical imbalance, we could prescribe drugs, but, unfortunately, since it stems from actual physical damage, there's nothing we can do. Its possible that a therapist could be useful in dealing with it, and I can certainly give you a referral to one, if you would like."

Dash sighed. This was a lot to take in. She was about to speak when Wellhooves continued.

"Also, I'm afraid that, besides the metal rods we had to implant to stabilize your bones, there was significant damage to the nerves and muscle tissue in your wings. While they've healed remarkably well, it is likely that your flying ability will be permanently compromised to a significant degree."

"Gee, is that all?" The sarcasm slipped out as Dash felt her annoyance with the situation quickly building again. "So, I have permanent brain damage and my career as a racer and stunt flyer is over. Grand. Now what the hell is the good news?"

"Well, I know it may not sound like much, but at least you will be able to fly somewhat. And you're relatively young, so with an intense rehab program, which we can start as early as next week, we should have you walking and flying again in two to three months. With ongoing therapy to manage your emotions, there's an excellent chance that you'll be able to live a mostly normal life."

Dash's first instinct was to slap the doctor. Only the fact that her muscles were almost useless at present stopped her. Her mouth worked fine, though. "A mostly normal life? I'm supposed to have been a superstar, a Wonderbolt, the greatest flyer in Equestria! And now you expect me to be happy about having a mostly normal life?"

"Please, Ms. Dash, it's not good for you to get so agitated this soon after coming around. If you would just..."

"Shut the hell up!" Dash screamed. "Don't get so agitated? How else am I supposed to feel?" She shifted to one side, to show her cutie mark. "Look at my flank! Look at it, damn you! It's a lightning bolt. It means fast! It means SPEED! Racing wasn't some sundamned HOBBY! It was my LIFE! My DESTINY! What am I supposed to do with my life now?"

Wellhooves quietly slipped back out of the room. Better to let the emotional instability run its course, then discuss things when the patient was calmer.

Pinkie moved to the bedside, reaching out to put her hoof on Dash's shoulder. Her own voice cracking with emotion, she whispered, "Oh, Dashie. Don't worry. We'll get through this together, right? I mean, I'm sure you'll still be able to do lots of things once you get your strength back. You can still fly some. And you can, um, sing! And dance! And eat cake! And..." She trailed off, as she realized her words were not having the intended effect. "Um, Dashie? Please don't look at me like that. You're scaring me."

Dash shrugged Pinkie's hoof off her shoulder and fixed the pink mare with a gaze as cold as ice. "You. Why? Why did you do it?"

"D.. do what Dashie?"

So great was the despair in her heart that she practically spat the words at her lover. "Why did you keep me alive? You should have told them to take the tubes out. YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME DIE! Instead, what did you do? You kept me around. For what? Just so I could see all my dreams shatter?"

Pinkie was in tears now. "Dashie. I'm sorry. I didn't think that... I couldn't. I couldn't lose you."

Dash lay back, her voice going as cold as her gaze. "Get out."

The flat, emotionless tone the command was delivered in hurt Pinkie far worse than if it had been shouted. She fled the room in tears, all the bounce gone from her step and her mane.

Fluttershy glanced several times between Dash and the door, unsure who to try and comfort, before finally slinking out after Pinkie.

Rarity stood with her mouth agape, unable to form any words at first, finally managing a strangled "Dreadful!" before turning and leaving.

Applejack was furious. "You look here! Ah know this is an awful lot fer you ta take in, but there warn't no call for that. Pinkie put her whole life on hold to be with you. She held out for a miracle when the rest of us reckoned it was hopeless. She deserves way better than to be yelled at by your ungrateful self!"

Twilight, having finished putting a reluctant Spike out of the room, chimed in. "Applejack is right. There's a lot of ponies out there who have things a lot worse than you do. You could have come out of that accident with a lot more damage than you did. You could have been paralyzed or blinded or any number of things. Instead you're alive with a chance to recover a good bit of your mobility. You're surrounded by friends who care about you. You have a wonderful marefriend who loves you. You should thank Celestia you have Pinkie. Not everypony is so lucky." There was a slight hint of bitterness in her voice on this last point.

Applejack turned to leave before looking back over her shoulder. "We're gonna do like you asked and leave now. But y'all think on what we said. You think on it powerful hard."

Applejack turned and left without delay. Twilight made her way out somewhat more hesitantly, glancing back at Dash several times.

As Twilight left, Dash sighed and felt the anger quickly draining and being replaced by grief and a profound sense of loss. "Wait...," she whispered at the empty doorway. "I... I didn't mean it." Dear Celestia, what have I done? What's happening to me? Dash turned toward the wall, buried her face in her pillow, and cried herself to sleep.

Fluttershy caught up with Pinkie just outside the hospital area, in one of the castle's many parks. The pink pony was sitting on a bench, sobbing quietly. Fluttershy wasn't quite sure what to do, so she just sat down and put a comforting foreleg around her friend's shoulders.

"Oh, Flutters," sniffled Pinkie, "did I do the right thing? Why is Dashie so mad at me? I couldn't let her die. I just couldn't."

"I... I don't think she's mad at you, Pinkie. I think she's just, well, mad. And I'm sure she doesn't really want to be dead. This is just hard for her. As long as I've known her, its been Dash's dream to be a Wonderbolt, to be famous all over Equestria. Now she's watching that dream die. And when you add the b... brain damage," Fluttershy shivered a bit at the unpleasant term, " I... I think she's just not herself. She... She just needs time. And she needs us to be there for her. Especially... especially the two of us, I think."

Pinkie sniffled softly, and managed a slight smile as a little bit of poofiness returned to her mane. "I... I guess I never thought of it that way. I was just so happy to see Dashie awake again that I never thought about how hard this must be for her. I can't imagine what it must be like to lose your special talent. I mean it's like if I somehow couldn't throw parties anymore. I don't know what I'd do. How... how do you help a pony who can't fulfill their destiny anymore?"

"You help them find another one," said Twilight, arriving on the scene.

Pinkie scrunched her face up in confusion. "What do you mean? Another talent? Another destiny?"

"Is that even possible?" asked Fluttershy.

"It's not just possible. It's vital." Twilight's voice took on a somber tone. "I've been doing some research ever since yesterday afternoon. It occurred to me that Dash's injuries might end her career. So I decided to see if anything like this has happened before. And it has. A number of times, in fact. And I found that in every case, there was one of two outcomes."

Fluttershy's voice trembled. "What... what were the outcomes?"

Twilight sighed. "Either the pony in question found a new purpose in life... or they ended up in a downward spiral of self-destructive behavior, never to recover."

Pinkie gasped. "That's horrible! My poor Dashie."

"There is one ray of hope, though." Twilight's voice had a tone of confidence. "In every case, the difference was made by the support of close friends. Invariably, those ponies who had strong friendships eventually found a new purpose and went on to lead normal, healthy lives, while those who were loners with no close ties didn't."

"But how do you help somepony redefine who they are?" wondered Fluttershy.

"I don't know," confessed Twilight, "but right now I think we're Dash's only hope."

Rainbow Dash stirred fitfully as the sun came in through the window of the hospital room. As consciousness returned, so did memories of the previous evening. She snorted bitterly. It figured that she would remember exactly what she didn't want to.

Just at that moment, the doctor entered. "Ah, good. You're awake. How are you feeling this morning?"

Dash's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Well, let's see - I can't fly, I can't walk, and my friends probably hate me now. I'd say I'm doing just peachy, Doc."

The doctor smiled brightly. "Well, the flying and the walking are what we're going to get started with today, hmm? And as for your friends, I doubt they'll hate you over one incident of ill temper. Indeed, I've seldom seen more devoted friends than yours. In fact, I think I hear them coming now. Perhaps I'll leave you all alone for a minute."

As the doctor left, still smiling and now whistling cheerfully, Dash swiveled her ears and caught the sound of approaching hoofbeats and voices - her friends' voices. She smiled in spite of herself as Pinkie bounced into the room.

"Morning, Dashie-washie! Ready to get up and start getting back on your hoovesies?"

"Can't wait, Pinks. I'm getting tired of being stuck in this bed all the time." For a fleeting moment, Dash could almost believe that the events of the previous day had been a bad dream. Almost. She sighed. "Look, um... about yesterday. I just... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did."

Pinkie's smile slipped for just a second before returning. "Oh, don't you worry your silly little head about it, Dashie."

"That's right," declared Twilight as she entered. "I think we all overreacted a bit yesterday. Look, Dash, we know all this is going to be hard for you to adjust to. Just know that we're all here for you. If you need to talk, if you need anything, let us know. We want to help you."

"Eeyup, sugarcube," affirmed Applejack. "We're all gonna get through this mess together, jes like we always have before."

Fluttershy and Rarity both nodded in agreement, beaming smiles of quiet reassurance.

"Now c'mon," urged Pinkie. "The sooner we get you back on your hooves and in the air, the sooner you can come home and I can throw you a super-awesome, super-spectacular 'Welcome Home, Dashie' party!"

With that, Dash found herself being levitated into the wheelchair and carted off to begin her rehabilitation therapy.

Dash gently rubbed her sore muscles. It had been four weeks now since she had woken up, four weeks of grueling physical therapy. After the first week, she thought she would die. After two weeks, she could have sworn she was dead. Now it was becoming routine, if no less exhausting.

Applejack and Rarity had both returned to Ponyville to tend to their businesses again, wishing her well and assuring her they would visit when they could. Fluttershy was back and forth every other day, as her menagerie took most of her time. Pinkie and Twilight were staying in guest quarters at the castle, not far from the wing housing the Royal Hospital, while she went through rehab, though Dash didn't get a lot of downtime with Pinkie, since the intense rehab program she was doing left her exhausted most days. Between that and her biweekly visit to the on-staff psychiatrist, her schedule was packed. She really couldn't complain, though. She had requested the harder rehab in place of the normal, slower program, after all. And the shrink was helping too. It had been nearly two weeks now since her last temper storm.

Still, despite her best hopes, her flying ability remained mediocre. She sighed. "I can't believe it, Pinks. A whole month and I'm only at 6 wingpower. I'm the captain of the weather team, for Celestia's sake. How can I captain them when I barely even qualify to be a member? This sucks."

At the mention of the weather team, Pinkie exchanged a quick nervous glance with Twilight before putting on a reassuring smile. "Aww, don't worry, Dashie. These things take time, right? I'm sure things will pick up soon. After all, getting back to walking and flying well in just a month is pretty amazing by itself."

The glance had not gone unnoticed, however. Dash frowned. "What was that look?"

"What look?" both ponies answered in unison.

"The one you gave each other when I mentioned the weather team. Don't think I didn't notice it. Is there something you're not telling me?"

Twilight sighed. "We weren't going to tell you until you maybe got a little better."

"Tell me what?" Dash could feel her calm beginning to slip. C'mon now. Peaceful thoughts. Calm thoughts.

"Well, see, we've all been kind of taking turns looking after your house, your bills, your mail, and your other affairs while you've been out. Three months ago, you got this." Twilight handed Dash a letter.

Dash examined the envelope, which was already open. The return address was that of the Ponyville weather department. The letter itself was brief and to the point. The weather department regulations wouldn't allow holding her position open for more than six months. They had allowed the maximum time because of her years of loyal service but now, since the full six months had elapsed, they had no choice but to let her go and assign a new captain.

Dash stared at the letter in shock. They let me go. Me! I was the best weather captain in, like, ever. How dare they! And who had the nerve to take MY job? I'll rip their lungs out! She paused, realizing the direction her thoughts were taking. At least she hadn't immediately vocalized them, which was an improvement. Okay, deep breaths. Count to 10 before you react.

After a few deep breaths and counting to about 100, Dash finally set the letter aside. "Okay then," she said, forcing herself to stay calm. "Just another challenge to face, right? I'll worry about that when I get out of here. For now, I'm just gonna focus on my rehab."

Twilight and Pinkie visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. That went better than expected.

"So who replaced me?"

Twilight tensed up again. There was no way out but through it now. "Thunderlane. The new weather captain is Thunderlane."

Dash appeared to ponder this for a moment. "Thunderlane, eh? Good. That would have been my choice."

"You... you're not mad?" Twilight and Pinkie exclaimed in unison.

Dash's face briefly twisted into a vicious scowl. "Oh, I'm furious. I'm seething inside," she paused, her face returning to a calm expression, "but it's like my therapist says, I gotta think it through. I mean who can I go off on? You? You just brought the news, you didn't cause it. The Weather Department? Or Thunderlane? They're just doing their jobs. Sure, the situation sucks, but taking it out on somepony else will just make things worse. Maybe, if things go well, I can get back on the weather team. If not, I'll have to find something else. Like I said, I'll deal with it later. Right now," Dash yawned loudly, "right now I just want some shuteye."

Dash's improving mental condition served to bolster Pinkie's mood. "That's the spirit Dashie," she exclaimed enthusiastically. "You just rest your head and don't worry. We'll find you a new job in no time."

Twilight put on a smile, but inside she wasn't so sure. This attitude change seemed to be too sudden. Keeping everything inside could be just as bad as lashing out wildly. If Dash was doing that, it wouldn't be pretty when the inevitable breakdown came.

Dash smiled as she ascended the ladder. Rehab had been progressing well so far. Despite the fact that she still had only been able to get up to about 6 wingpower, she could take comfort in the fact that she was now flying with relative ease. Now they were working on height. Last week, she had been able to get up to flying at about the height of a two-story building, comfortably and with only a moderate effort. Today, they were going to try doubling that. Reaching the top, she paused briefly on the small platform to take in the view. As she looked over the edge, a wave of dizziness swept over her. She shook her head to clear it. What the hay? Planting her feet firmly, she spread her wings. Or tried to. Her wings, however, remained firmly at her sides and she felt a panic overtake her. Before she knew what was happening, she was curled up in a ball with her hooves over her face. Sundamnit, whats wrong with me? Its like I'm turning into Fluttershy or something.

Pinkie called out from below. "Dashie? You okay up there?" The only response was a faint whimpering noise. Pinkie exchanged a concerned look with Twilight. "I don't think she's okay."

Eventually, the rehab nurses managed to coax Dash down. After a brief rest, she felt good enough to do some more exercises at the two-story level, but she couldn't help but be somewhat disappointed, not to mention puzzled.

The next day, Dr. Wellhooves was present to monitor the situation. They were going to attempt the four-story height again to see if Dash had the same reaction and, if so, try to figure out why. Once again, Dash ascended the ladder. Once again, she attempted to take off. Once again, she found herself inexplicably curled up in a ball, whimpering.

