//------------------------------// // Dashes to Dashes, Dust to Dust // Story: Too Close to the Sun // by UnweptSchlipps //------------------------------// It was early in the morning the next day, way too early for Dash’s liking. The sun had barely peaked over the horizon, and the air still held that crisp early morning chill. In fact, if it were any other day on any other month under any other circumstances, she’d still be lying in her cloud home happily dozing off the morning. That was the life of a Wonderbolt on extended leave. And unfortunately for her, that life ended yesterday. She stood in the empty Ponyville square, leaning against the post office wall. Anxiously tapping her hoof on the ground, she glanced around the scene, scanning for a certain somepony. She repeatedly looked down at an imaginary watch, only to shake her head with a perplexed frown. Dash had been working on her patience the past few years, and yet the events of the past few days basically threw all that out the window. Just when she was about to take off herself, she spied a shape rising up from behind the buildings. The gray pegasus moved erratically, her wings were beating to their own clumsy beat. Of course, it probably didn’t help that her eyes were closed, her head swaying back and forth with not a care in the world. A bag stuffed with letters hung precariously at her side, the flap barely managing to stay clipped shut. Finally, and not really to Rainbow’s surprise, the gray pegasus clipped one of the buildings, sending her tumbling to the ground. The mare let out a small yelp, sending a few letters flying as she spun in the air. Then she slid across the floor on her back, coming to a stop right at Dash’s hooves. She opened her eyes to reveal a pair of misaligned orbs, still shining with glee. Rainbow stared down at her old friend with mix of embarrassment and delight. With a hint of a smile on her face, she said nonchalantly, “Well it’s about time Der—uh, I mean Ditzy.” Picking herself off the ground, Ditzy Doo replied, “Oh hi, Rainbow Dash! Wow, what’cha doin’ so early in the morning?” “Listen Ditzy, I don’t really have much time to talk. Can you do me a favor?” “Well of course, Rainbow Dash! You can count on me!” Ditzy replied, beaming with pride. “I need you to make sure this letter gets sent out ASAP, okay? It needs to get there today.” She placed the note in the overflowing bag, adding, “And make sure you don’t lose it.” “Pssh, come on! Why would I do that?” the mailmare said, quickly whirling around. In doing so, the postage bag smacked against a mailbox, sending a few letters up into the air like confetti. Dash reacted swiftly, shooting forward and scooping up every last letter, including her own note. The Wonderbolt gave Ditzy a slightly-annoyed glare, which was replied with a scratch of the head and a whispered, “Huh, I just don’t know what went—” “Yeah, yeah, I know you don’t. Just make sure you hurry up, Ditzy. This is important.” After stuffing the letters into her friend’s pack, Dash watched as Ditzy slowly but surely took off into the sky. Rainbow couldn’t help but let out a sigh as the mailmare continued her awkward, inept ascent. However, the Wonderbolt knew Ditzy would always get the job done, and that there were more important things to worry about. Like, for example, getting ready for the dreaded talk with her. Rainbow crouched low with her wings spread wide. Her eyes narrowed just as they always did when she prepared to take off right before an important race. Her sights were set on one place, on one pony she’d hoped she would never have to see again. With a racing heart, she leapt up into the air. And unfortunately, that was all she could do before she was interrupted by a pink head popping out of the mailbox. Dash narrowly stopped herself from zooming straight into the pony’s face, landing squarely on her hooves. Pinkie Pie, with her signature panoramic smile painted on her face, cried, “Oh, whatcha doing, Dashie?” Rainbow rolled her eyes and let out a tired scoff, directing her impatient glare to her hyperactive friend. But just as she opened her mouth to reply, Pinkie babbled, “I saw you and Derp—oops, I mean Ditzy talking. What was it about? Ooohh, was that a letter you gave her?” “Uhh, well…yeah?” Suddenly, Pinkie Pie’s face shot closer to Dash’s, who leaned back in surprise. “Is it for your mom? Dad? Aunt? Second cousin twice removed of your uncle’s wife?” “Pinkie!” Dash shouted, shoving her hoof in her friend’s mouth. Looking around for anypony nearby, the pegasus said in a hushed tone, “It’s just a letter, ‘kay? It’s nothing important.” She tried to bolt out of there, but Pinkie continued, “Why are you going so fast, Dashie? Wait, usually you’d still be sleeping right now! Maybe that’s why you look all jumpy! You probably didn’t have enough sleep yesterday. Why didn’t you have enough sleep, huh, huh?” Finally, Rainbow’s patience