War over the Sun

by starfox64x

Ch 7. Wash Away the Hate.

War over the sun Ch 7

A cheerful whistling could be heard for miles around Sweet Apple Acres. An orange pony was pulling a cart of apples up toward the barn, obviously happy with her day’s harvest. Her big brother and little sister were off in town somewhere while she worked the fields for the day. She was off in her own little world, enjoying her work like she always seemed to, but a familiar voice caught her off guard.

“APPLEJACK! APPLEJAAAACK!” the little yellow filly, and Applejack’s sister, Applebloom came running up to her in a hurry, but Applejack just smiled, not think much of her easily excitable sister’s cries.

“Hey there Applebloom, I thought you and your friends were out and about today look for y’all’s cutie marks.” it wasn’t anything new, they always seemed to be doing that. But she quickly noticed her little sisters pained expression.

“Rainbow Dash is in the hospital! She’s hurtin’ real bad! You gotta come quick!” Applebloom couldn’t stand still, she was so unnerved by what she had heard she couldn’t stop bouncing around, trying to get her sister to hurry and come with her.

“Rainbow’s hurt? H-hold on sis, let me get this up the hill and you can lead the way.” She put all her strength into pulling the cart up the hill, rolling it into the barn and unstrapping herself in mere seconds. She locked the barn door before running at top speed toward the hospital. She didn’t even hear her little sister calling for her to wait for her as she fell behind the much faster mare.

It didn’t take long for Applejack to get to the hospital. She demanded to know where her friend was, startling the nurse, “Where’s Rainbow Dash? Is she okay? What happened?”

The nurse moved back slightly, intimidated by demanding questions, “I-I need you to calm down miss, your friend in fine.”

“y-you’re right, I’m sorry miss. Where is she?” she asked in a much kinder tone.

“Upstairs, third door on the left.”

“Thank you kindly miss.” She rushed up the stairs and barged in through the door, spotting her blue friend in the bed.

Rainbow was half awake at the time, but when her friend slammed open the door it shocked her a bit, sending her heart rate skyrocketing for a moment. The heartbeat monitor began to beep rapidly, but once Dash got a goo look at the intruder she began to relax, “Applejack, it’s you… heh, you scared me there for a sec.” Applejack looked her over, seeing her wing bandaged up, her hind leg in a cast and various bandages covering her body, a slight redness bleeding through to the outer layers. Rainbow Dash could see the concern in her friend’s eyes and the stunned look covered her face, “Hey, I’m okay… It’s me we’re talking about here, I’ve broken the sound barrier dozen of times and crashed into houses at top speed… no need to worry…” she smiled, hoping her friend wouldn’t worry so much about her.

“What in Celestia’s name happened to ya, Rainbow?” she asked, approaching her side, unable to stop herself from looking at the damage that ran across her body.

“I… saw some dragons on the way here…” it seemed she wasn’t oto eager to explain her story. She was still shaking from her thoughts just before she was rescued, and now she had a friend here that she knew would freak out once she explained her story to her, “they were just a little bigger than me, and… I got into a fight with them.”

“You FOUGHT with DRAGONS? As in more than one? BY YOURSELF?” Applejack stared at her for a moment, stunned by her story.

“Hey! I’m still here, I handled it, heh…” she let out a dry laugh, and a fake smile. Although deep inside she knew she wouldn’t have lasted much longer if they pegasi hadn’t arrived. She shivered a little at the feeling she had in her gut. The thought that she was about to die.

“Rainbow you…” she gripped her head with her hooves, trying to contain her frustration, “You featherbrained moron!” she snapped at her, “You could have DIED! You thought you could just waltz up to a pair of dragons a-and try to take them on yourself?”

“It… was actually three…” she explained, although it didn’t seem to help.

“THREE? Rainbow are you losing you mind? What the hay were you thinkin’? Applejack was furious with her friend and her foolishness, her temper was flaring, but even under the circumstances she seemed to be holding back.

“I… I don’t know. I thought I could take them…”

“You weren’t thinking at all! Your recklessness almost got you killed, you know that?” outside doctors and nurses gathered, silently watching them. They weren’t sure what to do, from what they heard the yelling seemed justified, but if things got out of control they wanted to be close to help.

Dash lowered her head, quietly letting out a soft ‘yes’ to her question.

