//------------------------------//
// The Calm Before the Storm 
// Story: The Mysterious Adventures of Mare-do-well 
// by Commando-Scarecrow 
//------------------------------//

Trixie and Summer were both just watching Rainbow Dash scream and cry on the grass near the mercenaries safe house. He'd originally had it built as just a log cabin he could retreat to during more intense missions and assignments, but it quickly became his library, store house and in general the only real home he had for years. He almost fainted as soon as they got there, too. He wasn't even sure he had the magical power after that fight with his sister to pull off teleportation with not just one, but three different ponies. Last time he was tired was when he saved their collective flanks a couple of weeks ago. But now was not the time for complaining, he thought. Now was the time to comfort a friend who had just now lost the only colt she ever really loved.
Trixie tried to step forth and comfort her friend, but Summer only grabbed her shoulder and shook his head no. She needed to sort out how she felt about the situation. He understood that much.
It was hard to believe that they all woke up only an hour or so ago, and now? Now they were at a safe house in the snowy foot-hills of Mount Killmarejaro. Summer opened the door to his cabin and abruptly fell onto his chair. It was old and it was dusty, but it was still home. Trixie immediately followed suit and fell upon the couch, taking off her mask and the enchanted ropes she used as weapons. They both looked at each other and just sighed. They were both aware of what had happened, although Trixie was probably taking the loss harder than Summer. He could tell by the way she looked at Braeburn that they had been something in the past. The way she followed his lead and trusted him made it plain as day for those who took the time to notice it. She looked terrible. Her white mane and blue coat was covered in dirt and she had fresh cuts on her arms and legs. Even with her charmed robe, she still suffered some injuries. He didn't really have room to talk, though. In fact, he was maybe in even worse condition. He had been totally drained of all his magic and he was pretty sure he had a few small cracks in a lot of his bones. Bruises were rampant and he had scrapes and some frost bite in places he didn't like to think about. Even standing seemed to be a challenge. But he had to stay awake if only for a few hours. When Rainbow Dash was ready to come in and rest, then he would do the same.
After nearly an hour of simply staring at the ceiling and wondering what went wrong, Rainbow Dash walked through the door. He knew she would eventually. Trixie and Rainbow Dash both had no idea where they were in Equestria and, until they could devise a real plan of attack, he planned to keep it that way. As Rainbow walked through the door, Trixie immediately got up herself. She walked up to her and no words were exchanged between the two. Rather, Rainbow Dash only looked away with sad bitterness. That was when Trixie cemented her friendship with the blue pegasus. She went in to hug her tightly. At first, Rainbow was reluctant, but she accepted the embrace after not even a second. Words weren't used nor were they needed in that moment in time. They both had tears welling up in their eyes. If the moment was any sweeter and sadder, then Summer Blaze would have gotten some kind of heart condition from it. Finally confident that Rainbow Dash wasn't going to leave half-cocked, he drifted away to sleep. They all needed rest after what happened today.

...

Summer Blaze woke up to see Rainbow Dash asleep where Trixie was earlier. As she slept, the mercenary saw a distressed look on her face. She was probably having a nightmare about what had happened earlier. He gave a look of sad remorse as he got up from his couch. His body still ached, but he sensed that he had enough magic in him to put himself in a healing trance later on. He wasn't in any worse condition than he was when he bailed them out last time, after all. The only exception was he was more hurt this time around. His body ached as he walked, but he knew he'll be fine. He'd survived worse. He went over to the window and saw that the sun had been down for hours. It was winter, though, so it could be anywhere from six pm to six am. He only sighed. Like it even mattered.
He walked into the kitchen, limping as he did so. He was starving and was surprised to see Trixie in the kitchen drinking some of his special hickory blend of coffee. There was an empty plate with the crumbs of dried foods like apples and potatoes. He smiled. He never kept perishable food in his safe house. He was always afraid of it going bad. He took out a bag of ginger snaps. It was one of the few luxuries that he allowed himself. He poured a cup of coffee and noticed that it had been brewed to perfection. He gave an awkward smile to the magician and kept on drinking. Maybe it was only because he was so emotionally strung out, or maybe it was just that awesome, but it was the best cup of coffee he had ever had. He looked at her again, and then ate a ginger snap. A little bit stale, but nothing too bad. Ginger snaps kept practically forever.
