"Miss Rainbow." An elderly voice addressed, opening the door to Rainbow Dash's room. "It's 4 P.M. and you're still in bed. Is something bothering you?" Rainbow grunted and sat up.
"No, just some bad dreams last night." She yawned, stretching.
"You seem to be having a lot of those lately. Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me?" The mare pressed. Rainbow looked away and mumbled something under her breath.
"What's for breakfast?" The young pegasus asked, hopping off her sheets and flexing her hind legs.
"There are pancakes in the kitchen and apple juice in the fridge." The mare 'Apple Rose' informed her. Apparently she shared some relation to Applejack, one of Rainbow's friends but Rainbow became her top priority once she lost her parents.
"And I have to get it myself?" Rainbow gasped in feigned appall.
"Endless charm, Rainbow Dash. That's why I'm still here." The old mare responded.
After breakfast, Rainbow Dash headed into the town market to meet her friends.
"Pinkie Pie! How's it going?" Rainbow called, spotting her friend. She had been able to get off of work but her other friends couldn't. Rainbow Dash didn't work, DashCorp was run by a bunch of suits and that left her with plenty of time to herself.
"Great! The twins got into the flour bags again and-" She started.
"Yeah, yeah cool. Guess what I got a new yacht over by the dock, wanna come see it?" Rainbow interrupted excitedly.
"I can't Rainbow, I have to get back to work soon."
"What about saturday?"
"I'll try to."
"I said protection was double this week, stupid bitch!" A gruff masculine stallion roared at a yellow mare. "Do you want another accident to happen?" Everypony was looking now, waiting to see what would happen. Nopony dared to help her.
"N-no! Please, I have a daughter!" Carrot Top whimpered.
"Oh really? So I guess you'd be real upset if something happened to her." He suggested, moving closer.
"Hey, why don't you pick on somepony your own size?" Rainbow yelled.
"Back off rich girl, this doesn't concern you." He responded, shrugging her off.
"| hate to say this Rainbow but he's right." Pinkie told her. "There's nothing we can do. Let's go." The stallion had gone back to harassing the merchant mare.
"What are you suggesting? Do you want me to just sit back and let him get away with this?" Rainbow asked rhetorically, pointing a hoof to the earth pony trashing the mare's stall.
"I'm suggesting that you don't get yourself killed over somepony you don't even know!" Pinkie snapped.
"This place used to beautiful Pinkie! Look what scum like him have turned it into. There are drug kitchens in every other apartment, there are ponies around every corner with knives and guns ready to kill for a few measly bits and any mare walking on her own at night is apparently free game for rapists!" Rainbow argued. "And worst of all, them." Rainbow growled, pointing a hoof towards two police ponies sitting and doing nothing while the stallion proceeded to steal from the terrified mares and fillies of the market. "The police do nothing to protect ponies anymore. The last good ponies died with the rest of the country."
"And how is this your responsibility Rainbow? Why is it your job to stop ponies like him?" Pinkie practically screamed.
"Because nopony else will!" Rainbow Dash called out, once again gaining the attention of the market ponies.
"Fine, throw your life away. See if I care." Pinkie snarled, trotting away. Rainbow had already began flying to the stallion and was now snout to snout with him.
"Leave. Her. Alone." Rainbow Dash seethed.
"Make me." The stallion laughed.
Rainbow Dash moved behind him to trip him up but received a powerful buck to the face for her efforts. She recovered but the stallion was already in front of her. She managed to kick him in the knee with one of her back legs and knock his front legs from under him. She heard his jaw crack and she stomped on his skull.
"Still feel like terroising mares?" She gloated, not seeing his friends emerging from the crowd until they had already lifted her up and knocked her head first into the gravel. The stallion she had been fighting got up and cantered over.
"You know what? I think I do." He hissed as he motioned for his friends to hold her up. He punched her in the gut and spat in her eye before he set to work. "I think I'll start with you."
He punched her in the stomach again and she lost the battle of not throwing up. One of his friends hoofed him a small baton type weapon that had most likely been stolen from the police. He whacked her across the face and her vision blurred with tears. He made her lick the blood off the weapon and repeat the process.
"As much as I'd like to sit here and watch you suck my stick all day, I really need to be going." He told her, hitting her over the head one last time with more force than any of the previous times as she passed out.
When she awoke, the was immediately aware of two things: a sharp pain whenever she breathed in and a yellow mare watching her slumber.
"Am I dead?" Rainbow asked. Carrot Top frowned and inched forward.
"Why did you do that?" She asked.
"Do what? Talk big and get my flank kicked?" Rainbow joked, then winced from pain.
"Why did you stand up for me? You and your friend could have easily walked away like everypony else."
"And then what? This place needs saving and it's not going to happen on it's own." As she finished the sentence, an old mare burst through the door and rushed to Rainbow's bed.
"Miss Dash, Pinkie Pie told me all about what happened. Once your wounds have healed sufficiently, we're getting you home." Apple Rose told her in almost convincing confidence. Almost.
"I'm not going home, Rose." She told her.
"What? Why?" Rose asked.
"I'll explain later. I just need to rest now." Rainbow defied, drifting out of consciousness.
The next day, Carrot Top wasn't there when she woke up but Apple Rose had been waiting with a bowl of cereal and a concerned look.
"You know, it's not healthy for a mare such as yourself to be getting into street fights." Rose scalded.
"I know." Dash responded dully.
"You really ought to come home and tell me what possessed you to act this way."
"I know."
"Are you even listening to me?"
