Seeing people’s star-filled eyes looking to her was like a tasty chocolate cupcake for Rainbow’s ego. Even in another world, with a completely different species, their silent praise filled her soul with a joy that was second only to being with her friends. Of course, her friends would tease her about how big her ego was, comparing its size to Celestia’s sun or something equally as silly. Not that she minded as it was all in good fun.
The past four days had seen her spending a good chunk of time fighting single-hoofed against Ilia’s climate, working her magic to dispose of clouds and create warm fronts to give everyone a much-appreciated reprieve from the freezing cold. Canas had said he’d wanted more than anything to lend her a hand in the battle, but that it would take several weeks of training at the very least before he could make something out of his research. Not that Rainbow felt she couldn’t do the job on her own, far from it, in fact. And hey, that just meant even more praise and awe for her.
As she made another pass to erase another column of the cloud layer, she cast a brief glance down, feeling some of her pride ebb away at the sight down below.
Whereas the entire town had come to watch her and Applejack the first day, now only a scant dozen or so people were watching. Not even their friends were around to watch: Hector, Oswin, and Florina were doing Fiora a favor in helping to train some of the mercenaries under her command, with Fluttershy there just to be with the pegasus knight sisters, while Canas had contracted a nasty cold as a result of his time up in the clouds the other day and was currently resting off the last of his sniffles with Twilight by his side. Nobody knew where Serra had gone off to, but they figured if she got into trouble it wouldn’t be hard to track her down. Most of them had stayed to watch every single day before today, to be fair, and even Rainbow knew that watching her weatherworking, as awesome as it was, could get boring after a while.
All the same, seeing the crowd visibly shrink with each passing day was depressing. She knew these people had lives to live, that they couldn’t be expected to watch her for every single demonstration of her magic, yet that persistent paranoid belief that she might be losing her appeal refused to go away.
Rainbow shook her head free of such thoughts, returning her attention to the task at hoof. The clouds today were especially plentiful and resilient, forcing her to expel more magic in order to dispel them. The technique she used for large swaths of clouds such as this had her use her wings like a broom, sweeping to dispel them as she surged forward with each flap. Most ponies would be hard pressed to keep up such a technique for a long period of time, but the bulk of Rainbow’s strength was in her wings, so it would normally be little issue for her.
Today was proving to be an exception, however, as her stamina was draining fast over the course of her work. By the time she began tackling the last of the cloud layer, she was breathing heavily with her tongue lolling out her mouth and her wings struggled to put forth the effort required to dispel the clouds.
She persevered, however, eventually finishing her work before beginning her descent back to the ground where everyone was waiting for her. She gently alighted onto the ground before the group, relishing in their smiling faces as they no doubt silently praised her awesome weathercrafting skills. Even though there were fewer people here than the previous few days, anyone who stayed couldn’t possibly look at her talent without gaping in awe.
“Nice work as usual, RD,” Applejack said, coming up to her as she touched down. “You’re looking pretty tired, too. That’s unusual.”
Rainbow waved her off. “Just a bigger load than the last few days is all,” she said between breaths. She took a couple of moments to fully catch her breath before continuing. “A little water and I’ll be just fine.”
“Water, you said?”
The two friends turned to see a member of the town’s militia, as indicated by his armor and helmet, holding out a flask to them.
“Really, you’re giving it to me?” Rainbow asked, dumbstruck.
The soldier nodded, a thin smile splitting his mouth. “You need it more than I do. Consider it a small token of gratitude for everything you’re doing to help this country’s people.”
“Oh, definitely.” Rainbow took the flask in her hoof, opened it, and took a generous swig of the water contained within before passing it back to the soldier. She smacked her lips and let out a refreshed sigh. “Yeah, that hit the spot. Thanks a million.”
“You’re most welcome,” the soldier said. “And now I must return to the village. Miss Fiora is expecting me.”
He turned to leave while Rainbow and Applejack waved him off. The farmers then began planting their next round of crops, to which Applejack joined them to lend her magical assistance.
