Mortal Coil

by Reeve


XLVI - A Soldier's Philosophy

“Rainbow Dash?” Fleetfoot muttered, quickly forgetting about Fluttershy and I in favour of the new arrival. “What exactly do you think you’re doing here?”

“I told you,” Rainbow Dash said as she marched into the lobby. “I’m here to stage a daring rescue mission, so stand down Fleetfoot or I will be forced to do battle with you!”

“Do you read a lot of adventure stories by any chance?” Fleetfoot asked in an amused tone. “Actually, don’t answer that, I’ve stopped caring. Now leave, before I am forced to put you down.”

“That’s… not going to happen,” Rainbow replied slowly right before her hoof whipped back to her side and she drew the baton hanging at her waist.

She brought the baton out and extended her spear as quickly as one could blink, pointing the tip directly at Fleetfoot even as the rest of the Dragoon soldiers in the lobby drew their own weapons.

“Really?” Fleetfoot uttered in a dull tone. “You want to fight me? You beat that lug Garnet and now you think you can take on the world? I think you’ll find that I’m a fighter of a much higher calibre, you don’t stand a chance against me, let alone me plus another seven soldiers.”

“And I think you’ll find…” Rainbow began, flashing a devil may care smile at her opponents. “That underestimating me will cost you dearly.”

There was a long moment of silence as the two parties stood off against one another, Rainbow Dash looking as cocky as ever, and the seven soldiers waiting for Fleetfoot to give the command to attack. Then Fleetfoot burst into a fit of laughter, all her guards hesitating as they glanced over at her, looking slightly confused at her reaction to the situation.

“Go ahead Dash,” Fleetfoot invited, spreading her forelegs wide. “Come on, kill me, I won’t even try to stop you. I mean, sure you would prove yourself stronger than me, but then the decision to kill these mares is not mine. My orders come from Marshal Iron Sights himself, and if you do anything to impede those orders without first proving yourself stronger than the Marshal… well then, you’d be nothing more than a traitor.”

Rainbow Dash lowered her spear slightly as she realised Fleetfoot was telling the truth, a flash of worry crossing her face.

“That’s right, a traitor,” Fleetfoot mocked. “And once that happens, every Dragoon in Olympus will be given orders to hunt you down and… well; you know exactly what we do to traitors. There is always a choice though, yours would be to stay and die, or flee and lose everything for the sake of two mares you barely know. So what will it be Rainbow Dash? Will you bring your concerns with my task to the Marshal? I can hold off killing them until after he’s crushed you in the arena. Will you fight us now? If so, then what? Stay and face your punishment, or run and say goodbye to your home and loved ones? Or will you just turn around and walk away?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t say anything; she simply stared down at her spear whose point now dipped towards the ground. Fluttershy and I watched everything as it unfolded with baited breath, torn between the urge to turn and flee back up the stairs, or wait and see what would come of this showdown. Then the silence was broken… by Rainbow Dash giving a small laugh.

“Joke’s on you Fleetfoot, I don’t have any loved ones!” she exclaimed as she looked back up at her opponents with renewed vigour in her expression, gripping her spear tightly once more as she readied herself for a fight. “And my home is pretty cheap; I’ll make do without it.”

“Fool!” Fleetfoot snapped, clearly annoyed that she wasn’t able to demoralise Rainbow Dash. “You still you have to beat us! You may be the new Lieutenant of the Vanguard, but I am the Air Chief, and these stallions all serve in the Marshal’s personal guard, you cannot hope to overcome us all!”

“Foolish fool!” Rainbow Dash retorted. “I don’t have to beat any of you…”

And without warning she returned her spear to her waist before speeding off in a multi-coloured blur right through the soldiers and past Fleetfoot, stopping right next to Fluttershy and I.

“I just have to be faster than you!” she shouted down to them.

They were still turning to face up where she had called from, when Rainbow Dash grabbed both me and Fluttershy, spread her wings and shot off like a bullet up the stairs. It was an unpleasant ride; my left foreleg felt like it was being pulled out of its shoulder socket, on account of that being the part Rainbow was holding onto as she flew, while the rest of me trailed through the air, occasionally banging and bumping off the ground, walls and ceiling. Rainbow Dash didn’t stop flying until we were a couple floors up from the lobby, I could hear the distant sounds of Fleetfoot and the soldiers, but we had a little time before they caught up to us.

“What are you doing?” Fluttershy asked, wobbling around and looking dazed. “Why are you helping us?”

“No time for silly questions,” Rainbow chastised quickly. “You two had weapons when you entered the city, where are they now?”

