Pawns
The rails shuddered as the Friendship Express shot over them, roaring across the countryside as it left Ponyville station and raced towards Canterlot. At the helm, Coal, the driver, leaned his head out of the window to inspect the tracks ahead. He smiled to himself; all clear. No trees, branches, snow, or obstacles. He was free to plough ahead at full speed.
“Fire up the engines!” he shouted. “Let’s get some speed going!”
Heat exploded from the inside of the engine as his ponies piled the fuel onto the fires inside. Coal continued to stare out ahead towards the horizon. There really wasn’t anything quite as satisfying as making it to his destination on time…
“Howdy!”
Coal nearly jumped out of his skin and toppled out of the train. Where had that voice come from?!
He adjusted his driver’s hat and turned to look inside the cabin. There were only the two engineers…
“Down here!”
Coal looked back out the window, the wind whipping at his mane. He peered down at an Earth pony racing beneath him. His eyes widened. Her hooves… they were moving so fast he could barely see them. He looked back at his train… how was she keeping pace?
“Um,” he began. “Hello.”
“Could ya stop the train?”
Coal looked at the Earth pony mare with disbelief. Was she racing after him because she had… missed the train?
“We’ve left the station, miss,” he said, dumbly. What was he supposed to say?
“I reckon I’ve noticed that,” the mare replied, sweat forming on her brow and immediately whipping off the side of her freckled face. “Can you ‘least slow down so I can… get aboard?”
Coal swallowed. “I’m not sure I’m… allowed to do that?”
The mare was panting now. “I don’t need long.”
Remember procedure, Coal told himself. There was a procedure to follow. “Do you have a ticket?”
Anger flashed behind the mare’s eyes, causing Coal to flinch as if he had stepped on a dragon’s tail. “My marefriend has a ticket. I need to get aboard on account of her havin’ missed her stop.” The Earth pony sighed. “Nevermind; I’m outta’ patience.”
The mare slowed down, imperceptibly at first, turning to look at the side of the train. She slowed further, keeping her eye on the rapidly accelerating, heavy vehicle… and then, once a door to the carriage passed her, she leapt.
Coal widened his eyes. He was boarded! The Earth pony… she had to be insane, Coal thought… was hanging onto one of the handles and peering through the window.
Was he supposed to repel intruders? Was there a guideline regarding what to do when his train was maliciously invaded?
The mare began banging on the glass furiously. “Hey! Wake up!”
Coal brought his hooves to his hat in shock. There was no protocol for this! She was going to force her way through! What was he supposed to do? Abandon train?
The door the Earth pony was hanging onto swung open, and perhaps one of the most colourful passengers Coal had ever bore witness to poked her head out.
“Hey there.” The rainbow maned pegasus… she was a pegasus, Coal could see her wings… yawned. “Why are you hanging off a train? And where am I?”
The crazy Earth pony glared at the pegasus. “You’ve. Missed. Your. Stop.”
The pegasus’s eyes widened, and she gasped. “Oh, shoot! How many stops?”
“Just the one. I’ve been runnin’ to catch up.” The Earth pony slid down the handle slightly, and she tensed. “Now pick me up and take me home!”
“Y-yeah, sure!”
The pegasus leapt from the train and began wrapping her hooves around the Earth pony. Her wings were flapping to keep up with the train.
“You’d better have at least been able to see Twilight!” the Earth pony shouted.
“She was busy.”
“She’s always busy!”
In a flash of rainbow colours, the two ponies disappeared, leaving the door hanging open. Coal turned away from the bizarre scene and stared straight ahead. Was that a nightmare? Was that some kind of hallucination?
“Driver Coal!” called one of the ponies on board. “The carriage door has opened, sir!”
Coal swallowed, and elected to ignore what he had just seen. “I can see that, ticket inspector Billet! Go and close it, on the double!”
This was going in a report.
Dear Rarity,
I’m not sure exactly what you expect to me to tell you, since obviously I’d like for a lot of stuff to remain confidential. I respect that you want to try your hoof at writing (sounds all fine and dandy to me!) but I am not sure whether you using me and RD as your ‘muse’ is okay.
I don’t care if you think that a ‘dashing Cloudsdale native’ and a (as you put it) ‘naive farm beauty’ living together is ‘ripe story material’. I am not interested in putting sensitive information on paper. Not after last time; Granny nearly fainted.
I would be happy to tell you how things have been going though.
