Desires

by Skylight77

Chapter 2: Priorities

6 days ago:

With the wind breezing through her prismatic mane, Rainbow Dash felt the adrenaline rush through her body. She had been given a task to do, and she was not gonna let her friend down. Despite it being a simple task in theory, Twilight turned to one of the best fliers, if not ‘The’ best flier in all of Equestria to handle such a simple task.

“Guess she really wants Pinkie to get this medicine as soon as possible, time to turn up the speed.”

Rainbow Dash reached into the back of her coat, pulling out her special flight goggles, and placed them over her eyes. With the wind no longer beating against her eyes, she beat her wings harder, picking up her speed while having both hooves in front of her to help pierce through the air.

Rainbow Dash was flying just a few meters above the land of Equestria. A Mach cone was forming in front of her as she flew faster and faster. The path ahead had minimal obstacles in her way. She could fly low and fast without any problems.

With no pony or town in sight, Rainbow Dash was free to be as reckless as she wanted without the worry of bringing harm to anypony or Equestria. With this thought, she continued to increase her speed, beating her wings harder and faster. The Mach cone was forming even sharper.

Rainbow Dash always loved flying around and performing all sorts of techniques, but this was a chance to put all that training for the benefit of her friends.

The air continued pushing her back, even the small package she was carrying was slightly weighing her down, but she would not slow down. Adrenaline rushed through her body. Her wings were restless. They fought against the wind with all their might.

Practice makes perfect. Rainbow Dash had practiced this enough times to pull it off at her own will. Even now, the results of her training showed as the final barrier of the Mach cone formed.

*Bang!*

The Mach cone in front of her shattered and she burst through. She created a huge Rainboom explosion that marked her trail. The Sonic Rainboom she performed tore through the skies, crashing through the land, creating massive amounts of debris from rocks and dirt flying from its source. The clouds that were close by evaporated quickly as the rainbow spectrum sliced through them. Even those that were close to the spectrum vanished.

Rainbow Dash was flying at supersonic speeds towards her destination, leaving large dust trails trailing behind her, along with a rainbow trail forming from her path of flight, just meters above the ground. At this rate, she would get to Baltimare in no time.

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Rainbow Dash’s destination finally came into view. Her landing point was near the town center, as the hospital was close to that location. It was also a very open space to land in.

Rainbow Dash glided down effortlessly. Just before she came hitting the ground, Rainbow Dash immediately extended her wings to slow the fall. She landed hard, yet smoothly on all four hooves, kicking up dust as she impacted the ground. After she landed, she lifted her head up with pride, giving a joyous sigh.

“Phew, what a rush!”

With the sound barrier no longer broken, her surrounding sounds came back to her. But the sounds rushed very loudly. It was so loud, that it hurt her ears. It was as if an explosion had happened. But before she could react to the sound, a mob of ponies came rushing through her.

“Ough!” Before she knew it, a ton of ponies came running by in a rush, trampling on Rainbow Dash as they rushed by. There was so much dust in the air that she couldn’t see anything, but she felt many hooves stomping down on her.

The trampling ceased soon after it started. Rainbow Dash was lying on the ground, hoof out, wide eyes, and dazed from the sudden impact. She shook her head to regain her composure.

“What the?...” Rainbow Dash lifted her flight goggles from her eyes, looking towards the stampede that had occurred so suddenly. The ponies all gathered around the town center, where a large statue was present.

Getting back on her hooves, Rainbow Dash flew up overhead towards the crowd of ponies.

“Hey! What’s going on here?” Rainbow Dash tried to ask the crowd.

Due to the chattering of voices that were coming from these ponies, it was impossible for them to hear or notice her. They sounded like they were in a panic. She took a look at the statue. It appeared to be a triplet of cheerleaders, two standing on their hind legs, holding a third pony with one hoof each, while the third one was upside down.

Rainbow Dash could only catch a few choice words from the chattering crowd. Thief, Explosion, Three. She noticed that there was a hole at the center of the statue’s stand.

Suddenly, another shout came from above.

