“So, what did the contractor want again?” Rainbow Dash asked, blowing a strand of prismatic hair out of her face. She was perched atop a tall pine tree, looking for an associate that was nowhere to be seen. Below her was undergrowth consisting of scrub, brushwood, and thick matted vegetation. There was a moment of silence as she awaited a response, and when no reply came, Rainbow sighed and picked a pine cone from a nearby branch. With cone in hoof, she took careful aim at a particularly dense patch of vines and pitched the projectile with pin-point accuracy, eliciting a shout of pain and shock as it collided with its target.

“What the hell, Dash?!” From amidst the plantlife emerged a unicorn with a greyish off-white coat and a multi-colored mane similar to Rainbow’s own mane. “That hurt!” His voice, comically muffled by leaves plastered across his muzzle, drew a snicker from Rainbow.

“Don’t be such a wimp, Blitz. It’s just a pine cone.” Dash rolled her eyes in exasperation, and dropped nimbly down to the ground, tucking into a roll at the last moment and popping back up in front of Blitz. ‘So, what’s the deal with the contract? You never drag me out for missions without briefing me.”

At this point Blitz had untangled himself from his makeshift vine hammock, and was busy shaking pine needles from his mane. “It’s big, Dash. We pull this off and we can retire for good.” He stuck a hoof into his saddlebags and fished out a contract. “The contractor’s offering us a million bits, Dash.”

It took a few seconds for Dash to recover from the shock, silently mouthing the words ‘one million bits’ over and over again. “…That… we’d be rich! More than rich! We could live like royalty for the rest of our lives, and still have bits to spare!” Dash spluttered, scarcely believing her ears. “What kind of impossible task do we have to do to earn a reward like that?!”

“Says here, all we gotta do is hunt down some backwater bandit chief.” Blitz said, scanning the back of the piece of paper. “I forgot his name… uh… somepony named Cygnus? Ring any bells, Dash?” He glanced at her questioningly.

“Nope. Anything else I gotta know before I go kick some flank and earn some bits?” Rainbow’s wings fluttered impatiently, kicking up fallen leaves and hovering a few feet above the ground.

“Patience, Dash. Cygnus is said to command a sizable bandit clan and is well acquainted with a few other influential gangs in the region. Expect heavy resistance, says the contractor. It’ll do you well to be careful.” Blitz warned her, passing her the contract and the information. “You know that cave there? That’s his hideout.” His horn flickered to life as he casted a communications spell. “I’ll be keeping in touch with you. Good luck.”

Dash flashed him one of her signature cocky grins. “Thanks, but I don’t need luck.” With that said, she rocketed off with a flap of her wings. Blitz just sighed and started following the pegasus’ rainbow trail of destruction, knowing full well that by the time he reached the cave, she’d likely have dispatched all of the bandits already.

“Blitz, I’m closing in on the cave.” Dash said, slowing her descent into a lazy hover. Taking cover amongst the dense foliage, she peeked through the leaves at the cave entrance. Dropping her voice to a whisper, she took a good look at her surroundings. “The cave is guarded by two… No, three ponies and a griffon. One unicorn, one earth pony, and one pegasus. They aren’t armed and the griffon appears to be in command.” She dropped down to ground level, creeping closer while still under the cover of the undergrowth.

“There’s significant cover in the forest, but once you leave the bushes there is no concealment whatsoever. I should be able to take out the earth pony no problem, maybe the pegasus, but the unicorn and the griffon will be a problem.” Dash skirted the edge of the woods, taking care to remain in the shadows.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Dash. Two fliers and a magic user can easily have you pinned down.” She heard Blitz say over the comm spell. Rainbow snorted. Did he think that she couldn’t handle a few bandits? She waited until the unicorn had its back turned, and burst out of the forest, wingblades crackling with lightning energy. “Celestia damn it, Dash! Why do you never listen to me?!”

