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I was in such a good place when my eyes closed. Such a wonderful evening followed by some last minute kindness from an ancient soul that still wanders the wilds of the Empty Plains. In the company of my beloved Rain Shine, I began to dream. But when I did...

The serene calmness of the Grove of Silence was replaced by...a foreboding atmosphere all around me. When my senses cleared, I found myself out in the open. Out atop cliffs bordering a raging ocean down below. The sky was dark with a storm brewing out over the sea with only forests and grassy stretches of earth behind me. And even more concerning was that I was armed. My enchanted wing armor covered my body with the Lunar Shield affixed to my left arm. Why? The war had ended. I had no need to return to a dreaming battleground so soon. Had I been called there?

The sudden realization of just how lucid I was by pondering complex thoughts alarmed me. I was not alone. Someone had entered my dreaming mind to join me. Was it Luna or Nightmare Moon? My armored hand reaching for my head to confirm I was wearing my helmet, I looked around. If they were present, they did not reveal themselves to me. And so I wandered. Following the cliff as a light rainfall splattered against my armored form. The entire skyline out over the ocean was covered with swirling gray clouds that were occasionally lit up by a rare flash of lightning. My eyes scanned the rolling sea below to search for anything that might be adrift in the surf. Nothing was out there.

I eventually came to a precipice that reached out into the sea. I followed that needle of stone and earth until I stood at the tip. If I was going to take flight, that was the ideal place to launch myself. But where would I go? What should I do? The scenery around me was entirely unfamiliar. Out of ideas, I decided to call out to my unseen guest. "Hello? Your highnesses?"

It was then that I finally received an answer. The voice of Luna reached my mind. "Ah, forgive me for not speaking up sooner, James. I was drawn here due to a...strange rippling across your dreaming mind."

"Yeah, I get the impression something's not right here. Now that you're here, have you found anything?" I asked in return, eyes still scanning the horizon as the storm felt like it could intensify at any time.

"No, I can't pinpoint exactly where the source of this anomaly is." Luna replied while sounding exceptionally interested in what was happening around me. She then said, "But I do sense...something. Or someone. Someone is here. Someone besides the two of us."

"But that can't be... If it's not Nightmare Moon or maybe your father... Who else could it be?" I asked in confusion. If I truly was not alone in my dream even before Luna reached out to me, then who or what could it have been? And was I in danger?

Luna's voice did not sound quite as concerned as I was. She then explained, "That is a very good question... But wherever it is... They feel...distraught. Upset. Perhaps there is a reason your dreams have brought you here, my friend. I suspect someone needs you."

This piqued my curiosity. A dream where a product of my thoughts was in trouble? Someone, even if technically nonexistent, needed me? Perhaps they needed me as much as I needed a good deed to soothe my soul. I then asked, "Where can I find them?"

"They are...out there. Out over the sea." Luna retorted, my eyes widening in discomfort as I beheld the vast expanse of the stormy ocean before me. No land on the horizon could be seen. "I know not exactly where they are, but they are...ahead of you. Somewhere out there. Adrift and grieving. I feel as if it would be best if I do not intervene. It is not I who was called here. But I will be watching. Know that you are not alone in this, my friend."

"Thanks, Luna. If I find trouble I can't handle, I'll be counting on you to bail me out. Keep an eye out, all right?" I retorted with only a confirming mumble being heard from the Princess of the Night. I stepped closer to the edge of that precipice, but my courage wavered as I beheld the endless stormy ocean laid out before me. Between the swirling clouds in the sky and the furious waves washing over themselves below, I felt...deathly uncomfortable about placing myself out there. What if the wind suddenly grew stronger and my armor's wings would not be able to fight it? What if a mighty crosswind slammed into e hard enough to send me tumbling into that bottomless ocean only to sink and be forced to wake up in a horrifying fashion by drowning in those primordial depths? Thalassophobia began to set in.

I had long overcome my fear of deeper waters in swimming pools after teaching myself how to swim as a child. But the depths of the ocean are a very different story for me. Staying on the surface out in that endless blue is manageable for my psyche, but the prospect of being dragged down into that bottomless liquid void is utterly horrifying to me. Even if there are no giant predators that would hunt me, the ocean alone is lethal enough. Drowning out there in the middle of the briny depths, at least for me, is one of the most horrifying ways to die.

But perhaps I was overthinking this. My armors wings did not carry the limitations of being naturally organic wings that may tire from use. They had to be strong in order to carry a body coated in plate armor. I considered my options and looked down at my gauntlets. Magic was at my disposal. As long as I could stay above the ocean, I would be out of danger. And I could not stay there on the cliffs. Someone was out there and they needed me.

I gathered my courage and took a running start. And with a lunge, I hurled myself out over that stormy sea. My wings did not fail me and kept me aloft far above those briny depths. The wind began to push me about, but my wings proved strong enough to resist as I soared along. I had no idea where I was going. I had no destination. The only way I could go was ahead.

The storm began to grow stronger as the minutes passed by. The rain went from a light drizzle into a proper downpour. My wings refused to falter in the face of this new resistance. My armor's feathers did not absorb the rain thanks to their metal composition and admirably kept me aloft. My face remained dry thanks to my helmet's protective enchantments. But as the wind and rain roared against me, my anxiety only grew. It was as if the storm and the ocean were conspiring against me. Trying to keep me away from where I needed to go. If I were to be plunged into the sea far below, would I be able to save myself?

I did everything I could to not look down at that boundless liquid tomb waiting to consume me. I looked only ahead as I soared along. Where was I going? Would I ever see solid land again before the dream would end? But just when I began to fear I was on a wild goose chase, I saw it. A bolt of lightning shot through the air far ahead to light up the darkened sky. And there... There amid that pale background was a figure. Long and slender, being carried along by a pair of massive wings... There was no mistaking it. A dragon soaring over the sea far ahead of me.

Confusion filled my thoughts. Was I just seeing things? A moment later, another flash of lightning confirmed my suspicions. There it was again, writhing and twisting against the winds. Whoever that poor soul was, they were just as lost as I was. And if their wings gave out, they would drown in the dark depths of the sea below. I struggled to increase my speed with only the flashes of lightning in the storm serving as a sort of visual sonar to guide me towards the hapless dragon, but they proved to be more aerodynamic in form than my armor. They form began to grow gradually more distant. And I began to fear I may lose sight of them if the lightning flashes were to cease.

It finally happened. The wandering dragon soared so far ahead of me that I could barely make out its silhouette with each flash. Until finally... The storm began to subside. Not entirely stop, but the rain and wind let up enough to let me fly fairly unhindered. But the lightning too ceased. I could no longer track my target. I rushed ahead in the hopes of finding some sort of trace of their presence. "Where'd you go...?"

Just as I began to fear I would have to call out to Luna to try and get some bearings on where to go, something began to come up on my left. I saw something thought the gloom. A landmass was starting to come into view to the point where it would eventually pass in front of me. A vast forest could be seen just beyond the shoreline. I had started to pass over a bay instead of the open ocean. And if this stretch of land would soon cut in front of me... Did that mean the dragon I was pursuing had reached land as well?

