Dimension: Raging Fires

Planet: Quinto Præsidium

Specific Location: The ruins of the outer walls

Time: A week and a half after the Demon siege

"This is a really stupid idea," said Franklin, "I love it."

Daniel didn't take his eyes off an arch-demon who was directing a battalion of demons to search a couple of passageways. "It has its charms," he said, "We are going to have to be careful. One alarm goes off, and it's all over."

Night Shade nodded as he too squinted at the arch-demon in the distance. "We have one shot guys, let's make it count. What was the plan again?"

Daniel returned the nod. "Okay, in exactly a minute I am going to cause the diversion, this will funnel the demons through the main passageway. Night Shade will have used his superspeed to quickly set up the satchel charges in that area during the initial stages of distraction. As the demons funnel through, Franklin will detonate the charges. The passageway will fall through to the cellars below, which are blocked. Franklin will then take out whatever other demons survived the fall and will cover Night Shade as he engages the arch-demon. You think you can handle the guy, Night Shade?"

Night Shade blinked with nervousness as he replied, "Yeah, I think I can, as long as Franklin has got my back."

Franklin winked and slapped Night Shade's back heartily as he said, "I've totally got it. I've got your back more than you've got it."

Night Shade pulled a face, and Daniel turned and started to walk away. "We have twenty seconds, brace yourselves."

With that, Daniel teleported himself just outside the decimated main entrance of the ruined fortress. He quickly cloaked himself from view and began to count down from twenty. As he hit zero, he uncloaked and released a massive blast of fire and heat. Immediately demons rushed from all corners of the fortress to engage him, and immediately they were incinerated by blasts of flames. Soon Daniel realized he was hopelessly outnumbered. Biting his lip, Daniel continued to expend huge amounts of energy to fight back the demons.

In the fortress, the effect of diversion became immediately known. A small party of demons ran up to the arch-demon and alerted him of the situation. The arch-demon nodded and quickly signaled the nearest group of demons to follow him. He then turned around and dashed off through to the main passageway. Franklin smiled when he saw what was happening: everything was going according to plan.

Quickly Franklin signaled to Night Shade and the two swiftly ran across the roof supports, trailing the demon group. Soon they entered the main passageway, where Franklin could see the satchel charges cleverly hidden. He scoped out the target explosive… and shot it. With a massive roar all the charges ignited and exploded, bringing the whole passage down. All of the demons fell down, some killed in the explosions, others were killed by falling masonry. However, the center group, the one containing the arch-demon, was safe, and just fell to the cellar below, unharmed. They immediately tried to escape the trap, but all the exits were blocked by large stones. Suddenly all the surviving demons that were guarding the arch-demon fell dead with sniper bullets in their heads. The arch-demon was alone.

Night Shade gave Franklin a quick hand-shake and leapt down to meet the trapped demon. The monster hissed loud and long as he saw the dimensional traveler, and immediately conjured up a demonic mace. Night Shade just nodded to him and conjured up a rapier. The two met in the middle and clashed weapons. The demon had ferocity and brutality on his side, but Night Shade was quick, and smart. For the most part, the arch-demon simply swung his mace, and Night Shade just dodged the attacks, but every time the demon attacked, he became more and more unbalanced, allowing Night Shade to stab his adversary now and then. Soon, the demon was bleeding from several wounds and was breathing heavily. Night Shade glanced up as Franklin shouted, "There are too many! I can't take them all out! Prepare for hostile reinforcements!"

Suddenly a demon leapt into the pit and grabbed Night Shade from behind. The arch-demon swung his mace forward, but Night Shade flipped the demon holding him into the attack, killing it instantly. However, Night Shade let out a yell as a spear pierced straight through his shoulder as another demon attacked him from behind. Night Shade whirled, blew off the head of the offender with a kinetic blast, and the turned to face the arch-demon only to take the mace full in the face. He flew backwards and smashed into a wall. He leapt straight up and hurled his rapier. It flew true and went straight into the arch-demon's weapon arm. The demon shrieked, but it was cut off as Franklin leapt from the roof supports and landed behind the monster, bringing his sniper rifle butt down on his head. Franklin ran up and grabbed Night Shade.

"Hey, Night, are you okay?"

Night Shade ran his hand over a bloody wound on his head and said, "I think so. It hurts, but I'll be fine."

Franklin grabbed the arch-demon and slung him over his shoulder. "Right, let's get the hell out of here."

Night Shade grabbed Franklin's arm, and sped up their bodies' molecules. The three then blazed out of the pit, through the main gate, past Daniel, and off to the meeting point. Daniel noticed the blur and knew that the plan had been a success. With the last of his strength, he released a massive explosion of fire and ran off to the meeting point. He glanced over his shoulder while running and raised his eyebrows as the entire fortress was lost in a sea of charging demons warriors. Breathing hard, Daniel simply ran to the limits of his endurance. He got to the point where Franklin and Night Shade were waiting, gave a deep, gasping breath, and collapsed. He raised a hand and gave them a thumbs-up.

