Exiting the cave, the frigid air did nothing to weaken the flames of hope that had been kindled in the ponies' hearts. Even the complete, engulfing darkness of the Everfree Forest could not sully the mood at the moment. The icing on the cake was that the snow on the forest floor prevented the ghostly smoke from the dark, corrupted trees from coming up out of the ground.
A loud laugh escaped Twilight as Rainbow regaled them all with the tale of the day they all met and their first adventure again. This time, Rainbow had expanded on it to include the start of the war on Nightmare Night and everything since, modified slightly to make things sound better than they actually were. The latest happening with the Tree of Harmony was left untouched in Rainbow's version of events. “Are you going to put all this in your book, Rainbow?” she asked playfully, leading the ponies through the forest by the magic light of her horn.
“Sure am! Well, with different characters and setting and all that junk.”
“Just don't make everything too similar. Otherwise it's essentially just a history book.”
“Yes, Ms. Twilight!” Rainbow replied with a grin and a mocking tone.
“Why, Rainbow!” said Applejack. “I do believe y'all are sassin' your teacher.”
“What's Twilight going to do? Put me in detention?”
Twilight's grin grew wider. “I must say, you're making the temptation very real.”
Another group-wide laugh escaped the ponies. With the excitement about what happened in the cave guiding their steps, they trotted along through the snow that blanketed the ground at a brisk pace.
“Now then,” said Twilight, her tone becoming firmer. “Back to more serious matters. Cadance, we need to show you how to use your Element of Harmony. It shouldn't be too difficult as the Elements seem to react to each other when they really get going, but there is a level of effort the owner has to put in before their full strength can be brought out. However, without something to practice on, that makes it really tricky.”
“Don't suppose a dummy like the ones guards and soldiers train with would work?” asked Cadance as she carefully adjusted the new magical crown on her head.
“Probably not since they're not exactly threatening Equestria.”
Rainbow hummed. “Mental note for my book: evil training dummies! A wicked sorcerer has created living training dummies to do his, or her, bidding!”
Twilight grinned and rolled her eyes. “Anyway, we'll probably just have to wing it when the time comes.”
“I have one question,” said Fluttershy. “There was a lot of the dark crystal with us in the cave. Think there's any left back at the cottage for us to study? I'd hate to have to return to that dreadful place to get more.”
“Hopefully a few pieces at least,” said Twilight. “Maybe studying it won't be necessary now that we have another Element.”
“It would still be a good idea just in case,” stated Celestia. “Again, my theory is that the Alicorn Amulet is made out of modified midnium. Even with seven Elements it may still be a challenge to overpower Nightmare Moon.”
The ponies reached the edge of the forest and stepped out. Soon as they crossed the threshold, the world got brighter and they all let out relieved sighs.
“Daylight!” cried Rarity in an almost song-like manner. “Glorious daylight!”
Not stopping, the ponies drudged through the fresh layer of snow toward Fluttershy's cottage as the afternoon sun beamed down upon them. Once back inside, Applejack set up a pile of logs in the fireplace and Spike lit them ablaze with his flame breath. Within moments, the cottage living room was bathed in the warm dancing light. After Fluttershy gave Angel a bowl of mixed greens and chopped carrots—the bunny having started pestering her for food the moment she walked in the door—she prepared a mug of hot apple cider for everypony.
“I also have hot chocolate and marshmallows,” said Fluttershy with a smile. “Just in case anypony's getting tired of cider. No offense, Applejack.”
“None taken,” replied Applejack. “Even I need a break from apples now and then.”
Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Spike all gave Applejack a surprised stare.
Applejack gave them an equally surprised look. “What? I do! Y'all didn't seriously think that apples are all I ever eat did you?”
“We know that, darling,” said Rarity. “But it's still funny to hear the premier Apple pony in all of Equestria say that.”
Applejack blushed as the others all shared a hearty laugh. “I'll have some of that hot chocolate if you please, Fluttershy. No marshmallows.”
“Speaking of marshmallows,” said Fluttershy as she prepared everypony's requested drink, “How about we make s'mores? I've got plenty of chocolate bars and graham crackers to share!”
Pinkie hurried upstairs and returned a moment later, carrying the bag of Sugarcube Corner delicacies that had been left behind when the ponies had been teleported to the Tree of Harmony. “Let's not forget about these!”