A wave of relief washed over me. Both for myself and my target. At least I would not have to worry about being stuck out over the deadly ocean anymore. I veered to the left and began to descend once far enough away from the sea. The sky remained covered in swirling storm clouds regardless of where I went with the rain never completely relenting. The vast canopy of trees completely shrouded any view of the ground. There was no signs of something large having descended through the canopy. Convinced that I would not find anything by searching from above, I allowed myself to fall.

I fell through the leafy canopy of the forest and quickly caught myself with a levitation spell to allow myself to land lightly upon my feet. I could no longer hear the crashing of the ocean waves against the shoreline and the rain falling through the treetops above was relatively soothing. But the dark forest around me was still filled with an uncomfortable tension. Like trouble was afoot. I maintained my sense of direction and rushed north through the underbrush.

My suspicions proved to be correct. I was not the only one there. There were warm glows shining between the trees up ahead. The flickering of torches burning too hotly for random splashes of rain to extinguish. A scouting party? And who were they? I felt lucky that I had chosen to not draw the glowing blade of the Celestial Sword to help light my way. I wanted to remain hidden until I was certain of who they were.

I tried to draw near while using the many trees around me to mask my approach. The sound of rain helped muffle my clinking footsteps and the snapping of twigs under my sabatons. But it turned out I was not the only one clad in noisy metal armor. I started to see the party through the trees. Glimmering wet metal components that shimmered in the torchlight from being coated in fresh rain. They were clearly human men. At least a few dozen of them. And the voices that called out while muffled by their helmets... "After it! Over there! Slay the dragon! Slay the demon wyrm! Death to the devil's spawn!"

Dragon slayers. Speaking in a manner one would expect from the most stereotypical of knights. But I was long disillusioned with such archaic beliefs about dragons. I knew how noble they could be, regardless of what world they may hail from. I took note of which direction they were heading. I had no reason to believe they were lost. They knew exactly where that dragon had gone and I needed to reach that poor creature before they could.

As I followed while staying out of their sight, I began to devise a plan. I took note of my own nightly visage in my suit of enchanted armor. The more primitive minded soul might even think of my form as angelic. And if these knights were as archaic as I suspected, I might to be able to exploit those beliefs. I rushed ahead with the speed of a stallion and placed myself ahead of them. They did not see me at first. But once those suits of plate armor stepped into view through the trees, I held up a hand to signal them to stop. "Hail, brothers! Please, a moment with you!"

They did indeed stop and marveled at my armored form. They gasped as one called out, "You... Wings of purest white? An angel from on high?!"

"On your knees, brothers! Our lord has spoken to us!" Another knight called out before they all dutifully dropped to one knee with heads bowed. I almost laughed at how well this plan had gone. I barely said anything and they were already playing along perfectly. "Glory to God in the highest! To who do we owe the honor of your presence?"

I had to play along. I considered my words carefully in thinking of a response. "I have descended upon hearing your calls. You seek a dragon to slay, yes?"

Another knight spoke with head still bowed, "Yes, a devil wyrm has descended upon our lands. And we must slay the devil's thrall before it razes our villages. Please, will you aid us in this hunt?!"

Typical. The dragons of European mythology were always viewed as bearers of great evil or even demonic origins. Had they ever truly existed outside mythology, they surely would have been driven to extinction centuries ago. Now that I had their attention, maybe I could talk them out of this hunt. "There is no need! Sheathe your swords! That wyrm has abandoned its connections to its master and seeks solace in the light of God! I have descended to escort this lost soul to salvation!"

I thought for sure that would work. Anything to appeal to the devout nature of the knights of yore. Religion can be so blinding... But I did not quite get the results I was hoping for. Instead of complying immediately, the knights erupted into a confusing clamor. As if they could not believe that an angel from on high would even be capable of mercy towards a denizen of the dark that had turned its back on evil. "Preposterous! No dragon would ever willfully abandon servitude to its dark lord. Unless..."

They began to draw their swords while rising from their kneeling positions. One called out with sword pointed at me. "The only angels that would defend the vile are those in league with the devil himself! You serve Lucifer, do you not?! Another fallen angel gate from the golden gates!"

There was no reasoning with these zealots. Once they were convinced I was their enemy, there would be no swaying them. As they began to gather together to preapre an assault, I decided I was not going to deal with this. I was not there to fight. With a cast of the magic in my left gauntlet, I made certain they would not be going anywhere for a good while.

A great circle of mist covered the ground around the entire lot of those dozens of knights. And with a flick of my fingers, I made my move. Great spires of frigid blue magic ice erupted around them to keep them all boxed in. They shouted in confusion while smashing their swords against the icy cage, each spike being too large to have any hope of being scaled. "This ice! Is does not melt nor chip! Summoned from the lake of Cocytus! Truly an agent of Lucifer, my brothers!"

"Morons. I don't got time for this." I grumbled while finding at least a little amusement in their blind ignorance. Unless they found a way to get over those icy spires by climbing the trees inside that frozen circle, they would not be escaping for a while. Now free from their harassment, I turned around and rushed into the forest to try and find who I was looking for. Did the dragon even know they were being pursued? "Hang in there... I'm coming."

My enchanted greaves carried me at great speeds through the underbrush with rain still leaking through the canopy, my sabatons rattling with every stride. I must have covered a mile in a short time and would surely not be seeing those imbeciles again at such a distance. Through the flashes of lightning that glowed down from the canopy I noticed a gap in the trees somewhere ahead. Too much light flickering from above. A clearing in the forest. Perfect for something large to come in for a landing. I paused for a moment as I neared the edge of the clearing while keeping a tree between me and whoever might be out there. I kept my sword sheathed as I took a running start to jump out into the clearing. And when I did...

There she stood. Near a shallow brook that flowed near the edge and likely towards the sea to the east. A dragoness that I recognized instantly who was clad in platinum shackles and sharp blades on her wing joints and tail. But also much larger than I recalled. So large that I feared I was about to be assaulted by a creature plagued by a curse. But as I examined her scales of jet black and bold crimson, one aspect did not match her appearance when I last saw her in such a state. Her eyes, which I expected to be a shade of sickly green jade, were a beautiful and rich teal hue. Eyes that were pure and free of malice.

I wanted to speak. I remembered the despair of waking up without her in my arms after making such a vow... But as I took a step forward, I felt the urge to hesitate. She looked equally shocked to see me. Perhaps even moreso. I watched the dragoness, who was low to the ground on all fours with her massive wings almost appearing disproportionately large compared to her long and slender body, take a step back. And only then did she speak. "You...can't be him..."

She looked like she had seen a ghost. If I were to do anything rash, she might have lashed out or fled entirely. I considered my options and said softly with the sound of rain starting to fade away. "Cynder...?"

"You can't... I felt you die..." Cynder muttered with a growing look and tone of disbelief all about her. She...felt me die? When? How? She was nothing more than a product of my dreaming mind. What could she have possibly felt when dormant and away from my side within the dream realm?

