Past Actions, Future Consequences

by Rill

Recovery - part 2

Rainbow Dash shuddered as she stood with her formerly broken wing laid across the table beneath the room’s x-ray machine. Despite her best efforts, the room’s chill soaked through her coat. Huffing to herself, the flyer looked over at the technician as the mare focused the machine over the flyer’s outstretched wing. Why did they have to keep this room so cold? Looking around, Rainbow could see the offending air vent in the ceiling, a couple strings tied to the grill gently blowing in the slight breeze.

“How are we doing, Ms. Dash?”

The mare in question looked over at the doctor as he checked the technician’s work “Cold.”

The room’s lone stallion looked up at the vent above him. “Not much I can do about that, I’m afraid, though we shouldn’t be here for long.” Nodding in satisfaction at the machine’s position, he joined the technician behind a small wall, looking at his patient from behind a pane of glass. “Ready?”

“What do you think?” She knew her reply was ruder than she intended, but she could barely hold her irritation in check, knowing that she was so close to getting out of there. To the doctor’s credit, if he heard her reply, he didn’t say anything as a short buzzing sound filled the room before disappearing just as quickly as it appeared. Walking from behind the protective barrier, he tilted his head toward the wall, inviting Rainbow Dash over.

Wincing slightly as she flapped her wing a few times, the rainbow-maned mare joined the stallion as a black and white image appeared on a nearby panel. Hearing the doctor’s low whistle, she looked at the lone image, finding nothing remarkable about it. “Simply amazing” Catching the doctor’s eye with a raised eyebrow, the stallion levitated a small pointer, “You broke your wing in two places right here” he said, circling a section of bone on the x-ray. “You can see the metal plate we had to place here” he indicated the piece of metal on the image, “yet there is no sign that you ever broke anything. Hay, I can’t even see any evidence of your previous break.”

“So what does this mean for me?”

“It means Ms. Dash that you are free to go as soon as you sign some paperwork.” The unicorn looked over at the grinning mare, “Though I don’t want you flying for at least a week.”

Rainbow Dash felt something inside her sink at the doctor’s order, but the feeling didn’t last long as she came one step closer to getting out “Deal.”

Stepping out into the late afternoon light, Rainbow Dash couldn’t keep the smile off her face; after over a week of boredom she was finally free. The image-conscious athlete allowed herself a quick squeal in pleasure at her sudden freedom before quickly looking around in case anypony saw her. Sighing in relief at being alone for the moment, the pegasus slowly walked down the hospital’s front steps, enjoying the heat from the sun as it warmed her fur.

Off in the distance, Rainbow Dash could see teams of pegasi pushing clouds across the sky in every conceivable direction, the clouds pouring out of the Weather Factory barely making a dent in the line of waiting weather teams. Pausing for a moment as she rounded a curve in the road to the hospital, Rainbow took in the view of Ponyville from the small rise. Despite being cooped up in her room for a week, Rainbow’s friends had kept her up to date with everything going on in town after she had woken up the day after the fire. In the distance, she could see what was left of the Everfree forest, the blackened and charred remains of the forest’s trees a haunting reminder of what had once been one of the wildest places left in Equestria. Even now, she could see thin plumes of smoke rising from the forest as a few small fires tenaciously burned, despite the repeated soakings from the town’s weather team.

Not needing to be anywhere in particular, the cyan pegasus slowly made her way down the road. Even from a distance, she could hear the sounds of the small town life she had secretly grown to enjoy, the sounds of children laughing mixed with the shouts of the vendors lining Ponyville’s main market street. Trotting across one of the bridges crossing the river that ran through town, Rainbow stopped at the top, looking over the side at the river below. Despite the heavy rains that had been scheduled every evening since the forest fire, the river had only grown slightly, its normally crystal clear water a dark brown with a consistency that reminded her of a bad cup of coffee. Even the spitball she sent flying over the side of the bridge sounded off when it hit the water, not even remotely hitting with the satisfying smack she was used to.

