Rainbow awoke hours later to the feeling of someone's hoof prodding her. It was spitfire. The first thing she saw when she woke up was Spitfire. This was officially the best morning ever.
"What are you doing in here, kid?"
"I'm here to fly recon with you guys!" She replied, standing at attention.
Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember discussing that with Captain Armor."
"Yeah... I'm a good friend of his. He just assigned me last night. I mean, how could he not put Equestria's best young flier with you guys? You want me to go get him?" Rainbow asked, leaning her body towards the entrance of the tent.
Spitfire sighed. "No, that's fine... I really don't think we need another set of wings up there, but I do recognize you, and if the Captain says it's okay..."
"So I can go?!"
"Sure. But if I tell you to go back, you'd better go back. I don't wanna be responsible for looking after you if things get hairy out there."
"I won't let you down!"
"And do try to keep it down. This *is* a covert operation. We'll be flying through Griffon airspace."
"You got it!" Rainbow said, as she began stretching her wings the same way everyone else in the tent was.
"You know you're arching your back too much when you do that, right?"
"Uh... Of course, this is how I always do it!"
"Ya' sure?"
"Yeah..." Rainbow squeaked, trying to smile and struggling to keep her wings up even though her flight muscles were cramping.
"Alright then," Spitfire replied, turning around and suppressing laughter.
It'll be alright, Rainbow thought, tucking her wings back down. I'll still have plenty of time to redeem myself for that. She wiggled and twisted her torso uncomfortably for a few seconds while the cramps dissipated. Just as she was starting to feel alright again, the Wonderbolts began to move out into the open and prepare for takeoff. Spitfire directed everyone's attention to a map of the area. Rainbow had a hard time paying attention, sandwiched between her idols, but she was honestly trying.
"Cloudsdale has sent in a number of storm clouds which are ready for us to pick up about a quarter-kilometer North of this installment. Unit A, led by myself, will deliver the clouds to these locations here, here, and here. The rain will result in flash flooding which will disrupt ground forces and installments. Unit B, led by Soarin, will need to use thunderclouds to form an aerial defensive line across these areas, hopefully funneling most of the griffon forces through this area and keeping them close to the ground. As always, keep your eyes peeled for any suspicious activity. Dash, do you have weather experience?"
"Me? I practically run the weather in Ponyville myself!"
"Good. You'll be on Unit B. Thunderclouds can be a little finicky; I think Soarin can use the extra help more. Is everyone else clear on what we're doing?"
"Ma'am yes ma'am!"
"Move out!"
The Wonderbolts took to the sky swiftly and gracefully, with Rainbow in tow. They moved as a single unit to the cloud pickup zone, and then split into several smaller teams on arrival. Each unit worked to move a single, massive chunk of cloud. One light and fluffy, the other dark and writhing. Both units moved together to the East initially.
Dash quickly realized that the entire surface of the ocean had frozen over, quite a peculiar sight, especially at this time of the year. She remembered flying over this same ocean, this same month, only years ago, recalling the moist warmth of the air that was blowing up and out from the land. Now, though, the air was cold, dry, and unpleasant. Although Rainbow didn't have a rehearsed, pre-planned position, the dark clouds proved to be unruly. She put her speed to good use, zipping around the floating monolith and keeping pieces from breaking off of it. Before long, Unit A broke away, taking their simple rainclouds off to their proper destination.
A thundercloud broke off of the top of the twisting mass. Rainbow quickly shot up, looped up over the top of it, and bucked it to Soarin, who stuffed it back into the side.
"Nice one!"
"Thanks!" Rainbow shouted, blushing. She flew back around to the other side, partly to check for more straying clouds, but mostly to hide her flushed face. A thick fog began to develop below the team as they moved further East.
"Alright, this is the first site. Deploy 10 clouds with a gamma height distribution."
The other Wonderbolts knew exactly what that meant, and set to work right away, but Dash hung uneasily in the air. She lurched forward, about to join them, but Soarin stopped her.
"We should probably do this ourselves, if you don't mind. They have to be set out at just the right heights to make a good barrier, and once they're deployed, they get a lot more dangerous. Best to have the professionals doing it. Besides, you've already been a great help. We're at least fifteen minutes ahead of schedule."
