Shivering from head to toe, and dripping water from every point on her body, Rainbow slowly pushed open the metal gate surrounding the outer perimeter of the school. Her limbs numb from the cold rain still crushing against her body, she could barely form the words she needed. Turning to face the gate from the inside, she managed to stutter out her sentence through quivering lips.

"M-make s-s-sure not to s-shut y-yet. D-Daybreak is s-still out there and he's g-getting F-F-Fluttershy for me. Don't b-bring up the b-barrier 'til they're back."

A sharp feminine voice ripped through the rain as a metallic mouth formed on the gates bars

"My instructions are clear, the Headmistress has ordered the barrier to rise by the time morning classes would normally start. No exceptions may be made. This storm is close to becoming a category two magical typhoon. The danger it may pose to our campus must be prevented. The barrier will rise on schedule."

Rainbow was too cold and tired to argue with the gate, but she knew she had to try.

"B-But Daybreak will b-be trapped outside!"

"My instructions are clear. No Exceptions! The Headmistress has said even if she herself were to be trapped outside, the barrier will not lower for even a moment."

"Oh F-fuck this!"

Rainbow turned without another word and trotted as fast as her numb limbs could carry her to the gym. Whenever any type of dangerous storm appeared, the gym was always converted into a temporary shelter for everyone on campus, she'd learned that last year when her and a few other weather casters had accidentally set a tornado loose on campus...the headmistress hadn't been too thrilled about that. The gym was in the center of the campus and so was well shielded from any lightning or other weather, by the buildings around.

By the time she found the actual buildings doors, seeing as all the portals automatically close during heavy weather, she was close to collapsing from exhaustion, and cold. The temperature felt closing to freezing and the air stung in her lungs. The wind alone seemed to suck the energy out of her body, and the rain drops felt like needles upon her exposed face and legs. She leaned against the twin doors of the gymnasium and pounded as hard as she could (which wasn't much). Her fist barely seemed to make any noticeable sound upon the metal. Fortunately for her, luck seemed to be on her side, for the doors opened almost instantly and she fell forward without hesitation. She didn't care who caught her, now that she knew she was moving inside.

Feeling four hands catch her before her face hit the padded gym, she waited until she'd been pulled inside and laid on a dry work out mat before she bothered to reopen her eyes. She was overjoyed to see Twilight and Sunset Shimmer kneeled next to her, both breathing sighs of relief as her eyes darted about the room. Twilight turned and yelled to someone off in the distance.

"Applejack! Rarity! I found her!"

The unmistakable accent of their farm girl friend echoed back to her almost immediately "Good! Can ya'll tell her she's a right pain in the ass fer making us this worried 'bout her?!"

Rainbow smiled up from the mat, she was surrounded by her friends within seconds. She was so tired she barely heard what each of them tried to say to her. She felt the crushing might of Pinkie's hugs upon her before anything else, and she swore she could hear Twi repeating something that sounded like Hypothermia, but she barely understood any of it. Rarity began rambling on about getting her some new clothes, seeing as her current attire was soaking her to the bone, not to mention her top was practically transparent now. Sunset Shimmer was the one to actually run off in search of extra clothing though, meanwhile Pinkie resigned to keep her warm through the power of her hugs (which were surprisingly warm).

It wasn't until she heard the soft, and all to familiar whisper of a voice, that her senses returned. She sat up so quickly Pinkie was practically thrown off her, she bounced back on her bottom with a look of sour shock upon her. Rainbow Dash was on her feet not a moment later, barely even aware she had nearly injured her friend. Her eyes locked on the long, flowing, light pink haired girl standing at the edge of her crowd of friends, attempting to smush her way through to her.

"FLUTTERSHY!!!"

Flutters was caught completely off guard as Rainbow flew forward, her energy suddenly returning and nearly tackling Flutters in a hug.

"You're ok?!"

A look of confusion spread over her face.

"Umm...Yes, I think. Why wouldn't I be ok?"

Releasing her from her grip, Dash took a step back from Fluttershy and eyed her clothes...they were completely dry.

"W-what?! How are you not soaked?! The rain..t-the storm!? There's no way you could have known!"

Attempting to hide her face behind a few locks of hair, Fluttershy slowly reached inside her green wool jacket, and withdrew a small, red bird from within. It hopped and chirped happily in her palm, leaving Rainbow very confused.

"Why is there a bird hiding in your chest?"

"Oh um...well...He was nesting near my house like he does every year during Autumn. Every morning he sings along with the song birds, but today he was very quiet and shaky, he didn't even wanna come down from his nest for breakfast. Animals have a much better feeling for the weather than we do, and I just had a feeling when I saw him that way. So I put up my barrier just in case and came here extra early to let the Headmistress know-"

"And it's a good thing you did so Miss Fluttershy!"

They all turned in time to see the Headmistress herself, strolling through the gymnasium and crowd of students, over to them. They all gave her slight head motions of acknowledgement, while Twilight actually bowed to her. Fluttershy blushed, once against attempting to hide within her hair.

