Sunday Morning

Chapter Twenty-Five – Rainbow Dash

Normally Dash would wake up late, and then stay in her bed for countless minutes before actually getting up. It was usually her lazy time before she had to go to work. This time she only woke up late.

The cyan pegasus rocketed out of bed, realizing she had slept later than she meant too. This morning was too important. She had to talk to Frostburn. She just didn't know what to say to him yet. Last night had been… awkward. Now was her chance for some redemption.

She left her room without even bothering to brush her mane, which looked like it had been wrestling her pillow all night. She ran her hoof through it and hoped that would be enough. Rainbow distantly wondered when she had begun caring about her looks as she walked through the palace.

As far as she could guess, all of her friends were eating breakfast. This fact was registered first by her nose when it came to contact with the smell of maple syrup. She followed the scent to the palace dining area, where everypony was enjoying a pancake breakfast. It seemed that Dash was the last one to arrive.

"Hey Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie said. Just in case nopony heard her, the pink mare followed up with, "Hey everypony, Rainbow Dash is here!"

Everypony turned, smiled, and waved at her. Except Rarity who avoided looking at her. That was fine though, Rainbow was still not ready to forgive the white unicorn. Frostburn however, waved her over to an open seat right next to him. She gladly accepted and grabbed some pancakes.

"Now that we're all here," Twilight said. "We should determine what to do next."

"Gettin' back to Canterlot should be our first priority." Applejack said. Rainbow poured some syrup on her pancakes, listening only partially to her farmer friend. Instead, Rainbow was sideways glancing at Frostburn. Which caused her to pour syrup right off the plate and on to the table. She set the syrup bottle down, hoping nopony had seen that.

"Yes, but we can't take the airship." Twilight said. "I have a feeling that Sergeant Swift Sword doesn't care about the current situation." She turned to Frostburn. "He views you as a criminal. I don't think we'll be able to change that image." Frostburn nodded, but looked melancholy. Clearly being labeled a criminal didn't sit well with him.

"So how do we get back?" Pinkie asked. "The soldiers are probably still all over the city so we're kind of stuck here. Ooo what if we throw a huge party and invite them all to it, then we can slip away with no problem."

"No offense, Sugarcube but Ah don't think that will work." Applejack said.

"We could take the train." Fluttershy suggested meekly. Everypony looked at her for a moment, and the poor yellow pegasus sunk back in her seat. Rarity spoke up.

"It could work, if we can make it to the station." There was another pause as everypony considered this. Dash had to admit it was a good idea, but even she couldn't think of a way to get to the train station undetected. She wanted to interject something about that into the conversation, but her mouth was full of pancakes. Instead, a lavender unicorn did.

"We could try it." Twilight said. "And I think I know just the way to pull it off."

-\-

A dark, shadowy mist swept across the arid plateau of the Badlands. It flew above the ground, unfazed by the jagged rocks and twisted chasms that plagued the surface. In fact, it began accelerating. The cloud of dark energy was speeding towards a bleak, dilapidated castle that hung in the dead center of the Badlands.

Two guards at the door to the castle noticed the dark cloud long before it reached the gateway. They watched it pass, but made no move to hinder it or even touch it. Both of them had a horrifying suspicion that if they tried, their worst fears would be inflicted upon them.

The mass of shadows drifted through the castle with a clear direction in mind. Each move it made was precise, and everypony it came near would immediately move away. Soon it arrived at the throne room, greeted by a black mare with an unkempt, teal mane and holes in her legs.

"It has been a long time, Sombra." Her venomous voice said to the shadow. She watched as the dark mass bulged and morphed, forming the front half of the Crystal King. His back remained shrouded in the dark haze.

"I agree." King Sombra spoke. "It is good to see you again, Chrysalis."

"Formalities are pointless." The Queen of the Changelings said. "Let's move on. Why are you here?"

Sombra chuckled darkly. "Ever the impatient one you are. Very well, I am here because I require some assistance."

"Oh?" Chrysalis asked sardonicly. "And what reason could there possibly be for the high and mighty King Sombra to beg for help from a lowly changeling?"

"Six wretched mares, of whom I've heard you're very familiar with." Sombra's deep voice said, undeterred by Chrysalis' taunts.

The changeling spat in a manner very unbecoming of a Queen. "Bah! Those whelps?" She cried. "What about them?"

"It seems I overestimated their power the last time we fought. My physical form has been so badly damaged that I may never recover it again. What you see before you," He gestured to himself. "Is merely the best projection I could conjure up."

"I've heard of your encounter with them. Not your finest moment, Sombra." The Changeling Queen condescended.

"If I remember correctly, you were defeated by the power of love. Quite humiliating if you ask me." The Dark King angrily said.

"Enough of this childish jesting!" Chysalis demanded. "Why are you here?"

