Chapter 3: Rainbow Dash
    I stared in shock as the princesses flew away. Tank and Owlysious was gliding urgently beside Fluttershy, whom I was worried about. When she was terrified, her wings tended to fail her. As I thought this, one wing stuck to her side, followed by the other.
    Fluttershy plummeted down, screaming her head off. I shot down, desperately thinking about how I was going to do this. By this time, Rarity had landed on the ground, but in a giant mud puddle. “Aaaaaaaah! My dress!” she screeched. She was sliding down a hill that leads to a canyon, and worried about her dress? (Dramatic, eh? I have to say, I was pretty darn awesome that day.)
    I felt a whooshing sensation by my hooves. It was rapidly spreading across my body. I had only felt it twice before, and I knew what it meant: the Sonic Rainboom was coming.
    Twilight, Applejack, Spike, and Pinkie Pie had now landed in the mud puddle. Their slippery hooves (and, in Spike’s case, feet) wouldn’t let them climb back up the hill, and Rarity was grabbing the edge on the crevice.
    Suddenly, a boom echoed throughout Equestria as the magnificent Rainbow Dash did something that only she could do. The rainbow-colored ring spread across the dark, stormy sky, parting the clouds. Bright sunlight spilled through.
    I shot underneath Rarity as Fluttershy slipped over the edge. “Fluttershy!” screamed Twilight as she followed her into the darkness. I felt as light as air even carrying Rarity and Applejack on my back. I grabbed Pinkie and Spike, who were holding tightly to each other, and darted after my friends who had fallen.
    The slimy walls buffeted my wings, but the rainbow shining after me didn’t care. When I caught up to Twilight, however, I felt my heart stop.
    She was flying. Well, more like floating, but it was still amazing. “Forget me!” she shouted. “I’ll be fine! Go after Fluttershy!” I needed no more encouragement.
    Fluttershy’s shrieks ripped the air below me. Twilight cast a spell, her horn glowing bright pink, to keep Pinkie, Rarity, Spike, and Applejack afloat so I could go as fast as possible. Owlysious and Tank glided behind her.
    The rainbow still streaming behind me, I shot down until Fluttershy was visible in the murky darkness. One of her wings was out at an awkward angle, and the other was tucked around Opal, Gummy, and Angel. Where’s Winona? I thought, sweeping under Fluttershy and catching her. Her hooves scrabbled to get a hold on my back! “GO RAINBOW!” screamed Pinkie. “YOU DID IT!” Cheers split the air above me, and, in Fluttershy’s case, in my ear. “YOU DID IT!” she yelled, before sinking back into her shy, regular personality.
    I carried Fluttershy, who was staring in shock at me, back up to Twilight, who quickly cast the floating spell on Angel and Opal. Opal leapt onto Rarity’s back and purred. Fluttershy managed to flap her wings, though her eyes still shone with fear, and some happiness. We looked at each other. We giggled. Then we burst out laughing.
After a long time of mirth, Applejack’s mood changed. “Where in the hay is Winona?” asked Applejack suddenly, frantically looking around for her pet.

“Here—we’ll go up and look for her,” I offered. “I’ll carry Applejack and Pinkie, and Fluttershy can carry Opal, Angel and Spike. Twilight, can you wait for a bit?” She nodded.

Fluttershy and I flew up to the top of the crevice. Pinkie pushed off my back and landed on the damp ground. Applejack leapt after her, and started searching for Winona.

Fluttershy let Spike down, who ran over to a mud puddle, digging down for Winona. Fluttershy dropped Opal and Angel on the ground, who sat there, bewildered.

When I returned, Rarity and Twilight were waiting for us. Twilight looked exhausted from holding up the spell for so long. I looped underneath them and they dropped onto my back. I flew up. Tank was prodding a tree when we got there, Opal was hissing, and Angel was hopping around wildly. Owlysious was beside Twilight when she stumbled off my back, but immediately flew to where the other pets were.
After hours of searching, the pets were still going crazy. Fluttershy hurried over, and slipped under the roots. She let out a shout of surprise when she was totally under. “It’s Winona!”
Winona had been growling at the other pets; THAT was what was making them freak out. Fluttershy emerged with the dog in her grasp. “WINONA!” yelled AJ. “You worried me. Don’ never do that ‘gain!”

Later, we gathered near the tree. I crouched in the branches, while Fluttershy sat on the roots with the pets scampering around her (or, in Owlysious’s case, flying. I had taken Tank’s wings off.). Applejack had taken to bucking the tree every few seconds, even though only leaves fell down, and no apples. Twilight was pacing, and Rarity had managed to fix her outfit with magic.

“I’m hungry!” complained Pinkie, who was about to open her bag for the cupcakes. “No!” we all yelled. “Save the cupcakes,” said Twilight “At least we had our bags with us when we fell.” Twilight opened her bag and brought out some grass sandwiches. “Eat them sparingly,” she warned as we dug into the delicious grass.
“Why did the princesses leave?” I asked angrily while chewing ferociously. “I dunno, sugarcube, but we’ll be fine,” soothed Applejack, though there was a flash of confusion in her eyes too. “All I know is that only some of us brought food with us. Who did?”

Obviously, Twilight had brought sandwiches and some bread. Applejack, of course, had brought lots of apples and apple delicacies. (“Yum!” Pinkie exclaimed. “We’ll never go hungry with those on our backs!”) Pinkie had brought some cupcakes, which I was hesitant to eat. She lived in a bakery, but her skills weren’t known for being very good. “Who made the cupcakes?” I asked casually.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cake, of course!” she replied. “I didn’t make these delicious things!” The Cakes owned the bakery and were very good bakers. Of course, we felt greatly relieved. (“No eating burnt and charred cupcakes! Phew!” Spike whispered softly, too quiet for Pinkie to hear.)

“But why did they leave us?” Fluttershy asked quietly. “It scared me, knowing they would leave us.” Twilight suddenly stiffened. “Did anyone look at their eye color before they left?”

“I did,” I spoke up. “I didn’t notice it at the time, but now I think that Celestia’s were black…”

Twilight stiffened even more. “And Luna’s?” she asked, clearly fighting to remain calm. “They were bright yellow. What’s so bad?” I looked at her, confused. “Wait! Those aren’t their regular eye colors!” I exclaimed. It had occurred to me the second I had asked the question.

“I-I think that something is wrong. Seriously wrong. C’mon, everypony! We’re going back to Ponyville!”