The Avenger hummed quietly. Earth pony military technicians milled at their terminals attentively. They were never late, but they were also never early. It was mostly dark, and their only primary lights visible emanated from the monitors and glowing buttons.
Everypony had to be on their best behavior. Their equivalent of their queen, empress, or czarina sat on the captain’s chair with her yellow hooves resting on her black obsidian broadsword. The cold stare from her green eyes kept everypony and everything in check. If anypony stepped out of line… Well, she’d rather not discuss what she would do to them on the spot.
Only Lancer stood right by her, dressed in his staid dragoon uniform and armed with his lancer spear. Ace the Younger must be in a different part of the airship fraternizing with the female staff, as usual, and Teddy was probably exercising in the onboard gym. Beneath her stood a quartet of specially conditioned clone soldiers garbed in blood-red uniforms armed with the most powerful assault rifles. It would be no use talking with them, as they carried no imaginative thought.
“We’re about fifty miles from the meeting point,” spoke Lancer.
By that, he meant Floating Rock. Ancient technology or aberrant magic, it was designated as the sole neutral zone by the two conflicting countries since the beginning of the conflict. Chancellor Posey was mildly surprised that the enemy would agree to meet her in pony on Floating Rock despite her declaration of war against them. Typical of pegasi. They always liked to make grandiose declarations between leaders. Surely her enemy would rather wipe out her and her country outright instead of talking. Of course, the feeling was mutual, but as the Chancellor of one of the most civilized nations on the planet, she had an obligation to make one last negotiation with an enemy nation.
“Lancer,” spoke Posey. “Do you believe I am doing the right thing?”
“What makes you say so?” asked the indigo stallion with the orange mane.
“I never sought to punish you when I know well that you have regular misgivings about my decisions. That is to be expected as you are the President-Adviser of Defense.”
“Regardless of what I may advise you of, your decision is absolute.”
“Am I not democratically elected? Am I not bound by the laws written in our constitution? The senate and representatives should have approved of the upcoming war before my sudden declaration. If there were any discrepancies, the supreme court should have resolved it.”
“You were there, Chancellor. The legislature unanimously approved, and the court did not voice any oppositions to your decision.”
“The citizens live in fear, Lancer, and rightly so. They have every right to be, but I do expect them to fight should the enemy breach our borders. However, I also have the responsibility to lead our military into battle as a sign of solitude. I will not be like all the other previous Chancellors and hide herself behind the walls of the Palace of the Earth.”
“I agree.”
“The Palace of the Earth is a mere residence for a pony attuned to nature, and it will not become my tomb. All my wealth and all my prestige: I will throw it all away in my effort to rid the world of the oppressive equine vultures. I will even abandon my own daughter to the wolves if will ensure my victory. I have cast away all my earthly shackles. My only focus now is the enemy.”
“Chancellor, if I may, I really wished you did not have to say those words about Winter Tulip, even if she was an Apple.”
“I had to, Lancer. I want nopony holding me back.”
“Honorable Chancellor!” cried one of the technicians. “We are twenty-five miles from the meeting point.”
Posey smiled coldly. She leaned over and whispered a command into the President-Adviser’s ear. Whatever she said, his eyes widened.
“You want us to prep the Changelings?” asked Lancer.
“Just in case,” she replied.
Rainbow Dash, captain of the Spitfire (the airship), and an awesome lover (hadn’t slept with anypony yet), was born for this very day. She was ready for any challenge, be it physical and uber-physical, and no door will stand in her way.
Except that this door was being very uncooperative. It was high up, not that it mattered, and that lightning shape emblem was awesome. Punching it once did not open it. She punched it again, it was the same deal.
“Hey Princesses,” said Dash. “How the heck do you get this open?”
“The doors were generated by the Guardians themselves,” replied Sunny. “In fact, this entire chamber is of their own generation that they created right after we placed the Sixth Element here.”
