Rainbow Dash, Racer, Athlete, Daredevil, Diplomat

With speed beyond her wildest dreams it had only taken a few minutes for Rainbow Dash to reach Equestria’s eastern cost. As the minutes dragged on and endless fields of ocean became the dominant landscape, Dash breathed a sigh of relief. She had been flapping her wings far too hard, for far too long, and yet she wasn’t tired at all. The only explanation was that Twilight had been right and she was drawing her energy from the spell around her instead of from her own body.

As the minutes dragged on, the sun seemed to race along overhead as Rainbow Dash shot across the sky. Despite being certain that she’d only been flying for an hour and change at most, the sun had somehow already gone from the being early morning to reaching the noon position by the time a coastline appeared on the horizon.

Approaching the land of the coastline also made the effects of blue-sky syndrome become apparent. When Rainbow had only endless fields of blue sky and blue water to look at she’d allowed herself to drift to a dangerously high altitude. If not for the fact that she was slamming into the air at hypersonic speeds the air would be too thin to breath and she would’ve passed out. Correcting the error she slipped down to a more normal altitude as the coastline passed below her. Only a thin band of temperate looking land separated the endless waters of the ocean from endless waves of sand.

Flying just high enough to stay above any dust storms she encountered Rainbow Dash shot across the desert, seeing little of interest among the shifting sands. Only the occasional oasis or old stone ruin half covered in sand broke up the endless fields of sand of the massive desert.

Finally the sand dunes diminished and scattered plants became grasslands, with small trees and bushes scattered about. Having only seen pictures of savannas in her foalhood during navigation class, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but smile at the thought that she’d finally seen the elusive terrain type with her own eyes.

With so little to disturb the sparse scenery, spotting a bunch of huts clustered close enough together to be called a town proved easy enough for the speeding pegasus. A moment latter and Dash saw what she was truly looking for. The equine figures in the village before her all had a zebra’s stripes.

Finally allowing her wings to stop flapping, Rainbow Dash opened them to the wind in a hard flaring position and held them steady. The cone of water vapor and the lightning that had been her constant companion for the journey finally left Dash as she dropped below the speed of sound. Feeling a sudden and strange emptiness inside, Rainbow knew that the speed spell had broken, and she was on her own from here on out.

Yet another memory from her youthful past in Cloudsdale flashed in Rainbow Dash’s mind. Another lesson that (until now) had served no purpose in her life, it was of the time she’d been taught that it was considered rude to fly into a city’s airspace without first getting permission to enter, if the city had walls. Most cities in Equestra didn’t have walls around them and the only time she’d ever been in restricted airspace she’d been invited in long before she even got there. Needless to say she’d never had to ask permission to fly anywhere before. Adjusting her aim for the dirt road that seemed to serve as the town’s gate Dash continued her decent.

Screams of terror drew Rainbow Dash’s attention to two zebras running for the same gateway she was headed for. Behind the two fleeing zebras was a large feline-like figure chasing them, also catching her eye was the two zebras with spears, who had been by the gate to begin with, now charging forward to intercept the feline figure.

“Saving some lives couldn’t hurt for making a good first impression, and earning me a dose of medicine,” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself, as she re-aimed her dive again.

Feathering her wings, Dash regulated her speed for a hard landing. Already planing her next move, that being to tackle the sand-colored lion to the ground and bounce back into the air before it could retaliate, she readied the muscles in her legs.

Rainbow Dash came down hard on the feline’s back, but things didn’t go quite as planed. She had already bounced back into the air by the time she realized that the creature had exploded into a cloud of sand from the impact. The dust settled, and Dash shock the sands from her fur as she hovered backwards, away from the point of impact.

Giving a nervous laugh as she landed not far from the awestruck spear-wielding zebras, Rainbow Dash said, “Heh, guess that might have been a little overboard. Is everyone alright?”

Four dazzled zebras stood in silence for a moment. When the two with spears regained their composure one of them spoke. What they said had rhythm and rhyme to it, but the words meant nothing to the pegasus before them.

“Right, different language,” Dash muttered, as she pulled out the translation scroll from her saddlebag. Reading off the introduction and request for medicine she looked up and waited for an answer.

At first the zebra whom seemed to be the lead guard tried to answer with words, but when Rainbow Dash shook her head to the meaningless words and reread the request for medicine they understood she didn’t speak their language. With that established the two zebra guards answered in a way that needed no translation, they pointed, not to the town behind them, but down the road leading further to the southeast.

Rainbow returned the scroll to her saddlebags, thanked them and promptly took off flying, following the dirt road as she went.

