//------------------------------//
// Then You Stand 
// Story: The Blue and the Gray 
// by CoyoteXray 
//------------------------------//

After Dawn's departure, the conversation continued, with even more members of the commission voicing their concerns about Neighsay's proposal, while others voiced their support . It went back and forth for almost an hour between the two sides, but finally the group seemed to calm down. As this went on, Rainbow looked over to watch Twilight's response to all this. But her friend stayed mostly on the sidelines, making only occasional remarks to one pony or another.  

Finally, the party began it's track back to the airship that brought them. The conversation continued, but it seemed like the tension had eased somewhat. Misty continued to circulate among them, answering questions as she went. It was only as the last passenger was embarked, and the large zeppelin was once again on its way that Rainbow, Twilight, and Scootaloo  came together.

"Well, that could have been much worse," Twilight said with a sigh, "I get the impression from what I heard that they decided that Neighsay's proposal wasn't necessary."

"Well yeah," Rainbow answered, "But it could have been better too. Why didn't you get more involved there Twi?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Well, because they didn't need my help. They talked it out, and resolved the situation," she answered, "I know that it looked bad, but all those ponies, even Neighsay, are reasonable...at least on most things. And..."she added, "I think that Dawn's response took some of the wind out of the chancellor's sails." She looked over her shoulder towards the headquarters building and added, "But now I'm just wondering how she's taking all this."

"Uh right," Scootaloo added, "we should probably check on her."

Rainbow looked to her friends and noticed their concerned expressions. She shook her head and waved them off.

"Oh come on you two. Dawn's a pro. She'll be o.k.," Rainbow said with a smile. "Come on Scoot," she said, gesturing to the young mare, "Let's go find her."

With that said, Scootaloo jumped up on Rainbow's back, and the trio took to the air and headed toward the headquarters building. 







As they flew along, Rainbow became increasingly concerned. The whole exchange between Dawn and Neighsay replayed over and over in her head. She was impressed that Dawn kept her temper under control, but in responding to Neighsay's allegations, she practically had to fall on her own sword in the process, which was totally bogus. 

The trio soon arrived at the headquarters building. She paused a moment to help Scoot down from her back, took a deep breath, and then entered the building.

Rainbow spotted Dawn as soon as they arrived, as she was planted behind Spitfire’s desk, her glasses perched on her nose and a large pencil in her mouth as she wrote. As they entered, she didn’t react, but continued her laborious process.

“Ahem…” Rainbow said, probably a bit louder than necessary.

Dawn looked up with a raised eyebrow.

“Need a cough drop?” she asked, still with the pencil in her mouth.

Rainbow grimaced. She heard something, and turned to look behind her to find Twilight and Scoot snickering.

She looked back to Dawn and said, “I can’t believe that you said that with a straight face.”

Dawn put the pencil back in its holder, then turned her head and tried to wipe her mouth with a handkerchief, 
obviously having trouble with the taste in her mouth. When she finally achieved a reasonably acceptable outcome, she looked back up to Rainbow and said, “Hmmmph...and I'm surprised you kept yours. I thought that was one of my better jokes.”

“Uh...Wing Commander, if I may,” Twilight said as she approached the desk, “I just wanted to say, for myself and I'm sure on behalf of the kingdom, that I’m sorry that you had to deal with all that." She then came up and put her hooves up on the edge of the desk, and continued, "And...that I'm sorry to hear about your friend. We were really out in the middle of nowhere on our quest, and...I guess that we totally lost track of things. And actually...we just assumed...that it was all up to us...again. Uh...what I really want to say...is that...I'm sorry." 

Dawn's head tilted slightly as she pondered just how to respond. But after a moment or two, she smiled and said, "Well, we also should keep in mind that you were acting under Princess Celestia's direct orders. And, it might have helped if somepony had properly briefed you on emergency procedures. So...uh, not saying of course that I don't appreciate the apology your highness. It's just that, I never blamed you for what happened." Dawn paused and her smile faded.  "And as for my friend..." she stopped, crossed her arms, and slowly leaned back in her chair, her eyes drifting down to the desk. The pause seemed to last for an eternity, but finally she added in a quiet voice, "...such is war."  

