//------------------------------// // A Promise and a Threat // Story: Rainbow's Parents: The Truth // by Songbrony //------------------------------// We sat there quietly thinking about the Doctor and Fluttershy's dad. I hoped the Doctor was giving her dad a painful time. I know if it were me, it would be able to qualify for a horror film. Fluttershy was still hugging me tightly as Felix walked over to the balcony outside the room. "Why did he do this?" I asked to nopony in particular. "We didn't do anything to him." "I don't know, Dash. Maybe it's because we took care of Fluttershy. You know how her father is." he replied grimly. "Myabe it's because of my mother? You know, after she yelled at me." Fluttershy whispered. I could tell the memories were returning to her again. I pulled her closer and tightened my hug on her. "But that doesn't make sense. He 'died' before we took Fluttershy in. It was about a week after he supposedly died since her mother damaged her wings." I said. "Maybe he wants to finish the job, but make it more painful." Felix said. "Her mother liked to harm her emotionally." I could feel Fluttershy's heart beating faster. The memories were making her tremble. I gave her a kiss on her forehead to remind her I was here. Felix left the balcony and headed for the door. "I'm going on a walk. I need to clear my head." he said as he opened the door. "But aren't we supposed to stay here until we're told we can leave?" I asked him. "I work at the Equestrian Stock Exchange. I'm sure they'll let me out if I tell them I need to get there for work. Besides, we were advised, not forced." he said, and left us alone in our room. Fluttershy looked at me with wet eyes. "I can't believe he's back." she whispered. She was still shaking, but not as bad as before. "He's getting what he deserves. He can't hurt you now." I told her reassuringly. She pulled out of the hug. "Do you really believe that?" she asked me. "I believe that if he tries to again, he'll have to deal with me. And I won't let him hurt you again." I said and gave her a long kiss. I let her go and looked her in the eyes. "You are safe with me here." She wrapped her hooves around me and gave me a tight hug. "Okay, Rainbow. Just promise me one thing." she said. "What is that?" I asked. She put her mouth up to my ear. "Don't leave me." she whispered. I pulled away and looked at her. "I'll never you hangin', Fluttershy. I promise." I kissed her and pulled her in for a hug. "Thank you." she said quietly. I had an idea. "Hey, you want to see if we can find anything out about what happened?" I asked. "What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked. "Let's see if we can ask one of the guards if they know where they took your dad. Maybe we can fly off the balcony and eavesdrop a little." I explained. "But, what if we're caught? Won't we get in trouble?" she asked concerned. "I don't want to get thrown in a dungeon somewhere." "We won't. Don't worry." I said. "Now, go out there and ask about the room." "But, why me? Oh, I'm too nervous. I'll mess up and it'll be ruined. Why don't you?" she asked quietly. "Because it would be too obvious. They'd think I wanted to go out and hunt him down. With you, you're just a worried pegasus who wants to find her father. Just look adorable like you always do." I said flirtatiously. "Oh, okay." she said quietly. She walked to the door and opened it, grabbing the guard's attention. "Um, excuse me, but I was wondering, um, if it's okay with you, could you tell me where my father is?" I heard her ask. "I haven't heard from him in so long." She was being the most adorable creature in the whole world. "Well, I'm not sure I can." he said. "Oh, please. I just have to know. I won't do anything. I promise." Fluttershy said in the quietest and most innocent voice I've ever heard. "Sorry, kid. I can't let you know." he said and returned back to post. "Oh, okay then." she said and walked back to me. "I tried. Sorry, Rainbow." she said with her head low. "It's okay, Fluttershy. You did your best." I said and walked next to the door. I put my ear next to it, hoping that I might hear something of use. "So, you been told anything about the POI?" a different guard asked. "All I know is that he's being held in the upper floor of Canterlot castle. Rumors are that somepony called the Doctor is leading the interrogation." the guard by the door said. Bingo. I thought. "Him again? I thought he left for Gallophrey?" the other guard said. "Well wherever he was, he's back. Anyways, I try to stay away from him. Death follows him wherever he goes." the guard by the door said. I pulled my head back from the door. I didn't like the sound of death following the Doctor, but I got what I wanted. It's a good thing these guards are talkative. "You ready to get some answers?" I asked Fluttershy. "What do you mean? I wasn't able to figure out where dad was." she said, confused. "Yeah, well the big mouth guards can't help but talk about it." I said. "Well, where are we going?" she asked as I walked to the