Rainbow has been a bit down lately; the gang leaving Ponyville hasn’t exactly been fun. It was a big adjustment, getting used to not having anypony to talk to about things that neither myself or RD know much about. I haven’t got much help with the animals from Fluttershy, and rabbits and squirrels have been a real pest in the orchard, and frankly (though this shouldn’t go to your head) I’ve rather missed you being around to help me out with what to wear for formal events and such. It’s been worse for RD, though. I think she liked having you guys around a lot more.
I tried to get RD to see Twilight, but she’s always busy. And we don’t even know where Fluttershy and Pinkie even are, what with their travelling. They could be miles away, in some forest near Griffonstone or something, and we wouldn’t even know.
It got so bad that the Wonderbolts sent RD home to do some ‘personal development’. She’s been doing some adapted Earth pony training we do for stamina, and it’s helped… kind of. It’s been worrisome, though; I got the impression that things might have been bad at work, and whilst we’ve had a decent harvest, it’d be nice to be able to rely on her Wonderbolt salary going forwards...
I don’t think she’s great at being at the farm, though. Granny has been getting a bit older (even more than usual!) lately, and hasn’t been as active. I think Rainbow doesn’t get her. Big Mac isn’t exactly great at talking to her either, and he’s busy trying to move in with Sugar Belle (maybe you should pester him for ideas for your novel instead!). Even though she lives here, it’s kind of like it’s just her and me, and then it’s me and my family, and we’re all separate. It’s strange and I hope it gets better. I wish you were here to help, I think you and Rainbow kind of got each other in a way that I don’t really understand.
That’s why I’ve been looking at using some of the leftover bits from the last big harvest (a big haul!) towards getting this small cottage on the edge of the orchard, so that me and her can live there together without worrying about getting in Big Mac and Sugar Belle’s way, or Rainbow tiptoeing around Granny. I just don’t know how to ask her to go through with it given that she isn’t exactly herself… and I’d be running out of the leftover savings I keep for myself.
I’m running out of paper. Let me know what Yakyakistan is like! And send me a first draft of your novel, I’d love to read it.
Yours truly,
Applejack
It had been a month since Rainbow Dash had been put on indefinite leave by Spitfire. A month since she had, confused and upset, returned to her new home in Sweet Apple Acres.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like the Acres, or the house. It wasn’t that she didn’t get along with the ponies who lived there. She liked all of them, and she loved the orchard, the fresh air, and the stuff they made.
It was that she didn’t like how there was no upwards verticality to the farmhouse, that the sheets were too thick and warm and itchy. She felt awkward trying to force a conversation out of Big Macintosh and she didn’t have much in common with Apple Bloom. Also, she was convinced that Granny Smith disapproved.
There were upsides to living there, though. It was less… lonely than in her old cloud house, always hovering above Ponyville yet perpetually separate from it and the ponies within. She got to be with Applejack, the last of her old friends who still lived in Ponyville at all. More than that, she and Applejack had become more reliant on each other than ever since Twilight had returned to Canterlot to rule over Equestria as the Princess of Friendship.
Rainbow missed Twilight. It was harder writing letters to anypony without Twilight to bounce words off of. The right thing to say just never really… came to Rainbow Dash, ever.
Applejack went ahead of Rainbow Dash, still panting from having chased down the Friendship Express. Rainbow was glad that Applejack was probably one of the fastest ponies on hoof, otherwise she might have easily woken up in Canterlot station wondering what the hay had happened.
“Is it just me,” Applejack asked as the two of them marched into the farmhouse, “Or is the Express gettin’ faster?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. It was fast, sure… for a ground vehicle. In the air, it wasn’t exactly hard for Rainbow Dash to catch up with it… but admittedly, flying was the more tiring option, especially these days. “Dunno,” she replied. “Thanks for coming to get me, though.” She leaned over to Applejack, resting against her shoulder. "I could have woken up in the Crystal Empire!"
Applejack chuckled belatedly, and nuzzled Rainbow Dash back. “Yeah, yeah.” She opened the door to the bathroom. “I’m takin’ a shower. Next time, try to stay awake; not everypony is as fast as you.”
Rainbow Dash smiled bashfully, scratching the back of her neck. “Heh, I’ll try my best,” she said. “Hey, can you help me with the letters later?”
The door to the bathroom closed. “Sure,” came Applejack’s reply from the other side. "I've finished writin' my own to Rares' so it'd be nice to help you out."
Rainbow breathed out. That was good, at least. It had been months since she had sent a letter to any of her friends… it wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but…
She felt so pathetic, gushing to them by letter, whining that she felt distracted and slow whenever they weren’t in the crowds she performed in front of. How foalish was it that not only did she need her friends around to help her compete, but couldn’t even figure out how to tell them how much she still needed them, even now? Applejack was sending letters to Rarity. Many times over Rainbow wished she had done the same, but… what was she supposed to write? Hey, it’s Applejack’s less cool marefriend, please feed me attention?
