Rainbow - I Was Dying
"Welcome to the Wonderbolts, kid."
It seemed like I'd been waiting my whole life to hear those words. Ever since that first show in Cloudsdale, I had wanted to wear the blue and yellow and fly with the best of the best. And then, I finally had it, you know? And I was on top. Like, higher than the clouds, even. I may have just been a private, but I felt like the princess when I put on the uniform that first time.
I kind of hated the helmet, though. I had to stuff my whole mane into that thing, and let me tell you, there used to be a lot more of the ol' rainbow crown. Plus, the whole face-guard thing was just restrictive. I mean, I didn't have trouble breathing or anything, but it muffled everything I tried to say, and I couldn't really flex my jaw that much. Still, the helmet had a lightning bolt on it, so I tried to ignore the drawbacks and focus on the positives.
Looking back, there weren't too many of those. I was mostly just excited to finally get in.
I had barely started wearing that puppy in when we got the call from up top. The main force needed new blood, and they needed it the next day. It didn't take an hour before the standards for field duty went from 'a month of training' to 'able to fly'. There were fillies wearing Wonderbolt blue, for Luna's sake.
Shut up. It's been, like, three years since she died. It's okay to say it now.
But anyway, since I was already a pro speedster, they fast-tracked me up to Sergeant. I would be going in at the very front. I mean, we all would be, but I was the only new recruit who actually had it marked as my official position. Of course, I was so excited you could barely even see my wings flutter. I mean, back then it was a big deal, you know? I had been a fan of the general back when she was a stunt flyer, and now I was going to be flying with her to protect Equestria. It was a dream come true.
Guh.
Damn, Maud, this is some great whiskey. Now where was I?
Training? What training? When did I... oh, right.
Already told you, they didn't have time to train us. All they needed was a new flock of wings. Remember, this was back when the empire was making big moves, expanding its borders and all that. Sometimes, all they wanted was a bit of extra muscle to try and push the crystals back.
Of course, I wasn't about to shut up, stay out of the way and maybe do a fly-by or two. No way, no how.
So when I stepped off the airship onto my first battlefield, I was ready. I had on the whole damn uniform, polished and cleaned as much as I had time to do. Sure, I was wearing the same uniform as everypony else, but I'd like to think I stood out. I don't think I stood still for even a second once we were there.
General Spitfire and her crew weren't that happy to see me. Can't say I blame 'em; everyone except me was pretty sure I was gonna bite it that day. They were pretty nice about it, though. Spitfire even said she'd autograph my helmet if we made it through the day. Well, if I was motivated before, you can bet I wasn't going to hang back with a carrot like that being dangled in front of me.
On that first day, I expected trumpets. I thought there would be some great horn for them to blow, to let us know it was time to go, to let the crystal ponies know we were coming. But even back then, we were waiting for the signal from the princess herself. That first time, I barely even saw it, and I almost missed the mark. That was when things started to go wrong.
Obviously, I didn't fit the formation. Those guys had been flying together since before the war. They barely even said a word to each other while we were flying. And I mean, I know I'm a good flyer, but I had never flown with the Wonderbolts. Sure, I had memorized all their routines back from when I was a kid, but there's a difference between watching and performing. That and I didn't recognize half the maneuvers they were pulling off. War and acrobatics just aren't the same.
They tried to fit me into the pattern, they really did. At the time, I didn't think they gave two bits about me, but looking back, it's obvious how much they cared. They tried to give me orders, tried to direct me, but they were so set in the pattern that they kept forgetting to cut me in. I tried to follow after, but it became pretty clear pretty fast that I wasn't fitting in. I decided to split off and do my own thing. After all, I had been training since I was a filly. Back then, I thought I could do the work of the whole squad, and in half the time.
That was my second mistake. I dove right into the heat of the battle, and I'm lucky I didn't get a concussion in the first five seconds. I had to fly, I had to dodge obstacles, but I also had to crash. And I had to crash with purpose, not by accident. I wasn't used to fighting back then, and I definitely wasn't used to switching between air and land at the drop of a helmet. Still, I made more than a few heads roll on my first day.
