Chapters Author's Note
So, I really thought this was being published way later than I said it would be. In reality, it's being published write on the 'two months' dot. I really thought it had been longer, especially when I scrapped the original story idea and had to rewrite SEVEN CHAPTERS because I didn't plan things properly. Hope you guys enjoy!
The Start of It
Despite the fact that they'd spent a considerable length of time planning the dinner together, and despite how much Rainbow Dash loved the expensive Manehattan-cut strip steak on her plate, she wasn't eating it, and her friends had begun to notice.
"Is everything alright there, Rainbow?" Applejack asked her.
"Ehhhh..." She continued staring at her plate. "Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out how to say this."
"Say what, darling? Is there something wrong with your food?" Rarity asked. She looked guiltily at Rainbow's food. "I'm so sorry, I--"
"It's not the food!" Rainbow interrupted. "It's, uh...you've just never served us all with the silver dishes, right?"
"Well, no," Rarity said slowly. "They are expensive, and admittedly, I was worried about them getting damaged, but my best friends deserve only the best!"
"They're, uh, pure silver, right?"
"Why, yes! The purest!"
Rainbow groaned, covering her face with her hands.
"Is--is something the matter?"
"This is as good a time as any, I suppose," Rainbow said, voice muffled from her arms. "So, I can't eat off of silver dishes."
"Really, Rainbow Dash, it's alright. They're not that delicate--"
"No, it's not about that. It's...you know how I asked us to reschedule this for a night earlier?"
The girls nodded.
"So do you know what tomorrow is?"
"Uh, Monday?" Applejack put in.
"The full moon?" Pinkie suggested.
"Pinkie, darling, whatever could that have to do with why she can't eat off of silver dishes?" Rarity said. She paused. "Oh my. I--I think I got it."
Sunset let out a groan, her face planting against the table. "Dash, are--are you joking? This is a prank?"
"Nope. I...I'm a werewolf."
"My goodness," Fluttershy said. "When--when did this happen? You weren't a werewolf when we were young!"
"No, it's...recent. Ish. That part I...don't want to talk about yet." She squirmed uncomfortably. "It' doesn't matter, anyway."
"Well, you say it like that, and it sound completely irrelevant, doesn't it?" Rarity said, giving her a pointed stare.
"It is! Er, mostly!" Rainbow glared at her. "Look, I just don't want to talk about that , okay? Any other questions about werewolf-hood--"
"I'm pretty sure the term is 'lycanthropy'," Pinkie said.
"Uh, sure. Any other questions, I'm fine with asking."
"Are you stronger than other people?" Applejack asked immediately.
Rainbow Dash nodded.
Applejack grinned. "So that's how you became captain of all those sports teams, huh?"
"Wha--HEY!" Rainbow Dash bolted out of her seat. "Just so we're clear, no! It's not, that would be cheating! I have to tap into that strength as a choice!" She paused. "The enhanced endurance and healing are, uh, non-optional, but...still, that's--it's not like super healing comes up during football games."
Applejack laughed.
"Well, shut up! So there!" Rainbow sat back down. "Any other questions?"
"Do you have a pack?" Rarity asked.
"Um, my backpack is over there, but I'm not sure why that's relevant--"
"No, darling, a pack of werewolves," Rarity said. "As in, other werewolves you hang out with and who help each other."
"No. If I know any other werewolves, I don't know what they are. I--think I should be able to tell them apart, but I haven't met others, so..." She shrugged.
"Have you met other creatures?" Sunset asked. "Well, myself and the Sirens excluded, of course."
"Nope. Again, not that I know of." She shrugged. "It's entirely possible that most of you guys are a coven of vampire witches, and I just don't know it."
"Well, no, but Grandma Pie was a gypsie," Pinkie said.
Sunset looked like she was about to ask another question, but hesitated.
"Come on, Sunset," Rainbow Dash prodded. "Shoot away."
"No, it's--it's nothing," Sunset said.
"It doesn't sound like nothing," Fluttershy put in.
"She--already said she doesn't want to talk about it, so--"
Rainbow sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ask me later, then," she relented.
"No, I wouldn't want to--" Sunset winced. "Sorry, I--"
"Hey, Rarity?" Rainbow said, purposefully interrupting her friend.
"Yes?"
Rainbow Dash pointed to her steak. "Can I get a non-silver dish now?"
"Oh, of course, darling!" Rarity said, rushing off. As she came back, she asked, "How concerned should we be about you accidentally touching silver, by chance?"
"It makes me break out in blisters. Otherwise, I got this," Rainbow Dash said with a grin. "I've been dealing with this curse for a couple of years now. I have a pretty good handle on it, at this point."
"Curse?" Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow Dash sighed. "Yes. I would say it's more 'curse' than 'blessing'," she said slowly. "Believe it or not, magically turning into a wolf that's almost three times my size is quite painful, I have to change on the full moon, and--" She paused. "--The wolf form can be difficult to control," she said quietly. "I'd like it if you guys...steered clear of me while I'm like that. As I said, I've gotten...a handle on it, but...just in case..."
"Of course, darling! Anything you need, we're happy to provide!" Rarity said, sliding Rainbow Dash's steak onto a fresh plate. "Isn't that right, girls?"
A chorus of agreements echoed through the dining room.
Rainbow chuckled, eyes closing. "Thanks. You guys...made this way easier than I thought it would be."
"While I never heard of anything like werewolves in Equestria, I can try asking Princess Twilight if she could find something about the subject," Sunset offered.
"I--wouldn't be opposed," Rainbow Dash said slowly. "But only if she's not super busy with all her princess duties and the like."
"I'll let her know, then!" Sunset declared. Her stomach grumbled, and she sheepishly looked to her untouched food. "Um, later, so we, uh, don't bother her."
Her friends laughed at that.
"So," Rarity said, "have you considered wolf-form makeovers?"
Rainbow Dash paused. "No, no, no, no," she said. "I just said I want you guys staying away from my wolf form. Like, far away."
"Oh, of course, darling! It was just a thought!" She held up her hands placatingly.
"Rarity. You and your sewing kit and make-up box are not getting anywhere near me as a werewolf."
"What would make-up on a wolf even look like, anyhow?" Applejack said.
"I don't want to think about it too hard," Rainbow muttered. She began cutting off pieces of her steak.
"I'm going to agree with Rainbow on this one, Rares," Sunset put in. "I'm not sure there's anything in your repertoire of skills that could be used to beautify a werewolf."
Rarity pouted. "I suppose you're right," she admitted. "Though, as far as human clothes are concerned, I might have just been hit with some fresh inspiration..."
Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. Then she smiled. "You know, I was half worried this was going to turn into some big debacle. So...thanks. For being good friends."
"Oh, of course!" Fluttershy nodded. "I'd never try to make you uncomfortable about this! But--well, it is going to take a liiiiittle getting used to."
"You have no idea," Rainbow muttered. "It...took me a while to learn to manage."
"Rainbow, do you--" Applejack hesitated. "Everythin's a'right with ya, right?"
Rainbow nodded. "Fit as a fiddle."
Applejack let out a sigh of relief. "Well, glad to hear it," she said. "But if yah do have any werewolf-specific problems, let us know, right?"
"Of course. You're my gals. I've been trying to figure out how to say it since the Battle of the Bands!" She laughed. "Oh, yeah. That was fun."
"So,like, do you think you could have dealt with the Sirens on your own?" Sunset asked.
"Uh--it had occurred to me, but a few...problematic thoughts kept me from trying." She ran a hand through her hair. "It wasn't the best time to tell all you guys about it, and if their magic suddenly started working on me, I wouldn't want you guys to suddenly have to deal with a three-hundred pound raging werewolf."
"Here, here," Pinkie said. "That would sure be uncomfortable! I reeeeally hope that we never have to deal with that in the future!" She took a bite of her food, chewing contentedly as a silence filled the room.
"Please, don't jinx it," Rainbow begged. "Please."
They shared a laugh at that. Rainbow laughed along, even if it wasn't quite as legitimate as theirs were.
Not when she didn't think it was nearly as funny as they did.
The glowing letters from Princess Twilight appeared onto the journal page slowly. So, explain this to me one more time. Starting from 'nopony controls the moon in the human world'.
Sunset sighed, then began writing back. So, right. No one controls the moon, and it orbits the Earth from space. It is not close down inside the Earth's atmosphere. Neither would it work as a good prison as some of the old myths suggest the pony moon was used as. Due to science things, as the moon orbits the Earth, it receives more or less light from the sun based on its position relative to the Earth. Are you following?
It took a second for Twilight to reply. Now that Spike and I have set up a model? Yes. So the moon is reflecting light from the sun, and based on where it is, it is reflecting 'more or less' light, as you say.
Sunset let out another sigh, this one of relief. Yes. Based on how far it's traveled, we see more of it some nights than others. This is called 'the Lunar Cycle' and most people don't really keep track of it. But around once a month, the moon reflects enough light to be 'full'. This would look like the Equestrian moon--a complete circle, rather than a 'waxing' or 'waning' crescent.
She paused, letting that all sink in for Twilight.
Okay, I think I got it, Twilight wrote back. And on these nights, the 'werewolf' creatures turn into their wolf form?
Yes, but according to Rainbow, she does still have access to some magic the rest of the time, Sunset sent. She hesitated. I'll have to ask her if it's strength depends on the fullness of the moon, because that would be interesting to see.
All in all, I don't recall reading anything about werewolves--
Sunset interrupted her, writing a few lines ahead. If you ask anypony, use 'lycanthropes'. Werewolf translates roughly to 'human-wolf', so I doubt it would be the Equestrian term.
Right, Twilight acknowledged. So, I've never heard that term referenced before, either, but if anyone would know, it would be Princess Luna. She has been raising the moon for...I'm not really sure how long, actually. Since she came back from her banishment--
BANISHMENT? I mean, I never saw her, and I was kinda shocked to see her over here, but I had heard Princess Celestia mention a sister once or twice. Yet--what do you mean, 'banishment'?
Princess Luna is the Mare in the Moon from the old stories, Twilight said, taking her turn to explain. She and Princess Celestia have fully made amends with each other now, though.
Sunset sat back in her chair, letting out a breath. Are you meaning to tell me...that Vice Principal Luna...is Nightmare frikkin' Moon?
It was its own kind of whiplash for me, too, seeing her in her office , came Twilight's reply.
Sunset laughed at that. I do have another question, but I think it's more in your area of expertise than Princess Luna's.
Friendship problem? Twilight asked.
Kind of. So, the other thing about lycanthropy is that it's not like a unicorn horn, pegasus wings, or even being a dragon. If a werewolf bites you, you can become a werewolf.
Twilight skipped ahead hearing the rest of what Sunset was writing. You want to ask her if she could turn you into one?
Sunset sighed, running a hand through her hair. Kind of? She said it was a curse, but in all honesty, I think that's just because she's grown up in a world without magic. She said that she has some trouble controlling her wolf form, but from everything she said, I don't think it was that hard for her. Otherwise, she'd have put more emphasis on us staying away. But she also said that she didn't want to talk about how she became a werewolf. It sounded like she had some bad memories about that, and I don't want to poke at them.
She stopped, seeing the glowing text showing Twilight's reply. I'd give it some time. Let her talk to you about the bad memories at her own pace--and don't ask immediately after she shares them, either. Let her get the help she needs, and then--assuming you still want to--ask her about it. Personally, I don't see why you'd want this. It seems more inconvenient than helpful.
Sunset chuckled. That's because you didn't flunk out of Princess Celestia's friendship lessons, Princess Twilight. I don't think you've ever felt the lust for power like I have.
You didn't flunk out of--
I ran away so I could go and steal magic to depose her from her throne. If that doesn't count as 'flunking', I don't know what does.
Twilight didn't write back immediately. It took her long enough so that Sunset was beginning to think she wouldn't reply by the time she did.
Everypony makes mistakes. But when I came back to Equestria after the Fall Formal, the very first thing she asked was to make sure you were alright, Sunset. See? You did nothing unforgivable. She already has.
Sunset stared at the writing for a long time before she could muster the courage to reply. Do you think you could tell her I'm sorry?
Maybe you could tell her yourself? If you have the time, you could come over and visit. Then you could ask Princess Luna about lycanthropy in pony, too.
Sunset considered. That does sound appealing, she admitted. I think my apology would be better face-to-face, anyway, rather than that halfhearted 'tell her I said sorry'.
So, is that a yes? Or a 'maybe'?
Sunset wrote back quickly. Definitely a 'maybe' for the moment. I'll have to think about it and talk with the girls--I don't think we have any gigs here soon, so I don't think they'll need me for the band. Even so, I want to make sure everything will still be here when I get back, y'know?
She could almost imagine Twilight chuckling as she replied. Yes, actually. Out of every other friendship-related catastrophe I have to go solve, I always fret on the way home, worried that another thing popped up while I was gone and that nopony went to resolve it without me. There was a slight pause. Sorry, did that come out rambley?
Sunset smiled. Just a little, but we all need to vent sometimes, Princess.
I suppose, Twilight admitted. But it can be frustrating when everypony comes to you specifically to vent their frustrations, so, as is often the key to avoiding friendship problems, communicate.
Sunset smiled, but found herself repressing a yawn as she did so. Gosh, it's getting late over here, she wrote. I think this is goodnight, Princess.
Goodnight, Sunset. Let me know when you've decided! Twilight wrote back.
I will, don't worry. Till next time!
As Twilight wrote one last goodbye, Sunset closed the journal, then stretched. I guess I'll ask her eventually, she thought.
Rainbow grimaced, fiddling with her guitar strings again. She played a few notes, but shook her head. They weren't coming out right, so she fiddled with the guitar some more.
"I do hope you actually plan on playing that at some point, darling," Rarity said from the doorway.
Rainbow looked up. "Well, I do, it's just not sounding right."
"It sounded fine to me," Rarity said.
"Did it?" Rainbow played a few notes experimentally. Truthfully, nothing was wrong with the sound of it. "Yeah, it does. I guess I'm just...in a bit of a funk today."
"Related to tonight?"
Rainbow hesitated. "Yeah. You got a lunar calendar?"
"I did think that such an action might be prudent, yes," Rarity said, "but this time, I simply looked it up."
"Ah." Rainbow played another few notes, then gave up and began packing her guitar in its case.
"Does it, ah, how to say this? Does the full moon cause you discomfort?"
"Not much," Rainbow said truthfully. "It's just...one or two personal things, okay? Nothing you need to worry about."
"With all due respect, Rainbow, I shall worry about what I want to," Rarity said firmly. "But, if you are, indeed, alright, then I shall leave it be."
Rainbow let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks." She paused, just about to close her guitar case, when she saw Sunset pause in the doorway right behind Rarity. "Oh, hey. I was just packing up, so if you wanted the room--"
"Oh, uh, thanks," Sunset said, slipping past Rarity. "I'm just wanting to get a little work done on this tune before--" She paused. "Well, after talking to Princess Twilight, I'm considering upon a visit to Equestria."
"Oh! I'm sure it would be lovely for you to visit your home again," Rarity said.
"Eh, maybe? Even though it'd be great to use magic again, I like how human bodies operate," she replied. She wiggled her fingers. "Mostly, these things. Have I ever said that I love them?"
"Not in my recollection," Rarity said with a chuckle. "But I have noted that as a former, ah, unicorn, you do seem to have a great fondness for fencing, painting, guitars, and several other finger-intensive ways to occupy your time, so I made an educated guess."
Sunset grinned. "Well, I did date Flash for a while, remember? The guitar is only reasonable."
"You have me there," Rarity said. "Oh, goodness! Look at the time. I'm terribly sorry, but I promised to hang out with Pinkamena today."
"Hey, don't be late on our account," Rainbow Dash said. "See ya tomorrow!"
"See you then, darlings!" Rarity waved.
"Later!" Sunset called out, before turning to her own instrument as she got set up.
Rainbow stared at her for a minute, waiting patiently. Then, she put a hand in front of her mouth and managed a fake cough.
Sunset looked up, meeting her eyes. "Did I do something?" she asked.
"No, I was just waiting for you to ask your question," Rainbow said bluntly.
"What question?"
"The one you were gonna ask the other night?" Rainbow said impatiently. "I mean, Rarity just left, we're alone, so, whatever it was you wanted to ask--"
"No, I--it doesn't matter," Sunset said. "It can wait till I get back."
"I'll die of curiosity by then," Rainbow said. "Really, Sunset, whatever it is, I'm fine with you asking."
"Even if it brings up painful memories?"
Rainbow hesitated. "Yeah. You're my friends. I can suffer a bit if it's important to you."
Sunset almost asked, "What if it's not important to me", but stopped herself. That would have been too close to a lie for her to be comfortable with. "Well, I wanted to ask...do you know how...to...well.." She gulped. "..,.change other people into werewolves?"
Rainbow froze stock still, staring at her. "Sunset?" she finally said.
"Yeah?"
"Hell. Fucking. No."
Sunset blinked in surprise.
"I...I..." Rainbow spluttered, then shook her head. "Sunnie, I...I know. I kinda made you ask, so I shouldn't be mad at you. Please...don't ask that again."
"I know, I'm sorry, I--"
"Don't apologize," Rainbow snapped. She covered her face with her palm, letting out an, "Ugh. " She stood like that for a moment, then continued. "I...it's not as simple as someone gets bit, then turns into a wolf. Or, it is, it's just more of a numbers game. It doesn't take just one bite, Sunset."