I had to do something to assure her that she was not seeing a mirage. And so I cast aside my shield and even removed my helmet to let her see me for who I was. "Cynder, really... It's me. Please don't go... I came here just to find you..."

The sight of my face with even a full head of hair on my head must have been just enough to soothe her. Cynder gingerly took a step forward. And then another as she approached me much like a prowling and cautious feline. I held out my armored hands with my palms facing mostly inward. Beckoning her into my grasp. And after an agonizing minute, she came within reach. And I gently cradled her long jaw in my hands. The disbelief in her eyes began to fade with a long and desperately relieved sigh hissing from her throat. "You actually live... I felt you fading... And I couldn't reach you in time..."

I was starting to suspect of what she meant. I too remembered vividly when I was dreaming just after that fateful mission. My senses going numb. The world around me fading along with the people in it. Had Cynder been conscious enough to see that too? "What did you see?"

She kept her jaw resting in my palms, eyes narrowing in bitter recollection. It was almost unsettling to see how much larger she was than me at the time. I was so much more used to having her be no larger than the average griffon. But as I beheld the dragoness before me, she began to explain. "I felt...you starting to fade. I was asleep... Dreaming... But I could still feel you. I needed to find you. And so I...forced myself to wake up."

A dream...that could wake up on her own accord. My eyes went wide as I pondered this. I remembered my conversation with Nightmare Moon following the last time Cynder and I crossed paths. And how she wished to devise a means to allow an entity from the realm of dreams to cross over into the realm of reality. For Cynder...to wake up and become aware...by her own will...without my dreaming mind summoning her from memory... What did this mean? Was this dream entity...a product of my thoughts and dreaming mind...becoming self-aware? Was she...becoming real on a different plane of existence? Nonexistent, yet alive?

Cynder continued to speak and distracted me from my quickening thoughts. "The world was becoming twisted, but I... I could sense you somehow. I raced ahead as fast as I could... I tried to reach you as the world became dull... Colors faded... And then the shapes... I ran until there was nowhere left to go... Until I was stuck out there in a gray void... I couldn't sense you anymore... I thought I lost you... And at that point...it felt like nothing mattered anymore."

She saw that. When even I was sure that was the end for me. But...she was not conscious by the time my mind became stable and I came back from the brink? I nearly faded away entirely, but I remember my senses coming back to me. When the militia's medics saved me. How did she not know that? And so I asked, "But...I did survive. I remember becoming numb only to start regaining my senses again. Did you not feel that too?"

The dragoness before me frowned sorrowfully. Eyes nearly closed as she muttered, "No... I... I fell into despair... You were all I ever had...and I thought I lost you... I just...gave up... I let the shadows take me... Twisted me back into this form. And I've just been...wandering like before. Not exactly dreaming yet not awake either. The storm woke me up and I just wanted to find a open spot to land, but... Those warriors in armor saw me and chased me... I didn't know what to do anymore. I found this spot, but... I... I think I was...just looking for a place to die... If they reached me before you, I...probably would've just...let them do what they want..."

I had never seen her so forlorn. Not like this. This form before her was not natural. If not a product of a dark curse, then a product of the grief in her own heart. I sighed harshly before I did the only thing I could think of. I pulled her head closer to mine and rested my brow against hers. I closed my eyes and whispered to Cynder. "But I'm here now... And I'm not leaving you."

"Thank you...." She muttered softly before I felt Cynder press her brow against mine with a bit more of her weight behind her, my hands still holding her head from below. She then spoke weakly a statement I had heard many times before. "I'm with you."

"Truly?" I asked with my eyes gazing right into hers from barely an inch away. It was hard to tell, but I could see the edges of her jaw curve upward into the slightest show of a smile. That was the only answer I needed. I did not want to think about what would come at the end of my dream. At that moment, all that mattered was that I had found her again. It almost hurt as I realized just how much I had missed that wonderful creature. "I'm not going anywhere. Stay with me, please..."

"I will. I don't even know how we got separated last time. I held on as tightly as I could and...I still just...fell asleep. And you were gone when I woke up." Cynder stammered as she almost sounded embarrassed after making such a bold promise to follow me into the waking world. But I could not tell her. I could never hope to explain that she was...not real. At least not until the two night princesses could find a way to fix that. She then spoke with a nervous chuckle, "Next time... Next time I'll hold on even tighter. Wrap myself around you to make sure you don't get away from me."

This slight show of positivity was enough to get a smile out of my as well. I nuzzled my forehead against hers as I said, "You really are wonderful, Cynder..."

"And you'll always have me, James." She whispered my name for the first time that night. I closed my eyes and listened to all that was happening around us. The sounds of the forest just after a heavy storm. The babbling of the brook that cut through the clearing. Even Cynder's deep and powerful breathing. With my armored fingers dragging along her long lower jaw while we continued to keep our brows touching, Cynder then asked softly, "What happened to you that day? I swear I felt you dying..."

"It's true that I have gone through hell lately... I almost didn't make it. But really, the worst is over. I'll be fine." I explained softly with our eyes locked from so near. I closed my eyes and savored the touch of her scales against my forehead. "I'll gonna make it... I'll make a full recovery."

"You're still healing? Then...I'll keep you safe this time." Cynder spoke with her great paw rising and resting over my gauntlet. Not quite a hand, yet not exactly a paw either. She then explained with an almost whimsical smile, "This might not be a natural form for me, but it's still useful. I can protect you. You don't need this armor right now."

"It would probably feel better to hold you without all this armor in the way... Sure, give me a minute." I retorted before stepping back out of Cynder's touch. With a cast of a familiar spell, my enchanted armor melted right off me into a puddle around my bare feet.

Cynder watched in awe as she saw my armor liquefy itself for the first time, but that gaze of intrigue became...something else, almost like a cockeyed stare of bemusement, when I suddenly realized how uncomfortably cool it was out there. And that I was next to naked. "I've never seen you this bare..."

"And it didn't occur to me that it's this cool out right now... I can barely tolerate these temperatures... There's a reason humans need clothing." I grumbled as I suddenly felt the bite of the wind chill. At least there was someone about who could fix that. "Luna, if you're there... How about something to keep the draft out?"

She was probably laughing at my predicament, but Luna obliged all the same. In a flash of her magic light, the Princess of Dreams clad me in a familiar attire that was very comfortable for cooler temperatures. A familiar set of a layered blue coat and boots that I preferred to wear during the occasional visit to the fictional province of Skyrim. I stepped out of that puddle of liquid metal and mumbled, "Phew, much better."

"I guess those creation goddesses are watching over us." Cynder asked as she took a few steps towards me. I responded by bringing my bare hands to the underside of her jaw once more. She sighed pleasurably as my caresses resumed. "So much better now..."

"Well, one of them is around. She told me to find you and I did." I replied as I recalled being out upon that cliff overlooking the sea. "She said you were distraught... That you needed me. Although it took a lot of courage to bring myself to fly out over the sea. And when lightning lit the sky, I saw you... I just didn't know it was you at first."

