//------------------------------// // 5: Time of Desperation // Story: Live by the Creed // by FoughtDragon01 //------------------------------// Twilight was a pony that had been through a fair share of danger. She’d probably seen more in the past year than most others see in their entire life. Still, even though she’d been through plenty of physical turmoil, she found that dealing with the emotional variety was far, far worse. That was mainly because, unlike physical danger, emotional danger affected ponies in a variety of ways. Twilight could make an educated guess as to what a fifty-foot drop would do to anypony, but something as simple as a bit of stress could affect different ponies in an unpredictable number of ways. As such, it made it a much more difficult thing to resolve. Case in point, Twilight didn’t have the slightest clue what she could say to Rainbow Dash to calm her down. Normally, she’d have about half a speech prepared and take things from there, but as things stood, she had nothing. Still, perhaps she should’ve been more concerned with locating the pegasus first. She may not have been a difficult pony to spot, but she certainly was a difficult one to track down. Twilight appeared in front of Rainbow’s front door in another flash of light. The cloud-walking spell still held as strongly as before as she walked across the surprisingly firm, cloudy porch. A small sigh passed through Twilight’s lips. It wasn’t likely that Rainbow would be home, but she supposed that she may as well have made sure first before crossing it off of her list. Raising a hoof, Twilight knocked on the door… …only to have it gently ease open. Twilight, clearly confused, took a single step back. “That’s… odd.” Odd, indeed. Rainbow may have been a bit of a reckless pony, but she certainly wasn’t so forgetful as to forget to lock her door. Of course, that was assuming Rainbow even used the door; Twilight had known her long enough to know that Rainbow had some unspoken grudge against using doors. If she didn’t have to, she simply would not enter a place through a door, instead opting for some nearby open window. If Rainbow rarely used the door at Twilight’s library, then the chances of her using the one at her own home were certainly low, to say the least. That meant one of two things. Either Rainbow was in such a state of shock that she wasn’t even acting like herself anymore, or it was the other, much more chilling possibility. Somepony was there who shouldn’t have been. It likely would’ve been the smarter choice to just go and retrieve the proper authorities if the latter was, indeed, the case. However, Twilight always had a bad habit of jumping to the worst-case scenario at the slightest sign of trouble. For all she knew, Rainbow could’ve just simply forgotten to lock her door. Whether or not the mare was still home, Twilight had yet to find out. Slowly, the curious unicorn pushed the door open, poking her head into the cloud home. “Hello? Rainbow? Are you in here?” Seconds ticked by as Twilight waited for an answer that never came, just as she expected. She breathed something of a dejected sigh. “I guess she isn’t here.” She shut the door, already considering where to go next. Not even a few seconds passed before her ears picked up the distinct noise of a pile of items crashing to the floor. Somepony was in there! “Rainbow Dash?” Twilight called. Twilight didn’t even think twice about bursting back into Rainbow’s home. ---- “Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Star Light hissed as she rummaged through another one of Rainbow’s drawers. “Where is the blasted letter?” Needless to say, her search wasn’t going accordingly, and time was something that she didn’t have much of. She had convinced her master to give her ten minutes to search the pegasus’ home. So far, she’d spent the past five searching through all of Rainbow’s things in a desperate search to find it, only to find everyday house supplies. Time was ticking away by the second and her options were running lower just as quickly, but it had to be in there somewhere. It was the only place that made sense. Where hadn’t she looked yet? She checked under the bed, she checked in the bathroom, she even checked in the cookie jar like a silly filly. It was in none of those places, though Star had to admit, it not being in the cookie jar didn’t come as a surprise. The mare released an agitated grunt as she checked another of the few places left where she hadn’t looked. “Where else could it be?” As she tapped a hoof against her head, her eyes drifted towards what must’ve been her last viable option. “The closet,” she muttered. In a flash, Star Light was in front of the door, swinging it open. She felt both hope and worry seep into her heart as she stared into the mess of cardboard boxes that the closet held. If that letter was somewhere in there, then she was going to find it, even if she had to empty the entire closet to do so. Unfortunately, she couldn’t take so much as a single step into the closet before she was startled by the sudden zap of a noise that she knew all too well. Somepony just teleported