Note: Well, sorry, but no Flashbacks today! I will explain what is going on in the later author's notes. Time to visit Summer and Lyric. Dang, I like these parts so much. To Russet Burbank, Rarity should seem more experienced. Even after she had her powers taken from her, she and Doxia continued to work together so that she would truly understand her abilities should she ever need them again. They share a kind of brother-sister connection now. Okay, here we go!

Dimension: My Little Pony

Planet: Equestria Earth

Specific Location: The Stallion Empire

Time: Six days after Lyric discovered Summer

The snow was a sparkling white, with little pinpoints of cold blue dancing along the fluffy expanse. The sky was a crisp blue, and the sun shown cold yet bold, with golden rays of warmth streaming through the awe-inspiring mountain-tops. At the feet of these awesome mountains were two little specks, these two specks were Lyric and Summer.

The two ponies trudged through the snow and ice as they worked their way through the past. Behind them was the large pine forest with the gorge, before them, on the distant horizon, was another forest. As of now, they were making their way through a small intervening strip of snow.

As the two ponies continued to trot on their way to the next forest range, Lyric described this scene with alacrity, causing Summer to sigh and sway in satisfaction as she drank in her friend's description of the unseen surroundings.

"So… majestic…" breathed Summer, "Now, tell me, what about the forest before us?"

"I actually happen to know that forest quite well," replied Lyric, "It is a whole lot more open than the forest we just left, and I am pretty sure there are now gorges or Trixie's Hoof Tanks lying in wait for us there. Just a couple of clean, cool streams and beautiful miniature waterfalls. I am sure you will enjoy it, and, since I know it well, we will be able to hide in it for a while."

"A stream," sighed Summer, "It's been a while since I've been able to dip my muzzle in an icy, refreshing brook! I can't wait!"

With a giggle, Summer broke loose of Lyric's grip and galloped a dozen meters ahead. She then turned around and called, "Come on slow-poke! I may be blind, but I think I can get to the tree line first!"

And with that, Summer galloped away in a surprisingly straight line, straight to the forest ahead. Lyric could not help but snort playfully as he took off after her. The two went neck-and-neck for about a minute as they raced through the crisp air, sparkling cascade of white ice showering upwards around their hooves.

Then, suddenly, Summer stopped. Lyric, at first, took advantage of this to put on a burst of speed, but, when he realized she did not pick up the pace again, stopped and turned around. His stomach immediately did a somersault as he saw the distressed look on her face.

"What is it?" asked Lyric hoarsely as he approached Summer.

"I hear… rotors starting up, and a few shouts…" murmured Summer, her eyes widening in horror.

Then, with a throbbing roar, a helicopter rose above the treetops of the forest they had just left. This helicopter was black, large, and was towing a small armored vehicle. It rose a score or so meters above the green and white treetops before slowing its ascent to a stagnant hover. Then there was a pause. Suddenly another helicopter rose, and then another, and then another. Four helicopters hovered in formation, their noses pointing straight for the dwarfed figures of Lyric and Summer.

And with that, the helicopters shot over the forest range towards the unfortunate duo. As each respective helicopter cleared the tree line of the forest, they dropped its vehicle and then swooped away back to whence it came. The moment each vehicle hit the ground, its engines roared and snow spewed away from its half-tracks in dirty waves. When all four vehicles were on the ground, they lurched forward in formation, and proceeded to bear down on Summer and Lyric.

Lyric's heart dropped into his stomach as he saw the vehicles in the distance starting to race toward them. No doubt they were on a mission to end their lives. Head still swimming with how fast things had soured, Lyric seized Summer's hoof and shouted, "Run!"

The two turned tail and galloped off at top speed. But they had only gone a score of meters before Summer tripped, skidded, and then curled up in a ball.

Lyric instantaneously felt compelled to leave his downed friend behind, but in a second he rejected that idea for folly. Summer was his friend and guide, he could never leave her behind. Skidding to a stop, he turned about and ran to her, shouting, "Summer?! What's the matter?!"

