Chapter 3: Karly Crystal Disappears
"Lightning! Are you alright?"
~With the sound of that familiar voice, the world came back slowly and vaguely, as if she were swimming towards the surface in a cloudy pool of water. Lightning could see herself in the construction site, brushing dust away from her face, her body stabbing into the gritty earth. In actuality however, she was lying on her bed back in the hideout underneath Canterlot High School. Lightning stared at the ceiling of her room, still shivering and dazed. Her hand travelled absently to her bandaged forehead as she struggled to force her eyes open.~
"Don't move, Lightning. Rarity's getting another bandage."
~The words barely registered in her mind; they meant nothing to her. Aside from shivering, she hadn't moved since she'd been on the bed. Her hands and arms were completely, eerily still. Her breathing was rapid but shallow, like that of a small animal. Everything was blurry, moving in and out of focus, including sound. Slowly, instinctively, Lightning turned her head toward the shaded figure that spoke to her in the corner of her eyes. A girl...red hair...black leather jacket…must be Sunset Shimmer. A strange creaking sound suddenly came from the door as air escaped from the nearby radiator. Lightning's vision was returning slowly, starting with the images close to her. Plasters, ice packs and doses of medicines were on her lap, on her bed, as well as the fluffy, purple and green dog, Spike, that was cuddling up next to her. Nothing made sense though. Lightning's mind was weaving through unfamiliar images, one right after another. It wasn't until she heard more voices that forced her to concentrate better.~
"Oh, thank goodness, she's awake!" cried Rarity first in heavy relief.
"She's aliiive!" Pinkie Pie cheered.
A moan escaped the spy girl's lips. "Oww...what happened?"
"Wha-oh, Lightnin'. Don't try to talk or move 'round so much," Applejack said. "You're pretty banged up."
"It's just us, the Rainbooms, and you're back in the hideout. We're gonna get you patched up, alright?" said Twilight Sparkle.
~Lightning rolled her head, focusing on them with blurry eyes. She did her best to concentrate, to make her words as clear as possible.~
"okay… You have Karly too, don't you?"
~The Rainbooms' mouths contorted a little, almost sluggishly, then they shook their heads.~
"No… We only found you... Karly?" Sunset quired.
~A jolt of fear suddenly shot through Lightning right then after hearing those words. Like a wave, it started crashing down and she felt herself sinking inwards.~
"Karly was hit in the head too! You haven't seen her?" Lightning's words came out clearly, and so forcefully enough, it startled the girls and Spike.
Sunset spoke again. "We don't know- "
~Lightning struggled to get out of bed, but the duvets across her body held her in place. She untangled them quickly, ignoring the pain in her wrist and elbow. The Rainbooms all took an involuntary step backwards as Lightning forced them away. Her knees were swollen, and she almost lost her balance as she stood.~
Fluttershy held onto her as support. "Umm, I don't think you should be moving, Lightning…"
~The spy girl ignored her as she tried to get out of the room. However, her skin was pale, sickly, and her latest groan had opened her head wound again.~
"Lightning…" Twilight said softly.
"We have to go back out and find her! She's terribly hurt!"
~Lightning whirled around, but the rapid movement almost made her lose balance again. She grabbed a hold of Fluttershy. The corners of her vision faded to black as she struggled to keep the dizziness at bay. A scream suddenly came out, despite the spinning in her mind.~
"No, no, no, no… Karly!"
~The Rainbooms put her back into bed. Lightning's eyes travelled from one girl to the other, still having trouble focusing on them all. She was in pure terror.~
"Karly!" Lightning screamed again as loud as she could.
Sunset grabbed her arm, her eyes directly into hers. "Lightning, calm down for a moment- "
"You've got to help me find her! She needs me!"
"LIGHTNING!"
~The Mane 7 and Spike's sudden outburst finally got Lightning to calm down, and once she got to her senses, she scanned the area. Finally understanding, the girls stepped ahead and exchanged glances before Sunset shifted onto one knee, obviously uncomfortably, and gently put her hand on Lightning's shoulder.~
"Lightning, we understand that you are worried, and we know it's hard, but we can't help if we don't know what happened. So, can we go through some questions? It won't take long."
~Lightning bit her lip before nodding silently. Exhaling sharply, she sat up a little, trying her best to stay composed. The bandage wrapped around her forehead and right eye felt like a large red spot, and her cheek was swollen and bruised too. She took a deep breath in, and opened her eyes, showing that she was ready.~
Sunset sighed. "Good. Now, first off: What happened? Do you remember what happened?"
