• Published 1st Dec 2015
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One Wing, One Heart - Manaphy



Rainbow Dash recounts her story as a soldier during the Crystal War.

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Log I: Failed Ambush

As a filly, I was always told that Equestria was a land of peace and harmony. Such claims made sense back then, especially given the bright colors everywhere coupled with the smiles almost everypony wore. And for those who weren't smiling, they ended up adopting a grin the next day or the day after. Not a minute went by without bumping into somepony who was filled with joy, and it wasn't that fake, creepy joy as well. It was genuine, awesome, and among the best moments of my life.

There was just one problem about the first statement, the one about Equestria representing peace and harmony.

That claim was a big, fat lie.

Peace and harmony didn't explain where I'd found myself, stuck in the middle of a deep trench with a warehouse controlled by brainwashed nuts who'd gleefully jab a sword through my throat. Just thinking about meeting the wrong side of a blade or arrow raised the hairs of my coat, my throat tightening on instinct. It's one of those inevitable truths us soldiers in the fight against Sombra learned long ago; while you'd become smarter and more aware of your surroundings, your fears would shine through whether you wanted them to or not.

At least I'm not alone or dying. I don't know what I'd do if that happened.

A gentle tap on my shoulder broke my train of thought. I shuddered for a moment, quickly glancing behind my shoulder to find Lightning Dust with her usual cocky grin. Covering her left eye was a patch and protruding from her mouth was a stalk of hay. Both served no real purpose, given that Lightning never had any vision problems. Whenever pressed by her comrades, she'd brag about how awesome it made her look.

Sometimes, I just wanted to drive my hoof right into her cheek.

"Hey, Dashie," Lightning teased. Her eyebrows wiggled for a moment. "Nervous?"

I groaned; everypony knew I loathed being called Dashie, especially Lightning. "We're supposed to raid this camp, capture it, and bring the supplies back to help with the war effort," I said. "Of course I'm nervous. Ya can be cool and nervous at the same time."

"Don't be nervous." Lightning cracked a slight smile, chuckles leaving her mouth. "You and I are the best soldiers in Celestia's army. We'll kick the asses of anypony who gets in our way. All we have to do is charge right at their front door, punch a few guards or take off their helmets, and replace that ugly looking flag with ours." Lightning excitedly rubbed her hooves together; I just arched an eyebrow and cocked my head. "It's perfect."

"It's stupid," another voice responded.

That voice undoubtedly belonged to Fleetfoot, one of the few soldiers who spent more than a minute's worth of time with me whenever we rested in the barracks. While that was partly due to our tents being only a few hoofsteps away, it was nice to have somepony to share my feelings with. Something about making eye contact with her warmed my heart as well. Maybe it was the aforementioned thing about her being the only one who even tried cheering me up, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

But she wasn't wearing a slight smile at this moment; she had a scowl fiercer than a hydra's on her face.

"Lightning Dust, you know that will get us all killed," Fleetfoot continued. She placed her hoof on the trench's snow-covered wall. "Remember what our spies told us about this place?"

Lightning shrugged.

"Don't tell me you weren't paying attention."

Neither Lightning nor I said a peep. I listened to the reports; I valued my life and my body, and Fleetfoot knew this just by glancing at me. Lightning, however, was different. I couldn't say I was surprised by this turn of events.

A sigh left Fleetfoot's lips. She rolled her eyes. "Great. Now I have to do all of the explaining." She cleared her throat. "See, the stronghold not far from this trench is surrounded by watchtowers, all of them equipped with searchlights. If they spot anything suspicious or hostile, the guards will immediately know and come brandishing weapons."

"And how will the guards be fooled?"

"According to the reports, they don't have the longest memory out there. Something about the spell they're under."

"Yeah," I concurred. "Remember when we captured one of the guards? He had no idea where he was and spilled the beans right there. It was—so weird."

Come to think of it, almost all of the guards working for Sombra were unusual. Everypony we captured and interrogated welcomed us as saviors, almost as though they never meant to join Sombra's forces in the first place. I knew there was some manipulation being involved when it came to the Crystal Empire's army, but never had I expected outright brainwashing. The taste of bitter vomit touched my tongue for a moment; I wish I didn't know or remember that detail. If the war wasn't distressing enough, Sombra found a way.

And we all loathed him for it.

"Well, we should take a page from Captain Spitfire," Fleetfoot continued. "She—"

"Spitfire?" Lightning interrupted, forelegs stretched out. "You want us to follow that weakling's example?"