"The noise!" sobbed Summer, "There's this buzzing sound… it's everywhere… It's getting… It's getting worse!"

Summer's wail rose to a throat-stripping scream as she began to thrash in the snow in pain. Lyric blinked in horror. What was going on? Was the enemy using some sub-sonic attack or something to bring down his friend? Whatever it was, it seemed to be working, for Summer had been totally incapacitated by the sub-sonic attack. With that went all hopes of escape. They were doomed.

Once again Lyric felt compelled to run, but, once again, he realized that he could no longer imagine life without his friend. And, besides, even if he got away, his conscious would continue to plague him until Trixie's Hoof soldiers found and killed him too.

No, this was how he wanted to go: with his best friend. Slowly sinking down, he wrapped his front hooves around Summer. He pulled the unconscious mare close to his chest and closed his eyes, waiting for the end.

However, before the armored vehicles even draw near, there was a massive explosion of light on the horizon, as if someone had dropped a nuclear bomb. Lyric's eyes shot open, and his stared wide-eyed at the new scene developing before him. A massive shockwave of purple light was rippling through the sky from some point in the vast distance. This pulse of energy spread throughout the land, filling the horizon. The sparkling points of purplish-light continued to ripple forward, and it cascaded towards him and Summer, passing by the charging vehicles with ease.

Lyric simply stared wide-eyed at this new development. Was this yet another weapon devised by Frozen Heart to eliminate him? Well, he was about to find out.

The purple pulse of energy reached them and bathed them in light. The second it touched Summer… everything exploded. A massive flash of light erupted from her, and a shockwave of pure kinetic energy sent Lyric, and the nearest of the attacking armored vehicles, flying backwards. Lyric came to a painful stop in the snow. Groaning in pain, he pulled his face out of the ground and spat out a mixture of snow and blood. As he glanced upward, his stomach flipped once again. This new shockwave had triggered another hellish event: an avalanche.

With an ear-splitting roar, a massive tsunami of ice and snow coalesced and shot down the ridge of the nearest mountain. The frothing and writhing sea of white rumbled down the slope exploded onto the scene… missing Lyric but burying Summer, and all four attack vehicles. Mouth opened wide in a silent scream, Lyric covered his ears and curled up into a ball as the sky was filled with the unending clamor of the avalanche. However, just as the noise and tremoring got to the point where Lyric thought for sure his sanity would snap, everything calmed down.

Groaning, Lyric dragged his taxed body from the snow and looked up drearily. The entire strip of snow that they had crossed had been replaced with a white wall of ice, frozen dirt, and snow. At first nothing seemed to register as Lyric continued to gaze upon the wall… and then his heart froze as solid as the ice before him. Summer was in there.

Half-choking, half-sobbing, Lyric rushed to the decimated scene before him and began to dig frantically with his hooves. He dug for a minute before he drew back to blow on his frozen hooves and contemplate.

He needed to get his nerves under control if he wanted to stand even the slightest chance of finding his friend. Pushing his hysteria back barely, Lyric trembled in grief, shock, and horror as he struggled to think about all the possible areas the snowfall could have swept Summer to. After a bit of experienced inspecting, Lyric chose to dig through a large patch of snow several meters to his left.

Leaping upon it with a will, Lyric dug like a wild beast, tearing through the fluffy white snow in a mad effort to recover his lost friend. Seconds passed, then minutes, then hours. The sun had reached high in the sky before Lyric stopped, his body shaking even more now from exhaustion and grief.

Slowly sitting on his haunches, Lyric shook his head. What was he going to do now? He had spent his whole life a loner, but these four days had taught him more about friendship, love, and compassion than anything had in his entire existence. It was all thanks to Summer, his one-and-only friend… and now she was gone.

A single, hot tear rolled from his right eye to splash down onto the ice. It fell in a sparkling display of light, refracting the noonday sun's rays with rainbow-like brilliance.

