Upheaval: Breaking Point

by Visiden Visidane

Standing Together

Upheaval: Breaking Point

Chapter 19: Standing Together

"Let's hurry back," Vanguard said. "They should be awake and hungry by now. Do you have enough for them, Scarlet?"

"Sure thing, Captain," Scarlet replied. "I even brought some for that dragon. I don't know if dragons like bread and moss, though."

"Vanguard Clash!"

They looked up, towards the sound, a second before something heavy crashed on Vanguard, knocking him on his belly with his legs spread apart. His breath blew out of his lungs on impact. From the voice, the entrance, and the feel of the hooves, it was easy to tell who this was.

"Good morning, Flight Captain Tailwind!" Scarlet said.

"Good morning, Scarlet," Tailwind answered. "Move along, I have some talking to do with my stupid son."

Vanguard nodded at Scarlet, who was gone in a blink. Before he could say anything to his mother, she lifted him up by the shoulders, and banged his snout against the pavement. The impact did no damage, but his head rang.

"You came back from the dead days ago, and you couldn't even be bothered to tell me?"

"I was assigned a mission as soon as I--"

Vanguard's snout hit the pavement again.

"You owe me twelve dead wolven, you rotten colt! I went on a rampage, and your father nearly got himself killed because we thought you were dead!"

Vanguard was still rubbing his snout when he walked towards where the chosen were staying. Tailwind accompanied him on this trip after finding out that two of the chosen were pegasi.

It turned out that they didn't even have to get that far. Twilight and the others had lined up along with the city's newest recruits towards a Logistics station while Scarlet Rabbit hovered nearby. A call to arms had been issued across Bastion City and citizens were quick to join Equestria's defense.

---

For once, Twilight Sparkle was glad to be made to wait in line. It meant that there would be no more separation from the rest of the Legion because she was Princess Celestia's student. Now, she could really show that she meant what she said about standing together with Equestria's defenders.

From a distance, Vanguard Clash walked towards them. He was walking with somepony this time; a pegasus mare an inch shorter than he was, with a light-blue, almost white coat. Her mane was gray, like the underside of a storm cloud, cut short and swept to one side. A long, thin scar ran along the right side of her jaw. Like Scarlet Rabbit, she wore a coat of chain reinforced with metal plates around her chest, flanks, and neck. Unlike Scarlet's gray plates, however, this pony's barding carried a distinct silvery sheen. She also wore no champron. A stylized wing was embossed in gold on the left part of her chest plate.

"You took your time," Twilight said to Vanguard.

Vanguard glanced towards the pegasus next to him as an answer. "Everypony, this is Flight Captain Tailwind. Flight Captain, these are the chosen I was talking to you about."

Tailwind carefully inspected them with bright blue eyes. She was immediately drawn to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "I never imagined that I would actually meet Celestia's chosen in my lifetime," she said. "I heard that you plan to join the Legion. That's commendable." She gave Rainbow Dash a good, hard look. "Is this the one you mentioned?" Vanguard nodded. Tailwind stretched out one of Rainbow's wings with her hooves. "Looks promising," she said. "Is she fast?"

"Almost as fast as Scarlet," Vanguard answered. Tailwind nodded approvingly. Rainbow was about the raise her chin when she stopped midway. Her eyes widened, then her gaze fell on Scarlet Rabbit.

The sight of this put a small smile on Tailwind's lips. She looked towards Fluttershy. "And what about this one?" she asked.

Vanguard shook his head. "Redbrand has that one pegged for Medical."

"That foal of a nag!" Tailwind muttered. "When did he get to reserve recruits for himself? Fine." She looked at Rainbow, who was taken a little aback by the intense stare. "I'll see you in Reconnaissance. Now, I have to go. The other flight captains will have started arguing over recruit placement. I don't intend on finishing this day with less than a full flight." She patted Vanguard on the shoulder as she passed him. "Stay safe, son, I might not survive the next time I hear you're dead."

"She seems…interesting," Twilight said once Tailwind had left.

"I heard her call you 'son'," Applejack said. "Was that your ma?"

"Yes," Vanguard answered. His lips twisted a little. "She wasn't very happy that I put off seeing her until we got here, but she was more reasonable about it than I expected."

