6. Lost Letters
Missing Dreams
Chapter 6
Lost Letters
“And you just let her go!?” Applejack shouted angrily, glaring down at Spike. The dragon simply nodded, staring resolutely at the ground as four mares surrounded him. Tears brimmed in his eyes and blurred his view of the library.
“Spike, why would you do that? You should have at least come told us, especially when she didn't come back,” Rarity reprimanded, gentler than Applejack but still angry. “Who knows what's happened to her...”
Spike's body started shaking as tears started rolling down his cheeks. “I-I know...” he muttered quietly. “But... I couldn't stop her. A-and what c-could we do? She t-took the map...”
“Oh, it's not your fault,” Fluttershy comforted, crouching down and encircling him in her hooves. “Nopony can stop Rainbow Dash when she's set her mind to something.”
Pinkie sat behind the group, staring off into space, as though she couldn't comprehend what was going on in front of her. Like reality had finally caught up. She stood, slowly, and made her way over to Spike and Fluttershy, joining their hug. “I... I can't lose t-two f-friends...” her voice quivered, her lip doing the same as her eyes shone. “N-not... not like t-this...”
“I'm...” Applejack trailed off nervously, glancing out the window at the rising sun and swallowing thickly. “I'm sure it'll all be okay, sugarcube. If... if they do have Dash now... we'll find her, just like we'll find Twilight. Ain't nothing gonna' stop us.”
“That's right!” Rarity agreed, much more firmly than Applejack had. “We know Twilight's alive and out there. Rainbow Dash is too. We even know where they are now.”
Right on cue, a firm set of three knocks rang through the library from the front door. Applejack answered it, giving a wan smile to the snow-white pegasus guard in sun-gold armour. He stepped aside, and Celsetia stepped forward, eliciting a hasty bow from the farm mare. “Princess,”
“It's time to go,” Celestia said shortly, pausing only momentarily to motion for Applejack to raise, and to prevent the rest int he room from bowing. The rest, missing one. She frowned. “Where is Rainbow Dash?”
Rarity shifted awkwardly. “Princess... apparently... she took the map and left last night to find Twilight. She hasn't come back yet. We think-”
Celestia held up her hoof, motioning for rarity to stop. “I'm well aware of what she did. Why do you think I left her a map?”
“Princess, you-”
Again, rarity was cut off. This time it was by Applejack. “What the heck do ya mean you left her the map? You're saying you wanted her to go out on her own!?”
“That was the idea, yes,” Celestia said with a nod. When the mares in the room just stared at her, she sighed. “If she hasn't come back, then I may have been wrong. Come; I'll explain on the way.” With that she turned on her hooves, climbing back into a chariot and motioning for the others to join her. Applejack climbed on, and Rarity joined her as soon as she managed to drag Pinkie and Fluttershy off of Spike so the three of them could climb into a separate chariot.
With a sharp whistle, the pegasi guards, having already hooked themselves back into their harnesses, took off into the sky, corkscrewing up into the air until they were well above the houses of Ponyville and setting off, their backs to the rising sun. The two chariots were brought down so they were next to each other.
“Umm... Princess?” Fluttershy started hesitantly, raising her voice just enough to be heard over the wind. “Why did you want Rainbow to go?”
Celestia kept her eyes on the horizon as she answered, “She'd have gone no matter what I did. I just made it so she'd at least have a chance of helping us catch these ponies.”
“How do you mean?” Rarity asked, frowning. “Forgive me for saying so, but getting Rainbow captured is not your best idea.”
“I didn't believe she'd find anything,” Celestia said quickly, snapping her gaze to the mares around her. “If these ponies are half as smart as they appear to be, they'd know that we'd be able to trace the teleport, and wouldn't stay anywhere near it. Even the most advanced cloaking spells can be broken with a trail as big as a teleport. I didn't think there was any danger to Rainbow Dash going out there.”
Applejack stomped her hoof against the floor of the chariot, making the entire cart jiggle and earning her a dirty look from one of the pagasi pulling it, which she ignored. “If y'all didn't think they were there then why the hay did we need to wait until this mornin' to go?”
