Homegrown Blades

by TheMessenger

Chapter 4

"And you can really blow fire?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'm mean, it's green, so I don't know if it's actually fire."

"Cool," breathed the colt sitting beside the dragon. Like the stallion, he wore a matching blue cap and overalls, both worn and dirty. Every inch of his exposed body was covered in spots, either naturally brown ones or more oily black ones. The most prominent were the ones surrounding his eyes. "Hey, how come you don't have wings? I thought--"

"Pipsqueak, shut it and get to work."

Pipsqueak jumped into a salute. "Aye aye, captain!" he exclaimed before running into the station office. The stallion shook his head and sighed as he placed a tray of food in front of Rainbow and the dragon.

"Sorry if the kid's been bothering you. He's just curious. Never seen a dragon before, or a Wonderbolt in person for that matter," the stallion added with a glance at Rainbow.

Rainbow lifted one of the mugs of tar black coffee and sniffed at it. She could smell the faint scent of gasoline. "How much longer do we have to wait?"

"Not much longer. Why, in a hurry?" He drank out of his own cup. "Yeah, I get," he said just as Rainbow opened her mouth, "none of my business, right?"

"If you get it, don't ask." She took a sip and tried not to grimace. Setting the cup down, she took a piece of toast. It was as dry as sawdust, but it was nice to taste warm bread for a change, even if it could a little butter.

"Is it really okay to eat this?" the dragon asked, poking at the round object in front of him.

"Yeah, of course, we give 'em out to all the recruits that come through here," the stallion said. "The last donut they'll taste for a while. Enjoy it while it lasts."

"Um, I think something's missing." The dragon stuck a claw through the hole in the glazed pastry. The stallion laughed while Rainbow brought her hoof to her face.

"That hole's supposed to be there," she explained. "It's, I don't know, it's just for decoration. Just try it. If you don't like it, you don't have to finish it."

"Really?" The dragon's eyes widened in wonder. "I can do that?"

"Yes, you can do that," Rainbow answered tiredly. She took another bite from her toast.

The stallion watched in amazement as the dragon gave the sugary surface an experimental lick with his long reptilian tongue. Sparks seemed to fly from those disturbing eyes of his as he prepared to take a bite. Those frightful fangs of his sunk into the donut and tore off a clean chunk. As he chewed and saliva soaked into the piece of pastry, releasing its flavor to the senses in his mouth, the dragon's eyes began to mist.

"Uh, kid?" the stallion said. "You, uh, alright?"

The dragon took another bite, then another and another, tearing through the donut like a starved beast. "It's, I..." he tried to say, choking up at each bite.

The stallion slowly leaned toward Rainbow Dash, who also stared at the crying dragon. "So, is this a dragon thing, or what?"

"I don't think he's ever had sweets before," Rainbow explained. "And it's been a pretty emotional day for him so..." She shrugged, just as a horn's blare echoed through the station.

The stallion glanced up. "Sounds like the train's ready." He picked up the leftovers and set the tray on his back. "I have to get to work. It was nice meeting the two of you."

"Yeah." Rainbow got to her feet and gave the stallion a nod. "Take care."

He turned to go. "Hey, dragon?"

The dragon rubbed his face and stood up. "Yeah?"

"Maybe we'll meet again. If we do, I'll get you a whole dozen of donuts."

"Dozen?" The dragon looked to the pegasus beside him.

"He means twelve."

"Wow. Really?" The dragon grinned. "Yeah, okay, that sounds great! Oh, um." He started to look around. "Um, could you let Pip know I said goodbye? He was really nice. I like him."

"Yeah, sure." And with a final wave, the stallion made his way toward the central station building.

Rainbow and the dragon moved in the opposite direction toward the tracks. There stood the mighty locomotive, steam already escaping the stack of the engine. A single passenger car was attached, and following it were several boxcars, each one filled with some sort of provision, food, clothing, or munition.

"So that's a train," the dragon said as they approached.

