Chapter Fifty Four
Pain.
Pain was what she was aware of, the only discernible thing in the dark void she found herself in. Nothing but pain... and then an overwhelmingly bitter smell entering her nostrils that brought her back to consciousness as she bolted upright and coughed, leaving her utterly confused as to not only where she was, but what was going on around her.
"Easy now, my little pony, easy," she heard a calm, comforting voice say, as a foreleg was eased against her creamy yellow midsection, gently pushing her back down into a sitting position against something firm; something that felt like it had the consistency of tree bark.
As her senses cleared and the vile stink faded, she became more aware of just who the voice had come from. That being Princess Celestia, as she looked down at her with a kind but worried face. And standing next to... she gulped. Princess Celestia was standing next to the strange white biped whose name she couldn't remember the proper pronunciation of, but knew full well that his gaze was enough to give her the shivers anytime she made eye contact with him.
And right now, as he looked down at her with that flinch-inducing gaze that made the blue hairs of her mane feel like they were standing on end, she couldn't help but wonder if her mother had been right about wanting her to become a lawyer instead of a nurse.
"Nurse Goodwill."
Fortunately her focus on the scary one was broken by Princess Celestia's voice resonating in her ears, bringing her attention to a much more preferable individual to deal with.
"Can you tell me what happened here?" Celestia asked calmly, but with a hint of concern in her voice as she spoke.
"I... I don't know. What exactly happened, Your Majesty? Why am I here?" she asked, still confused by what was going on. Why were they hovering over her with concern? And why was she sitting up against a tree?
"We were hoping that you might know. When we came to the gardens, we found you propped up against a tree and unconscious, and Rainbow Dash is gone. Do you remember anything that happened?" Celestia asked.
Goodwill thought on the matter, trying to concentrate and figure out the answers to the questions she was being presented with. Unfortunately her memory was fuzzy right now, making it hard to concentrate.
"I... I don't really remember. The last clear memory I have before waking up here, was needing to console her when she just started crying for no reason. She was holding onto me for dear life, and I thought for sure she was going to suffocate me... and then... then it was overwhelming pain. It felt like my horn was on fire. I think I passed out from some sort of sensory overload, or something along those lines. That's... that's all I can remember, I'm sorry," she replied.
"It's alright, my little pony, you're not to blame," Celestia said in a reassuring tone as she stood herself back up again, before turning her attention to Ulquiorra. Outward she was as calm and serene as anything. But on the inside she was a raging mass of concern and worry. Rainbow Dash was missing, and they had no idea where she was. They didn't even know for certain if she'd left of her own volition, as Goodwill's recollection could be interpreted as anything.
To say the situation was bad would be an understatement, as well as utterly redundant. Rainbow Dash had been in her care, and now she was going. She'd been as good as foalnapped from right under their noses. Those that held the Elements of Harmony were divided, and now one of them was missing. Could this situation get any...
NO! She had to stop herself before she could finish that thought. That was not the question that anyone should ever ask, because invariably once it was asked, or even considered, matters found a way to progress in just such a manner. She needed to maintain some degree of levelheadedness, otherwise they would never get anywhere. Nothing good ever came from panicking in a situation like this.
"So how do we proceed from here?" she asked, directing the question at Ulquiorra. If anyone knew the answer to the question at hoof, it would be the Espada. Of that she was certain.
"At present I'm uncertain. Being absent five days has left me unaware of Rainbow Dash's current mental stability, making it difficult, if not outright impossible, to determine what motivation was at play. The only thing I can say for certain is that Nurse Goodwill was not accosted by a third, as of yet unidentified party, but rather by Rainbow Dash herself," Ulquiorra stated.
"And how did you arrive at such a conclusion so quickly?" Celestia asked, somewhat baffled by how he'd just thrown that out there for consideration.
"Residual saliva on her horn, containing traces of Rainbow Dash's reiatsu signature are still present, along with teeth imprints in the keratin, showing she bit down considerably hard," Ulquiorra elaborated as he gestured towards the unicorn's horn. "From this we can speculate that the intended purpose was to render Nurse Goodwill unconscious, as she was the only one present who could prevent her from leaving. Furthermore, the imprints show the greatest degree of force was applied near the tip of the horn, which is the most potentially sensitive location of the entire structure, due to the cluster of nerves present just below the surface at this point, and even a minor blow can be quite painful. To actually leave imprints in the keratin, the pressure of her bite would need to be considerable, and a deliberate action. However, information like this allows us to conclude that Rainbow Dash's actions were her own, rather than the actions of said third party possessing, and manipulating her like she was a marionette," he explained in detail.