wore thin, and she blurted, “I’m flying away to…no, no, wait! I mean—” “You’re flying somewhere? Why didn’t you tell me sooner!” Pinkie’s eyes widened with excitement, bouncing around much to her friend’s chagrin. “I have to arrange your going-away party, get you gifts, send out invitations…” “Pinkie!” Dash cried, grabbing hold of Pinkie’s tail. Through a clenched jaw, she hissed, “Listen to me. You can’t tell anypony about this okay? You cannot tell our friends that I’m leaving!” “But why? Don’t you want us to say goodbye?” “Well…yes…but…” Dash couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence, not to the face of one of her longtime friends. Pinkie’s grin had faded away, leaving her lips to curl into a worried pout. Her brows were raised over a pair of orbs that seemed to grow in size. With a hint of confusion in her voice, Pinkie muttered, “We’re your friends. We have to say goodbye, right? That’s what we’ve always done.” Dash looked into Pinkie’s eyes, which begged for her to relent. Frankly, Dash had never seen anything as sincere as the tiny frown on her party friend’s face. In the end, the pegasus let out a guilt-ridden sigh and nodded, the Element of Loyalty still holding true. “Okay Pinkie. But not the whole town, okay? Just the others.” “It’s a deal Dashie,” Pinkie answered, her grin restored. “I’ll go tell the rest of them! When are you leaving?” “Tomorrow morning.” “Then that’s when it’s going to be! See you then!” And with that, the pink pony simply bounced away. So it was settled. Tomorrow, she’d get to have one last goodbye before her long trip ahead. One last moment to share with her best friends. Frankly, Dash didn’t know whether that would be a blessing or a curse. What if I break down right there?, she thought, trembling just thinking about it. But then again, I don’t know when…if…I’ll get to see them again. And that thought terrified her even more. But just as she said yesterday, take one step at a time. And there was still one crucial member to her team that she needed to talk to. So after shaking the bad thoughts out of her head, she took off into the sky, headed towards a destination she had scrawled hastily on a notepad just the night before. xxx Arid Cloudyard. This is the place…I guess. Dash took in the scenery below her, or at least, what little there was to see. The wasteland certainly lived up to the first half of its name, but the second half, not so much. The ground was practically bleached white, the dirt was cracked, the whole place seemed like it hadn’t seen rain in years. Dried shrubs and cacti dotted the land, small spurts of color in an otherwise bleak desert. The rainbow-maned Wonderbolt hadn’t seen any sign of civilization for miles, so naturally she began to wonder if she was headed in the right direction. The last thing she needed was to get lost. This isn’t any place for a pegasus to live, thought Rainbow, unused to the lack of clouds floating next to her. Finally, after flying for another ten minutes, she spied a small building up ahead. A peculiar white cloud hung over the small abode, covering it from the sun’s blistering rays. The house itself looked out of place, mostly because it was literally situated in the middle of nowhere. It was made of wood despite the fact that there was no tree in sight. Other than that, it seemed to be just a plain old house, nothing fancy, just sturdy enough to survive the heat. Dash made her way to the front door, touching down gingerly on the porch. She gulped, rubbing her mane nervously as she stared at the door handle. During her flight Dash kept her mind off of this little confrontation, never once thinking she would be this anxious for a stupid little talk. She began to mumble the things she would say over and over, praying that she wouldn’t end up looking like an idiot. Especially not in front of her. Not after everything that went on between them. Finally, before she could talk herself into insanity, she quickly rapped her hoof on the door. Rainbow bit into her lip, waiting for the handle to swing open. After a few seconds, she knocked on the door again. This time, a muffled response could be heard, “Hold on, I’m coming.” It was as if the reality of whom she was about to speak with hit Dash, knocking the wind out of her like a punch to the gut. She tensed her body, her ears perked up, her wings folded rigidly at her side. Oh boy…here we go. One last breath escaped her mouth just as the knob began to turn. The door swung open, and the sky-blue head of a mare peaked out. Her bright yellow mane was messy, as though she had just gotten out of bed. Dark bags and wrinkles hung underneath a pair of eyes that matched the color of her mane. The mare was squinting, sensitive to the hot, shining desert sun, almost as if she hadn’t been outside in ages. She arched her eyebrows, befuddled by the fact that a stranger would come all the way out in the wasteland to