“Pinkie Pie," said Fluttershy, “can you roast the marshmallows?”
Pinkie beamed and set the goodie bag on the vacant couch in the room. “Don't mind if I do!”
As Pinkie and Fluttershy collected the ingredients and set about making the s'mores, Twilight retrieved her saddlebag from the pile of them beside the base of the stairs. The bag was very light. Opening it, she noticed it was empty. “My saddlebag's empty. Where's all the food and water I know I had in here?”
“You dumped it all out to make room for the extra crystals you wanted to bring back,” said Spike. “We divided it up between the rest of us.”
Twilight rubbed her temple and set the saddlebag down. “I'll assume that was the me-acting-strange thing you were all talking about when I woke up. How much midnium did we bring back?”
Shining Armor nodded. “Yeah, it was part of you acting strange. Your other question, we brought back your saddlebag and this tote.” He pointed to the tote bag next to the pile of saddlebags.
Twilight levitated the tote bag over and opened all the pockets. Looking inside, she let out a deep sigh. “There's nothing in here.”
Everypony glanced over at Twilight and the tote.
Applejack walked up and looked inside both Twilight's saddlebag and the tote. She gasped. “She's right! There ain't a single one!”
Everypony's eyes widened and they took turns looking inside the bags. After they'd all checked, they went silent and the only sound in the room was the soft crackles of the fire in the fireplace.
“But...” uttered Applejack after a few moments. She frowned, and her lip trembled. “But how?”
“Some of it did get teleported to the Tree of Harmony with us,” Rainbow said.
“Not two whole bags worth!”
Rainbow paused. “True...”
“We've been robbed!” cried Pinkie with a deep frown. “Nightmare Moon somehow must have been watching us after all! Or Luna. Come to think of it we haven't seen Nightmare Moon or Luna since the Crystal Empire was taken.”
“Could the Headless Horse have been spying on us for Nightmare Moon?” Rainbow asked with a scowl and a slight huff. “We still don't know exactly where it went or what it was doing out there, and somehow at the same time we were. It attacking us might have even simply been a ruse to get us to follow it.”
Twilight frowned and her ears fell flat against her head. Her tone turned somber. “Both of those theories are equally plausible. No matter. This bodes very ill for us. Without any midnium samples left to study we're basically back to square one.”
“Don't forget,” said Cadance. “We still have my new Element of Harmony, and you said it feels like the Tree made all of yours stronger. We can't start losing hope.”
Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared in front of Celestia. The smoke turned into a rolled up parchment and fell to the floor at the princess's hooves. Everypony glanced at the paper curiously.
Celestia's horn lit up and the parchment became enveloped in a gold aura. Levitating it off the cottage floor up to her eye level, she unrolled the paper and began to read. “It's from Trixie.”
“What's it say?” asked Spike.
Everypony was silent as they waited.
Celestia began to frown as her eyes scanned the letter. With a sigh, she glanced down as the letter continued to hover in front of her.
“Bad news I'm assumin',” said Applejack.
Twilight walked over to Celestia and gently grabbed the floating paper in her hooves. She read the letter aloud.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Trixie regrets to inform you that her investigation went nowhere. The merchant I obtained the Alicorn Amulet from was insistent that he knew nothing more about it than what he told me when I bought it from him. I admit I was reluctant to believe him at first, but there was just a sincerity about him that I could not ignore.
However, there is one thing that has me very confused. When I asked about this friend who told me the shop had the amulet, the blank look he gave me was something to behold. He said it'd only been two weeks since he'd found it and hadn't told anypony about it yet. I didn't believe that of course, considering the amulet was very clearly on display for everypony to see when I first came to the shop. When I pressed the matter further, again he insisted he was telling the truth. After a while of getting nowhere I just decided to drop it and leave it alone. So yeah... I am at a complete loss here. I distinctly remember somepony coming to my wagon that one night and telling me where the amulet was. What gives?
Anyway, I'm back in Canterlot now. Thanks again for letting those two night guards who were with us the morning of Hearth's Warming Eve be my escorts. They may just become new friends of mine. That is, if I can figure out how that would work with me always being asleep while they're awake...
