//------------------------------// // That Night III // Story: Repercussions // by shallow15 //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash hung up her phone after her brief conversation with Twilight. She reached back to her nightstand for her copy of Daring Do and the Secret of the Baltimare Menace, when her phone started ringing again. She sighed and answered. “Rainbow Dash, whatcha want?” she asked. “Um... yes? This is Jalepeno Jelly, Rainbow. Pepperdance's mom?” Rainbow sat up. “Oh, hi, Mrs. Jelly! Sorry about that.” “Oh, that's fine.” Rainbow frowned. Something about Pepperdance's mother seemed off. “Is everything okay?” “Have you seen Pepperdance tonight? She said she was going to visit some friends after school, but she hasn't come home yet.” “Who was she supposed to meet?” “Lyra and Bon Bon. I called them earlier. They said they met her at Sugarcube Corner, but she said she had something to do and left about an hour later. Nobody I've talked to has seen her since. I haven't gotten any calls or texts from her.” “Wish I could help,” Rainbow said, “But I haven't heard from her since school either. Sorry. If I hear from her, I'll be sure to tell her to head home, or check in, or something.” “Thank you, Rainbow. Have a good night.” “Yeah, thanks Mrs. Jelly.” Pepperdance's mother ended the call. Rainbow reluctantly put her phone down and picked up her book. She opened to her bookmarked place and tried to read. Unfortunately, the words wouldn't register in her brain. Her attention kept drifting back to the phone call, and it wasn't until she realized she had been reading the same sentence for the last five minutes that she finally tossed the book aside and picked up her phone. “C'mon, Pepps, pick up,” she muttered as the phone rang. Eventually, the call went to voice mail. “Yeah, Pepps, it's Rainbow. Your mom is really worried about you. Get home, or call her and let her know you're okay, yeah? Talk to you later.” Rainbow frowned in thought, then called another number. “Pinkie? Rainbow. Listen, you know everything about everybody, any idea what Pepperdance's Thursday nights are usually like? Uh-huh. Listen, Pinks, can you borrow your sister's car? Mom and Dad are having a date night tonight. “Yeah, we're going to find Pepperdance.” Rainbow and Pinkie came to a stop across the street from the Hey! Burger a couple of blocks south of Canterlot High. Rainbow looked as the lights in the restaurant began going out. “You're sure this is where she works?” she asked. “Absolutely-tootly!” Pinkie chirped. “She traded shifts with Flitter so she could have Saturday off to spend the day with you!” “And you know that how?” “Flitter told me when she had to reschedule our bi-quarterly pie eating contest.” “Wait, you and Flitter have bi-quarterly pie eating – never mind,” Rainbow said, turning her attention back to the restaurant. “Are you sure she's even here? I mean, you would think her mom would know if she was working tonight.” Pinkie pointed. “Well, if she's not working tonight, why is she hiding in the shadows over there at the gas station next door?” Rainbow gaped. “Why didn't you say something?!” She didn't bother waiting for an answer, instead getting out of the car and running across the street. Pinkie got out of the car and followed. Rainbow didn't waste any time, grabbing Pepperdance's arm. “There you are!” “Rainbow Dash!” Pepperdance cried. “What are you doing?” “Looking for you! Your mom's losing her mind wondering where you are!” “I know,” Pepperdance said, looking at the ground. “But I needed to come here without anyone knowing. Honestly, if I'd been thinking, I would have insisted we do this somewhere else.” “Do what?” Rainbow asked. Pepperdance looked at her, then sighed. “I guess you guys were going to find out eventually. Look, I kinda saw what happened to Sunset the other night.” “So that's how everyone knew what had happened! You put the word out!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Yeah,” said Pepperdance. “I saw the woman in the overcoat hurling magic and chasing Sunset. I followed them and saw them next to the maintenance corridors.” “And she zapped Sunset, right?” Rainbow asked. “Yeah, but just before that, her hat fell off. She looked different, but I was sure I had seen her before. It hit me earlier today, but I wanted to be sure. So I called her and asked to meet her to be sure. She told me to meet her here.” “Called who?” Rainbow asked. “Who did you think you saw?” Pinkie suddenly twitched so hard, her head painfully shot to the left. She quickly tackled the two other girls to the ground. “DUCK!” A bolt of pink lightning shot out of the darkness, striking the side of the gas station. Shards of brick spattered around them. The three of them looked up to see the woman in the black overcoat standing on the sidewalk. She raised her hands, sparking with more magic, and hurled more bolts towards them. The three rolled out of the way and scrabbled to their feet. Pepperdance ran off in a panic. The woman sneered at Rainbow and Pinkie Pie and took off after her, moving with a surprising amount of speed. “Not this time!” Rainbow cried. She turned to Pinkie. “Call the girls!” She grabbed her geode and activated it. She took off in a multicolored blur, closing the distance. The woman looked behind her and raised a hand to her throat. Rainbow frowned and poured on the speed, which is when the woman in black did something unexpected. She stopped running. Rainbow zoomed past her and dug her heels into the ground, trying to cancel her momentum. She shot past Pepperdance, who also came to a halt as the rainbow blur threw her off her stride. Rainbow skidded to a halt and spun around. Her eyes widened in horror. “Pepperdance! Look out!” Pepperdance turned and let out a cry of pain as she was hit with a bolt of magic. She collapsed to the ground. Rainbow felt sick as she heard the girl's skull hit the concrete with a loud crack.She snarled as the woman in black came into view. The woman looked down at Pepperdance, then up at Rainbow. She grinned, gave Rainbow a mocking salute, then vanished in another bolt of lightning that shot away down the street. Rainbow cursed and rushed back to Pepperdance. She kneeled down and her expression softened. Pepperdance was out cold. Worse yet, when Rainbow lifted her off the ground, the hair on the back of Pepperdance's hair was sticky. “I called for an ambulance!” Pinkie said, rushing up. “Is she okay?” “I don't know!” Rainbow cried. “She's not waking up, and there's blood and I – I don't know what to do!” She held her friend closer, not noticing or caring that tears were rolling down her cheeks. “I'm sorry, Pepps, I'm so sorry!” A siren became audible in the distance. Pinkie kneeled down and held Rainbow as they waited for help to arrive.