The Nexus

Chapters

Chapter 1: Root of Rage
Chapter 2: Book of Ages
Chapter 3: "The Truth, Celestia"
Chapter 4: Metal Thin
Chapter 5: Ice Storm
Chapter 6: Commander Hurricane
Chapter 7: Bath Time Salts

Chapter 1: Root of Rage

Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM. Just my ideas.

Chapter 1: Root of Rage

Rainbow Dash, the self-proclaimed fastest flier in all of Equestria, scowled dangerously at the Royal Guards sent to escort her to Canterlot. They had shortly arrived after Rainbow Dash had finished her job at the local weather station, ridding the sky of a few unwanted clouds, bringing rain to the Apple's orchards and sending a nice, cool breeze through Ponyville. She had planned on flying over to the local library, a.k.a Twilight Sparkle's house, to get the latest edition of the epic series, Daring Do. However, the arrival of the Royal Guard blaring their horns at her had interrupted her plans of a quiet evening reading and possibly helping Scootaloo learn to fly before heading over to Pinkie's for a sleepover. The nineteen year old Valkyrie all but growled and loudly exclaimed to the guards, and all of Ponyville, that she was too cool to need an escort to Canterlot. She was, after all, Rainbow Dash, the coolest Valkyrie to ever exist. Period.

The guards had not taken kindly to her little announcement. The leader of the squadron of Royal Guards, a big beefy Valkyrie that had no chance in Celestia's name of flying with all the muscle he'd put on, had all but dragged her butt through the streets of Ponyville while she kicked and screamed, hollered and cursed, and ultimately grumbled underneath her breath at the unfair treatment she was being given. She was the freakin' Element of Loyalty! She'd kicked Nightmare Moon's butt to the Griffin kingdom and back, battled the living God of Chaos and Discord without so much as blinking an eye, and here she was, being dragged upon the dirt roads by her cyan wings towards a chariot, driven by pegasi. Her pride was as hurt as her wings and butt were. Without ceremony, she was tossed into the golden chariot bearing the mark of Celestia, the Sun Sovereign. Rainbow Dash could only huff at the haughty behavior of the guards, and she mentally berated herself for sounding like Rarity. If the princesses really wished to talk with her, then wouldn't they have contacted her via Twilight Sparkle via Spike, Twilight Sparkle's intelligent dragon/assistant?

The leader of the Royal Guard had assigned two guards to watch her while the rest and him left to do something else that Rainbow Dash hadn't been paying attention to. She had really stopped listening when they had bound her wings, practically hog-tied her arms and legs and dragged her through Main Street for all of Ponyville to watch in amusement. Listening, for Rainbow Dash, was no longer a priority. The one Terran and Alchemist that had been assigned to her eyes the Element of Loyalty warily. She could easily see the distrust in their eyes along with awe.

Well, duh! Rainbow Dash smirked. I'm awesome!

Shifting her cyan wings as much as physical possible with the ropes chaffing into her feathers, Rainbow Dash scowled. One could not keep this amount of awesome bound for long. Much less with two ice cubes standing stiffly at the entrance to the chariot. She gnawed the inside of her cheek. Brows knitted, Rainbow Dash yelled in annoyance and boredom. This was outrageous! She was the freakin' Element of Loyalty, one of the Mane Six, winner of the Best Young Flyer's Competition, and all around badass! In the back of her mind, Rainbow Dash realized that she could have been at Canterlot by now if she had not insulted the guards, flown around all of Ponyville with the Royal Guard on her tail, and been dragged across the middle of Main Street to the chariot at the outer rim of Ponyville.

But another voice, a larger part, chimed that she wasn't Rainbow Dash for nothing. That if it took the Royal Guard, protectors of the Sun and Moon Goddesses, could not keep up with her, taking most of the day to catch her, then it was their fault. Their fault for not being good enough. It was the same voice that had been whispering to her for the past couple of months. Though Rainbow Dash had not voiced her worry concerning the tiny, disembodied voice that offered mean- frankly cruel and dangerous- suggestions to her friends, the Mane Six. Feeling as if it was none of their places to decide whether or not Rainbow Dash was going insane, she quietly berated the voice. The Royal Guard was the Royal Guard for a reason, right?

Her musing was interrupted when she caught sight of the guard marching towards her in their shining armor- no relation to Twilight Sparkle's brother, the captain of the Royal Guard. Between them, standing next to Mr. Big-and-Beefy was Twilight Sparkle. The younger girl, seventeen compared to the nineteen year old, looked less than amused at Rainbow Dash's current situation, and Rainbow Dash didn't have the energy or mental resources to stick her tongue out at her. She also spotted Spike gingerly wrapped around Twilight's neck like a purple and green scarf.

"Twilight!" called out Rainbow Dash.

The other girl just frowned and shook her head, a wave of deep purple moving in response.

"Rainbow Dash, what in Celestia's name did you do now?" Twilight asked.

"I did nothing! These guys just show up, yelling at me to come with them to Canterlot for no apparent reason! Then they tie me up and throw me here! And they leave me!" grumbled the hog-tied Valkyrie, struggling against her bonds. "See what I mean!"

"I see, Rainbow Dash." Instead of coming to the aid of the ailing Valkyrie, Twilight motioned to the leader of the Royal Guard squadron, who was smirking proudly. "This is Captain Iron Shield. He was ordered by the Princesses to come and get us."

"What?!" deadpanned Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, didn't you get my letter last week telling you of the Princesses' meeting?"

If looks could kill, then Twilight Sparkle would have been at the center of the earth by now with the look Rainbow Dash was sending to her. "No, no I did not get a letter, Twilight."

"I thought I gave Derpy the letter to give to you." Twilight Sparkle frowned.

"Derpy, Twilight,...Derpy."

"Oh."

"Yes, Twilight. Oh." Rainbow Dash growled, startling both Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle.

The rainbow haired Valkyrie's magenta-bordering-on-crimson eyes were wide in surprise. She had never growled at someone before, and it terrified her. This was Twilight Sparkle, her best friend, resident egghead and the Element of Magic. She had helped save the world more times than Rainbow Dash could count. If anything, she owed more to Twilight Sparkle than all of humanity owed Celestia and Luna. Rainbow Dash swallowed uncomfortably as she muttered an apology. Reluctantly, Captain Iron Shield cut the rope bounding her and without another word, they took off.

An uncomfortable silence reigned supreme over the two Elements of Harmony. Twilight chose to compile an exaggerated list of things she needed to order for treehouse library with Spike. Rainbow Dash –wallowing in her self-produced misery– flew in synchronization with the pegasi, never straying away from the ever watching eyes of the Royal Guard; Iron Shield had been extremely adamant about her not leaving their sight. Why? They had not given a reason but the nervous eye twitches to everything in the sky and ground that wasn't them told her- and the little voice, not to disobey them.

The feel of the brisk wind in her vibrant colored hair, whipping it back, was like nothing Rainbow Dash had ever felt before. She had never flown after twilight due to the dangers it presented. However, as Celestia's brilliant sun settled just behind the treacherous mountains of Canterlot, and the golden rays cascaded her cyan wings in a field of warmth, Rainbow Dash felt more alive than when she had accomplished the legendary Sonic Rainboom. Off in the distance, beyond the peaks of the mountains that the magnificent Canterlot, the trees of the Evergreen Forests, the skyscrapers of Manehatten and the Lunar Princess' beautiful moon, she spotted the first star peaking out of the veil of eternal darkness. Magenta eyes widen as Luna painted the approaching night sky with a dreamscape of wonders. Constellations presented themselves. Rainbow Dash tried to remember the names of all the stars that her father had taught her before his untimely demise in a Rank 7 hurricane. There was Sirius the Dog, Orion the Great Hunter of the Sea, Perseus the Son of Neptune and Ba'al the God of Storms. The others she couldn't recall or care to remember.

She landed inside the chariot when they neared Canterlot. Captain Iron Shield looked as if he was going to burst at Rainbow Dash's little escapade. He said nothing, though, because before they knew it they were in Canterlot, right in front of the Princesses' castle. The stark walls appeared far more intimidating than Rainbow Dash remembered and a surge of hatred welled in her core. It sent a shiver down her spine. She couldn't remember why exactly, but Rainbow Dash could have sworn she saw a crack in the massive double doors to the palace. Iron Shield talked to one of the guards at the entrance. They were emitted without another question as the golden armored guards gave a respectful salute to the two Elements of Harmony. They had, let it be said, saved all of Equastria from certain doom more times than requested. Heck, they weren't even asked to save Equestria. The dang Elements of Harmony were, and if they weren't the physical embodiments of the jewels, then no one would have given them a second glance. All except for her. Maybe Twilight Sparkle. After all, Rainbow Dash was the one to perform the Sonic Rainboom. Not the freakin' Element.

Rainbow Dash downed her sudden fury with a grin. She followed Twilight into the main hall of the palace with the Royal Guard in tow. The stained glass windows depicting the ancient history of Equestria, from the three great clans of humans: the Valkyrie, the Alchemists and the Terrans, coming together to form Equestria, to the battle against Discord, the living God of Chaos, to the original battle of Day and Night, to the birth of the Elements. The most recent window was of the Elements: Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty and Magic, with the Elements of Harmony around their necks and head. A hint of pride and accomplishment squashed the anger.

"Presenting Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia and the Element of Magic." one Terran, the royal announcer or something, announced to everyone in the throne room. He paused when Rainbow Dash sent him a glare. "And her friend, Rainbow Dash."

"Her friend?" hissed Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash, not now!" harshly whispered Twilight, nudging her in the side. Rainbow Dash, however, paid no mind to the harsh nudge. The voice wanted retribution for the lack of a proper announcement. She was Rainbow Dash, for cryin' out loud!

"Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash," smiled Princess Celestia, rising from her throne to greet the two Elements. For once, Twilight was glad for the Princess's immaculate sense of changing the topic, "I'm glad you're here now."

The Sun Sovereign, in all her glory, regally ambled towards the duo with open arms. Her perfect white dress gently flowed in the gentle breeze that seemed to always be there, ready to blow her multicolored hair to the side. Princess Celestia hugged Twilight Sparkle first because Twilight was her student. Then, she moved to hug Rainbow Dash. It was a rigid hug that Rainbow Dash didn't return because of her ire. It wasn't uncomfortable. No, Rainbow Dash noted, it was actually quite nice. The Princess of the Day was soft, like a Princess should be. It was warm, soft, comforting. It was safe, it was—

She pulled away as swiftly as possible, tearing herself away before she completely lost it.

"Rainbow Dash?" whispered Twilight, concern easily visible in her eyes.

She wanted to run away, far away. As far as possible before her rage consumed her. But her feet wouldn't move. Her wings wouldn't flap. Every muscle in her body was on fire. She wanted to run-

"Rainbow Dash?"

Princess Celestia's hand fell upon Rainbow Dash's shoulder. It calmed her.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." grinned Rainbow Dash, faking a smile and flapping her cyan wings just enough to lift her a few feet in the air.

"Rainbow, what happened?" Twilight inquired.

It was the genuine concern in her friend's eyes that terrified Rainbow Dash. It was the look reserved only for emergencies like when Rainbow Dash had been thrown aside by the might of Nightmare Moon or when Discord had transformed her into an alternate version of herself. She had only seen that look on two people's faces three times. Two times with Twilight, and one with Princess Celestia when she had confronted Rainbow Dash about the events of Discord. This time, however, it only made her mad.

"Why does it matter, huh?" snapped Rainbow Dash. "I already said I'm fine!"

"I only asked you a question!" huffed Twilight.

"And I gave you an answer! Just leave it!"

"You don't have to yell!"

"Who are you to tell me what to do? You're the freakin' student of Celestia! Who the hell am I? "And her friend, Rainbow Dash"! I've done more for Equastria than you've done studying with the Princess!"

"Rainbow Dash." interrupted Princess Celestia, but Rainbow Dash turned on her just as swiftly.

"And you!" growled the infuriated Valkyrie. "Your goons decide to kidnap me because you're too lazy to actual cone to Ponyville. How many things have we done for you that you'd resort to sending middlemen instead of actually coming to talk to us? Are we nothing more than weapons for your personal amusement?"

The benevolent Sun Sovereign remained solemn as Rainbow Dash continued her rant, her almost ruby eyes remained focus upon the Valkyrie.

"I don't give a crap if you're the freakin' ruler of the sun! You're immortal, we're not! We can't wait forever to see subjects come and go with their petty needs! Blue Blood, the cocky little son of a bitch, gets more audiences with you than we do! And what has he done? Jack shit, that's what! We get the freakin' Elements of Who-Gives-A-Crap inside us, save this entire continent from your bitchy, lunatic sister and your insane ex-lover, and you can't even give us the freakin' time of day! How many times have we saved this freakin' kingdom when all you did was sit on your arse? Huh? More times than you have! I'm sick of playing second fiddle to everyone! I'm freakin' Rainbow Dash! I was the one who did the Sonic Rainboom, who up until now, was a legend! Without me doing that, no of them would have got their freakin' cutie marks! A freakin' SONIC RAINBOOM! WHAT THE FUCK OF HAVE YOU DONE BESIDES SITTING ON YOUR ASS?"

Wide eyed and nostrils flaring, Rainbow Dash sent a death glare at both Celestia and her prized student. Her chest heaved with her labored breathing as she turned to stalk out by the Royal Guard was already on her by the time she pivoted on her heels. Surrounded by the guard, Rainbow Dash had to tilt her head upwards to avoid the spearheads directed at her. A low growl originated at the back of her throat at the guards.