Celestia listened quietly as Ulquiorra explained the matter to her, pointing out what he'd observed, and the hypothesis that formed from said observations. For the most part she could see what he was saying, but he managed to lose her at the last point. How exactly could he conclude that Rainbow Dash was acting on her own, and not subject to some sort of mind control?
Her expression must've betrayed her, as Ulquiorra began explaining matters again without any verbal prompting on her part.
"These actions on Rainbow Dash's part were indeed deliberate, but they were not guided by malice. Note the placing of Nurse Goodwill while unconscious; propped up against a tree in a shady spot after being rendered unconscious. Considering her actions with Rarity, there is little doubt to believe that Rainbow Dash could kill if she believed it necessary, and she would do so willingly. The imprints in the keratin indicate significant biting force on her part; surely enough to tear out a throat if such a move was believed to be prudent. And if the hedge maze was utilized for disposal of the body, no one would be aware for some time; possibly not until buzzards began to circle above head. Instead, however, she simply knocked her out, and then hid her in an out of the way location where she wouldn't be immediately noticed, and placed her in what would most likely be considered a comfortable position, where she might be awoken by a smelling salts spell. These are not the actions of one that wouldn't think twice about murdering foals left and right, for no other purpose than to spread terror. The fact we didn't find Nurse Goodwill disemboweled, and strung up by her entrails, speaks volumes, and tells us much. But for all it tells us, there is much that it doesn't tell us; such as where Rainbow Dash might have gone to? Why did she decide to flee? What was the significance of her timing? And the list just goes on," Ulquiorra explained calmly, despite the seriousness of the whole situation.
Celestia remained silent, terrified by what Ulquiorra was telling her. She wasn't sure what scared her the most; the few details that they did know, or the vast unknown that was staring them down. Regardless of what it was, there was a lost and frightened pegasus out there somewhere, and desperately in need of being found.
However that mindset was quickly changed by the sound of crying, bringing her attention to the blubbering Nurse Goodwill that sat between them as she soon began to succumb to hiccups.
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry," she sobbed and hiccuped as she hung her head, looking down at the ground. "Y-you trusted me t-to look after R-R-Rainbow Dash, and I," she paused and hiccuped again, "I couldn't do it. I-I couldn't s-stop her from leaving b-because she... she..."
Celestia's heart ached right now. It ached for Nurse Goodwill, and her blaming herself for Rainbow Dash's disappearance. She could understand how she might believe she was to blame for what had happened. But that didn't mean she agreed with the assignment of blame in this case. It hadn't been her fault that Rainbow Dash had taken the course of action that she had.
"You aren't to blame in this matter. You were blindsided and randomly assaulted. You can hardly be held responsible for the actions of a mentally unstable patient, who you assumed was in need of simple comfort," Ulquiorra spoke up. Offering words of comfort and condolences wasn't his style of doing things, but even he could recognize that Nurse Goodwill's emotional stability was important at the moment. She likely had the most interaction with Rainbow Dash over the past few days compared to anyone else. Perhaps there were clues that could be gained from her.
And to get those clues, he would do what was necessary. Even if meant offering some measure of comfort to yet another crying female, of which there were too many in this world for his tastes.
It was plainly obvious to him that, once again, he was tasked with cleaning up Princess Celestia's mess. He had made the decision to stay behind in Ponyville, for the purpose of safeguarding the others, and carrying out the investigation. In doing so he had allowed himself to believe that Princess Celestia was capable of managing a single mentally disturbed pegasus without significant complications. And he had apparently believed wrong. The palace was no place for safeguarding a mental patient, when only one nurse was on hand to serve as an escape deterrent; especially in an open air environment.
There would be time for berating on that point later. Right now there was a crisis to address...
Celestia remained silent, partially out of surprise from Ulquiorra taking the initiative, and to see just where things went. She knew that Ulquiorra was up to something, but she didn't know just what it was yet. For now she'd have to wait and see, and let the Espada work whatever magic he had up his sleeves.
And as she maintained that silence, a thought entered her mind. Right now they had a lot in the way of theories, but not much in the way of definite facts. They knew how Rainbow Dash had fled, but not the why. Had she left of her own volition? Or had she been coerced? And to where exactly had she gone? Naturally she knew they had no answers to those questions. But those questions gave grounds to another question popping into her mind; what if Rainbow Dash was heading back to Ponyville? Could she have actually set out to finish what she'd started with Rarity? Did she even currently possess the mental clarity to make such a decision?
