Chapter 8
Twilight Sparkle woke up the next morning with the unyielding sensation that something was wrong. At least, she thought it should be morning, but when she glanced out the window she realized Ponyville was still blanketed in the darkness of night. The unicorn rubbed her eyes and then glanced at the clock on her nightstand. She gasped in shock, feeling her heart jump into her throat. The others were sleeping downstairs. They needed to know about this!
Twilight charged down the stairs so fast that she stumbled over her own hooves, going head over hooves halfway down and landed flat on her back.
“Oh my goodness,” came Fluttershy’s soft voice as she trotted over to check on her fallen friend. “Are you okay, Twilight?”
Ignoring the pain in her shanks where they’d struck the edge of the steps, Twilight righted herself to her hooves. A couple of lit candles supplied the library with the only dim, flickering light. “No, I’m not okay!” she snapped back. “Has anypony seen the time?!”
“7:00 A.M.” Applejack answered plainly.
Twilight prodded Applejack in the chest. “Right, and you’re up at the crack of dawn every day, so you of all ponies should know that the sun is supposed to be up by now!”
“Maybe Princess Celestia overslept!” Pinkie offered with a smile.
Twilight rolled her eyes. How Pinkie remained so optimistic in such a dire situation, she’d never know. “Not likely. We’ve got a crisis on our hooves. This is bad!”
The room fell silent as the other ponies considered the situation. Twilight Sparkle was well known for her obsessive-compulsive outbursts over trivial matters. This time, however, they felt her panic was justified.
“Do you think it has something to do with all those dragons?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“What else could it be?” Twilight replied.
Applejack gulped visibly. “What should we do, y’all?”
Twilight rubbed her chin, mulling it over for a few tense seconds. “We need to check on things in Canterlot, and fast. And when we need speed, we know just who to turn to.”
All eyes fell on Rainbow Dash. The pegasus reeled back in midair, her eyes darting nervously, but she still held that confident smile.
“How about it, Rainbow?” Applejack asked. “You up for a little scouting mission?”
“A-alone? With all those dragons out there?” Rainbow hesitated, not wanting to admit that seemed like a suicide mission. She descended to the floor and put a hoof to her chest in pride in order to maintain a tough facade. “I’m just the pony for the job!”
“I know we can count on you.” Twilight gave Rainbow a pat on the back.
“Good luck!” Applejack said, giving her friend a quick hug.
“Be careful,” Fluttershy added.
Pinkie Pie waved goodbye as Rainbow zipped out door. “And bring back lots of souvenirs!”
All eyes now turned to Pinkie, all gazing at her in perplexity. “What?” she retorted with a shrug. “If you go to Canterlot you HAVE to pick up souvenirs. It’s practically a rule!”
***
Rainbow Dash streaked through the sky, keeping her eyes alert for Shadow Dragons. Several flew past her, but paid her no mind. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure the great reptiles weren’t going to turn around and attack. When they hadn’t, she wiped the sweat from her brow and sighed in relief.
The last time she tangled with a dragon still stung in her memory. All it took was a scream, one simple roar from the beast to blow her backwards and slam her into a boulder. The impact had cracked it and knocked her silly. Rainbow had learned a hard lesson that day: as tough as she was, she was no match for a full grown dragon.
How do I let those ponies talk me into these things? I know I’m awesome and everything, but come on. Dragons? Being Equestria’s fastest flier sure isn’t easy sometimes. I really gotta learn how to say ‘no.’
Two shadow dragons streaking toward her snapped Rainbow away from her thoughts. Shouting in alarm, she dove under then and spun around, ready to fly away as fast as her wings could carry her if the the dragons changed course. But they kept going, eventually vanishing into the darkness. Rainbow’s heart thumped painfully, bringing her an embarrassing realization: Not even the great Rainbow Dash could keep her cool with two dragons barrelling down at her.
Deciding she didn’t want to spend any more time out in the open than absolutely necessary, Rainbow Dash burst off at full speed towards Canterlot and arrived at Equestria’s capital city in a matter of minutes.
A breeze that carried a foreboding sense of darkness told Rainbow that she hadn’t yet seen the worst of things, even though the number of dragons had increased substantially. There had been groups of four or five flying over Ponyville. Now the skies of Canterlot were crowded with the great reptiles. Rainbow had counted fifty of them in the largest group, but never fewer than twenty. When she’d reached Canterlot Castle, Rainbow felt her blood run cold. There were dragons entering and exiting, flying in and out of open windows, somehow changing their massive forms to much smaller ones in order to fit through. Dozens more patrolled the sky above the palace, and still others marched along the ground. It was like watching some kind of giant hornets’ nest.
