Even Rainbows Falter

by Pracca

Moving Up

A nippy winter breeze passed silently across the wispy tops of Cloudsdale. The sun freshly set, the town was ready to embrace the night. All except for one home on the fringe of the city. Squat, by pegasus standards, and wide, it only had two floors and was nestled snugly with clouds on all sides but the front door. Rainbow Dash noted that on some nights, it looked more like a bunker than a house.

Of course, Captain Spitfire was a very military-minded pony, so of course she would have reserved lodgings. She knew this, but it did little to comfort her when she looked at the place. How lonely must she get here, by herself?

She wouldn’t be lonely tonight, though. Rainbow stood on a wispy white hill some quarter of a mile away, and already she could the warm yellow light emanating from her front door, swung wide open to greet her guests. A quartet of ponies were gathered out front, talking amongst themselves as the rainbow-maned mare approached. One of them flagged her down. “Yo, Dash!”

“Soarin, what’s up?” she called back, zipping over to join their group. Everypony present tonight was dressed in their formal uniforms; Dash preferred the flightsuits, personally, but even years into her service she still felt that little rush of authority whenever she put on the uniform.

“I was kinda hoping you’d know!” the blue-maned stallion replied, in that agelessly juvenile voice he possessed. “Spitfire’s still inside talking with the others; said she was waiting for the last pony to arrive.” He chuckled a bit. “Guess that meant you.”

“Heh, yeah, guess so…” the mare admitted, nervously pawing at the ground. She was ready for another round of jokes, but when she looked up she could see the other teammates were already walking for the door, and Soarin’s face was troubled, like a dangerous word rested on the tip of his tongue. She took a step closer, trying to examine his expression.

“…Dash?”

“Yeah, Soarin?”

“You think Spits is alright? Like, really?”

A frown tugged at the corners of Rainbow’s mouth. “It’s… not really like her to call a meeting out of the blue like this, is it?”

“It’s not.” He replied, in a voice far too subdued for him.

“Well…” she put a hoof over his shoulder and began walking with him. “Well, we’re not gonna find out anything until we get in there. Let’s get going.”

Soarin nodded slowly, keeping pace alongside her. “Sounds good.”

The pair were the last to enter Spitfire’s home, and at once they were taken aback by the atmosphere.

It looked like a party.

Her front door led straight into the living room, painted a muted yellow made warmer by the simplistic chandelier hanging from the center of the room. It was situated over a long table draped with a white cloth, on which a dozen platters full of every hors d’oeuvre imaginable sat. A bowl of ruby red punch sat at one end, with only a few glasses remaining; the rest had been claimed.

In another corner, sinking into the plush, light blue carpet, was a table devoted entirely to alcohol. A keg of Sweet Apple Cider, a keg of Clouds-Ale, and a keg of Applewhisky all the way out from Appleloosa. Spitfire had brought in the haul.

Nopony seemed to be present in this room, though. They were about to call out, when a familiar voice beat them to the punch.

“Hey, you two. I was wondering if you were ever gonna show.”

Captain Spitfire stepped in through the arch to the next room over, and at once Soarin and Spitfire moved to embrace her. The Captain choked in surprised when one hoof from each practically strangled her.

“ACK—OK, I’m glad to see you guys too, but… seriously can’t breathe!”

Both subordinates immediately backed off, chuckling like a couple of guilty foals, and blushing accordingly. Spitfire gave them a confused arch of an eyebrow as she took a step back. “Really, it’s great you both made it, but why—“ her eyes went wide, and she relaxed into a sort of understanding expression.

“Oh, I get it. You think this is some kind of disaster again, don’t you?”

“Disaster?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Again?” asked Soarin.

Spitfire’s eyebrow arched ever higher, like she was genuinely surprised they didn’t understand the context of her words. “You two do this every time I call a same-night meeting. Remember when I announced the big trip to Neighagara Falls? Or when I brought you up to Canterlot to prank that griffin flight team?”