As she usually did, she stared into the window, her large, bright pegasus eyes adjusting to the light. Sometimes Rainbow wished she was nocturnal. The sun was overrated, she thought.
Apple Bloom passed her by, holding a saddlebag full of what looked like comics. Rainbow recognised them; they were Power Ponies comics.
“Didn’t know you were into those,” Rainbow said.
“They’re Spike’s,” Apple Bloom explained. “But they’re pretty fun, honest.” She smiled. Apple Bloom, like Applejack, handled mornings better than Rainbow. “I like the whole ‘technological civilisation’ side to it; like the whole world is like Manehattan.”
“I thought it was about ponies with superpowers,” Rainbow said, recalling her brief time inside the comic book world, as one of the titular Power Ponies, no less. A… weird day, to be sure, but not the weirdest.
“Well, I suppose they’d have to be superponies,” Apple Bloom explained, “If they wanted to stand out in a world full of mad scienceponies, aliens, and mutants.”
Rainbow turned the corners of her lips down into a scowl. “I don’t like stories with aliens in them,” she said. “They’re creepy. I prefer adventures with magic and sorcery! Y’know, realistic stories.”
“Meh,” Apple Bloom said. “It’s all made up anyhow.”
Rainbow shrugged. “I guess.” She folded her hooves. “Daring Do is still better, though.”
Technological societies? What rubbish. Rainbow couldn’t imagine a world where technology beat magic that wasn’t utterly fantastical. She turned back to face the window. Outside was the orchard. Rainbow rested her head against the glass.
A month ago, she had been sent away from the Wonderbolts on leave… at first, it had felt like just another problem to deal with. Now, after a month of going through Applejack’s gruelling training and conditioning, she felt ironically stronger than she had back then.
She still wondered what Spitfire had been thinking. Spitfire always had a plan… it was both her worst and her best attribute. She thought two moves ahead of everypony else, and there were so many dimensions to her thinking that it made Rainbow’s head spin.
Spitfire was young, too… As young as Rainbow Dash, though looking at Spitfire one would have a hard time telling. Rainbow remembered Spitfire in the same flying contests as her when she was young. Rainbow remembered losing to Spitfire, then gradually getting better and better… Other ponies came and went, sometimes winning, sometimes losing… but never Spitfire.
She always placed, no matter what.
Rainbow wished that she was as stable as Spitfire, sometimes… though at the same time, she didn’t envy her. Spitfire seemed so… cold, for a pony who burned so bright.
“You okay there?” Apple Bloom asked.
Rainbow turned back to the young filly. “I guess I’m just in a thinking mood today,” she said.
“So long as you don’t go back to mopin’ all the time,” Apple Bloom countered. “Remember when you came back here? Nothin’ but you starin’ outside and whinin’ about letters’n stuff.”
Rainbow winced. She didn’t like being reminded. “Well, Applejack’s been taking care of me,” she said. “So that’s been good.” She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t tell AJ I said that! It’s embarrassing.”
“It’s okay, she already knows.”
Rainbow groaned. “I know…”
Apple Bloom trotted down the stairs. “It’s okay. She’s used to bein’ a fussy ol’ mom and takin’ care of ponies.”
Rainbow frowned. Did Applejack like taking care of other ponies? She sighed. It kind of sucked, she thought, that Rainbow was just another pony to ‘take care of’. Was that all Rainbow was to Applejack? A big old problem to look after, like Apple Bloom or Granny Smith?
Probably not… but the thought couldn’t help but gnaw at the back of Rainbow’s mind.
She shook her head. Time to dispel those gloomy, unpleasant thoughts. There had been one condition Spitfire had given her when she had sent her away from the Wonderbolts. Well, several, mostly to do with her continuing responsibilities as a member of the team… but the biggest one was that she needed to train. Train harder, better, more vigorously than ever before.
"You heading out?" Applebloom asked, and narrowed her eyes. "Not going to try and take a shower with my sister?"
"Tempting! But no, I've got to train." Rainbow rolled her shoulders as she trotted past Applebloom. "I promised Spitfire, and besides, it's easier to not think as much when I'm training. Which is cool."
"You train a lot."
"I have a lot of thinking to not do!"
“Time is up.”
Spitfire peered over the top of her newspaper, eyeing Clip Busy with an impatient glare. “Wow, already?” she muttered sarcastically.