Cynder sighed quietly, the corners of her mouth curving into another smile. "I guess she was right... I did need you. I was lost without you... And then I found you again."

Something happened right then. Cynder's eyes widened as she gazed right at me. No, not at me... She was seeing past me. The dark dragoness then lifted her head high atop her long neck to see over me. And when I turned around... Light. Torchlight out beyond the clearing. "They got out?"

My first instinct was to retrieve my equipment. I would need everything I had at my disposal to fend off an entire cadre of knights. But before I could move, Cynder did first. She reached around me and rested her hand over my shoulder with her powerful claws resting over my chest. She pulled me back and held me to her chest, hand grasping me protectively. "I've got you."

"Can you handle this?" I asked with some concern. I remembered how capable she was at such a size the first time we crossed paths, but Cynder was simply not herself at the time. She was no longer a monster.

"I won't let them get to you. I can handle this." Cynder replied firmly with her long neck lowering her head down before me. I was very protectively tucked up against her. I could hear the calls of the approaching knights. But the instant they burst forth from the trees with swords drawn...

What did Cynder even do? She did not unleash a torrent of fire from her maw. Or even something more mystical like lightning. Instead, she let out some sort of...otherworldly shriek. A distorted cacophony of screams that did not sound like her own. A miasma of red fog was unleashed onto the incoming knights. And as they were engulfed by that fog, they too began to scream. Shrieking in uncontrollable fear. Swinging their limbs and flailing at threats that just were not there. It almost would have been funny if the very sound of that attack was not so unpleasant to hear. It was just so haunting to listen to those hellish howls that came from seemingly nowhere. After a moment of reeling from this newfound fear, the knights all fled. Just...scattered into the forest while still shrouded in that red mist. I stood there while not sure what I saw and most definitely not liking what I heard. "I don't know what you just did, but please don't do that again."

"I didn't even want to use that!" Cynder barked in very clear unease over whatever that trick was. It was effective at repelling the threat without harming them, but was not something she took any pride in using. Only then did she release me from her protective embrace as she said, "It's...not a noble power."

I turned around and held Cynder the best I could. At such a size, I could basically only rub my face against her crimson chest. And she once again rested her hand against my back. I was left unsure of what to say as I held her. Such a power was probably only accessible in her current state. This form was not natural and I could only hope she would revert to normal before long.

Her heart... I could feel it thumping powerfully against her chest from within. Such a powerful creature now that she towered over me. Not at all like most of the dragons of Equestria. Even those who did reach such sizes and even beyond were more often than not lacking the majesty and nobility of such a wonderful person. Although I did not stay there for long. Cynder held me in place before pushing herself back in order to let her head lower enough to rest against mine again. I resumed my tender caresses of her long and slender jaw. It must have been therapeutic for her. Whatever she wanted, I made sure she got it. She had been through such misery again and I wanted to keep it away from her.

"Just like before... You've always been so kind to me." She cooed calmly with those beautiful eyes gazing into mine from just inches away. Even with her body stained black and crimson, Cynder did not exude the malevolence of when we first met. And her eyes were the clearest indicator of the state of her soul. She was very happy at that moment. But that gaze became more inquisitive as she asked, "Are you sure you're all right? I remember...you mentioning that things were looking really bad. Did you resolve things with the evil one?"

"I wouldn't exactly say he was evil. I couldn't even bring myself to hate him. But...yeah. The crisis is over. We triumphed. It'll be OK now. And...I'm through the worst of what happened to me..." I explained in brief, knowing Cynder could not hope to understand the context of the war I had just served in. And my form in the dream realm was not an accurate representation of my physical condition. And I suspect Cynder was starting to doubt my words. Who knows what a denizen of the dream realm can sense? When I saw her eyes narrowing in an almost accusatory fashion, I repeated myself. "Really, the worst is over. I'm gonna be just... Hey?!"

Cynder had heard enough. She lowered her head even further before somewhat abruptly lifting it to have her long skull push me backwards like a lever. Any harder and I might have been thrown off my feet. Cynder began to prowl towards me in a very direct manner that forced me to keep stepping backwards. She did not speak, but I think a smirk was present at the edges of her jaws. "Uh...Cynder? Easy there... Whaddya want?!"

I soon found out what she was pushing me back towards. The brook trickling through the edge of the clearing was behind me. And she stopped forcing back right when I would have had to step into it. She still had that facetious smirk on her face while she said, "What? Wouldn't you rather rest over here?"

"Here? Now that you mention it..." I mumbled while turning to survey the babbling brook before us. It was not the first time I had ever passed by one and they always make for ideal resting spots. Before I could even turn to face her, Cynder was on the move. She turned herself sideways and rested upon the glistening grass with my body pressed up against her side. She curled her body in one direction, encircling me with her long reptilian body. I slumped to a seated position with her head almost upon my lap. I could not have felt more safe with that mighty wyrm encircling me. I stroked my hand over her head and said, "Thank you."

"It sounds like you've been through much more than me. I'll keep you safe. No matter who shows up." She retorted with a very confident smirk upon her face. I gazed upon the quietly flowing stream before us, the water glistening in the moonlight from above. Cynder did not wait much longer before she performed a little gesture that I had grown to adore from our prior encounter. She lifted her head and tucked it under my jaw. Or she at least tried. I head tilted back when she attempted this as I was left bewildered over just much bigger her head was. I glanced down at her while a sheepish grin lined the edges of her maw. "This was better when I was smaller..."

"My, what a big head you have. This is temporary, right?" I said in jest while almost laughing at how her attempts at being cuddly was undermined by her size.

"I hope so. I'd much rather be held in your arms than only being able to fit my head on your lap. But this size does have its uses." Cynder replied while lifting her head out from under me. We watched the brook splashing before us with my hand now stroking along Cynder's tail. My eyes fell upon the impressively long blade that was covering her tail's tip. It was out of reach, but I still tried to pull her tail's tip over to me in order to remove it. Cynder noticed immediately and lifted a hand in front of me. "Leave it for now. If trouble shows up, I can use it to protect you."

"OK then." I mumbled while Cynder idly rested her hand upon my lap. I took a look down at her large hand coated in scales and began to trace my fingers over the digits. I even attempted to place my hand atop hers in a mirroring fashion as I started to examine her hand. My powerful and beautiful protector took note of my touch and cast me an inquisitive gaze. I too cracked a cheeky smirk as I explained, "I'm just...examining your anatomy."

"Oh?" Cynder paid close attention as I slid my hand over her powerful digits. There were only four instead of my five. And while her thumb had the same general structure as mine, her fingers had one fewer joint than mine to make them slightly shorter while dexterous enough to carry out relatively complex tasks yet not overly complicated to hinder the locomotion of a quadruped. Somewhere literally between a paw and a hand. And this middle ground alerted me to...something I had unknowingly not noticed was missing from the world I had come to call home.

