Chapter 18
"Hey!" Rainbow Dash jumped up, waving her hoof in the air. "Down here! Come on you dumb ass featherbrain, look down!"
Ignoring the pain in her wing, she leapt up, grabbing onto the branch and scrambling up. A sharp crack echoed through the forest as the branch broke under her weight, sending her crashing to the ground. Landing on her bad wing, a sharp jolt of pain forced a cry of pain from her lips and tears sprung to her eyes. With a growl, she rolled onto her hooves, taking deep shaky breaths.
The soft thump of hooves hitting snow could be heard and when she looked up, a pair of blue eyes gazed back at her. The stallion turned and looked over at his companion, "Captain, we've got another traitor here."
"Traitor!? I've been working with the Wonderbolts!" snapped Dash as flicked out her collar to show the pin. "I've got news, important news. Big news. I just came from the temple and we need to move out. Now."
The two exchanged a look as more pegasi landed.
"Captain?" asked the stallion.
After a long pause, she said, "You heard the mare, she's got important information. We need to escort her to see General Storm."
Dash's ears perked up. Maybe now she could finally get an answer and spit on that useless story that they had concocted. To think she had actually been worried over that stupid story ! If she didn't have such important information, and if she wasn't looking after Fluttershy, she'd actually be half tempted to turn herself in to the Inquisition . It wasn't anything serious, but she’d feel better once the doubt purged from her mind.
"Flight Lieutenant Rainbow Dash, commander of Farm Nightingale," s aid Dash with a smart salute.
All the pegasi exchanged confused looks, but like any good leader, all it took was a single hoof wave to make them all snap to attention. That earned an impressed whistle from Dash. "Damn, you've got them whipped."
The captain chuckled and took off her helmet, revealing a dark blue mane with a silver streak down the middle. "Captain East End, we're a roaming bunch. Going where we're needed, doing what needs to be done. So what's this super important news you've got?"
"Sorry, but Wonderbolt Captain Spitfire said that it was highly classified." Dash shrugged. "Better safe than sorry, you know?"
"Of course, of course." East End jerked her head and one of the stallions stepped forward. "Climb on his back, it'll make travel faster."
Dash eyed the stallion, but ended up nodding. He looked trustworthy at least, and considering a mare was in charge of everything, there was no chance of anything dodgy happening. Climbing onto his back, Dash wrapped her hooves around his neck while another secured her loosely with some rope. She felt those muscles tense, and anticipation filled her very soul. Sure, she wasn't the one flying, but damn. Just feeling those coils of raw power tense up, readying to take off—it sent shudders down her spine.
Wings snapped down in a powerful kickoff than sent Dash rocking back. Wings stretched out and eyes closed, for a split second it actually felt like she was the one flying. Of course, there was a constant nagging in the back of her mind, reminding her that it wasn't the case, but she didn't care. For once, she just wanted to forget any of this had happened, that she was still back in her fort taking care of all her underlings, dealing with Thunderlane and Lightning Dust...
Yeah, now that she thought about it, the crap she had put up with over these past weeks was definitely better. She could almost consider it a vacation.
"So how'd the fight with the Pink Menace go?" asked Dash and the pegasus she was on almost dropped out of the sky. "Um... was I not meant to know that?"
"Only those directly involved know, and even then, most think was some traitor's base." East End eyed Dash critically. "So how do you know?"
"I was going to inform Captain Spitfire of the location, but it seems like some pegasi bet me to it."
"Beat you to it is right. Didn't catch her name, but totally hot babe, new recruit too for the Wonderb-" He yelped. "Hey! What was that for?"
Dash glared at the stallion next to her. "That's Lightning Dust, and she was my second in command."
"Damn." He gave her a lopsided smile. "Farm Nightingale right? Hey Cap'n, next time we're free, can we visit that place? Seems as though they have super-hot mares."
"Velocity," growled East End, "need I report you? Again?"
"Alright, alright, geez, still can't take a joke I see. Thought you'd be less of a tight-ass after we got married , if you know what I mean." He nudged his partner. "Huh? Huh? Get it?"
"Don't drag me into this, I ain't getting caught up in your mess. I still have nightmares about that one time you convinced me to go out drinking with you."
"That was two years ago!"
"That's the point."
Velocity huffed and pouted.