"Weakling?" Stepping back, Fleetfoot pursed her lips. She tilted her head. "Spitfire isn't weak. She's smart, strong, and one of the reasons we're still in this fight, remember? Her and the Pie sisters are the reason we haven't surrendered yet."

"Yeah, but she's always struggled when it came to fighting. Heck, she's stuck in the barracks because she was knocked out during one skirmish, somehow landing with the other Equestrian soldiers as some dragged her back to the barracks. She was out for a few hours, too. Honestly, if somepony gets knocked unconscious that easily, they're not tough enough for the job."

"But Spitfire's strategies are the reason you're still alive, idiot." Fleetfoot's cheeks flushed, eyes widened. "We had to do a rescue mission to save your sorry hide, and thanks to her planning, we didn't suffer a single casualty."

"Look at you, bragging for somepony else."

"Lightning Dust," I murmured. "Why do ya hate Spitfire so much?"

"It's because I should be captain and not her. She's only there because she was Captain of the Wonderbolts before the war started, and when push comes to shove, the Third Aerial Corps need somepony who can fight, be awesome, and lead Equestria to certain victory. That pony is me, and you all know it." Lightning pressed both of her hooves on the trench's walls and peeked at the citadel. "Watch and learn you—"

Twitching, I grabbed onto Lightning's tail and shoved her back to the earth. My quick reflexes then shifted my hooves around to where I was pinning her, Lightning squirming about with a scrunched muzzle and dilated, bloodshot eyes. My heart was pounding to where it dominated everything I heard, but I still made out Lightning's grunts and mumbled curse words.

"Let me go, Dashie," Lightning said. She clenched her teeth and groaned.

I shook my head. "I'll only let you go if you sit down and stop acting like a moron."

Just like that, Lightning's limbs froze in place. I cracked a smile and exhaled, letting go of her and shaking my aching forelegs. There was another thing I learned during the war, keeping a pony stuck in place was taxing work and something that was far from enjoyable. It wasn't one of those playtime wrestling things some foals did as children back in the day, either. It was a struggle, one that wasn't radical.

"Okay, I'll listen," Lightning muttered as she panted. "But if the rest of the ponies here think I'm smarter, we're gonna go with my plan, okay?"

I paused for a moment. Scanning the rest of the trench, I noticed a few other unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies with us; they totaled about nine in all, with Lightning, Fleetfoot, and I bringing the complete count to twelve. I never knew their names or met them before, but they all seemed nice and were supposedly seasoned fighters. Well, one requires combat expertise in order for a mission of this magnitude.

"Listen up," Fleetfoot said. "We'll sneak through the trenches and freeze in place should a spotlight approach us. If the spies are correct, there should be a blind spot located at the back of the fortress with a secret entrance located on the ground. Supposedly, it was due to cost-cutting, but we can't be too careful, as it might be a trap." She caught her breath, a white mist leaving her mouth. "However, stealth and exploiting that design flaw might be our best bet in capturing the fortress. There's about twenty guards stationed there, too, all of varying skill level. It shouldn't be a problem if we stick together."

"But we're just fighting them, anyway," Lightning said with her hoof raised. "Why not do my idea and just charge at the place, bayonets pointing right at them?"

"Because that's how we get slaughtered."

Lightning stepped back. She shrugged.

"As I was saying, we can either do my idea or Lightning Dust's idea."

"I'm with Fleetfoot," I said. "She's got the right idea, and this is coming from somepony who loves to show off."

Such a claim was true. I loved displaying my flying skills whenever I could, particularly in the training centers where I'd perform all sorts of feats and tricks, ones that the Wonderbolts would often perform before the war. They always put a slight smirk on my face and I'd blather on about them for hours at a time. I honestly don't know what I'd do without my wings.

"I'm with Fleetfoot, too," a fellow soldier said. "I actually wanna live, you know?"

The rest of the ponies present nodded in unison, all except for Lightning.

"It's eleven to twelve for Fleetfoot's plan," I said, trudging toward Lightning as she crept backwards. "So are ya with us or not? And don't think about doing your own thing." My brow furrowed, muzzle scrunched. "Ya know what the punishment for treason is."

Lightning groaned. "Fine, I'll come along. Just don't come crying to me if my plan was the better one." She paused and her posture perked up. A mischievous smile adorned her visage. "In fact, go ahead and come crying to me once I'm promoted to captain. Then I'll be more than okay with it."

