Chapter 1: Anew
At first, Moonstone thought he was back home in Rainbow Palace. He simply lay there with his eyes closed, awaiting the faint sounds of the lesser rainbow ponies' bickering, Skydancer's futile attempts at regaining order, Sunlight's cheeky giggle, then the sound of Windy's voice as she coaxed him out of bed.
But there was nothing but silence. He opened his eyes, the panic and fear from yesterday returning with a vengeance. This wasn't home.this was a dried-up plain! Why was he here?
Then he remembered. He could never go home. He had been banished. His stomach twisted into a knot of anxiety. That meant Starflower would be casting the memory spell soon.he may have been a lesser rainbow, but he was still powerful. His mind raced through thoughts, desperately trying to memorize the faces of his friends. Parasol's lethargic smirk, Starshine's bold face, Windy's smile.wait. wasn't Windy the orange one? No, that was Flutterbye. .Who was Flutterbye again? He could've sworn the name sounded familiar.
In mere minutes, the blue rainbow pony had forgotten everything.
"Why's it always ME that's gotta go find Baby Surprise?" Firefly grumbled to herself as she flitted over the Seadryn Plains, "Twinkler's gotta stop believing him whenever he says he forgot his teddy bear!" Her keen eyes scanned the sea of withered yellow, contrasting with the teak- gray sky. Suddenly, she noticed something. In the middle of the dead shades of the grass was a splotch of brilliance. Something powder blue. and red, orange, yellow. The whole spectrum!
"Now there's something you don't see every day," Firefly said to nobody in particular as she sailed down.
Upon closer inspection, the dazzling blot was another pony. A stallion, she guessed, judging from his size. She had approached him from behind, so the pony hadn't noticed her yet, as far as she could tell. On his rump, a silver planet ringed in blue and surrounded by small moon glittered in the faint light that streamed through the oily clouds. But the most amazing of all was his hair. Both his mane and tail were the exact colour of the rainbow! Well, as far as she remembered. Finally, the pink pegasus spoke up. "Pardon me, are your wings broken?" The stallion turned, and Firefly suddenly realized the stallion had no wings. In fact, she was speaking to a unicorn. She gave a startled gasp and turned, about to bolt, when the unicorn stepped in her path. She reared, giving a startled cry. "Hey! I'm warning you, caster, you try to pull that magical mumbo-jumbo on me and I'll kick your teeth so hard, your tail will hurt!" The stallion just stared at her, magenta eyes static with confusion and a dull, inner ache. He took another step towards Firefly. The pegasus turned and ran, taking to the skies as quickly as she could.
At first, Moonstone thought he was back home in Rainbow Palace. He simply lay there with his eyes closed, awaiting the faint sounds of the lesser rainbow ponies' bickering, Skydancer's futile attempts at regaining order, Sunlight's cheeky giggle, then the sound of Windy's voice as she coaxed him out of bed.
But there was nothing but silence. He opened his eyes, the panic and fear from yesterday returning with a vengeance. This wasn't home.this was a dried-up plain! Why was he here?
Then he remembered. He could never go home. He had been banished. His stomach twisted into a knot of anxiety. That meant Starflower would be casting the memory spell soon.he may have been a lesser rainbow, but he was still powerful. His mind raced through thoughts, desperately trying to memorize the faces of his friends. Parasol's lethargic smirk, Starshine's bold face, Windy's smile.wait. wasn't Windy the orange one? No, that was Flutterbye. .Who was Flutterbye again? He could've sworn the name sounded familiar.
In mere minutes, the blue rainbow pony had forgotten everything.
"Why's it always ME that's gotta go find Baby Surprise?" Firefly grumbled to herself as she flitted over the Seadryn Plains, "Twinkler's gotta stop believing him whenever he says he forgot his teddy bear!" Her keen eyes scanned the sea of withered yellow, contrasting with the teak- gray sky. Suddenly, she noticed something. In the middle of the dead shades of the grass was a splotch of brilliance. Something powder blue. and red, orange, yellow. The whole spectrum!
"Now there's something you don't see every day," Firefly said to nobody in particular as she sailed down.
Upon closer inspection, the dazzling blot was another pony. A stallion, she guessed, judging from his size. She had approached him from behind, so the pony hadn't noticed her yet, as far as she could tell. On his rump, a silver planet ringed in blue and surrounded by small moon glittered in the faint light that streamed through the oily clouds. But the most amazing of all was his hair. Both his mane and tail were the exact colour of the rainbow! Well, as far as she remembered. Finally, the pink pegasus spoke up. "Pardon me, are your wings broken?" The stallion turned, and Firefly suddenly realized the stallion had no wings. In fact, she was speaking to a unicorn. She gave a startled gasp and turned, about to bolt, when the unicorn stepped in her path. She reared, giving a startled cry. "Hey! I'm warning you, caster, you try to pull that magical mumbo-jumbo on me and I'll kick your teeth so hard, your tail will hurt!" The stallion just stared at her, magenta eyes static with confusion and a dull, inner ache. He took another step towards Firefly. The pegasus turned and ran, taking to the skies as quickly as she could.