The following day saw Rainbow Dash flying through the clouds to the western border of the so called Eternal Pegasus Empire. Joined by the cousins Skychaser and Flashbolt, they made up a patrol of three ponies that officially were out here to check up on Sentinels numbered 23-25. Unofficially it was really just an excuse for Rainbow Dash to get out here and see the western border as well as where the Sentinels were perched. She couldn’t care less though, anything that allowed her to fly free through the skies like this was good in her view. She didn’t even mind having the other two tagging along. Even though she was forced to go slower because of them this still beat running around on top of clouds a whole bunch. When she was woken up this morning it was by Wild Wind who told her what would be happening and she couldn’t stop herself from literally jumping out of her bed and screaming “Yes!”.
It was cool that this was her first real duty as a soldier of the Empire. What else was she gonna get to do? She remembered that when she was first being brought to the huge administration building to go on trial she saw a bunch of soldiers flying around the city like they were watching over and policing it. She expected to be doing something like that in the future. Commander Blizzard wanted her to totally embrace their society and culture so it was likely she’d be made to see all aspects of it at some point or another.
For now she floated lazily through the clouds, drifting back and forth, up and down, dragging a hoof through the soft pillows around her while Skychaser and Flashbolt followed.
“Do you guys do this a lot?” She asked them without turning around.
Flashbolt’s mouth opened up but Skychaser was far quicker. “Every now and then, although normally we’re just called upon to patrol the city or the eastern border. There are a lot of scouts sent over Frost Wolves territory to spy on them too.”
“That’s just what I was about to say,” Flashbolt mumbled under his breath.
“Well then speak up faster next time,” his cousin huffed.
Rainbow Dash chuckled a little at the two of them. Despite the cousins usually being forced to work together and sharing the same bunk-bed they probably got along the worst of any of the ponies in her squad. Part of that was due to Skychaser thinking that because he had the slightly faster tongue he could speak for his cousin at the same time. And Rainbow Dash thought the other part was Flashbolt actually being slightly faster at sprints, something she had noticed after watching them more closely during the drills.
Either way the two bickered like brothers more than cousins.
Rainbow Dash flipped upside down and started flying along her back with her hooves folded behind her head for support. She stared up at the sky while her two comrades watched her, unable to fly like that themselves. She was probably one of the only pegasi up here that could fly in her elaborate ways and make the kind of aerial maneuvers she loved. Things she had either come up with on her own or learned as a Wonderbolt.
And she knew there was no one here who had seen a Sonic Rainboom. Maybe she’d show them one someday.
“Are we flying too slow for you? Do you want us to try and speed things up?” Flashbolt asked her.
Rainbow Dash turned back over and shook her head. “Naw, it’s no big deal. Even if you guys did go faster it would still be too slow for me. Just fly however you want.”
“I can believe that,” Skychaser said. “The two of us watched your fight with Commander Blizzard. Until then neither of us thought there was another pony who could fly that fast. No one at the base could come close to doing what you do.”
“Thanks.” Rainbow Dash grinned, always happy to receive praise.
Although at the same time she had to try and ignore how that fight went.
Flashbolt kneaded his two creamy front hooves together, a somewhat nervous look on his face as his eyes looked back and forth between the clouds around them. “Sooo… since there’s plenty of time until we reach the western border… can I ask you what Equestria is like?”
Skychaser halted in midair and grasped his cousin by the shoulder. “We’re not supposed to-”
“I know what we’re not supposed to do!” Flashbolt angrily smacked his hoof away. “But aren’t you curious at all?”
“Of course I am! Everyone is! But that doesn’t change things, we have our orders.” Skychaser frowned and looked away, defiantly folding his hooves over his chest.
“You are such a stooge, if Crescent Moon told you to jump off a cloud with your wings tied behind your back you would!” The walnut-maned pegasus jabbed his cousin in the side.
“Well you’re such a troublemaker! And that’s Lieutenant Crescent Moon,” Skychaser pushed his cousin right back.
“He’s a moron!”
“He’s our superior officer!”
The two of them kept shoving each other and it looked like it was about to get worse. Rainbow Dash grimaced and flew back to them, squeezing herself between the two cousins and pushing them away from each other.
