Next chapter! Hope you like! :) For those who are curious, Tara is named after Tara Strong, the voice of Twilight Sparkle in the TV show and both Equestria Girls movies. ;)

"OK, you flap in and out like this—come on, you can do better than that!"

I groaned. "I've only had these wings half an hour, Dashie!"

"I was flying around Cloudsdale before I could even talk. Show me some action, Tara!"

I wanted to punch the annoying blue Pegasus but that wouldn't have accomplished anything.

"You'll get it," encouraged Fluttershy. She turned her back to me and flapped her wings gently. "You just go up and down, up and down, like this. Eventually you'll be flying."

I imitated her and nothing happened.

"Uh, you weigh a lot more than us ponies. Try flapping harder," Rainbow Dash advised.

I pumped my anthro wings slightly harder and lifted myself about a millimeter off the floor. A little more vigorous flapping sent me up a foot—before I lost control. I faceplanted into Twilight's floor.

Rarity used her magic to stand me back up. "Now, now, dear, not to worry. Try again."

Hours must have passed. I struggled with my newly acquired wings. I may look like an angel now, but I was a clumsy angel confined to extremely low flights.

Finally I slumped in discouragement against the wall. "Hey, you can't stop now! Keep going!" Dash exclaimed.

"Forget it, Dashie! We all know it's hopeless." I looked at my wings and sighed. "I can't help Twilight if my own wings keep me pinned to the ground."

"She felt the same way when she first got her wings, ya know." Applejack stood in front of me. "Come on, T'ara." The way she pronounced my name sounded like "tiara". "I know you can learn to fly. You can make those wings obey yuh."

"You're just saying that, Applejack," I muttered. Immediately I realized my mistake, saying that to the bearer of the Element of Honesty. Even now the amber-colored apple gleamed on her necklace.

Applejack put a gentle hoof in my hand. "I never, never, say things just to make somepony feel good n' all. I only say what's the honest truth. You can fly. You just have to control yer wings. Don't let them control you."

I wanted so badly to believe her. But I could only shake my head. "I—just give me a minute, girls."

Pinkie looked sad. "So we can't have a Tara-can-fly party yet?"

"Pinkie Pie!" Rarity scolded.

"What did I say?"

I left the two ponies to argue and walked upstairs to Twilight's bedroom. "I'm sorry, Twilight," I whispered to a picture of her on her nightstand.

I noticed the clock and was surprised to see what time it was. It was almost nine o'clock—high time for the sun to have set and the moon to be shining down on Equestria. But almost immediately I remembered. Celestia and Luna had given their magic to Twilight, and Twilight had given it to me. The magic that set the sun and raised the moon was now in the necklace I was wearing.

For a moment I wondered if I could do it—if I could raise the moon instead of Princess Luna. Immediately I rejected the idea. Twilight had been embarrassed as she told me how badly she had done before—and she was an alicorn, gifted with her own magic as well as the other princesses'. I had nothing. Raising the moon on my own would be a horrible idea.

A sudden distant thunderclap from the direction of Canterlot got my attention. I looked to the horizon and absolutely panicked. Canterlot was engulfed in the same cloud that had trapped Twilight and I inside the palace earlier. Sombra's power was growing. In a matter of hours, his clouds could cover all of Equestria.

This was getting more and more discouraging every second. With the princesses' magic gone and Twilight captured by Sombra, who knew what could happen. Day and night in Equestria were in disarray. Celestia couldn't protect her subjects. Nopony else in Equestria had the magic or ability to fight Sombra on their own. And worst of all, if I couldn't save Twilight in time…

I thought of the way Sombra had lewdly examined Twilight and found myself growing angry. Quickly I tried to suppress my feelings and protect the magic in my necklace, but I couldn't help it. Twilight was my new best friend. She had given herself up for my safety. If I didn't try to save her, I was a coward.

Without telling the rest of the Mane Six, I decided to leave.

I opened the window as quietly as I could and teetered on the windowsill. Spreading my wings, I sighed. "Ok…you can do this, Tara…" Then I jumped without giving myself a chance to change my mind.

I shot toward the ground as I pumped my wings furiously. I couldn't fall.

To my amazement, I actually managed to catch myself in midair and hover. A little more flapping rose me level to the roof of Twilight's treehouse.

With a shriek of delight I started turning circles in the air. I had done it! I could fly!

With a mighty whoosh I was off to Canterlot and the sinister dark cloud. My righteous anger still bubbled inside me. I knew I had to save Twilight.

What I didn't know at the time, though, was that my anger had pulled some of the magic out of the amulet. The magic that was allowing me to fly was a product of impure rage.

Simply put, I was flying with dark magic.