Where the Clouds Move By Their Own Accord

by Church

Rattlers

Be still, my beating heart.

tick... tick... tick...

If you were to ask me how Canterlot treated the lower class back in my day, I’d have half a mind to score your face with a rusted, white-hot screwdriver. Believe me when I say there is no exaggeration there. Because, back in my day, the lower class was dirt. No, we were less than dirt. We were particles of dust floating gently in the breeze. The kind that, if inhaled by the aristocratic denizens of the wretched place, would promptly will them to contract the boldest of colds. We were frivolous pieces of outdated furniture, pathetic and insignificant, a complete eye-sore. We were a waste of money, space, and time. We scrounged around for our means of survival by digging through trash bins and lapping up the remains of an unfinished dinner plate.

We were jested, bested, and laughed at.

We were noponies.

We were secluded.

-anyway-

Over the course of just a few months of living in Canterlot, I had already grown entirely bitter over the resentment we received just for being who we are. There were only a few of us: sewage maintenance workers, window cleaners, royal maids et cetera, but we could never catch a break. We weren’t allowed in at social events. Hell, we were so poor we couldn’t buy an article of clothing necessary to attend such a gathering anyway. Those who had families found it painfully difficult to keep them afloat. They worked all day and all night. They tired themselves out for their respective families, each and every one of them eroding themselves down to a hollow husk, a shallow and intrinsic shell of skin and flesh. What would they come home with? Bread crumbs, a button or two, a foul stench polluting the air. It was unfair.

What kind of thought spawned inside of me to come here?

Oh, forgive me, I had almost downright forgotten.

I barely knew anypony when I lived in Canterlot. Most of the ponies, or at least the ones that I could converse with, were zombie-like in nature, and they wandered Canterlot performing the various tasks they were forced to do. I did, however, befriend one down to earth family of four while I was there. They were a cast of writers... the lowest of the low. I worked as a hoof-shiner, for my original position of craftsman was much too overwhelming of a position to take in this town. I made next to nothing. They did as well. They were my neighbors, and the closest thing that I could call a friend.

My shoe shining business took a hit one day (not that it hadn’t taken hits already) when somepony set the shop ablaze for sheer kicks and giggles. We stopped the fire from spreading to the other’s houses, almost miraculously, as the housing was conjoined. We put it out with some buckets of water and the only blankets that we had. By the end of it, we were out of water, and the blankets had crumbled to ashes, but the fire was out. Only problem now was, I was out as well.

My neighbors took me in after that in the kindest gesture that I have ever witnessed in all of my years. They were already struggling to get by, and they couldn’t stand to witness another suffer. I was genuinely touched. I vowed that I would do all that I could to provide. But now, I couldn’t. I no longer had any equipment, nor the money to buy any. My only chance was to take up the “family” business... I had to become a writer, just like my determined neighbors.

But... I couldn’t do that...

You see...

I was illiterate.

Starting from the bottom up is never easy. It was disheartening to realize that their youngest foal was far superior in her studies than I was. She read off words with the ease of a flowing brook filled with a pristine display of floating daisies. I spewed nonsense out of my mouth as if I were a garbage disposal with a fork jammed down its throat. That didn’t stop them from trying to teach me. I felt embarrassed. I grew flush every time that I couldn’t figure out a word, and then came to discover that it was something so simple like “trade” or “weather”.

But they never stopped.

And I was getting better.

I had to. It was my duty to.

Because writing was going to be a helluva lot harder.

From what I understand, I’d say our two mares were in a bit of a bind at the current part in the story. If you think things can get worse... they will.

o----o

“Get us out of here, Twilight!” Dash chided to the purple unicorn, who was visibly shaking and undoubtedly overcome with fear. Things had gone wrong. Twi didn’t know how, but they did. Now, she had told Dash earlier that the letter could have been from anyone. True, it could have. It could have been from deviants or thugs. It could have been from monsters or gremlins. But oh hell, it could have just as easily been from Pinkie Pie. Did she actually believe what she had told Dash in the library? No, she truly didn’t.

Turns out she was wrong.

“Twilight!” Dash repeated.

“I-I can’t, Rainbow,” Twilight squeaked out. She was frozen. She looked like a sack of potatoes, like absolute dead weight.

Dashie had about enough foaling around, “What do you mean you can’t!?”

Twilight only looked to the dry earth surrounding her hooves, “I... I don’t kn-know. Something’s jamming me, Rainbow. I c-can’t use my magic.”

“Twilight, you have to-”

“‘Nuff talkin’!” the colt with the ocean blue eyes cut in. His smile had since distorted itself to a grotesque smirk. “Now, lemme make this real simple on ya,” He pointed to Dashie’s saddlebag, “either ya give us the ruby in the pack, and don’t go makin’ it seem like ya don’t got it, or we read n’ article ‘bout two poor mares in the paper tamorrow. Ya understand?”