"Release her, Iron Shield." calmly ordered Princess Celestia.

"Can't kill me, huh?" smirked Rainbow Dash. "You can't have the Elements of Harmony without me."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you get off scotch free, Rainbow Dash." she frowned. "You insulted your friends, screamed at your ruler and disrespected everyone. That is enough to spend the rest of your life in the dungeon."

Rainbow Dash swirled around, hands clenched into tight fists and pursed her lips together in a frown. "So speaking my mind is a criminal offense? No wonder Nightmare Moon tried to overthrow you."

It was Celestia's turn to be positively livid. "Do not speak of something in which you are ignorant, Rainbow Dash."

"Well, for being pretty ignorant, we did manage to defeat Nightmare Moon with no problem when you failed a thousand years ago. Sucks, right? Knowing that you were the one to poison the thoughts of your sister, transforming her into a creature of your design. Poor little Luna, always being in the shadow of her big sister. It's your fault she turned. It's your fault she tried to kill everyone. It's your fault," Rainbow Dash hissed, "that she was pushed to insanity."

"Rainbow Dash!" screamed the horrified Twilight Sparkle. But, Rainbow Dash couldn't hear her, not in her rage. Stalking up to the Solar Sovereign, the rainbow haired Valkyrie all but spat in her face.

"You're the source of all our problems. Couldn't leave the sun to the Alchemists, could you? Your need to show everyone how superior you are just because you're a Celestial is what sent Equestria to its knees. No wonder Luna and Discord tried to kill-"

Her head abruptly jerked to the side as the sound of flesh and flesh echoed in the massive chamber and halls of the royal palace. Rainbow Dash fluttered to the ground in shock as she reached a tentative hand to her burning cheek. She tried to swallow her shock, but her body wouldn't allow it. Slowly turning her head towards the furious Celestia, Rainbow Dash tried to take a hesitant step back. However, the sudden grip of the Princess's hand around her forearm held her in place. Cold perspiration and trepidation formed as she stared anywhere but at the angry Sun Goddess. The tiny voice was silent.

"I tolerate many things, Rainbow Dash, but how you're behaving is not one of them." Princess Celestia growled, her ardent eyes burning holes into head. "Look at me when I speak, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash couldn't. Ever muscle in her body was trembling in fear of the wrath of Celestia. She feared that if she looked the Princess in the eyes than she would die. Die a horrible, gory death because she couldn't keep her thoughts to herself. Die because she had insulted the most powerful being on the Celestia forsaken planet and her sister. The confident and super awesome Rainbow Dash was a puddle of prismatic hair and cyan feathers.

"Look at me, Rainbow Dash." she ordered, the grip upon her upper arm tightening, the nails almost breaking the skin.

"I-I can't." stammered the terrified Rainbow Dash.

"Look at me, Rainbow Dash."

Her once melodious voice was now low and threatening, just above a whisper but below a murmur. It sent cold shivers down her spines as her wings flapped uselessly.

When Rainbow Dash couldn't, she brought her other hand and gripped the quivering Valkyrie's jaw into her hand and forced it to turn; Rainbow Dash's eyes were anywhere but at the angry Celestial. She tried to tear her head out of Princess Celestia's grip but the Princess wouldn't have any of it. If anything, the grip upon her only tightened until Rainbow Dash was positive it would fall off dead.

"Look at me."

The reluctant Valkyrie could do nothing else than obey. Celestia searched her face for a second before their eyes locked in a battle of wills that ensured that Celestia was going to be the definite winner. Let it be said, however, that Rainbow Dash was able to keep her stare without blinking longer than anyone else who had faced the fury of the Sun Goddess.

"You are many things, Rainbow Dash. Confident, intelligent, brave, loyal and a good friend. But you're acting like none of those things now. You're abrasive, selfish, cowardly, idiotic and in no way, shape or form, loyal to your friends or country. You insult your friends who've saved your life, tossing them to the side like they're nothing. You think themselves incapable of anything without you being there. Yes, you created the Sonic Rainboom, but it was also the work of the Elements that you got your cutie mark when you did. Without the Elements, you would have been just another Valkyrie." explained Celestia. "Then you insult my sister, Discord, the God of Chaos, and I. Yes, I have made mistakes but I was able to learn from them to help create a better kingdom. What happened to my sister and Discord was truly tragic, but it was not my selfishness that caused it. The Elements of Harmony were the ones to decide their punishment, not me."

She paused to calm her breathing. It did not mean that she wasn't angry, though. If anything, her fury only increased.

"I called you here for a specific reason but if this is how you want to act, then maybe the dungeons will be a good place to start. You're right, I can't have you killed because you host the Element of Loyalty. However, I doubt it'll stay in you for long with the way you're acting. I don't care if you rolled off the wrong side of your bed this morning. How you're behaving is abhorrent! Not even my distant nephew wouldn't behave this way!"

"Princess." interrupted Twilight.

"What is it, Twilight Sparkle?"

"Rainbow Dash has been like this for the past couple of months. Not as fierce, though."

"What?" exclaimed the startled Princess, releasing her hold on Rainbow Dash's face. "How long? When did it begin?"

"When we pretended to be Mare Do Well." Twilight Sparkle explained. "Four months or so, I think."

"Why didn't you mention this in the letters, Twilight?" blanched Celestia.

"I thought she was just being her usual arrogant self."

Celestia stared at her prized student before turning to Rainbow Dash. "Is this true?"

"I-I don't know." Rainbow Dash exclaimed, trying to pull her arm free. "Mare Do Well was so long ago that I don't remember when the voice started!" Rainbow Dash promptly shut her mouth.

"Voice? What voice?"

"It's...um...nothing! Really!"

"Rainbow Dash, answer the question! What voice?" snapped Celestia.

"The tiny voice in my head that's always saying how it's unfair that when everyone else does something wrong, all they do is get a pat on the wrist, and when I do something wrong, it's all like, "look at Rainbow Dash! She's so arrogant and self centered! I wonder why she got the Element of Loyalty, she's a failure! Instead of Rainbow Dash, it should be Rainbow Crash! Guess we all know why her mother's an abusive alcoholic and her dad committed suicide! What a freak!" And it's not fair!" screamed Rainbow Dash, tears freely streaming down her red cheeks, stinging where Celestia had backhanded her. She roughly rubbed the tears away as best as possible as she turned away, still held in place by Celestia.

"Rainbow Dash, I didn't...I didn't know.." whispered Twilight Sparkle, shocked at her friend's exclamation.

"I don't need your pity. Just let me go." she shouted.

"Rainbow Dash." murmured Princess Celestia, bringing the crying Valkyrie into her arms.

The Sun Goddess held her close as sobs raked Rainbow Dash's trembling body. Openly sobbing into the Goddess' arms, Rainbow Dash wasn't concerned about how uncool she looked or anything else. The voice had kindly taken to the highway as Celestia rubbed circles into the crying Valkyrie's back.

"Why? Why does it always happen to me?" demanded the crying Valkyrie, pulling away from Celestia. "Twilight has you, her brothers and both of her parents, Rarity has her younger sister and parents, Pinkie has the Cakes, Fluttershy has both of her parents and all the animals, and Applejack has her little sister, Big Mac and the rest of her giant family!"

"You have all of us, Rainbow Dash." Twilight offered.

"But where were you when my dad committed suicide? Where were you when my mom decided to start beating me? Where were you when I nearly had my wings cut off by her? Where were you when I nearly died at the Rainbow Factory? WHERE WERE YOU?!"

"Rainbow Dash-"

"THAT'S RIGHT! YOU WEREN'T THERE. NONE OF YOU WERE!"

"But we're here now."

"NOW'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" screamed Rainbow Dash, barreling out the throne room on cyan wings.

"RAINBOW DASH!" yelled Twilight, running after her broken friend.

Chapter 2: Book of Ages

In the dark of the night, Twilight Sparkle, prized student of Princess Celestia and the Element of Magic, was having a difficult time trying to find the runaway Rainbow Dash.

She had separated with Spike an hour ago to cover more ground in the palace, but now, when the elongated, never ending corridors of the palace became a labyrinth, Twilight wasn't so sure it had been one of her better decisions. That and giving Derpy the letter to give to Rainbow Dash. Twilight Sparkle's footsteps echoed loudly inside halls as she tried to track down her friend. A few cyan feathers here and there were the only clues to where the prismatic Valkyrie was located. It worried Twilight more than she was willing to admit, but she doubted that she could find Rainbow Dash in the palace. After all, the palace was giant and Rainbow Dash was, well, Rainbow Dash. If she didn't want to be found, then she wouldn't. She contemplated going to see if Princess Luna could help her find her friend and Element but Twilight wasn't sure if that was the best choice right now. After all, she had insulted the Moon Goddess in her fit of rage, and Princess Celestia, or the staff, would have alerted the Night Sovereign of what had transpired down in the throne room. If Nightmare Moon was anything to go by, then Twilight did not wish the rage of Princess Luna upon Rainbow Dash.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. Illuminating the halls with her violet magic, –she was going into the restricted area of the palace where there was no active lamps– Twilight wearily eyed the portraits lining the halls. They had always creeped her out during the day, but at night, it was a thousand times worse. She briefly wondered how the Princesses could withstand the leering eyes of the dead. The deeper Twilight Sparkle ventured into the bowels of the prestigious castle–she thought she was going down because she had encountered a flight of steps half an hour ago– the creepier the portraits of the dead became. A thought struck her as she walked. She wasn't certain, as she was many things today, whether or not Princess Celestia would be angry at her because she went into the restricted section. It had not been that much of a problem during her childhood because Princess Celestia was always with her when they went this far, but without her it did not seen as safe. Especially with the Princess's sudden rage. Well, not so sudden considering all the cruel things Rainbow Dash had screamed in her face. Twilight had not seen Princess Celestia that mad before. Ever. Mad enough to yell? Yes, a handful of times. Mad enough to actually backhand Rainbow Dash? No, that was new. The thought of causing the ire again was enough to make her pivot on her heels to walk out of the restricted area. However, another part berated her self actions.

Rainbow Dash needed her!

Head held high, she turned back to continue her journey into the deeper workings of the Canterlot palace with the purple light as her guide. She tried not to shrink into herself as the shadows seemed to move with ever step she took and the portraits seemed to watch her every step, judging her. Twilight Sparkle was a good distance into the restriction section of the palace when a portrait grabbed her attention. Moving towards the portrait, Twilight gaped in amazement. She had seen many fabulous and wonderful paintings in the royal palace during her time as Princess Celestia's student but never before this one.

The portrait was of a female Valkyrie in full silver armor. Dark grey hair cascaded past her scarred shoulders as her hands rested upon dual short swords, carved to look like lightning. The woman stood upon a pile of bones while a banner brandishing the symbol of the Valkyrie fluttered in the background. Wings of white with rainbow tips engulfed the rest of the painting.

Commander Hurricane, the gold engraving read.

Twilight Sparkle looked on dumbstruck at the painting. She had never seen a picture of the famed commander before and had honestly thought the commander had been a guy from the way she had been described. Twilight urged herself forward, tearing her eyes away from the commander and founder of the Valkyrie city, Cloudsdale, telling herself that if she wanted to find Rainbow Dash, then she shouldn't be waiting time on silly portraits. However, the golden eyes of the Valkyrie commander sent shivers down her spine, drawing her attention back to the highly realistic painting. Berating herself for getting lost in the painting, she raced down the extravagant halls with one thought on her mind.

Finding Rainbow Dash.

Using more magic, she illuminated the entire corridor, and those that branched off it, in a purple glow while creating a decent size ball of light to float next to her. As dusk fell upon Canterlot and Equastria, Twilight Sparkle flew down flights of stairs like a bat out of Tartarus. Skidding around corners, racing down corridors, and calling out the name of her best friend, Twilight Soarkle was more than determined to set things right. Rainbow Dash would see logic and reason one way or another. As the purple haired Alchemist with magical abilities that potentially rivaled that of the Sun Goddess, the pure ball of concentrated light revealed the telltale cyan feathers of the missing Valkyrie.

(Princess Celestia)

Princess Celestia, the physical embodiment of the sun, sat opposite of her sister, Luna, with a less than pleasant frown marring her beautiful features. It was not an unusual sight to see in the castle, where the walls shielded the two goddesses from the public eye; however, it was unusual to see the Moon Princess wrapping her elder sister's right hand in gauze instead of using magic to heal the broken fingers.

The Sun Sovereign, in her rage after discovering the traumatic truth of Rainbow Dash, had proceeded to punch the closest thing in her physical range once Twilight Sparkle had vanished to find her friend, and the guards had been dismissed. The object she had proceeded to punch with all her might and fury happened to be a stone column. Stone. While she had broken her first two fingers and her thumb, a few other bones she couldn't name, the stone pillar looked far worse. Actually, it was no longer standing. She had obliterated it into a million tiny shards of white stone that had gotten embedded into her hand, too. Celestia had promptly gotten the servants to clean up the mess while she transported to her study to then call Luna for help. The injury was the first real one she'd gotten in the last thousand years since Luna and her's epic fight. The pain she had been reintroduced to was a foreign, disembodied feeling that Celestia wasn't too sure what to think of it as. The physical pain was considerably less compared to the emotional agony she felt.

