Every single bone in Rainbow’s legs wailed in agony. Each step was labored and strenuous and made all the worse by the sloped terrain that the group was traversing. Every time she had to haul her legs over a rock that obstructed the path, she wanted desperately to say ‘Screw it!’ and take to the air. She’d asked as much a couple of times already and had been rebuffed by Hector both times.
An itch of regret was starting to take root in her mind about coming along. While having to traverse the land on hoof was a daunting task for such a flying-prone pegasus as herself, she’d believed at the beginning that she could tough it out. Her disillusionment had proven to be slow and painful, but she’d strived to keep quiet at first so as to keep Applejack from rubbing it in her face. It had eventually proved too much for her to bear, and as such, she’d started complaining. She was just thankful Applejack hadn’t said anything. Yet.
Rainbow trailed behind the rest of her friends, including, to her secret annoyance, Fluttershy. Her friend’s leg strength was probably the only thing she’d ever have over Rainbow aside from her superior kind and caring nature— Rainbow supposed she only had herself to blame for relying so much on her wings for everything.
Looking at the rest of the group, she was surprised by how easily Hector and Oswin were able to move in their big, bulky armor. Hector remained at Fluttershy’s side along with Florina, keeping her protected from possible hidden threats while Oswin led everyone else behind them. Huey was the only one in the group that trailed behind Rainbow, the heavy weight of the loaded supply wagon forcing him to bring up the rear.
The two human men moved so easily in their armor that Rainbow might’ve thought it was part of their bodies with how used to it they clearly were. Most ponies might’ve felt jealous because of this, but Rainbow knew that what she lacked in raw strength she more than made up for with incredible speed and agility. All she needed was a chance to flaunt both to see what they thought about it.
The group made their way up and over the rocky mountain, weaving between boulders on the trail and stopping to aid the supply wagon whenever one of its wheels got stuck or it struggled to squeeze through a tight fit. Huey obediently stopped and/or resumed pulling when instructed, and, being so close to the alien pegasus, Rainbow tried taking interest in him to stave off her boredom before it became too much to bear.
She hadn’t thought much about the juxtaposition between Huey and herself and her friends at the start of the journey, mainly since Huey didn’t seem all that noteworthy upon their first encounter. She hadn’t seen Huey take flight yet, so she was interested in seeing how good of a flier he really was. Hearing about pegasus knight combat got her doubly curious to see some in action, though, that was unlikely considering Florina’s new position as Fluttershy’s bodyguard along with Hector.
“You’re lucky that you don’t stand out in the air,” Rainbow whispered to Huey. “But I guess we’re both stuck on the ground, huh?”
Huey gave no reply.
Rainbow blinked, then turned back around, her eyes half-closing with exasperation. Now she was so desperate to fly that she was seeking out the sympathy of mindless animals: embarrassing.
After spending the entire morning trekking up the mountain, the group finally reached the ridge. They gathered in a straight line along its length, everyone breast to breast with Huey and the supply wagon standing behind them all. A strong breeze blew from the northeast, blowing Rainbow’s mane around her head, obscuring her vision. She used a hoof to part her mane so she could see. Her jaw fell open.
The landscape was absolutely beautiful. Stretching all the way to the horizon was an endless sea of lush, green grass, broken only by occasional dots of trees. To the right were more mountains, while rolling hills and other, more varied landscapes were to the left— Rainbow thought she could even see snow clouds in the distance, a sure sign they were nearing Ilia. A gust of wind blew across the greenscape towards the mountain they stood on, stretching all the way across the plains and shimmering under the perfectly sunny skies overhead. The resulting visuals took Rainbow’s breath away.
“Welcome to Sacae,” Hector announced, bringing Rainbow’s attention to him. “We’ll just be crossing through the corner tip, so enjoy the scenery while you can.”
“It’s beautiful,” Twilight breathed.
“It looks very nice,” Fluttershy said. Rusty gave a soft coo of agreement from her back.
“Lotta open space here,” Applejack observed. She turned to the humans. “You say people live here? I sure don’t see any signs of civilization.”
“There’s only two tribes of nomads that live in Sacae, but they’re both situated much farther east of here,” Oswin explained. “The nearest settlement, nomadic or otherwise, is far away from our planned route. We might come across one or more travelers, but nothing else.”
Twilight’s ears drooped a little and she frowned. “We haven’t gotten a chance to stop by a significant town or cultural hub of any kind yet. I’d really like to see how the different peoples of this world live their lives.”
“You’ll get your chance once we reach Ilia,” Hector said. “For now, we need to keep moving.”
