Author's Note

I decided to make this chapter a bit longer. Again, let me know what you think and how I can improve. Since this is my first fanfiction, constructive criticism is encouraged

5. Getting to the Bottom of Things

Fluttershy awoke to some loud banging on her door. She quickly trotted to the door, saying her catchphrase “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness” the whole way. She opened up the door, only to be greeted by a very concerned Twilight and a very angry Applejack. “Oh, hello! Do you want to come in?” she asked warmly, stepping aside to let her friends in.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, getting her friend’s attention. “Have you had anything… strange happen to you recently?”

Fluttershy tilted her head in thought. “I’m sorry, but nothing really. Well, I have been getting more dreams recently and there are a few gaps in my memory, but nothing else,” the shy Pegasus said thoughtfully.

Twilight and Applejack exchanged a glance. “What kind o' dreams?” The latter asked.

The buttery mare thought for a moment. “Well, there was one dream that I’ve been having a lot.” She lowered her head, unable to look Applejack in the eye, even if she believed it was only a dream. “I’ve been dreaming of flying to Sweet Apple Acres and taking apples from the trees. There have been other dreams, but I get that one the most. I’m sorry.”

“Relax, Fluttershy,” Twilight said comfortingly. “Have you noticed that these dreams occur at the same rate as your occasional amnesia? Also, was this occurring before you came to me about your tooth?” The alicorn was levitating a clipboard and a pen was poised to write down the answers.

“Ummm, yes and no. I’m sorry. Am I in trouble?”

Twilight hesitated, wincing, before answering. “We’re not sure. There have been inci-”

Applejack stomped her hoof, impatiently interrupting Twilight. “Apples have been goin’ missin’ all over mah orchard! Twilight an’ Ah were lookin’ for clues an’ we found yer mane there!”

Fluttershy backed away from her friend’s sudden outburst. “Well, I didn’t actually take any apples; I only dreamed of it. But you can search here if you want.”

Twilight nodded, expressing an apology as Applejack barged in, frantically searching for her lost fruit. “Don’t make a mess!” The alicorn called, then turned her attention back to the Pegasus. “Fluttershy, would you mind coming over to the castle, after you finished feeding your animals tonight? I’d like to observe if there are any negative symptoms other than dreams and amnesia.”

“Of course, I’d love to. Anything to help!” Fluttershy answered warmly. “But it might be a little late. I would still need to tuck the animals in for the night.”

Twilight nodded. “That’s no problem,” she said while giving her friend a comforting smile. This smile quickly turned into a frown, however, as Applejack plodded out of the cottage.

“No luck.”

Twilight sighed. Another dead end. As she and Applejack turned to leave, she heard Fluttershy walk into her cottage and close the door.

“Ah’ll never save mah farm at this rate!” Applejack sighed, barely keeping herself from breaking down in grief.

“Don’t worry,” Twilight said, draping a wing over her friend, comforting her. “I think I may have an idea of what's going on.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t move. This would have been bad for a normal Pegasus, but it was agonizing for the fastest flier in Equestria. Her wings were twitching, practically begging to be unfurled. Rainbow had no idea how much time she had been trapped here due to the blindfold, but it didn’t matter anymore. She wanted, no, needed to fly and be free again.

Rainbow stiffened as she heard soft hoofsteps approaching her. She knew that it was her captor; enough time had passed that she knew no pony had heard her earlier screams. She lowered her head as the pony approached, hoping to seem obedient enough so as not to provoke her. Rainbow did not want to feel that blade again.

“Mmmm, how are you today, Rainbow Dash?” The pony asked, carefully pulling out her captive’s gag.

Rainbow tried to croak out an answer, but couldn’t. Her mouth and throat were so dry that it hurt to do anything besides breathe. She immediately felt a straw being forced into her mouth. Rainbow sucked greedily, downing the entire cup? Gallon? Bottle? It didn’t matter as long as she was able to drink.

Rainbow’s captor watched her greedily drink every last drop of water. “Is that better?” She asked. After receiving a grateful nod, she took her captive’s jaw in her hoof, lifting her head until it was facing her own, despite the ever-present blindfold. “Good. Now answer my first question: How are you today, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow felt her captor’s face was mere inches from her own. Before she could even react, she felt the familiar chill that rested heavily on her body and mind. So cold... cold, cold, so cold... It was this cloying chill that Rainbow fought against. Her faltering resistance shored itself up again at the chill, supported by stubbornness ingrained down to the very bone.

...Yet she couldn’t win no matter how hard she resisted. She could feel her defiance failing, submitting to this chill, this power that her captor wore like a second skin.

The trapped Pegasus squirmed slightly, as though trying to back away, but unable to muster enough effort for it to be significant. Despite herself, Rainbow heard her own voice, answering of its own accord: “I’m fine.” Nothing more, nothing less, no matter how hard she tried.

“Good,” the voice answered.

Rainbow then felt the hoof guiding her head down towards the ground. She realized that she smelled apples and started to feel around with her muzzle for the delicious fruit. Again, she ate greedily, yet savoring every single bite.