As disturbing of a thought as it was to give consideration to, it was one that they couldn't discount as being a possibility.
But then in giving consideration to that possibility, they had to question why Rainbow Dash chose to spare Goodwill at all. She had certainly had ample opportunity to kill her, but hadn't. Was it because the nurse unicorn who had been looking after her, hadn't been present for her implanted memories, and thus could be considered innocent of any wrongdoing?
There were far too many questions, and not enough answers to go around. And in addition to that fact, they were faced with there not being enough time to sort them out. The top priority right now had to be finding Rainbow Dash and securing her. They'd worry about everything else afterwards.
She considered dispatching Ulquiorra to Ponyville right then and there. But she immediately reconsidered that approach, upon realizing that Ulquiorra's mind could be of more use here than in the field. There was no way of even knowing if she'd be dispatching him to the right location. If she sent him off she wouldn't be able to consult him. Nor could she call him back. She couldn't go through with that approach; not yet anyway.
A scroll and quill were conjured before her. Sending Ulquiorra to Ponyville was one approach, but sending word to alert Twilight and the others was another, and far more practical. And as fast as the Espada was, nothing was faster than a scroll being delivered via royal channels.
Spike panted. Spike grunted. Spike made all kinds of noises as he was involved in the process of unceremoniously heaving Twilight up onto her bed. He really didn't want to be rude, but she was heavier than she looked, and having to move her with his -comparatively- diminutive size wasn't easy. Strength alone could be wonderful, but physics still worked against him; such as trying to manage all four of her legs while avoiding dragging her. To say the least, it wasn't easy.
Twilight's being unconscious hadn't helped matters any either, since she amounted to dead weight. Although it had kept her from protesting as he'd carried her back to the library.
Unfortunately that peace and quiet was broken when he'd successfully shoved her onto the bed, the jostling proving to be enough to snap her out of whatever degree of unconsciousness had been in place.
How that had done it, but him carrying her all the way back here hadn't, he didn't know.
"Spike? What're we doing back here?" Twilight asked curiously as she sat on the bed.
"You passed out from exhaustion, Twilight, and rather than leave you where you were, I thought it'd be better to bring you back to the library where you can rest," Spike explained, groaning as he arched his back until an audible pop was heard.
Finding Twilight passed out wasn't exactly new to him. Being her number one assistant, finding her asleep in front of a book was common. Sometimes he wondered if she'd even remember to go to bed without him helping to remind her from time to time. But falling asleep while reading, wasn't exactly the same thing as passing out from exhausting oneself, through extreme exertion to master a new and highly advanced offensive spell.
He really didn't understand all the details that were involved. All he knew for certain was that Twilight had been heavily applying herself to her spell practice the past few days, while Ulquiorra carried out his investigation of the others. Something about Twilight being too close to be objective or something, and how her skills could be better utilized elsewhere.
"It didn't seem right to just leave you laying out there in the clearing," he pointed out.
"That was really nice of you, Spike. But I'm alright, really. I'm good to keep going," Twilight replied and moved to get off the bed. However as she moved to get up, Spike surprised her by pushing her back down onto the bed. "Spike?" she asked, confused by his current course of action.
"I can't let you do that, Twilight, you're not going back out there," Spike stated firmly and folded his arms across his chest.
"Spike?" Twilight asked again, now more confused than before. What exactly did he think he was doing?
"Twilight, look at yourself! You look like... like... you look terrible! When was the last time you slept anyway? I mean really slept, and not just catnapping and sucking down coffee?" Spike asked her.
"Spike I-" Twilight tried to explain, but quickly found herself interrupted.
"You've been burning the candle at both ends, Twilight, I know it. I know it because I've been there watching you. I get that this is some pretty important stuff, but more important than your health? I get that it upset you, how you couldn't help Ulquiorra with his investigation, and that's why you applied yourself so hard to learning new magic. But you're not gonna be able to help anyone if you make yourself sick. And I'm not going to just stand by and let that happen," Spike stated firmly.
"Spike I-" Twilight tried to say again while in the process of sitting up again. However Spike interrupted her again, both by pushing her back onto the bed, and talking over her again.