As Spitfire went down her list of multiple late-night, short-notice meetings, both of her loyal ponies began to feel just a tidbit of shame creeping in. Dash began to consider the possibility that maybe she was a bit too fussy over her Captain.

“Er, sorry Spits.” Soarin said, nervously hoofing at the floor. “Guess we should ask before we assume it’s something bad.” He jerked his head up, with an imploring expression. “It’s not anything bad, right?”

Dash waited for Spitfire’s usual calm assurance. She waited, but it didn’t come. The bright yellow mare’s expression shifted, wobbling between fear and anxiety.

“…Captain?..” she asked.

“It’s—oh, Celestia. How do I put this?” Spitfire gnawed on the tip of her hoof, trying to think of how to word what she wanted to say. She finally sighed, bowing her head as she directed both of her friends into the other room. “I’ll explain it all to everypony in a moment. Go take your seats, please.”

Spitfire turned and slowly trotted back into the other room, leaving Rainbow and Soarin to share a final glance of worry. They followed her in. The rest of the Wonderbolts were already gathered, something around two dozen of Equestria’s finest pegasi. The usual chit-chat prior to these meetings was absent. They all sat in their seats, patiently waiting for their captain to speak. The last two arrivals slipped into their own chairs, and watched as Spitfire paced in front of the all.

This was, in theory, a family room of some sort, though the Captain had converted it into a meeting room long ago. The table usually used to hold the map of Equestria had been folded up and placed to the side, leaving plenty of room for the chairs holding everypony present. Up at the front, where an announcement lectern usually stood, Spitfire chose to forego any electronics and speak directly.

“Colts, mares, I’ve been your Captain for—gosh, I don’t even want to count the years anymore. I shouldn’t, if I want to keep saying I’m turning 28 this year.”

That elicited a few nervous chuckles from the ponies watching her. Anything to try and break the tense atmosphere.

“It’s been a good ride. For me at least. You’re all some of the bravest, most clever, fastest ponies I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. So, I trust you implicitly, and I need to break rank and ask you frank…” she bowed her head a bit, ears folded back. “have I been a good captain?”

Rainbow felt a pang of guilt, even as she was certain she had done nothing wrong. Spitfire’s demeanor on any given day was to be defined as nothing less than “chill”. To see her ask something so earnest, so desperate, was highly unusual; and more than a little heartbreaking.

“The hay are you talking about?!” came the voice of Soarin, standing out of his seat and staring indignantly at her. “You’re the greatest captain in Wonderbolts history!”

The other Wonderbolts all threw up their hooves and whooped in agreement. Dash saw the tiny smile on the Captain’s face as she watched her team cheer for her.

“Thanks, guys. That means a lot to me; more than you could realize.” Spitfire straightened her back out, and stood more erect as she started speaking again.

“Like I said, I cherish every moment I’ve spent as a part of this team; I hope you’ve enjoyed my time here just as much. But… I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately.”

Everypony in the room hushed, and stared straight at their CO. She couldn’t mean…

“I’m getting old, guys. I think I might be the longest-running Captain in the team’s history. It’s nice on paper, but I’m getting tired. I feel exhausted, like the weight of the world’s on my shoulders.”

Dash gulped. She wanted to deny it for Spitfire’s sake, but she couldn’t. She could, even from this distance, clearly see the heavy bags under her eyes, and the delay in her motions. The fatigue was as plain as day.

“It’s all getting to be so much, and… and I just can’t take it anymore. So, I wanted you all to be the first to know, and I wanted it to be from my lips, not some slip of paper. I’m quitting the Wonderbolts.”

A cacophony of protests and displeasure erupted. Every Wonderbolt present threw their hooves in the air, begging their captain to reconsider. Rainbow Dash charged out of her seat, pushing everypony else out of the way as she got up to the front.

“Are you crazy?” she yelled. “You’re, like, the super-captain! Nopony could replace you, you can’t quit!”

