Answering the Call

by Sigil Flare

Chapter 8

　　Rainbow Dash let out a sigh as she stared at the dimly lit ceiling. She looked down to the lavender unicorn sleeping in her embrace. It was hard to forget the look Twilight had had on her face when she had come to bed. It was a mixture between fright and curiosity, something Rainbow Dash had thought impossible until tonight.
　　
　　Twilight hadn't said anything about her conversation with Steam Gear at all. She had just crawled into bed and snuggled into Rainbow Dash's embrace. Not that the latter bothered her very much, she enjoyed her marefriend's warmth. The first part however did make Rainbow Dash curious.
　　
　　She couldn't sleep. There were too many questions floating through her mind. Rainbow Dash slowly puled her hooves back from her marefriend's embrace and retreated from the bed. She was going to get to the bottom of whatever it is that was going on.
　　
　　Opening the door to the hallway, Rainbow Dash peered down both sides. She didn't see much different, but she heard a strange noise coming from further down on her right. Going into her best imitation of a hunters crouch she slinked her way down the hall. The noise grew louder as she approached the door on the very end of the hallway.
　　
　　It was a very large door and from what she could tell, very thick. It was made entirely out of some kind of dark wood. It was embroidered with gold trim which made arching patterns across the door. It had a chrome door frame and no door knob. There didn't seem to be a way to open it.
　　
　　The sound of what Rainbow Dash now recognized as steel hitting steel rang out from behind the door. "Someone is in there" thought Rainbow hoofing over the door "And I want to know who"
　　
　　Out of nowhere Rainbow dash heard Gear's voice come from the other side of the door. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"
　　
　　"I thought I heard something so i came to investigate" said Rainbow Dash curiously "What are you doing down here anyway? Who's flying the ship?"
　　
　　"It's on auto-pilot" said Gear matter of factly "I wanted to clear my head, so I came down here"
　　
　　"Okay, but how did you even get in there?" asked Rainbow Dash looking over the door again
　　
　　"Like this of course" replied Gear The gold embroidery on the door began to move and twist until it formed into a giant golden pull handle. Then it lifted itself and pulled open, revealing a smiling Steam Gear and a massive room, with comfortable looking carpeted floors.
　　
　　The walls were made out of the same dark wood as the door. With the same golden embroidery. There were weapons everywhere. Any weapon Rainbow Dash could think of or even imagine was on display somewhere on the walls of this room.
　　
　　"What is all this?" asked Rainbow Dash stunned her gaze shifting from one side of the room to the other
　　
　　"This is my workshop" winked Gear turning back to walk back to what he was doing. Rainbow Dash followed him over to what she thought looked like a forge of some kind. It was located in the middle of the room.
　　
　　"So..." asked Gear turning to face her leaning on the edge of hi forge "What's the real reason your here?"
　　
　　"Oh" said Rainbow shaking her head to gather her wits "I wanted to know what you and Twilight talked about earlier. She seemed awfully shaken up when she came to the room"
　　
　　"I'm afraid I must apologize for being so rough with her" said Gear with some sympathy "I did not mean to go off like that."
　　
　　"What are you talking about?" said Rainbow Dash confused "Why would you do that?"
　　
　　"She caught me at a really bad time is all" said Gear trying to explain it without going into detail "I meant to apologize formerly, but alas I did not get the chance"
　　
　　"Just promise me whatever you did, You'll never do it again" said Rainbow Dash stomping her hoof "If you do you'll regret it, got it? I don't want you hurting Twi."
　　
　　"Is that a threat?" asked Gear with a laugh "Are you threatening me?"
　　
　　"It's not a threat" said Rainbow Dash with great determination "It's a promise"
　　
　　"Never make threats you can't back up Miss Dash" said Gear an amused glint in his eye
　　
　　"What makes you think I can't back it up?" growled Rainbow Dash
　　
　　"Because you don't know how to fight" explained Gear with a laugh obviously trying to make Rainbow dash lose her temper
　　
　　"Why you" said Rainbow Dash pulling her hoof back for a punch She aimed it right at Steam Gear's muzzle. Her hoof shot forward gliding easily as it met no resistance. She had punched thin air.
