> Hero of War
>  by Teal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: Memories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Hero of War


By


Teal


Prologue: Memories

They swooped down from the clouds, a team of four pegasi, descending from the night sky as they flew swiftly and silently. Keeping a tight formation, they glided towards an open balcony located high on the crystal tower, their black suits camouflaging them from the two armored guards who stood there. 

With a silent order two of the pegasi drew their crossbows and aimed. Within the blink of an eye, the two guards at the balcony collapsed, a bolt shot through the slit of their helmets, instantly putting them down.

Rainbow Dash winced at the echoing sound of clanking armor as they fell, letting out a curse of disdain as she landed next to the dead bodies. Everything must be done silently, without anypony knowing they were here. The fate of the mission and the lives of thousands depended on it.

As they secured the balcony, Rainbow Dash could hear the gentle yet powerful sound of cannons in the distance, as the Equestrian forces bombarded outskirts of the city, hoping to decimate the enemy lines before they make the final push that would finally end this war. With each day, they gained more and more ground that drew them closer towards the crystal city, so close that one in front could already see the crystal spire in the horizon. They only need one final push, one great thrust to finally finish this war.

But everypony knew Sombra wasn’t going to give up without one final fight, and as more forces were drawn up to meet them, it was clear and evident that the final push would be a bloody one.

“Not if we can help it…” Rainbow Dash muttered, as she gestured for her team to move forward.

“Cloud Chaser, you take point, lead us to the throne room.” She whispered. “Lightning Dust, you cover our backs.

Only nodding to acknowledge their orders the two ponies got into position, and soon the team made their way inside, trotting though the carpeted crystal halls of the tower. As they moved silently though the halls, they noted the lack of guards patrolling the area, only encountering some sentries that they easily by passed by taking different routes.

With the battles at the front dwindling the number of forces available to fight, Sombra was forced to send in members of his own household guard to fight at the front. This meant that large portions of his tower were left unpatrolled and undefended and it wasn’t till they were near the grand entrance of the throne room did Rainbow Dash and her team encountered any significant number of guards.

The hall that led to the throne room intersected from the main hall, where Rainbow Dash and her team took cover by hugging the side and peeking over the corner.

“There are at least ten of them guarding that door.” Cloud Chaser said, as she leaned on the wall to take peek. “And Celestia knows how many guards are in there with him.  

“I doubt it Celestia knows, cause if she did, then she would have told us before she sent us here.” Rainbow Dash sighed as she shook her head. 

“We should turn back now and get out of here, Captain.” Cloud Chaser said. “There’s no way we can get pass them and even if we do, we’ll soon be surrounded by endless amounts of reinforcements their bound to send in.”

Rainbow Dash kept her silence as she motioned for Cloud Chaser to move aside so that she could take a look for herself. Leaning against the wall, she stared at the exposed long hall that led to the large crystal doors. Standing there, ten heavily armored guards kept at perfect attention, with their eyes forward as gazing through the empty hall. 

It would be a tough fight if she and her team wanted to get pass them, but it wasn’t an impossible task. From past experience she knew that the crystal ponies inside those armored suits had great trouble seeing through the slits of their armor and with proper screening and quick movement, one could easily knock one out before the armored pony saw it coming. And with none of those ponies armed with ranged weapons, they could easily pick out two or three of them before engaging in close quarter combat.

“We aren’t turning back.” Rainbow Dash said, her voice determined and clear. “We’re going to assault that room and finish this.” 
They had too, she knew they had too. If they succeed here, then the massive loss of life, on both sides, could be avoided. If they could pull this off, then the war could end with one last death.

“Cloud Chaser, Lightning Dust, I want you two to get your crossbows ready. You two will be taking out as many of them as you can as they approach.” Then turning her attention to dark grey pegsus next to her. “Thunderlane, you and me will be throwing smoke bombs once they get close. Once we throw the smoke bombs, I want everypony to draw their blades and cut them down. Remember, aim for the gaps in their armor. Once we’re done with them, we barge in and take out Sombra.”

There was no complaint about her plan and if there was, the three kept their silence. They knew their leader and they trusted her. 

Moving out on her signal, the team quickly executed their orders, with Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane in front, sharp short swords gripped between their jaws, and Cloud Chaser and Lightning Dust behind them, with crossbows already drawn and firing.

Their first shots managed to take out two of the armored ponies before they could even move and their volley managed to take out two more before they got too close for comfort. Immediately, Rainbow Dash made a grab for a smoke bomb in her pack before gently tossing it, Thunderlane doing the same.

Soon the hallway was filled with thick smoke, which clouded visibility of both sides. Keeping her visor down, Rainbow Dash went towards the glowing green light of their enemy’s visor, making sure to maneuver just behind him. It was clear that her target had not seen her, for it did not turn around or make an effort to meet her. They were completely blind here, unable to fight them.

Swiftly, she made a high leap before stabbing her sword deep into the gap between the helmet and the back armor of the pony, driving the blade deep. Despite being made of crystal, these ponies were just as easy to kill as any other pony.

Pulling out her blade, she searched through the smoke to find another target. Behind her, she could see the green glow of another pony and made a move to move around and strike on this one. But just before she could make her move, she saw the green glow fall as the sound of clanking armor hit the crystal floor.

Emerging from the smoke, Thunderlane pulled his blade out of the dead body before nodding towards Rainbow Dash. The sound of clanking armor was gone now and air was silent as the smoke bombs exhausted the chemicals within them.

Moving out of the smoke, she raced out and towards the entrance of the throne room. Following behind her was her team, swords bloodied from the fight yet unharmed from encounter. They made a dash through the open halls, wanting to reach the doors before anything else could happen.

But before they get close, the large crystal door swung open and glancing towards it Rainbow Dash so two rows of armored guard looking straight towards them. Drawn out by the sounds of commission, the guards inside the room now opened the doors to meet them and from the sight she saw, she knew that they were more prepared to fight them.

The first row were armed with pikes that were, ready to stab them if they got too close, while the second row bore crossbows, drawn and prepared to fire at them at a distance. The moment she this, Rainbow Dash dropped her sword from her jaw and ordered her team to get down.

“Hit the floor!” She shouted as she herself was already slamming her body on the ground. 

The moment her body lay flay on the crystal floor, a salvo of bolts flew above her, barely missing her head by a few inches. 

She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the sound of a sword falling beside her attracted her attention. Turning towards it, she saw the sword on the ground as it rung, before seeing the body of Thunderlane collapse on top of it, a bolt shot right between his eyes.

Dropping just right next to her, she could see that his eyes were still open, staring. Staring right at her as his now still body lay there on the floor.

Staring…





“How long has she been sitting there staring at the wall?” 

“For at least thirty minutes now, Lieutenant. What should we do? Should I call the medics?”

“No, no, there’s no time for that right now. There’s already a crowd gathering outside the hotel and they’re desperate to meet her. Besides, I don’t think she looks that bad, maybe we can just snap her out of her trance.”

“I don’t know, Lieutenant, she doesn’t look well to me.”

“No one asked your opinion, Sergeant. Besides, we’ll give her to the medics once this is over. But for now, she needs to conduct P.R. If she doesn’t go out to meet that crowd, then I think they’ll tear this place apart.”

A gentle tap on the shoulder pulled Rainbow Dash out of the image of Thunderlane’s eternal stare, as her mind zipped back into reality. Shutting her eyes and rubbing her temples, she felt the coming of a headache build up in her as she groaned in frustration.

“Major Dash?” A voice called out to her.

Opening her eyes to meet it, she looked up to see a lavender colored unicorn mare looking down at her, a expressionless look plastered on her face. “Major Dash-“ She repeated. “-we need you to go to the lobby downstairs, there’s a crowd of your fans wanting to meet you. They’re getting really excited down there and they refuse to calm down till they see you.”

Fans… 

Back when she was younger she had always wanted to have adoring fans, to be praised and looked up on. But now, now she didn’t know if she wanted these fans. To have fans, you have to do something you are proud, something they are proud of. Something heroic or amazing that one would be remembered by and adored for. 

Last time she checked, she did none of that. So why did she have fans?

Sighing, Rainbow Dash got up and stood in front of the lavender pony. “Fine…” She muttered. “…let’s get this over with.”

The crowd that met them downstairs was far larger than what she had expected. Stretching out from the lobby to the streets outside, ponies pushed their way in as they tried to get through the ring of guards and get a closer look of her. 

“We had set up a podium for you but…” The lieutenant escorting her said. “…its seems that the crowd has surrounded the path to it.” 

“Maybe we can just take a couple of chairs, place them over here, and make her stand on them?” The sergeant with them suggested.

“Although that sounds easier, I don’t think that would be ideal for everypony.” The lieutenant said. “The area in which we placed the podium is perfect so that even the ponies outside can see the Major through the windows. It would be a shame to have some of them to miss out on seeing her.” Then, turning her attention towards Rainbow Dash. “But don’t worry, Major, we’ll get you to that podium. I’ll just ask some of the guards to clear a way through the crowd for you.”

Rainbow Dash just let out a grunt and nodded. She wasn’t very enthusiastic about this at all, and having to wade through a sea of ponies just made things worst. 

When the war finally ended, she had expected to go home, to finally be decommissioned and rest from everything. But War Ministry had other plans for her, plans that she didn’t want. Sadly for her, it was not an option to refuse.

For months now she has been travelling Equestria as the nation’s hero, raising the morale of a war exhausted country. When word of her exploit on the last day of the war reached home, she was treated as somepony as great as Celestia. Newspapers posted pictures of her face as adoring and thankful ponies sent letters of praises to her. At Canterlot, she was awarded medals and placed at heads of parades. When the Equestrian Army marched down the streets of Canterlot in their victory parade, she had the place of honor in the front, next to Generals and other notable commanders.

But when marched down the street that day, she wished that she wasn’t there. She would have rather traded her place with a soldier in the ranks, for she knew that once the parade was over, those soldiers would muster one last time before being decommissioned and allowed to go home.

Home…

She hadn’t been home to Cloudsdale for a long time and when she was there during her short visit, it didn’t feel like the home remembered. Everypony too proud, to excited to see her. They crowded, praised, and asked questions, giving her no break. Cloudsdale wasn’t home 
anymore, no. It was just like any other city now, a city that didn’t want to leave her alone.

Pushing through the crowd, the guards tried to clear a path for her, while at the same time preventing the ponies from getting too close. All around her, ponies screamed and shouted to gain her attention, but she ignored them, keeping a straight face as made her way through them.

But as they got deeper and deeper into the crowd, the ponies around them was starting to get harder to control as they pushed harder upon the guards. The guards around her were doing their best to keep them away, but with more and more ponies wanting to get closer, it was a near impossible task.

At one point, one of the guards in front of Rainbow Dash slipped from the ponies pushing on hooves, causing him to fall as ponies shoved him aside and got pass him.

Stopping, Rainbow Dash watched as this pony fall with a  grunt, his body hitting the floor with a thud. For a moment, she felt her body freeze and become numb, as she suddenly lost her strength and stared at the fallen pony.

Thunderlane…

No, not him. Closing her eyes tight, she tried to push aside the memory. Not him, not now. But how could she forget? Why should she forget?

Her breathing started to become faster as her eyes fixed on the fallen pony. She didn’t know what was happening, it all came in flashes to her, confusing her and bombarding her with memories. Behind her, one of the guards asked if she was alright, but she didn’t hear him. She seemed to have been transported somewhere else, as her mind played trick on her. 

“Are you alright, Major?” 

“Captain, are you alright?”

“Major, we have to keep moving forwards, the crowd is pushing hard back here. We’ll be swarmed if we stop now, mam.”
“They’re coming from behind! They got reinforcement coming from behind!”

Staring forward, Rainbow Dash was surprised to see one of crystal ponies right in front of her. She cursed, how did she been so distracted? How did she allow one of them to get this close to her without her noticing?

Acting quickly, she punched the pony hard with her hoof, knocking it down because of the powerful blow. She was shocked at how effective this was, as the helmet meeting her hoof felt as if she was hitting nothing at all.

But she didn’t have time to think about this unusual circumstance, for there were more enemies heading her way. Glancing towards her left, she saw one of the crystal ponies stop in shock after seeing his comrade fall. Taking advantage of this shock, she aimed for this pony and charged him, ramming at full force till that pony was flung away. It had been long time since she fought them, but she could have sworn that the crystal ponies used to be tougher and fought harder.

Seeing two of their comrades fall down, the other crystal ponies who came with them began backing away now, some even galloping off to get as far away from her. She let out an angry grunt as she saw this. “You think you can just run away after what you have done?” She called out, before lunging herself towards the nearest pony.

But before she could tackle him, she felt a powerful blow on her side as she was suddenly brought down on the floor and pinned down by two ponies.

Frustrated by this, she tried to fight back, pulling on her hooves to try and free herself from their weight. But as she tried to fight and get up, she began to hear a familiar voice calling at her.

“Major Dash, calm down! Just calm down, Major. Take a deep breath and then slowly exhale.”

Weary to trust this voice, she felt the urge to ignore it. But some part of her decided to listen and soon she was calmly breathing in and out. 

Silence hang over her as only the sound of her breathing registered in her mind. It took a couple of minutes before she returned to her senses and saw what was around her.

Still being pinned, she looked up to see the Lieutenant from earlier looking down at her.

“Alright, Major, just stay there. I’ll go get a medic to get you checked up.”

Closing her eyes, she let out a long sigh.

Why did she have to be here?

> Chapter 1: Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tic Toc 

One minute till H-hour.

Glancing away from her watch, Rainbow Dash looked from left to right to see nervous faces staring back at her. Feeling her stomach clench from their gazes, she looked away and instead focused on the wide field right in front of her. 

Rocky and barren, the field was at least a mile in length, stretching out from the thick underbrush they were hiding in to the high ridge that lay on the other end. From her position, Rainbow Dash could glimpse at the ridge and see the silhouettes of the enemy right on top of it, preparing themselves and readying their weapons as they awaited their assault.

“Celestia damn it…” She cursed under her breath, before glancing back at her watch.

Tic Toc

Thirty seconds left before the charge. But would they make it across?

Earlier, the artillery corps let out a long one hour bombardment that shook the ground and seemed to have obliterated anything that stood on that ridge. Watching and listening, Rainbow Dash witnesses with awe as shells landed on the ridge and threw dirt and rock everywhere. But now, as she studied the ridge once more, it seemed to have done just that, throw dirt and rock, while leaving the ponies there untouched.

Tic Toc

Now, as the silence of the artillery hung upon them, they waited anxiously for the order the move out, the loud signal of bugle that would tell them to move forward. Many of them wished that the charge would be called off, that somepony would come rushing in and tell them that the attack had been cancelled. But they knew that that wouldn’t happen. Although some were really hopeful, they knew better than to cling too much on that hope.

Tic Toc

Fifteen second.

Shifting her body and getting ready to move out, Rainbow Dash could feel the tension build inside of her. This was always the worst moment, the wait before the battle. She always felt at place when she was in the fight, a sense of sureness as she battled the enemy. But while waiting for the fight to begin, that sureness is absent as fear clung onto her as she waited.

In battle, she had no time to fear, for her mind was constantly thinking, making decisions as she gave out orders. But as she waited, laying and staring, her mind wandered and called on fear to keep it company. She always hated that, hated the feeling and the fact that she always had to deal with it before every battle. But she knew that she could do nothing to stop it, she was helpless for this fear was only natural. The only thing she can do was run down the objectives of her mission over and over in her head, but Celestia knows how effective that could be in distracting her.

Tic Toc

Four Seconds.

She could already feel the tension in her ready to be released as the seconds went down.

Tic Toc…Ding! Ding! Ding!

Instead of the screaming call of the bugle, Rainbow Dash was shocked to hear the ringing sound of a bell echo in her ears as she was thrown back in surprise. Frantically looking around her, she glanced towards the side to find a wooden long case clock ringing as it hit seven o’clock.

Frantically breathing after being shocked back to reality, she looked away from the clock and placed a hoof on her forehead. Rubbing her head and trying to ease the growing pain, she tried to do her breathing exercises as she assured to herself that she was safe.

It’s just stress… She thought. Like they said, it’s just stress…

Calming herself down, she began to relax her tense body when the sound of the door opening behind her caught her attention. The sound of hooves stepping on the wooden floor echoed in the room, as the panting and tired voice of a mare called out to her as she approached.

“I’m…sorry I’m late, Major Dash.” The mare said as she came pass her and placed herself behind the desk in front of Rainbow Dash. “The letter 
I received never specified what time you would arrive here and I was caught in complete shock when a pony came knocking on my door saying that you were already here and waiting in my office.”

“It’s alright, mam.” Rainbow Dash said. “My visit here was completely unexpected and out of the blue.”

Her visit here was in fact unplanned for, yet necessary, at least according to her doctors it was. After her sudden outburst a few days ago, where she managed to severely injure two civilians who were crowding her, the medical team assigned for her care suggested that she should take a break from P.R. duty and go somewhere calm and peaceful. 

They believed that the cause of her outburst was only due to the stress that came with her job. With all the work, restlessness, and constant travelling, they concluded that all the stress that it brought had gravely agitated. So sending her off somewhere quiet, where she calm down for a while, with a couple of medications, they gave her a two month vacation in the sleepy town of Ponyville, in hopes that she would be refreshed by the time it was over.

Glad to finally get a break from her monotonous duty of serving as a P.R. tool, Rainbow Dash quickly accepted this treatment, hoping to finally get the rest that she believed she deserved, as well as the flashes of horror that continuously plague her. But the night before heading to Ponyville, she was restless and unable to sleep, getting the haunting feeling of memories that kept her awake. If it weren’t for the sleeping pills they provided her, she would have doubted if she would have gotten and rest that night.

Now sitting inside the Mayor’s office at Ponyville’s town hall, Rainbow Dash stared at the Mayor, who gave her an apologetic look as she nodded. 

“Well, it is still rude of me to be caught so unprepared like that.” She said. “I should have been there at the train station to greet you with a welcoming party.”

Rainbow Dash gave her a sheepish smile but shook her head. She actually preffered this private welcoming than a ceremony that would have her crowded once more. “No, no need for that.” She told her. “I don’t know if you have heard, mam, but I’m trying to lay low for now, after a recent accident that happened a couple of days ago.”