The group spent a few extra moments admiring the scenery before beginning the, much easier (to Rainbow’s delight), trek down the mountain. At one point, Serra misplaced her foot and fell forward, letting loose a loud, ear-piercing scream. Twilight’s horn lit in its lavender hue and she caught Serra with her telekinesis, gently setting the young cleric back onto the trail.
“Whoa, thank you, Twilight,” she said. “I could’ve ruined my clothes, or even worse, my hair!” She casually poked the skin of her neck, the corner of her mouth dipping. “My skin feels all tingly now, though. Your magic isn’t going to ruin it, right?”
“That tingling feeling is perfectly normal,” Twilight explained. “Give it a moment and it’ll go away.” She appeared to lose herself in thought for a moment before asking, “Could you explain how your healing staves work?”
“Only followers of St. Elimine’s teachings are allowed, or even taught, to use them,” Serra replied.
“I’m not looking to wield one for myself; I just want to know how it works. The basic principles of magic are different between Elibe and Equestria; there’s a lot that both sides could learn with thorough study.” Twilight stepped up alongside Serra, sparing the latter of needing to glance back and potentially risk stumbling again. “And, well, since I probably won’t get a chance to study Elibean magic in depth until we reach Ilia, you’re all I’ve got.”
“So… you want me to be your teacher?”
“In a sense.”
Serra appeared to mull over Twilight’s request for a few moments before turning to look at her with a hard stare. “Only if I get an apology for all those mean spells you cast on me before.”
“I’m sorry for casting all of those ‘mean spells’ on you. I promise I will never do it again.”
Her apology was clearly exasperated from her tone of voice, even to Rainbow’s ears. And yet, despite being right next to Twilight, Serra seemingly didn’t notice this.
“Then it’s a deal. Let me go grab a staff from the supply wagon so I can show you.”
Serra passed everyone and ran around the back of the supply wagon, hopping in and returning a few moments later with one of the staves she’d had when she first joined the group. It had a brass length and was topped with a blue orb. Nothing too fancy, but then again, Rainbow wasn’t the pony to ask in regards to ornamentation.
“This is the most basic type of healing staff used by clerics throughout Elibe,” Serra explained. “I didn’t bring any more powerful staves with me, but I did bring other staves made to cure more subtle ailments such as poison or magic cancellation. This one is specifically made to cure physical injuries.”
Twilight eyed the staff studiously, taking in every detail of its design. “Fascinating.” Her notepad and pen popped into existence next to her and she scribbled some notes down. “How exactly does the magic work?”
“All it really does is speed up the body’s natural healing process. It doesn’t work for the gravest of injuries, but small things like puncture wounds can be fixed up easily and quickly.”
Twilight scribbled more notes. “So it’s like a time acceleration spell. And how do you activate the staff itself?”
“Oh, it’s really quite simple!” Serra said. “You just pray!”
Twilight was silent for a moment before she said, “You… pray?” with obvious confusion.
“Mhm. Whenever a cleric needs to use a staff's power, they need only give a prayer to St. Elimine and she will hear it through the gemstone. Of course, only those faithful to her can use a staff, and all staves eventually become useless when the magic in the gemstone is spent, so it isn't an infinite resource.”
There was another moment of silence from Twilight. Rainbow held a hoof to her mouth to stifle a giggle. She could imagine the logical, egghead-y gears in her friend’s mind had halted in response to Serra’s explanation. She’d heard about the time Twilight had tried to decipher Pinkie’s ‘Pinkie Sense’ and figured this was a similar situation. Serra’s explanation made perfect sense to Rainbow, so that had to mean it had no root whatsoever in science or logic.
“I… see,” Twilight finally said, a noticeable strain in her voice. She scribbled some more notes before poofing away the pen and notepad. “Thank you for your explanation, Serra. I think my curiosity is sated for now.”
“Glad to be of help!” Serra said.
The group fell into silence again afterward. About an hour later they reached the base of the mountain. The trail curved left in the direction of the snowy landscape Rainbow had seen earlier.
The lush plains to their right served to keep Rainbow’s mind preoccupied as she admired their beauty. A voice in the back of her mind was screaming at her to take flight, to use all that wide open space to try out some new maneuvers, maybe show off her Sonic Rainboom to the humans while she was at it. But of course, they wouldn’t let her do that, even if, as far as she could see, there wasn’t a single person besides them for miles in every direction.