“Because you can never be too cautious,” Celestia said simply. “I knew Rainbow Dash wouldn't like waiting, so I gave her the choice of waiting, or going on her own to confirm what I already expected was the truth. But not all is lost.”
Pinkie looked up to Celestia with large, watering eyes. “Dashie's lost...”
The sun goddess shook her head. “She isn't. Even in the event that I was wrong, and they were either waiting for her, or still there, we can track them. I enchanted her necklace with an advanced scrying spell. No matter where they take her, we'll be able to track them, and the chances they'll detect it under my chameleon spell are practically none. If they do, I'll know.”
“You used her as bait!?” Applejack shouted angrily. “How could you do that? It don't matter how hard you made that spell to crack; you used another living pony as bait!”
Celestia looked to the farmer uninterestedly. “I did not use her; she chose to go. I merely provided her with the tools to do so while also helping us find Twilight should the worst happen. I assure you she's quite safe.”
“That doesn't change the fact you used her-”
“To get Twilight back,” Celestia cut in swiftly, silencing Rarity with a single look. “Is that not what we all want? To get Twilight back? There is no doubt Rainbow Dash understands this. She'd be the first in line to to act as the hook to catch these ponies and bring my student home.”
Fluttershy looked on from her chariot, looking at Celestia, for the very first time, with fear in her eyes. She wilted, falling back to her haunches, unwittingly bumping into Spike and knocking him out of a similar trance.
“You...” he trailed off into stunned silence, unable to form proper words. Celestia seemed unaware of the looks she was getting as she turned back to the horizon.
“I will do anything for the ponies I care about,” she said simply, frowning. “And Rainbow Dash would do the same. So would all of you. You may not see it now, but if this does lead us to Twilight, you'll all understand why this was a necessary evil. It has been made clear that they are using Twilight to get at Rainbow Dash, so who better to draw them out than the mare they want?”
Pinkie shared uneasy glances with Applejack and rarity before finally asking, “But... what if something goes wrong?”
“We're here,” Celestia said, motioning to a small shack resting on a hill on the horizon. Two dozen guards could already be seen at the base of the hill the house sat on, standing in neat rows in front of a single pony, presumably Shining Armour, though it was too far away to tell. “We can debate the ethics of my actions later.”
The chariot made a quick and rough landing at the base of the hill. Shining Rushed over, giving a quick salute to Celestia as she lead the way out of the chariot. “Captain, what's the situation?”
“We've surrounded the house, and are just about to go in,” he replied sharply, standing at rapt attention. “We are assuming they have a hostage-”
“Two hostages,” Celestia corrected.
Shining frowned, but his eyes widened when he realized that only four ponies had come. He nodded solemnly. “All the troops are using stun spells only. Our scans have revealed life signs in the house, but only one. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest are using a masking spell. We assume upwards of a dozen ponies, and at least one especially powerful unicorn. On your command, we are prepared to take the house.”
“They are your troops, captain,” Celestia said, motioning a hoof towards the row of ponies standing behind Shining. “Whenever you're ready.”
Taking a deep breath, Shining turned towards the guards. “You four, on me. Rest of you, behind us. Be ready for whomever's in there to attack. Our number one priority are two hostages; if you see them, take every step to ensure their safety. Understood?”
“Sir!” The guards affirmed.
“Good. Let's go.” He lead the group to the house, four ponies standing just behind him and the rest forming a semicircle behind them as the marched up to the door. Shining lit his horn, a faint glow appearing around his throat. “This is the Royal Guard. You have five seconds to come out, or we're coming in.”
No sound came from inside the small shack.
“Two... one... now.” His horn irrupted an angry blue as the door was blown clean from its hinges, flying into the room until it hit the far wall. Wasting no time, Shining jumped in, followed by his four guards as the all formed a bubble around the door, scanning the dimly lit front room.
“Medic! We have one pony down. There are two doors; two guards on each. Rest of you, get in here,” Shining Barked, his four followers breaking into two groups for the doors on the far wall. Another guard, a pegasus, ran in and knelt down next to a cyan pegasus laying on the floor in the middle of the room.
Kneeling down next to Rainbow and the medic, Shining asked, “How is she?”
The pegasus rolled Rainbow over onto her back, frowning. “She's.... sleeping, sir.”
