Prologue
Space was always seen as a vast open space, to which no end could be found. Utter darkness surrounded by life, heat, energy, mythical forces yet to be seen by eyes of the wandering space nomad. Yet, in spite of its utter darkened state, it still retained some mysteries. In some places, the mysteries surrounded those who studied it, who nurtured it, who sought it.
“To be alone in space, is to forget those you loved, to accept and embrace death.” A young stallion remembered as he drove his drill into the rock once more. Dust billowed out in small tufts of clouds around the tip, only to float away effortlessly as it was in a state of suspended animation. Sweat dripped from his brow, some droplets clinging to his face shield. His suit stank from the horrible odor that his sweaty fur gave off.
“Just another push Lucky, and were in.” Beside him, a much older, yet more toned stallion plunged his own drill in. Cracking could be heard as the asteroid they were mining began to break apart. “Tell Floural to be ready with the crane, got enough floating debris as it is.” Whirring was heard from the drills as they dug into the floating space rock, but they grew to a still silence as they disengaged them.
“Roger.” Pulling his drill out, Lucky turned to a small ship that was floating nearby, “Floural.” Her name echoed inside of the cockpit, but she was nowhere to be seen. As he listened, he could hear heavy metal music blaring in the crew bay. “Floural, we need you in the crane now.” If it was at all possible, the music seemed to get louder before a rough, beaten voice answered him.
“Sorry Lucky, just needed to get a hit. What do you need again?” Years of heavy drug abuse had not been kind to Floural, and her voice was evident of that if her figure was not. Even now he could tell that she was not in the right state of mind.
“We need you in the crane. Readings say that there are heavy traces of metal inside of this asteroid. This could be our lucky one babe.”
“We'll see 'Lucky'. We'll see.” She disappeared from view, heading back towards the crew bay. In seconds, the arm of the crane was swinging around to grasp the chunks of metal in the center of the asteroid. “Ready when you are boys.”
Both stallions smirked at her comment before plunging in deeper with their drills, each laughing when the whirring resumed. The cracking grew louder until, with a loud groan, the asteroid began to flake off in small chunks. Beams from the ships external nav-lights shone in, reflecting off of an almost mirror like substance. “Boys, I think we just hit the mother load.” Whooping could be heard as both boys darted inside of the cave they had revealed leading towards the center of the asteroid.
A faint dripping sound could be heard as they progressed steadily down. Each step they took sounded as though they were walking on metal grating, each step echoing in the still darkness that surrounded them. When the lights from their helmets flashed towards the walls, all they could see was the light shine brightly back. The walls were smooth, too smooth in fact, almost as if they formed a shaft instead of just a simple cave in the asteroid.
Near the bottom, a faint set of lights could be seen. Small at first, but growing brighter as they went. Beeping was heard before all at once, lights went on around them. Bright white lights that when you looked at them, you would go blind. Everything was silent as the two looked around them. As time ensued, the beeping got louder, and further down the shaft they went.
Emerging from the shaft, which had a set of gravity doors and a derailed tram, they found themselves in a fairly large room, surrounded by computers, a set of giant blast doors, and a circular table. Seven chairs stood erect, each one housing a rotting skeleton. Cobwebs covered the computer screens, the glass cracked, some sort of wild vines growing from the interior of the system. Spiders crawled in and out of the skeletons, through their skull, or through the broken, some shattered, bones.
The blast doors stood out among the carnage that it looked like the place had suffered. Moss covered the the food laden table, which was covered in moldy bread and assorted rotting fruits. Walking across the floor spotted in wild vines and long roots, they came upon a small Dias erected beside of the blast doors. Looking into it, Lucky could see that the water inside of it was untouched by time, almost as if it had been frozen in place far after what had happened to this place. “What happened here Grange?”
“I don't know Lucky.” Their voices were tainted with a hint of worry, but also of excitement. Though they did not find the metal that they were looking for, they found something much better. An archeological sight that could bring them in tons of money. While Grange saw nothing but credits flying by his eyes, Lucky cautiously dipped his gloved hand into the Dias. A pure ring echoed in the room as a heavy thud could be heard slamming behind the blast doors. Groaning loudly, the doors began to open.
Air began to whoosh through the opening in the doors, sucking in Lucky and Grange with its force. They screamed as they flew into the still darkness once more, but instead of being in zero-g, they found themselves slamming into the metal grated floor. Looking up, they saw only seven lights on, and underneath each one was a sight that they had never seen before. “Grange, I think we better call the Princess, she really needs to see this.”
“How long ago Lieutenant Clawston?”
“Twelve hours ma'am. Three miners were looking for deep space-ore metal when they came across it. I am flying out in twenty minutes to inspect this discovery for myself. As of right now, only three people know about the discovery aside from you or I. A team of thirteen scientists will be accompanying me to bring their find back here.”
“Good, when we get them back here, we will know more.”
“Ma'am, at the rate of which we will need to get them, it will be at least three to four months before we can get all seven back here.”
“That's fine Lieutenant, just get them here as fast as possible. Dismissed.”
