Rainbow Dash hummed a tune to herself as she stared herself down in the mirror. Outside she could hear the faint chants of the Baltimare crowd in the background, but it was heavily drowned out by the sound of the radio. She tended to tune herself out of listening to the radio nowadays, all that was ever on was non-stop news about the political situation in the Griffon Kingdom.
She finished combing her mane then struck a pose, admiring how she looked in the flight suit. She looked herself in the eye, then looked up and down her head. She looked good...but not quite good enough. Her mane was very flat...
“Nah,” she disagreed to herself, shaking her head violently to fluff her mane back up. It was only gonna get that way again from flying anyway. “Do I look good?” She asked openly, turning her head to her teammates behind her, also getting ready in the locker room.
Blaze chuckled as she zipped her flight suit up. “Dash,” she twisted on the bench to face her, “If both of us were gay, you’d be my first pick.”
“Uhh…” Dash raised an eyebrow, “Thanks...I guess?”
“You’d have to fight Soarin for her first,” Misty joked, stuffing her bags into one of the lockers.
“Speaking of Soarin,” High Winds asked in a muffled voice, trotting over to Dash. She took the hair tie out of her mouth. “How’s he feeling? You know, his first show that he’s planned and coordinated and everything…” High Winds asked while tying her mane back in a ponytail.
With High Winds questions, Dash suddenly found all eyes in the mares locker room centred on herself. “Are you trying to hint something at me?” Dash joked with a smile. “For real, though, I haven’t talked to him since we got here.” She admitted, trotting over to her bags and picking them up. “And he hasn’t really spoken that much about it.” She explained, picking her bags up and putting them in whatever locker was free along the wall of lockers running through the back of the locker room.
“Maybe he’s nervous?” Misty suggested, “It’s not every day Spitfire goes on vacation and leaves somepony else to plan and coordinate an entire show.”
“She picked the right time, I hear it’s like a hundred degrees in Irwind in the middle of summer,” Blaze huffed just thinking about the temperature.
“Do you ever go on vacation with your sister?” Bright Skies asked, zipping up the headpiece of her uniform.
“Eh…” Blaze frowned, “We have different ideas. Laying around in the sun ain’t my idea of a vacation. I’d rather go skiing in the Crystal Empire, or something with more...activity.”
Bright Skies shrugged, “Each to their own, I guess,” she deduced. “Anyway, are you...going...to…” Bright trailed off as she realized that Dash had silently left the conversation while they were talking. “...Dash?”
Dash trotted out the mares locker room into an open space that separated the mares and the stallions. With fewer walls in the way, the echoes of the screaming fans were more prominent. Even though she had been doing this for four years now, it still gave her a tingle down her spine when she was reminded how many thousands of ponies were there, looking forward to seeing her. A feeling she once shared when she was younger.
She saw Soarin over in the corner. He had his flight suit on and was ready to go. He appeared to just be going over his notes. He glanced up as he heard somepony walking towards him. Seeing as it was Dash, he shot her a smile then looked back down into his paperwork.
“Nervous?” Dash asked directly, she didn’t do word mincing.
“...A little,” Soarin replied, knowing that lying was pointless now that they had been together for so long. “This is my first time doing it all by myself without any input from Spitfire.”
“Trust me, they’re gonna love it!” Dash exclaimed enthusiastically. “Trust me AND Spitfire! She obviously trusts you to do a good job seeing as she left you in charge.” She explained, taking a seat on the bench next to Soarin.
“I know, I guess I just keep going over it in my mind. Overthinking everything,” Soarin sighed with a smile. It was true, he had memorized these notes down to the letter. Perhaps he was getting too worked up.
“Then think about something else for a while,” Dash winked and leant in, landing a kiss on his cheek. “Here’s a hint.”
Soarin chuffed, “I think that would be even more distracting,” He joked.
“...Yeah, I am a pretty good distraction.” Dash admitted with a chuckle. “C’mere,” She extended her wing and wrapped it around his torso, pulling them together. She rested her head on his shoulder and tilted her head up to whisper into his ear. “Quit your worrying and just go with the flow.”
Soarin smiled. “Yeah…”
Just go with the flow...He’d been given similar advice to that about something else already. Problem is that this just didn’t feel like the right time. They were alone, and all their friends were just next door. But it just...didn’t feel right. The opportunity was there, but he just wasn’t feeling it...he withheld a sigh as he reluctantly decided to save it for another chance. He wanted his proposal to feel more special, and it just wasn’t the right mood.
As the doors creaked open, Soarin and Dash separated and brought themselves to their hooves. Soarin rolled his shoulders in his sockets to do a quick warm-up.
“Personal briefing, eh?” Lightning Streak joked as he came out of the stallions locker room, winking and bouncing his eyes between Soarin and Dash.
“I don’t think there was much briefing going on,” His brother Fire Streak joined in behind him.
Soarin shook his head and chuffed at their joking.
“Damn I’ve got a good feeling about this one,” Fleetfoot said, walking out of the locker room and into the space. She bent her neck from side to side and slowly extended her wings, gently raising and lowering them to stretch. “How about you, Soarin?”
“You bet I have,” Soarin replied with a smile. Seeing his team pumped always worked up his enthusiasm. It was like a knock-on effect. “Fall in everypony, briefing time,” he called out, making a circular motion with his hoof.
Everypony made a circle in the middle of the room, with all eyes on Soarin. “Okay, well, I know we usually expect Spitfire to do this, and it’s nothing we haven’t heard before, so I’ll make this quick,” Soarin explained.
“We’ll take it easy on ya,” Rapidfire responded with a wink, causing a few chuckles.
Soarin smirked, “You better, ‘cause I can guarantee that Spitfire will be watching the news like a hawk and will chastise all of us if we screw it up.” Soarin’s deduction got a laugh out of everypony. “Now, this should be fairly routine stuff for us by now. Nothing we haven’t done before, just mixing it up a little. The intro will be around the perimeter of the stadium along the crowd. We’re in four groups of three, colour coded as usual. Feel free to mix things up and put on a show, but please stick to the timings.” He tossed some pieces of paper with his notes on them into the middle of the group to remind them. “I’m sure you’ve all read them, but just in case. Any questions?”
“Yeah,” Silver Lining raised his hoof. “How much crossover between our sections are we allowed?”
“I know Spitfire’s normally quite strict on it, but I’m not quite so much,” Soarin replied. “Just keep it consistent and predictable. I don’t want to see any hesitation or anything else that might disrupt the flow of the show.”
Silver nodded in acknowledgement.
