//------------------------------// // Episode 17: "The Final Days of Wind Rider" // Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 14 // by twilightsparkle3562 //------------------------------// … … Another night had descended on Canterlot, and as Twilight prepared for bed in the royal suite, she looked forward to another restful night's sleep. "I'll never understand some of the leaders you host," Spike remarked as he came into Twilight's room. "I mean, whoever thought of having a holiday strictly about safety? It's ridiculous." "Spike, that's what Prince Rutherford wanted," Twilight replied, going through her book of memories. "Yaks smash, and they don't always know they are hurting others sometimes. Personally, unless you want to have earthquakes everyday that come from Yakyakastan…" "If you say so," Spike interjected, raising his claws up in surrender of Twilight's suggestion. "I have a lot of respect for all creatures, well most of them at least. There are some others I have no respect for, like the Legion of Doom." "Ex-Legion of Doom," Twilight corrected. "Remember, they repented. Tirek's idea of a farm will do wonders for the economy of our kingdom." "Killing innocent animals to feed isn't quite what I had in mind." Spike replied. Yawning, he proceeded to make his way to his room, before the sounds of knocking could be heard at the door of the royal suite. "Go away! Come back in the morning!" Spike called out, but Twilight proceeded towards the door. "It's probably another one of those witness ponies, Twilight. Or they're out campaigning on behalf of somepony just looking to profit off of your endorsement." But Twilight thought otherwise. Making her way to the door, she could hear the sounds of commotion outside and opening the door, she saw a pair of mares being restrained by the guards. "Stop this at once!" Twilight commanded and the guards stood down, recognizing the "intruders" the guards had detained: A familiar unicorn and earth pony couple. "Lyra! Bon Bon! What's going on here?! Why have you come here now?" "Twilight! The Canterlot River! A pony! Found dead!" Lyra cried out in a panicked voice as Twilight tried to absorb what happened. … … Immediately after learning what had happened, Twilight and Spike darted over to the Canterlot River and found herself greeted by several guardsponies and law enforcement ponies. But there was another surprise as she arrived, realizing the river was the same one she and her friends had fallen into during the Storm King's attack on Canterlot. "Rainbow Dash, what are you doing here?" Twilight asked as she saw the princess of loyalty standing over a body covered in a purple tarp. "I had somepony banging on my door, telling me to get down here," Rainbow replied. "But that's not important right now. Right now, considering who it is, I've got bigger problems on my hooves." "Whose body is this?" Twilight asked in the hope of getting answers, but at that moment, Spitfire, Soarin' and Sky Stinger all arrived on the scene. "Captain Spitfire, what are you doing here?!" "Sorry Princess Twilight," The lead Wonderbolt said while lifting her goggles up. "But Rainbow Dash asked us to be here. She said it was urgent." "Okay, this is getting weird, guys," Spike remarked, trying to restore order. "This is a royal matter. So, let us…" "- No, it's a Wonderbolt matter, Spike!" Rainbow Dash answered, much to Twilight and Spike's confusion, before turning to Soarin' and Sky Stinger. "You two, get this body over to the morgue at Canterlot General Hospital, on the double! I wanna know how he died, and how long he was in the river!" "Got it, Crash," Soarin' saluted. Then, grunting, he and Sky Stinger lifted the body into the air. "I'm gonna need a pie after this!" The second-in-command of the Wonderbolts sighed as he and Sky Stinger flew away towards the hospital. "Rainbow, do you know this pony?" Twilight asked, before turning to Lyra and Bon Bon. "For that matter, how did you girls discover the body, Lyra?" "We were just making our way back to Ponyville when we saw something floating in the water," Bon Bon answered. "Lyra saw something downstream and went to look, and that's when we…" On the verge of hyperventilating, Bon Bon stepped back and took a deep breath. "It was lying face down in the water!" Lyra exclaimed, pointing to the exact spot on the river bank. "I… I didn't think it was dead, but Bon Bon wanted to be sure. She poked it, and that's when we knew, knew it was dead! We had to tell