//------------------------------// // 19. Admiral Rainbow Dash's request // Story: Wings of Tomorrow ~ Lament of the World // by Keeper of Jericho //------------------------------// Wings of Tomorrow Lament of the World 19. Admiral Rainbow Dash’s request Rainbow Dash marched with a steady pace through the Everfree Forest, her senses alert for any sign of danger, though her face looked relaxed and at ease. Night had fallen and it was rather chilly, with a cold wind that ran between the trees to bring shivers to any living being within the forest. Rainbow Dash barely noticed it, however. The extensive training she had gone through over the course of many years had given her an incredible amount of endurance and stamina, enabling her to withstand a staggering amount of physical hardship and exhaustion. Her pegasi blood gave her further resistance to the elements of weather, and thanks to her magicite shards she could endure the coldest of temperatures with only minor discomfort. Even the Everfree Forest itself, with its strange wildlife and weather that all worked on its own, no longer frightened her. Once, in another lifetime, even she, for all her bravery, had preferred to stay away from the forest if at all possible. The unpredictable weather was only the least of its dangers. Manticores, Cockatrices, Dragons and who knew what other kind of monstrous beasts made it their home, after all. In this life, however, she felt as comfortable walking through Everfree as she felt when taking a casual stroll through the gardens of Cantropolis. Ponies feared what they didn’t understand, and the Everfree Forest was a good example of that. The plants and animals lived on their own, without the aid of ponies, and the weather made itself with no visible explanation as to how that was possible. It was only natural that ponies would be wary or even fearful of such things. She had been once upon a time, too, but no longer. The high chancellor had given her an explanation as to why the Everfree Forest was the way it was, and in doing so had given Rainbow Dash an understanding of the unknown, which took away her fear of it. In a way, walking through the Everfree made Rainbow Dash feel quite nostalgic. She hadn’t been in these parts of Equestria for years, not since she was a filly at least. As she looked around at the dark, ghastly trees, the pegasus admiral wondered idly if Zecora still lived in this forest, or if the Elements of Harmony still rested in the ruins deep within the Everfree. She’d like nothing more than to find out the answers to all those little, nagging questions herself, but Rainbow Dash knew she had no time. She was already delaying her return to Cantropolis solely so she could see her friends. “Now here’s a question Twilight would have a field day with,” Rainbow Dash thought, a small grin forming on her face. “Am I seeing my friends again now, or am I seeing them for the first time?” She glanced towards the night sky thoughtfully. “Technically, I haven’t seen any of them yet in this life, so this would be the first time I’m meeting them, if we ignore the brief encounter in Canterlot. But does it count as a ‘first meeting’ when you’ve already known the ponies in question for years?” Rainbow Dash winced and shook her head. “Ugh, gotta stop thinking like that, it’s so not cool. How the hay can ponies enjoy this ‘philosophy’ stuff?” However, the rainbow-haired pony had to admit to herself that she missed hearing Twilight go on a rant about just that kind of stuff, just like she missed that playful rivalry thing she had with Applejack. She even had missed Pinkie’s utter randomness and – she could barely believe she was admitting this – Rarity’s prissiness and tendency towards drama. Of course, she couldn’t forget about Fluttershy either. She had missed everything about Fluttershy, even her being scared of her own shadow. Truth to be told, she had missed everything about her other friends, too. Rainbow Dash came to a halt and planted her hoof against her face with a groan. She glanced around a couple of times to make sure she was alone. “Alright, alright, so I just miss my friends, and everything that comes with them,” she then admitted out loud to herself. Rolling her eyes, the admiral let out a huff and continued on her way. She didn’t really like thinking about it, because it made her think about how much she actually missed her old life in the old Ponyville, when she had just been the fastest flier in all of Equestria with the most awesome friends a pony could hope for. Thinking like that just made her nostalgic and sad, which in turn weakened her and made her waver. That was something Rainbow Dash couldn’t allow to happen to herself. She had to remain strong so her resolve would remain so as well. The old Ponyville was gone now, Steel Gear had seen to that and there was nothing she could do about it. Not even the high chancellor knew how the stallion had been able to travel back in time, and if she didn’t then nopony did. So