Hissing in pain, Celestia shot her sister a dirty look.

"It's your fault, sister." commented the younger royal.

"I know." dryly retorted the self-pitying Celestial. "I know."

"What in Mother's name did you do, sister, to break this much of your hand?" Luna asked.

"I punched a column."

"But, sister, those have been around for ages! How could you break your hand on one of those?" exclaimed the Moon Princess, looking incredulously at the Sun Goddess. "Never mind, sister. I don't want to know. Though, sister, why did you punch one if you don't mind sharing it with me?"

"I was angry." grumbled the miserable Celestia.

"Angry?"

"Yes."

"Was it Blue Blood, sister? Because I can have a word with him if you-" started Luna.

"No, it was not him. It was me." sighed Celestia. She quickly pulled away her broken hand once Luna was finished, nursing it in the other. Her almost crimson eyes closed in thought. "I failed her so much. I thought I knew what was best for her. What would protect her. I thought I knew what I was doing before was right, but now, now I'm unsure. Unsure of everything I've ever done. It's been a cruel thousand years without you or Dizzy. Everyone just expects so much from me in their short years on this planet. It's the same thing over and over again."

"Sister-"

"Wait, Luna. I need to say this."

Celestia took a breath, trembling. Whether it was from the pain or the weight of the guilt upon her shoulders, Celestia couldn't tell. She only hoped Luna would forgive her.

"When you were banished to the moon, I was so uncertain whether or not I could rule the country in your absence. First Discord, then you. It was almost too much to bear. I had almost resigned myself to the fate of solitude. Leave Equestria to the people to rule. Have them stumble through the darkness before they could taste the light. But I knew it wouldn't work, not when they had become so dependent on me that if I left, then they would crumble."

"They had never gotten along in the first place. It was only through us –Celestials– that the three clans united after the deaths of Commander Hurricane, Queen Platinum, Chancellor Puddinghead, and Clover the Clever. Even then they despised one another. Seclusion was looking far better with each passing year as the pain of rising the sun and moon took it's toll on me. It was only by the power of the Elements of Harmony that I didn't leave. I couldn't leave, really. I was just as much of a prisoner as you and Discord were. The Elements couldn't be left alone with the three clans. Not when history could repeat itself. We swore to protect the Elements, Discord, you and I. With the two of you gone, it fell to me. It was in the middle of the night, on a blue moon, when the Elements had chosen their new hosts. I had almost given up hope by then. Only one thing kept me going." It was here that her voice broke. "I'm so sorry, Luna. I-I made a mistake and I broke your trust by-" she could not finish.

"Sister, there is nothing to be upset by." Luna tried to comfort her sister. "You kept this country running when you could have easily just upped and left them to their own devices. You did what was right."

"No, Luna. I did not." argued Celestia.

"Sister, you don't give yourself enough credit. While Nightmare Moon took control of me, you did what was necessary. Not everyone would have done what you did. You saved Equestria from the wrath of Nightmare Moon. You kept it going. The sins of the past aren't yours to bear alone. I'm here to help you and so will Discord once he realizes-"

Before Luna could finish, a letter arrived in a flash of green fire, dropping upon the lap of Princess Celestia. Frowning at the parchment, Celestia looked towards Luna for approval. A nod was given. Tenderly gripping the letter in her golden magic, the parchment unfolded itself for all to see. However, instead of the elegant writing of her student, it was the hurried script of Rainbow Dash. Celestia was more hesitant than ever about reading the letter than she had been before talking to Luna. Swallowing the trepidation that welled in the pit of her core, Celestia's eyes quickly scanned over the writing. Once. Twice. Thrice. Her heart stopped beating.

"What does it say, sister?" quietly inquired Luna.

The Sun Goddess stiffly shifted in her seat. The feather stuffed cushions– which she absolutely detested because Celestia and Luna a set of wings– did nothing for her rigid posture. If anything, Celestia became even stiffer.

"Sister?"

"We must hurry, Luna." Celestia finally said. "It seems that Rainbow Dash has found Father's private library."

(Twilight Sparkle)

"Rainbow Dash!" called out Twilight.

"Twilight?" answered a voice from within the eternal darkness of the castle's bowels. It was too low to be Rainbow Dash's. Despite it definitely not being her friend, Twilight Sparkle was glad that someone else was down here other than her.

A figure ambled out of the shadows, stalking towards her with tiny steps. Twilight immediately took a step back in fear of the person not being human. Her fear was instantly dissolved once the young dragon she had raised from birth stumbled into the light, looking worse for wear, with a smile upon his face.

"Spike, what happened to you?"

"Twilight!" Spike exclaimed, hugging the legs of Twilight Sparkle. "You wouldn't believe how glad I am to see you!"

"What happened?" She motioned to the baby dragon's swollen black eye.

She could already see the puss dripping out of his injured eye. The edges of the eye had turned his purple and green scales a deep brown with the inside a hideous yellow. The baby dragon just shrugged it off like it was an everyday occurrence, but flinched when Twilight Sparkle gently grazed it.

"Oh, this? Huh? Just bumped into something in the dark, Twilight." he lied.

"Just bumped into something, Spike?" exclaimed Twilight Sparkle. "You have a large number of cuts and bruises all over your body, and a black eye! A black eye, Spike! Who did this to you?" In a low voice, she murmured, "Was it Rainbow Dash?"

"Rainbow Dash? What? No! Rainbow Dash would never- no, Twilight!" replied Spike. "I just fell down a couple flights of stairs and walked into a suit of armor. It's dark down here, Twilight. Why would you even think she would?"

"I don't know, Spike. Rainbow Dash has just been...she's just not herself." Twilight offered lamely. She gingerly lifted the baby dragon up to her shoulders where he curled his tail around her other shoulder to steady himself. "Come on, Spike. We still need to find, Rainbow Dash."

"I don't really have a choice now do I?" muttered the dragon.

Twilight paid no attention to him. She had more important things on her mind than a grumbling baby dragon. The labyrinth of corridors were dwindling down to only a couple of doors while the actual width of hall considerable shrunk until only a single person could comfortably walk. A few cyan feathers had gotten stuck into the carved stone, meaning that Rainbow Dash had come this way. Why she had, though, made Twilight Sparkle wonder.

As a Valkyrie, wouldn't the appropriate choice of action be to fly? Why come to the very foundations of the palace? Twilight Sparkle knew that Rainbow Dash was more than capable at evading the Royal Guard and getting out of the palace. During one of their little unplanned escapade to get a signature from one of Twilight Sparkle's favorite authors, Rainbow Dash had personally flown her out of the castle while being chased by Iron Shield and his squad of "goons" as Rainbow Dash liked to call them. Shining Armor was less than pleased when Hearth's Warming Eve came along and he had to explain why his armor had been dyed a hot pink.

It had been one of the most embarrassing days of her life because Princess Celestia had then sent a special edition and autographed copy of the book to Twilight that Hearth's Warming Eve. Oddly enough, she had not punished neither Rainbow Dash or Twilight Sparkle for wreaking havoc upon Canterlot and the palace. If Twilight Sparkle remembered correctly, then Princess Celestia had also given Rainbow Dash a backstage pass to meet and greet the members of the esteemed Wonderbolts. The only reason why she remembered was because Rainbow Dash had bragged about it for days, saying how a mysterious benefactor had delivered the platinum tickets during Hearth's Warming Eve. This thought led her to wonder if Princess Celestia knew how bad Rainbow Dash's home life was like. If so, then why did the Princess do nothing?

Well, it did explain why Rainbow Dash was so hesitant upon revealing anything about her family. When she had, though, Rainbow Dash had portrayed them as fun loving and just as awesome as her. Perhaps they had been. Before her dad committed suicide and her mother became an alcoholic. It would certainly explain why Rainbow Dash had taken a liking to Scootaloo. As far as anyone knew, Scootaloo was just a lonely and miserable as Rainbow Dash secretly was until the Mane Six came to be. Thinking of the Mane Six, Twilight Sparkle frowned. She briefly wondered if Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity or Fluttershy knew about Rainbow Dash's situation. And if they did, why hide it? They were all friends, no? And friends told friends everything, right? At least, that's what she read.

Shaking her head of those treacherous thoughts, Twilight Sparkle plowed on through the darkness. She couldn't stop now. Not when she was so close to finding Rainbow Dash. And she was lost. Not that she would admit it or anything. The ball of light suddenly revealed an end to the seemingly endless corridors. It was an old wooden door warped by age and moisture. The hinges were rusted beyond use. She tried to pry the door open with her bare hands but the door wouldn't budge. Angrily kicking the door, her hands brilliantly glowed violet, engulfing the door in the same glow before ripping it out of it's doorframe.

"Twilight!"

"It wouldn't budge!" she shrugged.

"But this is the palace! Won't Princess Celestia be mad if she found you blasting away doors?"

"No, because it's for a good cause." Twilight said, stepping into the room.

The first thing she did was dispel the ball of light. The second thing she did was frown. The room was nothing like she pictured. If anything, it was unlike she imagined a secret room in the bowels of the restricted area of the palace to be like. The room was ginormous with a high ceiling and a crystal chandelier. Book shelves lined the walls from bottom to top, filled with ancient tomes and scrolls that predated the founding of Equestria. The stone walls that remained untouched by the shelves were littered in maps and charts of Equestria and the Griffin kingdom. A large, wooden table sat in the middle of the room with a giant map of the world with little wooden pieces, like on a chessboard, painted different colors. A dagger or two were stuck in certain locations.

However, standing at the table with a book that looked far too big to be an Atlas or reference book was Rainbow Dash bent over. A frown marred her tear stained face. In her hand, the same short sword she had seen in the portrait of Commander Hurricane glistened in the crystal light.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed happily.

"Twilight."

Chapter 3: "The Truth, Celestia"

When Rainbow Dash had flown away from the throne room in tears, she knew that if she tried to leave the Canterlot palace, then her embarrassment at being caught crying would only increase tremendously by a thousand and one times. Rainbow Dash being Rainbow Dash decided to fly to a secluded part of the palace where no staff or Princess or friend and fellow Element could stumble upon her by accident, or purpose in Twilight's case. It would be so uncool.

She had original planned to fly to the private gardens of Princess Celestia. With everything that had just transpired, Rainbow Dash was positive that the Sun Goddess would not go there. It had plenty of trees to block any peeping eyes from spotting it and large enough to prevent anyone from hearing her cries. There would be just enough air to allow her to spread her wings, too. However, what had started as a simple rendezvous in the royal (private) garden had instantly spiraled out of control. Somehow–she blamed the tears that were so uncool– she had ended up deeper in the palace than she's ever been. Without Twilight with her to guide her out of the labyrinth of halls, Rainbow Dash only succeeded in getting lost farther. She hastily wiped away any stray tears and toughened up. She was Rainbow freakin' Dash. She just screamed at the Princess without getting killed right then and there. What were some measly halls?

Rainbow Dash was lost. Somehow she had found herself in the very bowels of the palace with only her lightning abilities, for all Valkyrie could create a simple thunderstorm, to light the halls. Her hands and arms hand numerous small burns from where the lightning singed her. However, she had finally found a door that hadn't led to a random, useless room.

Seriously, how many armories did a palace need?

There hasn't been a war in Equestria since forever. Yes, the Griffins were a potential threat but with the Elements of Harmony along with Celestia and Luna, two living goddesses, the Griffins couldn't, and wouldn't, try anything. Though, when the Mane Six had accidentally embarrassed Gilda, she might have gone home to complain to her griffin friends and family of how uncool the Equestrians were. Rainbow Dash couldn't quite remember what status in the kingdom she held but knew it was kind of important. Like if someone of another nation was to mess with Twilight, then she could complain to Princess Celestia.

At the thought of the Princess, Rainbow Dash blushed the color of her eyes. She had insulted the most powerful person in the entire universe! Her life was instantly over. No Element of Harmony, or Who-Gives-A-Crap as she had previously called them, could save her from pure retribution at the hands of the Sun Goddess. She was actually surprised at how restrained the Princess had acted. The pain in her arm, cheek, and jaw were testimony to her mercy. If Princess Celestia had been serious, then she could have vaporized Rainbow Dash where she stood. Yes, the slap had surprised her. Yes, she deserved it. No, she wasn't going to go groveling at her feet because of the pure trepidation that courses through her veins. She liked living, thank you very much. Dying wasn't exactly what she had planned for today. Although, with everything going as it was, death would likely become a very appeasing option. Rainbow Dash wouldn't be able to show her face again in public if word got out. Especially to her friends.

Rainbow Dash was more than positive that Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six hated her right now. No doubt Twilight already informed them of what she had said.

"Buck this." grumbled Rainbow Dash, punching the wall.

She quickly learned how much it hurt when flesh and bone collided with solid stone. Limestone, Rainbow Dash thought. Fortunately nothing was broken. Just her pride and image. The fresh pain from her hitting the wall was nothing though. She had crashed so many times that it was nothing more than a dull throbbing. Not to mention how many times her mother—

Rainbow Dash screamed. It clawed at her throat, leaving it dry and hoarse, as it erupted from her mouth in a strange mixture of an animal and a Ursa Major scream. Everything had fallen apart! EVERYTHING!