These are Sweet Apple Acres apples! I'd recognize that taste anywhere! Is Applejack behind this? Some sort of prank? No, Applejack would never think this was a good prank; it’s gone way too far!

Rainbow ate until she couldn’t eat anymore. When she was done, she began to feel a nice, warm sensation in her stomach. She licked her lips, getting rid of any apple remnants, and sighed in contentment. It was then that she realized that her stomach was growing warmer by the second. At this point, it was uncomfortably warm. Rainbow felt a numbness radiate from her stomach out toward her trapped limbs. “What…?” she managed to grit out, past the paralyzing power her captor had over her mind.

The pony simply chuckled, using a hoof to brush Rainbow’s mane to calm her. “No need to worry. I simply dipped those apples in a drug. You should be sleeping comfortably in no time.”

Rainbow started panicking, only to be immediately soothed by the warmth in her stomach and the hoof in her mane. Her thoughts softened, crushing her already-faltering resistance into oblivion. She heard the gentle yet commanding voice again: “I’m not going to do anything to you while you're asleep. I’m just making sure that you don’t do anything rash while I’m gone. One of your friends has asked me over for a sleepover, so I can’t be distracted and thinking about you throughout the night. By the time I come back in the morning, you’ll probably still be asleep. Don’t forget, when you wake up, I’ll have put apples on the ground in front of you for your breakfast.”

And with that, Dash slipped into unconsciousness. Her captor walked away, humming a cheerful tune.

Fluttershy trotted to her friend's castle. She had just finished putting her animals to sleep for the night, so now it was time for the sleepover that Twilight had mentioned earlier. As she opened the door to Twilight's castle, she half-expected Pinkie Pie to jump out, scaring her among a flurry of confetti. Luckily, Pinkie didn't pop out of anywhere. "Um, Twilight? Where are you?” She asked timidly, listening for her friend’s answer.

“We’re in the throne room, Fluttershy!” Twilight called, causing the Pegasus to jump slightly in surprise. She made her way towards Twilight’s voice, looking forward to the promised sleepover. It had been way too long since their last one. As Fluttershy entered the throne room, she was surprised to find that it was very empty. She could only see Twilight and Applejack.

“Where is everypony?” Fluttershy asked as she approached her friends.

“Ah asked Pinkie, but she said she had ta babysit Pumpkin an’ Pound. Apparently, the Cakes’re stretched thin.”

“Rarity is in Manehattan for a fashion show, so she obviously can’t make it…”

“An’ Ah looked all over Ponyville, but couldn’t find Dash anywhere! Ah’m startin’ ta get worried. She’s been missin’ for almost two days now!”

“Oh no!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “I hope she’s okay.”

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Tell me about your amnesia. When did it start and has it increased recently?”

Fluttershy scrunched her face, trying to remember. “It’s been going on for weeks now, since a few days after you helped me with my tooth. Umm, but I have noticed it happening more frequently. It’s been like that for about two days.” She shrank under the ponies’ intense gazes. “Oh my, did I say something wrong? Am I in trouble?” She asked timidly, attempting to hide behind her mane.

Applejack opened her mouth to give a sharp answer, but promptly got a faceful of purple as Twilight stuck her hoof in her friend’s mouth, effectively silencing her.

“No,” the princess emphatically answered. “You didn’t say anything wrong and you’re not in trouble.” She said these last words while glaring pointedly at Applejack. The farmer glared back but shrugged and stepped aside, far away enough that she wasn’t directly a part of their conversation, but close enough to still hear what was said.

Twilight turned back to Fluttershy. “We’re just curious if your increase in amnesia has to do with Rainbow’s disappearance. The two events are certainly correlated, but as Doctor Haybert West once said: ‘Correlation does not equal causation’. We were just hoping that you could shed some light on the whole situation. Can you tell me when your last amnesiac experience?” She asked while levitating scroll and quill, clearly eager to write everything down.

“Well, I’d be happy to help, but I already told you that I can’t remember. But I do know that I had one right after I finished feeding the animals. I walked out of my cottage and suddenly found myself nearly in Ponyville. But what does this have to do with Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked timidly.

Twilight hesitated, but at a pointed look from Applejack, answered the question. "Well, you said that your amnesia has been around since a few days after I helped you with your tooth and then you said that it intensified over the past two days. I'm willing to bet that the intensification of your memory loss has to do with where Rainbow is located." She picked up a spellbook. "This is the spell that I cast on you weeks ago. I didn't read the entire description before casting it, though. While I was thoroughly reading it afterward, I realized that something had gone wrong. This spell is supposed to take all the magic inside a pony and compound it into its own entity. But in rare cases, like you, Fluttershy, it stays in the pony. Unfortunately, these rare cases are afflicted with occasional outbursts of magic. I believe that your memory loss has something to do with these outbursts. I thought that it wouldn't be a problem since you don't have a horn, but I'd like to double-check that theory tonight."

Fluttershy perked up at the concept of helping find Rainbow Dash. "Oh! Of course. I'd be happy to help. Where do we start?"