“Anything else?” Soarin asked, looking around, but everypony seemed complacent.
A knock on the main door drew his attention. He looked over his shoulder as the door opened, a member of staff sticking her head through. “Five minutes,” the mare reminded them before leaving.
“Alright, places everypony!” Soarin called out, extending his hoof into the middle of the group. Everypony followed suit, and they all held their hooves together as close as they could get them. “Three...two...one…”
“GO!” Everypony called at the same time, pushing their hooves into the middle of the group. They all bounced off each other and up into the air before turning around.
Soarin held the main door open for everypony, motioning with his hoof for everypony to follow through. His teammates mingled with each other while walking towards the starting position.
Dash deliberately waited until she was the last one to leave, shooting Soarin a grin as she approached the door. She slowly trotted closer until she was standing next to him. “Good luck,” she encouraged before planting a kiss on his lips.
Soarin happily returned the kiss, breaking it quickly. “Thanks. You just knock ‘em dead!”
Dash chuckled, resuming her walk towards her starting position. “Don’t I always?”
Soarin chuffed and smiled, watching her walk. Confirming that there was nopony else, he retracted his hoof holding the door open and walked towards the start himself. The sound of the cheering crowds only grew louder as he walked through the corridor, which only made the smile across his face grow wider. Luckily he was behind everypony so they couldn’t see him. His first time in charge...even though he was a bit nervous, the feeling was very much overshadowed by his excitement.
The streets of Canterlot were brimming with activity. The rays of light flickering through the clouds combined with the pleasant heat was a clear sign that summer was on its way. Many students had their summer breaks at the forefront of their mind.
For Spitfire, however, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
The moment her train pulled into the station, she was ready at the door to leave. The train carriage doors flung open, and she immediately stepped onto the platform. She was carrying a suitcase to her side, holding it with her wing as it wheeled along.
She walked quickly through Canterlot train station out onto the streets, drawing lots of attention as she walked. The publicity of being a Wonderbolt captain wasn’t always an advantage, especially when she stood out like a sore hoof in her dress uniform. Luckily her shades helped somewhat with the eye contact.
She walked hastily through Canterlot, towards the main castle. Walking down the street, she attracted a lot of attention, which she simply ignored or politely said she was on a tight schedule. Or at least, as politely as her current temperament would let her. She was having a nice relaxing vacation in Irwind, only to be dragged away to an emergency defence meeting. Of course, with the news being littered with rumours coming from the situation in the Griffon Kingdom, she hoped that it wasn’t what she thought it was…
She trotted towards the main entrance of the castle, where two of Canterlot’s royal guards in their traditional armour were standing at the door. Their eyes immediately locked on her as she approached.
“Captain!” The pony on the right greeted and saluted, his colleague followed suit.
“Private,” Spitfire greeted him back as she approached, also raising her hoof in a salute. She stopped just short of him. “I’m gonna need one of you to show me to…” she reached into the inner pocket of her blazer with her free wing and pulled out a letter, quickly skim-reading it. “...elevator three of the Starswirl wing.”
The stallion looked over at his colleague. “Would you kindly, Granite?” he said while motioning with his head.
“Yes sir,” Granite replied, nodding. He looked over at Spitfire, “Please follow me, Captain,” he instructed, stepping through the door.
Spitfire followed him in, hearing the wooden doors closing behind her. Canterlot Castle was very much showing its age, the stonework looked like something straight out of a fantasy novel. But it had modern features retrofitted to it such as electric lights that illuminated its interior. It even had an aged smell to it, only just noticeable over the scent of the cleaning products, as it was rightfully so kept spotless, being the home of Princess Celestia and Luna.
“Can I ask you a question, Captain?” Young Granite asked as he walked Spitfire through the halls.
“That depends,” Spitfire replied, looking around. Of course, she had been to Canterlot Castle plenty of times, but it wasn’t often she got to have a good look around. She was usually there on business, so didn’t get the chance to sightsee.
“There’s been a lot of ponies going this way today. Is something going on?” He asked, turning a corner.
Spitfire remained silent. It really was the elephant in the room. She didn’t really know how to respond, as she couldn’t get it off her mind either…
“It’s just...with what's been in the news and all…” Granite trailed off. He didn’t want to accidentally insult her by stating the obvious.
“I understand,” Spitfire replied. “I’m not sure myself as...well, I’ve been on vacation.” She explained, hoping that would be obvious as she was trailing a suitcase alongside her. “But if it was the worst-case scenario, I think we would have heard something by now.”
“That’s what I thought as well.” Granite replied, stopping where another corridor met the one they were walking down. “The elevator is at the end of this corridor.”
“Thank you, Private,” Spitfire replied. “Can you do me a favour and look after this?” She wheeled her suitcase over to him. “I’ll pick it up when I get out.”
“I, uhh...um, sure!” He blurted and took the handle, not expecting the request. “I mean, yes, ma’am.”
Spitfire smiled. “Thank you, Private,” she said again, saluting.
Granite returned the salute. And with that, Spitfire didn’t waste any more time and started walking fast towards the end of the corridor. She slipped her shades off with her wing and tucked one of the legs between her shirt to hold them.
At the end of the corridor, she found the elevator. Or at least the shaft where it would come from. There was a gridded gate in the way to stop anypony accidentally falling down it. She pressed a button mounted on the wall and heard a ding. Seconds later, the subtle whirring of machinery indicated the elevator was on its way.
When it arrived, she was greeted by an older stallion in a suit. “Good morning, Captain,” he said with a smile.
“Morning,” Spitfire greeted, stepping inside the elevator cab. “Can you take me to the--”
“Map room?” The old stallion cut off.
Spitfire glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow.
He only smiled in response. “There’s been plenty of folk heading that way, call it a lucky guess.” He explained, reaching forward and closing the safety gate. He then reached down the control panel by his side and pressed the appropriate button.
The machinery whirred into life again, and Spitfire watched the corridor she just came from fade away as the elevator descended. Giving her a beautiful view of the inside walls of the elevator shaft. It was rare to have these types of elevators still in service, so all it did was highlight how old Canterlot castle really was.
The pair of them stood in silence as the elevator descended for several seconds. Spitfire got a brief glance at several rooms and walkways as the elevator descended before it slowly came to a stop. The stallion reached over and opened the safety gate.
“Thank you,” Spitfire thanked him as she stepped off.