Her wings twitched with restlessness. She breathed deeply, then exhaled. She repeated the action several times, trying to calm her impulses. She tried to focus on the gentle breeze brushing past her coat and through her mane; the clear blue sky overhead; the quiet ambiance of the open wilderness around them— everything was calm and peaceful. Who was she to spoil that tranquility for others just so she could satisfy her selfish need to get airborne?
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply once again. And again. And again. Her wings twitched even harder. She breathed harder, loud enough that everyone else was probably taking notice by now. Then again. Her wings settled down. She breathed softer. Her wings twitched only slightly. She breathed one last time and her wings stayed still. For now, at least.
“Is something the matter, Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow opened her eyes to see Florina striding alongside her. Looking ahead, she saw Oswin had taken her place by Fluttershy’s side.
“Kinda,” she answered, then gave Florina a curious look. “Shouldn’t you be guarding Fluttershy?”
“I was going to retrieve some water from the wagon, but… well, I thought maybe you were hurt or something?”
“No, I’m not hurt.” Rainbow flared her wings. “These babies gotta fly, you know? Otherwise, they get restless, and I suffer for it. I was just doing some deep breathing exercises to calm down.”
“Oh, I see.” Florina fell silent for a few moments. “I don’t know how safe it might be to take flight around here, but, um, maybe we’ll get a chance later?”
“I really hope you’re right,” Rainbow replied. “If I don’t get off the ground soon I feel like I’m going to explode!”
Florina’s eyes widened. “Wh-what!?”
Rainbow blinked. “Why do you sound so afra—” Realization hit her like an electrical jolt. “Right, different cultures.” She rubbed the back of her head. “Basically, I’m saying if I don’t get off the ground soon, I won’t be able to restrain myself any longer.”
Florina sighed with relief. “Well, um, maybe you can convince Hector to let you fly the next time we stop for a rest. If you want, I could help convince him,” she said softly.
Rainbow beamed. “You’d do that, really?”
Florina nodded.
“Awesome! I owe you one!”
Florina blinked. “Owe me one what?”
“You know, I—” Rainbow lightly smacked her head. “Right, right. I mean, I owe you a favor.”
“Oh, um, you don’t have to do anything in return for me.” Florina smiled. “Like Hector said, it’s our duty as your escorts to see that you’re comfortable for the journey. I’m sure he’ll agree to let you fly at least for a little while if you let him know how miserable you are.”
“Not sure that’s worth banking on, but I hope you’re right.”
Florina left to retrieve her water from the wagon, leaving Rainbow to continue her breathing exercises.
The sun was hovering just above the horizon by the time the group reached the mouth of a valley. Overcast skies could be seen in the distance with clouds that Rainbow could tell were filled to the brim with fresh snow, assuming weather worked the same here as it did in Equestria, minus the need for pegasus intervention. The temperature had grown noticeably colder as well.
The humans must’ve realized that as well, as Hector had the group stop to retrieve some fur coats from the wagon. The fact that they were made of animal fur upset Fluttershy, as anypony who knew her could predict. Rainbow didn’t take any issue with it, same with Twilight and Applejack.
Hector passed a coat to Florina, then another to Oswin, leaving one for himself. He turned to Serra with an exasperated expression. “I take it you didn’t bring a coat with you?” he asked.
Serra frowned, frantically waving her hands. “I would’ve brought one if I knew we were going to Ilia! I swear by St. Elimine!”
Hector rubbed the bridge of his nose, letting out an annoyed sigh. “I suppose it’s my fault for not foreseeing this. How are we going to solve this problem?” he asked to no one in particular.
An idea sparked in Rainbow’s brain. If she could fly up then she could create a warm front to pass through the region. She opened her mouth to voice her proposal, but Oswin spoke up first.
“Take my coat, Serra,” he said with a slight flush in his cheeks. “It won’t be a perfect solution, but my armor will do a better job of keeping me warm than your robes.”
Serra took the offered coat with a grateful smile. “Oh, thank you, Oswin! It’s good to know someone close cares for my well-being as much as I do theirs.”
Oswin didn’t verbalize a reply, his face remaining stoic.
Rainbow groaned.
Once the humans donned their coats, the group resumed their journey, entering the valley. Hector and Florina mentioned something about attacks from above, to which they asked the group to huddle together as they marched forward.
The idea that they might get ambushed sent a tingle of excitement down Rainbow’s spine, which had the side benefit of distracting her from her flying impulses. Everything was starting to play out like a Daring Do novel. She imagined enemies rolling megaton boulders from up the rocky incline, intending to crush them, only for Rainbow to push everyone out of the way and proceed to utterly clobber all the bad dudes with her super awesome special flying maneuvers…
Rainbow’s wings twitched again, forcing her to return to her breathing exercises. Was there nothing she could do to quell the need to fly!?
