//------------------------------// // Prologue: Memories // Story: Hero of War // by Teal //------------------------------// Hero of War By Teal Prologue: Memories They swooped down from the clouds, a team of four pegasi, descending from the night sky as they flew swiftly and silently. Keeping a tight formation, they glided towards an open balcony located high on the crystal tower, their black suits camouflaging them from the two armored guards who stood there. With a silent order two of the pegasi drew their crossbows and aimed. Within the blink of an eye, the two guards at the balcony collapsed, a bolt shot through the slit of their helmets, instantly putting them down. Rainbow Dash winced at the echoing sound of clanking armor as they fell, letting out a curse of disdain as she landed next to the dead bodies. Everything must be done silently, without anypony knowing they were here. The fate of the mission and the lives of thousands depended on it. As they secured the balcony, Rainbow Dash could hear the gentle yet powerful sound of cannons in the distance, as the Equestrian forces bombarded outskirts of the city, hoping to decimate the enemy lines before they make the final push that would finally end this war. With each day, they gained more and more ground that drew them closer towards the crystal city, so close that one in front could already see the crystal spire in the horizon. They only need one final push, one great thrust to finally finish this war. But everypony knew Sombra wasn’t going to give up without one final fight, and as more forces were drawn up to meet them, it was clear and evident that the final push would be a bloody one. “Not if we can help it…” Rainbow Dash muttered, as she gestured for her team to move forward. “Cloud Chaser, you take point, lead us to the throne room.” She whispered. “Lightning Dust, you cover our backs. Only nodding to acknowledge their orders the two ponies got into position, and soon the team made their way inside, trotting though the carpeted crystal halls of the tower. As they moved silently though the halls, they noted the lack of guards patrolling the area, only encountering some sentries that they easily by passed by taking different routes. With the battles at the front dwindling the number of forces available to fight, Sombra was forced to send in members of his own household guard to fight at the front. This meant that large portions of his tower were left unpatrolled and undefended and it wasn’t till they were near the grand entrance of the throne room did Rainbow Dash and her team encountered any significant number of guards. The hall that led to the throne room intersected from the main hall, where Rainbow Dash and her team took cover by hugging the side and peeking over the corner. “There are at least ten of them guarding that door.” Cloud Chaser said, as she leaned on the wall to take peek. “And Celestia knows how many guards are in there with him. “I doubt it Celestia knows, cause if she did, then she would have told us before she sent us here.” Rainbow Dash sighed as she shook her head. “We should turn back now and get out of here, Captain.” Cloud Chaser said. “There’s no way we can get pass them and even if we do, we’ll soon be surrounded by endless amounts of reinforcements their bound to send in.” Rainbow Dash kept her silence as she motioned for Cloud Chaser to move aside so that she could take a look for herself. Leaning against the wall, she stared at the exposed long hall that led to the large crystal doors. Standing there, ten heavily armored guards kept at perfect attention, with their eyes forward as gazing through the empty hall. It would be a tough fight if she and her team wanted to get pass them, but it wasn’t an impossible task. From past experience she knew that the crystal ponies inside those armored suits had great trouble seeing through the slits of their armor and with proper screening and quick movement, one could easily knock one out before the armored pony saw it coming. And with none of those ponies armed with ranged weapons, they could easily pick out two or three of them before engaging in close quarter combat. “We aren’t turning back.” Rainbow Dash said, her voice determined and clear. “We’re going to assault that room and finish this.” They had too, she knew they had too. If they succeed here, then the massive loss of life, on both sides, could be avoided. If they could pull this off, then the war could end with one last death. “Cloud Chaser, Lightning Dust, I want you two to get your crossbows ready. You two will be taking out as many of them as you can as they approach.” Then turning her attention to dark grey pegsus next to her. “Thunderlane, you and me will be throwing smoke bombs once they get close. Once we throw the smoke bombs, I want everypony to draw their blades and cut them down. Remember, aim for the gaps in their armor. Once we’re done with them, we barge in and take out Sombra.” There was no complaint about her plan and if there was, the three kept their silence. They knew their leader and they trusted her. Moving out on her signal, the team quickly executed their orders, with Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane in front, sharp short swords gripped between their jaws, and Cloud Chaser and Lightning Dust behind them, with crossbows already drawn and firing. Their first shots managed to take out two of the armored ponies before they could even move and their volley managed to take out two more before they got too close for comfort. Immediately, Rainbow Dash made a