Missing Dreams

Chapters

1. Birthday Presents
2. Visiting Hours
3. Captain Armour
4. Dreams of Loss
5. Midnight Meetings
6. Lost Letters
7. Rude Awakenings

1. Birthday Presents

Missing Dreams
Chapter 1
Birthday Presents

Twilight Sparkle yawned widely as she closed the front door of Golden Oaks library for the final time that night. Through the window she watched an impossibly energized Pinkie Pie bounce down the path towards the rising moon, a grin on her face and a box of party supplies that was just a little bit too big on her back. Streaming from the edge of the box a bright purple banner could be seen waving gently in the nighttime breeze, the tail ends of the phrase 'Happy Birthday Twilight!' were visible on the exposed fabric.

Pinkie Pie was, as usual, the last to leave the party, having stayed later than the rest of the guests to pack up her party supplies, something she did with a speed that Rainbow Dash would have troubles matching. Twilight frowned suddenly at the thought, lifting her eyes away from the bouncing pink mare and instead looking to the sky. The only guest not at her party was a guest she knew would not be there, but also the one she wanted to be there the most.

Twilight's marefriend was still off in Manehattan, her Wonderbolt performance having ended just over four hours ago if everything had gone to schedule. It was the last day of her tour and she was due home the next day. A day they planned to spend together, Rainbow having insisted she needed to make up for missing Twilight's birthday.

Sighing quietly, Twilight double checked the door locks, making sure the warding enchantment she'd placed was still strong. The whole mess with Neon Lightning was over six months ago, but it left Twilight more paranoid than she cared to admit. It didn't help that less than a week before her trial the pegasus had up and vanished from her cell. Guards had been stationed at Golden Oaks Library after her escape, but after almost two months of nothing it was assumed she had fled the country.

As much as she wanted to believe that, Twilight had a feeling it wasn't the case. As such she'd had extra locks installed on her windows and replaced her door locks with something a bit stronger than what they were previously. Even adding an extra layer of magic did little to assuage the unicorn's fears. Every night she'd wander through her home and check all the windows and all the locks just to be sure.

But she knew she still wouldn't feel as safe as she would if Rainbow were there.

“Just one more,” Twilight muttered to herself, checking the kitchen window before moving on to the second floor. “One more night and-” she cut herself short as quiet, muffled thuds came from the balcony attached to her bedroom. The unmistakable sound of hoofsteps plodded slowly across the wooden floor, whoever it was making sure to keep as quiet as possible.

Spike was still fast asleep in his own bedroom on the first floor; his rather loud snores attesting to this fact. Whoever was in her room wasn't supposed to be there. The hoofsteps continued, walking further into the room before stopping.

Twilight's eyes grew wide and her heart hammered in her chest as she remained frozen on the stairs. A million thoughts raced through her mind, and eventually enough of them gathered and made her keep moving. She had to check who it was, no matter what. Charging her horn with every self defence spell in every book she'd ever read, Twilight climbed the rest of the stairs.

Despite her better judgement, she pushed herself down the hall until she reached the door that lead to her room. “Hello?” She called in a hoarse whisper, too quiet to be heard through the walls of the tree. Taking a deep breath she glared daggers at the door. “Who's in there!?” She barked, immediately taking a step back and preparing to fire a bolt of... something at whoever might respond. She wasn't even sure how many spells she was ready to fire, but she knew if somepony were to be hit by even half of them a trip to the hospital would be required. A fitting punishment, she thought. Everypony in Ponyville had heard about her... adventures a few months ago, and nopony would even think of playing a prank like this on her; not even Pinkie.

No; whoever was in that room did not have good intentions, of that she was sure.

There was still no response from the other side of the door; they weren't coming out. She had to go in. Taking a moment to prepare herself, Twilight took a deep breath and slammed the door open harshly. Her darkened, empty room lay before her, exactly how she remembered it. Nothing had changed.

Twilight didn't buy it.

“Come out!” She yelled, stepping through the door and flicking on the lights. The room was illuminated in a bright yellow glow, revealing nothing noteworthy. Twilight sighed, letting the magic dissipate from her horn. “I'm more paranoid than I thought. I can't wait till Rainbow gets home tomorrow.”

With a tired yawn she closed the door, latching it shut and climbing the stairs to the loft where her bed awaited, but stopped when she reached the top. Sitting on her bed was a small box wrapped like a gift with a card resting on top. Her heart rate was racing once again as she eyes the package suspiciously, every fibre in her being telling her to vaporize it on the spot just in case. But on the other hoof, there was a card on top, and no harm ever came from reading. The least she could do was see if it gave any indication towards who it was from. Maybe it was simply a gift that had been misplaced during the party, and Spike or Pinkie had brought it to her room so she could open it later?

Yes, that must have been it. Nopony had been in here; it was just left there because she forgot to open it at the party. There was nothing sinister about a birthday present.

Twilight failed to calm her quick and ragged breathing as she cautiously approached her bed. When she was right up next to her bed she noticed that it was indeed a birthday card resting on a gift no bigger than a shoe box. With a careful magical glow Twilight plucked the card from the top of the present, cringing away as she half expected it to explode into some kind of trap. When that didn't happen, she brought the card over to read.

“For the perfect mare on her birthday,” the front of the card read in elegant cursive sitting on a backdrop of bright, happy colours and random shapes. Twilight opened the card. “I hope this makes the day almost as perfect as you,” the inside read on a plain white paper. Below that in what was possibly the worst hoof writing Twilight had ever seen were the words, “I hope this makes up for missing the party. - Rainbow Dash.”

“I tried to find something less sappy.”

Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin at the unexpected voice, her head snapping to the right to see Rainbow Dash sitting in the open doorway to her balcony. “But you know how those cards are,” the pegasus added.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted, dropping the card onto the bed and stomping across the floor onto the balcony. She didn't know if she wanted to cry from relief or shout and scream at the top of her lungs. When she was just inches away from Rainbow's face, she quickly decided on the latter. “You nearly gave me a heart attack! What were you thinking, sneaking in here in the middle of the night!?”

Rainbow cringed back from her marefriend's harsh tone. “Uh... well I was going to surprise you with the gift...”

“I thought some crazy pony had broken into my house!” Twilight continued, ignoring Rainbow's attempted justification. “I thought...” she sighed and shook her head. “Never mind, but don't you ever scare me like that again!”

“Sorry, Twi. I didn't think you'd hear me; I was just going to drop off the present and wait outside till you figured out I was here so I wouldn't scare you. Guess that didn't work....” she added guiltily, folding her ears back and looking down to the ground.

Twilight frowned. If there was one thing she would never be able to do, it was yell at Rainbow Dash when she looked like that. She was too cute for her own good, not that she'd ever knowingly do something that could be called 'cute'.

“Forgive me?” Rainbow asked quietly, looking at Twilight with large, pleading eyes.

“You're lucky I love you. Come here.” Grabbing Rainbow's chin and lifting her face, Twilight leaned forward and kissed her passionately. After three weeks, she was going to take full advantage of her marefriend's early return.

The kiss ended after a span of time that they could both agree was much too short, but left them both panting lightly regardless. “How are you here?” Twilight asked after regaining her breath. “Didn't you have a show tonight?”

Rainbow scoffed, puffing out her chest. “Yeah, that ended like... hours ago. You really thought I couldn't make it back here in four hours?”

“Considering it takes the train seven hours to get to Manehattan from here?” Twilight deadpanned.

Smiling boastfully, Rainbow just shrugged. “No biggie. Besides, there was no way anything could make me risk missing your birthday. Speaking of which...” she trailed off, motioning to the gift still sitting on Twilight's bed.

“I did tell you that you didn't have to get me anything, right?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, pointing Twilight towards the bed with her wing. “You tell me and all our friends that every year, and nopony ever listens.”

Twilight giggled quietly, drawing the small box out of her room to join them on the balcony in a glow of magic. “I suppose that's true. But really; you making it back here is more than enough for me. Certainly more than I thought I'd get.”

Sticking her tongue out, Rainbow made a fake gagging noise. “Enough of the sappy stuff, Twi; you know I can't stand it.”

“Oh we both know you love it. Don't even try to hide it,” Twilight shot back with a smirk.

“Yeah well...” Rainbow trailed off, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. “Shut up and open it.”

Twilight gave her a sickeningly sweet smile and neatly removed the paper and lid. The space inside it was filled with all different colours of tissue paper spread and puffed up to fill the box completely. In the center of all the colour and paper was a small jewellery box. One that was very familiar to the unicorn.

She lifted it out of the box and looked accusingly at Rainbow. “Dash, this is the exact same box I gave you your necklace in.”

“Ah-heh... I didn't think you'd notice. They didn't give me one so I had to re-use that,” she admitted sheepishly.

Twilight lifted an eyebrow. “Where did you go that wouldn't give you a box?”

Shrugging her shoulders, Rainbow said, “I dunno. Just open it already.”

Stiffing a giggle Twilight complied, lifting it up to her face and opening the lid. She couldn't stop her eyes from widening when she saw what rested inside. Sitting on a velvet pillow was a necklace. A six pointed star resting on a circular frame attached to the silver chain. In the center of the star was a round purple gem, shining gently in the light of the moon. The star and circle were silver like the chain.

“I thought you might like it. Any guesses where I got the idea?” Rainbow asked, admiring the necklace as well.

Lifting it out of the box Twilight held it up to the moon, the gem in the center catching the light and shimmering brilliantly. The light could pass straight through the gem, set in the middle of the silver star. “Where did you even find this?”

“I didn't; it was custom made at a little shop in Manehattan. I found it the first day we were there and I knew I had to get them to make something for you. I did miss the party, after all.”

“Rainbow... it's beautiful,” Twilight said, securing it around her neck and admiring it as it rested against her chest. She wandered back inside her room, coming to her vanity mirror and looking at the pendant around her neck as Rainbow came up next to her.

“I figured I owe you, since you already gave me this one,” Rainbow noted, tapping the silver bolt resting around her own neck.

Twilight frowned. “Please don't tell me you got me this just to be even?”

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow wrapped a wing around the unicorn's body. “It was just a joke, Twi; as if I'd need a reason to get my marefriend something nice for her birthday.”

“Now who's being sappy?” Twilight jabbed, eliciting another blush from her partner.

“Hey! That's not fair! You're the on who likes that kinda thing! I was just doing it for you, I mean it's not like I-”

“Oh shut up,” Twilight commanded, enforcing her words by silencing the pegasus with a deep kiss. Lips parted and tongues wrestled as the pair raised up onto their hind legs, each wrapping their hooves around the other. When they parted the quiet sound of breathing was the only sound in the room.

“So,” Twilight started, unable to even blink as she stared deeply in Rainbow's eyes. “First night back home and my birthday, got any ideas?”

Rainbow smirked, flapping her wings and carrying them both into the air. “Many, many ideas. I've been thinking about tonight since I left for my tour.”

Giving her marefriend a seductive smile, Twilight lit her horn and closed the balcony doors, latching them shut. “Well then,” she said as she was dropped gently onto her bed, Rainbow landing on top of her. “Let's keep these clean.” In a magic glow both their necklaces were taken from around their necks and set on the bedside table.

Twilight reached her hooves up and around Dash's neck, dragging her back down into another heated kiss.

Twilight Sparkle groaned quietly as a ray of sunlight pierced through her eyelids, rousing her from her blissful sleep. She tried to roll away from the intruding light only to be stopped short, quickly discovering the reason she couldn't move. Around her she could feel the hooves of her pegasus lover, holding her tightly even as the mare herself slept, and against her back she could feel the warmth radiating from Rainbow Dash.

With a sigh, half frustrated and half content, she pushed a little further back into the embrace, peaking one eye open just enough to see the window letting in the offending ray of light. With a grunt of effort she managed to get a small amount of magic to listen to her sleep-hazed mind. In a display of will that she would normally only expend on the highest level spells, Twilight drew the blinds across the window, bathing the room in a cool dimness.

“You could have just asked me to do that; I know how hard it is for you to use magic right after waking up,” Rainbow whispered quietly, nuzzling the top of Twilight's head gently, the sudden voice making the unicorn jump slightly.

“I thought you were still asleep, and we both know it's not a good idea to wake you up early in the morning,” Twilight replied. “How long have you been awake?”

Rainbow shrugged her shoulders, taking a deep breath through Twilight's mane, the fine hairs tickling her snout. “Not too long.”

“What time is it? I can't see the clock.”

Rainbow shifted around, craning her neck and struggling to see the wall behind her. “Half past ten,” she answered.

“Hmm... good; I didn't sleep in,” Twilight mumbled, worming her way out of Dash's grip. Once she was reluctantly let go, she rolled over, laying face to face with her pegasus. “We should get up though; everypony's planning to surprise you at the train station today.”

“Heh, guess I shouldn't disappoint them.”

Twilight nodded. “No, you shouldn't.” She sighed, scooting across the sheets until her head was resting on the same pillow as Rainbow's. “I don't want to get up though. The girls have a whole bunch of plans today for you now that you're back.”

“We could always pretend I got held up with something and Manehattan and won't be back until tomorrow,” Rainbow offered, leaning forward and nuzzling Twilight's cheek gently. “I wouldn't mind another day with just you.”

Twilight's nose wrinkled at the sensation. “As much as I want to agree, it's not exactly fair to the rest of the girls. We do have two weeks.”

“Another way to phrase that is 'it's not fair to us; we do have two weeks to spend with the girls'.”

Rolling her eyes, Twilight turned away once again, this time continuing until she found the edge of the bed. Pushing herself out from beneath the blanket, Twilight looked over at the pegasus still wrapped in the sheets. “Come on; the girls and I are meeting for breakfast before waiting for you at the train station. You can save them the trip if we meet them at Sugarcube Corner.”

Rainbow sighed. “Way to be a buzz kill, Twi. And here I was looking forward to spending today with you.”

“Oh don't be like that; you know perfectly well we'll have plenty of time together before you have to go back on tour,” Twilight giggled, walking around to the other side of the bed before leaning down and nuzzling the back of Rainbow's head, taking a deep breath of the smell that clung to her fur. “Besides; if you're any indication we really need showers.”

Rainbow perked up. “Showers eh?” She asked slyly, finally puling herself out from beneath the covers and sliding off the bed. “Well why didn't you say so?”

Laughing, Twilight shook her head. “Go start the water and I'll be up in a second; I have to go get Spike out of bed.”

“You expect me to wait for something?” Rainbow asked, eyeing the unicorn as she walked to the door.

Twilight shot her a sly look over her shoulder. “I expect you to wait for many things, and you know what happens when you wait.”

“Right, starting the shower. Take your time!” Rainbow called, bursting through the bathroom door attached to the bedroom.

“Oh Rainbow,” Twilight said to herself merrily, trotting down to the main floor of the library, following the sound of Spike's snoring to his room. “Never change.”

She knocked rather abruptly on the dragon's door, drawing a muffled groan from the other side. “Huh? Wuzzat?” came the well-articulated response.

“Time to get up, Spike; we're meeting Rainbow at the train station soon.” Twilight held in a giggle at the words, but it worked to get her assistant out of bed. After a few seconds of begrudging silence, a half-sleeping purple and green scaled dragon opened the door.

“I'm up,” he mumbled, yawning and stretching.

“Barely,” Twilight noted with a quiet chuckle. He shot her a glare. “Get ready; we're running late as it is. I'll be down after I have a shower.”

Spike groaned and nodded, waving Twilight away with a claw. Perhaps, had he been more awake, he'd have noticed the sound of the shower upstairs turning on without Twilight's presence, but as it was he plodded silently into the secondary bathroom on the main floor without question.

The young dragon came out not too long later, much more refreshed but no less tired, and listened vaguely to the sound of the shower running upstairs. He glanced at the clock, noting the time, before walking into the kitchen to find something to eat. Even if they were going out for breakfast, they never had gems, and Spike was in the mood for gems.

Coming back into the living room of the library with a healthy bowl of colourful jewels, Spike was somewhat surprised to hear the shower still running. Twilight tended to have a very strict morning schedule, and she never took long to shower. In fact, there was only one way Twilight Sparkle would ever take longer than ten minutes to shower in the morning.

This knowledge, which he had acquired over many months, was what allowed him to wave nonchalantly from his armchair when two ponies descended the stairs rather than one. “Rainbow,” he greeted fondly, smiling at the mare. “Flew back early, I see.”

“Hey little dude,” Rainbow returned with a smile. “No surprising you, is there?”

Spike gave a smug smile. “The only time Twilight spends any real time in the shower is when you're here.”

Rainbow chuckled at Twilight sudden embarrassed blush. “Ahem... yes... well,” the unicorn stuttered awkwardly, before noting the bowl in Spike's claws. “And I see you decided to go ahead and have breakfast anyway,” she noted accusingly, successfully changing the subject.

“You know we can't get gems anywhere around here,” Spike argued, wiping the fine powder of crushed jewels from the corners of his mouth. “Besides, I only had a few...”

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“Dozen,” he corrected guiltily.

“Sometimes I wonder why I don't just put a padlock on the pantry,” Twilight giggled, motioning for the dragon to follow. “Come on; the girls are expecting us to be there soon.”

Spike hopped off the armchair, walking towards the door before stopping when he noticed a shimmering glint of light around Twilight's neck. The unicorn noticed his stare. “Spike? What is it?”

Hastily wiping away a bit of drool, Spike walked a little closer and examined the thing he'd seen. “Where'd you get that?” He asked, motioning to the necklace around Twilight's neck. “It looks... delicious.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Dashie got it for me for my birthday, meaning no; you can't eat it.”

“It's not like I actually wanted to...” Spike muttered quietly in the most unconvincing voice possible.

“Eat it and you can fork over the bits to replace it,” Rainbow threatened mockingly. “That thing wasn't cheep ya know.”

Spike held his claws up defensively. “Hey, I'm just saying it looks good. You have a good eye for gems.”

“Come on you two; we were supposed to be there ten minutes ago,” Twilight called, already opening the front door. “Besides, Rainbow's train gets here in a little over an hour. We wouldn't want to miss that would we?”

Rainbow sniggered. “Wouldn't want to miss out on my own awesome return to Ponyville!” Quickly joining Twilight, the trio exited the library into the bright and sunny streets outside. The perfect summer day bore down upon them, with just enough clouds in the sky to keep the temperature down but also let the sun illuminate the brilliant colours of summer in Ponyville. Lush green grass lined the cobbled roads and bordered the houses, their golden thatched roofs shining merrily in the light.

“So how was your tour?” Spike asked as they walked, Twilight's ears swivelling around to listen in on the answer.

“Pretty boring, actually,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “It was the same routine we were doing on my last tour, only in different cities. Though when we did the one show in Fillydelphia last week Feathered Breeze almost crashed into the wall. The look on her face was priceless!”

Twilight giggled. “She was okay though, right?”

“Yeah yeah, she's fine. Anyway, I'm figuring if I play my cards right the next tour I could get promoted to captain of the flight squad. I'm already the wing pony for our captain, and he's looking to join a different squad pretty soon.”

“That's awesome! So does that mean you get to, like, make up the new routines?” Spike asked excitedly.

Rainbow shook her head. “Nah, the head squad still works out the routines and everything, though if I make captain I'll get a say in it, and a possibility to be moved into the main flight squad with Spitfire. After that, I can work my way up to captain when Spitfire retires, and I'll be the head captain for the Wonderbolts.”

“Sounds like you've got this all planned out,” Twilight noted with a giggle. “Guess I have been rubbing off on you after all.”

“Hey look, Sugarcube Corner!” Rainbow called, pointing down the street to the bakery that was just barely within view, and 'accidentally' changing the subject. “I'm gonna try something, but you gotta pretend you don't know I'm here.” Without waiting for an answer the pegasus took off like a rocket into the sky, searching out one of the few clouds speckled about and landing on it.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Think we should humour her this time?” She asked, earning a shrug and a nod that said 'why not?' from her assistant.

Smiling, the pair quickly walked down the street to where Sugarcube corner waited, a group of four ponies already sharing a table out front of the bakery. “Hey girls!” Twilight called as they got within earshot, making all heads present swivel to her.

“Twilight, darling, where have you been? It's not like you to be late, especially considering what day it is,” Rarity called, motioning for her to come and take one of two open seats at the table.

“Sorry...” Twilight paused, catching sight of a moving cloud out of the corner of her vision. “Got caught up with... er... something back at the library. It's alright though; Rainbow's train shouldn't be here for at least another hour.”

“Uh... Twilight...” Applejack started uneasily, “It's actually supposed to be here in 20 minutes. Are you feelin' alright?”

Twilight blinked. Had they really taken that long? It certainly didn't feel like it. She opened her mouth to defend herself when she caught sight of the steadily growing white mass above their table, the clouds slowly turning grey as more and more were piled on. “Sorry girls,” she giggled, materializing an umbrella with a flash of magic and opening it, much to everypony's confusion.

“Sorry about what?” Fluttershy asked before adding timidly; “And.. um... why do you have an umbrella.

“This old thing? Benefits of being her marefriend. Like I said; sorry girls,” she repeated. As if on cue, a rumble of thunder came from the dark grey clouds above, and they promptly started raining. A light drizzle at first, it rapidly evolved into a full on downpour around and on their table.

The sound of very recognizable laughter drew their attention as Rainbow Dash flew gently down to the ground, keeping out of range of the water. “Hey girls! Did ya miss me?”

The rain stopped almost as quickly as it started, leaving four soaking ponies, one soaking dragon – who was glaring daggers at the mare that had refused to share her umbrella – and a sniggering Twilight Sparkle.

“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity greeted coldly, flipping her mane out of her face. “I see you made it back early, no doubt you were here last night for Twilight's birthday?”

“Huh? How'd you know that?” Rainbow asked suspiciously, stealing a chair from another table and sliding it next to Twilight's.

“Because unless my eyes are deceiving me, Twilight has a new necklace, and I know for a fact she'd never buy something like that for herself,” the alabaster mare replied, smiling a little smugly at her own deduction skills.

Rainbow rolled her eyes at Rarity's self-satisfied smirk. “Yeah, I got back into town last night. Flew back pretty much right after the show.”

Suddenly, Pinkie jumped up from beneath the table between Twilight and Rainbow, hooking a foreleg around both their necks. “You know what that means, right?” She asked excitedly.

“Party time?” Twilight and Rainbow asked in perfect sync, much to the amusement of a certain romantically-minded mare.

Pinkie Pie, however, was anything but amused, as she gave both of them a serious frown. “No no no no; that's not how this works! I'm supposed to jump up, ask if you know what it means, and everypony's supposed to be confused! Then I shout 'party time' and the author switches to the next scene!”

“Er... Pinkie?”

“Now you've ruined it!” The mare continued, ignoring any protest as she clambered onto the table, pacing back and forth in the limited space. “Well, only one thing to do now.” Extracting a bull horn from her mane, she clicked it on and began yelling through it; “Everypony! This scene has become too long! Do not panic. Please form an orderly line and exit stage right!”

Pinkie dropped the bullhorn and scampered off around the corner.

Everypony at the table shared a collective blink of confusion, before smiling and chuckling like they always did when Pinkie was being Pinkie; half out of wonder and awe for the mare, half out of concern and a little bit of fear.

“Anyway,” Rainbow started again, shaking the odd occurrence form her mind. “Twi tells me you girls made some plans for my first day back?”

Twilight sighed quietly as she walked down the street towards her library, Rainbow Dash trotting next to her with a cyan wing draped around her back. The setting sun set the sky alight with a myriad of bright, fiery colours. The street was just starting to grow dim as the source of light sank beneath the horizon.

“So, glad you didn't postpone this another day?” Twilight asked gently, resting her head against Rainbow's shoulder.

“Yeah; it was good to see the girls again. I miss them a lot when I'm on tour,” Rainbow explained with a serene smile.

Lifting her head slightly, Twilight jabbed Rainbow's cheek with her horn. “Hey, what do you mean you miss them a lot? What about me?”

Rainbow chuckled, taking the opportunity provided to her and surreptitiously kissing the tip of Twilight's horn, causing a shudder to run down the unicorn’s body. “You know I miss you too.”

“Hmm... how much?” Twilight asked teasingly.

With a roll of her eyes Rainbow squeezed her wing a little tighter around Twilight's back. “I can safely say I miss you more than them. It's good to be back.”

Twilight giggled. “It's really good to have you back, Rainbow. I was-... hey, what's that?”

Rainbow furrowed her brow. “What's what, Twi? It looks like the library to me.”

“That,” Twilight stressed, motioning to the front door. In the fading light of dusk a brown package could be seen sitting patiently in front of the door, a little bigger than a shoe box.

