It was around eight pm when Dawn Rider walked into the office, still in her R.F.C. flight suit. She had spent most of the last two hours talking to Rainbow Dash. Well...'talking' was a relative term. It was mostly a case of answering a bunch of questions. Not a big deal as such things went, though it seemed at times that the young mare was after every piece of information she could get, up to and including Dawn's hat size.
Dawn sat down at the desk, and leaned back in the chair, trying not to let her commo pack jab her in the ribs, and tried to enjoy the quiet for a moment or two. It's not that she minded Rainbow's questions that much. But she had always believed that certain things should only be discussed with somepony that you trusted, and she just didn't know quite what to think of the young Wonderbolt. She remembered that the report she read described Rainbow as 'impulsive' and even 'borderline reckless', but she having looked over what they used as evidence, it seemed a bit overstated. Much more often than not, Rainbow Dash was able to put her money were her mouth was.
With all that in mind, she had to acknowledge what appeared to be an honest effort, with no sign of snark. It was a big change from the day they first met.
That thought made Dawn roll her eyes and snort. It wasn't like she had anything to brag about. She really lost her cool that day. Granted she was stressed, and that shrapnel wound had been throbbing like crazy, but it was still damn unprofessional. The Elements were the key to the fight, whether she liked it or not. And like it or not, the military, including herself, had failed for whatever reason. Arguing about it was pointless.
She paused and thought about that for a second. What went wrong that day of the invasion? Not enough warning...yeah, of course. Limited resources in all the wrong places...that too. The clash between the available intelligence and the whole "Friendship Festival" thing , that didn't help. But there was something more. I mean really, why did Celestia send Princess Luna, and then Princess Twilight, on a mission to get help from a race that hadn't had anything to do with Equestria in a couple of hundred years instead of sending them to rally her own troops?
Dawn leaned back a bit more in her chair. Deep down she knew the answer to that question. It was as clear as what she saw in those ponies faces after they found out about that strike she ordered. The crowd's expressions seemed to go in one of two ways; fear in their eyes...not of the invaders...but of her; and what could only be described as...revulsion.
Dawn closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Unfortunately, she thought, that problem was too big for her to handle. She took another deep breath, and opened her eyes. "Oh well...self pity has never accomplished a damn thing," she said aloud to no one in particular. And with that, she got off the chair and exited the building, heading in the general direction of the barracks.
It was later in the night when Rainbow finally got back to the barracks. She had spent at least two hours with Dawn Rider, and admittedly used most of the time to question her. It was not by any means the ideal method to start a friendship, but Rainbow told herself that this was an emergency.
As she lounged on her bunk, she thought again about what she had learned about Dawn. It was quite a load…she started out in attack, then transferred to reconnaissance, and then eventually moved to intelligence; big history buff; she reads very little fiction, though she has dabbled in detective fiction; married nine years to a divorced ex-guard officer turned bureaucrat and adopted his unicorn daughter; son is a pegasus about eight years old; big jazz and blues fan; has a couple of brainiac type university degrees…blah blah blah.
‘No dammit,” she thought, shaking her head to try and reset. ‘You shouldn’t be thinking that way. Dawn may not have much in common with me…but she is pretty accomplished…in her own boring way.’
Rainbow face hoofed and groaned. Thinking like that was not going to get her anywhere. “O.k.” she pondered out loud, “What are her good points? Well, one I guess is that she put up with all those questions and didn’t lose her cool. And, she’s at least a reasonably decent flyer. And of course, she’s earned Vapor’s friendship. That certainly counts for something.”
But that said, she couldn’t help but notice that Dawn didn’t ask many questions herself. Was it because she already knew so much, or that she was just so annoyed with the whole ‘getting to know you’ thing? Or did Dawn just not care?
"Or," Rainbow mumbled to herself, "am I just doing this really badly?" It was certainly a possibility she couldn't ignore. She had been told the whole "Pinky vs. Mudbrier" tale, and what it ended up taking before they learned to get along.