"I know."
"Rainbow Daring Dash pay attention to me this instant!" Apple Rose snapped, knocking Rainbow Dash from her stupor. "You know that you can tell me anything, what's hurting you?"
"Nothing. Is it so hard to believe that the element of loyalty just wanted to help somepony?"
"This isn't like you Rainbow Dash, you aren't a violent mare."
"You don't know what I'm like. I don't know what I'm like anymore."
"Of course I know you Rainbow Dash, I raised you. I brought you up and held you and fed you when your parents couldn't." Rose argued, not realising how badly that last comment hurt the mare.
"Get. Out!" Rainbow Dash seethed. Apple Rose left her side and exited the room. Rainbow Dash just started to cry.
"What's happening to me?" She asked to nopony in particular. She had snapped at a friend who just wanted to keep her from getting killed, she had attacked a stallion without any plan and she had taken out her frustrations on the mare who raised her for most of her life.
When she had mostly finished sobbing into her pillow, nurse Redheart entered the room.
"Miss Dash, it's time to go. There's a cart outside for when you're ready."
"Thanks." Dash replied automatically.
When she got into the limousine six mares were waiting for her, one of which being Apple Rose. The other five were her best friends Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and even Pinkie Pie.
"Oh Rainbow Dash, we were so worried!" Fluttershy exclaimed, hugging the pegasus as soon as she was fully into the cart.
"Nah what did ya think you were tryin' to prove by pickin' a fight with a stallion you don't even know?" Applejack asked, either not worried for Rainbow or hiding it very well.
"I don-" Dash started.
"Dashie! I'm super sorry for leaving you, I should've helped you." Pinkie Pie interrupted.
"It's okay Pinkie, it wasn't your fault."
"Did you recognise him? Did anypony say his name?" Twilight asked.
"No, he was just another thug out for money." Dash spat. She hadn't noticed that the cart had been moving at first but now it had caught her attention, seeing every dirty rotten corner of her city close up. Every dark alley and broken window, the ponies out selling and using drugs in broad daylight, the stallions waiting in the dark or behind a dumpster for an unsuspecting mare to trot past. It sickened her.
"Guys, what happened?" Rainbow asked.
"Oh great, she's concussed." Rarity sighed.
"No, no. What happened to Equestria? How did we let this happen to our home?"
"Rainbow there was nothin' we could do. Even the elements of harmony couldn't make everypony good." Applejack assured.
"And we let that stop us? The elements weren't the only thing that made us strong, ponies looked up to us, they relied on us and we didn't hear them."
"Rainbow, you can't think like that. We couldn't have stopped this from happening." Rarity consoled.
"She's right." Twilight sighed. "We stopped Nightmare Moon, King Sombra, the Changelings and Discord. We should have done something."
The rest of the journey was either spent arguing how what happened couldn't have been avoided or how it was all their fault. When they finally arrived at Dash manor, Rainbow and Apple Rose stepped out while the other five mares were driven home.
"I'm sorry. For shouting at you." Rainbow explained.
"I know dear, me too. I should've known you'd be sensitive about your parents."
"I'm still not staying though."
"Why? Where will you go?"
"I don't know where I'll go but I know that somewhere, there's something or somepony who can help me to save this place."
"You're crazy."
"Go speak to Pinkie Pie and tell me that."
"You'll be killed."
"Or die trying."
"Just promise me you'll come back."
"Cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye." Rainbow assured. Apple Rose sighed and motioned towards the door.
"So what would you recommend as good saving the world attire? Maybe some ninja robes with a cool sword."
"Dress for all weather Rainbow, you never know what to expect. Take some money and as much canned food and water as you can." Apple Rose suggested.
"Since when were you the expert?" Rainbow questioned.
"It's common sense Rainbow, you wouldn't go if you had any." She reasoned. Rainbow Dash chuckled and placed an arm around her former guardian.
"I'll miss you too Rosie."
Rainbow ended up packing a small but warm coat, a few thousand bits and as much preservable food and water as would fit in her saddlebags. She had planned to visit Twilight's library tomorrow to get an idea of where to go and say goodbye to her friends while she was there. She would just tell them she was going on vacation and Apple Rose could have a few weeks to herself with nopony to constantly clean up after. She could visit her favourite cousin while Rainbow was away.
"So, where are you going anyway?" Twilight Sparkle asked.
"Oh you know, here and there." Rainbow replied nonchalantly. "Hey, do you mind if I borrow this for the chariot ride?" Rainbow asked, pulling out a book entitled 'The beginner's guide international to martial arts'.
"Just don't lose it, I only have the one." Twilight told her.
"Thanks. Where do you think the others are?" Rainbow asked just as a pink pony peddled in a large blue object and a cart of cupcakes.
"Farewell party time!" Pinkie yelled as three other ponies and an alligator walked into the room. Obnoxious music started to play and party games seemed to have come out of nowhere. If it had been anypony other than Pinkie, she may have questioned it but, somehow, being around the party pony long enough had desensitised her to some of the craziness everpresent in her world.
They stayed and partied for while and said their goodbyes but eventually Rainbow Dash had to leave to catch her pegasus chariot.
By the time she was there, she had decided on the Hollow Shades, in her book it described the place as 'Famed for it's deadliness, even the most feared creatures in nearby foal mountain choose to avoid this area whether it be for the flora or fauna.'
"Yes! This is the perfect place to toughen me up." Rainbow cheered aloud. The pilots were skeptical at first but there isn't much a little bit of Rainbow Dash's charm couldn't fix.
