//------------------------------// // Rainbow Dash 8: Numbers and Names // Story: Upheaval: Journeys // by Visiden Visidane //------------------------------// Upheaval: Journeys Rainbow Dash 8: Numbers and Names The earth ponies of the Western Legion marched through the forest with neither preamble nor any attempt at subtlety. They trampled bushes, scraped against trees, and scuffed rocks all the while cursing and muttering to each other. At a distance, silently flitting among the branches, Rainbow watched them with...well, she wasn't sure. Admiration? They were a far cry from how she saw heroic legionnaires. No gleaming armor or precise formation. No fearsome charge or flying colors. Just a motley bunch of earth ponies with a collection of spears and blades. They grumbled among themselves like they didn't even want to be there. She wouldn't want to be in their position, and that sort of didn't fit "admiration". They felt...heavy. It didn't take long until she didn't even want to look at them. These ponies were going to risk everything to give her and her allies a chance at Hassyth. It wasn't just a matter of not disappointing them or proving them wrong, as was how she had dealt with pressure in the past. Some of these ponies were going to die, and the best she could do was to make this worth it. More than ever, now that she was separated from the Elements of Harmony, she felt that weight. Ahead of her, Longstride looked surprisingly on edge. She was expecting him to be the calm one in this mission. Especially when, next to her, Scarlet was quivering with anticipation. "How are we going to go after that Twenty Four?" Rainbow whispered. "You've got a plan for him, right?" "I can catch glimpses of him from here," Longstride replied. "He hasn't attacked straightaway. Unusual for Twenty Four. I cannot get a good aim on him like this." "Can't we just blow past him?" Scarlet grumbled. "He's a magical corpse, right? If we kill Hassyth, he'll fall over dead!" "Or he'll put arrows in our flanks and we'll die," Rainbow replied. "I will watch Twenty Four while we move on," Longstride said. "He will need to move in to start sniping, and I will spot him when he does so." Rainbow nodded, and they pressed on silently. She didn't like the plan, really. Probably because she didn't figure in it. It was just Longstride's plan of action for himself. He probably thought that Twenty Four was just his problem. How stupid. He was wasting his biggest advantage over Twenty Four: her. Well, she wasn't going to have any of it. First opportunity to move in to finish this sniper and she was taking it. Of course, she has to make sure she didn't get shot in the flank again. If the ursans were planning to engage the skirmishers, they were taking their time. The earth ponies continued their march for Willow Manor unchallenged. Rainbow and her group flitted ahead, always among the thicker branches. Always with their eyes peeled for every danger. A mighty roar finally broke the tense silence within the forest. Rainbow turned on instinct towards the sound, expecting a line of ursans to come out to fight. Before she could see anything, Longstride slammed against her midriff, knocking her down into some branches. Stiff, needly leaves jammed past the joints of her barding, nowhere near hurting her, but causing a very nasty itch. She was about to yell at him, but understanding beat her to it. She saw no arrow, but Twenty Four must have shot at her, using the exact moment of the ursan roar as a distraction. It would have worked too. Cursing at her inattentiveness, struggled to right herself. Longstride was just as hasty, rolling back to his hooves. "He's flying in!" he said harshly. His bow was nocked and ready in an instant. That didn't make sense. Why would a sniper move in? Secondly, how could he do so quickly? For all his archery, Longstride was a good flyer at best. "Look out!" Scarlet yelled just as the skirmishers let out their own battle cries. That cinched it. Rainbow looked ahead, her front hooves moving towards her weapon. Just past Scarlet hovered a large, pegasus stallion. Rainbow's gaze swiftly went to the many glowing symbols encircling his forelegs and lining his wings. They glowed gold, easily seen on his white coat and feathers. His eyes were the same golden discs as Longstride's. They glared past the red curls of his bangs and right at her. Rainbow flew to the side in a near panic, instinctively understanding what was coming next. She felt the thunks of a couple of arrows lodging themselves among the branches where she had been a moment ago. 