“I SEE THEM!” A pegasus pony from above shouted. The crowd of ponies silenced their chatter and looked above to where the pegasus was. “OVER THERE, HEADING TO THE FOREST!” Rainbow Dash saw the pegasus give chase in the direction she pointed.

“Hey Cloudchaser, wait up!” another pegasus from the crowd shouted, taking flight in order to catch up with her partner. They both flew off towards the direction of said forest.

Curiosity struck Rainbow Dash, so she decided to catch up to them and figure out what was going on. But she had to keep her speed steady as that Sonic Rainboom travel she initiated earlier took a lot out of her already.

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Catching up to the two pegasi, Rainbow Dash started recognizing them; Cloudchaser and Flitter, two pegasi who were identical in colors for greyish blue coats and white manes, but quite opposite mane styles. One had slightly darker colors while the other wore a pink bow in her mane.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash called out, flying nearby. “What's going on here?”

Flitter was the first to respond. “A trio of bandits robbed our town’s…” As Flitter turned her head to look at who was speaking, she also recognized who it was, before recognizing the voice. “Oh, Rainbow Dash? Hey! What brings you here?” Flitter said, as she rubbed her head. Cloudchaser turned her head as she heard the name.

“I could ask you guys the same thing,” Rainbow Dash responded. “I thought you two were on vacation.”

Cloudchaser gave an embarrassed chuckle before responding. “Hehe… yeah, we kind of were actually.”

“Then some goons decided to interrupt, so we’re here to teach them a lesson,” Flitter spoke, clasping her hooves together.

“Ah, defending a town you want to relax in huh?" Rainbow said, smirking with her hoof under her chin. "I like that."

“Working with you has really rubbed off on us, Rainbow Dash,” Cloudchaser responded.

Rainbow Dash knew these two always got along with each other so well, it was as if they were related. How awesome it would be to have a flying buddy like that 24/7, Rainbow Dash could only imagine. It's too bad everypony who was even close to her flying skills were always such jerks.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go catch up to these goons and teach them a lesson!” Rainbow Dash blurted. She increased her speed towards the direction the party was going.

“With you on are side, how can we possibly fail?” Flitter said, increasing her speed to keep up.

“Hey, wait up you guys, I started this party,” Cloudchaser said, increasing her speed as well.

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The party soon arrived at the forest’s entrance. They decided to descend closer to the ground while they searched the forest. There was already a path to follow, so while they followed the path, hovering just a few meters above ground, they discussed the situation.

“Okay, so what exactly are we dealing with here?” Rainbow asked.

“Diamond dogs-” Cloudchaser responded, pointing her hoof further down the path. “-three of them. I saw them making their escape to this forest.”

“If I remember correctly, the name of this forest is Hayseed,” Flitter said, rubbing her chin.

“Did you catch what they looked like?” Rainbow asked towards Cloudchaser.

“No, sorry,” Cloudchaser responded, bringing her head down in shame.

Rainbow Dash put herself in thought for a moment. “What exactly did they do anyway?” This thought had escaped her until now.

“They stole an artifact from the town’s center,” Flitter begun. “I-it was in that statue,… or, it was anyway, uh…” She cleared her throat. “We don’t know what it looked like, or what it was for, all we know is that it was some type of gem.”

Cloudchaser continued with the details as she spread some vines apart that were in their path. “Probably a very valuable one if it had to be hidden like that.” The other two pegasi passed through as she continued. “These dogs must’ve done their research if they were able to find it though.” She zipped through the vines after the other two passed by. “Understanding how that statue works is beyond me.”

“Well that settles it then; we search for these dogs, give em the boot, return the treasure, and celebrate over some bottles of stomach medicine!” Rainbow shouted.

“Yeah!” Both Flitter and Cloudchaser cheered, lifting their hooves in the air, but cheered all too short as their minds suddenly registered what Rainbow had said. “…Wait, huh?”

Rainbow’s ears perked up, catching the slightest hint of other voices. “I think I heard them, this way, come on!” She dashed off towards the voice’s direction.

Flitter and Cloudchaser looked at each other, slightly confused by Rainbow’s previous statement. But it didn’t sound important right now so they decided to shrug it off and just keep up.