themselves to Rainbow’s front door. It wasn’t the pegasus herself, thank goodness; last time Star Light checked, pegasi couldn’t teleport. She swore under her breath, standing stock still, hoping that the unwelcome visitor would just walk away. She didn’t seem to consider the fact that she was an unwelcome visitor herself; she was more concerned with remaining unseen. When she heard the same pony knock on the front door, a less-than-classy swear left her muzzle. All of her training, and she still forgot to lock the door behind her. With literally only seconds to react, Star darted into the one hiding spot that she could reach in time. She managed to shut the door just as she caught glimpse of a mare poking her head into the house. Unfortunately, for the pink unicorn, even hiding couldn’t be a simple process. In her haste, she didn’t even consider how she would actually fit into the closet with the towers of boxes already inside. That being the case, as soon as she shut the door, the cardboard mountains behind her threatened to collapse at the slightest hint of agitation. Some even leant against her, the unicorn’s back serving as the only thing keeping them from collapsing. The slightest movement, and those boxes were bound to come tumbling down. There really was no need explain why that would be a very, very bad thing. “Hello? Rainbow? Are you in here?” For several seconds, Star remained completely still, listening out for any signs that she was alone again. She was so caught up in her search for that accursed letter that she didn’t even plan on what to do if somepony were to arrive. Well, hiding still would’ve been the gist of it, but it would’ve been at a much better location. Those boxes leaning against her certainly didn’t make the wait any easier. She felt her legs burn as they struggled to hold up the added weight on her weight. What in Equestria is even inside these blasted things? “I guess she isn’t here.” Just as Star felt her legs begin to tremble from the effort, she finally heard the sweet, sweet sound of the front door closing as the unknown mare left. A relieved sigh left Star’s muzzle as she reached for the closet door knob. However, in her relief, she failed to remember the stacks of boxes that she was unwillingly supporting. Then again, nopony had ever said that Star Light was without her slow moments. The instance that she opened the closet, the boxes promptly spilled out in a small avalanche of junk, taking a shocked unicorn with them. Old textbooks, dusty trophies, and other miscellaneous items fell out of the boxes as they tumbled onto the floor. As far as exits went, it could’ve been better. Star Light quickly dug herself out of the junk pile, mentally swearing at herself for being so careless. However, her self-berating was brought to an immediate halt when she realized that her little spill had cause a lot—a lot—of noise. If she was lucky, then her mystery guest hadn’t heard anything. “Rainbow Dash?” Of course, Star Light was never one to be considered ‘lucky’. Case in point, not only did she regain the attention of a pony whose attention she’d have preferred avoiding, but her hiding spot was rendered all but useless. As dim as things seemed, though, she could still salvage things. Darting her head for another hiding spot, she laid eyes on one. It could’ve been reasonably considered a stupid move, but Star Light preferred the term ‘resourceful’. The unicorn, in an act of desperation, leapt out of a nearby window. Not out-out of it, of course not, but in a way that allowed her to still cling to the outer windowsill, effectively out of sight. It seemed like her move wasn’t made a second too soon, either. The front door was promptly bucked open as the mystery mare barged back inside. Seconds ticked by without her spotting the pink unicorn. It seemed that all Star Light needed to do was wait. As she stayed there, dangling a generous few hundred feet above the ground, she could only hope that her visitor wouldn’t take her sweet time. ---- The entire house seemed silent. The only noise Twilight heard was the wind outside and the racing heart in her chest. It didn’t take her much time for her to spot the source of the noise. Rainbow’s closet was wide open, all of its contents left in a messy pile on the floor. Twilight wanted to believe that it had opened purely out of coincidence, but she doubted that that was the case. No, somepony had broken into Rainbow’s home and rummaged through her things. A thief? More than likely, but what had they stolen? Slowly, Twilight took a step further into the pegasus’ home, followed by another, and another. Her venture into the house was painstakingly slow; if there was an intruder, Twilight had no idea if they were still there, or how many there were. She didn’t want things to spiral out of control, but her luck in that regard typically wasn’t in her favor. Twilight’s eyes scanned the interior trying to spot anything else odd or misplaced. As far as she could tell, aside from the ransacked closet, she couldn’t spot anything unusual. Her searches brought her through Rainbow’s bedroom, living room, and kitchen, all