“And that’s everything that’s happened since last month… since I met Trixie.”

The Princess stood before me in the grass, her mouth open. I found it to be rather odd that Ponyville’s Princess was unable to speak, or that she was less regal than Luna, whom I somewhat idolized for her work with the Moon each night. In fact, I found it kind of funny that our local Princess was more like the average pony than a Princess. She had even abandoned the usual attire for a pony of her stature; her crown and gilded horseshoes. In contrast, her wisdom and drive were definitely trademarks of an Alicorn Princess.

“Mr. Ramp, I’m so sorry…” she began, “I don’t even know what to say. Ponyville’s rarely been so violent or angry. I mean… it has happened before… but never like this.”

I sighed, “So can you help me?” I asked, “Is there anything about the cure that Kain mentioned that you know of?”

“Kain…” Twilight mumbled, “If I ever get my hooves on him, we’re going to have a long, long talk about conscripting random ponies… I can’t believe that he would enlist MY student to commit these heinous acts!”

“You mean… Trixie…?” I asked, flittering my wings a little and pinning my ears back, “I don’t know what happened with that Unicorn, but I don’t think she had much of a choice in the matter… and Fray kind of beat the buck out of her after taking control of my body while we were in Kain’s tower…”

Fray hid behind my mane at Twilight’s glance towards it.

“So it’s like Trixie’s…” she mumbled as the wind tossed her mane about just a bit.

“No… not exactly… Fray’s only taken over when he felt we were in extreme danger… Fray is not a violent Spirit.” I drew my lips back to one side, looking away in the same direction, “... Usually.”

Twilight sighed, “Niether was Trixie’s… although from what you’ve told me, there’s a noteworthy difference between you and her.”

“There is?” I asked perking my ears up and glancing back up at the Alicorn.

Fray wondered what it might have been as well and poked his tiny gray head out from under my mane, staring at Twilight as it cautiously made its way out onto my shoulder.

Twilight nodded, smiling just a little, “You care about Fray.” she said, booping the small creature on the nose. I looked over my back towards my small friend, who went crosseyed and scrunched its nose at her, frowning as if it were unsure what to think of my Princes, “You respect its power, and want Fray to learn how to use them in ways that help instead of hurt.”

“I do care… quite a lot.” I affirmed, smiling softly at my marshmallowy-looking friend, “Fray is… is… well, more a son or daughter to me.” I admitted, “I want Fray to grow to be somepony who’s strong, but kind.”

The purple Alicorn Princess continued to smile amicably as Fray, who remained silent, hid in my mane again and peered out at her, “Well, I’m sure you’ll do just fine!” she said with confidence, “But we really should be going. We need to clear your name, after all. Fray can help.”

“I can?” Fray asked in its signature child-like voice, poking its head out to get a better view of Twilight, “How can I help?”

The princess only smiled, “You don’t know how to fly, I’m guessing?” she asked.

I almost coughed, grinning nervously, “Was it that obvious?”

“Well, you did almost RUN into me…”

“Oh… yeah… um. Sorry about that.”

The Princess only shrugged, “Let’s just get you some basic lessons. I know somepony back in Ponyville who could teach you.”

“... So did I. Scootaloo helped me recover… but now…”

“Scootaloo?” Twilight Sparkle asked, “You mean… orange, pink-haired Scootaloo?”

I began stretching my wings a little, “Yeah… she, and Featherweight, were infected. I have to go-”

But Twilight seemed not to be listening. Instead, she seemed increasingly more concerned with each passing second, until finally she spoke.

“Things just got more complicated.” Twilight sighed, “Scootaloo is… basically Rainbow Dash’s sister.”

“And I’m guessing that Rainbow Dash is…”

“... the one who has to teach you.” she finished for me, “Yes… She is going to be very mad at you… but we need her to teach you to fly with great skill. It’s the fastest and probably most reliable way.”

Wind whistled through the grass and the massive tree behind Twilight creaked and groaned. The Princess continued to frown.

“I lead them into that mess.” I stated, “And I’ll do whatever it takes to get them out of it.”

“So…?” Princess Twilight asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Talk to Rainbow… even if it means being yelled at, or worse.”

More wind blew between us, casting more pollen-like spores into the air and disturbing insects as they took flight to new hiding places in the great, green field. Clouds covered the sun’s rays partially, forcing it to cast shadows over the trees surrounding our field.

