Twilight awakened to a knocking on her door. She yawned and sat upright. “Wow, it’s morning already… I guess they don’t want to waste any time. I’m glad they have such dedication.” She got out of bed and trotted downstairs to the front door. When she opened it, she was not greeted by her friends. Standing there were Doctor Whooves, Lightning Dust, Vinyl Scratch, Soarin, and Spitfire. Each of them stood tall and stared intently at Twilight.

“Um… can I help you?” Twilight asked. She couldn’t help but look confused.

Spitfire stepped forward. “The better question is ‘can we help you,’ Twilight?”

“I don’t understand…”

Soarin stepped next to Spitfire. “Look, we know that thing up there isn’t good, and we heard from Pinkie that you might know how to stop it, so we want to come with you.” The other ponies nodded in agreement.

“But… this is dangerous!” Twilight burst out. “We may not make it back, and I can’t guarantee anypony’s safety!” Their faces remained unchanged.

“My dear,” the Doctor chimed in, “I believe we are all aware of the risks. We cannot sit idly by and watch Equestria be destroyed. I think you’ll agree that there will be strength in numbers.”

Twilight wanted to argue, but she knew that they would not back down. She sighed. “Alright… I guess we could use the help.” She invited them into her library and set up a table for them to sit down. Once everypony had settled in, there was another knock on the door. Twilight stood up to answer it, but Lightning Dust motioned for her to sit back down.

“I’ll get it, Twilight. It’s probably your friends.” Lightning Dust trotted to the door and opened it. She was greeted by Twilight’s closest friends, with Swordpoint standing near Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash recognized her old flying buddy at once. “Lightning Dust!” she exclaimed, smiling. “What are you doing here?”

“We thought you could use some help.” Lightning nodded to the ponies sitting at the table inside.

Rainbow immediately recognized the two Wonderbolts. “OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!” she yelled. “Soarin and Spitfire and coming with us?!” She began to squeal.

“Darling, perhaps you could save the gushing for a more appropriate time?” Rarity spoke up.

Rainbow Dash blushed a little. “Um… yeah, right. Sorry.” She sheepishly placed her hoof behind her head.

Lightning Dust giggled. “Well, are you ponies gonna just stand there? Get in here!”

Rainbow smiled and walked inside. The others followed behind her.

Twilight stood up. “Hey, girls! Oh, and hi, Swordpoint! Sorry, I was't really expecting all this company… I’ll just get another table from upstairs.” She trotted upstairs and quickly returned with a magically levitated table and six chairs. She placed them near the other table and invited her friends to sit.

Swordpoint spoke first. “Alright, everypony. For the benefit of those who have only just joined us, the great object which now hangs in the skies above us is the source of changelings in this world.”

Vinyl took her glasses off. “Whoa, man… They came from space?”

Swordpoint nodded. “The changeling king, King Metamorphosis, impersonated me and used Miss Sparkle to draw it nearer to the world. Now, fighting changelings shouldn’t be a problem with our numbers—“

“Wait!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “I… I don’t think these things are changelings. Yeah, they might eventually become changelings, but they’re a lot worse.” She began to shiver.

Swordpoint raised an eyebrow. “On what do you base your assumptions, Miss Dash?”

Rainbow continued to shiver. “I… I saw them last night.”

The ponies gasped.

“I went out for a midnight flight because I couldn’t sleep, and they came out of nowhere. They’re all black, and they look like dark shadows. The only things you can really see about them are the wings, the claws, the mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, and… their horrible red eyes.”

Swordpoint’s expression never changed. “And yet you are still here. If they are as terrible as you claim, why did they not kill you?”

Rainbow sighed. “Look… Ever since last month, I’ve been having these real nasty nightmares. I feel like something’s been trying to warn me of this whole thing. Maybe you won’t believe me, but I know in my heart that it’s true.” She took a deep breath. “I saw these creatures in my dreams, too. They’re nothing like changelings. They don’t want your love; they want your blood.” Don’t cry, Dash, not in front of the Wonderbolts! Rainbow couldn’t stifle the tears that came to her eyes. “I watched you all die! I saw them kill you all! I don’t want to lose you… ANY of you! You can make fun of me all you want, but I’m scared. I’m not even scared for myself, because if I have to die, then at least I’m going out fighting for Equestria… and for all of you. But if I lost you guys, I’d… I don’t know what I’d do…” Rainbow choked out these last words through her tears and hung her head.

Swordpoint simply stared at Rainbow for a minute or so. “My dear, I believe you are overreacting. Dreams are simply the window through which you may view your subconscious.”

Rainbow looked up, a snarl coming to her face. Really?! I pour my heart out and you give me this?! UGH! I can’t believe I even found you attractive! She opened her mouth to give him a tongue lashing, but her friends beat her to it.