“Ah yes, right...” The Mayor said knowingly. “I almost forgot about that. But don’t worry, your superiors informed me that you need space and closure and this town is willing to provide that. Nopony here will disturb you, I promise. The ponies in this town like to mind their own business and unlike the cities, we don’t really like to talk about the war. Ponyville has been hit hard and most would like to forget about those terrible years.”

Rainbow Dash slowly nodded her head, having already noticed that the ponies here indeed seem to want to forget about the war. Passing by many of the locals as she went from the station to the town hall, most of the ponies she went by chose to ignore her, not even bothering to glance at her direction. Many must have recognized her despite not wearing her uniform, for the metal wing on her side and cut off ear was easily distinguishable, but whether they knew her or not, they just trotted away without a greeting.

This was a big change when compared to the environments of the bigger cities like Canterlot or Manehatten, where she was often followed by groups of fans, greeted everywhere she went as they tried to attract her attention. So far, she was really liking Ponyville for quiet setup that didn’t care who she was.

“You’re residence here would be in the old library.” The Mayor said as she pulled out a key from her desk’s drawer before giving it to Rainbow Dash. “Don’t worry, nopony visits that place anymore, though you might find some old books that haven’t been removed from there yet. The place is just a quick trot from here and I’m sure you wouldn’t miss it, cause it’s basically a hollowed down large tree, the only one in this town.”

“A tree for a home, well I lived in worst in the past.” She said, with a small smile.

The Mayor just smiled back. “I can assure you that the place is quite comfortable and can handle all your needs.” Then, glancing towards the side. “Would you like me to send somepony to escort you and carry your luggage?”

“No, I don’t think that would be necessary.” Rainbow Dash said smiling as she looked at the fairly sized rucksack she brought with her. She barely anything inside it, with only her medication and few personal belongings within. “I think I can make my way there myself without getting lost.”

“Very well, Major.” The Mayor said nodding. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me, cause I will be willing to provide anything at my disposal to you. I do hope you have nice stay here.”

“Me too.” Rainbow Dash said nodding.

Me too…





Ponyville looked more like a ghost town than anything else. Trotting through the unpaved streets and glancing around, Rainbow Dash could ill maintained houses littering every block and broken down carts lied up in almost every corner. If it weren’t for the fact that ponies trotted by the lanes and passed by her, she would have thought that this was an abandoned town.

It was hard to believe that this very town was a key producer during the war, turning out supplies of rations for the troops. With barely a hint of industrialization here, Rainbow Dash wondered how they were able to produce a million of those canned apples that gave comfort to so many ponies in the frontlines.

Having left the town hall and taken the main street to her residence, Rainbow Dash looked around the town that was going to be her new home for the next three months. Taking in what she saw, she had to agree that her medical team did a great job picking this town for its peace and quiet. Although she was pretty sure that they didn’t choose this place for its scenery.

Gloomy, broken down, and seemingly depraved, the town was the least attractive vacation place one could think off. But Rainbow Dash didn’t really care much about. As long as the ponies here leave me alone, I’ll be fine.

Passing by a large structure, she glanced up to see that the roof of the building had caved in from years of negligence, as the windows of the bottom floor showed off scorched marks of blackened wood. Turning her eyes towards the planked doors, she read a simple sign that said ‘Closed Down’. Above that, an old burnt down sign read, ‘Sugarcube Corner’.

Lingering a little longer to study the building, she noticed that a large portion of the building had burnt down, while other portions had collapsed down on it. 

Fire. She thought. Burnt down and collapsed.

Fire…

“Fire!”

The flames could be felt from afar as the heat in front of her grew and grew. Staring at the building, she watched as the flames spread throughout the wooden structure, burning anything in its path as ponies desperately tried to combat it. Gathering buckets and scooping up water from the nearby well, they tossed meager amounts to try to fight the fire, but to no avail. 

Feeling helpless, she stood watching as the flames engulfed the entire building.

It was a lucky shot, nothing but a lucky shot. Coming from a quick enemy bombardment meant to harass them so that they were always restless and on their hooves, a shell landed on the barn used by a company of soldiers as their place for the night. She had been outside when it happened, taking cover from the bombardment beside the well, when she saw something hit the roof of the barn and burst with a loud booming explosion.

Almost immediately the building caught fire as ponies rushed out of it and tried to get clear the building before the fire could spread. Many of the soldiers inside managed to get to safety before the flames blocked the exits and trapped the rest of them inside.
Standing nearby, she could hear their screams as the flames engulfed them. Their ear-piercing cries as the hot fire burnt them alive. She would never forget those scream, she could never forget them. They were unnatural and with each shrieking cry, then planted their noise inside her head.

Glancing at one of the windows, she saw a scorched and blackened hoof make a grab for the edge as a burning pony tried to lift their body up. She couldn’t tell if it was a stallion or a mare, as the flames had burned anything distinguishing features from its body. The fire had burnt its fur and was already melting parts of the skin exposing bone.

Keeping her eyes fixed, she watched as the pony desperately tried to pull itself up and out of the burning building. Some ponies desperately tried to get to this pony, but the flames increased to the point that it was impossible to approach the building without getting burnt themselves. So instead they all watched helplessly as this pony got burned alive, screaming as it failed to get out.

Staring at the scorched marks on the building, Rainbow Dash’s breathing grew faster as this memory slammed right against her. That terrible sight, those horrible screams.

Groaning in pain, she shook her head, hoping to get rid of the headache that already formed. But it lingered, just like the memory.

Not wanting to remember any more of it, she trotted away from the burnt down building, moving quicker than before and hoping to distance herself as far from it as possible. But her quick pace only lasted for a few seconds before the headache gnawed at her again and forced her to slow down.

Cursing, she let out a frustrated sigh as she looked around her. Hoping that she was near her residence, she searched for the large tree home that the Mayor told her about and found it a good distance on the other end of the street.

Sighing, she felt relieved that it was near, but also felt tired from the headache that was attacking her. Looking around once more, she saw the familiar sign of a tavern nearby, open and ready to serve.

Keeping her eyes fixed on it, she felt drawing call of it as she unconsciously turned her body  towards its direction. She hadn’t been in a tavern for a while, for a very long while. 

Since she was the figure head for many ponies, adored by everpony, young and old alike, the War Ministry had suggested that she avoid going to taverns, wanting to make her a good role model for young colts and fillies. Complying with this, she had avoided this place of solace, depriving herself from alcohol till she was alone in her room where she can drink all her sorrows as much as she wants.

Alcohol seemed to be the only medicine that helped prevent the terrible memories that plagued her. Damn those medications, those things are useless! Compared to the untested medicines they gave her to calm down her nerves, she knew that alcohol was something that would work. Whenever she had nightmares of the war, she would often look for a bottle and drink up till she was barely able to comprehend the nightmares. 

Now, knowing these flashbacks were in themselves nightmares, she glanced at the tavern confident that a bottle or two from there would help her in her current state. 

Without giving it a second thought, she trotted towards the tavern, ready to spend the rest of the day there.

A day of drinking might cloud my memories enough to forget everything…

> Chapter 2: Reminiscing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The smell of alcohol was evident in the air as the sound of cups clanging and voices chatting echoed in the large room. Grinning as she nursed her drink, Rainbow Dash glanced towards the ponies who joined her at the table, listening in as the laughed.

“You, going to college…” Lightning Dust exclaimed in laughter as she slammed her mug on the table. “…yeah right, that’s a good one! What kind of college would accept a feather brain like you?”

Not faced by the taunt and keeping a smile on his face, Thunderlane took a sip of his mug before shaking his head. “I’m serious, I’m really going to college one this is over.”

“Oh, yeah?” Cloud Chaser piped up. “And what course are you taking? Stabbing 101 or AB Sneaking? Let’s admit it, those are the only thing’s you’re good at, Thunderlane.”

“Hey, I’m good at other stuff too!” Thunderlane defended. “I can do Science, Equestrian History, and Celestia knows that I’m better in Math than you. Isn’t that right, Captain?”

“It’s true, Thunderlane is one smart egghead.” Rainbow Dash said nodding. “If it weren’t for the fact that he’s such a klutz all the time, I would have sent him to the officer’s candidate school.” Letting out a chuckle, she then took a gulp of her drink before shaking her head. Thunderlane was smart, she knew that, but he tended to be careless at times, careless to the point that it deprived him of a possible promotion.

“Ha-ha-ha, very funny, Captain.” Thunderlane said, rolling his eyes. “You three just wait, once this war is over and once I graduate college with a degree in Engineering, then we’ll see whose laughing.”

“Nah, I think it still will be us laughing.” Cloud Chaser said. “You might be better in Math but that doesn’t mean you’re great at it. You know, I think the only reason you want to go to college is because you want to be the star of the college’s hoofball team.”

“You know, with all this contradiction you’re giving, I’m starting to think that you’re just jealous that I have plans once I leave the army, while you don’t.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I do have plans once I leave the army.” Cloud Chaser informed him.

“Yeah, well what is it?”

“Well if you must know, I plan on returning back to the Weather Patrol, once this is over, and apply for the position of a team leader. With a nice record here, I’m sure they would be honored to have a pegasi such as myself in their ranks. With all the experience I got…” She boasted. 

“….I won’t be surprised if they make me the head of the entire Weather Patrol instead of just a team leader.” 

Rainbow Dash smiled as she listened to Cloud Chaser, knowing how much that mare missed the Weather Patrol. Before Rainbow Dash recruited her to join the force, Cloud Chaser had be an excellent and proud member of Cloudsdale’s Weather Patrol. Swift and observant, she had been one of the best Weather ponies that ever flew. But when her talents were needed elsewhere, she quickly resigned her job and accepted Rainbow Dash’s offer as a recruit for the Special Air Action Corps, to her sister’s disdain.

“Boring!” Lightning Dust said before taking a long gulp from her mug. “Once this war is over, I’m sending an application for the Wonderbolts! With a nice service record and many praise worthy actions, getting a transfer there wouldn’t be difficult for me. In fact, it wouldn’t be difficult for any of us. If any of you decide to trash those plans of your and do something more reasonable and exciting, then just tell me, so we can apply for the Wonderbolts together.”

Shaking her head, Rainbow Dash took a sip of her drink and took in the flavor. 

When she was younger, she had always wanted to be a Wonderbolt, the famous aerobatic team that shone with pride and prestige. But now, she doubted it if she still wanted to be a member of that team. Years of disappointment have told her that it wasn’t her place to be there, it wasn’t a place for ponies like her. Her only place was in the shadows, not in the limelight.

“How about you, Captain?” Thunderlane asked. “What do you plan on doing once this war is over?”

Putting down her mug, she gazed at the eyes locked on her and gave a small shrug

“I never actually though about what I’m going to do yet.” She admitted. “This war has just been going for so long that I never actually thought 
that I would see the end of it.”

“Aw, come on, Captain, you don’t really mean that, right?” Lightning Dust asked. 

“Sorry, to burst your bubble, but I don’t really have plans yet.” Rainbow Dash said, as she placed a hoof under her chin and gave a pause to think. “Although, giving it a thought right now, I think I’m going to take a long, and I mean a really long, vacation once this is over.”

Thunderlane gave a chuckle as he heard this, shaking his head as he laughed. “Isn’t that funny? The three of us are going to work hard once this war is over, while the Captain over here is going on vacation.”

“Hey, it sound like a good plan to me.” Lightning Dust said with a shrug.

Smiling, Rainbow Dash nodded her head, knowing that it was indeed a good plan. Maybe she will push through with it if this war ends. They had been fighting for years now, with no sign of it ending, but if it did end, a long rest definitely sounded nice. To go home and relax, to do things they weren’t able to do now.

“Well, here’s to the end of the war!” She said, raising her mug. Following this, the Thunderlane, Lightning Dust, and Cloud Chaser raised their mugs to meet hers.

“To the end of the war!” They repeated.

To the end of the war…

Sitting alone by her table, Rainbow Dash stared at her mug, gazing at it yet making now move to drink it contents. Well, the war is over and none of us ever followed through with our plans… She thought gravely.

Lifting the mug up and quickly drained its contents, she let the alcohol flow down her throat and waited for it to run down her system. Sighing, she shook her head as she shoved the mug next to five other mugs that lay empty on top of her table.

Groaning as she sat there, she raised her hoof and called for another mug. The drink hasn’t taken its effects on her yet and she grew more agitated with each passing moment that it didn’t.

Alcohol had helped her suit her pain away, bringing her at ease in both body and mind by subduing her into a drunken state. With clouded memories that were to fuzzy to hurt or worry over, it made her time easier as it helped her get over the curse that kept on plaguing her.

Blurring her thoughts and making it harder to comprehend, it allowed her to have an easier time, wiping out her memories for a time and numbing down the pains of a headache. Although she knew these effects were temporary, she didn’t care nor complain. If it gave her solace for even just a short time, then it was good enough for her.

But right now, as she sat there and received her sixth mug, she felt annoyed knowing that it hadn’t done its wondrous effects yet. Usually the third or fourth cup would do the job, but now as she drank her sixth, she could still remember the memories.

She was drunk, she was sure of that. She already had a hard time lifting the mug up to her mouth without spilling her drink. Yet despite being drunk, the memories lingered, as if they have found a way to bypass her only defense against them.

Does life have to take this away from me too? She thought. To take away my only relief from the pain?

In her frustration, she slammed her hoof hard on the wooden table, making a loud banging noise that seemed to have attracted the attention of everpony in the room. Despite it still being early in the day, there were quite a few ponies present and the tavern. And now, as they sat there with her, their eyes gazed at Rainbow Dash, wondering who this drunk and seemingly angry stranger was. 

But she didn’t care about their stares or their thought. She ignored them totally as she muttered in anger, gulping every few seconds on her mug. But no matter how many times she drank, she could never get herself to the point where she can forget.

Once she realized that this was a fruitless effort, she made a reach for her rucksack and pulled out a hoof-full of bits, tossing them on the table as she left. She didn’t know if that was enough to pay for her drinks, or too much, but she didn’t care. Right now, all she wanted to do is get out of here and rest. Maybe once she slept the effects of the alcohol would take in.

Making her way to the door, she was halfway through the room when she heard a voice call out to her. Lousily moving her head to meet it, she fixed her eyes on an orange earth pony mare, who sat only a couple of feet from where she stood. By the way she stared and the stacks of mugs on this pony, Rainbow Dash knew that this pony was just as drunk as her.

“You’re that pegasus fella, aren’t yah…?” She said surly, as she stood up and did her best to trot towards Rainbow Dash without tipping over. 

“The one that ended the war…right?”

Great... Rainbow Dash thought. The last thing she wanted right now was a fan ogling over her, especially right now. The Mayor had promised her that nopony here in town would disturb her during her stay, but she guess she couldn’t speak for everypony. Maybe this pony was that one admirer who really longed to meet her or maybe she was just a passerby who just so happened to come across her.

“Listen, I’m not really up to signing autographs right now.” Rainbow Dash said as she tried to shoo the earth pony away. “Ask me again tomorrow and I might, might, sign you…sign whatever you want me to sign.” 

She had no time for this. She was too tired and drunk to want to linger any further here.

“So you are that mare…” The Earth pony said as she quickened her pace so that she could get closer to Rainbow Dash. “I knew I recognize that face anywhere, I’ve seen enough posters to recognize that face.”

“Alright it is me.” Rainbow Dash said, already annoyed that this conversation was lasting longer than she wanted. “Are you happy now?”

“Yes.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t know why, but there was something to that smile the disturb her. Giving the mare  puzzled look, she stared at her with both caution and defensiveness. Something was wrong and she knew it all too well. Like sensing an ambush before it happened, she could sense that something was about to stir. 

Too bad for her, she noticed it only a couple of seconds too late.

She blamed it on her drunkenness. If she weren’t drunk, she would have just left the room without a care about the mare calling her. But instead, she made the foolish decision of lingering and entertaining her. Now she paid the price as the mare rushed her and pushed her hard onto the floor.

“What the buck was that for?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she looked up at the mare staring down at her.

“That was for my brother.” The earth pony said in a firm voice. “And if I were yah, I would suggest that you stay down so we can make this quick and better for everypony.”

It was clear that this pony was drunk and out of her mind, but that still didn’t mean she can pick on Rainbow Dash without getting any reprisal. Quickly, Rainbow Dash shuffled her hooves and did her best to get up, ignoring the fact that she too was completely drunk. 

“Listen, mam, I think you got the wrong mare.” Rainbow Dash said as she shakily got back up. “I have no clue you are and I’m pretty sure that I have done nothing wrong to you and your…uhh..brother.”

She had no clue what this mare was so sore about, but if she wanted to fight, then she had a fight. Rainbow Dash had fought the toughest ponies the Crystal Empire had to offer and surely a simple earth pony like her stood no chance. She had pledge never to do anymore fighting in her life if possible, but since she was forced she knew she had too.

Staring at the mare, she gave her an agrivated look as she prepared herself for the imminent fight.

But what happened next came to her so quickly that she failed to see what hit her.

“Yes you have.” The mare said turning immediately and prepping her hind legs.

With one powerful blow that came with greater force than she thought possible, the mare bucked her directly on the face, flinging her nearly across the room as Rainbow Dash fell on top of a table.

She swore that the impact against the wood broke the table in half, but she was unable to confirm that as her vision began to go blurry. Trying her best to keep her eyes open, she watched as the orange mare trotted towards her, determination in her eyes.

Sighing, she closed her eyes as she gave one final thought about the situation.

So this is how I’ll go… To die in a tavern fight… She thought, a part of her finding it a little bit funny, as she had no clue why this fight even started in the first place. She really had no clue who that mare was and why she was angry at her. But whether she knew the fact or not, the end result was the same. She had lost this fight and this was her end.

Well, if this is the end, maybe it isn’t such a bad thing after all. At least I’ll finally get to be with them…

> Chapter 3: The Fallen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Captain, what do we do now?”

The shout and the subsequent shove of a hoof snapped Rainbow Dash out of her trance, making her look away from Thunderlane’s everlasting stare and glanced towards Cloud Chaser, who was furiously gesturing towards their rear, where a group of armored Crystal Ponies were forming up and preparing to make an advance towards them. With the group ahead of them blocking their path and this second group coming up from their rear, she and the rest of the team knew that they would soon be sandwiched between the two forces unless they act quickly.

Breathing heavily and fighting of her shock, Rainbow Dash did her best to block of the panic within her and focus on the situation. She needed to stay calm, to think of a way. Panic would only get in the way of that.