"Oh...it was...nothing Headmistress Shicvala...I just did what anyone else would have done.

A warm smile that reminded Rainbow oddly of Princess Celestia, came across the Headmistress' cheeks. She placed a hand upon Fluttershy's shoulder

"But no one else did. Your magical gift for animals and your instincts are quite strong, you do your Element of Kindness justice, as usual."

An even more radiant blush appeared on Fluttershy, but Rainbow didn't care, as an even more pressing issue just struck her mind.

"Oh no! That means I sent Daybreak all that way for nothing!...I've gotta go get him and make sure he's alright!"

Although her momentary adrenaline rush had allowed her to stand before, she could feel the numbness returning to her limbs with haste and it was becoming more difficult to stay upright. Her legs began to wobble, and she started to stumble forward. Twilight caught her and pulled her arm up and around her neck to help her stay upright. Headmistress Shicvala gave her a stern look

"Miss Sparkle, help Rainbow Dash lie down. She likely has Hypothermia and should not be moving any more than necessary."

Twi mumbled something under breath that sounded like "I already said that" but obeyed anyways. However the moment she tried to lay Rainbow down, she was quickly pushed away, slightly shocked from being shoved back so hard. Rainbow held herself up, barely, legs wobbling but nevertheless attempted to start shuffling back towards the doors.

"No. I can't stay. I have to go back out there!"

Now it was Rarity's turn to try and stop her, she came up and placed her hands on Rainbows hips, gently holding her up while trying to guide her back to the mat.

"Rainbow Dash, darling, you can barely move, you heard what the Headmistress said, you're sick. You need to rest dear."

Rainbow struggled out of Rarity's grip, this time losing her balance and crashing into the floor, but she remained ever determined anyway, and attempted to crawl.

"N-no...I have to go back out...he's still out there..."

She felt her vision growing blurry as she tried to stand, and a penetrating coldness creeping up her spine. Both Applejack and Rarity were upon her and helping her up from either side now.

"Land sakes Rainbow, what could ya have possibly left outside that's that dang important?...Would ya quit struggling!"

Rainbows hand was in AJ's face attempting to push her off, but with no strength in her body it did little more than annoy the much stronger farm girl.

"Please AJ...I gotta go...he's still out there..."

Sunset Shimmer, having just returned with fresh clothes and a mug of hot cocoa for Rainbow, noticed the scene just in time to hear Rarity ask...

"Who dear?...who's still out there?"

Rainbow's strength finally failed her, her legs gave out and she nearly dragged her two friends down with her, but they hoisted her up just as she spoke

"D-Daybreak..."

All sound in the room seemed to cease instantly. Her friends all traded looks with each other, and she caught the Headmistress give a distressing sigh, though no one else seemed to notice, except for Sunset who made a face that Rainbow knew all to well was her look of suspicion. They eventually succeeded in placing her back on the mat and helping her sit up so she could talk comfortably. For a good minute no one said anything, they just allowed Rainbows words to linger on them...until Applejack finally asked the question everyone was wondering (except, apparently Shicvala).

"How do ya'll know he's out there?"

"I was with him."

Her answer came out so quick she didn't even have time to think about it. Though the looks of surprise on her friends faces told her she probably should have. AJ was, once again, the first one to speak.

"When ya'll say you were with him...What do ya mean?"

"I mean I was at his house."

Again her answer just came right out, she didn't even think about lying for some reason. She had almost added "in his bed" But something told her that was a detail she should discuss with Daybreak before speaking about. She didn't know what made her do it, but her eyes drifted over to Twilight, and her expression was certainly worth noting. Her eyebrows had retreated all the way up into her hair, possibly never to return again. In fact, all her friends wore similar expressions of shock, but it seemed like only Applejack was still capable of continuing the conversation.

"Yer not making a lick of sense here Sugarcube...Why were ya at his house? Can we get some details please?"

"Yes. Details would be nice Rainbow!"

Rainbow actually had to look over to her face, to make sure it was really Twilight who had spoken. No one except Sunset Shimmer seemed to have noticed it, but her voice had definitely sounded venomous right then. Rainbow briefly recalled that Twilight and Daybreak had a past, a past of which she still knew little about. But it was clear that Daybreak wasn't exaggerating Twi's hatred for him. Nevertheless, Rainbow didn't feel she should lie...at least not about most of the details.

With as much confidence as she could muster in her shaky state, she looked directly at Twilight when she spoke, maybe just out of spite for Daybreaks sake.

"I spent the night at his house. I mean, we are friends ya know."

The effect was immediate, Twilight's fist clenched at her side. So much so that Sunset had to step forward to keep anyone else from noticing. She gently handed off the mug of hot cocoa to Rainbow and set the fresh pair of clothes next to her on the mat. After taking a quick sip to refill on warmth, Rainbow went right back to her previous statements

"I have to go out and get him."

