Rest In Peace
Kobe Bryant

1978 - 2020

Father
LA Laker No. 8 No. 24
One of, if not THE most, famous Basketball players in history.

You will be missed by many, and remembered by many more.

TWILIGHT SPARKLE POV

It's been 3 days since we defeated Nightmare Moon, and returned her to being Princess Luna, Princess Celestia's sister. 3 days since our encounter with the evil dragon, Nivek. And 3 days since Ashley was put into a coma.

I'm sitting in a hospital room, talking with Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, who are in hospital beds, recovering from their injuries from our fight with Nivek. Ashley was next to Applejack, who was across from Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Though I wouldn't really call it a 'fight'. I had no doubt in my mind that had Nivek decided to actually fight back, we would all be in Hospital bedsAs I looked over at Ashley, I remembered when I heard the condition that my three friends were in.

Flashback

Me, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were standing outside the hospital room where our friends were getting examined. Suddenly the door opened and a pink mare with a light purple and white mane and tail, deep blue eyes, and a cutie mark of a white cross with a pink heart on each corner, walked out of the room.

"so, Nurse, How are they?" I asked nervously.

"Rainbow Dash and Applejack are going to be fine." the nurse said cheerily. "Rainbow Dash has a concussion, severe bruising on the front of her body and a cracked rib and will have to wear a wing harness for the next week, so as to not disturb the mending bone. Applejack had a cracked hoof and a sprained ankle, and will be required to wear a horse-shoe cast for a month, and will need to be careful for another 2 weeks after that. Fluttershy has 2 fractured ribs and 4 bruised, and will need to take pain medication for the next month or two, and refrain from strainuous activities. They will all need to stay here for a few days, a week at most, But other than that, they're in perfect health."

(A/n: I'm gonna say that because their world is magical, their injuries heal much faster than on earth.)

"And Ashley?" I asked. Nurse Sweetheart's face fell into a more serious look.

"The poor mare's magically exhausted." The nurse said as she looked at her clipboard. "Her body has put itself in a coma-like state to recover the lost energy, although this is the first time I've ever seen an earth pony in this state. Usually it's unicorn fillies that over exert themselves, but never this extreme."

"Wait, earth ponies have magic." Rarity asked, confused.

"They do. however, unlike Unicorns and Pegasi, an Earth Pony's magic is primarily focused on enhancing their bodies." I explained. "Which is why they are capable of performing feats of strength, such as Applejack's family bucking apple trees to harvest the fruit. Very few Earth Ponies are able to actively access their magic, though not for lack of effort or research." Rarity gave me a look, but didn't question it too much. Nurse Sweetheart looked at me impressed, but just ushered us out.

END

I was broken from my memories when a groan got my attention. I looked over at Ashley, and saw her moving around in her bed. I smiled before I trotted over to Ashley's bed, as she opened her eyes. Her eyes immediately darted around the room, as if to take in every available detail.

"Ashley." Applejack said happily. "Ya feeling OK, Shugga-cube?"

"Who are you?" Ashley asked with a frown. "And how do you know my name?"

"It's me, doll." Applejack said with a hint of worry in her voice. "Applejack."

Ashley looked at Applejack, something flashing in her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure I'd remember meeting a mare that looked like you." She said with a wink. I looked over at Applejack, and saw a light blush on her muzzle. I turned back to Ashley, confused that she didn't know who Applejack was.

"What's the last thing you remember?" I asked her.

"hmm..." she looked up, as if to physically look into her memories. "I Remember walking down the road, heading towards Ponyville, when I heard one of the bushes to the side of the road rustle. I looked over to see what it was, when something hit me in the back of the head and everything went black."

'Nivek must have ambushed her.' I thought. "So you don't remember anything since?"

"Not really." She said. "the most I can get is, is vague impressions and feelings. Brief glimpses of memories, and conversations."

I nodded sadly.

"We know your name, 'cause we met few days ago." Applejack said calmly. I saw Rainbow about to add to the conversation, when Nurse Sweetheart walked into the room.

""Good to see you're up!" She said happily. "How are you feeling?"

Would you like the actual answer, or the sarcastic one?" Ashley asked flippantly. Her eyes widened, as if surprised at what she just said. "Where the hay did that come from?"

"Your mouth?" Rainbow dash said jokingly.

"I've never been a sarcastic pony." She said bewildered. "sure, I speak my mind, but I was never mean or sarcastic about it."

'Might be an after effect of being possessed by such an evil being.' I thought to myself, troubled.

"eh-hem." Nurse Sweetheart said slightly impatient.

"Oh." Ashley said, lightly embarrassed. "hungry mostly. A bit tired and weak, and I can't feel my left foreleg, but other than that I feel fine." The nurse wrote everything Ashley said onto her clipboard.

"I'm not surprised. Magic based exhaustion will do that." Nurse Sweetheart said calmly.

