//------------------------------// // 48 Vengeance // Story: The Line Between Fire and Light // by Stolenalicorn //------------------------------// Ponyville looked so familiar, but there were two big differences that couldn't be ignored. First was the castle, she'd been expecting that. But what was that building next to it? That was certainly new, and likely something she would have to know about. She had to wonder just what else was different here, was her house even the same? With a few flaps of her wings she was airborne and flying towards the town. *** Pinkie Pie certainly wasn't expecting to see Rainbow Dash so soon since her training session with the Wonder Bolts had just started. “Hey Rainbow Dash!” She shouted to the distracted Pegasus. Rainbow Dash came to a halt and turned back to Pinkie. “Heyya Pinkie.” She smiled as she came to land near her. “Aren't you supposed to be at your Wonder Bolts training session right now?” Pinkie Pie asked, curiosity replacing her excitement for the moment. “Oh, we had to postpone it for a few days. I'll be leaving again soon, I just didn't want to miss a chance to see my friends while I had some time.” Rainbow Dash said happily. “Ooh, then I know just what we can do!” Pinkie Pie announced as she dragged Rainbow Dash off, excitable as always. *** She had been around all of Ponyville and hadn't seen anything like what she was looking for. Not that she minded seeing the place again. She had loved her home now but there was something about this place that brought her comfort. She tried to think of anything to explain why she couldn't find it, she had gone to a lot of effort and burned a few bridges to get the information and tools she needed, she wasn't going anywhere until she found it. She sat in the warm evening sun munching on a cupcake as she thought. She watched several foals run by as she remembered times long past. First thing in the morning she was going to start her search again. There were still more places to search. *** Twilight was certainly interested to find Rainbow Dash flying around the edge of Ponyville that morning. “What happened to your Wonder Bolts training?” She certainly hoped nothing had gone wrong. “Oh, it just got postponed for a couple days. I'll be going back out soon.” Rainbow Dash answered nonchalantly. “I see. Since you're here, would you be able to help me with a couple things at the school? I'm sure your substitute can handle a couple more days in your place but if you're free I could use the help.” Twilight said. She was happy it was nothing serious. “Yeah … Sure.” Rainbow Dash awkwardly said, landing by Twilight's side and walking to the school with her. *** “I've got this handled. You go have some fun while I teach.” Twilight offered with a smile as she finished the last of the preparations for her coming class. With a smile Rainbow Dash shot out of the room, messing up a stack of papers and only turning around to quickly apologize before doing it again. Twilight smiled and shook her head before getting back to work. She'd gotten a good look around the halls near Twilight's office and the door certainly wasn't there, now she needed to search the rest of the school. “Professor Rainbow Dash?” Came a male voice from behind her. Keeping her cool Rainbow Dash turned and saw a griffon looking up at her, he was clearly confused about something. Probably the Wonder Bolt training like everyone else. Professor Rainbow Dash? “I thought you were busy and that's why we had a sub today.” Gallus said calmly. “Or were you just ditching classes?” He added with a grin. Rainbow Dash had to think of something quick. “I'm … not feeling great right now so I took the day off. I just need to get to medical. Bye.” Rainbow Dash hurriedly said before rushing off. There were too many distractions here but she couldn't completely discount the door being in the school. As hard as she tried to concentrate while searching she was constantly distracted by everything about this place. Every time she took a moment to think about what she saw she got a dull ache in her chest, she wanted to spend more time here. There was something good going on in this school and she was supposed to be part of it. *** “Has anypony else seen Rainbow Dash today?” Twilight asked as she spoke with her friends. “She's been very distracted.” “Yeah, like she's looking around for something.” Applejack commented. “Gallus said she was looking for “medical.” Isn't that what James calls hospitals?” Rarity asked. “And clinics.” Starlight said. “Though she does tend to disappear to New Guardia from time to time, maybe she's just picking up some of James's habits.” “She knows where the nurse's office is, she wouldn't be looking for it.” Twilight said shaking her head. “We could ask her what she's looking for.” Fluttershy gently