Time for a little chillaxin’, Rainbow thought to herself.
She lifted off the ground, hovering over to the nearest tree and alighting on one of the sturdiest branches. Lying down, she took her favorite pair of shades from the little nook under her wing and set them upon her muzzle. Putting her forelegs behind her head, she began her, in her eyes, much needed chillaxing.
“Rainboooow Daaaash!”
Dread and despair shot through her soul the instant the recognizable voice reached her ears. She bit her lip, a fleeting hope surging through her that maybe Serra hadn’t actually noticed her and she could continue her chillaxing in pea—
“Hey, Rainbow Dash, what are you doing up in that tree?”
... Just ignore her, Dash. Hopefully, she’ll take the hint after a bit.
Rainbow didn’t move a muscle, hoping to trick Serra into thinking she was asleep. For a few seconds, it appeared to have worked, as Serra said nothing.
And it was at that precise moment that Rainbow’s stomach decided to betray her, gurgling loudly as if she’d gone days without eating.
“Wait, so you’re awake, then?”
Rainbow grit her teeth, silently cursing her stomach with every single expletive she knew several times over. Her stomach responded by gurgling again, even louder, causing a small spike of pain to lance through her gut. She instinctively threw a hoof over the affected area, wincing at the feeling.
“Yeah, you’re awake! Why didn’t you answer me before? That was so mean of you to ignore me like that!”
Rainbow felt like her teeth would turn into a fine powder, so hard was she grinding them at that point. She turned her head to look down, seeing Serra staring up at her from the base of the tree. Slung across her back was her travel pack, the tops of her various healing staves sticking out the open flap.
“What are you doing here, Serra?” she asked, not trying very hard to come across as polite in her tone.
“Well, I just got done curing one of the villagers of a bad stomach ache; I thought I’d check up on you and Applejack, see how you’re coming along.” She tilted her head, confusion filling her eyes. “What’s that weird thing you’re wearing, anyway?”
“What, these?” Rainbow gestured to her shades. “They’re called sunglasses; they help keep the sun out of your eyes.” Another, larger spike of pain shot through her gut, forcing her to clutch her stomach again. “What the heck?” she whispered to herself.
“They look incredibly weird and low fashion,” Serra remarked, apparently not having noticed Rainbow’s agony.
“Shows what you know,” Rainbow said through the pain. “I’ll take ‘chill’ over ‘fashionable’ any day of the week.”
Serra tilted her head again. “Chill? What do you mean by that? Is Ilia’s cold getting to you or something?”
“It means to be relaxed and quiet; two things you apparently haven’t learned how to do.” Another spike, and another clutch.
“I can’t believe you just said that!” Serra huffed. “Why are you so mean to me? You and everyone else are always—”
She was cut off by Rainbow’s cry of agony. The pain had spread throughout most of her lower body now, becoming too much to bear for her. She wrapped both forelegs around her midsection and tried taking fast, heavy breaths to offset the pain, but it didn’t work.
“Wait, what’s wrong?” Serra asked, genuine concern filling her eyes.
“I don’t know,” Rainbow wheezed out. The pain had by now spread throughout her entire body minus her head and wings and all the strength was quickly leaving her. She unfurled her wings and quickly lifted herself up off the branch before she ended up falling out of the tree. She hovered down and gingerly set herself on the ground in front of Serra before collapsing onto her side in a convulsing heap.
“Oh my gosh, your body is turning green!” Serra practically shouted, making Rainbow fold her ears back to block out the shrill sting of pain it brought. “You’ve been poisoned!”
Rainbow turned her head to look up at her, deadpan. “What?”
Serra didn’t reply. She took off her travel pack and pulled out a golden staff topped off with a red jewel. “Just relax and I’ll cure you,” she said.
Serra held the staff over Rainbow’s body with one hand. She closed her eyes and whispered something under her breath, to which the red jewel lit up with an eerie, yet comforting light.