“Wait… you do?” Applejack was a bit surprised by the response… something actually got through Rainbow Dash’s thick skull? It was unheard of, and it caused her to stop yelling for a moment.

“Yes… I know I could’ve died out there… I almost did…” she began to sniffle, her body shaking, “they almost killed me… they were about to tear me apart. He was going to clip my wings and break my legs just to watch me crawl away before he was gonna kill me. I was so scared Applejack.” she began to sob louder now, letting the tears fall down, “I was so scared. They were about the kill me, I was going to die. I was so scared Applejack.”

AJ felt her heart drop at the sigh of her friend crying. It was enough to make her own eyes well up with tears, “Hey, it’s okay… you’re okay now, you’re safe… your friends are here and there not a thing in the world that could hurt you right now.” Applejack leaned close, pulling her weeping friend into a hug. She graciously accepted it and held her close, sobbing into her shoulder. The crowd departed slowly, seeing the situation had calmed down considerably. The last one to leave closed the door, giving the two friends time together without any interruptions.

Spike stepped back from his handiwork, smiling at the book case, “There! All done!” every book was placed neatly into the shelves, packed just tightly enough to keep them straight, but just loose enough to be pulled out easily for a quick read. They all sat in alphabetical order by author, followed by title. He couldn’t help but be proud of his achievement, even though he was sure when Twilight got back she would immediately take out a dozen books to read and then immediately forget to put them back where they belonged. “How can such a neat freak be so distractible?” he mumbled to himself, going over to check off ‘organize bookcase’ on his checklist. It was a habit that Twilight had gotten him use to, but he did find them to be quite useful in the long run. He wasn’t nearly as detailed as twilight, like double checking the triple checked checklist of all previous checklists, which WAS actually listed in a checklist of hers… He couldn’t help but think of how long that particular day dragged on…

He stroked a check with his quill by the box, moving onto the next piece, “Make sure Owloysius food bowl is filled.” He mumbled, taking a look over by the window. Their pet owl was still fast asleep, it was much too early for him to wake, and his food bowl was still full from earlier, “Okay, check that too… and… That’s all… wow… I never noticed how little I have to do around here when Twilight’s around…” he put down the quill, sighing softly, “I miss Twilight…”

The door suddenly swung open, with three little ponies in the doorway, “Spike! Spike! Come quick! Rainbow Dash is hurt!” they all said in unison.

“What? What happened???” he called out, running to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, “Where is she?”

“Come on!” Sweetie Belle ordered, already beginning to turn back around, “She’s at the hospital! We’re headed there now!” the three girls began to run, with Spike close behind them. His first thought was of Twilight. He cared for Rainbow Dash, but at least he knew where she was. He couldn’t help but think that a fight occurred, and Rainbow Dash might be the lone survivor. Why else would she be here in Ponyville without the others? Where had everyone else gone? What happened to them? These questions rattled around in his mind until they all rushed into Rainbow’s hospital room.

She had calmed down considerably from before, now relaxing against her pillow with Applejack still by her side, “There you are Apple Bloom… I see you brought your friends,” she looked around, noticing spike right behind them, “Hey there Spike, she went and got you too?”

Spike ignored Applejack for the moment, hopping up onto the foot of Rainbow’s bed, “Rainbow Dash! Are you alright? What happened? Where are the others?”

Dash was a bit surprised by his sudden bombardment of questions, but she calmly answered them all, “I’m fine spike… The other’s are in still Apploosa … I went on ahead to deliver a message to Celestia… but I got into some trouble…” her voice withered away at the end, looking off to the side a bit.

“Oh thank goodness…” Spike mumbled, happy to hear the others were okay, “oh, i-I-I’m glad you’re okay too Rainbow! What happened though?”

Applejack feared another breakdown was coming their way if she started to answer his question, and she didn’t want the children to see their role model for being brave and tough to break down, so she interrupted, “Maybe we could let her rest… everyone is okay now, so lets just all let her rest a bit.”

Rainbow smiled at her friend, she knew what she was trying to do. “It’s okay, I’ll tell them… I got attacked by some dragons…” she replied simply.

“DRAGONS???” Everyone seemed to say at the same time. The girls joined Spike on the bed, staring in disbelief.

“A real live dragon?” Scootaloo seemed to be the most curious about this new information.