somepony, and Bon Bon said you were the best pony to consult!" Bending down, Twilight studied the exact trail of water that came out of the river which confirmed to her that the body had been dragged out. "Could you guys describe the pony as you found him?" She asked. "Was he an earth pony, a unicorn or…" "-He was a pegasus, no doubt about it," Bon Bon interrupted. "His wings were spread out like he was getting ready to fly." "We flipped him over and his eyes were open, rolled back! It was so scary, Princess Twilight!" Lyra cried in shock. "I… I think I'm gonna be sick!" Sighing, Twilight turned over to Spike. "Well, you two did the right thing by coming to us," She said to the mares. "But I'm going to have Spike here take you two over Canterlot General Hospital to have your mental health checked out. Spike, you and several guardsponies bring Lyra and Bon Bon to the hospital. I'll handle the investigation from here." Acknowledging, Spike and the guardsponies led Lyra and Bon Bon away while Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire investigated what was happening. Taking a small plastic bag, Twilight carefully placed a blue feather into the bag to classify it as evidence. "It just doesn't make sense," Spitfire sighed. "I knew he was disgraced, but…" "-Who was disgraced?" Twilight asked. "Was it one of you guys?" "Somepony that used to be one of us. Hadn't heard from him since he got booted off the team years ago." Rainbow Dash sighed, and Twilight began to get an idea of just who it was that had been found. At the hospital a short time later, Twilight was down in the morgue and stared down at the draped corpse on the gurney. "Princess Twilight," A gray colored unicorn mare with a short black mane, green eyes and pale green glasses asked as she walked into the room. "I'm Dr. Olive, the medical examiner here at Canterlot General Hospital." "Nice to meet you," Twilight replied with a bow. "This is Princess Rainbow Dash and her fellow Wonderbolts: Captain Spitfire, Lieutenant Soarin' and Wonderbolt Reserve Sky Stinger." "Delighted to meet you." The doctor bowed back. Then, with the brief introductions out of the way, Dr. Olive turned to the covered corpse and before she prepared to remove the cover, she turned to the Princesses and the Wonderbolts. "Uh…are you sure you want to be here for this part?" she asked. "I think we all know who is under that cover," Spitfire bitterly remarked. "Show us so we can get it over with." "Very well then." The medical examiner replied. And then Dr. Olive slowly removed the cover. Underneath was a blue coated pegasus pony lying on his back, dressed in a gray flier's jacket with a ripped section. "I knew it," Spitfire hissed, hovering over the corpse. "I knew he would do something like this! He just couldn't handle having his record taken from him!" "Who is this pony?" Twilight asked. "It's Wind Rider, Twilight. One of the Wonderbolts former members, and a disgraced one at that." Rainbow Dash answered firmly with disappointment in her voice, looking at the body of the disgraced Wonderbolt who once tried to frame her. … … "Wind Rider?" Twilight asked. "Wait, I remember. Isn't that the same pony who tried to get you kicked out of the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash? The one you and Rarity investigated." "Yes," Rainbow Dash answered, walking over to the body. "He tried to frame me for sending Spitfire away without anypony noticing. And all so I wouldn't break his record, which I ended up doing anyway. And I say it served him right!" "Yeah," Soarin' sighed with a look of disgust on his face. "He would have succeeded if it weren't for your friend, Crash. Threatening you with expulsion has to be one of the stupidest things I ever did. I knew you and I should have known better than to believe you would engage in foul play." "Can somepony close his eyes?" Sky Stinger nervously asked. "He's starting to creep me out." Carefully, Dr. Olive closed Wind Rider's eyes as she had been instructed to do. "He wanted you to threaten me with expulsion, Clipper," Rainbow Dash hissed. "That played to his advantage. But how did he end up like this?" Hesitantly, she asked. "You don't think he…?" "-It's possible, your highness," Dr. Olive replied as she placed a tube in Wind Rider's throat and slowly began to drain out water and stomach contents from inside his body through a small vacuum cleaner. "It's possible he wanted to escape life." "Okay, I gotta step out for a second," Sky Stinger