Clip put his hoof down on the table. “The interspecies race, the one spearheaded by Princess Twilight’s new policies, is going to be the launch of the new jet.” He narrowed his eyes. “I expect you to illustrate to me how your complete lack of progress is part of your overarching plan?”
Spitfire rolled her eyes. “You’re not making any sense at all,” she said. “Because I’ve made plenty of progress, and my plan therefore doesn’t include the lack of it in the slightest.” She folded the newspaper and put it down onto the table. The headliner was ‘Cloudsdale Professor Designs Revolutionary Machine’. The article itself was full of speculation and misinformation, naturally, but the fact it made headlines was worrisome enough.
“You’re on thin ice, Captain. I heard you sent Rainbow Dash away. Your best flyer, and she’s where?”
“On a farm, I think.” Spitfire scratched her head, and flicked the newspaper back up as both a shield and a display of nonchalance. “She said she had moved out to live with her marefriend...”
“What is the meaning of that? Why is she on a farm and not here?”
“I have the plan written in one of the drawers,” Spitfire said, gesturing towards the back of the room. “In the one labelled ‘none of your business’.”
Clip huffed. “Do not make light of this situation.”
“I’m not.” She pointed to a drawer. On it was the label ‘buzz off Clip’.
“The contest location is being moved,” Clip said, sidestepping the argument entirely. “I expect your headquarters can survive the added traffic?”
“My headquarters?” Spitfire asked, tilting her head. “Ah. The contest is being moved here.” She looked out the window, at the large, impeccably designed runway that made up the majority of headquarters, long enough to accommodate a full platoon of pegasus flyers and chariots… and, potentially, an oversized flying machine. She smirked. “I wonder why.”
“It’s not your job to wonder why.”
Spitfire groaned. “It absolutely is. How is it possible that the office has managed to mass-produce ponies as thick as you?” She leaned in. “Your time is up. Leave my office or I’m going to throw something at you.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’ll aim for the head.”
Clip backed away rapidly. “Win this race, Spitfire. This is your last chance!”
Spitfire bit her lip as Clip escaped the room. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
Spitfire’s hooves slammed into the cafeteria table, startling Soarin and Misty Fly both.
“We’re out of time,” Spitfire said. “Jet is on its way.”
Soarin immediately sucked the air in through his teeth, whilst Misty Fly looked at Spitfire, worried. “Are we in trouble?” she asked.
“Don’t know yet,” Spitfire replied. “We could be. That’d suck, huh?” She chuckled. “How fast have you guys been able to make it?”
“Well, I was able to break through the sound barrier,” Soarin told her. “I can do it pretty consistently, too… Though it meant me losing some weight.” He looked down at his middle, a sad expression on his face. “I liked that weight…”
“I can do it too, but it tires me out a lot after I finish it.” Misty gave Spitfire a somewhat optimistic smile. “The lights when it happens is pretty cool as well! I still can’t do it whilst ascending like Rainbow could, though.”
“Can,” Soarin corrected.
Spitfire frowned. She didn’t share in Misty’s apparent optimism. “Not good enough. The jet can supposedly fly up to three times the speed of sound. That and about a dozen other incredible feats, only a few of which I actually believe.” She ran her hoof through her mane. “We’ll need Dash after all.”
“Why did you send her away?” Soarin asked Spitfire. “It seems… uh, kinda reckless, right?”
“More reckless to keep her here,” Spitfire said. “I like Dash, I really do, but after her friends left Ponyville… she’s not exactly been the same.” She hung her head, clicking her tongue angrily. “It’s a problem. I sent her home so that way she can get her head in the game.”
“She’s been training at least, though?” Misty asked. “If I remember right, Rainbow was struggling to manage twice the speed of sound, and if we need her to fly past three times…”
“Yeah, she’ll have been training, hard.” Spitfire smirked. She had told Rainbow to train harder than ever before, but omitted to mention what for. The uncertainty would push Rainbow even harder, she reckoned. Hopefully she was right. Her smile faded away. “It’s not training that’s the problem for her, though. It’s her mind. Whatever… we need her back here and brought up to speed.” She got to her hooves. “Remember, if this jet wins, we lose funding. We lose funding, and…”
Misty Fly swallowed. “We lose Wonderbolts.” She took a deep breath. “Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to keep being rude to that annoying stallion… Clip, was it?”
“Are you kidding?” Spitfire asked. “I can do anything, but be nice to that waste of space? It’s beyond me.” She sat down. “He just likes throwing his weight around… loves that he can boss the Wonderbolts like he’s Duke Dashington.”