'He's open,' she thought. She grasped the bone thing, and held it to the spear haft she carried. As she had expected, its straps came alive, and grasped the end. She should be able to... Another arrow flew at her. Fortunately, Scarlet had dashed in throw off Twenty Four's aim. Both arrows- Both? Was he shooting more than one at a time, or did he draw and nock that fast? Twenty Four replied by slamming a front hoof into Scarlet's midriff, then smashing another against the side of his face when he doubled over. Scarlet flew spinning into a nearby tree, and crashed among its branches. An arrow flew from Longstride's bow, but Twenty Four had managed to fly to a distance with a single beat of his wings, and fired his reply at Longstride, who had to duck into some branches. Rainbow, her spear ready, charged in. Black sludge burst from the tip and ignited as she charged. She had her opening surely... Twenty Four's front hooves moved as blurs, drawing arrows from his quiver, then firing rapidly. Three arrows flew to meet Rainbow's charge, forcing her to veer away. 'He's so fast!' Rainbow thought. Around her, the sounds of pitched battle raged. The skirmishers were not meant to destroy the surviving ursan forces, just to engage and harry them. Still, she couldn't be pinned here. Not by a lone sniper. The Western Legion counted on them. Twenty Four was on her in an instant. His hoof reached for the haft of her spear while another moved for her face. Rainbow twisted her weapon away in time, and took a hoof to the side of her head for it. The impact nearly wrenched her head from her neck. Her vision darkened and stars burst around her peripheries. She clutched her spear hard, though, and grit her teeth, forcing her way back from the brink of consciousness. She flew back by just a foot, enough to get some distance for a stab, then lunged with her spear. But Twenty Four was gone again, nearly a dozen feet away with another arrow aimed at her. It would have been a clean shot if Scarlet hadn't rushed him with a snarl. He grappled with the bigger Scarlet, face calm and lips in a smile. The markings around his forelegs glowed bright as he forced Scarlet's grip away from him. 'He's freakishly strong,' Rainbow thought. Her head was still spinning from that glancing blow from Twenty Four's hooves. She got it now. He had the same magic eyes as Longstride, but his forelegs and wings were also enhanced. Longstride was specialized for sniping. Twenty Four could do that as well, but he had the legs to wade into a melee like this, and the wings to rapidly switch from long to short range, then back again. So this was what upset Longstride. He could have been a much better super sniper... She had to kill him. He was definitely stronger than Longstride, and he was an enemy. If she could kill him, it would be the same as killing Longstride, only more. What a powerful target. Her spear blazed brighter and oozed great gobs of filth as Twenty Four hurled Scarlet away, then dodged another arrow. Her muscles tensed up, like a great spring winding up for a mighty dash. She was his to kill. Kill. Kill. Rainbow was about to hurl herself as hard as she could, when she wrenched her own wings to a hover. Her mind was hazy. She thought it was just the aftereffects of that blow, but it was still there. A thick haze that made it difficult to think. 'Wait...the mission...the mission is to...to kill Twenty Four?' No. No, that wasn't right. She shook her head. When nothing happened, she struck it against the spear's haft. 'I know you're doing this!' she growled inwardly. She glared at the spear as if it could possibly be intimidated. She had no time to struggle with this now! Scarlet and Longstride still kept Twenty Four at bay, with Scarlet forcing the issue with close range combat while Longstride fired at every opening. Still, Twenty Four fought on without taking a hit. Kill. Kill. Kill. That pony is strong. He must die. The spear didn't actually talk, literally or mentally. It simply emanated a pervasive mood that made her think those thoughts. She fought hard to push them away. Wait... Did she have to for this one, though? She needed to kill Twenty Four anyway. She could ride on the spear's bloodlust this one time. The moment she considered that option, she was before Twenty Four, spear plunging deep for a killing strike to his neck. His eyes widened at the quick charge; a moment she relished. He shifted his head to the side and batted the spear