Looking up at the sound of hammers as she stepped off the bridge, Rainbow Dash could see a number of ponies standing around the burned out remains of one of the homes lost in the fire. As the half-gutted roof was torn down with a tug of magic, the grounded pegasus realized she knew the two mares who had lived there. Turning away from the ruins, she mentally noted to stop by Bonbon’s shop to offer her support, and maybe buy some of the mare’s candy. Maybe Shadow would like to try some, given hospital food’s general lack of imagination.

Smiling as a gentle breeze played with her mane, Rainbow let her mind wander as she walked around town, smiling and waving to ponies who greeted her. Slowly, the athletic pegasus found herself walking past the town’s lone schoolhouse, the cheerfully painted building falling away behind her as she continued her trek along the gravel road. As the minutes slowly passed, she could see her destination slowly growing in the distance, the farm’s large red barn as readily recognized by Ponyville’s residents as the town hall or Sugarcube Corner.

Walking into the farm yard, Rainbow Dash was greeted by the calm stillness that she had come to love about her friend’s farm. It was that calm that had lured the young athlete on more than one occasion to spend an afternoon napping in one of the taller apple trees or just enjoy the sway of the branches while watching the clouds drift slowly by overhead. Approaching the farmhouse, Rainbow slowed as she spotted Granny Smith on the front porch, the light green mare sitting back in her favorite rocking chair as she enjoyed a late afternoon nap. Watching where she stepped so as not to disturb the sleeping mare, the pegasus quietly walked past the house, taking one of the numerous paths in the back. It was only a few minutes before Rainbow Dash heard the distinctive sound of hooves slamming into wood, and she knew from the pitch that it wasn’t Big McIntosh bucking the trees.

Cresting a small rise, the rainbow-maned pegasus paused as she watched her friend race toward a tree. A heartbeat before she’d run into the tree, Applejack pivoted on her hooves, bringing her hind hooves around to slam into the tree’s trunk. Rainbow quietly whistled as she started toward her friend. She knew from first hoof experience that her friend could kick holes in solid wood walls or leave a brick wall in serious need of repairs if she was upset enough.

Wiping the sweat from her face as the apples fell into the waiting baskets; Applejack paused as she looked up, a smile quickly growing on her face as she spotted the sky-blue pegasus walking down the path. “Well, ah’ll be. What are you doin’ here, RD?” She called out as trotted to meet her friend.

“What, I can’t visit one of my best friends at work?” Rainbow replied, laughing as she returned her friend’s hug.

“Not that ah’m complainin’ Sugarcube, but shouldn’t you still be in the hospital” Applejack asked, slowly backing up as she looked her friend over, quickly noting the bandaged wing. “You didn’t sneak out did you?” The farm mare asked, her glare taking the pegasus aback.

“What? No!” Rainbow shouted, taking a few steps back as she noticed her friend’s hoof slowly moving toward a nearby lasso. “The doc let me out early since my wing isn’t broken anymore.” Seeing her friend’s raised eyebrow, Rainbow Dash gave the apple farmer a quick explanation.

“Well, it’s good to hear he’s doing better.” Applejack said after hearing out her friend. “So what’s he like?”

“Pretty quiet, actually” Rainbow Dash replied. “He doesn’t seem to like being around large groups of ponies.” The pegasus smiled as she remembered something “He also met your brother today.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, he seemed pretty stunned by Big Mac’s size.”

“Most ponies are when they first see him.” Applejack replied as she lifted one of the overflowing apple baskets into a waiting cart. “What did he think of the concert?”

“He seemed to enjoy it” Rainbow said around the handle of the basket she was dragging toward the cart.

“Any word about his family?”

Rainbow Dash spat out the handle she was pulling on. “Why do you ask?”

“Twilight said the princesses think he might be an orphan, but if he isn’t, then ah can only imagine how his parents are doin’.” The farm pony tossed the last two baskets onto the cart before securing the back. “Besides, if he does have family out there, ah want to thank them mahself for raising such a brave colt.”

“Yeah…” The colorful pegasus rubbed her mane, wincing as she thought of what to say. “You’re going to be waiting for a while.”