As Spitfire walked forward, she heard the sounds of the gates closing on the elevator, and it whirred back up the shaft. She took a moment to take in where she was. She had never been to this part of Canterlot Castle. But the first thing that stood out was the light...or rather, lack of it. The corridor was lit up by a single emergency-looking light. And the walls were solid stone. No decorations or anything, just a dull grey all the way through. The coldness under her hooves only emphasized how barren it was. It had a distinct dusty smell to it, similar to a museum. It was apparent this hasn’t been used in a while.
She trotted straight to the door on the other end, pushing it straight through. As she entered, it was a different story entirely. Coming through the door, there was immediately more light in the room she had entered. But still no windows. She saw somepony, a white stallion wearing purple armour, resting on the guardrail overlooking whatever was on the floor below them.
“Captain Armor,” Spitfire made her presence aware, recognising the pony she saw in front of her.
Shining Armor looked over his shoulder. He smiled and turned to face her. “Captain Spitfire, glad to see you...eventually…”
“Don’t go there,” Spitfire said with a frown, picking up that he had a jab at her lateness. “I’ve just come straight from my interrupted vacation in Irwind directly to here.” She extended her hoof to him.
“It’s never a good time, is it?” Shining replied, shaking her hoof. “C’mon, we’ve waited long enough.” He motioned with his head to another door.
Spitfire had a glance down over the balcony they were standing on. About a floor or two below them was a massive map of Equestria and its neighbours covering almost the whole room. Ponies were standing around, putting various markers into position. Specifically around the eastern coast of Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom. Spitfires concerns were confirmed, they really were prepping for the worst-case scenario. Nevertheless, proper preparation and planning for such an event was always a good idea. Spitfire had no doubt in her mind that her presence was necessary.
She trotted through the door to find several ponies in the room. Some she recognised, some she didn’t. But she knew that they were all the top commanders in Equestria’s military. They were congregated around a big meeting room table in the middle, various paperwork and other items scattered over it already. To the right was a big window spanning the length of the room to allow them to peer down at the map below them.
“Captain Spitfire, good that you could finally join us.” An old stallion at the top of the table greeted her. He was a unicorn wearing a royal guard uniform. He had a light blue coat, and he probably had a turquoise mane back when he was Spitfire’s age, but it had mostly turned white now.
“Sorry, General,” Spitfire apologised. She didn’t know his name, she just picked up on his rank from the insignia on the shoulder boards of his uniform. “I’ve come directly from my vacation in Irwind.”
“I’m sorry to have dragged you away,” he continued, “But I assure you the decision to hold this meeting immediately wasn’t taken lightly. Please have a seat,” he motioned with his hoof to the table.
Spitfire took her seat, aptly named for her with a name sign triangle placed on the table in front of it. She quietly sighed as she was finally able to take the weight off her hooves after rushing to get here. She sat alongside somepony else who she also didn’t recognise. Another unicorn mare, but she didn’t seem to be affiliated with any part of Equestria’s military. Or at least Spitfire couldn’t tell from the uniform, it just looked like a standard black suit to her. She had a navy blue coat and a brown mane with a centre split.
“Now then,” the stallion leading the conversation leaned into the table. As he leaned, he removed his foreleg, blocking the view to his name triangle for Spitfire to read. Ace Heart. General. “We’ve all probably got a good idea why we’re here, but the situations changed somewhat within the last twenty-four hours…”
Ace took a little glance out the window down at the map before looking back at the ponies he was addressing. “We sent a peaceful diplomatic mission to Griffonstone via airship, but we received a message yesterday during its transit that it was under attack. We’re yet to have a statement from the Griffon Kingdom, but intelligence provided by the EOI-” he pointed at the mare sitting next to Spitfire “-has given us evidence that this attack did come from a Griffon Kingdom airship. All lives were lost in this cowardly attack on a civilian vessel.”
The tension in the room went from zero to a hundred real quick. Spitfire glanced at the pony sitting next to her, then down at the triangle with her name on it. Snapshot was her name, and from Ace’s description, she worked for the EOI...the Equestrian Office of Intelligence. Spitfire had never been quite sure exactly what it did, but it sounded like some sort of spy operation. So maybe it was best if it remained that way...
“Mares and stallions,” Ace rose to his hooves and furrowed his brow. “I regret to inform you that once again, Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom are at war.”
Now things definitely weren’t comfortable. Spitfire could feel her heart rate increasing. It was actually happening. She always considered it a possibility, but never imagined it to actually happen.
“Princess Celestia is expected to make a speech about it tomorrow morning. Until then, that is strictly confidential information.” Ace explained, then sat back down. Everypony nodded in acknowledgement. “Speaking to Princess Celestia this morning, she has appointed me as commander in chief of the Equestrian military for this war. My succession obviously leaves a slot to fill as Captain of Equestria’s royal guard, so…” he turned his head to one of the ponies sitting on his left. “Congratulations, Captain Longsword. Much like Captain Armor’s succession to the Crystal Empire paved the way for me, you now take the command I once had.” He congratulated while motioning with his hoof towards Longsword.
“Thank you, sir. I’m honoured, but it’s regrettable that it’s under such circumstances.” The stallion spoke neutrally. Spitfire looked over at him, recognising the face of the earth pony. Maybe they had met before. Longsword had a golden-yellow coat with a long blonde mane flowing down his back. Apart from Spitfire herself, he looked like he could be the youngest here.
Ace stood up again. “Now then, to business.” He gracefully trotted over to the window to observe the giant map below them. “Let's start with the north. The obvious way the Griffons would enter Equestria is via the shore and railroad link between the Crystal Mountains and the Griffon Kingdom’s northern territory of Taltona.”
“I agree,” Longsword continued, shifting attention to himself. “Although history has proven that the difficult terrain makes it very much a stalemate. It would be a battle of attrition…” Longsword turned his head to look at Snapshot. “How do the numbers look?”
“Numbers on the ground are difficult due to several reports of in-fighting inside the Griffon Kingdom. It seems President Eadric’s succession to the old king hasn’t gone down perfectly...” Snapshot reported briefly while turning a few pages of the file in front of her before resting it once she had found the data she was looking for. “But not including those still in training and those in reserve, we will have approximately six hundred and fifty thousands ponies on standby by the end of this week…but current reports state that the Griffon Kingdom could potentially be up to two million.”
“Hmm…” Ace Heart turned around to face his staff. “So a war of attrition would not be on our side. How do our air and naval forces compare?” He asked, rubbing his chin.
“That’s pretty much the only advantage we have,” Snapshot spoke, turning a few more pages. “Our navy is pretty much equal in strength, but our airship force outnumbers them at an almost two to one ratio.”
