//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: The End of a Dream // Story: Violet Hill // by TorontoFCBrony //------------------------------// The day after the cup final saw the large parade that was held for the Cloudsdale Rovers. Almost every pony in the city came out to the parade, which had floating floats that floated through the floating city. Rainbow and Soarin cheered loudly as the team went by, holding the trophy up high and proudly. Rainbow could see all of the young foals with their parents, cheering for their team. Seeing one little filly with her mother really brought feelings to Rainbow’s heart. The cuteness and love were strong with the mother and daughter that she saw. It reminded her of the times she had with her mom, back when it was just the two of them. One day she would hopefully be able to enjoy the same feelings with a filly of her own. That night, however, Rainbow just could not sleep. She had a nightmare that the war had spread to Equestria, and eventually to Cloudsdale. She dreamed that the headquarters were under attack, and her and Soarin were both badly injured so that they couldn't fly. Soarin held her hoof as the cloud building was collapsing, about to fall to the ground. “I will never let go,” Soarin said to Rainbow as she held on for her life. That was when the piece of cloud that Soarin was on collapsed from under him, causing him to fall to his death. Rainbow woke up shaking and screaming out Soarin’s name. “What? What happened?” Soarin asked. Rainbow had forgotten that Soarin had stayed the night in her room. “I had a nightmare that Cloudsdale was under attack, and you said that you’d never let me go. Then you fell to your death... Soarin, I’m scared. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you,” she replied while holding her knees with her hooves and rocking back and forth to calm her nerves. “Aw Dashie, I’m sorry you had a nightmare. But don’t worry about anything. I won’t ever let you go. And the war only started and it is in Saddle Arabia right now. We’re safe where we are,” Soarin reassured her while stroking his hoof through her bed head mane. He looked over to the clock to see that it was still four in the morning. He kissed her on the cheek and said, “Go back to sleep, dear.” It took a long time for her to back to sleep. She tossed and turned as she thought of things that may or may not even happen. She looked over to Soarin, who was sleeping soundly while snoring as loud as a motorcycle. She groaned and put the pillow over her head to muffle the sounds coming from her stallion. By the time the morning came, Rainbow was woken up by the sound of commotion coming from the city outside of her window. She decided to get up and take a look outside. She moved her head from left to right, looking at all the ponies talking, flying around quickly, just looking nervous in general. It was not the normal commotion for six in the morning. Rainbow leaned over and gave Soarin a little shove. “Wake up, Soarin, I think something's going on,” she told him. Soarin replied with a loud belch, and then said after a few seconds of yawning and opening his eyes, “Turn on the television, we’ll see if anything has happened.” Rainbow grabbed the remote that was beside the bed and turned it to the Cloudsdale news channel. She was completely shocked as she saw that the newspony was talking and the bottom read, “Attack on Manehattan.” The line underneath read, “Thousands of ponies wake up to the sounds of bombs and sirens.” Saddle Arabia retaliated by attacking one of the most populated cities in Equestria. The Saddle Arabian forces used new bombs that they had developed, dropped on the city by pegasi. From the appearance of it, damage was quite widespread. “Soarin…” Dash said, but she could not come up with a full sentence. “I think we should go see Spitfire right away,” Soarin suggested. The two of them walked over to Spitfire’s office. Spitfire usually started her normal work day at six in the morning, so it was late enough to go. They knocked on the door and she called them in. As the two of them walked in the room, they noticed that Spitfire was watching the news on the small television on her desk. “I’m pretty sure I know why you’re here. I’m afraid to inform you two that we are probably going to be conscripted to fight for Equestria in the next few days.” Rainbow looked up a Soarin. The dejection she felt was very apparent on her face. Soarin tried to ease Rainbow’s nerves by asking Spitfire, “Are you absolutely sure about that? I mean, maybe things will calm down over the next few days.” “I highly doubt that. Enlistment is low in Equestria, so Luna and Celestia are selecting ponies to go fight from cities all across Equestria. We are the best fliers in Equestria, therefore we will have to join as soon as possible to lead the air attack,” Spitfire informed them while still watching the news. Soarin looked down at Rainbow, who asked him, “Soarin, can we please go talk about this privately?” Soarin agreed and the two of them left. Spitfire was glued to the television, and she did not even notice them leave. The two of them walked back to Rainbow’s room and sat down on the