Soarin looked down at his plate, despondent. Spitfire put her hoof on Soarin’s shoulder. “C’mon, it’s not over yet. You know I’ve got a plan.”
“You never tell me what it is, though,” Soarin complained. “You never tell anypony.”
“That’s because I’m the queen,” Spitfire said, smiling smugly. “And you’re all my happy little pawns.”
Soarin got to his hooves. “You don’t even play chess!”
“No, but I love the analogies,” Spitfire replied. “C’mon, let’s go get our ace.”
Equestria was spread out before Spitfire and Soarin like a coloured in map, bending around the edges as the curvature of the planet became visible. The wind currents pulled her forward, pushing her up and along the veins of the sky, tunnels of easy flying that dragged her along for the ride. Spitfire loved the feeling of superiority she got from this.
“Where does RD live again?” Soarin asked.
“Ponyville,” Spitfire told him. She pointed eastward. “Down there. See that big dark green patch?”
“The forest?”
“Not a forest. An orchard.” Spitfire leaned to the side and dove down, increasing her speed tenfold. “Let’s go.”
The pair sped through the skies, hastily approaching the town. As they got closer, the glint of red shone between the green leaves. Apples, ripe for the harvest. Spitfire danced over the treetops and towards a large, wooden structure jutting above the horizon.
“Big farm!” Soarin exclaimed. “Wonder who owns it…”
Spitfire came to a sudden stop and explosively landed on the gravel leading into the main farming area. Soarin trotted to a halt behind her, more cautious in his landing. Spitfire took out a pair of shades from her saddlebag and positioned them on top of her nose. Everything darkened. Good.
“Let’s find Dash,” she said. “Here’s hoping she’s not been sitting on her flank and eating pastries all day.”
“You mean you’ve not been checking in on her?”
Spitfire turned to face Soarin as they trotted up past a series of carts, each one laden with harvest and tools, barrels and crates. “In what universe would that be a good idea? I need her in a good mental state. I just scare her; it’d be counterproductive.”
Soarin shook his head. “You don’t scare her. You’re just… a bit much, is all.” He sighed. “Rainbow is independent, and you’re sort of bossy… manipulative, kinda cruel sometimes…”
“Hey.” Spitfire shot Soarin a warning glare. “I’m not that bad.”
“Remember Rainbow Falls?”
“In my defence, that worked out in the end.”
Spitfire spied out the corner of her eye an orange mare emerging from the barn. Spitfire had an eye for athletic talent… a must, in her position… and she could easily identify her build as being one used to labour, but also athleticism. A not-too-unfamiliar look, and Spitfire had seen it before in others. The mare also wore a comical, appropriately themed hat.
Spitfire tilted her head. That was her, she knew. Rainbow Dash had told Soarin and the others about Applejack, often on break or on long flights from city to city. Not Spitfire, though. Rainbow didn’t talk to Spitfire much about her personal life. She wasn’t sure that Rainbow had talked to Soarin with the understanding that he’d actually remember what she said, either.
Still, Spitfire had a strong instinct. A beautiful mare working where Rainbow lived? It seemed too fitting to be anything but true.
“Hello?” Spitfire called, her voice less confident than she’d have liked. This wasn’t territory she was used to, after all. “I’m looking for Applejack.”
The mare turned to look up at Spitfire, putting down a barrel of apples she had been carrying on her back. Her eyes… her eyes were a deep green that transfixed Spitfire. They weren’t like emeralds… though the comparison could likely be made. Spitfire was brought to mind of looking into a forest, a deep and sprawling forest that extended forever and ever, over hills and mountains, lakes and rivers.
Yes, Spitfire could imagine Rainbow Dash falling for this one.
“You Spitfire?” she asked, putting down a heavy looking barrel labelled ‘cider’. “I’m Applejack, pleasure to meet ya’.”
Aw, she even had a cute accent! No wonder Rainbow liked her. Spitfire could imagine Rainbow being into that.
Spitfire’s eyes drifted to Applejack’s musculature. She had to stop herself from whistling. Impressive, she thought. If she had been a pegasus, Spitfire would be asking whether she had any interest in flying.
“It’s time for us to take Rainbow Dash back,” Spitfire told Applejack. “Where’s she right now?”
“Trainin’,” Applejack said, looking at Spitfire with an increasingly suspicious stare. “What’s the big idea? I thought she was trainin’ here now.”
“Training time is over. There’s a race that needs to be won.”
Applejack pointed westward. “She’s gone that way. I’ll take you to the lake.”
