When a mystery pegasus from Cloudsdale walks into Princess Twilight and Rainbow Dash's lives, telling them that they also want the feud between the two towns to be over, could peace be all that they are looking for?
This story is a sequel to another fic of mine called, 'Among The Pegasi', so I recommend you go and read that story, before reading this one just so that you will be upto speed on everything that has happened so far.
Weeks after the news of Princess Twilight's relationship with former Cloudsdale resident Rainbow Dash was revealed things have relatively calmed down in Ponyville and its citizens have gotten pretty much used to seeing the cyan pegasus with the Princess now. However the same can't be said about the city above, as the pegasi from Cloudsdale haven't taken as well to the news as the town below them has.
And as Twilight plans to go forward with her idea of bringing the two feuding towns to an agreement, and somehow look to a future where they can all get along a bit better. A mystery pegasus from Cloudsdale comes to the Princess and Rainbow Dash, telling them that they also want there to be nothing but peace between the floating city above and the little town below. But could that be all that they are really after, or are they possibly hiding some other intentions?
As the morning sun was shining brightly in the sky above most of the ponies in Ponyville were busy going about their everyday tasks and like them Princess Twilight Sparkle was no different as she was standing in her kitchen happily humming to herself, busy making breakfast for three. Wanting to get an early start today as she had planned for her to take Rainbow Dash to go and meet Princess Celestia and plus while she was there she could also tell her Mother figure about all that she had been thinking when talking about what her hopes are for getting the two neighbouring towns of Ponyville and Cloudsdale to hopefully get along better.
Sighing slightly the Princess smiled as she looked out through the kitchen window feeling condfident that today would go well for both her and Rainbow Dash, but also feeling a little nervous about Dash meeting with Princess Celestia and also telling the royal Princess that she and Rainbow Dash were a couple. Getting a little lost in thought for a few moments as she thought about just how Celestia would react to being told about everything that had been happening since she became the ruler for the two towns, and starting to become anxious that things just may not go her way after all, before her ears perked up to the sound of light footsteps walking into the kitchen and dining area, a familiar voice soon calling out to her.
"Morning Twilight, you're up early toady," Spike stated as he came walking into the kitchen, smiling to the Princess and yawning as he greeted her, coming to now stand beside her and looked over the food that they would be having for breakfast, licking his lips hungrily, as he could feel his stomach rumbling slightly.
"Good morning Spike, and I told you that I had to be up early this morning in order to not miss the train to Canterlot," Twilight reminded the young dragon as she greeted Spike and smiled to him, before giving him a slightly raised eyebrow when she saw him staring at the food for their breakfast.
"Oh yeah you're going to see Princess Celestia with Rainbow Dash today aren't you?" Spike asked as he turned away from the food and just smiled nervously back to Twilight now, knowing that he wouldn't be allowed to eat anything until him and the two mares were all sitting at the dining table together.
Twilight just answered with a simple nod to the dragon, her mind going back to thinking about how today just might go for her and her marefriend, while Spike looked around the kitchen for a moment and then turned to Twilight again asking her another question and pulling her out of her thoughts.
"So where is Rainbow Dash anyway, isn't she supposed to be up early as well?" Spike asked now as he looked back to the Princess, and guessed that the cyan pegasus who had been staying with them for a good few weeks now was no doubt probably still in bed. And by the nervous smile on Twilight's lips Spike could tell that he had be right with his thinking.
"Well she was awake at the same time that I was, although she was still laying in bed after I was done in the shower, I'm sure she'll be here any minute now," the Princess stated, sounding like she was reassuring herself more than Spike right now while the dragon just looked to her with a raised eyebrow, as he folded his arms and doubted that he and Twillight would be seeing Rainbow Dash anytime soon.
"Really Twilight? When have you known Rainbow Dash to ever get up this early?"
"Well she just might surprise us this time,"
"I doubt that will happen,"
Spike just rolled his eyes as he thought there was no way that Rainbow Dash was going to be showing up in the kitchen anytime soon, and guessed that he would probably have to go upstairs and get her up himself in a few moments, considering if he should just go now before Twilight asked him to. Turning away from the Princess as he was ready to head off upstairs to go and get Rainbow Dash, only to stop in his tracks when he now saw the cyan pegasus slowly come walking into the kitchen, looking very tired as she greeted Twilight and him with a slight yawn.
"Morning Twi, morning Spike," the pegasus sighed slightly as she came walking into the kitchen and slowly pulled out a chair at the dining table laying her head on the table as she sat waiting for her breakfast, and tried to keep herself from falling back to sleep. Twilight smiling to Spike as she saw the dragon had quite the surprised look on his face, leaning down to him and lowering her voice a little.
"Told you so," she simply stated, while Spike just composed himself and rolled his eyes again slightly, before he came walking over to sit down at the dining table and waited for their breakfast along with Rainbow Dash.
"Good morning Dash, are you ready for meeting the Princess today?" Twilight asked as she smiled to her marefriend and came walking over to her, using her magic to float all three plates of food on to the table for them all, Spike happily digging into his food right away, while Rainbow just stared at her's for a moment.
"As ready as I'll ever be I guess," the pegasus replied with another heavy sigh as she lifted her head from the table and was a little taken aback to feel Twilight lightly peck her cheek. Looking to the Princess as she smiled and blushed from the sudden sweet kiss, while Twilight just smiled back to her, before she went to go and sit herself down in her own chair beside Dash.
"Don't worry Dash I'm sure everything will go smoothly for you," Twilight reassured the pegasus as she gave her an understanding look, causing Dash to look back to her, and smile a little in return, knowing that Twilight didn't want her to be worried about how today would go, but that didn't stop her from still feeling anxious about what may or may not happen when she was due to meet with Princess Celestia later on.
"I...just what am I supposed to say to her anyway?" Dash asked in a low tone as she pushed her food away from her, and looked to Twilight with an expression of worry on her face, nervously looking to the Princess for help and advice, while Twilight just looked back to her with a smile.
"I'll introduce you to her Dash, and if you want I can do all the talking for you," Twilight suggested as she now moved her chair closer to Dash's and rested a caring hoof on her shoulder, wanting to reassure the pegasus that there wasn't anything for her to be worried about, although she didn't know that everything would go to plan herself just yet, she was staying hopeful for now.
"That may work I guess," Dash mumbled out as she looked off to the side a little, and although she still felt unsure of how this meeting with the royal Princess would go, she could be somewhat more hopeful if Twilight was the one to do all the talking instead of her.
"Plus Princess Celestia is quite the welcoming pony, so there's not much for you to worry about really," Spike added as he figured he could help in encouraging the pegasus as well, after all it wasn't like Princess Celestia was difficult to get along with so once the introductions were out of the way talking to her shouldn't be all that hard or nerve wracking anymore.
However Dash didn't seem all that convinced as she still looked away from the other two, "Even if you say that..." biting her bottom lip now as it was obvious that although Spike and Twilight were trying to reassure the pegasus as best as they could, it seemed that that just might not be enough to calm her nerves as they were both a little worried now, glancing to each other with concerned expressions, as Spike sighed and sat back in his chair not knowing what to say, while Twilight thought for a moment, not wanting her marefriend to keep getting herself worked up over all this.
The alicorn then just sighing a little as she now smiled slightly and caught Dash's attention by resting a hoof on top of her's and causing the pegasus to look back to her now, as Twilight now gazed at her with a softened expression, "I know this kind of thing is scary for you Dash, and I can see why it would make you feel uneasy, but you really have nothing to worry about. And if something doesn't go all that well after all, I'll be right there beside you to help you through it okay?" she now tried one more time to reach out to Dash and hopefully put most, if not all her worries to ease for now.
Dash's eyes widened a little as she gazed back to Twilight and wasn't sure what to say at first, nervously trying to find the words inside her mind, but nothing forming for quite a while, until she finally answered with a simple, 'Okay', in a low tone, not having found anything else to say, as she just glanced away from Twilight again, while the Princess just smiled to her, and now removed her hoof from resting on top of the pegasus's.
"That's the spirit now eat up, you can't leave on an empty stomach after all right?" Twilight asked as she nodded to Dash, while the pegasus just looked to her untouched breakfast for a moment, still feeling a little preoccupied with her own thoughts and worries, but what Twilight had just said did encourage her somewhat, and plus she couldn't deny that she was awfully hungry right now.
And so she just nodded slowly in return, giving Twilight a small smile, before she started to dig into her breakfast. Twilight and Spike doing the same once they both looked to each other and smiled, glad to see that Dash was willing to eat, even if it was easy to tell that she was still thinking about other things at the moment. The three happily eating their breakfast together as a more comfortable and casual conversation soon started up between them all as they relaxed for a little while, before Twilight and Rainbow Dash would need to start heading off to go and catch the train to Canterlot, and leaving Spike to look after the library while they were gone.
....
A while later Dash and Twilight stood outside the library as they were ready to set off to the train station together, beginning to walk through the streets of Ponyville which luckily weren't all that busy right now, meaning that hopefully they wouldn't run into any of their friends who just might slow them down a little and could cause them to be late for their train.
"Can't you just teleport us to the castle or something?" Dash asked in a nervous voice, feeling a little self-conscious about walking through the town of Ponyville as the other ponies would occasionally send stares her way and whisper, although this was nothing like how it was only a little while ago, it did still cause Dash to become uneasy.
"No, and I thought you were still worried over meeting with Princess Celestia?" Twilight raised her eyebrow as she knew that the other poines still did tend to stare when it came to her and Dash walking around the town together, however she knew it was a lot better now than it was before although it was easy to see that it made the cyan pegasus still feel uncomfortable most of the time.
"Of course I am...it's just..." Dash trailed off slightly as she shifted her eyes a little at the ponies that would stop what they were doing for a few seconds to look over to her and Twilight, before they would turn away again not wanting to seem rude for staring.
Twilight followed Dash's gaze and sighed a little knowing that although things had calmed down here in Ponyville there were still the ones that would stare for a few moments before looking away again. The Princess was about to catch Dash's attention and try and talk to her about this and maybe get her to not look so uneasy, but just as she was about open her mouth to speak, she ended up bumping into another mare.
Stopping now as she shook her head and looked to the mare that she had just bumped into, and sighing with slight relief when she noticed that it wasn't one of their friends that would keep them talking here for a while. Instead it was a mare that she did recognize but one she didn't know all that well.
"I am ever so deeply sorry Princess Twilight, are you okay?" the mare asked as she looked concerned and worried for the Princess, hoping that she had not injured the alicorn at all by walking into her like that.
"No need to apologize, I wasn't really watching where I was going to be honest," Twilight smiled nervously as she composed herself and reassured the mare that she was fine and not at all hurt in any way, causing the mare to sigh deeply with relief, before she noticed that Rainbow Dash was standing beside the Princess, glancing to her for a moment, while the pegasus nervously just looked down to her hooves not wanting to look back at her.
The mare then simply smiled as she looked to Dash with a softened expression, before glancing back to Twilight again, "Where are you two heading off to so early in the day like this?" she asked kindly causing Dash to widen her eyes a little, while Twilight just smiled kindly back to her in return.
"We're taking the train to Canterlot," Twilight simply answered, while Dash still seemed to be a little caught off guard by how casual the other mare was being right now, reminding her that the ponies down here really were quite different from the pegasi up in her hometown.
"Ahh off to see the royal Princess I assume?" the mare questioned, still giving a kind smile to Dash every so often, being sure to not cause the pegasus to think that she was just ignoring her right now. Twilight simply answering with a nod, and smiled a little when she saw the slightly surprised expression that her marefriend was wearing right now.
"Well good luck then, and I'm hoping all goes well for you two there," the mare stated, before Twilight just nodded to her again and thanked her, before she looked to Dash again and when she only got a confused expression back from the pegasus, she gestured for her to do the same as she had just done.
"Err...thank you, I guess," Dash said in a low tone as she glanced to the mare and was simply given another kind smile in reply, as the mare nodded to them both, before she waved 'Goodbye' and headed off in another direction. Twilight now looking to Dash with a smile, while the pegasus was looking down to her hooves again.
"It really does surprise you how accepting the ponies around here can be huh?" Twilight asked causing Dash to now look back to her with widened eyes, looking to the Princess's understanding smile for a moment before she just nodded and then sighed a little,
"Yeah, I only wish that the pegasi up in cloudsdale could be the same," the pegasus thought out loud in a low voice, feeling a little down as she knew that the pegasi up in her hometown wouldn't treat her the same way that the ponies in Ponyville did, ever since she told both towns the truth about her and Princess Twilight's relationship it certainly did seem like she was much better off staying down on the ground, rather than risking what she would be walking into if she tried going back to her own home anytime soon.
Twilight just looked to Dash with a concerned expression as she wanted to try and cheer her up a little, but was unsure of how to, trying to find the right words to say to her marefriend, before she was dragged out of her thoughts as Dash called to her now, and caught her attention.
"Twilight, how long do you think it will be before I can start living at my own house again?" Dash asked nervously as although she did enjoy staying with Twilight, she also really did miss living in her own cloud-house, wondering how much longer she would have to avoid going back there for.
"I don't know Dash,"
Twilight simply answered as there was nothing she could really say right now, after all the truth was that she didn't know when it would be ideal for Dash to go back to living at her own house again, no doubt right now if she went back she would most likely be surrounded and questioned within the first few seconds of being up in her hometown again, and it was clear to see that that kind of situation simply wasn't one she could deal with at this moment in time.
Dash looked away from Twilight and knew that she couldn't really offer her much encouraging advice right now, since the truth was that neither one of them could tell what was going to happen with Cloudsdale and whether or not it would be okay for Dash to go back there sometime soon. The Princess smiling slightly as she now rested a hoof on Dash's shoulder and caused her to looked back to her with a wondering gaze.
"But the most that we can do is hope that it won't be for too much longer now," Twilight stated, while Dash just nodded slightly in return, knowing that there wasn't much else they could do other than just continuing to wait it out for now and see if things will calm down up in Cloudsdale like they had in Ponyville.
"Yeah, you're right Twi," Dash smiled a little as she knew that Twilight was trying as best as she could to cheer her up right now, and to be honest she was already working herself up enough with thinking about how the meeting with Princess Celestia would go, so she didn't need to add another thing to be concerned about on top of that, and should now just focus on the present instead.
Twilight nodded with a returned smile, glad that Dash looked a little less worried now, although she was pretty certain that the pegasus did still have the difficulties she may face when going back to her hometown on her mind, but was happy that she wasn't focusing on them too much and troubling herself with those thoughts in the process now.
"Come on then, we don't want to miss our train right?" Twilight asked as she now turned and started to head off in the direction of the train station, causing Dash to quickly agree and follow after her.
"Right," the pegasus replied with a quick nod, as she picked up her speed a little, and came to walk alongside the Princess again, the two of them now walking a bit faster in order to catch the train on time, and not be late for their meeting with Princess Celestia, as they most definitely didn't want to keep her waiting at all for them.
....
The fairly quick train ride getting the two to Canterlot fast enough so that they were now making good time as they were both welcomed into Canterlot castle by the guards and were soon walking through the hallways of Twilight's old home, and heading towards where the throne room was located. Twilight thinking of herself as lucky that she still remembered where mostly everything was inside the castle even though she hadn't been here for a good while now.
Twilight and Dash walking through the halls mostly in silence as they would talk to each other every now and again about random topics, but all their conversations would quickly end as it was obvious that the nerves they felt before were now back in full force, and their worries were playing on their minds once again.
Twilight trying to stay postive still, while Dash was clearly the one that was finding it a little harder to not think about her worries right now. However she tried to distract herself from her thoughts as she looked to Twilight, and caught her attention, asking a sudden question just to hopefully take her mind off things for a moment.
"So what's the deal with you and the royal Princess anyway Twi?" the pegasus asked causing Twilight to now look back to her with a slightly puzzled expression on her face.
"What do you mean?"
"Well it's just that you're awfully close to her right?" Dash asked thinking that she really didn't know what kind of relstionship Twilight had with Princess Celestia, guessing that they must have been quite close if Twilight was living in the Princess's castle before coming to rule over both Ponyville and Cloudsdale but that was just an assumption really.
"Yeah, truth to be told she's kind of like a mother to me," Twilight stated with a small smile thinking back on all the years she had spent in this castle, remembering what it was like growing up in a place like this along with having the two princesses raising her like she was their own.
Dash seemed a little more interested now as she looked to Twilight with an expression that was clearly just asking for her to continue on with what she was saying and go more into detail about it. Causing Twilight to seem a little nervous before she just smiled and guessed now was as good time as any to tell Dash about this part of her past.
"You see my real parents abounded me as a foal, leaving me to fend for myself, so once Princess Celestia and her yonger sister took me in and raised me it was kind of like they became my family," she explained as Dash seemed to now understand what she had meant by saying that the ruler of Equestria was like a mother to her.
'No wonder Twilight lived in this castle along with the Princess, she must have been like a daughter to her,' the pegasus thought as her eyes then widened a little as something suddenly occured to her, "Wait so when you introduce the Princess to me, it will be kind of like I'm meeting your mother?" she asked sounding slightly worried now as it was obvious that although she was still very unsure about meeting the Princess she knew she hadn't prepared herself at all for something like meeting her marefriend's parent, but then again it wasn't like she could really. Twilight now looking to Dash and just smiling to her, catching her attention by resting a caring hoof on her shoulder a moment later.
"In a way maybe, but that doesn't mean that you need to worry yourself about all this again. Just take things slow and remember I can always just talk for you if you want?" Twilight suggested as she reassured Dash before she could start worrying herself again, lettting her know that just because Princess Celestia was the closest she had ever had to an actual mother it didn't mean that this meeting was going to be any harder on the pegasus than it already was.
Dash just nodded as she tried to do as Twilight said and 'just take things slow' knowing that it wouldn't be good for her to get herself all worked up again when she had been relatively calm until this point. Calming her thoughts down for a moment as she pushed them to the back of her mind and tried to not focus on them, before she glanced back to Twilight now and realized that she had stopped and was now just standing in front of two large double doors, Rainbow Dash only guessing what was beyond them, wondering a little as to why Twilight had stopped at these doors in particular, her suspicions soon being confirmed.
"Here we are," Twilight stated as she looked to Dash and smiled to her slightly, "You're sure you're ready for this?" she asked making sure that Dash was willing to go through with this now that they had already made it this far, and she wasn't just going to turn tail and run once they had entered the room.
"Well it wouldn't be good if I decided to turn back now, right?" Dash just smirked slightly, causing Twilight to just smile and nod back to her now, both of them turning to look at the large double doors again. Dash taking a deep breath, as Twilight knocked on the doors lightly, the sound boucing off the walls and echoing through the empty hallways.
The two mares looked to each other for a moment as they waited for an answer, luckily not having to wait for all that long it would seem, as both of the doors were soon opened for them, and two guards welcomed them inside the room, closing the doors behind them once Twilight had thanked them both, leaving the two alone with the royal Princess as they stood guard outside the double doors now instead, making sure that their meeting with the Princess wouldn't be disturbed.
Rainbow Dash standing completely still as all her thoughts and worries came rushing back to her suddenly, causing her to go silent as she now looked up to the towering, pure white alicorn before them, as the royal Princess just smiled to the two, standing and stepping off her throne as she now came walking over to Twilight with a kind expression on her face.
"Twilight it's so good to see you again, how are you?" Celestia asked as she now stood in front of Twilight, and greeted her kindly.
"I'm okay, and it's good to see you again as well Princess Celestia, I sure have been missing you though," Twilight now walked up to Celestia as the elder alicorn lay a wing around her, leaning her head down as they hugged each other, Twilight nuzzling into Celestia's neck a little, sighing as she really had missed just being with Celestia like this, and was happy to see her again after all this time apart.
"And I you Twilight," Celestia replied as smiled happily to Twilight and got a bright smile in return from the younger Princess, the two feeling overjoyed to be reuinted again, "But I thought you would be coming back sooner than this to see me," the elder alicorn stated as this reunion had kind of come out of the blue for her, and although she was more than happy to be seeing Twilight again, she thought it would have been a lot sooner than this.
"Ahh sorry, I did plan to come back and see you sooner than this, but there was something that stopped me from doing so for a little while," Twilight stated as she now stepped back slightly and gestured towards Rainbow Dash, looking over to her for a moment and causing Celestia to follow her gaze as she now also looked to Dash as her eyes widened a little upon seeing the nervous pegasus now glancing back to her. Her eyes however shifting every so often, as it was clear that she wasn't trying to make eye-contact for too long right now.
Celestia looking to Dash with a wondering gaze, before glancing back to Twilight as she could see that the pegasus didn't seem to be all that comfortable with introductioning herself right now. And so Twilight simply smiled as she separated herself from the elder Princess and held out her hoof, gesturing to Rainbow Dash as she introduced her to Celestia now.
"Princess Celestia this is Rainbow Dash, she was orginally from Cloudsdale but has been staying with Spike and me for a little while now," Twilight explained as she smiled to Dash and looked to the pegasus with an encouraging expression, Dash still seeming unsure of how she should act towards all of this, trying to calm her mind down, so that she could hopfully get some words out, as even though Twilight had said she could do all the talking for her if that would be better for her, she did want to at least try and talk to the royal Princess herself. After all as nerve wreaking as this just might be for her, it could also be one of her only chances, all she had to do was push through and build up all of her courage in order to talk to Celestia in a respectful manner.
"Well hello Rainbow Dash, I'm Princess Celestia, are you a friend of Twilight's?" Celestia asked as she kindly greeted Dash and smiled to her with a polite expression on her face, causing Dash to think that Spike was right when he said how welcoming the royal Princess was.
Still unsure of what excatly she was supposed to say, Dash looked to Twilight for help, Twilight seeing the anxious expression on the pegasus's face and just smiling as she got the message that she was obviously trying to get across to her. Nodding to Dash a moment later as she now looked back to Celestia and caused the elder alicorn to turn back to her as well.
"Actually, you see since you sent me to be ruler over both Ponyville and Cloudsdale, a lot of things have happened in the time that I've been away and...Rainbow Dash here is actually...my marefriend," Twilight nervously stated causing Celestia to now seem slightly surprised, as Dash quickly looked to Twilight and talked to her in a low voice.
"Twilight you didn't have to tell her that right away," Dash said getting Twilight to now look to her, as she simply just smiled to the pegasus and gave her a reassuring expression.
"I know, but I want her to know what you really mean to me Dash," Twilight replied, causing Dash to blush slightly as what she had just said had made the pegasus's heart beat a little faster, before she composed herself as best as she could and tried to regain control over her thoughts, while Twilight just stood smiling to her, patiently waiting for her to collect herself.
Meanwhile Celestia seemed to be processing what Twilight had just told her, as she looked to the two mares standing in front of her, thinking for a moment, before she took notice to the way that Twilight was smiling to Rainbow Dash right now, and could easily see just how the younger alicorn felt about the cyan pegasus standing beside her.
Taking a deep breath as she smiled slightly Celestia caught Twilight's attention by simply just saying what she was thinking right now, "She seems to make you happy," she stated, looking to Twilight with a softened expression. Twilight widening her eyes a little at first, before she just smiled and nodded in reply to the elder Princess, glad that it didn't seem like this was going to be all that difficult to explain to Celestia after all like she first thought it just might be.
Celestia now walking closer to Rainbow Dash, as her softened expression formed into more of a serious one as she stared down to the pegasus and addressed her with a slightly intimidating demeanor, wondering if Dash would actually talk to her, or if she would look to Twilight and let her talk for her again instead.
"Rainbow Dash if this is true and you are dating Twilight, know that she is like a daughter to me. So can I trust that you will take care of her and never harm her in any way?" Celestia asked as she raised an eyebrow to Dash and wondered if she would actually answer her or not, waiting for the pegasus's reply, while Twilight stood looking to the other two with a questioning gaze, wondering if she should step in at all or not.
Dash looking up to Celestia as she wasn't thinking anymore, and went with what her heart was telling her to say right now, building her courage up and now looked back to the royal Princess with a confident expression, ignoring all her nerves for a moment and now answering Celestia, not wanting to keep her waiting for much longer.
"O-of course you can,"
Dash replied as she kept eye-contact with Celestia, neither one of them looking away at all for a good while, Dash feeling her anxiety creeping up on her again, but pushed herself to stand her ground and not let her eyes waver in the least, wondering how long it would be before one of them would turn away. Twilight continuing to just look between the two as she was questioning if she should speak up or something, but wasn't all that sure what to say, not only that but she also didn't want to step in if she didn't really need to, and right now she couldn't really tell if that would be the best thing to do or not.
However the heavy, uncomfortable tension soon reducing now as Celestia simply smiled and rested a hoof on Dash's shoulder, causing the pegasus to look a little surprised, and at a slight loss for words, "I'm glad to hear that, it truly has been a delight to finally meet you Rainbow Dash," the royal Princess now stated as Dash just sighed with relief in return, feeling thankful that the tense situation had now passed and it seemed like she didn't have to worry anymore.
"Umm...It's good to meet you too Princess Celestia," Dash replied as she smiled slightly and now bowed her head to the royal Princess and feeling her nerves from eariler leaving her, suddenly not feeling as anxious anymore it would seem. A smile forming on Twilight's lips as she came to stand closer to Rainbow Dash and caught her attention, both Celestia and Dash looking back to her now.
"See I told you everything would be okay," Twilight stated with a joyful expression on her face, glad that it seemed like Dash would get along with Celestia just fine now, and there wouldn't be any problems from here, as Dash just nodded with a smile to Twilight, feeling a little foolish for getting herself so worried over everything before, when she could now see that she really didn't need to.
Celestia looked to the other two mares as they talked to each other for a few moments, and she just smiled contently, as even though she hadn't planned on this when she asigned Twilight to be the ruler over Ponyville and Cloudsdale, she was still glad that the young Princess had been able to find someone who obviously cared for her very much. Feeling happy for the two as she knew they all still had a lot to talk about from here, but right at this moment Twilight genuinely did look happy to be by Rainbow Dash's side, and for now that's all that really mattered to the Princess.
Hours had now passed with Twilight and Rainbow Dash catching Princess Celestia up about everything that had happened since Twilight was sent to be ruler over both Ponyville and Cloudsdale. The royal Princess listening intently throughout it all as she had been wondering just how things had been going for Twilight while she had been living her life as the ruler of two towns, however soon finding out that not everything had been going all that smoothly for the younger Princess, especially not when it came to everything that had happened with her and Rainbow Dash's relationship.
"While we still aren't sure if anypony actually did catch us that night, or who orginally started up the rumors that seemed to suddenly spread like wildfire overnight we do know that we could no longer keep our relationship as a secret after that happened, which is why I felt Dash revealed the truth to everypony both in Ponyville and Cloudsdale. And while I could see what her intentions were at the time, and it did work in putting all the rumors to rest, I still think she could have told me about what she was planning to do before actually going ahead and doing it," Twilight stated, her voice going a little low half-way through what she was saying as she was now looking to Rainbow Dash out of the conrner of her eyes, and although she wasn't talking directly to the pegasus, she was clearly making it seem like she was, as well as still talking to the royal Princess siting in front of them.
"Hey it's not like I planned on actually telling everypony about what was really going on, I was just going to say something that would stop all the rumors, but...but when I looked down to see you standing in the crowd, while you were looking up to me with those worry-filled eyes, it caused me to realize that I didn't want to hide the fact that you were my marefriend anymore, I love you Twilight and I wanted to tell all of Equestria just how much you mean to me," Dash explained, remembering how she felt back when she told all of Ponyville about the truth behind the relationship that her and Twilight were keeping as a secret. Twilight's eyes widening a little as she was quite surprised to hear what Dash had just told her, definitely not expecting her to say something like that, being sure that her heart had skipped a beat as the pegasus looked to her with a serious expression. Dash then slightly glanced away from Twilight as an embrassed looked formed on her face now.
"Although at the time, I will admit that I may not have been thinking the whole thing through, and hadn't really realized just yet about what could happen after I had revealed everything. I didn't mean to make things even more complicated then they already were, but because of all that I said I can't really return to my own home up in Cloudsdale without walking in to an uncomfortable situation, which I probably wouldn't be able to get out of for ages," Dash speaking in more of a low tone now as she looked down to the floor nervously and avoided glancing back to Twilight, feeling the Princess's eyes on her, but continuing to just stare at the ground as she felt foolish for not thinking very much at all back when she had revealed their secret and was more or less just letting her heart tell her what to say, rather than stopping to listen to what her mind might have been telling her at the time.
Twilight's expression softened as she now smiled slightly and just sighed, walking closer to Dash and making her lift her head by resting her hoof under her chin. Dash looking back to the Princess now as she was still wearing that nervous expression on her face, "It's okay Dash, I know you were only saying what your heart was telling you to at the time, but if anything like that happens again, promise me that you'll come and talk to me about it all, before deciding to handle things by yourself like that, okay?" she asked now looking to her marefriend with an understanding expression, her words causing the pegasus to not feel so anxious anymore it seemed as she answered with a slight nod to Twilight.
"Yeah I promise. Although I really hope that nothing happens in order for it to get that point again," Dash smiled slightly being sure that she would now think before she acted, but kind of also just wished that a problem like that wouldn't arise for them again anytime soon.
"You and me both Dash," Twilight agreed with a slight chuckle, as she really hoped for the same as Dash, as even though she knew that there was still going to be certain problems for her and the pegasus from here on out, she prayed that they wouldn't cause as much trouble for them both as that one particular past problem had.
Celestia sat back as she looked upon the two mares in front of her and smiled, honestly feeling so glad that they were able to meet and get to know each other, seeing that even though they had gone through troubles in the past, they were willing to continue to push through and find a way that they could still be happy together, even if others didn't exactly approve of them.
"Well you two certainly have been through a lot I see, but I'm glad you were both able to work through it in order to get where you are now. Although there are still some things that you need to sort out of course," Celestia stated as the other two now looked back to her, Twilight smiling in return, while Dash just sighed and nodded in response, knowing that even though her and Twilight had been through quite a bit already, there was still a long road ahead of them where they would no doubt hit more bumps along the way together.
"So then what's next for you two, I mean you do still want to bring both Cloudsdale and Ponyville to an agreement where they can get along better right?" the royal Princess asked as she wondered what Twilight and Rainbow Dash's plans for the future were from here, after all it was clear to see that Twilight still wanted to fulfil the task she set out for herself once she learned of the big feud between the two towns that she was ruling over, but was curious as to where exactly the two would go from here.
"Of course, we just need somewhere to start as all, and with the pegasi up in Cloudsdale being the way they currently are, all we have to do is find a way to get through to them and help them to understand that peace between them and the ponies in Ponyville is something that can be achieved," Twilight explained as it was obvious that her heart was set on ending the feud between the two towns so that they all could evetnually look to living in a much brighter and better future.
"Although that's much easier said then done," Dash pointed out in a low tone, causing Twilight to now slightly look to her with a stern stare, while the pegasus just smiled nervously back to her marefriend, knowing that the best thing for them right now was trying to stay hopeful rather than focusing on what other problems just might arise from any further moves that they would make.
"That may be true, however I believe we will be able to pull through and have everypony on the same page soon enough," Twilight smiled as she rested a hoof on Dash's shoulder and gave her an encouraging expression. Dash just taking a deep breath as she smiled back to Twilight with a nod, and although the pegasus was still nervous about what was in store for them from here, she at least did seem a little more hopeful now.
"Since it's you Twilight I too believe that you can both find a way to bring the two towns together. After all that was one of the reasons why I picked both of them for you to rule over," Celestia agreed as she knew that once Twilight had set a task for herself, she wouln't give up until she had completed it, the royal Princess seeing that this time was going to be no different, as Twilight just nodded back to her with a determined expression.
"I wish you two all the best of luck then," the royal Princess smiled, as she was hoping that their plans for going ahead would have a postive outcome in the end, and their struggles wouldn't just be all for nothing.
"Thank you Princess,"
Twilight replied as Rainbow Dash just nodded with a slight smile as well, feeling like her spirits had risen a little now, but there of course still was a lot for her and Twilight to think about, taking notice to the fact that things may just not go the way they had hoped. And no matter how hard they might try, they could still easily fail this task.
The three mares talking for a little while longer on what exactly Twilight and Rainbow Dash had planned for where they were going to go from here knowing that it would be a long road of troubles and hopefully some triumphs before they would be able to get to that bright future that they were looking towards and hoping to get to someday.
Princess Celestia looking to the two mares as they soon left her throne room, having said their goodbyes, and now she just stood watching the other two talk to each other casually while they made their way out of the doorway. The royal Princess sending them both good vibes and hoping that all their efforts would not turn out to be in vain as things would only get more difficult for them from here no doubt.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash now making their way back to the train station as Twilight couldn't be happier with how things had gone with Princess Celestia and Dash. Glad that everything had gone rather smoothly and she had been able to also tell the royal Princess about all she had planned for what her and Dash would be working towards in the near future.
Twilight now looked to Dash walking beside her, smiling to the pegasus as she caught her attention, "Well that went better than expected right?" she asked knowing how anxious Dash had been about meeting the royal Princess before hand, and now that it had turned out so well, she thought that Dash wouldn't feel anymore pressure resting on her shoulders.
"Huh? Oh yeah I guess," Dash answered in a low voice, not seeming to be paying that much attention to what Twilight had actually said to her, as she looked off into the distance and caused the Princess to look to her with a questioning expression, noticing that the pegasus seemed like something was on her mind right now.
"Is there something the matter Dash?" Twilight looked to her marefriend a little concerned for a moment as she thought the pegasus would be much more relaxed now after everything had just gone so well with Princess Celestia, but instead Dash looked just as anxious as she did when first coming here this morning, or maybe even a little more than that.
"No, it's nothing Twi," Dash answered as she now forced a smile to Twilight and pushed all of her thoughts to the back of her mind, trying not to show that she was still bothered by something, but Twilight seeing through her fake smile, and knowing that she wasn't being honest with her right now.
'What's gotten into her all of a sudden, she was fine a few minutes ago when we left Princess Celestia's castle, but now she definitely seems like something is worrying her again,' Twilight thought as she did feel like she should ask again if Dash was okay or not, but hesitated a little as she looked to Dash and saw the way that she had now turned back to look off into the distance again, it being obvious that she was preoccupied with her own thoughts at the moment, and so the Princess decided not to push anymore, and for now just stayed silent, as she didn't want the pegasus to be thinking about things too much, but she also didn't want to put any pressure on her to talk to her, if that was something she wasn't ready for just yet.
The train ride back being completely silent as Twilight continued to be concerned for her distant marefriend, cleary seeing that whatever it was that was on Dash's mind right now, it wasn't going away anytime soon, hoping that she could maybe try talking to the pegasus again once they had returned back to the library in Ponyville.
....
Twilight and Rainbow Dash soon returning back to the library, both of them slowly walking in through the front door as Spike came over to greet them, wanting to find out just how everything with the royal Princess had gone for the two. Hoping that all had gone well and they hadn't had any troubles at all, but unfortunately that's not how things seemed to have gone judging by Dash and Twilight's expressions.
"Hey, how did it go?"
The young dragon asked as he looked a little concerned, wondering what had happened and guessing that by the looks of things it hadn't gone all that according to plan, which confused him a little as he was almost certain that Princess Celestia would get along well with Rainbow Dash once the introductions were out of the way, after all the royal Princess had always been know for being very accepting and understanding, espeically when meeting new ponies.
Neither Twilight nor Dash answered Spike, as Twilight looked to the pegasus, only for Dash to just shrug her shoulders, before she hung her head low and slowly went walking across to the staircase, making her way upto Twilight's bedroom, while Twilight and Spike watched her go. The Princess sighing slightly as she wished there was some way she could find out what was bothering her marefriend without pressuring her into talking about something she may not want to.
"Was it really that bad?" Spike asked as he looked to Twilight, looking concerned for the pegasus who had just escaped upstairs to Twilight's bedroom in what seemed like a very depressed manner from the looks of things.
"No, the meeting with Princess Celestia actually went really well, and we got to tell her about all we have planned for what we are going to be doing in the near future...but Dash has been like that since we left Canterlot castle. I tried asking her what was wrong, but she just said it was 'nothing' even though it's easy to see that something is obviously causing her to act so distant and anxious," Twilight explained causing Spike to wonder the exact same thing that the Princess was at the moment, that being what the reason could be for Dash to suddenly be acting this way.
"I'll go and talk to her,"
The Princess stated as even if she didn't want to pressure Dash at all, she also didn't want the pegasus to be dealing with something all by herself, when she knew she could reach out and maybe help her. She didn't want to just stand back and watch her marefirend suffer through whatever was troubling her alone, not when she didn't need to, and Twilight could be there for her at a time like this, lending a shoulder for her to cry on, or even just a ear to vent to if nothing else,
"Good luck,"
Spike said as he got a nod in response from Twilight, the alicorn knowing that she would need that luck, as the dragon now watched her make her way up the stairs and to her bedroom, while he stood staring up to the direction that Twilight had walked off in and sighed slightly, hoping that she would be able to get through to Rainbow Dash, and find out what exactly was going on with her all of a sudden.
....
Twilight hesitating a little as she stood outside of her bedroom and took a deep breath, before she knocked on the wodden door lightly, waiting for a response, getting none and just sighing as that's pretty much what she was expected, but she wasn't just going to walk away and give up just yet, as she now opened the door slowly.
"Dash, I'm coming in okay?" the Princess asked as she now came walking into the bedroom, closing the door behind her, and looked to her troubled marefriend with a concerned expression as she saw the pegasus lay on the bed, facing away from her, and seeming like she was deep in thought at the moment.
"Listen Dash, I know you said eariler that this was nothing, but it defintely doesn't seem that way. Now you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I...I can't bare to see you struggling with your own thoughts like this, whatever it is that is bothering you, I want to be here for you, and I want to help you, so will you let me do so?" Twilight asked as she now came to sit on the edge of the bed, looking to Dash with a understanding expression, hoping that the pegasus would be willing to let her help her get through whatever it was that was troubling her right now.
Dash didn't reply for quite a while as she just lay on her stomach, staying silent, and facing away from Twilight still, biting her bottom lip, while Twilight waited patiently for a reponse, staying confident that she would be able to get through to the pegasus in time, and it was better that she found out what was going on now, instead of just leaving and letting things not be resolved.
"Well...when we were talking to the Princess about what we plan to do in the future, it made me realize something, and I guess I haven't been able to get it out of my head since then," Dash now confessed in a low voice, surprising Twilight a little as she didn't expect the pegasus to actually answer her but was glad that she was now starting to open up to her.
"What did you realize?" Twilight asked as she had composed herself now, and was looking interested as to what Dash's answer would be, Dash not having moved from her eariler position as she continued to lay on her stomach still and face away from the Princess, while she began to explain just what had been on her mind since they had both left Canterlot castle together.
"It made me realize...it made me come to the conclusion that things could always not go to plan and we could completely fail at this task that we are hoping to fulfil. You see when it comes to the pegasi up in Clousdale, there are certain groups, ones that mostly just keep to themselves and have never bothered much with the ponies in Ponyville, then there are the ones that have tried in the past to really connect and make friends, and when the feud started those pegasi decided to leave Cloudsdale and live in the town below instead, Fluttershy being one of them. However those two groups are the rare ones, the ones that are often over-looked among the one other group," Dash stopped for a moment as she glanced to Twilight to see if she was still following with all that she was saying, and judging by the way that the Princess was looking to her, she seemed to be listeningly intently wanting to hear more from the pegasus.
"That other group of pegasi is the one that I used to belong to, the ones that would cause trouble for everypony else, they would steal food, break windows, destory things that didn't belong to them, tease and mock the ponies that would always welcome and treat them so kindly, it was like they didn't even care and were just being troublesome for the fun of it. I wasn't as bad as others were, I wasn't very nice to any of the ponies from Ponyville and there was the odd time that I was accused for stealing food because I would often hang around with the pegasi that would often do that, but I never actually did steal anything. Those are the pegasi that were always noticed and talked about the most, and they were most probably the ones that lead to being a big cause for the feud between the two towns starting in the first place," the peagsus went on to explain, Twilight surprised to be hearing all of this when Dash had never really liked to talk about how things were before the feud between the two towns started, and now she was suddenly coming out with one of the reasons why it might have all happened.
"Anyway the point that I'm trying to make here is that even if we are able to get some of the peagsi from Cloudsdale to agree to ending the feud, there will also no doubt be those ones that won't agree no matter what we try, and if they did ever agree to this plan of ours, it would only be so that they could get the chance at causing trouble for the ponies in Ponyville again." Dash now finished as she sighed deeply and she knew that although some of the pegasi from Cloudsdale would be willing to make amends with Ponyville, there would also be some that would much rather die than agree to somehow try and get along with the ponies from the town below them. Not seeing how they would be able to get through to those particular pegasi at all.
Twilight just siting in silence for a few moments as she went over everything that Dash had just told her, and understanding where the pegasus was coming from right now as it was true that there would no doubt be those pegasi from Cloudsdale that wouldn't want anything to do with the ponies living in the small town below them, and if they did, it would only be to cause trouble like they had done in the past.
Smiling now as her expression softed and Twilight came to lay down beside Dash, their sides touching and causing Dash to finally look back to the Princess as she wondered what Twilight would say to all this, while the Princess just nuzzled Dash's neck lovingly, "Dash I know that this plan of ours may not go all that smoothly, and it's true, and even expected that there will be those pegasi that won't want to try and get along with the ponies of Ponyville at all. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try and give it our all, besides we always knew this was going to be difficult so when we do come across the ones that aren't so willing to make peace, then we'll find a way to get through to them, and make them see just how much better things can be if they just respect the poines, and treat them how they themselves would like to be treated," Twilight rested her hoof over Dash's as she assured her that even if they would run into those certain hard cases that wouldn't want to make peace, they could still evetnually find a way to get through to them, and make them understand that ending the feud would be better then how they are all living right now.
"How can you be so sure?" Dash asked as she didn't believe that what Twilight said to be actual possible espsically with some of the pegasi that were living up in Cloudsdale, who she knew would never go for something like what the two had planned.
"Well to be honest I can't," Twilight simply stated as it was true that she didn't know if what she said would actually happen or not, but what she did know was that it was worth a shot at least to believe there was a way to make it all work. Dash looking a little taken aback as she gave Twilight a confused expression and waited for her to say something more.
"But like I said, even if we come across challenges that may seem almost impossible at first, I know we can get through it and find a way to overcome those challenges and make them seem not so impossible anymore. Just trust me Dash, whatever comes our way, we'll find a way to make it work, we just have to stay postive and believe that a future where everypony can live in harmony is in fact possible," Twilight reassured Dash that even though they may run into trouble while carrying out this plan of theirs, they would still be able to get through it all just as long as they still believed that they could.
"I know..." Dash paused as she knew everything Twilight said was right, but also knew that she still had a right to be worried, however focusing on that worry wasn't a good thing for her to do, "...it's just that a future like that seems so far off in the distance, that I can barely even see it from here," she finished as she was back to looking depressed again now, but wasn't avoiding Twilight at all this time and instead just gazed deeply into the Princess's lavender eyes, and nuzzled her cheek softly.
"Just be patient, we'll get there someday Dash. I know it,"
Twilight replied with a confident expression to Dash, while the pegasus just nodded in return, cuddling close to Twilight as she lay her wing over the Princess. And Twilight lovingly nuzzled her marefriend back as they both sighed in sync and rested their foreheads against each other, closing their eyes and just indulging in this quiet moment together that they shared while they could only guess what would be in store for them both from here on out.
About an hour later Twilight now stood in the kitchen helping Spike to clean all the plates from breakfast this morning, however she wasn't really paying all that much attention to the cleaning as she seemed to be more or less distracted at the moment. Looking over to her marefriend with a concerned expression as even though the talk the two of them had had a little while ago did seem to lighten Rainbow Dash's mood a little, it was still quite obvious that the pegasus's mind was continuing to spin with countless thoughts just like before.
Siting at the dining table, while she thought of what just might work for trying to face the pegasi up in Cloudsdale again, after all if she and Twilight were going to bring the two towns to an agreement, than that would mean she would eventually have to go back up there, and even just the sound of that made a cold chill run up her spine. Thinking of possible ways she could go about the situation, but then sighing heavily as they all seemed to end the exact same way with her leaving the floating city and making no progress at all with the plan, meaning that they would be back to where they started yet again.
Twilight looking over to Dash, wishing for there to be some way that she could make all of her marefriend's worries disappear, but at the same time not exactly knowing what she could say or do in order to reassure the pegasus and not have her thinking too much about things that she didn't need to get herself all worked up over right now.
Spike had been trying to get Twilight to keep her focus on what she was currently doing, but she would always go back to gazing at Dash again, and wanting to help her in some way. The young dragon sighing now as he looked to the Princess and knew she was worried about her marefriend right now, but the fact that she also was getting herself worked up because of this wasn't a good thing. Truthfully he had been hoping that that talk the two had would have caused them to both feel better, not worse about all this, as it definitely seemed to have gone that way for them.
Twilight felt like she should say something as she stopped what she was doing and thought of a way that she could maybe reach out to Dash, but just as she was about to walk over to the pegasus and talk to her, they all heard a light knocking at the library door. The sudden noise dragging Dash out of her thoughts for a moment as she looked to where the sound had come from, realizing it was only someone at the door and thinking that she might as well answer it, but ended up being stopped in her tracks as she felt a caring hoof resting on her shoulder, causing her to sit back down in her chair and look to the side of her, her eyes widening upon seeing Twilight now standing beside her and smiling.
"I'll get it, I know you've got a lot to think about right now, so you stay here alright?" the Princess stated as Rainbow dash looked to her with a wondering expression, before she just answered with a nod, and a slight returned smile, knowing that it would probably just be better for her to stay and think some more rather than go and try to talk to whomever might be at the door, while she still had so much going through her mind right now.
Twilight gave her marefriend a small peck on the forehead and a reassuring expression, before going over to the front door to answer it, hoping that she would be able to draw her attention on her visitor, rather then continuing to focus on Dash, although she knew she was going to be thinking about the pegasus still no doubt.
Now walking up to the wooden door, hearing another light knock, and quickly turning the handle with her magic. Answering the door, as her lavender eyes widened upon seeing a very familiar farm pony standing in the doorway, the other mare happily greeting her as she looked to Twilight with a cheerful smile.
"Afternoon Twilight, back from Canterlot I see,"
"Yeah, is there something that you need Applejack?" Twilight asked as she gave a nervous smile to the farm pony, and for now pushed her worries about Dash to the back of her mind, wondering if there was anything in particular that Applejack had come here for, or if she just came to say hello, it seeming to be the latter.
"No, not really, I was just wondering how things had gone with the Royal Princess as all, Rainbow wasn't too nervous about it all, was she?" the farm pony asked seeming like the only reason why she had come to visit was to see if all had gone well with Princess Celestia or not. Which Twilight was quite glad for, since she didn't think she could really try and focus on some other topic when her mind had been stuck on how this morning had gone for her and Dash for hours now.
"Actually she was quite nervous about going to meet Princess Celestia, but once the introductions were all over and done with, Dash and the Princess got on really well, and she was even really accepting when I told her about Dash and I being a couple," Twilight explained thinking that it was hard to believe that not too long ago she was so happy with how this moring had turned out, while now things had taken quite the turn since leaving Canterlot and coming back to the library.
"Well that's good, I was a little worried over how it would go, but am glad that it all turned out just fine," Applejack stated happy that all had gone well for Rainbow Dash, and sighing with relief slightly, as it seemed like she had nothing to be worried about at all, although the look Twilight now had on her face was giving her a little bit of a different impression.
"Yeah...me too,"
Twilight replied in a low voice, her eyes now directed at the ground, and that already weak smile of her's slowly forming into a frown as it was obvious that there was something bothering her. The farm pony raised her eyebrow slightly to the Princess and wondered if maybe things hadn't gone as smoothly as she thought after all. Hoping that whatever was causing the frown on Twilight's lips wasn't something that would be too concerning.
"What's wrong? If it all went so well then what's that face for?" Applejack now gestured to Twilight's frowning expression, wondering what the reason behind it was, and causing the Princess to shake her head and force a smile for a moment, before her face fell back into that same frown again, causing the farm pony to think there really was something wrong with the other mare.
"Well while Dash and I were with Princess Celestia we were also able to tell her about everything we have palnned for trying to bring both Ponyville and Cloudsdale to some sort of agreement so that everypony can get along better. And while that all went well enough, it seemed to have struck a real cord with Dash, especially beacuse she knows that there are going to be those pegasi from her hometown that just won't want to have any part of ending the feud no matter what we may try. And although I did talk to her about how we have to think postively if we are going to actually get through this, and I told her that I was sure we could find a way to get through to all of the peagsi and aim for that better future, it just doesn't seem to have lifted Dash's hopes much at all," Twilight explained her expression now finally showing how she truly felt about the situation she was currently in at the moment, and was beginning to show just how worried about the fact that this was bothering her marefriend so much, wonderding just how she was going to help Dash get through all of this, when truthfully she herself didn't know where to go from here.
"Hey nopony said ending a feud like the one Ponyville and Cloudsdale have got was going to be easy right?" Applejack smiled slightly, seeing that Twilight was in a state of dread and worry for her marefriend, and wanting to see if she could help in any way as she could easily guess just how confused on where to go both Twilight and Rainbow Dash were at this point in time.
"Yeah I know, I just wish there was a way to reassure her that all we're doing isn't for nothing, and there is a way to make things better for both towns. Although right now..." Twilight paused as she looked back to the kitchen and could still see Rainbow Dash sitting at the dining table, lost in thought and felt so helpless as she stood looking to her distressed marefriend with a concerned expression, "...I'm out of ideas. Maybe it's like how Dash said, a future where everypony can live in harmony really does seem too far off from where we are right now," she thought out loud in a low voice sighing heavily and looking down to the ground again, not wanting to give up at all, but also seeing just how impossible the future that she is looking to just may seem from Dash's point of view.
Looking to the Princess with a concerned expression Applejack could tell that Twilight was at a lost for what to do at this point and judging by what Twilight had said, the farm pony guessed that Rainbow Dash was most probably the same. She wanted to know if there was some way she could help since it definitely seemed like the other two mares were in need of it, but wondered just how she was going to help them when the plans that Twilight talked about also seemed near to impossible to her as well. Thinking that she should consult the others about this problem that the two were having, and then just maybe helping to find a solution to it that could cause for things to look a little brighter from here.
....
Deciding to go ahead do just that Applejack later met up with Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy at Sugarcube Corner gathering them all together and siting them down to talk about the dilemma that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were dealing with, and maybe see if they had any ideas of their own for how they could all help their two friends out.
"That does sound like quite the difficult situation for them both," Fluttershy stated as the other two nodded in agreement, now understanding just what Twilight and Dash were having trouble with and why they hadn't seen either of them at all today, guessing from the sounds of things that they really did have a lot of their plate at the moment.
"Yeah I was kinda hopin' there was something that y'all could suggest that just might help them, since as Twilight said 'she's out of ideas at this point' and I can imagine that Dash is probably the same right about now," Applejack said obviously wanting to help their two friends with this troubling stiuation that they were in, but not entirely sure how to do just that, hoping that the other three might have some ideas instead.
The other three all thinking for a few moments, going over all that Applejack had told them, and then starting to try and work out a way that they could hopefully help their two friends, wanting to be there for them in their time of need, and maybe find a way for it to seem like what they were both planning wasn't just going to be for nothing in the end.
"Well what it sounds like is Twilight and Rainbow Dash need some motivation to not give up, so maybe we could get some poines from Ponyville to help out and encourage them both to keep trying even though the road ahead looks long from where we are now," Pinkie suggested thinking that if they were able to get enough of the citizens from Ponyville to help out then maybe it would lift both Twilight and Dash's spirits even if just a little so that they could find the will to keep on going, and not give up just yet.
"I don't think that would really do much for them Pinkie," Applejack stated as she shook her head at Pinkie's suggestion and caused the other earth pony to look a little confused to her, not seeing why she would deny her idea so quickly like that.
"Why's that?"
Pinkie asked, pouting slightly as she looked disappointed with the farm pony disagreeing with what she had thought of, and not really seeing why she had said that it wouldn't be of much help to Twilight and Rainbow Dash until Fluttershy now spoke up, and caused all the others to look to her.
"Applejack's right, although your idea isn't a bad one Pinkie, it's very possible that it won't do anything to actually give Twilight and Rainbow Dash much hope since Ponyville has never really been the problem, in fact most of the ponies from here do want to make peace with Cloudsdale so that we can all live happily again. But it's the pegasi up in the city above that wouldn't be all that willing to go through with a plan like this," Fluttershy explained remembering how some of the pegasi were before she decided to leave and move to Ponyville, and knowing that Dash was completely right when talking about how some of them just wouldn't agree to this kind of plan at all.
"Then do you think there's a way that somepony could go to Cloudsdale instead?" Pinkie asked, feeling that there was most certainly a way to slove this problem and help Twilight and Dash to get through it, it would maybe just take a little more thought added into it as all.
"Maybe that could work..." Applejack thought out loud as Pinkie's idea did seem like it maybe could turn out to be helpful to their two friends, but there was no guarantee that it was certain to work for them.
"But who would go? It can't be either Twilight or Rainbow Dash since it wouldn't be a good idea for one of them to go and talk to the pegasi of Cloudsdale at the moment," Rarity questioned, pointing out that although this idea of Pinkie's could show to be a helpful one, there was just the question of who would carry it out, and since neither Dash nor the Princess would be able to do it, they would just have to find some other pegasus who would be willing to go up to the floating city above and try and talk to some of the residents up there instead.
Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all thinking for a minute on who they could send to fulfil this task, while Fluttershy widened her eyes, as an idea formed in her mind, speaking up in a nervous voice, while she caught the attention of the other three almost instantly.
"You know, I could go up there and try and talk to them?" she suggested, feeling nervous and a little uneasy about going back to her hometown again when she hadn't been there in so long now, but believing that she could pudh through and do it for Twilight and Rainbow Dash. The others all looking back to the pegasus with slightly surprised expressions, not thinking that Fluttershy would ever want to go back to Cloudsdale once she had left when the feud started between the two towns, but then she wasn't going to be doing this for herself after all, she would be doing it in order to help out their two friends.
"Are you sure you'll be okay with going back up there Fluttershy?" Rarity asked, now feeling a little concerned for Fluttershy, as were Applejack and Pinkie, wondering if it was really okay for them to let the pegasus do this for them when she did't really have to if she wasn't comfortable with it.
Fluttershy just smiled slightly as she glanced away from the others for a moment, "I'll admit the thought of going back up there again is making me a little anxious, but in a way I'm the best choice to do this. It wouldn't be a good idea for Twilight and Rainbow Dash to go up there right now, and it might turn out to be quite difficult to find some other pegasus that would actually be willing to not only go up to Cloudsdale, but also talk to some of the pegasi living there. So having me go up there would make things much simpler for us all, plus I really do want to help Twilight and Rainbow Dash in any way that I can," Fluttershy explained, it being true that she was a little weary of this task she had just set for herself, but was willing to go through with it if it would help Twilight and Dash.
The other three all looked to each other for a moment, unsure of how this would go for the pegasus, but could also see how Fluttershy was right in saying that she was the best choice for this task, plus it was true that it would make things a lot easier for them all, however that fact didn't stop them from still being a little worried over how their normally very shy and nervous friend would handle this sort of situation.
"If you're sure about this- Applejack started just to make sure that Fluttershy really did want to go through with this, before she was soon got cut off by the pegasus.
"I am," Fluttershy stated now looking to the other three with a determined expression, pushing all the anxiety she felt to the back of her mind, and trying to keep herself from thinking about those thoughts that just might make her back out of this idea too much, that being something she refused to let herself do.
The others all sharing another glance for a moment, as they all saw how determined the pegasus was about this, and now all of them sighed a little, before nodding to Fluttershy and wishing her luck agreeing to let her go through with her suggestion, and causing her to now smile to them all and nod in return, feeling confident that this plan could actually have a chance of working, certain that she would give it her best, in order to give Twilight and Dash the help they needed so that the better future that they were aiming for wouldn't seem so impossible to get to anymore.
....
Fluttershy soon being able to get to Cloudsdale quite quickly without much problem at all, as she now calmly hovered over the entrance to the floating city, looking past all the cloud houses and seeing many pegasi going about their everyday lives, most likely running errands, going to or from their jobs amongst many other things they could have planned for their day. Seeing little fillies and colts happily playing and flying together, thinking how weird this feud between the two towns must seem to them, after all it's not like they would know all that much about how it happened or what the reasons for it all were.
Taking in a deep breath Fluttershy nodded to herself and flew towards the entrance, still feeling a little anxious about all this, but knowing that there was no turning back for her now she was already here after all, so the only direction fo her to go was straight ahead, and not even think about backing out of this.
'Here goes nothing I guess,' she thought, reassuring herself that she could do this, as she slowly flew into the city, looking around at all the pegasi, and wondering if any of them would recognise her at all, but it wouldn't surprise her if no one did after all she wasn't all that popular when she did live here, in fact Rainbow Dash was one of her only very few friends, since she had always seen herself as someone who never really fitted in with the other pegasi in her hometown.
Most of the pegasi in the city not taking any notice or really seeming to see Fluttershy at all, as she slowly glided through the streets, wondering just where she should start, and who she should talk to, figuring that it wouldn't be all good of an idea to just walk up to some random pegasus and try to talk to them, but then it's not like one of the pegasi would come up to her at all. Or at least that's what she thought.
But as she was wondering about just who she was actually going to talk to now that she was here, and what she would say to them, a pegasus now approached her, flying over and calling out, while pulling her out of her thoughts, and being able to catch her attention successfully.
"Hey, you're friends with Rainbow Dash right?" the pegasus asked as they now were standing in front of Fluttershy, causing her to stop in her tracks as she just stopped hovering and landed on the cloud that the other pegasus was standing on. Looking left and right for a moment, making sure that she was definitely the one that the pegasus had called to, before she looked back and nodded now.
"Y-yes, I'm Fluttershy, do you know Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked as she looked to the turquoise coloured mare smiling to her kindly and greeting her politely, seeming welcoming enough. Looking her up and down and not recognising her at all, the golden blonde mane that was combed back, the golden eyes to match, and the lightning bolt cuite mark, none of it seemed familiar to her, feeling a little unsure if that was a good or bad thing.
"I'm so glad that I'm able to finally meet you," the turquoise mare stated seeming like she was truly greatful over the fact that she was talking to Fluttershy right now, and causing the pegasus to look back to her with a slightly confused expression, wondering just why this pegasus who she was certain she had never met before looked so happy to see her at the moment.
....
Meanwhile back at the Golden Oak library Twilight had made a late lunch for her, Spike and Rainbow Dash, the three of them now siting down to eat together at the dining table, however none of them really focusing on their food as Dash pushed her food around her plate with her fork, still obviously having her mind preoccupied with other things at the moment, while Twilight and Spike were still feeling concerned for the pegasus and wanting to help her out, but not really knowing how they could. This silence killing the Princess as she desperately wished for there to be some way for her to reach out to her marefriend and cheer her up if only a little and just as she was wishing for what could only be described as a miracle at this point they all heard a light knocking at the door.
Dash being pulled out of her thoughts for a moment as she looked to the front door, not even bothering to get up this time, as she knew she wouldn't be any good to anyone with the way she was right now, but not being able to help it as she couldn't see a way to stop thinking about how things just might not work out in their favour anymore and the more she thought about it, the more it seemed that all this seemed almost impossibe for her to get through.
"I'll get it,"
Twilight stated with a slight smile to Dash, the pegasus just nodding to her nervously, and sighed a little when she looked to the Princess's smile, watching her leave the table and go to answer the door, knowing that her marefriend wanted to try and make her feel better, but honestly not seeing how she could right now, and so just continued to push her food around her plate while Spike looked on with that same concerned expression on his face for the cyan pegasus.
Twilight answering the door while her mind was still on what her marefriend was dealing with at the moment, but shaking her head and forcing a smile to her visitor, pushing all her thoughts and worries to the back of her mind for now. Opening the door, greeting her guest and was a little surprised to see a very familiar pegasus standing there, and smiling to her.
"Fluttershy, what are you doing here?" the Princess asked, smiling to the pegasus and greeting her kindly, however only getting a question in reply from Fluttershy.
"Good afternoon Twilight. Do you think you could tell Rainbow Dash to come here for a moment?" Fluttershy asked with a bright smile on her lips, certainly seeming to be in a good mood right now, and causing Twilight to seem a little interested as to why the pegasus seemed to be in such high spirits, guessing that something good had happened to her just recently.
"Umm...I'm sorry Fluttershy but I don't think Dash will- Twilight was slightly taken aback by Fluttershy's beaming smile at first, but soon collected herself and her forced smile formed in to a slight frown now, glancing down to the ground and doubting that Dash would want to talk to anyone right now, however was cut off by the pegasus standing in front of her before she could really start to answer her.
"Please...I...I have a pegasus from Cloudsdale here with me, she's interested in your plans for ending the feud between the two towns, and wants to hear more about it," Fluttershy explained in quite a rushed voice getting right to the point so that Twilight would be more likely to go and fetch Rainbow Dash, rather than just refusing to do so like she was going to originally do, and hoping that the Princess and Dash would be willing to talk to the pegasus that she had brought along with her from Cloudsdale, believing that it would lighten their somber moods a little.
Twilight now looked surprised again as she was not expecting Fluttershy to say anything like that, looking to the turquoise peagsus that stood behind her friend, having not noticed that they were there until Fluttershy had mentioned it and brought them to her attention. Fluttershy stepping aside and gesturing to the pegasus standing beside her, as the blonde mare simply smiled and politely bowed to the Princess causing Twilight to raise her eyebrow and seem a little sceptical, while the unfamiliar pegasus simply greeted her kindly in return.
"It is such an honor to meet you, Princess Twilight"
The turquoise pegasus greeted Twilight with a kind smile, raising her head a little, while the Princess wasn't sure how she should react to all of this suddenly happening to her, wondering just what she should say to this mystery pegasus from Cloudsdale who had just shown up on her doorstep and apparently was interested in what she and Rainbow Dash had been planning for the two towns, being at a loss for words for a few moments as she just continued to stand speechless while the other mare just smiled back to her still.
Standing stunned still and unsure of just how to react to all this suddenly happening, Twilight looked to the turquoise pegasus with wide eyes, as her lips tried to put her thoughts into words but nothing coming out as all she could do at this moment in time was continue to stare silently, 'Could it really be true? Could this pegasus be the one we've been needing to come by and be the one to encourage us to keep going? That sounds too good to actually be true, but if what Fluttershy said about this pegasus is right then...maybe...just maybe there's a chance at least,' the Princess thought as she tried to compose herself now, shaking her head and taking a deep breath, slowly calming herself down.
"Could you just wait outside here for a moment?" she asked the mystery pegasus as a polite smile was slowly forming on her lips, causing the pegasus to simply smile back to her and answer with a quick nod.
"Of course Princess," the pegasus replied before Twilight thanked her in a rushed voice and left her and Fluttershy waiting at the door for a few moments. The two pegasi left to look to each other slightly as they both were a little unsure of what was happening with Twilight, and wondering just what she would do when she came back.
Walking back into the kitchen now Twilight looked to her marefriend who seemed like she was back to being lost in deep thought again, not knowing how the pegasus would react to the kind of situation that she would soon be in after she told her just who had come to visit them, but being hopeful that this could at least prove to be somewhat beneficial to them both and their plans.
"Who was at the door Twilight?"
Spike asked, as he was still concerned for Rainbow Dash it seemed but was also wondering why Twilight looked to have such an anxious expression on her face right now, however her expression also seeming to be holding a slight excitement behind it, which was making the young dragon a little curious about who might just have been at their front door.
"Somepony that I believe Dash might just be interested in seeing," Twilight answered, a smile forming on her lips as she just confused Spike more, and turned to Dash as she caught her attention by tapping her shoulder lightly, causing the cyan pegasus to now look up and turn her head towards her.
"Dash, there's somepony at the door that I think wants to talk with us both, would you come and see them please?" Twilight asked, causing Rainbow Dash to also seem a little confused now, as she tlited her head to the side while she looked up to her marefriend, unsure of what to think when she saw her expression, before just nodding as she guessed whoever was at the door had definitely caused Twilight to seem slightly less worried than she was just a few moments ago.