Shining blinked. “Sleeping?”
As if to answer, Rainbow's mouth dropped open and she snored loudly, her jaw hanging slack in her new sleeping position.
“Sir, there's nopony else in here,” a guard yelled from one of the back rooms, another agreeing a few seconds later from the other room.
“Rainbow Dash?” Shining asked, nudging at the mare's ribs. Rainbow stirred, her eyes blinking open slowly as she snorted.
“Huh? Wuzzat?” Slowly, Rainbow sat up, rubbing at her eyes with a hoof. She stopped when she saw the circle of guards around her. “Uh... can I help you guys?”
Applejack paced furiously, staring at her hooves and only occasionally glancing away to glare at the pegasus in front of her before swiftly looking back to down. “Do... do you have any idea, any idea at all, what you did?”
“Uh...” Rainbow shifted, scratching the back of her neck. “I just-”
“I thought Spike was gonna have a heart attack!” The farmer exclaimed, ignoring whatever Rainbow had to say. “We all thought those crazy ponies had gotten you! What the hay were ya thinkin', staying there all night?”
Rainbow looked shuffled awkwardly. “I promised.”
“Rainbow...” Spike titled his head curiously, furrowing his brow before his eyes widened. He looked to either side of him, meeting the curious looks of Fluttershy and Rarity. “You didn't-”
“I did,” she cut in quickly. “You know it. Pinkie knows it too... I think...” The mare in question had Rainbow wrapped in a fierce hug, and refused to let go. She didn't even say anything.
“Promise?” Rarity asked carefully. “What promise?”
Spike sighed, rubbing his forehead. “When she left, she promised she wouldn't come back without Twilight.”
“And I didn't find her,” Rainbow said quietly, hanging her head. “She wasn't here...”
“But she was.”
All heads turned, some bowing respectfully as Celestia strode up next to the group.
“They were careful; the guards have searched every inch of that house, and we can't find anything. Except...” she trailed off, giving a sidelong glance to Rainbow Dash. “A red feather. Would you happen to know anything about that, Rainbow?”
Rainbow flinched, subconsciously lifting a hoof and rubbing at the back of her head. She glanced around wearily. “No... There was nopony here...”
Celestia's eyebrows raised. “Then where did you get that necklace? I don't recall you wearing it yesterday.”
The eyes of her friends all followed Celestia' gaze to the second necklace hanging around Rainbow's neck, and they gasped as one. Pinkie even let her out of the death hug to get a better look.
“That... that's the one you got Twilight, isn't it darling?” Rarity asked.
“I-I found it...” Rainbow offered slowly, covering the pendant with her hoof. “I think they left it for us, some kind of threat or something.”
“You found it?” Celestia asked accusingly, narrowing her eyes.
Rainbow nodded hesitantly, shrinking under the monarch's intense look. “Yeah. On the bed.”
With a raised eyebrow from Celestia Rainbow fell silent, glued in place by a single look. The silence wore on for what must have been hours, until Finally Celestia said, “It looks like there was a struggle in there. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?”
“If you're trying to say something, then say it!” Rainbow demanded, suddenly, flaring her wings and jumping into the air, hovering a head above Celestia. “I told you what happened, that's it; end of story. I say you should go off and keep looking for Twilight. Unless you want to continue sitting here and questioning me like I'm the one who did this.”
“Rainbow, darling, nopony's saying anything like that,” Rarity offered quickly, looking up imploringly at the fuming pegasus.
“She is!” Rainbow snapped, flinging a hoof at Celestia.
“Rainbow!” Spike hissed nervously, but the pegasus ignored him as she continued to glare.
Celestia, seemingly unfazed by the outburst, merely shrugged her shoulders. She turned away from the group, and started walking back towards the shack. “Very well. If you'd like, I can have my guards fly you all back to Ponyville. I'll send a letter if we find anything.”
“I think that would be best,” Applejack offered slowly, watching as Rainbow continued to glare at the back of Celestia's head.
“I'll send some guards over. Oh, and Rainbow Dash?” She paused, looking back over her shoulder. “If you happen to... remember anything, you know how to contact me.”