Then, she gave one last look towards Thunderlane’s body before giving a shake of the head. She wanted to grieve his lost, but knew better than to do so.

There’s a time for mourning later. She thought to herself, forcing her eyes not to look away from dead body beside her.

Snapping her head towards their front, Rainbow Dash stared at the two rows of enemies in front of them and noticed that the second row was still busy reloading their crossbows, fumbling their pieces and trying to attach their bolts.

Once they were done doing that, another volley of bolts was certain to fall upon them, and she doubted if they can avoid that one. They needed to eliminate them quickly before they can do more harm.

“Cloud Chaser, Lightning Dust, get two bolts on those ponies ahead of us, the two in the center of the front row.” Rainbow Dash commanded.

“What?” Cloud Chaser asked, not sure what her leader was planning, yet already aiming her crossbow at the target.

“You heard my order, so do it.” Rainbow Dash grunted, before making a move to bite down on her fallen sword and keeping it tightly between her jaws.

Even before the two could fire their bolts at their assigned target, Rainbow Dash was already on her hooves, keeping to the left side, as to not 
block their line of fire, and moving as fast as she could. 

Keeping her eyes fixed on the Crystal ponies at the large door, she watched as the two in the center were struck down as bolts hit them directly on the slits of their helmets. Falling down on the ground, this created a gap in their formation where no spears stuck out, opening up a hole where she can enter.

Quickly hoping to exploit this opportunity, she got off of the air and flapped her wings, going airborne and swiftly propelling herself a few feet from the floor. Aiming for the gap, she shot right through it before any of the Crystal ponies could react, getting through and finding herself behind the enemy formation.

Without hesitation, she immediately went for the ones with the crossbows, coming from behind them and stabbing her sword in the gaps between their armor. She managed to bring down two of them before the rest went for her, redirecting their now loaded crossbows and firing. One shot managed to graze her hoof, tearing off a part of her uniform and leaving a scratch on her. But the rest of the shots missed and now she was bound to repay them for that act.

Making a leap, she managed to bring one down and pining him on the floor, before slashing her sword on his neck. The other one, the last remaining enemy with a crossbow, made a charge for her, ready to use his crossbow as a club. But Rainbow Dash managed to catch this and turn immediately, so that the moment the charging pony reached her, the only thing he will meet was her sword, which stabbed right between the armor on his chest and hoof, making him collapse in a pool of blood and pain.

She was surprised that during the entire fight, none of the spear wielding Crystal Ponies came in to help fight against her. But as she turned around to face against them, she began to realize why.

Standing where the other Crystal Ponies stood earlier was now Cloud Chaser, who was jabbing her sword into the last of them and finishing him off. Motioning her to form up next to her, she was about to complement her for taking the initiative when she saw that Lightning Dust wasn’t with her.

Quickly, she glanced back towards the hall to see Lightning Dust reloading her crossbow before letting out a shot, hitting and bringing down one of the Crystal Pony reinforcements who were now formed up on the other end of the hallway and advancing shoulder to shoulder.

At this point it was clear what Lightning Dust had done. While Cloud Chaser went up to support Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust had stayed behind to cover their rear to prevent the reinforcing group from supporting the Crystal Ponies at the door.

Firing bolts and taking them out slowly, she did a good job of holding them off as she managed to reduce their effectiveness and speed. But now, coming in closer with large numbers in a tight and formidable formation, Rainbow Dash could see that they were getting closer and closer as they advanced, soon to fall upon Lightning Dust if she didn’t get out.

Seeing that she didn’t seem to be making any move to get out of there any time soon, Rainbow Dash grunted in frustration. Why does she always have to do this? She thought, knowing that Lightning Dust was so fixated in the fighting that she forgot that this was not their main objective. Best get her back here before she does anything stupid.

Giving her an annoyed look, Rainbow Dash was about to yell at Lightning Dust to fall back when out of nowhere the large crystal doors swung close as a powerful magic pushed and sealed it close. In shock and panic, Rainbow Dash charged the crystal doors and slammed her hooves upon it. But this was to no avail for the doors were too heavy and the magic sealing it too strong.

“Lightning Dust!” She screamed, as she heard Lightning Dust’s own muffled shouts call out to her. “Lightning Dust!”

She could still here the battle raging through the thick crystal and knew that she was still alive. But for how long would she last? 

There were dozens upon dozens of reinforcements coming in and with her trapped all alone there, Rainbow Dash could only fear for the worst. Lightning Dust may be one of the best fighters in Equestria, but even she couldn’t fight against that many enemies without support.

Searching her surrounding, she frantically looked for another path back towards the hall or anything that would help her opened the doors. 

But her search quickly stopped when she heard the sound of laughter behind her. 

Turning around, she met a sight that immediately brought chills down her spine, as she stared frozenly at the frightening sight before her. 

From her position, the eerie sight of King Sombra’s silhouette above them, laughing as he sat there, bought a bone chilling feeling to her as the sight imbedded itself in her memory. Sitting on his high throne, eyes glowing in the darkness of the room, King Sombra gave out a maniac like laugh which echoed inside the large chamber and rung in her ears.

For a moment, she felt fixed in her position, unable to move as she stared at him. She had seen King Sombra countless of times before in the battlefield, but that was from a distance. Now however, now that she was really close, she couldn’t help but see the true fear he brought upon his enemies.

Finishing his laughter and looking down upon them, Sombra brought his eyes upon her, meeting her gaze with his own. Locking upon one another, Rainbow Dash felt like she was battling with him in a fierce staring contest, one she seemed to be losing.

The glowing red eyes, the dark magic that emitted from it, it seemed all too much for her. She had prided herself to be a good soldier, one that can fight anything that came in her way. Going on this mission, she had the mindset that she can handle anything that happens and accomplish her goal without feat and hesitation.

But now she began to doubt those boast. Nothing had gone according to plan and as she stood there, her objective right in front of her, she felt helpless. 

So helpless…

Helpless…





Rainbow Dash woke up in fear, shooting up from the bed and gasping for air. The memory imbedded in her had become a curse, a curse both in day and night. If it wasn’t plaguing her with terrible flashbacks during the day, then it was attacking her with nightmares that seemed more frightening than the last.

Why can’t they just leave me alone? She thought grudgingly, tired of the haunting past that kept reminding her of those terrible times. 
Being reminded of those events almost every day was torture, worse than any pain that she had endured before. If possible, she would have rather be stabbed over and over than to go through this slow mental onslaught. Yet life thought it would be funnier that she went through this strain of pain, than hurt her physically.

Sweating and breathing heavily, she placed a hoof on her face, hoping to relax her tense state, when a jolt of pain made her pull her hoof away. Cursing at the sudden pain, she slammed her hoof down in frustration, only to make her wince as her sore body reacted badly to it.

That’s right…I got bucked right in the face by that mare. She thought frustrated, as she recalled the recent events that happened to her.

Groaning as she shifted on her bed, she tried her best to mend the pain she felt, all the while trying to look around the room she currently was. Through the moonlight that came inside from the window, Rainbow Dash was able to see the plain white walls and ceiling of the room, decorated by nothing but a simple plaque that was too far for her to read. Looking around a little more, she could see nothing else but drapes that hung over from the ceiling, currently pushed off to one side so that they were open.  

Sighing as she rested her head back on her pillow, she closed her eyes knowing all too well where she was right now. If the plain white walls weren’t enough of a hint for her, then the smell in the air would have been another clue that only pointed out that she was in a hospital.

Great…and all because of that mare. She thought glumly. 

Now she would most likely spend the next few days here, if not the entire week, being pestered by doctor and nurses who would restrain her from doing much because of her injuries. Hopefully, if things look up to her, word about her beat up wouldn’t leave this town. If the ponies in Canterlot ever heard of what happened here, she was sure that it would stir up their interest and make them curious. Before she would know it, they would have ponies all over this town, interviewing witnesses and trying to get an audience with her. And that was the last thing she wanted right now. 

Right now, all she wanted was to relax, to get a vacation that she had longed for since a long time ago. At first, she thought she would get that vacation when she arrived at this town, since it seemed peaceful enough when she had arrived here. But now, as she lay in the hospital bed, sore from being flung across a room, she was beginning to doubt that this was the best town to get her vacation.

When Rainbow Dash went to this town, she had expected a lot of things to go wrong. But to be met by a mare she didn’t know and be assaulted by her, to the point that she ended up in the hospital, was not on the list of things she had expected. If she knew something like this would have been a possibility, then she would have asked her doctor to choose another town, one which did not contain hostile ponies. 

Who even was she?

The mare who attacked her was angry and full of fury when she did it and never in her lifetime had Rainbow Dash seen such determination come from somepony who wanted to attack her. Then again, most of the ponies she had fought were mind controlled Crystal Ponies, who bore no expression beneath their thick helmet. But there was something in her eyes, in the way that she looked at her, that unnerved Rainbow Dash.

She had seen and had been in many drunken tavern fight before and she knew that there was something different about this one. Although that pony was drunk and loose in her thoughts because of the alcohol, there was this certain look on her assailant’s eyes, a looked that seemed to tell that she recognized her. A look directly pointed at her, as if Rainbow Dash was her rival and that she had been waiting for that moment in a long time.

Thinking about the events, she did remember the mare mentioning something about her brother. But who was that mare’s brother? She seemed pretty sore about that subject and believed that she had done something that involved her brother. But as far as Rainbow Dash could recall, she knew nothing about that mare or that possible brother she was talking about.

“Maybe she was just one crazy drunk mare who thought I was somepony else.” She mumbled to herself, even though she knew that wasn’t through. The mare had specifically identified her first before attacking her, wanting to make sure that it was really her. She clearly knew her, which wasn’t a surprise, but why did she hate her? 

She was about to put further thought on this, when her thinking was suddenly interrupted by a calling down in her groin.

“Damn it…” She said to herself as she lifted herself up.  “…I need to take a piss.”

For a moment, she debated on whether to call for a nurse in helping her get to the restrooms, but seeing no way to contact them and feeling that the pain was tolerable, she decided to go on by herself. I don’t need any nurse assisting me like a helpless filly. She thought confidently.

Sliding off the bed, she felt heavy under her hooves as her muscles still felt sore from her impact on the table. Cursing as she took her first step, she made steady progress at first and after a few more steps she managed to contain the aching pain and exit her room.

The hall way was dimly lit, with only a few lights on the ceiling bringing illumination. Looking up, Rainbow Dash could see the poorly maintained lights, which wither had broken bulbs or faulty wiring on them. Shaking her head, she felt sorry for this place, and for the rest of the town. 

Like the town, the hospital seemed ill maintained and broken down, with stains covering many portion of the walls and many doors barely hanging on their hinges. Looking around as she around as she went by, she guessed that this hospital had been salvaged of staff and material during the war, leaving little for the maintenance and the running of it.

No pony or material is exempt from the war. She thought, remembering one of many slogans the propaganda posters blared at citizens.

Trotting through the halls and trying to find the restroom, she passed through the maze of halls, doing her best to navigate it, as well as remember the path she took.  The last thing she wanted was to get lost in these halls and spend the night on the cold hard floor. She had spent enough of her life sleeping on hard ground and she wasn’t willing to relieve those memories.

Passing through a hall that run parallel to a wall of windows, Rainbow Dash felt relieved and happy to find a sign hanging on the other end pointing towards the restroom. She didn’t know how long she could have lasted and the sight of the restroom so near was a nice sight.

But standing halfway through the hallway and blocking her path was the dim silhouette of a pony, who had both his fore hooves on the frame of a nearby window, looking out of it and mumbling to herself.

Slowing down her pace and moving cautiously towards the pony, she kept her gaze fixed on him as she grew closer and closer, hearing bits of the words that were escaping his mouth.

“…I shouldn’t be here…” She heard him say. “…they’re the ones who should have lived…” By now, she could see him shake, and getting a closer look, it looked to her that he was crying. “…I should be back there, buried on the cold earth…”

“Hey, buddy, are you alright?” Rainbow Dash called out once she was only a few feet from him. From her position, she managed to get a better 
view of the pony and was surprised at what she saw. 

At first, she had presumed that the pony was an earth pony, for he had lacked either wings or horn. But getting a closer look, she knew saw the stumps on his back, the stumps the she presumed used to be connected to full grown wings. The sight of this made her itch on her own wing, as the metal that connected with her prosthetic metal wing suddenly felt heavy.

Stopping from his mumbling and snapping his head to face her, his eyes met hers and for a moment Rainbow Dash felt like she was staring at a mirror. His eyes were plank and lifeless. Staring directly at them, she couldn’t help but shudder. It reminded her too much of her own eyes, every time she saw herself on the mirror. The coldness that seemed to show off death, despite being alive.

The deep look within him reminded her of her own dead gaze and the troubled expression on him was eerily same to the ones she had after being bombarded by her troubled past.

“I’m no hero…” He told her in his shaky voice. “…but soon I’ll be with the heroes.”

With that he lunged forward and shot himself out of the window, disappearing from Rainbow Dash’s sight. Panicked by what she saw, she quickly moved forward and peered off the edge of the window, just in time to watch his body fall from the height. Shocked by what she saw, she felt still and unable to react, her insides cold with dread as she watched the body impact the ground and land with a terrible sound.

Closing her eyes, she looked away, slamming her hoof against the wall. 

Another life I couldn’t save…

“Damn it!” She shouted, unable to contain her frustration. Why didn’t I do anything? Why didn’t I flew out to catch him? 

In her fit of rage, she trashed around the hallway, trying to vent out her anger. As she was doing this, the feeling of kicking something attracted her attention, as it momentarily stopped her rage and placed her gaze towards the object beneath her. 

Looking down she saw a framed picture of a small orange filly being carried around by a pegasus, which she presumed was the one she just saw. Picking up the frame, she noticed the glass was cracked after her kicking it against the wall, making some of the shards fall on the ground.

Scanning the ground again, she saw more objects that accompanied the frame, one being a letter and the other being a medal. Picking the medal with her hoof, she tried to get a better look at it by bringing it under the moonlight.

Getting a better look of the medal, she felt it still as she suddenly realized what it was.

The Silver Shield… She thought, realizing that the medal she held was the second highest award a soldier in the Equestrian Army can receive, and it belonged to that pegasus. At least it used to… 

Glancing away from the medal, she lowered her head with a sigh, putting down the medal and the framed picture, before trotting slowly towards the window. There were no cries and groans of pain coming from the still body below and Rainbow Dash already knew what this meant. Down below, she knew that the pegasus was gone, gone from the world that made him do this act.

Another fallen soldier… 

> Chapter 4: The Filly
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why am I even doing this? Rainbow Dash thought as she stood in front of an unfamiliar door.

It was the next day after the tragic incident at the hospital and Rainbow Dash, after having been cleared and permitted to by the staff, had volunteered to tell the tragic news to his family. This shocked the staff at the hospital and indeed it shocked Rainbow Dash herself. She was no relative to that pony, nor a friend, yet she was here willing to tell the news of his passing to his family.

But why? She thought to herself. Why?

I barely even knew that guy, heck, I literally only talked to him for a few seconds! She pointed out to herself, as she had an internal debate. She was here to rest and relax, not worry over things like this. Instead of volunteering, she should have let one of the staff members of the hospital to do this job. And yet, why do I feel compelled to do this myself? 

Was it because she was a fellow member of the military? Was it because she felt guilty for not being able to stop him. No… She thought as she shook her head. …it’s not just because of that. There’s another reason why I’m doing this.

Despite not personally knowing the pony, she somehow felt a connection with him, a connection she could not explain and express in words. Having seen him and looked him directly in the eyes, she somehow understood what he felt and knew the pain he was feeling. That short encounter with him brought a whole list of emotion to her and it wasn’t hard for her to see herself in his position. 

He was just like her and she was like her. They were going through the same thing and she couldn’t really blame him for doing what he did. She could feel the internal pain and the way he spoke showed to her a broken pony, a pony just as broken as her.

I’m no hero, but soon I’ll be with the heroes. Those words he said still sent chills through her spine, as she knew how painful those words are. 

Just like me buddy, just like me… They were no heroes, yet nopony seemed to understand that. No matter how they tried, they, the living, were treated like heroes for surviving, while those who dead were only buried and given an underground home for their bodies and eternal peace for their souls.

There were times she felt jealous about the eternal peace they got, as she wished to have some of it herself. Perhaps that was what the pony wanted, eternal peace. Well, he has it now. She thought, a little bit happy that he finally found his peace, yet saddened in the way he had to take it.

She perfectly understood his reasons for doing it, but others usually won’t. They would have labeled him insane and indeed, the doctors at the hospital declared him insane and placed that as a reason for his suicide. But Rainbow Dash knew better, she knew he wasn’t insane. He was just misunderstood and place in a world that wasn’t accepting to who he was now.

Maybe that was the main reason why she volunteered to tell his family; so that she can make them understand what he did. 

But then again, maybe not. She knew that other ponies wouldn’t understand how they felt, they just wouldn’t. Trying to explain it would just be a fruitless effort. She was just here to deliver the news, to deliver it to another pony who has suffered.

Sighing, she shook her head and pushed away all of those thoughts away. Whatever her reason for doing this didn’t matter now. She was already here and she had a job to do and turning back now would just be shameful. So without any further hesitation, she brought her hoof upon the wooden door and knocked.

There was short moment of silence after that, but the sound of light hoof steps could soon be heard. After another moment or two, the door swung open, revealing a young orange filly who looked up at her.

The filly was small, and by Rainbow Dash’s estimates, she couldn’t have been older than ten years of age. Pausing as she looked up, the filly stared at Rainbow Dash with her purple eyes and Rainbow Dash could see in her eyes that she was lost at the sight of her. The two of them stared at each other in silence as they waited for the other to make the first move and Rainbow Dash felt awkward about this situation.
Ultimately, it was the young filly who made the first move and what she did caught Rainbow Dash completely by surprise.

“Oh, my gosh!” The filly shrieked, before jumping in excitement. “Its…it’s you…it’s really you! Major Rainbow Dash, the war hero! I can’t believe it, I…I…I just can’t believe it. I just want to say, that I am a big fan of yours. Like, ending the war! Just wow!”

Rainbow Dash felt a sense of dread and disdain as the filly continued to talk about her. This was the very thing she avoided, the main reason why she went to this town. All the praises and claims that she was a hero, she hated all of it. But now this filly was here praising her as if she were Princess Celestia. 

