//------------------------------// // 12: A Change of Plans // Story: Live by the Creed // by FoughtDragon01 //------------------------------// It was a dark night in Ponyville; darker than any night that anypony had seen before. Even Luna's countless stars and bright, shining moon did little to alleviate the strangely thick darkness that this night brought. Most ponies thought nothing of it and simply slept in the safety of their homes, save for one. A single stallion, a stout, blue unicorn, walked through the town square. It was cold, freezing, and his numerous layers of shirts and coats did little to keep him warm. The cold, nighttime breeze practically seeped through his clothes, chilling him to the bone. He needed to find warmth somewhere. He needed to find shelter, but where would that be? Through the wind blowing past his ears and his chattering teeth, he heard something. Something behind him. It sounded like the beating of hooves against the dirt. Whatever it was, it sent a frightening chill up his spine. He whipped around, darting his eyes all around him as he searched for the source of the noise. There was nothing there. He couldn't believe it. He kept looking around, peering into the darkness before him. He knew that he heard something run right by him, but who or what was it? The stallion took a deep breath. He needed to calm down. This cold weather must've been getting to him. As windy as it was, it was probably a few cans that toppled over or something. He chuckled to himself, almost believing his little theory, then he heard more hoofbeats. They were closer, right next to him. He looked to his right, seeing nothing but more darkness. Even more hoofbeats, these louder than before. Then he heard more, and more, and more. Something, somepony, was circling him, growing closer and closer with each step. He had nowhere to go, he was virtually helpless. He couldn't see anything, he was freezing all over, and the fact that he was panicking didn't help things at all. Suddenly, out of the darkness, a glint of metal flashed before his eyes. Before he knew it, he felt cold steel slash across his throat. Everything around him just seemed to stop, as if the entire world stood still. The wind fell silent, the only noise now being a soft ringing in his ears. His head felt light, his stiff body grew numb and cold, colder than it had been all night. A warm liquid trickled down his neck, staining his coat a deep crimson. His balance became unstable. He staggered to the side before tripping over his own hooves, falling face first into the dirt. His body grew limp and weak as the reality came looming over him. He was going to die here on the cold, unforgiving ground. Alone. Afraid. But who in Equestria could be cruel enough to simply end his life without provocation? He received his answer when a bright blue hoof stepped into his view. Using what little energy he had left, he peered up to see his attacker's face. The pony was clad in white robes, their face concealed by not only the encroaching darkness, but also a hood. As the attacker raised a leg, a shining vambrace attached to the hoof, a bit of their mane fell out from the hood. It was the strangest mane that he had ever seen, sporting all the colors of the rainbow. A blade shot out of the vambrace, poised to finish him off. Just as the stallion felt death's embrace wash over him, his attacker brought the blade down towards his neck. ---- Rainbow shot straight up in her bed, screaming at the top of her lungs. It took seconds before she finally realized that she was back home. It was just a dream. A stupid, twisted dream. It was fine, everything was fine. She was safe. As her heart calmed down and the adrenaline left her veins, a new pain became apparent. Rainbow clutched her head as a grueling, pounding headache assaulted her skull. The previous ones were bad, but this made them seem like tiny pinpricks in comparison. It felt like a hammer was slamming into her head over and over again. Rainbow rolled off of her bed, falling onto the soft floor of her home. She couldn't move her head without suffering a sharp pain in her skull. Her headache was already unbearable, and it was only getting worse with each passing second. Fighting through the dizzying migraine, she forced herself up to her hooves and trudged towards the bathroom. Her vision was undeniably blurry. No matter how many times she blinked, it looked and felt as if the room was spinning around her, tilting back and forth. Just the simple act of walking was a daunting task. Rainbow nearly tripped over her own hooves several times before she reached the door. Hopefully, a nice rainwater shower would make the headache go away. Finally reaching her door, Rainbow pushed it open, hoping for a nice, calming, uneventful shower. As soon as she saw her bathroom, it became very clear that things weren’t going to be that simple. Lying in the middle of the room, reading a book, was a black mare that Rainbow knew all too well. Her so-called ancestor. Though Rainbow was positive a startled squeal left her mouth when she laid eyes on the mare, Shadow didn’t stir, not by an inch. She just sat amongst her pillows with her back to the pegasus, muzzle-deep in a book. Without those white robes of hers, she almost looked harmless, friendly even, but that did little to calm Rainbow’s nerves. She wanted to run, but couldn’t help but be drawn towards the odd sight. Whether it was out stupidity, curiosity, or both, Rainbow took a step further into the room. She took another step. Then another. Then another. Her mind was telling her to stop, but her body wouldn’t listen. It didn’t take long before she found herself in front of Shadow. Despite being mere inches away, Shadow still didn’t look or even glance up. Curiosity overtook Rainbow again, as she waved a hoof in front of Shadow’s face in a futile attempt to get her attention. When that didn’t work, Rainbow crouched down until she was at eye level with her ancestor. Taking things a bit further, Rainbow lifted a hoof and slowly inched it closer to Shadow’s muzzle. Just as it seemed as though Rainbow was about to touch Shadow’s muzzle, she immediately snatched her hoof back as Shadow’s image began