Rainbow's teeth ground together. “I'll be sure to let you know.”
After a final glance back, Celestia strode off towards the shack, meeting up with Shining Armour half way. Rainbow watched her go with a glare, eventually lowing herself back to the ground and scoffing. “Can you believe her? Thinking I was hiding something. Hah!”
“Err...” Applejack trailed off nervously, sharing a glance with Rarity, then Fluttershy. She opened her mouth to say something when Pinkie rushed up and jammed her hoof over the farmer's lips.
Pinkie giggled. “What AJ here was going to say was that you're not acting strange at all! In fact, you are probably the most normal I've ever seen you, right girls?”
“I-... Indeed...” Rarity agreed cautiously. Fluttershy hid behind her mane, but nodded.
Rainbow frowned, searching her friends' faces suspiciously. “What?”
“Oh look!” Rarity chirped, smiling a little too widely. “The guards are here to take us home. I think, after this morning, we could all use some nice, calming tea, hmm? Shall we head to my house?”
“Can I put whipped cream on mine?” Pinkie asked excitedly, withdrawing her hoof from Applejack's mouth and bouncing away towards the chariots they had arrived in, two pegasi guards busy hitching themselves into each one one.
Applejack sputtered, brushing off her tongue as soon as her mouth was free. “Pinkie! What in tarnation were you doin'!?” She took of, trotting after the pink party pony into one of the chariots.
“Ah-hem,” Rarity cleared her throat loudly, bringing Rainbow's attention back to her. “Shall we, dear?”
“I'll fly,” Rainbow muttered, taking to the air again. “And I'll skip out on tea, too. Not my thing.”
Rarity frowned. “Are you sure? We could-... you're already gone.” She sighed, watching a rainbow streak fade away into the clear blue early-morning sky. Looking down, she smiled gently. “Come on, Spike; you can ride with Fluttershy and I.”
Once the five were in their chariots, the little shack on the hill quickly faded into the horizon along with the various guards mulling about as they searched for any kind of clues that would help them. The trip held a anxious silence, one that knew it could be broken any second, by the smallest of sounds. It died with Spike uttering the words “What was up with her?”
“Ah think she ain't telling us something,” Applejack said plainly. “I ain't never seen her so... uptight.”
Rarity shook her head. “I don't know; Twilight's been missing for two days now. With everything we know... well, who can blame her for being a little uptight?”
“Um... maybe she's... feeling guilty?” Fluttershy offered timidly, looking at a very interesting strand of her mane. “That could explain some of it, right?”
Looking out in the direction of Rainbow's trail, Applejack sighed, adjusting her hat. “All I know for sure is that she ain't being honest with us.”
“Normally I'd throw her a party but...” pinkie trailed off sadly, hanging over the edge of the chariot and watching the ground whizz by below them. “What would she want to celebrate?”
“Tell you what, Pinkie; you can throw the biggest party ever once we get Twilight back,” Rarity said with a small smile. “For now, all we can do is let the princess and the royal guard handle things and hope for the best.”
“Hoping isn't good enough,” Spike mutter, sitting in a corner of the chariot. “Hoping isn't going to bring Twilight home.”
Rarity sighed, ruffling scales on Spike's head gently. “I know... but what else can we do?”
“Sister.”
Celestia turned, giving a small smile as Luna landed on the grass next to her. All around them guards swarmed over the small broken down cottage, looking for anything that may point them in the right direction.
“Have you made any progress?” Celestia asked.
Luna frowned, looking to the horizon. “I don't know. I think I've found Twilight in the dream scape, but it's only glimpses. If I wasn't specifically looking for her I'd never even spot them. It's like she's only half asleep, fading in and out of her dreams. I can't get a stable enough link to communicate with her.
“Have you seen anything like it before?”
Shaking her head, Luna sighed. “Never. I don't even know here to start in making contact.”
Celestia hummed in thought, closing her eyes. Eventually, she relented. “Until we know for sure, you won't be able to make any more progress with my student. Perhaps, however, you may be able to glean something from Miss Dash's dreams.”
“Rainbow Dash?” Luna echoed, confused. “Why her?”
“She's hiding something from us, Luna. I don't know why, but her dreams may offer us a clue as to what she truly knows.”