“Someone’s coming!”
Hector’s voice snapped Rainbow back to attention. Sure enough, coming the opposite way down the trail was a horse-riding man wearing armor similar to the soldiers she’d seen back at Castle Ostia. The upper half of his face was obscured by his helmet while his armor plates were a lighter shade of blue to Hector’s own. Unlike the blazing sword motif she’d seen back in Ostia, this guy’s crest depicted a pair of pegasus wings adorning a spear, which she thought was pretty awesome. Strapped to the horse’s side was a brown satchel while a small lance was strapped to the human’s opposite hip.
He pulled the reins as he approached, making the horse slow down before eventually coming to a stop in front of the group. He disembarked from the horse, fished a scroll out of the satchel, then approached Hector.
“Lord Hector, I bring you and your company a reply from the Knights Union of Ilia.” He presented the scroll to him.
“Thank you,” Hector replied, accepting the scroll with a nod. “Tell me, has Etruria sent aid as well, or is my company alone in its mission?”
The messenger shook his head. “To my knowledge, Etruria has sent no reply to Ilia’s call for aid.” He looked over Hector’s shoulder, holding his stare for an unusually long time.
Hector must’ve figured the messenger was confused, as he said, “This is all that we need. The aid we’re delivering is very unconventional, but trust me when I say it will solve Ilia’s plight.”
The messenger returned his attention to Hector and nodded. “Very well. Marquess Ostia would know the best course of action to take.”
“I intend to make my late brother proud.”
The messenger remounted his horse and turned back the way he came. Everyone gathered around Hector as he broke the wax seal and unfurled the scroll, listening intently as he read off the message.
Dear Lord Hector of Ostia,
The Knights Union of Ilia offers its sincerest thanks for your agreeance to answer our call for aid. We predict this will strengthen the relationship between our countries in the future, and the Lycian League can look forward to increased support from the Union should they request it.
We do wonder about the methods these ‘unconventional helpers’ will employ to bring us food. We will admit to being a little skeptical, and we’re sure you understand our hesitance to try unconventional means in light of our dire situation, but our faith in your judgment is all we have, so we shall await these people and greet them with open arms upon your arrival.
Sincerely,
The Knights Union of Ilia
“Short, sweet, and to the point.” Applejack nodded. “I like that.”
“It’s nice that they’d be so welcoming,” Twilight said, “despite knowing nothing about who we are or how we’re going to help.”
“I stressed in my reply that you all were capable of getting the job done,” Hector explained, rolling up the scroll. “Truthfully, in spite of how cordial this reply is, I imagine Fiora and her fellow commanders aren’t as faithful as they’ve let on.”
“But why wouldn’t they be?” Fluttershy asked.
“You remember what I said before about my none-too-flattering reputation as Marquess Ostia, correct?”
The ponies all nodded.
“That reputation extends to every country of Elibe.” Hector sighed. “I hope to overcome it one day, though. Regardless, I trust you ponies will be able to assuage their doubts.”
“Oh, you can count on that!” Rainbow proclaimed, flaring her wings. “With these babies, I can buck every cloud in the sky in ten seconds flat. Every day? No problemo!”
Hector blinked. “... Right.” He turned back down the valley trail. “Let’s make as much progress as we can before it gets dark.”
As the group started off again, another idea sparked in Rainbow’s mind. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it before, because it was so obvious and simple. If the only reason why she had to stay grounded was so nobody outside the group could see her flying, then all she had to do was take off during a time when nobody could see her.
She kept her gaze toward the distant setting sun, eagerly anticipating its complete descent below the horizon. It helped to preoccupy her mind as well, so much better than all of her previous attempts; her wings never twitched and her brain didn’t feel host to a game of ping pong between desire and consideration.
Finally, much to Rainbow’s glee, Hector had the group stop in a small clearing soon after they exited the valley. Oswin and Applejack got to work pitching the tents, Fluttershy and Florina went to fetch firewood, and Serra got to work doing nothing except lounging on a nearby rock like it was a throne.
Hector started digging a fire pit and Rainbow took the opportunity to approach him.
“Hey, Hector?”
He turned to look up at her. “Do you need something?”
“I’ll cut to the chase,” Rainbow said, flaring her wings. “Can I fly now? It’s getting dark, so there shouldn’t be any risk of someone seeing me.”
