War of the Ponies

After Rainbow Dash cleaned her corner of the room she realised how tired she was. She'd spent over five hours cleaning her bed, her poster and stopping to read a few chapters of her book. She had also helped Scarlet Melody tune her guitar, and pose in an awesome position for an hour for her to draw. After finishing that she decided to stretch her wings in the sports arena they had. It was the second biggest room in the base, losing to the mess hall by a few meters in length. The ceiling was higher than the mess hall, but it wasn't enough for Rainbow Dash to perform any of her amazing, super cool tricks like the sonic rainboom. However, it was good enough to race around in and practice agility. The floor was a green, grass like carpet and the walls and celing were painted blue with white clouds to resemble the sky. It was a nice replica, but it wasn't as good as the real thing. It didn't give off the true flying sensation of freedom and the air flowing through your mane and under your wings. But it was the middle of the war, and resources were low. It was to dangerous to go outside to fly, as Earth Ponies could shoot you down and Unicorns trained their magic so they can create artificial wings. It was also bitterly cold outside. Since the war began Equestria had gone under an ice age of sorts. The ground was always covered in snow and the temperature was very low. Pegasus ponies could barely grow food outside and harvest them before they died. It wouldn't be this way if the Unicorns hadn't chased the Pegasus ponies out of Cloudsdale. Cadence and Shinning Armour taught them how to use their magic to create artificial wings that last for five days. They attacked Cloudsdale and killed a large number of Pegasus ponies. Thankfully, a lot of Unicorns died in the process and the numbers between them was even. Despite using magic, the Unicorns couldn't control the weather and were forced to leave Cloudsdale after they trashed it. Only Pegasus ponies are able to control weather.They had burned the weather factory to the ground and destroyed every home they could find. Even before that though the weather had been uncontrollable. Despite the attempts of the factory works, the weather wouldn't change from freezing temperatures and harsh blizzards. That's probably why the Unicorns attacked, to try stop the blizzards and cold weather. A lot of blood was shed that day and many families were killed.

No ponies were in the arena when Rainbow Dash was there, so she had the chance to kill a few hours without other ponies bugging her or getting in the way. After flying a few thousand times round the arena, she then proceeded to use the old, nearly broken, agility course. It was made from old wooden planks and frayed rope. Some ponies crafted it to try resemble hurdles, dodging beams and hoops to fly through. They were slightly unsafe, but they suited their purpose and worked fairly well. They were also quite 'tacky' and 'unclean' as one of her good friends would say. However, Rainbow Dash preferred not to think about them, for fear she might burst into tears because she missed them and was worried about them. She decided to focus on flying through the created obstacle course. Many twists and turns later, Rainbow Dash finally completed the course five hundred times. A few beads of sweat began to form on Rainbow's brow, but she quickly wiped them away. Flexing her wings, Rainbow decided she'd done enough exercise for today, and it was time to return back to Fluttershy. As she slowly descended to the stadium floor, she noticed a Pegasus mare enter. She had a happy smile on her face, as she merrily trotted into the stadium. Her coat was a dark purple, which was well brushed and looked similar to silk. Her mane was short and looked slightly like Dash's. It was jet black with a dark blue streak through the middle. Her eye colour was a mixture of blue and green, and looked similar to the beautiful ocean. Her cutie mark was a yellow sparkle and she was slightly taller than Rainbow Dash. Rainbow wasn't sure if she had seen this pony before, and if she had then she obviously didn't know her. On most occasions she'd try and avoid eye contact or conversation, but this pony had already seen her and began to cheerfully wave at her.

"Hey there!" She cheered. Her voice definitely confirmed she was a mare, and a happy one at that.

Rainbow Dash gently landed on the floor and began to approach the mysterious mare.

"My name's Ebony! You're Rainbow Dash right?" The mare said, a grin painted on her face.

Rainbow Dash was puzzled. She had barely met this mare, yet she already knew who she was. "Err... Yeah. How do you know me?" Rainbow asked, finally reaching Ebony.

Ebony smiled. "Lucky guess! Sarge said you were his strongest fighter. Or at least I overheard him say that."

"Okay then." Rainbow Dash said slowly. Rainbow had yet to have an opinion on this pony. She wasn't sure if she liked her or found her annoying. Either way she wasn't planing on talking for to long. Nodding, Rainbow started to leave the stadium and Ebony, so she could go back to her dorm.

"Wait!" Ebony said, noticing Rainbow about to leave.

Rainbow turned her head to her, slightly confused. "What is it?" She asked perplexed.