Everypony else, including me, donned a bemused expression. The war had taken its toll on everypony's unity, after all. Some tried getting others to work together while others advocated a different path. Sometimes, I wondered if our greatest enemy wasn't King Sombra, but ourselves.

"Look, let's head out now and watch our steps," said Fleetfoot. She trotted past me and ruffled her wings, then motioned a hoof. "Don't stray too far behind. You know that the watchtowers are quite quick when it comes to surveying the environment, so the sooner we get this done the better."

I nodded, catching up to Fleetfoot and trotting right beside her. Lightning and the others trudged behind us, sploshing sounds as out hooves dug into the wet snow reaching my ears. My wings twitched a little, eager to get flying and cover more ground quicker, though I was more than aware that would be like throwing my life away. I hated sluggishness, but for once, slow and steady would win us the race.

At least I wasn't blushing with a deep frown across my face. The same couldn't be said for Lightning as she gazed down at the white snow beneath her, mumbling what had to have been foul language under her breath. That was classic Lightning Dust, however, letting the worst thoughts leave her mouth and thinking nopony could hear her. If a bat pony were right beside her, Lightning would get a swift knock on the head for what must've been insults.

She'd shut up soon enough.

And I knew why she'd close those dirty lips of hers. It wasn't because of the spotlights.

Trudging through the trenches was about as effortless as napping, though I'd rather be doing the latter than the former. Whenever a spotlight came toward us, we'd all freeze as though our limbs turned to concrete. We held our breaths for quite a long time whenever the spotlights passed by. Yet, despite the copious amounts of sweat dripping down my mane, not once did any of the soldiers relay a signal or activate the alarm.

The loudest thing in the environment wasn't our hoofsteps or the crystal ponies inhabiting the fortress.

It was my beating heart. The thumping echoed into my ears; I thought my chest would burst open at some points. However, I knew fleeing the scene would just get us killed anyway. I bit my lip as I soldiered along, knowing there was no turning back. If the other ponies weren't armed and were actually friends, this would've been fun. Maybe it'd be a special game I'd have played with little Scootaloo if things turned out well.

Though this was the most dangerous game I was playing. Everypony was silent, even Lightning, not a whisper leaving their mouths.

By some miracle, we were all in the blind spot, no spotlights coming in contact with us as the backdoor was just a few short hops away. I took a deep breath, wiping my brow as I looked back at the rest of the unit. The faintest of smiles across everypony's lips told the same story.

"Can we promise each other to never do that again?" Lightning whispered. She trotted up to Fleetfoot and playfully jabbed her shoulder. "Honestly, I thought I was gonna have a stroke by the time this was all over. Well, either that or I'd get shot by a magic beam." She faintly chuckled, though I knew it was forced. "Both sound like bad outcomes."

"So the backdoor should be somewhere around—" Fleetfoot cut herself off, glancing down at a red and gray hatch affixed to the ground "—right here, actually." She ruffled her wings and rubbed her muzzle. "Is it even unlocked?"

"We've got the firepower to fix that."

I thrust my hoof toward Lightning, its tip missing her lips by inches. "Let's not get carried away," I muttered. "We're not out of this yet. Do ya wanna make a scene now of all times or what?"

With pale cheeks, Lightning violently shook her head.

"I thought so."

Fleetfoot grabbed onto the latch's handle, twisting it counterclockwise as a clicking sound pierced the air. Pulling up, the backdoor opened, the creaks emitted from its hinges sounding worse than a screeching cockatrice. I covered my ears and clenched my teeth as the door opened ever so slightly. Any faster and it probably would've alerted the guards.

After a few seconds of agony, the passage was open. Lightning tried to swoop inside, only for Fleetfoot's foreleg to block her.

"What are you doing?" Lightning scolded. She furrowed her brow, steam emitting from her nostrils. "The door's right there, idiot."

"Does it strike you as odd that the door was already unlocked?" asked Fleetfoot. "Why would an entrance to an important fortress be unlocked and unguarded?"

My throat tightened in an instant. Already, I had this tingling sensation in my chest. They always came when I was especially nervous about something, the last time it happened being when news of the war spread throughout Equestria and interrupted our normally happy lives. My gut instinct has a penchant for being right. Sometimes, I wish it'd shut up or be wrong about something for once.

"It's a trap, isn't it?" I whispered. Pursing my lips, I peeked into the hatch. A dimly lit hallway ran toward the fortress itself. Yet there was nothing out of the ordinary as far as I could tell. No clear traps for anypony to step on and no holes for archers to peer through and shoot down anypony who wasn't on their side. In fact, it looked like any old hallway. The only things that were off were the scents escaping its maw.

