As the cold dust embraces whole Equestria
Determination and diligence are put to test.
It is not numbers that win the war.
One must find the way in the eye of the storm.
Chapter 5
"Winter Storm”
December 12th, 2018
1045 hrs
PonyvilleIt was a cold and cloudy morning. The fights between the ponies and griffins were escalating. There were days of triumph and defeat for both sides of the conflict. But, as the leaves finally fell from the trees and snow begun to cover Equestria, the ponies found themselves in a big disadvantage. They were not used to operating in this kind of weather. Usually at that time, with harvests already done and supplies stored in their houses, they would just wait for the Winter Wrap-Up day, where the winter would be switched for spring. That’s how things always were in Ponyville.
This time, however, the griffins would not allow them to rest. Moreover, they would use the conditions to their advantage. As they were hailing from mountain peaks, where temperatures were lower than on the ground, they were perfectly prepared to continue fighting. Should they gather enough forces and strike in important locations, the war would end in their favor. But, the harsh experiences in the past weeks have injected a great spirit of teamwork in the ponies. The residents of Ponyville appealed to the unicorns from Canterlot to aid them in keeping the winter in mild state so they could carry on the fight. The request was accepted, as Princesses Celestia and Luna dispatched about twenty unicorns to Ponyville. The Royal Sisters could easily take care of the winter in their region, and as the unicorns used their magic to aid the earth ponies, the fighting could resume at regular pace.
It was on this day that the Mirage Squadron would learn a valuable lesson...
1106 hrs
Cloudsdale, Mirage squadron’s baseFor that moment, nothing that would require the squadron’s help was happening, though. The seven pegasi were enjoying a brief break, with Derpy demonstrating a “muffin-juggling,” as she called it. For ten minutes, she balanced her body and performed tricks with her favorite snacks. After she finished, all seven muffins she was juggling were tossed into the air, and she sent six of them toward her friends. The seventh landed in her mouth. Everypony applauded her, with Cloud Kicker and Medley clapping the loudest. Firefly quickly consumed her muffin, remarking: “Not bad” and returned to Mission Control. It was important to keep a track on the enemy movements, especially since the current conditions were ideal for them to launch a surprise attack.
However, no such report came from Gale in the past few days.
“It’s strange that the griffins are being inactive lately, don’t you think?” Lightning Bolt pointed out.
“Either they are preparing something big...” Rainbow Dash thought.
“Or maybe they know we’re not used to fighting during winter, and they’ve decided to give us a break?” Medley spoke.
Firefly’s reaction was predictable.
“Sure, and all the while, they’re sewing and stitching some warm clothes for us... Get real!” she yelled. “This suspense is getting to me... I wish something could happen.”
And it wasn’t a few seconds later that Firefly finally received a message from Gale. She was a little disappointed, though and sighed.
“And here I thought... never mind. It’s still good news.”
“What is it, Firefly?” Rainbow Dash asked.
The pink pegasus turned to her friends.
“Gale just sent me a note. He says the Wonderbolts have regained consciousness. They are well on their way to be fully healed.”
As expected, this message have put everypony in happy moods. Rainbow Dash looked especially relieved. But Firefly hadn’t finished.
“He also says that they would like to speak with one of us. Sort of to clarify our existence as an official squadron. Because, you know, so far we’ve been a mere substitute for them...”
She sounded kind of gloomy.
None of the pegasi knew how to react to this. Rainbow approached Firefly and looked into her eyes. When she spoke, her voice was full of pride:
“A substitute? Maybe. But a great substitute at that. With us and the Wonderbolts flying together, we’re going to win for sure. I’ll go speak with them, if that’s alright with everypony.”
No one opposed. They all knew how much Rainbow idolized the fliers and the news that they are regaining consciousness definitely made her overjoyed, even though she didn’t showed it.