"What do I pay you for?" Rainbow asked rhetorically.
"To... fly?" One of the pegasi attempted, unsure.
"Good. Now take me to the Hollow Shades or you're fired."
"Yes ma'am." He responded, taking off as Dash retreated back into the rear of the sky chariot.
Chapter 2: If I can make it here
The pilots refused to land directly in the hollow valley so Rainbow Dash was unable to get to training right away, she had to make a path through the forest. Of course, being Rainbow Dash, she decided to fly over the trees instead.
"Take that nature! Trying to make me go through your creepy forest." She called victoriously, oblivious to the hawk-like creatures scouting her. She kept a constant pace over the trees so the creatures could plan their attack perfectly.
One of them swooped underneath her and flew almost in line.
"A phoenix?" Rainbow questioned. As three more swept into her vision. "Phoenixes." She corrected. "Awesome!" She squee'd as two of them picked up the pace, now in front of her. "So it's a race you want huh?" She challenged, already moving faster. In response, one of the back phoenixes moved upwards so it was in like with her tail.
The phoenixes in front began moving slower and the ones in the back went faster, moving closer to Rainbow. She chuckled and swerved up in a loop, perfectly mimicked by the scarlet predators.
"So cool." She concluded. The four birds squawked and dived into her. "Ow! Watch where you're flying!" She yelled. Again they squawked and dived into her. Rainbow realised what they were doing a little too late as one of the feathered creatures knocked into her wing, sending her spiraling.
However, the pegasus recovered quickly and swooped up into one of her attackers, knocking it out of her path.
"Wonderbolts academy graduate moron!" She taunted, kicking the bird out of the air as it tried to claw at her hind leg. One down, three to go.
Two flaming fowls to the right of her hissed something she couldn't understand and moved closer to each other. From them emerged a blinding white light which engulfed Dash's vision. Instinctively, she flew upwards to somewhere she could see but one phoenix had taken the opportunity to perch on her head and claw at her face.
"Get off'a me!" She protested, punching at the bird in her mane but only succeeding in hitting herself in the snout. After rubbing her nose better, she let out a devilish smirk and flew straight up. The phoenix had refused to budge and was now targeting the pegasus mare's eyes.
Reaching cloud level, she slowed down and aimed her body towards a mass of clouds straight ahead.
"Hey flame brain!" She addressed. She was met with a confused squawk from the bird on her head and she continued. "Guess what's in clouds!" She concluded, shooting through the clouds and extinguishing the bird's flaming feathers, leaving a chicken-like creature to fall to the ground.
She spotted the last two trying to find her and she lowered herself into their vision and slowing to a leisurely pace. The two blazing creatures charged at full speed towards her and she lowered herself closer to the forest. She was now leading the two raging streaks across the sky wherever she wanted.
"You sure you don't feel like giving up? I'm sure you can find lunch somewhere else to eat." She proposed. They answered with a talon swipe towards the young mare. "Suit yourselves." She sighed. Shooting upwards to reveal a large grey cliff formerly obscured my the mare's body due to the birds' proximity. As expected, they crashed, hard.
"Two birds with one stone." She laughed. "Oh, Fluttershy's so gonna kill me when I tell her about this." She said, turning forward to reveal another huge cliff. "What the?" *SMACK*
The force of the collision caused Dash to fall to the ground, trapping her wings under the resulting rockslide.
"OH COME ON!" She roared.
"Hello?" She heard a stallion somewhere call out?
"Yes! Over here!" She greeted. Two brown coated stallions walked over to her cautiously.
"Spies." One of them snarled to the other, spitting at Rainbow's hoof.
"What? No! I'm not a spy!" Rainbow Dash protested.
"Why else would a pony choose to come to one of the most remote places in Equestria, home of a maximum security prison?" One of them reasoned.
"You can't fool us." The one on the left told her, slapping a pair of hoofcuffs on Dash's forehooves and dragging her out from under the rocks. Unfortunately, the rocks had dislocated Dash's right wing so flying was out of the question.
"Hey! Let me outta here!" Dash screamed as the hauled her into the back of a metal horse drawn carriage. They ignored her and she heard a lock snap over the door.
She had no way of telling how long she was in the cart but when she was finally let out, more stallions were waiting for her with guns and a collar.
"Make your way down that hallway to the open door, attempt to fly and you will be shot on sight." One pony in a grey uniform commanded. Rainbow bowed her head and trotted slowly through, avoiding the hungry eyes of the mares and stallions in the cells around her.
Her cuffs were taken off when she sat in her bed and the door was locked, letting in only a small amount of light from a barred window. She was alone for a while with just a sleeping yellow cell mate until she noticed the scuttling of tiny claws on stone.
"Rats." She seethed. She heard the sharp screaming of a mare from another cell but she could barely see through the tiny gap in her door. The screaming went on for hours and she heard such words as 'rape' followed by awful tearing sounds.
Eventually, Dash got to sleep although the screaming wouldn't fully cease for another few hours.
The next few weeks were spent with Dash getting her flank kicked by the many colourful criminals of Hollow Shades prison. She slept no better in the following nights than the first, every night she bore witness to a rape or a murder that the guards were too lazy to stop.
After a few days later when lining up for food two ponies approached Dash, a green unicorn mare and the yellow stallion she shared a cell with preparing for her routine beating.
"Well what do we have here?" The emerald mare asked her companion. "She decided to wait for us."
