During Celestia’s confrontation with Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash was laying on her moldering foam bed, using Winter’s belly as a pillow. As Applejack was on her way over, Twilight decided to hold off any explanations until everyone was present. It gave Fluttershy and Twilight an excuse to both work in the garage and watch over the twins.
And so here she lay, staring up at the drab blue-grey ceiling that had stared back at her for half a decade. The house’s cheap construction was showing through the cracks that were spider webbing all over the ceiling and was starting to appear on the walls. Despite how exhausted she may have been, Rainbow actually found herself in a damn good mood. “So how much money you think Celestia is going to throw at us?”
A cautious grin crossed Winter’s features. He started teasing a lock of Rainbow’s hair with the claw of his left wing. “Well, you uncovered a conspiracy with the regent as the mastermind. That’s got to be worth a cool few million bits, tax exempt, of course.”
“Of course,” Rainbow replied derisively. She turned her head and rubbed her muzzle across Winter’s flank, taking in his pleasing, familiar scent. It was one that called to the primal part of her brain, an instinctive sense of home and safety.
His grin became slightly more at ease. “So do you still want to go with the old plan? Find a quiet place out in some small town where no pony would care what tribe we are and raise the kids?”
Rainbow looked back up at the ceiling. “We need a real house on the ground. With actual plumbing and steady power supply.”
As if to punctuate her point, the table lamp flickered and died a bit before going steady again. Winter eyed the thing with mild contempt. “Applejack’s been eyeing some land around Ponyville. We should move there too so the twins can still be around Applebloom. Convincing Rarity might be tricky though. You know how much Amber Lotus and Sweetie Belle get along.”
The thought of keeping her children around their friends warmed Rainbow’s heart. A gentle smile graced her face at the mental image of Sparks and Amber Lotus scampering around on a playground, surrounded by other children. “I’d be happy enough with a place where the twins can play openly with other kids.” He felt Rainbow slightly nod while burying her nose in his fur again.
“Speaking of other kids…” Winter chuckled heartily and started gently rubbing the side of Rainbow’s neck with a hoof. Rainbow didn’t respond, other than to scoot up so more of her neck rested on his barrel. “How about we skip using protection today?”
Rainbow’s eyes snapped open and she got up a bit to look at his face. “The twins are already a hoofful, why add more now?”
“I guess that’s true,” he answered while giving her a reassuring smile, the kind that always worked on her. “You can’t tell me you want to rejoin a spec ops group or keep the Shadowbolts operating while we still have kids in the house.”
She tsked, but didn’t argue. Six years ago, Rainbow would have been more than happy to go back to agency work. Now though, the mother side of her held sway. “No.” Painful memories of Winter coming home with grievous injuries flooded in. So many times the kids almost lost their father. “We’d have enough cash to not have to work for a good while.”
“Buuut,” he dragged as he rolled over so he could hug her. Rainbow gladly sunk into his warm embrace. “We’re going to be in our prime for three hundred years. There’s no reason to keep interrupting that with kids every so often. So it makes sense to get all of our foaling out of the way first.”
Rainbow hemmed and hawed with herself, rocking in his grip. “Makes sense.” At least he didn’t bring up my ‘only fertile mare’ point. Rainbow hugged her husband with a longing tease. This was hardly the first time she thought about having another foal or two. The mental image of seeing more little rainbow-maned thestrals running around pulled heavily on her heartstrings.
“Plus, with the whole Sunset Shimmer drek over with now that Celestia knows about the real traitors, we’ll be outta here in a week, tops.”
Rainbow hummed with pleasant thoughts of a life free of the big city. It helped she was still in good standing with the mafia, she couldn’t think of anyone who’d hire an assassin against her. The hopeful part of Rainbow, one that she had to constantly squash to survive, shouted to be heard. That there might finally be an end to her life in the shadows that didn’t involve dying. “What makes you so sure she’ll let us go after all this?”
Winter tussled her mane, only to be playfully slapped away by a wing. “I’ve been busy with things other than the kids and cooking you dinners so good you almost forget it’s soy. Whatever Celestia needs these Elements for, it’s all coming to a head at or soon after the Summer Sun Celebration. So our timetable is already less than a week. Plus, now that she knows we’re innocent—”
“Of treason at least,” Rainbow butted in.
“Well, yeah, sure,” Winter sputtered a bit, eliciting a nasal giggle out of Rainbow. “But she’s already giving us a pass on that. But the biggy here is, she already promised me we’d be free to do whatever we want after all this since we already have the twins. The way I figure it, having some more little wings back to back would be easier in the long run.”
Rainbow frowned as memories of diapers clouded her rose tinted glasses. “But the foals were a hoofful as it was, and still are! By the Moon I still have nightmares when both of them got it in their heads that clown wallpaper needed to be everywhere.”
“Cute little hooffuls though. But believe me, I know,” Winter said as he tickled her in just the right spot to keep her interested. “But think of it this way. Would you rather have a kid or three back to back and be done watching Blarny and Friends after four years of hell, or randomly have kids over twenty odd years, forcing us to watch the show even longer?”
Rainbow groaned so melodramatically she’d have made Rarity nod with approval. “Or three! Whoa, whoa, hooold on, Buster, I wouldn’t mind a third foal after all this jazz with Celestia’s over, but I never agreed to more than that. You’re not the one who had to suffer for eleven months.”
“True,” Winter nodded with faux solemnness, “but I know you.” He emphasized by gently poking her chest. “Don’t think I haven’t caught you looking at little league teams in rural towns.” Rainbow’s face went flat with thinly masked embarrassment. “You and I both know our lives as they were was the only reason you haven’t been trying to make an army of little rainbow haired foals and unleashing then on every sports team north of Appleoosa.”
With an approving smile she surprised him by rolling over, and dragging him with her so she was on top of him. She fixed him with the same wiry grin that first caught his eye all those years ago. “An army’s a bit much.”
“That didn’t sound like a ‘you’re wrong’ to me.” He nuzzled right under her jawline, shooting a thrill down her spine.
A primal grin came over her. “It sure didn’t.”
Down below in Fluttershy’s garage, the quiet pegasus was sitting on a rather comfy, if quite ragged and worn-out bean bag chair. More than a few beans had leaked out and were nestled by the sagging bag. Her goggles were down over her eyes while she remotely controlled a pair of maintenance robots. The first was a large crane with multiple heavy tools while the second was a smaller, more nimble bot that allowed her to work on all the tight spaces.
Her current project was a muscle car that had needed several small parts replaced. Most of the work was already done. Still, Twilight had joined her to help out, and was studying the engine with scholarly fascination. It was a useful distraction to keep herself from thinking about Sunset Shimmer. At least until the others arrived. Sunny, was this really the best play? Being distracted this way, she didn’t hear the patter of small hooves coming up behind her.
“I got the thing, Miss Twilight!” shouted an energetic colt.
“No fair, I wanted to carry it!” his sister whined as she climbed on top of him, threatening to make him drop the bolts and nuts off his left wing.
“You’re just a slug; too slow and you get slime eeevvvverywherrrre!” Sparks blew his tongue at her in triumph when Amber Lotus tackled him with a growl, and knocked the tools off his wing.
“Thank you, Sparks.” Twilight pulled her head out from under the hood just enough to see the two foals bickering by slapping each other with their wings. She patted the colt’s head, still not exactly sure how to talk to such young children, yet managing to stall the bickering it’s tracks. She levitated the fallen pieces away from them. She couldn’t help but to both giggle at their antics, but also get annoyed at the disruption. “Why don’t you both bring me a socket adapter off the shelf, one from each of you?”
“Oo, oo! I know where that is!” Amber shouted before flying off. Her brother zipped right behind her.
Fluttershy peeked from behind her goggles, and cringed a bit as the foals pounced on her tool chest and started rummaging around. She couldn’t bring herself to tell them to stop, so instead did something more comfortable. “Thank you so much, Twilight, for helping with this job. I didn’t know you were good at cars too.”
Twilight blew on the bolts, making sure no loose dirt had gotten in them. “Thanks, but all I’ve been doing is following your directions. Everything else is just common sense safety.”
Fluttershy grinned from behind a hoof. “These days we should call it uncommon sense. It’s why I don’t let Rainbow touch my projects. The little ones know they’re only allowed to grab small things, not do actual work.”