“So are you suggesting the quickest way to end this would be by forcing our way in through the Celestial Ocean?” Ace suggested, raising an eyebrow.
“Purely on the numbers, I would agree, yes,” Snapshot replied, nodding her head, then looking over at an earth pony stallion with a mint green coat and a faded orange mane, with a few strands giving way to gray hairs. It was horribly combed-over trying to cover a bald patch, which wasn’t fooling anypony. The name ‘Admiral High Tide’ was written on the name triangle in front of him. “However, you may have other ideas, Admiral. Our observations have seen the Griffon shipyards churning out lots of submarines rather than conventional warships, but it looks like they’re soon to be investing heavily on the latter also. It would seem the Griffon Navy is modernising.”
“Submarines?” High Tide raised an eyebrow, half-smiling. “If they’re anything like ours, they ain’t much use in combat. The boiler takes too long to--”
“They’re not boiler-powered,” Snapshot cut in, lifting a picture out of a file. “We don’t know how they work, the only thing we’ve observed is that their fuel source seems to be some type of transparent yellow-golden liquid.” Snapshot slid the picture over the table towards him with her magic.
High Tide took the picture in his hooves and lifted it up, making a very concentrated look on his face. He stroked his beard while examining it. “Wow, that’s...streamlined. I guess if it has no boiler, it doesn’t need a wide bulge in the middle.”
“There’s rough dimensions on the back,” Snapshot added, making a rotating motion with her hoof.
High Tide flipped the picture over to see hoof-drawn sketches of the Griffon boat with rough dimensions written on them. “Your agent drew this?”
“Yes, and he was caught while doing it.”
That caught the attention of everypony in the room. With all eyes locked onto her, Snapshot sighed. “I’ve lost contact with a lot of agents these past few days. This situation has likely caused the Griffons to take more security precautions, leading to their discovery…I hope they survive…”
“All the more reason we’re here today, to get this war won as soon as we can.” Ace encouraged. “Since our navy and airship force have superior numbers on their side, how plausible is an amphibious assault?”
“On paper, easy,” Snapshot stood up, “But part of me feels we’re being deceived…” She led on, walking towards a scaled-down version of the same map they had below them hung up on the wall.
“Explain?” Ace asked.
“Well, quite simply, the vast majority of the Griffon navy is currently operating out of the southern territories of the kingdom here,” Snapshot explained while pointing to the southern points of the Griffon Kingdom on the map. “And there’s a lot of the naval traffic going south, around Equestria, escorting cargo ships,” she motioned with her hoof the rough path the ships were taking.
“Where are these cargo ships going?” Ace asked.
“We don’t know,” Snapshot replied bluntly, returning to her seat. “They’ve been heading that way for some time, but there was never an opportunity to shadow them safely. We think their destination is somewhere in the Luna Ocean.”
“And what about their cargo?” Ace asked while looking at the map, trying to picture the route in his mind.
“We don’t know that either,” Snapshot replied. “Those naval bases are locked down tighter than Tartarus. We’ve had enough incidents these past few days, I’m not risking anypony else's lives sending them in there.”
The air in the meeting room hung silent for a moment. Snapshot’s words only served as a reminder that this wasn’t a game. Lives were on the line.
“However,” Snapshot started again, pulling out another photo. “We did spot this as one of the ships was docking a few weeks ago.”
Snapshot slid the photo up the table with her magic towards Ace, who picked it up and examined it. The picture was of Eadric, the griffon who had just taken control of the Griffon Kingdom, shaking the hoof of a mare. Eadric had golden feathers around his head and chest with small white patches on his chest, but the rest of his body was dark grey. Or at least what could be seen under the black uniform he was wearing. The mare was an earth pony and had a faded yellow coat, like the colour of sand, with an ocean blue mane with a white stripe through the middle.
“Who is this mare?” Ace asked, looking over at Snapshot.
“Luckily the agent who took the picture recognised her, we would’ve been at it for weeks trying to find out otherwise,” Snapshot replied, a half-smirk on her face. “Her name is Sandbrush, she’s an archaeologist. And a pretty famous one it turns out, look anywhere from anywhere in the Equestrian Museum of Natural History, and you’ll see her name credited for something.”
“So she’s a real-life Daring Do?” Ace chuckled, “What’s she doing in the Griffon Kingdom?”
“She set sail from Vanhoover several months ago on an expedition...into the Luna Ocean…” Snapshot explained slowly, knowing that it wouldn’t take long for everypony in the room to put two and two together.
“You think she was going the same place as the Griffons?” Ace asked, raising an eyebrow.
“That’s open to speculation. Though the bottom line is that we won’t know without asking her...but, it’s a fairly safe presumption that she encountered the Griffons somewhere in the Luna Ocean.” Sandbrush deduced.
“Or on a land they found beyond it,” Ace added, sliding the photograph back down the table. “She doesn’t look like she’s been taken prisoner in the picture, though. In fact, she’s even smiling…”
“It could just be an act. I’ll let you know when I have more info,” Snapshot replied, taking the picture back into her file.
Ace got up and walked towards the map, staring at it for a few seconds before speaking again. “So if an invasion through the north is off the cards, we have no choice but to cross the Celestial Ocean…” he turned his head to look at Shining Armor. “How long would your forces be able to hold back a Griffon invasion, Captain Armor?”
“My mares and stallions know the Crystal Empire as if it were their own back yard, but we wouldn’t last forever,” Shining answered. “I think we would do well, but the Crystal Empire doesn’t account for even a fraction of the figures Snapshot mentioned earlier.”
“Hmm…” Ace looked back at the map, eyeing up the Griffon Kingdom’s coastline while rubbing his chin. “A naval assault would have to hit the Grif’s hard and fast. That would force them to redistribute their armies, potentially opening up a window of opportunity for you to strike into Taltona.”
“Timing would be key, but we’d need all the support we can get.” Shining Armor agreed, looking over at Spitfire. “I trust your squad is ready?”
“It’s what we train for,” Spitfire replied, locking eyes with Shining. “We may be show-ponies as a day-job, but my squad will overcome anything thrown at them…” Spitfire broke eye contact and sighed, “I just don’t think anypony will be expecting this news.”
“I know that feeling,” Longsword joined in, “There’s gonna be a lot of awkward conversations after this, at least until Celestia makes her announcement.”
