Homegrown Blades

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 4
Epilogue

Chapter 1

It wasn't her first time in Canterlot, but it might as well have been a completely new city. Instead of crowds of well dressed ladies and suited gentlecolts in top hats, the streets were filled with silence and the chill of winter. The sun seemed to follow her as she shuffled along, but the beams provided little warmth. A few stray bits of litter rolled by; it was as if trash and debris were populating the deserted city, replacing the ponies who had once called Canterlot home.

Really, that was an exaggeration, Rainbow Dash had to admit. Every so often she'd see an old stallion slowly creak by or crawl to one of the dusty benches, too old to be of any use. Still, they were a reminder that Canterlot wasn't a complete ghost town, that there was life away from the blood soaked arctic wastes, that there was a reason she was here in this sanctuary for those too weak or old or rich to fight instead of on the frontline. The steel handle of her left wing dug into her shoulder, forcing her to set down her package and loosen the cold imitation.

Rainbow moved through the neighborhood, past empty faded homes and untidy lawns. Canterlot had lost its luster with its ponies. Her reflection in one of the dusty windows caught her eye, and with a groan, she tried to smooth out her wild unkept mane, flattening short tuffs of hair until it was passable. She pressed against the shirt of her uniform, attempting to do away with the wrinkles and lint on her collar and tie.

"Ms. Flare, I'm, no, I am sorry, um, I regret to," Rainbow Dash muttered as she continued her way. She stopped at a small house, one of the only ones on the block with lights visibly on. She made her way up to the front, took a deep breath, and knocked twice. Twenty six seconds passed, Rainbow counted, before the door slowly opened.

A dull-yellow mare had answered. "Yes?" she said hesitantly as she looked over Rainbow. When her eyes found the package Rainbow Dash held and the flag draped over it, the mare paled.

Rainbow took a step forward. "Stormy Flare?" She extend the package toward the mare. With shaking hooves, Stormy Flare accepted the box and slowly lifted the lid, letting the flag dropped to the ground. The thought to reprimanding her was swiftly crushed as Rainbow watched tears stream down Stormy Flare's features. They splashed onto the shiny gold medals that sat in the package, next to a single golden primary feather.

"Ms. Flare, I regret to inform you that your daughter, Capt. Spitfire--"

The door slammed shut. From the other side, Rainbow could hear the sobs. Slowly, she backed away from Stormy Flare's home, away from the cries of her captain's mother, away from the abandoned flag that laid on the doormat. She had done her job, she was done with this city.

Well, no, not yet, Rainbow reminded herself. Still, she thought to herself as she glanced to the sky, toward the sun, she had some time to spare before her next meeting. Somewhere in the city, perhaps somewhere closer to the nobility's section, there was an open bar.

And Celestia knows I need a drink..

Twilight Sparkle had been waiting at the arranged meeting point, the palace entrance, for a total of forty seven minutes, fifty two seconds (she had counted). That meant the military representative she was supposed to greet was exactly seven minutes, twenty nine seconds late. She had already practiced her professional salutation an excessive number of times by even her standards, and her notecards were becoming worn down by her reviewing. Her patience was running thinner and thinner as the established schedule was pushed further back each second.

At last the representative appeared, her colorful mane messy and wild and her tie missing. Her uniform was decorated with dust, and cider could be smelled in her breath. Frustration overcame professionalism, and Twilight's greeting came out as a simple, curt, "You're late."

"Sorry, I'm still on military time."

"That doesn't--." Twilight cleared her throat. "I am Twilight Sparkle, assistant to Dr. Moon Dancer, director of SpARDA." She held out her hoof.

"Sparta?"

"Specialized Armament Research and Development Agency."

"Oh, ah." Rainbow Dash took the unicorn's hoof and shook it. "Hey. Lt. Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolts, um, EUP."

"Right. Well, there is much ahead of us, and we're already behind schedule, so if you could follow me, Lieutenant." Twilight marched forward, toward the palace, with Rainbow close behind. Two old stallions in armor stood on guard at the entrance, saluting awkwardly as Twilight and Rainbow approached. Rainbow Dash winced as one of them dropped his spear and fumbled with it as he tried to pick it up.

"Not much point of guards here, is there?" she asked when they were a good distance away. "The princess isn't here."

"It keeps the nobles at ease," Twilight replied as they approached a mirror. She touched her horn at the base, then stared into her reflection's eyes. "Most of the palace's defenses are automated, one of our first projects," she added with a small smirk, "but some ponies just need to see a pony in armor. Ahem, user T Sparkle, password sigma pi kappa forty seven."

The glass suddenly melted away like ice. "Come on," Twilight said, stepping into the hole. "We shouldn't keep the director waiting."

Cautiously, Rainbow followed. She glanced over her shoulder and watched as the glass reappeared, blocking the exit. "Can't somepony just break the mirror to get in?"

"Without authorization, they'd just hit a wall," Twilight explained. "Think of it like a portal or a door to a completely different area. It's a redesign of the common teleportation spell with elements from Starswirl the Bearded's notes on what he described as 'mirror worlds', a phrase that has baffled researchers for--"

Rainbow's yawn sent a blush across Twilight's face. "Right, our facility is at the end of this tunnel. If you would follow me, please."

Light shined from the end. As they grew closer, Rainbow saw that it came from a small outpost dug out of the cavern wall. A single pony sat inside, wearing an odd vest and a pair of goggles. "Morning Ms. Sparkle," the stallion grunted. "Fine time to show up. The Director's pissed."

"Yes, our..." Twilight bit her lip. "...tardiness. I will do my best to explain, thank you. Now if you could just let us through."

"Nah, it's not that." The stallion shuffled through a folder of papers before turning to a control panel on the other end. "See, there was a, actually, you'll figure out soon enough." The stallion grinned, flashing a set of teeth stained yellow from coffee.

Twilight tapped her hoof impatiently. "Yes, yes, very well, could you please stop wasting my time?"

"Give me a sec, gotta reprogram the cannons so we don't have to explain why the EUP Guard's suddenly down one Wonderbolt. There." The stallion pushed himself away from the controls. "You ladies have a nice day."

The air seemed to shimmer as Rainbow and Twilight stepped out of the tunnel and into the light. Rainbow shut her eyes to keep the light from blinding her, and when she opened them, she found herself standing on crystal. Ponies in lab coats rushed this way and that, carrying vials and papers. The rapid taps of typewriters came from the cubicles sitting in the center of the massive room before her. To Rainbow Dash's right was a laboratory with machinery and devices she could have never dreamed of, all separated by a sheet of glass. More rooms were on her left, some stacked on top of each other. She looked up and at the floor of more laboratories, and when she tilted her head to floor, she stared down at more ponies running about in white coats.

"So, this is SpARDA." Rainbow Dash released a low whistle. "Why haven't we won this war yet?"

"Out of a thousand ideas, we might have the resources for a fifth," Twilight said as she led the way through the maze of ponies and papers. "A good percentage of those never make it through the research process, either because they're too impractical or they're taking too much time. And then there's development and production and testing and copyright lawyers and ethical ramifications meetings." The unicorn sighed. "I'm afraid we're not as impressive as we appear."

"But you've got something, right?" Rainbow quickly stepped to the side as a pony in a gurney was rushed past. "What's with that?" she asked, gesturing.

Twilight kept walking. "A failed trial, probably. And yes, there's a reason why Dr. Moon Dancer requested for a military representative. I understand that Sombra's been employing golems?"

"Yeah, the crystal beasts." Rainbow scowled. "The Crystal Empire's magic keeps them protected and us weak. You saying you've got something to even those odds?"

"I would like to believe so. Dr. Moon Dancer knows more about Project Fifty Three, and--"

More stretchers rolled by. Masked ponies in yellow, fireproof jackets pushed past, carrying a massive hose. Twilight frowned. "This will put us behind schedule."

Rainbow watched as pair of ponies dragged a third. "Shouldn't we help?"

"They have this under control, no need to interfere," Twilight answered before walking forward. "Now, as I was saying, Dr. Moon Dancer will provide any details you require. Her office is right this way."

They stopped in front of a simple glass door adorn with only a small plaque that read MOON DANCER, PhD. Unlike the other rooms that made up the walls, this one had curtains all along the crystal, hiding the insides from exterior eyes. Twilight Sparkle knocked once, then stepped to the side.

"Who is it?" came a weary voice.

"Twilight Sparkle, ma'am, with the military representative, Lt. Rainbow Dash of the Wonderbolts."

"Now?" There was an audible sigh. "Very well, come in."

Rainbow turned to Twilight with a questioning look, which the unicorn could only answer with shrug. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Ma'am, it is my pleasure to--"

Something small and purple rushed forward and buried itself into Twilight's chest. It released muffled cries as it shook. Clawed hands reached for the unicorn's back, stopped short by the length of the arms they were attached to. Twilight stepped back, surprised, then smiled and pulled the being closer into an embrace, carefully placing her forelegs between the green spikes that ran all the way down its back and tail. "Hey, hey, it's alright," Rainbow heard her whisper. "Everything's fine."

"Ahem."

The faked cough drew Rainbow's attention to the mare sitting behind the desk. Everything about her shouted stern, from the bun she wore her mane in to the glint of her glasses that hid her eyes to the downward tilt of her pursed lips. "So, you're Moon Dancer?"

"Dr. Moon Dancer, director of SpARDA," the mare replied curtly. "And I'm to understand that you are representing the EUP forces?" Moon Dancer's horn lit up, and she pulled out a chair before the desk and gestured toward it. "I'm afraid to say your trip has been for nothing, Lieutenant," she said dryly as Rainbow took a seat.

Rainbow Dash blinked. "Sorry, what? I thought you guys had a secret weapon for us."

Dr. Moon Dancer removed her glasses and shined them with the edge of her coat. "Ms. Sparkle, please return Project Twelve to, ah, their quarters."

Twilight bowed her head and led the purple being clinging on her to the door with gentle prodes. "Come on, Spike, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

The door closed quietly, but the director still winced. She exhaled deeply before ducking under her desk. She returned with a large binder and set it in front of Rainbow, opening it to a diagram of what appeared to be a large gray gorilla with a flattened head. "Project Fifty Three, designed specifically to combat Sombra's crystal automatons, provide protection against the Crystal Empire's innate magical environment, and operate as a siege weapon against Sombra's fortress when the time arrives."

Rainbow turned the page. Seeing nothing but equations, she turned to the next and found a photo of a pony at the feet of a massive metal brute. It stood on two legs, and two long arms extended from its broad shoulders, both of which carried giant cannons. "Whoa, that thing's huge!"

"As I said, they were designed to fight Sombra's golems. The armor was made from an alloy of multiple magic resistant metals, along with samples of the crystal golems themselves. And those cannons?" Moon Dancer pointed at the picture. "They're enchanted to fire a wide range of ammunitions, as well as the ability to infuse magical energy into the shells, giving them more impact than conventional gunpowder. A perfect accumulation of science, engineering, and magic. I'm sure you would have loved it." she said, breaking to a smile as she stared at the creation. A second later and Moon Dancer became somber once more. "A pity you had to waste your time."

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash lifted her head. "What do you mean? I mean, this is perfect! I've got to see it in action."

Moon Dancer sighed and left her chair. She walked to the back of the office and peeked through the blinds. "About half an hour ago, somepony ran an unauthorized combat test with Project Fifty Three. There were good intentions, I'm sure, just making sure everything was in working order, though for the life of me I do not know how the pony who thought using Project Twelve as a test dummy was a good idea found a place in this agency."

"Uh, Project Twelve?" Rainbow shook her head. "Wait, I thought we were talking about Project Fifty Five."

"Fifty Three." Moon Dancer pulled aside the blinds, revealing the smoking wreckage on the other side of the window. "Or, at least, what remains of it."

Rainbow Dash slowly closed her mouth. She got up and made her way to the director's side at the back of the office. She stared at the twisted pieces of charred metal sticking out of the ash. She tried to recall the image from the photo, the giant colossal standing tall and formidable, with its cannons aimed menacing toward the sky, to compare it to debris before her now. "What happened?"

"A failed trial," Moon Dancer answered bitterly before returning to her desk. After one last glance at the wreckage, Rainbow followed.

"But you can remake it, right?"

"Given time, yes. We may have lost the prototype, but we still have the blueprints and everything." Dr. Moon Dancer slumped into her chair. "The problem is resources, especially for the alloy. It could be another year before we have enough to rebuild it."

"What? You're kidding me!"

Moon Dancer's glare sent Rainbow back down into her seat. "Do I look like a kidding mare?" She sighed and pulled away the binder on her desk. "Again, I apologize for wasting your time and for cutting this meeting short, but there's much more work to be done." She took off her glasses and rubbed the space between her eyes. "I'll have my assistant see you out."

"There's got to be something here," Rainbow protested, once again on the edge of her chair. "Something, anything we can use. This is your job!"

"And we are doing it the best we can!" Moon Dancer growled back. "What do want me to do, magically poof a brand new catapult that'll instantly blow off Sombra's head with a chorus from a choir of virgin models that serve you sparkling wine out of thin air? You see that?" Moon Dancer jabbed her hoof at the destroyed weapon. "You're welcome to any scrapes you find, maybe you can put it back together instead of us!"

Rainbow swallowed. "Look, sorry, I didn't mean--"

"No, I apologize." Moon Dancer turned away. "That was unprofessional, and I have no excuse. It's just, frustrating." She looked down at the binder in her hooves and sighed. "Our first big project, this close to being released, and it breaks down in the very last trial."

"I get that, yeah." Rainbow rubbed her foreleg, her eyes drifting to her metal wing. "I get it, being frustrated. Everything's so close, then something just takes it away." She turned to the window and stared at the ashy ruins. Moon Dancer followed her gaze and grimaced. She got up and let the blinds fall, blocking the view.

"Again, I apologize for wasting your valuable time," Moon Dancer said as returned to her seat. "There's not much I can offer right to you, but perhaps you would like a tour, maybe see what we have currently in development."

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, uh, yeah. Maybe another time. Well, actually, I mean if you're testing any other combat trials anytime soon, I..."

Rainbow blinked. Her mouth slowly closed. She got to her feet and walked to the window at the back of the office. She brushed aside the blinds and tapped on the glass. "You said this thing was destroyed in a test against some other project, right?"

Moon Dancer frowned. "Yes, against Project Twelve."

"What can you tell me about Project Twelve."

Chapter 2

"...and, and they said they'd give me some special if I helped, s-so I--"

Twilight Sparkle groaned. "No wonder Dr. Moon Dancer's angry."

The purple being tucked between Twilight's forelegs and under her head shuddered. "At me?"

"No, not you. At whoever got you into this mess, though I suppose seeing Project Fifty Three's effectiveness against a dragon would have provided some nice data." Hearing a sniff, Twilight smiled apologetically. "Don't worry about it, Spike. You couldn't help it. Dr. Moon Dancer understands that better than anypony.

"But I broke the big important thing everypony wanted to show off," the being whimpered as it wiped its nose. It looked up with water still in its dark slitted eyes. "I'm sure everypony hates me now."

"That's not true, not after all your help."

The being sniffed. "My help? What do you mean?"

Twilight chuckled dryly and sighed. "Well, you proved that Project Fifty Three can't deal with dragons, so there goes that hypothesis." She shook her head and smirked. Encouraged by Twilight's grin, the being began to smile too. "You sure you're not hurt?"

"Nope, I'm fine," the being answered. "You sure I didn't hurt anypony?"

"Eh, maybe a few hospitalizations," Twilight replied with a lazy wave. "They knew the risks when they signed up for the job. Now, how about a story?"

"Oh!" The being ran to the corner of the room where a small toy chest sat. It returned with a large hardcover novel, walking awkwardly as it tried to lift the heavy book with its claws. Twilight lowered her head, preparing to magically carry the book the rest of the way, when she heard a frustrated snort. She looked up and smiled as she watched the being carry the book toward her without difficulty, its claws suddenly large enough to establish a grip around it.

It sat down against her side, too large to huddle in the shelter in the space under Twilight's chin. Slowly, it turned the pages of the book until they reached the beginning of a chapter.

"Now," Twilight whispered softly, "where were we?"

Project Twelve cleared its throat. "The knight took a shaky step with his lance pointed forward. His breaths came out in short bursts..."

The director cracked open the dusty, old folder before Rainbow. "Project Twelve was, well, it was an experiment mostly for research purposes. Somepony had an idea of utilizing dragons to fight Sombra, for some reason."

"Maybe because it sounds radical?" Rainbow Dash ventured.

Moon Dancer rolled her eyes. "It's impractical. As useful as they may be as weapons, we know next to nothing about dragons, so how exactly were we supposed to convince them to fight for us? We had to study them first." She turned to a page displaying a picture of a purple egg with dark spots. "We had dragon eggs, well a dragon egg that was used as a special examination for prospective students of Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns--"

"Wait, how do you test unicorns with an egg?"

"Well, you had to try to magically hatch it, but--"

"You had to hatch a dragon egg?" Rainbow said incredulously, her eyes widening. "Seriously, how did anypony get in?"

"The test wasn't if you could hatch a dragon, that'd be impossible for a single unicorn child. It was to see what you would attempt to do when presented an impossible task. It's more of a test of creativity and critical thinking than actual magical prowess, but that's not the point." Moon Dancer took a breath. "Look, we had a dragon egg lying in the vault, and somepony found it and decided that to better research dragons as weapons, we had to hatch one and observe it as it grew up. Yes, it was a dumb idea," Moon Dancer said with a sigh, "but a lot of the earlier projects were."

"I thought you said hatching a dragon with magic was impossible," Rainbow Dash said.

"For a single unicorn, yes. It took several months of unicorns pouring their magic into our egg before we finally got it to hatch," Moon Dancer explained. She flipped through the pages until they reached the photographs of a small dragon babe curled in a ball, sucking on the end of its tail. Rainbow Dash bit back the urge to laugh as Moon Dancer turned to a less cutesy image, with the dragon held down and stretched on its back. Notes and measurements were scribbled all across the picture.

"Huh, curious."

Rainbow looked up. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing," Moon Dancer assured, waving her hoof. "I just find it odd that Project Twelve hatched during my assistant's first rotation, and, well, ah, it's nothing important." She slid a timetable back into the folder before sliding it back in front of Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash picked at a few pages, her eyes scanning the lines of numbers and notes and over the line charts and bar graphs without comprehension. "So, what did you find?"

"Nothing concrete." Moon Dancer leaned back and crossed her forelegs. "What would you expect? We only had a single sample. Our control consisted of a painted rock. It'd be foolish to assume that any conclusions we could make on Project Twelve could be applied to dragons as a whole. The best we could come up with are some half-baked theories that would've been laughed out of any scientific institution."

"Well give them to me anyways."

Moon Dancer took a moment to respond. She stared at the Wonderbolt officer in her chair before shrugging yieldingly. "Besides confirmation of rumored traits, such as breathing fire, most of what we have is on the subject's anatomy. Project Twelve's body is covered with scale-like material, similar in shape to those found on members of the Lepisosteidae family, though not composed of keratin. They grow back within hours if removed. While individually brittle, these scales seem to provide, at least in part, resistance to both physical trauma and intense heat. An extreme omnivore, has been observed to consume grass, dirt, hay, stones, hemlock, and, if I recall correctly..." She reached for the folder and removed a sheet. "...on one occasion, Sus scrofa domesticus, though the subject refused further--"

"Could you go over the whole resistance to heat and physical stuff in more detail?"