A warm tingling took root in her stomach which quickly began to expand outwards. Slowly, but surely, the magic began erasing the pain— the feeling wasn’t too different from that of a paintbrush gently stroking across a canvas. It worked from top to bottom in her gut before splitting into two halves, each one traveling down opposite ends of her body. In a matter of seconds, all the pain was gone.
Rainbow stood up, flexing her hooves, then her wings, making sure everything was working just fine before turning to Serra with a grateful smile.
“Thanks a million, Serra,” she said. “Glad you came when you did, or else who knows what would’ve happened to me.”
“Well, I’m glad to know you still know how to be grateful,” Serra replied with a hint of exasperation in her tone.
Rainbow sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, giggling lightly. “Eheh, yeah, thanks.” A serious expression crossed her face. “You said I was poisoned? Are you sure about that?”
“Positive,” Serra affirmed. “You were turning all sickly green. In my experience, that only happens to someone who’s been poisoned.”
“But how could I have been pois—” Realization hit like a big, fat brick. She scowled, turning toward the village. “The water!”
Rainbow didn’t bother waiting for Serra to speak. She took off down the trail at lightning speed with a fierce scowl on her face. The two soldiers guarding the rear entrance of the village were surprised to see her barreling towards the gate. Even if they wanted to, they wouldn’t have been able to raise their lances fast enough to block her as she shot past them into the village.
Shocked gasps sounded off around her as Rainbow slowed down to hover upward and get a good vantage. A quick scan of the village revealed sight of the training grounds where a number of soldiers were sparring with Fiora’s mercenaries in dismounted combat along with Hector, Oswin, and Florina while Fluttershy and Rusty watched from a safe distance.
Rainbow sped over the village to the training grounds, descending in the middle of everyone, catching their collective attention.
She looked between all of the soldiers. “Which one of you gave me the water?” she asked.
One of the soldiers smiled. “That was me. Did you want—oof!”
Rainbow was tempted to put even more force into her shove but held herself back. A collective gasp came from everyone as the soldier fell onto his back. Rainbow wasted no time in firmly planting all four hooves on his chest to keep him from getting up. She scowled down at him and he looked back up at her with a mixture of confusion and terror.
“Rainbow! What are you doing!?” Fluttershy cried.
Rainbow ignored her friend, pressing down a little harder on the man’s chest, making him struggle for air. “Why did you try to poison me, huh?” she asked, venom lacing her words. “Are you a foreign spy or something? Do you have something against me? Or my friends? So help me if you do anything to harm them…”
“Poison? What are you talking about, Rainbow!?” Hector cried.
The soldier shook his head rapidly from side to side, the helmet scraping against the ground. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I would never do anything to harm this country’s saviors. I swear by the gods!”
Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “Then why did I get poisoned immediately after drinking the water from your flask? Have you taken a single swig from it all day?”
“Well, no but—urk!” Rainbow pressed her hoof down a little harder.
“Rainbow, please stop!” Fluttershy cried.
Rainbow heard her friend flap over. She felt her friend wrap her hooves around her withers and gently tried to pull her off. She spared Fluttershy a glance, softening upon seeing the confusion and heartbreak in her friend’s eyes. She glanced around at all the humans: Fiora, Hector, and Oswin were watching the scene intensely, their eyes darting between herself and the wheezing man pinned beneath her, while everyone else was caught somewhere between awe and terror.
Another glance at Fluttershy convinced Rainbow she was being too rash. Gently, she stepped off of the soldier, letting him sit up and catch his breath, never once taking her suspicion-filled eyes off of him. Fluttershy relaxed at the action, as did everyone else watching.
“Sorry about that, Fluttershy,” Rainbow whispered so only she could hear. “Guess I still need to work on thinking before acting, huh?”
“You’ll get there someday, I’m sure,” she replied kindly.
“So you’re saying you were poisoned, Rainbow?”
Hector, Oswin, and Fiora had stepped forward to join them.
“Yeah,” Rainbow confirmed with a nod.