find her. However, the tired look and her aged features couldn’t hide the fact that this was pony Dash had been looking for. And for some reason, words failed to come out of the cyan pegasus’s mouth. But Rainbow Dash wouldn’t need to say anything. Because after getting a good look at her visitor, a wave of realization hit the other pony. Her yellow eyes narrowed, and her face pulled down into a resentful scowl. She growled, “What the hay are you doing here? And to this, the normally cool Rainbow Dash could only give a sheepish smile and stutter, “Uh…h-hey Lightning Dust…” xxx Dash had been on top of the world many times before. But never had she really been on top of the world quite like this. Heck, being promoted to team leader by your very own idol tended to do that to a pony. Sure, it was only for the remaining week she’d have at the Academy. But heck, considering she was in a Wonderbolt uniform with her own wingponies at her back, Rainbow was in no mood to complain. Dash couldn’t help but be amazed at how an almost-disaster had turned into a great opportunity. It was dinnertime at Wonderbolt Academy, almost twelve hours since a twister had almost sent Rainbow’s friends spiraling to their doom. Luckily, now they were safe and sound in the visitors’ barracks, while Dash went to grab some food. She strutted into the room with a hop in her step and a smile on her face, making sure her golden pin was visible on her chest. Another mare, whom Dash only knew as Something-Spire, noticed this, and said, “Guess it’s true, then. You got a promotion.” “Yeah,” Dash replied smugly. “Good thing too. Now I can get to show Spits just how awesome of a leader I really am.” With a snicker, Something-Spire rolled her eyes and said, “Yeah…I don’t doubt it. She must really like you. You’re the talk of the Academy.” “You know, I was about to walk outta here after what happened today. Good thing Spitfire stopped me from going. Guess she really didn’t want me to go.” “Wish I could say the same for Lightning Dust.” Rainbow Dash’s ears perked at the mention of her partner’s name. Confused, she inquired, “Wait, what do you mean?” A snarky grin slowly appeared on Spire’s face, almost like she had been anticipating this moment. Not even trying to hide her delight at Rainbow’s confusion, she answered, “Nopony told you? After getting demoted, Lightning kept complaining to Spitfire about how unfair it was. Your name popped up in the argument a few times as well. Eventually Spitfire got sick of it and gave her the axe right then and there. No redemption, no nothing. Just kicked her out.” “Lighting’s…gone?” “That’s right. Your partner’s outta here.” Rainbow Dash let the news sink in for a moment. Her partner, the one she had broken records with was now gone. Sure the two didn’t see eye to eye, but Dash didn’t think she deserved to be kicked out for it. And what’s more, Rainbow didn’t even get a chance to talk with her one last time. This was her dream too… Her confidence suddenly waned, and she put a hoof to her face, saying, “Oh no…I never wanted her to get booted. Just, y’know, a reality check or something. Jeez, I feel terrible.” “Lucky is what you should feel. Dust tried real hard to get you booted too, you know. Screamed your name all the way out of the runway. Accused you of throwing her under the bus, of slandering her name. And frankly, I think Spitfire came pretty close to listening. But I guess she decided to keep her promise or whatever, right?” Suddenly, Dash seemed to have lost her appetite. She slowly began to back away, muttering, “Y-yeah. Right. I gotta go. Catch ya later, okay Cloudspire?” As she trotted out of the mess hall, her companion shouted, “My name’s not…whatever.” xxx So now Rainbow stood there in front of her former partner, that missed goodbye still weighing on her mind. And Lightning Dust certainly didn’t like her better for it, hissing, “’Hey Lightning Dust’? Is that all could come up with?” “Well, I, uh…” Dust inched out of the doorway, just so she could point and accusing hoof at her rival. “You think you can just pop up out of the blue and talk to me, after what you did? Get outta here, Dash. And don’t you ever show up at my cloud again, otherwise I won’t be so nice.” With that, the door slammed shut, leaving a very confused pegasus standing in the smoldering heat. Rainbow feebly tapped on the door once again, and a muffled voice replied, “I told you to go away!” “Dust, just hear me out,” Dash replied in a subdued voice, pressing her cheek against the door. “You expect me to listen after everything you’ve done?” “I know…I know you probably hate my guts.” A scoff was heard on the other side of the door, followed by Dust shouting, “Hell, you’ve got that right.” “Spitfire gave me a mission, Dust.” “So old Firebrand thinks she can trust you, huh? Obviously she doesn’t know what it’s like to be stabbed in the back!” Lightning hissed, smacking the