Twilight watched the doctor's reaction. He mumbled something and scribbled down a few notes. Then he asked the nurse to repeat the exercise at a height of approximately three stories.

After a few more run-throughs, a pattern emerged. Dash did perfectly well flying at heights up to about the level of two stories. At levels that were much higher than that, though, she couldn't fly.

"What is it, doc? What the hay is wrong with me?" Dash paced the floor of her room agitatedly. "How could I possibly be afraid of heights?"

"Well, you're not, Ms. Dash. At least not consciously."

"What do you mean?"

"I believe you're suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. It's not uncommon, when somepony suffers severe physical or emotional trauma, for certain stimuli to trigger an automatic response based on subconscious memories of that trauma. In your case, the subconscious memories of your crash cause you to respond to flying at higher elevations with an overwhelming fear."

"So what do we do about it? There must be some way around it."

Dr. Wellhooves sighed heavily. Breaking news like this to patients was always his least favorite part of the job. "Unfortunately, Miss Dash, there is no medical remedy for this. Sometimes the problem lessens or disappears with time. Some ponies find that counseling or psychiatric therapy can help overcome it. And, frankly, sometimes the PTSD never goes away." He sighed again, and departed with the words he always said with bad news, though they never seemed adequate: "I'm sorry."

Dash hung her head sadly. Another setback. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. The minimized wingpower was one thing, but a fear of heights? What was the point of being a pegasus if you couldn't even reach the clouds?

Pinkie, her mane and tail deflating slightly, wrapped a comforting foreleg around Dash's shoulders, offering silent support.

Twilight merely contemplated the floor morosely. Things had been going so well, too.

Dash lifted her head, wiping away tears as she composed herself. "Oh well," she sniffled, managing a wan smile, "just one more thing, right? One more obstacle to overcome. Maybe... maybe if I can't get higher, I can still get a little faster, right? I mean, I have another month."

Pinkie brightened a little and wrapped her forelegs around Dash in a jubilant hug. "That's the spirit, Dashie! Never give up."

Twilight was encouraged by Dash's quick absorption of the setback. Whoever her therapist was, they were doing an incredible job. "That's right. None of us are giving up, Dash. I'm going to try and find out what I can about PTSD from the Royal Library. Maybe there'll be something there that can help you.

"Yep. And I'm just gonna keep right on cheering you on and planning that big party for when you come back to Ponyville." Pinkie grinned, all of her bounce returning.

Dash's smile brightened. "Thanks. I don't know what I'd do without you guys. Especially you, Pinks. You... you're... I mean, I..." She paused, slightly choked up. She had never been a mare of words, but actions. So she did the first thing that came to mind, returning Pinkie's embrace and kissing her deeply.

Twilight blushed slightly and turned her head. After a few moments had passed, she cleared her throat softly.

Dash broke the kiss and chuckled nervously, blushing. "Ummm.... right. I guess I'd better be getting some rest so I can get going again tomorrow with more rehab."

Pinkie seemed not in the least embarrassed, grinning ear to ear. "Okie-dokie-loki. You get some good shuteye, Dashie. And don't you worry, you'll be back up to speed before you know it."

As the two left, Dash lay back and stared at the ceiling. She sighed heavily. Oh, sure. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all. Just being practically ground-bound for the rest of my life. For a long while she lay there, mind racing, before finally falling into a somewhat fitful sleep.

Rainbow Dash stepped off the train. The afternoon sun hung low in the sky. The others had left the previous night to get things ready for her "welcome back" party. The last three weeks of rehab had at least seen some progress. Her wingpower had risen to 7. Unfortunately, there was no progress on the height problem. She paused below her cloud home. A makeshift rope ladder led up to the entrance, no doubt having been used by the others to look after her house during her long convalescence. Well that'll come in handy, she thought glumly.

As she entered her house, her eyes scanned around until they spotted the small black cabinet in the corner and fluttered over to it. After rummaging around for a moment she retrieved what she was looking for and held it up with a smile. Ah, Captain Maregan. Black Cask. The good stuff. This oughta make the party even better. At the very least it'll take my mind off my troubles.

As Dash neared the brightly lit Sugarcube Corner, she could hear loud bass thumping with a distinctive "wub, wub, wub" that could only mean one thing. She hired DJ Pon-3? Wow, Pinks really went all out.

As she stepped inside, she was nearly bowled over by a bright pink blur that wrapped itself around her.

"Dashie! Yay, you're here. Now we can really get this party started!"

"Hey Pinks!" Dash returned the embrace, sweeping her marefriend up and kissing her. "Boy you outdid yourself this time. How did you ever manage to get DJ Pon-3?"

Pinkie grinned slyly. "Oh she owed me a teensey little favor. Toldja this would be one super awesome party. C'mon, let's dance."

Before they could get to the dance floor, though, Dash found herself assaulted by another blur, this one orange and purple.

"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo shouted excitedly. Then, after drawing in a deep breath, she continued without pausing:

"I'mgladyou'rebettercauseeveryponywassoworriedbutIknewyou'dbeokaybecauseyou'resoawesomeandspeakingofawesomelookmywingsgrewinmoreandIcanflynowalittlebitandIwashopingyoucouldgivemelessons."

As Scootaloo took another deep breath, Dash lightly put a hoof on her mouth. "Woah. Slow down there, squirt, don't want you to pass out."

Scootaloo nodded, paused for a second, then repeated her inquiry. "So, will you do it? Will you teach me how to fly and do awesome tricks and stuff?"

A pained look briefly crossed Dash's face, but she quickly perked up. "You betcha squirt." she said, playfully ruffling the young filly's hair.

Scootaloo let out a squeal of excitement. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash. You're the coolest." She sped off towards her friends excitedly. "Applebloom, Sweetie Belle! Guess what..."

Dash smiled wistfully as she watched the enthusiastic filly run off. Scoots reminded her a lot of herself at that age. Just then Pon-3 started a new song blasting.

"Ooh!" exclaimed Pinkie, dragging Dash along to the dance floor. "This is my jam! C'mon, Dashie."

After several rounds of dancing and various party games (including Pinkie's favorite - pin the tail on the pony), Dash was starting to get hungry (and a little exhausted), so she convinced Pinkie to let her get some food and rest up a bit. Piling her plate with various baked goods, she took a seat at a table near the door. She took a quick glance around to make sure nopony was looking, then retrieved the bottle she had hidden in her bags, which were still right there by the entryway. She took a quick swig, relishing the taste and the sensation of the rum burning its way down her throat, then stashed it back.

As time wore on, many of the guests began to depart, little by little, starting with the younger ponies and their parents. After about an hour at the table, Dash was starting to feel quite a bit buzzed and was astonished when she brought her bottle to her lips and found it empty. Damn, did I really drink all that? Maybe I can just sneak out and nopony will notice I'm smashed.

It was as good a plan as her booze-addled mind could come up with. Unfortunately, as she stood up she found that her limbs did not wish to cooperate with the plan and she quickly toppled backwards into the wall. "WOAH!" she shouted, causing several nearby heads to turn.

"Sweet Celestia," murmured Applejack, "she done got hammered outta her mind."

Twilight buried her face in her hoof and groaned. "But how? That punch was clean, I'm sure of it. There were little fillies and colts here after all."

"The punch mighta been, but ah'll bet that bottle in her hoof wasn't."

As Dash's mind oriented itself to her body's new position, her eyes focused on a hoof that was being extended towards her. She gradually looked upward to focus on just who was helping her. As the pony's face came into view, a surge of anger flooded through her. "YOU!" she screamed, pushing herself upright.

Thunderlane ducked as an empty rum bottle flew over his head. "Celestia H. Sunbringer! What the hell is wrong with you, Rainbow Dash?"

"What to shtart with? Lesshee, howbout, YOU SHTOLE MY JOB!" With this exclamation, she took a clumsy swing at Thunderlane, who managed to dodge it easily.

Thunderlane tried to back away. "You're crazy. I didn't steal anything. Look, if you want your job back, I'm sure the department will..."

"LIAR!" shouted Dash, pressing forward to match the retreating pegasus, "You've alwaysh wanted my job. Don't think I never notished. Shneaking around behind my back, playing all nishe and friendly with everypony, badmouthing me."

"I never badmouthed you. And since when is being nice to everypony a bad thing?"

Dash let out an incoherent scream and tackled Thunderlane, sending them both crashing into a nearby table of food.

Ditzy, who had just been making her way back to said table looked on with a downcast expression as a plate of muffins soared into the air, scattering everywhere. "Muffin... come back," she muttered sadly, looking at her empty plate with one eye, while the other continued to track the flying foodstuffs.

Twilight finally snapped out of her shock. "RAINBOW MIRIAM DASH! You calm down this instant!" Twilight cast an spell to yank Dash backwards, pulling her off of the stunned Thunderlane. "Look at this mess! After all Pinkie went through..."

That was as far as Twilight got. Her spell, being cast in haste, had failed to fully immobilize Dash's head. Dash snatched a plate out of the hooves of a shocked Ditzy with her mouth and flung it in Twilight's direction. Twilight dodged it but the distraction was enough to break her concentration and Dash flew out the door and into the night. Twilight briefly considered going after her, but decided instead to comfort a now sobbing Pinkie Pie. Applejack, meantime, went over to check on Tunderlane.

It was at this point that Rarity arrived back. "Well, I finally got Sweetie to bed. I thought I'd come back and see if I.... missed... anything. What in the name of all that is stylish and fashionable happened here?"

"A drunken Rainbow Dash happened," stated Twilight dryly. "I think we all need to have a talk about this tomorrow. We need to find a way to help her before she hurts somepony. Or herself."

Author's note:
The Daring Do excerpt that Pinkie reads is from the story "Daring Do and the Legend of the Ruby Knight" by Novel Idea. Many thanks to NI for their permission to use it.

So how drunk WAS Dash? I did a few quick calculations. The 750ml of 100 proof rum comes out to the equivalent of about a case (24 cans) of beer. In ONE HOUR. So, yea. Pretty well smashed. Bet the next morning will be a bitch, eh?

Pinkie's Inner Demon! Ruminations Over Mushrooms. Is There Solace in a Bottle?!

Pinkie stirred under her blanket as the alarm clock blared at her bedside. Dragging herself up, she turned it off and made her way to the bathroom to freshen up as best as she could . Last night still weighed heavy on her mind and her mane and tail refused to 'poof' no matter what she did.

As she stood before the mirror brushing her hair somewhat listlessly, she paused. She could have sworn she heard a voice. The Cakes weren't due back from Fillydelphia for another two days and nopony else should be around, since the store wouldn't open for another hour-and-a-half. Hearing nothing more, she shrugged it off and continued brushing. As she finished and lay the brush down, though, she heard it again, much more clearly. A voice she hadn't heard in years. Her eyes went wide with shock and fear.

Pinkie looked around. No longer in her bathroom, she now stood on an open plain. Bright pink cotton candy grass covered the ground. Rather than trees, various flavors of candy canes dotted the landscape. In the distance, cupcake mountains loomed. She knew the place well. It was her mind, after all.

Somepony off to her left snorted derisively. "Disgusting. All this brightness and color. It makes me nauseous."

Pinkie turned, knowing who she would see, but still desperately hoping she was wrong. Sure enough, though, she saw her. A pony just like her but with a flat, straight mane and tail. This pony's coat and hair were also much darker pink, almost a grayish color. In a circle around her, the cotton candy had withered and turned into hard, gray dirt. The pony turned and looked at her with cold eyes and an evil grin.

"Hello, Pinkie. Have you missed me?"

"No. This can't be happening. I got rid of you! You're gone!"

"Oh, you silly filly. I'm not gone. I'm always here. But you haven't come to see me in soooo long. Don't you like me anymore? Don't you like all our good friends? Good, loyal friends who never let you down." As she spoke, the dark pony slowly circled Pinkie, fouling the ground around her.

Pinkie put her hooves over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. "No, no, no! You're not real! I can't hear you!"

"Oh you already know that won't work. You don't need ears to hear me." She leaned in closer, whispering. "My, but you look a mess, you poor dear. It must be hard, knowing your marefriend doesn't really care about you. About your feelings."

"No! I know my Dashie loves me. And I love her. She's just going through a hard time. Stop doing this! I'm not going to listen to you!"

"As if you have a choice! Tell me this, my dear, sweet Pinkie: If she cared, why would she even bring alcohol to your party, hmmm? Knowing you swore off the stuff? Knowing there were foals there? Seems mighty selfish to me. That's part of what has you so worked up, isn't it? I think it's high time you take a rest and let your old pal Pinkamena handle things."

Pinkie screamed, in equal parts anger, fear, and pain, and passed out.

Dash groaned, shielding her eyes from the harsh sunlight that poured in through the window. Slowly she got up and made her way over to the door of her room. Her head felt like dragons were stomping on it and her whole body ached. She couldn't remember how she got home from the party last night. Hell, she could barely remember anything about last night at all. She remembered everything up to her last dance with Pinkie. After that, though, the whole thing was kind of a blur. Whether that was from the alcohol, the brain damage, or both she wasn't sure. Hope I didn't do anything too stupid. Ah, well, drunk is as drunk does, I guess.

Groggily, she got to her hooves, only to be hit by a sudden wave of nausea. "Ohhhh... not good," she moaned as she rushed to the bathroom.

After the violent expulsion of the previous evening's foodstuffs (which, Dash considered, had tasted far better going down) she made her way to the kitchen. The thought of anything substantial nearly forced a repeat bout of heaving, so she ultimately settled on some dry toast and a glass of water.

After her meager breakfast, Dash began to sort through the eight-month pile of mail. The bills and other important things had been taken care of by her friends, of course, but there was still a bunch of stuff to sort through.

After nearly 40 minutes she had managed to make four piles: junk, Daring Do fan club, Playpony, and This Old Cloud. The sorting had at least managed to give her body time to restore its equilibrium.

As she gathered up the junk mail pile, there came a knocking. "Coming," she called, depositing the useless papers in the trash and moving towards the door.

Upon opening the door, Dash was surprised to find a rather nervous-looking Twilight. Twilight walking on clouds was nothing new, of course, but Dash could swear the purple unicorn seemed almost afraid of her.

Nah. That would be absurd.

Dash smiled brightly. "Hey, Twi. C'mon in. Sorry the place is a bit of a mess. Guess I haven't had time to tidy up yet."

"Ummm... yea." murmured Twilight as she cautiously entered. "Look, Dash. I, um... I came to talk about last night."