"Sure,"
Dash replied, standing up from her chair as she for now tried to put all her thoughts to the back of her mind and not think about them, wondering just who was at the door and hoping that she would be able to focus more on them rather than everything that was going on inside her head at the moment.
Twilight feeling a little unsure about how this would all go exactly but continued to smile as she led Dash to the open front door where Fluttershy and the other pegasus were waiting for them. Upon walking back into the doorway and seeing the turquoise pegasus still having that polite smile formed on her lips Twilight wondered if Dash would know who this pegasus was or not, she was from Cloudsdale after all, and as the Princess looked to see Dash's reaction, she raised her eyebrow a little when she saw her marefriend now take a step back as she saw the other pegasus standing there in front of her.
"Rainbow Dash, it sure has been a while huh? It's good to finally see you again," the turquoise pegasus greeted Dash, her smile turning in to a more brighter one as she looked genuinely overjoyed to be seeing Rainbow Dash, while the same really couldn't be said about Dash as her eyes widened and she just seemed awfully surprised, all speech leaving her for a moment as it looked like this mystery pegasus was the last pony she was expecting to see at Twilight's door.
"L-Lightning Dust? What are you doing here?" Dash asked as she raised her voice a little, and seemed like she was more than surprised to see the other pegasus standing in front of her right now, Twilight seeing that Dash ovbiously must know this pegasus since she not only knew her name be also seemed to have recongnised her quite quickly as well.
Lightning was going to answer as she seemed amused by Dash's reaction to seeing her again, but just stayed slient as Fluttershy spoke up instead, "I brought her here after finding her in Cloudsdale, or rather she found me I should say really," she stated also seeing that Dash did seem to recognise lightning almost instantly and must have known her quite well considering the fact that she remembered her name easily enough.
Dash looked to Fluttershy a little taken aback to hear that she had gone up into Cloudsdale again, and now felt kinda bad, guessing that the reason for Fluttershy going up to her hometown again when she thought she never would, most probably had something to with the problems that her and Twilight had been dealing with since meeting the royal Princess this morning, Dash seeing that Fluttershy must have caught wind of what was going on somehow.
"You didn't have to go and do that- Dash stated feeling like Fluttershy shouldn't have had to go into Cloudsdale when she was possbily not ready for that just yet, however Fluttershy cut the cyan pegasus off as she shook her head and smiled to Dash now.
"I wanted to Rainbow Dash, Applejack told the others and me about the problems that you and Twilight were having to face, so I wanted to find a way to help you in any way that I could, and when I got to Cloudsdale Lightning Dust here came flying over to me and started asking about you," Fluttershy explained, causing Dash to look slightly more surprised while she turned to glance at Lightning again and sighed slightly not knowing just what the turguoise pegasus could be after by being here, but guessing that it most likely wouldn't be anything she would expect to be good.
"Dash, Fluttershy said that this pegasus is interested in our plans for the future with both towns, and wants to hear more about them apparently," Twilight stated now catching Dash's attention, as she looked to the Princess, and then shifted her eyes to Lightning again, that defintely being something she wasn't expecting the pegasus to be here for.
Looking to Lightning's smiling face and wondering if the pegasus was actually being geunine right now or not, but also not knowing what to think at this point and figured that she would need to hear more before she could really judge anything about the other pegasus's intentions.
....
Twilight having soon invited Fluttershy and Lightning inside the library as they all were sitting down at the dining table together now, Spike making drinks for them all in the kitchen. Rainbow Dash seeming a little sceptical of Lightning as she looked to the pegasus who was just casually talking to Fluttershy at the moment.
Twilight looking to her marefriend as she wondered why she looked so troubled by lightning suddenly showing up, not expecting this to cheer Dash up at all, but was questioning why it seemed like she was being so weary around the turquoise pegasus that she seemed to know, but was kind of glad that her focus had shifted from the things she was thinking and getting herself all worked up about before.
"Dash, do you know Lightning Dust?"
Twilight asked getting the feeling that the answer to her question would be an obvious one, but asked anyway since although it did seem like Dash knew Lightning Dust quite well, it didn't seem like they were all that close, and plus the fact that Dash was acting so weary around the turquoise pegasus did cause her to think that maybe there was something she and Fluttershy didn't yet know about her, while Dash did.
"Well kind of...not really though, besically I know her name and have talked to her once or twice in the past, but to be honest I don't know her that well. Considering the fact that she was one of the pegasi from Cloudsdale who would just keep to herself most of the time, I never really hung out with her and would only ever talk to her when I happen to bump into her or something like that," Dash explained as she looked to Twilight but was clearly still focusing on the pegasus that was sitting beside Fluttershy. Twilight now seeing why Dash was seeming a little uneasy at the moment, since the cyan pegasus didn't know Lightning all that well it was possible that she was being completely sincere and actually was interested in all that Twilight and Dash had planned like Fluttershy had said, or if in fact she could also have other intentions on her mind.
Dash sighing a little now as she thought she should just stop trying to work stuff out for herself, and instead try and find out what Lightning truly wanted by simply asking her and seeing what her answer would be, "So Lightning, do you really want to hear more about the plans that Twilight and I have for the future?" she asked, catching Lightning's attention and causing her to turn to her, that smile still present on her face, almost seeming like it would never leave her expression.
"Yes, I know we don't know each other all that well, so I guess I'm not expecting you to agree, but when I heard you talking to all of Cloudsdale about the relationship you and Princess Twilight have, and just how much you loved her it...it really spoke to me and I think what you and the Princess are trying to accomplish is really inspiring. I have always felt that there shouldn't be this big separation between our two towns, I mean we used to get along so well, so I believe we can be like that again someday if we can just find the right way to go about this, I'm sure there's a way to get both Ponyville and Cloudsdale to come to some sort of agreement. Fluttershy told me of the problems that you two have been going through, and I would love it if you would let me help you with them, or at least let me hear more about it all, I would also appreciate that greatly," Lightning explained as she talked with excitement in her voice, sounding like she was really looking to help Twilight and Rainbow Dash with their plans, but while Twilight smiled and seemed hopeful that Lightning was exactly the pegasus they had been hoping to find, Dash didn't seem convinced just yet, still looking a little sceptical, while also not being able to deny that Lightning did seem to be speaking truthfully right now as she looked back to the two of the with a determined expression.
Dash glanced to Twilight now as although Lightning was seeming to be genuine with all that she was saying, she still wasn't sure if they should really trust the other pegasus as much as to allow her to help them with their plans. However by the hopeful smile on Twilight's face it was clear to see that this was pretty much the exact pegasus that she had been hoping to come across, wanting to find someone who like Rainbow Dash actually wanted to end the feud between the two towns, and be willing to help out in any way that they could, it certainly seeming that Lightning Dust fit that description quite well.
Twilight noticing that Dash was looking to her, and smiled to her, nodding and giving her an encouraging expression, "She seems like the real deal to me," she stated in a slightly whispered tone, before she turned back to Lightning again and the turquoise pegasus happily just smiled back to her in return. Twilight making it obvious that she believed all that Lightning had said, and definitely wanted to get her on bored with everything if she really did want to help them out, which did seem like that was the case here.
Dash looked to Twilight with a slightly concerned expression, wondering if she was being too trusting right now, or maybe she was judging Lightning badly, turning back to the turquoise pegasus again, and going over her own thoughts about all this, 'it's true that she does seem sincere enough...but can we really trust her? Maybe I'm thinking about things too much again, after all like she said 'we don't know each other all that well', so would it really be fair for me to be so weary of her when in fact there may be no reason to?' she sighed now thinking just what she should choose to do here. Miss their possible chance and send Lightning away, or let her help them.
"You really want to help us?" Dash asked as she still looked a little uneasy, but figuring it wouldn't be right to deny Lightning if all she wanted to really do was help them with all of this, and from the looks of things that's exactly what she had in mind at the moment.
"Of course, in any way that I can," Lightning replied as she nodded to Dash, a confident smile resting on her lips as there were pretty much no doubts in Dash's mind that the other pegasus really did mean it when she said she wanted to help them just then.
'Maybe this could actually be a good thing, although I do still want to keep an eye on her from here,' Dash thought as she looked to Twilight again before nodding her head slowly and showing the Princess that she was agreeing to allow Lightning to help them with all that they had planned, causing Twilight to now light up as she mentally thanked her marefriend, and then turned back to Lightning.
"The truth is we need all the help we can get right now, so we would be glad to have you on board Lightning Dust," Twilight stated with a bright smile to Lightning causing the pegasus to lit up with excitement.
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, I promise you will not regret this!" the excited pegasus happily stood from her chair and thanked Twilight and Dash over and over again, wanting to let them know just how greatful she was for letting her help them, smiling to them both as Twilight nodded and smiled back to her, while Dash was still feeling a little anxious about all this, and Fluttershy was glad that the two had agreed for Lightning to help them with their plans believing that this is what they really needed right now, and hoping that soon enough Dash would see that as well, and wouldn't look so uneasy around her anymore.
"So where do you plan to go from here? Well I don't mean to rush you at all, but I would like to know where you are planning on starting with all this, after all you've got a long road ahead of you both," Lightning asked still sounding so overjoyed about everything that was happening at the moment, clearly wanting to get into the full swing of things, and was hoping to help anywhere that she could.
"Well that's true enough, and us telling you where we plan to start would only be fair so..." Twilight paused as she tried to think of something, having a rough idea of where she wanted things to go from here with their planning, but was a little unsure of how Lightning Dust could be part of it all and help out, sitting back in her chair as she seemed lost in thought for a moment, while Lightning waited patiently to hear what the Princess would say.
"We could have her meet your other friends Twi," Dash suggested, speaking up and causing Twilight to look a little taken aback as she wasn't expecting her marefriend to come up and say anything since she had been a little silent for a good while there, "I mean if she really is going to help us with all of this, it might be good for her to get to know a few of the other ponies that live in this town besides Fluttershy who didn't even used to live here before the feud started anyway," the cyan pegasus added in quite a rushed voice that was a little lower in tone, obviously seeming nervous still as she turned away from Twilight when she realized the Princess's slightly surprised expression directed at her.
"That's a really good idea Dash, but they're your friends too don't forget," Twilight's expression formed into a smile as she leaned closer to her marefriend, showing that she was happy that the pegasus was actually taking part in this, instead of just sitting back and continuing to think about things which is what Twilight first thought she was going to do, feeling glad to be proved wrong. Causing Dash to blush a little from embarrassment as she shook her head a moment later and turned her attention back on to Lightning again, and avoided Twilight's reply to her.
"So what do you say Lightning, you wanna meet the others?" she asked looking to Lightning with a nervous smile, as she still knew that Twilight's eyes were on her, knowing without even glancing that the Princess no doubt was looking to her with a raised eyebrow right now.
Lightning just nodded excitedly in reply, "Sure, I'd love to," she smiled agreeing to meet the others happily, while Twilight and Fluttershy nodded simply, and Dash did the same after a moment or two, sighing slightly as Twilight had shifted her eyes to Lightning, while she just glanced back to the turquoise pegasus who was happily talking to the Princess and Fluttershy now, still with that bright smile on her lips.
Dash wanting to believe Lightning as well, and kind of did want to get to know her a little better, but also still having a feeling that she should be more weary of her and thought although she wasn't going to jump to any conclusions she was going to keep her distance and just see how things would go from here with this mysterious pegasus, who she still felt very unsure about.
....
Twilight soon gathering all the others and telling them to come meet up at the library, all of them now together in the library's main living area, with Spike making drinks and small snacks for everyone as he pottered around a bit, making sure that all the guests were being seen to.
Now walking over to Twilight and Rainbow Dash, noticing that they seemed to be observing Lightning Dust from a far, guessing that they were only keeping their distance so that the others could all go over and talk to her instead. Twilight looking like she was eagerly waiting for when their friends would go over to meet Lightning, while Dash seemed to be a little uncomfortable at the moment.
"So how's it going? Have any of the others approached her yet?"
Spike asked as he came walking over to Twilight and Dash, wondering if Lightning had talked to any of the others yet besides Fluttershy, and hoping that everyone was getting along nicely. Twilight having introduced the young dragon to Lightning a little eariler and just like with Fluttershy and the Princess everything had gone down well enough, causing Twilight to hope that the same would be said for her other three friends, and even though she knew that Dash still wasn't all that sure of the mysterious pegasus just yet, she was hopeful that she would warm up to her and stop seeming so uneasy soon enough.
"No, not just yet, however I'm sure they will all be going over to meet her soon enough, they're probably just thinking of what to say to her, after all they all did seem interested when I gathered them here and told them about Lightning Dust. And I'm sure they will all get along just fine with her," Twilight stated smiling to spike, while she was still looking over to where Lightning stood talking to Fluttershy, and seeming to be forming a sort of friendship with her, as they both chated to each other happily, the Princess just hoping that the other three would be the same when they would finally go over to meet with her.
Still looking anxious about all this Dash sighed slightly, looking over to Lightning, and although she did want to trust the pegasus, she just wasn't sure if that was the right choice, as something about the mare was just not sitting well with her it seemed, "Do you think that we can really trust her Twilight?" she asked nervously, while she seemed to be fighting with herself at the moment, knowing that Lightning seemed so nice and cheerful, and wanting to be helpful to them. But while she could clearly see that when she looked to the turquoise pegasus, she wasn't sure what it was, but she felt like there just might be more to Lightning then she herself was letting on.
"Relax Dash, you're just being paranoid,"
Twilight rested a caring hoof on Dash's shoulder and gave her a slight smile, trying to reassure her that she didn't need to be so nervous about all this, having a feeling that she knew why her marefriend was a little unwilling to trust this mysterious pegasus that both of them knew hardly anything about had just come walking into their lives and confusing her with how she should feel towards everything turning out the way it was. But hoping that within time Dash would see what she saw in Lightning and wouldn't be so weary around her anymore.
"Maybe but-
Dash was about to continue however soon getting cut off by Twilight. Knowing that she probably was thinking about this all too much, but if that was all it was then why couldn't she just push these kind of thoughts to the back of her mind like before? That not seeming to work this time, as she was more concerned about just who Lightning was and what she wanted then what she was worrying about before, wondering if this was just her mind playing tricks on her after all.
"Dash, look!"
Twilight cut Dash off, as she pointed and directed Dash's attention over to where Lightning stood with Fluttershy and both of them were surprised to see Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity all making their way over to the two pegasi, seeming like they were going to finally meet Lightning Dust now. Twilight smiling as she was hopeful that they would all get along, while Dash looked a little concerned for just how things would go down, when she figured that maybe she shouldn't be so worked about all this, when Lightning hadn't really done anything in order to maker her feel this way about her. Both of them waiting to see just what would happen with the others, as Spike joined in along with them.
"So it's Lightning Dust right?"
Applejack asked as her, Pinkie and Rarity had come walking over to Lightning and Fluttershy, seeming like they were all now ready to meet this mystery pegasus, feeling a little nervous as the three knew that they had never met this pegasus before and guessed that she was most probably much different from how Rainbow Dash used to be, and their thoughts seeming to be completely correct as Lightning turned to them all and just smiled politly.
"Yep that's me, and you are all friends of Rainbow Dash and the Princess right?" Lightning asked seeming humble enough to the others and causing them all to look to each other with slightly relieved smiles now, this pegasus definitely seeming like someone who was quite easy to approach and talk to.
"That's right. Am Applejack, this is Pinkie Pie, Rarity and you've already met Fluttershy," Applekjack introduced herself and the others to Lightning, ponting to each one of them with her hoof as she said their name, Pinkie and Rairty politly smiling to the turquoise pegasus, while she just nodded in return and and smiled back to them all in reply.
"It's nice to meet you all," she replied happily, causing the others to all relax now, as they felt like there was nothing really for them to be nervous about since it really did seem like this Cloudsdale pegasus was more than happy to meet them, which wasn't something they had been expecting, but were glad that that had seemed to be the case at the moment.
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well lightning Dust," Rarity replied as the other two agreed and soon starting to fall into a casual converstaion with the pegasus, seeming that they were able to get along with her very easily just like Fluttershy had.
"Is it true that you really want to help Twilight and Rainbow Dash with their plans?" Pinkie asked as she and the others were a little curious about whether Lightning wanted to really take part in helping to make the bright future that Twilight and Dash were looking to, into a reality that they could hopefully get to someday.
"Of course, in any way that I can,"
Lightning answered as she caused the others to all look to each other for a moment, clearly seeing that the pegasus was being nothing short of sincere right now, and were glad that Fluttershy had made the decision to go up into Cloudsdale after all, for if she hadn't gone through with it, then this pegasus that seemed to the be the one that Twilight and Rainbow Dash had been needing wouldn't have been found, and they would have probably never gotten the chance to meet her at all.
Pinkie Pie and Lightning now happily talking to one another as soon Fluttershy and Rarity joined in on the casual conversation as well, while Twilight and Rainbow Dash came walking over to Applejack and caught her attention, stopping her from joining in with the rest of the others, as the farm pony just looked to the two and smiled to them both.
"So what do you think of Lightning Dust?" Twilight asked as she could easily see that the others had gotten along with Lightning just as well as Fluttershy had, seeming to not be having any problems with her at all, and Applejack proving her point even more as she smiled and happily nodded in reply to the Princcess.
"She seems really nice, I'll admit I was a little nervous about meeting her since unlike with Rainbow Dash, none of us had really met her before, but it seems there was nothing for me to be worried about, and the others and I can clearly see that you two have most likely found exactly what you have been needing with her, after all peagsi like her that come from Cloudsdale tend to be hard to come across," the farm pony answered as she and the others had been glad that they didn't have to worry at all, and were happy about the fact that they actually had been able to help the two, by Fluttershy bumping in to Lightning and hitting it off with her so well, guessing that they shouldn't have expected any less from a pegasus that Fluttershy was able to get along with and talk to so easily.
"I think so too," Twilight nodded with a smile in reply, glad to see that everyone seemed to be getting along really well with Lightning Dust. Well everyone bar Rainbow Dash, it seeming like the cyan pegasus being the only one that wasn't so sure about her, the Princess hoping that that would soon change as time went on though.
'All the others are getting along with her so well, which means I'm the only one that's questioning whether we should really trust her or not,' Dash sighed as she was glad that the others had gotten along with Lightning so well, but it seemed that no matter what all the others thought about the turquoise pegasus, she just couldn't seem to get it out of her head that there's more to Lightning than just her polite, easily approachable, and seemly very trustworthy personality, it not seeming like all an act, but at the same time it not being clear to her at least just what true intentions she might just be hiding.
'I don't know why I'm feeling like this when it comes to Lightning, but maybe it's just because I have also never met a pegasus from Cloudsdale like her, just like all the others. After all she's not the kind of pony that I used to hang around with at all back then, so should I really be getting worked up about all this, when in fact it could be nothing? Maybe Twilight is right, maybe I am just being paranoid,' Dash thought as she looked to Lightning and couldn't figure out why that cheerful smile of her's that definitely seemed geunine, made her feel so uneasy still, hoping that these feelings would just go away soon, and she wouldn't have to be stressing herself out with alll this anymore, and could just focus on her, Twilight and now Lightning moving forward with their's plans for the future that they were hoping to aim for.
....
The gathering not lasting for much longer as it was soon early in the evening and Lightning had told the others that she had to start heading back home, standing outside the library now as she was saying 'Goodnight' to everyone and thanked Twilight and Rainbow Dash for everything today.
"Are you sure you can't stay any longer?" Pinkie asked with a pout as she felt like she still had so much she needed to talk with Lightning about and didn't want her to go just yet, however the pegasus just shook her head as she smiled to the earth pony, knowing that she better head home before it started to get too dark.
"Sorry, but I kinda want to get back home before the sun sets competely, plus I feel if I stay for much longer I just might end up spending the night here," Lightning stated with a nervous smile, not wanting to disappoint Pinkie, but also knowing that going home now instead of later would be her best bet.
"You'll come back tomorrow right? Dash and I could tell you more about what we have planned for the near future," Twilight asked, wanting to make sure that they would be seeing Lightning again, since she also did want to talk with her more, and was wondering if she had any plans of her own for where they could go from here.
"Of course, there's nothing that could keep me away from coming back here," Lightning stated happily as Twilight nodded back to her and smiled to her in return, looking forward to how tomorrow would go now, as they all soon said their gooodbyes to the pegasus and waved to her, before they all walked back into the library together.
Rainbow Dash was going to follow the others, but just as she was about to turn and walk after them all, she gave a glance to the direction that Lightning had started to walk off in, and was surprised to see the turquoise pegasus still standing there, having her back turned to her, but her head facing her as her golden eyes were locked onto Dash's magenta ones.
Dash's eyes went wide as she felt like she suddenly couldn't move right now, freezing up in the other pegasus's cold stare, that cheerful and polite smile having completely disappeared as a slight frown was resting there instead. Lightning's expression looking blank and unreadable as it almost seemed like she was staring straight through the cyan pegasus, causing an uncomfortable cold chill to run down her spine for a moment.
"I-is there something the matter, Lightning?" Dash asked nervously not knowing what to do, or how she should react to this right now, wondering just where this had suddenly come from, as it seemed like the other pegasus's demeanor had changed completely, however not staying that way for long as that cheerful smile of her's came back a moment later.
"Not at all, goodnight Rainbow Dash," Lightning simply stated with her classic beaming smile, causing Dash to just look to her confused and unsure of what to think as she had no idea why she had gotten such a cold stare from the other pegasus all of a sudden.
"Y-yeah...goodnight,"
Dash replied in a low voice, still seeming stunned by what had just gone on while Lightning just waved to her with that cheerful smile still resting on her lips, before turning and taking off into the sky. Heading off home up to Cloudsdale, while leaving Dash to wonder just what had happened between them, as she stood staring to where the other pegasus had disppeared in to and still didn't really feel like she could move just yet.
'Just what was with that look she gave me?' she questioned as she was even more confused about Lightning now then she was before, wondering just where that cold stare had suddenly come from, and why it had been directed at her for what seemed like such a long amount of time, not knowing what to think about that mysterious pegasus anymore it seemed.
Late evening soon turning into night as the small gathering at the Golden Oak library had not long ended, with the others all having left and headed to their own homes for the night, meanwhile Twilight and Rainbow Dash were now upstairs and in the young Princess's bedroom getting ready for bed after they had helped Spike to clean everything away from the little get together that they had had with their friends.
Rainbow Dash sighing deeply as it seemed like her mind was still focused on Lightning, not being able to get that cold stare out of her head, as she kept wondering where it had suddenly come from and why it was directed at her for so long, 'Could she know that unlike Twilight and the others, I don't feel like she's all that trustworthy? Could she possibly resent me now? I'm so confused about her, I...I don't know what to think, just what did that stare mean?' the pegasus questioned as she rubbed her forehead a little, feeling like all these confusing thoughts were giving her a headache, wishing there was a way for her to just figure out what was going on with Lightning, but sadly that seeming like it wasn't going to be happening anytime soon for her.
Meanwhile as Dash was feeling confused and unsure of things, Twilight on the other hand looked like she couldn't be more glad for Lightning suddenly walking into their lives, seeming like she was so certain that this pegasus from Cloudsdale who started off as a mystery was now the exact pony that they needed in order to give her the motivation to keep walking forward to the future that she was looking to. However it clearly being very different for Dash.
"Dash aren't you excited for tomorrow?" Twilight asked as she was lay on her bed, looking over to her marefriend with a bright smile resting on her lips, clearly feeling postive about tomorrow turning out as well as this afternoon had.
Dash seemed like she did't hear Twilight at first, as she stood by the bedroom door looking lost in thought, causing Twilight to frown slightly now as she hoped Dash would have perked up a little since meeting Lightning, but unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case, as it was obvious that the cyan pegasus was still stuck on thinking about things too much, and most probably getting herself worked up in the process which was something Twilight believed she really didn't need to do this time.
"Dash?" the Princess questioned, causing Dash to be pulled out of her thoughts as her attention was brought back to her marefriend as she turned now and looked back to Twilight, however still seeming distracted by other things.
"Yeah, sure I am," Dash simply replied as she turned back to look down to the floor, her mind continuing to spin with the same questions that she had been asking herself since Lightning Dust had left eariler, still seeming to be bothered by that almost too polite and cheerful pegasus.
"Dash are you still worrying about the thought that we can't trust Lightning Dust?" Twilight asked looking concerned for her marefriend, as she had hoped that something like this happening would cheer Dash up, when in fact it may not have helped at all.
Dash turning to look to Twilight again and just shaking her head and smiling slightly, trying not to focus on her thoughts and unanswered questions for a few moments, knowing that Twilight was worried for her, and didn't want her to lose that excited smile she had had on her lips for the last few hours, so just putting all her thoughts about Lightning to the back of her mind for now, knowing evetnually that they would find a way to come crawling back to the front again though.
"No, don't worry about it, I was just thinking about other things," Dash lied as she now came to lay down beside Twilight on her bed, and nuzzled her cheek lightly, smiling to the Princess, and causing her frown to turn into more of a wondering expression.
"What 'other things'?" she questioned the pegasus.
"It's nothing...I was just thinking about the other pegasi living up in Cloudsdale, you know they aren't all going to be like Lightning," Dash stated, thinking that Lightning may be the only pegasus from Cloudsdale who was so cheerful and approachable that she had ever met, but keeping that to herself for now, not wanting to bring her marefriend's high spritis down too much.
"Yeah I know, but at least we know that there are pegasi up in Cloudsdale like Lightning that really do want things to change with the two towns just like what we are aiming for," Twilight nodded with a smile now, as she snuggled up closer to Dash and was glad that it seemed like although the cyan pegasus was still thinking about things, it didn't look like those thoughts were bothering her as much as before.
"Yeah, but I'm still going to be keeping an eye on her," Dash stated as as her mind started to revert back to thinking about Lightning, but trying to stay focused on Twilight and not let her thoughts worry her too much.
"Dash I know you find it hard to trust her, but I don't expect you to be her best friend or anything. I'm just saying that you should as least give her a chance, can you do that for me Dash?" Twilight asked, as she rested her hoof over Dash's, looking to the pegasus with an understanding expression, causing Dash to look a little unsure of what to say, before she just smiled back in return and sighed slightly.
"Yeah, I think I can do that at least," Dash replied with a nod, pushing all her thoughts to the back of her mind again, knowing that she did need to give Lightning the benefit of the doubt before judging her at all, or at least try and get to know her better before she went jumping to any conclusions too soon.
Twilight chuckling slightly as she nuzzled into Dash's neck, coping the pegasus's slight sigh, "Thank you Dash," she whsipered as Dash nuzzled her back, lying a wing over the Princess, as the two lay in a peaceful silence for a few moments. Before Twilight pulled her marefriend into a sweet kiss, causing Dash to be a little surprised at first, but soon slowly closed her eyes and melted into the kiss, letting her mind go completely blank for a few precious seconds as she kinda wished her thoughts would go away altogether, but she knowing that that wouldn't be happening anytime soon for her.
It not being long before Twilight had drifted off to a soundless sleep, lying underneath Dash's wing as the pegasus pulled the covers over them both, smiling to her sleeping marefriend as she leaned into her and pecked her forehead. Twilight stirring in her sleep a little, but not waking up as she just smiled and snuggled closer against Dash, nuzzling into her more.
'Give Lightning a chance huh? I wonder if I can really do that,' Dash thought as she now turned to look out of Twilight's bedroom window, her thoughts and questions from eariler coming back to the front of her mind yet again, as she wondred just what tomorrow would hold for both her and Twilight, knowing that she would have to face Lightning again, and give her a chance to prove to her that she could be trusted, however still also feeling that there was more to that turquiose pegasus then everyone else seemed to be seeing in her.
....
Twilight and Dash getting up bright and early the next morning, as the young Princess was busy helping Spike with cleaning the dishes from their breakfast, while Dash was sitting lost in thought at the kitchen table, not looking like she was as worried as before, and instead just seeming like she was figuring things out. Dash knowing that she had said she would give Lightning a chance, which she thought was something she could do she just needed to keep her mind open and not let her own thoughts and assumptions cloud it up too much.
Sighing slightly Dash looked down to the kitchen table, tracing the patterns in the wood with her hoof, working out what she should say to Lightning once she got here, but everything seeming to end the same way; with a awkward silence between the two peagsi, 'Maybe I need to get to know her better, after all we hardly know anything about each other,' Dash thought as she figured that maybe she should try and get along with Lightning, although she didn't yet see that being a very easy task for her.
A slight knocking interrupting Dash's train of thought as her ears perked up to the sound and she lifted her head a little, turning to look to the front door, and taking a guess of just who could be coming to visit them right about now. Hearing Twilight calling to her from the other side of the room.
"Could you please get that Dash?" the Princess asked with a smile to her marefriend, and Dash just simply nodding to Twilight as she now stood up from her chair.
"Yeah, sure,"
Dash answered as she slowly made her way over to the front door, taking a deep breath as she tried to clear her mind, resting her hoof on the wood, not feeling quite ready to face just who might be behind the door, but knowing that she would eventually have to, and so pushing herself to do so.
Slowly opening the door to find that she couldn't have been more right when guessing who was going to be standing in front of her, seeing that familiar turquoise coat, and golden, blonde combed back mane, feeling her throat dry up upon seeing the pegasus's cheerful smile again as she greeted her kindly, her delighted voice causing Dash to cringe slightly.
"Good morning Rainbow Dash,"
"Err...yeah hey," Dash replied in a low voice, averting her eyes from looking to the other pegasus, and biting her bottom lip, that cheerful smile still giving her an uncomfortable feeling it seemed, thinking that it was just her luck that her guessing had been completely correct.
"Who's at the door Dash?" Twilight called from the kitchen, coming to peek her head around the wall as she had stopped washing the dishes along with Spike for a minute, looking to her marefriend with a wondering expression now.
'Who do you think?' Dash felt like saying, but refrained herself from doing so, instead she looked back to Twilight with a sigh and stepped aside so that the Princess could now see just who their early morning visitor was.
Twilight's eyes going a little wide as although she was expecting to see Lightning at their door this morning, she didn't think she would be seeing her this early, "Lightning Dust, you're here awfully early," the Princess said as she came walking over to greet the turquoise pegasus, while Lightning just politely smiled back to her.
"Yeah I know, sorry, I kinda couldn't wait any longer I guess. Hope I'm not being an inconvenience to you and Rainbow Dash," Lightning smiled nervously, looking a little embarrassed, causing Dash to raise her eyebrow to her for a moment, before she looked to Twilight and wondered just how she was able to talk to Lightning so easily, while she could bearly even get a single sentence out without it being a struggle for her.
"Not at all, I'm glad to see that you made your way here all on your own, you didn't get lost right?" Twilight asked with a smile, seeming to Dash that she found it easy to speak to this pegasus from Cloudsdale, who she didn't know all that well, not only that but the other two seemed to talk to each other like they had know one another for much more than a couple of days.
"Well actually...I did have to ask around a little, but once I mentioned 'Princess Twilight' they soon pointed me in the right direction, and they were so nice about it too," Lightning explained causing Dash to widen her eyes a little, feeling sursprised that Lightning was daring enough to talk to the ponies of Ponyville,
'Wait if Lightning used to be one of the pegasi from Cloudsdale that mostly just kept to themselves, then of course she wouldn't be all that anxious about talking to the ponies from here, after all there's no reason for them to hold a grudge against her like they used to and sometimes still do with me,' Dash thought as she had to keep reminding herself that Lightning was very different from her in a lot of ways, so it really shouldn't have been a sursprise that she would be treated differently than she was by the other poines of the town.
"Well I'm glad to see that you got here regardless, why don't you come inside?" Twilight asked as Lightning just nodded back to her with her classic cheerful smile.
"Thank you Princess Twilight,"
Lightning replied with a polite bow of her head to the Princess, before Twilight stepped aside and allowed for their guest to enter the library, pointing her towards the kitchen, and telling her to go and make herself comfortable. As she was about to follow after her, however stopping as she glanced back for a moment and noticed that Dash was still standing in the open doorway seeming to be lost in thought once again.
Looking a little concerned for her marefriend as she walked over to her and rested a hoof on her shoulder, causing the pegasus to be pulled out of her own thoughts, "Are you okay Dash?" the Princess asked as Dash now looked to her and shook her head quickly.
Dash composed herself, pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind again as she forced a smile to Twilight, "Yeah I'm fine Twi," she replied, causing to Twilight to happily nod and smile back to her, turning round a moment later and walking into the kitchen, while Dash let her forced smile form back into a slight frown, as she just sighed deeply and closed the front door to the library, turning and following after her marefriend, guessing that the rest of the morning wouldn't be much different from how the last few moments had just gone for her.
....
Twilight, Lightning and Dash now all sitting at the kitchen table, talking and working out just where they were going to be heading from here with their plans for the future. It mostly just being Twilight and Lightning talking, along with Spike chiming in every so often, while Dash was pretty much just seeming to be in her own world, and when she did try to take part in the conversation she would soon find that both her confidence and speech would quickly leave her, so she preferred to just stay silent instead.
"Well why doesn't Rainbow Dash just come back to Cloudsdale? I mean I know there are some pegasi that won't be willing to change their way of thinking, but the best way to find the other pegasi that do what things to change is to go looking for them just like Fluttershy did with me," Lightning suggested, smiling to both Twilight and Dash, clearly meaning well, but seeming that she had struck a cord with the other two as they both widened their eyes a little, and looked to each other with slight frowns now, causing Lightning to just look to them with a confused expression.
"You say that like it's easily done," Dash chuckled slightly with a saddened smile, speaking in a low tone as she turned her head away and just looked to the table, not wanting to see the other pegasus's confused expression, guessing that she was unaware of just how most of the other pegasi in Cloudsdale would treat her now after she had told them all the truth about her and Twilight's relationship.
Lightning looked a little concerned as she wondered if she had said something that she wasn't supposed to, getting the feeling that she may have just caused the atmosphere to shift slightly. Twilight now catching Lightning's attention as she caused her to look towards her.
"Lightning Dust ever since Dash told all the pegasi in Cloudsdale about the relationship that she and I have, they haven't been all that...accepting of the fact that we're together and that we want to change things, so I'm sure you can imagine why she wouldn't feel comfortable with going back up there right now, and you can probably guess that I feel the same way too," Twilight explained, causing Lightning to now widen her eyes and realize just why what she had said had caused the other two to act the way they had, instantly looking like she was regretting all that she had just said.
"Oh of course, I'm sorry I should've known that you or Rainbow Dash going up there at the moment wouldn't exactly be the best decision for right now. I'll keep thinking," Lightning nervously spoke in a rushed voice, quickly going back on what she had said, seeming to be feeling foolish for even suggesting such a thing as she wouldn't want to push Twilight or Dash into something they either weren't yet ready for, or didn't feel comfortable with doing at this moment in time.
"It's okay Lightning, it's not your fault that you didn't know," Twilight said as she looked to Lightning with an softened expression, letting her know that she hadn't made her or Dash upset or anything really, reassuring her with a smile, as her and Dash were kind of thinking the same thing right about now; 'Lightning really does keep to herself if she didn't know just how the pegasi would react if either one of us risked going up there,' both Twilight and Dash thought as they looked to Lightning with slightly uneasy expressions, wondering just how isolated the turquoise pegasus might be, and now understanding a little why she seemed so different from most other pegasi from Cloudsdale.
An awkward silence now falling on the three mares as not one of them dared to speak, as both Twilight and Dash were looking a little down, while Lightning shifted her eyes nervously back and forth between the other two, as she tried to think of something to say, wanting to lessen the heavy tension that was currently in the room, searching for any words at all that would get them all out of this uncomfortable situation, and onto another subject.
Dash just sighing deeply, as she figured things would turn sour soon enough for her, but not thinking that the same thing would happen for Twilight as well. The cyan pegasus looking to her marefriend with a concerned expression, thinking that she could maybe try and say something to lighten the mood, but seeming to come up with nothing, and it being exactly the same for Twilight.
Lightning's eyes then widening a little as an idea suddenly entered her mind as she smiled now, clearing her throat, and catching Twilight and Rainbow Dash's attention, as they turned to look to her.
"Hey I've got an idea, do you think you two could show me around Ponyville a little? I mean I haven't really gotten to know the town all that well just yet, and if I'm going to be coming down here more often now, I would kind of like to get to know both the area and the ponies that live here," she explained, hoping that she could lighten the mood and change the subject with this, causing Twilight and Dash to look to each other again for a moment, the both of them seeming to be taking a moment to think over the idea that Lightning had come up with, before deciding and soon agreeing to go along with the pegasus's suggestion, which made Lightning breathe a small sigh of relief that they were going to be moving on from that eariler uncomfortable conversation thankfully.
....
The three mares soon having made their way into town, Twilight deciding to start off with Lightning meeting the Mayor of the town, then from there her and Rainbow Dash could both show the turquoise pegasus around Ponyville. However things not exactly going all to plan as it seemed that Lightning was becoming quite the popular pony as she would happily wave to most of the poines that they came across, causing the other ponies to either wave back to her simply, or come over to greet and welcome her, it ending up being a while before they were all able to keep moving to where they were originally headed. Twilight having thought that the Mayor would have been the best to meet first, but not minding the fact that Lightning was meeting other ponies before getting to where they were going, after all everyone that Lightning came across seemed to get along with her really well.
The meeting with the Mayor not seeming to be any different as the three had finally come to town hall, and met up with Mayor Mare, Twilight introducing Lightning Dust to the Mayor and just like everyone else she had met so far they were able to get on really well with each other.
"Well it really has been a delight to meet you Lightning Dust, and I look forward to seeing you around town more," the Mayor stated with a kind smile to Lightning, while Lightning just nodded back to her with a returned smile.
"Oh no the pleasure's all mine really, and with everypony being as nice as they are, I can't think of anything that could keep me away from this lovely little town," Lightning replied with her signature cheerful and polite smile, it seeming to have drawn pretty much everyone in the town to her, and Lightning seeming to have been enjoying all the attention she was getting, while Twilight was glad to see that everyone was getting along with Lightning so well, getting the feeling that the pegasus was just a pony that was able to get along with practically everyone that she met.
Twilight then deciding to continue showing Lightning Dust around the town of Ponyville once they had finished meeting the Mayor, but as expected not getting very far before more of the townsfolk came over to meet Lightning, it not being long before the turquiose pegasus was surrounded, happily just standing and smiling to all of the other ponies as she greeted each and every one of them politely.
Twilight and Dash watching from a far as the Princess chuckled slightly and was glad that she kind of knew that she wouldn't need to worry about Lightning at all when it came her meeting other poines, after all she seemed to get along with Applejack and the others so well, so she was pretty convinced that that it would likely be the same for the other poines in the town as well.
"She really is quite popular huh?" the Princess asked with a smile, looking to Dash while the cyan pegasus just stood looking to Lightning and rolling her eyes slightly.
"Yeah...I guess you could say that," Dash replied in a low toned voice as she now turned away from Lightning, really not understanding what everyone else saw in the turquoise pegasus, and kind of wondering just how Lightning was able to get along with practically anyone and everyone that she met.
'It's been the same thing with everypony that we've come across, they meet Lightning and end up hitting it off with her in no time, just what is it that everypony sees in her? I still get stares and ponies whispering about me, but her...Lightning's different from me, nopony has any reason to stare or gossip about her to others, so should I really surprised by all this? Maybe I'm just not used to seeing this kinda thing happening right in front of me, maybe Lightning is just really easy to approach and get along with. But if that's the case then why does it still feel like she's somepony that can't be trusted to me? Could I...could I possibly be jealous of her?' Dash questioned as she was lost in thought yet again, remembering just how the ponies of Ponyville acted around her, and comparing that to how they would act around Lightning Dust, wondering if she really just should have expected things to be different for Lightning then they were for her.
Lightning was liking all the attention she was getting right now, and she was happy that she had been able to get along with a lot of the ponies from Ponyville, but she was feeling a little overwhelmed by all this, plus she also felt kinda guilty for just having to keep Twilight and Dash waiting, when they were supposed to be showing her around the town.
Lightning looking over to the other two, as she sighed upon seeing Dash looking like she didn't want to be here right now, seeing that the cyan pegasus was preoccupied by her own thoughts at the moment. Wondering what she could do as she did want to get along with Dash just like she had been able to do with everyone else, but not really coming up with anything as it always seemed like the other pegasus just wasn't comfortable whenever she was around her.
Her golden eyes then soon widening as it seemed like an idea had now entered her mind, a smile forming on her lips as she pushed past the crowd of poines that were surrounding her and walked up to Twilight and Dash, "Hey Princess Twilight, do you think you could keep everypony else busy for a bit? I'd like to see if I can talk to Rainbow Dash for a little while," she asked the Princess with a polite smile, gesturing to all the other ponies, before she looked to Dash and sighed slightly.
Twilight looking to her marefriend for a moment, before looking back to Lightning and just nodding with a smile as she did want Dash and Lightning to finally get along somehow, and hoped that that would be the result of them talking for a little bit, or at least make it so that Dash wouldn't be so weary around the other pegasus anymore.
"Thank you Princess,"
Lightning replied with a greatful smile to Twilight, glad that she had agreed to let her go and talk with Dash more privately, watching as the Princess just winked to her slightly, before she went off to deal with the other poines of Ponyville, while Lightning took a deep breath and now came walking over to Dash, catching her attention and seeming to pull her out of her own thoughts quite easily.
"Hey Rainbow Dash...umm you wanna go for a fly?" Lightning asked with a nervous smile to Dash as she hoped that the other pegasus would accept her offer, figuring that if she wanted to get along with Dash than the best thing for them might just be some alone time spent together.
Dash looked to Lightning with a questioning expression, wondering just how she should answer, as she glanced over to Twilight, and sighed a little when she saw the Princess just nodding to her with an encouraging smile resting on her lips. Taking a moment to think before deciding if she should agree to go with Lightning or not, 'I guess this could give us the chance to get to know each other a little better,' she thought before she now looked back to the other pegasus again and nodded to her.
"Sure,"
Dash simply replied after a long pause, speaking in a low tone, and caused Lightning to beam brightly to her in return, clearly happy that Dash had agreed to go with her, nodding back to the cyan pegasus before they both headed off together. Twilight watching them walking away from her and the crowd of other poines and smiling slightly as it wasn't long before the two pegasi had taken off into the sky and flown out of sight, leaving the Princess hoping that all would go well between them.
....
Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust now flying side by side through the skies, slowly gliding above the clouds as although they had gone off together to talk, they had mostly just been quiet for a good while, an awkward silence having fallen on them both as it seemed like neither one of them really knew what to talk about, and each time they did start a conversation with the each other it would quickly get shut down by the other in one way or another.
"So you seem to be quite popular with the poines of Ponyville," Dash stated, trying to start another conversation with the other pegasus but guessing that it most probably wouldn't last all that long just like alll their other conversations.
"Yeah...it was a little overwhelming, but they all were so kind to me," Lightning smiled to Dash, however their conversation not really going anywhere from there it seemed as Dash just nodded slowly in return and silence fell on them both once again.
'Dammit I asked Rainbow Dash to come with me so that we could talk and hopefully get to know each other a little better, but we've hardly done any talking, and it just seems like we can't hold a conversation at all. Just what should I say to her?' Lightning questioned inside her mind as she tried to think of another topic to bring up, but nothing really coming to mind, and guessing if she did say something it would most probably just get shut down with a one sentence answer and they would be back to this awkward silence yet again.
Sighing heavily for a moment, as a thought entered her mind from eariler, wondering if it was really okay for her to talk about a certain topic, but at this point she was out of other options, and so just decided to go along with it and hope for the best outcome, "Hey Rainbow Dash I was just wondering...do you want to go back up to Cloudsdale?" she now asked the other pegasus, causing Dash to look surprised while Lightning just looked to her with a curious expression.
"Of course I do, Cloudsdale is my home...but you can guess what going back there would be like for me right now," Dash's voice got quieter as she went on, her tone being very low once she finished, as she did want to go back to her hometown, but just didn't see how she would be able to go back there without having to deal with a situation that she just wasn't ready to cope with just yet.
"Yeah, but you're going to have to face them someday you know?" Lightning asked glad that this conversation didn't seem like it was getting shut down like all their other ones had, and hoped that they could at least keep it going for a good amount of time.
"Yeah, I know,"
Dash replied with a deep sigh, knowing that she couldn't hide away from her problems forever, or wait for them to just fix themselves, she knew that someday soon she would have to face her troubles head on, and not let her worries and fears get to her anymore. But although she didn't want to just keep avoiding her problems she also felt like she couldn't deal with them just yet, whether that would change overtime she didn't know.
Stopping for a moment Dash just hovered as she looked up to where Cloudsdale was off in the distance, as she thought for a little while, 'Will I ever be ready to face them?' she questioned as she looked slightly worried for how things might just go if she were to go to Cloudsdale right now, and knowing she wouldn't be able to handle it, but wondering if she ever would be ready for that kind of situation.
Her eyes now widening as she heard the other pegasus calling to her, as she must have noticed that Dash had stopped and was no longer following her anymore, "Rainbow Dash?" Lightning caught Dash's attention and snapped her out of her thoughts as she now shook her head and composed herself.
"Coming,"
Dash simply replied as she pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind, and flew to catch up with Lightning, the two continuing to fly side be side as they soon started talking again, seeing just how long they could keep their conversations going for and luckily it seeming to be for much longer than before as the two glided through the air and were slowly beginning to become more and more comfortable with talking to one another, it looking like they were both warming up to each other a little now.
Time having passed for Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash as they both continued to calmly glide through the sky together, flying above the clouds as they were slowly starting to talk more comfortably with one another.
"I know it would be uncomfortable for you right now, but would going back up there really be that bad?" Lightning asked as she looked to Dash, the other pegasus keeping pace with her but would occasionally slow down and seem like she was trying to avoid keeping eye-contact with her.
Dash looked back to Lightning as she was going to answer right away, but then just gritted her teeth together as she bit her bottom lip and spoke in a low tone, "It's not just the fact that it would be uncomfortable for me, I just don't think I could deal with it all, the questions, the assumtions, the looks, everything. I get enough grief from all the stares that I get from the ponies in Ponyville, and I've gotten used to them at this point, but...I doubt I'll ever be okay with not feeling safe to go back to my own house anymore," she explained sighing deeply, and causing Lightning to look more interested now as she flew a little closer to Dash while the other pegasus just hung her head low, clearly this topic getting her to feel down.
Lightning wondered if she should just drop the subject and try and lighten the mood a little, 'Wait...this actually could be a good way to bond with Rainbow Dash, we've only just been able to have longer and less awkward conversations, I can't let this moment pass by changing the subject, I may not get another chance to connect with her,' she thought as she shook her head, deciding that she would keep pushing a little more before moving onto something else as she didn't want them to just go back to their past awkward silence, and hopefully she would be able to keep Dash talking to her.
"Can you really not go back to your own home? Don't you miss it?" Lightning questioned, causing Dash to look back to her, as she widened her eyes a little, before answering the other pegasus.
"Of course I do! But I...listen this may be hard for you to understand, but...I just don't feel like I belong up there anymore," Dash confessed as she turned her head away from Lightning while the other pegasus went a little wide-eyed as she was more than surprised to hear Dash say something like that, feeling sorry for her, as she was now starting to understand just what Dash was having to deal with at the moment.
"Really? Just how long have you been away from Cloudsdale anyway?" Lightning asked, wanting to see if she could find out more about Dash's feelings towards their hometown.
"I left a couple of days after I had told you all about Twilight and I dating, things were getting really tough for me and...I just couldn't cope with it all anymore, so I left and haven't gone back since. It's been at least a month I would say that I have been living with Twilight and Spike," Dash explained, going back in her mind to when she was last in Cloudsdale and remembering just how she felt when everything got too much for her to the point where she felt she couldn't handle anything at all and so left and hid herself away from it all.
Lightning was going to reply, but hesitated a little as she closed her mouth letting Dash continue instead not wanting to intervene just yet , "I know I'm running away and avoiding my problems like this but...but I...I'm just not sure what I can do anymore," Dash stated letting another sigh leave her lips as her eyes looked away from Lightning again, as although it did defintely seem like she was having a tough time talking about all this and bringing back old painful memories, the fact that she was opening up more and more was a clear sign to Lightning that Dash was slowly warming up to her and by talking about all this, just maybe they could hopefully improve on the rocky start they had had.
"I get it,"
Lightning said as she gave an understanding smile to Dash, causing the other pegasus to widen her eyes as she now turned back to her and surprisingly didn't feel like cringing or looking away when she saw that smile again, noticing that it was a little different from her normal polite smile, and a lot less off-putting.
"You do?" Dash questioned with a slightly confused expression, raising her eyebrow to Lightining now.
"Yeah, I think so, right now it kinda feels like you don't belong anywhere, and you don't feel like you can really relax at all, am I correct?" Lightning smiled as Dash widened her eyes slightly, but then shook her head in response.
"You're wrong...I can relax when I'm with Twilight, she's the only one I really feel safe around," Dash stated in a low voice, a small smile forming on her lips as she thought about her marefriend, wondering just how she was dealing with those other ponies from the town right now, and hoping that she wasn't having too much trouble with it all.
Lightning stopped for a moment, just hovering slowly as she watched Dash fly a little ahead of her with wide eyes, Dash noticing that the other pegasus had stopped as she turned and looked to Lightning tilting her head as she wondered why she wasn't flying beside her anymore.
"Is there something wrong Lightning?" Dash questioned with a wondering gaze to the other pegasus.
"Huh? Oh no it's nothing, I was just thinking that you really do love the Princess don't you Rainbow Dash?" Lightning asked as she smiled brightly, causing Dash to just turn away as she could feel a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks, glancing back to the other pegasus out of the corner of her eye, and seeing Lightning raising an eyebrow to her, while she just nodded slowly in reply, as Lightning chuckled slightly.
"But I fear the future that she is looking to is awfully far from were we are now, after all I know that there will be quite a few pegasi from Cloudsdale that will never want to have anything to do with the ponies of Ponyville, no matter try and make peace with them. To be completely it just doesn't seem like a future where everypony can get along is possible right now," Dash turned away again as she hung her head low and sighed, Lightning coming to catch her up as her smile formed into a slight frown, while she wondered why Dash seemed depressed so suddenly.
"But don't you also believe that there will be pegasi that do what to make a change, like me? Don't you think your friends from Cloudsdale will want the same for both towns?" Lightning asked now coming to fly beside Dash again as she caused the other pegasus to look back to her, and shake her head in reply.
"The 'friends' that I had from Cloudsdale were part of the reason why this whole feud started in the fist place, they are nothing like you, and would most likely be the ones that would never want to have any part of this plan that Twilight and I have for the future. In fact I don't think there's one other pegasus from my home town that is anything like you and wants the same things as you Lightning, you seem to be more of the rear kind if you know what I mean," Dash explained rolling her eyes as she thought about her old 'friends' that were from Cloudsdale, knowing that they would never go for a plan like the one her and Twilight were thinking about putting into action eventually.
Looking a little confused at first Lightning tilted her head to Dash, not completely undrstanding what exactly she meant, and thinking for a moment as a silence fell on the two again, Dash wondering just how Lightning would respond, and hopefully this silence wouldn't last all that long.
'We've been talking for what seems so long...so it is possible for me to actually have a long conversation with her. Does that mean I could evetnually learn to trust her too? Somehow...that seems that something I just might be able to do, that smile of her's still puts me off a little, but...' Dash not being able to finish her thought as she heard Lightning suddenly gasp in surprise a little, looking to the other pegasus with a questioning expression.
"That's it!" Lightning suddenly stated in a loud voice, causing Dash to look to her confused.
"What's it?" Dash asked as she wondered just what had gotten into the other pegasus all of a sudden.
"I just thought of a way that could show to help both you and Princess Twilight with your little problem," Lightning said as she beamed brightly to Dash causing the other pegasus to seem even more confused as she was just about to ask what Lightning was going on about, but was cut off before she could say anything at all.
"Come on, we need to go and see Princess Twilight," Lighting gestured for Dash to follow her as she quickly turned and started to fly off into the distance.
"Wait up Lightning!"
Dash called after the turquoise pegasus as she quickly followed after her, still wondering just what had suddenly come over Lightning and what she could possibly be planning right now, as the two of them quickly soared back to where they had left Twilight with the other ponies of Ponyville, Lightning ready to tell the Princess just what she had come up with.
....
Lightning and Rainbow Dash soon being able to find where they had last left Twilight in the town, both of them noticing that the other ponies seemed to have mostly gone now, as there were still a couple continuing to hang around and talk to the Princess while she was waiting for her marefriend and Lightning to return. Lightning coming to a halt as she landed down on the ground and looked around a little, glad that it seemed like Twilight had been able to get rid of almost all of the other poines that were here not too long ago.
The turquoise pegasus seeing the familiar young Princess casually talking to another pony from the town, happily just walking up to her while Dash came following after Lightning, landing on the grass and looking to the other pegasus as she wondered just what she was going to do at the moment, walking after her quickly, while Lightning just simply made her way over to Twilight and the other pony she was talking to.
"Princess Twilight!"
Lightning called out to the Princess, causing her attention to be brought onto to the pegasus as she turned her head and smiled when she saw Lightning walking upto her with Rainbow Dash following close behind her, greeting the other two with a kind smile to them both.
"You two are back, I was starting to wonder if I would have to go flying trying to look for you both," Twilight stated as she smiled to Lightning and her marefriend, getting a polite smile from Lightning in return, while Dash just caught her breath and nodded to the Princess, before she was surprised by Twilight as she ran upto her and nuzzled her slightly, causing Dash to blush a little as Lightning just smiled to the other two.
"So how did it go?" Twilight asked in a whispered voice as she looked to Dash, causing the pegasus to realize just why she had suddenly come over to nuzzle her, guessing that she should have expected that the Princess would like to know just how things had gone between her and Lightning once they both got back.
"Well...umm..." Dash paused a little, hesitating, before she looked back to Lightning, "B-before I do, I think Lightning has something she wants to tell you Twi," she stated as she gestured to Lightning, as Twilight looked back to the other pegasus, while Lightning just stared back to them with a wondering gaze, seeming to not remember why she had decided to suddenly go flying back to meet up with Twilight.
"Was there something you needed to tell me Lightning Dust?" Twilight asked with a smile to the pegasus, causing Lightning to now widen her eyes a little as she seemed to suddenly remember and caught onto what Dash was trying to hint at her at the moment.
"Oh that's right Princess Twilight, there's an idea that I've come up with," Lightning stated, as her beaming bright smile from before returned as she seemed excited all of a sudden, casuing Twilight to raise her eyebrow as she questioned just what this 'Idea' of hers was.
"An idea for what?"
"For what you and Rainbow Dash have planned for the future with the two towns of course!" Lightning's tone raised a little as it was obvious that she really did want to reveal just what was on her mind right now.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash looking to each other for a moment, both of them unsure of what to think of this, before Dash just shrugged her shoulders, and Twilight looked back to Lightning again, "Let's hear it," the Princess simply replied as she and Dash now waited to hear just what this idea of Lightning's was all about.
"Well I was thinking we should go and look for the pegasi that are like me and want to make a change, since I'm sure that there are others like me up in Cloudsdale, but since neither Rainbow Dash nor you Princess, can really go up there right now, I thought that I could go and fulfil this task for you both instead," Lightning explained in a excited voice as Twilight and Dash widened their eyes a little at hearing what the pegasus's idea was, causing them both to seem nervous as they looked to each other for a few moments unsure of what to say in reply, before Twilight soon turned back to Lightning again.
"Are you sure about this Lightning- Twilight was going to continue to question Lightning if this was really something she would be upto doing, after all she wasn't sure how the pegasus would deal with this kinda task, but was cut off by Lightning before she could say much.
"I'm sure, I want to help you two make a difference with the two towns, and besides since neither you, nor Rainbow Dash can go up there just yet, I'm kind of just the pegasus that you need for this task Right?" Lightning asked, while Twilight looked nervous again as she didn't want this plan of Lightning's to backfire at all, but then again it did seem like she would be the more suited one to do this for them, rather than her or Dash having to do something that wouldn't be such a good idea from them right now, and could potentially make things worse from here.
"I believe that I can do this for you two, so please even if it turns out not as well as I might have planned, please let me at least try this out," Lightning now gazed to the other two with a hopeful look in her eyes, pleading for them to let her go through with this idea of hers, and see just how it will all turn out.
Hesitating a little Twilight looked to Dash, as it seemed like neither of them knew just whether they should agree to this or not, however it seeming that Lightning had thought about this idea of hers, and it sure sounded like a good option for them right now. Dash sighing slightly as she just nodded to Twilight and gestured for her to reply to Lightning.
Copying her marefriend's slight sigh Twilight now looked back to Lightning, and smiled to her a little, "Very well Lightning if you believe that you can really do this, then by all means you can go ahead with your idea," she replied, causing Lightning to now light up as another beaming smile formed on to her lips.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, I promise I will not disappoint you two, and will be sure to find some pegasi that would defintely want to take part in making a change between the two towns, in fact I will even start looking this afternoon!" Lightning cheered happily, as she smiled brightly and thanked the other two over and over again, while Twilight nodded her head and just chuckled slightly in return. Dash still seeming a little anxious about all this, wondering if Lightning's idea really was going to be a step in the right direction or not.
....
Early afternoon soon coming around as Twilight and Rainbow Dash had headed back to the library together, getting their dinner ready while Spike was off cleaning and sorting the bookshelfs a little. Lightning having already said goodbye to the two of them and left to go back to Cloudsdale by herself, leaving Twilight and Dash to feel slightly nervous still as they stood in the kitchen talking to each other.
"Do you really think this idea of Lightning's could work?" Dash asked as she looked to Twilight, obviously still feeling uneasy about this idea that Lightning had come up with, and whether they were right to say that she could go ahead with it.
"To be honest I'm really not sure, we'll just have to trust that Lightning Dust knows what she is doing, and wait to see how things will go from here," Twilight answered as she gave Dash a reassuring smile, and rested a caring hoof on her shoulder, being a little worried for Lightning herself, but also trying to stay hopeful for now and not think about things going wrong too much.
Dash giving a slight smile to Twilight in reply, as they went back to preparing their dinner, both of them going silent for a little while. Twilight wanting to say something, not wanting them to jusy stay quiet like this and so she casually started up another conversation, "You know while we're on the suject, you never did answer how things went while you were alone with Lightning Dust, did you two talk?" the Princess asked as she looked to her marefriend out of the corner of her eye, while Dash turned back to her nervously.
"Yeah we did actually, we talked quite a bit and...I think I was actually kinda warming up to her, we even got to know each other a little better I feel," Dash stated speaking in somewhat of a low voice, while Twilight just smiled in response to hearing the good news.
"Well since you've found that you can actually get along with her now, could you maybe try being more trustworthy of her as well?" Twilight asked raising her eyebrow slightly to her marefriend, and she was glad that Lightning and Dash had been able to talk and get along for a while, but wasn't sure if that would be enough for Dash to consider trusting the other pegasus.
Dash not answering for a few moments as she thought about all that had happened today, and sighed a little before replying, "You know, with a little more time, I think it could be very likely that I could come to trust her more," she now smiled to Twilight, causing the Princess to light up as she turned to fully face her marefriend as she beamed brightly and nodded her head happily, glad to see that the talk between Dash and Lightning had caused the two to connect and bond it seemed.
Dash just smiling to her marefriend as the two soon went back to focusing on finishing off making dinner, while they continued to talk about Lightning and other topics. Dash not being completely sure, but figured within time she could learn to trust Lightning Dust, now that today had shown that it was possible for her to get along with her relatively easily once they were past all the awkwardness. But being sure to still keep her eye on the cheerful pegasus as there were still a few things that she felt were a little off putting about her.
....
Meanwhile right around the same time Lightning Dust had quickly made her way back to Cloudsdale, looking up to the floating city above her as she now hovered just below it, taking a deep breath as she built up her courage and felt ready to put her plan into motion, looking to her fellow pegasi with a determined expression, 'Alright, let's do this,' she thought mentally encouraging herself as she took a couple more moments to go over her plan having confidence that it would work, and nodded, before she flew up pass the thick clouds and into her home town, ready to take action and hopefully be able help Twilight and Rainbow Dash to move forward with the future that the three of them were all aiming for.
As the bright morning sun had not long risen high in the blue sky, Twilight had woken up early once again, however she being the only one that had done so as Spike and Rainbow Dash were still soundly sleeping in their beds, while the Princess stood in the kitchen getting everything ready for breakfast so that there would be nothing to slow them down, as for today Twilight had a plan for all three of them.
Standing back from all the freshly made food on the counter Twilight nodded to herself and smiled in satisfaction, looking to the fully prepared meal and did one last check over to make sure everything was ready, before she turned and left the kitchen, heading upstairs to go and wake up Spike, having a little trouble with waking up the young dragon and then moving on to her own bedroom that she shared with her marefriend, slowly sliding open the wooden door as she walked into the room and smiled upon seeing Dash's peaceful sleeping form still cuddled up in her bed, just the way she had left her.
Dash sighing in her restful sleep as she soon felt a strain on her eye-lids, blinking them as she stirred awake and could see the blinding light of the morning sun streaming into the bedroom from the now open curtains, lifting her head from the pillow and noticing Twilight opening the window as she came to stand beside the bed with a cheerful smile to the cyan pegasus, greeting her happily.
"Good morning Dash!" Twilight stated as she nuzzled Dash lovingly, before quickly pulling the covers off of her, while Dash sat up in bed and looked to the Princess with a raised eyebrow.
"Hey, why are you waking me up so early?" the pegasus asked as she yawned a little and wondered just what Twilight was looking so excited about, while the Princess just encouraged her to get up and out of bed.
"Because today we're going out for a bit," Twilight simply answered, which just caused for Dash to seem more confused now.
"Okay, where are we going?"
"You'll soon see, now come on, your breakfast is all ready for you, so up you get," Twilight stated as she started to nudge Dash with her head and push her to get out of the bed, Dash seeing that she obviously wasn't going to get any kind of explanation from her marefriend, as she just sighed and guessed she wouldn't be getting the lie-in that she had been hoping for this morning, and instead let Twilight nudge her out of the bed.
"Alright, alright, geez you sure are lively today Twi,"
Dash mubled out as she reluctantly got out of bed and stretched a little, going to question why Twilight was acting so energetic this morning, but didn't get much of a chance to, as the Princess soon was leaving the bedroom and encouraging Dash to follow after her, while the pegasus just rolled her eyes and sighed, letting Twilight lead her downstairs and to the kitchen, where she saw a very tired looking Spike sitting at the kitchen table, looking unamused and also quite exhausted.
"So Twi dragged you out of bed as well huh?" Dash asked as she came to sit beside Spike at the table, while Twilight quickly went over to all the prepared food she had out on the counter, and quickly used her magic to move it all onto the table for them all to enjoy together.
"Yeah, I'm not sure what for though," Spike said as he shook himself awake, still feeling really tired, but the food that was now in front of him soon distracting him, and causing him to focus on eating his breakfast instead.
"She told me that we were going somewhere, but she hasn't said where yet," Dash stated as she unlike Spike looked to Twilight instead of their breakfast, as she raised her eyebrow to the Princess again.
"Come on then you two eat up, after all the faster you finish, the faster we can all get moving," Twilight cheerfully exclaimed, while she and spike were soon quickly digging into their food, while Dash was stalling a little and still questioning just what was going on with her marefriend right now.
Twilight noticing that Dash wasn't eating anything, as she looked to her with a questioning expression, "Aren't you hungry Dash?" she asked, while all she got in reply from her marefriend was a strange look, as the pegasus didn't answer her for a few moments, causing Twilight to become a little confused, before Dash now narrowed her eyes and sat back in her chair.
"Just what are you planning Twilight?"
Dash asked as she gave her marefriend a suspicious look, while Twilight just looked back to her with a nervous smile, not replying for a moment, before she figured she might as well tell Dash just what was going on with her since she got the feeling that the pegasus most probably wouldn't eat her breakfast or anything until she got some sort of explanation from her, causing Twilight to sigh slightly and tell Dash just what she had planned for today for them all.
