Twilight threw open the library door as she and Rainbow Dash trotted inside. “Spike!” Twilight shouted. “Where are the letters?”
Spike, who had been shelving books at the top of a ladder, gave a startled cry. The ladder wobbled beneath him, and he gripped it tightly for balance. Once the ladder settled, he let out a relieved sigh and replied, “They’re in the pile.” Turning his head around, he motioned to the desk beside one of the curtained library windows.
He watched as the two mares trotted to the desk, quietly grunted in annoyance when he saw Twilight distractedly throw her sunhat at the door hanger and miss by a narrow margin. Glancing back at the girls, his eyes widened upon recognizing Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash? You’re out of the hospital alrea- Woah! Are those your wings Twilight mentioned?”
“Ya-huh,” Rainbow Dash replied, paying little attention to him as she watched Twilight rummage through piles of papers.
“These are about Gale and the transformed ponies,” Twilight said, a pink aura separating a large stack of papers from the rest of the parchments littering the desk. “And this one must be from Celestia and Luna.” Twilight looked over the wax-sealed scroll, but set it aside for later.
Rainbow Dash flicked her tail in urgency. “Come on, let’s see what they say.”
“Just a minute,” Twilight replied, frowning as she skimmed through the papers.
While she searched, Spike hastily descended the ladder, placed Twilight’s sun hat on the hanger, and then joined them. He poked his head over the desk to see the papers as well, but he was more interested in getting a closer look at Rainbow Dash’s wings.
“Ah, found it,” Twilight said, and she lifted up the report summary to read. After a moment of searching, Twilight spoke with an astonished voice, “Three.” Rainbow Dash and Spike turned their heads towards her with attentive gazes. “There are three other ponies who’ve been transformed like you, Rainbow. And they’re all pegasi.”
“Let me see,” Rainbow Dash said. She leaned precariously over Twilight’s shoulder so that she could read the paper herself.
“Here, look at this report time,” Twilight said while pointing a hoof, drawing Rainbow Dash’s eyes to the top of the paper. “This must be Gale’s first appearance. All the way west at Vanhoover.” Twilight turned her gaze and magic back to the stack of papers and flipped through them to find the corresponding page. “Let’s see... The pony who was transformed first was a stallion called Tailwind. Afterwards, Gale reportedly burned some of the nearby forest, at which point the local guard flew out to stop him and…” Twilight’s voice fell as she read aloud.
“And what?” Rainbow Dash asked, leaning more closely to read.
Twilight didn’t budge or reply as she hastily but silently read the rest of the paper.
Unable to make out what the small print said from over Twilight’s shoulder, Rainbow Dash pulled away and looked inquisitively to her. “What’s it say?
“...Twenty-seven dead,” Twilight grimly answered. “And they weren’t all members of the guard, either.”
“Twenty-seven?” Spike quietly repeated.
“Yes,” Twilight replied. She narrowed her eyes, and her voice hardened as she spoke, “And only eighteen of them were part of the guard. The other nine were regular ponies who just happened to be there and trying to run away.”
The memory of the burning Everfree Forest appeared in Rainbow Dash’s mind, and she shut it out before she could recall the smell and begin to imagine how Vanhoover might have compared to it. A lump formed in her throat as her stomach churned, but she held it down.
Spike’s eyes fell as he searched for some response, some way to rationalize the grave news. Yet, the only thing he found that he was capable of saying was a simple, “But why?”
Twilight’s mouth opened as a small shudder passed through her, and in the next moment, her posture straightened as if her fear had evaporated. “He’s one of the Shepherds,” she stoically replied. “Herding terrible events is how they got their titles.”
Twilight stared at the casualty count for some seconds more before solemnly setting it aside, and picking up the next page of the report.
“It looks like he started heading south based on the mess he made along the way,” Twilight continued on. Any previous note of enthusiasm in her voice was gone as she pieced together the details from the timestamps. “He was on course to Las Pegasus, but then he started heading... east instead?” Twilight grabbed the next paper in the stack and gave it a scrutinizing glare. “A mare named Breezy Lace was found sometime later, and had also been transformed like Tailwind. She claimed that she encountered Gale while on a long distance parcel route. It says here that she’s a mailmare.”
Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow. “A mailmare? Why would Gale transform a pony like that?”
“I’m not sure,” Twilight replied. “Until we learn more about his motives we won’t be able to understand him or his actions.”
Rainbow Dash pulled away from desk and let out a snort. “We don’t need to understand him, we just need to stop him and-”
Twilight’s sudden piercing gaze made Rainbow Dash pause. After a tense silence, Twilight said, “I’m not going to make the same mistakes I made with Night Walker.”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, but found she had nothing to reply with, and so she let out a frustrated ‘tsk instead. Twilight eyed Rainbow Dash for several moments more, and then turned her head back to the desk.