offered. “Yeah, it'll be super fun, like a scavenger hunt.” Pinkie Pie excitedly said. “You're right Fluttershy.” Twilight said as she walked out from behind her desk and ignored Pinkie Pie's comment. “She's been looking forward to her training session for weeks now. But then just comes back and starts looking for something and doesn't tell anypony anything. There's got to be something going on.” “Yes, but how do we get her to tell us? If she doesn't want to say anything I don't think asking will work.” Rarity commented. “We'll just remind her that we're her friends.” Pinkie Pie said. “And that no matter what, we'll help her.” *** That evening all the girls gathered in the throne room, ready to get the truth from their friend with patience and understanding. Rainbow Dash was unusually late as she eventually flew in and sat at her throne. “Sorry about that, I lost track of time.” Rainbow Dash said as she looked over the group. “So what's up?” “We're wonderin' what's wrong.” Applejack said looking over to her. “First you skip out on your Wonder Bolt training session, now you're searching Ponyville for Celestia knows what.” Rarity added. “We're your friends Rainbow Dash. You can trust us.” Twilight genuinely said. She had several ideas as to what was happening, but until her other other idea came through one way or another she couldn't begin to narrow the list. “Really, it's nothing. Just taking a little time to myself and stretching my wings. Getting a good look at Ponyville too.” Rainbow Dash easily said. “You'll feel much better if you just tell us. … Unless it's a surprise and you have to keep it from us so we will be surprised. Ooh, is that it?” Pinkie pie excitedly said. Rainbow Dash laughed. “No, it's not that Pinkie. Even if it were, if I told you there was a surprise that would ruin it.” She smiled warmly at her excitable friend. Pinkie Pie gasped as she began to think about what the surprise could be. “I hope you understand why we're a bit nervous though. After those copies a couple months ago you suddenly acting strange kind of sticks out.” Twilight explained, watching Rainbow Dash for her reaction. Rainbow Dash looked surprised at the comment before shaking her head. “Drikk, the copies. I guess I should have said something about this first, but it was kind of spur of the moment. Sorry to worry you girls.” “Well, as long as that's it. We were just worried, that's all.” Twilight was hoping to lead her into saying something more, but Rainbow Dash just smiled and shook her head. “Alright, I won't keep you here longer then. Enjoy your break.” Rainbow Dash was the first to leave, humming an unfamiliar tune as she did. Rarity stayed behind as the room cleared, there was certainly something odd about Rainbow Dash. “Twilight, you were definitely right to call us. Rainbow Dash is acting very strangely.” She mentioned as she walked up to the princess. “Yes, but that's no reason not to trust her.” Twilight said. “I know, but there's a few things I may have noticed that everypony else might have missed.” Rarity said as she walked over to Rainbow Dash's chair. Even from that conversation there was a lot to go on. “First, she was late. Not uncommon I know, but she looked lost when she came in. Why would Rainbow Dash be lost coming here?” She was just starting to get into the swing of Shadow Spade as she recalled the conversation and the oddities of the last day or so. There was certainly more to go on. “She was a bit disheveled, also not uncommon, but this was more like she had been camping. Since she's in town why would she not be up to her usual standards?” Rarity began to pace around the table as she continued. “Rainbow Dash said something unusual too, “Drikk,” which I've heard a few times in Truce. It is possible she picked it up with as often as she's there but still noteworthy. Gallus also asked me what she meant when she said she was looking for medical. A term James often uses in place of hospital, clinic, or anything to do with health care.” This was all pretty circumstantial and none of it really lead to anything not readily explainable. “That's still not much, Rarity.” Twilight said as she thought about everything presented. “Ah-ha, but there's still two more big pieces.” Rarity was coming to the closer and these pieces were good. “First, she clearly didn't know about the copies. Rainbow Dash can be pretty obvious when she's trying to cover something up, and she was lying about having forgotten. She never knew! Second, the tune she was humming as she left was Aria de Mezzo Carattere. A piece from James's favorite opera. Rainbow Dash would never sit through an opera, if you could even get her to one.” This had Twilight's attention. “James watches opera?” She asked, this being just as surprising to her as the thought that Rainbow Dash