Oh, they understood. They understood all too well.

Dashie was a mess. She had ripped her, but more importantly Twilight’s, world asunder, tearing it from its tranquility and barbarously tossing it into the wild. The blame rested solely on her hooves, and she had gotten a dear friend into a lot of trouble for it.

“Why are you doing this to us?” Dashie asked, attempting to appear completely calm.

“What’s this? Twenty queshuns?” the blue-eyed colt responded harshly. You know, just for future reference, let’s call him Blue. “Nah, ya don’t understand then. Ya answer ta me, not the other way ‘round.” Blue struck his hoof into the ground at his impatience, “Now, what’ll it be then, ladies?”

Dashie wasn’t so frightened now. She felt a pit of fire boiling down inside of her, which made her impulsive, “No, YOU don’t understand! Or we don’t! Look, I don’t know! All we want to know is, why us!?” Dashie’s anger subsided as she reconsidered how dire the situation was. “Why the letters? How did you know about the ruby?”

Blue tilted his head to the searing hot sky and huffed a breath of frustration, “Pardon my french, ladies, but WHAT ‘N THE HOOF ‘ER YA TALKIN’ ‘BOUT?” he hollered, ticked at the two mares disobedience. Biding for time wasn’t going to work anymore. “I saw the gem in yer bag back at the Inn! What’s this ‘bout letters?”

Twilight and Dashie glanced at each other for a brief moment. They didn’t write the letter? They didn’t know about the ruby?

Blue continued his rampage. His own minions were slightly concerned for him now. “Ferget it! I don’t care! Now, listen ‘ere! That gem ya got thar is mighty valyable. Only time I ever saw one was at a rich folk aucshun. They don’t juss pop up outta nowhere now, not since the Ruby Rush.” Blue paused, trying to catch his breath, “Look now. It’s obvious ya don’t own that thar gem, so its only right ya give it back to its rightly owners.” He attempted to urge forth a smile.

“Rightly owners?” Dash persisted, finding that fire again, “You guys aren’t the rightly owners! We don’t know who- er... whatever...” Dash trailed off, realizing that that sentence wasn’t going to turn out the way she hoped.

Blue didn’t argue the other way. He fell into a dead silence, one that prodded at the two mares brains and left them spinning. A subtle breeze picked up, sweeping across the ground, blowing under the legs of everypony in the circle.

“Thinkin’ ‘bout flyin’, Dash?” Blue stated simply, rupturing the air. It was the most haunting voice Dash had ever heard. “I wouldn’t. Won’t make it too far.” Blue lifted a hoof to his chest and scratched at his coat. He stole a quick glance around at all of his companions. “Boys...” Blue muttered. His voice sounded as if it were emanating from the depths of an icy cave, “Git ‘em.”

Twilight cringed. Her eyes went wide with outright fear. Dashie planted her hoof down in front of Twilight. She had gotten her into this mess, she was going to get her out.

Even if she had to die trying.

The Rattlers closed in on the mares slowly, as if enticing them to let their guard down. They thought that this was easy pickings. Two mares? This was better than stealing candy from a baby. Mares had the capacity for their dreams to wither away and die. The weird thing was, The Rattlers didn’t know what they were getting into. Dash and Twilight hadn’t abandoned hope. Dash would fight. Twilight still attempted to conjure forth a spell.

Blue watched his group close in, as if disinterested in the entire matter. “Last chance, gals,” he said over top of their heads. Dash merely responded by taking a swipe at the dirt with her hoof. Twilight stood behind her, grimacing.

“All right...” Blue said, turning away from the situation.

Suddenly, and to Dashie’s complete surprise, the gem magically danced its way out of her pack. It slithered out into the air, dangling in front of Dash. She swiped at it, trying to gather it back in, trying to will it back to her. It didn’t come back. Instead, it just floated out in the open air.

Blue looked just as shocked, “What’s goin’ on? Why didn’t ya guys tell me ya cud do that?” he queried.

“It ain’t us,” one of the Rattlers answered, staring at the ruby hovering in the center of the circle. They had halted their approach to gawk at the wondrous gem glittering in the midday sunshine.

Blue furrowed his brow, “Well, the purple one! I thought ya were suppressin’ her magic!?”

“We are!” came the answer, “It ain’t her neither!”

Everypony stood in awe as the gem hovered in the middle of the circle. Dash thought about it. It lived. It thrived. This gem truly did have a mind of its own.

In a sudden flash of intense light, the gem in the middle burst out with an energy that made the sunlight want to crawl away with its tail between its legs. Everypony closed their eyelids tightly, a white spark of energy singing their eyes. They reared back on their hind legs. They whinnied and shouted in an incoherent montage of words.

