Too Close to the Sun

by UnweptSchlipps

Not Your Everyday Goodbye

She arrived home around seven o’clock that night, exhausted after a long flight across the desert. She touched down at the door, mentally prepping herself for the upcoming briefing. Luckily, she had found the time to pack her stuff already, so there was nothing to do now except get a good night’s rest. Heaving a long yawn, she rattled the knob and slowly swung the door open.

“Surprise!”

Dash’s eyes suddenly shot open, and she hopped back a foot or two from sheer shock. Her eyes widened even more when she saw five ponies standing inside her house, holding a huge banner reading “Goodbye Dashie”.

“W-what are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash stuttered, her exhaustion apparently shocked out of her.

Popping up over the banner, Pinkie Pie answered, “Twilight cast that whole cloud-walking spell so we could visit you!”

“Why?”

“Well don’t you remember, silly? I told you we’d throw you a going away party!”

Stepping forward, Twilight Sparkle embraced her pegasus friend, prompting the others to follow suit. “Pinkie told us you were leaving tomorrow morning, so we knew this would be the only chance to bid you farewell!”

Rainbow Dash stood in the midst of her friends loving embrace, frozen in place, unsure of what to do herself. Her eyes darted around the room, towards the colorful balloons strewn about her home, towards the crudely painted-yet-heartwarming banner, and lastly, towards a tiny photo of all six of them she had placed on one of her cabinets, in almost the same position they were now. And slowly but surely, she closed her eyes and let her friends’ warmth consume her, trying to wrap her hooves around all of them and never let go. And it was a good thing their eyes were closed too, because Dash didn’t want them to see she was on the verge of tears.

Her lip starting to quiver, she whispered, “I’ll gone for a while girls, and I…I don’t know when I’ll get back.”

“Where are you going?” one of them asked, it didn’t matter who.

“Far away. Waaay far away….too far.”

A voice—Applejack’s judging from the accent, replied, “Well wherever you go, sugarcube, you know we’ll be right here, cheering you on.”

“Yeah, we’ve got your back, Dashie! Even when we’re all the way over here!” another one replied.

Finally, the six released their grip on each other even though Dash would have rather kept on holding them tight. While her friends went to put the banner up on the wall, she quickly turned around and wiped her eyes. Trying her best to stop her body’s trembling, Rainbow Dash inquired, “Girls. You…you mind hanging here for the night? You know, like old times?”

“Twilght?” Applejack said.

“Don’t worry, this cloud-walking spell will last the night.”

“Then a’course we can, RD! It’ll be jus’ like old times.” Applejack came up to her cyan friend, letting a friendly hoof dangle around Dash’s neck. Then, with a wide smile, she added delicately, “C’mon, wipe those tears away, Dash. That ain’t the RD we know an’ love!”

Giving a soft chuckle, Rainbow replied, “Yeah, right. It’s just…I’m gonna miss you girls.”

“And we’ll miss ya too, Dash. We’ll miss ya too.”

xxx

After a long night of partying, game-playing, Rarity makeovers and absolutely no sleep, Rainbow Dash stood outside her home with suitcase in tow. Her Wonderbolt uniform was tucked safely in her briefcase, away from her friends’ eyes. As Dash positioned herself at the edge of the cloud, each of her friends came up and gave her one final hug. The Wonderbolt had a look of a steeled veteran, certainly hiding the fact she felt sick to her stomach as she bid farewell.

As Fluttershy hugged her longtime friend, she muttered, “Good luck and be safe, Dash. I know you’ll do fine.” And to this, Dash couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows, wondering what Flutters had meant.

But alas, there would be no time to stick around and wonder. It was already five o’clock, and the briefing was supposed to begin at six. So with a final salute, Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and shot off the cloud, headed towards the horizon. Giving one last wistful glance back, Dash could see them waving back and shouting, “We’ll be waiting for you, Dash! Be safe! Have fun!”