“Swordpoint, how can you possibly be so insensitive?!” Twilight cried. “I trust Rainbow Dash with my life, and I know she wouldn’t just make something up, especially considering what’s at stake!”

“Yeah, Swordpoint!” Applejack roared. “Can’t ya see that she’s got her feathers all ruffled?! Is this how ya treat a lady in Ponynesia?!”

Spitfire looked at Rainbow and gave her a small smile. “Pretty lame, dude. Rainbow, here is one tough mare. If she’s like this, then I know we’re in trouble. You need to get the buck off your high horse.”

Rainbow Dash looked around at the smiling, comforting faces of her friends. She wiped her tears and smiled back. “Thanks, everypony.”

Swordpoint simply rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, very fine and well. But shouldn’t we return to the task at hand?”

Twilight shot an angry glance at him.

Rainbow wiped the last of the tears from her eyes. “No, he’s right, even if he is a totally insensitive jerk." Rainbow gave him a dirty look. "We have to get this thing in gear!”

Swordpoint sighed. “Good. Now, this will be no easy task. The ruins for which we search are beyond Equestria. They reside in the outskirts of Ponynesia. The journey will be arduous, and will surely take weeks by hoof.”

Soarin frowned. “Uh, I don’t think we really have all that much time, here…”

Swordpoint raised his hoof. “If I may… Perhaps only the pegasi should make the journey. Flight is much quicker than walking, and it is also less tiring. By air, we could reach the ruins within two days.”

Rainbow’s stomach dropped. No… I don’t want to leave them here. Not with those… creatures running around. “No way! We go all together or not at all! I’m not splitting up after what I saw last night!” She shot Swordpoint a sharp glance, daring him to say otherwise.

Swordpoint looked at Rainbow’s face and wisely chose to hold his silence.

Twilight smiled. “I guess now would be a good time to try out my newest spell.”

The ponies all looked at Twilight, intrigued.

“I’m sure you all remember my last attempt at giving wings to non-pegasi,” Twilight said, looking at Rarity in particular. Rarity winced a little. “Well, I’ve perfected the spell, now. I can create actual, long-lasting wings. Unfortunately, they aren’t permanent, and I would have to recast the spell once a day. This also raises the important point of the dangers of losing the wings during flight.”

Rarity looked apprehensively at Twilight, but she steeled herself. “I’ll do it.”

Applejack smiled. “Ah’m not sure how well Ah’d take tuh flyin’, but it’s worth a try.”

Pinkie Pie smiled wide. “Wow! I’ll actually get to fly! Oh, this is going to be so much fun! I wonder how it feels?! I bet it’s super-duper awesome! Ooh, I wonder what…” Pinkie trailed off, again speaking to no one in particular.

Twilight began to smile excitedly. “Okay, what about you two? Vinyl and the Doctor. Are you willing?”

Vinyl Scratch smiled her cocky smile. “Dude. Do you even have to ask? You’re really asking if I’d like to try having bucking wings? DUH!”

The Doctor looked intently. “My dear, I will do whatever is necessary.”

“Okay!” Twilight said aloud. “If everypony could just stand up and line up in the center of the ro—“

Twilight was interrupted by a loud crash. Everypony looked around at once.

“What was—“ Vinyl tried to say, but she was interrupted by another loud crash.

“LOOK!” Lightning Dust exclaimed, pointing to the ceiling. The roof had begun to crack, and as another loud thud rocked the library, the crack grew larger and splinters fell from the roof.

Rainbow Dash felt her stomach clench. “We have to get out of here! NOW! Twilight! Cast your spell!”

Twilight nodded at once. “Everypony line up! Quickly!” THUD. Whatever’s doing this is going to break through, soon… We have to hurry!

The earth ponies and unicorns lined up in the middle of the room. Twilight quickly focused her magic and enveloped them all in a purple aura. There was another loud thud on the roof. Twilight pushed her magic harder, and she watched as real wings began to grow from the sides of each of the ponies. They each looked as if they were actual pegasi or alicorns.

Just as Twilight finished her spell, a final crash echoed through the library, and the roof gave way. A large section of it fell to the ground, nearly crushing the Doctor and Vinyl.

“RUUUUUUUUUUN!” Rainbow screamed. She bolted for the door and wrenched it open. The ponies followed closely behind her. She turned around to see the same creatures which had chased her the previous night. There were three of them, and they all pushed their way into the library through the hole in the roof. Oh, Celestia! What do we do?!

As the ponies emerged from the library, they all began to spread their wings. One by one, they took off into the sky. Fluttershy, however, could not lift herself from the ground. She couldn't get her wings to work properly. Thinking quickly, Rainbow wrapped her hoof around Fluttershy and pulled her into the sky.