Moon Dancer looked up. Did her guest suddenly straighten her posture? She looked back to the notes. "Subject remains comfortable at temperatures up to a thousand degrees centigrade, though reactions to higher temperatures have not been explored. As for physical trauma resistance, the record is a blow equivalent to eight hundred psi, without injury. And I know what you're thinking, but all attempts to design armor from dragon scales with even a fraction of such characteristics have failed spectacularly."

"Eh, a little disappointing to hear, but that's not what I was thinking."

"Oh?" The director's eyebrow was raised. "Well, would you like me to continue?"

"Hmm." Rainbow tapped her chin. She leaned forward. "What was the most interesting finding?"

"Most interesting finding? By far, Project Twelve's maturity and growth rate," Moon Dancer answered immediately, "and also perhaps the most befuddling and most inconsistent. If the subject is representative of dragons as a species, it would appear that dragons alter their size and body structure to better fit their environment."

"And in laypony's terms?"

"At times, about..." Dr. Moon Dancer peeked at her notes. "...sixty eight point eight percent of all recorded instances, Project Twelve seems to grow in order to pass the trials it's in. There doesn't seem to be a pattern to when the growth actually kicks in, however."

"You mean, like he grows at will?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Moon Dancer shook her head. "It appears to be more of an adaptive response, though despite our best efforts Project Twelve will not grow wings. The current explanation is that dragons will grow to best defend their property, hence larger hoards of treasure are guarded by larger dragons. No explanations to why Project Twelve always reverts to its adolescent form." As the words left her mouth, Moon Dancer pressed her lips together disapprovingly. "It's really all just wild speculation implying correlation equals causation, but at this time it's not worth correcting, not when there's so much to do."

"So, about the other project, Project Fifty something or other," Rainbow began. "You said Project Twelve was part of its combat test, right."

"Yes, if we really must dwell on that incident," Moon Dancer grumbled.

"Project Twelve adapted to, fight it?"

"From what I heard, yes. Project Twelve grew into an adult dragon, likely the size of Project Fifty Three, if not larger, before tearing it apart and incinerating it," Moon Dancer respond with all the excitement of flat soda pop. "Nothing extraordinary, no new data, and a colossal waste of resources." Setting aside her glasses, Moon Dancer leaned forward, staring at the pegasus across from her. "Forgive me for acting so forward, Lieutenant, but I have to question your interest in Project Twelve. We currently have no military applications for the research, and I can't believe you would waste our time to satisfy some personal curiosity on the subject of dragons."

"Well, maybe it just takes a military mare to see military potential." Rainbow Dash grinned. "I want to take Project Twelve with me."

"I beg your pardon?" Moon Dancer said. "You wish to take Project Twelve, where?"

"To the battlefield, of course."

"...shining in the light of the sun. His blade broken, his armor dusty and dented, but he kept his head held high as waves of cheers rolled over him. The whole city was flooded with feelings of joy, of relief. Nobles and beggars alike crowded around him, shaking his hoof and showering him praise, but the knight saw past them. There, struggling to squeeze her way through the crowd, was his maiden, wearing the ribbon he had left her in her hair. The knight disentangled himself from the mayor and--"

"Ms. Sparkle?"

Both Twilight and the dragon tore their attention away from the book. A stallion in a stained lab coat stood at the entrance of the room. He coughed once before going, leaving a wordless message they both understood. Twilight felt the dragon beside her shrink, and she tried to give him an encouraging smile.

"Don't worry, Spike, I'll come back later, we can finish the book then."

The dragon mumbled something she couldn't make out. "Sorry, what was that?"

The little dragon looked up at Twilight with a pout. "But you're always so busy. When?"

"I'm not always busy," Twilight placed a hoof on the dragon's head, and rubbed it gently. "We'll find time, I promise." She got up and walked to the entrance.

The dragon followed her up to the threshold. "If I'm good, will we have more time?" he asked hesitantly, as if fearful that such a question was potentially offensive.

Again, Twilight smiled. "Of course, Spike." She raised her hoof and waved. The dragon lifted his hand, just as a sheet of crystal slid over the entrance, sealing the room.

"You want Project Twelve as a weapon?"

Rainbow Dash was leaning back in her chair with her forelegs placed lazily behind her head. "Well, I'd hate to return from this trip empty-hooved, and you're not exactly using him for anything important, right?"

Moon Dancer's eyes narrowed. "You did hear me when I said that Project Twelve's a research project, correct? This project wasn't designed for actual military use."

"Really?" Rainbow scoffed. "Come on, you said this whole project was leading to weaponizing dragons. Well, there's our dragon, and I'd say he sounds like a pretty impressive weapon."

"Project Twelve has not been trained for combat."

Rainbow pointed to the window at the back of the room. The wreck of Project Fifty Three was still visible, along with the clean-up crew. "Looks pretty trained to me. Or maybe that's just dragon instincts. Whatever. You know if he's resistant to magic?"

"Once grown to a certain point, yes."

"Then he's perfect," Rainbow Dash laughed. "Big enough to handle Sombra's crystal beasts and magic resistant? Geez, why even bother with that metal giant?"

"Because we can work with metal," Moon Dancer said coolly. "Because we can control mechanical giants. Because Project Fifty Three doesn't suddenly grow fifteen feet to throw a tantrum and cause thousands of bits worth of fire damage that ends up hospitalizing a good chunk of my staff. Project Twelve is a dragon, a living being, and that makes it volatile, unpredictable, and dangerous. Very risky."

"We'll take that risk."

At Rainbow Dash's sudden and immediate response, Moon Dancer blinked. She opened her mouth to protest, but something she saw in the Wonderbolt's glare kept her silent. She pressed her front hooves together and laid them on the desk. "And you think your superiors would accept this decision?"

"Yes."

Moon Dancer frowned. She stood up and began to pace. "You know, the previous director, she had approved several eccentric projects under the justification that desperate times called for desperate measures." She looked to the pegasus in front of her desk. "Lt. Dash, just how desperate is Equestria?"

Rainbow Dash hesitated. She bit her lip and looked behind her. With a sigh, she lowered her head, her hooves gripping each other tightly. "Sombra got a lucky hit. Princess Celestia's out of commission."

The tan of Moon Dancer's fur lost color. "You mean, the princess, she's..."

"She's still breathing," Rainbow quickly assured. "But right now, it's taking all her energy just to keep the sun and moon moving, and without Princess Celestia, well, the fighting's gotten harder. That's when the crystal beasts started to show up, when we started feeling the affects of the Crystal Empire's magic." Rainbow laughed coldly. "Yeah, I guess we're pretty desperate right now."

Moon Dancer hummed to herself thoughtfully. She continued her pacing. "If it's that dire, perhaps--"

There was a knock at the door. "Dr. Moon Dancer?"

She turned to the office's entrance. "Yes?"

"It's Twilight Sparkle," came the voice from the other side.

"One moment." Moon Dancer quickly gathered all the notes on the table into the folder and slid it onto the bookshelf against the wall. "Come in, Ms. Sparkle. I have another job for you today."

Twilight stood at attention. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Please show the lieutenant Project Twelve."

Chapter 3

The two mares stood before a large opaque wall of glass, different in color and texture than the crystal of the surrounding walls. Gold and silver runes carved into the glass shimmered in the light the came from the line of cannons aimed at them. While Rainbow watched the cannons uneasily, Twilight Sparkle ignored them completely as she approached the glass. The unicorn hadn't said a word since Moon Dancer's orders, but Rainbow Dash felt the cautious gaze Twilight shot at her the entire trip to this isolated chamber.

Her horn alit, and the runes began to glow red, then green. Finally, they disappeared, and shortly after so did the glass, revealing the sleeping dragon curled up on the center of the floor. His closed eyes squeezed tightly in protest as light invaded the room. The lids surrendered and separated, exposing the emerald green orbs behind them, punctuated by a black line that sent a chill down Rainbow's spine.

The odd feeling disappeared as the dragon slowly forced himself to sit up. Rainbow hadn't realized how small Project Twelve had been when she saw him earlier, and her treasonous mind began to sprout worrisome questions. The dragon sitting before her, groggily rubbing his eyes, was no more than child, barely the size of a filly. She could still see the chubby growth of baby fat in the dragon's cheeks, limbs, and stomach. Had this tiny creature in front of her truly destroy the hulking metal behemoth that was Project Fifty Three? Could something so pathetic really grow into the something as fearsome and power as the dragons from the storybooks? For the first time in years, Rainbow began to wonder if she had been too rash, too quick in her decision.

That's when the dragon suddenly sneezed, spewing out a stream of green flames . Rainbow instinctively stepped back. "Well, at least you can breath fire. That's a start," she muttered.

Twilight stepped into the spartan room, decorated only by a small toy chest and a collection of picture books and a couple of large chapter books. "Did I wake you, Spike?" she said softly, pressing her nose against the dragon's cheek, only to swiftly pull back when she noticed Rainbow's stares.

The dragon blinked several times before finally recognizing his surroundings and the unicorn next to him. "Twilight! You're back," he cheered, leaping onto his feet.

Rainbow took another step back. "He can talk?"

The dragon turned to pegasus at the edge of the room's entrance. He tilted his head in confusion. "Who's that?" he asked.

Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat. "Spike, this is Lt. Rainbow Dash, from the Wonderbolts. She wanted to see you, for, um, some reason." She walked toward Rainbow and gestured to the dragon. "Lieutenant, this is Project Twelve."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Spike?" she said questioningly. Twilight's face began to glow red.

"It's a nickname she came up with." Everyone turned to find Moon Dancer slowly approach. Twilight's blush grew fiercer as the dragon hid behind her. "Despite knowing better, it would appear that she's developed a personal interest in the subject."

At the director's words, Twilight's head lowered. The dragon gave her a pat on the side in a confused attempt to comfort. She quickly brushed away the dragon's hand. "Is there something you need with Sp- Project Twelve?"

"Lt. Rainbow Dash has convinced me to hand Project Twelve to the EUP for military application," Moon Dancer answered curtly.

"I-I don't understand. Why would the military need Project Twelve for?"

"You don't need to understand, Ms. Sparkle. I need you to begin preparations for--"

"We want him as a weapon," Rainbow said, cutting Moon Dancer off.

Twilight visibly paled. She stepped forward, putting herself between the Wonderbolt and the dragon. "Y-you're not serious. You can't be serious. Spike, Project Twelve, he's not designed for fighting, not trained."

"From what I've heard, he can handle himself pretty well," Rainbow Dash said, walking forward. "He'll be more useful on the battlefield than wasting away in experiments."

"Step aside, Ms. Sparkle, or I will have you removed from this agency," Moon Dancer threatened. Twilight flinched, but she refused to budge from her position. She lowered her head and pointed her horn forward, forcing Rainbow Dash back. Moon Dancer's own horn started to glow.

"What's going on?"

The dragon had been peeking out from behind Twilight. He tried to move forward, fighting against Twilight's attempts to keep him behind her. "Why are you angry, Twilight? I don't get it. What's going on?"

Rainbow breathed deeply. "You know about the war with Sombra, right?"

"War?" The dragon's eyes widened. "There's a war going on?" he asked, looking to Twilight for answers. "Like a fight? Really? Cool!"

Cool. Rainbow Dash swallowed. War, cool? It was a mentality shared by so many recruits before their first true experience of bloodshed. It was why she joined the Wonderbolts. Her left wing began to ache, but she knew massaging the metal was pointless, as worthless as hunting phantoms. "Yeah, with an evil king."

"Twilight, Twilight, it's just like in the book," the dragon squealed excitedly as he tugged on the unicorn's mane. "An evil king that kidnaps a princess and, and takes over the land and--"

"Spike, please," Twilight hissed. "This is serious. They--" She swallowed. "They want you to fight."

"Me, fight? You mean they want me?" He turned to Moon Dancer, then to Rainbow Dash. "Really?"

"Lt. Rainbow Dash believes your nature as a dragon will be of assistance." Moon Dancer sniffed. "I, am hesitant to agree, but in light of recent developments--"

"I heard what you did to that metal giant, kid." Rainbow grinned. "You're what we need."

"R-really?" The dragon hopped from one foot to the next. "Y-yeah, okay, I--"

Twilight grabbed the dragon and held him tightly. "Don't say it. It's not okay!"

"But Twilight, they need my help," the dragon said. "I'll be a hero, like the knight from the book and--"

"SHUT UP! THIS ISN'T A STORY!"

Twilight's scream echoed through the entire room. Something wet struck the dragon's nose gently. He looked up into the mare's watering eyes. "T-Twilight?"

"T-this isn't a story," she whispered, her voice shaking. She held the dragon tightly as if to steady herself. "Heroes don't always win in real life. You might never come back, ever. We might never see each other again."

"If Sombra wins, none of that will matter."

Both Twilight and Spike turned to the mare who had spoken. Rainbow Dash approached slowly as she continued to speak.

"Sombra won't stop with just the Crystal Empire. He's had his sights on Equestria for forever, and as soon as he can he'll move on to our homes, enslaving every stallion, mare, and foal. Heck, dragons too, probably. He'll tear the two of you apart the moment he gets the chance." She jabbed a hoof at herself, tapping on her chest. "Why do you think I'm still fighting? Yeah, I know it's dangerous. Yeah, maybe I'll never see my friends and family again, but as long as I'm fighting I know Sombra won't take them. You want to lose that mare holding you?"

The dragon gasped and broke out of Twilight's grasp. "Of course not! H-he'd better not touch Twilight."

"Well, want to help us make sure?

"I--"

Twilight's touch silenced him. She shook her head and with unsteady limbs, pulled the dragon close. She held him there and showered him with tears. The dragon stopped fighting. He reached out and grabbed hold of the crying mare as he too began to shake. Rainbow Dash stopped, unwilling to approach any closer. She fought the creeping urge to escape the room, to put distance between them and her.

Here, there was no door to muffle the sobs. Here, she could hear them all too clearly.

The two separated. They shared one more look before Twilight turned away, letting her forelegs drop to the floor. The dragon turned to Rainbow. "Do, do you really want my help?"

Despite everything, she hesitated. The dragon's answer, she could see it in his features. All she had to do was say so, and he was hers.

She nodded. The dragon rubbed his face against his arm furiously and sniffed. His arm lowered, his hands clenched into fists.

"Okay. When do we go?"

After the fourth one, Rainbow stopped trying to suppress her yawns. It was too earlier for most ponies to be up and about anyways. Still, though the pegasus continued to grumble and curse under her breath as she leaned against the palace gates, Rainbow knew she had nopony to blame for being up at such an ungodly hour other than herself.

"Come on," she muttered, glancing around. "Where are they?"

Just as she considered looking for an open cafe for coffee, the gates slid open. Through them approached Dr. Moon Dancer and a walking bundle of rags. Rainbow started for a second before noticing a pair of green slitted eyes peeking through the top of the bundle. "Uh, what's with the mummy costume?"

"A horrifically disfigured relative is easier to explain than a dragon," Moon Dancer said, her tone as brisk and cool as the dawn air. "You are certain you wish to take Project Twelve by train? We could send it more securely through our channels."

"You already talked about all the paperwork that goes into that. That route would take at least a week. This way's faster." Rainbow Dash tried to look past the two. "Is, uh, Twilight not seeing us off?"

"It would be best to minimize the number of witnesses here. Ms. Sparkle agrees." At Moon Dancer's answer, the bundle of rags seemed to shrink. "In any case, there's just one last item to deal with. Project, er, Spike?"

The dragon looked up, surprised. Rainbow watched as Moon Dancer stripped away the cloth around the dragon's head and neck before pulling out a small gray choker with blue and orange etching. "Ms. Sparkle wanted you to have this," she said softly. "It belonged to her late brother."

"W-wow." As Moon Dancer fastened the collar around the dragon's neck, his eyes shimmered with tears. "S-she could have said goodbye."

"Ms. Sparkle is a very busy mare. You know this." Moon Dancer sighed. "Could you run over to the guard at the palace entrance and see if I dropped my watch? I've must have replaced it."

The dragon raced off to the entrance. Once he was a safe distance away, Rainbow turned to the director with a inquiring look. "I know I only met known her for, like, less than a day, but that doesn't look like the type of thing Twilight would've given him."

Moon Dander simply nodded. "It's a contingency. We do not know how Project Twelve will react in a real combat scenario. It's quite possible it might just start rampaging indiscriminately or even turn against the EUP." She suddenly grabbed a Rainbow Dash's foreleg and forced a golden bangle around it.

"Hey, what's the big--"

"If it gets to that point, break all four crystals," Moon Dancer instructed, pointing at the differently colored diamonds jutting out of the gold. "They'll only break from direct pressure from your hoof specifically. Then say the project's name." She released Rainbow's hoof.

Rainbow Dash raised the bangle to examine it. "Break the crystals, say its name. Got it." She lowered the hoof just as the dragon reappeared in the distance.

"S-sorry," he breathed when he arrived, bending over with his hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. "The, the guard, he said that, that, um--"

"No worries, it's fine," Moon Dancer said dismissively. "Oh, and here." She gave Rainbow a sealed Manilla envelope. "A summary of all vital information regarding Project Twelve. Some details have been omitted, security reasons, but I'm sure your superiors will find it useful. Now, you'd better get going soon." She held out her hoof, and Rainbow Dash took it. "Good luck, to the both of you."

And with a final nod, Dr. Moon Dancer walked off, back toward the palace. Rainbow stared down at the hoof she shook, the same one with the bangle. "Alright, kid," she said, tucking the envelope away safely into the pocket of her uniform, "time to get a move on."

The city was just as quiet as the day Rainbow arrived. Well, except for the second set of footsteps tapping along behind her. Sometimes they would suddenly increase in number and volume as the dragon rushed to keep up with her long hurried strides. At other times, they'd fade away, forcing Rainbow to stop, turn around, and wait for the dragon to waddle to her side. The cloth disguise wasn't helping matters, and eventually, they tore away the bottom half, giving the dragon's little legs more room. The odds of running into another pony in this city at this hour were in their favor, Rainbow reasoned.

Still, they made slow progress through the city. As much room as they now had to swing, the dragon's legs were still tiny compared to Rainbow's. His attempts to match her pace left him breathless and wheezing, so Rainbow eventually slowed herself to the increasingly unbearable crawl of a leisurely stroll.

"At this rate, we'll miss the first train out of here," Rainbow said, partly to herself and partly to the dragon. "There's a ten minute wait between each train, and I don't want to have to wait, alright?"

There was no answer. Rainbow turned around. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes swept the streets for the dragon. "What the heck are you doing?" she shouted when she found him some distance away staring into the display window of an old store.

The dragon jumped and sprinted toward her. "Sorry, I just saw--"

"I told you, we're running late, and you had the gall to window shop?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, grabbing at her mane. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

"Window shop?" the dragon repeated, his head slightly tilted to the side. "Was that a window shop?" He pointed at the store he had loitered in front of.

"No, window shopping means, uh, you know." Rainbow fumbled through her words as she tried to form an explanation. "It's, looking at stuff that's on sale but not actually buying anything."

"Oh."

They continued onward, but this time Rainbow kept an eye on the dragon. As they walked, she noticed his head turned to face all different directions. A faded old sign would catch his attention, then a glass bottle rolling by, then a pair of dusty ponniequins abandoned in a closed boutique. Rainbow Dash would clear her throat irritatedly, and the dragon would focus on moving forward, but only for the thirty seconds that would pass before something else stole his attention.

"Um, Rainbow Dash?" he began. "What are those poles for?"