“Huh... you expecting any new books or something?” Rainbow asked as they hurried down the path to the library.

Twilight shook her head, lifting the package in her magic and examining it. “No... it... it doesn't even have a return address.”

“Wrong address?” Rainbow offered, opening the door and leading Twilight in, package still in tow.

“It's addressed to the library, so it got to the right place. I don't like this, Rainbow; something seems fishy.”

The pegasus shrugged. “It's just a box, Twi; what harm can a box do? May as well open it to see what's inside, at the very least.”

Twilight hummed in thought, putting the parcel onto her table and fishing a box cutter out of her desk. “I suppose so.” With that Twilight slid the knife along one of the pieces of tape holding the brown paper together. It unfolded to reveal a white box covered in multicoloured polka-dots, as though it were a gift. On top of the box was a small card, taped down so it wouldn't shift when the package was being mailed.

“A present?” Rainbow asked curiously, before shrugging. “Must have arrived late from somepony you know that couldn't make it to the party. I'm gonna go grab a drink, you want anything?”

“No, thanks,” Twilight called, still eyeing the box suspiciously. “Now who sent you?” she wondered aloud, plucking the letter from the top and opening it.

Dear Twilight Sparkle

I hope this gift finds you on your birthday, but you know how the Equstrian Mail system is. At any rate, I hope it's at the very least close to your birthday. Think of this as my little token of gratitude for all the things you've done for Equestria.

-S.

Frowning at the odd signature, Twilight set the card down and opened the box. Inside was a large, glass sphere surrounded by packing peanuts to keep it safe. Her stomach dropped at the sight of object. “This is... no; it can't be!”

Twilight picked the sphere up out of the box.

Rainbow came back out of the kitchen with a glass of juice balanced on her wing along with a sandwich on a plate. “Hey Twi, I... er... Twi? You okay?” The unicorn was standing stock-still in front of the table, her head focused down into the now open gift. From Rainbow's current position, she could only see the back of Twilight's head and was unable to see into the box.

Frowning, Rainbow walked a little closer, “Twi? Is it that great a present?”

Finally, Twilight turned her head painfully slowly. When Rainbow caught site of her face she dropped the items on her wings, rushing over to the unicorn. All along her face, emanating from her horn, were bright white lines. Almost like cracks in glass.

“Twi! Twilight, what's wrong!? What happened!?” Rainbow asked in a panic, forgetting about the package on the table as she grabbed Twilight's head in her hooves, examining the lines. They were spreading out, slowly covering her lavender coat.

For a moment, Twilight's mouth worked uselessly, her lips moving but no sound coming out. Eventually, a weak and breathy sigh escaped her lungs, carrying the words, “Find me.”

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light from the tip of Twilight's horn, momentarily blinding the pegasus. The sound of shattering glass filled the room, and when the spots had cleared from her eyes, Rainbow was staring at nothing more than a pile of small, purple shards.

“T... Twilight?”

Author's Note

And so begins book two of the Dreams series.

This fic is going to be.... big. As big or bigger than the previous one. I want the chapters to be about as long as this one, and that can take anywhere from 4 days to two weeks for me to write. So this may have fast updates, and can also get really slow ones.

So, who is this "S"? What happened to Twilight? Why am I asking you these questions when I already have all the answers? I DON'T KNOW!

Bonus points if you remember what that glass orb is.

I hope you all enjoyed, and as always comments are welcomed and encouraged.

Edit: This chapter edited by Golden Fuss

2. Visiting Hours

Missing Dreams
Chapter 2
Visiting Hours

Rainbow Dash sat numbly in a small corner of Golden oaks library, watching the scene going on around her as though she were a doll in a little filly's bedroom. Everything seemed... wrong. The front room looked more like a crime scene than a library. Being perfectly honest, that's exactly what it was; tens of guards filled the relatively small room, and there were even more standing outside the tree. She couldn't remember how she got to her small corner, but she did remember being asked repeatedly to “leave the crime scene”. When she refused to budge, a guard had forced her to at least move out of the way.

She didn't know how long it'd been. Ever since it had happened everything had passed by in a seemingly hollow and lifeless to her ears. Everything seemed hollow and lifeless to her.
blur. The clock on the wall reminded her that it was now past midnight, its ticking and tocking
The guards were moving in and out of the front door, propped open for their ease. Through the doorway a small, quickly growing crowd of ponies could be seen forming a semicircle outside, trying to get any information they could.

“Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow jolted at the noise, accompanied by a hoof gently tapping her on the shoulder. She turned, giving the guard who'd disturbed her a questioning look.

“I'm here to collect your statement, if you could come with me please,” the guard explained softly, motioning for her to follow. When she didn't move, the guard sighed and took off his helmet. The enchantment placed on the armour faded, allowing his natural coat colours to shine through. Now a red earthpony with a short-cut brown mane, he sat back on his haunches, continuing to speak softly; “I know you're confused, and you don't know what happened, but neither do we, and we're trying to find out. I won't make you leave the library, but if we could go upstairs where it's a little quieter? I promise it'll only a take a moment.”

Blinking at him, Rainbow slowly rose to her hooves, eyes betraying little emotion as she followed him up the stairs. When they disappeared around the corner, a new face walked through the front door.

“What happened?” Celestia's voice boomed, all of the guards inside instantly stopping what they were doing and turning to look at the princess. Luna walked in behind her with a solid frown stretched across her face. “What happened to my student?” Celestia repeated, her voice shaking the tree without her even having to shout. Her face was pressed into a neutral line, but she had an intense aura radiating off her, as though she were the sun itself giving off a heat so intense a pony would burst into flames if they got too close.

One of the guards rushed up to her and bowed deeply. “Your majesty, we... do not yet know. Miss Rainbow Dash gave us very little information, and I have just now sent one of my subordinates to collect her statement. I believe they went up stairs.”

Celestia nodded curtly. “Thank you. From now on Princess Luna will be heading the investigation; run everything you currently know past her. I will handle Rainbow Dash myself.” Without a word further Celestia walked swiftly through the room, maneuvering deftly through the guards and climbing the stairs.

Luna watched her sister go before turning to the guard. “What do we know?” She asked, drawing a pensive frown from the stallion.

“Not much, I'm afraid. We'll know a lot more after Princess Celestia talks to Rainbow Dash. When she got to the guard station she barely said a word to us and practically dragged me over here,” the stallion explained. “We think it was some kind of enchantment, but none of us have ever seen anything like it before. Whatever had the enchantment placed on it is either gone or destroyed itself. There is one thing we know for sure though.”

“And that is?”

The guard pointed towards a pile of purple shards, as though a large glass structure had been shattered. “Those are all that remain of Twilight Sparkle.”

“Okay, Miss Dash,” the stallion started slowly, quill grasped in the corner of his mouth and notepad in his hooves. Rainbow sat on the edge of the bed in front of him while he'd pulled a chair over from the desk. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Rainbow stared resolutely down at her hooves, fiddling with them idly. “T-Twilight...” she started slowly, throat dry as a desert. “She... disappeared...”

The guard cringed, knowing full well what the shards on the first floor were. “Well... do you know how it happened?”

“I-I don't know... she just...” Rainbow trailed off again, the silence she left weighing heavily upon the room. It was broken by the sound of the door opening.

“Officer,” Celestia's voice called. “You're needed down on the first floor; I'll handle collecting her statement.”

The stallion jumped up at the voice, bowing respectfully before slapping his helmet back on his head and hurrying towards the door, his coat back to the uniform white of the Royal Guard. “Yes Ma'am,” he said as he passed the Princess, giving a quick salute and leaving the room. Once he was gone, Celestia closed the door softly and walked further into the room, sitting down on the chair the guard had vacated.

“Rainbow Dash,” she greeted quietly. The pegasus didn't even lift her eyes. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Rainbow glanced up, meeting Celestia' gaze for a brief second before returning them to the her lap. “I... I don't really know...” she started slowly, just as she'd said to the guard. “Twilight just... she just disappeared.”

“What in tarnation is going on here!?” A familiar southern accented voice called from the main room.

“Ah, it seems your friends have arrived. One moment, please,” Celestia said, standing from her chair and walking to the door, shouting down the steps for the guards to let them pass. After a few moment of silence four mares came charging into the room.

“Princess,” they greeted simultaneously, bowing respectfully before taking note of the pegasus sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy cried, hurrying over and leaning down, trying to catch the despondent mare's eye. “Rainbow, what's wrong? What happened?” In an instant the rest of her friends were there, all talking over each other as they tried to have their questions answered.

Celestia cleared her throat with enough power to silence the entire room. “Please, I know all of you have many questions, as do I, but we need to take it one step at a time. Have a seat. Rainbow, if you could continue?”

The pegasus nodded wearily, finally looking up as her friends all sat back on their haunches, forming a semicircle around the bed. “Well... after me an' Twi left dinner with you girls we, uh... came back here and...” her voice cracked sharply, making her pause and regain her composure before continuing. “We... we found a box sitting outside. It'd been mailed to her.”

“Is that the box sitting on the table downstairs?” Celestia interjected in the moment of silence Rainbow left behind.

Nodding, Rainbow continued. “So... we brought it inside, and when she opened it, it was a present. I thought it was from her family or something; a birthday gift delayed in the mail. I left the room and... and when I came back she... Twilight...” A strangled sob broke free, bringing forward the first tears. “She had these... lines. Like... like cracks almost, glowing white and-and covering her face. They kept spreading, a-and then... sh-she just...” Rainbow finally broke down into quiet crying, unable to finish the story.

Celestia couldn't keep her eyes from widening as she listened. “Rainbow Dash... did it... did Twilight seem to almost shatter? As though she were made of glass?”

Rainbow nodded.

A gasp ran through the crowd of gathered ponies, all of them unsure what to think. Eventually, four pairs of eyes turned to Celestia for some kind of explanation. The Princess seemed just as shocked as the rest of them, and if one were to look closely, they would be able to see shimmering tears in the corners of the alicorn's eyes. “I have not heard of this curse being used in millennium... not since Discord first ruled the land...”

“Princess? What happened to Twilight?” Pinkie asked fearfully.

Celestia stood from her chair and closed her eyes. “My little ponies... I am sorry.” She turned away as a single tear rolled down her cheeks. “Twilight Sparkle is dead.”

“NO!” All heads turned to the source of the roared rejection, misty eyes staring at a crying rainbow maned mare. “She is not!”

Celestia froze, having begun walking to the door. Without turning around, she explained, “I am sorry, Rainbow Dash. So very sorry, but she is; once this curse is activated it takes mere seconds for the recipient to die. There is nothing she could have done once it started.”

Rainbow leaped off the bed, landing mere inches away from the Princess. “Twilight is not dead!” She screamed, loud enough to be heard by the entire block.

“Denial is a very dangerous condition,” Celestia warned quietly, her voice hollow and drained. “It's best to accept it now and work on moving on; there's nothing more we can do for her except give her a proper funeral and catch the ones who did this.”

Tears flowed freely down Rainbow's face as she stomped her forehooves against the floor. “Twilight Sparkle is alive!”

Celestia whirled around in a heartbeat, glaring through teary eyes at the pegasus. “You can't possibly know that!” She shouted, her voice booming louder than a thunderstorm in the small room.

“I can!” Rainbow shot back without hesitation. “Before she...”

“Died,” Celestia offered in the absence of Rainbow's words.

“Disappeared,” the pegasus corrected through gritted teeth, “she told me to find her. She knew what was going on, and she told me to find her! She's not dead!”

Rainbow's words gave Celestia pause for thought, but it lasted mere seconds. “Rainbow Dash, it's not possible for her to know what was happening to her; the curse works too quickly. You either misheard her or your mind is making false memories to fuel your denial; there is only one spell that would do this, and that spell kills. She's dead, Rainbow Dash. The sooner you accept that the sooner you can move on.”

Without waiting for another argument, Celestia left the room at a swift pace closing the door behind her.

“She's not dead! I'll prove to you that she's not dead!” Rainbow screamed at the closed door.

“Rainbow Dash... darling...” Rarity whispered through her sniffles. “Come here.” The pegasus turned, seeing the four other ponies in the room wrapped into a single glob of a tearful group hug.

Pinkie peaked out of Fluttershy's mane as she clung to her like a piece of driftwood at sea. “There's already one friend missing; please don't make it two,” she said through her own tears.

“You believe her...” Rainbow said in disbelief. “You actually believe Twilight's dead!”

“Rainbow, when have we ever had a reason to doubt the Princess? You saw what happened!” Applejack argued, but she may as well be speaking a different language for the effect it had.

“I'll prove it to all of you!” Rainbow shouted, running to the balcony door. “She's not dead! I'll find her and prove to all of you that she's alive!” With that, she jumped out into the night and took off, soaring through the sky as fast as her wings would carry her.

“Sister,” Luna greeted carefully as Celestia descended the stairs, a look of mortal exhaustion on her face. “I believe I've figured out what happened.”

“Glass Statue,” Celestia answered automatically before Luna could.

The Princess of the Night nodded. “So we've come to the same conclusion. I am... sorry; I know she was very dear to you.”

Celestia sighed. “I have lived for many centuries; this is not the first time I have dealt with the death of a student, and it will not be the last. The only thing we can do is find the pony who did this to her . Do you have any leads?”

Luna started to reply but was cut off by the sound of muffled shouting from the second floor, followed by a crash. Not too long after, four sets of hooves came running down the stairs. Not one of the remaining Elements of Harmony stopped to greet the princesses as they ran to the door, only stopping when a golden glow shut and held it closed.

“My little ponies, where are you going?” Celestia asked calmly, gazing down at them and noting that one was – predictably – missing.

Applejack snorted, wiping away what remained of her tears from her cheeks. “We're gonna help her prove Twilight's alive.”

Celestia frowned. “Do not tell me she has dragged you four into her denial as well?”

“We doubted them once,” Rarity said defiantly. “We shan't be making that mistake again.”

“If Rainbow believes, then so will we,” Fluttershy spoke up in a voice louder than anypony present had ever heard from the mare.

“I'll throw Twilight a great big party when we find her!” Pinkie declared. “It'll be like she was never even gone!”

With an air of determination, Applejack turned around and bucked the door, sending it flying open into the darkened street outside.

“We'll tell you when we found her,” Rarity called as the mares ran out the doorway, chasing down a fading rainbow trail hanging in the sky.

Celestia sat and watched the mares ran out the door with an expression of utter and serene calmness, even if it felt like a bomb had gone off not five feet away from her. “Luna...” she started slowly, “Can you explain to me why ponies can be so...”

“Difficult?” Luna offered with a frown.

“Stupid,” Celestia corrected with a quiet groan. “Having faith in a friend is one thing, outright denying the facts is just stupidity.”

“Excuse me, your majesty?” A guard said hesitantly. “If you wish, I could go-”

“Do your job,” Celestia barked. “Find the one who did this to my student. I will deal with the rest of the Elements.”

The guard gave a quick salute. “As you wish, ma'am.”

Celestia sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping an imperceptible amount as she looked to her sister. “I need to go talk to them. Keep things moving here and I'll be back as soon as I can.”

With a sympathetic nod Luna returned to her work watching over the investigation and the guards filling Golden Oaks library. Meanwhile, the elder alicorn turned and trotted swiftly out the door, the slowly dwindling crowd of spectators parting for her like a stream around a stone as she looked to the sky. In the distance a rainbow coloured trail could be seen, pointing in the direction of Canterlot.

Down the street four colourful specs were running towards the train station.

With a mighty flap of her wings Celestia took to the air, quickly closing the distance between her and the remaining Elements of Harmony.

“Girls,” she called, keeping pace with them without so much as breaking a sweat.

Applejack nearly tripped over her hooves and the sudden voice, but quickly regained her balance, tossing a glare over her shoulder. “We ain't stopping. RD went to Canterlot, and so are we.”

Celestia stared at the back of the farmer's head for a moment before sighing in resignation. “I don't know what you expect to find there, but I will not stop you. Just don't get your hopes up.”

“We don't hope, we know,” Fluttershy called, jumping into the air as well and flying along side Celestia so they were on equal height. “If Rainbow believes, so do we.”

“I'll invite you to the party when we bring her home!” Pinkie exclaimed with a smile.

Celestia's eyes widened, her pace slowing until the four mares pulled away from her, eventually leaving her behind as she stopped and landed back on the path. “You can't bring her home...” she whispered sadly, closing her eyes tightly. “Nopony can bring her home anymore.”

Rarity glanced back at the alicorn sitting in the middle of the moonlit street. “She seems to be taking this rather hard...” she muttered softly, a sympathetic frown on her face.

“She'll be happy when we bring Twilight home; don't you worry none,” Applejack assured confidently, an unwavering smile on her face.

“I must admit that I am having some... doubts,” Rarity admitted, hanging her head a little.
“The evidence does seem a little overwhelming...”

Pinkie giggled. “Don't be silly; Twilight can't be...” the mare swallowed, unable to say the word hanging heavily on everypony's mind. “After all, you all heard what Twilight said to Dashie; she must have known what was going on!”

“What if, though?” Rarity insisted, albeit hesitantly. “I don't want to believe it anymore than you girls do but... we all saw her; Rainbow Dash is not exactly in the best place right now, and she has every right to be a little distraught after what she saw, but perhaps it is clouding her judgement?”

“I believe in her,” Fluttershy affirmed with the kind of quiet confidence only heard in her bravest moments. “I believe in Twilight, too.”

“That's right!” Applejack agreed with a hearty nod. “If you don't think so, you're welcome to stay here, but ah'm goin' with RD to Canterlot. Don't quite know why, but she must have an idea.”

“Shadow Charm!” Rarity exclaimed suddenly. “He's being held in the jail in Canterlot! If this was Neon Lightning's doing, then he might know something more! He's probably the first pony she thought of!”

Applejack grinned. “Good thinkin' Rare's. First stop; Canterlot Prison!”

Rainbow Dash flew. She flew fast and hard, the sparkling city of Canterlot still nothing but a pinprick of light on the side of the distant mountains. The distance deterred her even less than the chilled night wind biting at her coat as she rocketed through the sky. Her face, set in a determined grimace against the cold, held not a single tear. She didn't need to shed tears, for there was nothing to be sad about.

With another beat of her wings Rainbow smashed through the sound barrier, a bright ring of colours exploding out from behind her. Ponyville was nothing more than a spec in the distance now, and that spec was growing smaller by the second as the first towering spires of Canterlot faded into view against the dull grey mountain. The dark of night mellowed the colours and turned everything she could see into black and white textures, blurred beyond recognition by her speed.

Harder still she flapped her wings, in seconds she covered more distance than a train could in an hour. Before long the tiny towers were massive, overbearing structures as Rainbow Dash slowed her pace and flew quickly through the gaps between spires. Her eyes scanned the deserted streets below, looking for any signs of life milling about the town.

Eventually she spotted what she was looking for; a lone stallion paced down the road, a simple pony without any of the normal flare associated with Canterlot ponies.

“Hey! Excuse me!” Rainbow shouted, fanning out her wings to stop her momentum before plummeting towards the ground, spreading her wings and breaking her fall mere inches from the cobblestones.

The stallion jumped, eyes widening. “H-hello?” He greeted shakily, putting a hoof to his chest. He glowered at the mare before him as his heart slowed down. “What the hay!? Are you trying to give somepony a heart attack!?”

“No time! Where's the jail around here?” Rainbow asked, brushing off the stallion's comment.

Blinking, he looked up and down the street before raising a hoof. “Canterlot Prison is just down this road on Horseshoe Avenue, but- Hey!” His protests fell on ears that were no longer there as Rainbow took off like a shot down the street he had indicated, bidding him thanks over her shoulder.

Eyes scanning the signs, Rainbow watched for the indicated marker, smiling victoriously as she found the sign reading 'Horseshoe Avenue'. With little difficulty she found the prison; a rather small, grey cement building. Two stories tall with glass windows looking out from the front room. Light poured out onto the street from within the building, inside a lone guard could be seen sitting at a desk, his head slumped back and his jaw hanging open.

Pushing her way through the front double doors, Rainbow awkwardly approached the sleeping guard. She cleared her throat loudly in an attempt to wake him. The stallion snorted in his sleep, his limply dangling hoof twitching slightly.

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted, slamming her hoof down on the counter. The guard jolted awake, his body snapping upright and causing him to fall out of his chair and disappear beneath the counter.

“Ow...” he groaned, pulling himself as he held a hoof to his helmet. “I'm up, I'm up. What can I- Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Err... yeah?”

The guard stood up fully, dusting himself off. “What are you doing here?”

“Do I know you?”

The guard's eyes lit up. “Right, the enchantment. I keep forgetting about that...” he trailed off as he lifted his hooves and removed his helmet, the white draining from his coat and revealing the natural lime green colour along with a power blue mane. “The name's Thunder Flash.”

“Thunder Flash...” Rainbow repeat, rolling the name over in her mind. It struck a chord somewhere in her memory. She'd heard it somewhere before, but she couldn't quite figure out where.

When it was apparent she didn't recognize the name, the stallion chuckled. “I didn't think so. I'm the one who replaced you when you were kicked from the Wonderbolts; I got second place in the competition.”

Rainbow's eyes widened. “Oh!...” she paused as recognition shifted to disappointment on her face. “Oh... guess you're not too happy with me then.”

Thunder Flash seemed genuinely confused. “Why wouldn't I be?”

“Well... I kinda got you kicked out of the Wonderbolts...” she admitted guiltily.

The pegasus laughed heartily, shaking his head. “Oh that; don't worry about it. You won the competition, so it wouldn't be right of me to hold a grudge. Besides, you were the one who inspired me to try out for the Wonderbolts in the first place. I can't exactly complain about getting shown up by my idol.”

“I inspired you?” Rainbow gasped.

Thunder nodded. “Yeah, I saw you perform the Rainboom back when you were a filly in flight camp, and ever since then I admired you. Never did get up the courage to actually talk to you back then.”

“Heh...” scratching the back of her neck, Rainbow gave the stallion a small smile. “Well then...”

“Anyway,” he continued, sitting back in his chair. “enough about me; what brings you to a place like this?”

Rainbow's face darkened, the smile slipping from her lips. “I... uh... need to see somepony.”

Thunder looked on in surprise. “You know somepony in prison? Like a distant uncle or something?”

“Actually, I'm here to see Shadow Charm,” Rainbow explained. “Something happened, and I need to know what he knows.”

Thunder frowned. “Neon Lightning didn't come back, did she?”

“How do you know about her?” Rainbow asked, carefully evading the question as her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“It was in every newspaper in Equestria; everypony knows about what Neon did. And that she escaped. But if you want to see her brother then...” Thunder Flash trailed off, glancing to the clock.

“Well?” Rainbow urged impatiently.

He sighed. “Technically visiting hours are over... but... if something did happen...” Thunder put his helmet back on, his coat fading back to the signature white of the Royal Guard. “Follow me.”

Rainbow nodded as she was lead through a set of door behind the desk. On the other side another guard stood at rapt attention. Flash motioned out to the front room. The guard raised an eyebrow, but nodded slowly and went to take over the position at the desk.

“I can give you ten minutes,” he explained as they turned a corner and found a staircase leading down into a smaller, more cramped hallway, lit dimly with a few mana gems hung on the walls.

“That should be all I need,” Rainbow muttered, glancing around as closed in concrete walls gave way to the barred doors of prison cells, most of which remained empty. Each cell contained a simple white cot, a cement table formed into the ground, and a chair. The odd pony could be seen, most of them sleeping in their beds, some laying awake and peering at the two as they walked.

“Why are you a guard anyway? Didn't you want to be a Wonderbolt?” Rainbow asked, doing her best to ignore the few sets of eyes watching her.

Thunder Flash let out a laugh. “I kind of got replaced.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Spitfire still wants you, ya know.”

“Does she now?” Thunder asked thoughtfully, before shaking his head. “Nah; I gave it a shot and I couldn't even hope to compete with you.”

“To be fair, most ponies can't compete with me,” Rainbow boasted with a grin. “Seriously though; she even told you to keep the uniform. Don't you plan on trying out again next year?”

“Not really. It would have been nice, but being a guard pays well and I don't have to compete to get in. It was my backup plan to begin with. Joining the Wonderbolts was really just to see if I could even hope to match you,” Thunder explained. “Speaking of you, how did Twilight handle that whole business? I saw your little... display after your retest.”

A shadow fell over Rainbow's face at the mention of her marefriend. “She's fine...”

