Step 1: Move Fluttershy.
Fluttershy was thoroughly snuggling Rainbow Dash in such a way that each wing was wrapped around Dash’s torso, effectively pinning her to the bed. Not that Dash would ever complain about being pinned by Fluttershy, but with the sun looming on the horizon, she knew she had no choice but to get up.
Step 2: Move Fluttershy. Try harder.
Gently, Dash pried one hoof free from its confines. From there, she used her free hoof to push Fluttershy off her using a nearby nightstand as leverage. With a victorious grin, she moved away—
Fluttershy wasted no time, wrapping her wings around the length of Dash’s body like a well-oiled bear trap.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Dash said under her breath.
Step 3: ???
Rainbow Dash was no tactician but her time in the Solar Guard had not been in vain. Instead of trying to redouble her efforts, she thought of a new strategy.
“Fluttershy,” Dash whispered, her voice tickling the thestral’s ear. “I know you’re still asleep, but I need to get up.” Dash leaned in, savoring the warmth of Fluttershy’s lips as she slowly regained consciousness.
“Mmm… no~” Fluttershy whispered back through half-lidded eyes, tightening her grip around the pegasus’ body.
Dash rolled her eyes, leaning into Fluttershy and wrapping her hooves around Fluttershy, eliciting a soft moan from her. “Remember why we came here? To meet Twilight Sparkle?”
Another ear twitch. Fluttershy gently shifted her head, resting it on Dash’s neck. “On Princess Celestia’s orders, not the Night Mother’s. The Sun Princess can wait, and so can Twilight Sparkle.”
Dash snorted. “Maybe they can, but the Sun Princess is to me what the Night Mother is to you. So please, let me get up and I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”
Fluttershy sighed, slowly releasing her hold on Dash. “Fine, but a promise is a promise. Stay safe and come back as soon as you can.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “I doubt anyone in this town could pose much trouble for me. I’ll be back soon, I promise.”
Ponyville was a completely different creature in the morning compared to the ghost town it was at night. Different, but a welcome change of pace from what she was used to after living in Canterlot for so long. An older stallion placed a straw hat over his heart and bowed to her as she walked past him, and for a moment, Rainbow Dash remembered why she donned her golden armor.
“Glad to see we’re finally getting some actual security around here. We’ve never had guards garrisoned in Ponyville,” the stallion mumbled. “The forest that borders the town is nothing but trouble, just a word of warning.”
Dash nodded. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
She took another few steps before she was greeted by several fillies and colts who were definitely supposed to be in school at this hour. They surrounded her with a flurry of questions:
“Are you a royal guard?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Is your mane real or is that just dye?”
“Your armor is so cool!”
“Yes. I can’t tell you that. Yes, it’s real. And thank you,” Dash replied with a sheepish grin. One of those wasn’t a real question, but it was difficult to think with all the voices distracting her.
“You four better get back here! Rumble and Dinky, you two are already on thin ice!”
Rainbow Dash heard a voice shouting from behind her and in an instant the foals scurried off, leaving a comical trail of dust in their wake. Dash spat out the dirt in her mouth and groaned. “Geez, I have a feeling that the ponies in this town are gonna drive me crazy.”
“Funny, I said the same thing when I first came here.” Dash spun around. A purple unicorn stared intently at her. “Miss Rainbow Dash, I presume? Princess Celestia told me you were coming.”
“Dash is fine if you don’t mind,” she replied, shaking the unicorn’s hoof. “You’re Twilight Sparkle, right? I was supposed to meet you for… something. Princess Celestia wasn’t too specific on the details.”
Twilight nodded. “I can tell you more about it in private. For now, follow me to the Golden Oak Library. We can talk more there.”
“A promise is a promise. Stay safe and come back as soon as you can.”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. A small sense of unease took root in the back of her head, yet she buried it away. She still had a mission to do, after all. “Lead the way, Twilight.”
“Do you remember the Summer Sun Celebration?”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Vaguely. It’s celebrated most in Ponyville, right? I know it was the day that Nightmare Moon returned, and the day we got another princess.”
Twilight paced between bookshelves, placing a book titled ‘The Elements of Harmony’ on a table in front of her. “I originally came here to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration, but I had to rescue Princess Celestia after Nightmare Moon returned. Princess Celestia managed to defeat Nightmare Moon, and Princess Luna was freed.” Twilight finally sat down across from Dash. “But that’s not the whole story.”