Great, this is just perfect…

Gritting her teeth, she was tempted to just turn back now and avoid all of this. This was the last thing she wanted. But despite her desire to escape it, she still felt the duty to deliver her message. So despite the annoyance and the fact that her half of her mind was telling her to back away, she instead stood there and stayed.

“Uhh…listen kid…” She said, a little awkwardly. “…is your mom home or something? I’ve got something important to tell her.”

Hopefully, she would be able to avoid further prodding from this filly if she managed to get her mother. That way, she would not only be able to get this filly to stop pestering her, but she might also be able to avoid telling some devastating news directly to the filly. 

Stopping her praising and almost endless talk, the orange filly calmed don’t for a bit and shook her head. “Well, she isn’t here right now. She’s down at the market, buying groceries. But…” She said, shuffling her front hooves. “…I think she’ll be back soon and if you come in and stay and wait for her.”

Rainbow Dash knew that she should have said that she’ll just return at another time. But she knew that she would only be just delaying if she did that and besides, matters like this should not be extended to longer periods. So instead of making an excuse to come back at a more convenient time, she just nodded her head and gestured to the filly to lead the way.

Excited and smiling, the filly practically took Rainbow Dash’s hoof and tried to drag her in. Unable to draw back her hoof, Rainbow Dash allowed herself to be led inside and into their small living room.

The room was simple and a bit cramp, with a fire place in one corner and a large sofa just right in front of it. To the side of the sofa was a small, and almost flimsy looking, table, where a large array of portraits were placed. 

Passing by the table as she was led towards the sofa, Rainbow Dash caught a quick glance at a set of picture frames placed on top of it. One picture managed to catch her eye, as it showed the face of the pony from the hospital. But unlike the broken and tired face that she remembered from last night, the face on the picture showed a carefree and happy expression; a reminder of time long ago.

Taking a seat on the comfortable sofa, Rainbow Dash took long glance at her young host, who sat on a small wooden chair in front of her, and felt a small sense of shock on how similar she and the pony from the hospital looked like. 

She has his eyes and his fur color… She thought, feeling a haunting feeling within her. The two just looked all too similar.

For a long moment, Rainbow Dash found herself staring at the young filly, the resemblance making her drift back to memories of the terrible happening of last night. She could remember him staring, as she stared on and waited, helpless to the events that unfolded.

She could remember her anger, and her understanding. Her sorrow towards the pony she didn’t know, and the pain of having lost somepony who she felt was the same like her. Thoughts like this swirled around her head, echoing in ghostly haunting, as it tried to test her emotions. But this was eventually snapped out of this inner battle when a loud awkward cough came from the filly, breaking the silence within the room.

“So…uhh…” The filly said, looking down at first, avoiding eye contact with her and only glancing up once in a while to meet her eyes. “I know you’ve been asked this before, but…I’m a really big fan of yours, like I said earlier, and would it be alright if you can…tell me how you’ve managed to end the war? I’ve been hearing many rumors about what happened there, but I don’t know if I can believe any of it. And the media isn’t really much of a help, since all their reports on it are vague and barely hold and detail. Like come on, what happened is now an important piece Equestrian history and yet nopony really knows what happen. So I’m really curious on how-“

Before she can continue, she was suddenly cut off by Rainbow Dash, who had her eyes firmly shut, as if trying to suppress something within her.

The scene played out before her eyes and despite trying to push the images away, they just kept on coming. The horror of it all would never leave her and would forever be in her mind. No matter how she tried to suppress it, how she always tried to forget, it was always there.

And yet other ponies would always want to know about it. Time and time, she would tell them that what happened there was no worth retelling, yet the always persisted. Couldn’t they understand? Don’t they know that what happened there was never meant to be retold? 

Of course they don’t. All they can think about is the hero that came out, the hero they believe she was. Not of those who were left there, not of those who deserve more credit. Not them, but her. All because she was alive.

“Listen, kid, the reason why the media doesn’t know much about it, except for mere details, is because I refuse to tell them. What happened at the Crystal Empire remains a secret in which I’m not willing to share any time soon.” Her voice was cold as ice and harsher than she thought she can do. In fact, Rainbow Dash was surprised on how harsh her tone was and felt bad for the filly, who seemed to have been shaken by it.
Feeling a little bit guilty, Rainbow Dash gave a sigh. 

“Listen, kid, I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just that I try not to remember what happened back there.” Rainbow Dash said, her gaze trailing away from the filly and out to nearby window. “There were things that happened there that I just wish to forget, and it’s really hard to forget when ponies keep on pestering me about it.”

“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to insult you…” The filly said, hanging her head low. “I didn’t know that you were one of them… I didn’t know you were a Silent.”

That peeked Rainbow Dash’s curiosity, as she stared at the filly with a questioning look. “A Silent?”

“Yeah, a Silent.” The filly said, looking up and nodding. “That’s what the town calls the war veterans who avoid talking about the war. I don’t want to offend you, but I think you’re a Silent too.”

“Hm, yeah, well what makes you say that?” Rainbow Dash said, trying to hide the fact that she and others like her were being branded.

“Cause you remind me of my dad.” The filly admitted, making Rainbow Dash stare at her with full attention. “He was just like you, refuses to talk about what happened at the Crystal Empire, gets agitated when you try and force him to talk, stuff like that. Sometimes, if things got bad, he’ll go wild and just throw stuff around.” A frown then formed on her face. “It got so bad that we had to bring him to the hospital for treatment. The hospital says that they have a special division in charge of taking care of ponies like them and they promised us that he’ll be cured, but during our weekly visits, he still seems the same.”

The now seemed depressed and for a moment Rainbow Dash felt sorry for her. This was the first time that she fully realized that the problems and inner demons that she and ponies like her face were not just affecting them, but also affecting the ponies that were close to them.

Looking at the filly, and feeling the sadness radiate from her, she moved off of the sofa and placed a gentle hoof on her back. Although she didn’t know what to tell her, she hoped that this simple action would somehow help. It hurt inside, knowing what happened to the filly’s father and what she would have to tell her about. 

Mentally, Rainbow Dash felt beaten. How could a situation like this happened to her? Why did the filly had to be here and why did she have to suffer too? When she decided to go on this mission, she thought all she would have to do was tell the poor pony’s wide of his death, and leave it to her to tell their foal what had happened. But now it seems that, when this filly’s mother arrives, she would have to tell them both the sad news.

And that time didn’t come too long, for soon the sounds of hoof steps came from the front door. The clicking sound of the lock and the sound of the door opening soon came, followed by the gentle voice of pony calling in.

“Scootaloo, come over here and help mommy with the groceries.” The pony said, as she trotted towards pass the living room with a pair of filled saddle bags. Just as she came in view, she turned in surprise to see Rainbow Dash standing in their living room.

“Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t know we had guess over here…” The pony said, seemingly confused and worried. Although Rainbow Dash really couldn’t blame her, seeing that she was indeed a stranger in their home.

Keeping in her stresses and frustration, Rainbow Dash did her best to look professional as she looked towards the pony.

“Mam…” She began. “…I am Major Rainbow Dash and I’m sorry to say that I have sad news for you.”

> Chapter 5: Funerals and Nightmares
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The coffin was slowly lowered into the ground and after a few moments Sgt. Sky Storm was finally laid down into his final resting place. Watching as the ceremony finally came to an end; Rainbow Dash sat there and wondered if he was finally happy.

Now he was gone to eternal peace, with no more worries and no more troubles. There, he would no longer think about the things he did nor would he stress over the title other ponies gave him. He would now be with his buddies, those who left before him, those whom he wanted to see again so much.

Just like her, he felt that guilt of living. 

So many friends have passed because of the war that ponies like her and him felt alone and guilty for living. Guilt was always the thing in her mind and whenever ponies praised her for her deeds, she couldn’t help but feel that guilt rise to levels that she could not control.

It wasn’t just me who did it… She had thought. …it was me and my team. It was me and my friends.

Taking another look at the spot which was now Sky Storm’s grave, Rainbow Dash wondered if she would be able to bring death upon herself and achieve the eternal peace this pony has gotten. Many times before, she had attempted to reach this goal, doing different attempts to take her life. But before she could deliver that fatal blow, she always felt a slight hesitation that stopped her from continuing.

There was always this small voice in her head telling her she can’t do it and that she shouldn’t do it. This voice told her that she wasn’t worthy of killing herself and taking the easy way out to receive her peace. She was left here on this earth to suffer for her failure. She must suffer for her inability to protect them and get them through the war alive. If she took her life, then she would just be evading her punishment.

So many times she had tied ignoring the voice to but no avail. This voice was the thing that kept her alive and yet at the same time it cursed her to suffer the life she had now. Thinking of Sky Storm right now, she wondered if he too had that voice inside of him and if he did, how did he overcome it.

Somehow he did it and it had led to his death. But that death to him was a happy one for it lead him to the joyful life any veteran wanted, a life with their long lost buddies.

But if he was happy in the afterlife, those whom he left behind were certainly not.

Turning her head down to her right and at the young filly beside her, Rainbow Dash could feel Scootaloo press against her body, as she let her tears soak both her face and Rainbow Dash’s fur. Her mother Lemon Drops, who sat further right from her, also let loose her grief, but she opted to do it alone and allowed nopony to come near and comfort her.

Both were devastated, and Rainbow Dash felt bad for not being able to do anything to help them.

The news of Sky Storm’s passing hit them hard and Rainbow Dash knew that nothing she can say can help them in their grief. Loosing somepony was always difficult, and knew that from personal experience. The only thing that can help them is time and even then the pain would not heal. It would only lessen, but it would always be there, a constant reminder of what one has lost.

So instead of saying anything to both of them, she just remained silent. The only comfort she could give right now was to the filly, who she allowed to cry on her as the ceremony ended.

Once it was over and once they all stood up to leave, Lemon Drops stood in front of Rainbow Dash and, with tired tear soaked eyes, thanked her.

“I would like to thank you for telling us the news, no matter how sad it was.” She had told me. “To have it come from a hero like you…makes it more meaningful.”

A pang of pain hit Rainbow Dash as she heard that, and she wanted to tell Lemon Drops that she was no hero. But instead, she kept silent and allowed her to continue.

“I would also like to thank you for being with him in his last moment…” Then, without continuing, she moved forward and gave Rainbow Dash a hug. 

Shocked by this, Rainbow Dash did not know how to react at first, But slowly, and hesitantly, she placed a hoof around Lemon Drops and returned the hug until it was over. As she did this though, one sad thought entered her mind. You wouldn’t be thanking me like this if you knew that I could have saved him.

Soon, Rainbow Dash found herself almost alone by the grave, as everypony else began leaving the sight of such sadness. She herself was about to leave and sleep off all the emotion that was building up inside of her when she suddenly saw a familiar looking face standing and looking at her.

“Lt. Sparkle…” She said, approaching the pony who gave her a smart salute. “…it’s a surprise to see you here. So, what brings you to this tiny town? Don’t tell me he was a friend of yours?”

Knowing Lt. Twilight Sparkle’s background history, she knew that the staff officer had never set a single hoof on the front lines. Lt. Twilight Sparkle was a part of the Ministry of War’s Propaganda Department and Rainbow Dash knew that the only battle this egghead has fought was the one fought in cozy offices against paperwork. And with Sky Storm being a front line soldier who barely spent time at cushy desk jobs, it made Rainbow Dash wonder why the staff officer was visiting this ceremony.

“No, no, nothing of that sort. I’m just here for official Ministry of War business.” Twilight Sparkle replied, answering Rainbow Dash’s question.

“Oh?” Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yes.” Twilight Sparkle said. “Cause as you would know, Sgt. Sky Storm died under unpleasant circumstances… Circumstances which the War Ministry doesn’t want to be leaked out into the public. What can be worse than news of a war hero dying through suicide? It would make the War Ministry look bad and make it appear that we don’t do anything to care for our veterans. So I was sent here to make sure that no major news company, or any news company at all, covers this funeral and if there is one I am ordered to terminate their reports as soon as possible.”

Rainbow Dash felt anger felt inside her as she heard this. Were they planning to cover this up? She thought with rage, as she fought back the urge to suddenly tackle and attack Twilight Sparkle. No, don’t. She told herself as she tried to calm her anger down. She wasn’t the one who planned this, but only a soldier following orders.

For no matter how much she disliked Twilight Sparkle for being a desk jockey who never felt the pain like she and other front line soldiers experienced, she knew that she was still a soldier. And although what she was doing didn't seem right, Rainbow Dash knew that she was like any other soldier who was merely following orders.

So instead of retaliation with physical assaults or insulting words, she just turned around and walked away. Not looking back, she trotted away from the cemetery and back towards her home here.





That night, Rainbow Dash sat by the window of her tree home, looking out at the sky line of Ponyville as it created a peaceful and gently scenery before her. Leaning against the glass and staring at the world outside, she tried to home in with the gentleness of the night, doing her best to bring its calmness into her mind.

But no matter how hard she tried, the stillness of the night could night fight off the turbulence in her head. As if there was a raging storm within her, she felt a clash of emotion and memories rake her head, as she was helpless to stop them.

The nightmares were coming back and they were getting worst. Each new nightmare brought more pain, as the memories were shoved and forced at her, giving her no time to prepare. Memories she would be happy to forget and never remember again always remerged during her nightmares and she cursed her mind for doing such things while she was trying to get sleep.

Stressing her and slowly breaking her down, these nightmares never seemed to cease. She wished that she could have simply ignored these nightmares and move on with it, but the nightmares she received always kept her thinking.

It could be minutes or it could be hours, no matter how long it was, she always sat at one corner and contemplated the nightmares she received. Some the nightmare were just too realistic and with most of them being memories of the terrible times in the past, then it felt as if she was reliving things which she wish she never had to experience.

Memories like the war, her friends, and how they died, these seemed to always be the focus of her nightmares as they kept laughing her dreams. For once, she wished that she had a pleasant dream or no dream at all, but such a thing never seemed to happen as she was forced to receive these terrible mind tortures.

Despite being provided medicine that ensured a dreamless sleep, she found that none of them worked for her. In fact, it seemed that none of the medicine given to her worked, as they failed to give her the relief and stress free experience they promised.

Cursing the doctors who gave her all the pills, she looked up at the sky and see nothing but the open night sky that was illuminated by the full moon. Knowing that she wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight, she moved a hoof to open the wide window and extended her wings.

Although the medicine she was given didn’t help her nightmares, she at least knew something that would temporarily help her forget about them.

So with a powerful push and a great flap of both wings, she hurtled herself out and up into the night sky, heading off to wherever her wings would bring her. Despite having one mechanical wing, the metal and machinery that made it work and kept her flying felt as a part of her as her remaining biological wing. 

The mechanics sure did a good job to make it feel real. She thought to herself as she moved to gain altitude. Then again, they were unicorns and they probably used some kind of magical spell to make it feel real.

After gaining a decent height and still seeing not a single cloud nearby, Rainbow Dash began banking to the right before going into a steep dive that head straight for the ground below her. Looking straight down, she could see that ground fast approaching as the world below drew nearer and nearer.

At one point in this fast dive, she felt the urge to just fold her wings and let gravity pull her down to her death. Why pull up, when staying in this course would lead her back to her friends. Just like Sky Storm, she could end her troubles now and be gone from this world of pain and misery.

But the usual voice on her head told her not to do it, reminding her that she wasn’t worthy of an easy death and that she must suffer the pain of her failure.

So, instead of keeping a straight course for the ground, she pulled up, missing the ground by a couple of feet, Soon, she was soaring up in the air again, flapping her wings to give her more speed to boost her up.

Frustrated that she was ruining her plans for a relaxing flight by stressing over her problems, she decided to just concentrate on flying by doing aerial maneuvers. Hopefully, with her head too bust calculating the proper angles and speed she needed to do the maneuvers, the thoughts of memories and nightmares would just go away.

In the air, she did all the maneuvers she knew, from simple banks to the left and right, to elaborate loops and dives. Anything that she could do to get her mind off of her troubles, she did them, and she did them with grace and style.

Having the wind under her wings and the air blow through her face as she flew fast and moved through the air soon managed to relax her. After the first few moves, the thought of any past memories were gone from her head, as she challenge herself to perform more and more maneuvers.

Once in the air, she was in her element, and she knew that she was at her best here. She can be as free as she can be up in the air and she can move up there with grace and prowess. Letting out a small grin as she stabilized from her most recent loop, she wondered if she should just request a transfer apply for the Wonderbolts. She knew she was good at flying and she was confident that she can pass any test the flying time can give her. Besides, with the war over and the aerobatic team reorganizing themselves, they can surely need an experienced flyer like her.

But a frown soon formed on her faced as she thought more about this.

Once this war is over, I’m sending an application for the Wonderbolts!

Lightning Dust’s voice echoed inside her head, as she remembered those words. She planned on being a Wonderbolt… Rainbow Dash thought to herself.

Then, turning her head towards her side, she imagined the ghostly image of Lightning Dust flying beside her, the teal pegasus grinning at her as she flew in this imaginary formation. Suddenly, her head added two more ghostly figures beside her, Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser, so that the four of them flew in formation as if it were the old days.

Feeling no more appetite for flying as a feeling off depressing hit her, Rainbow Dash began descending from the skies, allowing the ghostly images behind her to stay up there until they disappeared. Making a slow glide to the ground, she soon set foot on the dirt, leaving out a long sigh as she did.

Flying was supposed to be the only way she can forget the hurt, but now, it was going to be something that would remind her of the pains. Another thing that I love gone… She thought mournfully.

Looking around to where she was, she saw that she managed to land herself at Ponyville’s central park. With it being the middle of the night, the park seemed to be empty, with nothing but distant fireflies flying around and occupying the area.

Seeing that he could do nothing here and that there was no point staying, Rainbow Dash decided that it was time to go back home and try to get some rest. She had been out flying for at least an hour and maybe the exhausting maneuvers she did were enough to tire her out so that once back home, she would just plot herself on the bed and fall asleep.

But just as she was about to follow the path that led towards her tree home, Rainbow Dash noticed that just by a nearby bench, a young orange filly was silently watching her. Turning her head towards that direction, Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

“Scootaloo?”

“Oh, uh hi there, Major Rainbow Dash.” Scotaloo said, seeing that she was now in the mare’s attention. 

