Putting Heads Together
Spitfire ran through the circle that the ponies had made, appearing to charge at Soarin’. Instead, she leapt up and wrapped her forelegs around him in an embrace. Knowing that he didn’t just give his wings up for a promise, made her feel much better. She was still upset at him for losing, but it seemed that the other stallion had planned on everything going a certain way, so she could drop the issue comfortably. Soarin’ accepted the embrace, but gently pushed her away in an attempt to show that he wasn’t finished. “He told me that his name was Gather. He had come from Baltimare in order to locate and obtain the wings of all the Pegasi of Cloudsdale before reaching his main target: Princess Celestia of Equestria. He wants more than her wings: He’s after her horn, as well.”
“But what about Vanish? What’s his deal with this guy?” Applejack had interrupted Soarin’ because she kept recalling Vanish’s state in the cage when they had all gone to the Cloudosseum; a state of sorrow and pain. “He paid Vanish to collect wings by using his powers of stealth, natural abilities, as well as the magic to take the wings from other ponies: Gather’s horn can be bestowed upon other ponies. In this manner, it’s being used as a means to gather Pegasus pony wings.” Derpy had kept quiet until now, having been right about one thing since the start, in her eyes. “So… Vanish isn’t this guy’s friend?” The other ponies looked at each other, confused about the meaning of the question Derpy had asked, but Twilight answered. “I’m pretty sure Vanish was hired to do Gather’s dirty work for him, which makes Gather his client.”
Rainbow stepped forward, cutting off the stallion's explanation of events. “But why start here? Baltimare is pretty far from Ponyville, if he’s from there, then…” Soarin’ interrupted Rainbow Dash. “Gather told me about how he researched many locations, but couldn’t find anywhere to truly start, based off of basic information from books,” Soarin’ looked up at Twilight. “until he read about the Elements of Harmony in Canterlot, as well as of the ponies who embodied the elements.” Soarin’ looked at the other ponies in the room, seeing many of them possess looks of wonder, confused with what Soarin’ had meant by such a cryptic message.
He continued. “Apparently, he came to Canterlot several months ago. He spent most of his time in their public archives, reading up on four very specific ponies.” Twilight looked at her friends before answering. “I'm guessing that two of those ponies were Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash?" Soarin’ looked up, wanting to see Twilight’s face before her reaction to his next words. “Yes, but also Princess Celestia… and you.” Twilight backed up a bit, shocked at those words. “M-Me?” Soarin’ nodded his head. “The archives detailed the day Princess Celestia took on her role as your mentor, as well as the reason why. I think he said that it was something about your raw magical ability.”
Twilight couldn’t believe that so much information was just so readily available to the general public. Soarin’ continued. “He’s after several of you, but is only paying Vanish to acquire the wings of certain Pegasi: Cloudsdale Pegasi, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, ‘The Wonderbolts’, and Princess Celestia herself.” This was an awful lot of information to absorb all at once, but the ponies in the room tried as hard as they could as Soarin' kept telling them what he was told, himself, by Gather. “He told me that he's attacking Canterlot tomorrow, afternoon, evening, ‘round there. He said that it’s because Vanish will get the wings of Princess Celestia, at the very least, before the agreement is fulfilled. His stealth is apparently vital to the process, but Vanish can’t control the full power of Gather's horn, nor can he control the side effects that comes with any pony that's not used to the magic, utilizing it.”
Fluttershy was shivering at the idea of a pony with so much power. “C-Can’t we do something?” Soarin’ resumed his recollection of events. “After telling me that the Wonderbolts would be next, he took my wings from me and told me to come back here to deliver his message for him; clearly, he doesn’t think anything can stop him, regardless of what information he discloses.” Pinkie Pie smiled at the concept. “Pfft! We’ve fried bigger fish than Gather! We can take him, right girls?” Applejack nodded in agreement, as did Rarity, who voiced her beliefs. “I’m inclined to agree with Pinkie Pie on this one. If this pony is targeting Pegasi, then going after the princess directly is a rather bold move.”
Rainbow Dash took offense to the statement of her friend. “What are you trying to say, Rarity? Just because the princess also has the powers of a unicorn, that means she’s better than the Pegasi of Cloudsdale!?” Rarity didn’t want to push any buttons, preparing to drop the issue entirely, but Pinkie Pie’s oblivious nature made her a natural button-pusher. “Well, they did all get their wings taken in a single night, which was pretty fast of Vanish! He must be a hard worker, or…” Rainbow Dash glared at the cheerful Earth pony, with maiming in mind. “Or WHAT!? You got something to say, Pinkie Pie!?”
The circle had broken at this point in order for Derpy and Applejack to hold Rainbow Dash back in her attempt to lunge at Pinkie Pie, who was trying to hold back her rather inappropriate nervous giggling, but couldn’t help but laugh at the situation; despite it being essentially detrimental to her health, this was the first time a lot of the girls had seen Rainbow Dash act like she normally did, ever since she got back from the Cloudosseum encounter. Twilight blocked the rainbow-maned pony's view of the giggling mare, speaking softly. “Rainbow, we’re not your enemies: We’re your friends, so please calm down before you hurt yourself.”
Rainbow Dash stopped resisting her friends' attempts to hold her back, looking at the unicorn with subdued fury in her eyes. “In case you haven’t been around, Twilight, I’ve already been hurt: Me, Scootaloo, Soarin’, Derpy, and all the Pegasi of Cloudsdale have been hurt. And I’m no foal, either; I recognized Vanish as the guy I bumped into when I took Derpy to the hospital, just outside the Library. He was RIGHT THERE! If I caught him then...” Applejack had enough of her friend’s ramblings. “Easy, girl, you couldn’t have known what he'd done at the time, nopony could’ve known that!”