to fade. Still, Shadow didn’t move, not by an inch, and in what wasn’t even a few seconds, Rainbow was the only one left in her bathroom. She honestly had no words for what she just saw. Her brain was just unresponsive. She had no idea how to feel or how to react. As far as she was concerned, she only knew one thing: forget the shower, she needed to go see Twilight about this. ---- Canterlot's postal office. A humble, little building, not much like the other, more extravagant buildings dwarfing it. Its plain, white storefront and red-tiled roof certainly left much to be desired in the otherwise flashy city. But looks could always deceiving. Despite its humble appearance, this building served a very important purpose. Besides the Griffon Express, this was the only postal service in Equestria that handled deliveries to and from royalty. In other words, any mail sent to and from the princesses went through there. As a result, packs upon packs of ponies would pour into the building on a daily basis. They ranged from customers hoping that their packages would receive the same handling and care as the princesses’, to tourists who just went there just to say that they’ve been there. Either way, Canterlot’s postal services rarely ever saw a slow day. At the center of it all was Postal Stamp, a humble earth pony with a seemingly never-ending supply of patience and smiles. Very few ponies would have the patience or sanity to handle a job as tedious and mechanical as handling hundreds of ponies’ mail every week, but the large stamp adorning his flank marked Postal as the pony for the job, and he took on that job with strong determination every single day. This day was no different. After stamping the package of a particularly bubbly mare, Postal shot her one of his trademark smiles. “And… done. You’re all set, miss.” The young mare probably couldn’t smile any harder if she tried. “Oh, thank you so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.” “It’s my pleasure. And be sure to give the old man my regards.” “Of course. Thank you again. Take care.” “Same to you.” The mare turned and trotted towards the front door. As soon as she reached it, it swung open wide and hard, nearly smacking her right in the face. She darted away in a flash as a group of Celestia’s personal guard walked into the building. Save for a few murmurs, the entire building immediately grew silent and still as the guards walked deeper into the building. The thick crowd before them promptly got out of their way, forming a path straight to Postal’s desk. Despite the tension being thick in the air, and the stern glares her received from the advancing guards, the light orange stallion kept his usual, cheery composure. “Hey, there. What can I do you fine stallions for?” His cheery demeanor didn’t do a thing to lighten the guards’ stares. “Postal Stamp, you are under arrest for conspiracy to overthrow the rulers of Equestria.” A small, worried outburst erupted in the crowd as several shared worried whispers with each other. The news even managed to make Postal replace his usual smile with a confused frown. “Wait, what? What are you talking about? I’ve done nothing like that.” Whatever cheer he had left in him was quickly dashed away when two unicorn guards pointed their horns at him, offensive magic ready to fire at any given second. “Do not resist. Come with us and allow Princess Celestia to determine your fate.” After a moment’s consideration, Postal simply sighed. “Very well. I suppose there’s no point in trying to get through your thick skulls. You’re wasting your time, though.” Without the guards’ knowing, Postal shifted his hooves on the tiled floor. Applying the slightest bit of pressure, he pressed one of the tiles into the floor. Before anypony knew what he had done, a thick gust of smoke shot out from underneath the counter, creating a thick smokescreen that covered nearly half of the room. Within the seconds, the postal office fell into complete and utter chaos. Ponies scrambled for the front door, cramming in the doorway as they tried to push and shove past one another. Those unfortunate enough to get caught in the smoke suffered from hacking coughs as the airy substance filled their lungs. The guards, who took the brunt of the sudden attack, could barely see through the smoke. “Stop—stop him!” one cried between coughs. Unfortunately, they were all incapacitated by the thick smoke. By the time the cloud dispersed and they regained their bearings, the entire office was emptied, and Postal was long gone. “Curses! Where did he go?” The group of armored stallions scanned their eyes all across the room, peering through the thin veil of smoke that lingered. “Wait. There!” One of the guards pointed behind the counter. The door leading out to the back alley was wide open. Knocked off of its hinges, in fact. The guards wasted no time, and darted out the door. However, once they were behind the store, another problem became very clear. “Where did he go?” No matter where they looked, all they managed to find were twisting alleys in both directions. Where Postal ran off to, he was long gone. But that wasn’t going to be enough to deter the guards from their mission. The larger of the guards faced his comrades. “You two, return to the princess and inform her of the situation. The rest of you, with me. We split up, and search this maze from wall to wall. He can’t have gotten far.” “Sir!” The two guards turned tail and galloped back towards the castle. The remaining stallions split up, heading down both paths of the maze. Wherever Postal was, he was not going to get away. ---- "Uh, are you sure about this, Twilight?" Twilight finished reading a few more lines from her notes before looking up at her worried assistant. "Don't worry, Spike. I've spent weeks working on this. Absolutely nothing can go wrong." Spike shot a worried glance towards the small gemstone next to him. It emitted a dim, purple glow from the magic swirling around inside. He was no stranger to Twilight's experiments, and more times than not, he'd end up leaving with a few scorch marks. This one didn't look like it'd be any different. "Are you sure? Like, a hundred percent sure?" Twilight tapped her chin with