But, she reminded herself, this really wasn't a case of total opposites like it was then, or it shouldn't be at least. Like Twilight said, Royal Flying Corps members were not total bores. Heck, she had proof of that just in the ponies she dealt with in the team, not to mention Spit herself.
But she knew that there was something missing, the backstory...the why as opposed to just the what. But having just spent so long chewing the poor mare's ears off, just how would she get at that without totally wearing out her welcome?
That was the puzzle she was trying to solve as Dawn walked into the room, having just gotten done with a shower. She was obviously still a bit drippy, and Rainbow guessed from the direction she was heading that she was going outside to let the warm breeze blow her dry. Rainbow watched her as she went through the door, and decided to follow.
When she got outside, she spotted Dawn sitting out on the grass, the wind rustling her mane. As Rainbow approached, she could hear Dawn taking in several deep breaths, obviously enjoying the aroma from the floral covered hillside directly downwind.
"Hey," Rainbow called out, "What's up?"
Dawn Rider turned her head and looked back with a raised eyebrow, and answered, "Not much. I'm just taking advantage of a stiff warm breeze. What can I do for you Rainbow?"
Rainbow thought about it for a second and then replied, "I know I'm being a royal pain about this, but I have one or two more questions."
Dawn Rider sighed, and rolled her eyes. But she retained her smile as she answered, "Fire away."
Rainbow paused. There was that big question she had been putting off. But she quickly dismissed it, and asked, "It's just a little thing, but I heard that when we buzzed you, you dropped something from the tower. What was it?"
"Uh, don't worry about it Rainbow. It was just a coffee cup. I shouldn't have had the damn thing balancing on the railing to begin with." Dawn replied. She sighed and continued, "Don't ever let yourself become a caffeine addict kid. It'll bite you in the ass, guaranteed."
"Uh...I can get you a new one," Rainbow suggested.
Dawn shook her head. "No...you can't," she answered, "Next question?"
"O.K...well," Rainbow started, the previous response having drained her enthusiasm a bit, "I know that we all have to train...and I'm not trying to critique your flying...you know...in comparison to Vapor..."
"Rainbow," Dawn interrupted, shaking her head, but still smiling, "If this is going to be a reminder that one of us here needs to get over themselves, cut back on the doughnuts and fly more, I got it, o.k.."
"Nooo…" Rainbow protested, "That's not what I was getting at. I mean...I was just wondering why you did it. You had to know that you probably couldn't keep up with her. I mean really...she's a Wonderbolt for crying out loud. Why would you risk looking bad by doing something that you knew you would probably fail at?"
Dawn Rider pondered the question for a moment, then twisted around and faced Rainbow and answered, "Oh please...I had no delusions about keeping up. Out flying a pursuit flyer, not to mention one who's a potential Wonderbolt, would have been a trick even when I was in my prime, let alone now. But...," she paused, and added, "I wanted to fly with her. I wanted to see what she could do, and it felt like one of the only opportunities I was going to get."
"Uh, I don't get it," Rainbow answered.
"Well, you have to understand something kid," Dawn continued, "Vapor, Sting, and I all saw direct combat. Not saying of course that you guys weren't in a fight, but for us it got majorly nasty, and both Vapor and I were wounded, and Sting ended up getting captured. And Vapor still has some bad memories about the whole thing, and probably will for a really long time. It's part of how we ended up as friends. We met, and eventually recognized that we were both in a similar situation, so we spent the rest of that rotten week just trying to help each other stay in the fight."
Dawn paused, and then continued, "Anyway, we got to talking yesterday, and in the coarse of things, it came up that Vapor and Sting were planning on serving out their initial term, and then they would resign their commissions. And...I can't say that I blame them. If the first casualty of war is the truth, the second, at least for a lot of fundamentally decent ponies, is enthusiasm. And after what they've been through, they don't owe anything to anypony."
Dawn paused and sighed, "So, when we had some down time this afternoon, I suggested a little workout. I guess I just wanted to see what she could do, and have some fun in the air just once. I mean...I do see her and Sting occasionally on their drill weekends, but I can't imagine that I'll be able to keep that up when she's a Wonderbolt." Dawn paused and looked away, frowning.
