Seven Days with Spitfire

by TN-Scotsman


Day 4 - A Rare Feat of Daring

Day 4 – A Rare Feat of Daring

Spitfire blinked her eyes, slowly waking up with Celestia’s sun shining brightly on her face. “Of course her pet student would have her bed facing the sunrise,” she thought. She was starting to get used to waking up in strange places. On the run for three days; one night at Dash’s; the best night so far spent at Fluttershy’s, and now waking up in Twilight’s room. She had to admit it though, this mare has taste and style. The bed was extraordinarily soft and the sheets were even softer. “I wonder what thread count these are? They are amazing. Reminds me of staying at the Bailagio in Las Haygas,” she thought.

She sat up in the bed and noticed the small guest bed across the room was empty. She thought she could hear voices coming from downstairs, but what got her attention was the wonderful smell coming up the stairs.

After a while, Spitfire made her way downstairs and started into the kitchen area, the source of the enchanting smell.

“Twilight, I hope you don’t mind, but I used your shower and borrowed your brush for my mane. Last night left me looking pretty rough,” Spitfire announced as she entered the room.

“I don’t mind at all. I made sure to put out extra towels in the shower for you, since I kind of guessed you would want a shower this morning,” Twilight answered. “Now, come over and have some breakfast with us. Spike really stepped up his game this morning. I guess he’s trying to make sure you don’t take his spot as my number one assistant,” Twilight joked.

“Well, you know, in a few more days, I’ll need a job. I may come back and apply,” Spitfire said as she gave a playful wink to Spike. “Now, can you two tell me about this plan you’ve come up with?”

At this time, a book came sliding across the table; stopping right in front of Spitfire.

“‘Daring Do and the Raiders of the Last Crusade’. What’s this?” Spitfire asked.

“That’s our plan. It’s all right in there. Everything we need to do,” Rainbow spoke from the far
side of the table, leaned back in her chair, looking even more cocky than usual.

“Rainbow, I said I was sorry for calling your books silly, but I’m serious. What is the plan?”

Spitfire was getting just a little frustrated. This plan was, after all, about getting her money out of the Wonderbolt’s bank.

“Look, Twilight and I did some checking up on this, and we just need you to confirm a few things. There are Automatic Bit Machines in the compound for accessing your money after bank hours right?”

“Yeah, there are several ABMs in the main administration building. So, what, you’re going to walk into the main administration building, use my ID number and empty my account? That won’t work. I have more in my account than you can take out at one time. Oh, yeah, and you can’t get into the main administration building unless you’re a Wonderbolt.” Spitfire was getting a little angrier now. She thought these two had a real plan.

“We know that, Spitfire,” Twilight calmly added. “In the book, Daring Do uses a disguise to get into her enemy’s fortress, and has her unicorn assistant ready to teleport her out if she gets into trouble. This morning, before you were up, Rainbow and I went close to her house and I teleported her in, she got her Shadowbolts Nightmare Night costume, and I teleported her back out.”

“How’d you do that? I thought unicorn teleportation didn’t work that way? I thought if it was a multi-pony teleport, you had to be physically with them?” Spitfire asked, as just a little bit of hope started to form in her again.

“Normally, yes, but I used a tracing spell on Rainbow. With that spell, I can focus and see where she is. If I can see her, and I know where to teleport her to, I can teleport her without physically being right there.” Twilight said. “So our plan is to take her Shadowbolt costume to Rarity and have her change it to a Wonderbolt costume. Then Rainbow and I will travel close to the compound, she’ll fly in and use the ABMs to get as much of your money as she can and if she gets in trouble, I’ll be there to teleport her out.”

“Okay, that sounds more like a plan, but you can only get a few hundred bits from the ABMs at a time. There are several in the building, but I should have several thousands in my account. I guess something is better than nothing though,” Spitfire was glad they could get at least that much done for her.

“Well, we might be able to do more,” Twilight started. “See, this morning I sent an encrypted scroll to an old school friend of mine. His name is Source Code. He is a magical and mechanical wiz, top in the class until he had his little…episode. Now don’t worry, I didn’t give him any detail other than a friend has some bits locked up and she can’t get to them. If we get him your account number, which we’ll have on one of the ABM receipts, he might be able to get the rest of the bits from your Wonderbolt account and into a new account. Once there, we simply go to the bank, withdraw all the bits, and close the account. The whole process will be completely untraceable.”

