...Half Night
Rainbow swore under her breath relentlessly before tearing free yet another of the purple roof tiles beneath her hooves with her teeth. She placed it in her hooves, reared back, and pitched it like a dodge ball for the balcony overhead. It actually sailed over the railing this time, thankfully. Sadly, she heard it clatter uselessly against the marble floor instead of shattering the window.
“Darnit!” She shouted, her fur bristling with anger and frustration. “Come on!”
She had been at this for almost five minutes, now. Ever since Luna had been snatched away, Rainbow had frantically searched for a way up. Sadly, with her wing as busted as it was, flying was out of the question. There were no windows nearby that she could reach in her condition, and no balconies were over the edge of the roof for her to drop down on.
With no other options, she had relented to hurling pieces of the roof up to the balcony, hoping to hit the glass door and shatter the window. Doing that would hopefully create a big enough ruckus to draw Squall’s attention.
“Come on, come on,” she whispered frantically to herself, grabbing another tile and lining up her shot. The more time she wasted here, the farther away Luna was taken. And given the fact that the sun had remained immobile the whole time, cleaving the sky in two, it was safe to assume that Celestia had suffered a similar fate.
She pitched back and chucked the tile as hard as she could. She watched it spin a few times through the air before disappearing over the edge of the balcony. For a split second, she was afraid she had missed her target again. But then, to her great relief, she heard the sound of shattering glass.
Mere moments later, Squall’s voice rang out of the chamber. “Princess Luna! Princess Rainbow Dash?! What’s happened?!”
“SQUALL!” Rainbow screamed at the top of her lungs. “DOWN HERE! I NEED HELP!”
The thestral soon came flying out of the window, his eyes scanning around. After a moment, he saw Rainbow, and his eyes widened. “Rainbow! What are you doing down there?! And what happened to your wing?!”
“Nevermind that!” Rainbow shouted up at him, walking anxiously in place and glancing over her shoulder. “Just help me back up there! We got a problem!”
Squall didn’t need to be told twice. With agility and swiftness only belonging to the thestrals of the Lunar Guard, he swooped down and wrapped his forelegs under Rainbow’s barrel. She winced when his legs rubbed against her wounded wing but did not protest. He lifted her up into the air and soon brought him to a landing on the balcony, giving her a good view of how thoroughly she had broken down that window.
One of the other Lunar Guards, a thestral, that had stood watch outside of Celestia’s room was peering his head inside, the spear against his shoulder looking like it was begging to be used.
Rainbow pointed at him. “Hey! Check Celestia’s room! Is she in there?!” she shouted.
The guard jumped from the abruptness of the order but was quick to obey. He spun around and galloped out of sight, leaving Rainbow alone in Luna’s room with Squall.
“Rainbow, what is going on?” Squall asked again, looking around uneasily. “And where is Princess Luna?”
Rainbow sucked in a deep breath, then let it out. “She… she’s gone. Something - some kind of vines - took her,” she explained, shuddering at the memory.
Squall’s eyes widened. “What?! Where?!”
Rainbow nodded back down. “Somewhere down there. I didn’t have a good view, I couldn’t see,” she explained.
The other Lunar Guard came back into view, his already coat having gone ashen. “Celestia isn’t in her room, your highness!” he reported.
Rainbow growled under her breath before turning to Squall. “Dangit… she must’ve been taken too...” she realized, dread pooling into her heart. Celestia and Luna were gone. And more then that, they were both alicorns. Would Twilight be next?
“Rainbow, what do you need us to do?” Squall finally asked, squeezing Rainbow’s shoulders to bring her back to reality.
She took a deep breath before nodding and rising back to her hooves. “Right… right. Okay, you,” she pointed at Squall. “I need you to find Thorax and bring him to the throne room, pronto!” she spun to face the Lunar Guard in the doorway. “You, find a partner and go to Twilight’s observatory. Find her, bring her to the throne room, too.”
The guard bowed before beckoning one of his comrades, a pegasus, to follow him. The two sped out of view.
Rainbow then pointed to the last Lunar guard out in the hall, an Earth Pony. “You. You know first-aid?”
