//------------------------------// // Thoughts and Missions. // Story: Leading the charge. // by Watercolor the Pegasus //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash, A.K.A. Soldier 8194253, flew next to The Princess, as she walked through the seemingly deserted town. She stared straight forward, unwavering from her assignment, but her thoughts still wandered to their purpose for being there. She had been requested that morning along with a fellow soldier to accompany The Princess on a trip to Ponyville by request of a pony whose name she was not aware of. If it weren't for her understanding that you never question your duty in war, she would have refused right then and there. Why should The Princess take a break from defending the fate of all Equestria just for somepony with a foolish call for her? But she did what you always do when requested as a soldier, and accepted. Now, she found herself still questioning why they should be there. She was shaken from her thoughts as the flat maned grayish-pink Earth Pony on The Princess's other side growled at a pony who had been staring out their window and jumped back into the house. Rainbow knew nothing of the pony, other then she was Soldier 794113541, she fought alongside Rainbow at the front lines, she had saved Rainbow's life a few times, and Rainbow had saved hers, (but that was typical, due to the fact that every soldier held the others life in their hooves) and her sister was also in the war. That was all she knew. Soldier 794113541 was not very social. It sometimes seemed like she wanted to be, but she didn't know how. Rainbow immediately switched back to her instinctive soldier mindset as an orchard came into sight. Well....orchard/farm/factory. Smokestacks atop a dull colored barn, spewed out black smog into the already gray sky. An orange Earth Pony with her blond mane in a hair net wearing a camo outfit stood under a sign reading, "Sweet Apple Acres" The Princess walked in front of the pony, and stared down, her typical emotionless expression used. Rainbow instinctively switched her defenses into overdrive, for she recognized The Princess's expression as one she had whenever she sensed a threat, or was trying to process something. She may have only been trying to process the Earth Pony's face made of fear and anxiety, but Rainbow had learned not to take chances when you held other ponies lives in your hooves. "I assume you are Applejack?" The Princess spoke, her multicolored mane flowing gently. Applejack. So that's her name. Applejack gulped nervously. "Y-Yes. Y-Yer m-majesty." The Princess nodded. "Now, remind me again why you called me here?" She didn't even tell her why she wanted her here!? Why that Flying Feather of a Storm-cloud. I have a right mind to punch her here and now. "Well.....ya probably won't believe me, but.......early this mornin', Ah met this here pony....she told me she was from another timeline." The Princess once again stared at her with the some emotionless expression. Why 'that Flying Feather of a Storm-cloud' is right. She has the nerve to bring The Princess all the way out here, just to tell her some Manticore-Smog like this?! Why that.............Rainbow you Storm-cloud. In that moment, The Princess nodded, relaxing her expression, causing Rainbow to mentally slap herself, for the expression The Princess currently had was the one she had when she believed somepony, even though she thought what they were saying was unlikely. Applejack continued. "Well, she said where she was from..........Ah mean...........when, she was from, there wasn't a war with King Sombra." Rainbow's defenses came crashing down so hard she could almost feel it. It was like somepony had shot her with a mental cannonball. If it weren't for her built up mental stability, she would have passed out right then and there. Okay. Okay. I can process this. In some timeline, there is an Equestria without war. Nope. Still can't process it. Rainbow leaned over to look at The Princess's expression. It was one she did not recognize, but seemed to have the faintest hints of pain. However, what caught her attention was Soldier 794113541. She looked like she was going to cry. She could practically see the tears welling up in her eyes. Soldier 794113541 shook her head, as if trying to eliminate the pain she felt, then went back to staring straight, her eyes still damp. "A-Ah can prove it too." Applejack spoke. "Ah can show ya what that pony used to travel through time." ........well.......this just got interesting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The group walked next to the river at the edge of Ponyville, as The Princess eyed Applejack curiously. "So...let me see if I understand. The pony who told