Ch.8
Operation G.A.I.N
Clip-Clop, Clip-Clop, Clip-Clop “....”
A pause went throughout the castle. Then again Clip-Clop came the sound of hoofs on crystallized tiles.
Starlight Glimmer slowly made her way through the castle in silence. In all honesty the mare had to admit this place was a bit more lonely without a certain dragon being here, but if anything at all the mare hadn’t decided to come out of her room today to reminisce on old times.
Today Starlight was out and about for a reason. She was on a mission.
And that was to talk to Twilight about what had happened.
About what had happened between her and Rainbow Dash. It was time to reach out and address the matter at hand or in this case hoof. Especially since neither of the two mares were willing to talk to each other since almost two weeks had passed since the events.
Fluttershy had told her everything herself when Starlight had gotten back from her time away while at the Crystal Empire aiding Sunburst with some of his work and helping him come up with some ideas in taking care of the new princess of the empire.
The mare had gotten back just yesterday, and upon noticing Twilight was present while Rainbow Dash wasn’t the unicorn had inquired where their athletic friend was, and upon further notice, wondered where Spike was also.
The silence the mare was met with was, nothing but daunting. Starlight could still recall the crestfallen image her friends all shared when she’d asked where Rainbow Dash was. Well, almost all of them. All except for Twilight who had let out a rather loud huff of air, that blew her bangs up and out of her line of sight.
At the time it was only natural for her to be a bit confused on what was going on having been away at the Crystal Empire helping Sunburst with some of his other duties as a Crystaller, and working together to aid Sunburst to further bring fruition to some of the ideas the stallion had on helping Flurry Heart have a bit better control of her...moments.
It’d been a hectic few months for Starlight but she had just been glad Twilight had let her go at the time and was even more glad to help Sunburst also with his newly found duties.
But looking back at it now Starlight thought with a frown as she trotted through a vast majority of different doors, searching for the right one that held a library, it probably wasn’t worth all the costs.
In all honesty as Starlight trotted through the castle and tried to figure out which door held the room Twilight was most likely to be in, it wasn’t really a major surprise to the mare that Spike had left. In fact Starlight Glimmer, had expected Spike to leave at some point but...certainly not the way Fluttershy had described.
There had been a few moments after her....reformation where the two had had a bit of time to, talk. And some of the concerns Spike had held at the time were never lost on the unicorn during their little discussion moments.
“I mean....I knew he felt he could do a bit more outside Twilight’s vastly spread light, but leaving the way he did...I just thought he’d tell her he was leaving instead of using a letter to do it for him” she soliloquy stated.
“Starlight?” a voice to Starlight’s left called.
The mare stopped moving so abruptly that she almost tripped over herself. “Yes?” she called after she’d regained the balance she’d nearly lost.
“Are you alright?” Twilight’s voice called from somewhere.
Starlight raised a confused brow at the question referred to her. “I’m fine” she called back, her left ear perking up a bit to get a better track on where the voice was coming from. “Why do you ask?”
“Oh uh, nothing. I just kind of heard you mumbling to yourself and was wondering if you were okay” Twilight’s voice called in return.
The slight quiver of Starlight’s ear as she locked on to Twilight’s voice made the mare smile contently to herself as she followed the sound and moved towards one of the larger doors.
A slight spark emanated from her horn before a light turquoise glow surrounded the large oak doors in front of were gently pushed open.
“Twilight I’m perfectly...fine...so.....don’t worry.....” Starlight trailed off the more she took a look at the room that was once considered a library but now was a large assortment of stacked books that felt more like a labyrinth if anything else.
And somewhere in the center of its labyrinth, was Twilight.
Starlight stared in utter confusion. When she snapped out of it at last the mare took a deep breath in, after her brain had finally been able to process the giant mess before her.
The next step she took was exhale all the air into a loud sigh that made her lips flop aimlessly and smack together creating a failed attempt as a starting leaf blower sound.
Finally the mare raised the tip of her hoof and gently began going in circles around her temple as she realized trying to find Twilight in this mess was going to be a much bigger problem than she thought.
“Starlight?” Twilight’s voice called from somewhere in this labyrinth. “Are you in here?”
The very question for some reason made Starlight inadvertently wince, which only delayed her reply.
“Starlight?” Twilight’s voice asked again with uncertainty that made it quite clear that she was very unlikely able to see over the stack of books, let alone see any where within the many directions around her at all.
A page turned that made Starlight’s right ear twitch and for some reason yet again she winced as a small headache began to form just at the base of her forehead.
Finally the mare spoke, though it was in a much more tired tone than one would expect from somepony who had slept in so late into the morning. “Yes, Twilight....I’m here.”