Flash nodded, oblivious to the suddenly dark tone. “I can't say I'm surprised; being the Element of Magic and everything like she is I expected her to be made of some pretty tough stuff. Still, being pony-napped can be a pretty... shaking experience.”

Rainbow remained in tense silence as they rounded a corner. Finally Thunder Flash stopped in front of one of the cells, peering in at a lanky grey unicorn with a short black mane and tail sitting at his concrete desk and reading a book. “Hey, Shadow Charm, you got a visitor.”

The unicorn's ears perked up as he turned around quizzically, an eyebrow cocked. “Who would visit me?”

Thunder frowned, stepping to the side and revealing the mare standing behind him. “I think you know her well.”

Shadow Charm's eyes widened and his pupils shrank as he shot up from his desk. “M-m-miss Dash!” He stuttered, leaning back and pressing his flank into the desk. “What...what are you doing here?”

Rainbow's gaze narrowed. “I have a few questions for you.”

Swallowing thickly, the stallion took a slow step forward. “Is... uh... is Miss Sparkle with you?”

“No...” Rainbow muttered through a clenched jaw. “That's why I'm here.”

Curiosity peaked, Shadow Charm walked stiffly up to the bars keeping him separated from the outside world. “And... why is that, exactly?”

“She's missing.”

“What!?” Shadow and Thunder shouted in sync, both staring at the mare in front of them.

“Why are you here?” Thunder asked. “You should have called the guard!”

“I did!” Rainbow shouted, stomping her hoof. “You think I wouldn't when my marefriend breaks into a hundred pieces!?”

Shadow Charm gasped. “Did... did you say she broke into pieces?”

Nodding, Rainbow explained, “Yeah, that's why I came to see you; there's only one pony who would do this, and that's your sister. So I need to know where she is.”

“I told you everything I know already,” Shadow Charm sighed. “I never even knew who was paying her.”

Rainbow glared at him through the bars. “How do I know you're telling the truth?”

Shadow snorted. “Why would I lie? Last time I listened to my sister she got me thrown in here, then escaped and left me behind.”

“I suppose you're right.” Rainbow sighed, turning away. “Then I'm no closer to finding her than I was before I came here...”

“Wait!” Shadow Charm called, pressing his face up against the bars. “I can still help you! I am an enchanter, and what you're describing sounds like the Glass Statue curse.”

Rainbow froze. “That's what Celestia said. She said... she said Twilight was dead. But I know that's not true!”

“It might not be! There are very few unicorns alive with both the knowledge and the power to cast such an enchantment, and I can't think of any of them who actually would. Describe to me exactly what happened,” Shadow urged.

After a moment of hesitation, Rainbow complied, relaying the same story she'd told Celestia and her friends. All the while Shadow Charm sat with a contemplative frown on his face, listening intently to every detail and occasionally requesting further elaboration. When the story was finally finished, Thunder Flash was left speechless, while Shadow Charm looked conflicted.

“Well?” Rainbow asked impatiently.

Shadow sighed. “It certainly sounds like the Glass Statue curse but... something's off. The curse goes straight for the brain as soon as the enchanted object comes into contact with the target's magic; if it actually were that curse, then Miss Sparkle wouldn't have had enough control to move her head, never mind say anything.

“It's complex, but there's a way to disguise one spell as another. It takes a unicorn with a fair amount of skill, but much less power and knowledge than the Glass Statue curse. The guards are good at what they do, but they are no enchanters and might have missed the finer details of the spell used.”

“Great,” Rainbow started eagerly. “Now how do we find out what actually happened?”

“If I could just get there I could check it out myself...” Shadow grumbled to himself.

Rainbow raised a sceptical eyebrow. “Why would you be able to spot something the guards missed?”

Shadowed turned to the side and motioned to his cutie mark. “I am an enchanter, with over two decades experience might I add.”

“And why couldn't I just find another enchanter to do it for me?” Rainbow countered.

“Because if you tell anypony else what you just told me they'll say you're a nutcase in denial. Celestia herself has probably declared Twilight dead; the stories will be in the papers tomorrow morning, and no enchanter in their right mind would help you try and prove the Princess wrong,” he explained.

Rainbow frowned in contemplation. He was right, as much as she hated to admit it; she even sounded a little crazy to herself

“Why would you even want to help them?” Thunder Flash asked accusingly. “You were the one who pony-napped them!”

The smile fell from Shadow's face. “I did, and I am sorry, but Neon forced me to do it.”

Thunder snorted. “Yeah right, how do we know she's not still controlling you?”

Shadow Charm motioned to the bars surrounding him. “I'm safe from her in here. For the first time in a very long time I'm free from my sister's influence, and I want to help drag her back where she belongs; right there.” He pointed a hoof to the cell across the hall from his.

Rainbow looked over to Thunder. “Think he can come take a look?”

“You actually trust him!?” Thunder asked as his jaw dropped.

A ghostly tingle of pain ran through Rainbow's muzzle, her nose wrinkling. “Not in a million years, but I do believe him.”

“I.. but he... you...” Thunder Flash trailed off, holding a hoof to the bridge of his nose. “Fine. In certain cases an inmate can be sent with a couple guards to a crime scene if they have a reason to be there and express permission from the Captain of the Guard, but-”

“Great! Who is he and where is he; I'll get him to give permission!” Rainbow exclaimed hurriedly, watching the guard expectantly.

Thunder raised an eyebrow. “You... don't know who the captain is?”

Tilting her head, Rainbow asked, “Why would I know who he is? It's not like I'm a guard or anything.”

“Yeah but... you're dating Twilight Sparkle; hasn't she told you?”

“Why would Twi tell me who the captain is?”

Thunder gave her the most ludicrous look he could muster from behind his golden helmet. “The captain is Shining Armour.”

“Shining who-now? Look, I have no idea who you're talking about,” Rainbow explained exasperatedly.

For his part, Thunder Flash just stood in shocked silence. After a few moments of struggling to comprehend, he eventually answered, “Shining Armour is Twilight Sparkle's big brother.”

Rainbow Dash blinked. “W-what?”

“Yeah, every guard knows that; he won't shut up about her most of the time. How did you not know? You're dating the guy's sister.”

“I... how did I not know that!?” Rainbow shouted, staring at Thunder Flash. “I'm dating Twilight! Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't she tell any of us!?”

Thunder shrugged uneasily. “I guess you'll have to take that up with Twilight when you find her. But if you want Shadow Charm's help you're gonna have to find Shining and get permission. My guess, if something happened to his sister, he'll already be at the scene investigating; he personally handled the case against Shadow and Neon.”

Rainbow sighed. “Well I guess I get to meet her family,” she muttered. “Thanks, I'll go talk to him. And you,” she rounded to face Shadow Charm. “When I come back with permission, you better be ready.”

Shadow Charm jolted at the suddenly stern tone, standing straight up as though he were a guard. “Of course.”

Keeping her glare on him for a moment longer, Rainbow eventually relented with an approving nod, leading the way back out of the prison. “Back to Ponyville, I guess.”

“You'd think a prison would be easier to find...” Applejack grumbled as the group of four mares finally found the large, imposing structure.

“It's not exactly a tourist hot spot,” Rarity noted. “It certainly doesn't look like one,” she added, cringing away from plain grey front.

Pinkie bounced ahead of them, bursting through the front doors. “Daaaaaaashie!?” She called ecstatically. “Where are you?”

“Shall we?” Fluttershy asked gently, holding the door open for the rest of the group.

Applejack and Rarity nodded, crossing through the open door into a plain, boring room with a lone white desk at the front, behind which was a white-coated pegasus guard, head angled down at the desk as a quill scribbled away, held in his mouth.

“Excuse me, sir?” Rarity called, putting on her best Canterlot accent and sauntering up to the desk.

The stallion glanced up from his paperwork, setting the quill down and smiling. “Ah, hello miss. How can I help you?”

Rarity returned the guard's kind smile. “Actually we're looking for a friend of ours who may have been here recently. Have you seen a miss Rainbow Dash, perchance?”

The stallion's eyes lit up. “Oh! You must be the Elements of Harmony!”

The group nodded as they came up beside Rarity, all of them looking equally tired from their journey.

The guard frowned. “I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you just missed her; she was here not ten minutes ago, but after visiting an inmate she left on her way to meet back up with the Captain of the Guard.”

Applejack sighed. “Well at least we're catching up. Where is the captain then?”

“Well, if what Rainbow Dash said was true, then he should be in Ponyville.”

A communal groan sounded as four mares fell to the floor.

Author's Note

Well this took a lot longer than I thought it would. Sorry about that. Anyway, the Shadow Charm scene is still a little rough around the edges, but it does what it was meant to do and that's all I can ask at the moment. Next chapter should (maybe) be soon if I keep working on this. I have another fic being planned though, so it may be... delayed.

As always, let me know what you think.

Edit; This chapter edited by Golden Fuss

3. Captain Armour

Missing Dreams
Chapter 3
Captain Amour

Shining Armour put his helmet on, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm himself. He knew what he would find inside; he'd been given the report, but he still needed to see for himself. He needed to know for sure.

He pushed open the door of Golden Oaks library.

“Could ya run that by us again?” Applejack asked with a heavy sigh.

Thunder Flash frowned from beneath his helmet. “I told you; Rainbow Dash left about ten minutes ago. She was heading back for Ponyville to find the Captain of the Guard, who's probably investigating Twilight's-”

“Disappearance,” Rarity said quickly, cutting off the coming sentence before it could be spoken.

“Right...” Thunder trailed off; the unicorn didn't seem to buy her own words. “She came here to visit Shadow Charm, and got some information about what could have happened. She wants him to be the one to check it out, but to get him not only out of jail but also access to an active crime scene she needs direct permission from Captain Shining Armour.”

Applejack nodded. “Uh-huh, and why is this here Captain Armour in Ponyville?”

With a deadpan stare Thunder said, “Well the guy's little sister just... disappeared,” he stressed, shooting a glance at Rarity. “So I imagine he'd want to be kept in the loop.”

“WHAT!?” All four mares shouted, jaws dropping.

“I'm getting tired of explaining this today...” Thunder Flash muttered, holding a hoof to his helmet as the shout reverberated inside the metal and rung in his ears. “Shining Armour is Twilight Sparkle's big brother.”

“WH-”

“No need to yell!” Thunder snapped, the words dying on the mares' lips. He sighed thankfully, relaxing back into his chair. “Apparently Twilight didn't tell any of you this; not even Rainbow Dash knew. However this could turn out good for you; if he's willing to take a risk and believe Rainbow for the sake of his sister, he'll probably give her the papers she needs to have Shadow Charm temporarily released to study the crime scene.”

Fluttershy was the first to recover from the familial revelation, stepping up to the counter. “So... um... does that mean Rainbow Dash will be coming back here soon?”

Thunder Flash nodded. “That's what I was trying to tell you; as soon as she gets the approval she'll come back here and we can start making arrangements to have him brought down to the scene. Knowing Shining he won't be wasting any time, so we'll have all the arrangements made by tomorrow afternoon, and probably bring Shadow Charm down the same day.”

Applejack nodded, turning to face her group. “Well girls, looks like the best thing we can do is wait here.”

“In that case, we need a place to stay,” Rarity noted. “Mister... err.. I'm sorry, I don't believe I've caught your name?”

“Thunder Flash,” he answered with a smile. “And if you're looking for a hotel, there's a good one a couple blocks down the street; nice without being too expensive. Just go out the doors and turn left; you can't miss it.”

“Thank you, Mister Flash,” Rarity said graciously. “If Rainbow Dash shows up, tell her where we're staying would you? Oh, and the room will be under my name.”

Thunder nodded. “You got it. Rarity, right?”

“Indeed it is. Thank you!”

Pinkie bounced along ahead of the group, leading them out the door. “I hope they have food; I'm starving!”

“Pinkie, it's almost two in the mornin'. Who eats at two in the mornin'?” Applejack asked irritably.

The energetic pink mare stopped, sitting back and holding a hoof to her chin. “Hmmm...” she hummed thoughtfully, before brightening up. She pointed a hoof at herself. “Oh! I know! I do; I 'eat at two in the mornin'” she explained, putting on a thick southern accent.

Fluttershy giggled at the imitation quietly. “You might have to wait until breakfast, Pinkie Pie.”

“Then it had better be an extra-super-duper big breakfast!”

By time Rainbow Dash made it back to Ponyville the moon was already beginning its descent back behind the mountains. Her wings were burning from the two-way flight to Canterlot, but she knew she'd have to do it at least once more, and the thought made them scream in protest. Cringing as she pulled her wings back against her sides, Rainbow glanced around the area she'd landed and quickly regained her bearings, easily finding the road she needed to get back to the library.

A quiet groan escaped her lips as she thought about having to deal with Celestia again. She wasn't about to give up, but apparently Celestia had other plans for a reason she couldn't put her hoof on. With any luck Shadow Charm would be able to shed some light into the Princess's reasoning.

“Rainbow Dash! What the hay is going on!”

Rainbow's ears perked up at the familiar voice of Ponyville's one and only baby dragon. Sure enough, when she turned her head she saw Spike running down the street towards her, leading a group of three fillies.

“Hey Spike...” Rainbow greeted uneasily as the group caught up to her. “I uh... I thought you were staying at Rarity's tonight with the girls?”

The dragon gave her a glare. “You mean you and Twilight forced me to stay with Rarity and the girls for 'privacy',” he deadpanned, making air-quotes.

Rainbow gave him a guilty chuckle. “Yeah.... sorry about that.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Whatever, just tell me what's going on at the library; the place is crawling with guards and they won't let me in. They keep saying it's an active crime scene, but won't tell me anything else. Rarity up and disappeared about two hours ago, and I can't find anypony who will tell me what's happening.”

“Applejack left too!” Applebloom exclaimed.

“Where did you go?” Scootaloo asked. “I thought you were staying at the library with Twilight?”

Rainbow frowned. “It's... a long story. I don't know where the rest of the girls are but... I do know they'll be back soon, and it'd be best if you just go back to Rarity's and wait for her.”

All three fillies gave her sceptical glances. “Then can you at least tell us what's going on in the library?” Scootaloo asked.

“It'd probably be best if you just waited until tomorrow...” Rainbow answered slowly. “Go back to Rarity's shop; she'll explain when she's back.”

“But where did she go?” Sweetie Belle insisted.

Rainbow sighed, shuffling on her hooves impatiently and glancing down the street towards the library. “I don't know, but I'll try to find her, okay? First I have to go do something.”

“And Applejack too!” Applebloom added.

“And Applejack,” Rainbow affirmed. “Promise. But you have to promise me you'll go back and wait at Rarity's, deal?”

Hesitantly, the three fillies nodded. “You come back too,” Scootaloo called as they turned and slowly started heading back. Spike stayed behind, a single eyebrow raised and his arms folded across his chest.

“Now tell me what's going on at the library.”

Rainbow groaned. “I told you that Rarity would-”

“Rarity's in Canterlot,” Spike deadpanned. “I saw all four of them get on the train. Now you're going to tell me why, and while you're at it you can explain where Twilight is; she wasn't with them.”

“It's... a long-”

“We have time!” Spike shouted, cutting off the excuse. “I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what happened. The library is my home and Twilight's practically my sister; you're not hiding anything from me.”

With a sigh, Rainbow sat back. “I guess you should at least know before the newspapers come out tomorrow. Twilight's... gone.”

Spike snorted. “Gone? What do you mean gone? How can she be gone?”

“I mean she's missing!” Rainbow snapped. “Gone, disappeared. Celestia... Celestia thinks she's... she says Twilight's...”

“Spit it out already!”

“Celestia thinks she's dead!” Rainbow yelled finally, clenching her eyes shut. “Celestia thinks she's dead...” she repeated quietly.

Spike's eyes grew wide, taking a step back as though the wind had been knocked out of him. “W-what?”

“I know she's not though; I know she's alive, somewhere. I went to Canterlot to get help finding her, and the girls must have followed me.”

“Rainbow Dash, slow down and tell me what happened. Tell me exactly what happened,” Spike insisted firmly.

Rainbow groaned. “Look, I don't have time; I need to go find this Shining Armour guy and... never mind the details. I just need to talk to this guy.”

Spike tilted his head. “Why do you need to talk to Twilight's brother?”

“It's... wait, how do you know he's her brother? She's never told anypony that!”

“I grew up with Twilight,” Spike deadpanned. “I should hope I know her brother.”

Rainbow nodded. “Good point. Anyway, I have to go talk to him. Hop on,” she instructed, lowering a wing and allowing the dragon to clamber onto her back. “I'll explain on the way to the library. But first, you're going to tell me why Twi never told any of us she has a brother, or that he's Captain of the Guard.”

Spike scratched the back of his neck nervously as Rainbow started towards the library. “Well... it's kinda complicated and really not my place to tell; it's Twilight's personal business.”

“I won't tell you what happened until after you spill it,” Rainbow threatened, glancing back over her shoulder.

With a contemplative sigh, Spike gave in. “Fine. Basically... she had a really big fight with Shining Armour before she moved to Ponyville.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “That's not exactly uncommon for brothers and sisters.”

Spike shook his head. “No... like... it was a 'I never want to see you again' fight. I'm pretty sure at one point the words 'you're dead to me' were said, and taken literally. As far as I'm aware they haven't spoken since.”

“Whoa... what were they even fighting about?”

“I dunno; I walked in on the middle of it, and by then it had devolved to them slinging insults at each other. I tried asking, once, but when I brought it up Twilight's only response was 'who's Shining Armour?'. I never asked again,” Spike explained, shifting around uneasily on Rainbow's back. “I really shouldn't have told you that...”

Rainbow sighed. “Probably not, now that I know what it was. But a deal's a deal, so I'll tell you what happened. After me an' Twi left you with Rarity at dinner, we...”

As Rainbow launched once again into the retelling of her night, Spike sat on her back, enthralled with the story. She covered everything from the disappearance of Twilight to her conversation with Shadow Charm and everything in between. By the end of it, Spike looked more confused then when she has started.

“Wait, you're telling me you're going behind Celestia's back to prove Twilight's alive, and that you're using Shadow Charm, the pony who kidnapped you both, to do it, and you need to get Shining Armour, who hasn't spoken to his sister in two years, to give permission to release a prisoner and give him access to an active crime scene?” Spike asked, shaking his head at the sheer absurdity of what he'd just said.

Rainbow thought for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, that about sums it up. Though now that I know what happened between Twilight and her brother... I dunno how I'm gonna do this.”

Spike rolled his eyes from atop Rainbow's back as the library came into view at the end of street. “I'm sure he'll say yes. They are still siblings, and whatever they were fighting about they're still family.”

“I.. guess.. but what if?” Rainbow questioned, more to herself than her passenger. “I mean, when Twi says something, she sticks by it, and I can only imagine her brother's the same way.”

“Well only one way to find out,” Spike prompted, the duo arriving at the path leading to the library. The yard and path were all roped off with caution tape, and a few guards were stationed around the area.

Rainbow nodded slowly, glancing towards one of the guards and waving weakly as she flew over the tape. The guard raised an eyebrow at her, taking a few steps forward before being stopped by another guard who whispered something, glancing over his shoulder nervously. The first guard's eyes widened, glancing over the second's shoulder at Rainbow and Spike before nodding quickly and returning to his post.

“Guess they recognize you...” Spike said uneasily as the guard's eyes stayed on the pair.

Carefully, Rainbow trotted up to the door and opened it, glancing back at the guards only once before slipping into the library and closing the door. “Must have...” she muttered, glancing around the front room. Surprisingly, there was only a single pony in the entire library; a guard sat in the middle of the room, his elaborate helmet sitting on the floor beside him and his two-tone blue mane falling freely over his eyes.

“Shining?” Spike called, a tremor of nervousness running through his voice.

The guard's head snapped up at the voice, and he slowly turned around, eyes wide and cheeks matted with tears.

“S-Spike?” He asked shakily, running a hoof across his face and shaking out his messy mane. “What are you doing here? And... oh... you must be Rainbow Dash...”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, that's me. You're the Captain of the Guard, right?”

Standing, Shining shook his head and gave her an uneven smile even as tears continued to flow down his cheeks. “Please; just Shining. You were one of Twily's friends, right? I've heard a lot about you all through Princess Celestia.”

“Twily?” Rainbow whispered to Spike, who just shrugged. “Uh... yeah... I'm Rainbow Dash. Listen, I need-”

Shining's careful smile wilted as he turned back to the shards. “Some time alone?” He offered knowingly, voice surprisingly calm in a stark contrast to the sheer despair readable on his face.

Rainbow grimaced. “She's not dead.”

An awkward silence befell the room after those words. Shining watched her carefully, eyes unredable even as they continued to leak. Eventually, he asked, “What?”

“Twilight,” Rainbow clarified. “She's not dead; I'm going to find her.”

Shining Armour grit his teeth together, glancing back to the pile of shards. “Are you mocking me!? I just lost my sister, and you have the nerve to come in here and... and... tell me she's not gone!?”

“You didn't lose her,” Rainbow insisted, standing her ground even as the large, muscled stallion marched up to her angrily. “She's not dead, and I can prove it.”

“Is this some kind of sick joke to you?”

“Shining, please!” Spike called, jumping off Rainbow's back. “I know she sounds crazy but you have to listen to her! I don't know if she's right or not but... when I have a choice to believe her or think that Twilight's...” he shuddered, unable to finish the thought.

“Princess Celestia herself has confirmed it,” Shining Armour yelled, leaning forward until his muzzle was just a hair's breadth away from Rainbow's. “She thinks she can just waltz in here and say otherwise without any kind of evidence!? It's hard enough to know what happened to Twily, but it is my personal responsibility to tell our parents, do you have any idea how I feel!? She was my sister!”

“I love her!” Rainbow roared back, standing on the tips of her hooves in a vain attempt to put herself on equal height with the large stallion. “I was there when this happened! I was right next to her! Don't you dare think for even a second that I don't know how you feel, but I also know that she's alive! Before she disappeared, she looked at me, and she told me to find her. That's all she said before she vanished, not 'good bye' not 'I love you', just 'find me', don't you think if she was going to die she'd have said something else!?”

“What are you-”

“She knew what was happening to her,” Rainbow continued, cutting easily through Shining's attempted argument and pushing him back a few steps. “She knew what was happening and she wanted me to find her.”

Shining blinked, craning his head back and away from Rainbow Dash. “I...”

“Please, Shining,” Spike urged. “Just give her a chance to prove it; what could you lose?”

Glancing back to the pile of purple shards behind him, Shining took a couple steps back and sat back on his haunches, eyes wide.

Rainbow kept her face set in a determined glare, but she eased back. Lifting a hoof, she held her necklace out. “She gave me this necklace when I was trying to get into the Wonderbolts. When I found out it was enchanted... I blamed her for it; I yelled at her and I told her I never wanted to see her again. You know what she did? She didn't give up just because I told her I didn't want to see her. She worked day and night to find a way to prove I was innocent. She didn't care that I was mad at her; all she cared about was getting me back on the team. In the end... she pulled it off, and the only reason I;m a Wonderbolt now is because she didn't give up on me.

“I will never, ever give up on her. She told me to find her, and I will go through whoever tries to stop me in order to do just that. Whether they're you, my friends, or princess Celestia herself. I don't know why you two aren't talking, and quite frankly I don't care; you are her brother, and it is your duty as an older sibling to do whatever you can for her. Believe me or not; I don't care. But you have to trust your own sister.”

Shining was stunned into silence for a solid for thirty seconds, too shocked to even cry anymore as he regarded the mare in front of him. Finally, he broke the silence, asking; “And... you're sure that's what she said?”

“I'm not deaf,” Rainbow deadpanned.

Shining sighed, rubbing the tears out of his cheeks. “I... fine, I'll give you a chance... what do you need?”

“Shadow Charm,” Rainbow explained. “I went to see him a little while ago, he said he might be able to prove Twilight's alive, something about disguising one spell as another. I heard you could give him permission to come down here and take a look.”

“Shadow Charm?” Shining yelled, glaring at the pegasus in front of him. “You'd trust Shadow Charm to do something like this? Couldn't we just find another unicorn with experience in enchanting magics? Do I need toe remind you what that bastard did to Twilight?”

Rainbow frowned. “Hey, he didn't just do it to Twilight; I was in a cage too.”

“R-right, sorry...” Shining muttered. “That's even more reason not to trust him though!”

“I don't trust him; I believe him when he says he wants to help put his sister back where she belongs,” Rainbow clarified. “Besides, how many other unicorns with that kind of skill would believe me over the Princess?”