"Guess you've never seen one of these before either, huh? Yeah, didn't think so," Rainbow said as the dragon shook his head. "Well climb aboard and make yourself comfortable," she ordered, guiding him up the ramp and into the car. Even by her standards, it was incredibly bare. The seats had been stripped of cushions, and the curtains of the windows were replaced with ugly plastic tarp. In the very back was a small separated stall that contained the very bare basics of a lavatory, namely a basin of clean water, a hole, and cheap toilet paper.

Still, there wasn't much she could complain about. Rainbow wanted the earliest train back to the front, and this was it. This train was, for the most part, for freighting supplies, not personnel. It was a blessing that they even had a toilet, primitive as it was. Honestly, it was surprising they weren't just stuffed into one of the boxcars unceremoniously and told to deal with it. Rainbow Dash moved to the bench closest to the exit and plopped herself into it.

The dragon looked around for a moment before climbing into the seat opposite of the Wonderbolt. "So now what?"

"Nothing, except wait," Rainbow answered. "It'll take a few hours before we reach the Frozen North, so you might as well try to relax, maybe get some sleep." She extended her legs and stretched. "There's a short stop at Vanhoover for refueling and more supplies, so we'll take a quick break then to move around."

The car shook. The dragon fell over, and as he got back up, he looked around nervously. "Are we moving?"

There was another shrill whistle. The floor below started to rumble. Rainbow's ears twitched at the sound of metal scraping against metal as the wheels began to turn slowly. "Yep," she said before resting her head on the hard wooden bench and closing her eyes. She could feel the train slowly pick up speed, much too slowly.

"How fast are we going?"

An eyelid reluctantly raised. "Dunno," Rainbow said as she shut her eye again. "Feels like twenty miles an hour, or something like that. Max speed'll hit over a hundred twenty.

"Oh." The dragon counted his claws, mouthing out numbers. "Um, how many kilometers is that?"

Rainbow Dash groaned. "I don't know, fifty?"

"So how far is the arctic?"

With a sigh, Rainbow forced herself up. "It's like, uh, I think a hundred, no like five hundred miles from Vanhoover to the EUP outpost, and like seven hundred between Canterlot to Vanhoover."

"Wait, if the train's going at a hundred twenty miles an hour and the trip's..." The dragon muttered something quietly as he wrote into the palm of his hand with a claw. "...a thousand two hundred miles! That'll take at least ten hours! I thought you said we'd get there in a few hours."

Rainbow Dash threw her hooves into the air. "Then I don't remember. Sheesh. I don't know, maybe I got mixed up with the direct line."

"Direct line?"

"It's the railroad that leads straight from Canterlot to the arctic base. Or it will be, once it's done." Rainbow shrugged. "If it ever gets done."

"Why wouldn't it get done?" asked the dragon.

"Mostly paperwork and logistics," Rainbow Dash responded with a lazy wave. "Lots of ponies aren't too excited about it, since it would lead Sombra right to Canterlot if he managed to capture the rest of the Frozen North."

"Could that, could that actually happen?"

"Yeah. I mean, anything could happen. It's war." Rainbow yawned. "Listen, kid, try to go to sleep. The trip'll feel shorter."

"If you say so." The dragon pulled his legs up and onto the bench, curling into a ball.

"Thank Celestia," Rainbow grumbled as she rolled over and closed her eyes. Before long, soft snores drifted from her as sleep overcame the tired mare.

The same could not be said about the dragon lying in the opposite seat. His eyes would close, then open, close, reopen. He shifted onto his back and looked up at the ceiling before turning over onto his side. Every time his eyes began to close, the rumbling of the train jolted them back open. The thin green fins on the sides of the dragon's head flattened, but the noisy rattles continued on. The sudden longing for the dull, sterile cell he felt surprised him. At least it was quiet. At least it didn't shake and move around and play with his nerves.

At least Twilight was there.

His stomach churned, and for a moment, the dragon thought of the donut and the stallion who had given it to him. And there was that colt who actually wanted to talk to him. He called him cool. Maybe, the dragon thought, maybe they could meet again when he came back.