As if to illustrate Fluttershy’s point, the two thestrals flew over to Twilight, both with the adapters clutched in their forelegs. Amber had sprinted the distance and gotten to the unicorn first. “I win, I win!!”
Twilight’s reply was cut off by the garage door creaking open. Applejack bent down to enter before the door was even reached halfway, while Rarity was content to wait for the door to open fully. Sparks grinned at the sight of the earth mare and dropped the adapter to race over to her, and his sister was right behind him. Twilight had to scramble to catch the falling pieces.
“Aunty Farmer!” The foals tackled Applejack, but the sturdy mare took it with only a mild flinch. Sparks roped himself behind Applejack’s neck, while Amber first collided with her barrel before scrambling to sit on her back.
For her part, Applejack let off a good-natured chuckle and wiggled a bit to elicit some manic laughter as the foals clung tighter to hold on. “There’s the little rugrats. How y’all been?”
“We’ve been helping Angel and Twiggles!” Amber replied happily.
By now, the garage was fully open, allowing Rarity a more dignified entrance. “Hello, Dearies. As much as I would love to gossip, I believe we have urgent matters to tend to now that we’re all here.”
“Just as well,” Fluttershy said as she fully donned her goggles once more. “We’re almost done with my last job. Can you give us about ten minutes?”
Applejack shook the bouncing foals off of her. “Sounds fine ta me. It’ll gimme a chance to meet this Nightborne spy ya brought in.”
Rarity huffed irritably. “I keep telling you, Nova is. Not. A. Spy. She saved our lives.”
“With the bot?” Applejack countered with a dismissive eye roll. “Accordin’ ta you, her bacon was in just as much hot drek as the rest of ya were. She saved herself.”
Rarity’s face puffed up. “And even if she were,” Rarity hesitated, waiting for the garage door to finish closing behind her. “Celestia showing up would have stayed her hoof from doing anything nefarious.”
“Could be loyal to Sunset Shimmer like that Flintlock fellow is.”
At that, Twilight stood up with indignation marring her face. The sudden movement caught the two runners’ attention. “Farmer, Sunset is a lot of things, but she’s only doing her job. She’s not a traitor to the crown.”
The defense was stunning enough to get even Fluttershy to pull her goggles off a bit. Applejack was utterly flummoxed, and took a half-step back. “Ya do remember she’s the one who put you on ice, right?”
Twilight gave a firm, yet resigned frown. “To be fair, I don’t actually remember it happening, but—”
“‘To be fair’?” In sudden rage, Applejack stomped her hoof with enough force to crack the floor, stunning everyone around her. “‘To be fair’?! What in blazes is wrong with you?”
Twilight jumped backwards against the car. “What? What do you mean?”
“Why are you defending the regent like this? Yer obviously close with the Princess if’n she’s giving you her magic. Is Sunset a sister to ya or somethin’? Cause that’s gotta be the only reason anypony wouldn’t want to put a gun ta’ her head.”
Seeing that Applejack wasn’t threatening her physically, Twilight moved away from the car, but kept her distance from Applejack. “Of course I know her. I’m her potential replacement. She’s personally taught me a few classes and lessons.”
Rarity gently pulled Applejack back to keep Twilight from melting under the cyberized mare’s critical gaze. “Farmer, darling, familiarity breeds the rosiest glasses imaginable. How often have you seen you ponies trapped in unloving relationships? Why my friend River Stream refused to break up with that disgusting excuse for a stallion because he-”
“We never loved each other,” Twilight blurted out hastily, not fully intending to cut Rarity off. “I admired her, yes, but we were never sisters or the like.” Twilight’s eyes fell to the floor. “I used to hear that Sunset was a caring pony once, who knew the common pony like the Princess never could. That she was responsible for the complete restructuring of state run orphanages and universities. ”
Applejack snorted disrespectfully. “You hear Winter talk, she shoulda started with the lower schools.”
Twilight ignored the jab, mostly since it wasn’t directed at her. “By the time she gave me her first lesson though… I was hoping that by giving her the benefit of the doubt she’d come back around. I even tried bringing it up with Celestia whenever it seemed appropriate. The Princess always told me Sunset was both to be trusted and respected, and that Sunset’s duties were understandably harsh on her.”
Seeing Applejack was on the verge of yelling her head off, Rarity opened the stuffed plastic bag she had nearly abandoned on the floor near the garage door. The smell of cheap, greasy food derailed the hungry mares’ trains of thought. It was the kind of food Rarity had long abandoned turning her nose up to. “Why don’t you finish filling us in during dinner? I got Sareeni’s lasagna and pastaaaa!”
“What do you mean Sunset’s not going to prison!” Rainbow yelled at Twilight while slamming her hooves down on the worn coffee table. Silverware clattered, and the foals flinched at the sudden outburst. “We proved she’s going behind Celestia’s back!”
Those gathered only briefly looked at Rainbow before joining in her surprise. Winter pulled the foals close, whispering reassurances. Rarity was the first to join her leather-winged friend. “It must be some powerful blackmail if the regent has that much leverage over the Princess of all ponies.”
Twilight stared blankly at her pasta, her appetite waning. “What I say here can’t be repeated.” She looked up, eyeing Rainbow in particular before glancing at Nova and the foals.
Fluttershy loudly pushed her chair away as she stood up. “Winter, maybe somepony should give the twins a bath. They’re dirty from helping me downstairs.”
He nodded with a dour grimence. “Good idea.” He climbed to his hooves with an ache in his knees. “Come on you two.”
With their mother’s outburst still fresh in their minds, the twins needed no further prompting to leave. “Yes, daddy.”
Fluttershy started to gather the foals herself until she realized Winter had taken her advice the wrong way. Her ears fell at wanting to run from the conversation, but couldn’t summon her voice to correct him.
Twilight waited for the door to close behind the children before sighing. “The public story is that the regency is subservient to the crown. But that is not the real relationship. Sunset Shimmer is not committing treason, she’s performing the function of her position as the Princess intended when she created the regency.”
Fluttershy balked at her, and had to take a moment to sit back down. Nova however, leaned forward, loudly slurping down some noodles. “Are you saying the regency is some sort of balancing force?”
Twilight actually smiled at her and nodded. “Glad to see your quick wit goes beyond imitating others.” She returned her gaze to the room as a whole, leaving Nova unsure if she had been insulted or not. The den was already tiny, and packing six adults into both it and the kitchen was an effort only really possible because half of them could fly. “Celestia picks her regents very carefully. Their task can be simplified into this: they are to protect Equestria, even if that means going against the Princess indirectly. More than that, they keep her grounded, and give her a rebuking voice that will make her rethink issues for better solutions. They act independently, and with near her level of authority Equestria-wide.”
“Independently?” Applejack spat. “Don’tcha think foalnapping, clonin’, and framing both you and Flash for treason, and who knows what else goes way beyond what the Princess coulda possibly wanted? Especially to a pony she trusts enough to put her own magic into?”
Twilight’s ears wilted, and she had a hard time meeting Applejack’s eyes. She said to share what I know. I have to make sure no pony thinks the Princess wants to harm them on purpose. “You don’t understand. It’s because… there used to be another alicorn who sat on the throne Sunset Shimmer presides over.”
“Used to be?” Nova muttered, her curiosity spiking. “The old money in the bat families whispered about one, other than Celestia and Cadance, but I always blew it off as fantasy.”
“The lost alicorn is very real, Nova,” Twilight began with a long breath. “The Princess said a thousand years ago she and the other alicorn ruled Equestria as equal partners, in name only. Princess Celestia…” Twilight winced a bit at having to speak ill of her. “She had the admiration of the populous while the other was unjustly feared. Over time, Celestia ended up brushing off the other Princess’ advice and concerns. Celestia admitted she was impulsive and self-centered back then, and it led the other alicorn to enact an actual coup d’etat. They fought, and the other alicorn was banished. She’s hoping one day that alicorn can come back, and has been using the regents to train herself to be more receptive.”
Applejack eyed the feathered unicorn with measured disbelief. “A self-help seminar and some counseling would be a lot easier. Besides, does Princess Cadance not count or something?”
Fluttershy meekly left the kitchen table and joined them properly by the couch. “I think it makes sense. How can counseling work if nopony is your equal? Princess Cadance ascended less than twenty years ago, I think.”