"I also heard Sarge say something to Luna about Fluttershy. She's your friend right?"

Now Rainbow Dash was interested. Her ears pricked up and she turned her whole body to Ebony.

"She's my friend. What did that scum say about her?" Rainbow spat, knowing it was something horrible.

Ebony flinched slightly, but keep her stance. "He said something about killing her off tomorrow. Complaining how she was wasting resources and space. He was going to blame it on my friend Nevermore, so you'd kill him and save even more space."

Rainbow Dash's heart stopped. How could Sarge be so heartless towards another pony? He was the waste of space, not Fluttershy.

"I wanted you to know so you could save Fluttershy and my friend. He hates Nevermore for being quiet, similar to why he hates Fluttershy." Ebony added.

Rainbow Dash stood there, her mouth agape. She knew Sarge was a dirty piece of work, but this was low even for him. Her mind began to race and her heart quickened. Rage began to cloud her vision and she frowned. "He said that?" Rainbow spat, her eyes beginning to sharpen.

Ebony nodded, seeing the rage build in Rainbow. "What can we do?" She asked quietly.

Rainbow Dash turned her head to the exit. "What can we do? What can I do?!" She said, emphasising the 'I'.

Ebony just stood there, not sure what to think or do. She opened her mouth to speak, but Rainbow Dash bolted off. "Where are you going?!" She called to her.

Rainbow Dash turned her head slightly, as she ran. "I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!" She shouted back.

Rainbow Dash ran out of the stadium, and bolted round the corner. Where would that scum Sarge be right now? That's when she remembered that Sarge taught the young foals in the left of the under ground bunker. She remembered him saying a while ago that on every Friday he would teach the young foals at the school about survival, war and death. She didn't like the idea of kids learning about that sort of thing, but Sarge ignored her and said she was being 'silly and pathetic'. However, if Rainbow Dash thought of Sarge to much, she feared she might kill him on sight. If she killed him she would've undoubtedly be killing herself. Sarge was the boss of every pony, as well as Luna. Rainbow Dash shook her head, tried to force Sarge out of her mind, whilst she ran, trying to keep her blood from boiling. She took another sharp left and sprinted through the mess hall. She finally began to slow down, as she saw the foals small school, which was the size of two dorms. Sadly, not many foals were alive or survived during the war. There was also a rule on how many children you could have, due to food shortages and space.

As Rainbow Dash walked through the class doors, she was greeted with the smell of paint and gunpowder. Before her stood about ten foals painting pistols and ammo, as Sarge barked facts about how to kill enemies. The room was covered in sheets to protect them from the mess of paint, as foals threw paint at each other and raced around the room with pistols trying to reenact a typical war scene. Usually the room would be filled with desks and a whiteboard, which the usual teacher would use. There would be toys and pencils every where, but today paint took their place.

"Alright kids! Make those guns bright, so those stupid unicorns and lazy earth ponies remember the weapon that killed them!" Sarge barked from the corner of the room. He was watching as all the foals painted their guns and bullets, thinking it was a fun, simple activity. Rainbow Dash prayed that some foals wouldn't accidentally fire a gun in their face or any pony else's.

"Hey Blue Flame! Point that away from there!" Sarge suddenly yelled, charging at the filly.

Startled, a blue filly looked up and immediately dropped the gun she was holding. She initially had the gun pointed in her face, yet she was unaware of the danger she had accidentally put herself in.

Sarge ran over to the filly, a scowl on his face. He picked up the gun and unloaded it. "Clearly you can't be trusted with an armed weapon solider! You'll have to get smarter if you want to win the war!" He barked at the filly. Sarge then turned around sharply and returned to the corner he was originally standing at. He kept the Dolly's gun and continued to glare at her.

The filly he glared at was a weak blue and her mane was a darker blue compared to her body. She didn't have a cutie mark and she was sitting alone looking quite sad.

Rainbow Dash wanted to beat Sarge down about Fluttershy, but she felt compelled to talk to the filly he yelled at first. Calmly, Rainbow walked over to the glum filly with a fake smile.

"Err... Hey there." Rainbow said awkwardly.

The filly looked up to her and winced, as if expecting to be hit.

Rainbow titled her head. "What's up? I'm not going to hurt you." She said, confused.

The filly took a deep breath. "Phew. When I muck up I usually get hit. Mainly by Sarge." She said, a hint of fear in her voice.

Rainbow Dash's mouth hung open. The foals got beat if they mucked up? Rainbow instantly felt sick. Sarge was a true monster. "Oh my gosh." She breathed.