And then I saw him. Riding the dark crystals as they grew out of the ground, surfing on the borders of his empire, was King Sombra. I still remember that gaudy cape flapping in the wind, that bloodthirsty grin on his face as he tore across the land. And the laughter. Damn that laughter.
He was laughing like a foal on Hearth's Warming. I could hear how happy he was, could see it in the way he moved. I almost wish I could have tasted how happy he was, just so I could vomit it all up. It was the first time since the war started that I had seen real smiles, had heard real laughter, and it was coming from that monster. In that moment, I learned what hatred was. I knew evil, and I felt the urge to destroy it.
The rest of the battle... it didn't matter any more. The soldiers weren't important, the crystal horde might as well have been smoke, even the Wonderbolts just sort of faded into the background. From where I was standing, I had a mission. My mission was to kill Sombra, and I wasn't about to let anypony get in my way. Third mistake.
It was like there wasn't any space between us. Every inch of empty air seemed to fade away with every beat of my wings. I went from being surrounded by soldiers to circling around the base of the crystals. Sombra didn't look like he had seen me coming, so I crept closer. I tried to be as quiet as I could. I was scanning his armor, looking for any weakness, any place where I could obviously hurt him. I found it, too.
The wind was pretty strong that day. Sombra's mane was getting blown all over the place, and when it blew the whole thing to the left, I saw a chink in the armor. His metal collar ended just below the magic pressure point. You know, that one place where you can hit a unicorn and knock out their ability to do magic for a few minutes? Well, King Sombra, Mister Backup Plan himself, didn't seem like he knew about it. It was completely exposed, a perfect vulnerability.
A good soldier would have fallen back then. A good soldier would have reported back to her superiors, told them about the key weakness, and maybe get to play distraction when they sent a force to take him down. A good soldier would have stayed quiet, would have counted her blessings, would have stayed quiet and slunk away.
I was not a good soldier. I saw a way to end the war, and I seized it. Carpe diem and all that crap. Spread my wings wide, pulled back a hoof, and was totally ready to knock that tyrant down a peg. That was the last time Rainbow Dash made a mistake.
The moment I moved in, I froze. I should have known it would happen, should have seen his horn glowing, but I wasn't thinking clearly. I couldn't move any part of me. Not a single feather, barely even a twitch of the eyes. The spire Sombra was standing on suddenly grew a dome all around us. We were shut out from the war. I was trapped in a crystal with Sombra. Then, before he had even turned around to face me, he started talking. Sweet Celestia, I can still remember every word he said to me.
"To cripple an earth pony, one must first separate them from the earth. To cripple a unicorn, one must strike at the back of the neck." He put a hoof over the spot I had been aiming for, and I swear I heard him chuckle. "The pegasus is perhaps the most difficult to cripple; one must take away the space their wings move in. But tell me, little pony, how does one cripple an alicorn?"
"You can't break Celestia." I had enough bravado to spit that sentence at him, if you can believe it. He actually turned my spit to crystals in midair. He turned just enough so I could see that grin. How could a unicorn have so many fangs?
"Not in the physical sense, I know. This isn't the first Crystal War, after all. But there is a means by which an alicorn might be broken. It is the same way that any monarch who sees their subjects as alive might be broken." I started to feel my wings spreading against my will. "To break a princess, one must first break their subjects."
I told him it would only anger her, that my death would make her fight harder. He laughed that arrogant, childish laugh of his and said, "The first few times, yes. Martyrs are such powerful motivators, after all. But eventually, my victims will cease to be battle standards, and become notches on a sword. I will show Celestia, pony by pony if I have to, the cost of war." My left wing was starting to hurt a hell of a lot more than my right wing.
I wasn't about to go down quiet, of course. I told him, I dragged up all my courage and I yelled at him, "You idiot! Do you have any idea what will happen if Celestia loses hope?"
"I know exactly what it will do to her." He finally turned to face me, and to this day I wish he hadn't. Those eyes... If there were nothing left of Sombra but his eyes, we would still be at war. When he looked at me, I was afraid. The worst part is, I wasn't afraid of anything. I wasn't afraid of him, I wasn't afraid of the future, I wasn't even afraid when my joints started to bend wrong. It was just fear. Total, overriding fear. No source to confront, no phobia to explain away.
What are you talking about? My eyes are fine.