Fluttershy’s eyes were filled with tears. “Rainbow… I’m scared!” She was sobbing uncontrollably.

Rainbow felt a pang in her heart. “Fluttershy, please… don’t be scared. I’m here. I won’t let them hurt you. I promise.”

Fluttershy continued to sob. “It’s not just me… Everypony else… I don’t want to see anypony get hurt!”

Rainbow turned around and saw the three figures catch up with them. Fluttershy was slowing her down. She had no hope of outflying them. “Twilight! Help! Use your magic or something!”

Twilight turned her head and observed with horror that the creatures were closing in on Rainbow and Fluttershy. She quickly began to cast a spell. “Watch out, everypony!” Her bolt of magic struck the front creature directly on its wings. The creature howled as its wings began to disintegrate. It quickly dropped from the sky and slammed into the ground far below.
“Haha! Take that, motherbucker!” Vinyl taunted. Her horn began to glow, but instead of casting her spell at the creatures, she cast it on Fluttershy. “Hey, Fluttershy! Try flyin’, now! That should pump you up!”
Fluttershy had stopped crying. She pushed away from Rainbow and began to fly on her own. “Oh, my! I feel so energized! Thank you, Vinyl!”
Rainbow Dash sighed with relief. Good. Now I’ve got a better chance. Rainbow began to push herself harder, but before she could gain speed, she felt a sharp pain in her side. “AAAAAUGH!” Looking behind herself, she saw that one of the creatures had caught up to her and cut open her side. It roared and raised its claws to swipe her again.

“RAINBOW!” Twilight screamed. She stopped and turned around to help her friend, but Soarin and Spitfire had already circled around.

“Let’s show these guys what happens when you mess with the Wonderbolts!” Spitfire exclaimed, a smirk on her face. She was flying side by side with Soarin. The two Wonderbolts rammed into the creature on Rainbow's tail. It screamed and spun around in the air, spiraling toward the ground. However, the creature recovered and once again gave chase.

“Hey, Spitfire!” Soarin called to his wingpony, “looks like this guy’s not giving up!”

“So what?” Spitfire replied, smiling a cocky smile. “We aren’t, either!”

Soarin smirked. “Got that right! We’ve got your back, Dash!” Their trail of thunder clouds cut a swath through the sky as they flew head on toward the next creature. As they neared it, it snarled and raised its claws. The Wonderbolts quickly split to either side of it and circled around, coming underneath it. They simultaneously crashed into its chest, causing it to thrash wildly. Its claws came into contact with Spitfire’s face, although she was only scratched.

“Hey! Hooves off the merchandise, bro!” Spitfire yelled. She and Soarin flew up higher into the sky. When they looked back down, they saw the other creature catching up to Dash again. It would be on her in seconds. “Oh, hoof! Soarin, look!” She pointed and he simply nodded. They dove down quickly. Oh, no… We’ll never make it in time! Gotta push!

Suddenly, a blue and yellow thunderbolt streak cut through the sky and smashed into the creature before it could grab Rainbow. “Can’t let you guys have ALL the fun, now!” Lightning Dust called to the Wonderbolts. The creature was thrown off balance, and it plummeted downward. Lightning Dust quickly changed course and joined Soarin and Spitfire, flying side by side. They looked down at the creature which she had struck. It continued to fall downward, until it hit the ground with an audible crack. It did not stir.

Rainbow Dash struggled to continue flying. She wanted to help the Wonderbolts, but her injury already made flight painful. She could only focus on staying airborne. Gah… This is not how I imagined flying with the Wonderbolts… I should be helping them, but instead I can’t do anything but run…

Spitfire smirked again. “Nice work, Lightning Dust! Top notch flying!”

“I only put forth the best!” Lightning Dust responded, a cocky smile on her face. Her gloating was cut short, however, when she felt something pulling her down. Turning around, she saw the final creature gripping her leg tightly. It was raising its other arm to slash her with its sharp claws.

“Aaaah! H-help!” she cried. Soarin and Spitfire quickly turned around and barreled toward the creature, but they were unable to stop it from slashing into Lightning. Its claws dug into her side, leaving gaping wounds that oozed blood. It raised its arm for another swipe, but it never got the chance. Soarin crashed into it and broke its grip on Lightning. However, Lightning Dust was losing consciousness, and she began to fall from the sky. Spitfire dove after her, pushing herself as hard as she could.

Lightning was falling fast, and she felt herself slipping away. As she fell, she could see blood above her from her wounds. Well… This might be it for me… Sorry, Rainbow… She felt the wind rushing past her, but only slightly. In fact, she could barely feel anything. The last thing she saw before blacking out was a bright yellow and orange figure heading straight toward her, trailing thunderclouds behind it.

