Spike Quits His Job and Goes on Numerous Quests

by B_25

50 – “But Shouldn’t We Wait for Rainbow Dash?”

~50~

“But Shouldn’t We Wait for Rainbow Dash?”

The blue dragon faded into the distance past the mountain tops with its newest prey clutched unconsciously against its palm. Its roars were mere whispers now in the ears of the ponies, as their fur no longer suffered the wrath of the wind from each of the dragon’s mighty flap of the wings.

The blinding green light of the sphere suspended over the circle finally popped, exposing the body that had been resting inside of it internally to the blind eyes of those around, until it plummeted past the rails to the far lands that awaited it below.

An uncontrollable shiver courage through Fluttershy’s body as she attempted to stand back on her shaking hooves, and after having done so, using whatever energy she still possessed to climb the steps she had been knocked down by her friend.

“Why.”

The butterscotch hoof almost slid across the patch of pebbles on the next step due to its constant shaking, as fear reared its monstrous face before her petite one. Usually, her best friend would kick this monster away, or at least inspire the hidden courage inside Fluttershy with just her voice alone.

“Why?”

Guilt expanded itself as the biggest bubble amongst the kind mare’s sub-conscious, imbuing itself with all the memories shared with her best friend as well as all the reminders of how much she was in her best friend’s debt. From cracking her out from her shell to start making friends to all those incidents she couldn’t stand up for herself, her best friends was always there to stand up for herself.

“Why!”

The restraints of the bubble of guilt could no longer contain its expanding size as it burst the moment the mare reached the top of the stairs, where her best friend had just stood the moment before. Every particle of the bubble exploded forth and infused their life-sucking power into the surrounding bubbles, tainting them all with the sorrow that forced its consciousness itself to take notice and take action.

“Fluttershy!” Applejack yelled to her friend from far away, crossing the distance between them in a few seconds. “Are you okay?”

There wasn’t a response from the mare in question as she continuously gazed to the mountain peaks that caught the last glance of the dragon, before turning her head to the sound of the new voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t quite hear what you said?

“I said are you okay!?” Applejack’s tried to soften her voice during the shout, fearing just what kind of state the kind mare was in.

Fluttershy tilted her head with a confused expression adorning her face, before allowing a smiled to accommodate her following words. “Of course I’m okay, Applejack.”

Confusion forced the cowpony to slide back up a step as if to properly assess every detail of her friend. “Are you sure about that, Sugarcube? Ya...ya just took quite the fall and saw truly terrible.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy retreated behind her mane to contemplate the previous events. “I knew that I had bumped into one of you girls and fell down a few steps, which was my fault to begin with. But I don’t recall seeing anything scary as of late, besides maybe that fog from before.”

The faint understanding of the situation dawned on the cowpony, who worked instead to be sure of her suspicions. “Ya hit your head or somethin’ when you fell down them steps?”

“Not from what I can recall.”

Finally, Applejack broached the question that she had feared to ask the most, for even the shivers from the event hadn’t subsided from coursing through her body. “Fluttershy, do you know where Rainbow Dash went?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No. I haven’t seen her since she went on ahead.”

Applejack had to suppress the oncoming rage that demanded that this faux ignorance is torn asunder or to slip in the facts of the case in the cracks of her defending consciousness.

“Why?” The kind mare took a step toward her friend, not knowing why she looked so mad all of sudden. “Did something happen to her?”

“Of course somethin’ happened!” Applejack stepped forward in an attempt to break through the knowledge barrier that separated the two. “No matter how far down you might’ve fallen down and hitting your head, there’s no way you didn’t see the claw that wrapped around Rainbow and flew off with her.”

“What!” Fluttershy flew into Applejack’s face in an instant, eyes popping out almost into hers. “Did something like that really happen?”

Sudden apprehension caught Applejack’s throat and forced her to recoil a step. She didn’t know what could be done about the anguish being protected by the shield of ignorance in her friend, as the truth could easily shatter all that was left of her innocence.

“Well, Fluttershy, you see…”

A lavender hoop looped itself around the cowpony neck and brought her head closer to its owner, none other than the expressionless face of Twilight Sparkle. “Applejack was just telling a bad joke, Fluttershy. Which isn’t really her especially, as most jokes are comprised by lies.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy took a final look at the two friends, before returning her gaze to the mountain tops. “Okay then.”

Applejack found her ear being tugged on by the same hoof around her neck, pulling it closer to its owner’s mouth. “I don’t know how it happened so fast, but Fluttershy’s mind sprang a defense mechanism before she could even comprehend the traumatic event. We should leave her as is until we can figure out what to do next.”

The cowpony ducked underneath her friend’s grasped and turned around to face her whole. “And just what are you proposing we do next? Rainbow’s been abducted by a dragon and the Princess doesn’t seem to be too close on his tail!”