bed. “Soarin, what are we going to do? You know I don’t want to fight. I won’t go, I just can’t go.” “I know Dashie, and I hope you are okay if I still go. I don't really want to either. But I think I need to go, for you more than anything else,” Soarin informed her. “Wait, what do you mean ‘for me’?” she asked him with confusion. “Well, if you don’t agree to go to war you will must likely be fired. How will you support yourself in this economy?” Soarin asked her and continued, “If you can’t go, I will, and I’ll send all the money I continue to make as a Wonderbolt back to you. You can go back to live in Ponyville for the duration of the war. Then we can take things from there.” Rainbow did not like the thought of that. Her whole life was about to be changed once again. In desperation, she asked Soarin, “Wait, why don’t Celestia and Luna just go to war and kick their butts instead of having all their citizens give up their lives?” Soarin put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder and said, “Dashie, that’s the government for you. Every kingdom is run by a carnival of idiots. They won't go do that. After all, Celestia just sent you, Twilight, and your other friends to fight their battles, didn't they?" "That's true," Rainbow replied. Soarin and Rainbow spent the next little while watching the news while lying down on the bed. There was really nothing to say. Many ponies were interviewed, and the amount of suffering was high. It was something they had seen take place in other places, but they would have thought it would happen in their peaceful Equestria. After a little while, Spitfire made an announcement over the system to all of the members of the Wonderbolts. “Attention all Wonderbolts: all future shows and performances have been cancelled until further notice. That is all.” Soarin and Rainbow looked at each other. They knew what this meant. They were both now sure that conscription was imminent. Rainbow’s job was to now ready her mind that any day could be her last day as a Wonderbolt. She was now in a very tough situation, because she finally was able to live her dream, but she did not expect it to end after only a few months. -------------------------------------- That night was yet another sleepless night for Rainbow Dash. Soarin snored loud once again, but it wasn't that that kept her up. What kept her up was her own brain. It did not shut down for a second. Her mind kept racing, thinking of the worst possible things for any situation. But Rainbow thought it over throughout the night. She went through a number of stages in her emotions, including fear, denial, anger, and eventually acceptance. She concluded with herself that if she was to choose between her morals or her job, she would rather stick to what was right to her. In the early hours of the morning, Rainbow packed her bags with anything that she could carry home with her. All of her furniture would have to stay here, but thankfully she worked up enough savings so that she could survive the next few months without a job and could purchase new furniture for herself if she would be forced to move. All of this preparation may not even be necessary, but Rainbow felt it was smart to prepare ahead of time. When Soarin woke up, he could see Rainbow pacing back and forth. “Dear, what’s wrong? Wait a minute, you’ve already packed your bags?!” he yelled out. “Yes, I’m fully prepared that today will be my last day as a Wonderbolt,” she said while still pacing. She was not pacing because she was thinking, she was pacing to try and calm her nerves. Soarin gathered his thoughts for a few seconds to make sure that he said the right words. “Well, I’m proud of you for preparing yourself. Don’t worry just yet though. Things may work out in the end.” Contrary to Soarin’s words, Spitfire’s voice then came over the system once again. “Attention: all Wonderbolts, please report to my office immediately.” “Okay, maybe it is time to worry,” Soarin said as the two of them stiffened up due to the announcement. Soarin walked over to Rainbow and put both of his front hooves on her shoulders. “Are you ready, Rainbow?” “Yes.” “Do you know exactly what you are going to say and what your decision will be?” “Yes.” “And you won’t be mad no matter what I decided?” “Of course! Just remember my rule: you can’t kill anypony,” Rainbow reminded him. Soarin smiled, “I will promise you that I will stick to that rule, no matter what happens.” The two of them hugged as they readied themselves to go into Spitfire’s office. They walked over and into the room side by side. Inside Spitfire’s office was a new stallion in a suit with many war medals. Spitfire was in the same suit she wore when she taught and instructed ponies who were in the Wonderbolt Academy. “Thank you all for coming on short notice,” Spitfire said to all of the Wonderbolts in front of her. “This stallion to my left is a general from the Royal Equestrian Army, and he is here because we have been assigned to go serve in Saddle Arabia for three months, starting exactly two weeks from today. We will be leaving by ship from the port of Baltimare, along with ponies from other cities. The general will give you further