“Really? Bet that didn’t come from a Daring Do story,” Spitfire tried to joke.

“Well, actually, in Daring Do and the Mysterious Vault, she did do something similar, but with maps, not bits,” Rainbow stated rather mater-of-factly.

“Wow. Rainbow, you remember how shocked you were when I was telling you about how you should decorate your home? Well I now know how you felt. Your knowledge of Daring Do is scary,” Spitfire said with wide, amazed eyes. “Well it sounds like we really do have a plan here, but what do I do during all this amazing Daring Do-ness?”

“You get to stay with Rarity,” Rainbow answered with just the slightest bit of an evil grin crossing her face. “Actually, we should head over there now and try to catch her before she opens the boutique.”

The three pony friends stood outside of Rarity’s Carousel Boutique, waiting for the owner to answer the door. Twilight and Rainbow stood on either side of Spitfire, in her black hoodie, trying to shield her from any curious eyes that might walk by.

When the door opened, they were greeted with Rarity’s trademark sing-song “Commme innnn.”
“Twilight Sparkle! Rainbow Dash! To what do I owe the honor of your visit to m…” Rarity stopped in mid-sentence and let out a gasp of shock. “Well I can clearly see why you two are here! Your new friend is in dire need of my assistance. That hoodie is simply horrid.”

Rarity’s horn began to softly glow and the hoodie that Spitfire had been wearing was magically removed and unceremoniously tossed toward the garbage.

“Hay! That was mine. Spitfire was just borrowing it,” Rainbow objected heading over to pick up her hoodie.

“Hmm…Yes, yes. Of course dear, Spitfire was just borrowing it,” Rarity replied, already bringing out racks of clothes for the as yet unacknowledged celebrity in her midst.

“Now, let me see here,” Rarity started as she poked through a rack of coats. “Why exactly were you borrowing that hoodie anyway? It’s not cold out at all.”

“Well, I was trying to stay hidden and just conceal my mane more than anything else,” Spitfire answered.

“Darling, why in Equestria would you-“ the air was shattered by the second gasp of shock from Rarity.

“SPITFIRE!”

“Well it’s about time she slowed down enough to notice,” Rainbow chimed in, trying to get one little jab in for the honor of her hoodie.

“Rarity, we need your help, and we especially need your silence,” Twilight said as she walked over to the stunned fashion pony.

“My…my silence?” Rarity questioned.

“Miss Rarity, it’s like this-“ Spitfire started before being cut off.

“Oh, please dear, just call me Rarity.”

“Right. Rarity, it’s like this. I’m trying to leave the Wonderbolts, for personal reasons I don’t want to get into, but in order to do that, I have to hide from the Wonderbolts. So you see, no one can know I’m here. If they find me, I’ll never get out of the Wonderbolts,” Spitfire explained.

“And you just need me to keep your coming to see me to get something better than that horrid hoodie to help you hide a secret? Easily done,” Rarity smiled and said.

“Well, not just that. Spitfire needs to hide out here today. See, we’re moving from place-to-place each day. That way if somepony is following us, we can stay one step ahead of them. Twilight and I have a plan to help Spitfire, but she can’t come with us. It’s just too dangerous for her. So, can she stay here with you?” Rainbow asked.

“Well, normally, I wouldn’t have a problem with that at all. I’d welcome the company, if I’m being honest, but today is my regular spa day with Fluttershy.”

“Wait, did you say spa day?” Spitfire’s ears perked up “And Fluttershy?”

“Why yes dear. Do you know Fluttershy?”

“Rainbow and I stayed with her my first night here in Ponyville. We became good friends pretty quickly. I kind of miss her. Oh, and a spa treatment would be just heavenly. I hate to invite myself, but could I please come? That is if you think the spa could keep my secret?” Spitfire’s voice trailed off into a tone of disappointment as she realized that going to a spa might not be the best way to keep her presence in Ponyville a secret.

