//------------------------------//
// Rainbow Phoenix 
// Story: Reformation... It's a Pony Thing 
// by Lets Do This 
//------------------------------//

By late morning, word had gotten around about the assault, and Twilight's friends had come to the castle, at first just to make sure she was all right and then to kibitz on the plans for the trip to Klugetown.

"We should just talk to Princess Celestia," Applejack said, "and ask for the borry of one of them airships. That'd get us there in no time!"

Rainbow snickered. "With the Storm King's emblem on it, thirty feet high? Yeah, real subtle, A.J.! I thought the idea was to keep a low profile?"

"More importantly," Twilight put in, to stave off an argument, "it would mean having to tell Celestia about my plans. Annnd... I'm not sure I want to do that just yet. I know what she'd probably say, that as Princess I should leave this to somepony else."

"And she'd be right to say it," Tempest said. "I know you don't want to hear that but... bodyguard, remember? They tried for you once. You don't want to make it easier for them the next time."

"Oooh... you think there will be a next time?" Fluttershy quavered.

"Oh, yeah!" Grubber put in, slightly muffled by the slice of cake he was devouring as a late mid-morning snack. "Those guys weren't the only ones prowlin' around..." He glanced about. "Er, that is... from what I heard."

"We have to find the source of this," Twilight said, "and put a stop to it. Whatever's driving this trade in horns."

"Maybe it's a clown convention?" Pinkie suggested. "They always need horns!" She produced one out of nowhere and blew an earsplitting honk.

"More practical-like," A.J. said, "maybe it's some kinda industrial thing, like grinding up bones for fertilizer and such?"

Twilight shook her head. "Not to be gruesome, but you'd need much larger quantities to make that practical."

"Well, maybe it's for quack cures, then." Applejack grimaced. "You wouldn't believe some of the crazy stuff folks will believe horn-powder can do."

"But the poachers were looking for magic-users in particular," Twilight said. "Like the unicorns that have been disappearing lately."

"Say what now?" Applejack said, sitting up in her chair.

"Yeah, what's this about unicorns disappearing?" Rainbow demanded, flapping closer.

Fluttershy dove under the table and shivered.

"Oh, sorry! I hadn't gotten to that yet." Twilight reached for the message scrolls sitting on the table. "There have been reports from down south of unicorns being --"

"Kidnapped!"

Spike burst into the room, nearly out of breath. "Twilight!" he shouted. "Rarity's missing! I went over to check on her like you asked, and the door was open and she was gone! And nopony's seen her anywhere in town this morning! They must have got her! What are we gonna do?"

For a few moments there was complete bedlam, everyone talking or shouting at once. Twilight tried to raise her voice, tried to calm things down, but no one paid her any attention.

RAP... RAP... RAP...

Tempest's forehoof smacked the map table like a gavel. Silence fell.

Then she looked to Twilight, who smiled thankfully. "Okay, let's stay calm," Twilight said. "This just makes the trip that much more urgent. They can't have gotten far with her yet."

"I take it we're leaving immediately, then?" said Tempest. "Grubber, go get my armor!"

"Woah... really, boss?" He saw the look in her eye, and hurried off, his voice disappearing down the corridor outside. "Onnnn it...!"

"We're all with you, Twi," Applejack said. "You're gonna need all the help you can get." The others nodded agreement.

But Twilight sighed. "Not this time, girls. For two reasons: one, until we sort this out there may be other attacks on unicorns here. I'll need the rest of you to stay here and help organize a defense for Ponyville. And two, obviously we can't all go... I mean, how's that going to look? Tempest gone, and all of us too? Everyone will blame her, think she planned all this."

"Urrgh!" Rainbow grumbled. "Can't we just leave a note? Or have Starlight tell everyone where we've gone?" 

"It'll be more convincing if it comes from one of us directly," Twilight said. "Sorry, Rainbow!"

Spike suddenly made a face and belched green fire. A scroll materialized. As he reached for it, Tempest put up a hoof.

"Just a hunch, Princess, but you might want to pretend that scroll never got here."

Spike looked crestfallen. "The spell is foolproof. She knows it got here!"

"Then you didn't have time to read it."

"I can't do that!" Twilight objected sadly. "She's my mentor! Spike, what does she say?"

Spike unrolled the scroll, and skimmed it. "You were right, Tempest! Celestia says with everything that's been going on, she'd prefer that Twilight stay put here where it's safe. Aw, geez! And she's put the remaining airships off limits to everypony, until the Princesses have agreed on a plan of action." He looked heartbroken. "But maybe she hasn't heard about Rarity! I'm sure she'd help if she knew! You think maybe I should send her a letter? Maybe she'd change her mind?"