“Quiet with that, will you!” Applejack finally came to see the uncontrollable shiver that shook the same lavender hoof that was once around her neck, too caught up in the moment to see that the fear of the event scared even Twilight. “We have to go see the Princess to find out what’s going on.”

Rarity and Pinkie, who had mostly quiet in the distance trying to get over the shaking of seeing the event as well, made they’re way over back to the pack. Rarity was the first to take up the offer to speak. “Sorry to come so late into the conversation, but did I hear you correctly, Twilight, that we should head straight for Celestia and do nothing for poor Rainbow Dash?”

“But Rainbow has plenty of bits,” Fluttershy said, catching all the distraught looks of her friends, before returning to her sky gazing.

“Ignore her.” Twilight gestured with a hoof for the girls to form into a circle, which all but Fluttershy complied with. “I can’t being to express how much it pains me to say this, but there’s nothing we can do for Rainbow Dash at the moment. The only ones that can fly after the dragon are Fluttershy and me, and even if we were to catch up to him, there’s no way we would be able to win that fight.”

Applejack to three timely breaths alleviate the weight pulling on her stomach, as well as to clear the smoke clouding her mind. “So we go an’ find the Princess, and she’ll help us get Rainbow back?”

Twilight nodded.

The three other ponies looked to one-another for any approval or disapproval on the subject, but none of them had any words that could do justice to the situation, so they all simply nodded and broke away. Twilight was the first to tap Fluttershy on the back and to tilt her head to the castle when she looked to her.

“Time to go, Fluttershy.”

“But shouldn’t we wait for Rainbow Dash?”

“She’ll...meet us there.” Twilight began to walk forward with her teeth tugging at her bottom lip, unable to lie in the presence of her friend. “So let’s not keep her waiting.”

“Oh, okay!” Fluttershy joined the herd in their quest to reach the castle, where her dearest friend awaited her. There wasn’t much chatter between the friends as they circled around the circle and arose to the final level of the city, where the castle awaited them a far behind stone walls.

“Say, Twilight?” The unicorn glanced over to her right, where she was joined by Applejack. “About that storm from before. Do ya have clue what might’ve started it, and why it looked so weird for?”

“It’s been the only thing on my mind so far, besides the constant worrying if Rainbow is okay.” A breeze had set in after the storm that made the five grateful, for it rid the air of burnt smoke and allowed them to not suffer in silence. “I put enough energy in that spell to subdue even a dragon, so there’s a chance a storm like that could occur. But I swore I heard a voice before the currents set in, and I recall there being something inside that sphere.”

“Maybe seeing Rainbow gettin’ abducted is playing with our heads.”

“Maybe,” Twilight conceded with a huff. “I just wished I placed magical constraints on the dragon to keep him in place until Fluttershy returned, instead of firing a powerful beam that not only missed but could’ve failed to defeat him. Celestia ordered the Elements of Harmony here for a reason, and I should’ve known it was to encase the dragon in stone.”

The repressed rage of seeing her friend taken away still boiled in Applejack’s veins, but so too, did the blood of empathy circulate her system. “It’s in the past now, Sugarcube. Ain’t nothing can be done for Rainbow about worrying about it now, so let’s go an’ get Celestia’s help so we can save our friend.”

“Right.” Twilight smiled at her friend, returning her gaze to the upcoming walls of the castle. “Because there really is nothing that can be done about it now.”

The white walls protecting the castle now stood before the mall herd just as the Royal Guard emerge both from its top and from behind it, surrounding the visitors in their golden armor with spears and swords directed at them. “Halt! The castle is currently under lockdown, please return to your homes and await further instruction.”

Twilight didn’t even argue as she turned around and started walking back, causing all of her friends to turn around and stare at her. Rarity was once again to the first to speak up. “Darling, where are you going? Surely you have authority over these guards, no?”

The Princess of Friendship flashed out her wings and stood her tallest, gazing into each of the Guard's eyes as she spoke in an authoritative voice. “I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship requested by Celestia herself to resolve the present issue. The following mares are heroes and the embodiments of the Elements of Harmony, which allows them to enter the castle even during times like these.”

The guards looked amongst themselves before directed their attention to the herd, stepping out the way into a line that welcomed them all to the opening gate. None of the heroes took a step. “Darling, why did you walk away for? Aren’t you going to join us to go get help from the Princess?”

“No.” Twilight allowed her wings to close to her side, before turning away from her friends. “You girls will have to be the ones to find out what exactly Celestia needs us for. It may be reckless, but I’m going after the dragon to keep it at bay from harming Rainbow; maybe even tricking it into back into the city so we may seal him.”

Without another word, Twilight began to gallop before taking flight.

Comments

[B_25]

i really have to learn to not write chapters at the last possible second – it ruins the quality for the chapter!

but isn't this a quantity over quality story?

shut up! you know what i mean.

onward to chapter 50!

[Deadman123]

Yay character interactions and thought development :3