“Ponyville’s report,” Twilight calmly stated. Neither Rainbow Dash nor Spike said anything, and after Twilight quickly skimmed it to ensure there was nothing she didn’t already know about, she set it aside and continued on. “Let’s see, the next one is… um…”
Spike coughed, and tentatively said, “You know, I had those in order for you, after I spent ten minutes burping them all out.”
“Yes, but not chronologically,” Twilight replied. “Hold on, I need to reorganize this.”
The hardness in Twilight’s voice was gone now, and the tension seemed to have left the room for the moment. Spike shrugged as he replied, “Not my fault if the guard sort their papers on time received instead of when the event actually happened. I keep telling you that you need to learn the royal system.“
Twilight frowned, but didn’t pull her eyes away from the papers as her magic sorted them. “The royal system is divided between four common standards, five subcategories depending on content and industry, and thirty formatting practices, all of which have their own methods and guidelines,” she replied testily. “When I find time for it, one of the most important royal decrees I’ll ever make will be an entirely new organizational standard for all written communication and records.”
“Maybe if you’d stop changing it every other week you might actually have a standard to show,” Spike said while rolling his eyes. “So, uh, Rainbow Dash? How’re things going?”
“As good they can be,” Rainbow Dash sarcastically replied, finally shaking off the last of the somber atmosphere. She turned her head away from the pile of papers that was becoming increasingly messy as Twilight reorganized everything. “I, uh... Got new wings if you couldn’t tell,” she deadpanned. She then fully extended one of her wings for him to see.
“Woah, real dragon wings, huh?” Spike said in excitement. He moved around to her front for a different perspective.
“Looks like it,” Rainbow Dash said, looking over her wing in curiosity as well. However, she lacked much of the enthusiasm that drove Spike. “So you’re a dragon, Spike. What do you think?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had wings before,” Spike remarked. His eyes were drawn to the claw that stuck out from the end of her wing forearm. He pointed at it as he spoke, “Do you mind if I… um…”
“Sure, just… be careful,” Rainbow Dash replied, and she lowered her wing for Spike to examine.
He quickly walked up to it and carefully grasped it with his hands. “Woah,” he whispered as he gently applied pressure to the claw’s surrounding muscles, noting in fascination how they moved. “Your abductor pollicis is really strong,” he said with surprise.
“My what?”
“This,” he replied, touching the group of muscles that connected the claw to the rest of the wing forearm. “I always thought of it kinda like being the palm of my hand that made my thumb work. See?” Spike stepped back and showed his thumb to Rainbow Dash, and he flexed and unflexed it.
Rainbow Dash looked to his clawed thumb, and then back to her wings, slightly disturbed that Spike had come to the same description that she had when she first saw them. “So my wings are hands now?”
“Kinda,” Spike said. “Hey, can you flex it on your own?”
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Your claw. If it’s anything like the other dragons I saw, this is kinda like a thumb for you now.”
Rainbow Dash looked to her wing, and then back to Spike with a blank expression.
“Like this,” Spike said, again showing how he moved his thumb. “I know it’s probably weird for you to imagine, but just try thinking of it like the hand you’ve never had.”
A concerned look appeared on Rainbow Dash’s face, and she hesitantly attempted to move her muscles like Spike had described. At first her wing didn’t obey her as she willed it, instead it twisted upwards and downwards as it flexed haphazardly. However, the longer she kept at it, the less erratic her movements became as she honed in on which muscles to flex. Rainbow Dash carefully bit her lip as she furrowed her brow.
“Yeah, like that. You almost got it,” Spike said supportively as he watched.
Eventually, she found the right muscles she needed to work, and she began flexing just her claw.
“See? You got it,” Spike cheered.
“This is… weird,” Rainbow Dash replied. She was able to get her claw to move a little, but it had nowhere near the flexibility and range of motion that Spike’s thumb had. “It’s kinda hard to do.”
“It’s a whole new set of muscles, but I’m sure you’ll get used to it in time,” Spike replied.
Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Yeah, I’m sure that’ll be fun. I don’t know how Willow Shade and Cloud Shadow can work with wings like this. Feathers are so much easier.“
“Well, you’ve never had this many bones so spread apart before,” Spike replied.
Rainbow Dash frowned in confusion and looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“Well, when you had feather wings all your bones were pretty much in one place,” Spike said. “Or at least, they were closer together before. Kinda like this.” He raised a hand and brought his fingers together to form a solid spear point. “Pegasi only have a few bones in their wings, but batpony and dragon wings are different. Not only do they have three fingers like my hand, well, four if you include the thumb, but they’re also more like this.” Spike then spread his fingers as far apart as he could.
