Rainbow Dash's Unstoppable Ego

by MagicS

True Pegasus XI

Rainbow Dash tossed and turned atop the small cot that was hers in the barracks. Even after all these days she couldn’t quite get comfortable on it like she could on a normal bed of clouds or her bed back home in Cloudsdale. It was too narrow, too thin, and the pillow wasn’t fluffed enough. Most of the time she was tired enough to fall asleep anyways but she ended up squirming about all night and never felt as rested as she should the following morning. If she was in charge here the first thing she would do is requisition some new beds for the whole barracks.

She was still asleep but her lack of comfort would cause her to awaken soon, there was nothing she could do to avoid that. Her restless state had left her bereft of dreams since coming up here and tonight was no different. Rainbow Dash’s sleeping self was just stuck in a cacophony of darkness and nothingness until she finally returned to the waking world. And even then all she had to look forward to was more drills and more of Crescent Moon yelling at her. Maybe she’d be able to go out on a real patrol around the city for once or be allowed to go somewhere without an escort or see something else interesting in the city. But she didn’t hold out hope for that. The past few days she’d been stuck on base because her “superior” officer hadn’t thought she’d gotten beat down enough by their constant training schedule and made to feel like a real pegasus. All those other days in a row where she had gone off somewhere else came back to bite her.

Her hooves were kicking about unconsciously and she grasped and balled up the sheet covering her, hugging it close to her chest like it was Tank. Although she would’ve been embarrassed to death if anyone saw her sleeping like this it was slightly more comfortable than how she had been before. Her wings flapped and fluttered a bit in her bed now that they weren’t covered. A sign of how restless they had been and how much they always hated to be restrained or without the space to move freely.

With her now having achieved a temporarily comfortable spot her body slowed down and a snot bubble formed as she breathed in and out through her nose. It was close to morning but maybe for this last little bit of sleep she could have some peace.

RIIIIIIINNNNGGG!

Rainbow Dash’s eyes shot open as the shrill ringing noise shot through her ears. The sudden and unexpected alarm caused her to jolt up and scramble about like someone had lit a fire under her bed, her limbs flailed about as she knocked her pillow and sheet away and she unceremoniously fell onto the floor where she struggled to get up until she finally rose and swiftly looked around with wide eyes to figure out just what the hay was going on.

She wasn’t the only one either, the entire barracks was woken up by the loud noise, some of her fellow soldiers also falling out of bed while a few managed a much more dignified response. It was a rarity but the barracks was currently completely occupied by soldiers; none of the various squads that used it were on leave. Everyone was groggy and looking around in confusion until they finally managed to focus on where the sound had come from.

Crescent Moon, that eye-patch wearing sergeant, and a number of other officers Rainbow Dash recognized from the base, were standing at the door leading outside the barracks in full armor. They looked serious and it instantly made Rainbow Dash frown. And in the center of them all stood Captain East Wind. Or maybe West Wind. What was going on?

Her and everyone else quickly stood at attention and waited to be informed of what the deal was. When the noise in the barracks had quieted down, the eye-patch wearing sergeant put away the whistle he had used to wake everyone up and Crescent Moon stepped forward.

“Everyone! Get your armor and get dressed as quickly as possible. The Frost Wolves are attacking us again,” he evenly stated.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. A battle? There was actually going to be a battle between the Empire and one of its enemies today? She couldn’t keep the excitement from building up in her, she’d get to do some real fighting today, something that really made her feel like she was on an adventure. She may not have been too keen on fighting for Commander Blizzard and his aspirations but right now that was trumped by the certain awesomeness that awaited her. There was some mumbling from the other soldiers but they quickly got their armor and began putting it on, Rainbow Dash followed suit and pulled the trunk out from under her bed to strap on her gleaming and well taken care of armor.

East/West Wind watched and when it looked like everyone had finished getting ready and returned to standing at attention he took up from where Crescent Moon left off. “Our scouts say it looks like they snuck into our territory from the east in the dead of night. Surely you know what must be done to any foe that seeks to encroach on our Empire? We shall fly down to meet them and drive them out, not an inch must be taken by those savage wolves. Do you understand!” He finished with a shout.