“Cuz your ideas are crap, Blitz.” Rainbow smirked as her hooves smashed into the back of the unicorn’s skull with the force of a lightning bolt, sparks lighting his mane on fire and sending him sprawling into the ground. Immediately angling her wings upwards, she flew back with a quick burst of speed just as the earth pony barreled into where she was just moments ago, no doubt with the intention of tackling her. “Whoops! Too slow, Joe!” She cackled.

The earth pony skidded to a halt, shaking her head and glaring at Rainbow with bloodshot eyes. Preoccupied with the earth pony, Dash barely had enough time to roll sideways as the pegasus divebombed her position, cracking stone as his hooves hit the ground. Seeing an opportunity, Dash lashed out with her wingblades before the pegasus could recover, carving a deep cut into his flank and frying his flesh with a flash of lightning. The pegasus went down immediately, muscles spasming from the overwhelming amounts of electricity coursing through his entire body.

“Blue Cloud! I’ll kill you!” The earth pony roared in rage and charged Dash again, kicking up a cloud of dust in her wake. This time Dash didn’t dodge, instead tensing up and raising her blades in preparation. The moment the earth pony came into range, two bolts of lightning erupted from her wingblades, exploded against the earth pony’s chest and launched her into a cliff face with a sickening crunch. Dash was also pretty sure that the lightning had stopped the pony’s heart, even before breaking twenty of her bones.

“Alright, Griffon! You’re next!” Dash called out, taking notice that the feathery hunter was nowhere to be found. “Come out where I can pulp you!”

“I doubt it.” Dash barely registered the statement before the griffon’s fist slammed into her side… not.

Dropping down low, the attack simply sailed overhead before the offending arm was detached with a sharp wingblade strike. “My arm!” The griffon screeched in pain, the stump pumping blood all over the place and staining Dash’s coat red.

“Time to finish this.” Dash grabbed his head and twisted savagely, breaking it clean off. “Blitz, the guards are done. I’m going in.”

Blitz groaned, and she could just imagine him covering his muzzle in frustration. “I… Fine! Go ahead, just be careful, okay? It’s dangerous in there.”

“Ha! Danger is my middle name! Rainbow Danger Dash, out.”

Blitz stopped in front of the cave entrance. Next to it, the charred remains of an earth pony lay smouldering in a sickening heap. A blue pegasus lay unconscious on the ground, bleeding to death from a hideous gash in his side. A unicorn lay face flat on the ground, the back of his skull completely shattered, revealing the crushed brain matter underneath. Most disgustingly, a quartered griffon lay in a pool of blood and bile, its brutally detached head and limbs hanging from nearby branches.

Dash was a berserker. Once she was fired up, she did whatever it took to take down an enemy. This was readily apparent when Blitz lit his horn and started though the caves. Corpses littered the floor of the massive cavern system, some impaled on stalactites or stalagmites, some without limbs, some burnt to a husk, and one - to his alarm and pity - removed of his ‘assets’.

“Dash, how’s the mission?” Blitz asked, activating the comms spell. He cringed as he stepped on what seemed to be testicles. “Done yet?”

“Nope. Got a few more pinned down in a chamber, but it’s blocked up and I can’t find a way in.” Dash replied, clearly frustrated. “I’ve been chipping away at the rock for at least an hour but I’m not doing much damage.”

“Right. I’m homing in on your location, I’ll be right there.” Blitz said, as he rounded a corner and was confronted by what looked like a massacre. “By the Sun, you really don’t hold back, do you? Some of these corpses are just a mash of flesh and broken bones!” He wrinkled his muzzle in disgust, carefully picking his way around a hollow corpse with its internal organs pulled out from a cut in its belly. There were at least twenty bodies here, most of them ponies but also with a few griffons here and there.

“They got in my way. Plus, this is our big chance at success - I’m not gonna let you down by screwing up.” Dash said, with muffled bangs in the background.

“What’s with the banging?”