And to this, she could only shake her head, thinking, Have fun? Yeah right…

xxx

A single cyan pegasus decked in her Wonderbolt gear sat at the end of the conference table, her goggles stretched over her eyes. Resting her head upon a hoof, she let out a long yawn, her eyes drooping beneath the reflective specs. Underneath the table, her legs were fidgety and restless, the thudding of her hooves against the carpet seeming to resonate in the empty room. She cast a tired glance up at the clock. Five-fiftynine. Almost time. And of course, these sixty seconds seemed to stretch on forever, as Rainbow Dash’s mind drifted off to the sunny rolling hills of home.

But suddenly, she heard the doorknob click, snapping her back to her senses. Dash immediately scrambled to her hooves, thankful that her goggles hid her tired red eyes. The first to enter was none other than Spitfire, still wearing her opaque sunglasses. Rainbow raised a leg in salute, and to her surprise, the commander took a spot next to her. Casting a quick glare at Spits, Dash immediately turned back to see her team—yes, her team, marching through.

The first to walk in was the veteran Fleetfoot, whose hood was pulled back to reveal a snowy white mane and striking silver eyes. Despite her years of experience, her face still looked quite youthful and confident, aside from tiny wrinkles on her forehead.

Next was a stallion officer named Firestreak, whose lively red mane certainly lived up to his name. His mouth curled slightly downwards, and whether it was from annoyance or sadness, Rainbow Dash couldn’t really tell. In fact, she didn’t know much about the stallion, except that he had been Fleetfoot’s partner for quite some time.

And finally, two ponies marched in one after the other, two ponies which Dash knew extremely well. Both their goggles were pulled over their heads, revealing two pairs of eyes that glimmered when they saw their old friend. The first pony was a mare with rose-colored eyes and a pale blue coat. Her icy-blue and white mane had changed since Dash had last seen her, pulled back into a simple messy braid instead of her once-signature poofy style. Cloudchaser took her seat next to Firestreak, clearly unaware of what was going on, yet happy to see her weather patrol captain nonetheless.

The other pony was also a former weather patrol member, a stallion whose light blue mohawk jutted out from his head. He waltzed into the meeting room with his chin held high, wearing his Wonderbolt suit proudly. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but slightly shake her head, realizing just how far Thunderlane had come from being that stallion she accused of faking the feather flu.

Dash glanced at the door expectantly, only to find Thunderlane and Cloudchaser to be the last ones coming in. Although she felt disappointed, the Wonderbolt simply bit her lip and turned to meet her incomplete team. The two took their seats next to each other, and Thunderlane stated, “Reporting for duty, officer.”

Although the word officer sent a giddy tremor through her body, Rainbow Dash simply chuckled and replied, “No need, Wonderbolt. This ain’t the Royal Guard; no need for formalities.” Hardening her voice in a manner quite similar to Spitfire’s, the cyan officer began, “As you all have probably heard, I’m the one leading this mission. Before we can get to know each other, however, Spits here will give you all the information you need. I’d advise you to pay attention, ‘cause typically I’d like a squad that actually knows what they’re doing. Spitfire, you may begin.”

The commander stood up and turned off the lights, letting a projection illuminate across a barren wall. “First of all, the one we’re keeping tabs on is this bird,” she stated, pointing to a picture of a minute yet muscular griffon. “His real name is Sigmund Ferran, but his troops and the people of Veneighzuela know him simply as ‘Razorbeak’. Started off as the son to a lowly guardskeeper for one of the griffon tribes. However, despite his small stature, he is a natural fighter and a brilliant tactician. The hawk’s a living legend, the one who used his skill and might to conquer the griffon tribes and unite them into one big country under one ruler. To them, he’s a hero.”

“Except he ain’t,” Fleetfoot murmured bitterly, the massacre at Border B still fresh in her mind.

Spitfire only nodded sadly, and continued, “This newfound power and army, combined with Veneighzuela’s economic struggles, allowed Razorbeak to easily take over their neighbor as well. He overthrew the old leader, and established a new ‘government’ in its place. Officially, he is the monarch of Lunavut, and as for Veneighzuela...”

Spitfire changed the slide to reveal a savvy looking bearded stallion wearing a suit dotted with gold medals, shaking hooves with Razorbeak. “This pony, Bronze Dime, is the prime minister of Veneighzuela. But don’t let that fool you. Bronzey is just a puppet; Razorbeak runs the show.”