“Sir, yes sir!” The entire barracks shouted back.

“Excellent,” the Captain nodded. His eyes flickered to Rainbow Dash for a brief second as he looked across the assembled soldiers. “I am certain you will be victorious. No pegasus under Commander Blizzard can fail.”

The Captain turned to leave and Crescent Moon cleared his throat. “Troops, fall out!”

The assembled soldiers began to file out of the barracks, Rainbow Dash joined up with her squad and found herself walking side by side with Summer Rains as they exited the building. It was as early as it could be and still be called morning outside with sunlight just barely beginning to brighten up the city. She saw more troops coming out of the other barracks as well, it looked like every soldier on base was going to be part of this battle.

“Hey,” she said to Summer Rains. “Is this how things normally are when the Frost Wolves attack?”

“More or less,” he said back to her as he kept his eyes on the pegasi ahead of him. “They usually bring decent numbers and they can be vicious fighters so we try to overwhelm them with superior numbers of our own. Sometimes they come in direct daylight or late at night, our scouts usually see them moving and getting ready to attack long before they actually get into our territory but it sounds like they were sneakier this time.”

“Fine by me, I’m itching for a chance to kick some butt,” Rainbow Dash smirked.

“You’ll get it,” the far more even-tempered Summer Rains didn’t quite share the enthusiasm she had. “I know it’s probably foolish of me to say this considering what you’ve accomplished but be careful fighting them, they can be dangerous.”

“I’m the last pony you need to worry about here,” Rainbow Dash cockily responded.

That did get a small smirk to tug at Summer Rains’ lips. “Yes, I don’t doubt that. This is a serious battle though and soldiers often get hurt in these excursions with the wolves.”

“Well with me here I’ll do my best to end it faster than normal and make them run away scared with their tails between their legs,” she tapped him on the side with her wing.

There wasn’t time for any more conversation as they had to halt along with the other soldiers at the edge of the base, which was also the edge of the city itself. The soldiers stood in several lines at the ends of the clouds and looked over them to the ground below. From here they would fly off and follow their officers to the wolves and engage in battle. It was like they were jumping off a cliff or the edge of the world. And Rainbow Dash couldn’t wait for it.

Both Captain East and West Wind were here as well, waiting for every other soldier to get in line so they could move out as one huge unit. Rainbow Dash looked up and down the lines and saw well over a hundred pegasi ready for battle. She didn’t know how many Frost Wolves there would be but this still promise to be a huge fight.

It made her even more excited.

East Wind and West Wind flew up and hung in the sky. One of them, she still couldn’t tell which, began to speak. “The battle shall now begin! As soldiers of the Eternal Pegasus Empire you will follow our lead and destroy our enemies!”

The other then joined with a shout, pumping his hoof into the air. “For the Empire! For Commander Blizzard!”

All of the other soldiers assembled joined in with a brief shout out except for Rainbow Dash. She just didn’t have it in her to cheer for the Commander.

East and West Wind dove down to the ground and the other officers followed suit with the lines of the rank and file soldiers walking up and flying off the clouds behind them. Rainbow Dash was in the last line to jump and she did it with the rest of her squad, all of them flying in unison as a great aerial battalion. They flew through the open space that the great city floated in until they reached the wall of clouds that stood to the east; whereupon the two Captains took them to right beneath those gray and white clouds. They probably could’ve flown in the clouds for cover but obviously stealth wasn’t the aim here. They wanted the wolves to see them coming and to face them directly. There would be no sneak attacks from the Empire’s pegasi. The hundred odd group of soldiers flew in the air, skimming the underside of the clouds, watching the ground below. Green tundra, small rivers and streams, the odd drift of snow, Rainbow Dash took it all in on her flight to the battlegrounds.

The soldiers were quiet and didn’t speak to one another as they flew hard in the sky. Rainbow Dash could’ve easily left them in the dust but the point of things was for them to all get there and attack the wolves at the same time. It would’ve been just like ruining a Wonderbolts formation in a show back home, just because she could do something didn’t always mean she should.

