Protecting Her

"I'd love to have some, Twilight, but your friend over here...", I elbowed Dash playfully, and she just chuckled, "Made me the most caffeinated breakfast possible, so any more caffeine might just kill me!" Twilight just smiled.

"Alright then," She started, "I'll go get some water for us while we wait," And she went into her kitchen, pouring the water into three glasses. Dash and I just took a seat at the dinner table, waiting for the lavender mare to come back out. When she did, she set the glasses on the table and took a seat. "So, have you two-"

BURP!

We sat in silence, until Spike came running down the stairs with a scroll in his claw. "Twilight! Its for you!", he yelled as he came over to us. "And you might want to read it too, Rainbow Dash!" That part caught all of us off guard.

"Is it serious, Spike?", asked Twilight. Dash and I were probably thinking the same thing.

"Very," responded Spike. Twilight looked at Dash, who looked back at Twilight. They got up from the table, Dash gave me a peck on the cheek and told me they'd be right back. Twilight used her magic to take the scroll and they both went upstairs to see what it was about. Spike and I were left alone downstairs, I was the first to break the silence.

"Hey man," I started, "Sorry about earlier, I'm just not used to seeing dragons, you know?"

"Don't worry, its fine, you get used to it..." His voice trailed off.

"Can I ask you something?" He looked at me with a face of sympathy.

"Sure! What do you need?", he answered.

"You need to promise me that you can't tell anypony, especially not Dash," I said to him.

"You have my word," he responded.

"I want to propose to Dash, but I'm afraid she won't want to get married... I really love her, but I don't know if I should take that step, you know? I have more than enough bits to buy an engagement ring, but I'm just conflicted..." I saw his jaw drop to the floor. "I know, I know, big shocker. But I'm serious, what should I do?" He snapped back into reality.

"I really can't help you with that one, but I do know somepony who can, she's helped me with a lot of issues I've had, and she's a really good listener!" I had no idea who he was talking about.

"Where can I find her?", I inquired.

"That's the thing, you don't go to her, she comes to you. She will come to you, and she will give you the help you need, whether you choose to follow her advice or not is your decision, but she will be delighted to listen and give you advice!" I'm just gonna have to take his word for it, aren't I?

"Well, thanks, Spike. I appreciate it very much," I said to him, not knowing really what else to say.

"No problem! Oh! And when you do get to talk to her, remember; she is a bit old and has a tendency to speak in Old Equine, so yeah..." Old Equine? How old is this mare he's talking about? I just nodded. Just then, the girls came back downstairs.

"So, what's it about?" I asked Dash.

"We'll talk about it later, the rest of the girls are going to be here any minute, so get ready," she responded, but with a tone of voice I've never heard from her before, very serious and frankly, very blunt.

I got up and walked over to her. "Dash, is everything alright?" She turned around, bearing the most serious face I've ever seen on anypony before.

"I said, we will talk about it later!", she yelled. I was in shock, Dash rarely acts like that with anypony, but never with me. She's never yelled at me, never even raised her voice at me, this must be serious.

"Dash, you know you can tell me anything. There isn't a need to yell and scream..." I stared at her with a caring expression, but her face stayed the same.

"It's not important!", she yelled once again. She was lying through her teeth.

"It is important because if it wasn't, you wouldn't be acting like this, Dash..." I tried to keep my cool, not yell at her.

"Just forget it!" She started to walk away, but I grabbed her arm.

"Dash, we need to talk-" She turned around and slapped me with her free hand. I hadn't been slapped like that since I was a colt... It hurt when it hit, but the sting afterwards was the real pain. When I looked back at her, she was crying, tears rolling down her face. She reached over to me, but Twilight stopped her.

"Rainbow Dash, that's enough!" I couldn't believe it, my Dash had just slapped me... She'd never even threatened to do that, nor had she lifted an arm like if she were about to...

"I'm sorry...", I heard her say before Twilight sat her down. Twilight used her magic to levitate the scroll over to me.

"You should read it for yourself, just so you know why she... Well, you know...", she said after handing me the scroll. I nodded and unrolled it to see that it was a letter.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I write to you because of unfortunate events that have happened. There was an attack recently on the city of Las Pegasus by a group of stallions and mares who call themselves the Bringers of Havoc. Multiple explosive devices were used all around the city, destroying many buildings and taking many lives. There was an estimated death toll of over three-thousand, but it is yet to be confirmed. I am aware that Rainbow Dash has her family there, but their bodys are yet to be found, if they are indeed dead. The goal of the group is to find and eliminate the Elements of Harmony and the royal families, so I have sent royal guards to keep watch over you and the rest of the girls. Do not worry about your brother, he is fine, however, you cannot have any contact with him because of the security measures he and Princess Cadence have implemented. Please notify the rest of the girls about this situation. Oh, and before I forget, I need you and Zero to come to Canterlot as soon as possible, write back so we can setup a good time. Please stay safe, Twilight, I don't know what I would do if I lost you.

Your mentor,

Princess Celestia