Hesitantly, Luna nodded. “I... suppose I can dig around a little. I warn you, however; she may not be happy if she finds out. Dreams tend to be very private affairs.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow at her sister. “And you're claiming you do not enter the dreams of ponies on a whim?”
“I only enter dreams when the pony truly need my help, sister. Even then I'm only there as long as strictly necessary,” Luna explained wearily. “To enter a pony's dream without them knowing is bad enough, but to go looking for information they specifically wish for us not to know? Even you must admit that's going too far.”
“Not in this case,” Celestia snapped, narrowing her eyes at the house. “Everything will be alright once Twilight is brought back to us. Tonight when Rainbow Dash sleeps, observe her dreams, see what troubles her. Let me know what you find.”
Luna bowed her head slightly. “Of course, sister.” She jumped up into the air, spreading her wings and starting to fly away before looking back over her shoulder. “Keep me updated.”
“You'll be informed if we get any leads.”
Rainbow Dash paced the wooden floor of Golden Oaks Library with a frantic intensity, her head hung low and eyes focused on the ground. The sharp clicking of her hooves echoed around the spacious interior. It was strange; she'd never noticed an echo before, especially in Twilight's bedroom.
She glanced up, looking over to the desk, a piece of paper sat atop it with a fresh pot of ink and a quill beside. The sun streamed in through the window, shining wetly on the words scrawled out in the best writing Rainbow could manage. It had to be as good as she could get it considering who the intended recipient was.
There was a sharp click from the first sound of the library, followed by the sound of the front door opening. “Rainbow?” Spike's voice called. “Are you here?”
Rainbow, lost in thought behind her pacing, failed to hear the dragon as he climbed the stairs and let himself in to the room. “Rainbow?” He asked as he saw her. “What's going on?”
The closeness of the voice snapped her out of her mind, and she shook her head forcefully. “Huh? Spike?”
The dragon frowned. “Are you alright? I haven't seen anypony pace like that except Twilight.”
“Guess she's rubbing off on me...” Rainbow muttered, finally stopping and turning to face Spike before noticing the desk out of the corner of her eye. Spike followed her eyes and saw the same desk with the letter sitting on top.
“What's that?” He asked, already walking over.
Rainbow leaped forward, putting herself between Spike and the desk. “N-nothing! It's nothing!”
Levelling a glare at the pegasus before him Spike slipped easily between her hooves, running across the to the desk before Rainbow could so much as turn around. The letter was snatched into his claws and he quickly began reading. Slowly, his jaw fell slack, and eventually the letter fell tot he floor as he stared up at the mare before him, looking at the floor and rubbing her shoulder.
“Rainbow...” Spike bent down and picked up the letter, reading it over again, then again. He still couldn't believe it. “This... this is a letter of resignation.”
“S-so?”
Spike shook his head incredulously. “So? Rainbow, this is a letter of resignation! You're planning to quit the Wonderbolts!?”
“What of it?” Rainbow snapped, stomping her hoof on the ground. “It's my choice, and none of your business, so butt out.”
The dragon scrunched the letter in his clenching claw. “None of my business? You're my friend, Rainbow: I care when you're throwing your dream away, when you're throwing away everything you worked for, everything Twilight helped you work for! What do you think she'd say if she knew you were doing this after all she did to help you get back on the team?”
“I'm doing this for her!” Rainbow yelled, clenching her eyes shut as bitter tears threatened to fall. Her heart thundered in her ears.
Spike frowned. “What do you mean you're doing this for her?”
Rainbow glanced out the window nervously at the ponies walking by the sparsely populated street outside. In the air pegasi could be seen flying lazily across the bright blue backdrop. “You wouldn't understand...” she muttered, snatching the letter from his grasp and turning away. “It's my choice. I have to do this.”
“Talk to me, Rainbow. Is this because of Twilight? We'll find her, you know that right? We have both the Princesses on our side and the entire royal guard.”
“And what if we don't!?”
Spike reeled back and the force of Rainbow's shout, his eyes wide as she continued; “What if even with the Princesses and the guard and everypony, what if we can't find her? What then? Am I just supposed to go back on tour like nothing happened? Am I supposed to just forget about her?