~Suddenly, with a rush, it all came back. The wild dog, the construction site, hitting her head on the beam. Lightning turned in her bed. Squinting through the mild flashing in her eyes, she focused down on Spike.~
"We were in the mall… There…there was a dog…"
"Oh yeah! The dog you saw!" Spike jumped up. "Did you find it?"
~He could feel a presence as he put his paw on Lightning's arm. His eyes were gentle and curious. He squatted before her, and she nodded.~
"Yeah, I did. Only for a while. We were chasing him through the storm and he led us to the site where Karly…Karly…" she couldn't continue talking.
"Could you, perhaps, give us a brief description of this dog?" Fluttershy asked.
"I-I could… I could try to draw him…"
"With that injured arm? I don't think so, darling." said Rarity.
"No, really, I can. I'm left-handed."
~Lightning reached for a sketchbook and pencil planted next to her bed. She was in shock and still dizzy, unable to focus for more than a few seconds at the time, but she pulled through painfully. Her balance was off, she jogged at least three times- her clothes were still soaked and stained red, and her right eye was covered, but they never forced her to stop. Twilight got out a flip pad herself and prepared to take notes. They went over all the basic descriptions first.~
"First of all, he, oww, looked young. No more than three months old, I'd say." It took a few seconds for Lightning to continue speaking as she was drawing. "I don't know… one and a half feet tall, maybe shorter, forty pounds or so. Just small. Blue and white fur, black eyes… just a normal-ish puppy."
"Any distinguishing features? A scar, birthmark, things like that?" asked Twilight.
Lightning repeated the question twice to herself. "He had a…hole in his left ear, I think," she offered, "No scars."
Twilight jotted this information without looking up from her pad. "Do you remember what he was wearing? Was he wearing anything? Like a collar?"
She closed her eyes, thinking. "No. No collar. I think he's a stray."
Twilight and Sunset exchanged glances. "Certain it was a male dog?"
Lightning nodded. "Oh, yes. Definitely male."
"What breed?" asked Fluttershy.
"A Shiba… I think- it looked like a Shiba Inu. And…that's it."
~The pencil clattered to the floor as it left Lightning's blood stained hand. The sketch was still a little joggy and not so accurate, but it was the best she could do. Twilight closed her notepad with a snap. Sunset reached for the sketchbook and as it left Lightning's grasp, she breathed under her breath a sudden sigh of anger. The girls looked at the drawing ever so thoroughly. Fluttershy thought he was pretty cute while everyone else was just curious.~
"Well, I don't know what to say." Sunset said at length.
"Me neither. We need to process this more closely." Twilight added. "Lightning, what time did this happen?"
Lightning shrugged, feeling helpless and weak. "I don't know… maybe quarter-past twelve. I didn't check the time."
~Instinctively, the seven glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. They had found Lightning at half-past twelve. It was now twenty-past one in the afternoon. Meaning, more than an hour, at the least, had already passed since the accident. All of the Rainbooms and Spike knew they had to get a move on right away. But the storm had not stopped, and if they went out, with or without proper clothing, it could lead to hypothermia. It wasn't a place for anyone to be in a storm like this, let alone a teenager. A person could literally vanish. They hadn't had a storm as bad as this since the Storm King on spring break. But every minute was precious.~
"Right. We are going to head out there, and get started on a search right away." Rainbow prompted.
Lightning crooked a smile. "Thank you, girls- "
"But," Twilight interrupted. "We are going to need to find this dog first."
"What? Why?"
"He is a witness. He might have known what happened to Karly. So, if we find him- he could give us some leads."
"I am not associating with that animal! He is the reason I am sitting in this bed, covered in plasters and bandages, and that Karly has gone missing!"
"How can you be so sure?" asked Fluttershy, her eyes in disbelief for the sudden accusation.
"It led us there in the first place! Okay?! It brought me and Karly to a construction site, lured me into a trap, somehow set off the stack of bricks lying at the top of the scaffolding, and tried to demolish me! Only… Karly pushed me outta the way, only to get hit herself!"
~Lightning lowered her face into her hands. Karly was injured too, but somehow managed to get up. Where was she? How did she recover? Where would she go?~
"Hmm… Maybe there is more to this story than what we've got so far." said Twilight. "Is there anything else we need to know?"