a hoof. "Well, it's highly unlikely that things could go wrong." Needless to say, that wasn’t what Spike wanted to hear. "What? But you always say that." "Because it's always true,” Twilight said with a shrug. "Can't you find somebody else to try this on? What about Pinkie Pie?" Twilight glared at her assistant, annoyance clear in her eyes. "Spike, remember our deal? I let you sleep in for an entire week, and you…?" "Listen to everything you say, I know.” Spike just sighed in submission. What was the point in arguing anyway? She’d just ground him. Again. “Alright, let's just get this over with." "Oh, come on, Spike. It'll be fun!" The baby dragon met Twilight's enthusiasm with a very unamused gaze. "Alright, alright. Let me just finish jotting down a few more notes." Twilight scribbled a few things into a nearby notebook. "And… done! Okay, let's get started. Do you remember what you have to do?" Spike took another nervous glance towards the glowing gem next to him. Never in his life had he ever been so terrified of something so delicious. "Uh, yeah. I just, uh, break it, right?" "That's right. With the way I enchanted the gems, the magic inside should not only be released, but wrap itself around the nearest multi-celled organic being, that being you." Twilight didn't notice Spike roll his eyes as she continued her little explanation. "Afterwards, it should find and travel to an object containing a similar magic level to it, which should be that gem over there." Twilight directed her assistant towards the ruby on the other end of the room. "If all goes well, you should find yourself on the other side of the room where the ruby is with only teeny, tiny bit of motion sickness." "You're saying 'should' an awful lot, Twilight. What if something goes wrong?" "You're just worrying too much, Spike. Honestly, what's the worst that's ever happened to you during these experiments?" "Where do I begin?" Twilight's deadpan stare prompted Spike to just submit, in spite of his slowly increasing worry. "Okay, okay. I'll break the stupid gem." “Thank you. And remember, I’m right here with you.” With that, Twilight dove behind her desk, which she so kindly fortified with sandbags. “Good luck,” she said from the safety of her barrier. Spike felt his eye twitch, but he still persevered. All he had to do was smash it, just like he said he would. But of course, saying that he'd do it was far easier than actually doing it. He looked down at the glowing sapphire. It was easy. All he had to do was lift a foot and stomp on the thing. Then the magic would probably break him down to the molecular level, take him to Celestia-knows-where at the speed of light, and then put him back together in—hopefully—the right way. Easy. Gulping down the fear building up inside, Spike lifted up a shaky foot. All I have to do is smash it. All I have to do is smash it. He kept repeating that to himself as he slowly built up the courage to finally do it. He raised his foot ever so slightly, but just as he began to bring it down— Knock! Knock! Knock! —somepony rapped against Twilight's door as if it were the end of the world. Spike hopped on this chance in an instant. "Oh, hey, look at that. Gotta answer the door." In the blink of any eye, he was at the door, swinging it wide open to find Rainbow Dash on the other side. "What's up, Rainbow—" He was promptly cut off as a blue blur shot right by him. "Twilight!” she cried. The unicorn came out from behind her cover. “Oh, there you are Rainbow. We’ve been looking for you all day.” She approached the pegasus, but stopped when she saw Rainbow’s wide, bloodshot eyes staring into hers. “Wait, what happened? Are you okay?” “I’m—I—she—” A million things wanted to leave Rainbow’s mouth at once, but it all just came out as unintelligible stammers. The odd experience back at her home kept flashing through her head, which only made it harder for her to form coherent thoughts. Finally, she just blurted out, “I saw Shadow!” “Wait. Y—you what? Your ancestor?” Aside from Pinkie Pie, Twilight was rarely ever confused by anything that anypony said, especially if it were only a mere three words. So, when Twilight needed to take a moment to take in what Rainbow just said, that threw up one, giant warning sign. “What do you mean you saw Shadow?” “What? Am I talking in a different language here?” Rainbow snapped.” I. Saw. Shadow!” Twilight nearly left an imprint on her face when she smacked a hoof on it. “What happened? What exactly did you see her doing?” “I don’t know. She was just sitting in my bathroom. I walked right up to her.” “Um, okay. Give me a second.” Twilight trotted over to one of her bookcases, taking up several books in her magic. “How long did it last?” she asked, skimming over the titles of the numerous books before her, tossing away any that she didn’t need. “Who cares how long it lasted? I. Saw—” “I heard you the first time, Rainbow,” Twilight interrupted, irritation clear in her voice. “And yes, it does matter. You’re suffering from hallucinogenic side effects thanks to the candle. Depending on the severity, treatments could go from just waiting for them to pass, to something a bit more… drastic.” “Uh, ‘drastic’? What do you mean by—?” “Ah-ha! Found it!” All of the books floating around Twilight fell to the ground, save for one, dusty journal. “I knew I left this around somewhere.” Twilight trotted over to her desk, placing the journal on her desk. “Um, Twi?” Unfortunately, Rainbow’s calls fell on deaf ears, not that it should’ve been surprising. When Twilight got into her books, she was a pain to try and talk to. When she was really into her books, Rainbow would have better luck trying to get a brick wall to listen to her. Needless to say, this was the latter scenario as Twilight wildly flipped through the journal’s pages. “Let’s see. Uh, ‘Treatment for Side Effects’. Um… here it is!” Rainbow just rolled her eyes. It’d be best if she just dropped her questions and played along. For now, at least. “Aright, how do I fix it?” “Give me a moment." Twilight scanned the pages until her eyes lit up, finally spotting what she was looking for. "See, Rainbow? The length of your hallucinations do matter.” Twilight brought the journal right