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*Rustle, rustle…*

*Rustle, rustle…*

The trio of pegasi rushed through Hayseed Forest, pushing away the leaves and branches among their path. They were getting closer to their target. They could hear the voices in the forest become clearer as they closed in.

With one last push of the vines and branches in Hayseed, they came upon a clearing, where the three thieves were in plain sight. The clearing was spread out like a meadow, a large open space filled with a lot of sand.

“Gotcha!” Rainbow remarked.

The band of thieves already looked stunned before they were found. They immediately turned their attention towards the group of pegasi.

“They Found Us, Hide!” The one they assumed was their leader shouted. The trio of Diamond Dogs panicked and dove towards the ground, quickly digging themselves through.

“Stop Them!” Cloudchaser and Flitter shouted in unison. Rainbow Dash charged out of the forest’s foliage in chase of the thieves. Their digging caused a cloak of dust surrounding them. They disappeared from sight in this cloak. As Rainbow Dash reached the dust storm, it started to settle. The dogs had disappeared underground, and Rainbow Dash only met covered up grounds.

“Grr… Cowards!” Rainbow pouted as she stomped the ground, letting out a large exhale as she wiped a sweat off her head. The events of today had started showing their signs on her body.

These Diamond Dogs were notorious for being incredibly skilled diggers. They could dig themselves underground and cover up their digging at an incredibly fast rate.

“No, they got away?” Both Cloudchaser and Flitter said in unision, catching up to Rainbow Dash.

“Oh no, they’re not getting away from us!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, putting a hoof to her head to think of something.

“What are we gonna do?” Flitter asked. “At this rate, we’ll never reach them by digging.”

“Everypony huddle up!” Rainbow Dash ordered. “I’ve got an idea.”

The trio of pegasi put their heads together and their hooves over each other’s shoulders for a private conversation. Rainbow Dash whispered her plan to the twins. When the plan was told, they all disbanded.

“You think that’ll work?” Flitter asked.

“Of course it’ll work, since when has Rainbow Dash ever let us down?” Cloudchaser remarked.

“You bet your feathers it’ll work,” Rainbow boasted, placing her hoof on the goggles still on her head. “Flight goggles ready?” The other two pegasi each pulled out a pair of their own flight goggles that they had apparently had prepared as well.

“Check!” They each secured their flight goggles over their eyes. Most pegasi normally don’t always keep them on hoof whenever they left their homes, but these three had a special case today.

Rainbow Dash always loved flying, so she almost always had them around. Cloudchaser was training with her flying a lot lately due to an academy she was participating in, so Rainbow Dash assumed that’s why she kept them around today. As for Flitter, that was a mystery, but it must’ve had something to do with Cloudchaser. They were the best of friends after all.

Rainbow Dash placed her package on a nearby branch that would keep it held while the other two pegasi secured their flight goggles over their eyes. They each took flight towards their side of the formation. They spread themselves in a wide formation of what would otherwise look like a circle, if they had more pegasi with them.

Rainbow Dash studied the landscape, along with the position of her package, to note how best to handle the plan. The other two followed her lead until she was ready. Once she was positioned correctly, they began their operation.

Each pegasus started flying in a counter-clockwise motion. Their flying accelerated faster, and faster. The force of their wing power created powerful winds that picked up in their surrounding areas. Grass and dirt were being picked off the ground by the powerful winds that were forming.

Their tornado was working. The sands were being tossed around violently in all directions. If it weren’t for their flight goggles, they would have been receiving a lot of pain in their eyes right about now.

“*pant* keep up the pace, *pant* you two!” Rainbow Dash yelled in between breaths. She had proved from time and time again that she was an incredibly talented flier, but even a pegasus as great as her got exhausted eventually. A flight of traveling miles away from Ponyville was really showing its effect on her.

Rainbow Dash’s wings started weighing on her to the point where her speed practically matched both Flitter and Cloudchaser’s, but that didn’t stop her from being able to command them properly.

The tornado continued to dig up the meadow at a rapid pace.

“Aaahhhh!” The three Diamond Dogs’ screams could be heard. They soon came into sight, each one being lifted by the powerful winds that the pegasi had created. The thieves were helpless in their attempts to escape the tornado. Rainbow Dash awaited them to reach their altitude.