"I did not survive for nearly a thousand years as a puff of smoke because of dumb luck, whelp. There are plans, and plans within those plans. If the sun fell from the sky tomorrow, I would survive. And even if I did not?" That smile. Like a shark and Nightmare Moon had a baby, like a murderer when he knows his insanity plea just went through. "A world of ash, with only Celestia to walk its wastes, caring so little for her kingdom that she would rather watch it burn than let anypony challenge her rule. If that is to be my legacy, then I will have won."
The pain distracts me from the fear. Only a second, though. Eyes fill my vision, drown out my thoughts. He speaks. "These are lovely wings, soldier. Might I ask how you came by them?" He is tearing off my helmet and face guard. I can't hide my face, can't hide my pain. Hurts so much...
"S-Sergeant Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolts." Words not coming easily. Keep getting caught on something in my throat. "I was a profe-ARRGH!" Shit, I think he just snapped my muscles! Can't even twitch my wing anymore! Sombra's still waiting for me, though. Is he going to hurt me more if I'm too slow? "I was a professional speedster, SIR!"
"Liar." That word feels like a knife. Knife on my feathers... wait, is he plucking my feathers? "I have seen speedsters. In the Equestria Games, in a time when we held tournaments because wars didn't give us enough excuses to show off our muscles, I saw pegasi who made the skies their obedient slave. A dear friend of mine helped me to get close, to admire their physique. I have seen the wings of champions." OW! What the buck did he tear that time? I don't think I heard anything crack. "These are not the wings of a speedster."
How dare he? "Cloudsdale circuit twenty times in my sleep! Swear it on my mother!"
"Promising on the dead does nothing but tell me how false it is." He's twisting my wing this way and that, bending it in ways you shouldn't bend wings. "Look at the down on these coverts. Look at all this moisture built up in the primaries. Fluffy rainclouds from the day you were born, and not a hoof onto the ground since. These are the wings of a weatherpony. I wouldn't tolerate these wings on a hoofball water boy."
Okay, what just popped? I can just barely feel my wing. I think he dislocated my OH GODDESS I CAN FEEL IT OH BUCK HE'S TEARING IT GAAAAAAAAAAA-
Wait, where's my wing? Where the buck did that monster throw my wing? How the hell did I get here? Who are you? Why am I not bleeding?
No, stay away! Stay away from me, you crazy-
Stats
Page generated in 0.037 seconds
Total duration
1,008 users online
42,674 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
this is really amazing i love it
6752107 Thanks so much!
So what happens to the crystal ponies, having gone from being The Enemy, and are suddenly PEOPLE again.
6752139 Gee, maybe it has something to do with the individual chapters taking the POV of different characters, the last chapter of Iron Wing having been from Pinkie's perspective, and the fact that this story is talking about what is basically Rainbow's first day on the job.
I mean, if I had to guess.
Interesting. That ending line has me wondering if she got so lost in her own story/memory that she flipped out like it was happening again. I think that's what you were going for, anyway.
I like seeing some backstory.
6752238 Yup. That's exactly what I was going for. Well done.
Whoa. O.o That was really, really cool... I think I'm speechless now.
6752332 If you say so.
6752340 Yes! Yes I do!
6752345 I'm glad.
I do love me some backstory. Contrary to what you may or may not think, this is something I think will do perfectly fine living up to expectations. I'll be watching!
From your closetLooks like Rainbow has a serious case of ptsd going on.
I like it. Can't wait for the next one~
The words really show how Rainbow is feeling. Good job sir/ma'am!
6752367 Could you pass me my pants while you're in there?
6752772 I'm a woman. Thanks for the ambiguity, though. Thought that counts, and all that.
There are some things certain persons just cant talk about.
If they ever do, the persons listening will wish they hadnt.
6753483 True that.
This is awesome please continue writing this!
6755933 As if anything could stop me!
This was so good. I mean, I toyed with the idea of Pinkie and Maud facing Sombra (me and my SombraPie shipping self wanted to see how it'd work in this AU), but Rainbow? You really captured her fear when talking to Sombra and you captured him as a villain. When you described his laughter and joy, it reminded me of Pinkie, and how she doesn't feel those things because of him.
Good shit, man.