As he finished speaking, he pat Dash on the back. She was so overcome by the moment — by the fact that she had just been complimented by her idol — that she couldn't find any words to say. She just stared straight down and pretended to be utterly fascinated by the ponies working below her.
"Alright, good. Let's keep moving! From here on out it's alternating beta and delta configurations every hundred meters!"
Again, Rainbow acted to keep the clouds bundled up. A couple kilometers later, the pegassi stopped for a break, resting on top of the mass of cloud they had been pushing. Rainbow was still full of energy, though, and she wasn't satisfied to just sit around.
"Anything I can do while you guys are resting?"
"You really should take a break, we've got at least two more hours of this to go!"
"I'm too excited to relax! Just give me something to do!"
"Alright, go relieve Wave Chill. He's up top, on lookout. I'm sure he'd like your break, if you don't want it."
"I'm on it!" Rainbow said, saluting. She shot up into the sky with haste, and found Wave Chill sitting on a cloud, scanning his surroundings for any kind of threat. He noticed her almost immediately.
"Hey, new kid, what's up?"
"Soarin said I could take over for ya, if that's alright! You could head back down and relax."
"Eh, that's alright. I like it up here. But you can keep me company if you want, maybe watch my six? I'm gettin' a little dizzy from all the spinning," he said, while pantomiming the act of rotating himself to survey the sky around him.
"Sure!"
Rainbow dropped down onto the same cloud Wave Chill was sitting on, and faced the opposite direction, looking off into the distance for anything suspicious.
Wave struck up some more conversation. "You know, I used to work weather in Ponyville back in the day."
"Really?"
"Yup. One year a crazy storm blew in from the EverFree Forest, I had to work like crazy to keep it under control. That's actually how Spitfire found me — she was scouting for skilled fliers in Ponyville that exact week. Lucky bit of coincidence and circumstance, that."
"So... Do you think I could make the team too?"
"I thought you were already in... That's why you're here, isn't it?"
"Er- I'm actually—"
The pair heard a scream from below. Somehow, about eight griffons had gotten by them and were now engaged in aerial combat with the Wonderbolts.
"But how'd they get through!?" Wave Chill asked.
"They must have flown in from below... under the fog!"
"Well don't just sit there, we need to get down there and help them!"
The Griffons noticed the two ponies on their way down, and there was one on Dash's tail before she could even reach the others. Dash was surprised to find that her attacker was faster than she was. No matter what maneuver she used to try and shake him, he was keeping up, and slowly gaining on her. Thinking fast, she suddenly braked hard and bucked the griffon in the face, using his own great momentum against him. He was sent flying off in the other direction, and retreated, badly injured.
Dash hovered in the air, surveying the situation. Most of the Wonderbolts were either fighting or being chased. Soarin was being pursued by two griffons, both of which were many times his own size. Dash zipped up high above the fight and decided which one she would try to take out. She settled on the left one, and moved in to attack.
She dove straight down, adrenaline pumping, every muscle in her body tense. To her, the world seemed sharper, clearer, and more vivid than it ever had been. Despite the wind rushing past her, she could still hear the rush of air along her target's flight feathers. She could see every little twitch in his muscles as he moved through the air. Naturally, almost effortlessly, she anticipated his motions and bore down on him. She accelerated sharply before twisting her body around and bucking him between his wings.
As her hooves pushed into the griffon's flesh, she could feel his ligaments tear, and his left wing dislocate from its joint. As he began his tumultuous fall into the abyss, a smile crept up on Rainbow's face. Waves of euphoria crashed over her. This was the feeling of victory she so craved, the feeling of superiority, of being better, stronger, and faster... She watched her victim tumble with a sick satisfaction.
And then, it happened. As he rolled, his eyes met Rainbow's for a brief moment. His face was flooded with sadness, pain, and panic. Talons grasping for support he wouldn't be able to find — one wing flapping furiously to save him, the other whipping limply in the wind. Her grin rapidly dissolved into a look of terror and disgust as the meaning of her actions dawned on her.
After a moment of indecision, she broke into a nosedive. She wouldn't let him die. She couldn't. She was going to save him. But he was already falling so quickly. She struggled to keep up, pushing herself harder and harder. She knew that the only way she could catch him would be to perform a rainboom, but she couldn't find the strength to do it. She thought of her friends; they would want her to do this. To save him. Tears welling up in her eyes, she pushed even harder. She remembered her friends coming all the way to Cloudsdale to cheer her on. She imagined them being there with her. She pictured Fluttershy jumping for joy at the sight of her success.