“Oh, I blocked up the holes and they’re suffocating.” Dash said, matter-of-factly.

“No! Don’t!” Blitz said in a panic. “None of these corpses match Cygnus’ description! You have to leave a few for me to interrogate!” He broke into a gallop, winding his way through the cave system.

“Fine.” Dash sighed. “Hurry up, I’m bored.” Blitz rolled his eyes in spite of the situation. Some things just never changed. Her impatience was a problem since they first partnered up all those years ago.

Finally, Blitz slipped through a narrow passage and came face to face with a blood drenched Dash, nicks and cuts covering her flank but with no serious injuries. “You gonna be fine?” He gestured at the wounds.

“Nah, I’m good.” Dash grinned, and gestured at an opening plugged by a massive boulder. “They’re in there. A unicorn and earth pony worked together to block it.” To prove her point, she gave the rock a firm buck, but only succeeded in causing a spike of pain in her haunches.

“Hmm.” Blitz put his ear against the stone. To his surprise, he could hear things in the chamber - the boulder must’ve been more porous than he had assumed it to be. “Hello? Ponies behind this rock?” There was no reply, but the commotion immediately ceased. “I just want information. You tell us what we want to know, and we let you go. On my honor.”

“Why should I trust you?” He heard a muffled voice say.

“You don’t have a choice, do you?” Blitz asked. “Just step outside, one at a time. Otherwise we suffocate you, or starve you, or inflict other slow and miserable deaths.”

“…Right. We’re trusting you to uphold your end of the bargain, okay?”

“On my honor.” Blitz repeated, and the boulder was surrounded by an azure aura. There was a loud grinding noise, and the boulder slowly started shifting, pushed aside by a bulky looking earth pony mare.

As the survivors slowly filed out, Dash and Blitz exchanged looks.

Do I kill them?

When I say so. And leave one alive.

['Kay.

Once the chamber was emptied, Dash readied her wingblades without attracting attention.

“Alright, ponies…” Blitz began, before grabbing all of them in a magical choke hold. Four quick slashes later, three heads and one unicorn horn fell to the ground. “We let you go. To die. Promise upheld.”

The unicorn roared but did not attack, clutching at the stump of his horn in pain. “Dash, tie him up. I’ve got rope in my saddlebag.” A minute or so later, the unicorn was securely tied up and hovered over a stalagmite by Rainbow Dash.

“Alright, then. Let’s get to business.” Blitz leaned in, close to the unicorn's bloody horn stub. “You tell me the right answers, and we kill you quickly. Tell me the wrong answers, and you die in agony.” The unicorn spat into Blitz’s face.

“Wrong answer. But I’ll let this slide, since you weren’t prepared.” Blitz paused for effect. “Who is your leader?”

“No pony.” The unicorn sneered. “No pony leads us.”

“Lower him.” Dash obliged, and the unicorn’s eyes widened as the sharp tip of the stalagmite pressed into his abdomen. “That’s because he’s not a pony, right? He’s a griffon, isn’t he?!”

“NO PONY LEADS US!” The unicorn screamed in agony, as the spike dug into his flesh. “I WILL TELL YOU NOTHING! CYGNUS WILL KILL—” His eyes widened at his slip-up.

“Break his neck.” Dash nodded, and lifted him off the stalagmite.

“Cygnus’ wrath…” The unicorn whispered, blood pouring from his wound. “It will consume you…”

“What do you mean?” Blitz knelt beside him, pressing a cloth into the puncture to slow the flow. “Consume?”

“The dark one returns…” The unicorn drew a rattling breath, coughing up a clot of blood. “With aid from the stars… And then…”

Then, to both Blitz and Dash’s surprise, the unicorn burst into an eerie green flame. When the fire ebbed away, the unicorn was replaced by a strange insectoid creature with a black carapace and featureless blue eyes. “Darkness… will… consume you…!” Dash snapped its neck.

“Dude… that shit is creepy.” She made a face. “What the hell is that thing?”