Shining Armour sighed. “Fine, fine, I'll write up the letter. Just give me a second.” He turned, scanning around the room until his eyes landed on the desk, stocked full of parchment ink and quills. With a flourish of magic he grabbed all the supplies he'd need and brought them over, scribbling onto the paper. One final stroke of the quill to sign his name, and he rolled it and passed it to Rainbow. “Take this to the prison and give it to the guard; it'll take a few hours to prepare everything, but this will grant Shadow Charm access to the crime scene for as long as he needs.”

Snatching the letter out of the air with a wing, Rainbow nodded in thanks. “I'll make sure-”

“Just go,” Shining muttered, cutting her off as he turned back to the pile of purple shards. “I hope you're right, but if you're not...” He shut his eyes, letting his sentence trail off.

“She is alive,” Rainbow assured quietly. “She is alive, and I will find her and I will bring her back.”

Shining Armour turned his head, once again looking through teary eyes. “If Shadow Charm can prove it, I will do anything I can to help. Oh, and one last thing; Celestia will be informed about Shadow Charm coming here. There's nothing I could do about that. She won't be able to stop you; I've put an urgency order on it, so by time she hears about it you should already be on your way, but she might meet you here; you'll have to deal with that.”

“That's fine; I can deal with her,” Rainbow said, passing the letter to Spike. “I'll just have Shadow Charm prove it to her.”

“I'll be waiting for news. Now go; the sooner you get to Canterlot the sooner preparations can be made,” Shining prompted.

Rainbow Dash nodded, crouching down and motioning for Spike to get back on. “Let's go to Canterlot.”

“I can't...” Spike said suddenly, hanging his head.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Spike sighed quietly. “I can't just leave Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. They all think their sisters are coming back tonight; I can't just up and leave them. I'll stay here and tell them what's going on.”

Rainbow frowned uneasily. “Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, there's a reason I didn't tell them what was happening with Twi...”

“I won't go into detail,” Spike clarified. “All they need to know right now is that the girls are going to be in Canterlot until tomorrow. No matter what, we have to tell them what Shadow Charm finds, but until then the whole truth can wait.”

Sighing, Rainbow relented with a nod. “You're right. Alright, I'll take this to Canterlot and find the girls to tell them what's happening, you keep an eye on the fillies.”

“I'll meet you back here tomorrow.”

With a wave Rainbow Dash set off out the door, jumping into the air and flying into the night sky as soon as she was clear. Spike watched her go for a moment before glancing over his shoulder to Shining Armour, who seemed oblivious to the dragon's presence. Quietly, Spike took a few steps towards the door before he was stopped by a voice.

“Who is she?”

Spike turned curiously. The stallion was still staring resolutely at the shards. “Who?”

“Rainbow Dash,” Shining clarified. “Who is she?”

Tilting his head, Spike said, “Rainbow's one of the Elements of Harmony. I though Celestia told you about them all?”

“She said she loves Twilight,” he snapped suddenly, glaring over his shoulder. “Who was she to Twilight?”

“Oh...” Spike scuffed his food awkwardly over the floor. “They're marefriends...”

“How long?”

Spike sighed, walking over and sitting next to Shining Armour. “They've been together since the stuff happened in Canterlot with Neon Lightning and Shadow Charm.”

Shining frowned into the shards. “And she never told me... six months and she didn't tell me she was with somepony...”

“You haven't exactly talked to her much,” Spike noted.

“Every month,” Shining corrected sharply. “Every month I send Twilight a letter. She's never sent one back...”

Spike's eyes grew wide. “She's still that mad at you?”

“Guess so.”

“What were you two even arguing about?” Spike asked carefully. “What could make her that mad?”

Shining Armour sighed, his breath thick with emotion. “It's a long story, Spike... I made a mistake, and as a result said some things I shouldn't have. It's my fault but... I just wished I could have talked to her one last time before... before...” he cut himself off with a strangled sob.

“She's alive,” Spike assured confidently. “She's alive, somewhere, and Rainbow's going to prove it. Just give her a little time and she'll find a way to prove it.”

“I can only hope, Spike,” Shining whispered, rubbing fruitlessly at the fresh tears trailing down his cheeks. “I'll be fine. You said you had to go look after three fillies right?”

Spike nodded. “Yeah, but-”

“Go,” Shining urged, motioning to the door. “I'll be okay, just give me a little while.”

“Are you sure?”

Shining Armour hung his head. “Yeah, I'm sure. Whatever Shadow Charm finds here... I can hope, but I have to be prepared.”

Hesitantly, Spike nodded. “If you're sure. I'll see you later, Shining.” When no response came, Spike made his way out the door and into the darkened streets of Ponyville, turning and walking towards Carrousel Boutique.

With a half-controlled crash landing Rainbow skidded to a halt on the cobbled streets of Canterlot. Her wings burned from exhaustion and no small amount of sweat had gathered in her coat despite the chilly night air. Flying to Canterlot was one thing, making the trip three times in a single night was something she could barely do. Panting around the letter held tightly in her jaw, she quickly gained her bearings and set off towards Canterlot Prison. If the moon's proximity to thee horizon was any indication the sun would be up in little over an hour.

Easily finding the large building again, Rainbow pushed her way inside, giving a sleepy smile as she spotted the guard at the desk. “Thunder Flash?” She asked hopefully, passing the letter to her wing. The white coated stallion looked up from the desk, smiling as he saw the mare in front of him.

“Rainbow Dash!” He cried happily, standing from his chair. “Did you get it?”

Rainbow held out her wing, dropping the rolled and sealed scroll onto the counter. Thunder picked it up and unravelled it, quickly scanning the contents. “Perfect! I'll start making the arrangements immediately. We should be ready for transport a little after noon.”

“Great...” Rainbow trailed off, eyes drooping as she yawned widely. “I'll... go find a hotel or something...”

“Wait!” Thunder called suddenly, stopping the mare in her tracks towards the door. Rainbow looked back over her shoulder. “Your friends were here a while ago looking for you. They didn't make the trip back to Ponyville tonight... or rather this morning, so they got a hotel. They asked me to send you their way when you got back with the letter.”

Yawning again, Rainbow gave a small smile. “Point me in the right direction.”

“Out the doors and turn left; it'll be the first hotel you see and you won't miss it. They said the room will be under Rarity's name,” Thunder Flash explained, pointing in the general direction he was talking about. “It's just a few blocks away.”

“Hope they're still awake..” Rainbow muttered, thanking the stallion before heading out the doors, leaving him to deal with the arrangements for later that day.

“She should be here by now, shouldn't she?”

Applejack sighed, glaring at the alabaster coated unicorn pacing anxiously around the room. “Will you calm down? It don't imagine it's easy flying all the way from here to Ponyville and back again.”

“Oh she's probably exhausted, the poor dear,” Rarity continued muttering to herself. “She's been through so much today...”

“Rarity, we're all worried, but you need to calm down. Fluttershy and Pinkie had the right idea when they hit the hay; worry 'bout it won't do any good, so we may as well get some sleep. It's almost sunrise and none of us have had any proper rest,” Applejack insisted.

Rarity stopped her pacing, hanging her head. “I know Applejack... but after what happened to Twilight... I can't lose anymore of you girls...”

“Now you listen here; Twi's missin', not... completely gone, alright?”

“I know, I know... I want to believe it but... what evidence do we have?” Rarity asked, sitting on her bed and staring out the large glass window on the far wall of the room. There were a total of four beds in the hotel room, spread across two rooms. In a third, central living room was a couch that could be folded out to make a fifth bed. In one room the only sound that could be heard were the quiet, near-inaudible snores of Fluttershy and the noise Pinkie made when asleep which could only be called a giggle-snore. Applejack, however, had been unlucky enough to share a room with the one pony who refused to sleep when stressed, and the current situation certainly counted as stressful.

Applejack groaned, falling back into her bed and glaring at the ceiling. “We'll know more tomorrow once we get Shadow Charm there lookin' around.”

“But what if-” Her worrying was cut off as a sharp knocking broke through the relative quiet of the hotel room. Without saying anything she took off towards the door, Applejack not far behind.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity cried happily as she swung the door open. Her relieved smile quickly fell to a pensive frown when she saw the glare on the pegasus' face. “Rainbow? What's wrong?”

“Forgetting anything?” Rainbow asked sharply, ignoring Rarity's question and stepping into the room, acknowledging Applejack with another glare in the farmer's direction.

Rarity blinked. “I... don't think so?”

“How about three little fillies and a dragon supposedly spending the night at your house? Didn't even think about them, did you? You just took off after me without telling them a single thing. Did any of you stop to think that maybe Spike should be told Twilight's missing? Or maybe you should tell your own sisters that you would be gone? When I got back to Ponyville they'd been wandering around looking for you.

“Spike saw you get on the train,” Rainbow continued, ignoring the realization dawning on the other mares faces. “He didn't say anything to them, but he wasn't exactly happy. The Library's a crime scene and nopony bothered tot ell him anything.”

Rarity's jaw was nearly on the floor as she started for the door. “How could I forget!?” She shrieked, more to herself than anypony else who could answer. “I have to get back there! I have to-”

“It's fine,” Rainbow cut in with a sigh, shaking her head. “I told Spike what was going on; he's looking after the fillies. They don't know what happened to Twilight, but until we know for sure we'll keep it that way.”

“Ah... ah didn't even think 'bout them...” Applejack muttered, hanging her head in shame.

Rainbow glanced around the room, taking stock of her surroundings. “I take it Pinkie and 'Shy are already asleep?”

“Yeah,” Rarity confirmed with a nod. “We got here pretty late.”

“Speaking of, why are you girls here anyway?” Rainbow asked, walking over and collapsing onto the couch, heaving a heavy sigh as she let her aching wings fan out. “Last I checked you girls thought Twi was dead.”

Rarity scuffed a hoof along the floor awkwardly, glancing over to Applejack. When the farmer made no move to explain, she took an uneasy breath. “Well... after you left and came here to Canterlot after the Princess explained what happened we started talking. We were still reeling from the news about Twilight, but we didn't want to believe it any more than you did. Then Fluttershy mentioned what you'd said about what Twilight told you, and after the... incident a few months ago... we decided we owed you the benefit of the doubt. None of us want what princess Celestia said to be true, so if there's anything we can do that would prove Twilight's still alive, we'll do it.”

“We ain't abandoning you again,” Applejack added firmly.

Rainbow looked them over curiously. “So instead you abandoned your sisters...?” They both hung their heads under her scrutinizing gaze. Eventually she relented with a shake of her head. “Never mind; it' fine. At least you're not ready to give up just like that. They're expecting us back in Ponyville around noon tomorrow, so go and get some sleep.”

“You need sleep too,” Rarity noted, lighting her horn and lifting Rainbow off the couch. With a few quick folds the couch was folded out into a full bed, and a blanket and pillow were brought forward from a closet. “Three trips between here and Ponyville is no small feat, even for you.”

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow grabbed the pillow out of the air and tossed it to the head of the bed. “Why do you think I came here in the first place? It wasn't just to talk. You girls will be catching the train back to Ponyville tomorrow, I'll fly with the guards bringing Shadow Charm.”

Applejack chuckled. “Sounds like Twilight had been rubbing off quite a bit; I think that's the first time I've ever heard you plan something. Or wait, for that matter.”

Rainbow frowned, glancing down to the silver lightning bolt hanging around her neck. “Someone's gotta plan these things...”

“Sorry, I didn't mean-”

“It's alright, AJ,” Rainbow interrupted, lifting her eyes back up to meet her friend's. “I know you didn't. Good night.”

Applejack nodded slowly. “'Night.”

“Good night, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity called, gently ushering Applejack into their shared room and shutting the door behind them. In a magical glow the lights were shut off, bathing the room in darkness, left with only the little moonlight streaming through the open window.

Rainbow slowly laid back on her pillow, turning her head and looking out the window into the blackness of the night sky. Her necklace, glinting in the silver light of the full moon, caught her eye. Gently pressing a hoof against it and holding it to her chest, through which she could feel the steady beating of her heart, she closed her eyes.

“Just a little longer Twi,” she whispered, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. “I'll find you soon, just hang in there a little longer.”

Sleep took over her mind, and when she next opened her eyes, she was no longer in the hotel room. Rather, she was in a large ballroom, complete with a tall, arched roof supported by pillars on either side of the rectangular room. The walls beyond the marble pillars were lined with stained glass windows, each depicting a scene from Equestria's past set into a golden frame in the pure white marble wall. The floor was a seemingly random pattern of black and white marble, buffed to a shining finish.

The ballroom was empty; the stage sat abandoned without instruments nor musicians, no banners hung and no ponies danced. Without some kind of festivity, the room seemed early empty; as though haunted by the ghosts of celebrations gone by. If she listened hard enough, Rainbow could hear the quiet whimper of songs once played in this very room.

“Hello?” She called, looking around at the barren room and listening to the echo of her voice as it reverberated around the large, empty space.

“Hello,” another voice answered, making Rainbow jump as she whipped her head around.

She smiled widely as her eyes fell on the mare she hadn't even noticed. Before she was confused as to why she was in the ballroom, but suddenly it became obvious; there could only ever be one explanation.

“Twilight,” Rainbow said, bowing down, her dress crinkling quietly as she did so. The smooth fabric hugged her form, embracing her with its gentle curves. “May I have this dance?” She asked, putting on a thick, over-exaggerated Canterlot accent.

Twilight giggled, her own stunning dress ruffling as she returned the bow. “I thought you'd never ask.”

Author's Note

Boy, you can definitely tell this was written over the course of two months. You can even tell when I was writing through a block and when I had an easy time with it... there are some pretty big quality drops in here. It's easy to tell; whenever there's a lot of dialogue, if I'm having trouble writing I'll make it really short, so if there's a string of one-line paragraphs in a conversation, I was having a difficult time writing. If it was flowing, there won't be many one-line paragraphs. If this were a small project, like a oneshot, I'd rewrite the scenes I was having problems with, but since it's just a single chapter in a longer story, I'll let it slide with just a heavy editing pass.

Never the less, I hope you enjoyed, and comments are always appreciated as well as any mistakes I missed. Next chapter we get into what's going on with Celestia, and I promise it won't be another two months.

Edit; This is the last chapter edited by Golden Fuss

4. Dreams of Loss

Missing Dreams
Chapter 4
Dreams of Loss

Rainbow Dash stood on her hind hooves, embracing Twilight in the traditional dancing pose everypony knew. Twilight's head rested again Rainbow's chest, her eyes closed and a smile stretched wide across her muzzle ass she breathed deeply. Rainbow rested her head atop her marefriend's, and just as they were settled into their poses, ready to dance, something struck her.

“I hate to be a buzz kill,” Rainbow whispered, nuzzling the top of Twilight's head affectionately. “But there's no music.”

Twilight hummed, her smile growing wider as she started swaying back and forth gently. “We don't need music.”

“We need some kind of beat,” Rainbow muttered, even as she allowed Twilight to guide her, the two rocking back and forth rhythmically. Twilight didn't respond, instead she started dancing, leading Rainbow over the dance floor and moving to a seemingly silent song.

Twilight giggled. “Told you.”

“Yeah, but-” Rainbow paused, her eyes growing wide as a simple realization dawned on her.

Thu-thump

Step-step

Thu-thump

Step-step

She laughed, holding Twilight tighter. “Only you could get me to do something this sappy, you know?”

“What?” Twilight asked innocently, taking her ear off of Rainbow's chest for a second to look up into her marefriend's eyes.

“Seriously? Dancing to my own heart beat?”

Twilight grinned, leaning her head back against Rainbow to better hear the rhythm they were dancing to. “It works, doesn't it?”

Blushing like a filly fawning over her first crush, Rainbow tried to ignore the fact that their dancing sped up. She looked out across the empty ballroom, scanning over the stain-glass windows presenting Equestria's history. They moved slowly across the room, passing images of Celestia and Luna overthrowing Discord, the rise and subsequent fall of Nightmare Moon, and the return of Nightmare Moon along with her second fall. Though as she smiled fondly at the memory of that particular moment in history, something struck her as wrong with the window.

Twilight wasn't in the picture.

Rainbow frowned as they kept moving, the next window heralding the second defeat of Discord, the image once again lacking a certain purple unicorn. According to the windows, the Elements of Harmony consisted of only five ponies. Something was very wrong.

“Twi?” Rainbow asked, slowing their dance to a stop. When she didn't get a response she looked down. “Twilight?”

Twilight wasn't there.

Rainbow dropped back down onto all four hooves without the added stability of another pony. She spun in a circle, scanning the ballroom for her missing marefriend. The room was just as empty as it had been when she walked in. “Twilight!?” She called, voice echoing off the high ceilings. Her eyes fell once again on the windows, this time skipping to the end. A depiction of Twilight stood in the middle of the large window, white lines crisscrossing her body, her eyes wide open and her mouth frozen in a silent scream.

“Find me,” the window whispered, its voice coming from everywhere at once. Suddenly it shattered, the sound filling the room as all the other windows did the same, falling out of their frames into piles of shards on the ground. Beyond the window was nothing but a pitch black nothingness, hiding just beyond the walls of the ballroom. The walls cracked, crumbling to dust with an ear-splitting noise as the room fell apart.

Rainbow clamped her hooves over her ears, clenching her eyes shut as the sound reverberated inside her head. The ground shook violently and gale force winds picked up shards of glass and chunks to hurl mercilessly at the pegasus. “Twilight!” Rainbow screamed, falling onto her stomach and doing her best to cover her head from the debris whipping around the room.

All at once it stopped, leaving nothing but a deafening silence in the chaos's wake. Slowly, Rainbow opened her eyes, though what she saw was indistinguishable from the insides of her eyelids. Blackness was everything. Not a single shred of the ballroom remained, instead she was surrounded by a pure void of nothingness.

“T... Twilight?” She called, though for all the sound she made it may as well have been in her head. The void seemed to absorb her voice before it even left her mouth.

“Find me, Dashie,” Twilight's voice called tauntingly, ringing in her ears and making her head pound painfully.

Rainbow span in circles, searching for something – anything – to move towards. Finally she saw it; a spec of purple, set out against the backdrop of black. It was tiny, an impossible distance away, but it was there. She quickly set off at a full gallop, sprinting towards dot of colour. Every step she took brought her closer to it, and before long she could recognize the shade of Twilight's coat and her mane. She was so close now, Rainbow could practically see the unicorn's smile.

Then everything stopped; time froze, and Rainbow was left mid-gallop, helplessly watching as Twilight started moving away, getting smaller and smaller until she was nothing more than a vaguely purple point in the void.

“Twilight!” Time resumed at Rainbow's shout, and she fell to the invisible floor with a thud. Within seconds she was back on her hooves, already sprinting towards her goal.

“Stop.”

Rainbow ignored the new voice in the void, even as she tripped on nothing and fell to the floor. When she pulled herself back up, it was as if she hadn't moved at all; Twilight was still so far away.

“Stop this.”

Again Rainbow took off, blocking out all other thoughts as she doggedly chased down her marefriend. Time stopped again, though this time instead of Twilight getting farther away, she disappeared all together.

“You will never catch her,” the voice said coldly. Time started flowing, but Rainbow found herself unable to move; Twilight was gone, lost in the darkness, and she had nowhere to go. Tears started flowing down her cheeks as she searched the void desperately for any sign of Twilight left.

“Twilight!” Rainbow screamed, her voice weak as sobs shook her body. “Twilight!”

A bright flash of light momentarily blinded her, and when her eyes recovered a tall, deep blue alicorn stood before her. “L...Luna?”

Luna frowned, keeping a careful watch on the sobbing pegasus for a few seconds. Eventually, she asked, “Why do you chase her?”

“Because I love her!” Rainbow shouted angrily even as tears continued to flow.

“Love cannot bring her back.”

Rainbow didn't respond. She rubbed fruitlessly at her eyes, trying to wipe away her tears.

Luna sighed, sitting down next to the pegasus and extending a large, midnight blue wing around her shoulders. “Rainbow Dash, listen to me. I know how much you cared for her, but you must accept the fact that she is gone; no amount of love or determination can find her. Hope is a dangerous, powerful thing. It gives ponies strength in the darkest of times, but can also crush their very soul if it is not placed in the right spot.”

“She's alive!” Rainbow snapped, pushing the wing off her back and taking a few steps away. “I don't care what you say; I will find her!”

A fuzzy, static sound filled the air, causing them both to look around at the void. Some of the blackness had faded, and white was beginning to show beneath the nothing.

“You are waking up. Be careful where you place your hope, Rainbow Dash; it could be more painful than accepting Twilight's death.”

The black faded, and with it Luna vanished, leaving Rainbow alone in a white void.

“She's alive!” Rainbow shouted, bolting upright in her bed and slamming into a yellow head.

Fluttershy yelped in pain, jumping back and falling onto her rump as she held a hoof to her forehead.

Rainbow was panting, her heart hammering in her chest as she looked around herself; four of her friends stood around, watching her with a mixture of worry and relief. She shivered, the cold air meeting her sweat-slicked coat. “Girls?” She asked after gaining some control of her breathing.

“Finally!” Applejack cried, pushing her way to the front of the group as Rarity helped Fluttershy to her hooves. “We thought you were in a coma or somethin'!”

“I...” Rainbow trailed off, lifting a hoof to her forehead and pulling back her sweat-drenched mane. “What time is it?”

“Almost 10 o'clock, dear,” Rarity answered. “We figured we'd let you sleep in, but... then you starting calling out in your sleep and we got worried. We've been trying to wake you for a while now.”

Rainbow fell back onto her damp pillow, staring up at the ceiling.

“Are you okay? Fluttershy asked timidly, poking her head up from the end of the bed.

“Yeah... yeah I'm fine; it was just a dream.” Rainbow sighed, crawling out off bed and shrugging off her blanket. “Just a dream...”

“Sounded like one heck of a dream,” Applejack noted. “You uh... you were dreamin' 'bout Twilight, weren't ya?”

“How'd you know?” Rainbow asked accusingly, shooting a glare at the farmer.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Who do ya think you were callin' for?”

“It's nothing to be ashamed of!” Rarity piped up quickly, “I think I speak for everypony when I say you're not the only one that's worried.”

“Worried enough for a visit from Princess Luna,” Rainbow grumbled under her breath, turning and trotting towards the bathroom. “I'm gonna take a shower; you girls should get the next train to Ponyville. I'll be there with Shadow Charm soon.”

“Aw...” Pinkie pouted, “What about breakfast?”

“Eat on the train!” Rainbow snapped, slamming the bathroom door closed. She sighed, holding a hoof to her temple and rubbing in gentle circles. The hotel sat silent for a few moments before the hushed, muffled whispers of her friends could be heard through the walls. No doubt they were talking about her.

Sighing, she opened the door a crack and peaked her head out. “Sorry. Just... thanks for worrying about me, but I'm fine. You girls go ahead and get back to Ponyville; Ill meet you back at the library.”

Pinkie smiled happily. “It's okay Dashie! We'll all find Twilight together; don't you worry!”

“I hope you're right, Pinkie,” Rainbow muttered, closing the door and trotting over the the bathtub. Closing the curtains she turned on the taps and pulled the lever. The pipes groaned quietly as water started flowing out of the shower head, raining down and filling the room with white noise as it hit the porcelain tub. She jumped in, tensing for a moment under the cold water before relaxing as it rapidly warmed up until steam began floating up to the roof.

Rainbow closed her eyes, sighing as she allowed the water to wash away the sweat and grime clinging to her. Even now, she could see her dream so clearly; Twilight's dress, her voice, her smile. Then she was gone, just like that. Rainbow shuddered, clenching her jaw as Luna's words came back to her.

“Love cannot bring her back.”

“I'm not letting her go,” she argued back to the empty bathroom. “I'll never let her go.”

Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, but she forced them back before they could even begin to fall. Rainbow gave one final, drawn out sigh before turning to the bottle of soap.

Thunder Flash groaned quietly, his helmet sitting on the desk next to him and his hoof digging into the bridge of his nose. Between his lips was a quill, worn and mottled with permanent stains of ink from being dropped into the well too many times. With a final flourish, the last document was filled out and signed, ready to be sent off to Canterlot Castle.

“Finally!” He sighed happily, letting his swore jaw hang slack and ignoring the quill as it tumbled to the floor. “Who knew being a guard would mean so much paperwork?”

Glancing down, he eyed the sizable stack of papers in front of him. At least it was finished, and according to the sun, it was just a little before noon. The extra guards had arrived to assist with transport as well as the prison carriage. Everything had been checked and double checked and stamped and authorized. All that was left was to actually get Shadow Charm to Ponyville, a task that would take a chariot at least two hours, if the wind was in their favour.