"She looks excited about something." The male chipped in. The mare leaned up close to Dash and began whispering in her ear.
"You excited about me? Are you looking forward to it, slut?" She teased, Dash cursed under her breath and tried to ignore them.
"Tell you what. You stick 'round me, lick in the right places and I may just consider not leaving you alone with my friend here." She offered, pointing a hoof towards the large stallion.
"Fuck you." Dash counter offered.
"Gladly, but first." The mare continued, putting a hoof between Dash's hind legs and receiving a dinner tray to the throat for her efforts. Choking, the mare fell down.
"Get her!" She gasped, causing three ponies to advance on Rainbow. The first one Dash took out with a hoof strike to the kidney. Roundhouse kicking the second, Rainbow turned to the last one laying with his friend.
"Come on Jade! We gotta move." He called urgently, shaking his friend as Dash stepped over to him. Unfortunately for her, the guards decided that they were bored of watching this and one of them tackled Dash while his friends helped to pin her down, giving the jade mare a perfect view of her prize.
As Rainbow Dash was being dragged away she saw the unicorn standing up and laughing.
"I'll get your sweet pony pussy yet bitch!" She yelled in her Manehattan accent as Dash was pulled kicking and screaming away.
They arrived at a deep hole in the ground somewhere outside and lowered a ladder, dropping the pegasus mare on her back in the darkness.
"Hey! Come back here!" She called to the guard once he finished dropping in some bread and water and walked away. Unfortunately, the noise had provoked the cave's natural inhabitants and bats began swarming Dash, clawing at her face.
"Somepony help! Please!" She screamed hopelessly as the last few bats began leaving her hair and Dash stopped cowering.
"Need a hoof?" A handsome griffon offered, she swatted away her talon and crouched by the water pipe..
"Who are you?" She asked once the tears had sufficiently dried up.
"Who I am is irrelevant, you should be concerned as to why I'm here. Even you can't hide from the world completely, Miss Dash."
"Congratulations, you know my name. What's yours?"
"My name is Gilda, however, I'm speaking on behalf of Ra's Al Ghul, a man greatly feared by the criminal underworld."
"Okay, not what I meant. Why should I care?"
"I suggest that you listen to me, Miss Dash. Ra's Al Ghul is a very influential stallion, he can offer you a chance at greatness."
"And just how do you propose to do that? It's not like I'm going anywhere any time soon."
"Mr. Al Ghul has been watching you for a while now. You don't seem to be here by choice."
"You think?"
"Ra's Al Ghul can offer you a path, Miss Dash."
"And just what path would that be?" Dash snarked.
"The path of somepony who shares their hatred of evil and wishes to serve true justice. The path of the League of Shadows."
Rainbow Dash resisted the urge to comment on how cliché the name was and instead settled on a light chuckle.
"You're vigilantes." She concluded.
"No, Dash. A vigilante is merely a pony lost, he can be destroyed." She explained. "But, if you fight for something greater, and if nopony can stop you. You become something more."
"Which is?" Dash asked, visibly excited but trying her best to stop it from showing any more than it was.
"A legend, Miss Dash."
She let out a breath and stood up, straightening her mane and moving towards her feathered guest.
"You will be released tomorrow, should you wish for us to train you then travel to Windigo mountain, past the Crystal Empire. There grows a rare blue flower, pick one and bring it to the top, should you succeed then present it to the guards at the peak and you shall be allowed passage." She instructed, moving into the shadows and eventually disappearing entirely, Rainbow Dash didn't bother following her and took a drink.
As promised, the next day two guards visited her and removed the metal cover to her prison. They yelled at her to get out and she happily obliged. They drove her to the edge of the forest and pushed her out of the chariot door.
"You're very lucky." One of them began in broken sounding equestrian. "Very powerful friends."
"Uh, thanks?" Rainbow tried, adding a 'Go buck yourself' when she realised who she was thanking.
She flew off towards the nearest settlement 'Baltimare' and got the train to the Crystal Empire. Looking around she saw several news articles and heard ponies speak about the death of Rainbow Dash, the last of the Dash family. Good, it'd buy her more time if everypony thought she was dead.
Walking through the city, she tried to ignore the gasps and odd looks given to her by strangers she passed. Not because they recognised her; because of the blood, bruises and general injuries covering most of her body. Shivering, she stepped into a store and picked up the first hooded jacket she saw.
"How much for this?" She asked, limping over to the store clerk.
"Just take it, I don't want any more trouble." He pleaded.
"Come on man? How much?" She continued.
"Tell your boss that we gave him everything we could, please get out!" He cried, cowering behind the counter. Dash put on the jacket and left the store.
"Some ponies." She muttered. She knew that what she'd done was wrong but hey, what was one jacket? It was for a good cause.
On the train, she thought it safe to fall alseep.
"Come on Rainbow!" Her friend encouraged, leading her friend around the garden. "It's just in here." She told her, moving aside a small plank of wood in the fence and crawling in.
"What is it Fluttershy? It better not be just another injured bird, you know Rosie can take care of that." Dash whined as she crawled through with her friend.
"No, better!"
"Fine." Rainbow sighed. She stood up and looked around at the vines growing savagely around her. Down, she saw shatter plant pots where the roots had grown out and reached the dirt, it looked like something you'd see in a cartoon show. Facing forward, a large central tree seemed to be strangling all life around it.
"What is this place, Fluttershy?" She asked.
"It was a greenhouse but the staff don't use it any more." She told her excitedly. Of course Fluttershy would know about this place, being the gardener's daughter and all.