“Please, just call me Rainbow Dash.” She said, as she approached the filly. “Anyways, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”

Studying the young pegasus, Rainbow Dash noticed that the fur by her cheeks were quite damp and that her eyes were red and sore from what seemed like constant crying. This gave her a small idea on what she was doing here and a pang of sympathy surged through her.

“Oh, you know, just trying to be alone…” She said, in a tone that was painted in sadness. “I’ve been having a hard time getting sleep, it’s been like that since…” A quick sniffle. “…since dad passed away. I never usually stay here past my bedtime, but ever since the funeral this morning, everything seems like it’s just falling apart, so I decided stay here a little longer.”

Staring at the filly, Rainbow Dash could that she had already broken down and was now starting to cry uncontrollably. Deciding to do something, she sat beside her on the bench and placed a comforting wing on her back.

“Just let it out, just let it all out…” Rainbow Dash told her, knowing that if you cry enough, then soon there would be nothing left to cry. So for now, she let the filly cry as much as she needed, comforting her once in a while till the filly had calmed down.

“You know, I saw you fly up there earlier…” Scootaloo said. “It was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Despite the sniffles and the tears still streaming from her eyes, it was obvious that Scotaloo could not hide the excitement in her voice as she spoke. 

But then her voice changed to full sadness once more, as she looked down onto the ground. “I wish I could fly too… It would be a great stress relief to all this emotion overload I’m feeling right now…”

“Wait, can’t you fly?” Rainbow Dash asked, not meaning it to be as insulting as it sounded.

“Well, it's not that I can’t fly…” Scootaloo said hesitantly. “…it’s just that I don’t know how to fly. You see, mom is always too busy with work and has no time to teach me on how to fly. Dad promised to teach me once he returned from the war but… like I said before he never really was himself when he returned, and then he was sent off to the hospital before…you know…” 

“Ah, I see.” Rainbow Dash said, placing a hoof on the young pegasus shoulder in an effort to comfort her once more. “Well, you know, I can help you and teach you how to fly.”

“Wait, really?” Scootaloo said, her head swiveling to face Rainbow Dash as she tried to figure out if she was kidding or not.

Seeing that this could be a good destruction for Scootloo, and maybe for herself also, Rainbow Dash nodded her head. A distraction to our troubles would do both of us some good. She thought. Concentrating on flying lessons would probably help Scootaloo find less time to be depressed, and that would be a great benefit for her. Meanwhile, focusing on teaching the filly would at least momentarily take Rainbow Dash’s thoughts away from the plaguing horrors of her memories and reduce the stress she always felt.

“Thank you!” Scootaloo said, moving up so that she could wrap her fore hooves around Rainbow Dash, as she tried to do a tight hug. “You don’t know how much this means to me. To be thought by a pony as great as you. This is probably the only good news I’ve had this week.”

“Oh, it’s nothing kid.” Rainbow Dash said, returning the hug by wrapping gentle hooves around her. “Now, let’s get you back home. Your mother is probably worried about you by now.”
> Chapter 6: Flights and Falls
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash flew straight and steady, keeping herself stable as she tried to move through the air as gentle as possible. Easing her wings, she let the wind flow under her, as she maintained level flight at a decent altitude in the sky.

Looking down at the world below her, she got a perfect view of Ponyville and the surrounding fields, thanks to the clear skies the local Weather Patrol provided during that day. With no clouds to obstruct her view, a beautiful panorama of the countryside was before her, a picture perfect sight. Smiling, she made a quick glance behind her, so that she can look at her passenger who had both her hooves wrapped around her neck as she look down with awe.

“Hey, are you enjoying the view up there, kid?” Rainbow Dash asked, seeing that Scootaloo’s face was stuck in a trnce, as she marveled at the sight below the. 

Without looking away from the sight below, Scootaloo nodded her head, her mind trying to find words to express her feelings.

“This is amazing!” She shouted back, her eagerness and excitement evident in her voice. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. Just look at the ponies below, they’re so small!”

Chuckling, Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Well, kid, soon you’ll be seeing views like this all the time. Once I’m done teaching you, you can fly up here and look down the world as many times you want.”

“Heh, maybe I can do it right now.” Scootaloo boasted with an air of confidence that reminded Rainbow Dash of herself. “It seems simple enough.”

Giving a small chuckle, Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Alright, don’t get too cocky, kid. It may look easy, but there’s a lot of skill behind it. Now, let’s have you get a feel of having wind beneath your wings. Do you have a good grip on me?”

Scooting a little bit and making sure her hooves were locked around Rainbow Dash’s neck, Scootaloo gave a short nod. “Yup.”

“Alright then, I’m going to do this a smoothly as possible, but better make sure that you hold on tight.” Rainbow Dash said, before ordering: “Alright, kid, now I want you to open your wings. What we’re going to do it let you feel the flow of air on your wings, so that you’ll know what it will be like when you glide in the air.”

Following as ordered, Scootaloo slowly opened her wings, letting the gentle air flow beneath them. Having the air flow before her, felt natural, as if she herself was flying on her own up in the air. Having the wind flow beneath her wings felt great and wonderful and a part of her said that she can fly on her own and soar in the sky if she just let go. 

But before she could go with her instinct and follow the urge to let go, Rainbow Dash began speaking up, removing her from her distracted state as she turned her attention to the pegasus.

“Alright, now, I’m going to do some simple maneuvers. Hopefully this will help you get a better feel on what flying feels like. You ready?”

“I’m always ready!” Scootaloo responded, prompting another chuckle from Rainbow Dash.

“Alright then.” Rainbow Dash said, before doing a gentle bank towards the right. 

Holding on tightly to Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo felt her weight shift to the right as they turned. For a moment, a sinking feeling that she might slip away and fall hit her as she gave a slight sign of panic. But after a second or two without anything happening, she began to relax her tense body as shifted from panic to enjoying the feeling.

It was calming and relaxing and the sensation of this all thrilled her. It really did feel like flying, a great immersion. Although she knew that Rainbow Dash was really the one who was doing the flying, the sensation of having the wind blow against her and on her wings as they flew made it feel like that she was flying on her own.

Closing her eyes to add to the feeling, she let Rainbow Dash fly her through the air as they did more banks, ascents, and descents. Like a dream come through, she soared through the air, even if it was under the assistance of another pony. 
She was flying in the air and her mind wanted to take her to new heights.

Letting her feelings and instincts take hold, Scootaloo began flapping her wings, acting as if she herself was doing the flying. With each stroke of the wing, she felt the cool wing go under them, as a part of her brain told her that she can gain flight if she continued doing this.

Unconsciously, this caused her to loosen her grip on Rainbow Dash, making her ever so slowly slide away. As the Rainbow Dash’s maneuvers continued, her hold began to loosen and loosen till she suddenly slipped from her position and slid off of Rainbow Dash.

“Ahhhhh! She screamed as her eyes bolted open in terrified panic.

Looking up at the sky as she fell, she could see Rainbow Dash’s silhouette go distant, as she fell from the sky and head straight for the ground. Flailing her hooves and working her wings, she desperately made an attempt to fly, hoping that she might be able to save herself. But with no experience on either gliding, let alone flying, this was a hopeless endeavor.

Immediately realizing that Scootaloo had fallen from her back, Rainbow Dash made a quick assessment of the situation, searching around her to find where Scootaloo was. Quickly spotting her below her, she immediately went in for a dive; hooves extended and ready to catch the filly.

It’s a good thing I went high. Rainbow Dash thought, knowing that at this height, she would have plenty of time to catch the falling filly.
Quickly catching up to Scootaloo and scooping her with her hooves, she made sure that the filly was secure in her grasp before using her wings to slow down her momentum.

“Okay, I think that’s enough flying lessons for now.” Rainbow Dash said, as she turned in for a glide and began to descend.

“Yeah…agreed.” Scootaloo said, still a bit shaken from the fall. Then, once recovered, she turned to Rainbow Dash and gave a small smile. “But do I at least get an A+ for free fall?”

Looking at the filly and grinning, Rainbow Dash shook her head. Yup, she definitely reminds me of myself.

“Ha…ha…very funny, kid, but that was a dangerous thing you did. You could have been seriously hurt or worse…” Rainbow Dash said, her words trailing as she knew that something terrible could have had happened if she had failed to catch Scootaloo.

A sense of dread filled her as she realized that, for she was unsure if she would have been able to cope with the guilt of having the loss of another life on her hooves. If she had been flying lower and if she had been too late, things could have ended differently.

But it didn’t… A small part of her argued, while another part of her continued to pester her on what might have had happened, telling her that if a mistake did happen, then it would have been her fault. You should have made note of the possible accident that might happen, now look, Scootaloo almost fell to her death because of you.

This internal debate raged in her head, before being interrupted by Scootaloo, who called out to her in an awkward and seemingly scared voice.

“Hey, you aren’t going to tell my mom about this, are you? The fall I mean…”

“Hmm…” Rainbow Dash said, thinking. “Well, for now I won’t. But please make sure you don’t do it again. I know you want to fly as soon as possible, but until you can fly on your own, you’ll need my permission and assistance first, got it?

“Sure thing, Dash!” Scootaloo chirped, a smile growing on her face.

“Good, kid.” Rainbow Dash set, as she gently set Scootaloo on the ground as she landed.

“Now, let’s get you home for some rest. Celestia knows how tired you might be, especially after what happened earlier.” Then, looking around her surrounding, she tried to find out where in the town they were. 

Looking around, she can tell that they were just by the outskirts of Ponyville, since the buildings of the town could clearly be seen from their position. But having been here for only a couple of days, she still wasn’t used to navigating around the place, and she had a hard time pinpointing were exactly at the town they were.

Turning her glance towards the nearest buildings, she stared at a large worn down barn and a smaller farmhouse located in the middle of an orchard of apple trees. Scanning the area, she saw that a dirt road was located near those building, a road that led directly back towards the town. Smiling, she made a step towards that direction and gestured for Scootaloo to follow.

But to Rainbow Dash’s intrigue, she noticed that the orange filly was now moving from her spot and was once again showing a worried look on her face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I…” She said, as she looked Rainbow Dash in the eyes. “…I don’t think we should go that way.”

“Huh? Why not?” Rainbow Dash questioned.

“It’s Applejack.” Scootaloo told her. “This is her family’s farm. If Applejack sees you near this place, then she’ll throw a fit and might hurt you. So we should go near that place or stay anywhere within its sight.”

“Applejack?” Rainbow Dash asked, confused at the information Scootaloo is giving her. “Who’s that? And why would this ‘Applejack’ pony be angry with me if I pass by their orchard?”

“Well…” Scootaloo said, shuffling her fore hooves as she looked down at the ground. “It’s because she hates veterans…every veteran, no matter who you are. If you served in the war, then she will automatically hate you. I remember that encounters between her and dad, before he went to the hospital, weren’t that pleasant and I want to avoid the same thing happening to you.”

What she was told shocked and at the same time angered Rainbow Dash. Veterans of the Crystal War had fought to keep Equestria safe, to make sure that everypony lived free from King Sombra’s tyranny. Yet here was a pony who seemed to hate those who had fought for her.

Anger flowed inside Rainbow Dash and it would have certainly overtook her if it weren’t for the nagging curiosity of wanting to know why this pony hated veterans in the first place.

“Do you happen to know why she hates veterans?” Rainbow Dash asked, Scootaloo. “Or does she just hate us because she think it’s a cool thing to do.”

“From all the screaming I hear from her, when she shouts at the nearest veterans she sees, it seems that she hates ponies like you because he thinks it’s unfair that her brother died in the war, while veterans like you survived.” Scootaloo said. 

“So she’s just overcome with grief?” Rainbow Dash guessed.

“Yep, pretty much.” Scootaloo said with a nod. “I think she just wants her brother back and hates the ponies who lived through the war because her brother wasn’t so lucky.”

Shaking her head, Rainbow Dash felt a wave of frustration hit her. “Well that’s just stupid. It’s not like it’s our fault that her brother died. Who are we to control who lives and dies?”

Turning her glance towards the orchard, Rainbow Dash noticed a distant figure trotting by there and pulling a cart. Narrowing her eyes and concentrating on the figure, she saw that it was an orange earth pony…an earth pony that seemed way too familiar to her.

For a moment, she kept her gaze focused on this pony, staring at her and trying to remember where she had seen her before. I know I met that pony before…but where?

Searching her memory, she tried to remember who this pony was, until, in a sudden burst of realization, her mind went wild. She remembered who this pony was and she also remembered that she had a score to settle with her.

“It’s her…” Rainbow Dash’s said, her voice icy as she hissed those words out. “…she’s the one who bucked me on the face!”


> Chapter 7: Blame
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7: Blame 

She approached with a steady gaze, eyes locked on her target. Moving with speed and a steady course, she let out powerful flaps of her wings, which propelled her faster and faster as she flew low, her body nearly touching the ground. She had trained for many assaults like this before and this one was no different from the rest. Silently and swiftly, she drew closer to her target, never once blinking her eyes throughout the flight. 

I got you now. She thought to herself, as the orange form of her target grew bigger as she approached. 

By the time Rainbow Dash was on top of her target, the poor mare was caught by complete surprise, as she was flung off of her hooves before being slammed down into the ground by the rocketing pegasus. Looking down on her now pinned down target, Rainbow Dash stared down on the shocked face looking up at her before giving her a powerful punch on the face. 

“That’s for bucking me right on the face for no reason at all!” Rainbow Dash growled, the anger clear in her voice.  

“What the hay do you think you’re doing.” Applejack hissed, her eyes seemingly glowing with anger. 

“Settling a score.” Rainbow Dash said, a harsh tone in her voice as she stared at Applejack. “Do you think you can just do what you did and get away from it?” 

Without any further word, Rainbow Dash raised a hoof and, in a swift and powerful motion, slammed it on Applejack’s face once more, making a loud impact as it hit her. A grunt of pain was let out by the orange pony, as she looked back at Rainbow Dash with more anger than she had before. Opening her mouth, she was about to say something in complaint but was immediately cut off as Rainbow Dash’s hoof slammed on her once more.  

“And that’s just a portion of the pain you gave me when you kicked me half way across the room!” Rainbow Dash grunted, venting out her anger with each punch of her hoof. 

Rainbow Dash had been trained a dozen types of torture methods and she was very tempted to try them on the orange pony and during that moment she was tempted to try some of them on the pony below her. She let her mind entertain the thought, but ultimately she decided against all of it. She realized that it would be too over the top, as well as controversial, especially if the press gets any wind of it, which they mist likely will. So instead she satisfied herself with the few blows she had given the earthpony, feeling better that she was now even with her. 

Seeing that the mare already got what she deserved, Rainbow Dash decided it was time to get off of her and leave her by. But before she could do so, she heard a gently mumble from the mare beneath her, making her curious as to what the pony said. Due to the weakness of the voice, she was unable to hear what exactly she said, and she immediately demanded for the pony to repeat what she said.  

“What was that?” She asked. 

Meeting her gaze, Applejack gave her a stern stare as she spoke up. “First you get my brother killed and now you humiliate me by attacking me on my own property? Will you never stop hurting me?” 

Staring at her with disbelief, Rainbow Dash shook her head, not believing what just heard. Remembering that time at the tavern, she could remember the pony giving her the same acquisitions. Why does she keep on saying that I have something to do with her brother’s death? She thought, irritated at the mare. 

“There you go again, saying that I killed your brother.” Rainbow Dash growled. “You must be delusional! What makes you think that I had anything to do with your brother’s death?”  

“I ain’t delusional!” Applejack spat. “Cause I know for a fact that you are the reason for his death! You could have saved him.” By now, tears were evident on the mare’s face, but that didn’t stop her from continuing on her rant. “Tell me, does Operation Black Hoof ring a bell to you?” 

As if hit in the head, Rainbow Dash paused and stared. That was something she hadn’t heard for a long, long time. 

“That…” Rainbow Dash said, a stutter in her voice. “…that was a top secret operation. How do you know that?” 

“Correction.” Applejack said in a firm voice. “A top secret cancelled operation! And as for how I learned of it… Well, my family is an important contractor for the Equestrian Ministry of War and we have connections. So, when I inquired about my brother’s death, they gave all the information I needed to know, just as long as I promise to keep it a secret. So I know all about Operation Black Hoof and how you decided to cancel it.” 

Feeling the world around her spin, but trying her best to fight it, Rainbow Dash gazed at Applejack and tried to counter her challenge. “But I had to cancel it. It was for the better for all the ponies involved in the operation.” 

“For the better of all the ponies involved? If it was for the better, then tell me why my brother and about a hundred more soldiers died from starvation inside a POW camp?” Applejack demanded. “The Crystal Empire was running out food and supplies and could barely feed their ponies, let alone our ponies, whom they captured! They all starved to death! Do you understand that? Starved! You could have saved them, you could have rescued them! But no, you cancelled the entire operation!” 

“I had too…” Rainbow Dash said, lowering her head and suddenly feeling weak. “I just had too…”  

Raising her head, she tried to meet Applejack’s face. But after seeing the tears rolling down from the devastated and angry face, she quickly looked away. She was the reason for the death of a hundred Equestrian soldiers…and she was unaware of it until now.  

Guilt suddenly filled her as sorrow and anger flowed in her blood. Why did she have to cancel the mission? Why? 

It was for the better… 

Her words hung in her head as she realized why she cancelled it, on why she didn’t go with the deadly operation. She remembered now why she suggested that it be cancelled, why the operation to save so many ponies never went through. It was for the better…for the betterment of the ponies who served under her. She wanted to protect them, spare them from such a deadly operation. But now…now she realized the consequences of her decision. 

“I’m sorry…” She said in a fragile voice. “I’m very sorry, I didn’t know…” 

But she did know, she was full aware of it. Yet she still made the decision, for something she believed was better. 

It was for the better, right? She thought to herself, suddenly feeling some doubt regarding her decision. 

“Why did you have to go through with your decision? Couldn’t you have taken the gamble, couldn’t you have taken the risk. My brother could have been saved!” Applejack cried out, in anger and despair. “He wasn’t even supposed to be there, in that camp, in the army… We begged for the Ministry to exempt him, but apparently not even our connections could stop the needs of the war effort! So they conscripted him and threw him to the frontlines. He could have still been here if it weren’t for that blasted war! And he could have been rescued if it weren’t for you!” 