“In our room with the rest of our things,” I hurriedly explained. “Room two B, twenty six.”

“Wait here,” Rainbow instructed before speeding off once more.

“How long do you think she’ll be?” Fluttershy asked in a panicky voice, most likely all too aware of the rapidly approaching soldiers.

“She can’t be that long,” I replied in a hopeful tone. “I mean, I’ve never seen anypony as fa…”

“Back!” Rainbow declared as she zoomed back into the hallway where she left us, all our possession heaped in her forelegs. “I don’t think I forgot anything; now get those on as fast as you can.”

After quickly throwing our satchels on and reattaching our weapons to our sides, I barely opened my mouth to ask where we were going next when I felt Rainbow Dash grip my foreleg a second time. This trip was considerably more painful than the first one since it was mostly up stairs; Rainbow didn’t stop dragging us along until we reached the roof of the hotel.

“Alright, here’s the deal,” Rainbow began. “I’ll take one of you on my back to a safe place, then I’ll come back for the other. Who’s going first?”

“Take Fluttershy,” I told her. “I can wait.”

“But Rarity,” Fluttershy began in a distressed tone. “You should…”

I didn’t hear what I should do, as Rainbow Dash had already flipped her up into the air and swooped up, catching Fluttershy on her back before speeding off into the city. I ran over to the stairwell door, quickly slamming the door shut and putting all my weight up against it, it wouldn’t do an awful lot if all seven of the soldiers did try to push through… or any one of them really. I pressed myself up against it, silently praying that they were still too busy searching the lower floors for us to check the roof. Of course when I was found, it wasn’t by any of the seven soldiers, and they didn’t come from the door I just shut.

Fleetfoot flew into me, sending me crashing across the flat, stone roof, landing in a wheezing heap. I looked up, but it was hard to see her as she slowly descended upon me, the sun glared brilliantly off her armour and the white of the city all around me. It really was an impractical design in that regard, but the fact that that’s what I was thinking about as my doom slowly approached, was clear evidence that somewhere along my travels I had gone insane.

“Well, that was an unexpected intrusion,” Fleetfoot commented lazily as she floated down and leaned over me. “But it looks like your knight in shining armour has abandoned you in favour of your friend. If it makes you feel any better, they’ll both receive the same fate as you.”

Fleetfoot brought out her baton a second time, this time however, as she held it before her, it actually sprang to life to reveal, not a spear, but a double ended sword. Both blades were long and slender, each one curving ever so slightly in the opposite direction of the other. She lowered one of the ends until it rested against my throat, reminding me of the time Sufferthorn did the same thing when Twilight and I went to investigate the Solar Empire safe house. Once she was satisfied with her position, she raised the blade high overhead, getting ready to swing it down and slice my throat open.

Then a multi coloured blur knocked into her, sending her flying just as she had done to me, moments before. Fast as lightning, Rainbow swooped back, scooped me up and threw me over her back, before taking off from the roof and flying me through the city.

“You’re getting slower,” I muttered as I felt myself drifting off.

“I could say the same about you!” Rainbow called back over the howling wind. “What happened to that mare I fought outside the city gates?”

“She got kicked when she wasn’t looking,” I replied weakly.

“Fleetfoot’s always been a dirty cheater,” Rainbow Dash spat. “To think somepony like her used to be a Wonderbolt.”

I tried to respond, but all that came out was an indistinguishable mumble. If Rainbow Dash looked like blur when she was flying; it was nothing compared to how warped the world around her looked when she was in the air. I knew pegasi needed to have good vision to make out details while in the air, but Rainbow’s had to have been incredible for her to make all the precise adjustments in her direction and speed and still have any idea where she was going. She finally slowed down when she swooped into a narrow residential street, when she touched down I managed to stand up on my own, although I felt like I was going to be sick.

She helped guide me inside an apartment block where she led the way up three flights of stairs before finally coming to a door. She just walked right on in, as I followed after her I saw Fluttershy sitting awkwardly on a sofa.

“Make yourself at home,” Rainbow invited. “There’s cider in the fridge, some left over pizza too, if you’re hungry.”

“This is… your house?” I asked, looking around the cosy, if slightly untidy apartment.

“Yeah, it’s not much, but it’s enough for me,” Rainbow explained, as she pulled out a bottle of cider from the fridge and took a swig from it while leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Won’t they be able to find us here?” I asked in a concerned voice. “Like, don’t they have your address on record or something?”

“They wanted to keep track of my address,” Rainbow said. “They even sent a guy around to me while I was working.”

“And?” Fluttershy asked.

“I beat him up,” Rainbow replied simply, taking another swig. “They didn’t ask again after that.”