ending in the same results. Nothing. Another sigh left Twilight’s lips. There didn’t seem to be anything else of interest, and if anything was stolen, she had no way of knowing. No doubt, her best bet at that moment was to just alert authorities to the break-in and let them handle it. First the candles, then her parents, and now a break-in. It seemed that something had it in for Rainbow. Still, Twilight had no idea where the pegasus could’ve been. There were just so many choices; it’d likely be simpler to wait until the two cross paths again. As she turned to leave, something odd caught her eye. There was a slip of paper sticking out of the trashcan near the front door. Inching closer towards it, she could make out the words of another letter. A frown formed on Twilight’s face as she realized that it was another letter from Rainbow’s parents. Meanwhile, Star Light, still dangling from the window, pulled herself up to take a quick peek inside. Much to her relief, it seemed like the purple unicorn was finally getting ready to leave. However, she seemed to have stopped, instead choosing to peer at the nearby trash bin with a strange amount of interest. Star Light, always the curious one, followed the unicorn’s gaze towards whatever it was that held her attention. It didn’t take long for her to spot the slip of paper sticking out of the trash. At first, she could only scrunch up her face in confusion as she tried to figure out what could be so interesting about a simple bit of paper. Then it finally hit her. That was it. She found it! “The other letter!” Star shouted. Unfortunately, in her elation, she threw her legs up in the air. The same ones that she was using to hold onto the window to use. She didn’t even acknowledge her grievous error until she was already plummeting down to the earth below. Her sudden cry of joy, however, did not go unnoticed by the purple unicorn. In fact, the sudden outburst nearly made her jump out of her skin. “What in the world?” From the sound of it, the shout came from the nearby window. Rushing up to it, she peered outside. She felt a sense of confusion and shock when she saw a pink unicorn falling away from Rainbow’s home. “Oh, my goodness!” Without a second’s hesitation, her horn went aglow with its lavender aura as she reached out with her magic. She breathed a relieved sigh when she felt her magic wrap around the falling pony’s body, slowing her to a stop before bringing her back up. In a few short seconds, the pink unicorn found herself being brought back through the cloud home’s window, enveloped in a purple aura. Twilight gently set the mare down on the floor, though she was no less wary of her intentions. It seemed like she called it right. There was an intruder in Rainbow’s home. Star Light took the moment to recompose herself after her unexpected brush with danger. She really needed to get a better hold of herself at times. Slowly, she took another peek out of the window. It seemed like the house was drifting over a large lake, something that Star kept in mind. However, she had a particularly larger problem to deal with. Looking back at her supposed savior, she was met with a fierce glare from the purple unicorn. The pink unicorn awkwardly cleared her throat, her eyes occasionally drifting towards the trash bin containing her prize. “Well, that was certainly something of a close call,” she said, glancing back at the window. “I suppose that thanks are in order, Ms. Sparkle.” Twilight arched an eyebrow, a bit surprised when the complete stranger referred to her by name. “You know me?” A small smirk appeared on Star’s face. “I assumed that most everypony knew who you were. Princess Celestia’s bright, young student. The Element of Magic. You are quite the celebrity, you know.” Twilight only huffed at the kind words. “Trying to flatter me?” “Is it working?” Star asked, playing coy. Twilight’s glare never left as she laughed a short chuckle. “You’re not talking your way out of this, you know that?” Star shrugged. “I had my doubts, yes. That doesn’t mean that I can’t make small talk.” Twilight was hardly amused by the unicorn’s smart-talking. “If you want to talk, then you can start by telling me why you broke into my friend’s house.” Just as the glare never left Twilight’s face, Star Light’s smirk never left hers. She was terrible at playing serious when she needed to. “Well, if I just up and told you, where would the fun in that be?” Twilight just about had it with the mare’s sly talk. Her horn glowed with magic again as she took a step forward. “This isn’t a game. I will call the authorities. Now tell me, why did you break into this home? Who are you?” Star Light’s eyes lit up at the last question. “Ah, and there is the question that everypony wants to know. I suppose that I could tell you, but I do enjoy keeping an air of mystery about me. For you, though, you can simply call me ‘the one that got away’.” In an instant, Star’s horn glowed with a blue light as she prepared a spell. Twilight stepped back, almost expecting an attack. “What? What are you—” Without warning, a blinding flash of white light exploded from the pink