Dash gave her a nod, “Yeah… I gave them a good whack in the head and showed them who’s boss… but they roughed my feathers a bit during the fight.” She smiled, putting on a brave face as she thrusted her hooves forward, punching an invisible dragon.

“WOW! You’re SO AWESOME Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo seemed the most impressed, bouncing around in her seat, “I bet you knocked them clear across Equestria, Didn’t you?”

Dash chuckled, deciding to embellish her story a bit for the sake of the kids, “Yeah… I sure did! You should’ve seen them running away once I showed them a thing or two.”

“I bet they were HUGE!”

“Bigger than a house!” she laughed again, seemingly normal with the kids around.

“Hey uh, Rainbow Dash, you said you had to deliver something to the princess, right?” Spike hated to interrupt the… amazing tale of awesomeness… but he knew that there were important things to be done.

“Oh! Yeah, I’m going to have to leave here soon to finish the delivery.”

Applejack quickly put a hoof on her shoulder, “Oh no you ain’t! you’re in no condition to fly across the hallway! Let alone to Canterlot! You are staying right here!”

Even injured, Dash was still stubborn, “I’m not that bad! A couple hours and I’ll be good as new! I just need a nap, that’s all.”

“I kinda agree with Applejack.” Spike quickly stated before an argument could ensue, “you really shouldn’t fly for a couple days at least…”

“Look, we need a letter delivered to the princess and I’m going to do it! The reason I took this job was because you weren’t around and we needed a letter delivered quickly! And being the fastest pony in all of Equestria, it is my sworn duty to do my best to aid my friend when they need me! To uphold the honor o-“

“Uh, Rainbow Dash…” Spike interrupted again, to which Rainbow responded with a curious, yet at the same time, annoyed look, “I’m here NOW… just give it here and I’ll send it to Celestia lickity split!”

Rainbow Dash blushed a little… “Oh, right… that makes sense… it’s in my bag, there should be three of them, one for her, Applejack, and you Spike.”

Spike hopped down to her bags, sifting through and finding the letters. After a quick glance he pulled out the one for Celestia.

“You might oughta write a note telling the princess about Rainbow Dash so she knows why she didn’t deliver ‘em herself.” Applejack pulled out another blank sheet, handing it to the little dragon.

“Ah, good idea…” he made quick work of the note, explaining the brief details he knew; adding in a few words of how he believed Rainbow might be downplaying her injuries.

“OH! Also I found some sort of map when I got into the fight…” Dash shifted in her bed, adjusting the position of her wing to better comfort herself. “I can’t tell what it says though, send it with the letter.”

“Gotcha, so we have Twilight’s letter, our note, and the map, is that all?” he got an approving nod from everyone, so with a puff of fire, the papers were sent off.

The girls seemed to gather around Applejack’s letter as she began to read aloud, “Dear Applejack, We arrived at Apploosa just fine, and went onto the Zebra settlement to discuss things with the chief. He seemed calm by our arrival, but quickly sent us away…”

While Applejack read her letter, Spike opened up his own letter. He wondered why she didn’t just address one big letter to both him and Applejack, but nevertheless he began to read. “Hey Spike! How are you doing? I wish you were here, everything is going the exact OPPOSITE of how we planned. I’m sure you’d know how to help us out of this mess.” Spike couldn’t help but smile, even at the bad news. She was talking to him like a close friend, not like her official letters to Celestia. It made him feel closer to his friend. He continued to read, hearing Applejack somewhere in the background as he read. The stories matched pretty similarly from then on, talking about their decision to wait while Rainbow delivered the letters, and how they’d wait there for more news.

“So then… I s’pose we just wait around and see what Celestia says about what we should do next…” Applejack rolled up her letter and put it aside, “Unlees either of y’all can think of anything…”

“Well, I was thinking we could try talking to Zecora again…” Spike said while he rolled up his own letter. “At least let her know how things went with her dad… I’m sure she’s at least curious to know.”

“hm, yeah, that sounds like a good idea… you all think you can watch Dash while I’m out?”

Scootaloo grinned, “You mean can we pin her down if she tries to fly away?” everyone suddenly had a grin on their face, looking at Rainbow Dash.

“I’m not! I’ll be good… I’ll wait for Celestia to send a letter back…” She pouted, letting out a huff and crossing her front legs. She obviously had a bit of longing in her eyes to fly again, but it was apparent she couldn’t. Her wing twitched and she suddenly had a look of pain in her face, as if a sharp force pinched her wing.

