Chapter XVII: Take Flight
"Iuro ego sequi magicam amicitia."
Starswirl led the Doctor, Derpy, the six, and Rainbow Sword into his library and saw his young apprentice, Clover, a light blue filly with a navy blue mane and a brown cloth cloak, cleaning up the pile of scrolls Starswirl had left on the floor earlier that day. He immediately gave his apprentice directions to find a certain scroll. As Clover searched through the scrolls, Starswirl said, "Thou hast spoken of what thou callest, "The Elements of Harmony." I know not of such magic, but I hath once read of something that seemed of similar nature."
The skylight at the center of the room had ceased to function properly, as it received both sunlight and moonlight from the Sun suspended on the Western horizon and the moon that had moved ever so slightly farther from the Eastern horizon. Clover found the scroll Starswirl specified and gave it to him.
"So this is where you spend your hours," Rainbow Sword said, "In a little library far from the battlefield, safe from any dragons or Hoofricans. You sit here reading your books while we go out and die to protect the kingdom. While you're comfortable looking through shelves, I lose my eye!"
"Oh, I forgot to ask about that." the Doctor said, "What did happen to your eye?"
"I was leading a raid into a dragon settlement in the Northern side of the Moonrise Mountains, and after we drove all the dragons out, an infant dragon crying by its mother's worthless corpse spat in my eye and burned it."
"Blimey, that must have hurt."
"Yes, and now I have this eye-patch. Of course, we executed the little cur on the spot."
"Be silent, Commander!" Starswirl snapped as he opened the scroll Clover gave him, "Now, thou six spake of magic that thou used to vanquish what seemeth to be great evils, and as I judgeth from thy significance in Derpy's foresight, thou hast employed this magic to prevent the end of days."
"'End of days!' Haha!" Pinkie laughed, "I get it! It's because Nightmare Moon wanted to make an endless night, so it'd be the end of days! Hahaha!"
Starswirl opened the scroll and as he read it he said, "This scroll speaketh of a magic that is to be needed when the balance of the world is under the direst of circumstances. It draws its strength from peace and friendship and shall appear when all who inhabit this realm come together in harmony. I believe this may have relation to the Elements of Harmony thou hast spoken of, and thus we may be able to use it to vanquish Master Tympanus."
"Um," Fluttershy began, "that's sort of what I was suggesti-"
"It sounds as if we need to make peace with the other kingdoms to make that work." Rarity interrupted.
Rainbow Dash flew over to look at the scroll over Starswirl's shoulder and said, "So much for that plan. We'll never get everypony to get along."
Rainbow Sword, Rarity and Applejack nodded in agreement. Starswirl sighed and lowered the scroll, conceding that the idea was severely flawed. In the meantime, Twilight was struggling again to contain her excitement as she watched Clover, soon to be known as Clover the Clever, organize scrolls.
"Well, um," Fluttershy said, "I still think there's a chance for peace. You never know, the, um, other kingdoms might be tired of the war and are willing to end it."
"Yeah!" Pinkie agreed, "We just have to sing a song for them about sharing and caring!"
"Exaclty!" the Doctor joined, "Well, maybe not through song, I'm not much of a singer, but you have to believe that the kingdoms will find peace. There's still hope. One thing I found in all my years is that there is, surprisingly, always hope. So you all should never lose it. When everything falls apart and worst comes to worst, hope is the only thing you have to hold on to, and more often than not, it's enough to make it through the darkest of times."
"A fine speech, Doctor," Rainbow Sword said as he walked across the room and turned to face the others. "There is indeed hope, but it doesn't lie in anything magic can give us. We waste our time searching for an ultimate spell to be our salvation! Hope lies in taking action against our foe in any way possible. I shall fly out with my team and search for this Tympanus."
Rainbow Sword began to walk towards the door, and Rainbow Dash soon followed behind him. "I'll join you, Rainbow Sword!" she said.
"You shall address me as 'Commander.'"
"Oh, right. Yes, Commander!"
"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted.