cried, getting grossed out by the process being done on the dead Wonderbolt. "Stay where you are, Sky Stinger!" Spitfire ordered sharply to the young pegasus pony while Dr. Olive began to cut away on Wind Rider's jacket, placing strands in a container. "And don't worry about his jacket, Dr. Olive, he won't need it now!" But Twilight and Rainbow Dash could only stare in disbelief and after a few moments, both of them felt the need to step out of the morgue. "Was his life seriously not worth living?" Rainbow Dash asked as she paced back and forth in front of Twilight outside the morgue. "I mean, sure, he was disgraced. But taking the easy way out? Maybe I should have been kicked out of the Wonderbolts." Twilight was shocked to hear such a statement from her fellow princess. "How could you say that, Rainbow Dash?! Being a Wonderbolt is your dream that you're living now!" "Not if somepony could kill himself over having his dream shattered, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash cried in a shocked expression. "I mean, didn't he have any other way? Did he have nopony else or nothing else to live for?!" Sitting down, Rainbow continued to ask herself the same question over and over again in her brain. Sure Wind Rider was a disgraced Wonderbolt, but still…he didn't have to do what he did. "If he was that depressed, he should have reached out to someone, Twilight!" Rainbow cried. "Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem! Everypony and everycreature knows that! How could he decide to just end it all?! Was being a Wonderbolt so important to him that nothing else mattered, not even his own well being?!" Sighing, Rainbow stared up to the ceiling as Twilight sat down next to her. As a pony with mental health problems of her own, she completely understood the situation. "Yes, that is true, but ask yourself this question," Twilight proposed. "If you were in Wind Rider's horseshoes, what would you have done?" "I would have accepted the fact that my record was meant to be broken and moved on with my life," Rainbow remarked. "But I would've never resorted to the kind of tactics Wind Rider used to frame me. I would never stoop to the level of sabotage or foul play just to uphold a record! Someponies just can't handle the truth! There has to be a reason for why he did what he did aside from facing the cold, hard truth!" At that moment, both princesses saw Luna arrive and enter the morgue. "What's she doing here?" Twilight wondered and she quietly made her way into the morgue as Luna placed her hoof on Wind Rider's forehead, chanting an old ponish prayer for the dead while Spitfire, Soarin' and Sky Stinger saluted. Once the prayer was spoken, she removed her hoof and the Wonderbolts stood at ease. "Thank you, Princess Emeritus Luna." Spitfire replied. "Luna, what was it that you did?" Twilight wondered. "It's an old ponish prayer for the dead," Luna replied. "It was part of my duties as a princess that I still do today. Its purpose is to ensure that the spirit of the dead is sent to his or her final destination." "She did a similar prayer for Granny Smith after she died." Twilight added to Rainbow Dash. Just then, a group of morticians arrived with what appeared to be embalming fluid and a coffin. A pony undertaker then entered the room with what appeared to be a Wonderbolts uniform. Immediately, Rainbow Dash began to get an idea of what was happening to Wind Rider. "He's getting a funeral even after all he did?!" Rainbow Dash asked Spitfire, looking over to her with a look of disgust on her face. "It's in the bylaws, Crash," Spitfire answered. "Even through his stunt, we have to honor him for his accomplishments as a Wonderbolt. It's the least we can do for him. Though he died a coward, he needn't be buried as one." Although Rainbow Dash was sorry that Wind Rider was dead, the idea of an elaborate funeral for him did not sit well with her. "Excuse me." She bitterly replied, turning to step out of the morgue again and towards the bathroom. A few moments later, a loud noise came out of the bathroom and Twilight and Luna dashed towards it! Opening the door, they saw Rainbow Dash had punched into the bathroom mirror, her front left hoof bleeding! "Rainbow!" Twilight cried in shock at her friend's behavior! … … "A funeral?! A funeral for a disgraced Wonderbolt?! He doesn't deserve one!" Rainbow cried, gritting through her teeth as the nurses worked on her hoof. "Sure he killed himself, but still…" "Rainbow, you may be a princess, but