With his other hand, Spike pointed to his palm that he showcased to Rainbow Dash. “My palm looks solid, but it actually has bones kinda like my fingers. Those are called metacarpals. But unlike mine, yours are further apart. Here, raise your wing and I’ll show you.”
Rainbow Dash did as he asked, and he pointed to the thin but muscled bone segments that extended out from her claw where the leathery membrane of her wing connected to.
“These are your metacarpals,” Spike began. “They support your phalanges, or fingers, whatever you wanna’ call them. As you can see, my fingers are pretty flexible, but they can’t go any further apart because my metacarpals can’t move. But from the looks of it, yours can fold or spread apart just like a batpony’s.” Spike then paused as a thought crossed his mind, and he rubbed his chin. “Huh, now that I think about it, that’s probably a weird sensation for you.”
“You could say that,” Rainbow Dash replied. Her brow was slightly furrowed as she tried to absorb all the information.
“Yeah, I bet,” Spike continued. “When a pegasus folds their wings, they’re just bending their forearm for the most part, but a batpony and dragon also bring their fingers closer together when they fold their wings, and spread them apart when they’re open. So this is probably what you’re feeling.” Spike raised both of his hands up, and spread one hand’s fingers as wide as he could while keeping the other hand’s close together.
Rainbow Dash, who also had one wing extended and the other folded, looked at Spike’s hands closely. “Wait, so that what… Oh, huh.”
“Hey, do you think you could bend your fingers?” Spike suddenly asked. He wiggled the fingers on one of his hands as an example.
After taking a moment to see how Spike’s hand moved, Rainbow Dash twisted her head so she could see the lower section of her extended wing more easily, and she furrowed her brow as she searched for the right muscles. She quickly found them, and watched with wide eyes as she furled and unfurled the three long digits to some extent, similar to how Spike did when he flexed his fingers.
Then, after coming to a sudden and clearer understanding of how her new wings worked at an anatomical level, Rainbow Dash felt her heart skip, and she swayed as though she felt she would lose her balance.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash? Are you okay?” Spike asked. Twilight paused from her organizing and looked at Rainbow Dash with a concerned and watchful gaze.
Rainbow Dash reaffirmed her stance and shook her head. “Yeah, sorry… It’s just… It’s kinda hitting me how real this is, you know? I-I’m okay, now.” Pushing through the flutter of emotions in her chest, Rainbow Dash continued to flex her wing in all its new ways while mentally running over what Spike told her.
She pictured Spike’s hand becoming enlarged and being placed over her own wing. Then, his hand was stretched as if his bones and muscles were falling into the shape of Rainbow Dash’s wings. She imagined his fingers spreading apart like he had described to form the bony but muscular fingers that reached outward, becoming longer and thinner as they did. Then, she thought about the flesh from his palm becoming flatter as it spread itself out, eventually looking like the webbing of a frog’s foot that connected the fingers together until they formed the leathery membrane that was her wing.
For a moment, Rainbow Dash saw her wings as if they were truly giant hands, a disturbing notion that she was strangely starting to find intriguing.. “Weeeeeeird,” she replied. “How the hay do you know all this?”
Spike nervously poked his pointer claws together. “Cloud Shadow’s been helping me. Biology wasn’t really my strong suit, but ever since she and I have been hanging out I’ve been learning more about dragon anatomy. Since there aren’t really any books about it, we’ve been kind of just figuring it out as we go.” He then smiled and motioned to a section of the library. “The reason I know so much about wings is because I’ve been studying the anatomy of other animals. Just in case I ever grow a pair myself. Hey, maybe you should ask Cloud Shadow to help you out, too!”
Rainbow Dash quickly folded her wing, wincing only slightly at the feeling of the leather membrane rubbing against her sides instead of soft feathers. She was also more acutely aware of her fingers closing together just as Spike explained. “I’ll, uh…. I’ll think about it.”
“Ahem,” Twilight politely coughed. “I’ve got it all sorted now when you two are ready.” Rainbow Dash and Spike moved to the table edge, and looked over the newly organized papers.
“Alright,” Twilight began as she lifted the papers in order for them to see. “The first two transformations happened in western Equestria. Tailwind in Vanhoover, and Breezy Lace who was delivering a package to Las Pegasus. After that it looks like Gale went north east, past the Smokey Mountains and barely avoiding Dusktown in Unicorn Range. The guards that were sent after him caught up at Galloping Gorge, but they lost sight of him as he started flying southwest. It seems no pegasus was able to keep up with him, and thankfully, no casualties were reported.”