But then, she tossed her head back and looked Rainbow straight in the eye and added, "Those two are a great pair, and they're both well on their way to becoming excellent flyers. You guys are damn lucky to have them. I hope you're all aware of that."
Rainbow smiled and answered, "Yeah, we are."
"Well," Dawn said, smiling as she checking her watch, "and with that, I should probably go hit the sack. I'll see you in the morning."
"No problem," Rainbow answered, and Dawn stood up and gave Rainbow a wave before she strode past and headed for the visitors quarters. Rainbow watched her go with a smile, thinking back over the conversation they just had. As she did, two words kept rattling around in her brain, 'fundamentally decent'.
It was a bit early to come to any final conclusions, but that title was starting to seem a lot more appropriate than that talk of 'mad bombers'.
"Hanging out with the enemy these days?" said a voice from behind her. Rainbow turned and found Fleetfoot behind her, apparently in the process of doing the same thing Dawn had been doing.
"Fleet," Rainbow replied, "she's not one of us, but she's not 'the enemy' either. In fact, in fact I think that her and Spit must be really tight for her to put up with all the headaches I've been giving her."
Fleetfoot pondered the question for a moment, and answered, "Yeah...maybe so. Anyway, you'd better get inside and get some sleep. Big day tomorrow they say, including a bunch of big wigs coming to give us grief.
"Oh, you're kidding me," Rainbow responded.
"I wish," Fleetfoot answered.
Rainbow sighed, gave Fleet a quick pat on the shoulder, and went back towards the barracks. 'All the drama of the last few days, and now a bunch of rubber neckers' she thought, 'What next?'
In spite of the report of the previous night, the morning went on much the same way that the previous few had gone, the only easily seen difference being the increasing complexity of the aerial maneuvers. As the exercise continued, Rainbow was finding herself more and more impressed with Misty. Though the Double Diamond trick had to be waved off on the first attempt, it all came together the second time around. 'Yeah' she thought, 'that early classroom time was paying off'.
By 11am, they had worked out most of the routine, and were just coming back over the field when Rainbow spotted the large red flag that signaled the team to land flying from the large pole next to the observation tower. Rainbow took advantage as they flew by to look for a certain large mare with big wings on the platform, but didn't see her.
The group immediately broke off from what they were doing , formed up in two groups of five and turned back in the general direction of the runway. As they came in over the center of the grounds, the lead five flared up to quickly bleed off speed, then slowly lowered themselves to the ground. Almost as soon as they did, the trailing five performed the same maneuver and finally touched down ten feet ahead of the leaders.
As soon as the team had settled down, High Winds turned to Fleetfoot and said, "All right! Now that's what I'm talking about!" and immediately gave her a high hoof.
Rainbow was tempted to do the same, but she saw Misty trot over to one of the ground crew. The whole team watched as the pair conversed, and then it was over as Misty came back and announced, "All right everypony, It appears that our guests have arrived! Keep in mind....it's the commission, so I don't need anyone standing around looking here looking like they have nothing to do! Element leaders...I need you to go through your post flight reviews and equipment checks! Everyone else, just try to look busy!" And with that, she took off, flying over towards the barracks.
The rest of the group quickly dispersed, but Rainbow Dash stayed behind. The members of the Royal Commission for Special Services NEVER came to Wonderbolt's headquarters before, in spite of being the group technically in charge, subject only to Celestia herself. 'Heck', she thought, 'a fair number of them weren't even flyers. Most were career bureaucrats mostly concerned with bottom line stuff.' If they were here now, it was not going to be a good thing.
"Rainbow!" came a call from somewhere to her rear, and Rainbow Dash turned to see another ground team member cantering towards her.
Rainbow turned to meet the young stallion, who skidded to a stop just in front of her.
"What's up dude?" she asked.
"You've got some important visitors to see you Rainbow, over at the office," was the reply.