“As you wish milady.” With a bow, the Royal Canterlot Guard Lieutenant Troius Clawston departed from the royal chambers of the two princess rulers and made his way towards his 'non-existent' star cruiser.
“Should we fear these things Luna?”
“What does thou mean dearest sister?”
“This new discovery, they has never been heard of before, they have never been seen before as long as we have been alive at least.” She put a hand to her chin as she thought, while her sister gazed out at the starlit night. “I must seek council with the library tonight Luna. Maybe there is history of them written in there. Please sister, do watch over our subjects tonight.”
“Fret not dearest sister, thou hast nothing to fear, it is our task to protect our land.” With that, Luna turned away from the window to smile at her sister as the sun princess vanished beyond the threshold of the door. “We wish thee luck in thoust pursuit.”
“How much longer pilot.”
“Two minutes sir.”
“Alright then.” Turning around, the almost hulking gryphon looked over the thirteen whimpering scientists that he was escorting. “Prepare for zero-g launch.” Altogether, the gryphon and thirteen ponies slipped on their helmets. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that the pilot was giving him a thumbs up. “Here we go.” The ramp to the back of the small T-3 star ship opened up, sucking with it all of the viable oxygen. “Go, go, go.”
Rushing out, the fourteen team members were stunned at how massive the asteroid was looking at it up close. Nevertheless, Troy knew that they had a job to do, and was going to see it through. “Alright ladies, I want those things back inside of the cruiser in no more than four hours. Let's see what we are dealing with.” They drifted down towards the protruding shaft, the miners having cut away the rock before leaving.
“Easy now.” Troy took the lead as they went down the brightly lit white shaft. His eyes caught the almost skin smooth walls, swearing that it was made of some kind of chrome instead of metal. Near the bottom, they engaged their gravity boots and passed through the gravity door.
“Dearest Celestia.” One of the scientists muttered as he gazed upon the sight before him. The skeletons, the vines, the roots, the moss, the broken glass, the irreplaceable computer systems, and the untouched blast doors. “Sir, are we really going in there.”
“Damn right we are.” Pulling out his sidearm, Troy took the lead as they passed through into the darkness, flashing his helmet light all around to make sure that the area was clear. He motioned for the scientists to wait as he delved deeper into the darkened interior of the room. The seven lights were still on, but it seemed to easy that they were just there.
Pressing a button on his helmet, he watched as the darkness began to grow a deep blue, and he looked around. No heat signatures to be found, no movement to be seen, not even a mouse scurrying across the barren floor. Looking around once more, he took a more refined stance and motioned the scientists in. “Clear!”
Troy almost smacked each one of the scientists as they all stood in awe at what they were seeing. The seven magnificent things that they had been sent there to retrieve, was nothing that they would have though they were. “Boys, it's not like we haven't seen anything like it before.”
“But never like this.” Not a single scientist moved until Troy groaned and stepped over towards one, running a hand along its side. Seeing that he was fine, they all rushed to each one, almost two scientists to each.
Troy slipped away from the rest of the group through the blast doors, heading over towards the table where the seven dead beings laid. One he recognized as a pony, but the other six were unknown to him. One looked to have tendrils of some kind leaving their cheeks, while yet another assumed had a really thin, almost flat body, with just barely a wisp of breath. The other four he could not even begin to think about what they were.
A screen appeared on his face shield, showing him the picture of Princess Celestia. She looked worried, scared even, as to what he had to say. “Milady, they were right, there are seven of them. Seven dead around the circle table too, one of which is a pony. I can recognize one, it has tendrils on their cheeks, almost like whiskers, that would be a dragon from Horthna. The other five are unknown to me.”
“What do you think they were?”
“I think they were pilots ma'am. They bare no insignia on what remains of theirs clothes, not dog tags, not even any bone markings to indicate who they were. This is a well built facility they have though, and it leads me to believe that there were some with lots of money involved in this.”
“If what you say is true, then it is imperative now more than ever that we get them back here for further examination.”
“As you wish milady, it will be done...” Troy paused and lowered the screen as he noticed a scientist walking over.
“Sir, we won't be able to move them at the moment. They are clamped down to some sort of system that won't allow us to either enter them, or to disable the clamps.”
Sighing, Troy nodded his head, making the scientist walk away. “Sorry milady, it seems that we are going to be delayed longer than I had hoped. We will arrive with them in tow as soon as possible.”
“Then don't let me distract you Lieutenant. Hurry home.”
“Yes your majesty.” Bowing his head, he waited until the screen vanished before he walked back in through the blast doors. “Alright, what-ya need?”
“Luna? Luna where are you?” Princess Celestia hesitantly slipped through a misty fog that clung close to her. Below her, she could feel the soft squish of mud, as well as the faint scent of blood. Dread filled her heart as she worried whose it could be, but not once did she realize that she was also in one of her sister's many traps. Brushing aside some darkened vines that hung from the ceiling, she held her breath as she caught sight of one of her sister's Royal Vampony Guard drinking away from yet another would-be assassin.