“Er, yes, your highness!”
Rainbow jabbed a hoof at her injured wing. “Patch me up, and make it snappy.”
Twilight’s eyes snapped open when a sudden knocking reached her ears from the observatory’s front door. She was laying face-down on a desk right in front of a globe-shaped window that gave her a very nice, elevated view of the castle courtyard and much of the cityscape beyond it. Sitting up and rubbing at her eyes, she discovered a few sheets of parchment strewn about the desk in her horn writing that she knew she did not write.
“That’s right… I was looking at some old essays that I had been writing when Celestia first sent me to Ponyville,” she recounted, recalling what Spike had told her when they had stumbled on the unsent papers.
The knocking came again, louder this time, and accompanied by a deep, urgent voice. “Miss Twilight, open this door. It’s an emergency!”
Only then did Twilight finally notice the view out her window. Her eyes widened in shock, her heart leaping into her throat. The sky was split evenly in half between dawn and dusk. The sun and the moon were both mere inches above their respective horizons, painting the whole world in twin shades of reddish-orange and gentle lavender.
The knocking persisted. Twilight finally pulled herself away from her seat and cantered down the steps for the front door. She briefly glanced to one side, noticing Spike sacked out on the bed, a half-complete checklist laying next to him on the covers.
She soon reached the door and threw it open to see a pair of lunar guards standing before her. Both were male, one was a thestral, and the other was a pegasus. She did not recognize either of them.
“Finally, there you are,” the thestral said, his voice noticeably lighter in pitch than his pegasus friend. “You and Spike have been summoned by Princess Rainbow Dash. We are to escort you to her in the throne room at once.”
“Summoned?” Twilight asked, peering past the guards and into the sky. “What’s going on? What’s happened to the sky?”
The guards shared an uneasy look. “We… cannot go into details,” the pegasus replied slowly. “The Princess will explain as soon as you are present. But we must go now. Where is Spike?”
Twilight leaned back, her heart starting to beat harder in her chest with unease. What in the world was going on? “H-he’s upstairs, I’ll go get him,” she said simply before turning and unfurling her wings. With a quick series of flaps, she returned to the second floor and shook Spike in her magic. “Spike! Spike, wake up!”
The dragon grumbled before sitting up. He blinked blearily at Twilight before yawning. “Guh. What is it? What time is it?”
“It’s the middle of the night,” Twilight answered before pausing. “Er, actually, it’s dawn, but… gah! I don’t know! That’s the problem! A couple of guards are here, too! Rainbow’s summoned us to the throne room!”
That got Spike’s attention. He stood upright, an alarmed look on his face. “Wait, what?! Rainbow summoned us?! She never does that unless something’s really wrong!” he exclaimed before hopping down from the bed. “What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure,” Twilight answered anxiously, placing Spike on her back with her magic. “But we need to find out. Come on.”
She returned to the front door, and the guards were still waiting. The thestral nodded. “Good, you got him. Come on, let’s move, and try not to draw any attention to yourself,” he instructed before unfurling his wings and flying off of the balcony, heading for the castle. The pegasus nodded at Twilight before following after his companion.
Twilight took to the air after him, briefly glancing down towards the courtyard as they flew overhead. Her heart sank even further. There were several guards, solar and lunar, running to and from, shouting amongst themselves and mobilizing. “What is happening?” She thought, shivering uncontrollably.
The flight was made almost entirely in silence, and before long the trio was coming in for a landing directly in front of the main public entrance to the castle. There were no civilians or any other castle staff in sight, aside from the royal guard. This gave the duo leading Twilight a clean shot through the great double doors and for the throne room.
Even more soldiers were moving through the halls, calling out to each other. Twilight listened briefly as she passed, picking out utterances of ‘search’ more than once. Were the guards looking for something? If so, what?
“We’re here,” the pegasus eventually announced when they came to the throne room doors. He and his companion pushed it open with a loud and resounding creak before heading inside. Twilight’s eyes flicked to the throne, expecting to see Celestia and Luna there.
Empty. The throne was empty.