might. “Oh yes there's a couple he enjoys, but he prefers musicals to opera. Liara, James, and I went to a musical just a week ago actually, Les Miserables if I remember right.” Rarity was confident in her assessment as she continued on her original point. “That may be Rainbow Dash, but it's not the Rainbow Dash we know.” “I was thinking the same thing. That's why I sent a letter to Rainbow Dash at Wonder Bolt's headquarters. If she responds we'll know for sure that the one here is a copy.” Twilight said as they left the throne room. If this was a copy like last time they were getting better. She had no idea what it could mean if this wasn't a copy. *** Night was just falling over Ponyville as Rainbow Dash went through her bag. She pulled out a dark gray hoodie and got ready. This was the last place to check. She would have liked to have done this when Twilight was out, but they were clearly getting suspicious, and she didn't want to be around when her counterpart got back from training. She had been pretty lucky as is that she had gotten here just a little before her counterpart left. The capsule she carried rolled around in the bag, reminding her of the risk with the information she needed and even more so what she sacrificed to steal the capsule so she could even hope to do this. When she went back there would be a lot to answer for. If she went back. Getting into the castle was easy, Twilight's castle was apparently open at all times for her friends. This was different from the Twilight she knew, but it didn't feel too strange. She paused as she walked through the halls and looked around. This felt so wrong, she was sneaking around her friend's home. Her friend … She shook her head, she needed to concentrate. All that was left was to find the doorway. Flying was the best option, she didn't want her hoof falls alerting anyone that she was here. Then again, whoever was snoring was doing so nearly as loudly as Pops. If it wasn’t clearly a female snoring she would have checked the room. She didn't want Twilight trying to stop her. If Twilight only knew … If she knew they wouldn't be friends anymore. The door was there, even the clock was there. She looked back down the hall, deep inside she wanted to stay. She missed Ponyville and knew that something good was happening here. But if she gave up would they accept her? … No, she'd gone too far now. She couldn't stop. “Don't worry Pops,” She whispered to herself. “one way or another, this ends soon.” She opened the door and stepped through into his territory. This was the end, the last leg of the journey. Quietly she joked to herself that she would appreciate a save point right about now. She became hyper aware of her surroundings. The sound of her heart pounding in her chest, the noise of each wing beat, birdsong and bright light streaming through the windows. She could tell the flowers in the garden were in bloom from the smell wafting through the castle. Each second seemed to stretch on as she reminded herself with every motion why she was here. Leene's bell tolled in the distance, marking the hour. He stood there, as if in silhouette, absently looking out over the foyer. He was the reason she was here, and the reason for her pain. *** “You need to let it go Rainbow Dash.” Applejack said as she went about working on her farm. “I miss Pops too, but the man who came for him was him. It weren't no monster. There's a reason we don't know why, and probably shouldn't know.” “And how do you know this?” Rainbow Dash asked angrily. It had been months, her friends having finally dragged her from her room to confront life again. “Because I told myself, and I know I can trust what I heard. Didn't you watch the message you got from yourself?” Applejack asked. “No!” Rainbow Dash growled. “Why would I want to hear anything from someone associated with that murderer?” Applejack sighed as she continued to work. “Because we don't know everything about what happened. I'm mad he took him from us, I'm mad my parents are gone. I'm even a little mad at Pops for not saving my parents when he clearly could have. But I move on. There's nothing to be done about what's been done.” Rainbow Dash grinned slightly, that wasn't necessarily true. “I'm gonna fly around for a bit, try to cool off.” She said, taking off before Applejack could respond. Pops' stuff should all still be around somewhere. And with Alpha access she shouldn't have any trouble getting to it. The only problem was she didn't know where to look. There were several places Pops would have gone that she couldn't follow and that's if they were even in the castle. Realistically they could be in high security storage elsewhere on the station. May as well start in the castle, that's where Pops lived after all. She began her search in Pops' bedroom. He would leave stuff around everywhere and it was as good a start as any. As she began searching she ran into Twilight, who most likely had come by to make sure she had gone out today. “I knew I'd find you here. Let's go out and do something fun.” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Look I just spent the morning with Applejack, and right now that's enough for me.” She really did not want to waste her time with anything else at the moment. “You can't keep moping around the castle Rainbow Dash. It's not good for you. We all know how you feel, James brought us all together. That's why we started calling ourselves sisters, isn't it?” Twilight said trying to comfort her friend. “Well you seem to have gotten over Pops' death pretty quickly.” Rainbow Dash was just trying to be hurtful now. “Over it?!” Twilight was indeed hurt by the accusation. “I'm not over it. But I've come to terms with it, thanks in no small part to my friends.” She was trying to stay calm, she wanted to shout, scream at her about how James had been her mentor. How he was there encouraging her and helping her when she was down. But she didn't, her friend was more important than a few hurt feelings. She was in pain too after all. “Look, Twilight. I really would rather be alone right now.” More so now than usual as she was coming up with a plan. “You've been alone for months. You need to get out and be with your friends. James wouldn't want you locking yourself away, especially over him.” Twilight urged. “Well Pops isn't here anymore, is he?!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she snarled at Twilight. “No. … But we are. And we care about you.” Twilight said as she turned to leave. She just couldn't deal with any more pain at the moment. “I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow Dash hung her head. “I'm sorry Twilight. I shouldn't have yelled at you.” “It's okay Rainbow Dash. I understand how much he meant to you. He meant that much to all of us.” Twilight said before she left. She appreciated the apology, but at the moment it still hurt. Rainbow Dash was finally alone to do her work. With nothing here she moved to check Pops' study, though it was now Sara's and Amber's study. But they had left it as their father did, even months after his death. Rainbow Dash hoped they never changed it. His desk was destroyed and laying as little more than a pile of rubble where it had once stood. She used her wings to sift around the rubble, searching for any capsules that might have been left in a drawer. There were pens, papers, data chips, batteries, several credit chits. Ooh, that's where Pops kept his stash of butterscotch. There were no capsules to be found in the rubble, but there were still places to check in the room. The cabinets on the wall behind the desk, Pops' go bag hanging on the hook by the door. Even though she wanted to find his capsulized Epoch she wasn't going to tear the room apart, it was still Pops' study and she wanted it to stay that way as long as it could. *** Princess Twilight violently melted into a corridor she hadn't seen before. As she finished materializing the lights automatically turned on. This was as close as the teleporter was going to take her to her destination. She still had to walk to the containment block. Technically she was in the prison section of the space station, but it mercifully had only a few residents. A renegade mage who tried to murder dozens of people including James to start a war, an unapologetic murderer who destroyed an ancient peaceful order for her own ideals, and then James himself. Not the one she met while she had been fighting Starlight, this was another one. Once consumed by his own fire, now consumed by his conscience. She had no idea what he had done, the specifics of his crimes were restricted to Omega clearance only. The redacted list she saw gave her no clues other than listing the counts as “too many to quantify.” She noted that the mage inmate had regular visitors, while the other inmate, a woman, was confined with only simulated interaction and a couple simulated environments. The mage was never leaving, but for good behavior he had been granted a comfortable living space, a pet he cared deeply about, restricted access to the Grand Archive, many simulated environments and even an area for personal visits. There were no listed specifications about James. Everything about him was classified. It took her more than an hour to walk to the corridor that led to James's containment. Even still the door was only apparent when she got close. As she did a large omega rune appeared briefly on what she thought had been a wall before opening into a dimly lit chamber. What was held in that chamber she couldn't readily recognize as James. Even knowing who it was it took some scrutiny to finally