The clock strung noon right on time, bringing with it a quiet chiming through the guard station. Thunder Flash smiled; his shift was finally over, and that meant whatever paperwork was left would be given to the guard working the next.

As if summoned by the the chimes, the front door was opened and a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail walked in, eyeing the prison carriage sitting outside. It was a boring, bleak thing. A dull grey coloured box on wheels, just big enough to be considered a carriage but smaller than most. The back was made up of a set of double doors, held shut with a large padlock and no doubt multiple levels of enchantments. Windows sat around the top of the walls, filled with bars and no bigger than a pony's head.

“Ah, Rainbow Dash,” Thunder greeted, standing from his desk. “Just in time; all the arrangements have been made, and we were just about to go get Shadow Charm.”

Rainbow looked around uneasily at the noticeable surplus of guards mulling about the front room. “Good.. but uh... are all these guards really needed? I mean, it's just one guy.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Thunder motioned to two of the guards, who nodded and disappeared through the door that lead down into the cells. “I don't make the rules. Oh, and there's somepony here to see you.”

Rainbow frowned. “Who?”

Instead of answering, Thunder raised his hoof and pointed towards the corner of the room towards a small area filled with chairs. The soul inhabitant was a mare Rainbow recognized.

“Fluttershy?” She called, watching as the pegasus in questioned jumped, too lost in her own thoughts to notice Rainbow's entrance.

Fluttershy looked up, smiling as she recognized her friend. Immediately she jumped out of her chair and rushed over. “Rainbow, I-”

“What are you doing here, 'Shy?” Rainbow asked sharply. “I told you and the girls to head back to Ponyville on the train. We're going to be leaving soon!”

“I might not be as fast as you, but I can fly to Ponyville from here,” Fluttershy explained, glancing around cautiously before whispering. “And right now you need a friend.”

Rainbow sighed, rolling her eyes. “Did Rarity put you up to this? I told you guys; I'm fine. As soon as we find Twilight this'll all be over and we can get back to our lives.” She turned away, starting towards the door before being caught by a yellow hoof placed on her shoulder.

“Rarity didn't ask me to do this; I wanted to.” Fluttershy pulled, slowly spinning Rainbow around until they were face to face. “I know you, Rainbow Dash, and if you don't mind me saying so, I also know that you haven't cried since Twilight went missing.”

Huffing irritably, Rainbow sat back on her haunches. “Why would I cry? Twilight's fine, and I'm going to find her; there's nothing to be sad about.”

Fluttershy gave the mare a stern glare. “Your marefriend, the pony you love, and openly admit to loving, has gone missing – probably pony-napped – and you're being told constantly that she's dead,” she deadpanned, leaning forward and wrapping her forelegs around Rainbow's neck. “There's isn't a pony alive who wouldn't cry at that.”

“I'm fine, Fluttershy,” Rainbow muttered, even as she bit her lip. “I just... need to find her...”

Fluttershy's only response was to squeeze tighter.

“I-I... I said I'm...” Rainbow trailed off, clenching her eyes closed. “I don't...”

“Oh, it feels wonderful to finally be out of that cell!”

Rainbow jumped, pulling herself out of Fluttershy's embrace and spinning around to face Shadow Charm, accompanied by two guards on either side. His front hooves were bound together with heavy iron cuffs and a chain, long enough to allow him to walk but short enough that he couldn't do much else. His hind hooves were chained together as well, a little looser than his front hooves. His horn was accessorized with a small, gold ring at the base, partially hidden by his short, slicked-back, black mane.

“Ah, Miss Dash,” he greeted, stooping down in a half-bow. “I see everything went smoothly getting me access to the crime scene.”

“Don't get to comfortable out here,” Rainbow growled. “You get one shot, then it's back where you belong.”

Shadow Charm gave a wan smile. “As long as I get some... permanent company down there soon, I'm okay with that.”

“Let's go,” one of the guards next to him grunted, giving a gentle shove.

“Alas, it it is time I depart. See you again in Ponyville, shall I?” Shadow Charm asked as he was guided out the door.

Rainbow sighed. “You're our only lead,” she called after him. “Don't screw it up!”

“Well, glad to see that's over,” Thunder Flash mentioned casually, coming up beside the two mares. “I'm off duty now, so they're going to be in charge of transporting him. He has until sundown to find something, after that he'll be brought back here.

“For what it's worth,” he added, “I hope he finds something.”

“That makes two of us,” Rainbow muttered. “Thanks for the help.”

Thunder nodded, smiling happily. “Not a problem; it's my job, after all. If you're ever in Canterlot, come find me; I'd like a chance to actually meet Twilight Sparkle. She sounds like a pretty awesome mare.”

“Heh, I'll be sure to tell her all about how you helped when I find her,” Rainbow chuckled, watching out the window as Shadow Charm was loaded into the carriage and two pegasi guards were strapped in. “We should probably get going. Come on, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy sighed quietly, shaking her head as she followed Rainbow Dash out the door. “You're not going to get away from this.”

“I'm fine,” Rainbow grunted. “I'll tell you a million times if I have to.”

“No, you're not fine. What happens if he doesn't find anything?”

For a few moments, Rainbow didn't respond. Eventually she spread her wings. “He will find something,” she growled before taking to the air, the prison carriage not far behind her as she lead the way to Ponyville.

Fluttershy frowned, but stayed quiet as she followed behind the dozen or so guards accompanying the ones pulling the carriage.

“I see them!” Pinkie cried, bouncing excitedly as she pointed a hoof into the air.

Rarity and Applejack grinned, rushing over and looking to where Pinkie was pointing.

“That's a cloud,” Applejack deadpanned.

Pinkie nodded quickly. “But it looks just like them, doesn't it? There's Rainbow Dash.” She motioned to a puff of cloud extending off the main clump. “And that's Fluttershy back there,” Pinkie explained, pointing at a tuft of cloud lagging behind.

“Right... Pinkie dear, could you just tell us when you actually see them, not just something that looks like them?” Rarity asked gently. “Like the tree. Or that flock of crows. Or a... cloud.”

Pinkie gave an over-exaggerated pout. “Aw, but then how are we going to play eye-spy if you girls know what I'm looking at?”

“Consarnit Pinkie, we ain't playing eye-spy. Do you even know why we're here?” Applejack shouted, throwing her hooves out and gesturing at the large tree behind her.

“Well excuse me for trying to lighten the mood a bit,” the pink mare huffed, crossing her forelegs and tilting her nose up into the air. Just as soon as she did, a huge grin exploded onto her face. “I see them!”

Rolling her eyes, Applejack turned away. “Is it a group of butterflies this time?”

“Hi Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie called, waving happily.

Applejack raised a brow, turning and looking to the sky. “Pinkie, there's nothing there.”

“Well duh!” Pinkie exclaimed, grabbing Applejack's head in her hooves and turning it around. “They're over there!”

“Hey girls!” Rainbow called, fanning her wings out and landing gently. Se turned around, watching the carriage align itself with the road and descend until its wheels met the cobblestones. It came to a stop in front of the library, the squad of guards sent with it landing behind it. Fluttershy landed last, skidding to a halt next to Rainbow Dash.

“I see you've brought company,” Rarity noted uneasily, nodding towards the carriage as the guards opened it and unloaded Shadow Charm.

Applejack leveled a glare at him. “I still don't know why you trust him to do this.”

“I'll give the guy a chance,” Rainbow explained. “If anypony wants his sister in jail it's him.”

“Miss Dash?” Shadow Charm called. “Could you come with us? I'll need to ask you a few questions.”

Rainbow nodded. “Come on girls, let's see what we can find. We just need enough evidence to prove Twi's alive, then we can go find her.” She lead the way into the library, flanked by her friends and followed by Shadow Charm, who was in turn followed by the guards. They stepped into the front room and spread out, two guards remaining by the door while the others stationed themselves around the room.

“Alright, get to it,” Rainbow urged impatiently, deliberately looking away from the pile of shards still sitting in the middle of the floor. Though it was noticeably smaller than it had been the previous night.

“I'd love to, really I would, but...” Shadow Charm trailed off, pointing to his horn. When nopony did anything, he sighed. “I can't do a thing without my magic, and I can't use my magic with this damn ring on my horn.”

Rainbow glanced at one of the guards. “Can you take it off?”

The guard she was looking at shook his head firmly. “We cannot allow a prisoner to-”

“Take it off.”

All the guards in the room abruptly snapped to attention as another walked in, covered head to hoof in detailed, elegant armour.

“But Captain Armour,” one of the guards protested, “it goes against-”

“I said take it off,” Shining Armour repeated. “He's not dangerous, and even if he was I'm more than capable of handling him.”

The guard shuffled awkwardly, before eventually saluting. “Sir,” he affirmed, walking over and using his hoof to slide the ring off Shadow Charm's horn.

“Shining,” Rainbow greeted carefully. The stallion smiled at her.

“I told you; I'd do anything to help. You gave me hope for my sister, Rainbow Dash, and if anypony can go through Celestia to prove Twily's alive, then it's you,” Shining explained.

“That's Shining Armour?” Rarity whispered to Applejack. “He's... not what I expected.”

“I know,” Applejack replied, “I was figuring he'd be more... Twilight...”

Shadow Charm cleared his throat, bringing the focus back to him. “There's teleportation residue all over this place, did you try tracing it?”

Shining Armour rolled his eyes. “Of course we didn't; Twilight teleports pretty much everywhere she goes. It'd take weeks to track all of them. Besides, the only magic we found in here was Twilight's, so if she teleported, it was of her own will.”

“Perhaps...” Shadow mumbled, staring intently at the pile of purple shards. “And these shards are-”

“What remains of my student.”

All ponies present gave respectful bows to the newly arrived alicorn standing in the doorway. All except Rainbow Dash, who just grit her teeth. “What are you doing here?” She asked accusingly.

Celestia sighed. “I'm here to do what I should have done from the start; force you to accept the truth. You have dragged not only your friends into your denial, but also the Captain of the Guard and Spike.”

“I'm not in denial!” Rainbow shouted angrily. “And you are not going to stop us from finding the evidence we need.”

“No, I do not intend to stop you,” Celestia explained calmly, ignore Rainbow's angry tone. “I intend to convince you. Mister Charm, surely you've sensed it?”

Shadow Charm fidgeted nervously under the icy gaze of Celestia. Eventually he caved. “Y-yes, your highness, I noticed as soon as I walked in.”

“And you, Captain Armour?”

Hanging his head, Shining nodded hesitantly.

“Rarity?” Celestia called, turning to face said unicorn. “You of all ponies should have felt it.”

“I... yes, I did,” Rarity admitted, taking a step back as Applejack looked at her questioningly.

Rainbow growled. “Will somepony tell me what you're all talking about?”

Celestia nodded, stepping carefully across the room until she came to a stop next to the shards. “Please, come here.”

Rainbow complied, keeping a careful gaze on Celestia as she approached, still looking resolutely away from the pile. “What now?”

“Touch it.”

“What?”

Celestia pointed to the shards. “Touch them, and you'll have all the proof you'll need.”

Raising a curiously doubtful eyebrow, Rainbow lifted a hoof, but was stopped as a white foreleg blocked her.

“With your wing,” Celestia clarified.

Rainbow rolled her eyes but did as asked, extending a wing and laying it across the top of the pile. Instantly she froze, her muscles tensing and her joints locking as her eyes grew wide. “This...”

Celestia's gaze softened. “What do you feel?”

“I...” Rainbow felt like she'd been shocked. She wanted to retract her wing, to take it away and make the feelings she felt stop, but she couldn't. Something held her there, and as her mind raced to understand what it was that she felt, she realized why. “It... it feels like...” Tears gathered in her eyes as she fell to the floor, her wing still grasping the shards.

“It feels like Twilight...”

Thoughts and feelings and memories raced through Rainbow's mind. Tingles like static shocks lanced through her wing as it rested atop the purple shards, bringing with them more and more painful thoughts. Everything that she could feel, everything that she could sense, reminded her of Twilight. Her mind was awash with purple colours and the scent of Twilight's lilac shampoo. Twilight's voice rang in her ears and memories forced themselves to the forefront of Rainbow's thoughts. Memories of Twilight, of being happy with Twilight, of being mad at Twilight. If it was about Twilight, it was remembered or thought.

The damn finally broke and tears flowed freely down Rainbow's cheeks as a second wing joined the first on the pile. Slowly she curled in on herself, hugging the shards as though they were actually Twilight. Sobs wracked her body as she cried openly on the floor. Her entire world was Twilight, and everything about Twilight reminded her that the unicorn was gone. Fluttershy quickly rushed over, wrapping Rainbow in her hooves even as the rest of their friends stood still, too stunned to do anything.

“What you feel is magic.” Celestia's voice said, powerful enough to pierce the almost overwhelming feelings. “Those shards are made from Twilight's magic in its purest form. Everything she ever was or ever could have been is contained within that magic. This is how I know she is dead.”

Applejack watched with wide eyes as Rainbow Dash broke down in front of her. Slowly, fearfully, she turned to Shadow Charm. “What's she talking about?”

Shadow Charm bit his lip. “It's... difficult to explain. For now all you need to know is that those shards are made from Twilight's own magic.”

“That is what the Glass Statue curse does,” Celestia lectured, turning away from Rainbow and facing the rest of her friends. “As soon as the enchanted object comes into contact with the target's magic, it traces that path back to the source, and crystallizes it. A pony has magic flowing through their entire body, and as such everything is turned to magical energy and solidified.

“That's also why we have not bothered to remove the shards, and why they are getting smaller; magic was never meant to be a solid, and it is slowly turning back into its natural state. What Rainbow Dash is feeling right now is pure, unfiltered magic. Since it's Twilight's magic, it brings forth emotions and memories closely linked to her.”

“That's also what you and I felt, Rarity,” Shadow Charm added. “As the magic returns to its natural state it has filled this room, and we unicorns can feel it if the concentration is high enough. Rainbow Dash needed to touch it with her wing because for pegasi their external magic conduits are their feathers. If she were to touch it with her hoof she'd feel nothing, but an earth pony would.”

Applejack swallowed a nervous lump in her throat. “So... what you're saying is-”

“She's dead!” Rainbow's devastated cry answered Applejack's unasked questioned. “She's gone... there's nothing we can do!” She continued to sob, her tears soaking into the shards as she desperately clutched at them. “I failed her... I... I...”

Shadow Charm clenched his eyes shut against the heart wrenching wails. “I am truly sorry,” he whispered. “There's nothing I can do.”

“There has to be somethin'!” Applejack argued. “It's a fake! A copy! It's ain't Twilight!”

“You cannot fake another pony's magic,” Celestia insisted. “I know it is hard, but you must accept the truth.”

Suddenly, Shadow Charm's eyes grew wide. “No... you can't fake another's magic... but if you had a sample of their magic...” he trailed off, muttering to himself under his breath. “The orb!”

“Beg pardon?” Applejack tilted her head.

“The orb,” Shadow Charm repeated. “After Miss Dash and Miss Sparkle escaped, my sister insisted we clean the place to get rid of any evidence, and we found the orb!”

Celestia frowned. “What orb?”

Shadow Charm started pacing furiously, all eyes glued to him. Even Rainbow Dash turned to watch him through her blurry vision as she hiccoughed and sniffled. “Miss Sparkle extracted my magical essence from the enchantment I placed on the necklace to frame Miss Dash. But left on its own, it would have dissipated, so she encased it in a sphere of her own solidified magic!

“Neon took the orb, but then we were captured! I don't know what happened to it, but if she found it again after she escaped, she'd have had a sizable sample of Twilight's magic!”

Applejack groaned irritably. “How does that help us?”

“Another pony's magic cannot be faked,” Celestia said, her eyes staring off into and endless distance. “But if they had a sample, they could synthesize it with their own, and use Twilight's to mask their magic as hers. Depending on how much of Twilight's magic they had, they could easily make enough to create a duplicate...”

“That's also why there's no trace of a teleport spell other than Twilight's own; they could have used the same technique to mask their magic teleporting her!” Shadow Charm shouted victoriously. He rushed over to Rainbow.

“Rainbow Dash, listen to me,” he commanded sharply. “I need you to think, I have a theory, but we can prove it. Was Twilight wearing anything when this happened? Pyjamas or socks? Even a hat or ear rings?”

Rainbow shook her head slowly, sniffling weakly but still refusing to let go of the shards. “No... no Twilight didn't wear anything like that, not usually.”

“Think!” Shadow Charm pressured. “We can prove that she's alive. Did she have her saddlebags on?”

“No... no she-” Rainbow paused, teary eyes growing wide as a silver glinting at the bottom of her vision caught her attention. “She was wearing something. I... I got her a necklace for her birthday, and she was wearing that when she disappeared. But what does that-”

Celestia lit her horn, her lips pressed into a neutral line as she forcefully removed Rainbow Dash from the pile, taking Fluttershy with her over to where their friends were sitting.

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted, struggling in the air. “I was-”

“She's alive!”

Everypony stared at Celestia, grinning like a maniac as tears poured down her cheeks. “Twilight Sparkle is alive!”

Rarity blinked as Shadow Charm cried out victoriously, sharing Celestia's grin. “I can't be the only one confused, can I?”

“Nope...” Applejack agreed.

“I got no idea,” Pinkie added with a shrug.

“It's simple!” Shadow Charm shouted excitedly. “If it was the Glass Statue curse, then anything not... well, Twilight, would have just fallen into the pile of shards! But she was wearing her necklace, and it's not here!”

“Which means,” Celestia started, completely dropping her calm facade as she smiled widely. “It was a teleportation spell! That would have taken Twilight and anything she was wearing!”

Rainbow cleared her nose with a loud sniffle. “You're saying-”

“You were right!” Shadow Charm cheered. “You were right, and now that we know what happened it'll be easy to trace the teleport spell!”

Celestia coughed into her hoof, still smiling as she wiped her relieved tears away. She turned, facing the five mares. “I believe an apology is in order,” she said slowly, bowing her head down. “I was too hasty in my judgement, and as a result failed to question deep enough into this case. If it weren't for you, I'd likely never know the truth.”

Rainbow rubbed at her own eyes. “Hope's a dangerous thing, remember?”

“I... am truly sorry, Rainbow Dash. When you live the life I do, it is painful enough to see ponies grow old and die, when you hope for their survival-”

“It can hurt even more than accepting the death,” Rainbow finished.

Celestia gave a small smile. “I see I am not the only one Luna has spoken to on the subject of hope.”

“And here I thought you put her up to it,” Rainbow chuckled weakly.

“Though for me it was many thousands of years ago,” Celestia admitted. She shared a genuine smile with Rainbow before turning to the nearest guard. “I want a squad of unicorn guards down here immediately, along with all the equipment needed to trace teleportation spells.”

The guard saluted and ran out the door, taking to the air moments later and flying towards Canterlot. Shining Armour came out of nowhere and tackled Rainbow Dash into a fierce hug, squeezing her against his armour.

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” he whispered, small rivulets of liquid rolling down his face. “If you hadn't done this, I don't know what I'd have done.”

Rainbow chuckled awkwardly in the embrace. “Heh, no problem. We're not done yet though; Twi's still missing, and we need to find her.”

Celestia nodded in agreement. “Yes. As soon as the equipment gets here we shall start tracing every teleport spell cast in this room until we find the one that isn't Twilight's.”

Just as Rainbow finally wriggled out of Shining's embrace, she was tackled by her four friends into a group hug, all of them shedding relieved tears. “She might be missing,” Rarity started.

“But she's alive,” Rarity finished. Even Pinkie remained unusually quite as gentle tears sprang from her eyes.

“She's alive!” rainbow cried, holding her necklace close to her chest. “I'm comin' for ya, Twi.” she whispered. “Just a little longer; I'll be there soon.”

Author's Note

Wow, fast update this time!

I'm really happy with how this all turned out, especially the opening scene. No, I didn't forget about Spike; he'll be in the next chapter.

So, for those of you who remember the glass orb from Cheated Dreams, good on you; it played a major factor. Now all they need to do is trace the teleport spell and find Twilight, right?

Right?

...

Mwahahaha.

Blah blah blah, comments are nice as well as the mistakes I missed.

Also, big news for this story; I HAVE COVER ART. IT'S BUCKING AMAZING. All the information for the artist can be found in the description, and I highly recommend checking her stuff out. She doesn't have much out right now, but for the next little while she's going to be doing covers for my fics to get some of her art out there. So again, go check out her DA page, link's int he description. The style's amazing and I personally can't wait to see what else she does.

5. Midnight Meetings

Missing Dreams
Chapter 5
Midnight Meetings

The sun was approaching the horizon as a squad of golden armour-clad pegasus guards descended upon Ponyville, bringing with them chariots filled with a dozen unicorn guards as well as an extra chariot full of equipment that made sense only to those who knew how to use it. The pile of purple shards had been quickly cleared away to prevent any unnecessary magical contamination, and the unicorn guards had spread out around the library, each with their brow tightly furrowed in concentration and horn glowing. One by one, they looked up to their leader and shook their head, who would mark an X on a quickly-drawn floor plan of the front room before nodding at them and pointing out another spot to check.

Rainbow sat with her five friends and Shadow Charm off to the side where they would be out of the way, but every time a guard shook their head the nervous, impatient ball in the pit of all their stomachs grew. As yet another guard opened their eyes and looked to to his captain, Rainbow held her breath and waited for his answer.

“Sorry, sir,” he said, standing straight. “Not this one either.”

The officer nodded solemnly, marking an X on the map and moving on.

“Oh come on!” Rainbow shouted, jumping to her hooves. “She was standing right there! How can you not have found it!?”

Shadow Charm placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder. “It's not that simple,” he said slowly, guiding her back onto her haunches. “When a pony teleports, they are surrounded in a layer of magic, which they use as a pattern to make a mold of themselves in the place they want to teleport to. When they teleport, it's almost like and explosion, and the magical coating pops and flies everywhere. The residue is still linked to the other side, but it's been scattered around the room, and finding one specific spell amongst a large cloud like the one filling the library is, while not impossible, very difficult. Not to mention incredibly time consuming.”

Rainbow blinked at him, before sighing. “I only understood half of that, but fine. What's with the weird beeping thing though?” She asked, motioning to a rather large metal device sitting on the table in the middle of the room. It was a simple metal box, on one side it had a control panel with various switches and levers, and on the top it had a single light bulb, though it didn't appear to be on. Every couple seconds it would emit a quiet, high-pitched beep.

“That's...” Shadow Charm frowned at the machine. “Complicated. I don't fully understand it myself, but what I can tell you is that it makes it so the unicorns can actually see the teleportation residue.”

Rainbow huffed, crossing her forelegs. “Well if they can see it then what's the big deal!? Just look for the right one and then bam!” She smacked her hooves together for emphasis.

“Please, be patient,” Celestia's infinitely soothing voice called, the alicorn herself descending the stairs from the upper floor, Shining Armour following close behind. “We will find her, but it will take time.”

Ignoring the advice and rolling her eyes, Rainbow's ear twitched as she heard another negative result called out. She sighed, hanging her head slightly and looking up at the Princess. “What were you two doing up there, anyway? You could've been helping!”

Celestia shook her head slowly, but didn't press the issue. “We were just discussing something, and I've made a decision. Shadow Charm?”

The grey stallion bowed politely. “Yes, your highness?”

“Tell me, how long have you been sentenced to prison?”

Shadow Charm jolted at the question, looking up hesitantly to the alicorn now towering over him. “T-twenty-five to life, Princess.”

Celestia nodded, walking deliberately slowly across the the room before coming to a stop in front of the stooped unicorn. “Tell me: In light of recent events, do you believe you deserve to have this sentence removed?”

“I...” He trailed off, looking resolutely at the ground. Glancing up breifly at Celestia, he quickly looked over to Rainbow Dash. Sighing, he shook his head. “No, I don't; I did a terrible thing, and I wouldn't be able to live myself if I went unpunished for it, no matter what I did here today.”

“A sentiment you and I share,” Celestia noted with a smile. “However, you have shown in more ways than one that you regret what you did, and you have made many steps in the right direction. Because of your help, we have been able to confirm that my student is alive, and have made progress towards finding her, I have seen fit to reward your efforts. By royal decree, your sentence is hereby reduced to ten years.”

Shadow Charm bit his lip, tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. “Thank you, Princess,” he whispered, finally standing up and looking Celestia in the eye.

“If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?” Celestia asked curiously, motioning for Shining Armour to join in the search for the correct spell as another negative result was called out.

“36, ma'am.”

Celestia frowned. “Forgive me for the intrusion, but you're not married? No children? No marefriend, even?”