Clearing her throat, the princess spoke, “Where is my sister?” Without stopping, for they were too far gone in the taste of blood to care, the vampony pointed with a tail over towards her throne, where some darkly colored vines were closing in around her. Walking over to the throne, she was relieved to see that her sister was okay, and that her spell was starting to wear off. “What happened?”
“Tis our one mere insight above assassins. Vamponies are the greatest night guards, are they not dearest sister?”
“They do have their purposes.” Slowly, the darkness, the mist, the vines began to dissipate until only the drinking vampony guard was left. “Uh, how long...”
“Thou needst not worry dearest sister. Thy subject shall have finished before morn. Tis been a fortnight since thy subject has had a thirst. This night was his luck.”
“Just so long as somepony cleans up after.” She glared teasingly at her younger sister.
“Thou implies not would we?” She spoke with a smirk, knowing what her older sister was up to. “Thou hast listened to a dark ale.”
“Unfortunately so Luna. It seems that it will be a while before they can come back to us with the asteroids cargo.” Her eyes drifted to the floor as she thought about what Troy had said. Something about pilots stuck in her for some odd reason. Lost in thought, she took no notice when she walked over towards one of the painted glass window, looking past it towards the East, where she knew to be the greatest Pegasi city ever built, Cloudsdale.
“Is thy dearest sister, alright?” When she turned to see where her older sister was looking, she just shook her head and stalked back over to her throne. “Does thou needst a head twist?” Celestia remained silent as she just gazed out over towards Cloudsdale, a beam starting spread across her lips, revealing her teeth.
“Luna. That's it.” Luna, perplexed, wondered at her sister. “Troy said that he thought the seven dead beings were pilots. That's exactly what they were, they piloted those things inside of the asteroid. We need to get into contact with Cloudsdale Flight Academy, tell them to open their doors this year to not just Pegasi, dragons, or gryphons, but to all of the ponies, earth and unicorn included.”
Luna, still perplexed, but starting to understand a little of what her sister was saying, shrugged. “We suppose thou hast expressed an idea. What does thy dearest sister needst from us?”
“Rest is what I need, as for you, I need you to watch over the night as always. Nothing shall damper my spirits, save for a few hours of unrestful sleep. I bid thee a fair night sister.”
“Nay, we bid thee the fairest of night's rest. Slumber awaits dearest sister.” With her sister gone, Luna called to one of her Royal Vampony Guards. “We needst thou to do thy task. Thou shalt fly to Cloudsdale Flight Academy, there thou shalt say that we decree doors open to all thy races. Thee without wings permitted. Go.” With a wave of her hand, the vampony stallion bowed before taking off towards Cloudsdale, a message of secrecy dancing across his lips.
“Thy dearest sister slumbers, while thy night toils. Into the distance thy subject flies, to deliver thy message. Thy dearest sister needst slumber.” In a flash of purple smoke, the Princess was gone, entering the realm of sleep, in order to help her older sister find her peace for the night.
Flight Academy
Celestia's sun cascaded down bright, vibrant silhouettes of shimmering light. Clouds flew by lazily in the morning air as the wind curled in small tongues of dust. Roaring was heard from the ocean of ponies below as they watched Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria, fly straight through another tornado. Her heart was beating a mile a minute as she passed through another, and another. The wind whipping at her hair, the screams of her fans, and the adrenaline she was getting from it all made all rational thought vaporize in an instant.
For her big finally she rose up towards the sun. Almost everypony knew what was coming next, and the heights she had reached drew in a few glances from some of the other newer students, mainly the gryphons. When she felt the strain of the elevation was too much, she leveled out and stayed there for a few moments, waiting, listening to the wind with her eyes closed.
In a flash of rainbow lightening, she darted off towards the ground once more, her eyes remaining closed while she allowed the sensation of free falling from so high up course through her body. The screams of the crowd faded away as she gained speed. She focused solely on the sound of the wind, of the arcs of turbulent streams grazing her wings. Just when the gryphons who were watching thought that she was going to die, she pushed herself even further by sucking in her wings and feeling her weight break through the sound barrier.
A resounding boom echoed in the courtyard as the cyan pegasus opened her eyes at the exact moment that she past the threshold and waves of rainbow light flew out in every direction. The gathered populace cheered at her performance, and as gracefully as a feather she alighted herself with the ground and landed, her feet barely kicking up any grass.
“Now that was twenty percent cooler.” She said. All eyes watched her for mere moments before they erupted in a chorus of cheers and shouts. Rainbow Dash waved at each one of them in turn before she went on towards the main building. The crowd continued to follow her, even when she donned her trademark grin and shades. Though she wouldn't admit it, the lure of the crowd was something that she always adored.
“Please Rainbow Dash, will you sign my book...” She heard a little freshman say. Though it wasn't really in her reputation to refuse autographs, she was kind of in a hurry to see her best friend, and lover. Rather than sticking around, she took off, leaving the crowd behind as she made a bee line back towards the dorms.
Walking beneath the speeding cyan colored pegasus was one of her other best friends, Applejack, with her best friend Rain Winter. She was donned in a red flannel shirt and worn working jeans with her usual stetson while Rain wore a loose silver button up shirt and silver dress pants. Behind him walked his younger sister Cobalt Winter, who donned a pair of black cargo pants with a dark green t-shirt that displayed all of the Wonderbolts in a daring rescue mission.