“I... I can't do that, Spike. I can't just leave her while I go back to living my dream. I won't do that, not until she's found. If it means I resign from the Wonderbolts, then fine; I resign from the Wonderbolts.”
Walking over, Spike placed a delicate claw against the pegasus' foreleg as she sank back to her flanks. “You don't have to quit though; I'm sure Spitfire would understand if you told her what was going on. She'd give you all the time off you need.”
“If she says no?” Rainbow asked weakly. “I won't abandon my team like that... but I can't go back to them while Twilight's still missing. If I resign, they'll be able to replace me and I can focus on finding Twilight.”
Spike sighed, shaking his head. “Don't do it, Rainbow. Twilight wouldn't want you to either. Just give the Princesses some time; they'll find her. Celestia and Luna... they've never failed us before, have they?”
Suddenly, Rainbow's eyes grew wide and her head snapped up. “Luna... of course!”
“Luna?”
“Princess Luna! Spike it's perfect; how many ponies even know about her-” Rainbow cut herself off, slapping a hoof over her mouth and looking out the window.
Spike crossed his arms. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing... nothing...” Rainbow trailed off, glancing to the letter in her hooves. She put it back on the desk, smoothing it out before turning and crossing the room. “I just have to go to sleep and everything will be fine.”
“Sleep? It's just a little after noon. What's going on?”
Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively at him. “Don't worry about it. I'm gonna go have a nap. Last night took a lot out of me, flying all the way out there and back again.”
“Rainbow? Rainbow Dash!?” Spike scratched the back of his head. “What do you want me to do with your letter?”
Rainbow glanced over her shoulder. “Just... leave it for now. I'll... I'll think about sending it when I wake up.”
“Aright... have a good nap... I guess...”
“Oh trust me, Spike,” Rainbow mumbled, “I will.”
Princess Luna of the Night floated in an endless sea of blackness. Her mane flowed in the same ethereal wind as always, waving like an ocean of stars. A deep frown creased her lips as a small point of light illuminated before her, tinted a light shade of blue around the edges.
She opened her eyes, coming back to reality in her bedchambers in Canterlot castle. “I do not approve of this, sister.”
Celestia, muzzle buried in a book resting atop a large pillow, glanced up. “I did not ask if you approved of it.”
“This isn't right, Celestia. What would Rainbow Dash possibly be hiding from us? What reasons could she have? You know of their relationship.”
Sighing, Celestia allowed her book to drop to the floor as she gave her sister her full attention. “I don't know, which is exactly why you need to do this. Please, Luna; we need to do everything in our power to track down Twilight.”
Luna hesitated, before nodding slowly. “Fine. But let it be known that I objected to this.” With that, she closed her eyes and once again allowed herself to be sucked into the dream-`scape, where the small dot of light had become about the size of a door. With a simple beckoning of her hoof the light drew closer, and the white light faded into an image of a cyan pegasus with a Rainbow mane sitting in pitch darkness, a spotlight hanging down on her.
Rainbow's chest heaved slightly, as though she were out of breath, as the spotlight intensified on her. Suddenly, all around her in the darkness, giant eyes opened, their crimson irises watching her every move. The mare in the centre, shrank back from them, before going into a full out gallop, running blindly into the darkness even as the spotlight followed her.
“No!” She screamed, shutting her eyes. A voice rang in the darkness, laughing haughtily.
“We see all,” it hissed, echoing around the emptiness. “Do you want your precious Twilight back or not?”
Rainbow's gallop came to a halt as she tripped over her own hooves, landing atop another eye staring at her. She reeled back as all the eyes around her started closing in, the spotlight growing brighter.
Finally, Luna could take no more as she stepped through the portal, lighting her horn in a bright white glow. Under her intense light the eyes burned away light shadows before the rising sun. Nothing but Rainbow Dash remained in the dream, cowering behind her forehooves and shaking lightly.
“Rainbow Dash,” Luna called gently, placing a hoof on the mare's foreleg.
“No!” Rainbow screamed, scooting back several metres before finally looking past her hooves. “L-luna?”
Luna nodded, coming over and sitting down next to the pegasus, still shaking lightly. “What ails you, my subject?”