"You are not going anywhere Rainbow!" Twilight voice had risen loud enough to gather attention from some surrounding students. She quickly covered her mouth and looked at her friends, they all shared similar worried looks, directed at her. It was obvious they were all thinking the same thing. The conversation they'd all shared in Twi's room previously, was still fresh in their heads. She quickly composed herself and rephrased her words.

"You are too out of it to even think of going out in a category two magic typhoon. You of all people should know this isn't normal weather. Someone cast this with a spell, and not a normal one like we use for weather. It was deliberately cast to make a terrible storm over Ponyville. I can only think of a few people powerful enough to cast such a spell on their own. Oddly enough, all of them, except five, are in this room. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, Discord, and of course, Daybreak, are all absent. I think we can rule out the princesses, I can't see them doing this to us for no good reason. So that leaves two. Now we haven't seen heads or tails of Discord since we beat him a few years back...So it should be pretty obvious who-"

"Shut up."

Twilight stopped mid sentence, baffled "W-what?"

"I said shut up Twilight."

Rainbow hadn't even raised her voice, it was just the manner in which she'd spoken. She'd cut across Twilight without any care if she was even heard, and her voice had a sting to it, like nails on a chalk board. It was unnatural to hear her sound so passive aggressive. She'd never once taken a threatening tone with her friends, not like this at least. Twilight looked like Rainbow had slapped her, and she might have if she could stand. Rainbows eyes became like daggers at Twilight

"You don't have any idea what you're talking about. You think you know him just because something happened between you two when you were kids? He's different now, and he's my friend! So if you're my friend too, stop trying to accuse him and go rescue him!"

Her voice gathered some volume towards the end, enough to allow the students nearby to hear. She almost chuckled to herself

"Now everyone will think twice before they consider bothering him if they know I'm on his side" At least, that was her hope. She wasn't sure how well it would actually work.

Twilight had backed away from Rainbow by now, but still held her open-mouth expression. Sunset was able to understand why...the things that must have been going through her head right then. She was surprised Twi was keeping it together as well as she was, after her mind being blown like that. To ease the tension, Sunset stepped forward once again

"I'll go out and search for him!" She stated in a matter-of-fact kind of voice.

That snapped Twilight right out of her stupor and she grasped Sunset's arm, immediately, possibly out of instinct...

"There is no way in Tartarus I'm letting you go out into that" She gestured swiftly at the twin doors, indicating what was beyond. However, Sunset pulled away

"I'm more than capable of making a shield strong enough to protect me out there, you know that AND-" She raised her voice when Twilight tried to open her mouth to interject "I'm one of the few students around here who can lower the barrier to let us back inside if I find him. So I'm going."

Her matter-of-fact voice and stern look left Twilight with little room to argue, so instead she hung her head in defeat and sat down next to Rainbow Dash on the mat. Sunset Shimmer quickly turned to Headmistress Shicvala to ask permission to leave, but the moment she opened her mouth, the Headmistress cut her off

"Why are you still here?"

"Oh...Right. Thanks!"

She quickly took off from the group without another word. She ran full speed through the gym doors and out into the blinding rain beyond them. Twilight and her friends were able to keep her in view just long enough to watch her cast a sphere of teal green energy around herself, protecting her from the magic and elements of the storm...then she vanished into the dark of the sunless morning.

Being boiled alive was certainly not how Daybreak expected to die. But as he sat in the center of the blackened and charred steel cauldron, bound from head to foot with a very complicated series of knots (for a tiny rabbit to have accomplished on his own), he began to think that might be what was going to happen. What had gotten him into this situation was a combination of his own pride, and the fact that he had underestimated a group of furry animals.

When he had first entered the room, the Grizzly Bear had been the only real threat he had foreseen being a problem. How wrong he had been. The moment he tried to inquire about Fluttershy's whereabouts (and yes, he had actually tried to have a conversation with these animals despite the obvious language barrier) the bear had advanced on him, menacingly bearing its claws. He had expected to deal with the bear, what he hadn't expected was that these animals seemed to be prepared for unwelcome visitors. The moment he had taken a step back to prepare for a fight, he found himself dangling from the ceiling with a massive headache.

Turns out the rug he'd stepped on had a large fishing net hidden under it, tied to a three hundred pound weight at the other end of the room. So when he'd stepped back, something (presumably one of the animals) had cut the rope. The weight came down, and he went up, smashing his head into the floor along the way. After dangling for a solid minute, then passing out, he awoke inside the cauldron with the little monsters all dancing around him like a tiki fest. The bear stood in the back with it's arms crossed like a bouncer at a club, watching him for signs of movement or resistance.

Several pails of water suddenly found their way into the cauldron with him, soaking his already uncomfortable clothes even more than before. To add insult to injury, it was as cold as the rain outside. He was about to lose his patience and simply teleport out...when something nudged the side of his hip within the cauldron. Looking down, he saw little bubbles rising from below the water.

"What the...What else was in those pails?"

