After the magic show had ended, Princess Celestia requested Twilight Sparkle to meet her at her temporary quarters at the Ponyville town hall. There, the two royal ponies sat staring out an open window, the cool night air blowing slightly on the silk curtains.
"I hope she's okay..." Twilight muttered to herself, but apparently too loudly.
"She will be," Princess Celestia replied calmly. "My sister would make a good mother. You have nothing to fear, my faithful student, all will be well."
"I'm just worried, that's all."
"As am I, Twilight, but you must be strong and hope for the best. Emotions are contagious."
"I-I I keep wondering if one of my friends, or me, will be next. First Applejack disappears, then Rainbow Dash and Phantom, her alleged 'body guard.' He obviously didn't do a very good job... I... I feel like there's something important going on that we don't know about."
The celestial Princess sighed. "Twilight, Phantom is one of the most skilled ponies I know, next to your brother. Should anything have happened to him, he must have been facing something greater than himself. He's endured many hardships over the years. I would trust him with my life again on any day." Twilight tilted her head to the side, begging for Princess Celestia to explain what she meant by 'again.' "For another time, my student."
The two Royals directed their attention back outside. A sound of feather flapping could be heard quietly, catching the attention of the alicorns. At first, Twilight thought it was just the breeze flapping the curtains, but the lack of air movement dismissed that. Luna, the Princess of the Night, gracefully glided through the window, looping around the room and landing between the other two alicorns.
"Luna!" Twilight yelled, leaping to her hooves to hug the dark princess, her wings fully erect. "Did you find her? Did you find Rainbow Dash?"
"Yes, Princess Sparkle, we did," Princess Luna responded with a smile.
"Yay!" Twilight happily bounced around in several circles around the royal Alicorns.
"How is she doing?" Celestia asked her sister.
"Not good," Luna's happy expression began to fall. "Not good at all. Soarin' is not the good pony we all thought he was."
Twilight stopped in her tracks, wearing a worried face. "wha-what do you mean? He just took her out on a date this morning. He's a great pony, Rainbow loves him."
"That emotion has been broken, along with the rest of Miss Dash's. She found Applejack, alive, and Phantom, worse so... But... Soarin' is the pony who ponynapped them."
Princess Celestia's usual stead emotion faltered slightly, while her student's reaction was more... extremed... Twilight's wings flared, her horn light up in an azure tone, her eyes widened and turned to a pure white. Dark clouds were forming on the ceiling, the occasional small lightning bolt shooting from them, vibrating the entire town hall with their thunder.
"He... WHAT!?" the librarian raged. "Nopony takes the heart of one of my friends and breaks it. Where. Is. He?"
"I do not know exactly. When I found Rainbow Dash, she had been running away from him and another pony, she didn't know his name. I do know where Applejack and Phantom are." Princess Luna glided to the nearby window, and stared out to the town square. Princess Celestia and Twilight stood next to her, following her gaze to the appropriate old house. "It's the abandoned one, there. There is a tunnel that leads to a series of catacombs."
"Then let's go get his flank..." Twilight growled, preparing a teleportation spell.
"Twilight Sparkle!" Hearing Princess Celestia yell in such a commanding voice at her neutralized every emotion Twilight was currently displaying. For a brief moment, the room was calmer than a snowy, winter plain. "You will do nothing of the sort."
"bu-but we have to go save Applejack! There's no time to waste! That monster could go back at any moment!"
"I understand that, but you must understand that we can not do anything without legal pwemission allowing us to do so. I may be the ruler of Equestria, but I must obey the laws that I made. How do you think the public would react if I expected them to follow laws that I showed no regard for?"
The young alicorn sighed, bowing her head. "You're right, Princess. I'm sorry."
"There is nothing to be sorry about. I understand why you wish to act so quickly, and I myself share that same feeling. Which is why I'm going to have a talk with the mayor and the magistrate, both of whom I am personal friends with, and get a warrant to search the property by morning. Sister, I need you to post your night guards through the town and keep an eye on Soarin'. If he turns up, have him followed. The other Wonderbolts are set to arrive today, and I fear that they may unfortunately be involved in this dreadful conspiracy. And you mentioned another pony that Soarin' was working with? What does he look like?"
