“Wow, I haven’t flown when it’s this dark out in a while. Feels pretty good, actually!” Rainbow said as she and Scoot flew across the darkened, early morning sky. She looked over at her flying partner, who was uncharacteristically silent and didn’t really seem like she was enjoying herself, “Hey, Squirt, you okay?”
“Huh?” Scoot looked over at Rainbow, “Oh…yeah. I’m fine. I’m just thinking about stuff and I wasn’t paying attention. Sorry.” Rainbow looked over at her with a look of worry and started to say something, but before she could say anything they Scoot suddenly descended, Rainbow being forced to follow her down.
“What’s the deal? Why are we going low?” Rainbow asked.
“We’re getting close to a quarry. It’s normally used for mining and stuff like that, but inside there’s a secret dig going on to find that thing I mentioned earlier.” Scoot replied with a very serious expression.
“Oh, ya’ mean that thing Storm gets his hooves on? We’ll find it there?” She flew up next to the orange and purple pegasus as they got lower to the ground and moved underneath the cover of some trees.
“I’m hoping so, anyway. I didn’t really have a whole wealth of information to go by.” Scoot sighed as they both landed and she looked at a device attached to her left-front leg.
“Oh, that looks important.” Rainbow walked up behind her with an inquisitive look.
Scoot looked back, still retaining her serous expression, before holding her leg up to look at her machine, “It’s what controls the weapons on my armor and it has a map.”
“That’s it? I thought that was your time travel thing.” Rainbow sounded disappointed.
“No. That was something Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle made: a fusion of magic and technology,” Scoot sighed, “Of course, it took a few tries before it actually worked right, not to mention a few singed manes too.”
“Ouch.” Rainbow cringed.
“Eventually it worked, even if I’ve got a time limit.” Scoot added as she put her leg down and began walking through the trees.
“Well, that’s obvious.” Rainbow said.
“I’m not talking about the time until the Day of Ice happens. There’s something else, some theory of magic or physics or whatever that only says a pony can be back in time for a period of three days before the fabric of reality, um, takes action,” Scoot looked back to a concerned Rainbow, “Oh, it’s not anything really bad. I just get kicked back to my own time period.”
“Oh, well that’s good. I thought it was going to remove you from history or something.” Rainbow laughed.
“Problem is, if I mess up, I don’t get a second chance to change the past…something about opposing energies and a metaphor of a hole in a pair of pants getting patched up, I don’t know. Like I said, the other two Crusaders would know more about it than me. I’m just the muscle of the group.” Scoot continued her way through.
“Oh? Well how are they-“
“Get down.” Scoot put a hoof on Rainbow’s back and pushed her down into a prone position with her. The two of them had come to the edge of the trees just overlooking a quarry. The two pegasi mares watched as a group of workers headed over to the entrance, apparently ready to relieve the night shift ones.
“So that thing’s here?” Rainbow asked, looking around at the area.
“I’m just hoping they haven’t gotten to it yet.” Scoot jumped out from the trees and slid down the side of the hill, Rainbow following behind her. As soon as they hit level ground, the two quickly snuck inside a tunnel labeled “Restricted Access” by some signs. As they quickly hurried down the hall, they soon ducked inside an alcove in the tunnel and caught their breath.
“You’re going to need to tell me what we’re looking for here, Scoot. I can’t just-hey! Watch it!” Rainbow cringed as Scoot put something around her ear and stuck something else inside.
“Shhhh, stay still.” Scoot sternly said, “There. It’s in.”
“What’s in?” Rainbow felt her ear and realized Scoot had given her an earpiece headset, “Oh.”
“Communication is definitely key here.” Scoot said, holding up a map of the quarry, “Alright, here’s a map. Check these areas and I’ll check the other side. If you find something that looks like this,” Scoot also gave Rainbow a sheet of paper with a picture of an odd looking stone, “Radio me, grab it, and we’ll get out of here. Got it?”
“Uh…yeah. Sure.” Rainbow nodded, still trying to take in all the information. Scoot then gave a quick nod as she ducked off and hurried down another part of the tunnel, indicating to Rainbow that she should check the other half, which she promptly started to move toward.
“Sheesh. Bossy much?”