I rolled my eyes at that as I walked over and sat down beside Fluttershy, still feeling like I was going to be sick.

“Now, I’ve just put my neck on the line for you two,” Rainbow began, her voice suddenly stern. “So I want some answers. Who are you two, and why did I go to the Pantheon today and overhear the Marshal ordering Fleetfoot to have you both killed?”

Fluttershy briefly glanced at me, and I gave her a small nod to permit her to continue.

“We’re actually here on a diplomatic mission on behalf of the Rebel leader,” Fluttershy explained.

“Oh, you’re Rebels,” Rainbow cut in, as if it all made sense at that point. “Well that explains where you got your training.”

I was about to correct her, but opening my mouth felt like a bad idea, so I just allowed Fluttershy to carry on.

“We had a meeting with him earlier today,” she continued. “We tried to explain the serious trouble Olympus could be in if he didn’t help us deal with a terrible threat, but… but he refused to listen.”

“Terrible threat?” Rainbow repeated, a hint of excitement in her voice. “What kind of threat?”

“There’s a group that have taken over Cragsburg, called the Children of the Earth,” Fluttershy informed her. “Some time ago they invaded Pivot, Rarity was there and she saw what they did. They… they killed many ponies, and those they didn’t kill, they cut the wings and horns off of.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened in horror as her wings snapped tightly to her sides.

“They… cut off wings?!” she exclaimed in a disgusted tone.

“And horns,” I muttered.

“That’s insane!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Exactly, but the Rebellion isn’t strong enough to defeat them on their own,” Fluttershy went on. “We tried to explain this to the Marshal, we hoped he would use his soldiers to secure the towns in the Lesser Pastures in case they tried to invade them, but he wouldn’t budge an inch on the matter.”

“I can’t believe this,” Rainbow muttered angrily. “How he could not help, this is… this is… I don’t even know what it is. But it’s not right, that’s for sure.”

“Glad you agree,” I replied weakly. “But the country’s problems don’t even end with the Children of the Earth.”

“There’s more?” Rainbow asked, paling slightly at what we might be about to reveal.

“On our way here, we passed through Brine,” Fluttershy picked up. “The entire population is dead, but… they continue to walk around, killing anything that enters the town.”

“We hoped at the very least, Iron Sights would lend some troops to clear the town out,” I added. “As it is, anypony could wander into the town and be killed if something isn’t done.”

“But he wouldn’t help with that either,” Fluttershy finished.

“That stuck up…” Rainbow began, chewing her lip in frustration. “And there’s nothing I can do about it because of the stupid rule.”

“Rule?” Fluttershy repeated.

“The rule of the Dragoons,” Rainbow elaborated. “That the strongest make the decisions. It’s like Fleetfoot said at the hotel, I can’t disobey the Marshal unless I or somepony else proves ourselves to be stronger than him. But it’s impossible, nopony has ever beaten him in a fight.”

Rainbow Dash walked over and slumped into the other chair in the room, letting out a deep sigh.

“I hate this…” she muttered in a hollow voice. “I thought it made sense at the start, but now…”

“You hate what?” Fluttershy asked. “The Dragoons?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said with small nod. “It just doesn’t work, and this is proof.”

“Back when we first met,” I began. “And you defeated that officer and took his place; your friend said you were supposed to be keeping your head down. What did she mean by that?”

“Dew Drop and me have been in the Vanguard since the Dragoons first took over Olympus,” Rainbow explained. “It’s our job to protect the front gates; basically we’re the first line of defence for the city. Like every unit, our leaders switched about a lot, a new one would come in for a week, only to get his ass kicked and be replaced. The power struggle is constant, I never wanted to become a part of it, Dew Drop knew that.”

“Why did you not want to?” Fluttershy asked. “Did you not think you were strong enough?”

“Not exactly,” Rainbow replied with smug little smirk. “I know I’m strong enough, I could probably kick ass all day and never get knocked down once. Come sunset, I would already be at the top of this city… in Fleetfoot’s position that is, not the Marshal, even I’m not that good.”

“Oh Rainbow Dash,” I muttered with a deadpan expression. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah, you don’t have to tell me I’m big headed,” Rainbow said, laughing. “I get that from Dew Drop plenty. Although I like to think of it as knowing my own strengths and limitations, because I know I’m strong enough to rise through the ranks… but I am not a leader.”

Fluttershy and I both frowned, exchanging a brief glance before looking back at Rainbow Dash.