Shadow Charm shook his head. “No, I've... my sister always-”

“Then do yourself a favour; by time you get out of jail, your sister will be behind bars – permanently. Go find yourself a nice mare to settle down with, and never let Neon Lightning control your life again.”

“I will,” Shadow Charm affirmed with a smile. “I'm finally free from her, and I'll never let her get to me.”

Celestia returned a small smile of her own. “I'll make sure the guards keep you updated on the search for her, and if you'd like, you can pick out her cell.”

Shadow Charm grinned. “The one right next to mine so I can watch her rot, then wave goodbye when I'm released.”

“I got one!”

Everypony turned to look at the guard who had shouted. “Where's it lead?” Shining asked sharply, hurrying over to his position at the bottom of the stairs.

The guard shook his head. “I can't tell; it's too far for me to trace on my own.”

“Maps, I need maps!” Shining yelled, whirling around and searching the room until his eyes landed on the group of ponies sitting by the door. “Rainbow Dash, you must have been here often; where did Twilight keep her maps?”

Rainbow blinked. “Uh...”

“In the basement. Down the stairs, filing cabinet on the right. Top drawer. I should know; I had to sort them often enough.”

“Thanks Spike!” Shining called, rushing towards the basement door. As he reached for the handle he stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the dragon who was currently standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. “Spike?”

“Thanks for letting me know you guys were here,” he deadpanned, shooting a venomous glare at Rainbow Dash. “I've been waiting at Rarity's all day. You said you'd let me know when you got back.”

Rainbow scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “I... uh...”

“I wanted to come looking for you guys,” Spike continued, ignoring Rainbow's attempted excuse. “But you know how those three fillies are when they're alone.”

“Wait, if you didn't want to leave them alone then why-”

“What's with all the guards?”

“Is my sister in there?”

“Did something happen?”

Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle all came pouring in through the doorway, trampling the dragon unfortunate enough to still be standing there.

“Whoa!” Scootaloo exclaimed, freezing in place and looking up. “Princess Celestia! What are you doing here?”

Celestia raised an eyebrow at the filly. “Didn't anypony tell you three what happened?”

All three crusaders shook their heads. “No,” Applebloom started, “Spike just kept sayin' to wait for my sister and her friends to get back.”

Shooting a stern look at Spike, Celestia stood. “Then it's time you're filled in on the details. Come with me, little ones,” she beckoned, encircling them with a large wing and guiding them to the kitchen. Just before the door closed behind her, she looked back over her shoulder. “Once you have a location, come get me.”

Shining Armour nodded before resuming his search for a map, running down to the basement. Rainbow and the rest of her friends turned to look guiltily at Spike. “S-sorry,” Rainbow muttered. “We were... kinda busy...”

Spike's glare didn't relent for a second. “Too busy to come tell me whether or not my own sister is dead?”

“She's not!” Rainbow offered quickly. “We're just trying to find where she is.”

“I figured,” Spike deadpanned, motioning to the metal box on the table. “It's not the first time I've seen one of those;Twilight helped design it, after all. I carried enough books on the stuff I think I got a little bit of it through osmosis.”

Rainbow tilted her head. “Osmo-what?”

“Never mind,” Spike grunted. “At least we know she was teleported away, which means there's a good chance she's okay.”

Shining burst through from the basement door, carrying in his magical grasp four large, rolled-up maps. “Where was it?” He demanded, scanning the room until his eyes landed on a guard waving at him. He hurried over, taking the maps and spreading them out across the floor. Each one mapped out a different part of Equestria.

“Who here's capable of preforming scrying spells?” He called. Most of the unicorn guards in the room raised their hooves. He pointed at the one closest to him. “You, prepare these maps for the tracing spell.”

The guard he had selected nodded and came over, lighting his horn. After a few moments of concentration, the guard let the spell go. Four flashes ensured all four maps had a gentle white glow surrounding them, pulsing steadily. “They're ready, sir,” the guard said, taking a step back.

Shining nodded, lighting his own horn. He closed his eyes, eyebrows furrowing as he focused on the spell. Silence trailed on for a few seconds before he turned to one of the maps and leaned down, touching his horn to the surface. A ring of light flashed out from the point of contact, sweeping over the entire map before reaching the edge. It came back in and centred around on Shining's horn.

“Not that one,” he muttered, sliding it away and turning to the next map. He repeated the process and was again met with the same result.

Rainbow Dash frowned as the second map was pushed away, and it deepened as the third one was tossed aside. She watched carefully as the fourth and final map was touched. Again the ring of light spread out over the map, and again it reached the edge before closing back in. This time, instead of centring on Shining's horn, it shifted, centring instead somewhere on the far right of the map.

“Found it!” Shining cried triumphantly, withdrawing his head and bringing forth a quill, quickly marking the spot before the ring of light faded. “Looks like she was teleported out west somewhere, past Canterlot. Not quite as far as the Gryphon Kingdom though.

Letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, Rainbow walked over and examined the map. “Well then let's go get her.”

Shining held a hoof up between Rainbow and the map. “It's not that easy. We have no idea what to expect from these ponies; we need to prepare. It'll take half a day for a squad of guards to get out there from Canterlot, and for all we know we could be walking into a trap.”

“Who cares!?” Rainbow shouted angrily, flailing her hooves at the spot marked. “We know where she is! I could get out there in a couple hours. Even if it is a trap, I'd like to see them try and stop me.”

“It will not be that simple,” a regally calm voice reminded. Rainbow turned, icy glare meeting with Celestia's own blank expression. “Whoever did this has resources; a unicorn powerful enough to craft the enchantment used on Twilight and disguise it almost perfectly as the Glass Statue curse. Beyond that even, we know, should it be the same pony or group who hired Neon Lightning, they are after you, Rainbow Dash; not Twilight.”

Rainbow's eyes narrowed. “Are you saying they're using Twilight to get to me?”

“I believe so,” Celestia affirmed with a solemn nod. “I don't know what their end goal is, but I know my student was most likely not the original target.”

Gritting her teeth, Rainbow stamped a hoof against the floor, venting only a small portion of the rage boiling in her blood. “Those... those... Argh! I can't believe this!”

“Um... if I may?” Shadow Charm offered hesitantly. “From what little information Neon gave me, she was hired to keep Miss Dash out of the Wonderbolts. Perhaps they are trying to accomplish this feat through different means?”

Celestia hummed quietly in thought. “Perhaps, though Neon said that her employer wanted Rainbow Dash to suffer. It sounds personal. Perhaps they intended to use Twilight as leverage?”

“How!?” Rainbow shouted. “They tried to make me think she was dead! How could they use that as leverage?”

“When a pony grieves, they go through five easily identifiable stages; denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and acceptance. If these ponies were to tell you that they had Twilight while you were in the bargaining phase, you'd likely do whatever they said in exchange for Twilight back,” Celestia explained slowly.

Rainbow growled. “Like I'd really be so desperate or gullible...”

“You never know how grief might affect you until you experience it. Though do you honestly mean to tell me you wouldn't do anything in your power to get Twilight back?”

“I...” Rainbow trailed off, pawing at the ground guiltily.

“But that is besides the point,” Celestia continued smoothly. “For now we are one step ahead of them, and we must use this to our advantage. Tonight we shall ready a squad of guards and leave tomorrow at first light. We'll bring only our fastest fliers.”

“Why can't we leave tonight?” Rainbow demanded. “We have guards here; we'll take them!”

Celestia frowned, eyeing Rainbow carefully as the pegasus took an aggressive stance. “I understand how you feel, but this is not something we can rush into headfirst; we need to plan and be careful. As soon as I lower the sun we will send out a small reconnaissance group. Tonight we will form a plan.”

“It's okay, Rainbow,” Shining Armour said calmly. “We'll get her back, we just need a little more time to prepare.”

Rainbow huffed, rolling her eyes. “I can see why she never mentioned you; what kind of brother do you call yourself, sitting here doing nothing while your own sister is being held against her will?”

Shining's face darkened suddenly as he took a slow breath. “Do not talk about things you do not fully understand.”

“And why shouldn’t I?” Rainbow yelled, taking a step toward the armoured stallion. “You call yourself a brother, and yet all you do is sit around and let other ponies do the work to find Twilight. I may not know what you two were arguing about, but I know Twilight was right.”

“Don't you think I know that!?” Shining snapped angrily. “I regret what I said every day; I've tried to apologize more times than I can count. My sister still won't talk to me and it's been almost two years! I made a mistake, and ever since then I have been paying the price. Even though my own sister refuses to talk to me, even though she has never responded to any of my letters, I am still doing everything within my power to help her, because no matter what happens she is still my sister, and I still love her, even if she doesn't think of me as a brother anymore.”

“Then prove it!” Rainbow raged, wings flaring wide out and sending out a gust of wind. “Prove that you still love her; get her back, no matter what stands in your way you have to get her back!”

“Enough!” Celestia's voice boomed as she forcefully stepped between the two arguing ponies, spreading her wings and pushing them apart. “The decision has been made; we will wait until morning to send a squad of guards, and until then we will wait on our scouts to return with the information we need to plan a tactical strike.

“Until then,” she continued, lighting her horn and snapping Rainbows muzzle shut. “You two will be civil; there are foals present, and they are acting more mature than you two. Shining Armour will accompany me back to Canterlot, as will all our guards. I've already sent word back to get a small group ready to be sent out to scout. As soon as they return we will work on a plan. Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Elements will remain here in Ponyville. I'll send a chariot to pick you up and bring you with us. Understood?”

Shining hesitated a moment before nodding his head, looking at the ground in shame as Celestia switched her piercing gaze to Rainbow. “I know how you feel, Rainbow Dash,” she said quietly. “We all know you can fly much faster than any scouts I send out, but you need to be patient.”

Rainbow glared at the alicorn holding her back, but eventually nodded as Celestia' magic released her muzzle.

“Good. Now, guards; return to Canterlot, and bring Shadow Charm back to his cell. I'll do the paperwork for his reduced sentence at a later date,” Celestia instructed, walking over to the door. She paused, looking back over her shoulder. “Oh, and Rainbow? Don't do anything Twilight wouldn't do.”

With that Celestia trotted swiftly out the door, followed by all the guards in the room, taking with them their machine and Shadow Charm. In just a few short moments the room emptied out, leaving just Rainbow Dash, her five friends, and Spike. A few tense moments of silence passed, before finally Applejack broke it by clearing her throat.

“Yes... well,” Rarity started slowly, glancing around the room. Rainbow seemed oblivious to her friends; just staring at the door through which Celestia had left. “That's a relief.”

Rainbow's ear twitched, and within seconds she was in Rarity's face. “That's a relief to you? Twi's being held captive somewhere, and you're relieved!?”

“Whoa, calm down Sugarcube,” Applejack urged, stepping forward. “That ain't what she's sayin'. All she means is that we need to take the victories as they come, right Rare's?”

Rarity nodded. “I didn't mean anything by it, I assure you. It's just good to know for sure that she's alive.”

“You....” Rainbow held her ground, glaring at Rarity for a few more seconds before finally taking a step back. She paused, falling back on her haunches and sitting silently for a few moments. Eventually the silence ended with a long-winded sigh. “I'm sorry. I'm just...”

“A little stressed? Rarity offered with a kind smile. “I understand. But I do believe the Princess is right; we should wait, else we may walk straight into a trap.”

“Is... is it safe to come out?” A timid voice called from the kitchen, a white face peering uneasily through the door, opened just a crack.

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity cried, rushing over and opening the door. “Oh girls, I'm so sorry! With everything that happened I didn't even think before going to Canterlot and I just-”

Sweetie smiled up at her sister. “It's okay; Princess Celestia explained what happened. If one if my friends went missing, I'd probably go after her as soon as I could, too.”

“Me too!” Applebloom chorused.

“Me three!” Scootaloo agreed.

“Me four!” Pinkie giggled happily.

Rainbow glanced out the window, noting the position of the sun as it neared the horizon. “It's probably time you girls head home; we have a big day tomorrow, after all. We're finally going to get Twilight back.”

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked quietly. “I could stay with you. I mean, if you wanted me to...”

“No... you should go check on your animals. That goes for all of you; I don't want anypony falling asleep tomorrow when we rescue Twi.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you don't want any company?”

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow started leading the group to the front door. “I'm sure. I'm gonna have Spike here with me anyway.”

“Whoa, you mean you're staying here?” Pinkie asked excitedly. “That's, like, super romantic!”

“Knock it off, Pinkie. Oh, and would you mind taking Scoot's home? She lives a few houses down from the bakery.”

“Right-o Dashie!” Pinkie affirmed with an over-exaggerated salute, bouncing over to the orange pegasus filly. “Let's go Scooty!” Without waiting for an answer she scooped the filly onto her back and hopped out the door. Scootaloo's surprised shriek echoed through the streets as she was whisked away.

“Well then, if you're sure, I bid you goodnight, Rainbow Dash. We'll come back here bright and early to meet the guards,” Rarity said, ushering Sweetie out the door as she made her own exit, followed closely by Applejack and her sister. Fluttershy left last, glancing over her shoulder regularly and watching as Rainbow waved from the doorway. When she turned a corner down the street, Rainbow slammed the door shut, turning and coming face to face with Spike, his arms crossed.

“I noticed it too, ya know,” he deadpanned.

Rainbow shifted awkwardly, averting her eyes. “What did you notice?”

Shaking his head, Spike walked away and picked a sheet of paper up off the table, throwing it down in front of Rainbow. “This. I know you saw it and that's why you wanted them out.”

“I... fine. I saw it,” Rainbow admitted. “But you heard what she said!”

“I did... which is why I'm not going to stop you. Just... be safe, okay? And bring her home safe too.”

Rainbow nodded, taking the map off the floor and double checking where Celestia had marked it. “You can count on me. I won't do anything Twilight wouldn't do.”

“And she certainly wouldn't sit idly by while her marefriend was being held captive somewhere,” Spike said sadly, watching as Rainbow rolled up the map. “You need a compass or anything?”

“No, I'll manage. If I'm not back before the guards get here, tell them where I went. I don't know what to expect but... Twi's worth it.”

Spike nodded, walking over to a closet and rummaging through it for a few moments before extracting a pair of saddlebags. “While you were talking I packed you a bag. Everything you'll need is in here. I even got you that tacky spy getup Twilight used to sneak into the Canterlot archives.”

Chuckling, Rainbow accepted the bags, tucking her map into them and throwing them over her shoulders. “I can see why Twi calls you her number one assistant.”

“Yeah...” he trailed off, glancing out the window for a moment. “No use asking to come with you, is there?”

“Nope.”

Spike sighed “Didn't thing so. Well... if you want to get there before Celestia's scouts you'll want to leave pretty soon. I'll see you back here before dawn. With Twilight.”

Rainbow smiled, trotting over and opening the front door. She held her necklace up against her chest, taking a few deep breaths, before looking back with a cocky grin. “There's no way I'm coming back without her.”

The sun had disappeared the horizon, giving way to the full, silver moon as Rainbow Dash sped over the barren plains of western Equestria. The occasional homestead could be seen sitting by a farm or orchard, but for the most part the land was nothing but flat, grassy fields. The last town had been passed some time ago, and the only other settlements out here wold be in the Gryphon Kingdom. Double checking the moon to ensure she was still flying the right direction, Rainbow reached back into her saddlebags and pulled out the map, unfurling it and scanning for any landmarks.

“There's nothing out here!” She shouted, looking out over the darkened landscape. According to the map, she should be right next to the place Twilight had been teleported to, but there was nothing. Her wings were sore from the long flight that was looking more and more like it would turn out to be a fruitless effort.

“Where are you hiding?” Rainbow asked, descending until she was just barely higher than the ground and starting to fly in circles, each one getting a little bit wider. After nearly a dozen circles, she spotted something; a tiny, rundown shack, sitting atop a small hill. It was the only building within miles of the marking on the map.

Landing quietly in front of it, Rainbow examined it carefully; the windows were boarded up, blocking any view of the inside, but there was no light coming from within. If she didn't know any better, she'd say there was nopony there. But she did know better; this was where they had taken Twilight. The house couldn't have had more than three rooms, and even those would have been smaller than even the smallest houses in Ponyville.

Walking up to the door, Rainbow leaned in slowly and put her ear up against the rotting wood.

Silence.

Curiously, carefully, she raised her hoof and tapped it against the wood. Three gentle thuds sounded out into the quiet night. Again she listened, holding her breath and slowing her racing heart.

Still, there was silence.

She reached up and slowly turned the knob, swinging the door open with a deafening screech. When it was half way open she stopped, peering into the darkened front room. What little moonlight managed to get in through the doorway illuminated a small living room to her left and an attached kitchen to her right. Two doors sat on the far wall, but the specifics of the room were bathed in inky blackness.

Mustering her courage, she flung the door open all the way and stepped inside. Still, no sound came from the house, and nothing moved. Rainbow reached back into her saddlebags, pulling out a self-lighting candle. She brought it forward with a wing and bit the tab attached to the wick, ripping it off like one would pull the pin of a grenade. The paper sparked, setting the paraffin-soaked wick on fire. The candle cast a dull orange light into the room, making the shadows dance with the small flame as a gentle breeze blew into the house.

“Hello?” Rainbow called, taking a single step into the seemingly abandoned building. She scanned the walls, illuminated by the flickering candle light, for some sign of recent activity. Everything seemed to move, and every time she caught sight of something she'd jump to face it, her heart beating just a little bit harder every time.

Suddenly, there was a noise. A quiet noise. A quiet noise that was usually louder, at least when Rainbow heard it. But this time, it was different from all the other times; it was slow, methodical, sarcastic.

“Well done,” a voice called, their slow clapping continuing to echo around the room. “It only took you, what? 24 hours?”

Rainbow grit her teeth. It was a voice she knew well. “Get out here you coward!” She shouted, swinging her candle around to try and spot the other pony. “I know you're in here! What did you do to Twilight!?”

“Twilight?” Neon Lightning's voice repeated, thoughtful sounding. “I'm sorry, I don't know anypony by that name.”

In the darkness, there was movement. Rainbow turned to face it in time to see one of the doors open, revealing a shaded figured. “Where is she!?” Rainbow yelled, taking an aggressive stance towards the other pony in the house.

Neon's toothy smile shone through the darkness. “Wouldn't you like to know? I'm afraid she's long gone.”

“You're lying!” Rainbow snapped. “We found out about your little spell; we know she was teleported here!”

Scoffing, Neon stepped froward from the shadowed doorway. “As if we'd be stupid enough to keep her where that spell lead.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Well, after your little.. escape trick last time,” Neon said, her jaw clenching almost imperceptibly. “I've been... demoted, shall we say; I'm merely a messenger, and you know the old saying.”

Rainbow's eyes narrowed. “If you're the messenger, then what's the message?”

Neon smiled. “Aw, what would be the fun in just telling you? No, I think I'm going to make you work for it.” As Neon laughed, a glint caught Rainbow's attention. She focused on it, her blood boiling as she recognized what it was. The pegasus caught her glare. “See something you like?” She asked, lifting up her necklace in a hoof.

“I'm quite fond of it, myself,” she continued when Rainbow didn't speak. Instead the cyan mare's jaw was clenched shut with barely contained rage. “She fought so hard to keep it... but in the end, there's not much she can do without her magic. Kind of pathetic, really. Then again, what would you be without your wings?”

“What did you just say!?” Rainbow demanded harshly.

Neon rolled her eyes. “Oh don't be so dramatic; all we did was cut her horn off.”

With a scream of rage Rainbow jumped, dropping her candle to the floor where the flame died and flying head-first at Neon. The pegasus just stepped to the side, allowing Rainbow to crash into the back room, landing against the baseboard of a bed.

“You're so gullible!” Neon laughed, peering into the room. “No; if I had my way that little nuisance would've been without a horn a long time ago. Unfortunately my employer sees things differently, so shes' unharmed. For now. You should have heard how she begged, though. How she cried when I took this,” she said, once again holding Twilight's necklace in her hoof. “She kept screaming about how you were going to kill me. Kept saying you would come find her, come save her. Of course, that silly notion was lost quickly...”

Rainbow bit her lip, forcing back bitter, angry tears as she pulled herself back up to her hooves. “What do you want from me?”

“Aw, what, didn't enjoy my joke? I thought you were Ponyville's premier prankster!” Neon mocked with an over exaggerated pout. When Rainbow didn't take the bait, she sighed. “Fine, be boring then. Here's the deal; we have your precious little marefriend, and unless you do as I say, you're never go to see her again, clear?”

“What do you want?” Rainbow repeated tersely.

“You have one week to drop out of the Wonderbolts,” Neon deadpanned, her ever-present smile fading. “If we don't see it in the papers by Sunday, Twilight will be as good as dead. Don't even think about telling anypony; if you so much as imply something about our little agreement to somepony, the deal's off, and we'll take Twilight somewhere you'll never find her.”

Rainbow ground her teeth together. “Why should I believe you? I have the Princess on my side; you are nothing compared to her.”

“As if the Princess can do anything,” Neon chuckled sarcastically. “How do you think I knew you'd come here? We have ponies watching you and your friends. The moment we think you've tipped somepony off, you'll never see us again.”

“You little-”

“I wonder if she'd scream...” Neon mused, ignoring Rainbow's half-formed insult and admiring her necklace. “If we actually did cut off her horn, I mean. I don't know much about unicorn horns, but I'd imagine they're quite sensitive.” A malicious grin flickered across her muzzle. “I suppose you'd know, wouldn't you? I've always wondered; how is she? You'd think a unicorn could do some pretty freaky stuff in bed... think I could force her to show me?”

“Don't you dare lay a hoof on her!” Rainbow screamed, once again launching herself at the taunting pegasus. This time Neon couldn't dodge in time as Rainbow's head rammed into her chest and sent them both tumbling into the front room. Rainbow landed on top, panting and glaring down at her grinning captive.

“What's the matter, Dashie?” Neon asked sweetly. “Protective of our marefriend? She's stopped waiting for you, you know. She's given up on you ever finding her. Now she just mopes in her little cage, eyes dull and lifeless as we-”

Neon was silenced as Rainbow's hoof came down across her face, smashing into her cheek and snapping her head to the side. The strike was accompanied by a scream of rage, which was followed by another, then another. Just before she could land the fourth punch, Neon flared her wings out against the ground and pushed herself up, flinging Rainbow off.

“Enough; anymore and you'll never see Twilight again,” Neon snapped, running a hoof across her muzzle and collecting the blood dripping from her nose. “Ha, you couldn't even break my nose. That tough mare persona is all a front; you're just a scared little foal in a grown-up's skin.”

Rainbow seethed, chest heaving as she forced herself to hold back. “You've delivered you're message, Miss Messenger; get lost.”

Neon's eye twitched. “No, I don't think I will. You know I used to have ponies lining up to hire me, but ever since my little... oversight with you two business has tried up. Ponies are saying that I'm weak, that I've lost my touch. I'm going to prove to them, and to you, that I am not a mare to be crossed.”

“You're so threatening,” Rainbow muttered. “You're boss doesn't want anypony to get hurt, so go on; run on home.”

Neon opened her mouth, but paused. She shook her head, chuckling. “I think you're mistaken, on two accounts. One is that you can't anger me; I have been in this business far too long to fall into such petty tactics. Two is that my employer only wishes for you to be alive without any permanent damage; he wouldn't care if I did something to you, as long as it won't cripple you.”

“Fine, have it your way. But mark my words; you will never get away with this. I don't know how, but I will stop you. I will keep my place in the Wonderbolts and I will get Twilight back,” Rainbow threatened with the most convincing voice she could muster.

Laughing, Neon Lightning just turned and trotted to the front door. “As if; I'm afraid we're much too intelligent for the likes of you to outsmart us. Remember, little pony; one week. If it's not in the papers then... well, I guess we know where your loyalties lie.” With that she jumped into the air, flying away into the dark of night. Rainbow watched her silhouette disappeared into the black backdrop of the sky.

Unfurling her wing, Rainbow watched as a small silver star with a purple gem in the centre fell out, dangling by a broken chain wrapped in her primaries. She looked at the pendant, a mixture of pain and relief across her face. Twilight was alive, and for now she was safe. But she wouldn't be if Rainbow didn't hold up her end of the deal, and that was something she wasn't sure she could do.

Rainbow reached over and slid Twilight's necklace off its broken chain, taking off her own necklace as well. She put them both onto the same chain, letting them rest together as she put them back around her neck. Putting her hoof over them, she felt her heart, thundering in anger just beneath her skin behind the pendants.