Spitfire smiled at her favorite hothead, and shook her head side to side. “Sorry, Dash, but it’s not about who can replace me. I wish it had come at a better time, but the stress is just catching up to me. I know my limits, and I know when I’ve hit my peak.” She stepped forward and put a hoof on Dash’s shoulder. “That peak was long ago, and it’s only going downhill from here. I’d like to hang up my uniform while it’s still got some credibility attached, you know?”

Rainbow opened her mouth before she had anything to say, wracking her brain for something to snap the captain out of this crazy idea. But as she thought, more and more, the truth dawned on her. She was forced, and terrified, to face the facts. Spitfire was right.

She bowed her head, and felt the captain muss up her hair with a hoof.

“C’mon, Dash, lighten up.”

Confused, the junior Wonderbolt looked back up at her superior. Spitfire was smiling warmly, and gesturing back into the living room they had seen when they first entered. She waved everyone through the door.

“Everypony, you’ve gotta understand, I don’t like doing this. So I’m not going to just send you off into the night with heavy horseapples like that. Have a drink, eat some food, let’s live it up one more night, all right? Consider it one last order from your captain.”

The Wonderbolts gave a holler of joy, celebrating their last night with Captain Spitfire. One by one they marched dutifully into the living room with the sole purpose of getting drunk off their plots. Soon enough, only Spitfire, Dash and Soarin remained in the meeting room. They stood in a triangle, glancing back and forth, and trying to find the right words to say.

Spitfire found them first.

“Twenty bits says I can drink more of that Applewhisky than you novices combined!”

“Oh-ho, you’re on!”

---

The party went for hours. Ponies laughed, and reminisced about their favorite missions and performances. Dozens of drinking games and eating contests took place, little cliques of Wonderbolts trying to outdo one another. Groups gossiped on who the new captain might be, as the booze helped settle in the notion that Spitfire was actually, honestly leaving them. As the night passed, the image of the Grand Captain began to fade, and they spoke with her as an equal and a drinking buddy. This had its ups and downs for her. On the one hand, she was treated with both reverence and a bit of japery; she got in on inside jokes and pranks she’d, by protocol, never been able to before. But more than once, Spitfire’s “Dork Age” of repeated failures was brought up, to her chagrin. It was one thing to be overpowered by mad cows when Discord attacked, but being taken out by Twilight Sparkle’s assistant was just sad.

There wasn’t a single pony not drunk off their plot and full of food, ready to burst by the end, somewhere around midnight. The door to Spitfire’s home was flung open, and she sad goodnight to them, calling them each by name as they passed. The second to last was Soarin, who she took almost an entire minute to speak with in private before sending him off.

The last, was Rainbow Dash. The cyan mare moved for the door, but it shut in her face. Still feeling the effects of the Applewhisky, she was a bit disoriented by Spitfire’s surprisingly serious demeanor.

“Dash? I need you to stay behind; we’ve gotta talk.”

Confused, Rainbow Dash was led back into the meeting room, where Spitfire situated two armchairs to face more or less towards each other. Both mares relaxed, swishing around the last two glasses of Canterlot Brandy that Spitfire had dug up from her cellar about an hour beforehand. The soon-to-be ex-captain sniffed the beverage carefully, and spoke in a slurred state that only her equally-drunk subordinate could understand.

“Dang, that’s a good year. Older than my parents. You drink much, Dash? You held your booze pretty good tonight.”

“Nah, hic, not really.” Dash replied, slamming down her own sip of wine before placing the glass off to the side. “I’m… I’m just kinda awesome, y’know?”

“Oh-ho, I know.” Spitfire chuckled, raising her glass in a mock toast before finishing off the rest of it. She let out an unnecessarily overstated sigh, and gave a curious look at Dash. “Do you know why I kept you here?”

“No, not really.” Dash said, shrugging. “Just thought maybe you wanted one more beer before the night was over.”

“Well, that’d be pretty great.” Spitfire agreed. “But no, that’s not it.” She pointed at Dash.

“I don’t trust those suits to bring in a new captain, all right? So as my last act it’s my job to appoint a good pony to promote and take my place. Right now, Dash, that choice is you.”