“And that’s the problem, isn’t it?” she continued. “The strong in this city become the leaders, but being strong doesn’t mean you’ll be a good leader. I’m strong, and I can only just manage the Vanguard. The Marshal’s strength is unparalleled, and yet he refuses to use his strength to help you. I was a soldier long before the war started, and I was one of the first to volunteer when the war was declared, because I believed in what we were doing. When the Marshal decided to split off and form the Dragoons, I went with him because I thought that under his rule, soldiers like us would be glorified and appreciated for the role we played in winning the war and earning freedom.

“I became a Dragoon because I thought we deserved to be rewarded for what we had done for the country,” Rainbow finished. “But this… this is nothing like I had in mind. I haven’t left Olympus since the war ended, we’re not even allowed to see the country we fought so hard for, and now you’re telling me that it’s falling to pieces while we sit up here, fighting over the leadership that none of us are fit for. I wanted to be rewarded, to have my deeds appreciated; instead all I got was the opportunity to become something I was never meant to be. I’m a soldier, it’s who I am. I serve this country and the ponies in it because I’m strong enough to… but that doesn’t give me the right to claim power over any of it.”

“Wow…” Fluttershy breathed while I stared at Rainbow Dash, slightly slack jawed at her sudden profoundness. “That was… really dramatic.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow replied, brightening up considerably. “I got most of it from Daring Do, but I gave it a personal spin.”

Fluttershy and I both plunged our faces into our hooves at the same time, but we couldn’t keep the exasperated look up for long, and very quickly starting laughing.

“Feels weird to talk about this…” Rainbow muttered once the three of us stopped laughing. “So what do we do now? I can’t stay in Olympus, you heard what Fleetfoot said, I’m a traitor now.”

“Well you’re welcome to come with us,” I told her. “We have to report back to Pivot, I’m sure Maverick wouldn’t mind having you return to the fold, you were after all a Rebel once.”

“Eh, I don’t much fancy that,” Rainbow admitted. “Maverick is a bit of a tool, is Typhoon still about? I kind of liked him, or respected him at least.”

“Sorry, he split off as well,” I informed her. “We’re hoping his faction will come back to us soon, but at the moment we aren’t on the best of terms.”

“Why don’t you stick with us?” Fluttershy offered. “We do have some crazy… and dangerous adventures; we could really use your help.”

“Crazy? Dangerous?” Rainbow repeated, her smile growing with each syllable. “Sounds like fun… yeah, sure, I’ll go with you guys, if you want me to.”

“We’ll need to leave Olympus as soon as possible,” I told her. “Will you be able to help us out of the city?”

“Oh, easily,” Rainbow replied confidently. “That’s the good thing about having wings, city walls mean nothing to you. I can fly you on my back if Fluttershy can fly on her own.”

“I can manage,” Fluttershy began. “But Rarity, aren’t you forgetting our other mission here?”

“Oh shoot!” I grumbled, suddenly remembering what we had been scheming before the incident with Fleetfoot. “Well if it was going to be hard before, it will be impossible now that he wants us killed. I hate to say it, but we might just have to let this one go.”

“Wait, hold on a sec,” Rainbow cut in. “What mission is this?”

“Negotiating was only our secondary objective,” I explained. “But our primary one was to find out about Iron Sights’ involvement in something.”

“On one of her previous missions, Rarity found out the old Rebel leader Arcana was secretly involved with some mysterious ponies during the war,” Fluttershy continued. “He was killed before Rarity could find out who they were, but we believe Iron Sights was somehow involved in it as well. Maverick wanted us to find out how he tied into it, but we don’t have a clue where to begin, especially if the entire city is on the lookout for us.”

“Iron Sights involved in some secret plot?” Rainbow repeated, stroking her chin. “Seems… unlikely, but if you think so, and this is what you’ve been tasked to do, then I’ll help you as best as I can.”

“I really don’t think we can pull it off now,” I insisted. “We saw him in the arena, there’s no way we can interrogate that monster, and since he wants us dead, then persuasion is off the table.”

“Have you considered breaking into his house and searching for evidence?” Rainbow asked simply.

“You know where he lives?” Fluttershy asked, a little surprised.

“Yeah, it’s not far from the Pantheon,” Rainbow confirmed. “He doesn’t even keep the place guarded or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about. He probably thinks he doesn’t have to, I mean, who would be stupid enough to break into the Marshal’s house?”

“Is the answer ‘us’?” I asked with a growing smirk.

“Yes,” Rainbow Dash said as she stood up. “Yes it is.”