“Basically, they’re just a bunch of lazy boarders who don’t pay rent and lock their rooms so that the hosts can’t get in,” said Applejack.
“In other words, we don’t know how to get in to take on the Trials,” said Rarity.
“Maybe it needs a verbal password,” said Twilight.
“Ooh!” Pinkie cried. “How about rutabagas? Paprika? Chimichanga?”
“Those are good words, Pinks,” said Dash, “but I’m sure the door wants me to say that ‘Dash is the awesomest pony in the world that she is good with the dudes and the ladies’.”
She kept her smile stretched while she waited for almost fifteen seconds. Then she immediately yelled as she rapid-fired her hooves directly on the lighting emblem.
“Open up you stupid door!” cried Dash the Awesome.
“Stop Dash!” Fluttershy cried. “Your hooves are bleeding!”
“This? This is nothing. I’ve suffered a lot worse, and you know it.”
“I don’t like seeing your hurt yourself like that. Please, use your Element of Honor to heal yourself.”
“Fine," Dash groaned. "I’d rather save it for some awesome battle. Element of Honor, do your stuff and heal my boo-boo."
Dash's not-really-necessary golden necklace flashed before forming a transparent red lightning around her body. The cuts on her front hooves, as expected, healed themselves quickly.
Then something else happened. Instead of reverting back its necklace form, the big dumb doors to her own personal Trial finally swung open. Rainbow Dash felt like, for the sake of time, using her Atmos Arts to push it open further, but the anxieties on her friends made her hold back. Slowly but surely, the interior of the Trial chamber lit up to reveal an area just as large as the one they were in, but lined with curving arcs of white marble. The lightning emblem decorated the walls, and in the center stood something imposing yet awesome.
It looked to be a kneeling bipedal and muscular giant of red. Dash could not explain it to the others, but it looked to be made from a solid lightning bolts, and it carried in one of its hands a gold, lightning-shaped lance. It acknowledged the ponies presence by rising up to his non-existent feet.
"I AM THE GUARDIAN OF TREACHERY," it spoke. "WHO DARES SUCCUMB THYSELF TO THE TRIAL OF LOYALTY?"
"Me!" cried Rainbow Dash.
Awesome Dash flew in with a flying kick straight at the creature's heart, if that thing had a heart. Right when her hoof tapped its electrified skin, the Guardian vanished.
She turned around. No way lightning guts could move that fast. Dash delivered another kick. Another. And another. The thing kept dodging her, and that was so uncool.
"Stop moving, lightning guts!" cried Dash. "Or at least fight back!"
“FOOLISH MORTAL,” spoke the Guardian. “DOTH THOU THINK THAT THE TRIAL INVOLVES FIGHTING?”
“Well, yeah. That’s what I came here for.”
“FOOL! THE TRIAL OF LOYALTY NEED NOT INOLVE SWORDS AND SHIELDS. IT IS A TRIAL OF CHOICE, AND CHOICE BETWEEN FRIENDS, FAMILIES, AND LOVED ONES."
"Fine! Just administer the trial and get it over already! And stop calling me a fool!"
"RAINBOW DASH, BEARER OF THE FIFTH ELEMENT, THE ELEMENT OF HONOR, HAS CONSENTED. THE TRIAL WILL REQUIRE THE ACCOMPANIMENT OF THE CANDIDATE OF THE SIXTH ELEMENT. BRING HER FORTH!"
Purplesmart was hesitant, though initially. She gave one courageous nod to Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie before stepping forward.
"I am here," said Twilight. "Candidate of the Sixth Element of Creation, Twilight Sparkle."
"VERY WELL," spoke the Guardian of Treachery. "I SHALL NOW ADMINISTER THE TRIAL OF LOYALTY. PREPARE THYSELVES!"
The Guardian of Treachery grabbed its lightning-shaped lance, and raised it up for a mighty swing. It swung down upon Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle in a clean arc. It was too late to react. Dash was not fast enough.
"Dash. Dash. Dash! Wake up!"