~Lightning closed her eyes to reach right into the deep ends of her mind for anything that she might've missed. It was then that it hit her- the obvious. The most interesting possible type of news, something the girls would have never thought to ask. He can answer them.~
"...it spoke."
"What?"
"The- the dog! It- it spoke to me. Right before I passed out!"
"Spoke? As in- spoke in words? But, that's impossible! Only Spike was granted the ability to speak in this world!" exclaimed Twilight.
"What did it say?" Pinkie wanted to know.
"My head's too fuzzy- I can't remember. I don't think it really matters. We just have to find Karly." said Lightning.
"But, how? We don't have any signs to know where she could be." Fluttershy said shyly.
"We'll start at the construction site where it all happened. We'll wait for the storm to die down, then, we'll go back and see what we can find." Sunset said.
"But, what if the storm doesn't stop for hours?" asked Rainbow.
"And what if we lose something important during that time? Like, anything evidence worthy?" asked Rarity.
"I'm not sure… Maybe Spike could get a scent." Sunset suggested.
"I could try." Spike replied.
"Then, by all means, we shall leave as soon as the storm stops." Lightning sighed.
"By 'we', do you mean all of us, including you?" Rainbow asked.
"Of course! I have to find my best friend!"
"But you're injured, Lightning. On the head nonetheless. Moving around could be the worst thing you could do." Sunset said.
"I guess, it's not as bad as losin' a best friend." Applejack said, in Lightning's defence.
"Yeah! We should all fit in, if we are going to find Karly Crystal!" Pinkie said.
"Exactly. I'll be fine." Lightning said, even though a soft groan put them at unease.
But Sunset had no choice, Lightning was too stubborn. "Okay. Just promise me you will get some rest." she sighed.
"Right here, right now. Promise." Lightning held up her pinky finger but Pinkie pushed it back down.
"Do it my way! Pinkie promise!"
"Pinkie promise?" Lightning questioned.
"Yeah! It's a promise I came up with when I was younger! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye~!"
"Okaaay?"
~Lightning pushed the bed covers off of her chest so she could cross her heart. Then, she pretended that she had a cupcake in her hand, and stuck it in her eye (her good eye). Suddenly, she was met with Pinkie Pie's face right into hers, staring sternly and intensely at her.~
"Do NOT break it. GOT IT?!" she bellowed.
"Got it." Lightning said, and Pinkie Pie smiled as if nothing had happened.
"Come on then, y'all," Applejack spoke up. "Let's give Lightnin' some time to rest an' for the storm to stop. Once it does, we'll head on out and find this little vermin and Karly!"
~With that, Applejack and the others exited through the door. Fluttershy fluffed up Lightning's pillow quickly before taking Spike with her too. They found Steven on the other side as he was just finishing. He smiled and told them the spy introduction production was ready, but after hearing what they had to say about Karly, Steven's smile disappeared. Suddenly, he was feeling so many emotions, mainly negative ones, and began making so many phone calls about everything. The unknown whereabouts of his niece put him in an uneasy state of mind, and he put the production on hold and told the Rainbooms to go and look for her as soon as they could, just like how Lightning said. But as they did with Lightning, they said the exact same thing, and had to wait.~
~Lightning arose from her rest at the chiming of her clock. She would have slept more, but found it almost impossible now. So, instead, she stared at the clock, watching as the minutes passed by with frightening regularity. It was about four in the afternoon. Karly had been gone for nearly more than four hours now. Four hours! They needed to go now.~
~Steven and the girls, meanwhile, have been mapping out the land. Torches and walkie-talkies were handed out along with extra batteries. Taking their camping gear from their last trip, the seven and Spike packed whatever else it is they think they might need for the search. Steven was still on the phone, desperately hoping for information. He tried calling hospitals to see if perhaps Karly had been found by someone and was taken for medical help. Alas, he got the same answer from all of them: No one.~
"Well, I've called all the nearest hospitals. Unfortunately, nobody named Karly has been appointed there." he said sadly.
~Lightning was just coming out of her room, so she heard him say that. Her dizziness abated only slightly as well, but she still could not keep her balance long enough to walk through the door's threshold. Bright lights hurt her eyes, but she needed to participate in the search. What kind of best friend would she be if she didn't? Karly was out there. She had to be...~
"Oh, Karly, where are you?" Lightning whispered to herself. "Why did you have to save me?"