Sending the rising rage, Rainbow Dash squashed it as fast as possible. After everything she had just done, having another rage fit would not solve the problem. Instead, she focused on continuing. The walls were shrinking and Rainbow Dash wasn't one for creepy dungeons in case someone found her. Her hand brushed against the wall and felt the stone carved out in a small design. Sparing a glance, Rainbow Dash could only chuckle at the pony engraved in the wall with a police box next to it. Whoever it was must have been a child. Or a weirdo who got lost with the depths of the palace. Perhaps instead of sending people to the dungeons, Princess Celestia and Luna sent them here to wander the halls aimlessly until they died of starvation. Or thirst. Whatever came first.

The moment Rainbow Dash collided with the door at the end of the ridiculously small hallway she wanted to sing. Thank Celestia there was an end to this place. For an eternity, which was really an hour, she had aimlessly ambled down into the abyss that was the palace. Sensing that this wasn't another armory, because that would be really uncool if it was, Rainbow Dash pried open the ancient, rusted door with her bare hands. Once she was inside, she closed the door because it was cold as all Tartarus out there. Eyes gaped, Rainbow Dash tried to not gawk. The room was amazing! A crystal chandelier, that used the actual crystal as the light source, hung from the high ceiling with bookcases upon bookcases stacked until they touched the ceiling. Ancient war posters, maps, charts and diagrams covered every inch of visible wall while a few had red marks slashed across them and a couple even had a dagger sticking out of them. In the center of the room, a large wooden table upon thick legs held up a giant world map, well, as much of Equestria and her neighboring countries as a map that old could possible have, spread out across the entirety of the surface. Small wooden pieces of ships, horses and artillery were carefully positioned upon the map. The colors depended upon those of the three clans: the Valkyrie, the Terrans and the Alchemists. Melted candle sticks held the map down.

As Rainbow Dash moved towards the map, the feeling of déjà vu overwhelmed her. Wings fluttering, Rainbow Dash was pulled towards the table where everything unfolded before her eyes. If there was anything she loved more than flying or reading Daring Do, then it had to be strategy. Ditzy Doo, a.k.a Derpy, had taught her strategy at flight camp whenever Rainbow Dash had gotten in trouble with the other consolers for pulling a prank on the other campers. Although Ditzy was, well, Ditzy, she was a surprisingly good strategist and had not hesitated to impart her skills to Rainbow Dash. Everything she did, from training to picking out what cereal she was buying, involved strategy. What you did now could affect you right away, a day later or even decades later. "You have to know what is good for you now and what will be good for you fifty years later", Ditzy would say. The accident with her eye sight when she was a child had left her with a more mature and wiser view on the world.

Overlooking the map, Rainbow Dash noted that none of the clans were winning, nor did they have an advantage. All equally matched, Rainbow Dash was positive that the war being depicted was the battle before Hearth's Warming Eve. What really caught the ever shifting attention of the rainbow haired Valkyrie were the two separate pieces colored gold. The two pieces were all different. One was a Valkyrie of course, and the other was a Alchemist with hands encased in magic. It didn't take a genius to identify the Valkyrie as Commander Hurricane but the other one sure as Tartarus didn't look like Princess Platinum or her father if the peasant robes were anything to go by. It was Clover the Clever? From what Twilight told her about Clover the Clever, his power rivaled that of Star Swirl the Bearded, his mentor.

But why were they gold?

Rainbow Dash frowned. A few papers upon the map caught her attention. She delicately lifted them and read them over. Mission reports, mission reports, news from the front line, mission reports, warrant for arrest, more news from the front lines, etcetera. Going through them for a third time, Rainbow Dash couldn't find anything that informed her of why the two pieces were gold. Why wasn't there a third? Was Chancellor Puddinghead not important? Why just the two?

"Why?" murmured Rainbow Dash.

There was always a reason behind everything. First, she needed to discover who had set up this place and why. Second, find out what they had intended to do. Third, get the Tartarus out of here before anybody catches her.

With her list in mind, Rainbow Dash proceeded to explore the thousands upon thousands of books. Top to bottom. Her wings twitched in excitement at being able to fly. Instead, she climbed upon the ladder. It wouldn't do to blow way everything out of it's place. If she'd learned anything from Twilight Sparkle, then it was that everyone had a system. It was just finding out that system that was important. Some did it in alphabetical or numerical order. Some had it in order of importance. Others had an orderly chaos. Still a system, though. If they could find it, then so could Rainbow Dash. While she wasn't an egghead like Twilight, Rainbow Dash had the confidence that she could discover what this person had planned exactly. Magenta eyes feverishly scanned the shelves.

Worthless, worthless, boring, useless, worthless, not important, worthless, boring, boring, boring, not important, useless, the pattern continued. Without a clock to provide her with the time of day, or night, Rainbow Dash didn't know how long she had been scanning the shelves for something that could help her understand the situation. It might have been a minute. It might have been an hour. It might have even been a day. Time was fleeting and meaningless in the private war chamber. Rainbow Dash sighed for the umpteenth time. If only Twilight Sparkle was here to help. More so Celestia than her. Without the rage, though. However, Rainbow Dash had doubts that even Princess Celestia knew of this place. It seemed far older than anything she'd ever seen. The Sun Sovereign included. She was about to surrender hope when one book caught her attention.

It was giant, metal bound with thin metal sheets for paper that didn't seem to bend any other way than how a page should turn. Gens of all colors adorned the cover in a rainbow of beauty to create a stained glass effect. In the center of the cover, a woman crafted from the gems was asleep with circles filled with the different elements circling the woman. She had a white wing and a black one with hair similar to that of the cosmos. If it wasn't a permanent creation, Rainbow Dash was certain it would be ever shifting. Her entire skin was like that. A mixture of light and dark, colliding in an infinite cycle of eternity. It was beautiful. She opened the book with the utmost gentleness. It was blank.

She frowned and the door to the room blew open.

"Rainbow Dash!" happily called Twilight, her relief at finding the missing Valkyrie evident in her voice.

"Twilight." sighed Rainbow Dash.

Just when she had discovered something worthwhile, Twilight just had to ruin it. When someone runs out, one does not simply follow them. Space. Space it what you give them instead of following them into the very depths of Tartarus. Whether Rainbow Dash outwardly showed her displeasure at being found or if she remained stoic about her intrusion.

"You blew open a door."

"You ran away." Twilight said as if it was the most obvious thing.

Rainbow Dash's eyebrow raised until it nearly vanished into her hairline. "Yeah, I did. But I never blew open a door. Cool by the way."

"What is this place, Rainbow Dash?"

"A war room."

Twilight Sparkle looked incredulously at Rainbow Dash, as if she had grown a second head. Which, by the way, was not a fun experience. "Why would there be a war room?"

"Because of war, Twilight. Not everything can be solved by the Elements of Harmony. Sometimes war is needed to protect your country, expand borders or keep your enemies in check. War, after all, Twilight, is what founded Equestria." She motioned to the map. "This is pre-Equestria. You can see how none of the three clans have an advantage or disadvantage. Terrans are able to keep their hold because of their anti-air raids by the Valkyrie, Alchemists are held up in the mountains and are able to counter the ground troops of the Terrans, while the Valkyrie are able to counter the spells of the Alchemists. They are deadlocked."

"But, Rainbow Dash, there wasn't even a war back then."

"Yes, yes there was. Equestria may seem like no one ever dies of murder or gets mugged or beaten or even raped. But it happens. It always happens. A friend once said to me, "Rainbow Dash, don't believe everything you see. Lies and deception are everywhere. The brighter the light, the darker the shadow", or something along those lines. And what she said was true. Open your eyes to places like Manehatten and you'll see just how corrupt the world really is. Or, if you really want an example, the griffins. Gilda is probably the least violent griffin in all of Equestria. Only because if people discovered what really went down in the Griffin kingdom, they'll wake up and smell the roses. And they wouldn't want that. Ignorance works to their advantage."

"Whoa, Rainbow Dash, where'd you learn that?" Spike asked.

"Well, you learn a lot when you're on your own. I'm not an egghead though."

"Rainbow Dash, I've been meaning to talk to you about what happened b-" Twilight started before Rainbow Dash hushed her by putting her hand upon her mouth.

"Don't even start about that. Forget I even said anything. I'm just Rainbow Dash. I'm awesome and I'm cool. I am not the abused, broken little girl you now see me as. I'm not even an egghead. My goal is still to join the Wonderbolts. I'm still the Element of Loyalty as far as I know. Whether or not we're still friends is up to you. If not, whatever. I understand. Got it?"

Twilight Sparkle didn't move. Instead, Rainbow Dash's hand glowed purple and was pulled away by her magic.

"Rainbow Dash, this isn't something you can just shrug off! You were hurt by the people supposed to protect you! There might be lasting consequences! Princess Celestia will-"

"Princess Celestia won't do anything. As far as she cares, I am dead. Rainbow Dash is dead. I screamed at her, Twilight! I. Screamed. At. Her. Period."

"It wasn't your fault. I read in a book that children that are abused-"

"Twilight! This is not something you can easily fix with your magic or books!"

"Rainbow Dash, I'm not trying to fix you. I'm trying to help you. What your mother did to you isn't acceptable. She needs to be thrown into jail for what she did to you. Whether or not you realize this, you can't handle this on your own. The Princess will help you. She has to. Child abuse is illegal." Twilight sighed. "She's forgiving and I doubt the little display you had will make her hate you forever."

"It's not that, Twilight."

"Then what is it, Rainbow Dash?"

"I screamed at you. I insulted everyone. What kind of friend is that? What kind of loyalty is that? Princess Celestia was right. I'm a terrible friend."

"You're not a terrible friend. We were. We hadn't realized how much the Mare Do Well incident affected you. I thought it would teach you a lesson in pride, but it hurt you. I can't believe we didn't realize that." Twilight moved over to where Rainbow Dash had slumped over, looking lost at the strange metal book. "You have all of us if you ever need to talk. That's what friends are for."

"Friends? After all I've said?" Rainbow Dash sighed. "You are a strange one, Twilight."

She offered a hesitant smile to Rainbow Dash as Spike unwrapped himself from her. Jumping onto the table, Spike looked at the book with interest. The purple and green dragon looked at Rainbow Dash for permission before touching the book. He instantly pulled his claw back.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Spike.

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"The book! It's imbued with ancient dragon and Alchemist magic! Powerful, too! Where did you find this, Rainbow Dash?"

"On a shelf somewhere. Why?" Rainbow Dash raised an eye at the dragon before looking for Twilight for an explanation. She just shrugged.

"Yeah, Spike, why?"

"Because if my hunch is correct, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, this book is the Book of Ages!"

"Book of Ages?"

"Yeah! Every dragon is born with the knowledge of the Book! Dragon legend has it that the Book of Ages can tell the past, the present, and the future all at the same time! It's so powerful that the Book is needed to be hidden from prying eyes because it can literally change the past, present and future if someone touches it!"

Rainbow Dash blanched.

"I touched it, Spike."

"Then that means your past, ancestors and all are able to be read. Or you're gonna die a horrible death. I forget which one it was." Spike shrugged. "We have to tell the Princess of this!"

"Whoa no! After everything that just happened, you want to get the Princess down here? I mean, is it really the Book of Ages or whatever. I mean, common on! Why would it be here of all places? Seriously? Book of Ages? They couldn't come up with a better name for it other than Book of Ages? Jeez!"

"I don't know." mumbled the bruised dragon.

Twilight Sparkle patted the distressed Valkyrie's back. "Don't worry, Rainbow Dash. The Princess won't try to kill you or anything." She grinned dangerously. "Or are you just scared?"

"What? Me, scared? Nonsense! I'm Rainbow freakin' Dash! I'm the very definition of cool!" boasted the shaking Element of Loyalty.

"Then you'll write the letter?"

She deflated. "Why me?"

"Because you're the one who touched the book, Rainbow Dash."

She bit the inside of her cheek in thought. Rainbow Dash wasn't normally one to shy away from getting the job done, but this was just outrageous! For all she knew, the Sun Goddess could be plotting her demise in the most torturous way possible right now. She could be picturing all the ways to humiliate the bearer of the Element of Loyalty until she begged for death! She could even be planning to banish her to the moon! And Rainbow Dash hated cheese!

Nearly hyperventilating at the thought of eating nothing but moon cheese for the rest of her pitiful existence, Rainbow Dash drew in a shaking breath. The Princess had been angry at what she had screamed into her face but not enough to send her to the moon, right? She needed the entire set of Elements, correct? But if what Celestia had said of how the Elements could leave the host if they deemed them unsuitable was correct? Oh no. She was going to be stuck eating moon cheese! So uncool.

"Rainbow Dash?"

"What, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash squeaked.

"She's not going to banish you to the moon." Twilight smiled.

"How did you-? What did you-? Are you a mind reader?" said the suspicious prismatic haired Valkyrie.

"No. You just ranted out loud."

Rainbow Dash had the decency to blush the color of her Element. Twilight set the paper down in front of her with a quill. Confused at why Rainbow Dash couldn't simply use a regular pen, Twilight explained.

"The quill is magical. If it's a regular pen, then Spike has trouble sending it. Only certain ink can be sent via dragon breath."

"Oh."

"Just relax, Rainbow Dash. You can do it."

Offering a small smile, Rainbow Dash awkwardly held the quill in her right hand and began the letter, praying to whatever deity that was out there-not Celestia-that the oh-so humble ruler of the sun didn't cast her into oblivion. Like she said before, she liked living!

