Farewell
Chapter sixteen: Farewell
The tapping of Twilight’s hooves stamping across the hard library floor was annoying to Rainbow Dash and Spike, to say the least. At first, it wasn’t so bad, but after fifteen minutes or so, annoying had transformed into downright unbearable.
“Twilight,” Rainbow called out to Twilight in annoyance. “Stop pacing!”
“I’m sorry, Rainbow,” Twilight apologized meekly. “I’m just anxious.”
“Well, could you stop being so noisy about it?” Spike asked, joining the conversation. “You sent that letter to Princess Celestia a while ago; a reply should be coming soon.”
“I know, Spike. But she’s never been this late before!” Twilight fretted, finally putting a halt to her pacing. This time, she opted for sitting down on her back haunches and putting her front legs over her head in worry.
“Uh, it’s only been fifteen minutes,” Spike deadpanned.
“Actually, it’s been eighteen minutes and forty-two seconds,” Twilight corrected.
“Why am I not surprised?” Spike asked himself rhetorically.
Eighteen minutes and forty-two seconds ago, Twilight had sent the letter proposing her idea to send Spike to the dragon lands to Princess Celestia. The piece of writing had been proofread and edited several times over, much to poor Spike’s distaste, just to make sure that it was devoid of any mistakes. This offer was incredibly important to Twilight, and she could not afford to miss her chance with this. When she had first sent it, she had been confident, but that feeling was slowly leaking away as every minute went by. Now, at the eighteen minute mark, that confidence from before had vanished completely. Rainbow Dash and Spike had suffered from that by watching, and listening in Rainbow Dash’s case, to the unicorn pace around the room in endless, nervous circles.
“Ooh, what could Princess Celestia be doing?” Twilight wondered nervously, flailing her arms about. “What if she’s…”
“Jeez, Twilight! Take a chill pill or something!” Rainbow Dash complained. “I’m sure Princess Celestia is answering you and yadda, yadda, yadda, but could you stop giving me a headache?”
“Sorry, sorry,” Twilight answered, sounding sheepish. “Okay, I’ll stop. I’m just wondering what could be taking her so…Spike, are you okay there?”
“What’s he doing?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“He looks like he’s going to…”
A small puff of green smoke emitted from the baby dragon’s mouth violently, and a scroll appeared on the floor after the last of the green flames had blown away.
“Wait, never mind, it’s here.”
“Hey, Twilight could you…?” Spike began.
“Shh!” Twilight interrupted.
“Sheesh,” Spike shrugged. Then, he turned around and walked to the kitchen, not saying another word to the two mares.
Without wasting another moment of her valuable time, Twilight picked up the letter with her magic and opened it quickly, the ribbon holding it together ripping off swiftly. Her stomach was turning and twisting and turning again. This was almost unbearable. What did Celestia say? She had to find out, and she had to find out now.
So, she read on.
“From the desk of Princess Celestia of Equestria,
Dear Twilight, while I am completely aware of what you intend to do, the offer that you have proposed to me is dangerous and, in my eyes, unnecessary.
Dragons, as you know, are very dangerous. Ponies have tried to make peace agreements with them throughout the centuries I have been ruling this country, but none have prevailed due to the hostile nature of the dragons. You know I trust you, Twilight, but this is a very risky idea that may end in some unfortunate results. I know that you care about Rainbow Dash, but I honestly don’t think that this is the right thing to do. I have my reasons for why I say this, but I cannot disclose them to you at this time.
Therefore, I cannot allow you to send Spike to go searching for the dragon that killed and blinded Rainbow Dash.
I’m sorry.
Yours,
Princess Celestia.”
That was it.
That was all it said.
She had to read it over and over again until it was committed to memory before the words written on the parchment began to sink in. How had this happened? At first, she was dumbfounded, but then it began to make sense to her. Too much sense. She shook her head and dropped her magical hold on the scroll, letting it fall to the floor uselessly, much like how she was feeling at the moment.
“So, what’d she say?” Rainbow, who had not seen Twilight’s miserable reaction, asked.
“She…she said no,” Twilight answered in disbelief.
Rainbow Dash was silent for a few moments. Then, she shrugged. “Darn…and I was kind of hoping…”
“Hoping for what?” Twilight asked, her interest piqued.
“I guess for Spike to go find that dragon,” Rainbow Dash told her uncertainly. “I’d like to go give that big jerk a piece of my mind, but since I can’t really do that, I was kinda hoping that Spike could do it for me.”
That came as a bit of a surprise for the unicorn. At first, Rainbow Dash had seemed disapproving of the idea, but now…what had come about that had made her change that decision? Twilight seemed to get the feeling that she wouldn’t lose too much sleep over that question.
“Really?” Twilight asked.
“Really.” Rainbow Dash suddenly put her ears down and winced, like she was in pain.
“Rainbow!” Twilight gasped, trotting over and kneeling down in front of her friend. “Are you alright?” she asked rapidly.
It took Rainbow Dash just a few seconds to come around. “Yeah, I’m fine…Twilight? What are you doing?”
The unicorn had busied herself with poking at Rainbow Dash to see if she could find out what the problem was, if there was one. Fortunately, she couldn’t find anything. Still, it was always better to be safe, rather than sorry.
“Are you feeling hot? Cold? Do you have any aches or pains?” the unicorn asked rapidly, barely leaving any time for Rainbow Dash to think the questions over.