“Why?”

“He is an orphan” Rainbow said, pushing on the back of the heavily laden cart, helping her friend to get it moving. Trotting alongside the farm mare silently, Rainbow found herself wondering how much she should share with Applejack. She knew that Shadow had told her what he had because he seemed to trust her and she didn’t want to break that trust. “He didn’t go into much detail, but he lost his entire family in a fire a few months ago.”

Both ponies walked in silence for a while, each with their own thoughts. Applejack knew the pain of losing both parents, but to lose everypony she loved? She couldn’t begin to fathom the pain the colt must have felt, what he must still be feeling.

“Where’s Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash asked a while later. “She only visited me once.”

“Considering this is Pinkie Pie we’re talkin’ about, your guess is as good as mine. All ah know is, she dropped by a few days ago askin’ if she could use our barn for a party. Ah haven’t seen her since.”

“Must be one heck of a party if she’s acting like this” Rainbow replied as she held the door of a storage barn open for her friend. “Zecora mentioned that some ponies thought I’d be a lay-about in the hospital.”

“Ah heard a few ponies whisperin’ something similar, mostly the Aloe twins and Rose…” Applejack looked up at her friend as a stray thought occurred to her “Why are you bringin’ this up?”

“Oh… no reason” The rainbow-maned pegasus said, avoiding her friend’s gaze as she held the door.

“Uh huh…” Applejack eventually said, “Whatever you got planned, just leave me out of it.” Unhitching herself from the cart, the blonde-maned mare reached into an old basket hidden behind a couple slowly rotting bales of hay, pulling out a pair of bottles. Twisting the cap off the first bottle, she handed it to her friend, the pegasus nodding her head in thanks before downing the cider in a couple swigs, a loud belch breaking the silence seconds later. “Not bad” Applejack said as she finished off her bottle. Holding up a hoof, the mare took a deep breath, letting out a belch a moment later that put her friend’s to shame with dust slowly drifting down from above as if to add insult to injury.

Rainbow Dash looked at her friend’s smug smile for a moment before narrowing her eyes “Cheater.”

Trotting down the well-worn path, Rainbow Dash smiled as the late afternoon light glistened through the leaves of the trees lining the path. The trees around her seemed to be recovering from the drought much better than the pegasus would have thought, given the severity of the dry spell. While a good number of trees were already starting to turn various shades of yellow, orange and red, they were still a small minority. Despite still being a few minutes from her destination, the athletic mare could hear the sounds of hundreds of animals from up ahead. Coming around a final bend in the path, Rainbow Dash came to a stop at the sight before her.

Seeing a number of animals around Fluttershy’s cottage was nothing new, yet unless she hadn’t seen it for herself, Rainbow never would have believed how many animals were now calling her friend’s property their home. In the front, a pair of bears were napping in the late afternoon light, completely ignoring the small flocks of birds that had decided to use them as a perch. All around, moose and deer stood or slowly walked about, watching where they stepped as hundreds of squirrels, chipmunks and various rodents ran about underneath. In the trees, every branch had a bird of some kind on it, while every bird house was well beyond capacity. Even Fluttershy’s modest cottage wasn’t immune to the chaos as the roof chirped and tweeted from the hundreds of birds that had taken up residence in its leaf covered roof. Not even wanting to imagine what it was like inside, Rainbow Dash slowly made her way down the path, finding herself growing increasingly annoyed as small animals frequently ran through where she was walking, forcing her to constantly stop lest she step on one of them, eventually reaching the cottage’s front door after what seemed like an eternity.

Inside, Rainbow could see a number of birds flying around while smaller animals ran around on the floor, yet it was only slightly more crowded that she was used to and nowhere nearly as packed as the pegasus had expected “Hey Fluttershy, you in here?” Rainbow called out, knocking on the front door’s closed bottom half. Inside, every animal stopped in its place for a moment to look at the new arrival before going back to whatever they had been doing, except for one pure white ball of fluff and attitude. The white rabbit took one look at the rainbow-maned mare and bolted for the kitchen. From outside, Rainbow Dash could hear a small commotion before the cottage’s owner came trotting out, being led by the rabbit.

