• Published 2nd Jul 2016
  • 1,131 Views, 75 Comments

Leading the charge. - Watercolor the Pegasus



Rainbow Dash has been fighting in the war for years, but when she is called to Ponyville as a bodyguard for The Princess, a pony named Applejack brings some troubling information to light.

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Contemplation and Onslaughts.

Fluttershy lay atop one of the many apple trees in the orchard. She lay on her back, hooves behind her head, sitting quietly, the only sound being the soft chirping of birds, and the morning clouds against the sunrise brimmed sky. A loud thump came from nearby, but Fluttershy stayed still. She knew Applejack's cousin, Braeburn, was out working at the moment, and his working at the trees did not disturb her. She often came to this very tree to think and relax every morning before she went to work, as it had a perfect view of the sunrise. This time however, she had not come to think, nor relax, as she was still tense. No, this time she came to contemplate the events of yesterday, and her rather strange new acquaintances.

First, there was Rarity. She was less of an acquaintance, and more of a friend, as Fluttershy had known her before. It had been a while though, and they had a lot to catch up on. Rarity was a nice pony, both incredibly altruistic, and reliable, she was a pony you'd be lucky to have on your side. Some of this may have had to do with that if you weren't on her side, she could very easily lose her temper, but either way, she was a nice and generous pony.

Second, there was Pinkie Pie. She was.........interesting. The first time she met her, she was apparently still having a panic attack over her mane, and apparently more than that. However, over the course of the day, she had managed to calm down slightly, and Fluttershy had managed to see more of Pinkie's real personality. She was very curious and observant, noticing even the slightest details. She was so observant, in fact, that she got "hunches" about the exact thing a pony was thinking. And then some. However, that could be attributed to her new...."abilities". Considering that every time she got a hunch, she immediately gained an incredibly terrified/mortified look on her face, and shrank into her hooves, where she could then be heard silently whispering under her breath, "What is wrong with me what is wrong with me what is wrong with me-" Either way, she was a generally nice pony.

Third, there was Applejack. She was dedicated, strong-willed, and honest. She was apparently a canner from an orchard in Ponyville called "Sweet Apple Acres". Something had come up at one point about her being in Manehattan as a filly, but it was quickly shaken off by the reluctant pony. Overall, Applejack was a nice pony.

Lastly, there was Rainbow Dash. She had a tendency to be brash, but her loyalty to her friends was the strongest she had ever seen. Rainbow was energetic, a quick thinker, and an excellent brainstormer. While she did have her low points at times, what with her harshness that often came off as rude, she was a very loyal friend.

There was one thing, however, that even now, she found herself mulling over, trying to process it. That was the whole "Elements of Harmony" thing. She supposed it was probable, but that didn't mean it made any more sense. She had learned that a few of the Elements had already been activated by the other four ponies. She couldn't help but wonder what Element she would activate. Pinkie had mentioned that she suspected Fluttershy would activate the Element of Kindness. She supposed that made sense, seeing as how it was more likely than the Element of Magic. However, she still wondered how they would be able to defeat Sombra. They hadn't even known what the Elements of Harmony were (other than what they knew about the last bearers, of course) before their little journey started, much less how to use them. She found it very unlikely that they would be able to use them to defeat an evil shadow king of dark magic. Still, they needed optimism. And optimism stated, that they would prevail. Fluttershy, nonetheless, found this thought hard to believe.

She shot into the air as a crashing sound rang out from the direction of the barn. She immediately flew over to the barn, and burst through the backdoor. She instantly reeled back at the sight. Ten stallions wearing Crystal Soldiers uniforms, had broken into the barn and were now attacking her friends. Two Unicorn stallions had cornered Rarity, who was struggling against their magic, while trying to hold them in her own, but failing. Two Earth Pony stallions were holding down Applejack, who tried to kick them off, but couldn't get out from under their grip. Four Pegasus Stallions were struggling to hold Rainbow's wings and hooves against the wall, who kept kicking at them, breaking from their grip every so often, only to be caught in it again. Two more Earth Pony stallions were trying to hold down Pinkie, who kept bouncing out from beneath them, and bouncing every which way in the process. Sometimes she landed on the ceiling, sometimes on the walls, everywhere. She was also giggling while bouncing, laughing to herself, "WEEEE!!!! This is kinda fun, actually. HEHE!!"