"Velocit y, stop it," sighed East. "Why did I marry you again?"
"My impossibly roughish charms and good looks?"
The only pony who didn't snort in amusement was Dash, who simply looked confused. It felt so weird, wrong almost, to be here, in this almost intimate situation. They were so close, the six of them, and it was clear that Velocity and East weren't the only couple in the group.
As the gorge came into view, Dash made out numerous ponies scrambling about. The remains of the unicorn encampment was all, but gone and new structures could be seen in place. Nothing too large or fancy, just piles of boxes outside of each cave entrance. Her eyes drifted over to the two cave entrances leading to the temples and a small shudder ran down her spine, a hoof touching her neck where she had been branded like some slave.
Not a single word was said as they began spiraling down. If some sort of signal was given, Dash didn’t see it, but the pegasi below scrambled out of the way as they touched down with a soft thump. Slipping off her transport, Dash stretched out her wings, sighing in relief as the joints popped. It was only when she shook out her mane that she realized every last pegasus was staring at her.
"What?" snapped Dash.
"Whoa, cool it." East placed a hoof on Dash's shoulder. "This is a secret operation and all the pegasi know each other. Seeing you around is... concerning. Now come on, we need to see General Storm."
Just who was this mare and what was this group? All the ponies stepped out of their way as they walked through the crowd. She didn't notice it before, but now, among all these pegasi, Dash could feel it. Respect, admiration, even fear.As they approached the cave entrance, all the guards saluted, not even bothering to ask what their business was. These ponies were important enough to waltz right in to see General Storm and yet she had never heard of them before. Just who were they?
The sound of muffled voices could be heard as they entered, and as their hoofbeats echoed through the cave, the voices died down to a small murmur until the words stopped completely. Stepping around the corner, Dash found the familiar sight of the portal as well as three pegasi sitting around a table, and her jaw dropped. It was one thing to walk in on General Storm, but General Storm and Commander Hail and High Commander Hurricane!? They were going to be killed, placed on the rack, sent to the breeding grounds, given to the guards as a reward, made to fight in the coliseum, an- and-
"Ah, East End, you're back, and I see you bought a friend." Rainbow's knees turned weak at High Commander Hurricane's impossibly smooth voice. To think she was here! In the presence of the High Commander himself. It was just, oh by the sun, he looked even hotter in person. Move aside Soarin, somepegasus else just took that spot. Just look at him! Perfectly preened feathers, messy yellow mane, sleek smoky blue coat, muscular in all the right ways and all the right places...
She was drooling and she didn't care.
"My, my, you are a pretty one aren't you?" he asked and once again, she felt that shudder run down her spine. "What's your name?"
"R-Rainbow Dash, sir, Flight Lieutenant in charge of Farm Nightingale." Dash snapped to a smart salute.
"Well now Flight Lieutenant, how ab-"
"Hurricane," sighed Commander Hail causing Dash's eyes to bulge out of her head. Did she just refer to the High Commander by his first name!? "We do not have time for your ways. I'm sure East End has important information involving this mare, otherwise she would not have bought Flight Lieutenant Rainbow Dash to us."
"Agreed," General Storm rested both hooves on the table. "We do not long how long the horned freaks were here, for all we know, they have all the secrets. We must act with all haste if we are to figure out what is behind that portal."
" I've already been through there, not really that hard you know." All of a sudden, Dash found everypegasus staring at her and she gulped. "Um... sir..."
"You've been through there?" demanded General Storm.
"Yes sir!"
"And how did that occur? This location is top secret, and we only arrived on site today." There was a pause and all of a sudden the warmth fled from High Commander Hurricane's eyes. "You were here before us. You were the ones who launched the pre-emptive attack. Who gave the order?"
"N-No one, sir. I was involved in another mission ordered by Wonderbolt Captain Spitfire. I had no idea a second operation was taking place here."
"Explain." One single word spoken in a perfectly level tone, and yet it felt like a blow to her chest.
"Wonderbolt Captain Spitfire ordered me to keep an eye on a purple unicorn known as Twilight and to report back to her. I followed the unicorn to the Pink Menace's base, but before I could pass the details to Spitfire, the unicorn departed to attack here. We activated the portals, made it through the trials and I was marked at the end to let me into the floating castle beneath the earth."
There was a pause as they all stared at Dash.
