Shining in the Rain

Rainbow Dash frowned deeply as she flew over the countryside, glancing down at the little charm bracelet on her left hoof.

Damn, still grey… where are you, Dusk…

It had not been a good few weeks for Rainbow. Applejack and Rarity were on the other side of Equestria, taking a vacation from their businesses to relax in Los Pegasus. Dash smirked a bit at that thought. One does not relax in Los Pegasus. At least, not till the fourth appletini. To be honest, Rainbow didn’t buy the vacation excuse for one second. She had seen the bedroom eyes, the shy giggles, the ‘I was just taking a nap in the hay loft, Rainbow.’ Uh-huh.

But hey. Rainbow smiled faintly. Her friends were allowed their own lives. Pinkie Pie could go visit her family whenever she liked. That just left more time for Rainbow Dash to spend with Fluttershy! And Dusk Shine, when she found him. Ever since their personal lives had gotten a bit more… dangerous, Dusk Shine had given each of his friends enchanted bracelets that would glow when they were near each other. The day before, Dusk Shine had told his friends remaining in town that he would be going into the Everfree for a quick visit to Zecora’s. Something about rare spell ingredients.

But it had been way too long. Dusk Shine didn’t like to intrude on Zecora’s privacy, and never stayed overnight in the Everfree Forest. He knew how much Fluttershy worried, and… well, he didn’t know how much Rainbow worried too. She was Loyalty, after all. Anytime somepony left Ponyville, her senses twinged. Rainbow hated it. She especially hated this, not knowing where her fr- THERE! Rainbow’s wings instinctively turned towards the west as it gave a faint gleam during one of her arm sweeps.

Finally a lead!

The longer she flew, the more nervous Rainbow Dash got. This was deep in the Everfree, and quite the opposite direction from Zecora’s hut. The trees below were thick and obscured most of the floor beneath their ominous canopy, a silver mist wisping through their branches. Something was wrong; like a hand was squeezing at Rainbow Dash’s heart. She was afraid. Not for herself, nothing could make Rainbow afraid for herself… but for her friends… Frowning slightly, Rainbow slowly lowered herself to just feet above the treetops, highly advanced eyes peering through the foliage for any sign of purple fur.

There! Just below an expansive oak tree, a small strip of purple scurried underneath a set of roots. The heck are you doing, Dusk…

Grunting in exertion, just a bit mind you, Rainbow flared her wings to arrest her forward motion, then flapped once, launching herself back towards the clearing.

“Dusk! Dusk, buddy, it’s Rainbow!” she shouted, fear adding a bit of franticness to her tone.

No response. Yep, that fear from earlier? Triple that. Dusk never ignored Rainbow Dash. Heck, Dusk rarely ignored anypony at all; it made trips to cities fairly unbearable, especially Canterlot where other ponies knew him, but… It just wasn’t in Dusk’s blood, so this scared her. Pawing the loamy soil nervously, Rainbow slowly scanned the clearing. The oak roots had cleared away all the brush around the massive tree, some of them rising out of the ground and curling lightly in the air. And beneath one of those roots was a bedraggled violet pony.

“Dusk Shine!” Rainbow brightened, darting for the root in a heartbeat, “Dusk, are you-”

The whimper stopped her dead. Dusk had only whimpered once that Rainbow had heard; during his freak-out of being late for his report to Princess Celestia. It had been a desperate, frantic noise, like one of Fluttershy’s squirrel friends caught in Applejack’s varmint traps. What she heard there, at that tree, was far different. It was a small, terrified cry, of one who had been through terror before and knew it well. Of a pony who was utterly out of hope.

“D-dusk?” she whispered faintly, entire body paling as the young stallion lifted his head.

Dusk Shine’s eyes were both nearly swollen shut, tears leaking down and mixing with blood from where hooves had sliced his thin facial skin. The skin along the left side of his muzzle was dark with blood and bruised skin, blood running thickly from his nose. From her vantage point, Rainbow could see that his front barrel was pock-marked by cigarette burns, and a thin brand of a stylized B. His wings were an utter mess, stomped on and missing several clumps of feathers, with a few burns running across them as well. But by far the worst damage was to Dusk’s horn. The slender, spiraling point had several massive cracks running down its length, golden ichor slowly trailing down and pooling in his mane. He sobbed weakly, the pitiful noise driving Rainbow Dash out of her stupor.

“DUSK!” she exclaimed in quickly building horror, rushing over to his side, “What happened?! What did this?”

Another whimper, and Rainbow Dash could feel her heart shattering. Gently taking his hoof, Rainbow hesitantly leaned over to nuzzle lightly along Dusk’s ears.

“S-some… mares,” Dusk mumbled, voice uncharacteristically shaky and quiet, “Unicorns. T-they… they were w-waiting…”

Dusk’s other hooves curled in on himself, revealing another B branded over one cutie marks.

“Ponies did this?” Rainbow Dash breathed, her soul a pit of despair and shock, “Who? Did you know them?”