with a foreleg. Even then, the tip grazed the side of his neck, drawing blood. The ooze hissed and smoked when his foreleg touched the haft. The surprise didn't last long though. Rainbow withdrew her spear for another stab when Twenty Four flew back. Still elated by the close strike, Rainbow flew forward furiously, expecting to keep up with Twenty Four as he back away to go back to sniping. To her surprise, Twenty Four fell sharply, letting slip beneath her as she flew forward. He grabbed her sides with his forelegs. Panicked and furious, Rainbow grasped his forelegs, and tried to pry them loose. It was like trying bend a pair of steel bars. With a grunt and a heave, he hurled her downwards. Rainbow flapped furiously to get back to a hover at least. She looked above her to find Twenty Four already shooting. An arrow whizzed by as Rainbow desperately twisted. She flapped furiously, fully aware that Twenty Four never shot just one arrow. A horrific burst of pain exploding by her hip told her exactly how right she was. Rainbow bit down, refusing to cry out in pain while she finally righted herself. She glanced at the wound, just above her left leg. That was still a lot of shaft dangling from the wound, it must not be too deep. Maybe it hit bone. Not much blood, but her leg was already seizing up from the excrutiating pain. It was probably best to leave it there until the fight was over. 'I'm really going to kill this stallion!' Whether that thought came from her or the spear was irrelevant at the moment. Rainbow focused solely on striking down the enemy. It was all she could do to keep the pain to the back of her mind. Above her, Twenty Four had broken away from Scarlet again and was flying back, his bow aimed at Longstride. Her spear reached him before he could release the string, forcing him to fire wildly at no one just to defend himself. Again, the best she could do was graze him, this time across his left foreleg. He was so quick to shift focuses. Three of them against him: two of the fastest ponies in the Legion and a super sniper, and he still held his own. Rainbow stabbed again, and again, wildly and with the painful awareness that she wasn't exactly showing off any fancy technique. What could anypony expect? She had this thing for a day so far. A stab even she knew was too deep left her open to a hoof to the face. She flew back, blood trickling from her snout to her lips. Lips, she was suddenly aware of, that were set in a wide grin. She pushed on anyway. What strength this stallion had in his forelegs, what skill in being able to use hoofstrikes against a spear. How was he even killed? An arrow flew from behind Rainbow, this time finding a home in Twenty Four's right foreleg. His lips briefly pressed tightly together in what looked like a grunt of pain. A few trickles of blood ran from the wound as he flew back. Rainbow ground her teeth and had to force her head not to look back furiously. 'My kill!' the spear raged. Rainbow jerked back, suddenly forced to go against the spear when it redirected its fury. That moment of distraction was all it took for Twenty Four to slip past the spear's tip. His hoof dug deep just above Rainbow's gut, straight into her solar plexus. She doubled over, barely able to hold on to her spear as her breath wooshed out of her lungs and her guts squirmed in pain. Twenty Four seized her by the shoulders with a crushing grip, then hurled her towards Longstride. Rainbow braced herself for a crash into a tree, but a streak of red zipped by the corner of her eye. In an instant, two pairs of forelegs held her steady, and eased her back to a hover. She wheezed and grunted, forcing air back into her lungs despite her body protesting. She raised her gaze, and found Twenty Four hovering several feet ahead and above them. Scarlet tensed again, his crossbow hanging empty by his side. Rainbow could understand. Trying to get into a shooting match with Twenty Four was likely a bad idea. Longstride was struggling, and he was their best shooter. Speaking of Longstride, he had another arrow drawn. Rainbow raised her spear for a charge of her own. "Twenty Six!" Hearing Twenty Four speak froze Rainbow briefly. Wasn't he just a magical corpse? Longstride kept his bow aimed, but he lowered it slightly at this. Even Scarlet seemed surprised. Twenty Four lifted the foreleg where Longstide's arrow still dangled. "This your best shot, Twenty Six?" he asked. Longstride's reply flew true, it's trajectory: Twenty Four's heart, but Twenty Four moved swiftly out