Now it was Dash's turn to be nervous. Oh, Celestia. What did I do? "Last night, huh? Well, um... great party?"

Twilight shot her an incredulous look. "You don't remember a thing, do you?"

Dash ran a hoof through her mane and chuckled nervously. "Well, not after my last dance with Pinkie, at least. What can I say? Rum is a hell of a drink. I didn't do anything too crazy, I hope?"

Twilight sighed. "Well..."

As Twilight recounted the details of the previous evening's delinquency, Dash could only hang her head in shame. "Geez, Twi, I guess I really fucked things up. I'm sorry."

"It's not me you need to apologize to. Pinkie worked really hard on that party. And poor Thunderlane certainly didn't deserve to be assaulted like that."

"Yea, I guess you're right." Dash got up, and started for the door.

"Dash wait," called Twilight, stopping her. "Look, Dash. I'm sorry if I came off a little harsh. It's just that, well, you really worried us. I know you're upset about your condition but you can't solve your problems on Captain Maregan's ship. Taking that voyage is just going to make things worse."

"I know, I know." Dash raised her hooves defensively. "Things just got a little out of hoof yesterday, that's all."

"I know this is a hard time for you, Dash, but just remember, we're all here for you."

"I will. I promise."

Ding-a-ling! The bell tinkled as the door to Sugarcube Corner opened. Dash stepped inside, looking around. It seemed... darker than usual. And there were no customers, which was odd for this time of day. The door suddenly slammed shut, causing Dash to jump.

"Hiiiii, Dashieee." Pinkie's voice came from the darkness, but it had a creepy, drawn-out tone.

"Pinks?" asked Dash warily, turning towards the sound of the voice. Something was definitely weird here. She finally caught sight of Pinkie sitting at a table in the corner. She was grinning oddly and there was a distant look in her eyes.

Dash rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Umm... yea. Look. About last night. I just wanted to say, well... I'm sorry. I really made a mess of things."

"Oh? You're sorry, are you? Yes, I think you are." Pinkie's voice had taken on a harder edge now. "You're one sorry pony. But you're not through being sorry yet, not by a long shot."

Dash backed up a step. "Uhhh... Okay, Pinks, you're starting to scare me now."

"Scared? You should be. After all I did, staying with you all that time. Struggling to hope when everypony else said I should give up. Then you wreck the party I threw for you? You take a fun, happy time and destroy it with your drunken antics?"

Geez, what's with her? I apologized. Shouldn't that be good enough? What about all I've been through? I think a drunken rampage or two is excusable after I lost my whole future.

"Look, I said I was sorry..."

"Not good enough!" Pinkie slammed the table with her hoof, sending a crack along its length.

Dash was getting a bit irritated by this suddenly malicious attitude. "What do you want from me? Should I clean the place? Pay for damages? Fund a make-up party?"

"This isn't about bits, you simpleton! This is about how you treat the ponies you care about. All you ever think about is yourself. Never a thought about how I would feel, no! Her highness, Rainbow Dash wants to get soused and raise ruckus and everypony else be damned! I really shouldn't be surprised though. You've been that way the whole time I've known you."

Dash stood there, her mouth open in shock. She tried to think of a reply but the more she thought, the more she felt like maybe Pinkie was right. Before she could say anything, Pinkie continued.

"Well no more. I'm done waiting for you to pull your head out of your ass and grow up! We're through! Now get out!"

Dash felt like she had been kicked in the gut. "You... you're breaking up with me? Just like that? Over one stupid little mistake?"

"The only mistake was staying with you as long as I did. Maybe you were right. Maybe I should have let you die. I thought maybe you'd learn to value you friends more - to value me more. But you haven't learned a sundamned thing!"

"Fine!" Dash stormed over to the door, her anger raging out of control again, and turned to deliver a parting shot. "If that's what you want, I'll go. But let me tell you, I'm not the only one who has to grow up. Do you really think every problem in life can be solved with just a party? You live in some sundamned fairy-tale world where everything is rainbows and butterflies. But this is the real world, and it doesn't work that way. The real world is a cruel bitch, Pinkie. One day, you'll learn that the hard way." Dash stomped out, slamming the door as hard as she could.

Pinkamena watched the blue pegasus depart with a satisfied grin. Her triumph, however, was cut off by an anguished wail that only she could hear.

The bakery faded out, to be replaced again by the open plain of Pinkie's mind. This time, though, everything was gray, dull, faded, and dead. This time, Pinkamena was in control.

"Oh, do shut up, Pinkie. You brought this on yourself."

Pinkie sat on the ground, looking thoroughly defeated. In a very small radius around her, there was an area of life and color. "Why? Why did you do that? Now Dashie's going to hate me and she'll never be my marefriend again."

Pinkamena got right up in Pinkie's face, her features etched with a fierce rage. "Why? I'll tell you why, you backstabbing little party fiend! Because you betrayed me. You betrayed all of us! You created us, me and Rocky and LeFleur, Lintsalot, and Mr. Turnip. You said we'd always be your friends! We were there for you when you didn't have any other friends in the world! But then you started making other friends. But you never introuduced us, oh no! You were ashamed of us, weren't you, Pinkie? Then you just left us altogether. You abandoned us, your first and truest friends! Oh, you came crawling back when you thought your other friends had forgotten you. But one party later and all was good again and there we were, swept back into the corner. Well, no more! We're taking you with us, and we're going to make sure we're your only friends from now on."

The noise of bitter sobbing was the only response Pinkamena received. She turned her back on her utterly broken creator and rival and trotted off to resume her plans in the outerworld.

Thirty minutes later, a pink hot-air balloon departed from behind Sugarcube Corner. Inside were a pile of rocks, a bucket of turnips, a bag of flour, a pile of lint, and one pink earth pony with a very disturbed grin.

Rainbow stormed off, not paying much attention to where she was going. Soon she found herself wandering through a section of town she had never been in before. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she really hadn't had much to eat that day. As luck would have it, she found herself outside a restaurant, the smells of culinary delights wafting through the air.

As she entered the restaurant, the smells got stronger, causing her mouth to water. An orange-colored mare with a dark pink mane greeted her and led her to a table.

"Welcome to 'Soup's On!'. My name's Candymane and I'll be your server today. Can I get you a drink to start off with?"

"Yea, I'll take a cider. Plain, not hard."

While the waitress went off to get her drink, Dash contemplated the menu. There seemed to be a bit of a mushroom theme going:

Miso Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms

Oven-roasted Mushroom Soup

Wild Mushroom Stew (this had a star next to it)

Mushroom Soup with Seasonal Vegetables

Mushroom Tofu Ball Soup

Double Mushroom Bisque

Cream of Mushroom Soup (this was also marked with a star)

Mushroom and Barley Soup

After a bit, the whole thing started to run together in Dash's mind. It was just then that Candymane came back with her cider.

"You ready to order, hun, or d'ya need a few more minutes?"

"Well, I've never been here before. What would you recomend?"

"Let's see, they're all pretty good. The ones with the star there are our signature dishes. Now, the Cream of Mushroom is pretty good, but I'll tell you, if you only try one thing here, it would have to be the Wild Mushroom Stew. It's made with local wild mushrooms from the edges of the Everfree. There's just something about 'em that cultivated varieties lack, y'know? The stew is rich and flavorful but not too heavy. I'm not lyin' when I say it's my favorite dish here."

After placing her order for the Wild Mushroom Stew, Dash ruminated over the day's events while sipping a mug of cider. She couldn't figure out what had turned Pinkie so cold and vicious. Despite her angry parting words, she still loved Pinkie. I wish she still loved me. I just don't know what went wrong.

She sighed. She couldn't face Twilight or the others after what had happened. In fact, the thought of staying in Ponyville any longer, of dealing with Pinkie and the others everyday, just made her heart ache. It would hurt too much. Good thing cloudhomes are easy to move, I guess.

Her musings were cut short by the arrival of her stew. As the waitress placed her order down, Dash couldn't help but feel that she looked familiar, like they had met before. She started in on the stew - and was amazed. The flavors and the richness just exploded in her mouth. I'll have to remember this place, she thought, before remembering her situation. If I'm ever in Ponyville again, that is.

It was then that she noticed that the waitress hadn't departed and appeared to be regarding her with curiosity. Before she could say anything, the orange mare spoke.

"Say, you wouldn't be Rainbow Dash, would you?"

Oh, great. A fan. Just what I need. Dash forced a smile. "The one and only. Guess you've heard of me. Can't say I'm surprised, though. I mean, who hasn't?" Even as she said them, the words felt hollow to Dash. Her heart wasn't in it anymore.

"Oh, wow! I thought it was you! My little filly, Scootaloo, just adores you. She's always telling me about all the tricks and things she watches you doing and how she wants to be just like you when she grows up. I remember she was really worried when you had your accident. We were so relieved when you came home."

"You're Scoot's mom?" exclaimed Dash. "What a small world. Y'know it's so cool the way your daughter zips around town on that scooter of hers. She can do some pretty awesome tricks on that thing. She's got spirit, that's for sure."

"Celestia, don't I know it. Too much spirit sometimes. I can barely keep up with her. Do all you pegasi give your parents such a hard time?"

Dash forced a chuckle. "Oh, I seem to recall being quite a hooffull for my parents when I was her age." A pained look flitted briefly across her face and she hoped the lie wasn't too obvious.

After exchanging more friendly banter with Candymane, Dash paid for her meal and left. The whole conversation had opened another round of doubt and soul-searching for her. She had promised Scoot those lessons after all. Not to mention the promise she had made the kid years ago to be a 'big sister' figure - a promise she had sometimes been lax in keeping over the years. How could she keep either of those promises if she ran off? And, honestly, something had to be very wrong with Pinkie. The whole incident was just too unlike her. Yet here she was, planning to just run away.

Some Element of Loyalty you are, Rainbow Dash. What in Tartarus are you thinking, trying to abandon your friends like that?

As she half trotted, half flew back towards her house, she finally realized what Pinkie's disposition earlier had reminded her of. The psycho grin and those crazy eyes! It's just like when she thought we hated her parties all those years ago. Shit! She needs help, and I just stormed out on her . Shit, shit, shit, how could I have been so stupid! Dash changed course in mid-flight, desperately hoping she wasn't too late.

Dash hung her head. Too fucking late. When she had arrived at Sugarcube Corner, the place was dark and closed up, despite it being well after noon. It should have been bustling with activity. She had knocked, but there was no answer but a hollow echo. Her suspicions had been confirmed when she had gone around back and found Pinkie's hot-air balloon missing. She could be miles away by now.

As Dash wandered down the street, trying to ponder what she would do next, she caught sight of light coming from a nearby building. As she approached, she could hear a sprightly tune being played on a piano within, and she spotted a sign above the entrance: The Thirsty Pony. With a shrug, she entered. Maybe a little drink would help clear her mind.

Twilight made her way along the street as the sunlight faded. The meeting between her, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy regarding how to help Dash had concluded on watchful waiting for now, especially after she related her meeting with Dash earlier that day. Come to think of it, nopony had seen Dash or Pinkie all day, which was decidedly odd. Curious, she changed course to head for Sugarcube Corner.

Twilight was thoroughly flummoxed as she neared the familiar baked goods shop. There were no lights on at all and the whole place looked deserted. When repeated knocking produced no answer, she turned to go. Movement down the street caught her eye, but it was just a drunk stumbling out of a nearby bar. After about five steps, Twilight stopped and did a double-take. That drunk... that drunk was Rainbow Dash. And she was alone. "What the hell, Dash?" she muttered, stomping off determinedly to confront her. She arrived just in time to see the blue pegasus collapse into a ditch on the roadside.

Dash contemplated her situation. She supposed that she really should get up, but it was quite cozy the way the ditch cradled her body just so. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to just nap here for a bit? If only that annoying yammering would go away. Where was it coming from? She struggled to make her eyes focus, and managed to make out three purple unicorns standing above her, flapping their mouths incessantly. They all looked a bit like Twilight, in fact, which was strange. As far as she knew, there was only one Twilight. Maybe they were changelings? She had the vague feeling that she should have been more alarmed by that idea than she was. Without warning, she found herself yanked out of the ditch and being floated unceremoniously down the road while the yammering continued. While it had been annoying at first, it gradually came to form a sort of white noise in the background as Dash drifted off into unconsciousness.

Rainbow Dash squinted as she entered the darkened hovel with Twilight. After trekking halfway across Equestria, they had finally located Pinkie. From ahead of them, the sound of laughter could be heard, but it was a joyless, broken-sounding laughter. The sound of it made Dash shiver. The pair stepped forward into a circle of light. There Pinkie sat, having a tea party with an assortment of random debris.

Pinkie's laughter stopped, though a crazed grin remained plastered on her face. "Oh look. We have guests. Or maybe pests. What to do with pesky guests? I'm at a loss, I must confess." Her voice was cold, completely lacking emotion.

Twilight glanced nervously at Dash, then turned back to Pinkie. "Umm... Pinkie, why are you talking like Zecora?"

"Why? I haven't got a clue. But rhymes are fun - and riddles, too. I think that maybe you should stay - and join my friends, there's games to play."

Dash rolled her eyes. "Yea, that's quite enough. Time to take you back and get you some help. C'mon, Twi."

Twilight nodded and fired off a confinement spell. To her astonishment, though, Pinkie produced a mirror from out of nowhere. The spell bounced off it and Twilight stood frozen, unable to move.

Reacting swiftly, Dash attempted to tackle Pinkie but was stunned when the crazed pink pony shoved her hard into the wall. She heard a loud crack and felt something break inside.

Pinkie's expression changed from her frozen grin into one of furious anger. "How dare you try to interfere! Now see your end as it draws near." Pinkie snatched up a knife that had been laying on the table and turned her attention to the still immobile Twilight. "Because my fun you sought to quell, it's time for you to rot in HELL!" As she shouted the last, Pinkie swung around and sliced.

Dash flinched as Twilight's blood splattered over her. This is crazy. This can't be happening. She tried to lunge forward, only to find that she couldn't move. The impact with the wall had broken her spine. Then Pinkie was upon her.

"And as for you, my onetime love. Your death comes swiftly, from above." Pinkie reared up, holding the dripping knife dramatically high. In a blur of motion, she brought it down. Dash felt the blade penetrate her chest...

Dash sat bolt upright in the bed, her heart racing. "A nightmare. It was only a nightmare. Thank Celestia."