“Oh good” Twilight said with some cheerfulness in her voice. Cheerfulness that made Starlight wonder if she was trying to mask it out of her concern for Rainbow Dash or if there was something else behind all of this absurdity she’d walked into.
“Um, Twilight” Starlight began as she felt her headache slowly begin to fade the more she rubbed her temple with a hoof. “What are you doing with all these books stacked like this?”
“Research” the mare replied simply. Saying nothing more and nothing less.
Starlight’s eyes merely narrowed at the statement. She took a wise moment to wait a bit before attempting to speak again. “So, where are you exactly in all of um” she waved a hoof around at everything she was looking at. “...this?”
“Somewhere in the middle, why did you need something?” Twilight’s voice asked, slightly muffled by the plop of another book being dropped onto the ground beside her.
There was no reply.
“Starlight?”
Still no reply.
“...Starlight? Are you there?”
A weary sigh came from the other end of Twilight’s wall of books. “Yeah, give me a minute I’ll be over there soon.”
“Should we really be doing this?”
“Why not it’s been two weeks since we’ve seen her!”
“Ah know what you mean but shouldn’t we leave this to, well ya know- Rarity and the others to work out on their own?”
“What?! NO- I mean, yes but, would it really be that bad to check on her?”
"I know you’re worried about Rainbow Dash, but Scootaloo what can we do? Nopony will tell us anything and we can’t just demand information” Sweetie Belle stated.
“Then what am I supposed to do? I mean-- UGH! This is driving me crazy! I just want to help Twilight and Rainbow Dash out but I can’t do that when I don’t even know what’s going on!” The filly shouted with several stomps of frustration.
“Ah know what you mean Scootaloo but we can’t really do that much if our sisters won’t really tell us anything about what happened when they went off after Spike now can we?”
“We can’t just sit around here and do nothing Applebloom!” the frustrated filly retorted. “I mean we finally got our cutie marks because we were able to help ponies that were having trouble understanding their own destinies but-” the pegasus wings twitched abruptly as she bit her lip and kicked a pebble on the floorboards before her.
“I mean, I didn’t think Spike out of anypo- anyone in this town would have a few issues understanding where he, well you know” she said gesturing lightly with her hoof as she searched for the right word.
“Stood with the others?” Sweetie Bell proposed.
Scootaloo nodded, “Exactly. Stood with the others. He just always seemed so content with the idea of being Twilight’s number one assistant so I guess it just never occurred to me that he might have had....other plans in mind aside from being Twilight’s go-to advisor.
"Or maybe he didn't realize it himself till recently? I don't know it just...I don't know."
Hearing this made both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom frown. “Well when ya put it that way” Applebloom sullenly said with lowering ears.
A few seconds of silence went around between the three friends as they sat inside their hideout just outside of Sweet Apple Acres. None of the three spoke for a good while after Scootaloo’s statement.
It was a bit confusing to them in more ways than one about Spike’s abrupt leaving. Scootaloo being the filly she is, had been steamed for an entire month about the whole issue and Sweetie Belle had almost cried when Rarity told her the news.
Applebloom more or less tried to avoid the topic when Scootaloo, her and Sweetie Belle hung out, for one thing it would get the pegasus riled up, and the other Sweetie Belle would get really emotional about the whole thing. In general the whole concept of Spike’s sudden departure just made the earth filly really uncomfortable in conclusion, to think about what Spike was going through. But after about a month or so had passed Pinkie Pie came bounding in about two months later, just a few days before her sister, Rarity, and the others had hastily left for Manehattan, the party planner had gleefully filled them in on how Spike was doing.
It was great to know that Spike was doing well, wonderful in fact that he had somehow managed to pull off as a chef in a restaurant after him leaving Ponyville for only two and a half months, but it was even better to know that he was generally alright and not struggling.
Applebloom glanced over at her friends as the three of them sat together staring at one of Scootaloo’s newest plans that had been laid out in map format for them to see earlier this morning when they came in.
Scootaloo had called it “OPERATION B.I.R.H” when Sweetie Belle had asked what the B-I-R-H stood individually for. The filly had explained it was an abbreviation for “Break Into Rainbow Dash’s House.”
A slight smile formed on Applebloom’s lips as she recalled how she had pointed out the abbreviation needed a “D” in it if they wanted to use Dash’s full name. Other wise it was just “Break Into Rainbow’s House.”
The thought made the filly chuckle, which in turn broke the spell of silence that had been cast on her and her friends, causing them to look over at their earth pony friend.
“What’s so funny about our current situation?” Scootaloo asked with a hint of indignance. Her wings flapped again, messing a few feathers here and there.
“Nothing, it’s just. Ah was thinking back to your whole plan earlier today.” Applebloom said with a small smile.