"What poles?" Rainbow followed the claw the dragon was pointing toward a street lamp. "That? It gives off light so ponies can see when it gets dark."

"Why aren't they giving light now?"

"Well, they're probably all shut down since nopony's around to keep them running," Rainbow Dash explained. "Besides, even if they were still working, it's not dark enough."

The dragon's eyes widened. "You mean it gets darker?"

"Yeah." Rainbow stared. "What, you've never seen night?"

The dragon shook his head. "Twilight told me nighttime's when we get to see stars and moon. Does it get dark at night?"

"How have you never seen night?"

"I'm not allowed outside the facility, and it's always bright there."

"Well, uh." Rainbow Dash scratched her head. "You know how it gets dark when you close your eyes? It's kind of like that, but brighter, I guess. You've seriously never been outside before?"

"Twilight tells me a lot though, so it's not all bad." The dragon looked around. "I thought the city would be louder, with more ponies."

"It was. Probably will be again after the war. There's still a few places in Canterlot that are still pretty lively."

"Really? Where? Can we go see them?"

Rainbow Dash covered her chuckle with a cough. The dragon's enthusiasm was becoming infectious. "As much as I'd love a good cup of joe, or heck, what I wouldn't do for a pint of cider, we've got a schedule to keep, remember?"

"Oh, right." The dragon stared down at the ground.

"Hey, the city isn't going anyway. If I'm still kicking when Sombra's out, I'll show you around."

The dragon looked up, beaming. "Really?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know, or at least knew, a mare who was a local, let me in on a few insider secrets." Rainbow Dash sighed and shook her head. She could see the train station in the distance. "Come on, come on, we're almost there!" she said, running forward.

"Wait, I--"

There was a thud behind her. Rainbow Dash peeked over her shoulder and nearly screamed out in frustration. The dragon had fallen flat in his face. She pivoted, using her momentum to spin herself around, and galloped back. The dragon barely had time to register what was happening before Rainbow flipped him up into the air and caught him on her back.

"Hold on!" was the only warning the dragon got before Rainbow Dash charged toward the station. As the dragon clung on as tightly as he could, Rainbow braced herself for the conductor's final call, for the shrill whistle of the train. Her right wing was already spread and read, but the left was as slow as ever, still against her side. It had been a while, could she still sprint into a takeoff? Had she ever been able before with this other wing? Her uniform would make it difficult, the heavy fabric designed for appearance, not flight or function, but maybe--

"Look out!" was the only warning the dragon managed to give before they crashed. Three groans could be heard from the mess of limbs and boxes and scattered tools.

"Watch where you're going," came the groggy voice of a stallion. He was lain at the very bottom of the pile, covered in dust. A small denim cap that matched his overalls covered his eyes.

Rainbow was the first to recover and escape the pile. She first pulled the dragon out before moving to the stallion. "Watch where you're standing," she retorted, helping him up before turning to the dragon. "Come on kid, looks like we haven't missed the train yet. Get moving."

"The train's not going anywhere, miss, so help me with this mess you've made," the stallion grumbled as he kicked at the fallen boxes. He gave Rainbow Dash a quick glance and raised an eye brow. "What's a Wonderbolt doing here?" His tired gaze turned into a glare. "You're not deserting, are you?"

"If I was, why would I be heading back to the arctic outpost, huh?" Rainbow snorted. "What do you mean the train's not going anywhere."

"Exactly that. The engine car's got a broken axle that's being repaired, so you've got a half hour before you can leave," the stallion in denim explained.

"You're joking!"

"Afraid not, so you might as well make yourself and clean this mess up, you and your..." The stallion stared at the small figure bent over, reaching for a discarded hammer with its claws. It's top was mostly hidden by strips of linen, but he could make out an oddly shaped snout and a green fin sticking out of the cloth. He could see a hairless tail as well. The stallion's eyes wandered to the legs, only two. They lacked hooves, ending instead in a set of clawed toes.

"What the heck are you?"

Before Rainbow could intervene, the dragon stood up and waved. The rest of the rags loosened and fell away.

"I'm Spike. I'm a dragon."

Chapter 5

The dragon stood obediently at Rainbow Dash's side, doing his best to wait patiently before a trio of older ponies in fancy uniforms, all covered in fancy decorations and medals. A folder was passed between the ponies, who quickly scanned through the files once before reading them more carefully. The dragon caught a few inquiring looks from the ponies separated from him by a long desk, looks that made him squirm.

He turned to the pegasus next to him, standing tall and proud with a disinterested frown on her face as she watched the panel members shuffle the files among themselves. Her dress uniform had been replaced with a blue flight suit that was marked with golden lightning bolts, the symbol of the Wonderbolts, he remembered Rainbow explain. The few times he had attempted to draw her attention were rebuffed with hushed and subtle touches to her lips, but even her patience and discipline were beginning to wear down as one of her hind hooves began to tap rhythmically.

Then there was the other Wonderbolt in the room, the light blue stallion with a long messy mane. Like Rainbow Dash, he wore a standard flight suit, but over it he wore a dark gray jacket with the same brass buttons and yellow tassels Rainbow's uniform had. He had arrived before them and was in front of the panel when they entered the room. The dragon had tried to follow the other Wonderbolt's report but quickly became lost. He only managed to recognize the sense of severity from the worried looks and murmurs shared by the ponies in the back.

He had caught the stallion staring at either him or Rainbow Dash the few times he had glanced over, and every time the Wonderbolt quickly turned away once he was found out.

"Lt. Rainbow Dash," the pegasus sitting at the center of the panel said, stealing the dragon's attention, "we have finished reviewing the supplementary information, though I believe I speak for most of the panel when I say that I'm as confused as ever." Nods of agreement were shared among the uniformed ponies as he lifted the folder. "Perhaps your oral report will shed some light. Lt. Dash, if you could."

"Sir." Rainbow stood at attention, with her hooves pressed together. "As you are aware, we received a message from the central government in Canterlot requesting a meeting of the upmost urgency with a military representative from the war front. The message was from the Specialized Armament Research and Development agency."

The ponies behind the table began to whisper. Rainbow Dash waited for the hushed conversations to die away before continuing.

"I was invited to see the agency's developed response toward Hostile Entity Five, known in the field as the crystal beasts. The director called the project Project Fifty..." Rainbow Dash's mouth went dry. She quickly swallowed as she filtered through her memory. "Five."

"A response to the crystal beasts?" said the earth pony mare closer to one of the ends. "Interesting. What were your first impressions?"

"Don't know, never got to see it," Rainbow answered, losing some of the respected tone in her speech. "The thing was destroyed in a combat test before I got there, but based on the remains the thing was massive, as big as a crystal beast."

"Size hardly matters," said another officer, a bearded unicorn. "If it couldn't handle a simple trial in a controlled setting, it wouldn't work in the field. What a waste of time." The others began to mutter in agreement.

Rainbow managed to hold back her smirk. "Well, I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of time," she said. "You might have noticed that those files in front of you are labeled Project Twelve. Project Twelve was the one that destroyed Project Fifty Five. Ladies and gentlecolts, I present our response to Sombra's crystal beasts, Project Twelve."

Rainbow pushed the dragon forward with a triumphant smile. It wavered a bit when the dragon fell onto his face. The smile disappeared as the panel members stared with raised eyebrows.

"Lt. Dash, is this a joke?" the center pegasus demanded sternly.

"What, no, of course not." She helped the dragon back up. "As you must have read from the files, Project Twelve is a dragon and all that comes with it."

"That's a dragon?" The earth pony mare pointed incredulously. The spines on the dragon's head seemed to droop.

"Well, uh, baby dragon, but he grows really really big. He, uh, I think it's, adaption or something." Rainbow's words were becoming jumbled and less clear. "It's in the files."

"Half of the lines in here are blacked out." The pegasus raised one of the documents from the folder and pointed at the entire paragraph of black lines.

"Oh, well, I guess that info's, classified?" Rainbow Dash suppressed her growl as the ponies before her began to whisper among themselves. The dragon shuffled his feet nervously as the panel stared. "Look, he took down the thing designed to take down crystal beasts. That's got to count for something."

"A question, Lieutenant," the unicorn officer said, "could you describe the combat test?"

"Well, no, I didn't actually get to see the fight, but there was this crater full of ash and--"

The earth pony narrowed her eyes. "So you just took the SpARDA spokespony's word to be true? You didn't ask for any recordings of the test?"

Rainbow scowled back. "What, you think they lied? Why the heck would they?"

"Perhaps to keep appearances," the pegasus office said, resting his hooves on the desk. "I can't possibly imagine the shame the director must have felt after calling us over and suddenly not having anything to present, especially considering how many resources are being thrown into that agency. I wouldn't be surprised if this is just a stunt to save face." The other panel members nodded in agreement.

"This is ridiculous!" As Rainbow pounded her hoof against the floor, the other Wonderbolt brought his hoof to his face. "I bring you an answer to the crystal beasts, something we desperate need considering Soarin's report, and you just sit there and nitpick and complain and--"

"Lt. Dash," the Pegasus said sternly, "need we remind you that you are before your commanding officers?"

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. She bowed her head. "My apologies, sirs."

"Very well, we will leave any disciplinary action to the discretion of your captain." The pegasus nodded toward the Wonderbolt busy trying to hide his face. He turned back to Rainbow. "Unless you have anything else to report, this meeting is--"

"Um, can I say something?"

The dragon cringed as all eyes went to him. He swallowed and clutched at his collar. Slowly, he looked up to find the three officers staring directly at him with their mouths opened.

"I-it speaks?" the unicorn said dumbly.

The pegasus quickly shut his mouth. "You are Project Twelve, correct?"

"Yeah, I guess." The dragon shuffled his feet. "I mean, sometimes I hear ponies call me that, but I really just like Spike. My friend Twilight gave me that name."

The sound of her name and the feel of her gift around his neck filled him with warmth. He stood tall, as tall as his tiny frame could. "I don't think I really understood everything you all said, but, um, I wanted to say, I want to help in anyway I can." He stared back at the panel with flames in his eyes. "Rainbow Dash and Dr. Moon Dancer, they told me I could help here, that I could be useful, and, and if that means I can help protect everypony, then please, use me in any way you can!"

The dragon bowed forward, his head nearly touching the ground. The panel took a moment to recover before exchanging looks and whispers.

"You are, ahem, indeed a dragon?" asked the earth pony mare. The dragon answered with a nod.

The pegasus in the center chewed on his lip. "This situation will require further discussion," he said after a moment. "We will request a more complete description of Project Twelve and Project Fifty Five from SpARDA before making any decisions regarding this development. Until then, Lt. Dash?"

"Sir?"

"We leave the dragon in your responsibility. Keep away from the front. This council forbids you from integrating it into combat for the time being, until we have determined the best course of action." The pegasus frowned at the Wonderbolt in front of him. "Do we make ourselves clear, Lieutenant."

The red in Rainbow's face slowly faded. With her teeth grinding against each other, she forced herself to stand at attention. "Acknowledged, sirs."

"Very well, this meeting is adjourned. You are all dismissed."

The Wonderbolt stallion was the first to leave. Rainbow slowly turned and stomped her way out of the room, with the dragon hurrying after her. Once outside, Rainbow Dash bashed her head against the wall.

"Stupid. Old. Morons," she muttered between each blow. She didn't notice the other Wonderbolt approach.

"Well, I thought that went pretty well," he said with a grin.

With a groan, Rainbow turned around to face him. "You could've said something back there."

"Like what? You were out of line."

"I don't know, something in my defense! Soarin, you're my captain, for crying out loud."

Soarin shrugged. "They weren't wrong, you know. I mean, even if everything those researchers said about the dragon and their crystal beast buster was true, do you think we have enough information for a strategy? What would've been your plan?"

"Well, clearly I would, uh, well..." Rainbow Dash scratched her head but refused to look away. "Figured we'd just throw him out there once the beasts showed up and let him do his thing."

Soarin crossed his forelegs over his chest. "That's not a plan." He sighed. "Great, your first day back, and I have to discipline you."

"Why?" the dragon suddenly asked. "Rainbow didn't do anything wrong."

The Wonderbolt captained opened his mouth to respond but found himself instead staring down stupidly at the tiny dragon beside's his lieutenant. "Uh, well, hey there." Soarin smiled. "Don't think we've met before. I'm Soarin, Rainbow Dash's captain. Loved your little speech, by the way."

"Oh, um, hi." The dragon waved hesitantly. "I'm Spike." He poked on Rainbow's side and leaned over to whisper into her ear. "He doesn't seem very trustworthy."

Rainbow Dash suddenly bursted out laughing, causing everypony nearby to stare. "Something funny?" Soarin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Heh, no, nothing," Rainbow said as she recovered her composure. "Just an inside joke." She grinned and patted the dragon's head. "Don't worry, Soarin's a good guy. He's saved me almost as many times as I saved him, though can't really say much about his captaining right now."

Soarin brought his hooves to his chest and moaned. "Ouch, I'm already being sassed. Don't forget, Dash, you still have a punishment."

"What are going do, make me fly laps?" Rainbow sneered. "Ooh, I know, push-ups."

"Hm." Soarin tapped his chin as he smiled. "Nah, I'll just take your sugar rations."

"Seriously?"

The stallion nodded proudly. "Seriously."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. The three began to walk. "Well, alright then. How's everypony else?"

"Good, for the most part. Cloud Chaser's wings got clipped in the last mission, nothing serious, but it could keep her out of the skies for a bit. It could've been much worse, considering what had happened." Soarin shrugged as he led the way out of the building. All three shivered as they faced the cold arctic air. "Everypony's finishing up their reviews. How about we head over there and show off our latest recruit?"

"Latest recruit?" Rainbow Dash repeated, raising an eye brow.

"Well, kind of," Soarin amended. "Figured since he was your responsibility, and you're under my responsibility, and the entire squad is under my responsibility, then he must, he's a he, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, like I was saying, uh, well." Soarin frowned and began to mutter to himself. "Oh right, then he's all of our responsibility."

"Geez, get any slower and they'll have to kick you out of the Wonderbolts," Rainbow Dash teased. "What, no breakfast this morning?"

"Not even a slice of bread," Soarin sighed. "And it's almost lunchtime."

"Let's eat with the rest of the team after we show off Spike," Rainbow Dash suggested. "They might appreciate seeing a new friendly face, but that crude about him being the entire squad's responsibility?" She scoffed. "Please, you think I can't take of him myself?" She looked over her shoulder. "You keeping up alright, kid? Kid?"

Ponies of every sort walked by, to and fro. Some were pegasi, others were unicorns or earth ponies. Some wore armor as they rushed in and out of the buildings while others were simply dressed in scarves and winter clothing as they pulled along carts of supplies.

In the crowd before the two Wonderbolts, there were only ponies.

The pegasus mare sitting on the bench sighed as she glanced over at her uneven wings. "I can't believe this happened to me," she grumbled. "This is so not fair."

"That's the price for playing the hero," said the approaching mare, her light lavender coat half a shade darker than her fellow pegasus. "Come on, Cloud Chaser, quit moping. It's only a couple of days."

"Since when was a week just a couple of days?" Cloud Chaser groused. She looked up into the sky and reached for the clouds. She lowered her hoof and brushed back her pointy white mane and released another tired breath.

"Well, at least they didn't throw you in bed or something like that," the mare said cheerfully. "So, want to know how I did on my review?"

"Huh?" Cloud Chaser blinked. "Sorry. What was that, Cloud Kicker?"

"I said...what are you staring at?" She leaned back and followed Cloud Chaser's gaze. There, in the snow, crouched a small purple figure. Round green blades extended from the figure head that seemed to bob and droop as the figure moved. A gray band around its neck glinted in the sunlight

"What is that?" Cloud Kicker whispered. Her companion simply shook her head.

"No idea. Doesn't look like a pony."

"What's it doing?"

They watched as the creature stood up with its clawed hands cupped in front of it. It suddenly threw them up over his head, releasing snow into the air and watching the snowflakes fall. It bent over again and began dig, grabbing fists full of snow before throwing more flakes up to watch them drift back down to earth.

"You don't think that's one of Sombra's, do you?" Cloud Kicker asked quietly.

"What? No, of course not. I mean, Sombra wouldn't make something so..." Cloud Chaser gestured a hoof in the creature's direction. "I mean, it's, would he?" She turned away from the creature to the mare right beside her. "Would he?"

"I don't know, do you think we should report it to somepony?"

"Maybe, but..." Cloud Chaser looked around. "Who? It's just us here right now. If we go grab somepony, they might escape."

Cloud Kicker bit her lip. "So, what if, what if we captured it ourselves?" She swallowed. "I mean, we're trained Wonderbolts, and we outnumber them two to one."

They turned back to the creature, who was attempting to mold the snow together. "It doesn't look very strong, but..." Cloud Chaser took a deep breath, then nodded. Cloud Kicker nodded in return, and the two separated.

From one side of the creature, one of the Wonderbolts approached. The other snuck quietly forward from the other side. The creature didn't notice. Cloud Kicker raised her hoof and waited for Cloud Chaser to lift hers. She counted to three, then pounced.

The moment her feet touched the ground when she had landed, Rainbow Dash rushed toward Soarin. "Tell me you found him."

The stallion rubbed the back of his head and looked to the side. "I mean, you'd think a dragon that color would be easy to spot."

"Argh, where is he?" Rainbow paced nervously. "Should've kept an eye on him. So stupid, I can't believe this."

"Rainbow, stop worrying. We'll find him," Soarin assured. He flinched when the mare before him suddenly turned and glared.

"Stop worrying? Who's worried? What, do I look worried?" Rainbow Dash snarled. "I'm just super angry. Just, ugh!" She kicked at a small snow mound. "He wandered off in Canterlot too. I should've kept a closer watch on the kid."

With his front hooves raised in surrender, Soarin approached. "Look, why don't we grab the rest of the squad. Once we get a few more eyes in the sky, we'll find him in no time. Besides," he added as he patted his stomach, "we'll cover more ground on a full stomach."

"You're the only pegasus I know that can fly full." Rainbow shook her head. "Still, you're right about the extra eyes thing. Where are we meeting them again?"

"Logistics building, the dirty one next to barracks number five. Or was it fifteen." Soarin shrugged. "Ah, it's the one where Blaze got in trouble for impersonating the captain. Well, I mean, Spitfire."

The two took off, keeping at a low altitude, just above the roofs of the buildings. As they sped by, Rainbow continued to scan the ground below, hoping to find green spikes or an odd bipedal figure. They soon arrived however, cutting off her fruitless search, and landed in front of a building.

Like the other structures in the outpost, this one had been designed for temporary use, made with cheap wood and a flimsy foundation. As the war extended, the EUP Guard had been forced to add supports to the walls and set enchantments to prepare the building for more prolong usage. The rushed renovations left the buildings with an ugly grayish-tan hue, but for some unexplored reason, this particular logistics building had developed a sickly light green color. A running joke among the soldiers was that the cause was due to all the paperwork being done inside.

And like many, Rainbow Dash wasn't sure that little jest was just that, a joke; as she entered, her nose wrinkled at the sickly smell of paper pulp and wood rot.

"So, where is everypony?" Rainbow asked. The room they stood in was deserted, filled with empty cubicles and abandoned stationary.

Their ears lifted at the sound of shouts and shrieks. "That came from outside!" Soarin exclaimed, rushing toward the door. Rainbow hurried past him, kicking the door nearly off its hinges. The streets before them were empty.