Lake? Spitfire didn’t recall seeing a lake from above. Then again, perhaps it was concealed by trees.
Spitfire and Soarin followed Applejack as she led the pair through the trees and grass. The smell of the orchard permeated every leaf. Wood and bark. Spitfire couldn’t help but feel relaxed, meditative.
“How has RD been?” Spitfire asked. “She was a bit rough when I sent her off.”
Applejack looked back at Spitfire. “She’s doin’ better.” Applejack walked on, a pensive and dark look on her face. “Rainbow likely relied on her friends… my friends too, mind… more’n most of us. Then they left on account of life ‘n stuff.” She pitched her head back. “Twilight’s in Canterlot, obviously. Rarity headed north to take care of some shop or other… Pinkie’s travellin’ with Cheese, and Fluttershy is who knows where, researchin’ animals with Discord. She mightn’t even be in this dimension…”
“Better now?” Spitfire interrupted.
“Better. We’re writin’ letters.” Applejack sighed. “It’d help if either me or Rainbow were any good at it… I mostly just write to Rarity these days, on account of her havin’ taken some interest in me for her silly lil’ novel...”
The path they followed went uphill. Not long after they left, Spitfire could hear the sound of water splashing. Odd, she mused. Lakes didn’t tend to make noise; perhaps there was a stream that poured into it from… somewhere? If they were on top of a hill…
Soarin went ahead, and whistled. “Well, looks like she’s been trainin’ well…”
Over the lake was what appeared to be a small cliff, which was likely what had concealed it from above. It cast a dark shadow over the pool of water, and on top of the rocky ridge a constant stream of water ran down from above.
“Here she is,” Applejack said.
Rainbow Dash was darting up and down, bucket in-between her teeth. Each time she dove, she scooped up another bucketful of water, and dragged it up to the top of the ridge, dumped it… and then flew back down for another before the water even had time to flow down to the bottom again. She was the source of the stream, driving it with every bucket she scooped up.
Spitfire smirked. “Pretty good. This an acceleration routine?”
“Nope,” Applejack said. “Stamina. She’s been doin’ this for thirty minutes.”
Soarin gulped. Spitfire laughed.
“Well, that’s a good start, isn’t it?” she chuckled. “Soarin, think you could keep up with that?”
“Maybe… if I trained a little harder…”
Rainbow finally noticed the three ponies approaching her, and slowed to a stop. Spitfire couldn’t tell how much of the moisture she was drenched in was sweat, or water from the drill.
“W-what’s up?” she asked. “Spitfire? What’re you doing here?”
“Here to pick you up, RD,” Spitfire shouted. “C’mere, I want to chat.”
Applejack looked up and down at Rainbow, and trotted over to her. "You'll catch cold like that. Where's that scarf I gave you?"
Rainbow looked around. "It's... uh..." She picked up a long, multicoloured and garish scarf from behind a bush. "Here! See. I still have it."
Applejack smiled. "I'm surprised. Would'a thought you'd have lost it."
"This thing? You said it makes me look, um..." Rainbow glanced over at Spitfire. "Uh, you know... c..."
Applejack looked back at Spitfire. “And you still do, Dash," she said with a warm smile. To Spitfire, she turned and said, "If it’s all right, I’ve got to head’n do chores.” She narrowed her eyes at the captain. “Play nice.”
“Don’t you trust me?” Spitfire asked, flashing Applejack her best smile. It didn’t seem to work. Spitfire internally wondered if Applejack could detect insincerity.
“We’ll see,” Applejack replied, and trotted off. “See you in a bit, Dash. Stay safe.”
“You know I'm always safe, AJ!” Rainbow Dash dropped the bucket by the side of the pool and advanced towards Spitfire. “What’s the deal? You said, and I quote, ‘go home to wherever it is you come from and train super hard, or you’ll regret it’.” She narrowed her eyes as she wrapped her scarf around her neck to avoid the chill. Odd, since Spitfire thought that Rainbow Dash, as a pegasus, would be pretty okay with a bit of cold. “You always have a play in mind. What’s your game?”
“Ever heard of flying machines?”
Rainbow scoffed. “Heard of them? I’ve nearly crashed into them a few times. Pretty stupid things, if you ask me.”
“Well, one of them is going to be racing against us, and it’s probably going to win.” Spitfire scratched her neck. “It can… supposedly… fly faster than three times the speed of sound. I don’t have exact numbers, but that’s still faster than pretty much every Wonderbolt I’ve ever heard of.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened as realisation came to her. She squared her jaw and leaned in towards her captain. “That’s why you sent me home?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“You want me to fly… against this flying machine thing?”