"Miss Dash's dreams described him as a green pegasus with a white mane," Luna answered.
"Hmm."
Twilight put a hoof to her chin, struggling to remember his name. She knew she had met him before. Then the memory hit her, just like that pony had hit Rainbow Dash.
"Cloud Maker..." she spoke in realization.
Princess Celestia and Luna nodded. "Then he too is a suspect, and will be treated the same as Soarin'," Celestia instructed Luna. "Can you handle this?"
"Yes. We will begin at once." A sparkling midnight blue smoke encircled the Princess of the Night, twirling around her in a clockwise direction, fully engulfing her. Once it dissipated back into the air, Luna had disappeared.
"Is there anything I can do, Princess?" Twilight asked her mentor.
"A command post for the Royal Guard has been set up near the entrance to the fair grounds, off to the side just as you enter. I need you to go there, find Shining Armor, and inform him of what has happened and of what is going to happen, then tell him to come find me. He needs to get his guards ready for the search warrant, and possible ponyhunt."
Twilight saluted dutifully with her hoof, then used her teleportation spell to quickly travel to the area Princess Celestia had described. Celestia was left alone, staring out of the window at the abandonded house of subject.
"Just hang in there, just a little longer. Help is on the way."
"Ya gotta come up with something!" Applejack yelled to the ceiling, but her words were directed to Phantom. He was laying down next to the wall, opposite of the entrance, while Applejack was pacing back and forth on her clearly marked path in front of it. "Didn't ya say ya were a part of the Royal Guard or somethin' like that?"
"I am," Phantom replied with his usual calmness. He didn't look up to the worried mare, instead keeping his muzzle facing the cell door, and his eyes lightly closed. "In fact, I am one of the best. There's a reason I am in the Intelligence Devision."
"Then if yer so darn intelligent, then why don't ya come up with a way to get the hay outta here?"
"Because your constant gait and prattle are making it very difficult to formulate a plan. Please, stop."
Applejack slowed her pace. Once she came to where she normally would have turned, she stopped and sat on her haunches, keeping both the door and Phantom in view.
"Ah'd never think not knowing what time it is would drive me so crazy."
"It is approximately two in the morning, on the second day of the fair."
There was a pregnant pause between the two, finally broken by Applejack. "H-how do ya know that?"
"The magic show was set to end at around eight p.m. with a grand finale of fireworks; that's what the slight vibration was. I've been keeping track of time since."
"V-Vibration? Ah didn't feel nothin'. An' how are ya able ta keep track of time like that?"
"Intelligence Division, remember? Now quiet, please. I'm trying to think of a way out of this situation without killing anypony."
"So... there's a way out... but it involves somepony dying? It ain't usually my nature to wish harm on other ponies, but after what these two did to use and others they sorta' deserve it."
"I wasn't talking about Soarin' and Cloud Maker dying, I was talking about you, and probably me. Cloud Maker possesses skills I have yet to grasp, and Soarin' is a superior officer with an unknown level of capabilities. Thus far, I have yet to think of a scenario in which we both leave unscathed and without the assistance of the Royal Guard."
"Why wouldn't we need the Royal Guard now?"
"I'm assuming that they currently are not aware of our exact location, though by now they will know I am missing and should be looking for us."
"Ah. So what if we were just to get out? We might be hurt, but we'd still be free."
"That I am also taking into account, but all of the injuries I am imagining would lead to fatality, whether it be directly or indirectly."
"We could rush them, then just, Ah don't know, run, Ah guess?"
Phantom quickly opened his eyes, directing them at Applejack. The sudden contact startled her. She shifted around to get slightly more comfortable.