After a few minutes of preparations, Derpy gave her three more muffins, one for each pegasus. Rainbow then slowly left the base and started to fly to the infirmary where the Wonderbolts were given treatment. She was genuinely excited; she was going to speak with her idols ever since the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot. But at the same time, she wondered how would they react when they will hear that a new squadron was formed by a pegasus who was away from Equestria for the past five years.
The blue pegasus didn’t let her doubts get to her and increased speed, as she was approaching a big, white building with a characteristic red cross carved on its entrance. She took a deep breath and entered.
==========
1132 hrs
Cloudsdale, Cirrus Infirmary
After looking around for a while, Rainbow approached the reception and called the nurse.
“Excuse me... I’m here to see the Wonderbolts.”The mare turned around and examined Rainbow. She questioned her for details of the visit, and a few moments later, she pointed to the end of the corridor, where their room was. Rainbow slowly walked there, receiving a glimpse in other rooms along the way. Several of them had ponies lying in sleep, some in bandages. They were undoubtedly hurt by the griffins. The blue pegasus could tell it from one of ponies’ wound on the back.
Finally, she reached the room, knocked, and entered. Inside, she saw her idols resting in beds. Rainbow approached them slowly, trembling with emotions. Spitfire noticed and recognized her.
“Hey, it’s you... Rainbow Dash, wasn’t it? What brings you here?”Rainbow tried to regain her cool stature, but the pressure was too much for her to handle. She only lowered her head and didn’t said a word. Spitfire asked again:
“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you and your team patrol Equestria?”
Hearing this, Rainbow rose her head, surprised.
“So... you know?” “Of course I know. Only a really good flier like you would manage to keep the griffins at bay until now. You and your team are doing a fine job. I look forward to fly alongside you one of these days.”
Rainbow didn’t expected to hear that. She started trembling again and mumbling something to herself. The excitement and joy were blending together. Spitfire noticed it.
“You look a little tense. Relax. Let me guess... you wished to see us under different circumstances, huh?”
She tried to get up, but the pain suddenly stopped her. Spitfire hissed and lied back. Rainbow got closer. She saw the fiery-maned pegasus was grinding her teeth and trying not to scream.
“Are you OK?”
“Hah. I feel better than back then, when we’ve met those two griffins. But it will take us at least another two months to fully get back in shape.”At this point, Soarin’ woke up, and his nose picked the smell of muffins in Rainbow’s bag. When he saw them, a huge grin formed on his face. As much as he liked pies, he would never pass by a muffin either. Rainbow handled one of them to each Wonderbolt. Spitfire then asked another question:
“So Rainbow, how does it feel to be a captain of a squadron?” “Actually... Firefly is the squadron’s leader. I’m the second-in-command. But I don’t mind,” Rainbow said in a slightly disappointed fashion.
“Firefly, you say...” Spitfire thought for a while. ”I know I’ve heard that name before...”Suddenly, Firebolt spoke:
“It’s that pink pegasus who used to pull crazy stunts all over Equestria. She even tried to join us at one point, much like you, Rainbow. But, she ultimately abandoned that idea.”
This revelation surprised the blue pegasus, so she went deeper.
“Was there any reason behind her decision?”
“Maybe there was,” Firebolt answered, “but she never said why she did it.”
Several minutes passed as Rainbow chatted with the Wonderbolts. She felt sort of honored, but also thought it didn’t feel right speaking with them like this. She preferred to see them fully recovered and flying with them, protecting Equestria...
Just then, her communicator gave away a call. It was Firefly.
“Rainbow, get to the base! We’ve got a mission assignment!”
“Roger that,” Rainbow replied, turning to Spitfire.
“Hey, I’d love to stay and chat, but...”
“Yeah, I know. Duty calls,” the fiery-maned pegasus finished.
“You guys have fun. If everything goes well, we’ll join you in a few weeks.”
The blue pegasus was just about to leave, when she heard Spitfire again.
“Rainbow Dash... let me give you a piece of advice. Don’t hesitate. Never abandon your friends in need. And cherish the moments you have with your wingmates. We won’t be getting much of those in the coming days”.
She then smiled and added:
“Good luck.”