I hear you went off to Ponyville. Please tell Twilight and the others that I said hi and hope they're okay.
P.S. While we were getting ready to leave Baltimare, Donovan slipped on some ice and hurt his leg. He'll be out of work for a little bit while he's recovering.
Twilight simply allowed the parchment to fall to the floor and everypony let out a deep sigh.
“Well that just proves it!” said Applejack. “It really was Nightmare Moon who told Trixie where to find the Amulet. The whole time, that poor showpony was just bein' manipulated as part of a larger plot against Equestria, playin' on her fears and doubts, just like Princess Luna!” Applejack glared and stomped her hoof. The force of the impact made a loud crash which caused everypony to startle, and also left a large dent in the cottage's wooden floor.
Applejack blushed as she held her hoof over where it made impact. “Uh, oops... Sorry about that, Fluttershy.”
“Oh, It's okay,” said Fluttershy, giving Applejack a comforting smile. “I know you didn't mean to do that.”
“I promise I'll get that fixed up. I'm just so gosh darn mad right now I could buck a tree right off its trunk with one leg.”
“Save that aggression for Nightmare Moon and her minions,” stated Twilight. “We're going to need it.”
“Don't worry, sugarcube. I got plenty of aggression saved up for when that monster shows her ugly face again.”
“Just make sure you leave some flank left for the rest of us to kick!” Rainbow grinned as she and Applejack knocked their hooves together.
Celestia glanced toward the door. “After the s'mores and drinks, I think we should go and see how things are going in Ponyville with the reconstruction and emergency defense troops.”
Nopony spoke for a while as Fluttershy and Pinkie resumed their task of making the s'mores, cider and hot chocolate. Not finding any duct tape in the cottage, Applejack placed a small towel over the dent she'd made in the floor along with a piece of paper that had 'floor dented. don't step here. unsafe.' written on it.
The ponies enjoyed a quick batch of all the goodies then left the cottage. Without pausing to look at the numerous snow-covered burrows or the bird houses hanging from the trees, the ponies crossed the bridge separating Fluttershy's cottage from the rest of Ponyville. All of the Hearth's Warming Eve decorations were still up, from the wreaths on doors and windows, to the large plastic candy canes along the roads, and strands of multicolored lights hanging between trees and streetlamps.
Twilight didn't pay much attention to the decorations. She glanced to the groups of ponies who were busy working on rebuilding the houses damaged or destroyed in the recent earthquake. She frowned, spotting the emergency medical tents with ponies injured in the earthquake inside them. Some of the inner fire came back to Twilight as Nurse Redheart beamed and waved to her and her friends.
The ponies returned the greeting then continued on their way toward the center of Ponyville. As they entered the town center, the light and warmth of the large bonfire in the fire pit washed over them. On both sides of the fire pit, groups of ponies wielding spears were sparring with each other while royal guards observed.
“Looks like the emergency recruits' training is proceeding well,” said Celestia. “Decent form, decent hoofwork. I just wish we'd had more time to make them some armor so that they'd have a little protection. But with so many recruits so quickly, the smithy ponies have been working the forges day and night just to make all the extra weapons for them.”
“Our humble little Ponyville has become a war camp...” Applejack let out a sigh. “I know it's for the good of Equestria, but it still hurts to think about it.”
Celestia looked around. “It's like this all over Equestria now. From the big cities on the coasts to every town in-between. It saddens me greatly that is the case, but at the same time, seeing such a massive response to my plea for Equestria to rise up and fight...” Celestia smiled and her eyes began to water. Sniffling, she wiped her nose and turned back to Twilight and the others. Her demeanor turned firm.
“As for our options,” she continued, “trying to wrestle the Crystal Empire from Nightmare Moon is out of the question. Captain Spitfire and the Wonderbolts have managed to scout the outer perimeter.”
“What do they have to report?” asked Cadance.
Celestia paused for a moment and breathed deeply. “It's dark, has that ghostly-white sky we've become all too familiar with, seemingly endless thunder and lightning storms, there's chunks of earth big and small floating around all over the place, and there's numerous giant midnium crystals as tall as the palace dotting the area. The land itself has been terraformed into a labyrinth of rocky, razor-sharp canyons, some of which go so deep that you can't see the bottom.”
