When the Dash Comes Around

Princess Luna stood out on the balcony, watching Canterlot as the sky turned dark. It was nearly time to raise the moon. The street lamps of the city gave light to the cobblestone roads and sidewalks. Canterlot always looked beautiful at night, which was something Luna always admired about this modern Equestria she has returned to.

With a glow of her horn, she pointed to the sky, and the moon was risen over the edge of the earth, taking the sun’s place as the main occupant of the sky. Luna noticed it was a full moon on this night. It was the most glorious full moon she had ever seen. It was almost as bright and shiny as the sun itself. She hoped Celestia didn’t see it, or else she will be jealous. Luna chuckled at the thought of Celestia being jealous of her.

A full moon this magnificent deserves some constellations, Luna thought. She loved bringing stars together to make pictures on the night sky. Since the next day will mark the beginning of the week of the Summer Sun Celebration, Luna considered the nights should be filled with constellations. She decided the first image of the night should be of Elyra, the goddess mare of the North. There were remarkable stories of her wisdom and bravery passed down through the ages. Luna imagined the citizens of the Crystal Empire will appreciate it. Luna assembled a few stars to create a nightly image, almost like a game of connect the dots.

The constellation of Elyra was almost complete until she noticed that something was amiss on the northeast section of the sky. A few of the stars were out of line, Luna realized when looked closely.

“Odd,” she said aloud.

How did that happened? To anyone else it wouldn’t have been a cause of alarm, since they were just mere stars, but to Princess Luna the stars were her ornaments for the night. She decree that not one star shall be out of place. Luna turned away from Elyra to fix this problem. The northeast stars were glowing when she aimed her horn at them, and not one moment later they were organized as they should be.

“That should do it,” Luna said.

The problem was solved, and Luna returned to creating the pony goddess of the North.

But something was wrong. Luna believe her eyes when she saw that the stars she assembled were scattered, ruining the image of Elyra. She looked on in confusion, then hastily fixed the goddess. How could that be, Luna wondered. She was sure she was nearly finished with the constellation.

While she tried to put the stars of Elyra back together, Luna glanced at the other direction and was shocked to see that, once more, the northeast stars were displaced.

“What?” gasped Luna.

This didn’t make any sense. How can this be happening? Luna has always kept her watchful eye over her stars. What was the cause of this?

Luna disregarded the constellation. She opened the portal that lead to a hallway in the castle, then rushed inside. Thinking fast, she teleported to Celestia’s bedroom. Her room was brightly lit, the room temperature comfortably warm. The walls were plastered with gold and white wallpaper with her cutie mark on them. Celestia was lying on her bed reading a book, and casually looked up as Luna suddenly entered her room. When she looked at Celestia’s face, Luna wondered how she can be so calm about this.

“Celestia, I have a matter of great urgency!” she said.

“What’s wrong?” asked Celestia.

Luna took a moment to breath before answering. “The stars are not right,” she said gravely.

“What do you mean?”

“My stars are out of place! Something has bewitched them!” Luna said loudly.

Celestia only reaction was to blink. Her sister seem very worried. The last thing she wanted to do was to not take Luna’s anxiety lightly, but she still didn’t understand. “Maybe if you can show me,” Celestia began to say.

Before she can finish her sentence Luna grabbed her hoof, opened another portal, and took her to her balcony. Luna pointed to the direction of the sky where Elyra and the northeast stars were located so Celestia can see for herself what has been done to them. Luna informed her of what had happened when she tried to fix them.

“Never before were the stars like this,” she said.

“That is very strange,” Celestia said, although she wasn’t sure of what to make of the situation.

“Celestia, I believe we have in our midst a premonition. The stars are trying to tell us something.”

“What are they trying to tell us?” asked Celestia.

“That something terrible has happened… or will happen.”

Celestia had a grave look on her face, as did her sister. “What should we do?” she asked.

Luna didn’t say a word. Instead she opened a portal and allow themselves to enter through. They found themselves in the throne room, much to the surprise of the castle night guards. Luna cast a firm glance at Celestia, silently telling her to stand tall for them.

“Guards assemble, for we have grave news,” Luna announced. “On this night the stars have given us a sign, warning! We must of you to be ever vigilant during these trying times! Stand guard not for this throne, not for this castle, but for Equestria itself! Be the watchponies for our grand kingdom, and make sure no adversary will come our way!”