of the way. He was in close range at once. Rainbow barely got her spear pointed at him when he reached melee range. Twenty Four didn't even look at her, though. "I know what happened," Twenty Four said. "Give me the bow." "This bow belongs to Longstride," Longstride replied. "It will not function for you. Even if it could, you don't deserve it." "I don't care," Twenty Four replied. His forelegs turned into blurs, and an arrow flew into Scarlet's wings just as he was about to rush, flinging him back and pinning him through several feathers, into the tree behind them. He raised his voice. "Twenty Five is mine. Give her to me." "Hold on!" Rainbow yelled. "You're not a magical corpse being controlled by Hassyth at all! Why are you fighting us then?" "Be quiet, idiot mare," Twenty Four said. He didn't even look at her. "This is between me and Twenty Six." "I have nothing more to say to an ophidite puppet," Longstride replied while Rainbow trembled with rising rage. "Hassyth restored my body inside the manor, hoping to experiment on a living vegetable," Twenty Four went on. "He didn't expect a full revival. I can leave if I want, Twenty Six. I will on one condition." "You cannot have this bow," Longstride replied. Twenty Four fired two more arrows. Rainbow raised her spear on instinct, as if she could block such fast shots. The arrows whizzed past her, however. Scarlet, who had just freed his wing without ruining his feathers, suddenly found his other wing pinned. "We both know that Longstride's name and bow belongs to me," Twenty Four said. "We always knew. Mistakes happened, but they've been fixed now. This fight proves it. Our archery may be close, but my body is better; more versatile and powerful. That bow will serve me better. Give it to me. I'm sure even Twenty Five will agree." Longstride's eyes narrowed, his irises spinning quickly. "I see," he said. "I think I understand. It took a very powerful spell by Black Rose to keep me from drifting off this world. Yet, you have managed to linger on without outside help." "I die even better than you," Twenty Four said. "You lingered in that manor all this time because I took the name and the bow that should have gone to you. All this time, you wanted to correct the mistake you caused." "I will carry on Longstride's duties," Twenty Four said. All of a sudden, he sounded so reassuring. Like a reliable older brother taking over for a flustered sibling. "I know you, Twenty Six, you never wanted that name. I will fix everything. Twenty Five will not have died for nothing by making that bow." Rainbow turned towards Longstride, a hoof extended to stop him. There was no way he was going to give up his bow! Especially to this creep! "Long--" she started. "You will never have this bow, Twenty Four," Longstride snarled. "And you will never have this name!" He raised his bow for the next shot. "Can we stop talking now?" Rainbow snapped. "They're still fighting out there!" "Stubborn, envious colt!" Twenty Four snarled. "You don't deserve Twenty Five!" He flew back, his bow also aimed. Just before she charged into the fray again, Rainbow noticed the tremble in Longstride's shoulders. That wasn't fatigue and it didn't persist. This stallion, who could stay perfectly stone-faced while being taunted by strangers, finally showed a crack. Two more arrows flew from Twenty Four towards Longstride as he flew back to get some distance from Rainbow. She looked back to him, aware that she should be focused on the enemy, but unable to resist checking up on him anyway. Longstride's irises spun at a speed Rainbow never saw before. Were they malfunctioning? That was the last thing she need right now. He flew to the side to avoid the first shot. Then, his foreleg flickered as the second flew past. In an instant, the shot disappeared, and an arrow zipped towards Twenty Four. Rainbow didn't wait to see where this shooting match was going. Even if it did look like Longstride snatched an arrow from the air. These two snipers were negating each other's shooting by whatever special training they went through in the manor. If she just kept attacking, she could either land a hit or just distract Twenty Four enough for Longstride. True enough, Twenty Four winged past the arrow, his magic-infused wings about to send him straight into Longstride. Rainbow saw it coming this time. It figured that he would try to use his extra special limbs to get the advantage over Longstride. Typical show off. She crashed into him at the last moment when he twisted his body just