Finally, Trixie opened up to the colt who could only save three fourths of their team. "So... what's the plan?"
The stallion was surprised to hear her question. Surely, so soon after being put through such a ringer, she wasn't serious. "What?"
The blue mare had apparently cleaned herself off since he last saw her. She had her mane tied back and was wrapped in a blue blanket. He finally recognized it as the one his own mother knitted for him maybe 12 years ago. "I've noticed that you can lead us just as well as Braeburn has lead us," she was serious. He could tell by the fact that she wasn't using the third-person perspective when she spoke. "Rainbow Dash is to distressed to take the lead."
Summer Blaze only sighed. "I don't lead." He looked away out the only window the kitchen had to offer. "Not anymore."
"What do you mean?"
There were certain parts of his past he didn't like to talk about. And the story about how he became a mercenary was one them. "I don't want to talk about it, Trixie."
"Trixie thought you hated running." He gave a bitter grin. So she saw something in his eyes last night too, eh? "The way you fought that monster back in the city showed your courage. Surely your own past isn't that bad."
He sighed again. That had begun to be habitual since he met these ponies. He took a deep breath and admitted she was right. "Three years ago... I passed the last test my master put before me." He began to tell her about his fall. "I was so excited. It meant that I wasn't his student anymore, but his peer. I was his equal. That was the single happiest day of my life." He turned around and walked to the window he was staring out. He could see a full moon in the winter night sky. "In my happiness, and maybe more in my arrogance, I joined the royal guard. The training was rigorous but it was nothing I couldn't handle. My training with Sir Blue Flame prepared me for that."
"That sounds like a dream," Trixie added her own commentary. "A lot of ponies would have killed for that chance."
"That's what I thought," he agreed with her, but only just. "There was an assignment... I was placed in charge of my own squad. My commander thought he saw a natural leader in me. Today I would say that he was wrong." He took a breath and continued. "Today, I know that they were gearing up for something, but I had no idea what was going on."
Trixie got up and walked over to the former guard. "Summer, tell me what happened," she said in a serene voice. They were kindred spirits, she thought. She had thought him to be the sort that would not willingly run from his allies or those he felt he owed something, but instead, she found he ran from his own past guilt. Much like her.
"The changelings... Celestia damned changelings." It always went back to changelings. "We were investigating supposed sightings south of Las Pegasus and we all thought it was a wild goose-chase, but we were wrong." Trixie swore she heard a lump begin to develop in his throat. "We were ambushed. I got sloppy and led them right into a trap. None but me survived."
"Summer, you can't blame yourself for that." She tried to touch his arm, but he refused.
"I can. It was my fault that they got killed," He turned around to look into her eyes. She had no idea what he was going through. She may have thought her childhood was bad, and indeed it was, but she looked into his eyes and realized that he wasn't the invincible hero he made himself out to be. He might have been loyal, but it was very clear he was stilling running from his past. "Trixie, it was my fault they all got killed."
Trixie now understood why he couldn't be made the leader. He would be good at it, sure, but he wouldn't let himself do the job. She put her hoof on his face and he saw her eyes illuminated by a princess’s gentle moonlight. She closed her eyes and moved her lips closer to his and for a split second, they kissed, but only for a moment. He parted his own lips from hers. "I'm sorry," he said silently. He walked off from the kitchen and into his bedroom. Trixie was left there, just standing and looking out into the winter night. She could hardly blame him. A lot had happened today.

...