Lyric glanced down to look at the final resting place of his lone tear… and his throat caught. There was a tuft of mane, just beside the contact point of his tear and the snow. Could that piece of mane belong to Summer?

Hope revitalizing his strength tenfold, Lyric attacked the snow again with a will, and this time it paid off. It took an entire hour, but eventually Lyric managed to dig a massive hole… And at the bottom of that hole was a sodden, forsaken filly: Summer.

She was covered in snow and frozen mud, and her mane was straggly and disheveled. There were cuts and bruises in many places, and her eyes were tightly shut.

Hope now combating an overwhelming sense of fear, Lyric rolled Summer onto her back as he checked for a heartbeat. He gave a sob of pure joy when he realized that, in fact, there was one. By some miracle, Summer's strange, mystical powers had saved her life yet again. However, unfortunately, she was still in a coma, and Lyric had no idea when she would ever awaken. But that did not matter. Simply the fact that she was still alive was enough to send a searing jolt of warm joy through the body of Lyric.

"Well, first-things-first," murmured Lyric to himself, still recovering from shock, "I need to get you cleaned and warmed up…"

Hoisting Summer onto his back, Lyric floundered his way out of the hole he had just made and struggled through the sea of snow the avalanche had deposited. Huffing in exhaustion, Lyric straightened up and began to drag his tired body towards the forest before him, leaving the avalanche, the gorge, and the buried enemy vehicles behind.

His hooves trembled, and his vision was blurred from tiredness, but Lyric was determined to get Summer to safety. Hours passed as he dragged his battered and bruised body through the freezing snow on his way to the forest, but, finally, he made it to the tree line. Breath coming ragged gasps, Lyric made his way through the trees towards a place in the forest that he knew possessed a small stream and a rocky alcove. The sun was just beginning to set when he finally stumbled upon the perfect setup: a small, unfrozen stream cut through the icy foliage, with a little cave neighboring it. The clearing was cozy and shielded by a ring of trees, and the sky was shrouded by a myriad of branches. This was the perfect place to hide for now.

Lyric wanted nothing more to faint, but he knew that if he did that, he could die, and Summer would pass away for sure. So, despite the blurred vision and loud buzzing noise bouncing within his head, Lyric pushed himself back from the edge of collapse and started to make a fire. Once he did that, he rolled Summer close to the crackling flames. As the warmth began to heat her up, he rubbed and massaged her body firmly, hoping to get her blood flow going.

When he was sure he could hear her heart rate going normally, Lyric sighed in relief. "The worst is past," he muttered to himself, "Now let's clean off this dirt…"

He gently grabbed the scruff of her neck and lowered her into the stream. The icy water cleaned off the blood, dirt, and frost covering Summer's body. Gently Lyric washed her legs, neck, ears, and stomach.

"Oh Summer," sighed Lyric out-loud as he gently rubbed the soft fur on her belly, "What happened? Why won't you wake up?"

Slowly he hoof drifted to her navel. His brain barely was registering his actions as it drifted even lower, past her line of innocence. Then, with a gasp, he sharply pulled back his hoof. What had he been thinking? She was at his mercy, but she was also his best friend, he could not defile her like that.

Even though he technically was all alone, Lyric's face burned with shame as he pulled Summer out of the water. He then plopped her down by the fire once again to dry. And with that, he collapsed a couple meters away, passing out from sheer exhaustion.

There the two lay, unconscious, as the sun disappeared behind the west mountain range.

Dimension: Rerenhaw

Planet: Rerenhaw

Specific Location: The Council Room

Time: Six days after Lyric discovered Summer

Mattimeo stood in an empty Rerenhaw Council room, sifting through reports. He had been working tirelessly for days now, searching for a way to track down Orion. But, to his surprise, he had been unable to do anything so far. This was a shock because Orion may be good, but he always made some miniscule mistake. It was, in fact, a small mistake that Orion had made eons ago that allowed Mattimeo to track down Orion in the first place and set the Inquisition on him.