To hurt a stallion like this… it shook Rainbow to her core. Every mare was, or at least should be taught, that stallions were special. You don’t ever hit one. It just wasn’t done! And to do this… If it wouldn’t likely have freaked Dusk Shine out more, Rainbow Dash would have raged till her throat was raw. This was her friend! Maybe even her best friend. Swallowing back the rage before it could consume her, Rainbow leaned down to gently hug the stallion, wincing at another whimper and a deep, frightened tremor.

“Let’s get you to a hospital,” she whispered softly, “Come on, get on my back, and-”

“N-no!” Dusk yelped, tears running thicker down his cheeks, and his fore hooves kneading the ground a bit, “N-not… not th-there, just… I…”

Rainbow winced again, but understood. The hospital wasn’t exactly a comforting place. Her ears suddenly perked.

“How about Fluttershy’s?” she asked softly, smiling as Dusk’s trembles began to subside.

There we go…

“O.. okay,” he mumbled shyly, slowly standing and draping himself over Rainbow’s back, hooking his legs around her body and giving soft apologies all the while.

Not exactly how I thought I’d ever get Dusk in this position, but…

Wisely keeping her thoughts to herself, Rainbow launched into the air, though she shed a lot of her usual style and power, for Dusk’s sake. She could feel his muzzle buried in her chromatic main, body shaking with what were likely sobs. Dusk Shine wasn’t always the most self-confident stallion Rainbow had ever met, but this… what these mares had done to Dusk seemed to had nearly destroyed him. The young pegasus grit her teeth tightly. They better pray, and pray hard, that Rainbow Dash never found them. Ever.

****************************

Fluttershy gave a loud eep as something began to pound away at her oaken door, her body jumping up out of her bed with an instinctive flap of her wings. The buttery pegasus had to take a moment to grin at that. Those wing-ups HAD helped! She really would have to thank Rainbow Dash for showing-

“Fluttershy! It’s Rainbow! Open up, this is an emergency!”

“O-oh, coming!” Fluttershy squeaked immediately, darting downstairs.

Oh, she had really left her living room a mess. She had rescued a family of foxes from a small flood caused by a broken beaver dam, and they had never been in a pony home before. Fluttershy would have to run into town and get… some new… Opening the door, Fluttershy’s world froze in place. Rainbow Dash stood on her doorstep, panting faintly and looking red-eyed. She and Fluttershy had been friends since foalhood, and Fluttershy knew the tell-tale signs of an all-mighty rage. But on her back…

“D-dusk Shine?”

The young stallion peered up at her, and Fluttershy gave a strangled cry at the sight of his damaged face, zooming forward and picking him up with surprising strength. Dusk was struggling not to break into hyperventilating sobs, and Fluttershy knew from experience that that meant Dusk Shine was in the grip of an absolute panic attack.

“Rainbow Dash, get a bowl of soup on the fire, now,” Fluttershy ordered in a tone that brooked no argument, “Then please get my medical bag from upstairs.”

“On it, Flutters!” Rainbow replied at once, zooming through the house with the speed of one who knew it well.

Fluttershy was in her zone; if she knew anything, anything at all, it was helping those hurt and in need. As Dusk’s eyes, swollen nearly shut and full of pain, turned to her desperately, she gave the stallion a soft smile, laying him gently on her well-loved couch, and began to slowly lap his fur clean. Rarity had long ago explained to Fluttershy the complex relationship unicorns had with grooming; for a tribe so dedicated to civilization, the act of grooming was as primal as that of pegasi preening: a vice they could never truly chase from their psyche. The first lick, along Dusk’s cheek and up towards his trembling right ear, tugged a faint gasp out of the shaking stallion. The next, a little lower but following the same path, got more of a low mrr, and before long Dusk was limp and relaxed, trembling slightly beneath Fluttershy, but no longer outright panicking. As Rainbow Dash flew back into the room, medical bag in her mouth, she paused, blinking slowly at the strange sight.

“Uh…”

“Get his wings, Rainbow Dash. I need him relaxed while I work.”

“Y-you mean-”

“Mhm.”

Blushing furiously, Rainbow Dash scooted over to the pair, depositing the bag beside Fluttershy before slowly stretching out Dusk’s left wing. Fluttershy knew of Rainbow’s crush on their friend, but right now that was not her concern. Her only concern was to treat her friend before he lost his sight, or his magic, forever. Turning to her bag, Fluttershy withdrew some anti-swelling gel she had paid Zecora for, humming faintly to herself as she began to rub it on Dusk’s eyes, her dexterous wings reaching down to take out some horn repair serum Rarity had given her long ago, for worst-case scenarios. It was a soft, lightly enchanted putty, meant to lock in the golden ichor that helped channel unicorn magic. Using a feather, she slowly patted the putty along his cracked horn.

Just hold on, Dusk, it’ll be alright…

***************************

Alright Rainbow, you can do this. Yoooou can do this. Just like you’ve day-dreamed. Just less… sexy. Right.