Rainbow Dash woke up from a nightmare. At first, that's what she hoped. But then she saw Trixie on a piece of dusty furniture and then she saw a blanket she didn't recognize on top of her. It was real. Braeburn was gone. She took a moment to once again drink it all in. It was yesterday. An entire fleet of ships came in force to take the city. They came to take her city. As much as she hated it, she knew that was the cruel reality of the situation. She also knew that sitting with her head up her plot wasn't going to fix anything. She walked around filled with the determination and the desire for justice and revenge. She had enough feeling sorry for herself, thanks.
As she searched for her new friend, Summer, she couldn't stop but think about what any of her friends would do in this situation. None of them, especially Fluttershy or Rarity, would take this sitting down, but even they wouldn't get up so fast Rainbow Dash. When danger called her, she dashed off to face it. It was simple as that. She moved fervently to find the colt who saved her and Trixie but failed to save Braeburn. She knew it wasn't his fault, though. As much as she wanted to blame somepony close by, she knew that that wouldn't be fair. She moved from room to room, finding scattered blankets and books, but no orange unicorn. It wasn't until she looked outside did she find him. He was sitting on the porch and found him playing chess with himself. She guessed she'd seen weirder. She'd seen Twilight try to do the same thing a week before she moved, at any rate.
She barged through the door, which barely registered on Summer's radar. He didn't even look at her as he kept playing his one sided game of chess. "Summer! It's time to save my city!"
He still didn't even look at her. "Can you fly?" he asked in a dead pan voice.
"Can I fly," she mocked what he said, having no real idea why he asked it. "Watch this!" She fully extended her wings only to be surprised by the feeling of extreme pain shooting up the one on the right. "OW!"
"I examined it while you were asleep," he still wasn't even looking at her, which was starting to tick her off. She hated when people ignored her. "It's only a sprain, but you'll need to not fly for a few days."
"What?!" Okay, now she was upset. "But the city..."
"Will only get worse if we go in half-cocked and injured." He finished her sentence as he finally looked her in the face. "We need to rest and we need to plan. And trust me; I'm working on a plan."
She waited for a moment to consider what he said. She knew from experience that flying on a messed up wing had 'bad idea' written all over it. "Fine..." she said in a droning voice. She considered sitting down to play chess with him, but then realized that that would only cramp her style. She decided to try to see what he had to eat in this dump.
She walked past Trixie, but didn't say anything. "This is stupid," she heard Summer declare at the one person chess match. Apparently, he wasn't as much like Twilight as she thought.
Trixie sat down next to Summer, surprised at the conversation she just heard him and Rainbow Dash have. "Trixie thought you didn't lead anymore."
He only smiled. "I'm not. I simply not letting anypony leave without my saying so."
"What?" Trixie was rightly confused.
"When we make a plan, it'll be together. But until then, none of us are leaving this place. We need time to heal and prepare," he took a breath and then a sly grin. "Besides, neither of you know where we are. I do."
Trixie herself could not but feel impressed by the thoughtfulness of his planning. She wondered if it had been him that sprained Rainbow Dash's wing in the first place to keep her down and give the two unicorns time to heal, but she sided that that thought. "So what is the plan, Fearless leader?"
He took out a book that seemed like he’d read a hundred times before, and then gave her a Cheshire smile. It seemed like he had all but become the leader, even though he would not actually admit it. Trixie supposed he knew what was at stake just like her and Rainbow Dash. "Right now, it's rest up. No army can survive if it's dragging its feet from exhaustion, after all. Even if it is only an army of three." It looked like he started to blush and the fact that he couldn't look her straight in the eye confirmed it. "And Trixie?"
"Yes?" It looked like she was eagerly waiting what he had to say.
"I'm sorry about what happened last night. I shouldn't have ju-" she placed her hoof over his mouth, as if he didn't need to say anymore. She then made the first move and kissed him.
"Don't be." He looked surprised as hay at what she just did. She then went in for a second kiss that he was fully prepared for. Trixie fully understood why he left last night. She had dug too deep into memories that wasn't hers to dig in and made him feel uncomfortable. But now she was making up for it in full. Moreover, in front of the beautiful and pristine layers of undisturbed snow, well, the moment couldn't have been more perfect.