“No, no, and no,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her dull eyes and pushing Twilight’s hooves off her body. “Could you stop worrying so much? I’m fine.” Deep down, something inside her contradicted what she just said, even though Rainbow Dash herself would never admit it to any pony.
“You’re right, Rainbow. I guess I’ve just been so…nervous lately,” Twilight apologized.
“You can say that again,” Rainbow Dash muttered.
Rainbow Dash was just lucky Twilight didn’t hear that little comment.
“Look, I’m okay, Twilight, I’m just…I dunno,” Rainbow Dash began hesitantly. It seemed that she was unsure of what to say, or at least that was how the sentence sounded to Twilight.
“You don’t know what?” Twilight pressed on, sitting in front of the pegasus.
“Uh…”
“So, what did the letter say?” another voice joined in.
Twilight turned her head to see Spike standing in the doorway, holding a bucket of ice cream in one claw, and a large spoon in the other. She groaned. Hadn’t she told him about eating too much ice cream already? She grabbed the two items with her magic and teleported herself into the kitchen, earning a surprised gasp from the unsuspecting Rainbow Dash.
“Aww, Twilight!” Spike protested, running into the kitchen after her.
“I told you, Spike,” Twilight said, involuntarily starting a game of ‘keep away’ with the little dragon. “No ice cream for a while. You know what happened last time.”
Spike stopped in his tracks, a noticeable blush appearing on his cheeks. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Don’t remind me,” he grumbled, catching Twilight off guard and grabbing the ice cream from her while she was distracted. He put it in the fridge and slammed the door shut.
Twilight rolled her eyes.
“Hey, guys?” Rainbow Dash’s voice called out from the other room. “Did you ditch me – Ow! Stupid…wall, or whatever the heck that was…”
The unicorn jumped and trotted back to Rainbow Dash. At first, she couldn’t seem to see her, but then she saw her, bumping into the wall just outside the kitchen. The situation was comical, and lifted a huge weight off Twilight’s shoulders.
She let out a small chuckle at the scene in front of her.
“Hey! I heard that!” Rainbow Dash accused, ceasing her wall-bumping and glaring venomously at Twilight.
The unicorn sighed and walked over to Rainbow Dash, stopping when she was just beside the pegasus.
“Come on, Spike’s in the kitchen waiting for us,” the unicorn said, her voice giving away just the teeniest hint of laughter.
“’Kay,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. She unfurled her right wing and let it lay across Twilight’s back. It was still kind of weird to attach herself (for lack of a better description) to a friend like this. Come to think of it, she hadn’t done this with any of her relatives or any of her friends before. But, then again, that was because she didn’t need to. Now, this action was a necessity for her. On the bright side, it was rather comfortable.
“Well?” Spike asked again as he saw the two mares walk in.
“Well what?” Rainbow Dash echoed when Twilight stopped. She curled her wing back to its resting position and walked about two steps further into the kitchen.
“Well, can I go or not?” Spike repeated.
“I’m sorry, Spike,” Twilight said before Rainbow Dash could reply. “Princess Celestia said no.”
“Bummer,” Spike sighed, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. “Maybe next time, Twilight.”
“Yeah…next time,” Twilight muttered distantly, looking at the night sky in a small circular window just beside the fridge. The moon was full and the stars were bright, brighter than they had been in the last few days. That was odd, she thought to herself, but she didn’t think any more into it than that. Instead, she turned to look at her two housemates, both of which were in the middle of a conversation already.
“Can you get the ice cream for me, Rainbow?” Spike asked pleadingly. “While Twilight’s not looking.”
“Dude, that stuff’s really bad for you. It tastes good, but it’s still pretty bad,” Rainbow Dash commented. “If you eat too much, you’re gonna get fatter than you already are.” Jokingly, she poked him in the stomach. It was a good thing she was close enough to do it, otherwise that would lead to an incredibly embarrassing situation for the pegasus.
“Hey! I’m not fat!” Spike protested. “I’m just…”
Rainbow Dash coughed into her hoof, but made the word ‘fat’ very clear.
“…can you just get me the ice cream?” Spike asked.
“Do you think I can?” Rainbow Dash deadpanned, her left eye twitching dangerously.
“Oh yeah,” Spike remembered. “Sorry, Rainbow.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Eh, no biggie,” she said to him.
Spike sighed in relief. He looked at Twilight to see that she was gazing at them with an amused expression on her face for some reason he could not fathom. Then, his eyes wandered past her to the window itself. It was, to his surprise, nighttime. The last time he looked out the window, the sun had still been in the sky. That was weird how time flew by so fast when one was occupied. Suddenly, he found that he was stifling a yawn, and he realized just how tired he was. Suddenly, that yawn escaped him.
“Phew, I’m tired,” he commented, giving up his search for the ice cream that he had wanted earlier. “Well, I’m going to bed.” With that, he walked placidly upstairs, not waiting for any comments the two mares might make.
“Night!” he called over his shoulder.
“Huh…” Twilight muttered as she watched him disappear into the upper level of the library.
“What?” Rainbow Dash asked, suddenly curious.
“It’s never usually that easy to get him into bed,” she commented, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, that reminds me, are you tired, Rainbow?” she asked her friend.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Eh, I can stay up a little later,” she said.
“Great,” the unicorn smiled, trotting over to her friend. “Hungry?”