in front of Rainbow’s face. Since she couldn’t help but look at it, it being right in her face, she saw that both pages were nothing but treatments for those candles Twilight kept going on about. “Like I said, the severity, and the treatment, both depend on that. So, please, can you at least guess how long this vision lasted?” “I don’t know. Like, er, twenty seconds.” As soon as she gave her answer, Twilight took the journal away from Rainbow’s face and dove into the text once again. “Let’s see. Twenty seconds. Twenty seconds. Ah-ha! Found it!” “Okay. What’s it say?” Twilight didn’t bother answering the question as she continued reading, her eyes darting across the pages. As soon as she finished, she slammed the journal shut, a wide smile on her face. “Good news!” she exclaimed. Rainbow immediately perked up. “Yeah?” she asked, hope in her voice. After everything she’d been through, some good news would’ve been great. “It doesn’t look like you have anything severe yet. In fact, you should be back to normal after a few days as long as you don’t use the candles again.” To describe the feeling of elation Rainbow felt when she heard those words was simply impossible. She wiped off a nervous sweat that had been trickling down her forehead as she gave a relieved sigh. It felt like a weight that she didn’t even know was there had been lifted from her shoulders. “Phew! Boy, that’s a relief. I can’t believe I was actually worried there.” But despite Rainbow’s new sense of relief, Twilight still wore a frown on her face, something that Rainbow would’ve been hard-pressed not to notice. “Uh, Twi? What’s up?” Twilight placed the journal back in its place in the bookshelf, putting on a sheepish smile. “Well, see, we don’t know if Celestia will actually let you relax for a few days yet.” Whatever weight had been lifted off of Rainbow’s shoulders returned tenfold. A sense of dread built up in her gut as her nervous smile was replaced with a frown full of fear and worry. Countless scenarios of her future experiences with the spell flashed through her mind, none of them very pleasant. With so many thoughts racing through her head, all Rainbow could manage to muster out was, “Oh, yeah.” “But wait!” Twilight said, still trying to keep her friend calm. “We still don’t know if she won’t give you a break.” “Uh, yeah. I don’t mean to be a downer, but didn’t she say something about needing me for the ‘utmost importance’ or something? You really think she’ll give me a few days to relax?” Twilight shrugged. “I mean, we won’t know if we don’t ask, right?” Rainbow still had her doubts, but she was probably just worrying too much. After all, this was Princess Celestia that they were talking about. What was the worst that she could do if they asked for a break? Say no? Even then, it didn’t seem like the sort of thing she’d do. She figured that it was at least worth a shot. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” “Don’t worry. This won’t take long at all.” Twilight looked over at the corner of her library. There, she saw Spike helping himself to a few of her experimental gems, much to her annoyance. “Spike!” The dragon immediately dropped a ruby from his hand before giving Twilight the biggest grin he could muster. “Yeah, Twilight?” “You can have some gems later. I need you to take a letter.” ---- Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Every, single, solitary tick of that grandfather clock banged like a drum in Celestia's ears. She had never even noticed how loud that ticking actually was. Usually, she came to her bedroom for moments of silence, but this day felt different. It felt too quiet, and that only made that clock’s incessant ticking all the more annoying. She leaned back, taking a deep breath as she looked out of her nearby window. Peace. That was all she wanted. Plain and simple. A peaceful land where no one, be they a pony, zebra, griffon, or buffalo, would have to worry about violence or crime. She had been doing a decent enough job with that, hasn’t she? Actually, in retrospect, there was that incident with her sister, then Discord's little chaotic spree a year later. Then there was that issue with Chrysalis at her niece's wedding. Then there was that parasprite infestation in Ponyville, and the small war between the buffalo and ponies at Appleoosa. In fact, there were also a few instances of dragon attacks, now that she thought about it. But those were all minor occurrences. At least minor in the sense that nopony died. Yes, that had to mean something, right? Honestly, Celestia had no idea why she was thinking of such things. Then again, it was hard to concentrate on anything with that annoying clock ticking away right next her. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Peace. How could something that sounded so simple be so difficult to achieve? Was she really asking for so much? Tick. All she wanted was simple peace and quiet. Tock. A land where no one needed to hurt anyone. Tick. Serenity incarnate. Tock. And so far, she couldn't even get a few seconds of silence! Celestia turned a burning hot glare towards the bothersome clock. With a quick flash of magic, she covered the entire thing in an airtight barrier. The clock continued to tick and tock away, but not a single peep escaped that barrier. A relieved smile crawled onto her face as she experienced a few precious seconds of sweet, sweet silence. Perhaps now she could finally focus more on her thoughts. Or at least, she'd be able to if it weren't for another inconvenient distraction. This time, it came in the form of a letter materializing before her in a flash of green fire. It must've been another letter from Twilight Sparkle. Celestia, admittedly, was rather curious about what it was for. Twilight had already sent her weekly friendship report, so what was this one about? Unfurling the rolled up parchment in her magical grasp, Celestia read it to find out. Dear Princess Celestia, I never like bringing bad news, but I feel that this is something you need to hear. I've just spoken with Rainbow Dash, and I fear that my suspicions surrounding the integrity of her psyche have been confirmed. She claims that she saw Shadow in her home, and I believe her. Hallucinations like these are becoming more frequent, and her headaches are becoming more painful. I'm beginning to fear for her mental well-being. If this goes on, she may never be able to recover from this. Please know that I don't want to place Equestria in danger, but I don't want to risk my friends' safety either, at least if it can be helped. So please, from a student to her teacher, I implore you to consider postponing your sessions with Rainbow until these side effects go away. However, if there’s anything that I or the others can do to help, please let us know as soon as possible, and we’ll do it without question. I guess that just about covers it. Oh, I hope she takes this well. Wait. Spike, are you writing this all down? Stop! Stop it! Will you just… never mind. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle A pained smile appeared on Celestia's face as she lowered the letter. That was just like Twilight, putting herself in danger for the safety of her friends. Perhaps Celestia was approaching this in the entirely wrong way. Keeping Twilight in the dark about this just didn’t seem like the best way to go about this. She and her friends have proven on several occasions that they could handle a variety of dangers. Maybe they could prove useful this time as well. Especially Rainbow Dash, despite her supposed conditions. It was dangerous obviously, but worth the risk. There still were certain things that worried her, however. Knowing Twilight, she’d no doubt accept the task that Celestia was planning to give her, but that wasn’t what the princess was worried about. This journey could be unlike any other they’ve been on, the dangers unlike anything they’ve faced so far. She needed to do everything she could to ensure that they remained as safe as possible. She could no longer afford any mistakes. Putting down Twilight’s letter, Celestia took up her own quill and parchment. She put the quill to the parchment, mentally preparing herself to write. Seconds ticked by. Then minutes. Still, the parchment remained blank. The quill trembled in Celestia’s grip as she tried to force herself to write something. Anything. She took a deep breath to calm herself. It didn’t work. In a fit of sudden anger, Celestia crumpled up the parchment into a tiny ball, throwing it and the quill far, far away from her. She couldn’t do this. It wasn’t that she was worried that Twilight would deny the task; she’d go to the ends of Equestria if Celestia asked her to. It wasn’t even that this could prove to be too dangerous a task; Twilight and her friends have undergone far worse than this. Physical danger was still likely, but not Celestia’s main concern. There were secrets. Secrets stemming from Celestia’s past that she spent a thousand years hiding from the public eye. Unfortunately, not all of the connections to her past have been cut off permanently. That was what worried her. If Twilight and her friends ran into too many of the wrong ponies, those secrets Celestia spent so long trying to hide could seep out into the open. If that were to happen, then she could only hope that their loyalty, especially Twilight’s, would keep them from viewing her in a darker light. She’d go as far as saying that they would do that without question, but as Celestia learned throughout her long, long life, nothing was absolute. At the very least, she knew that they could handle whatever she had to throw at them, but that didn’t take away from the fact that this could tarnish the relationship she developed with them over the years. She felt so sure of this plan just a scant few minutes ago, but now she was beginning to question if it really was worth the risk. She needed time to think about this. “Your Highness! Urgent news!” But as usual, that time would have to wait, as one of her guards came rushing towards her as fast as she could. “What is it?” Celestia asked as he came to a stop before her. “It’s Postal. He has… escaped.” The guard could hardly look at the princess as he informed her of the news, and for good reason. As soon as he glanced up at the white alicorn, a freezing cold chill ran down his spine. Celestia’s eyes bore no signs of worry or anxiety. Instead, they were cold. Dead. The closest thing to a hint of emotion was the slight furrowing of her brow as she stared down at the guard. Her gaze froze him firmly in place. He didn’t dare run. Never in his life did he see the princess with such a deceptively calm, yet angry stare. “Would you mind repeating that?” Celestia asked. She tried her best to remain calm, but the expression on her face betrayed the gentle tone behind her voice. Just the idea of repeating what he just said made the guard put the guard in a state of panic unlike anything he’s ever felt before. He, and just about every other sentient being in Equestria looked up to Celestia as an all-forgiving, benevolent being. The ‘Mother of Equestria’ some would call her. She simply wasn’t the type of pony many could see being capable of anger, yet here she was, looking as though she’d reduce him to nothing more than a pile of dust at any given moment. No, that didn’t sound like something she’d do, but again, the guard never saw Celestia like this. “Well?” Celestia said, the impatience creeping into her voice. By this point, the guard was trembling like a terrified filly. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. If he didn’t say anything, Celestia would get angry. If he did say something, Celestia would get angry. What a conundrum. Through chattering teeth, the guard began to speak. “Postal, he… he escaped us. We were unable to arrest him.” Celestia sighed, nodding in understanding. “I see. How?” The guard, expecting immediate disintegration upon his answer, was surprised by the question. “Um, I beg your pardon?” “How did Postal Stamp, an old mailpony, manage to escape a group of trained and armed guards?” The anger in her eyes and voice seemed to have left, though the tension was still thick in the air. “He caught us off guard with some type of smokescreen. He slipped away during the ensuing chaos.” “And instead of pursuing him, you decided to come here? Please, I’m trying to make sense of all this.” “I was only following orders,” the guard said, trying to defend himself. “Of course you were. Well, in that case, here are some more for you to follow.” Celestia stood from her seat and walked up to the cowering guard. If he felt small before, then he felt absolutely minuscule as Celestia towered over him, those same, cold eyes staring down at him. “Go back to your fellow guards and continue your search. If you have to scour every inch of Canterlot, or even Equestria, to find him, so be it. I want him found. Do not return until you do.” The stern tone behind her voice was all he needed to hear. This was not the time nor the place to make any mistakes. He needed to make sure that he followed Celestia’s every word. That was what his mind was saying. Unfortunately, his body had different ideas. It chose to stay put, shaking like a leaf, much to Celestia’s annoyance. “What are you waiting for?” she asked. That was more than enough to make the guard regain his senses. In the blink of an eye, he darted out of Celestia’s bedroom, desperate to leave her sight. With him gone, Celestia sat back down amongst her pillows, heaving a much needed sigh to calm her nerves. If things kept going the way they did, she'd never stamp out the source of the problem. She needed to go about this differently. Get more eyes in more places. Her guards seemed like the most obvious choice, but she wasn't feeling very confident of their abilities at the moment. When did they become so inept? Goodness, Twilight and her friends would be a better choice. Suddenly, Celestia sat straight back up as an idea popped into her mind. "That could work." Perhaps the six of them didn't need to face any actual danger after all. Even her past could remain in secrecy, assuming she pointed them in the right directions, of course. Now she just needed a way to word this letter. Snatching up her quill and parchment yet again, Celestia began to write. ---- Twilight paced back and forth across her library. Her rainbow-maned friend hovered in the air, her forelegs crossed in impatience. Seconds had gone by since Twilight sent that letter, and Celestia was always very quick with responses, especially if they were urgent. But this time, there was nothing. A few seconds became a few minutes. A few minutes became a dozen, and those dozen became a dozen more. Still no response. “Well?” Rainbow asked. “What’s taking so long? Did Spike send it to the right castle?” “I don’t think Spike has anything to do with this. Maybe she just needs to think about it.” Rainbow’s mouth fell open in disbelief. She could barely find words to say. “Wha—Twi, I don’t—I’m losing my mind over here and Celestia has to think about it?” Twilight looked up at her airborne friend as she continued her futile attempt to calm her down. “I mean, we don’t know what else she has to consider. This might not be as simple as she thought.” “Twilight, I still don’t—” “And besides,” Twilight cut in, “she didn’t send a letter saying that you couldn’t take a break. Maybe you should take it easy.” Rainbow still wore a pout, but couldn’t deny that Twilight had a point. She finally had some time for relaxation after what she’d been through. She might as well take advantage of it. She reluctantly plopped down on the floor, legs still crossed. “Oh, fine.” Twilight approached the moody pegasus and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be fine. Do you feel okay now?” Rainbow considered it for a moment, and eventually just shrugged. “Meh. Better than usual, I guess. Ever since the spells, these headaches have been pretty bad, but now they’re just—” Rainbow winced as another sharp pain shot through her skull. “Ugh, annoying.” “Well, hopefully they’ll go away soon.” The uncertainty was still clear in Rainbow’s face. To help calm her, Twilight took the pegasus in a warm, heartfelt hug. “You’ll be fine. I promise.” “I hope you’re right,” Rainbow said, breaking away from the hug. “I know I am,” Twilight said, still smiling. “Just remember what I said; try to take it easy for a while, okay?” If Rainbow didn’t look worried before, she certainly did now. Just when she thought her day couldn’t get any worse. “Uh, yeah. About that—” “Rainbow. Promise me.” Rainbow considered arguing against it, but there really wouldn’t have been much point. When it came to Twilight, she’d be better off trying to argue to a brick wall. “Fine, I promise,” she said with a roll of her eyes. Twilight nodded in approval. “Come on, we should tell the others that you’re back. They’re worried sick about you.” She walked towards the front door, Rainbow following behind. “Yeah, I can imagine,” she muttered under her breath. ---- Still down in the basement, Star Light breathed a tired sigh as she sat down at her desk. Marigold and her master have long since left, the trio finally forming a plan. They all came to the agreement that trying to prevent Rainbow from going to Trottingham at all would prove to be too much trouble with the short amount of time that they had. So, they approached things differently. Come tomorrow, first thing in the early morning, Star and Marigold would meet outside Trottingham’s city gates. Since it would still be early, the streets would be relatively clear of witnesses, leaving them free to locate the supposed restaurant without worry. Upon locating it, they would… eliminate any possible threats within and around the immediate vicinity. With the two mares working together, they were likely able to complete that phase of the plan within a few hours. After that, they would simply linger about the city, ensuring that any enemy reinforcements were also promptly dealt with. By the time Rainbow would come, any threats would be dealt with. It seemed like an ideal plan, but Star Light wasn’t necessarily at ease just yet. There were still a few things niggling away at the back of her mind, and no matter how hard she tried, those things would not go away. The plan seemed fine, but it still left Rainbow having to deal with the devastating fact that her parents weren’t going to be there. The crushed expression that was bound to be on the pegasus’ face refused to leave Star’s mind. And there was little that she could do to prevent that. Star Light shook those thoughts out of her