Instead of the royal sisters anywhere in the room, Rainbow Dash was pacing back and forth in the center, her right wing bound to her side with bandage wrapping and a tense grimace on her face. Standing nearby, both of them looking nervous, were Squall Dreamer and Thorax.
“Your Majesty!” The pegasus called out to Rainbow, drawing the pegasus’ attention. He nodded back at Twilight. “We’ve returned. Here is Twilight Sparkle and her dragon.”
“Oh, thank goodness!” Rainbow choked out, sprinting forwards. Before Twilight had a chance to ask any questions, she was tackled and enveloped in a bone-crushing hug.
“Wha! Rainbow?” Twilight asked, reflexively returning the embrace.
“You’re okay…” came the whispered response, Rainbow’s entire body starting to shake with relief. “Oh, thank goodness… I was scared you might’ve been taken, too…”
“Taken?” Twilight breathed, blood starting to drain from her face. “What do you mean taken?”
“Rainbow,” Spike called out, hopping down from twilight’s back. He reached up and tugged on Rainbow’s ponytail, drawing her out of her relieved trance. “What’s going on? Where’s Celestia and Luna? And what’s up with the sky?”
“...Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are gone,” Squall finally said for the pegasus. Twilight and Spike turned to him in shock. He lowered his head, his ears drooping. “...Some sort of vines took them. They tunneled through the mountainside and snatched the princesses right off of their balconies as they were moving the sun and moon. The whole of the royal guard has been mobilized to protect the city and search for the hole the vines must have made.”
“And with Mom and Aunt Luna gone,” Rainbow went on, a slight tremor in her voice. Her face was slowly going ashen at the thought. She swallowed heavily. “...th-that means I’m in charge until we can get them back.”
Twilight took a step back, her ears folding back as a worm of dread began to tunnel into her heart. “Wha… w-what do we do?” she finally asked, fear evident in her voice.
Rainbow grimaced. She turned back to look at the two thrones at the back of the room, her posture sagging. “...We need to check on Ponyville,” she eventually began to explain. “I had a flash right before Luna was snatched. I saw those same vines covering all of Ponyville, and spikey clouds flying around and blasting stuff with lightning bolts. We need to go there and make sure everypony’s safe.”
“With respect, your highness,” the pegasus guard spoke up, stepping forward. “Are you certain it is wise for you to go? You’re injured, and we need a princess to lead us.”
Rainbow turned to him with a scowl. “You’ve got captains! They can do a much better job managing the search than I can. I’m an athlete at heart, not a strategist! Besides, if I stay here, the Elements of Harmony are gonna be useless, and I get the feeling we’re gonna need them to stop whatever these vines are.”
“Then Canterlot will be left with an empty throne,” Squall noted, a grim frown on his face. “The commoners in the city are going to be scared and confused by what’s happening with the sky, and if no Princess is here to allay their fears…”
“I know, I know,” Rainbow cut him off while putting a hoof to her temple. “Panic, chaos, pandemonium, whatever. I get it…” she let out a heavy sigh before turning to Thorax, who had been quiet ever since Twilight arrived. “That’s why I had you get Thorax.”
The changeling perked up in surprise. His hoof flew up to his chest as if to make sure Rainbow had spoken right. “Wha- me? What are you-”
“You’re a really good actor, Thorax,” Rainbow pointed out quickly. “And you’ve lived in this city for two years now. Plus, you spent a fair amount of time with me and my friends while we were doing our thing in the Empire two years ago. We need to make sure ponies don’t panic, but I can’t stay here in Canterlot. I need to go down to Ponyville, find my friends, get the Elements, and stop this before it gets any worse.”
She stepped forward and put a hoof to his chest, her expression hardening considerably. “I need you to disguise yourself as me and keep things under control.”
“WHAT?!” Thorax yelped, stepped back. His ears folded back, and he suddenly began to look exceptionally self-conscious. Everypony else in the room was staring at him intently. “B-b-but, I… I’m… what if I can’t do it? What if my disguise fails?!”
“Thorax, you had Wind convinced you were her big brother for a good few weeks,” Rainbow reminded him with a stern frown. “You won’t mess it up. You got this. And if you need it, Squall can coach you.”