"Oh...you're kidding?" Rainbow asked.
"Nope," he answered, "they said to get you there pronto."
"Urgh...why not?" Rainbow groaned, and followed the other pony to the office.
At first as they arrived and Rainbow walked in, there wasn't anything in particular that caught her eye, just the normal scene with Deep Dive continuing to plow through one pile of paper or another. She stopped and glanced around as thoroughly as she could before finally asking, "Hey Deep! What's up?"
Deep Dive looked up from his work, and then turned and called out, "She's here!" And from another office emerged Twilight Sparkle and, to make the surprise even greater, Scootaloo.
"Hey Rainbow!" Scoot called out, and immediately ran up to her idol. She stopped just short and looked up, obviously expecting something. This lasted only a few seconds before Scootaloo extended her arm and grunted.
"Oh," Rainbow answered, face hoofing herself, "right, the secret hoof shake." She then extended her right arm and the pair went through an elaborate series of hoof claps alternating on the left and right before culminating in "Boom!" as they concluded.
"So...uh, what in Equestria brings you two out here. I mean, you guys were going to see me in couple of days anyway?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, that was me actually," Twilight answered, "I was telling everyone about what you had told me, and I guess it got around...and then Scoot here wanted to do some research...and before you know it here we are."
Uh, yeah," Rainbow answered, clearly confused, "research about what exactly?"
"Duh...Dawn of course!" Scootaloo answered emphatically. She then came up and nudged her friend and asked, "So...tell me about her. Is she like totally cool? And are those wings of hers as big as they look in the pictures?"
"Uh...I guess," Rainbow answered, not entirely sure of her answer, "uh...and her wings are big, but not weird like big. Uh...why would you be looking into her anyway?"
"Are you kidding?" Scootaloo responded, "She's a world record holder! I mean...how many times do you get to meet up with one of those? Uh...present company excepted of course."
Rainbow looked to Twilight, who shrugged.
"We've checked, and it's confirmed, or at least it will be when we see her," she said, and then she moved closer to Rainbow and asked, "You didn't ask her, did you?"
"Uh, I was getting around to it," Rainbow answered, "and believe me, I've asked a lot of questions. But I didn't quite get to that one." Rainbow then parted from Twilight and went back to Scoot and asked, "So kid, you want me to introduce you to her?"
"AHHHHH!!!" Scoot responded before restraining herself and tapping her left hoof quickly to work off the excitement. "I mean...of course!" she finally continued, obviously restraining herself, "That would be totally cool! Do you think she'd mind if I brought my camera along and got...a few pictures?"
"I think she'd be o.k. with it," Rainbow answered, and then gestured towards the door. The other two ponies took the hint and proceeded out, with Twilight giving Rainbow a raised eyebrow as she passed. Rainbow noticed and said nothing at first, but when she was sure she couldn't be heard, she said to herself, "Oh my..."
Out at the main runway, the ground crew was going through the preparations that were necessary as they watched the large zeppelin approach out of the west. Two other crew members were in position on the observation tower, using a radio to help guide the vessel in. As it got closer, the propulsion system shut down and the ship glided in towards the mooring mast, dropping lines from the bow as it close enough. These were picked up by the crew, who then worked the ship up to where it could latch on to the mast. When that was finally done, the ship was pulled over to a downwind position and a boarding platform was brought forward, and the ships gangways were lowered.
Watching the whole process from the sideline and behind the formation were Misty Fly and Dawn Rider, both dressed in their R.F.C. dress blues and wearing their mirrored sunglasses. They simply stood there, letting the crew take the lead while anypony not involved in the initial process began forming up in the space between them and the ship. As the ground crew finished their tasks, they slowly joined their comrades in the formation till finally only a handful were left.
Finally the first passengers began to disembark, mostly crew at first. But then a well dressed official stepped down to the platform, and in a booming voice, shouted out "ATTENTION ON DECK!!!"
