The Fate Of Equestria Book 2: Elementery Quest

It has been nearly two months since Sombra had fallen and his twisted empire dismantled. Thanks to the efforts of everyone and the help of the mirror portal, the rebuilding of Equestria was coming along nicely. The castle and the hotels around Canterlot had been the first things they had focused on rebuilding. This ensured that everyone would have a safe place to sleep while the rest was being reconstructed. The other buildings followed soon after. Shops and businesses were up and running again in no time.

After a few expansions, there was room to build extra housing for everyone that was left. This left the remnants of Ponyville open for a memorial to honor those that had been lost along the way to Sombra's defeat. The memorial was made up of six white marble slabs, arranged into two rows of three. Each one scrawled with a list of names in a golden cursive writing. At the back end of it, facing the memorial from Canterlot, were three tall monoliths. One for each of the fallen princesses. They were painted brightly with a golden blazing sun, a purple six pointed star, and a light blue crystalline heart.

Since the events of Sombra, Luna had taken her place as the ruler of Equestria. Electing to promote her own ragtag band royal assitants. Making Jet her royal advisor, Rainbow the head of the guard, and Sunblast the head of research. Going so far as to give him and Rainbow a room inside the newly rebuilt castle as well as giving Sunblast a properly equipped lab within the castle. The bedroom that has been given to Jet and Rainbow was Celestia's old room as it was the bigger of the two bedrooms.

Within the bedroom, Jet lay in the bed. He slept restlessly, tossing and turning feverishly. He awoke with a start, panting heavily and drenched in a cold sweat. His pulse raced harder than a Wonderbolts show. It took a moment for his sleep clouded mind to comprehend the sudden change in surroundings and lighting. Blinking a few times, his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. His mind calmed as he scanned the familiar room.

He was sat on a large cushioned bed that was wrapped in a thin blue sheet. Behind him was a huge ornate headboard, it was shaped like a half circle and displayed a large crescent moon design. Under the bed, stretched across the floor, was a long dark blue rug. Across the room from the bed, against the opposite wall, sat a long wooden dresser. A few feet from the dresser was a door that led to a full bathroom. A small table sat on either side of the bed, each with a lamp. On the wall to the right of the bed was a large door that led out into the hallway of the castle. To the left was a glass double door that led out into a balcony. A thick flowing set of blue curtains hung from the wall above the door, allowing for privacy from any potential onlookers from outside.

Beside him, laying on her side facing towards the hallway door, was Rainbow Dash. She slept peacefully, snoring softly as her chest rose and fell gently. He smiled down at her, pulling the soft blanket off of himself and quietly slipped out of bed. The rug under the bed was warm against his bare feet. He stood and walked over to the balcony doors. Grabbing the curves brass handles, he gave them a twist and pulled the doors open silently. Stepping out onto the balcony, he was greeted with a warm spring breeze. The balcony was a small semi circle with a railing running the outer length of it. It gave Jet and Rainbow a serene view of the city anytime they needed a calming moment to collect their thoughts.

The stars shined dimly and the moon hung low in the sky, indicating that is was only a few hours until dawn. Jet looked out over the city as he leaned against the railing of the balcony. From here, he could make out the silhouette of the memorial in the distance. He stared at it for a long while, his thoughts scattered and unwilling to be wrangled in. They jumped from scene to scene in his head, repeating the multiple names on that memorial that he had been the one responsible for. It made his heart feel heavy in his chest, but he took solace knowing that they were in the afterlife where there was no more suffering for them.

He was unsure just how long he'd been standing there, lost in thought, but was broken from it by a sudden hand on his shoulder. He flinched instinctively, turning to face whoever it was with his fists clenched tightly in offense. He saw Rainbow Dash standing behind him. Her hair was a frizzy mess, her eyes baggy, and a concerned look on her face.

"Jet, you okay?" She asked, voice a little strained from being half asleep still.

"Y-Yeah, just peachy." He said, giving her a forced smile.

"Seriously? I might be half asleep, but I'm not stupid." She replied, crossing her arms.

"Ok, fine, you got me… I'm far from okay…" He admitted, leaning his back against the railing.

"I figured. If we don't count the whole come thing, we've been together a little over four years. So, I think I know you well enough by now to know when something's wrong." She said, moving to join him by the railing.

"I still can't believe you've put up with me that long." He said with a small laugh.

"Hey, you might be an asshole, but you have other traits that are equally as kind. Now quit trying to change the subject and tell me what's up." She replied with a grin.

"It's… It's this recurring nightmare I keep having. I've been having it ever since I defeated Sombra and cleansed the Royal Arms." He admitted with a sigh.