That’s not good Rainbow thought. With all those dragons in the palace and the sun not being up, they must have done something to Celestia! Twilight was right, this really is bad! Rainbow inspected the castle for a few more minutes in hopes of finding an infiltration point, but the dragons had eyes on every inch of the place.
Rainbow Dash hovered for a bit as she considered her next course of action. Getting into the palace without being spotted would be impossible, but she didn’t want to let her friends down by returning without any positive news; still, it was better than never returning to them at all. That was one thing she could never do to her friends. Her loyalty surpassed all else, even her reputation.
Well, there’s one thing I can do, at least Rainbow told herself as she thought of a certain white unicorn. I’ll go check on Rarity while I’m here.
Rainbow looped around in midair and streaked towards Carousel Boutique’s Canterlot branch, a sense of ease washing over her as she moved farther away from the Shadow Dragon’s central hub. She landed on the front patio of the elegantly designed building and knocked on the door.
Rarity’s husband Dudley Diamonds, a sky blue stallion with a thin mustache and slicked back jet-black mane, answered the door. “Miss Rainbow Dash! It’s good to have a pleasant surprise this morning,” he greeted in his elegant Trottingham accent. “What brings you out this way?”
“Take a lucky guess.” Rainbow pointed with her nose towards the scores of dragons soaring about Canterlot.
Dudley’s eyes followed her glance. “Ah, of course. You’ve come to check on the dragon situation, no doubt. You and your friends were quite the adventurers back in the day.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow confirmed, “any idea what’s going on out there?”
“Certainly not! I haven’t the luxury of going out and about in an hour such as this; I’ve got a home, a pregnant wife and soon to be child to protect!”
“Speaking of Rarity, can I talk to her?” Rainbow asked.
“Certainly. She’ll be delighted to see you.”
Dudley led Rainbow Dash inside, where several candles had been lit as a substitute for the missing daylight. Scented candles, Rainbow guessed from the pleasant aroma about Canterlot Boutique’s display floor. She followed Dudley through a door in the back that led to a hallway, and through another door in the hall that led to Rarity’s room. The unicorn was laying on her back in her bed, a prominent bulge in the sheets indicated the soon to be foal.
Another scented candle sat on the nightstand next to Rarity’s bed, barely lighting the soft features of the unicorn’s face, but Rainbow could tell she was smiling.
Rainbow waved a hoof by way of greeting, “Hey, Rarity.”
“Rainbow Dash! Oh, it’s so good to see you.”
“Glad to see, too.”
Rarity glanced about the room, her eyes signalling she knew something was missing. “What brings you here alone? Where are the others?”
“Oh, they’re back in Ponyville. They sent me here to check on things. We’re just finding out what’s going on, trying to save Equestria, the usual stuff.”
Rarity chuckled. “Reminds me of the old days.”
Rainbow shook her head, knowing she had to put nostalgia aside for now. “Any idea what’s going on out there? Have you heard how Celestia’s doing?”
Sighing, Rarity rubbed her swollen belly. “I don’t know. Those dragons just showed up all of a sudden. I haven’t heard anything about her highness’ condition, but since the sun isn’t up-” She stopped short on words she dared not speak. Noting Rainbow’s agreeing nod, Rarity knew she didn’t need to finish.
“I know,” Rainbow agreed. “We’re all worried. I would check on Celestia myself, but that palace is locked down tighter than Fluttershy’s house on Nightmare Night. I might be fearless, but I’m not suicidal.”
“There’s no guarantee she’s in there anyway.”
Rainbow glanced nervously out the window and then back to Rarity. “Look, I’d love to stay and chat but I’m kinda pressed for time. I need to get back to the others.”
“I understand and I do appreciate you checking up on me,” Rarity answered, her voice sounding weak. “Do take care, darling.”
“Are you gonna be okay?”
Despite the obvious pain and discomfort associated with late-stage pregnancy, Rarity smiled. “Don’t worry about me, I’ve got Dudley here. Tell the others I’m fine.”
“Will do!” Rainbow promised. With that, she turned around and bolted out the door and down the hallway. “Later, Dudley!” she called without looking behind.
She wasted no time bursting to the sky and speeding back to Ponyville, her thoughts a mix of concern and regret that she was powerless to stop the dragon invasion. Rainbow didn’t look over her shoulder once during the short trip back to Ponyville; she’d feel much safer where there weren’t quite as many dragons and where she’d be under a roof to hide from their eyes. Her hooves only hit the ground when she reached Golden Oaks library and invited herself in.
There was a fifth pony in the main room, a blue unicorn with pale hair. For a moment Rainbow hadn’t recognized the newcomer with what little light the candles offered. When the unicorn turned around, a mental switch from years ago flicked in Rainbow’s head. It was Princess Luna, but Rainbow hadn’t seen Luna like this since she and her friends freed her from the corruption of Nightmare Moon.