"Why?" Dash asked, stepping around to see the cracked and shattered glass covering the walls and floors.
"I don't know. Something about unstable found--" FLuttershy started to explain. She was cut off by an ear piercing scream as the floor came out from underneath Rainbow Dash followed by a sickening thud.
"H-help m-m-me..." Rainbow gasped.
"I'll go get somepony!" Fluttershy assured, shaking in fear.
"Don't leave me!" Dash pleaded. Fluttershy glanced back to Dash's quivering form and tried to steel herself. "Please..." Rainbow begged almost silently. Standing up, she turned her head to the darkness all around her. She heard scuttling on the walls and stepped back.
"H-hello?" She tried, screaming again as what seemed like an endless horde of bats scratched at her face and crawled in her mane.
"Fluttershy! Come back!" She begged, one bat flying into her mouth as she did so. As she resisted the urge to clench her teeth, she clawed the thing out of her mouth and threw up on the floor.
"Rainbow?!" She heard as her father flew down into the hole and puled her into his arms.
"Dad?" She sobbed, keeping her head down so as not to be attacked by any more bats.
"I gotcha kid." He assured, swatting away the winged rodents assaulting his daughter. Rainbow continued to cry in his arms until they were safely away from that hell hole.
"Oh Rainbow Dash I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy sobbed. "I didn't know there was anything underneath."
"I know Fluttershy, it's not your fault." Rainbow tried to console her distraught friend.
"Yes it is, you wouldn't have gone down there if it wasn't for me?"
"Trust me, I would've found a way to screw up." Dash joked, bringing a smile to her friend's eyes. Turning her head to her parents, she asked them.
"What was that place anyway?" She asked.
"When this place was built there were a series of caves running underneath, I guess it was only a matter of time before the land started to fall. Don't worry, the manor floats anyway." He assured his daughter, nuzzling her as he did so. He stood up, much to Rainbow's dismay, and faced Fluttershy.
"Now, I think you'd better leave. Your mother must be worried sick." He told her without a hint of blame in his tone. "I'll have one of my drivers escort you if you'd like." He proposed.
"N-no thank you." She declined. "SIR!" She added, blushing. Dash visibly gagged which caused her butter yellow friend to blush even harder.
As she woke up, Rainbow Dash spotted two stallions breathing heavily on her neck from the back seat. She ignored them and continued to pretend she was sleeping. That is, until she felt the hoof of one stallion reaching along her lower body as his friend struggled to contain laughter.
"Move your hoof or you'll lose it." Dash threatened, twisting his limb for emphasis. He screamed as she heard a crack and she pushed back. He retreated and his friend moved closer.
"Hey lady, I think you broke his hoof!" He stated, poking a hoof into her chest. She picked up her coat and moved seat. "Hey get back here!" He yelled furiously.
"Is there a problem?" One of the snack cart mares asked, stepping between the stallion and Dash.
"Only that she assaulted my friend here!" He explained, pointing to his still wincing friend. The mare looked over to the dirty and bloodied pegasus with the rugged mane. "I'm tired of the Triad constantly pushing us hardworking ponies around." He cried, catching Rainbow's attention.
"Triad?" Dash questioned.
"Don't play dumb with me, I know you're with them." He snarled. Dash sighed and faced him with her best 'I'm tired of your shit' expression.
"Okay, let's just say I am with the Triad. How would you describe them?"
"Only the meanest bunch of bastards to cross the Crystal Empire since King Sombra!" He responded, the thought of the Triad seeming to provoke rage at the mere thought of them.
"I don't think this is an appropriate place to-" The snack cart mare began.
"They go around beating on the hardworking mares and stallions and stealing whatever they want just because they're rich and we ain't got squat." He finished. He seemed to have calmed down by getting it out of his system.
As much as it hurt to admit, Rainbow Dash couldn't do anything to help these ponies just yet, that'd be the first thing she would fix. She sat back down for a few minutes and tried to get back to sleep until an obnoxiously loud whistle informed her that she'd reached her destination. Well almost anyway.
As she stepped off she saw the stallion she had injured feebly attempt to trip her. She held off laughing until the train stopped moving again. She walked past the small gift shop near a large set of stone stairs carved into the mountain which bore a dull metal plaque reading 'Windigo Mountain trail: hikers be warned, strong winds ahead'. She picked the blue flower as instructed and started flying.
"Piece of cake." Dash stated. She was fine for a while near the base of the mountain but eventually the wind got stronger and probably would have knocked her out of the sky if she hadn't decided to land. The stairs seemed to go on forever although Dash didn't tire easily she wasn't particularly renowned for her patience and so bored easily.
"Are we there yet?!" She whined. "Oh wait." She took back, glad that nopony saw her. It just occurred to her that this was her first real journey alone. In her more dangerous ventures the other element bearers always looked out or each other in the face of danger. Here she was alone on this stupid mountain path in her stupid cheap coat heading towards a place that may or may not exist inhabited by warriors who may or may not try to kill her. Great.
Spotting small wooden structures above her, Rainbow Dash galloped forth and greeted the first inhabitant she saw who happened to be a frail old stallion slowly walking home.
"Hey!" She began. "I'd like to know where the League of Shadows is. I was told that it's on this mountain."
"Yeah, top of the mountain. Keep going in the direction you came up the stairs and you'll make it eventually."
"Wait, there are more stairs?" Dash moaned.
"You could just turn back." He suggested, not waiting for Rainbow to whine again as he shut the door to his hut.