"Mission accomplished. Let's get back to the Looking For Group dimension and find a nice place to interrogate this piece of refuse," Daniel said.

Franklin grinned as Night Shade opened the portal. "Shiny."

Dimension: My Little Pony

Planet: Equestria Earth

Specific Location: Ponyville

Time: A year after the death of Regal Crescent

Flaming Star and Twilight sat side-by-side as they waited patiently outside the doctor's office.

"So, do you really know this pony?" asked Twilight, her eyes wide.

Flaming Star shrugged, "I did… once. We were on a team, she was in charge of extraction. However, I thought for sure she died on my last mission. She must have gone through so much…"

Twilight's eyes shimmered with tears as she said, "I've read a lot of books on wounds and the healing of them, but what she has gone through… I've never seen anything like it! How is it possible that she is okay?"

Flaming Star grimaced. "She's not okay. I think she's slowly going crazy. All her willpower went into giving us that information, but it's all gone now…"

At that moment, the doctor walked in. "I've done all I can. You can visit her now, but be quiet, she's sleeping peacefully."

Twilight and Flaming Star trotted into the room and looked at Miranda. She was lying peacefully on the examination table, her body covered in bandages and bindings. Despite her being asleep, her body shook from fever, and exhaustion.

Suddenly she opened her eyes and screamed, "DEMONS! THEY'RE HERE! GET THEM AWAY FROM ME!"

The doctor rushed in and helped Twilight and Flaming Star restrain her. Miranda screamed and cried, and eventually the doctor was forced to sedate her.

Flaming Star's eyes were full of sadness as he said, "She's broken. What she has gone through…"

A tear fell from his eyes. He then turned around and said to Twilight, "There is nothing we can do now. Doctor, what should we do next?"

The doctor felt Miranda's brow as he said, "I'm really not sure. This pony has suffered so much that her mind has become unstable. I don't think it's bad enough that she needs to be sent to a mental hospital; her willpower is immense, but I think she will need friends and family to help her mind recuperate."

Flaming Star bit his lip. "This isn't good. I don't think she has any friends anymore, they're all dead. I also never knew who her family was or where they lived. We're all that she has now."

Twilight nodded. "We've got to help her. I'll let her stay with me."

Flaming Star pressed his ears against his head as he grimaced. "You understand that she is going to sway in and out of lunacy, right?"

Twilight nodded. "I understand, but she needs a friend right now, sane or not, and that is what we're going to give her."

Flaming Star kissed her and the cheek. "You're the best pony in all of Equestria."

Twilight returned the kiss.

Dimension: My Little Pony

Planet: Equestria Earth

Specific Location: Ponyville Border

Time: A year after the death of Regal Crescent

Sunset, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, the CMC, and Spike all sat in a park, doing absolutely nothing.

"Er… is there somethin' we're a supposed to be doin'?" asked Apple Blossom after a really long pause.

Sunset blinked, "Um… no. Twilight and Flaming Star are handling Miranda. We just… wait…"

"Booorrringgg!" exclaimed Rainbow, "Isn't there SOMETHING we could do?"

"We could play duck-duck-goose!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

Rarity pulled a face. "Oh dear, I really think all that running would mess up my mane."

Applejack rolled her eyes, "We have to somethin'! We can't just sit here and wait 'till somethin' happens on its own!"

Fluttershy blinked as she snuggled close to Sunset. "I don't know, this peace and quiet is really nice."

Scootaloo pulled a face, and Sweetie Bell exclaimed, "Really what? I have no idea what is going on!"

Sunset sighed. Then he said, "Well… we have the Summer Harvest Parade coming up in a few days. We should all talk about that!"

Suddenly Spike grimaced and belched out a parchment. Rarity picked it up. There was a long pause.

Suddenly Rainbow snatched it up and said, "Aw, to hay with it, Twilight would have read it to us anyway."

She tore it open and read it. Then she exclaimed, "Wow! Princess Celestia says that this year she will be attending our parade! And she'll be in a float of her own!"

Rarity gave a little exclamation of excitement. "Oh how posh! This will be wonderful! I will have to make sure everything is perfect!"

Sunset smiled, "I agree."

Apple Blossom began to bounce. "This'll be great! Come on Cutie Mark Crusaders, we have brainstorming to do! Sunset, would you like to come and help us?"

Sunset jumped up, "I would love to! Fluttershy, will you be okay with Starlight Amber?"

Fluttershy kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be fine, sweetie."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm outta here!"

With that, everypony dispersed.

As Sunset and the CMC were trotting to the clubhouse, they came across Twilight and Flaming Star, who was levitating the cot with an unconscious Miranda in it.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell, "Is she okay?"