Sunset thought that over. "Oh. I...I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, I shouldn't have--"
"No, I'm the one who brought it up, so please," Rainbow said. Her tone was uncharacteristically quiet. "Even ignoring the fact that I'd have to...hurt you badly...I don't know if you'd survive. I've only seen it once, Sunset. And you'd either die by my fangs, or...live, under this curse."
"Is it...really that bad?"
"For me? It hasn't been. But I know it can be worse. A lot worse, Sunset." She took a deep breath, then released it. "Please, Sunset. It's...not really something I can just 'do', even if I...wanted to."
"Of course," Sunset said with a nod. "Not if you're not comfortable with it, Dash. I wouldn't make you do something like that if you didn't want to."
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Thanks for understanding," she said, before hefting her guitar and leaving.
As it got closer to the evening, Rainbow began to feel antsy. The conversation with Sunset had not helped in the least, as it brought up all those old memories to the front, and made her invisible scars itch.
And the scars were there. She couldn't see them, her mother couldn't, but Rainbow Dash could feel them. As if the skin remembered that parts of it were fresher than others, what it felt like to be torn, torn, torn--
She sat upright, leaning against a tree. Several passing students waved to her, and she gave them a wave back.
Soon, she'd depart into the woods, and forget all about the troubles of the world for a little while. But first, she had to think about Sunset's request.
Sunset was from a world with magic in the first place, so it made sense to her. There were probably a whole host of strange, magical illnesses and curses that Rainbow wouldn't even begin to understand. So, yeah, lycanthropy might not seem as bad as some of those, and hey, it probably looked really appealing from her point of view, right?
Of course, there was also the other thing. Rainbow wasn't dumb. She could tell why Sunset might want werewolf powers--or, perhaps, just power, in general.
Rainbow would never admit this to Sunset, but the girl with hair of flames scared her. Even though they all knew that the crown had taken over Sunset at the end--after a brief discussion with Princess Twilight--she still saw her, and thought of the fireball heading towards Twilight.
That if it hadn't been for the bizarre twist of Equestrian magic, all the people who were most important to her in the world would be dead.
She shook herself, clearing away the vision of two shocked eyes staring up at her from the corpse that still haunted her dreams.
The sun was quite low in the horizon, and now, Rainbow felt the moon's call strong. With a hastily muttered curse, she took off at a sprint. Seeing no one around, she put a touch of werewolf-speed into her steps, making record times on the woods at the edge of town.
Canterlot did have a mall, but for the most part, it was considered 'that town besides Crystal City'. And this was fair. It did have many 'small town' properties, in that you could go on a walk about town and see the same people at three different stops you made, and in the countryside. Without going too far, you'd be at Sweet Apple Acres, which was a sprawling, family-owned apple farm that grew most of the apple cider you'd see in the town.
But, if you went the other way, as Rainbow was doing, you'd find a thick forest. There was hardly ten feet of room between the trees near the front, and the further you went in, the closer they got. At a certain point, you'd wander into the area that was called "the Everfree Forest". Despite the big, cheery, campground put right smack in the center, the place was the sort of place that you chose as where that spooky story you knew happened.
And hell, half of them might be true. The woods weren't the friendliest of places at the best of times. But tonight, a beast was stalking them.
Rainbow quickly found the small, log cabin her parents had managed to afford. Rather than fumbling with the keys--which she had also left at home--she simply leapt over the fence.
She bounced lightly on her feet, slipping inside. Inside, there wasn't anything worth stealing in the first place, assuming you went this far out into the woods.
Rainbow quickly stripped off her clothes, dropping them off on the table. After two very, very painful evenings, she always made sure to not be wearing anything that was sized for a teenage girl that would most certainly not be sized for a wolf that stood almost five feet at the shoulders. Her backpack was thrown under the table, where it would be less likely to be noticed if someone did happen to come by, and then she dropped to all fours on the tiled flooring set up for this purpose.
With the full moon just on the rise, it took almost ten minutes to fully change. A little on the slow side, for a full moon night, but she had spent the past little while postponing the change as she felt the moon's call.
Either way, the searing pain alone was enough to make her wonder why Sunset could possibly want this. Muscles rearranged, bones reformed, and her fur grew to cover her naked form. Gradually, anyway. She knew from her mother that during most of the process, she looked like she'd been turned inside out. She had recorded the change, at one point, using her phone. Seeing it like that had made her decide to always change away from anyone who might feel bad for her.
She stood up, her front legs stretching, and gave her tail a few experimental wags. She shook her head, then sneezed.
Now that Rainbow was fully in her wolf form, she stepped outside the log cabin. She raised her head, looking straight at the moon, and howled.
"Tonight alone you're riding, onto the other side,Son of the Wolf
The first thing Rainbow Dash did was start running. Clearing the fence with a leap was easy enough with her human form, but in the wolf form, it was child's play. She hit the ground, and then began speeding through the forest.
Tension and energy slowly bled out from her on her run, until finally, she came to a stop, panting. She took a brief rest, to catch her breath, then felt the rumble from her stomach. She normally made sure to eat well on a full moon--as little help as it did, normally. She knew she'd still have to hunt anyway.
With a little bit of prowling, she found a deer going through with a limp. The poor thing wasn't long for the world either way, and she needed food.
She snuck close, and then let out a howl. Her 'words' came out weird in this form. Her language consisted of a series of howls, each one carrying a different message.
This one's message was simple and concise: 'I am going to eat you'. Not to instill fear, or to be cruel--Rainbow took it as more of a professional courtesy.
The deer bolted, and Rainbow took off, giving in to her instincts. None of the deer had escaped her--except, notably, one whom she'd let escape. That specific deer had escaped her for forty-five seconds, before she let it go out of respect. She referred to it in her head as 'Daring Deer', and she prayed that his legend still lived on.
This deer was not so lucky.
Rainbow ate down to the bones, and some of those, too. If she was going to kill it, she wouldn't let any of it go to waste.
It was...one reason why she hadn't just turned into a werewolf and scared off the Sirens. One of a few, really. If they chose to fight back, then she'd have killed one or more of them. And if she killed it, she ate it.
And she wasn't a man-eater. Or...Siren eater, anyway.
The deer satisfied her, leaving her with a generally full feeling. But, of course, there was no time to slow down. Onwards she ran.
Before too long she encountered a small hunter's blind. Inside was a man who smelled heavily of alcohol, snoring with a gun pointed out the window.
Rainbow crept up, taking the gun in her teeth and crushing it. The drunk woke up with a start, then screamed, bolting from the blind at what was probably a record speed for him. For Rainbow Dash, it wasn't even impressive, even when she'd been human.
She stopped herself a few feet into her chase, claws dragging a path in the ground as she snarled at herself. She didn't need to hunt him. He'd have probably shot some kid if she hadn't shown up, but that didn't mean she would be the one to kill him.
Especially if she was the one to do it. Rainbow didn't need to handle that right now. She had gotten control of her wolf, after much struggling with it, and it wasn't just to give it the reigns now.
Not when her friends were counting on her to manage herself, anyway. She needed them to believe that she was fine, if only so that she could be fine.
That was how this worked, right?
At early morning light, Rainbow Dash came back to the little woodland cabin, then hopped over the fence. She didn't waste any time, changing back to her human form the moment she was over. After a few minutes of pain and a scream or two, she slipped back inside.
"Hiya!" Pinkie said, just finishing up setting a spread of deserts. "Morning, Dashie!"
Rainbow Dash stared in dumbstruck awe. "I--what? When? Why? How? "
"I asked your mom," Pinkie explained. "Then I spent some of last night baking up some deserts, cuz I thought you'd be hungry, although..." She hesitated. "Something tells me you already ate."
Rainbow looked down at herself. "Was it the deer guts?"
"Umm...yes ma'am, yes it was."
Rainbow chuckled. "So, uh, whatever happened to staying away from me while I was in the wolf form?"
"Are you in wolf form?"
Rainbow opened her mouth, then closed it. "I...I don't have a response prepared for you, Pinkie."
Pinkie giggled. "Well, a 'yum' would do great!"
"Uh, I'll get to that in a minute, Pinkie." She gestured at herself. "I'm buck-naked and covered in dirt and deer guts. I need to go shower."
"You go do that, because this is reeeeeally awkward," Pinkie said with a blush and a smile. Rainbow noted that her baker friend was trying her hardest not to look directly at her at that moment.
Rainbow grinned, but her own blush prevented her from teasing Pinkie any. She slipped into the shower, turning the water as hot as it would go, letting it run over her.
"So, uh..."
Rainbow waited for Pinkie to finish, but she didn't continue. She tilted her head back, eyes closed against the hot water in her face. "Well?" she called back out.
"I assume you don't have the silver chains for fun?"
Rainbow thought up several jokes she decided not to make. "No. Don't worry--I haven't had to use 'em in over a year."
"Well, that's good, because they don't look fun at all."
Rainbow laughed. "Oh, believe me, they weren't," she said very quietly.
"What was it like? Trying to control it?"
"Like a wrestling match," Rainbow answered. "Me and the wolf, winner take all."
"Huh. This was...before we all became friends again, right?"
"Yeah." She ran her fingers through her hair, feeling the dirt. She picked up a thing of conditioner, and began vigorously applying it.
"I'm sorry."
"What for?"
"Well...never talking to you. I wasn't even mad at you! Well, I was kind of, but I thought that Applejack should just talk to you about it. It's kind of ridiculous that we never once talked about any of that."
"A little? But I was going through a lot of shit at the time, and..."
"You changed shortly after we all split up? Or...before?"
"In the middle of that. I used to be terrified that Sunset would find out that I was a werewolf. I'm not sure she ever found out about any of that mess, though." She paused. "Forewarning, my clothes aren't in here, so--"
"My eyes are sealed!" Pinkie promised.
Rainbow smiled. She stepped out of the bathroom, searching for her backpack. She quickly found it, and began pulling her clothes out.
"So, did you have fun?"
"I guess?" Why did bras always take so long to find? Ugh. "More than the deer had."
"Did you...have to kill it?"
"Everyone's gotta eat," Rainbow said slowly. "Trust me, you do not want to deal with a hungry werewolf. I'm decent by the way."
Pinkie turned, pushing the plate of cupcakes slightly closer to her. Rainbow chuckled. "How do you even know I'm still hungry?"
"I always know that," Pinkie answered, "because you normally are."
"Heh. fair." Rainbow took a cupcake, putting the entire thing in her mouth. "Th'n's. Thish ish awe'shum." She swallowed.
Pinkie giggled. "Aw, thanks. So, do you eat a lot more because you're a wolf?"
Rainbow nodded. "You don't even see half of what I stick in my mouth," she said. "I eat a lot."
"Yikes! I'll keep that in mind for the next sleepover."
"You don't have to make extra for me--"
"No, it's my obligation! As the official chef of the Rainbooms--"
"What?"
"--I would be remiss if I let you go to bed hungry! When you didn't even do anything wrong? No way!" She firmly slammed a fist into the table, shaking the numerous desserts on it.
"Whoa! Careful, Pinkie!" Rainbow caught another cupcake before it fell off. "You made all this food for me, let's not let any go to waste."
Pinkie smiled. "Of course not! I would be remiss of that, too!"
Rainbow gave her a grin back.
"So, anyway," Pinkie said, "are there any food things I should know about? Like, do you have any allergies as a werewolf, or preferences or--"
Of course Pinkie would be asking about her diet. "Aside from being hungrier, more? Mostly, a craving for meat. Because, wolves, I guess."
"I was thinking because meat foods are rich in protein and fat, which are two of the biggest sources of energy you can get, and your body needs all the energy you can get, so you need more meat as a way of obtaining more energy so you don't get hungry!"
"...Because wolves, I guess," Rainbow repeated.
"Eh, to-ma-to, to-mah-to."
Rainbow laughed. "Uh, do you want any of this?" Pinkie had made all of this for her. The least she could do was offer to share.
"No, thanks. I had some of the batter."
"Because of course, why not?" Rainbow laughed.
She ate in silence a minute more before she heard a ringing sound. "Is that mine or yours?" she asked, looking for her backpack.
"Mine!" Pinkie called out cheerily, getting her purse. She pulled her phone out, saying, "Hiya, Bon-Bon! Back from your trip?"
Rainbow tried, and failed, to listen in to Bon-Bon's half. Unfortunately, she did not have god-like super hearing like some books portrayed werewolves as having, so she was left to pout and try and wheedle information out of Pinkie Pie later.
"I hope you enjoyed it! I've heard good things about Appleoosa! You gonna be at school tomorrow?" A pause while Bon-Bon answered. "Oh, sounds rough. Is she okay?" Another pause. "Aw, poor thing. You want me to help cheer her up?" Bon-Bon took a lengthy time making her reply. "You got it. Just try and be close to her, okay? That way, if she needs help, you'll be there to give it! And if you need any help giving her help, talk to one of us! We'll be there in a jiffy!"
Rainbow took a slow bite out of a danish as she listened to Bon-Bon rattle off a reply. "Oh, okay, that makes sense. Something embarrassing, then?" Pause. "Got it. I'll be subtle. Like a ninja. A pink ninja whose name is 'fun'."
"That doesn't strike me as very subtle, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said.
"No one will expect it," Pinkie said with a wide grin.
Rainbow heard some sort of frantic speech from Bon-Bon's end, though she did catch a, "Don't you dare--".
"Okay, okay, yeesh," Pinkie said, holding a hand up to her phone in a placating fashion. "Grumpy today, aren't you? You should try and relax, too, Bon-Bon. See ya tomorrow!" After one last pause, she hung up.
"So, trouble?"
"She said we didn't need to worry about it," Pinkie said. "You know what I say?"
"That we should respect her wishes and not do anything that makes her mad at us?"
Pinkie Pie reached up, behind her head and beneath her hair, and pulled up a pink ninja hood that made her hair fall so flat that with the hood on, her head looked like a round circle with a pair of eyes. "Agent Double Ooh-Fun is on the case," she said, putting on a pair of goggles with googly eyes.
She dashed towards the door, hit the wall, and fell like a tree, feet going akimbo briefly before falling back to the ground.
Rainbow grinned. "Or my name isn't Rainbow Dash," she said calmly.
Rainbow wasn't quite used to feeling 'full' on her way to Canterlot High, especially after the full moon. She supposed she had Pinkie Pie to thank for that, if, of course, Pinkie Pie was anywhere to be seen.
Rainbow supposed she should be worried about that, but couldn't find it in her heart to be mad at Pinkie for being herself.
Rainbow pulled to a stop, then turned to look at Lyra Heartstrings. On top of the fact that Pinkie didn't seem to think she or Bon-Bon would be here today, Lyra was staring vacantly into her locker, not doing anything.
"Hey, Lyra," Rainbow said.
She jumped, bouncing off her locker door, and hit Rainbow Dash. Rainbow maintained her balance while Lyra hastily regained hers. "Sorry! I was thinking--spacing out! Yeah. um--"
"No, it's alright," Rainbow said. "I'm fine, so--" She paused, then sniffed. That smell... "Are you wearing perfume?"
"Umm...maybe?"
"Fleur de Liss's Scent of a Morning Rose, if I'm not mistaken," Rarity said, pulling to a stop besides them as well.
"No, I know what that smells like," Rainbow said.
"Really?" Rarity stared at her. "I've never worn any, and I didn't think you were friends with any of the rest of the fashion crowd--"
"Well, I only need to pass someone once--"
Rarity leaned in and sniffed. "My word, you're wearing it?" She gaped at the athlete. "Since when?"
"It helps cover up the smells of someone who does jogging," Rainbow muttered.
"My, I had no idea you liked Scent of a Morning Rose," Rarity continued. "I have a few others you could--"
"No, thank you," Rainbow interrupted pointedly. "My point is, that is not what I smell. It's on the tip of my tongue..."
Lyra sniffed at her arm. "I don't smell anything unusual," she said. "Except..." She sniffed again. "...something over here smells weird."
The bell rang. "Ah, well," Rainbow grumbled. "Smell ya later, Lyra!"
Lyra laughed, but her it sounded somewhat forced. "Smell ya later, Dash."
"Did she seem--off to you?" Rarity asked.
"'Off' how?"
"I don't know. Something about her eyes, maybe?" She tapped her chin. "I'm sure once I'll figure it out once I get over the fact that you wear any perfume, much less—"
Rainbow put a hand over her mouth, then checked to make sure no one was nearby. "It's to cover up the smell of the deer I killed and ate last night," she whispered quietly. "Please. Stop talking about it."
Rarity blanched, then shut her mouth. Rainbow let out a deep breath. "Sorry."
"It's--it's fine. I suppose--just--the whole thing?"
"Of course! I'm not killing a deer just for a snack," Rainbow griped.
"My word," Rarity said quietly. She said nothing more, for which Rainbow Dash was grateful.
"Out of my head, of my heart, and my mind,The Wolf
Rainbow Dash sat down with several of her friends for lunch, grabbing a meal that was almost her usual size. Most of the Rainbooms were scattered about the cafeteria today--except, notably, Pinkie, who seemed absent still.
Whatever she was planning was, apparently, worth skipping out on school for.
Applejack happened to be the only other Rainboom at the table, but that was fine. She'd see most of them around after school, except...
"Has anyone seen Sunset?" she asked.
"She's off setting up her house to get ready and leave," Applejack said. "She's apparently headin' back home for a bit. What about Pinkie? Have ya seen her ?"
"No, last I head, Bon-Bon was asking for advice on how to cheer someone up--I assume Lyra, though she seems fine to me. But Pinkie Pie made some joke about being a ninja-secret agent of fun, and I haven't seen her since," Rainbow said.