Applejack grinned. "She sounds like a nice lady!"

Vanguard snorted. "Try telling that to her flight. Move along, the line's adjusting."

The line dwindled until it was their turn to face the recruiting officer. The olive-coated stallion was taking a sip from a cup of tea when he saw Twilight's group. "What's this?" he spluttered. He coughed a bit and cleared his throat. "When did we start drafting chosen?"

"They're recruits," Vanguard said. "Ignore the marks on their flanks. They'll serve just like everypony else."

The recruiting officer glanced skeptically at Vanguard, then shrugged. He offered the quill to Twilight, and pointed to a piece of parchment on the table. "Names and signatures here," he said. He stared intently at Twilight when she held the quill. "By signing on, you hereby pledge your complete loyalty to the Equestrian Legion. You will obey its officers and acknowledge their authority as extensions of the authority of Prince Terrato, rightful ruler of the Barrier Lands. Know that there is no leaving the Legion. Even after retirement from active duty, you will be expected to serve if called upon. If you attempt to leave, you will be tried for treason. Do you understand?"

The words only served to highlight the finality of the path Twilight had chosen. Her eyes narrowed, she kept her grip on the quill steady. It was only after she had signed her name on the parchment did she realize that her heart was pounding. She stepped back to steady herself while her friends followed suit.

"Unicorns go to Magical, pegasi to Reconnaissance, earth ponies to Infantry," the officer said. "Check in with your respective officers behind me once you're done here." His gaze fell on Rainbow Dash. His eyes widened, and he checked his cup. "Terrato's torn wing, what's in this tea?"

"Um…excuse me," Fluttershy said after signing her name.

The recruiting officer raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter, filly?" he asked. "You've barely got a hoof past the door and you've got something to complain about already?"

"Oh no," Fluttershy replied. "I wouldn't do that. It's just that Doctor Redbrand said that if you put me in Reconnaissance instead of Medical, he would saw your muzzle off. That sounds pretty painful."

"What?" the recruiting officer asked. "But I just sent him a squad's worth of recruits! What did you do to catch his eye? Show him a little flank?"

Fluttershy looked at her flank. "Well, he did notice my cutie mark."

The recruiting officer put a hoof to his face. "That stallion's old enough to be your father! Alright, I'll have you go to Medical instead. Let Redbrand duke it out with the Wing Commander."

With that out of the way, they proceeded to the crowded area behind the recruiting officer. Recruitment was taking place on an enormous plaza at the center of the city: a parading ground now converted for training. It was there that they had to separate.

---

The unicorns of Magical formed the smallest group in the plaza. This didn't come as a surprise to Twilight. There didn't seem to be a lot of unicorns in Bastion City in general.

They were given mage-coats: thick layers of cloth padded with leather inside to help against enemy fangs, claws, and bolts. Although it horrified them that the leather was taken from actual animal hide instead of being magically synthesized, they stayed silent about it. Once they had their coats on, they were ordered to line up: three rows with seven ponies each, tallest to shortest from left to right, and each pony a leg's length from each other. When the new recruits, most of who were about as old as or even younger than Twilight, took some time to get into the required position, the unicorn officer shouted at them.

"What's the matter with you drill-heads? We haven't even gotten to spell casting, and you're already fumbling about! Three rows, seven ponies! Move! Move! Move!" The recruits scrambled: comparing heights, and stretching out legs to make sure they were properly spaced. The unicorn officer walked out in front of them. He was a strange sight for a pony; a grayish-white unicorn with a completely shaved mane. His tail was nothing more than tuft of green hair just a few inches long. Like them, he wore a thick, leather-padded coat. Unlike them, his was trimmed with gold thread, and a stylized horn marked the left side of his chest. "Twenty-one," he said. "We're faced with the greatest wolven attack in centuries, and my beloved Bastion City comes up with twenty-one drill-heads. Nineteen seeing as two of you are chosen."

Twilight and Rarity winced when the eyes of their fellow recruits fell on them.

"Eyes forward, you sacks of manure!" the officer shouted. "Nopony told you to ogle them! Don't make me be the first to send recruits to the whipping post!"