“Yo bro, when are we gonna get there?”
“Soon Cobalt. You have to learn to be patient.”
“Like you with Applejack?” She teased, which caused both Applejack and Rain to blush, but neither said a word to prove her point further. Applejack glanced angrily back towards the younger dragoness, but she only stifled a giggle in response.
“Where's Sweetie Belle, Cobalt? Ah woulda thought she'd been here by now?”
“Ya, she said she was doin' somethins' with her sister. Said she'd be here in a few.” Cobalt sighed as she walked with her hands in her pockets behind her brother, a slight scowl on her face. “There starin' at us bro.”
“Well Princess Celestia did say to expect that. Don't forget, we are the first dragons to be accepted into this school. Even Applejack could never get in, and she's a darn good flier.” His compliment made the orange country mare blush, but he didn't notice. “Besides, what's all of that going to matter when Sweetie Belle gets here?”
Now it was Cobalt's turn to blush. When Rain looked back he couldn't help but smile when he saw his sister's cheeks turn a delightful tint of cherry red, masked only by her midnight blue scales. She mumbled something to herself then looked away. “Yo, ain't that Dash?” Both Rain and Applejack looked up, only to see the mare dash away towards the dorm rooms, leaving a rainbow colored streak in her wake.
Rain stopped to marvel at the beauty of her rainbow. Never before meeting the athletic mare had he seen anything quiet as beautiful as the cyan pegasus, but his heart belonged to another, and he wouldn't change that for the world. Besides, he knew that she was dating Celestia's son Prince Ryder. It was no surprise, considering how many times they were seen together after one of her Wonderbolt practices. It brought a smile to his face when he noticed that his sister and secret lover were marveling as well.
“Ain't matter how many times ah see it, that rainbow will always be beautiful.”
Not as beautiful as you, Rain thought as his eyes turned forward. Ahead of them was a large stone archway that rose up about ten feet, to either side of the gate was a compact wall of clouds that no pony nor dragon could hope to breakthrough. Metal spikes rose out from their interior, while beyond the cloud fence was an open courtyard comprised of a mixture of low hanging clouds and grassy meadows. From the archway beyond was a stone path that twisted and curled with the land, separate paths leading off towards the various buildings that were scattered around the courtyard.
Already many of the students were passing through the threshold and meeting up with old friends. Some chose to sit on the concrete benches beneath the trees, while some of the pegasi chose to lie on the branches of the trees. In all there were various pegasi, gryphons, earth ponies, unicorns, and maybe a dragon or two that were making their way to their friends. It brought another smile to the orange striped drake as he watched it all unfold, never once thinking about anything but the magic of the Cloudsdale Flight Academy.
Cobalt waltzed through the archway, only to feel a tinge of sadness erupt in her heart when she realized that she hadn't seen Sweetie Belle yet. She had thought that the young unicorn mare would be waiting for her, but apparently she was wrong.
A sigh escaped her as she looked around the courtyard. One path lead away from the tree and towards a crescent shaped building that housed numerous windows and was three stories tall, a fountain in the center with a stature of Princess Celestia holding up the sun in her outstretched hand. Another path lead towards a mangrove of trees, which blocked out another building that she was sure was green, but really couldn't tell. The third path lead straight forward to an outcrop of trees that formed an open field where there was a lone two-story building that spanned for what seemed like miles in either direction, the rest being covered up by the field's tall grass and few trees. The final path lead towards a tall building nestled in a bay of trees, perfectly concealed by any not within its visible range of the front arch entrance.
Cobalt was awed at the immense size of the academy, what awed her more however was when she realized that the concealed building was where Prince Ryder was living, along with his girlfriend Rainbow Dash. It was where the Elements of Harmony would reside when they went to the school, and it was where she hoped she was going to be staying, with Sweetie Belle. She started when a hand was placed on her back, but she calmed down when she saw that it was her brother. “Come on Cobalt, let's find the dorm rooms.”
“That won't be necessary sir.” A deep, gravelly voice spoke from behind. The three whirled around to find that there was a regal pegasus stallion with his mane slicked back and wearing a black suit, a towel draped over his left arm as he bowed to them. “Mr. Clawston has requested that you dorm with the Elements of Harmony, and Princess Twilight has also requested that you meet with her as soon as you are settled.”
“Thank you...”
“Francis.”
“Thank you Francis.” The stallion seemed to smile, but with his emotionless face it was hard to tell. “Lead the way Francis.” The stallion bowed, then turned on a heel and took the path straight forward, leading them towards the building that was nestled away in paradise. As they walked however, Rain couldn't help but feel like he was unworthy. There was no reason that he should get any special treatment, but he knew that it was a losing battle.