The guards responded in unison, and they took their posts on different parts of the castle. Another group of guards took to the city. Those who were pegasi took to the sky. By morning the city of Canterlot will be on full alert.

“Shall I make a protective shield for the castle?” asked Luna.

“No. Not yet,” said Celestia. “We don’t know for sure what kind of danger we’re facing.”

“All the more reason to take precaution!”

“But we don’t want to frighten our ponies,” Celestia said softly. “The Summer Sun Celebration is upon us, remember?”

“So you want to us to wait for some madpony to sneak into the castle garden to free Discord?” Luna said sharply. “How about we extend our hooves to another Changeling spy!”

“Luna, be reasonable! Until we find out what threat we’re dealing with, I don’t want you to go overboard. There will be no shield unless we both agree to put it up. Do you understand?”

Luna delivered a gaze full of bewilderment for Celestia. No words were exchanged, the essence of a quiet standoff.

“Fine, sister. Whatever you desire,” said Luna.

She teleported herself away. There was an observation deck on the top of the castle. Celestia figured she was probably going to be up there for the rest of the night. She seated herself on her throne, her hoof on the side of her head, trying to figure out their next move.

A night guard noticed how distressed she looked. “Is there anything I can do for you, Your Majesty?” he asked.

She smiled at him. “I’m fine. Although you can join your ranks in watching the castle.”

The guard bowed and marched away. Now Celestia was alone with her thoughts. She hoped the madness of Discord’s return or the terror of the Changeling invasion wouldn’t happen again. Then her thoughts dwelled on the Elements of Harmony, and how they remain at their weaken state. Celestia always thought the Element of Magic was the most important of the group. All this time she hadn’t realized if one was out of the equation, all will fail. In her mind she saw a snowball rolling down a hill that only grew as it went on. Soon it will collide with everything, and there was nothing she can do.

“Oh no,” said Twilight. Spike listened closely as she quietly read the morning newspaper. An article she was reading was troubling her, he realized.

“What’s wrong?” Spike asked.

“Have you read this? There are watchponies all over Canterlot. It said Princess Luna had some sort of premonition involving the stars last night.”

“Wow. I hope it doesn’t effect the Summer Sun Celebration,” said Spike. “Do you think anything bad might happen?”

“I hope not. And if it does, I wonder if we can stop it. We still don’t have a replacement for Rainbow Dash. The power of the Elements remains ineffective.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” said Spike.

Suddenly there were frantic knocks on the door to the library.

“Who could that be?” asked Twilight.

Spike believed it was probably some Daring Do fans who wanted to know if the latest book has been shipped. He went to the door so he can tell them to be patient, but when he opened it he saw it was Twilight’s friends, all with worried faces, including Pinkie Pie.

“Twilight, we have a bit of a situation on our hooves,” said Rarity. She presented the newspaper to her and Spike.

“I know. We were reading about it this morning,” said Twilight.

“Oh, this is all so terrible. What do you think is happening, dear?”

“I don’t know. And from what I’ve read, I don’t think the princesses know either.”

The ponies and Spike sat at the table with Twilight. Their faces hadn’t changed since reading the newspaper.

“It could be nothing,” Applejack finally said. “You know how these things are. A major event is happening, and they don’t want anypony to cause trouble.”

“How do we know for sure?” asked Fluttershy. “What happens if it’s really a threat?”

“If it’s a threat, then the princesses can stop it, right?” said Spike. He looked at Twilight for reassurance. She took a moment to think about it, which made Spike nervous.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” said Applejack. “Those last couple of times when there was a big threat to Equestria - you know them, Nightmare Moon and Discord, it was just us. Then Queen Chrysalis came to town, and it Cadence and Shining Armor who saved the day. And the Crystal Empire, you could say it was the love of the citizens that got everything together.”

“The Crystal Heart. Yes, I remember. What are you trying to say?” asked Twilight.

“What I’m trying to say is… do you think something may happen again that won’t require us and such?”

“At this point, I don’t know anymore.”

“And another thing,” said Pinkie Pie. “There are still five of us. If something that only we can solve, do you think the power of the Elements can still work?”

“As much as I like to believe, I don’t think that’s possible,” answered Twilight gloomily.