Everypony stared wide-eyed in horror as the princess detailed the fate of the Crystal Empire.
“The region has been renamed The Deadlands, on account of there's nothing left of what it was before. Trying to move an army through it is sure to be suicide. We will just have to wait for Nightmare Moon to make the next move. It could be anywhere but I'm certain it will be Canterlot.”
Twilight removed the Element of Magic from her head and held it firmly against her chest. “With any luck, and with the help of our new secret weapon...” She paused and gave everypony a firm nod as she emphasized those two words. “We'll be able to end this thing once and for all the next time Nightmare Moon shows herself.”
“Relax, Twilight!” said Rainbow. She grinned and playfully batted Twilight's shoulder. “We got this! No sweat!”
Twilight smiled. “Have you ever stopped to think how much that confidence of yours is contagious?”
“Believe it or not, yes I have actually. Like Pinkie, it's my way of making ponies smile!”
Pinkie gasped and her face lit up. “Rainbow Dash! Do I really inspire you like that?”
Rainbow gave Pinkie the same grin she'd given Twilight. “Well... Obviously I was already awesome, but I guess you helped a little.”
“That's good enough for me!” Pinkie beamed so brightly that she looked like she was going to explode into a shower of confetti and streamers.
The ponies all laughed as Rainbow was practically tackle-hugged by Pinkie.
Rainbow let out a choked gasp. “Pinkie! Can't breathe!”
“Oops!” said Pinkie as she pulled back and hopped in place. “I'm just so happy that I inspired you to spread smiles too. Hoof bump of awesomeness!” Pinkie held her hoof out in front of her.
After catching her breath, Rainbow smiled and knocked her hoof against Pinkie's. “Bam!”
“Speaking of making ponies smile,” said Pinkie, “we passed the meditents on our way here. I'll bet those poor ponies could use some cheer!”
“That's a great idea, Pinkie!” stated Twilight. “Come on, everypony. Let's go see how the ponies injured in the earthquake are doing.”
Wearing bright smiles, the ponies retreated from the town center and made their way over to the row of tents they'd passed along the way. Nurse Redheart and several of the other nurse ponies were seated at a nearby table, enjoying a small lunch of cucumber sandwiches, and looking over numerous clipboards that had differently colored paper attached. The table was next to a large tent where the camp's supplies were stored.
“Greetings, everypony,” said Twilight.
The nurse ponies beamed and bowed to Celestia and Cadance.
“Welcome back!” said Nurse Redheart. “It's so good to see you all again, and unharmed. How'd your quest into the...um, place go?”
“All things considered,” replied Twilight. “It went well, and I think we're ready for Nightmare Moon now finally.”
“Truly? That's wonderful to hear!”
“It certainly is! Anyway, my friends and I were all wondering how things were going here with the ponies injured in the earthquake.”
“Thankfully, all that's left are the ponies with broken limbs. They're doing better now, but the poor dears still have a little way to go.”
“Is it alright if we see them?”
Nurse Redheart beamed and nodded several times. “Of course! Why, seeing you all might lift their spirits.”
Pinkie continued to hop in place. “Bringing some smiles is exactly why we're here.”
“Okay, everypony. Let's start here and go down the line.” Smiling brightly, Twilight made her way toward the nearest patient tent several yards away. But just as she was about to step through the door flaps, they opened and Twilight bumped into a pony stepping out of the tent. Both she and the pony grunted at the same time, and everypony following Twilight stopped.
“Hey!” said the unexpected arrival in a not-so-friendly manner.
Twilight stepped back. Suddenly, she found herself meeting the glare of a light-turquoise pegasus mare.
The mare had golden eyes and an amber and gold striped mane and tail. She had goggles strapped to her forehead, and she wore a tight-fitting shirt that was yellow on the chest and blue along her sides under her wings. Her cutie mark was a white lightning bolt with two orange stars and one yellow star. “Watch where you're going!” she cried.
“Sorry!” said Twilight.
“What are you getting all mad for?” asked Spike, giving the mare a sour look. “We couldn't see you. How was Twilight supposed to know you were there?”
The mare let out a loud snort. She turned and started to walk away, but before she'd gone even four steps, she looked back and stared at Twilight and the others with wide eyes. Though mostly she gazed at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow scowled. “Well well, look who the twister dragged in...”
