//------------------------------// // Swooping Pegasi // Story: The Descent into Madness // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// *** Three and a half years earlier *** Rainbow sighed as she looked back at the ranks of Royal Guards arrayed behind her. They were good, each one eager to learn more, but there was something about them which Rainbow simply couldn’t put her hoof on. None of them had that tiny spark, that little bit of creativity and spontaneity that would make them stand head and shoulders above the rest. Rainbow had hoped she would be able to make them all aspect warriors, but so far, she was having trouble making them even stand up with Guardians. She had been back in Equestria for six months now, and had taken the newly created position of Captain at arms almost instantly when Celestia had offered it to her. It was her job to make sure that the Royal Guard were combat ready if the occasion ever arose where they would have to fight. The Changeling invasion had shown just how woefully unprepared Equestria was for foreign aggression, and Celestia wanted that changed. And so, Rainbow had begun a gruelling training regime, one that everypony from the highest generals to the lowliest recruits had to go through. She had received a lot of opposition from the officers for this, her insistence that they take part in the training not sitting well with them, but they didn’t really have much choice. As Captain at arms, Rainbow had absolute power when it came to training, and considering the fact that she was the only one with any real combat experience, the officers had eventually been forced to bend before her oncoming wake. “Come on you lazy sons of Grox’s!” she roared, turning around and trotting backwards as she kept pace in front of the guard’s latest training run. “You think this is hard? You haven’t seen anything yet.” There was a collective groan as the Guard looked up at her, the sweat glistening off the parts of their bodies not covered by their armour as they tried to keep up with Rainbow. Rainbow had started their training off with them unencumbered, but as the days and weeks slipped by, she had begun to add weight, until they were dressed in full combat rig. If anything struck Equestria, the guard would be ready. She would make sure of that. “You don’t think…this is too much…do you?” Shining Armour panted, forcing his way to the front and keeping pace beside Rainbow as she turned back around. “It’s as much as it needs to be Captain,” Rainbow replied. “We’ve only got a mile left anyway.” “Yeah, and we’ve run twelve already,” Shining Armour wheezed. “The men…they can’t take it much more.” “Train hard, fight easy Captain Armour,” Rainbow chuckled, looking down at the Captain. “You’re doing well Captain, but not well enough to question my training. When you’ve passed Kaliden’s basic, you can come back and tell me I’m doing it wrong.” Shining Armour sighed, before dropping back into line with the other guards, panting as they followed Rainbow back towards the barracks in Canterlot. Eventually, they found themselves back in the parade square, wheezing and falling over from exhaustion, while Rainbow just chuckled softly to herself, before flapping her wings and getting above the tired ponies. “You all did well!” she shouted, looking between their faces. “Fall out, two hours free time, then go get mess. Combat drills will resume after grub’s served!” There was a series of weak cheers as ponies slowly began to limp towards the accommodation blocks and the showers, eager to wash some of their sweat away, as well as get some rest before dinner. Rainbow sighed, before heading for the castle to report on her days training. Combat drills were taken by the Captains of the guard, all of whom had been trained one on one by her so that she didn’t need to supervise everything, something she was immensely grateful for. Quickly landing on the balcony to the throne room, Rainbow knocked, before being admitted by one of the guards who had been assigned to miss today’s training in favour of listening to the court cases being presented today. It was not a good assignment. “Captain at Arms,” the guard saluted, coming to attention as he recognised Rainbow. “At ease private,” Rainbow nodded, before looking at the princesses. “Interesting day?” “Boring as always Captain,” the private corrected her. “Fifty three cases brought to the attention of the princesses, two of which revolved around Equestria’s current zombie outbreak readiness.” “Again?” Rainbow chuckled. “I thought we already told them that we’d just purify the area with fire.” “We told the last group that yes, but these were new ponies,” the private informed her. “But to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit to ma’am?” “Drop the ma’am stuff or I’ll make sure you’re on PT drills for a week,” Rainbow warned with a small smile. “Still, training’s pretty much finished for the day, so I’ll be making my report any second…” “Ah, Captain at Arms. Punctual as