Scootaloo stared at her with a look of confusion on her face. It took a second for it to click what exactly her friend was referring to. She let out a loud huff in response, her nostrils flaring as she crossed her forelegs together. “Hey I told you it still had some mistakes here and there.”
It was Sweetie Belle’s turn to join in. “Yeah” she said with a light laugh. “A few.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes at the statement. “So what are we going to do about this?”
“What can we do?” Sweetie Belle asked. “We don’t know anything.”
“Hmm” the three hummed in unison.
Trying to think of a way to get information from their sisters, Applejack and Rarity, without them actually knowing what they were up to. It would be difficult, but maybe. Just maybe they could pull something together out of that magic box called ideas they were so fond of forming.
“We could...” Sweetie Belle began as an idea began forming.
“Yeaaaahhhh?” Her friends responded.
“We coulllld....OH! We could sneak into Rarity’s room late at night while she’s asleep and ask her questions!”
Scootaloo and Applebloom looked at each other, then looked at their friend. Then looked at each other with an incredulous look.
Then gave Sweetie Belle the same look.
Then- “Okay! Sheesh, you don’t need to look at me like I just made the worst discovery ever.” She said sounding a bit hurt and annoyed by their looks.
“Sorry Sweetie Belle but, Ah’m just trying to understand. What exactly could we gain by asking your sister questions while she’s asleep?”
Sweetie Belle smiled profoundly at this question. Getting up and moving to the podium she cleared her throat and spoke. “As we all know my sister Rarity likes to get her beauty sleep.”
“I’ll say” Scootaloo muttered, only to yelp a “OW!” when Applebloom nudged her hard in the ribs.
“Continue” Applebloom said with a smile whilst ignoring Scootaloo’s glare.
Sweetie Belle smiled and did as such. “Well it doesn’t happen often. But every now and then when I feel really thirsty somewhere at night and need to get a drink of water, or go use the little filly’s room, I’ll hear Rarity mumbling in her sleep. And well” a slight blush formed on Sweetie Belle’s cheeks.
“There have been a few times when I go into her room and check if she’s alright, and she tends to say some really weird stuff that I don’t understand most of the time. But anyway” she said starting to turn a bit more red from her friends eyes focusing on her, “I decided to test it out one night and asked Rarity if I could model in one of her dresses, and usually she’d say no because there wouldn’t be one that well you know, fit me because of my height. But she said yes that time!” Sweetie Belle said hopping in place with glee.
But from the raised eyebrows her friends were giving her, the unicorn noticed she’d need to elaborate a bit more.
“I asked her one time about what happened at the Grand Galloping Gala the one time she came back home covered in cake, and she said she refused to speak about it. She told me. Said Prince Blueblood used her as a shield to protect his, wondrous coat” Sweetie Belle stated.
This got their friends attention.
“Wait, really?” Scootaloo asked in surprise. “I asked Dash about that because Rarity wouldn’t tell us and she said that Rarity said she would never talk about it ever to anyone. But I mean, if she said it in her sleep, then hmmmm. Yeah, maybe, just maybe this could work.” The filly said thoughtfully tapping her hoof against her chin.
“Ah don’t know you guys. Ah mean what if Rarity wakes up, isn’t she kind of a light sleeper?” Applebloom interjected.
“Not really. It’s kind of hard to wake her up when she’s up really late at night doing work or pulls an all nighter then sleeps the following day.” Sweetie Bell assured.
“Does she talk in her sleep often? Do you know?” Scootaloo asked, now starting to like this idea.
“Not often, it’s more of a random moment. It just kind of,” she shrugged, “happens? If you know what I mean.”
“So how would we know when to sneak in and ask? And Ah mean, it would be kind of hard for me to sneak out again, you remember what happened last time you two helped me out with that right?” Applebloom reminded.
“Hehe, yeah...sorry” Scootaloo said rubbing a hoof behind her head.
“We could tell Rarity we’d like to have a sleepover at my place?” Sweetie Belle offered.
“That’s not a bad idea. Hey, wait ta go Sweetie Belle you’re on a roll today” Scootaloo said offering a hoof up to her friend.
Sweetie Belle in return hoof bumped the hoof offered to her.
Applebloom on the other hand was still having her doubts. “Hmm, I don’t know you two. I’m still having doubts.”
“Oh c’mon Applebloom! It’d be easier to just do this instead of trying to come up with a new plan entirely. And as you so gently pointed out, my plan’s got a lot of holes in it. With Sweetie Belle’s we can just go in there without any suspicion or danger, and ask our questions. Once we have the know to, we can move on to the go to.” Scootaloo said with a nod and a quick ruffle of her wings in excitement.
“Did you just rhyme at the end of that?” Applebloom asked.