"Flight Lieutenant, please start at the beginning and tell us everything," said Commander Hail.
Taking a deep breath, Dash began recounting her entire story, leaving out the real reason to leave, but otherwise keeping everything else truthful. Well, mostly truthful. She might have fudged things here and there, making sure to cast Fluttershy in the lime light just in case they found her in their raid. She wasn't really concerned though, she was a pegasus and she knew how to handle herself. All it'd take was one look from one of the officials and they'd know she was on their side.
By the time she finished, they were all staring at her from behind masks of indifference. Not once had their expression changed throughout the story and as the silence stretched on, it took all of herself-restraint to not start fidgeting on the spot. It was worse than inspection back when she was a recruit and it left her even more uncomfortable. Stories of how High Commander Hurricane could smell a lie a mile away and how one look from his piercing eyes was enough to smite a heretic filled Dash's mind and she gulped nervously.
After a long minute of silence, High Commander Hurricane leaned back in his seat and slowly breathed out. "I don't know if you're telling the truth or not and the entire thing sounds far too crazy to be real, but it does verify our suspicions."
Dash bit down on her tongue, waiting for him to elaborate.
"East, show Dash out."
"Wait!" Everypegasi froze at Dash's yell. "What about Fluttershy ? She's no-"
"She's pending investigation, as are you," replied High Commander Hurricane coolly. "She is currently in the prisons with the rest of the freaks, and will be thoroughly examined later. If she corroborates your story, you will both be free to go and her future needs secured by themilitary. If she fails to corroborate your story, then a lifetime of scars and a lack of wings will be the least of her concerns."
Rainbow's heart stopped as she just stared at Hurricane. Had he just... Did he- No. No, she had just misheard. He obviously didn't mean that, that horned freak must have twisted her mind while they were together. There was no way the High Commander would suggest torturing Fluttershy. Based on some... some... she didn't know what, but based on some feeling!
"Why?" whispered Dash, but none of them seemed to hear, not even East who was busy leading her out. "Why!"
Silence.
"Because you just admitted to consorting with a traitor ." Though he spoke in a completely even tone, Dash found herself shrinking away from Hurricane, completely filled with ice. "For the longest time we have suspected Spitfire has been..."
All words faded away as his voice echoed in her mind. Spitfire... a traitor? No! That was impossible! That was... that was... that.... Dash shook her head, trying to clear away those voices, but no matter how hard she tried, that image of Twilight chatting away with the Wonderbolts popped to mind. They were so close, so at ease, almost as though they were long term friends.
"...erbolt Captain East End, escort Miss Dash to a tent and ensure she does not leave."
But it couldn't be true, and even if there was, there had to be some sort of explanation. They should have been able to see that Fluttershy was a pegasus. A loyal pegasus. Not one of those traitors, one of those mockeries of everything pegasi stood for.
And then there was Spitfire and the Wonderbolts. Sure, she had only spent a single night with them, but in that time, she had seen something special. A side of them that was never there when they were on parade or on duty. They were cooler, more relaxed, calmer. It was like hanging out with Lightning Dust and Fluttershy after a hard day's work, just enjoying some drinks.
Finally, there was herself. She was loyal. Sure, she didn't do everything by the book and she may have made things more comfortable for the slaves, but that was so they could produce more. And it worked! The documents she kept proved that, so why didn't they believe her? She knew their history, their legends, their creeds. She knew why the unicorns had horns and why dirt ponies lacked wings. She could recite the Pegasus Code backwards if need be. She was as loyal as they came! So why did they doubt her? Why did they look at her and doubt her word, doubt her loyalties, doubt what the pegasi meant to her?
"Sun damn it!" screamed Dash.
East punched her , sending Dash to the ground. "Shut it."
Glaring up at East , Dash kept her mouth shut as they continued walking. The chill air bit into her body, slamming into her and leaving her breathless. All around her, she could see pegasi standing and staring at her, and with nothing more than a glare, she got back onto her hooves and spat on the ground. As she walked past, all she could feel was a deep rolling anger burning in her, threatening to explode out.
All these pegasi, all of them had been hoof picked for this secret mission and yet when she looked at them, she saw nothing worthy of praise. All those ballads she had memorized, all those stories depicting past battles and fallen heroes, all of them were worthless. Gazing on this rabble, all Dash felt was contempt and sadness. Look at their sunken eyes, the way they nursed their wounds like rabid manticores, look at how they growled at one another and snapped at the slightest touch. Look at them.
