Rainbow Dash lazed on a cloud, foreleg hanging in the open air, a cool summer breeze filtering through her mane and coat while the sun beat down on her back, its warmth seemingly trying to bring cheer to the miserable pony. It wasn’t unusual to find the pegasus in such a position, but today she wasn’t putting off her work. She had been given a leave of absence for an indeterminate period of time.
She rolled onto her back, sighing as she stared into the blue expanse of sky. Today of all days, she would have liked to have work to distract her. Having so much free time would normally be exciting. It would be a time to practice her moves to show the Wonderbolts, but she didn’t have the heart to zip through the air doing tricks, it would only remind her of all the times she had shown them to her friends.
Rainbow didn’t know what to do with her sadness and her boredom except to lie there and feel sorry for herself, so that was what she was going to do. All day and every day until Celestia called to say she'd found a way to get her friend back.
“Um … excuse me?”
Rainbow hadn’t expected to be disturbed, and she turned her face listlessly to the owner of the voice. Derpy hovered in the air, her wings beating rhythmically as she bobbed around, but kept herself at Rainbow’s eye level. She waited a moment for a reply, but Rainbow Dash said nothing.
“Uh … Rainbow Dash. I’m sorry to bother you on your day off and all, but …”
Rainbow lifted herself up slightly, glad of something to take her mind off her friends. It seemed the weather team just couldn’t do without her. She waited for the end of the question, the beginnings of a confident grin creeping onto her face.
“… The schedule is for clear skies, and we’re gonna need to move that cloud you’re resting on.”
“Oh.” Rainbow’s ears drooped in disappointment. She beat her wings slowly to descend to the ground, leaving Derpy blinking in confusion. As soon as her hooves hit the earth, Rainbow started walking. Now that she’d started moving, she didn’t want to be still. She kept her head down, inspecting the blades of grass before her hooves smashed them flat. When she felt another pony’s presence beside her, she didn’t look up.
***
Pinkie Pie’s mane hung limply around her face. She didn’t want to be out of bed, but the Cakes had insisted that she do something to keep herself busy. After a few hours of distressing the customers with her infectious depression, the Cakes thought it best that she work on baking, not out in the front of the store.
Pinkie pawed at the floor, the idea of baking not enticing to her at all. Nevertheless, she staggered over to the shelves to collect the ingredients. Nothing seemed to have the gleam and shine it usually had, her senses dulled by a heavy heart. The normally intoxicating smell of freshly-baked baked goods didn't even register in her brain, and that made the idea of creating anything new pointless to her as well.
“I don’t think it is right to bake when Twilight could be anywhere,” she told the flour bag, dragging it across the floor and hefting it up onto the bench. She shook her head sadly and turned away.
“What would you do in my situation?” she addressed the sugar. She waited a moment for an answer, then turned to the cocoa. “I know you’d go running after that pony who attacked her, but I’m wondering what a sensible pony would do.”
“Pinkie Pie?” Mrs Cake stood in the doorway, frowning at the dejected pony who turned slowly to face her. “Mr Cake and I have realised it was a mistake to try to distract you with work.” She entered the room hesitantly.
“Oh,” Pinkie Pie winced and hung her head. “I’m not doing a very good job, am I? I’ll work harder, Mrs Cake. If the milk and eggs agree to help me, then–”
“Pinkie Pie, you always do a marvellous job.” Mrs Cake sounded nervous. “But you need your friends right now. Fluttershy is here with Rainbow Dash. She says you should go get Applejack and that you should all be together. I agree with her. It’ll be … like a party?”
Pinkie Pie flinched. A party. Without Twilight Sparkle. Her head dropped, a tear falling to splash on the floor.
Mrs Cake knew she’d said the wrong thing. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, but was saved from trying to salvage the situation as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy entered the kitchen. Rainbow Dash shifted uncomfortably in the doorway as Fluttershy approached and nuzzled her friend’s face back up.
“It’ll be … an anti-party,” she said softly. “Where we can all be sad together. It’ll be good for us, Pinkie Pie.” Fluttershy reached out tentatively with her wing, but took it back before it could touch the other pony. “That is, if you think it’s a good idea?”