balcony. "Canterlot Castle!" I said and jumped off the balcony. I was in free fall for a few seconds before I extended my wings and flew off. "Wait! Don't leave me here!" she cried to me and followed behind me. I kept my flight speed slow enough so Fluttershy could keep up. We flew high above the clouds so we wouldn't be spotted by the guards below. I felt like a spy, trying to infiltrate a high security base. The only thing it was similiar to, was that if we were caught, we would probably end up in a dungeon like Fluttershy said earlier. "Rainbow! Can we please...Take a break?" she asked me. She was having trouble with the height we were at. I found a cloud for us to sit on while she rested up a little. We landed on top of it and she took a deep breath. "Thanks you." she said quietly. I landed next to her and curled up with her. "Your welcome. But let's not wait too long. I don't want to miss our chance to find out what's really going on." I said. She gave a light groan. I knew she didn't want to be out here, especially with who we were looking for, but I had to know why he killed him. "Can't we just go back? I don't think I can stand seeing him again..." she said softly. "You'll be fine, Fluttershy. He's with the Doctor! He can't hurt you anymore." I said reassuringly. She sighed. "Okay. I hope you're right." she said, and flew off ahead of me towards the caste. "Hey! Wait up!" I shouted to her and caught up with her. "I thought you needed to rest?" I asked. "I did." she said sternly. "If you say so." I said. We flew to the top of the castle. There weren't a lot of guards around, so it was fairly easy to fly up to the top. We hovered next to a small window that gave us a clear view of the room inside. "Okay, let's see what we can find out." I said quietly. I peered in and saw the Doctor and Princess Celestia talking. I wasn't sure what they saying since I couldn't hear them. I tried to get a better view so I could read their lips. "Rainbow Dash?" I heard a voice whisper behind me. I gasped and turned around. Felix flew over and hovered next to us. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Me? What about you? Is this what you meant by going for a walk?" I asked him. "Look, you shouldn't be here. How'd you even find out where it was?" he asked as he looked into the window. "And why'd you bring Fluttershy? You know who's sitting in that room." he said. "It doesn't matter how I found out. All that matters is that I'm here to see why he killed dad." I said. I looked to Fluttershy. "She came with me because I kind of threw her into the middle of it." "Well, whatever. Just go back to the hotel. If the guards know we're all gone, they're going to know something is up." he said. "Hello there! I hate to interrupt your conversation, but you wouldn't happen to have any apples now would you?" we heard the Doctor call to us. He had opened the window and had his head hanging out looking at us. "Ah!" I shouted in surprise. "You know, before you try to leave a perception filter, you should always leave with garlic in your pocket." he said. "Garlic? But...That doesn't even make sense." Fluttershy said. "I know! Isn't it wonderful?" he exclaimed. "Now, come in. The Princess would like a word with you three." he said. The three of us flew in cautiously and landed in the center of the room. The Princess stepped out of the shadows and looked at us with a frown. We bowed after a moments shock to be in front of Princess Celestia. "Now is not the time for formalities." she said, turning to face a chair with a tied up pony on it. "Fluttershy, I believe you know this stallion?" she asked. The stallion looked up at the sound of Fluttershy's name. She gave a whimper of fear and stood behind me as he made eye contact with her. "Y-yes. I-I do...." she said quietly. I could feel her trembling as she hid behind me. "Fluttershy! Please help me! I'm sorry for what I've done in the past, but I've changed!" he pleaded. I looked to the Doctor who was giving her dad a glare. "Please, give me a chance." he whispered. "Changed?!" I shouted at him. I couldn't stop myself. "You abused her as a filly, you've done emotional damage, and you killed my dad!" I shouted at him. I started charging at him as he smiled at me. "No!" the Doctor exclaimed to me as he grabbed me. "That's what he wants. He wants to prove you're more like him than you think." he pulled me to the side where I gripped Fluttershy. I didn't cry. I wouldn't cry, not in front of this monster. "You were dead." the Doctor said as he walked back to Fluttershy's dad. "You fooled the sonic screw driver. Not an easy thing to do. So tell me, how are you alive?" he asked. Her dad chuckled. "You really think they would've let me die?" he said. "Who?" the Doctor replied quickly. "Смерть принцессы." he said in a language I had never heard. The Princess looked at the Doctor shocked. "What did he say?" Felix asked. "Death to the Princess." the Doctor replied. "I thought they disbanded a long time ago after Luna's banishment?" he said. I looked to Felix, who