"Please, Lyra Heartstrings? Down in the dumps?" Thunder Lane laughed. "Not likely. That girl's unshakable. Like, this one time, she looked up to see a spider just hanging right next to her face. She didn't even scream! She calmly picked it up and moved it outside."
"I dunno," Flash Sentry said. "She has been...weird. It didn't seem like she was listening in class."
"Lots of people don't listen in class," Rainbow said.
"Even if it comes back to bite 'em like a rabid possum?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, uh--I'm an athlete, so, no one expects me to be smart." Rainbow folded her arms over her chest. "What's your excuse?"
"Farm girl. I'd say that's even better than your excuse, Dash," Flash pointed out. "But, back to the point, I think something happened on that trip she was on."
"Right--she and Bon-Bon were on a trip of some sort, right?" Pinkie had mentioned it on the call, right? "Well, if something happened between them, I say we let 'em work it out on their own."
"Rainbow Dash, voting for not pryin' into other people's business?" Applejack chuckled. "Never thought I'd see the day."
"Har-de-har, AJ," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. "I think if something happened and she wants to talk about it, she will. If her vacation didn't live up to her expectations, let her keep it to herself."
Applejack frowned.
"Oh, like your trip to Las Pegasus," Thunder Lane commented.
Rainbow Dash snapped her attention to him, eyes narrowing. "What about it?" she demanded coldly.
"Hey, don't be like that, everyone gossips about that," Thunder Lane said, holding up his hands. "People noticed when you came back from that trip all shaken up. I think some people started betting on it."
"It was two years ago," Rainbow said slowly.
"Yeah, most of 'em have forgotten that the betting pool exists," Thunder Lane said. "I always thought that it was in poor taste."
"Is it still up? What are they saying?" Rainbow growled.
Thunder Lane pulled out his phone, showing it to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow scrolled down the page, eyes narrowing. "Some of these are recent. Who's been maintaining this for two years ?"
"Trixie, I think," Flash said. "I just assumed you knew--Rainbow? Rainbow!"
Ignoring him, Rainbow stomped across the cafeteria, heading right for Trixie and the several other people she was sitting with.
Trixie looked up, but before she could finish a single boast, Rainbow shoved Thunder Lane's phone in her face. "Do you care to explain this to me, Trixie?" she demanded.
Trixie blanched, and, to her credit, actually looked somewhat ashamed. "Oh, well, uh--that." She gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, you see, people, uh, got to talking, and, uh--one person jokingly bet money, and, uh, another person did, less...less jokingly, and, um--"
"Take. It. Down. "
Trixie hesitated, then nodded, shrinking down in her seat. "S-sure, alright," she said. "I...it was just a fun thing, Rainbow, there's really no need to--"
"Oh, can it! I don't want to hear whatever bullshit you have ready to explain this--this--THIS! " She shook the phone. "Did you ever stop to consider that making bets about different horrible things that could have happened to me was not very considerate? "
"Uh--well--" She gulped. "No?"
Rainbow let out a frustrated cry, then stomped back over to her table. She tossed Thunder Lane's phone back at him, then stomped out of the cafeteria.
Students stayed away from her for the rest of that day. Rainbow Dash was, for once, fine with solitude.
She leaned back against the Wondercolt statue, unwanted memories playing on loop through her head.
In some ways, it didn't make any sense that the wounds were still so fresh. In others, she should have been crying herself to sleep every night.
She sometimes wondered if she could have handled the situation differently. Maybe she wouldn't have even become a werewolf.
No, actually, that wasn't likely. It had been too late by that point.
A crackling sound interrupted her. She looked up, seeing a somewhat familiar shape appear over her head. "Princess Twilight?"
"Please, you girls don't have to call me 'Princess'," Twilight Sparkle stated. "You're my friends. I don't even make the ponies back home call me Princess." She sat down besides Rainbow Dash, "You feeling alright?"
"Uh--never better!" Rainbow managed a nervous chuckle. "You come all the way over here just to ask that?"
"It was around twenty feet," Twilight answered. "I was talking to Sunset, but she kept getting interrupted because your friends kept calling her to say that something was up with Rainbow Dash, all with varying levels of detail on what actually happened. She was going to come over herself, but I told her I was closer, and wasn't busy finding someone to watch my house."
"Oh. Heh. Right. Sorry, it's really--"
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Rainbow shook her head. "Not in the least," she groaned.
"Should you talk about it?"
"Eh...probably," Rainbow admitted. She folded her hands together, flexing the fingers against each other.
"From what I gather, people here were making bets about something bad that happened to you a while back, and you got really mad at Trixie for it. I'm assuming...it was when you became a werewolf?"
"Spot on. How'd you--"
"Sunset heard from Applejack," Twilight said. "And it was the most likely candidate for what had you upset."
"Ugh." Rainbow let her face fall against her knees. "I'm not having a good day."
Twilight leaned over and hugged her. "Better?"
"...A little."
"Glad to hear it. It's what pony Pinkie Pie does whenever somepony's feeling down, and I honestly didn't know if it would work."
Rainbow chuckled. "Any world, and I guess Pinkie's still Pinkie."
"Do you want to talk about it now, Rainbow?"
Rainbow sighed. "So, I had some online friends...uh...you...do you know what the internet is?"
"Sunset explained it to me, just after the Battle of the Bands," Twilight said.
"Right. So, I'd met them all a few times before, right? Gilda, Spitfire, and...and Soarin." God, even saying his name...
Twilight reached over, taking her hand.
"And we were just...hanging out in Las Pegasus. Like we always did when we got together. And...Soarin was acting a little funny. The others didn't notice, they weren't...as close to him as I was. He and I..." She couldn't quite get the words out.
"I know. I think the other Rainbow Dash feels the same way about him, even if she hasn't admitted it yet."
Rainbow paused. "He's--he's still alive, over there?"
"Yeah."
Rainbow gulped. "He...he died."
"I'm sorry. Was it..."
"He--he was the wolf who attacked me," Rainbow said slowly. "And changed me."
"He lost control?"
"Lost his goddamn mind, more like," Rainbow growled. Her eyes took on a faint yellowish sheen. They did that every once in a while, but no one had noticed. "He wanted me to become 'better than human'. Stronger, faster, all that jazz. Went off on a tangent or two about making everyone in the world stronger. And...that those who didn't survive the change...well, they just weren't cut out for it, y'know?"
"He thought this was a good thing?"
Rainbow nodded. "After--I survived, and I realized--what exactly had happened, I--I went over. To...to where I kept his big, special gift for me."
Twilight said nothing.
"It...it was a gun," Rainbow said quietly. "He bought me this big, fancy handgun. I found him, making his plans to attack Gilda and Spitfire, and...I...I shot him. I killed him. Dear God...he...Sunset became better, right? Why...why couldn't he have? Why'd I have to--act before I thought?"
Twilight leaned close, hugging Rainbow Dash tightly while the athlete sniffled. "Did you try convincing him to stop?"
"Yeah. Before---before he attacked me." Rainbow wiped her nose.
"Sometimes, there aren't other options. He was about to continue attacking your friends, he was refusing to stop. If you didn't stop him, Gilda and Spitfire could have died. Have...do they know?"
"G and S? Yeah. We...we haven't talked in a while."
"Talk to them again," Twilight urged. "They might be able to give you the help you need."
"Should...should I tell the gang? Sunset and Rarity and..."
"Maybe. I assume none of them know?"
"Fluttershy knows some things about Soarin, but...not all of it."
"You could start by talking to her. Filling her in."
"What if...what if..."
"You think they won't accept you?"
"Yeah! I killed--"
"Even if any of us could come up with an alternative, it would be years too late," Twilight pointed out. "Hindsight is weird that way. The only thing looking into the past can do is help us with the future."
"I...I don't know. I'm not sure...I...you're never here, so...telling you is different from telling them."
Twilight considered that. "Even so, that means you took the first step, right?"
"Yeah. I guess."
"Then that's good," Twilight answered.
"Hey...you've fought evil a lot, right?"
"Yes."
"Was there...anyone you met...who couldn't...be redeemed?"
Twilight was silent for a moment. "Yes," she said. "There were ponies and other creatures who were so opposed to the idea of friendship, that there was simply no way to bring them back to the good side. Most of them...are still alive, but..."
"But you've killed some?"
"King Sombra was the evil tyrant who ruled the Crystal Empire in days long past. He kept his people enslaved in brutal fashion. Between his power, and his temperament, we never even had the option."
"And you killed him?"
"Pretty much," Twilight answered. "Even if the fame went to somepony else, and I didn't directly do the final blow, I still think about it sometimes. That...I could have spared him. Redeemed him, somehow." She shuddered. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't lose sleep at night. I do. I lose it over him, and over the others, like Chrysalis and Tirek, whom I might still be able to save. But for those who've already gone..."
Twilight reached over and tapped Rainbow Dash's chest. "Remember them, in here," she said. "They deserve that much, at least."
Rainbow Dash clenched a fist over her chest, and nodded. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. And Rainbow? Remember: It'll be okay."
"I'll try to remember that."
Twilight stood up. "If you ever need to talk to someone--or some pony--you can always pop over to my place. Okay?"
"Got it. I...I might take you up on that."
Twilight smiled, then slipped around the statue and disappeared through the portal.
Rainbow Dash let out a sigh, then stood up. She felt...lighter? Talking to someone--anyone--had helped. Kind of. Maybe?
She wasn't sure. There were a couple of things she was sure about, though, and she needed to deal with them.
She hesitated, watching the setting sun. "Crap," she muttered. Well, most of them would wait until tomorrow.
One thing, however, she needed to handle quickly. Thunder Lane's choice of comparisons might be a lot more spot on than he would have thought...
It was almost dark by the time she got to Lyra's and Bon-Bon's apartment. Their respective parents were, as they said, 'abroad', so the two of them lived in an apartment in Canterlot. They had for a considerable length of time--it was just before Sunset enrolled at CHS, but, from what Rainbow knew, after Sunset had arrived in the human world.
Lyra's or Bon-Bon's parents could have confused things, but they'd need to be told sooner or later anyway, if Rainbow Dash was right.
Rainbow Dash knocked on the door, standing for a minute while she vaguely heard talking going on inside.
The door opened after a minute, and relief instantly shone on Bon-Bon's face as she looked at Rainbow Dash. "Hi, R.D." she said. "Uh--everything alright?" She looked behind Rainbow Dash, checking for any thugs that might be waiting to ambush her.
"No. Yes! Ugh." Rainbow rubbed her face. "You know how the other Rainbooms and I stopped the evil magic things going on?"
"Yes?" Bon-Bon said in a concerned and somewhat questioning tone.
"It's kinda sorta related to that. I need to talk to Lyra."
A flash of fear shone briefly on Bon-Bon's face. "Oh, um, well, she's out, but everything's normal with her," she said, in a surprisingly convincing tone.
Rainbow sniffed, closing her eyes. On top of the normal house smells, she caught the scent of something that didn't quite belong. The same strange scent she'd caught on Lyra earlier, and that she'd caught on Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah, she's here," Rainbow said. "Bon-Bon, I know. Things are weird. You have no idea what's going on. But I can help, if you just let me in." For good measure, she let the wolf out just the tiniest little bit.
Bon-Bon, to her immense credit, didn't flinch as Rainbow's eyes turned to a fierce golden yellow, and the pupils narrowed. "She's not the only one who's gone through this," Rainbow said quietly.
"That's not--" Bon-Bon hesitated. "Come in," she said. She stepped away from the door, letting Rainbow Dash in.
"Nice gun," Rainbow commented.
Bon-Bon blushed slightly, stopping her feeble attempts at hiding the handgun behind her back. "Not many people visit at nine-o-clock," she said. "Like, no point in being dumb, right?"
"Yeah, but I just thought you--" Rainbow Dash hesitated. "--weren't a gun-type of person," she finished lamely.
Bon-Bon glared at her.
"My point is, I recognize a glock when I see one. I had a friend or two back in the day who were total gun nuts. It's a high quality gun, I'm pretty sure they're standard issue."
Bon-Bon chuckled nervously. "Well, I--I know a thing or two about guns," she admitted.
"We should get to a firing range sometime," Rainbow said. "Is that your only one?"
"Well..." Bon-Bon put it down on the living room table, then pulled a second handgun from tucked into her waistband. "Maaaaybe?"
Rainbow grinned. "I can't believe we've never hung out before," she said.
"Bon-Bon?" Lyra's voice called out. "Who is it?"
"Uh--Rainbow Dash. Here to talk to you about the--uh--"
Rainbow Dash howled. A full, lupine howl that had no business coming out of a human throat.
Bon-Bon jumped back, staring at her in surprise as Lyra rushed into the room, eyes wide. "What in the name of Beethoven?" she demanded. She stared directly at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow grinned, making sure Lyra caught full sight of her eyes. "It took me a while to learn how to do that, but it can be a fun party trick," she told her. "We need to talk. Where do you want to do this, and, uh--do you want to put on pants first?"
Bon-Bon let out a squawk, blushing furiously as she turned away.
"Uh, living room's fine. Gimmee a sec to, uh, pants." Lyra blushed. "Um--I--you're--"
"I'm a werewolf," Rainbow said. "Uh, you--you are a werewolf, too, right? Otherwise, this is gonna be really awkward."
"I--I'm a werewolf. It's, uh, a recent development." She gulped. "I'm gonna go put on pants before we talk." She left the room in a hurry.
"She's gone?" Bon-Bon asked.
"Eeyup."
Bon-Bon let out a groan.
"Is this--"
"First time? Nope." Bon-Bon collapsed onto the love-seat in the living room, legs over the side and arms sprawling.
"Well, uh, werewolves don't change while wearing clothes, or it gets...really painful, and the clothes don't survive." She too a seat on the nearest chair, leaving the aptly named love seat for Bon-Bon and Lyra. "You might want to get used to it."
Bon-Bon groaned. "So, uh. Lyra's case of..."
"The furries?"
"Lycanthropy. God, please please PLEASE don't call it that," Bon-Bon said, glaring at the athlete. "Lyra's lycanthropy is recent. How long have you been a wolf?"
"Two years. In some ways, I'm still getting used to it, but I know some ins and outs that'll help Lyra along."
"Rainbow, it's...a little more complicated than that. You see--two years?"
"Yeah. Is it surprising?" Rainbow frowned at her sudden change in posture.
"Don't tell me: Las Pegasus?"
Rainbow growled, "That fucking betting pool--gah. Yes, Las Pegasus."
"Betting pool? What about a betting pool?" She gasped. "How many people know what you are?"
"Is--is that relevant?"
"A little bit, yeah," Bon-Bon said. 'Oh, Christ, if half the school knows and I don't, my boss'll kill me."
"Why would your boss care at all?" Rainbow frowned. "You--don't you work at a convenience store or something?"
Bon-Bon clapped both hands to her face. "Um, or something, yes."
"How did you already let it slip in the five seconds I was gone?" Lyra demanded, stepping into the room.
"It was on purpose," Bon-Bon griped. "If she's a werewolf, then we're due for a very long conversation."
"Uh, do you have the authority to decide that?" Lyra asked with a frown.
"Can we--back up a sec?" Rainbow held up a hand. "What are you even talking about at this point?"
Bon-Bon took in a deep breath. "There is a lot that I don't have the authority to tell you, Rainbow, but I am...well, my real name is Sweetie Drops. I work for a government agency specializing in keeping magic from interfering with the lives of civilians." She gestured at Rainbow Dash. "Since I got here, though, my job's changed from keeping tabs on a certain world-hopping unicorn to your entire group."
"Wait--you work for an organization that specializes in stopping magical supervillains?" Rainbow thought about that a moment. "Where the hell have you been?"
"I didn't catch what was happening at the Fall Formal 'til after the fact, and the Sirens--" She winced. "Admittedly, a sore point. I wasn't equipped enough to handle their mind control, and, uh, things got out of hand."
"Vinyl Scratch beat their mind control with her headphones," Rainbow pointed out.
"Wait, you said that had been tried" Lyra said, looking at Bon-Bon.
"I am not at liberty to answer that question right now, Lyra," Bon-Bon said quietly. "Rainbow, let's get back on topic. Um, the point is, that Lyra and I were handling a light recon mission during our vacation, but things--" She looked at Lyra. "--Went south."
"Please, I'm not made of glass," Lyra snapped. "I got mauled by a wolf, woke up covered in fur and less blood than I'd have expected."
"That's...a bit like how it went for me, though..." Rainbow hesitated.
"The wolf who attacked you--was his name, by any chance, Soarin?"
Rainbow shot a glare at Bon-Bon.
"That was the Wonder Wolf! People have been trying to figure out for two years who killed him!" Bon-Bon clapped her hands together. "That mains that G owes me ten bucks! You killed that bastard, right?"
"Kindly," Rainbow said through gritted teeth, "don't talk about my dead boyfriend like that. If. You. Please."
There was a stunned silence.
"I--I'm so sorry!" Bon-Bon clapped her hands to her mouth. "I--I didn't know! I--"
"It's fine," Rainbow said, forcibly calming herself. "Soarin--he--he attacked other people?"
"Yeah," Bon-Bon said. "A few."
"That..." Rainbow hesitated, wondering if it made killing him any better. Unable to figure it out, she promptly decided to change the subject. "So, uh, you guys have seen werewolves before, then?"
"Oh, yeah," Bon-Bon nodded.
"They have manuals full of tips and tricks, and I was having enough trouble getting my homework done as it was," Lyra groaned. "They're making me read all of them."