you are a Wonderbolt," Twilight pointed out. "Even you can't modify bylaws." "Oh yes I can, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash snapped. "His actions outweigh his accomplishments, regardless of everything else he did! If there is to be a funeral for a Wonderbolt, it would have to be a pony clean of any scandals and controversies! Who knows what else Wind Rider did to preserve his records that we'll never find out about?!" At that moment, Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts stood in the doorway with looks of disgust and embarrassment on their faces over Rainbow's sudden outburst. "You're gonna tell us what happened in there, Crash?" Spitfire asked crossly, looking intently at Rainbow Dash. "Don't forget, even though you're a princess you're also a Wonderbolt. And as your captain, I still outrank you. So if you've got a problem with the Wonderbolts, you'll take it up with me!" "Look, Spitfire, I get we have traditions and bylaws, but he doesn't deserve an elaborate funeral." Rainbow sighed in lament and disgust. "I know you don't like this as much as I do, but he needs to be honored in this way," Spitfire sighed. "If it were up to me, I would have denied him the right, but I can't do that. How would you feel if you were denied a funeral just because you are the Princess of Loyalty now? What Wind Rider did was wrong, but he was already stripped of his records. He was punished to the full extent of the law, he shouldn't be judged any further now that he's dead." "That's besides the point, Spitfire!" Rainbow cried, pointing her bandage hoof at her superior. "I'm not only a princess, but an element of harmony as well as Wonderbolt. Wind Rider had actions that must have consequences. He…he tried to frame me for pony's sake! And I can only assume he killed himself because he couldn't live with the shame! He lived as a coward and he died as one too for all I care!" Spitfire saw tears of frustration forming at the corners of Rainbow Dash's eyes, but even those weren't enough to change her mind. "I'm sorry, Crash. There's nothing I can do. I can't change bylaws just because you want me to. Wind Rider needs to be honored for what he did in his lifetime. But…you don't have to be there at the funeral. Attendance isn't mandatory." Rainbow pondered the possibility of not attending the funeral, but Twilight had second thoughts. "Be sure to think about what you are considering Rainbow Dash," Twilight warned as they walked back to the morgue. "If you skip the funeral, you would be viewed in a negative light by our subjects even considering your past with Wind Rider. Not to mention it would damage your standing as a Wonderbolt as well as a princess. You may have reservations, but when it comes to being a princess, sometimes you have to mask your emotions and be the bigger mare." Rainbow then turned to Luna, who agreed with Twilight, much to her chagrin. Upon Rainbow's return to the morgue a short time later, Wind Rider's body had already been placed in the casket and Rainbow Dash looked down at the disgraced Wonderbolt, dressed in a Wonderbolt's uniform similar to Spitfire's drill sergeant attire. "Why isn't he in full uniform?" Rainbow asked. "Because of what he did to you," Soarin' answered, walking over to Rainbow Dash and draping a wing over her. "One of our bylaws is that anypony or anycreature who has caught themselves in scandal or controversy does not have the right to be buried in full uniform." "The funeral will go on, but he will also not have full honors," Spitfire added. "If that's any consolation to you, Crash. He will have some dignity, but he won't be given the honors he would've received had he not done what he did. We would bury him in his old flight jacket, but he sullied it with his act of cowardice." Feeling somewhat better, Rainbow Dash stepped back as the casket was closed, draped with the flag of Equestria. "Well, if you want me to attend the funeral," Rainbow Dash sighed. "Then, I guess there is no point in arguing about it, is there?" … With great reluctance, Rainbow attended the funeral a few days later as Wind Rider was memorialized and laid to rest in Equestria's national cemetery in Canterlot without any military honors. Once the funeral was over, Rainbow left without saying a word to anypony or anycreature. She had self-dignity and self-respect to maintain, something that Wind Rider never had in life, or in death. In Memory of Jan Robson (June 14th, 1954-October 14th, 2022)