Another nudge, this time to his hand, and he swore he felt scales sliding by him. Fear partially entered his mind, the thought of a piranha being in the cauldron was enough to make him sweat. Just as he was deciding whether or not to escape with magic...something gave his right arm a firm chomp with it's jaws.

"YEAAAAAAAAHHHAAAAHAHAHA!"

The cauldron exploded around him as he released a surge of magic and catapulted himself from the water! Many of the animals were blown back from the blast, but he didn't care. He only wanted to know what was biting him...and why it wasn't hurting. He looked down as he landed on his feet. A small, lime green alligator was noming on his right arm, clearly doing it's best to chew through his clothing. The problem was, it was failing.

"What the heck...How come it can't...?"

He pulled the little gator from his arm by the tail and dangled it in front of his eyes.

"Alligators have extremely powerful jaws...he should have chewed right through me..."

As he looked closely, he discovered his answer...then felt extremely foolish.

"You're just a baby gator...you don't even have any teeth yet you little side dish."

Unimpressed by his would be murderer, he bent down and released the little reptile onto the floor, waiting for it to scurry away. But instead, it leapt forward and latched itself onto the top of his head, attempting once again, to chew on him. He stood up, the gator now firmly latched to the top of his head and vigorously attempting to chew his green hair like noodles. Reaching up, he plucked the tiny beast from his head, held out his hand, and snapped his fingers. A green, leather satchel appeared across his shoulder, which he then, dropped the gator inside.

"How's the irony in there taste? I think I'll bring you to Fluttershy as a peace offering for whatever I did to warrant this. Since she just tried to kill me with fluffy animals, I'd probably better be prepared for worse."

The rest of the animals had retreated to their various beds or pens in the home, now too afraid to confront him again. This left him to freely search the house in case Fluttershy happened to be home, and just managed to sleep through the small explosion. Sadly after twenty minutes of searching, he found no sign of anything interesting (except a few spell books on animals he'd never seen) and conceded that she must have gotten to the school without Rainbows knowledge.

He sighed to himself "Which basically means I did all this for nothing."

Swiping up one of the unique books and adding to his gator satchel, he headed for the exit. As he exited Fluttershy's home, he made a quick glance back inside. The animals were all gathered around the pieces of door he'd left scattered about on the floor. For a moment, he actually felt bad for the critters. They hadn't really caused him any harm, and if he'd just had his door blown in by some stranger he'd probably have reacted much worse, all things considered. Resigning to do the right thing, he gave a brief wave of his hand towards the splintered mound of wood. The animals watched in awe as the wooden pieces and metallic handle flew across the room and reclaimed their previous position in the frame. After a few seconds the door had full repaired itself and the metal handle popped back into place.

Turning his back towards the fur infested home, he gave another wave and felt the door shut behind him.

"Guess I'd better be heading back to tell Rainbow she's an ass for sending out here...Assuming I can even get in the school of course."

Taking off at a mild jog, Daybreak pulled the hood of his rain coat back over his head and began his trip back towards Ponyville. The dark brown hood, now looking black in color from the intensity of the rain, struggled to keep a grip on his head as the wind slapped across his face.

The run back through Ponyville was even worse than the first trip. The only light he had to guide him were the strikes of lightning that occasionally ignited the sunless morning sky. The strikes randomly seemed to ark through the streets, crashing into buildings and vaporizing anything they touched to dust. Daybreak wasn't much concerned until a bolt missed his face by inches and ignited the carriage behind him in blue flames. That was when he stooped in his tracks. Approaching the carriage with his curiosity peeked at the fire, he shut his eyes, and opened them up to his magical sight.

Eyes starch white with light he looked upon the blue flamed carriage, and found his fists clenching at his sides. Just to confirm his suspicions he looked up to the clouds above, and found his anger instantly rocket to a boil. The entire sky looked like one giant bruise. Black and purple energy filled his vision with every rain drop, every gust of wind and every bolt of lightning. Fists clenched so much they hurt, he yelled up to the sky

"GODS DAMN YOU DISCORD! YOU AGREED TO STAY AWAY!"

Filled with rage, he loosed a bolt of fiery green aura at the air above! Miraculously, the clouds split apart the moment before his energy would touch them...then reformed seconds after. Lowering his hood, he looked down at his hands in disbelief.

"That's right! It's Chaos Magic...So it should react to me..."

Wanting to be absolutely certain, he reached up both his arms to the air, and fired several volleys of fiery bolts into the heavens above. At each point of contact, the clouds split themselves apart just before being hit, allowing his energy to sail by harmlessly. Daybreak found a small smirk forming across his cheeks

"All that time with him, and he never told me this...interesting..."

Another bolt of lightning struck an alleyway further on. Daybreak was about to re-cover his face and continue his run back...when a scream pierced his ears through the rain, following the crackle and explosion of lightning striking solid metal!

