Chapter 9
A new day
After me and Rainbow Dash ate our breakfast the doctor told us I was free to go and for me not to do anything strenuous,of course I totally ignored his regard for my
safety and challenged Rainbow to a race,"First one to Cloudsdale wins." She looked at me,"You know you have to be a pegasus to be able to even set foot in
Cloudsdale right?" I just chuckle as Fluttershy walks up to us with Lance and Lucian,"Hi Strider, I brought them like you asked." The two chao cling to my
arms,"Thanks again Fluttershy I hope they weren't too much trouble." She just shakes her head and Rainbow Dash speaks," Those are some cute pets you got, to
bad that they're just gonna be extra weight for you." I just shake my head think about who I'm going to fuse with for the race. When I was raising both of them, they
were superior chao,but they needed a "spirit animal" so I gave Lance the phoenix and Lucian the dragon. After 2 minutes of thinking I picked Lance and we fuse
together with a bright orb of flaming energy surrounding us."What the heck is going on?!" The orb vanishes and I just float above the ground with wings, orange fur
with yellow eyes,"Think this will get me to Cloudsdale Rainbow?" Her and Fluttershy were just gawking at me,"My word, you look, magnificent Strider." I turn to
Fluttershy,"If you guys think this is cool just wait til me and Lucain get together, speakin of you mind watching him Fluttershy?" She lets Lucain ride her back as me
and Rainbow Dash take our place at the starting line."Hey Rainbow, how about we make this interesting?" I just see a huge smile form,"Alright what are the
conditions?" "If I win you have to answer a question for me, if I lose,I owe you dinner, how's that deal?" She just nods in agreement and we blast out of the starting
line. For awhile I was leading but Rainbow soon caught up and passed me at the halfway point, I figure I wouldn't exhaust myself and let her have were close to
Cloudsdale and I used the ace in my sleeve, fire surrounded me,"Phoenix Burst" I rocketed past Rainbow and made it to Cloudsdale two seconds before she did,"...ok
ask away.."She hung her head low as she landed. I change back to my old color scheme of dark blue with red eyes with Lance hanging on my shoulder,"This isn't the
question, but I'm guessing you hate to lose?" She nodded but looked at me with a huge smile,"But that was soooo AWESOME!" She gives me a grand tour of
Cloudsdale, from the weather factory. flight school, all the shops and such, then finally her place. As she opens the door I get even more stares from the other
pegasi,"What? Haven't you all seen a hedgehog in the clouds before." I walk insider to find a nice and cozy home, aside from everything being fluffy and cloudy. She
sits on the sofa and motions me to come over."Alright Rainbow, here's the question, what do you see in me?" I sit by her,"Wow, you don't beat around the bush do
you?" I shake my head in response,"...Honestly...I don't know, I mean besides your good looks, your awesome feats of athleticism, I just don't know. But when I'm
around you, my heart just starts to race..." She says with a smile on her face as she starts to turn the brightest shade of red,"Anyone ever tell you reds a good color
on you?" She just giggles and cuddled me. We look into each others eyes and I move my face closer to hers, and vice versa until we kiss each other. I would say I felt
a spark between us, but it was more like a flame. After two minutes we break the kiss,"Wow Strider, your good at this." I merely chuckle,"Its funny, cause I'm not
really good at this kind of thing." She gave me an inquisitive look,"Really, you seem like the kind of guy ladies would kill for." Proper choice of words for one woman I
have in mind,"You wouldn't be entirely wrong on that, but in all seriousness, the only...*ahem* girl I've been with was one named Harley, and it didn't end well
between us."All of a sudden, electricity surges through me and I fall to the ground,"GAHHHH! DAMMIT HARLEY!" Rainbow just looks at me like I'm insane until a
snake appears from my back,"What can I say Strider, I just get hot under the collar when you mention me." The surges stop and I grab Harley,"What the hell are you
doing here Harley?" She just laughs,"Well you've already shared you past with one of your new girlfriends, so I just decided why not share a bit more with your new
one?" I get angry and start to tighten my grip on her,"Don't you dare..." Rainbow speaks,"What is she talking about Strider?" I hang my head in shame, like I wanna
tell her about what I really am. I focus energy in my right hand and touch her head,"See Rainbow it's like this." After an hour of her seeing the memories of my past,
I move my hand."You see Rainbow...All I am...I'm just a puppet for this monster." She kisses me and wraps her hooves around my neck. She breaks the kiss and
looks at me with tears in her eyes,"You're not a monster Strider." She buries her head in my chest and cries a bit more,"Harley why do you like to see me suffer so
much. You've already destroyed my life back in my old home, why do you wanna destroy my new one. She disappears back into my body and in my mind she
says,"Because that's what I do..." Those words echoed in my mind as I take myself and Rainbow back to the couch. "Is she gone?" I nod my head and notice a faint
glow coming from my hoodie pocket,"Another one?" I reach into my pocket and pull out a gemstone that matches my current"color pallet". Rainbow Dash looks at the
stone and places her hoof on it, it suddenly glows,"Rainbow Dash, this is the stone of Truth, it contains the dark truths that Strider has locked away in his mind. Since
you now know his story,he believes he can trust you with part of his soul."She just stares at me intently and kisses me again,"You're trusting me? With a piece of
your soul?" I just nod in agreement and kiss her back as the glow fades.
In the "black room" Xiaomei sits on her throne of knowledge,"So, he finally found someone he can truly give his life too, I wonder how this will turn out for the other
girl..Rarity. Will she be able to accept that fake that Strider gave to her?"