Mr. Clawston, he thought. He knew that name from somewhere, but he wasn't sure where exactly. “Here we are sir.” Francis bowed before opening the door, letting them walk inside. The door itself was made of oak, carved with magic, of that he was sure. Beyond was a clean open hallway with a blue rug against oak floors, a set of stairs off to the immediate left, with an open door to the right and another door to the left behind the staircase. “Allow me sir.” Francis grasped the handle of Rain's bag as well as Applejack's, and, without much effort, hoisted them over his shoulders and proceeded up the staircase.
At the top they were met with another open hallway, with sixteen doors one each side. “Here is where all of the royal family and nobles live sir.” Francis brought Applejack's bag to the last door on the left, while Rain's was dropped off on the last one on the right, where the stallion motioned for both he and Cobalt to enter. Rain and Applejack glanced at each other once more before they each went into their separate rooms, eager to see their new living arrangements.
For a royal room, Rain was a bit shocked. Instead of the fancy, elegant arrangements that he was used to in Canterlot when he visited the princess, it was kept simple. On either side of the room were a single bed kept afloat on a wooden stand, mostly made of cedar, with a few vine designs along the edges. Underneath the mattress were three drawers, each one with a pair of wings engraved over them. Neatly pressed pine green linen sheets were already ready for use, with olive drab pillows and an earth brown carpet. At the foot of each bed was a standing closet, while between them against the back wall was a single desk, a lamp post on the side and a rolling chair. “I guess this is home.”
Rain and Cobalt set about emptying their bags, packing away their clothes in the drawers and hanging them up in the closets. When they were done, Rain took a seat on his bed while Cobalt slipped out of her green shirt. “Really sis, you couldn't warn me first?”
“Oh shut it Rain. Ain't like you've never seen'em before.” She huffed as she sat on her bed shirtless, sighing when the breeze blew over her bare chest.
“Cobalt, that was when you were younger.”
“And when I got my piercing.” She stated matter-of-factually. His eyes went straight to her right breast, where he could see the silver ring piercing. Avoiding her body, he looked away as she laughed. A deep red blush was beginning to form. “You remember now don't you.”
“Unfortunately I do.” Again this earned him a laugh, but instead of it being awkward he joined in. “We should be heading back down to meet with Twilight.”
“Na, I think I'll wait her for my babe.” She giggled when Rain looked away again. “I know she loves the piercing.”
“Cobalt! I didn't need to know that!” Groaning, he left the room, listening to her echoing laughter as the door shut behind him. At the end of the passageway he could see Applejack conversing with Fluttershy, who was garbed in a yellow sundress with a rose in her hair, and Rainbow Dash, who chose to wear her black track pants with matching tank-top. From afar he could see that Fluttershy was blushing, and with his heightened hearing he could hear that Applejack was talking about him, but what exactly he couldn’t make out. As he approached they grew silent. Feeling like he was unwanted, he passed by without hesitation and made his way into the room to the right of the stairs.
Inside was an immense library spanning from one end to the other and wrapping back around into a full oval. It's only break was where the doorway was, but even that was a small gap, as the shelves continued above it. He whistled as he took another look around, almost immediately spotting the lavender colored alicorn princess. She was too engrossed in a novel to notice him. It was almost funny when he watched her read, as it reminded him of when they had first met all those years ago. He cleared his throat to gain her attention.
Twilight started, but otherwise remained in her seat. Looking up, a broad smile stretched across her face as he looked at the drake. “It's nice to see you again Rain.” She giggled mentally, then looked back down to her book. “I was just reading your latest work.” In her hands was the book entitled 'Trial of Tears', the book based upon what the dragons went through in the old days. It was a tale of when the dragons finally let go of their morality and became ruthless savages. “You spent a lot of time researching this didn't you?” It wasn't just an observation, but more of a question out of concern.
Rain sighed as he glanced around the room once more, finally noticing the table that was before the princess with a stack of books piled higher than she was in the chair, almost halfway to the ceiling. Despite his resentment towards those in the nobility, he loved the princess all the same, and sometimes it did have its perks, like a whole library full of books to just himself if he wanted. A crooked smile formed on his lips as he took a seat in the chair across from the princess. “Yes I did,” he finally managed after their long bought of silence.
“I noticed,” she whispered, more to herself than him. Rain looked over the princess again, noticing that she was donned in a flowing sapphire blue dress with golden trim, a ruby red necklace around her neck with a small smile upon her lips. Her wings were folded to her sides while a tiny sparkle could be seen in her eyes as she continued to read. “That isn't why I wanted to see you though.” Another round of silence cascaded down upon them, during which time the princess managed to skim through at least two more chapters in a matter of minutes. “Well, I there are some things I wanted to discuss with you. ”
“Alright.”
“Well, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as you know have declared that this school is to be open to all species.” Rain only nodded his head in response. “Princess Celestia has asked that I oversee the students while I'm here and to keep an eye out for any who could potentially be particularly good pilots.” The drake once more nodded his head, not seeing where the princess was going with this. “Well....” She held her tongue, remembering her swearing to secrecy for the time being. “Well, I just want you to keep an eye out for me.”
He knew here trademark grin. She always made it when things where either already awkward or they were about to be. “Okay....” Rain had a perplexed expression, but he let it slide when he noticed the beads of sweat profusely sliding down the mare's face. “What else did you want to talk about?”