The wind rushing into her nostrils finally woke her up. The Atmos particles filtered into her feathers. With her blood pumped, Dash quickly righted herself right-side-up with erect wings, and caught Twilight before she fell into her death.
They were back on earth, and they were in a heavily clouded sky. It was hard to tell if it was midday or the afternoon based on their sudden arrival. Thunder rumbled from horizon to horizon.
"Where are we?" Dash asked. "How did we end up back here?"
"The Guardian must have transported us," said Twilight. "Or maybe it is an illusion. I can’t tell."
"This is lame. I expected fighting, but even in this 'illusion' nothing’s happening. Some trial this is."
"At least this isn't the kind of trial or test where your proctor hexes you for getting the wrong answer, or worse."
"Brutal. I kind of wish I had that proctor so I can fight back and show her what's for."
"It's hard to do when it is your mother."
"Oh. Sorry. She must’ve been a mean mama."
"She was, but looking back, she only did it to make me stronger."
"I'll say. At least yours didn't molest you."
TMI. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned that to Twilight, and now awkward silence followed as they slowly floated down to wherever they were supposed to go.
"She didn't even say she was my mother," continued Dash. "Well, that is expected ‘cause pegasi foals are always taken away from their parents to be raised by a den matron. Seriously, Firefly was messed up!"
"Dash," said Twilight, "maybe we are similar than we thought, but at least you finally had the courage to finally beat her."
"I did, but she's still in my heart hurting me. I can accept that. But what I won't accept is her hurting my friends!"
They heard a loud boom above them, and to Dash’s perky ears, it wasn’t that of thunder. She glanced backwards and saw a burning airship breaking through the clouds. Its descent was slow enough for Dash and Twilight to avoid it, and the two wondered if they should fly in and rescue any survivors still trapped inside.
It had a weird smell as well, and the fires made it worse. No way. It couldn't be. The carapace underside. The sleek and imposing girth. The hexagonal front hull. Behind it followed a large and blood-red Pegasopolis cloudship swinging its six mighty aero-oars in perfect sync. Red-armored pegasus soldiers swarmed out of the cloudship’s hull and threw out red lighting from their hooves to the already burning airship.
Dash couldn't tell if there was actual sound, but she could hear familiar voices screaming in her head. She could not block it out. They were calling her name. It made her gnash her teeth.
"Rainbow Dash," said Twilight. "You have to stay focused. This might be an illusion."
"But it might be real," said Dash. "Guys, I'm coming!"
Twilight felt weighty for a nerdy mare, but for Dash, she was easy to carry in high speeds. The blue pegasus rocketed off from standstill towards the burning airship. Closer and closer, Dash felt the heat swelling, and the number of red armored pegasi increased.
Then there too many of them. Dash swatted two away with a quick pair of hoof-punches, while Twilight shot the others off with her magic horn ray. Their combined efforts were not enough. A red pegasus shot out a red lightning bolt that shocked the blue pegasus mare in the butt, causing her to involuntarily drop Twilight. The purple unicorn failed her front and back legs to drive off the red pegasi, while Dash dove down trying to shake hers off. Twilight was falling dangerously close to the ground, and the dozen or so pegasus soldiers grabbing onto Dash kept on veering her out her way to rescue her unicorn friend.
Well, now was a good time as any. Dash pumped the Atmos particles into her wings and into her bloodstream. Despite the pegasus soldiers hanging onto her, her form was perfect, and just as easy before, she initiated her Sonic Rainboom. The soldiers flew off her, and she snatched Twilight and only Twilight with several feet to spare. Dash did not look back, as she flew farther and farther away.
"You okay?" asked Dash.
"Just barely," said Twilight.
"Those hits they gave me was no illusion."
The burning airship finally crashed behind them. A big ball of fire erupted from its center, splitting it in half. The hull moaned painfully as it settled onto the ground, and even still, it maintained some semblance of its original shape. The red cloudship loomed over the crashed airship like a vulture to its carrion, and it sent out more red pegasi to feast on the exposed entrails.