But this time it was different. Orion had performed his acts of terrorism with precision and perfection, a thing he had never been able to do truly before.

"This is not Orion," muttered Mattimeo, "There is someone helping him, I am positive. How is the mysterious mastermind able to keep himself hidden from our eyes so perfectly?"

At that moment, he received a call from the captain of the A.E.S. Byron.

"Yes, captain?" murmured Mattimeo as he answered the link.

"We performed your instructions with precision, High Dimensional Lord Mattimeo" replied the captain, "We are resuming our previous mission. Over and out."

Mattimeo cut the transmission and immediately entered a dreamscape in order to locate the detached consciousness of Summer. He found it – denoting the fact that she was, indeed, unconscious – but then he noticed something disturbing: her Inquisitor memories were still locked behind a solid yet immaterial wall of amnesia.

Mattimeo blinked slowly in mild surprise, how had the Trans-phasic Imagination Pulse failed? In an instant the answer became clear: Summer was not only an Inquisitor, but she was a Dimensional Traveler as well.

When she had been knocked out by the sub-sonic shockwave, her Dimensional Traveler protection instincts had taken over, and so, when the Imagination Pulse had hit her, her instincts rejected the pulse with a fury. Thus, not only had he failed to accomplish his mission, he had knocked out Summer and placed her in a deep coma.

Mattimeo cocked his head to one side as he considered his options. He could say nothing, he could fabricate a cover story, or he could just go ahead and tell the truth of what had happened.

"I rarely ever miscalculate," murmured Mattimeo, "In fact, this the second time in a trillion years. Yes, perhaps this does warrant a proper apology."

Almost as if he had heard this, Doxia entered the room a second later. He jauntily strolled into the Council Room, announcing, "I've got it! I know what Inquisitor Summer is!"

Mattimeo shook his head. "That's wonderful, Doxia, but I have something to tell you…"

"Wait, this will only take a sec," interrupted Doxia, "I think she is Sunflower! I mean, she was the one who destroyed the Trixie's Hoof Miss Peashooter Gatling Gun! She hit the gasoline tanks with explosive energy from an incredible distance despite the fact that all of her senses had been disoriented…"

"Doxia!" said Mattimeo sharply, "Listen."

Doxia stopped talking. Looking at Mattimeo in interest, he cocked his head to one side. "Yah?"

"I ignored you and the rest of the council… I went ahead and performed Operation Memory."

Doxia stood there for a moment as his brain registered what Mattimeo had just said. Then, finally, he said, "Did it work?"

"No," replied Mattimeo emotionlessly, "I do know for a fact that Summer is not dead yet, but I also regret to say that she is also in a coma."

Doxia slowly crossed his arms. "So you miscalculated. Come on Matty! You're better than that! Well, I'm not angry, I'm just a little shocked. You usually aren't one for skipping out on rule-obeying."

"I thought my idea warranted a shot, for the chances of completion seemed rather high, but that was until I discovered that our friend Summer was also a Dimensional Traveler."

"Oh! That would TOTALLY make sense!"

There was a pause. Finally, Doxia spoke again, "We need to help them."

Mattimeo nodded his head as he said, calmly, "Yes, Doxia. I suggest you go to Summer and attempt to help her recover from the shock. With Lyric working to revive her in body and with us working to revive her in mind, she should come out of her coma soon."

"That is assuming your little escapade has not just sent them to their deaths yet," added Doxia, "But very well. However… I'm not going to help Summer, you are."

Mattimeo cocked his head to one side. "I beg your pardon?"

Doxia chuckled a little, though there was little mirth in it. "I'm not the one who went against the Rerenhaw Council and put that poor blind filly in a coma. That was you. So you are going to comfort her and bring her out… not me. This is your mission."