Throwing an accusing hoof at her, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but stare at the mare in front of her. At first she felt the urge to explain herself, to tell her the reason on why she didn’t continue with the operation. But she soon decided against that, realizing that Applejack was too overcome with emotion.  

She wouldn’t understand… She told herself. They never do. They’ll never understand the decisions we had to make. The decisions that will always haunt us… 

Instead of arguing and facing another volley of accusations from the earth pony, Rainbow Dash decided to turn her back and walk away.  

Despite the insults and calls Applejack called out to her as she walk away, Rainbow Dash did not turn her head to face her. She was too angry inside. Too angry at Applejack for blaming her too much and too angry at herself for making bad decisions. She had made mistakes, she knew that, but it seems she had made bigger mistakes without fully realizing it. 

Opening her wings as she trotted away, she was about to make flight and get away from this place when she noticed an orange filly approaching as fast as she can. 

Having galloped all the way there from the distant hill, it was clear that Scootaloo was exhausted. But it seemed that no amount of exhaustion can overcome her curiosity, as her eyes gazed between the angry Applejack and the quiet Rainbow Dash. 

“What…” She began. “What happened? I saw that there was a scuffle but I couldn’t really tell what was going on.” 

Keeping silent, Rainbow Dash shook her head and motioned the young filly to get on her back. She didn’t want to explain these things to the young filly, she just couldn’t. It was too complicated, too depressing and shattering.  





“Ah, Captain Rainbow Dash, I’m glad that you could join us.” General Shining Armor said, retuning the salute Rainbow Dash gave him and giving her a small pleasant smile. “Now, Captain, I would like to introduce you to Captain Line Draft, Army Intelligence.” General Shining Armor told her, motioning towards the grey unicorn who stood at the opposite side of the table. “Captain Draft-“ General Shining Armor continued. “-this is Captain Rainbow Dash, officer in charge of all Special Air Action Corps units and operations in this sector while Colonel Spitfire is away for special business.” 

Both Rainbow Dash and Line Draft gave each other a curt nod, acknowledging each other’s presence without bringing any delay. 

“So, what’s the meeting about, sir?” Rainbow Dash asked, once the introductions were over. “The courier you sent for me seemed very eager to get me here as soon as possible.” 

“Well, that’s because Captain Draft here has something interesting for us.” General Shining Armor said, as he glanced at the Intelligence Captain. “Now, why don’t you tell the good Captain what you just told me earlier?” 

“Yes, General.” Captain Draft said, nodding. Then, turning his attention towards Rainbow Dash, he said: “Captain Dash, what I have here is top secret information and anything that is said should not leave this tent, is that understood?” 

“Fully.” Rainbow Dash pledged. 

“Alright then. Captain, I would like you to bring your attention towards the map before you.“ Captain Draft said, gesturing towards the large map of the sector’s frontline displayed in front of them as it lay on top of the table they were using. “Now, I would like you to take special note of the red cross marked fifty miles behind enemy lines.” 

“I see it.” Rainbow Dash muttered. “Now, what is it?” 

“That, Captain is a POW camp used by the Crystal Empire.” Captain Draft said plainly. 

“A POW camp?” Rainbow Dash said, her interest sparked because of this. “You’re telling me that the Crystal Empire has Equestrian ponies locked up at the camp over there?” 

“Yes Captain, and it seems that they’re having quite a hard time there.” Captain Draft said. “About a month ago, a small team of Army Scouts wandered into the camp, when they followed a caravan of our soldiers being brought there after they were captured in out last offensive. Locating the camp and observing it for three days, they found that a large amount of prisoners gathered in that there camp.” He said, pointing at the map. “And we want them back.” 

“And that’s where I fit into the picture, isn’t it?” Rainbow Dash said. 

“Exactly, Captain.” General Shining Armor said. Pulling up a file he had in front of him, he carefully slid it in front of her and urged her to open it. “In order to rescue our soldiers Captain Draft and his team created a plan to pick them up and bring them back to friendly lines, it’s called Operation Black Hoof.” 

“Black Hoof?” Rainbow Dash said, opening the file in front of her and scanning through its pages. 

“Yes, Black Hoof.” Captain Draft said with a firm nod. “The operation calls for a long range infiltration making use of your SAA teams, assisted by ponies from the Army Scouts. Your unit, Captain, would be the striking force of the operation, in charge of striking the camp and rescuing all of our soldiers found within it. The Army Scouts in the other hoof would-“ 

“Provide transport, using twenty large army wagons.” Rainbow Dash interrupted, looking up from the file she was reading. “I’m sorry, but do we  really need twenty wagons?” 

“It’s the necessary amount, if we want to extract all our ponies from that camp.” Captain Draft replied. “It is estimated, from observation, that there are about a hundred plus ponies in there, most of them wounded and unable to make the long trek back. So we must be able to provide them transport in order to get them back to friendly lines safely.” 

“Alright, I understand that, but it would be too difficult to conduct an operation with so many carts. The task force would be too bulky and difficult to maneuver behind enemy lines.” Rainbow Dash said, turning her gaze towards the map. “I doubt it that we would even make it to that camp.”  

“And how come, Captain?” Captain Draft said, giving her a curious look. “The Army Scouts seemed to have gotten there without a problem, so why can’t the SAA unit do it?” 

Looking up, she took a quick glace towards Captain Draft, before turning her gaze towards General Shining Armor. She didn’t like this operation, she didn’t like it one bit, and she hoped that the General understood her feeling towards it. Giving him a discouraging look, she shook her head before look back at Captain Draft. 

Although she understood the importance of this operation and how it might help those soldiers captured by the enemy, she found that the entire thing was just too risky, if not plain suicidal. There were too many avenues for mistakes to happen, to many times where the ponies involved could die. Such a plan could get ponies killed, ponies like her team members. 

Thunderlane, Lightning Dust, Cloud Chaser… 

No, she couldn’t risk this operation, they all can’t. It mustn’t be approved, it mustn’t get off of the ground, unless she wanted them to be killed. 

“My unit can reach that camp, in fact, any SAA team can! But only if they go there as only one team, nothing more, nothing less.” Rainbow Dash informed him. “The problem I see in your operation is that the task force you plan on sending for it would have great difficulty getting there, if not finding it impossible to get there. The Army Scout unit that found that camp got there because they were small and could easily hide from enemy patrols. But this-“ She said, gesturing towards the file. “-this operation would call for a big task force, a big and bulky task force. It would be near impossible to hide them from enemy patrols and once they find us, then we’ll sure be in trouble from a lot of attacks! Which brings me to another problem…” 

“In order to protect this large task force-“ She stated. “-we’ll need to bring in a lot of SAA Teams. According to the report on this file here, the task force would need six SAA units. Six! Do you understand how many units that is, Captain?” She said, turning her attention towards Captain Draft. 

Captain only shook his head. 

“This sector alone only has three SAA teams.” Rainbow Dash informed him. “So if this operation is to happen, then we would have to call in teams from other sectors, which would be quite a problem. Taking away those teams would mean that we’re depriving the army of support those teams are giving them. Supply raids, convoy disruptions, and various other missions would all have to be cancelled in order to fulfill this operation. I think that this would be a risky tradeoff for an operation that I believe would never work.” 

“So are you saying that we not continue with this mission, Captain?” General Shining Armor asked her. 

“Speaking plainly, sir, yes.” She said with a nod of her head. This mission should be stopped, this mission will not be approved. For the sake of her team, for the sake of everypony involved. “The camp is just too far off, too far for our forces to get any support in case something goes wrong. If we continue with it, I think the only things we’ll get are deaths and more captured ponies.” 

“But what about the soldiers trapped in the camp?” Captain Draft asked. “Are we just going to forsake them there, trapped and with no hope of freedom?” 

“Well, how about my soldiers, Captain? What about them? It’s their lives we’re risking too!” Rainbow Dash said, slamming her hoof on the table. 

Cancel the operation! 

The sound of her hoof hitting the wooden table echoed loudly within the room, as the impact of her hoof on the hard wood was strong and powerful. Turning their heads to stare at her, as they gave her curious glances the ponies within the tavern wandered what could have angered her so much that she would attack her table with such ferocity. 

But after giving a quick glance and seeing her drunken state, the ponies soon looked away from her, seeing that she was just another drunken fool, lost to the effects of alcohol. 

Being brought back to reality and away from her thoughts of the past, Rainbow Dash felt a sudden drop of her heart once more, as she made a grab of her mug and drained its remaining contents. She wished she could do the same for her memories, drain it away from her body so they can leave her be, but such gifts were not for her. 

“You did a great job on the decision, Dash…” She muttered to herself, slumping on her chair as the alcohol drained her off of her energy. “…you traded the lives of those POWs so your team could live.” 

Shaking her head, she threw a frustrated hoof in the air before hitting it right on her forehead. 

“Oh wait, never mind!” She said. “It’s not like your team lived through it all! You still got them killed, remember?” 

Tears rolled down her eyes, as her vision became mixture of blurry images and flashbacks from the past. She saw Thunderlane, Lightning Dust, Cloud Chaser, they all appeared before her. But they got farther, moving away and away till they faded from her sight. 

She tried to extend her hooves to touch them, to bring them closer to her. She wanted to apologize, she wanted to say sorry and tell them how much she missed them. But they were gone, never to return. 

“You killed them…you killed them all.”
> Chapter 8: Fate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8: Fate

The eyes stared at Rainbow Dash, intimidating her and seemingly taking her soul and she stared back. Now moving closer towards her, she couldn’t help but unconsciously take a step backward, as the urge to get as far away from him overcame her. But with the locked door behind her, she knew that there was no escape from here.

The only way out is to fight him…and win.

But how can they win against him? She was just a pegasus and he was a powerful unicorn who had battled and crushed thousands upon thousands of ponies who stand in his way. He had magic that could crush her in a blink of an eye, while she had to rely on crude weapons she had at her disposal.

This was no fair fight, and she knew that very well.

Staring at her fate and thinking about her chances, she felt very pessimistic at the thought of getting out of here alive. For the first time since the mission began, she was now beginning to have doubts on whether or not they would be able to accomplish it.

This was a mistake. I made a mistake. I should never have agreed to this mission, I should have fought against it.

Already she had lost two members of her team, half her force. She had risked her team in a gamble, thinking that doing such a thing would ultimately save their lives in the long run. But she had been overconfident in their capabilities, and now they paid the price for her mistakes. Thinking about them, she felt a pang in her heart, knowing that she had failed them. She was supposed to protect them, to keep them safe and get them through the war. But she failed.

The guilt of knowing her failure got to her badly and a part of her just wanted to move forward and let Sombra finish her off. There was no use continuing now and by embracing death she would at least be able to punish herself as well as reunite with her fallen friends.

But the small voice told her that she shouldn’t do that.

Whispering in her head, that voice said that it wasn’t the end yet, that this was not her time to go. She may have loss two friends already, but there was still one counting on her. There was still one member of her team, one friend, who she still had to protect.

Turning a quick glance to her left, she could see that Cloud Chaser too was backing up from the threat in front of them. But with sword held tightly between her jaws and a determined look plastered in her face, it was clear that she wasn’t going to go down without at least giving a fight.

Seeing this and realizing that she still had her, she reminded herself that she wasn’t alone. It was still her duty to protect her team, to keep her friend safe. So as long as there was there was one left alive, then she had a job to do.

Nodding as if to further convince herself, she turned her attention away from Cloud Chaser and looked back at Sombra, who was taking his time in approaching them, like a predator observing his prey before striking. But when he strikes, she’ll be ready. She knew she had to be. If she wanted to get Cloud Chaser to get away from this alive, then she’ll have to always be ready in predicting Sombra’s every move.

Keeping her eyes locked on her target, she made sure not to move her eyes away from her enemy, wanting to see what he was planning. This was no mindless crystal pony in front of them, but a cunning mastermind who could easily outsmart them. So she had to be careful, be patient and wait for him to make the first move.

Watching as he got closer, she noticed a sudden glow of dark purple magic erupt at where his horn should be. Seeing this and immediately realizing what it meant, she quickly gave a quick order to Cloud Chaser and shouted:

“Split!”

Making sure that she understood what she meant, Rainbow Dash waited for Cloud Chaser to move first before moving herself. Luckily for her, pegasus seemed to have clearly realized what she meant, as she hopped from her position and head left.

Glad to see that she understood, and secure at the knowledge that Cloud Chaser was now away from the position in which she was standing, Rainbow Dash soon made a hop of her own, leaping away to the right.

Now split up, the two raced in opposite direction away from their earlier position, just as a tall column of rugged and sharp pillars rose violently from the floor, popping out exactly where they were standing a few milliseconds earlier.

Going fast and looking deadly with all its sharp ends, the pillar continued to rise until it finally stopped when it hit the crystal ceiling of the large and tall room. Slamming hard and seemingly shaking the room, Rainbow Dash watched as crystal shards fell from it and dropping all around her.

Skidding to a halt and making sure not to injure herself from the crystal shards, she now found herself on the other side of the room, while sighting Cloud Chaser halt on the opposite side. Seeing that she was safe there and still armed with her sword, she then turned her attention towards Sombra, whom she noticed was staring intently at her, a somewhat annoyed look plastered on his face.

We aren’t easy prey, Sombra. 

Turning his full attention at her and moving with big steps to get to her, Rainbow Dash seemed to hear him emit a long growl as he moved, horn glowing and ready to use more of his magic.

Knowing that a long range battle with magic would ultimately end in her defeat, Rainbow Dash decided to move in and close the distance between her and her enemy, hoping to go in with a sword and combat him in a battle in which she had a chance of winning. He might be stronger in such a fight, but she knew that her agility would be an advantage for her.

Grabbing her sword from her scabbard and holding it tightly between clenched jaws, she made a short leap to the air, before letting her wings push her forward with one great thrust. Gliding just above the floor and keeping her eyes locked on her target, she moved on with great speed, ready to strike her first blow.

It all happened in a flash, going so fast that it was hard to comprehend what just happened. Getting close towards Sombra, she prepared herself to swing her sword at him and get at least a slash to injure her target. But just as her sword’s blade was about to impact on him, he managed to dodge the attack, making Rainbow Dash’s sword hit nothing but thin air.

Surprised by this, she stared on with shock, as she went pass the pony. He was more agile that she had expected, she realized in dismay, seeing that her enemy was not only strong but also quick. Maybe her advantage in maneuvering wasn’t as big as she thought it would be.

Turning around to see that Sombra was facing her again, she decided to go for another pass, hoping to move more erratic this time in hopes that he wouldn’t be able to predict her angle of attack and avoid it. Swinging left and right and zigzagging in her flight, she tried to move fast and random, darting to the room from one side to another, while at the same time keeping her eyes locked on her target.

But Sombra was doing the same, keeping his eyes locked on her as she approached him with erratic movements. Tracking her as she approached, he didn’t give her the chance to get close, as he quickly engulfed her with his magic.

Helpless against such an attack, Rainbow Dash could do nothing to fight the powerful force that kept a hold on her. Hanging in the air as he grabbed him, she floated in the air and was a victim of his devious glare, as he gave her a sinister smile.

Not wanting to show fear, she stared back, determined to show every bit of resistance. She gave him an aggressive look, as if saying that she will defeat him, one way or another. That was her mission and she was going to accomplish it at all cost.

But the aggressive look on her face was quickly wiped away, when she felt herself be flung by his magic, as she was thrown across the room. Impacting on the wall, she slammed hard on the crystal material it was made off. Bringing in great pain, she hit the wall harder than she would have preferred.

Landing on the floor with a thud, she tried her best to get up and shake off the pain she felt. She had worst impacts during crashes before, but those often ended with her landing on softer dirt. Over here though, slamming against solid crystals, it took her more time to recover.

Rubbing her head and trying to look around, knowing that she was now more vulnerable than ever and had to stay alert, she did her best to get back into the fight. But the feeling of having a magical aura grip her once more told her that Sombra wasn’t done with her yet.

Violently lifting her in the air, causing pain to emit from her injured areas, Sombra picked her up and looked down upon her, grinning as he did so. Staring back and doing her best not to show defeat on her face, she tried her best to get out from his grasps. But magic was something no pegasus can easily fight and despite her best efforts, her attempts were a lost costs.

Chuckling in his deep laugh, Rainbow Dash could feel the magic that engulfed her grow tighter and tighter. Eyes wide and suddenly sweating faster than before, she suddenly felt confined under his grasp, as the magic around her felt like walls that were closing in to crush her.

Taking the air out of her lungs, she could feel the pressure all over her body. Going tighter and tighter around her, she knew that soon she would be crushed under his magic. And with no way to counter this and get out, she began to realize that this would be her end, a quite horrifying one too.

With her space becoming closer and closer and with no chance of catching her breath, it wasn’t just her body that was being broken but her mind too. To be squeezed by such a force, it was making her panic. Desperately, she tried to squirm and trash, hoping to get out. But the magical grip around her prevented her from doing so. She was trapped.

Able to still close her eyes, she allowed herself to do so as the pain of the closing magic overtook her. She wanted to scream because of it all, but there was no more air in her lungs to enable her to shout. Realizing that she could do nothing more, she just took it all in and accepted what was going to happen.

This shall be my last failure…

With that, she let herself fall into a state of defeat, knowing that there was no escape now.

But a sudden hissing noise made her suddenly open her eyes, as she desperately tried to locate its source. Unable to move her head though, she had to rely on her sense of hearing to find out where it came from, as the distinct sound of the fuse of a grenade rung inside the room.

Listing to the hiss and awaiting what was to come, she suddenly felt the magical grip around her stop, as she suddenly fell to the group from the lack of magic surrounding her. But keeping her eyes fixed on Sombra and watching him as he turned his attention elsewhere, she looked on as he summoned a magical shield to his side, just as a grenade was tossed towards him.

Catching the explosion the grenade made with his shield, he was able to avoid the destruction that it may have brought. But the momentary distraction had given Rainbow Dash enough time to take to the air and dart towards the source of the grenade, to where Cloud Chaser was expertly lighting another grenade, ready to toss towards Sombra.

Grenades… Of course! How can I be so stupid to forget about them? Rainbow Dash thought.

In her rush to get at Sombra, she had foolish forgotten the weapons available to her. Luckily for her, Cloud Chaser had kept a cool train of thought and waited for the right moment to launch a grenade at Sombra. Although the one she threw didn’t hit him, it at least reminded Rainbow Dash of the weapon and enabled her to plan a new tactic against the unicorn.