Hours passed by. Slowly, as he silently counted the seconds, starting over each time he lost track after reaching triple digits, the dragon became used to the sounds of the moving train, the chittering chants of the wheels spinning away on the rails no longer harsh to his ears. His eyes closed as the train rocked him to sleep.

*

"What's war like?"

Rainbow's teeth had just sunk into her meal, a simple carrot and cucumber sandwich. Grudgingly, she removed it from her mouth, leaving bite marks in the rye bread. "Nervous?"

The dragon nodded. His own sandwich sat on his lap in its wrapper, largely untouched. "I mean, you said something, about anything could happen. What if, what if I can't help? I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to do." His claws curled around the collar on his neck. "So how do you war? I have to make sure I do it right and--" He stared at the shaking pegasus and frowned. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because you look ridiculous," Rainbow Dash replied between chuckles. "You're posing." She placed a hoof on the fist the dragon had pumped into the air and lowered it. "Also, how do you war? Geez, the higher-ups are going to love you." Rainbow's laughs faded. "War's one of stupid things that's kind of hard to explain, kind of like life or, eh, love, or something else you'd find poetry for. I guess it also depends on the pony you ask."

"Can't you just look it up in a dictionary?" the dragon wondered.

Rainbow snorted and returned to her lunch. "Then you do that and stop bothering me."

"I don't have a dictionary though."

"Wait, you were serious?" With a sigh, Rainbow Dash lowered her sandwich. "Sure, you'll get a definition for war but not the meaning."

"What's the difference?"

"It's, well, oh!" She pounded her hoof together. "Meanings depend on the pony. Take that purple unicorn, Twilight something or another."

"Twilight Sparkle," the dragon corrected immediately.

"Yeah, her. See, she probably means a lot to you, right?" Rainbow waited for the dragon to nod in response. "Well she probably doesn't mean as much to the SpARDA director."

The dragon suddenly leapt to his feet. "Why wouldn't she?" he demanded. "Twilight's brilliant, and nice, and super smart, and, and--"

"Yeah, she probably cares about Twilight's brains and thinks she's a valuable assistant and everything, but I don't think Moon Danger really cares beyond that. They're boss and subordinate, not friends." She turned to the dragon and smirked. "Not like you and her."

At her words, the dragon's eyes grew large. "Friends?"

"Oh, come on," Rainbow groaned. "Tell me you know that word at least."

The dragon crossed his arms and frowned. "Of course I know that word. I just..." His indignant posture crumpled as he look to the ground. "Do you really think we were friends?"

"Well, yeah. What, you weren't?"

"I don't know. Twilight never called me her friend, so I don't know." The dragon shook his head. "But what about war? If it has so many meanings--"

"You're still on about that? Geez, you're stubborn." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Look, kid, war means different things to different ponies. I'm sure what it means to me will be different to what it means to you, so there's not a whole lot of point in trying to explain it."

"But how am I supposed to prepare?" the dragon protested. "I don't want to mess up. I don't want the things you said about Twilight being a slave and everypony getting captured to be true. I can't mess up!"

The dragon's shout was punctuated by the high screech of a whistle. The source stood several feet away from them, at the station's platform. "That's the warning bell," Rainbow Dash noted. She pointed at the smushed sandwich at the dragon's feet. "If we hurry, we can get you a new lunch."

He picked up the sandwich and shook his head as he rubbed his eyes against his arms. "It's fine," he assured shakily. "I'm fine, I can eat it like this."

"Alright then, let's get going."

As they made their way to the awaiting train, the clouds above clustered together and darkened. Something wet struck the dragon's forehead. He looked up.

"It's rain," Rainbow Dash said. "Guess you've never seen it?"

He nodded slowly.

"Want me to explain it?"

The dragon started to nod, then quickly shook his head before lowering his gaze.

"You sure? That I can actually explain."

He nodded.

They continued their way in silence. The train car door shut behind them, followed by another loud whistle scream. They took their seats across from each other and settled in just as the wheels began to spin. The dragon glanced at the window, through a small opening in the tarp covering, and watched the station grow smaller as they picked up speed.

