Equestrylvania

by Brony_Fife

Intermission ~ Awake

Rainbow Dash loves clouds. That’s hardly a secret. They’re soft, fluffy, and make for awesome beds when she could use a power nap. And after such a rough yesterday followed by a sleepless night followed by such an exciting morning, she could use the sleep.

But she has this perfect formula for sleeping (well, nearly perfect; it didn’t work last night). She finds the fluffiest cloud—and if she can’t find one, she makes one. Then, when it’s good and super-fluffy, she forms it into a more reclined shape that’s like this crossbreed of bed and chair.

And then the best and most important part: sleep.

Sleep finally comes to Rainbow Dash, that familiar senseless haze rising like a tide, submerging her at long last. Soon she is fast asleep, her chest rising and falling with small snores.

Suddenly, she is shaken awake. “Wh—what—WHAT!” she barks as she snaps out of her slumber.

It’s Shatterstorm—his ocean-green eyes wide, his dumb, stupid face frozen in this expression of desperation. Rainbow Dash reclaims herself, straightens up, and crosses her forearms in exasperation. “Oh, for—what do you want? I’m entitled to some sleep, you know.”

Shatterstorm waves his front hooves in defense. “No, this isn’t about your laziness, this is—this is something different. It’s important.”

“What? What’s so important you had to wake me up? We have a mission here in a few hours.”

“Yes, I know—that’s why I need to admit something.” Shatterstorm pauses, his eyes widening. “I-In case… in case we don’t make it back.”

Silence. Then, Rainbow Dash groans. “All right, all right,” she says, electing to humor him until he goes away. “What is it?”

Shatterstorm takes a deep breath, placing his hooves on both her shoulders. “Rainbow Dash… I’m in love with you.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes shoot open, her heart stopping as she feels the heat build up in her face and ears. She snorts. Then bursts into laughter. “Shatterstorm, you stupid—you can’t already be in love with me! We’ve only known each other for, like, what? A week and a half at most?”

“And every second of it was an eternity,” Shatterstorm counters.

Rainbow Dash is stopped cold by Shatterstorm’s heartfelt words. He continues. “From the moment we met, there was this… connection. I didn’t know how to react to my attraction to you, so I ended up coming off as a total jerk, and I’m sorry about that.

“But I’ve done some reflection on it and I realize, you’re the mare for me. You’re courageous, passionate, heroic. Very loyal. I mean, you’re hardly perfect, but even with your flaws, you’re nothing less than awesome. You’re…” He gulps. “You’re everything I could ever want, and everything I can’t live without.”

The heat in Rainbow Dash’s face rise and rise the more passionate his words became. When he finishes, her world goes blurry. She wipes away her tears, her bottom lip quivering. “I-I…” She sniffles. “I never knew you really felt that way about me…”

“And now you do,” Shatterstorm says softly. Slowly, he wraps his forelegs around her, pressing her face to his chest, his face to the top of her head.

“Do… Do you feel the same way about me?” Shatterstorm whispers.

Rainbow Dash breathes deep, choking back her tears. “…Yes,” she admits as she wraps her forelegs around his middle. “Yes, I do. You’re smart, and you’re strong. Stronger than anypony I know. Of course I love you…”

The two of them break their hug, then stare into each other’s eyes. Rainbow Dash stares into the whirling hurricane that whips and whirls behind Shatterstorm’s ocean greens. The hurricane—all the anger and resentment you can always see in his eyes—is finally dispelled. His rage is finally… gone.

And then he smiles.

And it’s beautiful.

Their lips touch.

---

Rainbow Dash shoots up with a shriek. “What a horrible dream!” she cries.

Shatterstorm rolls over in their bed. “Can you keep it down, dear?” he mumbles. “We have a mission soon and I need my sleep.”

---

Rainbow Dash jerks awake, her breathing heavy, her face damp with sweat. She looks around in terror—this way, that way. No Shatterstorm over here, no cheesy declaration of love over there. Rainbow Dash lifts a hoof and bites it. She doesn’t suddenly wake up, so she must be in reality, on her cloud-bed, over Ponyville, the sounds of reconstruction going on below.

She lets herself fall back down onto her cloud, relieved. Runs a hoof through her mane, blowing a sigh out of her lungs. What a wacky dream.

After she and Shatterstorm had told Spitfire of Twilight’s plan, Spitfire readily agreed to it, and afterward asked Shatterstorm to accompany her. It looked to Rainbow Dash that they had some catching up to do, so she decided to nap in the interim.

Now that she thinks about it, she still can’t get over how Shatterstorm and Spitfire know each other. He even knew Spitfire long before she’d met her—and they’re on a first-name basis—and they’ve kept in touch for years!