grab for a smoke bomb in her pack before gently tossing it, Thunderlane doing the same. Soon the hallway was filled with thick smoke, which clouded visibility of both sides. Keeping her visor down, Rainbow Dash went towards the glowing green light of their enemy’s visor, making sure to maneuver just behind him. It was clear that her target had not seen her, for it did not turn around or make an effort to meet her. They were completely blind here, unable to fight them. Swiftly, she made a high leap before stabbing her sword deep into the gap between the helmet and the back armor of the pony, driving the blade deep. Despite being made of crystal, these ponies were just as easy to kill as any other pony. Pulling out her blade, she searched through the smoke to find another target. Behind her, she could see the green glow of another pony and made a move to move around and strike on this one. But just before she could make her move, she saw the green glow fall as the sound of clanking armor hit the crystal floor. Emerging from the smoke, Thunderlane pulled his blade out of the dead body before nodding towards Rainbow Dash. The sound of clanking armor was gone now and air was silent as the smoke bombs exhausted the chemicals within them. Moving out of the smoke, she raced out and towards the entrance of the throne room. Following behind her was her team, swords bloodied from the fight yet unharmed from encounter. They made a dash through the open halls, wanting to reach the doors before anything else could happen. But before they get close, the large crystal door swung open and glancing towards it Rainbow Dash so two rows of armored guard looking straight towards them. Drawn out by the sounds of commission, the guards inside the room now opened the doors to meet them and from the sight she saw, she knew that they were more prepared to fight them. The first row were armed with pikes that were, ready to stab them if they got too close, while the second row bore crossbows, drawn and prepared to fire at them at a distance. The moment she this, Rainbow Dash dropped her sword from her jaw and ordered her team to get down. “Hit the floor!” She shouted as she herself was already slamming her body on the ground. The moment her body lay flay on the crystal floor, a salvo of bolts flew above her, barely missing her head by a few inches. She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the sound of a sword falling beside her attracted her attention. Turning towards it, she saw the sword on the ground as it rung, before seeing the body of Thunderlane collapse on top of it, a bolt shot right between his eyes. Dropping just right next to her, she could see that his eyes were still open, staring. Staring right at her as his now still body lay there on the floor. Staring… “How long has she been sitting there staring at the wall?” “For at least thirty minutes now, Lieutenant. What should we do? Should I call the medics?” “No, no, there’s no time for that right now. There’s already a crowd gathering outside the hotel and they’re desperate to meet her. Besides, I don’t think she looks that bad, maybe we can just snap her out of her trance.” “I don’t know, Lieutenant, she doesn’t look well to me.” “No one asked your opinion, Sergeant. Besides, we’ll give her to the medics once this is over. But for now, she needs to conduct P.R. If she doesn’t go out to meet that crowd, then I think they’ll tear this place apart.” A gentle tap on the shoulder pulled Rainbow Dash out of the image of Thunderlane’s eternal stare, as her mind zipped back into reality. Shutting her eyes and rubbing her temples, she felt the coming of a headache build up in her as she groaned in frustration. “Major Dash?” A voice called out to her. Opening her eyes to meet it, she looked up to see a lavender colored unicorn mare looking down at her, a expressionless look plastered on her face. “Major Dash-“ She repeated. “-we need you to go to the lobby downstairs, there’s a crowd of your fans wanting to meet you. They’re getting really excited down there and they refuse to calm down till they see you.” Fans… Back when she was younger she had always wanted to have adoring fans, to be praised and looked up on. But now, now she didn’t know if she wanted these fans. To have fans, you have to do something you are proud, something they are proud of. Something heroic or amazing that one would be remembered by and adored for. Last time she checked, she did none of that. So why did she have fans? Sighing, Rainbow Dash got up and stood in front of the lavender pony. “Fine…” She muttered. “…let’s get this over with.” The crowd that met them downstairs was far larger than what she had expected. Stretching out from the lobby to the streets outside, ponies pushed their way in as they tried to get through the ring of guards and get a closer look of her. “We had set up a podium for you but…” The lieutenant escorting her said. “…its seems that the crowd has surrounded the path to it.” “Maybe we can just take a couple of chairs, place them over here, and make her stand on them?” The sergeant with them suggested. “Although that sounds easier, I don’t think that would be ideal for everypony.” The lieutenant said. “The area in which we placed the podium is perfect so that even the ponies outside can see the Major through the windows. It would be a shame to have some of them to miss out on seeing her.” Then, turning her attention towards Rainbow Dash. “But don’t worry, Major, we’ll get you to that podium. I’ll just ask some of the guards to clear a way through the crowd