"Because this isn't something you can just take lightly, Lyra! This is a serious issue!" Bon-Bon took Lyra's hand. "Please. You're not as okay as you think."
Lyra jerked her hand away, glaring with two golden yellow eyes at Bon-Bon. "Would you fucking quit it? I don't need help! I'M FINE!"
Silence rang around the room for a minute. Rainbow Dash decided to break it by letting out a snort. "Please, Lyra. As someone who went through the same thing, I know for a fact that you are not fine."
"From the sounds of it, you were dealing with the stress of not knowing anything about this, while also trying to deal with your boyfriend trying to murder you, and, oh, yeah, you hunted down and murdered him back," Lyra spat. Before she could continue, Rainbow Dash stood up abruptly, striding around the table. Lyra glared at her, before Rainbow Dash caught her by the collar of her shirt and lifted her clear off the ground.
"If you lose your shit and kill and eat Bon-Bon, how are you gonna look back at this?" Rainbow demanded. "Let me tell you this, Lyra--yeah. I had it way worse than you do. But the wolf responds to your state of mind. And it takes a very long time to get over the feeling of what happened to you. Of being attacked, of being utterly and thoroughly defeated. You have an option I didn't have--getting help. " Rainbow let go. Lyra dropped to her feet, wobbled, then sat back down. She didn't look back at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow took a deep, calming breath, then moved to a crouch next to Lyra. "I'm...sorry if I lost my chill there," she said. "This hasn't been a good day for me, and I shouldn't take it out on you. But, please, Lyra. I...came here to help you avoid going through the things I went through. Does...does this agency-thing have therapists on call?"
"Yes. I've already brought this up, but Lyra--" Bon-Bon hesitated. "--hasn't wanted to go, as of yet."
"I'd suggest that you change your mind on that one," Rainbow said. "Your circumstances allow the easy way of getting better. Take it."
"I--I'll think about it," Lyra conceded. "I'm sorry I...said that about Soarin. Just...just a minute ago."
Rainbow nodded. "Apology accepted," she said. "I, uh, admit I didn't really have a plan for you knowing more about how to deal with lycanthropy than I do. That...wasn't really a possibility in my head."
"Would you like one of the manuals?" Bon-Bon said. "I can see about getting one to you."
"How do you think the boss would react to that?" Lyra asked quietly.
"My cover's been blown anyway."
"You blew it. On purpose. "
Rainbow chuckled, sitting back in her seat. "So, like, uh--your job was just to watch us? Make sure we weren't, like, sacrificing orphans over band practice or anything like that?"
"Pretty much. We are kids, Rainbow Dash. This was considered 'rookie' work until we started hearing stuff about Equestria."
"It was actually shortly after Sunset Shimmer--well, uh, had a meltdown that I joined up," Lyra said. "I actually figured out what was going on with her."
"So, um, you know how you howled?" Bon-Bon interrupted.
Rainbow frowned. "Yeah? What about it?"
"The manuals...never mentioned that. Is it--do you--"
"I have not the foggiest clue," Rainbow said bluntly. "I can only do it if I--well, let the wolf out a little. Which I normally don't, because--"
"The manuals say that you should regularly let the wolf instincts out a bit," Bon-Bon said. "I didn't really understand most of it, there was some weird stuff about souls and all."
"I really ought to take a look at this things," Lyra commented.
"You haven't read them ?" Rainbow snarled.
"Um...I kinda...skimmed...." She gulped. "Chapter one..."
Rainbow reached up, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I--I haven't had any problems yet!" Lyra said defensively.
"Where did you spend last night?" Rainbow asked.
"Company safe room." She straightened, and added smugly, "I even got control of myself by the end of the night."
"Dude, I forced myself to learn how to change on command by the end of my first full moon," Rainbow stated out.
"Your personalities are way different," Bon-Bon said in defense of her friend. "Lyra's got a much softer personality. You're more capable of brow-beating an evil dark side, Rainbow, while she's--"
Bon-Bon didn't finish her sentence.
"Go on," Lyra said, eyes narrowing--and turning just a touch gold.
"Well, uh, I was gonna say, um." Bon-Bon tugged at her collar. "That you're too nice to brow beat anyone, obviously."
"I think she was gonna call you a wuss," Rainbow said.
"Really, Bon-Bon?" Lyra demanded.
"No! That was not what I was going to say!"
"Well, I don't think it was an ode to my kindness!" Lyra shouted.
Rainbow yawned. "God," she whispered. "I need to go to bed. Can we--can we finish this talk tomorrow?"
"Of course," Bon-Bon said. "Um--you look drop-dead tired. You need help getting home?"
"I walked here, I'll walk back," Rainbow protested.
"Oh, no," Bon-Bon interrupted. "Not after that entire conversation about Lyra going to go get help she needs. We've got a spare bed."
"Are you sure? I'm told I snore."
"Won't matter if you're in the other room," Bon-Bon pointed out. "Besides, this'll make it easier to wake up first thing and continue our very important conversation."
Rainbow nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Thanks."
"Don't mention it." She paused. "Seriously. I'm going to get in enough trouble when they hear you know now."
"I'm not lying to my friends, Bon-Bon. I won't mention your name, but don't think for a moment that I owe some shadowy, secret branch of government any silence on my part." She gave her a firm look. "Make sure you relate that to your boss, too."
There was a moment's silence. "Will do," Bon-Bon said in a resigned tone.
"Here, I'll take you to your room," Lyra said. She heaved Rainbow to her feet, leading her through the short group of rooms. "Off to bed with ye."
Bon-Bon waited until they were talking in one of the far ends of the house, before pulling out a phone that was vastly different from her normal one. She dialed an unmarked number, then put it up to her ear, listening to the dial tone for a minute.
"What is it, Drops?" a low and altogether unpleasant voice asked.
Bon-Bon winced. "So, um, we have something of a situation."
"How badly did you fuck up?" she growled.
"Er...not that badly. I followed protocol, it just...protocol didn't really work out that well."
A slight pause. "Rookies aren't supposed to judge when protocol works or doesn't, they're just supposed to follow it," she said slowly. "So. What happened?"
Bon-Bon took a deep breath, then began explaining.
"All I really need's a smile, smile smile," Smile Song "
Rainbow was briefly alarmed to wake up in an unfamiliar bed, but quickly recalled what happened. She yawned, sitting upright, then slid out of bed. She had no idea what time Bon-Bon and Lyra were usually up at, but she knew what time she got up at.
That said, Rainbow did try her best to be quiet as she crept through the house. She abandoned this as she neared the kitchen, hearing the sounds of something sizzling.
She stepped into the kitchen, then let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God, it's bacon."
"Lyra needs to eat more food, so I bought lots of meat," Bon-Bon said with a sigh. "She doesn't like meat."
"Hmm. Does that manual say anything about diet?"
"Uh, eat more?" Bon-Bon shrugged. "That's about all it says."
"I'll talk to her about it when she comes down," Rainbow said. "So, is there anything that me and my superhero friends should be aware of when it comes to this agency?"
"There's a lot I'm not at liberty--"
"To hell with that, Bonnie. If they start coming to try and stick us in a government lab, I will remember it if you choose them over us." Rainbow took a deep breath. "What I'm asking right now, though, is there anything about all of this that they don't like?"
Bon-Bon didn't answer immediately. "A lot of it, Rainbow, but if they haven't contacted you girls yet, then you don't need to worry," Bon-Bon said. "It's--it's not some evil organization or anything like that. There's bad apples here and there, I mean, but--for the most part, we follow the rules and save lives."
"Yeah, otherwise I'd have mentioned something to you guys," Lyra said, stepping into the kitchen. "It's no more evil than any other branch of government, Rainbow." She opened the fridge door.
"Gee, that's real comforting, Lyra," Rainbow said as she sat down. Rainbow looked at her, then reached out and snatched the muffin out of her hands. Lyra's eyes flashed gold, as she glared at Rainbow.
"Dessert comes after you eat some meat," Rainbow said.
"I don't need--"
Rainbow locked eyes with her. Lyra fell silent first, then flicked her eyes to the side, then the other.
"You have people who can help you, going through this," Rainbow said quietly. "Take advantage of it." She let the announcement hang in the air a moment, as the bacon grease in Bon-Bon's pan popped loudly. "I learned the hard way that diet is important, especially to werewolves. A hungry wolf has less control of herself. And if you eat only sugar for breakfast, you will be hungry again later. And you barely look in control of your wolf, you'll need all the advantage you can get."
Lyra sighed. "Fine."
Bon-Bon set down a big thing of bacon in front of her. "So, is that why you were so snappy and yelled at Trixie yesterday? Werewolf sugar crashing?"
Rainbow grimaced. "Yes, a little," she admitted. "But there were other things on top of that. Stuff I don't really want to talk about right now."
Bon-Bon returned to the stove, silent for a moment. "You and Lyra have some distressing similarities."
Rainbow grimaced. "Hey, look. You and Lyra are better friends than you and me. Lyra should go talk to you if she needs help, and, so we're clear, I talked to Princess Twilight just yesterday, got some of it off my chest." She waved the muffin at Bon-Bon, then took a bite of it. "Second, if I don't get help with my troubles, all it leads to is me crying into a tub of ice cream, where Lyra would--"
"Don't you dare say that again, " Lyra snarled, eyes full of tears. "Don't--don't you fucking dare say that again."
Rainbow nodded immediately. "Sorry, Lyra."
"It's--it's fine."
"No, it's not, " Rainbow said firmly. "I'm sorry. I know better than others that...it's not pleasant to hear these things."
Lyra stayed still, then stabbed her bacon and shoved some into her mouth. She wiped the tears out of her eyes as she chewed.
"So, have how many times do you say 'fuck'? Like, give me an average."
"Never!" Lyra cried out. She paused. "...Before," she added. "I mean, I-I..." She stammered, falling quiet.
"I tend to swear a bit more if...the wolf is gaining control," Rainbow mentioned. "So, maybe--"
"--Get help?" Lyra finished.
Rainbow nodded.
Lyra let out an overdramatic groan. "To hell with this," she said, letting her head fall onto the table.
"I will not let you go to school hungry, Heartstrings, so unless you want to be late, you better start eating," Bon-Bon said firmly.
Lyra winced, then began shoveling bacon into her mouth.
"Crap, it's still a school day, isn't it?" Rainbow said. She began stuffing her face with bacon, chewing loudly.
"Well, I mean, we still have plenty of time," Bon-Bon muttered, turning to her own breakfast. "Hey, uh, Dash?"
"Yuh?" Rainbow swallowed.
Bon-Bon gave her a disgusted look, but it didn't last, replaced by...trepidation? "Do you know...one 'Gilda Gruff'?"
"Yeah. Old friend of mine. We...haven't talked in a while, though. Why?" Rainbow frowned. "Did something happen?"
"No, no! Just...um..."
"'G'? You said...'G' owes you ten bucks. Does Gilda--"
"Technically, she's a senior to me," Bon-Bon said. "By a few months, mostly."
"And...she bet against me having been the one to kill Soarin?"
"You never came up in that bet," Bon-Bon said. "I said I'd bet money that Tanner wasn't the one to kill him, and Gilda took me up on it. In the end, she bet fifteen on it being Tanner, and I bet ten on it being someone else, but the whole fifteen if it was someone Soarin knew."
"That means she owes you fifteen," Rainbow muttered.
"W-well, yeah, but--sorry."
"Don't be. It..." Rainbow grimaced. "Dammit, I still owe Trixie an apology over the same f'cking thing..."
"Get help," Lyra chimed in.
Rainbow popped a piece of bacon into her mouth. "I was a whole lot madder yesterday, but...part of it was sugar crashing, and the rest is that I know Gilda a bit more than I know Trixie. But also, I'm...a little more chill than I was yesterday."
"Who's 'Tanner'?" Lyra asked.
"Ask me after school," Bon-Bon said. "That's a bit of a lengthy question for someone who still has to get dressed."
"I'm wearing pants, right?" Lyra looked down.
"Do you plan on wearing PJs to school?" Bon-Bon asked.
"No, but I was worried I forgot 'em again."
Rainbow laughed. "It's always nice to check that before you leave, isn't it?"
Lyra groaned. "You have no idea."
Rainbow bid goodbye to them on the campus, then strode up the steps to the school. She was still getting weird looks from some of the students who'd heard about the commotion yesterday, but she ignored them. If Sunset Shimmer had still been a bully, she'd have been worried about that, but otherwise, she had an objective.
"Hey, Trixie?" she called out.
Trixie spun, paling slightly as she saw Rainbow Dash. Her face made Rainbow wince, filling her with even more regret. "Can we talk?" Rainbow asked.
Trixie eyed her face, then her gaze softened, and she relaxed. "Sure," she said, some of her normal, carefree confidence returning.
Rainbow lead them to the side, down the one hallway with the light that never worked properly. Students tended to avoid the creepy atmosphere, so it made for a great place to have quiet conversations.
Rainbow leaned against one of the disused school lockers, arms folded across her chest.
Trixie leaned against one across from her, saying nothing.
Rainbow Dash sighed. "I've never been good at this part."
"Neither...neither has Trixie," the magician replied. She gave a sad smile. "It seems the greater and powerfuler you are, the harder it is to admit fault."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't--shouldn't have lost my cool. I should have talked to you in private, like--" She gestured to the hallway. "--Like this."
"Trixie--" She cut off, then continued. "I am sorry that I put up that stupid betting pool. The truth is, I--I was jealous. Even back then, you--you were everything I endeavored to be, but...well, out of the two of us, only you seemed invincible. You never seemed afraid. You never seemed bothered. You were one of the only people who seemed not to care in the least about Sunset Shimmer. So...I saw that you had...a chink in your armor, and...I wanted to exploit it." She wiped tears from her eyes. "I owe you and your friends my life, don't I? Twice over, and this...this is not how I'm going to repay you. Here." She began rifling through her backpack.
"Trixie, you don't have to give me anything," Rainbow said. "I came her to apologize."
"And saved me the trouble of searching you out later," Trixie replied. "It--it doesn't feel right for me to keep it, Rainbow." She handed a small bag to Rainbow.
Rainbow took it, feeling the familiar weight and the light clinking sound. "This is--"
"My share of the bet," Trixie said. "I wouldn't feel right keeping it, Rainbow. Please, take it."
Rainbow sighed. "Alright, Trixie." She checked around, seeing if anybody was watching, then wrapped one arm around Trixie in a light hug.
Trixie hugged her back. "Thank God Sunset won't use this for blackmail," she muttered.
Rainbow grinned. "I know the feeling." She let go, stepping back and clearing her throat. "So, um, see you around."
"Yes! Yes you shall! The Grrrreat--"
Rainbow raised an eyebrow.
"Ahem. Yes, and, uh, same to you."
Rainbow laughed, then headed off to classes as a bell rang in the distance.
She met up with Lyra again near lunch time. A fuming, golden-eyed Lyra, and a highly concerned Bon-Bon.
Lyra did not look happy.
"Don't tell me--school kicking your ass?"
Lyra took a deep breath, then nodded.
Rainbow winced. "Yeah, um, same."
Lyra grinned.
"Hey, don't worry, neither of you are doing that badly," Bon-Bon said.
"In school, maybe," Lyra muttered, grin faltering.
Bon-Bon didn't answer.
"You owe someone an apology?" Rainbow asked.
"A few of our friends have noticed that Lyra is upset still," Bon-Bon said. "And she said some unkind words to them."
Rainbow put one hand on her shoulder. "A few grumpy words aren't that bad."
"I yelled at Derpy," Lyra muttered. "Maybe...maybe I should call in sick tomorrow. Meditate. The books say meditating can help with...this."
"But you still owe them an apology," Rainbow said. "They're just worried about you."
"Yeah, I know. I'm just...getting tired of people asking that." Lyra squirmed uncomfortably.
"I--had it easy on that front, I suppose," Rainbow muttered. "There's worse things than people caring about you."
Lyra stopped in front of her locker. "Maybe, but it sometimes doesn't feel like--" She sniffed. "Did someone do something to my locker?" She glared at it, then opened the door.
Still in her ninja costume, and smelling like she hadn't taken it off since she put it on, Pinkie jumped out of her locker, screaming, "SURPRI--"
Lyra kicked her. A perfect roundhouse kick, sending Pinkie flying through the locker door. The door broke off, hitting the wall with Pinkie, sending a series of cracks along the wall.
Pinkie fell off, the locker door falling on top of her with a loud clang.
"PINKIE!" Rainbow screamed, rushing to her friend. She threw the dented up piece of metal aside, then hesitated. "Pinkie? Pinkie! Are you--"
"Owwwww," Pinkie groaned, eyes fluttering. "That...wasn't as 'fun' as I thought it'd be."
"You're--you're gonna be okay," Rainbow said, gulping.
"Don't worry, I've--" She winced. "I've taken worse hits, believe it or not." She grinned. "Hey, Rainbow, quit frowning. I'm gonna be okay, just...as soon as I see a doctor about this. It's, uh, just a broken bone. Or two. Three?"
"Yeah. Nothing--nothing too bad, right?"
"I called an ambulance," Bon-Bon said, sitting besides Rainbow. "It'll be here soon, okay?"
"What about Lyra?" Pinkie asked.
Bon-Bon hesitated. "She--ran off. Pinkie, she--I'm sure--"
"Dummies," Pinkie chuckled. "I'm fine, she needs help. Go get her."