Twilight raised her hoof, stopping her friends’ argument, and starting to consider their options. “It’s imperative that the princess is immediately brought up to speed. If the last step of Gather’s plan is to take her wings and horn, than she should be able to plan for an assault.” Spitfire noticed a flaw, and wasn’t afraid to interrupt Twilight’s plan. “What about the other ponies in Canterlot? If Princess Celestia tries to hide in order to avoid a confrontation, Gather may turn hostile. We don’t fully know about his power, just that he can take wings and use them. If he can do the same with magic…”
Twilight nodded her head. She hadn’t considered that possibility, but believed there was a solution. “I think I have an idea.” Twilight used her magic to place the quill in the ink well, and laid the scroll flat on her desk before walking over and picking up the freshly inked quill. “I’ll send a letter to the princess, asking for her to get my brother to cast a spell of protection over Canterlot. It stopped ‘unwanted visitors’ once before, I’m sure it can do it again!” Rarity considered the plan of her friend. “You mean Shining Armor? Well, I suppose that would suffice… But what if Gather has already considered that as a possibility?”
Twilight turned from her writing in order to look at her fellow unicorn. “It’s all we can do. We don’t need to think of a permanent solution, just one that will give us some time.” Twilight continued writing, but also continued talking to her friends. “Gather thinks he’s got everything going his way. Nightmare Moon, Discord, and even the Queen of the Changelings all had that idea at one point or another. We showed them that their overconfidence was to bring about their downfall,” Twilight finished the note, and handed it to Spike with her magic before continuing. “and that’s just how it’s going to be this time, too. Nothing can beat the Elements of Harmony, and the strength of our friendship can't be beaten by mere magic, regardless of how powerful it is.”
Applejack felt motivated by her friend’s words. “Twilight’s right. If this Gather fellow drops his guard, we’ll be ready to kick him back to where he came from!” Pinkie Pie hopped over to Applejack, and whispered something to her, to which the orange mare shook her head and glared at her pink friend. “I KNOW Soarin’ said “Baltimare”! I’m just tryin’ t’say…” Applejack sighed in disbelief at Pinkie Pie’s corrective tendency before resuming. “Look, as long as we have each other, nopony, and I mean NO PONY, is gonna threaten Ponyville, Canterlot, or any part of Equestria. Not while we’re here, and not while we’re together!”
Rarity nodded in agreement, before recalling those who threatened the harmony of Equestria. “The Queen of the Changelings had an army. Discord manipulated us. Nightmare Moon had the power of the night. Gather has himself and Vanish. We’ll stop him before he even reaches Canterlot!” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom hopped in joy at their sisters’ confidence in their plan, causing the other ponies to smile in response, aside from Rainbow Dash, who remained sulking at her situation. “Rainbow, we’ll need you for this.” Rainbow Dash's ears perked up as she ran over to Twilight, full of energy once more and brimming with hope. “I’m back in? Are you for real, Twilight!? You’re not just teasing me, are you?”
Twilight smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm. “We need everypony to be present in Canterlot in order to be able to use the Elements of Harmony, should it come to that. And that means you, Rainbow. I know you won’t disappoint us.” Rainbow had tears in her eyes, but shook her head to remove them. “You can count on me!” Twilight had one more request. “Alright, everyone sleep here for tonight. I don’t want anypony wandering outside while it’s dark. I’ll get some sleeping bags, and the bed from downstairs. Some of you will have to sleep on the floor or share a bed, but it’s really all we can do at this point.”
Rainbow didn’t take the time to complain or argue, running straight to the bed she had slept in earlier, which was Twilight’s, before anypony could say anything. The other ponies rolled their eyes at the gesture. They considered scolding her, but supposed that she deserved it; she had been through the most as of late. After Twilight brought up the second bed and mattress, she considered possible ‘pair-ups’ to make the most of the space being used on the bed. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were tiny, so they could easily fit on the other mattress, but didn’t want to sleep unless they were with their sisters, so Applejack and Rarity shared the spare bed with their sisters sleeping under the blanket, at their hooves, smiling peacefully.
Twilight grabbed sleeping bags from the side room, which she had bought in case she could convince everypony to sleep over someday. She bought six, one for each of her close friends as well as herself, before considering that she only needed two or so, given her beds. As luck would have it, Fluttershy, Soarin’, Spitfire, Pinkie Pie, Derpy, and herself, could each use individual bags. Spike had his own bed, so that made everyone accounted for, save for Scootaloo, but Twilight had an idea. Running downstairs, she could be heard using her magic. She carried Scootaloo back upstairs carefully, so as to not disturb her slumber, and placed her on the bed Rainbow Dash had been using. Rainbow didn’t like the idea of sharing a cloud with anypony, let alone a bed, but considering it was only Scootaloo, she didn’t complain.
“Alright everyone, I’m sorry I can’t do any better than this, but this is all we can do. Now get some rest, we have a lot ahead of us, tomorrow.” The other ponies, as well as Spike, exchanged nighttime pleasantries before falling asleep. Twilight was the last to fall asleep, learning a few things of the sleeping habits of other ponies in the process, though few things surprised her as much as Rainbow Dash snoring and almost knocking Scootaloo off the bed with a flail of her leg. The mare in her bed appeared to be dreaming of flying, which was somewhat sad to see given her current circumstances. The last thing the studious pony had noticed was Soarin’ and Derpy in their sleeping bags, quietly breathing, but appearing to have pained expressions on their faces, illuminated by moonlight alone. She would have woken them, but by that point, she had finally allowed sleep to take her in its relaxing embrace.