Daybreak turned his back "It's not your problem...just keep going and don't get involved"

More voices found his ears from ahead, raised and aggressive voices, and before he could stop himself, he found his legs jogging him towards whatever was ahead. He blinked once, fading away his magical sight instantly, so he could see whatever was ahead clearly, as he ran to the alleyway. He nearly ran past the scene, since the building where the strike had occurred barely gave any indication of injury save for something smoldering in the alley...until he looked further in.

He saw a figure collapsed on its knees outside an open door, with a large, robust man standing in the doorway, blocking it. Daybreak slowly inched his way down the alley, hidden by the darkness of the morning storm. Once he was within proper earshot, he stood silent and still, observing the scene ahead.

A young girl with purple hair was struggling to stay up on her knees outside the open doorway. She wore a dark red hoodie that was clearly supposed to be protecting her head from the rain, but was failing miserably in the raging wind. Her jeans were fairing no better as they were ripped in several spots, and even in this downpour, they still looked like they hadn't been washed in ages. The girls hands were shaking, struggling to keep her upright as she pleaded with the large man in the doorway.

"Please...please you have to let me in. You saw what that lightning just did to that dumpster, didn't you?! I'm gonna die out here!"

Daybreak could see the grime clinging to her face, but this nor her pleas seemed to have any effect on the man. Daybreak could not get a good view of his features from his current position, the light coming from inside the door was causing an uncomfortable glare in the darkness. However he could easily tell this man was rather large and round, whether it was muscle or fat he had no idea, but the fellow easily took up the doorway. His voice boomed with a low rumble that would have be audible even through the thunder overhead.

"No way kid! We already told you! We ain't no shelter, we're a bar. You gotta buy to stay!"

The girl showed him her scraped and bloodied palms, then turned out her pockets "I have no money! Else I would buy something...Come on please, this weather is monstrous!"

She attempted to get up and inch past him the doorway, but he merely grumbled something and shoved her back. Clearly weakened from something other than the storm, the girl stumbled and crashed into the ground. She came back up with her face and hair soaked in street grime.

"Which is exactly why I ain't lowering this barrier for you a second time! You said you had money the first time I let you in and ya don't now beat it! I'm not running no charity house here...and certainly not an orphanage! Now get lost before I get the cops!"

Struggling in his corner to pry himself away from the scene, Daybreak finally snapped at the word orphanage! Strolling forward from the alley, he walked past the girl without acknowledgement and up to the invisible barrier separating the large mans home from the storm. Igniting his eyes in magical light, he pounded his fist on the barrier, causing it to shimmer dangerously!

"You're a real fucked up kind of asshole you know that! Denying a kid refuge during a hell storm like this! Then shoving her into the mud! What kind of man are you!"

The man looked taken aback by Daybreaks sudden appearance and stepped back as his barrier shimmered. The light now fully on his face, Daybreak was able to get a clear view of him, and his establishment inside. The man had a scruffy and rugged look about him, even his beard. The mans pale peach skin belly was visible through the large smock her wore around his waist, as it was soaked through both that and his clothing. His brown beard and moustache covered most of his face, giving a him very butcher-like appearance. Daybreak also noticed he mans arms and legs were huge, and judging by his appearance, he was gonna have to say they were all muscle, not fat. He had no desire to fight this man if avoidable, but he was too pissed to care.

Nevertheless, Daybreaks glowing white eyes, combined with his fist making the mans barrier shimmer, cast quite the intimidation. It didn't matter how strong this man was if Daybreak could toss him with his mind, and he seemed to know that. Even so, his attitude did not falter with his slight recoil into the building.

"Who the heck are you supposed to be? I'm running a business here, and we don't give handouts, especially to thieving orphans with no money, who constantly steal from us!" His eyes seemed to aim at the kneeling girl behind Daybreak.

For a moment, Daybreak considered shattering the mans barrier and leaving it like that for the storm, just out of spite. He knew he could easily, with his magic sight he could see how brittle it had already become after his last touch, one good surge of power and it would shatter like glass. But something in the back of his head told him not to. Normally he'd have done it anyway, but before he could make up his mind the sky above lit up with light...then rained it down at them in the form of lightning!

Reacting without thought, Daybreak jumped overtop of the girl, getting between her and the lightning, then fired a bolt of his own fiery green aura at the oncoming electricity! It left his hands just the strike reached them...but nothing happened. No explosion occurred, the lightning just seemed to vanish when it connected with own energy. Leaving the girl dumbfounded, and Daybreak with vicious smirk after blinking away his magic sight.

"Oh this is definitely gonna come in handy someday!"

Two more strikes rained down almost immediately but only struck the roof of the building next to them. The man in the doorway shrieked and retreated inside. Several locks could be heard clicking into place from within. Then the mans voice boomed back through the door.

"I don't care who you are! Just leave now, I ain't opening back up for no one!"

"Stupid cowardly bitch..." Daybreak growled allowed.

He was about to leave the scene when he felt a tug on his coat. Looking down, the girl stared up at him, her hood had fallen back giving him a clear view of her orange skin and messy purple hair. Surges of pain rushed through Daybreaks head when he gazed upon her face. He stumbled back, as he looked down at her.