“It’s being called a ‘jet’.”
“Jet, whatever. That’s the deal?”
“Yes.”
“Huh.”
“Any questions?”
“What if I lose?” Rainbow asked.
Spitfire flashed Rainbow Dash a nervous smile. “Well, we’ll probably lose our funding, I’ll have to fire half of my Wonderbolts, and I’ll likely lose my job. We’ll also lose most of our public image and, personally, I’d be pretty upset.”
Rainbow Dash swallowed. “That’s… what?”
“Cloudsdale politics.”
“Oh.” Rainbow sucked the air in through her teeth. “That sucks.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah,” Soarin chimed in.
Rainbow was rubbing her chin with her hoof. She swallowed. “I’m… huh.”
“You up for it?” Spitfire frowned. “I know you weren’t doing so great after… y’know, most of your buddies went and left. Your performance scores were way down when I sent you out here… I was hoping that spending time at home with your pals would help you get your stuff sorted out.” She folded her forelegs in front of her as she sat down. “Did you?”
“Um… mostly.” Rainbow Dash sighed. “I’m kinda sorry, but… I’ve not exactly found flying fun for a while now…”
Spitfire felt like the ground was opening up beneath her. Flying… not fun? “You… excuse me?!”
“But you’re the best flyer in the world!” Soarin exclaimed. “How could you not…”
“I… don’t know, okay?” Rainbow sighed. “It doesn’t feel the same any more.” She kicked the ground. “I’m only telling you because this sounds like a big deal. Bigger than usual.”
Spitfire was on her hooves again, her face and mind a storm. What the hay? Rainbow was an excellent flyer, one of the best. She had won more contests in her short career than many flyers won in their lives. Was that not enough incentive to get back into the game? What could be better than winning?! “You saying you won’t participate?”
Rainbow ran her hoof through her mane. “No, I will.” She stood up straight. “For a while now I’ve just… been a burden to AJ. I want to prove that I’m more than that. I guess beating your dumb jet will do that, right?”
Spitfire calmed herself down somewhat. It wasn’t a total loss… Good. Whatever… whatever the reason Rainbow wanted to fly, it just had to be a reason.
“Okay then.” She put her hooves on Rainbow’s shoulders. “Look, it’s going to be pretty tough. First we need to see this beast in action. Could be we’re worrying for nothing if the jet turns out to be this broken-down wreck, huh?”
“Yeah, sure.” Rainbow nodded. “When do we leave?”
“Pretty soon. Contest is in a few days. I need you in Cloudsdale for it.” Spitfire adjusted her sunglasses. “At the very least, it ought to be fun.”
Soarin breathed out. “Well, I’m not having fun…”
Rainbow swallowed. “Y-yeah. Fun…”
Spitfire caught Rainbow’s nervous look. “Still not convinced?”
“I’m fine.”
Spitfire narrowed her eyes. Between the revelation of Rainbow failing to enjoy flying any more and the omnipresent worry of having to beat Professor Vector’s machine, she didn’t want to take chances.
“Worried about leaving the farm?” she asked.
“K-kinda, I guess.” Rainbow shrugged. “It’s just been a long time since I’ve been to a race on my own…”
“I’ll be there,” Spitfire told her. “I’m, like, company and stuff.”
Rainbow gave Spitfire a look, like Spitfire was the equivalent of a cheap, bottom-shelf knock-off product. Spitfire sighed. She had to admit, she wasn’t exactly sociable on most days…
“What if I told you I could get you a set of special horseshoes that would let you bring a plus one?” Spitfire said. “You know, Cloudsdale is very beautiful this time of year.” She leaned in. “Might make for a nice little trip for the pretty orange pony… And if you haven’t left here that much, then I can only imagine you’ve been very bad at taking her anyplace nice... tut, tut...”
Rainbow groaned, and narrowed her eyes. “Fine. Fine!” She turned to leave. “But that was a cheap shot, Spits.”
“That’s Captain Spits to you. And I prefer the term ‘cost-efficient’, not cheap.”
Applejack stared out the window of the airship as it gently drifted through the sky. A pile of half-written letters were laid out on the tiny table in between her and Rainbow, who was admiring the view… not the view out the window, but rather opposite her.
“Y’know, I’ve visited Cloudsdale… only a few times now, if I remember right… but I’ve never gone ‘n stayed there.” Applejack turned back to Rainbow Dash, beaming. “Should be fun!”
