It was a beautiful day in Equestria. The skies were clear, the birds were singing, and everypony was out and about in the serene streets of Ponyville; everypony, except for Rainbow Dash.

She was where she belonged, in the sky, weaving in and out of the clouds, climbing to heaven, diving to the trees below, and feeling the wind caress her mane. This was true happiness.

Late in the day, she decided to fly somewhere she never had before, the Saddleback Mountains.

“I could use the cliffs out there for some awesome stunts,” she thought to herself, “I just wish somepony could be out there to see me.”

She turned to the west and took off as fast as she could go, speeding along at treetop level until she reached the sudden, steep base of the mountains. She pivoted her wings, and the cyan blur shot straight up to the peaks. When Dash reached the top of her climb, she rolled, and dove down in between two sheer cliffs and into a deep gorge.

Pulling up mere feet before the canyon’s floor, she used her momentum gained from the dive to go faster than she ever could fly otherwise. She weaved through the canyon, going so fast that the rocky walls became blurry, hugging the walls and pushing herself to go faster and faster, all to conquer the fjord. She raced time, pushing her limits until the canyon widened out and ended, turning into a wide meadow surrounded by mountains.

Dash slowed down, and cruised along the valley floor, just above the tall grass, thinking of what she would try next. She spotted a group of rock formations resembling an obstacle course in the distance, twisted in their direction, and sped off to find a thrill.

Dash kept on flying until dusk, when she became a bit tired and decided to try and find a mountaintop she could see Ponyville from. She wasn’t too far from the town, maybe only four miles.

She rolled over onto her back, still cruising forward, but now facing the golden sky. From this angle, she could tell the tallest peak in the area was a rocky precipice with a small copse of pine trees at the top to her immediate left. She turned and ascended towards the towering peak, slowing down, flying smoothly and enjoying the sunset.

As she neared the precipice, she thought to herself, “I bet Ponyville looks really cool at night from up here.”

She circled the tallest peak, waiting on the coming of darkness to see the town beneath the face of the moon. She enjoyed the sun’s last warm rays before it descended behind the horizon, and then turned towards the mountain’s summit.

Dash gracefully and quietly landed near the pine grove. She could’ve done it faster, but stunt flying at night just didn’t feel right. As she set down, the scent of ponderosa tickled her nose and she smiled, enjoying the sensation, and began sauntering toward the east edge of the mountain.

Suddenly, she stopped. Right in front of her was another pony. She had never seen him before. It was a stallion pegasus; he was too big to be a mare, nearly the size of a draft horse. He was facing away from her, sitting on his flanks and facing Ponyville in the distance. He had a lustrous obsidian coat and a beautiful deep blue mane, which was cropped short. His back and flanks had abundant scars, but she couldn’t quite see his cutie mark.

Dash was curious, so she took a few steps closer. He didn’t move, so she advanced a few more silent feet closer. Again he remained motionless.

She was lifting her leg to take another step when she heard a deep, strong voice.

“Why are you sneaking up on me?”

She looked up, but the stallion hadn’t turned around.

“Sorry,” she apologized, halting her stealthy advance, “I guess, I just sort of saw you, and was kind of curious. How did you know I was back here? Did you hear me or something?”

He replied, “No. I saw you.”

Dash was confused. How could he have seen her if he hadn’t turned around, let alone known she was there. She knew she hadn’t made a noise he could have heard.

“How exactly did you see me?” she asked, taking a dozen or so cautious steps forward, so that she was now standing only a few feet behind him.

“I can see everything… when I want to,” he answered.

He was still gazing into the black sky ahead of him, and hadn’t moved since she’d arrived. Intrigued, Rainbow Dash slowly leaned in front of the stallion to see his face. Before she could get to an angle where she could though, the mysterious stallion’s scarred face suddenly snapped in her direction.

His eyes were glowing white! Dash had seen something like it before, but only when her friend Twilight or one of the alicorn princesses performed an extremely powerful spell. But how could that be; only ponies with horns could use magic, and this stallion was a pegasus.

Dash at first was surprised, but the shock quickly gave way to fear. She retreated away from the stallion as he walked towards her, matching her every rearward step. He backed her into the trees, and Dash stumbled over one of their roots, falling to the rocky ground.

She looked up into the stallion’s eyes, still aglow, and cringed. She tried to get back up, but stumbled again over the exposed roots of another tree.

When she regained her balance, she tried turning and running, but she turned right into a tree, falling for a third time. The stallion was right on top of her now, standing over her in a way that prevented her from getting up.

She tried to fly out from underneath him, but the sudden movement and flexion caused the muscles in her wings to twist into a knot, cramping and contorting in a painful seizure. She kept trying to get away, crawling along the hard ground.

She turned onto her back to face the menace, and when she tried to back away farther, she felt the thick trunk of a pine at her back. He had her cornered.

Her breathing quickened as he advanced on her, not looking where he stepped, only staring into her soul with those fierce eyes. Dash lashed out with a kick, trying to defend herself, but the stallion dodged the blow with ease. He subdued her, standing on her rear legs to prevent further strikes.

He started to lean in closer, and kept advancing until he was inches from her face. She could practically feel him, his shallow breaths coming out of his nose and onto her skin. She shielded her face, and prepared for the worst.

Then, the stallion let out a long exhale, as if he had been holding his breath for ages, and stood erect, taking a few steps back. When she heard his steps going away from her, Dash opened her eyes to see the stallion standing a few feet away.

The glow had faded from his face, revealing a pair of gentle, emerald green eyes beneath. He looked down at her with an initial expression of content, but quickly changed it to concern when he saw the look of fear on her face.

His expression soon shifted to fear as well, and the smile ran from his lips. He looked around, spread his wings, and took off straight up into the night sky like a rocket, disappearing into the inky blackness.

Dash picked herself up and scanned the night sky for any sign of the stranger, but saw nothing. That was when she realized she was trembling. After Dash slowed her breathing and calmed down, she stumbled from the pines and onto the open rock face of the cliff overlooking Ponyville. She kicked off into the air; Dash was shaken, but could still fly. She slowly made her way back to town, all the events of the night dancing through her head.

Author's Notes:

Hey guys. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. If not, please tell why in the comments; I will be more than happy to try fix whatever problems you have. If you did enjoy the piece, please let me know as well. Any sort of feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.