Pinkie nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. If she couldn't be happy, the next best thing was to be in a place she was allowed to be sad.
***
Applejack bucked a tree.
No, that didn’t make her feelings go away. She bucked another. Harder this time.
Apples rained around her and a familiar comforting tingle buzzed up her hooves, but there was no lasting relief from the swirling emotions that burned inside.
She bucked a third tree and then let out a frustrated cry to the heavens.
“No! No, no, no! This ain’t s’posed to happen. Not ta Twilight!” She bucked the same tree again. She closed her eyes. Again. Work always made the rest of the world drop away, and she would continue until it made both her body and her mind numb.
A hoof on her shoulder made her stop. She re-opened her eyes to see that she had splintered the poor apple tree.
The hoof belonged to Big Macintosh, his sympathetic gaze meeting Applejack’s glare and dissolving some of her anger. Applejack could feel the sting behind her eyes, but she wouldn't let herself cry. That would be giving in.
“T’aint fair, Big Mac.”
“Nope,” the stallion answered sadly.
“Twilight, she never hurt nopony. She never would. She didn’t deserve …”
“Nope.”
“We couldn’t protect her. Our friend. And now we just have ta wait around for Princess Celestia to find a solution.” Applejack slumped into the dirt. “We just have ta wait.”
“Eeyup.” Big Macintosh joined her on the ground, the warmth of his body pressed against hers giving her that little bit of comfort she couldn't get from working.
The siblings were startled apart when a pink earth pony was suddenly standing before them.
Applejack was on her hooves in a flash, ready to defend herself. It took a moment for her to recognise the droopy-maned, sad-eyed pony as Pinkie Pie.
She looked even worse than Applejack felt, and Applejack instinctively placed a hoof around her friend’s shoulder. A moment later, Rainbow Dash alighted next to them and the three friends huddled together.
It was a few minutes before they parted. “Not that I ain’t glad to see ya,” Applejack said. “But what brings the two of you here today?”
“Fluttershy said we should all be together,” Rainbow Dash told her. “She insisted.”
“Well, that’d be mighty nice, but I have work ta do here on the farm.” She readied herself to buck another tree, but found her hooves blocked by Big Macintosh.
“Nope,” he said. “Yer goin’ with yer friends.”
Applejack sighed in resignation and faced the others. “Fluttershy ain’t the only one insisting on it.”
***
Rarity busied herself with hoof-stitching, mending one of Sweetie Belle’s less fortunate ensembles. She’d tried working on designs, but found that anything which involved thinking always ended in tears. There was nothing quite like repetitive tasks to take one’s mind off their current predicament, and it had been working quite well for Rarity for a few hours.
The bell on the door of her boutique tinkled and Rarity spent a few moments in stillness, wondering why she hadn’t closed her store. After mentally berating herself, she pulled herself sluggishly to her hooves. She forced as much of a smile onto her face as she possibly could and took a deep breath as she stepped onto her shop floor.
Fluttershy patiently waited, feigning interest in designs in the front window she had doubtless seen many times before, and Rarity let out a loud sigh of relief to find it wasn’t a customer. Fluttershy’s ears pricked and she turned.
“Oh Rarity!” she exclaimed with a sob, rushing forward to place a foreleg over her friend’s shoulder. “I can’t do it. I can’t just go on with life and pretend that everything’s okay until the princess calls for us. I keep thinking about … about …” She buried her face in Rarity’s coat.
Rarity gave her friend a comforting pat on the back. In a way, it was reassuring to be dealing with someone else’s distress. It was a welcome distraction from her own painful thoughts. And the smell of wildflowers and oats that only left the other mare immediately after a spa visit reminded Rarity that companionship was the best remedy for sadness.
“It’s okay, Fluttershy dear. I don’t enjoy being alone at this time, either.”
Fluttershy sniffled as Rarity detached herself and led her friend into the back room.