"Well I know how much both you and I have been worrying lately what with everything to do with Lightning Dust and where we plan to go with the two towns from here, so I think it's about time we both let ourselves have a bit of a break, and get our minds off all this for a little while. What do you think Dash?" Twilight gave a soft smile to Dash, knowing that the two of them defintely did deserve a bit of a break, and hoping that Dash would see that too and would agree to this suggestion of hers.
Dash didn't reply for a while as she seemed to be thinking a little, before she soon just shrugged her shoulders and smiled back to Twilight, "You know Twi, I think a break is just what both you and I need right now," she stated with a wink, causing Twilight to light up, as she beamed brightly back to the pegasus and nodded happily to her, before the Princess leaned in and nuzzled Dash lovingly, the two moving to then start digging into their breakfast, but stopping when Spike spoke up and caught their attention.
"So why did you wake me up so early as well? I don't have to come along with you two, do I?" the young dragon asked as he had stopped eating for a moment, hoping that he could just stay at the library and maybe be able to get a couple more hours of sleep, however his hopes being crushed when Twilight simply nodded her head in reply.
"You've been staying in the library a lot lately Spike, so it'll be good for you to get out for a little while as well," Twilight stated with a smile, while Dash smirked slightly and Spike just sighed and nodded his head, agreeing to spend the day with the other two since he guessed their wouldn't be much point to trying to get out of this when he already knew that he would be fighting a losing battle.
And so the three continuined to finish their breakfast, before they all soon put the dirty dishes into the sink to be washed later, and within a few minutes more they had all left the library and were now heading out into the town of Ponyville together to start their day.
....
The three now walking through the market of Ponyville as Rainbow Dash and Spike were looking all around, wondering just where they were heading to, while Twilight seemed to be focused on the exact place that she had been planning to go to today, leading the other two at a relatively quick pace, causing Dash and Spike to look to each other every so often, just waiting to see where they would end up by the end of all this.
"Twilight just how long are we going to walk for? Where even is this place that you're taking us to?" Dash asked while Twilight just glanced back to her with a cheerful smile.
"I'll tell you when we get there," Twilight simply stated, while Dash just rolled her eyes and sighed deeply, reluctantly continuing to follow after the Princess, and hoping that they would come to their destination soon enough.
However as they all walked through the busy town together they soon came to where Applejack's apple cart had beeb set up for today, Dash stopping as she saw the farm pony talking with Pinkie Pie, and tilting her head a little as she noticed that they both seemed to have somewhat concerned expressions on their faces, Dash wondering just what the two earth ponies were talking about right now.
"It's not all that far now Dash..."
Twilight paused as she and Spike looked back to see where Dash was, noticing that the pegasus was no longer following them, as they both now saw her standing still and looking over into the market. Twilight and Spike glancing to each other for a moment, as they both wondered just why Dash had stopped and what seemed to have grabbed her attention all of a sudden.
The Princess and Spike quickly came over to Dash, catching her attention a moment later, "Is something the matter Dash?" Twilight asked, causing Dash to now shake her head and look back to her.
"Huh? No...it's nothing, I was just wondering about something as all," Dash answered, smiling nervously to Twilight, causing the Princess to raise her eyebrow slightly in return, as she was about to question her marefriend more, but not getting the chance to as she and the other two then heard a familiar voice calling to them all loudly.
"Twilight! Rainbow Dash! Spike! Over here!"
The three all turned to the voice, and sighed a little in unison as they saw Pinkie Pie waving to them wildly, while she called out to them again, Twilight shrugging her shoulders as she decided to go over and see what the earth pony wanted while Spike and Dash closely followed after her, as they all walked over to Pinkie and Applejack, greeting them as they came to see what it was that Pinkie had called to them for.
"Good morning Pinkie, Applejack, was there something that you wanted?" Twilight asked as she politly smiled to the two earth ponies, while they greeted her Dash, and Spike back politely.
"Mornin' Twilight, Pinkie here was just wondering where Lightning Dust was as all," Applejack simply ansewered, before Pinkie quickly chimed in.
"I thought she would be with you all this morning, where is she?" Pinkie asked looking like she was really concerned all of a sudden, causing Twilight, Dash and Spike to glance to one another for a moment, before they all looked back to Pinkie again.
"She's staying up in Cloudsdale today, but why do you want to know where she is?" Twilight asked, wondering just what this was all about, as were Dash and Spike at the moment.
"Because I want to throw her a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party obviously, but I'm not sure what flavor cake icing she likes, and I can't just make her anything because she might not like it, and then she won't be able to eat the cake, and if I pick the wrong coloured streamers she might not like the party at all, and her welcome will be completely ruined!" Pinkie rambled on in a rushed and loud voice, all while she had quite the worried expression on her face, while Twilight and the others all now glanced to Applejack for a moment.
"Yeah she's been like this all morning," the farm pony stated, sighing slightly while Twilight just chuckled a little, smiling to Applejack, before she looked back to the worrying pink pony again with a reassuring smile.
"Pinkie, Lightning Dust isn't going to be living here, she'll still be living up in Cloudsdale- Twilight started to explain but was then soon cut off by Pinkie.
"I know that, but since she's going to be coming here more often, then we should at least throw a small party for her, so that she can get to know more of the ponies here in Ponyville," Pinkie stated looking to Twilight with a serious expression now, while Twilight just smiled back to her nervously not knowing how to respond to her at first.
"Well I'm sure that whatever you end up coming up with, Lightning Dust is sure to enjoy it," Twilight tried to reassure Pinkie, glancing back to Spike and Dash for their help, and then her eyes widening as a sudden idea quickly began forming inside her mind, as she looked to Spike with a slight smirk, before turning back to Pinkie again, "In fact Spike here would be happy to help you with the preparation for the party, right Spike?" she stated glancing back to Spike as the young dragon just looked confused for a moment.
"Really you'll help me Spike?"
Pinkie asked with a hopeful look in her eyes, as Spike just looked to Twilight, about to question why she had suddenly chosen to tell Pinkie that he would help her, but only got a slight stern stare from the alicorn, and just sighed heavily in return.
"Yeah sure, I guess I can lend a claw," Spike nodded in reply reluctantly, while Twilight just nodded with a smile to Pinkie.
"Oh thank you Spike!"
Pinkie cheered happily, looking like she was feeling more postive about this 'Party' now, and started to explain everything about it to Spike, while the young dragon just sighed again. Dash meanwhile raising her eyebrow to Twilight, as she wondered just what she was planning now.
Dash walking over to Twilight as she tapped her on her shoulder and caughter her attention, as Twilight now looked to her, wondering what she wanted as the pegasus leaned into her more, "Twilight, just what are you doing?" she whispered in her ear, while Twilight just smiled and whispered back to her.
"Just play along, and trust me,"
Twilight said with a wink to her marefriend, causing Dash to just look confused as she was about to question the Princess again, but Twilight spoke up before she got the chance to open her mouth, "Listen Dash and I have somewhere to be right now, so we'll catch up with you all later okay?" Twilight asked Pinkie and Applejack, as Pinkie just nodded to her happily.
"Sure thing Twilight," Applejack replied with a smile to the Princess.
"But Twilight..." Spike was about to protest as he didn't really want to stay here, but just paused as all he got was another stern stare from the Princess, and so just decided to stay quiet instead, as he rolled his eyes and turned away from Twilight.
"Alright see you all later," Twilight stated as she turned and walked away, gesturing for Dash to follow her, as the cyan pegasus just continued to look confused but slowly followed after the Princess anyway, hoping that this would all start making sense to her soon enough.
"Bye Twilight! Bye Rainbow Dash!"
Pinkie waved to Dash and Twilight as they slowly started to walk away from her and the other two, Dash still unsure of just what was going on here as she followed after Twilight, and Spike watched them go with a slight sigh. Dash and Twilight soon walking off into the distance, while Spike was still just as confused as Dash, about just what was happening right now, and what kind of plan Twilight had at this current moment in time
....
Twilight happily now leading Dash to the outskirts of Ponyville, having a beaming smile on her lips, while Dash was still confused as to where exactly Twilight was taking her, wondering if she should even ask the Princess just where they were heading, but guessed that she wouldn't get the answer that she was looking for, and so just decided to stay quiet, and wait and see where the two of them would end up, kinda hoping that it wouldn't be much further from here.
Looking to Twilight with a slight sigh Dash felt like starting up a conversation as it sort of felt like things had become slightly awkward between them now, but before she could open her mouth to say anything, Twilight suddenly gasped and caused Dash to look to her with a questioning expression.
"We're here!" the Princess exclaimed as she happily lead the way, picking up her pace as she ran up a steep hill that they had come to, Dash quickly running after her as she followed close behind her marefriend.
"Wait up Twilight!"
Dash quickly caught up with Twilight, as the both of them soon came to the very top of the steep hill. Dash stopping as she tried to catch her breath, while she saw her marefriend standing at the edge of the hill, looking down to what was below them at the moment. Getting her breath back, as she sighed Dash came walking over to Twilight and stood beside the Princess, her magenta eyes going wide as she also looked down to what they could see below them.
Gazing down Rainbow Dash now stared in awe of what she saw, below the steep hill lay seemily endless fields of countless flowers swaying in the calm breeze all being different colours as they caused the scenery to look like a beautifiul painting, Dash wondering just where they were right now as she looked back to Twilight who was standing behind her with a cheeful smile still formed on her lips.
"What is this place?"
Dash asked glancing over the view that was below them once more, as the cool wind blew through her rainbow mane, and caused her to shiver a little as a slight chill nipped at her neck, looking back to Twilight a moment later as she noticed that the Princess was now lying down on the grassy hill over-looking the fields of flowers, gesturing for Dash to come and lay down beside her.
"Applejack once told me about it, saying that it's a great place to go and to clear your head when you need it, and although she told me all about this place, it sure is quite the beauitful view to see with your own eyes, so I thought I would bring you here to give us a little bit of a escape from everything that is going on in our lives right now. And to be honest I'm actually quite surprised I was able to remember just where Applejack had told me this place was," Twilight explained as Dash gave one last look out to the fields of lovely flowers blowing in the wind below them, before she came walking over to the Princess and lay down beside her guessing that Twilight may have wanted them to be here alone, which was most likely why she had made Spike stay behind in the town with Pinkie Pie.
Twilight smiling as she rested her hoof on top of Dash's and snuggled up close to her, while Dash bluhsed slightly, lying her wing over her marefriend as she held her close, and nuzzled her lovingly, both of them sighing in content a moment later as they looked off into the horizon together.
Dash looked to Twilight slightly as she watched her lavender eyes close slowly as she seemed to be happily letting the cool wind blow through her mane, and relax her, while the pegasus had a slightly nervous expression formed on her face, wondering if she should speak right now, as it seemed like she just wasn't able to relax and clear her mind like Twilight was, still thinking about a few things as she sighed again and broke their sweet silence a moment later.
"I wonder what Lightning is doing right now," Dash stated seeming like she was just thinking out loud more than anything else, but still causing Twilight to open her eyes and frown slightly as she looked to Dash with what seemed like a displeased expression on her face, while Dash just looked back to her questionably.
"What?" Dash asked as all she got in reply from Twilight was a raised eyebrow.
"We came here to clear our heads of all that stuff, so don't you go bringing it back up again," Twilight stated with a slight stern stare, causing Dash to look to her nervously again.
"Right sorry, I...I guess I can't help it, I still have a lot on my mind at the moment," Dash said, smiling nervously while Twilight just sighed as she guessed they might as well talk about it since Dash had now brought her attention back onto the subject as well, and it didn't seem like the pegasus was going to be able to clear her head of it anytime soon unfortunately.
"The truth is we can't know how things are going for her right now up in Cloudsdale, we just have to trust that she hopefully knows what she's doing at this point," Twilight stated looking to Dash with a reassuring expression, while Dash widened her eyes a little, before just sighing heavily and nodded to her marefriend in return.
"I know," she replied it being clear that she was still unsure about Lightning, when really she should be taking Twilight's advice and allow herself to focus on something else for a change, however that seeming to be not an easy task for her to do at the moment,"It's just...when we talked yesterday, she made me think about something," she added figuring that she might as well get this all off her chest as right now she didn't want it to be resting on her shoulders anymore.
"Made you think about what?"
Twilight asked seeming interested as it was obvious that she had wanted to avoid talking about the things that were bothering and getting Dash down, but the fact that they had already started, and it seemed like the pegasus was quite willing to open up to her, she decided to go along with it for now, guessing that it was also good for her marefriend to get a few things off of her chest that had been holding her back a lot lately.
"About Cloudsdale, about going back there, how I'm not ready to face the other pegasi yet, and the fact that I can't go back to my own house. It made me think...what if...what if I'll never be ready to face them? What if I'll never feel safe enough to go back home again? What will I do then?" Dash asked a worried expression forming onto her face, causing Twilight to look concerned for her marefriend seeing just how much this had all been getting to Dash, and feeling kinda glad that she wasn't keeping this all to herself anymore.
"Dash you know you can keep staying with Spike and me, we really don't mind having you around- Twilight tried to reassure Dash that she could always keep staying with her, not wanting her to think that she would have to think about moving back into her cloud home right now, but was soon cut off by the pegasus.
"I can't depend on you forever Twilight, and it's not that I don't love living with you and Spike, it's just...it's already been more than a month since I've been back home, and just how much longer will I keep avoiding going back there?!" Dash questioned, raising her voice, and causing Twilight to widen her eyes slightly, looking a little surprised by the pegasus's volume suddenly raising, while Dash just sighed and turned away from the Princess nervously now, as she kinda wished that she hadn't started talking about this at all for a moment.
Twilight sighed slightly as she was worried for her marefriend, knowing that she had a lot to deal with right now, and wanting to help her with it all in someway, however not really knowing just how she was going to do that for a few moments as she tried to think, and luckily an idea soon formed inside her mind, smiling now as she looked to Dash again and caught her attention be nudging her slightly with her muzzle, and replying to her in a calm and collected tone.
"Well it's not like Spike or I will be kicking you out anytime soon, it's not like you're a burden to us at all, and our door is always open for you. No matter how long it may take for you to be ready to go back to your own home again, you can continue to stay with us for as long as you need. After all you'll always be welcome in my home even when you feel safe in Cloudsdale again, you can still always come and stay with me whenever you may need or simply want to," Twilight gave a caring smile to Dash as she nuzzled her and hoped that she had made her feel a little more secure, while Dash just widened her eyes slightly and nodded her head a few moments later.
"Thanks Twi, it's good to know that I'll always have a home with you," she stated with returned smile to her marefriend, feeling a little better now that she had talked about some of the things that had been constantly bothering her for a while, and was glad to finally get things off her chest for a few moments and maybe now she could actually relax a little.
"Of course you will Dash, no matter what,"
Twilight replied as she nuzzled Dash again, while the pegasus pulled her closer as she nuzzled her back and they both looked out at the stunning view that was below them, slipping into a peaceful silence as they lay cuddling for what seemed like hours, neither one of them wanting to get up and leave at any time, as they both kinda wished that time would stop for them in this perfect moment that they shared. The two soon leaning in for a sweet kiss, as they let themselves think that they were alone in the world for a little while, before they would eventually have to come back and face reality again.
....
Twilight and Rainbow Dash staying together on that hill until late afternoon started to roll around, knowing that they couldn't stay there forever unfortunately, now having headed back into Ponyville again soon being able to meet up with Spike again as it seemed like the young dragon had somehow gotten away from Pinkie Pie and was coming to greet them both.
"Hey it's about time that you two came back, just where did you go anywhere?" Spike asked as he was glad to see the two mares again, while Twilight and Dash just smiled and greeted him back happily.
"It's a secret," Twilight stated as she gave Dash a smile, that Dash just chuckled to slightly, causing Spike to look confused for a moment, raising his eyebrow, before the cyan pegasus changed the subject.
"It looks like you got away from Pinkie then?" She questioned, with a nervous smile to the young dragon, as he just nodded in reply.
"Yeah somehow, but it seems like she's got this whole 'Party for Lightning Dust' planned out now," Spike stated with a slight sigh, feeling mentally drained from the morning that he had had, hoping to now just go back to the library and have a nice late lunch and relax finally.
"Oh yeah? That's good," Twilight said, with a smile, before Dash spoke up again,
"Do we even know if Lightning likes parties?" she asked as the three all started to walk towards the library, heading home together, while Spike answered the pegasus,
"Everypony likes parties,"
"Not everpony,"
"I'm sure she'll enjoy herself there,"
Twilight stated while the other two continued to go back and forth, causing the Princess to just roll her eyes with a slight smile, thinking for a moment as she looked to Dash and Spike talking to each other casually, 'Even if Dash might someday be ready to leave and go back to her own home, I don't think I will ever get used to the thought of her not being around as much anymore, I've gotten so used to waking up beside her everyday that...I'm not sure how I'll feel when she goes, and I'll have to sleep alone again,' she thought, biting her bottom lip a little, only really realizing now that Dash wasn't the only that didn't feel quite ready for her to go back to her own home at the moment.
'I need to not think about that right now, after all it doesn't seem like Dash will be leaving anytime soon,' the Princess shook her head slightly as she didn't want to start getting herself worked up over something that she didn't really need to be worried about just yet, and just pushed those concerns to the back of her mind for now.
The three making their way to the library together as they soon came to the old oak tree, and Twilight sighed slightly as she looked to their home and smiled, glancing to Dash as she and Spike had stopped with their constant back and forth now it seemed
"Home sweet home,"
Dash stated with a smile and a wink to Twilight, while the Princess just nodded happily, as they all walked up to the front door, and opened it, ready to get started on their lunch, however all three of them freezing as their eyes went wide and shocked expressions formed on their faces.
The Library was trashed, all the books had been throw off their shelves and onto the floor, some of them having pages ripped out of them, as paper covered the floor, Spike, Dash and Twilight looking around as they slowly walked into their home and came into the kitchen and dining area, seeing that they had both been trashed as well with the chairs and table broken, all of the food emptied out of the fridge and splattered onto the floor and walls, milk having been spilt all over the floor, plates smashed everywhere and the whole room looking like some sort of awful disaster had struck while they had all been gone.
The three soon finding that luckily only the downstairs had been wreaked as the they all looked around their trashed home and Twilight sighed heavily as she hung her head low, Dash looking to her with a concerned expression,"Who woud do this?" the Princess asked as she could feel tears welling up in her eyes and soon streaming down her cheeks, as Dash came walking over to her and nuzzled her slightly.
"I don't know...but I intent to find out,"
Dash stated with a determined look in her eyes, as she rested her hoof on Twilight's shoulder and smiled to her slightly, Twilight just nodding in reply as she snuggled into Dash, and let her embrace her closely, while she nuzzled her marefriend back.
Spike stood looking to the two mares with a worried expression also wondering just who would do something like this to their home, as Dash sighed heavily, holding Twilight tightly as her shoulders shook and she cried into the pegasus's chest. Dash stroking her mane, and trying to soothe her while rather than feeling upset or worried like Spike and Twilight did, right now all she felt was pure anger towards whomever was responsible for this and wanting to find out just who the culprit was as soon as possible, gritting her teeth as she could feel her blood beginning to boil.
Walking around their trashed home together Twilight, Dash and Spike set to work on slowly fixing things, with Twilight using her magic to put all the torn out pages back into the books that they belonged in, as all three of them then working to put all the books back to where they were meant to be.
A silence having fallen on the three as it was easy to see that Spike and and Twilight were still upset and confused after what had happened to their home, while Dash could still feel her blood boiling, biting her bottom lip as right now she wanted nothing more than to find whomever was responsible for this. But also knowing she couldn't focus on that completely at the moment, she had to think of Twilight first.
Looking to her downhearted marefriend, sighing slightly as she was about to reach out and rest a hoof on her shoulder, wanting to comfort her, but stopping as her ears pricked up to the sound of light knocking at the library door. The knocking catching all of the three's attention, as they all looked to one another for a moment or two, before Dash stepped forward and headed for the door.
"I'll get it,"
The pegasus stated as she gave a understanding look to Twilight, the alicorn just giving her a nervous nod, before Dash pecked her on her cheek and walked over to the door, hearing more knocks as she went to see just who was coming to visit them right now. Being sort of anxious at first, but then just shaking of that uncertain feeling, and nodding to herself as she lifted one wing up and wrapped it around the handle, turning it and slowly opening the door, wondering just who was coming to greet them.
"Rainbow Dash, I've got great news!" the visitor stated cheerfully, causing Dash to widen her eyes slightly as she saw Lightning Dust now standing outside of the library, greeting her happily with her signature beaming smile, while Dash quickly composed herself as she tried to act natural towards the other pegasus.
"Oh hey Lightning...umm, glad to see you back," Dash said nervously with a small smile, causing Lightning to raise her eyebrow slightly to her, noticing almost instantly that something was off with her and clearly seeing that she wasn't seeming like herself right now, as she wondered just what might be causing her to act this way.
"Has something happened? You don't seem like..." Lightning paused as she now looked behind Rainbow Dash, her golden eyes going wide as she caught sight of just what the inside of the library looked like right now, also seeing Twilight and Spike picking up all the books that had been thrown about the room.
"W-what in Equestria happened here?!"
Lightning asked as she quickly pushed past Dash and looked all around the trashed library, her expression being one of pure shock as she slowly walked through the downstairs of the library, feeling awful as it looked like a tornado had passed through the Princess's home. Quickly looking back to Rainbow Dash and Twilight as they both looked back to her with saddened expressions.
"What's it look like, our home was ransacked while we were away," Dash stated in a low voice, as Lightning could see a fire in the other pegasus's magenta eyes, clearly noticing the anger that she must be feeling at this moment.
"What? By who?" Lightning looked worried as she could also see just how crushed Twilight looked right now.
"We don't know yet,"
Dash replied as she glanced to Twilight and rested a hoof on her shoulder, however the alicorn brushing her off as she sighed deeply, still feeling tears welling up in her eyes, while she turned away from the pegasus and quickly made her way upstairs, the others all hearing her bedroom door slam as they guessed she had gone to go and cry by herself as they all looked to each other with the same concerned expression for the Princess.
'I don't know just who would do this sort of thing but...' Dash paused on her thought as she looked to Lightning for a moment, and sighed a little, 'What am I thinking? Just because I don't yet trust Lightning, definitely doesn't mean I should start accusing her of anything, I mean it's obvious that she's shocked by all of this too...right? There's...there's no way she would do this...right? But at the same time there's no other pony that...stop thinking like this, I need to go and see to Twilight right now,' she shook her head, as she pushed all her thoughts to the back of her mind, getting pulled back to reality as she heard Lightning's voice talking to her again.
"Did they take anything?" the turquoise pegasus asked as she looked back to Dash now, while she still had that worried expression on her face.
"Not that we know of,"
Dash shook her head in reply, as Lightning looked like she was about to ask something else, but Dash stopping her instead, "Listen I need to go and talk to Twilight right now," she stated as it was easy to see that Dash was much more focused on her marefriend at the moment as she looked to the stairs that the Princess had disappeared up a few minutes ago, while Lightning just nodded to her in return.
"I understand, you go, I'll stay down here and help Spike with all this cleaning up," Lightning smiled with a softened expression to the other pegasus.
"You don't have to do that-
"I know, but I want to," Lightning gave Dash a reassuring look, letting her know that she obviously wanted to help in any way that she could, "We'll take care of things here, while you need to go and take care of Twilight right now," she stated, causing Dash to widen her eyes a little in response as she looked to lightning's serious expression for a moment, before she nodded and sighed slightly.
"Right, thank you Lightning,"
Dash replied as Lightning just smiled and nodded back to the other pegasus in return, patting her on the shoulder encouragingly, before Dash now started to head to the stairs, stopping to look back to the other two as she watched Lightning and Spike starting to get on with cleaning everything up, as she seemed to be lost in thought for a moment.
'Honestly what am I thinking? There's no way that...' pausing her thoughts again Dash gazed to Lightning, her eyes then widening as she thought she saw the other pegasus staring back at her coldly for a split second, shaking her head as she guessed it must have just been her mind playing tricks on her, as when she blinked, Lightning was happily just talking to Spike while the two of them worked together.
'For Twilight...and for Lightning herself, I really hope I'm wrong about these crazy thoughts that I'm having right about now,' Dash thought as she sighed deeply, giving one last gaze to Lightning, before she turned away and quickly made her way up the stairs, and to where Twilight's bedroom was.
....
Rainbow Dash letting out a long breath as she now stood just outside Twilight's bedroom, thinking of knocking on the door, but guessing that the Princess likely wouldn't answer back, so instead just slowly lifted her hoof up and pushed the door slightly, causing it to open steadily as Dash looked into the bedroom and saw Twilight laying on her bed with a depressed expression, her eyes being bloodshot red, as it definitely seemed like she had been crying.
"Hey what are you still crying for?"
Dash smiled slightly as she walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind her as she came to lay down beside Twilight, lightly kissing away the tears in her eyes, as Twilight tried to bite back her sobs, biting her bottom lip as she cuddled up close to Dash and nuzzled into her chest, while the pegasus just let her calm down and collect herself, pecking the top of her head softly.
Holding onto the Princess tightly Dash nuzzled her marefriend back listening to her slowing breaths, as she lay her wing over her and could soon feel her moving to wipe her eyes, sniffling a little as she seemed to be slowly recovering now.
"I'm sorry Dash," Twilight whispered out as she looked up to the pegasus, her expression seeming to be one of guilt, as she caused Dash to just look confused for a moment in response.
"What are you apologizing for, it's not like this is your fault right?" Dash asked as she looked down to her marefriend wondering just what she was saying right now, as she really didn't want Twilight to feel any guilt or blame herself for anything that had happened.
"No, but I...I said you'll always have a home here, but...after this, you probably feel like you're not safe anywhere anymore," Twilight explained as her eyes filled up with tears again, her bottom lip quivering as she tried to bit back her cries, burying her head in Dash's chest as she tried to keep herself from bursting into tears again.
"Hey don't say that, that's not how I feel right now. I feel safe when I'm with you, no matter where we may be," Dash gave a reassuring smile to Twilight, while the Princess widened her eyes a little, "It doesn't matter if I'm here at the library or wherever, you're the only pony that I feel this way about, and I know as long as I'm with you Twi...I'll always feel like I belong," the pegasus rested her hoof under Twilight's chin as she brought her head up slightly, and resting her forehead against the alicorn's.
Twilight's lips forming into a smile as she now let her tears stream down her face, nodding to Dash as she felt the pegasus kissing away her tears again, "I love you Dash," the Princess cried as she cuddled closer to Dash and nuzzled her lovingly, knowing that it was the same for her, feeling like she could also only really feel safe when she was like this, wrapped in Dash's warm embrace, and enveloped in her love.
"I love you too Twi,"
Dash whispered back as she smiled and pulled Twilight into a sweet kiss a moment later, the two mares giving out pleasant moans as they held each other close and let themselves melt. Their lips parting after a little while, as they both stared deeply into each other's eyes and smiled to one another.
"And I promise I'll find out just who did this to our home,"
Dash stated as Twilight just nodded in response, as she also wanted to find out just who would trash their little home like this and why, wanting answers of her own just like Dash did right now. The two of them closing their eyes as they rested their forehead's against each other again, listening to the other's soft breathing while they lay in this blissful silence together, knowing that they could push through this as long as they were together.
'Whoever did this is going to pay,' Dash thought as she lifted her head up now, Twilight nuzzling into her chest again as she smiled to her marefriend for a moment, before her expression changed to one of determination, swearing to herself that she would find just who was responsible for this, and hoping to find them soon.
....
A short amount of time having passed as Twilight and Rainbow Dash soon came walking down the stairs seeing lightning and Spike still working together to try and put all the books into their rightful places, having already cleaned up the kitchen as best as they could by now, only being able to clean all the food and milk that had been thrown onto the walls and floor, while they also seemed to be making some process with getting the library to look how it did before everything on the downstairs level was trashed.
Lightning soon noticing the other two mares walking into the room, and greeting them both with a soft smile, "Hey, are you two feeling better now?" she asked hoping that the talk the other two had had, would have now resulted in them both being a little less depressed over what had happened.
"Yeah thank you again Lightning," Dash smiled to the other pegasus, while Lightning simply just nodded and smiled cheerfully back to her, before Twilight smiled to Lightning as well, and then pulled her marefriend aside.
"This isn't Lightning Dust's problem Dash," the Princess started to scold the pegasus, causing Dash to look back to her nervously in response.
"I know, I told her she didn't have to stay but- Dash tried to defend herself, backing away from Twilight as she raised her eyebrow to her slightly, before Lightning cut the other pegasus off.
"I wanted to stay, really,"
She stated, while Dash just nodded quickly in agreement, as Twilight now gave her marefriend one last stern stare, before turning back to Lightning, not looking like she was mad anymore, causing Dash to sigh with relief, and Lightning to chuckle slightly as she was glad to see the other two acting like themselves again, as she could see that whatever they had talked about while they were alone upstairs together must have made them both feel better about their current situation.
"So what are we going to do now, should we report this to the Royal Guard or the Princess?" Spike asked as he still seemed to be worried over what had happened, looking to Dash and Twilight with a concerned expression, while he caused the two mares to look to each other, before they looked around the library that still seemed to need a good clean up.
Twilight seemed to be thinking for a moment, before sighing and shaking her head slightly in reply, "No, there's no need for us to get them involved in this, besides I don't want Princess Celestia to worry about anything, and we can't tell the Mayor either, I don't want to cause trouble for anypony," she explained, believing that there was no reason to get other ponies involved in this, and possibly be putting them in danger as well because of it.
"But we can't just sit back and pretend like nothing's happened- Spike started to protest, not wanting to just let this slide without doing something about it, but was soon silenced and cut off by Rainbow Dash.
"And we don't intend to, we're going to find out just who did this Spike, and don't worry when we do find them, they're going to regret ever messing with us," Dash smiled as she leaned down to the young dragon, causing him to look back to her with a wondering gaze, before nodding with a smile in reply, while Dash patted his shoulder in a comforting manner. Twilight just smiling to the two as she sighed a little, looking back to Lightning as she seemed to be turning away from them all for a moment, looking like she had an odd expression formed on her face.
The Princess catching Lightning's attention as the turquoise pegasus turned back to her now, "Lightning, you know you really don't have to stay here with us, you can go if you want to," she stated with a smile to the other mare, while Lightning just shook her head quickly in reply.
"It's okay Twilight, I want to stay and help you all, in any way that I can," Lightning smiled as she didn't want to leave right now it seemed, knowing that she should be there for the others at a time like this. Causing Twilight and Rainbow Dash just to look to each other for a moment, but the both of them shook their heads in response.
"We know that you want to help us, but there really is no need for you to, besides don't you need to get back to Cloudsdale?" Dash asked as she just smiled to Lightning knowing that she meant well, but didn't want to drag her into this especially with the kind of thoughts she was stilling having about her right about now.
"Yeah but..." Lightning paused as she seemed to suddenly remember something, widening her eyes as her worried expression now formed into a slight smile. "I forgot to tell you all what had happened while I was up there, didn't I?" she asked while seeming to be mentally hitting herself in the head for being so forgetful, while causing the other three to all look a bit confused, as they waited for Lightning to explain just what she was going on about at the moment.
"I've got great news, while I was up in Cloudsdale, I actually found a group of pegasi that all want exactly what we do, to end this feud between the two towns," Lightning explained, causing the other three to all widen their eyes and look surprised, Twilight and Dash looking to each other for a moment, before they both turned back to Lighting again.
"Are you being serious?" Dash asked, as it seemed like she couldn't quite believe that there were others up in Cloudsdale that wanted just what her Twilight and Lightning did, thinking that pegasi like Lightning were really very rare from her hometown, but guessing she shouldn't have been so quick to judge as Lightning just nodded to her in reply.
"Of course, they said they loved the sound of your plan to get the two towns to have a better relationship, and want to hear more about it all," Lightning clearly expressed just how overjoyed she was about all this she was telling to Dash and Twilight, as the two of them now both smiled in return.
"That brilliant Lightning Dust," Twilight exclaimed seeming to now be much happier as she started to think of all the options they would have now that they knew there was a very good chance for them to start moving forward with all their plans for the future, after finding out that there were others that wanted the same as them up in Cloudsdale, and kinda wanting to get started right away.
"Yeah, and umm Rainbow Dash..." Lightning paused as she now seemed to to have a nervous smile as she looked to the other pegasus, while Dash just looked back to her with a curious expression, "They said they would really like to see you again," the turquoise pegasus stated, hinting to Dash, and hoping she would catch on and agree to this, even though she knew it would be a little out of her comfort zone right now.
"Really?" Dash questioned, seeming like she was a little skeptical at first, as well as slightly anxious, while Twilight seemed like she couldn't be happier for her right now, giving her marefriend an encouraging smile, and a slight nod.
"You have to go Dash," Twilight exclaimed as she rested a hoof on Dash's shoulder, while the pegasus still seemed like she was unsure about this.
"Yeah...but...I can't," Dash shook her head as she stepped back slightly, still it seeming like she wasn't ready to go back up to her hometown just yet, believing that she wouldn't be able to deal with the kind of situation she would be walking into if she did decide to agree to what Lightning was saying right now.
"Dash, this could be the step forward that we need, it could be the perfect way to really jump start everything," Twilight stated, hoping to give her marefriend the courage that she would need for something like this.
"But I...I'm not ready for this kinda thing just yet," Dash said as she looked worried, not realizing that she would have to face this fear of hers after what seemed like such a short time to her.
"I know Dash, and you might never be ready for it, but if we really want this to work and to make a change with both towns, then it's time that we took this risk," Twilight tried to reassure Dash that this was something she needed to stop avoiding, while Dash just went a little silent, continuing to look like she was unsure if she should really agree to go along with this decision or not.
"And you shouldn't need to worry Rainbow Dash, I'll be there with you through it all, and once we're done we can come right back here, not having to stay in Cloudsdale any longer than we need to," Lighting added as she spoke up, catching Dash's attention as it seemed she was also trying to give Dash the courage that she needed right now.
Dash looked to Lightning still looking anxious, before she turned away from the others as she tried to think for a moment about all this, the thought of going back up to Cloudsdale still making her feel uncomfortable and uneasy. Lifting her head after a while as Twilight soon caught her attention.
"Dash, I know this is a hard decision for you, and you don't have to go through with it if you really don't want to, but just know that if you do choose to go Spike and I will be right here waiting for you to return back home. You can't let this hold you back forever right?" Twilight asked with a caring smile as she gave her marefriend an understanding expression, as she pecked her forehead lightly.
While Dash widened her eyes and sighed slightly, seeming like she was collecting her thought for a few minutes, before nodded to herself and plucking up all the confidence that she would need for what she was about to do. Seeming like she was going to answer, but then looking like she was thinking again as her expression formed back into one of worry and uncertain as she looked to Twilight and Spike smiling to her with encouragement. Lightning doing the same.
"But what about you Twi? We haven't really thought about what we're going to do about the pony that trashed the library yet," Dash pointed out as it just seemed like she was finding excuses now, while Twilight just smiled and shook her head in reply.
"We'll sort it out Dash, you just focus on what's in front of you right now. I'll be fine Dash, beside I've got Spike to protect me, right?" Twilight reassured as she now glanced to Spike, as the young dragon just smiled proudly in return.
"Don't you worry Rainbow Dash, I'll be sure to take care of Twilight for you," Spike stated as he nodded causing Dash to chuckle slightly in reply, nodding back to the young dragon, before sighing as she looked back to Twilight again.
"You can do this Dash, I know you can," the Princess smiled as she wanted Dash to push through her fears and face this, not just so that they could advance their plans, but also so the pegasus could finally stop living in fear and hopefully move past this hurdle.
Dash not looking like she was so uneasy anymore as she let her head hang for a moment, seeming to be thinking to herself a little, before she just smiled slightly, "You're right Twilight, you're so right, I need to stop running from this," she spoke in a whispered voice, seeming like she was still feeling nervous but now also ready to face this choice, while Twilight just smiled back to her marefriend and leaned into her.
"When have I ever been wrong after all?"
Twilight asked in a lowered tone, causing Dash to chuckle again slightly as the two now rested their forehead's against each other, as they both closed their eyes for a moment, Twilight bringing Dash into a light kiss, wishing her 'Good luck' before they soon parted and pulled away from one another, the two smiling happily, as Dash turned back to Lightning a few moment's later.
"Well, lead the way Lightning,"
Dash smiled as Lightning beamed happily and nodded back to the other pegasus, as they both got ready to leave, Twilight giving her marefriend a tight embrace and a few more words of encouragement, before she left out the door with Lightning Dust, the Princess and Spike smiling and waving as they watched the other two go, as they soon took off, soaring into the sky together and heading to the floating city above the small town of Ponyville.
Twilight smiling happily as she sighed contently, and hoped all would go well for Dash and would be looking forward to when she would return back home to her and Spike.
....
Lighting Dust and Rainbow Dash not having to fly for very long it seemed as they were soon were coming near to Cloudsdale, Lighting having a content smile on her lips as she seemed excited for what was in store for them, while Dash still seemed like she was a little nervous about going back to her hometown again, hanging her head slightly while her eyes were downcast. Lightning looking to the other pegasus every so often as she wondered if she should say something to her, but kept shaking her head as she couldn't think of anything that would really calm Dash's nerves right now.
Wanting to say something and feeling like she should, but then looking to what was in front of her as her eyes widened slightly and she stopped, causing Dash to do the same a moment later, "Well here we are," the turquoise pegasus stated as she looked to the bunch of clouds in front of them that would lead to the entrance of their hometown, causing Dash to lift her head and look to the familiar location and take a deep breath, as Lightning looked to her with a slightly concerned expression.
"You sure you're ready for this?"
She asked wondering if the cyan pegasus was having any second thoughts, while Dash looked back to her for a moment, and then smiled as she thought about all that Twilight had said to her only a little while ago, and feeling her nerves slowly starting to fade away as she thought of her marefriend's encouraging smile, pushing her fears and worries to the back of her mind as she nodded in reply to Lightning now.
"Yeah, let's do this,"
Dash replied as she plucked up all her courage and let Twilight's words guide her, as Lightning just nodded back to her and smiled in return, before the two pegasi both turned back to the entrance to Cloudsdale, and soon headed off into their hometown together, ready to face whatever may lay in store for them both once they had entered the city.
Having to mentally prepare herself Rainbow Dash took a few long, deep breaths as Lightning looked to her with a wondering expression for a moment, but then soon smiled to her as Dash glanced back to her, while the both of them were simply hovering, having just flown through the entrance of Cloudsdale, seeming to to be waiting for just a few moments as Dash looked all around, collecting herself.
Taking in the sight of her hometown, 'It all looks the same as I remember it...I know I haven't been gone for long, but...it sure feels like I haven't come back here in years,' the cyan pegasus thought to herself as she looked around the familiar city, recognizing all kinds of small buildings, cloud-homes, certain places, and even a few of the other pegasi that she could see going about their day-to-day lives, wondering and kinda hoping that they wouldn't recognize her.
Dash turning to Lighting as the other mare just smiled to her with her classic cheerful expression, outstretching her front hooves to the floating city, and causing Dash to look in front of them, "Welcome back home Rainbow Dash," she stated, before she gestured for the other pegasus to follow her into Cloudsdale. Dash just nodding in reply a moment later as she slowly followed after Lightning, and tried to keep the thought of Twilight's encouraging smile inside her mind to keep her pushing through.
Slowly gliding through the floating city, Dash looked all around her, all her memories (good and bad) coming back to her of her time spent in her hometown, however there was something that felt 'off' to her as she saw the other pegasi all beginning to stare back at her, and some of whispering to each other it seemed, 'I have missed being here an awful lot, but somehow it all feels so...different then how it used to. When I was last here this beautiful city felt...it felt like it was my home, it doesn't feel like that anymore, it just feels like I don't belong. Maybe me coming here wasn't such a good idea after all,' she thought trying to avoid eye-contact with all the other pegasi, seeming like quite a few of them were recognizing her, giving her strange looks and even some slight glares, reminding Dash of when Lightning Dust had once stared at her with the same cold expression on her face.
'No Lightning is different from all these other ponies, she's...she's...' Dash paused, shaking her head as she then looked to Lightning flying in front of her, and sighed slightly, 'Do I seriously still think that Lightning isn't trustworthy? It seems like it...but if I still can't trust her after all she's done for Twilight and me, how am I going to trust the other pegasi that she wants me to meet? I said to Twilight that I would be willing to trust Lightning eventually, but...just when is eventually to me?' she questioned herself, thinking about everything that had happened since her and Twilight had first met Lightning Dust, and how she had gotten to this point where she was now, 'Just how long should I keep being so stubborn for?' she wondered as she stopped and just sighed slightly, causing Lightning to notice and turn to her.
Lighting looking to Dash with a wondering expression as she now flew back over to her, getting her attention and causing Dash to look up to her, "Hey you alright Rainbow Dash?" she asked, as Dash looked back to her, seeming to be lost in thought for a few moments, before she just shook her head and averted her eyes from the other pegasus.
"What if coming here...was a mistake?" she nervously asked, causing Lightning to seem a little confused as she smiled slightly back to Dash.
"What do you mean Dash, isn't this what you and Twilight wanted, we're doing this to further our plans for the future right?" Lightning said, looking puzzled as she wondered what was suddenly making Dash have second thoughts now, when she had come so far already.
"Yes, it's just what if...Listen coming here, it makes me feel how I did when I first starting coming into Ponyville more with Twilight, everypony stares and gives me weird looks...except this is meant to be my home, but it just doesn't feel like that anymore...it feels...wrong for me to be here. And with these pegasi that you want me to meet, what if...what if I can't trust them? After all it took much longer than it should've for me to be comfortable being around and talking with you, what if it's the same for them, or worse. I've only ever known the pegasi that used to steal and break stuff, I...I never knew a pegasus that was anything like you, that's why I consider you to be one of the more rare one's from here," Dash explained in a nervous, shaky voice, telling Lightning just how she felt right at this moment and what her worries were, causing the other mare to widen her golden eyes a little, before she smiled slightly and just rested a comforting hoof on Dash's shoulder.
"It's okay, we don't have to stay here for long, we can leave for the library straight after we talk to the others for a bit, and remember what Twilight said, 'you can do this', I know it took time for us to really get along, but that doesn't matter, what does matter is that these pegasi all want what we do, to make a change, and if it takes time for you to actually build a friendship with any or even all of them, then we'll deal with it together," Lightning said with a caring smile to Dash, reassuring her she would be there for her, and they would get through this, even if Dash did take a little long to become comfortable with the other pegasi just like she had with Lightning herself.
Dash just looked uncertain, as she looked around at all the pegasi that were staring at her, clearly seeing that they were purposely avoiding her, and causing her to feel that she was more of a stranger rather than a pony that used to live here along with them all not too long ago.
Looking back to Lightning again as she felt something different when it came to the mare that was in front of her, 'Whenever it comes to Lightning, I always feel so unsure about her, and so confused by her...so will it be the same for these other pegasi, or worse, could they possibly be the pegasi that I used to know before I got together with Twi, and left this place?' she questioned wondering about who these 'other pegasi' were and if she would be able to be comfortable around them like she was with Lightning now.
"Trust me Rainbow Dash, you won't regret meeting the others, after all I know they've been dying to see you again," Lightning stated beaming as she always did, causing Dash to widen her eyes, as those first two words repeated over and over again inside her mind, making her think more and go a little quiet for a few moments 'Maybe I should just stop being so stubborn about this, after all these are pegasi that Lightning trusts, so I might as well at least give them the benefit of the doubt, right?' she thought with a slight sigh, before she nodded to herself and gave Lightning a determined expression now.
"You're right Lightning, let's do this,"
She stated with a slight smile, causing Lightning to light up, and nod happily as she turned and quickly started to lead the way to where these 'other pegasi' were, while Dash followed after her, still feeling a little anxious about this, but knowing that she couldn't always turn back and run away, because that would solve nothing, she had to face these things head on, and it was about time she started doing just that.
The two pegasi quickly flying off together as the other residents of the city would stare at Dash, seeming to be keeping their distance, which Dash was actually quite glad for, although it was a little surprising to her that the slight cold glares was the worst she was getting, thinking that she would get a lot worse when coming here again, and now kinda being thankful that she wasn't having to deal with anything too troubling. But still it was quite alarming to her that she even felt so alienated in the place she used to call her home.
'If this is how I feel when just in Cloudsdale again, then I don't think I want to go back to my old cloud-home again...my home...it isn't here anymore, it's with Twilight, she's the only one I really feel safe with,' Dash thought as she let her head hang a little, not wanting to see all the stares and cold looks anymore, as it was beginning to feel like they were piercing into her uncomfortably.
However luckily it seemed like she didn't have to focus on those looks she was getting for much longer, as she heard Lightning call to her cheerfully, catching her attention and causing her to lift her head and be pulled out of her own thoughts.
"There they are!"
Lightning cheered happily as she now looked back to Dash, and pointed her hoof out to a bunch of pegasi that were all standing on a cloud together, Dash looking over to them all as she sighed a little, kinda feeling relieved that she didn't really recognize any of them, hoping that that meant they would be just like Lightning, and with any luck she would be able to get along with them all okay.
Lightning patting Dash on her shoulder as she gave her an encouraging smile, while Dash just nodded in response, sighing deeply as the turquoise mare called over to the small group of about six pegasi all from Cloudsdale, as they all turned to her and smiled, waving her and Dash over, all of them clearly seeming more than happy to see the two mares making their way over to them.
'You can do this Dash, you can do this,' Dash repeated the same thing over and over again inside her mind, as she and Lightning flew over to the group, and they were all soon introducing themselves to her, not seeming to be wanting to waste any time, as within a few mere moments they were all asking questions and talking about the plans Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Lightning had about the future for the two towns. The situation causing Dash to feeling a little overwhelmed at first, but as time passed on and their conversations continued, she began to become more and more comfortable, and eventually she was feeling slightly more relaxed around the other pegasi.
'This feels different, all these pegasi clearly want what Lightning does, but...I don't feel like how I did when I first met Lightning, in fact I'm finding this a whole lot easier than I thought I would,' Dash thought as she looked at all the other pegasi as they all happily expressed the ideas they had to her and each other about how they wanted to make a change, and finally end the feud between the two towns, seeing all of them smiling to one another and then stopping as she looked to Lightning, and her slight smile began to fade.
'So why is Lightning different, why do I feel so uncertain about her? Maybe what I really need to do is stop second guessing myself, take a risk and turn 'eventually' into 'soon', 'very soon'. After all Lightning has already shown me things that I thought would be impossible so...' she paused on that thought for a moment as she saw Lightning just smile happily back to her, causing her to sigh and give the mare a small smile back, 'Would giving her my trust really be all that bad?' she questioned feeling thankful towards Lightning and wondering if it was really about time that she stopped being so unsure about possibly finally trusting this one pegasus that really shouldn't haven't taken her this long to come to a decision about.
....
Hours having passed since Rainbow Dash and Lightning had left as Twilight and Spike had been working on cleaning up the trashed library together, both of them having made quite a bit of progress it seemed as Twilight had fixed the table and chairs in the kitchen, while Spike had gone out to buy more food and milk from Ponyville's market. Getting back to find Twilight sorting out the remaining books that had been thrown about the library and putting them all back in their original places.
"Hey Twilight," Spike smiled to the Princess as he greeted her and closed the door behind him, causing Twilight to stop what she was doing for a moment, turning around and smiling slightly as she greeted the young dragon back.
"Hey Spike, were you able to get everything?" Twilight asked as she walked over to the young dragon, and helped him carry all the bags to the kitchen, while Spike just nodded in reply, placing all the bags on the kitchen counter, while him and Twilight began looking through them all and started to fill the empty fridge with fresh food and cartons of milk.
"I think so, any news from Rainbow and Lightning?"
Spike asked, as Twilight simply shook her head in reply, "They haven't come back yet, I just hope that's a good sign," the Princess sighed a little, as she was wondering if Dash and Lightning were going to be coming back anytime soon, and hoping that all had gone well for the both of them while they were up in Cloudsdale together.
"Hey this is meant to be a good thing remember?" Spike gave a reassuring smile to Twilight, hoping to cheer her up and keep her thinking positively.
"I know, but I guess I can't help worrying a little," Twilight stated as she smiled nervously to Spike, knowing that she had to think positively, but at the same time was just hoping for Dash to return home to her soon enough, and not have her worrying anymore.
Spike just nodded slightly, giving Twilight an understanding expression, "Hey I saw Pinkie Pie while I was out, and apparently she's got this big 'Welcome party' all planned out for Lightning Dust," he said, seeming to change the subject now, as he didn't want the Princess thinking about her marefriend too much, which might just cause her to worry more about her.
"Oh yeah when is it?" Twilight asked as she sounded only semi-interested as her mind was obviously more focused on other things at this moment.
Just as Spike was about to answer the Princess, the two of them heard the door to the library being opened, and then hearing a familiar voice calling out to them both from the entrance, "Twilight, Spike, we're back!" they heard, as Twilight instantly stopped what she was doing and ran to the door to go and greet Dash and Lightning back, with Spike following close behind her.
"Hey Twi-"
Dash smiled slightly as she was glad to see her marefriend again, only to pause as the Princess threw her hooves around her and hugged the pegasus tightly, causing Dash to be surprised at first, before she soon just sighed and hugged Twilight back, guessing that she had been worrying about her since she had left earlier.
"Welcome back, Dash," Twilight said, smiling brightly as she clearly was happy to see her marefriend had come back home to her, while Spike and Lightning just smiled slightly to the hugging couple.
"So how did it go?" Spike asked as he turned to Lightning, as Twilight soon pulled away slightly from Dash and just smiled to her, the cyan pegasus smiling back to her, before looking to Spike and answering him.
"It actually went...really well," Dash stated with a slight smile, glancing to Lightning for a moment, while the other pegasus just nodded happily with her signature cheerful smile resting on her lips.
"Really?" Twilight asked as her and Spike seemed interested and clearly wanted to hear more about just what had happened when the other two had gone up to Cloudsdale together to meet with these 'other pegasi' that Lightning was talking about earlier.
"Yeah they all seemed to get along with Rainbow Dash really well, and they're all really excited to meet with you too someday soon Twilight," Lightning explained with a bright smile to the Princess, causing Twilight to now smile back to her, glad to hear that everything had gone well, and luckily it didn't seem like she needed to worry very that much after all.
"Still it was quite surprising how enthusiastic some of them were, I had no idea how many pegasi from Cloudsdale could actually want things to change from how they are now," Dash stated as she still seemed like she hadn't yet recovered fully from being overwhelmed after talking with the other pegasi from her hometown, Lightning just chuckling slightly as she smiled to Dash, and the two pegasi started to talk about all the things they had talked about while up in Cloudsdale together, while Twilight looked to their smiling faces, and could see that something was different between the two of them now.
Dash seemed to be an awful lot more comfortable around Lightning, and it looked like they both were almost like best friends causing the Princess to think that whatever had happened up in Cloudsdale must have been good, since it had this result to it.
Twilight smiling slightly at the two pegasi talking to each other happily, before she heard Dash's voice, and looked to her marefriend a moment later, "Looks like you two have managed to clean up the library nicely, were you able to replace all the food in the fridge?" Dash asked as she looked around the library and was glad to see it looking like it did before it was trashed, being happy to see their home looking like it normally did once again.
"Yeah I went into the market and replaced all the food that had been emptied out of the fridge,"
Spike stated in a proud voice, while Twilight and Dash just smiled to him in reply, as Dash looked to the kitchen and saw the bags of fresh food resting on the counter. Feeling like she had wanted to help Twilight and Spike with all the cleaning up, but was kinda glad she had agreed to go to Cloudsdale with Lightning after all, and was a little relieved that her marefriend and the young dragon had not had too much trouble cleaning up everything by themselves while she was gone
"Oh that reminds me, I was telling Twilight this just a minute ago. I ran into Pinkie Pie while I was out, and it seems she's organized a party for you Lightning," Spike said as he suddenly seemed to remember what he was talking to Twilight about before Dash and Lightning came back, causing the other three to now all look to each other, before they all turned back to the young dragon again.
"Really?" Lightning asked, sounding surprised, as she felt really flattered to have a party being thrown for her, and began to feel a little excited for it, as Spike just nodded to her in reply.
"There's just this one thing that might be a little unexpected though," Spike sounded a little nervous now, causing Lighting and the other two to seem slightly confused in return.
"What is it?" she asked, seeming eager to know the young dragon's reply.
"It starts in only a few minutes,"
Spike replied nervously as Lightning and the other two mares all looked to each other in surprise, all seeming a little taken aback by what Spike had told them, it looking like they were all thinking for a few moments and taking in what the young dragon had said to them all, before Lightning soon just smiled and caught the other's attention.
"Then we better get going, after all I think a little celebration is in order, don't you Rainbow Dash?" Light asked as she looked to Dash with a slight smirk, as Dash looked to the other pegasus with a wondering expression before she soon just smiled back to her and nodded her head happily in reply.
"I think that a little celebration is just what we need right now," Dash agreed simply, as she looked to Twilight a moment later, while the Princess just looked back to her and nodded her head in agreement, it seeming like they all wanted to go to this party for Lightning, but Dash then thinking about something as her smile formed into a slight frown now.
"But wait, what if while we're gone the library is in danger of getting trashed again?" she asked, as she seemed worried now, while it took Twilight a few mere minutes to think, before she just smiled to her marefriend in reply.
"I can just cast a protection spell on the library, it won't be permanent, but I'm sure it will be able to keep our home safe until we return to it," Twilight stated happily, knowing that there wouldn't be just some quick fix to keep the library from getting broken into and trashed again, but she was sure she could at least keep it safe for now.
"Are you sure that will work?" Dash asked seeming a little unsure as she looked to Twilight with a slightly nervous expression, while the Princess just smiled back to her and nodded in reply.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine Dash,"
Twilight simply replied, giving her marefriend a reassuring expression, before Dash just smiled slightly and nodded her head in return. All of them soon leaving the library together and heading off to Sugarcube corner, Spike leading the way since he seemed to know exactly where the party was being held.
....
The four all soon making their way to the location of where the party was being held, as they knocked on the door to the bakery, and were almost immediately greeted by Pinkie Pie, as the pink pony happily welcomed them all and wasted no time in inviting them all inside.
"I'm so glad you're all here, I was going to make this a 'surprise party', but then I thought that you might not like surprises, even though I know everypony loves surprises, but I thought just in case I would tell Spike about it all when I saw him in the market a little while ago, sorry that it was such short notice by the way," Pinkie explained in a rushed voice, as she pulled Lightning into the room more, and the turquoise pegasus was surprised to see that pretty much the whole town of Ponyville had come to this little 'event', and she felt kind of embarrassed as they would all look over to her and wave to her happily every now and again.
Rainbow Dash seeming to be watching Lightning walk off with a nervous expression, causing Twilight to look to her marefriend with a wondering expression, clearly seeing that something was on her mind right now, "Is something the matter Dash?" she asked, catching Dash's attention and causing the cyan pegasus to look back to her, as she just shook her head in reply to the Princess.
"Huh? No, it's nothing really Twi," Dash replied, before she looked back to Lightning again, and soon was making her way over to her, while Twilight and Spike looked to each other, before they both watched Dash walk over to Lightning slowly.
Meanwhile Lighting now noticed all the banners and other decorations that had been hung about, all the balloons that were around, all the food and drink that had been laid out on the tables, and how amazing everything looked to her, having no other pony go through this much work for her, as she looked to Pinkie with a grateful expression.
"I feel so honored Pinkie, you really didn't have to go to this much trouble for me," Lightning stated with a slightly nervous smile to the pink pony, while Pinkie just shook her head in reply.
"Nonsense, this is your welcome party after all, so you deserve for it to be rememberable, now go mingle!" Pinkie replied happily, before she went walking off to go and talk to the other guests, causing Lightning to just smile and chuckle slightly, nodding to Pinkie, before she made a move to go and talk to some of the other ponies, but stopped as she felt a small tap on her shoulder.
Looking back Lightning now saw Dash standing beside her, looking to her with a nervous expression, and seeming to be wanting the other pegasus's attention, as Lightning just looked back to Dash with a wondering expression.
"Can I talk with you for a moment Lightning?" Dash asked as Lightning glanced back to Twilight and Spike for a moment, wondering just what had gotten into Dash, but only getting a simple shrug from the Princess, as the pegasus just looked back to Dash and nodded to her with a smile in reply.
"Sure, what's up Rainbow Dash?" Lighting asked as her and Dash walked off to the side of the room together, Dash seeming hesitant for a few moments, as she built up her confidence and soon nodded to herself.
"Listen since meeting you Lightning you've shown me nothing but kindness and encouragement, and I haven't really been all that fair to you, so I believe...I should stop being so stubborn, and finally do what I should have done a good while ago before now," Dash explained, seeming to be a little nervous as she just caused for Lightning to seem more confused in return.
"What are you saying Rainbow Dash?" the other pegasus asked, unsure of just where this conversation was going, and where exactly it was coming from all of a sudden.
"I'm saying that...maybe it's about time that I started really putting my trust in you,Lightning," Dash stated as she now sighed and smiled to Lightning, causing her to widen her eyes slightly, as she now seemed to catch onto what Dash was saying, and wondered if she was actually being serious at the moment or not.
"Really?"
She asked as hope filled her eyes, while Dash just nodded to her with a smile, and caused her face to light up brightly, as a moment later she happily threw her hooves around Dash and hugged her tightly. Surprising her at first, but Dash soon regaining her composure as she smiled and simply hugged Lightning back happily, believing that she really could trust Lighting after all she had done for her in what really was such a short time.
Twilight looking over to Rainbow Dash and Lightning as she smiled happily, seeing the two hugging, and guessing that they must be talking about something good, noticing that the two definitely did seem much closer than they ever had since they first met not too long ago. The Princess feeling happy to see the two pegasi seeming like they were on such good terms now, and Dash finally didn't seem nervous or suspicious around Lightning anymore.
As the two hugged tightly Dash sighed slightly, while Lighting held her close, resting her head over her shoulder, as she soon however let her overjoyed expression slowly change into a blank, and unreadable one, while she kept a tight hold on Dash, but beaming once again as the two soon separated as they both smiled to each other, before Lighting went off to 'mingle' with the other guests, and Dash went walking back over to Twilight and Spike.
Lighting glancing back to Dash and watching the cyan pegasus with a blank stare it seemed, not looking away from her until she almost caught her eye, and instead just looked to the other ponies and greeted them politely, however coldly glancing back again soon after she was sure Dash wasn't looking back at her anymore.
The turquoise pegasus definitely seeming to have something on her mind at this moment as she continued to blankly stare to Dash out of the corner of her eye, while she didn't seem to be paying much attention to the ponies around her anymore and was clearly more focused on the cyan pegasus instead, as she narrowed her eyes a little and gave a slight glare to Dash before just choosing to look away from her once again.
Hours having passed as late evening was soon turning into night, and eventually Lightning's 'little welcome party' had ended with pretty much all the guests from Ponyville saying 'Goodnight' and heading off back to their homes, while Pinkie Pie and Lightning thanked them all for coming and staying for as long as they had. Now only leaving Lightning, Rainbow Dash, Spike and Twilight still at the bakery together, as they had all offered to help Pinkie clear away everything.
"You know you all really don't have to stay here, I can clean all this by myself," Pinkie stated to Twilight as she didn't want the others to all have to stay at hers later than they already had been helping her, "It's not like I don't love having you all here and I appreciate all your help...but it is getting quite late, and I don't want you all not getting enough sleep because you were helping me for most of the night," she explained, clearly seeming like she was a little worried for the others, and didn't want any of them to push themselves in order to stay awake helping her.
"Oh no, Pinkie it really is no trouble, Right Dash?"
Twilight smiled as she shook her head to the pink pony, not wanting her to think that she was being a burden to them at all, while she looked over to her marefriend, and sighed slightly with a smile when she saw the cyan mare happily just talking with Lightning as they both were working together to clear away the aftermath of the party.
"We offered to help didn't we Pinkie? So there really is no need to worry, plus it's the least we can do for you," the Princess added as she just looked back to the pink earth pony again, ressuring her that they didn't mind staying here a little longer to continue helping her out.
However just as she had said that, and Pinkie thought of protesting, Lightning and Dash came walking over to them both, "Hey you know it's gotten quite late, don't you think we should be going soon, Twi?" Dash asked her marefriend, which caused the Princess to just raise her eyebrow slightly, guessing that the cyan mare must be getting tired right about now.
"That's what I just said," Pinike stated, and hoped Twilight would soon change her mind and agree to return back to the library like Dash obviously wanted to do right now.
"Dash we can't just leave Pinkie to clean all this up by herself," Twilight stated, giving a slight stern stare to her marefriend, as it just didn't feel right for them to all leave when the bakery was still in the state that it currently was, to which Dash just groaned in return to.
"But I'm tired, and Spike's already fallen asleep,"
Dash pointed out as she gestured over to the young dragon, who was sleeping peacefully, curled up underneath a table in the corner of the bakery, which caused Twilight to just sigh slightly, hesitating a little as it looked like she was going to refuse leaving again, but not getting the chance to as Lightning quickly chimed in, seeing if she could suggest a compromise of sorts.
"Hey why don't you all call it a night, and I'll stay here to help Pinkie Pie with the cleaning up?" she smiled, as she caused Twilight to look back to her with slightly widened eyes, while Pinkie and Dash just both nodded in agreement.
"But Lightning Dust, you don't need to do that, and- Twilight continued to protest as it seemed she wasn't willing to leave everything to just Pinkie and Lightning, but quickly got interrupted by Pinkie.
"You and Dashie have done more than enough, and I can see you're tired too Twilight, so really it's okay, just go home alright?" Pinkie cut Twilight off as she smiled to her cheerfully, looking like she wasn't going to take no for an answer, while the other two were clearly also trying to persuade the Princess to just do as the pink pony had said and finally leave for home.
Looking to the other three mares as she thought for a few moments, Twilght guessed that she really was outnumbered right now, so she soon just sighed heavily, and decided she might as well just give in to them all, "Fine, we'll head home," she caved, causing Dash and to cheer happily, as she was clearly looking forward to returning home so that she could make her way to her warm bed and have a restful sleep finally.
Rolling her eyes in return Twilight just smiled slightly, as Dash quickly went to go and wake up Spike, and tell him they were heading home now, while the Princess looked back to Pinkie again, "Thank you for having us Pinkie," she said, causing Pinkie to just smile brightly back to her in response.
"Thank you for coming, even though it was at such short notice,"
Pinkie chuckled slightly causing Twilight to do the same, as she nodded in reply, before she went walking over to her marefriend seeing that she was having a little trouble with trying to wake Spike up at the moment, while Pinkie and Lightning just looked on with small smiles on their lips.
Pinkie and Lightning looking to each other as they both smiled, "I really can't thank you enough for this Pinkie, nopony has ever done something like this for me," the turquoise mare stated as she still couldn't quite believe that the other mare would do all this just for her.
"Well since you're going to be in Ponyville much more often now, I just wanted you to feel welcome," Pinkie replied with a simple beaming smile, glad that tonight had gone well, and the party was a clear success, while Lightning just nodded back to her in return.
"Yeah,"
The pegasus sighed slightly as she looked back over to Rainbow Dash and Twilight, her smile fading a little and a blank expression forming on her face, before she simply shook her head, and turned back to Pinkie again, as they both soon said 'Goodnight' to Dash, Twilight and Spike, then continued to clean up the bakery together once they were left alone again.
Twilight, Dash and Spike now all leaving for their home, as they headed back from Sugarcube corner with Spike having reluctantly woken up, as he walked in front of the two mares, leading the way to the Library quite quickly as he just wanted to curl up in his warm and comfy bed right now, while Twilight and Dash were following him at a much slower pace, happily talking to each other as they all began to make their way back home together.
"Come on you two, pick up your pace a little or it'll be the morning before we get back home," Spike groaned as he looked back to the two mares behind him, while they just apologized to him with slight smiles as he rolled his eyes and turned back around, sighing heavily before he picked up his pace again, and didn't bother waiting for the other two to catch up with him this time.
Dash just chuckled slightly as she picked up her pace a little so that they could still keep up with the young dragon, while Twilight looked to her marefriend and smiled softly feeling like this was the happiest and most relaxed she had seen the cyan pegasus in quite a while, and only guessing it must be because of whatever had happened between her and Lightning durning the party.