Every unicorn in the group flinched, and looked straight ahead.

"Now, let's get down to business. I am Mage Captain Owlsight, not that it would matter to you drill-heads as I will beat your horns in with your hind legs if you address me with anything but "sir". Before we do anything, we will test you for two things: magical sustaining and magical burst. These will help us determine if you belong to the spell fire line or with the arcane shields. Bring out the target dummies, Vice-captain!"

A unicorn behind the group trotted forward carrying several dummies made from two intersecting poles and a sack stuffed with straw. He went to the patch of earth by one side of the plaza, and stood them up.

"First, we'll test you for magical burst," Owlsight said. "Each of you will step forward, and cast an attack spell you know. If you don't know any, a telekinetic bolt will suffice. Let's get started!"

The first recruit stepped forward, and cast his spell. A bolt of telekinesis struck the dummy hard hard. The wood shook as if it had been kicked. He smiled at the result before returning to his place. Mage Captain Owlsight nodded, then scribbled on a notebook he carried.

Several recruits followed, most using the same telekinetic bolt to give the dummy a good shake with each hit. One recruit managed to snap the dummy's support. He grinned at this and was about to rear triumphantly when a glare from Owlsight sent him slinking back to his position. "Not bad," Owlsight said. "It's your turn, purple chosen, show us what you've got."

Twilight swallowed a large lump in her throat as she stepped up. A telekinetic bolt should be easy and sufficient, but she did know an attack spell, and that was what the mage captain was looking for. She was confident that she had learned one from Pyre's notes; Burning Hooves. She stood about ten feet away from the dummy, and made sure she faced away from anypony. She had never worked with fire beyond lighting candles. It wasn't just because there had never been a situation that could only be solved with a generous dose of burning. Fire was a difficult element to control. It harmed others far too easily, and spread quickly at the slightest mistake. The tips of her hooves grow hot as she gathered the magic. The urge to regulate the energy sprang up and had to be squashed. The usual methods of control would cause this spell to fizzle. Direction was the proper way of controlling Pyre Valor's spells; direction and an instinctive use of the right amount of magic. She aimed her hooves at the dummy and let go.

Twin jets of flame burst from Twilight's hooves. They traveled only for a short distance, barely licking the dummy. That was enough to light it on fire, sending thick clouds of smoke rising for the other recruits to gawk at.

"Good," Owlsight said as Twilight walked back to her place. "So the first drill-head to show a spell we can use against the wolven is not even from here. Even I'm embarrassed. Next!"

Rarity stepped forward. "I suppose a spell that gives one a fabulous hairdo won't suffice?" she asked.

The very bald Owlsight didn't even look up from his notes. "One more wisecrack, recruit, and I'll saw your horn off, and chuck you over to Infantry," he said. "They're always in need of fabulous hairdos."

Twilight looked on worriedly. Rarity wasn't a complete failure at magic, but she used her spells mostly for dress-making and gem-finding. She certainly hadn't studied and developed it as Twilight had. There was also the magical drift to consider. It showed through the exertion on Rarity's face who had opted for a telekinetic bolt.

The target dummy vibrated slightly, shaking a single strand of straw out of the stuffing.

Owlsight continued scribbling his notes down as Rarity slinked back to her position with her head down. Some of the recruits looked ready to laugh. One of them went so far as to let out a snicker. Owlsight raised his head. "So you think that's funny, recruit?" he shouted. "You think it's hilarious that we're short-hoofed with the wolven on the way? Vice-captain, give that joker a couple of stripes!"

The vice-captain pulled the horrified stallion out of the line, and led him off. The rest of the group was completely stone-faced by the time he was out of sight.

"Let's get on with the Magical Sustainability test," Owlsight said.

The second test involved only their telekinesis this time. Several weights were brought out. They were asked to pick one they could lift without struggling, then told to hold it until ordered to stop.

Twilight did well with a weight slightly heavier the average, but Burning Hooves had taken more magic than she anticipated. She was sweating by the time she was ordered to put it down.