As she sat there trying to calm down, she pondered the dream. "Why was Twilight there? Maybe the dream was trying to tell me I should see her? That's it!" She dramatically pounded her forehooves together. "Twilight. She'll know what to do. But... how can I tell her what happened? She'll get all... lecture-y on me." Dash sighed. "Well I'll just have to face it, I guess."

As she lay back down, she began to register the fact that she wasn't laying on the cloud bed she was accustomed to. This realization prompted her to sit up again and take stock of her surroundings. By the moonlight that filtered in, she could see that the walls were made of wood and the floor had a ring pattern. She was in a tree-home. That meant either Fluttershy's or... She felt a knot form in her stomach as she glimpsed an immense bookshelf on one wall. Twilight's. Her being here could only mean one thing. Sure enough, she could feel the beginnings of a hangover coming on. I must have passed out when I left that bar. And Twi found me. Well at least it won't be hard to find her but, horseapples, am I ever in deep shit now. With this none-too-comforting thought, Dash drifted back off into a fitful sleep.

Pinkie looked out of the balloon over the barren landscape. Pinkemina had fallen asleep a couple hours before, allowing her to retake control for a time - even psychotic alter-egos needed rest, after all. She sighed. Maybe Dashie was right. Maybe she was just too naïve. The pegasus' parting words rang in her ears: "Do you really think every problem in life can be solved with just a party? The real world is a cruel bitch, Pinkie!"

With another sigh, she made a few adjustments, angling the balloon down towards the rock farm below. Pinkemina would probably be mad, but her family had helped her deal with her demented twin before.

Dash awoke to loud, shrill noise. It took her a moment to remember where she was. From the adjacent room, she could hear Twilight babbling excitedly to Spike and squealing with joy about how Cadance was with foal and how excited she was that she was going to be an aunt. Well, at least she'll be in a good mood now. Mayaswell bite the bullet and get this over with. She made her way to the door, doing her best to ignore the pounding in her skull. "Congratulations, Twi!"

Twilight looked up from the letter she was reading. "Thanks, Dash." Her joyful grin turned to a more serious expression. "I think we need to have a little chat, though."

"Yea, we do actually." Dash held up a hoof, forestalling Twilight's lecture. "Look, just let me tell you about yesterday before you start busting my chops, okay."

"Fair enough. I'm listening."

Dash sighed. "It all started when I went to apologize to Pinkie. When I got there it was all dark and there were no customers, which was odd..."

Twilight listened with growing consternation as Dash related the previous days events: The confrontation with a decidedly not normal Pinkie, the breakup, the lunch, meeting Scootaloo's mom, the epiphany about Pinkie's mental state, and the discovery that Pinkie had left town.

"... And then I figured maybe an idea would come to me over a drink." She sighed and hung her head sorrowfully. "The more I drank and the more I thought about it, though, the more I realized Pinkie was right. I really am a very selfish pony, Twi. Maybe... maybe I don't deserve somepony like Pinkie."

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Where does this fascination with the idea that drinking is a good solution for your problems come from?" Gently, she reached out and lifted Dash's head, forcing the blue pegasus to look her in the eye. "Dash. Listen to me. Whether or not you deserve Pinkie isn't your decision to make. When someone gives you a gift, they decide you deserve it. Pinkie has chosen to give you a very special and precious gift - her love. Whether you think you deserve it or not, she does."

"Not anymore, apparently."

"Dash. If what you've told me is true, I highly doubt you were talking to Pinkie."

"Well who was it then? A changeling? Doesn't exact seem like their usual thing to be splitting up couples."

"No, not a changeling. Dash have you ever heard of a condition called 'split personality disorder'?

"Wait." Dash shot her a look of disbelief. "Are you saying you think Pinkie is mental?"

"Well, that's a crude way of putting it, but yes. What you described sounds like a textbook case. Actually, looking back, it makes perfect sense."

"Whadya mean?"

"Think about it Dash. Other than a few isolated and very brief times, have you ever known Pinkie to be sad? I don't mean full-on depressed, I mean have you ever seen her even the slightest bit down?"

Dash thought for a minute. "Well, no, but..."

"Exactly. Dash, that's not normal. Everypony hurts sometimes. Even Pinkie. But she never shows it. Or, if she does, it's not for long."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think that Pinkie's repressing of her negative emotions may have caused her mind to create another persona to deal with them. There must have been some major trigger in the past to spark something so dramatic, though. The personality switch seems to be connected with abandonment issues. I wonder..." Twilight's voice trailed off as she pondered the problem.

"Okay, so we just find a way to snap her out of it, right? Maybe a party? It worked last time."

"It may not be as simple as all that, Dash. Obviously that didn't actually get rid of her other self permanently. And the fact that you say she was unusually aggressive, even nearly breaking a table in half this time, concerns me. See, these kinds of alternate personalities are inherently unstable. And they have a way of getting worse over time. Sometimes even violent. I think our first priority has to be finding her before she hurts herself or somepony else."

"But how? She could be anywhere by now."

"I have an idea about that, too. From what I've read on psychology, in times of severe emotional trauma, most ponies fall back on the people and places that are most dear to them. I think we should start our search at the Pie Family Rock Farm. If I recall, Pinkie once said it was somewhere outside Ponyville. I'll need to make a search of the deed records at town hall."

Dash fluttered her wings anxiously. "What can I do?"

"Why don't you go get Fluttershy and Applejack - I expect they'll be together somewhere - and I'll round up Rarity on the way to town hall. We can meet back here in two hours and get ready to set out on our rescue mission.

As she made her way towards Fluttershy's, Dash thought back over the past few days. Despite what Twilight had said, Dash could still hear Pinkie's accusations. And the hard truth was, she was largely right. I do focus on myself a lot. My needs, my goals, my dreams, my feelings. Maybe that's because I didn't have any other choice for so many years.

In her musings, Dash failed to pay attention to her surroundings, until a loud cry of "LOOK OUT!" shattered the late morning quiet. She got a brief glimpse of a filly on a scooter pulling two more in a wagon and coming straight towards her at incredible speed. The next moment, she was hurtling through the air. She frantically flapped her wings, trying to right herself, only to land unceremoniously in Fluttershy's pond.

Dash waded out of the pond and surveyed the situation. The self-proclaimed 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' were extricating themselves from, variously, a chicken coop, the shrubbery, and a pig sty.

Applejack came bursting out of Fluttershy's house first. "What in tarnation?"

As Applejack stood and took in the scene, Fluttershy meekly poked her head out. "Oh, goodness! Um... is everypony okay?"

After offering profuse apologies, and receiving a small lecture about speed and watching where they were going, the Crusaders went on their way, now covered in various combinations of feathers, leaves, mud, and, inexplicably, tree sap.

Applejack turned her attention to Rainbow Dash. "Now what brings y'all out here this afternoon? Ya look mighty agitated."

"It's about Pinkie..."

As Pinkie tied off the balloon at the edges of the Pie family rock farm, she got the sense that something was amiss. At that moment, both her ears flopped forward, her back knees pinched, and her tail started twitching. Huh. That's a new one. Whatever it means, I guess I'd better be careful.

Pinkie's trepidation only grew as she neared the old farmhouse where she had grown up. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. That's when she saw him. Just outside of the house there was a gryphon in an odd, military-looking uniform. From his posture and bearing, he was obviously standing guard.

The guard spotted her at almost the same time. He poked his head in the door and shouted something in Gryphon. Two more gryphons charged out and flew straight for her. Pinkie turned and began to gallop away, but the gryphons were too quick for her. She felt herself seized in the vise-like grip of their talons. Despite her struggles, she was whisked back to the house. Her captors conversed briefly with another gryphon, who seemed to be in charge. Dash had taught Pinkie a few words and phrases in Gryphon, but the group were talking so swiftly and quietly that she really couldn't pick up anything. Then she was taken back outside, led around the house, and rather unceremoniously locked in one of the larger storage buildings.

She looked around, her eyes adjusting to the dim light coming through the slats in the wall. Movement in one corner caught her eye.

"Who's there?" whispered two voices in unison.

"Inky? Blinky? Is that you?"

"Pinkie?" came the astonished response, as two mares moved out of the corner. Before they could react, Pinkie swept them both up in a hug.

"I've missed you two. I didn't mean to stay away so long but there were the elements and Nightmare Moon, and then Discord and Chrysalis. And there were dragons and hydras and time travel, not to mention all the cakes and parties."

"We missed you too, sis," the pair said in unison. "Though you seem to have picked bad time for a family reunion."

"Yea, what's with all the frowny meaniepants gryphons around here? And where are mom and dad?"

Inky and Blinky exchanged a glance filled with sadness and pity. It was Blinky who responded. "Mom and dad are away on business. There's an important mineralogical conference in Canterlot or some such." Inky nodded. It was the same line they always used, the one they had come up with years ago, when Pinkie's problem had first become evident.

"As for the gryphons," Inky added, "They showed up about a week ago. They marched onto our land, forced us to send all the help away on leave and locked us in here. They've been using our house and land for some unknown purpose ever since. We tried to escape a couple times, but they're just too quick. Besides we're in the middle of nowhere. Even Ponyville is a good two days journey on hoof." She sighed. "But why did you come here, Pinkie? You’ve never come unannounced before. And you usually bring friends. Is something wrong?"

Pinkie looked down, then, slowly, back up. The raw fear in her eyes told her sisters all they needed to know.

"Pinkemina's back."

A Gathering Storm! - The Hunt For Pinkie - Histories Revealed!

Celestia sighed as she considered the request before her. Just that morning the Equestrian ambassador to the Gryphon Kingdom, Pleasant Goodwill, had arrived bringing word of a military coup. He had also brought a notice from the 'Gryphon Imperial Council', as the new regime was calling itself, formally announcing his expulsion from Gryphon territory and the dissolving of all extant treaties between Equestria and the Gryphons. While not a declaration of war, it was damn close.

Now she was confronted with a request by the now-former Gryphon ambassador to Equestria for political asylum. Attached to the request was an article from a two-day-old Gryphon newspaper documenting the military coup, including some rather grisly information about the fate of high-ranking members of the old government. After reading it, she really had no choice. Granting the ambassador's request would only further antagonize the new Gryphon government, of course. But, given what was happening to the members of the old government, sending him back would be a death sentence.

"Very well, Herr Stormwing. I grant your request for asylum. But I ask for your assistance in return. I need any information you may have, any at all, about this new faction that has taken control."

"Of course, Your Majesty. It so happens that I've been keeping tabs on them, as the movement was considered a dangerous one. And with good reason, it would seem."

"Very good. I'll have Captain Shining Armor go with you. You can turn the documents over to him. The entire Gryphon Embassy and its residence areas are forfeit to the Crown now, of course, but you and your family may continue to stay there as long as you need."

As Stormwing turned to go, Celestia pondered the situation. If it came to a fight, things would not go well. It had been 800 years since Equestria had last known war. Canterlot had the well-trained Royal Guards, of course, and Equestria did have a standing army - but they dealt mostly with bandit clans and the occasional dragon raid. The only other ponies who had seen anything resembling combat were the Element bearers. With another sigh, she sat and began to write a letter.

"My faithful student..."

It was close to noon when Rainbow Dash arrived back at Twilight's house with Applejack and Fluttershy in tow. Twilight and Rarity were already there.

"Sorry I'm late. I ran into a little trouble on the way to 'Shy's."

Applejack chuckled. "Reckon it was more like a little trouble ran into you. Or three little troubles."

Dash grinned and rolled her eyes. "True enough. Anyway, Twi, have you made any progress? Can we find Pinkie? More important, can we help her if we do?"

Twilight smiled. "In fact, I've made progress on both fronts. The Pie Family Rock Farm is about two days journey from here, in the Horstberg foothills to the northeast. Now, we can't be sure she went there, of course, but it's still the best place to start."

"That's all well and good," Applejack broke in, "but it still don't tell us how ta help her cure her crazy."

"True. I was just getting to that," added Twilight. "This is where things get tricky."

Dash frowned in concern. "How so?"

Twilight levitated a book off a stack to her right and opened it. "If, as I suspect, Pinkie has created a separate persona as a shunt for her negative emotions and memories, she's going to have to mentally confront this 'other self' and reabsorb it into her own consciousness." She paused and looked up. "Trouble is, it'll likely be almost impossible for her to do that alone."

Dash's expression changed to one of confusion. "Okay, so how do we help with something like that? I mean, if the confrontation is in her mind, wouldn't she pretty much have to do it alone?"

Twilight shook her head. "Actually, I've found a very old spell that can allow a pony to enter another pony's mind. It was originally for use in espionage, but I believe it can be adapted to this situation too."

"I'll do it." Dash volunteered almost before Twilight had finished speaking.

Twilight addressed her cyan friend seriously. "Dash, you should know that the spell is extremely dangerous. If anything goes wrong, we could lose both of you."

"Twi, I'd risk anything if it meant I could get Pinks back. If I get lost in her head, or her psycho self destroys me, well, I'm willing to pay that price."

"Then it's settled. We just need to grab a few supplies and we'll be on our way."

As the group made ready to head out. Dash tapped her hoof impatiently as Twilight gave some last-minute instructions to Spike, who would be minding the library.

“...And be sure to check on those past-due books while I'm gone."

"Sure thing, Twilight. You can count on..." Spike paused, an odd look coming over his face, then belched out a rolled-up scroll with a small gout of flame.

Twilight picked up the missive. "That's odd, I wasn't expecting any letters from Celestia." She opened it and began to read. As she continued through the letter, her expression grew more and more concerned.

Rarity noticed Twilight's growing disquiet. "Is something wrong, Twilight?"

"There's been a military coup in the Gryphon Kingdom. According to what the princess has found out, the new government wants to pursue a policy of aggressive expansion. In short, Equestria is now on the brink of war."

This last elicited a terrified gasp from Fluttershy. "W...w...war? It won't come to that, will it?"

"I don't know. Apparently not all gryphons support this coup, but a lot do. The whole situation is precarious. The princess wants us, the Element bearers, to report to the palace as soon as possible."

"Well now, ah reckon that might jus' be a bit of a problem, seein' as how we're short by one," stated Applejack.

"Right," agreed Twilight. "This just makes getting Pinkie back - and cured - more urgent. Unfortunately, with the rock farm being so near the Gryphon border, we don't know what to expect now. Things could turn dangerous quickly."

Twilight turned to Spike. "Spike, send the princess a note letting her know what's happened and where we're going. Tell her that if she doesn't hear from us in a week, we've likely run into trouble. That goes for you, too. If we don't come back within a week, I want you on the first train to Canterlot, okay?"