"So when did you become so friendly with Lightning Dust?" the Princess asked with a slightly raised eyebrow to her marefriend catching the pegasus's attention, while she just looked back to her, widening her eyes for a moment before giving the other mare a bit of a nervous smile.
"What do you mean?" Dash asked, seeming to avoid Twilight's question a little, while she turned away from the Princess slightly, which just caused Twilight to smirk back at her.
"Well you weren't looking at her with any worry or suspicion like you normally do, and you were talking to her like the two of you were suddenly best friends," Twilight explained, as it was obvious that she was surprised by Dash and Lightning's relationship suddenly taking the turn around that it had seemed to, while Dash just continued to look nervous, hesitating a little, before she soon slowly turned back to the Princess.
"Well maybe that's because...I've decided to start putting my trust in her a little more now," Dash stated in a low tone, causing Twilight to widen her eyes, as at first she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, not thinking that Dash would ever really be able to trust Lightning, but it defintely seeming like she would be willing to try her best to do just that at the moment.
"Really?" Twilight asked as her eyes filled with hope, while Dash just nodded to her in reply with a slight smile.
"She's proven to me just how much she really wants to change things with the two towns, and it's easy to see that she's willing to help us to get to the better future we've both been heading towards, plus to be honest...I think it's about time I stopped judging her, and started giving her more of the chance that she really deserves," Dash expalined with a smile, as she soon seemed much more confident with what she was saying now, and caused Twilight's eyes to go wide again, before they began to fill up with slight tears and she had to stop walking for a moment as Dash just rested a hoof on her shoulder, and smiled to her.
"You know there's nothing to cry about Twi," she stated comforting her marefriend as Twilight just chuckled slightly, while she nodded, wiping her eyes and trying to gain back her composure.
"I know, it's just...I'm so happy for you Dash!"
Twilight smiled happily as she threw her hooves around the pegasus and held her tightly, taking Dash by surprise at first, before she soon smiled back to Twilight, and hugged her back. The two holding each other close and they both felt glad about how tonight had gone for them, as they leaned in for a light kiss.
The both of them soon separating as they just continued to chat happily with each other, while they walked a little faster to try and catch up with Spike still, smiling to one another as they made their way back to their little home together.
....
Early the next morning Twilight was stirred awake by the bright light of the sun peeking in through the slightly open curtains from the widow, the rays bathing the bedroom in a warm glow, as Twilight blinked once or twice, letting her eyes get used to the bright light that was streaming into the room right now. And slowly turning over in her bed as she yawned and pulled the covers over her more, still feeling a little tired as she looked to the space beside her expecting her marefriend to be sleeping there like she was every other morning, but then widened her eyes in surprise and suddenly sat up in her bed instead.
Seeing the space beside her being empty, and quickly looking around the room, after seeing that the cyan pegasus was nowhere to be seen she sighed slightly as she looked to the empty space beside her again, 'Where's Dash? She's never gotten up before me, after alll she's not really one for early mornings,' she thought, before just guessing that she would get up and go looking for her marefriend, wondering just where she was at the moment.
Soon coming down the stairs as she heard the sound of somepony in the kitchen, being a little of weary of who it could be at first, before sighing with relief as she saw just the pegasus she had been looking for upon slowly walking into the kitchen and dinning area, greeting her marefriend and catching her attention.
"Dash, what are you doing up so early?" she asked as she came walking over to her marefriend, standing beside her at the kitchen counter, while the cyan pegasus just smiled back to her cheerfully and greeted the Princess in response.
"Oh good morning, I decided to make breakfast for you today, since you always make some for me in the mornings Twi," Dash simply stated with a smile, as she looked away from what she was doing for a moment, just causing Twilight to look more suspicious now, having never known her marefriend to ever make food for anyone but herself really.
"Okay...where did this gesture come from all of a sudden?"
Twilight questioned, still clearly being skeptical about just what was going on with her marefriend at the moment, and trying to figure out just why she was acting like this. Which in turn just caused Dash to look back to the Princess with a nervous smile, obviously trying to seem more lively then she actually felt right now.
"What do you mean, can't I get up early to make my wonderful marefriend a nice breakfast to show her just how much I care for her, from time to time?" Dash asked, raising her eyebrow and sounding like she was trying to sound annoyed, when really it was more obvious of just how anxious she was right now, causing Twilight to seem confused again, as she wasn't used to seeing Dash hiding behind a smile like this, when normally she would just close in on herself and shut down, whenever something was constandly on her mind, like how Twilight could tell something definitely was at the moment.
"Well, sure you can Dash, but normally I have to really try to practically drag you out of bed to get you up this early, and you've never made breakfast for me before," Twilight explained, as she began to feel a little concerned for her marefriend now as she saw that nervous expression slowly breaking through from behind the pegasus's very clearly forced smile.
"Exactly, you do so much for me Twi, so I think it's time that I started doing more for you," Dash stated, her composure quickly starting to fade away as it was obvious just how much she was actually bottling up her real feelings at the moment, causing Twilight to now look to her with a slight stern stare, showing that she wanted Dash to tell her just what was going on with her all of a sudden.
The Princess narrowing her eyes as she caused Dash to avoid looking back to her, while she nervously turned away from her, but Twilight not letting her do that for long as she brought the pegasus to look back at her again a moment later, as her expression softened, and she smiled slightly to her marefriend, "Dash we've been together for a long time now, I know when there's something bothering you, and I know when you're trying to hide what you're really feeling from me," she spoke in a low tone, as she rested her hoof on Dash's shoulder in a comforting way, and encouraged her to open up to her a little, so that she could explain just what was going on with her.
Dash hesitated a little as she widened her eyes slightly, biting her bottom lip and turning away from Twilight again, downcasting her gaze, before she just soon sighed, knowing that she couldn't keep this act up for much longer, 'I can never hide anything from Twilight, she always knows how to get me to speak my mind,' she thought as a slight smile formed on her lips, before she now lifted her head, and looked back to her marefriend again.
"It's just..." Dash paused as she sighed again, shaking her head a moment later, before continuing, not letting her anxiety get the better of her, "For a while now I've been causing you to worry about me a lot, and I shouldn't be doing that all the time, it shouldn't have taken me this long to finally trust Lightning more, and it's about time that I started focusing on you more. After all I love you Twi, so I should show it more often than I have been lately, rather than always being paranoid about other things," she explained nervously, while causing Twilight to widen her eyes a little, before she simply smiled and leaned in closer to Dash.
"I love you too Dash," she stated as she hugged Dash tightly and pulled her close, causing the pegasus to be a little surprised at first, but soon she just smiled slightly as she hugged Twilight back and nuzzled into her mane lovingly.
"But you don't need to do all this for me, I already know how much you care for me, and I know I've been worrying about you an awful lot lately, but that's only because I want to help you. So...you will let me help you from now on, won't you Dash?" Twilight asked as she gave Dash a caring smile, while the pegasus soon just nodded in reply to the Princess as another slight sigh left her lips, knowing she should be more open with her marefriend about the things that were causing her worry, and let her help more often.
"Good, now you can start acting on that, by letting me help you with making breakfast for us all, okay?" Twilight smiled as she pulled away from Dash and faced the kitchen counter, ready to start helping to prepare breakfast for them all, but soon stopping as Dash caught her attention again a moment later.
"Actually...could you go and wake up Spike for me, please?" the pegasus asked as she gave a slight nervous smile to Twilight again, causing the Princess to raise her eyebrow slightly, "And in return I'll finish making breakfast for you, deal?" she added, hoping that Twilight would agree to her 'deal' and let her do this for her.
Seeming a little skeptical at first, before she simply just smiled with an understanding expression and nodded to Dash, "Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes," she answered as Dash just nodded back to her in return, smiling slightly when Twilight gave a her a small peck on her cheek, before turning to leave and head up the stairs to wake up Spike, While Dash would continue to finish off making breakfast for them all. Dash watching Twilight leave her with a slight smile, waiting until the Princess was out of sight, as she now let a long sigh escape her lips, before turning around and going back to happily making breakfast for the three of them to eat together.
....
The three were all soon sitting around the dining table just finishing off their breakfast together, while they casually talked to one another. Twilight smiling to Dash as she could see that the nervous expression she had eariler was now completely gone as she happily chated with Spike, causing the Princess to feel glad about the fact that her marefriend was back to being her regular-self again, and there was nothing for her to be concerned about anymore it seemed.
Happily just looking to her marefriend, Twilight was soon however snapped out of her trance, as she and the other two heard a slight knocking at their door, causing them all of them to look to the front door, and then look back to each other again for a moment. Dash standing up from her chair as she headed to answer the door, but Twilight quickly stopped her as she stood up as well and smiled to the pegasus.
"I'll get it, why don't you and Spike start clearing away everything?" Twilight suggested, causing Dash to just smile back to her and nod her head in reply, before she turned back to the table as her and Spike started to clear away everything from breakfast, while Twilight smiled to them both, as she soon turned and left to go and answer the door.
Wondering who was coming to visit them this early in the day, Twilight simply opened the door ready to greet whomever was standing on the otherside, and being a little surprised to see a familiar turquoise pegasus standing at her doorstep, and greeting her happily with a her normal cheerful smile.
"Good morning Twilight," Lightning beamed happily to the Princess, causing Twilight to seem a little taken aback for a few moments, before she simply shook her head and returned the pegasus's smile, greeting her back politely.
"Good morning Lightning Dust, you're sure here early,"
"I know, and I'm sorry if it's an inconvenience at all, but do you think that you and Rainbow Dash could come with me to the market toady? And Spike can come too if he wants to I guess," Lighting asked, causing Twilight to look back to her with a questioning expression, wondering just what she was going on about at the moment.
"Why do you want to go into the market?"
"Because, I want to get something for Pinkie Pie, to thank her for last night. But I'm not too sure what to get her, you and Rainbow Dash could help me out right? You two have known Pinkie longer than I have after all," Lightning explained as she clearly was excited about this plan of hers, talking in a bit of a rush as she caused Twilight to just look back to her questionably for a few moments, before answering her.
"I guess we could come and help you get something for her- Twilight answered after a short pause, shrugging her shoulders as she didn't see why her, Dash and Spike couldn't help Lightning out with this idea of her's, plus it was quite the kind gesture after all. However the Princess was soon cut off by the other mare, as she suddenly lit up, and threw her hooves around Twilight, surprising her quite a bit.
"Oh thank you Twilight, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Lightning happily cheered and hugged the Princess tightly, causing her to seem surprised at first, before she soon just smiled nervously and hugged Lightning back, trying to pull away from the pegasus a moment later, but it not seeming like she was willing to let go just yet.
"You're welcome Lightning Dust but- Twilight was about to question the turquiose mare about this idea of her's more, however was soon interrupted by her marefriend, as she and Spike now came walking over to the entrance to the library, wondering just what the noise was all about coming from there.
"What's with all the commotion?"
Dash asked as she and Spike looked to Twilight and were a little surprised to see Lightning, as she was still tightly clinging onto the Princess, while Twilight turned her head to the other two and smiled nervously to them both, guessing that they were most likely wondering just what was going on right now.
"Do you two feel like going into the market today?" the Princess asked in a slightly nervous tone, which just caused Spike and Rainbow Dash to look to each other confused for a few moments, before they both turned back to Twilight again, looking to her with questioning expressions.
"What do you mean?" Dash asked as she raised her eyebrow slightly to her marefriend, while Lightning now let go of Twilight as she looked to the other two with an excited expression, seeming hopeful that they would agree to come along as well.
Twilight breathed out deeply as she was glad to be released from Lightning's crushing hug, and let out a slight sigh, before answering her marefriend, "Well Lightning Dust here said she wants to get something for Pinkie, as a thank you for the party she threw her last night, and would like our help in finding something for her, do you two want to come along?" she explained, as the other two simply looked back to each other again, both of them seeming to be thinking for a moment, while Lightning happily awaited to hear what Dash and Spike's answer would be.
Dash and Spike simply soon just shrugged to each other as they turned back to the other two mares and nodded to them in reply, "I guess we could go for a trip into the market, plus it would be nice to see Pinkie afterwards," Dash stated as she and Spike agreed to come along on this little 'gift shopping trip' for Pinkie, which caused Twilight to smile to them both, while Lightning happily cheered in return, overjoyed that the others had all agreed to tag along with her to the market, and was clearly more than excited to head off with them all into the town, as they all just smiled to her in return happily, before they soon all left the library together.
....
It wasn't very long before Lightning Dust and the others had found something to get for Pinkie as a thank you gift, only having spent a little over an hour in the market, before they were soon able to find something that Pinkie would like, and were all now heading to Sugarcube corner together, with Lightning carrying Pinkie's gift wrapped up in a box on her back, while she walked with a bit of a spring in her step, clearly glad that they had found something, and was excited to give it to Pinkie, but was also being sure to be careful so that the box contianing the gift wouldn't fall off her back at some point.
Twilight was walking alongside Lightning, while Rainbow Dash and Spike were a little ahead of them both, leading the way to Pinkie Pie's home, "So what made you want to get a gift for Pinkie anyway?" the Princess asked as she looked to Lightning and gave her a slight smile, while the pegasus just looked back to her happpily.
"I wanted to show just how thankful I am to her, after all I've never had anypony throw a party for me before," Lightning simply stated as she happily smiled back to Twilight, while the Princess just nodded to her in return.
"Did you two eventually finish cleaning up the bakery last night?"
"Yeah...well kind of, I stayed for a little while longer after you three had all left, but it wasn't long before Pinkie Pie suggested that I start heading home as well, and even though I did try to protest, it seemed like she just wouldn't take no for an answer. So I ended up leaving her to clean up the rest like she had told me to," Lightning explained, hearing Twilight chuckle slightly as the Princess had a feeling that Pinkie wouldn't like keeping the pegasus at her home too late, while Lightning just smiled in return to her, as they both picked up their pace a little to catch up with the other two, as they had both ran off ahead by now.
All of them soon having made their way to Sugarcube corner, as Rainbow Dash knocked lightly on the door, all of them waiting for a response. However after not getting one for a few minutes, they all looked to one another as Dash knocked again, being louder this time as she thought that maybe the earth pony hadn't heard her knocking the first time.
But again there was no response, which in turn caused them all to look to each other, wondering just why Pinkie wasn't answering the door, "Pinkie, are you in there?!" Dash called out loudly as she knocked again, while the others all seemed confused at the moment.
"Maybe she's gone out?"
Lightning suggested, guessing that that was probably the most logical reason why she wasn't answering her door right now, however just as she had said that, and Dash thought about trying knocking one last time, before deciding to give it a rest, the door opened slowly to reveal a very tired, and depressed looking Pinkie Pie.
"Oh hello, what are you all doing here?" Pinkie asked as she greeted them all with a slight smile, it however seeming forced as her expression was clearly not one of happiness right now. Her normally bouncy mane was dropping slightly, and it defintely seeming like she was more than exhuasted at the moment.
"Umm...we're here because Lightning wanted to give you something as a thank you for last night," Dash explained as she looked a little concerned for Pinkie, all of them seeing that she was not herself right now, and wondering what was causing her to seem so...disheveled all of a sudden.
"That's awfully nice of her, but she really didn't need to do something like that," Pinkie stated looking like she was trying to act like her usual self, but it seeming like the others weren't falling for her act very much at all.
"We know, but she wanted to so..." Dash trailed off a little as she really wondered if Pinkie was okay or not, as it definitely seemed like she was struggling to stay on her hooves at the moment, while she was leaning against the door slightly.
"What took you so long to answer anyway?" Spike asked, as he also seemed concerned for the pink pony, wondering if he should ask if there was something wrong or not, since he could easily guess the kind of answer he would most likely get from the pink mare right about now.
"Oh sorry, I was...a little busy you see,"
Pinkie simply stated nervously now as she turned around and made a gesture for the others to follow her inside the bakery, as they all did, wondering just what was causing the normally very energetic and bubbly earth pony to seem this depressed all of a sudden.
Walking into the bakery the others now all started to see and understand what the reason was for why Pinkie was acting so unlike her normal self at the moment. All of them looking around the place and seeing that it had been trashed and torn to pieces like a twister had come raging through it all, the tables were all turned over and broken in many places, there was all kinds of food and drink thrown everywhere, coating the floor and walls in hundreds of different coloured stains, countless utensils from the kitchen had been broken and thrown around as well, some windows were smashed, and some of the walls were even kicked in, having big holes being left in them.
Rainbow and the others couldn't believe what they were all seeing right now, as they looked around the trashed bakery with shocked expressions on their faces, none of them knowing what to say for quite a while, as Pinkie just started to try and clean up her home, causing the others to guess that that's what she must have been doing for quite some time now, judging by how tired she looked at the moment.
"Pinkie...this isn't from the party last night right?"
Spike asked nervously, being the first to speak, but not wanting to think that all this was like what had happened to the library a day ago, but clearly seeing that that was most likely exactly what had happened here. Pinkie just shook her head in reply as she sighed deeply and seemed like she was trying to keep herself from crying.
"Pinkie, just what happened here?" Twilight asked as she came walking over to the earth pony, and rested a hoof on her shoulder, hoping that she would shed a little light on just what had go on here.
"I...I don't know...I just went out this morning to get a couple of things from the market...and...and when I got back home...I...I found it like this," Pinkie explained, struggling to keep her composeure as tears began to fill her eyes and stream down her cheeks, hiccupping as she sobed heavily, while Twilight quickly pulled her into a tight hug, as the pink mare cried over her shoulder.
"I just...don't know who would do this sort of thing. W-what am I going to tell...Mr and Mrs Cake once they return back home?" Pinkie questioned as she continued to sob loudly, while Twilight held her tightly and hoped that she could soon soothe the crying pony sitting wrapped in her hooves right now.
"I don't know Pinkie," Twilight stated with a deep sigh, as she tried to comfort Pinkie, looking over to Dash a moment later, and giving her a look as if to say, 'What should we do?', to which Dash just answered with a determined look her eyes, and a simple nod of her head in reply.
"I think it's time we got the Royal Guard and the Princess involved in this," Dash stated as she looked back to Twilight, who just nodded her head slowly and seemed to agree, while Spike came walking over and patted Pinkie's head and hoped to soothe her crying a little.
However Lightning quickly came walking over as she heard what Dash had said and seemed awfully nervous all of a sudden, "Wait is that really necessary? I mean we don't want to cause Princess Celestia and the Royal Guard any trouble right?" she asked with a nervous smile, causing Twilight and Dash to look to her a little confused now.
"Lightning Dust, this isn't like what happened to the library, there's more damage this time, and while I'm a Princess and am bound to have some ponies that don't like me, Pinkie Pie is just like any other ordinary pony who doesn't deserve something like this to be done to her home," Twilight explained, knowing that this was much worse than what had happened with the library and it was clear that some action needed to be taken this time.
"That's right, plus whatever pony did this was probably the same one that trashed the library, so if we talk to the Royal Guard about it all than we have more of a chance to find out just who the culprit is, and make them pay for all the hurt they've caused," Dash added as she clearly seemed angered right now, and definitely wanted to start looking for whoever did this right away.
"But...but we could cause more trouble if we do that and that- Lightning got cut off as she seemed to be totally against going to the Royal Guard and Princess Celestia about all this, obviously not wanting to get them involved in all of this, which just caused Twilight and Rainbow Dash to seem even more confused as to why she was so against them doing this, when it seemed like pretty much the most effective action for them to take at the moment.
"Lightning all of Ponyville could be in danger if we choose to do nothing about this, so we can't just sit back and let the pony who is doing this get away with it all," Dash cut Lightning off as she spoke in an angered tone, it being obvious that she wanted to make the pony who was gulity for this pay after causing her, Spike, Twilight and now Pinkie Pie such pain.
"Dash is right although I can prevent the library from getting trashed again, I can't just cast a protection spell on the whole town it would take too much magic to keep it sustained. And why are you so against us getting the Royal Guard and Princess Celestia included in this anyway?" Twilight asked as she clearly wanted to know just why Lightning really didn't want to go along with what her and Dash were saying right now, even though things were more serious then they were before.
Lightning seemed to be hesitate for a few moments, looking like she was thinking about what to say, "It's because...because...can I talk with you for a moment Twilight?" she asked after sighing a little, looking back and forth between Twilight and Dash, while the two of them looked to each other. Before Twilight simply just gestured for Dash to take her place in comforting Pinkie Pie, as she nodded to Lightning and left Spike and Dash trying to calm Pinkie down, while she walked over to the turquoise pegasus, as she led them a little ways away from the other three.
"So what's going on with you, don't you want to see the pony who did this stopped?" Twilight asked in a lowered voice as she tried to listen and hopefully understand where Lightning was coming from at the moment.
"Of course I do, but I still don't think we should get The Princess and Royal Guard mixed up in all of this just yet," Lightning explained in a whsipered voice, clearly showing that she was worried about something, and causing Twilight to wonder just what that was as she leaned closer to Lightning and replied to her.
"Why?" Twilight questioned as she was obviously still confused as to why Lightning kept refusing to agree to get Princess Celestia and the Royal Guard included in all this since it definitely seemed like they needed to.
"Because..." Lightning paused, hesitating again as she glanced over to the other three, and sighed deeply, "Because...I know it sounds crazy, but...I think Rainbow Dash has something to do with all this," she now finally confessed in a whispered voice, looking nervously to Twilight, while the Princess just widened her eyes and looked shocked again, clearly not expecting Lightning to say anything like that.
"What?"
The Princess questioned after a short pause, not seeming like she knew what else to say at the moment, her mind starting to ask her hundreds of questions that she had no idea how to even start answersing, as Lightning just nodded her head slowly, looking like she really didn't want to say what she just had, and was regretting it right now. While Twilight went silent as she tried to make sense of what she had just heard, but that being something she just couldn't do at this moment in time, obviously showing that she wanted much more of an explanation from the turquoise mare it seemed.
Standing speechless for a few more moments, Twilight tried to make sense of what Lightning had just told her, but had no luck as she looked back to the other mare with a shocked and confused expression still, "Just what are you talking about Lighthing Dust?" she asked, clearly wanting more of an explanation as her head was starting to buzz with countless questions right now.
While Lightning hesitated for a little bit, biting her bottom lip as she glanced to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, before turning back to the Princess, as she slowly set down her gift on to the floor and sighed deeply, seeming like she was going to maybe make things a little clearer for the other mare. Or at least that was what Twilight hoped for as she continued to look at Lightning with a questioning and still very surprised expression.
"Listen, I know this might be hard for you to hear Twilight, but...I...I took a walk through the town before coming to the library this morning, and when I went walking past here, I...I saw Rainbow Dash walking into the bakery," Lightning explained in a nervous tone, causing Twilight to just seem even more confused, looking like nothing had become any clearer to her at all.
"And because of that, you think that she did this, are you hearing yourself right now? Do you honestly think that- Twilight began to raise her voice now as she was clearly not understanding just how Lightning had come to the conclusion that she had, while she still tried to wrap her head around all of this, before the other mare cut her off, and spoke to her in a calming voice, hoping to cause the Princess to lower her tone a little.
"I'm not saying that she did this Twilight, I'm just saying that she might have something to do with it, after all she was pretty mad about somepony trashing the library," Lightning pointed out causing Twilight to just shake her head, clenching her teeth together, as her confusion was now quickly turning into anger, feeling it building up inside of her as she didn't get how Lightning could accuse Dash of having something to do with a terrible thing like this, especially since it had happened to one of their friends.
"While that's true, do you honestly think she would do something like this to Pinkie?" Twilight raised her voice again as she was clearly just getting more and more angered by all this, looking like all kinds of emotions were rushing through at the moment, not knowing how she should feel about everything, but knowing that her marefriend was most certainly not at fault for any of this like Lightning was seeming to say she was.
"Listen Twilight, I'm just as confused as you are right now, but just in case Rainbow Dash does have something do to with this we shouldn't bring the Princess or the Royal Guard into it all just yet, after all Dash could end up getting into a whole lot of trouble if they found out she was here this morning when the place was trashed," Lightning tried to reason with Twilight as it was clear that she didn't want her going to Princess Celestia about what had happened, causing Twilight to become even more conflicted about everything right now, she didn't know how to feel or what to do at this point, she just wanted to stop and rest for a few moments as her head was killing her while she held it a little low.
"I...I don't believe you...I can't believe you...there's just no way that..."
Twilight felt her speech leaving her again as she spoke in a whsipered tone now trailing off slightly as she shook her head again, turning away from Lightning as it seemed like she just couldn't picture Dash being involved in anything like this, after all she wasn't the same pegasus as she used to be.
"That's okay, you don't have to believe me Twilight, just please. I know what I saw, so please don't go to the Princess about all this, for Dash's sake. After all you love her don't you, you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her over this, right?" Lightning asked as she caused for Twilight to widen her eyes a little before she glanced over to her marefriend and Pinkie, biting her bottom lip and seeming unsure yet again on just what she should do at this point in time.
'There's no way that I can believe that Dash has anything to do with all this...but why would Lightning Dust lie? Maybe I need to talk to Dash about all this,' the Princess sighed heavily as her mind was still asking her so many questions at the moment, which she felt like she couldn't even try to answer as she looked to her marefriend with a saddened expression wishing that the cyan pegasus could make things make sense finally, and help her to find all the answers to the questions that she had spinning around inside her mind right now.
"So what are we going to do Twilight?" Spike now asked as he came walking over to Twilight and Lightning, causing the Princess to look down to him for a moment, before she glanced back to Lightning as the turquoise mare just nodded to her. Twilight hesitating a little, as she looked back to Dash and sighed deeply again.
"I don't think we should go to Princess Celetsia just yet, not until we know more,"
Twilight stated as Lightning sighed a little with relief, and nodded with a slight smile, as she patted the Princess on her shoulder lightly, before she picked up her gift for Pinkie and walked over to give it to her, hoping that it would cheer her up a bit. As the pink pony had calmed down and stopped crying now, but was still clearly distraught about what had happened to her home.
"Are you sure about this Twi?" Dash asked as she now left Pinkie to Lightning and came walking over to Spike and her marefriend, wondering just why Twilight had agreed to go with what Lightning Dust had said and not go to the Princess or Royal Guard about all this just yet.
'No...I couldn't be more unsure about all this right now, but my head is hurting so much that I just want to lay down and forget what is going on for a bit,' Twilight thought as she just sighed and nodded to Dash, feeling like she had been defeated even though she wasn't completely sure just why she felt this way at the moment.
"We don't know all the facts just yet, and it's better for us to get all the information we can before we go to Princess Celestia about all this, but we definitely will find out just who is responsible, and I think it's clear judging by how much damage they've done this time, we could be dealing with more than just one culprit right now," Twilight explained still feeling so uncertain if this was the right thing to do or not, but then shaking her head as she tried her best to push all her thoughts and unanswered questions to the back of her mind for a bit.
"But we shouldn't be focusing on that right now, what matters most at the moment is that we need to help Pinkie with cleaning the bakery up," the Princess stated as she seemed to have a more determined expression now, while Dash and Spike just nodded back to her before they both soon started to work on cleaning up Pinkie's home. Lightning and Pinkie joining in as well, once the earth pony had seemed to have regained her composure, clutching the soft teddy bear that Lightning had gifted to her tightly to her chest, while she sniffled and worked to get her house tidy again before Mr and Mrs Cake would be returning.
Twilight was just about to join in the cleaning up when she glanced over to Lightning Dust, and instantly stopped dead, standing as still as possible as she felt paralysed all of a sudden, her eyes widening as the turquoise mare just stared at her coldy out of the corner of her eye.
"Twi?"
Dash tapped Twilight on the shoulder as she noticed her just standing still and wondering just what she was doing at the moment, as she brought the Princess's attention on to her now, causing Twilight to shake her head in response before turning to the cyan pegasus.
"Huh?
"You okay?" Dash asked as she looked a little concerned for her marefriend as Twilight just glanced to Lightning and saw that the turquoise mare was no longer looking to her, and was instead just working to clear away all the mess in the bakery along with Pinkie and Spike.
"Yeah...I'm fine,"
Twilight replied as she nodded to Dash and thought that maybe she just imagined what had just happened, while Dash just patted her shoulder in a comforting manner, as the Princess glanced back over to Lightning again, and sighed a little, 'I don't know what that was all about, but...I swear I could see hatred behind those golden eyes of Lightning's when she was looking at me just now,' she thought before she and Dash began to work together on helping out the others with cleaning up the bakery as well, Twilight trying not to let her own thoughts bother her right now as she just put all her focus into helping to tidy up Pinkie's home, in order to get it back to how it once was again.
....
Hours having passed, and late afternoon now settling in as the group of five had been working to get the bakery to how it used to look together, helping Pinkie Pie to clear away all the mess and Twilight using her magic to fix the smashed windows and kicked in walls. The place soon looking a lot better than it did this morning as Rainbow Dash sighed, stopping for a moment to take a quick break, while all the others continued to clean up the bakery still.
Dash looking over to her marefriend as she noticed her slowing down a little with what she was doing, and looking like she was a little distacted at the moment as something clearly seemed to be on her mind right now. Causing Dash to raise her eyebrow slightly as she wondered if she should be concerned for the Princess.
Twilight stood trying to collect her thoughts and keep them off of Lightning for the most part, but her efforts seeming to be in vain as she just couldn't seem to stop going back to the turquoise pegasus who she would glance over to every so often, 'That cold glare that she gave me...I didn't imagine it did I?' she wondered as she saw Lightning simply talking and smiling cheerfully to Pinkie as they both worked on cleaning up the earth pony's home together, leaving the Princess to still be unsure about pretty much everything that was going on right now.
'This is just all so confusing to me right now,' she sighed deeply as she stopped what she was doing and hung her head low for a few moments, her head still feeling like it was pounding as she bit her bottom lip and wished that her mind could clear for a little while and give her a break, but knowing that that wasn't very likely to happen at this point.
Dash walking over to her marefriend and tapping her shoulder to get her attention as she could see just how stressed the Princess seemed right about now, and was feeling a little worried for her. Twilight being brought out of her thoughts and looking back to Dash, shaking her head and trying to look like she wasn't being bothered by anything at the moment, when it was already obvious to the cyan pegasus that she clearly was.
"Hey are you sure you're okay Twi?" Dash asked as she was very clearly worried for the Princess, while Twilight just forced a smile and nodded back to her.
"I'm fine Dash, really," the Princess stated as she simply pecked Dash on her forehead and hoped that she could reassure her enough so that she would be left alone by the pegasus and not questioned again.
Dash however not looking convinced as she raised her eyebrow again and was just about to question her marefriend yet again, but was interrupted by Pinkie Pie and Lightning coming over and catching their attention while Spike had also stopped for a bit of a break, as he came walking over to Twilight and Dash as well now.
"You know there's not that much left to clean up, and Mr and Mrs cake will be coming back any moment now, so you all really don't have to stay here, I can do the rest by myself," Pinkie stated as she smiled to Twilight and Dash, however her offer was quickly turned down like she expected it to be.
"Pinkie we really don't mind at all- Twilight started to protest but Pinkie instantly shook her head and cut off the Princess as she stopped her from continuing on.
"Really Twilight you have all done more than enough for me, and I honestly can't thank you enough for helping me. You don't need to do anymore, and I can see just how tired you are right now, so please, you all deserve a nice, long, relaxing break," the pink earth pony didn't seem to be taking no for an answer, as she could also see how stressed Twilight was at the moment and wanted them all to go home and take the break that they all definitely deserved after all they had done for her today and last night.
Twilight felt like protesting again, but just closed her mouth as Dash rested a hoof on the Princess's shoulder and shook her head to her. Twilight looking back to Dash and sighing a little, knowing that Pinkie was right and they all did need a break right now, as she just looked defeated and nodded, giving into the pink pony's request it seemed.
"Fine, but are you sure you'll be okay here by yourself?" Twilight asked as she gave Pinkie a serious expression, letting her know that they were all here for her if she needed them at all. While Pinkie just chuckled slightly and nodded back to the Princess.
"I'll be okay Twilight, besides Mr and Mrs Cake should be home in a minute or two, so I won't be alone for very long. All of you just go, and really thank you for all that you've done for me," Pinkie smiled to all the others as she reassured Twilight that she would be just fine without them all being beside her, which in turn caused Twilight to sigh a little before she just nodded back to the earth pony with a slight returned smile.
"Very well, but know that we will definitely find out just who is responsible for all this," the Princess stated as her expression changed into one of determination, letting Pinkie know that they weren't going to just sit back and let the culprits get away with this, and would definitely be acting on it very soon.
"Yeah, and we'll most certainly make them pay for the pain they have caused us all," Dash chimed in with a smile and the same determined expression that Twilight had, while Pinkie simply just nodded to the two mares with a smile in reply, knowing that they obviously meant what they were saying right now.
Lightning Dust as this point had started heading towards the door as she stopped and glanced back to the others, her gaze being a cold stare as she looked to Twilight and Dash, before just sighing deeply and rolling her eyes a little, as she simply turned around and stood waiting for the others, now with a much more relaxed expression on her face. It not being long before they all left the bakery, Pinkie waving 'Goodbye' to them all as they headed back to the library together.
The four now all walking together as Lightning and Spike were causually talking to each other about random things, while Twilight and Dash were silent for the most point. It definitely seeming like there was still something that was clearly on the Princess's mind as she sighed again and kept her gaze directed at the ground. Currently walking at quite a slow pace, causing Dash to look at her with a concerned expression still, wondering if she should ask her how she was again, but soon just deciding she should just leave it, since she could easily guess the kind of answer that she would be getting from her marefriend.
"Hey do you all want to get together for a little while after we've all had some lunch?" Lightning asked as she caught Rainbow Dash's attention, while Twilight still seemed like she was distracted by other things at the moment.
Dash looking to her marefriend for a few moments, and could clearly see that she wasn't paying much attention to any of them right now, and so just shook her head to Lightning, "Sorry Lightning, but I think we're all a bit tired, so let's all just get some rest instead, okay?" she stated giving the other pegasus a slight smile as Lightning seemed a little disappointed, but soon just smiled back to Dash.
"Of course, we should all be taking it easy for a bit, I'll see you all tomorrow then right?" Lightning asked with her classic cheerful smile formed on her lips, as Dash and Spike just nodded to her simply in reply, before they both said 'Goodbye' to the turquoise pegasus as she soon took off into the sky and flew towards Cloudsdale, while leaving the others to continue making their way back to the library together.
Dash sighing a little as she looked to Twilight again and saw that she didn't seem to notice that Lightning had left at all, and was currently just stuck on walking home with her head still hanging low, and her gaze directed at the ground. The pegasus wanting to know just what was going on with her marefriend right now, but not wanting to push the Princess and so just silently followed Twilight back to their home with Spike leading the way in front of them both as they all made their way back to the library at a slow and steady pace together.
....
It not being all that long before the three were able to make their way back to their home together as Dash suggested that she and Spike would make a late lunch for them all, while telling Twilight to go and get a little rest and wait in her bedroom for it all to be ready, as the Princess didn't seem to protest very much this time, and instead just made her way up to her bedroom and did as she was told. Dash and Spike now standing in the kitchen as they had started to make some lunch together.
Dash sighed slightly as she thought about her marefriend and still was wondering just what was going on with her, and trying to decide if she should try to talk to her about it again or not. Spike soon noticing that the pegasus didn't seem all that focused on the food she was currently preparing right now, and could tell that Twilight was most probably causing her to seem distracted at the moment.
"You know, Twilight's probably just tired, I know I am after all that cleaning," Spike stated as he caught Dash's attention and caused her to turn to him, while she just nodded slightly in reply.
"I know...but it just seems like there's something else bothering her right now," Dash said as she still seemed a little distant, while Spike just shrugged his shoulders and went back to preparing the food for lunch, as Dash did the same but it still being obvious that her mind was preoccupied with thinking about her marefriend and just what her reason was for the way she was acting at the moment.
Meanwhile Twililght was resting up in her bedroom, lying on her bed as she looked to the bed covers and tried to sort her thoughts out a little, as she knew it wasn't good for her to focus on all this too much, and already knowing that she was causing Dash to worry over her because she was acting so distant around her.
'Just what in Equestria was Lightning Dust talking about eariler, does she honestly think that Dash would have anything to do with this sort of thing, but then why would she lie to me? Just what would she gain from that?' she questioned as her head was still hurting quite a bit, while countless unanswered questions still clouded her mind as she tried to collect all these thoughts she was having, and hopefully make them make sense to her a little.
'Even if she is telling the truth and she did see Dash at Sugarcube corner eariler on, that still doesn't mean that she could have anything to do with what happened, I mean there's no way that she would do something like that, espcially not to Pinkie Pie. I mean it's true that I don't actually know where Dash was this morning before I got up and saw her making breakfast in the kitchen, but what reason would Dash have for going to Pinkie's so early in the morning anyway?' she wondered as she seemed to be stuck on that particular thought for a few moments, before she widened her eyes and shook her head quickly.
'No, Dash isn't at fault here...I shouldn't be assuming anything until I talk to her. But why was Lightning Dust so quick to accuse her of being involved with all this? Is she really just worried for her in case she gets into trouble? Something just isn't adding up to me here, Lightning Dust started to get really worried when Dash and I mentioned going to Princess Celestia and the Royal Guard about what had happened, would she have told me about Dash being at the bakery if we hadn't brought that up I wonder,' she thought as things were still very much unclear to her about Lightning, and still feeling so confused about everything that had happened this morning. Suddenly her eyes widening again as she considered a certain thought that had entered her mind now.
'Maybe I'm looking at this wrong, maybe Lightning...maybe she isn't being truthful after all, but then why? What would be her reasoning for...' Twilight paused as she seemed to realise something, thinking back on all Lightning had told her eariler, and the way she was acting at that moment, including the glare that she remembered getting from her.
'Could we have possibly made a mistake in trusting her? What if all this time...Dash could be right about her?' she questioned feeling like she was beginning to think about this all a bit too much. Before she was suddenly dragged out of her thoughts as Dash came knocking at the door and slowly opened it as she smiled to her marefriend. Twilight's attention now on the pegasus as she looked to her, while she walked into the bedroom.
"Hey, how are you feeling Twi?" Dash asked in a caring tone as she slowly came to stand beside Twilight, hoping that her marefriend wasn't as stressed as she seemed before, after she had had sometime to herself.
"I'm okay," Twilight simply answered after a short pause as she felt like biting her lip, wondering if she should really talk to Dash about all this just yet, as the pegasus just nodded to her in reply.
"That's good, I just wanted to let you know that lunch will be ready soon, so just come down whenever you feel like it okay?" Dash smiled as she gave an softened expression to the Princess and pecked her forehead lightly, wanting to let her know that she wasn't going to pressure her into anything at all, and so just turned to leave instead of pressing like she wanted to right now.
However as she turned to head for the door, Twilight felt like she shouldn't try and work this all out by herself anymore as she knew she wasn't going to get very far by doing that, and to be honest right now she wanted another pony to help her make sense of this all, and maybe Dash could be just the pony for that.
"Wait Dash!"
Twilight raised her voice a little as she called to Dash and caught her attention, causing the pegasus to turn back to her now as she looked to the Princess with a raised eyebrow and wondered why she had suddenly stopped her from walking out the door.
But Twilight hesitated a little as she bit her bottom lip, and took a deep breath, trying to get her head straight for a moment, 'I don't know what to think of Lightning Dust right now, but if I want any of this to start making some sense to me, then I need to talk to Dash about it all,' she thought as she nodded to herself and plucked up her courage, looking back to her marefriend again as her expression turned into a serious one now.
"Twi, what is it?" Dash questioned as she tilted her head a little, and waited for the Princess to continue.
"Listen Dash...do you...do you think that we could maybe be wrong about Lightning Dust?" Twilight simply asked in a nervous tone, looking to her marefriend out of the corner of her eye, and causing Dash to just look confused now as the Princess sighed a little and finally seemed like she was going to come out with all that had been bothering her and causing her to act as distant as she had been since they all had come back from helping Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube corner.
"Listen Dash...do you...do you think that we could maybe be wrong about Lightning Dust?" Twilight asked as she looked to her marefriend with a nervous expression, bitting her lip a little and speaking in quite a low tone, while Dash simply just became more confused, rasing her eyebrow to the Princess as she looked back to her with a questioning expression.
"What do you mean Twi?" Dash seemed to be a little confused as to where Twilight was coming from right now, as she was not expecting Lightning Dust to be the cause of the Princess suddenly acting so distant around her.
"Well..." the Princess paused as she hesitated a little, letting her head fall to look back at the covers of her bed again, before she continued in a quiet tone, "Where were you this morning Dash?" she asked avoiding the pegasus's gaze as she didn't know what she was expecting to hear, and kind of felt like she didn't want to know just what her marefriend's answer would be, just in case Lightning was actually right.
But then she simply shook her head, 'Why am I getting afraid to ask Dash about this, there's no way that Lightning Dust could actually be right about it all,' she thought denying what Lightning Dust had told her eariler and refusing to believe that Dash had anything to do with what had happened to Pinkie Pie's home this morning.
"I was in the kitchen making breakfast for us all, why?"
"You didn't go to Pinkie's at all, did you?"
"No, why whould I?"
Dash was obviously still quite puzzled as she wondered just why Twilight was suddenly asking her all these questions and causing her to feel like she had missed something, while the Princess widened her eyes a little as she looked back to Dash now and seemed somewhat surprised by the pegasus's reply, just sighing slightly in return.
"I thought so,"
Twilight said to herself more than to Dash it seemed as she turned her head a little and thought for a few moments, while Dash still stood looking confused as to what was going on with her marefriend right now,'Why was I surprised to hear Dash's answer, I knew she had nothing to with what happened at Pinkie's house so...maybe I just didn't want to hear that Lightning Dust was lying to me after all. Maybe I didn't want to be wrong about her,' the Princess thought as she was relieved and gald to hear that Dash indeed had nothing to do with Pinkie's house being trashed, however there was a part of her that wanted for at least a part of Lightning's story to be true, but it seemed like she would just have to accept it and see that she had been wrong about that turquoise pegasus that had always seemed too good to be true in reality.
"Twilight just what is this all about?"
Dash asked as she walked up to Twilight and was really hoping that things would start making sense to her soon enough, and luckily it seemed like the Princess was going to explain just what was going on with her, as she now turned back to the pegasus and didn't look like she all that nervous anymore.
"Well when we were at Pinkie's helping her clean up the bakery together, Lightning Dust told me that she saw you going into Sugarcube corner this morning," Twilight explained as she seemed much more confident now that she knew she was right about Dash not being involved with what had happened, while Dash just widened her eyes and seemed a little surprised as she looked back to Twilight with a questioning expression still.
"Why would she say something like that?" Dash questioned as it was obvious that she had no idea about what Lightning had told Twilight, and definitely looked like she was being truthful at the moment, which Twilight never doubted her in being for a second.
"I don't really know, but she said she knew that she saw you, and that's apparently why she didn't want us to get Princess Celestia or the Royal Guard involvded in all this, she also said she was worried that you would get into trouble for it if they found out that you were there," Twilight stated as she was also still quite confused about why Lightning had lied to her.
"Worried that I would get into trouble? Why would she..." Dash paused as she seemed to be thinking for a moment, both her and Twilight going silent for a little while as they turned away from each other, looking like they were trying to figure out just what was going on with Lighthning right now, and what the reason behind it all was.
'Why would Lightning lie to Twilight like that?' Dash questioned as she tried to work out just what Lighting was going on about, and soon widened her eyes a little, 'Unless she...' pausing on her thought now as she wondered if she was jumping to conclusions too quickly but thought over what Lightning had told Twilight, and began to slowly put all the pieces together inside her mind, as she clenched her teeth together and glared, thinking about Lightning Dust and the way she would always act around her knowing that it always did seem off-puuting to her, the cold gaze that she had gotten from her in the past coming into her memory now, while frustration and anger were soon quickly starting to build up inside of her.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Dash raised her voice a little as she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed how foolish she had been about that pegasus who had always seemed so mysterious and suspicious to her right from the start.
"What is it Dash?"
Twilight asked as she looked to Dash with a bit of a concerned expression, seeing that she was obviously annoyed with what seemed like herself more than Lightning right now, while she guessed her marefriend had figured out just what Lightning's reason for lying might just have been.
"Isn't it obvious?" Dash gave out a slight chuckle as she hung her head low and and felt like hitting herself in the head for not realizing just what had really been going on right in front of her all this time, "That manipulative pegasus tricked us and made us look like complete fools, I knew there was something 'too cheerful' about her, and no wonder I was so sceptical about her. I can't believe how stupid I was letting myself play right into her hooves when the truth was staring at me right in the face," the pegasus exclaimed as she truly felt so betrayed and angered, at the fact that she just couldn't believe she had been so blind to what Lightning had really been planning all this time.
"I said that she was one of the rare ones, that she was different from all the other pegasi that I used to know from Cloudsdale. But it turns out that really...she's just like them," Dash sighed heavily as she somehow felt like she had been defeated, cursing under her breath over and over again as she thought about Lightning Dust, and her seemly 'too cheerful' smile realizing now just how fake it really had been.
"I trusted her...I can't believe I really came to trust her, no wonder I got such bad vibes about her," Dash's voice now turned into a low tone as she turned away from Twilight and bit her bottom lip as she felt like she had been completely beaten and played for a fool when she shouldn't have let something like that happen.
"Hey I trusted her too Dash, we were both tricked by her," Twilight stated as she quickly got up from her bed and walked over to her marefriend resting a comforting hoof on her shoulder and reassuring her that she shouldn't be blaming herself so much right now for something that they both couldn't have seen coming.
"But I should've seen it...I was clearly seeing all the warning flags, but I ignored them...why?" Dash tried to make sense of all this, trying her best to understand why she hadn't realized this sooner, knowing that there had always been something so off-putting about Lightning Dust, and now that she knew just what that something was, she couldn't quite grasp the fact that it had taken her this long to finally come to this conclusion.
"Maybe it's because you wanted to believe that she was different from all the rest. Maybe like me, you wanted to believe she was worthy of your trust," Twilight thought out loud as she gave Dash a slight smile, while the pegasus looked back to her with slightly widened eyes, seeing the worried expression that the Princess had, and letting another heavy sigh leave her lips as she moved closer to Twilight and came to rest her head on her marefriend's shoulder, her head pounding as she felt like she needed to collect her thoughts right now.
Twilight softened her expression as she wrapped her hooves around Dash and held her close, sighing a little as she narrowed her eyes when thinking about Lightning as she still had so many questions about her, but then just shaking her head as she knew she had to focus on her marefriend right now, as she soon led the cyan pegasus over to her bed as they lay down together.
Twilight nuzzling into Dash as she tried to comfort the pegasus and cause her to calm her raw emotions a little, while Dash just lay nuzzling Twilight back as she tried and to clear her mind, but it just becoming more and more clouded as the moments passed, closing her magenta eyes as she rested her head on the Princess's front hooves and sighed softly as she felt Twilight rest a wing over her back a moment later, and peck her lightly on her forhead, waiting till she had settled down a bit it seemed.
The two mares staying lying cuddled together for what seemed like quite a while as they both stayed silent, neither of them making any sound, and letting the time just slip by as Dash sighed a little, feeling Twilight's hoof stroking her rainbow mane and running along her back softly, causing her body to relax under the Princess's tender touch.
'I can't believe I let myself fall into this trap of hers, I thought I could trust her, but I was wrong, I was so wrong. She lied to Twilight, but for what, to try get me into trouble, to make Twi question her trust about me maybe?' Dash asked herself as she felt like she had calmed down now, but still had quite a few unanswered questions, knowing that Lightning wasn't trustworthy and had been playing her for a fool all this time, but unsure of exactly why that was, 'Just what was her motive for doing all this?' the pegasus wondered as she slowly lifted her head and caused Twilight to stop what she was doing as she just looked to her marefriend with a concerned expression now.
"What do you want to do Dash?"
The Princess asked in a nervous tone, as she wasn't sure what they should do about all this with Lightning, or if they should do anything at all and just leave things alone for a bit. But that didn't seem to be the case as Dash narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to not let her anger get the better of her, since she had just gotten over her shock from realising Lightning's betrayal, she didn't want that shock to turn into a thirst for revenge without having all the infomation that she still felt she needed.
"I don't want to do this, but I feel like I need to go and see her,"
Dash stated as she spoke in a lower tone, as her mind was still so clouded with questions about Lightning, as she felt like she didn't know what to think of her anymore, she knew she couldn't trust her after all, but she needed to know just why the pegasus had done all of this to her and Twilight, and hopefully the things that were confusing her right now, would be made sense of.
"Are you sure?"
Twilight still seemed a little worried as she didn't know how rationally Dash would act after seeing Lightning again, and wondered if she should really let her go or not, since she had no idea just what would happen once the two pegasi would have met up again. However Dash now seemed determined to sort this out as she simply turned to Twiligt with a serious expression and nodded her head in reply to the Princess.
"I still have quite a lot of questions about Lightning, like what her motive was for doing all this, why she lied to you about her seeing me at Pinkie's this morning, why she put up this act and tried to earn our trust, and what would she gain from tricking us like this," the pegasus explained as she knew she wasn't going to get the answers that she wanted unless she went to go and see Lightning Dust, so that was really the only option she felt she had right now.
"After all I can't just sit back and try to figure this all out for myself, when Lightning could be planning something that we don't yet know about right now," Dash added as Twilight sighed a little and nodded her head, knowing that she had a few of her own questions about Lightning, and seeing that this was the decision that Dash had come to, guessed that she wouldn't be changing her mind about it anytime soon either.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Twilight was kind of hoping that Dash would say 'yes', so she could be there to give her support and encouragement plus answer some questions of her own, but that didn't seem like something the pegasus was willing to let happen as she simply shook her head in reply to the Princess.
"No Twi, my best guess is that Lightning is up in Cloudsdale at the moment, and if you went up there now...well I think Lightning would be the least of our worries. When I went back up there it reminded me so much of how I first felt when trying to be civil around the ponies in Ponyville back when I first met you and decided to change my ways. Everypony staring at me with glares, and stern looks, the only thing was that they used to be the pegsi that I used to call my friends. So if they were like that with seeing me again...I don't think I want to see what they will be like upon seeing you again after what happened," Dash denied Twilight's offer as she obviously didn't want the Princess coming with her for her own sake, not wanting to trouble her with more than just what was going on with Lightning Dust right now, while Twilight widened her eyes a little, not realising at first but starting to see that Dash just might be correct that if she did choose to go up to Cloudsdale it could just cause more trouble to arise for the both of them.
"But Dash..."
Twilight paused as Dash just shook her head to her again, even though she could clearly see Dash's reasoning for refusing to let her come, she still protested as she didn't want her marefriend going to face this all by herself, but at the same time she knew there may be more waiting for her and Dash that they would both need to consider if she did happen to go with her.
"I know Twi, but it's not safe for you to go up there just yet, so just stay here with Spike okay?" Dash rested a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, giving her a reassuring expression, before quickly standing up from the bed, and going out onto the balcony, with Twilight rushing after her.
"Wait Dash!"
The Princess called after her marefriend as Dash just turned back to her for a moment and caused her to widen her eyes a little, as she could see the determined expression that the pegasus now had, while she walked closer to her and gave her a light peck on the forehead.
"It'll be fine Twi, I'll be back soon okay,"
Dash replied as she gave a small smile to Twilight, and nodded to the Princess, while she still seemed not all that convinced that everything would go down all that well with Lightning, clearly wanting to come along, but Dash refusing to let her do so, as the cyan pegasus soon said 'Goodbye' and took off into the sky, leaving Twilight to just sit on the balcony watching her marefriend go with a heavy sigh leaving her lips, as she hoped for the best, even though she couldn't really see things going that way for Dash unfortunately.
....
Flying though the sky Dash was making her way to her hometown at a somewhat fast pace, still having a determined expression on her face, as she flew with intent to go and talk with Lightning Dust, and hopefully get the answers that she was looking for.
Soon seeing the entrance to Cloudsdale and slowing down a little as she sighed slightly when remembering how she felt when she first came back here not too long ago, those feelings causing her to be a bit afraid to keep going, but then quickly shaking her head as she knew she had more pressing matters to deal with right now, and she shouldn't let her own fears and worries get the better of her.
Nodding to herself as she picked up speed again and headed straight for the entrance, not hesitating anymore as she flew up through the bunch of fluffy, white clouds, and entered the floating city. Starting to feel a little apprehensive as she slowed her speed again upon entering her hometown, already seeing other pegasi notcing her and looking over to her with stern glares, as she tried her best to avoid them all and not take any notice, knowing that she needed to focus on what she had come here for. Biting her bottom lip as she began searching for Lightning Dust, looking all around while she was really hoping that she wouldn't have to ask anyone for help, not thinking she could cope with doing something like that at the moment.
However luckily it seemed like she didn't have to do that, as after only a few minutes of looking around the city, she was able to see the back of a familiar turquoise pegasus with a golden mane, stopping to look again and make sure she was actually seeing the pony she was looking for, and then nodded to herself as she swallowed the lump that she could feel growing in her throat, flying over to the other mare while she tried to keep the feeling of anger building up inside of her at by, noticing that it was much stronger now that she had seen Lightning again.
Plucking up her courage as she slowly flew over to the turquoise pegasus and called to her once she was close enough to her, catching her attention, as Lightning widened her eyes when she turned her head to see the cyan mare hovering just behind her, and instantly turned around, tliting her head to the side while she looked to Dash with a confused expression.
"Oh hey Rainbow Dash, what are you doing here, is Twilight okay?" she simply asked, that classic cheerful smile of her's forming onto her lips, and causing Dash to clench her teeth together tightly upon seeing that smile again, and not getting how she hadn't seen how fake it actually looked now that it semed so forced to her right at this moment.
"Twilight is fine..."
Dash raised her voice a little as she tried to keep a better handle on her anger that she could feel boiling up inside of her, knowing that making a scene was the last thing she needed right now, as she took a deep breath and spoke in a lower tone, causing Lightning to wonder just what was going on with her right now.
"Listen we need to talk alright," she stated giving the other pegasus a serious expression, while Lightning simply replied with a small nod as she seemed to be wondering what was making Dash look so on edge all of a sudden.
"Okay, sure,"
Lightning agreed as Dash just led the other pegasus to a more secluded part of the city, where not many of the other citizens would see them, and sighed heavily, while Lighting just stood on the cloud they had both flew over to, and raised her eyebrow to the cyan mare, as she was still clearly confused about just what was going on right now.
"Rainbow Dash, just what is this all about?"
The turquoise mare asked as she watched Dash lift her head up a little and turn round to face her as she still seemed to have a very serious expression on her face, giving Lightning the impression that her gaze could actually be one of warning as it was beginning to make her quite uneasy right now, as she had to turn away slightly from the other mare, while Dash began to collect her thoughts for a moment, working out just what she was going to say and how she was going to go about this now that she was alone with Lightning.
Nodding to herself now as she looked to Lightning's curious expression and hesitated a little, then shaking her head, not letting the other pegasus get to her and brushing off her nerves, her expression staying as a serious one as she lowered her tone and narrowed her eyes slightly, "Why did you lie to Twilight?" she asked, already guessing how Lightning would reply as she waited for her to respond.
Lightning didn't reply at first as she just continued to look confused still, widening her eyes a little as she seemed to know just what Dash was talking about, but letting it seem like she didn't know how to answer the other mare, while Dash just gave her a slightly raised eyebrow in return.
"What do you mean?" Lightning questioned as she tilted her head to the side again, not seeming to let anything show on her face, as Dash couldn't actually tell if the other pegasus was actually being sincere right now, or was just playing her for a fool yet again.
'She's a damn good actor, I know that,' Dash thought as she just clenched her teeth again, still feeling so unsure on just how she should feel about the pegasus that was standing right in front of her, the other mare certainly not making it easy to notice anything that was off about her at the moment, after all although her cheerful smile was a bit of a give away her curious looking expression was hardly giving anything away other than making it actually seem like she was confused by what was going on right now.
"What do you think? You told Twilight that you saw me going into Pinkie's bakery this morning, when in fact I hadn't left the library at all, why would you think that I had anything to do with what had happened there?" Dash explained as now she began to see something change in the other pegasus, and saw Lightning widen her eyes a little, her expression slightly changing, but it still making Dash feel uncertain as the turquoise pegasus just continued to act like she was oblivious still.
"You mean that wasn't you? I could've sworn I saw you, but my mistake I guess, I must have just seen somepony else," Lightning simply stated with another one of her cheerful smiles, causing Dash to just grimace in return, "Although I don't think there are many pegasi that have a bright blue coat, and a distinctive rainbow coloured mane like you do," the turquoise pegasus just shrugged with a slight chuckle, before she slightly turned away from Dash and let a small smirk tug at her lips, causing the other mare to widen her eyes, realizing now that she was only able to notice Lightning's little act, when in fact the other mare wanting her to know.
"Cut the act already will you," Dash now glared as she caused Lightning to just turn back to her, that cheerful smile definitley seeming fake as Dash guessed that that was exactly what Lightning wanted her to see right at this moment.
"What act?"
The other mare asked, her cheerful smile soon changing and causing Dash's blood to boil with anger. Lightning now letting a smirk form on her lips as she simply raised an eyebrow to the cyan pegasus, and waited to see just how Dash would reply to her. Her normal innocent demeanor seeming to be completely fading now.
"So you really were just playing with Twilight and me all this time weren't you? I knew there was something I just couldn't trust about you, I should have stuck to my instincts about you, you never did want to make a chnage did you?" Dash now looked to Lightning with a stern expression, the other mare's act seeming to be almost completely droped, as she just smirked back to the cyan mare and shrugged her shoulders a moment later.
"I'm actually surprised it took you both this long figure me out, although I did give a little away, I kinda expected you to find me out a lot sooner than this," Lightning simply stated, as she more or less was just proving Dash right, and it was obvious that she was acting like her true self now, as it seemed like she was a completely different pony, from the cheerful one that Dash thought she knew.
"Although I am glad that you finally worked it out, my cheeks were starting hurt from smiling so much, and the fact that I had to act all polite to those ponies of Ponyville was something I really hated doing. Not to mention that I actually had to talk to the rest of Cloudsdale so that they would just avoid you rather than ambush you with questions and all that, like you were probably expecting them to once you came back here," Lightning explained as she seemed to just be thinking out loud now, rubbing her cheeks as she was glad that she wouldn't have to keep forcing those cheerful smiles anymore.
"You told the rest of Cloudsdale to act like they currently do torwards me?" Dash questioned, her eyes widening as although she did expect a little more than just stern glares and whispers about her from the other pegasi, she was still surprised to hear that Lightning had been the cause of all the other pegasi not bothering her about her and Twilight or anything, like she first thought they would when she returned back to Cloudsdale again.
"Well who else do you think got them to only give you a couple of glares and judging stares? Do you really think that that would be all they would do if I hadn't talked to them first?" Lightning simply asked as she could see Dash getting more and more angry at her, and it being clear that she was enjoying this, feeling quite proud of herself that she had been able to fool both Twilight and Dash for this long, without them finding her out at all.
Dash could feel her rage raising up inside of her, barely keeping a hold of it as her blood boiled and her mind was telling her to stop holding back and do exactly what her emotions of anger were telling her to do right now. Hanging her head low a she let out a long sigh and bit her bottom lip in frustation, "Why..." she spoke in a whispered tone, causing Lightning to just raise her eyebrow to her in return.
"Why what?"
"Why did you lie to Twilight? Were you trying to get me into trouble, or were you just testing her?" Dash asked as she now lifted her head back up and let Lightning see the death glare she was giving her right now, while the other mare just chuckled slightly in response, wondering if she was meant to find that look threatening or not.
"Well testing her was the orginal plan, I thought that maybe she would question how well she actually knew and trusted you, then I could have apporached this in a much different why, but that doesn't seem to be the case since she talked to you about it all so soon, she must really love you. And to be honest really I just told Twilight about you being at the bakery so that I wouldn't get into any trouble," Lightning explained as she simply shurgged her shoulders and caused Dash to seem a little confused for a moment, before she soon caught onto just what the other mare was hinting at and widened her eyes now.
"You're...the one that trashed Pinkie's house, aren't you? That's why you were so against Twilight and I getting the Princess and Royal Guard involved in what had happened, you were just doing that to safe your own skin. So did you trash the library as well?" Dash could feel her hooves shaking as she felt like she could just punch that annoying smirk off of Lightning's face, hating how she was toying with her right now, knowing that she was trying to make her mad, and so kept reminding herself to not lose her composure like Lightning obviously wanted her to.
"Well making a mess out of the library was easy enough for me to do alone, but I did have a little bit of help with Sugar cube corner," Lightning smiled slyly as she caused Dash to look back to her with a questioning expression, before she heard hoof-steps come from behind and beside her. Looking all around her as before she knew it she was surrounded by other pegasi, all crowding around her as they all looked to her with stern glares, it not being long for Dash to recognise them all as being the pegasi that Lightning had introduced her to a few days ago, guessing that they all were in on this plan of Lightning's and had been lying to her as well.
Dash now letting her head fall again as she felt like attacking Lightning and making her pay for all that she had done, and all the pain she had caused, but kept a handle on herself, as she still didn't yet know what the mare's motive was for doing all the things that she had, "You manipulated us, you tricked us into trusting you, making Twilight and me believe that you were different from all the rest, you trashed our house as well as Pinkie's and then tried to frame me for it. Why? Why did you do all this? We trusted you, we really trusted you, so why? Just what do you have to gain from getting us to trust you, if you were eventually just going to betray that trust?" Dash asked as she looked back to Lightning again, having nothing but pure hatred burning in her eyes, while just causing the other mare to chuckle again in reply.
"That's a scary face, and it's really simple actually. I wanted to see if I could gain your's and the Princess's trust, so that I could eventually see if Twilight would question your trust at all, and possibly then she would leave you. So that I could ask you one simple question, but since things didn't turn out that way, I guess asking you this way will have to do for now," Lightning explained, just causing Dash to become confused as she looked back to the turgquoise mare with a slight questioning expression now.
"What do you mean, what question?" Dash raised her voice as she was tired of Lightning giving her the run around about all this, and just wanted her to tell finally tell her just what her reason was for doing all that she had.
Lightning simply went silent for a moment and smirked to Dash, before speaking again, "Dash you've been spending too much time with that Princess, she's changed you, and made you soft, that's why I wanted to get away from her so that I could ask that if you had the choice to either come back home to Cloudsdale, or stay with Twilight in Ponyville, which one would you choose?" she asked, raising her eyebrow a little as she wondered just how Dash would answer her, while the cyan mare still seemed somewhat confused about what Ligtning was asking her right now.
"Which one would I choose?" she repeated, looking like she was thinking for a moment, while Lightning and all the other pegasi just smirked to her in reponse.
"You told me that you missed your home, and wanted to come back to it again someday, so you have a choice here, either you choose to stay in Cloudsdale and you can go back to your home just like you've been wanting, we could even talk to the other pegasi and get them all to treat you like how they used to. Or...you could stay with Twilight in Ponyville, never to return to your hometown ever again," Lightning explained as she causeed Dash to now widen her eyes, as she was suddenly presented with the kind of decision that she never thought she would have to make, choose either her home over the one she loved, or the other way around.
"What?" the cyan pegasus questioned as she looked to Lightning with a surprised expression, and kind of getting the feeling that there something more to this plan of her's, which she wasn't yet telling her about.
"It's a simple choice really, just go for the one you really want," Lightning replied with one of her signature cheerful smiles, while all the other pegasi and her just waited to hear what Dash's choice would be.
"And what if I don't want to choose," Dash asked with a raised eyebrow, as she had a fair idea that Lightning had something else she was planning right now.
"Well if you can't make a decision, then we'll simply just choose for you," Lightning simply answered with another smirk, as Dash widened her eyes a little and bit her bottom lip, having no idea right now just how she was going to make this decision that was suddenly being presented in front of her.
'I have to choose...well of course I love Twilight so this should be simple, but...would that mean that I would never get the chance to return to my home ever again?' Dash questioned, seeming like she was having conflicted feelings at the moment, knowing that she loved Twilight and never wanted to leave her, but at the same time Lightning was right, she did really miss her cloud home, and had been hoping to come back to it again eventually one day. Sighing heavily as she wondered just how she was going to have any luck in making this sort of choice that pretty much seemed impossible to her right now.