The girls giggled at Dash’s response, imagining a little halo above her head like in the old cartoons. But AJ and Spike could both see she was in pain, and needed to be taken care of for a while. “Alright, y’all behave… no roughhousing around Dash for a bit… I’ll be back after a while.” She tipped her hat to spike, silently thanking him for watching Dash while she went to talk with Zecora.

The girls immediately turned back to Dash, expecting to hear more stories… however it hadn’t been but a minute or two since Spike sent the letters when he suddenly felt a rumbling in his stomach, and belched out a letter. He snatched it out of the air and took a look at it, “Hm, it’s addressed to you, Dash.” He explained, hopping back up onto the bed.

“Could you read it for me? My leg is still a bit… off…” she explained quietly.

He nodded silently, opening up the letter for her. He cleared his throat before speaking, “Dear Rainbow Dash, I see that things are not going nearly as well as we had hoped. I’m deeply sorry for your injuries and I hope you recover soon. I’ll send my best doctor out right away; I know you want to heal and get back to helping out.” Spike glanced up at Rainbow Dash… from the look on her face she had no interest in fighting anymore… he only hoped she’d still be willing to help out some other way. “I understand the Zebra’s dislike for me, it’s something I’ve been meaning to handle for a while… I may have a solution, but it may take a little time; a day maybe. As soon as you are healed, I think you should run tell your friends to stay at Apploosa until I can get preparations ready. But until then, rest up and wait for the doctor to arrive. Let Applejack know you’ll be staying around a while, I’m sure she’ll keep you company while you wait.”

“And that’s about it, just ‘from Celestia’ after that.” Spike rolled up the letter and put it aside.

“Hm, alright… I wonder what she has planned…” Rainbow Dash leaned back and thought quietly, wondering what the mysterious princess had in mind…

Applejack made her way through the outskirts of the Everfree forest, cautiously looking around as she went in deeper. It wasn’t her first time alone out here, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness it gave her. Luckily Zecora’s home wasn’t far, and before she knew it she was knocking at her front door.

The door opened not a moment later, with Zecora gently pushing it ajar. She seemed a bit surprised to see Applejack, “Oh my, you have returned quite quickly! But this expression I see…” she moved closer, eying Applejack’s face. AJ knew she probably didn’t seem in the best of moods, but she didn’t think it would be so obvious so soon, “It looks almost sickly…”

“Yeah… things apparently didn’t go so well for the others… I just got a letter telling me what’s goin’ on.”

“Ah, I am not surprised… Pony kind always did seem off in my father’s eyes…” she motioned for Applejack to come in, stepping aside to let her pass.

“Yeah, they mentioned your father was the chief… and that he wasn’t really happy about them being there.” She headed inside, taking her usual seat. It seemed as though the crescent shaped carpet on her floor was meant to seat an audience while Zecora sat across from it. The others always seemed to naturally gather on that carpet whenever they had troubles to talk about. “Why didn’t you ever mention your pa bein the chief of the Zebra tribe?”

“It is not something I wish to discuss…” she replied as she took her seat, “I feel that sort of thing might put a barrier between us. My father rules my people, this is true, but I don’t want you to think of him, just me and you.”

“I understand, I can imagine being the daughter of a ruler would get you more attention than you’d like… but they said you sent of really nice letters about us, why does he hafta hate us so much?”

“It’s not for me to say… it simply has always been this way. He feels his hardships are being unseen. While Celestia hoard her blessings, he sees that as mean.”

“hm, yeah. I suppose… But we’re offerin’ to help him out now, why won’t he accept it?”

“I’m sure he is still angered by her apparent greed. And does not wish to help her in HER time of need.”

Applejack let out a sigh of defeat, feeling like things were never going to be figured out, “I know you don’t like your father, but do you think you could come with us and talk with him? I mean… from what Twilight said in her letter, they’re not doin’ so well… If I had known myself I would’ve gladly gone out and tried to help them, but… well I just didn’t know… Maybe you could convince him to let us at least help him out, even if he won’t help us…”

Zecora sighed; shaking her head, “You have a kind heart, my friend…” she stood up, walking away to a book. She opened it up, looking through the pictures inside.

Applejack sat patiently, waiting for a response. She knew there had to be another line to her rhyme, and she was trying to figure out what she might say, “Bend, blend, mend, spend, end…” nothing that went through her head seemed to match properly, so she stopped thinking and just listened.

