The Quest Through Time

Chapter 19

“How bad is she?” Basil asked. He, along with Snowblind and Dax were in the same room where Arwen was resting and were keeping their voices down to prevent from disturbing her.

“Doc says she’s got some bruising but nothing too serious other than being shaken up a little,” Dax said.

“He went easy on her,” Snowblind said. “Probably trying to get to us.”

“It could’ve been a lot worse though,” Dax stated.

“And for that we should be grateful,” Basil said. “Let’s hope she can get back on her hooves soon. Now then…” He looked back to make sure they were alone. “You said they have a new weapon?”

“A mech with a complete AI,” Snowblind said. “It was a prototype and probably scrap metal by now.”

“Still, this is rather disturbing,” Basil said. “If Ghidious is resorting to using machines now, I fear we’re in more trouble than we thought.”

“Not everypony has returned back yet,” Dax said.

“Yes, I fear we may have lost contact,” Basil said. “But I have an idea how to get them out.”

“In all my years I thought I would never see this sword again…” Princess Celestia stated as she saw the sword Twilight now owned.

“Is this really the sword Excalibur?” Twilight asked.

“Indeed,” Celestia said, nodding. “Of course, it goes by many other names as well. And you said it was in a courtyard?” Twilight nodded. “It must have been moved since my imprisonment. But Ghidious would have at least hidden much more carefully than this.”

Twilight decided to opt out the part where the sword called out to her. “But why did I find it? Why me?”

“It cannot be accident nor coincidence,” Celestia stated. “If you found this sword and were able to pull it out, then it will be needed to save Equestria.” Celestia’s face then saddened. “Of course, seeing this sword brings back… sad memories. If you’ll excuse me Twilight, I need to return to my personal chambers.”

Twilight was confused by the princess’ sudden departure but said nothing and nodded, leaving her in her room.

“So ya really found Excalibur?” Applejack asked once Twilight came back.

“I guess so,” Twilight said, glancing back at it. “Too bad I’m not much of a professional swordspony.” Ever since coming back, “Artemis” hasn’t said a word, not that she really cared for all she know she was probably just hearing things.

“So what happens now?” Fluttershy asked.

“Sounds like it won’t be long before the Empire comes and rears its head at us,” Rainbow Dash said.

“You are right about that.” Basil suddenly showed up behind them. “But we’re still in the process of getting everypony back here. We lost contact with a group out in Hoofington. The place is under heavy Imperial control so it’ll be next to impossible to get them out. Rainbow Dash, seeing as how fast you are and how easy it is for you to fly out of danger, I was hoping to ask for your assistance.”

“Sure!” Rainbow said. “I’ve needed a good fly for awhile anyway.”

Basil nodded. “And perhaps I could ask for your help as well Fluttershy?”

“M-Me?” Fluttershy asked.

“I do need a Pegasus team for this and unfortunately most of the others are already out on assignment. Besides, I figured you would both be interested if it meant seeing an old friend of yours.”

“Old friend? Who?” Rainbow asked.

Basil smiled. “You’ll just have to go see her yourself.”

The deep evening sky, the warm air between her wings; this was what pegasi do. She could’ve sprinted all the way there but-

“Will you hurry up ‘Shy!? It’ll be nightfall by the time we get there at this rate.” Rainbow glared daggers at her friend, always reluctant to fly the speeds Rainbow liked.

“S-Sorry Rainbow,” Fluttershy mumbled. “How far are we?”

“Not far now, according to the coordinates given,” Rainbow said. “If the place is crawling with Imps then we’ll need to go in quietly.” Hoofington wasn’t much farther and they could see it was bordering a small forest, perfect for cover. “There, we’ll land in there and I can do some recon.” Fluttershy sighed sadly. She never was a fan of forests, big or small.

“Um… Rainbow… don’t you think a place like this would… be a good spot for an ambush?” she asked.

(A/N: For this part, the song I’m using here is “Black Water” from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete.

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“Ambush?” Rainbow snorted. “Please, if there was anypony here, I of all ponies would have noticed.” As if on cue, there was suddenly the rustling of tree branches. Three figures jumped out of nowhere and pinned both Rainbow and Fluttershy. Rainbow could instantly tell they were pegasi and they were strong. As much as she tried to fight, there was no way she was getting out of this one.