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy quietly shouted at the sight of her friend. Taking to the air, the soft spoken pegasus flew over to the door, opening it for her friend, and the two dozen various rodents who used the opportunity to go outside. “How are you doing?”

“I’ve been worse” Rainbow answered, looking around. “How are you doing?”

“Oh, I’m fine” The yellow and pink mare demurred as she landed. “It’s a little more crowded than usual, but nothing we can’t handle. Right, Angel?” The white fluff ball at Fluttershy’s hooves rolled his eyes before hopping away. “What brings you around here; not that I’m complaining of course.”

Rainbow Dash smiled as she followed her friend into the kitchen. “They let me out early for good behavior, so I thought I’d stop by and see how you were doing.”

“That was thoughtful of you” Fluttershy replied as she set a pair of teacups onto a nearby table. Grabbing a hoof-full of nuts, she tossed them into the room they had just left, every rodent in the kitchen rushing out to get a snack.

“Smooth” Rainbow Dash said as she watched her friend close the door behind the last mouse out, ensuring the two ponies a few minutes of peace.

For her part, Fluttershy simply smiled at the compliment. It was a trick she had learned early on. “How’s your wing?” She asked as she sat in an open chair.

“Completely healed” Rainbow said, filling her friend in on everything that had happened that day.

“That poor colt” Fluttershy said as she heard about Shadow’s family.

“Yeah” Rainbow replied, finishing off her cup of tea, “So I start physical therapy tomorrow, and the doctor promised to arrange it so Shadow and I are doing it together.”

“That’s great.” Fluttershy said, setting the two empty cups aside, “I got a surprise for you.”

“Really?” Rainbow asked, following her friend from the kitchen and into the back yard. Pausing on the back step, the athlete looked where her friend was pointing, and felt her heart stop. Across the yard, a multi-hued green tortoise was slowly making its way toward her. Without a second thought, the sky-blue pegasus bolted from the cottage, ignoring her friend’s quiet shouts and the numerous small animals that scrambled to get out of her way. In the blink of an eye, Rainbow had all but tackled the tortoise, lifting the reptile into the air as she wrapped it in a massive hug. “Oh sweet Celestia, I missed you boy. How are you doing, Tank?” For his part, the tortoise smiled before slowly nuzzling Rainbow Dash’s neck.

“This is the happiest I’ve ever seen him.” Fluttershy said as she walked up. “He absolutely missed you.”

“Thank you for taking care of him, Fluttershy.” Tank’s owner said, not bothering to hide her tears of joy.

“It was no problem, Rainbow. It was actually nice to have him around. He’s been very helpful keeping some of the more scared animals calm.”

“You have, huh?”

Tank slowly smiled in response.

---

Shadow felt the sweat drip down his face as he walked on the treadmill. He didn’t know how the thing worked, and at the moment, he was too busy trying to put one hoof in front of the other to ask. Next to him, Rainbow Dash was on an identical machine walking at a sedate pace, occasionally saying something encouraging. “Just a little more, you’re almost there” A pegasus mare next to him said as he walked. How could he be ‘almost there’ when he was walking in place on a stationary machine? Shadow shook his head at the thought, sending a string of sweat flying across the room. “Five… four… three… two… and… done!” The mare hit a button above him and the belt beneath him slowed to a stop. “Very well done” She added; her horn glowing; ready to catch the young alicorn if his legs gave out.

“Thanks” Shadow said between breaths. How could he be so winded after walking at such an easy pace?

“I don’t give compliments unnecessarily.” The mare said as she helped Shadow off the treadmill, leading him to a small shower stall. “I’ve gone over your file and by all rights; you shouldn’t be alive, much less walking.” Twisting the knob on the wall, she waited for the water to warm before hosing down the colt. For his part, Shadow lay still on the small platform, his eyes closed and his wings hanging limply next to him as he let the mare do her thing.