"She was in my...!"

"Umm...Mister?"

He shook his head and looked down again, the girl was standing now, only she came up to his chest. It was clear she was older than he originally thought. She gave him a small smile

"Thanks for that...ya know. Stopping the lightning and all...You pretty much saved my ass there."

Her look was so innocent, and smiley, that it almost made him blush. Other than the language that seemed a bit mature for someone so young, she was kind of cute, in a little-sister-he-never-had kind of way. He rubbed the back of his head through his hood

"Oh...umm yeah...no problem kid"

Without any other word, she backed up against the wall of the building behind her and sat down, attempting to shield herself from the rain. He raised a confused brow

"Umm...what are you doing?"

She looked up as she was about to pull her hood back up "Waiting out the storm, duh."

"Why don't you just go home? Or somewhere else that might let you in?"

She looked down, slowly pulling her hood up and hiding her face "I can't...I...I don't have a house to go to..."

His left eye twitched, a familiar and massive urge to hit something rose up inside of him. "Y-you don't have a home? What about parents?...So where do you live?"

She shrugged, her head still down, now placed between her knees as she sat with them tucked against her chest. "I usually just chill in my clubhouse, it's pretty cool. My friends even helped me bring in a bed."

Beneath his coat, hidden within the sleeves, Daybreak felt his fists clenching. He had to cough to control his voice from rising with anger "S-so...urmm...Why don't you go to your clubhouse, or wait it out with your friends then?"

Again, she shrugged "I'm no good at magic and my friends are only decent, so we had my friends big sis cast a barrier around our clubhouse. It raises by itself whenever a storm hits and doesn't drop until it's over. They made it in, but they can't leave and they can't let me in either. I was only making them feel guilty by just sitting right outside...so I came into town looking for somewhere else. I thought my old hangout might still be around. But it looks like this bar has a new bartender...and he doesn't let me crash here anymore. So I've pretty much got nowhere to go."

Daybreaks fist were clenched so tight, he felt his nails digging into his skin. Despite the pain in his palms, he still managed to focus his pained, watering eyes on the girl. Meanwhile inside him...a battle of mixed feelings raged in his head.

"I can see it...it's like looking into a mirror. She's just like me. An orphan...no family, and these people seem to treat her like dirt. At least she has friends...but still...I should just walk away. This isn't my concern and I have to get back to Rainbow Dash. But...I remember...How she must feel...and I remember when I used to dream of helping people like this. But that's just a fantasy. What could I really do for her? I'm not even stable myself. Besides, I don't even know her."

He turned from the girl, gritting his teeth and his fists clenched. He took a single step...then another voice seemed to ring through his head.

"YOU NEVER CARED A SINGLE BIT ABOUT ME, BUT INSTEAD OF JUST SAYING IT TO MY FACE LIKE A MAN...YOU RAN! YOU RAN AWAY CAUSE YOU COULDN'T FACE THE FACT THAT FOR ONCE IN YOUR WORTHLESS PATHETIC LIFE, SOMEONE CARED ABOUT YOU FOR YOU....THE MOMENT I TRIED TO TAKE YOU AWAY FROM ALL YOUR ANGER AND RESENTMENT TOWARDS CELESTIA AND THE WORLD THAT HATED YOU FOR YOUR FATHER, YOU LEFT ME! I GAVE YOU MY HEART AND YOU TURNED AROUND AND CRUSHED IT INTO DUST WITHOUT BATTING AN EYELASH! "

"Nrg! Go away...stupid self righteous...Even my thoughts of you are annoying...nrrggh!...She might have point though...What would Rainbow Dash do?"

Looking back, he saw the girl had resumed her sitting against the wall, head tucked firmly between her knees while they were pressed against her chest. The rain seemed to soak right into her jacket like it wasn't even there, probably chilling her to the bone. He knew it wouldn't be long before she got hypothermia in this weather if she stayed out.

"Dammit Daybreak...I know I shouldn't...but..."

The girl lifted her head as his shadow cast itself over her, blocking out the flickering alley lamp, barely still working behind him. He held out an open palm to her

"Come on kid, I've got somewhere you can chill for awhile."

The effect was nearly instantaneous. Her eyes widened like glass orbs and her lips stretched to abnormal lengths as she smiled brightly up at him!

"Thank you!"

She practically jumped from the ground, reaching out and taking his hand to pull herself up. The moment their skin made contact, Daybreak felt a burning sting coarse up his arm, he pulled back with a grunt, just as the girl squeaked in pain, falling back down on her butt.

"Ouch! What the heck dude!"

He only caught a glimpse, but as he watched his hand pull away from hers, a small green spark had jumped between their palms. He was stunned, but knew now wasn't the time. He quickly shuffled his feet and placed his hand on the wall, feigning a grin.

"Eh...Sorry, must be all the static in the air. Let's try that again..."