it wouldn’t do to waste time lamenting or whining about the loss. She couldn’t do anything about Steel Gear’s interference. But she could do something about the results of his actions, with freeing Princess Celestia as the top priority. If she couldn’t bring back the old Ponyville, then she just had to remake it, and to do that she had to restore proper order to Equestria. Naturally that would be far from easy, and it was for that exact reason that she had to remain strong. She was an admiral now. She had an entire division of roughly thirty-three thousand guards who looked up to her for leadership, who were counting on her to bring them to victory and the restoration of Equestria as it should be. That was a great responsibility that brought with it a great deal of stress, and it would break her if she showed but a single moment of weakness or doubt. She didn’t want that, she knew she wouldn’t be able to bear the shame and regret if such a thing were to happen. Thus far she had been able to manage being in such a vital and important position quite well, but she had to admit that her resolve hadn’t really been tested in all-out war yet. Until recently, the civil war was restricted to the occasional skirmish at the borders. But since Derpy became the Grand Admiral and began to develop the military power of the Royal Guard, the Republic had changed its course and was steering for a head-on collision. Open war would be upon them soon, and it was up to Rainbow Dash and her fellow admirals to see their kingdom through it in one piece. And despite all of her power, Rainbow Dash knew she was still untested when it came to all-out warfare. Now she was still cool, but once the moment was there she’d probably be quite stressed and nervous. She wasn’t above admitting that she could use some help, if only for moral support. Which was exactly why she was now standing before a very familiar cottage, knocking on the door. While she waited for her call to be answered, Rainbow Dash took a moment to look around. The sight of Fluttershy’s cottage made her throat feel dry and raw. She had come here only once before in this life, when she had left to join the royalists. It was as if that had been only yesterday, for nothing had changed. Sure, the lawn was mowed, the garden kept neat and the birdhouses repaired, but all of those things were only superficial. It didn’t change the feelings the sight of the house awoke within the pegasus. Feelings of nostalgia, of happiness and sadness. This place had withstood the shifts in the stream of time, like a lighthouse in a storm, and simply standing here at its front door flooded Rainbow Dash with memories of her other life. In a flash of insight, she saw some of the happiest moments she’d spend at this place in that life, only to then see what she had done at the exact same time in this life instead: training, fighting and practicing. She realised just how many wonderful times she had been cheated out of in this life, and it hurt her deeply. Rainbow Dash felt how her tears fought to break free, but she refused to let them. What kind of impression would it give to her friends if she arrived here in tears? However, she could think of it no further, for at that moment the door opened and a familiar pegasus appeared in the doorway. “Uh… Hiya, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash greeted, with a wide and nervous grin plastered on her face. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly with one of her hooves. “Can I come in?” --- The feeling of being embraced by all of her best friends in a massive group hug was nearly indescribable. The warmth it caused Rainbow Dash to feel inside her chest, the familiarity of both the gesture and the feeling, the emotions it stirred within her, it was all so amazing and so utterly welcome. She hadn’t realised just how much she had missed the comfort of her friends until this very moment, where they nearly piled on top of her and held her tightly, as if they were afraid that she’d vanish the moment they let go. When Rainbow Dash had entered Fluttershy’s cottage, she barely had had the time to locate each of her friends and utter a greeting before the five other mares had thrown themselves at her while crying out her name. Even now they still seemed to have no intention of letting her go, and frankly she didn’t mind. She had wanted to see them every day of her entire life, and she didn’t doubt that the same went for her friends. Now she finally was here with them again, after all those years, and that moment was worth having the life hugged out of her. As she glanced at her friends, she noticed that all of them had tears in their eyes, and to her surprise she felt how her own cheeks were wet as well. “Celestia damn it all, look what you girls made me do,” Rainbow Dash said with a tearful grin. “You made me cry!” Her comment caused the entire group to laugh, and then they finally separated, allowing the admiral to at last take a good look at her friends. Applejack was no different at all from how she remembered her, something that didn’t surprise Rainbow Dash in the least. The earth pony was as sturdy and hardy as a rock, it would take more than a bit of time-shifting to make her change. She still had her trusty hat and the same honest, earnest look in her eyes. Pinkie Pie was a bit more of a shock to her, for the pink earth pony was unusually calm and composed. Sure, Pinkie had been the first to roar ‘Dashie!’ on top of her lungs and hug her to the point of suffocating, but the Pinkie Rainbow Dash remembered would have pulled out her party cannon and thrown a party by this point. The occasion certainly called for one. But she didn’t do this, instead Pinkie merely sat there on her rump, staring at Rainbow Dash with tear-filled, shining eyes, as if she couldn’t believe that the pegasus admiral was really here. Rainbow Dash also noticed something was off about Pinkie’s appearance. Her coat, mane and tail had by this point regained their usual pink hues, but her mane and tail lacked the poofy style Rainbow Dash remembered. It reminded her of how Pinkie’s hair had gone straight and dull that one time when she had thought her friends no longer liked her, and Rainbow Dash wondered if that was at all related to the party pony’s unusual calmness. The pegasus admiral turned her attention to Rarity, and was relieved to see that the unicorn appeared to be fine. She couldn’t see Rarity’s wounds because of the dress the unicorn was wearing, but it seemed that Rarity experienced little to no hinder from it, as she was moving around the cottage without any sign of physical discomfort or pain. The admiral made a mental note to give the healers she’d sent with Rarity in Canterlot a just reward for saving her friend’s life. Aside from this, Rainbow Dash couldn’t detect any immediate change within her friend. Rarity looked and carried herself the same way she always had in the admiral’s memories, a fact that pleased Rainbow Dash to no end. She’d missed her friends and every single one of their quirks, even their flaws, and it made her endlessly happy to know that Rarity was still very big about her appearance and wearing the right fashion. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t have it any other way. When she looked at Twilight Sparkle, however, Rainbow Dash had to prevent herself from frowning with worry and concern. The purple unicorn didn’t look as healthy as the rest of her friends, in fact she looked tired and exhausted, and quite pale as well. That came as no surprise to her, after all, Twilight had been injured very badly and her wounds had been numerous. It was normal that she still wasn’t completely healed only a day after receiving her injuries, even if the most potent healing spells had been used to save her life. It wasn’t the state of Twilight’s health that worried Rainbow Dash, though, it was something different. The eyes of the two mares briefly met, and within Twilight’s eyes Rainbow Dash had seen a look of melancholy and grief. Though the purple mare was smiling and feeling genuinely happy due to seeing her again, Rainbow Dash could feel that her egghead friend was struggling with something inside herself. What this was, she couldn’t fathom, not yet at least, but it was definitely something she’d try to approach Twilight about later, if she could. Heart to heart talks and offering wisdom or comfort had never been her forte, not even in her previous life, Rainbow Dash knew that. But during her years in the guard she had often encountered ponies with similar looks in their eyes, and she had gotten at least a bit of experience in how to treat such ponies, her rank required she possessed concern for the wellbeing of her subordinates, after all. She knew she’d never be as good at being a shoulder to cry on as Fluttershy was, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t try. Especially if it was for one of her friends. Thinking of Fluttershy’s kindness made Rainbow Dash look at her fellow pegasus. Back in Canterlot, she really hadn’t had the time to see how her friends had or hadn’t changed, or to deal with them properly according to their character and personality. That was why she had been so short and to the point, even going as far as slapping Fluttershy to snap her out of her traumatized daze. Rainbow Dash naturally felt only regret for that, especially since she understood like no other how hard and traumatizing it must have been for Fluttershy to be in the middle of such a brutal situation. But there hadn’t been the time to be calm and patient and understanding, Twilight and Rarity’s lives had been in genuine danger. On top of that Rainbow Dash had had to worry about the agents she had sent to break in the palace and the retrieval of the plans from Shining Armour’s office as well. She wouldn’t say it out loud, but that night in Canterlot had been one of the most stressing and trying times in her entire career as a Royal Guard. Simply making sure that