Blitz stared at the dead creature with wide eyes. “I don’t know… this is way above our heads, Dash. Prophecies? Strange creatures? We’re just mercenaries! We’re not supposed to be dealing with this!”

“Yes, we’re just mercenaries. So we should forget about this, march right back out, and find Cygnus. We kill Cygnus. We claim the reward, and maybe report this to the Church of the Sun.” Dash said. “Okay, Blitz?”

“Yeah… yeah, that’s what we’re gonna do.” Blitz nodded hesitantly. “Come on, then. Let’s go.”

“That’s the spirit!” Dash grinned, although Blitz could tell that it was slightly forced. “It’s griffon season!”

The walk back was very quiet. Both Blitz and Rainbow were unnerved by the bizarre transformation of the unicorn, as well as the strange prophecy it spouted in its dying throes.

“The dark one returns with aid from the stars, and darkness will consume you.” Blitz muttered under his breath, but in the more or less silent caverns, Rainbow heard it loud and clear. “What does it mean?”

“I dunno.” Dash shrugged. “You’re the smart one. I’m just a mare who knows how to fight.”

“And you’ll have a chance to prove that, Rainbow Dash.”

Dash suddenly found herself face to beak with a very large griffon. “I believe you slaughtered my people?” With a strike faster than Dash could follow, Cygnus’ curled up claws smashed into Rainbow’s face, launching her back with the sheer force of the attack. Cygnus whipped around, her talons extended and glinting in the setting sun. Blitz’s hastily constructed shield was shattered and he was sent sprawling. Cygnus knelt down, preparing to rip his throat out,

Before she could deal the killing blow, a crash of thunder threw Cygnus back, revealing Rainbow Dash climbing back to her feet and surrounded by a storm of crackling electricity. Cygnus smiled. “Ah, a practitioner of the tempest technique. They’re really rare nowadays, due to the crippling flaws that most pegasi display when using that technique…”

A spark leapt from Cygnus’ talons. “Little fun fact. Do you know why those flaws exist?” She asked, as small wisps of storm clouds began forming around her wrists and ankles. “It’s because the tempest technique wasn’t developed by pegasi…” Arcs of lightning encircled her outstretched wings. “It was originally developed by griffons!” She swung her claw at Dash, as though tossing something at her, and a bolt of lightning crossed the distance between them and crashed against Dash’s own storm nimbus, scattering the wisps and draining her lightning energies with a powerful discharge that knocked Dash off her hooves.

“Pegasi dared to steal our ancient art and claim it as their own… but they never did master it. They failed to extend it to any meaningful range, always confining it to melee, suppressing the elements instead of fully exploiting them…” Cygnus idly examined her talons, electricity still surrounding her body. “It’s a shame, really. You’re really good at it - for a pegasus, I mean.” She gave Dash a predatory grin. “But sadly I’ll have to kill you now.”

She was so fixated on Rainbow Dash that she nearly missed the rock hurtling towards her at breakneck speeds. Nearly. With a flick of her tail, the rock was vapourized by a bolt of pure plasma. “Dash… Run!” Blitz growled, a glowing spectral sword appearing before him. “I’ll hold her off!”

“No!” Dash grunted, standing up shakily. “I won’t leave you behind!”

Cygnus’s grin widened tauntingly. “I’d listen to your boyfriend, child. Better you live than both of you die!”

“DASH, GO!” Blitz roared, and launched himself at the griffon, just as she conjured up a sword made of electricity and swung in retaliation. Blitz was cleaved in half. Dash’s blood froze, and for a moment she felt a wave of nausea hit her stomach. It was a lost battle.

Blitz lost the battle. So that she wouldn’t have to.

“I’m sorry, Blitz!” cried Dash, gathering what nimbus energy she still had and forming a crude propulsion system. “I’M SORRY!” With a explosion of energy, Dash disappeared into the rapidly darkening sky.

