This is the diary of Rainbow “Bright Skies” Dash, fastest flier in Equestria, bearer of the Element of Harmony: Loyalty, and honorary Wonderbolt
I didn’t think for a second that my life would have ended up the way it has. Everything had finally started coming together, I had even been accepted into their academy for pony’s sake! Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself here, my name is Rainbow Dash, and I’m a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane, arguably the fastest mare in Equestria; whose biggest dream was to be a Wonderbolt. I represent the Element of Harmony: Loyalty... which, I suppose, is the main reason why my life is the way it is.
For anypony who doesn’t know who the Wonderbolts are, they are the best fliers in Equestria who are well known for their aerobatic displays and daring stunts. Now earlier I mentioned an academy, I was referring to the Wonderbolts Academy, where the Wonderbolts train their potential recruits and practice their stunts. I remember being so excited for such an opportunity; the chance to prove myself to the Wonderbolts. It was one of the greatest times of my life, with the exception of the day when Lightning Dust decided it would be a great idea to cloud bust with a tornado. She almost got my friends killed! Luckily, I was fast enough to save them with my quick wits and a cloud. I went on to break many records that week and I like to think fondly of my time there. It has been nearly thirty-two years since then.
Unfortunately, shortly after my days at the academy (about a month) the unthinkable happened: war. It happened so suddenly, so violently, no pony could have seen it coming. It was at the end of summer, a few days after clearing up Spike's life-debt problems with Applejack. The fillies and foals were preparing for school, the parents: their jobs. I was at home, in my cloud-house in the skies above Ponyville, lazing about before I had to go to work busting the clouds that threatened to rain off –schedule. I was staring out of my window watching the ponies below go about their work like a colony of ants, when, out of the corner of my eye I saw something hurtling through the sky at speeds that few pegasi could match. When I turned my head to watch the object soar, I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was hurtling straight towards Canterlot!
If I wasn’t fully awake before, I was now, and I immediately sprang up and flew to warn my unicorn friend, Twilight Sparkle (the bearer of the Element of Magic, student of Princess Celestia, and the most magically gifted unicorn in the land) of the danger. It was then that I noticed that the buildings of Ponyville were moving seemingly of their own accord. This only spurred me to fly faster towards the massive oak tree that was both Twilight’s house and the library of Ponyville. Upon approaching the front of the library, I flew through one of the windows in time to see Twilight and her dragon assistant Spike struggling to keep the books from flying off of the shelves. I was by their side helping in an instant. Not five minutes later, to our relief, the quaking stopped and Twilight immediately started inspecting her home for damage.
I didn’t even get to tell her about the flying object, when the ground shook again for a couple of seconds followed by a massive explosion that could clearly be heard even across the distance between Ponyville and Canterlot. I remember Twilight’s surprised yelp of, “What the hay was that?!” as she and I ran out of the library to investigate. We saw nothing at the front of the library but as we rounded the oak, I couldn’t believe my eyes yet again, and judging from the slack-jawed face of my most articulate and composed friend, she couldn’t either.
The explosion came from where the large flying object had impacted Canterlot. Where we could once see some of the taller towers on the mountain city, we could now see maybe one while the rest were obscured by the thick billowing cloud of black smoke that was emanating from the city. It was a devastating sight, to see our capital in shambles. I remember Twilight’s reaction. She immediately had Spike send a letter to Princess Celestia to make sure she and Luna were alright.
I don’t know how Spike’s message-magic works but since it gets the job done, I usually don’t think too much about it.
Celestia responded immediately with instructions for Twilight to gather the Elements of Harmony and secure Ponyville. Twilight, being the faithful student she was, obeyed to the letter of what Celestia commanded. However, after about twelve hours of making sure that the residents of Ponyville were locked securely within their homes, we (Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and I) were curious as to what was going on. By her agitated retort and pacing, it was clear that Twilight was just as curious as we were and also just as in the dark. We all knew she hated being left in the dark when it came to such important business. An hour or so later we managed to convince Twilight that she should send another message to Celestia asking for an explanation.
Celestia responded swiftly. It wasn’t what anypony would have wanted to hear nor expected to.
That flying object was the opening act of the first war to have happened in the Land of Harmony for centuries.
It was during that time that I finally was admitted into the Wonderbolts, as well as several other pegasi. While I had dreamed of flying with the Wonderbolts, those dreams were always of the carefree maneuvers and stunts that I had always practiced in preparation for the day I would finally join them, not of wars and fights, terror and pain, tragedy and sorrow. In a way, I got my dream, just not the way I wanted or expected to. A little known fact about the Wonderbolts is that they are also the aerial defense for Equestria, a military group if you will, and after many battles, close-calls, and losses, I progressed to the top ranks of the Wonderbolts. I won't go into specifics on that at this point, as that's not my goal here.