“What--? Yeah? So? Maybe I did, who cares! C’mon Applebloom pleaseeee” Scootaloo said grabbing her friends forehoof. “Please????” she said again, using the signature move of all signature moves.
The puppy dog eyes. “Please Applebloom. Pwetty please?”
Ugh “C’mon Ah was just saying that maybe we should-”
“Pleaseeee” Sweetie Belle said joining in with Scootaloo for back up, grabbing Applebloom’s other foreleg and also using: The. Puppy...Dog (wait for it)...
Eyes! (With extended lip action for super effect).
It was then Applebloom began to cringe under the weight of her friends eyes. Sweet Celestia was this what Ah did Ahen Ah was younger to get what I want?
Doing the best she could to ignore her friends ever increase, crushing weight of annoying yet admittedly well manipulative adorableness, Applebloom crumbled when they continued to use the face of ultimate undoing, and admitted defeat.
With a loud sigh she agreed.
“Alright, Alright.” She said moving her hoofs away from her friends and placing them back on the ground. “Ah understand we’ll do you’re plan.”
“YES!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shouted in unison instantly dropping their act.
Applebloom simply rolled her eyes.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about anything?” Starlight asked Twilight gently as she read a book about arcane magic runes just across her alicorn friend.
“I’m positive” Twilight said with a smile before returning to the book she was reading.
Starlight inhaled deeply and then exhaled extensively from her nose, I guess I’ll have to try approaching this differently tomorrow.
“So what are we gonna do if this plan doesn’t work?” Appleboom asked as her and her friends began heading towards Rarity’s to ask permission.
Having been close enough to Apple Acres it didn’t take long for them to go and ask Applejack if they could have a sleepover at Rarity’s.
At first the mare had been a bit resilient about the idea, but when Big Mac came up on the scene the three friends had used the very same eyes used on Applebloom to get him to back him up.
It took one look from the big brother and a small smile on his part that was accompanied with a nod to get Applejack to submit.
“I don’t know” Scootaloo said honestly. “I didn’t even know we were making plans, I thought we were just throwing ideas around and picking up the ones that worked.”
Applebloom shook her head.
“If that’s the case then Ah have an suggestion to make in case this all goes wrong. That way we have plan B.”
“You were keeping track?” Scootaloo asked.
“You weren’t?” Sweetie Belle joined.
Applebloom sighed. “Alrighty then, we’ll come up with Plan B later, than. That sound fair enough to the two of ya?”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stopped behind their earth filly friend, and nodded to each other.
“Sounds good to me.” Scootaloo replied.
“Me too.” Sweetie Belle stated.
Applebloom nodded as her and the others continued down the street towards the Carousel Boutique.
“So what are we going to call this?” Scootaloo asked.
“What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle inquired.
“Well we’ve gotta have a name for it, don’t we? This is an important task.”
“What did you plan on calling it” Appleboom asked.
The pegasus shrugged. “I don’t know. Operation Get in--Get out?”
Applebloom snorted. “No way, are we calling it that.”
“Sounds kind of...I don’t know it feels a bit wrong if you ask me” Sweetie Belle said with an awkward smile.
"Operation Don't Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out?" Scootaloo tried again.
The obvious lack of desire on her friends faces showed they didn't agree with that mouthful.
“Well what would you two call it then?” Scootaloo asked, stopping dead in the middle of the pathway.
“Ummm....Sleepover Investigation?” Sweetie Belle suggested.
“Operation Gain?” Applebloom offered.
“Why Gain? Sleepover Investigation I get, but Gain?” Scootaloo asked.
“Cause we’re going in to get information on something we don’t know. We gain something, so Operation Gain.” Applebloom explained.
“Hmm...” Scootaloo said with a thoughtful hoof rubbing her chin.
Applebloom rolled her eyes. “Look, ya dragged me into this. The least you can let me do is name the mission.” she said poking her friend gently in the side.
Scootaloo shivered at the poke before glancing over at Sweetie Belle who shrugged.
“Yeah alright” she said after a few seconds of silence. “That works.”
“Good then!” Applebloom stated with a smile. “Now let’s go to Rarity’s.”
“Aye Aye sir!” Scootaloo called as her and Sweetie Belle followed behind.
Applebloom turned her head and raised a brow at her pegasus friend. “Please don’t call me that.”
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Nothing!
Awesome, I want to know what the Blueblood will do with Spike,
7272553 Sweetie belle kept blushing and I couldn't help but assume it was because of something like this.
7275788 Sleep interrogation
So that what's she wants to do to me, I likey!
?
sleep blabbering more likely....
!!!
I'm actually pretty interested to see where the cmc's antics get them. Though some other fics I've read about the cmc and Spike keep trying to butt into my mental discussions about this story, in my head.
Can't wait for another chapter.