As Rainbow was flying back to the base, her mind was swirling with emotions. The joy, for being able to speak with her heroes again, but also sadness and grief, seeing them beaten and incapacitated. She remembered when she made a vow to herself to avenge them and intended to keep her word.
Soon after returning to base, she saw Firefly and the others ready to take flight. The blue pegasus immediately joined in the formation and the Mirage squadron took off, in the direction of Shimmerwood – a beautiful forest on the west Equestrian border. It was mostly populated with wild and harmless creatures, but Gale’s latest reports indicated that the griffins plan to use the woods as one of their bases of operation, not bothering to spare the flora and fauna in the process. Of course, Fluttershy couldn’t allow that. And not just her, the feeling was mutual with all ponies.
==========
1404 hrs
Equestria Western Border, ShimmerwoodThe large trees that normally housed numerous birds from the region were already completely covered by the snow. This change of environment proved effective for the pegasus ponies, since they could spot the griffins much easier. As they were approaching their destination, Lightning Bolt informed her friends that the estimated number of enemies in the region could be anywhere from seven to ten. But Firefly was predicting there could be more of them hiding or stationing nearby, ready to help their comrades should something go awry.
When the Mirage squadron finally reached Shimmerwood, Medley took a glimpse around the sky and noticed big, dark clouds on the horizon, which were slowly approaching the woods, carried on the wind.
“I don’t like those...” she confessed.
“They could cause a huge blizzard if they get here,” Derpy pointed out. “If there are any griffins here, we should beat them quickly.”
Cloud Kicker just returned from the reconnaissance. As expected, the enemy was present, with five griffins trying to construct something that resembled a watch tower. Another group of three were flying around, acting as a warning against upcoming foes. It seemed they barely just arrived. Firefly decided to use this as an element of surprise. She divided the squadron to two groups, taking Lightning Bolt, Fluttershy and Derpy with her, while Rainbow Dash was given Cloud Kicker and Medley. They decided to flank the enemy and attack simultaneously from two sides.
Upon arriving at their positions, they even got a glimpse on some griffins loquacious talk.
“Remind me what are we doing here, Jet.”
One of the griffins that was building a watch tower directed that phrase to his comrade, who was wearing a green jacket. He turned around, having heard the sarcastic comment.
“Our job is to keep this region under our control. This watch tower that you guys are building will help us gain information about ponies’ movements faster and with additional precision.”
The builder rolled his eyes, still not convinced.
“But I don’t get it. Shimmerwood is on the very edge of Equestria. This doesn’t make sense one bit. Why can’t we just perform a direct attack on the capital? Instead, we’re wasting our time like this...”
Jet approached him.
“The General believes that this will prevent our food storage bunkers from being attacked. Once the tower is built, there’s no way any pony would sneak through this border undetected.”
“But we’ve got them on the ropes. Does the General fail to see this? A single concentrated attack would be more effective and time-saving”, the builder objected.
“Maybe. But that’s his decision and we can’t disobey him. Especially considering Black Star and Red Cyclone are holding direct control over the army. They are the ones who influence our General’s actions. And he trusts them completely.”
The griffon sighed in disappointment.
“Well, I don’t trust them. Their entire concept of this war is just... just... Damn, I can’t find a proper word!” he exclaimed in anger.
“I believe the word you’re looking for is nonsensical,” Jet helped him.
“Right. Nonsensical. And besides, most of us were not interested in attacking Equestria anyway. What do you think those two troublemakers are up to?”
“I do not know, at least, not now. But maybe they will eventually tells us. Now, back to work!” he told the builders, who seemed to be slacking off a little.
As the pegasi ponies eavesdropped on the conversation, Fluttershy and Derpy begun to question the actual point behind the griffins’ actions. It almost seemed as if this whole war was started solely because Black Star and Red Cyclone wanted it, for whatever reason they had.