“Makes sense,” Rainbow Dash said, frowning as she remembered Gale’s speed. “If I hadn’t pulled off a Sonic Rainboom I’d never have beaten him in Ghastly Gorge.”
“If that’s the case, then he’s going to be a lot of trouble,” Twilight replied. She then magically grabbed a large nearby scroll and unfurled it out over the table, revealing a map of Equestria. “He’s been zigzagging across Equestria, but after his stop at Galloping Gorge he headed directly south until he ran into Ghastly Gorge by Ponyville.” Twilight quickly moved her hoof past the marked gorge and towards the east. “After that, he skimmed the outskirts of Appleloosa and flew towards Dodge City. That’s where the next transformation happened.”
Twilight pulled a paper out from beneath the map and showed it to Rainbow Dash and Spike. “An older stallion pegasi named Dust Cloud ran into Gale, and he’s the last recorded transformation. After that he headed further east until he came close to Baltimare. Thankfully, he avoided the town as well, and he was last seen heading north-northeast across the ocean.”
“Dust Cloud?” Rainbow Dash said. She took the paper from Twilight to read it more closely. “Why does that sound familiar?”
“Based off the report, he’s an old racing legend in the southern circuits,” Twilight replied. “From what I’ve read, he used to do the annual Dust Bowl tournament.”
“Dust Cloud raced in the Dust Bowl, huh?” Spike cheekily remarked. “Sounds like he got the right name for it.”
“Oh, yea! Now I remember!” Rainbow Dash said. She smiled as she tapped the paper with a hoof. “That old guy was awesome! He could do turns in the cacti fields like nopony else!”
“If he’s so good why haven’t I heard you mention anything about him?” Spike asked.
“Eh, the southern circuits aren’t that popular,” Rainbow Dash replied with a nonchalant hoof wave. “Not a lot of pegasi like the idea of racing so close to the ground. The southern circuits have rules where you can’t be higher than ten feet from the dirt for most of the race track.” She chuckled. “Who’d want to be stuck flying that low? I mean, hello, we’re pegasi? We can fly, so why be stuck to the ground? But I remember when my dad took me to one of them. Their rules suck, but the flyers were still pretty awesome.”
Spike opened his mouth to correct Rainbow Dash on the small detail of Rainbow Dash being a pegasus, but he was silenced by a brief glance from Twilight.
Rainbow Dash gave the paper back to Twilight before leaping into a dynamic pose. “Old Dust Cloud would leave all the other pegasi in the dust. He banked hard on the raised mud walls, soared over the hot flats, and wouldn’t get pricked by a single needle when he zoomed through the lowest points of the cacti fields! And no matter how many times another pegasus closed the distance, he always left them in the dust!”
Twilight and Spike looked at Rainbow Dash with awe. “He sounds good,” Twilight said. “How many of his races did you watch?”
Rainbow Dash straightened herself. “Just one. But it was super awesome.”
“A mailmare, a stallion from Vanhoover, and an old racer,” Twilight mused. Turning back to the desk, she rolled the map back up and looked over the reports. “Hmmmm.”
“What is it?” Spike asked.
“I’m not sure yet,” Twilight replied. “I’m trying to figure out why he turned all these ponies into drakes.”
“Drakes?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight nodded. “Celestia, Luna, and I have been in contact about the situation while you were recovering.” Twilight turned to look at Rainbow Dash. “There’s a lot I need to tell you, but right now it seems, Rainbow, that you’re a Drake. A dragon-pony hybrid. One of the first in a thousand years.”
“A drake,” Rainbow Dash repeated slowly, sounding out the word.
Twilight nodded as she continued, “Nopony knows the true origin of drakes, but Celestia and Luna said that Gale was the first of his kind to appear in Equestria. Either through a forgotten spell or some unknown magical occurrence, he became a drake, and eventually, he was able to make more. He was a plague to Equestria until his disappearance.”
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and flicked her tail in irritation. “Why the hay are we just learning about him now then? Shouldn’t we have known about him and Night Walker?”
Twilight lowered her ears. “I spoke to Celestia about that before. There are a lot of things she regrets keeping in the past.”
“But you’ll be able to stop him like you did with Night Walker,” Spike asked. When neither Twilight nor Rainbow Dash spoke up, he rephrased his question. “You can stop him, right?”
For once in her life, Rainbow Dash found herself unable to answer a question like that, and she gritted her teeth because of it. She wanted to say something, anything. But each time she was about to speak, her mind flashed back to Gale’s gargantuan dragon form, and the fire that-
“We will,” Twilight said, looking to Spike first before turning to Rainbow Dash. “We’re going to figure this out, and when we do, we’re going to make sure he won’t endanger Equestria or any pony again.”