Rarity could only lift the lightest weight, but she held it reasonably well before being told to put it down. Nopony made a fuss about it this time. For the rest of the day, they were drilled in formations and simultaneous spell casting. They were also taught the order by which wolven were to be killed starting from high-ranking ones to the lowest grunts.

The sun was setting when they were dismissed. Twilight could barely squeeze out enough telekinesis to lift a pebble by that time. Rarity dragged herself towards the building they were staying in while Twilight walked by her side.

"Come over here, recruits!" Owlsight called after them,

Twilight and Rarity did so. The sight of the pony who had laughed limping back to his position had burned a simple rule into their minds: do not anger Mage Captain Owlsight. "Yes, sir?" Rarity asked.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you, Recruit Rarity." Owlsight said. "You're like a giant water tank with only a pinhole for an opening. Your burst is completely useless, but you have decent sustainability. Normally, we'd work on that until we made something out of you, but these aren't normal times. If I put you out there in time for the wolven attack, you'll get yourself killed. Worse, you'll probably drag somepony to the grave with you. A spell fire line is only as good as its weakest caster."

Rarity stared at the ground. Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but she closed it just as quickly. As disloyal as it seemed not to stand up for her friend, she couldn't find the nerve to go against Mage Captain Owlsight on this.

"What was your profession before signing up?" Owlsight asked.

"I…I was a dressmaker," Rarity said.

"Useful enough profession. I'm going to arrange for you to transfer to Maintenance Division over at Logistics. Use your sewing skill to patch up ripped clothes, leather armor, and tents. Report to Logistics Officer Frostmane tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir," Rarity said.

After that, the two headed back for the day.

---

Applejack tapped the pavement with her hoof as she inspected her new gear. She was wearing a heavy suit of chain, with thick plates of metal covering most of her face, neck, chest, and flanks. It was similar to Scarlet Rabbit's, but with more solid plates. She was a little disappointed when she didn't get some cloth to cover her legs like the one that Vanguard wore: Capricorn…capris…whatever that long-tailed word was. None of the officers seemed to mind when she wore her hat on top of the headpiece. She had also been given a set of tramplers: metal shoes that made her legs feel a little stiff.

"You could have taken his head off if you were wearing tramplers."

Vanguard's words made more sense now. These things were heavy and hard. Having one fall on you would hurt. Having one smashed into you by a strong pony…bones would shatter for sure. "Tramplers" indeed. She almost felt sorry for any wolven caught underneath these. The weight around her body was going to take some getting used to. She was going to be stiff in the morning for sure.

It had to be worse for Pinkie Pie. True enough, she was having trouble just taking a few steps forward. Pinkie had been enthusiastic about getting a set of barding and tramplers. Even though she was a little disappointed that she couldn't choose the color, she was still all smiles when she put them on. The weight crushed that enthusiasm as surely as it was slowly crushing her.

"That's enough admiring yourselves, fillies!" one of the Infantry officers called out. "Fall in!"

Infantry's recruits made up the largest group of ponies at the plaza at the end of recruitment, big enough to be divided into three different groups. The first day of training's objective was simple: get used to your barding. They were taught basic formations, then made to walk, trot, turn, and stop, without breaking them.

It was only a matter of time before Pinkie collapsed into a panting and sweating heap while trotting.

"Get up, filly," their officer said. He didn't shout like the other officers, but he had a stern tone and a frighteningly uncaring way of talking. "How can you possibly defeat a wolven if an inanimate suit of metal gets the better of you? Get up!"

Pinkie tried to get to her hooves, but her knees wouldn't follow through. After a second attempt failed, the officer motioned for Applejack and another recruit. They helped her to the side and took off the barding.

"Get back to your positions, you two," the officer said.

The day finished with Pinkie remaining sidelined. Although completely exhausted herself, Applejack walked over to her. One of the other recruits, a young stallion with a light brown coat and a short, spiky mane of a darker brown, walked with her. Twocolt was the other recruit who had been called to help Pinkie earlier, and he was also the pony immediately to Applejack's left while in formation. Earlier, Applejack had asked about his name to which he replied "My parents have no imagination. I was their second colt."

Pinkie completely deflated when she heard that they were to report back in the next morning.