Rainbow shook her head firmly. “T-this is a dream! You... you came! Listen, I need tot ell you something-”
Raising a hoof, Luna silently asked for a chance to speak. She cleared her throat gently. “I must speak with you as well, Rainbow Dash. My sister feel as though you are hiding important evidence from our investigation, and has asked me to watch your dreams for any signs she is correct. Tell me; is she correct?”
“Well...” Rainbow shifted awkwardly... hanging her head. “Yes... she is.”
Luna sighed quietly. “What have you hidden from us?”
Taking a breath, Rainbow steadied her voice and started; “When I went to the house Twilight was teleported to, it... wasn't empty. Neon Lightning was there, waiting for me. She's the one who had Twilight's necklace.”
“I take it she is also the owner of the red feather we found?”
Rainbow nodded, chuckling ruefully. “Yeah... she kept talking 'bout Twilight and... I kinda jumped her. Gave her a good few punches 'fore she stopped me.”
“I can't say she doesn't deserve it,” Luna noted. “But why did you lie and say she wasn't there?”
“She... she has Twilight, and she told me that if I told anypony about her being there she'd.... she said I'd never see Twilight again...” Rainbow clenched her eyes shut as she took a few shuddering breaths. “She said she had ponies on the inside, watching us. It's how she knew I was going to be at the house that night.”
Luna nodded understandingly. “I take it that's why you wished to speak with me in a dream?”
“Yeah!” Rainbow smiled, nodding. “I mean, how many ponies even know about your whole dream-walking thing, or could know what I said to you while asleep? It's perfect!”
“I admit, Rainbow Dash; you are smarter than I originally gave you credit for-”
“Hey!”
“But now that we have that sorted out,” Luna continued ignoring Rainbow's indignant outburst. “What do you need to tell me?”
Rainbow's eyebrows slanted in a glare, but she continued anyway; “Neon wanted me to resign from the Wonderbolts before the end of the week.”
“So my sister was right when she said these ponies are still targeting you. I shall inform Celestia straight away, and-”
“No!” Rainbow shouted. “You can't; what if they hear you? They'll know I told and they'll... they'll do something to Twilight.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “If there were somepony listening it, not only would Celestia and I notice, but they'd also know I could come talk to you in your dreams. Trust me; nopony would know if I told my sister.”
“But...” the pegasus shifted. “I don't want her to know I lied...” she whispered hanging her head.
“I assure you, Rainbow Dash; Celestia will be very understanding.”
Rainbow refused to make eye contact, staring at the ground. “Please? You can tell her once we get Twilight back, if you want. But please...”
Sighing, Luna placed a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. “If you don't want me to, I won't. It's not imperative she know immediately. But she will find out sooner or later.”
“I know...” Rainbow trailed off for moment, before shaking her head. “Thank you. But what are you going to do about Neon? She said if I don't quit the Wonderbolts by the end of the week”
Luna raised her hoof, motioning for silence. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a moment before nodding. “These ponies have shown themselves to be quite resourceful, going so far as to fake the Glass Statue curse. Very well. I shall speak directly to Spitfire in her dreams and inform her of the situation. She'll arrange it so the papers hear that you've resigned. However, in order to prevent suspicion, you must still send the letter. When you wake up, send it straight away. I shall speak with Spitfire tonight, and with any luck the story will be in the paper's tomorrow. From there we'll wait until Neon Lightning contacts you.”
“Awesome!” Rainbow cheered, starting to stand up until a midnight blue hoof caught her shoulder.
“Remember,” Luna warned, “you have to make this believable. If they really are watching you, you can't give any clues that you're not actually resigning.”
Rainbow nodded. “Of course. I already have the letter written out, and Spike thinks I'm serious about it. As long as I can keep the girls from asking too many question, this should work.”
“Very well. Good luck, Rainbow Dash; I shall contact you later through your dreams.”
Luna faded from the black void as she opened her eyes, once again reappearing next to Celestia.
“Well?” The Sun Princess asked expectantly.
“I do not believe Rainbow Dash is hiding anything from us,” Luna said, shrugging her shoulders. “If she is, she isn't thinking about it subconsciously like most ponies would.”