Opening his eyes as the shower was turned off, Shadow watching with slight apprehension as the mare picked up a large folded piece of cloth, shaking it with her magic until it seemed to be bigger than him. Tensing as she placed it over his back, the colt opened his mouth to say something, only for any thoughts of speaking to be lost as a wave of pleasure raced across his back. Groaning in relief, the young alicorn lowered his head back down, enjoying the sensations of the massage as he was toweled off.

“Still with me?”

Cracking an eye open, Shadow looked at the mare.

“That’s it for today.” The mare said, gently lifting the exhausted colt out of the shower. “Get plenty of rest, because tomorrow won’t be any easier.”

Nodding his head, Shadow fell into step beside Rainbow Dash as the rainbow-maned mare led him out. The two ponies didn’t say anything as they made their way back to Shadow’s room. Opening the door with his magic, it took the colt a moment to realize that something in his room was off. Frowning in confusion, Shadow slowly approached the small cloud hovering next to his bed. Gently poking it with a hoof, his eyes grew in surprise as he felt it resist his prodding, instead of doing nothing like he had expected.

“Yeah, it’s real” Rainbow said as she finally walked into the room. “You told me that you had never walked on a cloud before, and I thought you might like this.”

Shadow turned back to the cloud, prodding it a few more times. Putting a hoof on top, he slowly put his weight on it, surprised at how soft and springy it felt beneath him. Gathering his strength, the colt leaped onto the low hanging cloud, slowly walking over it, unable to get over how it pushed back against his weight. Lowering himself, Shadow felt his whole body relax as the cloud took his weight.

“What do you think?”

“This is the most comfortable… thing I’ve ever been on.” Shadow replied after a moment. “Where did this come from?”

“I talked with a friend last night who pulled a few strings.”

“Thank you.”

Rainbow smiled at the colt’s sigh, “Not a problem. I also brought you a book to read.” Stretching out her good wing, the pegasus set the book in question onto the bed next to Shadow.

Looking at the cover, Shadow could see an image of Daring Do standing on her hind legs, holding an image of a flower above her head “Thanks.” Could he trust her? Looking at the sky-blue mare, the colt felt something inside pushing him to decide. “I got something for you too.” Gesturing to the lone saddlebag on the nightstand, Shadow watched as Rainbow Dash brought it over. After the concert, he had taken some time to go over the surviving clone’s memories. He held nothing against the clone for how it had acted around him, given what it had gone through. He had even spent a few minutes quietly laughing at how Twilight had reacted to the clone’s blatant lie about what would have happened if she had opened the bag.

Shaking his head, Shadow placed his hoof over the lock, while at the same time channeling some magic through his horn. Smiling at the audible click of the latch, the colt flipped the top over, revealing everything inside. Gently setting the bag of coins on the bed, Shadow pulled one of the books out before setting the coins back in and resetting the latch. “If you want something to read…”

Looking at the cover, Rainbow could see an orange and yellow mare facing off against a menacing army, her horn alight as a shield glowed before her while a dozen arrows arced toward her.

“…Though you might not be able to read it” Shadow finished, almost apologetically.

Rainbow Dash looked at the writing on the cover “Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Really?”

“I may not be able to read crystallic, but I can get a translator lens that will let me read it.” She stretched out her good wing, scooping up the colt’s book.

---

Panting for breath, Rainbow Dash slowed down as she neared Twilight’s castle. After spending a little more time with Shadow, she had all but run all the way from the hospital to the crystalline tree. Pushing against the front doors, the winded athlete was surprised to see Spike walking by. “Hey there, Spike.”

The young dragon jumped slightly. “Hey Rainbow Dash, you’re back early.”

“What do you mean, it’s five-ten.”

“Earlier than I expected.” Spike corrected. Noting the older pony’s heavy breathing, the dragon raised an eyebrow “You alright?”

Getting her breathing under control, Rainbow swallowed against her suddenly dry throat. “Yeah, I just ran here from the hospital.”

“Why?”

“Got a new book that I can’t wait to read.”