“I suppose my support is something I can lend. I’ve got nothing to lose, and everyone else has all to gain.” Zecora turned to Applejack, smiling, “Give me a day to pack, and I will meet you tomorrow at the train.” She smiled at Applejack, who seemed to be beaming with happiness.

“Thanks Zecora! You’re the greatest! I’ll go see about going along with ya and Rainbow Dash, hopefully she’ll be well enough to take the train with us.” She was about to rush out the door before Zecora stopped her.

“What is this you say? Did Rainbow Dash get hurt today?”

“Oh, right… I forgot to tell you…” she turned back around to deliver the news, “Rainbow dash got beat up by dragons on her way back here… Doctor’s say she’s fine now, but… her wing was busted up and the rest of her ain’t that good neither.”

Zecora’s heart dropped, “Oh my, this is terrible news… hm… I may have a potion that she could use… Get her bones back to where they once were, just need a little of this, that, and a quick stir!” she began to gather up some ingredients into a pot and set it to boil, already working hard on something for Dash.

“Alright, we really appreciate it. I’ll meet you at the hospital tomorrow morning before we grab a train, alright?” Zecora gave her a nod, her mouth holding a bottle at the moment as she worked. Applejack left and headed back towards her home to let her family know where she was headed for the day.

The following day, Spike headed into the hospital with his own bag packed, preparing to go to Apploosa with Applejack and Zecora. He overheard their intent to leave today, and decided he was going too. He wanted to help and he figured if something went awry, he could deliver a message to Celestia more quickly than anyone else. He rushed into the room, finding the others had already arrived.

Zecora was handing Rainbow Dash a bottle, to which Rainbow eagerly took it and guzzled it down.

Applejack waved at her a bit, “Slow down there Dash! You’re gonna choke on it.”

“Nah, she won’t choke.” Spike said as he entered the room, “I’ve seen her guzzle down a barrel of apple juice once without losing a drop.”

“Hm, you’re right…” Applejack suddenly gave Rainbow a knowing glare, “I’ve seen her suckin down one of my barrels of apple juice too… without my permission mind you…”

Rainbow finished the drink and set it down, “I said I was sorry! It was a really busy day and I was thirsty!”

“Yeah yeah, I’ve forgiven ya already.” She said with a little smile, ruffling her rainbow mane with a gentle hoof,“So how do ya feel?”

“Eh… I dunno…I got a funny taste in my mouth, but nothing yet…” Dash looked to Zecora, hoping for an answer.

“Give it time, my friend. Soon your troubles will be at an end.” Zecora gave her a cheerful smile, giving her the assurance that she would be fine.

Dash smiled at her monochromatic friend, “Alright, Thanks Zecora… are you guys about to head out now?” she sent the question over to Applejack, waiting for an answer.

“Yeah, I think we are… you gonna be alright without us?”

“I think so…” she rubbed her wing gently, feeling a bit of a tingle brewing inside, “With Zecora’s potion and Celestia’s doctor coming over today, I’ll be better than ever!”

Applejack smiled and turned to Spike, “you come to say your goodbyes, Spike?”

“No! I’m coming with you guys!” he declared, holding up his bag, “I’ve been to Apploosa before, it’s not big deal.”

“Oh, well… alright then! I’m sure Twi will be happy to see you.” He had a point, and she figured no harm could come from the dragon joining them, so she graciously accepted him. The two girls grabbed their things and began to walk out with Spike. As they headed out they noticed a doctor walking by with Celestia’s crest on her jacket, “Hm, must be the specialist she was talkin’ about…” she mumbled as she headed out, feeling better now that someone was here to help out her friend.

The trip took half the day, but soon the three had arrived at Apploosa. Luckily Breaburn seemed to be away and didn’t give them the traditional ‘Apploosa greeting’ that he seemed to like giving out. They small group headed to the inn and found the room where the rest of their friends were at. A gentle knock at the door got Twilight up to her feet to answer it, “Applejack! Spike! Zecora, you decided to come too?”

“I feel I can help in some way… or at least TRY to cure this dismay.” She silently hoped that her presence wouldn’t make thing an even bigger mess than they already were…

Spike ignored casual greetings and quickly jumped up to Twlight, giving her a hug, “I missed you Twilight!”

