Rainbow had been flying for almost six hours. She didn't really trust her sense of direction all that well, and so simply chose to follow the road beneath her. Sure, she could probably get there faster, but she didn't really want to get it done too quickly. She had nothing else to do, after all. Point was, she had flown far and was getting tired.

She lowered herself down to beside the road, eyes darting side to side. She didn't see anyone or anything but still didn't want to take chances. She pulled the bedroll out, unfurled it, and laid it down in the ditch along the side of the road. It wasn't the most pleasant place she could've settled, but it was dry, looked somewhat free of leaves and pine cones, and would be well camouflaged from the roadway. Not wanting any surprises, she tucked her hair up into her hat, laying the bandana over the rest to cover it. As darkness encircled her, she shut her eyes, allowing it her to swallow her completely.

"Welcome," it seemed to say. "Welcome to my realm."

Rainbow opened her eyes, figuring that if she didn't see the hard-packed dirt road and high up canopy of trees, she would be greeted with the dark void of her dreams. Soon, items and ponies she cherished would appear and begin to burn, screams and crackling filling her ears to the brim. She had seen it before many times and had even started to grow used to it. But, no; this was not the case tonight.

Instead, she saw a plain outside Ponyville. It was a bright, sunny day, marred only by the occasional cloud. In the distance, many notable landmarks of the familiar town stood out. Downtown dead ahead, the Everfree forest to the right of town, Sweet Apple Acres next to it, and many other notable landmarks in the town itself. The vague forms of ponies made their way throughout the town, and the weather team was moving a few clouds out of the storage building behind the town hall. Rainbow took it all in, grinning widely. For a second, she thought she was home. She had taken a nap along the edge of town and had dreamed all of that. The wedding, the exile, the...Killing.

Then, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was a dark, shadowy shape, gliding across the planes outside town. At first, it looked like a shadow, and that is what her mind first told her. Then, she saw that there was no cloud above it and nothing else that could cause it. Then she picked up other details. A pair of eyes, glowing a sickly green with purple mist emerging from the sides. Red iris's with slit pupils sat in the center of the eyes, both seeming to ripple with malicious glee. As it moved, dark black crystals seemed to spring up from the ground.

It was heading toward Ponyville when it suddenly stopped. Rainbow wanted to fly over, but for some reason, her wings and even her hooves wouldn't respond to her brain's impulses. Still, she had a good view of what was going on.

It had stopped before her friends. All of them stood in a typical style, like when they had faced Discord. Twilight and AJ standing firm and resolute. Pinkie bouncing up and down, face adorned in a smile. Fluttershy, with a scared look on her face, hiding behind AJ. All wore their elements, and Rainbow still wanted to fly down. Even if she didn't really know what was going on, she still wanted to help defend Ponyville. Until she saw the sixth figure facing down the Shadow.

It was Twilights brother. He wore a similar look and posture to most of the group. She looked and saw a few pieces she was known for. Fluttershy was cowering behind him when she usually did that to her. He was with them in the first place, which should've set off some red flags. Then, the final nail in the coffin, she saw what was around his neck. A golden collar, adorned with a red jewel, like her Element. Only now, instead of a lightning bolt, it was a shield.

She was too far away to hear anything but could tell that Twilight was saying something. They then began to float up into the air, eyes shut and a serene look on their faces. She heard the telltale hum of the Elements of harmony being readied. Then, all was consumed in a blinding light.

When it dissipated, the shadow was gone. Her friends and Twi's brother floated back down to the ground and began laughing and giving high hooves. Rainbow looked on. It was like they had left her behind. They had forgotten about her. They had moved on. She snarled; by her estimates, it had barely been two weeks! She made more effort to move, to get down there. But then, she saw something that made her heart skip a beat and her struggling cease.

Scootaloo ran up to the group, smiling happily. Specifically, she ran up to Shining Armor. Even so far away, Rainbow knew the look. She had seen it plenty of times. She hoped beyond hope that it wouldn't happen; that she was misreading the look. But, no. She wasn't. Scootaloo pulled out a paper and pen, held them up to Shining, who picked them up in his magic aura. Then, he proceeded to sign it. Scoots, who had been her fan, president of her fan club; Hay, almost a little sister, had jumped for joy at getting an autograph from Twi's brother. From the guard captain.

From her replacement.

Rainbow snapped up, her hat and bandana falling from her head next to her. She panted like a dog, eyes darting side to side. Where she was came rushing back to her: Wrapped in an itchy bedroll, in a ditch along the side of the road. The moon was high overhead, a crescent sliver cutting through the darkness of the sky.

She shivered, and not just from the cold. What had she just seen? Obviously, it was a nightmare. But...But. Rainbows' thoughts shot all over like a pinball machine. She couldn't get a coherent thought out for a solid five minutes. But when she did, she asked one question. How true was it?

Not whether or not it happened, of course. That was stupid; nopony saw events in their dreams (Well, except maybe Pinkie). No: it was how real was the context. Had they replace her? Was there a new Element of Loyalty? Had even Scoots moved on? Would she be forgotten? Would anyone even remember her?

These thoughts, and the fear of what she would see if she went back to sleep, kept her up all night. When Celestia's dawn emerged, despite how hungry and how tired she was, Rainbow set off.

Next Chapter: 20~First run(PT.2) Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 34 Minutes