“Guys, cut it out!” She glared at the both of them. “Geez, can’t you two get along at all? I just got here and I can already tell how much you two probably fight. I’ve been on one mission with you guys and you start fighting on it.”
Both of the cousins had the decency to look ashamed, with Skychaser naturally being the first to speak up.
“I’m sorry that we couldn’t be more… professional for you,” his blue mane fluttered in the breeze.
“Yes, and I’m sorry for starting this. I know we’re not supposed to ask and it probably puts you in a bad spot-” Flashbolt started saying before Rainbow Dash cut him off.
“Hey, believe me, I get it. Seeing someone as totally awesome as me and learning I’m from Equestria? Can’t exactly blame you for getting curious.” She looked both him and Skychaser over, thinking about some things in her head and how she’d really like to indulge Flashbolt, but surprisingly common sense won out in Rainbow Dash in the end. The blue pegasus sighed and looked at Flashbolt. “Sorry dude, as much as I want to tell you everything you want to know I don’t want to get you in trouble. Maybe some other day when I don’t have ponies breathing down my neck.”
Flashbolt nodded sadly. “I understand.”
“If the Lieutenant says it’s okay I wouldn’t mind hearing what you have to say about Equestria either,” Skychaser admitted with a slight blush tinging his cheeks.
“Heh,” Rainbow Dash smiled and gave them both hoofbumps. “You guys’ll love hearing about it. Come on, let’s get back to flying.”
Rainbow Dash really did want to share as much as she could, not just for her own sake but theirs as well. They deserved to know about Equestria and it was something that could change them. Something that could lead them to a better life and world than what they had now. If she was going to help the pegasi up here and subvert Blizzard it was something she’d have to do at some point. They needed the truth about Equestria and why Commander Hurricane and all the others had willingly chosen to go along with it. The friendship, the happiness, the harmony. Some day she’d tell them.
For now though they had work today and the three pegasi resumed their flight through the clouds. It was a long flight, one that was supposed to take the better part of a day just to make it to the border, not even counting the return trip. For that, Flashbolt had a bag of food and other supplies he was carrying with him. At Rainbow Dash’s full speed it would’ve been different but there was nothing she could do about that. Hopefully by some point there would be more to see than just the clouds drifting by, it was still pretty early in the day and the three hadn’t even broken for lunch.
Wanting to break her boredom, Rainbow Dash tentatively started up conversation with the cousins again.
“So like, how long have you guys been in the military?” She asked the two of them as she flew slightly ahead of and above the two.
“We entered at the same time,” Skychaser said. “Or to be more accurate we were entered at the same time by our families. Essentially all able-bodied stallions are supposed to go through at least one year in the military, after that you can either continue on or do something else.”
“Naturally Commander Blizzard insists that you stay in the military but even he knows that there are other things that need to be done. Especially since mares aren’t exactly allowed to do most work either,” Flashbolt added.
“Cousin...” Skychaser warned.
Rainbow Dash frowned at that. Had she even seen another mare in the city yet? She had seen some fillies playing around she was pretty sure. But she definitely hadn’t spoken to any mares of the Empire yet, she knew that. Were they really so disconnected from the military and other important jobs? Did they just stay at home entirely?
“Hey… sorry if this is kind of putting you guys in a tough spot, but what do mares do in the Empire? I’ve heard from enough ponies up here that what I’m doing is totally unusual. So what kind of work do the mares besides me do?” She asked.
“It’s okay, I don’t think there’s a problem with it. After all you’re supposed to learn about the Empire so I really don’t see why there would be.” Flashbolt started. “Anyways traditionally mares aren’t supposed to work at all. Mares are homemakers. They cook, they clean, they raise the kids.” He shrugged. “That’s how it’s been since the beginning. Sometimes a headstrong mare will get assertive and force her way into work somewhere, or we’ll have a shortage and need the extra help, but for the most part it’s frowned upon for a mare to do anything like that.”
“Bleh,” Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue. “I’d get so bored! I mean, yeah I’m sure there are tons of mares happy living like that but I’d go totally crazy! Even Rarity would lose it if she couldn’t run her business!”