A small glimmer of doubt flickered across Rainbow Dash’s face, and it was easy to imagine why. The majority of the times when she ate were when Twilight had to feed her, and that wasn’t fun for either of them, for different reasons. For Twilight, it was almost painful to see her close friend in a state of helplessness such as that, and for Rainbow Dash it was just downright humiliating. What pony, in her right mind, wanted to be fed like a foal? Certainly not Rainbow Dash, the coolest pony in Equestria, and spoon feeding was most definitely not cool.
“Uh…not really, Twi,” she said, although her growling stomach disagreed.
“Nobody’s here, Rainbow,” Twilight assured as Rainbow Dash draped a wing across her back once again.
“I know, I know,” the pegasus answered as she let Twilight lead her to the nearby table. “I just don’t like being…ya know, fed.”
“I understand, but you have to eat sometime, right?” Twilight said. She led her blind friend to the table and let the pegasus take a seat in the wooden chair. “And you haven’t had anything in a while.”
“…fine,” Rainbow Dash gave in, propping her elbows up on the table and putting her head in her front hooves. “Can you just get me something I can eat myself?”
“Of course,” Twilight nodded, walking over to the cabinet and opening it. The drawer contained an assortment of junk food that Spike ate. Twilight ate some of it too, but not as much as Spike. Speaking of which, the choices in the cabinet were getting smaller and smaller, thanks to Rainbow Dash joining the party. She, like Twilight, didn’t eat as much as Spike did, but there were times when she was like a bottomless pit.
The only thing she thought Rainbow Dash would like was a large bag of chips, big enough for two ponies to share. Shrugging, she held the bag in her magic and walked over to the table. Setting the bag down, she saw Rainbow Dash’s ears swivel forwards.
“What’s that?” the pegasus asked.
“Chips,” Twilight answered. “Is that alright?”
“Uh-huh,” Rainbow Dash replied, nodding her head in approval.
“Great,” Twilight smiled, opening the bag with a small pop! She turned the opening towards Rainbow Dash and instructed the pegasus on where to put her hoof. Rainbow Dash picked it up quickly enough. Twilight used her magic to take a few chips for herself. Soon, all that any pony could hear in the kitchen was the quiet crunching of fried potatoes.
“Hey, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash started between a hoof-full of chips.
“Yes?”
“Thanks.”
“Thanks?” Twilight repeated in curiosity. “For what? I didn’t do anything.”
“For, ya know, taking me in and doing all of this for me,” Rainbow Dash said. Her ears were back and her face was turned away from Twilight. “I don’t think any pony else would have done this for me, and I’m really thankful that you did.”
“Well, you’re welcome, Rainbow,” Twilight smiled, grinning at Rainbow Dash’s sheepish expression. “But, I’m sure any one of the girls would have done the same.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right…” Rainbow Dash said uncertainly. “But I’m glad that you did.”
Was that…a blush on Rainbow Dash’s cheeks? Twilight couldn’t tell in the dimly lit kitchen. But, she felt a small blossom of heat rise up in her own cheeks. What did Rainbow Dash mean by that? Did the pegasus value HER company over their other friends? It seemed like it. But why did Rainbow Dash feel that way? Twilight was so ordinary, and boring. She was sure that any one of their other friends could keep the pegasus much more entertained than she ever could. No wonder she didn’t have any friends when she was in Canterlot. But…in a way, Twilight was happy that Rainbow Dash said that. It made her feel…special. She was tempted to say that she enjoyed the pegasus’ company as well, but she decided against it. Rainbow Dash was already embarrassed as it was, Twilight didn’t need to add on to that.
“Umm, thanks, Rainbow,” Twilight said uncertainly. She was about to grab another chip with her magical grasp, but found that the bag was empty. “Huh, looks like we’re out of chips.”
“We are?” Rainbow Dash asked. “No wonder the bag felt empty.”
Twilight let out a snort of laughter and threw the bag in the garbage without looking where she was aiming. A small whooshing sound told her that she had aimed accurately. She smiled in satisfaction, then turned back to Rainbow Dash.
“So, do you want to do anything?” she asked the pegasus.
“Err…Um, I’m feeling tired,” Rainbow Dash said quickly, getting up out of the chair and hovering in mid-air. “I’m just gonna hit the hay.”
“Oh, right,” Twilight stammered. It took her a few seconds to process Rainbow Dash’s request, but nonetheless, she walked over to Rainbow Dash and called, “Can you stop hovering for a second?”
“Sure,” Rainbow Dash obliged, landing softly, but keeping one wing unfurled so Twilight could latch herself onto it. “Sorry.”
“Thank you,” Twilight smiled.
As the two made their way upstairs, Twilight couldn’t keep her mind off what Rainbow Dash had said earlier. The simple sentence had been so much more than that to Twilight, for some odd reason. Now that she thought about it, Rainbow Dash had been acting…strange lately. Her behavior when she was around Twilight was different from what she was used to. Somehow, the pegasus had been jumpy, if that was possible. Maybe it was just because she couldn’t see, but Rainbow Dash had passed that stage long ago, as far as Twilight was concerned. This time, there was another reason for her behavior, but Twilight just couldn’t figure out what it was.
The second they reached Rainbow Dash’s room, the pegasus was relieved, but Twilight could tell that she was doing her best not to let it show.
“Thanks a lot, Twi,” Rainbow Dash breathed out, just starting to close the door.
“No problem,” Twilight answered. “Oh, and Rainbow Dash?”
“Yeah?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“You said you wanted Spike to go and find that dragon, right?” Twilight wondered out loud.