“Well.. let’s get started.” The purple Alicorn demanded, taking hold of me and almost dragging my mopey carcass to a more open and flat portion of the field, “Spread your wings.” she commanded, trotting through the slightly less deep grass where we then stood.

“Couldn’t we walk…?” I asked, unsure all of a sudden of our course of action, “Wait until Miss Dash gets done yelling?”

“Spread ‘em!” she barked, taking me off guard enough to make me open my wings enough for her to inspect them, “Good… and it’s ‘Misses’ now. She took Soarin last year as her husband.”

“Oh… well that’s good.”

“You need to focus, or you’re going to cause yourself a lot more trouble than necessary.” the Princess snapped, “Start running.”

“More trouble…?” I mumbled as I took off running, the Princess keeping in pace beside me.

“Okay… Hey, keep those wings up! Ears forward, chest out! Good!” she smiled as we ran, “Alright, now just flap those wings. Move them in an oval, starting from the front, then down towards the back, and then bring them up again! Like a bird!”

I felt silly. Her instructions sounded just as silly, but as I committed myself to her instructions, I found my legs lifting off the ground, the wind picking up in my ears.

“Okay!” the Princess yelled, “Stay focused and adjust your body until you start flying straight!”

With that, we were off and flying into the sky, skimming above the trees. I was a little unsteady of course, and I was more afraid than anything of the idea that I might crash into something unexpectedly or that the wind might blow me in a direction that I did not want to go, which it did, but flying was otherwise exhilarating. I realized that I had complete freedom of movement in the sky, so long as I was careful about how I moved. I think it should be obvious that I was no where near the level of flying that the Princess was capable of, so I couldn’t even imagine how other winged Ponies were capable of the things I’d witnessed at Wonderbolts Festivals and other gatherings.

In spite of all of those thoughts, I found my first flight to be one I would never forget. Being taught the basics personally by the Princess was one thing, but the rush of wind in my mane, the view from above the Everfree, and the smell of fresh air like I’d never experienced was, to put it in simple terms, amazing beyond compare, and I wasn’t even much higher above the trees yet. I closed my eyes for a moment, relishing the feeling.

The Princess and I took it slow but, even still, I found myself tiring and nearly out of breath about 3/4th’s of the way to Ponyville, by my estimate. Which was, as it turned out, completely off.

“We’re almost halfway there.” my purple Princess chuckled, seeing the state that I was in, “Let’s take a rest.” she suggested as we descended.

“You’re kidding, right?” I asked between breaths that came and went with a mild raggedness, “Oh um… by the way… how do I land?”

The Princess deadpanned, “I didn’t go over that?” she asked, “Um…”

Too late came the Princess’ consideration in the matter and, just as Twilight stuck out her hooves and came to a running stop, I plowed into the ground, sliding a few feet and into a bush. Leaves flew everywhere, and settled around the shrub like tiny posters attesting to my lack of skill. Princess Twilight rushed over to my location just as I came to my senses.

“Are you okay?” she asked, “How many hooves am I holding up?”

Ponies can only have two or so up at a time… so why that was ever a test to see if you were ‘damaged’ after a fall was far and beyond my understanding.

“Two…” I responded, shaking my head, “I think I’m fine. The dirt cushioned my fall.”

Fray came wobbling out of my mane, and clung to it like a tiny pilot might have hung onto a parachute caught in a tree after a crash and my tiny friend sighed with dazed relief at being closer to the ground.

The Princess laughed a little, “I can… see that.” she affirmed, looking back at the small gouge in the earth that I had left behind, “... Maybe we should go over landing…”

I nodded, and rolled forward to sit in the bush, groaning, “Yes please!”

Fray hung on and flipped himself back up to rest, belly down, between my ears. I sensed unease from the idea of going back into the sky, which was somewhat strange to me coming from a creature that floated about as its primary means of locomotion.

In any case, Princess Twilight went over the basics of landing, which were much simpler than the act of flying, making me feel much more at ease with getting back into the air than I might have been if I had simply taken off again without further instruction. By the time the Princess was done lecturing, which took a considerably greater amount of time than when she had instructed me on taking off and flying, the Sun was high in the sky and I was growing hungry. Being that we were in the middle of the Everfree, there was a bountiful variety of different edibles, but I was unsure of what was actually safe to eat. On that subject, the Princess surprised me, identifying multiple foods that she assured were safe for pony consumption as if she were an expert in survival. I should not have been so astonished, because she HAD been in the Everfree Forest for well over two months, so chances were she must have known something about survival.