Spike shrugged. Having lived with Twilight for his entire life, he knew that sometimes, you didn’t get between a pony and their book. “Get comfortable and I’ll bring you something to eat in a bit.”

“Thanks.” The pegasus sat down on a nearby couch “Has Twilight ever told you how awesome you are?”

“She could stand to say it a little more often” Spike replied with a chuckle.

Sighing in relief as she lay back on the couch, Rainbow grabbed Shadow’s book from the nearby table as soon as she was comfortable. Studying the cover image, she placed the translator lens she had gotten over the title, slowly moving it as she read. “The Diary of Summer Breeze” Shrugging at the title, the mare flipped the cover, setting the lens on the first page.

Dear Diary,

I know it’s technically not my birthday for another few hours…

March?:

… One of my guards told me that some the Canterlot nobles were discussing what to do with my baby once I give birth! What to do?! I'll tell you what they're going to do: leave her the fuck alone! First I lose my home to a monster, then my best friend and my husband on the same night to Celestia, and now this?!

No!

They can NOT have my child. If those plot-sniffing, manure-eating bastards think that they can just steal my child from me and claim that they're only doing it ‘for the sake of the foal’, believe me when I say this diary (and whoever else reads this): if they think that they can just take my baby from me, they will have to kill me first, and they better have Celestia and the entire Equestrian army behind them (and I am not being metaphorical). It took that bitch Celestia herself to stop me when I lost my Umber. If anypony tries to take my child, Celestia herself won't be able to stop me from getting my child back, and if they try to run, I swear that they will have to invent new laws to criminalize what I will do to the pony who takes my child.

My mom is telling me not to worry, that it's just nasty rumors the guards made up. Easy for her to say, she isn't about to give birth. I got word from the others - don't ask me how since I won't tell - that if anypony tries to take my child, they will gladly rise up against the guards. Hearing that, it made me smile diary, knowing that everypony still supports me. I wonder what they'll do when they come for you diary…

… Well, that was quick. It wasn't an hour after they took you from me that my mom and I were being escorted to see Celestia. They shackled mom, but I was left unbound, except for the suppressor on my horn. I guess they figured that my being pregnant would work against me should I try to escape. As soon as we were alone with her, Celestia assured me that nopony would take my baby from me. This coming from the pony who had waited to do something about Sombra while innocent ponies were being murdered. I don't think I need to say how little faith I put in her words. I said as much, and told her that the only way I might believe her was if she made it clear to everypony - especially those head-up-their-plots nobles - that my foal was off limits. Less than an hour later, she was doing exactly that.

I don't know if it was the threat of a prison uprising or the possibility of having to face an enraged widow who just had her only foal taken from her, but something seemed to have spooked the great and almighty Celestia. I don't know and I don't really care at the moment. This kid is kicking up a storm and is keeping me awake. I think I'll spend some quality time with my foal-to-be and pray to Luna that it calms the kid down; I could use the rest. And pickles.

Rainbow Dash felt a chill slowly crawl down her spine as she read the entry. She could feel Summer Breeze’s anger and rage, even though the mare wasn’t real. Normally, the young flyer would have been turned off by the book’s title, assuming that since the word ‘diary’ was in it; it would have been a hard bound sleeping pill about makeovers, dates and other decidedly girly things. Never had Rainbow Dash been so happy to be so wrong. The colt’s book was the exact opposite of what she had expected, as if the author shared her feelings and had decided to throw those expectations out the window by writing one of the best books the pegasus had ever read. Needless to say, it had hooked her almost immediately.

Hearing the sound of a page turning, Rainbow looked to her right, barely able to keep herself from jumping at the sight of Twilight sitting in a nearby chair. “How long have you been sitting there?”

The book hovering before Twilight shook slightly as the young alicorn tried to hide her shock at being noticed. Lowering the thick tome, she looked at the clock above the front door “About an hour” She replied, slowly rising from her chair. “You had your nose so deep in that book you didn’t even flinch when I tapped your shoulder.”

“Yeah… sorry about that” Rainbow chuckled, scratching the back of her head. “I guess I got a little lost while reading this book.”