Chapter 4: Metal Thin

"Princess, you can't be serious. Time travel is impossible!" Twilight Sparkle, the egghead of the Mane Six and host of the Element of Magic, exclaimed, pacing in a small circle.

Across from the purple haired Alchemist, the royal sisters around the large, wooden table, looking at the silver metal book. The gems shined mischievously in the bright crystal light. It took pure willpower not to blast the stupid Book of Ages out of existence.

"Of course it is, Twilight. You did it only a month ago." Princess Celestia replied. "This is only a more complicated spell."

"But, Princess! A spell that allows you to relive your own past? That's ridiculous and dangerous! Why hasn't this been locked up?" Twilight demanded. "What kind of person makes such a thing? Yes, the advances you could make could be outstanding, you could change the very fabric of the space time continuum, but still! What if you make the wrong move? You could tear the entire universe in half!"

"Calm down, Twilight." sighed Rainbow Dash, absentmindedly playing with the lightning shaped, short sword that had been embedded in the wooden table. "You're creating a rut again."

The Alchemist stopped to send a glare at her friend, the same person who had discovered the book by accident. And who touched it. Her baby dragon nodded in agreement with Rainbow Dash.

"Argh! Don't you guys care?" demanded Twilight.

"Yeah, but there's no need to worry. The Princesses know what to do." She side glanced at the pondering royals. "I think."

Ever since the Sun and Moon Goddesses had appeared in a startling flash of gold and silver, they had been working nonstop on containing the ancient magic the book decided to leak. Well, the Moon Princess did. Celestia had taken Rainbow Dash to the side to privately speak to her while leaving Twilight to worry about the various possibilities of her friend potentially exploding. After several reassurances from the Princesses that Rainbow Dash would not explode like a Hearth's Warming Eve firework, Twilight Sparkle was slowly going crazy from worry. Her hair was slightly frizzled and her clothes a little out of place. She tore through the various scrolls and tomes predating even the times of Star Swirl the Bearded in hopes of finding more information about the book.

Eventually she had. In a large journal that belonged to Eclipse, the Celestial King and father of Celestia and Luna, during the times of the three great clans with tattered pages, a single page describing the power of the book had left her grasping at straws. There was absolutely no other information on the Book of Ages other than that it sent you back in time, in your timeline, to relive the past. What you did during that time would ultimately change the future according to the notes of Eclipse. There was no notes on how the Book worked or how old it was, though. For a scientific mind like Twilight's, it was absolute chaos. The thing that bothered her the most was not the little information on the Book of Ages, the Codex as the Celestial King called it, but the way Princess Celestia was acting.

She had first found it odd that the Princess had broken her hand, then combined with the private talk with Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle was more than absolutely positive that Princess Celestia, her mentor since childhood, was keeping a secret. A secret that involved Rainbow Dash.

Twilight Sparkle had tried to speak to the cyan feathered Valkyrie on what happened but she had been distracted with the strange sword Celestia had handed to her. The lightning shaped sword was hauntingly familiar to Twilight. Although, she couldn't place her finger on why or how, she was certain it would come into play later. Whenever later was. Princess Celestia had a habit of doing things now that seemed odd but would later benefit them. Twilight only hoped this was one of them. A sigh and a frown, Twilight kept on digging through the labyrinth of scrolls. It had been this way for an hour until Twilight succumbed to her insanity.

"What does this book have to do with Rainbow Dash?" demanded Twilight Sparkle.

The uncharacteristically acting prismatic Valkyrie was easy to deal with but the Princesses were becoming increasingly difficult. For once, the Sun Goddess offered no more wise words than "you shall see soon, my student", and that had already run dry. Soon wasn't fast enough. She wanted results now. She briefly mused if this is the way Rainbow Dash felt all the time when everyone else was so slow compared to her. No wonder she was so impatient and rash.

"Do not worry, Twilight Sparkle. All will be revealed when the time is right." Princess Celestia half smiled to her student as Luna nudged her.

"Sister, I fear the Book is already activating." frowned Luna, her brow creased with worry. "I don't think there is anything more we can do."

"What do you mean activating? Is Rainbow Dash going to be sucked into her past?" Twilight asked.

"Yes." Celestia sighed.

"Can't we do anything to stop it, Princess? You know what happened to her! We can't let her relive that!" She all but screamed.

"I'm not." Rainbow Dash piped up. "We're going a bit further than my past."

"What do you mean by furth- we?"

"Yeah. You touched it, too." grinned Rainbow Dash. "You're coming with me, too."

"But," she sputtered pathetically. "where will we be going? It's your past. I don't come in until the two days before the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Do you remember Hearth's Warming Eve when we did the play, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Of course. You were Commander Hurricane, Fluttershy was Private Pansy, Pinkie Pie was Chancellor Puddinghead, Rarity was Princess Platinum, Applejack was Smart Cookie, and I was Clover the Clever." replied Twilight Sparkle, confused at her question. "Why does that matter?"

"Because that's where we're going. That's why these two," Rainbow Dash lifted the two gold figurines for Twilight to see, "are gold. That's the only reason why we're even down here. Spike got the black eye, the bruises and the cuts because this place is booby-trapped to stop anyone that isn't a Celestial or meant to find the Book of Ages."

"But that's scientifically impossible!" Her entire world was crashing down around her.

"You're an Alchemist. That is in itself impossible. Princess Celestia explained to me why my rage was happening and why we need to use the book. Believe it or not, we're going to secure the founding of Equestria." Rainbow Dash explained.

"Princess?"

The Sun Goddess nodded. "Rainbow Dash is correct. I hadn't imagined it would happen this way. If I had known, Twilight Sparkle, I would have informed you."

"Was that why you called us here?" whispered Twilight.

"No, I had wanted to discuss a theory that you might have been interested in. Rainbow Dash was summoned because the Wonderbolts were going to stay in the palace before their next show. I thought she would enjoy it." The Sun Sovereign explained.

"You knew all along?" Twilight Sparkle cried.

The Sun Sovereign did not deny it. Instead she put her uninjured hand upon her shoulder. "Twilight Sparkle, I did not chose you to be my apprentice because you were destined to finding the Book of Ages, nor did I chose you because you are the Element of Magic. I chose you because you're you. I chose the Twilight Sparkle who loved to read and explore the wonders of the world, who's ambition towards something greater led her to saving Equestria more times than anyone else. I hope you can forgive me for not telling you your fate."

"Why, Princess?"

The immortal Princess seemed older than she normally looked underneath the crystal light. "Whatever happens in the past, always look to the future. You and Rainbow Dash will be responsible for all of Equestria. I don't know what will happen when you're there, but know you always have friends."

"Princess, who am I? Back then, I mean?" If Twilight was being honest with herself, she feared that she might not like who she'll become when inside the mysterious Book that could bend the space time continuum. What if she was a criminal or worse! A book hater! Every single possibility raced through her head faster than a Sonic Rainboom.

"You must find that on your own. Discovering who you are isn't just a name. Star Swirl the Bearded did not become the most powerful unicorn by simply saying his name. He worked hard towards the future, helping all of humanity. You, Twilight Sparkle, must find your own path." the cryptic Celestial replied.

"But what if-"

"No, what if's, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Just find me and we'll be fine."

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight deadpanned, "how will I know it's you? We'll be in the middle of an entirely different continent with no way of knowing who's who."

"Just find Commander Hurricane and Clover the Clever. That way, we'll have to eventually meet when the three clans move to Equestria." Rainbow Dash explained.

"Alright, but you better be there." Twilight sighed.

"I will." smirked Rainbow Dash. "Come on, let's get going."

"Will it hurt?"

"Let's find out." Rainbow Dash said, roughly grabbing her hand and slamming it onto the cold, thin metal sheets.

The Princesses had already retracted their magic by then and all Twilight could feel was a cold emptiness that left her craving for the sun. She no longer felt Rainbow Dash's hand upon hers as her body jerked forward into the black abyss of nothing. Twilight couldn't scream or breathe as everything became nothing and nothing became everything.

Then she hit the snow.

Chapter 5: Ice Storm

Nyrx, a small Terran village located in the north hemisphere between below freezing and hopelessly screwed, was Aurora's secret get away. Sometimes when the war was going really bad, she would expertly sneak away to the village to get away from it all. The bloodshed, the responsibility, the nightmares, they took their toll on her. Whether it was five minutes or five years, Aurora was grateful for the time anyway.

However, with the way the war between the Valkyrie, Terrans, Alchemists and Griffins was going, Aurora was spending less and less time in the tiny village that welcomed her with open arms because she was getting pulled right back into the politics. It was always, "the Terrans aren't keeping up their end of the bargain", "the bloody Alchemists are crossing our borders again", or "the Griffins killed another squadron today". There was never any warm words exchanged, not that Aurora really minded, but she was getting sick of all the complaints. This was one of the reasons why she kept going to the secluded town where people only knew her as Aurora the Wanderer.

No one really questioned why the grey haired stranger kept coming to their town–there wasn't really anything to trade there besides sheep– and no one was going to. As long as she didn't cause trouble or unsheathe her swords, the Terran village didn't mind her aimless walks around their town. Occasionally, if she was on a slight buzz from the hard apple cider, she helped the villagers fix their roofs or bring in the sheep from the small fields at the base of the mountains. If she was in a really good mood, Aurora even went to the town hall to share stories of her adventures across the treacherous tundra that encased most of her nation. She did not mention, however, the Valkyrie capital, Skyfall, in fear of being discovered as a Valkyrie. As far as the Terrans thought, she was just another Terran who lost everything because of the war.

She didn't care though. Between the hard cider and forgetting how many throats she slit that day, she was more than happy to let them believe what they want. At the end of the day, she'll just walk to the mountains and fly from there to Skyfall. It was an easy commute despite the cold weather.

Aurora the Wanderer was half way through her second hard cider when she was pushed off the bench and across the room until she smacked into one of the pillars. Lifted up by an invisible force, every cell in her body screamed in agony as her body convulsed. Whether she screamed or not she couldn't remember because just as fast as it happened, she was dropped to the floor with a loud thud. The few villagers in the mess hall glanced at her wryly before returning to their drinks. Being attacked by an invisible force wasn't that common, but with the increase in windigo attacks, no one questioned the strange phenomenon.

Aurora the Wanderer was no more.

Rising from where she fell, Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and all around badass, took a look around, searching for a mirror or something reflective. Everyone in the mess hall was skillfully avoiding her gaze as she settled down into the bench she had previously–as Aurora–occupied. The half emptied glass of hard cider mocked her as she stared into it's golden brown depths. As far as Rainbow Dash knew, her eyes were no longer magenta. Obviously. Her face had changed, too. Her jaw was too angled for her liking, her nose was not tall and straight with a decent lift, cheekbones were pretty high and slightly defined, and her eyes were sharp but not almond shaped. Unlike her previous hair style, her hair hung down to her lower back in a ponytail with long bangs framing her face. It was also grey. Grey. Of all colors.

Sighing, Rainbow Dash cursed her luck. She wasn't really Rainbow Dash without the rainbow part. More like Grey Dash. Like the time when Discord had turned her into her de-Harmonized self. Except her skin wasn't grey. Truthfully, she kinda felt like Daring Do. Daring Do had grey hair, so does she! Daring Do has wings, so does she! Daring Do isn't stuck in the past with a new face, but she is! She almost drank the last of the hard cider to calm herself down but decided against it. Aurora might have like to be buzzed all the time to forget the war but that didn't mean Rainbow Dash had to. She would not end up like her mother!

At the thought of her mother–or really her adoptive mother–, Rainbow Dash lost her appetite and hastily pushed the glass mug away. She had a job to do and in Celestia's name would get it done! First, she had to find the Valkyrie capital, then she had to find Commander Hurricane and then she had to find Twilight Sparkle. Actually, Twilight Sparkle should be number one on her list. However, Rainbow Dash had no doubt in her mind that Twilight Sparkle was faring better than she was. She had magic, Rainbow Dash doesn't. She could find Clover the Clever in time for the founding of Equestria. Whenever that was.

Her musings were interrupted when the doors to the mess hall flung open, revealing a group of burly men in furs. They guffawed at whatever the leader had said as they entered. Rainbow Dash winced. To her slightly tipsy ears, the sound of their laughter was like nails on a chalkboard. It worsened when the group decided to flop down at the table across from her diagonally.

"White Field, a round!" called one of the Terrans.

Rainbow Dash tried to wrack her brain for a face to go with the name. Aurora the Wanderer hadn't really known anyone's name in Nyrx besides Cold Steel, the blacksmith of the town. It was only because Aurora had gone to him more times than she could remember in her alcohol induced state to get her dual swords fixed. It surprised Rainbow Dash how easily they broke.

"How did it go?" Rainbow Dash overheard White Field, the bartender, asked, setting a tray of mugs down upon the table.

"We killed them like the freaks they are! Slaughtered the lot of them!" The table burst into another fit of laughs as some of the men bragged about the fight.

"The rounds on me then, boys." White Field beamed. He turned to the rest of the mess hall. "Whoever can kill one of those winged freaks gets the first drink free."

Rainbow Dash blanched.

Perhaps a drink would do her good. Though, she couldn't down the contents of the bitter cider. She silently wondered how people could stomach such a bitter drink. How was this supposed to make her feel better when she couldn't even stomach it? Could this day get any worse?