****
“Is this it, Doctor?” A unicorn worker asked Star as the two of them stared at a stone slab lying inside a storage box. Star looked over the slab. It was about the size of a thick spell tome she’d seen many times in the Canterlot library. There appeared to be some type of writing on the front, but she didn’t recognize the language offhoof and made a mental note to look it up later.
“This appears to match the description of how the stone looks,” Star said with a disappointed look, “To be honest, I’m not impressed with the appearance, but if Solstice says this is what it looks like then I’ll trust his word. I’m just hoping it’s the right thing.” She walked back over to her maps, “You’re dismissed. Thank you.” The worker bowed before he left the room. Star took a pencil from out of a desk and began writing a note.
Solstice,
I hope this message reaches you in good time. We’ve discovered the stone, or what we believe to be the stone. I’ll begin cross-referencing materials in order to determine-
Her writing was interrupted when she heard the clanking of armor outside. Star glanced back at the entrance, seeing Scoot rush in with a heavily determined look on her face.
“I know it’s in here. Hand it over.” She said, coldly.
“There are a lot of things in here. You’ll have to be more specific.” Star replied, cautiously watching the intruder. She looked outside the open door of the office to see both guards unconscious. It was this that told her this pegasus wasn’t the type that would be reasoned with. She was here to get something and in her mind there was nothing standing in her way.
“I want the stone. You look like you’re the one in charge so if you know where it is, fork it over.” Scoot said again, her voice even more stern than before. Out of a reaction, Star glanced over at the slab on the table for a split second but cursed herself for doing so because that indicated the object the pegasus sought after was right there. Star quickly tried to remedy the situation as best she could by opening dialogue.
“Look, I can obviously see you want this, the look in your eyes tells me that it’s important. However, my boss is going to be very upset with me if I do let it go. Maybe we can make a deal?” She asked, trying to sound as friendly as possible.
“No deals, and I’m not asking for it,” Scoot deployed the cannon on the side of her armor, “Now get out of my way.” She said through clenched teeth. Star’s expression changed to one of extreme caution as she stepped to the side but continued eye contact with Scoot.
“I’m not giving this stone up, especially not to someone who’s going to try and use force to take a very important find.” She said simply. With that, her horn lit up with magic. Scoot fired bolts from her cannon, but they were reflected back by magic barrier Star had thrown up to protect herself. Scoot tried to dash to the side only for Star to slide a table in her path, tripping the young pegasus and sending her falling to the ground.
“Okay, now I’m mad.” Scoot growled as she got to her hooves and prepared to fight again.
“You’ve got a lot of anger in you. I wonder where it comes from.” Star asked, trying to remain calm and maintain control of the situation.
“Hey, hey!” A voice came from the entrance. Star’s eyes got wide as she saw that Storm Stallion had rushed into the office, apparently having heard the commotion. She also panicked as she saw that he apparently recognized the pegasus she was fighting and began charging lightning, “Oh, it’s you! The cheap-shotter Rainbow called in! Well, see ya’ how like my cheap shots now!” He laughed as he tossed a pair of lightning bolts at Scoot, who ducked down behind another table to avoid them, one of the bolts destroying a coat rack and sending pieces of wood flying about the room.
“Gah!” Star winced as she activated her barrier to deflect the pieces of wood before turning a glare to Storm, “You imbecile! Watch where you’re slinging those!”
“Hey, you got a barrier. You’re fine.” Storm laughed as he looked over at Star, completely missing that Scoot had grabbed the stone slab from the table she hid under and had run out of the office.
“Aggggh!” Star cried in frustration before darting over to her desk and slamming a hoof down on the controls for a microphone, “Attention, all personnel! We have an intruder in the dig site that is stealing a very important artifact! She is an orange pegasus dressed in a flight suit and armor! Stop her immediately!” With that, Star threw her lab coat off and rushed out of the room.
“Whoa, wait for me!” Storm quickly said as he followed them.
****
Rainbow pushed herself up next to a wall and watched as a pair of unicorn guards stood in front of a room, having idle conversation about how boring their jobs were and how they wished they could take a shift outside. Rainbow quietly agreed with them, but continued coming up with ways to get past them.