Duchess Blood Diamonds, as she dubbed her self since wresting control of the city, walked through the halls of the of her new home, the Spire. It truly was a magnificent structure. It was the tallest on all the city and perhaps all of Equestria. It's slender appearance in the form of an old Equestrian keep belied it's strength and fortitude. In fact, besides its reputation, that had been the sole reason she had elected to make this magnificent structure her new home. It also had something to do with the fact that it was the perch of the once formidable Mare-do-well. Lady Diamonds laughed at the irony of the situation for the purple clad heroine.
What made today even better was that the entire brains behind her most serious threats operation had been captured days ago and, if not for him, they would have never stood a chance. He was their entire planning process and they were naught but foals against her without him. True, that mercenary Summer Blaze may have been problematic. She hadn't thought of him going rogue and, if she was right, he was just a formidable strategist as the Hat. Perhaps even a small bit better. His reputation for the insane had been well earned, after all. In fact, they were almost certain that he could have taken the cursed power of King Sombra's horn. Had he not gone renegade, his subtle brand of crazy may have been the perfect way to counter-act what they might have assumed was his horn trying to take over. Even without the horn to augment his strength, his raw magical power and battle experience would have served them well. He may have even been a suitable consort for Lady Blood Diamonds. She would be lying if she said she hadn't been disappointed by his defection. Because of it, they were forced to take the sister he had left broken in the rubble of their base.
The magic healed all of her most grievous wounds, but her own anger combined with the sheer animosity of King Sombra's magic turned her into even more of a volatile beast than she was before. She was little more than an attack dog, now. All they needed to do was point. Sad, really. She had almost all the potential of her brother, perhaps even more, but her anger clouded her judgement so much. While her brother always acted in control of his emotions like a river, she let them explode like a waterfall. A powerful waterfall, but one that was just the same uncontrollable.
The old council of the Echelon did not understand her vision for what their next move would be, not that it would have saved them. They had preached patience and caution, but she knew the time to strike when she saw it, and saw it she did. She was in the Arctic herself when they found the horn, difficult as it was to find it without being detected. She had sent orders to her own guards to execute all in the council chamber. Fools. She had hidden it well that he father had been the one to plan a coup De ta against them and failed. Why wouldn't she take bloody vengeance for the taking away her father?
"Lady Diamonds!" One of her guards clad in black armour ran up to her. She might have joined in an alliance with Queen Chrysalis and used her army as her own, but she still detested the changelings. Disgusting vermin was how she generally described them. ""Milday!" He bowed, then rose up. "I have great news!"
She looked at him with skepticism. Surely the day would not go even better than it had over the past five. Her enemies were on the run. She had an unbeatable beast at her disposal, a high valued prisoner in her cells and she had taken the city and would soon take Equestria as well. Truly, in all her 25 years, she never imagined things would be so great for her. "I shall be the judge of that, Corporal."
"Milady, we have news! The alicorn amulet has been recovered!" She gave a slight smile at the news. That would make so many things so much easier.
"Has it now? And where, pray tell, was it recovered from?" She knew it didn't matter, but she still liked to know.
"Milday, it was recovered from a zebra herbalist in the Ever-free forest." He took a breath, then continued. "We lost five of our own to her before she fell, though."
"How sad," she didn't really care. "Send their families some gift baskets with wine." Expertly handled. "And tell me, Corporal. When will the amulet be in my possession?"
"Milday, you should have it in your hooves by tomorrow after noon, at the latest and the morning by the earliest." The young colt, she didn't know his name nor care, looked as though he was happy as well. Perhaps it was just because he had played a part, however small, in the new era of Equestria.
"This is good, corporal. You are dismissed." He bowed to her and then he left. Things were going smoothly as ever. It was then that she decided to go see her prisoner.