Rainbow Dash’s face contorted into a confused expression. “Yeah, why?”
“I was just wondering. Goodnight.” Twilight said, closing the door for Rainbow Dash with her magic.
On the other side of the door, Rainbow Dash jumped back as she heard the door slam in her face. She hadn’t been expecting that. Twilight usually let her close the door. But, there was really nothing that she could do about it now.
As carefully as she could, she inched her way forward on the small pathway that she had committed to her memory. It was a short journey, and rather easy once she had done it a few times. She smiled smugly. Even though she had set it out for herself a while ago, and it was rather short, she still felt a small blossom of pride. This was one of the few things she could do on her own, but it still had a downside. She had been able to do so many things before this whole mess had occurred, now she was lucky if she could make it to the bathroom on her own. Rainbow Dash grumbled to herself bitterly as she hopped onto the bed.
She wasn’t particularly cold, so she kept the blankets off. Then she noticed she wasn’t particularly tired either. It was kind of funny, in a sad ironic way. She was doing so many things to try and avoid embarrassing moments with Twilight, like saying she was tired when she really wasn’t. Every time she was near the unicorn, she felt less confident in herself. There was always a nagging little voice in the back of her head that kept telling her that she would mess up and do something wrong in front of Twilight, thus ruining her reputation forever. That feeling made her incredibly nervous, and she was at a loss for a reason why.
Even if she wasn’t tired, she still closed her eyes and let her breathing even out. Then, she left her mind to its own devices.
Meanwhile, Twilight was thinking very similar thoughts.
Why was she letting one little thing that Rainbow Dash said get to her so much? She pondered that question over and over again as she sat on the couch until she had nitpicked it down to the very last detail. But, now she had another topic on her mind.
Spike.
And that damn dragon.
Why had Princess Celestia rejected her idea? Wait, she didn’t want that answered. Why she had thought it was a good idea in the first place was a much better question. She had just been so caught up with trying to help Rainbow Dash that she must not have been thinking logically. But…even if the princess had refused to agree with her, the idea was still very much present in her mind. She wanted answers, and she knew that Rainbow Dash wanted them too. This would have been the perfect opportunity, she thought as she let her head rest on the back of the couch.
And it still was…
She hopped up off the couch and ran upstairs to her bedroom where Spike was sleeping. Twilight opened the door quickly and trotted up to the peaceful looking dragon. What she was about to do left her with a bad taste in her mouth, but she still continued on with it. Without a second thought, she gently nudged Spike awake.
“Spike,” she whispered as she gave the dragon a rude awakening.
Aforementioned dragon grumbled and turned the other way, hoping to get away from whatever it was that was trying to get him up from his dream about Rarity and her beautiful white backside.
When Twilight saw that her assistant wasn’t getting up, she frowned and hissed out, “Spike! Get up!”
“Grr…go away!” Spike protested pathetically, flailing his arms in an attempt to get Twilight away from him.
“This is important, Spike!” Twilight kept at it.
“It better be…” the dragon grumbled in annoyance, finally sitting up the little basket he slept in. “What do you want, Twilight?”
“I want you to go find that dragon, Spike.”
Spike blinked in confusion. Had he heard that right? He was probably dreaming; Twilight Sparkle would never disobey Princess Celestia. Yep, there was no question about it. He was dreaming.
“Very funny, Twilight,” Spike laughed out bitterly. “Now what’s the real reason you woke me up?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for Twilight’s answer.
“That IS the reason, Spike,” Twilight said once again. “I want you to find that dragon, even if Princess Celestia won’t allow it.” By the tone of her voice, Spike knew that Twilight was telling the truth. But, even so, he still couldn’t believe it. There was just no way that Twilight would do something like this. There was just no way…
“B-but, Twilight! Princess Celestia said that-”
“I know what Princess Celestia said! I’M saying that you need to go!” Twilight pleaded, not giving in just yet. She needed to do this. Not just for her, but for Rainbow Dash. And, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was the right decision. Princess Celestia had sent six mares to deal with a dragon before, why would this be any different?
“…” Spike’s expression was one that reflected shock. He found it hard to speak for a few moments. “Why are you letting me go when Princess Celestia said no?”
“Because, Spike, Rainbow Dash needs you to go, and so do I,” Twilight explained. “Think of all the good that can come from this; if you go and talk to this dragon, then it might be able to help a lot of ponies. And it can give Rainbow Dash answers as to why this happened.” The unicorn sat down on her back haunches when Spike still looked unconvinced. What was it going to take for him to say yes?
“Please, Spike?”
“Do you really want me to go?” Spike asked, pulling the covers off him and sitting in front of Twilight.
She had thought about that question over and over again through the countless days. Twilight knew the answer to that clearly, now she just needed to put it into words.
“I...I don’t want to, Spike, but I know that I have to,” Twilight answered slowly. “I know what can go wrong, Spike, and the last thing I want is for that to happen.” Just the thought of the baby dragon, hurt and alone, was enough to scare her out of her wits, and the image of him…she didn’t want to think about it anymore. But, she knew she had to, as much as she hated it. She had to do this.
That seemed to scare Spike as well. “Twilight...”
Before he could finish, he was swept up into Twilight’s front hooves in a tight hug. That was weird, he commented internally as he was squeezed by the unicorn. Twilight rarely hugged him. But, he was thankful for the embrace. It showed him just how much he meant to Twilight, and he returned it, hopefully showing her just how much she meant to him.