　　
　　"Tisk tisk, Miss Dash you really must control your temper" said Gear standing behind her Her pushed her forward making her fall on her face. "Are you always like this"
　　
　　"Hold still" yelled Rainbow Dash kicking out her back legs Yet again she hit nothing. This time however she felt a strong hoof wrap around her right back leg. It pulled her backwards lifting her off the ground and slamming her down hard on her back. The carpet cushioned the fall immensely
　　
　　"That wasn't very smart now was it?" chuckled Gear standing over her once more "You need to learn to control your anger"
　　
　　"How the hell do you keep doing that" yelled Rainbow Dash furiously lashing out with her right hoof. It was stopped by Gear yet again with his own hoof, not even a hair length from his face.
　　
　　"Honestly you are more stubborn than I could imagine" said Gear with a sigh He tightened his grip on Rainbow Dash's hoof and dragged her to her feet. Then he let go and took a step back. "Do you want to get yourself killed?"
　　
　　"What are you talking about?" asked Rainbow Dash fighting to keep her anger from over flowing again. She HATED losing.
　　
　　"Where we are going" said Gear with a hard expression "Is like nothing you've experienced before. They aren't playing around or doing this for fun, or personal gain. They want to kill you, it's as simple as that. If you aren't careful you are going to run blindly to your death."
　　
　　"What makes you so sure" mocked Rainbow Dash puffing out her chest "I'm pretty sure I can handle myself"
　　
　　"Really?" asked Gear with a cocky grin "Then why don't you hit me"
　　
　　"Because your blind" said Rainbow Dash finding an excuse easily available "It's not fair to fight a blind pony"
　　
　　"That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard" said Gear anger in his voice He lunged forward, Rainbow Dash instinctively put up her guard. Gear simply let himself drop to the side swinging around with his back hooves, knocking Rainbow Dash onto her back. Before she could try and get up Gear was now standing on top of her pinning all her hooves down.
　　
　　Rainbow Dash gulped down her fear as she saw the glimmering blade of a knife at the edge of her throat. Gear held it in his mouth as he looked down on her.
　　
　　"What the buck are you doing?!" screamed Rainbow Dash attempting to struggle free "Get off me!"
　　
　　"Excuses like that are a sign of weakness. Ones which your enemies will be more than willing to exploit. Appearances can be deceiving" said Gear spitting out the dagger letting it fall with a dull thud on the carpet right next to Rainbow Dash's face "If you don't fight every fight like it will be your last then it most certainly will. Understand?!"
　　
　　Rainbow Dash nervously shook her head in agreement worried what else this crazy stallion might try. With that he let up on his grip allowing Rainbow Dash to get back up on her hooves.
　　
　　"Get out of here" said Gear in a growl He dug a strange metallic object out of his coat pocket and tossed in front of Rainbow Dash. "and take this trash with you"
　　
　　Rainbow Dash grabbed it in her mouth and sprinted out the door. Once she was outside, the door slammed shut behind her. She sat there for a second as the metallic clashes sounded once more from behind her. She swallowed hard sending her heart back down into her chest and out of her throat.
　　
　　As she rounded the bend to get back to her room, Rainbow Dash realized she was still carrying whatever Steam Gear had thrown at her in her mouth. Dropping it to the floor it made the pitter patter of a coin. She looked at it and her jaw dropped.
　　
　　"It couldn't be..." gasped Rainbow Dash On the floor in front of her eyes was something she'd only seen in books. It was an old Wonderbolts medal. It read "Steam Gear. Captain of the Wonderbolts". "There is no way..." Rainbow Dash mouthed flipping the medal over she realized there was more. On the backside it read "Steam Gear. Captain of the Royal Guard".
　　
　　Rainbow Dash couldn't believe her eyes "It has to be a fake"
　　
　　"Dashie is that you?" asked Fluttershy opening the door to her room and peering around it into the hall "What are you doing this late at night?"
　　
　　"Hey Fluttershy take a look at this" said Rainbow Dash tossing her Fluttershy the medal Fluttershy caught it in her hooves and looked it over once.