Dash continued walking and as promised she was met with a set of large structures near the peak of the mountain with several groups of black clad ponies traveling through.
"Rainbow Dash! Glad you could make it." The familiar voice of the mysterious griffon called out.
"How did you?" Dash began, then sighed. "Ninja stuff right." She guessed. She nodded and held out her talon expectantly.
"The flower?" He ordered. Rainbow Dash placed the half frozen plant in her front appendage and they moved inside to the largest of the structures in the centre. As he opened the door there was an orderly crowd of ponies possibly awaiting her arrival.
"Rainbow Daring Dash." Gilda addressed more to the crowd than the newly arrived pegasus mare. "Do you swear to uphold the teachings of the League of Shadows and to defend justice, no matter the cost."
"I... do?" Dash replied unsure of how she was meant to respond. The crowd cheered and Gilda put an arm around Dash.
"Come on. Let me give you the grand tour." Gilda proposed seeming to become less tense as she walked through the warm torch-lit halls.
"What? No more mysterious ninja act?" Dash teased. By now the crowd had dispersed and the two females had stopped by a door.
"This is the rookie's room, you'll be sleeping in here." Gilda explained while passing a set of black armoured robes to Rainbow Dash. "You'll be wearing these for most of the time you're here. I suggest you get something to eat then go to sleep. We've got a big day ahead of us newbie." Gilda informed. "By the way dinner's in half an hour, just follow the others."
She shut the door and left Rainbow to her thoughts and the first clean bed she'd seen in weeks. Unfortunately Rainbow herself wasn't so clean so she took a shower for about an hour longer than was necessary meaning she'd miss out on a hot meal but somepony still slid a tray of food under her door.
The next day Rainbow Dash received a wake up call at six AM in the form of a griffon squawking directly into her ear. As she jolted upright she saw the ever so smug grin of her now-teacher Gilda. Instead of going back to sleep or complaining to no end Rainbow Dash stretched and put on the outfit provided to her minus the mask.
"So what's with the flower?" Dash quizzed.
"What, can't friends give each other gifts?" Gilda mocked.
"It's not a gift when I'm ordered to do it." Dash reasoned. Gilda batted her eyelashes to feign innocence and stated in her best ironically sultry voice.
"And here I thought you liked me." She teased. Dash shrugged it off and observed the room they had arrived in. The walls were decorated with swords of all manner ranging from katanas to executioner's blades. Dash gasped and stepped back.
"Now, Rainbow Dash. Prepare to die!" Gilda called out, thrusting a sword at her. Just as Dash was about to fly as fast as she could in the exact opposite direction, Gilda began laughing and fell down to the floor.
"Very funny." Dash seethed flatly.
"Your face!" Gilda squawked, picking herself up and taking an item from the small drawer by the wall
"Alright, what are we here for?" Dash asked.
"Why, hair cuts of course! You can't keep that long unkept mane, it's a clear weakness." She explained, brandishing a pair of scissors and motioning Rainbow to a chair in the corner of the room.
"I swear if you take off an ear I'll jam those things into your neck."
"Don't worry about it, that hardly ever happens."
"Wait, what?!" Dash protested, afraid to move lest Gilda accidentally cut the wrong area. When it was over, Dash was handed a mirror and she observed her new mane style.
"Not bad, a little shorter than I'm used to but..." Rainbow trailed off, lost in self-admiration. She used her famous 'Rain-blow dry' to get the excess hair off of herself, scattering technicolour strands around the room and somehow not on Gilda.
Gilda handed Rainbow a long wooden staff, picked up an identical one for herself and both girls left the room.
"Anypony asks, animals got in." Gilda joked.
"Rainbow furred ones who know how to use scissors?"
Gilda led her student outside onto a flattened plane of ice and instructed her to attack. Dash wasn't entirely sure what she meant and her hesitance earned her a talon swipe to the face.
"Now attack me." Gilda instructed. Rainbow Dash did so but her staff attack was parried easily, sending it back into her head.
"Again." Once more, Dash swept at Gilda with her staff, this time at her back paws in an attempt to trip her. The attack was blocked just as easily by kicking the staff back and causing it to hit Dash's own legs.
"Again." Gilda sighed, disappointed. And as expected Dash reached out with her staff and tried to hit Gilda in the face which was once again countered with a simple talon swipe to the spear, making it hit upwards into Dash's jaw.
"Okay, now try to keep up." Gilda instructed, swiping at her student with her weapon. Rainbow dodged the first few with ease until one hit her in the head, disorienting her and leaving her open to multiple strikes. They repeated this process and Dash got slightly better at dodging each time but not by much. Each time Gilda knocked Dash down she fell down onto the ice so Gilda decided not to use her bucket of water prank and instead got one of the servants to heat it and made tea.
"Now, Rainbow Dash, do you know why you're so easy to attack?" Gilda led.
"Is that your way of not so subtly boasting your victory?" Dash teased.
"Trust me, if I was boasting you'd know." Gilda chuckled.
"Okay, is it because you're a complete psycho hell-bent on murdering me with that stupid stick?" Dash joked.
"Close. It's because you don't think. You're angry at something Rainbow Dash and it clouds your mind, you don't think straight, you just want to do as much damage to your opponent as possible. Correct?"
"I guess." Dash responded.
"Okay, try to hit me again but this time, plan it out. Visualise your attack and do it." Gilda instructed. Dash groaned and stood up, picking up the staff she had dropped.