I couldn't even tell what the scents were, let alone what they smelled like. All I knew for certain was that the inside of my nostrils seemed as though they were lit aflame. I cringed, then turned toward Fleetfoot and Lightning. Both of them expressed varying degrees of disgust, as did the rest of the unit with one unicorn looking like he was on the verge of puking.

"Do we really have to do this?" I weakly asked, frantically shaking my head around for any fresh air.

"Well, Princess Celestia did give the order," said Fleetfoot. She sighed and then trembled in place. "Well, looks like we have no choice but to head on through. It's not like the other routes are any better." She paused. "But even though they may not know we're right at the backdoor, we should watch our step. They might have some soldiers stationed at the end or may learn of our arrival." Fleetfoot stepped on the descending staircase; she motioned to the rest of the soldiers. "Spread out if you can, but don't stray too far behind."

We all nodded together, though Lightning pouted through it all. We then descended down the stairs and into the unknown. The pony bringing up the rear closed the hatch inch by inch until it was secure. With everything in place, our journey into the foe's establishment truly began. My heart was pounding faster than ever.

Nothing came.

The pungent aromas grew stronger the longer we trotted.

Nothing came.

Fleetfoot glanced back at me, looking ready to pass out.

Nothing came.

Nothing after nothing surrounded us. All we had were concrete walls.

That was until a rusted door awaited us on the other side. It looked about ready to fall apart at any moment. Maybe they were doing some disgusting science experiments in there. After all, the door had plenty of warning signs adorning it. And said science experiments were probably more advanced and confusing than the awesome ones I performed in school during science class.

As a filly, warning signs were typically invitations to check out whatever rested behind the door.

But even I knew doing so would be stupid. I just hoped that—

Lightning opened the door without hesitating and trotted inside. Fleetfoot's pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks while I merely gritted my teeth. If this came back to bite us, I promised myself I'd never let Lightning hear the end of it if we both made it out alive.

"A storage facility?" Lightning mumbled. She scanned the area as did everypony else. "How odd."

Kept hidden from the eyes of onlookers were a long series of metal containers, all labeled with some faded word that I couldn't make out. At least half of them were rotting away and likely to release whatever chewed away at its surface. The desks with flasks and beakers were completely abandoned and notebooks were torn to shreds. Whatever went on must've been sickening. My mind relayed question after question, though as I rubbed the top of my head, only one thought prevailed over the rest.

"Why would King Sombra need this stuff?" I asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Fleetfoot. "Either way, I think we can rule out food being stored in this fortress. I doubt you could even grow anything with this hunk of rotting metal nearby." She glanced down at the tiled floor beneath her, picking up a piece of paper underneath her hoof. "Hmm." She gasped. "Sombra's planning something downright crazy."

"What is it?"

"Written on this sheet of paper is a note to prepare for invading the Changeling Hive."

I cocked my head. "Seriously? Everypony knows the changelings are among the most ruthless warriors in all of Equestria. Their queen loves fighting as much as I love flying. Sombra sending his forces over there as well would totally doom his chances at winning the war."

"Precisely. He'd run out of supplies well before he even made a dent into their borders. In fact, the changelings would decimate his armies if he got careless enough. But Sombra isn't stupid. He has to be planning something, but what?"

"Does it say on the note?"

"No, it just says that Sombra is sending this pony over to the Changeling Hive to commence an invasion. No details are given other than that. It must be how he keeps track of who he sends and who stays behind in the fortress. There is a month separating now from the proposed invasion, so we'll probably have to stop him before then."

Rubbing my eyes, I trotted closer to Fleetfoot. "Do we even have a chance at stopping him?"

Fleetfoot shrugged. "We're already at our limit and so is Sombra. If by some miracle we can put a dent into his operations, we can win the war before then, but at a great cost. I don't like our odds, however. The moment the changelings get involved, their queen will want to bring the fight to us, and we'd stand no chance after all we've been through so far."

"Figures." I gritted my teeth. "Well, since there's no food around here, maybe we should head back to the barracks and let Princess Celestia know what we've found."

"Show yourselves!" a cacophonous voice shouted from afar.

Gulping, I turned toward the voice's source. Approaching us were a group of Sombra's soldiers, all clad in armor with a sinister glow where their eyes were supposed to be. More of them kept arriving until I counted about twenty in all. Why they'd all come to the battle and leave the rest of the fortress unguarded was beyond me, especially since Sombra was known to be pulling the strings on these ponies, but questioning could wait.