enough to turn her spear charge from vicious impalement to a gash on his torso. Drops of his blood rained down on the forest floor below. Rainbow was sure that the flames of her spear would seal the wound, but it was better this way. A bash to the side of the head by his free hoof knocked those stupid thoughts out of her head. This was no time to be distracted by random details. She pulled back, but the back of her neck encounted the inside of Twenty Four's bow. With both hooves grabbing the weapon's ends, he pulled her head forward until her snout met his forehead Rainbow's vision went black for a moment as her head recoiled from the impact. Blood burst from her nose and ran down her chin. She tasted metal on her lips. The bow's shaft moved up, freeing her from its grasp, but a hoof grabbed her barding to pull her back again. Instinctively, she raised her forelegs to protect her face. Big mistake. A hoof slammed into her midriff, doubling her over. Her wings stopped flapping as her muscles seized from the pain. If he tossed her now, she might crash to the forest floor. She braced herself, even as she tried to pry his iron grip. A second one was coming for sure. A streak of red changed that instantly. Scarlet was suddenly between them, barging in with enough force to separate them. His knife whipped about, nearly catching Twenty Four's eyes. Rainbow struggled to flap her wings as she fell, but the pain still left them stiff and folded. She could barely suck in a breath and her vision was paying for it. Her heart hammered between her ear and she was certain the ground was coming ever closer. And she did hit something. Something hard, but not the cold, hard, pitiless soil. Rather, it was Longstride, his forelegs stretched out to catch her. For an instant, the sudden weight made him start falling too, but his wings struggled until he got to a hover. "How many times will you let him hit you before you notice he's too strong?" Longstride asked. Rainbow smeared the blood on her face across her foreleg. "And how many times will you keep making those awful shots?" she retorted. "I know you're better than this! You're aiming for his edges instead of the center!" His eyes were still spinning wildly. Rainbow could have sworn that there was a trickle of blood around the edges of his eyes. "What would you know?" he muttered. She winced when his grip tightened, then nearly gasped when he tossed her aside. She had recovered enough to hover on her own, however. "Twenty Four!" Rainbow nearly forgot to keep flapping. That was the first time she ever heard him shout. He aimed his bow upward, nearly vertically, then loosed an arrow. That shot didn't make sense. It didn't even point at Twenty Four's direction. Twenty Four had just knocked Scarlet's knife away with a powerful strike to the fetlock. His other hoof struck Scarlet's snout at an upward angle, sending Scarlet reeling and hovering back. His bow was in his hooves so quickly that Rainbow was starting to think it was magic and teleported between his back and forelegs at a moment's notice. An arrow would have found Scarlet's heart if Twenty Four had not heard Longstride's shout. He snapped alert quickly and dodged to the side when the first shot came flying at him. Rainbow scowled. She knew little of archery, but it was stupid to call Twenty Four's attention, and that shot would have hit a shoulder or foreleg at best. Things were looking up, though. Longstride suddenly strafed by one side, making sure he stayed locked on to Twenty Four. "Wait for it here!" he told her as he passed by. He fired a second arrow, this time towards Twenty Four's other side. Again, Twenty Four merely switched directions with a flap of his powerful wings. Compared to his speedy maneuvers, Longstride's flying seemed so labored. Still, Longstride pressed on, shifting directions as well, firing shots that were almost embarassing for him. Rainbow bit her lip as she watched, a hard thing to do when her spear practically squirmed restlessly in her grasp. What did Longstride mean by "wait for it here"? She was tempted to just ignore him and dive in, but none of her earlier charges had worked. Continuing to fail would just be embarassing, especially after she chastised him for his failed shots. As far as embarrasment was concerned, Longstride wasn't helping his case despite his renewed assault. Twenty Four all but danced around him, an arrogant smile actually twisting his lips. The braggart was enjoying this, flaunting his superior flying ability. Any minute