The ruby, still burning with the crazy amount of light, suddenly fishtailed in the air and sped off like a rocket straight at one of the Rattler henchmen. It clonked down on his muzzle, knocking him clean out. He, literally, had no idea what hit him.

Dash and Twilight flattened themselves into the rock, shying away from the blinding display of surging energy. Something whistled its way into Dashie’s ear, like the subtle wind of a springtime engagement with her best friends. It was a voice, soothing and calm in a time of despair. It was a voice that was not her own.

“Run.” it said.

Dash blindly grabbed for Twilight Sparkle, feeling around until her hooves came to rest on her feathery coat. Dash crudely wrapped her forelegs around the disoriented unicorn and proceeded to usher her away from the scene, completely on the notion of a voice in her head. She bolted off to her right, convinced that something beyond her own power was occurring, and that she should just follow the lead.

“Where are they!” Blue shouted into the air, fiercely rubbing at his eyes, “Find ‘em!”

Dash and Twilight spiraled away from the group, blindly heading out farther into the badlands. Dash attempted to open her eyes, which seemed to have been welded together, the light still occupying her vision. Twilight hung limply in her grasp, as it was Dashie’s turn to drag her around.

The Rattlers were scrambling back to their senses. The light from the gem had since dissipated, but the lingering effects could still be felt. They wobbled to their hooves. They pried open their aching eyes and bruised egos. Everything was a blurry view of fractions of shapes and shadows.

“That way! That way!” one of the Rattlers shouted, catching the outline of his fallen comrade heaped in the dirt. He pointed off in the direction that Dash and Twilight had went.

The others took a moment to adjust their eyes to fully see the direction in which the colt was pointing. When they finally did, they noticed their unconscious friend collapsed on the ground, and the ruby missing. They turned off in that direction, and a blue and purple speck could be seen barreling off into the distance, straight toward another rock formation.

Blue stressed his anger to its full potential, yanking one of the Rattlers to him by its ear, and then swiftly kicking the poor soul hard in the side. “Git ‘em ya bastards! They got the ruby! The hoof ya still doin’ ‘ere!?”

There’s encouragement for you.

The four pegasi Rattlers streamed into the air, bulleting off at a wicked pace. The five unicorns and Blue himself galloped off after them. Rainbow Dash had a good head start, but she was carrying a disclosed (Twilight was sentimental about the subject) amount of weight in her hooves.

It was hot. It was dry. There was a lot of physical effort exerted by Dashie in her venture to get Twilight out of here. Twilight was still a bit dazed by the light, she feared she may have lost her vision. She felt helpless in Dash’s arms. Dash willed herself to go faster. She was dog-tired already, the stale air and Twilight’s weight on top of that was draining her. The determination it took to accomplish this feat was mind-boggling. The element of loyalty could forever be epitomized by this moment, by the determination to survive. It would not be determination enough.

Dash looked back over her shoulder, back to the Rattlers giving chase. They were screaming through the air, gaining in on them in drastic fashion with each wingbeat. Dash wasn’t going fast enough. They needed a place to hide. Where could you find one of those out here?The area was wide open, spotting the two would be foal’s play. Besides, they were in plain view anyway, hiding was out of the picture. The situation looked bleak.

Rainbow Dash suddenly had a brilliant idea.

“Twilight! Can you use your magic yet?” Dash asked.

Twilight’s fuzzy vision was making her slightly delirious, but she noticed that she was able to use her magic, “Yes... I think so, but I can’t see, so I don’t know where to teleport to-”

“No, no, not that,” Dashie cut in. She drifted lower to the ground. “I need you to start making the wind blow.”

“What are you talking about- WAAUU!” Twilight shrieked as her hooves began to scrape across the dry earth. She was kicking up particles of dust in her wake.

Twilight knew what Dash wanted.

This was ingenius.

“I got it!”

Without hesitation, Twilight focused all of her energy into making the wind blow right into their faces. The gradual cloud of dirt that she was kicking up was turning into a whirlwind of dust behind them. It rose up high into the air, cloaking them to a certain extent.

The Rattlers formed quizzical expressions on their faces as they bore witness to the coming storm of dust.

“What the-?” one of the Rattlers coughed out as he inhaled a good amount of the wall.

“Use your wings! Flap it outta here!” another one proclaimed, unable to see his companions through the haze. They all began to beat their wings ferociously.

Dash looked behind her again. A wall of dirt was streaking behind them.

“We need more!” Dash exclaimed.

Twilight put more energy into it. Dashie started to swerve in a zig-zag across the ground, producing a literal veil of dust rising into the air. It was working.

“It’s working!”

What she said.