Still, flight was a far faster way of travel than just running or marching along the ground and it wasn’t long before Rainbow Dash and the others could see a large group of silvery forms crossing the tundra up ahead. Rainbow Dash vaguely recalled seeing silver wolves somewhere, maybe when she was sick? Her mind was so cloudy from that day when her cold was at its absolute worst that only bits and pieces of her memories were available. Either way it was the Frost Wolves for certain. A grin formed on her face, they would be able to descend on them in just a moment. She couldn’t tell how many wolves there were but it definitely wasn’t as many as their own forces. Fifty perhaps. Maybe sixty if she was generous. A two to one advantage in their favor.

“Dive!” The twin Captains yelled together, angling down and bringing the rest of the soldiers with them on a steep descent towards the wolves. “And attack!”

Rainbow Dash didn’t need to be told twice. The ground quickly rose up to meet her as the soldiers made their “charge” against the wolves. The Frost Wolves saw them coming too and a number of piercing howls rang out across the tundra, Rainbow Dash’s heart was pounding as a few soldiers yelled out battle cries in response to the howling.

“Let’s do this!” She shouted.

Just barely ten feet above the ground the pegasi soldiers leveled out and the wolves ran to meet them, jumping into the air and trying to knock down and tackle as many of the pegasi to the ground as possible. Rainbow Dash saw a few soldiers being hit like this, the wolves were quick and agile and twice the size of an average stallion. And they were really good jumpers too. A single thwack from one of their paws was enough to send a pegasus off-balance and careening to the ground. And that was nothing compared to them actually being able to grab a wing in their jaws or crash their whole body into one of Dash’s comrades.

The wolves didn’t have any armor of their own but they were completely fearless and tough enough to just crash themselves into their enemies.

One of them popped up in front of Rainbow Dash but her reactions were far faster than the average soldier and she expertly dodged right over his head and kicked him in the face with her back hooves as she passed by. The wolf yelped and fell to the ground along with a few unfortunate others. By now it had become nothing more than a huge melee of low flying pegasus and wolves flying and jumping at each other. She didn’t know much about how actual armies fought or anything but this seemed a little chaotic. Weren’t there supposed to be battle lines, and strategy, and didn’t they have the advantage just because they could fly? Why did they just dive in and allow the wolves the opportunity to attack them like that?

Rainbow Dash frowned as she flew and her squad flew over the rest of the wolves and turned around for another pass. A lot of soldiers were stuck on the ground fighting the wolves up close and personally. Which didn’t look like it was going too well. She saw East and West Wind flying about, directing more soldiers to dive bomb against groups of running wolves.

“Is this how they fight?” She whispered to herself.

She didn’t understand it but there were still ponies that needed her help so that’s what she was gonna do. Summer Rains and Wild Wind were to her sides with the other members of her squad right behind her, she threw a glance at the corporal and lime-green pony to get their attention and nodded to the ground below where another squad of pegasi were fending off some of the wolves. They seemed to get what she meant and the whole squad followed her as she dove towards the silvery opposition.

A pegasus soldier was knocked to the ground and the slobbering mouth of a silver Frost Wolf was right over his face, the soldier whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for the inevitable.

Rainbow Dash then came in like a lightning bolt and kicked the wolf in the side; knocking it right into another one and sending them both tumbling to the ground.

“How do ya like that?” She grinned and helped the pony up before flying around to more of the wolves.

One wolf lashed out at her with its claws but she dodged to the left and then the right and always kept herself in the air so it had to overextend itself and jump slightly each time it tried to claw her. Something she didn’t see anyone else doing. Now that they had fully engaged the wolves her fellow soldiers weren’t flying at all. East and West Wind too had gone down to the ground and were brawling with the invading canines.

The wolf barked at her and jumped high in frustration at being unable to get her, this time trying to jump on top of her and tackle Rainbow Dash to the ground.

But instead the moment his paws cast a shadow over her, Rainbow Dash swiftly reached up and grabbed him by the wrists—flapping her wings and flipping herself over while carrying the wolf with her and tossing it like a missile behind her head. The wolf had just enough time to close his eyes and whimper before he collided head first with the ground and slid to a stop after dragging a ten foot trail through the dirt.