"Maybe Infantry ain't the place for you, Pinkie," Applejack said. "There has to be a group that doesn't need to wear all this metal."

"They'd find a use for her in Logistics," Twocolt said.

"Logis-what?" Applejack asked. "What do they do?"

"Lots of stuff. If it's got something to do with food, equipment, transportation, and recruitment, Logistics deals with it."

"There you go!" Applejack said. "Sounds like something you can do, Pinkie!"

Pinkie brightened up. "Yeah!" she said. "I'm pretty good with food! Especially if they don't make me wear this suit while making it!"

"Are you sure?" Twocolt asked. "The Legion can't run without Logistics, but it's not a glory role. Your brothers and sisters set out to win the day while you hang by the rear lines peeling potatoes."

"It takes all kinds to make the Legion," Applejack said. "You said it yourself." She looked back at Pinkie. "Let's get some rest. Let's see if we can talk our officer to putting you there."

"He's probably considering it already," Twocolt said.

---

Medical didn't have a place in Bastion City's plaza. They were too few in number and didn't need that large a space anyway. Instead, Fluttershy was ushered into one of the nearby buildings.

Inside, Doctor Redbrand and two assistants were standing over several recruits. Even at a distance, the scowl on Redbrand's face, and the veins pulsing on his forehead were unmistakable. "Fluttershy!" he shouted. "About time you showed up! Get your bug-marked flank over here, and help out!" He looked towards the recruits, who were clearly cowed by his yelling. "These idiots can't even do a proper sling! I've got half a mind to break their forelegs, and let them figure it out!"

Fluttershy rushed over to make sure of two things: that Redbrand didn't shout himself hoarse, and he didn't really break the forelegs of his new recruits. Despite being a new recruit herself, she was soon playing more the role of teacher, helping the other recruits master different medical techniques before Redbrand lost his patience. He meant well and he taught clearly and precisely. He also expected great results, and resorted to violent threats when his students fumbled.

She remembered Angel. The rabbit was also often grumpy, but he always meant well. How was Angel doing now? Was he still living in her home? Had he moved on? Perhaps he had started living with another pony. She wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. Did he resent her for disappearing, or was he glad he didn't have to fuss over somepony anymore?

"Stop staring into space, and help that recruit over there, Fluttershy," Redbrand growled. "He's about to strangle himself with those bandages!"

Fluttershy flew over to the poor recruit, and helped him untangle himself. She smiled a little. The thought of comparing little Angel to the tall and gruff Redbrand did seem kind of silly.

It didn't take long for the day to wear down. With the recruits all heading out for the day, Fluttershy stayed a little longer to help clean up.

"Fluttershy," Redbrand said. She turned towards him, already fearing another reprimand. "Good job for today." He opened the flask he carried with him at all times, and took a short pull. "Here. Welcome to Medical." She took the offered flask gingerly, and sniffed at its contents. The flask's inside smelled quite strong. Refusing would have been rude, so she took a quick sip. That was a mistake, she gagged at once. The liquid ran down her throat like molten metal after she forced herself to swallow. Coughing, she handed the flask back to Redbrand. "Filly." His tone took on a mock scorn. He put the flask away. "See you in the morning, Fluttershy."

Still choking, and her head spinning slightly, Fluttershy did her best to nod and smile before heading back.

---

While the other pony recruits trained on the plaza, the pegasi of Reconnaissance trained high above it. Up in the air, Rainbow tried out her new leather outfit. Flying with the added weight was certainly a new experience. She had flown while carrying heavy objects before, even other ponies, but having the weight distributed all around her was different. It took her a few minutes to make sure that the new barding didn't chafe around her wings.

In addition to her new barding, Rainbow had also been provided with a few more things: a map of the Barrier Lands in general, a map of the Northern Barrier Land, and one of Bastion City and its surrounding areas. "Familiarize yourself with these areas, chosen," her officer had told her. "The rest of your fellows know them by heart for having lived here, but you don't. You're excused from target practice today so you can explore before the wolven arrive."

Then, there was the crossbow.