Dashie and Twilight raced for the rock formation that was in their sights. They were now losing the Rattlers with each of Dashie's wingbeats. Dash smiled.

The Rattlers were behind, choking on a cloud of dust. They had their eyes shut tight as they parted through the storm. One of them had a brilliant idea of his own. Odd for someone of his brain capacity. He went straight up.

“I think that we’re losing them!” Dashie yelled to Twilight, greatly excited that her idea was working. The poor mare was incredibly devoid of energy, but she kept going.

“Yeah? Well I hope it’s worth my hooves getting trashed!” Twilight proclaimed. Her eyes still had not fully adjusted and her hooves began to burn with a blaring red sore.

Hell, I’ll admit it, I was impressed that they continued on, and I had championed that subject.

Dash glanced back over her shoulder another time. The only thing that she saw was a bowl of dust.

“I can lift you now!” Dash wailed to Twilight. She groaned as she started to lift the purple unicorn from off of the ground, giving her hooves a rest.

Dashie and Twilight were closing in on the next rock formation now. It was so close, Dashie just wanted to reach out and touch it. They still needed a place to hide in it though. Dashie scanned the rock, looking for the most logical, rather illogical, place to hunker down. They had to be discrete, they had to be unpredictable. This was going to be difficult in such an obvious location.

“Where to go, where to go-”

“GOTCHA!” came a voice careening out of the sky.

The Rattler dive-bombed out of the air, and he fell into a tangled heap of worn, sweaty bodies. They kicked and thrashed around on the ground, only until the colt had them pinned them down. He was too powerful. They weren’t going anywhere.

“Help! Help guys! I got ‘em! I got ‘em!” The Rattler claimed, enthusiastically battering his hooves down into the ground to get a proper hold on his catch. He proudly wore his smile that stretched from there to Las Pegasus.

“Get offa me! Get offa me ya featherbrained ninny!” his prey croaked back at him. They still fought with vicious ferocity.

Wait... that didn’t sound like them.

The Rattler looked down, only to find his prey to be a couple of his pegasus comrades. They glared back at him coldly, unamused with this joke in this serious of a predicament.

The dive-bomber brought his hooves to his face, staring at them in utter shock. They were right there! He swore that they were right there!

“Wow! I didn’t think that I could make someone else teleport!” Twilight exclaimed, sort of giddy in a sense. She had heard the voice and immediately casted the spell, but it only sent the Rattler flying, not themselves.

Dash only smirked at Twilight’s revelation.

Dashie sped off ahead, the rock drawing ever nearer, its massive presence now made fully aware. Dash scanned it over quickly. They needed something now-

now-

now.

Dash spotted it.

They could hide in the brush surrounding the rock until Twilight recovered.

Perfect.

Dash lowered her head, stream-lining straight for a spot in the brush.

Dash grunted.

Twilight screamed.

They darted right in.

They were concealed in the brush.

“Where are they!” Blue hollered to his group, having caught up to them after several minutes, “How could ya ‘of lost ‘em n’ the middle of a HOOFIN’ DESERT!?”

The rest of the Rattlers searched the rock that Dash and Twilight had disappeared into. This was uncanny. They had literally just vanished altogether.

Blue trembled with seizure-like shivers. He had never lost. Not once in his life. This was the first time something had gone amiss. Not the first time somepony ran, or hid, or fought. No, this was the first time that it hadn’t been controlled.

“Dammit!” Blue hollered, kicking a part of the brush that he was searching through, “They musta teleported!” Blue planted his hooves into the dirt as if he were stomping on everypony’s hopes and dreams.

“You!” Blue continued, pointing to two of his henchmen. He had gone completely mad, his entire visage screamed disarray, “You were the two that I’d sent ta follow ‘em, right?”

The two colts that he was pointing at nodded distantly.

“Good!” Blue warbled, “Do ya rememba where they went fer the shovels?”

The two colts nodded again.

“Well,” Blue said, eyeing them like a frantic lunatic, “how ‘bout ya pay a visit back and see if they’ll be stayin’ fer the night?”

Dash rubbed at her head, as it hurt rather badly from slinging into the brush. They had taken a serious tumble for only splashing into the shallow grasses. Dashie opened her eyes, simultaneously swishing her hoof around in her search for Twilight Sparkle.

Everything was black.

Her worst fear had become realized.

She was blind.

(Definitely wasn’t her worst fear, but it went hoof in hoof with losing her wings.)

Dash listened for any rustling around before acknowledging that the coast was clear. “Twilight,” she whispered, feeling around for the purple unicorn, “Twilight?”

Dash’s mind was wrecked. She was broken inside. Losing her sight? Her life could very well just end now. Only it couldn't, for she had a job to do. She couldn’t see, yet, all she could think about was Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle was put ahead of herself in her mind.