At the change of subject Twilight used her magic to shut the library door so that they could have their privacy. “I wanted to ask a small favor of you. But... I'm afraid to ask...”
Rain could see the hesitance in her eyes, he could hear her courage faltering in her voice. The way that she slunk deeper into her chair told him that she was afraid of him right now. “Twilight, you know that you can tell me anything.”
“It's not that, it's just that, I am scared Rain. I think.... I think that I might be in love.” The drake once more adopted his perplexed expression.
“I don't understand, why would that be such a bad thing?”
“Well.... because I love...” She was hesitant to continue, and Rain could see it. Her heart began to beat faster while her mind was racing a mile a minute. Thoughts, visions of all the possible outcomes from her revelation flashed past her eyes. It made her lurch forward, feeling nauseated to the point where she could taste the bile. Never before had she even felt so weak, nor so vulnerable as she did now. Pushing past the lump in her throat, she said, “Because I love you Rain.”
Now it was Rain's turn to feel sick to his stomach. He watched as the mar sat back into her seat, tears falling from her eyes as she awaited his response. “Twilight,” he began, “I love you, but as my monarch. My heart belongs to another.” Twilight could only cry harder as she buried her face into the side of the chair, sobbing uncontrollably as she tried in vain to cease her tears. “I'm sorry Twilight.” Rain whispered as he steadily walked over to the mare.
Each footstep seemed to echo in his mind, each little click that his claws made through his boots could be heard, and with each one he felt like he was filled to the brim with tar. “Stay away.” Twilight whimpered from her curled up ball. Rain had dealt with ponies like her before, where they would curl up into a ball and not talk to anypony, least of all the one they were in love with. “Leave me alone.” She angrily growled at him through gritted teeth.
Despite her warning gestures, he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. “Listen to me Twilight. I understand what it's like to love somepony and not have them love you back. Before my current love there where two others, one a dragoness named Flourist, another a mare by the name of Rarity Azure, our mutual best friend.” By now Twilight had raised her head to listen to the drake. When she saw the spark of pain in his eyes she knew he was telling the truth.
“I was heartbroken after both of them. Flourist was my friend with whom Cobalt and I grew up with. She was the one who helped Cobalt come out and tell me that she liked mares and dragonesses, not drakes or stallions. I thought that she loved me, but she was in love with another, and I was devastated. But I learned to accept that she wasn't into a dragon like, she wanted to live a dangerous life, at the time I couldn't give her that.” A lone tear trailed down his cheek as he recounted the memories.
“W-What about R-Rarity?” Twilight asked between sobs.
“With Rarity, I just wasn't the drake she was looking for. She kept on and on about her prince charming, the 'stallion of her dreams' as it were. I wasn't that dream she had been searching for.” He stiffed a laugh when he thought about Rarity and who she was with now. Though she wouldn't tell anypony but him her secret, she wanted to so badly. She had sworn to her love that she wouldn't tell anypony but Rain. “She found her prince charming, it just wasn't me. What hurt worse was that we actually dated for a few months, and at first I thought she felt something, but I later learned that it was only because she had thought she felt something, but there never was anything there.”
A few more tears fell from the drake's face. “What I learned from them was that just because your heart gets broken, that you need to feel remorse, pity, or be saddened. What you need to do is be happy for them. Rarity is happy with her true love, and so is Flourist, even Rainbow Dash is happy with Ryder. My sister is planning on proposing to Sweetie Belle soon.” He wiped away what few tears remained, a knowing smile taking their place. The drake knelt down to place a hand on the mare's leg, making her start as she looked down at him. “Just be happy Twilight. I'm sure you'll find somepony out there for you.”
Twilight managed to slip out from her ball, but her tears still fell. “It hurts so much Rain. My heart aches, and I want to be happy, but I can't.”
Her tears came more forceful now. “I never said it was easy, but give it time, and the pain will go away. I promise.” The drake rose and placed a delicate kiss upon her brow, “Just know that I will always be here for you if you need me.” With that the drake turned and left the room, sulking as he entered the hallway. The door shut softly behind him, and beyond it he could hear the sobbing of Twilight.
Atop the stairs was barren, the girls obviously leaving to attend to orientation. The orange drake made his way to the top of the stairs, where he began the trek to his shared dorm. As he walked he listened to the near silent creak of the floorboards, the groan from the weight that he was putting on them. The time alone gave his thoughts a chance to run around ramped.
Was he really good enough for her? Did she even have the same feeling for him, or was he just destined to be alone? Although he knew that Princess Celestia had often said that there was somepony out there for everypony, he just wished that he could find that special pony to be in his life. His thoughts were broken as he ducked into his room, not even bothering to pay attention to the sounds that come from inside. As soon as he entered, she wished he had.
Lying in her back was his sister, though he could see that her pants were on the floor, along with whatever undergarments she had worn. Another set of clothes, a pair of blue jeans with Rarity's famous logo and a pink t-shirt with a yellow dandelion design on the front were scattered atop it, along with a pink lace bra and matching undergarments. Groaning, he quickly slipped over to his bed to grab his satchel before ducking out, the moans of his sister echoing in his mind. Why today? He thought as he walked away, making sure to use his key to lock the door before leaving.