Fluttershy immediately yelled out the backdoor into the orchard. "BRAEBURN!!!!!! GET HERE NOW PLEASE!!!!!" She turned around, and was suddenly slammed into by two Pegasus stallions. They held down her wings, as she screamed, trying desperately to get out from beneath their grip.

The two stallions were instantly slammed off her and into the wall by a rainbow blur. Fluttershy looked up to see that Rainbow had broken free from the two stallions, since the other two had attacked Fluttershy, and had knocked out the two stallions who went for Fluttershy. As he other two Pegasus stallions attacked Rainbow again, she yelled at Fluttershy. "GO FLUTTERSHY!!!! NOW!!!" "B-B-BUT-" "NOW!!!!!!" Fluttershy reluctantly but quickly shot up the stairway, luckily without being noticed. She cowered against the wall, as banging, crashing, and occasionally screaming sounds rang out from downstairs. She whimpered, softly, as the loud noises continued. Until at las, a final loud thump rang out, and silence over took the house.

Fluttershy breathed heavily, waiting for something, anything, to know if it was safe. Finally, a voice from downstairs came. "Fluttershy? Darling? It's safe now!" Fluttershy let out the breath she was holding in, before getting up and heading down the stairway. She came into the den to see the others gathered in a cluster around Rainbow, who held her real wing while cringing in pain. Fluttershy came closer to see that the bandage that had been there was torn off, and now a gaping wound spread blood across Rainbow's real wing. Fluttershy gasped. "Oh my goodness! That doesn't look good." Rainbow scoffed offensively. "I'm fine. It's just a little scratch." Fluttershy continues to examine Rainbow's wing. "You are most certainly not fine! Oh. That wound could get infected. Or-or, scratched further. Or worse! Oh we simply must get that taken care immediately!" She began to grab Rainbow's hoof to lead her upstairs, but she was immediately swatted away by Rainbow's free hoof. Fluttershy stared at Rainbow in shock and confusion. "I'm. Fine. Okay? Just leave me be." The other three mares shared a glance, and Applejack looked down at Rainbow. "Rainbow, she's right. Yer banged up pretty badly, and we really ought to get it fixed up." At this, Rainbow scoffed again. "I already said. I'm fine." Pinkie shook her head. "Really Rainbow? You aren't fine. Don't you remember all those times when you found me cowering behind a rock or something with less, and you insisted on getting me to the nurse?" Rainbow sighed tensely, recalling memories. "Yes. I remember." Pinkie smiled softly at that. "Well, now you have more than that. That means it's my time to insist you get that taken care of. So let good ol' Fluttershy help you" Rainbow looked between Pinkie and Fluttershy, before finally sighing. "Fine." Fluttershy sighed with relief, as Rainbow got up on her hooves.

"But this doesn't mean I'm hurt. It just means I'm letting you help."

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Fluttershy sat next to Rainbow, carefully wrapping a bandage around the last part of her wing. She sat back, looking at Rainbow with a soft smile. "There you go. Now, just let it rest, and it should be fine in a few days." Rainbow looked down with sigh, avoiding eye contact. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow quizzically. "What's wrong Rainbow?" She sighed. "Oh, nothing's wrong. It's just..........thank you Fluttershy. You offered kindness, and I wouldn't even accept it, even though I knew I was hurt. Just....thank you." Fluttershy smiled wide, placing a hoof on Rainbow's.

Suddenly, Pinkie jerked her head towards the saddlebags that held the Elements. "Wait a second....." She got up, heading towards it, and pulled the bags flap open. Pinkie let out a gasp, and motioned the others towards her. "Guys, come look!" The three ponies came over, and looked inside the saddlebags. Fluttershy let out a small gasp, for inside the bags, a single gem flickered a soft pink.

Author's Note:

Here it is everypony! The next Element has been activated, and another attack by Crystal Soldiers has come. Let us see how this plays out next, shall we?