“Is the Element of Loyalty that important?” asked Spike.

“All of the Elements are important. If you take one away, the magic becomes weak and harmony out of balance. It needs everyone in order for it to work.”

Twilight read a few passages of the headline, then sighed heavily to herself. Out of nowhere, her greatest fears that took her almost half of a year to overcome has been realized. The day was so bright and sunny before this moment.

“You may not agree, but I’m with Applejack on this one,” said Spike. “Maybe they’ve decided to be extra careful. I’m sure things are going to be okay. It’s not the end of the world, hopefully.”

Twilight gave him a look, and realized he should have never said “hopefully.”

She closed her eyes and thought back to what Princess Cadence said to her the previous year. It was Twilight’s duty to keep her friends together, even in times such as this. The only problem was that she didn’t know what to do.

“We’ll figure something out,” said Applejack. “When a threat does come, the princesses can help us out. There’s no way they’re going to let Equestria go to the dogs.”

“You do have a point,” said Rarity. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to worry about it just a little. We need to create a plan for ourselves.”

“What kind of plan can we make?” asked Pinkie.

“I don’t know. But we’ll have it all figured out when we cross that bridge,” answered Rarity.

Silence settled into the room. The ponies and Spike glanced nervously at each other. They were waiting for someone to say something, to break the air of uneasiness.

“Well… I’ve always believed in… um, miracles,” said Fluttershy. “I was thinking… some things happen that are so incredible that we’re not even sure if they happened at all. A miracle can happen when we least expect it.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Fluttershy, but we can’t something like this to fate,” said Twilight.

“What if it’s fate that’ll help us?” asked Pinkie. Everyone looked at her, surprised that such a question came from such a pony. “You may not believe, but we still can’t rule it out. Fluttershy is right, of course. Weird and incredible stuff has been known to happen sometimes. Just because we can’t explain it logically doesn’t mean we have to disregard it. Maybe there will come a time when Equestria won’t need the Elements anymore, and something unexplainable will happen because of it. That’s just my two bits.”

“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” sighed Twilight. “Before we move on, I will say this - What’s happening in Canterlot is making us nervous, but there is one thing we can do. We must stand together no matter what happens, and we must not let fear get the better of us. Harmony will stand tall, either with or without the Elements.”

She smiled at everyone, and Spike was the only one who smiled back. This was the Twilight Sparkle she wanted to see. He couldn’t stand it when she low in her spirit. It made him feel as though there wasn’t any hope left in the world.

The ponies gave unsure glances at each other. Then, slowly, all nodded in agreement with Twilight. Despite the tension that was slowly building in Canterlot, there were two things that will never be options for her as long as Twilight still drew breath - losing faith in her best friends and losing faith in the princesses.

It has been a while, maybe a year perhaps, but Scootaloo decided it was time to pay Rainbow Dash a visit. She brought Tank with her. Scootaloo figured he wanted to see her as well. He was Rainbow Dash’s pet tortoise. They took to the road on her scooter, all the way to park and past the playground, and out on the open field filled with grass. The lightning-bolt sculpture was there after all this time, and it was just as polished as it was when it was first unveiled to the public. The groundskeeper, or whoever was responsible for such a task, has done a great job of making sure it didn’t deteriorate. Scootaloo took Tank out of his basket and placed him on her back, then approached Rainbow Dash’s memorial silently.

“Hey Rainbow Dash, long time no see,” she began to say. “I’m sorry I haven’t visited you for a long time. I think when fall came, everyone decided to move on. But we didn’t forget about you at all. We still talk about the good times we had with you. I’ve got Tank with me. We’re getting along just fine. He misses you, though, and so do I.

“Everyone decided to fill in for you. At the end of the summer last year, Rarity took me and the Crusaders to see the Wonderbolts in Canterlot. It was really cool. I met some guy named Fancy Pants, and he seems to know Rarity already. He took us backstage to actually see the Wonderbolts. I autographs from Soarin and Spitfire, and they gave me a little pep talk afterwards. It was really fun.

“Then we entered this go-kart race during September. Pinkie Pie helped me build mine. I got third place, but none of that matters. Come to think about it, Pinkie Pie and I have been doing everything together. She even taught how to pull a few pranks without anyone suspecting. I even helped her plan a few birthday parties. Did you know I was her guest for the Grand Galloping Gala? The decision was between her and Fluttershy, but Pinkie insisted I’d be her guest. She didn’t say it out loud, but she didn’t want me to get bored throughout the night.