Bon-Bon hesitated. "Dash, I...I won't be able to find her. And...you went through some of the same things, so--"
Rainbow stared at her for a second, then sighed. "I'll handle this," Rainbow said. "It...might be my fault anyway, why nothing I said... helped her any." She stood up, then paused. "Take care of Pinkie," she said firmly, then bolted for the school doors.
Rainbow hadn't ever run at full werewolf speed in daylight hours before, and the stares were plenty reason not to do so again, if she could help it.
If she could help it.
Tracking down Lyra's scent did prove challenging, but not impossibly so. She leapt over a few fences--which, apparently, Lyra had done as well--dodged traffic despite several angry protests, and eventually found herself a little outside town. Not fully in the woods yet, but still with an unusual excess of trees nearby.
The last fence around the building Lyra had gone into was very tall, and electric. Rainbow did not fancy her odds of jumping it, but, thankfully, Lyra had left the gate open.
Rainbow skidded across the asphalt to slow down to a walk, then hopped up the steps to an open door. The door itself was very large, and thick, and clearly designed, like the rest of the building, to survive.
Whoever had built it had been worrying about something a lot bigger than a werewolf.
"Lyra?" Rainbow called out, ignoring any doubts about whether or not she was allowed in here.
"Go away," Lyra shouted from a room to the side. Rainbow stalked over, eyeing the security camera that trailed to watch her. She gave it a friendly wave, then stepped inside the room Lyra was in.
Lyra was at the back, hiding as best she could behind several crates of canned goods, sobbing uncontrollably into her knees.
Rainbow took the moment to pick up the gun she'd left on the crate in front of her, quickly and efficiently removing the ammo. She picked up the bullet, eyeing it, before sitting down next to Lyra.
"You should go, before I hurt you, too," Lyra muttered.
"I'm sorry, Lyra," Rainbow said. "I--I've been trying to help you. But--I think I made things worse."
"No, you didn't," Lyra said, looking up. "You showed me everything I've been doing wrong, and I-I--I just ignored it! I completely ignored all the help, because I said I was fine, but I'm not fine! " She choked, sobbing. "I'm not fine. You...you handled this all without the help I have, and I...I can't even manage a day without hurting people. And P-Pinkie...she didn't deserve that. She--"
"You're managing way better than I did," Rainbow said quietly.
Lyra shook her head. "You never hurt anyone."
"I hurt myself."
Lyra stared at her, confused.
Rainbow lifted up the bullet, above her head, staring up at it. "If Princess Twilight hadn't come back when she did, and...I hadn't made up with Applejack, and the gang..." She gave a sad smile, reaching over and dropping the bullet into Lyra's hands. Lyra hissed, dropping the silver bullet to the side and staring at it before shooting a look at Rainbow. "I wouldn't be here today, Lyra. You...you're stronger than me. I'm sorry that I made you feel like you were handling this that badly. I...I have a little shack, that I go to, and I change in there. But...for the first year...I insisted...that I'd use the chains to bind myself. Silver chains, tying me to the ground. I hurt myself, Lyra. A lot. And...I sent some of that hurt at other people. I said...some horrible things to my parents about it all. Hell, there's good reason Spitfire's never tried reconnecting with me, after all this time." She reached an arm over Lyra's shoulder, pulling her tight into a hug. "I still keep the silver bullets on hand, but...I don't feel like I need them. Because...I have friends. And so do you. I'm...I'm sorry that I've been such a bad one."
"Don't say that! You've been a great friend!" Lyra threw her arms around her.
Rainbow Dash laughed. "You're so kind," she whispered. "You'll heal easily, in time, Lyra."
"How long?"
Rainbow laughed again. "I'll tell you when I find out," she answered. "You should be honest with your friends, Lyra. Tell them why you're hurting. They're worried about you."
Lyra looked away. "They shouldn't want anything to do with me."
"Excuse me?" Rainbow glared at her. "You are Lyra Heartstrings. You are kind, and funny, you are quirky, adorable... and most importantly, their friend. My friend, too." She reached over and poked Lyra in the chest with the gun. "Don't insult them by saying they wouldn't want anything to do with you.
"But--I hurt Pinkie! Badly !"
"How many things do you think could pry me from Pinkie's side right now?" Rainbow growled. "She told me to quit being a dumbass and go help you."
"She--she did?"
"That doesn't sound like someone who wants nothing to do with you, does it?"
Lyra sniffed. "I--"
"How about you come with me to visit her?" Rainbow asked. "Say you're sorry, and...see that she still accepts you as a friend."
Lyra sniffed again. "Okay."
Rainbow stood up, then reached out a hand to her. Lyra hesitated, then took it, letting Rainbow help her to her feet.
Lyra looked over, then frowned. "Where's my gun?"
Rainbow handed it back to her. Lyra frowned, then looked back to the silver bullets on the ground. "Really?"
"Hey, I know you didn't have that at school," Rainbow pointed out. "And...I entertained similar thoughts, for a time."
"That's not it, I just--picked it up on reflex. Bon-Bon and I both have guns stored here. It's...an agency safehouse."
"That explains one or two things," Rainbow said. She looked out of the room, then gave a smile and another wave to the security camera. "Do you know who mans the cameras?"
"Um--no?"
"Well, let's hope they didn't send a hit squad after me," Rainbow said. "I--hell, I'm technically trespassing on government property right now."
"Get help."
Rainbow turned and glared at her.
Lyra smiled. "You shouldn't swear," she said casually.
Rainbow grinned back at her. "Come on, Lyra. Let's get out of here."
Neither of them had a car, nor were they willing to risk another run at werewolf speeds in broad daylight. Rainbow's phone beeped while they were back into town, and she stopped to check the message.
SunShim: Pinkie's okay, at Canterlot General Care, room 42. She's sleeping rn, doctor says she'll be fine. Also, this.
What followed was a link, and Rainbow, with a sigh, opened it up.
The video showed Snips goofing off while, presumably, Snails recorded, before, right past them, a rainbow blur that their low-end camera couldn't really even catch rushed past them, causing the recording to falter and stare after the retreating blur.
RainDash: u can't rlly even tell that's me
SunShim: Dash, I'm still trying to figure out what's going on. No one seems to know, and you just bolted across the city at obviously supernatural speeds--and yes, with that hair, everyone knows its you. Especially after you flew off your handle about the stupid betting pool--which I kind of owe you an apology for. I actually even had a bet on there, I assumed you knew.
"The boss is gonna kill me," Lyra muttered as Rainbow sent back an, "All's good" and a thumbs-up. "Oh, God, this is gonna reflect poorly on Bon-Bon. Dammit, I'm so stupid."
Rainbow Dash flicked her forehead. "Get help," she said.
"Okay, I see how that's annoying," she admitted. "Still, Bonnie's the one who vouched for me. And I just caused a level three info leak."
"Well, bright side," Rainbow said. "Pinkie's fine." Her phone beeped.
SunShim: Trixie's asking if you're a werewolf, and I don't have a response for her. She doesn't look like she's buying that I can't hear her, either... 😅
Rainbow sighed. "Yeah, that makes about as much sense as anything, at this point."
Lyra took a deep breath. "Let's head over there quickly, okay?"
Rainbow nodded. "We've gotta see about cleaning this up."
At a somewhat unrealistic speed, Rainbow Dash and Lyra arrived at Canterlot General Care. Lyra was panting somewhat, while Rainbow Dash tried her best to pretend she was tired.
"Quit...being so...good at everything," Lyra gasped.
"Miss Dash."
Rainbow turned, and smiled. "Miss Redheart," she said. "Pinkie's--"
"Fine, but sleeping. She'll be doing a lot of that." She grimaced. "Hopefully. Anyway, I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on the injury itself? I'm not a hundred percent certain about most of these reports I've gotten."
"Um--you know the--uh--" Rainbow waved at her face, letting her eyes turn briefly gold. "That thing?"
Redheart frowned, but nodded.
Rainbow thumbed over at Lyra. "Recent."
Lyra stared at her. "Rainbow, does--does she know?"
"About lycanthropy? Yes. Here." Redheart handed her a card. "I've learned a few things while doctoring Miss Dash, and I'd be happy to--"
"Miss Redheart, um, I think she already has a doctor. Right?"
Lyra nodded. "In fact, um, here is my number, call me sometime and I'll set you up with the doctors at the agency. You're due for financial compensation, actually, for your efforts." She smiled.
Redheart blinked, took the card, then nodded. "Your friends are in the other room," she said, gesturing. "They...needed a private space for their discussion."
"Oh, dear," Rainbow muttered. "Come on, Lyra."
Trixie was standing just outside, waiting for them.
"How?" was all Rainbow Dash asked.
"You remember that betting pool?"
"You're not serious," Rainbow said.
"So, um, a certain former bully find out about it, and uh, asked to see it. She stared at it for about thirty seconds before she laughed, and placed fifteen on you being a werewolf. Said it made as much sense as anything else, and I'm pretty sure she's long forgotten about it at this point..."
Rainbow shook her head. "Nah, she just apologized to me about it," Rainbow said. "Though this technically means she's about a hundred bucks richer than she used to be."
"If I hadn't closed down the betting pool."
"That means I cost her a hundred bucks, so the two of us are even," Rainbow said. "Anyway, let's get this done."
Rainbow stepped into the room--which seemed to be a storage room of some kind that Redheart had generously let five annoyed teenage girls borrow.
Bon-Bon and the Rainbooms were all standing around, doing a great deal of not talking to each other. Most of their attention was focused on Bon-Bon, who was stoically regarding them, despite several glares.
"Hi, guys," Rainbow said, causing several of the Rainbooms to jump. Sunset, notably, didn't, and kept her eyes trained in a cold glare on Bon-Bon.
"What'd I miss?" Rainbow said with a grin.
"A series of unfortunate events," Rarity muttered.
"A bunch of people bein' downright morons," Applejack snorted. "Bon-Bon was here at the hospital before any of us, and we tried askin' her what happened, an' she just said..."
"That it wasn't her place to talk about it, which I, for one, think that privacy matters," Rarity said loudly.
"Pinkie is in the hospital," Fluttershy said slowly. "She has two broken ribs, Rarity."
Rarity didn't seem to have an immediate response to that.
"Regardless, Sunset began pressin' her," Applejack continued, "an' she said...that she wouldn't tell Sunset, whether or not it was her place to tell."
"Can you really blame me, for not trusting you with secrets that aren't even mine to share?" Bon-Bon hissed.
"At this point? Kinda," Sunset growled. "Something hurt my friend, Bon-Bon, I don't think it's gonna stop itself and you know what it even is. You are, right now, directly standing between us and [i[saving the day. Think about that a moment."
"It's being handled," Bon-Bon growled back.
"By who?" Sunset demanded.
"Um, me," Rainbow said, stepping closer to Sunset. She put a hand on Sunset's shoulder, adding, "There's a little bit to unpack here, Sunset."
Sunset turned, and then glared at Rainbow Dash, tears slowly falling down her face. "Like the fact that she's been lying to me? That she said all was forgiven?" She turned back to Bon-Bon. "After the Battle of the Bands, you said we were even. Right?"
Bon-Bon opened her mouth to retort, but Lyra put a hand on her shoulder. Bon-Bon turned to look into her eyes, then her shoulders sagged, and she looked away. "Yeah," she said quietly.
"Bon-Bon's trying to protect me," Lyra said quietly. "Because...here recently, she failed. I was...attacked, and...became a werewolf."
She let it hang in the air for a moment, then took a deep breath. "So, despite what she said, it's...it's not about you, Sunset. It's about me."
There was a moment of silence. Sunset shrugged off Rainbow's hand, stepping over to Bon-Bon.
Bon-Bon looked up, an apology dying on her lips. Sunset stared into her face a moment, then smiled. She wrapped her arms around Bon-Bon, hugging her tightly. "Are we good?" she asked quietly. "Answer...truthfully, please. I...won't be mad if you say no. Promise."
"We're good. Mostly." Bon-Bon hugged her back. "Just...old trauma, y'know?"
Sunset laughed, then let go. She turned to Lyra, hesitated, then turned to Rainbow Dash. "So, um. The situation's handled?"
Rainbow Dash turned a lazy eye over to Lyra, raising a questioning eyebrow.
Lyra blushed as most of the room turned to her. "Well, uh. Mostly? I think. I need to...spend a little time to myself. And...work this out."
"You might not have to," Sunset said. "I've been talking to Princess Twilight, and...she said that Princess Luna might be able to undo the change."
Lyra gaped. "Like, make me human again?"
Sunset nodded. "She did mention that she wanted to see you, Rainbow, because she's pretty sure that time spent as a werewolf would impact her chances of being able to, uh, uncurse you."
"Pass."
Sunset spun, staring at her. "What?"
"Well, if I do that, then you lose your chance at being a werewolf," Rainbow said. "I still don't see why'd you'd want to, but if Princess Luna can just turn you back, then you'll have the freedom to change your mind. And it doesn't sound like I'd be able to get changed back anyway."
"No! You can't miss out on this opportunity just for me! I insist, you at least have to come with to talk to her!"
"Fine," Rainbow agreed. "Now, if that's all dealt with--"
"One more moment, Dash," Applejack said. "Earlier, you mentioned in that text the government agents that you couldn't name, right?"
"That...would be us," Bon-Bon admitted. Rainbow felt an instant relief, not wanting to break Bon-Bon's trust, nor lie to her friends. "We work for a branch of the government specializing in keeping citizens safe from magic. This...mess..." She reached up, scratching her head. "It's gonna be bad, but I'll at least have the advantage of telling them I'll be the first recorded agent to go to Equestria, right? They've been trying to figure out what that place is for years."
"Oh, sure," Trixie burst out. "Secret government agents, too." She threw her hands up. "You know, someone should make a movie of this. Ratings gold, I'd say. Werewolves, drama, secret shadowy government branch, other worlds, and let's not forget--" She gestured to Lyra and Bon-Bon. "Lesbians. You'd make millions."
"I forgot she was here," Rainbow admitted. "Whoops."
"Don't worry, Trixie knows how to keep a secret," she said, miming the action of locking her lips.
Bon-Bon did not look like she'd sleep without worry.
Lyra stepped into the room, Bon-Bon and Rainbow Dash right behind her. Pinkie Pie lay, asleep, on the hospital bed, breathing quietly.
"She's...gonna be alright?" Lyra asked.
"Yes," Bon-Bon said. "She's gonna be fine."
"Darn straight," Pinkie muttered.
"You're awake?" Rainbow burst out.
She opened one eye, squinting at Rainbow. "A little," she said. "Those painkillers have my head feeling really funny."
Lyra rushed over to the bedside, falling onto her knees. "I--I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I didn't mean to--"
Pinkie reached out, and put her hand on Lyra's head. Ruffling her hair, she said, "It's okay."
Lyra's eyes filled with tears, but Pinkie Pie wiped them away with one finger. "Hey, don't cry. I hate it when people cry."
"O-okay," Lyra stammered, wiping her eyes. "I-I'll try. You...you like smiles, right?" She gave a big, happy smile, but it didn't last.
Pinkie Pie smiled. "Heh. Lyra, it's okay. You think this is the first time I've been punched in the face when surprising someone?"
Lyra blinked. "Yes?"
Pinkie Pie rifled through her hair, then pulled out a list. "This is everyone I endeavor not to surprise out of the blue," she said.
"That's a big list," Lyra whispered.
"Some, like Fluttershy, I know wouldn't like it," Pinkie admitted. "Others, like, say, a certain pretty prismatic person--"
"Oh, dear," Rainbow muttered.
"--go to regular self defense classes and I've learned the hard way that jumping out of their lockers and throwing confetti at them doesn't lead to fun times." She smiled. "She cracked a rib, too."
"Can't even blame it on being a werewolf," Rainbow admitted, "or...any of the related trauma."
Pinkie Pie reached over and took Lyra's hand. "So, really, it's fine," she said.
"Really?"
"Really really," Pinkie confirmed. "But I'll make sure to let Maud know that before she hears about this."
Lyra chuckled. "Thanks. I somehow don't think that would turn out well for me, werewolf strength or no."
"What I can't figure out," Bon-Bon said, "is how you got off with only two broken ribs. Like, we all saw the wall, right?"
Lyra glared at her, but Pinkie laughed. "Us Pies are made of sturdier stuff than crust and cream filling," she said. "It's what you get from growing up on a rock farm."
Lyra's glare ceased abruptly. "A what farm?"
"You don't wanna know," Rainbow interrupted. "Trust me."
Lyra took her word on that.
"So," Sunset said cheerily, "Pinkie requested we bring her a taste of Equestrian baked goods, Applejack wanted a taste of Equestrian cider, Rarity wants a taste of the fashion industry, and Fluttershy--" She paused. "--Wants a copy of Beasts of Equestria, " she finished lamely.
"You ruined the theme," Rainbow complained.
"Whatever," Sunset muttered, tossing her bag to the side, where it sat next to her sleeping bag. She insisted upon sleeping in one with the rest of them, despite the fact that they were in her house to begin with. Rainbow couldn't quite figure it out. "I want to get there around noon, Rainbow, so make sure you're packed by then, okay?"
"Kay. I'll be packed by then, easy." Rainbow nodded. "Is everything settled with the Principal?"
"Yup. Talked to her earlier."
"The...abridged version?"
Sunset nodded. "I told her there were some things I wasn't at liberty to tell, and she let it lie."
Applejack let out a sigh. "That's a relief. Last thing Ah wanna do is start lyin' to everyone."
"Some would argue that a half-truth is the same as a lie," Rarity pointed out.
"Not if Sunset told her that she was leavin' parts out," Applejack scoffed. "Yah can't be mad at somebody for leavin' things out if they tell ya they're leaving them out!"