Twilight giggled, hugging him as well, “I missed you too Spike, how is everything?”

“The library is clean as a whistle and Owloysius has plenty of food to last him a few days, just in case.” He held on gently, still smiling.

She giggled, “Well I kinda meant how are YOU doing?”

“Oh! Heh, I’m fine! I’m great now in fact! Now that I’m back with you!”

“heh, you’re quite the charmer Spike, I see how you got Rarity so interested,” Twilgiht grinned down at the now blushing dragon. Luckily Rarity was busy greeting Applejack and didn’t notice After a moment Twilight used her magic to pull him from her neck and set him onto her back to ride him into the main room where the others waited.

Fluttershy perked up as she spotted the other heading in, “Yay! Everyone’s here! So, does this mean we’re going to head out now?”

“No, it’s a little late…” Twilight replied, taking a seat with the others, “And I don’t want to force Shaleel to give us another night in his home… We’ll wait until tomorrow morning…” she took a look around, noticing something was off. “Hey, wait… where’s Rainbow Dash?”

Applejack and Zecora looked at each other, both with worried expressions, “Oh uh, your rainbow friend stayed behind. Hoping a solution Celestia soon would find.” She gave an unconvincing smile to everyone. They looked back perplexed, wondering what was going on.

The looks soon became too much for the element of honesty to bear, “Rainbow Dash… she’s got into a fight on the way to Ponyville… she’s in the hospital now.” A wave of confusion and questions began to fill the room from the other ponies, quickly becoming too much for the orange pony to bear. Applejack quickly tried to calm them down, “It’s okay! It’s okay! She’s fine! Zecora gave her something and even Celestia got one of her personal doctors to take a look at her. She’s gonna be alright.”

The group calmed down, taking her words to heart.

Fluttershy was particularly thankful, shivering at the thought, “What attacked her? Was it… a dragon?”

Twilight moved close to try and reassure her that this wasn’t what had happened… but Spike spoke without thinking, “Yeah, apparently three dragons.” The room was silent… everyone looked at him with horrified expressions… he quickly tried to fix his error, “She’s fine though! She’s alive and well! She’s okay! No problems, heh.”

The room remained still other than Spike trying to calm everyone down. After a few more assured blurbs, he got quiet too. Soon Twilight finally spoke up, “So dragons are already in Equestria…”

“That isn’t helping the situation Twilight…” Rarity quietly pulled Fluttershy close, trying to comfort her as she sat there shivering with fear, “It’s okay Fluttershy… No one got hurt…”

“Rainbow Dash got hurt…” she replied softly.

“Yes, but she’s okay now!” Pinkie started up, trying to cheer up everyone, “We’ll go see her the moment- NO! The SECOND we get back to Ponyville! We’re all gonna sign a get well card and have a BIG party for everyone to enjoy! It’s gonna be a blast!”

Even with Pinkie’s enthusiasm, the rest of the room remained silent, causing Pinkie to lose her luster… and eventually everyone separated to their own rooms to relax until morning came.

The girls were gathering outside the inn again, deciding since they had no gifts to bring, they’d just walk there. “Alright, is everyone ready to go?” Twilight asked as she looked around to the others.

Everyone gave an approving nod, not saying much at the moment.

“Alright. Thank you again Zecora for coming with us.”

“It is my pleasure to help my pony kin, but I am uncertain that we will win.”

Twilgiht nodded, “I understand… just try your best and see if we can convince him…”

She gave her a nod, and with that, they were all on their way toward the Zebra settlement. The trip was quiet, everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts, mostly about Rainbow Dash’s health, and possible attacks in the future…

“You! Ponies are not wel-… OH! It is you girls!” Shaleel stood atop the rock he met them at once before, quickly climbing down, “I didn’t expect you back so so-… Zecora?”

Zecora stepped forward, smiling at Shaleel, “Ah, my friend Shaleel, has life been full of luster? It is so good to see you again, it’s almost hard to muster”

“Hehe, still rhyming as usual, huh?” he asked with a little laugh, “You don’t ever get tired of it? I know you know a cure to it.”

“Oh silly Shaleel, this is no curse. I find this most enjoyable, and it could have been worse.” Zecora smiled at him, walking over to give him a brief hug.

“heh, I still think I can mess you up.” He said with a little gleam in his eyes.

“You still think you can disrupt my rhyme? HA! Let’s see what you’ve got for me this time.” She stepped back, prepared for the worst.