While they were whispering through the communicators with their friends stationed on the others side on the construction yard about it, Firefly squinted her eyes in anger. Even she could not overlook the fact that their actions were not making sense. Like Jet said, if they wanted to conquer Equestria, they would simply strike at the capital and take it over, then proceed to slowly eliminate all forms of resistance, if any. It was bothering her deeply. Especially since when she heard the name “Black Star.” She felt something familiar about it...
But seeing the watch tower being almost completed, she ordered her wingmates to begin the attack. The Mirage squadron took flight and a joint assault took place, with ponies soaring high and descending at the enemy positions at great speed.
“May the sun and moon shine upon us!” Cloud Kicker exclaimed with excitement.
==========
While most of the griffins seemed surprised with the pegasus’ sudden appearance, Jet remained calm. He somehow knew their actions would not go unnoticed. With a grin on his face, he called on his radio for additional support. As Lightning Bolt smashed into the unfinished watch tower, knocking down some rubble, she noticed the incoming reinforcements and called out to the others.
“Five more enemies approaching at vector 327! Watch yourselves, everypony!”
“Don’t worry!” Rainbow Dash replied. “Kid and I got it covered. Come on, let’s get’em!”
“Attack support? Roger that!”
Rainbow and Medley went to clash with the newly called griffins, as Firefly was overseeing the rest of the operation and aiding the squadron in slowly making their enemies retreat. Jet personally fought against her. He was much faster than the others, but the pink pegasus’ agility was more than a match for him.
As Derpy and Fluttershy were engaging a band of four griffins, the grey mare decided to use the environment to her advantage. Not only she was difficult to be seen in the snow, she also decided to make use of snowballs and temporarily blind her opponents with a precise strike to the face. Fluttershy soon followed her tactic. It seemed quite effective.
Cloud Kicker took on two griffins all by herself. She seemed to be overwhelmed at first, but Lightning Bolt came to aid her. Within thirty minutes, the odds were in the ponies’ favor. Firefly had a good advantage over Jet, and he seemed to acknowledge her as a worthy opponent.
He noticed that his forces were becoming weaker, despite the reinforcements.
“Tell me!” he said to Firefly. “What is it that drives you? What helps you repel our offensives and fight with us like equals?”
The pink pegasus didn’t answered at first, but then she glared at Jet and said:
“Because you guys are ignoring two basic rules of war. Rule #1: never underestimate your opponents. You think of us as harmless and now you’re paying the price.”
Jet looked to the sky. He noticed the dark clouds above them. They were about to cover the sun.
“I see. Perhaps you’re right. Then, let’s see if you can prevail what’s to come!”
In a surprise move, he seemed to rush at Firefly, but instantly increased altitude before he collided with her. Then, he performed a somersault and reached out to his communicator again.
“All units, leave the combat zone immediately. We’re going back.”
At this point, he saw Lightning Bolt performing her “Shining Spark” on the watch tower. The immense force of the crash sent the wooden construction down and into pieces. Jet wasn’t happy about this, worried that their hard work might have been for nothing. He saw Firefly appearing before him all of a sudden. He stopped, and they stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments. The pink pegasus then folded her front legs, grinned and said:
“Rule #2: numbers alone do not win the war.”
Jet seemed clearly enraged, but he had to admit she was telling the truth. Yet, he tried to remain confident and said: “The next time we meet, we shall fight to the end. I will not disgrace the Griffin Kingdom again!”
Vowing this, he left the airspace with the other griffins.
As the ponies were cheering on their victory and Firefly was praising them for a job well done, her communicator beeped. Gale was calling her.
“Flash, come in! What’s your situation?”
“Relax, Gale. We took care of the griffins. They tried to surprise us with reinforcements, but we drove them off anyway. They won’t be seen in Shimmerwood anytime soon.”
She heard Gale sighing in relief.
“That’s great to hear. For a moment, I was kinda worried. Well, you better get back to Cloudsdale ASAP. There’s a giant blizzard coming your way. If you’re caught in it, you’ll be having major difficulties.”
“And why is that?” Firefly asked. “We can handle anything that comes our way.”