now, he'll charge to engage in melee just to show off his strength again. An arrow fell on Twenty Four's back. The shot came down vertically, landing between Twenty Four's shoulder blades. The effect proved telling immediately, from the shocked look on Twenty Four's face wiping that stupid grin to his flying halting in mid air. The point might have jammed partially into a wing's rotator. Even if it didn't the sudden pain should ruin his rhythm. Even with his magic wings, he can't do his fancy maneuvers now. But, how did that shot-- Rainbow's eyes widened. Yes, of course, that initial shot aimed skyward. The arrow naturally arced down so...even she couldn't hide a smile. Even if Longstride remained stone-faced, she smiled out of pride for him. So those other shots weren't useless after all. She took a second to admire before springing into action. No need for any prompting from Longstride. This was what he meant by waiting for it. She charged Twenty Four head on, reaching him while he was still falling and trying to control his flight. The bone thing finally struck true. Rainbow tore it through Twenty Four's torso, ripping skin and muscle, and splintering the lower ribs. The tip burst from the other side of Twenty Four's body, almost with a satisfied sigh. Blood splattered across her face, enough for it to drip down her bangs and run down her cheeks. A trickle got in her eye, forcing her to blink it away. Warm, thick rivulets ran down the spear's shaft and her hooves. For a moment, the spear's incessant, furious rumbling was silent. Twenty Four continued to fall, like a broken twig forlornly spiraling away from its branch. He gripped his wound tightly, vainly trying to keep his insides from leaking away. An arrow pierced his gut from above. Then, a second one. When he crashed to the forest floor at last, Longstride was just a few seconds behind. Rainbow followed suit, Scarlet joining in with her. "Got him at last!" Scarlet crowed as they both landed behind Longstride. "Nice hit there, Rainbow!" He grinned widely, but he wasn't exactly the picture of total victory. Like her, he was bleeding from his snout. His left eye was also badly swollen. She wasn't exactly in a position to poke fun at him. With the tension of the battle and the elation of getting a good hit in waning, Rainbow's injuries began begging for attention. An arrow still dangled from her hip. She had to remove it at some point before an infection set in. Her face was pretty beat up too, and she was sure that she was going to have some horrendous bruises along her belly. She'd probably be coughing up some blood for a while. They approached Longstride, who was kneeling by Twenty Four's side. Twenty Four was a broken stallion, clearly not a threat anymore, yet Longstride glared at him as if he might vomit a stream of arrows. Blood pumped from the devastating wound Rainbow had given him. The impact of his fall had snapped one of his wings in an unnatural angle. Just looking at the injury made Rainbow's wings ache. Despite all this, Twenty Four managed the strength to curl his lips, "Some victory," Twenty Four rasped. "Three of you--" "Be quiet, corpse," Longstride retorted. His voice was soft and harsh all at once, like a whispered growl. "You could have hung back while we pressed on, harrassed us with sniper shots while we focused on our mission. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if that's what Hassyth told you to do, and you ignored him. You assaulted us despite our numbers and you're going to die for it. Only you can die the same stupid death twice, Twenty Four." Twenty Four hacked up a glob of blood and mustered a grin. "Lecturing like that old nag--." He gurgled each word out and failed. Longstride grabbed the broken stallion by the neck and forced him up. Even Rainbow winced at the move. That had to be agonizing. "Keep that grudge," Longstride said. "I hope this defeat adds enough to it so you're sucked into the abyss. I hope they turn you into a sea-soaked wraith. Then, I can find you again on the final battle, and humiliate you one more time." Twenty Four could only glare. The writing around his forelegs flared up as he tried to break Longstride's grip. He trembled, hacked up more blood, and grit his teeth, but he failed to even budge them. Finally, after one last defiant stare, he went limp, and Longstride hurled him to the ground like garbage. Even Rainbow knew better than to speak up right away. She stared at Longstride's back while he focused on the ground for a few more