There was another yell. "Behind the building!" Rainbow Dash shouted. She leapt into the air and flew right over the building's roof as Soarin ran along the side of the wall, preparing himself for numerous scenarios that were shuffled through his mind. Ambushes, fights, accidents...

He did not expect to find his squad and the entire logistics crew laughing around a large campfire, passing around cans of baked beans. In the center was Cloud Chaser, the mare they nearly lost in the last mission. In between her forelegs nestled the little purple dragon. Somepony held a can of beans toward him. The dragon took a deep breath and released a stream of flames, as green as the campfire everypony was huddled around. The ponies cheered as clouds of steam forced their way out of the can, which was passed down the line.

A mare standing a little distance away from the rest was the first to notice the Wonderbolt captain. She gave him a half-hearted salute, which Soarin quickly waved away. "So, uh, Fleetfoot?" he said as he approached, keeping as quiet as he could. "What's--"

"What's going on here!"

The laughter died away as the crowded looked up just in time to watch Rainbow Dash land in the middle of them. "Rainbow Dash!" the dragon said, trying to jump out of Cloud Chaser's forelegs.

"No, no," she cooed, holding him back and rubbing her cheek against his. "You're my prisoner, remember?"

Cloud Kicker, sitting right beside her, pouted. "He should be my prisoner. It was my idea."

Cloud Chaser just stuck her tongue out in response.

"Prisoner? What?" Rainbow Dash looked around. "Alright, who wants to explain what in Equestria is going on right here?"

"I wouldn't mind an explanation."

The entire company snapped to attention, much to Soarin's embarrassment. Cloud Chaser looked torn, trying her best to stand and salute while holding the little dragon closely.

"At ease, please," Soarin said, remembering that he was still wearing his officer's jacket, the twin silver bars on his chest like a painted target. "Uh, Fleetfoot, could you explain?"

Fleetfoot grinned. "Is that an order?"

"If you want it to be," Soarin groaned.

"Will this be an official report? Should I submit a write up or--"

"Fleetfoot, please?"

The mare shook her head. "Sorry, just thought I'd relieve some of the tension," she whispered in Soarin's ear. She cleared her throat. "A little less than an hour ago, Wonderbolts Cloud Chaser and Cloud Kicker found this unusual specimen playing in the snow."

"You wandered off to play?" Rainbow Dash nearly shouted at the dragon. Cloud Chaser's forelegs tightened around him defensively. "Do you know worried you made, um, Soarin?" She pointed at the bewildered captain. "He, we could have gotten into so much trouble, and you're telling me you just ran off to make snowponies? Don't you remember what you're here for?"

"Of course not, but I didn't wander off," the dragon protested. "You and Captain Soarin were too fast. I tried to catch up, really, but then there was this huge crowd of ponies and I got lost and I saw all this white stuff and I--" He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

Rainbow Dash turned away, hiding her face with a hoof. She could feel the glares of the surrounding ponies, especially the mares. "Yeah, well, just don't let it happen again."

"Maybe you should have kept a closer watch, Lieutenant," Soarin piped in, suppressing a grin. "After all, Spike is your assignment."

As murmurs spread among the crowd, Rainbow's face grew redder and redder. She shot a glare at Soarin, who simply looked away innocently. She sighed. "I'm sorry too, kid. I should have been paying more attention to you. And, um, yeah. That's it."

"Wait, what do you mean he's Rainbow's assignment," whispered Fleetfoot.

"I'll explain it to the entire squad later, when it's just us," Soarin whispered back. "It's just a guess, but I don't think the higher-ups want this publicized." He turned to crowd. "So, you've got enough beans for all of us?" He slipped in with the rest of the ponies. "Come on, let's eat!"

At Soarin's command, cheers filled the air once more as the dragon continued to heat beans with his fire and even a canteen of coffee that had gotten cold. Cups were distributed, and cans of beans were passed along. Hooves grew sticky with sauce as they shoveled food directly from the can into their mouths.

Cloud Kicker fished out a single bean and held it out toward the dragon. "Say ah."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as the confused dragon obeyed and opened his mouth. "He's not a baby, you know," she said as the mare set the food into the dragon's mouth. "He can feed himself."

"Hush you." Cloud Chaser patted the dragon's head. "He most certainly is a baby, baby waby, cutie, little--"

She ducked just in time to evade the thrown tin can. The mare stuck out her tongue at Rainbow as everypony laughed.

"You sicken me," Rainbow said lowly, though her grin undermined her threatening tone. "Seriously, I lost my appetite." She turned to the dragon. "And don't tell me you're enjoying this."

He shrugged. "It feels nice," he said, resting his head against Cloud Chaser's chest.

"Man, it sure looks it," said one of the stallions longingly, sending the crowd into a fit of rambunctious laughter.

The dragon watched the ponies around him joke and play and laugh as they messily ate. It was so loud and so chaotic, so unlike the silent controlled environment back at the facility, where ponies kept their voices just a step above whispering if they ever spoke near him. He didn't mind the noise, however odd and unfamiliar the sounds of shouting stallions and mares were to him. He didn't mind the noise at all.

He suddenly found himself lifted and pulled away by the pegasus mare sitting next to Cloud Chaser, now being settled into her chest. Cloud Chaser pouted and moved closer so that he now rest right between the two mares.

Whether it was from the campfire he helped make, the hot food in his belly, the collective body heat from Cloud Chaser and Cloud Kicker, or something else, something less easily described, the dragon felt warm, despite the cold snow around him.

Chapter 6

The crowd dispersed as the ponies returned to their jobs, leaving only a few selective pegasi behind with the dragon. They marched through the outpost together, with the dragon right in the center. Every so often, Rainbow Dash would glance over her shoulder to make sure he was still there.

"So, you two going to explain what's the deal with the dragon?" Fleetfoot asked, directing the question to Soarin and Rainbow. "He's not for Cloud Chaser and Cloud Kicker to play lesbian house with, I hope."

"Why, have a problem with house?" Cloud Kicker asked from behind.

"You know my answer. I'm a raging domatophobe," Fleetfoot shot back before returning to Soarin. "Well?"

"It's complicated," Soarin began slowly.

"It's really not. The kid you keep babying is our secret weapon against the crystal beasts."

Rainbow's declaration brought the entire company to a halt. The silence was finally broken when Fleetfloot blinked and said, "Seriously?"

"We don't know that for sure," Soarin jumped in. He glared at Rainbow. "I thought we agreed I'd handle this."

"Yeah, well, you started off with 'it's complicated'..." Rainbow emphasized with her hooves marking quotations in the air. "...so I lost all hope in your explanation."

"That's because it is more complicated than that," the Wonderbolt captain groaned. "Come on, keep moving," he ordered, and the squad continued their way. "Okay, you all remember that Rainbow was sent to Canterlot recently, right?"

A few vocal affirmations were made.

"Well, it turns out the R and D teams down in Canterlot managed to make some anti-crystal beast weapon. And no," Soarin added as mutterings began to rise among his subordinates, "the dragon wasn't it."

He stopped and waited for a small caravan of supplies pass by before continuing forward. Rainbow Dash started to speak, but Soarin swiftly cut her off with a swipe of his hoof through the air and a shake of his head. The group made it all the way into one of the many buildings in silence, this one distinguished only by the bunk beds and footlockers inside.

Soarin waited for everypony to settle onto their bunks before pointing at the little dragon. "He destroyed it."

Cloud Chaser rolled off her back and onto her belly. "Wait, destroyed what?"

"The weapon the eggheads designed to fight crystal beasts."

The cry of disbelief shook the entire barracks. Soarin pulled his hooves out of his ears and turned to Rainbow. "See? Think of what would've happened if you told them out there in the open."

Rainbow climbed back onto her feet. "Whatever," she mumbled.

"No way, this cutie?" Cloud Chaser pulled the dragon close, causing him to squeak. "You're kidding."

"Well, allegedly," Soarin added, rubbing the back of his head.

"Allegedly?" Rainbow walked right up to the stallion and glared. "What, you saying you don't believe me?"

"I'm saying you were only told that he destroyed their weapon, you didn't actually see it happen."

"Oh, so you think the ponies on our side are lying too, huh?"

"I'm saying it's possible and that the council's reasoning isn't completely wrong," Soarin responded, his voice rising in volume.

"I saw the crater, full of ash and melted scrap," growled Rainbow.

"So? Maybe their weapon just exploded. Ash and metal pieces don't necessarily mean dragon. Or maybe he did destroy it, but their weapon wasn't really all that great. Did you even see the thing intact?"

"There were pictures, and that weapon of theirs would've been awesome. Fifty feet tall with half a dozen cannons on each shoulder. Heck, try asking the guy who actually had to fight it!" Rainbow Dash jabbed a hoof at the dragon being crushed by Cloud Chaser before pushing past Soarin and exiting the building.

Soarin somberly marched to one of the unoccupied bunks and plopped himself onto it. "Well, that could've been handled better."

Fleetfloot sat herself on Soarin's pillow. "Hey, that's our Dash. You know everything'll be fine after she cools that hot-head of hers."

Soarin sighed. "Yeah."

"You really think the ponies in R and D would just lie about this?" Fleetfoot asked.

"Well, no, not really," Soarin admitted. "I mean, I thought the commanders made a lot of sense, but then they said they wanted more reports from SpARDA about both the anti-crystal beast weapon and our dragon. If they really thought the ponies back at Canterlot would try to cover all this up, why bother with the reports?" He sighed and shrugged.

"Um." The dragon raised his hand. "Is Rainbow going to be okay?"

"Huh?" Soarin turned over to face the dragon. "Yeah, don't worry. She'll be back after a quick flight, with a cooler head. Hm, say." Soarin sat up on his bunk. "You know, Rainbow was right about one thing. Did you, how did you..." Soarin sighed and fell back. "Never mind, we'll find out when the SpARTA reports come in, hopefully." He closed his eyes.

"Um, Captain Soarin, sir?"

The stallion glanced over. The dragon had been transferred to Cloud Kicker's top bunk. His little clawed feet swayed in the air. "Um, you said you liked my speech, back at the other building with the old ponies? I meant it, really. I want to help out, but, um." The dragon rubbed his hands against his slightly pudgy arms. "I don't know how I can help."

"Easy, you can keep me company," Cloud Kicker said as she pulled the dragon away from the precarious edge.

Soarin chuckled. "Don't worry, we'll find something productive. That fire breath of yours might come in handy. I noticed the campfire back there didn't give off a whole lot of smoke. Something small for now." Suddenly, he groaned and forced himself up.

"Something wrong, Captain?" Fleetfoot asked.

"Totally forgot to submit my performance review," the stallion grumbled as he removed himself from the bed and started toward the door. "Geez, what rank do I have to be to get excused from that. I'll be back soon." He turned to Fleetfoot. "Try to make sure those two don't overdo it," he said, gesturing to the two light lavender mares. "Maybe Rainbow's right, and that little guy's our ticket to victory."

Fleetfoot stared at the dragon, taking note of the smallness of his statue, the infantile chubbiness on his cheeks and belly, the utter apparent lack of muscles, the innocent gleam in his face that was barely diminished by those fiendish reptilian eyes. "That doesn't exactly fill me with hope, Cap."

Soarin simply shook his head and smiled as he pushed through the door and into the cold arctic air. He shivered and considered heading right back inside before forcing himself to take a step forward.

"Sorry."

He turned around. Rainbow stood behind him, leaning against the wall. She kept her eyes fixed to the floor. Seconds passed in silence, growing into minutes. Soarin found his voice and opened his mouth.

"I got angry and frustrated," Rainbow Dash said before Soarin could speak. "I mean, you knew I was mad with the higher-ups, and then you start agreeing with the in front of the entire squad?"

"I'm sorry, Rainbow. I didn't mean--"

"Let me finish," the mare interrupted. "It's just, I had to convince the director to give us the dragon. I couldn't come back here empty-hooved, with just some bad news about some destroyed asset. When the director kept saying I was wasting my time, and then the higher-ups started getting on my cause about wasting their time, and then after what you said, I keep asking myself, what if this really was a mistake?"

She slumped against the wall. "What if I've really been wasting my time with that kid, that I'm just deluding myself when I say he's what we need? Maybe the war council's right. Maybe you're right. I--"

Something fell next to Rainbow. She looked up to find Soarin sitting next to her, wincing as he rubbed his bruised flank. "Sorry. I was trying to act cool and, yeah. Sorry."

Rainbow lifted an eyebrow. "Cool?"

"Yeah, you know, the kind of stallion that sits down anywhere all cool like as he wraps his legs around mares that need comforting." Soarin reached toward Rainbow in a slow, exaggerated fashion, causing Rainbow to laugh and playfully push him away.

"Okay, forget I ever said I thought you could be right. You're a dork and a half."

"Yeah, well, yeah." Soarin rubbed the back of his head. "But hey, if you were actually listening to me, you'd know that all I said was that the council being right was possible. And heck, anything's possible. Sombra could find himself in a midlife crisis and retire to become a mariachi singer, that's possible." He grinned. "Maybe you're totally right, and the dragon ends up leading us straight to victory, that's possible. That'd be nice, but even if he isn't, I don't think you made a mistake. At the very least we got a volunteer." Soarin struck Rainbow's shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll be useful, somehow."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Wish I had your optimism." She picked herself up and offered Soain a hoof. "So, what's the plan?" she asked as she pulled the stallion up.

"Well, right now I'm about to get chewed out for submitting my performance review so late," Soar said sullenly, causing Rainbow to shake her head.

"No, I meant about the war. What are we going to do next? What about the dragon?"

"We'll be heading back to the forward camp with reinforcements and supplies," Soarin explained. "If the crystal beasts really are getting closer, then it looks like Sombra's up to something. We'll have to prepare for an attack. As for the dragon, well, guess we'll be taking him with us. After all," Soarin said with a smile, "I'm not leaving behind my best flyer just so she can play babysitter."

"You really think we'll find something he can do there?"

"There'll be something." Soarin stretched. "Anyways, I've got to get going. Help the kid get his own bunk and space. See you at dinner."

The dragon watched groggily as the Wonderbolts checked and triple-checked the contents of their bags. They had all awakened to the song of a trumpet just in time to catch the sunrise before packing away. For the most part, the dragon stood to the side and watched the Wonderbolts work.

There was nothing more he wanted than to crawl back into bed, to dive onto the most comfortable cushion he had ever slept on and under the softest blanket he had felt. Instead, he forced himself up and stood in the frigid morning air with the Wonderbolts. The chilly wind sapped away at his desire to sleep, until finally he felt at least partially functional. He walked over to Soarin and Rainbow Dash, who were both huddled over a large duffel bag. Like the others, they were dressed in blue flight suits underneath a layer of light, sturdy plastic armor.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked.

The two looked at each other before turning to the dragon. "You know, we don't leave for a little while," Soarin said. "You could always get some extra sleep, if you're still tired."

The dragon shook his head. "I'm fine. Come on, there's got to be something I can do."

"He could help Cloud Chaser with caravan preparations," Rainbow suggested.

"That's some pretty heavy lifting." Soarin tapped his chin. "Hey Spike." He lifted the duffel bag, almost as large as the dragon. "Could you take this over to Cloud Chaser back at the wagon? Tell her you're there to help."

"Sure." The dragon took the bag and went off. Rainbow and Soarin watched carefully as he ran with the bag raised above his head. They flinched as his foot stumbled into a shallow ditch, causing him to pitch forward and release the duffel bag. It's contents were flung out, spreading iron horseshoes and metal cuffs out into the snow.

"Okay, a little clumsy, but he can pull his weight around at least. There'll be plenty of that to do."

Rainbow nodded in agreement before returning to work. Her personal saddlebags sat beside her, empty save for a roll of bandages, a coil of thick wire, and a red flare. Nothing but the necessities. She turned to the bags beside hers, Soarin's bags, which were filled with small cookies, candies, and chip bags in addition to a first-aid kit and rope. "You packed enough?"

"Hey, I'm just being prepared." Soarin sniffed. "Don't come to me when you get hungry on the way there, because I'm not sharing."

Rainbow just shook her head. It wasn't too long before everypony had finished and had headed off to join the rest of the Wonderbolts at the line of wagons and carts. Several other ponies stood by, armored pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony guards with spears of varying quality, along with a few unicorn mages, experts of the magically art as designated by their stately robes. Rainbow Dash had even spotted the tight black suit of an earth pony special operative but lost sight after blinking.

The wagons themselves held a diversity of items. Some carried foods and other consumables while others held spare blades and armor. There were even some that carried Wonderbolt flight helmets, designed to protect a pegasus's face at high velocities and for quick and unhindered vocal communications. Most of the Wonderbolts here were carrying flight googles instead, not expecting to reach the painful speeds they'd have to meet during combat.

One particular cart caught Rainbow's attention. It and the others around it carried large silver cannons, giant lead balls, and barrels of temporarily inactive explosive powder. She frowned. As impressive as the artillery piece was, the small quantity gave her a feeling of unease, especially once she considered the number she had seen on the diagram for Project Fifty Three.

One of the wheels had suddenly sunk into the mush. Ponies around it rushed forward and tried to lift the cart out of snowy mire and on to solid ground. More ponies joined in as the wheel simply sunk further. A head of green spikes passed by her as its owner joined in to help. At last, the heavily burdened wagon was freed, and the dragon made his way to Rainbow's side as the rest of the squad joined around.

Soarin cleared his throat. "Alright--"

"Listen up, ponies!" screamed a nearby Wonderbolt as he stalked between the lines his own squad made. "I don't have to remind you how important this mission is! Do I?"

"No Captain, sir!" the entire team shouted.

"Well, this is a mission might be the most important mission of your entire damned life! There is no Princess Celestia here to protect you and no mommy to cry to! Do you lot want your mommies?"

"No Captain, sir!"

"Show off," Soarin muttered darkly. He turned to his own team. "Alright Wonderbolts, this is just a routine reinforcement of an at-risk position. You've all done this before, so don't worry. Just keep a cool head, make sure you've got an eye on your wingpony, and we'll have clear skies for days."

"Yes Captain, sir!"

The squad stared at the dragon standing at attention. He began to blush as a few members began to giggle at his excited outburst.

"Oh, uh, thank you, Spike." Soarin rubbed his neck. "So, if there aren't any questions..." He looked around.

The dragon raised his hand. "Where are we going?"

"Just one of the forward camps. It's pretty deep into the Frozen North, one of our last ones to be that far out there actually. It's, uh, so it might be a bit of danger."

"Oh." Spike nodded understandingly. "How are we going to get there? It sounds far. Are we walking."

"Well, the caravan and most of the guards are, along with Cloud Chaser since she's..." Soarin pursed his lips. "Injured? I mean, she can't fly, but it was only her--" Soarin cut himself off after catching the mare's glare. "Anyways, the rest of us are flying, and--"

The stallion smacked himself on the forehead. "Crap, I totally forgot about you. How are you getting there again?"

"He could ride in the caravan with me," Cloud Chaser suggested. "He doesn't look like he'd take too much room."

"I'd rather keep an eyes on him myself," Rainbow Dash said, stepping forward. "Council's decision," she added as Cloud Chaser opened her mouth. "I'd rather not lose him again."

"Well, how exactly are you going to do that?" asked Fleetfoot. "Walking's not your style, and you can't hover for prolonged periods with that wing of yours."

"Could you carry him?" Cloud Kicker asked, picking the dragon up and cradling him to demonstrate.

"Yeah, but for how long?" Soarin wondered. "This isn't the same as an extraction. For a trip this long, you'll risk dropping him."