realize that it was him. He was hunched over on his hands and knees, his long hair piled up around him. Most surprising was his appearance; his skin was sallow and waxy, hanging off him everywhere. It was obvious from his face that he had once been overweight much as the version of him she knew was but that had changed, he was now skeletal. His eyes were dull, seeming to lack everything but life, and his lips moving constantly as if having a hurried conversation. As she inspected him through the plated glass of his containment something else horrifying became apparent. He was not bowed over of his own doing. His hands and knees were fused to the metal floor. He was forever stuck in that position, though if he realized it it didn't show. He didn't seem to understand anything around him. Then her ears caught the whispering. Twilight ran from the room, she couldn't leave that horrific place fast enough. The last thing that stuck in her mind as she fled from him was what he whispered. Those hoarse pleas. “I'm so sorry. I'm so very sorry. Please, let me die.” She was grateful for the renewed relationship with Jurai as she hurriedly sent a message asking for their help. Not to free the prisoner, he couldn’t be freed, but to remove the memory from her mind. Their response was almost immediate and she smiled as Airi approached her, knowing that things would be alright soon. She just needed to make a couple notes to keep herself from ever making that mistake again. *** Princess Twilight found Rainbow Dash the next morning asleep in James's chair in his study. She gently shook the pegasus, who was still struggling with the loss of a lifelong friend. Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes. “Hey Twilight.” She said as she stretched and got out the stiffness from her uncomfortable sleep. “Are you here to tell me I should get out for a while? I'm actually working on something right now.” The princess smiled. “Yes I am. But I had an idea after talking to Applejack yesterday. What happened to James apparently wasn't unheard of. Between worlds there must be some kind of code of conduct that when broken results in … well, that.” It was too early to be angry, but Rainbow Dash was getting there. “Are you saying Pops broke some unknown law and being murdered was the only punishment?” “I'm saying that we don't know everything. I understand that you probably didn't hear when James told us that the two of them have done this before. I went and checked out the containment block he directed us to … he's there Rainbow Dash. Just like James said, he's there.” “What?” Rainbow Dash shouted. She couldn't believe this. Was Pops actually still around, and on the station? They had never recovered his body and Pops had said before that if he died it wasn't permanent. Her heart raced at the possibility. “It's a James we've never met. So not “Pops” or his … executioner.” Princess Twilight explained. She wanted to give more detail, but she couldn't. She simply didn't know more than that, and her message to herself warned her against ever going back to rediscover what was there. “Murderer.” Rainbow Dash was quick to correct, her hopes crushed. Princess Twilight sighed. She really did miss her friends as she knew them, she couldn't remember exactly why she decided that this was the future she intended to preserve. In any event, it was too late to change it now. The scroll was destroyed and Starlight was a foal forever. She couldn't help but think to the message she got from herself of that other universe. Somewhere her counterpart had done something she hadn't and her Equestria had survived. “Rainbow Dash.” Princess Twilight eventually said. “All we can do now is move on. Please don't let this destroy you.” “Too late.” Rainbow Dash muttered as she walked away. She had exhausted places to search in Pops' study, now she needed to begin searching elsewhere. In the back of her mind she couldn't help but feel that it wouldn't be as easy as just finding where he kept it. Her search continued to expand to all the places Pops might have considered hiding something. And much to her astonishment, not even Lucca knew. There were two Epochs, the full sized one that Pops or Lucca used to always have with them, and an updated modular one that could be attached to the Einherriar but had cooling issues. They both had been in the castle the day before James died, but now they were missing and Lucca no longer had the clearance to locate them. Rainbow Dash hadn't even considered that she could just ask the computer to locate them for her, but it made sense. Pops had a tendency to misplace things so if it was important to him he would make sure it could be tracked. Her omnitool flashed to life and she spoke clearly. “NG-Com; Locate Epoch.” A calm male voice came from the tool. “Confirm Clearance.” Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, she hadn't really tried using her clearance yet and hoped that things went smoothly. “Dash: Zero Three Zero Six” Her heart raced as she waited for anything telling her that her clearance was accepted. The calm male voice spoke up once again. “Epoch located. Mark one located in Saddlebrook Castle, capsule storage three. Mark two located in Einherriar engineering.” This wasn't good. Her options were break into Reagent Luna's castle and hope to get it without being noticed, or to somehow get onto the Einherriar unnoticed and try to figure out how to disconnect the Epoch while surrounded by military personnel. The safer option was also the one more likely to get her arrested. It was too soon to give up hope. She just needed to think about what she had. She rubbed her head trying to think about her resources when it came to her as if a switch had just been flipped. Everything was a resource, she had information that she could trade or keep depending on which was more likely to get her what she wanted. She had spent so much time around Pops that she knew a secret or two, and she knew who to talk to to get what she needed. Celestia was most likely walking around Truce right now, but she would be back and Rainbow Dash needed to speak to her. *** “What can I do for you Rainbow Dash?” Celestia asked pleasantly as they walked through the gardens. She had a sad smile, but that wasn't uncommon these days. Her limp mane hanging around her gold capped broken horn only added to the depressing appearance. “I'm not going to beat around the bush on this, I need something from Saddlebrook Castle. Something I'm positive the Regent wouldn't be willing to part with if she knew what it was.” Rainbow Dash said. She was mimicking Pops' blunt approach. It often enraged those he used it on, but they would still come back as they knew they could trust him whether or not they liked him. Celestia raised an eyebrow as she considered what she had just heard. “You want me to steal from my sister for you?” She asked, no small amount of anger in her voice. “Not you. I know you have ponies inside the castle that will do anything for you still, more importantly I know who they are.” Rainbow Dash said as she looked straight ahead, desperately avoiding Celestia's glare. She didn't like this at all, but it would be effective if she stuck to it and she was not going to back down now. “So blackmail.” Celestia summarized, keeping her voice even. “Not at all.” Rainbow Dash said. “I just thought I'd come to you first, since you were here. I could trade the information to Regent Luna just as easily as I ask you. And this way you don't lose anything.” This felt wrong, and she had to swallow her own disgust. “I could lose somepony I trust who keeps me involved in the goings on around the castle.” Celestia countered. “Look, I just need one capsule for a day, maybe even less. It's a blue and black one in Capsule Storage three. The Regent hasn't even used the capsule yet, she's not going to notice something missing that she doesn't even know is there.” Rainbow Dash was determined to hold her ground. She wanted to stop. She wanted to tell Celestia just how sorry she was. She didn't. Celestia sat and stared down at Rainbow Dash. “Look at me.” She said coldly. Rainbow Dash took a steadying breath, this could break the whole thing. She turned and looked the scowling monarch in the eye. She didn't dare blink or talk, she barely breathed. Celestia had always cut an intimidating figure, but with the golden cap over her broken horn and her missing cutie mark clearly showing what she had lost only recently in her long life she came across as frightening. Rainbow Dash did not look away, she needed this and she would have it. Please … forgive me. It's for Pops. Celestia closed her eyes and shook her head. “I would have liked to believe that we were friends Rainbow Dash. Obviously I was wrong. Very well, you'll have your capsule but you may never come to me again.” Celestia stood and walked away silently, leaving Rainbow Dash where she stood. The end of their friendship felt like a physical thing that broke in Rainbow Dash's heart. If not for the agony she still felt over Pops she may not have been able to bare it. She walked off as there was one more thing she needed to pull this off. *** “Just because I know you doesn't mean you get any special treatment.” Liara said as Rainbow Dash sat across her desk. “You want information from the Shadow Broker, that means you have to pay like everyone else. That's assuming that they even have the information you want. We're talking about a universe we don't have contact with after all.” “He came here, I'm certain Shadow Broker must know something about it. Scans, clues, something. Anything. You're