Mattimeo stared at Doxia evenly for a moment. Then he said, "Very well. I accept. I will begin immediately."

Dimension: Unknown

Planet: Unknown

Specific Location: Unknown

Time: Six days after Lyric discovered Summer, unknown

"Hello?!" cried Summer as she stumbled about, a lone figure in an empty dreamscape. "PLEASE! SOMEONE ANSWER ME!"

Summer broke down sobbing. She was all alone in a vast and desolate land of nothing. She was trapped in her mind, with no control of her body outside.

"What happened?" she cried, "Why did this happen? I just want to be with Lyric…"

Suddenly she stiffened. She was no longer alone. Who had just invaded her bleak dreamscape? Her blank, tear-stained eyes began to rapidly sweep the land as if she was searching for the source of the disturbance.

She gave a squeak of horror as a voice spoke before her.

"Little one… I am so sorry for what happened to you."

Summer leapt into the air, fell back hard on to her rump, and fell over. Slowly she got up, struggling to hold back her tears as she said, "Who is this?"

"It is me… Mattimeo."

"Mattimeo… I remember," sighed Summer, tears now squeezing out from the corners of her eyes, "Please… what happened to me?"

She continued to sniffle as Mattimeo got down on his knees before her and gently took her forehooves in his hands.

"It was all my fault, little one," Mattimeo confessed gently, "I wanted your Inquisitor memories so bad that I ignored the advice of my best friend Doxia and went ahead with a mission. This mission involved knocking you out with a sub-sonic device, and bathing you in Trans-phased Imagination. This would allow me to take them without bothering or hurting you…"

For a moment Summer wanted to scurry away and hide, but then she realized that despite the fact that little emotion echoed from Mattimeo's voice, she knew he truly was sorry. So, instead, she gulped against the lump in her throat and hoarsely asked, "Did it work?"

There was a moment of silence. "No."

Tears began to build up under her eyelids anew as Summer squeaked, "So you knocked me out, put me in danger, and scared Lyric silly… for nothing?"

Another pause. "Yes."

A minute of silence unfolded after that single word. However, finally, Mattimeo sighed, "I am so… so… so sorry, little one. I am not generally prone to failure, but now I stand corrected. I understand what I did was wrong. Is there anything I can do that will help?"

Summer sniffled. Then she turned her face to look up into Mattimeo's. Her sightless eyes sparkled with tears, and her bottom lip trembled.

Mattimeo took in a sharp breath. "You want a hug… Don't you?"

Summer wordlessly nodded her head. Mattimeo sighed again, "Very well. Come here."

Summer wrapped her front hooves around Mattimeo's chest and burst into tears. Her body was wracked with heavy sobs as Mattimeo gently pressed her into his chest as he softly stroked her mane.

As Summer rubbed her muzzle into him, Mattimeo felt a strange jolt of emotion sear through his usually calm and collected brain: fatherly love.

"There, there," he muttered quietly, "Don't cry…"

Mattimeo then did something he had never done before over the course of a trillion years. Slowly he slid back his visor, commanding his helmet to fold away into nothing. His battle-scarred face was exposed for the first time in countless eons. Then he leaned forward and kissed Summer gently on her forehead, her fuzzy mane enveloping his face.

Summer's sobs quieted down into whimpers as she drifted into a stupor.

Mattimeo rocked Summer back and forth while running his fingertips through her mane as he gently murmured, "You're going to be fine, little one. I am here. I swear that I will get you out of this…"

Note: I have some bad news. I will have to change my posting schedule once more. I will now only be posting on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Real life has been getting hectic, so I decided to give myself some indefinite slack. I would now like to divert your attention towards a story called "The Kingdom of Everfree" by HeartlessSpartan. It is one of the best fanfic stories I have read. If any of you are still looking for something to read, check it out. Now gimme reviews! I have decided to star mass-manufacturing air bacon on a mass scale, so if you give me reviews, I will give you CRATES of bacon!