"What about attaching him to your stomach?" suggested Fleetfoot, gesturing to Rainbow's lower barrel. "You know, just get some rope and tie him close to your--"

"No way, that'd look way too weird," Rainbow protested. "But what if I tied myself to one end of the rope and him to the other and just dangled--"

The entire squad answered in unison. "No."

"Could I ride on your back?"

Again, everypony turned to the dragon, who had spoken. "On my back?" Rainbow inquired.

"Yeah, like a backpack or something."

"That could work," Soarin said after a moment of thought. "There's still the problem of dropping him though."

"Her guard pads have those attachment loops. We could tie him to one just in case he does fall," said Fleetfoot.

"Good idea," Soarin said with a nod. He turned to Rainbow. "You okay with that."

"Yeah, I guess." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Alright kid," she said to the dragon. "Climb on."

Carefully, the dragon reached up toward Rainbow's back. She winced. "Hey, watch the mane."

"Sorry, just, ah."

"Try bending down," Soarin instructed Rainbow. She did so, lowering herself to her knees, and the dragon slowly got onto her back.

"You on?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah, I think--whoa!" The dragon yelped as the pegasus rose to her feet and made a grab to keep himself from fall."

"Watch the mane."

"Sorry." The dragon tried to shift himself into a better position. His heels nudged Rainbow's sides. A giggle escaped her.

"What's this, Rainbow Dash is ticklish?" Cloud Chaser teased as Cloud Kicker snickered.

"Oh shut it," Rainbow grumbled as she blushed. "Are we ready yet?"

"Hold on," Fleetfoot hooked the thick cord around the dragon's waist and gave it three solid tugs.

"Wow." The dragon looked around him nervously. "This is really high up."

"Just close your eyes if you're so scared of heights."

"I'm not afraid," the dragon asserted. "I just think it's very high."

Rainbow shook her head. "Then you're not going to enjoy the next hour."

"Package secure, Captain," Fleetfoot observed as she gave the cord one last tug.

"Okay then, Wonderbolts on me," Soarin ordered, slipping his goggles over his eyes and spreading his wings. The others extended theirs as well as they crouched down into position. Rainbow scowled as she felt the slight delay of her artificial left wing in comparison to her natural right one.

"Hold on kid," she instructed the dragon.

"To what?"

"Uh." Rainbow thought for a moment. "My neck." She gasped as the dragon's clawed hands clasped over her throat. "Not so tightly."

"Oh, sorry." He quickly loosened his hold.

"Not that loose either. Just, lean against me."

The dragon buried his cheek into Rainbow's cyan fur.

"Go!" shouted Soarin, and the Wonderbolts took off. The dragon squeezed his eyes shut as he felt Rainbow push off against the ground. The reciprocal force pressed through Rainbow's body and into the dragon, pushing his stomach up until he could feel its contents at the bottom end of his throat.

The dragon bit back the urge to vomit even as blood suddenly rushed from his head to the tips of his toes, leaving him light-headed and dizzy. His arms wouldn't respond, and he buried himself deeper into Rainbow's back to keep himself from falling away. The air grew even colder, leaving his entire body numb. Pressure seemed to build up in the dragon's lungs, making it harder and harder to breath. His eyes squeezed even tighter, the only action he found available as he grappled with his panic.

Something flared within, and gradually the dragon began to feel again. He took a few steady breaths and began to calm down. Blood slowly returned to his brains, his first thought being about how much he now hated flying.

"Hey kid, you alright?" Rainbow Dash called out. She felt the dragon shake his head against her and chuckled. "We're doing fine, just don't look down."

Look down? The dragon's eyes slowly opened. At first, all he saw was fur, light blue fur. He lifted his head slightly and discovered waves of rainbow hair flowing toward him. He turned to the sides and blinked. Those white things beside him, those were clouds, weren't they? They were so close he could touch them! The dragon's claws tingled in curiosity that was swiftly suppressed. Had the sky always been so blue, so clear? He took a deep breath. The air, it was so clean. It was exhilarating.

His eyes widened as he leaned just ever so slightly to peek below. A shiver ran through his body as he saw the bare white wasteland so far below, the few features such as hills and large stones no bigger than pebbles. Again, his claws tingled, this time with the strange desire to reach down as if to grab at and pick up the tiny objects that were so far away.

"Everything's so small!"

Rainbow laughed. "Yeah looks like it, doesn't it?"

The dragon had lifted his head, now sitting almost upright. "Wow. This is, wow." His body seemed to bubble with newfound energy.

Again, Rainbow laughed. "Hey kid, you holding on alright? I want to show you something."

"Show me waah!"

The pegasus dove toward the ground. Her grin became manic as she felt the wind cut the uncovered areas on her face. Suddenly, she changed her trajectory and sped upwards. Her path began to curve, ending in a complete circle before stabilizing back into formation, parallel to the ground.

"How was that kid?" Rainbow asked.

"That was awesome!" The dragon cheered. "Again!"

"Don't even think about it!" shouted Soarin angrily from behind. He rushed to Rainbow's side. "Fly responsibly or don't fly at all!"

"Sorry, Captain," Rainbow Dash apologized, but she kept her grin. To the dragon, she said, "Sorry, but Soarin's right. That probably wasn't the best idea."

"Aw," the dragon groaned. "Can we do that again some other time?"

"We'll see. For now just try to stay awake."

"Awake?" the dragon repeated.

"The next while's just cruising. Not a whole lot going on. A lot of us could do this in our sleep, not that that's good idea," she added. "Just, I don't know, keep yourself busy with something."

"Can we talk?"

Rainbow Dash hesitated. "I have to keep a eye out. Flying's not as easy as I make it out to be."

"Oh." She could feel the dragon deflate against her.

"We could play a game if you really want," Rainbow offered. "Ever heard of twenty questions?"

"No. How do you play?"

"Well, I think of something, and you have to guess what I'm thinking by asking twenty yes or no questions. Go ahead, try it."

"A yes no question? Okay, is it big?"

As the Wonderbolts flew on, the dragon and the pegasus continued their game, exchanging questions and answers. As they played, Rainbow Dash would scan the ground below, searching for signs of danger or of worthy notice. The dragon would glance over at the ground every now and then as well, and each time he was filled with an exhilarating charge.

Time passed. The sun slowly crawled along the sky. The dragon didn't seem to notice. Nor did Rainbow as the sight of the forward camp's shelters surprised her. She signaled to the rest of her squad before point out the ponies down below to the dragon.

"They're so small too!" the dragon had exclaimed excitedly. Rainbow gave the dragon a warning after seeing Soarin's signal and begun her descent. Again, the dragon found himself pressed against Rainbow's back with his eyes squeezed shut and his insides shuffling uncomfortably.

His teeth chattered together as they landed. He slipped off of Rainbow's back and fell face first into the snow.

"Hey, you alright kid?" Rainbow asked as she helped the dragon up. She removed the cord from his waist.

"Y-yeah, I think so." He took an unsteady step forward. "Why is the ground so wobbly?"

"You'll get used to it," Soarin said as he approached with the rest of the team. "So, everypony alright?"

The team answered with nods of affirmation. "Okay then. I'm going to talk to the ones in charge to see what plans they've got for us. You guys find the barracks they've set up for us and get settled in. Don't expect much. Understood?"

The team saluted. "Acknowledged."

With a nod, Soarin separated from the rest of the group toward the largest building. After a few questions, they found their own directions and followed them to a large canvas tent.

"Wait, we're staying in here?" the dragon asked. "Why isn't a building, like at the outpost?"

"Give it some time, and we'd might get some proper quarters, but right now there isn't any time," Fleetfoot explained. "This camp was for scouts mostly, so there wasn't any need for permanent structures." She lifted the tent's flap and led the way inside. "Don't worry, this will work fine."

A tarp covered the ground. A couple of cots were there, too few for everypony; Cloud Kicker rushed over to one and declared, "Dibs!"

"It doesn't work that way, you know that," Fleetfoot said with a roll of her eyes. "Those will probably be for the lightly injured."

"What, you mean Cloud Chaser gets a bed all to herself just because she lost a few feathers?" Cloud Kicker pouted. "Not fair."

"Yeah, you'd think you'd be used to that by now," Rainbow Dash said as she sat on the tarp. "So, what now?"

"Guess we wait for Soarin." Fleetfoot sat down as well. "With most of our stuff at the caravan, there's not--"

Shouts and the sounds of hammering hooves came from outside. Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash shared a look before getting up to investigate. The dragon followed the two out and toward the growing crowd.

"What's going on?" Rainbow asked a nearby unicorn.

"It's one of the scouts, she--"

They were pushed aside by several ponies in stained white aprons and caps carrying a stretcher. The crowd separated, making a path for the medics to reach the pony collapsed on the floor. They carefully raised her from the ground giving Rainbow Dash and Fleetfoot an unpleasantly good look at the scout's wounds.

Her left hind leg had been crushed and twisted in more places than she had joints. The swelling left cracks and stretch lines in the skin, as if trying to pull it apart. The leg, purple and black from bruises, stood in horrific contrast to the natural ivory color on her other leg and most of the rest of her body. Massive red gashes extend from her shoulder all the way to her flank, where the incision was deepest. What her cutie mark was guesswork now, the area the image had once occupied now so red and raw, the muscles so obviously present with hints of white bone beneath.

Rainbow's eyes were unwilling drawn to the bent appendage hanging loosely from the mare's back. Feathers fell like dead leaves. The dragon tried to squeeze his way through. "What's going on?" he asked, standing on the very tips of his toes. Rainbow Dash stood firm and pushed him back down.

When the medics set her in the stretcher, the disfigured mare suddenly came to life, clawing at the air. "No time!" she screamed, pushing away the hooves of the medics. "No time, no time!"

"Hold on, we can help you," one of the medics assured. "Just relax and--"

"No!" she sobbed, grabbing the pony's apron and adding new stains. "There's no time."

"No time for what."

A agonizing screech drew everypony's attention to the edge of the camp facing Sombra's territory. A collective chill frozen everypony in place as a giant crystal claw fell forward and swept away several shelters. The dragon followed the gazes of the ponies around them toward the massive glass skull staring down at the camp with dead ruby red eyes. A large icicle extended out of the skull's forehead like a unicorn's horn, or rather, it was as if something had drilled the ice shard into the skull.

Lines and cracks appeared right below the silts beneath those red eyes, and part of the head separated and hung there unhinged, revealing rows and rows of jagged crystal spears aligning the cracks. From there it released another shriek along with a torrent of icy shrapnel. Several ponies suddenly collapsed screaming, their bodies covered in bloody cuts and crystal shards that only dug deeper as the ponies rolled in pain.

Fleetfoot recovered her senses first. "Move!" she shouted, shoving the closest ponies. The action jolted them out of their petrifaction. Ponies began to run, taking cover behind buildings and avoiding open areas.

Those ruby eyes seemed to glow at the sight of fleeing ponies. It took a step forward and crushed an entire portion of the camp, building, tents, ponies, and all. More cracks began to appear, extending upward and giving the skull a cruel, sadistic smirk. The claw closed into a fist and began to pound away at the afflicted area. The ground shook with each blow as the behemoth pounded the bodies and debris into dust, leaving behind a flat, pristine snow field before turned to the next part of the camp.

Ponies fled without purpose beyond escape. Weapons and armor were dropped abandoned. All that matter was getting away.

"Wait." Rainbow looked behind her as she ran with the crowd. "Where's the kid? Where's Spike?"

"Wasn't he behind you?" Fleetfoot asked.

"No, he, he must have, we left him behind!" Rainbow Dash turned around and prepared to take off. Something grabbed on to her leg, stopping her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Fleetfoot yelled. "We need to go!"

Rainbow Dash pulled free and flung herself into the air, taking flight. She flew over the crowd, scanning for a purple scale, a spiky green head, an odd bipedal figure. Another shriek from the crystal beast nearly knocked her down to the ground. She felt her courage freeze at how close she had gotten to the titan. Too close, far too close, if it wanted it could have picked her right out of the air. She turned around. She had to run, fly as far away as she could. She--

There! There was the dragon, less than a few steps away from the crystal beast, barely any further from the monster than she was. The dragon had fallen, pushed down by the crowd he just couldn't keep up with, and found himself surrounded by bleeding bodies. He couldn't look away from the monster, couldn't move even as every fiber of his body screamed danger. He tried to crawl away, but his hand slipped, unable to find traction in the snow and blood.

The crystal beast raised its claw above the dragon's position, blocking out the sun. The dragon watched as the claw descended toward him. He couldn't even close his eyes as the claw came closer and closer.

He felt a blow to his chest before the crystal beast actually touched him. Suddenly, he found himself in the wreckage of a building, covered in wooden splinters. The distance between him a and crystal giant had suddenly grown. Before he could consider how, a pained groan grabbed his attention.

"Rainbow Dash!" he cried, rushing to the pegasus's side.

Rainbow grabbed at her foreleg and winced. Something was damaged, maybe in shoulder. She could barely feel the limb. A dislocation perhaps? She tried to stretch her wings and frowned when the left one was unresponsive. She glanced over and saw why. The metal was twisted, and the hinges had broke.

"We have to get out of here," the dragon said, pointing at the crystal beast. "It's getting closer!"

Rainbow tried to get up, but the moment she pressed down on her foreleg, she collapsed. With her check on the floor, she felt the ground shake as Sombra's golem grew closer. Now, she couldn't even lift her hoof. The dragon tried to help her back onto her feet, but Rainbow simply fell back down.

"Spike, you need to get out of here," she said softly.

"What about you?" The dragon continued his attempts to lift the fallen Wonderbolt.

"Don't worry about me, just go!"

"Come on, we--"

"Stop it, there's nothing you can do to help!" Rainbow Dash tried to push away the dragon but couldn't even find the strength to do that. "Just run!"

"No, I want--"

A shadow fell over the two. Rainbow grabbed the dragon and pressed him close, hiding him away from the inevitable blow. She shut her eyes and waited.

And waited.

The crushing crystal claw never came. She slowly opened her eyes, the action delayed by the fear of finding the claw inches away. Instead, she found herself sitting on a rough purple carpet. Confused, she expanded her scan and found large trunks extending from her seat. She looked further and grew faint. There, standing right in front of her was the head of the crystal beast.

But there was something odd about it. She remembered it being massive, as big as mountains. How could she be so close to its head? Was it bending over? Rainbow looked over the side of her seat and gasped. No, the monster hadn't shrunk or bent over, she had somehow gotten higher, the ground below a good distance away.

More questions arose than answers. Her front was examined, as were her sides. Below her was the ground, several many feet away, while only sky was above her. The only direction left to check was behind her, but as a low rumble echoed from behind, she found herself hesitating. She took a deep breath. Whatever was behind her couldn't be worse than what was in front. Rainbow Dash turned.

A massive wall of purple stood before. Attached to the top was a giant purple snout. Smoke pillowed out of the nostrils, and she could see huge fangs from behind curling lips.

A purple carpet. Extending trunks. Purple wall. Purple snout. Smoke. Fangs. Just barely visible, the tip of a green spike.

"Spike?" Rainbow whispered. She tried to cover her ears as the purple colossal released a tremendous thundering roar. Her ears rung from the force, and as she shook with disorientation, the hand she now recognized grasped around her. Panic rose inside, but the grip stop just at the point of discomfort. Rainbow glanced up just in time to see the crystal beast strike the dragon's face.

The dragon caught the clawed fist with his cheek unflinchingly. The crystal beast pulled back and tried again. This time, the dragon caught the blow with his open mouth, trapping the crystal beast's fist between his jaws. The dragon bit down, his teeth grinding through the hard crystal with a loud snap.

The crystal beast stumbled back, shrieking as it grabbed at the remains of the ruined claw. The dragon reached forward with his free hand and stuck it into the open mouth of the skull. The dragon grabbed hold of the top jaw and pulled upward. The crystal monster shook violently as bits and pieces began to chip away until finally the top end of the skull was ripped free, separated from the rest of the body.

The dragon dropped the crystal and shattered it underfoot as he approached. Keeping the crystal beast's body upright, the dragon leaned forward and stuck his snout into the lower end of the skull. For a moment, Rainbow Dash watched in confusion and wondered what the dragon was doing until she saw the torrents of green flames spewing from his mouth. The entire crystal body seemed to glow green as slowly the crystal began to grow hot and warp.

At last, the glass shattered. The dragon lifted his head to the heavens and roared triumphantly. Rainbow Dash shivered at the sound. She felt the bangle the director had given her dig into her uninjured foreleg beneath her flight suit. Her eyes focused on the gray collar that seemed to have grown with the dragon to fit around his neck. Four gems, then say his name.

"Are you alright, Rainbow?"

The voice was so deep, so unlike the childish pitch she was used to, but she couldn't say it sounded completely unfamiliar. Rainbow Dash looked up. Those eyes, those reptilian eyes that had sent chills down her spine when they first met, they were the same, with the same passionate fire.

She let her foreleg grow limp. She grinned exhaustedly. "I'll be fine, kid. Just fine."

Chapter 7

The earth pony rolled the stone she held around in her hoof. Sedimentary, she noted, formed relatively recently. She let the stone drop. Maybe she'd find more time to study it after the mission. For now, she had to focus.

A pink earth pony suddenly appeared beside her. She also wore a dark body suit with a gray plated armor vest over her chest. "Any movement, Maud?"

Maud shook her head. Things had been silent for a while. "All clear."

The pink pony nodded before removing a green flare from her pouch. She snapped it open and flung it into the air. The two watched from their position as a group of hooded ponies quickly descended from the mountains and made their way through the Frozen North wastes. Several armored guards escorted them along, keeping their spears ready. Even a couple of Wonderbolts hovered nearby, keeping watch.

Maud's ear twitched. She turned away from the ponies and stared at the mountains in the distance.

"You feel anything?"

Maud nodded. "Many."

"Wonderful," the pink mare muttered. From her vest she removed a red flare. The group of ponies rushed back to the mountains at the sight of red light. Just as they made it out of the open, the ground began to shake. A massive crack formed in the earth, and out of it reached a giant claw made of harden glass. A crystal beast crawled out onto the field and shrieked as two more climbed their way out of the ground before the crack sealed itself.

"Three of them?" The pink pony frowned. "That might be a bit too much to handle."

"Maybe."

Even as they spoke, the bright bursts of cannon fire flashed from the mountains' bases. The artillery kept the beasts away at first, chipping away bits and shards off their bodies with each shot, but the barrage soon lost intensity. Fewer shots were being taken as ammunition began to run dry.

One crystal beast collapsed, its broken legs unable to support its weight, and it released one last mournful screech before a well aimed shot tore through its skull-like face. Any premature cheers of victory were silenced as the other two bent over the remains of their fallen brother and picked it apart, attaching the spare pieces to themselves to repair damage and increase their size and bulk.

A bright spark of blue light was shot high into sky, right above the crystal beasts as the approached. It was an emergency flare, a request for reinforcements, an immediate extraction, anything that would help. Moment later, the mountain went still, the cannons silent. The beasts screamed in triumphant as they moved forward in earnest. The pink pony suddenly vanished. Maud blinked once and found her partner rushing toward the giants. Her eyes widened. "Pinkie!" She charged forward, kicking up large chunks of the earth.

The pink pony dashed around the crystal beasts's legs, carefully maneuvering around them. Her hooves flashed forward and pounded away at the diamond like a jackhammer with the force to destroy boulders. She only ended her assault once she was out of breath, and she could no longer raise her hooves. A dent had been made in the crystal, small but noticeable. The mare raised her hoof, preparing to hammer away again.