Cynder was indeed a dragon, but not at all the kind that reside in Equestria. I remembered how I marveled when I first met Spike. A true dragon straight out of myth. But as I grew to know him and more dragons like Smolder and Ember, I came to realize that...they were just another race of people in Equestria's global society. Not so different from everyone else. But Cynder... She mesmerized me whenever I gazed upon for too long. Whenever I let myself think too much. As I held her powerful hand in both of mine, I suddenly had a wonderful an intoxicating epiphany. Cynder embodied everything I had come to adore about dragons years ago that I had all but forgotten about. A quality that gave them a certain mystical air. Unlike the dragons of Equestria, she felt like a...traditional and...ideal dragon, for lack of a better term. A creature who embodied the mysticism of that perfect threshold between person and beast. Not a savage animal. But not just a woman either. Something more. Something...beyond me...

My eyes no longer gazed at anything specifically. As I allowed myself to ponder, I began to feel...alone. Pushed away, in a sense. I began to wonder if Cynder also embodied the...less mortal aspects of the dragons I had come to remember. Dragons are...not like most other creatures. Ancient and powerful, I was convinced that they could not comprehend mortal affairs or needs. That they looked upon mortal men with curiosity and pity as insignificant creatures who were to be humored or disregarded. For just that moment, I felt...so far beneath Cynder... Someone I could never look in the eye on equal ground.

"What's wrong?" A voice awoke me from my stupor. I turned to look at Cynder while she gazed into my eyes with her own. "Are you...all right?"

I was drawn to her. I should have been elated to finally be in her embrace after so long apart after so many harrowing ordeals on the battlefield, but...I could not help feeling like I was gazing upon a creature who could never understand me. I asked forlornly with my eyes looking away, "Do dragons...know what it means to be...mortal?"

"What are you even..." Cynder began to mutter before I saw her eyes widen. And she very firmly glared at me, forcing me to look directly at her. "No... No, please don't go there. I don't know where this is coming from, but please... Of course I know what it means to be mortal. We dragons are very long-lived, but even we're not immortal."

"That's...not exactly what I mean..." I muttered as I felt like I was now cornered against her own body instead of being protected by it.

"Then what do you mean? Do you think...we dragons are so far above everyone else? The same kind of arrogance that Malefor held?" Cynder said firmly with her voice and eyes gradually softening. "I do remember this about my world. My people had their own society. They built cities. They wrote books, shared stories, created art... We are dragons, but we are still people."

That description sounded very similar to the dragons of Equestria the more I thought about it. Perhaps I really was just overthinking and romanticizing my knowledge of dragons from myths told by the people of Earth. Lastly, Cynder looked me in the eye and said, "And...please believe this. I don't want to look down on you. I just...want to walk beside you."

I closed my fingers over one of her own very large fingers. I sighed harshly with my eyes closed for a moment. "Sorry... I guess I was...thinking too much. Moment of weakness. I've had a lot of those lately."

"I know. You've been through a lot. You just need a vacation, right?" Cynder said with the slightest hint of a chuckle. She rested her brow against the side of my head and whispered, "You've gone up against more than one great evil. That's bound to take a lot out of you."

"You have no idea..." I grumbled before suddenly realizing she knew exactly what that is like. We both shared a chuckle while I began to rub my hand over the back of hers. I marveled at her elegant and powerful form. No longer stained by cursed shadows, but still not a form that was entirely hers. But it was still everything I would expect from a dragon. An ideal specimen. And as I pondered the contrast between Cynder and the dragons of Equestria, I started to think in an even more introspective manner while observing her anatomy. "You know...I never considered this, but I think I'm starting to get a theory on where the most archetypical dragon myths came from."

Cynder let out a snort before she said, "Well, seeing as how my species is anything but a myth, I wouldn't know. But what did you come up with?"

"Yeah, I know. Strange how some creatures are just the products of ancient tales cooked up by sheer imagination while being very real in other worlds. But in any case..." I replied before looking at Cynder's face, then down at her powerful hand, then up at her impressive wing draped idly over me, then to her haunches and down her curled tail. "I'm starting to suspect the most famous dragon archetype...is a sort of chimera."

My companion raised an eyebrow with a look of intrigue settling into her eyes. Cynder then asked, "By chimera...you mean a creature made up of different parts of other creatures everyone knows exists?"

"Yeah. I mean the most obvious trait dragons have more than anything are those of lizards. But...well..." I replied while considering my choice of words. I wanted to get this subject off my chest in one go. "Lizards tend to stay low to the ground. Their limbs don't lift them very high. But you... Your limbs carry you high. And that stride when you walk... It's distinctly feline. There's something about your posture that brings to mine a panther or other large cat. You also have very defined necks with some being exceptionally long. There might have been some overlap with snakes there. And these wings... They definitely look like those of a bat rather than a bird."

I saw such an amused smirk form on Cynder's face. She even turned her head to the side slightly just to make sure I could see her lips curling at the edges. "Thank goodness my people aren't the result of some very weird crossbreeding to get to where we were. I mean that does sound like it makes sense, but as a dragon... That just sounds ridiculous."

"I know it doesn't make sense to you, but I bet if I were to go back in time and ask around during the easily days of dragon stories, I probably would get a confirmation about that." I chuckled at the thought. It really made too much sense to me. Where else would such a design come from? And considering those knights and what they said... And more sinister mythos that those four creatures at times have in myth... I can see why some of the earliest depictions of dragons in Europe painted them as agents of evil. Cold-blooded reptiles, cunning and cruel predatory felines, and the spooky factor about some bats combined into one creature? The perfect creature to fear and dread... What a shame. I gently rubbed the back of Cynder's hand, almost happy that dragons never really existed in my world when considering the concept of the utter misery of being unconditionally feared and hated during much more primitive and ignorant times. "It makes you wonder how dragons went from being so reviled into...creatures of majesty that so many from my world now adore and...desire."

"I wish I had an answer for you, but...I know nothing about what you've said. It sounds like if there were dragons in your world back then, they all would've been the same as Malefor." Cynder sighed with her body curling even more around me. As if trying to comfort me in a sort of embrace.

"That's what everyone would've liked to believe back then. Ignorance was bliss, I guess..." I muttered with my fingers gingerly tracing along Cynder's own digits. I then bowed my head and said softly, "But not me... I've always adored dragons. I...became obsessed around the time I became maybe eleven years old."

"Obsessed...? With me?" I heard Cynder ask softly. She then whispered into my ear, "Go on. I need to hear this."

I noticed the teasing in her tone. I would have been more embarrassed about discussing such a thing to just about anyone, but her desire to listen was comforting. "I just...found dragons to be the epitome of grace and beauty. Something that did not ever really exist, but something I always adored. Nothing could top the majesty of dragons in my eyes. At least for a time. That obsession did fade away over the years, but...my adoration of your kind never really died. Coming to the world of Equestria reawakened that adoration. As well as meeting you..."

A sound came from my companion. An uneasy giggle. When I glanced at her, Cynder was turning her head away from me while not quite looking away with her eyes. She asked almost sheepishly, "Oh, come on... I'm not...that beautiful, am I? Especially not in this form..."