"No. Just plain no. You're not getting up until you've gotten a few good hours worth of sleep. And then you're not doing anymore practicing until you get a good meal, and a hot bath. That's just gonna be how that is. Now we can do this one of two ways; you can either go along with it voluntarily, or with me pinning you down by sitting on you," Spike stated as he climbed up on the bed, and then over on top of her, straddling her hips as he pressed his full weight down on her, and pushing her forelegs down with his hands. Granted he knew that she could easily lift him if she wanted to. But this wasn't exactly a good position for leverage on her part.
"So what's it gonna be? Do we do this the easy way, or the hard way?" he asked her.
Twilight didn't know exactly what to think right now. When had Spike become so strong, not only in body, but also in mind? Where had this sudden assertiveness come from, that seemed to deem it appropriate for him to order her around, and make ultimatums for noncompliance? When exactly had her little assistant grown up so much?
And why exactly was she feeling the need to comply with him on this matter?
"Alright, Spike, you win. We'll do it the easy way," she finally agreed and nodded, seeing that any effort on her part to talk Spike out of this wasn't going to work. Truthfully she wouldn't even know how to start under these circumstances. He'd taken her by surprise, and hadn't left her with much opportunity to get her bearings straight.
"That's a good filly," Spike replied with a grin. Twilight frowned in response, to which Spike responded by taking hold of her cheeks in his hands, and kissing her forehead to the left of her horn. "Now you stay here. I'm gonna go make some nice relaxing tea so you can rest properly," he told her as he climbed down off the bed.
As she watched Spike leave the room and head down the stairs, Twilight really didn't know just what to make of this situation. It was all too weird for her. But as she laid on her bed, a nice pillow with just the right blend of fluffiness and firmness resting under her head, it was becoming harder and harder to deny that a rest sounded like a good idea right about now. She'd been so very busy the past few days, running around from one place to another, helping out one pony or another, she honestly couldn't answer Spike's question if she tried.
"I'll just lay here for a few minutes. Surely Ponyville won't experience any other calamities in that time," she muttered to herself as she closed her eyes. "The statistical probability of such occurring is..."
Spike hummed to himself as he went about preparing the tea, making sure to use the leaves that he'd gotten from Zecora, rather than the usual assortment. The zebra, much like himself, was aware of Twilight's unhealthy studying habits, and had made it a point to give him an assortment of leaves that, when used in a tea brew, would have a sedating effect on the drinker. And he knew from his own experience -personal experience, going by Ulquiorra's explanation of the term- that it worked wonders. All he had to do was give Twilight the tea, and she'd be out for hours.
Not that he was particularly fond of the idea of just drugging Twilight. But sometimes, desperate times called for desperate measures. And while this situation wasn't desperate desperate in magnitude, it could certainly reach that point if he didn't intervene on Twilight's behalf. And knowing how Twilight could get if left to her own devices for too long, he really didn't feel all that bad about slipping her some of Zecora's special brew every now and then.
"Twilight, you'll thank me for this later," Spike said to himself as he walked out of the kitchen, carrying the cup of tea in his hands.
He was careful as he ascended the stairs, not wanting to trip and send the tea flying -and spilling- because he missed a step, or wound up stubbing a toe because he misjudged a particular distance. All the commotion and clutter would just get Twilight all worked up again, and that was everything he didn't want happening right now.
Thankfully his potential for clumsiness didn't rear it ugly head this time around, and he managed to make his way up to the sleeping loft without any trouble, and without any tea spilled.
However his good fortune didn't seem to matter much right now. By the time he made it up the stairs, cup of steaming tea in hand, Twilight was already sound asleep, the covers kicked back except for the one sheet partially pulled over herself. So much for all his work making the tea.
"Oh well," Spike muttered to himself. He walked over to the bed, setting the tea down on the nightstand next to the lamp, before climbing up onto the bed to better pull the sheet up to Twilight's neck to more properly tuck her in. He couldn't deny that she looked so peaceful when she was genuinely sleeping.
However his observations were disturbed by a sudden rumbling in his gut. Quickly he turned away from her, just in time to belch up a scroll.
"Now what could this be about?" he asked himself rhetorically, before unrolling the parchment to read it.
Dear Twilight,
We recently discovered that Rainbow Dash is no longer in Canterlot palace. And though we're doing our best to determine where she currently is, so far we have no leads to follow up on. Ulquiorra is doing his best to assist in the search for her, but Equestria is a large area to cover with many, many cities. I'm writing not to alarm you, but to alert you on the remote chance she should return to Ponyville while we contemplate the more distant options. Be alert, be aware, and be ready to notify us if you should discover her.