The rest of the town's mess hall burst into excitement as they crowded around the new group to discover how they had killed a scouting group of Valkyrie. Every word made her skin crawl as they merrily laughed, drank and sang to the deaths. She got up and was on her way to leave when one of the men at the table called out to her.

"Hey, Wanderer, where you're going?"

"Out." Rainbow Dash replied in her best Aurora impression. Whether or not it was accurate, she didn't know, but the men accepted her response nevertheless.

As accepted as group of brutes could.

"Why? This is a celebration! Drink! Eat!" he beamed.

"Thanks, but no. I have something to do."

She tried to walk out, but one of the men had already grabbed her by the shoulders. Leading her to the table that grew with every table being pushed up against the original, she was forced to sit between two burly men, promptly sandwiched. A large mug of beer the size of her head was shoved in her hands as the merriness of the crowd grew and grew. A strong hand patted her back.

"Drink, Wanderer! This round is on the house!" the man next to her exclaimed, downing the entire glass in front of him.

Reluctantly, the once rainbow haired Valkyrie took a hesitant sip of the beverage. Since Aurora the Wanderer had already been a tad bit tipsy when Rainbow Dash had arrived, the cold beer easily slid down her throat. The taste was absolutely repulsive. Rainbow Dash swallowed the beverage as best as she could before coughing up a lung. The same man, a Terran with rich red hair and beard, grinned at her reaction.

"Worry not, Wanderer, ale is not for everyone." he smiled, his big hand upon her thin, fur covered shoulder. "The hard cider might be more in your favor."

"Thanks, but I don't really drink." pathetically smiled Rainbow Dash.

The red haired beast of a Terran nodded in acknowledgement. He did not pressure her, but he would not let her leave. Every time she tried to wriggle her way out of the cheering mass of drunken Terrans, she was forced back in. Eventually she gave up and proceeded to eat some of the food brought over. She picked at the fruit and blanched at the chicken and turkey placed upon her plate. Every so often she would eat some pork because pig happened to be featherless. She shot the dead and cooked birds a look of pity.

Cannibalism. That's what Rainbow Dash thought. It would be like Alchemists eating dragons. Magic users eating magic users. If Rainbow Dash was in the right time period, then Valkyrie prisoners of opposing clans would be forced to eat some type if bird as torture. It had been disbanded once the Valkyrie clans united against the threat of the Terrans, Alchemists and Griffins.

By the time everyone was stuffed and full, the mess hall was half filled with sleeping Terrans. Those that had been at the celebration earlier had somehow managed to stumble through the snow back to their poorly built wooden houses. Rainbow Dash wondered how they managed to get home without getting lost. When they had left only two hours ago–Aurora the Wanderer had realized when she first came here–,the snow storm was nearly blinding. Just a sheet of white was all one could see. Now, however, at what she guessed to be four in the morning, the snow would have settled down just enough to become a light flurry. The windigos were less likely to strike now.

Rainbow Dash skillfully avoided stepping on the slumbering Terrans as she all but danced out of the mess hall, her wings listing for freedom from the binds Aurora had put them in. Her steps were light and her breathing even lighter. If she'd learned anything in the eight hours since she had been forced into the cruel celebration, then it was that a drunk, angry Terran was more terrifying than a sober, angry one. Entire tables, which were inches thick, had been toppled and destroyed into tiny pieces. She feared that if she was to wake a sleeping giant then she would end up like the others. Dead while they danced and drank about her death. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of the red bearded at the table she had just left. Thoughts of whether or not he would snap her neck if he found out the truth sent her heart flying in fear and...nervousness? With no time to dwell on the apparent new found emotions for a mindless brute, she pushed open the doors. The moment she was out the door, she could hear the distant roars of the windigos upon the wind, screeching for blood.

It made her blood run cold as she exited the safety of the mess hall to brave the treacherous night. Pulling the furs closer, Rainbow Dash plowed through the two feet of snow that had accumulated during the night. She stayed away from the light of the houses. All she needed was some drunken villager to mistake her for a windigo and kill her. So she stayed in the shadows, traveling the worn path Aurora normally took to get to the mountains. Teeth clattering, Rainbow Dash warily eyed the tundra that separated her from the safe location. She glanced back at Nyrx and contemplated whether or not flying would be good or bad.

If she flew, then she could cut the time is takes in half. She could return to Skyfall by dawn without any Valkyrie knowing she was gone.

The cons? A villager could spot her and get the whole town on a hunt for her. She could collide into something due to the darkness. She could freeze to death. She could get lost and starve to death. She could die. And dying wasn't on her agenda.

She walked. Seconds passed into minutes as she Treader through the fresh snow to a more secluded part of the tundra. Luna's moon was her only guidance. The cool moonlight illuminated the snow, making it as bright as day. Miserable and cold, Rainbow Dash could only curse her luck. Stuck in a whole different continent with no friends to turn to, Rainbow Dash was alone with people that had no problem turning her into a feathery kebab. Even Equestria, in its darkest times was safer. Nightmare Moon? She kicked her butt to the Griffin kingdom and back. Discord, the living God of Chaos? Piece of cake. However, this wasn't Equestria, and she didn't have the Elements of Harmony. Princess Celestia had tasked Twilight Sparkle and her with securing the foundation of Equestria, and Rainbow Dash was growing more and more concerned that she wouldn't live to see it. Would she die here in a foreign body? Or more importantly, could she?

If it came down to living and not forming Equestria or dying and forming Equestria, then would she be able to make the right decision? Or would she be a coward? Nah. Rainbow Dash was cool no matter what century.

With thoughts of death and destruction, Rainbow Dash had ambled towards the tree-line that separated the tundra, the forests and the village. Cautiously looking for any wild animal, Rainbow Dash hurriedly removed her cloak, her heavy furs and shirt. Cold air rushed her, leaving her a trembling mess. Quivering fingers removed the bindings around her chest as much as possible and let her wings free as much as possible without being topless. She quickly slid her white shirt back on. Fortunately, Aurora had already made slits for her wings to go through.

After she redressed, Rainbow Dash experimentally flapped her–Aurora's–wings. The size was definitely an improvement, bigger than before by two feet and a half. It was most likely due to the fact that she–Aurora the Wanderer–was bigger than before. Rainbow Dash now stood at 5'11 instead of the measly 5'8 she had before. There was a lot more muscle on her than before. Most likely due to the harsh conditions this world had shown her. The wing design was more like hawk's, sleek and ready to cut through the wind, than her previous set. Surprisingly, her wings were a snow white shifting into grey with rainbow tips. Not as brightly colored as her hair had been, but it still made Rainbow Dash happy. At the least in her situation, she could still be Rainbow Dash instead of Grey Dash.

Sighing in relief that the wings were just as powerful, or more so, Rainbow Dash took an experimental flight. She lifted herself off the ground, just about two feet. So far so good. She flapped more, floating higher up until she could touch the first branch of the tree. At fifty feet in the air, Rainbow Dash was relishing in the fresh air. Having been stuck between celebrating, drunken Terrans for eight hours, this was Olympus. Higher and higher, Rainbow Dash stood upon the tallest branch and gazed out across the frozen tundra and Nyrx. She could barely see the lights of the Terran town flickering in the distance. A few Terrans were already getting up as the harsh climate forced them to get more firewood for their hearths. The plums of grey smoke could be seen from where she stood. Off in the distance, across the treacherous fields of white, the steep mountains pierced the heavens. A few sheep could be spotted grazing at the green base of the mountains.

History had not been lying when they said there was nothing to see by snow before the first Hearth's Warming Eve occurred.

Rainbow Dash gave the small village one last glance before propelling herself off the tree and into the air. The brisk morning wind nipped at her face as she raced through the sky at startling speeds. Shooting upright like a bat out of Tartarus, Rainbow Dash pierced through the cloud coverage with the sound barrier starting to form around her; the white shield tugged and pulled at her as she raced upwards. Never before had she come close to this level of speed while going upwards and never before had it been this easy. With muscles she didn't even know she had, Rainbow Dash at reached the upper mesosphere in record time before she stopped to catch her breath. Here, breathing was almost impossible for anyone that was not a Valkyrie. Apparently Aurora the Wanderer was in much better shape than she let on.

Her attention shifted to the full moon.

As a child she had grown used to spotting the Mare in the Moon. Every night during camp, Ditzy would try to get her to spot the sight as a reminder of what can happen if you turn your anger on others. Banishment to the moon at the time had been the worst punishment possible. However, once Twilight, Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Mane Six defeated Nightmare Moon, a.k.a Princess Luna, the Mare in the Moon had vanished. Just like right now. The silvery surface of the full moon was lacking the craters that crated the image. For now. It was only a netter of time after Equestria was founded that Princess Luna would go insane. After the two Goddesses defeated Discord, though. She wondered where the Princesses were now.

As immortal beings of immense power, they had to exist all the time wouldn't they? Were they already in the unclaimed land that would eventually become Equestria or were they waiting to be created. According to Twilight Sparkle before she had sent them both spiraling into the past, the Sun and Moon Sovereigns had a father named Eclipse, the Celestial King. The thought of child Celestia and Luna was a queer thought.

Celestia, she was starting to sound like Twilight. She shook her head.

A pang of regret shot through her. She wouldn't be able to see the Princesses anymore. She wouldn't be able to game with Princess Luna in the wee hours of the morning, owning the Night Princess at every single game. Except the online games with other people. Princess Luna was oddly boss about those games. She wouldn't be able to thank Princess Celestia for the opportunity to meet the Wonderbolts. She wouldn't be able to get more special editions of the Daring Do books for Hearth's Warming Eve. She wouldn't be able to prank the Princess whenever they entered the castle. She wouldn't be able to tell her how sorry she was for everything she did.

That is what hurt Rainbow Dash the most.

Despite everything she had kept from the Mane Six, Princess Celestia had always been there for them. She was probably the coolest person in all of Equestria, besides Rainbow Dash of course. Even when Rainbow Dash had insulted her, Princess Celestia had helped her more than she could ever imagine.

Guilt gnawed at her soul.

Chapter 6: Commander Hurricane

Rainbow Dash had always been responsible despite her lack of visibly proving it to her friends.

At the age of ten, she had gotten a job at the Weather Factory and kept it until the age of fifteen when she was transferred to the Rainbow Factory. Then, she managed to work her way up to manager before moving to Ponyville to work as a weather Valkyrie. She might have slept on the job more times than she remembered but she did do what was required of her. Even after she became part of the Mane Six–the name was an inside joke amongst the six of them–she still did her job and more. At nineteen, Rainbow Dash had become Head Weather Valkyrie with a hefty salary to go with it.

When Rainbow Dash was fourteen, she bought her first apartment in Cloudsdale to continue attending advance courses at Cloudsdale University. She used the bits earned from her Weather Factory job to pay for the first semester while she worked at one of the cafes down the street as a cook. Any and all bits she earned from the stray jobs she did was used to pay the monthly rent and her food bill. At the age of seventeen, she finished college with a PhD in meteorology, ancient history, astrophysics, and calculus, a Masters Degree in neurology, and a Bachelors Degree in economics, architectural design and sports therapy. With the help of Ditzy Doo, Rainbow Dash bought and created her own house just between Cloudsdale and Ponyville. She had always been money smart and managed to save enough to cut her shifts at the Weather Station to spend more time with her friends.

When the Mane Six formed, Rainbow Dash was sacked with another responsibility. A young, flightless Valkyrie by the name of Scootaloo had immediately taken a likening to her and had officially made her her mentor. The kid practically worshipped her–why shouldnt she?–and it just made Rainbow Dash's life harder. Between saving the world, spending time with her fellow Elements, training for the Wonderbolts and doing her job, Rainbow Dash had reluctantly agreed. She saw herself in the kid.

Rainbow Dash wondered if anyone besides Ditzy Doo, her kid, Dinky Doo, and Ditzy's mysterious friend knew how hard she worked. She had never really publicized everything she did because of fear of looking uncool and people finding out the truth, but she did wonder if their view of her would change. Would they continue looking at her like the arrogant Valkyrie who couldn't keep her mouth shut? Or would they realize that everything isn't perfect? Rainbow Dash had crafted her mask so well, she wasn't sure what she saw in the mirror anymore. Yet, no one could argue that Rainbow Dash wasn't responsible.

It was the same responsibility Rainbow Dash had in modern Equestria that left her a beacon for the rest of the Valkyries in the time she was now. After making it to the Valkyrie capital, Skyfall, Rainbow Dash–or Aurora– had been bombarded with tasks that would have left a weaker woman, and man, crying, and with only Aurora's not-so-perfect memory to guide her around the snowy city, Rainbow Dash was more than ready to kill someone.

The woman was absolutely clueless when it came to actually talking to people. She didn't know anyone's name, nor did she seem to care, she had abused her underlings by using abhorrent methods, and she had disrespected her commanding officers more times than Rainbow Dash was willing to fight an Ursa Major. When Rainbow Dash had started her tasks, everyone had skillfully avoided her. The fact that she was dressed as a Terran aside, Rainbow Dash was increasingly irritated at how everyone was acting like she was Cerberus. It wasn't until a younger soldier had tumbled into her did she learn the truth. As soldierly, but also as kindly, as possible, Rainbow Dash went about her tasks. The number of tasks she had to perform were according to how many she had missed in the past week. As a captain, Aurora had to deal with all the petty needs of her superior commanders, but Aurora also had the ability to pass it off to the people in her platoons. However, since she had passed off too many tasks to her underlings, Aurora had more than a hundred jobs to complete by midday, all actually pretty easy. Since Aurora was essentially killed when Rainbow Dash came into the past, the tasks fell to her. She had laughed when the blacksmith had gawked at how pleasant she was when helped him unwarp a blade. It had also been her-–Aurora's–sword. He had angrily demanded to know what she could have possibly done to warp a finely smithed sword that he had created with his bare hands. To be honest, Rainbow Dash even didn't know.