Rainbow Dash stopped and turned around to face the others. "Look, so far, magic hasn't done us any good. We just keep standing around here and wasting our time talking about plans that aren't going to work. Well, it's just like the commander said, we need to take action! The least we can do is try to find out where Tympanus is. What's the point of a spell that can stop him if we don't find him first? You guys can talk all you want, but I'm going to fly!"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Rainbow Dash! Listen to me!" the Doctor said, "Remember, don't say anything that can alter timelines. Be very careful!"
Rainbow Dash nodded, then she and Rainbow Sword both rushed out of the room and galloped down the hall.
~~~~~
Castle Equites and its surrounding city, Equites, and farms were built by the base on the Northern side of the Sunrise Mountains, a range of wide dark purple mountains, and on the highest peak of the mountains behind the castle, the pegasi built their city: Pegasparta. Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Sword flew up from the castle, through the clouds and landed on a field of alpine grass outside Pegasparta. The field ended with the edge of the North-facing cliff. From this field, legions of pegasi soldiers would take off to fight for king, queen and country.
Dash and Sword entered the city and walked through the busy market, where many pegasi merchants sold food and goods bought from the earth ponies that lived in and around the city of Equites. They took a turn into a slightly less crowded uphill street which ended at a wide stone building with a roof of stratus clouds. Rainbow Dash followed her ancestor down the street towards the sizable pinewood doors of the building.
As the two walked side by side, Rainbow Sword spoke. "Now tell me, madam: How did you come to have a rainbow mane? Surely it's not natural."
"Well, um, actually it is, commander. I was born with it." Dash replied.
Sword raised an eyebrow in surprise at her response. He had never seen anypony other than himself with a rainbow mane.
"From where do you come, madam?"
"Oh, uhh... that's strictly classified. Orders of the Doctor. But I do come from somewhere really far away, so I'm sure you wouldn't have met anyone like me. And you can just call me Rainbow Dash. No need for any of those fancy names."
"Are there many like you in your homeland?"
"N-no, not really. My dad and my grandma had it, but now it's just me."
Sword did not respond, putting an end to the conversation as they reached the doors and entered the building. Inside was a tavern half-full with pegasi calmly conversing and drinking apple cider. Sword spotted one lone pegasus sitting at the bar with several empty mugs.
"Stay here." Sword said to Dash as he left her and walked to the pegasus at the bar.
"Had one too many drinks, Fleet Feather?" Sword said to the pegasus as he shook her shoulder. The pegasus raised her head to look at Sword. She was a fairly small sky-blue pegasus with a yellow mane and a cutie mark of a white shooting star. Her mane was ruffled and she had cider foam around her mouth. She hiccupped as she spoke
"Oh... h-hi Swordy! How're -hic- you on this fine day?"
"Stand up and attention, Fleet Feather! There is work to be done!"
"Nawwww, I am fine! I don't -hic- need work. I haven't finished my drink yet. I'll be finished when -hic- the Sun is down."
"The Sun shan't be down any time soon. The Sun has stopped moving. And look at me when I speak to you!"
"Fleet Feather -hic- isn't here right now. Please come back laterrrrr!"
"Oh for the love of Faust!" Sword drew out his blade and gave Fleet Feather a light electric shock, which instantly sobered her.
"Ah! Sir, yes, sir! Forgive me for drinking, commander! What are your orders, commander!"
"Assemble the team. We shall meet at the take-off field."
"Immediately, commander!"
With great speed, Fleet Feather charged out of the tavern and galloped off to carry out her orders, leaving behind a trail of dust. Sword returned to Dash and led her out of the tavern.
"So," Dash said, "Who was that?"
"Her name is Fleet Feather. She is a member of an elite team of pegasi, the finest pegasi in the kingdom. We call ourselves, 'The Bolts.' Fleet Feather is the fastest galloper among us, and second only to myself in flight. And her agility is unmatched."
They passed through the market again, but this time it was less crowded, as many vendors, realizing that the Sun must be far behind schedule, began to close their shops. And this time, Dash attempted to initiate a conversation.
"So how did you get your rainbow mane? Were you born with it?"
"Neigh. It was bestowed upon me, although my memory of it is vague. I do remember my master who raised me when I was a colt after my mother and father were murdered by Hoofricans. He taught me everything I know, and one day he led me into the Great Northern Desert, where the gods blessed me with a new mane and my master granted me a new name."