“We still hadn’t got our cutie marks yet, but that’s okay. After everything that’s happened, I’m not really in a hurry to get it anymore.

“I also met a pegasus family that moved into your home. Well, most of them. I haven’t met the father yet. They’re really nice. We also think a storage company has all your stuff. Applejack is going to contact town hall about it soon. I don’t want any of that stuff to be thrown out.

“A couple of days ago I spoke with Twilight Sparkle. I wanted to know about the Elements of Harmony, since it’s almost the Summer Sun Celebration and that’s when the six of you got together. Twilight said that since you’re no longer the Element of Loyalty, the magic will get pass down to someone else, although she said it was only theory, but I still don’t think it’s possible. I don’t think there is anyone as loyal as you. You were the embodiment of loyalty.

“Then, after we talked, Twilight looked at me very funny. I don’t know what it was, but she probably think I’m… that’s a stupid idea. Whatever she is thinking about, I’m not it. There’s no way I can be. There has to be someone better. What can I do?”

“Do you know why ponies speak to the dead?” a male voice said. Scootaloo turned around and saw a stallion with gray skin and long brown hair. He wore a tan buttoned coat. He resumed speaking, all without looking at her. “They do it for comfort. To feel as though the dearly departed are still with them. As long as the living do things like these, speaking to the graves of those long-gone, their memory will never fade. As it goes.”

“... Who are you?” asked Scootaloo, “and were you listening to me this whole time?”

“I hadn’t listened to everything you said. I always pass this spot whenever I take my walks around the park. Whenever I do I see this monument, but I have no idea who it belongs to. Tell me, did it belong to anypony important?”

“It’s for Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo answered.

“What did she do to have this sculpture dedicated to her?”

“Well… she was well-liked around here. She had lots of friends, and she was great pony with a great personality. Then she had an accident when she was flying… and she died.”

“I see. Were you related to her in anyway?”

“We were kind of like family, in a sense.”

“Then I give you my condolences.”

The stallion said nothing else. Scootaloo looked at him, not sure what his deal was. He never made eye contact with her, and looked at the sculpture in a very strange way, as if it were an item in a museum.

“I guess I’m gonna go home now,” said Scootaloo.

“But I haven’t given you the message yet,” the stallion said.

Scootaloo stopped on her tracks, turned back to him. “A message?” she asked.

“Yes. I’ve come to grant you a message, a very important one in fact. Would you like to hear it?”

“I don’t understand… what? Who are you?”

“A work for a place… very far away.”

“How far?”

“Very far,” answered the stallion.

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. “Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I’m falling for it. I’m best friends with the town prankster. I have to go now.”

“Not without the message. What I say to you is neither a joke nor trick. It’s a message from On High, and it involves your internal thoughts you’ve just express to that memorial. Just stay for a moment.” Scootaloo sighed then decided to hear what the stallion had to say. He took out a note from his coat pocket, cleared his throat, and began to read. “To Scootaloo - there are times when you have doubt in yourself and have no idea what to do. There are times when ponies expect so much of you that you don’t know if you can deliver. To overcome this fear, you must cast aside all doubt from your heart and mind and do what you were meant to do. Never be afraid of destiny.” The stallion put the note away and smiled at her.

“How did… how did you know my name?” asked Scootaloo.

“From a really good source,” answered the stallion. “You take care of yourself.”

“But who sent you the message?” she asked.

“All will be revealed soon. Just remember those words.”

And with that, the stallion walked away. Scootaloo watched him go. She couldn’t comprehend what happened during their conversation. She hadn’t learned the stallion’s name. Scootaloo shook her head and thought nothing of it. She turned toward the memorial.

“Do what I was meant to do… yeah, right,” she said mockingly. She hoped she never sees that stallion again.

Legion managed to finally have Trixie under their full control. The host walked like a proper, demon-possessed pony. The few ounces of resistance as wiped away entirely. Trixie’s soul was locked away; there was only Legion. Although there was still the problem of Legion’s weakness. He was trapped in that cursed box for a millennia, and his strength had left him during that time. They knew this one pony wouldn’t be enough to feed their power.