She walked to the 13th level of the Spire. As she walked, all of her minions bowed to her slightly. She smiled. They knew their places. She entered the cells and saw him, the Hat. He had all fours chained to what looked like a giant letter "X". He still wore his long coat, but he had since lost his signature cowboy hat. His arms and legs were coated with frost bite. She had so disapproved of their beast, but she was a useful tool. And each tool had it's place, even a rusty and jagged hammer. She sat down and began to converse with the golden coated earthpony. "Hello, Mr. Hat," she greeted him in her formal and polite voice. "How are we today?"
He wouldn't look her in the eye. A shame. "I was still here yesterday when you asked me that, ma'am, and I wasn't to keen. What makes ya think I'll be any better today?"
She simply nodded, "Point conceded, Mr. Hat. Tell me more about yourself."
"Why?" He was still spiteful towards his new mistress. It mattered not, though. She would get what she wanted out of him. "Why are you so damned interested in me?" She found his country accent endearing.
"Why, Mr. Hat... I thought we were friends..." she gave him a fake-hurt expression.
"Look at my city, Ms. Diamonds. Then get back to me on that."
"YOUR city? Mr. Hat, I do believe that you are mistaken on who is in control here." She was only sightly irritated now. Normally, she would be worse off, but since so many things were going her way lately, she had a very high threshold for disrespect. "If you could see outside these prison walls, I believe you would be more inclined to admit defeat."
He finally looked her dead in the eye. "When Mare-do-well gets here, your plans are going to stop dead in their tracks."
"You would understand if I'm more than a bit skeptical, Mr. Hat." She finally began to take this at least some what seriously. "Look around you. I have a beast prepared to kill on command. I have an army and an air-fleet at my disposal. How am I, in any way, at a disadvantage?"
It looked as though he was looking straight into her soul. "You will lose because you are a monster, and heroes kill monsters."
Even chained down, this one acted, no, he was in control. He knew that if she wanted him killed, she could have done it by now, but she didn't. He didn't know what, but he knew as long as he kept her at bay, she wouldn't get it. "You seem to be of the opinion that I care whether or not I'm a monster. Besides, I am in no hurry to kill you and you are in no condition to escape." She stood and began to exit the room. "We will meet again tomorrow, I think." She gave him an evil smile and then left. Oh, and one more thing, Mr. Hat?" She only slightly turned her head, just enough for him to see her left eye. "I always get what I want. One way or another."
Even as the Hat tried to hide it, he was scared for his very existence whenever he saw that woman, especially when she smiled. It had taken every ounce of courage he had to tell her that she would lose and why. He gave a silent prayer to Princess Celestia. "Please, Rainbow Dash," he whispered. He didn't know what would happen the next few days, but for better or for worse, it would change his whole world.

...

It had been six days since Summer Blaze told Trixie and Rainbow Dash to take time and rest and, more importantly, heal. But it wasn't Rainbow Dash's sprained wing that needed healing the most. It was her damaged spirit. The first time that she ran to Summer as he was playing one-person chess, she really wasn't ready. She thought she was, but she still hadn't gotten the resolve she needed. She was still to damaged to what happened to Braeburn to be effective. Granted, losing a boyfriend or girlfriend under such circumstances would do that to a pony. Rainbow Dash took the week they had and prepared well for the coming fight. She spared with Summer a few times and read some of his books on old Equestrian fighting styles.
Trixie and Summer, on the other hoof, were busy with each other. He realized that she would have to up her game significantly if they were to stand a chance against Blood Diamonds and the Echelon. He took the week they had together to teach her more advanced formed of levitation and meditation for calming ones mind."These techniques are supposed to be only taught to actual students of fire-based magic," he had told her. "But given what we're up against, I don't think my old teacher would be likely to object."
"What was your teacher like?" Trixie had asked in curiosity. He'd told her a lot about his past. Maybe he would tell her more.
He was simply sitting there in front of his frozen reflection pond, levitating flaming pieces of wood. She had to admit. The way the fire's light reflected off of the ice was beautiful, and she did find it peaceful. She was careful to keep her focus as she imitated his technique minus the fire.
"He was old as dirt and wise as an owl," He gave himself a smile. "That's about as generic as I can get. But really, he was totally sane. He only took me under his tutelage because I wouldn't leave."