Rainbow gritting her teeth together tightly as she bit her bottom lip a little, wondering just how she was going to be able to make this choice knowing that she would never ever want to leave Twilight, but that would mean she could never return to her homeever again, and while it was true that Cloudsdale no longer felt like it was her actual home anymore, she would be lying if she said that she didn't want to feel like it was her home again, after all she had been missing it ever since she had to leave in order for her and Twilight to be safe together.
"Come on Rainbow Dash it's a very simple choice, just pick one,"
Lightning Dust smiled as she and all the other pegasi were just waiting to hear what Dash's answer would be, all of them giving the cyan mare slight smirks causing, and Dash to feel uneasy as she guessed there was something lying in wait behind those sly smirks that would soon reveal itself once she had made her decision.
"Why...why do I have to make this choice? Can't I just pick both?" Dash asked as she looked to Lightning again, giving her a glare and raising an eyebrow to her trying to not show her just how uneasy and conflicted she felt at this moment, while the turquoise mare just widened her smirk slightly, clearly seeing that nervous expression that the cyan mare was trying to hide from her right now.
"Because we need to know if you are on our side or not," Lighting stated, causing Dash to just look to her confused for a moment.
"If I am on your side? What do you mean?" Dash questioned, causing Lightning to just chuckle in reply, which made Dash glare to her again.
"Did you really think we would stop once we were found out?" Lightning raised her eyebrow now, taking a step closer to Dash, "You see Dash simply trashing the library and Pinkie Pie's bakery was merely just the start of what we have planned for that vile town that live below us, we'll make them all feel just as targerted as we did when we were down there with them," the turquoise mare explained as she raised her voice a little and caused all the others to cheer in response, showing that they all most certainly were willing to go along with this plan as well.
Dash wideing her eyes a little as she now seemed completely lost by what Lightning had just said, 'Targeted? Just what is Lightning talking about?' she wondered as she clearly had no idea what Lightning seemed to be going on about right now, "What are you talking about? The ponies in Ponyville were always very humble and welcoming to us when we first came to live above them, we were the ones that just couldn't accept them," she stated as she remembered the ponies of Ponyville always being so kind to them all, only guessing that some of the pegasi from Couldsdale didn't like them because they didn't want to get along with them and liked to cause trouble simply for the fun of it all.
Lightning now being the one to widen her eyes a little, before she just smiled and simply shook her head, "Dash if you honestly think that we were the only ones at fault for this feud then you don't know just how wrong you are. And although it may be true that some of the poines from Ponyville aren't all that bad, not all of them are like that," she stated, causing Dash to just tlit her head to the side, while she was obviously still very much confused about what exactly Lightning was talking about at the moment.
"Anyway enough about that, just how long are you going to keep us waiting Dash, don't you need to return to your precious Princess? Unless you want to stay up here, I mean it is where you really belong," Lightning changed the subject, not seeming to like staying on the topic of Ponyville for long, while causing Dash to become uneasy again, seeing that she couldn't stall for much longer, as it seemed like Lightning and the others were getting impatient to hear her answer, the cyan mare just glaring again as she felt her anger building up inside of her.
"You don't know me or where I truly belong, so don't go acting like you do," she stated raising her voice a little, and just causing Lightning to simply smirk at her again in reply.
"Then tell me, where do you believe you belong? At your home with all of us, or in Ponyville with the Princess?" Lightning asked, as she had a feeling she knew how Dash was going to answer her.
"Where do I believe I belong?" Dash repeated as she hung her head and seemed to be thinking for a moment, thinking of her marefriend and all that they had been through together, then trying to remember what her life used to be like when she was living in Cloudsdale still, that time seeming so far away from now.
Sighing slightly as she just shook her head, "If you asked me where I feel the most safest, and where I feel the happiest, then that's easy. I'd pick Twilight of course, she's the one I belong with," the cyan mare now answered looking more confident as she showed just how sure she was of what she was saying right now.
Dash's reply just causing Lightning to widen her grin again, "So that's your answer then, you're picking that Princess over your home?" she asked, causing Dash to just think for a moment more, before nodding her head in response.
"I guess I am, after all if Cloudsdale is just filled with pegasi like you, then I know I'd much rather feel more at home while I was with Twilight then here," she decided, knowing that she would miss her home, but this city didn't really feel like it was her home anymore, plus she knew that if both happened to be taken away from her, she would definitely miss being with Twilight so much more then the possibility of living in her own hometown once again, after all she couldn't imagine just what her life would be like without the lavender Princess being right there beside her.
'I thought so,' Lightning's smirk just widened again as she walked closer to Dash and shrugged her shoulders in reply, "Very well if you truly want to live down there with the Princess then you do realise that you can't come back at all correct?" she asked, causing Dash to just nod back to her, knowing that by deciding this she would no longer be able to return to her cloud home ever again, but truthfully if she had choosen to stay in Cloudsdale then losing Twilight would have felt like a much bigger loss to her, and one that she couldn't bear to live without.
"I know that there's going back now, and this is the decision that I have made,"
The cyan pegasus replied looking to Lightning with a determined expression as she knew just what she was going to do once she was thrown out of Cloudsdale, guessing that that's most likely what Lightning and the others would do, but being sure that she would find justice for herself, Twilight and Pinkie Pie, knowing that she had to stop Lightning and the other pegasi before they got any further with their plans.
"Good," Lightning simply nodded back with another one of her cheerful, beaming smiles, causing Dash to just glare back to her, as the turquoise pegasus soon smirked once again, "Hold her down!" she intructed as she signalled for the other pegasi surrounding Dash to now act, as Dash widening her eyes, unfortunately not having any time to react as she was pounced on by the other pegasi and held to the cloud floor that they were currently all standing on.
"Hey, what are you- Dash exclaimed as she felt herself being push down on to the cloud floor, her wings and legs being held down by the other pegasi surrounding her, gritting her teeth as she tried to struggle and get free, but there being too many holding her down as she just paused, bearing her teeth when she heard Lightning's voice again.
"Do you see now why I couldn't go after you Dash? I could see how much you really love Twilight, so I knew that there would be no way you would choose to believe me over her, that's exactly why I went after Twilight instead, thinking that maybe since you wouldn't ever leave her, maybe I could get her to leave you instead, or maybe get her to make you leave her, but it seems like she loves you just as much as you love her. You two really are perfect for each other I must say," Lightning explained as she now leaned down to Dash and smiled to her, lowering her voice a little as it seemed like there was now a certain look in her golden eyes, a look that Dash could now finally see the intention of.
'This is what she wanted, she wanted me to choose to stay with Twilight, but then I guess if I had choosen to stay here in Cloudsdale it would have worked in Lightning's favour anyway, after all it seems like there was no good choice that I could've made here really,' Dash thought as she widened her eyes a little and could see just what the other pegasi had been waiting for, and now she had let herself fall into Lightning Dust's trap yet again.
"You're gonna pay for all that you have done Lightning, If you think I'm just going to sit back and watch as you carry out this 'plan' of yours, then you can think again," the cyan mare stated as she looked to Lightning with pure hatred in her magenta eyes, burning with fury, however the turquoise pegasus just smirking still as she nodded to the other pegasi who were all holding down Dash and preventing her from getting back up.
"Well that's exactly why we're going to stop you from doing anything now that you know the truth, after all since you're going to be staying in Ponyville then..." Lightning pausing as she walked closer to Dash and rested both of her font hooves on the cyan mare's wings, the other peagsi holding them strenched out for her, while she soon stomped down on just where Dash's wings were connected to her back and trod on them over and over again, causing Dash to scream out in pain as her wings began to throb.
"...you won't need these wings anymore right?" Lightning questioned as she simply chukled and continued to stomp on the base of Dash's wings causing intense pain to rocket through her veins, feeling herself shaking as she could soon feel the other pegai joining in and all having a go at trampling on her wings and beating her legs so that she would no longer be able to stand on them.
"STOP! S-S-STOP! PLEASE!"
Dash cried out from the immense pain that was rushing through her body, begging Lightning and the others to stop, but her pleas all seeming to be in vain as they were all just ignored her as she was beaten over and over again, soon feeling tears welling up in her eyes, as she thought of crying out louder for help.
"Oh Dash, we really can't have you being that loud now can we?" Lightning stopped for a moment, causing the others to all pause as well, as Dash tried to get back her breath, feeling all four of her legs throbbing with pain, and her wings were even worse, unsure if she could even move them at all at the moment. Bitting her bottom lip from the pain as she sighed heavily and glared to Lightning, while the turquoise mare just continued to smirk back at her.
"Y-You'll pay...for this,"
She whispered out, struggling to stand, as she wanted to fight back, but before she could do anything more, the other pegasi we holding her down yet again, looking to Lightning's annoying smirk as the last thing she saw was the front hooves of the turquoise pegasus lifting high in the air, and coming down to land on her head, knocking her out cold, while the other pegasi carried on beating her and stomping on her wings as the cyan mare's vision soon went blurry and she quickly lost her fading consciousness.
....
Hours seeming to have passed as Rainbow Dash stirred awake, the feeling of cold air brushing past her and blowing through her mane and waking her up as she blinked a couple of times, and slowly lifted her head, seeing that she was now laying on cold grass, her body feeling sore all over while she looked around at the darkness and guessing it was now late evening.
'It's so dark, where...where am I?' she questioned looking all around, before wincing in pain, looking to her throbbing wings and trying to move them, but being unable to as she couldn't even strench them out properly as they hurt so much so that she thought they might actually just be broken, although she hoped that wasn't true.
'I...need to get up,' Dash sighed as she took her mind off her badly bruised wings for a moment, feeling beaten all over while she struggled to her hooves, almost falling back down as she tried to keep her balance, her mind feeling fuzzy and it seeming like she could soon lose consciousness yet again, as she now stood up and swayed a little, looking around at her surroundings again and widening her eyes slightly.
'Lightning and the others must have left me here after they were done beating me to a pulp,' she thought as she recognised where she was as being the out-skirts of Ponyville, slowly stumbling as it hurt to move her legs, her hooves feeling so sore right now, but pushing herself to move forward as she gritted her teeth and struggled to stay standing up-right.
'Just how long was I out for? it was still daylight when I was knocked out by Lightning right?' the cyan mare wondered as she slowly started to walk towards the little town of Ponyville, trying her best to not fall over as she continued to stagger, her legs shaking while pain was still rushing through her veins, breathing heavily as she just knew she had to keep going, she had to get back to Twilight.
'At least Lightning and the others were nice enough to leave me just outside of Ponyville,' she thought to herself as she was soon able to walk into Ponyville, her legs still shaking and trembling as she looked around the small town with a determined expression, feeling like she could collapse at any moment, and having to lean up against a tree, while she tried to catch her breath, and held her head. Her vision starting to go blurry again, then shaking her head as she knew she couldn't lose consciousness again, not now.
'Come on Rainbow Dash, keep going...I need to get to her...I need to get to Twilight...' she thought nodding to herself, pushing off from the tree, but still feeling so dizzy as her legs felt like they could give way, knowing that it most likely wasn't good for her to be pushing her wounded body like this, but she also knew that she just couldn't stop here when there were much more pressing matters on her mind that she had to tend to.
Being a little unsure of just how long she could keep going for, as she looked to the direction that the library was in, knowing that she still had quite a distance to go yet, and her legs were just begging her to stop and take a rest, as they ached and throbed with every small step forward, the pain in her wings starting to become unbareable as she sighed and looked back to them again, seeing that they could really do with a preening, but more than that it was obvious that they needed to treated as they hung down from her back dragging along the grass while intense pain was still rushing through them.
'I hurt all over...and my wings...could Lightning really have broken them?' Dash questioned as she decided to give herself a small break, sitting down on the grass and shivering from the cold, 'Just how am I going to get back to Twilight like this?' she wondered as it even pained her just to stay sitting still, so she really didn't see herself being able to walk the rest of the way to the library, and flying was way out of the question with the terrible state that her wings were in at the moment.
However she refused to give up just yet, as she knew she had to make it back to Twilight, she couldn't let Lightning get away with all that she had done, and she felt like she would have no one to blame but herself if she wasn't able to put a stop to things before Lightning's plans progressed anymore than they already had.
Slowly standing up and wobbling a little, before moving one hoof in front of the other, constandly pushing herself to just keep walking, while her legs continued to ache and throb, the splitting pain her wings letting itself being know to her, and it just never seeming to subside at all, in fact as she kept walking she was sure that the pain in her wings was getting even worse, plus her head was also starting to hurt now, causing her to stumble again while trying to keep herself from falling over. Then suddenly she heard a familiar voice as she lifted her head up a little and sighed with slight relief, recognizing Applejack now coming over to her, while she called out her name in a worried voice.
"Rainbow Dash!"
The farm pony came running over as she could see just how beat up the pegasus was right now, and wondered just how she had gotten like this, looking Dash over as she saw her body covered in injures, her legs all badly briused and looking sore, while her wings surly looking like they had gotten the most beating, seeming like they were slightly out of place, and it was obvious that Dash couldn't move them at all.
"What happened to you?"
Applejack asked as she looked concerned to the pegasus, definitely seeing that she needed help right now, however unsure of just what to do, as she could see Dash swaying slightly, causing her to worry that she would soon collapse if she didn't do something.
"I...I need to get to...get to Twi-Twilight...have to...warn her..." Dash struggled to speak as she breathed heavily, feeling so tired and weak at the moment, she wasn't sure just how long she would be able to last before she would end up falling unconscious again.
"Wow there,"
Applejack caught Dash as she fell forward, letting the pegasus lean on her and rest her head on her shoulder, seeing that she clearly wanted to get to the library right now, and so just sighing a little as she wrapped one hoof around Dash's shoulders and held her up, helping her to walk as she encouraged her to put most of her weight on her.
"Come on Dash, I'll take you to Twilight,"
The farm pony stated as she gave Dash an understanding expression, while the pegasus just nodded her head slowly, knowing she wouldn't be able to make her way back to the library by herself while she was in this state, letting her body lean against Applejack, as she helped her to slowly make it the rest of the way to the Golden Oak library, Dash only hoping that she hadn't been keeping Twilight waiting too long, as she could easily guess how worried she would be for her right now.
....
Meanwhile back at the library Twilight was still out on the balcony, waiting for Dash to return to her as she was told to do, staring up at the star-speckled above her, wishing that her marefriend would come flying to her soon enough. Unsure of exactly how much time had passed since the pegasus had left, but certain that she had been sitting in this same spot for what seemed like an awfully long time now, her rear end starting to feel numb for staying in the same position for so long, but not wanting to move at all just in case Dash was on her way back at the moment and she might only have a little bit longer to keep waiting for her.
"Twilight?"
The Princess jumped as she heard a voice, only to realise that it was Spike's and quickly just turned her head and looked to the young dragon, while he came walking out onto the balcony, coming to stand beside Twilight as he looked back to her with a worried expression.
"You're still out here? Rainbow Dash hasn't come back yet?" he asked the Princess having told him that Dash had left for Cloudsdale to talk to Lightning a little earlier as Twilight just shook her head in reply, causing Spike to wonder if maybe he should get the Princess out of the cold and try and take her mind off of how things might just be going with Dash up in Cloudsdale right now, but his train of thought was soon interrupted by Twilight's voice.
"I should have gone with her, she's been gone for too long now, what if something happened to her?" Twilight questioned her voice having a worrying tone to it, seeming like she was starting to panic, as she wondered just where Rainbow Dash was, and why she wasn't back yet. Spike seeing just how worried for her marefriend Twilight was at the moment, and trying to think of something to say that would hopefully reassure the Princess that it would all be fine, when in truth there was no way for him to know if that was true or not.
"Don't worry Twilight, I'm sure she'll be back soon,"
The young dragon said with a nervous smile on his face, hoping that there was some way that she could help Twilight stay positive, but to be honest Spike himself was beginning to get a little worried as well, after all Rainbow Dash had been gone for a good few hours, plus it was now had been a while since the sun went down and was replaced with the moon and stars, thinking that the cyan mare would have made it back before it got dark.
Twilight not seeming convinced at all as she just sighed and looked to the dark night sky again, her mind rushing with thoughts of just what could have happened in order to have stopped Dash from coming back, and kind of hoping that all of them were wrong as she only wanted Dash to be here beside her right now, instead of having to be on the balcony waiting for her marefriend while she had no idea just what the pegasus could be doing at this moment.
Spike wrecking his brain as he tried to think of something more to say, but seeming to be drawing a blank, as nothing he thought of would be able to distract Twilight for long, and would most likely have no effect on just how much she was worrying at the moment.
However a rather loud knocking at the front door causing Spike to be dragged out of his thoughts, and Twilight to widen her eyes a little, as they both looked to each other for a moment, before hearing more knocks and quickly leaving the balcony to go and see who was at the door when it was getting this late.
The two walking down the staircase together as they came to answer the door, Twilight opening the door with her magic, and instantly being greetted by Applejack who walked into the library, pulling a badly wounded Rainbow Dash out of the cold and quickly lying her down on to the library floor.
"Applejack, what happened to Rainbow Dash?"
Spike asked as both he and Twilight were clearly very surprised to see the cyan pegasus in this beaten and panting state. The Princess quickly rushing to her marefriend's side as she looked to her with a worried expression, while Dash tried to slow her breathing down, glad to be back with Twilight as she coughed and sighed with relief once she had returned to her beloved marefriend.
"I don't know, I saw her staggering around Ponyville like this when I was packing up my apple stall and getting ready to go home, but she wouldn't tell me what had happened, only that she needed to see Twilight and warn her about something, so I thought I bring her here," Applejack expalined as she quickly went to go and find some cushions for Dash to rest her wounded legs on, coming back a few moments later and proping the pegasus's legs on the soft cushions while Dash winced in pain from having her throbbing limbs moved.
Twilight coming to sit down beside her marefriend as she now looked to her with a concerned expression, "Dash what happened?" she asked the question that all three of them wanted to find the answer to, as Dash just took a deep breath and looked back to Twilight with a serious expression now.
"Lightning lied to us all, she played us for complete fools, and now she plans to come after Ponyville," Dash explained causing the other three to all widen their eyes in surprise, Applejack seeming like she was a little lost for words, while Spike was kind of the same, and Twilight just soon recovered and gritted her teeth in response.
"What do you mean, what is she planning to do?" Spike asked after a few moments, while Twilight and Applejack continued to stay quiet, as Dash just shrugged her shoulders in reply.
"Whatever it is, it can't be anything good I imagine," the pegasus replied causing Spike and Applejack to just look back to her with confused expressions, Twilight catching their attention as she couched down beside Dash and gave her another concerned look.
"Dash..." she spoke up as she paused now, seeming to realize something, having a look of horror in her eyes as she looked over Dash's wounded body, and reached out her hoof to rest on one of the pegasus's badly beaten wings, causing Dash to whince slightly in response, "Did Lightning Dust do this to you?" she asked in a lower voice, while Dash just turned her head away from her for a moment and bit her bottom lip.
"Never mind that, we need to go and tell Princess Celestia about Lightning, we can't let her get away with this," Dash stated, not wanting Twilight and the others to focus on her right now, when there were much more pressing matters that she believed needed to be intented to first.
"What do you mean Dash? Let her get away with what?"
Applejack now asked, seeming to have recovered a little, as it was clear that her and Spike were still quite confused as to just what Dash was telling them right now, while Twilight seemed much more concerned with the state that her marefriend was in at the moment.
"She was the one that trashed both the library and Pinike Pie's house,"
Dash said, anger burning in her eyes as she caused all three of the others to widen their eyes and look back to her with surprised expressions again, clearly all of them wanting more of an explanation from the cyan pegasus as she was now able to get her breathing back to normal, and so began to tell the others all about what had happened while she was up in Cloudsdale with Lightning Dust. While they all listened intently to her, as they all wanted to know just how things had ended up with Dash coming back all beaten and briused, and telling them all that Lightning had been lying to all of them all this time.
Twilight asked as she couldn't quite believe what her marefriend had just told them, Applejack and Spike having the same reaction as they just stayed quiet for a few moments, seeming like they were both trying to make sense of what they had just heard from the cyan pegasus, while Dash looked back to Twilight and nodded to her with a serious expression, clearly showing her that she had just told them all nothing but the truth.
"It was her Twilight, Lightning trashed both our home and Pinkie Pie's," Dash stated as she caused the Princess to look stunned, as she had a feeling that Lightning Dust had something to do with what had happened to the library and Sugarcube Corner after the turquoise mare had accused Dash for being involved with the bakery getting trashed, but not thinking and kind of hoping that she could have actually been responsible for both of those tragedies.
Twilight bitting her bottom lip as she thought of Lightning, feeling all sorts of emotions starting to rush through her body now, anger, confusion, betrayal, disappointment, sadness, they were all racing through her veins and causing her to grit her teeth together tightly, shaking her head as her mind began to become clouded with all kinds of questions and thoughts, slowly closing her eyes and hanging her head. Sighing deeply, while Dash looked to her with a concerned expression, understanding what she must be feeling right now, as she had been feeling the exact same feelings a little eariler.
"Wait a minute Dash...just...just what are you talking about?" Spike asked as both him and Applejack were still clearly very confused by what the pegasus had just told them, causing Dash to look back to them now, as she was wearing a serious expression again.
"Lightning, she...she's not the trusthworty pony that we all thought she was," Dash simply said, causing Spike to just look more confused in reponse, seeming like he was still trying to work out what Dash was trying to tell them at this moment, while Applejack looked like she had recovered a little and now caught the cyan mare's attention.
"Dash I don't think we're understanding what you're trying to tell us all, start from the beginning, okay," the farm pony said as she talked in a calm voice, telling Dash to slow down a bit and tell them all this right from the start so that they would have a better idea of just what she was talking about right now.
Dash just taking a deep breath and pausing for a moment, clearing her mind a little as she nodded her head and soon looked back to the other three with another serious expression, making it clear to them all that she was being nothing but truthful when she was telling them about everything now.
"Well a couple of days ago Twilight, Spike and I had all gone out into the town together, which was when we talked to you and Pinkie about throwing that 'Welcome to Ponyville' party for Lightning..." Dash paused as she started to explain everything, looking to Applejack and Spike to see if they were following so far, while they both just nodded in response and encouraged Dash to continue on.
"Anyway we came back in the late afternoon to find that the library had been absolutely trashed, chairs and tables broken and thrown around, food and milk from the fridge having been splattered all over the walls and floor, and all the books had been flung onto the floor and had pages torn out of them. It was a complete mess, but nothing was taken so it didn't seem like it was a robbery or anything like that," Dash stated, sighing deeply as she thought about when her, Spike and Twilight had returned to their home, only to find that it had been practically wreacked while they had been gone, and felt anger building up inside of her as she thought of Lightning and all that she had done again.
"Wait Dash...you don't mean...Lightning Dust was the one that did all that?" Spike asked as he widened his eyes in response to what Dash was telling them at the moment, not quite believing what he was hearing, as Dash just nodded back to him, causing the young dragon to hang his head, thinking about Lightning and trying to make all this make sense in his mind, while the cyan mare just continued on.
"Then there was what happened at Sugarcube corner, the morning after the party Pinkie Pie's home was ruined just like the library had been, only the damage was much worse with smashed windows and holes having been kicked into the wall, plus it took much longer to fix everything up again. And as it turns out Lightning was behind that as well," Dash explained as she caused Applejack to look utterly shocked with what the cyan mare was telling them, this having been the first time that she had heard about any of this and being even more surprised to hear that Lightning Dust, who she thought to be a very kind and polite pony, was actuaclly the one being responsible for it all.
"Dash...why didn't Twilight, you or Pinkie tell anypony about that fact that your homes had been trashed, why would y'all keep something like that a secret from us?" the farm pony asked, also seeming to not quite believe what Dash was saying at the moment, being beyond shocked to hear that something so terrible had happened to four of her close friends, and she didn't even know anything about it until now.
Dash looking like she was going to answer, before Twilight spoke up and answered for her, causing Applejack to turn her attention onto the Princess now, "Because...we didn't want to cause trouble for the town at all, and since the library hadn't been damaged all that much, we thought there was not much point in starting drama and causing ponies around here to be on edge about things. So we kept quiet about what happened to the library. But when Pinkie Pie's home got trashed worse than the library did, we did consider going to Princess Celestia and the Royal Guard about it, but...Lightning Dust stopped us from doing so, telling me that she saw Dash going into Sugarcube Corner that morning, and saying that she was worried that Dash might get into trouble for having something to do with what had happened," Twilight explained, as all the others looked to her, Spike and Applejack still having questioning expressions on their faces it seemed, while Rainbow Dash simply just nodded, before she picked up where her marefriend had left off.
"However that was just a lie to safe her own skin, telling Twilight that I had something to do with what had happened so we wouldn't go to Princess Celestia and the Royal Guard about it all, when really she and a bunch of other pegasi from Cloudsdale were the ones that were behind wrecking Pinkie's home, and I had nothing to do with it at all," Dash stated, as she rolled her eyes when she thought about how Lightning tried to blame her for something she had no involvement with. Twilight looking back to the pegasus with a slightly questioning expression now, while Spike and Applejack still seemed to be quite puzzled by all this.
" 'A bunch of other pegasi from Cloudsdale'? What do you mean Dash?" the Princess questioned as she felt afraid to hear what Dash's reply might be as the pegasus just sighed and looked back to Twilight with another serious expression.
"Twi...you know those other pegasi from Cloudsdale that Lightning introduced me to?" Dash asked as Twilight just nodded in reply, as she seemed interested to hear more, while the pegasus went on to explain, "Well it turns out that they had been in on all this as well, instead of wanting to make a change and try to get the two towns to get along like Lightning told us they did, they were lying about everything as well, and were actually in on Lightning's plans, being the ones that helped her to trash Pinkie Pie's home," she explained, causing Twilight to her grit her teeth again and feel mainly just anger building up inside her now, as she thought about Lightning and all that she had done to them.
'I...I never should have trusted Lightning Dust, I knew finding a pegasi like her who wanted the same things we did was too good to be true...maybe I should have listened to Dash more when she first warned me about what some of the pegasi are like up in Cloudsdale, maybe then I wouldn't have trusted Lightning so easily, and believed her when she said that she and some other pegasi wanted to help us out in what Dash and I had planned for the future. Now I see that I...I shouldn't have believed a single word that she ever said,' Twilight thought as she sighed heavily and hung her head low again, feeling so foolish as she had let herself believe Lightning was trustworthy, when it was very clear to her now that the turquoise pegasus had tricked them all into thinking just that.
Applejack catching all of the others attention as she spoke up again, "Hold on Dash...how do you know Lightning Dust did all this," she asked seeming to be still confused by all that they had been told, and also clearly wanted to hear more about it so that maybe things would eventually start to make sense to her.
"Because she told me," Dash simply answered causing Applejack to just tilt her head to the side, obviously still puzzled, and wanting Dash to elaborate more, which the pegasus soon did in response, "When we were all done helping Pinkie Pie clean up the bakery and came back to the library, Twilight told me what Lightning had told her, and from learning that Lightning had lied to Twilight it made me feel like something just wasn't right with her, I thought about her and the way she always acts, and how it has always seemed to me that she's too cheerful, too polite, and way too good be true. I started to put all the pieces together and see that she may not be who we thought she was, but...I had so many questions at the time, and didn't know what to believe. So I left and went to Cloudsdale to meet up with Lightning, and see if I could get some answers from her," she explained, while the other three listened intently, Twilight already knowing about all this of course, but still seeming interested to hear it as she thought it would most probably lead to an explanation of what had happened to her marefriend while she was up in Cloudsdale, and how she had ended up coming back home in the beaten and bruised state that she had.
"And that's exactly what she gave me. Of course she did still act all oblivious at first and pretended like she didn't really know what I was talking about, and I couldn't tell if she was actually being sincere or not. But when I confronted her about why she lied to Twilight and what she got from blaming me for something I had nothing to do with, I started to notice a change in her, and that's only because she wanted me to see that change. Her cheerful smile disappeared and an annoying smirk replaced it, before she confirmed all my suspicions I had ever had about her and what her true intentions just might be. And from there she told me everything the fact that she had been lying all this time and playing us all for fools, how she and the other pegasi she had introduced me to not too long ago were the ones responsible for trashing the library and Sugarcube Corner. And before I knew it I was surrounded by those other pegasi who were clearly in on all her plans as well," Dash causing Applejack and Spike to understand a little now just what she was talking about, as they no longer seemed so confused anymore, and just looked disappointed to find out that Lightning Dust had been lying to them all this time, as they couldn't quite grasp that they had been so badly betrayed by a pony that they thought they could trust, and one they looked forward to getting to know more, only to find out now that act had all just been a ruse that they had all fallen for.
Dash speaking up again as it seemed like she had a little more to say to them all, and catching all of the other threes' attention again,"And also she told me how she planned to gain mine and Twilight's trust, so that she could try and break us up to get either me to leave Twi or Twi to leave me, both ways getting me onto her side. But since Twilight told me what Lightning had lied to her about, things didn't work out that way. And so instead she just asked me to choose my home meaning I could go back to living in Cloudsdale and never have to leave again, or choose to stay in Ponyville with Twilight, never to return to my hometown ever again...and of course I picked Twilight, after all I knew that I would miss her a lot more than my cloud home, even if that did mean I could never see it again. Although if Lightning's plan had worked and Twilight had ended up leaving me...I really doubt I would have choosen the same thing knowing that Twilight wouldn't want me in her life anymore," the pegasus sighed as she looked to Twilight, and caused the Princess to widen her lavender eyes, seeing her marefriend looking to her with a saddened expression, and quickly shaking her head, as she moved closer to Dash and looked to her with a serious expression in response.
"Dash I would never want you out of my life, I can't imagine what my life would be like without you in it, and I would definitely never leave you, no matter what," she stated as she leaned down to her marefriend and nuzzled her neck while Dash just nodded in response and nuzzled her back.
"I know Twi," Dash replied as she smiled and cuddled up to Twilight, before she soon pulled away and continued to speak to them all, "But that's exactly what Lightning wanted, she wanted me to choose to stay in Ponyville with you Twilight. Although...I doubt it really mattered which option I chose really, she probably would have done the same thing to me anyway," she shrugged her shoulders as she looked over her wounded body and being a little glad that she no longer felt as much pain as before, but also did feel worried since her wings didn't ache or throb anymore, instead they just felt numb to her now.
Twilight and the others seeing Dash gesturing to her beaten and bruised body, and clearly now getting the message that Lightning was the one that had done this to her, "So Lightning Dust really did do all of this to you?" Twilight asked, feeling like she didn't need to hear Dash's answer, already knowing that she was right. Dash just nodding in reply before she bit her bottom lip.
"She said she was doing it so that I wouldn't be able to take action right away now that I knew the whole truth, and also saying that since I wouldn't be returning to Cloudsdale, I wouldn't need my wings anymore. And so before I could really do anything the other pegasi held me down and I was beaten by all of them and Lightning over and over again, my wings getting the worse of it, and it's possible that they actually...might have broken them, after all I can't move them at all," Dash sighed as she knew there would be no point in trying to move her wings, as they felt so limp right now. Twilight, Spike and Applejack all widening their eyes as they looked concerned for the pegasus and wondered if she was really going to be okay or not at this point.
"I did try to scream out and alert other pegasi in the city, but we were in quite an isolated part of Cloudsdale, and Lightning soon knocked me out before I could make too much noise. The last thing I remember seeing were her hooves coming down to land on my head as she was still wearing that annoying smirk while looking to me. And then I woke up on the outskirts of Ponyville and it was dark all around me, figuring Lightning and the others had dropped me there once they were done with beating me up, and from there I decided I had to come and tell Twilight about all this, but it seems...I wasn't able to make it here without Applejack's help, I guess," Dash now chuckled slightly, nervously smiling to Twilight as she caused the Princess to just lean down and nuzzle her again, while Applejack and Spike felt worried for Dash and now knew they couldn't trust Lightning Dust anymore, not after she had something this terrible to the cyan mare.
"Dash...I'm sorry," Twilight seemed like she was going to say more, but just bit her bottom lip as she felt gulity that she had let this happen to her dear marefriend, 'I knew I should have followed her, maybe if I had...this wouldn't have happened to her,' she thought as she rested her head on Dash's shoulder and could feel tears welling up in her eyes now.
"Hey it's not your fault Twi, and besides..." Dash paused as she used one aching hoof to push Twilight away from her a little and caused the Princess to look back to her with a slightly questioning expression, while Dash just went on, "I'm not the one we should be focusing on right now. Lightning told me that trashing the library and Pinkie's home was just the beginning, and who knows what else she has planned for this town, she said that she and the other pegasi were going to make the ponies of Ponyville feel just as targeted as they felt when they were down here for the first time. And although I don't know exactly what she meant by that, or what she is planning to do from here, I do know that it can't be anything good, and it is something that we need to take action against as soon as possible," she stated with a serious expression, causing the other three to look to each other before they all seemed much more concerned with how badly injured she was at the moment, rather than what Lightning could be planning right now.
Twilight exchanging an unsure look to Applejack, as she knew that they couldn't really take action right at this moment, since it was already so late, and right now the Princess was clearly more considered with her marefriend's wounded condition and seemed like she wanted to focus on making surre she was okay first .
Applejack seeing Twilight's intentions as she just nodded back to the Princess as they all looked back to Dash again a moment later, "Dash...I think it's better if we deal with what we are going to about Lightning Dust tomorrow, rather then right now" Twilight stated as she sighed slightly, causing Dash to widen her eyes and look taken aback as she shook her head in response.
"But Twilight we can't just sit back and let Lightning get away- Dash started to protest clearly wanting to get Ligthning back and make sure she would pay for all that she's done, Twilight knowing this but quickly cutting the pegasus off as she shook her head, and raised her voice a little to Dash.
"I don't intend for to get away with everything that she has done, but look at yourself Dash..." Twilight paused as she looked to the cyan mare with a worried expression, causing Dash to widen her eyes again as she herself looked over her wounded body and clenched her teeth together tightly, seeming like she was going to protest again, but refraning from doing so as she looked back to her marefriend again.
"I know you want to get Lightning Dust back for all that she's done Dash, and I want the same, but...right now you are more important to me," Twilight stated as she looked to Dash with a serious expression, slight tears still filling her eyes, causing Dash to go quiet for a moment, clearly seeing that the Princess didn't want to focus on whatever Lightning might be planning, and instead was much more worried about her right now.
"Twilight's right Rainbow, we can figure out just what to do about Lightning Dust tomorrow, but making sure you're okay is what really matters now, after all you said it yourself, she might have actually broken your wings, so don't you think you need to get them seen to?" Applejack asked, agreeing with Twilight that Dash's health was more important right now, and also trying to convince the cyan pegasus that she needed to think about herself at the moment, rather than Lightning Dust.
"Yeah shouldn't we get checked you out at the hospital, after all this could be something really serious?" Spike questioned chiming in, as he also seemed worried for Dash and the condition she was in right now, however Dash quickly shaking her head in response again.
"No, I'm not going to the hospital, who knows what kind of twisted plan Lightning could be putting into action right now, we have to stop her..." Dash stood up but paused as she winced, her legs throbbing and begging her to not move them, as she ached all over, pain still coursing through her veins, as she was still unable to feel much when it came to her wings, and truth being told she was a little worried for herself at the moment as well. Looking to the others as they all looked back to her with concerned expressions, seeing the cyan mare struggling to even stay standing it seemed.
Twilight resting her hoof on Dash's shoulder as she looked to her with a ressuring expression, "Dash we are going to stop her, but right now you need to think of yourself, and if you're not going to go to the hospital then at least stay here and rest instead, because I am not going to let you worsen your condition at all, you're even struggling to stay standing still at the moment, and I don't want to see you in this much pain...so please...just stop and put yourself first, then let us deal with Lightning Dust once we know you're going to be okay, alright?" Twilight raised her voice again, causing Dash to widen her eyes as she could see the tears overflowing the Princess's eyes, as she tried to fight them off, bitting her bottom lip while a couple of tears had escaped and streamed down her cheeks.
Dash struggling to speak for a moment, still clearly thinking about what Lightning could be doing right now, but also knowing that Twilight was right, in the sense that her health could be in real danger at this moment, espeically if she chose to push herself and cause her condition to worsen.
Slowly lying down on the floor again as she sighed heavily and hung her head a little, looking back to Twilight a moment later as she just nodded her head to the Princess in defeat, "I guess I can't be much help to anypony while I'm in this state huh?" the cyan mare simply said as a small smile formed on her lips and she caused Twilight and the others all to breath a sigh of relief, seeing that Dash was thankfully seemily going to take their adivce now.
"Dash..." Twilight just whispered out her marefriend's name as she rested her forehead aganist Dash's and nuzzled her, causing the pegasus to just smile as she nuzzled her back, clearly seeing how glad the Princess was that she had agreed to stay at the library for now and let herself recover a little, before deciding what they should do about Lightning.
"Don't you worry Dash, we'll be sure to make that conniving pony be sorry for all that she's done, including lying to all of us, and hurting you like this," Applejack stated with a determined smile to Dash now, as the cyan mare just looked back to her and nodded with a returned smile, seeing that the farm pony wanted to get back at Lightning as well for all the pain she had caused, as did Spike, while he nodded his head in agreement, also looking to Dash with a determined expression now.
All of them talking for a little bit longer before they soon decided to call it a night, after all it had gotten pretty late by now, and Dash had already fallen alseep on the library floor, clearly showing the others just how exhausted she was. Spike keeping a watch over the resting pegasus while Twilight stood in the doorway, saying 'Goodbye' to Applejack at the moment.
"Thank you for helping Dash to get back here, I doubt she would have been able to make it if you hadn't come along, Applejack," Twilight stated as she smiled to the farm pony, feeling greatful that Applejack had helped Dash, after all otherwise she might not have seen her or known what happened to her until much later. Applejack just shaking her head as she gave a returned smile to the Princess.
"It's was no problem really, after all if I hadn't brought her back here than I wouldn't have gotten to learn the truth about Lightning, and what she just might be planning for Ponyville," the farm pony simply said, it being clear that she wasn't going to let Lightning get away with all that she had done now that she knew the truth about her, as Twilight just nodded back to her in response.
"You'll be careful on your way home right? And keep a watchful eye out?" the Princess asked, as she truthfully did feel a little nervous about what Lightning's plans could be, and didn't want any one else dear to her getting hurt like Dash had, however feeling more reassured as Applejack nodded back to her with a confident smile in return.
"Will do Twilight, but don't you go worrying about me now, just focus on taking care of Rainbow Dash alright?" she replied, causing Twilight to just nod back to her in response, glancing back to her sleeping marefriend and still feeling concerned for how serious her injuries just might be, hoping that they weren't as bad as they all looked, and Dash would be able to recover from this easily enough, without much trouble.
Twilight waving goodbye to Applejack as she soon turned and started to make her way back to the farm, waving back to the Princess, before leaving her to just watch her walk out of sight, then sighing deeply as she closed the door and came walking back over to Dash and Spike now.
Looking over the pegasus's wounded legs and wings, and feeling kind of thankful that Dash was still alive, after all it could have been worse, and at this moment she was just so glad to see Dash's chest rising and falling with every soft breath that she took, while she slept soundly on the library's wodden floor, her beaten legs back to resting on the cushions that Applejack had put down for her before.
"Do you think she'll be okay, Spike?" Twilight asked with a worried expression, as Spike looked back to her causing the young dragon to look concerned, seeming like he didn't know how to reply for a few moments, before he soon just nodded his head and gave the Princess a reassuring smile in return.
"You know how she is Twilight, she's strong, plus she's too stubborn to let something like this slow her down for too long," Spike stated causing Twilight to widen her eyes a little, as she looked back to Spike's caring smile, and soon smiled back to him and nodding her head in response.
"Yeah...you're right Spike," she replied as she looked back to Dash again, and knew that the pegasus wouldn't let herself get down from this, however still feeling worried for her, while Spike's smile faded, as he sighed deeply and clenched his fists a little, catching the Princess's attetion again a moment later.
"To be honest...I still can't quite believe that Lightning Dust would hurt Rainbow Dash like this after everything that's happened, I mean she even helped us to clean up both the library and Pinkie Pie's home when they had been trashed. So to find out now that she had just been lying through her teeth the whole time it's just..." Spike paused as he let another heavy sigh leave his lips, hanging his head as he would never have thought that Lightning would do something like this, but now he knew that Lightning was never who he thought she was. Twilight gaving Spike an understanding expression and rested a hoof on his shoulder, catching his attention as he looked back to her in return.
"I know Spike, what Lightning has done is just horrible, but we will be sure to not let her get away with all this and we will punish her for all the pain she has caused," Twilight stated with a serious expression to Spike, as he soon just nodded back to her in reply, giving the Princess a determined expression in response, while she looked back to her sleeping marefriend again and leaned down to kiss her forehead lightly.
'I promise Dash, I'll make her regret ever hurting you like this,' she thought to herself, as she soon lay down beside Dash and cuddled up close to her, nuzzling her lovingly while still thinking of Lightning Dust, and wondering just what they were going to do about her once Dash had recovered and they could all really focus on stopping that manipulative pegasus's plans from progressing any further than they already had.
Rainbow Dash lay sleeping peacefully on Twilight's bed, snuggled up in the warm covers as she nuzzled into the sheets more, seeming to be searching for the familiar touch of her marefriend, however not being able to find the alicorn as she stirred in her sleep a little, frowning and blinking a few times before she slowly awoke and realised that she had been laying in bed all alone.
Glancing around Twilight's bedroom, never really remembering how she got here, however guessing that she most probably wasn't able to get to bed without help, still seeming to remember what Lightning had done to her, as she tried to move and winced slightly at a sharp pain rushing through her veins in return.
Gritting her teeth as she looked to her bruised hooves and although they weren't throbbing as much as last night, they still all hurt quite a bit, 'Well at least I feel a little better now,' the cyan mare thought as she sighed slightly, feeling tired still and wanting to go back to sleep for a few more minutes, but soon widened her eyes as she quickly turned her head and looked to her wings, seeing them both now bandaged up as she felt thankful that she could feel that they were still aching and throbbing, as at least that meant that she hadn't lost the feeling in them completely which was something she was worried about happening after last night.
'Twi must have bandaged them up for me,' she thought as she let a small smile form on her lips, then soon frowning slightly a moment later, 'Can I...move them?' she wondered as she now took a deep breath and tried to move her wings, clenching her teeth as she slowly struggled to make her wings move even a single inch, sharp pains constantly rushing through her body as she continued to push herself and within a few more moments of struggling she was finally able to spread out her wings, causing the bandages to come loose and fall off them.
Dash widening her eyes as she tried flapping her wounded wings a little, and feeling so relieved that she could actually move them, being worried since her wings were still throbbing with intense pain but at least this gave her a good sign that they were not broken and hopefully wouldn't take that long to heal after all.
The pegasus's attention then being taken off her wings as she heard the bedroom door being opened, turning her head to the door and smiling slightly when she saw Twilight standing in the doorway with a bit of a taken aback expression, as she quickly came walking into the bedroom.
"Dash I don't think you should be getting up just yet, you're still in alot of pain right?" the Princess asked as she looked to her marefriend with a concerned expression, Dash just sighing as she nodded her head and looked back to her wings again.
"Yeah...but at least I can move my wings, I really thought I had lost all feeling in them last night," she stated hanging her head a little low and folding her wings to be resting back at her sides, while they still had extreme pain rushing through them, however Dash just enduring it as she knew it could be a lot worse for her right now.
Twilight soon smiling in return as she closed the bedroom door behind her, and came to lie beside Dash on the bed, nuzzling her a little before she started to use her magic to bandage up her marefriend's bruised wings again. While Dash just relaxed against her and bit her bottom lip as she winced everytime she had to move her wings slightly in order for Twilight to bandage them up properly.
"Well it seems like luckily enough your wings aren't broken, but it's clear that you still won't be able to use them for some time, and you'll also have to take it easy with walking as well since your legs are still quite badly bruised," Twilight said as she soon finished bandaging up Dash's wings and nuzzled her lovingly, Dash just raising her eyebrow back to the Princess in response.
"Well that's a relief, but how did I get here Twi? I don't remember going to bed last night," the cyan mare asked as she caused for Twilight to just shrug her shoulders in reply, as she cuddled up close to her marefriend and didn't want her to leave her side again.
"You fell asleep downstairs last night, so once Applejack left I carried you up to bed on my back and bandaged your wings up. And you must have been exhausted since you didn't wake up at all, even though both your legs and wings were most probably still in immense amounts of pain at the time," the Princess explained as Dash just nodded to her in reply, before quickly asking another question that she was much more concerned about right now.
"And what about Lightning? Have you figured out what we are going to do about her yet?"
Twilight just putting her hoof to Dash's lips as she smiled slightly back to her, "I had Spike send Princess Celestia a letter this morning while you were sleeping telling her about everything that's happened, and we haven't heard back from her just yet. But you don't need to be focusing on that now, you just need to concentrate on getting better," she explained moving her hoof to stroke Dash's rainbow mane, as Dash just sighed slightly nuzzling into her marefriend's hoof, knowing that she had to think of herself at this moment instead of Lightning, cuddling up closer to Twilight as the Princess pecked her forehead lightly.
"Are you sure you don't want to get yourself checked out Dash, just in case?" she asked, wondering if Dash would agree to maybe going to the hospital or not, now that she knew that something was being done about Lightning. However Dash just shaking her head as she pulled away from the Princess for a moment and rested her head on her front hooves even though it did hurt her a little to do so.
"I'm sure I'll be fine if I just get a little more rest,"
Dash simply replied as she faked a smile to Twilight, before letting a sigh leave her lips, clenching her teeth together when she thought about what plans Lightning Dust could be carrying out right now, and only hoping that they weren't too late to stop her from progressing any further then she already had with them.
"I just wish there was something I could do to get Lightning back for what she did to me," she bared her teeth as she thought about that turquoise mare and all the pain she had caused, wishing that she could inflict the same amount of pain onto her somehow.
Twilight just sighing as she nodded and crawled up beside Dash, resting a wing over her back and nuzzling into her as she felt the pegasus just relaxing against her again, and nuzzling her back in return, "I know Dash, but just try and get some more rest for now, okay?" she spoke in a low and caring voice, as Dash just nodded back to her and rested her head on Twilight's front hooves, nuzzling into her again as she let out a long sigh and soon closed her eyes, letting herself slowly drift off to sleep as she knew that her body still needed quite a bit of rest before she would feel more like herself again.
'I wish there was something I could do to make her pay for doing this to you as well Dash,' Twilight thought with a determined expression, as she stroked Dash's rainbow mane again, and held her close, kissing her forehead lightly, while the pegasus soon fell to sleep cuddled up to her.
The Princess soon lifting her head up as she heard the bedroom door being opened, and looked to see Spike now standing in the doorway with a slightly concerned expression on his face, smiling to him as she gestured for him to come into the bedroom, which he did a moment later.
"How is she?" the young dragon asked as he closed the door behind him and looked to the sleeping pegasus with a worried expression, hoping that her condition had improved from yesterday, while Twilight just looked over her resting marefriend again.
"She said she still doesn't want to go to the hospital or anything, but if she just rests for a couple of days than she should soon be feeling like herself again, plus nothing is broken I think her bones are just badly bruised, and they should recover in time," Twilight explained as Spike just nodded, hoping that the Princess was right and it wouldn't be long before Dash would be healed and back to flying soon enough.
"Have you heard anything from Princess Celestia yet?" Twilight asked, changing the suject slightly, and causing Spike to just nod back to her in reply, his voice being in a low tone as he answered a moment later.
"She said she's just working out a few things that need tending to in Canterlot, before she decides which precautions to take at this moment," he simply replied as he sighed slightly feeling a little glad that Dash hadn't been hurt that badly, and would luckily recover soon enough from all her injures, while Twilight just nodded in response and turned back to her sleeping marefriend again, leaning down to her and feeling tears filling her eyes as she nuzzled into the pegasus.
'I'm sorry...I'm sorry I let this happen to you Dash...' she paused on her thought as slight tears streamed down her cheeks, while Spike stood looking concerned to her and came to stand beside the bed, resting a comforting claw on the Princess's shoulder, as she just closed her eyes and sighed deeply, 'But I assure you, I won't let Lightning Dust hurt you or anypony else ever again,' she nodded to herself, biting her bottom lip as she cursed the turquoise pegasus under her breath and cuddled up close to Dash, wiping away her tears, and just lying listening to her marefriend's soft breaths.
Spike wanting to say something to comfort the crying Princess, but finding that he was drawing a blank on what to say at the moment, and so just rubbed Twilight's shoulder in a caring way and let her know he was here for her if she needed to talk at all, as they both just stayed silent for the time being.
....
Both Twilight and Spike soon leaving Dash to sleep in peace, as they went back downstairs, Spike thinking about making something to eat for Dash once she had woken up again, as he thought she would no doubt be hungery by then. The young dragon looking to Twilight as he seemed to have perked up a little, and wondered if the Princess would want to join him, but once he turned he could see just how downhearted Twilight was at the moment, while she sighed deeply before looking back to him and spoke in a low tone.
"Spike...could you keep watch over Dash for me for a bit?" she asked in a sort of nervous tone, as Spike just raised his eyebrow slightly, before soon nodding in reply to the Princess.
"Sure, I guess...but why, are you going somewhere?" Spike questioned as he could clearly see that Twilight had a lot on her mind at the moment, and getting the feeling just how conflicted her thoughts were right now, while he stood looking to her with a slightly concerned expression.
"Yeah, I just want to check how everything is in Ponyville, plus it'll be good for me to get out of the library for a bit, I'll be back soon okay?" Twilight gave a small smile to Spike as she quickly turned and started to leave, heading for the door, while the young dragon called after her.
"Wait Twilight!"
Spike tried to stop the Princess from leaving as it was obvious that her mind was a little clouded with her thoughts at the moment, but the dragon just seeming to get ignored as Twilight left out the front door a moment later, Spike hearing the wooden door slam shut behind her as he sighed deeply and and looked up to the staircase behind him, hoping that Twilight would be coming back soon enough. While he now slowly made his way to Twilight's bedroom to go and check on Rainbow Dash, and luckily finding that the pegasus was still sleeping soundly on the bed, sitting by Dash's side Spike just waited for Twilight to return back home again.
Meanwhile Twilight was now making her way through the quiet town of Ponyville, looking around at all the other ponies going about their daily lives and knowing that she wouldn't want those lives to be in danger at all, 'Right now Lightning Dust could be planning any sort of dismay for this town, and these ponies know nothing of it, I know Princess Celestia is informed about everything now, but...there's still so much that we don't know yet, and I feel like there's something...more I should be doing,' the Princess thought to herself as she walked through the town, her head hanging a little, as she was clearly lost in her own thoughts at the moment not really paying attention to anything else right now it seemed.
The Princess seeming to be a little too focused on her thoughts as she didn't hear someone calling out her name until their volume had reached to a shout, causing Twilight to widen her eyes and be dragged out of her thoughts, looking around for where the voice had come from, then soon spotting a familar tan earth pony, calling over to her from across the market as she was now making her way over to her.
Twilight forcing a smile as she greeted the farm pony once she had came over to her, Applejack greeted her back kindly, as she was a little curious why she was walking around town by herself at the moment.
"Hey Twilight, what are you doing out here all by yourself, shouldn't you be taking care of Rainbow Dash?" the farm pony asked as she looked to the Princess with a wondering expression, seeing that Twilight seemed to have other things on her mind at the moment, as it was clear that she was wandering off in her mind a little.
"She's sleeping right now, so I thought I would leave her to get some rest for a bit. Plus Spike is watching over her so she's not alone...I just...needed some air, I guess," Twilight nervously answered, her eyes avoiding looking back to Applejack, as her head was turning slightly away from the other mare, which just caused Applejack to raise her eyebrow, before she nodded her head in response after a moment.
"So how is she doing now?" she asked, seeing that there was definitely something bothering the Princess, but being unsure if it was to do with Rainbow Dash or sometthing else at the moment. Twilight just faking another smile as she simply answered the farm pony.
"She's still in quite a lot of pain, and is clearly very tired, but it seems like her wings aren't broken luckily, meaning that she probably only has some badly bruised bones, which she should recover from soon enough if she continues to rest, and give herself a bit of a break," she explained as her forced smile was now forming into more of a genuine one, as she thought of her marefriend, and was really glad that none of her injures were that serious, while Applejack just smiled back to her and nodded in reply.
"Well that's good then,"
"Yeah...but..." Twilight paused as she sighed heavily and turned away from the farm pony now before continuing, "I can tell she's much more bothered by everything that's going on with Lightning Dust then her own condidtion right now," she stated, causing Applejack to look a little concerned in return, guessing that Dash would most likely want to deal with Lightning as soon as possible, without having any concern for her own health at the moment.
"And I can kind off see why she is feeling like that...after all I'll be honest and say that I feel the same way right now," the Princess whispered out seeming to be more or less just mumbling to herself, while causing Applejack to look back to her with slightly widened eyes in response seeing now just why she was getting the feeling that Twilight's mind was focusing on something else at the moment.
The farm pony staying slient for a few minutes as she looked to Twilight with a concerned expression still, trying to think of something to say in response that would reassure the Princess, "Did you tell Celestia about all this yet?" she asked, drawing a bit of a blank on what she could really say at the moment, while Twilight soon just nodded back to her in reply.
"Spike sent her a letter early this morning, and she replied by saying that she has to sort out a few things in Canterlot first, and then decide just what to do about Lightning Dust," Twilight simply answered as she turned back to Applejack now, the farm pony sighing with a little bit of relief in response, however frowning slightly a moment later as she noticed the troubled expression that the Princess still wore on her face.
"But even so...I feel there's something more that I should be doing to help slove all of this right now," the Princess added in a lower tone as she gritted her teeth a little, thinking about Lightning and just what she might be planning, while Applejack sighed slightly in response, getting the feeling that both Twilight and Dash were focusing too much on everything that was going on with Lightning Dust right now, which seemed to be causing them more stress then they should have at the moment.
The farm pony thinking for a few moments as she stayed silent and tried to think of a way to take Twilight's mind off of what was troubling her, "Do you think we should warn the other ponies in the town about Lightning Dust's plans?" she asked, trying to be helpful and hopefully cause the Princess to become a little less troubled by the things that were on her mind right now, but seemong to not be all that successful unfortunately.
Twilight just shoke her head slowly in reply, "It's not worth causing the rest of the town to be on edge and to worry, when we're not even sure what Lightning Dust has planned or when she will strike, plus it wouldn't be good to tell them when we're not really certain what we should to do about everything just yet," she stated with a sigh, still speaking in a low tone, as she turned away from Applejack again, and went a little silent on the farm pony, while she also turned away for a moment, seeming to be lost in thought now.
A silence falling on the two mares as they both continued to just look away from each other, and think to themselves for a little while, Twilight just giving out another heavy sigh, as she thought about just leaving to go back to the library to see how Dash was doing, as she knew it wasn't good for her to be getting herself worked up about all this, and really she should be focusing more on her recovering marefriend at the moment.
The Princess was just about to speak up, before Applejack suddenly widened her eyes as an idea entered her mind causing her to slowly form a smile on her lips, as she looked back to Twilight again, and spoke up, cutting her off in the process.
"Listen Twilight...I know both you and Dash have got a lot to think about right now, but you've got to remember that you're not alone in this, and this will all get sorted out soon enough, but for now..." Applejack paused as she rested a hoof on Twilight's shoulder and caused her to look back to her with slightly widened eyes in response, "You need to think of yourselves first, and maybe get your mind off Lightning Dust for a little but, at least until we know a bit more about what we are going to do about her. In fact I think I know the perfect way to do just that," the farm pony finished as she smiled happily to Twilight and caused her to just raise her eyebrow and look confused in response, tilting her head to the side slightly.
"What do you mean Applejack?" the Princess questioned, wondering just what the farm pony was planning at the moment, while Applejack just smiled to her in return.
"Don't you worry Twilight, just trust me on this,"
She simply replied, before she turned away and started to leave, her mind rushing with ideas, as she quickly began making her way back to her home, while Twilight stood confused still as she wondered just what had suddenly gotten into the farm pony and why she had gone running off like that.
Calling after her, but soon realising that there wasn't much point in doing so as Applejack was out of her sight a moment later, causing her to just sigh a little, while she shook her head and guessed she might as well just make her way back to the library to see how her marefriend was doing now as she knew just standing around her and letting her mind continue to run wild with her thoughts wasn't going to do any good for her.
....
Twilight soon enough making her way home again as she opened the door to the library and came walking inside with a heavy sigh leaving her lips, hanging her head a little low as it seemed like she couldn't keep her mind off of everything that was going on with Lightning for very long as she shook her head and tried to think of something else.
Then lifting it up as she heard voices coming from the kitchen, looking with a wondering expression and walking forward slowly, being a bit surprised a moment later as she widened her eyes at seeing Dash sitting at the table along with Spike sitting beside her, as they were happily just talking to each other.
The Princess seeing a content smile on her marefriend's lips and softening her expression as she was glad that it seemed like Dash was looking not so tired anymore, and was clearly feeling better now, "Hey what are you doing up, shouldn't you be resting still? And are you sure it's okay for you to be walking around just yet?" she asked as she came walking into the kitchen and nuzzled Dash lovingly, while the pegasus just greeted her and nuzzled her back in return.
"Don't worry my legs don't hurt as much now, and I only got out of bed because I was hungry," Dash simply stated as she smiled to Twilight, and caused her to sigh with a bit of relief, and smile back to her slightly, as she pecked the pegasus on her forehead, before she turned to Spike now with a small frown.
"I thought I told Spike to keep a watch over you while I was gone?" she raised her eyebrow to the young dragon, while he just folded his arms and frowned in response.
"Hey I told her that I would bring some food up to her, but she just refused to listen to me," he stated as he turned away from the other two slightly, as Twilight looked to Dash again a moment later, while she just smiled nervously back to her.
"Well I just wanted to stretch my legs for a little bit, after all it wouldn't be good if I let them go numb beacuse I wasn't using them enough," she explained, causing Twilight to just smile slightly and roll her eyes, knowing how stubborn her marefriend could be a lot of the time, and was about to start giving her a lecture that she really shouldn't push herself right now, but a knocking at the door interrupting her as it caught the attention of all of them as they all looked to the door a moment later.
Dash feeling like she was luckily saved somehow, as Twilight just seemed to let the pegasus get off easy, before she wallked out of the kitchen and went to go and answer the door, leaving Dash and Spike to start talking to each other again, while they waited to see who was at the door.
Twilight opening the door as she greeted their visitor, and was surprised to see Pinkie Pie at the door, looking back to her with a excited expression, and causing the Princess to look to her with a questioning expression as she was about ask what she was here for, but was quickly cut off before she could say anything.
"Hey Twilight, is Rainbow Dash awake?" Pinkie asked with a cheerful smile, as Twilight just nodded in reply, still seeming puzzled as to why the earth pony had come round here so suddenly, and looked so excited about something.
"Y-yeah, she's in the kitchen with Spike, but- Twilight answered, and was going to question Pinkie just what she had come here for, only to be cut off as the earth pony invited herself into the library and quickly walked into the kitchen, seeing Rainbow Dash talking with Spike and her face lightning up as she tapped her shoulder and caught her attention, while the pegasus just turned and greeted her with a slight smile in response.
"Oh hey Pinkie Pie, what are you doing here?" she asked the question that Twilight wanted to know the answer to as she came walking into the kitchen, and hoped that the pink earth pony would soon start explaining just what she wanted with them, as she happily smiled to Dash and talked to her in a cheerful voice.
"We've got a surprise for you and Twilight," she stated causing Dash to just look confused as she raised her eyebrow slightly in response to Pinkie.
"We?"
The pegasus questioned as she looked to the earth pony with a curious expression, as Spike was the same as he, Twilight and Dash all listened to Pinkie as she started to tell them all more about this 'surprise', not really making a lot of sense as she was talking quite fast, and making it hard for the others to really understand what she was saying at the moment.
Twilight taking her attention off Pinkie for a moment as she looked to Dash instead, her expression soon forming into a soft one as she could see Dash slowly starting to smile to Pinkie as she just rambled on. That smile wasn't just a casual one that she expected the pegasus to show off, instead it was a small smile, that seemed much more cheerful than most of her smiles had been looking lately.
'I haven't seen Dash's cheerful smile in quite a while, in fact all I've been seeing lately from her...are those sad smiles, plus those ones that I can tell are faked and not what she's truly feeling at that moment,' the Princess thought as she sighed slightly and seemed to be thinking for a few moments, while Pinkie soon stopped her rambling before she took a breath, as Dash just waited for her to finish, happy to see Pinkie being her regular-self again as she remembered that the last time she had seen her was when she was saddened by having her home trashed, glad to see that beaming smile was back on her lips once again.
"So are you coming Dash?" Pinkie asked a moment later with hope-filled eyes, as Dash just smiled, and nodded her head in reply.
"Sure this 'surprise' sounds interesting from all your saying, so I'll be happy to come along," she stated happily as she felt it would be good for her to get out of the library and not spend all day in Twilight's bedroom.
However causing Twilight to widen her eyes and snap back to look at the others again, "But Dash you can't you're still- she tried to protest, looking worried for her recovering marefriend, but Dash quickly cutting her off a moment later.
"Don't worry Twi, my legs don't hurt as much now, so I should be able to walk a little, just as long as I take it slow, and I would like to see just what this 'surprise' is that Pinkie is telling us so much about. Besides it could get our minds off of everything that's been going on lately right?" Dash simply replied, causing Pinkie to light up in response as her beaming smile widened and she happily nodded back to the pegasus, before looking to Twilight a moment later.
"What about you Twilight?" she questioned causing Twilight to look back to her now, looking a little conflicted for a few moments, while the earth pony still just smiled to her happily waiting for her reply.
"You're coming along too right? Spike can come as well if he wants to," the earth pony asked again as she waited to hear Twilight's answer, Spike agreeing happily as they all looked to Twilight now, while she just hesitated for a few moments. Looking to Dash and seeing the pegasus's smile encouraging her to come along with them, as she just gritted her teeth in response on seeing that soft smile of her marefriend's and sighed a little, thinking for a few moments more, before she just shook her head in reply to Pinkie.
"Actually...you know there is something that I need to do, but I can come later if you want," she stated with a nervous smile causing Pinkie to frown slightly, as Dash just looked to the alicorn with a questioning expression, wondering why she seemed to just be making an excuse, but not knowing what she was doing it for.
"Are you sure you can't come along now?" Spike asked as he and Pinkie both looked to Twilight with slightly disappointed expressions in response, while Dash just contined to look to her marefriend with a curious expression, as the Princess just shook her head in reply, and smiled to the others again.
"Sorry but...there's something that I have to take care of first,"
Twilight simply replied as she gave the other three a small smile in return, while they all looked to one another and Spike shrugged slightly, it seeming like they would just have to go and see what this 'surprise' was without the Princess accompanying them.
Twilight just looking to Dash again as she narrowed her eyes slightly, 'I've been seeing Dash's troubled expression so much lately, and that's something I don't want to start seeing again. I miss her cheerful smile, and I never want it to leave her lips again. I let her get hurt once, but I won't let her go through this much pain ever again,' she thought to herself as she looked to Dash with a determined expression now.
Knowing that it was time for her to take matters into her own hooves, and knowing that all this wasn't going to go away by itself, she had to do something, after all she was sick of the ones she loved getting hurt, and wanted to finally put a stop to all this once and for all.
Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Spike all looked back to Twilight with slightly concerned expressions, wondering why she was refusing to come along with them at the moment, the Princess seeming to have something else on her mind right now, as she just softened her expression and looked back to the others.
"Twilight are you sure you can't come along with us now?" Spike asked as he bit his lip a little, kind of hoping that the Princess would change her mind and choose to come with them since he didn't want to leave Twilight all alone for too long, however she simply nodded her head in response.
"Don't worry Spike," Twilight reassured the young dragon as she smiled to him, before looking back to Pinkie Pie, and causing the earth pony to turn back to her in response, "Where is this 'surprise' happening Pinkie?" the Princess asked as she was sure to meet up with Dash and the others once she had done what she needed to.
"At Sugarcube Corner of course," Pinkie simply said cheerfully as she smiled to Twilight, while she just nodded back to her in reply.
