//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: A Knight of Dashing Dreams // Story: A Night of Dashing Dreams // by Nyronus //------------------------------// Building Beam stared out the window. His father had woken him up before dawn, like usual. He knew he should be moving. His parents were arguing, and he didn’t want to—to make things worse. Still, he had trouble moving. He couldn’t stop thinking about a dream he’d had. There was a knocking on the front door, and his parents stopped shouting. Building Beam stood very still, listening. There were voices talking. Then voices rising. Now shouting. Something shattered. There was a voice that wasn’t his parents shouting. They were shouting back. Suddenly what sounded like a tornado echoed from somewhere in his house. Building Beam then heard someone calling for him. Someone whose voice he’d never heard, yet sounded amazingly familiar. He couldn’t move. There were more calls, and then the sound of doors rapidly opening and closing, and then his door swung open. She was there. “Whew, there you are, squirt.” Rainbow Dash grinned. She wiped off her brow. “Man, missing that endless dream stamina. You ready to go?” “G-go…?” Rainbow Dash’s grin widened. “You wanna make things better, Beam?” She offered a hoof. “Come with me.” He stood stock still. His face horribly blank. Then he leapt into her hooves, and Dash flew out the window with him clutched tight to her chest. ------ Stalwart Buckler was a simple, straightforward guardspony, working the last few minutes of the night shift before the dawn broke. Which is why it caught him a bit off guard when a rainbow maned pegasus kicked in the front door with a colt slung under one arm. “Yo!” She said, flapping up and dropping the colt off on a chair. “I need the-uh, the whatever-it-is form for formally reporting a child abuse case.” Stalwart blinked. “Excuse me?” “You know, you see a child abuse case happening, so you bring in the kid, file the paperwork, that thing. You got some?” “Hold on, hold on.” Stalwart raised a hoof. “For one, who are you? Two, where are this foal’s parents?” “Rainbow Dash!” She grinned. “As for them…” she looked away for a moment, and then gave a small, sheepish grin, “tied up?” Stalwart didn’t react for a moment. “Why did you tie them up?” “Obstruction of the Duty of an Officer of the Law!” “You’re an officer?” “E.U.P. Guard, Wonderbolt Unit, Sergeant Rainbow Dash!” She saluted. “The Wonderbolts are Guard?” “On paper, which is what matters!” Stalwart closed his eyes in pain. He then groaned. “How do I even know you’re a Wonderbolt?!” Rainbow rolled her eyes, and then raised her hooves to her muzzle. “Hey! Privates! Anybody here a ‘bolts fan?” “I am!” A voice shouted from the back. “Got a picture you can bring out?” “Sure!” The voice replied. Rainbow and Stalwart waited, eyes locked. They heard the sound of flapping and then shattering glass. “Oh my gosh.” The guardspony pointed. “You’re Rainbow Dash!” Dash’s lips twisted, and she just gestured with a hoof. Stalwart rubbed his muzzle. “None of that even matters anyway - I’m an EEA-certified teacher, which means I have a duty and legal authority to intervene in an abuse case!” Rainbow Dash went on. “You’re a teacher, now?” Stalwart’s eyebrows furrowed. “Where do you even teach?” “Twilight Sparkle’s School of Friendship!” “That’s not an EEA school!” “It was for two weeks, so I had to take the stupid test anyway!” Rainbow Dash grinned and winked at him. Building Beam watched all this with his jaw hanging open. “I don’t think—” “Look,” Dash pressed her hoof onto the front desk. “I interviewed him and went down the list of signs of long term physical and emotional abuse, I went to his home, tried face to face intervention, they got violent with me—” Beam’s jaw went even lower. “—I had, like, three different legal authorities to act at any time I wanted, but given when I got there his parents were already showing signs of what usually happens before his mom starts smacking him around, there was a clear and present danger so I could have made a citizen’s arrest!” She leaned in, looking Stalwart in the eye. “Which you’d know already if I had the form when I asked.” She leaned back out and crossed her arms. “Plus, if I wanted to abduct the kid I’d be halfway to Griffonstone – no, scratch that, the entire way to Griffonstone – by now. I’m giving him to you so you can assign an agent to his case and do investigation and all that stuff. You know. My job.” She glared. Stalwart stared at her, and then closed his eyes and sighed. He looked up and straight at Building Beam. “Any of this true, kid?” Building Beam froze in place. “I…” The words died in his mouth. “You’re safe here, son. Just be honest.” Building Beam began shaking. Then crying. Rainbow went to his side, and she was hugging him and he, her. “It’s okay, kid.” Rainbow Dash said, softly. “It will be okay.” Both Rainbow and Stalwart waited in patient silence for him to respond. Eventually he looked Stalwart Buckler in the eye, and fiercely nodded before breaking into more sobs. Stalwart sighed and leaned back, looking over his shoulder. “Sharp Spear! We need a CCF-13! It’s bad!” He leaned forward again and shook his head. “Sweet Celestia.” “Thanks, Corporal.” Rainbow said, softly. He nodded. “You can take him to the back in one of the offices while you file the paperwork. We’ll try to get him some food.” “You got it.” So Rainbow Dash picked Building Beam up, and went to work. ------ “So… what happens, now?” Building Beam asked, staring at the chocolate milk the guardsponies had gotten for him. “Hrrmm?” Rainbow Dash replied. “O whell vue - bleck.” She spat the pen out. “Sorry about that. I’m basically starting your case. The social service is gonna take you somewhere for a little bit while they and the guard investigate and interview your parents. They’ll determine what happens next; either you’ll get picked up by family, put in the foster system, or your parents will be forced to get counseling, probably, and they’ll monitor you from there.” “I’m… not gonna see them again, am I?” Dash frowned, and looked down at her paperwork. “What I saw in that dream, kid? It was bad. Real bad. You couldn’t think of anything happening but them coming after you and it being your fault. That’s not good. If you stayed there…” Dash looked away. “It wouldn’t have been great. I get that they were your parents, but they were also ponies. Stupid, angry, messed up ponies. I think at some point they probably meant well. I hope so, anyway, but ponies do stupid things when they’re scared.” Building Beam just stared at his milk. Dash stood up from the desk and stretched. She then plopped down next to him, and clamped a hoof down on his shoulder. “Listen, Beam? None of that was your fault. I need you to understand that, okay? You aren’t clumsy, or lazy, or a coward. Heck, you’re tougher than me, you know that?” He looked up. Dash had tears in her eyes and shrugged. “My parents were nice to me, and I couldn’t handle it! You kept going despite everything that happened, and that takes guts, you hear me? You’re a survivor, and you’ll get through this.” He nodded. “Can you still come see me? Even in my dreams?” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Of course, kid. C’mere.” She pulled him into a hug. “I’ll keep watch, you got that? Nopony gets left behind when Rainbow Dash is here. Plus,” she gave a small grin, “you get some bad dreams and I’m not there? Call for Princess Luna. She’s almost as awesome as me!” So the two of them held each other for a while longer as the sun rose outside.