Squall hummed in thought at that before nodding his head in understanding. “I will do my best, your highness.”
Thorax swallowed heavily, his eyes flicking over to the other two Lunar guards in the room. “W-well… what do I do?” he asked shakily.
Rainbow gave him an encouraging smile. “Take my form, give an announcement to the public to keep everypony calm, and keep track of everything going on up here. Outside of that? Not much, really,” she told him before turning back to the two lunar guards that were glaring suspiciously at the changeling. “And you two don’t get to give him that look. Go tell your captains about this, then join the search for the tunnels. Go!”
The two shrank down briefly under the intensity of the command before dipping into low bows and running from the throne room. Rainbow kepy a harsh eye on them until the doors swung closed. She let out a heavy sigh and turned back to Twilight. “Okay, and then there’s you…”
“Me?” Twilight squeaked, her heart skipping a beat. “What do I do? I mean, I’m not really all that good with my magic yet, I can’t fly as fast as you, I don’t know-”
“You don’t need to know a whole lot to use the Elements of Harmony,” Rainbow cut her off with a small smile. She stepped forward and put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “You and I are gonna head down to Ponyville, find our friends, grab the Elements, and blast whatever’s causing this into next week. It’s that simple.”
“What about me?” Spike asked hopefully, puffing up his chest expectantly.
Rainbow turned to him. “I need you to stick with Thorax and Squall for now, Spike. If any reports come in about my family, you need to send me a letter explaining right away,” she told him simply.
Spike gave a smart salute. “Aye aye, Princess!” he said before turning to Twilight. He hesitated, his bravado quickly fading. He was silent for a second, his expression twisting with concern and worry. He then turned back to Rainbow, his vice far more pensive than before. “Take care of Twilight, okay?”
Rainbow nodded. “Always,” she assured him before looking up at Thorax. “Disguise time, Thorax. Do your thing. I’m taking Twilight and we’re going.”
Thorax swallowed heavily. “Alright… just…” he looked away briefly, his posture becoming timid. “...Make sure Fluttershy’s okay, alright?”
“Will do,” Rainbow said before turning back to Twilight. “Okay, egghead, we’re leaving. Come on!”
Twilight nodded shakily, stepping to one side as Rainbow went barreling past her for the door. Twilight stood still for a few seconds before looking back to Spike, Thorax, and Squall. The drone among them had just shapeshifted into Rainbow Dash, and Spike was taking the opportunity to point out a few small flaws in his appearance.
She didn’t linger for long. She swallowed her fear and took off after Rainbow as quickly as her legs could carry her.
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Dun-dun-dun.
Rainbow Dash is a great leader when the situation calls for her to do so this chapter is great among other reasons!
Not that I like seeing a crisis, but I do enjoy seeing how Rainbow has matured and eased into her role as a Princess and a leader. She thinks fast, and she's smarter than she gives herself credit for.
Excellent work on this latest chapter. The exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up are all well done in all the right places. As other reviewers have said, it's great seeing Rainbow growing into a rather capable leader when the situation calls for it. She has demonstrated some real quick thinking here (including, but not limited to, getting Thorax to fill in for her AS her while she and the other Element Bearers go try to solve the problem).
All in all, VERY definitely looking forward to more of this.
And here, we see Rainbow Dash do the most important thing for Spike that she ever could: She gave him a job.
And let's face it, having a job is the most important thing to you when you're a jobber.
Nobody's tried using the Elements of Harmony since Twilight died and came back to life, have they? There are a lot of things that can go wrong here. What if her post-amnesia friendship with the other bearers doesn't clear the minimum bar for rainbow lasers? What if her connection to the Element of Magic was permanently severed along with her life force? I dunno, maybe this will work, but there's a lot of variables unaccounted for.
media1.tenor.com/images/0fa813c8472d9227d9f010c2cc4ecf1f/tenor.gif?itemid=7292992
Heh, at this rate, I think I know who Celestia and Luna are going to choose as their successor by the end of this series.
10404057
angel bunny?