Twilight noticed her. "Lightning, you should get some more rest."
"The storm had stopped though." Rainbow said. "We need to head out now."
Rarity agreed and turned to Lightning. "We took the liberty of packing some equipment for you." She handed her a rucksack.
"Oh. That's… wonderful. Thanks, Rarity."
"Of course, darling. I mean, a friend, lost in a storm. That's all we need to hear."
"In that case, you oughta get going," Steven said. "Please bring my niece back safely and try not to get hurt."
Sunset turned on her torch. "Let's do it."
~Lightning, The Rainbooms and Spike reached the spot over the fence where Karly fell. There was a red spot on the floor. Lightning, along with Spike and Twilight, headed north first, clearing the way, while the rest of the team laid back. Within minutes, they could see where it all happened. The construction sites. They were just barely on the outskirts of the Canterlot City forest. They all felt a sinking sensation in their stomachs. Did Karly go into the woods? Why? Would she even have made it that far? Lightning had her arm around Twilight's shoulder to keep herself steady. She guided her and her dog and friends over to the sites and, as they walked, she kept repeating Karly's name and whispering.~
"I still can't believe this has happened. And on the third day of exploring this world."
"Hey. Have some faith, Lightnin'." Applejack soothed. "I mean, we know this city an' these people. Calamities have happened around here before, and we always solve 'em."
~Lightning didn't respond. She was too busy worrying and muttering.~
"You'll be okay too," Applejack went on. "In a couple o' days, that ol' head of yours will heal an' you'll be thinkin' straight again!"
~Still, Lightning felt instinctively that something bad has happened to Karly. Once they made it to the surrounding site of the works, one of the builders, a heavy set man who was losing his hair, darted in their direction. After gesturing them to stay where they are, he started towards them.~
"'EY! You girls supposed to be here?" he asked, pointing his podgy finger at them.
"Probably not. They could cause trouble while we're working. I'm afraid you are going to have to back off." said the second builder who began escorting them back out.
"Wa-wait! It's important!" Lightning stuttered.
Rarity backed her up. "Yes, sirs, our friend has gone missing, and her last known location was here. She was hit in the head, so is it possible that you've seen a…"
"She was probably taken to a hospital or something." the worker interrupted.
"N-no, we called all of the one's near the area. She's not there." Sunset explained.
"Listen, kids. I don't pay attention to what happens around here. All that matters to me is getting the work here done. So, clear off before I call your parents."
At this, Lightning grabbed the builder by the shirt and brought him down to her face level. She glared menacingly. "Listen, I'm not joking around here. Either you let us search this place, or I'm just going to knock your block off with a ton of bricks! Just like what happened to Karly…"
"O-Okay, okay!" the builder said. "Geez, no need to get snippy 'bout it."
~He walked off, fumbling, before informing the rest of the crew about the girls. It turned out that he was the man in charge of the whole operation so whatever he said, goes. He returned to the girls afterwards and told them just to stay clear of the dangerous areas of the construction, then continued on with his day. The Rainbooms were agitated.~
"Well...that happened." Sunset said.
Lightning glanced at the Rainbooms then calmed down when she saw their faces. "Sorry. I'm just worried about Karly… She doesn't just randomly go missing." she sighed.
Fluttershy reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "We'll find her, Lightning. We will. Just please don't alarm yourself anymore."
~After drawing in a long, uneven breath, Lightning tried to draw in her strength, and got it. They got down to business.~
"Okay, Spike, start sniffing around. See if you can smell anything that could be important." Twilight ordered.
"Sure thing, Twi!"
~And as he did, the eight girls split into two groups and took off in opposite directions, shouting Karly's name independently, while also stopping occasionally to listen for sound. The rain, however, was increasing once again and deafening. After a couple of minutes, Spike ran back to the site and made to sniff for another scent. The eight voices- Lightning's, Twilight's, Sunset's, Rainbow's, Applejack's, Fluttershy's, Rarity's and Pinkie's- were the only human sounds in the area.~
~Soon enough, the rain made it impossible for them to hear each other, let alone another person, but they continued anyway. Lightning's voice cut sharply; a terrible scream of despair. Rainbow Dash took off at a lope, shouting Karly's name over and over, running a hundred yards up and down, firmly caught up in Lightning's fear. In the spy girl's mind, Karly could hear them, and she was willing her to listen to their voices.~
"Oh, Karly, please come back…"
~She was still out there, and Lightning knew she was still alive. She had to be. Lightning felt it deep down, and the feeling would be one in a million. They just had that special connection that is believed that all best friends share. All of a sudden, she spotted something. Even in the semimistiness, she turned and saw a colour of blue standing in the field. She froze. Her eyes were half-open, and her vision began to spin. She squinted at the blue figure before her. Her head was still hazy. Finally, gathering her senses, she started toward it.~
"You!" her words came out loud.