moments, before he turned towards her. "We have to keep moving," he said. The fighting noises had grown distant. The skirmishers had led the ursans away. Rainbow nodded and was about to take flight when she winced. Her arrow wound finally refused to be ignored. When Longstride's gaze went to the wound, however, she shifted on instinct. Being embarassed to show she was wounded seemed stupid, but she just didn't like the notion that he might be annoyed by the delay because she let herself get shot. "That must be treated," Longstride said. He fiddled with one of his packs, then produced a small vial of greenish white...something. Before she could protest, he was by her side. She winced, and bit down on her lip. No way she was going to give him the sight of her crying out. Longstride gently eased the arrow out, careful enough to keep the barb from doing more damage. It wasn't even as painful as Rainbow expected. "Sablesteel made a few of these for our mission back in Canterlot," he said. "It's a healing p--" That was all Rainbow really needed to hear. Flustered and eager to get going, she grabbed the unstoppered vial and poured its contents down her mouth. Bitter of course, grainy too. Typical medicine. The fluid was so thick that she had to shake the vial a bit to get it to come out, even sucking on it when it trickled out too slowly. The wound still hurt badly. "Are you sure this stuff works?" she asked. "Some healing potion!" "It was a poultice, you stupid mare," Longstride snapped. He produced another one while Rainbow gagged. "Stand still. Sable knows her medicines as much as her toxins, and these have been infused with minor healing magic by Princess Luna." "So how come I didn't get some?" Rainbow groused. She had to inject some annoyance to that question. As soon as Longstride's poultice-covered hoof touched her hip wound, a wave of soothing balminess crashed against the throbbing ache. For all his sharp, biting retorts, Longstride's ministrations were surprisingly gentle. He spread the poultice in small, circular motions, pressing just firmly enough not to hurt. A soft piece of cotton to dress the wound, then a fresh bandage all from his packs, and the injury was almost a thing of the past. When his hooves moved to her wings, though, she nearly reared up with a start. "Hey, my wings are fine!" she said. "After those tumbles?" Longstride replied. "Better to check." "I can do that myself," Rainbow insisted. "You don't have to fuss--" Rainbow's complaint trailed off at odd mien around Longstride. His eyes stayed still, in some odd reminiscing gaze. He could use this more than she did. She might as well oblige him. Something about this fight left him wounded, even if he never took a blow or a shot. He ruffled her feathers slightly, checking for cuts and bruises, picking out bits of needly leaves and twigs before smoothing them down. Her wings tingled, then twitched on reflex. She bit her tongue in response. She'd never live it down if she suddenly giggled at the mild tickling. This didn't look like the first time he had done this for somepony. Maybe with Sablesteel? That didn't seem likely. Sablesteel looked and acted so prickly that she'd probably maim anypony trying to nurse her in any way. "Hey, I'm pretty hurt over here too!" Scarlet piped in. He grinned when another vial landed on his outstretched hooves. "So..." Rainbow mumbled. "You must have really hated this guy." "Yes," Longstride replied. "He was the worst kind of scum. You saw how much of a reckless braggart he was and how it got him killed." That really should have come out with more spitting malice. Rainbow figured that it would have if it came from her. She'd probably have more to say and Twenty Four just got one shot on her. It was a weird feeling, though. Part of her wanted to poke him over the fact that he wasn't so above it all. He didn't just help defeat Twenty Four, but basically rubbed it in Twenty Four's face. Even she knew, though, that this wasn't the time. Or that there should be a time for such a matter. Longstride moved to the next wing, hooves moving so lightly that a slight breeze ruffled her more. "So," Rainbow said. "Why was he talking about giving him Twenty Five? Is that your bow's original name?" Longstride paused for a moment, eyes distant, before applying some poultice on some abrasions he found. "To craft this bow, a pony had to be sacrificed. Her name was Twenty Five, so Twenty Four assumed that it would be the name given to the bow." "But it's Camellia," Rainbow said in barely