We didn’t attempt to leave Rainbow Dash’s apartment until well after midnight. It was just her and myself going, Fluttershy gladly agreeing to stay behind. Once Rainbow Dash was stripped out of her rather obvious silver armour and dressed in a black stealth suit, similar to the one Fluttershy wore when we moved again Blueblood on the beach, we set off for Iron Sights’ house. I had to activate my cloud walker amulet once we entered the cloud sector, Rainbow warned me that I wouldn’t be able to turn it off even when we were in the house. I wasn’t sure how much charge it had left, but I was sure it would be enough.

The house turned out to be a rather unimpressive structure, and as Rainbow Dash had promised, it was completely unguarded. We snuck around to the back door, which we found to be locked, but a bathroom window was left open slightly, which we were able to open wide and squeeze through. Once we were both inside, we began skulking around as quietly as we could, we weren’t sure if he was home or not, but we weren’t taking any chances. The downstairs consisted only of a bathroom, kitchen, sitting room and dining room, nowhere where secret information was likely to be hidden.

After moving up the stairs, being made of compact clouds meant they wouldn’t creak which was good, we found a study and Iron Sight’s bedroom, both of which were completely deserted.

“Nopony’s home,” Rainbow muttered as she edged into the bedroom. “Alright, let’s get looking. Will you know what you’re looking for if you see it?”

“I think so,” I replied, searching through his wardrobe. “If you see anything with writing, let me know.”

Rainbow grunted in response before setting to work. I scoured the bedroom while she worked through the study, but returned quickly when she learned that the bookshelves were fake, clearly intended for show. While I continued to search his dresser, Rainbow Dash looked over the bedside table I had already examined.

“Rarity, do you hear this?” Rainbow asked as she pulled the drawer out repeatedly, a distinct scratching sound emanating each time she did.

“It’s just stiff,” I replied in a disinterested tone. “I noticed it when I was searching that drawer, there’s nothing in it.”

“Nothing in it…” Rainbow Dash repeated as she tugged the drawer hard, pulling it right out of the cabinet and spilling socks everywhere.

“Rainbow Dash, careful!” I hissed before realising what she was doing.

Rainbow flipped the drawer over in her hooves to reveal the underside, and the envelope that was taped to it. Rainbow tore the envelope from it, holding it up and turning it about to see that it was torn open and the letter was still inside.

“A hidden letter,” Rainbow commented. “I think this might be what you’re looking for.”

She passed it across to me and I slowly opened it, pulling the sheet of paper free. My eyes scanned over it, narrowing as I briefly gathered what it was about, before finally widening upon reading the signature.

“It’s from Arcana!” I declared, struggling to keep my voice down. “This… this is it! It says… wait… no… it can’t be!”

“What?” Rainbow asked impatiently. “Does it say what you needed to know?”

“No…” I admitted in a strained voice. “But it does say something very interesting, something I think you need to see.”

Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion, briefly pointing to herself before tentatively reaching out for the letter. I was just about to pass it to her when we heard the slamming of the front door, we both froze, while I personally had a mini heart attack. Rainbow Dash acted instantly, scooping up all the socks, shoving them back into the drawer before sliding the whole thing back into the cabinet, and finally grabbing me and speeding us both into the first hiding place she could reach, the wardrobe. We both stood inside, holding our breath as the bedroom door opened and Iron Sight’s slowly marched in, his armour clanking as he did.

I could see him through a crack in the wardrobe doors, Rainbow Dash had failed to shut it correctly, leaving the narrowest opening for me to peer into the room. I couldn’t risk shutting it in case he took notice; I just prayed he wouldn’t look too closely. Luckily there was a separate armour stand in the room, so I doubted he had any reason to use the wardrobe which was filled with mostly old garments that looked like they hadn’t been worn much. I was at the perfect angle that I could see Iron Sights the entire time he stripped off his armour and mounted it onto the stand.

He took his time with it, his movements reflecting his speech in how slow and deliberate it all was. When he was finally stripped bare, folding his crimson tunic up and placing it on the dresser, he made his way over the full length mirror that stood next to the armour stand. I watched as he walked right up in front of it, and I saw his reflection too, now free of the armour I, and presumably everypony else, had always seen him in. His face bore a tired, agitated expression; his body was relatively well built, but did not reflect the strength he had displayed in the arena. All this I took in, but only briefly, it was his chest that my eyes navigated towards.

My heart stopped briefly as my eyes fell upon it, the blood red orb embedded in the centre of his chest. It was pulsating with an intense glow, like it were a second heart, visible if not for his armour obscuring it all the time. I knew what it was I was looking at, I had read about it in the letter, seeing it for myself just confirmed the horrible truth I had learnt. I knew the orbs name, and I couldn’t stop myself from whispering it as my eyes were locked upon it.

“The Terrorstone.”