The entire company snapped to attention as the members of the commission began to disembark. Dawn Rider watched the whole process closely. She recognized many of the individuals, some of which unfortunately from being grilled by them during the many post invasion investigations. They represented all branches of the kingdom's government. She was happy at least that she wouldn't have to deal with most of them, being that she had no formal role here.
At least that's what she thought, until a certain member emerged, Chancellor Neighsay. Misty Fly immediately moved forward through a gap to go greet the dignitaries. Dawn Rider remained where she was, trying to decide if there was a way to exit the scene without being noticed. But, instead of inspecting the formation like she hoped, the group instead moved through the lines, heading straight towards her, with Neighsay leading the way. She immediately straightened up, and readied herself for the approaching storm.
As he broke through the formation, Neighsay slowed to a stop in front of her. He stood there for a minute, as if studying the scene, before he finally spoke.
"Hummph..." he snorted. "Wing Commander Rider."
"Indeed sir," she replied, "Welcome to Wonderbolt's headquarters."
"You can skip the pleasantries wing commander, we've heard enough of that already," he answered coldly, "I had hoped that the report we received of your presence here was in error." He then came closer and then asked, "So...why are you here?"
"A favor to a friend...sir," Dawn answered.
"Indeed," he replied, "Perhaps we should be questioning your friend about this next. You are of course aware that the Royal Flying Corps has no jurisdiction here...for a damn good reason, I presume?"
"Sir," Dawn replied back, "As an R.F.C. officer, I am very much aware that I possess neither command authority nor general military authority in regards to this unit, and I'm quite certain that you will find that I have not attempted to exert any sort of command influence over this unit."
Neighsay snorted and retorted, "Does that include the appointment of the replacement commander? There have been, how shall I say it, stories...in regards to that."
"Of course," Damn answered, "That decision was made by Spitfire, and by her alone. While I announced the decision, I had no role in making it...period."
"We shall see about that commander," Neighsay answered, and then looked around to Dawn's flanks and asked, "Hmmm...is that a saddlebag you're wearing? Is that the standard for the dress uniform, especially when meeting dignitaries?"
Damn took a audible breath, and replied, "It is when one is carrying paperwork that one assumes that certain dignitaries might want to see before they get to the office."
Neighsay moved around and examined the offending article. Dawn tried to look away and ignore it.
Neighsay paused, peaked around the large folded wing, and looked closer at the design on the flap. "Hmmm...''Gladium regni; ad scutum de harras" he read, and took a few steps back to where he could see Dawn eye to eye and growled, "How dare you wear something like that in the presence of these ponies."
"Sir," Dawn Rider replied, "That bag is standard issue. If you believe it is inappropriate, you are of course free to file a complaint to the Ministry of Defense. But as for now, it is the only one that I have with me, so you'll just have to pardon my little indiscretion."
By now the other members of the commission had joined Neighsay and they began to converse among themselves. Neighsay turned and gathered the others around him, and a quiet discussion began among the assembled dignitaries. Eventually the group dispersed, and began to strike up conversations with various members of the ground team, as well as themselves.
Dawn moved back a couple of steps, and took a deep breath. From among the crowd in front of her, Misty appeared, and came up along side of her.
"I take it you two don't like each other?" she asked Dawn.
"You might say that," Dawn answered, looking towards the younger officer, "He apparently thinks for whatever reason that I'm a murderer, and that the R.F.C. are a bunch of barbarians."
"Hmm...invasion stuff huh," Misty answered, "And do you think that he'll bring up the 'Battle of the East Cape'?"
Dawn nodded, and then turned to Misty and said, "Misty, this is probably going to get ugly. Whatever happens there's something you need to remember."
"What's that ma'am?" Misty asked.
Dawn looked the other mare in the eye and said, "Your first responsibility, above everything else right now, is to your team...and to the ideal of the Wonderbolts. Don't worry about the damn corps. We'll be just fine. But whatever happens...protect your team!"
Misty sat down, and took a moment to examine on the bottom of her hoof, before looking up and asking, "Does that still hold true if it means that I have throw you under a bus before this is over?"
Dawn was silent for a moment. But then, she raised her head, and nodded.