Rainbow held the weapon as if she were holding a sleeping snake. This was the first time she would own a weapon. In addition to the crossbow, she also had a case of bolts strapped to her left side. She took aim, bringing the sight to her eye like the officer had shown her, and scanned her surroundings. She imagined a wolven lurking down below, stalking one of her friends with its cruel fangs bared and ready to kill. She would swoop in at the nick of time, take aim, and fire in a split second. Just as the wolven would jump in for the kill…

…the bolt would catch it right between the ribs, and plunge into a lung. The impact would knock it the ground, where it would lay feebly on its side while gurgling its life away.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, cursing her ridiculously vivid imagination, and for reminding herself of what she would have to do. 'I had to shoot!' she argued mentally. To herself, she realized in dismay. This was hardly any better than arguing with a pile of rocks with a birthday hat. 'It was going after my friend!'

"Nice!" somepony from behind said. "They gave you a Quarrelmark Two light crossbow. Enjoying the feel of it?"

Rainbow turned towards the voice. "Aren't you supposed to be on duty or something, Scarlet?" she asked.

Scarlet grinned. "I am on duty. Special Operations, remember? Standing around doing nothing is not the weirdest thing we've had to do."

"Sounds like an easy job."

"Only if you make the cut. Shouldn't you be at the firing range?"

"I was told to explore some of these places." Rainbow pointed to her maps. "I was just about to go."

"I'll come along. Gotta make sure you don't get lost."

Rainbow's eyes narrowed as she observed Scarlet.

"Almost as fast as Scarlet."

Vanguard wasn't an idiot. He certainly wasn't blind either. He knew what he was saying, and who he was saying it in front of. "Almost." That was a bald-faced challenge, and she certainly wasn't going to take it lying down. "Alright, how about we go to this place?" Rainbow pointed at her map of Bastion City's surroundings.

"Frostrock Needle?" Scarlet asked.

The Needle, as the other recruits called it, was a formation of rocks a couple of miles to the north of Bastion City that resembled a needle jutting upwards. The story went that the needle rose up when Prince Terrato stomped his hoof on the ground to stab King Fenrir from beneath.

"Good choice," Scarlet said. "Check out the northern areas first since that's where the wolven will be coming from."

"How about we race there?" Rainbow asked.

"Whoa there," Scarlet replied. "Why race?"

Rainbow crossed her forelegs in front of her. "Why not? I heard you're fast."

"You heard right," Scarlet said with an upward tilt of his chin. He shook his head before speaking again. "But the Captain doesn't like me racing. He says it's bad for morale."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. That sounded like excuses. Maybe she was wrong about Scarlet. "And why's that?"

Scarlet shrugged. "Well, the ponies I beat tend to think they're slow when I leave them behind. I even drove one to drink. Next thing I knew, she was getting twenty lashes for showing up for duty while drunk."

"You're making me want to race you even more!" Rainbow said with a snort.

"Oh, alright," Scarlet said. "Just promise me you won't start crying if you lose."

"Oh, you'll be the one crying once I leave you behind!" Rainbow said. "Let's start!"

From where they were hovering, they could already see the silhouette of Frostrock Needle. Scarlet readied himself for a quick flying start. "Alright, on three," he said. "One…two…three!"

They sped off at the same time, leaving behind twin trails: one of prismatic colors, and the other of bright red. To her surprise, Rainbow found herself neck and neck against Scarlet. 'He is fast,' she thought. She was flapping her wings as hard as she could, yet the distance between them didn't change. On his part, Scarlet wasn't even looking at her.

As the needle came closer, Rainbow's wing muscles started to burn. She grit her teeth, and flapped even harder. The onrushing wind sent her lips flapping. Scarlet remained at her side, his face split into a wide grin. He was enjoying this. She was straining herself just to lose him, and he looked like he was having the time of his life. The needle was a mile away when Rainbow gave it everything she had in one final burst. Finally, she started pulling away from Scarlet. She looked ahead in time to realize that she had to slow down, or slam into the rocks.

Rainbow forced herself to decelerate. Her hooves flailed wildly, and her wings flapped backward. She slowed down enough to strike the rocks with her hooves without shattering her legs. Scarlet touched the rocks just a split second after her.

"Hah!" she cried out between pants. "I won! I beat you!"