her plan to retrieve the plans succeeded had been difficult enough on its own, but when she saw that three of her best friends had involuntarily been dragged into her fight and had gotten injured due to her plan, Rainbow Dash had been close to snapping under the pressure, worry and panic. It all had turned out well enough in the end, however. The plans were safely in her possession, Twilight and Rarity had been saved, and she was finally seeing her best friends again. And as for Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash got the impression that her timid friend was managing fine. Fluttershy’s injury, caused by a brutal blow to the head, seemed to have been healed nicely, with only a minor bruise remaining. She also seemed to be behaving pretty normally, looking genuinely at ease and very happy, almost uncharacteristically so, to see Rainbow Dash again. Fluttershy appeared to be herself, unchanged, just like how Rainbow Dash remembered her. Glancing around to observe the living room of the cottage, the pegasus admiral noticed that Fluttershy wasn’t the only thing that appeared to be unchanged. Her house was exactly how Rainbow Dash remembered it to be, everything being in place and looking as it always had, as if time had not been tampered with in the slightest. That on itself was odd, but it became even more so when she remembered how, during all these years, she hadn’t been able to find a single trace of Fluttershy anywhere. Even though she had never visited or contacted them, Rainbow Dash at least knew where the rest of her friends had been. But not Fluttershy. There never had been any sign or word of the butter-coloured mare, as if she had disappeared from the face of the world until now. “It’s probably one of those ‘anomalies’ the high chancellor told me about,” she thought. “I probably should tell her about it once I’m back in Cantropolis.” Applejack’s voice pulled the admiral from her thoughts. “Ain’t no shame in sheddin’ some tears, sugarcube,” she said, in response to Rainbow Dash’s earlier comment about how they had made her cry. The orange pony was grinning at her friend, a few stray tears still blinking in the corners of her eyes. “Especially not when yer seein’ one of yer best friends for the first time in years.” She walked up to Rainbow Dash and offered one of her hooves, her grin becoming a genuine, sincere smile of happiness. “Good to see ya again, partner.” “Likewise, AJ,” Rainbow Dash replied, bumping her hoof against Applejack’s. “I missed our hoof wrestling matches.” “And Ah missed yer lazy hide nappin’ in mah trees,” Applejack answered, her smile wavering a bit as fresh tears of joy began welling up. The apple farmer chuckled, and bowed her head while wiping her tears away. “Now look at me, gettin’ all emotional and stuff.” She mock-glared at Rainbow Dash. “It’s yer fault, too. Couldn’t even be bothered to send a wishin’ card fer Hearths’ Warming Eve, could ya?” “Yeah, Dashie, that wasn’t very nice!” Pinkie cried out, looking like she was only half-joking when sounding angry. “We were all so super duper worried about you, because you could get hurt while fighting all those meanies and we wouldn’t even know because you never let us hear even a single word of you! Not even half a word!” Twilight, who was laying on the couch with a blanket draped over her, Rarity standing at her side, made a gesture with her hoof for Pinkie to stand down. “Easy there, Pinkie,” she said calmly but friendly. “I’m sure Rainbow Dash would have wanted to let us know how she was doing as badly as we wanted to hear from her. But it tends to be rather difficult for a royalist to casually contact citizens of the Republic.” Rainbow Dash nodded solemnly and sighed, then looked up to give all of her friends, but Pinkie in particular, an apologetic look. “Twilight’s right. I would have loved to send you guys a letter or something, to let you know how I was doing,” she said. “But if I did that, there was a chance that the Republic would find out, and then you’d all be accused of collaborating with royalists. I couldn’t risk putting all of you in danger.” Applejack sat down next to Pinkie and put a hoof on her fellow earth pony’s shoulder. “She’s right, sugarcube. ‘T wouldn’t have been safe, it wouldn’t,” she said, giving Rainbow Dash an understanding look. “And Ah think that it was just as hard fer her as it was for the lot of us.” Pinkie bowed her head and clopped her front hooves together absentmindedly. “I know,” she admitted, her mane losing some of its curls and waviness as she spoke. “And I’m not mad at Dashie, I’m just sad because I really, really, really missed her and worried about her.” “I understand, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash replied, her voice sounding surprisingly soft and vulnerable. “I missed you girls a lot, too, and I swear, if there had been any way for me to safely contact any of you, I would have done so.” “It’s okay, Rainbow Dash, what matters is that you’re here now,” Fluttershy