Flaming Star sighed. "Sort of. She's okay in body… but her mind isn't quite right anymore."

"What do you mean?" exclaimed Scootaloo, whose face was a picture of worry, "She seemed fine when we found her!"

Twilight shook her head sadly. "She was barely holding herself together. After feinting, her will broke… and so did her mind. The doctor said that she could become better… she would just need time, and friends."

Sunset smiled, "She came to the right place. Oh, Twilight! Spike got a message from Princess Celestia! Rainbow Dash opened it and said that Princess Celestia said that she would be coming for the Summer Harvest Parade!"

Twilight gasped in joy, "I forgot about that all! That's wonderful!"

Even Flaming Star cracked a smile as he said, "I suppose we should make a float. I've always wanted to make a float."

Twilight seized him in a hug and said, "We should! We could make a giant book float!"

Sunset snorted with a chuckle as he and the CMC passed by. "You have fun with that. We're off."

With that, Sunset and the Cutie Marks Crusaders passed on by. Flaming Star turned to Twilight. "Let's get Miranda to your house… are you SURE this is what you want? I could just take her to my house."

Twilight shook her head, "I'm sure. I would like her company."

Flaming Star sighed. "Okay, but don't forget you have Spike with you… and that Miranda is pretty much insane right now. She will need a lot of attention."

Twilight gave him a huge smile. "Oh, I'll be fine! Let's go and make a float!"

The three quickly trotted off to Twilight's house. Silently, they lay down Miranda's cot next to Twilight's bed. Suddenly, Spike entered. He looked at Miranda. "Who is this? Wow! What happened to her?"

Twilight sighed. "Her name is Miranda. She's a dimensional traveler who has been tortured for a while by demons. She's not right in her mind anymore, so we're letting her stay here with us."

Spike blinked nervously. "Um… stay with us? What do you… is she crazy?"

Flaming Star frowned. "Yeah, she has mental problems due to the pain she has endured."

At that moment, Miranda let out a scream and began to thrash around in her bed. Twilight moved to her and began to pat one of her hoofs, saying, "It's okay… you're safe now…"

Miranda calmed down, and went back to sleep. Spike, who had leapt and hid behind Flaming Star the moment of Miranda's outburst, peaked around Flaming Star as he said, "Wow… That's sort of…"

Twilight sighed again. "She's staying with us, Spike. She needs friends, and we're going to give her some."

Flaming Star smiled. "You're a wonderful pony, Twilight. Let's go downstairs and maybe start some drawing for a float."

Twilight brightened as she said, "That's a wonderful idea! I think I have a few books on float-making."

As they trotted downstairs, Flaming Star laughed, "You have books on everything. Anyway, I'll grab some paper, you grab some pens."

As the two continued downstairs, Spike slowly moved up to Miranda. Her body shook as it worked overtime to heal the wounds. Tears began to well in his eyes as he hesitantly reached forward and placed a claw lightly on a dark branding mark on her hip that was scorched deep into her tender flesh.

Spike then turned around and ran downstairs to join Twilight and Flaming Star around a drawing board. They worked on the design for a book-shaped float for the rest of the day; however, as the sun was setting in the west hills, Miranda woke up.

Slowly she sat up and looked around. Quietly she called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Twilight and Sunset scrambled over each other as they rushed upstairs to greet her.

"You're awake!" exclaimed Twilight, giving Miranda a huge smile, "I was hoping you were okay!"

Miranda blinked. "Who are you?"

"Oh! I'm Twilight. This is Flaming Star, or, as you know him, James. You remember James, don't you?"

Miranda blinked. "James? What's wrong with me? The images… the dreams… they won't go away. The voices are too loud…"

Flaming Star's eyes were full of sorrow as Twilight went up and patted Miranda's hoof. "You'll be fine, Miranda, you will be fine."

Miranda gave a shaking sigh, "The demons… there are so many… SO MANY!"

Miranda tried to jump out of bed, but simply collapsed and blacked out.

Flaming Star sighed and turned to Twilight. "She's going to be like that for a while I guess. She seems stable as of yet, but we will have to be careful."

Twilight nodded and turned to Spike. "Spike, could you watch over Miranda for a while?"

Spike nodded wordlessly, his face a picture of pained concern. Seeing any pony in this state hurt him. Quietly Twilight and Flaming Star went downstairs again to finish their plans on the book float. As this transpired, a little bit away, Sunset, Sweetie Bell, Scootaloo, and Apple Blossom worked on a float of their own for the upcoming Summer Harvest Parade.

Note: What, no feedback? You're hurting my feelings guys! Just kidding. Just don't forget the R&R thingy! Oh, what do you think, should I be posting new chapters at 4:00 pm, 5:00 pm, or 6:00 pm PST regularly?