always,” Celestia smiled, walking towards Rainbow from her throne. “I will contact my sister and we can debrief you for the day. Private Snowball, you are dismissed.” “Princess,” Snowball nodded, coming to attention and saluting, before turning to face Rainbow. “Captain at Arms, permission to fall out to the barracks?” “Permission granted, go have a rest. Mess is in two hours,” Rainbow nodded, watching as the pony quickly made his way out of the room. “So, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia began, casting a glance over her shoulder as Luna appeared, walking up to stand beside her sister, “how has training been going today? Any more faint from the heat?” “Sixteen were sent back to the barracks before the end of the run, and two fainted from heat exhaustion during the obstacle course,” Rainbow said, casting her mind back to the ponies who hadn’t managed to complete the days training. “Does the training really need to be so harsh?” Luna asked with a sigh. “It is not…” “This isn’t harsh,” Rainbow cut in. “This is training, hard training, but still training. Fighting, that’s harsh, surviving, that’s worse, but if it ever comes down to the crunch and they need to fight, nopony will say that the training was harsh.” “As always, you have the final say,” Luna relented. “Now, onto the readiness of our ponies. When do you envision them being at your standard of readiness?” This was the moment Rainbow had been dreading, the moment that had been coming for the past six months. Celestia and Luna expected results, as well they should, and Rainbow feared that if she was going to push the guard up to the standards of readiness that the Eldar demanded, they would never be ready. “They’re…getting there,” Rainbow shrugged. “And how soon until they are there?” Celestia asked. “A month? Two? A year?” Rainbow offered. “I’m a soldier, training isn’t easy, and running the training is harder, especially for this many ponies. As far as efficiency goes, they are far better than they were, but they’re not at the standard I would like.” “The guard have been inactive for too long sister,” Luna pointed out. “Local law enforcement cannot be expected to keep the peace all on their own.” “No, I guess they can’t,” Celestia agreed, before turning back to face Rainbow. “If the guard were to return to active duty across Equestria, how would you rate their combat readiness?” “Guardians, maybe a few going as far as fresh-as-grass aspect warriors,” Rainbow mused. “I’d say an increased efficiency of around seventy percent, maybe seventy five for the more advance.” “And you would be happy to sign them off as fully trained and ready for action?” Celestia continued. “For the action I hope they see, they were already ready,” Rainbow shrugged. “I hope they never have to use the training that I’ve been doing. You’re never ready for combat anyway.” “Then it’s settled,” Celestia smiled, “the guard will return to active duty tomorrow, and our Captain of Arms can oversee their deployment until we get another batch of fresh recruits. Does this suit you?” “It works,” Rainbow nodded. “I have errands to run tonight though, and I want to service my Jetbike, with your leave of course.” “Certainly,” Luna nodded. “We will meet again when the guard are redeployed tomorrow.” “See you then,” Rainbow smiled, before coming to attention and saluting. “You are dismissed Captain at Arms,” Celestia nodded, watching as Rainbow turned and flew out of the room. “What is she going to do sister?” Luna sighed, looking at Celestia. “What do you mean?” Celestia asked, turning to face her sister. “She wants to have some time alone, I think she’s earned that after all the work she’s put into training the guard.” “I mean in the long run,” Luna clarified. “She’s not happy Celestia, working for the guard is one thing, but she’s not a shield like they are.” “No, she’s a sword,” Celestia nodded. “And an extremely sharp one at that. She’s going stir crazy being sheathed all day.” “But what can we do?” Luna asked with a shake of her head. “I don’t know Luna, I really don’t,” Celestia sighed, watching as the speck that was Rainbow Dash rapidly shrunk into the distance. *** Rainbow touched down on the porch of her cloud house, smiling as she looked around its intricate structure. Pushing his way inside, Rainbow looked at the new room that she had made a few days after she had finished telling her friends her story of her years away. The room was now her armoury, doubling up as her garage, her Jetbike sitting inside, waiting patiently for its owner to return. One of the best things about being friends with a pony as skilled in the art of spells as Twilight was the access to near permanent cloud walking spells, one that now rested on her bike, and kept it from falling through the floor. Slowly removing her breastplate, Rainbow placed the armour beside her helmet, and walking towards her jetbike. Quickly running a few diagnostics on it, she determined that its weeks of sitting idly in her home hadn’t dented