Rarity sighed with past scandals jumping to mind. “I heard Mi Amore Cadenza was to be groomed as an heir or the like. But scuttlebutt says she’s got no interest in the job. Just as well, given what salacious rumors I’ve heard floating around her.”
Twilight bristled in indignation. “What rumors?! Just because she’s the Alicorn of Love doesn’t mean she’s a harlot!”
“Ahhh,” Rarity smirked with intrigue dancing in her mind. “So you do look at more than just text manuals. I simply must pick your brain sometime.”
Applejack clamped Rarity’s mouth shut, both sharing a tense glare. “Can we focus on what’s important here?” Rarity shoved Applejack’s legs off her muzzle so she could fix the fur on her face.
“So, umm, who is this mystery alicorn anyway?” Fluttershy asked, believing it was on everyone’s mind.
Twilight hesitated for a good while. She took a couple of bites to stall and think, but the silence around the room was oppressive to her. I really don’t want to go that far with the truth. Only Celestia should give that up.
Eventually, Rainbow let her fork drop noisily on her empty plate. “Doesn’t matter. Whoever it was is probably long dead, or was banished from time and space or something. What I want to know is, did Celestia get ahold of Honesty or are we going to have to fetch it ourselves again?”
“Knowing Sunset…” Twilight sighed heavily, “we’ll have to go and get it. She makes plans even better than I do. I’d wager she has a contingency plan already in effect since there was no way she could hide her involvement in taking Honesty. We can only hope Celestia can point us in the right direction.”
Rainbow moaned and flopped backwards into her chair. “Typical.”
The silence that set in was brief. Fluttershy was the first to stand up with her ears swiveling. “Does anypony else hear that?”
The unmistakable, steady thumping noise of a tiltrotor aircraft was on approach. Rainbow’s blood ran cold, and she bolted for the nearest window. She was soon joined by everyone else, cramming themselves together to get a good look, but not dare open the window for fear of a sniper’s bullet.
It ended up being a pair of aircraft, but the house was not their destination, and the two flew by too close for comfort. “Oh drek, they’re headed for Little Griffin Town.”
“Those were Royal Guard markings, too!” Twilight added hastily. “Do you think it was a message for us as well?
Now that the aircraft had left, Rainbow pulled back and fell into her runner mindset. “Five bits they were headed for The Lost Unicorn.”
Applejack’s face darkened. “The LU? Why?”
“Why indeed,” Rarity aimed her attention towards Twilight. “Any ideas?”
“The timing is no coincidence, it has to be about the Element of Honesty.” Right as Twilight thought about it, the sunstone sitting on the table lit up so brightly it got everyone’s attention. “Back away, she’s coming in!”
Everyone pulled back to the kitchen while Twilight touched the stone. Celestia teleported in and was not her usual immaculate self. Bags were under her eyes, and her usual gentle features were tired as if she had not slept at all.
Celestia gave a brief nod towards Twilight before surveying the rest of the gathered ponies. “Ah, good, you’re all here. There is no time to spare, and I need the Shadowbolts to move immediately. You will be briefed along the way.”
It wasn’t a surprising order, given the tiltrotor they saw. Rainbow stepped forward. “Where do you need us?”
“Make your way to the closest subway station. A traincar will attach itself to the next arrival. Be sure you board that train and make your way to the rear car. The guards will make sure nopony else will board there by accident,” Celestia directed at Rainbow, “I must insist your family comes with you.”
A shiver of absolute dread ran down Rainbow’s spine. “Did Sunset put a hit out on us or something?”
“No, at least not directly.” The ancient mare looked grim. “She named some members of the mafia and their location. Since you have had dealings with them, and at least some of them must know what you are, they may take you for an undercover operative. Would they not?”
Rainbow gave Fluttershy a poignant look. “Fixer knows. If he lives…”
“He may use us as a scapegoat to the Don. And he knows where we live.” Fluttershy started nervously chewing on her bangs.
“Then my concerns were justified.” Celestia took a quick look around the pitably cramped house. “Pack only what light, sentimental belongings you have. You will have plenty of bits to furnish a new home when the dust settles.”
Rainbow did the same as Celestia, but her focus was more on the upstairs bathroom where her family was. “Not much beyond the pictures and our old uniforms. I could throw it all in a go-bag in a minute.”
“Good.” Celestia lit her horn. “Time is critical, and any further questions must wait. I will await you in the private car. Be careful until then.” With that, Celestia teleported away.
“What am I going to do about my client’s car?” Fluttershy fretted.
“Just have it auto-drive back home,” Applejack replied, watching Rainbow race out and up the stairs to alert her family. “Bill the guy, and hope he pays up.”
“Oh, of course he will when he finds out nopony’s home,” Fluttershy grumbled under her breath.
Rarity squeezed by everyone to get to the door. “Farmer,” she said, switching to work mode, “the two of us should go now since we were seen coming together. Everypony leaving at once would raise eyebrows.”
“Good thinkin’,” Applejack said, and moved up to join her. “It’ll give me time ta pick mah rifle up from the drop spot.”
Just as Rainbow had promised, the house was stripped of what few irreplaceable items they had in short order. The only things the family of four brought with them were the pictures and uniforms in some saddlebags, with the children lugging some toys in their own bags. Twilight and Nova drove the car to the subway station, and took all of Fluttershy’s bots with them. Afterwords they commanded the car to self-drive back to the client. That left Fluttershy waiting behind the garage door. She was weighted down with three saddlebags full of what tools she could carry.
The others had been gone for only five minutes when the thestrals bounded down into the garage. By now, Fluttershy was slowing looking over the oil-stained tools racked on the walls. Her gaze had been on the powered down car-lift before her attention was brought up to her childhood friend. She sighed while popping the button to get the door to open. “I’m going to miss this place.”
Rainbow’s instincts were telling her to bust through the door and never look back, but she stalled a bit and laid a wing on Fluttershy’s back. “Me too. Even though the place sucked tail.”
“It leaked every time it rained,” Winter added with a touch of wistfulness.
“Ugh, and it stank when it did,” Rainbow added.
Fluttershy giggled at their playful tone. “The sewer pipes had to be realigned every storm, too.”
Sparks had to truly buzz his wings to fly up to the adults’ eye level. “I like how the walls got real bouncy when it rained though.”
“Yeah!” Amber chimed happily. “Remember when we would jump on the roof and made water fall on mommy and daddy’s bed?”
Winter grumbled and swatted his daughter’s ear, making the filly giggle and hide behind her mother. “I hope that was worth getting a pop quiz.”
“It was,” Amber blurted out, giggling from under Rainbow’s mane.
“I didn’t think so,” Sparks huffed at his father.
Rainbow took a moment to relish the petty bickering, a far cry from the more common gun and spellfire. In the end though, future family moments like this would have to wait. “Come on, we better move before Celestia or Twiggles gets pissed with how long we’re stalling.”
“Roger that.” Winter nodded to Fluttershy who promptly tapped the garage door opener. The group gave the garage one last sigh as they waited for the exit to open. Once the creaking motor halted, the adults nearly took to the air, only for Rainbow to see her twins had scurried off to the side of the exit so direct sunlight didn’t hit them.
She doubled back and nuzzled them. The pair immediately shot over to hide behind her legs, but still eyed the outside world with longing curiosity. “It’s okay, my little vamps, after a few more days, you’ll be able to play outside during the day like regular kids.”
“For realsies?” Amber asked.
“Honest to the Moon?” Sparks added.
Winter took up Rainbow’s side, but kept his attention on the children. “Yup, but we’re going to be going on a little vacation first. So if you wanna play outside like that, you’ll need to behave. Got it?”
Sparks jumped out and gave his father a snappy salute. “Yes, sir!” Amber merely nodded dumbly, shocked to the point of speechlessness.
Rainbow picked Sparks up with her teeth and set him down on her back. “Then let’s motor.”
Winter did the same with Amber, and the group flew off at best speed for the subway station. And for the first time in so many years, Rainbow tried to, for the briefest of moments, forget her troubles and simply enjoy the thrill of flight once more.
Rainbow arrived at the subway station, and glided right through the open stairway, and banked hard to the left to come in at a sharp landing. She grinned in pride as Sparks hooped and cheered at the ride. The subway had just arrived, so no one paid her any attention.