"Too bad, we didn't have time to visit the city. Not a whole lot to see, but Vanhoover's got some great maple syrup." Rainbow Dash sighed. "You know, what you said, about messing up at war?"

The dragon looked over to Rainbow. Her gaze, in turn, went to the window. "You can't fight a war by yourself. I know I said you'd be useful, but I didn't mean it'd just be you against Sombra." Her hoof traced the hard edges of her left wing. "So in case you've got any silly ideas of winning the war yourself, lose them. You're not alone, okay? I don't exactly know what the higher-ups have in store for you," Rainbow admitted, "but it won't be just you fighting out there. You listening?"

The dragon sat up and nodded vigorously. After each nod, however, he seemed to lose energy, and the confident look he wore was soon replaced with one of confusion. "Um, but what does that mean?"

"It means you've got others watching your back," Rainbow Dash explained, turning to the dragon. "It means making sure that if you somehow do end up making a mess of things, you'll still be around and able to clean everything up. You want some advice on preparing for war?"

He nodded immediately.

"Well, it's not much, but here it goes." Rainbow cleared her throat. "One, find squad mates you can trust, who won't abandon you. Two, find a commander you can trust, who's first priority is their subordinates and not their record. And finally," Rainbow Dash said, raising a hoof, "make sure they know they can trust you."

"Trust me?"

"Yeah, that they know you won't abandon them, that you'll be by their side and fight right next to them, that they know you've got their back and will help them even when they won't help themselves." Rainbow Dash leaned back and looked up at the roof of the car. "Most important thing I've learned since joining the Wonderbolts, and that's saying something, cause I've learned a lot. Like, you know you can brew--" She interrupted herself with a chuckle. "Heh, story for another time. Point is, skills don't win wars, loyalty does."

"But how do I get, um, loyalty?" the dragon asked. "How do I find ponies I can trust? How do I know who to trust, and how do I get them to trust me?"

"That's, uh, a pretty good question." Rainbow shook her head. "I mean, it's through experiences and spending time with them, that sort of thing. I mean, I'd say it's like making friends, but..." She wave her hoof carelessly. "Like, it's like, here." She sat up. "Okay, so there was this mare, an officer. Her name was Spitfire. On my first mission, fresh out of the academy..."

*

The helmet hid the pegasus's grimace as static crackled into their ears. "No contact," they said between tired, labored breaths. "Looks like we still have a local connection, so the loss must be one their end."

The pony before them nodded wearily. They turned to the rest of the squad. "Alright, anypony up for recon and maybe a rescue?"

A few weak hooves were raised, but the rest of the pegasi, all in blue and gray armor, simply kept their eyes on the floor. "Didn't think so," the captain muttered. "Alright, then. You and, uh, you." The pony pointed at the two closest volunteers, who brought their hooves up to their foreheads to salute. "You sure you'll be okay?"

The first nodded. The other grinned through their helmet's torn mouth guard. "We can handle a bit of flying, sir, if you don't mind me saying."

"Alright, you're with me. The rest of you," the captain ordered, gesturing, "hold this position. Return to the forward camp if we're not back by..." They glanced down at the watch attached to the front of their foreleg. "...1612. Understood?"

"Captain, you're going with them?" the pegasus who had first spoken said.

"1612, Lieutenant. Have I made myself clear?"

"Captain, you don't have--"

"Have I made myself clear?"

The pony hesitated. "Yes sir," they finally said, snapping to a salute along with the rest of the squad.

"Good." They turned to the volunteers. "Follow my lead and my orders. No heroics."

"Sir, yes sir," the two responded in unison.

"All ready? Then let's go."

The three pegasi took to the air, just a few feet at first as they glided above the icy wasteland below. Slowly, as they grew further away from the rest of the ponies, they gained speed and altitude, though the cold flurries limited both, keeping them at rather unimpressive pace and away from the clouds.

The three shifted from a close V formation, with the captain in the center and in the front, to a more linear arrangement, spread out to be able to search more of the ground, looking for both their target and any potential danger in the vast sea of ice and snow.