Making her way into the cave, she held her head up high, ignoring the looks she got before shoving herself into the small make shift tent . Dash didn't know if East followed her, and she didn't care, at this point, they were all the same.
To do that to Fluttershy. Fluttershy! Dash ground her teeth together and punched the pillow before her. This wasn't the empire she served. This wasn't the empire she wanted to serve . She had been bought up believing all the ideals, all the virtues a pegasus should have and not a single one of them included torturing an innocent on a hunch . A hunch of all things!
They were... they were...
Tears leaked down her cheek and her entire body burned. Breaths came in short gasps, pants that didn't draw in nearly enough air. On trembling legs, she took a step forward only to collapse onto the ground. The worst part was, this wasn't a trial, this was real life. This was how Hurricane thought and acted. Bloodthirsty, relentless, despicable monsters. What happened to the pillar of truth and mercy and justice ? What happened to the real Hurricane?
Dash squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears to stop, but it was no use. A scream of pure frustration was ripped from her throat as she pounded the pillow, shredding it to pieces. If she gave in now, she'd be admitting defeat, and Rainbow Fucking Dash never gave in. She'd never say die, she fight to the bitter end on wings of thunder and hooves of hail. These pegasi... they were not the pegasi she had vowed to protect. These were not the pegasi she had vowed to serve. These pegasi were no better than the monsters that she had spent her life fighting against.
Standing tall, she brushed the tears away and took a deep breath. Their mistake was targeting Fluttershy. As soon as they did, as soon as they showed they lacked trust in those below them, lacked loyalty to them, as soon as that happened, they made themselves a new enemy. Wings ruffling against her side, Dash closed her eyes and tried to recall what the gorge looked like and where things were most likely to be located. Despite everything that happened, she found a small smile tug at her lips. To think that old nag South Star had actually taught her something useful!
Sure, she hadn't really seen the lay of the land properly, and when she had been escorted around, she hadn't really been paying attention, but that didn't matter. The freaks wouldn't be kept in either cave, to do so was pure stupidity . With the amount of pegasi around, they needed all the room they could get and even then, Dash had doubts of whether or not they could support everything. And to give that precious room and warmth to some freaks and traitors? Ha! As if. No, they'd be outside, probably digging their own graves to sleep in at night. The lucky ones would freeze to death quickly, the unlucky ones would be brought inside for the soldiers.
Dash cracked her neck.
Loyalty. Ha! They weren't loyal to anything, but themselves. If they were truly loyal, they'd look after the freaks, making sure every single last one of them would survive so that they could be taken to the farms. Resources were low , dangerously so, and if the public found out just how bad things actually were, riots would break out. Now, more than ever, they need freaks in the farms.
And...no pony deserved to be treated like that. To be nothing more than a slab of meat to be used and abused. If it wasn't because she hadn't eaten recently, she would have thrown up right there and then at the mere thought.
First things first though, where was Fluttershy? With the other prisoners, but where was that? Somewhere close by, easy to keep an eye on and make sure the guards didn't hurt them too much before the torture.
Dash grit her teeth and a growl escaped. If they even laid a single hoof on Fluttershy, they were going to pay for it with a limb or two. No pony, absolutely no pony hurt Fluttershy or any of her friends.
No, focus.
Where would they logically hold traitors?
Dash's eyes drifted to the button still pinned her on jacket collar .
Of course, they'd be with East End. Where else could they be? And East was no doubt in the other cave, well away from where she was placed and away from the majority of the force. Dash sat down and frowned. Where was Lightning when you needed her?
Lightning! She was still all right. Right? They hadn't mentioned her specifically, but they did say the Wonderbolts were labeled traitors, but Lightning had just joined! Surely that wouldn't...
Dash shook her head. No. One thing at a time. First, Fluttershy. Once that was done, she could focus on Lightning, though Dash wasn't really that concerned. Lightning knew how to fight and wasn't totally useless by herself in the wild. No, she would rescue Fluttershy and only Fluttershy. She would not release the freaks to cause a diversion or kill any of the guards. They might have been monsters, but who knows? Maybe that was only because of the leaders.
For now they'd live.
