Chapter Eight
Dreams and Disasters
by Quillery
Chapter Eight
Honey and the Bee
Dash flared her wings outward and stopped her ascent, spinning around to face the city below. Her chest heaved with each breath as she searched around. “Gotta find help… where…”
She slowed her wings and leaned forward, her head swinging in all directions. Now, what do guards look like in Prance? I haven’t seen a single armored pony yet.
Her wings buzzed as she propelled forward, scrutinizing the streets. The city was filled with crowds of ponies. The roads were decorated in bright blues, from banners and streamers to tinted lanterns and street lights. Loud music drifted up from the streets, and groups of ponies broke out into dance. She heard their cheers and stomps, even at her height. The smell of fresh fried batter was the strongest, eliciting a growl from Dash’s stomach.
Dash grunted and carried on. Huh, guess something special’s goin’ on. That makes this interesting. Finding a guard in this mess is gonna be hard.
She swung her wings out and turned sharply, ending in a hover over an intersection. I don’t even know where I’m going. She groaned. I shoulda grabbed Twilight’s map. I have no idea if I’m heading towards a guard post or a bakery!
She glanced down at her necklace. It gave off a dull glow as it swung around her neck. I’ve gotten pretty far from her. Maybe I should head in the other direction at least. If I can’t get help close by, then what’s the point? Hopefully Vanille can keep them safe for a whi—
Her eye twitched. I left her with Vanille! Alone. Agh, what was I thinking! After all those looks she gave her, now she’s probably hitting on her while I’m gone.
Dash slapped herself across the face, and rubbed her cheek. What the hay am I thinking? We’re in trouble, why would she being hitting on her while we have a bunch of goons chasing us. I doubt Twilight is into that kinda thing. Dash’s cheeks grew warmer as she nursed her injury. Or what if she is?
She shook her head. Not now Dash! Friend in trouble now, deviant thoughts later!
Bringing herself out of her trance, Dash reexamined the street she was hovering over. The intersection flowed into four wide streets, all equally decorated in the same theme as the rest of the city.
She floated further downward and landed on the road. She stopped a passer-by with her hoof. “Excuse me, where can I find the nearest guard post?”
The pony she had stopped tilted her head. “Pardon?”
Dash’s ears folded back. “Uh, sorry…” She sped off into the crowds, swearing under her breath. I don’t even know the language! How am I supposed to find anypony to help if I can’t talk to them?! I’m just gonna fly back and—
Dash flapped her wings and left the ground, only to clip her hooves on a pony standing in her way. She tumbled over in the air and straightened herself, crashing back to the ground.
She spun around and spotted a unicorn stallion rubbing his head. He brushed his red mane out of his eyes and turned his attention to Dash, eyebrow raised.
“I’m really sorry,” Dash said. “I’m in a hurry, and—” Dash facehoofed. “And you probably don’t even understand me.” Dash sighed, and bowed her head. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. My friends are in trouble.”
“And running into passers-by in the street is the best way to aid them?” the stallion said.
Dash rolled her eyes and started flapping her wings again. “Yeah, well, sometimes things don’t work the way you—wait, what?!”
Dash stopped her wings and stared wide eyed at the stallion in front of her. “You speak Equestrian?”
The stallion smirked. “That is not obvious?”
Dash stepped forward. “Then maybe you can help me! My friends and I were being chased by these weirdos trying to ponynap us or something. I need to find the city guard and get back to them. Do you know where they are?”
The stallion’s smile faded and his brow arched. “Well, you certainly have a knack for running into the right pony.” The stallion nodded his head to what he was wearing. A set of polished gold medals hung on a sapphire blue tunic. Dash’s eyes narrowed on the uniform.
She met his eyes again. “Y-you’re a guard?”
He nodded and Dash’s eyes brightened. “Then you gotta help me! I know where to find them.” Dash grabbed her necklace and showed it to him. It glowed faintly, and it was steadily rising. “They aren’t far!”
He examined the necklace. “I see. I will fetch some assistance and follow—”
A second uniformed stallion galloped up to them. He offered a quick salute to the other stallion. “Capitaine! Nous les avons trouvées!” he wheezed. He offered a piece of paper to the other, who grabbed it in his magic.