Twilight looked at the battle scene on the book’s cover, frowning at the crystallic title. “So I take it its good?”

“I don’t know who wrote this, but they’ll give the Daring Do series a run for its money.”

“That good huh?”

“You need to get a copy for the library first chance you get Twi, though since it’s a new book out of the Empire, I’m not surprised you don’t have it.”

“New book, huh?” Twilight caught the book in midair as her friend tossed it to her. Looking closely at the cover for a moment, the youngest Princess opened the book, focusing on the cover page. Frowning, she re-read the page a second time, then a third; just to be sure she hadn’t missed anything. “This book isn’t from the Empire.”

“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked, frowning at her friend’s pronouncement “It’s written in crystallic.”

“I know, but according to the date inside, it was printed five years ago.”

“So somepony got the date wrong; big deal.”

“Rainbow, the Crystal Empire hasn’t been back for even half as long as this book has been around.”

“I was there with you when Princess Celestia sent you to find the Crystal Heart, Twi, remember?”

“I know that, but even if this date is wrong, the wear pattern on the pages says the same thing.” Twilight said, returning the book to her friend.

“How can that be, Twilight? You had never heard of the Crystal Empire until it reappeared. If you didn’t know about it before then, who else did?”

“I don’t know, but…”

“Not only that, this book mentions specific ponies and includes how Sombra took over. How could it be that detailed?”

“Nopony knows for sure how Sombra took over. That could just be speculation.”

“What about the other ponies mentioned?” Dash looked her friend in the eyes. “How could whoever wrote this know the names of ponies who had disappeared a thousand years earlier?” Without waiting for an answer, the downed flier opened the book in question, leafing through the pages until she found what she was looking for. Grabbing the translator lens, she placed it over the page before giving the book back to Twilight.

I don’t know how she does it, but I swear Precious Tome knows the name of every book in this library and where they are at all times. Not that I’m complaining, diary. She has been a big help when it comes to finding the books the princess needs…

Rainbow looked up at her friend, frowning at how her eyes had gotten that glazed over look they tended to get when things didn’t seem to add up “Twi?”

The alicorn shook her head as she returned to reality, reading the page again. “How could they know her name?”

“I don’t know, Twi.” The rainbow-maned pegasus said as she yawned. “But we’re flying in circles at this point. Why don’t you just ask Shadow? He’s probably an egg head like you.”

“What makes you say that?” Twilight asked, her eyes narrowing at the loathed term.

“He had three other books in his saddlebag and nearly had a heart attack when he thought they had been lost in the fire.”

“Wait, he had books in his saddlebag?!” Twilight said, nearly shouting as her head snapped up at her friend’s words. “What did they look like?”

“Two were a couple years past ancient while the other was his dad’s potions book.” Rainbow Dash shrugged “Don’t ask me for the names, they didn’t have any that I could see. What’s it matter, anyways?”

Twilight slowly sank back as she scrambled for an answer. What could she say? She couldn’t mention the Fire Sprites, and if she said the wrong thing, Rainbow might distance herself from Shadow, when that was the last thing Twilight needed.

“Don’t sweat it, Twi.” Rainbow Dash said. “Probably some super-secret Princess stuff you can’t talk about, right?” Twilight silently nodded. It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was close enough. “I also found this…” Rainbow added, tapping a folded sheet of paper on the nearby table. The flier watched in silence as her friend picked up the note, gently unfolding it with her magic before reading it. “Is it true?” She asked a few minutes later. Feeling a knot form in her stomach as Twilight nodded, she felt herself ask the one question that had been bugging her since she had found the note stuck between two pages. “What happened?”

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

I haven't read this story yet (but I will as it does sound good) but get a reason why Celestia is evil in this story, right?

[Rill]

8417196
Of course, but that will come in a later chapter.

[Da Fennec]

Not the first time the Princesses actions or lack thereof regarding Sombre and the Crystal Empire has had people considering them evil. I look forward to seeing how the author handles it since Luna doesn't seem to be painted with same brush as Celestia