//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirteen // Story: Starlight // by PurpleFire135 //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash looked up apprehensively at the sky as dark, churning storm clouds approached the camp. Lightning cracked through their depths and thunder was already beginning to boom loud enough to shake the ground beneath her. Dash was not new to harsh weather and storms, she had brewed up a few herself back in the day, when she was still on a weather team; but this was something else. The wind was howling and nature’s unrestricted fury was about to be released on the camp. A flurry of activity was shaping around Dash as the ponies of the camp readied themselves for the oncoming storm. Taking tents down, moving ponies into some of the more stable and permanent structures, securing tree branches, all of it swirled around Dash as she stared up at the sky, a deep frown crossing her face. She heard hoofsteps come up behind her but she didn’t turn. She sniffed and mixed with the smell of the storm was that of apples. Dash didn’t turn, but said, “How often does something like this happen? I’ve never seen a storm this powerful. It might even produce a tornado. I can’t believe none of the pegasi living here didn’t know it was coming or at least do some cloud breaking before it got here.” Apple Bloom frowned. “That’s the problem. The weather of the Everfree is resistant to pegasus magic. The clouds do what they want. Trust me the pegasi here have tried. These storms come out of nowhere. Though I’ve never seen one this strong-lookin’” Dash tilted her head in confusion. “Did you say pegasus magic?” She asked, assuming that what Apple Bloom had said was only a slip of the tongue. “That’s what ah I said, and that’s what ah meant.” She replied with a smile, her accent even more pronounced than usual. It reminded Dash of some pony and she frowned again. Apple Bloom didn’t notice and continued. “Don’t let them Guard idiots fool you into thinkin’ that unicorns are the only ponies with talents. Every pony has their own kinda magic. Pegasi have the sky and we have the land. Now, you should come inside 'cause this is gonna be one doosie of storm.” Apple Bloom said and turned to go towards the make-shift buildings in the center of the camp. “I’ll be in, just give me a second.” Dash said, and leapt into the air, trying to get a feel for the air currents around her. “Something isn’t right.” She whispered to herself. --- Applejack sat on a blanket, it was a warm and sunny day at Sweet Apple Acres and she was having a picnic with her friends, no special reason other than it was a particularly nice summer day. They were all laughing and having a great time; Pinkie Pie was passed out asleep on the grass next to them, a smile on her face and a distended belly from all the sweets she had eaten at their picnic. Rainbow was doing tricks in the air above them, trying to improve her times. Her tryouts for the Wonderbolts were only a few months away. Twilight timed her from the ground, her own wings twitching as she watched. Fluttershy and Rarity were chatting about some new fashion trend that Rarity had recently gotten into, making clothing for animals of all things. “Well, after Opal; who just looked so precious in that old sweater of mine, I just had to keep going. I designed a new look, but the only darling critter who could possible pull it off is that little bunny of yours! Don’t you think?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy nodded in approval. “I think he would wear it, too. I mean if I asked very nicely. He’s very particular about his looks. Just yesterday was tail fluffing day, and we spent hours at it.” “Twi! How fast was that?” Rainbow Dash called, spinning out of a dive. “9.87 seconds! I think that’s a new personal record for you!” Twilight responded, a pad of paper with times popping out of think air in front of her. “Mhm….Gummy! Don’t eat those! That’s my cupcake!” Pinkie said in her sleep, rolling over and letting out a snore. Every pony laughed. Applejack smiled, leaning against a tree, just enjoying it all. Normally, she would have been right in on one conversation or another, but today she was just content to watch, enjoying the company of her friends. Then, a giant cracking sound came from overhead. The sky had turned black and the wind whipped past them. Applejack stood up, straining to see. It was so dark that she could no longer see her friends. She couldn’t see anything. “Where’d y’all go? Is every pony okay?!” She called out into the darkness, a sense of fear creeping into her belly. “Seriously! Y’all are scarin’ me! Call if yer okay!” She yelled. “Is every pony alright?” called another voice. It was Twilight’s. A magenta light pierced the darkness and flowed around them, suddenly Applejack could see every pony again, bathed in Twilight’s magic. “What’s going on? We have to do something!” Rainbow shouted above the wind that still whipped outside of their bubble of protection. “I don’t know! Here, girls! Put on your Elements! Something is wrong and we’re going to fix it!” Twilight responded and a burst of light from her horn transferred to each of them, a golden necklace appearing on each of their necks. “Just tell us what we need to do, Twilight!” Rarity said; a fierce look of determination on her face. Twilight nodded, “Just leave it to the Elements!” she said and closed her eyes in concentration. The other four did the same. Applejack looked down at her own Element and closed her eyes. A few seconds later she could feel the energy building around them and she opened her eyes. Each of the Elements was glowing now, a strong multicolored stream of power flowed around them, replacing the shield from the darkness. Applejack smiled, it was just like every other time they had saved Equestria from certain doom. Then she noticed something. Something was off, something was missing from the rainbow colored stream of magic. The color orange. She gasped and looked down at her own neck; her element was dark and lifeless. She concentrated, putting all her energy towards it, but it remained dark. “Applejack! We need you! Get it together!” It was Rainbow Dash’s voice that reached her. Suddenly, the wind broke through their barrier, flinging them all apart. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were all blown away by the initial blast. “Hold on! We’ll be back!” Rainbow Dash called through the darkness. “Like likty-split!” Pinkie Pie agreed. “Just hold on please!” Fluttershy cried, her voice fading. Twilight and Rarity were still in the circle though, the deep purple and light blue of Rarity’s magic and her Element mixing with the pure magenta of Twilight’s. The both were suspended above the ground, Rarity levitating and Twilight slowly flapping her wings. “We can do this! Just DON’T STOP” She called to Rarity and the other element bearers. Her eyes opened and they were pure white and glowing as she looked across to Applejack. “We need you!” She cried as holes started to appear in their magical auras. Applejack gasped and looked down. “Come on, ya darn element! Work!” She said to it in desperation, her heart hammering. “Come on!” It was no use. Her element wouldn’t light up. She looked up at Twilight who was looking back at her, expectantly. “Ah’m sorry! I…I…can’t.” She said, and her whole body plummeted to the ground, hitting hard. There was nothing but darkness and cold around her. She screamed into the darkness for each of her friends in turn but there was no response. The necklace around her neck felt like ice. She frantically tried to get it to light again, but it, like everything else stayed dark. Her heart thudded in her ears. She was so scared. She was alone. All there was in the darkness was her and the louder than life hammering of her heart. “General!” A loud male voice shocked her as her heart pounded…no, that wasn’t her heart… She sat bolt upright in her bed, her breath still caught and her back slicked with a cold sweat. She was in her room in the Guard's barracks. She breathed heavily, trying to come out of the dream. Slowly her heart slowed and she came to reality. “Sir! Council Officials Flare and Shard want you!” It was Silver Shot, her second in command pounding at the door. She rolled out of her bed, slicking her wild mane back with a hoof as she wretched open the door. “There better be a damn good reason for waking me up!” She hollered in his face. He backed up several steps. She put a hoof to her forehead, still feeling the effects of her dream. Nightmare, she corrected. She cleared her throat and looked at the officer in front of her. She couldn’t let any of her subordinates see how scared and unsettled she was by that experience. She could, and would deal with it later. Right now, apparently she had other matters to deal with. She looked at Shot with a look of disdain. “Well?” “Flare and Shard have requested your presence in the Council Room. They said it was urgent. From what I understand, there was some kind of signal from the Everfree from the agent who went after Rainbow Dash.” Silver Shot explained and saluted. “What now?! Literally the sky is falling and now this?!” She growled in frustration. It was just too much. She just didn’t need this right now. “Sir?” Silver Shot asked. “Understood, Captain. On your way.” She nodded at him. He left and she ducked back into her room to put the jacket of her uniform on and then made her way through the tunnels that connected Guard living spaces to headquarters. --- Starlight was down in the dug-out basement of what was the camp’s main building. It was the only one with a below ground area for sheltering against storms like the one that was coming now. She looked around anxiously, Rainbow still hadn’t come in. “Fluttershy?” She asked. “Do you think Rainbow will be in soon? Should somebody go out and get her?” Fluttershy, who was sitting next to her, replied, “She’s fine. She’ll be able to take care of herself. Don’t be worried.” Fluttershy had been doing well since they had been in camp. Her cut was now just a thin pink line and she had been up and walking around for a few days. Zecora’s healing tonics, which she had been mixing ever since the first one, had worked wonders. Fluttershy scooted closer to Starlight. “Everything will be fine. Rainbow knows how to handle herself in any weather.” She reassured her. Starlight nodded, but was still very nervous. She had never liked storms. --- Silver Rain perched high in a tree, she would have no problem riding this storm out. The clouds were now directly overhead and the rain front had descended. The world had transformed into a dark place, lit only by flashes of lightning. Despite the darkness, Silver could see perfectly fine and was watching the storm as it boiled above her. A flash of color caught her attention. “What are you doing out here all by yourself?” She smiled and put her hoof to her knife. Silver couldn’t believe it. It was just too perfect. Rainbow Dash was out, by herself no less, in a storm. She would be no match for Silver in these conditions. Silver lived in the rain and the lightning. Her trail was a storm cloud after all. Silver smiled grimly. Time to get this over with. --- The General paused at the outside of the council room, collecting herself. She had never experienced anything like the nightmare she had just woken up from. It had shaken her. She never dreamed, and hadn’t had a nightmare since she was a very young filly. It had just been so real. She couldn’t stop thinking about it and it had been on her mind her whole way to the headquarters. She frowned. No. She would not be