Outside in the courtyard he could see the students making their way to the crescent shaped building. Immediately he fell in line with them. As they walked he looked into his bag to make sure that he had his two pencils and three notebooks. Once he was sure that they were there, as well as a pen and a binder, he looked up to make sure that he hadn't fallen behind.
As they drew closer to the crescent building he could see that it was a thing of beauty. Above him on the third floor he could see the seniors of the school watching them as they entered. Many of them talked among themselves as they pointed to various students, mostly to the gryphons. A few of the mares blushed when they saw some of the fresh students, but after a while they ignored them and conversed with their friends. One group of stallions seemed to single the drake out, their eyes seemingly burning a hole in the back of his head.
Rain was to flabbergasted to notice anything beyond how beautiful the building looked up close. In front of the first floor of windows was a garden of flowers; roses and dandelions with a few daffodils and vines growing up alongside of the building. An arched stairway lead up to the first floor, where it was a giant glass hallway until they got to the ends, where it was a mystery due to the bricks blocking his view.
Passing through the threshold and into the building gave him a second wind of air. All around he could feel the colder air form inside mix with the hot air from outside, creating a refreshing breeze that, although lasted for a few seconds, was more than welcome. Having to push his way inside, the drake followed the students to the left, where they stopped at a dead-end, only to turn right down a wide hallway that was darkened by the absence of sunlight, but was lit atop by a fain florescent glow.
Ahead he could hear the roar of students, followed by a bright light that, after being in the dark hallway, seemed to blind those around him. He managed to push past them and entered the main lecture room. He was astounded at the immense size of it all. The room was arranged in a rotunda, the ceiling was only a giant glass window, which allowed the sunlight to stream in. All around were various seats where the students were to sit, with a table set up before them. There were at least four seats to a row, and each row was arranged according to seniority. So the seniors were on the top row, the junior cadets on the second and so on.
Arranged around the outside of the rows, and displayed on the walls, were various carvings of Wonderbolt icons, heroes, legends, and even the regal princesses themselves. The table were made of a rough ceder, but were smoothed out and shined to have a marble look, and on each row's table was a legend from the Wonderbolts. There was even one of Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and Soarin.
He lost his breath when he saw the stage upon which the teacher would speak, a giant blackboard behind him, and a podium towards the front, made of marble and topped with a figure of Princess Twilight carved into the face. Behind it were seven chairs, each one arranged to be equal, while two more chairs were set forward, for whom was a mystery to him.
He was shoved aside violently and into a group of senior cadets, who only laughed at him when they shoved him to the ground. After dusting himself off, the drake proceeded with the crowd up to his tier, where he saw his friends already filling up their seats. Rain rushed over towards them, wanting to be close to his friends in case something were to go amiss, or if he missed anything. He made his halfway before a line of senior cadets blocked his way. Thinking quickly, he launched himself over their heads, rolling to reduce the impact on the other side as he landed on the table. Rolling off, he raced his way across towards Applejack and Rarity, all the while oblivious to the glares he was getting.
Reaching the final stretch, he dropped to his legs and slid into the table before anypony else could get the seat. He quickly assumed his seat beside of Applejack, who started at his sudden entrance, but gave him a warm smile nonetheless. Behind him he could hear the chatter of the upperclassmen, and many of them were making lewd remarks about Applejack and Rarity. The latter he just laughed about, for if they knew who she was dating, then they wouldn't ever dare think about her that way.
“Rain. Psst. Rain.” He heard from beside Applejack. When he looked over he saw that it was Rarity, trying to get his attention. “Can we meet up after orientation darling? I have some wonderful new to tell you.”
“Sure, I guess.” Rain gave her a warm smile, which she returned. Apparently Applejack had heard some of the remarks, as he watched her reach over and squeeze his hand. It wasn't anything that he got excited about, as it usually meant she was angry and was about to do something extremely stupid, mainly due to her stubborn pride. Instead of the hard jerk that she usually did however, she kept it to a small gentle squeeze, and instead of pulling away, she just left her hand there.
Rain couldn't help but smirk when he heard a few of the upperclassmen groan. What worried him however was when the seniors from before were talking about him, and what they were going to do to her. He grit his teeth to keep from walking up to them and doing something that he would regret. Instead he focused on the stage as the final group of students took their seats.
On the stage walked out seven stallions and mares, one of which was a turquoise stallion with long hair tied back in a pony tail sporting a light silver formal shirt with a black tie and a pair of black formal pants, his sapphire blue eyes scanning the crowd. For some odd reason the stallion felt familiar to Rain, but he couldn't place him in his memories. Something about the way that he was dressed ignited a spark in his mind, and suddenly he remember where he had seen him before. The night my parents died.
Rain gasped when he thought about it. Sure enough that stallion was there when Rain's parents had died. For what reason he couldn't understand, and even now it was shady, but he knew something about his parents. And he was going to find out what it was. Or so he told himself. That train of thought was derailed when both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna came up onto the stage, both looking regal in their battle armor from ages ago. Celestia was cloaked in a set of golden armor that matched her cutie mark with the symbol plastered over the breastplate, the similar was on Luna, only with her dark midnight blue color and her cutie mark.