For now Dash would stay in this tent, content to dance to this little tune of theirs, but at the first opportunity, she was going. There was no way they managed to catch all those ponies hiding away with Pinkie, which meant if they were even ponies they would come back and try to free their friends. Dash needed to be ready.
But... they were freaks, they wouldn't come . They weren't loyal, they'd rather let their friends die than risk a single hair on that precious hide of theirs. No, if Dash was going to act, it had to be tonight. After all, only an idiot would venture into the wasteland at night with no pet dragon to keep warm.
Dash smirked and cracked her neck.
Good thing she's been marked to be a Wonderbolt then.
The first thing Twilight noticed was the pounding headache threatening to split her skull in two. The second thing she noticed was that it was warm. Far too warm to be outside or even in a cave. There was a fire here, somewhere close. With her eyes still closed, Twilight focused on the sounds around her, searching for any hint of activity, but there was nothing. The crackling flames didn’t help, and toss in the howling wind and she might as well have been blind. Slowly, a hoof crept along the ground, testing the area around her for any signs of bars.
"If you keep going in that direction, your hoof will end up in the fire," said a raspy voice.
"Spitfire!?" Twilight was immediately on her hooves, groaning as the world spun around her from the sudden movement.
"Whoa, easy there." A gentle hoof was placed on her shoulder, pushing her back down. "You were pretty hurt when we found you and you've been out for almost an entire day."
"Come on Spitz , just give her some food like I said and she'll be as good as new ," yelled Soarin from his lounging position in the corner. "Actually, gimme some food, I'm staaaaarving."
"You're always starving," snapped Fleetfoot, smacking Soarin on the back of the head with a wing.
"Ow! What was that fo-"
"Can you two just get a room and buck each other already?" said Spitfire.
"Or not get a room." Rapidfire looked at her commander innocently. "What? Some of us enjoy a good show ."
Twilight's hoof went to her back, but instead of the familiar feel of her crossbow, she only found empty air.
"Here," Spitfire tossed it over to her along with a full quiver. "Don't kill them too quickly."
"With pleasure." The first bolt slid into place and Twilight aimed it at Soarin before switching over to Rapidfire, then back again. "So, who's first?"
"Um... captain?" Soarin backed away. "Good joke, got us. Now can you, um, please tell the insane unicorn to put down the deadly weapon?" A beat. "Or at least point it at Rapid."
"What!?" Faster than any bolt could fly, Rapid smacked Soarin across the back of the head. "Soarin, how could you? I thought we had something special."
"Wh-What?"
"Did last night mean nothing to you?" Hooves to his eyes, Rapid began pretending to cry. "You horrible monster, taking advantage of me like that when I'm at my most vulnerable. I-"A bolt thudded into the wall, narrowly missing his head, but Rapidfire didn't even blink. "-gave you everything. A night in the freezing cold, two stallions all alone with no mare in si-"
This time he yelped as the arrow parted him mane, embedding itself into the wall.
"Somepony better start telling me what the fuck is going on or I'll stop missing," growled Twilight as she reloaded her crossbow.
"Turns out they've known about our little... arrangement for a while now," said Spitfire as she ran a hoof through her mane, "and Lightning Dust was placed in our group to act as a mole. Admittedly, we were already looking at her as a potential recruit, but we were outplayed. As simple as that really."
The grip on her crossbow faltered for a split second, but she managed to catch it before it slipped from her hooves. No, not now. She had no time to give in to her emotions, she had come too far and done too much to get teary eyed over the destruction of some base. Of her base.
She shook her head.
No, not her base, not any longer, not after... She grit her jaw and snorted, slamming her emotions into a box. Now, more than ever, she needed to keep her cool and get things moving. Things needed to be salvageable, they had to be.
"How compromised are we talking about here?" asked Twilight, as she took a deep breath.
"We think it's just us," replied Spitfire.
Alright, that was okay, things weren't as bad as they could have been. Plans began forming in her mind, new moves being made. If the base could be created once, it could be created again, getting all those resources though was another issue entirely. Mayb-
"And thanks for asking how we are," muttered Fleetfoot.
Twilight cocked an eyebrow, biting back a growl. "You're all here aren't you? You’re the best of the best; I'm not surprised you all got out alright."
"Yes, well, shut up," snapped Fleetfoot as she turned over, pulling the blanket tighter around her.