“Darling, I spend so much time there, I’m sure that if I asked, Aloe and Lotus would close the whole spa for just the three of us. I’m sure of it. That settles it, then. Rainbow you and Twilight will go do your plan thingie or whatever,” Rarity said waving a dismissive hoof at her friends, “and Spitfire, Fluttershy and I will spend the day at the spa. Judging from the looks of your poor mane, you could really use a good shampoo and conditioning. First things first though, you will need a replacement for that…hoodie.”

Rarity stepped in beside Spitfire and guided her over to the clothing racks, showing her cloak after cloak.

“Umm…Rarity, we actually need more of your help first,” Twilight spoke, trying to get Rarity’s attention again.

“Oh, I’m sorry, darling. You’re still here. What else did you need me to do?”

“We need you to take my Nightmare Night Shadowbolt costume and make it look more like a Wonderbolt costume,” Rainbow said, tossing her costume toward Rarity.

Catching the costume with her magic, Rarity looked disapprovingly at the garment. “You made this yourself, didn’t you, Rainbow Dash?”

“Completely,” Rainbow answered very proudly.

“Well, I’m sorry, but there is nothing that I can do with…this. It would be easier to just build a new Wonderbolt suit from scratch. If I have the right color and material, that is.” Rarity responded, levitating the costume back to Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, the material is Wonderflex in azure with yellow trim for the lightning details,” Spitfire chimed in, to only again be greeting with looks of shock from everyone in the room. “What? I wore that stupid outfit every day of my life. I should know something about it.”

“Azure and yellow Wonderflex…I’m not sure if I have that in stock, but I may have something close to it. How accurate does this need to be? I’m guessing not enough to pull off getting into one of their shows, but maybe an autograph session, since you wanted me to start with that costume,” Rarity asked.

“Just accurate enough to fool some ponies that Rainbow Dash is a member of the Wonderbolts,” Twilight answered.

“Very well, Spitfire, could you help me in finding the right fabric? It shouldn’t take long to make, maybe an hour or two. This should leave us just enough time to get you fitted for a new cloak and get us to the spa. Now, where to begin…Ah, yes…SPIIIIIIKE!” Rarity screamed out.

In an instant, the door flew open, a rush of wind blew through the boutique and there was Spike standing in front of Rarity at full attention, saluting.

“Yes, m’lady?”

“SPIKE!” Twilight shouted in complete shock.

“AH!” the dragon jumped at hearing Twilight’s voice. “You’re all here. Umm…Hi?”

“Spike, I left you in charge of the library. Who’s watching it if you’re here, and how long have you been doing this?” Twilight asked with a very stern tone to her voice. She was not happy that her number one assistant might also be Rarity’s number one assistant.

“Twilight, darling, you didn’t know that Spike helps me out from time-to-time?” Rarity looked at Twilight with true surprise in her eyes. The realization of what Spike was doing starting to sink in. “Spike! Why didn’t you tell her? If I had known you were ducking your duties at the library, I would have never asked for your assistance. I thought you were doing this in your spare time. Twilight, I am so very sorry.”

“Uhh…yeah, I sometimes come over and help Rarity when she needs me. I guess I sort of forgot to tell you, Twilight,” the dragon tried to laugh it off. “Guess it is kind of funny though, don’t you think?”

“No, Spike, it is not funny,” Rarity scolded. “Twilight, if I may borrow Spike just one more time, after this is all over, we are all going to sit down and have a long talk about this.”

“Sure Rarity. It’s okay, this once, as long as he is back at the library soon,” Twilight said. “I think Cheerilee is bringing the students over for library day. You’ll need to read them the story today Spike, and clean up the mess when they leave. I’ll be busy helping Rainbow Dash.”

“Fine. What do you need me to do Rarity?” Spike asked feeling completely busted.

“I need you to run over to the spa and tell Aloe and Lotus that Fluttershy and I are bringing in a special VIP guest and we need the utmost discretion and privacy for our visit today.”

“Yes, m’lady,” Spike said as he rushed out the door.

“Now, Spitfire, those fabrics?” Rarity said as she guided Spitfire back to her fabric room.