It’s just not what I imagined a Princess to be like. She was a little dirty from her time in the Forest, didn’t mind the mud on her hooves, her mane was a little unkempt, and she moved through the forest like it was second nature. Not as easily as the yellow Pegasus I had met earlier, but clearly she was not the same kind of Alicorn that Princess Celestia or Luna were, instead being a much more approachable, rugged Princess who was more in tune with the average pony. It put me at ease, if only a little.

I’d never really spoken with the other Princesses before, but they always seemed to be talked about with extreme reverence, and any time I’d seen them, they exuded an air of culture and aloofness that made me feel as if they were always watching, but never really involved in any direct manner with the ponies they ruled over, using proxies and officials to conduct their business. I held nothing against our rulers for that. After all, Equestria was a complex thing, and certainly nopony, even a Princess, could handle all the aspects of governing it alone.

But that’s way off topic.

As Ponyville’s Princess chowed down, quite literally, on a pile of leaves, berries, and ground-pulled roots and vegetables, I did the same. We didn’t speak much, but I think it was probably because Princess Twilight was more focused on how she was going to get me out of the mess I was in. She seemed pensive at least, and when we were both finished she simply stood up, and gestured to me.

“We should get moving. The Everfree is much less dangerous during the winter, even though the climate inside doesn’t change… but I’d really rather not get caught by a Manticore.” she laughed, “Not without Fluttershy, at least. She’s really good with animals.”

I thought back to the yellow Pegasus whom I’d met in the forest a few hours prior.

“I think I met her.” I said, trying to remember if I’d caught her name, “She sent a butterfly that lead me to you, I think.”

The Princess nodded and smiled knowingly, “Yep, that’s Fluttershy.” then opened her wings, signalling me that it was time to go, “We’ve got a long way to go. Let’s try not to stop this time. I hope Spike’s been keeping up the place while I’ve been gone.”

With a short run and a few flaps of my new bat wings, I found myself once again soaring into the sky above the Everfree forest. It was the first time that I’d really noticed how much colder it was outside the forest since I’d entered it the day before, but I didn’t really mind. The cold was, as I’ve said, one of the things I rather enjoyed and adapted very well to.

Though… the wind sure did make everything a whole a lot chillier.

The rest of my trip with the Princess was quiet and calm, and with a little food in my stomach, it was easier to focus on flying since I didn’t have that nasty pitted feeling that a pony usually gets when they don’t eat for half a day or more.

I smiled to myself.

Flying above the Everfree was wonderful, but as I stared up at the clouds above I wondered what it would be like to dive through them like water and if, now that I was a Batpony, I could stand upon clouds like a Pegasi. Such questions would have to wait, as the Princess pointed towards the ground at the edge of Ponyville, signalling to me that we were nearly to our destination, and my hopeful salvation.

Landing was much easier this time, as I slowed my line towards the ground, pulling up and hovering just a little.

“You’re a quick learner.” Princess Twilight complimented with a smile, “You’ll be flying like an experienced Pegasus…”

I raised an eyebrow, and flapped my wings once, smirking a bit.

“Okay... Batpony… in no time!” She giggled a little and nodded once.

My elation at the idea was cut short as both myself and the Princess picked up on a sound. One which I was more familiar with than I wished. A mob had formed, and was approaching our position quickly, with Thunder Step at the lead. He looked worried, and I was pretty certain I knew why. My old friend had to take a second glance at me, though, as if he didn’t recognize me, which made sense because I technically wasn’t the same pony I’d been when I left Ponyville a few days ago in exile.

“Air…? Air Ramp, is that you?” he asked, frowning and confused.

“It is.” I answered simply, but quickly deflected any further questioning, “But I’m not the one you should be addressing. The Princess is here. Do we not owe her our respect, especially after she has been gone for so long?”

It became apparent that Thunder Step had not noticed our Princess’s presence. His reaction was immediate, and he stood stock straight, saluting.

“The Princess is here! All bow!” he commanded over the grumblings of the crowd.

The crowd bowed.

“That’s enough.” the Princess huffed, rolling her eyes, “You all know I don’t need to be bowed down to… But I do have questions. Why is there a mob here?” she began as she fired more questions of in rapid succession, “Why was Air Ramp’s house burned down? Why are you at the head of this unrest?”