"I am here," Sombra said. "For an army of changelings."

Queen Chrysalis's cackling could be heard from all halls of the castle.

"You and an army of changelings." The Queen mocked. "That is certainly the best joke I have heard in the last thousand years or so."

"I am dead serious." Sombra replied. "There is a way for me to recover my strength and my kingdom, but I need your vile creatures to help me do it."

"Bah! You and you're schemes." The Queen snapped. "They've never really gone that well for you, Shadow King."

"Oh, I am quite certain that this one will succeed. You simply supply the changelings, and the rest shall fall into place."

"And what, pray tell, would be in it for me?" Hissed Chrysalis. "You get your power and your throne back, and leave me with what? My children are starving, Sombra!" She slammed her hoof down when she finished, the sound reverberating throughout the chamber.

Undaunted, Sombra looked deep into Chrysalis' eyes before speaking. "Love." He said. Her ears perked up when she heard this. "I can get you love. Granted, it is not strong yet and very young, but if you can be patient it will grow so big that it will feed your children for years. This I swear."

The Queen's fanged teeth swung into a wicked smile. "King Sombra, we have a deal."

-\-

An hour after Twilight had explained her big plan, Rainbow Dash still had not decided if it was crazy good, or just crazy. The idea was that Twilight would use a cloaking spell she had been patenting to hide the Mane Six and Frostburn until they got to the train station. Assuming that worked, they would avoid any guards at the train station, hop on a train, and take it all the way back to Canterlot.

But there were a lot of "ifs" in this plan. If Twilight could make the spell work, if they could all get to the train, if they avoided the guards at the station.

Rainbow thought the plan would work. It had to. But if it went wrong the last thing she wanted was Frostburn getting captured. Or worse.

Speaking of the stallion, Dash remembered she still hadn't gotten a moment alone with him. Currently she was wandering the Crystal Palace aimlessly, trying to kill time before the plan was put in motion. What better way to kill time than talking to Frostburn? She reasoned.

She turned back the way she came and moved quickly back to the parlor. For the most part her friends had not strayed far from that area. Hoping for the best, Dash found her way back to the door to the parlor and walked right in. There was one pony in there, but it wasn't Frostburn.

Two blue eyes looked at a slightly stunned Dash. Rarity didn't move out of earnest surprise. Eventually she spoke. "Hello, Rainbow Dash." The white unicorn said nervously.

"Hi Rarity." Dash said, saying her first words to the seamstress in nearly a full day. Unfortunately they came out slightly slurred. Too much syrup had made Rainbow Dash's tongue stick to the roof of her mouth too long when speaking. There was an awkward silence following this. The cyan pegasus was still angry at Rarity for the scene caused in the Canterlot throne room, and listening in on her conversation with Frostburn last night hadn't exactly done wonders to improve her attitude.

"Well, I assume you didn't come here to talk to me." Rarity said finally.

"No, I didn't." Dash said. Rarity got a downtrodden look for just a second. Dash almost felt a little guilty about shutting her off for the past twenty-four hours. Then she remembered all of her reasons to shut her off.

"I see." The white unicorn said. "I was sort of hoping we could talk though."

"I don't have anything to say to you." Dash heatedly said.

"Well then you can listen." Rarity said, becoming more aggressive. "Rainbow Dash I am exceedingly sorry for what I said to you back at Canterlot. It was uncouth, unbecoming, and uncalled for."

"Then why did you say it?" Dash inquired, her voice rising. "What could have possibly possessed you to humiliate me in front of everypony like that?"

Rarity dejectedly looked at the floor. "I was intimidated." She admitted softly.

Rainbow hadn't expected that. "Wh-what?" the cyan pegasus finally managed.

Rarity sighed. "You just clearly had feelings for Frostburn, and the way he acts around you, well… I was intimidated… and a little jealous."

"How he acts around me... Really? I would have thought after that talk you two had last night that—"

"You were listening?!" Rarity cried. Dash realized her slip up. Now it was her turn to feel awkward.

"Yeah, kinda." She admitted. Rarity looked angry for a moment, but then calmed down.

"All right, I forgive you Rainbow Dash, because that's what friends do." Rarity said.

"I get it." Dash said. "I can take a hint. I forgive you too." Their reconciliation complete, both friends smiled warmly at each other, but didn't feel up to the obligatory hug that normally came with these types apologies.

"What do we do about Frostburn?" Rainbow asked.

"What do you… Oh right. I don't know. I still like him." Rarity admitted.

"Me too. A lot." Rainbow Dash said. Another silence, this time longer than the last. It was neither Rarity nor Rainbow who broke this one.

"Hey girls," Frostburn said, stepping into the room. "Twilight says it's time to go." Next Chapter: Attack of the Clones Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 2 Minutes