“Princess Luna? What happened to you?”
“Greetings, Rainbow Dash,” Luna said, reading Rainbow’s look of confusion. “Fear not, this is merely a disguise.”
Rainbow tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. “A disguise from what?”
“I’m hiding from the dragons, lest they do to me what they’ve done to my sister.”
“The Princess showed up just after you left,” Twilight explained. “She told us everything.”
“Wait a minute,” Rainbow interrupted, holding up a hoof to stifle Twilight. “You mean I just risked life and limb going all the way to Canterlot, for nothing?”
“With my sister’s life potentially on the line,” Luna retorted, unblinking, her voice turning to stone, “I would hardly say it was for nothing.”
“No disrespect, of course,” Rainbow answered, then pressed her lips shut, knowing how quickly Luna could end her if she wanted to.
Luna’s chest expanded with a deep breath. The alicorn shut her eyes and, slowly, she let the breath out. “I apologize. I am under quite a bit of stress, as I am sure you can understand.”
“No prob,” Rainbow Dash said. Not that she’d expected Luna to harm her, but the Princess of the Night was still intimidating when angered. “So, how is Celestia doing?”
“The dragons have her locked up in Canterlot’s dungeon,” Luna explained. “She is unharmed, though I’m afraid they’ve stripped her of her powers.”
Rainbow sighed in relief at the news. At least Celestia was safe, for the moment anyway.
“Did you hear that?” said a shivering Fluttershy. “They've captured Celestia. We’re all doomed!”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Luna answered, her voice stern and confident. “Twilight Sparkle, I have come here in pursuit of knowledge, and this library has an abundance of it. Any books on dragons you might have, anything with any sort of information that may give us an edge against our invaders.”
Smiling and nodding, Twilight walked over to one of the bookshelves and pulled out a thick volume entitled “Dragon Genealogy.”
Beneath that smile, anxiety welled within Twilight as her thoughts turned towards another dragon.
Spike, wherever you are, please be safe...
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It's a pity that isn't anything that can scare or intimidate Black Dragons.
I love this story I hope he makes more 😁😁😁😁
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I hope there son is is called TERRA ARCANE and the filly he is with through out the story could be named RENA hey its just an idea
Read the last 2 stories every night for 3 days, get to this....hiatus NOOOOOOO
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Sincerest apologies, but I don't know if I'm going to finish this. It's pretty much ran out of steam and I've got other projects I'm working on. Feel like I've let everyone down, but it just doesn't have the magic that the first story did.
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well that sucks, but it's common, best of luck with future projects.
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cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/532464064283148290/532471389861445652/update_pls.png
"So, when you say our story's not getting finished, is that like a 'NEVER EVER'...? Or... is it more of a 'not now because I don't feel inspired but maybe later' sort of thing?"
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More than likely, it might never be finished. I apologize sincerely, but the inspiration and impact this series once had isn't there anymore. Right now I'm in the process of creating a better planned story with a more defined OC to counter the "cookie cutter story" complaints I've received of the last two stories in this series.
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cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/532464064283148290/535390426442498048/update2.png
"Well hey, look, two completed stories is a heck of a lot more than what most get, right? We can make do."
"Yeah..."
(Here's hoping your next story's just as awesome! I'll be keeping my eye out!)
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Awwwwwwwww! That is super-cute!
Another thing, the sequel started in 2012-2013. The series has changed quite a bit since I started it. A lot of the stuff I have here isn't canon anymore. (Applejack marrying a Pear, for instance.)
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(Could... I maybe get a hint on the... composition of the new ship? Y'know?)
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Which one?
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(That one? Pretty please?)
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Holy Celestia, I'm sorry it took so long to reply to this, but I have that story and its prequel up now:
The Early Life of Pearl Blush (Prequel)
Tears for the Pearl (Main Story)
Enjoy!
Honesty, I think I just took the Sapphire series in the wrong direction. I should have kept them as the cute, bubbly romance that the first was instead of making the sequels cookie-cutter adventure stories...
And I did it again, came across this story for a third time after reading the others...and its canceled this time, I'll go cry myself to sleep now
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Aw, now I feel sad.
Honestly, I think it's just been too long and it's lost too much steam. Plus the show has changed enough that much of this isn't relevant anymore.
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But that's the best thing about stories, they dont have a set path, they can be as random as you want, the loss of motivation is understandable though.
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Maybe, someday. Maybe.
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I hope you continue this series, even though I haven’t read it.
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I would love that
This was one of the best story lines i have had the joy of reading If it dose come back one day i would be delighted to give it more of my time reading