She quickly relayed the entire story to everyone, from the point she finished with her work up until she came to the training grounds. Attention gradually shifted from her onto the soldier, who seemed to stop listening to her story about halfway through, having pulled out his flask, opened it, and was sniffing the top.
“Is that so?” Hector said once Rainbow was finished speaking. He turned to the soldier, giving him a hard stare. “What say you?”
The soldier glanced around to everyone else, shrinking under all the expressions ranging from suspicion, accusation, to horror. Even though his eyes were covered by his helmet, it was easy to tell he was panicking.
“I swear to the gods above, I didn’t poison the water,” he said, fumbling a little with his words. He held out his flask. “But is it even poisoned? I can’t smell anything.”
Hector walked over and took the flask from him. He lifted the top to his nose and lightly inhaled. He shook his head. “I don’t smell anything either.”
“Maybe, um, your sense of smelling isn’t strong enough?” Fluttershy suggested, drawing everyone’s attention to her. She turned to Rusty resting on her back. “Rusty?” The little fox perked up his ears, cracking open an eye to regard her. “Could you check to see if the water’s poisoned, please?”
Rusty stood up on her back, stretching his body and making a noise that Rainbow assumed was a fox’s equivalent to a yawn. He hopped down and strode over to Hector, who lowered the flask allowing the fox to sniff the open top. He immediately recoiled, barking loudly as he bolted away from Hector, back over to Fluttershy and behind her legs. He looked back to the flask, softly growling with obvious contempt.
Hector blinked. “Well, I guess that answers that question.” He held the flask upside down, letting the poisoned water spill onto the ground before handing it back to the soldier.
“But why would my water be poisoned?” the soldier asked as he took it, his previous panic replaced with concern and confusion. “And what motive could someone have to seek harm unto me?”
No one had an answer to that.
“Everyone!”
The voice was unmistakably Serra’s. The young cleric came running around a corner and onto the training grounds towards them. Her travel pack swung frantically from side to side in tune to her footfalls while her face was beet red and mouth hung open, panting with exhaustion. She reached the group in a matter of seconds, stopping to catch her breath with her hands on her knees.
“Yo, Serra, welcome to the party,” Rainbow greeted, allowing herself to forget the unfolding situation for a bit to crack wise.
Serra stared icy daggers at her. “The nerve of some people, leaving a lady to run all by her lonesome,” she growled in a very unladylike manner. “And after I saved your life, no less.”
“Yeah, yeah, sorry about that.” Rainbow waved a dismissive hoof. “And thanks again.”
Serra turned to regard everyone else with a more friendly countenance. “Is anyone else in need of saving? My generosity knows no bounds, so please come forth with any pleas you may have.”
“We’re all fine, Serra,” Florina said. “But if someone slipped poison into this poor soldier’s water, then we still have reason to worry.”
“Where did you get that water from, soldier?” Hector asked him.
The soldier got back onto his feet, his posture straightening with militaristic precision. “From the village’s water well, Lord Hector.”
“Alright then.” Hector turned down the path leading from the training grounds to the village square. “Let’s investigate this matter immediately.”
He took off at a brisk jog, everyone following right behind him.
“More running!?” Serra whined, bringing up the rear.
Activity in the streets had increased over the day, forcing the group to go at a slower pace as they bobbed and weaved around people. The hurry they were in brought about more than a few curious looks, but they ignored the villagers, focusing on the unfolding situation.
An old woman was hauling a bucketful of water from the well by the time the group reached it. The woman didn’t have a chance to greet them good morning before Hector seized the rope from her and resumed pulling it up himself, eliciting a cry of distress from her. He brought the bucket down onto the ground in front of Fluttershy.
“Okay, Rusty,” she said, gently nudging the reluctant fox off of her back. “Help us out, please.”
Rusty made a noise that might’ve been a sigh of resignation and stepped forward. He lifted his paws onto the rim of the bucket and sniffed at the surface of the water. His reaction was much the same as before, jumping away and scurrying back over to Fluttershy, hiding behind her legs. Rainbow heard a few whispers in the crowds around them; no doubt they were catching on that something big was happening.