Dash raised a brow. “Huh? That’s the story that I heard from Princess Celestia. Is there more to it?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Twilight opened the book, the first page showed a picture of colorful gemstones that Dash didn’t recognize. “When Princess Luna was first banished to the moon, Princess Celestia used the Elements of Harmony on her—”
“Elements of Harmony?”
Twilight pointed to the picture. “Magical artifacts that predate even the foundation of Equestria. When Nightmare Moon came back, Princess Celestia tried again, but failed.”
“What? Why did she fail?” Rainbow Dash did her best to close her gaping mouth, but the anecdote did a thorough job of baffling her.
“The Elements of Harmony are ancient and semi-omnipotent, choosing the wielders of their own volition. They rejected Princess Celestia the second time, and left her no choice but to cast a spell to lock Nightmare Moon back inside Princess Luna temporarily.” Twilight let out a breath. “Nightmare Moon wasn’t banished this time around.”
“Wait a minute,” Dash paused, letting the words sink in. “Doesn’t that mean—”
“Yes,” Twilight finished for her. “Nightmare Moon is still inside Princess Luna and could theoretically come free any day.”
The room went silent, enough to hear a grenade pin drop; an explosion of fear followed.
“W-what?” Dash felt her voice crack. “A ticking time bomb? In the capital of Equestria? And no one knows this?”
“Well, you do now. So do Celestia and I,” Twilight coolly replied. “Speaking of which, wasn’t another guard supposed to arrive in Ponyville? I thought I’d asked Princess Celestia for multiple.”
“Well…” Dash gave her a sheepish smile. “She might be asleep right now.”
“That doesn’t sound very professional,” Twilight deadpanned. “I need trained professionals for an escort mission. If I can’t count on you, then—”
“You can count on us,” Rainbow Dash affirmed, her tone serious. “I can promise you that. I’ll take you to her, then you can tell me more about this mission there. Efficiency, right?”
Twilight smiled. “Now you’re getting the hang of it.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Fluttershy’s here? Right now?”
Pinkie Pie nodded. “You betcha. She came here last night by train with another pony, nearly choked the soul out of me too.” She reached over and chomped down on an apple, filling her cheeks. “An’ thash hard, ah’ve lotsa soul.”
“You’re gonna pay for that, right?”
Pinkie swallowed. “She was even wearing fancy armor too. Maybe she paid Rarity a visit before coming back?”
The marketplace was filled to the brim with ponies, as it usually was. With as busy as it was, however, Rarity could still make out someone uttering her name. She craned her head and found herself staring at Applejack’s stall.
She hesitated before approaching them. Rarity didn’t want to intrude on their conversation and she wasn’t really the gossiping type but—
Okay well, that second statement was a lie but she’d continue to tell herself that. She sighed, inching closer to them and opting to eavesdrop instead.
Applejack looked uneasy. “Did Fluttershy say anything about how long they’d be here for?”
Pinkie shook her head. “No clue. I didn’t ask! Dashie seemed pretty secretive about the whole thing. Probably some top classified royal guard thingamajig. I didn’t want to scare them too bad, y’know?”
“Royal guard?” Rarity said aloud, clamping a hoof over her mouth after realizing her mistake.
“Wow, Rarity, no offense but you’d be a terrible spy.” Pinkie giggled, bouncing over to her. “Sounds like you two got a lotta questions for her. Why don’t you just talk to her yourselves? I love a game of twenty questions but this feels like it’s turning into a game of fifty questions.” Pinkie yawned. “And fifty questions is a lot less fun than twenty questions.”
“Well, where is she then?” Applejack asked, packing up her stall. “If we don’t know how long she’ll be here, then for all we know she’s already gone.” She huffed, setting her Stetson on her head. “I gotta talk to her while I still can.”
Pinkie Pie put a hoof to her chin. “Well, they’re military, so my Pinkie sense is telling me that she’s probably in the guard barracks.”
“Wait a minute, we have barracks in Ponyville?”
“Do you ever go anywhere other than the marketplace and the farm?”
“I’m coming with you,” Rarity said, pausing for a moment. “I have questions of my own that need answering.”
Applejack shrugged, setting her Stetson on her head. “Suit yourself, diva.”