Smiling at this, Rainbow Dash immediately made a grab for the grenades and mechanical lighter strapped in her belt. Grabbing one, she quickly lit its fuse and turned her head towards her target before preparing to throw it and make it land just nearby him.

Tossing it off and letting it fly, she watched as the grenade seemed to land exactly where she wanted it. But all hopes of achieving such a success where immediately pushed away when Sombra quickly shielded himself from the explosion, leaving himself unharmed.

Cursing and seeing that further adjustments where needed to be made to her plan, she decided to fly towards Cloud Chaser and, as she hovered by her, she unbuckled her belt of grenades and gave it to the pegasus.

“Here-“ She said, as Cloud Chaser took the belt. “-I want you to keep on throwing grenades. I’m going to fly around and distract him. Hopefully he’ll be too distracted to follow every piece you throw and one will be able to slip his guard.”

“Roger that, boss.” Cloud Chaser said, a grin plastered on her face as she gave her a firm nod.

Nodding back, she then turned her attention back to Sombra, who was now moving towards them. Determined not to let him get close to Cloud Chaser, Rainbow Dash immediately flew off, hoping to attract his attention towards her.

With her crossbow still with her, and a couple of bolts still ready to be fired, she began peppering Sombra with her shots, hoping to make him turn and look towards her. With some of her shots hitting his armor, and bouncing off of it, she did her best to pester him to the point that he would have all his attention towards him. When a lucky shot landed just on his neck, the reaction she got was just what she wanted.

Letting out a rage of anger and a grunt of pain, he swiftly pulled away the bolt from where it was and tossed it away. Surprised that the shot didn’t prove to be mortal for him, despite penetrating his skin and lodging itself deep in him, she looked on with shock, before deciding to maneuver away from him, now that she had his full attention and anger.

Turning his head towards her and firing a bean of magic from his horn, a magical ray flew pass her, just right in front of her flight path. But seeing this beam and having been under magical fire before, she easily maneuvered away from its path and avoided it. With perfect skill and precision, she managed to avoid this attack.

But she knew that she’ll need all her skills in this fight if she wanted to survive his onslaught, as Sombra let out volley after volley of his magic at her. Letting out a number of shots that were more intense than those she experienced in the pass, she soon faced a wall of deadly magical beams, one which she needed to avoid.  Obviously aggravated and annoyed by her, he seemed to be letting his anger get the better of him, as he randomly fired shots at her, creating rays of magic which she had to avoid as she flew.

What lay in front of Rainbow Dash looked intimidating and impossible to go through, but knowing that he’ll just fire more volleys to wherever she would go, she maneuvered her way through his beams of magic, doing her best not to get any part of her ripped off by them.

Thanking her training and her skills, she managed to avoid all of his attacks. Narrowly avoiding some of them, she still managed to get through without a scratch, happy that she was still in one piece.

Preparing for another volley of deadly magic to come her way, she was happy to hear the sound of hissing, as Cloud Chaser lit and threw another grenade towards Sombra. With him being to bust on targeting Rainbow Dash, he failed to notice the grenade land nearby him till it was too late.

Landing just behind him, near his hind legs, and exploding with a loud bang, the grenade sent out fragments which hit and lobbed all over his rear. Normally, the explosion alone would have been enough to kill a couple of ponies, while the flying fragments would have gotten a couple more. And from her view above, it was clear that Sombra was hit hard by the explosion, with the explosion pushing him a bit and the fragments littering his hind legs.

But what was enough to kill a normal pony seemed not enough to kill him, for he only seemed mildly injured by the explosion. Sure, she could see blood dripping and pain plastered on his face, but he looked nowhere near done yet.

In fact, what the grenade only seemed to do was anger him even more, as he turned his attention away from Rainbow Dash and towards Cloud Chaser.

To her great horror and anger, Rainbow Dash looked on in a near paralyzed state, as Sombra turned his horn towards Cloud Chaser and fired shots at her. Hovering lower, just above the floor, where she had little maneuver room, and weighed down by two belts of grenades, Cloud Chaser had little chance on avoiding all of the shots thrown at her.

Watching from above and unable to do anything, Rainbow Dash watched as Cloud Chaser desperately tried to avoid what was being fired at her. Helpless and unable to save her, she wanted to move out and save her friend.

But how can she?

She was too far and covered by flying beams of magic. Rainbow Dash was nowhere near fast enough to get there in time and avoid all the beams to save her. Even if she flew towards her and be her shield, use her body to protect her friend, she would never get there in time.

You’re just too slow, Dash! Too damn slow!

So on she watched, helpless to help Cloud Chaser as she struggled at avoiding the beams of death. Foolishly holding onto the valuable grenades, she tried her best in maneuvering through the storm of attacks. But despite her best attempts, one of the beams managed to get her, making her fall into the ground with a loud thud.

After seeing such a hit, Rainbow Dash couldn’t force herself to watch any longer. So she looked away, refusing to see how bad the injury Cloud Chaser took. No doubt it would be bad and even if it didn’t kill her instantly, it would most likely be so mortal that it would get her later.

You failed… You failed in protecting her… What kind of leader do you think you are?

A bad one, she knew. She could have saved them all. In fact, she should have saved them all. But instead she had brought them to the terrible fate of death.

Languishing in this failure, she was reminded even more of her incapability of saving her friends when she heard the loud hissing sound of a grenade’s fuse singing in the air. With great dread, she quickly realized that the beam of magic must have ignited one of the grenades strapped on Cloud Chaser.

It was just terrible, just too terrible to think about it. The fate of Cloud Chaser would be worse than the others. This wouldn’t be a clean death, not at all.

With tears already streaming down from her eyes, she forced herself to keep her eyes shut, unable to bear the emotions any longer. She had lost. Lost her friends, lost the war, and soon she would have lost her life.

But why lose it so helplessly?

Feeling some kind of fiery determination hit her, the small spark that was lit in her suddenly turned into an inferno. She knew that she was lost; she knew that there was no more hope for her. But why go out without one last effort? The chances of it succeeding would be low, but it wasn’t like she had anything to loose left. Everypony she had were now gone and they were now waiting for her to do the last fight.

Fight for them!

That thought raged in her mind, as she opened her eyes and turned her determined attention towards Sombra. Gazing at him, she could see that he was now looking at her again, ready to fire his deadly magic at her.

Well, she wasn’t going to stay there and let him get her easy. No. She was going to get close and fight him and although she knew she would ultimately lose, at least she can say in the afterlife that she did not give up.

Swooping down and moving in erratic movements to avoid what Sombra had to fire at her, she tried her best to get close to him. She didn’t really know what she’ll do once she close, since she no longer had her sword with her, but she knew that she would fight. She would fight him to the death.

Locked on him and getting as much speed as she can, she was about to dive hard on him, as he was about to fire his magic, when all of a suden Rainbow Dash noticed a blur moving fast towards Sombra. Allowing herself to watch that blur, she looked on to amazement and heart breaking shock to realize that the blur was actually Cloud Chaser. The blow given to her must not have killed her instantly and from the speed she was going, Rainbow Dash could only assume that she still had enough strength left in her.

And using that strength, Cloud Chaser used her wings to fling herself towards Sombra, whom was no longer paying attention towards the pegsus he had hit earlier. Getting close to the unicorn, Cloud Chaser allowed her body to slam against him, managing to tackle him with the force of her momentum.

Watching this and unsure what was happening, she saw Cloud Chaser grasps Sombra between her hooves with the remaining strength she had. Stronger than ordinary ponies, Sombra would have easily broke through the simple hold that he was being inflicted too.

But there was no more time left for him to break free, for a loud explosion soon came roaring, only to be followed by another, and another, and another. Soon enough, succession of explosions echoed in the room and Rainbow Dash could only look on with horror as Sombra and Cloud Chaser took the brunt of these explosions and absorbed the fragments the came from the grenades.

One moment the two were there, the next they were gone, covered by flashing fire and smoke. With almost a dozen grenades strapped on Cloud Chaser, skin, bone, and muscle were torn apart by the explosions they created, ripping apart what got in the way and throwing the remains all over the place.

Even the seemingly unnatural strength of Sombra could not handle such combined explosions, as he suffered the same painful fate of the pony who inflicted this to him. Getting both of them and annihilating the life within, the grenades did their job and killed.

Rainbow Dash, who was diving when this happened, was forced to open her wings wide and halt her decent, as shrapnel and blood splashed before her and coated her body. It was a terrible sight, yet she couldn’t look away.

She just stared at what happened and let her mind try to contemplate what she saw. Even after the explosions subsided, she just hovered there and stared, not knowing if what she saw was real or just a nightmare.

What was left was unrecognizable and thrown to pieces, a gruesome sight and yet a mesmerizing one. Whatever was left there were the remains of Cloud Chaser, that was her now, that was the fate she received.

Looking on in shock and horror, Rainbow Dash could not blink or turn away from disgust. How could she? After such a sight she was too memorized to look away. That was her friend over there and in her mind she tried to envision her. But no matter how she tried, all she saw was the blood and flesh the littered the room.

Staring at the remains, she hovered over the sight as the blood that splattered on her head streamed down and ran through her fur. Coating her with red fluid, she soon took note of the blood and slowly used a hoof to wipe it off from her.

Looking at her hoof and the stain of the blood, she wondered whether this was Cloud Chaser’s or Sombra’s.

So she stared and stared, hoping to find an answer. But in this empty room, with nopony living but her, there was no one to answer.

So she just stared at the stain.

She stared…

She continued staring till the last thing she remembered about the nightmare was her blood stained hoof.

Shaking awake and remembering that sight, Rainbow Dash let out long gasps for air, her body trembling and her head pounding. Mind in a mix and senses working at overdrive, she was in a state of panic Raising her hoof, she stared and studied it, looking for any blood stain. But there was none. It was clean of any blood and was instead soaked in hard cider.

Looking around and trying to figure out where she was, she soon realized that she was back at her tree house apartment in the town. Sitting on a worn down chair and holding a bottle in one hoof, she was there in a state of shock and confusion, soaked in both alcohol and tears.

She had drunk herself to sleep again, she realized.

Wiping her face with one hoof, before turning her attention to the other, she quickly took one swig from the bottle and emptied her contents. Then, tossing the bottle away, she made an attempt to get off of the chair and trot to her bed.

But too drunk and exhausted, she instead plopped onto the ground, planting herself on the wooden floor as she landed with a thud. There, she remembered how she lay helpless at the throne room at the Crystal Empire, rolling in the blood and crying.

This was enough to trigger another batch of tears from her, as she now rolled on the floor which would soon be flooded by her tears. There was no stopping it now, it was hard to not remember. Once it started, she could only let it in.

She then cried herself to sleep that night, remembering memories she wished she could just forget.
> Chapter 9: Loss
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The front was silent, and it was unnerving.

Peeking over her small listening post, Rainbow Dash tried to look out into the darkness, trying to find any sign of life in the expanse before her. But with nothing to light up her surroundings and with complete blackness in front of her, she saw nothing but the familiar shroud of the night.

Crawling back down into listening post, she quickly rested herself on the ice cold dirt and concentrated on listening, closing her eyes and allowing her ears to do the searching. There was no point on looking now with the dark night all over the land. The only tool for observation here at this time were her ears.

So she listened.

She knew they were there, she had heard them earlier. Trotting and crawling somewhere in the dark, the enemy was there. She just wished she knew exactly where.

Alone in the listening post, she had opted to stay there and observe for anymore movement, while she sent out the pony assigned with her to crawl back to the main lines and inform their company’ commander about the situation.

If equipment would have worked properly, then there would have been two of them in the listening post instead of one. But as was the case, the equipment she had failed to do its job.

Normally, listening posts were given flare guns in order to signal any enemy activity and alert the main lines about it. Firing up into and sky and sending a bright light, it could easily be seen from afar and help warn the main line about the situation.

The only problem was, the main flare cartridge was infamous for failing, as it was often a victim of moisture buildup, with its powder ending up damp most of the time. It was usually the main complaint of ponies assigned to listening posts and although the complaint was forwarded to the higher ups, the problem was never fixed.

And it probably never will. Rainbow Dash had thought whenever wandering onto the topic. Mass produced and rushed into the fight, the factories will probably never get them right.

A sudden sound from nearby alerted her that the enemy was indeed there and that they were near.

Moving a hoof to her belt and firmly grasping a grenade, Rainbow Dash gently pulled it from her belt and kept it close towards her, keeping the grenade in one hoof while having a mechanical lighter in the other. Then she waited and listened.

The sounds were getting louder now, gently raising in tone, as the sound of movement indicated that the enemy was moving faster. From what she can hear, it was clear that they were heading towards her.

With that thought in mind, she ignited the lighter and immediately lit the fuse of her grenade, the loud hissing sound it made replaced the silence of the night as its light illuminated that small dugout that was her listening post. Without further thought, she immediately threw the grenade into the night, a hissing ball of light that landed at the spot where the thought the enemy was.

For the next few moments there was nothing but the sound of the hissing fuse and frantic hooves. Then a loud explosion disturbed the night, only to be followed by the cries and waling of those injured by the grenade. She didn’t know how many she got, but from the sound she was hearing she knew that she got a lot.

But there was no time to celebrate this victory as the sound of galloping now joined the symphony of battle. With their cover blown and position compromised, the enemy now switched tactics and decided to rush an assault, with their first target being Rainbow Dash’s listening post.

Hearing the sounds and knowing what was about to happen, Rainbow Dash immediately pulled out another grenade and lit it, tossing it towards the sound of enemy hooves, before taking another grenade and repeating the process.

Two explosions reported the successful detonation of her weapons, but she was unable to tell if she had hit anypony with them. All she could hear were the sound of hooves charging and the painful cries of the wounded were gone now, pushed away as she concentrated on more important matters.

Knowing that the enemy would soon be upon her, she quickly set aside her grenades and pulled out her short sword from her scabbard. They would soon be on top of her and when they get here she needed to make the first blow. Dropping down on the cold ground of her dugout, she held her sword tightly in her mouth, as she gaze up and listened.

The first Crystal pony came stumbling down, not immediately seeing the dugout and tripping down into it. It was an easy kill. Falling flat next to her, Rainbow Dash immediately slipped her sword in the gap on the enemy’s armor, just where the helmet connects to the neck plate. Sliding in quick from a powerful thrust, it instantly killed the pony as all the vital blood vessels were sliced through.

Pulling out her now bloodied sword, she glanced up just in time just to see the second enemy arrive.

More careful compared to his comrade, this pony took it slow and cautiously stepped on the edge of the dugout. Unfortunately this pony moved too slow and cautious, as Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed him by the hoof and pulled him down. Tackling him on the ground, she made sure to flip him to expose his vulnerable and unprotected belly, where she jabbed her sword and ripped through skin, spilling out blood and insides.

Crystal ponies may seem deadly and threatening with all their armor, but with all the mind control magic forced into their brains, they were as dumb as a pack of rats. Rainbow Dash knew that and she made sure to use it to her advantage.

Pulling up her sword as the contents of the Crystal pony made a mess on the ground, Rainbow Dash was just about to get ready to meet the next poor enemy who will come her way when suddenly out of nowhere a Crystal pony jumped from the top of the dugout and attacked her.

Coming in with speed and force and catching her by surprise, the Crystal pony managed to land a strong blow of her sword on Rainbow Dash’s back, hitting right where her left wing attached to her body. Pushing it further down and slicing it right through, the Crystal pony bloodily decapitated her wing, while tearing off some flesh and fur off Rainbow Dash’s side.

Grunting out in pain through the sword in her mouth and feeling the numbness on her back, Rainbow Dash swore in a loud screaming voice as she felt a part of her ripped off from her very body. At that moment, she couldn’t tell what hurt the most, the physical pain of having her wing sliced off of her, or the emotional pain of knowing that not only was her wing was lost but also probably her ability to fly.

How could she? The rage filled thought circled her mind, as a growling sound seemed to emit from her throat. How could that little bastard do this to me? This wasn’t just any other injury, no, no injury can compare to this. This wasn’t just a part of a body, it was a way of life. And now it was taken from her. The pain of losing it and the dreadful thoughts of its implications were flashing before her eyes, only making her angrier and angrier.

She wanted to cry out in despair, fall down as if she were defeated. She had lost a wing, and with it her identity. She can’t be a pegasus now, what kind of pegasus has one wing? Sadness and grief moved inside her as if she had lost a family member or a close friend. It felt like that all was lost now, so why go on.

But the second feeling inside of her didn’t allow that to happen.

Filled and fueled by anger, Rainbow Dash bit hard on the sword which she miraculously still had locked in her jaws and swung it towards her attacker. This was immediately met and blocked by the Crystal pony by her own sword, but Rainbow Dash pulled back and swung again.

Over and over she kept swinging the sword, only to be met again and again by her enemy as she moved back from the angry ponies blows. So hard were the strikes that the sound of metal slashing filled the night, as the constant attacks kept coming and coming.

They were hard and rage filled, and Rainbow Dash was determined to get this pony.

Backing away from the pony slowly, the Crystal pony failed to notice the blood and entrails of the previous Crystal pony on the ground and because of that she soon lost her balance and slipped on top of the open carcass of the dead Crystal pony. Covered in blood and insides, the Crystal pony was dazed and confused when Rainbow Dash stabbed her sword right on her chest, directly to her hearth.

Killing her with the rage filled stab, Rainbow Dash kept her sword there and even pushed it deeper, letting out her anger on this Crystal pony that took away her wing. She cursed her and spat on her as she now used her hooves to push the sword deeper into the now dead enemy so that the hilt of the sword was already pressing against the stab wound.

Tear dripping her eyes, she gave a quick mourning to her situation, as the pain on her wing still stung both the wound and her heart. It hurt her so much and she could barely understand what she felt during that moment.

But the battle raging gave her little time to ponder and figure out this feeling, as suddenly a bright light and a hissing noise made its way towards her and landed inside her dugout.

Momentarily forgetting her emotions and reacting quickly, Rainbow Dash dove for the enemy grenade and tossed it out of the dugout. She did this not a moment too soon, for the grenade immediately exploded once it was out of her dugout.

But that wasn’t the only grenade coming her way, as another one landed, before being tossed away by her. Then another landed, and was once again tossed away. Grenades kept on falling around her, and Rainbow Dash had lost count on how many were thrown at her, yet somehow luck was with her and she miraculously grabbed them and tossed them just in time.