Again, Rainbow Dash thrust her staff into Gilda's face but this time as her mentor was going to counter the strike, Rainbow Dash appeared beside her in a flash of unfathomable speed and punched her right into the beak.
"Good work." Gilda congratulated whilst rubbing her beak and wincing in pain. As Rainbow lay back in celebration ready to tease something about being 'very on the nose' Gilda punched right into Dash's throat causing her to gag. But you still celebrate too early."
"I think somegriffon's just upset about losing." Dash mocked.
"I think somepony's not gonna live to tell about it if she keeps talking." Gilda responded almost coldly.
She stayed there for the better part of a year. She would get up, train, learn some new technique and spend the rest of the day with Gilda doing whatever they wanted to do. They were on top of the world, literally.
"Okay, what're we doing today?" Dash asked excitedly. She'd gotten up early for Gilda's birthday so she could wake her up for once.
"Nothing." Gilda responded in her ever-present laid back tone.
"No fair! We didn't get to relax on my birthday." Rainbow whined, trying to sound as annoying as possible.
"Actually, I don't think there's much more I can teach you." Gilda explained.
"I'm not switching teachers am I?!" Dash asked legitimately worried.
"No, you're graduating." Gilda told her.
"Sweet!" Dash exclaimed.
"Which means you get to meet Ra's Al Ghul." Gilda told her. Dash hoof pumped into the air with an audible 'buck yeah!' and a constant stream of 'ohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh'.
"But first, we celebrate!" Gilda added, knocking Dash from her stupor.
As both girls dressed, they travelled into the main hall where a table had been reserved for Gilda and her prized pupil. On the table were two large slices of cake individually marked 'Happy birthday Gilda' and 'Rainbow Dash'. Seeing this, Dash was slightly disappointed at her message but hid it for the sake of her mentor.
"You like it?" Gilda asked through mouthfuls of the sugary substance.
"It's good." Dash agreed. "Nothing on Pinkie Pie's though." She added.
"After you've graduated, you wanna go see your friends?" Gilda asked. Dash choked on her food from the surprise and Gilda tried her best to suppress a laugh.
"Seriously?" Dash choked out.
"Rainbow Dash. Ra's Al Ghul can make anything happen." She assured.
"Heck yeah!" Dash cheered.
After the girls had finished eating they set off to one of the smaller and less used wooden huts on the mountain peak. Despite the outside's modest appearance, inside was decorated with gold and fine materials that would make even Rarity envious.
The graduation ceremony didn't last long but when it was over they granted Rainbow Dash official League of Shadows armour and a discount card for 10% off at any Donut Joe's store. Once it was over, Rainbow Dash was allowed to pick an assignment that had to somehow help in the pursuit of justice.
"So, what will it be, Miss Dash." Gilda mocked.
"I'm sure the world could do with one less of you." Dash joked, reaching for her sword. As Dash thought about her ideal task one thought immediately came to mind. "Take down the Triad." She decided.
"Good choice." Gilda approved. "Any idea how you're gonna do that?" She asked.
"How about we hit 'em where they live." She suggested. "Literally."
That night Rainbow Dash, Gilda and two trainees who accompanied them stormed the castle of Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Caramel Apple. Three filthy rich brothers running the crime syndicate in most of the Crystal Empire. Were it anypony but Rainbow who pitched the idea, Gilda probably would have called them crazy. She could see the trainees weren't entirely sure of the plan either.
It was easy enough to climb in the window due to two of the warriors having wings and the other two being quite light. The castle was plain enough except from several images of apples decorating the walls. Dash wondered for a minute if they knew Applejack but perished the thought to make room for the thought of beating them to very bruised and quivering pulps.
"I'll take the door on the right, you get the middle and the trainees can both get the last one, got it?" Gilda whispered so as not to give away their positions to the guards patrolling the room.
"3." Gilda began.
"2." Rainbow added.
"1." Gilda finished as the three ponies and griffon burst through their respective doors. As she opened the door silently unlike her colleagues she saw a blue-maned yellow stallion with a single red apple for a cutie mark laying down on an overly cushioned bed with two crystal mares on each side of him.
He lay asleep while the mares were searching through his drawers by the side of his bed. One spotted her and before she could scream, Dash was already over there covering the mare's mouth with her hoof then the other's.
"Don't scream. Just leave." She commanded. They nodded and hurried out once she removed her hooves from their faces.
"Hello handsome." She greeted as she nudged the stallion awake with her sword still to his throat. "Don't scream, I might slip." She instructed. The stallion carefully gulped so as not to knock the blade and nodded.
"What d'ya want? Moneh? Powah? Sex?" He asked in his thick southern accent.
"Come on man. If that's all I wanted I'd never have left home." She rejected. "What I want is for you to come with me." She more ordered than asked.
As she stepped out of the room with the stallion in tow, she, Gilda and their hostages were left waiting for the newbies to finish up. Much to Rainbow Dash's dismay, they couldn't sneak out of another window due to their extra cargo all being earth ponies so they had to walk as nonchalantly through the hall. Well, as nonchalantly as you can in all black ninja armour and masks.
"Anypony asks, we're your guards. Got it?" Gilda dictated. The stallions nodded and they went through the hall relatively undisturbed other than the glares they recieved and they climbed into one of the horse drawn carriages with the newbies pulling.
"What d'ya want from us?" Caramel pleaded.
"Well, what do you want?" Gilda asked Rainbow.
"I don't know, how does roast stallion sound?" She teased. The stallions began to shave and huddle together. Rainbow stopped out of fear of getting stallion piss on the floor.