　　
　　"Wow" said Flutershy in awe looking up at Rainbow Dash, her eyes wide in excitement "Is this real?"
　　
　　"That's just what I want to know?" replied Rainbow Dash gesturing for Fluttershy to follow her "and I have a good idea who to ask"
　　_______________________________________________________________________________________
　　
　　Spitfire opened her eyes as she heard a knock on her door. Throwing off her covers she yawned as she made her way over to the door. Twisting the door knob in her hoof, Spitfire pulled the door open. She was a little surprised to find a cross looking Rainbow Dash and a bouncy Fluttershy.
　　
　　"Do I want to know?" asked Spitfire shaking her head trying wake herself up the rest of the way
　　
　　"Sorry for waking you up Spitfire" said Rainbow Dash apologetically "But I have something I need to ask you"
　　
　　"Whatever it is I'm sure it can wait till morning" yawned Spitfire
　　
　　"It's about Steam Gear" said Rainbow Dash Immediately Spitfire's ear perked up and her expression changed.
　　
　　"Come inside" said Spitfire gesturing for them to come inside
　　
　　Once everyone was inside Spitfire closed the door and turned to face her friends, now sitting quietly on the sofa on the right side of the room. Spitfire walked over to the desk situated on the left side of the room and sat down. She took a deep breath before she started.
　　
　　"What seems to be the problem?" asked Spitfire in a professional tone
　　
　　"Well.." started Rainbow Dash "He flipped out on Twilight, assaulted me with a knife, and is now trying to convince me that he was both Captain of the Wonderbolts and the Royal Guard."
　　
　　"I've already had a chat with him on what he did to Twilight" said Spitfire with a sly smile "He'll be giving her a proper apology in the morning, with a complimentary breakfast buffet for us all"
　　
　　"Wow a buffet?" chirped Fluttershy "That sounds wonder... wait what?" she about fell off the coach a the rest of what Rainbow Dash had said
　　
　　"Okay but what about him assaulting me with a knife?" complained Rainbow Dash "He looked like he was going to kill me!"
　　
　　"Knowing him he was probably thinking about it" replied Spitfire "He takes his fights very seriously. Some ponies would say too seriously" With that she chuckled
　　
　　"You mean he was actually going to kill me?" gasped Rainbow Dash "How are you laughing about that?"
　　
　　"Did you call him blind?" asked Spitfire curiously
　　
　　"Well kinda" muttered Rainbow Dash
　　
　　"Well in that case" said Spitfire with a coy smile "I'd say your lucky not to have to crawl out of there. Rusty hates it when people call him blind, especially when it comes to his fighting skills. He was probably just trying to show off, otherwise you would already be dead."
　　
　　"He put a knife to my throat!" screamed Rainbow Dash
　　
　　"Did he say something like never to let your guard down, or that you should fight every fight like it's your last?" asked Spitfire a knowing expression on her face
　　
　　"Yeah he did say something like that, now that I think about it" said Rainbow Dash scratching her head
　　
　　"Now what is this about him being captain of the Wonderbolts and the Royal Guard?" asked Spitfire changing the subject
　　
　　"He threw this at me" said Rainbow Dash handing Spitfire the medal "It's got to be fake right?" Spitfire looked it over and turned it a couple times. Finally she set it on the desk in front of her.
　　
　　"This is very real" said Spitfire pointing out a sun like symbol in the bottom right corner on the backside "This mark is a magic engraving performed by Princess Celestia herself"
　　
　　"How could he be captain of the Wonderblots though. He's not a pegasus right?" asked Rainbow Dash trying to wrap her head around it
　　
　　"I didn't see any wings" said Fluttershy putting on a thinking face
　　
　　"This medal is centuries old" remarked Spitfire with an acute nod "He may not have wings now but, at one time he probably did"
　　
　　"Does that mean?" asked Fluttershy
　　
　　"That I lost my wings?" said Gear sitting in the now open doorway As the three mares turned their heads towards him he continued. "Yes I lost them. A few hundred years back in the last great Equine War. I was defending a fellow Wonderbolt and a dear friend. Alas I failed and in result lost my wings and my friend."
