It was only a week after Twilight's last visit to her that Dash awoke to the sound of a soft knocking on her door. Her throat felt dry, warm and a little tender as she groaned slightly. She wasn’t feeling any pain, luckily. The door swung open a few seconds later, and Dash looked to see Fluttershy stepping in with a gentle smile spread on her face. “Good morning, Rainbow. How are you feeling?” She asked warmly as she came up next to the bed.
“I feel like I just got over drinking hot tar.” Rainbow replied, taking joy in the fact she could legitimately speak again. “But aside from that, just peachy.”
“Well, at least you’re speaking well again. Now then, the doctors wanted me to make sure you make it home safe and know what you need to do.” Fluttershy explained as she reached out to help Rainbow out of the bed.
“Wait, why aren’t they going to handle all of that themselves?” Rainbow asked, sounding a little confused.
“They’re dealing with an emergency case elsewhere in the building, and are a little under-staffed today. They think I should be able to handle this fairly easily, so they asked.” Fluttershy replied as Rainbow sat up. Rainbow nodded slowly, before carefully stepping out of the bed and down onto the hard floor. She stretched gently, trying not to cause pain anywhere.
“What kind of emergency?” Dash asked, starting her slow walk for the door.
“A Pegasus crashed while on weather duty and sustained life-threatening injuries. She’s lucky she’s still breathing. Oh, the poor mare…” Fluttershy said sadly, voice lowering slightly.
“Who was it?” Rainbow pressed, deciding she should know who was out of commission when she got back on the job.
“I think it was Stormchaser.” Fluttershy replied, shivering slightly. The situation must have been pretty bad, Rainbow guessed. At this point they were in the hallway heading for the lobby, falling into silence as they continued on their way. Soon enough, they were in the lobby and checking Rainbow Dash out of the building. Rainbow stared at the door for a moment apprehensively. “Come on, now.” Fluttershy urged gently as she started for the door.
Rainbow nodded and followed Fluttershy. The door slid open, causing Dash to squint as she stepped out once more into the bright sunlight. Taking a moment to let her eyes adjust, she smiled and took in a deep breath of fresh air, refreshing her system. She was already feeling invigorated again as she continued after Fluttershy. “So, how's everypony hanging?” Rainbow asked as she came up next to Fluttershy.
“Well, Rarity's been doing well, I suppose. She got a fairly sizable order, so luckily that's been keeping her mind busy. Applejack's been really worried, but she knows you're strong, so that helped her keep her mind on track. Pinkie Pie's managed to get back to her normal self after Twilight relayed that you'd be out soon, and I'm just glad you're going to be okay.” Fluttershy explained, smiling slightly at Dash, who in turn raised an eyebrow. There was something in Fluttershy's eyes, an uncertainty that stood out.
“And Twilight? How's she doing?” Rainbow asked, voice taking a more serious tone.
“Oh, um, well, you see... She... that is...” Fluttershy started to rapidly mutter, growing quiet quickly.
“Come on, Flutters, spit it out. What's up?” Rainbow pushed, looking at Fluttershy with curiosity.
“Well, um... Twilight's actually been the real cause of most of our worry for the past few days.” Fluttershy said, shrinking down slightly.
“Huh? What, did Twi get hurt too?” Rainbow asked, sounding a little confused.
“No... She's just... acting strangely.”
“Oh, yeah? Bet she isn't being as strange as Pinkie normally is.” Rainbow said jokingly, trying to cheer Fluttershy up.
“Rainbow, this is serious. She hasn't left the Library since telling us you were going to be getting a healing magic expert. The lights are always on, and she's refused every single visitor she's gotten.” Fluttershy said, looking over towards the library as they walked by.
“Really? She's refused everypony?” Dash asked, surprised. That was definitely odd, alright.
“Yes. Nopony is really sure what's going on with her. She hasn't told any of us anything.” Fluttershy said, worry lining her voice as the library faded from sight behind them. Rainbow found herself legitimately curious, now.
“Well, I guess I'll stop by the library later and find out what's going on, if I can.” Rainbow muttered, shrugging absently.
“I don't know what you'll get, but good luck.” Fluttershy replied, a smile returning to her face.