The two ponies nursed a cup of tea each, lost in companionable silence. It was a long while before Fluttershy finally spoke. “I’m sorry, Rarity. I was trying to be strong for all of us, but it’s all just too much.”
Rarity reached a hoof across the table. “Nopony said you needed to be strong, Fluttershy. We’ll all be each other’s strength until we find a way to fix this.”
“Oh!” Fluttershy stood up suddenly.
“What is it, dear?” Rarity joined her, tea forgotten at the table.
“We have to go to the library.”
Rarity recoiled. “The library, Fluttershy. Why?” She tried to keep the shake out of her voice.
“I told the others to meet us there.” She paused thoughtfully. “And because of Spike. He needs us to be his strength, too.”
“Oh, you’re right!” Rarity exclaimed “I can’t believe I forgot about Spike. He has to be worse than any of us.”
“Yes, which is why we’re all going to be with him now and until Celestia calls on us.”
“Do you think she will, Fluttershy?” Rarity was no longer being the strength for her friend. She felt tears behind her eyes. “Do you think there’s really a way for us to fix this, or is Twilight–”
“Don’t even say it, Rarity.” Fluttershy’s voice had her rarely-heard forcefulness behind it. “We’re the Elements of Harmony. Nothing can keep us apart.”
***
When Fluttershy and Rarity turned up at the library, the others were waiting on the grass out the front, shuffling nervously. No one made any comment as Fluttershy pushed open the door.
“Spike?” she called out into the silent room.
There was a small bang from upstairs and Spike appeared, almost falling down the stairs in his haste to greet them.
The door closed behind Pinkie Pie, and all five mares stood in the entranceway as Spike hurried over. There was silence for a while as they all stared at one another, wondering what to say.
"Thanks for coming, guys. I really needed someone around." He gestured for them to move further into the library, but the small group only made it to the middle of the room full of books. They waited for someone to speak again.
This time, it was Rainbow Dash who broke their silence. "Yeah, anytime Spike …” She rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “Uh … what are we gonna do while we wait?"
"I have to clean up the library, ready for when Twilight gets back." Spike said, a little too cheerfully.
Rarity looked around herself. "Uh, Spike. I'm all for keeping things tidy, but it looks as though the library doesn't need cleaning right at this moment."
"It doesn't?" Spike approached a shelf thoughtfully and ran his claw along one of the book spines, looking for dust. When he saw it was clean, he sighed and leaned his head on the bookshelf.
The five ponies could only stand still and watch with aching hearts as Spike froze there.
After a few minutes, Applejack shifted uncomfortably. "Spike?" she ventured.
At the sound of his name, the small dragon stirred. He pulled himself upright, still staring at the shelves. Then he thrust his hand forward and tipped some of the books onto the floor. "There!" he declared, turning to his friends. "Now there's something to clean." He stared dejectedly at the scattered books in front of him.
Spike, dear …" Rarity approached him. She lifted a hoof to place on his shoulder, but Spike just pulled away.
He turned back to the shelf and began to pull more books off, one at a time.
Rarity stepped back into the middle of the room, at a loss for what to do. She looked pleadingly at the others.
Rainbow Dash nodded. She pushed off into the air and flew over, hovering above him. “Spike …”
Spike looked up at her, his expression unreadable.
Rainbow placed a hoof on one of the books in front of her. It was Daring Do. She glared at it, and within moments it joined the pile of books on the floor. This book was followed by another, and another. And soon both Rainbow Dash and Spike were throwing books off the shelves.
The others just looked on in shock as their two friends assaulted the books in Twilight Sparkle’s library, the thumping sound of falling texts filling the room.
Fluttershy moved away from the group and reached out tentatively. She gently pushed one of the books off a shelf, cringing as it hit the floor. It drew the attention of Rarity and Applejack away from the furiously flying books on the other side of the room.
“Does it help, dear?” Rarity asked softly.
Fluttershy hardened her features and tipped another book onto the floor. She waited a moment and pushed another, and another. Her concentration was soon completely on delicately knocking books off the shelves.