Hector appeared to think it over for a moment before he resumed digging. “Maybe later. There’s still a fair amount of light left. Talk to me when it’s completely dark.”
Rainbow felt a pang of annoyance flash through her, but she managed to suppress it and give an understanding nod. His reasoning made sense. “All right, I’ll hold you to that.”
The final hues of twilight filled the sky just as the campsite was finished being set up, a roaring fire crackling in the fire pit. Food was brought from the supply wagon and prepared. The group ate their meals in relative silence. Aside from Rusty sniffing Hector’s food — and nearly getting punched by him, to Fluttershy’s panicked horror — dinner was uneventful.
Complete darkness had fallen by the time everyone finished their meals. The instant the last scrap of food went down her throat, Rainbow turned to Hector and said, “So, can I fly now?”
Hector set his food down and folded his hands under his chin while everyone else turned to look at her surprised, except for Florina, who just smiled at her.
“I’m hesitant to let you fly even under cover of darkness,” he started. “I trust you to keep close to the campsite, but please understand: I’m responsible for your well-being. If anything happens to you, it would fall on my head. And I don’t know enough about your princesses to say with confidence how they’d react, but I’d rather not chance it.”
Twilight scuffed a hoof across the ground, looking sheepish. The rest of Rainbow’s friends looked similarly distraught, but Rainbow herself was too anxious to fly to care about whatever Hector might be insinuating.
“Yeah, I get what you’re saying,” she replied. “But sure, I’ll stay close to the campsite. Anything just so I can fly, please!” She looked to Florina for support.
“I don’t believe it will cause any harm,” Florina said, drawing Hector’s attention. “Rainbow Dash has been miserable being unable to fly. I believe she deserves a chance to now after suffering as much as she has.”
Hector regarded her for a moment before breathing deeply through his nose and closing his eyes. A look of contemplation crossed his features. A few moments of silence passed between everyone as they anticipated his reply.
Rainbow felt a bead of sweat drip down her face as anxiety consumed her. She silently pleaded to Hector to say yes. Truthfully, if he didn’t, she would probably defy him and take off anyway; that’s how desperate she was by this point. She’d likely get chewed out by him, but it would’ve been worth it just to relieve her stress.
“Okay, you can fly.”
“YES!” Rainbow exclaimed.
Her impulses immediately took over. She flared her wings, leaping up and flapping with vigor. She didn’t bother waiting for any further words; she took off into the air in a rainbow blur, ignoring the surprised gasps of everyone.
The cold night air felt good against her coat as she sailed upward, past the surrounding forest canopy, coming to a stop about twenty meters above. The stars twinkled brilliantly overhead and Rainbow took a few moments to admire the clear, beautiful night sky. In the far distance, she could see the telltale black space of clouds hanging over some mountains. If she hadn’t promised to stay close to the campsite, she would have flown over and played with them.
The urge to do a Sonic Rainboom was strong within her; the brilliant colors against the night sky would be awesome. But that would stand out in a not-so-good way, so she resisted the desire. There would be plenty of time to show it off to the Ilians when they reached their destination.
Instead of doing anything super awesome and visually stunning, Rainbow contented herself with a few simple mid-air loops and other maneuvers she’d been learning at the Wonderbolt Academy. The stiffness in her wings gradually melted away and by the time she began descending back to the campsite, she was feeling satiated enough to make the rest of the journey on the ground.
Half of the group, to her surprise and confusion, was giving her annoyed stares as they tracked her descent. She landed on the soft dirt gracefully and glanced between everyone. Hector, Oswin, and Applejack were the most visibly annoyed while everyone else looked more pensive.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, completely clueless as to what was going on.
“Rainbow, y’know how you leave a rainbow contrail in yer wake when you fly really fast?” Applejack asked.
“Yeah, and?”
“What did you do just now?”
It took a moment before realization struck. A knot formed in the pit of Rainbow’s stomach and she turned to Hector with a sheepish grin. “Eheheh, oops?”
Hector rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing. “Hopefully, there isn’t anyone around who might have seen you. I trust you’re satisfied, now?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve had my fill,” Rainbow assured him. “I can make it the rest of the way without needing to fly.”
“Good.”
The group proceeded to finished their meals and retire to bed.
As she settled into her sleeping mat, Rainbow’s mind buzzed with excitement thinking of showing off her aerial prowess to the citizens of Ilia once they got there. She imagined dozens of awestruck faces watching her soar through the skies, performing death-defying tricks like they were nothing while her Sonic Rainboom would be the cherry on top of the mind-blowing sundae.
She just might put to shame all of the native pegasi of this world.