　　
　　"So it's true then" gulped Rainbow Dash "You really were Captain of the Wonderbolts and the Royal Guard"
　　
　　"Not simultaneously no" laughed Gear "I lost my wings in the war I was devastated. I couldn't be a Wonderbolt anymore, plus I lost my closest friend. In order to cheer me up Tia allowed me to come be the Captain of the Guard, so I would always be close to home."
　　
　　"While we're on the subject" asked Spitfire guiding the conversation now "How did you lose your eyes? I saw the scar Rusty that is no normal mark, is it?"
　　
　　"You know I don't like talking about that subject Spits" said Gear with a sigh
　　
　　"I think after assaulting a mare with a knife the least you could do is explain yourself" pleaded Spitfire pointing to Rainbow Dash
　　
　　"Fine I'll tell you" said Gear drawing in a deep breath "It was about 400 hundred years ago on a jaunt down to the Shadowlands. I was checking in on how Erebus was doing, you know making sure he was still locked up. I had grown overly arrogant with myself, I had gone alone with no Unicorn to guard me from Erebus's magic. I was unable to stop the ambush that followed"
　　
　　Steam Gear took a minute for that to sink in he took another breath to calm his nerves before continuing. His words formed pictures in his mind replaying the events like an old movie.
　　
　　"I had just entered Erebus's resting place, when it happened. I failed to notice a piece of his prison had broken off allowing him to reach out in the dark. Before I knew it I was trapped in one of his spells. Not having any magic to fend him off I was helpless. I thought he was going to kill me right there. Soon after I wished he had."
　　
　　"Why would you want to die?" asked Rainbow Dash confused "That just seems dumb..." Fluttershy stuck a hoof over her cyan friends mouth at a glare from Steam Gear.
　　
　　"Erebus wasn't planning on killing me. Oh no not yet. He wanted to make me suffer. Suffer the way he had all those years of imprisonment. He lifted me into the air and reached for my eyes. I was helpless as he ripped them out and threw me to the ground. Then he burned them shut stopping the bleeding. Erebus wanted me to know how it felt to be left in the dark."
　　
　　"Who does that?" cried Spitfire in outrage "That's horrible"
　　
　　"He then proceeded to break almost every bone in my body. With his strength gone Erebus let me go. Bleeding and broken I crawled my way outside. That's as far as i got before I blacked out from blood loss. When I woke up a few days later I realized I was still alive, but being blind I had no way home. It took me fifty years before I finally got back"
　　
　　"Fifty years..." squeaked Fluttershy
　　
　　"Fifty years..." said Gear anger quaking through his voice "I lost so much in those fifty years. Things which can never be replaced." He hit his hoof hard on the wall, rattling the pictures which resided there.
　　
　　"Rusty.." said Spitfire trying to calm him down "Maybe you should take a breather"
　　
　　"Sorry" said Gear taking a deep breath "I did say I didn't like talking about it"
　　
　　"Man if I had known you'd spin a story like that I wouldn't have stayed to hear it" said Rainbow Dash comforting Fluttershy was sobbing silently into a pillow, holding it to her face to prevent noise.
　　
　　"Rusty I know it must have taken a lot to tell us this" said Spitfire trotting over and giving him a hug "Thank you"
　　
　　"You deserved to know" said Gear returning the hug looking to Rainbow Dash he added "If you don't like losing you should probably come with me"
　　
　　"Why?" Rainbow asked still recovering from the shock of the story
　　
　　"For your training of course" said Gear with a hearty laugh "You think I'd give you my badge of office without a reason? You need to learn how to fight, and I'm willing to teach you"
　　
　　"Your being serious" asked Rainbow Dash cautiously "A second ago you were attempting to gut me like a fish?"
　　
　　"Completely serious" replied Gear gesturing for Rainbow to follow him "We have a few hours till we reach Las Pegasus. Plenty of time for me to show you some basics"
　　
　　"Better go with him" said Spitfire in a whisper "Before he comes back to drag you with him" in a louder tone she added "You two have fun. I'll look after Fluttershy and make sure she's okay"
　　
　　"This should be fun" whined Rainbow Dash as she trotted after Steam Gear