//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Rainbow Savior // by Juria //------------------------------// Rainbow Savior Chapter 2 By: Juria Rainbow Dash sat on the dark-green hospital waitng room couch, her mind trying to process what the past few hours of talking with Luna and Spitfire had yielded as far as understanding just how deep this investigation really was. “Wow.” was the only word she could muster. In the span of an hour Dash had learned practically everything that Luna and Spitfire had to offer, and while some of it was just a simple re-hash of previous encounters, such as the fact that they had very little evidence and no witnesses aside from Scootaloo, other bits of information left her bewildered, such as the patterns that Spitfire and Luna both saw beginning to take shape, how the coat of every foal that had been murdered differed, with no one foal’s coat being the same color twice. Suddenly and rather rudely, Dash’s train of thought came to a crashing halt with the arrival of somepony she had hoped would stay out of this, but Dash knew that she and her organization just had to stick their muzzles in. “Buck.” Dash muttered, sighing with a snort as she stood up to face the middle-aged mare. “It’s been a long time, Ms. Blossom.” Dash said, trying to keep up her polite demeanor. Cherry Blossom gently brushed her black and silver mane out of her face, revealing a pair of small framed glasses and what almost appeared to be a set of even smaller eyes. Even as a young filly, Dash always thought that if Cherry Blossom took her glasses off her eyes would disappear. The lime-green earth pony with the gold bit for a cutie mark scoffed at her former charge, shifting her saddle bag slightly. “Rainbow Dash, how nice to see you after all this time.” She stated with a hint of disgust in her voice. Dash rolled her eyes. “Look, I don’t know why you’re here, but unless you’ve got some sort of information that we don’t know about…” Cherry Blossom stopped her by putting her hoof in her face. “Actually, Ms. Rainbow Dash, you’re just the young filly I wanted to speak to” her gaze skimmed briefly over Luna and Spitfire “in private, of course.” Princess Luna stood stoically beside Rainbow Dash, as did Spitfire. “If you have any information, I would suggest you give it to all three of us, otherwise you can just, what is the phrase?” Luna paused for only a couple of second, theatrically tapping her chin, before a smirk crossed her face. “Ah yes, buck off.” She stated bluntly. Cherry Blossom stood before the princess with a befuddled look on her face, before recovering her bearings. “Very well then. My reason for visiting concerns a certain young filly, a Ms. Scoot-a-loo, which was brought in here almost two months ago. No report has been made to me about her status, and I came in to check on her. Also, without any “guardian” to speak of, she is to be turned over to Foal Services as soon as she is well enough to move on her own.” Rainbow Dash glared at Ms. Blossom. “And what does this have to do with me?” she asked sternly. A smug grin spread on Cherry Blossom’s face like a weed. “Seeing as how this filly is technically homeless, and you have yet to fill out any kind of paperwork and may very well have made any and all medical decisions for her without the consent of her legal guardian, I have no choice but to fine you the sum of fifteen thousand bits minimum and to issue you a court ordered restraining order. You are not to come within one mile of said filly, and if you do so, you’ll be arrested immediately.” Cherry Blossom stated, the smug grin still plastered on her face as she reached into her saddle bag and hoofed over the court papers. Dash’s heart sank like a rock as she read each line. Spitfire could see Dash getting more and more frustrated as she shook with rage, so she took this opportunity to pull Dash away from Cherry Blossom before Dash did something she knew she would regret. This act also served a second purpose, as it now left Cherry Blossom all alone against Princess Luna, the only being in Equestria at the present time that could do anything about this situation. Luna’s eyes stared down Cherry Blossom in such a dark and chilling way that it rivaled Fluttershy’s infamous “stare”, if not surpassed it. Where Fluttershy’s stare was just a mixture of confidence and the young pegasi’s hidden aggression, Luna’s carried the extra advantage of being literally magically charged, which Ms. Blossom quickly felt as the area around her felt colder and darker, forcing her to cower on the inside before Luna even spoke. “How dare you, thou simple-minded peasant!” Luna’s voice boomed, practically rattling the walls. Cherry Blossom gulped as she attempted to hold her ground. “N..now your highness.” She stammered. “I am just a simple messenger for the government. I am just following orders.” Cherry Blossom managed to spit out, shaking on the inside. Princess Luna strode over to Cherry Blossom, tilting her head down slightly so the two were eye level. “And we, as your princess, are reversing those orders.” Luna stated bluntly and coldly. Ms. Blossom stood dumbfounded. “B..but, yo..you can’t. The law clearly states that…” she was suddenly cut off by Luna’s once again booming voice. “AND WE ARE REVERSING THIS DECREE, OR HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT THE RULER’S WORD IS FINAL?!” she bellowed. By this time, Cherry Blossom had dropped her usual calm demeanor and had taken to hiding behind the waiting room couch. “B..but..” Ms. Blossom tried to stammer out yet another protest, only to be met this time with her own court order paper shoved right in her face before it suddenly and without warning burned up in a flash flame. Luna scowled at Cherry Blossom. “We, as your princess, do hereby decree Ms. Rainbow Dash to be temporary guardian of one filly, Ms. Scootaloo, until a more permanent solution can be found.” Luna stated. Both Spitfire and Rainbow Dash turned to Luna with looks of total confusion while Cherry Blossom simply snorted, glared at the three mares, and stomped off out the door. Several guards clapped their hooves in appreciation before quickly returning to their posts. Rainbow Dash nervously looked up at Princess Luna. “Um, princess, not that I’m not grateful, but you did say that Scootaloo is pretty much my legal foal, right?” Luna smiled happily. “Of course, unless, do you object to such a task?” she asked with a somewhat befuddled look. Rainbow sat on her rump on the hospital floor, thinking for several minutes, which for her was fairly long. After the minutes had passed, Rainbow stood up and simply shrugged her shoulders. “Nah.” As the princess and Spitfire shared a chuckle, Dash’s gaze turned to the still sleeping Scootaloo in the glass-walled sound-proof hospital room. “Don’t worry Scoots, I promise I’ll protect you.” she whispered softly. Meanwhile, Cherry Blossom gave the glass doors of the hospital one last glance, a tiny glimmer of malice in her eyes, "Trust me Scootaloo, we will see eachother again very soon." she muttered before two large solar guards stood between her and the entrance.