"Then you all go on ahead, I'll catch you up soon enough okay?" Twilight stated as she gave another reassuring smile to the other three and encouraged them to all go on without her, Spike and Dash being a little apprehensive as they both looked nervously back to the Princess for a few moments, while she just nodded to them both in response.
Spike and Dash looking to each other, as they soon both sighed and nodded back to Twilight, clearly seeing that the Princess wasn't come along just yet, and it seeming that they accepted it as they guessed they would just have to wait for Twilight to come later on instead, the two deciding to leave with Pinkie for now as Dash gave her marefriend one last slight look of unceratinty while Twilight just smiled back to her, giving her another nod, before Dash just gritted her teeth and turned to follow along behind Pinkie and Spike.
Twilight now being left alone in the library as she watched the door slowly close, and sighed slightly, biting her bottom lip, as she nodded to herself with a determined expression resting on her face, as she knew just what she needed to do from here, while hoping that this wouldn't take all that long and she could get back to her marefriend and the others soon enough.
....
Pinkie, Dash and Spike now all walking to Sugarcube Corner together as they were going at a rather slow pace, since it was obvious that Dash couldn't walk very fast while her legs were still in their wounded condition, Spike looking to Pinkie as he currently had a curious expression on his face at the moment.
"So Pinkie what exactly will this 'sursprise' involve? I mean I know you already told us a little bit about it at the library, but you weren't really being all that clear on what actually would be happening so..." the young dragon trailed off as he looked to the earth pony, hoping that she would explain to him just what is 'surprise' was really all about.
However Pinkie just smiled as she looked back to Spike in reply, "You'll soon see," she simply said as she turned away from Spike and continued to walk towards the bakery, having both Dash and Spike following close behind her as they glanced to each other slightly, before they shrugged and decided to just wait and see for now, guessing that they would see just what this 'surprise' was all about soon enough once they got to their destination.
The three soon coming to Sugarcube Corner as Pinkie quickly led both Dash and Spike inside the bakery, the earth pony smiling as they all walked into the main entrance room and seeing the pegasus's eyes widen as she looked all around the bakery and was clearly surprised to see what was going on in front of her right now.
Dash seeing the bakery completely decorated with colourful streamers, all kinds of party snacks laid out on the tables, and also seeing all her other friends as they all stopped what they were doing and came walking over to Dash with smiles on their faces, the cyan mare looking at all of them as she clearly wasn't expecting them all to be here together.
"D-did you set this all up Pinkie?" she asked as she looked back to Pinkie, while the earth pony just smiled and shook her head slightly in reply.
"Actually this was all Applejack's idea," she stated gesturing to the farm pony, causing Dash to now turn to Applejack as she simply smiled to the pegasus, and rested a comforting hoof on her shoulder.
"Twilight said that you and her have been thinking about everything going with Lightning Dust so much, when really you two should be focusing on yourselves's at the moment, and so I orgainsed this get together for us all to get your minds off it all, plus it has been a long time since we all hung out together like this," Applejack explained as all the others smiled to Dash and were clearly all more than happy to be here together as well.
"Also Applejack told us about what Lightung Dust had done to you, and let us just say that...we will be here to support you and Twilight in whatever you choose to do from here," Rarity added as she looked to Dash with an understanding expression, while Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie all nodded in agreement, causing Dash to widen her eyes again as she felt a smile slowly form on her lips as she sighed slightly and looked around at all the others.
"You guys," She smiled as she felt slight tears welling up in her eyes and the others all just smiling back to her in return, all of them coming closer to give the cyan mare a caring hug, welcoming her and Spike to come and join in on the little get together.
"So where is Twilight, wasn't Pinkie meant to bring her along too?"
Fluttershy asked as she and others were all kind of wondering just why the Princess hadn't come along with Dash and Spike, the young dragon rolling his eyes in response, as Dash looked a little concernred while she thought of what her marefriend could be doing at this moment, while they were here without her.
"She said there was something she needed to do, but also that she would 'catch us up' soon enough when she has done what she needs to," Spike simply explained as it was clear that he still was unsure of why Twilight had choosen to stay at the library instead of coming along with them, while Dash still seemed concerned for her marefriend right now.
Applejack and the others just nodding to Spike as they guessed Twilight would be coming later, and they would just have to wait and see when she would get here. Spike soon quickly running over to the tables that had some party snacks laid out on them, while Applejack and Pinkie followed him and chuckled slightly. Fluttershy and Rarity still hanging around Dash as they looked to her concerned expression and wondered if she was okay.
Fluttershy soon looking to Dash's briused legs and bandaged up wings, sighing a little as she gave the cyan mare a slightly worried expression as she caught Dash's attention and brought her out of her thoughts now, "Dash are you sure you're okay?" the yellow pegasus asked as she caused Dash to just smile to her in response and nod her head.
"Yeah, I'm still a bit bruised up, and I can't yet use my wings at all, but my legs don't hurt as much, and I'm sure I'll be feeling like myself soon enough," Dash explained as she gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile, trying to cheer the other pegasus up a little, and seeming to do so as Fluttershy nodded with a small smile back to the cyan mare in return, clearly being glad that Dash hadn't been seriously hurt, but was still worried about her condition.
"I'm still surprised to hear that Lightning Dust did such a terrible thing to you, and to think we trusted her when all she was doing was lying to us all," Rarity stated as Fluttershy just nodded in agreement, while Dash's expression formed into more of an annoyed look as she thought about Ligtning, and gritted her teeth a little.
"She tricked us all, but...we are going to make sure she pays for all the harm she's caused," Dash said as she looked back to the other two mares with a determined expression, letting them know that there was no way she was letting Lightning get away with all that she had done.
Rarity and Fluttershy just nodding back to her before they soon changed the subject and led Dash over to the snack table, distracting her and making sure she didn't focus too much on everything that was going on with Lightning at the moment, and just get her to hopefully relax with them all.
However just as Dash was seeming to let herself go a little and begin to maybe start enjoying her time hanging out with her friends again, the group of mares (and Spike) all heard a rather loud rapping on the door, them all turning to the door as Pinkie quickly went to go and see who it was coming to visit her, guessing it would just be a customer and she could just turn them away since she had closed the bakery for this little get together for now.
"I'm sorry, but we are closed so..." Pinkie said as she opened the door, and smiled to her visitors, but paused and widened her eyes as she was surprised to see just who had come knocking on her door. Standing in the doorway were two armored royal guards, as they both stood to attention and gave Pinkie a very serious expression it seemed.
"We apologize for the intrusion miss, but we have been sent here by Princess Celestia to find Rainbow Dash and Princess Twilight Sparkle, the towns ponies told us that they where headed here," one of the two guards stated as they looked around the bakery for the two mares that they had been sent here to find, seeing Rainbow Dash almost immediately as they both were invited in by Pinkie Pie as she guestured to the cyan mare and let them know that she was one of the ponies that they were looking for, while they came walking over to talk to Dash.
"Miss Rainbow Dash?" one of the guards asked, making sure this was the pegasus that they had been to told to find and bring back to Canterlot.
"Yes?" Dash questioned nervously as she and all the others looked a bit confused as to why the two guards were here all of a sudden, and wondered what they could want with Dash and Twilight.
"Princess Celestia wishes to speak with both you and Princess Twilight..." one of the guard started to explain, before both of the guards looked around the room again and noticed that neither of them could see Twilight anywhere, and so they looked back to Dash again, "Where is Princess Twilight?" the same guard asked as he gave Dash a questioning expression, while he and the other guard waited for Dash's reply.
Dash just standing with an anxious expression as she looked to the two guards and really hoped Twilight would hurry up with whatever she was doing and get here fast, while Pinkie and the others all continued to look confused, wondering just what was going on at the moment, and what this was all about, as they all looked to one another and waited to see how Dash would answer the two guards.
....
Meanwhile Twilight was on her way to deal with what she believed she needed to do, currently flying through the air, and trying to remember exactly where she was headed as it had been a long time since she had last gone to this place, looking around at her surroundings as she was a little lost at the moment, but thought she had a rough idea of where she was meant to be going. And luckily for her it seemed as though her memory was maybe better then she thought it was as she soon began to recognize just where she was now.
Gliding through the clouds and soon coming to hovering just below a bunch of big fluffy, white clouds, knowing that they would lead to her marefriend's hometown which she hadn't gone to in so long. Stopping to take a deep breath as she looked up at the entrance to Cloudsdale and thought about just forgetting all this and going to see Dash and the others instead, but shaking that thought off as she knew she had to face this sooner rather than later.
'I have to do this, I can't just let Lightning Dust continue to hurt the ones I love, after all there's something more that I should be doing at the moment, rather than just waiting around...right?' she thought to herself, as even though she knew Princess Celestia was being involved now, it just felt like there was more she could maybe do as well to make sure that Lightning Dust wouldn't hurt the ones she held dear anymore.
Now looking up to the entrance with a determined expression as she nodded to herself and took another deep breath, before swiftly flying through the clouds and looked all around as she hovered in place, having not been here in months, but seeming to remember it all well as she noticed all the pegasi going about their daily lives in the city and bit her bottom lip a little, feeling afraid as she was worried for how they would all treat her after everything that had happened with her and Dash, which had resulted in Dash having to live down in Ponyville with the Princess instead of up in her cloud home.
Twilight quickly becoming apprehensive as she noticed that some of the pegasi were already looking to her and giving her slight stares, causing her to feel a little uncomfortable, but she just shook her head as she expected this, and it wasn't what she was here for anyway, she had to find Lightning Dust. However just as she had started to search for the turquoise mare a pegasus that she didn't recoginse came flying over to her, catching her attention and causing her to turn to them in response.
"What are you doing here?"
The pegasus asked as they gave Twilight a raised eyebrow, causing the Princess to look nervously back to them as she was about to answer but stopped when she saw two more pegasi come flying over to her, asking the exact same question as the first one had, as soon enough Twilight was surrounded by pegasi that she had never seen, all of them crowing around her, and waiting for her to answer them, as they all gave her a judging expression, seeming like they were getting a little impatient after a while of Twilight just staying silent.
Twilight just sighing to herself as she looked round at all the pegasi surrounding her, and cleared her throat as the pegasi still looked to her with raised eyebrows,"I'm looking for Lightning Dust," the Princess stated as she caused the pegasi to all look to one another before they turned back to her again and gave her a blank stare in return.
"Is she here?" Twilight asked when she didn't get a reply, nervously looking round at all the pegasi surrounding her, and hoping at least maybe one of them would know where she could find Lightning Dust.
The pegasi all just staying silent for a little while, as they just continued to stare at the Princess with blank expressions still, "She's gone," one pegasus finally answered after a long pause and caused Twilight to look slightly confused now in response.
Twilight widened her eyes as she tilited her head a little in reply, "Gone? What do you mean?" she questioned, as she froze at the fact that the pegasi were slowly closing in on her, while smirks were now forming on ther faces.
"Didn't you know? This was all part of the plan," one of the pegasi stated as they began walking closer and closer to Twilight, and causing her to stand on guard, having a feeling that if she wasn't careful, this situation could go very bad for her, 'The plan?' she thought for a few moments, as she took a few steps back, slightly widening her eyes after a little while, realising just who all these pegasi surrounding her right now were.
"You're-you're the pegasi that help Lightning Dust to trash Sugarcube Corner, and the pegasi that..." Twilight paused as she gritted her teeth to the pegasi crowding around her at the moment, "You're the pegasi that helped to hurt Dash, aren't you?" she stated glaring to all of the pegasi surrounding her and feeling anger building up inside her, while they all just chuckled slightly and smirked back to her in return.
"Why? Why did you hurt Dash, and why are you helping Lightning Dust?" she asked as she raised her voice a little, baring her teeth and getting ready to defend herself if they decided to suddenly attack her like they had done to Dash.
"Why you ask? Why should we tell you Princess?" one of the pegasi just chuckled as they all continued to smirk to Twilight and close in on her, some of them looking ready to pounce and attack the Princess, causing Twilight to constandly turn so that she wouldn't have her back to any of them for too long.
'All of these pegasi look ready to attack, and although I could maybe take them all on, holding them off won't be all that easy, plus I doubt I will get anymore information out of them at this point,' Twilight thought as she sighed slightly, knowing that she was awfully out-numbered at the moment and was at quite the disadvantage here.
However before the pegasi could make their move and attack the Princess they all heard a loud voice calling out to them, and causing them to all have their attention taken off of Twilight for a moment, as they all looked around for where the voice had come from all of a sudden.
"Step away from Princess Twilight!"
The pegasi all looked around with confused expressions, while Twilight was also confused at the moment, looking around as well, and then widening her eyes as she soon saw two pegasi of the royal guard flying over to her and the other pegasi. Being surprised at first and confused as to why they were here all of a sudden, but gasping a little and quickly flying over to them as she noticed that one of them was carrying a very familiar cyan mare on their back.
"Dash what are you doing here?" Twilight asked as she looked to her marefriend, and showed her an expression of concern, while Dash just glared back to her slightly.
"What are you doing here? You know it's dangerous for you to come into Couldsdale at the moment," Dash stated as she caused Twilight to widen her eyes slightly, as she looked nervously to her marefriend now, "You're lucky that I thought of coming here since you weren't back at the library still," the cyan mare added as she was slowly set down on a cloud by the royal guard that was carrying her, sighing slightly while the two guards now stood protecting Twilight and Dash from the other pegasi as they all just glared to the guards, most of them soon flying off as they didn't want to get into trouble for anything here.
"D-Dash I...I'm sorry...I just thought that there was something more I could- Twilight tried to explain herself as Dash just sighed and shook her head in response to her, quickly cutting her off a moment later.
"I know Twi, but right now we need to leave here," Dash stated as she caused Twilight to look confused again, wondering what the pegasus meant, "Princess Celestia wants to see us both," she added as she gave Twilight a serious expression and caused her to widen her eyes a little in response. Being puzzled as to what exactly was going on at the moment, before the two royal guards came flying back over to them both and told them that they should go now, Twilight looking back to Dash again as the cyan mare just softened her expression and sighed.
"We're going to get this sorted out Twi,"
She stated as she gave an encouraging smile to Twilight, the Princess soon just softening her expression and nodding in reply as she nuzzled her marefriend, before quickly lifting her on to her back, and having the two royal guards lead the way for her, glancing back to the remaining peagsi as they all just glared to her still, before turning away and Twilight doing the same as she flew off and followed after the royal guards, while they started on their way to Canterlot together.
....
It not taking all that long for them all to get to Canterlot thankfully, as Twilight let Dash off her back once they had reached their destination at the castle's entrance, as the Princess looked to her marefriend with a slightly concerned expression. "Are you sure your legs aren't hurting you too much?" she asked, as she noticed the pegasus limping a little, while Dash just looked back to her and gave her a slight nod.
"I'll be fine Twi," she simply stated with a small smile, before she started to follow after the two royal guards as they led her and Twilight in to the castle, walking them both to the throne room to see Princess Celestia.
"Princess Celestia!"
Twilight called out as she came running over to the Princess, the elder alicorn standing up from her thorne and leaning down to Twilight, and the younger Princess nuzzling into her as Rainbow Dash just bowed to Celestia out of respect. Celestia hugging Twilight back as she smiled to Dash. Soon pulling away from Twilight, as she was glad to see that even though Dash looked quite beat up, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.
"I read through the letter that you had Spike send me, and if all you said about this Lightning Dust is true, and she really is capable of causing the kind of harm she has already, then I feel Ponyville may be in grave danger, and we need to do something about her immediately," Celestia explained as she could tell from Twilight's letter that Lightning Dust was a dangerous pegeasus that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible, Dash agreeing with a nod, and Twilight doing the same as she widened her eyes and seemed to remember something.
"That would be our best move but there's just one problem," she stated and caused Dash and Celestia to look to her with slightly confused expressions now, waiting for her to explain it seemed.
"What do you mean Twi?" Dash asked as she gave the Princess a slightly concerned expression for a moment, while Twilight just sighed deeply in resopnse.
"The other pegasi told me that Lightning Dust had left town, and I doubt they will give up her location easily, plus since she's gone from Cloudsdale now, there's no telling when or where she could strike from," Twilight explained as she caused for Dash to widen her eyes a little before she gritted her teeth in anger, while Celestia just nodded in response and seemed to be thinking for a few moments about what they should do next now that the location of Lightning Dust was unknown to them.
"Then I will send out guards to search for her and as soon as we've found her, we'll put a stop to her plans. But as for the time being I'll also send a few guards back home with you two, after all we can't have Lightning Dust hurting anypony else," Celestia stated in serious tone, as Twilight and Dash just nodded in agreement, Twilight seeming a little nervous as she looked to her marefriend, while Dash just looked back to her with a determined expression.
"Don't worry Twilight, wherever she is hiding we'll find her,"
Dash stated in a encouraging tone, as Twilight looked to Celestia and simply got a confident nod in return. Sighing slightly as she nodded back to Dash and knew she had to stay hopeful for now, after all with Princess Celestia on their side, finding Lightning Dust, and putting a stop to her plans shouldn't be too difficult, but even so Twilight knew not to underestimate that cunning turquoise pegasus as she always seemed to be one step ahead of them all somehow.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash turning their attention back to Princess Celestia as she spoke to them both again, "And as for what you two should do from here, I think it would be best if you two laid low for a little while," she stated causing Twilight and Dash to both look surprised, seeming like they were going to question her decision, however staying quiet for now as the Princess quickly spoke again before either of them could get a word out in response.
"Now I know that's not what either of you want to hear, but you both have to understand that right now Lightning Dust could be anywhere, and since we still don't know what her plans are not only Ponyville could be in danger, but she could come after you two as well, so you need to be more careful. Besides after what happened to Rainbow Dash, I think that it's better that you let the royal guard and I take care of things from here, until Lightning Dust is found, while you two just focus on recovering and keeping the citizens of Ponyville reassured," the elder alicorn explained to the other two, causing them to both widen their eyes a little in response, Twilight looking like she was going to say something in reply, however quickly just closing her mouth and looking to Dash, seeing her marefriend just nodding and hanging her head slightly, knowing that the pegasus wanted to see Lightning caught as soon as possible, but also knowing that they would have to face the fact that there wasn't much they could do to help out from here, especially not with her still in the quite badly wounded condition she was currently in at the moment.
Twilight just sighing slightly as she turned back to Celestia, "We understand Princess Celestia, thank you for your help on this matter," she said in a low tone as the older Princess gave her a reassuring smile and leaned down to Twilight, letting her nuzzle her once again, as she looked to her and Dash with a serious expression now.
"I promise you two that we will find Lightning Dust, and once we do we will stop her," she stated with a confident smile as both Twilight and Dash just nodded in reply, knowing to trust the Princess with this, as they knew that she was most likely the best pony to deal with this kind of threat. And even though they both did believe there was more that they could do in order to help, they knew now was not the time for that, and it could put them in more danger than they currently were in if they weren't careful.
Soon the two saying their goodbyes to Princess Celestia as they were just leaving the castle and getting ready to set off back to their home in Ponyville with two pegasi members of the royal guard to guide them back and enssure their safety until they were both home once again.
Twilight thinking over all that Princess Celestia had said for a few moments, before she glanced back to Dash again and saw her limping and struggling to stay standing it seemed, guessing that the mare had been on her wounded legs for a bit too long now, and they were most probably tired and ready to give out from under her.
The Princess walking over to her marefriend as she caught her attention as Dash looked back to her now, "Hey are you sure you're okay Dash?" she asked looking concerned for the pegasus and clearly showing that she was worried for her, Dash seeing this, and feeling for Twilight, however just giving the lavender mare a small smile, before she just nodded to her in response.
"Yeah I'm fine Twi, let's just go home,"
She replied, as she turned away from Twilight a moment later and walked over to one of the pegasi royal guards, choosing to lay on their back and have them fly her back to Ponyville instead of Twilight, causing her to widen her eyes slightly, looking to Dash with a more worried expression now, as the pegasus just gestured for her to come along and then turned away from her again.
Twilight following along after the two pegasi guards as they soon began to lead the Princess back to Ponyville again, the lavender mare just looking to her marefriend through the whole journey home, while Dash just lay over one of the guard's backs and looked to the ground below them as she sighed deeply and avoided looking back to Twilight it seemed.
Causing the Princess to hang her head a little as she just followed the two guards and could tell that there was definitely something bothering her marefriend at the moment, and only hoping that she would find out what that just might be once they had returned back to their home again.
....
It not being all that long before Twilight and Dash had returned back to the library once again, the two pegasi guards staying outside and standing to attention as they had been instructed to keep Twilight and Dash safe, while other guard members would be spread throughout Ponyville in the morning, all of them being sure to keep an eye out for Lightning Dust, after all since they now had no idea just where she was, it could mean that she could strike from anywhere at any given time, and so they had to be sure that the small town of Ponyville and its residents were being kept safe, and wouldn't be in anymore danger than they already had been prior to this.
Twilight looking to Dash still with a concerned expression as she was clearly still worried about the pegasus, seeming to know that something was definitely on her mind and bothering her, but currently having a little trouble with approaching the subject as she could see that Dash wasn't really all that up for talking at the moment, and just looked tired honestly.
"Dash are you okay? You haven't said a word since we left Canterlot," the Princess asked as she spoke in a slightly nervous tone, while Dash just sighed and looked back to her with another small smile.
"I told you I'm fine Twi, just leave it okay?"
She stated causing Twilight to just look more concerned as she could see that Dash was clearly avoiding looking to her at the moment, and also seeming to want to get out of the conversation as soon as possible as she turned away from the Princess again and made a move to start heading for the stairs, however only going slowly as her legs were throbbing so much right now, and just begging her to stop and rest them more.
Twilight quickly shaking her head as she came rushing over to Dash and stood in her way now, blocking her from going up the stairs, while she caused Dash to raise her eyebrow slightly in question as she clearly wondered why the Princess was stopping her from going up the stairs at the moment, and just waiting for some kind of explanation to come from her.
"Dash, I know you're tired right now, but I can tell there's something on your mind, so please...just talk to me," Twilight said with a pleading look as she hoped Dash would stop being so quiet and reach out to her, but unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case just yet as the pegasus just brushed her off, and looked away from her yet again.
"You don't have to worry Twilight,"
She simply said as she pushed past the Princess and began to walk up the stairs, however having to soon stop once again as Twilight quickly teleported herself to be at the top of the staircase, blocking the way again and stopping her marefriend from walking away from her as she was making it clear that she wasn't just going to let her walk away from this.
"Dash! Just tell me what's wrong,"
Twilight raised her voice a little, as her tone was sterner as she was giving Dash a softened expression, while pleading the pegasus to just tell her what was on her mind right now, and why she was seeming to be so distant from her at the moment, knowing there was something wrong, and not wanting Dash to just bottle it all up like she was currently doing.
"Twi really there's-
Dash seemed to be continuing to protest, however Twilight not having any of it as she was beginning to get slightly annoyed, not quite understanding just why Dash was refusing to talk to her so much as she soon gave the pegasus more of a stern expression, and looked into her eyes, noticing that they would waver every so often, now causing Dash to focus on her more as she lowered her voice and quickly cut her stubborn marefriend off.
"Dash, I'm not leaving you alone until you talk to me,"
She stated with a serious expression, causing Dash to bite her bottom lip a little as she could see that she wasn't getting out of this at all, and would eventually just have to give into her marefriend, something that she guessed she would just have to do in order to get the Princess off of her back, as it definitely seemed like Twilight wasn't going to drop this suject until she did just that.
Dash turning away from Twilight as she clenched her teeth together and hesitated for a few moments, before she just sighed heavily and decided to finally say what was on her mind right now, "What were you thinking Twi?" she spoke in a low tone, causing Twilight to look a little confused in response as she raised her eyebrow and was going to question just what Dash had meant exactly but was cut off by the pegasus rather quickly.
"What do you me-
"What were you thinking going up to Cloudsdale by yourself like that?" Dash asked as she raised her voice and gave Twilight a stern expression turning back to her now, and causing the Princess to widen her eyes as she saw that Dash actually seemed angry at the moment.
"When the guards and I came back here to see you were gone, I guessed that the only other place you could maybe be at was Cloudsdale, and I know you probably just went there to look for Lightning, but even so, after what her and those other pegasi did to me...and to see them all closing in on you like they were going to attack you as well...if you got hurt like I did...if the same thing happened to you...I...I don't know what I'd do..." Dash struggled to speak as she remembered seeing all those pegasi closing in on Twilight and getting ready to attack her, not wanting to imagine what could have happened to her marefriend if her and the guards hadn't come when they did.
Twilight staying silent as she saw Dash's magenta eyes well up with tears, while she hung her head low and let a couple of slight sobs escape her lips, knowing how much pain she was in right now because of Lightning Dust and those other pegasi from her hometown, and if Twilight had been made to feel that same pain too, she couldn't bear to see her marefriend hurt like she had been. A few tears streaming down her cheeks while Twilight realized just what she had done, she had caused Dash to worry about her this much, and she just hadn't noticed till now that the pegasus had really been scared for her.
"Dash..."
Twilight whispered out as Dash just bit her bottom lip again and choked back a couple of sobs, causing the Princess to look to her with a concerned expession, understanding just why Dash had been so distant from her and now seeing just where she had gone wrong.
"Why did you go there Twilight? You knew how dangerous it could be for you, but you went and did it anyway, and I...I...if anything were to have happened to you I...I..." Dash trailed off as she felt like she could no longer hold back her cries, feeling more tears streaming down her face, while Twilight now quickly wrapped her hooves around her crying marefriend and held her tightly, causing the pegasus to widen her eyes a little in response.
"I'm sorry Dash...I just thought there was something more I could be doing then just sitting around and waiting...but I guess when I got there...I really wasn't thinking at all. I'm sorry Dash, I won't go there by myself again, and definitely not when it's still dangerous and we still don't know where Lightning Dust could be," Twilight apologized as she stroked Dash's rainbow coloured mane, and could feel her still crying over her shoulder, the pegasus soon burying her head into Twilight's chest as she tried to calm herself down, knowing that Twilight was sorry and had realized what had caused the pegasus so much distress, but even so Dash continued to cry as Twilight held on to her tighter now.
"I'm sorry Dash..."
The Princess whispered out as she softly kissed Dash on her forhead and held her close, apologizing over and over again, while she waited for her marefriend's cries to go quiet, as she rubbed her back in a comforting way and hoped she could soothe the sobbing pegasus soon enough, as she nuzzled into her and sighed slightly, knowing that she really should have thought through what she was doing at the time when she went up to Cloudsdale eariler, after all if she did then she wouldn't have caused Dash to worry this much for her.
....
Some time having passed as it was early in the evening and Spike had now made his way back to the library, having come back from Sugarcube Corner after it seemed like Dash wasn't going to be returning anytime soon, so instead he was told by the others to just head home instead, and he guessed he might as well do so, as they all were doing the same after seeing that Dash wasn't going to be coming back.
Now returning back home as he walked into the library and looked around the place, sighing a little after not seeing Twilight or Rainbow Dash and guessing they were still with Princess Celestia in Canterlot at the moment. The young dragon just shrugged his shoulders and walked into the kitchen and dining area, seeing that Twilight and Dash weren't there either so decided to go and look upstairs before giving up trying to find the two mares here, and would just wait for them to come back. However it turning out that he wouldn't have to do that after all as he called out, and was surprised to hear the familiar voice of the Princess answering to him in return.
"Twilight, Rainbow Dash are you two here?"
"Spike? We're in here,"
Twilight called back out from her bedroom, causing the young dragon to quickly turn and come walking over to the Princess's bedroom as he opened the door, and saw Twilight lying on her bed, with Dash lying beside her with her head resting on Twilight's front hooves and her wing resting over the pegasus's back as at the moment Dash was sleeping soundly while she cuddled up to Twilight more, and the lavender mare just smiled to Spike and gestured for him to come into the bedroom.
"Hey what happened to you two? The others and I were waiting for you for ages," the young dragon asked as he walked into the bedroom and spoke in a lowered tone as to not wake up Dash at the moment.
"Sorry we had to go and talk to Princess Celestia about where to go from here. And she sent guards out to search for Lightning Dust since we found out that she has left Cloudsdale and her location is currently unknown to us at the moment," Twilight explained causing Spike to widen his eyes and look surprised in response.
"What?" he raised his voice a little too loudly, causing Twilight to put a hoof up to her lips, gesturing for him to keep quiet as to not wake up Dash right now, while the young dragon just quickly nodded and recovered from his surprise it seemed.
"Is that why the guards were outside?" he asked as he did notice two guards patroling the front of the library when he returned home, but seeing as how they were more interested in their patroling he didn't want to bother them by asking them why they were there.
Twilight just nodded in response to Spike, "The guards are just here for protection really until we found out just where Lightning Dust is hiding, and besides that Dash and I have been told to lay low since we could still very well be in danger at the moment," she explained as Spike just nodded in return and sighed a little, looking to Dash and seeming to be concerned for her, as she looked like she was just exhausted right now as she lay sleeping on Twilight's front hooves.
"How is she?" he questioned, gesturing to Dash, as Twilight just looked down to her sleeping marefriend and smiled slightly.
"She's tired but I think she should be fine once she gets some rest. What was Pinkie's surprise all about?" Twilight asked now changing the subject a little, as she looked back to Spike again.
"Oh, it was just a little get together that Applejack and the others had arranged for you and Rainbow Dash, as they said you all haven't hung out in a while, and it could prove to be a way to get you two to stop focusing on your worries so much," Spike explained as he caused for Twilight to widen her eyes a little and smile a moment later.
"That sounds nice, I guess we'll just have to tell them to do it another time, maybe when things have calmed down a little more," Twilight stated as she started to stroke Dash's rainbow mane gently and Spike just nodded in reply.
"Do you two want some dinner?" Spike asked as he guessed that the two mares hadn't really eaten much since lunch, and so thinking that it would be helpful if he made something for them both.
Twilight just smiling back to him as she nodded in reply, "Thank you Spike, although I don't think Dash is going to be waking up for a while yet," she said looking to her sleeping marefriend, while Spike just waved a claw and smiled back to Twilight.
"Don't worry about that, I'll make it, and then you two can come down and have it whenever you are both ready to," he simply stated as he started heading for the door now, waving goodbye to Twilight while she just smiled back to him and watched him leave the bedroom and slowly close the door behind him.
The Princess sighing and looking down to her sleeping marefriend again once she was left alone with her, soon letting a small smile form on her lips as she leaned her head down and rested it on top of Dash's nuzzling her lovingly, as she let herself relax for now, as she knew it would most likely be a good while before her and Dash could act calmly about things after all she reckoned that they wouldn't really be able to relax until Lightning Dust was found, and her plans were stopped. Twilight just kissing Dash softly on her forehead as she cuddled up closer to her dear marefriend and soon drifted off to sleep while nuzzling up to the cyan pegasus and holding her close to her still.
The rest of the evening passing by in more of a calm manner as once Dash and Twilight had woken up they simply went downstairs to have dinner along with Spike and talked about things that had nothing to do with what they had been going through lately as they seemed to be more content with talking about random things, rather than bringing everything that was going on with Lightning Dust back up again, or doing the same with what had happened between them, when they came back from Canterlot.
Twilight and Dash seeming to be acting completely normal around each other as they chose to just avoid talking about the things that might cause tension to arise, so it seemed they both just chose to forget about what had happened eailer when they had returned back home and pushed it all to the back of their minds for now, as they soon finished their dinner, and decided to get an early night since they were both tired from all that had happened today.
Leaving Spike to clean up the dishes in the kitchen as he was just glad that Twilight and Dash didn't seem as stressed or as worked up as before, which he hoped meant that the two mares would stop focusing on the things that were out of their control at the moment and they could just concentrate on themselves for now.
....
Twilight and Dash waking up rather eariler the next morning as they both made their way downstairs and sat down at the dining table, Spike already gotten up eariler himself as he stood in the kitchen making the three of them some breakfast, while the two mares sat being a little quiet at the moment as they both just avoided any conversation while they waited for breakfast to be ready.
The Princess looking to her marefriend with a slight nervous expression as she bit her bottom lip a little and sighed, 'we haven't talked about what happened when we got back from seeing Princesss Celestia since Spike came back yesterday, and even though I already told Dash that I was sorry for making her worry...I still feel like I haven't said it enough,' she thought as she remembered seeing Dash's crying expression from yesterday, and taking a deep breath as she rested a hoof on the pegasus's shoulder and caught her attention.
Dash turning to Twilight as she looked to her with a wondering expression, "Dash, about yesterday, I really am sorry for making you worry like that...I just..." the Princess sighed as she paused and looked away from the pegasus, while Dash just slowy let her lips form into a smile, softening her expression as she rested a comforting hoof on Twilight's shoulder and caused her to look back at her now.
"I know you are Twi, just...don't ever scare me like that again, okay?" she asked, giving Twilight a caring smile as the Princess nodded in reply and soon smiled back to her slightly, and sighed again as she rested her forehead aganist Dash's knowing to be much more careful when it came to taking matters into her own hooves now.
Dash kissing Twilight's forehead lightly, before Spike now came walking over with breakfast for them all, Twilight and Dash separating as they just smiled to each other and started to dig in to their food as Spike sat down and did the same a moment later.
However the three not really being able to enjoy their morning meal for very long as just as they had barely started eating their breakfast together, they all heard a slight knocking at the door, all three of them stopping eating for a moment as they looked to the door, and Spike simply stood up to go and answer it, Twilight and Dash talking to each other while the young dragon left the table and went to go and see who was at the door.
Opening the door and greeting their visitor, seeing Applejack on the doorstep, as she seemed to have a slightly nervous expression on her face at the moment, "Hey Applejack, what brings you here?" the young dragon asked as he smiled to the farm pony, getting an anxious look in response.
"Hey Spike, is Twilight up yet?"
She questioned, her tone seeming to be a worrying one as she clearly looked nervous at the moment and Spike could tell that there was something causing her to be on edge right now, so he quickly just let the farm pony inside the library and gestured to the dining area where Twilight and Rainbow Dash were still sitting.
"She's in there with Dash,"
He simply stated as Applejack nodded and thanked him, before she rushed over into the dining area and caught the attention of both Twilight and Dash when she entered the room, the two other mares looking to her now as they both wondered just why she was here all of a sudden, but before they could say anything the farm pony began to explain to them what was going on.
"Hey sorry to disturb your breakfast like this, but what's with all the guards walking round everywhere, pretty much the whole town is worried and questioning what they're here for, and when I asked one of them why they were here, they just said they were sent here by Princess Celestia and that's pretty much it," Applejack explained as she caused for Rainbow Dash and Twilight to both widen their eyes and look to each other, while the farm pony just continued on.
"Plus there two guards walking around outside the library as well. Did something happen that we don't yet know about?" she added clearly showing how anxious all these guards walking around the town were making her and most likely the other citizens of Ponyville feel since none of them had a clue as to what was going on, and had no idea about the danger they could currently be in at the moment.
Dash biting her bottom lip as she looked to Twilight, and wondered just what she would choose to do from here, after all it seemed like now there wasn't really any way for them to continue keeping the townsfolk of Ponyville in the dark about what was really happening and why there were guards patroling around all over the place, them of course not knowing that they were there just for their protection at the moment.
Twilight taking a deep breath as she could see that she would just have to tell the rest of the town about everything as that way at least it would explain for why all the gurads were around, but she also didn't want to cause them all to worry too much as she knew things were being taken care of. And so she just stood up from her chair and pushed her half-eaten breakfast away from her now.
"Applejack could you please gather everypony at the town hall? Then I will explain everything," Twilight instructed to the farm pony as she had a serious expression on her face now, causing Applejack to stand with a raised eyebrow for a moment, before she quickly soon just nodded and turned to leave, seeing that whatever was going on Twilight would be sure to tell the town about it all, and hopefully then they wouldn't have to wonder any longer.
Leaving the library a moment later as she quickly started to go over to the townsfolk and tell them all to gather at town hall together, while Rainbow Dash looked back to Twilight with a slightly concerned expression as Spike came walking back into the dining area, as he still looked confused as to why Applejack had shown up here all of a sudden and what exactly was going on at the moment.
"Twi are you sure about this?" Dash asked as she gave her marefriend a slightly anxious expression, while Twilight just looked back to her and nodded confidently.
"I am the ruler of Ponyville, so if they are in danger like this, then I should be the one to tell them about it all, plus we can't keep what's going on from them anymore, they need to know the truth about Lightning Dust," she stated knowing that this was something she needed to do, after all there wasn't really a way to keep everything from the rest of the town now that the royal guard and Princess Celestia had already been involved and were taking action aganist this threat that had been made aganist the town.
Dash just nodded with a slight sigh, knowing that Twilight was right, but also kind of dreading seeing just how the ponies of Ponyville would react when being told that they could very well be underattack from the floating city that was currently just above them.
Some time having passed as Applejack now went around the small town of Ponyville, telling all the citizens to gather at the town hall, and luckily being able to get the help of the mayor as well as quite a few of the other townsfolk so that they all could be rallied up much quicker, while Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Spike finished off their breakfast, before they too all headed to the town hall together.
It not being long before the whole town was garthered together as all of the ponies of Ponyville seemed confused as to what was happening in their little town right now, and it being obvious that they all wanted some answers as they stood around asking each other questions, while Twilight and Dash stood at the front of town hall, the Princess sighing slightly before she lifted her head when feeling Dash rest a comforting hoof on her shoulder.
Glancing back to the cyan pegasus and seeing her giving her an encouraging smile, causing the Princess to smile back to her slightly, before she nodded to herself now and walked up to the front of the crowd of ponies all talking to each other, and called out to them, luckily getting their attention rather easily it seemed.
"Can I have your attention please!"
The Princess raised her voice hoping that she would be heard over all the other talking ponies, and luckily it was enough to distract the townsfolk from talking to each other as they all soon quieted down and turned to Twilight, looking to their ruler, seeming to be hoping that she would explain just what was going on right now and what was with all the guards walking around the town all of a sudden.
Twilight widing her eyes as she obviously wasn't expecting the whole town to turn to her so quickly, as she bit her bottom lip and felt the nerves getting to her a little as she looked at all the poines staring back at her with looks of concern and questioning.
The lavender mare turning her head back to Dash for a moment as she stood behind the Princess along with Spike, the pegasus just nodding to her with a confident expression, causing Twilight to nod back to her, before she took a deep breath and now turned back to look at the townsfolk again, being able to pick out Applejack and the others all hundled together in the crowd as they all caught her gaze and gave her encouraging smiles as well.
"I know you all are confused by the fact that there are guards patrolling around the town, and you're all probably looking for some answers to what might be going on at the moment, but although I can't give you all the answers that you may have, I will say that the guards are only here for the town's protection and there should be no cause for alarment at this point," Twilight explained as she caused the crowd of ponies to all look to each other as they seemed even more confused now, all of them soon looking back to Twilight again with questioning expressions.
"But Princess Twilight, what is it that we need protecting from exactly?"
The mayor of the town asked as she stood at the front of the crowd, catching the attention of the Princess and causing her to look back to her now, while the rest of the crowd continued to stay silent as they all were waiting for Twilight's reply to the mayor's question it seemed.
Twilight hesitated for a moment as she took a deep breath and nodded to herself again, "I'm afraid that a threat has been made by a pegasus from Cloudsdale named Lightning Dust, for all of you that met her please know that she is not the pony who she claimes to be, and although we are not certain of her plans just yet, we do know that Ponyville could very well be in danger. After all Lightning Dust and a few other pegasi from Cloudsdale have already started to hurt the ponies living here, and they have even stopped a pegasus from going back to her home," she stated as she glanced to Dash standing behind her, and saw the cyan mare turn away as she just hung her head and glanced back to her bandaged up wings, while Twilight gave her a slightly concerned expression, and the crowd of ponies all began looking to each other and exchanging whispers amongest themselves for a few moments all of them clearly looking shocked and surprised with this news being told to them all of a sudden, before Twilight soon turned back to them all again.
"However I assure all of you as the ruler of both Ponyville and Cloudsdale I will make sure you are all safe, and nopony else will get hurt from this point on. We are uncertain of Lightning Dust's exact location at the moment, but we have already informed Princess Celestia about all this, and more members of the Royal Guard are looking for her right now. And once she's found, whatever her plans may be, they will be stopped and she shall be brought to justice for all the pain that she has caused," she stated in a more confident voice as she looked to the crowd with a determined expression, causing them to all look a bit un-easy now that they knew what was going on, but it obviously seeming to have caught them off guard as it wasn't long before they all began turning to each other and asking questions in low tones, however all of them soon quieting down again as Twilight spoke up a few momentes later.
"Now I know this is a lot for you all to take in, and the news may make you all feel a little on edge, but please trust me when I say that we are working to reslove this matter as quickly as possibly, and until Lightning Dust is found, protecting this town is my top priority right now," she gave the crowd of ponies a reassuring smile, as most of them soon nodded back to her in reply, still feeling un-easy about the danger that could possibly be heading for them and their little town, but also having faith and knowing to trust in their Princess was the best thing they could do right now, until Lighting Dust was found and stopped.
Questions now starting to arise from the crowd as they were all still feeling unsure about everything that was going on, and how they should go about their everyday lives even though their little town could very well be in danger soon enough. It not being long before Twilight was getting a little overwhelmed with all the questions which unfortunately right now she just didn't have the answers to most of them.
"Princess Twilight, why is this happening, why do the pegasi up in Cloudsdale hate us so much?"
A rather young mare asked, catching Twilight's attention as she turned to the mare and gave her a slightly concerned expression as she saw the look of worry that the mare was wearing at the moment. Glancing back to Dash as the pegasus just looked back to Twilight with a nervous expression, knowing that this was never going to be easy to explain to the ponies of Ponyville. The Princess just turned back to the young mare as she sighed, before giving her an reassuring, small smile now in return.
"I'm afraid I don't know...but I do intend to find out soon enough,"
She stated giving the mare a confident expression as she caused the mare to widen her eyes a little, before she soon nodded back to her slowly in reply, still seeming to have a worried look on her face at the moment. As Twilight was asked more and more questions, before Dash, Applejack and the others all came over to help the Princess, diverting the crowd's attention from Twilight as much as they could, while she was thankful to them all for doing so.
....
A couple of hours passing as things had finally calmed down after a long while, the crowd of ponies soon dying down enough for Twilight, Dash and Spike to escape from all the questioning, Applejack and the others helping them as they would be sure to answer any questions that the remaining ponies asked, as Twilight thanked them all before she left along with Dash and Spike, as they all headed back to the library together.
Spike starting to clean up the kitchen from breakfast as he knew they would be having lunch soon enough, while Dash lay down on the floor once her and Twilight had entered the library, "Man, those ponies sure can talk, I couldn't even hear myself think. I don't think we've got that much attention from this town since news first got out about you and I being together Twi," the pegasus stated as she looked back to her marefriend and gestured for her to come and lie beside her on the library floor. Twilight just smiling slightly as she sighed and came to lay down beside Dash a moment later.
"Well considering the news we just told them all about, they are bound to be confused and ask us questions about everything, after all once we found out the truth we were probably feeling the same as they are right now" the Princess said as she glanced away from Dash as she thought about all the questions that the ponies of Ponyville had asked her, a good few sticking in her mind it seemed as her smiled soon faded, causing Dash to look to her with a slightly concerned expression now.
"Hey Twi?" Dash caught Twilight's attention as she rested a hoof on the Princess's shoulder, and caused her to turn back to her a momenter later.
"What are you thinking about?"
The pegasus asked as she could clearly tell that something was on Twilight's mind right now, that seemed to be bothering her at the moment, Dash resting a hoof over the Princess's as she gave her an understanding expression while Twilight just sighed slightly looking back to Dash with a small smile in return.
"It's nothing, it's just...a few of those questions really did get to me I guess," Twilight simply shrugged her shoulders as she glanced away from Dash for a moment, causing the pegasus to look back to her with a questioned expression.
"What do you mean Twi?"
"Well...we still don't know just why Lightning Dust, and those other pegasi from Cloudsdale are doing this, I mean they've got to have some reason for wanting to cause all the pain they have right? When I went to Cloudsdale, Before we went to go and see Princess Celestia, I did ask them why they were choosing to help Lightning Dust, but they didn't really answer me," Twilight explained as she let another sigh leave her lips, while she thought about when she talked to that group of pegasi up in Cloudsdale, and wondered just what their reason was for doing all that they had along with Lightning Dust.
Dash just looking concerned to Twilight again as she thought back to the afternoon that she got hurt, and remembering what Lightning Dust had said about the ponies of Ponyville, 'Just where was Lightning coming from with what she was saying back then?' she wondered as she sighed a little as well, before she looked back to Twilight, and knew this matter was most probably going to stay on her marefriend's mind for quite some time as these things always did until they were pretty much resloved and she didn't need to worry about them anymore.
The cyan mare soon shaking her head as she just glanced back to Twilight, and caught her attention a moment later, "I know I'm going to regret asking this, but...what do you want to do Twi?" she asked causing Twilight to turn back to her, the Princess giving her a curious expression, seeming to be wondering what she meant at first, before she just lowered her voice and looked nervous now, while Dash just raised an eyebrow to her marefriend in response.
Twilight seeming to just be thinking for a few moments as she looked down to Dash's hoof resting over her's, "Well I know there isn't really anything more we can do to help putting a stop to Lightning Dust's plans while she's still missing at this point, but...she isn't the only pony we have to watch out for, what about those other pegasi that are up in Cloudsdale right now? Just what part do they play in all of this? Shouldn't we...find out that much at least?" the Princess nervously asked as she looked to Dash with an anxious expression, having a feeling that she already knew what her marefriend's answer was going to be, as the pegasus just stayed silent while looking back to Twilight with a raised eyebrow still.
Seeming to not get what Twilight was hinting at for a little bit, before she soon widened her eyes and caught on to what her marefriend was trying to tell her without being that obvious as she just turned away from Dash and nervously bit her bottom lip, while the pegasus now rolled her eyes, and could see just what the Princess was getting at.
"You want to go back up there again, don't you?"
She asked as she sighed deeply and simply got a small nod from Twilight in reply, Dash knowing that they would eventually have to go back up to Cloudsdale again, but going back so soon after Twilight had almost got attacked, and when Lightning Dust was still missing was putting her off quite a bit. However she could see just where Twilight was coming from at the moment, as the Princess just continued to look back at her nervously.
"It's just...even if Lightning Dust is caught and stopped, that doesn't mean that all our problems go away, after all the two towns are still not even close to making peace or trying to start a fresh at all. So while I know the danger of going back up there right now...I honestly don't see another way for us to sort what's really going on here. Our goal has always been to end this feud between the two towns right?" Twilight looked back to Dash as she gave her another anxious expression, unsure if the pegasus would agree to this idea of her's at all. Dash just narrowing her eyes a little, before she glanced away from Twilight slightly now.
"And I guess we can't do that by just sitting and waiting around here, can we?" she replied as she glanced back to Twilight and caused her to widen her eyes in surprise now, as she clearly wasn't expecting Dash to agree to them trying to go back up to Cloudsdale again, seeing Dash letting a small smile form on her lips as she moved closer to the pegasus and made her turn back to her again.
"Really, we can go Dash?" the Princess asked as she looked to her marefriend with hope-filled eyes, as Dash just nodded a moment later in reply, and caused Twilight to smile back to her now.
"But we're taking the guards with us this time," Dash warned as she wasn't going to risk either one of them getting hurt or be in danger of getting attacked again, so bringing the two guards that had been sent to protect them specifically would be the best way for them to prevent that right now, but it meaning that they could still go to Cloudsdale and maybe finally get some answers.
Twilight just nodding in return as she herself had no intention of putting either of them in danger, and this time they would take precautions just in case things did get a little out of hand at all, 'I know we might have trouble once we go back up to Cloudsdale, but I'm the ruler of that floating city just as I am for this little town, so if there's a probelm between them that's been going on for this long, then it's about time that I got to the bottom of it,' the Princess thought to herself as she looked determined now.
Her and Dash soon telling Spike just where they were going, and saying not to bother making any lunch for them, before they said their goodbyes to the young dragon, and began to head off to Cloudsdale, Dash traveling on Twilight's back, while the two guards that were sent to protect the two were now following along behind them, both of them being sure to stay alert at all times once they would enter the city that floated just above Ponyville.
....
The journey to Cloudsdale not taking them all that long as once they had entered the city, they stuck to the outskirts as to not draw much attention to themselves. Twilight soon landed on a cloud and let Dash down, while the pegasus looked around her hometown, wondering where those pegasi that hurt her were, and how long it would take them to find them all, as she remembered there were quite a lot of them back when Lightning first introduced them to her.
"So what's the plan here Twi?" Dash asked as she was hoping to not get noticed by any of the residents in the city, while also still trying to see if she could spot any of the pegasi that she knew had been helping Lightning out with her plans.
"Well I was thinking that in order for us to find these pegasi we might need to split up with one guard following along side us, since we can't be sure that the pegasi that we are looking for will all be together," Twilight explained as she too was looking all around the city, while the two pegasi guards stood to attention on the cloud, waiting for orders it seemed at the moment.
Dash just nodding back to Twilight in reply, having a bit of an un-easy expression, as she didn't really want to split up from Twilight, but kinda guessing that it would be good for them since they could cover more ground and maybe have a better chance at finding those pegasi that they needed to speak with. However it seeming that Dash didn't have to worry about that for too long as the sound of a rather familiar voice caught their attention and caused them to both turn their heads to where the voice had come from now.
"And just what are you doing back here, didn't you get the message the other day?" a female pegasus called out to Rainbow Dash as she and three others now came to land on the same cloud as Twilight and Dash, all four of the pegasi standing in-front of Dash while she just gave them all a stern stare in return recognising them all almost instantly as some of the pegasi that were helping out Lightning Dust.
"Or do you just want us to give you another beating?"
The mare that had called out to Dash asked as all four of the pegasi smirked now, while Dash just bared her teeth a little, wanting to wipe those annoying smirks off their faces, but refrained from doing so as she knew it wouldn't get her anywhere. Sighing slightly as she felt Twilight's hoof on her shoulder, and backed down stepping away from the four other pegasi, while the one that had just threatened her was raising her eyebrow in question a moment later.
"We're not here for a fight alright?" the cyan mare stated as she let Twilight step forward in-front of her now, while the other pegasi all frowned a little, seeming to be wondering just what was going on, and what the other two were really here for.
"We're just here for some answers from you all," Twilight added as she looked to the four pegasi with a stern expression, while they all just stared back to her blankly in reply, obviously not thinking very highly of her even though she was their Princess and ruler.
"You again? What kind of answers are you talking about?" the mare that was just talking with Dash asked as she rolled her eyes a little upon seeing Twilight again, which caused both the Princess and Dash to glare slightly back at her in return.
"Well we can't really get the answers that we want when there's only four of you here right now, after all I know there were many more of you when you all helped Lightning to almost break my wings," Dash stated as she chimed in again, causing the other pegasi to look back to her a moment later, Dash just giving the pegasi a stern stare still, while the mare that had just been talking to Twilight soon narrowed her eyes, before she looked to the other three pegasi and made a gesture to them with her head.
"Go and get the others,"
She instructed as the other three pegasi soon just nodded and flew off without much of a second thought, making it easy enough for Dash and Twilight to guess that this mare that had been talking to them both had most likely been put in charge of things after Lightning Dust had left and gone missing.
Twilight and Dash now being left along with this one pegasus, as they all just stared sternly to one another while they waited in silence, and luckily them not having to wait for very long it seemed, as only a few minutes had passed and the other three pegasi had returned, bringing along the rest of the group that had been helping Lightning out with her plans so far.
"So we're all here now, what did you want to ask us, Princess?"
The mare that had instructed the others to come asked as all of the pegasi narrowed their eyes to Twilight and Dash, while the two looked around at them all in return, giving them slight glares before the Princess soon looked to the mare in front of her, and decided to direct most of her attention on her rather than all of the other pegasi, as she knew Dash and the guards were keeping a close eye on them all, knowing to be watchful to see if any of them were starting to close in on Twilight or anything like that.
However the other pegasi hovering on the outside of the cloud, not seeming to even try moving to attack the Princess at all, as it was quite obvious to them that there wasn't much point to them trying anything, when they would be stopped in no time by the two pegasi guards that were currently being very alert while being around them right now.
"I came to ask you all why you are doing all this? Why are you helping out Lightning Dust like this?" Twilight asked as she sighed slightly and softened her expression now, deciding that it was better for her to try and approach this in a civilized manner, after all she knew hassling the pegasi wasn't going to really get her anywhere at all at the moment.
"You want to know why, and just why should we tell you that?" the mare in charge just raised her eyebrow again, as Twilight felt a little anxious, before just shaking off that feeling, knowing she couldn't let her guard down, and just had to keep pushing until she eventually got the answers that she was looking for, although she kind of guessed doing that would definitely take her some time.
"Well, maybe we can help you?" Twilight suggested in a polite tone, causing the small crowd of pegasi all to just glare to her, as the mare standing in-front of the Princess bared her teeth a little in response.
"And just why would we ever want help from you?"
"Tell me, do you really want to keep living like this? Don't ever want to end this feud between Cloudsdale and Ponyville, and try to get along with the ponies down there again?" the Princess asked as she tried to reach out to the pegasi as they all just shook their heads in response as it seemed like starting a fresh with the ponies in Ponyville just wasn't something they were going to be willing to agree with.
"Why would we ever want to try and get along with them? All they ever did was try and run us out of their stupid little town with no reguard to our feelings at all," the pegasus in charge stated as she obviously looked angered now, while all the other pegasi nodded in agreement clearly having the same feeling towards the ponies of Ponyville it seemed. Causing Dash to just look confused however as she tlitled her head a little in return.
"I honestly don't see where you're all coming from with that, after all the ponies from Ponyville have always been very welcoming to us, we were the ones that weren't willing to try and get along with them all," Dash stated as she really couldn't remember the ponies from the town below ever being anything but humble and kind towards the pegasi of her hometown, causing the other pegasi to all just roll their eyes in response to her now.
"You just don't get it do you?...you...you just wouldn't understand," the mare in charge stated in a lower tone as she sighed and looked away from Twilight and Dash for a moment, while the two glanced to each other with slightly nervous expressions, before the Princess turned back to the small crowd of angered pegasi and caught their attention with another question now.
"Then help us understand," she gave the pegasi a kind expression, letting them know that she was willing to listen to whatever they had to say, and wasn't going to judge them for it or anything. Seeming to make the pegasus in charge hesitate for a few moments, before she just continued to speak in a low voice in return.
"Honestly I know you may think that all the ponies that live down there are kind and welcoming, but you couldn't be more wrong, after all some of them...they were just horrible to most of us, and they clearly didn't want us around at all," she repiled as she bit her bottom lip and seemed to be getting more angered by just talking about the ponies of Ponyville now. The other pegasi all nodding their heads in agreement, it looking like they were all letting their guard down a little as they were clearly more focused on thinking about those ponies living below them that they hated with such a passion it seemed.
'They all look so resentful at the moment, just...just what happened with them and the ponies of Ponyville to cause them to feel this way, and eventually cause this feud between them all to begin?' Twilight questioned as she thought for a few moments, always having a feeling that there was more to this feud between the two towns than she had already been told, and now she could see how maybe she just might finally be getting to the bottom of how it all began.
Rainbow Dash and Twilight glancing to each other for a few moments before they soon both turned back to look at the mare that was currently in front of them, Twilight looking round to all the spiteful expressions on the pegasi's faces, and sighing slightly as she was a little unsure of just how she should go about asking more questions after all she could already tell that talking about the ponies that they hated so much was proving to be stressful for all of the pegasi.
'They seem to not just hold grudges and resent the ponies of Ponyville, it actually looks like they hate them with a passion, but why? Just what did the ponies living below do to them?' the Princess questioned to herself as she was about to speak up and see if she could finally get some answers out of the mare in front of her, or the other pegasi surrounding them at the moment, however Dash chimed in and interrupted her before she could say a single word.
"Seriously what is all your guys problem with those ponies? Whatever they did to you all couldn't have been that bad," Dash stated as she clearly still wasn't getting why all the other pegasi here hated the ponies living below them so much, when all this time she had always seen the ponies of Ponyville being more of the victims then the pegasi up in Cloudsdale ever were.
The mare standing in front on Dash just rolling her eyes and glaring back at the cyan pegasus a moment later in response, "Oh really? The fact that you just said that, shows that you clearly have no idea how horrible those vile poines can be," she stated as she turned away from Dash and Twilight, looking like she was going to fly off, as she gave a gesture to the other pegasi, Twilight and Dash seeing this and knew they had to think quickly, after all this may be their only chance of finally getting some answers, and they weren't going to let this opportunity just slip away from them.
"You two should just get out of here already,"
The mare in charge stated as she took a couple of steps back, and made another head gesture to all the other pegasi, all of them nodding back to her a moment later. All of them looking like they were about to make a swift escape, but Twilight and Dash quickly not allowing them to.
"We're not going anywhere, and neither are you all until we get some answers," Dash said as she quickly rushed to stand in front of the mare and stared her down, stopping her from leaving as the mare just rolled her eyes again in response.
"Seriously, do you actually want us to hurt you again or something?"
She threatened as she stared Dash down, causing the cyan mare to just glare back to her, clearly showing that she wasn't scared of her and didn't feel threatened by her. The two pegasi having a heated stare down, before Twilight came over to stand in-between them both as she didn't want a fight to start or anything like that right now.
"I won't let you do that, and why won't you let us help you? I'm sure there's something we can do to make things better between you all and- the Princess broke up her marefriend and the mare in charge before things got too heated between them, looking to the pegasus mare with a slightly nervous expression, as she thought there must be something they could do that would hopefully be of help to the spiteful pegasi of Cloudsale, however the pegasus mare soon cutting her off and was seeming to become more angered now.
"THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO!"
She raised her voice causing Twilight and Dash to both widen their eyes and look a little taken aback by the mare's suddebn outburst, getting the feeling that they had pushed a bit too much then they should have, as they stood in slience, waiting for the mare to continue, being unsure if they would cause more tension to arise by talking back to her at the moment.
The mare just sighing heavily as she shook her head and saw the two guards coming a little closer, looking like they were clearly ready to defend Twilight and Rainbow Dash if she or any of the other pegasi were planning to try anything. And so the mare just turned away from Twilight and Dash and lowered her tone now.
"This is all those damn ponies fault, they were the cause of all this trouble, not us," she stated causing Dash to look a little confused, while Twilight just raised her eyebrow and seemed like she wanted to hear more, as she could see that the other mare's guard had been dropped to a certain amount right now.
"What do you mean?"
The Princess asked in a calm voice as she hoped that this had all been enough to finally push the mare into telling them what had really happened between the pegasi of Cloudsdale and the ponies of Ponyville in order to start this feud that had been going on for so long.
"When we all came here we didn't plan to stay for long, you see we thought that the ponies would be welcoming and kind to us, like how other towns that we had visited as a traveling city had been, and for a little while they were. The ponies from that little town were very friendly towards us and that's why most of the pegasi from here wanted to stay and not travel around anymore," the mare in charge started to explain where this feud with the town below had started, as Twilight and Dash both listened intently to her, while all the other pegasi had somber looks on their faces now, as they seemed to have let their guard drop a little as well, as it was clear that they no longer wanted to hold back the reason for why they hated the ponies of the neighboring town so much anymore.
"And we were all fine with that idea, but...soon things started to change with those ponies, some continued to be humble and kind to us all, however it wasn't long before rumors started to be spread around the town, we were stealing food and breaking belongings of theirs, we were abusing their kindness, the list went on. And then it wasn't just rumors anymore..." the mare paused as she clenched her teeth together and seemed to be shaking a little, looking like she was boiling up with anger from remembering all that had happened before the feud started and what some of the ponies in Ponyville had done to them all in the past.
"It started off with just glares and gossiping so that wasn't all that bad, but it wasn't long before some of the ponies would come up to us and tell us to leave the town, they told us that we didn't belong there alongside them and we never could," the mare stated as she bit her bottom lip a little when she thought about all that the ponies of the town below had said to her and other pegasi from Cloudsdale.
"They told us we didn't deserve to live above or anywhere near them, and that we should just find somewhere else to 'invade'," one of the other pegasi stated all of them now seeming to be getting just as angered as the mare in charge was at the moment, looking round to each other and all nodding their heads in agreement.
"They targeted us at any chance they got, and said nopony wanted us there!" another pegasus said in a raised voice, the others all soon joining in one by one, as both Twilight and Dash were surpised to hear all the things that some of the ponies in Ponyville had said to them all, unsure if they should really believe what they were being told right now, but honestly when all of the pegasi looking as angered as they did when talking about those ponies living below them, it was hard to think that they could be making it up at all.
"It even got to the point when they were telling us to leave or they would just run us all out of the town if we chose to not agree, so we all eventually stopped going down to Ponyville, and we did start telling other pegasi from Cloudsdale that we should all just leave and find somewhere else to stay...but...hardly any of them believed us, thinking that we were just making everything up, and from being told that we knew those kind and welcoming personas the ponies showed us when we first came here, were all just an manipulative act of theirs," the mare in charge explained as she caused Twilight and Dash to look back to her now, as they were both clearly still confused by being told all of this.
"And then it wasn't long before this stupid feud began, families were broken apart, friendships were ruined, and relationships were torn, all because this damn feud made us all choose whether we wanted to stay living in Cloudsdale still, or go and live in that vile, little town instead. But it didn't end there, this is still all going on, and we even have thought of just leaving Cloudsdale altogether in order to get away from it all," the mare continued as Dash widened her eyes and looked much more interested as she spoke up now.
"Then why didn't you? Why did you choose to all stay when you could have all just left if it was really that bad for you all?" she asked, causing the mare standing in front of her look back to her with a serious expression, while anger was still clearly boiling up inside of her.
"And go where exactly? Cloudsdale is the only home we've ever known, and we wouldn't just be leaving our home if we did choose to leave...we'd be leaving our friends and families as well. We'd be leaving everything we've ever known behind, and we would have to do it all alone. We had to choose to say goodbye to our loved one's and our home in order to live better, and...that was a choice that none of us wanted to make," the mare explained as all the other pegasi agreed with simple nods, Dash sighing as this started to oddly remind her of when the close friendship that her and Fluttershy had was torn apart by this feud and how long it took her to gain the courage to build it back up again.
"Plus we didn't want to give those ponies the satisfaction of believing they had 'won' by making us run away and leave everything because of all they had done. So we decided that revenge was our only option to fight back against them," the mare added as she caused Twilight and Dash to widen their eyes again in response as the Princess now finally spoke up, after staying silent and listening for all this time.
"That's why you're doing all of this?" she asked as she just got a simple nod from the mare in charge in reply.
"They took everything from us, our friends and families, and treated us like we deserved to be hunted down by them, so we chose to do the same to them, and make them all feel just as targeted as they made us all feel," the mare replied as she caused Twilight to go a little speechless, unsure of what to say in response, while the mare just turned away from the Princess again a moment later.
Dash biting her bottom lip as she remembered Lightning Dust saying the same thing that this mare had, but unsure of how to react and feel after she now knew just what they actually meant when saying it, and what the reason was for everything they had done to the ponies living below them so far.
"Now do you get it? We aren't going to just sit around and let those damn ponies think we feel threatened by them at all, and we will make them pay for all that they did to us," the mare stated as she looked to Twilight and Dash with a determined expression on her face, all the other pegasi nodding in agreement, before they all glared to the Princess again.
"If that's all you wanted to know, then just get out of here already,"
The mare in charge said as she turned her back to Twilight and Dash, making a gesture with her head to the other pegasi as they all just nodded back to her and soon started turning and flying off. Twilight widening her eyes as although her questions had been answered she and Dash were still clearly confused by being told all this and wanted to talk with the pegasi for just a little longer, after all there was so much she wanted to say to them all.
"Wait!"
The Princess called out as she rushed to stop the pegasi from leaving, however the mare in charge turning on her heel in response as she glared to the Princess again, causing Dash and the two guards to rush after Twilight, ready to protect her from getting hurt at all. The mare just bearing her teeth as she sighed deeply.