“We live in extraordinary times,” Admiral Swift Sprint joined in. It had been a while since Spitfire had seen him, but he still looked like the same old stallion she remembered. Although she spotted a few grey patches in his buzz-cut blue mane. She vaguely remembered his son Torque when he tried out for the Wonderbolts as well. “Four hundred years since the last time we were at war with the Grifs. Doesn’t really come into perspective until you say it out loud and think about it, doesn’t it? I’m an old fart, but the only stories I’ve heard about it came from my grandfather, and even then it was vague because it had been passed down to him.”
“I just hope that it never reaches Equestrian territory,” Shining Armor said, leaning back in his chair. “Four hundred years...ponies have probably forgotten the definition of war, let alone willing to take up arms and defend against a Griffon invasion. And I’ve got a wife and a daughter to defend…”
“Not to mention that a lot has changed in four hundred years,” Admiral High Tide added. “Ships no longer need sails, airships are brand new in comparison, and we now have a much wider choice of ranged weapons rather than just the bow and arrow.”
Spitfire chuckled, “It’s funny how airships came in as a revolution and are now fading into obsolescence in such a short amount of time.”
“I would argue that they have their place,” Swift Sprint contested. “They can drop heavy ordnance on targets hundreds of miles inland. Something a battleship can’t do.”
“If they don’t get shot down en route,” High Tide jested with a smirk. “They’re slow, and they’re big targets. And the problem is that their armour can’t get better because they’re limited by weight. Too heavy and they won’t fly. And modern projectiles can tear them to shreds.”
“Well if you want to prove that they’re slow, we can have a drag race over the Celestial Ocean. Because last time I checked, you don’t have any boats that can go faster than a hundred knots.” Swift Sprint joked back at him.
The conversation was interrupted by Ace Heart loudly clearing his throat and grabbing everypony’s attention. While they had been talking, he had been busy drawing on the map on the wall.
“I’ve come up with a plan, feel free to share your thoughts.” He stood out the way for everypony to see and picked up a pointing stick to help demonstrate what all his squiggles meant. “We know the battle over the river between Yaket Range and Taltona will be a stalemate, so we need to act quickly. So I propose launching two naval assaults from Trottingham backed up by air and naval assets, targeting locations either side of the Guto River.” He tapped on the locations on the map, bouncing back and forth between them.
“But Trottingham naval base isn’t exactly a major strategic location, so it isn’t really prepped for being the centre of operations. It would take weeks to prepare something like that,” High Tide raised his concern.
“Correct, Admiral. Well spotted. And that’s what I want the Grifs to spot too,” Ace Heart continued with a smile, obviously having put a lot of thought into this. “Once the Grifs realise what’s going on at Griffish Isles, they will be aware of how long it will take for the operation to commence, making them likely to launch a pre-emptive strike. They will likely send more support from their navy to try and isolate the Isle.” He dragged his pointer along the map to try and illustrate their movement. “After they do this, they will have split their fleet in two. With the north of the Griffon Kingdom under siege from our landings off Trottingham, they won’t risk docking there. They will essentially be cut off from their supply lines. While this might mean more casualties in the northern battles, it would mean that we could use our own navy to force their ships to stay up there. With no way of refuelling or rearming, they would act cautiously.”
“Cautiously?” Spitfire chuckled, “Have you ever met a Griffon?”
“Even if they don’t, we can use our superior navy and airship numbers to outgun them,” Ace stated. “While we’re dealing with that, we launch two more amphibious assaults. Further south, but not quite to Griffonstone,” he pointed at two locations north of the kingdom's capital of Griffonstone. “The southern invasion point simply digs in and holds off any forces coming from Griffonstone. The northern one links up with the invasion from Trottingham earlier and continues to push north. With their link to Griffonstone cutoff, we’ll have them encircled, and the rest should be easy.”
“You say easy, but Spitfire’s right,” Shining Armor commented. “Even under an encirclement, the Griffons won’t go down without a fight.”
“Admiral Swift Sprint’s airships will be on hand to provide as much support as possible if required. But somepony else can feel free to come up with a better idea…”
The room fell silent at Ace’s suggestion. While it had its flaws, Spitfire had to admit, she couldn’t see any better way around it.
“I think it’s the best we can do given the resources we have, General,” Snapshot was the first to speak in agreement. “However, we won’t be the only ones planning. Eadric probably has his own high command sitting around a table exactly like we are right now thinking of how best to invade. It won’t take them long to come to the same conclusion we’ve reached about trying to travel over the northern river between Taltona and Yaket Range.”
“I also have concerns about these convoys heading to the Luna Ocean,” Admiral Swift Sprint added, bringing himself to his hooves. “I have a theory about what they’re transporting…” he slowly walked around the table and over to the map, standing the opposite side to Ace. “The Griffon Kingdom isn’t a huge country when compared with Equestria. Their resource reserves can’t be that huge. I have a theory that they found somewhere to gather resources from in a land beyond the Luna Ocean, and these convoys are what's ferrying their supplies back to the Griffon Kingdom.”
“That’s pretty out there for a theory…” High Tide questioned, raising an eyebrow. “...But honestly, I can’t think of any other reason myself. However, if you’re suggesting we somehow disrupt these ships, my navy will be stretched thin enough as it is with the current plan.”
“If they’ve got the vast majority of the Griffon navy to protect those convoys, they must be carrying something important,” Snapshot added, glancing over at High Tide before looking back at Ace. “But I agree with Admiral Tide. We should be concentrating on putting the Grifs on the back hoof...or rather, paw first. The numbers don’t make for very good odds, we need to focus on superiority quickly.”
“I actually think what Admiral Sprint’s suggesting is a good idea…” Shining Armor continued to debate, drawing everypony’s attention to him. “Think about it; if his theory is correct, then we could cause a big problem for the Griffons. Ships and airships can’t sail and fly without coal, artillery can’t fire without black powder, maybe even that mysterious fuel source they’re using in those new ships they’re building only comes from...wherever it is they found.”
Shining’s words had everypony rubbing their chin. It was clear this wasn’t going to be an easy decision, with such limited resources. The room was silent for several moments while everypony thought.
“I think there’s clearly three points of interest here that we need to decide how to prioritize,” Ace broke the silence, picking up a red pen and pulling off the cap. “The first being the northern parts of the Celestial Ocean around the Griffish Isles, supporting our land forces at the river.” He circles the Griffish Isles and the parts of the ocean surrounding it. “The second being the middle of the Celestial Ocean-” he circled the middle part of the map, “-guarding Equestria’s shores and also meeting the Griffon Navy head-on. And finally, the south-” he circled the south, “-harassing these convoys.”