Signed,
Celestia
Spike was silent as he read the note, and even long after he finished reading. This was partly out of courtesy to not wake up Twilight -especially now, since she couldn't handle this matter in her current condition- but also partly from the shock of the words contained on the sheet of parchment.
Rainbow Dash was... missing, and nopony knew where she was... and there was the minute possibility that she was making her way back to Ponyville? But why would she do that? Why would she come back here after what she believed the others had put her through? Why would she come back here, willingly returning to what she believed was the source of her suffering?
Unless... it was to finish what she'd started last week...
Rarity!
Immediately Spike leaped up to climb off the bed. If Celestia was right and Rainbow Dash might be returning, then he had to find Rarity and let her know about this. He had to let her know that she was possibly in danger from the deranged blue pegasus.
Unfortunately he never even made it to the floor in terms of his plan. As soon as he had gotten to his feet, two lavender forelegs quickly wrapped around him from behind, and pulled him back down onto the bed.
He had no idea of the why, but he certainly understood the what. The what in this case was Twilight cuddling him with a vice-like hold that he would daresay rivaled his own firm grip.
Under normal circumstances this wouldn't be all that bad, since it was a cozy position to be in. But now wasn't exactly normal circumstances; not when his heart was racing, and he felt the strong need to go and find Rarity.
"Teddy..." Twilight mumbled and tightened her grip around Spike's body, while at the same time nuzzling into him.
"This is so not good," Spike grumbled to himself as he tried to slip, twist, and wriggle out of Twilight's hold on him. Why did he have to climb up onto the bed to tuck her in? Why had Celestia picked that time to send them a scroll? How was he supposed to help Rarity like this? As deep of a sleeper as Twilight could be at times, there was no way of waking her up gently. And even if he could, doing so might just make a bad situation worse. If he woke Twilight up now and she found the note, she'd feel compelled to get involved, and organize a town-wide search party, and heap all of the responsibility on herself.
Why... why...
"Why me, damnit!?"
Rarity winced as she looked at herself in the mirror, repulsed by her own appearance. Despite having five days to heal -five days which had been augmented by healing magic, courtesy of the care provided by the hospital- she still looked like quite a sight, with her one eye still bruised and swollen, and her lower lip still not completely healed up just right. However was she supposed to properly kiss somepony with such a scab there?
Despite it all, however, she was still very thankful for what she had. Considering what had happened to her, she considered herself lucky to even be alive right now. Rainbow Dash had beaten her so, so savagely, and without any provocation on her part. If Spike hadn't been there... well she'd rather not think about that right now; especially not after everything that'd happened the past few days. All she wanted to do right now was flip the store sign to "closed" and slip into a nice, hot bubble bath. She didn't even feel like getting any refreshments from Berry Punch right now, as the day had simply been far too strenuous for her.
"Hello Rarity..."
Rarity jumped at the unexpected voice from behind her. How had somebody gotten in without her noticing? How could they have managed to sneak up behind her when she'd been consulting her mirror? She didn't even bother with the reflective thing, but instead opted to turn around and face the intruder herself.
That move caused her heart to nearly seize up in her chest at who she saw.
"R-Rainbow Dash?" she asked, not expecting to see the polychromatic pony back in Ponyville, or even in the boutique.
"Nice to know you still remember my real name, Rarity," Rainbow Dash replied as she slowly stepped forward, her voice dripping with venom at the mention of her name. "Or should I call you Mistress?" she asked as she slowly moved closer.
"... This isn't a social visit, is it?" Rarity finally asked, unable to think of anything else to say after hearing the question, and the tone used to emphasize the last word. Rainbow Dash wasn't better or well at all. She was still suffering from whatever had plagued her in the first place. And that fact, and the glint in her eye, caused her to slowly back up, until she found herself pressed against the far wall of the room.
"Nope, this is all business," Rainbow Dash confirmed as her folded wings bristled and twitched at her sides. "I came here for one reason, and one reason only. I'm gonna kill you for what you did to me. And nothing's gonna stop me this time..." she warned as she stepped closer, drawing the moment out to watch Rarity squirm uncomfortably.
She was going to kill Rarity. The exact method of which, she wasn't sure yet. But the end result was going to be the same regardless. The only question was how much she'd drag it out, before finally ending the white unicorn once and for all...