for you.” Rainbow Dash just let out a grunt and nodded. She wasn’t very enthusiastic about this at all, and having to wade through a sea of ponies just made things worst. When the war finally ended, she had expected to go home, to finally be decommissioned and rest from everything. But War Ministry had other plans for her, plans that she didn’t want. Sadly for her, it was not an option to refuse. For months now she has been travelling Equestria as the nation’s hero, raising the morale of a war exhausted country. When word of her exploit on the last day of the war reached home, she was treated as somepony as great as Celestia. Newspapers posted pictures of her face as adoring and thankful ponies sent letters of praises to her. At Canterlot, she was awarded medals and placed at heads of parades. When the Equestrian Army marched down the streets of Canterlot in their victory parade, she had the place of honor in the front, next to Generals and other notable commanders. But when marched down the street that day, she wished that she wasn’t there. She would have rather traded her place with a soldier in the ranks, for she knew that once the parade was over, those soldiers would muster one last time before being decommissioned and allowed to go home. Home… She hadn’t been home to Cloudsdale for a long time and when she was there during her short visit, it didn’t feel like the home remembered. Everypony too proud, to excited to see her. They crowded, praised, and asked questions, giving her no break. Cloudsdale wasn’t home anymore, no. It was just like any other city now, a city that didn’t want to leave her alone. Pushing through the crowd, the guards tried to clear a path for her, while at the same time preventing the ponies from getting too close. All around her, ponies screamed and shouted to gain her attention, but she ignored them, keeping a straight face as made her way through them. But as they got deeper and deeper into the crowd, the ponies around them was starting to get harder to control as they pushed harder upon the guards. The guards around her were doing their best to keep them away, but with more and more ponies wanting to get closer, it was a near impossible task. At one point, one of the guards in front of Rainbow Dash slipped from the ponies pushing on hooves, causing him to fall as ponies shoved him aside and got pass him. Stopping, Rainbow Dash watched as this pony fall with a grunt, his body hitting the floor with a thud. For a moment, she felt her body freeze and become numb, as she suddenly lost her strength and stared at the fallen pony. Thunderlane… No, not him. Closing her eyes tight, she tried to push aside the memory. Not him, not now. But how could she forget? Why should she forget? Her breathing started to become faster as her eyes fixed on the fallen pony. She didn’t know what was happening, it all came in flashes to her, confusing her and bombarding her with memories. Behind her, one of the guards asked if she was alright, but she didn’t hear him. She seemed to have been transported somewhere else, as her mind played trick on her. “Are you alright, Major?” “Captain, are you alright?” “Major, we have to keep moving forwards, the crowd is pushing hard back here. We’ll be swarmed if we stop now, mam.” “They’re coming from behind! They got reinforcement coming from behind!” Staring forward, Rainbow Dash was surprised to see one of crystal ponies right in front of her. She cursed, how did she been so distracted? How did she allow one of them to get this close to her without her noticing? Acting quickly, she punched the pony hard with her hoof, knocking it down because of the powerful blow. She was shocked at how effective this was, as the helmet meeting her hoof felt as if she was hitting nothing at all. But she didn’t have time to think about this unusual circumstance, for there were more enemies heading her way. Glancing towards her left, she saw one of the crystal ponies stop in shock after seeing his comrade fall. Taking advantage of this shock, she aimed for this pony and charged him, ramming at full force till that pony was flung away. It had been long time since she fought them, but she could have sworn that the crystal ponies used to be tougher and fought harder. Seeing two of their comrades fall down, the other crystal ponies who came with them began backing away now, some even galloping off to get as far away from her. She let out an angry grunt as she saw this. “You think you can just run away after what you have done?” She called out, before lunging herself towards the nearest pony. But before she could tackle him, she felt a powerful blow on her side as she was suddenly brought down on the floor and pinned down by two ponies. Frustrated by this, she tried to fight back, pulling on her hooves to try and free herself from their weight. But as she tried to fight and get up, she began to hear a familiar voice calling at her. “Major Dash, calm down! Just calm down, Major. Take a deep breath and then slowly exhale.” Weary to trust this voice, she felt the urge to ignore it. But some part of her decided to listen and soon she was calmly breathing in and out. Silence hang over her as only the sound of her breathing registered in her mind. It took a couple of minutes before she returned to her senses and saw what was around her. Still being pinned, she looked up to see the Lieutenant from earlier looking down at her. “Alright, Major, just stay there. I’ll go get a medic to get you checked up.” Closing her eyes, she let out a long sigh. Why did she have to be here?