What a completely selfless gesture from the boastful blue pegasus.

“Twilight?”

Suddenly, a faint purple light flickered on in the darkness. Dashie thought that she was seeing things float through her vision, until Twilight’s features became clearly illuminated under the glow. Twilight was smiling for some odd reason.

Dashie wasn’t blind. She was only surrounded by darkness.

What the hay?

Dash looked at Twilight, her foalish grin pleasantly displayed on her face. It was apparent that she could see properly now, as she scanned Dashie’s features onceover, making sure Dash had come out unscathed. Her smile never disappeared from her face.

Why was Twilight acting all... weird?

“Twilight, what’s going on?” Dash asked nervously, suddenly aware of her surroundings. They were not hiding in the brush.

“Look in your pack,” Twilight said, still grinning.

Dash glanced down to her pack, where a faint, orange glow could be seen creeping its way out of the corners. The gleam was so miniscule in size that Dash hadn’t noticed it in the darkness beforehoof.

“The ruby...” Dash said, wide-eyed, “how did you-”

“Not me,” Twilight cut in. She lit up the suffocating darkness just a bit, enough to fully illuminate the two bodies standing there.

Dash drew back from the sudden light, “Then who?”

Twilight looked away, pondering over the way things had coalesced. She couldn’t think straight, “I don’t know.”

Dashie’s gaze never parted from Twilight’s strange grin, “What’s so funny?”

Twilight shook her head and rolled her eyes. There was a moment of silence that hung in the air, creating a rift between the two ponies. Dash realized that Twilight’s grin was misleading, as she was not at all happy, she was just unsure of how to properly handle her emotions. And how was she supposed to handle it? They hadn’t had such an encounter with other ponies before, at least not without the entire group involved.

“I gave you one chance, Rainbow...” Twilight said, hanging her head low.

Dash didn’t quite follow, “What’re you talking about?”

Twilight didn’t respond.

Dash didn’t understand. Twilight looked just fine to her. Her hooves were most likely burning with the intensity of the sun, but it didn’t appear to be bothering her. Who knows what was going on in that pony’s mind.

Dash decided to forget about it. There were other mysteries to be solved here.

“Twilight... where are we?” Dash asked, feeling uncomfortable in the silent darkness.

Twilight focused a bit more energy into her horn, enough to brighten their surroundings. The walls were made of solid stone. They were damp and cold to the touch. Twilight’s horn illuminated the stone all the way down a narrow corridor, as they were in some sort of hoof-carved tunnel. The place seemed ancient, it was not freshly hollowed out.

They must have been beneath the rock.

Dashie’s face lit up, overcome with a sure feeling that what they needed was here.

“Twi! It’s here! It’s here! It has to be!” Dash said joyously. She fluttered off down the corridor, scraping her hoof along the stone, “Pass the torch. Pass it! We were supposed to pass it! Gee, woulda saved us a lotta trouble.”

Twilight only nodded and began to trot off after Dash. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was following her, or watching her. The chilled air down there felt like the breath of a spirit slowly making its way down her back. It told her something had been here before... recently, as in only a few years.

o----o

Flashback: five years after the funeral...

Our funeral pony sits in a diner located in an old mining town just off the coast of the ocean. She had taken refuge there ever since she was orphaned by her mother all those years ago, hearing of how breathtaking the town once was. Starswirl the Bearded himself visited this town often back in the day, as it used to be quite beautiful. The town was next to the ocean, and it was surrounded by rolling meadows as far as the eye could see. Any of the imported flowers you would see on the fashion runways used to come from right around here. Many years after Starswirl died, however, a very important mineral was located in the soil. Industry was on the rise, and many of the big-wig owners and CEO’s of those industrial companies flocked to the site to dig up the find. Many of the meadows were ripped to shreds in the process. The almost “sacred” ground of the place was severely desecrated. Only a few of the meadows survive today.

Note: regarding the meadows-

Rainbow Dash has once visited these meadows. She does not know why she visited, or how she got back home.

A gentlecolt waltzes into the diner and sits down next to the funeral pony. They pay each other no mind at first, as the gentlecolt must be visiting from out of town, she had never seen him before. The stranger orders a cup of joe and pulls out the day’s newspaper, skimming through the headlines until something would pique his interest.

They go on like this, ignoring each other, up until the gentlecolt started to glance up from his newspaper from time to time to catch a look at her. She tried to ignore him, colts would look at her all the time. It was sad. Sad, because they would never have a chance with her, and she was almost always well out of their league. Plus, this colt looked to be well into his fifties, and he definitely was not Hugh Hoofner. Creepy.

After staring at her for quite some time, the colt finally decided to speak up.