For a brief moment Twilight just gazed at Fleetfoot before simply shrugging. If that mare was so distraught over being a labeled a traitor, she had more than enough opportunities to sell them out. Turning back to Spitfire, Twilight put her crossbow away and began rummaging through the Spitfire's bag to draw out a map of the surrounding area.
"How's the situation?" she asked.
"How's the situation? How's the situation!?" Fleetfoot was suddenly in Twilight's face, pinning the unicorn against the cave wall. "It's fucked, that's the situation! We trusted you and look at where that got us! Just what the fuck have we accomplished working with you? Huh!? Nothing, that's what! W-"
"Fleetfoot, stand down!" yelled Spitfire.
"No! Tell me! What. Have. We. Accomplished!"
"Nothing if you keep acting like a filly." There wasn't even a hint of waver in Twilight's voice. "What we have done is created a place that’s green. Where all three races can li-"
"Shut up! We both know you did jack shit. That was Pinkie, that was all Pinkie and it will always be Pinkie. She was the one who held it all together, made it all work, and kept everypony's hopes up. You... You did nothing."
Their eyes were inches apart, the stench of Fleetfoot's breath choking Twilight, but she kept her eyes focused on what lay before her. "I am going to save this dying world."
Pain exploded behind her eyes and Twilight found herself on the ground, blood filling her mouth. Spitting to one side, she rose up on shaking legs and shrugged her shoulders.
"Fleetfoot, I told you to..."
All it took was a small shake of her head and Spitfire trailed off.
"I made it through that sun forsaken portal the unicorns found and the pegasi stole. I have been marked by the alicorns themselves to rid the ice from this world." She paused, her lips forming a thin line as she glanced out the cave into the snow. "And most importantly, I'm going to teach those pegasi that they royally fucked up going after Pinkie. No pony, absolutely no bloody pony, attacks my base and gets away with it."
"That's nice and all, but have you seen them? It's an entire army," said Fleetfoot. "What you're talking about is suicide."
"I hate to say it, but Fleetfoot's right." Soarin sighed and ran a hoof through his mane. "There is no way we'll be able to even get close to the camp without being killed."
"Good thing I'm not asking any of you to come with me then."
"Twilight..."
"No Spitz, this is me and only me. Don't worry, I've been in worse positions before ." Though she smiled, Spitfire's expression darkened. "Don't worry," leaning forward, Twilight pecked Spitfire on the lips, leaving her stunned and with a tingling sensation on her lips, "I'll be back for you."
"Bu- I- You... What...?"
With a playful lick to Spitfire's snout, Twilight began walking towards the entrance. " I've got this in the bag."
"I don't suppose you two could use tongue while I watch?" A yelp escaped from Rapidfire as a bolt parted his feathers. "Bloody heck, those are delicate!"
"Next one's going through your brain," growled Twilight. She put the crossbow away and limped out into the snow, hood up as she scanned the sky. Lips puckered, a shrill whistle cut through the air and the barest hint of light could be seen in the air. A second whistle pierced the air and once more, there was a burst of flames, closer this time.
"Wait!"
Twilight's pace didn't slow as she slid down the side of the hill.
"I said wait, damn it!" Spitfire landed before her, sending snow in all directions. "You can't just kiss me in front of everypony and then walk out! And you are not going in there alone!"
"My mother is dead so you can't be her, and last I checked, I'm not a pegasus, so you can't order me around." Twilight looked over her shoulder. “Look, if you come with me, you’re going to be killed.”
“And you’re not? Come on Sparks , we’ve been through loads of shit together, we can get through this too. You and me, just like old times.”
Twilight shook her head as Spike landed on her shoulder . “Sorry, but this is for me and me alone. Spike, I want you to stay with Spitfire and the Wonderbolts, make sure they stay safe. See if you can find any stragglers who managed to escape and gather them up. Stay at the entrance to the Diamond Dog mines, and if I don’t come back after a day, take them down to the castle.”
“Twilight?” The confusion and worry in his voice was like a dagger to her heart.
“Please, Spike, do this for me.”
Understanding dawned in his eyes and he nodded slowly. “O-Okay. Just stay safe, you hear?”
“What? Spike?” For once in her life, Twilight saw fear in Spitfire’s eyes. “Tell me you’re not just going to let her go off alone.”