Trixie gave him a slight smile, "So you never quit?"
He went back to his stern expression. "Are you disappointed, Trixie?"
"There are worse qualities to have in a colt." Trixie offered him. He was actually surprised that she had warmed up to him like she did. Rainbow Dash had told him about the rather sordid details of how she and her friends met. Of how she made a big deal out of nothing and then went on to enslave a small town. Given all that, he was honestly shocked she stuck around him so much. Maybe it was just because they were both more or less broken, and if they were together, well... maybe they could be broken together.
They could both hear Rainbow Dash's grunting as she tried to master new forms of combat. He saw her earlier and, from what he could figure from the aggression of her moves, she was working on the way of manticore. It suited her.
After a week of subtle training and healing, of learning new techniques from the 24 year old mercenary, he thought that they were as ready as they were going to be. Ever since he'd met them, he had known that they were going to be the best chance that he had to save Equestria from his employers. He hadn't always done the right thing, no matter how much he wanted too. He needed to keep his cover in the Echelon for as long as possible, so he did some things he wasn't proud of. Even to his new friends, he had to hurt one of them to ensure that they had time to heal and prepare for the coming storm. The great irony was that they were the storm that was coming.
On day five, he told Rainbow Dash to put on her costume and meet him in front of the cabin. He then shot her with some of his magic and enchanted it. He must have put a lot of power in it because he was totally winded afterword. "I charmed it so Blood Diamonds won't be able to throw you around like a rag doll with her magic. You can still get shot, though." She believed him. when Trixie asked if he would charm her suit, he said no plainly. "You've already did a good enough job charming your suit, Trixie. And besides, you won't need anymore protection because I won't let them hurt you." He looked off into the distance when he said that, trying his best to hide the embarrassment of what he just said. Rainbow Dash only sighed sarcastically when he said that, but Trixie was visibly pleased. If those two survived the counter attack against the Echelon, Rainbow Dash wished them the best.

...

About an hour ago, he told the two mares to meet him in front of his barn. He'd told Rainbow Dash to wear what was left of her costume, but she really didn't know what he planned on doing. Maybe he was going to try to them a rousing speech or finally tell them what the plan was. Finally, he showed up in a different black jacket than the one he came here in. On the back, it had the face of an angry jack 'o lantern and he was wearing a new scarf with the orange and black they both had come to associate with his personal style.
"Rainbow Dash and Trixie," he knew he was going to end up sounding like he giving them an epic 'go ye, go ye and die' speech, but there was no was no way to avoid that connotation. "Things didn't go do so hot last time we fought." Neither of them looked really entertained. "But the thing is... they might not go so hot this time either." They were shocked by his brutal honesty. Hey, his old teacher always said if you want to get a message across, don't be subtle. Use a jack-hammer. "We are out ponied, out-gunned, and basically out everything. The Echelon probably has more than just King Sombras horn at their disposal. Plus, we are a colt down." He took a breath, then continued. "We lost Braeburn last time. To some of us, no, to most of us, that hurt more than any physical wound." He could see Rainbow Dash's eyes begin to fill with rage. Good. If she could control that, then they could use that. "But I'm not going to take this sitting down. I've waited for five months in that Celestia forsaken under-ground fortress for a few wide-eyes and crazy-plot ponies to try to swoop in to save the day." He gave them a smile that was made up of determination and anger. "Ain't no way I'm backing out now."
Rainbow Dash was looking bitterly to the side for past few moments, the last thing that he sad piqued her interest. "What are you saying?"
He turned around, giving the two mares a wry smile as he did so. "C'mon. I got something I wanna show you two," he said as he opened up the two great doors to the building they hadn't seen inside of all week. What they saw left them totally awe-struck.
Rainbow Dash looked at what laid within the barn on the mercenaries estate. He could see the look of excitement in both the mares eyes. They were going to enjoy the counter attack much more than they should. But hey, so was he. "Seriously?" the rainbow maned mare asked in astonishment.
"Seriously."