Two hours later, Rainbow Dash was standing on Rarity’s model pedestal in a full Wonderbolt costume.

“Nice work, Rarity. I can’t believe it’s not Wonderflex though. It looks so much like it. I always thought the material was completely unique,” Spitfire complimented walking around admiring Rarity’s work. “I still see two problems though. One your mane and tail are too recognizable. Can we change them somehow?”

“I think I have a spell for that,” Twilight answered, her horn starting to glow as Rainbow’s signature rainbow-colored mane faded into simple shades of red and orange.

“Much better; great job, Twilight, but there is still one thing wrong,” Spitfire stared intently at Rainbow Dash.

“What is it? I’ve got a great suit and new hair color. What am I missing?” Rainbow asked.

Without saying a word, Spitfire went over to where Rainbow had hung her black hoodie earlier. She nosed through the pockets and tossed something over to Rainbow Dash.

“Those,” was all Spitfire said.

Rainbow jumped and caught the object in her hooves. Looking with complete shock and amazement, her jaw dropped open wide.

“Those are your goggles,” Twilight spoke, breaking the silence.

“Every Wonderbolt has a pair. If she’s going to pull this off, she’s going to need them,” Spitfire commented.

“I promise, I’ll bring them back. They won’t get a scratch. I promise,” Rainbow said, never taking her eyes off the goggles.

“Don’t worry about it. They’re…they’re yours. I want you to…to have them,” Spitfire was getting chocked up. Those goggles had been part of her identity for so long, but she was turning a new page in her life, starting a new identity. It was time to let go. “Besides, you’ve helped me so much, it’s the very least I can do.”

Rainbow couldn’t take it anymore. She quickly placed the goggle on her head and flew as fast as she could to Spitfire. Wrapping her forelegs around her and burying her crying eyes in her neck, Rainbow hugged her hero.

“Thank you, Spitfire,” was all she could just get out between the sobs of joy.

“You’re welcome, and thank you. For the second time, you’re saving my life,” Spitfire said through her own tears, returning Rainbow’s hug.

“Rainbow,” Twilight softly said, “We really need to get going.”

“Yes, and Spitfire dear, we really need to get you fitted into a proper cloak,” Rarity joined.

“Yeah, you’re right, Twi. Let’s get a move on,” Rainbow said as she broke the hug and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Thank you both, and please be safe,” Spitfire said, wiping away her own tears.

“Hey, even if we get caught, there’s nothing they can do. Unless they want the whole ugly mess spilled all over the news,” Rainbow said; her cockiness returning.

“Just please be careful,” Spitfire urged.

“We will. Try not to worry. We’ll be back around dark most likely,” Twilight said as she and Rainbow left the boutique.

Spitfire and Rarity left shortly after. It didn’t take Rarity long to find a new cloak for Spitfire. It wasn’t exactly inconspicuous, though. It was a nice light material in deep shades of crimson and maroon. It did cover her mane and had openings for her wings. A few test flights around the boutique proved that the hood would stay up while flying, even though it didn’t have those “horrid draw-strings,” as Rarity put it. The cloak was even long enough that it covered part of Spitfire’s tail, an important feature that the hoodie didn’t accomplish. “What good is it to cover your beautiful mane if your tail is still out and just as recognizable?” Rarity had a good point.

“Rarity, I absolutely love this cloak. It is so comfortable and luxurious.” Spitfire commented as they walked to the spa.

“I’m glad, darling. It suits you too. You know, for a Wonderbolt, you do have a very elegant side to you, don’t you?”

“Yeah, it just doesn’t get seen as much. Like I told Rainbow, just because I’m a Wonderbolt, it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the finer things in life. Oh, I wish you could have seen Rainbow’s face when I was scolding her for not having any bath bubbles or bath salts. It was priceless.”

“I can only imagine. Although, my face would have looked a lot like it if you had told me she had bath bubbles and salts in her house.”

Both ponies laughed as they walked to the front of the spa.

“Thank you Rarity. I will repay you for this one day. I’m so looking forward to a massage and getting to see Fluttershy again.”