its performance. Deciding that all her equipment was within operational parameters, Rainbow sighed to herself, before walking towards her bedroom and throwing herself onto the bed, allowing the feeling of the clouds that made up its surface to gently caress her scarred flesh. Even after all this time, she still hadn’t gotten used to it, but at least other ponies had begun to accept that she was still Rainbow Dash, not a monster. Lyra herself had been one of the first to properly apologise, and had then proceeded to listen as Rainbow retold parts of the story. She had been ecstatic when Rainbow had mentioned the existence of humans, verifying all the research she had tried to do it her life. Ponies had called her mad, now she had proof that she wasn’t. Rainbow chuckled to herself as she remembered the giddy expression on the sea foam unicorn’s face, before sighing once more as she thought towards the future, and what it contained for her. The guard were good, and the pay was certainly nothing to get upset over, but they just weren’t living up to her expectations that she had when she had accepted the position. Some of them may have been good, but none of them were the standard she wanted. They got tired too early, they whined more than Rarity after a day of hard training, and she didn’t even want to go into the skills of the Pegasus guards. Once again, she found herself wistfully wondering if she made the right choice when she had returned to Equestria. Oh she loved being with her friends again, but after two years of war, she just wasn’t sure peace suited her anymore. She had turned down the place in the Wonderbolts strike team because they were the few members of the Equestrian armed forces to fight, relegating her to a few flight demonstrations a year, and now was beginning to wish she hadn’t. She had a sneaky feeling that Spitfire was also annoyed she hadn’t joined up, but for a completely different reason. As far as she could tell, Spitfire was looking for a replacement for when she finally retired, an event that couldn’t be that far off. The Everfree. Rainbow sat bolt upright, her ears perking up as she scanned the room, for the source of the voice, carefully scrutinising everything, before slowly lying back down, making sure to keep her ears open for anymore sounds. Go to the Everfree. “Alright, who’s there?!” Rainbow roared, jumping out of her bed and rushing to the armoury, grabbing hold of her las-blaster and beginning to walk through the house. “If this is a prank, I suggest you leave now, I’m not in the mood!” The Everfree Forest. “Who the fuck…” Rainbow began. The Everfree. There you’ll find answers. As the voice finally began to recede, Rainbow felt a slight tingling in the back of her mind, and almost fell over from the memories that came rushing back with that soft touch. Nothing, not even the Daemons of Chaos felt like that when they touched her mind. Only one race could replicate that, and if she was feeling that… Dashing into the armoury again, Rainbow grabbed hold of her armour, running through the motions to put on the ancient war suit she had been given a life time ago, before fitting the helmet over her head and sheathing her weapons beside her. Doing one final check to ensure that she hadn’t left anything behind, she jumped on her Jetbike, its engines roaring into life at her slightest touch. Grinning, Rainbow shot out of her house, crashing through on of the cloud walls, the surface rippling as she passed through, before becoming solid once more as Rainbow banked and headed towards the Everfree. It didn’t take Rainbow long until she was over the old forest, reminiscing about times where its dark trees and spooky animals had scared even her. She had thought that nothing could be scarier than the gnarled old trunks that made up the Everfree, she had been sadly mistaken. “Alright Eldar, breadcrumbs followed. Time to show me the way home,” Rainbow muttered as she looked around, pulling the Jetbike to a halt, hovering over a large clearing. Once again, Rainbow felt a tingling presence in her mind, and instantly knew where she was supposed to go, throwing her bike into a dive at the behest of the voice. She was on the ground a split second later, leaping from her Jetbike as she looked around the massive clearing, slowly drawing her las-blaster in case any animals attacked her, although most avoided her when she came into the forest these days, recognising the gait of a superior predator. “Rainbow Dash,” a voice echoed around the clearing, and Rainbow whirled around, scanning the area for anything, and finding herself facing a very familiar Eldar warrior. “Are you going to shoot me again Rainbow Dash?” The Guardian asked. “Guardian?” Rainbow asked in shock, deactivating her rifle and slinging it on her back. “What are you doing here?” “The same could be said of you Rainbow,” the ancient warrior replied, cocking his head to the side slightly. “You called me here, remember?” Rainbow pointed out. “Did I? Perhaps I did, or