Dawn then looked up, pushed back from the desk, and then turned and got off her chair, and said, "But…I’m o.k. You know, I’m a big mare now. I can take a few hits now and then. I am NOT some kind of charity case.”  She then turned and grabbed up a file from the desk in her mouth and proceeded to one of the cabinets. She then hooked onto the handle of one of the drawers with her hoof and opened it, and then carefully placed the file in its appropriate location. 

She turned back to the group, and snorted before adding, “I mean uh…sure I’m pissed. And I just love explaining to other ponies out there the many faults and shortcomings of my profession. It's just one of my favorite things."  She looked back down and kicked the drawer closed with a loud bang. Dawn stared at the offending cabinet for a moment, then looked over and saw the concern on the faces of those watching, and quickly added, "Uh...yeah, but...it's cool."

"Uh...o.k." Rainbow replied, "Sooo...what's next?"

"Well...finish this damn report," Dawn answered as she moved back towards the desk, "then go home, and spend the weekend with the family. Uh huh...I'm going to get a chance to spend time with my daughter...I'm actually going to get to see one of my son's buckball games for a change...it's going to be good."

"Wow...," Scootaloo replied, "I guess that sounds o.k. I'm just sorry that Spit dragged you in here and all it turned out to be such a pain in the but."

Dawn raised an eyebrow and suppressed a laugh, then came over and patted Scootaloo on the head and said, "Kiddo, you can't drag somepony someplace they already want to go to. And in truth, I think that it probably took about two seconds for her to talk me into this."

The three other ponies in the room looked to each other, and then back to Dawn, and Rainbow finally said, "Uh...I don't get it."

Dawn turned and went back over to the file cabinets, pulled one open, and began rifling through the folders. It took her a moment, but finally she pulled one out carefully, moved over to the desk, and set it down.

"Rainbow, I'd like you to look at this," she said, looking to the young Wonderbolt, "since I got to read one of your files, I think that it's only fair that you get to read one of mine."

Rainbow's jaw dropped, and her eyes went wide as she said, "You have a Wonderbolts file?" She was going to move towards the desk, but Scootaloo dashed forward and beat her to it. 

Scoot immediately flipped open the folder and scanned the contents, with Rainbow and Twilight joining her on either side. After a moment or two, Scoot gasped, and her head fell forward and hit the desk. Then she raised her head up and said in a voice that clearly revealed her shock, "YOU'RE A WASHOUT!?!" 

Dawn rolled her eyes and smiled, and answered, "Well it sounds a lot worse when you put it that way. And young mare..." she continued, pointing to Scoot, "that's Wing Commander Washout...thank you very much." 

"Whoa...wait a minute," Rainbow interjected, and quickly snatched up the file and examined it closely. After a moment, she looked up and asked, "Uh...who was it that called you "Old Griffon Wings?"

"Oh, a certain senior Wonderbolt...Air Speed as I recall, bless his black heart," Dawn answered with a hint of sarcasm, "But, I think that I handled it well. I only sent him a big old lump of coal for Hearths Warming Eve...for about five years."

"Uh huh," Twilight replied, "I'm....glad to hear that you didn't hold a grudge?"

Dawn chuckled to herself and responded, "Yeah well...if it helps, my husband thought I was being a bit immature about the whole thing."

"Yeah...but I still don't get it," Rainbow continued, "I mean...the scores I'm seeing here are actually pretty good. I mean...I did better in some of these events...but I don't see why..." Rainbow paused and flipped the page, and she noticeably cringed, and she quickly blurted out "...uh, never mind" and she quickly closed the folder.

"Rainbow?" Twilight chimed in, and quickly seized the folder with her magic. She used it to open to the page that Rainbow was looking to and she brought it down to where both she and Scoot could read it. Only a moment later she looked up and said, "Dawn...you actually BROKE the obstacle course?"