"What sort of nightmare?" She asked with a curious look

"I'm not really sure. It starts off like any normal dream, some happy scenario with either you and me or us and the others. Then, everything goes black and I'm left in an empty void. From somewhere in the darkness I can hear an unnerving whisper, the voice deep and commanding. The whisper suddenly stops and the shadows of the empty void start to move like the sea. I'm hit with a wave of pure darkness. After that I wake up, usually drenched in sweat and feeling as if I'm readjusting to my own body." Jet explained slowly, not really wanting to relive it in the waking world too.

"Oh, that sounds…" She started to say.

"Yeah, I know." He stated with another sigh.

"Have you talked to Luna about it? I mean dreams are her thing after all." She suggested.

"Yes, I have." He replied, looking up at the slowly brightening sky.

"What did she think about it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"She didn't know either." He said.

"Maybe if she entered the nightmare she could get a better idea of what's going on." She suggested with a shrug.

"I suggested that already…" He replied, looking back down to Rainbow.

"Did she do it?" She asked.

"Well, she tried…" He replied, trailing off.

"And?" She asked, sort of impatiently.

"She can't enter my dreams for some reason. She said something was locking her out of my mind somehow." He said with a shake of his head.

"How is that even possible?" She asked again.

"Your guess is as good as ours." He replied with another shrug.

"I guess maybe you'll get an answer eventually." She said with a soft smile.

"Yeah, maybe so. Just wish I could at least make it stop for one night though." He replied solemnly.

"I'd help if I could." She replied, leaning over to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"I know." He said, returning her smile.

"I hate to cut this short, but it's almost dawn. Gotta get ready for the day." She said, standing up from the balcony railing.

"Yeah, I'll see you later babe." He replied as she headed for the door.

He watched as she walked off, stopping to the flip the lights on in the bedroom. Heading into the bathroom not bothering to shut the door. He turned his gaze back to the sky. On the horizon, the sun was slowly creeping up over the mountains. It basked the whole land in a warm orange glow. The houses and businesses in the city were starting to light up as the denizens awoke to start their day. An uneasy feeling crept into Jet's stomach, but he pushed it away, chalking it up to his body still recovering from the nightmare. He heaved another sigh and turned towards the door, heading back in to also start his day.

Shutting the door behind him with a soft click, he gave a long stretch. He stopped at the dresser and pulled open one of the drawers. Inside was a modest wardrobe of white t-shirts and blue jeans, all nearly folded and tucked away inside. Grabbing one of each, he headed into the bathroom. It wasn't exactly small, but it wasn't that big either. It had a toilet on the wall immediately beside the door. Just on the other side of the toilet sat a moderately sized white porcelain sink. Just above it was a mirror that also contained a medicine cabinet behind it. On the opposite wall from the sink and toilet was a decently sized shower. A brightly colored rubbery curtain, featuring a random assortment of floral patterns, covering it. On the adjacent wall was a thin metal bar, a pair of fluffy pink towels hanging from it, one smaller than the other.

The shower was already running when he walked in. Steam hung in the air from the heat of the shower and had the mirror fogged up. Jet walked up to the sink after draining his bladder in the toilet. Twisting the small chrome handles, the water gushed from the faucet. He grabbed the small bar of soap from beside the faucet. Holding the oblong teal bar under the water, he lathered up his hands quickly before giving his face a good wash. While he was splashing the water over his face to rinse the soap away, he heard the shower stop. Grabbing for one of the towels, his hand was met with a much softer and rounder object. Shaking the water from his face enough to open his eyes, he looked up to see what he had grabbed. Standing in front of the towel rack, hands on her hips, and still dripping wet from the shower was Rainbow Dash. Jet's hand was on her bare chest while she grinned widely.

"Oh, really?" Jet said with a chuckle.

"Hey, you're the one perving. All I did was step out of the shower." Rainbow retorted with a giggle.

"While you're standing there, pass me a towel?" He said with a smile, pulling his hand back.

"Sure thing, perv." She replied with a wink.

She passed him the smaller of the two towels, grabbing the bigger one for herself. He took it and toweled his face the rest of the way dry while she dried off as well. Changing out of his pajamas and into the fresh set of clothes. After applying some deodorant from the medicine cabinet, he headed back out into the room. He headed to his bedside table and opened the small drawer set within it. Inside was a small leather bound notebook, the vial of dust he had taken from Sombra's corpse, and Jet's nanite armor unit. He grabbed all three things. Lashing the vial around his neck, stuffing the notebook in his pocket, and slapping the nanite unit on his chest. The nanintes that made up his armor flowed across his body like water, covering him in the red and black highlighted armor. Having gathered his things, he was ready for the day. He headed for the door, passing a kiss off to Rainbow on the way. Gripping the brass handle of the door, he pulled it open and stepped into the hallway.