The screams in Rainbow Dash’s head would not stop, and she felt a deep pit developing in her stomach.
"Dash, that's not the Spitfire," said Twilight.
"How can you know for sure?" asked Dash. "This might be a part of the Trial, and that damn Guardian is using my crew."
"It could still be an illusion."
"I'm not taking that chance! Hold on!"
She flew Twilight back to the burning airship, which had to be Spitfire. No question about it. She recognized the scratches she an Derpy caused during their sparing matches, and the porthole where the pigeons decided to nest a while ago. There were still the telltale bird stains running down from it.
The red armored pegasus soldiers were chasing them again. With Dash wanting to investigate the airship wreckage, she solved both problems by taking Twilight into the hull while losing their pursuers. Twilight was light, but upon her landing inside, the burning airship creaked noisily and painfully. Already, another explosion in another area rumbled the downed aircraft, and the heat from the out-of-control fires caused both the unicorn and the pegasus to sweat.
"Even if it is an illusion," said Dash, "somepony might actually die."
"Including us," said Twilight. "There has to be a trick to this trial."
"Tricks or not, we have to save somepony."
"Then it might be part of the trial."
The red pegasi shouted their battle cries as their lighting attacks pelted the downed wreckage of the Spitfire. Twilight took care of herself by erecting her usual magical shield-barriers, but the voices in Dash were louder.
Dash, help us!
"Did you hear that?" Dashed asked.
"Hear what?"
"Somepony needs our help. Like right now!"
"Rainbow Dash, wait!"
Dash was certain that Twilight could keep up as she took the air. Sure, there were fires, and the corridors were cramped, but this blue pegasus was the most skilled flier in the world. She was trained and trained herself to prepare for anything.
But she would never be prepared for this. The memories of her first airship crashing and burning in her first attempt against her mother the Empress resurfaced, and then made ten times worse. Bodies of her comrades lay strewn in the burning metallic hallways. She landed and tried to check their pulse, but she wasn't good at that. Their bodies were still warm, but that could be because of the fires. It wracked her mind that she wasn't there to protect them, and she punched the wall out of complete frustration.
Dash! You gotta save us!
The voice was getting louder and more recognizable. She suddenly felt a directional pull further back of her fallen airship, and knew that she had to go there. Dash checked one more time and saw Twilight trying to catch up to her at the far end of the hallway. Good. She was still alive. The blue pegasus revved up her wings and flew further in.
Help…
The voice was becoming clearer. Of all the ponies, she hoped that she was still alive.
Dash did not have to fly far to reach the bridge. Instead, the bridge had collapsed, and she came face to face to a debris of twisted metal. To her horror, her closest crewmates were trapped in the wreckage breathing heavily and in pain.
They were there. Octavia. Vinyl Scratch. Derpy. Berry Punch. Crackle. Aloe and Lotus. Pinned under the mountain of twisted metal at the very bottom was Scootaloo, and she was the one in the most pain. Her cries and grunts was the most heart-wrenching.
"You came back!" Scootaloo cried.
"Don't worry squirt!" cried Dash. "I'm gonna save you!"
Dash wished it was that easy. She tried lifting the metal beams, but it would not budge. She tried punching them, and then launching one Rainbow Bullet Punch at the center. It shook the rubble, but she only made it worse for the ponies trapped in its metallic nest.
"Dash, it hurts!" cried Scootaloo.
"I didn’t mean to!" cried Dash. "Okay, I'm gonna have to use all my power to get you gals out. You just going to have to grit your teeth and bare it."
"Dash!" cried Twilight. "Help!"
It was stupid for her to forget! Twilight was still behind her, but the red-armored pegasi were attacking her relentlessly. They might be the Berserkers Dash had heard so much about, and the racist term of 'equine vultures' would definitely fit those ponies. Twilight Sparkle was powerful, but here was no end to the red pegasi who lunged at her with hooves and lightning attacks. And she happened to be the only one out of their group without an Element to aid her.