unicorn’s horn. Twilight cried out in pain and shock as closed her eyes, shielding them from the stinging light. As she was recovering from the flash, Star Light reached out towards the letter. A blue aura wrapped around the trashed paper, bringing it over to Star Light in no time at all. With her prize in tow, Star dove back out the window. Out-out, this time. By the time that Twilight’s vision returned, the pink unicorn was long gone. “No. No! Get back here!” she shouted, rushing up to the window. She peered outside just in time to see a tiny splash in the lake far, far below. She got away. Twilight stamped a hoof on the ground, anger and confusion battling for dominance in her mind. It didn’t make sense. That mare had gone through the trouble of breaking into Rainbow’s home high up in the clouds, a feat that wasn’t exactly a simple thing to accomplish, just to steal a letter? It only served to further agitate Twilight as unanswered questions raced through her mind, with one remaining the most prominent. Just who was that mare? With everything that was already happening, Twilight felt that the answer went far deeper than a mere name. She needed to bring this up with Celestia. ---- What is it with Rainbow and throwing important things in the blasted garbage? Star Light thought to herself as she swam towards land. Yes, the operation as a whole could’ve gone much more smoothly, though she had to admit, had Twilight not shown up, she may have never found the letter. She never thought that the trash bin were actually liable to contain so many important things. Perhaps she should’ve done it more often. Upon reaching dry land, Star promptly hoisted herself up, the letter floating next to her in its, thankfully, waterproof aura. “And so our favorite sociopath finally returns,” a voice said. Still dripping wet, Star Light looked up at her dear, sweet ‘friend’. A yellow mare with a black mane lackadaisically relaxed underneath the shade of a nearby tree. “I’ve already told you this before, Marigold. I am not a sociopath.” Star walked up to the yellow mare and promptly shook herself dry, spattering her friend with water. “I simply don’t care about what others think of me.” Marigold, left a little wetter than she’d have liked, glared at the unicorn, much to Star’s amusement. “Yes, I noticed. I think we’ve all noticed by now.” Star Light merely shrugged. “Then I fail to see why you continue to get irritated. As long as we’ve known each other, you should’ve gotten used to it by now.” The yellow mare’s glare only sharpened. “It doesn’t matter how long you deal with it, obnoxious is still obnoxious.” After eliciting an eye roll from Star Light, Marigold only sighed in irritation. It was best that she stopped before she earned herself another headache. Besides, they still had business to attend to. “So, I’m guessing that you’ve found the letter?” Star nodded, showing the letter to her impatient friend. Marigold quickly scanned her eyes across the letter. “And you say that this is where Rainbow Dash is really going.” “Yes, that’s right. We’ll need to hurry if we want eliminate the enemy before Rainbow arrives. If all goes well, she won’t notice anything amiss.” “Yeah, except that her parents won’t be there.” Star opened her mouth to say something else, but only a sigh came out. “Yes. Yes, I know. There’s nothing that we can do about that.” Marigold looked up from the letter, at Star. Hints of worry made their way onto her face as she took note of the frown on Star’s face. Whether or not the unicorn knew herself, Marigold couldn’t tell. “Hey.” She nudged the unicorn’s shoulder, capturing her attention. “She’s gonna be alright, okay?” Star tried to replace her frown with a smile, but she could only keep it up for a mere few seconds. “Yes, I know. Still, I wish that she just didn’t have to go through all of this.” The yellow mare placed a reassuring hoof on Star’s shoulder. “Nopony should. That’s why we’re here. Now, let’s get going. Chariot’s waiting. If we’re gonna do this, we need to be quick, like you said.” Star Light nodded, a genuine small creeping onto her face. “Right. Please, lead the way.” ---- All was peaceful at Canterlot Castle. Luna was resting until her nightly duty to raise the moon, while Celestia enjoyed some tea in the silence of her bedroom. Savoring her moment of peace, she merely sat and listened to the ambient sounds around her. The chirping birds, the rustling trees, the babbling brooks, it all came together to form one, calming melody. Celestia breathed a calm sigh as she sat amongst her plush pillows, staring out the window overlooking Equestria. It had been far too long since she’s enjoyed some time to herself. Ever since Rainbow Dash agreed to help her track down the Apple, she found herself in a surprising amount of peace, as though a massive weight was lifted off of her shoulders. For once, she didn’t spend every waking hour of her time buried in that accursed book, and it felt lovely. However, even amidst the peace and calm, she couldn’t escape all of her worries. As she took another sip of her tea, she heard rapidly approaching hoofbeats, as if