Guardian Angel

by Absentialucci

Chapter 14

Rainbow Dash was many things. A sportspony, competitive flier. Member of the Wonderbolts Reserves. What she wasn’t… was a romantic. She couldn’t imagine herself getting all weepy and lovey-dovey around somepony and all that sappy nonsense. And yet…
I’ve never felt this much at… peace before. And… happy.

Rainbow Dash had been happy before. Whenever she saw one of her friends, she felt a surge of affection and joy. Not sappy joy by any means of the imagination but it felt… good. But this kind of happiness that she was feeling now?

I feel like I’m resting on a bed of clouds, sunlight shining on me warmly… the temperature is perfect and… gah! It’s just… good.

Rainbow couldn’t resist smiling, as she looked over to the unicorn curled up around herself beside her, breathing softly.

She looks so peaceful…

Rainbow sighed. She’d read about the effects of love on a pony. Not that she would ever admit that, of course. She wasn’t an idiot. She had it bad for Trixie. She couldn’t explain it but…

Maybe that’s the point of it all. It’s something unexplainable.

And Rainbow Dash wasn’t even upset about that. During her musing, she had unwittingly reached her wing out, and lightly ran it down Trixie’s back. Trixie shifted in her sleep, murmuring indistinctly, but uncurled a little.

It’s almost like she’s unconsciously opening herself up more.

Most ponies didn’t take Rainbow seriously. They saw her as no more than a jock, and an athlete. They didn’t give her much credit in regards to her intellect. Rainbow didn’t mind, she legitimately didn’t have much in the terms of ‘egghead smarts’ as she called it herself. But it made it hilarious whenever ponies underestimated her. She wasn’t an idiot after all. When it came down to it, she would be foolish to neglect her mind. Being a part of the Wonderbolts Reserves taught her that. A Wonderbolt had to keep a clear head, and think things through. If they didn’t, they would be a weak link on the team. And a team is only as strong as its weakest link. It was her responsibility to keep herself in shape. Not only physically… but mentally as well.

Rainbow Dash prided herself on noticing things. A fellow wonderbolt needing some work done with them, a friend needing a shoulder to cry on, or even just noticing little details in the background. She felt that she did an admirable job of it… but could never stop refining her innate perceptiveness. She’d be doing herself, her friends, and her team a disservice if she did. Only in constantly striving to be better could she be the pony her team needed. Maybe that’s why she was acting captain of her reserve team.

Rainbow ran her wing down Trixie’s back again.

Is this… wrong? Is it creepy?
Rainbow Dash didn’t think so. She wasn’t oblivious to how Trixie acted around her. Trixie felt the same way as she did…

Only problem… I don’t know if she believes she deserves it…

Rainbow sighed again, withdrawing her wing.

There’s no way she makes the first move… despite that whole persona she has on stage… She’s insecure about her worth. She doesn’t think she deserves to be happy…

Rainbow Dash made a decision that night. She would tell Trixie how she felt. And soon. All that remained was figuring out how to go about doing it… she wanted it to be special.

She looked fondly at the pony she loved. She would do anything for her. Even if it meant going through Tartarus and back.

Is she… is she shaking?

Rainbow heard a small whimper come from the unicorn beside her.

Should I wake her up?

Trixie didn’t stop shaking.

Do something, dummy!

Rainbow Dash carefully wrapped a wing around the unicorn, covering her as much as she could. Then after a brief moment, rested her head atop Trixie's.

“You’re okay Trixie… nothing can hurt you right now. It’s all in your head…”

Trixie’s breathing slowly died down, and her ear twitched. She was still asleep, but Rainbow felt like she was being heard.

“I’ll keep you safe… I’m your guardian angel, remember? Nothing will touch you while I’m here. Understand?”

Rainbow Dash meant what she said, but she also felt a new surge of conviction within her. Trixie was hers. Anycreature that dared to try and hurt Trixie would answer to her. Rainbow pulled Trixie in close, and gently pressed her lips against the slumbering unicorn's forehead.

Trixie let out a quiet sigh in her sleep, followed by a murmur of happiness. Her sleep shifted from uneasy, to entirely relaxed. Rainbow Carefully maneuvered herself, until she could wrap both of her wings around the slightly smaller unicorn. She then wrapped her forelegs around her mare, and rested her head on top of Trixie’s. No matter what happened, Rainbow would be by Trixie’s side. Eventually the need to sleep overcame Rainbow’s mind, and she surrendered to the enticing darkness.

In the middle of the night, two tails found each other, and intertwined.

***

Trixie woke up to the sound of a magical pop. She felt cold. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and found herself alone in the room she’d gotten with Dashie. The rainbow-maned pegasus was nowhere to be found. Trixie yawned, smacking her lips together, as she unceremoniously rolled out of bed, and went to search for a warm drink in the morning.

Don’t these places usually have complimentary drinks?

Despite what Trixie believed, her search yielded no results. Trixie silently cursed the fates that would dare hold her away from her tea! Surely they knew who she was? She was Trixie! The Great and Powerful! And she wanted her tea now!