head, slapping some sense back to herself. “Come now, Star Light,” she said. “Stay focused. You cannot afford to lose it now.” Another tired sigh passed through her lips as she rested her head on her desk. “Maybe I need fresh air.” With a yawn, the unicorn picked herself up and climbed up the basement stairs. ---- Star Light had little in the way of words to describe her feelings for Ponyville. She didn’t even think that places like this existed anymore. Everywhere she looked, there were ponies happily chatting away with friends, nary a care in the world. They even shared small talk with others who just happened to be walking by at the time. There was none of the hectic hustle and bustle that made up cities like Manehattan or Canterlot. This was just a small, tight-knit community where everypony knew everypony. She had to admit, thought she had only been there for a few years, the place’s positive atmosphere did manage to rub off on her, if only by a bit. It certainly did wonders to help her calm down. For the first time in a while, she had left the comfort of her home without a final destination in mind. She simply wanted to wander; for how long, she didn’t know. For the time being, she merely walked, taking in the fresh air and the cool breeze brushing against her coat. She had forgotten just how small Ponyville was; her house was located near the city’s edge, yet she found herself reaching town square in as little as five minutes. Its compact size only served to reinforce that ‘tight-knit community’ aspect of the town, both for better and worse. Perhaps that was why she opted for the isolation her home provided. Even if she didn’t want to see a pony, the town’s small size made avoiding them something of a tricky task. Case in point, Star Light found herself in uncomfortably close proximity to the library. She almost thought that it’d be nothing to worry about, but then the library’s front door opened, and out walked out two ponies that Star really didn’t want to see just yet. As Twilight and Rainbow left the library, the pink unicorn hid herself behind a nearby tree trunk. She breathed a quiet sigh in relief as the two mares continued on, oblivious to her presence. The fact that those two would leave the building at that exact moment only served as more proof that some higher power was out to get her. As she spied on the two ponies, Star Light found her gaze constantly drifting over to the rainbow-maned pegasus. She simply couldn’t believe what she was seeing. From everything that she already heard about Rainbow, she expected the pegasus to be a depressed wreck, or at least a cynical wreck like Star was. But there she was, chatting away with that unicorn friend of hers. She was even smiling. Laughing, for Equestria’s sake! That strange feeling Star felt before came rushing back, but now she had a clue about what it was. Seeing Rainbow as happy as she was, seeing her with friends, it all filled her gut with an uneasy feeling of tension and anxiety. Envy was what it was. Yes, that seemed about right. Star had expected certain emotions to come out during this mission of hers, yes, but this was something that she simply didn’t expect, not after the things she heard. Star suddenly shook her head. She needed to get those thoughts and feelings out of her head. She couldn’t let her emotions get the better of her. Not again. She needed to stay focused. Thankfully, Rainbow and Twilight weren’t walking in her direction. The element of stealth was still on Star’s side. Once the pair was a safer distance away, Star felt that it was safe to finally move again. “Hi!” Unfortunately, she didn’t get the chance to move a single muscle before a hot pink pony that literally appeared out of nowhere popped right into her path. Star leapt back a good few feet as that pink pony just beamed a scarily wide smile at her. “Uh, hel—” “Are you new in town? I’ve never seen you before, but I know everypony in Ponville, so if I never saw you before, then you must be new here! Oh, I like your mane! I’ve never seen a white mane before! It looks super-duper cool! Oh. Oh! Do your parents have white manes too? That’d be so neat! It reminds me of a time when…” The bubbly pony’s ramblings turned to little more than a very loud buzzing in Star’s ears as a terrifying realization hit her. She wasn’t stopping, and from the sounds of it, wasn’t going to any time soon. Her eyes shifted over to the two ponies that she was trying to avoid. With the volume that the chatty pink mare spoke at, she was no doubt going to attract their attention. Star needed to get away from that pony. “This is all very nice, miss,” Star said, talking over the mare’s continued ramblings, “but I really must get going.” She tried to walk past the pony, only to have her jump right in her path again. “I’m Pinkie Pie!” she said, sticking out a friendly hoof. Star looked at the hoof as if it were covered in some sort of toxic sludge. She glanced at Rainbow and Twilight again. They were even further away, and only growing further away for every second that Star stayed here. If introducing herself to this pink obstacle would get rid of her, then Star would have to do it as quickly as possible. “Hello, Pinkie,” she said, shaking Pinkie’s hoof. “I’m Star Light. It was a pleasure to meet you. Bye, now.” Star tried to walk past Pinkie once again, and once again, Pinkie popped right back in front of her. “Oh! Star Light? That’s so weird! That sounds a lot like the name of another friend of mine, Twilight! Well, her whole name is Twilight Sparkle, and your name doesn’t sound like ‘Twilight Sparkle’, but your whole name sounds a lot like her first name.” “Yes, yes, that’s very nice. Now, if you’ll please excuse—” “Do you like books, too? Twilight loves books! Oh, you two can be such great friends! In fact, Twilight’s right over there! Here, I’ll call her!” Star’s eyes went wide with shock. “I-I really don’t think that’s—” “Twilight!” Pinkie called. “—necessary.” Yes, it was official. Something really did have it in for her. So much for her stress-relieving walk. Twilight and Rainbow finally reached Pinkie. “Yes, Pinkie?” Twilight asked. “Did you call us?” The bubbly party pony excitedly bounced her