I once again began to more deliberately caress the back of her hand with my own. And I considered my words carefully before I provided a response. "You have never not been beautiful."

Cynder was silent and did not object. I began to rub the thumb on her hand with my other, feeling every contour. Such a powerful hand of a wonderful creature. Not a lowly beast. Somewhere right between the two with the mind of a lovely young lady. I took her great hand between mine and lifted it before me. I closed my eyes and found the will to place gentle kisses upon the back of that hand. Just to hold and cherish her.

I was careful to feel for any signs of shock or revulsion. But Cynder did and said nothing. And when I started to wonder why she was not providing even the slightest response, I opened my eyes. She was watching, but did nothing. But there was such a tender gaze in those beautiful eyes. She only spoke when I stopped. "Is there...somewhere you need to be?"

"No. I only came out here to find you. There's nowhere else for me to go for now." I retorted as I nuzzled my cheek against the back of her great hand. Although I too then asked, "Am I keeping you from anything?"

The response I got from her was most unexpected. Cynder...was beaming at me. While the rigid structure of her jaw limited its ability to bend even its lips, the edges of her mouth curved into a pronounced and lovely smile. "I'm exactly where I want to be right now."

She brought her head closer to me while also pulling her hand free from my grasp. Cynder seldom blinked as she gazed into my eyes. She still hand her head angled down. Almost as if she was waiting for something. I took a chance and gently cradled her face from below again. And then I brought my lips to her face to resume planting those precious kisses along the smooth black scales that covered her head.

Cynder sighed euphorically as she let me hold her. I wanted that beautiful creature to feel cherished. To know she was adored. I closed my eyes as I did so and soon rested my brow against hers. "No matter how long it's been since I last even thought about you... I never feel not relieved whenever I see you again..."

"I'm with you." She whispered in response. It was not much of a retort, but I knew those words are sacred to her. Still cradling her face in one hand, I gently caressed her face. My fingers traced over her eyebrow, just shy of sliding down onto her eye. Cynder almost appeared to see this as a request and slowly closed her eye in invitation. I tenderly caressed her eyelid and the black scales over it. Taking care to not apply pressure, but to also touch every individual scale upon it. Only when I lifted my fingers from her did Cynder open her eyes again. That serene smile never faltered. I think she wanted me to know she trusted me unconditionally.

Unfortunately, our time of peace was ending. I noticed out of the corner of my eye fiery glows out in the forest beyond the brook. Torchlight again. Cynder growled in irritation, "More of them?"

"Reinforcements..." I grumbled as we hastily rose to our feet. I was really not in the mood for a fight, but still hurried around Cynder to retrieve my armor. Cynder was right behind me as we found that those coming from the other direction were already starting to emerge from the trees. The same knights as before had regrouped and were in the process of surrounding the clearing to box the two of us in. I heard some of them shout out accusations of me being an imposter. No doubt having figured out that it was I who appeared before them in angelic armor and that I was surely a minion of the dragoness they sought to slay. I would not have enough time to let my armor's liquid form crawl over me to harden.

With swords drawn and thoroughly surrounding us, the hunting party was ready to descend upon us for a killing strike. But Cynder was not so concerned. She stepped up behind me and placed her hands across my chest before pulling me up against her chest. She then spread her wings very wide and kept them parallel to the ground below. "I'll take care of this."

"I don't think we can take them like this... Huh?" I began to say before I noticed something in the air. The wind began to blow... No, it was not coming in from above. A swirling gust of air was starting to swirl around us. I saw the membranes of Cynder's wings fluttering at the edges, those great wings effectively catching the breeze. Was that her doing? "Wind...?"

"I'll take us somewhere where no one will find us." She replied confidently as the knights even began to back away with an arm over their face to shield themselves from the whistling vortex that was building. Cynder then squatted as her wings rose higher. "Brace yourself!"

I took a deep breath and left my fate in Cynder's hands. With a great flap of those massive wings, Cynder launched herself skyward in a spiraling ascent with that vortex of wind helping her rise. The sudden vertical whiplash shook me as I kept my eyes closed. When that awful pull on my body weakened and I felt our ascent run its course, I opened my eyes. And I was overcome with a complex fusion of terror and awe. "Wha...ah ah! Crap! Too high!"

In just one great leap, we were now thousands of meters above the forest below. Cynder's great wings had no trouble keeping us aloft and she held me very tightly to her chest to keep me from slipping out of her grasp. Not even archers would be able to reach us from such a height. Now safely out of reach, Cynder flapped her wings to carry us forward. Her powerful hands did not release me with my back firmly planted against her chest. "I've got you."

It took me a good moment to come to terms with the fact I was very high above the ground. But once I had relaxed enough in the grasp of my companion, I took a moment to survey my surroundings. The storm that had been blanketing the countryside with rain had passed with nearly all clouds having disappeared from the night sky. The stars were shining and a nearly full moon was casting its light over the vast forest below. And then I heard it. The flaps of Cynder's powerful wings.

I looked up to see Cynder's head out ahead of me with those massive crimson wings occasionally flapping to maintain altitude. And I was transfixed. I have flown a fair number of times. Aboard commercial aircraft on Earth, aboard the Alabaster and Olympia airships in Equestria, and aloft on my own armor's wings. But never... Never before had I soared on dragon wings.

Cynder's great clawed hands were a sturdy harness that would not ever release me. And she started to notice how quiet I was by then while I watched the scenery pass under us far below. She curled her neck to let her left eye glance back at me and said, "You still alive back there?"

"Uh... Heh... Yeah! I'm good!" I laughed in exhilaration. Cynder smirked at me while she turned her gaze forward again. It was then that she started to take me on a ride. Just to show me what it is like to fly like a dragon.

Cynder went into a gradual dive to descend. And I noticed the rapid increase in speed. Her aerodynamic form helped direct the wind away from my face, but my eyes continued to widen as we went lower and faster. Cynder finally evened herself out when we were right above the treetops. I reached out and managed to pluck a leaf from one such tree. Flying at such speed and I did not need to do anything.

With mighty flaps of her wings, Cynder began to rise much higher into that starlit sky. The air was cool, but delightfully humid fresh after a storm. And once high enough, she surprise me. Cynder rolled over in flight until I was facing upward. Just gliding along on her back while I was gazing up into the sky. I heard her speak, "My heart and mind were a clouded storm... Then the clouds parted when you found me. I think the sky knows this."

I tilted my head far back and saw Cynder smiling down at me with her neck curled forward to let her face gaze at me. She was smiling. And what a beautiful thing to say. I then retorted, "When you said your kind know art, you really meant it."

"I just came up with that on the spot! Inspiration struck!" Cynder laughed as that elegant poise vanished instantly. I let out a snicker myself. Beautiful as she is, Cynder never struck me as an artistic type. And for a moment longer, we glided with our eyes to the clear night sky. And I heard her speak again. "I think I get how artists think though... Inspiration can come from anywhere."