“I guess I'll need it.” Rainbow said, taking note of her surroundings. They were getting close to where she was attacked last time. It was the middle of the day, and from what Twilight had said about the Shadow Dancers, that meant she should be safe.
Rainbow and Fluttershy, soon enough, were flying up to Dash’s house. Rainbow had to take the flight slow due to the remnants of pain in her wings slowing her down. After a couple of minutes, they were inside. “Thanks Fluttershy. So, what all do I need to do?” Rainbow asked as she looked around her home. Just as she left it, thankfully.
“Just try to refrain from anything more than a leisurely flight speed when using your wings. If your throat starts to feel sore, stop talking for a little while and let it rest. Aside from that, just get plenty of rest and relaxation and you should be back to a hundred percent in no time.”
“Alright, thanks Flutters.” Rainbow said, smiling broadly. Fluttershy nodded before trotting out through the front door. Silence filled the room, and Rainbow found herself wondering what to do next. Well, first thing was first, she guessed. Get some decent food, feed Tank, then go down to Twilight’s library and find out what was going on.
<><><><><>
Twilight groaned heavily as she looked at herself in the mirror. With a tired grunt, she levitated a nearby comb and evened out her rather messy bed-mane. She hadn’t slept well in a couple of days, having been subjugated to more nightmares. The constant light didn’t help her sleeping efforts much, either. But it was necessary, she knew, to keep her surroundings lit at all times. After straightening out her mane, Twilight pulled a book from a nearby shelf and landed it in front of her on the desk.
Flipping the book open to where she was last, she continued reading. She hadn’t even been reading for five minutes when the frustration from last night began to rear its ugly head. She had gone through three books already, and none of them really told her anything about how to stop the Shadow Dancers. The fact that she didn’t even know where they were distressed her even more. She slammed the book shut and set it down a bit more quietly in front of her.
Twilight almost jumped out of her skin as a loud knock came to the door downstairs. “Not this again…” She muttered, making her way in that direction.
“Twi, it’s Rainbow Dash! I’m out of the clinic! Can I come in?” She heard Rainbow call from the other side as she approached. Twilight froze mid-step.
“R-Rainbow…?” She asked quietly, and then sighed with relief. “Good to know you’re okay, Dash. But… I’m afraid I can’t exactly let you in right now.”
“Huh?! Why not?” Rainbow asked incredulously, the sound of her shifting slightly barely audible through the door.
“I don’t want to put anypony at risk. You’re already putting yourself in danger just by standing out there talking to me.” Twilight replied, a heavy edge of sadness and nervousness to her voice.
“Why would I be put at risk for talking to you? Seriously, Twi, even for you, that sounds a bit extreme.” Rainbow said, the sound of her hoof coming down hard for emphasis being heard.
“Rainbow, please! I know more about the Shadow Dancers than anypony else in Ponyville, but I don’t know enough. Until I can figure out how to get rid of them, nopony comes in here. Any interaction with me marks them as a potential target.” Twilight said, her voice growing desperate. “I don’t want you to get hurt… Not again.”
“What about the princesses? They practically know everything! If anypony knows how to stop these Shadow Dancers, it’s going to be them!” Rainbow persisted, narrowing her eyes. “Have you even sent them a letter about this yet? You’d think they’d want to know.”
“The problem with that is that my messages haven’t gotten through. At least, I don’t think they have…” Twilight said, sighing slightly.
“Why not?”
“I haven’t gotten any replies. Nothing but silence.” Twilight said, anxiety in her voice.
“…Twilight, let me in.” Rainbow said with conviction.
“I can’t-”
“You can! And you will! Did you forget who you’re talking to?” Rainbow said, voice going low with frustration.
“Rainbow, now is not the time for-“
“I’m Rainbow Dash! And even if I don’t have the awesome necklace anymore, I’m still the element of loyalty, and you had better remember that!” Rainbow said, voice rising almost to a shout. Twilight fell silent. Finally, after several moments, Rainbow Dash continued, “Twilight, I’m not gonna leave you hanging. Nopony will leave you like that.” There were several seconds of silence.
“I’m sorry, Rainbow.” Twilight said, and the door clicked open.