They found themselves on a desert road with nothing around for miles. If it was just Trixie she would have complained about the unbearable heat and the immense perspiration that was trickling down her forehead and drenching her skin. Legion said nothing of the sort. They kept walking, not fully knowing what their next move will be. The atmosphere seem to change wherever they went. Darkness and shadows followed them, like storm clouds rolling over the sky.

In the middle of nowhere they found a small establishment, a diner to be exact. Legion smiled devilishly. Surely there must be fresh souls to feed on, they thought. Like proper demons they disregarded the rules of the road and crossed without looking both ways. Legion went for the door, but a dark began to bark at them. They gave a dog the worst glare it had ever seen in a pony, a glare that was full of darkness and despair, and the dog whimpered and backed away, running toward the opposite end to cowar.

“Pathetic creature,” said Legion.

They entered the diner, and found there were only three ponies inside - a stallion sitting at a stool, the waitress and the cook. Legion grumbled. Three souls weren’t nearly enough to feed them. However, they’ll have to take what they can get for now.

“Hi there, ma’am,” the waitress said pleasantly. “Welcome to Joe’s, the best diner on this side of Equestria, can I help you?”

“I will like a seat… near a window,” Legion said through Trixie.

The waitress had a spine-chilling sensation when she heard the mare talk with an incredibly raspy voice, but she gave her a seat next to a window.

“Can I start you off with anything to drink?” the waitress asked.

“Give me water… mixed with salt. Lots of salt.”

The waitress only stared. What kind of pony orders something horrible like salt water? she wondered. Legion sent her the most ugly smile they can make, then the waitress quickly trotted away. Legion stopped smiling and pretended to look at the menu. They didn’t need to eat this disgusting mortal food. Legion only had cravings for fresh souls.

Looking ahead they saw a stallion with a stetson hat sitting at a stool. He winked at them, and they were utterly disgusted. They hid their face behind the menu, hoping the stallion will not try to court them. Unfortunately he came their way, still with that look of confidence on his face.

“Hello there, ma’am,” he said. “Mind if I sit with ya?”

Legion said nothing. They gave him a look, telling him they were going to consume his soul without words, but the stallion took a seat on the opposite side of the both. The waitress returned with Legion’s glass of salt water. “Excuse me, I’ll have a glass of whatever she’s having,” the stallion said to the waitress.

The waitress looked at the two ponies, even more disgusted than she was before. She walked away, mumbling about how salt water was awful.

“So what’s a unicorn like yourself doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” asked the stallion.

“Walking,” Legion answered.

The stallion nodded. The waitress returned with his glass of salt water. He offered a toast, but Legion refused, only choosing to stare at him. The stallion coughed and sucked in his cheeks after drinking the salt water.

“That’s some strong stuff,” he said.

“What do you want?” growled Legion.

“I just want to talk to you. It ain’t everyday I see a unicorn as pretty as yourself roaming the desert all by her lonesome. Where are you from?”

“... far,” answered Legion.

“How far?”

“Farther than you can possibly imagine,” said Legion.

“Sounds to me you’re a city slicker,” the stallion chuckled.

Legion wondered why they were wasting time with this mortal. Was it possible they were trying to toy with him before taking him? They decided not to waste time. They had souls to feed on.

“I want to tell you a secret,” said Legion.

“I love secrets. What y’all got for me?”

Legion drew their face close to the stallion. He could see the red iris on the mare’s eyes, and he was a little uneasy about it. They grabbed the stallion by the collar of his jacket and whispered in his ear. The stallion reacted by jumping out of his seat, much to the confusion of the waitress. He saw that the mare’s eyes began to glow a horrible red glow, He crawled up from the floor and tried to make for the door, but it was suddenly locked.

“Your souls are mine!” Legion announced.

They raised their arms, then the stallion and the waitress were lifted from the floor. The cook rushed out of the kitchen to see what was going on, only to almost faint as he witnessed the two ponies being control by this blue mare. Their bodies twist and shook, all while the mare let out the most devilish laugh the cook had ever heard. Then, they were released from the mare’s grasp. But something was wrong. The ponies stood up, slowly, struggling with their legs. Their eyes had a terrible red glow.

“Yes… perfect,” Legion said. They noticed the cook was standing behind them, his face white with fear and disbelief. “I’ll have these two to go,” they said.