“Well that’s easy enough for me to work out,” High Tide immediately followed up. “The Griffish Isles are all islands surrounded by shallow waters, my larger cruisers and battleships won’t be able to operate effectively there. And we can send our own submarines against the convoys in the south…” he chuckled, “ ‘bout all our subs are good for anyway.”
“Are they really that bad?” Ace raised an eyebrow. Lack of confidence in their equipment was the last thing they needed right now.
“They’re fine, but making a boiler work on a ship designed to go underwater is...well, it has its challenges. Who would’ve guessed, right?” He said sarcastically, chuckling. “Thing is, up until now, we’ve never really had any competitors to judge their performance against. If these new power plants the Grifs have invented with that weird liquid fuel source work well, we could be outclassed…”
“All the more reason we need to take the initiative,” Ace replied harshly, turning to walk back towards his chair. “Unless I hear any further objections, we will begin working off this plan immediately.”
The room once again fell silent as Ace laid down his authority. It was clear everypony was still having a long think about it, but nopony raised any other concerns.
“Very well,” Ace took his seat, “Time to get underway.” He turned to look at Shining Armor. “Captain Armor, you need to dig in and fortify all defences around Yaket Range, it’s railway and coastline overlooking Taltona. You will likely not be asked to move at this stage, so concentrate on defence only.”
“Understood sir, I’ll see to it right away.” Shining Armor replied, nodding.
Ace turned his head over to Longsword. “Captain Longsword, begin organising your mares and stallions for their invasions, we’ll go over it in more detail once we’ve got the ball rolling and we reconvene in Horseshoe.”
“Understood, General,” Longsword answered.
Ace looked over at High Tide. “Admiral, work with Longsword to coordinate these amphibious attacks. Make sure they have adequate cover and support while maintaining the fight with the Griffon Navy as well as the cargo raiding in the south. It’s going to be tough, but we can reestablish priorities once we know which targets have the most effect.”
“I understand General, I’ll make sure all division commanders are briefed,” High Tide acknowledged.
Ace continued to Swift Sprint. “Admiral, since your forces are the only ones we have with numerical superiority, I’m going to entrust you with a certain degree of freedom. Essentially you will have multiple roles; you need to provide cover at Taltona, provide support for every aspect of the navy, and also provide support to our landing operations when they commence. All while also engaging the Griffon Airship Force. Is that possible?”
“Nothing's impossible General, the Airship Force already maintains a heightened state of readiness. My mares and stallions will have all my ships ready within forty-eight hours.” Swift Sprint stated confidently.
“I don’t doubt it,” Ace added, turning to Spitfire. “Captain, we will need to spread your Wonderbolts and their wealth of experience around our forces. We will arrange specifics at Horseshoe Naval Base on Sunday.”
“Understood General-” Spitfire nodded “-I’ll make preparations today, we will be ready.”
Finally, Ace turned to Snapshot. “Snapshot, I’m aware of the risk, but we really need more info about what’s going on in the Griffon Kingdom. The odds are against us, and we could quite quickly be put on the hind hoof unless we find a weakness. I don’t want to have to pull rank, but unless you start producing results, I will be forced to order you to send your agents in there.”
“I’m already prepping my best mare for the job,” Snapshot used her magic to pull all her papers back into her document folder. “May Faust have mercy on her soul…”
“Good. Very good,” Ace acknowledged, holding his hooves together on the table. “In the meantime, we need to bolster our ranks. Cut any corners you can off the training programs, but don’t take unnecessary risks. I don’t want our precious young mares and stallions going before their time because of…’accidents’...does anypony have anything else to say?”
Ace’s eyes scanned across the room, analysing the faces of his fellow officers. Of course, the news was unsettling, but he was glad to see that everypony still seemed focus. “Very well then,” he continued, not hearing any objections. “We will reconvene on Sunday at seven AM at Horseshoe Naval Base. Dismissed,” he stood up as soon as he said his last word.
Everypony from the meeting proceeded out the door and down the corridor towards the elevator. But Spitfire paused for a minute to look over the balcony down at the big map again. It was mostly unicorns using magic to place little markers with information on them or small models to represent something on various points in Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom. As she looked around, she could still hear the faint banging or sawing as various maintenance ponies worked hard to modernize the room that probably hadn’t been used since the last Equestro-Griffon war. New lights were going in, as well as what looked like a new radio system. Probably for relaying orders.
This was going to be one for the history books. As Admiral High Tide said back in their meeting, a lot has changed in the four hundred years since Equestria’s last conflict. Not only had technology changed drastically, but the frame of mind of Equestria’s ponies as well. Not seeing conflict or hardship for that long will no doubt shake things up. And she, along with her colleagues, teammates, and above all, friends, were about to be in the thick of it. She could only hope they came out of it alive…
Spitfire took one last glance at the map before heading out, thinking about nothing else but how she was going to break the news…
Rainbow Dash stood anxiously in Spitfire’s office. And a little bit tired...in fact, very tired. The only thing keeping her semi-conscious at the moment was the cup of coffee in her hoof. Spitfire’s unexpectedly early return from vacation brought about a certain sense of worry, considering all the stuff about the Griffon Kingdom that had been in the news. She hardly got any sleep, she couldn’t stop thinking about all the possibilities.
Nevertheless, Spitfire told them all to gather in her office in the morning. Of course, her office wasn’t designed to hold an entire squad of Wonderbolts, so it was a little comfy, to say the least. And they were still waiting on one more pony. The occasional sentence flew about but was generally off-topic. Dash was getting the impression that everypony was very much on edge. She just stood where she was and rested up against Soarin, not saying a word...good thing she was standing too. If she was sitting, she might have just fallen asleep on Soarin’s shoulder.
At last, Misty Fly made her way through Spitfire’s office door, pausing to yawn. “Mooorning…” she tried her best to say while yawning, being careful not to bump into anypony in what was now a very crowded office.
Spitfire glanced down at the clock on her desk. It read nine fifty-eight AM. “Just in time, I guess,” Spitfire stood off her office chair. “You’re probably all wondering why I’ve called you all here today and why I’m back from my vacation so early…” she trotted over towards her shelves at the side of her office, having to make awkward walks in-between her teammates to get here.
“And to be frank, I’m still pissed about that. So I’m just gonna let Princess Celestia do the talking.” She stated bluntly in a very...uncharacteristic of herself way.
At her head height sat a small radio. She flicked a switch on the side and twisted the big knob in the middle, making it make all sorts of funny crackling noises as it tuned in to different radio stations. Eventually, Spitfire landed on the one she was after, the static giving way to a clear voice.