Ashley nodded and laid back down, a thoughtful, yet troubled, expression on her face. She then turned to me with an expectant expression on her face.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions." I said in a gentle voice.

"How do you know me?" She asked immediately. "How did I meet you, how long and how well do we know each other?"

"This is going to be a bit tough to believe." I said hesitantly. I then explained everything that happened 3 days ago. The whole time I was talking, Ashley's eyes darted across my face, as if trying to find something. A half hour later, I finished talking. Ashley continued looking at me for a minute or two, before she nodded.

"That matches up with what little I have." She said. "But I'm not sure what to do now." I cocked my head to the side. "I don't have any money, I don't have somewhere to stay, I don't even know if I'm still the same pony anymore." She started to tear up, and it hurt my heart to see my friend cry. I put my hoof on hers, in an effort to comfort her.

"Don't worry." I said gently.

"Yeah." Applejack said. "I'm sure we can help ya get back in the saddle." Ashley sniffed and grew a strained smile.

"Thank you." She said. "Thank you." Ashsley then let out a yawn. "I think I'm gonna take a nap, try to keep the volume down." Ashley closed her eyes and I turned to Applejack and smiled gently.

"See you later AJ, bye Rainbow." I said. "I need to do more research on possession and see if there are any side effects we need to be aware of."

"You didn't find any of that in the last 3 days?" Rainbow dash asked.

"There haven't been many cases of possession since it is a form of soul magic, which is outlawed in Equestria." I walked towards the door. "As such, it is quite difficult to find information on it." With that I left the hospital room, and walked down the hallway towards the exit.
'And I cant seem to find anything on what kind of dragon Nivek is.' I thought frustrated. 'No recorded sub species of dragon fits his description, and I don't think this is something worth bothering princess Celestia with.'

I continued to walk down the road, deep in thought until I reached the library/my current house. Opening the door with my magic, I went straight for the library, intent on getting answers.

NIVEK POV

I laid in the hospital bed as I listened to Twilight leave the room. Once She was gone, I concentrated and disconnected my consciousness from my current form, and sent my mind to my other body, which is currently in the form of a raven with bright green eyes, who was roosting on the roof of the town hall. I opened my eyes and took in my new surroundings, letting my mind adjust to my 'new' body. I smirked as I spread by wings and few to the hospital to mess with my 'friends'.

I found the building quickly, and used the connection to my other body to find the correct room. Once I found it, I flew up to the window, and landed on the windowsill. Looking in I saw that Rarity and Pinkie had arrived and were talking with Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy, obviously trying to talk in hushed tones as to not wake my body up. suddenly pinkie started to rub her knees, as if they started aching. I smirked as much as I could as a bird, and started pecking the window, gaining their attention. I pecked a bit harder, cracking it a bit and each one following it made the spider web bigger, making their eyes widened in fear. Rarity rushed over to the window and threw the window open.

"Shoo, shoo." Rarity hissed, waving her front hooves at me as I cawed at her and fluttered away from the windowsill. Feeling playful, I swooped past her and into the room, cawing loudly as I flew around the room, swooping low above Rainbow Dash and Applejack. I split my mind between my two bodies, allowing me to control them both at the same time.

I made Ashley's eyes squint shut, and placed a pillow over her head. My raven body was suddenly surrounded by a light blue aura and I stopped moving. I squirmed a bit as I felt my body sailing through the air and back through the window. The aura dissipated as I regained control of my body. Flapping my wings, I looked back at the window, seeing Rarity glaring at me. I flapped my wings harder, and dived for the window. Rarity yelped, and slammed the window closed, locking it for good measure. I folded my wings against my body, and slammed into the windowpane, shattering it with a loud crash. Ashley growled in frustration and threw her pillow at me. I let it hit me with a squawk, and fell to the ground. Ashley got out of the bed, unhooked the IV and marched over to me. I managed to get the pillow off me, but my pony body kicked me against a wall.

"I'm trying to sleep, you stupid bird." Ashley then launched my bird form out the window. As I flew away, I set my raven form on auto pilot to fly back into the Everfree Forest as I made Ashley get back in her bed, reattach the IV, and lay back down.

"Can I get my pillow?" Ashley asked annoyed. Pinkie pie nodded and grabbed the pillow from the floor and handed it to me. "Thank you." I dusted it off, and placed it behind my head as I flopped down on my bed.

"What the hay was that about?" Applejack asked confused.

"Probably Nivek messing with us." I sighed. The other girls looked at me. "From what you told me, Nivek is able to transform into a mist-like form. What's to say that he can't take another form like Nightmare Moon did with the Shadowbolts?"

They looked at each other and then nodded to themselves, as if convinced. I closed my eyes and disconnected my consciousness, reconnecting fully to my other body, which I had fly back to the Everfree forest, to plan "Nivek's" next move.