Rainbow was taken aback, and even in her stupor her face was appropriately expressing itself. “W-whoa, what?! Me?! Are you serious?!”

“Why the hay wouldn’t I be?” Spitfire asked. “You’re perfect for the job.”

Rainbow shook her hooves in protest. “Whoa-ho, Spits, seriously, I am honored like you wouldn’t believe, but I’m not the pony you want for this job. Seriously, what about Soarin? He’s almost as much a vet as you are.”

Spitfire sighed, and planted her face in a hoof. “Dash, you know Soarin’s not cut out to lead a team! He’s like a little brother to me, but I can’t in good conscience put him in charge. For the team’s sake and for his, he couldn’t take the stress of the job.”

She leaned forward and pointed at the younger mare again. “But you could. You’re the best flyer on the team, by far, Dash. And hic you’re more dedicated to the Wonderbolts than I have a right to ask of anyone. Please, Dash, I need somepony I can trust in this position!”

Dash sighed, and crossed her hooves. “I… I really wanna help you out, Spits, seriously. But I’ve got a family to think about, y’know? I spend enough time away from Twi and Opal as it is, and I’m not sure—“

“Dash. Please. For the team, for me.”

Spitfire had leaned so far forward that she was about to fall out of her chair. Dash’s addled mind swarmed with protests, but like a lance the compulsion to be the leader their team -- her team -- needed broke through them all. Against the protests in her gut, Rainbow finally nodded.

“All right.” She said, bowing her head to Spitfire, who looked absolutely overjoyed. “I don’t know if I’ve got what it takes to be the Captain you want me to be; but if you’re so certain I’ve gotta try, right?”

Spitfire, in a brief moment of drunkenness—or perhaps just sheer elation—leaped out of her chair and embraced Rainbow in a tight hug.

“Thank you, Dash.” She whispered into her ear. “Seriously. I wouldn’t be able to rest until I knew somepony I could trust was in charge.”

Dash stammered, blushing as she felt the mounting awkwardness of being embraced by a pony who was, among other things, her childhood idol and distinctly not her wife. But a little bit of wisdom told her to let the booze talk for Spitfire, just for tonight, and patted her nearly official ex-Captain on the back.

“Glad to do it, Spits.”

The rest of their time together was spent in silence. Spitfire had one last shot of whiskey, and the pair headed for the exit. Rainbow said her final goodbyes to Spitfire at the door, wishing her luck with whatever she chose to do with her retirement.

"That's the beauty of it, Dash. That 'whatever'... it really could mean anything."

The door shut behind the junior Wonderbolt--or, rather, the new captain-- and she turned away to look at the night sky. Luna's moon looked very close from the high rises of Cloudsdale. By noon the next day, Spitfire would have filled out the paperwork. Rainbow Dash will be the new captain. That revelation sunk in for the first time.

She’d done it. She’d really, honestly done it. Her life’s dream, right there in front of her. It was almost more than she could take, and she let out a yelp of joy as she took to the skies.

She could only hope Twilight would feel the same way.

Comments

[Poniard Dagger]

Brilliant.

[Darastrix]

Man I bucking love this story. You sir are a genius. However, I have read Even Rainbows Fade and so I constantly have this voice in the back of my head reminding me of what happens to Rainbows career. Sorry if that seems like a spoiler to anyone who hasn't read ERF ( if you haven't than what the hell are you waiting for, go read. It is the greatest hit to the feels you will ever experience.) but I just had to get it off my chest.
With that said keep it up man. All while reading EFR I kept thinking how you could write those memories in the story as stand alone tales, I even thought about asking you if I could use elements from it as the basis for my own story, but this is 1,000,000 times better. Update soon please ?

[Lenora Goff]

I'm actually waiting for this to be done before I read Rainbows Fade. This is the prequel, right?

[Pracca]

1192527 Yes, this is the prequel.

[Lenora Goff]

1193303

Looking forward to reading more of this story, then. ^_^

[BenRG]

Loyalty is a funny thing; it can't be given selectively. It has to go to everyone you care about.