“Some show. Guy’s got half the continent under his wing,” said Firestreak, who possessed a deep voice that seemed to reverberate throughout the room.

“And that’s why we’re sending you out there. In case you haven’t heard, a few days ago a massive attack was launched on one of our bases near Lunavut. Most of the soldiers were either killed or taken captive. And this,” Spitfire said, taking out the painted feather. “Was left. A declaration of war.”

A united gasp was heard around the room, followed by a few murmurs between the crew. Spitfire let them settle down before continuing, “As we all know, Equestria isn’t ready for a war. Haven’t been for years. Heck, the Wonderbolts haven’t even been called to military service until a couple years ago. If Razorbeak launches a full scale assault right now, there is no way we could hold up. Not without losing thousands of lives in the process. That is where you come in. Your job is to—.”

Suddenly, Spitfire was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Letting out an exasperated gasp, Spitfire asked gruffly, “We’re in the middle of a briefing, Wonderbolt. What is it?”

“I’m s-sorry, commander,” a timid voice called from behind the door. “But there is a pony here insisting that she meet up with a pony named ‘Rainbow Crash’!”

Slipping off her goggles, Dash exchanged glares with Spitfire, and even though she already knew the answer, she asked, “What’s her name?”

A brief murmur was heard, and then the soldier said, “Lightning Dust.”

“Lightning Dust?” Thunderlane repeated. “W-what is she doing here?”

“That’s the mule who drove me into the clouds years ago!” Cloudchaser piped, smacking her hoof on the table. “You remember, Dash! Tell her to take a hike!”

The mare started to sound off her complaints, while Rainbow’s eyes darted back and forth from the door to her group. Finally, as the incessant noise started to build up, Rainbow Dash shut her eyes and shouted, “Quiet the buck down, Cloudchaser!” Then, motioning her hoof toward the door, Dash called, “Permission to enter, Lightning.”

The door slowly crept open, and the bright blue pegasus swaggered in with a smug smile playing on her lips. Her eyes were concealed behind a pair of shades, and a black bandana hung around her neck. She glanced about the room and, seeing the confused and furious glares directed at her, she uttered, “Huh. Well nice to meet you guys too.”

“Take a seat Dust.”

Scoffing, the brash pegasus replied, “Naw, I think I’ll do just fine standing, Crash. Besides, I don’t think they’d like me sitting next to ‘em anyway.”

Deciding not to push further, Rainbow sat back in her chair and said quietly, “Please. Continue, Spits.”

But Cloudchaser pounded a hoof on the table and jolted up, eyeing Lightning Dust with a fiery glare. “You can’t be serious, Dash! Why is she here? She got kicked out, and it oughta stay that way.”

“Maybe you ought to have stayed in that cloud, featherbrain,” Dust replied, remembering the windy-maned pegasus all too well. “I could beat ya in a race twenty times over back then, and I probably could still do that now.”

“You’re not one to talk, Dust. I’m not the one who flunked out.”

“That’s enough!” Rainbow Dash shouted, throwing off her goggles, revealing a set of intensely burning orbs. Pointing at Cloudchaser, Dash said, “Lightning Dust is on this team, you hear me? My orders! And you are going to show her some respect.” Then, turned her hoof towards Lightning, she continued, “Just like you, Lightning, are going to show us respect. You’re already late, don’t make me already regret picking you up. We ain’t even been together for two minutes. Two minutes! And this is how we start things off?” She watched as the two shrank a bit, Cloudchaser back into her seat, Lightning Dust back against the wall. Giving one last stern glare at all her subordinates, Dash whispered, “Continue Spits.”

The stone-faced commander simply raised an eyebrow, and continued, “Like I was saying, Razorbeak and his army are on the brink of war. He’s got the numbers and the power to take us head on. You guys are going in there to do whatever you can to delay that war. If you can figure out how to stop it, then bravo. But your most important priority is to buy us time to gather ourselves and prepare for the upcoming battle.”