Aurora the Wanderer was a known drunk when not in battle against the Terrans, Alchemists and Griffins. How Aurora had managed to split a sword straight down the center, then lose half of it and finally warp the remaining metal into slump of useless metal was beyond her.

The blacksmith, Thunder Strike, had been kind enough to throw the sword out, using only the metal or another project, and make her a new one. She had given the other sword to him, too, because dual swords were useless without their original counterpart. Thunder Strike promised to have the sword, he had said something along the line of, "you keep breaking your swords because they're not meant for you. I shall create the perfect sword for you and there's no possible way in Olympus that you'll break it", ready by dawn the next day if Rainbow Dash was willing to help work the forge. Thinking that she would decline the offer because men have lost entire limbs to the raging fires and Aurora's own reputation of only pulling her own weight and nothing more, Thunder Strike nearly had a heart attack when Rainbow Dash agreed. Actually, now that Rainbow Dash thought more on it, everyone in hearing range was shocked.

Perhaps they were even more shocked when they actually saw Rainbow Dash helping. She had traded in her Terran clothes for a grey tunic, brown trousers, and a set of boots. Her belt still remained but the sheath was gone, and her grey hair–seriously? Grey? Such an uncool color–was in a tight bun to prevent it from catching on fire. Just from an hour of work Rainbow Dash already had soot staining her shirt and pants, arms and face, as she diligently worked. Let it be said that when motivated, and bored, Rainbow Dash gave whatever she did a hundred and twenty percent. Because she, and everything she did, was twenty percent cooler than everyone else. A few higher ranking officers had stopped by to witness the strange sight of Aurora the Drunk, as she was called by her fellow Valkyries, working in the smithery. A good size crowd had formed in order to watch the strange sight and get their weapons fixed. She had already helped Thunder Strike with twenty orders of new swords, ten of axes, a few hammers and at least thirty shields. While her cutie mark wasn't smithery–nor was it Aurora's–,Rainbow Dash was amazing with the hammer.

Propelling the lightning covered hammer down upon the sword mounted on the anvil, Rainbow Dash launched strike after strike to even the white hot blade out to the right specifications. The lightning danced across her arms as she added more to hear the metal. If the metal got to cool, the metal would become uneven with the strikes. If it got to hot, however, then it warped and lost it's shape far to much for it to be of any use. Thunder Strike had already left the forge by the time Rainbow Dash had set to work on the sword. It was a special order, unnamed but important, and required immense amount of work done to get it just right. She didn't question why Thunder Strike had left her on her own–which wasn't really alone because the crowd was watching her work for four hours already. Instead, she focused her undivided attention upon the sword that she was going to perfect.

Rainbow Dash wasn't really one for details. It was more of Rarity's thing in the Mane Six. Even then all Rarity did was add a lot of fancy gems to whatever she was making. Rainbow Dash was impatient and brash. If something require time and patience, count her out. But every time the lightning cloaked hammer swung down upon the anvil, her desire to get this done right just increased. Whether it was because a crowd was watching and she wanted to impress them with how cool she was or if it was Aurora's lingering desire to kill that wanted the perfect weapon to do so with, Rainbow Dash couldn't decide. Frankly, it terrified her that Aurora still had some presence in her. Yes, it was her body originally. No, Rainbow Dash didn't have any right to it, but didn't she? Princess Celestia had told her one of many things she should realize when coming into the past. One, that the decisions Rainbow Dash makes here will have a giant ripple effect that will ultimately change the future. Two, that she should never reveal to anyone that she's from the future. Three, Rainbow Dash should not kill or let be killed anyone important because that can screw up the timeline. And four, that she's going to be reliving her own past. Meaning she was Aurora the Drunk once upon a time. She was Aurora the Merciless. The Killer.

It sent shivers up her arms despite the heat of the forgery. Never again with she mock blacksmiths, thinking that being a blacksmith would be easy. She would personally go thanking Ponyville's blacksmith when she got home to Equestria. If she ever got home. If Equestria was even there. Shaking the depressing thoughts away, Rainbow Dash toiled on the special sword. After hours of work and instruction from Thunder Strike, Rainbow Dash finished the sword in record time. What she had originally thought was going to turn out as a stick of metal was now a finely crafted blade designed for cutting through armor and slitting enemies' jugulars. The blade was nearly four feet long with a hilt of one foot. Extra light, the sword was well balanced and crafted out of a hard to break or chip metal. By the time Rainbow Dash had finished it, the Celestia's sun was already half way to through the sky and to the west.

"I'm impressed, kid. I didn't think you'd actually stay let alone work." Thunder Strike boomed. "Maybe I was wrong about you."

"I told you I'd do the work." smirked the sweaty Rainbow Dash. She handed him the sword. "Now you have to keep up your end of the bargain."

"Will do, kid." Thunder Strike guffawed. "I'll have it done soon. If you want to make a quick bit, stop by again. I have a spot open."

Rainbow Dash quickly flashed through Aurora's memories. According to her vague memories, Thunder Strike had several apprentices when she visited the forge only a month ago. What he could have been making them do in the time she was gone to make them leave was beyond her.

"Nah. As cool as this was, I'll pass." she smiled.

"Well, since you've done more than you had to and you did a pretty good job," Thunder Strike grinned, passing her a bag of bits, "here's your reward."

"Thanks." Rainbow Dash pocketed the money upon her belt. "Who's the sword for?"

Thunder Strike grinned. It was a twisted grin because half of his teeth were missing. It made her nervous as the crowd dispersed, sensing the show was over. "It's for the new Commander."

"The new Commander?" Rainbow Dash perked up.

If she could find and befriend Commander Hurricane before she left for her journey to Equestria, then she could find Twilight Sparkle. She only hoped Twilight could befriend Clover the Clever or Princess Platinum in time. The blacksmith sheathed the sword into an already pre-made sheath.

"Yeah, the new Commander. Tonight," explained Thunder Strike, "you and everyone will see the coronation of the new Commander. Be at the temple at seven."

"Will do." Rainbow Dash grinned happily.

She all but flew out of the forge, throwing the apron onto the coat rack on her way out. She needed to somehow convince the soon-to-be Commander Hurricane of taking her with her when she left for Equestria. There were possibly a million and one things that could go wrong on the journey and Rainbow Dash wasn't going to be stuck in the past forever.

Channeling what little Rarity she had, Rainbow Dash knew she needed to get changed if she wanted to make a good impression on the Commander. Sooty clothes would not cut it. Recalling where Aurora the Drunk had lived before Rainbow Dash arrived, she flew high up into the cloud coverage until Skyfall was just a speck in the distance. She needed a shower and quickly, but back then–or now–showers were not in existence. So she improvised. When Rainbow Dash was younger–about three or four–flying involved a lot of crashes into the ground below. Though Valkyrie bones are tough, their clothes were not. Mud, dirt and grass stains had become mundane for the young Rainbow Dash, and to avoid being scolded by the not-yet-violent Momma Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash had discovered that racing through clouds was an effective alternative to a shower. Since clouds were nothing more than evaporated water, Rainbow Dash could manipulate the cloud into drenching her without causing her wings to sag from the water. If she flew fast enough, then the water would dry from her clothes, leaving them clean. Well, as clean as they would get from a quick rinse.

Rainbow Dash used this method to rid most of her clothes and body of the soot. Of course, it proceeded to reveal some nasty burns from the lightning, but after a couple hours, the burns would heal like all the rest. She resisted the urge to perform a Sonic Rainboom in her new body as she headed towards the cloud home that Auro–she owned. It wasn't as big as her home in Equestria, but it was fancy. With columns and fountains of rainbows–a mockery of the Alchemists–, the house was worthy of a captain in the Valkyrie military. She entered the house with a feeling of misery. Once she closed the door, the feeling only increased. The house was mostly bare save for a table and a couple of chairs. a winding staircase led to the bedroom that overlooked the living room with a high ceiling. A simple cot was pushed against the wall and a wardrobe was next to it. It was empty and lonesome. This was not her home and never would be.

Flying up to the second floor, she opened the door with a creak. Inside, a variety of Terran clothes and Valkyrie uniforms hung from clothes hangers. A couple pairs of boots sat at the base. Cringing at the selection, Rainbow Dash stripped out of the wet outfit, peeling it from her skin like a second layer and carelessly throwing it into the wooden hamper at the base of the bed. She pulled on a fresh set of undergarments before taking a hesitant look in the full body mirror. Gold eyes met hers. Every muscle that rippled with each movement she did was so familiar that it was foreign. The body itself was different. Scars of all different shapes and sizes, dark and light, littered her new/old body. There were scars that Aurora did even know how she got and there were some that gave her recurring nightmares for weeks at end. One such scar was a large one that ran from the back of her neck all the way down her back, between her shoulder blades and down to her right hip where it curved to the front of her thigh.

From Aurora's memories, it had only been two and a half months ago since the incident. She was grounded because a group of Alchemists had created a net of sorts over the area that prevented the Valkyrie troops from taking off. It had bern a surprise attack and they had been severely outnumbered and out armed. Dressed in only a tunic and padded breeches with her dual swords, Aurora and her squadron had fought tool and nail against the Alchemists. On foot, Aurora had slaughtered foot soldier after foot soldier until one lucky son of a bitch had gotten a clear shot at her neck while she was slicing the neck of one of his comrades. The sword had easily sliced through her shirt and down her back as she twisted to cut off the man's head. The sword had continued slicing through her skin as it was sent off path and down her thigh. The Alchenist's head rolled. Fortunately the rest of her squadron had managed to kill the Alchemists responsible for the attack before she had bled to death in the snow. It then took weeks to heal. But even then it didn't heal properly. The scar was a deep brown that was off color with the rest of her skin with a pinkish center where the blade had cut her, and if she bent a certain way, then the lingering pain upon her neck would flare up and the muscles would contract. It was...painful to say the least. It was only one of a thousand. Aurora had gotten used to the pain that it wasn't even a phantom kiss.

Sighing at her reflection, Rainbow Dash lifted her head high and smiled confidently. Despite being in a completely different world with a different body, she was still Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and savior of Equestria, mind and soul. She was a born hero and would secure the founding of her nation even if it meant never returning home. Princess Celestia trusted her to get the job done and she would do so until her dying breath.

Rainbow Dash slid on a pair of black trousers that were easy to move in, a grey shirt with the red tunic overtop of it and a pair of boots that went up to her mid-shin. She reattached the belt and sheathed a standard broadsword. According to Aurora's memory, this was how a captain in the Valkyrie military should be dressed as always instead of in the Terran clothes she liked to wear. Careful consideration for whether the soon-to-be Commander Hurricane would be impressed at the sudden seriousness of the drunken captain or if she would just laugh, Rainbow Dash shrugged. It was more of Rarity's thing. Honestly, if the Commander based her character on how she dressed, then there was something wrong with her. The final touch was putting her ridiculously long hair into a tight bun with her long bangs framing her face. Once the ceremony was over, she would find the nearest salon and get it cut short. Long hair was just a pain. Maybe she would also get it dyed rainbow. It would certainly let Twilight know who she was. Or she would just look crazy.

Looking at the time, or the sun, Rainbow Dash loudly cursed. A bad habit of Aurora's. She jumped down into the first floor with a light thud and hit the ground running out the door. Once she had cleared her house, Rainbow Dash took to the skies with the other Valkyrie. A few nearly fell out of the air in shock as the grey haired Valkyrie flew past them with a grin towards the ancient temple at the far side of Skyfall. Literally thousands of Valkyrie of all shapes and sizes had taken to the skies to fly towards the temple in order to attend the coronation of their new Commander. Who the Commander was, they were left in the dark. Only Rainbow Dash knew the identity of the soon-to-be Commander. She spotted Valkyries that looked remarkably like a few she had known back in Cloudsdale and Ponyville while others were completely foreign to her. The masses of wings was remarkable as they moved in unison to the temple, where at the base the coronation would begin.

Nerves jittering, Rainbow Dash landed near the front of the crowds to get a better look at the ceremony. She would need to be able to spot the soon-to-be Commander Hurricane now before the masses swarmed her. The waiting crowds hummed with activity as more and more joined with each passing second until it was a sea of rainbow hair and feathers. At the base of the temple stood Commander Blitz, an old Valkyrie who had served in more wars than she had scars, with his council, his Second and the Oracle, the voice of the Gods. Rainbow Dash quietly wondered if Celestia was able to speak through her. Or worse, Discord. After all, he was the God of Chaos. She also mused if the Oracle foresaw the living God of Chaos and Nightmare Moon try to destroy Equestria. It would certainly save a lot of time, but remembering Twilight's little escapade when she had arrived from the future sent her thoughts crashing at a dead end. She was no egghead like Twilight–there was no way in Tartarus or Celestia's name she would ever admit to being an egghead despite her PhDs at such a young age. Even Twilight didn't have a PhD yet and she had been studying with the Princess since she was young!–but she knew it would only end in disaster if she asked the Oracle anything.

She had almost fallen asleep when the crowds went silent.