It didn’t take long before she spotted a lone zebra male walking the road in the same direction she was flying. Couldn’t hurt to get a second opinion. Rainbow Dash thought to herself.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Dash called out, as she descended to land beside the zebra. The zebra looked at her intently, so she pulled her scroll out and read off the introduction.

“From Equestria you say? What an unusual day,” he said in response.

“Wait! you speak my language?!” Rainbow asked, with a hopeful flutter of her wings.

“Many traders and travelers have I heard, from them I learned your word.”

“Perfect!” Dash cheered, and then read the request for medicine.

A grim frown accompanied the zebra’s answer as he said, “Zebra’s doom you say? What you seek is made three villages that way.” Gesturing to the southeast as he finished.

“Thank you. At least that saves me the time of stopping to ask around every step of the way,” she said, returning the scroll to her saddlebags, and once more taking flight.

* * * * * * *

By the time Rainbow Dash had passed two villages flying southeast, and was descending towards the third, she was certain that she hadn't even been awake long enough for it to be noon. However, the sun was already low on the horizon.

As she neared the village, Rainbow couldn’t help but notice three sundered huts on the north end of the zebra town.

Landing roughly, Dash took a moment to catch her breath before she went over to the first zebra she could find, pulled out the scroll and read the introduction and request for medicine once more. Said zebra pointed her to the largest hut in the middle of the village.

A zebra with a spear was standing guard by the doorway of the central hut, so Rainbow Dash repeated the only two lines of zebra she had yet to use. Motioning for her to stay put the guard ducked inside. A moment letter he poked his head back out from behind the curtain that seemed to pass for a door and motioned for the pegasus to enter.

Inside, the walls of the simple wood-framed thatch and mud hut were decorated with masks, made mostly of wood but were frequently arrayed with leaves. A shiver ran down Rainbow Dash’s spine, even knowing that zebras used such masks as signs to say things like ‘hello’ and ‘welcome’ didn’t diminish how creepy they looked to her.

At the only chair in the room sat a lone zebra, her necklace and headdress clearly marking her as the village chief. Dash gave a quick bow, retrieved her scroll and did her best to read the formal introduction while sounding out the new zebra words. When she had finished, the zebra spoke to her, and while the words meant nothing to Rainbow Dash the inquisitive tone of voice allowed her to hope it was a question like ‘what do you want?’ and so she read the formal request for medicine.

The zebra chief spoke again, this time Dash couldn’t even guess the meaning of the rhyming response. “Sorry I don’t speak zebra. This is all I’ve got,” Dash said, tapping the scroll she’d been reading from. “So was that a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’?” she added with a hopeful yet childish smile.

A zebra stepped out of the shadows, judging from his size and youthful look he wasn’t quite old enough to be called an adult. He stopped beside the zebra chief and spoke to her. The two zebras talked back and forth for a moment while Rainbow Dash sat, wondering if she was suppose to be responding to any of this.

What Rainbow could see was that the short conversation had left a frown on the younger zebra’s face when he turned and spoke to her, saying, “Your tale of zebra’s doom is most disturbing, I will make the cure but it will not be ready until morning.”

“Thank you,” Dash said, with a bow to the young zebra, and then repeating the thanks and bow to the zebra chief.

“Come and I will show you where you may stay, until the cure is ready,” the young zebra said, motioning for the pegasus to follow him out of the hut.

As they walked along, the zebra masks hanging by the doorways of each hut they passed continued to creep out Rainbow Dash. Looking more to distracter her mind then caring about the answer, she spoke to her guide saying, “You seem a bit young for the local translator.”

“Though I may be young, until my master returns I am the only one here that speaks your tongue,” he answered. Coming to a stop and motioning to the small hut before them, the zebra added, “Here is where you may stay, until morning of tomorrow’s day.”

Beyond the hut to the left Dash saw the ruins of the sundered huts she’d seen flying into town. “What happened over there?” she asked.

The young zebra pondered the question for a short while, before finally shaking his head and saying, “Monster.”

“What kind of monster?”

Shaking his head he answered almost immediately, “I know not your words to say.” As he finished a distasteful look flashed on his face.

Rainbow Dash giggled and said, “You know, when talking in my language you have to rhyme.”

“So I have been told, but I find it jarring to speak without following the flow of old.”

Looking back to the hut that had been appointed to her Dash said, “Thanks kid, and thank whoever is making the cure for me when you get the chance.”

That brought a smile back to the zebra’s face, with a small laugh he answered, “The words I spoke were quite true, it is I who will make the healing brew.”

A flash of concern darted across Rainbow’s face. “I hope you know what you’re doing then, my friend’s life depends on this working. And I’m not even sure there’s enough time for a take one, so there definitely won’t be enough time for a take two.”

