//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 // Story: Always connected- Aftermath // by The-rogue-shadow //------------------------------// Rainbow stretched as she straightened herself out, lying on the bed face down. She opened up her wings and let them fall limply at her sides. She had just finished helping Fluttershy and a few others rebuild archer's stage after her intense fight with Luna that had devastated the pony camp. On top of that, the griffins had noticed that the ponies were rebelling against their leader, and were attacking with a renewed viciousness that the pony forces were barely holding out against. Rainbow had just gotten back from defending the camp from a raid, and much to her displeasure and annoyance, had to take orders directly from Luna, as Black Diamond still hadn't fully recovered from the injuries that he had sustained a few days earlier. Rainbow heard another pony enter, but was too exhausted to lift her head and see who it was. "Hello Rainbow, how are you today?" Asked the pony, and Rainbow recognised it as belonging to Twilight's second in command; Lightstar. Rainbow lazily lifted her wing in greeting, and groaned from the effort that the past few days had wrought. "You look terrible. I know what will help." Said Lightstar, walking over to Rainbow. She began to massage her back with expert skill, making Rainbow feel the kind of pain that she hadn't felt in a long time, the same kind of pain that she felt after a strenuous training session, when you are hurting, but you don't mind because you know that you accomplished something. "I thought your special talent was destroying stuff, not sports therapy." Said Rainbow, as Lightstar moved onto Rainbow's wings. Lightstar giggled, pressing down on Rainbow's wing with enough force to stimulate the sinewy muscles that the wings had. "Well, you're technically right, but it doesn't mean that I can't have other hobbies right? Besides, when I left the gang, I had to find some sort of industry that I could do in my spare time." She told Rainbow, who turned over and gave Lightstar a look. "You were in a gang?" Said Rainbow, startled to learn that a pony that always seemed so sweet and motherly, despite her talent for destructive magic. Lightstar nodded, sighing before continuing her story. "Yeah, hard to believe isn't it? But that's what the stars around my cutie mark mean. You see, when you join this gang, you receive a tattoo of a small star around whatever cutie mark you happen to have, and another one is added every time that you move up a rank in the organisation. The highest amount is six stars, which the leader at the time, Flame, had. I reached the forth rank before the… uh… accident where I hurt somepony that I care deeply about." Lightstar explained, becoming more and more choked up as she told Rainbow the story. Rainbow gave her a hug, before Lightstar cleared her throat and pushed Rainbow back down and continued the massage. "But anyway… I'm here now, doing good and that's all that matters." She said, moving her hooves down to Rainbow's lower back. Rainbow groaned, before giggling at the great feeling. She heard another noise, and Lightstar stopped the massage abruptly. Rainbow turned her head to see Black Diamond limp into the tent, and Rainbow had a quick flash of memory to the time that he had been stabbed through the stomach by a griffin. He smiled as he walked over the table. "Do you want one too Diamond?" asked Lightstar playfully, making Diamond smile. "No thanks, the ones I get are a lot more…. Intimate." He said, winking as he picked up some files and put them into a saddlebag. Both Rainbow and Lightstar burst out laughing. Diamond walked out of the tent smiling as he did so. "You know, there are ponies that I can't believe that they spend their entire lives killing and act like they are bakers. I mean, look at Diamond. He is one of the best fighters that we have in the military, and one of the few ponies that I think could take down Rainbow Dark for good, and yet, he almost always has a sunny demeanour and makes jokes at the most inappropriate of times." Said Rainbow, watching him leave. Lightstar stood, walking over to the table and sitting on one of the chairs. "What's so surprising? We are all just normal ponies, we just have a particularly difficult job that requires a lot of resolve." Said Lightstar, raising an eyebrow at Rainbow. "I know that, but it still just seems weird to me. Even if I'm becoming one of those ponies." Said Rainbow, and a shiver ran down her spine at the thought. Lightstar shook her head and smiled. "It's not all that bad Rainbow. Sometimes the fight is necessary, even if you can't become a rage fuelled super pony that can tear through a dragon like you were diving into a pool." Said Lightstar, shrugging. Rainbow shot her a look, before rolling off the bed in an effort to get up with the least amount of movement. She yawned, feeling her eyes droop. She was shocked back to reality as a trumpet sounded. "What? Again?" Said Lightstar, looking out the window. Rainbow made her way over and peered out to see a cloud of dust on the ground and a black cloud of writhing griffins in the sky. She quickly turned and galloped over to her bed, putting the blood stained crystal helmet back onto her head. "Are you ready Lightstar?" asked Rainbow. A small flame appeared above Lightstar's horn, it flickered blue for a moment before going out. "I love the smell of burning feathers in the afternoon." Smiled Lightstar. Rainbow pulled the last strap on her armour and looked at her. "Me too." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Applejack reached for her mask, slowly and painfully putting it over her head, ignoring the protests from Big Mac and Spike. She stumbled as she took a step towards the door of the bedroom, and Applebloom caught her. "AJ, please get back into bed. Spike and ah will take care of this." Said Big Mac, referring to the hostage situation that had taken place at Sugarcube corner. Applejack shook her head, shrugging Applebloom off and standing up as straight as she could. "NO! Ah only have two days left before Granny Smith's funeral and I have to finish this before then. Because I will not be returning to the war with the gangs still in power. And besides, neither of you have any powers that could get you out of a situation such as this if it goes wrong. Now get out of my way." Said Applejack, trying to push past Big Mac but having no luck. "Applejack… NO." Said Big Mac forcefully. Applejack stared into his eyes and saw the determination that he was feeling. "You know I could just teleport out of here." Said Applejack, hoping to bluff her way past. Big Mac smirked and shook his head. "Ah don't think so, Ah know that you have now control over your powers at the moment. So do what ah say and get back into bed. Please AJ, Spike and ah have this." Pleaded Big Mac. Applejack sighed, turning back toward the bad and sitting down. She pulled the mask off her face and handed it to Big Mac. "Here, you will need this." She said, and raised her eyebrow as Big Mac shook his head again. "Actually AJ, Spike and ah kind of got inspired by you and made our own costumes." He told her, looking at DuskDrift and nodding. DuskDrift cleared her throat and bowed her head. "Airtseuqe Niatpac dna Hcrot Ynop esira." Said DuskDrift, and her eyes glowed. A blue swirl appeared around Big Mac's legs and a red one appeared around Spike's. It started at their hooves and made its way over their entire bodies, covering them both in a skin-tight costume. Big Mac's was blue and white, and featured a half mask that showed his mouth. He had a shield that had Celestia's cutie mark in the middle strapped to his right arm. Spike's costume was red and shimmered with heat. "What do you think AJ, I'm the pony torch and Big Mac is Captain Equestria." Said Spike, giving her a wink before exhaling a breath of green fire. His suit caught alight and yet he seemed fully protected from the flames. "Yeah, it turns out that DuskDrift's spell didn't change me completely into a pony. I can still breathe fire and am impervious to heat." Spike continued. Applejack's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened in shock and awe. "But ah thought you were against my costumed shenanigans Big Mac." Said Applejack, watching as Big Mac adjusted his mask slightly. He smiled, walking toward her and giving her a hug. "Ah was, but then ah saw all of the good that you were doing and decided that maybe it was for the best." Big Mac explained. She hugged him back and he helped her to lie down on the bed. "Now relax, we can handle this." Said Spike. Big Mac and Spike stated to leave, and then Big Mac said; "Oh… And AJ, just remember that you got your wish. You inspired ponies to stand up for what themselves and become better." Applejack smiled and the two ponies finally left. Applejack took a deep breath and silently prayed to Luna that they would return safely. DuskDrift coughed, and Applejack could see a tiny bit of blood on the handkerchief that she used to cover her mouth. "Are you okay sugarcube?" She asked. DuskDrift smiled, nodding her head. "I'm fine; I'm just still feeling the effects of the magic that I used to change Spike into a pony." Explained DuskDrift. I'm sorry that ah pressured you into doing it." Said Applejack. DuskDrift walked over to the other side of the bed and lay down next to Applejack. "Don't stress, to be honest I was glad to do it, makes me feel that I have a purpose. That I'm not just a senseless killer or an immense magical screw up. I'm actually somepony that can change lives in a positive way. Part of that is because I was inspired by you elements of harmony, so thank you." Said DuskDrift. Applejack smiled, glad that she had actually made a difference to ponies lives. Her eyes started to close and she let herself fall back into sleep, hoping that she would be able to finish her mission soon and bring Flame to justice. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow pulled her sword out of a Minotaur's chest, breathing heavily with exhaustion. She then opened her wings and took to the air, aiding the other pegasi with the griffins. Rainbow caught a quick glimpse of Derpy as she grabbed a griffin from behind and twisted its neck around. She ducked between the arrows that shared her flight space, with many of the ones that hit griffins having the pink tail feathers that Fluttershy favoured. Rainbow blocked a sword, kicking the griffin away with as much force as her weary body could muster. She considered transforming into Rainbow Dark, but knew that it was dangerous for her with her powers in constant fluctuation. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Luna flying toward her with a scroll in her mouth. Rainbow's eyes glowed red and with a renewed energy, she stuck her sword into the griffin's throat. "Rainbow, I need you and Derpy to push the griffins back. Some of the other pegasi will flank them and Fluttershy and her archer's will funnel them toward you. Then I need you to transform and-" Said Luna, before Rainbow stopped her. "I can't transform, my powers are still not settled completely. It could do serious damage to me or other ponies around me." Rainbow said angrily, not looking at Luna. Instead, she slashed a griffin across the stomach as it headed for her. "That's a risk I'm willing to take." Said Luna. Rainbow turned, her eyes glowing even brighter. She noticed a griffin heading straight for Luna, an axe raised. Rainbow hesitated, unsure whether Luna deserved it or not. Just as the griffin was upon her, Rainbow threw her sword, and it whistled past Luna's face, cutting her cheek slightly. The sword hit the griffin in the chest, and it screamed, dropping its axe. Luna turned, gasping when she saw how close it was. She gently pulled Rainbow's sword back as the griffin started to fall. Luna handed the sword back to Rainbow. "Why didn't you just let it kill me?" asked Luna. Rainbow snatched the sword out of her grasp and glared at Luna. "Element of loyalty remember. Just don't expect it again."