“Lord Hector, what’s going on?” the old woman asked, irritation creeping into her voice.
“This water has been poisoned,” Hector said quite frankly.
“Poisoned!?”
Her cry was caught by the surrounding crowd. Sharp gasps and hushed voices began filling the air around the village square.
Hector sent the woman away before turning to the soldier accompanying them. “Inform the town’s militia that the water well has been poisoned. Anyone who’s taken a bucket from it since this morning is in danger. Dump all contaminated water and get those who start showing signs of poisoning to the local apothecary. Lastly, get all the villagers safely indoors until further notice; it’s clear we’re dealing with a threat to the entire village.”
“At once, sir!” the soldier said, and hurried off.
“Serra,” Hector said, turning to her, “go with him. Your job is to treat as many poisoned people as you can until your staves are spent.”
Serra’s eyes sparkled with happiness and determination. “You can count on me, Lord Hector.” She hurried off after the soldier.
Hector sighed and rubbed his temples. “This couldn’t be an easy mission, of course.”
“Who would want to do such a thing as this, Lord Hector?” Fiora asked worryingly, yet Rainbow could see a spark of vengeance lit in her eyes. “Moreover, who could have enough poison to even attempt it?”
Hector appeared to contemplate for a few moments, tapping his fingers against the well. It was unusual to see him like this, Rainbow thought, with how typically rash the man seemed to be. Him taking the time to think over the situation really drove home the point that things were getting serious.
“Florina,” he finally said, turning to his wife, “you remember Lyn’s story about how her entire tribe was killed, right?”
Florina nodded. “Of course.” Then her eyes filled with comprehension and she threw a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp. “You don’t mean…?”
Hector nodded as well, his eyes closing while his lips set into a grim frown. “It’s a possibility.”
“Pardon me for questioning your logic, my lord, but how could that be true?” Oswin asked. “How could a group of bandits have snuck into the village and poisoned the drinking water? And why wouldn’t they try a more direct method if they wanted to overtake the village?”
“As I said, it’s a possibility,” Hector repeated. “It’s also possible that one of the villagers is responsible, but I’d like to believe the former is true.” He lifted the bucket back up and set it on the well’s rim. “We’ll have to find a way to purify this well so it’s safe to drink from again. Until then, Fiora, inform your mercenary company what’s happening and have them prepare for battle. If bandits are to blame, then it’s likely they’ll make their move once they believe everyone in the village is poisoned.”
“Right away,” Fiora said and ran off back in the direction of the training grounds.
Hector began talking with Oswin about stuff relating to battle strategy. Rainbow looked over to Fluttershy; her friend, expectedly, looked like she was about to go through an obstacle course at Junior Speedsters Flight Camp in front of a crowd of people. For once, she could relate to the feeling; the way things were going made it sound like a bloody conflict was coming.
She placed a comforting hoof on Fluttershy’s withers, earning her a grateful look from her friend. “Don’t worry, Shy, we’ll be alright.”
“I believe that,” she replied before her expression turned sullen again. “But why would anyone want to hurt so many people?”
Florina stepped over to them and knelt down to meet Fluttershy at eye level. “Remember how I said some bandit groups are more ruthless than others?” she asked.
Fluttershy nodded.
“If it’s true that bandits are to blame for this, then they must have a larger goal in mind than simply killing everyone in town if they went so far as to poison the drinking water.”
“What kind of goal?” Fluttershy asked.
Florina’s eyes gained a faraway glint as she thought it over for a moment. “They might plan on using this village as a stepping stone to overtake the castle. It wouldn’t be the first time such a tactic has been attempted.”
Fluttershy’s gaze turned crestfallen. “So many people are going to be hurt, then,” she said with pained resignation.
“Don’t worry, Shy,” Rainbow said. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t come to bloodshed.”
“Wait, really?” A glimmer of hope crossed Fluttershy’s features. “How?”