somepony were running towards her. Her suspicions proved correct when a captain of her royal guard burst into her room. The look of panic on his face was enough to make Celestia feel rather uneasy herself. What could be bothering him so much? “What is it, Captain?” she asked, not rising from her pillows. “I apologize for the sudden intrusion, Your Highness, but this is a situation of upmost importance!” The sudden news made Celestia stand, tea still in her magical grip. She arched a single, interested eyebrow. “Go on.” The captain hesitated in his answer, as though he didn’t want to explain any further. “My scouts have just reported back from the Everfree Forest and… well…” Disbelief slowly crept its way onto Celestia’s face. No. It can’t be… “…someone has penetrated your defenses. The Staff is missing.” The magical grip around her tea cup dissipated. It shattered into tiny white pieces upon impact with marble floor. Celestia was left speechless. How could anyone have found the location of a Piece, let alone break through her defenses? The only species that could even begin to try and dispel her ward was a unicorn. Even then, the only thing capable of giving enough power to do so was the... A quiet gasp passed through Celestia’s lips, eye widening as she made a fearful realization. "Oh, no." The captain noticed Celestia’s shocked, almost scared, expression. “Your Highness?” Celestia’s gaze snapped to the awaiting guard. The stern look in her eyes sent a small chill up his spine. She didn’t hesitate, she didn’t stutter, she didn’t falter. Her order was very clear. “Bring me Rainbow Dash. Now.” The captain didn’t dare question the princess’ motives. He had seen her more than most of the other guards, and as such, had grown familiar with that tone. Something big was coming, and Celestia was preparing for it. Wordlessly, he bowed before hurrying out of the room. Once the captain left, Celestia slowly, solemnly, walked back to her window. Staring out, she saw the beautiful land before her. How long had she been ruling over Equestria? How many years had it been since she took her place on the throne? Equestria’s green fields, clear skies, thriving forests, and kind inhabitants nearly made her forget what she had to do in order to become the ruler of it all. Looking at one of her walls, she saw it. Displayed prominently above her fireplace was the sword that decided it all. It was a simple blade forged from simple steel. The black leather sheath was worn due to age and neglect. It served as a constant reminder of what Celestia had to do to secure her place as ruler. Approaching the mounted sword, Celestia took it down and brought it over to herself. Unsheathing part of the sword, she saw that the blade was nicked in a few places, but still usable. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need to use it. She needed to maintain her composure. It wouldn’t be the first time she found herself in a time of desperation, nor would it be the last. Mistakes were something that she couldn’t afford, but she needed to find a solution quickly. She needed to prevent things from getting worse. She needed Rainbow Dash. ---- “Oh, come now, Rainbow!” Rarity shouted. “It isn’t that bad!” It really must’ve said something about Ponyville when its inhabitants could just walk by the Carousel Boutique without batting an eyelash as noises of all kinds emanated from the building. Granted, they couldn’t help but wonder what was going on inside as what must’ve been pounds and pounds of equipment went flying about the building’s interior. Finally, Rainbow sped out of the fancy pit of despair, Rarity not far behind. Parts of the pegasus’ mane were tied together with bright ribbons. If the look of absolute anger on her face was any indication, she did not take kindly to the look. “What’d I say, Rarity? Nothing too girly!” She promptly tore the ribbons out of her mane, throwing it all to the ground. A sheepish laugh left the fashionista’s muzzle as she threw the numerous hair products around her back inside the boutique. “Honestly, dear, if you’d just let me finish, you would fall in love with it. You said it yourself, this is a very important meeting that you’re making. Don’t you want to look your best?” “I just came here for a dress!” Rainbow snapped. “You know how much I hate wearing them, too! Why isn’t that enough?” “Oh, but the mane would complement it so well if you’d just let me style it up.” If Rainbow shook her head any harder, her head would’ve fallen off of her shoulders. “Look, I’m already dealing with enough as is. Can you just work with me here for once?” It took her a moment of contemplation, but Rarity finally yielded with a sigh. “You’re right, Rainbow. This is what you want, and I won’t force anything onto you. Well, not anymore, at least.” Rainbow sighed in relief, a small smile on her face. “Thanks. Listen, think you can get the dress down by tomorrow night?” Rarity’s mouth curled up into a smug grin as she puffed her chest out. “Oh, of course. It’d be foal’s play.” “Alright, that’s good. See you later, Rarity. Thanks again.” “Don’t mention it, Rainbow. What are friends