"Dash, come on!" cried Scootaloo.
Dash never had a normal family, but she considered her crew as one. Seeing her crew in dire straits made her heart ache, but after gathering her thoughts, this was part of the Trial. Saving the world was important, but she needed to be prepared to make the ultimate betrayal.
“You fought well, squirt, and I’m proud of you," smiled Dash. "Unfortunately, I have a more important mission, and I promise I’ll come back for all of you.”
“How could you say that, Dash?" asked Scootaloo. "We’re dying!”
“Because my real Scootaloo and crew would never be easily defeated. Hang on, Twilight!”
"Dash, come back! Please, come back!"
The blue pegasus hardened her heart and strengthened her resolve. Turing her back was the worst feeling she had ever experienced, but she had to do it. From a walking pace, she launched herself towards the mob of red-armored pegasi who were just about to maul Twilight with their bare teeth.
She made it in time. One by one, she sent them through metal walls with single hit of her Rainbow Bullet Punch. Scootaloo and the crew's cries swelled louder, but Dash did everything she could to ignore them. The broken airship moaned once more, and due to Dash damaging it further, what remained of the bridge collapsed on itself. Dash no longer heard or felt her crew.
"Thanks," said Twilight.
"Yeah," said Dash. She had no cool retorts to say after what she had experienced.
"I'm sorry about your crew."
Dash swallowed hard. "They died valiantly. I'm not gonna let their deaths be in vain, and I’m gonna take it out on that Red Cloudship hovering over us. Twi, you have any ideas on bringing that thing down?"
"I did study the schematics of a similar one when I was in your airship's library."
"I had a library?"
"Yes, and there is a weak point if we hit that spot over there. It should cause a chain reaction and destroy the cloudship completely."
"Wouldn't that kill us in the process?"
"With this being a trial and that you wanting to go down in a blaze of glory, I figured that this would be the quickest way to end it."
Dash could not resist smiling. The horrible feeling of betrayal still lingered in her heart, but nothing like a good ‘ol last ditch suicide-like attack in very convincing world of illusion was the best medicine for her right now.
"I guess you know me, Miss Purplesmart,” said Dash. “Coming back to you was the best idea I had so far."
"Then let’s take down that Red Cloudship together."
"Together?"
"Am I not helping you complete this trial?"
"Yeah, but now we need a name of our combined attack."
"What?"
"It's a rule for pegasi warriors who are in sync with one another."
"Dash, there’s an inferno surrounding us, we’re inside collapsing airship, and the enemy is sending out more of those red pegasi. But you're more concerned about an attack name?"
"It's not gonna work if we don't yell it out at the right time. Don't most your spells have 'Aegis' or something in them?"
"They do."
"Good. You'll know when to sync when we get up there. Now let's go!"
The awesome Dash pulled the pretty purple unicorn off the ground as she launched into the air. As expected, the Red Cloudship descended further towards them with almost a thousand or more red pegasi surrounding them. Many appear to be hulking stallions, but to Dash, they all appear to her like fire ants with weak mandibles.
Combination attacks were uncommon amongst pegasi, but powerful. In her youth, Rainbow Dash tried creating one with Lightning Dust or Gilda, and it never clicked. She may never understand why she could never execute it with them, but she felt confident that she could do it with, of all creatures, a flightless unicorn.
"We're getting closer," said Dash. "You ready?"
"I am."
"Then let's do this."
Hearts and goals synced between the two mares. Both Dash and Twilight took a deep breath and together they yelled out one of the most awesomest attacks that they have thought up through the power of their bonds.
“SPECIAL ATMOS-AETHER TECHNIQUE—HEAVENLY AEGIS RAINBOOM!”
Magic and atmos particles enveloped the pegasus and unicorn mare, and then sent them hurtling through the swarm and straight into the terror in the sky. With that one fiery and chromatic blow, the Red Cloudship was no more.