“Making the cure to zebra’s doom is easy enough, as long as you have the right stuff. With my master away, there is no one else and it sounds like you can not delay,” he answered the pegasus with a smile.

“Well good luck then. Just do your best so I can get out of here as soon as possible. It’s going to be a long flight back.” Rainbow Dash said, before entering into the hut to turn in for the night.

As soon as the pegasus had turned away the zebra’s smile vanished and he walked away with downtrodden eyes.

* * * * * * *

Rainbow Dash had almost fallen asleep when the sound of a low growl made her ears perk up. Peeking out past the curtain that passed for the door of her hut, she saw a dark and distinctly feline figure glisten in the evening twilight. Another glance around and she found that hers weren’t the only set of eyes peeking out from their hut. However, unlike her own cautious yet annoyed eyes, the zebra eyes looking out at the creature held only fear.

Something felt wrong. Where was the screaming? The yelling? Why wasn’t anyone calling for the guards? It was as if they all knew that not even the zebra’s with the spears would dare to challenge this creature prowling around their town.

The creature took notice of a set of zebra eyes peering out from the hut across from Dash’s and began stalking towards them. The zebra’s eyes went from fear to horror. Somewhere in the back of Rainbow’s mind she understood why. With only a few sticks for a frame and walls made of thatch, Rainbow Dash wouldn’t have counted on huts like these protecting her from anything either.

As quickly as the zebra’s eyes had found horror they shifted again, this time to defeated acceptance. The eyes of someone that knew no one was coming to the rescue looked back at the creature prowling toward her, and seeing it made something inside Rainbow Dash catch fire.

“Hay! Back off buddy! These zebras are making medicine for my friend, and I’m not going to let you hurt them!” Dash shouted, as she stepped out of her hut into the cool night air.

Although the low light made it hard to see, being out in the open allowed Rainbow Dash a little better look at the creature. It’s body, tail, and paws were that of a lion. Its head was of a creature Dash didn’t know, a pony like Fluttershy might have been able to make a better guess, but the best Rainbow could come up with was that it seemed like a monkey’s or ape’s yet different. The unusual face aside the creature also had a headdress that framed its head much like a lion’s mane. There was something about the way the creature’s coat glistened in the moonlight that bothered Dash, but she couldn’t quite tell what.

The terrified eyes in the hut before it forgotten, the creature turned to face this strange stripeless zebra with a prismatic mane that had dared to challenge it. The predator charged at its prey, and given the distance between them it wasn’t that surprised when the equine dodged. What did surprise it was the direction she chose to dodge, for the stripeless zebra had jumped straight up, and somehow had failed to come back down.

“What’s the matter? Never seen a pony with wings before?” Rainbow Dash asked with a smirk on her face, as she hovered well overhead. The perplexed eyes of the feline figure answered her taunting question. Her smile vanished when the wings once hidden by the darkness unfurled from the predator’s side. “Pony Feathers! You’ve got wings too?!” Dash yipped, as she once more darted skyward, leaving the predator’s claws to slash the empty space she’d occupied only a second ago.

The two figures shot through the sky, and with each passing second Rainbow Dash’s fears diminished as the gap between the two grew. Although the creature chased her through the sky with admirable persistence, she was faster. Come to think of it why was that thing still chasing her? If her lead grew much more Rainbow would have enough room to flip around and perform a dive attack. A spark flashed in Dash’s eye as she came to understand that whatever this thing was it had never been challenged in the sky before.

“All right buddy! Last chance to be a good… whatever you are and leave peacefully!” Rainbow Dash yelled in a tone of voice that practically announced she’d already won the impending fight. For all the brave words she’d ever unuttered Dash knew that her courage was a facade, and that growing up the mask of infinite courage had gotten her out of more fights then it had gotten her in.

The tough pony act didn’t pay off as the creature only gave a murderous roar in response.

“See Fluttershy, this is why I don’t waste time talking to horrible monsters,” Rainbow sighed to the wind.

Flaring her wings hard, Dash looped around and dove at her pursuer. A flash of realization crossed the creature’s eyes as it came to understand that it was about to be attacked by its prey. Showing its claws it prepared its front paws for combat and pushed ahead.

In the next moment many things happened in rapid succession. First claws flashed in the night air. With a last second beat of her wings Rainbow Dash swung her body around, and slowed herself just enough that the creature’s claws slashed at empty air. Finally, Dash kicked with all the force her hind legs could muster, striking the creature square on the chest.

A resounding crash of hoof striking stone echoed through the sky. A breathless cry escaped Rainbow’s lips, as pain reverberated through her bones. In the moment she fell away from the creature and saw the crack her attack had left in its chest she understood that the glisten of the creature’s coat wasn’t from glossy healthy fur as she’d assumed, but was because the creature was made of living obsidian.