instructions right now.” “All right, everypony, thanks for being good sports and willing to serve for your kingdom on such short notice. That is exactly why you are heroes and role models,” the male brown pegasus general said in a deep and tough voice, similar to all generals. He paced back and forth in front of the pegasi, who were all lined up in the office at this point. “You have been assigned to go to Saddle Arabia to serve with the pegasi from across the kingdom. You will have a few assignments there, including rescuing earth ponies and unicorns who will be serving on the ground, delivering supplies to the ponies serving in the trenches…” Everything that the general said actually seemed to be good to Rainbow. Perhaps she might actually be able to serve in the army. Her heart was softened towards the opportunity in front of her. The general finished his list by saying, “And finally, being prepared to drop bombs in air raids on Saddle Arabian cities when commanded.” Rainbow gulped at the sound of that. Spitfire concluded, “This is all part of the job. Your salary as members of the Wonderbolts will continue throughout the war. You must each sign a contract stating that you will join the army, and you must commit your life to serving for Equestria. Please line up in front of my desk to sign.” The Wonderbolts lined up, with Soarin and Rainbow at the back of the line. “What are you going to do, Rainbow?” Soarin asked her quietly as the other members signed their contracts and received their uniforms, helmets, and knives and other smaller utilities to use for their protection. “I made up my mind, Soarin. I can’t fight. I’m going to have to say no. But I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do,” she said without much confidence. Soarin kissed her on the cheek. “Whatever your decision is is the right decision.” The time came for Soarin to sign his contract. He grabbed the pen with his mouth and read the contract, including the fine print that he needed to squint and lean down to see. He leaned down as signed his name. Spitfire and the general shook his hoof. “Welcome aboard, Soarin. We are very proud to have an expert flier like you on the team,” the general said. Soarin raised his off above his head for a salute. Rainbow Dash stepped up. Even though she knew in her mind what her decision was, she still nervously walked towards the desk. She picked up the pen with her mouth, read the contract, and looked up to see Spitfire’s proud face. “Come on, Rainbow, hurry up and sign it,” Spitfire commanded. The rainbow-maned pegasus opened her mouth and dropped the pen on the desk. “Ma’am, I refuse to sign up for the army,” she said sternly to the general and the captain of the Wonderbolts. “Uh, what?” Spitfire asked in shock. “You heard me,” Rainbow responded boldly. “I refuse to go and kill other ponies over an issue that could have been resolved by just proper negotiations.” The general was shocked. He looked down at her intimidatingly and asked, “Private, let me get this straight, you are refusing to serve for your kingdom?” “Yes sir, I cannot serve in the army. I do not feel right doing it,” she responded without hesitation. “Alright then, that means you are fired from the Wonderbolts,” Spitfire informed her. “Pack your bags and leave the premises right away. I can't believe I just said that to Rainbow Dash..." Rainbow nodded her head, knowing that this would happen. It was a moment that she hoped would never come. She had just quit on the Wonderbolts. The Wonderbolts: her lifelong dream. She just decided to walk away from the team. And the weirdest part of all: she did it confidently and without regrets. She said goodbye to the other members of the team, and started to walk out. “I can’t believe you quit Rainbow,” Spitfire said as Rainbow was leaving the room. She continued, mockingly, “You're supposed to be the Element of Loyalty, yet you just walked away from your kingdom What are you, a coward?” Rainbow, who was slowly walking out of the room, stopped upon hearing the word ‘coward.’ A corward? Really? she thought to herself. Spitfire really just called Rainbow, one of the most confident and brave ponies in the kingdom, somepony who helped save the kingdom many times, a coward for choosing her morals over keeping her dream job. “Excuse me? Did you just call me a coward?” she asked, even though she knew the answer Spitfire would give her. “Yes, I did. A coward. You're a coward Rainbow. Do you need me to spell it out for you?” she said with a very insulting tone. Rainbow looked down, clenched her teeth, took a breath to calm down, and replied boldly, “If that’s what makes me a coward, then fine, I’m a coward. At least I’m loyal to my beliefs. I’d rather be a coward than a whore like yourself.” Spitfire was shocked at Rainbow’s reply. Rainbow, who was probably the most respectful member of the team since joining, just insulted her former captain. “Excuse me?” Spitfire asked. “I know all about the time when you tried to seduce Soarin. I tried to keep it quiet so as to not embarrass you, but you obviously don’t care about others, so why should I?” Rainbow responded. Soarin then came over to Rainbow. Looking her in