"Just get out of our sight, and go back to that vile little town of yours,"
She said in a low tone, before turning away from the Princess and taking off into the sky a moment later, the remaining pegasi following after her as they all glared to Twilight and Dash one last time and then leaving as well, Dash glaring back up at them as she stood her ground in front of her marefriend and told the two guards to make sure all of the peagsi had gone, and none were hanging around them anymore.
Twilight looking to the direction that the pegasi had all left in with a disppointed and concerned expression, sighing heavily as she soon just looked down and let her head hang low, seeing that their coverstaion was over and they weren't going to get anything else from the pegasi of this floating city for now.
Dash looking back to Twilight as she rested a hoof under her chin and caused the Princess to look back to her, giving her a slight smile "Come on Twi, there's nothing more for us here, let's go back home for now, after all Spike will probably be wondering why we haven't yet come back soon enough," she said as she rested a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, while she just nodded in response a few moments later, knowing that Dash was right, and they couldn't really do anything more here, so doing as that mare had said and going home was likely the best thing for them to do right now.
"Well we have got a lot to think about after all this,"
Twilight simply replied as she let a small smile form on her lips, while Dash just nodded to her and kissed her forehead lightly, before she nuzzled her slightly, and turned towards the two guards a moment later, Twilight turning away as she looked to the direction that the pegasi had all disppeared off in, sighing heavily once again as she knew that even though they now knew more about how this feud between the two towns had started, her and Dash we still far from resloving it at all at this point.
....
Twilight and Dash soon arriving back at the library as the two guards went back to their posts at the front of the couple's home, while Spike now quickly came rushing over to the two mares as he heard the door being opened and then shut again from the kitchen.
"You two are finally back, so how did it go?" the young dragon asked as he looked to Twilight and Dash with a curious expression, wondering if he should be worried or not about how everything had gone for the two while they were up in Cloudsdale.
Twilight and Dash looking to each other for a few moments as it was clear that they were both unsure of how to respond to Spike, and so just stayed silent before Twilight shook her head, sighing heavily as she walked past the young dragon and disappeared up the stairs to her bedroom causing Spike and Dash to watch her go with concerned expressions.
"What happened Dash?" Spike asked as he now turned back to Dash, hoping that she would explain to him just what had gone on while her and Twilight were up in Cloudsdale, and why it had caused Twilight to go a bit distant on them at the moment.
"It's a little hard to explain really," Dash stated after a short pause as she nervously looked to Spike, being unsure how she should tell the young dragon about what the pegasi up in Cloudsdale had told them a little while ago, "I'll tell you all about it in a little while okay, I just need to go and see Twi quickly first," she added before she rushed off upstairs to go and talk to her marefriend, while leaving Spike to just look confused and somewhat curious about what had happened up in Cloudsdale, however just shrugging his shoulders, and walking back into the kitchen as he guessed the two mares would be back downstairs soon enough since they probably hadn't had anything to eat since this morning and it was now late afternoon.
Dash knocking on Twilight's bedroom door lightly as she slowly pushed it open a moment later after she heard her marefriend mumble out a response to her in return. The cyan pegasus walking in to see Twilight laying on her bed as she was turned away from her and seemed to be lost in thought at the moment, Dash understanding how she must be feeling, after all the conversation they both had with the pegasi up in Cloudsdale certainly was surprising and sure did leave them with a lot to think about.
Sighing slightly as she let a small smile form on her lips, Dash came to lay beside Twilight on the bed as she seemed to catch her attention a moment later, "Man I knew some of the pegasi in my hometown could be bad, but who would have thought that this town had ponies that also had the same kinda side to them, I mean I was only joining in to fit in with them all, but to think that they actually did all that stuff to get back at the ponies of this town..." she stated trailing of slightly, sounding like she was just thinking out loud right now, as she just wanted to get her marefriend talking more than everything else, as she would rather not have her stay quiet and bottle up what her thoughts just might be at this moment.
Twilight staying silent for a few moments, as she looked to Dash with a thoughtful expression it seemed, before she just nodded her head in reply soon afterwards causing the pegasus to look back to her with a slight smile in response.
"I thought this would be quite simple due to the fact that Cloudsdale seemed to be the only ones having troubles with getting along, but to now know that the two towns can be just as bad as each other...it just feels like this has all gotten a lot more complicated for us," the Princess stated with a heavy sigh as Dash just chuckled slightly and nodded in reply, before she moved closer to Twilight and nuzzled her, while Twilight just closed her eyes and nuzzled her marefriend back and letting herself relax a little, as her head was still spinning with all that happened today and wondered just where they should go from where they were right now.
....
Meanwhile unknown to Twilight and Rainbow Dash there stood a turquoise pegasus with a golden mane and matching eyes hiding in a bush at the moment as she poked her head out from behind the leaves and looked to the library that was a little a ways away from her, narrowing her golden eyes as she looked to the two patrolling guards outside.
A sly smirk slowly forming on her lips as she leaned a little more forward and sighed a moment later, 'Well this may not be going exactly all according to plan, but...things sure are getting interesting now,' Lightning Dust thought as she raised her eyebrow slightly, before she sunk her head back down into the bush again, and swiftly scurried off so that she wouldn't be seen by the guards or anyone else, while the sun now began to set in the tinted orange sky as Lightning disappeared into hiding once again.
That night when midnight had not long passed by and it was now the early hours of the morning, Rainbow Dash lay sleeping peacefully in Twilight's bed, mumbling in her sleep a little as she smiled slightly and soon rolled over to snuggle up closer to her marefriend. However as she moved one of her hooves around to try and reach for Twilight, all she was getting was the feeling of the soft bed sheets against her hoof it seemed.
Stirring in her sleep a little as she moved her hoof around more, searching for her marefriend, however not seeming to feel anything other than the bed sheets, covers and pillows. As her eyes now slowly opened and blinked a couple of times as the pegasus yawned and sat up in the bed, soon finding that Twilight was currently missing from the bed for some reason. Looking around the bedroom as she let her eyes get used to the darkness, before shrugging her shoulders and getting out of bed, leaving out the door a moment later as she first went to the bathroom to see if she could find the Princess there.
However the bathroom door was wide open and the light had been switched off, Dash seeing that Twilight clearly wasn't in there, so she guessed she might as well go downstairs to look for her marefriend instead, unsure of why the Princess would be awake at this time, but figuring that she had just got up for a drink of water or something like that.
But as Dash made her way down the stairs and walked into the main room of the library, the dim glow of a lamp caught her eyes as she turned her head towards the light and sighed when she spotted the mare she had been searching for laying on the floor of the library with a book open in front of her, while a small desk lamp stood beside her providing her with a small light source at the moment.
"What are you doing up this late Twi?" Dash asked as she caused Twilight to take her attention off of her book and look up to see the pegasus walking over to her now as she raised an eyebrow to the Princess, while Twilight just smiled back to her nervously in response.
"Couldn't I ask you the same question?" she asked as Dash just shrugged in reply, shaking her head slightly before she came to lay beside her marefriend, resting her head on her shoulder and nuzzling her as she now looked to the book that the Princess was reading at the moment.
"What are you reading?" she asked not looking all that interested in the book and clearly still feeling tired, while Twilight just smiled slightly to her marefriend before answering her a moment later.
"The History of Ponyville," the Princess simply stated as she caused Dash to widen her eyes a little, and look slightly more awake now, as she looked to the book again and seemed to be trying to pay more attention, even though it was clear to see that she was still having trouble with keeping her eye-lids from closing every so often.
"I didn't know this little town had a book about its history,"
"Well it doesn't have much significant information, but it is interesting at least," Twilight said as she also sighed a little, while not seeming to be all that focused on the book that was currently right in front of her, Dash just smiling as she raised her eyebrow to her marefriend a moment later.
"Oh yeah? Does it mention anything about how the poines of this town like to force pegasi from other visiting towns to leave at all?" she asked causing Twilight to chuckle slightly, as she just shook her head in response.
"Surprisingly enough...no, I'm not even sure why I'm looking to be honest, after all no matter how you look at it, to think that the kind ponies of this towns could actually have threatened to run all those pegasi out of Ponyville, it...it just doesn't sound like them at all," Twilight sighed again as she closed the book in front of her with her magic, as she held her head low and looked like she was quite worn out right now, while Dash just kissed her forehead lightly and smiled to her slightly.
"You think they're actually telling the truth?" she asked as she caused Twilight to think for a few moments it seemed, before she just shrugged her shoulders in reponse.
"I don't what to, but what reason could they have to lie to us about all that? I mean it's hard to believe that all those other pegasi would follow along with Lightning Dust's plans if they didn't have their own reasons for bringing pain and dismay on to those who live in Ponyville," Twilight explained as she couldn't see why the pegasi of Cloudsdale would lie to them, after all they had to have at least some sort of motive for causing all the fear and pain that they had already. Dash seeming to agree as she just nodded her head in reply.
"And although I know some pegasi from my hometown did like to stir up trouble just for the fun of it a lot, however those pegasi weren't the ones that I used to hang around with. In fact they are all probably the kind of pegasi that just kept to themselves most of time...kinda like Lightning did before everything with the feud happened, so to think that they now all seem to hate the ponies in this town so much..." Dash paused as she knew that she had never really met any of the pegasi that were helping Lightning with her plans before, and them always seeming to be the kind of pegasi that never left Cloudsdale much, and yet they still had a strong hatred for the ponies that lived below them somehow.
Dash looking to Twilight as the Princess just nodded a few moments later, "There has to be some reason as to why Lightning Dust and those other pegasi wanted to do of all this, and if what they told us is all a lie, then...what other reason is there? I mean they said that the ponies of this town took everything from them and they were the ones at fault for the feud. You don't think like that right Dash?" Twilight asked as she looked back to Dash and caused her to just slowly shake her head a few moments later.
"While I did notice that some ponies didn't like us coming to visit their town, and true there were accusations and rumors floating around at that time, but I could never see those ponies forcing and threatening us to leave. And yeah when that feud started Cloudsdale lost a lot and many families, friends and relatioships were torn apart, however the pegasi played a big part in that as well, so it wasn't just those who lived in Ponyville that were the problem," Dash stated as she yawned now slightly and leaned more into Twilight, while the Princess just took in everything she said and lay thinking for a moment, wondering just where they should go from here.
'If those pegasi were telling us the truth and the two towns are really as bad as each other when it comes to getting along...then just what should we do? How can we fix all of this?' Twilight questioned to herself as she tried to figure out some kind of plan inside her mind, but as she was a little lost in thought she heard Dash yawning again, as her eyes widened and she glanced to her marefriend, smiling slightly when she saw the pegasus slowly starting to nod off on her shoulder, and caught her attention a moment later.
"Hey Dash, you can go back to bed if you're still tired, after all I only came down here because I couldn't sleep, so- Twilight stated as she didn't really feel all that tired since she had too much on her mind right now, but unlike her she could see that Dash was just barely keeping herself awake at the moment.
However Dash just shaking her head in response as she tried to wake herself up a little and straightened her back, before she shook off her exhaustion, cutting off Twilight a moment later, "No, no, I'm okay, I'll stay down here with you Twi. After all we still have to figure this all out right?" she smiled nervously as Twilight just smiled back to her slightly, before she turned away from Dash and sighed a little, looking like she was lost in thought once again.
"Hey Dash?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think...we can really still do this?" the Princess asked in a nervous, low tone as she turned back to her marefriend after as short pause as Dash widened her eyes a little in response, staying slient for a few moments as it seemed like she was unsure of what exactly she should say in reply, but soon smiling slightly back to Twilight.
"Of course we can Twi, after all we'll always make it through as long as we're together," Dash repiled with a reassuring expression as she leaned into Twilight more and nuzzled into her neck, Twilight just nuzzling her back while she still had an anxious look on her face at the moment.
"B-but how can you be so sure Dash?" she asked in a low tone after a short pause, however not hearing a reply from the pegasus, and so was about to call her name and get her attention, only to turn her head and smile slightly when she noticed that her marefriend had now fallen to sleep while resting her head on her shoulder.
'I guess this time really is too early for her to be awake,' the Princess thought as she lay a light kiss on Dash's forehead, causing the pegasus to smile in her sleep a little, before Twilight just sighed slightly and looked back to the book that was still currently in front of her, narrowing her eyes as she just pushed the book away from her a moment later.
'For the sake of both Ponyville and Couldsdale...I hope you're right Dash,' she thought as she looked to the closed door of the library with a determined expression, before she soon rested her head on her front hooves and cuddled up close to Dash, nuzzling into her as she closed her eyes and wished her mind would go blank to allow herself to get some rest before she and Dash would have to wake up in a few hours and work out just where they were supposed to go from here on out, and what their next move was going to be.
....
Twilight still somehow being able to wake up early in the morning after luckily getting a few hours sleep, soon coaxing Dash to get up too as they both quickly had some breakfast along with Spike, before they left the library and were now making their way into the town of Ponyville together. Dash clearly being a little confused as to what they were doing, and what kind of plan Twilight had figured out without having told her, while they walked around the market in town at the moment in a rather quick pace.
"Twi what are we doing here?"
The pegasus asked as she was being dragged from place to place at the moment, while she looked to Twilight's cheerful expression and wondered just where this energy of her's had all come from considering the fact that the Princess was up half the night with thinking about everything that had happened the day before.
"Well after I finally got some sleep, I thought that since we have now found out more about how this feud started from the pegasi who live up in Cloudsdale, we could also try and do the same with the ponies who live here in Ponyville. After all it will be good to hear both sides of the story," Twilight simply explained as she smiled to Dash and continued to practically drag her through the market in town, while the pegasus just rolled her eyes and sighed slightly, it seeming like Twilight had already made up her mind on what they would be doing today, and not seeing much point in protesting when the Princess was so set on her own plans for this morning.
The two mares spending the late morning and most of the early afternoon going around the town and asking the ponies of Ponyville about the feud and how things were before it started, however as hours passed they reailzed that all they got in reply from the townsfolk was mostly of what they had already heard about before now.
'We were always so welcoming to the pegasi that came from Cloudsdale, and were happy to have them in our little town,' was what they got in reponse, as well as, 'We always just wanted to get along with the pegasi from Cloudsdale, so we don't know why they seem to be so against the idea,' and often some ponies stated that 'It's the pegasi up in Cloudsdale that seem to have a problem with us and want to keep this feud lasting longer for some reason,' all the replies seeming to blend together as they were all roughly the same thing from each different pony from the town, but they still not being any different from what they had both already heard before now.
Dash and Twilight soon deciding to sit down in the shade of a tree, as they both sighed deeply and looked to each other with slightly disappointed expressions on their faces. Thinking they could learn a little more about the feud from the ponies point of view, however that seeming to not be the case unfortunately as they weren't any closer to finding out anything more about how the feud had started than when they had been told by the pegasi that were helping Lightning Dust with her plans the day before.
"Can we go home now Twi?"
Dash asked as she looked to Twilight with a pleading expression, clearly showing that she was tired of all this running around and talking to ponies when it hadn't really even gotten them any further from when they started. The Princess just looking back to her marefriend with a slightly anxious expression as she didn't want to give up just yet, but could see how continuing what they were currently doing most probably wasn't going to get them anywhere, as she lifted her head and looked round the little town of Ponyville, seeing cheerful ponies going about their day-to-day lives, talking to one another happily, and sighed a moment later.
'If you don't count the guards walking round, this town looks so peaceful right now, it's hard to believe that they would be involved in a feud with the neighboring city above them. However it's so different up in Cloudsdale, most of the pegasi up there seem on edge most of the time, and those ones that are helping Lightning Dust...they can't even seem to stand talking or thinking about the ponies living below them at all,' Twilight seemed lost in thought as she hung her head low a few minutes later and just let another heavy sigh leave her lips, catching Dash's attention and causing her to look to her with a slightly concerned expression now.
"Just what are we going to do, Dash?" Twilight asked as she looked worn out at the moment, as Dash just smiled to her slightly and moved to lay closer to the Princess.
"I don't know, but...we'll figure it out," she stated as she nuzzled Twilight, and rested a hoof over her's, causing Twilight to just nod slightly as she nuzzled Dash back and relaxed against her for a few moments now while they both let a silence fall on them, taking in the peaceful feeling that the town of Ponyville often gave off.
The two however not laying in slience for very long it seemed as they were soon approached by a familiar farm pony, as she smiled and greeted them both, "Twilight, Rainbow it's nice to see you two out and about like this, what have you got planned for today?" she asked in a cheerful tone, as both Dash and Twilight turned their attention onto Applejack and looked to her now, them still having quite the worn out expressions it seemed at the moment.
"Hey Applejack, we've just been asking around to see if we can find anything more about how this feud had started between Ponyville and Cloudsdale. But it doesn't look like we are getting very far at all," Dash replied as she sighed deeply and looked away from the farm pony a moment later, while Applejack looked a little confused in response it seemed.
"Well what do you want to know?" she questioned as she looked a little puzzled to what exactly Dash had meant, as Twilight answered her with her own question now in response.
"Well...how did the ponies of this town treat the pegasi from Cloudsdale back before the feud started?"
Applejack seeming to be thinking for a moment or two in response, before she looked back to Twilight and answered her simply, "The pegasi fromClousdale were welcomed into Ponyville by all of the ponies that live here, and the ponies of this town were always kind to them..." Applejack paused as she looked like she was thinking to herself again, while Twilight and Dash just nodded with the same fed up expressions on their faces as before.
"Yeah, that's pretty much what we've been hearing all morning," Dash stated as she rolled her eyes slightly, guessing that Applejack's reply wasn't going to be any different from the other ponies that her and Twilight had talked to this morning. However the farm pony seeming to surprise the other two mares as she continued on a moment later.
"But then again there were the odd few ponies that often liked to spread gossip and rumors around the town," she stated causing Twilight and Dash to both widen their eyes a little in reponse, looking to each other a moment later as they both had noticed that Applejack had said something very different to what they had been hearing all morning, not only that but it was also something that sounded quite similar to what they remembered the pegasi of Cloudsdale had told them yesterday.
"Really?" Twilight asked as she and Dash looked back to Applejack now, waiting to see if she would elaborate more on what she had just said, as the farm pony just nodded in response.
"Yeah, while it's true that those who came from Cloudsdale did cause a lot of trouble for us, I can't really say that all of us from Ponyville were completely innocent in the matter either. And honestly when it comes to this feud both towns just prefer to blame everything on the other while denying that they are at fault in any way," Applejack finished as she shook her head and sighed heavily now, while Dash and Twilight glanced to each other again, before the farm pony changed the subject and caught their attention a moment later.
"Anyway it's not good to focus on the past too much, how are your wings healing Dash?" she asked, causing Dash to look back to her and just shrug her shoulders slightly in response to the earth pony.
"I still can't move them all that much yet, and it'll be a good while before I can start using them again, but I have noticed that they don't hurt too much now," she simply answered as she looked to her wings that still needed to be bandaged up, while Applejack nodded back to her with a smile as she was glad that the pegasus seemed to be recovering rather well at the moment.
"That's good, and with luck you'll be back to flying with them in no time," the farm pony said with an encouraging smile as Dash just nodded in response.
"Yeah, at least that's what I'm hopping for," she replied as she smiled back to Applejack, while Twilight had gone a little quiet at the moment, looking like she was lost in thought as she looked down to the grass and sighed slightly, seeming to be going over everything in her head and still trying to figure out just what her and Dash should do from here.
However soon widing her eyes as an idea seemed to have enterened her mind, but before she could really think about it any more her attention was taken off of her own thoughts as the two pegasi guards that were normally at the front of the library were now coming over to her and the other two mares, causing them all to turn and look to them as they approached the Princess.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash, we have just heard news from guards who had come to us from Canterlot, and it appears that Princess Celestia would like to see you both," one of the guards stated as Dash and Twilight looked back to him with wondering expressions, as they glanced to each other before looking back to the two guards again.
"Why does the Princess want to see us?" Dash asked only to widen her eyes when the same guard answered her a moment later.
"Well it seems that Lightning Dust has been found and captured,"
He simply replied, causing all three of the mares to look surprised in response as they all widened their eyes and seemed at a loss for words, Twilight and Dash not believing what they had heard at first, however the serious expressions that the two guards were giving them at the moment surly looked like they were telling nothing be the truth right now.
....
Twilight and Dash soon enough making the journey to Canterlot once thay had made a quick stop back at the library, and told Spike about the situation, before they both and the two guards had set off for Canterlot together, as they were now all making their way through Canterlot castle, walking to the throne room where Princess Celestia was currently waiting for them.
The Princess turning to the double doors as she soon heard them being opened and stood up from her throne, while she saw Twilight, Dash and the two guards that she had sent to protect them specifically entering now as she came walking down to greet them all.
"Princess Celetsia, did you really catch Lightning?" Dash asked as she clearly still seemed surprised by this sudden development, as Celestia smiled slightly in response.
"Well not exactly," she stated causing both Twilight and Dash to look to each other, before they turned back to the Princess with questioning expressions, as they looked quite confused right now.
"What do you mean Princess?" Dash asked again as she and Twilight both looked to Celestia for more of an explanation as she replied to them a moment later.
"You see Lightning Dust actually came here and turned herself in," she stated causing Twilight and Dash to widen their eyes once again, as they both looked taken aback and speechless for a moment, before Dash soon spoke up.
"She did what?" the cyan pegasus exclaimed as she clearly was so confused as to what was going on at the moment, and why Lightning Dust would possibly 'turn herself in' as Celestia had said she had when she had been keeping herself hidden until now.
Twilight however not looking as surprised now as she took a deep breath, and looked back to Celestia with a serious expression, catching the Princess's attention a moment later, "Princess Celestia...can we see her?" she asked causing the elder Princess to look a little taken aback, and looking like she was going to deny Twilight's request, until she looked to the lavender mare's determined expression and hesitated slightly.
"Please Princess, we need to see her,"
Twilight stated as that determined expression didn't leave her face, while Dash was at first also surprised by what Twilight was saying right now, but soon enough agreed with her marefriend as she asked Celestia if they could go and see Lightning Dust as well. The elder Princess sighing a few moments later as she finally nodded her head and turned her back to Twilight and Dash now.
"I understand, this way then," she simply said as she gestured for the two mares to follow her, as the two both just looked and nodded to each other before following after the elder Princess and soon being led down to the holding cells below Canterlot castle, Celestia walking Twilight and Dash to the cell that at the moment belonged to Lightning Dust.
Celestia being sure to stay close and keep a watchful eye over the two, as well as having the two guards protecting Twilight and Dash to stay near just in case, as Rainbow Dash and Twilight now walked up to the holding cell and looked through the bars, both of them feeling a little anxious at the moment, before they soon saw a very familiar turquoise, golden maned pegasus walk out of the shadows and come to stand near the bars of her cell, as a ashamed expression now rested on her face.
Twilight and Dash both widening their eyes and trying to keep themselves calm as they looked to the mare behind the bars, Dash biting her bottom lip as she knew losing her composure and making a scene here wouldn't be good for her and Twilight at all, so she just tried to hold back while her anger was already boiling inside of her, and her eyes glaring to the other pegasus.
'This pegasus is most definitely Lighting Dust, but why in Equestria would she turn herself in like this all of a sudden? And just where has she been hiding until now?' Twilight questioned to herself as she too glared to the turquoise mare, looking to Lightning with a determined expression, as she wanted to get to the bottom of just what was happening at the moment, and also maybe getting an idea as to what Lighting Dust was planning right now.
A silence had fallen on Rainbow Dash and Twilight as they still glared to the turguoise mare that stood in front of them, Dash just gritting her teeth and hanging her head a little low, unsure of how long she could keep holding her anger for Lightning inside of her, knowing she should stay calm at the moment and refrain from paying back Lightning for what she did to her, like she really wanted to do right now.
Lightning Dust just letting what looked like a slightly nervous smile from on her lips, as she sighed and looked back to the two other mares, "Long time no see huh? Although this isn't exactly how I would have pictured our reunion to be like," she stated in a low tone, as she looked ashamed of herself at the moment, while Twilight just raised her eyebrow in response, seeing that familiar innocent expression on Lightning's face, and knowing not to trust it in the least.
"Really? Because I prefer to see you behind bars like this, it suits you quite nicely after all," the Princess simply replied as she stood with her head held high, and her eyes still staring stern daggers into Lightning's, while a fire of hatred was burning behind her lavender irises. Lightning Dust widening her eyes and looking almost hurt by Twilight's words, however just shaking her head and chuckling slightly, letting her head hang a little now.
"Well I guess I do deserve it, what with all the pain I've caused, especially for you two," she said looking like she regretted all the terrible things that she had done in the past, however Twilight obviously not believing her for a single second, as she just narrowed her eyes and refrained from saying what she was really thinking right now, instead just keeping herself calm and determined to not let this manipulative pegasus fool her once again.
"Just where have you been all this time?" she asked, deciding to just focus on seeing if she could get some answers out of Lightning Dust, as she knew expressing her anger and hatred for the turquoise mare really wouldn't do anything for her and Dash right now so just refrained from doing so.
Lightning Dust just lifting her head a little as she shrugged her shoulders in response, before looking back to Twilight and still smiling to her with that ashamed expression resting on her face, giving the Princess the impression that she wasn't putting on this act for her and Dash at the moment, Twilight glancing back to Celestia and the two guards as she guessed they the real reason why the cunning pegasus wasn't showing off her true self right now.
"Does it even matter? I've just been hiding I guess,"
She stated in a low voice, it almost seeming like she was just thinking out-loud and talking to herself rather than to Twilight at the moment, as she caused Twilight to raise her eyebrow again, while Dash now lifted her head and took a deep breath, looking back to Lightning with a slightly questioning expression as she seemed to have composed herself, and wanted to hear just what the other pegasus had to say.
"Hiding, from what?" the cyan mare asked as she just stared sternly to Lightning, again the other pegasus just shrugged her shoulders and looked away from the other two in response, resting her head against the bars of her cell door, and just let another deep sigh leave her lips.
"From the truth, I guess...I should have realised a long time ago that what I was doing was wrong and hurtful, but I assure you both that I have seen the error of my ways and will atone for all the pain I have caused," she explained as she bowed her head to Twilight and apologized to both her and Dash, showing that she was sorry and didn't want to cause them anymore trouble, and causing the Princess to bite her bottom lip in response, knowing this was all just an act, but still something deep in her mind was telling her to maybe think twice and try to look at this situation differently, like actually try seeing things from Lightning's point of view and maybe believing her a little.
However she instantly shook that thought out of her head as she just felt so foolish to still have thoughts like that even after all that Lightning had done to her and Dash,'No, I've fallen for that innocent act once, there's no way I'm letting myself be tricked by it again, I know what Lightning Dust is really like, and that won't change, no matter how much I may want to think that she could ever actually be trying to change her ways and telling us the truth right now,' the Princess thought as she refused to let herself be tricked by Lightning's little act, telling herself that she wouldn't waver no matter how convincing the turquoise mare just might be.
"And just why should we believe you at all?" Twililght asked as she caused Lightning to widen her golden eyes a little, seeming like she was genuinely surprised at the moment, before she soon just smiled and chuckled slightly, glancing away from the other two mares yet again, sighing and nodding to herself now.
"Well I guess it's no surprise that you don't believe me, I did lie to both you and Rainbow Dash, so there is the possibility that I could lie to you again in the fututre, heck I could even be lying and trying to trick you again right now," she shrugged her shoulders as she trailed off a little and let a small smirk form on her lips, causing Twilight to bare her teeth in response wanting nothing more than to pay the turquoise mare back for all she had done, but instead she just took a deep breath and knew that Lightning was just trying to make her mad, and she didn't want to give her that satisfaction of letting her think that she could cause her to lose her composure at the moment.
"We weren't the only ones you tricked, you lied to everypony and made them all think they could trust you,"
She pointed out as she caused Lightning Dust to just raise her eyebrow, seeming like she was impressed by Twilight's determination to stay calm and collected for a moment, soon her slight smirk disappeared and was quickly replaced with that same innocent and ashamed expression she was wearing before, while the Princess just didn't see why she was bothering to put on this stupid act of her's anymore, she clearly wasn't going to be fooling any of them that she was 'trying to atone for the pain she had caused' as she had said.
"I know, and I truly am sorry...for everything," the turquoise mare spoke in a lower voice as she looked down to the floor, and sighed deeply, looking like she was trying to show she did feel bad for all the pain she had caused, and was actually willing to go through with any punishment that she was given in return.
Twilight seeing the turquoise pegasus galncing over to Celestia and the two guards who were still standing a little a ways away from them at the moment, as they all just seemed to be waiting for both Twilight and Dash to be done with their questioning, while still being on guard just in case.
'This pony just doesn't know when to give up does she?' Twilight thought as she could see how Lightning was even trying to fool both Princess Celestia and the guards with that innocent act of her's, to trick them into thinking that she was being truthful at the moment and was sorry for all she had done.
"You're sorry? After everything that you have done, and all you can say is you're sorry?"
Dash spoke up as she bared her teeth and raised her voice, showing that Lighting was starting to get to her, while Lightning just apologized again and hung her head in response, as Twilight rested a hoof on Dash's shoulder and gave her an undersatnding expression, knowing just how she felt at the moment, but reminding her that making a scene here and shouting at Lighting wasn't going to do anything for them at all. And so Dash just biting her bottom lip before she glared back to the other pegasus again.
"Let's just go, we have nothing more to say to her," the cyan mare said in a low voice as she turned away from Lightning Dust and started to head back over to Princess Celestia and the two guards, however stopping a moment later when she noticed that Twilight hadn't moved at all and was still staring sternly to the pegasus beghind bars.
"Twi?" Dash called to her marefriend as the Princess just smiled back to her, before looking to Lightning Dust again and walked to stand closer to the bars of the pegasus's cell door now.
"I just want to know one more thing," she stated as Lightning just lifted her head and nodded looking like she was ready for whatever question Twilight was going to ask her, while Dash just raised her eyebrow a little, clearly just wanting to get far away from the other pegasus right now, but also wondering just what Twilight was palnning at the moment, and so just decided to stand and wait for her in return.
"What are you planning exactly?" Twilight asked with a serious expression directed to Lighting, as she just sighed a moment later and soon shook her head in response.
"Nothing anymore...I guess you could say that I've just given up on it all," she simply replied, turning away from her cell door and going to now slump down onto the floor, resting her head against the wall as she let a saddened smile form on her lips.
"You've given up on everything? You mean your plan for revenge on the ponies in Ponyville right?" Twilight raised her eyebrow slightly as she still obviously wasn't falling for anything that Lightning Dust was saying at the moment, 'Is this really the 'story' that she's going with? To cover up everything by saying that she's given up on it all? If so then do those other pegasi up in Cloudsdale have any part in it?' she wondered as Lighting just nodded back to her in return.
"And what about those other pegasi up in Cloudsdale that were helping you out with all your plans? I doubt they've all given up on everything as well," Twilight said as she wondered how Lightning would reply to her, as the turquoise mare widened her eyes a little, and looked back to the Princess with what actually did seem like a genuinely taken aback expression. However she soon just shrugged her shoulders and smiled again a moment later.
"Well I guess you'll just have to ask them, won't you?" she simply replied, causing Twilight to look a little suspicious, and somewhat pluzzed, before Dash called back to the Princess and caught her attention again.
"Twi, come on. There's no use in talking to her," the cyan mare said as Twilight just gave Lightning one least stern stare before she turned away from her and walked back over to her marefriend a moment later, looking like she was a little lost in thought as she was going over what Lightning Dust had just told her, and sighed slightly now.
Dash resting a comforting hoof on her shoulder as she glared back to Lightning Dust a moment later, "You better get used to that cell, because you're going to end up rotting in it soon enough Lighting," she stated, before she turned back to Twilight and led her away from the holding cells, having Princess Celestia and the guards following behind them, as they all left Lightning Dust to be all alone in her cell once again.
The turquoise mare just looking in the direction that the others had all left in with a blank stare, seeming like she was thinking for a moment, before she just shurgged her shoulders and moved to lie down on the bed in her cell now, "Well we'll just see about that Rainbow Dash," she whsipered out as a smirk formed on her lips and she sighed slightly, before curling up and hiding herself in the dark shadows of her cell, letting the silence settle back in once more.
....
Twilight, Dash and Celestia now having returned back to the throne room in the castle as the cyan pegasus was talking with the elder Princess and Twilight had walked off to the side of the room, looking like she was still lost in thought over everything that they had talked to Lightning Dust about at the moment.
"So what happens now, is Lightning staying in that cell?" Dash asked Celestia as the Princess nodded back to her in response, it seeming like the pegasus wanted to get some more information about what was going on while Twilight was still a little ditracted by her own thoughts right now.
"For now, until there is a cell ready for her, then she will be transferred into the Catnerlot prison, and you two shouldn't need to worry about her for any longer," the Princess answered with a smile to Dash, as she just nodded back to her and sighed a little, seeming like she was relieved to hear that lightning wouldn't be a problem anymore, but her mind still troubled by a few things at the moment.
"Good, and no matter what she says, it would be best if you didn't trust a single word from her," the pegasus stated as she didn't want Lightning to have any chance of getting out of this somehow by fooling more ponies than she already had with her cheerful smile and her all innocent act.
Princess Celestia just nodding back to Dash with a reassuring expression, before she glanced over to Twilight and sighed a little, Dash doing the same a moment later, as she could see that what Lightning had said had definitely caused the lavender mare to become distant, however just shaking her head and turning back to Celestia now, catching her attention again.
"But while Lightning is out of the way, there's still the matter of those other pegasi that are up in Cloudsdale at the moment, Ponyville still isn't safe from them just yet," Dash seemed to be thinking out loud as she let her gaze drop to the floor as she thought about those other pegasi that were helping Lightning Dust out, and just really didn't know what to do about them at the moment.
"I understand, and the guards shall still be keeping Ponyville safe until this matter is resloved. But you know it would be a great help if you could tell me more about these other pegasi that Lightning Dust has been having help her with her plans, it could give us a better chance at catching them as well, they are the ones that hurt you along with Lightning Dust after all right?" Celestia asked as she could see that Dash was troubled still, and did want to help her and Twilight out more if she could in any way, as she caused the pegasus to just smile back to her in response.
"That would give us a lot less to worry about, but Twilight and I have only met those pegasi a couple of times, so we don't really know any of their names, and I doubt we could even tell you how many of them there actually are," she explained as she knew the infomation that she could give about the pegasi who were working with Lightning probably wouldn't really help in Celestia or the guards catching them all and putting them behind bars like Lightning Dust now was.
However Celestia just shaking her head and smiling back to Dash in reply, "Still any information you can give me would be well appreciated, I want to make sure that like Lightning Dust they don't get away with the pain they have caused," she stated with a determined expression, causing Dash to widen her eyes a little in response, looking slightly taken aback, before she soon just smiled and nodded back to the Princess now.
"Thank you Princess," she replied as Celestia just gave her a reassuring smile in return, Dash feeling glad that their Princess was most certainly on their side, and wanted to do all she could to help out and make things safer for both her and Twilight while they worked through all of this together.
While Dash and Princess Celestia continued to talk to each other about trying to catch the other pegasi who had been helping Lightning Dust, Twilight still stood off to the side of the room by herself, as she seemed distracted by her own thoughts right now, looking in deep thought as she went over all that Lightning Dust had told her and Dash just a few minutes ago, unsure of how she should feel about it all at the moment.
'I know we shouldn't believe anything that Lightning Dust told us, but that means all she said were just lies, which is basically just saying that we still don't why she decided to turn herself in like this all of a sudden after been in hiding for a good while. Was it part of her plan, or did she just not want to run anymore?' Twilight questioned to herself as she shook her head and just felt she had no more of an idea about what was going on at the moment then when Lightning was still hidding from them.
'But that doesn't really sound like something Lighting Dust would do, unless she's more of a coward than I thought she was,' she sighed slightly now as she just tried to push all her thoughts to the back of her mind, glancing back over to her marefriend and Princess Celestia, smiling at seeing them talking to eachother at the moment. Knowing there wasn't really anything her and Dash could do about Lighting anymore since she was locked up now, but at the same time there still was the fact that they had other problems that were much more worth thinking about.
"Well Twi, what do you want to do?" Dash now caught Twilight's attention as she came walking over to her, and caused her to turn back to her a moment later in response, Twilight just pulling herself out of her thoughts as she looked back to Dash and then seemed to be thinking for a moment or two, before she just shrugged her shoulders a little.
"To be honest...I don't really know," she simply stated as it was fair to say that she was a little lost on what exactly they should do now, after all their coversation with Lightning Dust hadn't really been much help at all, but then again Twilight doubted talking with the turquoise mare was going to get them any closer to solving all this right from when they had first learnt that she had gone missing.
"Maybe you two should just sleep on it for now, and figure out where to go from here tomorrow," Celestia suggested as she also came walking over to Twilight now, and gave her an encouraging smile, Twilight just nodded slowly back to her a moment later in reply.
"Yeah," she simply said in a low tone as the three of them all talked for a little while longer before Twilight and Dash soon said goodbye to Celestia and were now leaving, having the two pegasi guards still protecting them as there still was the chance that they weren't completely safe just yet even with Lightning Dust locked up.
Twilight and Dash leaving the castle in silence as they both seemed to be thinking about a few things right now, however the Princess soon stopping and sighing heavily as she caught Dash's attention and caused her to look back to her in response, as she also stopped and came upto to her a moment later.
"What's up Twi?" she asked as she caused Twilight to look back to her, the Princess just shaking her head a little in response, while she just made Dash look back to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh it's nothing really, I was just thinking about something as all," Twilight stated as she smiled back to Dash and seemed slightly nervously now, as she just caused Dash to look more suspicious towards her.
"Thinking about what?" the pegasus questioned as Twilight hesitated for a moment before she just sighed again and lowered her voice now, hoping that what she said wouldn't cause Dash to become too concerned about her or anything in return.
"Well you see Dash...I think...we should go back upto Couldsdale just one more time," she said in a nervous tone still as she waited for Dash to protest, however the pegasus just letting out a sigh as she smiled slightly and nodded back to Twilight a moment later.
"I was kinda thinking the same thing actually, what did you have in mind Twi?" Dash asked as she guessed that Twilight had probably been thinking the same thing as she had at the moment, and now clearly wanted to hear more about what the Princess had been planning out inside her mind.
"Well I'm not sure if it will help our current situation at all, I do have an idea that I'd at least like to try, the only thing is we won't be going up there to find any answers this time," Twilight explained as she caused Dash to look a little confused as to what exactly she meant, while the Princess began to tell her all about what her idea would entail as they made their journey home together with Twilight carrying Dash on her back along with the two pegasi guards following close behind them both.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash rather quickly made their way back to Ponyville, along with the two guards following right behind them both, as the two seemed to waste no time in heading up to Cloudsdale after they had dropped home just to tell Spike about what had happened with Princess Celestia, and where they were off to now, before they left for the floating city above the small town of Ponyville.
Twilight sighing a little as she slowed down and could see the entrance to Cloudsdale in her sights, seeming like she was thinking to herself for a few moments, before Dash (who was riding on the back of one of the guards right now) came over to drag the Princess out of her thoughts.
"You okay Twi?" the cyan mare asked as she caught Twilight's attention and caused her to widen her eyes a little, the Princess looking back to Dash a moment later and just shaking off her thoughts, nodding back to her marefriend in reply.
"Yeah, I'm fine Dash,"
She gave a slight smile, before taking a deep breath as they both glanced to the city of Cloudsdale once again. Dash seeming a little anxious and unsure of things at the moment as she bit her bottom lip and turned back to Twilight wondering if she was feeling the same as her right now or not.
"You sure about this?" she asked, kind of expecting Twilight to shrug her shoulders and seem unsure of herself as well in reply, but instead the Princess just looked back to her as her expression formed into a more confident looking one now.
"Yeah,"
Twilight simply nodded back to Dash in reply, as she gave an encouraging smile to her marefriend and picked up her pace a little flying off to the entrance of Cloudsdale and having Dash just sigh slightly, before she gestured for the two guards to quickly follow after the Princess as they all were arriving closer to the floating city a moment later.
All of them quickly entring Clousdale together, and almost instandly getting stared at by the pegasi that were in their sights at the moment. Glaring daggers directed at them from all sides causing Twilight and Dash to both feel anxious and uncomfortable, Dash sinking back a little as she told the guards to take them to the outskirts of the city, as they then hopefully wouldn't draw as much attention to themselves as they were right now.
However Dash telling the guards to stop and go back to Twilight when she looked back to see that the Princess was still hovering just above the entrance of Cloudsdale, the cyan mare wondering just what Twilight was doing at the moment, as she just bit her bottom lip, and took a deep breath before she now looked much more confident all of a sudden.
'No more running, or hiding away, it's time I faced these pegasi head on, I'm their Princess after all,' Twilight encouraged herself as she nodded, and now flew closer to the residents of Cloudsdale and gave them all a stern stare. Landing on a cloud with an authoritative stance clearly showing that she wasn't going to turn tail and run this time, and was willing to face all the pegasi currently living in the city if she had to.
"Pegasi of Cloudsdale, I'm sorry to impose on you all like this, but I would greatly appreciate it if I could have your attention for just a few minutes. I know you all probably don't see me as your Princess right now, but despite that I am still your ruler, so just for now please listen to what I have to say to you all!" Twilight announced to all the pegasi of Clousdale, raising her voice and having caught the attention of almost all the inhabitants of the city, as they all looked around at one another for few moments, staying quiet and still giving the Princess slight glares, before some of them started to gather round together, and others went to go and fetch the pegasi that weren't so near to the entrance at the moment.
While Twilight took into the sky and hovered just above the gathering pegasi, who were all whispering to each other and seeming like they were interested enough to see what exactly their Princess had to say to them all right now.
Dash gesturing for the pegasi guards to fly back over to Twilight as she caught the Princess's attention and had the guard carrying her on his back fly to be hovering beside the lavender mare now, "Twilight just what are you doing?" the cyan mare asked in a raised voice, a worried expression formed on her face as she knew this wasn't any part of the plan that Twilight had told her about a little eariler when they left Canterlot, and wondered just what jer marefriend was up to with this sudden cause of action.
However Twilight just turning away from Dash as she looked out to all the gathering pegasi and took another deep breath, nodding to herself as there was no way she was backing down from this, now that she had successfully managered to get the city's attention and wanted to keep it that way.
"What I should have done a long time ago," she simply stated with a serious expression as she caused Dash to seem a little confused, and still worried in response as she looked to her marefriend in a concerned way, unsure of just what the Princess was hoping to achieve by doing this all of a sudden.
Twilight not letting her worries or anxiety get the better of her at this moment as she waited for the rest of the pegasi from the city to finish gathering together, before she then flew away from Dash and the guards and hovered just above the front of the crowd so that all the pegasi could see and hear her.
"Twilight wait, just what are you planning to- Dash quickly told the guard carrying her to follow after Twilight as he again came to hover beside the Princess, however Twilight quickly cutting dash off before she could finish and held a wing out to stop the guard from flying in front of her, as she caused Dash to widen her eyes a little in response.
"Dash, please...just let me do this,"
She looked back to her marefriend with a pleading expression, while Dash could still see that stern look in her lavender eyes, seeming at a loss for words for a few moments as she was unsure of what to do, glancing to Twilight's determined face, before glancing to all the whispering pegasi that had gathered below them both, looking like they were impatiently waiting as most of them wore annoyed and still glaring expressions directed at the Princess, seeming like they wanted her to just quickly get on with what she had come here to say to them right now.
Dash looked back to Twilight as she saw her give her a small smile of reassurance to show that she knew what she was doing at the moment, and had clearly made up her mind about doing this, causing Dash to just stare and think for a little while, before she soon just sighed heavily and nodded finally in reply, knowing that she wasn't going to change Twilight's mind right now, while the Princess just smiled softly back to Dash and thanked her before looking away from her now.
Turning to look back at the gathered pegasi of Cloudsdale and giving them all another serious look, as Dash just hung her head low in return, 'I really hope she's thought this through,' she thought before she lifted her head and looked back to see just what Twilight was going to do at this moment.
Twilight looking over the gathered pegasi and seemed like she was about to begin speaking to them all as they stood there still impatiently waiting for her to start talking it seemed. However the Princess pausing and hesitating as she spotted a few familiar looking pegasi amongest the crowd and recognising them as being some of the ones that were working with Lightning Dust, as they just glared up to her still and looked like they might just turn away and leave if she kept quiet for much longer.
The Princess just shaking off her nerves and unsure feelings, as she knew now wasn't the time to be second guessing herself, after all she didn't want to start losing the attention of any of the pegasi before she had even said anything at all yet, as she decided to not make the pegasi wait anymore.
"I know all of you don't take much of a liking to me after what happened when word got out that Rainbow Dash and were in a relationship a few months back, or maybe you may have other reasons for not wanting me to be around here, and as such I know hardly, if any of you see me as your Princess...and I don't blame you for that at all," Twilight stated as she sighed deeply and caused almost all of the pegasi to either raise thier eyebrows, or look a little confused to her, glancing to one another and whispering for a couple of moments, before they all turned back to Twilight and seemed like they wanted to stay and hear more of what she had to say to them all thankfully.
"After all when I think about it, I really haven't been acting anything like a Princess to you all, I've been hiding and running away from this city, when I shouldn't be doing that at all. I realise that I should have been dealing with facing all of you long ago instead of just sitting back and allowing things to get worse than they were before, going about things in completely the wrong way, and not treating you all the same way that I treat the poines down in Ponyville...these were all stupid mistakes that I have made, and I truly am sorry for causing you all to resent me because of them," the Princess hanging her head a little low as she felt ashamed for letting things get as bad as they had, after all these pegasi were all her subjects, and she shouldn't be scared and cowardly hiding away from them like she had been doing for a good while now.
"But I can promise that I will no longer be hiding away from you all in Ponyville, as although I will still be living in the town, I will be making more visits to Cloudsdale just to see how everything is going on with you all, and will be here to fix any problems or answer any questions that you may have. Now it has also been brought to my attention that some of you are...on bad terms with the poines of Ponyville, and instead of really trying to find a solution to it all, I asked for more information which meant I was just watsing both my own and your time," Twilight glancing to the pegasi that she recoginsed to be some of the ones working with Lightning Dust and just saw them glaring draggers back to her, while the other pegasi in the crowd were more skeptical of what she was saying, and looked less annoyed at the moment, it looking like they were all much more interested than before, as they all continued to listen to what Twilight had to say, and not wanting to interrupt her at any point it seemed.
"I wasn't doing anything close to the right thing back then...I know that now, and so if ever there is any more problems among this city and the town below it then know that you can always come to me about them and I will listen and help to fix them in any way that I can, as I should have been doing all along instead of allowing you all to just suffer in silence. And I intend to do the same with this feud that has been going on between both of your homes, after all it is a Princess's job to keep all of her subjects happy, and that's most certainly not how all of you feel at the moment right?" the Princess asked as she caused pretty much all of the pegasi to look to one another, before turning back to her and nodding their heads in reply, causing Twilight to let out a small sigh of relief as she was glad that they had responsed to her and bar the odd few (namely the pegasi that had been helping Lightning Dust) they were no longer glaring to her anymore.
"And so it's about time that I started acting like a real ruler for both Cloudsdale and Ponyville as that's what I was sent here to do all along. I know all this may come as a bit of a shock to you all and I'm sorry for not realising my mistakes and taking action until now...I've let you all down and I'm also deeply sorry for that, however I hope that in time as we all get to know one another a bit better, that you all can forgive me someday. And I can finally become the Princess who you all and the poines of Ponyville deserve to have and who you can all confide in whenever you may need to," Twilight nodded and gave a confident smile to all the pegasi, showing that she meant every word that she had said, taking a deep breath as she felt like her nerves had all disappeared and there was no longer any uneasy thoughts hanging around at the back of her mind anymore.
"That's all I came here to say, so please continue with what you were doing before, and I will be leaving shortly. But I would like to thank you all for listening to what I had to say today, and I'm once again sorry for causing you any inconvenience at all," The Princess now finished as she slowly dropped down onto the cloud floor that all the pegasi of Cloudsdale were currently standing on and expected to be instantly bombarded with countless questions from the huge crowd, as she felt she was prepared to face them all head on at this moment.
However only silence seeming to come from the crowd of pegasi as they all looked around at one another, a few whispers and mumbled comments being exchanged amongest them all, while Twilight stood back and waited for the pegasi to respond to her and all that she had said to them.
But them doing nothing of the sort, and instead just seeming a little lost and unsure of how to react to all of this, as they all soon began to leave and decide to go either back to their homes, or back to what they were doing before as Twilight had told them to, and within a few minutes none of them were left having all flown off by now, leaving their Princess all alone to seem slightly confused and suprised by their reaction, however she just sighed again and smiled to herself, before she turned round and was almost immediately stopped in her tracks by her marefriend and the two guards who had been staying back and obvserving all that had just happened.
"What was that all about?"
Dash asked as she got down from the guard's back that she had been riding on, and came to stand beside Twilight now, giving her a confused and still slightly concerned expression at the moment, while Twilight just shrugged her shoulders and smiled back to her marefriend in response.
"They seem to have a lot to think about, so let's just leave them to it and go back home for now," she simply stated in reply, however Dash not seeming very satisfied with that answer as she shook her head in return.
"I wasn't talking about why they all flew away like that Twi,"
She said, raising her eyebrow to the Princess as she gave her a bit of a skeptical expression, while Twilight just smiled back to her nervously now, knowing full well what the cyan mare was actually talking about at the moment, and avoiding replying to her it seemed. As Dash narrowed her eyes and looked like she was going to ask Twilight another question, however not getting the chance to as she was cut off by a voice calling out to them instead.
"Hey Princess!"
Both Twilight and Dash heard a somewhat familiar voice calling out to them as they turned and looked up to see a lone pegasus looking down to them with a sharp glare at the moment. The two soon being able to recogise the pegasus as being the one that they had talked to yesterday, and had seemly been left in charge of the other ones that were all working with Lightning Dust, as the mare now flew closer to them and glared to them still.
Dash standing in front of Twilight as she stood her ground and showed she was prepared if the mare decided to act out of turn at all towards her marefriend, and gesturing to the two guards just in case she might need some help at any time while going up against the other pegasus. However the mare keeping her distance it seemed as she just looked to Twilight and seemed to be much more focused on her then what Dash and the two guards were doing at the moment. While Twilight looked back to her with a curious expression, wondering just what she was going to do or say to her right now.
"You know none of what you said changes anything right? We're still going to carry on going with Lightning Dust's plans, and no matter how much you say you're going to try to reach out and 'help' us, we aren't just going to give up on our revenge like you want us to, those damn poines living in that vile town still need to pay for what they did after all," the mare stated with a stern stare directed at Twilight, as she just seemed unsure of how to reply for a couple of moments, before she just smiled slightly and nodded back to the mare in response.
"That's not what I came here for today, and I will no longer bother you or any of the other pegasi about all that," she said shaking her head, and causing the mare to just raise her eyebrow back to her slightly in reply, "But I will say that if you do still choose to follow along with Lightning Dust's plans and do as she has told you all, then I can guarantee that you will all end up behind bars just like her soon enough," Twilight replied as she just looked back to the mare with a confident expression and caused her to bare her teeth angrily in response, looking like she was going to attack the Princess however seeming to compose herself as she looked to the warning stares that Dash and the guards were giving her at the moment, as they all stood their ground and were letting her know that they were ready to defend and protect Twilight if she did go for her right now.
The mare just sighing heavily as she bit her bottom lip and cursed the Princess under her breath, before she just turned away from them all, "Just get out of here already," she said in a low voice, as she glared to them all one last time, and then flew off, soon being out of sight from Twilight and the others while they all just watched her go.
Dash and the guards not backing down at all until they could no longer see the mare, and relaxing once she had disappeared into the distance, as Twilight just sighed deeply and turned away from the direction that the mare had flew off in, turning back to her marefriend a moment later.
"Come on Dash, don't you think it's time that we head home now?" she asked as Dash seemed to be a little lost for words at the moment, as she clearly was still unure of how to react to all that had just happened, before she soon just sighed slightly and nodded to Twilight, while the Princess just kneeled down on the cloud floor so that Dash could climb onto her back now.
"Fine, but I still need to talk to you about all this once we get there,"
Dash stated as she gave a slight stern stare to Twilight, while the Princess just nodded back to her with a smile, letting the pegasus climb onto her back and get comfortable, before she now slowy took off into the sky and started to head for their home down in Ponyville, the two guards following close behind them both, as they all soon left Cloudsdale and were on their way back to return to the library once again.
....
Twilight and Dash returned back to the library as the two guards went back to their posts outside, and just as the couple had entered their home Spike instantly came running over to them both as he had a slight look of concern on his face at the moment while the two mares greeted him.
"So how did it go?"
He asked as it was easy to see that he had been worrying while he was waiting for the two mares to come home and hoping that everything up in Cloudsdale had gone well enough for them both, and judging by the simple smile on Twilight's face he guessed things mustn't have gone all that bad after all.
"It went okay, and we luckily didn't run into any trouble while we were there," Twilight simply stated as she smiled back to the young dragon and reassured him that there was nothing for him to worry about, causing Spike to let out a heavy sigh of relief in reply.
"That's good, and oh since you two missed lunch eariler I've made us all a big dinner, and its almost ready too," he said as he smiled back to Twilight happily and turned to head back into the kitchen, before Dash stopped him in his tracks and caught his attention now.
"Thanks Spike, we'll come down and eat with you in a bit, but first I think Twilight and I both need a little rest from today," she explained as she caused Spike to just nod back to her a moment later in reply.
"Right I understand, you two just come down whenever you're ready to," he replied before he turned again and walked off back into the kitchen, as Twilight turned to look to Dash with a nervous smile now, while she just gave the Princess a blank stare.
"So...I'm guessing you want to go and talk in my room for a bit?"
She asked with a nervous chuckle as Dash just nodded her head in reply a moment later and caused Twilight to sigh a little, before they both quickly made their way up to the Princess's bedroom. Dash closing the wooden door behind them, as Twilight lay down on her bed and looked over to her marefriend, while the pegasus soon came to stand near to her and it seeming like she had quite the scolding look in her magenta eyes right now.
"And just where in Equestria did that all come from Twi?" she asked as she caused Twilight to just look back to her nervously in response, while she was currently avoiding looking directly at the pegasus at the moment.
"What do you mean Dash?" she asked in reply, causing Dash to just raise an eyebrow to her.
"You told me on the way back from Canterlot that we were just going to talk with the pegasi that are working with Lightning again, not the whole damn city,"
"Well...I changed my plan a little okay?"
"And what about all that stuff that you said?"
"What about it?"
"How come you never talked to me about that kind of thing first, before going to Cloudsdale and telling all of the pegasi there?" Dash asked as she raised her voice a little and caused Twilight to just look back to her nervously again, before she soon just sighed and gestured for the pegasus to come and lay down beside her on the bed. Dash doing so as she clearly wanted to hear just what Twilight had to say for herself right now.
"Because...I was unsure of just what to do at that point," the Princess stated as she spoke in a low voice and rested a hoof over Dash's, while the pegasus just looked a little puzzled in response.
"What do you mean Twi?"
"Well I've been thinking so much about what Lightning Dust's plans just might be, about how we can somehow hopefully stop her and the other pegasi helping her, about how exactly this feud between Cloudsdale and Ponyville started, and about what we can do from here to make things better for all the poines and pegasi that live in these two towns. But when I think about it all...I was focusing so much on getting more information and finding the answers to all my questions that I completely lost focus on what we are really doing this all for, and I haven't really been acting anything like a 'Princess' to the pegasi of Cloudsdale at all," Twilight explained as she revealed all that she had been thinking about by herself for a good while now, and caused Dash to still look a little confused in response to her.
"I became much too wrapped up in everything to do with Lightning Dust and the feud, as well as dragging you along with me, that when Lightning Dust was locked away and I was trying to decide what to do, I realised I should have reached out to the pegasi up in Cloudsdale a long time ago, and not just hidden away from them all because I was afraid to face them, after all I am the Princess of both Cloudsdale and Ponyville, and as such all of the ponies and pegasi of the two are my subjects, so I should treat them all equally. And besides I had to smoothen out my own relationship with the pegasi of Cloudsdale first if we're ever going to get them to do the same and try to get along with the ponies in Ponyville some time in the future," the Princess stated as Dash just widened her eyes a little and stayed slient for a few moments, before she nodded slightly, seeming to get why Twilight had done what she did now, as she sighed deeply and nuzzled into Twilight's neck slightly, while she looked back to her and smiled in return.
"So where do we go from here then, I mean what if dispite all that you said to them the pegasi of Cloudsdale are still going to be unreasonable, and won't even consider trying to start over and maybe getting along with the poines in this town?" Dash asked as it was obvious that she was worried for how things might just pan out from where they were now, while Twilight just shrugged her shoulders slightly in reply.
"That's for them to decide now, it's completely their choice what they do with what I told them all," Twilight simply stated as she soon nuzzled Dash back and snuggled into her more now, laying a wing over her back as she smiled slightly back to the pegasus.
"And what about the pegasi that are working with Lightning? After all that mare did say that 'none of what you said changes anything', so what should we do about them?" Dash questioned as Twilight soon just sighed and lay her head on Dash's shoulder, nuzzling her again while the pegasus just waited to hear her reply.
"The same goes for them I guess, I told that mare what would happen soon enough to them if they continued to follow in Lightning Dust's hoof-steps. It's up to them what they do now, after all we can't really do anything about it at the moment so let's just wait and see what they will choose from here," Twilight replied as she relaxed against Dash and looked to her with a reassuring smile, while the pegasus just nodded back to her with a still a bit of an unsure looking expression now and shrugged her shoulders slightly, cuddling into Twilight more a moment later.
The two laying together on the bed like that for a while as Dash wondered about the pegasi who were all working with Lightning Dust, and what their next move just might be, before she just pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and kissed Twilight lightly on her forehead knowing that now was not the time to be focusing and possibly getting herself worked up on such things as a blissful silence fell on them both while they embarced each other and decided to stay in Twilight's room for just a little longer, before they would soon need to head downstairs to have their dinner along with Spike.
....
Meanwhile as the late evening was slowly starting to settle in now, the pegasi that were helping out Lighting Dust were all flying just over Ponyville, all of them seemed to pass by the town as they were headed for the outskirts, while they all were keeping a look out for any guards that may see them if they weren't careful enough.
All if them seeming to know exactly where they were going at the moment as they all had determined expressions on their faces, however the mare leading them all stopped as they came to pass by the library where their Princess lived, and she looked to it with a somewhat thoughtful gaze, before one of the other pegasi caught her attention and caused her to look back to them now instead.
"Is something the matter?" the pegasus asked with a slightly concerned look to the mare in charge, as she just shook her head back to them in reply.
"No, it's nothing. Let's keep moving,"
She stated as the other pegasus just nodded to her in reply and continued to follow after the others, while the mare in charge glanced down to the library once again and narrowed her eyes slightly, before she sighed a little and turned away, flying off to join the rest of the pegasi a few moments later as they all waited for her to catch up and carry on leading them to their planned destination.
The next morning seeming to be quite the quiet one as Twilight and Rainbow Dash were just happily eating their breakfast together along with Spike, the two mares turning to talk to each other every so often, while the young dragon looked to them both and smiled a little, glad to see that they both seemed to be more relaxed and less stressed then they had been over the past few days.
The young dragon sighing slightly as he caught the other twos attention a moment later, "So you two are planning to go back up to Cloudsdale again today right?" he asked as both Twilight and Dash stopped talking to each other and turned to face him, the two mares nodding back to him in reply.
"Right, if I'm going to finally start being the Princess that I said I was, then the pegasi up there will just have to get used to seeing Dash and I there a lot more often, whether they like it or not," Twilight simply stated with a confident expression as Dash nodded in agreement and Spike doing the same in return, although he seemed to have a slightly anxious look on his face as he still was a little unsure about how things would go for them from here.
"I know it'll take some time before the pegasi from Cloudsdale actually see me as their ruler and trust me as such, but we'll just have to work through it I guess," the Princess added with a slight shrug of her shoulders and smiled reassuringly to the young dragon, while he just sighed and nodded in reply, feeling that they still had quite the fight to go before things would start to improve for both the little town of Ponyville and for the floating city above it.
"Hey Twi, you think Applejack and the others would be free today?" Dash asked changing the subject and catching the attention of her marefriend as Twilight turned back to her, shrugging her shoulders in reply.
"You'd have to find that out for yourself Dash, but what for?"
"I was just thinking that maybe we could finally all spend some time together since we had to leave instead the other day," the pegasus explained with a small smile formed on her lips, as Twilight looked back to her with a slightly raised eyebrow in response, staying silent and having a feeling that Dash still had more to say, letting the cyan mare continue a moment later.
"Plus..." she paused as she bit her bottom lip and hesitated for a couple of moments, before she sighed and spoke in a lower tone, "They will all probably be wondering what's going on with Lightning Dust and the pegasi that are working for her right now," she added as she thought back on when she last saw their close group of friends and seemed to cause Twilight to do the same as she soon nodded her head slowly in reply.
"They most likely will be wondering just what's going on at the moment, and what we plan to do from here," the Princess agreed as she thought Dash and her should go and talk to Applejack, Pinkie pie, Fluttershy and Rarity. Just to catch them all up on all that's happened recently and what is going to happen in the near future for their plan and for both Ponyville and Cloudsdale.
Spike just looking back and forth between the two mares as he seemed to be thinking for a moment or two, before he soon lifted his head a little and was about to catch Twilight and Rainbow Dash's attention again, but instead a sudden flurry of loud commotion alerted them all and caused them to turn to the front door as they could clearly tell that all the noise was coming from outside. The three exchanging looks of confusion and concern to one another, before they all quickly decided to leave the library and see just what was going on and what was causing such an uproar.
The three quickly running into the town together to where they heard all the noise coming from, soon seeing just what was causing such a racket as they all halted in their tracks and widened their eyes in surprise upon seeing the residents of Ponyville all gathered up into one big crowd, some fighting to keep others back as on the other side of the town market was the group of pegasi that had been working with Lightning Dust, while they were all being held back by the royal guards, trying to keep the ponies of the town safe, as the pegasi looked like they had full intent in attacking the poines at the moment.
Twilight instantly looking worried as she looked back and forth between the two groups of gathered ponies and pegasi, as the they yelled and insulted one another it seeming like an all out battle had somehow suddenly broken out amongest them all, while the guards were desperately trying to stop the two crowds from getting to each other right now.
"Twilight!"
The Princess heard a familiar voice call out to her, as she and the other two looked to where the voice had come from, seeing Applejack and Fluttershy quickly running over to them, while they turned to the two and gave them both worried and puzzled expressions as they soon stopped and caught their breath.
"Just what is going on here?" Twilight asked Applejack and Fluttershy as they all glanced over to the roit that seemed to be going on at the moment.
"We're not entirely sure how it all started, but what we do know is one minute everything was fine, and the next...those pegasi just came out of nowhere and started violent fights. It was like all out war had suddenly broken out before the guards were able to separate and hold back the pegasi, leaving other residents of the town to do the same to the ponies that were trying to fight back against them," Applejack explained as they all could see that the guards were beginning to struggle as the pegasi would roughly kick and head-butt them fighting to be let go and free to attack the ponies of the town once again. Unfortunatly there only being a few pegasi guards that could hold off the pegasi while they were hovering in the air, however a couple were soon becoming overpowered by the army of pegasi.
"Back off!"
One pegasus yelled as they landed a painful kick to a guard's gut, while others roughly pushed him out of the way, as he hunched over trying to recover and endure the pain, so that he could still help to protect the ponies of the town like they had been told to. Luckily another guard quickly coming to take over the fallen one, but it was clear to see that the pegasi from Cloudsdale had the advantage here.
"Twilight what do we do?"
Spike asked as he looked to the Princess with a worried expression, Twilight looking back to him with the same expression, as it was obvious she was in no way prepared for something like this to suddenly happen, glancing to Dash, while she looked back to her with an anxious expression, clearly she being unsure of what they could do to stop all this. Before Twilight turned back to look at the two crowds and tried to think for a moment, taking a deep breath and letting a more confident look form on her face, calming herself as she knew she had to get a handle on everything right now before it could get any worse than this.
"Should we ask Princess Celestia to come and help?" Dash asked as she was clearly unsure of what to do at this moment in order to stop all of this, however Twilight quickly shook her heard and denied the pegasus's suggestion.