for?” Rainbow gave the white unicorn a final nod before speeding off into the distance. That smile she wore only grew wider as she realized that her day was more or left clear. There was only one thing that she wanted to do in order to pass the time now. And it’d help her get her mind off of her parents. Rainbow tore off into a direction away from Ponyville. After all, she didn’t want to cause another ruckus like she did last time. The poor ponies that there was an earthquake after she flew by. It was funny at first, but then she saw how many bits she had to pay for damages. She shuddered at the mere thought of it, definitely something that she didn’t want to do again. It wasn’t long before she was a safe distance away from the city, but still close enough to give any onlookers a good show. Now, she just needed to pick a good spotting location. Looking at the ground below her, she spotted a nice, clear field. Plenty of room, and it’d still give Ponyville a good view. After touching down on the grassy plain, Rainbow quickly ran through the routine in her head one last time. She may have been a bit shaky with her execution before, but she knew that she was going to nail it this time. Alright, here we go. Showtime. The pegasus took off in a flash, leaving a rainbow streak in her wake. She flew dangerously close to the ground, only a mere foot between her and it, as she sped directly towards a nice, convenient pile of rocks at an alarming rate. It was perfect. After all, what was a stunt with a bit of danger? At the very last second, she immediately changed her direction, flying straight up into the blue sky. Entering the next phase of her routine, she began a complex sequence of loops, twists, dives, and turns, leaving a lingering rainbow streak wherever she went. When she was finished, she struck a pose in front of her initials, written beautifully in the sky with nothing but her distinctive streak. Her mouth-writing may have been terrible, but her sky writing couldn't be beat. With her performance looking good so far, Rainbow went into her final phase. She took off again, her initials dispersing in the process. She flew even higher into the sky, miles high, in fact. Her eyes burned and watered from the rushing winds as she became little more than a blue speck to others on the ground. Once she reached a reasonably high altitude, Rainbow flew back towards the ground, going as fast as she could. Seconds later, a cone of air began to form around her. As she went faster, the cone grew sharper, giving the pegasus more resistance. It wasn’t enough to stop her, however. It was only a matter of time before… BOOM!! …she broke the sound barrier in a dazzling display of color, flying faster than ever before, leaving a massive swath of colors in the sky for all to see. As Rainbow came closer to the ground, she slowed down ever so slightly in order to wrap up the stunt. As soon as she was mere feet away from the ground, she made another sharp turn, flying parallel to it. As she sped across the wide field, preparing herself to stop, a sudden, sharp wave of a pain shot right through her head. Rainbow yelped in pain, her flight path wobbling ever so slightly. She shook her head, closing her eyes to try and block out the feeling. That proved to be a bad idea. When Rainbow opened her eyes, she saw something—no, somepony—standing right in front of her! Rainbow was going too fast; she had no time to steer away. All she could do was put her hooves up, hoping to soften the impact. A second later, she felt an impact, but it wasn’t the one she was expecting. Rainbow collided with the ground, rolling and skidding across the dirt until finally coming to a stop. For the longest time, Rainbow just laid there, her head spinning. It wasn’t the worst tumble that she ever took, but that didn’t mean that it still didn’t hurt, nor did it keep her from feeling the shameful sting of embarrassment. It didn’t make any sense; she had that stunt in the bag, but then that… thing showed up out of nowhere. Still dazed, Rainbow got back onto her hooves. She felt a small sting in her side, but it was nothing severe. Again, she’d had worse falls than that, but none have left her so confused. That image of the pony refused to leave her mind. Despite only seeing it for a split-second, Rainbow could remember virtually every detail from the mare’s black coat, to her odd, white robes, ones that were so tattered and dirty, just laying eyes on them would give Rarity a heart attack. But that wasn’t the strangest of it. Rainbow couldn’t put her hoof on it, but that mare seemed familiar somehow, but where had she seen her before? A sense of shock pierced Rainbow’s heart as her eyes widened in realization. No. No, no, that couldn’t be right. She couldn’t have been seeing things. No way. It was just all of the worry getting to her head. Maybe training wasn’t what she needed. Another nap sounded better, in fact. “Halt!” Rainbow immediately froze in her tracks at the booming voice. Looking around, she saw that it came from a group of Celestia’s royal guards. But what were they doing way out here? One of the guards