a whisper. It didn't seem right to go beyond that. "When I was chosen, we had a talk about her name," Longstride replied. "She was smiling and laughing when I brought it up. She thought it was a silly thing for the Longstride the concern himself over. When she saw I was in earnest, she told me I might as well come up with one for her since I was apparently the only one who cared. When we were separated, I thought it over, then settled on Camellia." He said that name with a sense of reverence. He wasn't referring to a weapon this time, rather a pony. "Camellia, the flower of spring, because it was going to be a new beginning for her, a new life free from trying to be Longstride, the flower of excellence, passion, faithfulness, all things I thought she was and had to be just to make up for having only one graft. We were separated before I could tell her. I was told that she was sent to the Delve and planned to join the Legion. I thought we would meet again one day in some battle." "What really happened?" Rainbow asked. Nearby, Scarlet was also leaning in. Longstride seemed so lost in thought he either didn't notice or care. "To lock the bow's enchantments onto me, the sacrifice must be one I was close to, a pony who I grew up with," Longstride said. "The project's protocol dictated that it should be my handler, Sharp Mark, but he died suddenly. There was a scramble to find a replacement. Twenty Five volunteered in secret. I did not know of what transpired until after I had entered Black Rose's service." "Sorry," Rainbow blurted. That didn't make sense, though. She had nothing to do with what happened. Longstride would have pointed that out with some sarcastic jab. Nothing came, though. Longstride went on. "Twenty Four should have been Longstride. His gifts were unmatched. His handler stayed alive long after the project was dissolved. If he had been picked, the Thorns would have been more effective, and Camellia would have lived." Longstride's harsh tone trembled. He picked out a twing from her feathers, and flicked it away. "Ponies who squander their gifts deserve worse than death." "Come on," Scarlet remarked. "Not like you're awful at it. Aren't you even a little glad about your skills, and that you get to go hundreds of years into the future?" Rainbow nearly jumped in to tackle him. "No," Longstride said flatly. "You're using the name though," Scarlet replied. "And the eyes, and the bow." "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't despise having been chosen," Longstride said. "But, I have to stay the course. If I don't, then everypony would have died for nothing." He moved on to Rainbow's face, dabbing lightly on the cuts around her eyes, feeling around her snout to see if it was broken. They had to stay in eye contact all throughout. She tried to picture him during those moments: being laughed at by his friend, concentrating on a name...it seemed like such a brief moment lightness, like a ray of sunlight, in the long, heavy cloud of duty he was always on about. He should have more. It was for his own good. Besides, it would be a sight to see. Those gold irises didn't show emotion very well. Eyes were supposed to be windows to the soul. So she heard. If they were, Longstride's were covered with stained glass; pretty, but unrevealing. Still, she was starting to see something behind them after all. "What's the matter?" Longstride asked. It dawned on Rainbow that she must have been staring all that time. Her heart was pounding, probably left over adrenaline and the awkwardness of this situation mixing together. "You should get one too," she blurted out. "What?" was the flat reply. "A name, I mean," Rainbow said. "Your own name." Longstride frowned. "I have a name." "Look," Rainbow said with a sigh. "I get it, the whole loyalty thing. You have to be this archer you were made into. But, you're not in the project anymore. You can at least have some small things. A name you picked isn't much, but isn't that why you were so bothered by her name? Loyalty shouldn't have to be so rigid." There was silence after that. Rainbow could just sense that Scarlet was about to start laughing. She'd probably throttle him if he did. Longstride merely turned around, and got to a hover. "We've spent enough time recovering," he said. "Let's go." The skirmishers were nowhere in sight, neither were the ursans. The mission was still going well, it seemed. After a moment to test if she was good to fly, and to return her spear to its inert state, Rainbow took flight once again.