As Spike hurried off to write the letter, an increasingly distressed Fluttershy started to back towards the door. "Um... If it's so dangerous, maybe, um, I could keep a eye on things here. Umm, if you don't mind, that is." Her voice trailed off as her long mane fell forward, half obscuring her face.

Applejack rolled her eyes, then gave Twilight an apologetic smile. "Would y'all pardon us for a second?"

As Applejack and Fluttershy stepped outside, Twilight, Dash, and Rarity just looked at each other and shrugged. It was Rarity who broke the silence. "So what do we do if we encounter gryphons on our way? We're not allies anymore, but not yet enemies. Surely there's some protocol or etiquette for this situation?"

Twilight's brow furrowed in concentration. "I don't know. Its not really something that's come up before..."

Rainbow Dash snorted dismissively. "If they're on Equestrian land, they're probably up to no good. I say we take 'em down!" To accentuate her point, the cyan pegasus made punching motions in the air with her forehooves.

Twilight stomped her hoof and glared at Dash. "That is exactly what we will not do! I won't have us be the ones responsible for starting a war! Is that clear?"

"But..." Dash protested feebly.

"IS THAT CLEAR?"

"Oh, alright."

"Still," interjected Rarity, "suppose the gryphons are the ones to start trouble? They are a rather... ill-tempered bunch."

"If we encounter any gryphons and they start something, we'll defend ourselves, of course. But we should try our best to avoid trouble. Remember, we're going to find Pinkie and help her, not to be a border patrol."

At that moment, Applejack and Fluttershy re-entered. Fluttershy spoke up somewhat timidly. "Umm... if it's okay, I think maybe..."

Applejack pointedly cleared her throat.

With a nod, Fluttershy stepped forward and held her head up. "I've decided I'm coming after all, and that's all there is to it." As if to emphasize the point, she nodded her head firmly.

Twilight, Rarity, and Dash glanced at each other, unsure what to make of what they had just seen. After a moment, Twilight spoke up. "Okay then, we'd better get going. We still have a few hours of daylight left."

The shadows were growing long by the time the group reached The Crossroads - a large town and trading center that had sprung up where Equestria's major north-south and east-west roads met. To say it was different than Ponyville would be an understatement. The Crossroads was a mix of ponies and other sapient races - zebras, donkeys, even the occasional buffalo or dragon (this last usually being given a wide berth). Being a major stop - and the only settlement for miles - the inns charged outlandish rates. Lucky for them, they had Applejack along.

"Lessee," Applejack whispered under her breath as she consulted a map. "My cousin's house should be..." She glanced up as they approached a side street. "... right down here."

As they made their way down the side street, Dash leaned in and whispered to Twilight. "Say, Twi. Notice anything unusual with the crowds back there?"

"You mean like how there were no gryphons at all?"

"Exactly. What gives? I mean, we're not at war yet, right? I would've expected at least a few gryphon merchants or traders to still be here."

"I'm not sure. But I don't like it anymore than you, Dash. We better keep alert for trouble."

As they reached their destination, a small, run-down, two-story row house, the group (with the exception of Applejack) eyed it with some trepidation. Rarity was the first to speak. "Are you certain this is the right address? There simply must be some mistake. Maybe we turned the wrong way?" She cast her gaze back down the street towards the other side of town. The side with considerably nicer houses.

Applejack huffed irritably. "This is the address and no other. Ain't no Apples over with them uppity-ups where you're lookin'." She eyed Rarity menacingly. "And y'all best not be insultin' mah family's hospitality."

Rarity giggled nervously and took a step back. "Oh, I wouldn't dream of it, darling. It's just that..." She eyed the rather small-looking house again. "Well, there's so many of us. Are you sure we won't be imposing too much?"

"Now see here. Ain't no Apple ever turned away kin or friend that was in need, and it ain't gonna happen now. Now you just don't fuss no more about it, y'hear?"

Without waiting for a reply, Applejack turned and knocked on the door.

"Just a minute," came a voice from inside. Shortly, the door opened and a smiling mare poked her head out. Her coat was about the color of Applejack's hair, while her mane, which fell behind her ears in two long, braided pigtails, was a deep, bright red. "Now, how can I help..." The mare's voice trailed off as she recognized who was there. Her face lit up and she popped out of the door, wrapping Applejack in an enthusiastic hug. "Applejack! Well if this ain't the donkey's britches! How have you been? How's everypony back at the Acres? You've got to come on in and catch me up on things!" It was then she seemed to notice Twilight and the others. "And who's all your friends?"

"This here's Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Everypony, this is mah cousin, Red June."

After the introductions were made all round, Red June invited the whole group in. On finding out they had been on the road all afternoon, she insisted on making them dinner.

"So," Red June inquired between mouthfuls, "what brings y'all out this way? Ah'm sure ol' Jackie here didn't drag you halfway to Canterlot to see little ol' me."

"We're on our way to visit a friend over in the eastern farm district." said Applejack smoothly. "The day kinda slipped away on us, and I got to thinkin' that maybe my dear cousin could put a group of weary travelers up for the night."

Twilight always marveled at how skilled the bearer of the Element of Honesty was at prevarication. Honesty was apparently a rather fluid concept in Applejack's skilled hooves. Still it was good. Pinkie's instability was a rather private matter.

As Applejack and her cousin caught up on each other's lives, Twilight pondered the situation. There was always the chance that Pinkie wouldn't be at the rock farm, of course, which would leave them back at square one. The only thing she could think of in that case was to head on to Canterlot and hope Celestia could figure something out.

Then there was the mindlink spell. If they did find Pinkie, somepony would need to get inside her head. Twilight was certain she could cast the spell, and Dash had already volunteered to be the one to help. Still, the mind was a dangerous and unpredictable place, especially in a pony as unhinged as Pinkie apparently was. Twilight wasn't sure she could deal with the guilt if something went wrong.

As if all that weren't enough, now there was the gryphon situation, and the very real possibility of war. Twilight had read about war, of course, but cold descriptions of the lives and deaths of ponies who lived centuries ago did little to prepare one for the reality. She remembered images from the history books of battlefields littered with the dead. This time, though, she saw, not the nameless soldiers of centuries past, but ponies she knew and cared for laying broken amid the carnage. She shuddered and her eyes snapped open. Only then did she realize she had drifted off in her musings.

Applejack eyed her with concern. "You all right, Twi?"

Twilight yawned. "Oh, I'm fine, just a little tired."

Rarity caught herself stifling a yawn as well. "I think we're all a little tired, darling. Maybe we had better turn in for the night."

Red June facehoofed. "Of course! Y'all have come all this way and you must be plumb tuckered out and here ah am just chatterin' on. Ah'm such a silly pony sometimes. Now then. Ah got no problem sleepin' on the sofa. Jackie, you and Fluttershy will have my room..." she held up a hoof as Applejack seemed about to protest. "...and Ah'll have no argument. You're guests and kin besides. Now, as for the rest of you, mah spare room ain't got but two beds, but ah think ah got an old cot somewheres..."

Dash interrupted. "Actually I can just fly out and grab a cloud and sleep outside. That would save the trouble of finding the cot. Besides, a cloud would feel more comfortable to me anyway."

Red June looked hesitant. "Well, if you're sure. It really wouldn't be too much trouble to find that cot."

"I'm sure. Really."

"Well... okay then. But you feel free to tap on a window and come back in if'n you change your mind."

In short order, everypony had settled in for the night. While their minds still raced, the exhaustion of the day quickly overtook them, and the settled into sleep, though some more fitfully than others.

In the darkness of the night, only the faint pale glow of Luna's moon light the form of the lone pegasus sleeping in a tuft of cloud above the poor quarter of The Crossroads. The gryphon watching the scene noted that the pegasus slept uneasily, tossing and turning. The gryphon's eyes, sharper than those of any pony, could easily pick out the rainbow-colored mane and cyan coat. For the briefest of moments she hesitated. Then, steeling her resolve, she swooped down towards the lone figure.

Dash shifted uncomfortably in the small cage. The heat from the roaring bonfire nearby made her feel like she was being roasted alive. As she watched Pinkie dance around the large iron cauldron, giggling madly and chanting nonsense, she couldn't help but wonder if that was the point. As she kept watching, her deranged marefriend suddenly produced a long, pointy stick. Still chanting gibberish, Pinky commenced to poking Dash with the stick. Dash swatted at the stick as she tried to figure out this new torture. On the whole, it was more annoying than painful.

"C'mon, wake up already," muttered the gryphon under her breath as she continued to lightly poke the sleeping pegasus.

Dash stirred, swatting away the offending talon. "Mmmph. Stop it." Something clicked in her brain. Talon. Gryphon. War. DANGER!

In a flash, Rainbow Dash was on her hooves, causing the intruder to take a step back. As her eyes adjusted to the dim moonlight, Dash could hardly believe what she saw. "Gilda? What are you doing here?"

Gilda cocked an eyebrow and grinned. "At the moment? Waking you up."

Dash rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean." She paused for a moment, then continued in a more serious tone. "I was worried, you know. When I heard. You're the ambassador's daughter, after all. And revolutions mostly get rid of the other guys when they take over."

Gilda waved a talon, dismissing the idea. "Pssh. You should know I'm too cool to let myself get captured. Besides, dad requested asylum from your princess."

"But why are you out here? Wouldn't it be safer in Canterlot?"

"You know that's not our way. We gryphons don't run from danger, we face it."

Dash looked confused. "But you just said you..."

Gilda held up a talon, forestalling the inquiry. "... requested asylum. Yes, but only so we could be in a better position to get to the bottom of things. There's things that just don't add up about this coup."

"Like what?"

"This faction that took over - the Gryphon Imperialist Party - they were just a small group of radicals until about a year ago. Then, all of a sudden, their membership started exploding."

Dash shrugged. "Not too strange. I dunno much about politics, but it seems like some group or other is always getting popular, then fading out. It's like the wind, really."

"True," Gilda agreed, "but here's the funny thing. None of the other major political factions saw their membership drop. And then there were the rumors."

"What rumors?"

"About six months ago the G.I.P. really got busy - terrorist attacks started happening left and right. Officers and soldiers tried to apprehend the terrorists, only to have them literally disappear - or so they claimed. Some few officers even claimed that suspects would change form - turn into completely different gryphons."

Dash drew in a breath. "Changelings..."

"Dad and I thought so too. We even looked into it and found that a skyrocketing amount of new relationships had started forming around the same time that the G.I.P. had started rising - consistent with changeling influence. But no one would listen. They all said the same thing - changelings are an Equestrian problem. Changelings had never attacked the Gryphon Kingdom before. They had no reason to. Their grudge was with ponies."

Dash blinked in astonishment as everything fell into place. "And now they have the gryphons ready to attack Equestria. Wow. This is serious. But you still haven't said why you're here."

"Assuming my theory is right, I'm here to try and capture a changeling."

Dash looked at her quizzically. "You think they're here? In Crossroads?"

"Not in the city. On the roads. That's what I wanted to warn you about. The G.I.P. has secret patrols moving between Crossroads and the border day and night now. I think they've even taken over one of the outlying farms as a base."

Dash frowned worriedly. "Pinkie... Damn! Gilda, you didn't happen to see a hot-air balloon go through here recently, did you?"

"There was one last night. It came through in the middle of the night, and was heading right for the outlying farms. I thought I recognized it. A friend of yours?"

"Pinkie. She's the one who had the party, where I set up those pranks..."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Gilda interrupted with a snort. "Hmmm... She may be in danger, if the G.I.P. actually has a base out there."

Dash gave Gilda a look that was half invitation and half pleading. "You could come with us. Might be a great chance to see if these guys really are changelings and maybe capture one."

Gilda looked away. "Do you think your friends would really want me around?"

Dash sighed. "G, we've been through this before. They would forgive you in a heartbeat. I forgave you a long time ago. Why can't you forgive yourself?"

"Because we had a pact, you and I. I know you forgave me. But I still feel like I broke that bond..."

Dash looked Gilda in the eye. "The blood oath? That's what's been bothering you? G, listen. That oath - and all it stands for - was never broken in my eyes. You and your family took me in when I had no one else. Without you, I'd have never stayed in flight school. Who knows where I'd have ended up. Maybe on the underground racing circuit in Cloudsdale, working for some crime lord. Or worse. You probably saved my life, G."

"Dash, I..."

Dash gently placed her hoof on Gilda's shoulder, then continued, this time in Gryphon. "Gilda. Du bist meine Schwester. Immer. Nichts wird jemals ändern."

Behind closed palace doors, a less peaceful scene was playing out between another pair of sisters.

Luna slammed her hoof down on the documents Stormwing had provided. "Changelings! Dost thou not yet see, sister? Hadst thou but listened to us, none of this would be happening now!"

Celestia stopped pacing and whirled to face her sister. "What would you have me do? Kill her?"

"Yes!"

The arguing sisters were practically face to face now. "NO! I tell you, Luna, she can yet be healed!"

"Still thou clingst to that fantasy! How many lives wilt thou pay for her healing? She who was is already dead. Only that beast, Chrysalis, remains."

Celestia backed away from her sister's fury. "No. There is still good in her." Even as she said the words, though, she felt uncertain. Maybe Luna was right.

As Luna turned to leave her sister's quarters, she made one final statement with a cold certainty. "Mark our words well, sister. If thou wilt not do what must be done, we most certainly shall."

The following morning, after a hearty breakfast, Dash and company prepared for the last leg of their journey. As they were getting ready to go, Dash took the group aside and filled them in on what Gilda and her father had found.

"Changelings?!" blurted Twilight in astonishment. "Is she sure?"

"Not 100 percent sure, not yet. She's here to try and capture one of the patrollers along the road. She also thinks the may have set up a base on one of the outlying farms."

Applejack snorted. "With our luck it'll be the Pie Family's."

Dash paused, nervously rubbing the back of her head with a forehoof. "There is one other little thing. I, um, kinda asked her to go with us."

Rarity gasped in astonishment. "What?! You actually invited that uncouth barbarian along? Well, I think its a dreadful idea."

Applejack added her own reservations. "Look, Dash, what makes you so sure we can trust her? Maybe this whole thing about changelings is some way to lure us into a trap."

Dash sighed. Despite what she had told Gilda, she had figured the others might not be keen on the idea. "Guys, listen. I know you have no reason to trust Gilda, but trust me, okay? I would trust Gilda with my life. I believe her."

"But why do you trust her so much, Dash?" protested Twilight. "She wasn't any better to you in the end, after all."