“And that concludes the morning news. This is Equestria Radio Central, it’s ten O’clock, and this next announcement is coming to you live from Princess Celestia herself in Canterlot.”
The room fell so silent, aside from the faint buzz on the radio, you could hear a pin drop. Dash had her ears pointed in its direction. She took a quick glance at Soarin, who was also entirely fixated on it. Celestia’s voice was reaching all of Equestria, which could only mean one thing…
“My loyal subjects…” Celestia’s voice began. “Yesterday, on Tuesday the tenth of May, Celestial year one thousand and eight, an Equestrian ship en route to the Griffon Kingdom was intercepted and destroyed by the Griffon Navy. All lives on board were lost in the attack. President Eadric has already taken responsibility for the actions, and worse, denies any wrongdoing. We have tried to be reasonable, but unfortunately, Eadric is unwilling to negotiate. He seems very focused on conquest, going as far to rename the Griffon Kingdom to the Griffon Empire...I speak to you now with deep regret, that as of today, Thursday the twelfth of May, Celestial year one thousand and eight, the Kingdom of Equestria is, once again, at war with the Griffon Empire…”
Dash’s heart sank as Celestia’s words echoed in her ears. She could even picture Celestia’s sad but focused expression in her head, despite the fact she only heard it over the radio. She was half-expecting it, but to actually listen to it...it had a whole different feeling. She felt her forelegs trying to tremble, but she simply wrapped her left foreleg around Soarin’s shoulders to try and hide it.
Soarin glanced down at her as he felt her contact. She looked the same as he did. He could see the shock in her eyes. He had no idea what to do himself. He simply returned the gesture and put his foreleg around her shoulders too, holding her close.
“Do not fear my little ponies, I can assure you that Equestria is fully prepared for this conflict. While this news may upset you, please try to go about your daily lives as you normally would. Subtle changes will take effect over time, some even immediately, but rest assured--”
A quick buzz of static cut the speech short as Spitfire killed the power on the radio. “ ‘Equestria is fully prepared for this conflict’? What a fuckin’ lie,” Spitfire spat, again not like her. Maybe she was feeling the stress of the situation. Or perhaps she was still pissed about her vacation being cut short.
“Spitfire…” Misty Fly tried to form a sentence but still had so much shock coursing through her veins that she struggled to get her words out. “What’s...what are we doing?”
“We have our orders,” Spitfire replied, taking a seat in her office chair. “You are to report to Horseshoe Naval Base at nine AM on Sunday. There we will receive our assignments. DON’T be late.”
Spitfire took a good look across all of the ponies under her command. Of course, the news came as a shock, even to her. But she could still see the fire in their eyes she had come to know and love, meaning that she could always rely on them. It’s what they trained for after all. “I know that doesn’t give you much time between now and then, so consider yourselves all on leave until Sunday. Now unless you have any important questions for me, I’ve got planning of my own to do. So go use your time wisely. Dismissed.”
On Spitfire’s word, everypony made their way out of Spitfire’s office in the most orderly manner they could muster. Small conversations everywhere about the situation. Dash walked with Soarin back to his room, thinking about what she had to do.
“Soarin,” she stopped just before they reached his door.
“Yeah?” Soarin turned, looked at Dash.
Dash looked up at him, “You heard what Spitfire said, we need to get ourselves organised before Sunday...so I need to go to Ponyville.”
“I understand,” Soarin replied, “You do what you need to do. You know where I am if you need me, but I imagine I’ll come home at some point also.”
“Thanks, Soarin,” Dash replied with a smile and leaned in for a kiss. She planted a big kiss on his lips that he happily returned. She could tell that there was maybe one or two of her teammates watching them, but after all these years, she didn’t care anymore when it was around them. She broke the kiss and looked him in the eyes, “I love you, Soarin.”
“I love you too. See you soon,” Soarin answered with a smile, placing his hoof on his door handle.
Dash shot him one last smirk before making her way down the corridor, heading towards the exit.
Soarin pushed through the door to his office and flicked the light on, taking a seat at his desk and sighing. What a day this was going to be, and it wasn’t even time for lunch. He started rummaging through a few things on his desk to plan what he needed to do, but something unfortunate popped into his mind.
He leant to his right side and extended his wing, trying to reach his jacket hanging off a peg on the wall without leaving his seat. He tilted his chair and just about managed it, whipping the coat over his lap. He searched through the pockets and pulled out the little black velvet box with the engagement rings in his pocket.
He opened the box up and stared at the rings for several moments before he sighed and furrowed his brow. “Like that’s gonna fuckin’ happen now,” he groaned to himself in frustration, slamming his desk with his left hoof.
He laid back in his chair and rubbed his forehead with his right hoof while staring at the rings. The common-sense side of his brain told him to leave them here for safekeeping. But the more he thought about it, the more reality started to set in about what was really going on…he could die...Dash could die...they both could die...if he didn’t take an opportunity when it arose, he might never get the chance to ask her.
Against his better judgement, he closed the box and put it back into his Wonderbolt flight jacket. He would find a way to keep it safe while they were out...fighting a war...he never imagined he would be thinking that sentence so casually yet so accurately…
He rested his jacket on the back of his chair while he continued rummaging around his office, trying to work out what he needed to bring with him before he headed home.
Dash raced through the air from Cloudsdale, heading towards Ponyville. Even for her, it felt like she was going a tad too fast, but the announcement...although she initially felt shocked...she was starting to feel some adrenaline pumping. Was she excited? How could she be excited? Whatever it was, she put the thought to the back of her mind so she could concentrate.
She landed just out the front of Twilight’s castle, pacing towards it the moment her hooves touched the ground. To her surprise, there was already royal guards at the entrance to the castle.
As she approached, they saluted her and held the door open. Dash simply smiled and saluted back at them as she walked through. They obviously recognised her, not only as a Wonderbolt but as one of Twilight’s friends.
“Twilight!?” Dash called, looking around the halls. The castle was massive, it could take her a while to find her. She pushed through the doors into the main map room, but couldn’t see her in there. “Twiiii!?” She called again.
Giving up on the downstairs, Dash walked back and flew up the main stairwell, where she found Spike at the top.
“Thought I heard you,” Spike greeted Rainbow Dash. “She’s through here, we’ve officially begun stage one Twilighting.” He motioned with his claw, walking towards the door to Twilight’s room.
“Oh boy,” Dash rolled her eyes, even though she was expecting this.
She pushed through the door, seeing exactly what she predicted. Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria...and professional panicker.