The hug lasted for a few minutes, but when they both pulled apart, the decision was made.
“I can go, Twilight,” Spike said as he stood in front of Twilight. “I can find that dragon.”
“Good. Start packing, Spike,” Twilight said.
Spike gave her a salute, and then went to work.
Twilight smiled sadly. There was just one more thing she needed to do before she sent him off. She concentrated on Rainbow Dash’s room for a few moments and, in a flash of light, found herself standing in the middle of it. What she wasn’t expecting was for a loud scream of surprise to escape from Rainbow Dash’s mouth.
“Jeez, Twilight!” the pegasus breathed out heavily, clasping a hoof over her chest. “Don’t DO that!”
“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash, but can you come with me for a moment?” she asked.
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow curiously as she hopped off the bed and hovered in mid-air.
“Okay, where are you?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Don’t move; I’ll come to you,” Twilight said, backing up so the she was just parallel with the hovering pegasus. “Okay, come down.”
The pegasus did just that. It came as a surprise to have Twilight’s body right next to her when she landed, but that silent shock only lasted a few unnoticeable seconds. After the shock subsided, a dull warmth was all that was left. However, she didn’t get to enjoy that as Twilight gently pulled her somewhere. She couldn’t tell where they were going, all she knew was that it was down the wide hallway and to the right. Maybe they were going to Twilight’s room, but they could always be going somewhere else.
“What are you bringing Rainbow Dash here for?” Spike’s voice asked.
So she was right. They were indeed in Twilight’s room.
“She’s the only one who knows what that dragon looks like,” Twilight answered.
Wait, what?
“If you’re going to find him, then it might be helpful if you knew what you’re looking for.”
“Wait, you’re actually sending him to find that dragon?” Rainbow Dash interrupted incredulously. “Didn’t Princess Celestia say no to that?”
“Yeah, but Twilight’s doing it anyway,” Spike answered for the unicorn.
“But why?” Rainbow Dash asked again, still not quite able to believe what she was hearing.
“I’ll explain it to you later, Rainbow,” Twilight told her. “Right now I need you to tell us everything you can remember about what the dragon looked like.”
That brought Rainbow Dash’s mind to a halt. What did that dragon even look like? She wasn’t exactly sure she could remember. All she remembered was fire, and pain. But, she tried anyway. The details came to her in foggy visions. The dragon was red…she remembered that, and the wings were huge, as well as the teeth, and the eyes…
Those eyes still haunted her nightmares. They were the deepest scarlet, with hard black irises that were cut into slits. Those eyes just gazed at her, endlessly, almost as if they were peering into her very soul, and exposing her for all the world to see. She hated them the most. Sometimes, she swore she could see them when she closed her eyes, even though she was blind. It was just pure torture.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts and began to describe the dragon to the two. It wasn’t exactly the best description available. But it seemed to be enough. After a few minutes, Twilight told her that what she described would be enough for Spike find the dragon. Rainbow Dash was secretly glad. She didn’t want to think about the beast any longer than necessary. He already haunted her thoughts enough.
A few minutes later, the three found themselves just in front of the library door. Spike was holding a small bag of his belongings and was waiting anxiously as Twilight finished her lecture on what not to do in the wilderness.
“And remember, always stay hydrated and…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Twilight,” Spike interrupted, stopping her in the middle of the sentence. “I know all that stuff already.”
“I’m sure you do, Spike,” Twilight said sadly. She gaze her assistant one last hug before opening the door for him.
“Okay, are you ready?” she asked.
Spike nodded determinedly. But, before he walked out the door, he gave Rainbow Dash a hug as well. But unlike Twilight, this hug lasted a bit longer.
“Stay safe, okay?” Rainbow Dash asked, holding onto him with a front hoof.
“I will,” Spike answered. “Don’t bump into too many things.”
“Shut up.”
With that, Spike decided that it was time for him to get going. He let go of the blind pegasus and turned his body so he was facing the outside world. When he looked outside, he saw that the moon was still high in the sky. At first he wondered why he was making this journey at night, but then realized that no pony would suspect anything if they didn’t see it for themselves. He held up the lantern Twilight had given him and took a step outside. Spike turned around to wave goodbye to the two mares before he finally set off.
He disappeared from sight in a matter of seconds.
Twilight felt tears well up in her eyes as she watched him go. This was the first time he would be somewhere without her to keep watch over him. It was nerve wracking, she thought as she closed the door with her magic and sat down on her haunches.
“Is he gone?” Rainbow Dash asked quietly.
“Yes,” Twilight breathed out shakily. “He’s gone.”
Silence settled itself in the room and, all at once, the room was quiet, except for the sound of Twilight’s heavy breathing.
“Are you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked uncertainly as she set down as well.
Was she okay? Twilight wasn’t sure. She wanted to believe she was, but she found that hard to do. Spike was alone, and he would be alone when he faced a terrifying dragon, much bigger and stronger than him, that killed one of the strongest ponies she knew. There wouldn’t be any pony there to help him if he got into trouble, or if he got hurt, or if he got sick, or if he got…
That was it.
She could hear her breaths come out in ragged gasps and she felt tears run down her face.
Twilight wasn’t okay.
The unicorn felt some pony move closer to her and pull her into the forelegs. She realized that it was Rainbow Dash. The pegasus must have heard her mental agony. Twilight didn’t waste any time with accepting her friend’s sign of comfort and sympathy. She threw herself into Rainbow Dash’s embrace and began crying even harder
.