Dash sighed again, hanging her head in defeat. "Okay, look, I've never told anypony else this, except Fluttershy, but... have you ever heard of the gryphon ritual of a blood pact?"

Twilight's brow furrowed in concentration for a moment as she tried to recall any information she had read about Gryphon culture. "Blood pact... blood pact... Ah! I remember. It's a ritual between two parties signifying a mutual oath of some sort. It's considered one of the three most sacred and unbreakable types of agreements in Gryphon society, the others being marriage and vows to the gods. As such, it's used mainly for two things - agreements between great houses and adoptions. Adoptions can be initiated by any gryphon that has passed their first hunt, but have to be approved by the clan patriarch before the oath is considered binding." She paused, putting this information into the context of the conversation. "Wait, you mean you and Gilda are..."

Dash nodded. "Gilda and I are blood-sisters. We took a pact together. Her father approved it. We're family. That's why I trust her."

Twilight looked puzzled. "But, wait. That would mean... The clan patriarch would never approve an adoption of a minor who already had a family. Which means..."

"Yes, it means I was an orphan."

There was a collective gasp from the others (except Fluttershy - none of this was news to her) followed by the expected chorus of "I'm so sorry.", "I never knew.", "You poor dear", and the like.

Dash blew out an irritated snort. "Stop. Okay? Just stop. See, that's why I never told anypony. I don't want pity or sympathy. Really. I'm fine. I got over it years ago."

Applejack could tell Dash was lying, maybe even to herself. You didn't just 'get over' losing your parents. It had taken her years to come to terms with her own parents' death and there were times it still hurt. She was first to voice her support. "Sugarcube, if it means that much to ya, ah'm willin' to give her another chance."

"Perhaps 'uncouth barbarian' was a bit harsh," conceded Rarity. "I, too, would be willing to let bygones be bygones, as it were."

"Um... I guess I could, um, try to be friends with Gilda. If she wants to, that is." added Fluttershy, somewhat nervously.

"Then it's settled." said Twilight. "So, um, where is she?"

"She's going to meet us just outside town," replied Dash. "She wanted to check the gryphon patrols and be sure nothing had changed."

After saying goodbye to Red June (with repeated assurances between her and Applejack that each would have to visit the other more often) the friends set on their way. It didn't take long to reach the edge of town, and it was not entirely unexpected when a brown and white figure emerged from the nearby trees.

"G! What's up?" called Dash.

Gilda shook her head, frowning. "Patrols have picked up. If they've got Pinkie and they've figured out who she is, they may be expecting you to come after her."

"Damn! Is there a way around them?"

"None that I've seen. I had been counting on avoiding their timing, but they're too thick for that now."

"I may have something," Twilight broke in, rummaging in her packs. In short order she produced large map and unfolded it. "According to this copy I got from the Records Office, there's an extensive system of caves and mines in the high foothills." She gestured to a point on the map near Crossroads. "It should be possible to enter here and make our way through, coming out right at the rock farm."

"But, um, couldn't they be patrolling the caves too?" wondered Fluttershy.

"Not likely." said Gilda. "My people won't go underground if we can help it. Now changelings could, but that might risk blowing their cover. No, if they know about the mines, likely what they'll do is have armed guards at the entrances."

"Then Ah reckon this just might work," commented Applejack. "So what're we waiting for?"

"There is just one small problem," admitted Twilight. "The maps of the mines haven't been updated in almost a decade."

"Oh, yeah. I remember now," remarked Gilda. "Those mines closed down after a big cave-in. It was about eight years ago. I was down here to buy some things when this stallion came running into town talking about a cave-in at the mine. Big news. Apparently the mine owners were killed but their daughter, who was just a couple yards away, survived."

"Oh the poor dear!" exclaimed Rarity. "That must have been awful for her."

Dash and Twilight exchanged a worried glance. Somehow, they just knew. But they still had to ask. Twilight spoke up. "Gilda, you wouldn't happen to remember the name of the family involved, would you?"

Gilda paused, thinking. "Hmmm... It's been so long. I think it was..." Her eyes suddenly widened in surprise as the name came to her. "Pie. It was the Pie family. Isn't that your friend's name?"

"It is." Dash confirmed, somberly.

The sun was high by the time they made their way to the town-side mine entrance. A heavy silence had fallen over the group after hearing of the accident. Twilight had found some silver lining in that knowing the likely source of Pinkie's psychosis would help when the time came to deal with it. Still, that didn't make the fact any easier to take.

As they neared the mine entrance, which was surprisingly unguarded, Dash noticed Gilda's wings fluttering nervously. She moved up alongside the agitated gryphon. "You sure you're okay with this plan, G? If the caves are too much..."

"No! I mean... I'll be fine, Dash. Really. I said I would help you and I'm gonna see that through. No matter what."

When they arrived at the cave mouth, Twilight called a halt. "Okay, we don't know what we might find in these mines, so here's the plan. We'll go in two abreast. Applejack and I will take point, Gilda and Fluttershy can be next, and Dash and Rarity can cover our six."

Dash raised an eyebrow at the terminology. "Point? Cover our six? Twi, have you been taking lessons in military slang from your brother?"

Twilight grinned sheepishly. "Just some terms I remembered. With the situation as it is, I thought it might be good to brush up on it a bit."

Princess Cadance hummed softly as she went about her morning routine, trying to shake the ominous feeling that had been hanging over her since she got up. Shining Armor had left the previous day on an urgent summons from her aunt Celestia. She had wanted to go with him, but the Crystal Empire wouldn't run itself, after all. Somepony had to deal with the endless parade of bureaucrats and petty nobles.

She sighed, looking once more over the day's agenda, and wondered, not for the first time, how her aunt had done this job solo for a millennium without going completely mad.

It was at that moment that she felt a disturbance in the atmosphere of the room, like a dark void. She whirled around, and felt her blood freeze in terror at the figure before her.

"Hello, Cadance. It's been awhile. Miss me?"

"H... How did you get in here? GUARDS!"

"Oh, please. You think I would just pop in without incapacitating your pathetic little guards?"

Cadance's expression hardened in resolve. "Why are you here, Chrysalis? Come to try taking over the Crystal Empire now? I defeated you once, I can do it again!"

Chrysalis snorted. "Come now. We both know that trick of yours takes two. But I'm not here for your little glass ponies. No, all I want is the Heart."

Cadance faced her opponent squarely and began charging a spell. "Oh, is that all? And should I just hand you the world on a silver plate while I'm at it? I don't think so, bitch!"

Chrysalis sighed dramatically before her horn started to glow with her own spell. "Fine then. We do this the hard way."

A few miles from Hoofington, another changeling inspected his disguise. Finally, satisfied that not a feather was out of place, he emerged from his tent, to be greeted by the crisp salutes of a dozen Gryphon company commanders. Most knew him as General Swifttalon. Three, fellow changelings, knew his true identity as Vice-regent Kak'thel'ix. All of them knew that this would be a historic day. He stepped up to a small hillock to address all the assembled gryphon (and changeling) soldiers and cleared his throat dramatically.

"Soldiers of the Empire. This is a glorious day. Today we begin to reclaim our glory and our power among the nations of the world. Too long have we been held powerless while our emasculated leaders kowtowed before lesser species. Now we rise to our proud heritage. We rise to fill the role given us by nature and by the gods. For we are the predators. We know that supreme law - that struggle is the father of all things. That without struggle, life cannot be won. The weaklings of the world have forgotten this law. We must teach them. Onward, to victory!"

The entire body of assembled troops shouted the response as one: "Victory or death!"

Kak'thel'ix stood for a while, basking in the nationalistic pride and fervor of the crowd. Love of country was a indeed a strong love. Queen Chrysalis had been wise to make this move. Finally, he stepped forward and gave the orders to prepare for the assault on Hoofington.

It was several hours before Twilight and company began to notice a faint breeze coming towards them, signaling that they were nearing the exit. Traversing the mines had taken longer than they thought, due to having to make some detours. Luckily, they had still managed to make it through. As they pressed forward, the began to hear a faint whimpering noise. Rounding a final corner, the exit came into view in the distance. There, halfway up the tunnel, was the source of the whimpering. A pink figure sat rocking back and forth before a collapsed side shaft. The group approached her slowly, unsure of which persona was in control. As they came closer they could see that she was bespattered with blood. A lot of blood. She turned to look at them and they could see the raw fear in her eyes.

When Pinkie finally spoke, her voice was little more than a whisper. "H... help me. Please. I can't stop her."

Gilda, who had made her way to the cave's entrance, called out. "Um. You guys had better come take a look at this."

While the others tried to comfort Pinkie, Twilight and Applejack trotted to the entrance. When she looked out, Twilight felt her lunch threatening to return. She could hear Applejack having the same problem. There, scattered between the mine and the farmhouse, were half a dozen mangled, bloody corpses. When the initial shock wore off, Twilight noticed that Gilda was pointing out something more. While most of the bodies were gryphons, one of them was clearly, unmistakably, a changeling.

A commotion from behind caught their attention and they turned to see Pinkie, a maddened look in her eyes, wielding a sharp stone and struggling with the others. Dash was already sporting a gash on her shoulder. Reacting quickly, Twilight fired off a tranquilizing spell, and the crazed mare collapsed to the ground.

Dash carried the unconscious Pinkie on her back as the group made their way to the farmhouse, trying to ignore the bodies. As they approached, two ponies, one dark grey, the other light grey, came running out of a nearby silo.

"Thank Celestia you're here!" exclaimed the darker one. "We... We tried, but we couldn't stop her. We had to hide in the silo."

The light grey pony looked at the unconscious Pinkie with concern. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine, just knocked out," replied Twilight. Then a thought occurred to her. "Stand still," she commanded. The pair complied and Twilight quickly did a magical scan. Satisfied, she addressed them again. "Okay, you're not changelings, but who are you?"

The lighter-coated one spoke up. "We're Pinkie's sisters. My name is Inkie."

"And I'm Blinkie." stated the darker pony.

Twilight introduced herself and her companions. The Pie sisters eyed Gilda dubiously, but made no protestations.

Inkie continued. "I think there are some things we should discuss. About Pinkie's... condition."

"I agree. But first...," she grimly indicated the bodies, "We may be on the brink of war, but we should still give them proper respect." She turned to Gilda and Dash. "If I recall, Gryphons generally cremate their dead?"

"Traditionally, yes," responded Gilda. "Though there doesn't seem to be much around here to build a pyre with."

"We could get one of our old farm carts," volunteered Blinkie.

Gilda studied the cart that was brought up, noting that it was quite wide. "Hmmm... ideally each gryphon would have a separate pyre. But things are not ideal. This will do. Thank you."

As Gilda and Dash set about gathering the bodies, Twilight spoke up. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Dash looked at Gilda. "What about the runestones? I know they're traditionally talon-carved..."

"...but things are not ideal." Gilda finished. "It would be acceptable."

Dash nodded. She removed some metal tags from around the necks of the dead gryphons and brought them to Twilight. Indicating the writing on the tags, she explained: "These are their names written in ancient runic Gryphon. If you guys could find five nice, good-sized smooth stones, which should be easy enough around here, and then you could magically carve their names on them, that'd be great. Oh, and we'll also need a torch. And, do you have paper?"

"I have some scrolls. I always carry some."

"Good," Dash replied. "I want you to write this down." She recited a few lines. "That's traditionally recited by all those gathered after the pyre is lit. Share it with everypony else, okay?"

Twilight could hardly believe it. She had never seen her cyan friend give so much attention to detail. "Wow, Dash. You really take this seriously."

"Of course I do. Twi, I was practically raised by gryphons for half my life. Gryphon culture is as much a part of me as..." she struggled to find a comparison, "as, well, flying. And this is one of their - our - most important rites."

Twilight rested a hoof on Dash's shoulder in reassurance. "We'll be ready. I promise."

Dash smiled. "Thanks, Twi."

After about half an hour, the stones were ready and the bodies were neatly arranged in the cart along with their weapons. Six somber ponies sat on the ground as Gilda and Dash began the ceremony. Twilight and Applejack both kept a wary eye on the still unconscious Pinkie.

The ceremony began, with Gilda and Dash reciting a funeral blessing in Gryphon. As they finished, Dash thrust the flaming torch into the makeshift pyre. As the fire took hold, all present recited the verse Dash had given Twilight earlier:

"Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my mother and sisters and brothers. Lo, there do I see the line of my kin back to the beginning. Lo, they do call to me. They bid me take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live forever!"

To close the ceremony, Gilda and Dash moved the runestones Twilight had inscribed and arranged them in front of the pyre.

As the flames rose into the night, Twilight pondered what to do with the dead changeling. It still didn't seem right to just let the body lay there. She had no idea what changelings did for their dead, though. At the moment, there were more important matters at hoof. With a sigh, she turned to Pinkie's sisters. "So, um, what exactly happened here?"

"Well," began Inkie, "It all started when the gryphons showed up, about a week ago. Blinkie and I were out in the north field at the time..."

"North field?" interrupted Dash. "So you actually do farm rocks. I thought that was just a local term for a mine."

"Oh, no. Mining is just the first step in the process. Rock farming is actually very careful, delicate work. At any rate, you can imagine our surprise to return to the house for lunch and find it occupied. Apparently, the gryphons thought the place was abandoned. We took them for a band of brigands at first, and tried to run, but they caught us pretty quick."

"That's when we noticed the uniforms," interjected Blinkie.

"Exactly," continued Inkie. "Their outfits were far too regular for brigands. And when they addressed each other, I could pick out Gryphon words for military ranks. They said something about an invasion." She paused. "I thought we were at peace with the gryphons. Do you know why they would attack?"

Twilight gestured toward the changeling corpse. "Changelings have infiltrated the Gryphon Kingdom and overthrown the government. They seem to be driving the gryphons to war with Equestria."

Inkie's eyes widened in alarm. "This is terrible! There are dozens of small farmsteads along the border. They could be in grave danger."

"No more danger than anyone else," interjected Gilda. "Besides, this... incident has probably bought a few days. We gryphons may be warriors but we don't rush headlong into unknown situations. And this would be... unexpected. No offense but most of my people think of ponies as rather... weak."

Blinkie spoke up. "How'd you come to be fighting with ponies against your own people, anyway?"

"My father is... was the Gryphon ambassador to Equestria. Which makes me part of the aforementioned government that was overthrown by the changelings. A government I intend to see restored, if possible."

The Pie sisters seemed somewhat reassured, and Twilight urged them to continue with their story.