Trixie glared expectantly around the room. Much to her disappointment though, reality didn’t fold within itself to produce her tea.

Hmmmpf! So be it.

She sulkily made her way to the small bathroom they had in their room. Trixie concentrated, and brought forth her vanity kit from the ether, causing it to pop into existence.

Pop into existence… oh! Right, that’s what woke me up to begin with!

Trixie left the bathroom, vanity kit sitting on the sink counter, and looked again through the room, this time not in anger. A small note was scribbled, and stuck on the door.

Hey Trix! Good morning! Sorry I’m not around, just had to go do some early morning exercises! Be back soon!

~~Dashie.

Trixie smiled warmly. Always keeping herself in shape, something Trixie both admired. Both for the discipline it entitled, as well as the… figure it gave the attractive pegasus…

Trixie allowed herself to indulge in a small fantasy. Nothing too suggestive… not this time. She giggled like a schoolfilly, and let herself stay atop her little cloud of happiness. At least for a few minutes. Then she sighed.

Keep dreaming…

Trixie turned away from the note, and went to find what had woken her. She hadn’t noticed it before.

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, and Captain Shining Armor of the Canterlot Royal Guard.

At the bottom of the gold-trimmed letter was the royal seal of Canterlot. Trixie’s mouth dropped.

Cadence is… getting… married?

Trixie stared at the invitation.

“B-but why didn’t she say anything? Is this… wha-huh?”

Trixie fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Then she shot up.

When? When is the wedding?

Trixie quickly scanned both sides of the invitation, searching for a date. Then she found it on the other side.

Sweet Apple Acres will be handling the catering of the event, headed by Element Bearer Applejack. Dresses for the wedding participants and their apparel will be headed by Element Bearer Rarity of Ponyville.

Trixie skimmed through the list, halting on Rainbow Dash’s.

Element Bearer Rainbow Dash, Captain of the Ponyville Weather Team, will be performing a sonic rainboom at the conclusion of the wedded pairs’ vows.

The door to the room suddenly flew open with a slam. Trixie jumped immediately off of the bed, invitation falling to the ground, her horn alight with a spell. Rainbow Dash stood in the door, breathing heavily. With a wince of pain, Trixie pulled the magic she had put forth back into her horn.

“Rainbow? What’s wrong?”

“Trix, Trix, Trix! We need to move! I have to train!”

It was then that Trixie noticed the invitation clutched against Rainbow’s chest. She blinked.

“Don’t know what you expect me to do about it, Dashie… I can’t fly, remember?”

“I… wait, you know about this?! Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve used the time to prepare!”

“I just learned today, Dashie! What did you expect me to do, know the future?”

“YES!”

Rainbow cried.

“You know Cadence better than I do! You could’ve foreseen this! Or maybe she told you? I dunno! I gotta fly though! Catch you later, yeah?!”

And then Rainbow, living up to her name, flew out of the room. Leaving the door open. Trixie sighed, exasperated, using her magic to close the door, she looked for the date again. Two days, that’s all she had to prepare.

Oh… dear…

At least Twilight was overseeing the wedding. Hopefully that meant nothing would go wrong

***

Deep underground, within the abandoned caves of Canterlot, an alicorn woke up.

Cadence winced, as she rubbed the back of her head. Or, rather, tried to do. She found that she couldn’t move her hoof. She opened her eyes, groaning at the flash of pain that caused, and looked down. Her entire lower body, and all hooves were covered in a… slime-like residue. She curiously tried to move her hoof again, and the residue stretched a little bit, but still held her hoof firm. She was entirely immobilized. Then she felt a fresh burst of pain. This time not physical, but emotional. She remembered the lifeless body of her personal guard, blood pouring out of her lifeless body…

Cadence bit back a sob, and forced those emotions aside. She needed to focus on getting out of here first. She could mourne her lost guard later. If infiltrators had kidnapped her, Canterlot could very well be in danger.

“Poor little princess. Trapped and alone, a fly in a web.”

The voice had a distorted sound to it. She whipped her head around, trying to find its source.

“Oh you won’t find me here.”

Then the voice changed.

“I have a wedding to prepare for.”

Cadence gasped. The voice… it was her own! Then she heard herself cackle evilly, and suddenly there was light. Crystals surrounded her on all sides. And within those crystals she saw a reflection of herself… only… it wasn’t a reflection… it was of her. Standing tall, and unbound.

“Canterlot will fall, the empire along with it. And you’ll not see any of it. Goodbye, princess. It was… illuminating, to meet you.”

Before Cadence could react, green flames suddenly surrounded her. She looked left and right, panicking, as the flames seemed to close in, getting closer and closer. She tried to cast a teleportation spell, but the magic was… sapped out of her horn. She tried again, but the same thing happened.

“Your magic won’t save you here.”

Cadence suddenly saw herself in front of her, a long forked tongue licking her lips.