Once again he reached out and watched her take his hand. He gently pulled her to his feet, but in the corner of his eyes he swore he saw a small flash of green in her purple eyes. Ignoring this for now, he bent his knees and motioned to his back with his thumb.

"Come on kid, hop on, we've got a ways to go, and I don't like to be held up by slowpokes."

At this he watched her stick her tongue out at him, even as she climbed aboard his back and wrapped her arms around his neck for support.

"Hey! I'm not slow! I'm the fastest girl in my class!"

He wanted to ask how she could afford school with no home, but knowing Ponyville, schooling was probably free anyways. Instead he snickered.

"You sound like a friend of mine. She also thought she was the fastest around. Problem is kid...I exist, so I'm afraid you're both wrong while I'm around.

"Are you in my class?"

He looked back over his shoulder, confused. "What?"

She tugged at her hood, pulling it comfortably over her head was a bit more difficult while on his back. But she still managed to form a smug smile

"I asked if you were in my class?"

"No of course not. I'm twenty-one years old, ya shrimp. How could I be?"

She snickered in his ear "Then you're not the fastest in my class. I am."

Now it was his turn to smile. He chuckled aloud "I like you already kid. Hang on tight. This might sting a bit."

"What might sting a b-"

Pop!

They vanished in a green puff of smoke before she could even finish her sentence, leaving behind only a trail of lime colored sparks to fizzle out in the rain.

Pop!

Daybreak, with the young girl on his back, appeared in the outskirts of Ponyville, surrounded by a puff of lime smoke and light. Sparks of florescent energy sizzled off of Daybreaks raincoat while he stepped forward, mere feet from the barrier surrounding his home. A voice behind his head reminded him he still had his passenger

"Wow...That did sting...like alot...Next time gimmie a second to prepare would ya? Feels like somebody plugged me into a wall socket."

He felt the young girls grip on his neck loosen, and for a moment, he thought she might fall off him. But then he felt two small hands push into his back uncomfortably as she leaned over his head to view his home.

"Where are we anyway?"

"My house" He sat flatly.

He stopped forward and placed an outstretched palm on the invisible barrier that protected his home from the elements. Like the young girls friends, he had his barrier cast to rise automatically during extreme weather, but he was easily able to lower it to reenter or exit if he wanted. He felt the girl lean farther over him, placing her hands on his head to look, and even as his palm began to burn and glow in white light, all he could really focus on was making sure she didn't fall off him.

He felt the barrier melt around his finger tips like ice to water. Flickering his eyes to white, he watched until the barrier was removed enough for them to duck inside. Then he immediately lurched them both forward, nearly knocking the girl from his head as he went in. With haste, he quickly turned around once he was inside, practically whipping the girl around on his back and feeling her hands dig into his neck and hair. He extended his right hand, still tingling from moments before, and snapped his fingers. A ripple traveled through the air, and instantaneously the barrier reformed before his eyes.

Blinking away his magic eyes, he unlocked the door and proceeded inside, taking time to help the kid down from his back. He immediately made for his room, pausing only once along the way to rip the soaked raincoat from his form, and gesture towards the couch.

"Just set whatever clothes you have that are too soaked to wear on the floor next to the couch, I'll make you a real bed soon, or just buy you one later. I gotta change and head back out, like, now! Other than being ungodly late to college (assuming there's even classes today) I've probably got a pissed off friend waiting for me at school. You're welcome to watch whatever you want on the t.v, just be careful and...ya know...don't break it...it's not technicqually mine."

The plop of wet clothes on the floor told him she was getting her soaked things off, so he kept his back to her as he made it to his own room and opened the door.

"Whose is it then?"

"I'll tell you some other time kid"

A faint snicker could be heard as he made to shut his door "How about when you get back?"

"Maybe" Pulling the door shut, he turned, strolled over and sat down on his bed. Pulling his own wet clothes off, he was at least happy to find his boxers were still dry enough to comfortably wear. Laying back on his mattress, he placed his hands over his face, gently rubbing the rain off while trying to think of what to do next.

"What am I doing?" The questions seemed to petty in his mind.

"How is this at all, a good idea? Having a kid around me, yeah it's great in theory. I can finally start actually helping someone...but in truth, this a terrible idea. Her being around me cannot possibly lead to good news. Especially if my energy gets inside her like Twilight...or Rainbow Dash. They can handle it sure...mostly...but a kid. Gods know what could happen"

Preoccupied in his own worries, he didn't even notice the door open, then close again. Nor did he notice when, the bed shook from a small body climbing on it's fluffy sheets. It was only when he heard a small chuckle and felt small hands touch at his abbs, that his eyes burst open and he shot upright like a rocket, hands out, ignited in flames! He looked down in time to see the girl jump back in surprise and off the bed! As if the fact that she had been rubbing his abbs hadn't been weird enough...she also seemed to be lacking any clothing whatsoever.

Daybreak quickly put out his flaming hands and averted his eyes, attempting to take a hostile tone.