said quietly, smiling kindly at her friend. She wasn’t sure if it was really okay, given that she hadn’t had to miss her dear friend for an entire lifetime, but it still felt like the right thing to say. “Fluttershy’s right, sugarcube. What’s important is that ya finally decided to drop by and visit,” Applejack agreed. “Ah must admit, though, me and Pinkie were a mighty bit shocked when Flutters and Rare came home far earlier than expected, supportin’ a Twilight who looked right about ready to drop to the floor like an apple from a bucked tree, with ‘er body all bandaged up. Then they started sayin’ they’d met you and would be comin’ here tonight, and me and Pinkie here weren’t quite sure what to believe or make of it.” “Their disbelief was quite understandable, I must admit,” Rarity added, looking curiously at the cyan pegasus. “Not that I’m complaining, for it is wonderful to see you again, darling, but why are you on Republic territory? Being a rather well-known member of the royalists as you are, it doesn’t quite seem like the safest or most logical of places to be.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “To be honest, my visit to Ponyville wasn’t part of the plan when I left Cantropolis. I kinda added it to the schedule on a whim when I saw you in Canterlot,” she replied. “I realised then that, since I was in the neighbourhood anyway, this was a golden opportunity to meet you guys again, so I took the chance.” “That still begs the question why you were in Canterlot in the first place,” Twilight mused. “I take it that it has something to do with those plans that Night Guard was carrying?” The admiral nodded, her expression becoming rather grim. “Hit the nail on the head. We’ve been kinda desperate to get our hooves on those scrolls for months, so I came up with a plan to snatch them while everypony was busy with the parade. Since this operation was so important, I came along myself to make sure we’d succeed,” Rainbow Dash explained. “There’s no way I’d risk myself this deep in enemy territory otherwise, but I had no choice but to take the risk this time. With success, though I lost more good ponies last night than I wanted to.” She gave Twilight a serious but grateful look. “And all those lives would’ve been lost in vain if it weren’t for you, Twilight. If it weren’t for you stalling them, those guards would have retaken the plans and everything would’ve been for nothing.” Rainbow Dash bowed her head deeply out of gratitude and respect for her friend. “On behalf of myself and the entire Royal Guard, you, Rarity and Fluttershy have my thanks.” To say it was surprising to hear Rainbow Dash say something like that, on so solemn and serious a tone no less, would have been an understatement, and each of her friends had suddenly lost their jaws somewhere on the floor. Twilight was the first to recover. “It is us who should be thanking you, Rainbow Dash,” she said quietly. “We didn’t do anything, weren’t of any use at all, and would have been wasting away in a jail now, or worse, if it weren’t for you. You saved our lives.” Rarity and Fluttershy silently nodded their agreement. The rainbow-haired pegasus dismissed Twilight’s words with a simple gesture of her hoof. “As if I’d let any of my friends get hurt on my watch,” she said. Then, with more concern, she added: “How are your injuries, though? I hate to say it, but you don’t look too good, Twilight.” She then glanced at the other unicorn in the room. “What about you, Rarity?” “I’m quite fine, darling, rest assured,” the white mare replied calmly, and she gently rubbed the area of her wound through her dress. “It aches a bit when I walk, but nothing serious or hindering.” Rarity glanced at Twilight from the corner of her eyes with worry and some mild disapproval. “Twilight’s condition is not as good, I’m afraid.” “Rarity, I’m fine, I’m just tired,” the other unicorn said insistently. “I merely overexerted myself today, that’s all.” “Quite,” Rarity agreed, the expression on her face making it clear to everypony in the room that she was anything but pleased with Twilight’s behaviour from earlier that day. “We told you to let us order a taxi to bring you here, Twilight, yet you insisted on walking.” “It was past sunset when we arrived at the train station,” Twilight noted. “There are no more taxis in Ponyville at that hour.” “Be that as it may, I’m certain we could have arranged something for you nevertheless,” Rarity insisted. She sighed and shook her head, before arranging the blanket covering her friend neatly again. “No matter, what’s done is done, so you just take some rest now, darling.” Twilight nodded and did not protest any further, and she breathed deeply in and out a couple of times before laying down her head on her pillow again. Satisfied, Rarity turned to look at Rainbow Dash again, who was still standing in the middle of the room with the eyes of all her friends on her. “Ah’m not sure Ah follow all this stuff ‘bout plans and risks, though Pinkie