Winter and Fluttershy landed a moment later, causing Rainbow to point at the door towards the back of the train. “Come on, I just saw Farmer go in.”
Rainbow and the other thestrals tucked their wings in tight out of habit and pushed and shoved their way through the crowd. The lunch rush made it difficult to push through, and would make using her wallflower a wasted effort. Her added bags and excited foals made people bump into her harder than normal. A few bumps and bruises still was a small price for them squeezing into the train, but undoubtedly earned plenty of curious eyes at the family of four loaded down with packed saddlebags. I hope the mob just assumes we’re on the run from the crown.
Rainbow managed to muscle a path into the rear most accessible car, earning more than enough profanity directed at them to make her kick a few ornery passengers for good measure.
Once onboard, Winter closed in and pointed to the back. Sure enough, there was a final car attached at the back, with a few ponies wanting to go inside to get away from the densely packed bodies of the main cars. Two stallions dressed as the never-present security guards sternly refused them. To Rainbow’s trained eyes, they were clearly not the poorly paid chair jockeys that slept in the security kiosks, but no-nonsense soldiers in disguise.
Both she and Winter had to push and outright shove some stubborn passengers to get to the back. By then, the subway was at full speed towards the high city plate.The guard on the left was silently watching his partner kick a particularly pushy businesspony to the ground. “Sir, you are two seconds from getting thrown off the train, and I won’t bother pulling the brake.”
The downed stallion was shoved back to his hooves by the others he had been pushed into, and made a show of dusting himself off and smoothing his suit back. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer about this.”
“Blow it out your tail,” the other guard remarked dryly, now completely removing the irritant from his mind.
Rainbow barely squeezed by the retreating pony who gave her a dismissive, arrogant snort. She barely restrained herself from smacking him in the face with her tail, but the guards proved more important.
The first guard’s eyes shined with unnatural light. “Come on, you were the last ones and the train was already behind schedule.”
Even in the cramped confines of the train, the guards made enough room for Rainbow and the others to slide past them. The door opened easily enough, though the screeching whine of the high speed wheels grinded at her ears as she passed into the next car. Even to her, she could see the connection between this car and the rest of the train was designed to separate at will.
The car in front of her was much nicer than the standard public fair. The seats were velvet red plush, and the right wall had currently empty display screens. Her team was scarfing down some snacks, with various levels of manners, that had been found in a minibar. The others waved at her and gave a few greetings.
Sadly, the scent of alcohol was completely absent. Not like I can afford to get wasted anyway.
The only thing besides the luxury of the compartment that felt off was the fact that the compartment itself was very short, and most of the car was bisected by a steel wall and door. Rainbow found an empty spot to drop her saddlebags off, with Winter doing much the same. She put Sparks down and waved at the snacks Applejack was devouring like she had been starving for days. Probably has. Chrome maintance is stupid expensive. “Go get some candy, kids.”
“Yippee!”
“Thanks, mommy!”
As much as Rainbow wanted to enjoy the sight of her happy children, she was nervous about putting so much blind faith in anyone, even if it was the Princess. Her mood darkened even further now that she was trapped within a moving train.
The car rattled hard enough for Rainbow to look back the way she came. The two security guards were flanking the exit, so she was able to see they had separated from the train and had just switched tracks into another tunnel. She reflexively shuddered as Winter draped a wing on her back. She gave him a quick kiss and nuzzle before cantering over to her friends.
Rarity looked immaculate as always. Her clothing was clean and shared the same wavy contours that were popular these days, but Rainbow knew from experience the waves hid the tools of the decker’s trade, save for the cyberdeck itself that rested on her back via a strap. Fluttershy seemed the happiest of the lot, but that was only now that the children had raced over and she was showing them where all the snacks were in the bar. Twilight Sparkle had found a comb and some soap, and was grooming herself by the bar’s sink. Applejack had a bag of chips in one hoof and a soda in the other. Her chrome looked better cared for than her organic parts. But whether that was stress or hunger, Rainbow always had difficulty telling. Another reason to never chrome up. Those parts suck calories for power like nopony’s business. The would-be cowpony didn’t dare touch the scotch at a time like this, no matter how much it sang to her.
The lone earth pony stopped feasting on cheap empty food long enough to ask, “You don’t suppose Celestia just put on a show just to get us somewhere away from prying eyes to kill us, do you?”
Winter sighed and gave her a knowing, sad look. “She’s the Princess in the heart of Canterlot. She could flay a family alive and ponies wouldn’t bat an eye. Nopony would believe it. Plus, the moment she popped into our house, we were never going to escape her alive anyway. Not a second time.”
You mean the kids. Rainbow rattled her head in an attempt to dispel her ill-at-ease. “Sorry I ended up dragging all of you into this, provided it’s a trap in the end.”
“Rainbow, please,” Rarity offered lightly. “Getting involved in a Princess’ scheme was a gamble to be sure, but so was trusting a pair of fugitives.” The unicorn gave a dignified grin when Rainbow and Winter gave her a grateful, if weak, smile. “I like to think of myself as a good judge of character, and the Princess seemed genuine enough to me.”
“I’m glad you think so,” said Celestia’s voice from the walls. Everyone looked up to Celestia’s image appearing along the empty wall. “I’ve seen enough movies with double crosses to know what some of you are thinking. And just to reiterate, all of you will get your requested rewards.”
“I never doubted you,” Twilight was quick to say, and totally ignored the various looks of mild disdain from the others. Save for the kids who only gave Celestia a polite wave and greeting before resuming their inhalation of candy.
“Thank you,” Celestia nodded gratefully. “Now, as for the forced relocation of your family, they will be staying in my summer palace until matters of a more permanent house can be found later.”
“You have a summer home?” Rarity asked with a suppressed surprise.
“I never use it. Matters of state are always so pressing.”
“Well, it would be nice to let the kids have room to fly around,” Winter offered.
“Glad you agree. Now,” Celestia focused on Rainbow, but let her gaze drift over the other mares. “As for Honesty. I convinced my regent to hoof it over, but she had planned ahead in case I forced the matter and made her relinquish the relic. In short, she told the thieves that she would not be the one to pay for it, but instead lined up three buyers for the thieves to choose from. The mafia, who’s in contact with Little Griffin Town. Second was a buyer in the Diamond State. Both of which are being raided by the Royal Guard as we speak. But I do not expect success, save for cutting down on organized crime. Your team will be headed to the Holy Griffin Empire, or more precise, the capital: Griffinstone.”
“Griffinstone?!” Rainbow practically cringed at the news. “A… Ah… An old friend of mine lives there, well, not so much a friend anymore. If she joined the Imperial Paladins like she used to dream about, it’s possible we could run into her.”
“Then I will trust you to do what is necessary to keep Equestria‘s involvement from becoming an open secret.” Celestia was replaced on the monitors with a roadmap of Griffinstone. “The location of the buy is here…” The map zoomed into the south quadrant until the Sleek Beak International Airport came into focus. “There is a restaurant just outside of the security checkpoint. The dining area is where the exchange is to take place. Unfortunately, the buyer is none other than Razor Claw, the emperor’s personal relic hunter and second son. Presumably under a false guise, I’d imagine. I would suggest discrestion, but given the Imperial capital’s robust security surveillance…” Celestia centered herself, and paused a little too long for her liking. She could feel the mood of the group worsen. “Do what you feel is necessary to secure Honesty. I would prefer no civilian casualties, but the stakes are too high to tie one hoof to your barrel, you may go weapons free.”
Everyone, even Winter, was stunned. Fluttershy turned away from the screen, her thoughts turning to a potential massacre. Of them all, it was Applejack that posed a sullen question. “Ah take it just asking for Honesty’s return ain’t gonna happen?”
“Doubtful,” Twilight interjected. “Equestria and the Empire are currently in the process of economic decoupling. The emperor is a hardline warhawk, and is willing to prepare for decades to make sure his economy can back a full scale war. He has also poisoned his son’s mind with so much propaganda that, at this point, he too is a lost cause to us. Asking for Honesty’s return would be a useless gesture.”
Rainbow was not entirely ignorant of foreign affairs, even if it was only for potential employers. “And would probably make him hide the thing and play stupid.”
“Precisely,” Celestia added.