Dash flew. She flew, and she flew, and she flew. Her wings were aching, her muscles were screaming, and she was about to collapse at any moment. But she still flew. For Blitz.

She veered wildly off course as a particularly strong gust buffeted her. Look at her. She was supposed to be the fastest pegasus in Equestria. She was the best fighter in the lands. She could bend entire storms to her will. And yet a breeze was tossing her around like a ragdoll.

Had she truly fallen so far? Did Cygnus really break her that badly? Dash couldn’t answer the questions pressing at the back of her mind, consuming her whole consciousness. She was too tired, her brain exhausted from grief and exertion. Why was she flying again? Was she flying straight?

Why was the ground coming up to meet her?

The last thing she remembered was a flash of white amongst the inky night. Then everything went dark.

“Wake up, child.” Mother?

“…Mom?”

“No… but I’m a friend.” Dash opened her eyes, and was greeted by pink eyes and a gentle smile. “You were very badly wounded, child. I healed you to the best of my ability… but some wounds are not in the flesh.”

“Blitz…” Dash’s eyes watered. For the first time in many years, she wept. It was unbecoming to cry. It was weak. And Dash needed to be strong, to be a fighter, to be a warrior. She needed to…

“It’s okay, child.” Dash’s breathing hitched as the white pegasus wrapped her in a warm embrace. “Let it out.” But, there were times when even the strong showed weakness. Dash melted into the forelegs of the strange pegasus that for some reason seemed so familiar.

“He’s gone…” Dash mumbled into the shoulder of the pegasus, “Blitz… he’s gone, because I’m too weak…”

The pegasus stiffened slightly. Almost imperceptibly, but Dash’s mind was on overdrive. “Child, it was not your fault. You couldn’t have known.”

“But… But he’s dead!” Dash wailed, looking manically into the pegasus’ pink eyes, “Because of my weakness.”

“Then ensure that it would never happen again.” The pegasus drew back, and Rainbow shivered, suddenly feeling very cold. “Become strong, so nopony else will die because you couldn’t prevent it.”

Rainbow looked up at the taller pegasus. “But… I’ve killed so many already…”

“It’s never too late to change, child.” Ever so gently, the pegasus stroked Rainbow’s mane like a loving mother would to a foal.

“Really? You think so?” Dash asked, still trying to contain her sniffling.

“Of course.” The pegasus smiled. “Now, you need to wake up.”

“Wha-?” Dash jerked awake. The pegasus wasn’t there - was she just a figment of Dash's dreams? “What just happened?”

She was breathing heavily, and covered in leaves - but her wings no longer ached and her wounds didn’t sting as much anymore. Looking herself over, Dash found that the more serious wounds she had sustained were less pronounced, and a few of the bruises and scrapes were already gone.

“A lot faster than my usual healing… Maybe the dream…?” Dash laughed and shook her head. “Nah. A dream is just a dream.” A note fell out of her mane.

“What the… what is this?” She unfolded the note and began reading. “The nearest town is Ponyville. These are the directions. Your friend, Sunny Skies.” Was that the pegasus' name?

“Ponyville, huh.” Dash said. She stood up, working out the cricks in her limbs and neck. Once she was done, she looked up to the sky and squinted at the sun. For some reason, the sight brought a smile to her face.

“Alright, then. Ponyville it is.”

Author's Note

Rainbow Dash
Level 1 Tempest Fighter • Pegasus
Signature Powers:
Dual Strike, Reaping Bolt, Wind Funnel Fury, Tempest Dance, Thundering Assault
Equipment:
Tempest Wing-blades, Cloudscale Bracers
Skill Specialties:
Athletics, Acrobatics

Hello, readers!
Thanks for sticking with me so far! Again, please comment and thumbs up/down as you see fit. I'm putting out some pre-written stuff but once I've burnt through them it'll be a while between each chapter.
Cheers,
Amateur, level 1 Human Brony