He frowned as he examined it, before turning his attention back to Dash with sigh. “I am sorry, madam, but something has come up. I will send for a constable to assist you as soon as I am able.”
Dash glared at him. “What do you mean, as soon as you are able? My friends are in trouble, what’s more important that stopping a ponynapping?”
The stallion turned the piece of paper over, revealing a photograph to Dash. “We have located a potentially dangerous criminal nearby, and I have no intention of letting her get away again. So unless you have seen this mare to aid my search, I’m afraid all of my available gendarmes will be searching this city for her.”
Dash stared at the photo. Her eyes were locked to the golden curls of the mare on it, her bright olive eyes and her elegant white dress, standing in front of a black and white striped background and a numbered sign hanging on her neck underneath an insidious smile. Dash’s mouth hung open as her heart began to hammer in her chest.
She looked down at the necklace still in her hooves. It glowed brighter than before, and she gripped it tightly. “Yeah. I’ve seen her.”
*****
Dash sped through the air, her mind racing. She scanned the streets below, clutching her necklace in her hooves. Its purple glow wavered as she flew, and she changed directions with every pulse.
What was I thinking?! I knew that Vanille was up to no good! Now I’ve left her alone with Twilight, Celestia knows what she might have done to her. She gritted her teeth, hastening her search. She glanced behind her and frowned at the rainbow trail that followed her. Those guards better be able to keep up.
The glowing amulet shifted, and Dash banked sharply. Oh Twi, where the hay are you? I didn’t get that far away, did I?
A cascade of light erupted from the necklace, and Dash slowed down. She hovered above a small alley but didn’t see anypony. She dove down and glided above the buildings, watching, listening.
A quiet sound drifted past her ears from below. It sounded like hooffalls, bouncing off the narrow walls of the street. Dash landed on the building and peered down over the edge. She tilted her head, trying to located the sound’s source. She also heard the sound of heavy breathing, and a familiar voice.
“Pace myself… Right,” Twilight said, panting. “That’s the last time I listen to a book on how to run.”
“You did well,” Vanille said. “I’ve seen worse fleeing.”
“You say that like it happens a lot.”
Vanille glanced back at Twilight and smirked before looking back at the street. “It happens daily sometimes.”
Dash’s eye twitched, and she scowled.
“And what, I might ask, is it that has you running about that much?” Twilight said.
“Running from the cops, probably,” Dash shouted. She bounded from the roof and glided down to the ground. She kept her wings outstretched as she glared at Vanille.
Twilight’s face brightened as Dash landed. “Oh, Dash! You’re alright. Did you find anypony to help?”
“Twi, get away from her,” Dash said in a level tone.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, Dash?”
Dash jerked a hoof in Vanille’s direction. “She’s what’s wrong. She’s been lying to us this whole time, Twi, and playing us for suckers.”
“What?” Vanille said, outraged. “How dare you accuse me of something like that!”
“Can it, princess. I know your game now. Rob the trusting tourists, right? Or maybe you’re actually working with those goons and make a tidy profit on the side. Let me know when I’m getting close.”
“Dash!” Twilight said. “How can you say these things? Vanille has been nothing but nice to us this whole time, and she’s been trying to help us escape! I can’t believe you!”
Dash winced, but only for a second. She popped open her saddlebags and withdrew the paper the guard had given her, and tossed it to the ground in front of Twilight. “What was that thing you told me once, Twi? A picture is worth a thousand words? I bet this one is worth way more than that.”
Twilight scooped up the photo in her magic. She cast a glare in Dash’s direction as she brought it to her eyes. Her eyes flicked over the page, and her pupils shrank. She dropped the paper with a gasp, and stepped away from Vanille.
The photo drifted in the air towards her, and she stepped on it to stop it. She glanced at the image, and quickly glanced up to Dash, worry in her eyes. “Where did you get this?” she said quietly.
“The guards. They were pretty insistent on catching you more than helping us elude a bunch of ponynappers, that is until I told them that they could do both. They should be here any minute.”
Vanille fidgeted in place. “I—I can explain!”