Rainbow Dash stared long and hard at Twilight’s crimson eyes, and while a part of her wanted to treat this like any other villain they had stopped before Night Walker’s time, she knew what Twilight was implying.
She just didn’t realize how difficult it was to be okay with such a thing.
“Did...uh,“ Rainbow Dash said before nervously swallowing. “Did Night Walker ever mention anything about Gale?”
Twilight blinked in surprise at the question, but then shook her head. “He hardly educated me about vamponies, let alone their magic or even shadow magic.” Twilight gave a crestfallen sigh. “Unfortunately for us, he never had the chance to tell me about the other Shepherds.”
A silence fell over the library as the three of them thought about what to say next, but after a few seconds passed, Twilight’s eyes suddenly widened. “But that doesn’t mean he never will.”
“Huh?” Spike and Rainbow Dash replied unison.
Twilight quickly turned her head and magically grabbed a book from across the room, a familiar journal with a blank cover. She brought the book before her, but didn’t open it. “There might be something in here,” she said, eyeing it with cautious hope. “Night Walker recorded portions of his life, and I’ll bet he wrote down his interactions with the other Shepherds. Perhaps somewhere in his biography I can find some clues about Gale.”
As Twilight stared longingly at the book, Rainbow Dash and Spike gave each other an uneasy glance. Then, a loud gurgle echoed in the library, and Rainbow Dash’s cheeks reddened. Twilight and Spike stared at Rainbow Dash who had placed a hoof on her stomach.
“Heh heh… Guess I’m hungry again,” Rainbow Dash said.
Twilight chuckled. “From what Ruby and I can tell, that’s to be expected.” Twilight gently set the journal on the desk before she walked to Rainbow Dash. “You’ve experienced a dramatic transformation already, but we suspect those were only the initial changes. It’s very possible that you’ll experience further changes, even extreme ones as you settle into a stable state. And for that, you’ll probably need plenty of nourishment to ensure a healthy change.”
“What kind of changes are we talking about here?” Rainbow Dash warily asked.
“I have no idea, but we can prepare for some of the more likely ones.” Twilight magically opened the desk to pull out a recently purchased notebook simply titled ‘Drakes’ in quill ink. ”Well, looking over the notes I’ve already collected from you…” Twilight flipped through several pages, each of them having been filled to the edges with various observations and thoughts. “To summarize, we’re expecting to mostly see increased development in your draconic traits. The more observable ones are scale growth, an increase in body mass, fire breathing, and possibly appetite changes. Additionally, we also might see some behavioral changes such as-”
“Do you mind if we skip this for now?” Rainbow Dash asked, flicking her tail with apparent unease. “I’ll, uh… be able to think better without an empty stomach.”
Twilight tilted her head questionably, but then nodded in acceptance. “Alright, if you’re sure. Spike, do you think you could take her to get some food? I still need to read Celestia and Luna’s letter. I’m sure I’ll have a response ready to send by the time you get back.”
Spike saluted. “Sure thing.”
“Thanks,” Twilight said with a smile. She then walked to Rainbow Dash and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Look, I know this has been hard for you, and it’s not going to be easy to get used to all of this. But I just wanted to remind you that you aren’t going through it alone. Just let any of us know if there’s something we can do to help, and we’ll be right there for you in a heartbeat.”
“Is that literal heartbeat, or…” Rainbow Dash joked, and she smirked when Twilight gave her a friendly but scolding glare. “But seriously, thank you,” Rainbow Dash said. “When I get back I’ll be ready to start figuring this out. Promise.”
Twilight nodded, and then gave her a quick hug. “Just be careful, and take a mental note of any differences or changes about yourself that you notice while you're out.”
“Sure,” Rainbow Dash replied, and she gave Twilight a heartfelt smile, which Twilight returned.
The two of them shared the earnest moment before Spike’s sudden chuckle pulled their attention.
“What?” Twilight asked.
“Oh nothing,” Spike replied. “Just find it funny that all three of us have fangs now.”
Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked to one another in surprise, and then giggled together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Approaching the outdoor dining table, the stallion server cheerfully announced, “One stack of hay fries for my favorite dragon.” He placed the plate of fries in front of Spike who rubbed his hands hungrily.
“Alright,” Spike exclaimed, and he began chowing down right away.
“And two daisy and tomato sandwiches, a cherry pie, and a fruit salad for, uh…” The server looked at Rainbow Dash’s face, then to her wings, and then back to her now scowling face.
“Your favorite drake,” Spike answered.