Applejack shrugged and trotted over to join her, leaving Rarity standing alone in the middle of four grief-fuelled mess makers. She approached a shelf and tapped one of the books, her expression unsure. She looked back to the others who were furiously (and, in the case of Fluttershy, not so furiously) flinging books around the once-peaceful library.
“I’ll go make us some tea and sandwiches for when you’re finished,” she called out cheerfully, knowing that none of them would hear her over their venting.
In the doorway heading to the kitchen, she realised somepony was missing. There were only three mares and a little dragon creating a scene, but where was the scene-making queen? Rarity peered through raining books for a glimpse of Pinkie Pie. Whatever damage the others were doing, Pinkie could definitely be doing worse.
“Pinkie Pie?” Rarity called hesitantly into the room of flying books. None of the others paused in their movements or otherwise acknowledged the sound. Rarity cleared her throat. “Do any of you know where Pinkie Pie got to?” she asked sternly, stamping a hoof on the floor. The cascade of books finally ceased, and all eyes looked first to Rarity, then around the room in search of their missing friend. Nopony actually moved to find her, though, and so an awkward silence descended upon the library.
One of the piles of books shifted a little, causing Fluttershy to squeak and launch herself into the air. A few poofs of pink mane could be seen in the space the book had vacated.
“Pinkie?” Rarity ventured in a soothing tone. “What are you doing under there?”
Pinkie Pie raised herself out of a pile of books that seemed entirely too small to have hidden the pink mare from view. She lowered her head to look at the floor. “I thought … we could …”
Everypony waited silently for Pinkie to finish her thought.
“Twilight always finds the answers in her books,” Pinkie Pie sobbed out finally. “And sometimes I’d help her. I just wish Twilight was here so she could tell me what to look for to solve this problem.” She sniffed loudly, but didn’t cry.
The silence continued as five mares and a baby dragon moved together and engaged in a group hug amidst the mess they had made.
Author's Note
I have no cover art for this. To be honest, I didn't think about it before I posted and saw the 'cover art' upload.
My last one was just a screencap, but I'm gonna have to trawl deviantART for something appropriate this time. Wish me luck.
So ... comments? Tell me what you liked, tell me what I could improve, tell me what you hated if you really feel the need to, I need to get used to negative feedback. But I do hope you enjoyed this first chapter.
Many thanks to Lunae Lumen, for fine-tuning my rough edges.
Spike woke in the middle of a ring of five mares who were surrounded by chaotic piles of books on the library floor. None of them had felt in any way inclined to clear up the mess they had made, and when the six friends had finished hugging, moping, morosely snacking and hugging some more, he and Rarity had trudged up the stairs to bring bedding down for everypony before they all cleared a patch of floor and collapsed in emotionally exhausted heaps.
He didn’t get up, basking in the comforting closeness of his friends, even if the mare he truly wanted to see wasn’t among them. Not even the sight of a peacefully sleeping Rarity could warm his heart this morning. He sighed and rolled over, his face now close enough to Applejack’s muzzle to feel the stream of warm breath blow across the spines on his head. He could see Applejack’s hat sitting on a pile of books behind its sleeping owner and contemplated getting up to clean, his mind filled with visions of a distraught Twilight trotting through the door to see her library in such disarray.
One of the ponies behind him shifted, creating a wave of movement through the other sleeping forms. Their combined presence was so comforting, Spike snuggled further down, content to stay within the warmth of his circle of friends and forget the state of the library.
There were only a few moments of peace before he felt a familiar burning gurgle in his throat. He turned his head to the ceiling and let out a belch of green fire.
He watched the scroll that appeared fall out of the air to land on Fluttershy’s head. She gave a squeal as she jolted awake and leapt away from the offending object, taking a crashing course through the sleeping ponies rather than away from them. The others awoke with grunts, grumbles and loud complaints, creating chaos in what had not long ago been a peaceful morning.
Spike clambered over sleep-dazed ponies to retrieve the rolled up parchment. When he’d unfurled it, he cleared his throat to gain the attention of the others. The entangled mares stopped and looked to the baby dragon expectantly as he read aloud.