But if he was in company that cool, that has to mean he’s not as bad as she thinks. And in fact, she really didn’t think he was that bad to begin with. He’s a snotty, arrogant, stuck-up, short-tempered, chauvinistic jerk—but he’s hardly what she’d consider bad.

And the dream she just had.

No. No, no, no.

But she’d seen his smile before and—

No.

Oh come on, you saw how his—

NO!

Rainbow Dash sinks into her cloud and stews, grumpy now that her nap is over and Shatterstorm dances in her subconscious like the stupid, snot-nosed little goblin he is. She has bigger things to worry about—the desperate state Equestria is in now, Dracula’s forces and what they’re up to, her upcoming mission…

…and Dad.

Her frown worsens. She hadn’t seen her father in forever, nor had she received any word from him since he wrote her, saying he was going on vacation to the Crystal Empire. That was two, three weeks ago now?

And with Cadance now kidnapped, and the Crystal Empire in jeopardy… well, even though Rainbow Dash knows her dad—the tough-as-nails, hard-assed stallion he is—is strong enough to take care of himself, that didn’t stop her from asking Spitfire to keep an eye out for him.

There’s so much more going on than just her.

But Rainbow Dash is a creature of impulse. Wouldn’t it be great to find Shatterstorm and give him a piece of her mind?

Rainbow Dash nods. Yes. Yes it would.

---

It takes some searching, but Rainbow Dash finds him within twenty minutes. She hadn’t used that time to think over which piece of her mind to give Shatterstorm, but it matters little until she spots a familiar oceanic pegasus in a house whose roof has been burned away. She descends noiselessly, like a hawk about to swoop in to snap up an unsuspecting rabbit.

She only notices something’s wrong as she closes in.

Shatterstorm is sitting on his haunches, with Spitfire’s forelegs wrapped tightly around him. The little reddish rims around his eyes are puffier than usual, his back hutching occasionally as he sniffs back tears. Spitfire pressed her face against the top of his head and stroked his back, whispering for him to just let it all go, that it’s okay, he’s gonna be all right.

From where she perches, Rainbow Dash has a good view of his face.

And all she sees is pain.

Rainbow Dash drinks in the implications of the scene, her piece of her mind now forgotten. She breathes deep, releasing her frustrations with a quiet sigh, then turns and spreads her wings, ready to take off.

She chances a glance behind her again. She could go down there. Tell Shatterstorm he’s not alone. Tell him about how worried she is about her dad.

…Tell him about Mom.

But no matter what her conscience says to her, Rainbow Dash does not take the chance. She turns back around and away she flies.

---

“Done, and done!” Twilight says victoriously. She lords triumphantly over a library devoid of wet, ruined books and debris. The areas under the holes in the roof are still damp and warped, and boxes of ruined or salvageable books still clutter some of the corners, but for the most part, there’s enough room in here to dance.

So that’s exactly what Twilight does.

In the midst of getting down with her bad self, she hears Spike clear his throat. She stops. “Something wrong, Spike?”

Spike jerks a thumb to the room behind him. Inside is even more damage—burned books, destroyed furniture, and other nasty afterwards of Dirt Nap blowing up her library. Twilight frowns. Sighs. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

As Twilight enters the next room to investigate the damage, she hears the sound of something landing on the library floor behind her. She gasps, frozen almost in place before she whips around, her horn aglow.

Rainbow Dash holds her front hooves out defensively. “Hey, watch where you’re pointing that thing!” she yells.

Twilight’s horn fizzles out as she breathes a sigh of relief. “Sorry about that, Rainbow Dash. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Rainbow Dash’s mouth puckers as she squints angrily at Twilight. “I wasn’t scared!” she insists.

Twilight laughs. “So. I’m guessing you’re here for the debriefing before leaving for Canterlot?”

Rainbow Dash gives a salute.

“Right,” Twilight nods. She looks around. “So… where’s Shatterstorm? He’s disappearing a lot lately. And the pony you and he selected for the investigation—I still need to give them details.”

Her statement gives Rainbow Dash pause. She clears her throat. “Shatterstorm’s talking with Captain Spitfire at the moment,” she says.

“Captain Spitfire?” Twilight echoes. “The Wonderbolt?”

“Yeah. She should be arriving any minute now.”

“Oh hey, you used ‘arrived’ in a sentence correctly,” snickers a disbelieving voice. “So you can sound smart!

Both mares and dragon look to the voice’s direction as Shatterstorm descends. His hooves touch the floor, his expansive wings folding to his back with a ghostly movement. Rainbow Dash notes his smirking face is clean of tears.

Spitfire lands beside Shatterstorm with twice as much silence. She shoulders him impatiently.