“Right, my.... favorite drake,” the server hesitantly replied. He quickly placed the rest of the food on the table and gave Rainbow Dash a nervous smile as he backed away. “Please enjoy the meal.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and scooted her chair closer to the food. “Maybe we shouldn’t have come out here.”
“But weren’t you worried about your wings making a scene if we ate inside?”
Exhaling in frustration, Rainbow Dash replied, “Yeah, I guess I wouldn’t knock over some pony’s food or something out here, but…” Rainbow Dash glanced at the street, and saw multiple ponies quickly turning their heads away. Even the few bat ponies that could be seen avoided eye contact with her. Rainbow Dash let out a frustrated sigh and covered the side of her face with a hoof. “I’m starting to think that this wasn’t a good idea, either.”
Spike turned his head to the street, and noticed the ponies that walked by were curiously looking in their direction out from the corner of their eyes. “Eh, don’t worry about,” Spike said before turning his attention back to his food. “They’re just curious. I got plenty of looks when I first got to Ponyville, and now nobody even gives me a second glance.” Scooping a handful of fries into his mouth, Spike asked, “I thought you whiked havin’ attenshion?”
“Yeah, but not like this,” Rainbow Dash replied, peeking out from beneath her hoof. Her stomach rumbled again, and when it looked clear that Spike was too busy eating to offer any more advice, Rainbow Dash groaned and grabbed a sandwich. With a temperamental bite, Rainbow Dash tore into the sandwich with her fangs, and she closed her eyes in contentment when she felt how the crisp tomatoes crunched within her mouth. “Mmmm,” she mumbled. “Okay, forget all that. Thish wash a good idea.”
Spike nodded in affirmation, and opened his mouth for another large bite before his eyes trailed past Rainbow Dash’s gluttonous display. “Hey, I think that’s Rarity and Fluttershy down the street.”
Rainbow Dash whipped her head around, and swallowed with an audible gulp. “Where?”
“Over there,” Spike said as he leaned on the table and pointed.
Following his gaze, Rainbow Dash spotted Rarity and Fluttershy standing outside a distant store holding covered baskets while they conversed with one another.
“Hey, Rarity, Fluttershy!” Spike yelled as he waved in their direction.
The two girls turned their heads at the sound of his voice, and in moments they spotted him and Rainbow Dash. A surprised expression played across their faces, and they trotted over.
“Rainbow Dash, you’re out of the hospital!” Rarity exclaimed. “You should have told us, darling. We would have been there to check out with you.”
“How are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked with sweet concern.
Rainbow Dash placed a hoof behind her head as she guiltily smirked. “Sorry, I just got out a few hours ago. I’m feeling alright, though.”
“So I see,” Rarity commented, eyeing the copious amount of food in front of her. “It looks like you are doing a decent job of keeping up your strength.”
“Twilight said I might get pretty hungry,” Rainbow Dash replied. She looked over her plates and licked her lips. “Can’t say that I’m complaining.”
“How are the, um,” Flutter quietly spoke, pausing to look at the fangs that were briefly revealed each time Rainbow Dash smiled. “I mean, how are you handling your changes?”
“One step at a time, I guess,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Twilight’s gonna’ help me out. She wants me to spend the night at her place for a bit.”
“That sounds good,” Rarity said. “If any pony can help you figure out your…” Rarity’s voice trailed off. Her eyes were drawn from Rainbow Dash’s wings to the smattering of mayonnaise on her lips and the daisy petal stuck between her teeth. The horrid sight caused Rarity to shudder, and she dimly recalled a similar scene with Twilight.
“My what?” Rainbow Dash asked, frowning slightly.
“Well, I was going to comment on your condition, but it’s hard to ignore your dreadfully underdeveloped manners,” Rarity replied, trying to not look directly at the filthy mess that was Rainbow Dash’s face. “Hopefully Twilight can help you in that regard as well. I’m sorry, but… May I?” Rarity snatched one of the napkins from the table and floated it near Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, but then chuckled. “Yeah, sure. But just this once, got it?”
“I can’t promise that,” Rarity said, and she began delicately wiping up Rainbow Dash’s face.
Throughout the tidying, Rainbow Dash gave Rarity a light hearted grin, and after she had been cleaned up, she said, “It’s good seeing one of us back to normal.”
“I’m not certain if I’ll ever be entirely normal again, dear. But yes, it does feel good to be back at some crude approximation of it. I’m sure you’ll feel the same when things have settled down for you, too,” Rarity said. She then crumpled the napkin and expertly threw it into a nearby trashcan. “And by that I mean when you begin feeling like your spirited self again. If I learned anything during my time as… well, that, then it’s that regardless of what happens to you, it’s how you feel inside that counts. I know all too well how difficult it can be to handle such drastic changes, but one must never lose their spirit.” She gave Rainbow Dash a heartfelt smile. “And you are one of the most spirited ponies that I know.”