hooves. “Yep, yep, yep! You’ve gotta meet my new best friend! She looks really, really cool! See?” Her two friends, eyebrows raised, looked past her. “Er, Pinkie,” Twilight began. “Who are you talking about?” “My new friend, silly! She’s right—” Pinkie whipped around to show off the pony in question, only to stare into a void of empty air. “—here?” A frown appeared on Pinkie’s face for all of a second before another excited smile replaced it. “Oh! Did she vanish? Oh! Oh! I can do that, too! Just watch!” Rainbow just sighed, hardly in the mood to deal with the pink pony’s antics. “Look, Twi, can we just go find the others?” she asked. Twilight didn’t hear Rainbow at first. She was too busy looking at Pinkie, who had suddenly gone completely still, a look of absolute concentration on her face. It was the longest that Twilight had ever seen Pinkie frown. “Twilight!” Rainbow shouted. The unicorn snapped back into reality. “Huh? Oh, oh, sure. Let’s get—” “Twilight! Twilight!” Twilight and Rainbow looked back towards the library in shock. Spike was running towards them as quickly as his little legs could carry him. He clutched a rolled up letter adorned with the royal seal. He stopped in front of the three ponies, panting as he tried to regain his breath. “Letter… Celestia… for… you.” The two stared at the letter in Spike’s hand in disbelief, Rainbow most of all. “What? Now she decides to send a letter?” “Spike, let me see that.” Spike gladly let Twilight take the letter up in her magical grip. She unfurled it and began to read. My Most Faithful Student,
I understand and respect your request, and will adhere by it. However, I do believe that there is something you and your friends can still do. Gather the other Elements and meet me at Canterlot’s post office as soon as possible. I will explain more there. And please, Twilight, be careful. Your Caring Mentor, Celestia “What do you think she wants?” Rainbow asked. “I don’t know. It’s pretty short, but it can’t be anything good if she wants all of us there.” Twilight looked up at her friend. “We should get going. Um, Pinkie? Are you ready to—” Twilight looked towards where she knew the pink pony had to be, only spot nothing. Pinkie had completely vanished. “Where did she go?” Rainbow just shrugged. “I don’t know. You know how she gets. We’re just gonna run into her again anyway. Besides, we’ve got more important things to do, don’t you think?” Twilight nodded. “You’re right. Come on, we need to go get the others.” But just as the two began to leave, Spike tapped Twilight on the shoulder. “What is it, Spike?” “Uh, does this mean I can take a break?” he asked, looking as if he’d collapse right then and there. Twilight just smiled and rolled her eyes. “Yes, Spike. You can take a break.” That was all Spike needed to hear. In that same instance, he collapsed on the floor, falling asleep on the spot. Twilight and Rainbow just amusedly glanced down at the sleeping dragon, struggling to hold back their giggles. “Okay, I’ll go put Spike in bed and then we’ll go get the others. Give me a minute.” Twilight picked Spike up and placed him on her back before trotting back into her home. Left alone, Rainbow just sat down and waited. What must’ve been only a few seconds went by before another stinging headache shot through her skull. She clutched her skull as tightly as she could, biting her tongue to hold back the wave of screams just waiting to burst out. Ponies who happened to be walking by her at the time quickened their pace, sneaking in a glance or two at the mentally deranged pegasus. Finally, just as quickly as it came, the pain just went away. It left Rainbow rubbing a sore spot on her head, but she was thankful that it was gone, if not a bit annoyed. “Man, that’s getting annoying.” She shook the lingering drowsiness out of her head before looking ahead. Then she felt her blood run cold. “Not again.” Yes, again. Not even a few hundred feet away from her, standing amongst the thick crowd of ponies, was that same, accursed mare that Rainbow grew sick of seeing. But this time was different. Shadow wasn’t busy doing some other random activity like last time. Instead, now, she was just standing perfectly still, and even worse, staring directly at Rainbow. The pegasus felt like she should’ve moved somewhere, ran away, or even just looked away. She should’ve done something, but just like last time, she couldn’t tear her eyes away. It was as if those emerald green eyes put Rainbow in some sort of trance. But the worst part, the one that made Rainbow’s heart stop, was that she could’ve swore that Shadow was smiling at her. Whatever senses Rainbow lost during this was promptly restored when she felt a sudden prod in her side. She looked over to find Twilight back at her side. “Hey, ready to go?” Rainbow opened her mouth, but only a constant flow of unintelligible stutters left it. Questions still racing through her mind, she looked back to where she saw Shadow. Hardly surprising, Shadow wasn’t there anymore, gone just as quickly as she came. Still, Rainbow couldn’t help but keep her eyes glued on the spot where she just was, as if she’d suddenly poof back into existence. Of course, that never happened. “Rainbow?” The pegasus snapped out of her stupor and looked back at her friend. “Are you okay?” “Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s get going.” Before Twilight could say anything else, Rainbow took to the sky, making a beeline for the Carousel Boutique. As the two sped away from the library, Star kept an eye on them from a nearby bench, one that was much further away from them and that odd ‘Pinkie’ character, thankfully. After hearing what they just discussed, she could hardly believe her own ears. “Celestia wants them in Canterlot?” she asked under her breath. “That can’t be good.” It was just typical. She went out there for a nice, quiet, calm walk. Not only did she not get that, but she unwittingly, and unwillingly, found herself with another point of interest to follow through with. From what she’d just seen, Rainbow was being used to relive her ancestor’s memories. She could only think of one pony who’d want to do that, and she just called her and her friends to the castle. Again, just typical.