~As she shouted, Lightning's eyes flickered with a mixture of anger and hope, and her expression seemed to be clear. No doubt about it, it was the blue and white, wild Shiba Inu. It had appeared, and was watching Lightning in silence. It made no sound at all. She stole a quick glance across the fog and rain to see if she could spot the Rainbooms, then back, but by then, the wild dog had disappeared. Until, she heard a snap by a foot so soft, it could only be a paw. She took off after it at once and caught up quickly.~
"Oi! Get back here!" she shouted. "Where's Karly? What have you done with her? Speak up! I know you can!"
~She expected the dog to respond but all it did was backwards stare at her, then kept on running, barking nothing. They pressed on through the overgrowth of the forest suddenly and to one side, the dog steeled himself for what he was heading to. A gorge, straight ahead of them, filling with rain water from the sky and drifting deeper into the land. It wasn't a down-right straight drop to death but was most certainly a steep slope that could lead to horrible injury. Muddy, scratchy, filthy and seemingly exciting. The dog blinked as he made it to the edge and looked down. Then, the dog looked up to Lightning, with an expression of surprise on his face, but she was not holding back. She lunged, without thinking or seeing the gorge behind the blue Shiba. He dove out of the way as soon as he could make it and saw as Lightning barely halted. Her feet were right on the edge with no way to balance herself. Suddenly, her body was betraying her again, and it was a pretty excruciating moment, as her head began to feel pain and her vision blurred again, due to the rain and the running.~
"AHHH!"
~She kept screaming and fighting to hold still but her legs couldn't stop. She fell off and expected to crash and roll on the slope, until finally, something caught her at her jacket fast and held her in place. She turned her head to see Sunset Shimmer holding on firmly. She was followed by Applejack, then Twilight, then Pinkie Pie, then Rarity, then Fluttershy, then finally, Rainbow Dash and Spike at the very end. They were like a human chain. Lightning stopped screaming and looked with tears in her stinging eyes.~
"Rainbooms!" Lightning cried.
"Don't lean forward!" Sunset cried. "You'll drag us all down!"
"Umm, girls?"
~Fluttershy was looking in the opposite direction of the gorge. She was staring at something and as they all looked to see, they almost stopped breathing. The Shiba, sitting down at the end of their chain, looked at them, towards the eight girls with big hiking rucksacks in silence, a few seconds at most. He was cold and wet, and when Rainbow felt those small paws nudge against her leg, it was sobby. Suddenly, those nudges turned to shoves as the Shiba gradually began pushing Rainbow's balance off, and getting her and the others closer over the cliff. She couldn't do anything to stop him.~
"Hey! What are you doing? Knock it off!" she said, trying to push him away with no avail.
"He's trying to push us off the edge!" Pinkie shrieked.
"Hey!"
~Spike growled to get the dog's attention before leaping upon him to stop him from pushing the girls any farther. He never dared to throw paws or teeth and fight with him since he has never done that before nor want this to be a violent matter. But, at this point, already Spike's committed to this confrontation. So, he stood and watched, ready to pounce if the dog did anything fierce. And do something fierce, he did, but was never meant for it to go so far. What the Shiba did was push back with its hind legs on Spike's stomach to push him off, but in doing so, Spike grabbed the Shiba by the fur of his neck and slammed both him and himself across the floor and the girls until suddenly they sended each other tumbling down the slope and into the water below.~
"SPIKE!" Twilight cried.
~The girls watched as they splashed in and drifted away, floating. The storm really began flooding the gorge underneath them now, so Lightning, seeing as they had to follow, came to terms with what she had to do. She pulled herself forward, ignoring Sunset's order, and like that, she and the Rainbooms fell and rolled down the slope too, screaming. They all landed in the water after Spike and fell unconscious.~