As the flow of time seemed to resume the dark creature took another swing at its pegasus opponent. On instinct Rainbow Dash gave a half-flap of her wings to pull herself downward and away from the attack, causing the creature’s claws to strike only her front left leg.

Resuming flapping her wings properly, Dash accelerated her head first dive toward the ground, buying a moment to scold herself. If she’d known that thing was as sturdy as a cragodile she’d have never attempted that attack. “So not cool,” she muttered, as she looked past her bloodied leg to the creature. Faced with understanding that the creature now diving at her was living stone, she wasn’t sure what a pegasus could do. After all there was only one thing from the sky she’d ever seen sunder stone, and even then only on rare occasions.

Below, the silver glow of a cloud in the moonlight caught Rainbow’s eye. Rolling over and with a slight bend of her wings, she adjusted her dive toward the cloud. A glance over her shoulder proved beyond doubt that the creature had never seen a pegasus before, as it was still diving after her.

Rainbow Dash hooked the cloud with her front legs as she flew past, swinging herself around and slamming her hind legs into the bottom of the cloud. Lightning bloomed skyward from the cloud, forking so many times it looked like a tree and leaving nowhere for the obsidian creature to dodge to. As several of the bolts converged into it, the creature exploded in the electromagnetic assault.

Lacking the time to get out of the way, Dash pulled her wings behind her back, brought her front legs together to guard her face and neck, and was showered in obsidian shrapnel. As soon as she felt the peppering of stone shards had finished she resumed flapping her wings, and headed back to the zebra town below.

Finding the entirety of the zebra village waiting in awed wonderment as she landed, Rainbow Dash didn’t need a translator to understand the sudden and rapturous applause that was giving for her. Nor did the zebras need a translator to understand their new champion’s need for medical attention, as they quickly saw all the cuts and obsidian shards covering her legs and belly, and promptly lead her to the shaman’s hut for treatment.

“So that was the monster you mentioned huh?” Rainbow asked, as the young shaman who was making the cure for her was now helping her pluck stone shards from her body. A nod answered her, as he moved on to cleaning the wounds. “Now that you don’t have to describe it to me, can you at least tell me what that thing was called?”

“They come from far to the north a place of sand, sphinx is what they are called by those native to that land,” he answered in a somber tone, as he returned with some bandages for the first pegasus he’d ever treated.

“You don’t seem quite as happy as the rest of your village that I took care that thing for you. Is something wrong?” Rainbow Dash observed.

He shook his head sorrowfully and said, “Do not let my troubles trouble you, to help your friend you should not get distracted from what you do.”

* * * * * * *

Thankfully, by morning most of the cuts had healed enough to no longer need bandages, and only Rainbow Dash’s front left leg sported a fresh one as she sat in the chef’s hut. The chef spoke in rhythm and rhyme and seemed to understand that she was speaking for the benefit of her fellow villagers. No one seemed to mind that Dash was more interested in eating the breakfast of grains and berries that had been laid out before her then listening to a speech she couldn’t understand.

Finally the speech ended and the young zebra shaman entered the room. Pulling a small, sturdy, wooden jar from his bag he set the container before Rainbow Dash. “I have brought the cure for you, please forgive us for speaking words that were not entirely true,” he said, unable to look the town hero in the eyes.

“What are you talking about?” Dash asked, raising an eyebrow in honest confusion.

Further lowering his head in shame he answered, “The cure to zebra’s doom is actually quick to make, but seeing your wings the chef hoped you would seal the sphinx’s fate.”

The frown that appeared on Rainbow’s face caused concern to appear on the chef’s, but all the other zebras in the room seemed blissfully unable to guess what the two speaking in the foreigner’s tongue were saying.

“I don’t blame you kid, you were just following orders. Just next time, try asking, you might be surprised how helpful some ponies will be if you’re honest with them up front,” Dash said. Opening her saddlebags and retrieving the small chest, she placed it before the young zebra while saying, “Princess Celestia asked me to give this to whatever zebra tribe gave me the cure. The letter inside is for your chef but I want you to keep whatever else you want in there.”

Looking up with eyes beginning to water the young zebra’s voice choked a little as he said, “To forgive this wrong of mine, you are far too kind.”

Having secured the cure in her saddlebags Dash answered, “You’re wrong. I’m not kind. I’m loyal. I’m just following orders. Besides I’m not going to leave my friends hanging longer then I have to by lugging that thing back home, you’ve wasted enough of my time already.”

Despite her harsh tone and choice of words Rainbow Dash gave the young zebra shaman a soft smile just before she opened her wings flew out the doorway of the hut. With the morning sun at her back she took to the sky, soaring toward the west, toward Equestria.