Thunder Step cowered a little, slumping his shoulders under the barrage, “Princess, I mean no disrespect! This pony has been deemed dangerous by the Ponyville Guard and the Mayor. He was instructed not to return!”

I knew what Thunder Step was doing. My old friend kept glancing at me, and then up towards the afternoon sky. That was a signal. He was buying time. I nodded almost imperceptibly. The difference between this time and every other time was that I had a whole town to contend with, and possibly a Princess, a Princess who, from what I’d heard of her, was very inquisitive and very powerful. If the powers that were giving Thunder Step orders made a more convincing story than I had to her, then I might not even make it back out of Ponyville if I had to make a break for it.

Fray stirred in my mind, he was becoming uncomfortable with the situation and it was no doubt in part to the memories of us being chased from the town. I sent it comforting messages and placed myself mentally in the field that Fray frequently ‘imagined’ up for himself in my head. I sat with him there, while the events outside continued. It was becoming easier to split my attention between multiple different thoughts. I forced my outer consciousness to focus on the situation at hand.

But you know what?

I was also tired of running from my home. I was tired of everything. I was numb. So much had happened in the past few days and I just wanted to rest, to sleep in a bed, to go find Aurora and somehow have her fall back in love with me. I wanted to forget about everything that had happened. I really did. But expecting such a thing to happen would be insane. Finding myself in the thick of a thousand-year old conspiracy, amidst a war that was coming to a boiling point? That was where I was at that moment, and I didn’t have any way out, no matter how much I wished it.

So, in the afternoon sun, at the edge of the town I had been expatriated from, in front of a bunch of ponies who wanted me dead or worse, I stood with the wind against my back, biting with its chilled teeth into my flank and the back of my neck.

For the first time in a long time, I shivered. I shivered and refused to run, and subtly shook my head at Thunder Step. He glared, of course, no doubt somewhat peeved that his old friend was bucking the favor. Then the heavily armored stallion shrugged, and Twilight began speaking again.

“It is my decision on who is removed from town, forcibly or otherwise.” my Princess fumed, “Everypony go home!” she barked at the crowd, “I’ll get to the bottom of this, personally!”

The ponies around began to move away, going back into the streets of Ponyville. All except Thunder Step, who was called out by the purple Alicorn Princess.

Thunderstep bowed low, crossing one hoof in front of the other, “Yes, Princess?” he asked.

“I want to know everything.” Princess Twilight began in a low tone, “What has happened to this town in my absence? Why did somepony burn one of my…” It was clear she was uncomfortable by calling me it, “...subjects’... house down?”

Thunder Step continued to bow, “Princess, there is much to explain. It was not my idea. The Mayor was swayed by your Guard, who was swayed by one of our best… Cold Thorn.”

“Rise.” the Princess commanded, “I don’t understand. Why would Cold Thorn do this?” Twilight mused, then focused back onto the heavily plated Earth pony stallion, ”Where is Cold Thorn now?”

Thunder Step arose to stand at full attention addressing the Princess’ question, “We do not know. It is as I said, Cold Thorn left shortly after swaying the Guard, the citizens of Ponyville and the Mayor were swayed to exile Air Ramp. Myself and a few of the residents attempted to defend Air, but… Cold Thorn has always been very persuasive.”

“He also attacked Air Ramp out of anger for him having Aurora fall in love with him.” Princess Twilight reminded my old friend, “Or so Air Ramp has told me.”

The Princess eyed me longways as Thunder Step’s ears drooped while he confirmed my story about the incident underneath the jail.

“That reminds me…” Princess Twilight mused after hearing about what Thunder Step had found underneath the prison, “Why was my student captured and imprisoned?”

Once more, Thunderstep explained the situation and stated that they were unsure of whether or not Trixie was dangerous, or what had really happened. It was clear that my friend was nervous, having to explain an entire town’s actions, but he held his own against the barrage of questions from our local royal. Satisfied at last, Princess Twilight told us to gather stand next to her, one of us on each side and, wiith a flash of light, I became dizzy and a little confused, seeing as she had teleported us both without warning either. Thunderstep and I wobbled a little as we regained our equilibrium.

“I’m gathering a few ponies.” Princess Twilight told us both, “Make yourself at home.”