“I’m sorry, but, do I know you?” he asked, setting his paper down and studying her over.

She sighed. This was how it always started. “Cuz’ if not, I definitely should!”, would more than likely be the next line. What a joke. What an absolute joke.

“Weaver, right? Your name is Weaver?”

Her blood ran cold. It felt like thousands of icicles had suddenly stabbed her heart, sending pangs of icy pain through her body. She hadn’t heard that name in a long while.

The funeral pony, Weaver, turned to the stranger, hoping to be able to make out an identity. She scanned him up and down, but nothing came to mind.

“Ah, I knew it was you! I knew it!” the stranger continued, “Gosh, I haven’t seen you since you were but a blank flank!” The stranger paused, searching for words. “Forgive me, you probably don’t remember me. The name’s Crosswind, and I was a friend of your fathers. We started up a home building business waay back. Wow, its been so long! How is he? How’s the family been coming alo-”

Within seconds, the stranger was on his back, having been rudely tackled to the floor. He yelped as Weaver landed on top of him, sucking the air from his lungs.

“My name is NOT Weaver, you got that?” the mare said. But no matter how much she denied it, it always would be.

Crosswind gasped for air and nodded his head vigorously. Everypony in the diner glanced up to catch sight of the commotion, including the manager.

“Hey! Hey! What’s going on!” the manager hollered, racing over to cease the quarrel, “Stop! Get out of here, you’re not welcome here!”

Weaver paid little attention to the manager’s approaching hoofsteps. She gave Crosswind a deep, provoking stare, one that seemed to blur his vision and leave his mind fluctuating like a defected light bulb. In an instant, he saw everything in that mare’s eyes. The pain, the loss, the tragedy, the hidden guilt and that rain-soaked porch. He saw the past, the present, and the future. Did he really see anything, though? Because all that he could remember after Weaver was yanked from his chest was-

‘You have absolutely no clue, do you?’

“Right, right! I’m leaving!” Weaver said as she basically let the manager push her out the door.

The others helped Crosswind back to his hooves in the diner. Crosswind felt woozy and dazed as he tried to prop himself up on one of the diner’s booth chairs. The manager gave a half-hearted chuckle at Crosswind’s struggle.

“Interesting way to end the day, eh?” the manager snorted, a placid grin forming on his lips. Crosswind only shook his head in his sudden mental delirium.

Weaver trotted back up to her doorstep, trembling slightly from being exposed to the chilly air drifting in from off the ocean. She checked her mailbox, the monotonous routine beginning to make her feel sick, as there had been no mail for years. Not for five years, anyway. She breathed a heavy sigh, her hoof coming to rest on the base of the door. She felt weary. She wanted to shut her eyes and let the world exist in a black nothingness. It could never be that way, though. Weaver nudged the door open with her muzzle, entering into the ramshackle old house she had acquired from a pony intent on getting rid of the damned thing. She had no other options, and had taken it off his hooves.

Weaver closed the door behind her, locking it tight. The musty smell of the old house wafted in through her nostrils, making her sneeze. It was dark and cold. The heater was obsolete, and the only way to light up the din was by candlelight. Weaver crossed the room to the only table that rested in it and struck a match that was lying on the table. She lit the candle that was sitting next to it, making the crooked old boards that made up the walls show their gruesome faces.

Weaver sat down and put her hooves to her face. Why did she continue on like this? What drove her to live? Was it truly the hatred for her father?

She didn’t know anymore.

Weaver eyed her bed through her hooves. it looked unusually soft on this particular grey evening, but she knew that that probably was not the case. Though things may look appealing on the outside, the world had taught her that all things were full of surprises, and normally disappointing ones.

No, what caught her eye this evening was the little brown box that she kept under her bed. She hadn’t taken a peek from that box for a while, she only broke into it when she really needed it. Today was debatable. She was tired, she was hungry, she was cold. That was normally just another day, though. Did she really need to dig it out today?

Weaver stared at the little brown box.

She fought with herself.

Oh hell...

Weaver willed herself to get out of her chair and mope over to the box. She whisked it from its rest, brushing off the cobwebs and dust. She walked back to the table and plopped it down, again settling herself in the chair.

She ripped open the flimsy, cardboard top.

The first letter in the stack read “Dear Child...”

Weaver lifted it and decided to read the rest of it.

Dear Child,

Please stop sending the letters, as your father has grown suspicious of your true identity. I know that this is the only way that we have been able to communicate, and I am truly interested in how you’ve come along, but it is for your safety, and mine. I will continue to write to you in secret, just so you don’t have to go and get all depressed.

That okay with you, missy?