flew up to the pegasus. “Ms. Rainbow Dash?” “Uh, yeah. How did you guys find me out here?” “Between the rainbow-colored initials in the sky and the rainbow-colored explosion that soon followed, you didn’t necessarily make it hard.” “Oh. Heh, right. So, what do you want again?” “We have direct orders from Princess Celestia to bring you to her immediately. It’s a matter of great urgency.” A confused frown formed on Rainbow’s face at the news. The Princess wanted to see her again already? But they had their supposed daily session not even a few hours ago. Still, ‘great urgency’ sounded pretty important. Maybe something came up while she was gone. She wouldn’t know until she went, and who was she to decline? “Alright, let’s go.” “If you’ll follow me.” Rainbow followed the guards into the sky, flying towards Canterlot Castle. As she flew away, she snuck a glance behind her shoulder, down at the field. She had almost expected to see… her staring right back up at her, but thankfully, saw nothing but the green grass, and the lovely imprint that she left in the ground. She shook the paranoid thoughts from her mind. It was just all of the stress getting to her, that was all. In fact, Celestia may have even been able to take her mind off of her parents, if only for a while. She could only hope, she supposed. ---- Celestia paced back and forth in her bedroom, her impatience only growing more apparent as the seconds ticked by. She already had the candle standing by, waiting for its subject; she just needed Rainbow Dash to arrive. Why weren’t her guards back yet? It had been thirty minutes since she sent them to retrieve the pegasus, and yet they hadn’t returned. Thirty minutes lost because of their incompetence. That was unacceptable! When they finally did return, she was going to… Celestia stopped for a moment, taking in a deep breath. She couldn’t—no, wouldn’t—allow herself to lose her composure over this. Things may not have been going perfectly, but the situation was still in her favor. She had simply been careless before. Leaving something as powerful as a Piece of Equestria completely unguarded, albeit hidden? What was she thinking? That was different now. Now, she had her elite guards, the greatest soldiers in all of Equestria, keeping constant watch over the others. Whoever managed to slip by her defenses before was not going to do it twice. The princess soon heard a knock at her door. She opened it, and nearly let out a sigh of relief when she saw Rainbow Dash step inside. “There you are, Rainbow. Now we can finally begin.” Rainbow stopped in front of the candle, hints of worry creeping onto her face. It looked like it was the same one from earlier; melted wax, since then hardened, ran down the length of the candlestick, pooling on the table. Just looking at the thing filled Rainbow with a sense of unease. She still couldn’t get over what that thing did to her. Still, she managed a smile as she looked at the princess. “Yeah, I guess so. So, what’s up with this whole ‘great urgency’ thing? Did something come up?” Celestia stared out her window again. “Yes, it will all be over soon.” Rainbow raised a single curious eyebrow. “That’s not really what I…forget it. Let’s just get this over with,” she said, sitting in front of the candle. “I couldn’t agree more.” Celestia began to channel magic through her horn, filling the room with her magnificent glow. However, right before she fully completed it, Rainbow suddenly cried out. “Wait!” Celestia brought her stoic gaze down to the pegasus, her horn still aglow. “Is something wrong?” Rainbow scratched the back of her head. “I think so, yeah. Right before your guards came to grab me, I coulda swore that I…” She tried to find the best way to say it, finally realizing just how silly it sounded. “Well, I think that I saw that Shadow pony.” She didn’t know what to expect next, but the silence that followed certainly didn’t help to calm her nerves. Looking back up at the princess, she saw that Celestia was still staring at her with that unnerving gaze. Actually, it didn’t seem to be aimed directly at her, but rather into space. “Er, Princess Celestia?” Rainbow called. The princess snapped out of her trance, looking back down at the pegasus. “It is likely nothing. Whatever it is, it will pass with time. Now, please, may we begin?” She took Rainbow’s silence as a sign to continue. As she prepared to light the candle, Celestia couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt for what she was about to do. “Rainbow, I’m sorry.” It took the pegasus a moment to register what she had just heard. “…Wait, what?” Celestia lit the candle. The green flame wasted no time in finding its way into its target’s skull. The pegasus had no time to react, immediately going limp as the fiery tendril snaked its way into Rainbow’s mind, sifting through her memories, through her very DNA. Celestia only stood by, something of a pained frown on her face. “It pains me to do this,” she said, “but time is a luxury we no longer have.” With Rainbow Dash captivated, Celestia left her bedroom, locking the door behind her. She had other matters to attend to.