“With good ol’ pegasus power, of course!”
Rainbow waited until Hector and Oswin had finished talking before approaching them, by which point, the crowd had dispersed with a noticeable aura of gloom and uncertainty surrounding them.
“Yo, can we talk for a bit?” she asked
“What is it?” Hector asked back.
“When do you think the village is going to be attacked?”
“That depends on whether I’m right about bandits being responsible. If they are, then I can guarantee they’ll be coming before the day is over. If or when that happens, we’ll need to be prepared to face them head on with everyone that has sufficient combat experience.” Hector looked at her curiously. “Why do you ask?”
Rainbow felt a very welcome surge of pride swell within her. Her plan was genius! “My weathercrafting is great for more than just farming. Last Nightmare Night — uh, that’s a holiday back in Equestria — I used a thunderhead to cast lightning bolts to scare the fur off of everypony. If any bandits come down to the village, I can do the same thing to scare them off so there won’t have to be any fighting!” She had her back turned to Fluttershy, but Rainbow imagined her friend was caught somewhere between loving her idea for opening the door to a peaceful solution, and uneasiness over how cruel she likely thought it was.
Hector and Oswin shared a brief look with each other, one that silently communicated their beliefs and stance on the matter. No doubt they were so well acquainted as to be able to do that effortlessly, but Rainbow figured they were probably trying to hide their shared amazement over the brilliance of her plan.
Finally, they turned back to her. “Well, it is a sound plan in theory,” Oswin stated. “But it is too risky to believe that someone brazen enough to commit this crime will be frightened by a few lightning bolts.”
“Oh, trust me, it won’t be just ‘a few lightning bolts’,” Rainbow replied, a sadistic smile stretching across her muzzle. For a brief moment, she contemplated evilly rubbing her hooves together. “I’ll make it rain lightning. No one will take two steps near the village after I do my thing.”
Hector and Oswin still didn’t look convinced. It made sense they’d be doubtful, not having had a chance to see the full potential of her pegasus magic.
“If I may, Hector?” Florina said, approaching them.
“Yes, dear?” Hector said.
“Whether or not Rainbow’s plan works, there’s surely no harm in letting her try, right?” She looked down to Rainbow. “You would be high up in the sky to cast your magic, correct?” she asked.
“Yep,” Rainbow confirmed.
Florina looked to Hector expectantly.
Hector crossed his arms. “I suppose we can give it a try, then.”
“Thanks for the chance, Hector,” Rainbow said. She heard Fluttershy gasp for joy under her breath behind her.
“But we’re still going to prepare in case it doesn’t work,” Hector continued. He turned to Fluttershy, earning a soft eep from her. “Fluttershy, go tell the rest of your friends what’s going on. I want you all to stay indoors until we give the all clear.”
“R-right, of course.”
Rainbow watched Fluttershy gallop off to find Applejack and Twilight, feeling a pang of guilt for the distress her friend was being put through. All the same, she was proud of her for fighting through it like a champ. She’d never be as brave and strong as the Dashinator, but the timid little filly from flight camp was disappearing bit by bit over time.
She was brought out of her musings when Hector spoke up again. “How quickly can you be ready, Rainbow?”
She buffed a hoof against her chest. “No time at all. Like I’ve said before, I do things fast.”
“Then get to it,” Hector said, coming off a little too bossy for Rainbow’s liking. “The signal for when we want you to use your magic will be me raising my weapon to the sky. Will that be easy enough for you to spot?”
“Easy peasy threesy,” Rainbow replied.
Hector blinked. “... Your language can be weird sometimes.”
“Not my problem!”
Rainbow took off into the sky before Hector could give a reply, laughing the whole way. As soon as she made it to the cloudbank she got to work crafting a giant thunderhead, pouring a sizable amount of magic into its construction. A small grin spread across her face thinking about the terrified looks on the bad guys’ faces to see a bunch of bolts striking the ground at their feet.
This is gonna be sooo sweet.