Celestia narrowed her eyes. “Are you hiding something from me, sister?”
“I don't know what you're talking about, Celestia. I merely did as you wished; if you don't like my findings, don't ask me to look.”
Keeping up her hardened gaze for a few more moments, Celestia eventually relaxed with a sigh. “Very well, then we're back to square one. Hopefully the guards can find something in that shack.”
“Yes... hopefully.”
“Spike!” Rainbow bolted upright, a blanket flying off her as she took stock of her surroundings. Back in the library's mane room, still on the couch with a pillow.
The dragon came rushing down the stairs. “What? What's wrong?”
Rainbow coughed into her hoof, Remembering Luna's warning. She sighed wearily, getting up off the couch slowly. “Go get me the letter.”
“Rainbow-”
“Now, Spike!” She snapped, wincing at her own tone. “Please. Go get the letter.”
Spike hesitated, but eventually left the room, returning moments later with the parchment in hand. He held it out for Rainbow to take. “Don't do this, Rainbow. Think of what Twilight would say if she knew you were resigning.”
“I told you already; I'm doing this for her,” Rainbow grumbled, grabbing the letter and running over to a desk. Quickly wetting a quill she scrawled her signature across the bottom, blowing on it to dry it faster before folding the letter and stuffing it in an envelope, which she quickly wrote the adres on.
Shifting awkwardly in the background, Spike watched with a frown as Rainbow sealed the letter and turned, holding it out. “Go mail this for me,” she said simply.
“Rainbow, I really don't-”
“Just do it!”
Spike held up his arms. “Alright, alright. I'll mail it.”
Rainbow sighed. “I'm sorry, Spike, but I have to do this. Just make sure it gets sent, alright?”
Nodding, the dragon to it and headed for the door, tossing one last forlorn last look over his shoulder before walking out of the library. He made his way quickly down the street, turning the corner and stopping outside the post office. Looking down at the letter is his grasp, then back up to the building.
“I”m sorry, rainbow.” He clenched his fist, crumpling the paper. Turning away, he headed towards Carousel Boutique.
“You'll thank me for this later.”
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honestly, it's times like this where trust and friendship are more important than ever. and yet here they are, keeping secrets and saying it's all going to be worth it in the end. it never is. trust is broken, feelings are hurt, and scars are left behind.
If you honestly believe that your position is about to become (or worse, already is) an active combat zone, NEVER, under any condition, salute your officers. It takes time away from the operation and provides an ample distraction to prevent you from reaching a state of military readiness in the event of an ambush. The other errors have already been pointed out, so I don't see much purpose in doing so again. This thing with Spike should be interesting, though...
5810253
Funny story, that. I actually did edit that out originally for that exact reason. Except I uploaded the wrong version of the chapter, hence the reason the chapter title was still marked as "???" at the beginning. I've fixed it now. No big changes, but a couple edits. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
5811705 I live to serve.
5808925 But when the enemy is within, revealing secrets might ruim your chances.
RD should have delivered the letter herself, though. Well... Hope Twilight doesn't die for Spike's mistake.
oh spike you fucking idiot
No matter how long it takes I will continue to fangirl about this fic. <3 I can imagine a thousand ways of how it will all go down and I still get excited when you release a new chapter. You are totally one of my top five favorite authors on this site. Take your time though, I am very patient and my imagination can keep me from depression. Haha.
SPIKE, YOU FREAKING IDIOT! WHY WOULD YOU THINK RAINBOW WOULD JUST QUIT THE WONDERBOLTS?! ARE YOU THAT DUMB!
Sorry... I just don't know what came over me...
I'm really looking forward to Chapter 7. I want to know what happens. I've got a feeling...
...but I won't say anything incase I'm wrong or right. Don't want to accidentally spoil the story for others.
Chapter 7 almost done?
6086837
Read this.
6087303 I JUST REALIZED.
YOU'RE NEON! :O
Godammit, Spike.
Rainbow should've done it herself!
Blu. This please update asap
I'm not going to rush or anything. I just want to say when you do update this story, it'll be well worth it. It's a great story with some mysteries that makes you want to read more. I look forward to seeing the next chapter and great job with the story