"Or send half the Royal Guard to keep watch on me?" Twilight thought furiously. "No. If we're going to go, we need to go now! It's more important than ever. Rarity's my friend... I can't just sit around here!"

"Then don't," Tempest said.

Twilight looked up at her, surprised.

"Two questions," Tempest said, calmly. "Out of all the ponies in this room, which one is the Princess? And when you've figured that out, here's an easier one: which Princess do I take my orders from?"

She leaned closer, and stage-whispered: "Here's a hint: which Princess took it on herself to speak up for me?"

"Ponies around here are fiercely loyal to Celestia," Twilight warned. "It could really hurt your reputation."

"Princess, right now you have a reputation to worry about. All I have is a history. And we're wasting time."

Twilight nodded. "You're right, Tempest." She turned to the others. "Okay! Let's do this! Now, we need some kind of air transport to get to Klugetown fast. Any ideas?"

"What about Captain Celaeno?" Applejack said. "She's got an airship."

"But we have no idea where she is," Fluttershy moaned from under the table.

Rainbow looked smug. "Well, guess who just happened to be talking with Soarin' yesterday, when he happened to mention that the Wonderbolts had seen Celaeno's ship docking in Cloudsdale to pick up supplies."

"Well, that's just dandy," Applejack grumbled, "but it still don't tell us where she is now!"

"Ya know..." Rainbow said craftily, "if I left right now I could blast on over to Cloudsdale and find out exactly which way she was headed. And then catch up with her, persuade her to pick you up on the road heading south."

"You think you can do it, Rainbow?" Twilight asked.

"Just watch me!" She wound up for a quick takeoff.

"Rainbow!"

"Aw, geez, Twilight, don't worry. I'll be careful and everything!"

"It's not that." Twilight's horn flared, and the window that Rainbow had been aiming at swung open.

"Ah. Heh heh!" Rainbow scuffed her mane with a hoof, embarrassed. And then she was gone, in a streak of rainbow contrail out the window.

"One problem down," Twilight said. "Now the next is, how do Tempest and I get onto that road heading south?"

"Ah may have an idea 'bout that!" Applejack motioned Pinkie over to whisper in her ear. Pinkie listened intently... and then giggled like a maniac.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


A couple hours later, just after sunrise, the main doors to the Friendship castle swung open, and two figures emerged. One was tall and thin and pony-shaped. The other was short and squat, waddling along beside it. Both were dressed in black all-obscuring robes with dark hoods.

As they started up the road through town, a small phalanx of gold-armored guards emerged from the bushes and side-streets to confront them.

"Tempest Shadow?" the Lieutenant said smugly. "We'd like you to come with us, please."

The taller figure tossed its head, flipping back the hood.

"Oh!" Fluttershy asked meekly. "Is there some problem, officer?"

"Ain't no tempests nor shadows 'round here!" said a voice from the robe underneath her. "No sirree!"

The smaller figure raised pink forehooves to push back its own hood.

"Hi there!" Pinkie Pie said gleefully. "We're on our way to a costume party! You wanna come? It's Dress-Like-An-Evil-Dark-Lord-Day! Hee!"

From the bushes behind the castle, Twilight and Tempest watched as their friends talked their way past the guards.

"Your friends can definitely keep it together in a pinch," Tempest said. "We should get moving. I'd prefer not have to knock out any guards getting away from here... no matter how satisfying it might be."

They rejoined Spike and Grubber, who'd been hiding in the underbrush with their supplies, and set out on their way.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


By keeping off the main paths, crossing over fields, and skirting through the borders of the Everfree Forest, they managed to get onto the road heading south towards Dodge without issue.

And Rainbow was true to her word. After only a couple hours walk along the road, they heard a horn blast from the sky behind them. They turned to see the pirates' airship slowly descending toward them. But it was very different from the grim, spartan warship Celaeno had appropriated. The upper armor had been repainted a bright walnut shade, though the glowing double-bolt emblem was still visible on it. And it was rigged with makeshift, rainbow-hued plumage sails on the sides and aft, which folded away as the ship lowered itself to boarding height.

A winch platform cranked steadily down to collect Tempest and the others, but Twilight lifted off on her own wing-power and flew up to the main deck.

There she found Captain Celaeno and her crew assembled to greet her. The pirate parrots were all present: tall, red-crested Mullet, round and pink Lix Spittle, and googly-eyed Squabble. Only Boyle was missing from the welcoming committee, because he was still at the helm holding the ship steady.