“Heh, I’ll keep that in mind,” Rainbow Dash replied, turning to her sandwich to hide the small blush that appeared on her cheeks. “So what are you two up to?” she asked before taking another bite from her food.
“Oh, um, we were, uh…” Fluttershy nervously began.
“Promoting!” Rarity quickly said.
Fluttershy’s ears perked up, and she eagerly nodded. “Oh, yes! Promoting!” Fluttershy raised her closed basket for them to see. “I was helping Rarity promote some of her new design concepts.”
“How’s that going?” Spike asked.
“Wonderful, actually,” Rarity answered, and she looked down as she opened her basket. Rarity’s horn lit, and out levitated a shining gem for Spike and Rainbow Dash to see. “Voila!”
“Woah,” Spike whispered. “That looks delicious.”
Hearing the remark, Rainbow Dash paused in mid-chew, and eyed the gem curiously.
Rarity giggled. “Oh, Spike. These aren’t for eating. They’re for promoting!”
Spike looked at the gem in sorrow, disappointed by its wasted potential. “And how do they do that?”
“They show the customer how breathtaking and wondrous imagination can be!” Rarity declared with a raised hoof.
Spike and Rainbow Dash simply stared at her, scooping more food into their mouths as they waited for her to continue.
After holding the pose for some moments, Rarity lowered her hoof and asked, “Remember when the Crystal Empire reappeared?”
Spike quickly swallowed his food, and then rested his chin on his hand as a happy, faraway smile appeared on his face. “How could I forget? The party didn’t stop for days.”
“Well, after we returned to Ponyville, sales for my dresses that featured gems were, as they say, through the roof! I even ran out of stock at one point.”
The joy in Spike’s face fell as he remembered the pain in his claws. “How could I forget? I was digging all night.”
“Now that the bat ponies are moving into the castle,” Rarity continued, “gem featured dresses have gone up again. Not as much as right after Crystal Empire’s return, mind you, but enough to make me get out there and spread the word.”
Rainbow Dash tilted in her head in confusion, but then made a loud ‘Mhmm!’ in realization.
“Finish chewing your food first, dear” Rarity quickly said, and waited patiently as Rainbow Dash gulped her sandwich down.
“Dusktown, right?” Rainbow Dash said.
Rarity smiled with half-lidded eyes. “Exactly.”
“I don’t get it,” Spike said. “What’s Dusktown got to do with this?”
“I’ll take you there someday, Spike,” Rarity replied. She then paused as she brought a hoof to her chin. “Though, it might have to be while you have a full stomach. You see, Dusktown was built with absolutely beautifully carved stones from the surrounding Unicorn Range. Oh, how I wish to see it again with their sparkles and shimmers. The last time I was there I couldn’t fully appreciate the wonderful decor due to not being myself. It’s very rare to see stones like in the rest of Equestria, you know. Even with Dusktown’s borders being removed, they’re still moving quite slowly on exporting their natural materials. And rightfully so, as it only makes them that much more unique and radiant.”
“They got some of that at the castle,” Rainbow Dash added. “Mist Hoof showed me the hallways they were building.”
“Woah,” Spike said, trying to imagine it.
“Yes. ‘Woah’ indeed,” Rarity said. A twinkle formed in her eye as she placed the gem back into her basket. “Not only am I appealing to Ponyville’s residents with new gem-inspired dresses, but I’m also trying to catch the bat ponies’ attention as well. If I can get them interested in Ponyville’s gems, then I can have a helping hoof in decorating the castle!” Rarity gave a restrained, but happy noise of excitement. “Doesn’t it sound marvelous? Our town’s gems being used in the castle’s construction?”
“Why don’t you just ask them to use them?” Spike asked.
Rarity sighed. “The point isn’t asking to be part of the castle, it’s to be recognized and invited to be part of the castle.”
“And you accomplish that how?”
Rarity waved a hoof over the town. “By promoting my gems across Ponyville!”
Rarity held her proud pose again, and when Rainbow Dash and Spike gave her dumbfounded looks, she duly groaned. “If I can convince Ponyville’s shopkeepers to display these gems among their wares, then they’ll surely be seen by the bat ponies. More and more have been coming to town while the castle is being built, and it is crucial to build a healthy relationship with them. If we can show the bat ponies our wonderful repertoire of wares, then they’ll come back to town more often even when the castle is complete, strengthening their relationship with Ponyville. And when they see what wonderful and gorgeous gems Ponyville has, they’ll want to have some delivered to the castle to be used in their efforts to recreate some of Dusktown.”