“Shh…it’s okay,” Rainbow Dash soothed, her scratchy voice comforting all of a sudden.
“No it’s n-not!” Twilight disagreed as she buried her face in Rainbow Dash’s chest fur. “What-what if something h-happens t-t-t-to him an-and I’m not t-there! I’ll never f-forgive myself!”
“Nothing’s going to happen to him, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash assured, her hoof stroking Twilight’s usually neat mane. “I promise you.”
Somehow, those three words brought her a small amount of comfort. Spike would be okay. Nothing would happen. He would be okay. She kept repeating that until she was sick of hearing herself say it.
The two mares stayed like that, one wrapped in the other’s embrace, for the rest of the night, seeking comfort each other’s presence until they finally let themselves drift into unconsciousness.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Wakey-wakey!” a shrill voice told Rainbow Dash as she felt herself wake up. “You don’t want to sleep all day, do you?”
“Tone it down there, girl,” a heavily accented voice scolded the first one. “There ain’t no use in wakin’ up every pony in Equestria.”
Rainbow Dash groaned as she shook her head. Just then, as she brought a hoof up to rub the sleep out of her sightless eyes, she noticed that something was missing.
Literally.
She gasped as she realized Twilight was no longer in her front legs, and she was no longer on the library floor in front of the door. This time, she found herself waking up in…Twilight’s bed, was it? What had happened last night? Then, she shook her head, and focused instead on her two friends, two friends that she had not seen – heard from in a while.
“Ugh…Applejack, Pinkie? That you?” she asked roughly.
“Yeppers!” Pinkie Pie replied. “We thought we’d come up and say hello! So, hello!”
“Gee, thanks,” Rainbow Dash muttered.
“Aww, there’s no need ta be so grumpy there, Dash,” Applejack said, joining in on the conversation. “The gal missed ya, we all did.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Rainbow Dash shrugged, stretching her front legs into the air and getting the flood flowing back into them. “So, what’s up? And where’s Twilight?”
“I’m right here,” Twilight said from just outside the doorway. The unicorn walked in and helped Rainbow Dash get out of bed.
“Are you hungry?” Twilight asked her friend as she led her back downstairs to the kitchen.
“Yeah, what’s for breakfast?” she asked, licking her lips.
“Pancakes!” Pinkie Pie interrupted from in front of them. “I made them myself!”
Rainbow Dash smiled amusedly. She had realized just then how much she had missed her other friends. Twilight was fun and all, but there was nothing quite like hanging out with her four other buddies. She, with Twilight’s help, sat herself down at the table. From the sound of it, Applejack and Twilight joined her. Pinkie was doing something else apparently.
“That sounds great, Pinkie,” she called from the table.
“So, what have ya been up to, RD?” Applejack asked, making light conversation.
“Eh, nothing much, just the same old awesome stuff,” she answered jokingly. “Everything’s a whole lot darker though.”
This evoked a chuckle from the farmpony. When Applejack laughed, she was surprised by how glad she was to hear that sound again. She hadn’t heard from her in a while, and it felt awesome to be spending time with them. As soon as Pinkie Pie served the pancakes, the four ponies began to talk about the past events. Nothing had been going on that was particularly important, much to Rainbow Dash’s pleasure. She would have hated it if something life-changing had happened and she had not been around to see it. Well, she wouldn’t have been able to see it anyway, so…
She stopped herself.
“Did you tell them about Spike?” Rainbow Dash whispered to Twilight after she made sure she was talking to the right pony.
“No,” Twilight whispered back.
That was probably for the best.
“Hey, where’s Rarity?” she asked, swallowing her mouthful of food and changing the subject of the conversation.
“Oh, she’s with Fluttershy down by Ghastly Gorge,” Twilight told her.
“They’re getting ready for-!” Pinkie’s exclamation was stopped when Applejack stuck her hoof in her pink friends mouth.
“Don’t wanna ruin the surprise, Pinkie,” the farm pony told her.
“Hey, I didn’t,” Pinkie Pie shrugged as Applejack took her hoof out of the pink pony’s mouth. “You did.”
“Can you two stop talking about it!”
“Sorry.”
“Wait, what surprise?” Rainbow Dash asked, suddenly curious. She could feel the tension in the room come to a boiling point, before Pinkie Pie finally spilled the beans.
“We’re helping you fly again, Dashie!” she burst out excitedly.
Rainbow Dash felt herself freeze. They were trying to do what? They were trying to do the impossible, that’s what. She couldn’t fly like she used to anymore, no matter how much she wanted to. Those days were over, and she didn’t need any more reminders. Why couldn’t they see that? She put her head down and her ears flattened themselves against her skull in anger. She appreciated what her friends were trying to do, she just didn’t need any pity from them.
“If I can’t bucking see, how do you expect me to fly?” she growled out.
The three were silent for a few moments, but then Twilight spoke up.
“Rainbow, we found a book that…”
“Book shmook! A stupid book isn’t gonna help me fly again, Twilight!”
“Listen! The book talked about how blind pegasi can fly again, and we believe that you’ll be able to use it to help you! Think about it, this could be your only chance to fly! Do you really want to waste it?”