Okay, so, things around here are... well, i can’t say that they’re better. As for the bruise under my eye? Heh, darned thing just won’t go away. Better than broken legs this time, though. Don’t worry about it. I don’t need your pity. I’m your mother for Celestia’s sake, I need to be worried about YOU. I realize that things haven’t been ideal where you live, but don’t you for one second think about coming back here. Your father has been looking for you ever since you left, and believe me when I say he will not be overly excited if you return. I’m trying to keep you safe, Weaver, don’t ruin that. My time will soon be over, but you? You represent all that is good and all the hope in the world. Go forth and do something for yourself. Every moment that you are alive, it torments him.

More letters soon, dear.

I love you with all of my heart.

Until next time.

And that was it.

Weaver hugged herself, the room seemed to grow colder in a matter of minutes. She sucked a tear back up into her tear duct.

“I’m leaving,” she muttered under her breath.

o----o

“Twilight! Look at this! Look at what’s written on the wall!” Rainbow shouted from up ahead in the corridor. Her voice reverberated down the hall, it pricked Twilight’s ears. Twilight mosied on up to the energetic pegasus.

“Look! Look here!” Dash reiterated, pointing at something on the wall.

Twilight looked to the wall, where the scribbled words “Pass the torch” could be seen pressed into the stone. Twilight looked disinterested.

“Din’t I tell ya? Din’t I tell ya?” Dash claimed, poking at Twilight’s side. She started to flutter off down the hall, “Come on! It must be just down this way!”

Twilight sluggishly followed.

Dash rounded a corner at the end of the corridor, where she stumbled upon what appeared to be a small altar. There was a small box placed on the middle of a stone pillar in the center of the room. The box looked very similar to the one Dash had back in the library. This one didn’t have any ashes in it, did it?

It didn’t matter, it was going to be opened regardless.

Dashie’s grin grew wider (if that was possible). Twilight huffed a breath of impatience and proceeded to enter the room. Dash stuck a hoof out to stop her.

“Uh-uh,” Dash said, still heroically standing and facing forward, “reach into your pack and grab me something about the size of an apple.”

“What?” Twilight asked, growing tired of the games.

“Just do it.”

Twilight sighed. She reached into her pack and telekinetically fished out a bag of peanuts, “Here, happy?”

Dash swiped the peanuts out of the air, “Very.”

Rainbow slowly crept into the room, scanning the room with those fuschia iris’. She kept her head on a swivel, as if she suffered from a bad case of paranoia.

“Rainbow, let’s just get the thing and leave, can we?” Twilight said as she watched Dash crawl in a ridiculous fashion across the floor.

“No way, I’ve read all the books, Twilight. Trust me, this is important,” Dash replied, still inching her way to the pillar.

Twilight chuckled a bit, “You’ve read one book.”

“Have not!”

Twi rolled her eyes, “My mistake, a series of books.”

Dash finally slunk up to the pillar, drawing up to where her treasure was held. She licked her chops, preparing to make the old switcharoo, “So?”

“Well, I mean, there’s more than that.”

Dash nearly dropped the peanuts, “There’s more?!”

“Not in the series, I mean, there’s more than just-” Twilight stopped herself. She did not know why she was having this conversation. It seemed frivolous. “Look, would you just pick the thing up already? I really want to go home.”

Dash readied the bag of peanuts in her hooves. She wiped a drop of sweat from off of her forehead, “Done and done.”

Rainbow nimbly swept the box from the pillar and replaced it with the peanuts. It seemed to work, nothing proceeded to shake or tremble.

“Ha! Piece of cake!” Dash proclaimed, admiring her own deed.

Suddenly, the bag of peanuts leaned over the side, and they fell off.

“DUCK AND COVER!”

Dash threw herself into the corner, heeding her own advice by covering her head with her hooves. Twilight looked unamused.

“Dash,” Twilight stated.

“What?”

“Grab the peanuts.”

Dashie pried open an eyelid, coming to discover that the world was not caving in around her.

“Gotcha, I can do that.”

Dash and Twilight made their way back down the corridor, the box in their possession (plus the peanuts). They made their way back to the front and looked up from where they had fallen into. Small rays of light could be seen trying to squeeze their way through the brush where the hole in the rock was.

“Go up and check for the Rattlers, Dash,” Twilight said.

Dash began to clamber up the the side to reach the top, “On it.”

Dashie poked her head out from the hole in the top, looking out from the brush surrounding the rock. It was apparent the Rattlers had left, as she could see no one. That’s not to say that they weren’t waiting. Dashie fully revealed herself by jumping out of the brush. Everything was still.

“Clear,” Dash said to herself.

Dash fluttered up to the top of the rock in order to fully survey the scene. There wasn’t a Rattler in sight.

“All clear.”

Dash descended back down the rock face, back to where she presumed the hole to be. She moved the brush aside, calling out Twilight’s name.