Nova raised a wing for attention. “Why is war even on the table? Can’t you just cause an eclipse over the Empire and kill their crops to subdue them?”
The audacity of the question didn’t even faze the ancient mare. “Perhaps three hundred years ago, but when the great powers of the world acquired nuclear weapons, Equestria signed a treaty with them all, no one will ever nuke Equestria during a war in exchange for me never weaponizing the sun or moon. And no, it is impossible to burn missiles out of the air with the sun. Even then, with anti-missile systems being what they are… there are ways to deliver such a weapon to a city with less overt means.” Celestia turned to Twilight and gave a nod, one the young unicorn took as a sign to add what she knew.
Twilight practically leapt to her hooves to give a satisfactory response. “The Empire is not ready for war, and won’t be willing to conduct one for a generation. Even so, the theft of even one element is a diplomatic coup more than a security one. All they need is for the Princess to know they have it, not announce it to the world. They’d correctly deduce the crown would not go public with it either out of embarrassment.”
Applejack tilted her head and gave a disgruntled scowl. “And lemme guess, you don’t see it as treason on Sunset’s part?”
“Put short,” Twilight started while shaking her head. “Sunset is more or less acting within the duties of regent in protecting Equestria. She’s simply just doing her job.”
Rainbow flared her wings and stomped over to shove a hoof in Twilight’s chest. “After everything she did to you, how can you say that so casually?!”
Twilight didn’t allow Rainbow to push her back, but didn’t respond with a hostile glare of her own. Instead, she had one of sad understanding. “Because I know why she did it. She tried the moral path and…” She didn’t want to glance at Celestia. She really didn’t. “It didn’t pan out. I’m sure you know how that feels.”
Rainbow started shaking with rage and went red in the face. She was about to lay into Twilight with all five years of heartache when a family hoof fell on her withers. She looked back to see Winter giving her an even expression. “I hate it as much as you do, Speedy. But don’t take it out on anypony but the regent herself.”
But they enabled her to do all this! Rainbow wanted to say. Oh, how close it reached the tip of her tongue, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see the twins sitting next to Fluttershy. They were completely obvious to the adults in their snack-fueled buffet.
Seeing an excuse to get away from Twilight, she huffed with disgust and pulled away from the unicorn. She brushed her tail across Winter as she made her way towards the children to stop them from making themselves sick. “Fine, I can do that.”
Applejack arched an eyebrow at it all, and eventually shrugged. “Welp, that’s it, I ain’t gonna bother trying to figure it out. You do you, Princess.”
Celestia raised a half annoyed, half amused eyebrow. “I thank you for your permission. At any rate, all of you will take a flight from Crystal Airforce Base. I’ve provided some uniforms for you so you don’t look like a group of civilians moving through a military base.” She was going to say more, but something off camera briefly caught her eye. “I did manage to get one more thing out of Sunset, as an act of good faith. A recent hire of hers and an acquaintance of yours shall accompany you.”
With that, the door to the closed off section of the car opened up to reveal a pink earth pony in an airforce uniform pulling a large clothing bag by the teeth. Everyone jumped a bit at the disturbingly familiar curly pink tail. The earth pony dropped the bag and turned around to confirm their suspicions. Pinkie Pie waved at them enthusiastically. “Heyya, criminal scum, your resident Detective Pinkie Pie is not here to arrest you for once!”
Everyone, save Nova were taken aback with Rarity voicing the shared concern. “You? Your Highness, it might be easier to simply arrest us here and now rather than this game of putting a spy in our midst.”
Rainbow eyed the still smiling shaman with a measure of respect, saved only for competent, honorable combatants. “A dangerous spy at that.”
Everyone’s stomachs went for a loop when the subway went into an above ground rail and went for a sheer drop to the valley below. The rails protested loudly, but the car remained fixed on its track. Pinkie, like the other non-fliers quaked a bit, but managed to stay on topic. “I’m not a spy, honest to cupcakes everywhere!”
“I like cupcakes!” Amber shouted, her head jerking away from her snacks. Chocolate staining her muzzle.
“I looove cupcakes!” Sparks shouted over her.
Winter held the ravening foals from tackling their newest best friend. “Not a chance, squirts, you’ve had enough sugar for one night.”
As the foals argued and pleaded with their father, Nova scrutinized the detective. “Hey, I think I remember you. You were chasing me on Feather Avenue last year.” Nova’s mood went unreadable. “You cost me twelve grand in chrome repair.
“Feather Ave… that was you? You were a lot greener back then.” Pinkie Pie padded her barrel down, subconsciously searching for her absent cuffs. “Ahh, I hope you can overlook the whole throwing-a-lamp-pole-at-you. You were being stubborn after all.”
“Everypony,” Celestia half-shouted with a brief, irate frown. “I will let you introduce yourselves in a minute. Captain, I’m giving you full authority to conduct this operation however you see fit. I would prefer you to keep your Equestrian loyalties a secret, but ultimately the timely acquisition of Honesty is absolutely paramount. You have three days to recover the artifact and return to Canterlot. I am willing to suffer political fallout if our ultimate goal is successful.”
“Three days?!” Rarity blurted out in a rather unladylike tone. “The round trip from here to Griffinstone is twenty four hours!”
“I am aware that is the generally accepted time for civilian transport. The Airforce can get you there and back in fifteen hours. Even still, I’m afraid the timeline is out of my hooves. You must return to Canterlot by that time, or matters will become much more dire than you know. Winter, there will be a seperate flight from the airbase to my summer palace, Colonel Snappy will escort you from the station.”
Rarity started speaking, cutting Rainbow off. “Princess, I mean absolutely no disrespect when I say this, but what exactly will become dire? Why are we suddenly facing a deadline?”
Rainbow had at first glared at Rarity, but after hearing her question, she leveled an inquisitive look at Celestia. For her part, Celestia was more focused on Rainbow Dash and Winter Glen above anyone else. Eventually, Celestia sighed wearily. The camera zoomed out a bit as she sagged heavily into her velvet chair. “I dearly wished to have this conversation in person, but I have put this off long enough, and the two of you deserve to know. The thing that I am ultimately asking of you, is to perform a rescue mission… for my sister.”
Everyone, save Twilight, gave scattered array of confused expressions. Pinkie Pie was the first to regain her voice. “Wowsers, just what did I sign up for?”
Ignoring her, Rainbow looked at Twilight. “Is that alicorn you talked about and this sister the same pony?”
Twilight nodded gravely. “They are.” She looked to her teacher. “I didn’t feel like it was appropriate for me to tell them anymore than that about her.”
“Of course,” Celestia replied with sullen eyes. “I have called upon you, Captain, to gather the Elements of Harmony because they are the only things that can save my sister from herself.”
“Herself?” Applejack cocked her head. “So wait, are we saving this surprise sister from a prison or a mind maze or what?”
Celestia looked to Twilight. “I taught you everything, my faithful student, but I don’t know what you told them.”
“...Yes, Princess.” Taking her cue, Twilight couldn’t help but to look at everyone’s faces, buying time for her to organize her thoughts. “When I said the other alicorn attempted a coup d’etat, something dark happened to her.” Twilight wanted to go on, but guilt and fear of disapproval or saying too much stilled her tongue. Her hesitation prolonged into an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the train tracks.
Celestia took it up before anyone could start to hound Twilight for anything more. “My sister’s long neglect from our subjects and her just resentment against me consumed her utterly.” With a pained tear dampening her cheek, Celestia forced herself to continue. “My precious sister Luna could take it no more one day and her dark magic overcame her where she became Nightmare Moon.”
Winter and Rainbow shared a nervous glance at each other, “Moon?”
Celestia wasn’t ready for the question she could see on the thestrals’ lips. “She refused to let the sun rise, and when I would not let her night continue, she attacked me.” Celestia blinked more tears away. “In the end, I was forced to use the Elements of Harmony to banish her to the… to the moon.”
Rainbow’s ears went flat and her stomach was doing loops. Winter felt physically shaken. He raised a shaky hoof at the monarch. “Are - are you trying to tell us we’ve been revering your sister the whole time? That—that we’ve been communing with a dark alicorn?!”