"Captain?" the one with the torn mouthpiece suddenly said, their words made harsh and dissonant by the arctic winds and damaged microphone. "Fleurs."

"Say again?"

"Flares." The pegasus pointed toward the ground. Three green lights plus one purple one could be seen, along with a few ponies in dark colors.

"They Sombra's?"

The captain shook their head. "No helmets. There's a unicorn with them. Must be our missing scouts."

"I only count three, sir, over."

"Acknowledged. Prepare for extraction." The pegasus quickly checked their watch. "We've got some time so no rush. If they'd wounded, we can send a message to the others and--"

The captain suddenly paused. They looked up and glanced around at them clouds.

"Sir?"

"The wind's dead. Prepare for an immediate extraction. No time for niceties, ignore all ground equipment."

There was a brief second of silence before, "Acknowledged," echoed through their helmet. The three dove toward the ground, their wings tucked against their sides. As the ground approached, their wings extended, slowing their descent. They landed nearly on top of the ponies below, frightening them at first until they saw the blue of their armor and the golden lightning bolt insignia.

"No time," the captain said, stopping one of the earth ponies with a hoof. A thick wire was extended from the armor's pouch and was wrapped around the pony's body, attaching him to the captain.

"Everypony ready?" the captain said into their mouth piece.

"Affirmative."

"We're good to go."

The pegasi shared a nod before taking off. The extra weight and the condition of their packages slowed their ascent. Even as they got used to the weight and adjusted themselves accordingly, they had to force themselves to limit the acceleration their wings yearned for. Within their mask, the captain was sweating, more from desperate fear than from the additional effort.

"All wings report. Everything green?"

"Affirmative."

"Cord got a little loose on takeoff, but it should hold." There was a nervous laugh. "Hey, for a second I actually--"

The echoing shriek everypony heard froze the blood in their veins. The captain could feel the pony attached to them shudder. They reached down and held the shaking pony tightly. "Go, go!" the captain screamed, their wings beating furiously without concern. The others did the same, panic fueling their muscles as they sped up. Their passengers's conditions and comforts no longer mattered, to the Wonderbolts or to the passengers themselves.

All that mattered was getting away, away from the abomination behind them.

"Your cord!"

The pegasus with the damaged helmet fumbled with their wire as the unicorn attached struggled in desperation. "I need to land," they exclaimed. "I can't--"

"No! Do not land. That's an order!"

"But sir, my package, he'll--"

"If he falls, he falls," the captain snapped. "Do not land at any cost!"

"But--"

The captain's instincts screamed, Down!. Without hesitation, they did so, swooping into a decent just in time to watch a series of glaciers pass over his head. The others dodged to the sides, escaping the strike, but the movement freed the unicorn from his pegasus.

The pegasus dove for the flailing, falling stallion. "Come on," the others could hear through their headsets. "Almost, almost." Pushing aside the wild limbs, the pegasus grabbed hold of the unicorn. "Ha, got you!" They grinned triumphantly as they prepared to extend their wings.

The second blow clipped the edge of their wing, slicing through the primaries. The pegasus lost their balance and quickly lost height as they and the pony they held on to spun toward the ground. The pegasus's wings flapped uselessly, trying to regain flight or, at the very least, slow the fall. The ground grew closer. The pegasus shut their eyes.

Something struck them from below. They heard a pained grunt. Their eyes opened. "Captain?"

"Try to hold on," the captain wheezed. They reached back and took the cord, tightening it around their own. As another shriek filled the air, the Wonderbolt captain forced themselves forward. Their wings beat frantically, spurred on by dread, but the effort was barely enough to counter the sudden extra weight. Sweat bled through the absorbent flight suit as the captain's body shook with each forceful breath they took.

The disabled pegasus could feel the loss of altitude, and as realization settled in, they grew colder, more so than from the arctic weather. They were falling, slowly but inevitably, even as the captain did everything they could, with their every inch and ounce. A thought formed in the pegasus's mind, a dark thought. They reached for the cord, preparing to release it from their body.