"Kid...What the Tartarus are you doing in here?!"

The girls voice remained calm, a little shaky from his flames being in her face, but still mostly calm.

"Well you said dump my wet clothes next to the couch...I did."

He waved his hand, as if expecting to hear more, without looking right at her "And?"

She shrugged, he caught it out of the corner of his eye "Then I came in here to see what you were up to. I didn't expect you to be half naked. It's not like it bothers me...In fact...I kind like it."

Surprised, he turned back to face her, only to blush and look away again. He readopted hostility.

"You'd better rephrase that quickly kid."

"I'm not a kid alright! I'm sixteen, and my name is Scootaloo! And...and I was just gonna leave when I saw you weren't clothed while I peeked through the door...But..."

He heard the hesitation, and her sassy attitude faltered for a moment

"But what?"

"But I...well I've never seen a good looking guy without clothes. Most guys in my class are jerks and assholes, and don't have an abb to their name. So seeing them without clothing isn't on my bucket list, not to mention most just make fun of me cause I can't do magic."

Still keeping his eyes averted and now covered with his hands, he managed to find something peculiar about her last statement.

"Wait...You can't do magic? You mean like you're too young and you haven't seen what your magical talent is yet right?"

She shook her head, and although he couldn't see it, he could tell from her tone, that they were near a sensitive subject.

"N-no...I mean I can't do magic at all. My friends and I have our own little group call the Cutie Mark Crusaders. We're devoted to helping people and ourselves find what our magical abilities are. We named it after the symbol that appears like a weird hologram in front of you for a few seconds when you magically mature? The one that you always manage to have around yourself in some way the rest of your life?"

Daybreak nodded through his hands "Yeah, yeah I know what they are. At the moment of magical maturity, when a young boy or girl discovers his/her own unique abilities, a symbol appears in bright light, usually the color of their own aura. That symbol is destined to be a part of their lives forever and represent them in their entirety. Mine is a sunrise for...well reasons...anyways...I usually wear a sun necklace around my neck, and I draw alot of sunrises out of habit. What of it?"

She sniffled, he could hear some struggle in her voice now

"Well...I don't have a magical aura...at all. I have some kind of disability or birth defect that prevents me from channeling any energy. I get teased for...I..I get teased for it all the time at school. My friends help me alot, but the kids still can call me names without having to actually do anything physical...they call me freak mostly...and they say that's why my parents left me alone, cause they could sense I had no aura, and didn't wanna deal with the burden..."

A loud bang made Scootaloo jump back, and pause her story, she looked with teary eyes back towards Daybreaks, whose right arm was extended towards a desk at the far end of the room...which was now a pile of splinters.

"W-why did you do that?"

She watched him slowly grit his teeth, his fists both clenching tightly as he brought his arm back down. Without looking at her, she heard him practically growl

"Scootaloo...That was your name right?" He didn't wait for a response or even acknowledge her nod, he just kept going "You are welcome to live here for as long as you want. I'll never kick you out. I'll never ask you to pay me. I'll never mistreat you. As far as I'm concerned..."

He stood up and walked over to her, actually looking at her in the face and causing her to give a mild blush. Her body was still young, but she had matured enough to be fairly attractive. She had an athletic figure, a small set of abbs and a barely existent set of breasts, not a large amount of muscle and a small set of hips...but she still looked pretty attractive for her age group.

Despite her still not having clothes and he still only being in boxers, he knew he had to look her in the eyes when he said this. Because no one had ever done it for him. He gently grasped hold of her shoulders and pulled her into a hug against his chest.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'll be your family. From this day forward I'll be your big brother, if you want that is."

He seemed to be all to right about what he needed to say, despite the obvious weirdness of the whole scene, her eyes grew to the size of bowling balls yet again. She gave a squeal of delight and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Oh thank you! Thank you! I'm so happy I could just explode!"

He smirked "Now...go put on some damn clothes shrimp, and don't ever let me catch you perving out on me again. Little sis or not, I'll still kick your ass if you go all sexual assaulter on me."

She gave him a quick salute that sent an odd wave of nostalgia up his spine, then dashed back into the living room, leaving him standing alone in the room, still in just his boxers, contemplating his life with an expression of befuddlement .

"...Did I really just do that?"

Author's Notes:

Yes. It's true I'm not dead. I don't know if it's just me, but it feels like it's been forever since I released a chapter (not that I haven't been writing or anything).
Anyways a small update for you loving readers. Although This still has several and I do mean several chapters to go. I'm nearing the time of deployment again. This means I'll be gone for a few months before I have access to the internet again. I'll have places in between where I can quickly edit and upload a chapter. But it will be a long wat for many. Don't panic though. The time has not yet come. I'll drop a blog post the day before I leave. I might try and squeeze out two more chapters if not more before I go.
Side note though. Have you thought that every time that little gator noms someone he might be trying to eat them. Pinkie's keeping an attempted murder in her home!
Love you all,
Daybreak