"Hey, don't tell me what I can or can't be mad about," Rainbow informed her.
"Fine. It'd be ridiculous and stupid to be mad about it."
Rainbow considered that. "You know what? I'm cool with that."
"And Rainbow?" Sunset added.
"Yeah?"
"For the love of God, don't mention that you eat beef, or bring anything leather," Sunset said firmly. "I had this as a good talk-out with Bon-Bon, but cows are sentient in Equestria. Leather is illegal, and beef would be, too."
"Um--okay. Don't mention hamburgers. Got it."
"It would be safest if you didn't mention 'meat' at all," Sunset said. "Equestria...has carnivores in it, but the wildlife is on a much...ahem...simpler scale, that mostly involves dedicated ponies working to take care of them. They're pretty much all domesticated."
"Weird," Rainbow muttered.
"Oh, that sounds wonderful," Fluttershy said.
"We could probably fit you into this trip, too," Sunset offered, but Fluttershy shook her head.
"No, I wouldn't want to but in. Especially as everything else is way more important than me seeing the fuzzy locals."
"But--" Sunset hesitated. "Your wants are important to," she said.
"Yes, but there's a lot of serious work going on this trip, and I'd hate to interrupt it," Fluttershy said. "As long as the portal's still there, there's always next time, right?"
"Well, that's right," Sunset admitted. "Next time, then."
"Do send our love to Princess Twilight, though," Rarity said.
"Will do," Sunset replied. "And...your doppelgangers, if I meet any of them."
"If?" Rainbow laughed. "You think I'll pass up on opportunity to meet my clone? As if, Shimmer!'
"Eh, fair enough," Sunset replied. "I don't actually know what they all do over there."
"Do you think we'll ever meet the Sunset of this world?" Fluttershy asked. "Or the Princess Twilight?"
"Princess Twilight could be fun to find," Sunset agreed, "but I'd be more than a little concerned about meeting my doppelganger. After all, she doesn't have you guys." She flashed her friends a wide grin.
"Sunset, darling, she might have turned out perfectly well regardless," Rarity pointed out.
"Maybe we could ask Principal Celestia?" Applejack asked. "You were a student of hers in Equestria, maybe she knows about ya in this world."
"That...is an interesting idea, but if she never mentioned anything, then...I'm not sure. It would kind of feel like butting into something that's not my business." Sunset shrugged. "I don't like the thought of prodding someone's sore memories just because of idle curiosity."
"There's been too much of that going around, as is," Rainbow agreed. She paused, then looked up to see everyone giving her a look. She let out a sigh.
"Rainbow," Fluttershy asked, reaching over and putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, then hesitated. She thought over the question for a long moment, before nodding. "Yeah," she said, "I think so."
"You think so?" Rarity asked.
"Well, it's hard to tell when I'm with you guys," Rainbow said. "You...you're my best friends. If anything can chase away a few bad dreams, it'd be you guys."
"Well, if you ever need anything, be it a hug, a shoulder to cry on, or--" She smirked. "--Scent of a Morning Rose--"
"I thought we agreed to stop talking about that."
"--we'll be happy to provide!"
Rainbow smiled. "Thanks, Rares. Thanks, all you guys. It...means a lot that I have you guys." She hesitated, then spat out, "I...probably wouldn't be here today if I didn't have you."
There was a long silence as everyone thought about that.
Fluttershy hugged Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow sighed. "Guess who saw that one coming," she muttered. Then she grinned, hugging Fluttershy back. "When I'm said I'm fine, I meant it, Fluttershy."
"I...don't know what to say," Fluttershy said. "I-I--"
Rainbow ruffled her hair. "You don't gotta say anything," she said. Then she shuddered. "Now, we're supposed to be having a sleepover right now, right? So let's drop the mushy, sappy stuff and have some fun. Yeesh, what would Pinkie say if we failed to have fun during a sleepover?"
Sunset cleared her throat, then ruffled her hair to make it resemble Pinkie's. In a near-perfect imitation of Pinkie's voice and face, she belted out, "WHAT?"
"Yeah, Ah s'pose she would," Applejack laughed.
Rainbow Dash hefted the backpack, looking around again. "I feel like I'm forgetting something," she said.
"Spare clothes, darling?"
"...Sunset said not to worry about that."
Rarity gasped. "But--you'll be staying at a Princess's castle! Surely you don't mean to impose on her to provide you with clothes!"
"Rarity, ponies don't normally wear clothes, except at big parties."
Sunset's simple statement brought such a profound level of shock to Rarity that she gasped, hyperventilated, and then fainted.
"Great, you killed her," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes.
"Not again," Sunset said, sending a grin Rainbow's way.
Applejack nudged Rarity's lifeless form with her toes. “Well, Ah can hardly say Ah was imaginin' a bunch of horses with frilly dresses,” she put in. “Er...is that weird?”
“Nope. At least, not in Equestria.” Sunset shrugged.
“I hope Bon-Bon and Lyra are prepared for that,” Fluttershy put in.
“Don't worry, I mentioned it to them,” Sunset said, waving it off. “They should be here any--”
The doorbell rang.
“Ah. Speak of the devil...” Sunset smirked, stepping over to the door. “Hey, Bonnie. Lyra. Come on in—who's this?”
Rainbow Dash's ears pricked up as she heard a high, scratchy voice saying, “I'm tagging along to see about finding the world's biggest lam-o. Heard she was here?”
Rainbow grinned broadly. “No, she ain't, but you should check your mom's house!” she called out, before Sunset could react.
Sunset stepped out of the way as Gilda came in, grinning herself. “Long time, no see, Crash,” she said. She dressed just like Rainbow remembered. Brown cargo pants and jacket, with a white undershirt that almost blended in with her pale skin and pure white hair, that fell off one side of her brow. The only thing new were the gold boot laces, and the gold gloves as well.
“Quite long enough, I'd say,” Rainbow said, slipping her backpack over her shoulder. “When were you gonna tell me that you joined a top-secret government agency?”
“Well, I thought about it,” Gilda said slowly. “Then I was like...'nah, I got better things to than babysit that old wussy'.” She casually stepped over Rarity, then paused. She looked down, eyeing the fashionista. “Uh, need help burying this one?”
Rainbow Dash shared a look with Applejack, and both grinned. “Ah was gonna suggest we jest feed her to Dash,” the cowgirl said. “Waste not, want not, right?”
“Hear, hear,” Rainbow said, nodding.
Rarity bolted upright, screaming, “No, you don't, you ruffians! ” She jumped to her feet, dusting herself off. “Honestly, how could you even think of interrupting a lady's faint?”
“How could you even think of fainting?” Sunset asked. “Seriously, how do you do it on command? I cannot figure it out.”
“You can learn to do a lot of things on command,” Gilda intoned. “So, Crash, I heard you were hopping over to the Other Realm.”
“I believe they call it Equestria,” Bon-Bon said.
“...Right,” Gilda said, without looking at Bon-Bon.
“Yup. This is actually gonna be my first time going over there, come to think of it.” Rainbow Dash met Gilda's eyes. “And, since I'm gonna be over there for a while, how about we take a minute to catch up before I go?”
Gilda nodded. “I was hoping you'd say that.”
“Oh, um,” Sunset paused, looking between the two of them. “You two have fun, then. Remember, Rainbow, we were leaving at around twelve, so...”
“Yeah, yeah, I can run from one end of the city to the other in less than ten minutes. I'd have to be horrifically irresponsible to be late,” Rainbow Dash scoffed.
Sunset raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, fine, I promise I'll keep an eye on the time,” Rainbow said, stepping over to the door. “You coming, G?”
“Right behind you, Crash,” Gilda called out. As soon as Rainbow was out of sight, she paused right beside Sunset, looking her up and down. “So, you're Sunset Shimmer?”
“Uh—yeah. Can I help you?”
Gilda stared at her for a long minute. “I thought you'd be bigger,” she intoned.
Sunset stared at her.
“I meant 'muscly', though you could really stand to put some more weight of any sort on your bones,” Gilda commented. Without another word, she stepped out the door, after Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash and Gilda were silent for a length of time. Both sat on a bench, sipping from coffees they'd purchased with minimal talking to each other.
“So,” Rainbow Dash finally said, speaking up. “Government agent, huh?”
Gilda nodded.
“Since when?”
“Four or five months after the incident with Soarin,” Gilda admitted.
“They have manuals. On being a werewolf.” Rainbow sipped her coffee.
“I have one in my backpack for you,” Gilda said, patting the bag on the bench besides her.
“Why didn't you come to me when you joined up?” Rainbow asked. “I...I needed something like that, G. I needed help.”
“I kept an eye on you, Rainbow. If you had ever fallen to the point to where this--” She gestured to the bag. “--was the help you needed, I'd have stepped in. But you didn't.”
Rainbow glared at her. “How good of a watch, G? I was this fucking close to putting some silver rounds in my head by the end of that. Less than a year ago!” Thinking back to the Fall Formal, she shuddered.
“I...wasn't going to be able to help you with that,” Gilda said quietly. She stared into her coffee for a long moment. “You were the strong one, Dash. I'm just the poor girl who always acted tough. I knew my way around a fight, but if something hurt me...if I lost...a friend...” She took a deep breath. “I'm sorry, Dash. After Soarin died, I was a mess. If it hadn't been for the agency, finally finding something to devote myself to, I don't know what I'd have done.” She chuckled. “Probably drugs. Or join the mob. Nothing good, knowing me.”
“You never answered my question,” Rainbow said. “Why not give me the manuals? Why not come back and talk to me about it?”
“Because there are some bad apples in this organization,” Gilda said. “They range from people who sneak money out of other people's paychecks, to far, far less morally righteous people.”
“Bon-Bon told me not to worry about the bad apples.”
“If she did, it's because she's naive and overly trusting,” Gilda scoffed. “Honestly. The one in charge of her is one of the bad apples. Tempest had a bad incident with a werewolf one time, and has devoted her life to as much 'extreme prejudice' as is allowed within the rules she works with. I'm actually working with one of the really high ups, investigating her to make sure she's not doing anything...well, anything we can pin on her, really.” She sipped her coffee.
“So...you were protecting me?”
She chuckled. “That's the way it always was, right? We'd jump in to protect each other, and then act all tough in front of other people. 'We can face the world on our own', we said. 'We're invincible'.”
Rainbow's reaction was immediate. “Lycanthropy, son.”
Gilda burst into a laugh. Rainbow grinned, but then it faltered. “Oh, um, this organization--”
“I really wish I could tell you the name, but I'd have to clear it with the boss,” Gilda said apologetically.
“Understood. Anyway, um, Sunset kind of wanted to become a werewolf. Would they get mad at me?”
“Uh—first off, yes. Absolutely, yes,” Gilda said firmly. “But they don't want to cause an interdimensional incident with the Other World.”
“Yeah, tell them I cleared it with the princesses,” Rainbow said with a grin.
Gilda sighed. “Thanks for the heads up. Other note—Sunset Shimmer? You called her the 'Royal Bitch Queen of CHS'. Frequently. ”
“Well, she got better,” Rainbow said. “After she got worse. We're good.”
“Yeah, I was on the team in charge of distributing bribes to the media to keep the Fall Formal under wraps,” Gilda said sourly. “Can I ask another question?”
“Yeah?”
“How likely is it for another monster on Sunset Shimmer's level to pop up?” she asked.
Rainbow blinked. “Uh, I know she stole some super rare, one-of-a-kind artifact. An Element of Harmony, I think?”
“Shit,” Gilda whispered. “We've heard that name come up once or twice, Dash, from various monsters banished here. Makes me glad we had you guys, because a Class 5 Incarnation would have been a lot to deal with.”
“A what in the what?”
“Class 5 Incarnation,” Gilda repeated. “In other words? A demigoddess. Anything bigger than that and the manuals just kind of shrug and say, 'pick a god, start praying'.”
“Well, hallelujah,” Rainbow said, raising her coffee.
Gilda raised her own, then took a sip. “How much time do we have?”
Rainbow checked her phone, pretending that she had remembered that they were on a time limit. “It'll take fifteen minutes to get there, so we have ten minutes to spare.”
“Now that we've gotten the heavy stuff out of the way, let's actually catch up, eh?” Gilda grinned.
“Hear, hear,” Rainbow said.
The Princess of the Night
"Hey, Twilight!" Rainbow called out, waving. Twilight waved back as Rainbow neared the portal. "So, we ready?" Rainbow asked, turning to Sunset. The rest of their friends didn't seem to be here—they were probably keeping Pinkie company. Or...school. Right, it was Thursday. Everyone else was in school today.
"Just about," Sunset said.
"So you're Princess Twilight Sparkle?" Gilda asked.
Twilight nodded. "And you are--"
"Gilda. Nice to meet you." She gave a light nod.
An odd expression crossed Twilight's face, but she said nothing on it. "Anyway, as I was saying, pictures are absolutely fine," she said, turning back to Bon-Bon. "And feel free to ask questions."
Lyra elbowed her, adding, "Though asking if Equestria has any plans to conquer Earth would probably be rude."
"Lyra!" Bon-Bon hissed.
"Um—Equestria has no such plans?" Twilight asked, looking between the two of them. "We don't really even have a standing army."
Gilda stared at Lyra and Bon-Bon, but shook her head and said nothing.
"Equestria would have no reason to do so, anyway," Sunset said. "I get it. Be careful trusting the word of strangers from other worlds, but really. Earth has no resources that would be valuable to Equestrians, that aren't also equally or more readily available to Equestria."
"I'll make sure word gets passed along," Gilda said slowly. "Ahem, Lyra? Bon-Bon? Please don't give them any reasons to declare war, okay?"
"I don't plan on it," Bon-Bon chuckled. "Boss's been on my case enough as it is."
Gilda nodded approvingly. "So you're about to head out?"
"Yup. I...honestly thought Rainbow would be late." Bon-Bon chuckled nervously.
Gilda grinned.
"I kept an eye on the time," Rainbow lied smoothly.
"Sure you did," Sunset said with a smile.
Gilda reached out, clasping Rainbow's hand. "Le'me know when you get back, 'kay? It can be fun hanging with the dorks, but it's good to have my cool friend back." She grinned.
"It's good to see you again, too," Rainbow said. "Next time, call me sooner, alright?"
Gilda nodded. "Will do, Crash." Gilda straightened her jacket, then nodded to Twilight. She pointed an accusatory finger at Bon-Bon and Lyra, and shot them a look that said all she needed to say to them, then walked off.
"If only lectures from your superiors could be converted to cash," Bon-Bon said with a sigh. "Like, a dime per 'don't-screw-this-up'. You know?"
Lyra nodded. "We could buy, like, an entire ice cream cone."
"So. You guys ready?" Sunset asked.
"As I'll ever be," Lyra moaned.
"Born ready," Bon-Bon answered.
"Good to go," Rainbow said.
"Just be warned, the portal can be a little rough," Sunset cautioned. "And I have no idea how it interacts with werewolves."
"Got it," Rainbow said.
"Follow my lead," Sunset said, before stepping through the portal.
"Geronimo!" Bon-Bon said, getting down and crawling through afterwards.
Lyra took a deep breath. Then, she grinned, leaping through the portal with a flash of yellow in her eyes.
Rainbow smiled, then leapt in after them.
Rainbow blinked her eyes open. She stretched out one arm, intent on pushing herself to her feet, only to realize that she didn't have fingers. She paused, then examined her forehoof. "Freaky," she muttered, climbing unsteadily to her hooves.
A warping sound came from behind her, and she quickly hopped aside as Twilight—or so she assumed—came through the...magic mirror?
Whatever. She had more important things to focus on.
She reached up with one hoof, messing with her hair—mane. It was a mane. Her hair was considerably thicker than it had been in the human world.
"Oh, shoot," Bon-Bon's voice muttered.
Rainbow found her by the camera she wore around her neck. "How am I supposed to use a camera like this?" she groaned. She tapped it with one hoof, then sighed.
"Well, there are cameras built for Earth ponies, but that one looks more intended for unicorns," Sunset said. "It is interesting that the camera didn't properly change to one you'd use, like your backpack did."
Bon-Bon looked over at her saddlebags, then looked at the camera. "Wait, hold on." She pointed at Lyra. "She gets a horn." She pointed her hoof at Sunset. "You get one, too." She pointed at Rainbow Dash. "She has wings." Then she pointed at Twilight. "She has both. "
She looked at her sides, then felt up at her forehead with a hoof. "'Earth pony'?"
"Pegasi have flight, unicorns have their magic, and Earth pony magic grants them great strength, and magic that helps them grow plants better," Sunset said with a smile. "Earth pony efforts contriubte to the continued wellfare of Equestria, as without them, we'd have a lot less food available!"
Bon-Bon stared at her.
"Yeah, so, okay, it's not nearly as glamorous as unicorn or pegasus magic," Sunset admitted.
"I have magic ?" Lyra burst out. "Awesome! What can I do?"
Sunset's horn lit up with a greenish color, and a glow of the same green enveloped Bon-Bon's camera. It floated into the air, over in front of Sunset's face. She took a picture of Bon-Bon and Lyra, then casually used her friggin' telekinesis to put the camera around Lyra's neck. "I'll help you figure out the telekinesis, so you can take the pictures for Bon-Bon."
Bon-Bon raised a hoof.
"Yes?" Sunset said, turning to fully face her.
Bon-Bon,wordlessly, pointed the hoof at Twilight. Twilight Sparkle stood noticeably taller than the others, with a build that seemed slightly more muscular, and, of course, she had both wings and a horn.