Luna took her seat, as did Celestia. Thus the stallion from before came up to the podium, the glint of gold on his right hand betraying his marital status. “Welcome everypony, gryphon, and dragon.” He began. When he spoke, it was though he was addressing a fleet of commanders rather than students. “This year is a big year for all of us, as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have made some changes in the roster this year.”
Celestia rose as the stallion returned to his seat, a graceful smile upon his lips as he watched he take her rightful place. “Thank you Mr. Clawston.” Celestia's voice reverberated off of the walls and was soothing, almost hypnotic. Her presence alone almost made the room grow still in their seats, as if she had placed a spell on them to freeze them in the moment. “This year my sister and I agreed that we wanted this school to be open to everypony, not just to pegasi. Henceforth, this one simple rule must be followed, there will be no changes to much of the curriculum. Some of you think that it was easy before, but we have agreed to put more into it. Your classes will last a few minutes longer, and your courses tougher.”
A collective groan could be heard from the students, especially from the senior section. Celestia resumed her royal seat, allowing Clawston to retake the podium. Clearing his throat, he began, “Thank you Princess Celestia.” He clapped, which prompted the students to as well. “Alright, for some of you this is going to be routine, for some of you this is new. As you can see, you are all arranged by grade. Top row is the Senior Elite, then the Junior Pilots, Cadets, Ensign, Pilots, and Recruits. This will be your section when you come here for you lessons, either myself or one of the seven teachers will be presiding over the class...”
For over an hour Mr. Clawston stood and explained the rules, set the guidelines, and explained where everything was. By the end of it all, Rain had taken a few notes of the guidelines, but never once did he break his hold with Applejack. A few times during the lecture he would glance over at her, but other than that he remained focused on the stallion. His focus always seemed to deter however when he noticed the glint of his wedding ring, something about it clicking in his memory about the night his parents died all those years ago.
“Rain, are ya alright sugar cube?”
The drake's eyes glanced over towards the mare, seeing that she was more concerned about him than the lecture. “Nothing. Just thinking.” He brushed off, though he knew that she could see right through his lie.
Forsaking his obvious lie, the mare turned back to Mr. Clawston, while Rain looked away. A glimmer in the back caught his eyes. Up in the top row a few of the senior officers were passing around a small metallic container, of its contents he was unsure, but he knew that it couldn't be good. Before anypony could spot him he looked forward, ignoring some of the glares from his peers when he chanced a glance back.
After the lecture was over the students were released back to the courtyard for lunch and to prepare for the long weekend ahead. As it turned out, they were to fly in the simulators during the weekend while during the week they were to study aviation, history, and various other subjects that any good pilot would need to posses.
Applejack had returned to her dorm room shortly before the lecture let out, leaving Rain alone with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in the main courtyard. Opting out of watching Rainbow Dash show off some more, the orange and purple striped dragon made his way over to the collection of trees that he had seen when they entered.
It was more enticing up close than it was from afar. At the base the roots of the tree grew out like thick, gnarled fingers that had been broken but kept on looking for light, while arrayed around the base where tiny branches that sprouted golden yellow flowers with purple lilies inside and almost snow white stalks. The tree was no taller than any of the buildings, and had heavy branches, each one easily able to hold the weight of three fully grown dragons. Arranged around where the roots seemed to end were silver bricks that were painted with brown and green stripes, giving it the appearance of the grass.
The drake sighed as he swooped beneath the tree, letting the shade it provided block out the warmth of the sun and refresh his body. He couldn't keep away the giddy feeling that he had when he thought about the lecture hall, and how Applejack had actually held his hand. It made the blood pump faster through his veins as he rolled around in the bed of grass and roots.
When he felt like he was about to burst with excitement he dropped his bag and jumped into the air, latching onto a low hanging branch. From there he began his ascent up the tree, each branch his next foothold as he progressed steadily up, his eyes glued ahead while his tail brushed each leaf. Air couldn’t get out of his lungs fast enough and he began to grow weary, but he kept going. Only a few feet ahead he could see a break in the thick canopy, the sun's rays glittering in the pale light of the afternoon.
A gasp escaped him as he emerged from the opening in the leaves, his heart pounding in his chest as adrenaline began to flow through him. “Ya!” He shouted to nopony. He stretched out his wings before expanding them, letting the air cup in the leather appendages before he released his grip on the tree, feeling the free air taking him up into the sky.
Over towards his right he could spot Rainbow Dash flying around doing daring stunts and tricks, trying to prove to everypony that she was the best flier, but he didn't care. To him, flying wasn't about being the fastest, it wasn't about who could do the most tricks, nor was it about who was the best, but what mattered to him, was the exhilarating feeling; the sense of weightlessness, that sense that gravity is just a joke, that his horizon was limitless, that he was just a feather in the wind, that his heart was free, that he was free, and nopony could rob him of that freedom...