Maud grabbed her out of the way of the crystal beast's foot just as it came crashing down on the pink pony's position. They escaped to the base of the mountain, where an entire company of guards greeted them. A couple of guards approached and helped move the tired pink pony.

"Can you reach the extraction team? Reinforcements?" one of the guards shouted to a nearby Wonderbolt.

The pegasus shook their head. "Too much distance. My comms can't reach that far."

"Well, keep at it," the guard said. "We need to get the assets out of here."

"Crystal beasts getting closer," yelled another guard, a unicorn. The others began to look around nervously.

The pink pony broke free. "We can slow them down until the extraction arrives," she offered even as she walked forward on unsteady legs.

Maud forced her partner back down. The pink mare's protest died from a single look from the stoic earth pony. She turned back to the encroaching beasts. If she leapt from the mountain, at a certain height, maybe she'd have enough momentum to smash clean through one of those crystal trunks. It wasn't a solution, there would still be the other remaining beast, but maybe...

The crystal beasts drew closer. No, there wasn't enough time to climb to such a height. Maud was stronger than her sister, what if she tried her approach, dodging around the beasts's legs and breaking away at them chunk by chunk?

"We've got contact!" a Wonderbolt shouted. "They're saying to keep away from the crystal beasts."

"There's not a whole lot of room to run," one of the guards grumbled back, their grip on their spear tightening.

A low hum echoed through the air. Ponies looked up into the sky, scanning for the source of the odd sound. The pink pony pointed past the clouds. "Look, Wonderbolts!"

Three flying figures dotted the sky. As they drew closer, they began to slow, and as they did, the humming ceased. The ponies below watched in disbelief as the three seemed to fly directly toward the giants.

"Where are they going?" one of the ponies wondered out loud. "Wait, they're not actually going to try and fight it, are they?"

The suggestion incited murmurs through the company. They turned to the Wonderbolt members with them, who could only shrug. "They just keep telling me to sit tight," they tried to explain. "I don't know why--"

The pegasi suddenly scattered into all directions, zooming right past the dull red eyes buried into the glass sockets. The beasts shrieked and swung at them, barely missing one of the blue cladded flyers as they came around for a second pass. One of the Wonderbolts hung back. Something seemed to have fallen off their back, something almost invisible from this distance.

As the speck fell, it began to grow in size, slowly at first until it was noticeable to everypony on the ground. From there, the growth became exponential, the object's size doubling, tripling, increasing by folds of ten each second. The crystal beasts only noticed the newcomer once a massive scaly fist caved in one of the beasts's face and drew its attention away from the flying blue nuisances.

The dragon charged forward, whipping out his tail and bisecting the damaged beast before stomping away at the crystal until there was nothing left but shards. The other beast screamed and attacked, striking away at the dragon with its claws. The dragon roared and swung back, shattering a shoulder, releasing the arm attached to it. The beast shrieked as the limb landed on the floor, breaking like a fragile dinner glass.

The dragon silenced the crystal beast with a strike from his own head, driving the spikes extending from it into the crystal skull. As he pulled free, the skull came with him, removed from the rest of the body. The entire company of ponies below shook as the dragon thundered out a terrifying roar, deep and powerful. He ripped the crystal still stuck to his head and slammed it into the rest of the beast's body, forcing through it until his hand touched the ground.

The Wonderbolt nearest to the dragon, keeping in flight despite the metallic wing extending from her left side, touched the side of her helmet. There was a crackle at the ground level, echoing through the other Wonderbolts's helmets.

"Hostiles neutralized. Area secure."

The ponies around the green campfire laughed heartily as they passed around pieces of bread and chunks of cheese. Several cans of beans sat on a grate above the fire, the contents inside slowly heating. In the center sat the purple dragon, once again nested between the forelegs of Cloud Chaser.

"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash had said as she joined the squad and found the dragon in that position. "You're still letting her do that?"

"What? It's comfortable." The dragon shrugged as Cloud Chaser stuck her tongue out. More laughter filled the air, the loudest coming from the pink earth pony.

Rainbow shook her head as she grabbed some bread. "Whatever, kid." She turned to Fleetfoot. "Soarin back yet?"

The pegasus shook her head. "Not yet. Whatever they're briefing on must be important."

"Or unnecessarily wordy," Rainbow added with a smirk. "You know what's so important about those VIPs you were escorting?" she asked the two earth pony operatives.

Maud shook her head as her partner answered, "No. We weren't given much information, but they were given highest priority. I mean, we had an entire guard company and artillery support. The extra defense had to mean something."

"Maybe we were just expecting to be attacked?" the dragon piped in. "I mean, we're getting deeper into Crystal Empire territory, right? Wouldn't that mean routine missions would get more dangerous?"

"Well, that's another thing," Rainbow Dash said. "Didn't those crystal beasts seem smaller to you guys? And didn't you guys manage to take down one of them? We've never managed to do that much damage even with cannons."

"Wait, are you complaining about things getting easier?" Cloud Kicker asked.

"Of course not, no complaints here if Sombra trips and falls down thirty flights of stairs," replied Rainbow. "But come on, isn't that weird? Things should be getting harder as we get closer in, not easier."

"That's what she said."

Even Rainbow laughed at Maud's sudden words. The only one who didn't was the dragon, who looked around in confusion. "What's so funny?"

"You'll understand when you're older," Cloud Chaser cooed as she patted the dragon's head.

"You said that last time about the cat story." The dragon frowned. "Why can't you guys ever tell jokes when I'm big,"

"Well, those usually are pretty awkward times to joke." Everypony turned toward Soarin as he approached the campfire. "You do realize we have stoves now, right?"

"Yeah, but they're guarded by the cooks, and they won't let anypony near the kitchen thanks to Pinkamena's cake stunt," Rainbow Dash said.

"Hey, it was Sgt. Happy Birthday's birthday." The pink pony crossed her forelegs over her chest. "If that wasn't a call for cake, I don't know what is."

"With rocks?" Rainbow Dash said, raising an eyebrow.

"Duh, of course."

"Well, anyways, what's up," Fleetfoot asked Soarin, redirecting the conversation. "Did you get what was so important about those VIPs?"

"Yeah, but I'm not exactly supposed to tell." Soarin glanced around before taking a seat. “Okay, turns out those guys are crystal ponies.”

“Crystal ponies?” several members of the group exclaimed.

“Not so loud,” Soarin hissed. “Yeah, real authentic crystal ponies, as far as I can tell.”

“I thought they were all under Sombra's control,” Fleetfoot said. “What's going on?”

“I'm getting there, I'm getting there, yeesh.” The Wonderbolt captain sighed. “Anyways, have you guys noticed that we've been facing less resistance as we move deeper into the Crystal Empire? You know, fewer counterattacks, smaller crystal beasts. That last mission, with three of them, was an exception, but even then Spike didn't grow anywhere the size he had to when we first began the second offensive.”

The other muttered their affirmatives and nodded their heads, causing Rainbow Dash to roll her eyes.

“Well, it looks like Sombra's losing power,” Soarin explained before taking a bite of cheese that was passed to him. “According to the crystal ponies we just saved, Sombra's been controlling both the crystal ponies and the crystal beasts using some ancient artifact they're calling the Crystal Heart.”

Cloud Kicker raised her hoof. “Does everything here have to have a 'crystal' in its name?”

“What does it work?” Fleetfoot asked.

Soarin shook his head. “No idea. Something about positive emotional magic or something like that. It went way over my head.” He shrugged. “And we don't exactly know why Sombra's losing control of it. It might be because Princess Celestia's recovering from her injuries, or maybe Sombra's control just weakened over time. Maybe a little of both. We just know he's getting. Guess that's what happens when you mess with magical artifacts.”

“But that's good, right?” the dragon asked. “It means we're winning.”

Several ponies nodded in agreement. Soarin, however, began to frown. “Well, yeah, but it's not all good news. According to the crystal ponies, Sombra's getting really desperate lately, and he's planning something big. Don't know what,” he added, stopping the flow of questions he saw coming. “At this point, we don't even have theories, but whatever it is, it can't be any good.”

Steam began to pillow from the cans. No one moved toward them.

“But hey, if Sombra's getting desperate, he's bound to get sloppy too,” Soarin quickly said with forced cheeriness. “Look, I don't want to worry anypony, it's not as bad as I make it sound, but we are going to have to push the invasion forward. Command wants us at the imperial capital in a week. They don't want any unpleasant surprises so stopping Sombra and capturing the Crystal Heart is top priority.”

“They're giving us a week?” Cloud Chaser gasped. “No way, are they serious?”

“That's not that bad,” Rainbow argued. “The capital's, what, a couple days of flying?” She turned to Maud and Pinkamena.

“Yeah, if you fly for the whole three days straight without breaking,” confirmed Pinkamena, “and that's if you get clear skies, and good luck with that. You can see storm clouds miles from the capital.”

“And there's also the ground units,” Fleetfoot added. “They'll take longer, especially since we'll need siege equipment.”

“But it's just a wall, isn't it?” said the dragon. “I could break it down.”

“You sure?” Soarin questioned. “We still don't get what makes you grow. What if it's just being attacked or facing danger? Would you grow just to knock down a wall?”

“I, maybe.” The dragon's shoulders slumped down. “Yeah, I guess we don't know.”

“I'm not saying that's not an option, just that we need to be a little careful,” Soarin explained. He turned to the beans and carefully grabbed a can. He peeked inside. The sauce had mostly dried up. “Anyways, there's one other thing.” Soarin looked to his two lieutenants. “Rainbow, we're heading back to command central. Fleetfoot, you're in charge until we get back”

Rainbow Dash blinked. “What, why? What does command want?”

“It's, ah, you're not going to like this.” The stallion took a deep breath. “It's a publicity stunt. Some reporters are going to be there taking pictures of us getting medals, and there'll be a fancy dinner with the higher-ups and the princess.”

“Seriously, now?” Rainbow exclaimed. “That's an entire day away.”

“It's been a while since the public got any good news, well, any news really.” Soarin shrugged. “The higher-ups have been pressured for a while, and I guess they finally cracked now that we're winning.”

“Why you two, though?” Fleetfoot asked.

“Something about being the heroes leading the charge against Sombra's golems.” Soarin scowled as he stared into the campfire. “They just need faces to credit, that's all.”

“Wait, then shouldn't the kid be going?” Rainbow jerked her head toward the dragon reaching for one of the cans above the fire. “He's the one doing most of the work.”

Soarin cringed. “Yeah, you're really not going to like this. Command really wants to keep Spike out of public eye.”

“Wait, they want to snub him?” Rainbow Dash growled. “What the heck?” The other around her called out in agreement.

“It's not that. I mean, just look at him.” Soarin gestured toward the dragon. The dragon looked down at himself, twisting around to find what exactly the Wonderbolt was pointing out. “The public aren't going to see a military asset. They'll see a kid. You know how much support we'll lose if we were suddenly accused of employing child soldiers? Why do you think we've been keeping this a secret from even Princess Celestia?”

The group grew quiet, drowned out by the soft crackling of the burning firewood. “So we just get all the credit then?” Rainbow muttered.

“Sorry about this, Spike,” Soarin said, giving the dragon a rueful smile. “But, well, I'm not sure you understand but, well...” He trailed off.

“Nah, I get it.” The dragon shrugged. “I have to stay secret, that's cool, I get it. But what are we going to do while you guys are gone?”

“You'll, well, my squad anyways,” Soarin added, giving the two earth ponies an apologetic nod. “You guys will be helping out with preparations. Organizing everything is going to take some time, so they'll need all the help we can give. Then you'll be setting off with the vanguard for the imperial capital and Sombra's fortress.”

“Without you two?” the dragon asked.

“Don't worry, we'll catch up. You'll be moving at their pace, so besides scouting trips, no flying off ahead,” Soarin ordered. “Spike, you'll be with Fleetfoot until Rainbow gets back. That going to be okay?” he asked, looking to both Rainbow and the dragon.

Rainbow folded her forelegs over chest. “Just keep an eye on him.” She grinned. “The kid likes to wander off.”

“Not as much as you seem to like forgetting me behind,” the dragon shot back.

Soaring rolled his eyes. “Alright, good to see that all settled. Rainbow, get your uniform prepared. We leave for the command outpost early.”

Rainbow Dash tugged at her tie and grumbled. She glared at the mare standing in the mirror. She wore a sharp blue jacket over a collared white dress shirt. Brass buttons ran down her chest that were so shiny, they threatened to blind her. On each shoulder was a golden tassel, better fit for castle drapes than a military mare. The only thing she wore comfortably was her Wonderbolt badge on her chest, that gold lightning bolt between a pair of wings that she was so proud of, more than any medal she could have earned.

Her attempts to straighten her mane had all failed. Even after all this time, loose strands continued to stick out stubbornly, especially those further along the back of her neck. Her tail flicked in annoyance as she turned her head and found even more rough areas.

“Whatever,” she muttered, kicking at the mane brushes and combs scattered on the floor. “It'll just get messed up when I fly anyways.” She picked up the flat ceremonial cap from the coat hanger and tried to hide the uglier parts. Well, it wasn't perfect, but it was acceptable, she hoped.

She left the room, not bothering to clean up, and started toward the quarters Soarin had been given to prepare. Rainbow Dash knocked on the door and waited just long enough for Soarin to invite her in before pushing her way through.

“Oh, hey. You're ready.” The Wonderbolt captain looked away from his own reflection. "That was quick."

Rainbow Dash looked over sideways at the collection of badges hanging off of Soarin's chest like overripe fruit. "Well, I didn't have that many medals to show off." She made a show of polishing her hoof against her empty chest.

Soarin laughed. "Give yourself a few years." He sighed and reached for his mane, only to grasp air. "Wish they didn't make me cut my mane."

The two set off, leaving the building and moving toward a large tent. Several guards stood at the entrance, stopping ponies and stripping through cameras, with several more guards likely hidden or undercover. "I'm surprised they let you keep that manedo so long," Rainbow said.

"Spitfire liked it, and, uh, now it's gone." The stallion sighed. "I feel so exposed."

"Well, at least you look professional for once."

The Wonderbolts made their way inside. Ponies in various dress attires were already talking and settling in around the round dinner tables. Rainbow Dash and Soarin continued forward toward the long solid panel in the very back, where several officers were already sitting. In the very center sat Princess Celestia, positioned so that neither the wheels of her seat nor the stubbed remains of her hind legs could be seen. The princess seemed to find the two Wonderbolts on the crowd with ease, and she smiled so warmingly, Rainbow had to smile back.

"She looks a lot better," Rainbow Dash whispered. "Princess Celestia, I mean."

"Let's hope she feels the same way." The two took their seats and waited for the others to take theirs.

Stallions and mares dressed in bland suits and dresses hurried between the tables, offering the guests refreshments. Those large fancy glasses were filled with sparkling champagnes and wines. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but frown. "This is a huge waste of time. We should be with everypony else, helping."

A collection of appetizers, crackers, cheeses, and sliced fruits covered Soarin's plate. "This is helping," he said between bites. "Making public appearances has always been part of being a Wonderbolt. You know that. Those performances you used to gush on about? This is just another show." He waved to a close by waiter. "I'm not going to ask you to try and enjoy yourself, but FYI, they have cider."

Rainbow's tongue, the traitorous organ, rubbed anxiously against her lips. She watched as the waiter tipped the brown bottle over her glass, filling it with that light airy liquid. She raised the glass, took a cautious sip, and squirmed as the sharp apple taste splashed against her tongue. She beckoned the waiter back a whispered something into his ear. The waiter nodded and returned to his post.

"What did you do?" Soarin asked.

"Nothing much." She took another sip. "They won't miss a bottle or two."

An old pegasus dressed in full ceremonial uniform walked over onto the podium in front of the panel and cleared his throat, drawing the attention of everypony in the room. "Ladies and gentlecolts, thank you joining us tonight. Before we begin our meal and the questioning hour, I would first like to make a toast."

He raised an empty glass. A waiter rushed to his side with a bottle of wine and waited.

"First, to our dear Princess Celestia." The old pegasus turned slightly and bowed his head toward the princess. "For guiding us through this most difficult time.

The waiter removed the bottle's cork.

"Second, to the brave mares and stallions who have been risking their lives to uphold freedom and liberty and who are preparing for their final assault against the tyrant's fortress."

As the waiter began to pour, murmurs came from the reporters and journalists at the tables. Some began to raise hooves, voices, and cameras.

"Please, there will be a period for questions later, but for now, please restrain yourselves." The old pegasus cleared his throat a second time. "And third and finally, to Equestria and all our country represents. May she never do wrong."

He raised his glass. The others did the same. "Equestria," they said together. The old pegasus took his seat, and an earth pony dressed similarly took her place on the podium.

"Ladies and gentlecolts, on the behalf of the EUP Guard, I would like to introduce Capt. Soarin and Second Lt. Rainbow Dash, of the Wonderbolts."

As the two pegasi got up, the audience applauded politely. They stood at the earth pony's side, doing their best to ignore the flashes from the cameras as the officer opened a case and presented a pair of silver stars with blue ribbon laces. "For performing beyond the call of duty."

They didn't really matter or have any real meaning, those medals. As Soarin had explained, they were mostly just for show, something to please the crowd with. As the earth pony reached forward and pinned the star to Rainbow's chest, the Wonderbolt took a deep breath. It was a performance, she reminded herself, so perform. She tried to smile, tried to look satisfied.

Soarin shook hooves with the earth pony and stood behind the podium. "Ladies and gentlecolts, on the behalf of the Wonderbolts and the entire EUP Guard, I thank you all for your support. I thank my entire squad and each and every mare and stallion fighting along side me, for without them we would not be here tonight."

Well, he wasn't lying. Rainbow's thoughts drifted to about her squad. She wondered, what were they doing right now, this very hour, minute, and second? How was Fleetfoot handling her duties as acting captain? She hoped Cloud Chaser and Cloud Kicker were pulling their weight.

She wondered what was that dragon of theirs up to. She hoped he was doing fine,

"Tch. Hey Spike, could you see if you can borrow some spare stake from supplies?" Fleetfoot called over. "This tent's missing a few."

The dragon leapt up and nodded. He started toward the cart with extra miscellaneous supplies, passing by several tents already set. The vanguard had covered a good amount of ground for a day and had stopped to camp for the night. How they gauge how far they covered and how much farther they still had was a mystery to the dragon. Everything he had seen while riding on Fleetfoot's back looked the exact same.

A few ponies still gave him the same odd and discomforted looks as he passed, but he didn't pay any notice. They didn't bother him, so the looks didn't really matter.

"I need some stakes, please," the dragon requested to the cart's manager. The quartermaster glanced down and raised an eyebrow.

"For what?"

"A tent," the dragon replied.

"Which kind?"

"That kind." He pointed at one of the nearby canvases.

The stallion ducked into the cart and grunted as he rolled out a large barrel. "How many?"

"Um, some?"

The stallion frowned. "Some? What kind of number is some? Come on, how many stakes do you need?"

"Fleetfoot said she needed a few."

"Well tell Fleetfoot I need an exact number." The stallion scowled. "Go figure out how many she needs first, then come back."

The dragon quickly backed away and returned to the squad's campsite. Fleetfoot looked up. "You get the stakes?"

The dragon shook his head. "He got upset when I told him I didn't know how many we needed."