“I know, but the problem is...” Gale paused for a moment.
“Your radars and communicators aren’t perfect yet. If there’s going to be a large interference in the atmosphere, they will get jammed easily. You know, they’re only made from currently existing technology.”
Every pony heard that. Lightning Bolt in particular knew about this flaw, as she was tinkering with various electronic contraptions before. This news wasn’t pleasant for the Mirage Squadron, but Rainbow Dash remained optimistic.
“Don’t you worry. We’ll back in Cloudsdale before dusk.”
“Then I suggest you hurry up! Remember, during winter, days are shorter. The sun will be setting in about two hours. Once you come back, report to me. Gale out!”
==========
1513 hrs
Equestrian airspace, en route to CloudsdaleAs the pegasi were preparing to leave, snow began to fall. Harsher winds blew, too. It gave the ponies some difficulties with going airborne and maintaining balance. Firefly told them to stick together and fly in a “double V” formation so they could keep an eye on each other. Unfortunately, the blizzard was growing stronger with every moment, and the blistering cold was slowly freezing their wings. Rainbow and Firefly could easily pick up the speed and try to fly ahead, but they would not leave their friends behind.
When one stronger gust of wind blew in their faces, Medley and Fluttershy were knocked back and lost sight of the others. They tried to reach them through the radio, but all they heard was static. Rainbow Dash noticed they were missing and flew to Firefly to report it.
“I’m going to fly back for them!” she shouted, trying to reach the pink pegasus through the blizzard.
“What if you get lost in the storm, too?” Firefly replied.
“I’ll come back. I ain’t leaving them!” Rainbow responded.
It seemed very dangerous. If the squadron members will be separated from each other, finding the others would take some time. While they would be searching, the griffins could try another assault. But Rainbow had no intention of backing away. Reluctantly, Firefly allowed her to go and look for the two missing pegasi.
“Once you’ll find them, head straight for Cloudsdale.”
“Got it!”
The blue pegasus split from the others. Derpy initially panicked that Rainbow will be lost, but Firefly assured everything will be alright. The look on her face was worried, however...
Fluttershy was not used to the sheer cold that was in the air. The howling wind only made things worse. She was unable to tell if Medley was any close to her or was carried somewhere else. Despite her stamina gradually lowering, she flew around, calling out Medley’s name. The snow was smiting her in the face all the time, and after a few minutes she could barely see anything within 200 meters. Fear started to get to her, she was losing sense of direction...
That was when she heard Rainbow Dash screaming her name at the top of her lungs.
“Fluttershy!!!”
The yellow pegasus was relieved to see her friend, but when she told her that she was separated from Medley by the storm, Rainbow promptly dived down in hopes of finding her. Fluttershy followed her, and when they landed, they almost got buried in the big pile of snow. Their wings weren’t as effective now, so they tried to look for their companion on the ground instead.
It took them several minutes before they stumbled upon the green pegasus. There was an old tree nearby, broken probably due to impact. Medley herself looked very tired and it seemed she was about to pass out.
“Hey, girls... we’re in trouble... huh?”
“Medley! Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked nervously.
“Sure... I just... need some sleep.... Don’t worry, it’s... no biggie... I can fly. Let’s... go back... to Cloudsdale...” Medley could barely keep herself standing as she was mumbling.
Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at each other. The yellow pegasus had an anxious look on her face, as they saw Medley could not bring herself to spread her wings and fly. They appeared to be numb from the cold.
“We should find some place where we could wait for the storm to wear down a little,” Fluttershy suggested.
“Sounds good to me. But where? There are no caves around,” Rainbow pointed out.
“Girls, I mean... it... we can go back...” Medley muttered, coughing a little.
She seemed dizzy.
“We... completed our mission.... let’s.... go... back......”
Her legs bent under her weight, her eyes suddenly shut and she fell on the cold snow. She wasn’t moving.
“MEDLEY!” Fluttershy cried.