“Twilight? Is that you?” a small, purple dragon called out, running down the stairs, “Twilight!” he exclaimed upon seeing her, “I’m so glad you’re back!”

Spike ran up to our Princess and hugged her around the neck, clinging a little. I took mental note of the ‘newcomer.’

“Spike!” Princess Sparkle smiled as she said his name, “I missed you too. I see you’ve been keeping the library in perfect order, just as I asked.”

Spike only clung to Twilight for a second because, as soon as he saw me, he immediately ran up and began asking about Fray. Fray took notice of that, which prompted the little blob-pony to eject from my skull and greet Spike with a flying hug and a stream of happy, friendly chatter. After a short conversation, the two approached Princess Twilight with a question I was rather familiar with.

“Can we go play?” Spike asked, Fray joining in, “Pleaaaase?”

Twilight seemed a little surprised, “You two… know each other?” she asked.

I nodded, answering for the two, “Yes. A few weeks before we entered the Everfree, Fray and I spent a lot of time here. Fray is very inquisitive, and remembers facts and formulas with relative ease. Of course… Fray is still young, and gets distracted sometimes, which was where your young dragon came in.”

My gaze turned to them, both of which were staring with hopeful smiles at the Princess, who smiled in turn and happily granted Spike pardon for the day, but telling Fray that he had to ask me first.

Fray floated over and asked the same.

“Of course you can.” I told…

I can’t keep calling Fray an ‘it.’ I just can’t. Fray isn’t an ‘it.’ At the time, I wasn’t sure if Fray would choose being a stallion or a mare, but I’ll say this much: Fray chose, in the end, to be a boy, like me. Like his father.

Me.

Sure, he hadn’t said it yet. But I knew I was Fray’s parent, and I felt just the same. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise when I told Fray not to go too far and to be careful. Which you might think wouldn’t be a big deal, but Fray had also become more independent, and our link weakened the further away Fray was from me. There were advantages to that, the primary one being that I could have conversations about things I didn’t want Fray to know as long as he was far enough away without exposing him to the subjects in question.

So from now on, I’ll be calling Fray a ‘he,’ okay?

Anyway… Fray hugged me, clinging to my chestfur as I sat down and gathered him up in my forehooves, nuzzling the fluffy mane that had grown on Fray’s head. He thanked me and zipped off with Spike, the two heading into another room. I felt the connection between us weaken a little. Just enough to allow the Princess, Thunder Step, and myself to begin discussing what was going on in Ponyville. But before we got started, I noticed that Princess Sparkle was staring at a wall, speaking into a strange device.

For some reason, despite the fact that it looked like she was talking to a box on the wall, I felt like it would be rude to interrupt. Fortunate for me, I didn’t have to wait long, and Twilight addressed both Thunder Step and I once she had finished with the box. I guess she noticed us staring though and began explaining what she had been using.

“Because of the advent of electricity in our town… I’ve been able to comission devices in town to allow long distance communication across town without the use of couriers for emergencies.” she began with a smile, “It uses vibrations from the air, like your voice, to change the resistance of electricity via compressed carbon molecules between two sheets of metal, which is translated from electrical resistance to sound again on the other side!” she stated, growing more excited with every word, “And to stop the sound of your own voice from coming through the speaker on the other side, our best scientists and magical engineers came up with something called a ‘duplex coil’ to…”

“Princess?” I interrupted, earning myself a warning look from Thunder Step which I ignored.

“Yes?” she asked, stopping in her hoofsteps and somewhat perturbed by the disruption, “What is it?”

“It’s not that I don’t find this interesting… I mean, I do. Fray and I are always looking for new things to learn but… who were you… um… calling? Is that the word?”

Thunder Step punched my shoulder. I stared at him with a dark look that probably asked “wha-at?” My heavily armored friend shook his head. Twilight seemed less aggravated than her guardspony was.

Princess Twilight blushed a little, “Oh… um. Yes! I guess I got a little carried away.” she laughed.”

Spike had apparently been hanging out near the doorway, and as he passed by asked, “A little?” and rolled his eyes.

“Go back to playing, Spike.” Twilight said with a sweet, but very obviously warning tone, “We’re having a serious discussion about a pony’s future.”

Spike shrugged and headed into the kitchen, returning through a few moments later with snacks, no doubt for Fray and himself. I found myself worrying a little about what Fray might be eating, and what effect it might have on him when he returned to my brain-case. I shrugged those thoughts off as Princess Twilight continued, turning to face us again and away from the path she had been lecturing us from.