She looked up to the pearly white moon, now devoid of the face that had marred it for generations.

“What do I do?”

Author's Note

Mwahahahahahaha *hack*cough*wheeze*

Oh the plans I have for this story...

Is it bad that the most fun I've had in a week is writing Neon's part in this chapter?

Anyway, not much to say about this one, just setting a few things up for later in the story. Shadow Charm has his sentence reduced, Neon Lightning is pure molten evil in pony form, and still we are no further towards finding gout who her employer is. or are we...? No... we're not. I haven't made a reference to who hired her in a while, but that'll be ending soon. I think I really earned that T rating with this chapter though.

Depending on how things go, this may be the last chapter of the year.

So, as always, comments are always appreciated, as well as any mistakes I missed during editing, and I'll see you in the new year.

6. Lost Letters

Missing Dreams
Chapter 6
Lost Letters

“And you just let her go!?” Applejack shouted angrily, glaring down at Spike. The dragon simply nodded, staring resolutely at the ground as four mares surrounded him. Tears brimmed in his eyes and blurred his view of the library.

“Spike, why would you do that? You should have at least come told us, especially when she didn't come back,” Rarity reprimanded, gentler than Applejack but still angry. “Who knows what's happened to her...”

Spike's body started shaking as tears started rolling down his cheeks. “I-I know...” he muttered quietly. “But... I couldn't stop her. A-and what c-could we do? She t-took the map...”

“Oh, it's not your fault,” Fluttershy comforted, crouching down and encircling him in her hooves. “Nopony can stop Rainbow Dash when she's set her mind to something.”

Pinkie sat behind the group, staring off into space, as though she couldn't comprehend what was going on in front of her. Like reality had finally caught up. She stood, slowly, and made her way over to Spike and Fluttershy, joining their hug. “I... I can't lose t-two f-friends...” her voice quivered, her lip doing the same as her eyes shone. “N-not... not like t-this...”

“I'm...” Applejack trailed off nervously, glancing out the window at the rising sun and swallowing thickly. “I'm sure it'll all be okay, sugarcube. If... if they do have Dash now... we'll find her, just like we'll find Twilight. Ain't nothing gonna' stop us.”

“That's right!” Rarity agreed, much more firmly than Applejack had. “We know Twilight's alive and out there. Rainbow Dash is too. We even know where they are now.”

Right on cue, a firm set of three knocks rang through the library from the front door. Applejack answered it, giving a wan smile to the snow-white pegasus guard in sun-gold armour. He stepped aside, and Celsetia stepped forward, eliciting a hasty bow from the farm mare. “Princess,”

“It's time to go,” Celestia said shortly, pausing only momentarily to motion for Applejack to raise, and to prevent the rest int he room from bowing. The rest, missing one. She frowned. “Where is Rainbow Dash?”

Rarity shifted awkwardly. “Princess... apparently... she took the map and left last night to find Twilight. She hasn't come back yet. We think-”

Celestia held up her hoof, motioning for rarity to stop. “I'm well aware of what she did. Why do you think I left her a map?”

“Princess, you-”

Again, rarity was cut off. This time it was by Applejack. “What the heck do ya mean you left her the map? You're saying you wanted her to go out on her own!?”

“That was the idea, yes,” Celestia said with a nod. When the mares in the room just stared at her, she sighed. “If she hasn't come back, then I may have been wrong. Come; I'll explain on the way.” With that she turned on her hooves, climbing back into a chariot and motioning for the others to join her. Applejack climbed on, and Rarity joined her as soon as she managed to drag Pinkie and Fluttershy off of Spike so the three of them could climb into a separate chariot.

With a sharp whistle, the pegasi guards, having already hooked themselves back into their harnesses, took off into the sky, corkscrewing up into the air until they were well above the houses of Ponyville and setting off, their backs to the rising sun. The two chariots were brought down so they were next to each other.

“Umm... Princess?” Fluttershy started hesitantly, raising her voice just enough to be heard over the wind. “Why did you want Rainbow to go?”

Celestia kept her eyes on the horizon as she answered, “She'd have gone no matter what I did. I just made it so she'd at least have a chance of helping us catch these ponies.”

“How do you mean?” Rarity asked, frowning. “Forgive me for saying so, but getting Rainbow captured is not your best idea.”

“I didn't believe she'd find anything,” Celestia said quickly, snapping her gaze to the mares around her. “If these ponies are half as smart as they appear to be, they'd know that we'd be able to trace the teleport, and wouldn't stay anywhere near it. Even the most advanced cloaking spells can be broken with a trail as big as a teleport. I didn't think there was any danger to Rainbow Dash going out there.”

Applejack stomped her hoof against the floor of the chariot, making the entire cart jiggle and earning her a dirty look from one of the pagasi pulling it, which she ignored. “If y'all didn't think they were there then why the hay did we need to wait until this mornin' to go?”

“Because you can never be too cautious,” Celestia said simply. “I knew Rainbow Dash wouldn't like waiting, so I gave her the choice of waiting, or going on her own to confirm what I already expected was the truth. But not all is lost.”

Pinkie looked up to Celestia with large, watering eyes. “Dashie's lost...”

The sun goddess shook her head. “She isn't. Even in the event that I was wrong, and they were either waiting for her, or still there, we can track them. I enchanted her necklace with an advanced scrying spell. No matter where they take her, we'll be able to track them, and the chances they'll detect it under my chameleon spell are practically none. If they do, I'll know.”

“You used her as bait!?” Applejack shouted angrily. “How could you do that? It don't matter how hard you made that spell to crack; you used another living pony as bait!”

Celestia looked to the farmer uninterestedly. “I did not use her; she chose to go. I merely provided her with the tools to do so while also helping us find Twilight should the worst happen. I assure you she's quite safe.”

“That doesn't change the fact you used her-”

“To get Twilight back,” Celestia cut in swiftly, silencing Rarity with a single look. “Is that not what we all want? To get Twilight back? There is no doubt Rainbow Dash understands this. She'd be the first in line to to act as the hook to catch these ponies and bring my student home.”

Fluttershy looked on from her chariot, looking at Celestia, for the very first time, with fear in her eyes. She wilted, falling back to her haunches, unwittingly bumping into Spike and knocking him out of a similar trance.

“You...” he trailed off into stunned silence, unable to form proper words. Celestia seemed unaware of the looks she was getting as she turned back to the horizon.

“I will do anything for the ponies I care about,” she said simply, frowning. “And Rainbow Dash would do the same. So would all of you. You may not see it now, but if this does lead us to Twilight, you'll all understand why this was a necessary evil. It has been made clear that they are using Twilight to get at Rainbow Dash, so who better to draw them out than the mare they want?”

Pinkie shared uneasy glances with Applejack and rarity before finally asking, “But... what if something goes wrong?”

“We're here,” Celestia said, motioning to a small shack resting on a hill on the horizon. Two dozen guards could already be seen at the base of the hill the house sat on, standing in neat rows in front of a single pony, presumably Shining Armour, though it was too far away to tell. “We can debate the ethics of my actions later.”

The chariot made a quick and rough landing at the base of the hill. Shining Rushed over, giving a quick salute to Celestia as she lead the way out of the chariot. “Captain, what's the situation?”

“We've surrounded the house, and are just about to go in,” he replied sharply, standing at rapt attention. “We are assuming they have a hostage-”

“Two hostages,” Celestia corrected.

Shining frowned, but his eyes widened when he realized that only four ponies had come. He nodded solemnly. “All the troops are using stun spells only. Our scans have revealed life signs in the house, but only one. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest are using a masking spell. We assume upwards of a dozen ponies, and at least one especially powerful unicorn. On your command, we are prepared to take the house.”

“They are your troops, captain,” Celestia said, motioning a hoof towards the row of ponies standing behind Shining. “Whenever you're ready.”

Taking a deep breath, Shining turned towards the guards. “You four, on me. Rest of you, behind us. Be ready for whomever's in there to attack. Our number one priority are two hostages; if you see them, take every step to ensure their safety. Understood?”

“Sir!” The guards affirmed.

“Good. Let's go.” He lead the group to the house, four ponies standing just behind him and the rest forming a semicircle behind them as the marched up to the door. Shining lit his horn, a faint glow appearing around his throat. “This is the Royal Guard. You have five seconds to come out, or we're coming in.”

No sound came from inside the small shack.

“Two... one... now.” His horn irrupted an angry blue as the door was blown clean from its hinges, flying into the room until it hit the far wall. Wasting no time, Shining jumped in, followed by his four guards as the all formed a bubble around the door, scanning the dimly lit front room.

“Medic! We have one pony down. There are two doors; two guards on each. Rest of you, get in here,” Shining Barked, his four followers breaking into two groups for the doors on the far wall. Another guard, a pegasus, ran in and knelt down next to a cyan pegasus laying on the floor in the middle of the room.

Kneeling down next to Rainbow and the medic, Shining asked, “How is she?”

The pegasus rolled Rainbow over onto her back, frowning. “She's.... sleeping, sir.”

Shining blinked. “Sleeping?”

As if to answer, Rainbow's mouth dropped open and she snored loudly, her jaw hanging slack in her new sleeping position.

“Sir, there's nopony else in here,” a guard yelled from one of the back rooms, another agreeing a few seconds later from the other room.

“Rainbow Dash?” Shining asked, nudging at the mare's ribs. Rainbow stirred, her eyes blinking open slowly as she snorted.

“Huh? Wuzzat?” Slowly, Rainbow sat up, rubbing at her eyes with a hoof. She stopped when she saw the circle of guards around her. “Uh... can I help you guys?”

Applejack paced furiously, staring at her hooves and only occasionally glancing away to glare at the pegasus in front of her before swiftly looking back to down. “Do... do you have any idea, any idea at all, what you did?”

“Uh...” Rainbow shifted, scratching the back of her neck. “I just-”

“I thought Spike was gonna have a heart attack!” The farmer exclaimed, ignoring whatever Rainbow had to say. “We all thought those crazy ponies had gotten you! What the hay were ya thinkin', staying there all night?”

Rainbow looked shuffled awkwardly. “I promised.”

“Rainbow...” Spike titled his head curiously, furrowing his brow before his eyes widened. He looked to either side of him, meeting the curious looks of Fluttershy and Rarity. “You didn't-”

“I did,” she cut in quickly. “You know it. Pinkie knows it too... I think...” The mare in question had Rainbow wrapped in a fierce hug, and refused to let go. She didn't even say anything.

“Promise?” Rarity asked carefully. “What promise?”

Spike sighed, rubbing his forehead. “When she left, she promised she wouldn't come back without Twilight.”

“And I didn't find her,” Rainbow said quietly, hanging her head. “She wasn't here...”

“But she was.”

All heads turned, some bowing respectfully as Celestia strode up next to the group.

“They were careful; the guards have searched every inch of that house, and we can't find anything. Except...” she trailed off, giving a sidelong glance to Rainbow Dash. “A red feather. Would you happen to know anything about that, Rainbow?”

Rainbow flinched, subconsciously lifting a hoof and rubbing at the back of her head. She glanced around wearily. “No... There was nopony here...”

Celestia's eyebrows raised. “Then where did you get that necklace? I don't recall you wearing it yesterday.”

The eyes of her friends all followed Celestia' gaze to the second necklace hanging around Rainbow's neck, and they gasped as one. Pinkie even let her out of the death hug to get a better look.

“That... that's the one you got Twilight, isn't it darling?” Rarity asked.

“I-I found it...” Rainbow offered slowly, covering the pendant with her hoof. “I think they left it for us, some kind of threat or something.”

“You found it?” Celestia asked accusingly, narrowing her eyes.

Rainbow nodded hesitantly, shrinking under the monarch's intense look. “Yeah. On the bed.”

With a raised eyebrow from Celestia Rainbow fell silent, glued in place by a single look. The silence wore on for what must have been hours, until Finally Celestia said, “It looks like there was a struggle in there. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?”

“If you're trying to say something, then say it!” Rainbow demanded, suddenly, flaring her wings and jumping into the air, hovering a head above Celestia. “I told you what happened, that's it; end of story. I say you should go off and keep looking for Twilight. Unless you want to continue sitting here and questioning me like I'm the one who did this.”

“Rainbow, darling, nopony's saying anything like that,” Rarity offered quickly, looking up imploringly at the fuming pegasus.

“She is!” Rainbow snapped, flinging a hoof at Celestia.

“Rainbow!” Spike hissed nervously, but the pegasus ignored him as she continued to glare.

Celestia, seemingly unfazed by the outburst, merely shrugged her shoulders. She turned away from the group, and started walking back towards the shack. “Very well. If you'd like, I can have my guards fly you all back to Ponyville. I'll send a letter if we find anything.”

“I think that would be best,” Applejack offered slowly, watching as Rainbow continued to glare at the back of Celestia's head.

“I'll send some guards over. Oh, and Rainbow Dash?” She paused, looking back over her shoulder. “If you happen to... remember anything, you know how to contact me.”

Rainbow's teeth ground together. “I'll be sure to let you know.”

After a final glance back, Celestia strode off towards the shack, meeting up with Shining Armour half way. Rainbow watched her go with a glare, eventually lowing herself back to the ground and scoffing. “Can you believe her? Thinking I was hiding something. Hah!”

“Err...” Applejack trailed off nervously, sharing a glance with Rarity, then Fluttershy. She opened her mouth to say something when Pinkie rushed up and jammed her hoof over the farmer's lips.

Pinkie giggled. “What AJ here was going to say was that you're not acting strange at all! In fact, you are probably the most normal I've ever seen you, right girls?”

“I-... Indeed...” Rarity agreed cautiously. Fluttershy hid behind her mane, but nodded.

Rainbow frowned, searching her friends' faces suspiciously. “What?”

“Oh look!” Rarity chirped, smiling a little too widely. “The guards are here to take us home. I think, after this morning, we could all use some nice, calming tea, hmm? Shall we head to my house?”

“Can I put whipped cream on mine?” Pinkie asked excitedly, withdrawing her hoof from Applejack's mouth and bouncing away towards the chariots they had arrived in, two pegasi guards busy hitching themselves into each one one.

Applejack sputtered, brushing off her tongue as soon as her mouth was free. “Pinkie! What in tarnation were you doin'!?” She took of, trotting after the pink party pony into one of the chariots.

“Ah-hem,” Rarity cleared her throat loudly, bringing Rainbow's attention back to her. “Shall we, dear?”

“I'll fly,” Rainbow muttered, taking to the air again. “And I'll skip out on tea, too. Not my thing.”

Rarity frowned. “Are you sure? We could-... you're already gone.” She sighed, watching a rainbow streak fade away into the clear blue early-morning sky. Looking down, she smiled gently. “Come on, Spike; you can ride with Fluttershy and I.”

Once the five were in their chariots, the little shack on the hill quickly faded into the horizon along with the various guards mulling about as they searched for any kind of clues that would help them. The trip held a anxious silence, one that knew it could be broken any second, by the smallest of sounds. It died with Spike uttering the words “What was up with her?”

“Ah think she ain't telling us something,” Applejack said plainly. “I ain't never seen her so... uptight.”

Rarity shook her head. “I don't know; Twilight's been missing for two days now. With everything we know... well, who can blame her for being a little uptight?”

“Um... maybe she's... feeling guilty?” Fluttershy offered timidly, looking at a very interesting strand of her mane. “That could explain some of it, right?”

Looking out in the direction of Rainbow's trail, Applejack sighed, adjusting her hat. “All I know for sure is that she ain't being honest with us.”

“Normally I'd throw her a party but...” pinkie trailed off sadly, hanging over the edge of the chariot and watching the ground whizz by below them. “What would she want to celebrate?”

“Tell you what, Pinkie; you can throw the biggest party ever once we get Twilight back,” Rarity said with a small smile. “For now, all we can do is let the princess and the royal guard handle things and hope for the best.”

“Hoping isn't good enough,” Spike mutter, sitting in a corner of the chariot. “Hoping isn't going to bring Twilight home.”

Rarity sighed, ruffling scales on Spike's head gently. “I know... but what else can we do?”

“Sister.”

Celestia turned, giving a small smile as Luna landed on the grass next to her. All around them guards swarmed over the small broken down cottage, looking for anything that may point them in the right direction.

“Have you made any progress?” Celestia asked.

Luna frowned, looking to the horizon. “I don't know. I think I've found Twilight in the dream scape, but it's only glimpses. If I wasn't specifically looking for her I'd never even spot them. It's like she's only half asleep, fading in and out of her dreams. I can't get a stable enough link to communicate with her.

“Have you seen anything like it before?”

Shaking her head, Luna sighed. “Never. I don't even know here to start in making contact.”

Celestia hummed in thought, closing her eyes. Eventually, she relented. “Until we know for sure, you won't be able to make any more progress with my student. Perhaps, however, you may be able to glean something from Miss Dash's dreams.”

“Rainbow Dash?” Luna echoed, confused. “Why her?”

“She's hiding something from us, Luna. I don't know why, but her dreams may offer us a clue as to what she truly knows.”

Hesitantly, Luna nodded. “I... suppose I can dig around a little. I warn you, however; she may not be happy if she finds out. Dreams tend to be very private affairs.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow at her sister. “And you're claiming you do not enter the dreams of ponies on a whim?”

“I only enter dreams when the pony truly need my help, sister. Even then I'm only there as long as strictly necessary,” Luna explained wearily. “To enter a pony's dream without them knowing is bad enough, but to go looking for information they specifically wish for us not to know? Even you must admit that's going too far.”

“Not in this case,” Celestia snapped, narrowing her eyes at the house. “Everything will be alright once Twilight is brought back to us. Tonight when Rainbow Dash sleeps, observe her dreams, see what troubles her. Let me know what you find.”

Luna bowed her head slightly. “Of course, sister.” She jumped up into the air, spreading her wings and starting to fly away before looking back over her shoulder. “Keep me updated.”

“You'll be informed if we get any leads.”

Rainbow Dash paced the wooden floor of Golden Oaks Library with a frantic intensity, her head hung low and eyes focused on the ground. The sharp clicking of her hooves echoed around the spacious interior. It was strange; she'd never noticed an echo before, especially in Twilight's bedroom.

She glanced up, looking over to the desk, a piece of paper sat atop it with a fresh pot of ink and a quill beside. The sun streamed in through the window, shining wetly on the words scrawled out in the best writing Rainbow could manage. It had to be as good as she could get it considering who the intended recipient was.

There was a sharp click from the first sound of the library, followed by the sound of the front door opening. “Rainbow?” Spike's voice called. “Are you here?”

Rainbow, lost in thought behind her pacing, failed to hear the dragon as he climbed the stairs and let himself in to the room. “Rainbow?” He asked as he saw her. “What's going on?”

The closeness of the voice snapped her out of her mind, and she shook her head forcefully. “Huh? Spike?”

The dragon frowned. “Are you alright? I haven't seen anypony pace like that except Twilight.”

“Guess she's rubbing off on me...” Rainbow muttered, finally stopping and turning to face Spike before noticing the desk out of the corner of her eye. Spike followed her eyes and saw the same desk with the letter sitting on top.

“What's that?” He asked, already walking over.

Rainbow leaped forward, putting herself between Spike and the desk. “N-nothing! It's nothing!”

Levelling a glare at the pegasus before him Spike slipped easily between her hooves, running across the to the desk before Rainbow could so much as turn around. The letter was snatched into his claws and he quickly began reading. Slowly, his jaw fell slack, and eventually the letter fell tot he floor as he stared up at the mare before him, looking at the floor and rubbing her shoulder.

“Rainbow...” Spike bent down and picked up the letter, reading it over again, then again. He still couldn't believe it. “This... this is a letter of resignation.”

“S-so?”

Spike shook his head incredulously. “So? Rainbow, this is a letter of resignation! You're planning to quit the Wonderbolts!?”

“What of it?” Rainbow snapped, stomping her hoof on the ground. “It's my choice, and none of your business, so butt out.”

The dragon scrunched the letter in his clenching claw. “None of my business? You're my friend, Rainbow: I care when you're throwing your dream away, when you're throwing away everything you worked for, everything Twilight helped you work for! What do you think she'd say if she knew you were doing this after all she did to help you get back on the team?”

“I'm doing this for her!” Rainbow yelled, clenching her eyes shut as bitter tears threatened to fall. Her heart thundered in her ears.

Spike frowned. “What do you mean you're doing this for her?”

Rainbow glanced out the window nervously at the ponies walking by the sparsely populated street outside. In the air pegasi could be seen flying lazily across the bright blue backdrop. “You wouldn't understand...” she muttered, snatching the letter from his grasp and turning away. “It's my choice. I have to do this.”

“Talk to me, Rainbow. Is this because of Twilight? We'll find her, you know that right? We have both the Princesses on our side and the entire royal guard.”

“And what if we don't!?”

Spike reeled back and the force of Rainbow's shout, his eyes wide as she continued; “What if even with the Princesses and the guard and everypony, what if we can't find her? What then? Am I just supposed to go back on tour like nothing happened? Am I supposed to just forget about her?

“I... I can't do that, Spike. I can't just leave her while I go back to living my dream. I won't do that, not until she's found. If it means I resign from the Wonderbolts, then fine; I resign from the Wonderbolts.”

Walking over, Spike placed a delicate claw against the pegasus' foreleg as she sank back to her flanks. “You don't have to quit though; I'm sure Spitfire would understand if you told her what was going on. She'd give you all the time off you need.”

“If she says no?” Rainbow asked weakly. “I won't abandon my team like that... but I can't go back to them while Twilight's still missing. If I resign, they'll be able to replace me and I can focus on finding Twilight.”

Spike sighed, shaking his head. “Don't do it, Rainbow. Twilight wouldn't want you to either. Just give the Princesses some time; they'll find her. Celestia and Luna... they've never failed us before, have they?”

Suddenly, Rainbow's eyes grew wide and her head snapped up. “Luna... of course!”

“Luna?”

“Princess Luna! Spike it's perfect; how many ponies even know about her-” Rainbow cut herself off, slapping a hoof over her mouth and looking out the window.

Spike crossed his arms. “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing... nothing...” Rainbow trailed off, glancing to the letter in her hooves. She put it back on the desk, smoothing it out before turning and crossing the room. “I just have to go to sleep and everything will be fine.”

“Sleep? It's just a little after noon. What's going on?”

Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively at him. “Don't worry about it. I'm gonna go have a nap. Last night took a lot out of me, flying all the way out there and back again.”

“Rainbow? Rainbow Dash!?” Spike scratched the back of his head. “What do you want me to do with your letter?”

Rainbow glanced over her shoulder. “Just... leave it for now. I'll... I'll think about sending it when I wake up.”

“Aright... have a good nap... I guess...”

“Oh trust me, Spike,” Rainbow mumbled, “I will.”

Princess Luna of the Night floated in an endless sea of blackness. Her mane flowed in the same ethereal wind as always, waving like an ocean of stars. A deep frown creased her lips as a small point of light illuminated before her, tinted a light shade of blue around the edges.

She opened her eyes, coming back to reality in her bedchambers in Canterlot castle. “I do not approve of this, sister.”

Celestia, muzzle buried in a book resting atop a large pillow, glanced up. “I did not ask if you approved of it.”

“This isn't right, Celestia. What would Rainbow Dash possibly be hiding from us? What reasons could she have? You know of their relationship.”

Sighing, Celestia allowed her book to drop to the floor as she gave her sister her full attention. “I don't know, which is exactly why you need to do this. Please, Luna; we need to do everything in our power to track down Twilight.”

Luna hesitated, before nodding slowly. “Fine. But let it be known that I objected to this.” With that, she closed her eyes and once again allowed herself to be sucked into the dream-`scape, where the small dot of light had become about the size of a door. With a simple beckoning of her hoof the light drew closer, and the white light faded into an image of a cyan pegasus with a Rainbow mane sitting in pitch darkness, a spotlight hanging down on her.

Rainbow's chest heaved slightly, as though she were out of breath, as the spotlight intensified on her. Suddenly, all around her in the darkness, giant eyes opened, their crimson irises watching her every move. The mare in the centre, shrank back from them, before going into a full out gallop, running blindly into the darkness even as the spotlight followed her.

“No!” She screamed, shutting her eyes. A voice rang in the darkness, laughing haughtily.

“We see all,” it hissed, echoing around the emptiness. “Do you want your precious Twilight back or not?”

Rainbow's gallop came to a halt as she tripped over her own hooves, landing atop another eye staring at her. She reeled back as all the eyes around her started closing in, the spotlight growing brighter.