Suddenly she felt something wet clamp around her tail and she was yanked out of the sky to the ground. Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder to see a wolf had jumped up and bit her rainbow tail, the wolf then twisted its head and threw her to the side where she stumbled over the tundra before collapsing. Normally she wouldn’t have fallen over but she wasn’t used to doing this kind of stuff with her armor on. It made her slightly uncoordinated, the little extra bit of weight messing with her muscle memory and balance.

It gave the wolf the opportunity to jump on top of her, one of his paws pressing down on her armored midsection while the other was raised to slash her across the face. But Rainbow Dash’s speed and reflexes won out as she elbowed the leg keeping her pinned down while her wing fluttered up and smacked the wolf in his muzzle. He stepped back for a second and Rainbow Dash leaped up, punching him once across the jaw and then headbutting him with her helmet right between the eyes. He crumpled to the ground like a wet shirt.

“You guys aren’t tough at all,” Rainbow Dash said, her expression turning into a full-blown overconfident smirk.

The sounds of battle told her that not every pony was having nearly as easy of a time with the wolves as she was though. Things were still a violent warzone all around her. She saw Fierce Current clock a wolf over the head with his wing and Flashbolt and Skychaser were working together to fight another but besides that everything was too chaotic for her to tell what was going on. She was about to dart over to the cousins to help them when movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she jumped to the side.

It was a split second just in time as the claws of a wolf raked the empty air where her head had just been. Rainbow Dash spun around with her hooves digging into the dirt and faced the new wolf that had tried to attack her.

“You want some too?” She narrowed her eyes at it.

This silver wolf was decidedly older looking than the others she had seen, his fur was far duller and there was a wary sharpness in his eyes that spoke of a lot of battle experience. Surprisingly to Rainbow Dash, his eyes widened in recognition when they focused on her.

“I recognize you. The scout from our battle with the Snow Clan. I thought it was strange to see a mare… have you pegasi become so desperate to keep us out that you’ve begun using your women to fight us as well?” He spoke in a gravelly voice full of derision.

Meanwhile Rainbow Dash was just really shocked for a different reason. “You guys can talk?!” She gawked at him.

The old wolf raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. But their conversation didn’t go anywhere else as they both heard another wolf yep as he was thrown across the tundra right past the two of them. Both pony and wolf that had been facing off looked around at the state of the battle, and one of them wasn’t happy with what they saw.

A beaten up wolf emerged from the crowd and hobbled over to the old wolf. “War Chief!” He called out, his voice laced with worry.

“You’re lucky you outnumber us, pegasus,” the wolf growled at Rainbow Dash. “But our infighting has stopped and soon we’ll come back to take these lands for ourselves. Be prepared then!”

Rainbow Dash was still too confused and surprised to respond as the War Chief lifted his head and let out a great howl that drowned out all other noises on the tundra. She had to cover her ears thanks to the volume, as did many other nearby ponies. That must’ve been a signal to the rest of the wolves though because as soon as he stopped they all began to retreat. On the ground they were far faster than the pegasi, with their longer legs and their claws being able to dig into the ground for purchase. A few soldiers who were still fighting attempted some last hits but Captains East and West Wind motioned for the battalion to allow the wolves to run away.

There were quite a few too injured to leave on their own power but Rainbow Dash didn’t see any wolves attempting to help them nor any ponies move to tie them up. A number of pegasus soldiers were also in bad condition but it was still more than obvious which side had won.

“Well done, soldiers!” One of the Captains said as the two of them flew above the pegasi on the ground. “A cheer for victory!”

All of the soldiers yelled and threw up their hooves, even Rainbow Dash got in on it this time.

“Wait for your sergeants and lieutenants to gather you up and tend to the wounded, then return to base,” the other Captain said and the purple twins flew off back in the direction of the city.

Rainbow Dash didn’t watch them go, Crescent Moon and Wild Wild flew right over to her and settled down immediately after, with the rest of her squadmates walking out from the crowd to join up.