"Art is inspiration given form. And beauty is everywhere." I replied while savoring that wonderful situation. We were detached from the world below. And all we had was each other. I then caressed Cynder's hand and said, "And I've always had an appreciation for beauty."

Cynder said nothing, but she still responded fittingly. I felt her snout nuzzle the top of my head. Even her hands loosened for just a moment. There was little risk of me falling off so long as she did not completely release her grasp on me. With her grip loosened, I felt Cynder beginning to slide her powerful hands over my torso. She was very mindful of her claws in the process. With how I had caressed her, she was returning the favor. And I heard her speak to me while she did so. "I'm with you. And I won't let go this time."

A faint sense of melancholy came over me. How I wanted her to come with me. Never before has the virtue of patience been more intolerable. Will Luna and Nightmare Moon ever find a means for a denizen of the dream realm to enter the realm of reality? All I could do was hope.

I managed to hide my angst long enough for the wonder of flight to drive it off. In due time, Cynder began to descend towards a rising plateau that overlooked the ocean. Once dark and stormy, the sea looked much more inviting with its deep blue kissed by specks of white from the stars and moon. She spread her wings out wide and tilted them back to apply an air brake effect. We drifted down like a kite. Having to slow down so much filled me with a new sense of tension. What if we could not land safely?

Cynder did not sound entirely sure of herself either. I doubt she ever had to land while carrying a passenger in her arms. Just when I thought she was going to make for a clumsy stumble on her hind limbs, she spoke up. "You know what? Let me try something here."

Once again, the wind heeded her call. I could feel a swirling vortex following us below. And when we were much closer to the ground, that updraft held her aloft before gradually lowering her to the as gently as a falling leaf. The wind dissipated while Cynder sat on her haunches to set me down on my feet. I immediately turned to her and asked, "You control the wind?"

The dark dragoness held out a hand and uncurled one finger at a time. As if she was counting as she muttered quietly. "Fire... Lightning... Wind... I guess I do have a certain affinity for some elements? I only recently discovered how I can will the wind to do things for me."

"Interesting... Can't say it's not useful." I retorted with my fingers touching hers as if expecting to get some sort of elemental response out of each. Nothing happened. I then scanned our surroundings. Nothing but forest far to the south and vast rolling plains to the west. Grassy cliffside plateaus to the north with only the sea far below to the east. I looked south again and said, "No way they'll catch up to us here."

It was only then that Cynder suddenly realize what we left behind. "Wait... Your equipment. Should we go back for it?"

"Nah, I can retrieve it later. Don't need it right now. Not like they'll figure out how to use them anyway." I snorted in amusement. I would probably not be asleep for much longer anyway. I tried to not think about what that meant for Cynder and said, "So then... What now? Where to?"

She took a step toward me with a calm smile on display. "Wherever you go. When I'm with you, I'm home."

Powerful words. She really did have nowhere to go and nowhere to call home. But she did have me. And it...pained me knowing that her home would disappear for a time when I woke up. No matter how much time I had left in the realm of dreams, I wanted to spend it with her. "Well then... Shall we just...wander?"

And so we did. Cynder and I walked along the slopes that led towards the cliffs and the ocean beyond. Such a pleasant atmosphere and even a good temperature for it. Crisp and clear air with lightly moist grass under our feet. I often felt her eyes upon me even as she said nothing.

I think she was trying to tell me something after a while. I could see how her lips at the edges of her mouth curved up to form a smile. And that one left eye looking at me. I finally looked at Cynder with an inquisitive smile before she turned her head to me and gave me a gentle nudge. Like a pet seeking attention.

Words were not necessary. I stopped in my tracks and caressed Cynder's lower jaw once again with our brows almost touching. And I once again began to place little kisses along the smooth black scales all over her face. Something that must have felt alien to her. I wonder if she would have expected me to use my tongue if I was literally anything else. And speaking of that...

Cynder made a move after a moment. She pushed her head forward and began to nuzzle her brow all over my head. I closed my eyes and allowed her to do as she pleased. But when I felt her move her head to the side of mine... Something...long, warm, and slick slid under my law before curling up against the other side of my head and lightly tickling my ear lobe. My eyes shot open upon feeling this bizarre sensation and found that Cynder had stuck out her tongue and was halfway wrapping it around my head. Not long after she had been found out, she retracted it partway while letting it dangle freely for a moment. Her eyes narrowed into an impish stare while I muttered, "I'm...not sure how to respond to that one..."

She burst into giggling with her eyes squinted shut. Cynder was having fun. And seeing her so joyous in spite of her unnatural form just made me smile. So I decided to pile onto her good mood. "Come here, you."

I took hold of Cynder's head and embraced it, rubbing the side of my face against the top of her skull. So large, yet so lovely. She giggled some more before I said, "You truly are beautiful, you shimmering shadow."

"James, come on... I'm not that easy on the eyes in this form... Am I?" She asked with my embrace loosening. Such a lovely smile on that face. A smile like no other.

That objection to my compliment brought back memories from not that long ago. And I had to say something to that. "What is it with dragons and their aversion to being seen as beautiful?"

Cynder snorted in some amusement and cast me a cockeyed yet inquisitive smirk. "You sound like I'm not the only one you've said that to."

"No... You're not. And the last one I said that to actual got pretty mad at me..." I said before bursting into a snickering fit. Ember... My goodness, I could not have expected her to yell at me as I had insulted her. That was much funnier than I could have ever anticipated.

"Oh my... What a shame, having such an eye for beauty when some can't appreciate the compliment." Cynder laughed at my own recollection of that memory. But as we stood there under the moon, she turned away for a moment. I noticed her stroke a hand over her head. Up and over her brow and the most pronounced horns on her head. As if it was an attempt at some minor grooming. She then peered at me out of the corner of her eye and asked, "You are very appreciative of us dragons... I can see that."

"Yeah... I've grown to know some. And the best dragons...are amazing. Wonderful people..." I muttered as my thoughts went out to my beloved Ember. She shone the most brightly in my memories at that moment. Someone I am so deeply in love with. That wonderful dragon queen...

I think Cynder noticed my lovelorn tone. Especially when I allowed my thoughts to wander. Her smile faded as she asked almost cautiously, "Are you...thinking of someone right now? Is there...someone in your life? Do you...have a mate to return home to?"

A mate? As archaic as that term is, I was not entirely surprised that Cynder would use that term. But I answered honestly as I allowed my thoughts to reach out to all of them. Fluttershy, Ember, Novo, Rarity... Every last one of them. "I have...several waiting for me at home. Some are near and others far, but...I love them all."

Such a look of uncomfortable uncertainty in those eyes. I think Cynder was just at a loss for words upon hearing of such a concept. Not that I could fault her. Although her response was quiet and brief. "I see."

All I did was nod in confirmation. I was not expecting her to understand right away, but I did not want to hide such an important element of my life from her. Transparency was important. But as we began to walk along again, Cynder appeared to be very distracted. Or very lost in thought. She did not speak once.