“Yeah, well, it won’t all be fun and games,” Rainbow told her, leaning over the table. “I’m going to be there for a race. Against something called a ‘jet’, of all things. Never heard of it before…”
“Didn’t you go and visit some lab or other? Some sort of science exchange? You talked about it a while back…”
“Maybe, but I don’t remember.” Rainbow rubbed her eyes, feeling fatigue take over. “I remember talking to a bunch of white coats and them stuffing me into this wind-tunnel thing so they could watch me fly. I don’t remember any jet or flying machine. It was super boring.”
Applejack held Rainbow a thermos, which gave off the smell of coffee. Rainbow hesitated as she went to take it in her hooves, before taking a long sip. It tasted bitter and angry, which was the perfect way to drink coffee.
“Thought you might need somethin’ to keep you awake,” Applejack said. “No missin’ our stops this time.”
“Hardy har.”
“Anyhow.” Applejack leaned over the table, peering at the half-written letters. “Okay, well, shall we move on?”
Rainbow sighed. She looked down at the letters. The one on the top was for Twilight, and was the one closest to completion. She bit her lip; it wasn’t anywhere near as good as she wanted it to be.
Hello Twi,
Hope you’re doing okay! I’ve had it a bit rough lately; miss you all so much. I’ve been staying with Applejack lately to have some company. It’s been great fun. Will be flying at the interspecies cup soon, and was hoping you would come and see watch?
Hope ruling Equestria isn’t too hard,
Rainbow Dash
Rainbow scowled. ‘Hope ruling Equestria isn’t too hard’? That just sounded… snarky and snide. Rainbow groaned. She’d never get this right… Plus it was tiny! A minuscule letter, and most of it was just her whining about being… lonely. How sad was that?
“Why don’t you write and include a picture or somethin’?” Applejack asked. “I’ve got a couple of us together…”
Rainbow Dash glanced over at Applejack. She had been helping her so much with this… with everything. Every step along the way Applejack had been providing suggestions and things to say…
Rainbow wished she could just fly over to Twilight herself, but every time she tried, or wanted to try, Twilight was away, far away. And whenever she wasn’t, Rainbow Dash was busy, or helping Applejack, or tired… or scared.
Everything was a mess. She stared over at Applejack, who was rummaging through her saddlebags for pictures. Rainbow didn’t deserve Applejack, really. She was insecure and imperfect, whereas Applejack was confident, strong and… well, perfect. Mostly.
She could fix hogging the sheets, though. And snoring.
Rainbow smiled. “Yeah, sure. That sounds like a good idea,” she said. Picking up a pen in her teeth, she wrote:
I’ve included a picture of me and AJ; she’s been great and I’m sure would love to see you too…
Rainbow grinned as she watched Applejack return to staring out the window at the landscape below them. “Thanks for coming with me; it’s a big deal for me.”
Rainbow retreated inside her scarf. It was starting to get a bit warm, but she hoped Applejack would notice. All of a sudden, Applejack sank into Rainbow's side, using her neck as a pillow.
“Anytime.” Applejack yawned, and positioned her hat down over her eyes. “I’m going to get some shut-eye. So long, sugarcube.”
It wasn't a compliment on how she looked, but hey, it worked out well enough.
Spitfire stood in her office, observing the runway from her window. Outside it was getting progressively darker, as afternoon turned to evening, but the runway was nothing but bustle. Below her, draped in thick linen cloth, was a huge shape, larger than any pony and dwarfing most dragons. It had wings… that much Spitfire could tell, slanted and sharp, swept back. It had a nose, also sharp, pointed, and elongated. Even underneath the thick cloth, it appeared ready to pounce, coiled.
Spitfire breathed in. She hoped for her sake that Rainbow Dash had it in her to beat this thing. She couldn’t bear it if the Wonderbolts would be replaced with some… machine. A hunk of metal, held together with rivets and bolts. No exercise or soul required; simply mass produced speed.
It was an insult.
She turned away from the sight. She didn’t mind that it existed; that was fine, everything had a purpose. She didn’t mind that the scienceponies of Cloudsdale had made it; they had to make a living. She minded that they thought it could replace her, replace the Wonderbolts. The nerve.
Spitfire sat down at her desk, and retreated into her own mind.
Of course, they were likely being pressured by the EIA same as Spitfire was… they were just trying to get funding, continue their own existence. Who could blame them? Spitfire breathed out. Perhaps she was too… harsh on them.
In the dark, she began to plot, and plan. Her pawns were advancing… the landscape of the board was set.
What would be her next move, she wondered?
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That train scene at the beginning was... unique.
10706128 No, you're unique! : )