As the spa doors opened, Spitfire looked around and noticed one pony turning the open sign around so it read closed. They then took her cloak and led her and Rarity to the back. Once through the last door, Spitfire’s face lit with a bright smile as she was greeted with a look of surprise from Fluttershy.

Celestia’s sun shone brightly, directly overhead, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were hiding in a small wooded area just beyond the edge of the Wonderbolt’s main compound.

“Now, according to Spitfire, the main administration building is that short box-like cloud on the outer edge. There are eight ABMs inside, but we only need you to get to one so we can get Spitfire’s account number,” Twilight said.

“No problem. I’ll hit one and if I think it’s safe I’ll try for a few more,” Dash replied. “What was the max I can take out at one time again?”

“1,000 bits, but to be safe, only get 950. That way you stay well under the limit. With the trace spell, I’ll be able to hear you, but I won’t be able to see anything. Still, you shouldn’t talk to me much or else it could look like you’re talking to yourself.”

“Right. I’m thinking I shoot straight up out of here into that cloud,” Rainbow pointed to a cloud that was even higher than the Wonderbolt’s compound. “I can then hide in it and move it closer to the building and dive down to one of those side doors. Whatcha think?”

“I think Daring Do would be proud.”

With that, Rainbow launched herself straight up into the sky. She made it to the cloud faster than Twilight thought she could. Once in the cloud, she carried her plan out by slowly moving the cloud toward the administration building.

“This is easy as pie,” she thought. As she got into position, and was getting ready to dive out of the cloud, a loud ringing of trumpets startled her.

Suddenly there was movement and activity all over the place. Wonderbolts and administrators were flooding out of the building.

“Twilight, something’s wrong. Everypony is running out of the building. I’m going to go ahead and try to get in, once they stop running out.”

Twilight heard Rainbow’s voice in her head just as if she were standing right there. It was at that point she really wished she could talk to her. Twilight could see why everypony was leaving the building and where the trumpet noise was coming from, Princess Celestia was paying a visit to the Wonderbolts compound.

Rainbow hadn’t seen anypony leave through the side door for a minute or so. She decided now was the time to try and get in. She took one more look around, and that was when she noticed the chariot landing in front of the building. “WHAT THE HAY?! Twilight, why is the Princess here?”

“Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no...not now. Why is she here now? I never meant for her...oh no. They’re all going to think I told her..Just please be careful Dash!” Twilight said, knowing that no pony was around to hear her.

Rainbow froze for a moment. “Nope, got to go on; I’ve just got to be even more careful now.” Rainbow dove down to the door. No one was around and the door was unlocked. Entering slowly, she looked around and saw the building looked completely empty. “Twilight, you’re not going to believe this, but I think everypony is out front greeting the Princess. The building looks completely empty. I’m going to hit as many ABMs as I can, and fast.” Rainbow cinched Spitfire’s goggles tight and flew off as fast as she could in the direction of where she hoped an ABM would be.

Hearing Rainbow say the building looked empty caused Twilight to give a sigh of relief.
“Be quick Rainbow, but please don’t mess up,” she thought to herself.

“That’s three ABMs down, Twilight. I’ve got her number too. I’m going to try and hit at least two more ABMs. I don’t think I could do all eight. These bits are getting heavy.”

As Rainbow finished her transaction on the fourth ABM, she heard hoof steps coming up behind her. She grabbed the bits and flew off in the other direction, getting out of sight just as two of Princess Celestia’s Royal Guards rounded the corner.

“Hay, would you look at that. Somepony left their receipt in that ABM over there,” one guard noticed. “We should take it to that one pegasus, what was her name?”

“You mean Balance Sheet?” the other guard spoke.

“Yeah, that’s it. She said she was in charge of the Wonderbolt’s finances. She’d know who this needed to get back to.”

“Twi, things are starting to get busy around here. Can you teleport me out of here, like now?”

Rainbow was getting nervous at all the hoof steps she was hearing. Carrying nearly 4,000 in bits was a lot heavier than she thought it would be, and it was slowing her down.

Suddenly, she felt the hairs in her mane start to stand on end. There was a crackling of electricity filling her ears. Then a bright flash of light and a deafening POP.

When she could open her eyes, she saw she was back in the wooded area with Twilight.