“It only feeds me, makes me stronger. So much… energy… mmmm, I could get used to this…”

The doppelganger closed her eyes in an almost gleeful way. Cadence charged up one last spell. A lightning bolt, infused with the green flames surrounding her. But once again, she felt the magic drained. But this time she saw a glowing orb of her magical aura coalesce, then float off of her horn, moving towards her doppelganger, who shuddered, before opening her eyes as the magic flowed into her. A wicked grin appeared on her face.

“Goodbye, princess.”

And with that, the green flames covered Cadence’s vision. All she saw was flame. All she felt… were the flames. She screamed in pain as the flames flowed over her, then she felt herself sinking. She looked down at her hooves, and found them sinking into the floor, a sickly green glow emanating from within. Then the flames covered her vision once more. She couldn’t even scream now. Her voice wouldn’t listen… all she felt was pain. Finally, darkness claimed her again, and she could feel no more.

***

Trixie decided she would visit New Elysium Lane. She hadn’t been there in a bit, and it would be good to stop by and catch up with Caramel and Cook before she went searching for some form of proper attire for the wedding. Something told her that her cape and hat wouldn’t be acceptable wedding wear. She smiled warmly as she approached the cafe, chuckling to herself when she saw that Caramel had forgotten to put out the open sign.

Not often she forgets, but maybe we got an early morning rush.

Trixie chuckled to herself as she stepped through the door. It was quiet in the cafe.

That’s… strange. Usually it’s pretty loud here. Especially this time of day.

The cafe only had a few ponies eating. Trixie blinked as she stopped in the entryway. It wasn’t because the ponies were eating… this was a cafe after all. It was… the way they went about eating. It was almost… robotic. Their eyes looked glazed over, and their conversations were just as they were eating. That is, robotic. Trixie’s ears twitched, this was… more than a little creepy. Even though it wasn’t her main duty… she had been out on the floor enough to know relatively how customers behaved. And even knew some by name. Something wasn’t right here. None of the regulars were there, the ponies that were there weren’t acting right. And to top it all off, Caramel hadn’t called out her signature greeting yet.

Trixie patiently waited by the door, waiting to be seated. Then she let out a little sigh of relief, when she saw Caramel appear from the kitchen with a plate of food in her green magical aura. Trixie’s eyes narrowed.

That… isn’t Caramel’s aura…

Caramel’s magical aura was olive green. This one… while still green… seemed almost sickly. It… wasn’t hers.

Trixie felt incredibly uneasy.

“Oh! My apologies, I didn’t hear you come in. I’ll get you a seat right away.”

Caramel giggled. Which sent Trixie’s mind even more into suspicion. Caramel never giggled when there were customers to serve. It would appear unprofessional.

“That’s… okay. I actually don’t think I have the right place.

She doesn’t recognize me…

Trixie was very suspicious. She’d known Caramel for a while now. She was a coworker, and a friend. She would recognize her.

Something doesn’t add up here…

Caramel smiled pleasantly at her, then got back to serving her robotic customers. Trixie slowly backed out the door. She decided to shelve Caramel’s odd behavior for a later time. She had a dress to pick up, after all. And she knew just the dressmaker to look for. Rarity, the premier dressmaker of Ponyville, and Twilight’s friend. In addition to that… Trixie wanted to thank the unicorn for her part in fixing Trixie’s cloak, and even improving upon it.

I’ll look more into Caramel’s behavior later. It might just be an off day for her… maybe she didn’t sleep again.

Trixie allowed herself a small smile and a snicker at that.

Oh Caramel, you do need to look after yourself sometimes.

As for the different aura... well, it was a similar enough color. Maybe she'd just not seen it correctly. What else could it be?

Had Trixie stayed in the cafe a little longer, she’d have seen ‘Caramel’s’ eyes flash green for a second, and the ponies eating at the table faded into nonexistence. ‘Caramel’ frowned, before turning around, and heading into the kitchen.

“Boss, we might have a problem. A unicorn came in, not one of us.”

Green flames surrounded ‘Caramel’ burning away her fur, muscle and skin. The unicorn made no sound, and once the flames fully disappeared, an insect-like figure stood in her stead. The changeling stretched her wings, glad to have them back. She then scanned the kitchen. The stove stood cold, and unused. A sickly-green cocoon glowed in the corner. Within, a unicorn with olive green eyes, and a chocolate-brown coat stared out blankly, mouth open in a questioning way. Beside her, was a slightly larger cocoon. A cook within, this one’s mouth open in a very clear snarl, face that of fury.

“Is that so…”

Came a voice from the back of the kitchen.

“Notify the queen, this damnable place is too far for the hive to see it. Go now. I’ll see to our… interloper.”
Green eyes glowed in the darkness, and a projection of Trixie materialized, trotting quite happily through a crowded Canterlot street.

“We can’t leave anything to chance with things coming so close to go time.”

The first changeling saluted, before taking the form of the waitress who silently stared out of the cocoon. As ‘Caramel’ trotted out of the cafe, the second figure sank back into the darkness.

“You won’t elude me for long… little unicorn.”