Looking back at her own wings, Twilight's wings were considerably larger, and she had a longer horn than Lyra or Sunset.
"I am an Alicorn," Twilight explained. "It means that I have the magic of all three tribes in me, and becoming one made me a princess, as well."
"It's a fairly archaic ruling, but with the specific circumstances required to become an Alicorn, it's never been challenged," Sunset commented casually. "Now, Lyra, I want you to listen carefully..."
As much as the magic lesson was vaguely interesting, Rainbow had something else to focus on. She stretched out her wings, then gave them a tentative flap. She had flown while ponied-up before, right? This shouldn't prove to be any problem.
Except her entire body was shaped differently.
After a few seconds of tentative experimentation, Rainbow Dash lifted off the ground. She waved her hooves for a second, before she quickly remembered how to balance herself in the air.
It was strange. In the human world, her flying was almost completely instinctual. Like she'd been doing it since she was born. But here in Equestria, she was having a lot of trouble figuring out what she was supposed to be doing.
Rainbow flew forward, and promptly crashed into a wall. She bounced off, and landed on her back with her hooves in the air, world spinning in her vision.
"Okay," she announced. "Too much thrust."
A short time later, after hitting a few more walls—or rather, the same wall several times—Rainbow believed she had gotten the hang of flying in this form. Lyra, it seemed, had gotten the hang of using her telekinesis.
"Okay, so, I think I can work the camera now," Lyra said. "What do you want me taking pictures of?"
"Anything you think the boss might want to see," Bon-Bon said with a sigh. "Architecture is a big one. Maybe some pictures of the locals. I don't know...anything cute. Ah!" She blinked, covering her eyes with a hoof as the camera flashed in her face.
"Ha ha," Bon-Bon muttered. "Okay, now that all that has been dealt with, um, Princess Twilight? Are we running late?"
"Princess Luna said we could go talk to her at any point," Twilight answered. "She sleeps during the day, so it doesn't matter to her what time we go over."
Sunset awkwardly ran a hoof through her mane. "What about Princess Celestia? I'd hate to interrupt a big, diplomatic meeting or something..."
"We'll meet her over dinner," Twilight answered.
"At precisely seven-thirty," Spike said, holding up a scroll. "Or seven-twenty-nine, if the castle staff listened to Twilight's recommendations about how to shave two seconds off of every task."
"I keep forgetting you can talk," Bon-Bon muttered.
"Say cheese!" Lyra said, holding up the camera. She snapped a picture as Spike posed, then lowered it. She frowned, then said, "I feel kinda funny. I'm not sure why. It's..."
"Because you're new to being a werewolf," Rainbow said, closing her eyes. She swayed a little on her hooves, wings outstretched, moving to a silent melody. "That's the call of the moon, Lyra. It's gonna be a full moon tonight."
"Only full moons," Sunset intoned. "Equestria's day and night cycle are artificial. It only has full moons."
"Are you serious?" Lyra burst out, eyes flashing gold. "Couldn't you have mentioned that?"
"She did," Bon-Bon said. "Like, three times? Four, counting just now."
"She did not!" Lyra snapped. She hesitated. "Did she?"
Bon-Bon sighed. "You dolt."
"The sooner we head over there, the better," Rainbow said, opening her eyes. Twilight blinked, as she met Rainbow's gaze. "Oh, um. I didn't know you could do that."
Rainbow grinned. "Hey, the golden eyes are the least freaky thing about this, Twilight."
"Oh. Ooookay." Twilight stepped closer, examining her face. "Everything else seems normal, so you're right. We should head over to meet with Princess Luna sooner rather than later."
Twilight began leading the way, Bon-Bon quickly cantering over to meet her. "Um, so," Bon-Bon said. "I know we get a little informal with you, but--"
"Princess Luna doesn't care that much about it," Twilight said. "She'll most likely ignore any breach in ettiquette, because you aren't nobility even in your own world."
"Oh. Okay. Um..." Bon-Bon nodded.
"Nervous?" Lyra asked, stepping up besides her. She snapped another picture of another room before turning back to Bon-Bon.
"A little. Vice Principal Luna scares me, and now I'm going to go meet Princess Luna?" She shuddered. "I could be in for a lot worse than a detention, Lyra."
"She's not going to execute you because you accidentally annoyed her," Sunset said firmly. She hesitated, then asked Twilight, "Right?" in an unsure tone.
Twilight sighed. "No, of course not," she said. "In fact, since her reformation, the worst thing she's done was almost cancel a holiday."
"Her reformation?" Rainbow asked, looking up.
"Well, yes, like Sunset, there was a time when she wasn't the best pony to be around," Twilight said.
"That's a light way to put it," Sunset muttered.
"Ah. You did that one, too, I'm guessing?"
"Um—to an extent?" Twilight shrugged as she stepped out of the castle. "I had my friends with me, but even then, I can't say we deserve all the credit. It was still Princess Celestia who reached out to her sister after we defeated her."
"That sounds like one heck of a story," Sunset said. "Got it in you for telling it?"
Twilight stared at her. "Alright, sure," she relented, "but only after we get on board. I don't want to miss the train."
"And she really just...burst into song?" Bon-Bon asked.
"Yes," Twilight said, nodding. "I honestly couldn't believe it at the time. It was kind of ridiculous."
"Kind of?" Bon-Bon laughed. "That sounds absolutely ridiculous, Princess."
Sunset stepped up, leaning in close to Twilight. "Maybe we should step up the pace, here?" she whispered. "Our lupine friends are beginning to get antsy."
"I can hear you, you know," Rainbow said.
"Yeah!" Lyra agreed, snapping to attention. "What'd she say?" she whispered to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow ignored her. "But, yeah, I'm with Sunset here," she said instead. "Lyra doesn't fully know how to control herself yet, and I'd prefer to stay away from others during my change."
Twilight nodded. "This way," she said, turning down one of the paths in Canterlot Castle.
Rainbow and the others moved to follow her, Lyra occasionally remembering she was supposed to be taking pictures.
Rainbow, of course, could hardly blame her for being somewhat absentminded. Between what they were here to do, and the echoing call ringing in her mind, she was having trouble focusing herself.
Permanent full moon...
If there had been werewolves in Equestria, what would that have been like? Rainbow could hardly imagine being on the verge of change twenty-four-seven. Especially for those who hadn't yet mastered control of their wolf. Everyone close to them would be at risk.
Rainbow shuddered at the thought.
Ahead of her, Lyra stumbled, wobbling. "You alright?" Rainbow asked, moving to stand besides her. Which was when she felt it.
A calm settled over her. All the instincts that she normally ascribed to her wolf side vanished. Her head fell quiet.
She stumbled, but managed to use her wings to maintain her balance. "Whoa," she whispered. "What the hay is this? I—I--"
"God, I didn't think she'd just turn it off," Lyra chuckled. She stumbled over to where Twilight was, asking, "I take it the Princess is near?"
"Just up ahead," Twilight answered. "Rainbow? You okay?"
Rainbow backed up, until she once again felt the wolf stir inside her. "Oh, I never thought I'd miss you," she muttered. "I'm—I'm okay. But I think I'm going to hang back here for a moment. Is...is that alright?"
Twilight nodded hesitantly. "We'll come get you when Princess Luna's ready to see you," she said.
Rainbow nodded, then sat down on a nearby bench. Several of the castle guards were giving her funny looks, but apparently, being with Princess Twilight was enough to ease their concerns.
Sunset sat down besides her. "You okay?"
"Yeah. I just...wasn't expecting...that." She shook herself. "Wait, shouldn't you be meeting up with your Princess?"
"Rainbow, I didn't know she existed over here until Twilight mentioned it, recently. " She smiled. "Besides, you're important to me, Dash."
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah, okay, I can see that," she said.
Sunset laughed. "That's such a you thing to say, you know that?"
"Obviously. I'm me, aren't I?" Her grin faded quickly, though. "Did...did you know that she'd do that? She's—hell, I thought she was asleep."
"She is. What even happened?"
"It was like...she turned off the wolf." Rainbow shuddered.
"I thought you didn't like being a werewolf."
"I'm still not sure I do," Rainbow said, "but...it felt like...someone got ripped away from me. Taken."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"I don't understand. I'm not sure you can, " Rainbow said with a quiet chuckle.
"I dunno. Does the wolf feel like a separate person?"
Rainbow immediately began to blurt out, "No," but stopped herself. She felt...
"I think so," she answered.
"A truly rare occurrence, and then, normally only in the oldest of werewolves."
Rainbow jumped, wings outstretched, as the tall horse with a flowing mane, with what looked almost like miniature stars in it, stepped towards her.
"Hi!" Rainbow burst out stupidly. She sniffed, wondering how she hadn't smelled the newcomer appproaching, only to realize that her nose wasn't working nearly as well as it should have.
Pony nonsense, most likely.
"Good morrow, fair Rainbow Dash," Princess Luna said in an aristocratic tone—which sounded like how she talked back at CHS, too. "If you truly have been with the wolf for that long, then I can not cure you."
"...We cool," Rainbow said. She immediately regretted it—surely there was a cooler way to say that?
Luna fixed her with that gaze, which at CHS was reserved for students who were in trouble when they didn't do anything wrong.
Which wasn't so common, now that Sunset was reformed...
"Whilst I may not be able to cure you, Miss Rainbow, I did not say I couldn't help you. Come. I might be able to make this more bearable for you."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and began walking away. Rainbow looked to Sunset, who threw up one hoof in a shrug. Shaking her head, Rainbow followed after Princess Luna.
Luna's bedroom was decorated in shades of blue, and dark blue, and...darker blue. It certainly looked royal, but it also had a kind of sparse look to it, without much in the way of random items cluttering it up, or even work items.
Thinking about it, Rainbow wasn't quite sure what she exactly did as a princess...
A stool levitated from across the room, depositing itself in front of Rainbow Dash. "Sit," Luna commanded.
Rainbow obeyed wordlessly. She looked across the room, where Bon-Bon was sitting with Twilight. Lyra lay on the ground, snoring peacefully.
"What happened to her?" Rainbow asked.
"I dispelled the curse," Luna said. "It's easy under normal circumstances, especialy if it's recent. The curse is still recognized by the body as 'foreign', and your soul is trying to shake it off. For you, however, even if I could, I wouldn't."
"What? Why?" Rainbow fluttered her wings, before she cleared her throat, and added, "Um, Your Highness."
Luna arched an eyebrow, but rather than call her out, she answered the question. "Well, Miss Dash, it is no longer a collection of dark magic. Magic adapts, and in this case, rather than a 'curse', it is now its own creature. It sometimes does this for wolves who've lived for decades, but I suppose the Elements of Harmony assisted you. It might well lead to another sort of freedom."
"What?"
"It will let you be, not fully in control of your wolf, but without the possibility of your wolf deciding it wants to kill everyone you love. I can set it up so that you and the wolf can be more open with each other."
Rainbow stared at her, but Luna only stared back. "Which means...?"
"That you can talk to her," Luna explained patiently. "And that the two of you can make your positions quite known to the other."
Rainbow stared at her. "So, like, a split personality or something?" she asked. "That sounds..." She hesitated. "Weird, but awesome. I'll take it." She flashed the princess a wide grin. "Alright. How do I start?"
"I...am not sure," Luna admitted. "Lycanthropes in Equestria didn't tend to live long enough for me to be able to experiment to my liking."
"What?"
Luna smiled sadly. "In the earliest days of Equestria, my main job was to protect ponies during the night. Me and my Knights would fend off most of the monsters of darkness, and, unfortunately, the lycanthropes normally fell under such a descriptor. Whether they wanted to or not, the safety of the ponies came first."
The air was silent for a minute.
"Of course, I did eventually figure out how to work with my connection to the moon with them," she added. "Which was a bit easier to do from the moon, but, regardless..."
"What...?"
"...I will need a moment to figure this out." Luna pointed a hoof at Lyra. "Twilight, would you help get her to one of the guest rooms?"
"Of course," Twilight said. "Are you sure you don't need any help here?"
"If I did, I doubt you could accommodate me," Luna replied easily. "Fear not. I am more than up to the task at hoof." She placed one hoof over her chest as she said this.
"Alright," Twilight said with a nod. Her horn glowed, and she lifted Lyra up with her magic.
Spike jumped up onto Bon-Bon's back, but before he could say anything, she turned and glared at him. "Excuse me?"
"What? Twilight's carrying Lyra!" Spike shrugged.
Rainbow smirked. "I think she's mad because only Lyra's allowed to ride her."
Bon-Bon turned red as a beet, as Twilight's face wrinkled in confusion. "What? How does that work back in CHS--"
"SHUT UP!" Bon-Bon shouted. "RAINBOW DASH!"
Rainbow burst into a fit of laughter, falling from the stool and onto her back.
"I don't get it," Twilight admitted. "Is there something--"
"Don't ask!" Bon-Bon ordered. "And damn sure don't repeat anything she says! For fuck's sake, Dash!"
"Ahem," Luna said. "If you don't mind, I should like to get started on this now."
"Oh, right," Twilight said. "Come on, Bon-Bon, let's move on."
Bon-Bon shot one last look at Spike, before following Twilight out the door.
Sunset uncovered her muzzle, bursting into a fit of laughter. "Oh, that was bad, Rainbow."
Rainbow got up, dusting herself off. "Well, it just kind of popped out."
"In front of two members of royalty," Sunset pointed out.
Luna giggled. "Once I caught her meaning, I did find it quite enjoyable," she admitted.
Sunset grinned, but let it fade after a moment. "So, um, do you need me to go, too?"
"If Rainbow wishes it," Luna replied.
Rainbow shrugged. "It doesn't matter much to me, I guess."
"You shall have to change," Luna added.
"WHAT?" Rainbow burst into flight, wings fluttering. "In a confined space? With people nearby? Have you lost your tiny pony mind?"
Luna stared at her without emotion showing.
Rainbow gulped. "Um. I mean--"
"You meant what you said. Regardless, if my earlier comments didn't convey the message to you, let me explain--" She spread her wings, and her horn lit up. Despite the light from her horn, the room itself seemed to grow darker. And darker...and darker...
Rainbow looked left and right, eyes widening as the room fell into shadow. She bumped right in Sunset, who had quickly moved to stand in the only spot lit up in the room.
A rattling sound got Rainbow's attention. She turned to the ground, seeing glowing silver chains float on their own accord from the ground, twisting and writhing.
"I am one of the single most powerful beings in this entire world," Luna said casually. "I think, even in the worst case scenario, I can handle myself and as many other ponies that could fit in this room." She closed her eyes, and suddenly, the light returned to normal, the chains disappearing.
Rainbow turned to Sunset, meeting the unicorn's gaze. Both of them looked at their forehooves, which were wrapped around the other in a tight hug. Wordlessly, they broke apart, desperately trying to pretend that hadn't happened.
"Miss Rainbow," Luna said again.
Rainbow sighed. "Alright. But, uh, is there a private place we can do this? It can get...loud."
"I can manage a silence bubble," Sunset said. "So that no one outside can hear."
"Excellent. I will inform the guards that we are to have privacy until further notice." She stepped outside.
"Thanks," Sunset said.
"Don't thank me yet. Dad threw up while watching it, Sunset. I let you stay because you deserve forewarning," Rainbow said. "It hurts like hell, Sunset. If I scream, that's normal."
Sunset nodded, but she did look somewhat uncertain.
Luna closed the door. "When you are ready, Miss Rainbow," she said calmly.
Rainbow looked to Sunset, then nodded. Sunset's horn lit up, and a green bubble surrounded Rainbow Dash, tinting the world a light green.
"Is it on?" Rainbow asked.
Sunset's mouth moved, without making any sound. She shrugged with one hoof.
"I guess that's a yes," Rainbow said. She closed her eyes, calling upon her inner wolf. And...felt excitement?
Maybe it was what Luna had said, but she could have sworn she'd never felt anything like that before. She opened one eye. It was hard to tell, because of Sunset's magic, but she swore that Luna's horn was glowing.
As if on cue, she felt a rush of emotions from deep inside her. Emotions that weren't wholly hers.
The wolf liked Luna, apparently. Something about her calmed the wolf down. Calmed her down enough so that she wasn't gunning for Sunset's throat.
"Sunset's cool," Rainbow growled, as the change started. It didn't hurt quite as much as it normally did—she was already in the mostly right form, she supposed. That, and whatever Luna was doing.
The wolf sent back a snarl. She didn't trust Sunset. Sunset had hurt them both. She had hurt others. She had tried to kill Rainbow's friends. She had tried to kill Rainbow!
"Didn't Bon-Bon and Lyra have this discussion just yesterday?" Rainbow snapped. 'Less painful than normal' was an odd expression, really. "Over Sunset, too. She'd never hurt us now."
You'd have said the same about Soarin.
"Why are you complaining about God-damn Soarin?" Rainbow snarled. "If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be here."
Better that than him hurting you like that.
"Well." Rainbow gasped, feeling her shoulders finally hunch into a more wolf-like shape. Bones popped, and she was distinctly aware that her shoulders were now much larger than they had been.
Much larger. Ponies were smaller than humans, and her wolf-form was quite large. She...admittedly wasn't sure if it was any larger than normal. She needed to read those manuals as soon as she got a chance.
Her mouth wasn't really capable of forming words at that moment, but she still managed to get her thoughts directed towards the wolf. "Look, I appreciate the thought, but it is what it is at this point. Soarin's long dead. You're here, now. We'll have to make do, right?"