“Orange.” He said simply with a sinister grin. The other ponies seemed confused, but listened quietly.

“Silly filly, you think I can’t rhyme with ‘Orange’? You see I’ve thought of a solution, and that would be ‘door hinge’.”

The others cheered, Zecora won the little game. Shaleel cursed under his breath, but laughed it off, “Outwitted again… I shouldn’t be surprised by now… well anyway, I assume you’re here to try and talk to the chief again? Well, let’s go I suppose… Best of luck to you again.”

Shaleel led the group back through the town, and up to the chief’s home once again. The guard eyed them with a raised brow, “Again? I don’t think the chief will admire persistence…”

“We know… we just want to try talking to him, at least try and help if nothing else…” Twilight had an earnest look in her eye, the desire to help them out and make their lives better.

“Alright…” the guard said with an exasperated sigh, “I’ll let you in…” he opened the door and allowed them inside.

As the approached Pinkie Pie’s eye caught a glimpse of the boxes of sweets they had brought on a table in another room, not thrown away, and still full of her treats. It made her feel a bit better that they didn’t waste it.

The chief frowned at their presence, “Back again… I thought I told you not to return.” He didn’t sound angry and he didn’t raise his voice. He just sounded annoyed and uninterested. However his eyes spotted the zebra in the center of the group, and it immediately caught her attention, “Zecora? Is that you?” he asked, quickly charging down to the ponies, who quickly stepped aside to let him by. “Zecora it’s… been too long…”

“It has father… Too long indeed.” She moved close and hugged her father, who quickly pulled her into an affectionate embrace, “I believe it’s been three years, so we are agreed. I must admit, I’ve missed you with all my heart. But I’ve had fun since we’ve been apart.”

“You have?” he asked, seemingly surprised.

“Yes, father, have you gone blind? I sent many letters of these friends of mine.” She said, pointing her hoof at the girls.

“Them? They were the ones who persecuted you! The ones who shunned you without reason! I remember THAT from your letter!” he gave the six a menacing glare, causing them to back away a little.

Zecora put a hoof to her father face, pulling him back so he looked into her eyes, “Father, you read only what you want to. These ponies are good in their hearts; I know it to be true. We’ve celebrated and had many merry days. Now quit your bickering, get out of your hateful haze!”

He huffed, looking over at the others quietly… staring into their souls. His eyes moved around the group before finally locking onto one set of eyes… “So your goal is to fight the dragons, is that right?”

Twilight, feeling the eyes were looking at her, nodded, “Yes sir… Well, sort of… The dragons are threatening us and we have to defend ourselves…”

“Than why is it that you brought a dragon into my home?” Spike felt his heart stop, now knowing the eyes were locked on him, “Dragon attack our home, ponies ignore our pleas for help, and yet a pony carrying a dragon comes to my home requesting he-“

A sudden crash caught everyone’s attention, a yelp and the jingle of glass shard landing on the floor filled the room. The eyes of the room all found the broken window, with shard still falling from the newly damaged window. Their eyes quickly searched for the intruder, and they all locked onto Rainbow Dash, lying in a pile of books and rubble, “Chief! I-I’m sorry! I lost control! I have a let-“

“AND NOW YOU PONIES RANSACK MY HOME?” his voice bellowed, causing the room to shake.

“N-no sir! I was just trying to get here as quickly as I could! I have a letter from Princess Celestia!” She pulled out a letter, wrapped nicely in her hoof.

“TO HELL WITH THE PRINCESS!” The room shook once more, the thunderous voice made the bottle jiggle and clatter on the tables, “I will have nothing to do with you ponies! As far as I’m concerned you AND the dragons are our enemy! I can only hope that you both KILL each other in your petty war!” his loud words were accompanied by loud booms that continued to shake the foundation beneath their feet.

Rainbow pointed to the letter, as well as out the window in a frantic manner, “But-but-but, Chief! Just list-“

“NO! YOU LISTEN!” he shouted, another that caused the room to shake, “You are all evil and selfish! And you! Zecora, if you condone the action these ponies take part in, than I banish YOU from my land as well!” Zecora’s face looked mortified and hurt. Even after their brief heartfelt reunion, he still wished her to be gone, “I want you all off my land! Away from my people! And never darken our city with your presence EVER AGAIN!”