“Yes and no,” Celestia said with a sudden shift from morose guilt to her command voice, silencing the angry retort both thestrals were about to level. “The thestrals of old always revered Luna as Mother Moon. Your communions reach out to the pony she used to be, not the—” Celestia seized up for a split second. “Pony she is right now. I’m hoping that will help restore her. Secondly, we’ve proven that between her prison and by turning to dark magic, Nightmare does not have the same power over dream magic she did as my sister, something the thestrals of old were quite attuned to. So by praying to specifically Mother Moon, you not only strengthen Luna’s good nature along with the return of her favored tribe, but also lessen your tribal weakness to dream magic and keeping Nightmare Moon from influencing you… at least beyond rare and hard to interpret signs. It was deemed an acceptable risk.”
The scant few signs Rainbow received over the years suddenly felt cold and unnerving. Winter spoke up with a shiver in his tone. “H-How exactly did you test for that?”
Celestia gave a lopsided frown. “Flintlock was the only thestral for close to a decade. I think you can understand why.”
Nova had been leaning against the wall intently listening. With Celestia’s latest admission, the married couple had been rendered speechless. No pony else felt like it was their place to speak over such topics. As a result, the decker pushed off and took a step towards the Princess. “That’s pretty dope. We’re like, your nieces and nephews or something, then?” That got a string of annoyed and dumbfounded faces. Nova gulped and stepped back to the wall. “Well I mean, if we’re calling your sister Mother Moon then it makes sense right?”
Celestia allowed herself a weak smile. “Save my sister from the darkness that has claimed her, and we’ll talk.”
“So Ah’m gunna take a wild stab in the dark and say these Elements do more than just banish people when you flick the switch,” Applejack stated with a seriousness that sapped what little humor had bubbled up. “What Ah’d like ta know is why are we gatherin’ them all now instead of keep’n them in, oh Ah don’t know, in a vault maybe?”
“This plan was originally abandoned for a more… direct means of dealing with Nightmare Moon.” Before anyone could try and pry more information out of her, Celestia directed her focus towards Rainbow Dash. “Captain, when Twilight summoned me, I admit I was taken aback by your actions and, obviously, your young family. It is true you were identified as a likely candidate for Loyalty before your,” Celestia coughed sheepishly, “fall from grace. And you were really my only option for its bearer. So I took a risk in trusting you, rather than kill who I thought to be a traitor. I am honored that my faith in you has been vindicated.”
Rainbow smirked and thumped her chest. “Yeah well, the Element picked me for a reason ya know.” Winter proudly gave his wife a side hug.
“I for one never questioned Rainbow’s integrity,” Rarity mused with a sly grin at her leather-winged friend. “But they say I have a knack for reading ponies. But it does beg the question, how do we use these Elements per se?”
“It’s actually quite easy, on paper,” Twilight spoke up with an academic tone. “I’ve been trained to act as the focal point. The rest of you simply need to allow your Element to take and channel your personal mana to fuel the spell. You shouldn’t need to focus on any sort of pattern or verbal components.”
“Oh, good,” Fluttershy muttered barely loud enough to be heard over the train’s movement. “I’m not really good with magic stuff anyway.”
“You and me both, partner,” Applejack winked.
“Most excellent,” Celestia cut in. “Now, there is a Royal Marine paratrooper division at your destination. They specialize in covert operations, and their equipment has no identifying icons or logos. It should have whatever we attire or items you may require. I will be sure the base commander knows you act with the crown’s blessings, Captain. May harmony guide you.”
Rainbow nodded and gave a crisp salute. Celestia nodded in acceptance before ending the transmission.
Towards the end of the ride, the traincar was closing in on Rainbow Falls, the military town surrounding Crystal Airforce Base. Everyone had chosen to catch what sleep they could, but Rainbow had woken early and had quietly made her way back to the front room since it was the only place where she wouldn’t be bothered. She had changed into the offered military uniform which thankfully fit her. Rarity must have passed on our measurements at some point. It at least looked official enough that any officers unaware of her orders would at least stop from bothering her when they saw them. Doesn’t matter if they know we have the Princess’s stamp of approval. There’s always somepony who is a bit too eager for their paygrade.
The back of the train car had all of the proper accommodations for long distance travel, so Rainbow was alone in the front, watching the night sky drift by. Light pollution around the capital left everything except a few dozen stars and the moon mired by haze. But truly, only the moon was necessary for Rainbow Dash. She was meditating, both to hone her mana control and to commune with Mother Moon. No, that wasn’t quite true anymore. Mother Moon’s true name: Luna. Has a better ring to it. “Still… Wish I had thought to ask more about how different Nightmare Moon is from Luna. Is Nightmare a different person that took over, or is Luna so pissed she’s calling herself Nightmare Moon and is still the same person.” Damn it though, why couldn’t she just tell us up front?
Heading over to the window, Rainbow stared up at the Mare on the Moon. It looked no different than usual, save that it was nearly a new moon now. The bright white light had been so welcoming before, but now doubt clouded her as much as the mare did to the surface of the moon. I may not be able to hear much or Luna or Nightmare, but who’s to say she can’t see me plain as day? There was only one way for her to find out. She sat down and forced herself to meditate while keeping her gaze fixed on the moon.
Minutes passed. The lights from Rainbow Falls was starting to obscure some of the weaker stars now. Yet as usual, the moon was silent. It was actually unexpected this time around. As if knowing Luna’s true name would draw her out, nightmare or not.
The peace might have lasted until they reached the airbase until Rainbow felt something utterly alien. A crackling pressure wave akin to a wash of static electricity passed over her, causing her fur to stand up. It startled her breath as it washed over her spirit, causing her gaze to break away from the moon. A second, stronger wave hit, enough for her to sense a direction. Rainbow blinked some spots out of her vision and looked back up to the moon. Right before her, four stars inched closer to the celestial body.
She rubbed her eyes, and looked again. The stars were stationary once again, but the distance was undoubtedly closer. “What in the? Wait, aren’t those the Sync-Star Stations? Why would they be that close together?”
Before she could think any further about it, the door leading to the cabin closed, drawing her attention to the fetish adorned shaman. The Pink One was holding a pastry box. “Heyya, wanna piece o’ cake?”
Hunger may have been clawing at her since she had skipped breakfast, but her concern with the moving space stations was still on her mind. I need to tell Silver, probably Twiggles too. This might be a sign of something. “Not now, I gotta talk with the others.”
Pinkie Pie started to watch her go until she blocked her with the box. “Hold on now! I needed to ask some questions about you and Flintlock.”
Just by hearing the name, Rainbow’s short fuse lit off, and derailed her train of thought. The fact that he could have been acting within the special privileges of the regency only served to deepen her sour mood. “What about him?”
Rainbow fully expected the shaman to balk under such a hostile gaze from a close fighter like herself. Instead, Pinkie simply opened the box and all but shoved the last two pieces of rather delicious smelling cake in Rainbow’s face. “I’d like to know why he spared your life.”
“Spared my?” Rainbow’s vision went red and she ground her teeth. She kicked the box away, scattering crumbs and frosting everywhere. “That bastard ruined my life! And one of these days I’m going to kill him, slowly. I don’t give a drek what kinda sacrifice he made!”
Not really wanting to take her anger out on Pinkie Pie, the shaman had earned a warrior’s respect, so she decided against speaking with Winter just yet and went to sit in front of the window again.
Having fully expected something similar to that reaction, Pinkie Pie pulled a smaller, personal sized pastry box out from her mane. She walked over to Rainbow and set it down between them. “No pony has really told me what really happened between you two, or three I guess if you include your hubby, quite a looker if you ask me,” she added with an elbow jab and sultry, “ meooow.”
If Pinkie Pie and her cake had walked in, it was quite possible one of her kids could wander around looking for more. She had not seen anything dangerous to the children outside of the unopened alcohol at the minibar. So she took the bait and forcibly calmed down. I’m sure Celestia knows about whatever’s going on with the star stations. Maybe they’re the reason Celestia is so sure on the deadline. Was it smart to assume that? Not particularly, but it was all Rainbow had to go on, so she mentally let it slide for now. “Yeah, he is. And no, he’s got no interest in joining a herd, nor am I.”