"Seriously?" Fleetfoot groaned. "Sorry, we need, uh, four? Yeah, four tent stakes." She sat down on the tarp. "Those things are pretty heavy. I can send Cloud Kicker or Chaser to help. They're not doing anything right now anyways."

The dragon shook his head. "I can handle it," he assured before hurrying back to supply cart, past the other tents. Some ponies had even begun setting up campfires and were starting dinner.

When he got there, however, the wagon was deserted, the manager nowhere to be seen. He looked around. No, he definitely wasn't around. Could he sneak in and grab the four stakes himself? Maybe, but a better question was whether he should. Who knew what that grumpy stallion would do if he caught him. But what else could he do? Wait for him to return? Go back to the campsite and tell Fleetfoot? Look for the quartermaster?

One of the nearby guards noticed the dragon pacing besides the supply cart. "Hey, kid, if you're looking for the quartermaster, he's taking a break. If you really need supplies, there's a cart further up in the caravan." The guard gestured toward the front end of the vanguard.

"Oh, thanks!" the dragon said before running off toward the other end. He had passed several wagons filled with food, munitions, armor, and even a few stocked completely with medical supplies before realizing he didn't know which cart carried just carried spare miscellaneous items or what it looked like. He recognized the other cart because of the colored flag it flew, but these carts, they didn't have any features he could recognize easily.

Looking blinding was going to just waste time. The dragon decided instead to ask for directions from somepony more familiar with this area of the caravan. He looked around. There weren't as many tents around here. Maybe he ask the manager of one of the other wagons. Or maybe that one pony wearing a funny looking mask. A new type of helmet perhaps? He hadn't seen one of those before.

The pony carried a bundle on her back and was looking around at the carts. Maybe she was also looking for supplies. They could look together. The dragon approached the pony and waved his hand.

He was suddenly thrown back as if pushed by a powerful gust of wind. Heat swirled around him as he blinked away stars and held his head in his hands to stop the ringing in his head. The ringing was replaced with frightened shouts and tortured screams. The dragon opened his eyes to find orange flames spreading violently from wagon to wagon. Several ponies rolled on the ground screaming as the flames consumed hair, fur, and flesh. Limbs were scattered on the ground stained charred and bloody without their bodies.

As ponies gathered to help, the dragon got up to join them. The blow still left him disoriented and unbalanced, and he tripped over something hard and metallic. The dragon glanced over at the object.

Part of the pony's mask stared back with empty black sockets, the green glow he thought he saw no longer present. The black hair on its top was burnt and smoking, and the metal mouthpiece that gave the mask an insect-like appearance was melted and warped.

The dragon carefully picked the mask up. Something fell out.

A pony head stared up at him, more skull that face.

Chapter 8

Rainbow Dash suppressed a yawn as she scanned the edges of the camp. The light of her lamp barely cut through the darkness of night, but she had to make due with what sight she had. There had been arguments over whether to head back to base for more powerful spotlights, but those led nowhere once the all the steps to acquiring such high end equipment had been considered. Ordering, processing, shipping, returning, they would've had to delay the assault for an entire week.

So they stuck with personal lamps and placed detection charms in the most vulnerable areas of the caravan and hoped that would be enough to prevent further attacks.

Two other ponies were with her, both standard guard members armed with crossbows. Really, if Rainbow had to be honest, they would be doing most of the work if they did spot an intruder, their abilities to take out potentially explosive targets at a distance more useful than her hooves. Still, even personnel who had noncombat positions were assigned watch positions and hours. The recent attacks had spooked those in command, had frightened everyone really.

Sombra was getting desperate. The last engagements were demonstrations of that.

The dragon beside her squirmed in his sleep, his eyes squeezed tightly as he tried to wave away invisible gnats. Rainbow Dash picked up the blanket he had dropped and draped it back over him.

"Should he even be here right now?" one of the guards, a unicorn stallion, asked.

"He's not bothering you, so don't worry about it," Rainbow responded in a low voice.

"Why is he even here?" the unicorn demanded.

"He's here because he wants to help, unlike some ponies." Her glare was obvious.

"Well, he's not exactly helping now, is he?" The guard frowned.

"What, are you?"

The other guard, an older pegasus, coughed. "I see something."

Rainbow Dash and the unicorn rushed to their lamps and held them toward the position of the older stallion. "What is it?" the unicorn breathed, his lamp swaying violently as his hoof shook. "What is it? Somepony sound the alarm!"

"It was a rock," the older stallion said steadily. He slowly shifted his view toward a new direction. "If the two of you were paying attention instead of arguing, maybe you would've seen it too."

The two became silent. For the rest of their shift, the only sounds were the moans and eventual snores from the dragon. At last, their assigned hours passed by, and they were relieved by a new group consisting of two guards with crossbows, a Wonderbolt member Rainbow couldn't recognize in the dark, and a unicorn magus. She gently shook the dragon awake and helped him onto her back before setting off to their tent.

"Sorry," the dragon muttered.

"For what?"

"I couldn't stay up." He yawned. "I couldn't stay up and keep watch."

Rainbow Dash found the dragon's yawn contagious, and she began to yawn as well. "Hey, I don't blame you. You've been doing a lot today, being a messenger, carrying supplies."

"Everypony's been doing a lot lately," the dragon mumbled, "and they can stay up easily."

"Well, I wouldn't say easily." Rainbow Dash gave out a tired laugh. "Besides, you've had a few restless nights." They approached the tent and found, surprisingly, Soarin sitting at the entrance, tending the last remaining embers of their fire. The two pegasi shared a look before Rainbow went inside. She brought Spike to his sleeping bag that was tucked between Cloud Chaser and Cloud Kicker, or should have been at the very least if Cloud Chaser hadn't rolled onto it in her sleep.

The two tugged the sleeping bag free and placed it next to an unoccupied one. She waited for the dragon to tuck himself in before turning back outside.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" the dragon asked, lifting his head.

Rainbow nodded. "I just need to talk to the captain real quick." She gently pushed the dragon back down. "Go to sleep, okay kid?"

The dragon rolled over and muttered something.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. G'night."

Rainbow Dash considered the dragon for a moment before getting up and leaving the tent. Soarin shifted to the side, giving her room by the last bit of heat. Rainbow Dash sat and stared into the ash.

"How's Spike doing?" Soarin asked as he prodded the dying red embers with a stick.

"Well, he finally got to sleep while we were on watch."

"Was he shaking?"

"A bit at first," Rainbow answered, "but he managed to stop." She sighed. "After what the kid's been through, I'm not surprised he's been having nightmares."

"Has he said anything to you yet?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Nothing, why?"

Soarin shrugged. "He seems closest to you. Whenever we end up pairing up, he's with you. Scouting, the whole anti-crystal beast operations, now watch shifts? The last one was his own decision, by the way." Soarin tilted his head toward the sky. "I just figured if he'd talk to anypony, it'd be you."

"Do you think I should start us off?"

The stallion shook his head. "Pressuring him isn't a good idea. If he doesn't want to talk, we shouldn't make him. Give him time, and I'm sure he will eventually."

"Do we have time? We're getting closer to Sombra."

"We might have to leave him behind when we attack, though I have a feeling that'll make things worse."

Rainbow Dash turned and blinked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"You notice he's been trying to do a lot more recently?"

"Yeah, we were just talking about that recently." Rainbow frowned and rubbed her hooves together. "I couldn't tell him about the complaints."

"Yeah. He means well, but he makes a lot of mistakes. I think that's also part of his problem."

"So what is his problem?" Rainbow Dash asked. "That he's trying too hard to be helpful, and it's causing problems?"

"That's part of it. More like the other way around."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Start making sense."

"Okay, see, at first Spike was trying to help just for the sake of being helpful, because it's what he wanted to do. You remember his speech in front of the war council?"

"Yeah?" Rainbow said, unsure of the direction Soarin was going.

"Well now, he's trying to help because he's afraid of being useless."

"Okay, you've lost me."

"Let's start from the beginning." Soarin leaned forward. "From what Spike says, it sounds like he saw the source of the first explosion before they actually went off."

"Okay, and?" Rainbow gestured to Soarin, motioning him to continue.

"Well, it didn't seem like anypony did anything until the second bombing. That's two bombings Spike thinks he failed to prevent."

"Wait, you really think that's how he feels?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You think he actually blames himself for those attacks?"

"Well, he was the lone witness of the first one. If he had stopped that crystal pony--"

"Are you seriously blaming him?"

"Keep your voice down," Soarin hissed, motioning with his hoof. "And no, of course not. But think about it, if he had stopped that crystal pony or if he had convinced the higher-ups to increase security earlier--"

"There was nothing he could have done. You know this, and he should too."

"And that's the problem," Soarin said quietly. "He knows there wasn't anything he could've done. How does that make him feel any better? It just shows how useless he is. That's why he's so desperate to help, so he can prove to everypony, including himself, that he isn't useless. But that desperation's only causing him to make mistakes, which makes things way worse."

Rainbow Dash glanced over at the tent behind them. "So, how can we help?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"No easy answer," Soarin admitted. "I guess if a task only he could do appeared, then that might help with his confidence."

"You're hoping for a crystal beast attack?"

"Kind of." Soarin rubbed the back of his head. "It's a huge risk. What if this ends up interfering with his ability to grow? I don't want to throw him head first into such a dangerous fight when he's not one hundred percent there." He got up and stretched. "Tomorrow, take him out on a scouting trip. Maybe a bit of flying'll take his mind off of things."

It was hard for him to describe how he felt about flying. He knew dragons were supposed to have wings, and his lack of such appendages left him uneasy if he thought too long about it. Taking off was always painful, and every time Rainbow Dash kicked off the ground to launched him and herself into the air, the dragon's stomach turned and twisted to the point of physical pain. Landing wasn't much better; the sight of the ground suddenly getting closer at such speeds left him faint and queasy.

But he couldn't say he hated flying. Sure, it was a chore getting into the air and landing wasn't fun and getting used to the conditions of such a high altitude was a little painful, but once he was in the sky, coasting along the clouds, everything felt right. He felt so light, so weightless, so free from the troubles below. And when Rainbow would perform tricks, oh, the rush he felt made him feel so alive.

Today was hardly any different. While he had been hesitant to Soarin's suggestion and Rainbow's offer, he began to smile as soon as he opened his eyes once Rainbow steadied herself into a glide.

He tried not to let the peaceful quiet distract him from his task, but even as he looked down, searching for potential dangers, his thoughts drifted like the clouds that were just out of reach.

"So, what's up?"

"Us," the dragon responded immediately, not thinking.

Rainbow Dash laughed. "Yeah, you're not wrong. I just thought I'd see how you're doing."

"I'm fine."

"You sure kid? I know you haven't been sleeping well lately." Rainbow felt the dragon's legs tighten around her barrel. They immediately loosened before she could inquire.

"Why do you keep calling me a kid?" the dragon asked.

"What?"

"You keep calling me kid. Why?"

"Sorry, k-- Spike. Does it bother you?"

The dragon shook his head. "No, not really. I just wanted to know, do you guys really think I'm just a kid? Like everypony else?"

"What do mean, everypony else?"

The dragon went silent for a moment. "You know, when you and Capt. Soarin had to go to that dinner thing, Capt. Soarin was saying that all the ponies there would think I was a kid, and that'd be bad. Why would that be bad?"

"Well." Rainbow Dash ran her tongue against the back of her teeth. "A battlefield isn't exactly a place for children. It's why you don't see any fillies or colts running around here. It's too dangerous."

"Because they're useless, right? Because they can't even help themselves."

So Soarin was right. Rainbow Dash thought carefully, trying to decide on the best words to use.

"I hear a lot of the ponies, guards, they say I'm just a kid, that I shouldn't be here."

"You're not useless, Spike. Just, I call you kid because it's what I called you before and never grew out of it. Heck, I still call Cloud Chaser kid sometimes, and she's only a year younger than me. That doesn't mean I see her as a kid, just an immature brat at times." Rainbow smirked. "Don't tell her I said that, okay?"

"Okay." The dragon pressed a claw against his lips. "But what about me? Do you see me as a kid?"

"Well, okay, bear with me on this, okay?" Rainbow took in a deep breath. "You're still pretty young, and that shows. In a lot of ways, you're still pretty innocent, but in others, well..." She grew silent. The dragon on her back had seen things most adults hadn't. Things anypony shouldn't have to see. He saw them because of her, because she threw him into this war.

Rainbow shook her head. Guilt later. "Anyways, um, oh right! Yeah, in some ways you kind of are a kid, but you've been through way too much for me to consider you just to be some child. Besides, do you think I'd let a kid watch my back?"

"Well, no, but--"

Rainbow sudden jerked around, forcing the dragon to grab around her neck to keep himself from fall. "Crap."

"What?" The dragon raised his head. "What's wrong?" He followed Rainbow's gaze.

A chill rose up his back at the sight of a red flare.

"Hold on, kid!" Rainbow shouted. She flung herself forward, pushing herself against the wind currents as she charged back to the caravan. Where did the enemy come from? She hadn't seen anything in that area when she passed it over.

That's when she heard a shrill tormented shriek. Her blood ran cold.

"A crystal beast!"

Rainbow felt the dragon loosen his grip. "What are you doing?"

"It's a crystal beast," the dragon shouted back. "I have to take it down."

"Do you think you can right now? Think. This isn't like dropping firewood everywhere or ruining dinner. If you mess up here..." She let the sentence trail off.

"But I have to do something!"

"Can you?"

The dragon grew quiet. "Please, I have to do this."

"Can you?"

"Rainbow--"

"Can you?" Rainbow Dash shouted.

They were getting closer to the caravan. They could see the crystal beast approaching quickly. It would reach and run through the entire vanguard within seconds. Ponies around the munitions carts were preparing the cannons, but by the time those would be ready it would already be too late.

The dragon's teeth dug deeply into his lips. A copper taste filled his mouth. "I can."

"Let me get closer." Rainbow's eyes narrowing as the winds slashed across them.

The dragon took a deep breath, then leapt off of the Wonderbolt's back, directly toward the beast. As he fell, he felt his entire body grow hot. He became feverish. It became hard to think, hard to concentrate on anything but a painful yearning.

All that matter was satisfying that desire, that desire to crush, to destroy, to protect.

To be useful.

...want

The dragon landed directly onto the crystal beast. For a moment, the crystal behemoth managed to hold up the scaly colossal's weight. With the dragon on its back, the beast stepped forward toward the carts and ponies. Cracks soon appeared however, spreading from those giant crystal feet and branching off all through the beast's body like veins.

The lines deepened. It shuddered and collapsed, the legs shattering under so much pressure. The rest of the crystal body followed a similar fashion as the dragon slammed it against the hard solid ground with his body. The dragon picked himself up, lifted his head, and roared.

"Hey, knock it off, big guy! We get it, you won. What are you trying to do, make us all deaf?"

Before the hovering pegasus, the mighty dragon scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Sorry," he thundered. His features suddenly brightened, his eyes no longer so frightfully narrow and his lips broke into a smile, doing away with the scowl he had been wearing. "Hey, you didn't call me kid."

Rainbow made a show of examining the dragon's body. "No, really? Come on, let's see if there's anything we--"

There was a burst of light, a scream, and suddenly smoke drifted up from the other side of the caravan. More explosions went off, spreading golden flames across the wagons and the ponies around them. Red sparks were thrown into the air from just about every end. Ponies wearing metal masks, all with dark black fur to hide their manes and green lights glowing from the eye holes, charged forward. Around the hooves of each were sets of curved blades. Several wore red bundles on their backs.

Metal bolts and magic missiles were launched at the charging ponies. The cannons began to sing, blasting apart entire groups. However, Rainbow Dash could see that it wasn't enough. The defense was too disorganized.

As the dragon roared, releasing a blast of fire toward the attackers, her eyes followed one crystal pony who had managed to get close to the cannons. She rushed forward, ignoring the strain she felt in her wings, and crashed right into the pony, pushing them away from the vulnerable artillery and nearby barrels of powder. Immediately, Rainbow kicked off the crystal pony, launching herself back into the air just as the pony disappeared into a burst of heat, light, and gore.

The force of the explosion nearly knocked out of the sky. As she struggled to recover her balance, something grabbed onto her hind leg and dragged her back to earth. Her head hit the ground hard, and as she regained her senses, she found another masked pony standing above her with their blades raised. Rainbow snapped into action, pulling back her free hind leg and raining blows against the pony's head.

If it were any regular pony, the strikes would have at least disoriented them. The crystal pony standing above stood there unflinching, accepting each and every blow without reaction. They began to lower the blades toward Rainbow's unprotected belly.

The dragon's tail swung out and whipped across the crystal pony's face. The entire head was flung off into the distance, ripped messily away from its proper place by the blow. The rest of the body crumbled over itself, no longer under the control of Sombra's magic or even its own natural nervous system. Rainbow Dash pushed aside the body and crawled onto her feet.

"Are you alright?" the dragon asked. "I--"

A crystal pony suddenly latched themselves to the dragon's back. Rainbow reached forward and cried out. Her wings shot out, prepared to launch her forward, but it was too late. The masked pony's package began to glow and shake. The force sent Rainbow back onto the ground. When she looked up, the dragon's head has vanished in a cloud of smoke.

With shaking legs, Rainbow slowly rose. "S-Spike. This, this can't--"

A thunderous roar dispersed the black cloud. Ash clung to the dragon's face and neck, but she couldn't see any external damage from her position. Her relief was short lived, however, as several more crystal ponies jumped onto the dragon, grabbing his limbs, his neck, shoulders, tail.

Blades bounced off his scales. Blows from their heavy shoes only seemed to annoy him. With a flick of his tail, he buried the pony latched to his tail deep into the ground, breaking through the frozen soil along with hundreds of bones. Those on his arms he flung off. Those attached to his legs he kicked away. He reached over his shoulder and grabbed hold of the stubborn pony stabbing away at his neck. The dragon squeezed his hand into a fist. The pony shuddered, then went limp as red fluid dripped through the dragon's claws. The broken pony dropped to the ground, their body crushed to a pulp.

The dragon roared once again. For the first time, Rainbow watched Sombra's mindless soldiers hesitate. One wearing the explosive package rushed past the other. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she realized that they were moving past the dragon. He wasn't the target. She was.

The crystal pony stepped right into a streaming emerald inferno and vanished, completely incinerated. The others that were close by were less fortunate; the green flames licked away hungrily, slowly stripping away flesh from bone until only charred skeletons in melted masks remained.

The dragon snapped at the last remaining group, catching one in his mouth. The crystal pony struggled in between the mighty jaws, kicking with all their might as the large fangs pierced through and sunk deeper and deeper into the pony's soft body. Petrified, Rainbow Dash watched in horrific awe as the crystal pony's attempts to escape grew weaker until they ceased completely. The dragon's teeth sawed through, and the pony's haunch and hindquarters, forelegs, chest, and head fell with a sickeningly wet plop onto the ground.

The dragon's jaws began to move in an almost circular motion. The crunch of bones breaking against those massive teeth echoed out. A visible lump traveled down the dragon's throat. He grinned, exposing his red stained fangs as he turned the remaining ponies.

Bolts from behind struck the last crystal ponies. Rainbow Dash turned to find several guards with raised crossbows. At last she found her voice, noticing that the crossbows were no longer being pointed at Sombra's soldiers but at the dragon.

"What are you doing? Stop, don't shoot!" she exclaimed, running to the guard in charge. "He's on our side."

"Then tell him to stand down," the guard ordered, doing his best to sound authoritative. "If he doesn't, I have to make sure he doesn't attack the rest of us."