"No, it would take too long the situation could get much worse before the Princess gets here, and besides..." she paused as she narrowed her eyes and nodded to herself looking to the two crowds of ponies and pegasi again, "I'm their ruler so I should be the one to stop all this before anypony gets hurt," she stated before glancing back to the other four, as they all seemed slightly worried for Twilight, however Dash soon just sighing and nodding her head in reply, the others doing the same a few moments later, while the Princess gave them all an encouraging expression and then turned to make her way over to the two crowds of shouting and struggling ponies and pegasi. Standing inbetween them both as she took another deep breath and shifted her eyes back and forth seeing that neither of the two crowds had really taken any notice to her just yet.
However that not lasting for very long as Twilight looked back and forth between the two crowds, before taking an authoritative stance and closed her eyes, opening them a moment later and suddenly raised her voice to catch the attention of all the ponies and pegasi gathered around together.
"Everypony listen up!"
She shouted almost instantly causing for most of both the ponies from the town and the pegasi from Cloudsdale to all quiet down and turn back to look to her, only a few still mumbling words under their breath as the guards all seemed to breathe a slight sigh of relief as they didn't have to struggle as much since the pegasi were now luckily being distracted from fighting to get to the ponies it seemed at the moment.
"Just what has gotten into you all?" Twilight asked as she gave them all a serious expression, clearly waiting for an explanation from at least one of the two crowds as to just what was going on right now, and was hoping to get some answers on how this had all suddenly happened.
The ponies seeming to be the first to speak as a couple of them stepped forward and caused Twilight to look back to them in response,"We apologise for all this trouble Princess Twilight, but we promise you that it wasn't us that caused this, these pegasi from Cloudsdale just came out from all directions and started to attack us out of nowhere," one of the ponies from Ponyville explained to the Princess as they bowed to Twilight before glancing back to the crowd of pegasi and glaring to them slightly still.
"We didn't do anything to provoke them at all," a second said as they all nodded in agreement.
"That's right we didn't do anything to do them," a third spoke as they caused the crowd of pegasi from Cloudsdale to all glare and bear their teeth at them in response, as the mare that had been left in charge of them all chimed in and cut off Twilight before she could say anything at all.
"You took everything from us! You made our friends and family leave their home and loved ones," she stated in an angred tone as all the other pegasi nodded in unsion, causing the ponies from the town to all turn and answer them back a moment afterwards as they were clearly not having this turn around onto them.
"We didn't take anything from you, and we didn't make those pegasi leave Cloudsdale, they chose to leave and come to live here in Ponyville instead,"
"Only because you manipulated them into thinking we were the ones causing all the trouble that led to the feud starting, when in fact you were more to blame than we were!" the mare in charge of the pegasi raised her voice as it was clear that things were quickly spiraling out of control yet again as Twilight was sure it wouldn't be long before the two crowds began fighting to get to one another once again while the guards and other townsfolk would have to struggle to hold them back.
And so before things could go back to how they were a few minutes ago, Twilight sighed and then raised her voiced, catching the attention of all the ponies and pegasi and causing them to look to her again, "That's enough from all of you!" she yelled speaking in a much more stern tone and narrowing her eyes as she also seemed to be more strict at this moment. The ponies from the town all seeming taken aback, and bowing their heads a little as they had never really seen their Princess looking this cross before now, causing them all to stay silent and waited for Twilight to continue.
"Good now I know you all don't get along, but just what is fighting like this going to prove? What will it change?" the Princess asked as she caused the ponies of the town to all exchange glances for a moment, while the pegasi from Cloudsdale all just looked to Twilight with glares now in response.
"Well maybe it'll finally make these ponies see that we aren't just going to back down, and let them continue like we're the ones at fault here and they are all innocent, when really they were the reason for this feud starting in the first place," the mare in charge of all the pegasi stated as it seemed like they had finally decided to act and show that they weren't going to back down and sit around any longer. While the ponies from the town just glared back to the pegasi and rolled their eyes a little in response.
"I mean sure the whole welcoming act was nice and all, but these ponies never liked the fact that we had come here, and some of you clearly wanted us to all leave and never come back," the mare added as she looked back to the ponies of the town and caused some of them to just glare back to her in response as it was now slowly becoming clear that instead of being afraid of these pegasi some of the ponies definitely seemed to hold more of a grudge towards them as well.
"Maybe that's because all you ever did was cause trouble for us while you were here," one of the town's ponies said as they caused for the pegasi to all bear their teeth and narrow their eyes in a threatening manner, while some of the ponies stared them down, other townsfolk stood in-front of them and held them back from getting too close much like how the pegasi were all still currently being held back by the royal guards at the moment.
While the two crowds argued with their voices soon growing in volume Twilight looked between them both, and within a few moments she started to noticed how alike the pegasi that had been working with Lightning Dust, and the town's ponies that seemed to be fighting back really were.
'This is the first time I've really noticed it but...it seems like the pegasi following Lightning Dust weren't all that wrong about some of the towns ponies, after all I can tell now that the ones arguing back really do look like they have a certain hatred for the pegasi as well. Maybe some of the ponies from Ponyville really are just as bad as some of the pegasi from Cloudsdale,' Twilight thought as she sighed a little, noticing how much like the case with Dash, the pegasi who all wanted revenge were ones that mostly kept to themselves and so were pegasi that the cyan mare didn't know all that well. It seeming like the arguing ponies from the town were pretty much the same as them to Twilight at the moment.
"You see Princess!" the mare in charge of the pegasi called to Twilight, bringing her out of her thoughts and causing her attention to be brought back onto her instead as the Princess looked back to her and the other pegasi, "The ponies of this town will never be willing to change and try to get along with us, so why should we do we have to?" the mare asked with a serious expression while her voice had an even more angred tone to it now than it did before, as things were clearly escalting quickly at the moment, not giving Twilight all that much time to think and try to reason with the pegasi so that another fight wouldn't start. However it seeming like she didn't really need much time as she soon just sighed deeply and lowered her gaze a little while doing the same with her voice.
"Because I've seen how you can do just that," she stated causing the mare in charge of the pegasi to widen her eyes a little and looked slightly puzzled as she seemed unsure of what Twilight had meant, but stayed silent as the Princess soon just continued on since she could see that the mare wanted her to elaborate on what she was saying, and not wanting to interrupt at the moment luckily.
"Since I've come here and started living in Ponyville I noticed that there are a lot of pegasi living here that most likely chose to leave Cloudsdale back when the feud started, and yet there have been almost no problems with any of them and the ponies of this town getting along, in fact they all seem to get along perfectly fine. So I know that all the ponies in Ponyville can learn to get along with the pegasi from Cloudsdale," Twilight explained as she looked over to the crowd of towns ponies and knew some of the pegasi in the crowd had come from Cloudsdale and yet had been welcomed into the town and had never really seemed to have found any troubles with the ponies since. As she knew it was definitely possible that every pony in the town could learn to get along with the pegasi of Cloudsdale, it could just maybe take some time as all.
The mare in charge looking like she was about to say something in reply, however Twilight cutting her off before she could get anything out at all, "And I've also seen how pegasi from Cloudsdale can do the same with the ponies in this town, after all I still remember back when Dash was a lot like all of you and really seemed to hate the ponies of Ponyville, but now she has close friends here, and has grown more comfortable to living down here with me, then she sometimes does when she is up in her hometown along with all of you," she stated as she glanced over to Dash and saw the cyan mare soon look back to her and just smiled slightly in return, Twilight smilining back to her before looking to the crowd of pegasi again.
"And if she can swallow her pride and learn to get along with these ponies who she at one time despised, then I really don't see why you can't all do the same," she added as the pegasi all glanced to one another for a few moments, one or two of them mumbling under their breath amongest themselves, while the mare in charge of them all still just glared back to Twilight and gritted her teeth slightly before she replied in a lower tone.
"Because you should know that we aren't all like Rainbow Dash," she said causing Twilight to widen her eyes and seem a little taken aback in response, however she soon just sighed and nodded in reply.
"I know, but like Dash you all would like to reconncent with your loved ones that left Cloudsdale for Ponyville right? So in order to try and have a better relationship with them couldn't you try to just start afresh and be at least willing to get along with the ponies in this town, for both theirs and your own sakes?" she asked as she gave a look of understanding to the mare and tried to make her and the other pegasi see that putting all that happened in the past behind them and actually trying to start anew with the ponies of Ponyville could actually prove to be beneficial to them all in getting them to have a chance to make up with their friends and family that had left Cloudsdale back when the feud had first started.
The pegasi all seeming to be thinking for a few minutes as some of them whispered to each other again, causing Twilight to look hopeful as she was glad that it looked like the pegasi weren't going to completely deny what she had said and luckily they actually did look like they were thinking it all over while a few of them turned to glance to the other crowd of the towns ponies and obviously some of them catching the eyes of a couple of the pegasi that had left Cloudsdale amogest them, and their expressions slowly started to change.
However Twilight's hope was soon dashed as the mare in charge shook her head and caught the attention of the Princess a few moments later, "Don't go saying things like that, pretending like you understand us, because you don't. You know nothing about us!" she yelled as she beared her teeth and glared daggers to Twilight, looking like she was about to make a move to attack the Princess, but two guards seeing this and luckily they both came over and quickly held back the mare, stopping her from hurting Twilight. While the lavender mare looked surprised as it seemed like she wasn't expecting the mare to sunddenly leap at her, stepping back slowly as the mare struggled against the two guards who were holding her back and not allowing her to get to Twilight no matter how much she fought against them.
"You don't know anything about us!" she repeated over and over again while she was being kept back by the two guards still, a fire of hatred burning behind her eyes, as Twilight recoginzed that look as the same one that the mare would give the ponies of Ponyville. She sighed a little and just smiled to the struggling pegasus in return a few moments later.
'Have I really made her hate me that much, or is she just directing all of her anger on to me?' she questioned to herself as she hung her head a little, before she soon just softened her expression and looked back to the mare again, "You're right, I don't know anything about you all, but...I would like to. So can you maybe help me understand you all a little better?" she asked as she caused the mare to widen her eyes and stop struggling for a few moments, however the guards holding her back still, standing their ground just in case the mare went to try and attack the Princess again. Twilight walking closer to the mare as she seemed to have a very uneasy and almost confused expression while she turned her head away from Twilight and gritted her teeth together tightly as she looked like she was almost at war with herself at the moment.
However before Twilight could make another move towards the mare she heard her name being called out and looked around only to have her lavender eyes widen at the sight of seeing Princess Celestia soon approaching them all as she came flying into Ponyville along with two guards following close behind her, landing in the town market between the two crowds and a little a ways away from Twilight right now.
"Twilight, just what is going on here?" the elder Princess asked as Twilight turned her attention on to Celestia as did everyone else, all the ponies from Ponyville bowing their heads and the most of the pegasi from Cloudsdale doing the same while others were too surprised by everything that was going on right now to react in the same way it seemed.
"Princess Celestia why are you here?"
Twilight asked as she quickly came rushing over to the elder Princess and looked to her with a bit of a concerned expression as she wondered why Celestia had suddenly shown up like this in Ponyville, but soon guessing just why she was here as she glanced over to where Spike and the others still stood and caught sight of the nervous and worried look on the young dragon's face at the moment.
"One of the guards from here came to tell me that you were in trouble and needed my help," Celestia simply explained as it was obvious that she was still quite confused as to just what was going on in the town at the moment and why all the ponies and pegasi were gathered up into two crowds and why some were being held back by either the guards or other ponies from the town right now.
Twilight looked back to the mare being still held back by the two guards and sighed a little as she looked like she still had a very uneasy and angered expression on her face at the moment, while it was clear that she and the other pegasi were also confused as to just how to react to what was going on right now. Twilight just turning back to Celestia as she soon hung her head low and looked to the floor with an ashamed expression on her face.
"I'm sorry Princess Celestia, but...I've let you down," she stated in a low tone as she caused the elder Princess to widen her eyes and look surprised as everyone else did, while Twilight just bowed her head lower and apologized once again, "And I've let everypony here down as well," she said biting her bottom lip and cursing herself as she felt like she had failed not only Princess Celestia as the one she looked up to, but also both the ponies of Ponyville and the pegasi of Cloudsdale as their ruler.
Twilight standing silent with her head still bowed to Celestia as the elder Princess was clearly confused at the moment, as was pretty much all the other ponies and pegasi as they all looked round to each other, unsure of just what was going on at the moment and wondered why their ruler had suddenly said that she had 'let everypony here down' including Celestia.
"Twilight just what are you talking about?" Celestia asked as she leaned down to Twilight a little, and rested a hoof under her chin, lifting her head from its bowing position and giving her a slight look of concern now, while Twilight just looked back to her with an shamed expression still, brushing away Celestia's hoof a moment later.
"I let you down...I let all of you down," Twilight repeated as she lowered her voice a little, turning away from Celestia, looking back to the two crowds of ponies and pegasi now as she sighed heavily and continued on, "I was sent here by Princess Celestia to be the Princess of both Ponyville and Cloudsdale, and since I've gotten here and learnt about this feud that has been going on for so long, I've wanted to find some way to fix it all. I thought I could do it, I thought I could bring both of you together again and make you all happy like you were before, but...I was wrong. All I've done is make things worse for you all since I got here, and I'm deeply sorry for that. Everything that's happened is my fault and I am willing to take fulll responsibility for it all," she stated as her head soon hung and she looked to the grass with a expression of guilt on her face, while all the other ponies and pegasi were clearly still confused about how exactly they should react to all this as they were all just as silent and taken aback by Twilight's apology as Princess Celestia was at the moment.
"Truthfully..." Twilight paused as she sighed deeply and just shook her head before carrying on, "I feel like I don't deserve to be your ruler...not after I have failed you all like this," she seemed to have finished as she bit her bottom lip, somewhat fearing just what the ponies and pegasi would say in response to her, and also dreading how Princess Celestia would react to this sudden confession and apology from her.
All the ponies and pegasi seeming to have gone silent as they stood looking to each other, and all of them being at a loss for words at the moment. Princess Celestia being the same as she gazed down to Twilight and was unsure of just what to say in reaction to all this suddenly happening, turning her head as she glanced over to Rainbow Dash while the cyan pegasus looked back to her and just shrugged her shoulders to show that she also was quite confused by all of this right now.
The cyan mare glanced to Spike as he was just looked back to her with a concerned expression, also seeming like he was confused about all that was going on at the moment. Dash then looking over to Twilight who still had an ashamed look on her face right now, Twi thinks she's at fault for all of this, she blames herself when all she's been doing is trying to make things better for both Ponyville and Cloudsdale. And if it weren't for her...' Dash paused on her thought as she looked to all the ponies and pegasi, seeing that luckily none of them needed to be held back at all, and all of them were still looking taken aback right now, clearly unsure of just how they should respond to their Princess, 'I would still be just like those pegasi that are helping Lightning. I...I have to do something,' she thought to herself, as she knew she had to make her marefriend see sense and let her know that none of this was her fault like she thought it all was, but was a little uncertain of how she was going to just that.
Dash seeming to be a little lost in thought as she wondered just what she could do at this point, Spike walking up to her and catching her attention a moment later, as he caused the cyan mare to look back to him now, "What do you think we should do?" he asked as it seemed like he was thinking similiarly to what Dash was, as the pegasus looked back to him, a little unsure of what to say, as she was still a bit lost on what to do in order to make Twilight realise that she wasn't at fault for what had happened at all.
Fluttershy and Applejack also now looking to Dash as she wondered just what they should do, "I...I don't know..." Dash paused as she glanced over to the crowd of pegasi as it seemed like the mare in charge was starting to fight back against the guards that were still holding her back as Dash thought for a few more moments, before an idea entered her mind and she widened her eyes, while causing Spike and the other two mares to look to her with curious expressions.
"I've got an idea, but...I'm going to need your help Fluttershy," the cyan mare stated as she gave the other pegasus a serious expression now, causing Fluttershy to just look back to her, still seeming a little confused in response.
"What for, just what are you going to do Rainbow Dash?"
"I'll explain on the way, just trust me on this, okay?" Dash gave a slight encouragiong look to Fluttershy, as she still looked a little uncertain, but sighed a moment later as she nodded back to the other pegasus and she just smiled in reply, before they both turned to leave, Dash looking back to Applejack as she caused her to look to her in response.
"You two see if you can keep a handle on things here until we get back," she intructed as Applejack just looked a little unsure of herself, Spike doing the same as he seemed more concerned now.
"Wait a minute, just where are you going?" the young dragon asked as he tried to stop the two pegasi in their tracks, however Fluttershy and Dash quickly running off and were soon out of sight, as Spike and Applejack were left to wonder just what they were going to do at this moment, to 'keep a handle on things' as Dash had told them to while her and Fluttershy were gone.
Spike and Applejack turning to each other and looking nervous, before they then glanced to the two crowds of poines and pegasi and could see that some of them were now whispering to one another, it looking like many of them were not so taken aback anymore and a few of the pegasi were starting to glare at Twilight once again, it seeming like things would begin returning to how they were a little while ago if they didn't do something about it soon.
Meanwhile it seemed like Princess Celestia was still a little uncertain of what she should say, leaning down to Twilight once again, and resting a hoof on her shoulder as Twilight just slowly lifted her head and looked back to her with a bit of a uneasy expression now, as she waited to hear just what Celestia would say to her in response.
"Twilight is this honestly how you feel?" the elder Princess asked with a slight concerned expression, Twilight just nodding slowly back to her in reply as she sighed and turned away from Celestia a moment later.
"All I've done is cause more trouble for everypony, so I've been thinking that maybe...maybe things would have been better if I didn't come here at all," she stated in a lowered tone, looking down to the grass again as her head hung heavily and she felt like she just didn't know what else to do anymore, things just seemed be going from bad to worse each time she tried to make things 'better' for both the ponies of Ponyville and the pegasi of Cloudsdale, and she honestly felt like she had exhausted all of her options at this point.
'Maybe I should have just left back when my relationship with Dash was found out, maybe...things would have turned out differently then,' she thought as it seemed like she was getting too caught up in her own mind right now, as Celestia could easily tell that she was being much too hard on herself at the moment, and gave her a worried expression as she didn't believe what the younger Princess was confessing to her was competely true.
However it seeming like she wasn't the only one who believed that as Pinkie Pie stepped forward from being amogest the crowd of town's ponies and caught Twilight's attention, "That's not true at all Twilight, because we're all really glad that you came here to us," she stated with a smile as she caused the Princess to lift her head a little and look back to her with a slightly questioning expression in reply.
"Pinkie pie's right, Twilight you may think that all you've done is cause more trouble for us since you got here, but the truth is...we're the ones that have been causing you trouble," Rarity added as she also stepped forward from the crowd, giving a slight smile to Twilight while she just looked back at the unicorn in disbelief, and continuing to do so as one by one all of the ponies from Ponyville turned to each other and bowed their heads as they all started to seemly agree with Pinkie and Rarity.
Twilight widened her eyes as she looked around to all of the town's ponies while they all just smiled back to her reassuringly, "Twilight you've always been trying so hard to make a change and find some way for things to be better for both us and for all the pegasi living up in Cloudsdale. However...we were the ones that haven't been willing to change, so everything that's happened is completely our fault, not yours...and we're the ones who have failed you as our Princess," Rairty stated as she lowered her tone a little and caused Twilight to just look back to her with a surprised expression, it seeming like she didn't know what to say as she looked over to where she thought Dash still was, but instead of seeing her she saw Applejack and Spike simply smiling and nodding back to her, as it was clear that they both felt the same way as all the other town's ponies did right now.
The Princess still looking at a loss for words as she looked back to Rarity, and spoke in a very low tone, "But I'm your Princess and as such...I shoulde be able to fix any problems that you may have- she seemed to be thinking out loud as she was clearly still having trouble with how Rarity and the other town's ponies could be saying that she wasn't at fault for everything that had been happening lately, however she was soon cut off by the unicorn as she gave an encouraging smile to the Princess in response.
"Maybe so...but you don't have to try so hard in order to do so," she simply said causing Twilight to widen her eyes again and seem taken aback, while Rarity continued on, "This stupid feud should have be solved long ago, and it shouldn't have to be your responsibility to put a stop to it all like we should have done long before now. So we're sorry for making you struggle through like this Twilight, and besides...isn't it also true that a Princess should care and do what she thinks is best for all her subjects? Because that's what you have always done for both Ponyville and Cloudsdale, no matter what," she explained as she came over to Twilight and rested a caring hoof on her shoulder, while the Princess looked back to her with an unsure expression still.
"But...you all weren't fighting like this before I came here," she stated as she was obviously still blaming herself for all that had happened lately, but Rarity just shaking her head in response.
"That may be true, but it most likely would have happened anyway," she simply replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders, "You see the thing is before you came here, we didn't know what to do. We knew we didn't want to keep living the way we were, and we used to always think that 'what if us and the pegasi in Cloudsdale were always going to hate each other?' We wanted things to change, we just had no idea how to do just that. Then you came along and you...you kept trying so hard to make things better for us all, we...we were lost without you Twilight," she finished as she gave a comforting smile to Twilight and caused her to look around at all the other town's ponies as they were all simply smiling and nodding back to her, showing that they were agreeing with all that Rarity was saying at the moment, and they had clearly stopped focusing on the crowd of pegasi opposite, as none of them needed to be held back at all anymore it seemed.
"Do you all feel this way?" Twilight asked as the town's ponies all came to crowd around her, and they just nodded happily in reply to her, Pinkie speaking up again as she caught Twilight's attention and caused her to look back to her now.
"We love you Twilight, so please don't blame yourself for our mistakes,"
She said with a reassuring smile to Twilight as the Princess still looked a little taken aback by all of this, while Pinkie and Rarity quickly came up to hug Twilight tightly, as she glanced to Celestia, who just smiled back to her with a nod, before Twilight finally let her lips slowly form into a small smile, as she hugged the two other mares back and nuzzled into them. Both of them nuzzling her back as the other town's ponies all just smiled happily to their Princess.
Meanwhile Applejack glanced over to the crowd of pegasi, seeing that pretty much all of them had also stopped fighting to get to the ponies as they were all looking to one another, and wondering how to react to this situation still. The farm pony looking to the mare in charge of all the pegasi as she still glared towards Twilight, and would try and fight against the two pegasus guards that were currently still holding her back at the moment.
Applejack taking a deep breath as she nodded to herself, walking over to the crowd of pegasi and gave them all a serious expression, catching their attention a moment later, "Don't you all have something to say as well? After all you know we aren't the only ones at fault here for everything that's happened," she stated, causing the pegasi to all look back to her some of them raising their eyebrows, while others just glared. The mare in charge of them all being one of the latter it seemed.
"We have nothing to say, the Princess said it herself 'things would have been fine if she never came at all', after all we didn't even want or need her in Cloudsdale," she said in a angered tone, as she looked to Twilight with a glare, while the Princess looked back to her with a nervous expression, the town's ponies all taking notice to the crowd of pegasi again, and soon they began to stand around Twilight, guarding her so that none of them could attack her at all right now.
The mare in charge of the pegasi still trying to fight back even though she could see that she definitely couldn't get to Twilight at all right now, seeming like she was intent on attacking the Princess no matter who stood in her way, while some of the other pegasi looked a bit uneasy as it was clear to see that some of them weren't agreeing with their leader anymore. While others looked kind of unsure and only a few were also still glaring to Twilight and the town's ponies along with the mare in charge of them all.
"That's not true!"
They all heard a voice call out to them, as every town's pony and pegasi looked around to see where the sudden voice had come from, Twilight doing the same and immediately recognising the voice as she widened her lavender eyes and quickly pulled away from Pinkie and Rarity, pushing herself out of the crowd of ponies as her lips formed in to a smile upon seeing her marefriend walking to stand opposite the crowd of pegasi and noticed Fluttershy following along behind her. The Princess rushing over to Dash as she was starting to wonder just where she had suddenly disappeared off to.
"Dash, where did you suddenly go to?" she asked as she came running over to Dash and quickly hugged her. Dash hugged her back as she gave her a smile and winked to her a little, causing her to look slightly confused now in response.
"I guess you could say I went to get someponies who all would like to speak with you," she simply answered as she gestured to Fluttershy behind her causing Twilight to just look even more puzzled, the yellow mare just smiling as she moved aside so that Twilight could now see the large crowd of pegasi all walking over to her. Her eyes widening as she recognised the pegasi as being pretty much all of the ones currently living up in Cloudsdale at the moment. (aside from the ones who had been helping Lightning Dust of course)
The pegasi all coming over to Twilight as they all seemed to have ashamed looks on their faces, many handing their heads low, while others bowed to the Princess, as she just looked back to them all with a wondering expression, "Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy told us all that has happened with Lighting Dust and these pegasi who have been working for her...and let us just say that we...are terribly sorry for all the trouble we have caused you. We should've realised what was going on long before now, but...I'm afraid Lighting Dust had us all fooled as well and we didn't notice the fact that she had been trying to turn us all against you and the ponies of this town until now," one of the pegasi from Cloudsdale explained as they caused Twilight to look taken aback in response, the Princess glancing to Dash and Fluttershy, who both just smiled to her, while she turned back to the crowd of pegasi as they continued on to explain more to her.
"You see Lightning Dust...she made us all think that the ponies of this town hated us all, and they were the ones at fault for the feud starting, but many of us always felt that wasn't completely true, and when she told us that you didn't want anything to do with Cloudsdale or us at all, we weren't sure what to believe anymore. But after you came to us yesterday it caused us to think about all that you had said, and start to doubt Lightning Dust's words. Then when Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy came to tell us about everything we knew she had just been lying to us all this time," another pegasus explained further about what they had realised after Dash and Fluttershy had talked to them all. Twilight looking a little lost for words as she was surprised to hear that Lightning Dust even had most of Cloudsdale fooled, but she guessed she should have probably expected something like that from that manipulative mare.
"We just wanted to say sorry for the way we treated both you and Rainbow Dash, and the truth is...we have always hated this feud, and wished it would end sometime soon, but every time we've thought of trying to fix things between us and the ponies of this town, as well as seeing if we could reconnect with the pegasi that chose to leave Cloudsdale, we... we lost our courage and just didn't know how to make things better anymore," the same pegasus that talked first stated as many of the pegasi were looking to Twilight with saddened expressions as the Princess looked around to them all and felt kind of glad as it seemed like she had successfully gotten through to the pegasi of Cloudsdale with all that she had told them yesterday, and felt very thankful towards Dash and Fluttershy right now, as she didn't look as surprised anymore.
"So we've come here to ask you...could you help us all with it?" one pegasus asked.
"After all you did say that you would help us with any problems that we may have right?"
Another added as all the rest looked to Twilight with pleading expressions, asking for her help, while she didn't know what to say in reply at first, glancing to her marefriend again, as she just nodded back to her with an encouraging smile, showing her that this was her chance to finally start being the Princess that she wanted to be, and the one that both Ponyville and Cloudsdale would need.
Twilight taking a deep breath as she let her lips slowly form into a small smile, looking back to all the pegasi from Cloudsdale now, "Of course, I'd be happy to help you all," she stated as she nodded to them all, causing all the pegasi to breathe sighs of relief, and most of them smiling as they were all clearly glad that their Princess had agreed to help them to find a way to make things better for not only them, but for all of Ponyville as well.
While the pegasi from Cloudsdale all seemed happy and not so nervous anymore, Dash now looked over to the pegasi who had all been working with Lightning Dust and saw how many of them seemed to be a little uneasy, and were whispering to one another right now, probably questioning how they should react to everything that was happening at the moment.
"And what about all of you?" the cyan mare asked she caused the crowd of pegasi to all look back to her in response, pretty much all of them looking nervous and staying silent, as they clearly didn't know what to say, however the mare in charge of them all soon answering Dash.
"What are you talking about?" she still spoke in quite the angered tone, seeming like she had stopped fighting back against the two guards that were currently holding her back, but she was still glaring to Twilight, while Dash walked over to her and lowered her tone a little.
"Well don't you want this all to end finally? After all nothing's going to change if you continue seeking out revenge like this, and this might be your only chance to reconnect with the ones that left Cloudsdale again. Besides aren't you tired of all this fighting by now?" she asked as she gave an understanding look to the mare in charge as well as all the other pegasi, while they all just looked back to her seeming like they were thinking for a few moments, as their leader bit her bottom lip and beared her teeth at Dash.
"Of...of course we are! But it's the only thing we can do, that's what Lightning Dust told us, we've got no other option than this!" she raised her voice as she felt her breath hitch in her throat a little, not willing to except what pretty much all of the other pegasi had considered accepting as they all looked unsure of theselves and seemed like they no longer were going along with what their leader was saying anymore.
"That's not true,"
Dash simply shook her head in response, as the mare's yells had caught the attention of Twilight and all the other pegasi from Cloudsdale, the Princess walking over to the mare in charge and all the other pegasi that had been working for Lightning, as she smiled to them all and gestured for the guards to let go of the pegasi that they were currently still holding back at the moment as they all quickly obyed and moved away from the crowd of pegasi now.
"Lightning Dust lied to you all, revenge isn't the only option that you have, I promise I can help you to find a way to make things better from how they are now, but you have to let me help you," Twilight stated with an encouraging smile to the mare in charge as she hoped the mare would agree to let her help, but like she expected the mare shook her head and turned away from her in return.
"But...how...how can we move on from here after everything that we've done?" she asked in a low tone, seeming like she was questioning herself rather than Twilight as she was clearly a bit at war with herself, and was unsure of what she should do at this point, her glare and angered expression forming into an uneasy one as she glanced back to the Princess now, while she just smiled back to her in return
"Don't worry I know it's gong to be difficult, but you can always start anew,"
She simply reassured the mare as she caused her to just look nervous again, before the Princess turned and left the mare to think for a few minutes, as she looked to Celestia who at the moment was seemly keeping the town's ponies entertained while Twilight talked with the pegasi from Cloudsdale, Twilight catching the elder Princess's attention as she called over to her and gestured for her to come up to her.
Celestia walking over to Twilight as she looked down to her and gave her a wondering expression, "Is there something that you need Twilight, because you seem to have about everything covered here now?" she asked as Twilight just nodded to her and smiled in response.
"Well yes, but you see these pegasi are the ones that were helping Lightning Dust with her plans," Twilight simply stated, gesturing to the crowd of pegasi and their leader, Princess Celestia just nodding as she expected Twilight to ask her to take them into custody like Lightning Dust right now, however Twilight seemed to surprise Celestia with what she said next.
"However I want to tell you that I will be dealing with them and their punshiment," she said causing Princess Celestia to look taken aback, as Twilight just looked back to her with a confident expression.
"Twilight...are you sure about this?" Celestia asked after a short pause, as she seemed a little uneasy and nervous, but Twilight simply just nodded back to her in reply.
"They need my help, and I can tell they aren't like Lighting Dust, so they shouldn't end up in the same place where she is," she explained as she lowered her voice a little, and caused Celestia to look over to the uneasy looking leader and all the other pegasi who seemed unsure of themselves at the moment.
Celestia looking like she was thinking for a moment or two, before she looked to Twilight's determined expression and just sighed with a smile, "Very well, they are your subjects after all, so you should decide how to deal with them" she stated as she nodded to Twilight and she smiled back to her, before she walked back over to the leader of the pegasi and caused her to look back to her now.
"So now you've had a little time to think...will you let me help you?" she asked with an unstanding expression to the mare, as she looked around at all the other pegasi, while they just all looked back to her seeming like they were waiting for her to make a decision that they could just all go along with as it was clear that they were still very unsure of what to do right now.
The mare in charge soon just sighing heavily as she hung her head and nodded in reply to Twilight, causing her to smile and rest a comforting hoof on the mare's shoulder, as all the other pegasi looked to one another and smiled a little as they seemed to be kind of glad by the fact that they had agreed to accept their Princess's help after all.
However the mare in charge suddenly widening her eyes as she seemed to have remembered something and lifted her head, looking back to Twilight now,"Wait I have to tell you something," she stated causing Twilight to look back to her with a wondering expression.
"What is it?" she asked as she could see that the mare was now clearly worried about something, and hoped she could help her out with whatever it was.
"Lighting Dust's plans...her plan was to have us start a disturbance in Ponyville, and once things had escalated to a certain point a couple of us would sneak away and break her free from her holding cell in Canterlot, so that she could come and lead us all away while the uproar was still going on in the town," she explained as she remembered Lightning Dust's plans and what they had been instructed to do, causing Twilight to widen her eyes in response.
"She's probably waiting for us right now," another pegasus stated as they all seemed to be a little worried now, as they looked to Twilight for help, and she looked to Dash with a bit of a nervous expression, Dash just looking back to her uncertainly, before Twilight glanced over to Princess Celestia instead.
'So turning herself in was a part of her plan. I knew she was lying through her teeth to us,' Twilight thought as she was wondering what they should do, before she saw Celestia just smile to her slightly, as the younger Princess looked a little confused for a moment, then widening her eyes as she seemed to catch onto what Celestia was hinting at her, as she smiled and looked back to the mare and the other pegasi that she had been in charge of.
"Well...let's go see her then,"
She simply said as she caused the mare and the other pegasi to all look to her a little confused, as she just continued to smile to them all. Twilight and Dash soon telling Spike and the others just what was going on at the moment and that they had to quickly leave for Canterlot along with Princess Celestia and all the pegasi that had been working with Lightning Dust, while asking them to 'keep the peace' until they returned back to Ponyville.
....
Twilight, Dash, Celestia and the group of pegasi who had been helping Lightning Dust quickly made their way to Canterlot castle, and walking down to the holding cells where Lightning was currently being kept at the moment. Once arriving there Twilight told the group of pegasi to all go up to the turquoise mare's cell, and then they would come over to join them in a moment.
The pegasi following Twilight's instrctions as they nodded to her and walked over to Lighting's cell, and called out her name to catch her attention. Lighting jumping up from the bed as she came over to the bars and looked to the group of pegasi, seeming like she had been impatiently waiting for them to come.
"It's about time that you guys got here, I was actually starting to get afraid that I would get tranferred before you showed up," she stated as she looked to the other pegasi with a bit of an annoyed expression, while they just looked back to her nervously seeming like they were all unsure of what to say back to her, looking to each other uneasily.
"Did any guards see you?"
Lightning asked as she could see that the other pegasi were all seeming a little uneasy at the moment, and hoped that the plan was still going smoothly for them all, while the group still just stood in silence, looking like they were all at a loss for words and were clearly unsure of just how they should reply to their former leader who they had been following until now.
"Well no...but..." the mare who Lightning had left in charge spoke as her tone was awfully low at the moment, it being clear that she was still nervous as were all the other pegasi, while they glanced back over to where they had left Rainbow Dash and Twilight a few minutes ago, only to see them both now walking over to them all with slight stern looks on their faces.
"But they didn't come alone," Dash stated as she and Twilight now came walking up to the cell, and a gave slight glares to Lightning Dust, while she widened her eyes and looked taken aback, clearly not expecting to see the two mares here along with the group of pegasi.
"W-what are you two doing here?" Lighting questioned as she backed up a little from the bars of her cell door, and glared to Twilight and Dash a moment later, as they just stared back to her sternly.
"We just came here to tell you that all of the pegasi from Cloudsdale know that you lied to them and tried to trick them, and well...it seems like the only one not willing to change amongest them was you," Twilight explained as she caused Lightning to look slightly confused for a moment looking back to the other pegasi as she saw how they all still had nervous expressions on their faces right now.
"What are you talking about, did they rat me out?" the turquoise mare raised her voice a little, not seeming to put on any kind of innocent act anymore as she suddenly glared to the other pegasi, while they all looked a little taken aback at the anger she showed to them all. Dash however catching Lightning's attention a moment later as she caused her to look back to her and Twilight again.
"No they didn't, however they did agree to let us help them to make things better, which was something you clearly weren't able to do," Dash stated as she caused Lightning to just raise her eyebrow in response.
"Help them to make things better? Are you forgetting that these were the pegasi that all helped me to trash Pinkie Pie's house, as well as to stop Rainbow Dash from flying and returning to Cloudsdale again," Lightning asked as she didn't think the other pegasi would be forgiven so easily when she definitely wasn't, however Dash just nodding her head in reply simply.
"Yes and we intend to punish them soon enough for all that, but unlike you...they won't be left to rot in a cell for the rest of their lives," she said, lowering her voice a little and narrowing her eyes, as Lightning Dust looked slightly taken aback for a moment, before she glared to Dash once again and beared her teeth in anger.
"no....NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! Those damn ponies in that vile town...this is all their fault, and they need to pay for all that they took from us...Y-YOU CAN'T JUST LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT LIKE THIS!" Lighting yelled as she hammered on the bars with both of her front hooves causing the other pegasi to all step back a little, them looking taken aback at how angry their former leader was right now, not only at Dash and Twilight, but also at all of them.
"You can't...you can't do this," Lighting repeated as her voice lowered to almost a whisper, Dash and Twilight both still giving her stern expressions, as the Princess caught her attention and caused the turquoise mare to look back to her now.
"It's all over Lighting Dust,"
Twilight simply stated as she caused Lighting to look back to her with a glare, knowing she had been defeated, but not willing to give in it still seemed as she just bit her lip and rested her head against the bars of her cell door, cursing under her breath while Twilight and Dash turned away from her.
Princess Celestia coming over to the cell as she looked to Lighting and nodded to two of the royal guards by the door, as she gestured for them keep an eye on the locked up mare while she showed Twilight, Dash and the group of pegasi out of where the holding cells were.
However it seeming like Lighting Dust still hade some fight left in her as she banged on the the bars of her cell again, "Hey come back here, I'm not finished talking with you all yet!" they all heard her yell as they left, the group of pegasi all giving one last glance to their former leader before they followed Twilight and Dash out of the door and soon were all making their way through the halls of Canterlot castle once again.
"Lighting Dust will be moved to the prison here in Canterlot later this evening, where she will be kept a heavy watch over, so you can be sure she won't be getting out of there for a very long time," Celestia stated as Dash and Twilight just nodded back to her in reply.
"Thank you Princess Celestia,"
Twilight said as she bowed to Celestia, while she just simply smiled back to her, and gestured towards the group of pegasi a moment later, causing Twilight to look over to them and nod her head slightly with a sigh, smiling back to Celestia, before she gave her a quick hug, and then turned to walk off and go back to tend to her Princess duties, clearly seeing that Twilight no longer required her help anymore.
Twilight watching Celestia go as she smiled and now turned back to Dash and the group of pegasi, "Well then, we should probably head back to Ponyville and see how things are getting on there," she stated as Dash just nodded back to her with a smile, while the group of pegasi nodded as well, but they all still looked a little nervous at the moment.
The Princess going to start walking and leading the way, however the mare that had been in charge of the pegasi until now stopping her as she called out to her, and spoke in a low tone, "Wait...before we go back, we want...to tell you something," she stated causing Twilight and Dash to look back to her with wondering expressions, as they simply waited for the mare to continue.
The mare looked round to all of the others as they all nodded to her, seeming to have the same thing on their minds as they all bowed their heads to Twilight a moment later, "We're so sorry...for everything, and will accept any punishment that you give to us," they all said in unison, causing both Twilight and Dash to look surprised in response as they glanced to each other not knowing how to react at first, before the Princess soon looked back to the group of bowing pegasi and smiled slightly to them all.
"Well you do all have to face consequences for the crimes you committed, but...as long as you promise not to cause anymore trouble for Dash and I, then...we won't be as harsh on you all," she explained as all of the pegasi just nodded quickly back to her in reply, before she nodded back to them and watched as they all lifted their heads back up again. Twilight about to turn and start leading the way again, but another voice stopping her in her tracks as a different pegasus spoke up and causd her to turn back around now.
"Princess Twilight?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think..." the pegasus paused as they hesitated for a moment, looking nervous while they carried on, "Do you think that things really will change for the better with us and the ponies from Ponyville?" they asked in a low tone, causing Twilight to widen her eyes a little in reply, before her lips formed into a reassuring smile.
"Of course I do," she simly replied with a confident expression, causing the pegasi to all look back to her with widened eyes, before she turned and getured for them all to follow her, all of them doing so as they whispered and smiled to one another slightly.
"Well if I can do it, then so can all of you," Dash stated as she smiled to the group of pegasi, coming to walk beside Twilight as she just smiled to her marefriend slightly.
"Yep although I'm kind of hoping it will be a little easier this time around," she said letting a small smirk form onto her lips, as Dash nodded to her before widening her eyes and raising an eyebrow back to her marefriend.
"Hey what's that supposed to mean?"
She asked with a playful stern stare, as Twilight just shrugged her shoulders simply in response, while the group of pegasi all gave small smiles to the couple as Dash just rolled her eyes before smiling back to the Princess again. All of them soon leaving Canterlot castle together and heading back to their homes once again.
As the bright shining sun was high in the clear blue sky Rainbow Dash was still fast asleep, as late morning was settling in at the moment. The cyan pegasus sleeping peacefully as she sighed a little and rolled over on the bed that she shared with her marefriend, however her eyes feeling a strain on them and causing her to stir as the bright rays of the sun were peeking in through the slightly open curtains, and bathing the bedroom in a dim glow.
Dash's magenta eyes blinking a few times as they tried to get used to the sudden blinding sunlight, the cyan mare just groaning slightly as she rolled back over in the bed, and snuggled up in the space where Twilight had spent the night sleeping, smiling while she pulled the covers up over her head and decided to stay in bed for just a little while longer as she didn't feel like she wanted to get up just yet.
However the sunlight not seeming to be the only one disturbing her as within about a couple of minutes the bedroom door opened slowly, Twilight walking inside as she called to Dash, greeting her cheerfully and hoping to get her marefriend up and out of bed since she had been sleeping in for quite sometime by now.
"Dash are you getting up soon?" the Princess asked as she walked over to the bed, hoping that the cyan mare would get up without much fussing, however that not seeming likely at the moment as she only gained a long groan from the pegasus in reply.
"Sure, just give me about ten more minutes," she spoke in a low, mumbled voice burying her head into the pillows and pretending to be asleep, causing Twilight to just smile and roll her eyes slightly in response, before she rested a single hoof on her marefriend's covered shoulder, shaking her a little and trying to presuade her to get up.
"Come on Dash, Princess Celestia is coming today remember," Twilight lowered her tone a little, as she caused Dash to widen her eyes and slowly lift her head up from the pillow letting the covers fall to still be wrapped around her lower body. It seeming like the pegasus was slightly more awake now as she looked back to Twilight and sighed a few moments later.
"Oh right that's happening today, I kinda forgot she was coming actually," she seemed to be thinking out loud as she strenched a little while sitting up in the bed now, Twilight looking hopeful as she thought Dash might just get up since she knew she couldn't stay in bed for much longer, however that not seeming to be the case unfortunately.
The cyan pegeasus just shrugging her shoulders a momnent later as she lay back down in the bed and pulled the covers over her head again, "She's not coming till this afternoon though so a little while longer won't hurt," she simply stated, causing Twilight to just sigh heavily and shake her head, as she chuckled slightly and guessed she should have expected this from her often sometimes lazy and stubborn marefriend, knowing that she wouldn't be all that excited about Celestia coming to the town for a visit, and so she wouldn't be in any sort of rush to get ready for her arrival at all.
Twilight resting her head against Dash's back as she climbed on to the bed, nuzzling her marefriend, and successfully getting her attention it seemed, while she tried to make the event of getting up more appealing to the pegasus, thinking for a moment, before she smiled slightly and leaned over the cyan mare now.
"I made you some pancakes,"
She whispered to Dash, seeming to have a feeling that the promise of breakfast would persuade the pegasus more. Causing Dash to widen her eyes a little, trying to show that she still wanted to sleep more as she buried her head into the pillow again, while Twilight just raised her eyebrow to her, hearing the other mare's stomach growl slightly, as she smiled a moment later and watched as Dash rolled her eyes and sat back up in the bed.
"Well I'm already awake now, and it's not like you're going to let me go back to sleep anyway,"
She stated as she pushed the covers off of her, having a look of slight defeat on her face, causing Twilight to just chuckle a little, as she leaned forward and lay a light peck on Dash's forehead, making her smile back and nuzzle her a moment later, the Princess just smiling to her before they soon both headed downstairs, meeting Spike who was sitting at the dining table happily tucking in to his own plate of freshly made pancakes right now, as Dash and Twilight joined him so they could all have their breakfast together.
....
Twilight however not staying with Dash and Spike for all that long as once she had finished her breakfast and put away her plate in to the sink to be washed later, she had left the library and headed into Ponyville to see how all the preparations were going for Princess Celestia's visit to the town later on today.
The Princess walking through the hustle and bustle of the town market as she smiled to herself, looking around at all of the ponies from Ponyville going about their day, and pretty much all of them being excited about Celestia coming to the town today, 'Not a lot has changed around here since the feud ended, but then again it's only been a couple of months since then...and yet somehow at the same time...this town almost seems like it's a different place,' Twilight thought as she sighed a little, looking around the town market and recognised some of the pegasi to be ones from Cloudsdale, noticing how nervous they seemed to be while being in the town along with all the other ponies.
'They all remind me of how Dash was when she first started coming into Ponyville more,' Twilight sighed a little as she knew getting both the ponies of Ponyville and the pegasi from Cloudsdale to all get along would be quite the slow and long process, but she was already just so glad to see that the pegasi from Cloudsdale could come in to the town and be welcomed and greeted by the residents just like she hoped they would be someday.
Twilight soon walking on through and past the town market, making her way to the town hall as she knew that the ponies from Ponvyille had planned to decorate it specially for Celestia's visit. The Princess approaching the town hall as she saw that the tall building was already being covered in different coloured streamers and banners, all making the town hall look even more noticedable than it already was.
Seeing the town's mayor and a few other ponies from the town all crowding around the town hall, decorating it so that it was obvious that toady was most definitely quite the special occasion that was clearly worth celebrating. Twilight looking around and smiling to the towns ponies and mayor as they soon noticed her and greeted her politely, causing their Princess to just nod her head back to them, while they quickly got back to their preparations. Twilight not noticing at first, but a few moments later she recognised Pinkie Pie in the crowd as she stood off to the side, looking like she was lost in thought as well as admiring the hard work of the other ponies right now.
"Pinkie,"
Twilight called as she came walking over to the earth pony, causing the pink mare to be dragged out of her thoughts as she looked over to where the familiar voice of the Princess had come from, and smiled when she saw Twilight walk up to her now.
"Good morning Twilight, are you excited as I am about today?" Pinkie asked in a cheerful voice, smiling brightly to Twilight, as the lavender mare just nodded back to her, smiling and greeting her as well in return.
"You bet, how are things going here?" she asked as it was clear that she was interested to see just how all the preparations were going, and hoping they would be all be finished by the time that Celestia was due to arrive.
"Everything is running smoothly, and with the way things are going right now, we should have it all ready for Princess Celestia when she gets here this afternoon," the pink mare just simply explained as Twilight nodded to her in reply, both of them soon looking to admire the towns ponies who were all working hard together to pull this all off in time.
"I'll let you get back to it then,"
Twilight replied as she was about to leave and go and see how things were going in other parts of the town, before she knew she would soon have to head back home to Spike and Dash as she didn't want them both to still just be relaxing at the library when Princess Celestia arrived. However just as Pinkie nodded and Twilight was about to turn to leave, the two mares both heard a quiet voice call out from behind them, causing them to turn round a moment later.
"Excuse me,"
The quietly tonned voice seeming to come from a nervous looking pegasus mare, who Twilight soon recognised to be the former leader of the pegasi that used to be working with Lightning Dust. Both the Princess and Pinkie Pie smiling politely to the other mare as they wondered why she had called to them both, waiting for her to speak while the pegasus just took a deep breath and nodded to herself now, as she seemed to be encouraging herself at the moment.
"I don't mean to be a bother or anything...but I was just wondering if maybe...I could help you all with decorating the town hall a little, if you need it that is," the mare suggested turning her head away from the other two, as she would keep pausing every so often between her words, it seeming like she was struggling a little, but Twilight and Pinkie just smiling all the same as they could see that the pegasus was trying to be kind and genuinely was offering her help at the moment.
To which Pinkie just smiled to Twilight, before she rested a comforting hoof on the mare's shoulder and smiled to her kindly, causing the pegasus to lift her head and look back to the earth pony with a surprised expression, her eyes widening in response.
"Of course you can silly,"
Pinkie simply replied with a bright beaming smile and a nod, causing the mare to look taken aback for a moment, before the earth pony took hold of her hoof, and started to lead her over to where all the other ponies were working to get the whole of town hall decorated.
"We need all the help we can get after all," Twilight heard Pinkie say while she smiled, watching the two mares walk off together as it wasn't long before the pegasus was greeted by pretty much all of the other towns ponies, and she was soon helping them all out with the preparations for this afternoon.
'Everypony sure is excited about Princess Celestia coming for a visit, even some of the pegasi from Cloudsdale want to help out with getting everything ready,' Twilight thought as she just stood for a few moments, watching the nervous pegasus from Cloudsdale begin to relax more and was soon starting to smile as she seemed happy that she was able to lend a hoof to the towns ponies with this.
'Maybe Dash and I should help out too,' Twilight wondered as she seemed to be thinking for a few minutes more, watching the pegasus from Cloudsdale work together with the ponies from the town, and soon just shrugged her shoulders, turning away from town hall and starting to make her way back to the library. Hoping that by now Dash had finished her breakfast and would maybe be up for helping out the towns ponies with getting everything ready as well.
....
However once the Princess had returned back home and walked into the kitchen, expecting to see her marefriend still sitting at the dining table chatting to Spike just like how she had left them, but being a little taken aback as when she entered the kitchen she only saw Spike busy washing the dishes in the sink, while the cyan pegasus seemed to have just vanished.
Twilight looking around for a few more moments, before she caught Spike's attention and caused him to turn round to look to her, "Hey Spike, where did Dash go, she's not gone back to bed, has she?" she asked as she looked to the young dragon with a bit of a sigh, it seeming like she would prefer it if she didn't have to wake her marefriend back up yet again, and kind of being really relieved when she saw Spike shake his head in reply.
"No, she actually only left a couple of minutes ago, said she was going off to Cloudsdale for a bit, not sure what for though," the young dragon simply explained as he shrugged his shoulders slightly, causing Twilight to look back to him with a curious expression, it seeming like she was thinking for a little while, before she soon widened her eyes and looked like she had realised something now.
Causing Spike to slightly raise an eyebrow back to her, as she smiled in response to him a moment later, "I'll just go and see what she's up to then, and maybe see if she would be willing to help out with the towns preparations," she stated, seeming to be thinking out loud, as that last part was said in a much lower voice, while Spike looked a little puzzled, wondering just what the Princess was planning right now.
However before he could say anything to question Twilight, she simply spoke again and cut him off completely, "I'll be back soon, so make sure you're ready for when Princess Celestia arrives," she instructed to the young dragon, as he just soon nodded back to her in reply, quickly turning back to get on with washing the dishes so that once he was done he would be able to to leave the library and be ready for Celestia's arrival along with the rest of the town of Ponyville.
"Got it!"
Twilight heard Spike reply as she just smiled to him slightly, before she herself turned around and headed out of the library, soon taking into the air and setting off for Cloudsdale, as it seemed like she had a feeling about just what Dash was doing up in her hometown, 'Well I did want to quickly drop by Couldsdale as well before Princess Celestia gets here,' she thought as she flew through the air, before making her way to the floating city above Ponyville at a rather fast pace.
It not taking her long to get to Cloudasdale as she was soon flying up through the entrance, beginning her search for her marefriend, and making her way through the floating city. Getting waved to by the pegasi that she passed by, as they would greet her politely and bow to her, it being obvious that they had all pretty much gotten used to seeing the Princess around the city more often, while she just smiled and nodded back to them all, although looking like she was much more focused on finding Dash right now.
Luckily it not taking her all that long to do just that, as when she came to a more secluded area of the city and took a quick rest on one of the clouds, her ears soon perked up and twitched to the unmistakeable voice of her dear marefriend, causing her to quickly turn to where she heard the voice come from, and smiled when she saw Dash hanging out with a few other pegasi near to the outskirts of the city at the moment.
Twilight letting a slight sigh leave her lips as she flew over to Dash and the other peagsi, who she soon recognised as some of the ones that used to work with Lightning Dust as she came closer to them all, however none of them really noticing the Princess at all as they all seemed to be clearly more focused on what they were doing right now.
"Come on Rainbow Dash, you can go faster than that right?"
One of the pegasi asked in a playful manner as they all seemed to be helping out Dash with her flying, encouraging her to go faster and get out of her comfort zone a little, while a pegasus was following close behind the cyan mare just in case she became unsteady at all, and a few fluffly clouds were also below her, so that if her healing wings decided to give way and cause her to fall at any time she would have something soft to land on.
Dash just rolling her eyes to the pegasus that had called to her, before she smirked slightly, glancing back to her recovering wings, and worked on flapping them with a bit more strength so that she would fly faster, however being careful enough to know that if they started to hurt at all she would have to stop and give them a bit of a rest, before trying again.
"There you go, looks like you'll be soaring through the air and racing us all in no time,"
Another pegasus stated, as the others all hovered around the two clouds that Dash was practising her flying between, all of them cheering the cyan mare on, and encouraging her to continue and keep going, but also being mindful of Dash's energy knowing that she would need to stop and end it there today if she looked worn out at any time.
'They really have gotten quite close lately, they've been doing this pretty much everyday since Dash was able to use her wings to fly again not too long ago,' Twilight sighed with a slight smile watching her marefriend fly between the two clouds, feeling so glad that things had changed in the best way for Dash and all these pegasi that at one time seemed like they could never get along with one another.
The Princess catching the attention of the pegasi as she flew over to hover beside them all, "You all aren't tiring out Dash are you? We can't have her feeling exhausted and falling back to sleep when Princess Celestia comes to Ponyville later," she asked, causing the pegasi to all turn to her, as well as catching Dash's attention as she came to a halt and looked back to her marefriend, just smiling while the pegasi all looked a little nervous to Twilight.
"Of course not Princess Twilight,"
One pegasus said with a quick shake of her head, the others all doing the same soon afterwards, while Dash just rolled her eyes to the Princess, turning and flying over to her marefriend now as Twilight just smiled to her and raised her eyebrow to her slightly.
"Relax Twi, I know my limits,"
Dash simply stated as she nuzzled Twilight, causing the Princess to just sigh slightly and smile, as she soon nuzzled Dash back, knowing that Dash was almost always careful when it came to pushing herself, and not over-working her still healing wings that weren't yet as strong as they used to be, but was checking just to be sure.
Twilight then soon remembering why she wanted to find Dash in the first place as her eyes widened and she pulled away from the cyan mare now a little, causing her to look back to the Princess with a wondering expression, "Oh that's right, Dash I wanted to ask if you would be up for helping out with decorating the town hall. Well if you're not too busy practising your flying that is," Twilight suggested with a slight smirk as she caused Dash to just look back to her nervously, while she shrugged her shoulders a moment later.
"Sure I guess I wouldn't mind helping out a little,"
She simply replied, causing Twilight to smile back to her, before she looked round to all the other pegasi, and thought of asking them to lend a hoof as well, after all it would be nice if they could all get involved in this event along with Ponyville. However as she nodded to herself and was about to ask the other peagsi if they would like to help out too, she and Dash heard a familiar voice calling out to them both, as they turned to the sound of it.
"Princess Twilight!"
Twilight and Dash seeing a familiar pegasus mare flying over to them, both of them recognising her as the mare that had been in charge of the pegasi that were helping Lightning Dust at one time. But the last thing Twilight had seen her doing was asking Pinkie Pie if she could help out with the preparations for this afternoon, and so she was quite confused as to why she was here, and also why she seemed quite distressed at the moment.
"I thought you were helping out Pinkie and the other towns ponies with decorating the town hall?" she asked, looking a little curious, as the mare just quckily replied to her as she seemed to have a worried expression on her face right now.
"I was, but...Princess Celestia, she's here in Ponyville,"
She stated in quite the panicked tone, causing Twilight to widen her eyes and glance to Dash, while the cyan pegasus just looked back to her with also a worried expression, before the Princess turned back to the mare again as she didn't seem so calm and relaxed anymore.
"What? But she was meant to be coming this afternoon, why is she here now?" Twilight questioned in a nervous tone, looking like she was asking herself more than anyone else right now, but the pegasus mare answering her anyway a moment later.
"I don't know, but the town hall hasn't finished being decorated just yet, and Pinkie Pie was wondering if you could stall the royal Princess for a bit, just until it's ready for her to see," she explained in quite the rushed tone, as Twilight just looked worried, while she seemed to be thinking for a few mere moments, before she quickly nodded to the pegasus mare and gestured for Dash to follow her, just gaining a nod from her marefriend in reply.
"Dash and I will take care of Princess Celestia, you just focus on getting the town hall finished," she instructed to the pegeasus mare, as she just nodded back to her, she then turning back to all the other pegasi a moment later as it seemed like she was going to ask them to help out too, while Twilight and Dash flew back to Ponyville together to find and distract Princess Celestia.
....
Twilight and Dash making it back to Ponyville rather quickly as they made their way in to the town, being in search of Princess Celestia, but luckily it seemed like the royal Princess was having a look around the town market at the moment, as she was being greeted and bowed to by all the towns ponies and the odd few pegasi from Cloudsdale as she passed them, greeting them back with a polite smile.
"There!"
Dash said, pointing down to the royal Princess, causing Twilight to look down and sigh with a little relief that she hadn't yet made her way to the town hall. The two quickly nodding to each other, before they flew down to go and meet Celestia, while she would stop every so often and talk happily to some of the towns ponies, it seeming like the pegasi that had come from Cloudsdale not wanting to stay to talk long though as they were quite nervous about being in the town at the moment which Celestia could clearly see.
The two mares approaching the royal Princess, and catching her attention it seemed as she smiled down to them both and greeted them politely, while they composed themselves and just smiled back to Celestia nervously, "Ah Twilight I was wondering where you were, everypony sure does look lively today," the elder Princess stated as she gestured to all the towns ponies that had been greeting and talking with her just before Twilight and Dash had shown up.
"Well they have all been quite excited about your visit,"
Twilight simply pointed out with a nod, as it seemed like her and Dash were intent on keeping the royal Princess busy for a bit, just until the town hall was done being decorated, and then they could all head over there, while Twilight and Dash both hoped it wouldn't be too long to avoid the biggest, and pretty much the most noticeable building in the small town of Ponyville.
"I know I'm early, but there's a meeting at the castle that I have to attend later, and I wasn't sure I would have enough time to leave here before then so I decided to come a little earlier. I did think of sending you a letter, but I was already running a bit late so I thought I might as well just tell you once I got here," Celestia explained as she sighed a little, it being clear to both Twilight and Dash that she had been rushing around quite a bit this morning.
However Twilight simply just shaking her head in return, "Don't worry about it, we're glad to have you here even if you are a little earlier than planned," she stated with a bit of a nervous smile back to the royal Princess, while Celestia just nodded back to her with a kind smile in reply.
"I see, so how have things been going around here?"
Celestia asked as it seemed like she was clearly egar to know how things had been improving for Twilight as she was trying to get the ponies of Ponyville and the pegasi from Cloudsdale to get along once again, while the younger Princess just smiled back to her in response as the three began to walk through the town market together.
"Actually things have been seemly going really well for everypony, I mean the pegasi from Cloudsdale are still rather nervous when being in the town, and there is still the odd issue every so often, but they are easily solved. So I don't see another feud starting anytime soon, and the ponies of this town as well as the pegasi from Cloudsdale now know to come to me if they ever have a problem at all," Twilight explained as she slowly became less nervous and more relaxed as she talked about how everything had been going since the feud had ended, Celestia clearly seeing how glad Twilight was with how things were going currently as she smiled slightly.
"I'm glad to hear that," Celestia simply replied with a smile and a nod, causing Twilight to just look back to her and smile in return. "And what about that group of pegasi who had all been helping Lightning Dust? You said you would deal with their punishment right?" she questioned causing Twilight to widen her eyes a little, before she quickly nodded her head in response to the royal Princess.
"We've been having them all do odd jobs and helping out around the town of Ponyville, they started off being quite stubborn at first to do much work, but I think they've gotten used to tasks like going to Appejack's farm and helping out where they can there, as well as doing the same in other parts of the town, and I think it's fair to say that the town's ponies have greatly appreciated all the extra help they have been giving them. They have even been helping Dash with practising her flying as they all really did want to make it up to her in any way that they could," Twilight answered gesturing towards her marefriend, causing Celestia to look to the cyan pegasus, while Dash just nodded back to the royal Princess with a smile in agreement.
"Really? I'm quite impressed, and that reminds me, how are your wings healing Rainbow Dash?" Celestia turned her attention on to Dash now, as the cyan mare glanced to her wings, and flapped them a little to show that it no longer hurt to move them at all, before she answered her.
"They are recovering really well, I don't have to wear bandages at all anymore, and I can actually use them to fly now, but I still do have to be careful to not go too fast as they can give way sometimes," Dash stated as she smiled to Celestia, causing the royal Princess to see how happy she was that her wings were getting better now, and it hopefully wouldn't be too long until they would fully recover.
Celestia just nodding back to Dash with a returned smile, as the three just happily contined to walk through the town together, Dash and Twilight getting a bit lost in their conversation with the royal Princess, as the two of them had lost their focus on what their task had orginally been, and they seemed to not be so mindful of where they were walking to anymore.
Twilight and Dash unfortunately not taking much notice to just where they were heading at the moment, only stopping and actually starting to pay attention to their surroundings when Celestia had halted and was now looking up with quite the impressed expression on her face.
"You've decorated the town hall, it sure does look lovely," she stated as she admired how well the town hall had been decorated by the town's ponies and some of the pegasi from Cloudsdale. Her comment causing Twilight and Dash to both widen their eyes and realise that they must have all made their way to the town hall without noticing until now.
"Why thank you Princess Celestia, and it is such an honor to have you visit our little town," the towns mayor stated as she and most of the other towns ponies all bowed to the royal Princess and greeted her polietly, while she just smiled back to them all, before they all quickly went back to trying to finish decorating the town hall.
"Twilight you were meant to keep the Princess away from the town hall until we were finished, not lead her right to it," Pinkie whined a little as she came walking over to Twilight, and caused the lavender mare to just nervously smile back to her in reply.
"Sorry Pinkie, I guess we got a little lost in converstaion and weren't really paying attention to where we were going," Twilight apologised nervously, as Pinkie just sighed slightly, however the royal Princess catching the earth pony's attention a moment later as she simply shook her head and smiled.
"It's fine, I enjoy watching all of you working together like this," she stated as she watched the towns ponies and the pegasi from Cloudsdale all working together, causing Twilight to widen her eyes a little, before she glanced to Dash and just saw her shurg her shoulders and smile back to her in response.
"You know Twilight I sent you here hoping that one day you could help end this feud between Ponyville and Cloudsdale, and you've shown me that you can do just that. It's true that at times you may have thought you wouldn't be able to rule two places at once and try and get them to get along like they once did at the same time, but it's clear to see that you were always meant to be the Princess of both this little town, and the floating city above it," Celestia explained as she now looked down to Twilight and gave her an encouraging smile, as she caused Twilight to look a little surprised, before she soon just smiled back to the elder Princess in return.
"I couldn't agree with you more, Princess Celestia,"
She replied with a bright smile, as she looked back to the towns ponies and pegasi all working together, before she glanced to Dash and saw her wink back to her with a smile, as they both knew that although things were improving and getting better there was still a lot left for them to do from here.
This was only the start towards the bright future that they had planned after all, and if things ever did become troublesome once again, Twilight would now know just how to slove it before they got worse. Twilight was the Princess to both Ponyville and Cloudsdale so it was her job to keep all the ponies and pegasi safe and happy, and to not ever lose sight of the ruler she had always been to them all.
"You know I think I'd like to quickly visit Cloudsdale as well before I leave later on," Celestia stated after a short pause, causing Twilight to look back to her with widened eyes, looking a little taken aback, before she just smiled in return to the elder Princess.
"If you have enough time, I'm sure the pegasi would all love to have you as well," Twilight simply replied as Celestia just nodded back to her happily as now when they looked back to the town hall it was all finally finished being decorated, and the royal Princess's visit could continue on.