“And that last part is good because…” Rainbow Dash said.
“It’s good because it further solidifies the unity between the two towns. If the bat ponies use Ponyville’s gems, then it’s a symbolic gesture of the bat ponies and the residents of Ponyville becoming closer together to make something new. Something never done before. Something, dare I say, grand!”
“Isn’t it exciting?” Fluttershy added.
Rainbow Dash and Spiked exchanged glances.
“It wouldn’t be possible without you, Fluttershy,” Rarity said. “Why, if you hadn’t recommended using those old gems I’ve been fussing about getting rid of, then we wouldn’t have ever come to such a marvelous and historic idea.”
“I still don’t get how that’s going to help you sell dresses,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s not like I wanted to buy one when I had one of those cupcakes at Pinkie’s work.”
“Oh, so the Cakes did use them,” Rarity replied. “That’s splendid. I knew I could count on them. As for selling dresses, I-” Rarity paused, and then gave Rainbow Dash an incredulous expression. “I’m sorry, did you say you had one of the cupcakes?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash answered. “They were pretty good.”
“One of the gem-covered cupcakes? The ones meant for display?”
“Nah, those were the rock candy ones. You know, from Pinkie Pie’s stash whenever her sister comes to town.”
“Oh, I see. Nevermind then. Anyways, as I was saying. As for selling dresses, I understand it might not be immediately clear as to how handing out gems would spark the idea of buying my dress to a pony.” Rarity’s eyes turned to an imaginary scene and she waved her hoof for emphasize. “But just imagine a pony going about their daily routine, and they just so happen to pass my store. They’ll look through the windows where they’ll see in full display my new line of dresses, decorated with glittering gems, and they’ll be reminded of all the gems they’ve seen around town. Wonder and excitement will fill them, and they absolutely incapable of resisting the temptation to come inside and see them.” Rarity let out a giggle. “When I finally attract the attention of a few bat ponies word will spread even faster! In fact, I’ve been coming up with a whole new line to stylishly accent the bat ponies’ natural features. Although…” Rarity looked over Rainbow Dash, sizing her up with a variety of ideas.
Leaning away, Rainbow Dash cautiously asked, “What are you thinking?”
“Oh, nothing too much. It’s just… I do need another model for my dress making. And while they aren’t batpony wings, I’m sure they’ll-”
“Nuh-uh,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Not happening.” She then turned back to her food and made it a point to eat it as messily as she could, starting with the cherry pie first.
“It was just a thought,” Rarity replied. She let out a sigh of disappointment, but then suddenly gasped. “Oh my, I’m terribly sorry, Rainbow Dash. That was incredibly rude of me. You’ve only just changed and here I am asking you to model those changes for me.”
Rainbow Dash lifted her face from the pie, dribbling red juices down her cheeks in a way that caused Rarity’s eyes to twitch. “Nah, it’s fine. It helps me kinda get used to it.”
“Oh, I see,” Rarity said as she averted her gaze. “That’s a relief. Still, I am sorry. That was very unladylike of me.”
“No worries,” Rainbow Dash replied, and went back to devouring the pie.
Noticing the break in the conversation, Fluttershy spoke, “Um, Spike.”
“Yeah?” Spike replied.
“The next time you see Cloud Shadow, would you please let her know that I’ll be getting the snakes ready for their winter hibernation? She wanted to help me guide them to their dens before the running of the leaves.”
“Sure thing, Fluttershy,” Spike said.
Fluttershy nodded thanks, and then gently prodded Rarity. “We should get back to promoting your gems, and, um… finish our shopping?” Fluttershy gave Rarity two winks.
“Oh yes, of course!” Rarity replied. “Well, off we go. We’ll come visit you later tonight, Rainbow Dash. You’ll be at Twilight’s I trust?”
“Mhmm.”
“Wonderful. We’ll let Applejack and Pinkie Pie know as well. Toodles!”
Fluttershy quickly went up to Rainbow Dash and gave her a gentle hug. “Take care, Dashie. See you and Spike tonight.”
Rainbow Dash swallowed her food, and smiled as she patted Fluttershy’s arm. “Yeah, see you then.”
After waving goodbye to Rarity and Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Spike turned back to their plates. Spike sighed at sight of the greasy plate and the few remaining fries. “Sure wish I could’ve had one of those gems.”
“Makes me want another cupcake from Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Hey, wanna go visit Sugarcube Corner after this?”
Spike looked at Rainbow Dash, then down at her licked-clean plates, and wondered how he had missed her eating the last of her meal. He looked back to Rainbow Dash and her still hungry eyes.
“Maybe we should wait for your stomach to settle,” Spike said carefully. “You don’t want to overeat on your first day.”