A reluctant growl. Rainbow somehow felt that that was agreement.
"Well, I can live with that, " she told the wolf. "I'm not sure if I could live with it if either of us killed Sunset."
A long, low growl echoed from inside, and then poured out through Rainbow's muzzle. The wolf didn't like that thought.
"You're threatening to kill and eat my best friend, " Rainbow informed the wolf. "Do you think I like that?"
"No...but what if she hurts you?"
"She won't," Rainbow replied. "We can't let Soarin run our lives. If we treat every potential friend as if they were gonna be Soarin, we wouldn't have any friends. Even Applejack."
A memory flashed through her mind. Kicking a soccer ball into the air, mind numb, not really caring about anything. When, suddenly, Applejack appeared. Rainbow distinctly remembered her surprise, not expecting the cowgirl to suddenly show up and talk to her. But boy, was she glad.
Applejack had asked why she hadn't shown up to the bake sale. Then she told Rainbow the truth. That Sunset had faked the text messages.
"But she's changed now," Rainbow repeated. "Are you going to give her a chance?"
Rainbow's wolf feet stretched, the claws tapping on the ground. She shook herself, feeling that second entity loosely in control of her body.
Rainbow forced the wolf to look up, at Sunset.
Sunset was staring back at them, waiting.
"Fine, " the wolf said. "But let her know that I'm keeping an eye on her."
Rainbow nodded. The green bubble popped, and Sunset wobbled. "See? That wasn't so bad," she said weakly. "I've seen worse in the R-rated movies I'd sneak into. Wasn't as bad as all that CGI gore...not...not at all..." She clamped one hoof to her mouth, rushed over to the window, and then vomitted outside.
"Quite stoic," Luna commented dryly. She seemed completely unperturbed. "Miss Dash, are the two of you reconciled?"
The wolf let out a yip. Rainbow made them nod, knowing Luna couldn't tell what that yip meant.
"That brings me relief," Luna said with a sigh. "I was, of course, slightly concerned that the dark magic might still run strong enough to make interacting with your wolf...less than ideal."
Rainbow's stomach rumbled.
"That is it's own problem," Luna mused. "I shall have to talk to the castle cooks about this one. Sunset, can I leave her in your--" She paused.
"I'll...be fine, give me a second," Sunset gasped. "I think I'm good."
"She doesn't sound like she wants it anymore," the wolf said, with a touch of amusement.
"Yeah, we'll deal with that later, " Rainbow replied. "Luna said she'd handle food, and...oh, God, I hope she doesn't bring me hay. Please tell me she has more sense than that."
"We didn't bring anything for her to eat in wolf form," Sunset said.
"I am aware of her carnivorous diet," Luna muttered. "Several of the castle cooks know how to cook meat, for diplomats of some of the other species."
"I'm fine," Sunset said. "Just tell the guards we still don't want any company."
"Indeed. And I shall have to send someone to clean up the mess you made," Luna added, with a touch of amusement.
Sunset turned red, looking away. "Sorry," she mumbled.
"You were fairly warned, Sunset. But, I had thought I might have to take over the silence bubble for you. You have my respect for holding up for as long as you did."
"Thanks."
Luna stepped outside, letting the door swing closed behind herself.
Sunset wobbled over, using her magic to levitate a glass of water over, then proceeded to rinse her mouth out. She spat the water back into the cup, then shuddered.
"Wuss, " the wolf scoffed.
"Hey!" Rainbow scolded.
"You're beautiful," Sunset whispered.
Rainbow felt the wolf preening. She herself definitely felt the praise, but she was human enough to find the comment slightly discomforting.
"I admit, I was kind of...'icked' out there, but...once I got over it..." She let out an appreciative whistle. The exact physics behind that were uncertain, but Sunset's grin told Rainbow Dash all she needed to know. "I didn't expect you to be so big, either," she added. "Though I suppose I'm missing a few feet of height, myself..." She looked down at one hoof, stretched out a head of her. "Are you smaller than you normally are? Right, can't talk." She tapped her chin with one hoof. "I suppose I can ask questions later, huh?"
Rainbow let out a lupine grunt.
"I'll take that as a yes," Sunset chuckled.
"And I'll fly! I'll fly until the end of the sky!" I'll Fly "
“Huzzah! Food hath arrived!” Luna wheeled in a small cart, unloading a large quantity of fish. “I took a guess and thought that you might prefer it raw, so I hope all's well.”
Rainbow Dash let out a happy whine, then began digging in with little regards for manners.
If Luna was in any way disgusted, she didn't show it.
“And Sunset, I did prepare some food for us, if that is--” She paused. At some point, the sun had set, and Luna stared at Sunset, sleeping on her bed.
What seemed to concern the princess, however, was the way Sunset was tossing and turning.
Luna closed her eyes, her horn lighting up. The weird line-thing that ran up the horn's length glowed a bright, pure white, and from the tip of her horn came a sphere of white light. A single thread of light stretched from it, attaching itself to Sunset's forehead.
After a minute of watching, Sunset calmed down, then the thread suddenly disappeared just before Sunset blinked awake.
“Are you alright?” Luna asked.
“I—I guess? I had the weirdest dream--” Her eyes snapped open, and she looked down at Luna's bed. “Oh! I'm so sorry, I just--”
“You need not apologize,” Luna interrupted. “I forgot that you don't use magic in your world. I should have known it would tire you out. Though, I suggest talking to your friends if the nightmares persist.”
Sunset flinched. “Yeah, maybe,” she muttered.
Rainbow Dash sneezed to get her attention, then fixed her with an icy stare.
Sunset chuckled, climbing off of Luna's bed. “Yeah, alright,” she said. “You actually showed up in this one, Princess Luna. I guess my brain recognized you were here, and--”
“No, I went into your dream,” Luna interrupted.
Sunset blinked.
“I am the princess of dreams, Sunset. Why do you think I sleep during the day?” She smiled, then levitated a plate over to Sunset with...some kind of burger on it. Rainbow's jealousy was non-existent, as she could plainly see the bits of hay sticking out from between the two buns.
“Oh.” Sunset lifted up the burger, staring at it. “Never thought I'd see a hayburger in Princess Celestia's palace.”
“The quantity of high-quality foods has increased over my banishment, yet I still find my tongue prefers simpler delicacies,” Luna said, sitting down with her own 'hayburger'. “Yet I accept these.”
“I have a question, but you'd probably find it offensive,” Sunset said.
“Clearly, you know not why Tia handles the diplomacy,” Luna said casually.
“Well, um...you are...were...Nightmare Moon, right?”
“No, I have never eaten naughty little fillies,” Luna said firmly.
Rainbow Dash blinked, staring at her. It was clear that this wasn't the first time she'd been asked this, either, and that was the worrying part.
Sunset let out a low breath. “Oh, thank God,” she said. “It's been nagging me all day.”
Luna chuckled, a slight smile crossing her...lips? Did horses have lips? Rainbow made a mental note to ask Applejack. “Tis but another exaggerated tale told on Nightmare Night,” Luna replied easily. “I'm somewhat preferential to naughty adults. All the satisfaction, none of the guilt.” She took a large bite of her burger, coating her muzzle in something red. Ketchup.
Probably.
“Tis a joke,” Luna told poor Sunset.
“You're right. I think it's better that your sister handles diplomacy,” Sunset whispered.
“Glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks so,” a new voice said from the doorway.
Rainbow Dash looked up to see an alicorn even taller than Luna stride into the room, though her wings were kept at her sides. Her mane was a flowing stream of green, blue, and pink, and she had a slight smile on her muzzle.
Sunset bolted to the farthest corner of the room, staring at the newcomer in wide-eyed surprise.
Princess Celestia—with that mane, who else could it be?--stepped into the room, looking right into Sunset's face. “I've missed you.”
“I-I-I'm so sorry,” Sunset whispered, eyes filling with tears. “I--”
Celestia stepped over, wrapping one wing around Sunset in a hug. “Shh,” she whispered. “It's okay, Sunset.”
The fish Rainbow was eating crunched loudly. Celestia paused, then turned to look at Rainbow. She blinked, shook her head, then stared at Rainbow Dash. Her gaze traveled to the few uneaten fish, then back to Rainbow's face.
Rainbow swallowed her bite of food.
“Well, that explains what the castle cooks were up to,” Celestia murmured. “Luna, why is there a lycanthrope in your bedroom?”
“She's the Rainbow Dash from Sunset's world,” Luna said. “Didn't Twilight explain this?”
“Some of it, when I met her a few minutes ago,” Celestia said. “Though, admittedly, I left in a hurry.”
“You came rushing over here to meet Sunset?” Luna clarified.
There was the slightest moment's hesitation. “Yes,” Celestia admitted.
“Really?” Sunset said, looking up at her. “I--”
Celestia used her wing to pull Sunset closer. “So, is everything alright with your...friend?” She nodded towards Rainbow Dash.
“I think so,” Sunset said. “Right, Dash?”
Rainbow gave them a big, happy wolf grin.
“They don't seem encouraged by it, ” the wolf within her said.
“I think it's how many teeth we're showing.”
Rainbow blinked her eyes open, taking her time slowly catching her breath. Changing back had been considerably more difficult with a full moon the next night as well. Her muscles felt raw, her wings stiff.
Spending a considerable length of time here was not really pleasurable, as it stood.
Rainbow stretched, listening to her muscles finish popping back into place. She worked her jaw, then stopped to focus.
The second person inside herself was very much still there, only...quiet. Like she was sleeping, until she was needed again.
“You're gonna need a name,” Rainbow told the wolf.
“Hrmm.”
Rainbow shrugged at that. “Later, then.”
She stepped out of Luna's bedroom, saying, “Alright. I'm good.”
Bon-Bon, Lyra, and Twilight stood outside.
“Like, fully good?” Bon-Bon asked.
“No more danger of eating people,” Rainbow said. “Which...I'm very, very glad about."
“And...you talked to your...what? Alter ego?” Lyra shrugged.
“Inner wolf.” Rainbow smiled. “We're cool.”
“Does she...talk?”
“Not a lot,” Rainbow answered. “Why? Having second thoughts?”
Lyra shook her head. “Heck no. That is not for me, Rainbow, even in the slim circumstances that it happened.”
“Still, it will probably make dealing with future werewolves easier if we can maintain contact with Equestria,” Bon-Bon said.
“I could get you a journal like Sunset has, without too much effort,” Twilight offered.
“That would be amazing,” Bon-Bon said. “Especially for when some random Equestrian boogeyman banished a thousand years just happens to show up now.”
“I might be able to do some digging into which ones were banished there, but that'd be harder,” Twilight said.
“Thank you so much. That'll take some pressure off me,” Bon-Bon said, wiping her brow—did ponies have brows?–with one hoof.
“It would be great for us, too, as the ones who'll have to deal with it,” Rainbow countered.
“But it's not your job to deal with it,” Bon-Bon said. “Tell you what, next time something magical comes up, let us know, and I'll report it to the superiors to be dealt with.”
“That—sounds fair, actually,” Rainbow said, tapping her chin with one hoof. “Sure, we can do that.”
Twilight chuckled.
“Okay, list of banished creatures, journal for Bon-Bon, and the mementos for the gang at CHS,” Spike said, finishing the list with a flourish of the quill. “Got it. Is that everything?”
“Should be,” Twilight answered. “Why not you go ahead and get that stuff ordered?”
“You got it,” he said, saluting. Then he rushed off, carrying the scroll with him.
“What an absolute chad,” Lyra said approvingly.
“Lyra,” Bon-Bon muttered, slamming one hoof into her face. “Ow. Okay. Don't face-palm. Got it.”
Lyra took another picture of her.
“Seriously, don't overdo it,” Bon-Bon said. “Tempest is gonna see every picture we take. I'd rather say we didn't spend the whole time goofing off, okay?”
“Relax, I've got some good ones here,” Lyra said. “See? This is one of Princess Celestia. This is Princess Luna. This is Sunset saber-dueling Princess Luna.”
“She what?” Rainbow asked, blinking.
“It's a unicorn sport,” Twilight explained. “Using telekinesis to duel with sabers. It can be a bit thrill-seeking, as if things go poorly, you might actually get stabbed. Not that swords are particularly good weapons, but anything sharp can hurt if swung at high speed.”
“Oh, come on! How'd I miss that?” Rainbow demanded.
“What is this one?” Bon-Bon asked, pointing at one of the pictures.
“Um—I'm not sure,” Lyra said. “I've been meaning to ask, Princess Twilight, um--” She held up the picture with her magic. “These pegasi are moving clouds around. How and why?”
“Oh, that's just pegasus magic,” Twilight explained. “And they must be on the weather team. Rain wasn't scheduled until tomorrow, so these clouds we're seeing must be an accident of some sort.”
The castle shook, as a loud sonic boom resounded through the halls.
Twilight grimaced. “Not again,” she muttered, stepping to the side and opening a door onto the balcony.
Two blurs were speeding across the sky, ripping through cloud after cloud as they left trails behind them. One of them, however, was notably faster, leaving a rainbow trail that crackled with energy, as a massive, circular rainbow expanded across the sky, disintegrating clouds as it grew.
Lyra snapped a photo.
“What the hell is that?” Rainbow burst out.
“A sonic rainboom,” Twilight explained. “A trick passed down in myths, until you recreated it in this world. Of course, it's loud and distracting and slightly alarming if you don't know about it, and it certainly wasn't necessary for cloud-busting.” Twilight let out an exasperated sigh.
“Wait—that's the other me?” Rainbow stared at the rainbow trail.
Twilight shot a slight spark out of her horn, which exploded into a glowing, six-pointed star, like the one tattooed on her flank.
“This'll just be a minute,” she said.
After a second, both of the blurs stopped abruptly, hovering next to each other. Then, they shot towards the castle, floating just above the balcony.
Both were wearing blue body suits and flight goggles, though the rainbow mane was a dead giveaway.
The other Rainbow Dash lifted up the goggles, saying, “Yeah, what's up?”
Twilight wordlessly pointed to the 'rainboom', which seemed to have stopped expanding, leaving a massive rainbow in the sky.
“I know! Awesome, right?” She grinned.
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, patience thinning. “Please. Every time you do this outside of a Wonderbolts show, it leaves everypony in a panic, because they don't know what it is. I have to handle a ton of complaints every time. Is it really worth it just to show off to your coltfriend?”
“He's not my coltfriend,” Rainbow immediately said. “We're just friends. And I wasn't showing off—I was winning a bet.” She grinned at the other pony. “You owe me lunch, Soarin.”
“Um—do you have any sisters?” the other asked.
Rainbow recognized that voice immediately, even if the pony didn't look like she might have expected.
Though, to be honest, she wasn't sure what she had expected.
“Nope,” Rainbow interrupted her pony-doppelganger. “I'm from another dimension.”
“Oh! Sunset Shimmer's place?” Her doppelganger landed on the balcony, looking her up and down. “Awesome! How long are you here for? We should hang out some time.”
“A few days, at least,” Rainbow said. “Though I don't think I'll visit too often. Not that Equestria's not awesome, it just causes some trouble with my being a werewolf.”
“A what?”
“Er...ask Twilight later,” Rainbow said, smiling and shrugging. “Hey, do you have a moment? There's something I always wanted to ask myself.”
“Uh...sure?”
Rainbow looked over her shoulder, then made a shooing motion towards Twilight. “Uh, could we have a minute?”
“Sure,” Twilight said, smiling. She lead Bon-Bon and Lyra back inside, closing the balcony door behind her.
“I'll go bust the rest of those clouds,” Soarin chuckled. “See you at lunch. I'm paying, yeah, yeah.”
“You bet you are,” the other Rainbow said, grinning broadly at him. Soarin zipped off, then pony Rainbow Dash looked at herself. “So, uh—what's up?”
“Do you love him?”
“What—oh, for--”
“Be honest with yourself, because I'm the only one you can't ever lie to,” Rainbow Dash told her doppelganger.
Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “Maybe a little,” she admitted.
“Let him know,” Rainbow said. “All this time you're spending in denial is precious time wasted. Trust me. You can come to suddenly regret it.” She flashed a sad smile.
Pony Rainbow Dash stared at her. “What happened?”
“Long story short?” She gave a low chuckle. “He's not around anymore. I regret all the time I could have spent with him, if I'd just...I'd just been more honest, with him and myself. So, don't make my mistakes, alright?”
“...Okay, fine,” Rainbow Dash admitted.
Rainbow grinned. “It's not often somebody—or pony—gets to tell themselves not to make the dumb mistakes they made, eh?”
“Yeah, you're right,” she chuckled. “Hey. Let me give you a shot of advice back. If you're having trouble, talk to your friends. They can help a lot.”
“Yeah. I know.” She gave herself a grin. “I've been making sure to do that.”
“If that's all, I've got a free lunch to be off to,” the 'Wonderbolt' said, lifting off the ground.
“Yeah, that was it,” Rainbow said. “Though, tomorrow, we should totally hang out. It'll be awesome.”
“Yeah, totally.” She held out one hoof, and, after a second's pause to figure out what she was supposed to do, Rainbow gave her a 'hoof' bump.
“Later!” Rainbow Dash said, before zooming off.
Rainbow Dash smiled, seeing the rainbow trail shoot towards the other one.
“You're crying,” the wolf said.
“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow said, wiping away the tears. “Even cool guys cry. It happens.”
She turned around, pushing open the doors and walking inside.
“Everything alright?” Bon-Bon asked, a supportive smile on her face.
Rainbow gave her a reassuring smile in return. “Yeah. Everything's alright.”