As she entered, she saw all her friends there with her. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy. Opening the door drew their attention away from Twilight to Rainbow Dash.
“Hey guys,” Dash greeted with a smile, waving her hoof.
“RAINBOWDASH!” Twilight immediately rushed over to her, embracing her in a hug “Did you hear the announcement? Are you okay? How are you feeling? Are you being deployed now? Are you ready? Are you prepared? What are you going to do? Where are you going?--”
“Hi Twilight,” Dash cut her off with a chuckle, returning the hug. “That’s a lot of questions...but since we’re there now, what are you doing? Have you been told something?” she twisted her neck to look at Twilight.
“Ohhh nothing much…” Twilight trailed off, her eye twitching as she pulled away from Rainbow Dash. “I’ve only been asked to lead a think tank researching Equestria’s situation in the war and trying to find any upper hoof we can get!”
“Wow, I couldn’t think of anypony better for the job. You’ll do great, Twilight!” Dash encouraged with a smile.
Twilight’s eye twitched again as she tried her best not to grind her teeth. “Are you KIDDING ME!?” she exploded, waving her arms in the air. “I don’t know the first thing about warfare, things are changing so rapidly, I never expected this situation to happen...I...I just don’t know what to do!” She exclaimed, trotting over to her bed and collapsing face-down on it.
Dash smirked. Classic Twilighting…”Twi…” Dash walked over beside her. “I wish I had something to tell you...but the truth is, I don’t know what to do either. I’m reporting for my orders on Sunday. I just came to prep some stuff and say goodbye…”
“Dash…” Twilight sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Promise me you’ll stay safe?”
“I promise. Nothing can take me down,” Dash replied confidently, winking.
Twilight sighed, glancing away. “This whole thing happened very suddenly...I just don’t know what to do about it. They want me to lead this group, but I think the ponies I’ll be leading will know more than me…”
“Hate to break it to ya Twi, but do ya ever think Princesses Celestia and Luna know the full story?” Applejack suggested, trotting towards Twilight. “ ‘Sides, times like this, ponies need the magic of friendship. And nopony knows that magic better than you.”
“And if you ever need anything, even if it’s just somepony to vent to, we’ll always be here for you,” Fluttershy added with a sweet smile across her face.
“Many ponies look up to you, Darling. You inspire them. Now go be that pony!” Rarity encouraged. “Besides, think of the exposure! Oh, you’ll be in history books, magazines, all sorts! Many centuries from now your name will be getting--...” Seeing the disapproving looks she was getting from her friends, Rarity reeled herself in. “Well...one step at a time, as they say…”
Twilight sighed, “You’re right...I may not think I’m ready, but at a time like this, I think Equestria needs me...us…” Twilight sat up and looked at Rainbow Dash. “But I guess they need you especially, Rainbow Dash. Sunday did you say?”
Dash nodded, “I’m reporting to Horseshoe Naval Base on Sunday. After that...who knows…”
“Oh Dashie,” Dash suddenly felt herself being embraced from her side in a very familiar hug. “I’m gonna miss you!” Pinkie exclaimed with tears welling up in her eyes.
“I’ll miss you too, Pinkie,” Dash smiled and returned the hug. “I’ll miss all of you.”
“Y'all better get ya flanks back here in one piece ya here?” Applejack added with a smile, joining the hug. And with that, everypony took the hint a group hug was starting.
“At least you’ll have Soarin there to comfort you,” Fluttershy commented as she nervously joined the hug, trying not to get in anypony’s way.
“...Yeah...that’s true…” Dash somewhat agreed. She agreed for Fluttershy’s comfort, but that sentence did get a thought churning in her head. She and Soarin could be split for a while…
They hugged for several moments before the hug receded. Dash smiled at all of her friends, looking them over. She turned her head to Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie...ponies are gonna be in low spirits in these times. Promise me you won’t stop throwing parties?”
“I Pinkie promise!” Pinkie confirmed, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie enacted the Pinkie Pie promise routine, pulling a cupcake seemingly out of nowhere and getting her face covered in icing. Her tongue somehow extended right across her face, and she licked it all off.
Pinkie’s antics always made Dash giggle a little. It would probably be the last time she would get to if things kept going the way they were anyway, so it only made sense for her to enjoy herself. Next, she looked over at Applejack. “Keep those apples coming, AJ. Equestria’s military won’t last long on an empty stomach.”
“You can count on me!” Applejack declared, winking.
Rainbow turned to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, I’m gonna have to ask you for a favour...do you mind looking after Tank for me while I’m away?”
“I’d love to, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy smiled at the prospect. “That poor little turtle would get so lonely…”
“Glad to hear,” Dash smiled and nodded at Fluttershy, then turned her head to Rarity. “Rarity...Of course, I want to live...but if I fail, make sure my memorial statue is awesome,” Dash asked cheekily, winking.
“Oh, don’t talk nonsense, Darling,” Rarity replied, rolling her eyes. “I’m sure you will be fine...but I’m glad you entrusted moi with your special request.” She answered with a smile.
Dash chuckled and lastly, turned to Twilight. “Twilight, the ponies of Equestria, need friendship more than ever. Be the princess they need you to be.”
“I will Dash,” Twilight replied, “As long as you be the best Wonderbolt you can be.”
“Hey, I’m awesome, we all know it,” Rainbow chuckled and grinned. She took another look at her friends...she might not be seeing them for a while… “I’m really gonna miss you guys...try your best to keep in touch, ya hear?”
“We sure will, Sugarcube,” Applejack answered.
“Alright,” Dash stood to her hooves. “I’ve got a few things I need to sort out beforehoof, but I’ve got three days, so we’ll definitely go get dinner or something before I leave, I promise,” Dash stated with an eager smile on her face, heading towards the door. “I’ll catch you guys later!”
“Bye, Dashie!”
“Good luck, Sugarcube!”
“Au revoir, Rainbow Dash!”
“We’ll see you later, Rainbow!”
“Umm...goodbye, Rainbow Dash…”
Dash waved a hoof behind her as she left the room. In her usual carefree style, she jumped over the bannister off the stairs and let her wings catch her, gliding down to the floor.
She said she had a few things to sort out...but the truth was, she didn’t even know where to begin. Her mind had so much flowing through it right now, she didn’t know where to begin. One thing was certain, though, she needed to pack. She remembered back when she first joined the Wonderbolts some four years ago, she was given a list of things she should look at before going away from home on military service with the Wonderbolts... she just had to remember where she put it...to be honest, she didn’t think she would ever need it...well, she’s just been proven wrong...