“Just gotta’ wait for ‘em to leave…or wait for ‘em to turn around and then I sneak past. Just have to wait for that one small window of oppor-“
“Rainbow Dash!” An accented, very familiar voice came from behind her, startling Rainbow and causing her to whip around, seeing an incredibly ticked-off Applejack standing behind her.
“A..Applejack? What are you doing-“ Rainbow exclaimed, though tried to be quiet at the same time.
“I mean to ask y’all the same thing!” Applejack shouted, making no effort to conceal her voice, “I saw ya’ leave at the crack o’ dawn to head off here when ya’ shoulda’ been getting’ your flank ready to have that heart-to-heart with Twi!”
“Shhh, AJ! Keep your voice down!” Rainbow said, glancing back as she heard hoof steps coming.
“Don’t you “AJ” me, young’un! I’ll talk as darn loud as I please iffin I think it’ll get my point acro-“ Rainbow cut her off and grabbed Applejack, putting an arm around her mouth and pulling her into a shadowed spot as one of the guards rounded the corner.
“What in the hay was that?” The other asked from down the hall.
“No clue. Must’ve been some workers having an argument.” The visible guard shook his head as he returned down the hall to his post. Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief from her hiding spot and turned to her silenced friend, who was staring daggers at her through her green eyes.
“If I let you go, will you promise to be quiet?” She asked. Applejack growled internally but eventually rolled her eyes and nodded, to which Rainbow released her.
“Ya’ better have one heck of a reason why yer here and bein’ all sneaky-like.” Applejack said with a quieter, but still very mad, tone.
“It’s really complicated.” Rainbow said with a nervous look.
“That’s putting it as lightly as possible.” She thought.
“Try me.” Applejack said with an even sterner look than she had before.
“Okay, I’m here trying to find this stone-“ Rainbow started.
“Attention, all personnel! We have an intruder in the dig site that is stealing a very important artifact! She is an orange pegasus dressed in a flight suit and armor! Stop her immediately!” A voice came from over the loudspeakers and echoed throughout the tunnel. Suddenly, she saw the two guards rush past them, seemingly not seeing the two friends as they darted down to begin their search. All of the sudden, another voice came up in her ear.
“Rainbow, you there?” Scoot’s voice asked.
“Yeah. I’m here.” Rainbow replied.
“Good. I got the stone, but it didn’t go as quietly as I thought. Meet me at one of the landings outside. They’re marked on your map!” She said, Rainbow able to hear voices and what sounded like blasts of magic coming from the background.
“We’ve gotta’ go.” Rainbow rushed off, Applejack following behind her.
“Hey! I’m still itchin’ for that explanation!” Applejack rolled her eyes as they ran, only to stop and head in the opposite direction as they heard guards coming from the other side.
“In there!” Rainbow ran back toward the door the two guards from earlier had been watching and ducked inside, closing it behind them. The interior of the room looked like some kind of prison area, most likely used to house trespassers and thieves given the high security nature of the area.
“Whoa, nelly,” Applejack shook her head, “I don’t know what ya’ got yourself mixed up with, but it must be real nasty.”
“How did you even get in here?” Rainbow asked, the question finally coming out now that they were safe to talk.
“Like I said, I been followin’ you! ‘course, I didn’t know ya’ were sneakin’ around some important area that was all guarded heavily and stuff.” Applejack said with a huff.
“Hey, there is a good reason. We just need to get out of here first,” Rainbow angrily said, “Would you just trust me for once already?” Before Applejack could reply, a voice came from within one of the closed cells.
“Would you two dweebs mind keeping it down? I’m trying to get some sleep.” A deep, but still obviously female, voice asked, sounding annoyed. Rainbow froze for a moment before turning around. She recognized the voice and looked to see if her suspicions were correct. There, lying down on her side and with her back to the two ponies was a figure with the body of a lion and the head and neck of an eagle with a pair of brown wings that were folded in. The figure stirred and got up, sitting up on the cot she had been sleeping on and Rainbow could see who it was.
“G…Gilda?!” Rainbow exclaimed in shock.