"Oh, right," Inkie continued. "As I was saying, we were captured fairly quickly. After that they pretty much locked us in the storm cellar and held us as prisoners. Pinkie arrived the evening before last. Apparently she had come by hot air balloon, but she said she was spotted not long after landing. That's when she told us that her... problem had come back."

Twilight interrupted. "About that. We're all at something of a loss, though we have pieced together a few things and come up with a theory. What exactly is Pinkie's condition?"

Here Blinkie jumped in. "Well, you see it all started eight years ago."

"When your parents died?" asked Dash.

"So you heard about that? Yes, that's what we think triggered it. About a month after our parents death, on what would have been their anniversary, Pinkie wandered off. We found her later in one of the far silos, with several household objects, two of which she insisted were mom and dad. She said it was an anniversary party."

"Not only that," interjected Inkie, "but her whole demeanor had changed. Her hair had gone flat and she looked... darker. She kept insisting to be called Pinkemina, which was odd, because she usually couldn't stand that name."

"When we took her to a doctor," continued Blinkie, "they said she had split personalities. The shock of seeing our parents die right in front of her had triggered it."

"To make a long story short, it seems that 'Pinkemina' became a channel for all Pinkie's negative emotions. We've always been able to suppress her when she showed up, by cheering Pinkie up. This time was different, though. When Pinkemina surfaced this time, she actually tried to kill us. She kept saying that she would be Pinkie's only true friend and she had to get rid of her 'fake friends'. For some reason we can't figure out, the gryphons actually tried to stop her. And, well... the rest you can guess."

"Wow," said Dash, quietly. "She's farther gone than I thought." An expression of mingled pain, worry, and grief crossed her features. "Twi... we can still save her, can’t we?"

Twilight was stunned herself. The gryphons could have been perceived as aggressors, obviously. But that Pinkie had tried to kill her own sisters... "I'm going to do everything I can, Dash. I promise. But I won't lie. This is far worse than I imagined."

"Slaves," put in Gilda, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Say what?" responded Dash.

Gilda turned to the Pie sisters. "You said you didn't know why the gryphons tried to save you. I've figured it out. The new government the changelings installed must have revived the practice of slaving. Earth ponies especially would be valued for their strength. They tried to save you because they didn't want to lose valuable property."

At that moment, a noise could be heard on the wind, growing louder. The sound of wingbeats. A form could be faintly seen in the sky, approaching at a rapid pace. The group tensed, bracing for the worst.

As the form grew, it took the shape of a group of sky chariots. Before long, they could see the chariots were being pulled by bat-winged ponies, and in the lead chariot was none other than Princess Luna.

The ponies bowed as Luna landed and disembarked.

"Your Highness..." Twilight began.

"Twilight Sparkle. I have found thee at last. Hast thou found thine friend, the holder of the Element of Laughter?"

"We have," confirmed Twilight, "but we have a bit of a problem."

"We shall have to discuss it on the way. My sister hath most urgent need of thee and thy friends. Lady Stormwing, and you others shall come as well. This place is not safe."

As they began to board the waiting chariots, Twilight turned toward Luna, who was looking more solemn then the purple unicorn could ever remember. "Princess, just what is going on?"

"Commencing about noon, and continuing since, there hath been a stream of refugees arriving in Canterlot from Hoofington and the surrounding environs. As I was leaving, some were even bringing word that the city had been completely overthrown. In short, Twilight Sparkle," Luna paused, looking Twilight directly in the eyes, "the war has started."

Author's Note

Well this is were things start to go epic, folks. Also, I'ma go ahead and tag this AU right now, since this takes place some years after Season 3 and Twilight has no wings here.

That'll also free me to selectively incorporate or ignore any future canon, seeing as how there are rumors now of a movie and/or a spinoff show.

Map! The useful location finding for movements and great battles!

I am adding in here a map of Equestria and surrounding nations. This is a very crude map, not to any particular scale, but just to give an idea of where places mentioned in the story are located. I have included a few other famous locations as reference points as well.

Also, Cloudsdale is not seen becuase it is a floating city with (in my headcanon at least) a variable location.

If this does not show correctly or is not readable, the map can be found on my DA:

Equestria Map for AET

Yes, Chapter 6 is still coming...

Tragedy at the Air Show! Do Apples Make Your Heart Flutter? Don't Give Up, Pinkie!

Dash paced nervously in her prep room. The usual pre-competition jitters were starting to get to her. Fortunately, she had a solution. She rummaged in her pack and produced a CD. Popping it into the player that rested on the vanity, she cranked it up and started losing herself in the awesome heavy metal thunder, banging her head in time with the pounding beat, the loud wailing and screaming of the electric guitar ringing in her ears. She even began singing along. Back before she had discovered her talent for racing and stunt flying, one of her foalhood dreams had been to be a rock star. To this day, putting on some rock music could transport her. She could see herself on stage, pulling off awesome riffs with the lights strobing and whirling around her. Focusing all her nervousness into the fantasy always seemed to calm her down. It was crazy, of course. In reality she knew that performing as a rock star was probably just as nerve-wracking as the performing she did. But the fantasy helped and that was all that mattered. She was so lost in the music that she almost didn't hear the knock on the door. Almost. She snorted, annoyed, as she glanced at the clock on the wall. The competition didn't start for another 25 minutes. Who would be disturbing her now? She marched over and flung the door open, planning to give somepony a tongue-lashing. However, upon seeing her visitors, her face softened.

"Eep!" cried Fluttershy, taking a step backwards. Pinkie, for her part, clamped her hooves over her ears.

Dash shouted over the din. "OH! HEY PINKS. HEY 'SHY. JUST A SECOND." She ducked back into the room and stopped the CD player before returning and waving the pair in. "What brings you two here?"

"Silly," Pinkie giggled. "You didn't think your bestest friend and your bestest filly would let you go out there without coming by to wish you luck, did you?"

"Um, yes. We, um, came to wish you luck, Dash," murmured Fluttershy. "Is... is everything okay? What was that awful noise?"

"Oh that," Dash replied, waving a hoof toward the CD case that was still laying on top of the dresser. "I always play some metal to psych myself up before a big competition. Helps me forget how nervous I am."

"Um, um... anyway," Fluttershy shifted nervously, her mane falling in front of her face. "We, um, thought we'd stop by personally. Um. For luck and all." A worried look crossed the shy pony's face. "Um, this new trick of yours. It's not, um, dangerous, is it?"

"Wouldn't be awesome if there weren't some risk, 'Shy. But don't worry, I've practiced it, like, a half-dozen times already. No way anything'll go wrong."

"Oh. Well, um, please be careful, Dash." Fluttershy still looked worried.

"Oh, relax, Flutters. My Dashie's the bestest flier ever," Pinkie stated, lifting her head and beaming with pride.

Just then, a voice came over the loudspeaker: "Attention contestants. The X-treme Flight Spectacular will begin in 15 minutes. Please begin making your way to the lineup area at this time."

"Um, well I guess we better go," said Fluttershy, turning to leave.

Pinkie bounced up to Dash. "Kiss for luck?"

"Kiss for luck," Dash said, wrapping her in a hug and giving her a passionate kiss. Just outside the still-open door, Fluttershy blushed and hid her face behind her mane, embarrassed to be witnessing her two friends in such a moment.

"Now go on," Dash said, as they broke away from the kiss. "I'll see everyone after the show, okay."

"Okey-dokey-loki," Pinkie bubbled, bouncing out the door.

Dash stared admiringly at the pink pony's flank as she bounced away, already thinking about how they would celebrate tonight after her big win.

Pinkie and Fluttershy arrived back at the suite just in time for the Equestrian National Anthem. Fluttershy gasped. The suite was simply palatial. The cloud floor was soft and fluffy, serving well as both floor and seating area. The immense window gave a stunning view of the arena. There were two also gigantic televisions, enabling viewing of the broadcast coverage (useful, as you really couldn't see everything from any one spot in the arena). For lighting, there was an opening in the cloud ceiling that ran the length of the suite, allowing sunlight in during the day, as well as two gorgeous crystal chandeliers for night lighting. As the last strains of the anthem faded off and they were about sit down, there came a tapping at the door. Twilight got up to answer. Much to her surprise, Celestia and Luna were standing there.

"Your Highnesses!" Twilight took a step back as the pair entered. Everypony turned in surprise and bowed. "We... we thought you'd be in the Royal Suite."

Celestia let out an annoyed sigh. "Oh, please. How could I properly enjoy the show with all those stuffy nobleponies trying to bury their snouts in my flank?"

Twilight blushed. "Um, Your Highness...?" She gestured with her head towards one corner of the suite, where Spike, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom were standing, snouts nearly touching the glass as they watched the show. Thankfully, the youngsters seemed too engrossed in the show to have noticed the Princess' slightly crass remark.

Celestia coughed. "Erm... sorry." she whispered to her protégé. "There was actually a bit more to it, though. I just had this strange feeling that I should be here for some reason."

After the minor disturbance, Pinkie settled in, watching the show and marveling at the prowess of many of the flyers. She had to admit, they were good. Really good. But she wasn't worried. She knew her Dashie would be better than all of them.

Come the intermission, Pinkie and several of the others made their rounds to the little fillies' room, snack stands, etc., and then hurried back to the suite.

As the second half opened, Pinkie was bouncing up and down, either from excitement or sugar overload (she had gotten a lot of snacks) and Scootaloo was pressed up so close against the viewing window it looked like she would press right on through it.

The announcer's voice crackled over the loudspeakers. "And now, everypony, please welcome our next contestant - two-time winner of the Best Young Flyer competition and the only pony to have pulled off a Sonic Rainboom twice - Miss Rainbooooooow DASH!"

Meanwhile, in the Wonderbolts' private suite, Soarin' recognized the new contestant immediately. "Hey! It's pie-saver," he blurted, turning to Spitfire.

Spitfire groaned, burying her face in her hoof. "Y'know, she did save our LIVES, too, Soarin'. A bit more important than a pie, maybe?"

"Oh. Um. Yea," Soarin' mumbled, blushing. "In any case, this should be good. Y'know, I think she may even be Wonderbolt material one day."

Pinkie was bouncing all over the place with excitement as she watched her beloved Dashie perform. Dash pulled out all the stops for her routine, using every trick she knew - the Super Speed Strut, the Fantastic Filly Flash, Lancing the Loops, even the Buccaneer Blaze, drawing 'ooohs' and 'aaahs' from the crowd. Finally, it was time for her pièce de résistance. She began her upward ascent using her Rainbow Tornado move.

"This is it! This is it!" exclaimed Pinkie, now somehow defying gravity by bouncing in place while hanging from the ceiling. "Dashie's new stunt. Oooooh, you're gonna love it!"

Pinkie was now back on the floor but still bouncing, as her Dashie approached the arena, the telltale cone starting to form around her. As the cyan pegasus passed through the arena in a rainbow-colored blur, however, both of Pinkie's right legs began twitching together. There was a pause. Then both left legs twitched. Another pause. Her whole body went into convulsions. Pause. Then her whole body scrunched up like an accordion, before expanding to twice its normal length and then returning to normal. She stopped bouncing and sat down, fear etched on her face, her eyes wide and beginning to tear up.

Dash leveled out and began her spin, continuing her forward acceleration. In a flash, she realized her mistake and cursed herself. Unlike the flat plains out west, Canterlot was located on a mountain. And mountains had foothills. Like a complete rookie, she had leveled out over a valley.

Twilight noticed Pinkie's bizarre movements and immediately recognized it as Pinkie sense. And not just any Pinkie sense, but a doozy. She walked over towards Pinkie, who was now sniffling and mumbling to herself, and heard a single word that made her blood freeze.

"... crash..."

Twilight rushed over to the Princess, panic written on her face. "Princess. She's... she's going to crash! We have to do something!"

Celestia didn't know how Twilight knew Rainbow Dash would crash - the wildly cheering audience certainly didn't seem to notice anything amiss - but the conviction in her student's voice was enough for her. She bolted from the room, calling for the anti-magic field (used to prevent cheating) to be lowered.

Dash's mind raced. Okay, you can still do this. Just gotta pull up a little bit. But as the first hill loomed, she could see she wasn't going to make it.

Even as the Princess ran from the room, Twilight knew there wasn't enough time. Her own eyes welled with tears now, as she turned towards one of the TVs, where cameras continued to track her friend. "Rainbow..."

Fluttershy crouched down and hid her face behind her mane, shivering.

As she spiraled, Dash felt her wing clip a low stone wall on the hilltop. Pain shot up her wing and she knew she had broken something. Her carefully controlled spin turned into an out-of-control whirl. As the ground loomed, she thought back to how she had promised Fluttershy and Pinkie that she would be safe. Damn! Pinks, 'shy. I guess I lied. I'm so sorry. Then, there was no more time for thought.

"No. She can't...," whispered Scootaloo. Rarity and Applejack herded the children away from the window, back towards the rear of the room. Where they wouldn't be able to see the window, or the giant screens.

Rainbow Dash's world exploded in white-hot agony.

There was a collective gasp of horror from the crowd as Rainbow Dash disappeared in a cloud of dust. The central monitor cut the live feed and switched to showing the X-treme Flight logo. "Everypony remain calm, please," the announcer requested, his voice shaking.

Pinkie felt like somepony had kicked her in the gut. She felt all the bounce leave her as her mane and tail fell flat. She screamed in anguish. "NO! DASHIE!" She ran over and slammed her hooves into the glass as though she were going to pound her way through it. She had no idea how, but she had to get to her Dashie. She felt somepony pulling her away from the glass and struggled. Didn't they understand? Dashie was down there, badly hurt... or worse. In the midst of her struggles, she felt a calming presence draw near.

"Peace, my little pony," Celestia comforted, "Peace. She lives. Were an element-bearer to perish, I would sense it."

Her words had a calming effect, soothing Pinkie just a little. She lifted her head up, still sniffling. "We have to get down there."

"Indeed." Celestia's horn began to glow. The anti-magic field had been lowered to allow emergency personnel to work. Light filled the room and its occupants quickly found themselves teleported to the ground a short distance from the crash.

The arena ambulance was approaching, pulled by a team of EMT ponies. Pinkie rushed to Dash's side. Even with Celestia's reassurance, she had to see for herself that her Dashie was still breathing. Fresh tears filled her eyes at the sight before her. Dash's coat and mane were streaked with blood, which also liberally coated the ground. Two of her legs were bent at angles that nopony's legs were meant to bend at. And her wings - her wings were the worst. They looked as if somepony had crumpled them up like wastepaper.