will do, time is…an oddity sometimes, especially in the webway and warp,” The Guardian chuckled softly. “An interesting world, this Equestria.” “Yeah, I know it is,” Rainbow nodded. “So, you’re here now, is it everything you expected it to be?” “It’s peaceful here, a warrior could finally rest here, if they so desired,” The Guardian sighed, taking in a deep breath through his helmets filters. “But then again, it could be a curse for a warrior not yet able to accept peace. I know which one you are Rainbow, but do you?” “I want peace,” Rainbow said firmly. “Of course you want peace, all warriors fight for peace,” The Guardian nodded. “But you personally, you don’t want peace, not for yourself, do you?” “I saw so much, killed so many, so callously,” Rainbow sighed. “How do I go from that to…this? From fighting alongside ancient warriors of unparalleled skilled to training Royal Guards?” “I’m afraid there I can’t help you Rainbow,” The Guardian shook his head. “As I have said, time is hard to discern for one who looks into the future as readily as he does the past. I can only offer advice, and hope that you pick the right path.” “And what is the right path Guardian?” Rainbow asked, slowly removing her helmet and letting her mane flow free. “I don’t know,” The Guardian admitted. “There are some paths, dark trails, ones I would not see come to light, but there are others, ones so bright they give me hope for the future, not just for Eldar kind, but for the other races as well. And then there are paths…paths I don’t know how to categorise. They encompass so much darkness, telling of death and ruin, destruction and perversion on a massive scale, but of love, of perseverance, of hope. I can’t tell you the right path Rainbow, I can’t tell you the wrong one either. That is a decision you must make on your own, if I interfere, the paths will change, and what could be will be lost forever.” “Is there some sort of rule that old ponies and Eldar are supposed to give cryptic prophesies to fuck with the minds of the young?” Rainbow chuckled, looking up at The Guardian. “If you can’t give advice, and you can’t influence the paths we take without changing them, why are you here?” “As I said, advice,” The Guardian said simply. “I can offer my advice, but if I force my will on you, everything changes, time fluctuates, and we cut off the possibilities of choice. Free will is our most important virtue in the galaxy. We must be free to choose our own paths, but that doesn’t mean you can’t receive advice, even if that advice is a ‘cryptic prophesy’.” Rainbow didn’t know why, but she got the faintest impression that The Guardian was smiling underneath his helmet. She also sensed that this was a rare occurrence, and the ancient guardian of the Black Library didn’t smile often. Pinkie would love to meet this guy, it would be like Cranky Doodle Donkey all other again. For a long time, neither of them spoke, the two warriors simply staring at each other, one old and one young, waiting for the other to break the silence. In the end, it was Rainbow who broke the spell. “So go on then, what is this advice you can give me?” “There is a darkness coming Rainbow Dash, one that we on the Black Library can neither discern nor prevent. There will come a time when this planet needs strong warriors, a time where its inhabitants must stand up in the galaxy and be counted among its denizens. That time is fast approaching. I have been watching this world since you returned to it, gauging the skill of its inhabitants, evaluating them. There is potential. There needs to be more.” “But what can I do?” Rainbow pressed. “I’m just me, and I just tried to train up the guard, I did that to the best of my abilities for that amount of ponies. If they’re not strong enough, I don’t know what else you want Ponykind to do.” “Use your rune,” The Guardian said simply. “You are the first warrior of your shrine Rainbow, do not forget about your destiny. Become what you must to do what you must. Mould others into your own image, create the warriors this planet will one day need. Become the Phoenix Lord the fortunes have foretold you will become, the first of your kind to hold the ancient honour, and the first to do so without losing yourself to the ancient curse that holds the Phoenix Lords and Exarches captive. This is my advice to you Rainbow, heed it, or ignore it, I can do no more than offer it. Stay true to the light.” And with that, The Guardian disappeared, activating a personal webway portal and fading away into it, leaving Rainbow alone once more to ponder his words. Nodding to herself, she looked around the large clearing, her mind working overtime as she began to envision what she would build. It would all start here, her journey even further down the path of the warrior. She had thought that after her war mask had shattered, she would never again tread its trail. She had been wrong. This would be the birthplace of the first Equestria Aspect temple. The home of the Swooping Pegasi.