The griffin’s eyes widened, obviously just as surprised as Rainbow was, before she spoke as well, “Dash? Is that you?” She asked. She then got an excited expression on her face as her yellow eyes lit up and she darted over to the bars, “Wow, Dash, it is you! You have no idea how glad I am to see you here!”
“What are you doing here, Gilda?” Rainbow asked.
“Well, I didn’t choose to stay here, that’s for sure. These guys ask me to deliver some stuff to ‘em, I come here and do my job, then they go and lock me up and not even say why!”, Gilda said, annoyance clear in her voice, “Of course, now that you’re here, that’s all good. I can get outta’ here.” Gilda smiled at Rainbow with a hopeful expression. However, that faded as she saw that Rainbow’s expression was not one of sympathy like she thought it would be, but instead was one of contempt.
“Uh…Rainbow?” Applejack asked, seeing her friend’s look. In her mind, Rainbow’s thoughts were going at a million miles an hour. With everything that had happened to her in the past day and with the anger she still felt after they had last seen each other, Gilda was the last individual Rainbow wanted to see and the griffin obviously knew this as she looked away from the pegasus.
“Look, I know you’re probably still mad.” Gilda said, worry in her voice. At that moment, all of her rage and frustration boiled over and in an instant, Rainbow lost it.
“Probably?!” She roared, unconsciously flaring her wings, “You come to town after we haven’t seen each other for so long, treat my friends and everypony else like dirt even after they tried to be nice, you blow me off and say that I’m not cool, don’t talk to me at all to try and apologize and you think I’m only ‘probably’ still mad? Well, guess what? I am definitely still mad at you, Gilda! In fact, you probably got yourself into this mess all by yourself and you can get yourself out of it on your own too!” Rainbow breathed heavily as fury still boiled in her eyes. Her voice had probably cracked at least a dozen times during her rant, but she didn’t care. Her rage was too great to be concerned about what Gilda thought of her at the point. She expected this to be the point where Gilda would respond with the same hot-headed attitude she always did, but instead she just stood there, staring at Rainbow with a forlorn look that actually looked….
“Sad?” Rainbow’s anger faded as she stared at Gilda, confused about the reaction.
“Right…I know.” Gilda sighed and looked at the ground. Silence held in the room for a short time before Applejack spoke up.
“Rainbow, you ain’t just gonna’ abandon her here like this, are ya’? It’s pretty clear she needs a helping hoof.” She asked.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. She can take care of herself.” That was the thought that first came to Rainbow’s mind. However, as she thought more, she did come to the conclusion that Gilda was indeed in trouble right now and, judging by her reactions, she was in way over her head. While the scars of Gilda’s past actions were still fresh in her mind, Rainbow couldn’t leave her there. It wouldn’t feel right.
“No, I’m not,” Rainbow finally answered with a nod as she looked to Applejack and then to Gilda, “I don’t leave anypony behind, no matter who they are or what they’ve done.” At these words, Gilda’s face lit up slightly as the pegasus moved up to the bars.
“Thanks, Dash. Hey, could we-“ Gilda started.
“Let’s get out of here first. Then we can talk.” Rainbow said sternly, showing that she was going to help the griffin, but at the same time driving home the fact she hadn’t even come close to forgiving her.
“Gotcha’.” Gilda said with an understanding look, “Now, I think there might be some keys around here or something. I saw the guards using them.”
“RD, Ms. Gilda, stand back.” Applejack said from the other side of the room. The two winged former Speedsters turned to see Applejack had trotted all the way back to the entrance and seemed prepared to charge.
“I’d get out of the way of the door.” Rainbow said as she and Gilda both quickly moved. Applejack then rushed at the door and, with a hard reverse kick of her hooves, smashed the lock holding Gilda’s cell closed.
“There ya’ go. Free to fly again.” Applejack said with a warm smile as Gilda opened up the door and exited, extending her wings and standing up to stretch out.
“Ohhhh yeah! Feels good to be outta’ that tiny hole.” She said in a grateful tone before she planted herself on all fours on the ground again, “So what now?” Gilda looked to Rainbow.
“We link up with Scoot and we get the hay outta’ here. That’s what.” Rainbow said as she quickly hurried toward the door, Gilda and an even more confused Applejack trailing her.
“Now Scootlaoo’s here too? What in tarnation?”