“It has to be alone ,” whispered Twilight. After a second of contemplation she took off her crossbow and handed it over to Spitfire. “Take it.”
“W-What?”
“Take it.” She took a deep breath and the lie rolled off her tongue, as easy as her name. “It was my father’s and … well… at least you know I’ll be back for it.”
“But then you won’t have a weapon!”
With a shrug, Twilight forced herself to let go and Spitfire lunged forward to catch it before it hit the ground. Without that familiar weight on her back, it felt so awkward, so wrong, to be walking about. Like she was naked, vulnerable, lacking that important something that made her whole. At the same time though, it was as though something had been lifted off her shoulders. As though the pressure on her chest was gone and she could finally breathe easy for once in her life.
“You forgot I’m a unicorn.” A small smile appeared. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
“Magic that you never use!” snapped Spitfire. Then, just as sudden as the outburst began, she deflated. “Please, don’t go. I’ve lost so many good ponies already… Killed so many… Just… please. Don’t do this. I don’t want to lose another.”
“You’re not ordering anypony to do anything.” A sigh escaped as Twilight looked up at the sky. “Look, Spitfire, I can’t let them get away with this, and if you come with me, I’m just as likely to hurt you as I am to hurt them.”
“No, you’re wrong, you’ll never be able to hurt me.”
A small shake of her head. “That’s where you’re wrong. Trust me. Please.”
Spitfire opened her mouth, but after a second of thought, she closed it again and shook her head. “Sorry, no can do. I will not let yo-”
Shock barely had time to register before Spitfire slumped over unconscious. Behind her stood Soarin, his face twisted and haunted, a branch clutched between his teeth. Neither pony nor drake said anything as he gathered up Spitfire and draped her over his back. Nothing needed to be said. All it took was a simple little nod and a silent promise.
"Take care, Hurricane is there along with two Cardinals ."
"Who?"
"West and East."
"Shit." Twilight sighed and ran a hoof through her mane. "That complicates matters a bit, but I'll be fine. Look after her for me."
"Yes ma'am!" Soarin threw a salute, the tip of his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth. "And don't worry, she'll still be nice and fit by the time you get back. Not rolly-polly at all. Scout’s honor."
"You were never a scout."
"Well fancy that."
Before Twilight could reply, Soarin took to the sky and just like that they were gone.
Alone once more.
There was a lightness to her step, but also a sort of finality to it, like reaching the end of a book and seeing that final full stop . With her head held high, Twilight began her journey back to the temple.
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I feel so bad for posting this up so ridiculously late, but school has a habit of killing me. Good news is, exams are now so once I finish them I'll have more than enough time to write. For now, back to studying
Yay update!
I see a lot of dead pegasi in the very near future.
twifire?! sweet! maybe stick dash in there and make it a polygamous (is this the right word?) relationship!
3439838 Polygamy is specifically marriage with multiple spouses, the more general term is polyamory. Unrelatedly, I don't think I've ever seen a poly-ship of Twilight, Spitfire, and RD. This needs to happen now.
3440015 thank you for the clarification. i always manage to mess that up!
I had a feeling that Spitfire wasn't really working for the government this whole time. Good to know I was right about that.
And now things are starting to get tricky....both the pegasus an unicorn governments are moving closer to the temples, AJ's little band wandering near where the Wonderbolts are camped out, Twilight and RD are about to go wreck some faces, and it's only a matter of time until they all cross paths and the shit hits the fans. I'm looking forward to it. Especially that moment when RD catches Twilight and Spitfire having their little....'reunion'
.
Yes, an update! Who needs sleep when you have ponies
3440229 Pretty much this. A lot of crap has been leading up to this moment
3439838>>3440015 Stop giving Doom ideas!
3440270 Apparently I'm the only one who does...
3440425 NEVER! I LIVE TO GIVE!
cardinal |ˈkärd-nl; ˈkärdn-əl|
noun
1 a leading dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinals are nominated by the pope and form the Sacred College, which elects succeeding popes (now invariably from among their own number).
northern cardinal
• (also cardinal red) a deep scarlet color like that of a cardinal's cassock.