the eyes, he grabbed her and said, “I think it’s time to leave now.” Rainbow turned her back and left, never to come back again. Soarin took Rainbow back into her room so that she could grab her bags. “Rainbow… I don’t know what to say. I’m fine with your decision, but why did you have to leave in that way?” he asked her. “I’m really sorry Soar, I just, I couldn’t help it once she called me a coward,” Rainbow responded. “I know, and it was wrong for her to do that, but does that make what you said any better?” he tried to reason with her, still with a little bit of frustration in his voice. “I know, and I’m really. But I can’t take it back now, though,” Rainbow reminded. Soarin paced for a few seconds and then stopped. “Fine. I guess you’ll be going to back to Ponyville now?” he asked her. His voice showed that he still was not too happy with how she acted. “I guess I’ll have to. What are you going to do?” she asked. “Training starts tomorrow and we leave in two weeks, so I really have nothing else to do,” he reminded her. He continued, “I guess I’ll just see you the day I leave.” Rainbow could tell that Soarin was really not happy with her, but she also knew that he had a lot of things on his mind. The best thing to do at this point was to leave it and not let things get any worse. “I’ll write to you as soon as I get to Ponyville. I’ll tell you where I’m staying,” she said. “See you later,” Soarin replied. He left the room, and that was it. He had nothing else to say. Rainbow was now worried. Soarin did not seem too mad, but then again, he may have been holding his anger back. Rainbow was unsure about what just happened. Did they just break up? Did she just lose her former dream of being a Wonderbolt, and her current dream, to be with Soarin forever, in one day? Her emotions of the very stressful day got to her at this point. She had a few tears, but knew that it was time to leave. She sniffled, grabbed her bags, and left to go fly back to her home. -------------------------------------- “Spike, take a letter please,” Twilight Sparkle asked her dragon assistant, who had his paper read. “Dear, Rainbow Dash.” A knock at the door stopped Twilight’s thinking. She walked over to open it. To her surprise, it was Rainbow Dash at the door, tired and wet due to the pouring rain. “Oh goodness, I was just writing a letter to you to make sure everything was okay. I heard on the news that the Wonderbolts are joining the army today. Come in!” Rainbow came in, put down her bags, and shook herself aggressively to get the water off, which mostly all landed on Spike, soaking him and the paper her was holding. “Twilight, can I please stay here for a little while?” she asked with a tired and scratchy voice due to the long day she had. “Why, of course!” the purple unicorn responded while grabbing a towel and putting it on the wet pegasus. “But you need to tell me what happened!” “Well, Twilight, to be honest, I’m not really sure what happened,” Rainbow said while she and Twilight walked over to sit on the table in the kitchen. She continued after sitting down, “I had to leave the team because I refused to go to war. And because of something I said, I think Soarin and I just broke up, but I’m not too sure.” “Oh Rainbow, I’m proud of you for not going to war to fight other ponies. But I’m really sad to hear that your dream of being a Wonderbolt was cut short so soon,” Twilight said with genuine and loving concern. “And what about Soarin? Is he going to war? Are you sure you two broke up?” Rainbow, drying out her mane by twisting the water out, said, “Yeah, he’s going to fight. He’s leaving on a boat two weeks from today. He never said that we were breaking up, he just said he’ll see me the day he leaves. It was weird. But that reminds me, I told him I would write him a letter when I got here. I may need some help with what to say.” “Oh, we should all bring of our friends here to help you write the letter. They need to know that you’re here. It will make you feel much better to be together as a group again,” Twilight suggested. While Rainbow continued to dry off, Spike and Twilight put on their rain gear and left to go gather the others. After about twenty minutes, they returned with others. “Dashie! I’m so so so so so so happy to see you,” Pinkie shouted while running up and jumping into Dash’s hooves for a hug. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy were all equally happy to see Rainbow, but they were calmer about their approach. “How are you guys doing?” Rainbow asked them. “Just wonderful,” Fluttershy said. “Well, aside from the news about the war, of course.” “It’s great to have you back, sugarcube. Fluttershy here forgot to tell you one important thing,” Applejack said while giving Fluttershy a shove. “Oh, yes, of course,” Fluttershy continued. “I am engaged to Big Macintosh.” She held up her engagement ring to Rainbow. “Nooooo way, that’s awesome. |That happened so fast! Congratulations!” Rainbow said while hugging the newly engaged mare. After the hug, Rainbow asked Rarity, who was quiet so far, “What about you? How are thing going?” “Oh things are going just simply fabulous for me. I've been ever so busy designing