"That's pretty cool."
"What is?"
"The way you got your mane and all that."
"I fail to see the relevance of the temperature."
"Never mind. I just think it, um... has some awe? ... So you don't know anypony else with a rainbow mane? You're the first?"
"What do you mean by 'first'? I know not of any others. Before you came, I was the only one."
"Oh. Yeah. Right. Just forget it." Dash decided to stop talking before she said anything dangerous. When the two arrived at the field outside the city, six pegasi were gathered and Fleet Feather, followed by a large muscular pegasus, landed by Sword's side a moment later.
"Everypony is gathered, commander."
"Good work, Fleet Feather." Sword said. Then he turned to Dash and brought her to the large pegasus, who was brown-coated with a yellow mane and had a cutie mark of a bundle of three arrows. "Triple-Shot, introduce yourself. Name and specialty."
"I am Triple-Shot, and this is my weapon." The large pegasus spoke with a deep rough voice and presented his impressive bow, which was made from gazelle horn. "She weighs one kilogram and fires fifty bit custom arrows at thirty-six arrows per-"
"He's talking math. I'm bored." Dash interrupted, "I wanna meet the others!"
Sword proceeded to introduce Dash to the rest of the Bolts.
Fireball, a yellow mare with a spiky red mane and a cutie mark of a stream of fire. She carried her weapon over her shoulder, a weapon her mother invented. It shoots a stream of burning oil that would light aflame everything in front of it. Her mother called it, "Dragon Throat." Fireball had a burning passion for her job that even made her teammates uncomfortable.
Ekrixi, a old grey-maned black stallion with a cutie mark of a circle with a line down the middle. He was a master of explosives after many years of experience raiding Hoofrican alchemy laboratories and executing alchemists. He carried bags full of little sacks of saltpeter on his back, and always had a box of matches at hoof.
Ifaistos, Ekrixi's younger brother, also advanced in age. He had a maroon coat and his mane was partly grey and partly black. His cutie mark was a saw and hammer. He fought for years alongside his brother and became an expert in the engineering styles of all three kingdoms. He could build a staunch defending point out of scrap and also knows how best to take down any building.
Dr. Sweet Sting, an olive-green mare with a deep-blue mane and a syringe for a cutie mark. She was Pegasparta's most renowned field surgeon and saved the lives of countless pegasi soldiers. While most of Ponytopia's doctors stayed far from the front lines, she marched among the soldiers and would tend to them in the midst of battle. Rainbow Dash noticed that Rainbow Sword was particularly friendly with Dr. Sweet Sting.
Bee-Spotter, an orange mare with a pink mane and a bulls-eye cutie mark. Using her composite bow, she could spot and shoot down a bee on a flower from thirty feet away without a scratch on the flower. She honed her skills as she grew up among earth ponies in the wooded Southern slopes of the Sunrise Mountains.
Lastly, there was Kryfto, a purple stallion with a white mane and a pegasus' shadow for a cutie mark. He always kept his face hidden behind a black mask. He was a master of stealth and disguise, and wore a strange device around his neck that, when activated, made him unnoticeable even when in plain sight.
Once introductions were finished, Sword explained the mission to the Bolts.
"Now, we have a most vital and daunting task on our wings today. You may have noticed the Sun has not moved for several hours, save for Fleet Feather, who has been spending her hours in the tavern... again. The reason for this is that a heinous crime has been committed: His Royal Majesty, King Concordius, has been abducted." The team gasped. Sword continued, "Our mission is to find His Majesty's captor, a pegasus by the name of Tympanus, bring His Majesty home, and bring Tympanus to justice. This shall be no easy task as this villain has a magical box that can travel anywhere in the world. It is a tall blue wooden box. I am sure you have seen it before on various occasions around the castle. If there is anypony who has any chance of finding that box, it is us. We begin without delay. Arada!"
The Bolts lined up at the edge of the cliff. Fleet Feather, Bee-Spotter, Ekrixi, Ifaistos, Rainbow Sword, Dr. Sweet Sting, Fireball, Triple-Shot, Kryfto. Rainbow Dash joined the line at Fleet Feather's end.
Rainbow Sword then gave the command, "Na ptisi!" The Bolts took off and flew North.