To the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony: Twilight Sparkle’s Dearest Friends,
My sister, Princess Luna, and I have discovered a way to bring my most faithful student back to us. Come with all haste to Canterlot so that we may discuss the decision the five of you must now make.
Please understand that if you choose to take this dangerous mission, you may never return home, so you must plan your departure accordingly.
I await your presence with a hopeful heart.
Princess Celestia.
There was silence in the library once more as the six of them let the words sink in. They quietly disentangled themselves from each other and stood a little apart, carefully not looking anypony in the eye.
“We might not come home?” Fluttershy inched a little further away from the others and hid behind her mane as she finally broke the silence.
Rarity blinked. “Is that …" she trailed off and took a deep breath. "Do you think that will be a problem for us?”
“Well …” Applejack picked up her hat in amongst the books and placed it on her head. “Ah’d need to think ‘bout what that’d mean for mah family and the farm.”
“I’m fine with it.” Rainbow Dash launched herself into the air and swooped above them all. “Besides, we’ll definitely all come back. And when we do, we’ll be heroes.”
“Yeperooni!” Pinkie’s hair was poofier than it had been a moment ago, though not yet at the level of its usual unkempt craziness. “If we go to get Twilight and bring her back, then we’ll definitely be back here on account of needing to be here when we bring Twilight back with us.”
Rainbow Dash gawked at Pinkie Pie for a moment along with everypony else, but then shrugged. “Works for me,” she said. "Now let’s get going. The faster we get there, the faster we’ll bring Twilight home.”
“Woah nelly!" Applejack held up her hooves. “It’s well and fine that you an’ Pinkie have nopony to look after here, but the rest o’ us have family...” She looked to Fluttershy. “... An’ critters we need to talk with ‘bout this first.”
“If they say no …” Spike asked cautiously, “is that going to make your decision for you?”
There was another round of extended silence around the room as they pondered the question.
Rarity broke out of her reverie first and moved over to put a hoof on Spike’s shoulder. “No,” she declared. “There’s no chance that anything will stop me from going to retrieve my friend.” She pulled her hoof away and sighed. “But I do have to speak with my family first. They need to know that there’s a chance … a chance …” She paused to clear her throat. “I need to discuss this with them so that they will be prepared.”
Spike paced the library while the others were out saying their goodbyes or making preparations in the event that things went wrong ... or whatever it was Pinkie and Rainbow were doing. Pinkie Pie had been the first to return. She said she’d had some teary goodbyes with the Cakes, played with the twins and spoken with her parents. All in barely an hour. Then she sat calmly reading a book, seemingly without a care in the world. Spike would never understand that pony, and he doubted anypony else could, either.
It was another hour before Rainbow Dash joined them. She’d flown all the way to Cloudsdale and back to give the news to her parents. They had taken it well. Apparently, having a daredevil weatherpony as a daughter made it much easier to accept the idea of never seeing her again. Rainbow Dash said the goodbye hadn’t been teary, that would have been uncool, but Spike had his doubts that anyone could just casually say bye to their parents with the possibility of it being forever, even Rainbow Dash. She curled up on the rumpled pile of bedding where they had all spent the night and closed her eyes.
Applejack was the next to appear, ears drooping and a forlorn expression on her face as she planted her rump in the middle of the library. Spike didn’t ask her how things had gone. The Apple family were close-knit, and no doubt they would need to pass on details of Applejack’s situation to the Apple family in all the other towns and cities in Equestria. He supposed it wasn’t every day an Apple chose a friend over their own kin, and that decision had to be tearing Applejack up inside.
When Rarity stepped in the door without a huge case of luggage in tow, Spike had to go check that she hadn’t left it outside. The normally high-maintenance pony had only her signature saddlebags filled with accessories. She had her usual dignified air even though there was a feeling of melancholy about her bearing. She stopped for a moment to glance disapprovingly at Rainbow Dash napping as she walked by, then sat herself next to Applejack.