new clothing lines. I fear that work will be slower due to the war, though,” the white unicorn said. “Darling, why are you here? Where is Soarin?” Rarity asked. Rainbow and Twilight explained the blue pegasus’ predicament to their friends. They explained how the couple had a little bit of a disagreement, and Rainbow wants to make it up to Soarin. Afterwards, Twilight added, “So Rainbow is going to be staying with me for a while. We brought you here to help her write a letter to Soarin. We need it to be good enough so that he’s not mad at her anymore.” “Oh darling, you came to the right ponies for this. We’ll make this letter so good he won’t ever be mad at you again,” Rarity said emphatically. “Spike, grab another letter,” Twilight demanded. “Sure thing,” Spike replied while taking out his pen and paper. “How do you want to start it?” he asked them. Rainbow started talking, with Spike ready to write. “How about: ‘My Dear Soarin’. How does that sound?” “That sounds great!” Spike exclaimed while he began writing. “How many words do we have so far?” Pinkie asked. Spike took a quick count, and then a recount, and informed them, “Three.” Rainbow began to think more and more about what she could say. Fluttershy, who recently became a romantic pony herself, had a few ideas. “Oh, we can say this: ‘I've loved you since the day you came in my life. Before you came into my life I was lost, and without you I am lost. I'm sorry that things were not the best between us today, but that doesn't mean that my love for you has cooled off. I still love you, and I still can’t live without you. Please, don’t be mad at me anymore, because I truly am sorry for getting so mad. Love, Rainbow Dash.’” Rainbow’s wings popped up, as if she was ready to fly away. “Fluttershy, where in Equestria did that come from?” Fluttershy responded, “Oh, um, I guess I just used my feelings for Big Macintosh and used it for your situation.” All of the mares in the room let out girlish giggles at the romantic side shown by Fluttershy. Applejack was happy to see that her quiet brother had found a mare who was shy like him. They were a good match. “I don’t think I've got anything else to add,” Rainbow said while flying around the room slowly and putting her hoof on her chin to think. “Alright then, do you want to send it?” Twilight asked Rainbow. Rainbow nodded in agreement and Spike blew his fire, sending the letter straight to the desk of Spitfire, who would hopefully then give it to Soarin. “And now we wait for a reply,” Rainbow told the others. “Did he reply yet?” Pinkie asked. “Uh, Pinkie, we sent it two seconds ago,” Rainbow reminded. About an hour passed. The mares and Spike took this time to catch up. Fluttershy spoke about her relationship with Big Mac, and Rainbow told the others about all the many wonderful things her and Soarin did together. Eventually, Spike fell on the floor and belched out a letter. “Did he reply yet?” Pinkie asked again. That was actually the fifteenth time she asked on this night. “I think so,” Rainbow said while picking up the letter. “Yep, it’s from him,” she informed the others. “Read it darling,” Rarity told her. Rainbow started to read the letter. “To my love Dashie. I’m sorry too that things did not go well for you, and I’ve forgiven you. I am also sorry for how I acted. I know that you had to give up something very important to you today: your dream of being a Wonderbolt. I know that must be really hard for you. But the beauty of life is that once one dream ends, you go find another. My dream too was to become a Wonderbolt, and I made it become a reality. But then I went a few years without having any dreams, and my life was almost meaningless after a while. The day you came into my life was the day I knew I would have a new dream. I can’t live without you and I need to see you to be truly happy. Unfortunately, the only day I have off is the day before I leave. I want you to meet me at out special place in the afternoon. I want to spend my final day here with the mare I love the most. Then we can stay at the best hotel in Canterlot, and we’ll go to Baltimare together to say our final goodbyes. I’ll see you in a few weeks, but to me they will feel like centuries. Lots of love, Soarin.” Rainbow did not take her eyes off of the letter after reading it out loud. She did not cry, but she had no words. Soarin took her breath away even though he wasn’t even in the room. “Sugarcube, I don’t mean to make any decision for you or anything, but he is the one for you. He’s perfect,” Applejack told her. Rainbow had no response, though. She just held the letter in her hooves and continued to stare blankly. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, and by the time she opened them, her friends could see the water in her eyes. But it wasn't a sad cry, it was more like a ‘perfect moment’ few tears of happiness that came from her eyes. It was a rare occasion that they saw a soft side in Rainbow Dash, but that's what Soarin brought out of her. That night, Rainbow went to be the happiest again. She was happy with her decision. Soarin went to sleep in his own bed. Even though they were miles apart, they were still closer than ever.