The room was silent, all staring at the chief. Even Shaleel and the other guards looked horrified. The room did seem darker with his shouts of anger. A cool moist breeze blew through the broken window, and blew out the candles that lit the room, making it seem even darker and more menacing, even though it was the middle of the day… however a familiar rumble caused the room to shake once more, even though the chief was silent. “What… was that?” he mumbled, looking out the window. The sun had been blotted out, and it quickly struck fear in his heart. The others wondered what was going on as well, and all at once they rushed outside to see.

The zebras of the town were gathering outside, staring up into the sky. Everyone had a look of concern in their eyes, watching the unknown approach them. The chief stopped just outside his door as the other spread out, staring into the sky. “What… What is going on?”

High above them were massive clouds, coming from Equestria toward them. They were black as sin and quickly blocked most of the sun’s rays. Twilight squinted, seeing dozen of Pegasus ponies pushing the clouds toward them. Rainbow Dash walked to the chief and poked his side, “Here, I was told to give you this along with the clouds…”

The chief was still in shock, but took the letter and began to read, “Dear Chieftain of the Zebra Tribe. I understand your pain and suffering, and I truly believe that it is due to my own negligence. I have ignored your people for too long, and I apologize for that. As leader I should have listen to everyone no matter who they were or where they were from. I have been a terrible ruler, and I personally wish to apologize to you and your people. I’ve asked the Pegasus of Cloudsdale, our weathering producing city, to create special rainclouds that will hold their moisture until they arrive to your land. This is not an attempt to tempt you into joining our cause; this is an apology for years of neglect. These clouds will arrive to your land weekly, and I expect nothing in return for them. I hope you can forgive me for-“ A drop of water hit the paper, blotching the ink and making the rest of that line illegible. The chief looked upward and another drop hit his forehead. The single drop was just the beginning of an onslaught of rain, pouring down onto the buildings, the zebras and the ground. The zebra’s seemed unsure of how to react; even the elders could hardly remember rain. They all just stood there, frozen in time as the water poured down on them.

Finally, the town with only the sound of water pattering in the puddles was filled with the joyful laughter of children, running through the rain, getting their manes wet and splashing through the puddles. Soon the blank stares of confusion turned to joyous laughter and cheering, as they took began to run around, letting the rain soak their dry skin.

Even the chief found himself smiling, the rain washing off the dust and sand from his body, and the hate and distrust from his mind. He started to laugh heartily, a few stray tears blending in with the rain as it flowed down his face. Zecora smiled at her father and moved close to him, rubbing her face against his neck.

The mane six, and Spike smiled at the sight, everyone seemed to be so much happier. Rainbow dash spoke up above the sound of the rain, “The princess said we should go once the rain starts!”

“What?” Twilight was surprised by the news, “But… We need to-“

“She said we just gotta go… Let them enjoy this and just go.” The girls seemed a bit uncertain by Celestia’s orders, but nevertheless they followed without question, heading back toward Apploosa.

They didn’t get far, the familiar rock formation that they met Shaleel at was right behind them when they heard a yell over the rain, “Wait! Ponies!” The chief and Zecora were rushing up behind them, “Ponies wait.. I… want to talk to you…”

The group of seven shared glances before looking back at the chief, “Yes? Is something wrong?”

“Well… I was thinking… Maybe I could… at least TALK with my people… Tell them your situation and how it affects us… and… IF they feel like they must help, than I suppose I can’t stop them.” The chief shifted awkwardly, glancing at her daughter. Zecora smiled at him, happily nuzzling her father.

Twilight gave him a soft smile. “You do whatever you’re comfortable with. We’d appreciate any help, but please, don’t force yourself to do something you’re not comfortable with.”

The chief smiled back, “We’ll see how things work out… I’ll be in touch with the Princess… You all head on back home and stay safe.”

“I will stay with my father, catch up on time we have lost. But soon I will return home at any cost.” Zecora smiled up at her father, a wondrous look of happiness on her face.

He chuckled as well, smiling at his daughter, “Still enjoying your rhymes I see… Come, it’s been too long. Tell me again about your pony friends and your adventures…” he turned away with Zecora, heading back home “I believe we still have lots a treats to get through, thanks to your friends.”

The ponies exchanged smiles before they too began to head on back toward Apploosa, all soaking wet by now, but it was a refreshing rain; rinsing out their worries and fears.