“All right all right, I’m coming,” Twilight said as she emerged a few paces from where Dash had been searching. Dash lifted her head from the brush and walked over to her.

“Okay, everything is A-okay. Where to next?” Dash asked

Twilight shrugged, “Well, we should tell Braeburn that we lost his shovels, there’s a start.”

“Oh yeah,” Dash said. She had forgotten about them. Braeburn wouldn’t be too happy, “Can we open the box there?”

Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash. She thought Dash was being unbelievable, “Rainbow, we need to get out of Appleoosa. I don’t know what you think, but I for one don’t think that we are safe here.”

Dash sighed. She was right. The Rattlers wouldn’t just stop looking for them. They carried something that was too valuable, plus they probably weren’t excited about the getaway.

“Yeah, I know,” Dash replied. Twilight was glad that she saw reason. Dash pawed at the dirt, “Twilight... is it getting dark out?”

Twilight studied the horizon, where the sun was definitely lowering down over it, “Hm... we weren’t in there for that long, were we?”

“I don’t think so.”

Twilight smirked, “Well, definitely not the strangest thing that’s happened today.” She turned back to Rainbow Dash, “We should get going then.”

Dashie returned Twilight’s gaze, “Braeburn’s? Can you teleport us?”

“Yes, but only in spurts,” Twilight responded. She extended a hoof out to Dash, “Take it.”

Dash smiled and slapped a hoof down on Twilight Sparkle’s. They both vanished into thin air.

The pair trotted back into Appleoosa, restlessly carrying on. They kept an eye out for Rattlers or really anything else that would hold interest in wielding the box. They stuck to the backroads, keeping to the shadows as the night sky descended upon them. Luna’s gorgeous night was becoming a familiar sight for them recently. They alone probably could have ended her torment all those years ago.

Braeburn’s house wasn’t too far away. He had moved to the outskirts of town in order to dissociate himself with the chaos that was inner city Appleoosa. Nopony could really blame him. The tourists there were really quite a nuisance. In any sense, Twilight and Dashie weren’t too far away.

“All right,” Dashie said as they traversed down the street, “what’s our excuse to Braeburn?”

Twilight sighed, “Excuse? Rainbow, we need to tell him the truth. This was far too dangerous of a situation, what don’t you get about that?”

“Oh, c’mon, we could have handled it...”

Twilight was fed up with Dash now. They could see Braeburn’s house but a hundred yards away, but she wouldn’t make it there to scold Dash in privacy, “Handled it? Handled it? Dash, what if we didn’t handle it? We could be dead, deceased, gone with the wind! Murdered, Dash, murdered. What don’t you understand?”

“Well, I, uh...”

“That was rhetorical. You don’t understand. Why are we doing this? For what cause? None. Absolutely none. Give it up, Dash.”

Dashie had never seen Twilight this way. The glare in her eyes was sinister and deadly, like needles picking at your sides. Dashie fell completely silent.

Twilight stepped up to Braeburn’s front door, raising a hoof to knock on the door.

“Braeburn! Braeburn, open up, it’s me, Twilight Spark-”

Twilight froze as the door creaked open slightly. It looked like she was staring at nothing, nothing at all. She looked like a block of stone.

Something was way off.

“Twilight... what’s wrong?”

“They’ve been here.”

“Are they still here?”

“No, I can’t see them... c’mon, let’s go in.”

“Geez, the place is a mess! This is bad, this is very bad.”

“Dash, get a hold of yourself, we need to find him.”

“Right, right. Braeburn! Braeburn, we’re back! Oh, please be okay, please be okay.”

“Braeburn!”

“I don’t have a good feeling about this, Twilight.”

“I’m gonna go check the back rooms, you stay here.”

“Braeburn? Oh, please be okay...”

“WAAAAUUUUUGGGHHHH!”

“Twilight!? Twilight! Where are you?”

“Back room, Dash! Back room RIGHT NOW!”

“Did you find him? Did you find-

…

oh sweet Celestia, no, no, no.”

“C-call an ambulance! Get anypony!”

Comments

[Church]

... What have I done?

[Lostzilla]

O god, curse you clifhanger, curse YOUUUUU

[ArcaneTrex]

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
ok...
lets just see whre this goes :)

[bookplayer]

Another great chapter! I love Dash's awesome adventuring skills. And neat trick you did with the formatting there at the end. A great way to buld suspense that would only work for you.

Keep up the good work!

[Church]

726327 YAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGHHHH!! THE AGONY!

726430 Now that that moment of terror is over, I agree. Let's see...

729054 I'm definitely trying to bring Dash back to being... well, Rainbow Dash. And yes, the ending haha, I wrote it about 3/4's way through the chapter cuz' I didn't want to forget it.