Captain Celaeno made a show of drawing her blade and presenting it, hilt-first, as Twilight landed.

"Welcome aboard the Rainbow Phoenix, Princess Twilight!"

"Thank you so much, Captain!" Twilight said. "I really appreciate you going out of your way to help us."

"Thank your colorful friend. She talked us into it," Celaeno replied tartly, though the smile on her beak said it hadn't been a hard sell. "We certainly can't have some scurvy ivory trade making ponies suspicious of hard-working, honest privateers like us!"

"Did Rainbow make it back to Ponyville okay?"

Celaeno smirked. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

"Two points off the larboard quarter!" called a scratchy voice overhead.

"Rainbow!" Twilight called up angrily.

"Oops! Heh heh," Rainbow swept into view and hovered overhead, wearing a tricornered hat and cradling a spyglass in one forehoof. "Hey, Twilight!"

"What the hay are you doing here!"

"Duh! What's it look like I'm doing? I'm on lookout duty!"

"Urrhh! I thought I told you to stay and protect Ponyville!"

"Meh," Rainbow waved a hoof. "They'll be fine! Soon as we sort all this out they won't have a thing to worry about." She looked up. "Three points aft of starboard! Oh wait, just a buzzard. Never mind!"

A door opened behind Twilight. "Snack time! Anypony want a cupcake?"

"Pinkie!"

"Oh hey, Twilight! Did we just find you? Great! Now we're all here!"

"All...?" Twilight said, disbelievingly. "How did you even get here?"

"Wayall, you see," Applejack said, climbing out of a large coil of rigging rope, "after we talked to Mayor Mare and got her to put Ponyville on lockdown to keep folks safe, and asked Starlight to take charge at the castle in case they needed her magic, we hopped the train to Baltimare, then yanked the emergency cord just past Rambling Rock, and went overland to pick up the road to Dodge, and Celaeno came across us first on her way south. Oh, and don't worry... we made sure everypony understood we was all away on Elements of Harmony business. 'Course we didn't say 'zactly what business... but that's neither here nor there!"

Twilight facehoofed. Then she glared at a barrel sitting next to her on the deck, looking suspiciously out of place. "Okay, Fluttershy. I know you're here. You can come out too."

The lid lifted slowly, and the yellow pegasus peered out from underneath. "You're not... too mad at us, are you?"

"How could I be mad?" Twilight groaned. "I have the best, most wonderful friends anypony could have -- who never listen to a word I say!"

"Eeep!" Fluttershy dove back out of sight, and the lid thunked down again.

And just at that moment, the platform came level with the deck, carrying Tempest, Grubber, Spike, and their travel gear.

Celaeno redrew her sword. She glared at Tempest.

"I never said anything about giving her a lift," she snarled. "Last time that pony came aboard my ship, we all ended up in the drink... including the ship itself. Not havin' that again!"

"Ohhh, this does not look good!" Grubber cowered behind Tempest.

"Please, Captain!" Spike called out nervously. "Tempest isn't like that anymore! She's helping us get Rarity back!"

"From where I stand, she looks exactly the same, armor and all."

"But she's changed!" Spike persisted.

"Yeah?" Celaeno stalked forward to stand at the edge of the deck, sword still raised. "Prove it!"

Tempest stood silently for a moment.

Then she unlatched and shrugged out of her body armor, and stepped out of the armored shoes. She crossed to the edge of the lift platform, facing Celaeno and her sword unflinchingly.

"Captain Celaeno," she said. "I apologize, to you and your crew, for the loss of your ship and for the hardship I've put you all through. It was wrong of me to treat you the way I did. I've been working on making up for that... as well as for a lot of other things I regret. Could I ask you to allow me aboard, just so I can help Twilight rescue her friend? I'll walk back if I have to, but..."

"Hold it." Celaeno put up a claw.

Then she smiled.

"You do know you had me at sorry, right?"

She pointedly put up her sword. "Best be puttin' that armor back on. Gets a mite breezy aloft." Then she swung back to her crew. "All right, look alive, you scallywags! Let's get their gear stowed and shove off! We've been hunting around for something brave and bold to fight for... and we've got a rescue again!"

A relieved cheer went up from the pirates. With their help, a reclad Tempest and the others were soon watching from the foredeck as the Rainbow Phoenix lifted away into the clouds, heading southwards.


To Be Continued...



My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, its characters and indicia are the property of Hasbro.
No infringement is intended. This story is a work of fan fiction, written by fans for fans of the series.