Operation Westhorse

by PropMaster


Thaw - Fourths

The cold air bit at her wings, but she kept going. She had to—even in what seemed like eternal darkness, she could feel a force welling up inside of her, drawing her forward, the path laid out in front of her like an invisible arrow. Even with the twists and turns, the surprise obstacles of hazy clouds Rainbow Dash couldn’t see, even with detours north and south… somehow she knew she had to keep moving from latitude line to latitude line.

Rainbow Dash shivered. The air grew colder and frostier around her, and from the taste of it and the way it hung heavily on her wingtips, the pegasus could tell the gusts were shifting her northward. Grumbling, she started the grueling process of curving her wings to the side, pushing against the pull of the breeze and trying to shift further southward. Moving back and forth was fine, but too far off course could lead her frustratingly lost—especially in the far north, where the freezing weather could be unpredictable.

As the minutes wore on, Rainbow started to see just the first hints of light in her peripheral vision. Briefly, she turned her head—and, past the outline of her back and the rustling of her tail, she could make out the first rays of the sun shining up over the horizon. She had to squint, but sure enough she could make out a line of trees below—or at least the frost-coated tips of them. Humming, she turned her head back to the front—and just in time, too, as her eyes opened wide, taking in the sight of a family of geese flying right in front of her face. Shivering, the pegasus jerked her head back suddenly, letting the birds pass before letting out a breath.

It hung in the air for a moment, before Rainbow blew past it. Her lips curved.

Hours passed uneventfully, but for the sun rising further into the sky. Rainbow could hear birds calling in the distance, though no more were careless enough to fly past her face; she briefly entertained herself with the thought that the ones she’d nearly ran into had gone to warn their friends, but then reminded herself that that sort of thing only happened under Fluttershy’s gentle watch. Still, the brightening land below gave her something to look at. Even if it was just trees.

Every so often, there would be a break in the snow-covered taiga and Rainbow could see dry ground below—covered in snow in patches, but in others she could see the permafrost-encrusted dirt poking up, cracked and lifeless as it spread out across the empty tundra.

Rainbow Dash yawned. And below her, the world yawned back. Sleepily, she closed her eyes, just for a second…

No, no, no. She could feel her wings locking up mid-flight and she jittered to life, swerving to catch herself before she’d fall.

A close call. It wasn’t the first, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Rainbow took a deep breath. She would just need to pay more attention, she supposed.

At least the brightening sky around her made her job easier, if just a bit. Off in the distance, the shapes of mountain peaks rose out of the clouds, somehow looking more welcoming than ominous. Rainbow turned her head from side to side, carefully taking stock of the landscape—and then, after a moment of reflection, swung a sharp left turn. Trees passed below her in a green-grey blur, but the mare was hardly paying attention; with her velocity, all she could see were the shapes of the land before her and the wind rushing by in her peripheral vision. She let the green move beneath her for quite some time, still moving westward but with that southern bent. It wasn’t until she saw a thin line of blue snake through her vision that she let her feathers catch on the wind, slowing her down.

And before her lay a valley—frost-covered at the tips, sure, but with a heart of green, trees lining the river as it moved along the banks. And at the edges of the trees, peppering the bankside—Rainbow Dash could make out the distinct shape of rooftops, chimneys blowing out tufts of smoke above them. They weren’t densely packed like some of the cities she had passed, but a few were clustered in groups with here and there, strung together by small roads that connected to a larger path along the riverside.

Curious, Rainbow Dash began to descend. Before long, she could hear more noises below—the soft hum of cars moving by on the road, as well as more birds cawing out in the trees. The river splooshed and splashed over rocks as it brushed by.

Rainbow flew low over the main roadway, eyeing the cars carefully as they passed. Not too low, though; nobody seemed to notice, at least as far as she could tell. Shrugging, she moved onward. She began to come upon a few of the houses, and as she passed a chimney, she held her nose.

It was then that she hear a voice, calling from below—a high pitched voice, accent unfamiliar. Rainbow Dash glanced east… then north, south, and finally west. And then she looked down.

There was one of the humans, about a dozen metres below her, in one of the fenced-off backyards behind a house. It wasn’t one of the larger, adult ones; this one was smaller, squatter, and looked obviously younger in the face. A puffy purple jacket covered her torso, and a fuzzy brown hat covered her head.

The child looked up to Rainbow, and then down to somewhere below, covered from the pegasus’ view by the roof’s overhang. “Vot eta goluboy loshat! Fnebye!

There was a laugh, presumably from whoever the child was talking to. “Kanyechna, kanyechna.

The child frowned, and looked back up at Rainbow Dash. The frown didn’t last long, though; it smiled again once it took notice that Rainbow was hovering there above it, gazing down curiously.

Privyet, lashadka!” the child called.

Rainbow gulped. “Um… ‘privvit’ to you too, kiddo.” Hoping the human would know what she meant, she gave a nervous smile and waved a hoof.

The child’s eyes lit up instantly, and it let out a joyous laugh. “Mama, mama! Ona gavarila! Gavarila!

Tshhh, ya zanyat,” came the adult’s voice in reply. Rainbow had no idea what this meant, but from the child’s expression, it didn’t look good. She bit her lip, and then looked both directions.

“Look, I don’t think I’m supposed to do this, kid, but… uh…” The pegasus swooped down quickly, landing with her hooves firmly onto the hard ground. The child’s eyes were wide as saucers as the blue horse wrapped it between her forelegs into a big hug.

Bozhe moy!” the child exclaimed, and shook there as it stood in Rainbow’s embrace. It didn’t seem afraid or uncomfortable, though—just surprised.

Rainbow stood there only for a few moments before letting go. She brushed herself off with a hoof, shot another smirk in the child’s direction, and then leapt into the air without further warning.

“Mama, mama!” she could hear the child calling excitedly from below, but Rainbow didn’t look back. The western sky lay ahead of her and she had a long way to go. The sun was already high above, and she didn’t have time to waste.

But as she continued on her journey, she reminded herself… it never hurts to stop for a hug.