Spitfire switched the slide, showing a picture of a map of Veneighzuela with tiny Xs strewn about the landscape. “Above all, this is a sabotage mission. Burn their camps to the ground. Destroy whatever weapons they’ve got. Make a set of plans somehow go missing in the middle of the night. This is where your stealth and speed really comes into play. In order to do these infiltration missions, you’ve gotta be able to go in quick, get what you’re looking for, and get the hell outta there before things get nasty.

“Second, I need you to get as much info on Razorbeak, Bronsy, his army, whatever you can get your hooves on. We need as much intel as we can for when you return.

“And finally, and this just might be the trickiest part of all, you must get into the minds of the citizens of Veneighzuela. You need to sway their opinion, stagger their support for the war, make them doubt the idea of an upcoming invasion. Because without the support of the Veneighzuelans, Razorbeak loses half of his popularity and his army.”

“How exactly will we do that?” Fleetfoot asked.

“Well, I’d like the think watching their bases burn down would put a damper on things,” Spitfire replied. “However, if you have to go incognito and spread some...unflattering words and rumors, well, so be it. I want those ponies to see just how evil this griffon is.”

The commander took off her sunglasses to get a good long look at the squad sitting before her. Lowering her voice, Spitfire uttered, “Listen. I don’t think I need to tell you this, but this mission requires absolute perfection. Anything less than that, and you could be captured, tortured…or worse. And if you do, we can’t get you back. You get caught, then we had absolutely nothing to do with you. I don’t want that to happen, and I’m sure Dash doesn’t want that to happen too. But that’s why she chose you all, because she…”

Spitfire shot a glance at Lightning Dust, who returned the eye contact. “We think you’re the best ponies for the job. But if you’re going to do this, you have to be able to keep it secret, stay focused, and never forget what’s at stake. Because if you do…it’s war.” Gathering up her papers, she shut off the projection and finished, “You’re all dismissed. Get ready. You leave tonight. Rainbow Dash, stay here.”

The squad scuffled out of the room, but not before Cloudchaser snarled at Dust, who simply scoffed and smirked. Thunderlane was the last one to leave, but not before whispering to Rainbow Dash, “You sure about this? Bringing her?”

“That’s my decision, Thunderlane, and I’m sticking to it. Just…make sure they don’t kill each other, alright?”

“I’ll do my best, Dashie,” the stallion whispered with a slight grin. “But no promises.” Then he slipped out of the room, leaving Spitfire and Rainbow alone.

“I’m going to cut right to the chase here,” Spitfire began, her voice slightly tinged with skepticism. “I think you’re crazy bringing her along. When I saw that sheet you sent me…needless to say, I was in shock. I half-expected her not to show up.”

“You said to find the best there is. She’s one of the best I’ve ever seen,” Dash countered. “You’ve gotta admit it yourself, Spits. She broke Academy records, some of which was your own!”

“Please...don't remind me. I know she’s a great flyer, Rainbow. But you saw what happened here. She’s got an attitude, and she doesn’t play well with others. Just look at Cloudchaser. She still resents her for that tornado fiasco.”

The sergeant nodded her head, recalling that disastrous partnership years ago. But despite this, she stood firm and replied quietly, “I understand your concerns, ma’am. But my decision still stands.”

Thrusting her tongue into her upper lip, Spitfire asked reluctantly, “You sure?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Casting a long sigh, Spitfire stood up and slinked towards the exit, saying , “Okay Dash. This is your team; I’ll let you make the call. But you need to get them to work, because once you’re in Veneighzuela, just one mistake could cost you your life. Got it...Lieutenant?”

“Understood,” Rainbow answered, surprised by her sudden change in title. But although she understood the fact that she had to make it work, she still wasn’t sure how.

Comments

[Seether00]

What they need is a changeling to go alone. You want to infiltrate and sabotage, can't do better than a changeling.

[Redthir Jerdisheim]

I like this. The portrayal of a slightly older, significantly more mature Rainbow Dash is perfect - just how I would imagine her to be.

[Richforce]

I almost expected Dust to not come in order to force Dash to break her promise out of pure spite. But now that they're going in dust is either going to skip right to a overly risky solo assassination plan or sell her team out to Razorbeak, either way she ain't coming home.