The mare's demeanor shifted from utter shock to great irritation. She looked back to her front and buried her face in her hoof.
Rainbow kept her gaze locked on her. “What are you doing here... Lightning Dust?”
“Of all the rotten luck...” grumbled Lightning through gritted teeth. “I so don't need this right now...”
Everypony furrowed their brow at Rainbow, then glanced at Lightning.
“You going to answer the question?” Rainbow asked.
Lightning returned her hoof to the ground and went back to staring at Rainbow. “I'm not here to cause trouble if that's what you mean.”
“Pardon, but y'all seem familiar,” said Applejack. She rubbed her chin and gave Lightning an inquisitive stare.
Lightning rolled her eyes.
After a few moments, Applejack gasped and went wide-eyed. “I remember now! You're that—”
“Yes!” Lightning's interruption was loud enough that it startled the others, and earned her a glare and shushing sound from Nurse Redheart. She sighed and lowered her voice back to a normal talking level. “I'm that thoughtless idiot from the Wonderbolts Academy who thought it would be a good idea to use a twister for cloudbusting."
Shining Armor gave Lightning a fierce scowl. "Yeah. We heard from Twilight and the others all about how you almost got them all killed."
"I didn't mean to."
Rainbow scoffed. “That's funny to hear, coming from the pony who was perfectly fine with endangering the other cadets during exercises so long as she came out on top.”
Lightning sighed. “Yeah, you got me there, but believe it or not I wouldn't have done it if I'd known visitors were coming. Even I'm not that stupid.”
“Could have fooled me,” Rainbow said.
Twilight felt a twinge of unease poking at her as she listened to the altercation. Something about Lightning Dust's words and her defensiveness struck a chord deep inside her. She sensed a great deal of anger, but also traces of a deep, crippling fear. Twilight recalled being there at the Academy when Spitfire confronted Lightning about her dangerous behavior, and the way Spitfire ripped Lightning's lead-pony badge from her uniform, all right in front of herself, her friends, and all the other cadets. Twilight recalled the look of sheer terror in Lightning's demeanor as Spitfire sent her away, and could only imagine the utter humiliation Lightning must have felt. Bringing herself back to the present, the unease within Twilight grew.
Lightning gritted her teeth, and glared at Rainbow in such a way that would kill if looks were able to. “I'M SORRY ALRIGHT!"
The outburst was enough that Twilight and the others, including Rainbow, jumped and shrunk back a little. From her position away from the group, Nurse Redheart looked like she wanted to come over and ask Lightning Dust to stop disturbing the patients with her shouting, but she seemed afraid to. Other ponies in the area who heard it also stopped to look and see what was going on.
Maintaining her soul-piercing glare, Lightning's eyes began to water and her whole body started to quiver. “HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?! I'M SORRY!” She whirled around so that her back was facing everypony, looked down at the ground and sniffled.
From where she stood, Twilight spotted several tiny water droplets fall from Lightning's cheeks.
Rainbow swallowed hard. She waited for a few moments to speak, and when she did, her voice was a little shaky, and it wasn't as antagonizing as before. “I-I see you have a new uniform. Looks like Spitfire gave you another chance.”
Lightning quickly wiped her nose and eyes before turning back to face everypony. Her eyes were slightly reddened and still a little wet but no tears fell. Her glare had shifted to a mild grimace. When she finally spoke, her tone had a level of forced composure to it. “Yeah...”
Rainbow nodded. “That's good at least. You may have been—” She suddenly put her hoof over her mouth, coughed, then returned her hoof to the ground. “I mean, truth be told you really are a top notch flier. Easily one of the best I've ever seen."
“It's been far from glamorous.” Lightning looked down again briefly.
“What happened?”
Lightning eyed Rainbow dubiously. “You really want to know? You aren't busy or have something more important to do than listen to me whine?”
The others exchanged glances for a few moments, then nodded.
“Okay fine..." Lightning sighed again. "I was put on suspension. Lock-down is a more appropriate way of describing it. I was confined to the barracks, and was allowed out only for meals and to do odd chores around the grounds under strict supervision. The rest of the time was spent trying not to go crazy from boredom. There's only so many times you can play solitaire in a single day before you never want to see another deck of cards in your life.”