"Uh...well, only about the first 25%," Dawn replied as she sat down, "Let me tell you all a story. Well, you see...a few years back, two ponies tried out for the team; one being a certain forward air controller who thought that she had the coolest job in the world already; and the other being an attack flyer and world record holder who was trying to get to the next big prize. Everything went along great, for the first part at least, until the attack flyer tried out the obstacle course, and found out that some of those obstacles wouldn't accommodate her wing span, and others were so tight that she'd have to fly perfectly to get through them, which is almost impossible. But, being a hard charger who never bought into the old 'Big ponies can't make tight turns' line, and one who tended to let her temper get the better of her...she decided to force the issue and throw caution to the wind, which ended up netting her a great big ole goose egg...not to mention a month in the hospital...and the loss of her slot in her squadron...and almost getting pensioned off." Dawn paused for a moment and cleared her throat, and then added, "But, on the good side, at least they didn't make me pay for the damage."

Rainbow could only shake her head, and ask, "So...you actually couldn't PHYSICALLY make it through? That's totally nuts! A pony's got to be able to use their full wingspan, otherwise you can't generate enough lift."

"Yeah, I discovered that it's a rule for a reason," Dawn replied, "...the hard way."

"The whole thing's unbelievable," Twilight said as she shook her head, "that would automatically limit who can even qualify for the team. And nobody told you about this ahead of time, so you wouldn't make a fool out of yourself?"

"I got the impression that it wasn't a big consideration, especially after all the laughs that I heard after my first attempt," Dawn answered, and then added in a low voice, "...griffon wings my ass."

Dawn looked over to Scootaloo. The young pegasus just sat there, looking totally perplexed. Finally though, Scoot shook her head and said, "But...you got totally robbed! How did you handle all that?"

Dawn smiled, and then came over and patted Scoot on her head and replied, "Well...thankfully I was assigned a really great career counselor, who referred me to a great physical therapist, and they both helped me get back in the air and salvage my career. And a certain F.A.C friend of mine, who by the way became an instant Wonderbolt after her trials, decided it was time to finally introduce me to a long time stallion friend of hers, and his very interesting daughter...and...it just kinda went on from there. Or in other words sweetie," she added looking Scoot straight in the eye, "I got a lot of help from some really great ponies." 

"O.K., that's cool and all that," Rainbow said, her voice clearly showing her irritation, "but that whole thing is still a total load of horse apples." She snorted, and then turned towards the door.

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted after her, "where are you going? Aren't you going to wait and see Dawn off?"

Rainbow turned around and said, "I'll make it up to you Dawn. I promise. But right now, I've got to talk to somepony...immediately." She then trotted out the door and quickly took to the air.

"Uh, what was that all about?" Scootaloo asked.

Scoot looked to Dawn, who then looked to Twilight, who could only shrug her shoulders.










"Yeah, of course it sucked," Spitfire answered as she stared at Rainbow, "Are you forgetting that Dawn was my friend long before she met you? I mean...I've known her since all the way back to B.C.F.S."

"Well, that's great," Rainbow answered, "but..."

"What?" Spitfire asked.

"What's B.C.F.S.?" Rainbow inquired.

Spitfire facehoofed and groaned, and replied, "Dash, it's Basic Combat Flight School. I mean really, even they're not crazy enough to just strap a bunch of stuff on a pony and throw him into a fight without at least some sort of training." She reached over to Rainbow and lightly rapped her on the side of her head and said, "It's the military Dash, remember? The land where acronyms run free?"

Spitfire turned right in her seat and gingerly moved down onto her hooves. "Dash...you apparently didn't notice it at the time, but the system that the Wonderbolt's  have is designed to turn out a certain type of flyer for a certain type of show. I mean, haven't you noticed that the whole team is pretty much the same size pony? And that our show routine has barely changed in twenty years? And yeah, it sucks! And I've been beating my head against a wall trying to shake things up for years, only to keep running into the same old tight asses on that damn commission giving the same lame arguments."