I had to fight now.

No other words left anypony's mouth as we charged at each other.

Tackling one of Sombra's guards, we rolled in tandem before stopping near one of the containers. I raised my foreleg up, thrusting my hoof into the foe's jaw. A sickening crack had split the air.

The guard winced, though he pushed me off a second later. I crashed on my back, pushing myself upright as I saw the metallic soldier galloping at me.

I leaped out of the way. The crystal pony barreled past me and narrowly missed one of the containers.

Without warning, two forelegs wrapped around my waist, the armor's cold and sharp texture digging into my coat. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed another soldier behind me. My throat tightened, knowing where this was all headed.

The crystal pony from before had dashed at me like a bull once more. I closed my eyes, only to discover the forelegs around me no longer there and stabbing my waist.

In the blink of an eye, I narrowly dodged the oncoming fighter and bashed the enemy in the back of the head. The armored pony fell to the ground not a second later.

Fleetfoot flew right next to me and our shoulders rubbed against each other for the briefest of moments. We stepped back, both of us planning our next moves as the chaos around us unfolded. I spotted one of Sombra's soldiers doing the same, the green glow in his eyes flashing when we made eye contact.

Without warning, one of Sombra's soldiers fired a magic beam.

The pinkish magic flew across the room and struck one of the containers to the right.

Everything stopped in an instant.

And then, light filled the room. A deafening boom followed, my ears ringing the second before everything turned black.

Aches coursed throughout my body, especially in my ears and my left wing. I felt a wet ooze seeping down the latter. Tears welled up in my eyes as everything was a hazy, orange inferno. The wretched scents from before vanished in an instant, all replaced by the aroma of ashes and burning flesh.

I blinked.

A heartbeat later, I crawled to where Fleetfoot was. Surprisingly, there wasn't a scratch on her, though some of the ashes trickled down on her silver mane. Yet she was motionless with her eyes closed. I stretched my foreleg out to her with every last ounce of strength I had left. Touching her chest, I sensed her heart beating normally.

At least Fleetfoot was alive.

A metal rod narrowly missed Lightning, sweat pouring down her face and her eyes the size of dinner plates. Her chest expanded and contracted at a quick pace. What mattered most was that she was also among the living. The fewer ponies hurt, the better. If the debris ended up a few inches to the left or to the right, she'd be skewered.

Two of our fellow soldiers and a dazed crystal pony also stammered to their hooves, the latter's helmet removed and his cheeks pale. I couldn't make out a word he was muttering, but his pupils were darting around as he scanned the environment. Chances were that he had no idea where he was or even what happened.

Nopony else had luck on their side, however. The rest of them were either crushed or impaled by the debris or had no life in their eyes.

I slowly glanced down at the floor.

I wished I hadn't.

Below me was my left wing, completely sheared off. A large chunk of my ear was there as well, the cries and grinding of metal muffled as they pierced my eardrums. My cheeks turned green at the sight, but I couldn't find the strength in me to throw up. For once, I wanted to regurgitate, just to get the awful taste out of my mouth.

It was the last thing I wanted to see; my worst nightmare was playing out before me.

"This can't be real," I murmured weakly. "My wing is—" The world spiraled out of control for a bit. Rapid heartbeats filled my ears. "This has to be a dream. Please let this be a dream."

The cloudy skies above me were visible once more. There was a clear path toward where the front door used to be, though it too was damaged by the explosion. The more I surveyed the architectural carnage, the more I couldn't help but wonder how some of us were still alive, Fleetfoot especially lucky.

It looked like we were the only ones left.

Lightning tried scouting the wreckage for any sings of medical equipment, but after a minute of searching, she shrugged and came up with nothing. The downcast expression she worse told the whole story. The others were just as unlucky. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, hoping my wound would heal up and that the searing pain would vanish.

Hastily picking up the unconscious Fleetfoot, I placed her on my back and trudged out of the wildfire, not looking back at my dismembered wing or the corpses which covered most of the laboratory. All that mattered now was getting everypony back to the barracks. I didn't even care if I survived the trip or not.

My friends arriving safely were most important.

With the crackling flames becoming dimmer the further I crawled away from the scene, I glanced at the snow and visualized our return trip. It was just retracing my steps, simple enough as far as I was concerned, though my injuries exponentially made it more difficult. So much was gone. My heart twinged the more I thought about it.

"Please let this be a dream," I muttered once more.

I knew I was wrong.