was giving me the same confused look I had. "How is it possible that they were able to find a new leader? I thought everypony who was a part of them vies for power and is unwilling to give it to anypony else?" the Doctor continued. "Doctor? What's going on? Who's 'they?'" I asked. "They went by the name Shadows of the Night. They were a terrorist group that formed roughly 1000 years ago. Their main goal was to kill the Princess so they could rule over Equestria." he said quickly. "Their leader at the time led a coup against me. She was defeated and the group was disorganized. They disbanded and haven't been heard from since." Princess Celestia said. "But she will return! The signs, Princess. You see them, don't you?" he asked with a smile. "Those are just old ponies tales." the Doctor said. "Besides, there are more important things. Like why they've sided with the Griffon Kingdom." he said. "Wait. I thought you said the Shadows of the Night were disbanded 1000 years ago? How are they back?" I asked. "They aren't back. Well, not exactly. The group themselves aren't back, but their ideas have always been around. They were a group that liked to play things solo. So, why are they sided with the Griffon Kingdom?" he asked Fluttershy's dad. "We are small in number. We don't have the resources to keep ourselves functional. We need the Griffons." he said. "Pretty cowardly if you ask me." the Doctor said as he started to walk around him. "But why attack Rainbow's parents?" "They found information on the Griffons. They had to be dealt with." he said and turned to me. "Her father got what he deserved." "Don't antagonize her. She knew nothing, she caused nothing." the Doctor said. Fluttershy's dad looked at her. "But she did. She taught my daughter cowardice." "I helped her!" I shouted at him. "I helped her while you beat her and hurt her!" "Rainbow, calm down." the Doctor said. "You made her weak!" her dad shouted back. "Stop..." Fluttershy said quietly. "I made her more confident in herself! Gave her somepony who loved and cared for her!" "Stop." she said again. "If she is so confident, then why can't she speak for herself?" he asked. "STOP IT!!" Fluttershy shouted. I turned to her shocked. She had never shouted. Never shouted to anypony or anything. "Fluttershy?" I asked her, a bit scared. She looked at me with anger in her eyes. I walked up to her. "Fluttershy? Are you alright?" I asked. "Of course she is. Seeing me is bringing up some tight nip anger down." he said with a smile. "Go ahead. I can see it in your eyes Fluttershy. You want to hurt me for what I did to you and Rainbow. You want to kill me. Well, what are you waiting for? Do it!" he shouted at her. "No!" the Doctor shouted as she stormed up to him. "Don't do this Fluttershy. I know you. This isn't you. Whatever he did to you in the past, I'm sorry. But killing him won't help." She ignored him. "Fluttershy! Listen to me, he wants you to do this. He wants you to kill him. Don't give him what he wants!" "Do it! I beat you, abused you while you say cowardly in the corner! I took advantage of your weakness. I killed your mare friend's dad! Now kill me!" her dad shouted. "Fluttershy, please." I whispered to her. "Don't do this." She turned her anger on me now. "No Rainbow! You don't know what's it's like to live in fear of your parents, to wake up each morning praying you only get a light beating! You've had the perfect life, the perfect parents who always cared for you! I've always wanted that!" she shouted. I was scared. She had never yelled at me before. She didn't even raise her voice when she was mad at me. "I don't have a perfect life with perfect parents. If I did would I be here with the one who murdered my father?" I retorted. "Oh, boo hoo hoo. Your childhood was a dream I wish I had! I lived each day in a hell hole while you lived in paradise!" she screamed. "Your parents always cared for you. Your mom helped you with school work, your dad helped you build confidence, heck, even Felix was there when your parents left." she quieted, tears forming in her eyes. Her dad was laughing. "Good job Fluttershy. Your mother would be proud of you. In fact, I think she might have brought you into the group if she saw you do this to your mare friend. Maybe her poor old mother will find a way to 'protect' her." he said. The Doctor looked at him. "So that's your plan! Turn her against the one she loves the most! That way, maybe Rainbow's mother might come out and help her." he said sternly. "Doctor, I'm impressed. You were able to figure it out so easily." he said. "That's because I'm clever. Now you listen here. You will never hurt either if them again. And if you do, if you somehow are able to hurt them, I will hurt you." the Doctor said. Her dad smiled. "пять лет. остановить нас, и она умирает" he said and looked to me. "You try that, and I'll make sure you pay." the Doctor said. Princess Celestia called for the guards. "Take him to the crystal catacombs with his wings clipped." They took him out of the room with him laughing.