Twilight frowned slightly. I think I have an idea where this is going...
“In addition,” continued Lightning, “the other cadets wouldn't talk to me. They wouldn't sit by me during meals either. It was like that for over two months.”
“Two whole months?” asked Fluttershy.
“Who could blame them? But it was maddening all the same. I tolerated it because I didn't want to just give up, or give Spitfire the impression that I wasn't serious about wanting to stay. Finally, she called me into her office.”
“And what did she say?” Rainbow inquired.
“First, much to my surprise, she apologized. She said it was 'unprofessional' of her to humiliate me in front of everypony like she did. I'm sure plenty of ponies out there would say she was right to do that. Anyway, she said, after careful consideration, she was willing to give me another chance. Seems she agrees with you, Dash, about my raw flying skills, but I'd have to start at the very very bottom and work my way back up.”
Lightning Dust paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “Lastly... she got up in my face—our noses touching—looked me straight in the eyes, and warned me that if I put a single hoof out of line this time, she'd pack my bags for me, then literally throw them and me right off the mountainside.” She swallowed hard. “M-Message received...”
Rainbow nodded. “So... what are you doing in Ponyville?”
“Spitfire, Soarin and them wanted to do some more scouting up north by the Crystal Empire today so they gave us the day off. I just had to get away from the academy, and away from—” She paused and grumbled something under her breath.
"But you could have gone anywhere. Why Ponyville? And are things between you and the other cadets still bad?”
Lightning glowered and turned her gaze off to her right side. “It's worse. I hear them whispering behind my back when I'm standing right there, calling me a monster and saying I belong behind bars, not in the Academy.”
She paused once more. Her eyes started to water again and she waited several seconds before continuing. "Two of them in particular won't hesitate to say it right to my face when Spitfire isn't there."
“If the others are giving you a hard time you should report it to Spitfire,” Rainbow stated.
Lightning wiped her eyes then shook her head. “I can't.”
“Why can't you?” asked Twilight.
“After the way I acted before... Spitfire will think I'm just trying to stir up trouble and kick me out of the academy.”
“Oh, come on now,” said Applejack in a firm yet compassionate tone. “Y'all don't really believe that do you?”
Lightning turned her gaze back to everypony. “I'd rather not talk about it."
The others all exchanged uncertain glances.
“Look...” Lightning continued. “For what it's worth, I am truly sorry for what I did and the way I acted, but I don't want any more trouble. Between the freaky dreams waking me up in the middle of the night and everything else I just told you, I have enough problems as it is. I can't tell Spitfire about the other cadets. I just... I just can't. Besides, ever since Nightmare Night we've all had much, much bigger problems correct? Now, if you'll excuse me I really should get back before dinner time.”
Celestia furrowed her brow. “'Freaky dreams'...?” she muttered under her breath.
Lightning spread her wings.
“Please, wait a moment,” said Celestia.
Everypony glanced at Celestia, except for Lightning who folded her wings against her side and stood still.
“Yes?” Lightning asked before clearing her throat a little. “I mean... yes, Princess?”
“Tell me about these dreams you have been having.”
Lightning stared up at Celestia with a look of confusion on her face. “Why? I mean they're just dreams. They don't mean anything.”
“Do they happen to involve a dark world, with a sky that is ghostly-white and has a black moon?”
Lightning gasped under her breath and her eyes widened.
“I have had several dreams of that sort. The very first was the morning of Nightmare Night when all this started. I have also had a dream where Princess Luna was extending her hoof out to me, but I could not reach it, and she was giving me an unsettling look. An acquaintance of Rainbow Dash and her friends by the name of Trixie had a dream where she saw herself doing the very same.”
Twilight and the others all gave Celestia curious looks.
“Miss Lightning Dust,” continued Celestia, giving Lightning the gentlest smile and tone of voice she could, “perhaps you have seen some, or all, that I have just revealed to you in these dreams of yours?”
After a moment of tense silence, and examining the look on Lightning's face, Celestia let out a soft hum and nodded.
“You have...” said Twilight, frowning slightly. “I had a dream as well, as a result of the incident that gave me these.” She pointed to the claw-mark scars over her eyes.