“Now!” Rainbow Dash commanded.

All three pegasi broke their flight pattern, each one darting towards each thief consequently. Rainbow’s hooves impacted the thief she targeted, using her force to dash out of the tornado. She aimed straight for the tree that had her package, slamming her captured thief into said tree.

The package that had rested securely on the branch had bounced right off upon impact. Rainbow Dash caught the package with her hoof, slipping the strap right through, all the while using her other hoof to keep her target at bay, never taking her eyes off of him. This dog was terrified. He held his arms over his face.

“Ahh! P-please, don’t hurt me! I-I give up!” The thief hesitantly stuttered.

Rainbow Dash smiled in pride at this remark, she had succeeded in her task.

______________________________________________________________________________

The trio of pegasi had gathered the thieves toward the center of the meadow, which now held a massive crater due to all the sand being dug out by the tornado. The pegasi surrounded their surroundings, each pegasus keeping an eye on one thief.

Cloudchaser and Flitter kept their pawns at bay while Rainbow Dash interrogated their leader. Now that they had been caught, it was time to retrieve the town’s stolen treasure.

The events of today had obviously made Rainbow Dash exhausted, as she was panting quite heavily compared to Flitter and Cloudchaser. They wondered why Rainbow Dash was so tired out from just creating a tornado, but they decided against questioning her. They had more important matters at hoof.

The three Diamond Dogs they encountered weren’t the same ones Rainbow Dash had encountered with her other friends a long time ago. They were different from the ones that had pony napped Rarity, but they did look similar in the way of clothing. Their vests were similar in design, but different in color. One was brown, another was blue, and their leader wore black.

The pegasi gasped when they heard sudden unfortunate news.

“*pant*, *pant* what, *pant* what do you mean you don’t have it?” Rainbow Dash asked as her sweat slid down her forehead.

“Are you sure these are the same dogs Cloudchaser?” Flitter asked to Cloudchaser.

“Yes, I’m positive, they must be lying,” Cloudchaser responded.

“We’re not lying, we did have it, but-“ The thieves’ leader started before getting cut off.

“So then what happened to it?!” Rainbow said, getting up to the leader’s face. “You didn’t drop it on your way here, did you?” Despite her sweating, she could still appear very menacing to the thief.

“No!” he responded, waving his arms in front of him. “It was taken from us.”

Upon hearing this, Rainbow backed down and gave them their space. “Go on…”

“A pony, like you, took it from us,” he started.

“You mean another pegasus got to you before we did? No way, we didn’t see anypony else before getting here,” Rainbow stated.

“He's not lying," one of the other bandits stated. "When that pony took it from us, the pony flew off that way,” the Diamond Dog finished while pointing in the direction he was referring to. The three pegasi followed their gaze towards said direction.

“Baltimare’s not in that direction,” Cloudchaser said. “I think this might be another thief we’re dealing with here.”

Rainbow Dash shifted her gaze back to the Diamond Dog leader. “Okay buster, talk, what did this pegasus look like?” she threatened.

“Well…” He started. Despite Rainbow Dash’s exhaustion, this Diamond Dog was probably sweating more than she was. The thief tried hard to remember the pony that had attacked them.

“She was brown, lightish brown. She had red hair… I-I think her eyes were green. Er… her hair was straight overhead. Her tail was long and thin… oh, and she was wearing a red collar around her neck…”

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Current day:

“I remember,” Rainbow Dash started, “that was when I first heard about you,” she stated as she pointed towards the silhouette in front of her, the pegasus she was now questioning.

It seemed like she was now ready to tell about what she could recall about that moment. Whether it would give them answers, Rainbow Dash didn’t know. But they had to start somewhere.

While the story was being told, Fluttershy looked around somewhere. But she made sure to follow along with the story.

Author's Note:

Now that this chapter is over, the story is gonna switch its focus back to the OC of this story. So yeah, things might be slow or less interesting for some people now, but I gotta get some back story out of the way.

Next Chapter: The Mysterious Pegasus.

Comments

[BabySkittleMonster]

Ooh, mysterious...