“I trusted you…” Twilight said. “How could you do such a thing?”
“You misunderstand! Please, I beg of you to listen to me. It isn’t what it looks like!”
Dash stepped in between Twilight and Vanille, keeping her eyes trained on her. “I don’t want to hear it, lady. You try and hurt me, that’s fine, I can take you. But if you try and hurt my friends, you’re looking at way more than just a gentle flank kicking.”
Vanille stepped back, her ears folding behind her head. “You—you wouldn’t…”
Dash narrowed her eyes. “Try me.”
She felt a hoof on her shoulders. Twilight was beside her, shaking her head. “There’s no need for that, Dash. Let’s just wait for the guards, they can deal with her.”
Dash snorted. “If you say so, Twi.”
“P-please,” Vanille said. “This is a mistake. I have done nothing wrong.”
“I’m pretty sure lying is wrong,” Dash said. “Or whatever the guards want you for.”
“You need not patronize me, Miss Dash. It was not my intention to put you and your friend in any danger.”
“Then what was your intention, if you weren’t just doing this to screw with us?”
“I want to know what the world outside is like. I feel like most of the time I am trapped here. Which is why I act as a guide for tourists, so that I may learn of the outside world. At least for a fleeting moment before…”
“Before what?”
Vanille narrowed her eyes. “As much as life on the surface here in Cheval glitters as if gold and silver, there is much worse that oozes from beneath, and not everypony can keep their distance.”
Dash rolled her eyes. “The fancy stories might have worked before, but I’m not buying it now. Why don’t you keep quiet until the guards get here? Then we can see what to do with you.”
Vanille opened her mouth, but said nothing. Her eyes trained away from Dash to something behind her and widened. Twilight stepped back as well, blinking and turning pale.
Dash turned her head, and spun her whole body around at the sight of the two thugs from earlier, moving towards them from the mouth of the alley. They walked with a limp, but any pain that they might have felt was masked by anger.
“You guys just don’t know when to quit, don’t you?” Dash said.
The stallions ignored her and kept moving.
“Twi, tell these morons that the guards will be here any minute. If they want to get roped in with their buddy, that’s their problem.”
Twilight nodded. “Messieurs, je serais plus qu'heureuse de vous lancer dans un mur encore, mais nous avons appelé les gendarmes. Voulez-vous vraiment prendre ce risque?”
The stallions exchanged a glance, but instead of turning around, they hastened their advance. Dash glanced at Twilight, who shrugged with concern. Dash turned back with a frown and stretched her wings out wide. “So, were doing this the hard way then?”
She moved forward to cut off the stallions, when she heard sound of struggle behind her. Twilight was straining, her horn only offering sputters of light. Her eyes were darting between her horn and Dash. “My magic… it isn’t working!”
“What?” Dash said. She turned her attention to Vanille. “What did you do?”
Vanille shook her head. “I haven’t done anything!”
“Are you certain about that?” a new voice asked.
Dash spun around. At the head of the alley were three uniformed stallions blocking the path. They stood behind the guard captain Dash had ran into, and she smiled victoriously. “About time you showed up.”
“Apologies, madam. You were much faster than I gave you credit for, and getting an anti-magic field up took longer than I thought.”
Dash’s smile faded. “Wait, what? Why would you do that?”
He smiled. “Just a precaution, I assure you. We wouldn’t want things to get out of hoof, now would we?”
The captain and his gendarmes advanced on the thugs. Dash grinned again when she awaited him to arrest the two would-be ponynappers, when instead, he slapped one of them across the face.
“Imbéciles! Vous aviez une rôle, et vous ne pouvez même pas faire cela correctement! Maintenant, je dois m'impliquer.”
“Désolé, Monsieur Ruby. La licorne était plus forte que nous le pensions.”
His eyes flickered with silver as he glanced at the three mares in front of them. “Elles sont trois petites pouliches, et vous me dites que deux étalons de votre réputation ne peuvent pas les gérer ? Pathétique. Peut-être que je devrais vous appréhendez moi-même.”
Dash frowned. “Twi, what are they saying?”
Twilight didn’t respond. Dash turned around, and saw that Twilight and Vanille were frozen still, staring at the group of stallions in front of them.