Rainbow Dash snorts. “Just because I’m not quoting math equations in my sleep doesn’t mean I’m stupid!”

“Enough, you two,” Twilight groans. “This isn’t the time to be ruffling each other’s feathers.”

Rainbow Dash’s face flashes beet red as Shatterstorm drops his smirk with wide, surprised eyes. The corners of Spitfire’s mouth are twisted into an odd smile as she snorts back a laugh. Shatterstorm and Rainbow Dash eye each other angrily, then look away.

Twilight raises an eyebrow at their odd behavior. “Did I say something wrong, or…?”

“It’s a pegasus thing,” Spitfire chuckles. “Don’t worry about it.” Rainbow Dash and Shatterstorm harrumph.

“R-Right,” Twilight says, worried at what that expression might mean in pegasus culture. “Captain Spitfire, I presume?”

Spitfire nods. “The one and only! And you must be Princess Celestia’s personal protégé.”

“That’s me!” Twilight replies, glad her status has finally earned her some respect from the populace. “And I suppose you’re here for the Crystal Empire reconnaissance mission?”

Spitfire nods. “Sure am. What’s the skinny?”

“All right.” Twilight looks to Spike and nods. He runs out of the room and comes back, holding Cadance’s crown. Spitfire’s eyes widen.

“Is that…?”

“Yes,” Twilight Sparkle confirms. “This crown belongs to Princess Cadance. She was reportedly kidnapped earlier in Canterlot, and due to next to no news travel these days, I need to know how her kingdom is doing.”

“Wouldn’t she have a council to govern her empire in her absence?” Spitfire asks.

“I’m assuming she does,” Twilight says as Spike puts the crown away. “But it would really help ease my mind if news were brought to me as to how her empire is doing, and if possible, to inform the council of…”

Spitfire raises an eyebrow as Twilight's voice trails off. “…Yes?”

Twilight nods. Even though Aeon had already told them not to trust anypony else, it looks as though she’ll have to break his rule. “Here’s your mission,” she says, her tone commanding. “I need you to go to the Crystal Empire. I need you to tell them about Count Dracula.”

“Count Dracula?”

“He’s the creature responsible for all this violence lately,” Twilight replies. She looks out the window at the Castle—Spitfire does likewise. “That Castle… is an extension of his power. I was able to soften his influence over Equestria, if only a little, but that doesn’t mean his minions—those monsters that have been plaguing us recently—have decided to lay low.”

“I see,” Spitfire confirms. “So you need me to warn them about Dracula?”

“If they haven’t already experienced any attacks,” Twilight says with some worry.

“They probably haven’t yet,” Spitfire says. “If that Castle’s been attacking only the towns closest to Canterlot, the Crystal Empire should still be safe.”

“Let’s hope so,” Twilight says. “This mission shouldn’t take you very long. I’d say maybe two days—three at the very longest.”

“Two days?” Spitfire scoffs. “I can do it in one. When do you need me to leave?”

“As soon as possible.”

Spitfire smiles and nods. “I’m on it. See you tomorrow!” With that, Spitfire spreads her wings and with a mighty flap, she shoots up and out of the library, soaring for the Crystal Empire.

Okay, one down. Twilight clicks her tongue, then looks to the other two pegasi. “All right, you two. Now let’s get on with your briefing.”

Her horn glows, creating a flat map of Canterlot that hovers midair. Both pegasi are taken in by how much detail is put into the map—the neighborhoods, the restaurants and hotels of downtown, mansions of uptown, even Canterlot Castle.

“Obviously, this is an outdated map,” Twilight says. She updates it.

Canterlot Castle fades away, and its place stands the jagged, black jaws of Dracula’s Castle. The friendly-looking Canterlot warps into something decayed and brown, harmful to eyes and spirit. It disturbs everyone present that this change is no exaggeration.

A red circle is drawn over one of the buildings. “This is the hotel where the research team and I were staying,” Twilight says. “Shatterstorm, you remember the hotel, right?”

Shatterstorm nods. “The Princess would have likely been where her husband was. If memory serves me correctly, the Captain was moved from the hotel to the Canterlot Hospital, Psychiatric Wing.”

Twilight looks at Shatterstorm for a second before the red circle disappears, then is drawn around another building. “Right, forget the hotel then,” she says as Spike snickers. “Your first destination is to investigate the Hospital to see if you can find any clues as to where Princess Cadance was taken to.”

Rainbow Dash raises an eyebrow. “But wouldn’t they be holding her in the Castle itself?”

“That’s too obvious,” Twilight says. “We have to be careful, Rainbow Dash. The enemy we’re up against here is extremely clever. They’ll hold out the most obvious solution only to rip it from underneath us. So instead, we’re playing this one carefully. We need clues to confirm where they’re holding her.”