Pinkie Pie bounded into the room, a box on her back in which she had some of her baked goods. Spike hadn’t even seen her leave, but she sped around the room, dropping a muffin on Rainbow Dash’s face, balancing a tart on Applejack’s head and waiting for Rarity to hold out a hoof before gingerly placing a cupcake there. She didn’t speak, just rushed around with her usual intensity, on a mission to make her friends smile even if she didn’t seem to be able to spare the emotional energy to light up her own face.
Spike busied himself making lunch them all, working around an overly helpful and enthusiastic Pinkie Pie. Applejack picked up a book and hoofed through the pages thoughtfully. Rarity rummaged in her bag, reorganising its contents, and Rainbow Dash continued her nap. Spike had almost finished with the meal when Applejack broke their time of quiet reflection.
“What do ya’ll think is takin’ Fluttershy so long? I’d a’ thought she’d know how important it is we get goin’”
Rainbow Dash opened one eye and sighed loudly. “I guess I’ll go get her.”
Rarity held up a hoof, having just finished packing her saddlebags once more. “I think it would be best if we all go. We’ll coax Fluttershy out of wherever she’s hiding, then head to the station to get the train to Canterlot.” She settled her bags on her back and made for the door.
“Sounds like a plan,” Spike said, following her. “Except I think the princess will send us a chariot to get to Canterlot faster.”
Fluttershy didn’t have a problem finding volunteers to take care of her critters. Many of the ponies in the marketplace had been happy to agree to take turns spreading out food for the birds, beasts and rodents who called Fluttershy’s cottage. So it wasn’t until she was finally home, saying goodbye to her woodland friends, when it really set in that it was possible she’d never come back.
She hadn’t meant to leave everyone waiting for her in the library, she just froze in place when the truth hit her. None of the concerned touches, nudges and nuzzles from her critter friends, nor Angel Bunny’s angry thumps on the floor, had brought her out of her trance.
That was how her friends found her. When Rainbow Dash pounded on the door, Angel led the five of them inside and waved his arms in her direction, looking more grouchy than upset.
Rarity approached, winding through the crowd of watching critters, and nuzzled her. “Fluttershy, dear. It’s time to go.”
“To go?” Fluttershy looked at Rarity, but she didn’t seem to see her at all.
Rainbow Dash flew over and landed beside the pair. “Snap out of it, Fluttershy!”
“Rainbow, darling, I’m not sure that’s going to ...”
Rainbow Dash grabbed Fluttershy and started shaking her. “We need to go get Twilight, and hanging around here worrying about whether we’ll be getting home is only wasting time that we could be using finding our friend.”
“Rainbow Dash, that’s enough!” Applejack pulled the blue pegasus away sharply.
Fluttershy was at Applejack’s side in an instant, her ears flat against her head. “Nonono, it’s fine. She’s right.” She took a deep breath. “Wherever Twilight is, she’s counting on us to find her.”
Over at the door, Spike nodded resolutely. “I’ll let the princess know we’re ready.” He scribbled down a hasty note and sent it away in a burst of dragonfire. When it was gone, he looked around the room between the critters and the ponies. “And I ... uh ... think we should let Fluttershy say goodbye properly.”
The ponies in the room looked around at the patiently waiting animals before silently filing out of Fluttershy’s home into the afternoon sunshine. They shuffled their hooves awkwardly for some time, nopony willing to say anything.
Spike belched up some dragonfire, and there was a collective sigh of relief. The ponies all gathered around Spike to read over his shoulder.
Author's Note
Okay, so I've had this chapter done for ages, but I wasn't happy with the wording of some parts, and I've been finding it mighty difficult to get it proofread, so if you're interested in this story and want to proofread it, PM me. I'm friendly, I swear. I love talking about writing techniques, too, I love for my words to be used in the best way they can be.
Or if you're one of the many people who I asked and you said yes, or you volunteered to read this for me, maybe you could have a look at the document I linked you, give some comments? I'm not mad, just don't like going around bothering people, because I want a proofreader who enjoys my writing and is excited to do it for me, not someone who’s doing it just for the sake of it.