Pinkie shrugged and openly giggled. “Come on now. I may be forward, but I have a super strict policy of four dates before any cereal talk.” She shoved the box closer to Rainbow. “You seem hangry.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Probably am. I’m hoping to score some MREs during the flight.” With a forlorn sigh, Rainbow quietly gave thanks and accepted the box. It had donuts drizzled with chocolate. It pained the thestral that such a thing had become a luxury, unless stolen, for her. Hush money and children were expensive after all. So was taking less pay from her fixer to keep ker tribe a secret. Years of eating any candy she wanted before her exile flooded back when she took the first bite. This was a legitimate treat with no illegality about it.
Pinkie half watched her eat, and half kept an eye on the window. The train was slowing now, and they would arrive within ten minutes or so. “When I say, saved your life, I mean a few days ago at Denim Pants’ estate.”
Rainbow was about to bite down on the second pastry when she gave Pinkie an odd look. “Are you mental? You were there, you saw him running after me when the roof collapsed. Your doing, I’m guessing.”
“Guilty as charged,” Pinkie cheered with a bow.
Now that she tasted it, Rainbow gorged herself on the cake slice. “I like your style,” she said while waving a wing at the shaman. “Coulda used a sledgehammer like you a few times.”
Pinkie grinned at the compliment. “The place needed to go boom anyways, it was built to bring pain to the spirits. Such a thoughtful meanie weenie. But no, there is something off about that whole night that my brain is going mulch over it if I don’t get answers. So let me paint the picture,” Pinkie started off by waving her hooves around to simulate a stage play. “The night of the Panty raid, Gelos sent me a tele that something big was going down at Denim’s hanger. I sweet talked Flintlock to investigate, so he, me, Vapor Trails, and Sky Stinger went along in a whirlybird to—”
Rainbow pushed Pinkie’s hoof off of her. “You’re the reason he was there that night?! He almost killed me!”
Pinkie shrugged as if it was nothing special. “As if Equestria has never tried to lethally arrest fugitives.” The veins on Rainbow’s face started to bulge, but Pinkie gave her a thin smile. “Come on, Dashy, that’s all I knew of you at the time, so don’t blame me for not trying to stop him. Them’s the troubles of the blackest of black ops, am I right?”
Rainbow’s rising fury sputtered and went limp. “Fine. But don’t call me Dashy. Street name’s Flash, got it?”
“Rightorooni! So we were like, spying on all the guests during the shindig, pretty boring if you ask me. But anyway, our drone saw you. I didn’t know it was you, but Flintlock did crazy fast. He got so woopsy doopsy that he ordered an immediate attack to arrest Denim, secure the Element of Loyalty, and capture or kill you. Nooot exactly in that order.”
“Makes sense he’d want to geek me to cover his tracks.”
Pinkie Pie hummed inquisitively about the comment, but left it alone for the moment. ”At the end of it all, Flinty said you ghosted him after you jumped the plate. Now, I could see that if he weren’t a wing thing, and maybe if you still had most of your blood still in you, buuut…”
Rainbow smirked with pride. “What can I say? I’m a million times better than him. Plus, Mother Moon probably helped a bit in there too.”
The shaman’s thoughts turned to her patron, making her tap her chin. “Flinty and the others are so hushy about what Momma Moon does on the material plane, but I factored for at least decent interference. I still couldn’t believe you could have gotten away like that. Certainly not alive enough to be ready to tussle with some griffins in a few hours.”
I don’t think Celestia would like it if I told Pink she stole a blood maker. “So I got a great street doc, they do exist ya know.”
Pinkie narrowed her eyes and raised an eyebrow. “I’m quite familiar with most of them, thank you very much! Personally I think leaving them alone does more good than bad.” She didn’t press that topic any further. Instead she started rustling a hoof into her mane. “You see, I had a super interesting chit chat with a downer recently. I was hoping you could comment on it.” Pinkie pulled out her phone and quickly selected what she wanted and presented the screen to the defensive thestral. The device started playing the conversation she had with the homeless pony in the city park the night after Denim’s arrest.
Were it not for the food, Rainbow would have barely paid attention. Even then, she only gave casual focus, that was until she recognized the green feather and brass horn emblem on the bench, marking it as Green Park. It pulled her attention more than before. She remained fixated until the aged mare mentioned a supposed pegasus fall to the ground and second pegasus lording over the first. Rainbow’s eyes widened when the mare described the glowing Element of Loyalty. Yet she still held her tongue until the bum said the pegasus was actually a bat mare. A pony covered in blood, but not a scratch on her.
“This’s…” Rainbow wrinkled her brow in disbelief. “This is a bunch of fake trash, or she’s lying. The nag had burn marks on her plugs, she was probably still coming down from a BTL.” Were it not for the rather good snack, she would have done worse than just snap at the detective.
“You know as well as I do, addicts only hallucinate about the fantasy they just had after the BTL burns out. So unless she found a BLT about a dying thestral in the same park I found her in...”
“Why show me this? So I’d give that bastard any sort of mercy when I see him again? I’ll tell you what I’ll do—”
Pinkie Pie gently, yet with the firmness of a police officer, pushed Rainbow back enough to silence her more out of shock and personal space violation than anything else. “If I wanted you to be nice to Flinty, I wouldn’t have bothered telling you he gave the order to attack you. He lied to the rest of us, saying he killed you. But the homeless pony apparently says he saved you from bleeding out. So what gives?”
A shadowrunner has to have a quick wit, and it was that alone that made Rainbow think for a moment. “How would I know? Maybe he thinks death is too good for me or something.”
The train car jarred them as it suddenly slowed into the station. It was all the excuse Rainbow needed to put some distance between them. “Doesn’t matter what was going through his stupid head. When we’re done with all this Element drek, I’m going to plant my hoof inside his fat face and leave it there until he stops breathing.”
Feeling her temper rise, she turned away from the detective and said nothing else. She threw her saddlebags on and stormed off. Pinkie Pie grumbled out of exasperation. “Well, isn’t that crummy. Now all I’ll have is guesswork unless I ask Flinty himself.”
If there was ever a place to languish, it would be the police department’s holding cell. Knights Errant only held Lighting Dust briefly before passing her along to the police. With no evidence of Lighting Dust existing in Guiding Light’s lab, and the good doctor failing to identify her in a line up, the only thing the police had her on was vigilantism and not possessing a SIN. That alone was enough to warrant a court case, and strip her of her clothes in exchange for an orange jail jumpsuit complete with an implant inhibitor latched onto her datajack port.
Lightning scratched at the itchy sensation the inhibitor caused, but as soon as her hoof came near the simple looking plug, she felt a sizzling that warned her away. Damn stars. Would it kill them to set my bail already?
That was something bothering her, now that she was giving it some thought. Vigilantism was more of a slap on the wrists, even here in Canterlot, but she was still waiting. Could be my missing SIN. Lightning had been without one for so long, she briefly forgot what it was like for those on the other side of things. She became awash with vengeful ire as she sat up on her steel bench. They must be trying to go over any security records off the star-cloud. If that damn face stealer hasn’t bothered covering her tracks to stop me from finding out, then the stars will damn sure be able to nail me for something!
Lightning’s gaze danced around the holding cell, looking for something to free herself with. The cell door and the observation glass were rated against all but the heaviest chromed earth ponies. She didn’t enhance herself for muscle anyway. Her eyes drifted over the twelve prison-bound mares in her holding cell. Might be able to talk these losers into rioting enough to get me out… Lightning’s train of thought felt as if it suddenly struck a mountain of cotton candy. Drowsiness dragged at her eyelids. She fought it for a moment, but the crash she felt was beyond her will to stop.
When she closed her eyes, Lighting fell instantly asleep. At least, to the waking world anyway.
She felt as if she fell into crystal still water and remained fully wide awake. Blinking at the strangeness of it, she couldn’t help but to look around in bewilderment, Lightning found herself floating in a black starry sky without the aid of her wings. For a short time, she was surprised how detailed the sky was. Constellations, distant planets, and a graceful nebula captivated her like grand, cosmic art. Living most of her life in Canterlot made such a sky utterly invisible.
Still, Lighting Dust was not one to linger when some last gasp of freedom was there. She shook her head, looked around, and started flying out of instinct. “Not sure what dope some star slipped me, but it’s easily a lawsuit,” she muttered to herself in a mildly dismissive tone.
“Why?” Came an unfamiliar, feminine voice from the darkness. “Is our night sky not beautiful?”