"Checkpoint in site, sir. They see us, Captain." The pegasus looked up. Relief filled them as they saw the rest of their squad speeding toward them.

A sigh followed the message echoing in the pegasus's helmet. "Good," the captain managed to say. Suddenly, even the captain's efforts to delay their fall ceased, and they collapsed into the outstretched forelegs of their fellow Wonderbolts.

The others took hold of the scouts and the disabled Wonderbolt, attaching themselves to them with their own cords as they hovered before returning to formation. "We're returning to forward camp ASAP. No objections, Captain?"

There was a cough, then, "None, Lieutenant."

Behind them echoed a frustrated scream, too high pitched and pained for any living creature. "They shouldn't be this close. What's going on here?"

"Don't know. Command needs to here this. Maybe the scouts can tell us more."

With the sun slowly setting behind them, the pegasi flew onward. Several small shelters eventually began to cover the ground, and the squad started their descent. Several ponies, pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns, were waiting when they had landed with stretchers ready. The rescued scouts were the first to be taken away, followed by the pegasus with the damaged feathers, despite their protests.

"You sure you don't need any aid?" the lieutenant asked when the captain refused the offered gurney.

The captain tore off their helmet and let it drop into the snow. A long blue mane pillowed out as the stallion rubbed his neck. "Coffee would be nice," he said, his voice raspy. "And what I wouldn't do for a pie slice." His face cracked into an exhausted grin as he picked up the discarded headgear.

The lieutenant removed her helmet as well, exposing her own white mane that was kept neat by a hair tie. "Hope you don't mind it black," she said, to which the captain gave a groan. The two started toward the shelters. "Come on, Soarin, you're a captain now."

Soarin released a sigh. The smile vanished. "You don't have to remind me. Being called my rank all the time makes it hard to forget."

"What I meant was that seeing a Wonderbolt captain take his coffee with four creams and six sugars would be embarrassing," the mare said, shaking her head. "Besides, supplies are low."

"Right." He sighed again. The mare stared at him for a moment before striking his shoulder. "Fleetfoot, the heck?" Soarin hissed, clutching the inflicted area.

"You're sulking again," Fleetfoot simply stated. "Hey, forget I said anything about coffee. Take it anyway you want, so long as it doesn't start cutting into our rations. Just, I didn't mean to compare you to, well, her."

The two were silent as they walked through the rows of makeshift buildings. "She always did hate sweet things," Soarin finally said after a while. "I don't think I could ever do that, but..." He frowned. "Today was my first real assignment as a captain. You think, you think Spitfire'd be proud?"

Fleetfoot snickered. "Her, proud? Please. But I don't think she'd be too disappointed with you."

Soarin looked up into the sky and grinned. "Good." He rolled her shoulders and yawned. "Try to get to bed a little earlier tonight. Don't forget, our squadron's got a quick performance review to take of back at the arctic outpost, so we leave early in the morning."

"Good idea," Fleetfoot said as she stretched. "Don't stay up too late on the report, okay?"

"What am I, a cadet?" Soarin scoffed. "I can take care of myself."

Fleetfoot rolled her eyes as she lifted her hoof into a salute. "Whatever you say, Captain."

Comments

[Walabio]

The hole in the doughnut is not for decoration:

If donuts would be spherical, they could only be as large as doughnut-holes before one would have to choose between a cooked center or a burnt crust. Notice that the cross-section of the torus of the is about that of a doughnut-hole. By making the donuts as toruses, one can make the donuts 5 to 10 times more massive without having to choose between cooking the center or burning the outside. The original doughnut was what we would call a doughnut-hole which is why they are called doughnuts because they were nuts-shaped pieces of deep-fried dough.

An alternate approach to making donuts bigger is to make them longer and wider, but no more than a maximum thickness. This is the approach used for making barred rolled filled twisted donuts (a typical filled doughnut such as a jelly-doughnut would be half as thick without the filling injected into them). Regardless of the shape, one must cook donuts about a minute and a half on each side before flipping them (total cook-time is about 3 minutes).