"You realize that Soarin' is a Wonderbolt, right?" Phantom deadpanned, then sighed. "We don't have many options. I myself thought of that several times, and it’s the leading plan. Though, it's the execution that I'm having troubles with."
"Well, maybe Ah kin help?"
Phantom continued to look at her for a moment, then directed his gaze back at the cell door.
"So far I have this: We figure out a way to ambush them, get you on my back, and I fly us through the catacombs. I didn't see anyway to reopen the secret hatch from here, so we can't go that way. That's another issue: I don't know where the tunnel across from us leads. While you finally slept, I tried my hardest to listen for any sort of sound, and I caught the occasional whisper of rushing water, but it felt like that came from the hole Mis— Rainbow Dash fell down."
"She fell down a hole?"
"Yes. She was watching me when I first arrived outside this cell, but she remained hidden when Cloud Maker showed himself. Then she tried to leave, but I heard her scream. There was another sound with it, too; the sound of rock crumbling. It is likely that she fell down a hole and into an underground river."
"So couldn't we just go down the same hole? End up where she is?"
"That was many hours ago; it's likely she's sought help. If she survived."
"Wh-what do you mean, 'survived'?"
"Rainbow would have been panicking from everything that was going on, nearing the point of an emotional breakdown. That, plus her broken wing, and the shock she likely received from falling into probably hypothermic water moving at a very rapid pace, dropped her chances of survival by a fair amount."
"Oh... ya always have to be so blunt with everything, don't ya?"
"Helps me cope."
Applejack quickly rose to her feet with a cheeky grin. The sudden increase in positive emotion concerned Phantom, but he remained silent.
"I know how we can get out."
Princess Celestia watched out from the town hall balcony she’d stood on the previous day to give her speech to all of Ponyville and residents of the regions near to Equestria over the same, completely filled space. Her eyes were primarily focused on the abandoned building, which had been getting more attention over the past day than it has over the last decade. On the horizon, her sun was justing beginning to shine its light down upon the hazy town. Normally, a few ponies would be about here and there, trying to open their stands and businesses for the new day. But today, the market area was quiet and empty. Some word had managed to spread despite Celestia's best efforts to quell the rumors, which had some ponies keeping their distance from the area. But most were either tired, or hung over from the previous night's parting. Even though the magic show had ended at eight, the fair itself hadn’t closed until just a few hours ago.
The echoing words of a stallion caught her ear's attention. Celestia exited the outside balcony, heading through the door that was behind her into the inner balcony. Below, in the main hall area on the ground floor, stood most of the Royal and Night Guards in Ponyville, all mixed together, their white and black coats mashing together in an effect that caused their colors to meld together. In the center of them all stood Shining Armor and Princess Luna.
"Listen up," Shining Armor spoke in a clear, affirmative voice. The slight bickering amongst the guards quieted down. Satisfied with the silence, Shining continued. "As many of you know, a resident of this town has been missing for two days. We have an idea on her whereabouts, and we just got a search warrant to search the property not far from here. Here's what we know so far. This is Applejack." Shining pointed to a picture of her taken just after the Iron Pony Competition that Princess Luna was holding up in her magic. "She's who was ponynapped.
"There's another," he continued. "One of our own. Staff Sergeant Phantom Knight." Princess Luna help up another picture, this one of Phantom, standing in front of the Equestrian flag, wearing his official uniform which was similar to Shining Armors, except blue with a gold sash and white color and hoof cuffs. "He too, is missing. We believe they are both being held at the same location. We also believe that both were kidnapped by the same two ponies, a green pegasus stallion named Cloud Maker, who was a white mane, and none other than the second in command of the Wonderbolts, Soarin' Skies."
There was a slight ripple of noise through the group of guards, quieted by Shining's raise hoof.
"Since this is Royal Guard jurisdiction," this time Princess Luna was speaking, "they will be taking the lead, while my Night Guards will be on support. The Royal Guard will breach the house, and search for what they can pertaining the situation, and attempt to located Applejack and Phantom. The Night Guard, however, will maintain several perimeters to keep the town and the outlining area secure in the event somepony attempts an escape. The first will be around the abandoned house and outlining block. The second will be around all of Ponyville. Patrols will be stationed throughout town, the fairgrounds, the homes of the other Elements of Harmony, and in the Everfree Forest. Understood?"