one of their agents and know everything going on around here. I just need to know where Pops' murderer came from.” Rainbow Dash insisted. “What universe. From there I can use my omnitool to get to him.” “And what do you plan on doing when you find him, Rainbow Dash?” Liara asked seriously. Rainbow Dash had imagined time and again what she would do to Pops' murderer, every revenge she could imagine. But the reality was that she didn't know what she could do. Pops was a heavily modified sayian and he lost, what hope did she have of fighting him. “I'm going to kill him.” She finally said. Liara took a sip from her coffee as she thought about the statement. “You realize that you don't stand a chance, right? We're not talking about a sparring match with rules, restrictions and a handicap on James. If you try to seriously fight him you'll die if he's merciless. And even if you live, you certainly won't win.” The thought wasn't a great one, but it was one Rainbow Dash had to consider. And ultimately, she didn't care. “I just need the information. What I do with it is my concern.” Liara shook her head, but Rainbow Dash was right. “Okay. I actually have the information you want on my computer. I'm not going to get the Shadow Broker involved so this is off the books. I'll give it to you, but please, don't use it. Just think about what you're doing, for James if nobody else.” She didn’t like the thought of assisting someone’s suicide and would not take payment for it. “He's dead, just in case you forgot.” Rainbow Dash snapped. She was tired of everyone telling her to think about Pops, tired of everyone telling her to move on. Of course she thought about Pops! She missed him every day! And she was tired of the pain his absence caused her. “It's not just where that you need.” Liara calmly said. “It's when. The James that invaded was definitely younger than our James. I've got an estimate date for when he came from, but that could be off by months or even years either before or after the event. I'll send the information to your omnitool.” Rainbow Dash nodded as she left. One way or another, this was going to end. *** She couldn't sleep, not for anticipation as that was days off still, but because she realized that Liara was right. She didn't stand a chance against Pops' murderer. If she went it wasn't going to be for revenge, though she would try. If she went she was going to die. Was it worth it? To throw herself at a monster she couldn’t hope to beat to say she at least tried. She pushed the thought from her mind, she reassured herself that she would walk away from this. She could do it. *** It was still dark out when Rainbow Dash's alarm woke her up. The package from Saddlebrook had come the day prior and with the information she had all she needed to do now was use it. She had spent most of the night writing a letter to her friends. She wasn't explaining anything, just apologizing for leaving. Saying that she needed to leave until she could make peace with Pops' death. “And if I never come back … I'm sorry about that too.” She ended the letter and left it on her pillow. Most likely it was going to be Applejack who was going to try to drag her out today and frankly the sooner she left the easier it would be. Her omnitool blinked to life and she input the information necessary before violently melting out of her room. Just after dawn there was a knock at her bedroom door as Scootaloo opened it, ready to talk with her big sister. *** She was amazed as she looked out over what had become of Ponyville in their absence. Dark clouds chocked out the sky, creatures she didn't recognize walked the streets and black banners hung from every poll and nearly every building. She quietly thanked Pops again for getting them out of Equestria if this was what was coming. She brought out the Epoch and climbed in. She had watched Pops do this hundreds of times, she knew she could operate it too. She just needed to go back a couple years and then search the other Ponyville. She knew Pops' security well enough that if she were to go straight to the castle she would never even get close to Pops' killer, so she had to sneak in. No doubt Pops' killer would have his house and door there just like in her Ponyville. Rainbow Dash violently melted onto the road overlooking Ponyville and she took a few steps forward to see what had become of it in this time line. Ponyville looked so familiar, but there were two big differences that couldn't be ignored. First was the castle, she'd been expecting that. But what was that building next to it? That was certainly new, and likely something she would have to know about. She had to wonder just what else was different here, was her house even the same? With a few flaps of her wings she was airborne and flying towards the town.