Taking a deep breath, and catching a rather strong whiff of Dusk Shine’s scent with it, Rainbow gently buried her muzzle into his downy feathers, her tongue lightly sliding over and smoothing the secondaries and down that had seemingly been stepped on and twisted. Indeed, as Rainbow’s tongue smoothed over one section, she found herself distinctively tasting the iron tange of a slightly rusted horseshoe, and grit from mud, suddenly her body into an angry bristle. Who would do this to Dusk Shine? He was one of the best stallions she had ever met, and beyond that, he was a friggin’ Prince. Did that mean nothing to anypony anymore?

“M’a failure.”

Rainbow’s head jerked free of his feathers in surprise, her ruby eyes widening. Dusk’s eyes were mercifully closed, but he had started to tremble again.

“Why would you say that, Dusk?” Fluttershy asked softly, holding up one of her hooves before Rainbow could speak indignantly.

Dusk, eyes still closed, sniffled, lightly pawing his nose.

“They… t-they got the d-drop on me. K-kicked me around, I… I couldn’t s-stop them,” he whimpered out, voice hoarse and thick with unshed tears, “T-they were r-right… m’a sorry excuse for a P-prince…”

“How many were there?” Fluttershy asked, hoof raising higher as Rainbow stuffed to puff up.

“T-three… u-unicorns, and an earth pony…”

“Four against one is long odds, even for a Prince, Dusk,” Fluttershy whispered softly, giving his cheek a gentle lick, “You’re a great Prince.”

“Totally!” Rainbow finally managed, doing her best to keep her voice as calm as possible, “Maybe we should get you a Guard unit, like the Princesses! I know I’m gonna find those mares, and-”

Fluttershy’s look stopped her rant before it began, Rainbow’s cheeks flushing lightly.

Dusk gave a low moan, hiding his head, “W-when Princess Celestia h-hears about this… sh-she… she’ll think…”

The young stallion couldn’t go on, curling up tightly for the rest of the night, even when Fluttershy sent Angel Bunny off to fetch Spines. Rainbow Dash was quiet as well, not trusting herself to speak past her rage. And Fluttershy… Fluttershy was the calm center to her friends, nuzzling and whispering soothingly to them both, as needed. Rainbow could see the usually shy pegasus’ own rage, buried deep down, and shivered faintly. She had seen Fluttershy angry, and it had been a sight to behold. She hated to be in the Castle when their letter got to Princess Celestia…

******************

“Rouse the entirity of the Guard, and sweep Everfree Forest! I want the perpetrators of this… this travesty before me in chains!”

Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria and Princess of the Sun, was angry. Indeed, rather… beyond angry. Furious was more accurate. When the letter, marked with a red ribbon for urgent, had appeared during Day Court, Celestia had halted proceedings to read it. Only those who knew her well could see the tension rising with each line read, or feel the slowly rising heat in the room. In a calm, if cool, voice, Celestia had postponed Day Court for the following day, ordering everyone but her advisors and the Captain of the Solar Guard out of the throne room. Only once the great royal doors were shut and locked into place did she stand, fire replacing the beautiful pastel colors of her mane and tail, eyes blazing like the heart of her Sun.

“The Prince Dusk Shine has been assaulted by brigands of our own kind!” she had roared, stomping her hoof on the marble floor, “The Guard will bring them to me! I will have them grovel for my forgiveness, BEG FOR MY LENIENCE, AND I SHALL-!”

“Celestia.”

Princess Luna had soundlessly teleported into the throne room mid-rant, easily stepping into the aura of blazing heat around her sister to lay a hoof on her withers. Celestia glared back at her, then at her advisors; the mares and single stallion in the room were cowering to the floor, heads bowed low and bodies shaking in abject fear of their raging Goddess. Remorse grew in Celestia’s heart, and she slowly sat back into her lightly glowing throne, drawing in a deep breath and letting it out as a cloud of white steam.

“I am sorry, my little ponies,” she replied quietly, “I… lost my temper. Sword Dance, send word to Princess-Consort Glimmer Shield in the Crystal Empire. She must be informed of what has happened to her brother, and I would like for her to bring several of her Crystal Lancers.”

Sword Dance, the first Guard Captain stallion in generations, slowly rose to his hooves, nodding at his diarch, “Of… o-of course, Your Highness, it will be sent at once. Shall… shall I rouse the Guard still?”

Celestia nodded, once, and the Captain was off, wings spreading to take flight the second he was out of the castle. Luna gave a noiseless whistle, and a figure dropped down from the rafters; the azure batpony landed without a noise on the marble floor, ears perked even as she bowed her head low, wings spread in submission.

“Mistress.”

“Rouse the Night Guard,” Luna replied coldly, “And prepare a chariot. I will go to Dusk Shine. We have things to discuss. Will you come with us, Sister?”

“Of course. I… I’ll bring our physicians as well. We must tend to Dusk Shine… my poor little colt…”

She closed her eyes and bowed her head; the advisors quietly backed from the room, just as the batpony turned to launch out of the throne room as well. They would leave their Goddess to her grief… and stay far away from her wrath to come.