Pinkie was only dimly aware of the others - Fluttershy approaching, then quickly backing away, Applejack holding Scootaloo back, Twilight and Celestia coming to stand by her - all these things were vague and ethereal. All her mind could focus on was the battered and broken form of the pony she loved.

The ambulance arrived and the four EMT ponies quickly took charge. "Everypony back away," one of them barked. Pinkie, still in shock, didn't move. The head EMT repeated himself more forcefully, "C'mon, out of the way!" He grabbed Pinkie and pulled her back as the other three EMTs began attending to Dash. She struggled, but his grip was firm. Then she felt the calming presence of the princess once more. She was vaguely aware of a brief exchange between the princess and the head EMT.

"Come," said Celestia soothingly, "we must let them work. I have arranged for Rainbow Dash to be taken to my own Royal Hospital at the palace. The best doctors in all of Equestria work there." Gently, but insistently, the Princess herded Pinkie to a nearby hillock, where the others already were.

The EMTs managed to stabilize Dash and get her onto a stretcher and into the ambulance.

Pinkie just stared after the ambulance as it sped off. Again she zoned out, only peripherally aware of Celestia gathering the others around her. There was a flash and, for the second time, she found herself teleported, this time directly to the palace.

Pinkie sat curled up and staring at the wall of the waiting room, whimpering softly as she had been for the past six hours. Her thoughts were in turmoil. There had been no word on Dash's condition since the group had arrived. The princesses had reluctantly gone to attend to other matters, with instructions that they be alerted as soon as there was news. Pinkie couldn't stop the flood of worries. What if Dash couldn't fly anymore? What if she were paralyzed? What if she had brain damage? Or even ended up vegetative? Or just plain didn't pull through?

She looked over to one corner of the room, where Spike, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom had all fallen asleep nearly two hours ago and wished that she could do the same. At least then these worries wouldn't be consuming her.

Life without Dash... Pinkie couldn't imagine it. Rainbow Dash had always meant the world to her, even before they started dating. Yet now there was a very real possibility that she might never see Dash again, and there was nothing she could do about it. Pinkie couldn't remember ever feeling so helpless. She looked up as the doors to the ER opened and a doctor came out.

Before Pinkie could speak, Twilight, who had been pacing the floor, spoke up. "Doctor! How is she?"

The news was mixed. "Well, we have managed to stabilize her and set all her broken bones. We had to put rods in her wings, however, and the damage there was quite extensive. We don't know yet to what extent her flying ability will recover."

Pinkie felt like a void was opening beneath her, threatening to swallow her. She knew that losing the ability to fly would make Dashie miserable and Pinkie doubted that any amount of parties would overcome that.

The doctor's next words, however, were like a pronouncement of final doom to Pinkie. "Also, and more seriously, your friend, Ms. Dash, had severe head trauma and almost certainly has some degree of neurological damage. Right now, she's in a coma. We really won't be able to assess the extent of the damage until she wakes up. If she wakes up."

As the doctor said those four words, Pinkie felt the world give way beneath her. She heard the doctor's voice continue, but faintly, as if from a great distance.

"I won't lie, her condition is still critical right now, and things could go either way."

Pinkie let out a strangled cry, and fell into darkness.

Applejack was the closest when Pinkie collapsed to the floor. She jumped up in alarm. When waving a hoof in front of Pinkie produced no response, she began to panic, grabbing the pink pony and shaking her. "Pinkie? What's goin' on? SAY SOMETHIN'!"

The doctor quickly jumped in. He shone a small penlight at Pinkie's eyes. No reaction. He clapped his hooves loudly next to her ear. No reaction. He looked up at the remaining ponies. "She's in stress-induced shock. We'll need to get her to a room."

Twilight looked on with concern. First Dash and now Pinkie. Much more of this, and she would be next. She closed her eyes for a second, trying to calm her frazzled nerves, then spoke. "She's going to be okay, though, right?"

"With some rest, and avoidance of further shock and stress for awhile, she should be fine," the doctor stated calmly, as he placed the catatonic Pinkie into a wheelchair for transport and used the intercom to call for someone to get her to a room.

Rarity managed a gracious smile. "Well, thank you Doctor... I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

"Wellhooves. Dr. Wellhooves."

"Thank you, Dr. Wellhooves. Whatever happens now, we certainly appreciate all you've done to help."

"As do we," a melodious voice declared.

Everyone turned and bowed as Celestia and Luna entered. "Dr. Wellhooves, was it?"

"Yes, your Highness."

"Dr. Wellhooves, you and your entire surgical team have our thanks. We shall be certain the hospital administration knows of your skill and dedication."

"Thank you, your Highness. Forgive me, but I must go now and oversee Ms. Dash's transfer to the ICU."

Rarity yawned, the past several hours of anxiety and waiting finally catching up with her. "Dear me, it is getting late. We should get the children home, I suppose. Scootaloo's mother will probably be wondering what's taken so long."

"She hath already been informed of what hath transpired," stated Luna. Then, turning to Applejack, she continued: "As hath thine elder brother. Ye shall all rest here at the palace tonight, and ye may depart on the 'morrow, if ye so desire."

"Thank you, your Highnesses," said Twilight, as the rest of the group got up. "I think we could all use a good night's sleep." She cast a worried look at the still unresponsive Pinkie as the nurse finally arrived to check her in. Some of us even more so. I just hope a good night's rest will help her. I don't know how she's going to avoid stress in this situation, though. And if Dash doesn't make it... She didn't even want to think about what would happen then.

BEEP...BEEP...BEEP

The incessant rhythm of the monitor kept a sort of melancholy time in the room. Fluttershy watched the green line on the monitor at Dash's bedside. The doctors had said that if she survived the next 24 hours, Dash would probably live. Fluttershy was determined to watch over her friend as much as she could. It was the least she could do. Ever since they were little schoolfillies, Dash had always been there for her, standing up to the bullies who had picked on her for being shy, helping her learn to fly, and helping her develop her confidence. They were almost like sisters. Fluttershy wiped away the tears that were forming. Dash had done so much for her, it seemed unfair that all she could do was sit here and watch as a beeping machine counted the blue pony's heartbeats.

Fluttershy felt her stomach rumble. She looked at the clock, letting out a small gasp. She could hardly believe it was nearly noon already. As if on cue, a familiar orange face appeared in the doorway of the room.

"Hey there, sugarcube," said Applejack softly, entering the room with a couple of bags from the hospital cafeteria. "Ah reckoned y'all might be a little hungry."

"Oh. Um... thank you. I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"Tweren't no trouble. Ah had to get lunch mahself anyhow."

Fluttershy smiled as she accepted one of the bags. Applejack was always so thoughtful. She opened her bag and blinked in surprise. "A fresh garden salad with Neightallian dressing. My favorite. Um... thank you, Applejack. How did you know?"

"Well, shucks, sugarcube, it's the same thing y'all order whenever us girls go out to eat somewhere. So ah jus' thought y'all must really like it."

"Oh. Um... thank you. I... I didn't think anypony would notice something like that." For some strange reason, Fluttershy was beginning to feel very awkward. She changed the subject, as she started on her salad. "So, how is Pinkie doing?"

"She seems to be a little better. She's responsive now, anyhow. Ah don't know if she's really come to grips with what happened still. Everypony's too afraid to say anything. We don't wanna send her inta shock again." Applejack shifted in her chair, looking towards Fluttershy. "What about you? How're you holdin' up? Ah mean, you an' Dash have been friends for a long time. This must be hard on you, too."

"Well, it is really difficult seeing her like this. Even though we're the same age, she's always been like a big sister to me. She's usually the strong one, where I've always been weak and fragile." She sighed. "I'm so worried for her. I think she'll live, she's too strong not to, but if she can't fly like she used to... Oh, I just don't know. To her, I think, that would almost be worse than death. I feel like... like I might have to be the strong one for her now. I mean, I know she has Pinkie now, but Pinkie's having trouble dealing with all this herself. And I... I just don't know if I'll be able to be strong enough." Tears were forming in the yellow pegasus' eyes.

Applejack reached over to rest a comforting hoof on Fluttershy's back. "Aw, sugarcube. You know we'll all be here for her. For both of them. And for you. We'll get through this together, just like all the other messes we've been through. And as fer bein' strong, why ah've known you, what, ten years now? You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for."

Fluttershy sniffled softly, managing to smile. For a moment, she just sat there, letting the orange pony rub her back. Truth be told, she almost didn't want her to stop. She leaned over and rested her head on Applejack's shoulder, breathing in the scent of apples that permeated her hair. She could feel the strength in the earth pony's hooves and she began to imagine what it would be like to have those strong hooves hold her and comfort her... She started, sitting upright as a blush painted her cheeks. Why was she thinking that? It must be the stress. She needed to get away for a minute and get her head sorted out.

Applejack had been lost in thought herself as she absently stroked her friend's back. She knew this was hard on Fluttershy, probably more so than anypony else. She tried to imagine how she would feel if it were Applebloom or Big Mac in that bed, hanging between life and death. Fluttershy's sudden movement brought her out of her thoughts. "You okay, sugarcube?"

"Um... um, yes. I'm fine. I just need to, um... take a walk, I think. Get some fresh air."

"That's a great idea. It can get right stuffy in here. Maybe Ah'll join you."

"No! Um... um... I mean, I, um... I appreciate the offer, but... um... but somepony should really stay here with Dash... um... in case something happens. Um... if... if you don't mind, that is."

Applejack cast a mildly skeptical glance at her friend. She thought about pressing the issue, but decided against it. It was clear that Fluttershy wasn't ready to talk about whatever had gotten her so flustered just yet.

As the rising sun illuminated the room, Pinkie slowly opened her eyes. For a moment she wondered who had sneaked in and painted her ceiling white. Then she shifted her gaze, taking in the rest of the room, and remembered where she was.

"Oh, good. You're awake." Twilight walked over to the bed. "How do you feel?"

"I guess I'm feeling a teensy-weensy bit better." Pinkie frowned, remembering what had led to her being here. "I'm still worried, though. Is Dashie...? Is she still...? Did she...?" Pinkie couldn't bring herself finish the thought.

"She's stabilized now. The doctors think she's going to live." Twilight saw relief in Pinkie's eyes. She was glad, but she didn't want to get her friend's hopes too high. "But she's still in a coma. There's no way to tell when she'll wake up."

Pinkie took a moment to process this information. Then she turned to Twilight, a pleading look in her eyes. "Can I see her?"

Twilight chewed her bottom lip nervously. "I don't know, Pinkie. Are you sure you're up to that? I wouldn't want you to have a relapse. Maybe we should ask the doctor first."

Pinkie clambered out of the bed. "I'll be okay, Twilight. I'm ready to face this now, really."

"Are you sure? I still think..."

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," stated Pinkie firmly, moving her hooves in the familiar gestures that went with her strongest oath.

Twilight nodded, acquiescing. A Pinkie promise was good enough for her.

When they arrived at the ICU, Twilight had to stay behind, since Fluttershy was already inside and only two visitors at a time were allowed in ICU rooms.

Pinkie let out a little gasp as she entered Dash's room. Fluttershy turned and greeted her, but Pinkie barely noticed. It took all her gathered courage to cross those few feet of floor to her lover's bedside. Dash was laying there with IV lines feeding various fluids into her and an oxygen line running to her snout. Most of her body was covered by bandages or casts. If it weren't for the distinct rainbow colored mane, it would have been hard to tell who was in the bed.

"Oh, Dashie," whispered Pinkie, tears welling in her eyes. She sniffled, then spoke again. "Twilight says you can't hear anyone, that you don't know we're here, because you're in a really, really deep sleep while you get better. But I don't think she's right. My heart tells me you can hear me. That you know I'm here. And Flutters is here too, right in the room with me. She's been here since they brought you in. And I wanted to be, but I was just so super worried that I kinda stopped working right and the doctors had to fix me, too. But I'm here now, Dashie. And I'll be here everyday. I'll be right here by your side as much as I can. And I'll be here when you wake up. I Pinkie promise I will. And then, when you wake up and you're all better, I'm gonna throw the biggest party ever, just for you."

Fluttershy had walked over and now rested a comforting hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "It's okay, Pinkie. And you know, I... I think you're right. I think she can hear us."

After a week, Dash was stable enough to be moved out of the ICU and placed in a long-term stay room. At first, everypony came to visit almost daily. But time wore on, fall faded into winter and winter into spring, and gradually the visits became less and less frequent. Oh, some came more than others, of course. Pinkie would spend two days in Ponyville, then two at the hospital, in a regular schedule (the princess had been nice enough to give her a room at the castle to use indefinitely). Beyond that, Fluttershy was usually there once a week, and Scootaloo often managed to come with her. Twilight would occasionally take a few days out of a month to do her studies at the castle. Applejack and Rarity were the least frequent, showing up once a month or so, but that was to be expected. They both had businesses to run, after all.

Pinkie sighed and looked over at Dash. It had been six months now. All the casts and bandages were gone. She reflected on how peaceful her Dashie looked. Too peaceful. Almost...

She shook her head, willing the thought away. Dashie would wake up. She could feel it. It was just going to take time. In the meantime, she just had to tell Dashie about the new couple in town and the super-exciting party she had thrown for them.

"Well, Dashie, the past few days have been really exciting. We had a new couple move in, the Gravys, Brown and Mushroom. They're really nice, especially Mushroom. He's pretty cool, actually. I think you'd like him. Oh, yea, they're both stallions. I think they were a little nervous about that at first, but then they found out they didn't need to be. I mean, there's other couples like that in Ponyville. There's me and you, there's Lyra and BonBon, and now with Flutters and AJ dating, that's three right there. And nopony's ever had a problem. So we got them over that silly notion real quick. Hmmm... what else. Oh yea. They have the cutest little colt, Gravy Whisk. He's Brown's. Brown was married to a mare before, but she died. That was really sad, but then he got together with Mushroom, so it was better. Well anyway, when I heard they were moving in, I just had to throw them a party of course. And I decided to try something new. It was like a buffet and a welcome party all in one. Everypony lined up to greet them, while kept them all supplied with food." She paused, putting a hoof to her chin in contemplation. "It was a lot harder than I thought though. I pooped out partway through the party, and Gummy had to drag me off. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Hmmm.... Well, anyway, everypony had a great time." She paused again, then continued in a somewhat sadder tone. "I just... wish you could have been there. My parties just aren't the same without you."

As she finished, the nurse poked her head in the door, informing her that visiting hours were over for the night. With a sigh and a final, forlorn look at her comatose lover, she trudged out of the room and made her way back to her guest quarters.