“Uh, Twi? What’s wrong?”
“This is the guard you found?”
“Well, yeah. He looks like a guard, doesn’t he?”
“He’s one of them!” Vanille said.
Dash tilted her head. “Huh?”
“That captain, he is Mr. Ruby. He is the one who ordered our capture.”
“What? No way. He’s a guard.”
“Are you saying guards are above corruption?”
“Well, I always assumed—”
“Your assumptions have now made our situation worse!”
Dash felt her chest clenching and twisting. “B-but I… I was trying to help… I was trying to be a hero…”
A hoofstep broke her from her downward spiral. Mr. Ruby was standing next to her, his guards moving around her. “You have done admirably, child,” he said. “For your service, I promise that you will be sold to a kind benefactor.” He turned his attention to Vanille. “As for you, ma petite souris…”
Twilight stepped in front of Vanille. “You won’t be laying a hoof on her while I’m around.”
Ruby smirked at her. “You are confident, madame. Even without your magic. I must applaud your courage. You will fetch a tidy sum indeed.”
“That’s mademoiselle to you, buddy,” Twilight said. “And you won’t be hurting us or our friend.”
Mr. Ruby blinked, turning his attention back to Vanille. “Oh, ma petite souris. Vous avez fait des amis.”
He turned back his accomplices. “Assurez-vous de ne pas endommager la marchandise.”
The guardsmen nodded and moved forward, surrounding the three mares. Dash stepped back towards Twilight and Vanille.
Twilight’s eyes were darting between the approaching stallions. “What do we do, Dash?”
“Well, I know what we aren’t doing,” she said. “We aren’t taking this lying down like a bunch of chumps.”
“But without my magic I—”
“You don’t need magic to fight back, Twi. Or were you not paying attention during your brother’s wedding? Watch.”
The first guard stepped towards Dash, reaching out a hoof. Dash responded by charging into him. The guard withdrew his hoof, but Dash was already within his space, and slammed her head into his cheek.
He tumbled back from the blow, just in time for a second stallion to join the fray from Dash’s left. She flashed a glare at him, as she brought up her left wing and swept it through his knees. His legs buckled and he fell to the ground hard.
Dash turned back to Twilight with a smirk. “See? Nothing to it.”
“Dash look out!” Twilight said, pointing behind her.
Dash’s ear twitched at the sound of galloping hooves suddenly stopping. She dropped down to the ground, as a guard lunged over top of her and rolled into the ground, stopping just in front of Twilight.
She stared at the stallion at her hooves as he struggled to stand back up. She was still a moment, before she bucked her rear legs. Her bags hopped from her back and sailed in the air, landing on the guard’s head with a thud. He groaned quietly and stirred no more.
Dash smiled. “Good one, Twi.” She turned back to Mr. Ruby. His head was tilted away, and he was smirking.
“You won’t be smiling when I beat it off of you, punk.”
“I was merely thinking how adorable you all are fighting back like this. And the money I shall receive once the transaction is complete.” He whistled sharply, and nodded to the rooftops.
Dash looked up, and her ears folded back. She counted a at least a dozen pegasus soldiers staring down at her from the roof edge.
“Dash!” Twilight shouted.
Dash spun around. Twilight was pointing down the opposite side of the alley, where a second battalion of guards were filling the narrow street. She growled, and tensed her body into a low posture.
She felt a leg sling around her throat and wing. She bucked and kicked in response, but there was no sign of her assailant backing off.
“Shh…" Mr. Ruby cooed into her ear. “Do not fight it. It will all be over soon.”
Dash’s heart began to race. Even for a unicorn, this stallion was strong, even stronger than her. She twisted her body every possible way, but she could not weaken his grasp. She watched Twilight backing away from a duo of guards closing in on her as she trembled violently.
Then, Dash saw nothing. The street darkened as a cloud of thick, black smoke billowed into the area. It oozed everywhere, washing over the guards, Twilight, and Dash. She couldn’t see a thing and began to cough.
Mr. Ruby, too was hacking at the disgusting murk. Dash felt his grip weaken, and wiggled free. She charged forward, peering through the mucky black. “Twilight! Where are you?!”