"Brothers and sisters, you all are aware as to why I have summoned you here today," Commander Blitz started, eyeing the crowds. A murmur broke out before it died just as quickly, "and you all are aware of why it must happen."

"The Alchemists have their magic, hiding behind spells to protect them while they feast and fatten their already plump bellies, the Terrans have their fields, using it as a bargaining chip to stop us from killing them while they slaughter us, the Griffins have their treacherous mountains and wild beasts to keep us at bay while they pick us off one by one for sport, while we, the righteous rulers of the skies, lands and seas, are forced to toil away to provide rain for the Terrans' crops, water for all living creatures where else there'll be none! Where is our reward for our work?" he shouted over the roaring crowds. "The Valkyrie are not simple animals to be whipped into obedience. How many mothers and fathers must lose their children to the sport of the other races? We are a proud race, a valiant race! We will not be silenced like bugs. The Alchenists claim they are helping us by raising the sun and the moon, but what do they do other than feed their monstrous bellies while we starve? The Terrans claim they are helping us by working the fields, but have they shared the crop gathered for the harvest? The Griffins at the least have the decency to openly kick us, calling us an inferior race. But who are they to call us inferior when they are nothing more than freaks of nature, neither man nor beast. The Gods crafted us Valkyries from the air we breath and the clouds we stand upon. Zeus, himself, God of Lightning, the King of the Gods, bestowed us with the ability to mold the elements at our will. Are we not superior? Yes, we are!"

His eyes raked through the crowds, landing on every single Valkyrie.

"Zeus, our patron god, has spoken to the Oracle. He has told us through the Oracle of a hero that will lead our great race to victory! The hero he speaks of will be nothing short of powerful, ready to crush the Terrans and Alchemists where they ideally stand being served on hand and foot. A force of nature, this hero will be a hurricane. Unfortunately, I am not the one spoken of in the prophecy. The Oracle speaks directly to Zeus, and he will chose which one of you will become the new Commander and have the honor of leading this proud race into battle." Commander Blitz explained. "If you disappoint us, however, I will kill whichever one of you is picked. You're up, Oracle."

He stepped back, face sour, as the Oracle in white robes stepped forward. Her white robes swished with each step she took as her white eyes stared into the deep abyss of nothing. Rainbow Dash watched carefully where the Oracle was walking and tried to spot Hurricane in the masses. Unfortunately, the Oracle seemed in no hurry of finding Hurricane. If anything, she seemed to be delaying it with each passing second. Rainbow Dash wondered how long this would go on for. Rainbow Dash hadn't slept in two days combined with working at the forge and having nothing to eat since last night, Rainbow Dash was more than ready to fall asleep standing. It wasn't until a hand fell upon her shoulder did she full awaken. Besides her, Thunder Strike grinned.

"I can't say I'm surprised to see you here, though, I am surprised to see you cleaned up." Thunder Strike whispered.

"I'm just full of surprises today." yawned Rainbow Dash.

"Have you slept at all today?" he asked.

"No. I didn't have time." answered Rainbow Dash. She stretched her arms.

"You didn't have time or you were drinking again?"

Her eyes never left the Oracle as she talked to Thunder Strike.

"Didn't have time. With everything happening, I didn't have enough time to get some rest." she explained. "I've been running on adrenaline for the last couple of hours."

"You should get some rest."

Rainbow Dash grimaced. Her entire future rested on finding the Commander. If she left now just to sleep, then she could kiss Equestria good-bye. She could not let Princess Celestia down. Not after everything she did for her even if she never really appreciated it. If not for herself, then for everyone else. Especially Princess Celestia.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Nah. I can do it later. Besides, I want to find out who becomes the next Commander will be."

"Who do you think?" Thunder Strike asked.

Hurricane. "I don't know."

"Well, this thing better hurry. I've got things to do." Thunder Strike turned. "See you later, kid."

With that, the huge blacksmith left her to go mingle with the Commander and his council, the sword she had made earlier hanging from his hands. She was left alone in the buzzing crowds. All around her people were discussing who it could be, if it was them and the honor of being the Commander. But with each whisper, Rainbow Dash was getting concerned that the Oracle wouldn't chose Hurricane. What if she picked a completely different person because of Rainbow Dash's interference with the timeline. Suddenly, the Oracle stopped moving and her head snapping to the sky with white eyes rolling into the back of her skull.

"She who strikes with lightning and defies the sun and moon to right the wrong shall bear the weight of a thousand lifetimes. Journey far and wide, across a different sky, the rainbow shall light the way." the Oracle spoke, raspy but clear.

Rainbow Dash flinched as the Oracle looked directly at her. Wings pressed up against her body, Rainbow Dash wanted to hide in a hole. She had messed up the timeline! Twilight would kill her if she didn't get Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy to Equestria.

"Your journey has already begun, child of sky, earth and sea. When harmony and strife collide, do not fear to fall." finished the Oracle. The priest had to catch her before she fell, exhausted from being used as the middleman.

Rainbow Dash frowned. Harmony. The Elements of Harmony would come into play. She didn't remember this in any Hearth's Warming Eve story. And strife? The opposite of harmony. Could she be talking about Discord? Her brain hurt from thinking of it all.

"Step forward, Aurora." commanded Blitz.

Nervously she obeyed. Standing at the front of the crowd of confused and angry Valkyrie, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but be a tad bit scared. Terrans were frightening when drunk, but an angry mass of Valkyrie with swords and other assorted pointy weapons? Yeah, no thanks. Rainbow Dash would pass.

Commander Blitz looked less than pleased when he locked eyes with Rainbow Dash. Reluctantly he took the sword Rainbow Dash had made and presented it to her.

"Let your sword be your voice in the battlefield." He said as the priest presented the same helmet she had worn in the Hearth's Warming Eve play. Except this time it was real. "Let your helmet be a symbol for all to bear witness. The pride and honor of the Valkyrie rests upon your shoulders. Let you never stumble and never surrender. From this day forward, your name shall no longer be Aurora."

The previous Commander turned to the rest of the crowd.

"We shall fight to protect what is rightfully ours! We shall fight to prove we are the superior race! We shall fight because we are victorious! Bear witness, brothers and sisters, to your new leader, Commander Hurricane!"

The crowd roared.

"Commander Hurricane!"

Chapter 7: Bath Time Salts

Princess Celestia let out a relieved sigh as she slid deeper into the already prepared bath. The warm, running water eased away the tension that had been eating at her sore muscles. While she had not participated in any physically taxing activities, the amount of concentration and manic used to contain the Book of Ages, or the Codex, had sapped any strength she had away. Magic in itself was partially based upon physical fitness, will and how big one's pools were. As a Celestial, she already had ridiculously large pools with equally large reserves. As the raiser of the sun, and previously the moon, her reserves and active pools of magic had grown exponentially in the thousand years since her sister's unfortunate banishment to the moon.

The Codex, as an ancient magical artifact predating any know epoch, was a hundred thousand times stronger than her. Luna and her had barely contained the tiniest leakage of ancient magic that had gotten out when Rainbow Dash had touched it. And when Twilight Sparkle and her went into the Codex, it had sent a powerful, but small, wave of magic that had destroyed the entire room. It was only thanks to one their father's secret passageways that they had survived. After they got out, Luna and her had levitated the unconscious bodies of Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle to the palace hospital wing to stay until they finished their journey through time. She didn't know when that would be, and her chest clenched with each thought of the fate of her faithful student and Rainbow Dash.

She then left Luna to deal with the servants because she was exhausted. She was more than positive that Luna would successfully quench the curiosity of the confused servants and guards of the palace while she returned to her private chambers. With the little strength she had, she ordered a bath to be prepared as she wrote to Discord. What she was going to do tomorrow Discord needed to be present. He needed to know the truth of what happened all those thousands of years ago. Celestia sent away her servants, stripped herself of the dirt covered robes and stepped into the large bath that could easily fit twenty. She gingerly spread her white wings in the water and let her hair fall from it's usual wind blown style, letting it cascade down her shoulders and past her breasts. Princess Celestia kept her broken hand above the water as the other lit up in a golden glow. She used it to shampoo her hair and wash it. The water clung to her skin as she slicked her hair back from her face. It had been such a long time since Celestia had a proper bath. Before she had to be in and out as fast as possible to deal with all the subjects that needed to see her about the stupidest of issues.

She was so immersed in the luxury of the bath that she didn't hear arrival of a set of quiet footsteps. They stopped right behind her and a pair of hand settled upon her naked shoulders, rubbing circles into the nape of her neck. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Only one man had been able to bypass her magic barriers, and for that she cursed him to Valhalla a thousand and one times.

"Hello, Celestia." purred Discord. "I must say, I do prefer you like this."

"Discord." she breathed, leaning into his touch.

It wasn't that she wasn't offended at the comment, but that she was too tired to care, and his touch was warm and inviting. It reminded her of a time when everything was green and new.

"What? No nasty remark, no "go away, Discord" or "get your hands off me, Discord", Celestia?" Discord chuckled, and leaned in until his hot breath was at her ear, his white goatee tickling her ear. "My, my, you must be really tired or are you just happy to see me?"

He ran his left hand down her back, between her wings, caressing the Sun Goddess' skin as if it was a precious gem to worship. He nipped at the sensitive area between her earlobe and jaw with his single fang. Gods, how she hated the man right now.

"Mm." Celestia moaned, cursing herself for the verbal betrayal.

"You must really miss me if you're this sensitive. Tell me, my dear, have you laid with a man since our trysts so many years ago? Or have you been saving yourself for my return? I'm glad to see you haven't forgotten about me."

The God of Chaos slithered into the bath with her, his clothes vanishing with a snap of his fingers. The mismatched God ran a snaking hand through her hair, drawing her closer as he closed the distance between them. His forehead touched hers, and he gave her a toothy grin. But the cheeky grin vanished when he spotted the broken right hand. He gently brought her broken hand in his. Discord wearily eyed the Princess in search of an explanation.

"The last time you were injured was during our fight. Luna may have scratched you here and there during her little rebellion, but I was the only one to have hurt you. You broke five ribs, your entire left arm and you had a concussion that lasted for seven montsh. I begged you to stop, to come with me and leave Equestria to my chaos. I could have given you so much more, but you refused. You were always so stubborn." The God of Chaos flipped her hand and gingerly blew into it. From beneath the bandages, Celestia could feel the bones knitting themselves into place with the merciless absence of pain. Tears openly fell anyway. The only reminder of her guilt was vanquished with a simple breath. "Tell me what troubles you, Celestia, and I will do everything in my power to right it or make whoever did this pay. Tell me, Celestia, who is responsible."

"I am." Celestia frowned, while Discord unraveled the white bandages. The skin was perfect and unblemished. As if the skin had never been pierced by broken bones.

"You are not a sadistic. Never before and never to come." Discord clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "I assume the little lunar princess is also in the dark about this."

A string of chuckles at his own joke brought a tiny smile to Celestia's face. Leave it to Discord to laugh at his own jokes.

"No, I'm not. I just, I just am so tired, Dizzy. Everything is so difficult." Celestia paused momentarily. "There was once a time when love was simple and life so sweet. The sun was not a chain but a star guiding our lives into a wonderful bliss. Now, it burns and weighs me down until I'm drowning in my own misery." Discord's arm around Celestia's waist tightened until she was leaning her head upon his broad shoulders. "I made several mistakes. The physical pain cannot compare to the emotional."

She gazed into his stormy eyes. "I've kept this to myself for too long. I hope there is someplace in your heart that you can learn to forgive me."

"Whatever it is, Tia, I will always forgive you." said Discord in a sudden boast of seriousness.

She took a breath—

(Twilight)

There were worse things than being cast into oblivion. Being found face down in the snow by a whiny princess a couple thousands years before you were born was probably at the top of the list. Waking to the bright violet eyes of one Princess Platinum, Twilight had been abruptly greeted with the screeching of said princess in her ear.

"-servant! You shall be whipped!" loudly exclaimed the Alchemist princess, as she circled the dazed purple-haired alchemist.

"Whipped? What for?" groaned Twilight Sparkle.

"For being lazy. I ordered you to get my father immediately, but instead of doing so, you decided to take a nap in the middle of the courtyard." snorted-a trait that Twilight would normally never associate with a princess-Princess Platinum. If her nose had been any higher, Twilight would have used her as an umbrella.

"I'm sorry your...majesty?" stumbled the Element of Magic.

Her mind was still reeling from the disasterous crashlanding into the past. For starters, she couldn't believe that she had gotten so close to the Alchemist princess already. If she was already with her, then that meant she could easily find Clover the Clever! Two, being the apparent servant of said princess was not exactly what she had imagined for her previous life. Or was it the life of her ancestor? Ugh. The Mane Six would always comment on how she had probably been a librarian in her past life or a teacher. Being the servant to one of the most self-absorbed rulers in history, no thank you. Third of all, Twilight had no idea where the rainbow haired monster that was her friend was or Spike for that matter.

"Hello? Are you even listening to me?" huffed the annoyed Platinum.

"Uh, yes?" Twilight answered.

"I thought so." she sneered. "Well, since you were doing such a good job listening, you can muck out the stables, clean Princess Rainbow Sparkle Unicorn and make me dinner." She turned on her heels and in a fury of expensive, purple silks, left the poor host of the most powerful Element of Harmony in a mess on the snowy ground with hundreds of eyes watching her.

Great.