door angrily. Dash jolted back a little, searching for something else to say. “She told me to look for the best of the best. And you…you’re one the best flyers I’ve ever met.” The compliment fell on deaf ears, and Rainbow could practically sense Lightning getting riled up. “Oh really? Wasn’t it you who told Spits I wasn’t a team player? Gimme a break.” Raising her voice to a yell, Lightning Dust shouted, “Seriously Dash, fly the buck home! Don’t make me have to kick you outta here!” Stubborn as always, Dash stood firm and replied, “I’m not leaving until you hear me out.” “Then I hope you brought some sunscreen, Dash. It’ll be a long—” Finally, Rainbow Dash couldn’t take it any longer. After all, she had not flown many miles, crossed a barren desert underneath the blazing hot sun, just to be turned away before she’d get to explain herself. Putting his face right up to the tiny peephole, Dash commanded, “Jeez, would you just listen to me for one freaking minute, Dust? I’ll tell you what I have to say, and if you say no, you never have to see my face ever again, okay?” Rainbow backed away, and for few minutes, it was just silence. Suddenly, the sound of a lock clicking open broke the eerie quiet. The door slowly swung open, and Lightning Dust finally revealed herself to the Wonderbolt for the first time in ages. Despite her weary-looking face, her wings looked extremely fit, still in tip-top shape since the Academy. Dash noticed a jagged scar running down her side, partially covered by her wing. However, she decided not to glare at it for long. Lightning leaned against the doorway, narrowing her eyes and uttered, “Fine. But make it quick.” A warm wave of relief rolled through Rainbow’s body, and all of a sudden, the words began to come to her. The sergeant began, “This isn’t some routine scouting mission, Dust. This is the real deal, Equestria-is-under-attack kind of mission. It calls for the fastest, bravest, most skilled pegasi in the country. I know you and I don’t have the best track record. I know you probably never wanted to deal with me ever again. But…but now I’m begging you to put that behind us. This isn’t about me, or you, or the Wonderbolts. This is about Equestria, and like it or not, it’s your home just as much as mine. This mission is going to be dangerous, and despite everything we’ve been through, I know you’re one of the only ponies who can handle it. I need your skills, your speed…and your guts.” Lightning could only give a half-grin, shaking her head in disbelief. “You know how to stroke a gal’s ego, Rainbow Dash, I’ll give you that,” she muttered, stroking her own mane tiredly. “But what exactly makes you think I’d join you? After you’ve embarrassed me in front of my idols, destroyed my chance at my dream, disgraced me out of my hometown; why’d you think I’d help you?” Rainbow stared into Dust’s eyes, channeling her own fire, just as Spitfire would do. Giving a hardy glare and a stern poke in the chest, Dash replied, “Because it’s a challenge, Dust. And I know you can’t resist a challenge.” The yellow-maned pegasus raised her eyebrows, as though she were caught off guard. She turned her gaze to the floor, pursing her lips in thought. She kept staring at the ground in silence, while Rainbow waited for a response. It seemed as though the roles had been reversed; Dash was the one standing tall, puffing out her chest, giving a commanding glare, whereas Dust seemed to have shrunken, still leaning half-heartedly on the doorframe. Finally, after letting out a long reluctant sigh, Lightning whispered, “If I do help you…will I get another shot at the Wonderbolts?” “I promise you, I will do everything I can to convince Spits to let you back in. You have my word.” But Lightning shook her head, saying, “Swear it on your wings, Dash.” “What?” “I said…swear it on your wings.” To this, the Wonderbolt raised an eyebrow in surprise. The phrase wasn’t just something ponies threw around willy-nilly. To a pegasus, swearing on your wings was practically taboo, the heaviest promise a pony could make, especially to an avid flier like Dash. But in the end, Rainbow decided none of that mattered if it meant getting her team together. “If that’s what it takes to get you on board, then I swear…on my wings. I will get you back into the Academy.” Giving a soft chuckle, Lightning extended her hoof, saying contentedly, “Then it’s a deal, Rainbow. Good to be back in business.” The two shook hooves, and Rainbow couldn’t help but feel just a tad bit happy. Her team was finally set. Now it was time for the next part, getting ready for the long journey ahead. “Awesome. We meet at Bronco’s Bluff, six in the morn—” The door slammed shut, leaving Dash shaking hooves with thin air. But frankly, with the dust finally cleared, Rainbow couldn’t really care less. With her team assembled, the Wonderbolt took off for home, her mind set on the briefing tomorrow morning.