“How was your first battle?” Crescent Moon asked her. It was a simple enough question but he still spoke with a measure of disdain in his voice towards her.

“Uhh...” Rainbow Dash looked around at the chaos and tried to gather her thoughts on what she had just seen and been a part of. “It was interesting. I didn’t know those wolves could talk. I thought they were just dangerous animals or monsters...”

“They’re nothing more than dumb mutts living in holes in the ground,” Crescent Moon scoffed. “None of you are injured, help around with the others here and return when it’s done.” The Lieutenant told them and then flew off into the sky after the Captains.

“So he’s not helping out with that?” Rainbow Dash asked with a frown as the caramel pony left.

“That’s normal,” Wild Wind said. “It at least won’t take long for us to finish up down here, the losses weren’t so bad this time.”

Rainbow Dash’s head swung towards her corporal. “Losses? Er, sorry, but the way you’re putting that makes it sound kiiind of serious.”

“Not so much,” Clear Skies said. “Some were badly injured and only a few died. There have been far worse battles.”

The pegasus from Equestria paled. “Wait… some of us died?”

Summer Rains looked at her with a confused expression. “Of course. That’s the reality of every battle. A number of wolves were killed too. What else were you expecting?”

“But… then… why...” Rainbow Dash sputtered, looking back and forth between all of her squadmates as they returned her gaze, all of them just as confused. “Why are we fighting so stupidly?! Why’d we just fly straight at them and let them attack us? How come no one was flying around like me and attacking from above or anything? Why?!”

“That’s not the pegasus way,” Wild Wind told her, although he was obviously pained to do so.

Flashbolt stepped up this time. “A true pegasus, according to Commander Blizzard, faces his opponents head on and doesn’t resort to tricks or any unfair tactics. That’s why we let them retreat, why we flew straight at them in full view, and why we didn’t use our wings once the battle had fully begun. If they can’t fly then we need to beat them without flying to prove our true superiority. That’s his logic.”

His words were delivered coolly but Rainbow Dash could see the anger in his eyes. At least she wasn’t the only one upset.

Her hooves shook and she was gritting her teeth so hard she was worried she might break them. “That’s just so… wrong.”

“He wants the fights to be fair or he doesn’t see any value in victory,” Skychaser added.

“A fair fight?! I’m all for a fair fight but ponies just died today because of this! A fair fight is like, what you have in sports or between friends, not when wolves with sharp claws and teeth are trying to tear you apart and clearly don’t give a Tartarus-darned care in the world about how you’re fighting!” Rainbow Dash exploded at him, flying into his face and glaring at the walnut pony.

She felt a hoof on her wing and looked back to see Summer Rains sadly looking at her, with Fierce Current and Clear Skies standing right behind him. She turned back to look at Skychaser and saw the fear and shame in his eyes and her angry visage reflected back at her.

Glumly, Rainbow Dash floated to the ground and hung her head low. “Sorry… you’re not the one I’m angry at.”

“It’s okay,” Flashbolt answered for his cousin, stepping up and putting a comforting hoof on his shoulder.

“We still need to tend to the injured,” Wild Wind said to his squad. “Come on, no time to waste.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t say anything else. The excitement she had felt earlier was gone, the pride she had felt earlier was gone. Replaced by a reminder that the True North was dangerous and that this Empire that Commander Blizzard lorded over was deeply flawed and she still needed to change it. She felt camaraderie with her new friends in this squad but that too worried her now. What if she had been getting too used to things up here? Maybe this battle was a wake up call she needed. It made her heart sink but if she hadn’t learned ponies had just died she would’ve ended the day feeling like she had just had fun. It might’ve even led to her thinking this place wasn’t so bad if she could have good fights like that every now and then. She probably didn’t know any of the ponies that fell in battle but that didn’t make things any easier. Rainbow Dash flew around with her squad as they went to help the others, with her mind the entire time focused on what she could do to make things better here.

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great chapter!

[redmar]

So Blizzard is not only a militaristic bully who forces others to obey but also an idiot and incompetent strategist. Honor Before Reason which is stupidity and gets people killed.