She tried to nuzzle her head and make her wake up, to no avail. The wind kept on howling and the cold increased in strength. Fluttershy tried to get Medley to move, yet she wasn’t giving any signs of life. The yellow pegasus kept trying, though she was on the verge of collapsing, too. Rainbow saw her breaking down in tears, but was not giving up hope. “Pull yourself together, Fluttershy! We’re gonna make it through!” she exclaimed.
The yellow pegasus calmed down a little. Rainbow Dash tried to pick Medley on her back.
“Rainbow.. what are you doing?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’m... taking her... home! Ugh... We’re ain’t... going back... without... her!”
The blue pegasus tried to take off, but Rainbow was pretty exhausted herself. She tried to push herself to the limits, but she almost fell instead. Fluttershy noticed that the wind was slowly calming down, yet the blizzard continued.
She approached Rainbow and helped her by taking Medley’s lower body on her back.
“If I’ll help you, Rainbow, we might make it.”
“But.. are you going to be all right?”
Fluttershy’s eyes flared with rarely seen determination.
“If it means saving my friends, I will do anything. Let’s fly back to Cloudsdale!”
Rainbow looked at Fluttershy with admiration and nodded. Together, the two pegasi took off and were heading for their base. As the storm slowly died down, they could see through the clouds and snow much easier. When they finally left the Shimmerwood area, they were greeted by a setting sun, as its glow was giving off a crimson light.
They felt Medley has briefly regained consciousness. She looked at Rainbow.
“Hey... we got out of the storm...” Her voice was weak.
“Rest easy, Medley,” Fluttershy spoke with a gentle voice.
“We’re going back. Don’t worry.”
The worn-out pegasus responded with a gentle smile and whispered before falling asleep:
“Thank you for saving me.”
==========
1745 hrs
Cloudsdale HeadquartersFirefly was circling around them room, nervous. The day was about to end, and her companions still hadn’t returned. Cloud Kicker was flying outside, trying to spot them. Gale was visibly worried, too. It would soon become too dark to carry out a rescue operation. Lightning Bolt was standing by the radar, trying to pick up the signatures of Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Medley, but no signals were detected for almost an hour. Derpy wanted to go and find them, but Firefly told her and everypony else to stay put and wait for them.
However, the grey pegasus stomped her hooves in frustration.
“That’s it... I can’t take it anymore! I’m going to look for them!”
She tried to leave the room.
“No! Stop where you are! There will be back soon, I know it!” Firefly exclaimed.
She was getting very nervous, and was about to leave, herself. But just then, everypony heard Cloud Kicker screaming.
“I see them! They’re coming back!”Lightning Bolt confirmed it, as three blue dots appeared on the radar. They were all relieved that everything ended well. As Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy landed, they carefully carried Medley inside. Initially fearing the worst, Gale was told that Medley simply passed out of exhaustion.
He asked Cloud Kicker and Derpy to deliver her to the Cirrus Infirmary. The others followed them. When they arrived and heard the diagnosis from the nurse, they smiled in relief. Medley needed to rest for several hours and warm herself before she could return back to the squadron’s base. Rainbow decided to stay a little longer in the infirmary to speak with her.
Upon entering the room where the green mare was lying, Medley woke up as Rainbow greeted her. Both ponies seemed glad to see each other. Although Medley seemed a bit gloomy, Rainbow was smiling from ear to ear. She leaned closer to the green pegasus.
“You gave us a big scare back then. You’re lucky you’re still alive.”
“Yeah...” Medley whispered.
Rainbow saw she was kind of sad. The blue pegasus stroked her mane and giggled.
“Hey, you did great. But next time, be more careful. And stay close to us, okay?”
“O-Okay... Thanks again, Rainbow Dash.”
On the next day, Medley returned to her friends. They were overjoyed to see the green flier back in good shape. Even Firefly praised her efforts, making her blush a little. All seven pegasi spent that day training and enjoying the beautiful sights of Equestria. It would’ve seemed like time stopped for a moment...
All that mattered for them now was that their friend was safe and sound.