"We want order." Gilda told them. "We want to stop little punks like you from praying on the weak people of this world. I guess what we really want is justice." She decided.
"What're ya gonna do with us?" Red Delicious asked.
"You'll see." Rainbow responded, primarily because she wasn't sure what she was going to do either.
It didn't take very long to reach the peak due to the carriage and the newly implemented cart path for supply drops and secret missions. As they unloaded the passengers they were led through a door in the back where Rainbow and Gilda were separated and sent to different sections of the structure to wait for Ra's Al Ghul.
"Bow to me, whelp!" A strong voice boomed from a platform above Rainbow Dash. She did as she was told for a second then her thoughts moved on.
"Wait a minute." Dash said, rising to her hooves. "Gilda?" She called, spotting her grinning griffon friend.
"Where's Ra's Al Ghul?" She asked.
"Take a guess, dweeb." She told her.
"You're..."
"In the flesh!" Gilda added, sensing her friend's realisation. She flew down and fist/hoof bumped Dash.
"So you're seriously Ra's Al Ghul? No kidding?"
"Well yes and no. I took the title from my father when he passed but I still go by Gilda to my friends." She explained. I'm surprised it took you this long to figure out what with you being an egghead and all.
"I'm surprised it took you this long to tell your best friend, jerk." She responded, what anger she had fading to mild annoyance.
"So what now?" Dash asked.
"We take down some criminals, duh." Gilda explained, opening the door leading to three rope bound stallions at swordpoint.
Dash and Gilda both put on their best threatening faces and flew up to the stallions.
"Birthday girl goes first." Gilda whispered to Dash.
"Age before beauty I guess."
Gilda flew away from Rainbow Dash as she eagerly awaited whatever terrifying show she'd put on for the League and the stallions. Gilda unsheathed her sword and the two trainees who had been with them on the mission removed their own blades from the throats of three stallions.
"So, I've learned some very bad things about you three." Gilda scalded. "Murder, theft, rape." She recollected. "And you!" She barked, jabbing a hoof into the chest of the stallion in the middle: Caramel Apple. "You're a fillyfooler!" She spat. He attempted to retreat but his legs were bound tight. She lifted the sword to his neck and before Dash knew what she was witnessing, the stallion's head hit the ground and blood leaked form his gaping neck hole.
She was lost for words, she just kept backing up and repeating the word no to herself as she fought the tears threatening to emerge from her eyes. Noticing this, Gilda flew over to her friend.
"Watch out!" She squawked. Too late, Dash had already knocked over the set of torches perched on the wall and the fires were already spreading across the walls and silk curtains faster than any natural flames Rainbow had seen before.
"Murderer!" Dash finally cried, a flood of tears spurting from her eyes. She flew forward and struck Gilda in the side, knocking her from the air. Cutting free the remaining stallions and easily scaring away the few guards around the room, Rainbow Dash didn't notice the white and brown blur shooting straight towards her.
"What the Hell Dash?!" Gilda roared, pinning her friend down.
"Why did you kill him?" Dash stammered.
"I had to! Scum like that are what corrupted this once beautiful world. Scum like that are what killed your parents!" Gilda roared once more. With her being part lion, this was much more terrifying than it sounds.
"And what makes you any better than him?"
"Don't compare me to these creeps." Gilda seethed.
"You're right. You're worse! At least these criminals didn't claim to be some sort of heroes." Dash protested, shoving Gilda off of her and attacking with her katana.
"At least these bastards didn't let me love them!" Dash screamed again, smoke filling her lungs and clouding her vision.
"Rainbow, I had no idea... I'm so sorry." Gilda stuttered.
"No! You don't get to be sorry! You don't get to fuck with my emotions any more, Ra's." Dash sobbed, charging forward and knocking herself and Gilda straight through the thin wall and onto the icy cliff. The force had rendered Gilda unconscious and with herself and Dash slipping down the slope.
She grabbed with all the strength she could muster and held Gilda in her arms more as some form of closure rather than to actually save her once-friend.
Sighing, she flew away from the edge and towards the two stallions galloping down the mountain path as fast as their legs could carry them.
"One more thing." She told them, deepening her voice to a more harsh and terrifying level. "If I ever hear anything about either of you trying to hurt other ponies again. I'll be back for you."
Once she was sure they were to scared to ever consider crime again, she flew lower down the mountain to the small farming village and knocked on one of the doors where a particularly friendly old man she had come to know lived.
"Please, help her." She begged. Before he could respond, Dash lay down her unconscious mentor down on the stallion's couch and flew away with one last 'thank you'.
Getting the train again to Canterlot, Dash couldn't sleep at all with the image of Gilda standing over that stallion's corpse and the head pleading 'Why?'. She was ready to go home, she needed her friends now more than ever. Once in Canterlot, she could find a phone and call Rosie, she'd make everything better. She'd help her through this. This wouldn't break her.
She noticed that she was still in her League armour and shuddered despite how warm the train currently was. She'd have this thing burned to a crisp before the day was over.
Now she was alone with her thoughts. Her mission had been to find a way to bring justice back to her home and she'd succeeded in that regard but would she be able to go through with what come next. She could never have a normal life if she did but if not, she'd be dead inside. She couldn't let her home die to the hooves of evil. All this time wouldn't be wasted. She was Rainbow Dash, element of loyalty and 20% cooler than anypony else in Equestria. Nothing could stop her.
This sudden boost of confidence helped Dash to relax and finally drift off to sleep.