“Now, now guys that’s not how we treat our guests.” Rainbow glanced behind her and much to her displeasure saw Captain Nimbus Clash, who apparently was lying in wait for them.

“You!” Rainbow spat.

“Oh, I’ve see you two before in Cloudsdale,” Clash said. “Oh dear… what was your name again… oh yes, Rainbow Dash. How nice to see you again. And you brought your friend as well. Luckily for her she’s not my problem right now. You on the other hoof…” Clash walked right up to Rainbow and smacked her hard across the face with his wing. “Your little stunt at Cloudsdale almost cost me my position. Not to mention I don’t like ponies one-upping me.” He struck her again as the other two pegasi held her down.

Rainbow could taste blood; the last blow had split her lip. She smirked slightly and looked Clash straight in the eye defiantly. “That all you got?”

Normally such cockiness did not bother Clash, but he was still fuming about the past events and this Pegasus was getting on his nerves. She was a defiant one, and he had to put her in her place. Nodding slightly to his buddies, he flung another punch right into Rainbow’s face, knocking her off her hooves this time.

“Please!” Fluttershy cried, holding back tears. “Enough, stop!”

Clash paused. “Sorry Dash, I guess I had to let off some steam… But I’m not done with you yet, not at all.”

Rainbow could feel swelling near her right eye. She was probably going to have a black eye. She tried getting up but the pain was becoming too much.

“Still got some fight in you?” Clash asked. “You know, if you weren’t such a goody two-shoes you’d be an excellent addition to our team. But unfortunately, you’re just a waste of talent.”

(A/N: For this next part the song I’m using is “Locke’s Theme” from Final Fantasy VI.

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*All of a sudden, two yellow blurs came out of nowhere and tackled the two pegasi to the ground. A third came between Rainbow and Clash. “Hey Shadowdolts, pick on somepony your own size!” the young Pegasus mare said.

“You guys?” Clash spat, gritting his teeth. “Thought we already took care of you.”

“Sorry Clash, we don’t go down that easily,” the mare said as two more pegasi in uniform showed up. “And really? Three on one? Not a fair fight unless you wanna brawl with us too?”

Clash glanced at the group now before him. He snorted. “Fine, we’ll go. But you haven’t seen the last of us. We’ll see each other again soon, that includes you Rainbow Dash.” He and his two cronies then took off.

The young mare exhaled in relief and helped Rainbow to her hooves. “Sorry we didn’t get here sooner. You alright?”

“Yeah, just a bit beat up,” Rainbow said. “Nice to see some friendly pegasi for-” She stopped. “Wait, those uniforms… you guys are Wonderbolts!?”

“You could say that,” the mare stated. “The name’s Firefly. This is my brother Blazin’, and the other three guys are Quickstep, Featherweight, and FalconEye.” Each of them nodded hello. “And you are Rainbow Dash. It’s an honor to meet you ma’am. And of course you too Fluttershy.”

“You know who I am?” Rainbow asked.

“Of course,” Firefly said. “My parents talked about you all the time. Well, before you disappeared that is.”

“Your parents?” Rainbow asked.

“Ah, yeah,” Firefly chuckled. “My parents were Spitfire and Soarin’.”

“Spitfire and- wow, I… had no idea,” Rainbow said. “With that quickness I can believe it.”

“You bet. So what brings you two out here?” Firefly asked.

“We were sent to find a patrol that lost contact with rebel forces,” Rainbow explained. “I’m guessing that’s you guys?”

“After the Empire took over, radio contact was severed,” Blazin’ said. “We’re surprised anypony even came out to get us.”

“But we can’t leave yet,” Firefly said. “We have to let Mama Bird know what’s going on.”

“Mama Bird’s our leader, and she’s the one who made the new Wonderbolt team,” Blazin’ said. “Despite the fact the Wonderbolts are now listed as traitors.”

“This Mama Bird sounds like a brave pony,” Fluttershy said.

“The bravest pony we know,” Firefly said. “Come on, you need those wounds looked at. Our headquarters isn’t far from here.”