“Not to mention that the Hospital might actually make the best location for a laboratory,” Shatterstorm adds. “If Aeon’s correct in his assumption that they’re studying the Princess’s unique aura to locate the Royal Sisters, then they’ll need the perfect place for it.”

Twilight points to Shatterstorm. “Precisely!”

Rainbow Dash sneers at Shatterstorm. “Suck-up,” she mutters.

Two other buildings are circled on the map. “Of course, there’s also two big laboratories in Canterlot. The first—” (she points at the most westward one) “—is the Royal Institute of Academic Study. The second—” (she points at the most southward one) “—is the independently-owned Galactic Laboratories.”

Twilight rubs her chin in thought as she analyzes the map more closely. “Roaring Yawn conducted his research on cryptology at the Royal Institute. I’m making an assumption, of course, but there’s the possibility that Dracula’s minions may be stationed there to use his analytical equipment.”

“You must be pretty jealous,” Rainbow Dash says with a smile.

Twilight raises an eyebrow. “Why should I be jealous?”

“Because they’ve seen your boyfriend’s equipment,” she giggles, adding a suggestive eyebrow wiggle at equipment. She bites back a laugh as Twilight’s face flushes.

Twilight fights for the right words to use before finally barking, “Rainbow Dash!” She cocks her head to Spike, who didn’t quite seem to grasp Rainbow Dash’s euphemism. “Little ears!”

Shatterstorm glares at Rainbow Dash. She shrugs. “Well, I thought it was funny.”

“Only you would make an engaged audience for your own lame jokes,” Shatterstorm says dryly.

“Back on topic!” Twilight says before the situation can spiral out of control. “Your first destination will be the Canterlot Hospital. From there, you’ll have to deduce where they’ve taken Cadance.

“Then, once you find her, you must rescue her and return her to the Crystal Empire. After that, return here.”

The last item on the list of mission objectives hangs in the air for a few seconds before Twilight nods. “Any questions?” Silence. “Good. If you need essentials, you need to pack them now. I’m giving you both one hour until you both leave for—”

“But the sun’s about to set,” Spike points out. “I thought Dracula’s monsters all get stronger at night…”

Twilight looks at Spike dumbly for a few seconds. Then she purses her lips.

“This mission needs to get underway as soon as is possible,” Shatterstorm opines. “Tonight may be the most dangerous time to embark on this mission, but all the same, we can’t allow the Princess to be in their possession for any longer than necessary.”

“And besides, what’s a little extra danger, anyway?” Rainbow Dash laughs as she drifts up into the air. “Danger’s my middle name!”

Twilight pauses. “Well… I hate having to put you in harm’s way like this, but if you’re sure you can handle it…”

Both pegasi nod.

“…All right then. I’ll give you both an hour to prepare. Be ready.” Twilight’s horn ceases to glow, causing the map to dissipate. She points to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash, I’m appointing you the leader of this operation.”

Rainbow Dash grins. “Hear that, Shatterstorm? You’re my lackey now!”

“Lucky me,” Shatterstorm dourly grumbles. “It’s like I just won the boss lottery.”

“Knock it off, both of you!” Twilight says. “I might be giving you the lead, Rainbow Dash, but the reason I’m letting Shatterstorm go with you is that he’s less brash than you are. When he offers you his advice, you’re going to listen to him.”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash squeaks.

“A good leader listens to the advice of her followers,” Twilight opines.

Rainbow Dash scowls, then snorts. “Fine,” she says. She flicks a glance at Shatterstorm and whispers, “But just because you give me advice, that doesn’t mean I’m gonna follow it.”

“Don’t make me change my mind,” Twilight warns in a tone that makes Rainbow Dash grimace. “I want to trust you, Rainbow Dash. You haven’t let me down yet. But another remark like that, and I’ll make you follow Shatterstorm instead.”

Silence. Rainbow Dash sighs and nods. “Okay,” she says. “I’m sorry, Shatterstorm.”

“No offense taken,” he replies with a shrug.

“All right, without any further delay,” Twilight Sparkle says, “please make your preparations and be back here in an hour.”

Both pegasi nod. Then they spread their wings and take off.

Twilight breathes a sigh of relief. She has somepony going to the Crystal Empire, two of her friends going on a rescue mission, she's got those compasses to make…

Twilight gasps. “I’ve been so busy I forgot about making the compasses! Spike, to the basement lab! We need to get the ink to a boiling point and let it settle for eight hours, and then...”

As she dashes downstairs while going over instructions, Spike nonchalantly shrugs before following her. “Just another day in paradise,” he mutters.