Rainbow settled back on her haunches, and sighed, "So what now? Something's got to give here. I mean really...Dawn was set up for failure. And how many other ponies have fallen into the same situation, and all just because they happen to be a bit bigger than the average? And...Dawn doesn't deserve all this garbage. Bad enough that she was labeled with that 'mad bomber' stuff when she was just trying to do her job."

"Yeah...well, it's an ugly job Dash," Spitfire answered, "and no pony should get a blank check when it comes to using lethal force. And let's keep in mind that even if the cards weren't stacked against her, there's no guarantee she would have made it onto the team." Spitfire then strolled over and sat down next to Rainbow, and added, "But...you're right, she got a raw deal. She deserves better than that."

Rainbow looked over to Spitfire and asked, "Got any ideas?"

Spitfire nodded. "I think so. But I'm going to need a bit of help to pull it off. And, I think...a bit of help from that princess friend of yours."  









Dawn was not in the habit of bringing her work along with her to the cafeteria. But the weekend had been busy, and she had a reading list a mile long, and with her first meeting at 9am, precedent had to be set aside. That said though, it was hard to keep like things together while it was spread out on the table; reports on new development work in the griffon kingdom; the latest update on the breakup of the Storm King’s empire; the various scattered reports on the whereabouts of Queen Chrysalis. It made for an ugly mess, but she couldn't help but notice that most of the tables around her looked pretty bad too, so she had doubts that anypony would single her out. 

Dawn scanned the various papers for as long as she could, and then leaned back, carefully removed her reading glasses and tried to give her eyes a rest. When she opened them again, she glanced over at the donut that sat there. Normally on these study sessions, she had a whole plate full, but today she had tried to cut it to two, and even then she felt a bit guilty. She had told herself for awhile that she would try to get back on an aggressive training schedule, but something always seemed to come up. And though she had made weight on her last p.t. test, it was just barely. and that was certainly nothing to brag about since it made her a slug in the air, especially in a climb. 

But that said, a bunch of coffee on an empty stomach was never a good idea either. Which caused her to look to the other elephant in the room, sitting there in that cup. She shook her head and smiled, ‘What is it about coffee and me exactly’ she thought. She had never had a taste for it until she joined the R.O.T.C., and ever since it had become a staple of life. And over the years, the quality of government issue coffee had varied, ranging from rather decent to so damn bitter that she swore she could take it home and let her daughter use it to clean her paint brushes. 

She had to admit to herself though that whatever the quality on a given day, she usually drank it anyway. 

'But...' she thought, looking at the cup, 'not now.' Instead, she once again replaced her glasses on her snout and went back to work.

"Sweet Celestia...what a load  of crap!" came a call from a familiar voice somewhere nearby.

Dawn looked up and quickly glanced around her till she spotted Rainbow Dash, wearing her Wonderbolt's flight suit approaching from her right, followed closely by Vapor Trail, wearing her R.F.C. dress uniform.

"Whoa...whoa...whoa...what are you two doing here?" Dawn asked, obviously surprised, "This is supposed to be a secure facility."

"Yeah, that's what somepony said to us too," Rainbow answered, "But...you'd be surprised just where they'll let a Wonderbolt go these days."

Dawn recoiled back, her face showing pure horror.

"Rainbow?!? What kind of an answer is that?" she asked, and then frantically began gathering up the various folders and assorted papers in front of her.

"Uh Dawn," Vapor said with a smile as she reached out and caught hold of Dawn's arm, "We actually didn't just walk in. Yes, they did screen us...a lot."

"Yeah...and besides," Rainbow added, "we're actually here on official business."

Dawn's arms dropped to her sides, and her head tilted as an eyebrow rose, and she said, "You...on official business?"

Rainbow frowned, and looked to Vapor, who just smiled and shrugged.

"Hey...it could happen. Or it actually did happen...or whatever," Rainbow answered, and then shook her head and continued, "Anyway...you're getting me all mixed up. So...anyway, the whole point is...we've got an offer here that we think you can't refuse."