I began to appreciate the silence between us. It was nice to be able to just walk and savor the sounds of the night near the coastline. Although I did notice Cynder beginning to drift off to her right the longer she walked. I was not certain if it was intentional or if she was just not away. She looked so graceful as she walked along, but...she never looked at me.

That silence could have meant anything and I was not going to pressure her for a conversation if she was not willing to give me one. But I eventually noticed that Cynder's gait was beginning to quicken. Her body of nearly feline design took longer strides. From a simple walk to a trot. I quickened my pace as well as I eventually had to break out into a jog to keep up, the humid cool air helping soothe my straining lungs to help me work harder for longer. "Hey! What's the rush?!"

Cynder did not provide a response. And she soon broke out into a galloping run. She veered towards the cliffs and began to rush up the slope. I burst into a sprint as I desperately tried to keep up. Something was wrong. Where was she going? "Cynder?!"

It was then I saw it. Another precipice reaching out from the cliffs and over the midnight ocean before. For just a moment, I saw her slow down before looking back at me. Those eyes... They looked pained. I stumbled in my approach upon seeing that gaze. And after a few seconds, Cynder turned away and sprinted ahead down the middle of that precipice. Then, without a word of farewell, she spread her vast crimson wings and threw herself from the cliff and out over the ocean. And away she flew on those great wings, her form illuminated by the moonlight.

I came to a stop as Cynder took to the air. She did not turn around. She just flew straight ahead and away from me without a word. More than likely without a destination in mind. And I... I could not let her leave like that. Not after all that had happened leading up to that reunion. If only I did not leave my armor behind...

No. No, this was my dream. It was lucid to the point of being indistinguishable from being awake, but this was my dreaming mind playing by my rules. If I wanted to follow her, I could make it so. I was filled with an unshakeable determination. I was not ready to let my dear friend go like this. Something was wrong and she needed me. Gathering my courage, I sprinted towards the cliff and hoped for the best.

"Halt!" A voice shouted from behind me. It was so sudden and carried so far that I nearly had my feet slide out from under me. And when I turned around, I was greeted by the sight of the Princess of the Night herself. Luna approached me and said tenderly, "Leave her. She is...distraught. And not in the same way as when you first arrived."

I at least knew that much. Cynder would not run like that if she was in a good mood. I looked back out over the sea, her darkened form becoming increasingly distant on the star-studded horizon. She was not coming back...

My heart stung. I felt like I had made a mistake. What did I do? What did I say? I found myself reaching out over the sea, her shrinking silhouette fitting in my hand's grasp. And then...a single tear flowed down my cheek. "Come back..."

"James... Was that her? The same little wyrm who we purified? The one who aided us in slaying that dark wyrm aboard a falling temple?" Luna asked as she drew near. I hesitantly turned away from my distant friend and nodded to my royal companion. "Strange that she would return to that blighted form... Although I should have you know that Nightmare Moon and I have been...discussing a means to bring that poor soul out of the realm of dreams. Although the war did prevent us from finding the time to research such means..."

"Thank you. She...clung to me last time when the dream was about to end. Thought she could come with me." I replied while remembering the dread of having to leave my wonderful new friend behind. Especially when she had been there for me when I needed her most. So then why... Why did she flee from me?

Luna nodded, but then looked past me at the fading silhouette on the horizon. Cynder was gone entirely a few seconds later. "What did you tell her? What did you do?"

"She...asked me a personal question and I answered her honestly... And she just...stopped talking." I muttered as I pondered what I had revealed to Cynder. Ember provided a very similar response, now that I think about it. But she still listened to me when I insisted she allow me to explain myself. But not Cynder. She just...fled. Did not even give me the chance to speak. Why? Was there more? Something I did not know?

I needed answers. And it was not too late. I did not feel like I could wake up too soon. I turned to the horizon and said, "Luna... Please summon my armor. I need to find her."

"James... Please. I know what your heart wants, but... I insist. Please leave her be for now. I can sense her in ways you cannot. She must be left alone for the moment." Luna declared with a very firm tone of voice. I was left speechless. I desperately tried to come up with a rationale to debate this with her. But Luna then followed with, "There is a saying I think you should know. If you truly love something, you must let it go. If it returns to you, then it is yours."

A saying I was familiar with. Or at least most of it. But a new fear opened in my heart as I pondered those words. "And...if she doesn't return?"

Luna paused with a solemn gaze in her eyes. "Then...she was never yours to begin with."

Just hearing that caused renewed tears to flow. And there was nothing else I could say. I sat myself down at the edge of the cliff and watched the starlit sky. Luna sat beside me and draped her wing over me while we leaned into each other. It was a bad time to be alone and I savored whatever company I could get.

There was no way for me to keep track of time. I have no way of knowing how long we wee there. But I did in time feel a familiar ripple flow through the world. I quickly scanned the midnight sky, hoping that she would return to me like she promised. She said she would hold me more tightly than ever. But no matter how I hoped, Cynder did not appear. She had truly forsaken me.

I closed my eyes and allowed the end to come. But Luna did not allow me to awaken without some kind words from a dear friend. "Put this night out of your mind, my friend. Today is the day you return home. Go now, my friend. Friends and family await you."

A warm blanket covered me as my mind transitioned from dreaming to being awake. And I groggily sat up in bed with Rain Shine beside me. But...I did not feel happy. I felt utterly miserable. She needed me that night. And I found her. And we could not be happier to be in each other's arms again. She even protected me from those who wanted to harm us both. And in the end... She fled from me. An unshakeable feeling of loss filled my heart. Where did I go wrong?

"What troubles you, my love?" A soft voice spoke from behind me. Rain Shine was rising from her bed to gaze upon me. My weeping heart called out to her and woke her promptly. She gazed into my eyes while I failed to speak. "Your heart aches... Did you dream poorly?"

"I feel like I lost someone dear to me... I wish I could explain it." I muttered softly with my gaze lowered to the bed. She could never hope to understand. Rain Shine did not even know who Cynder is.

My beloved reached out and pulled me down into an embrace. Her soothing aura did begin to ease my aching heart as she whispered, "Then rest here a while with me, my love. Let me fill the hole in your heart if there is an empty space there now."

"Thank you, Rain..." I whimpered before pulling her into my own quivering embrace. There were just so many unanswered questions. If Cynder fled from me... Would I ever see her again? Until then, I would have to occupy my heart with those who were with me in the waking world. It is not healthy to dwell for too long on something as trivial as dreams. And I knew what to say to the beautiful creature who was holding me. "I love you..."

"And I love you, my dear." Rain Shine cooed before placing soft kiss upon my bandaged head with the village outside still being very quiet in the morning light. "Stay here a little longer... Let me soothe you. Just for a little while."

I basked in her soothing aura for as long as it took to ease my heart. My face nuzzled into her glorious emerald mane, my lips caressing hers as she did the same to me. Today would be the day where I would finally see Ponyville. It would not do if I was in a sour mood before then.

With my heart stabilizing, it was time to get ready to face the day. I was almost home. Just a little longer...