and mahself got a recap of what happened back in Canterlot,” Applejack spoke up, after a few moments of silence. She was watching Rainbow Dash with a bit of a thoughtful frown on her face. “But Ah suppose it don’t matter as long as Twi’ and the others are safe and ya got what ya wanted, sugarcube. But what Ah wanna know is why you took the risk to come and see us instead of takin’ them plans straight back to Cantropolis if they’re so important.” She paused for a moment, then hastily added: “Not that Ah’m not glad to see ya, sugarcube, ‘cause Ah am. But ya gotta admit it ain’t fully logical.” “Don’t remind me, I already got an earful about the exact same matter from my vice-admiral,” Rainbow Dash replied, and she groaned. “But, well, I really couldn’t miss this opportunity now that I was so close to Ponyville. I really wanted to see you guys again, for one thing, but there was also something that I really wanted to ask of you.” “Something you would like to ask us?” Rarity echoed ponderously. Rainbow Dash nodded again, and quietly wondered how she was best going to approach this. After a few moments of contemplation, she reached a decision and took in a deep breath to steel herself. “You guys probably don’t know it, but the Republic is getting very nervous as of late,” she began, and immediately the mood in the room seemed to darken somewhat as her friends realised this was going to be something grave and serious. “The Royal Guard’s growing stronger every day, and at this rate, we’d have the power to take down the Republic, free Princess Celestia and end the civil war in but a few more years,” Rainbow Dash continued, glad to see her friends were paying rapt attention and understanding that her words were no laughing matter. Even Pinkie was listening attentively. “The Nobles’ Court knows this as well as we do, and they obviously don’t find the idea very appealing. So they decided that instead of waiting for us to come and buck their butts to the Frozen North, they’re going to make the first strike and take us down while they still can.” “The plans that I was ordered to retrieve are so important because they contain the details of the upcoming invasion. We had to know where the Republic’s planning to strike and how, or else they’d defeat us, and then Princess Celestia is going to be in a dungeon forever.” Rainbow Dash sighed and absentmindedly ran a hoof through her mane. “I have the plans now, so we can prepare our defences accordingly and prepare a counterattack, meaning we’ll stay in the game for at least a bit longer. That’s the good news.” She paused a moment to let her words sink in. “The bad news is that with this, the days of cold war and small skirmishes at the borders are over. The Republic means business and they want us out of the way for good. Open war will be upon Equestria very soon, whether we like it or not. Before the year’s over, this war’s going to be over.” The other ponies in the room could only stare at their friend in shock as she informed them of these facts. In all honesty, the civil war had little impact on the daily life in Ponyville until now. The conflict had gone on for so long that it had almost become normal, to the point where it no longer interested ponies who didn’t live at the unstable borders. Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie had been no exception. They didn’t like the way things were, and certainly didn’t like that there was a civil war going on, but none of them had any firsthoof experience with it. To hear now that it was going to escalate, badly, was unsettling to say the least. “I’m a Royal Admiral,” Rainbow Dash said, after another short pause. “It’s going to be my job to take care of roughly thirty-three thousand ponies and lead them into battle and to victory.” She could hear sharp intakes of breath upon revealing this. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do know that it won’t be easy, and that I could use some help. So when I saw you girls in Canterlot, I planned this visit for two reasons.” “Ehm… w… what reasons are those?” Fluttershy squeaked, bravely daring to speak up. “The first reason was that I simply wanted to see you guys again. I’ve missed all of you very badly, and I really couldn’t resist this chance to come and see you all,” Rainbow Dash answered. She smiled a bit and glanced around the room, looking each of her friends in the eye one by one. “But when I thought of visiting here, I realised that it would give me the opportunity to achieve my second reason of coming here.” “And that is…?” Rarity asked, not wanting the cyan pegasus to keep them in suspension. “I already said that I could use some help in the upcoming war. More specifically, I could use your help,” Rainbow Dash replied. She took another deep breath and avoided looking any of her friends in the eye. “I can’t do this on my own, I need my friends by my side if I’m going to make it through this mess. I’m asking you girls to come with me to Cantropolis.” End of chapter 19.