A thunderous crackle ripped across the sky as Dash broke the sound barrier once again. Colorful waves of magic spread out through the air around her, and she felt certain that she was flying faster than she ever had before. With every second, she was getting a bit closer to the griffon, who was still hopelessly flailing through the air. She didn't have much time left, the low fog would soon envelop him. She pushed on, ever faster... faster... She could almost touch him... Once again, he made eye contact with her, realizing what she was doing. He reached his talon out towards her...
Everything went dark as they passed into the fog. Rainbow couldn't see the griffon any longer, but more importantly, she couldn't see the ground. Her body involuntarily jerked back, forcing her to pull up as hard as she could, and not even a tenth of a second too soon. She found herself coasting at a high speed just a few feet above the cracked, icy surface of the ocean. Her feelings of relief regarding her own survival were quickly replaced with feelings of anxiety when she realized the griffon must have hit the ice already. Dash flew desperately through the thick fog searching for him, but found nothing.
"Hello!?"
There was no response. She continued flying around until she found what she had feared — a hole in the ice, just about the size of a griffon. Rainbow landed slowly, hung her head in shame, and began to cry. What had she done? She had been so caught up in the moment... So obsessed with the concept of us versus them... But he hadn't just been some monster. He was another living thing. Someone who had feelings. Someone who had just as much of a right to life as she did. She was a murderer. A monster. No better than the ponies they lock up in Tartarus.
No! That wasn't fair. She was defending her idol. That griffon might have killed Soarin if she hadn't done something!
"Might," she said to herself, sobbing, "Might have killed..."
She sat alone regretting what she had done for some time. Minutes passed, perhaps even an hour. Rainbow didn't even care how long it had been. Suddenly, her ears perked up; she heard something behind her. Rainbow sniffed and wiped her eyes before turning around. Still, nothing could be seen through the fog, but wingbeats could be heard approaching. At least five pairs of wings... all of them too heavy and strong to be ponies. The rainboom must have called the griffons' attention! Dash made a running takeoff in the opposite direction. She had no idea which way she was going, but that didn't matter, as long as it was away from the griffons. She couldn't let them catch her. She stayed low to the ground, hoping that the fog would cover her escape, but it was hopeless, the griffons already knew where she was.
They were gaining on her. She could hear them coming in from different directions. It was a familiar strategy... Rainbow remembered that Applejack had said something about timber wolves working this way. She couldn't outrun them, because that's what they were expecting her to try, and it would only result in getting herself cornered. She cut sharply to the right, hoping to throw off whatever coordination they had managed so far. A griffon whisked by her, nearly missing her, and began screaming in his native language, causing the rest of the griffons to change their bearing.
The icy surface suddenly vanished below Dash. She had flown over a sort of cliff face, it seemed. A much rougher surface presented itself to her as she lowered herself deeper into the fog. The ice around her was dominated by violent peaks, jagged chunks, and towering icebergs; the rapid expansion of the massive sheet of ice must have caused it to buckle over and destroy its own formerly smooth surface. Though her lithe body found little difficulty flying quickly around the hazardous obstacles, her pursuers found the task much more difficult. Behind her, there was a loud thud, accompanied by the shattering of ice, and conflicting feelings tore through her heart as her eyes welled up once again. Tears gracefully whisked off her face into the air behind her, freezing into tiny shards of frost.
She heard another crash as she intensified her movement, whipping back and forth. Using some tricks she had developed back in Ponyville to make herself exceptionally hard to follow resulted in two more crashes. That left one griffon. Dash tried to shake her attacker, but she couldn't. No matter what incredibly difficult move she pulled off, the griffon was always close behind, and only getting closer.
Rainbow couldn't believe it. How could this griffon know all of her moves? No griffon in the world had ever seen her perform!
"No griffon, except..." she thought out loud, as she looked back, only to find that the griffon was gone. Before she could even face forward again, she felt something hit her in the side. The tip of her right wing scraped the ground, causing her to fall and tumble across the rough icy surface. When her body finally came to a rest, she was sprawled out across the salty frost and in too much pain to stand up.