There was no answer. Only coughing and shouting from the guards all around her. She couldn’t even see the sky above.
She felt another hoof clamp around her mouth, and a harsh whisper in her ear that she did not understand. She felt like she was pulled downward, like she was falling. She was pulled into the earth, her wings brushing up against damp stone and dirt. She tried to cry out one last thing against her captor before the last shred of light above was snuffed out, and there was nothing but darkness remaining.
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Am I the only one who hopes that Celestia goes full Bryan Mills on this guy?
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you that Equestria does not negotiate with terrorists. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very, very VERY long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my student go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."
Yes! Finaly, someone who remember that rainbow actualy know how to fight.Great chapter again, for the mistakes i spotted in french here they are :
“Capitaine! Nous les avons trouvée!” well here the mistake is not quite clear cause i'm not sure if you mean we fond her or we fond them in the first case the les is a l' and the second casse trouvée need a «s» at the end.
“Messieurs, je serais plus qu'heureuse de vous lancer dans un mur encore, mais nous avons appelé les gendarmes. Voulez-vous vraiment prendre ce risque?”gender again for the first one and the second one is too.
“Désolé, Monsieur Ruby. La licorne était plus forte que nous le pensions.” that's the unicorn word in french.
“Elles sont trois petites pouliches, et vous me dites que deux étalons de votre réputation ne peuvent pas les gérer? Pathétique. Peut-être que je devrais vous appréhendez moi-même.”I had to go chec the first one up didn't remember how to write it, an other word that you just wrote in english in a french sentence.
France is so overrated, isn't it Dash and Twilight?
From the frying pan to the fire. I hope one of them has a plan to get out of this.
Whoa!!
the only thing worse then finding out the tour guide is a wanted by the guards? Founding out they want you too!
3360473
Given the Nightmare line, I think Luna would be more appropriate.
Well, that took . . . *sunglasses* . . . a dark turn.
MOAR, nao
Well, I don't really feel like this is the direction the story should have taken based off the previous chapters.
Great, now not only Dash is punished when she makes a mistake now she's punished for doing the right thing. True, the right thing suddenly became wrong but it's not her fault. Of course, everyone will tell precisely the opposite... poor mare.
And Vanille should think a tad more. Rainbow said she's gonna look for guards... way to go shifting the blame. Should have told her that guards may be false.
Yay for surprise rescue!
Missed the italics here.
And
3360473
this. So. Much. This. It's not gonna happen but if there is a potential "what if" scenario this is the one. Though Luna would perhaps fit a tad more, Celestia would be still awesome!
Urgh Ofc i decided to start reading this when the latest chapter ended on a massive cliffhanger.
I swear this happens to me every single time /sigh.
Anyway i really like this story so far and i really like that you mix in a bit of history to the places they visit.
It makes the adventure feel more "real" if that makes sense.
Most authors tends to skip out on the little things like that making there stories feel a bit lacking.
Keep up the good work im really looking forward to the next chapter!
Omg I love this. This is the adventure/romance with Twidash that I've been looking for.
So good. I need more please.
MOAR!
their rescuers had better remembered to grab their luggage
Loving this story so far.
Need moar.
I..if you don't mind that is.
okay I'm making my guess.
they just got rescued by the Secret Guards in the service of her majesty Queen Victoire.
who have been tailing them since their arrival in Prance,
as a safe guard against anything similar to the headlines in the morning paper.
They will be escorted along with their luggage to the Palace where they will be debriefed.
this will of course result in the arrest of most of the corrupt city police.
and a successful raid on the largest kidnapping and slavery ring in Prance.
What the hell just happened? First I thought somebody was gonna be like "Gotcha Bitch!" And then all of the sudden. I everybody got got. Y' know what, I'm gonna shut up now. I makeno sense...
Corrupted cops ? Yeah , that's France alright.
And I'm french...
before turning his attention back to Dash with [a?] sigh.
He turned back [to] his accomplices.
Eh, that almost went to a fun-fun place where they would be conditioned and sold as slaves... But that is for another story =P
bloody gendarmes
Sweet, Twi and Dash gonna be part of the Prench Underground!