“Looks like things went pretty well up there,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, I was able to get through 4 of the ABMs, so we’ve got close to 4,000 of Spitfire’s bits for her, and here’s her account number. Can you send it off to Source Code now?”

“I just have to encrypt it first, and then…” as Twilight’s horn glowed, so did the small piece of paper, until it became blindingly bright and disappeared.

“Done,” Twilight said. “He should have it already and he’ll send me a note with all the details. Now, we should really start to head back. We should stick to the ground and under the trees, especially with the Princess up there.”

“About that, Twi, why is the Princess up there?”

“What? How would I know? I don’t have her date book. Maybe she comes in and checks on things from time-to-time?”

“Well if she does that, how would she not know about how they treat each other?”

“Honestly, Rainbow, you’re acting like I have all the answers about everything Princess Celestia. I don’t, you know. I mean, I was her student for years and never knew that she had a pet phoenix. She can be a very private pony.”

“Okay, sorry. It just seems awfully convenient that when we show up here, so does she. Still, it did help having the building empty like that.”

“So it all worked out,” Twilight replied, trying to end the conversation quickly. “You know, Rainbow, I kind of like your mane like that. It looks good on you.”

“You think so? I don’t recognize myself with it at all. It was good that I had it though. There were cameras all over the place and every ABM had a little camera in it. Oh, how long will this spell on my mane last anyway?”

“Oh, just a day or so, then it will return to normal.”

The two Royal Guards finally found Balance Sheet as she was re-entering the building.

“Excuse me, Miss Balance Sheet?”

“Yes, I’m Balance Sheet.”

“We were patrolling inside the building while the Princess was speaking, and we found this ABM receipt. We thought you would know how to get it back to the rightful owner.”

“Oh, thank you very much. It’s silly how some ponies leave these lying around. I mean, with one of these and a little time, you could get right into the account. I’ll see to it that it makes it back to the proper Wonderbolt.”

Balance Sheet took the receipt and the guards walked away. As she looked down at the receipt, her eyes widened.

“This can’t be the right account number. This must be an old receipt,” but looking at the date stamp she realized it was not just from today, but less than an hour ago.

“Is everything alright, ma’am?” Margin Alalysis, Balance Sheet’s assistant, asked.

“No. Things are very wrong. Go inside now and lock down this account and pull the video footage from every ABM in the building for the last two hours. I’ve got to go find Soarin.”

The sun was setting and Luna was just starting to raise the moon. Twilight and Rainbow were just getting back into Ponyville and were making their way to Carousel Boutique.

Suddenly Rainbow Dash vanished is a ball of pink fuzz.

“DASHIE!”

“Ugh, hi, Pinkie.”

“Where ya been, Dashie? I haven’t seen you for a couple of days! OOOH…what’s in those bags?”

“I can’t tell you, Pinkie, at least not yet.”

“Awwww, but I want to know. Hey I know!…can I try to guess?”

“NO! Look, Pinkie, if you can give me one more day, I’m going to tell you the whole story and I even have a surprise to go with it. I just need some time…to…uhh…get everything together. Okay?”

“I LOVE surprises, Dashie, but do I have to wait one more whole day? Can’t you just give me one little hint? Huh, can’t you? Huh, huh, just one little hint…PLLLLEEEEEEAAAAASSSSEEE.”

“No, no hints. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but how about this, have Sugar Cube Corner open bright and early tomorrow morning, like just after the sun comes up, and I’ll bring you your surprise and tell you the whole story then, a full day early.”

“Okay!”

And just as quickly as Pinkie had appeared, she disappeared.

“Well, that was certainly random,” Twilight said.

“That’s Pinkie Pie. I hadn’t planned on taking Spitfire to see her just yet. I wanted to go to AJ’s first, but plans change, I guess,” Rainbow said as she picked herself up and dusted herself off.

“But why did she just disappear so quickly?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, that, well you see, Pinkie thinks that if something is happening early in the morning, if she goes straight to sleep, the morning will get here sooner. We’d better hustle on to the boutique. They might get worried since you said we’d be back by dark.”