It was strange to think about what she might’ve become if she didn’t even have a choice. If as a mare she wasn’t allowed to become a Wonderbolt and was just expected to marry some stallion and spend all day cooking and cleaning up the house. The thought made her shudder personally. Rainbow Dash felt bad for the mares here, maybe they didn’t know what they were missing but she couldn’t imagine living without the freedom she had had in her life.
“I assume it’s different in Equestria?” Skychaser asked before his eyes went wide as he caught himself. “Er, not that I’m asking or anything!”
Flashbolt and Rainbow Dash both took the opportunity to snicker at the embarrassed pegasus.
“Oh—let’s just move on!” The hazel pony said as he flew past Dash and his cousin, trying to hide his even redder than before face. “You don’t need to feel bad for the mares here, they’re well taken care of!”
Rainbow Dash didn’t voice it but she still had a few thoughts on that. Being comfortable isn’t the only thing that matters…
“Ahem,” Flashbolt cleared his throat to get both of their attentions again. “We kind of went off on a tangent there. To answer your original question, my cousin and I are in our second year of actual military service. Before this we had gone through school but now that we’ve chosen to continue being in the military you could say it’s our actual job and path in life now. We’ve made a commitment and must follow the orders of Commander Blizzard.”
“What a joy that must be,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.
Skychaser frowned. “You may not like the Commander but he works to protect and better the Empire. He’s wholeheartedly invested in the true pegasus way.”
“I more or less agree with my cousin. There are just a couple of things I don’t like,” Flashbolt said.
“I get it,” Rainbow Dash allowed. “So you guys can’t just leave the military then?”
“Not anymore,” Flashbolt shook his head. “It is our way that the Commander has total control over all military forces. Now that we’ve chosen to be a part of this we must serve and do as he commands until we’re older... or something less fortunate happens to us. As I’m sure you’ve heard it’s “rule by the strong” up here. Commander Blizzard has the authority to do whatever he wishes with his forces.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s the pegasus way and we’ve all accepted it. It’s the right way of life for us,” Skychaser added with a slightly harsh tone. He could tell his cousin was practically complaining.
Rainbow Dash flew back past him. “You don’t need to justify it to me or anything. I get where you’re coming from, like I said.” She added under her breath, too quiet for him to hear. “I just don’t agree with it.”
Celestia, Luna, Twilight, they were all followed and listened to because the ponies trusted them and knew they had their best interests at heart. They didn’t denigrate or look down on anyone and they didn’t force ponies to follow them. They were loved because of that. That’s how a leader should be. Rainbow Dash didn’t pretend to fully know Commander Blizzard or what went on in his head, but the discord he had with the Elders, the fact his soldiers didn’t even cheer for him that hard at their fight, it told her a lot.
The conversation between the three died out after that and they flew on and on for the rest of the day. A short stop was had so they could eat and then they resumed their flight, it got colder and colder the further they went west, the further they got from the city specifically. Rainbow Dash knew weather magic was being used to make their domain in the clouds warmer than it should’ve been up here. Wearing metal armor in freezing temperatures also didn’t sound so good but thankfully it hadn’t gotten quite that cold yet.
The three of them came out of the clouds when it was far later in the afternoon and just a few hours before it would be dark. Judging by the time they’d either be sleeping out in the clouds or doing some night flying to get back to the city. But that came second to their actual “task” out here of checking up on the Ice Sentinels.
Rainbow Dash didn’t see the Ice Sentinels just yet, however. No, her eyes were taken in by the wild landscape that stood far to the west. Dark clouds that rained downed dozens, perhaps hundreds, of lightning bolts onto the ground a hundred miles from where she and the others flew. A constant storm of destruction from north to south. The ground was cracked and cratered and devoid of any greenery or water. If there were rivers at one point they had dried up, leaving nothing but an ashen gray field of dead earth. Slightly further from there she could see jagged and angular mountains shooting up like sharkskin everywhere. It looked like a nightmare land of horrible weather and deadly terrain.
“So there was actually stuff living over there that came to attack you guys?” Rainbow Dash asked as she pointed a blue hoof to the storm clouds.
“Hundreds of years ago at least,” Skychaser shrugged. “Who knows what it’s like over there now. The Ice Sentinels have kept everything boxed in.”