All of the ponies nodded in agreement.
"Alright then, let's move out!"
All of the guards began to run out of the building, Shining Armor and Princess Luna merely walked out, each sending an encouraging glance to Princess Celestia, who nodded in reply.
A few minutes later, the abandoned home was surrounded by Royal and Night Guards. Princess Luna hovered above the scene in the form of Nightmare Moon, with Shining Armor standing in front of the door, clad in full armor. He rapped on the door demandingly with a hoof.
"This is the Equestrian Royal Guard. All occupants of this building are ordered to surrender at once." There was a pregnant pause. Shining looked to the groups of guards stacked up on either side of the door, nodding to them.
One of the guards stepped in Shining Armor's place in front of the door, turning so his back faced it. "Ready," he explained in a low tone.
"Go." Shining commanded.
"Breaching!" The front door didn't have time to creak open as it was bucked off of its hinges.
Rainbow Dash awoke in a familiar, comforting place. Her room. Its white, puffy walls reminding her of better times, of when she could fly. It was a surprise that she didn't start wondering how she was even going to get down. She looked around, to confirm it was her room.
There was a small, bookshelf in the corner, that only held Daring Do books and the old learning-how-to-fly books she had received from her parents and loaned to Twilight. She looked around some more, and saw several things she didn't want to. The Wonderbolts posters on her walls, and her bed covers. Slowly, she got up and tore them down, and turned her sheets upside down. On her nightstand, she set the autographed Wonderbolts photo face down.
Rainbow rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, then left her room, going across the hall to the bathroom. She mindlessly stepped into the shower and turned it on. It took a moment of standing blankly under the running water to start cleaning herself, let alone realizing that she was still wearing her bandage. Using her teeth, slowly Rainbow pulled the wet bandages off, tossing them lazily to the floor. Her wing was in the worst state than it probably had ever been before. Four out of five feathers were rumpled and out of place. Reddish scrapes and scars still lined the wing. Slowly, she stretched it around, allowing the water to cover it all, pain shooting through her join as she did so.
Should NOT have done that... Rainbow griped to herself.
Fifteen to twenty minutes later, Rainbow completed her shower. Drying herself off reluctantly with a Wonderbolts towel, she quickly brushed her mane and tail, then stared at herself in the mirror. Looking into her own eyes, she contemplated what had happened over the past several days. Chrysalis trying to kill her on her birthday, Applejack going missing, Phantom dying in front of her, her idol trying to kill her, and the rest of the Wonderbolts, who might also be in on the conspiracy, were arriving that day. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't even eaten at all that previous day. Dash headed down stairs in search of food.
But food found her first. It was waiting for her on the table in her kitchen, a hefty breakfast at that. Milk, oranges, apples, waffles, basically everything on every breakfast menu. A cloud chair was already pulled out for her, waiting for her to sit. In front of the chair, between it and the food, a space was cleared out for a note, which seemed to be covering something. Rainbow picked it up, and began reading.
Dear Rainbow Dash,
We took you home once you fell asleep again, and went to inform my sister of what has happened. All will be settled, she is having Shining Armor gather the guards to go free your friends in the morning.
Know this, Rainbow Dash: You are never on your own, you are never alone. We, Celestia, Shining, your friends and I will always be here for you. Don't be afraid to tell your friends what's on your mind. Nopony will think you're a failure. Don't leave us behind. We are here for you, we always will be. If you ever need a hoof, we'll be there to help you through you worst nightmares.
You're not the only one who's Loyal,
-Luna
Rainbow smiled to herself, the words of encouragement uplifting her. A glint of red caught her eye. She looked past the note at where the note had just been lying, it was covering a necklace. The Element of Loyalty. Her smile grew larger.