Did she really want to waste it? No, she didn’t. She would do anything to fly again. Unknown to the others, she had been going crazy lately. Her wings would twitch with need, and she couldn’t help fulfill that. She wanted nothing else but to feel the wind once again rush through her mane, tossing it this way and that. She wanted to feel the rush of adrenaline that always came when she was barrel-rolling her way through the air one hundred feet above the hard, unforgiving ground. She wanted to feel that freedom again. She had just forgotten that for a while.
“…tell me more about this flying idea,” she requested after a lengthy pause.
And so they did. They told her everything on the long walk to Ghastly Gorge. After a long detailed explanation, and many questions, Rainbow Dash finally thought that it was a good idea. Hey, it was worth a shot, and it sounded logical enough. She had never really thought about it before, but now she realized just how important air currents were. Now, she could use them to help navigate on her own. In short, she would be able to fly again.
Hopefully, after some work. But, no challenge was too big for Rainbow Dash to handle.
As soon as they reached their little training facility, or whatever it was that Pinkie Pie had called it, the blind pegasus was tackled by some force that she was unaware of.
“Oh, darling!” Rarity’s voice shrieked as the unicorn pulled her into a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you again! You look well.”
“Thanks, Rares,” she replied as Rarity finally let go of her. “It’s good to see…uh, hear you too.”
Rarity found that funny for some reason. Rainbow Dash felt her lips purse themselves together, and she tried not to make some snobby comment about it.
“Did the girls tell you about that idea we had?” the alabaster unicorn asked. “The one to get you flying again?”
“Yeah, they told me,” Rainbow Dash nodded, tapping her front hoof as she heard the three others come around the pair.
“Wonderful! Then there simply isn’t another moment to spare!” Rarity smiled in her delicate tone. She clapped her hooves together. “Fluttershy! Can you come here please? We’re starting.”
Rainbow Dash felt her world come to a crashing halt for the second time that day. Oh no…not now. She didn’t want to deal with this now! Rainbow Dash felt an anxious bubble rise up in her chest, and her heart sank all the way to the bottom of her hooves. Could this day get any worse than it already was?
“Where is she?” Rainbow Dash asked nervously, flicking her head in all directions.
“Uhh, I’m right here,” a shy voice said.
Rainbow Dash stopped her violent head turning, and turned herself in the direction of her oldest friend. She felt her breathing stop as she heard Fluttershy take a deep breath.
“H-hello, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy smiled nervously. “It-it’s good to see you again.”
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Two words.
HOLY SHIT.
Have a seven-thousand word chapter.
Also, look at my nice new avatar that celebrates Alicorn!Twilight.
2071369 I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the avatar....no words to describe it
Well...this next chapter is certainly going to be very, very interesting.
And I'm also surprised, but somehow not surprised, that Twi is going against Celestia's orders.
May the Grace of the Valar Protect You
Shire Folk
Yay! Fluttershy is speaking to Rainbow!
Yay update!
I like your new avatar by the way. Very dignified.
Great Chapter! And nice new avatar
Great Chapter!
I see no obvious grammar issues but I saw two formatting mistakes.
Look over it and just add some space. The perspective changes seemed a bit off this chapter, but that's me.
I'm wondering if you plan on writing out Spike's quest in some form. If you are, I look forward to it, especially if you include camping
Its lovely to see you again Claire..uh, I mean, Rainbow Dash
Twi sending Spike away against Celestia's orders?
Breaking the news to Rainbow about helping her fly again?
Fluttershy finally talks to Rainbow again?
Someone get the soap. Something tells me we're gonna have to wash this fan.
Honestly, I still have no idea why Twilight wants Spike to find the dragon. What does she expect to get out of it?
Just one minor error:
Otherwise, Nicely written.
Ok, I'm sorry, but I honest to god can't see any logical reason for sending Spike.
Seriously.
Spike is LESS than bite sized, judging by the episodes. This is a dragon that's proved it gives not one fuck about killing whoever he pleases. They're going on about 'helping so many ponies', but how? Do they expect it to be like Dragonshy, and have Spike go fucking lecture him until the pony eating, equicidal dragon feels so bad he decides to come back and apologize? Even if, EVEN. IF. this is a few years later and Spike's bigger, he can still easily fit in the library, and Twilight can still hide the goddamn ice cream from him by putting it out of his reach. The only difference between this Spike and the one in Owl's well that ends well, if there is a difference, is that the giant killer dragon they're essentially feeding him to might actually have to chew. There is literally nothing he can do. Nothing.
Actually, scratch that.
He can die.
Messily.
the ultimate problem solver for things that cant see (bats, blind people etc.)
Echolocation!
remember that time where i was all like "let's say spike doesn't get hurt on this quest" and you where like "don't worry he doesn't"
feel a need to reiterate that.
also
this could get Sirius. OMGERD
Great chapter
The bit with spike going to sleep and time changeing like that felt a bit of to me but other wise very good
Oh wow, this just keeps getting better. Nice cliffhanger ending too. Even though I can understand RD's mindset, I can't figure out whether she's going to have a long talk with Fluttershy, or just punch her in the face. It could go either way. Also with RD's hearing improving echolocation is certainly possible, I use it a bit, in the dark. All people can to a degree. If you close your eyes and very slowly approach a wall, you should be able to almost 'feel' it in front of you. That's because of the ambient noise reflecting off of it. I once heard it referred to as 'sound shadows'. Sorry for the ranting comment, keep up the good work.
Well Spike is pretty screwed.