A pressure wave rolled over and through Lighting Dust. A sense of real power. Not the kind where you can press a button to destroy a city, but to be the bomb itself. A tall, slim, and utterly dark entity revealed itself from the star field. It resolved itself to be a black alicorn matching the Princess in height. But where Celestia exuded calm serenity, even Lightning Dust could feel the barely controlled hatred, and more worryingly, anticipation contained within her armored face.
Lightning Dust instinctively tried to back away, flapping her wings for all their worth, but she remained fixed in place. “I didn’t do it! Road Streak blew up that altar, all I did was watch!”
“Don’t bother speaking,” the dark alicorn let off a low growl of long-suffered resignation. With a short gesture of a hoof, she rotated Lightning Dust so they were facing each other. “While we know you can understand us, anything you say will be unintelligible. Same for the written word. But...” The living embodiment of the night stared deep into Lightning’s soul through predatory slitted eyes. “We have gotten quite good at reading,” she grinned and lidded her eyes. “Body language.”
With a touch of a wingtip, she pulled Lightning into a sitting position. “We are Nightmare Moon, the…” she tilted her head ever so slightly, “one of the legitimate rulers of Equestria.”
Lightning Dust huffed. “Bulldrek. What are you? Some new interrogation style the stars drummed up to look like a drug trip?”
Unlike many others in Lightning’s line of work, Nightmare Moon studied her intensely, focusing on her face most of all. “Disbelief.” Nightmare Moon pushed Lightning Dust into a slow spin, giving her enough time to step back a few steps before Lightning faced her once more. “Trapped though we are, we can still influence the waking world, now, more than ever, and soon we can return to Equestria properly. But we have seen the strength of the new weapons and spells in the world. Our return will be resisted at first. We have need of soldiers and advisors to ease the masses into accepting how Equestria is meant to be: a diarchy.”
“I avoid the military on principle. Why would I bother being your little soldier?”
Nightmare Moon allowed the pegasus to speak, if only to watch her intently. “You decline? No, you question. So many of you do. Our sister must have worked hard indeed to erase us from history. Does she claim the night sky is her domain too!” The flash of old rage danced within Nightmare’s eyes, but she kept herself from lashing out. “It doesn’t matter. We will return soon enough. If you are not interested in being a warrior, then perhaps an advisor instead. It is impossible for us to see what you mortals do in those glowing squares. Some laugh or cry, while others are clearly at work doing something with them. We peered into your dreams after watching you faint from your little skirmish with the flying war machine. Delightfully destructive wasn’t it?”
Lightning Dust’s ears wilted and she turned away in embarrassment. “Great. An evil spirit starts stalking me and the first thing she sees is me getting my tail shot off.”
A smug grin curled Nightmare’s lips. “Brave, if entirely too reckless. Yes, we were in haste. You would not make a long-lived soldier. At least not in the traditional sense. No. You would best serve fighting for us on that world of light we saw you in. Your mood and stance clearly showed it was no game. But another battlefield.”
Lightning Dust felt arrogant pride bubbling up. “Yeah, sure I’d rather fight there. But why should I serve you?”
Nightmare Moon started pacing around the mostly frozen pegasus. “You have a rogue’s air about you. Your type never truly change. Swear to us, if we free you from this dungeon, you will serve us. If we are unable to free you today, then we will keep no hold over you, and you will never remember our little talk.”
I could just say whatever as long as I sell it. Lightning Dust put on her best lying face. “I swear I will never serve you.”
The slight grin on Nightmare Moon’s face slowly grew into a chilling, superior smirk. “You never change. We may not understand your exact words, but We know you are trying to play games. Your window for escape is closing fast. Swear honesty this time, or you will never see the waking world again.”
Palpable fear coarsed through Lightning Dust. Some small part of her felt this surge of terror was unnatural, but she couldn’t think straight enough to resist it. “Okay, okay, I swear if you can get me out of here.” Slight discomfort passed over her eyes and moved rapidly through her whole body. Suddenly, as if a veil had been lifted, dozens of other draconic eyes were staring back at her from behind Nightmare Moon.
Nightmare Moon’s armor glowed as did her growing smirk at seeing the pegasus now bearing Nightmare’s mark: slitted eyes. “Very good. With you under my… how shall we put it kindly… service, we can now briefly cast a spell through you.
“Shortly,” she continued, forcing Lightning’s jaw shut as the pegasus tried to speak. “One of those metal carriages will arrive in the gatehouse of this dungeon. You are not destined to board this carriage, but you will act as if you are. When the others get inside the carriage, you will walk alongside the machine until both you and it leaves the portcullis. After which you will fly to a place where you are safe enough to sleep once more so we can direct you to my followers. Are we understood?”
Nightmare paused a bit, and released Lightning’s jaw. The young mare rubbed her sore face and eyed the dark alicorn with fear. The multitude of eyes behind the alicorn narrowed from hidden grins. “Whatever. I’ll never make it past the cameras anyway. Those things are designed to see through illusions.”
“Make yourself ready. We will await your arrival.” Nightmare Moon vanished, and a moment later, her night sky.
Lightning Dust jolted awake screaming. Her gaze darted around, seeing only the bemused or annoyed faces of the other inmates. Her heart pounded in her chest and her wings rattled from the adrenaline. She was immediately kicked off the bench by the griffin jane she had originally been sitting next to.
“Get off me if you’re wigging out!”
Lightning Dust was too out of sorts to give any sort of retort, and slunk away to the closest isolated bench, leaving the grouped ponies to assume there would be no further confrontation.
Still, Lightning Dust still had enough wits about her to act like she was moving away on her own, rather than being fearful of the griffin. What the drek was that?! Over a few seconds, Lightning forced herself to try and stay focused. A panicked runner is a dead runner, she chanted. A panicked runner is a dead runner. She got a few more repetitions out when she felt magic welling inside of her chest, near her heart. A magic that felt like oil spreading out and seeping in between her organs until it started pooling just beneath her skin. Her terror started returning with a vengeance, and she would have started frantically scratching at herself had the loud buzzer from the cell door not derailed her completely.
A pegasus guard pushed the door open and briefly surveyed the crowd. “Alright, everypony line up at the platform.” She stepped back towards the platform himself where two other officers were waiting with restraints ranging from common shackles to magic and implant dampeners.
Without much fuss, the other prisoners started filing out. Lightning Dust might have remained planted where she was had she not felt a pull towards the door, as if someone was gently running a hoof down her jaw line towards the exit. Collecting herself as best she could, Lightning obeyed and joined the back of the line. The oily feeling of foreign magic was still permeating her body, but she managed to keep her scream internal, and remain outwardly silent. She came to the door and the guards were already distracted patting them all down and taking extra time to slowly drag a detector wand across manes, tails, and feathers. Three more officers were standing atop the platform. Two were watching the inmates while another was distracted by his computer.
Following the silent compliance of the others, Lightning took her place at the platform. She kept a fearful eye on the only robot she could see: a flying version with visible pepper spray and taser prongs. Her gaze turned to the various domed cameras. This is it. If they don’t shackle me and I walk off, the monitor will end this whole thing and I can get back to rotting in jail for months waiting for a hearing. Neither prospect was really appealing, but at least she knew what to expect from jail time.
Unseen by her, the officer watching the cameras was not having a good time. The earth stallion was guzzling his coffee, but he could not keep his eyes open for more than a second or too. His head bobbed as he struggled to stay awake, but little did he know, it was his coffee that was putting him to sleep. “Damn it, I know I got enough sleep last night.”
His cameras showed the chain gang being escorted out of booking with Lightning Dust following after them unshackled, and yet he was fighting his drowsiness too much to notice. It got bad enough that his neck gave out and he banged his head on the desk. That not only gave him enough adrenaline to have a moment of lucidity, but to put another fear in him that it was unnatural. With what strength he had left, he clicked his radio. “Ten seventy eight Central.”
Utterly spent, he fell out of his chair in a sleep so deep he was barely breathing, and knocked his coffee all over the desk.
The exit gate was opening and the van was slowly picking up speed when, out of curiosity, Lightning Dust glanced back inside the ground level observation windows into booking. A number of officers had abruptly stopped their idle chatter and were sprinting further deeper into the jail. Hearing the van leaving without her, she raced to catch up. As soon as she passed the gate entirely, she bolted into the air and was long gone. Bloody piss, just what have I gotten myself into this time?