Scarlet Rabbit was panting too. "Yeah, you did!" he said. "I can't believe somepony could actually beat me!"

Rainbow did a little victory dance in the air. She did it! She showed that Vanguard and his mother! Her wings were on fire, and she was gulping down great lungfuls of air, but she did it!

Scarlet flew over, and offered a hoof in congratulations. Smirking, she took it, and shook vigorously. Scarlet's barding jingled slightly from the motion.

The sound immediately wiped the smirk off Rainbow's face. "Hey, Scarlet, how heavy is that barding you're wearing?" she asked, her tone low.

"Oh, this?" Scarlet asked. "It's called light barding, so it's light."

"Let me try it on!"

"I'm not switching barding with you out here!" Scarlet protested.

Rainbow hovered up close, and lifted up the metal plate that protected Scarlet's chest. Light her tail, the plate alone weighed half as much as her leathers. Scarlet just raced her wearing a plate-reinforced suit of chain barding. "Who told you to turn this into some handicap match?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" Scarlet asked. "Did you think I was going to take off my barding, and leave it somewhere while we raced?"

Rainbow ground her teeth. She hated losing, and this was much worse than losing. "Well…yeah!"

Scarlet laughed briefly. "That's crazy! This thing cost a lot, you know. I leave it somewhere for a few minutes, and I'll end up flying naked for the rest of my missions!"

"This race doesn't count," Rainbow snapped. "Someday, we'll race on even terms!"

Scarlet raised his hooves in front of him. "Okay, okay. We'll race some other time and--" He stared at what was behind Rainbow. Curious, she looked towards that direction as well. "Time to head back!" he said.

To the north, just at the edge of the horizon, was a steadily advancing mass of dark colors. The wolven were on the move once more. They would be by the city's gates soon. Ignoring the burning in her wings, she followed Scarlet back to the city.

Comments

[Blik]

Infantry.
Medical.
Logistics (food production).
Reconnaissance.
Logistics (uniforms).
Offensive spellcasting.
Civilian. Bathhouse heating?

It looks like they're all spread out. I'm seeing a lot of changes in the works for all of them, quite a bit of desensitization. I hope they don't lose themselves. Good luck, friends.

[Salted Pingas]

C'mon, Dash can break Mach 1 (or Mach 5 and Mach 10 in our world) there's no way Scarlet can beat her.

[CV12Hornet]

748573
Mach 1 in a dive, not straight-line. Two very different things, the difference between an F-86 and F-100.

[MellowMabari]

2983329

Actually, according to her Rainboom in the Canterlot Wedding episode, she can break it going straight up. Which would be much more difficult, I'm guessing, because of gravity and all that.

Liking how the Mane six have been spread out according to their abilities. Now just to see how they hold up once they're really put up to the test...

[shy sad jaded shard]

he would of craped himself if she had manage to pull of a rainboom even with stuff(given odds are he has never seen one or heard of it ether)

[Kyllerflynn13]

3418988

I was thinking that exact same thing.

[Thread Necromancer]

"Twenty-one," he said. "We're faced with the greatest wolven attack in centuries and my beloved Bastion City comes up with twenty-one drill-heads.

u stoopid

[PaulAsaran]

Well, the wolven waste no time. I was wondering if they'd give the ponies any rest. I'm also wondering about Fenrir; didn't one of the wolven note that he's on his way? Of course, he's not allowed to personally fight, but as a general that's obvious big news.

Terrato's going to show up to a city under siege, held together solely by the command of Luna. Let's see him put her down then. Ah, ho am I kidding? He'll still do it.

[Biker_Dash]

248052 It does seem an ideal placement for them, given their skill sets.

I hope they don't lose themselves.

If anything, I suspect that they will end up finding themselves.

748573 Considering that unicorn magic is weakened for Rarity and Twilight, then why would it not be the same for the others? It could be that RD's pegasi magic is currently weaker than what it had been in the Heartland, but she is just choosing to not let it show, due to her pride. It could be that, once she gets stronger, she'll be the "fast thing around", as the great singer, George Jones once said. Hell, I am thinking Scarlet already thinks of her as "hotter than a two dollar pistol"