2071612
Dragons seem to be less aggressive to their own kind, as evidenced in dragon quest (S2E21). That said, this dragon seems to be a little more unstable than the rest, so it'll be interesting to see how the author handles it. Though, I have to agree in that I don't really see how Spike meeting the dragon is going to somehow help the characters or develop the plot. Seems a tad awkward.
I'm really enjoying the story so far - all things considered. Keep it up TRB
2072041
Did you forget the green dragon in Owl's Well?
That dragon was not tending his hoard, and had in no way set up signs of his claim. Just left gems out in a shallow cave for anyone to find. And rather than admonish the baby dragon, or give him some task to complete to recoup his losses - he was going to KILL Spike. Dragon Quest is bunk for dragon interaction, because only the teenagers did anything that episode. The older dragons were resting for the flight ahead of them.
2071590
Confirmation that the dragon did it for no particular reason. It could, so it did. Ponies think so highly of their own existences...
2071965 Amen bruddah.
RD seems calm and collected around Fluttershy and in turn she's growing more confident towards Rainbow Dash... and then the CAGE COMES DOWN! Black eyes and broken wings, and Fluttershy ends up looking like she did when she was beaten up in SHED.MOV
Great Chapter love that Twilight is disobeying Celestia
Your avatar perfectly reflects my thoughts on this whole idea and the last few days in this fandom.
What I mean is it's both horribly scary and amazingly funny.
2071369 that avatar needs to be an emote XD
Why do I want rainbow dash to freak out and yell at Fluttershy?
AWWWWWW... I want to read about Rainbow Dash flying!
:l
Every time, throughout the story, you've brought up Twilight having Spike go search for the dragon, it's felt forced, OoC, and unexplained. Twilight's reaction to finally having it done, also feels forces and unexplained. It may be a major plot point, but your execution of it is ruining the story for me.
2072041 So... He's not going to fucking turn him into a fine red paste because several dragons at a dragon social gathering didn't immediately murder one another?
2072829 Because rage is fun?
amazing update can't wait for the rest
2072829
Because in stories like these,
Drama creates Da Magics
GAH! I cannot express how much i love this fic! Also Spike is kinda screwed and your avatar is awesome.
"Flood" should be "Blood"
Shit just got real!
The plot (har har) really moved in this chapter, didn't it?
2072041 the only thing i can think of is an excuse for Twi and Dash to be alone...
And
that is just so much dawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww its not even right
2072213
I don't understand what you mean by your first regard, If you aren't home, but someone burglarizes your house, are you really going to do nothing? As for the second, a species that doesn't get along with one another typically doesn't migrate together. They seem to have a very alpha- oriented culture, but there's no reason to believe they kill eachother arbitrarily.
2071612 I couldn't have said it better.
2078833
Okay, maybe you misunderstood. These aren't civilized creatures living in homes, with four walls and a door preventing anyone from entering without knocking the thing down or picking the lock. These are halfway feral nigh-immortal and arrogant beasts of legend. It was just left... in a shallow cave, not much different than leaving it out in the open. And a baby ate some of the hoard, quite literally a baby.
So, if he was sensible to any degree like you're basing your thoughts on, he'd scold or kick said baby out, or seek some form of compensation. Instead, what you're suggesting is that it's alright to attack a baby because it accidentally stole your things?
Also, it was shown during that migration that they also tend to scuffle and fight mid-flight. As for migrating together, each one of the adults is a powerful beast and at least somewhat intelligent - they know that randomly attacking another such beast as large and fearsome as itself is going to result in one of them or both of them getting wrecked, and is not conducive to migratory activities.
Back to the Everfree. All the same, the green dragon was quite actively attempting to kill a baby who'd eaten some of his food that he'd left no visible claim to or defense or barred path, or anything to say "this is not yours".
2079083
1. I think the fact that the gems are within a cave in the cliche stack would indicated it belonging to a dragon of some sort. In any mythology (that I know of), dragons don't typically put a sign in front of their hoard indicating that it belongs to Ugg the Firebreather. This is the same reason I won't walk into dark caves in my country, because there's a it may belong to a bear. For instance, if dragons existed in our world, I think it would be more than logical to walk the other way if you found a cave filled with gold and jewels.
2. I don't think there's enough evidence in the show to accurately depict dragon's morality. It might be perfectly acceptable in dragon culture to kill anyone or anything that attempts to steal from your hoard, regardless of age.
3. Dogs and wolves scruff with eachother all the time, but it doesn't always lead to one of them getting killed. As you said, they're more of a barbaric species, so shows of dominance would not be too far of a stretch.
2080488
1: No one said anything about a sign with lettering. Anything would do, something to show claim. Just putting it in a cave does not show claim to any creature, beast or intelligent.
2: Which supports my stance.
3: Shows of dominance last until one party backs down or dies if neither back down or are too injured to continue combat.
2083251
I'm pretty sure the gems speak for themselves in terms of claim to a cave. Dogs piss on the ground to show claim to territory, dragons might use gems. As for the rest, I really don't understand what your endgame is. All I'm trying to express is that it's plausible that the dragon might not murder Spike - and that there's evidence within the show that depicts dragons as not absolutely aggressive.
Rainbow is still angry with 'shy, isn't she?
2071602 how do you RD isnt infected? this COULD be the haloverse
remember to get a copy of "how to fly when your blind" in brail... i almost said binary... why am i still typing?
Spike better be a damn good ninja
"There will be trouble, ahead"
XD
2071612
Be quiet you damn Scrouge, your opion matters not
2086798 You, my friend, can eat a dick.