Rainbow Dash looked down towards the ground, directly below them it was still relatively green but it slowly got worse and worse before finally fading out into those wastes. She looked to see if one of the Ice Sentinels was down there somewhere but she couldn’t see it. If it was on the ground it would’ve been nothing more than a spot with how high up they were.
“So where are they? We’re supposed to check out three of them, right?” She asked them.
“Hold on one second,” Flashbolt said as he reached into his bag and pulled out a small telescope. The soldier used it to search all over a certain part of the ground below. After a minute or two of carefully checking over each spot to make sure he didn’t miss anything, Flashbolt paused and held the scope steady. “There it is. Look here-” he passed the telescope to Rainbow Dash for her to hold and directed it right where he had been looking.
Rainbow Dash squinted one eye closed and looked through. When everything came into focus she saw it.
It looked exactly like what had attacked her. Only this one was sitting so still you could confuse it for an ice sculpture. Just sitting and peering out into the west. Rainbow Dash noted that because of where they were this one wasn’t perched on or in the valleys of a mountain, it had to just stay on the ground. She took her eye off the telescope and looked to the north and south right on a line of where the Ice Sentinel was. It was fairly flat for a good portion of the land out here with her only barely being able to make out some mountains to the north.
“So it just sits there and does nothing? I was kind of expecting there to be like a mountain range or at least a big river or something right on the border line but there’s nothing like that,” Dash said.
“Essentially the Sentinels are the border now. Some of them sit up on mountains, others like this one sit in wide open areas. It doesn’t really matter, they attack anything that crosses from west to east,” Flashbolt told her.
“Would they even attack us if we flew in front of them and tried coming back?” Rainbow asked, a frown on her face.
“Maybe. I really wouldn’t want to find out,” Skychaser said. “Hopefully whatever’s done to control them gives them enough sense to know we’re what they’re supposed to be protecting.”
Something in Rainbow Dash’s head that had been festering in the back of her mind suddenly broke out. Her eyes narrowed and she turned to the two cousins. “Do… do you think maybe they’ve intentionally been told to attack things coming from the inside too?”
Flashbolt’s face was a mask but Skychaser raised a confused eyebrow at her. “What do you mean?”
Rainbow Dash bit her lip, remembering something she had heard a few times now. “I’ve heard a few ponies here mention runaways. They thought I might’ve been one.”
For once it was Flashbolt who was quicker to respond. “Runaways, as the name implies, are pegasi who have abandoned the Empire and fled. Stallion, mare, military or not, anyone who turns their back on the Empire are labeled a runaway and a fugitive.” He glanced to the ground below where the Ice Sentinel sat. “You’re suggesting that if they indeed did attack things coming from the east… the reason for that is to make sure no one leaves the Empire alive.”
“O-Official military policy for runaways is that they are to be captured and returned to the city,” Skychaser interjected, but his wavering voice told a lack of confidence in his words.
Rainbow Dash and Flashbolt shot each other a couple of frowns before looking back at the hazel pegasus with a pitying gaze.
“Does Blizzard really seem like the type who would take the chance of anyone getting away from the Empire?” Dash asked him.
There was clear distress building up on Skychaser’s face, his mouth opened and closed a few times and he gulped, a cold sweat starting to form on his brow. It was clear he was conflicted. And clear he didn’t want to think that Rainbow Dash might’ve been right. “F-Forget about all that! We have a job to do and there are still two more Sentinels we need to check up on before it gets dark. Let’s just go already!” He stammered out and flew north towards the spot of the next Sentinel.
The two ponies left behind followed after him shortly, the unpleasant revelation weighing heavily on the both of them. Any unfortunate runaway in the past who had traveled south or west likely met with an ill fate, and because of the Sentinels existence in the first place those pegasi would’ve likely thought them to be the safest directions to travel in when fleeing. Was that all intentional? Rainbow Dash hoped not, she hoped Blizzard wasn’t that evil. A difference in opinion could be talked over, Starlight was one of her closest friends now after all and she knew how happy Twilight would be if she could just talk things over up here and make everyone friends. But something like this? It would be difficult for Rainbow Dash to forgive.