However, this action was becoming a tiring act, and deciding to crawl on the edge of her dugout, Rainbow Dash managed to see a shadowy figure throw a freshly lit grenade towards her direction. Taking a risk and watching the bright light of the fuse, Rainbow Dash followed the grenade before, in a risky attempt, catching it successfully with her hoof.

Knowing that she had little time left and that she needed to do this quickly, she made a quick glance towards the enemy who threw the grenade and tossed it back towards the figure.

The explosion came quickly and the reaction from the shadowy figure came loud and ear-piercing.

Letting out a cry louder than any Crystal pony she had heard make before, the figure screamed in a high-pitched wail as the night air seemed to be filled with it. Loud and seemingly engulfing, Rainbow Dash was forced to cover up her ears with her hooves as she stared at the shadowy figure who was now swirling around in place as it let out its deafening cry.

She watched as the figure cried out louder and louder, before glancing at her with piercing eyes. The eyes seemed to stare at her very sole and for a moment Rainbow Dash was left frozen. She couldn’t move, she just couldn’t.

All of her was frozen as she stared at the sight before her…

At the spot where she had landed the grenade, fragments of broken glass lay. And as she gave a longer glance at the shadowy figure, color started to come and the dark black abyss that represented the figure was now replaced by orange and purple.

Eyes widening, yet body still frozen, she watched as Scootaloo continued her pained cries, as the fragments of the tossed bear bottle left her face and front riddled by broken shards. Staring at Rainbow Dash with one last hurt look, she soon turned around and race off on Ponyville’s streets, her screams slowly fading away as she got farther and farther away.

Slowly regaining control of herself and suddenly being able to move once more after the shock, Rainbow Dash got off the sofa she fell asleep on and shoved away the bottles of hard cider that she had pilled around her.

Moving to where Scootaloo just was, Rainbow Dash skirted the dangerous mess of broken glass and stood at a card that she assumed the little filly had brought her.

To my greatest hero, Rainbow Dash, you are the best sister any filly can have. – Love Scootaloo
> Chapter 10: Burst of Emotions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The door burst open, letting the dim moonlight enter the empty room. Rushing inside, Rainbow Dash moved in and scanned the dark corners, searching for any sign of movement, as Thunderlane followed close behind her and did the same. Sword drawn and gripped tightly between her jaws, she checked every single part of the room, making sure that nopony was there. There were none. 

“Clear!” Rainbow Dash shouted, sword sheathed in its scabbard once more. 

Stepping inside and looking around for themselves, Cloud Chaser and Lightning Dust squinted in the darkness, trying to see what they had in store inside the small house just on the outskirts of another abandoned Crystal Empire town.

“Well…” Cloud Chaser started. “…this looks...umm…cozy.”

“If cobwebs and layers of dust define coziness for you, then sure.” Lightning Dust retorted in reply, as she saw how unkept the place was, with cobwebs in each corner and dust lying almost everywhere, from the floor to the furniture. “Looks like this place has been abandoned for months. Besides, don’t you think it’s a little cramped in here?”

Looking around to observe the room once more, Rainbow Dash had to agree that the room did indeed feel small. The one room house had furniture and knickknacks littered in every corner, as if the previous owner tried their best to cram in every possession they had. To this end, he was successful, but it gave little room for anypony to move in. Living room, bedroom, kitchen and all were crammed into this one house, and if it weren’t for the outhouse outside, they were sure that the toilet would have been stuck in here too.

“As if you can find any better.” Thunderlane told her. “This whole town has been abandoned for months. If you ask me, this here house in one of the bet kept structures here. Like look, its roof hasn’t collapsed and there isn’t a single hole in the wall! I say it’s perfect here.”

“Besides-“ Rainbow Dash added, knowing an easy solution to their space problems. “-there’s only going to be only two of us at a time staying here through the night. The other two would be too busy standing guard on the picket line, so space won’t be a problem here. Now, let’s just claim this place now before the rest of the Army and a bunch of grunts decide that this is the perfect place for them, while were still busy looking and arguing where to stay for the night.”

Special Forces privileges meant that they always had first pick on where to bunk. Being the first on site definitely had its perks, and Rainbow Dash was certainly glad for this one. This meant that they can always chose the best house to stay in for the night, leaving the worn down or collapsed houses and buildings for the regular army ponies who would come in later.

“Fine.” Lightning Dust sighed, finally relenting, to the satisfaction of the rest of the team.

“Good.” Rainbow Dash said, as she have the mare a devilish smile. “Now, for being such a picky little filly the entire time we were clearing houses and looking for a billet, I’m assigning you on the first picket duty. You, along with Thunderlane.”

“Me?” Thunderlane exclaimed, glancing at Rainbow Dash after having just spread the rickety sofa bed on one side of the room. “What did I do to deserve first picket with her?”

“Hmm…” Rainbow Dash thought, as she rubbed her hoof on her chin. “…I’m not sure yet, buddy, but when I do I’ll tell you.”

“I hate you for that, Captain.” Thunderlane grunted, as he moved towards his pack that he had just let down.

“Hate me all you want, at least I get to sleep first while you freeze out there.” Rainbow Dash chuckled, as she winked at him and moved towards the sofa bed that he had just fixed.

A few minutes later Rainbow Dash was lying asleep on the sofa bed. Despite finding it nearly as hard as brick, it still ended up feeling better than sleeping on the cold floor, or worst the freezing ground. But a good few hours of asleep was the last thing she was having, there always never was any good sleep for her. 

Even in the realm of dreams her mind was in constant alert, always in battle. At times, it almost felt that fighting in her dreams was tougher and more dangerous than fighting in the real world, since her enemies there were endless and never bled.

Unable to distinguish reality in this realm she knew more for nightmares than pleasant dreams, Rainbow Dash had to fight her own personal battles. Reliving past actions, the horrors she suppressed when awake, and the guilt built from those ponies she could never save, she always tried to swim up, as she drowned in the darkness she kept in her mind.

But there was only one nightmare that scared her the most, and it seemed to come more and more frequently to her.

There she was, standing in what seemed to be another frozen field in the Crystal Empire, staring and motionless. Before her was the sight she had always dreaded, the thing she feared the most and always wished would never happen.

Thunderlane, Lightning Dust, and Cloud Chaser, all lying on the ground, all cold, and dead.

She had seen it before in many nightmares, and each time she broke down, unable to move, only standing still as she stared at lifeless bodies a few feet in front of her. Time felt like infinity during these moments, but she never noticed that. She was always too bust blaming herself, feeling the guilt as it mixed with punches of sadness and devastation within her.

What made things worst was she never knew if it was the real thing. She had these nightmares before, and each time the emotions, the sight, everything felt shockingly real that she could never tell if this was just another nightmare or the actual sight of her command, her friends, dead.

In this unprotected realm where horrors come to be and become as bad as their imagination would let them, reality gets confused with imagination.

Staring at their dead bodies, bloodied, mangled, and drained of the spirit and soul she was used to seeing, Rainbow Dash just wanted to close her eyes and look away. How could she have let this happen? They were her responsibility, she promised to bring them home alive, all of them. Now she failed.

Bringing an eye to each one of them, she felt a piece of her heart break. This was too much, this was all too much.

Unable to bear it anymore, she began to take a step forwards towards them, one hoof moving closer, hoping to check if they really were dead.

But the moment she stepped forward the sound of hoofsteps all around her began to echo, and her instincts immediately made her crouch low, ready for a fight. Head on a swivel, and sharp eyes glaring at the darkness that encircled her, she began tried to find the source of the noise, as it grew louder and louder.

Soon enough they arrived.

Faces all rotten, yet familiar, ponies of her past, ponies she knew, all there and surrounding her. They were all friends from the past, fellow soldiers, former squad-mates, former subordinates, those she had lost and couldn’t save from the past.

Where they resentful? Where they angry at her? Did they blame her just like what she always believed?

For a good few seconds she was more afraid at what they thought about her than what they might do. Their empty eyes, their deformed shapes, their rotting look, she somehow managed to ignore all that and instead feared what resentment they might have against her.

She knew she wasn’t able to protect them, she knew that she had failed each one of them. She looked at the faces and recognized all of them. She even remembered the ones she personally promised to keep alive and get through the war, and she felt depressed knowing that she couldn’t uphold it. She even saw familiar faces that served under her, but were lost so fast that she didn’t get to know them that well. She felt ashamed at that.

She felt ashamed to stand right in front of them, the one who had allowed them to be cursed in this Tartarus-like place. She wanted to say something, to apologize, to express her guilt and let out he shame.

But then they started talking.

“They belong with us now.” They all said in unison, bringing chills through her back, as their ghostly voice rung in her ears.

Eyeing them all, she felt taken aback at their statement at first. What did they mean by that? 

But then a sudden realization hit her. Taking a glance at her team, she stared at them for a few seconds, before looking back out at the haunting ponies around her. They were going to join them? 

These were all the ponies who had served with her, the ponies who had fallen under her watch. If they were going to join them, did that mean they were taking them away to the afterlife? 

No, that can’t be. 

She wasn’t going to allow that. Not them, not one more. She wasn’t going to let any more ponies be taken away from her.

Glancing once more at her team, she kept her eyes locked on them. She knew what she had to do. She needed to get them out of here and save them. She knew she lost many ponies before, but she wasn’t going to let them be added to the list. 

So with all her strength, she leaped up from her position, ready to get closer to her team and protect them. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get them out, but she knew that her first order of business was to prevent them from being taken away. She had no weapons to fight, but she knew her hooves would be more than enough, or at least she hoped they were.

Leaping from her spot, she hoped to use her wings to boost herself towards them. But as she opened her wings she felt something grab her on all four of her hooves. In one swift motion she was suddenly pulled back onto the ground, slamming on all fours as she felt the cold grasps on her hooves. Quickly looking down, she saw in complete horror pairs of hooves protruding from the rocky ground and grabbing onto each of her legs, holding onto her firmly.

Then, to her anger and fright, she saw more of these hooves pop out of the ground around her team, and wrap themselves around them. One by one, she watched wide-eyed as these hooves pulled her friends into the ground, seemingly consuming them as the rock opened up and buried them underneath.

“No!” Rainbow Dash screeched, unable to close her eyes at the horrible sight. “Don’t! Bring them back! Bring them back!

And that’s when she woke up.

Sweating, heart pumping as fast it did in battle, she shot up from her lying position and stared out into the darkness of the room. Panting for air, she looked all around her, slowly beginning to realize that it was indeed a nightmare once more.

The tension in her body began to go down, as she started to relax and calm herself down. 

When would these nightmares end? She thought to herself.

Only when the war was over, she told herself. Or until they end up dying one by one.

Burying her face on her hooves, she let out a frustrated grunt, cursing the horrible cycle she knew she was stuck in. But as she began to sit on the sofa bed to calm her mind and body, as well as forget the awful nightmare, she noticed that the space beside her was empty.

Cloud Chaser had been lying beside her when she went to sleep, the two sharing the seemingly only comfortable piece of furniture in the house during the shift in sleeping. But now her spot was empty, and as Rainbow Dash checked the watched strapped to her uniform, she saw that it had only been two hours since they went to sleep. That meant that there was one more hour before they replaced Thunderlane and Lighning Dust on picket duty. 

So unless Cloud Chaser wanted to get up early before their shift, Rainbow Dash guessed that there must have been something bothering the other pony too and preventing her from sleeping. But where was she?

In didn’t take too long for Rainbow Dash to soon see where Cloud Chaser was, since the room was small enough for her to easily notice the pegasus leaning by the window ledge, the dim moon light shining on her as she stared outside, seemingly oblivious to the fact that her leader was now awake. Studying her for a while, she soon realized that the pony wasn’t just looking and enjoying the view. No. She was crying!

The gentle sound of sobs could be heard coming from her, as the pegasus occasionally buried her face in her hooves, before looking back out, sniffling and wiping her tears.

Rainbow Dash had noticed this a few time before, but had always pushed it back, thinking that the problem would eventually subside. But now, seeing that she was doing it again, she started to quietly get off from the sofa bed and walk towards her.

Many times before, Rainbow Dash had noticed that Cloud Chaser had the bad habit waking up at night, finding a corner or a window, and then start crying. At first it wasn’t that bad, since she often did it for a few minutes before going back to sleep. But lately it was getting worse, with her sometimes spending an entire hour awake and crying. This often had the bad effect of depriving her of sleep, leaving her body with lest time to rest. The day that followed such an occurrence often left her out of it, with her tired eyes and unrested body being unable to cope with the usual daily demands of a SAAC operator.

It was starting to become a big problem.

That was why she always wanted to pair with her during billets in houses, to keep an eye on her and see if the situation was improving or getting worse. Clearly it was getting worse.

“Cloud Chaser, can I talk to you?” Rainbow Dash asked from behind her, obviously startling the pegasus, as she hoped from her position and began frantically wiping her face.

“Erm, sure, boss-“ She said, turning around, but looking down to prevent her teary and red eyes from being seen. “-what seems to be the problem?”

“I don’t know, Cloud.” Rainbow Dash said, eyeing her with the serious look she gave them during important moments. “Why don’t you tell me?”

“What do you mean, Captain?” She said, still keeping her head down. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Shaking her head and sighing, Rainbow Dash used her hoof to raise Cloud Chaser’s head upward, pushing her chin gently so that she got a good look at her red eyes that were still dripping tears. 

“I’m talking about this, Cloud. Now tell me, what’s wrong?”

There was a long pause, a moment of silence as the two stared at each other, Cloud Chaser not saying a word, seemingly embarrassed at being caught. For a moment, Rainbow Dash thought that she was about to cry again, which she couldn’t blame her for, since she probably caught her in a vulnerable moment. But Cloud Chaser fought the emotions, held back the tears, and forced herself to keep things together.

“I’m sorry, Captain.” She apologized, finally breaking the silence. “I was meaning to tell you, but I just never seemed to find the time, or the courage.”

“Yeah, yeah, there’s no need to apologize for that.” Rainbow Dash said. “But tell me, and be honest, what’s been bothering you?”

“It’s just that…” She began, before sighing. “…it’s just, billets like this remind me too much of home, you know? Flitter and I lived in a small place, in fact, one that isn’t too far off from this one, one room house with cramp quarters for two. So every time we stay in houses, especially the small ones, I remember her, our home, and all the stuff we left behind. It just…it bring me down, Normally, I don’t think of that stuff, but being in places like this, it just opens memories that I usually try to forget while we’re out here. And when all those memories just suddenly comes down, rushing in, and flooding me, I just feel down. I’m sorry, Captain.”

“Hey, now, there’s nothing you need to be sorry about.” Rainbow Dash said, placing a hood over her shoulder. “Missing home, is perfectly natural.”

“I know, Captain, but it just feels so strange feeling this way.” Cloud Chaser admitted. “Like you, or look at everypony else, you guys don’t seem to show you’re being weak and missing home.”

Rainbow Dash eyes her for a second, before shaking her head.

“Listen, Cloud-“ She began. “-it doesn’t mean we don’t show it that we don’t feel it. We all feel it, it’s perfectly natural. I miss Cloudsdale from time to time, Thunderlane sometimes talks to me on how much he misses his younger brother, and even Lightning Dust, whether you believe it or not, ends up talking of home and her family. Although usually it’s only after she’s had her fair share of hard cider.”

This brought a small smile to Cloud Chaser as she let out a short giggle.

“Also, missing home and crying, that doesn’t make you weak. In fact, I believe it even makes you stronger.”

“Stronger?” She asked questioningly. “How?”

“Because anypony who is stupid enough to hold up their emotions inside is bound to explode one day, and nopony, not even themselves, knows when that’s going to happen. Keeping it all inside, it will burst, and when it does they will lose it. If that happens while in a billet or in the rear, then that’s somewhat okay. But what if it happens during a battle? What if it happens while on patrol or picket duty? Then that pony wouldn’t just be endangering themselves, but the whole team also. Who knows what could happen when all those repressed emotions suddenly comes out. The pony could end up crying and unable to do anything, or they could end up filled with rage and act recklessly. The point is, it is not good for anypony.” Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head.

“I takes strength, great strength, to realize and admit your sadness.” She continued. “But in the end, we should let it out, because it was always meant to go out of our systems.”

Turning her eyes to Cloud Chaser, she watched as the pegasus nodded her head, and wiped away the remaining tear leaking from her eyes.

“I guess you’re right, Captain.” She admitted.

“Is there anything else you want to talk about?” Rainbow Dash then asked. “If there’s anything troubling you, you know that you can always talk to me. I’m more than just your commanding officer, Cloud, I’m your friend and drinking buddy. So if anything, as in anything, starts troubling you or getting into your mind, never be afraid to tell me.”

She wanted Cloud Chaser to let it out, all of it. She didn’t want the pony to turn into a ticking time bomb, just like her.

“No, Cap, I’m good.” Cloud Chaser said, shaking her head. “I think I got it all out for tonight.”

“Good.” Rainbow Dash said with an approving nod. “Now, why don’t we get back to the sofa and catch up on our sleep. We still have a little less than an hour to enjoy that sofa.”

“Yea, Cap, we should get back to sleep.” With that Cloud Chaser began to move back towards the sofa bed, and lied down, quickly followed by Rainbow Dash.

As Rainbow Dash did her best to get comfortable and prepare her mind for the nightmares that would most likely greet her again, she turned towards Cloud Chaser who was slowly drifting back to sleep.

“Thanks, Cap.” She managed to say, before falling asleep, a gentle snore echoing from her.

Only nodding her head, she stared at Cloud Chaser and watched her, wanting to make sure that she really was getting her sleep.

She watched and stared, afraid of falling asleep herself and encountering the nightmares.

So she stared…

She stared at Cloud Chaser, or at least the ground where the bits of flesh and bone that was identified as her was buried in.

Lying on her grave and looking down, she kept her continued stare, unmoving, devastated. She couldn’t remember how long she had been staring, how long she had been there. All she remembered was she hadn’t moved or slept since she arrived, nor did she care about doing anything else but stare.

Her sadness, her brokenness, it was just too much. She had burst and didn’t know what to do. She was still and frozen, just like in the nightmares of her past.

So she stayed there, lost in grief and sadness, caring about nothing around her, but feeling all the pain inside.

That is, until she came.

“So, care to explain what you are doing there, lying on top of my sister’s grave? Because, if that’s some kind of Army tradition, then that’s a pretty weird one.”