Dawn crossed her arms, and sat back in her chair and said, "Well, it had better be a good one kid. You might be surprised just what kind of offers I've refused in the past."

"Well, this one is something I think that you'll like," Rainbow said with a smile, "I had a little talk with Spit, and we both agree that you got a raw deal back in the day; and we couldn't help but think that the commission coming in there when they did was about the next best thing to ants at a picnic. And, we think that you deserve a better deal than that."

"O.k., I'm certainly not going to argue that point," Dawn answered, "But come on now, I survived remember. I changed course, and I like where I ended up."

"Well yeah, we know that," Vapor replied, "But you said it yourself, it took Spit almost no time to talk you into coming and helping her, even with a family and a fulltime job to worry about. Why did you do it Dawn? It's more than just friendship...isn't it?"

Dawn shook her head and exhaled before she said, "Uh yeah...well, I guess you could say that the Wonderbolts is an itch that still needed scratching. And as Spit said, it was 'a chance to hang with the cool ponies for awhile.' A desk job really does have it's drawbacks sometimes. Not that I'm looking to get back into combat or anything," she said, her expression showing her earnestness, "the invasion was WAY too much. But, I guess...that I just wanted to get a hint at what Spit does everyday, and...what I missed out on." 

"Well...it's funny you should say that," Rainbow said with a smile, "because we want to help you with that. Or...in other words, we want you to fly with us."

Dawn's arms fell to her sides, and she stared at Rainbow in confusion.

"What?" she asked.

"Dawn" Vapor said, "we want to you to fly with us...with the Wonderbolts...at the Manehatten 300."

Dawn said nothing at first. She just sat there in silence. But slowly, she glanced over first to Rainbow, and then to Vapor, and then said, "Are you two nuts? I...I've got a job to do here. I've got a family to look after. And...I mean...there's also the minor factor here that I'm not a Wonderbolt. I'm not even close to one! I can't do what you guys do!"

"Dawn," Vapor continued, "you don't have to do what we do. But we think that it's time that ponies get a chance to see their air force...and get to see that there's more to you than just what the newspapers tell them."

"But, the R.F.C. doesn't do air shows," Dawn answered, "I couldn't do this even if I wanted to."

"Well, actually...you kind of have to," Rainbow answered, "it's a command performance." She then produced a very formal looking letter and pushed it Dawn's way.

"Who in their right mind would order that?!?" Dawn growled as she reached for the letter. She quickly opened it and scanned the page before stopping at the bottom. She let the paper fall back to the table, and looked up and said "....Princess Twilight Sparkle." She then face hoofed and said in a low voice, "...ask a silly question."

Dawn emitted a low groan and said, ""Ohh Vapor...kid...I could come through this looking like the freak of the week before this is over you know."

"Oh come on Dawn," Rainbow chimed in, "If this is all coming back to that trouble you had against pursuit flyers."

Dawn looked up. "Uh whoa...wait a minute there," Dawn rebutted, "I can figure out ways to handle combat flying."

"Oh right," Rainbow answered, leaning forward on the table and smiling, "I thought you said it would be a trick to beat a pursuit flyer?"

"Yeah," Dawn continued, "but thankfully I've learned a few over the years."

"Then this should be a snap," Rainbow replied, "and besides, you won't have to do what we do anyway. You'll do things that you know how to do, after some practice of course with the team."

"Oh my, this is ridiculous," Dawn said to no one in particular.

"Come on Dawn, just think of it as a chance to do the one thing that all pegasi love to do," Rainbow replied.

"And what's that exactly?" Dawn asked skeptically.

Rainbow looked to Vapor, and then back to Dawn and answered, "Show off." 

Dawn looked at Rainbow, and then to Vapor. She took a deep breath, and finally answered, "Oh yeah o.k. I guess. I mean really, it's just a reputation...right?"

"That's the spirit Dawn!" Vapor answered, "...sort of."

Dawn could only shake her head and smile.