She cleared her throat, “We need to figure out what prompted all of this, and decide how to proceed. To that end, I’ve called the Mayor, the head of the Ponyville Guard, and a few friends.”

“Friends?” I inquired.

“Yes… Pinkie Pie, namely. She knows everypony in Ponyville, and likely has information on the whereabouts of not only Cold Thorn, but maybe even Trixie.”

The Princess’ ears drooped at her own mentioning of her student.

“You’re worried about her, aren’t you, Princess?” Thunder Step asked.

Twilight Sparkle nodded, downtrodden, “I am… she’s not the monster everypony makes her out to be… She’s just… confused, and she came to me for help, but… I don’t know how much I can do for her.” she sighed, “I wouldn’t have left her here alone for so long, but I had to go out to the Everfree… I should have taken her with me.”

Thunder Step’s expression was thoughtful as he tapped his chin with one of his hooves before asking, “Princess? Why were you in the Everfree Forest? You never gave any notices of leave… you just… disappeared and left a note for the Mayor, from what I hear.”

“Well…” she began, “Fluttershy sent me a letter a few months ago about something strange going on in the Forest and-”

The Princess was unable to finish her sentence as a streak of color, I wasn’t sure which at first, blasted through Twilight’s window, shattering the glass and splintering the wood fram that held the panes in place. For a moment, all I was able to see was a pair of pinkish eyes, scowling and angry under a twisted brow, before I was slammed against a bookcase by two hooves and a pony, yelling in pain as my back impacted the shelves.

“Rainbow!” I heard Twilight cried, “Rainbow, what are you doing!?”

I was too dazed by the sudden thrashing I’d recieved to make out what was going on, but I felt a heavy weight on my chest, and could still see the angry eyes and feel hot, enraged breath on my face.

“I ought to beat the living buck outta you!” my assailant roared, even as I felt the mass on my chest lighten, “Get offa me, Thunder Step!”

“It’s not what you think!” Twilight insisted loudly, “Rainbow! It’s not his fault!”

My vision finally focused and I found Fray peeking in from the door where he and Spike had been playing and. Seeing the crumpled state I was in, Fray rushed to me. I held out a hoof in his direction, halting him.

“Don’t. Fray… it’s alright. Go back to playing…” I told him as I shook my head and arose to face the situation, “Go on!”

Fray floated back in with Spike, who ushered Fray away from the scene, but I knew he was keeping an eye on me and the situation at hand. My gaze shifted with my attention to the Princess and somepony whom I was going to, I presumed, be spending a lot of time with in the near future.

“Then tell me, Twi! Tell me whose fault it is! Who hurt Scoots, infected her?” she screamed, sitting down on her haunches and holding her arms wide before buring her head in her hooves and breaking down into a sob, “Tell me!”

“Rainbow, it was Kain. He had his hands all over this… Please calm down.”

Rainbow stood up, stomped and cried, going off about Kain and asking why he would have me drag Scootaloo ‘into it all.’ I felt like I was missing part of the picture. And I felt guilty. Very guilty. Once again, I was reminded that Scootaloo’s condition was my fault, that I hadn’t tried hard enough to keep Scoots and Featherweight safe. I could have turned them away, or left during the time that they were out of the Forest, searching for supplies.

“Actually…” I said, stepping into the conversation, “It really is my fault.”

“I knew it!” Rainbow roared, pinning me to the floor, “I knew it was you! You’re trouble! Nothing but trouble! No wonder the town is after you!”

I pinned my ears back, looking away from the angered Wonderbolt, “I didn’t mean for them to get hurt. I fought Kane to protect them… but it wasn’t enough.” I admitted, “Without them, I wouldn’t be alive…”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be!” she yelled, lifting a hoof to strike me as my eyes went wide.

“Rainbow!”

A pink aura surrounded Rainbow Dash, lifting her and pulling her off me just as she swung, aiming for my face. Fray rushed in, dragging Spike with him as he floated to my side.

“Are you injured?” Fray asked, hopping into my skull as the Wonderbolt raged, “Did she hurt you?”

I shook my head a little at the scene in front of me. Princess Twilight held the rainbow maned Pegasus away from me, as she swiped and cried in anger and sadness.

“No, Fray.” I told him through our mental link, “I think it’s the other way around.”