Twilight and Rainbow entered the boutique through the kitchen entrance in the back, no reason to raise suspicions by having two ponies enter through the front after dark. When they entered the kitchen, they found three ponies sitting around Rarity’s table drinking tea and enjoying what looked like desert.

“Well, glad to see everyone was really worried about us?” Rainbow said to announce herself.

“Rainbow! Twilight! Thank goodness you’re back. As a matter of fact, we were starting to worry. You said you would be back by dark and the stars are beginning to get very bright outside,” Rarity chimed.

“Yes, we were getting worried, me especially, but I guess you probably already knew that,” Fluttershy’s voice trailed off as it usually did.

Spitfire, however, jumped up from her seat and hugged both Rainbow and Twilight.

“I am so glad you’re both back. I’ve been kicking myself all day for letting you two take on this plan. I should’ve stopped you this morning. I think I just got carried away. I can’t believe I let you put yourselves in harm’s way like that,” Spitfire said as she hugged both ponies over and over.

“In all honesty, it wasn’t that dangerous,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, once the whole admin building emptied out to go see Princess Celestia, I had the run of the place...until those royal guards almost saw me,” Rainbow explained, sounding very proud of herself.

“Hold on, Princess Celestia was there? Why would she be there?” Spitfire asked.

“We guessed she was there for some kind of inspection or something,” Twilight answered.

“In all the years I’ve been a Wonderbolt, Princess Celestia has never visited the main compound. Why would she show up today of all days…Twilight, please tell me you didn’t tell Princess Celestia about all this?” Spitfire’s eyes were pleading with Twilight to answer no.

“Spitfire, I Pinkie Promised that I wouldn’t tell her, and I haven’t broken my promise, I honestly don’t know why she was there today.”

“Okay. I believe you. You did promise, after all. Well, come on over here and sit down. We’ve saved you some tea and dessert. You can tell us all about your Daring adventure,” Spitfire guided her two friends to the table, still a little worried in the back of her mind about why the Princess would choose today of all days.

Just as they were ready to set down, the air started to sizzle with the sound of magical electricity, followed by a bright flash of light.

A scroll appeared on the table.

“That must be from Source Code. I told you he moved fast,” Twilight said proudly.

She levitated the scroll over to her and started to read the encrypted message. As she did, her eyes grew wide and her ears flattened.

“Rainbow, you didn’t leave anything behind today did you?” Twilight asked, suspicious of the answer.

“Well, I wasn’t able to get the receipt out of the last ABM. There were guards coming and I had to bolt,” Rainbow answered.

“This is so not good. Those guards must have found the receipt and turned it in to the bank. While Source Code was trying to get all the bits together, someone at the bank froze the account. He can’t get any bits out of it…and he thinks they may have traced what he was doing back to him. He’s gone back into hiding.” Twilight hung her head, heavy with guilt. She knew Source Code had only recently come back out of hiding from his last episode, and now she’s helped to trigger another. “I’m sorry, Source Code. I’m so sorry,” Twilight whispered to herself.

“Will your friend be okay, Twilight?” Fluttershy’s soft voice floated across the room.

“He’ll be okay, eventually. I just feel bad for putting him in that situation,” Twilight answered.

“But you only did that to help me. This was way too risky. I should go and hide somewhere else, before anypony else gets hurt,” Spitfire started to head to the door.

No. We’ve all done too much already. Look, day four is over, you’re in the home stretch. Twilight and I knew the risk and we agreed to do it anyway. Source Code knew the risk too, and he still agreed. We all chose to help you. You are not walking out on us now. We’re going to see this through to the end, one way or another,” Rainbow Dash had positioned herself between Spitfire and the door and as she spoke she forced Spitfire to move away from the door.

“You all really are wonder ponies, and truly amazing friends. Thank you,” Spitfire replied.

“Now, come one everypony, my tea is getting cold and the dessert is getting warm. Let’s not let all this go to waste. Let’s celebrate the end of day four, whatever that means, and remember Twilight’s friend. I know we all hope he’ll be alright,” Rarity spoke, trying to bring order back to the situation.

After a few moments of silence, everypony was smiling and laughing again as Twilight and Rainbow Dash told the story of their adventure.