you these things was an Alicorn named Twilight Sparkle, she had a dragon with her, and she said a powerful Unicorn named Starlight Glimmer went back in time and changed something in the past, thus.....thus creating this timeline." Applejack nodded. "That's what Ah understood from it anyways." Rainbow continued to mull over what she had just learned. She still could not process it. "The map she used is right......" Applejack stopped, to find she was pointing at an empty field. She ran up, searching, looking, but the only things there were them, a mountain with a waterfall, and a river. THATS IT!! Rainbow cracked, and flew right into Applejack's face. "WHY YOU FLYING FEATHER OF A STORM-CLOUD!!!!!!" Applejack almost fell over, as the scarred Pegasus showed no respect for personal space. "DO YOU REALLY THINK WE ARE SO STUPID, THAT WE BELIEVE SUCH MANTICORE-SMOG AS THIS!?!?" Apparently, Soldier 794113541 had also had it with Applejack, because she too moved towards the orange pony with an angered expression on her face. "Thou shalt earn the dungeon for thy crimes." "Wait." The three turned towards The Princess, who stood over the spot Applejack had pointed, her eyes closed. She finally opened them, and turned to Applejack again. "You said that the pony, Twilight, had mentioned four other ponies, saying that she, you, and those four were friends in her timeline, and had stopped Sombra?" A nod. "Did she happen to mention who those four ponies were?" Applejack nodded again. "Um.....Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and....uh.......oh, Rainbow Dash." She felt her blood run cold. She was one of the ponies who was friends with Twilight and Applejack, and had stopped Sombra in the other timeline? Hundreds of ponies had been fighting for years here, and hadn't won yet, but in the other timeline, it only took six ponies, including her for that matter, to defeat him in an instant? It didn't feel possible. "Soldier 8194253?" She immediately lifted her head at The Princess's voice. She was looking at her expectantly, her multicolored mane flowling as if in an invisible wind. "I believe, if I'm recalling correctly, that your name is Rainbow Dash?" "Um........yes, your majesty." "Um...Princess?" Rainbow turned to Soldier 794113541, who was biting her lip while looking towards The Princess. "Um..... mine name wast mentioned as well. T must beest the name I wenteth by in that timeline, the nickname mine grandmother hath used for me. Mine real name is Pinkamena Diana Pie, but mine nickname wast Pinkie Pie." She's Pinkie Pie? She's Pinkie Pie? She is Pinkie Pie? How in the name of Cloudsdale is she Pinkie Pie?! There were two reasons this fact shocked Rainbow Dash. One: She did not seem like a Pinkie Pie in anyway shape or form, Two: They had now found three of the six ponies who had been mentioned to have stopped Sombra, all in one place. None of this felt possible. The Princess nodded, letting out a sigh. "Are you three concerned in any sense that you were part of the six who defeated Sombra in this other timeline?" "I think I speak for all of us," Said Rainbow. "when I say I think we feel we need to find out how Sombra was defeated in this other timeline, so that he can be defeated in this one." She turned to Applejack and Pinkamena, who both nodded slowly. The Princess returned the nod, before looking back to the spot where she had been focusing on earlier. "I feel a powerful magic here, one I have felt before. It seems the map that Twilight had used, was connected to something that I knew as the Tree of Harmony, a source of magic deep within the Everfree Forest, which is connected to the Elements of Harmony, a set of powerful gems which have protected Equestria before, therefore meaning the map was connected to them as well. I moved them back to the Tree after the war with Sombra started, for fear they would be used against us. I believe you three should start your journey looking for answers to this other timeline, by going to the Tree of Harmony, and retrieving the Elements." The three nodded. Rainbow disagreed with The Princess's recommendation that they should look for it together. After all, this pony Applejack didn't seem all that trustworthy. Soldier 794113541 was fine, after all, they had saved each others lives multiple times, but she just felt wary of Applejack. But, she had learned time and time again, never argue with The Princess. They watched as The Princess flew into the air, and headed back to the city on the mountain. The three stood in silence, before Applejack spoke up. "So......y'all wanna start headin' out?" Rainbow reluctantly nodded, and the group started towards the dark forest, that held a power that would change the course of their lives.