I was a different mare by the end of the war. Everypony was, but none more so than me and my five friends, the Elements of Harmony. Pinkie Pie as Laughter, Rarity as Generosity, Applejack as Honesty, Fluttershy as Kindness, myself as Loyalty, and Twilight Sparkle as Magic.
Have you ever killed another sentient being? I have, and I know the other Elements have too. In a war, you often have no choice. The first time I killed; I haven’t forgotten it. That feeling that I had, the surge of adrenaline and fear. Knowing that it was kill or be killed. The feeling of power, with my hoof on his trachea, it was exhilarating. Terrifying, but exhilarating.
Enough about that though, between the Wonderbolts and my calling as an Element, there was very little free time, and whenever I was needed for a task that only the Elements could handle, there was never any time to check up with the other elements on how they were holding up. There wasn’t any time to just relax and catch up either, to reaffirm our friendship’s bonds. On top of that, most of us were on different war fronts: I was in the sky with the Wonderbolts, Twilight was somewhere she wouldn’t say working on spells for the unicorns that supported the earth ponies and pegasi. Rarity was in Ponyville designing combat efficient uniforms and sometimes weapons with Pinkie Pie. Pinkie was also in Ponyville but was the main inventor for most of the weapons and barricades used. Applejack remained in Ponyville to fortify the town and Fluttershy was a medic in the main army. She later told me that in her spare time she would train animals for the war.
The war between us, our allies the diamond dogs and griffons, and the changelings and their allies the minotaurs lasted no longer than two years, but that was all it took to shatter the peace, the security, and many friendships. It also ended with a lot less bloodshed than most of the wars described in Twilight’s history books, so I suppose that’s a plus. How it ended was the worst part though, it wasn’t in glorious combat on the field or in the sky, nor was it through peaceful negotiation, but rather from the deceitful tactics of Queen Chrysalis, and the minotaur King Minos. It all came down to one morning in the last week of the war, a skirmish, if it could even be called that, which could have cost the war for Equestria if it had gone differently. I wish it had gone differently though, it has left a rift that has still not healed completely within my heart, it separated the Elements of Harmony as a group, and it cost the life of my closest friend. Some ponies used to say, “There is always more than one way to solve a problem”. Twilight used to say that phrase. But we didn’t have time to try and find that other way.
Regardless, it’s all in the past now, we can’t change it.
Everypony knows the story of the war either as it is taught from the book that was written about it, or from living it.
As is to be expected though, some details are left out. Unfortunately, in this case, important ones. Like how Celestia turned her back on the Crystal Empire as it was completely destroyed by the minotaurs. How the minotaurs had celebrations for days as they paraded the heads of Princess Cadence and Prince-General Shining Armor around for the world to see.
Important details such as when Celestia lost what was left of Canterlot to the combined armies of changelings and minotaurs and was sent into hiding for the remainder of the war.
Details such as when Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts and Princess Luna together, with the help of the Wonderbolts,(myself included)and six unicorns kept the changelings outside of Cloudsdale at bay for a week straight while waiting for reinforcements to come from the Griffon Lands. A wait that would have been shorter had Celestia took the advice offered to her from her advisor as well as the Diamond Dogs’ advisor and asked for the griffon’s help sooner.
That battle around Cloudsdale was legendary to the point that the historians decided it couldn’t be true despite the amount of witnesses. (This resulted in a historian ban in Cloudsdale for about five years. It would have been longer had Luna not convinced the mayor that doing so would only further the rift between the truth and lies). It was commonly referred to by the citizens of Cloudsdale as the Battle of Cloudsdale.
I was there, it was real, and it was hell. Spitfire died there. So did Soarin and Fleetfoot and many other elite Wonderbolts and unicorns. I heard that around a year after the war ended, Princess Luna had the most skilled cloud-mason construct a commemorative monument in the town square of Cloudsdale with a plaque that read: “For those who fell for our country, so that their lives won’t be forgotten, and that they may forever fly free and their legend live on”.
I suppose I yet again got sidetracked delving into memories. But now that I think about it, this journal was so that I would always remember the events of the war. I guess it would be important to write what happened to the other Elements of Harmony, though I doubt I could forget, even if I tried. To do that I will have to go back into my memories again to that final week, the short skirmish that decided the war.
Author's Note
Thanks for the read. Please, let me know what you think.
I may or may not make a story that goes in-depth on the war.
This will be continuedas part of a different story.