2 a New World songbird of the bunting family, with a stout bill and typically with a conspicuous crest. The male is partly or mostly red in color. • Family Emberizidae, subfamily Cardinalinae (the cardinal grosbeak subfamily): four genera and several species, esp. the northern (or common) cardinal ( Cardinalis cardinalis), the male of which is scarlet with a black face. This subfamily also includes American grosbeaks, buntings, and saltators.
I don't see how either of these apply to a spartan darwinistic society, since seriously, they don't seem like the type who'd believe in, or respect the idea of there being anything greater than the pegasus empire.
3443068 Cardinal as in short for cardinal directions.
I wonder if Hurricane is a host body for the Windigos, or if it's "mandatory comic movie twist for foreign ethnic villain."
Seriously, every chinese or oriental comic book villain that's made it into the movies has been turned into a decoy villain and the real villain is instead a Caucasian. Are they saying people or oriental descent CAN'T be evil?
This doesn't apply to just movies.
Odd Job wasn't be asian anymore in the 80s cartoon, and Dr. No was GREEN!
Black Manta won't be African if they ever make an Aquaman movie.
But yeah, seriously,
Is this A) Undead Commander Hurrican
B) Long line of The Phantom wannabees.
C) A congo line of host bodies?
And I was expecting Twilight to be found by AJ and Rarity's group, since they wouldn't kill her on sight and be sympathetic to her cause of ENDING this futile idiot war that doesn't even have a prize for the winner! And the Windigos have NO INTENTION of the ponies ever dying out completely OR ever winning the war. They just want the hate to flow, and flow, and flow!
3444861 Feel free to keep wondering. I ain't gonna spill. A lot of the stuff you just speculated about are things I can't talk about.
Was a little disappointed with the chapter. I don't mind Rainbow Dash leaving Twilight behind (she's clearly taking baby steps and currently focused on problems with the pegasi government rather than harmony), but it felt like cutting straight to Twilight having already been rescued by Spitfire felt like it wasted the cliffhanger. Neither Twilight nor Dash even think about the other, and it almost felt like the story considers the idea that Twilight was in any danger by being left for dead like that to be ridiculous; clearly a main character can't die so poor a death!
Rainbow Dash snapping didn't feel greatly timed either. Sure she met the leadership and they were kind of assholes, and called the Wonderbolts traitors (they certainly have been suspicious!), but it kind of felt like she snapped because they were screwing HER rather than because she perceived some new or further injustice. Was her view of the leadership so rosy that simply seeing at worst modest corruption/injustice from them pushed her over the edge?
Maybe I built up this chapter in my head too much to enjoy it properly, though.
3453072
I orignally planned on making it more abiguous about Twilight's fate and stuff, but one of my prereaders over rulled me saying "It's not like you'll actually kill her off at this stage and so it'll be useless tension as no one would believe it" or something to that effect. And here I was, considering killing her off
Well you don't say...
And, I mean, just look at what she's been saying and the amount of racism that she's been spewing and the degree to which she has delluded herself in the past and there's your answer. RD is a lot of things and has a very rigid view (in my opinion) and I wanted to play with that.
3453536
Plot armor can be a problem, but a reader immersed in the story still worries for a character as they seem to be dying. I think it would have been worth including, if only to see Twilight's thoughts in the face of death; plenty of stories have foregone conclusions, but they're still worth reading. The journey is as important as the etc.
3453842
Yeah, I know, but the argument was basically "Why pretend when we know it won't happen?" I was actually tempted to kill Twilight off completely, but then I didn't forshadow everything well enough if I wanted to do that and urgh.
3454105
Of course you pretend. The whole story is pretending.
No shame in letting the momentum of the narrative protect a character. Doesn't Beowulf rant in front of an enemy soldier and give him the opportunity to kill him, only for the soldier to give up because you just can't kill a hero like that? Narrative is a real force, even if it's best when subtle.
3454513
See? See? Ha! Totally win the argument. Gonna show my prereader this because he over ruled me and I trust him to call me out on stupid ideas.
3444861
I remember how in Dusk Dangerous Games, the Windigos revealed themselves to be the cursed souls of ponies dead with an intense hatred in their hearts. Wouldn´t it be the greatest irony may that be the case here too? appropiate indeed, instead of a dark lord, a "we brought this on ourselves"
3455113
Well now... um... ideas, ideas, ideas. I think I need to retreat to my basement and do some indepth thinking on this one. Things could get really interesting...
good chapter