Spitfire’s heart raced. She could see Lightning below her, but she wasn’t sure if she could reach her in time. She closed her eyes and forced herself to speed up, using every ounce of strength she had. “Come on… Come on!” She began to close the distance between then, reaching out her hoof. She inched slowly closer to Lightning. The ground was approaching fast. COME ON!!!!! JUST A LITTLE CLOSER!!! She made one final push, and her hoof touched Lightning "GOTCHA!" she yelled triumphantly. She quickly wrapped her hoof around Lightning and pulled up as hard as she could. They missed the ground by mere feet. She looked up to see the final creature crash into the ground, where it lay silently.

Rainbow Dash struggled through the pain in her side. Flapping her wings grew more difficult with each second. She felt herself beginning to lose altitude. “Guys… I-I’m hurt bad, here… I’m going down…” As her wings ceased to move, she felt herself begin to drop. She suddenly felt a hoof around her, however, and looked up to see a light yellow pegasus with a pink mane holding her.

Fluttershy smiled. “It’s my turn to return the favor, Rainbow Dash.”

As Spitfire rejoined the group, she called out to everypony. “Guys, we have to set down! Lightning and Rainbow are hurt bad! They’re both bleeding a lot!”

The ponies nodded in agreement and began to descend. One by one they landed on the plains below.

Spitfire carefully placed Lightning on the ground. She had already lost a lot of blood, and her breathing grew more shallow by the minute. When Fluttershy set Rainbow Dash down, Rainbow limped her way to where Lightning lie.

Rainbow looked at Twilight hopefully. “T-Twilight… You can help her, right?”

Twilight gave Rainbow an uncertain look. “I… I don’t know… Her injuries are pretty severe…”

Rainbow began to cry. “At least try!” Come on, Lightning, please hold on! You can’t go out like this! You’ve still got so much you wanted to do in life! Rainbow was sobbing, now.

Twilight stood over Lightning Dust and began to examine her injuries. Oh, no… This isn’t good… There’s so much internal bleeding, and I don’t think I can… Despite her doubts, Twilight focused her magic. Her horn began to glow, and her purple aura surrounded Lightning. She could see some of the internal injuries healing, but she couldn’t close all of her wounds. The gashes in her side did close, but Twilight knew that with her internal injuries, she most likely wouldn’t survive.

Rainbow looked hopefully at Twilight, ignoring the pain she felt and gritting her teeth. “So? Is… is she gonna be okay?”

Twilight couldn’t look Rainbow in the eyes. “I… I’m afraid I’ve done all that I can. She’s bleeding on the inside, and my magic isn’t strong enough to…” She couldn’t finish. She looked down.

Rainbow sat next to Lightning. “Hey… Can you hear me, bud?”

Lightning opened her eyes slightly. “R-Rainbow?”

Tears came to Rainbow’s eyes. “Y-yeah, Lightning. It’s me.”

A smile came to Lightning’s face. “You’re okay… That’s good.”

“Yeah. I’m a little hurt, but I’ll live... Thanks to you.” Rainbow was fighting back her tears. I’ve gotta be strong for her… This is all my fault.

“Good… Ugh…” Lightning grimaced a little. “It hurts, Rainbow. But I don’t blame you. I’ve learned a lot about friendship since we last saw one another. Having someone you can love and depend on; someone who will always be there for you… That’s worth so much more than just being the best. I’m glad to have called you my… friend.”

“Me, too, Lightning,” Rainbow sobbed. She couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. She wrapped a hoof around Lightning. “Please don’t go, Lightning… I don’t want to see you go. Stay with me, please…”

Lightning gave Rainbow a small smile. “Hehe… I don’t really think I have a say in that, Dash. I want you to promise me something.”

“Anything, Lightning,” Rainbow choked out through her sobs.

“I want you to keep fighting. For me, and for all of Equestria.” Lightning Dust lightly touched her hoof to Rainbow’s face.
Rainbow’s face filled with determination, even through her tears. “…I will.”

Lightning Dust smiled again. “Thanks… Dash…” As she said this, her eyes closed and her breathing slowly stopped.
Rainbow sat and cried. When Twilight approached Rainbow to heal her wounds, Rainbow angrily shook her hoof at Twilight and told her to go away. She cried for what felt like forever.

Swordpoint watched in silence. This pegasus gave her life for her friend… What power is there in this world to bring such fierce courage to a pony? Could it perhaps be this… friendship? The sight of Rainbow crying over her friend softened his hardened heart, and he turned away. Perhaps I can learn a great deal from these ponies.

Author's Note

Chapter four. Took a long time. I was going to get a proofreader but then I realized that no one's going to proof read an already posted story, so I said buck it. Next chapter will come soon.