Lightning turned her attention to Twilight.
“I was in the Crystal Empire. I was alone. Except I wasn't really. Something was there with me, and it made the most horrible shrieking sounds I'd ever heard. Turns out it was the Headless Horse.”
Rainbow let out a mild snort and rubbed her head.
“And... when my friends and I left Equestria to search for more of those dark crystals to study them, we learned that...” Twilight paused as the memories of their encounter with the fearsome creature resurfaced in her. She swallowed hard. “The place our search led us to... there was a very, very real Headless Horse there with us.”
By this point, Lightning Dust was trembling terribly, her ears flat, and beads of sweat raced down her brow.
“Please!” pleaded Twilight. “Tell us what you've seen in your dreams! They might contain critical information, and you might be in real danger!”
“I-I...” Lightning stammered.
Several moments passed, with everypony gave Lightning an encouraging but worrisome stare.
“I got to go!” Without putting her goggles on, and with speed that was a credit to her name, Lightning spread her wings, kicked into the air, and flew off to the northwest toward Cloudsdale. In her wake was left a trail of light-turquoise vapor and amber lightning that vanished as quickly as its maker departed.
“Wait a second!” Rainbow cried at the top of her lungs, but Lightning was already long out of earshot. She groaned, facehoofed, and turned to look at the others. “Well... that happened.”
With frowns upon their faces and their ears flat, everypony watched as Lightning and her signature trail faded from sight.
“Not what I was expecting when I said we should visit the ponies in the meditents,” said Pinkie. “Now this Pink is feeling a little blue.”
"She never told us why she came to Ponyville of all places on her day off," said Fluttershy.
“I was going to ask if she'd like to join us for dinner sometime,” stated Rarity. "Then she could have somepony to talk to if she wanted. And it sounds like she desperately needs it.”
“Is that pony crazy?” asked Spike. “Just letting the other cadets treat her like some heartless criminal?”
"She's scared," Rainbow said. "The Academy is as close as most ponies get to becoming a real Wonderbolt. I learned that while I was there, and Lightning Dust is very lucky Spitfire decided to give her another chance after what happened. Guess she's still willing to do anything to prove herself, even if that means... well, everything she just said."
Applejack gazed at Celestia. “Y'all never told us about Trixie having a dream, Princess.”
Celestia gave a little nod. “It was the early morning of Hearth's Warming after another dream. I and a couple of the night guards found Trixie passed out in the dining hall.”
While Twilight was listening to Celestia recount the story of Trixie's dreams, she mulled over the dream she had following her incident with the Crystal Heart. She then thought about the prospect of Lightning Dust having had dreams similar to Trixie's—seeing a pony identical to themselves in the dream. She thought about the dream Celestia mentioned about seeing Luna, and Luna in the dream behaving in the same unsettling manner as the identical Trixie and Lightning Dust from their dreams.
It wasn't until she heard the voices of her friends that Twilight was pulled out of the trance-like state she had fallen into during her contemplation. Glancing around, she noticed that everypony else was staring at her.
Before anypony could say anything, another voice cried out nearby.
“Mayday! Mayday!”
The ponies turned their attention to the source.
Lightning Dust had returned, and she had the eyes and tone of voice of one who was about to have a severe panic attack. “Thank goodness I got back before you wandered off!” she cried, sweat pouring down her brow and taking heavy breaths.
Nurse Redheart, the other doctors, and other various townsponies ponies in the area suddenly came running and gathered around.
“Lightning?” Rainbow asked. “What are you doing back here?”
“I saw it as I was flying past the city! Canterlot is under attack!”
Everypony in the area gasped and began to murmur to each other, their voices betraying sheer terror.
“The city won't stand a chance without the Elements of Harmony!” Lightning continued. “You got to get over there, pronto!”
Celestia nodded and gave Lightning a firm look. “Miss Lightning Dust, return to Cloudsdale and tell the Wonderbolts to raise the alarm! Every pegasus defense unit in the city must make haste for Canterlot immediately!”
Without warning, the ground all across the area turned pitch-black like a bottomless pit.
Twilight's heart raced as she suddenly found herself gazing down into a pair of glowing solid-white orbs. Everypony in the area also looked at the ground, seeing the same thing at their own hooves, plus dozens more.