Journal of a Soldier

by SulliedInk

Journal

"Mom!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "How can you live here?! It's soooooo boring!" Her elder mother sighed. She walked over to the kitchen, and prepared a bowl of soup for her beloved daughter. They hadn't seen each other too often ever since her child joined the Wonderbolts. Upon that thought, the elder mare smiled. She thought of those days, long ago, when she ventured the world herself, trying to find her path in life.

"Well Dashie, some people just like the calm countryside," she replied. "Why don't you go through your old belongings and see if there's something valuable you'd like to bring on your trip." Exasperated, Rainbow Dash climbed the stairs to the second floor. Right before turning into her room, she noticed an old ladder leading to a moldy gate. The attic huh... Well, since I'm 'old enough' now, might as well take a peek. The young pegasus climbed the old, yet still sturdy ladder, and with a single hoof, pushed open the damp, rotten wood.

There was so much dust in there that Dash couldn't see anything. She promptly decided to flap her wings and clear some out. To her surprise, it worked. Rainbow went back downstairs to grab a lantern. Finally, she could explore this place long forbidden to the inner filly inside. Everything was covered in plastic. The walls had not aged well, but the contents of the room did. However, they were way too dusty to distinguish what it could have been. Rainbow Dash looked up. The ceiling was barely a meter and a half higher that she was. At the left end of the room however, was a leather-covered book, sitting on a perfectly preserved ebony podium.

Curious, Dash advanced towards the tome of leather, and found out it was actually a journal. When she opened the cover, the pegasus noticed initials smudged in damp ink. Something cracked behind her. Startled, Dash dropped the lantern. The light source was too tightly sealed to burst open. Rainbow swore she heard someone speak softly to her ear. Scared by her surreal environment, she grabbed her lantern, the book, and scrammed downstairs faster than a bolt of lightning.

Alone in her room, she opened the book once more. The pages had ages quite well, remaining legible yet cool enough to brag about. Rainbow Dash flipped through the pages. At the very end, someone's name was written; Dash Blade. Immediately, the mare recognized her father's name. That stupid asshole... I'll never forgive him for leaving mom like that! Unfortunately, curiosity took over, as she flipped back to page one, and began reading what appeared to be a journal of her father's journey.