Finally, Luna could take no more as she stepped through the portal, lighting her horn in a bright white glow. Under her intense light the eyes burned away light shadows before the rising sun. Nothing but Rainbow Dash remained in the dream, cowering behind her forehooves and shaking lightly.

“Rainbow Dash,” Luna called gently, placing a hoof on the mare's foreleg.

“No!” Rainbow screamed, scooting back several metres before finally looking past her hooves. “L-luna?”

Luna nodded, coming over and sitting down next to the pegasus, still shaking lightly. “What ails you, my subject?”

Rainbow shook her head firmly. “T-this is a dream! You... you came! Listen, I need tot ell you something-”

Raising a hoof, Luna silently asked for a chance to speak. She cleared her throat gently. “I must speak with you as well, Rainbow Dash. My sister feel as though you are hiding important evidence from our investigation, and has asked me to watch your dreams for any signs she is correct. Tell me; is she correct?”

“Well...” Rainbow shifted awkwardly... hanging her head. “Yes... she is.”

Luna sighed quietly. “What have you hidden from us?”

Taking a breath, Rainbow steadied her voice and started; “When I went to the house Twilight was teleported to, it... wasn't empty. Neon Lightning was there, waiting for me. She's the one who had Twilight's necklace.”

“I take it she is also the owner of the red feather we found?”

Rainbow nodded, chuckling ruefully. “Yeah... she kept talking 'bout Twilight and... I kinda jumped her. Gave her a good few punches 'fore she stopped me.”

“I can't say she doesn't deserve it,” Luna noted. “But why did you lie and say she wasn't there?”

“She... she has Twilight, and she told me that if I told anypony about her being there she'd.... she said I'd never see Twilight again...” Rainbow clenched her eyes shut as she took a few shuddering breaths. “She said she had ponies on the inside, watching us. It's how she knew I was going to be at the house that night.”

Luna nodded understandingly. “I take it that's why you wished to speak with me in a dream?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow smiled, nodding. “I mean, how many ponies even know about your whole dream-walking thing, or could know what I said to you while asleep? It's perfect!”

“I admit, Rainbow Dash; you are smarter than I originally gave you credit for-”

“Hey!”

“But now that we have that sorted out,” Luna continued ignoring Rainbow's indignant outburst. “What do you need to tell me?”

Rainbow's eyebrows slanted in a glare, but she continued anyway; “Neon wanted me to resign from the Wonderbolts before the end of the week.”

“So my sister was right when she said these ponies are still targeting you. I shall inform Celestia straight away, and-”

“No!” Rainbow shouted. “You can't; what if they hear you? They'll know I told and they'll... they'll do something to Twilight.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “If there were somepony listening it, not only would Celestia and I notice, but they'd also know I could come talk to you in your dreams. Trust me; nopony would know if I told my sister.”

“But...” the pegasus shifted. “I don't want her to know I lied...” she whispered hanging her head.

“I assure you, Rainbow Dash; Celestia will be very understanding.”

Rainbow refused to make eye contact, staring at the ground. “Please? You can tell her once we get Twilight back, if you want. But please...”

Sighing, Luna placed a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. “If you don't want me to, I won't. It's not imperative she know immediately. But she will find out sooner or later.”

“I know...” Rainbow trailed off for moment, before shaking her head. “Thank you. But what are you going to do about Neon? She said if I don't quit the Wonderbolts by the end of the week”

Luna raised her hoof, motioning for silence. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a moment before nodding. “These ponies have shown themselves to be quite resourceful, going so far as to fake the Glass Statue curse. Very well. I shall speak directly to Spitfire in her dreams and inform her of the situation. She'll arrange it so the papers hear that you've resigned. However, in order to prevent suspicion, you must still send the letter. When you wake up, send it straight away. I shall speak with Spitfire tonight, and with any luck the story will be in the paper's tomorrow. From there we'll wait until Neon Lightning contacts you.”

“Awesome!” Rainbow cheered, starting to stand up until a midnight blue hoof caught her shoulder.

“Remember,” Luna warned, “you have to make this believable. If they really are watching you, you can't give any clues that you're not actually resigning.”

Rainbow nodded. “Of course. I already have the letter written out, and Spike thinks I'm serious about it. As long as I can keep the girls from asking too many question, this should work.”

“Very well. Good luck, Rainbow Dash; I shall contact you later through your dreams.”

Luna faded from the black void as she opened her eyes, once again reappearing next to Celestia.

“Well?” The Sun Princess asked expectantly.

“I do not believe Rainbow Dash is hiding anything from us,” Luna said, shrugging her shoulders. “If she is, she isn't thinking about it subconsciously like most ponies would.”

Celestia narrowed her eyes. “Are you hiding something from me, sister?”

“I don't know what you're talking about, Celestia. I merely did as you wished; if you don't like my findings, don't ask me to look.”

Keeping up her hardened gaze for a few more moments, Celestia eventually relaxed with a sigh. “Very well, then we're back to square one. Hopefully the guards can find something in that shack.”

“Yes... hopefully.”

“Spike!” Rainbow bolted upright, a blanket flying off her as she took stock of her surroundings. Back in the library's mane room, still on the couch with a pillow.

The dragon came rushing down the stairs. “What? What's wrong?”

Rainbow coughed into her hoof, Remembering Luna's warning. She sighed wearily, getting up off the couch slowly. “Go get me the letter.”

“Rainbow-”

“Now, Spike!” She snapped, wincing at her own tone. “Please. Go get the letter.”

Spike hesitated, but eventually left the room, returning moments later with the parchment in hand. He held it out for Rainbow to take. “Don't do this, Rainbow. Think of what Twilight would say if she knew you were resigning.”

“I told you already; I'm doing this for her,” Rainbow grumbled, grabbing the letter and running over to a desk. Quickly wetting a quill she scrawled her signature across the bottom, blowing on it to dry it faster before folding the letter and stuffing it in an envelope, which she quickly wrote the adres on.

Shifting awkwardly in the background, Spike watched with a frown as Rainbow sealed the letter and turned, holding it out. “Go mail this for me,” she said simply.

“Rainbow, I really don't-”

“Just do it!”

Spike held up his arms. “Alright, alright. I'll mail it.”

Rainbow sighed. “I'm sorry, Spike, but I have to do this. Just make sure it gets sent, alright?”

Nodding, the dragon to it and headed for the door, tossing one last forlorn last look over his shoulder before walking out of the library. He made his way quickly down the street, turning the corner and stopping outside the post office. Looking down at the letter is his grasp, then back up to the building.

“I”m sorry, rainbow.” He clenched his fist, crumpling the paper. Turning away, he headed towards Carousel Boutique.

“You'll thank me for this later.”

Author's Note

I'm baaaaaack! Apologies for the long wait, guys, but I do hope it was worth it. I have an editor for this series now, and while we haven't quite caught up with this chapter, I think I've been sitting on it long enough that I should just finish it up and get it out there.

So, how is this all going to turn out? Well, we'll just have to wait until next chapter, won't we? Mwahahahahahaha. Oh I am so excited. This little addition at the end has extended this story by two chapters further than the initial plan.

As always, comments are much appreciated and any errors I missed are a great help.

7. Rude Awakenings

Missing Dreams
Chapter 7
Rude Awakenings

“She what!?”

“I know!” Spike shouted, waving his arms and pacing furiously. “It's insane, right? I can't be the only one who thinks so!”

Rarity rubbed a hoof against her forehead slowly, nursing a cup of steaming tea. “You didn't actually send it, did you?”

Shaking his head, Spike held out his claw with the crumpled letter. “Of course not! I came here as soon as she sent me out. I'm really getting worried about her, Rarity. I mean she's trying to resign from the Wonderbolts and everything. On top of everything else... with Twilight... gone...” he trailed off sadly.

“Oh, Spike,” Rarity whispered sympathetically, slipping a hoof around his shoulders and guiding him onto the couch next to her. “You've been so strong since Twilight disappeared.”

Spike sniffled, burying his head in her coat as he whimpered. “She's been gone two days now, Rarity, and we're hardly anywhere near finding her. I just...” he trailed off into quiet, muffled sobs as the unicorn slowly stroked his spines, barely giving a thought to the slowly worsening state of her normally pristine coat.

“Shh, it's okay, Spike.”

“I-I just... I don't know what to do...” He whimpered, continuing to cry.

Rarity sighed quietly, leaning down and gently nuzzling the top of the dragon's head as a few tears of her own slipped down her cheeks. “It's okay, let it out. You don't have to do anything; we're all going to work together and bring Twilight home before you know it.”

They sat for a long while on the couch, with Spike crying quietly into Rarity's coat as the sun travelled slowly across the sky. Eventually, when Spike's shoulders stopped shaking and his cried petered out into quiet sniffles, Rarity drew back and smiled down at him. “Feeling any better?”

Spike rubbed at his eyes, sighing. “A little. Th-thanks, Rarity. I guess I really needed that.”

“Think nothing of it; what are friends for?” Rarity asked with a kind smile. “Speaking of friends, however, we have to do something about Rainbow Dash; we need to keep her focused on finding Twilight and not on the 'what if's.”

Sighing, Spike gently removed himself from Rarity's embrace and fell backward onto the couch. “But how? I don't see this getting any better until we find Twilight. For any of us.”

“Well we'll just have to think of something. And I think I know where to start.”

“Oh?”

Rarity stood from the couch with a flourish. “Come along, Spike! We have an intervention to stage!”

“Uh...” the dragon shifted uncomfortably, motioning to the damp, matted hairs on Rarity's chest. The unicorn looked down, cringing slightly.

“Alright, I need to go get cleaned up. But after that, it's time for an intervention!”

Rainbow Dash once again found herself pacing anxiously, thoughts and feeling whirling about her head. In the centre of the tornado sat a stunning purple unicorn with a blinding smile and sparkling eyes. Looking up, Rainbow gazed longingly out the window, catching a glimpse of the mail pony flying away from Ponyville with a bag full of letters, heading towards the sunset. She sighed shakily before taking in another deep breath and turning away to resume her pacing.

If all went to plan, by tomorrow she'd have 'officially' quit the Wonderbolts, and they'd be one step closer to bringing Twilight home safely.

“Rainbow?” Spike called, opening the front door. “You here?”

Rainbow's ears perked up and she ran out of the study, barrelling down the stairs and nearly ramming into Spike as she skid to a stop in front of the door. “Did you send it!?”

“Uhh...” Spike trailed off, scratching his arm nervously. “About that... listen, I-”

“You sent it, right? Please tell me you sent it! It has to get there by tomorrow!”

“Y-yeah... yeah, I sent it... listen, Rainbow, on the way back I stopped at Rarity's and we-”

“We thought you could use somepony to talk to,” Rarity cut in gently, stepping forward from outside and placing a hoof on Spike's shoulder.

Rainbow bit her lip nervously. “Look... I'm fine, alright? I thought about this, and I decided it's what I need to do. You know I'll do anything to get Twilight back, and I would hope you'd all do the same.”

“Of course we would!” Fluttershy insisted, drawing Rainbow's eyes away from Rarity and to the rest of her friends gathered around the front door outside. “But you didn't have to do this!”

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow stepped back from the door. “You guys too? Look, I'm fine, alright? Twi... Twi's going to be fine soon. Trust me, okay?”

Applejack shook her head. “Not this time, RD. We're all torn up about Twilight, but you don't have to quit the Wonderbolts. What would Twilight say?”

“She'd say I did the right thing,” Rainbow muttered, grabbing the door and attempting to close it. “Look, thanks for the concern, but I'll be fine. Goodbye now.”

Pinkie shoved her hoof into the door before it close properly. “Please, Dashie? Let us help you.”

“You can't help me right now...”

“Rainbow, please,” Spike urged. “We just want to talk.”

A moment of silence passed as Rainbow stared at her hooves, warring within her own head. She looked up finally, sighing. “You girls aren't going to let this drop are you?” Upon receiving a round of shaking heads, she sighed again and opened the door. “Fine, you can talk.”

All six filed into the library, hurriedly guiding Rainbow to the sitting room and easing her back onto the couch. They took their positions, sitting in front of her on the floor in a loose semicircle. For a minute nopony spoke, each thinking of how exactly to say what they wanted to.

Against all odds, it was Fluttershy who spoke first. “We're worried about you, Rainbow, and none of us believe you when you say you're fine, because you're really not.”

Rainbow groaned. “How many times do I have to say it? I'm-”

“If you were fine, then why would you quit the Wonderbolts!?” Pinkie demanded, stomping a hoof against the ground. “After how hard you worked? How hard Twilight worked? That's not right, Dashie. You wouldn't do that if you were okay.”

“Why wouldn't I!?” Rainbow yelled. “I'm supposed to be loyalty, aren't I? How can I be loyal if I leave Twilight with those crazy ponies while I go off and play Wonderbolt? I can't do that to her, not while she's still out there somewhere.”

Applejack shook her head slowly. “We'll find her, Rainbow. You do know that, don't ya?”

“Of course I know that! But can you promise me we'll find her before I go back on tour? No; I didn't think so. Unless you can prove to me we'll find her in a couple days, you can leave.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity scolded firmly. “You can't think we'll take more than two weeks to find her, with everything and everypony we have helping us?”

Sighing, Rainbow stood from the couch. “I know, but just in case. I'm fine, guys; really.” She paused, glancing up and noting the sun setting out the window. “I'm gonna go get some sleep; hopefully by tomorrow the guards will have a lead. You had all best go home as well.”

Pinkie jumped into the room, carrying a sleeping bag and a bowl of popcorn. “We're not leaving you, Dashie; we need to stay together. Which means it's time for a Slumber Party!”

“Seriously?”

“I recon Pinkie's right,” Applejack agreed. “We all need to stay together, and no matter how many times you say it we ain't gonna believe you're fine 'till we see you run out the door and beg for your Wonderbolt slot back.”

“We're all here for you, Rainbow,” Fluttershy whispered. “You just need to let us help you.”

Rainbow ground her teeth together, eyeing all of her friends one by one. By the looks they were giving her, they were absolutely convinced that this was what they needed to do. Which meant there was little chance of getting out of it. Her friends could be just as stubborn as she was. “Fine, do whatever you want. I'm going to bed.”

Frowning, Pinkie's eyes narrowed, and before Rainbow could make it to the stairs she was blocked by a pin blur standing in her way. “When was the last time you ate something?” She asked accusingly, already knowing the answer.

Sighing, Rainbow resigned herself to her fate. At the very least, she could rest easy in the knowledge that her letter would soon be delivered.

Spitfire's lips held themselves in a pensive frown as she glared out her window bast the Wonderbolts training grounds at the rising sun.

“Captain?”

Her eyes didn't even flicker. “Yes, Soarin?”

The stallion shifted slightly, biting his lip nervously. “The mail came. I collected it myself as you requested, but I'm afraid there aren't any letters from Rainbow Dash.”

Spitfire's brow furrowed. “Nothing at all?”

“No Ma'am... and, if I may, this all seems very strange. Even if Rainbow had sent a letter, how would you have known?”

Finally, the fiery orange mare turned away from her window, her piercing eyes switching from the horizon to Soarin himself, sending a a withering scowl his way. “I suppose you'd also like to know why I sent you, personally, you collect it?”

Hesitantly, Soarin nodded.

Returning it, Spitfire sighed. “Check the hall, make sure nopony's there. Close the door and lock it,” she instructed, reaching behind her with a wing and drawing the blinds shut on her window.

As confused as he was, Soarin obeyed, sticking his head out a moment to find an empty hall before closing the door. With a soft click it was locked, and an infinite weight seemed to lift from Spitfire's shoulders. “Good... we shouldn't have to worry too much about unicorns up here, but best to keep our voices down.”

“Unicorns?” Soarin echoed. “Spitz, what's going on”?

Spitfire ran a hoof through her mane, smoothing a few stray hairs back into place. “I'm telling you this only because you're the pony I trust most on this base, Soarin, and this conversation never leaves the room, understood?”

“Of course.”

“Good... I trust you heard the news about Twilight Sparkle?”

Soarin's eyes shot up in surprise. “Y-yeah... I heard. To be honest, I'm still not sure what to think. I mean, she's just gone-”

“She's not dead,” Spitfire cut in quickly. “It'll likely be in the paper this morning, if what Luna told me is any indication, but she's been pony-napped.”

“Pony-napped! Who would even try to pony-nap the Princess's student?” After a moment of thought, he added, “How would you even know that?”

Glancing around suspiciously, as though the walls themselves were listening, Spitfire leaned forward. “A little known ability of Luna's is, apparently, dream walking. She spoke to me last night and explained what's going on. Apparently, the ponies who took Twilight are actually after Rainbow Dash – for some reason, they want her to quit the team. It's... complicated, but we've arranged it so Dash should have sent us a letter resigning, and we'd publish the story without officially removing her from the team.”

Soarin raised his eyebrow. “So why can't we just run the story and cut out Rainbow sending the letter?”

“Apparently, she's being watched. We might be, too, so be very careful what you say out there. These ponies have proved themselves quite resourceful, from what I've heard. They're the same ones who framed Rainbow for cheating on the Next Wonderbolt Competition.”

“And you heard all this from Princess Luna? In a dream?” Soarin asked, receiving a single nod from his captain. He frowned. “And... could it be possible that this was just a dream? I've never heard of such a thing as dream walking.”

Spitfire shook her head. “No... I knew it was real. It's hard to explain, but... I just know it was real. I don't know why we didn't get Rainbow's letter, either lost in the mail or delayed until tomorrow, but we have to run the story as soon as possible.

“Call a press meeting. They can't have possibly tracked that letter. We can pretend we got it in the mail.”

“Are you sure about this, Spitz?” Soarin asked. “It all sounds pretty far-fetched.”

Spitfire hardened her eyes into a glare. “Call the meeting, Soarin.”

“Right! On it!”

“Good morning Dashie!”

Rainbow groaned, pushing her muzzle deeper into her pillow.

“Aww, c'mon. No need to be such a sleepyhead. The sun's shining and it's a brand new day!”

“Go away, Pinkie,” she muttered. She peaked one bloodshot eye open to give the mare a glare, but stopped when she saw the frown on Pinkie's face.

Pinkie Pie gave a fragile smile as she rested a gentle hoof on the pegasus' shoulder. “Please?” She asked, softly. “I...” swallowing, Pinkie glanced around before leaning closer. “I heard you, last night.”

“Heard what!?” Rainbow snapped, shifting a hoof beneath her blanket and clutching at the dual pendants around her neck. She didn't remember much of last night after going to bed. Except crying. At some point she must have fallen asleep.

Pinkie recoiled as though her hoof had been bit, and she hung her head slightly. “We're all super worried, Rainbow, and wee all miss her.”

“I...” she stopped to take a shuddering breath, pressing her pendants into her chest. “I know, Pinkie. But we'll have her back, soon enough.”

“I hope you're right, Dashie,” Pinkie said with a sad smile. A moment of silence passed, and she giggled quietly. “How can you always been so positive? I always thought that was my thing.”

Forcing herself upright in her bed, Rainbow chewed her lip thoughtfully. After a few seconds, she reached out and laid her hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. “Because Twi would want me to be, and I'm not gonna find her if I'm moping around.”

“Then why'd you quit the Wonderbolts?”

Rainbow bit her cheek as her breath caught in her throat. A sudden anger started boiling in her gut and she forced her voice to stay level. “I had to.”

“But Twilight wouldn't have wanted you to,” Pinkie shot back, her voice just as tense as Rainbow's had been. “It's like you've given up.”

“I haven't given up!” Rainbow shouted as her anger pushed past her self control. “You don't understand!”

Pinkie's eyes watered as she practically begged, “Then tell me why! The Rainbow Dash I knew wouldn't have given up the Wonderbolts unless she'd given up all together!”

“Then then Rainbow Dash you knew is gone!” Rainbow's wings flared and the covers were thrown from the bed as she rose a foot in the air on instinct alone.

Even with the formidable figure of Rainbow bearing down on her, Pinkie didn't so much as waver. “Where did she go?”

“She's gone, Pinkie! She... she was taken when they took Twilight...” Rainbow trailed off and her wings went slack, letting gravity take over and pull her down onto the bed with a thump. “I... I'm not me without her anymore. Half of me is with her now, always.” She stared down at the pendants around her neck as a few watery tears rand down her cheeks. “And she's gone...”

Taking a breath, Rainbow wiped the tears from her eyes. Pinkie was too stunned by the sudden outburst to do anything besides shed a few tears of her own. “But it'll be okay soon... we... we'll find her. And everything will be okay again.”

“Dashie...”

“I'm fine, Pinkie,” Rainbow said, flashing a cocky smile. “C'mon, let's get the rest of the girls and have some breakfast.”

Pinkie sniffled and rubbed fruitlessly at her own dampening cheeks. “M-more like brunch,” she giggled weakly, pointing out the window at the sun as it rose ever closer to its zenith.

Just then a loud bang rang through the library and Applejack's voice rang out, loud and clear. “Rarity! Spike! Take a look at this!”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow and glanced to her pink friend, who merely shrugged.

“Must you be so loud, Applejack? Rainbow's still asleep,” Rarity's voice called in a smooth, almost condescending tone.

The sound of stomping hooves travelled across the main floor of the library. “Well how about you take a look!”

After a moment's pause, Rarity's voice came again; “Yes, it's a newspaper darling. What of it?”

“Read it!” Applejack demanded, her eye roll almost audible.

Another stretch of silence before a gasp. “What!?”

“I thought y'all said her letter hadn't been sent?”

Rainbow's eyes narrowed suspiciously and she started making her way over to the door as the voices grew quieter.

“It hasn't! Spike showed it to me himself. It's still at my boutique!”

“Them how did the Wonderbolts get it? They booted her off the team, Rarity. We were supposed to have stopped this!”

With a shove Rainbow slammed her bedroom door open and flew down the stairs, finding her two friends arguing in the man room of the library. Both of them turned to her, matching looks of surprise on their faces. In Rarity's magic hovered a newspaper, on the cover was a picture of the Wonderbolt's insignia. Below that large, bolded letter announced the title of the article; 'Rainbow dash; Wonderbolt dropout?'.

“I'm out?” Rainbow asked, almost eagerly. She dashed forward and snatched the paper out of the air, her eyes rabidly scanning over the article. “I'm off the team!” She cried victoriously.

After a moment of stunned silence from her friends, Rainbow's eyes hardened slowly. “Wait... what were you just saying about them not getting a letter?”

Applejack's hooves shifted nervously. “Uh...”

“I was more referring to the mail ponies, Rainbow,” Rarity stepped in, smoothly covering Applejack's stammering. “I didn't think your letter would reach them until tomorrow, is all.”

Rainbow's eyes narrowed and she marched past Rarity, glaring down Applejack from her slightly-shorter perspective. “Applejack? Did you do something with my letter?”

“Uh.... n-n- maybe?” A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. Rainbow's glare didn't relent, and neither did her own urge to be honest – especially with her friends. Another second of hesitation and she cracked. “Fine; Spike said he didn't deliver your letter. Went to Rarity with it instead. As far as I knew your letter was never even sent.”

“It wasn't!” Rarity insisted. “I don't know how they got it!”

Rainbow's teeth ground together. “You girls... stopped... my letter?”

“We couldn't just let you throw away your dreams!” Rarity protested quickly. “You're not thinking straight right now, rainbow; you're... distracted, grieving. You-”

“I was trying to save Twilight!” Rainbow shrieked. “This was my only shot! And you... you...” Her entire body shook with rage at her friends and her fear for what would happen to Twilight now. “I can't believe you!”

Suddenly, a the sound of shattering glass filled the room and all eyes turned to see what looked like an ordinary pebble sitting in a pile of broken glass from a window. The pebble sat silently for a short few seconds before it seemed to almost twitch and light up. With a flash of light, a pony formed above it, with a red coat and dull blue mane.

“Hello, Rainbow Dash,” Neon Lightning greeted with a grin.

Author's Note

Ummm.....

Hi.

So, I finished this. Funny thing is I had some of this chapter (everything before the Wonderbolts part) written before I took my.... hiatus. I just came back now to get SOMETHING up for this story. As of this chapter I'll no longer be forcing each chapter to hit 6K, and instead be releasing when I feel they've reached a good stopping point (still nothing shorter than 2K, and I'd prefer more than 4K). With any luck, I should update this a little more frequently now.

Apologies for the lack-luster writing - I really just want this chapter up and done with so I can move on from it. forgive the mistakes and clunky flow and awkward repetition for now; next chapter should be better as I'll have a fresh start and a new direction.

As always, I love to hear what you guys think. And again, I'm sorry this took so long and isn't all that long. Hopefully next time will be better.