The filly smiled. "It's okay! I'm strong so I can take it," she said, "My name's Blue Flame! Who are you?"

Rainbow Dash swallowed her disgust and smiled. "My name's Rainbow Dash! The one and only!" She said, putting on an awesome pose.

Blue Flame giggled. "You're pretty cool!" She cooed, wings buzzing.

Smiling, Rainbow whipped her mane. "Pretty cool?! You mean the most awesome pony in Equestria!" She gleamed. Rainbow already liked this filly. She reminded her a lot of Scootaloo. Thankfully, she knew she wasn't dead and was in a different segment of the base. The base was split into two segments: L and R. Rainbow Dash was stationed in the R segment whilst Scootaloo was in L. She missed her buddy Scootaloo, but she sometimes got to see her every month.

Blue Flame laughed, then frowned.

Rainbow Dash looked puzzled at the filly's sad dimer. "What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.

Blue Flame looked up at her, sad. "Oh. Nothing. You just remind me of somepony..." Blue Flame replied, tears beginning to form.

Rainbow Dash looked down glumly, but quickly smiled. "Hey," she said sitting I front of her. "Cheer up! I know this is hard for you, but you have to stay strong."

Blue Flame smiled slightly and looked up at Rainbow Dash. She sniffed and tried to look determined. "Right!" She said firmly.

Rainbow Dash smiled and stood up. "If these ponies hurt you in anyway come straight to me, and I'll teach them a proper lesson!" She cheered, putting her hoof out.

Blue Flame nodded and bro-hoofed her. "You promise?" She asked, grinning.

Rainbow nodded firmly. "Pinkie promise!" She said.

Blue Flame raised an eyebrow. "A wha?"

Rainbow Dash laughed a bit. "Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye!" She chanted, doing to appropriate actions.

Blue Flame laughed and jumped. "You're awesome Rainbow Dash!" She cooed, giggling.

Rainbow felt a warm glow inside her. She rarely felt happy in the war, and she missed the good feelings. She ruffled Blue Flame's mane and laughed. "Thanks," she smiled. "You're a pretty awesome pony too Blue Flame."

Blue Flame smiled. "Thanks. I'll see you around Rainbow Dash!" She said.

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Sure thing Flame!" She turned around and waved goodbye to her new friend. She felt happier she met a new friend, but couldn't help but feel bad. She might never see her again, and she wasn't sure if she could cope. Rainbow Dash vowed to stay alive and resolve the war for her and every pony she ever knew. She needed to find away to make this all okay. And she needed her friends help! Smiling confidently, Rainbow strode to the back of the class where Sarge was stationed. Her smile vanished immediately upon meeting eye contact with the grumpy, heartless stallion. Rainbow stood directly I front of him and looked him in the eyes. She spread out her wings to look big and a posing, and sniffed.

"Sarge, I have been informed of a certain happening involving my good friend Fluttershy and a colt named Nevermore. I was told you were going to murder Fluttershy and blame it on the colt Nevermore, so I would seek revenge upon him. Is this true?" Rainbow tried to sound strong and imposing, but it began to sink towards the end.

Like an old pig, Sarge grunted and put down his shotgun. "Really now? You believe everything you hear? It's true anyway. I'm gonna kill that pathetic waste of space and blame it on another pathetic waste of space. Shame you found out. Oh well! I'll kill 'em both anyway!" He said, showing no remorse what so ever.

Rainbow Dash stood back slightly, and her wings folded. It was true. Anger began to rise in Rainbow slightly, and she took a deep, husky breath.

"If that is the case then I'll just have to take action." Rainbow sternly said.

Sarge shifted his eyes to her and stood at his full height.

"Are you saying you'll kill a fellow comrade for a puny wimp?"

Rainbow stepped forward, so Sarge and her were face to face.

"And what if I am?" She questioned, loyalty kicking in.

Sarge chuckled and turned away from Rainbow.

"Ha! Then we're going to war. Watch your back Rainbow, Sarge is coming for you and your pal Fluttershy." Sarge walked back to his original spot and turned to survey the classroom.

Rainbow Dash spat at the ground before Sarge, and left the room before he had a chance to react. Thoughts about tomorrow's battle began to appear in Rainbow's head. She had to protect Fluttershy no matter what, and she'd easily kill Sarge to do so. She didn't like killing ponies, but she wouldn't mind putting Sarge's head on a spike. As she turned a corner to reach her dorm she saw Scarlet Melody crying on the floor and she knew something was wrong. Without hesitation she galloped to Scarlet, praying nothing terrible had happened.