weak in this. She needed to be strong right now and her morals could not get in the way of what she had to do. She had done this for ten years and never had a problem. She opened the door and walked into the meeting room to find Silver Shard and Iron Flare down off the raised council seats and standing in the middle of the room. “General. I need you to send as many troops as you can to the Everfree. We have the coordinates.” Silver Shard told her briefly and then turned. When the general didn’t move she motioned towards the door. The general lifted an eyebrow. “Um, is that it? I’m gonna need more information before I send my troops out. They are under my command, much as you would like them to be yours.” She knew she was treading hazardous territory, but she was tired and didn’t want to take Shard's intentionally vague orders. “You want to talk about command? You are under the command of the Council and we are telling you to send troops out. I suggest you do as you’re told.” Shard said with dangerous malice in her voice. “Actually, if you want to really get into specifics, the Guard and the Council are legally separate and nowhere does it say I have to listen to you without question. Just tell me where I’m sending them and why, and there won’t be any trouble and we can all go back to bed.” The general said bluntly. Iron Flare stepped up to her. “You are getting on my nerves, General. Remember that. We had an agent send up a red flare this evening in the Everfree, meaning she needs reinforcements.” “I know what a red flare means.” Silver Shard glared at her. Iron Flare continued. “So, we need to send troops. The only agent in that area is the one tracking Rainbow Dash and that unicorn filly, so time is of the essence if we want to get that unicorn back alive. Clearly something, we don’t know what yet, has occurred that is out of the ordinary. We need your troops to go in, put a stop to it, dispose of Rainbow Dash and get the filly. Understand?” Iron Flare said and then towered over her, daring her to say anything other than ‘yes, sir.’ She would take that dare. “I thought the kill order on Rainbow Dash was cancelled.” “You don’t have the authority to cancel that order.” Shard said, coming up to her. “Why not? Who put it out?” “I did. And I sent my best agent out for it. I want that pony dead.” “How do we know this ‘best agent’ of yours didn’t just sprain a wing and send up the wrong flare?” The general challenged Shard. They faced each other and Shard didn’t say anything, her expression getting more and more furious. The general felt a grim satisfaction burning inside her. She had never gone against the Council like this. She didn’t even know why she was now. It was like something had snapped inside her. She sick and tired of doing everything the Council told her. She was going to do one thing right. She was not giving up on what she had done the last ten years. She still believed she had made all the right choices. But, a small voice in her head said. I’m not going to let any pony else die. She would fight for that. “I’ll send my troops, but I want Rainbow Dash left alive. Her crimes do not warrant death.” She told Shard and Flare, who frowned. “Who cares if she deserves death? She’s going to get it. We need to make an example of ponies like her who go against us. You have one chance, General. Let me remind you that you are already on thin ice. You not just send your troops, you go with them. I want her dead. You are going to make that happen. I’ve trusted you for ten years now, and you’ve never done wrong. Don’t let there be any sentimentality or doubt in you. This is a test of your loyalty. Don’t let us down.” Iron Flare had gotten closer and closer to her throughout his ultimatum. She backed up. Did she really want this? Her family would pay for what she did in the next few seconds. Then she looked back up at Flare. She suddenly realized something; he was not the same pony he was when he took over Equestria ten years ago. She could beat him. She was so done with all this. She didn’t care anymore. Let whatever happens happen. She would do whatever it took to protect her family, but she wouldn’t do this. She would not kill some pony who had once been her friend. Once been one of her best friends. No, not that. Iron Flare was still looking at her, waiting for an answer. His last words came back to her, ‘this is a test of your loyalty…’ Loyalty. That did it, she decided. “No. I will not send out my troops to kill some pony who doesn’t deserve it.” She said, advancing towards Flare, whose eyes lit up with a dangerous flame. “This has gone on long enough.” A deep voice said behind her and she was grabbed from behind by strong hooves. Steel had come up behind her while she was arguing with Flare and Shard. She struggled against his tight hold, but it was no use. She just wasn’t stronger than the huge pony that held her back. “General, you are dismissed we have no more use of your services.” Shard said maliciously. “Steel, put her in her office and make sure she stays there until the resolution of the Rainbow Dash problem.” Iron Flare told him and then he and Shard went up to the raised table and began to lay out plans. Steel gripped her front foreleg, hard and drug her out of the room. She couldn’t believe it. Had she really just done that? Her office was not far from the Council room. Steel opened the door and shoved her inside. “Enjoy your last night in the office, General, if it were up to me it would also be your last all together. I don't like ponies who don't just do what the hell they were told. Troublemakers, General.” He said with out emotion and then slammed the door shut. She looked up from where she had hit the floor. General? She thought. For the first time in ten years, the title didn’t sound right. Like it didn’t fit anymore.