"He won't." Rainbow turned to the giant dragon bellowing in victory over the remains of the defeated. She swallowed. "He won't," she said again, more to herself. Rainbow stepped forward. As she approached, the dragon turned to face her. Those green eyes, staring at her with their dark narrow pupils, were dull, almost lifeless.

"Hey, kid, it's me," Rainbow said, rubbing her foreleg. She took another step forward. "Spike, it's over. You can stop now. You can relax."

The dragon tilted his head and blinked.

"Come on, let's get you back to camp. Let's see how Fleetfoot's doing. Cloud Chaser and Cloud Kicker'll probably fight over who gets to hold you tonight, like usual. You know, you can always tell Soarin if they're making you uncomfortable. Heck, just tell me, and I'll set those two straight."

"Rainbow."

The giant dragon placed his hands over his face and began to shake. He grew smaller. His teeth became less pointed and less visible. His snout shrunk and became more rounded. His spikes lost their tips and were round once more. His limbs shortened. Childish chubbiness returned.

The little dragon removed his hands from his face, leaving a large red stain. He stared at the blood caking his palm and fingers. They shook violently.

He collapsed to his knees and threw up.

The squad huddled around the campfire in silence. Every so often they would glance over at the tent. The sobbing was over, and now only light sniffing could be heard. Nopony wanted to look directly at the orange fire burning away at the offered wood. A few cans of beans and dried mushrooms had been passed around; they went cold and untouched.

Rainbow Dash seemed to embody the restlessness everypony felt. She paced around the camp and trotted in place before sitting down, only to get up again to pace again. The bangle around her foreleg felt especially heavy this evening.

Fleetfoot kept an eye out for their captain. At last, in the distance, she saw the light blue stallion approach. Everypony waited expectantly as Soarin took his place by the campfire.

"Well, they're not going kick Spike out." The team breathed out in relief. "Yeah, it was kind of obvious to everypony that the only reason we got through that attack was because of Spike. Not everypony's happy about that though." Soarin sighed. "A lot of ponies are afraid of him turning feral like he did today."

"He was doing that to protect us and himself," Rainbow protested. "He was being attacked! What was he supposed to do?"

"Not everypony sees it like that," Soarin said wearily. "Some ponies just a saw a wild dragon out of control. I mean, it's hard not to blame them. They saw Spike chew up and swallow a pony."

"And there's nothing we can do about that," Fleetfoot interjected. "Spike's a dragon. We all know that, we've been using his nature to our advantage for the past two months. No surprise he fights like a dragon."

"Yeah, and that works fine against the crystal beasts," Soarin said in agreement. "But when ponies start seeing other ponies being ripped to literal shreds, morale's bound to drop."

Cloud Chaser shivered. "I still can't believe Spike, our Spike, did something like that back there."

"He looked like he was having a hard time believing it himself." Soarin turned to the tent. "How is he doing?"

"He finished crying," Rainbow Dash answered grimly.

"Has he left the tent?"

"A few times to vomit or brush his teeth," answered Fleetfoot. "I left him some water so he'd recover his fluids."

"Has he eaten?"

Everypony cringed at the question.

"Yeah, I guess not." Soarin sighed. "Alright, ready for some bad news? The vanguard's in no condition to attack the capital. We lost a good chunk of supplies, including the siege equipment."

"So what does that mean?" Cloud Kicker asked. "Are we retreating?"

Soarin shook his head. "Sombra's still planning something big. He's not going to wait for us to recover. This was his whole plan here, crippling our offense and keeping us away from the Crystal Heart."

"Well what exactly is command expecting from us?" Rainbow Dash demanded. "You're not going to tell me that they want us to go ahead."

"Actually, yeah, that's exactly what they want." Soarin waved aside the incoming questions. "Remember when I mentioned that the higher-up recognized Spike's importance today? Well, they want him to lead the assault on the capital."

"Wait, lead?" Cloud Chaser said.

"Not lead as in command," the stallion quickly clarified. "As in, the first one in. They want him to break through the capital walls and have all available Wonderbolts follow him into the city to capture it."

"They're not afraid Spike'll go crazy and attack us?" Fleetfoot asked. "Not saying he would," she added as Rainbow started to glare. "That just seems like something command would consider."

"Well, uh." Soarin's gaze fixed itself to the ground. "I might have mentioned, ah, Rainbow Dash's contingency."

Everypony else turned to Rainbow. "You told them?"

"I was panicking! They were talking about Spike being uncontrollable, and then they started talking about getting rid of him, and it just slipped out." Soarin pressed his hooves together. "I'm sorry."

Everypony waited for Rainbow Dash to explode. Instead, she simply nodded. "That's still a huge risk. I don't even know how the contingency works, or even if it works at all."

"Command's getting desperate," Soarin explained. "After today, with the capital so close, everypony's a little on edge." He sighed. "I'm worried though. Spike's in no shape to fight right now. If he isn't ready by the time of the assault..."

"Who knows what'll happen," Fleetfoot finished.

The team went silent, each member trapped in their own thoughts. Rainbow Dash stood up. "We need to explain this to him. I'll go get Spike."

"You sure that's a good idea right now?" Cloud Kicker asked.

"Maybe, maybe not, but we have to talk to him eventually, unless you want to sleep out here tonight. And I've got a feeling if we don't do anything tonight, it'll be too late."

Rainbow brushed aside the tent flap and walked in. "Spike?" she called out, looking around. She found the dragon tucked in the corner, his arms wrapped around his knees. He looked up as she approached.

"How are you doing?"

The dragon sniffed. "Terrible."

"Well, you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head.

"Well, that's fine." Rainbow sat down besides him. "Soarin wants to talk to you though."

"What about?"

"Well, he wants to make sure you'll be ready for the assault on the capital," Rainbow Dash explained. "Sounds like the higher-ups want you to play a huge role."

"Me?" The dragon looked up in disbelief. "But, but I'll just make a mess of things, like today."

"Spike, if it wasn't for you, there might not be any of us around at all."

"But, but." The dragon rubbed his nose against his arms tears began to form and fall from his eyes. "But I did all those things today. I-I can still taste it." The dragon pressed his hands against his stomach. "It makes me sick. What if I do those things to you guys? I don't want to be a monster anymore."

"Hey, none of that now," Rainbow said. "No one here's calling you a monster. You didn't attack any of us today, right?"

Slowly, the dragon nodded.

"Then why would you attack us at the capital? Listen, Spike." Rainbow Dash gently pressed against the dragon's shoulder. "I think you're a lot stronger than you think you are. If you don't want to be a monster, then just don't. It's no one else's call but your own." She smiled. "Hey, talk to Soarin and the others for a bit if you're still so worried."

"If you say so." The dragon got up and made his way through the tent, toward the entrance. Rainbow Dash began to follow. She stopped herself and instead rushed to the other side of the tent, pulling aside blankets and sleeping bags until she reached a large crate. She removed the lid, revealing three brown bottles.

She stepped outside. The dragon sat huddled between Cloud Chaser and Cloud Kicker as Soarin explained. The Wonderbolt captain gave the the dragon a smile and patted his shoulder. Rainbow couldn't hear what he said, but Soarin's words brought a small smile to the dragon's face.

Soarin turned. His grin wavered a bit at the sight of the bottles. "What exactly are you planning?"

"Exactly what it looks like," Rainbow Dash replied as she sat down. "Hey, I think we all could use a drink."

"Now, when we're so close to the capital?"

"We're all on edge right now," Rainbow Dash argued. "Let's try to forget all that for just one night."

"This is a bad idea. A horrible idea. We're going to get in so much trouble. "Soarin sighed. "Man, I really need a drink. Let's try not to overdo it."

"What is it?" the dragon asked as he watched Rainbow pull away the cork with her teeth.

"Cider. The best thing you'll ever taste," Rainbow Dash answered. The others cheered in agreement. She took a swig from the bottle and smacked her lips together. "Yeah, the good stuff." She passed it to Soarin.

"Wait, isn't this from, you actually saved this?" he said incredulously. "I figured you would've finished all three bottles by the time we got back."

"Oh har de har." The rest of the tea laughed. "You drinking or what?"

Soarin brought the bottle to his lips. The Wonderbolts around him cheered as he took a large sip and passed the bottle to Fleetfoot.

"Where'd you even get this?" Fleetfloot wondered. She examined the label. "This is way beyond your pay grade."

Soarin grinned at Rainbow. "Looks like that dinner party was worth something, huh."

Fleetfoot took her drink, then passed it to Cloud Kicker. The mare shivered as she took her sip.

"What about me?" the dragon asked Cloud Kicker started to pass the bottle to Cloud Chaser over him.

The Wonderbolts looked to each other uncomfortablely. "I don't know if you should have any," Soarin said.

"Why not? I'm part of this team too, right?"

"Yeah, but you're still a little young for hard cider," the captain replied.

"I'm not a kid."

"No one's calling you one. You just, well, still too young to--"

The dragon grabbed the bottle. "I want some."

His voice had suddenly deepened. His limbs were longer. The baby fat melted away. The features on his face became sharper, sleeker, as his snout extended out and his forehead was pulled back. Soarin flinched as the dragon glared at him.

The dragon quickly released the bottle. "I-I mean, please?"

Soarin, Fleetfoot, and Rainbow glanced between one another. "Well, he certainly looks old enough now," Rainbow Dash noted.

"Dragon growth is so confusing," Soarin turned to the dragon. "Alright, Spike. It's a little strong, so be careful, and try not to drink too much. That goes for the rest of us," he added, turning to Rainbow.

Cloud Kicker gave the dragon the bottle. Slowly, he brought it to his mouth. The group watched, their interest captivated, as the dragon tilted the bottle, pouring the liquid down into his mouth.

He almost dropped the bottle. The dragon shook his head furiously. The ponies began to laugh as his long serpent like tongue rolled out of his mouth and hung loosely. "Oh, wow."

"Told you it was strong," Soarin chuckled. "How was it."

"It tastes fruity and sour and spicy." The dragon blinked. "Can I have more?"

"Wait for the bottle to come back around." Rainbow Dash patted the other two bottles. "Don't worry, we've got more."

The dragon passed the bottle to Cloud Chaser, and the cycle continued, with each member of the circle taking in a mouthful. As the bottle went around, they grew warmer, with more heat than the flames of their campfire provided. As the second bottle began to draw empty, a blush could even be seen past the dragon's purple scales, giving them a bright pink color. The third bottle was beginning its second round.

Cloud Chaser rose and stumbled her way into the dragon's lap. The dragon blinked. "Cloud Chaser?"

"Sh." The mare reached up and patted the dragon's cheek. "How many times did you get to snuggle like this with me, hm? This is only fair." She giggled and leaned her head against the dragon's chest. "Oh, wow." She ran her hooves along the dragon's body, drawing circles on his chest. "Everything's so, hard. So solid."

"Uh?"

"Okay, we're done here." Rainbow Dash stood up and pulled Cloud Chaser up from the dragon's lap, ignoring her protests.

"Aw, but there's still some cider left." Soarin shook the bottle, only half empty.

"Yeah, we've had enough." Rainbow grabbed the dragon's arm and helped him to his feet. She got a good look at his new height; standing, he was a good head taller than anypony here. No wonder she was having trouble picking him up.

As her foreleg tightened around the dragon's arm, she found herself agreeing with Cloud Chaser. The chubbiness on his arms had been replaced with hard, powerful muscles. Her eyes wandered across his body. Her blush was from the drink, Rainbow Dash told herself.

She found her voice. "Come on, Spike. Let's get you to bed."

Cloud Chaser pouted. "You just want him all to yourself."

Rainbow's grip tightened. She found herself leaning against the dragon. "Yeah? What are you going to about it?" she blurted out before pulling the dragon toward the tent. "Come on, Spike," she said. Her tone teetered on the edge of seductive, playful but sharp and demanding.

The dragon followed her in. Soarin cleared his throat.

"So, uh, how much time should we give them in there?"

Chapter 9

Rainbow Dash awoke to the taste of rotten apples. She smacked her dry lips together and groaned. A sharp stabbing pain buzzed in her head for a moment before being toned down to a mere annoyance, something she could deal with rather easily but a nuisance regardless. She squeezed her eyes tightly, but sleep was quickly slipping away no matter how hard she tried to grasp hold of it.

She groaned. And she was having such a pleasant dream. Her stomach rumbled at the memory of all the pancakes she had seen. She envied that dream version of her, stuffing her face full of pancakes drowned in just the right amount of maple syrup and covered in chocolate chips, strawberries, and blueberries while she was stuck with the morning gruel. And there was that muscular hunk waiting on her too, wearing nothing but a pink apron that complimented his purple scales.

Rainbow Dash's eyes flew open, and she threw herself upright, wincing as her head protested the sudden motion. Once the dizziness subsided, she looked around. The tent was an utter mess, with sleeping begs and ponies scattered about haphazardly. What had happened last night. Rainbow remembered the cider bottles around the campfire, the jokes, the laughter, then helping the dragon to bed. Or had he helped her?

She shifted and felt something soft brush against her. There, right beside her, was the dragon, once again small and childlike. The color drained from Rainbow Dash's face as her blood turned cold. What had happened? She remembered entering the dragon, no, entering the dragon's tent, no, entering the tent with the dragon. Yes, she remembered that much, but what came after? Rainbow tried to control her imagination, tried to think past any speculations, but she found herself comparing the dragon next to her to the dragon she was with last night. Try as she might, Rainbow couldn't help hope that if, if, anything had happened last night, it was long before the dragon shrunk back into a child,

She froze as the dragon began to stir. She released the breath she held once he settled down and stopped moving around. Slowly, she got up and made her way through the tent, doing her best not to step on any bodies, a task she found surprisingly difficult.

Rainbow Dash hissed as light flooded her vision. She blinked and waited for her eyes to adjust. The sun wasn't up yet, so it was still early. She squashed any thoughts of returning to her sleeping bag, next to the dragon, and forced herself out to meet the biting arctic morning air.

A small fire was already burning away. Soarin was sitting in front of it, holding a mug with a grimace on his face. Rainbow Dash approached, causing him to look up. "You're up early," he said.

"So are you. What's up?"

The stallion frowned. "Woke up with a headache. Went to grab some painkillers and haven't been able to go to sleep." He pointed at Rainbow. "This is all your fault."

"Yeah, I guess that was a bad idea." Rainbow Dash sat down besides her captain.

"Eh, you've had worse." Soarin took a sip from his cup and winced. "I think we'll be fine. Not even a real hangover." He grinned sheepishly. "What about you? How you feeling?"

"Huh? Me? I'm fine, just fine. Fine," Rainbow replied hurriedly.

"You, ah, sure?"

Rainbow took a deep breath. "Okay, no. I'm a little freaked out. I can't remember what I did last night."

"You can't remember anything?"

"Anything after going inside the tent." She bit her lip. "With Spike."

"Ah." Soarin took another sip.

"That's it? Ah?"

Soarin shrugged. "I don't know what happened exactly, don't look at me, but I wouldn't worry too much about it."

"Why not?" Rainbow Dash began to glare. "What happened?"

"I told you, I don't know, but I figured probably nothing. We didn't hear anything, so yeah." Soarin coughed and hid his face with the mug. "Unless you're really quiet when you, you know. Are you?"

"Argh." Rainbow placed her head between her hooves. "I don't know, I--"

"Wait, seriously? You're a v--"

"Soarin, shut up, will you?" Rainbow Dash growled. "This is serious. I might have just slept with a, a, ugh, why is dragon growth so freaking confusing?"

"If it's really bothering you so badly, just ask him yourself," Soarin suggested. "He might know more about what actually happened than me. Heck, I'll grab him right now."

"Wait, no, don't!" Rainbow Dash suddenly found herself clutching the stallion's hind leg. She quickly released the limb and dusted herself off. "Just, give me a second to, you know, compose myself and stuff. Yeah."

Soarin sat back down. "Okay, what's up?"

"What do mean, what's up?" Rainbow hissed. "Just, I, this whole thing's a huge mess. I mean, I don't even know what to think right now. I like the kid, but I don't know if it's that kind of like, and now I'm calling him a kid again, but now we might have just, and--”

“Rainbow, breath.”

She took a deep breath. “I'm just confused, really confused right now about how to feel.”

“Well, maybe nothing actually happened.”

“But what if something did?” Rainbow asked.

“I don't know. I mean, as long as the two of you just pretended nothing happened, would that okay?”

“Of course not!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “I can't just pretend--”

“Okay, bad advice. Sorry, I'm tired.” Soarin yawned. “Look, I'm really bad at this. I mean, I'm sure if you and Spike just got together and talked about this like adults, everything will work out. Hey, and if things to escalate, I promise not to judge.”

“Promise not to--” Rainbow's face grew red. “Oh, shut up. You're no help at all.”

“Can I help?”

The sight of the dragon standing right out side of the tent froze Rainbow's blood. He stood there with a curious expression on his face, unsure of what was happening but eager to participate regardless. “H-hey Spike,” Rainbow began. “Um, how long have you been up?”

“A while, I think,” he replied. “I heard you guys talking.”

“Is anypony else awake?” asked Soarin.

The dragon nodded. “Yeah, but they're all pretending to be asleep. So, um, was there anything I could do to help? I don't know if I can do what Soarin can't though.”

The two pegasi looked toward each other. Soarin gestured toward the dragon. Rainbow Dash shook her head. Soarin gestured again, this time more fiercely. “Oh, so it's okay to make me talk when I'm not ready, huh?” Rainbow grumbled. Sighing, she turned to the dragon. “You mind if talk about something?”

“Well, I'm going to check on, stuff.” Soarin got up and made his way toward the tent. As he passed, he whispered to Rainbow, “Good luck.”

“So, what did you want to talk about?” The dragon joined her in front of the campfire.

“Oh, well, how are you feeling right now?” Rainbow Dash asked. “First time drinking cider right? You're probably feeling a little sick, huh?”

“Actually, I feel fine. Do you feel sick?”

“Just a little,” Rainbow admitted.

“Huh. Maybe its a dragon thing.”

“Dragons don't get hangovers.” Rainbow chuckled. “Well, lucky you.” She pressed her hooves together and laid them in her lap. “So, I was wondering, about last night.”

“Oh, right! Thanks!”

“Thanks?” Rainbow Dash swallowed. “You're thanking me?”

“Well, yeah.”

“What for?” Rainbow Dash asked timidly, unsure she wanted to hear the answer.

“For talking to me last night.” The dragon wrung his hands together awkwardly. “I'm still nervous about having to fight, and I'm really worried about hurting everypony, but if you really think I can control myself, then I'm going to do my best. I'm going to not be monster.”

Despite herself, Rainbow started to laugh. “You're posing.” She gently lowered the hand he held up. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better about that. I know I'll definitely feel more confident with you attacking the capital with me." Her hoof retreated. "So hey, um, anyways, about last night." Rainbow took a deep breath. "What happened after we went in last night?"

The blush spreading across the dragon's face was not encouraging. "You, um, don't remember?"

"Spike, tell me what happened. Whatever it was, I won't be angry," At you, anyways.

The dragon ducked his head. His claws rubbed against each other anxiously. He took a deep breath. "I said, I call you pretty," he suddenly blurted out. "I said I thought you were pretty."

From inside the tent, there was laugher.

Rainbow Dash's eyebrow lifted, "You, you called me pretty?"

The dragon nodded. "I think you're pretty."

"Y-you don't have to repeat it." Why was she turning red? "I, really?"

The dragon nodded again. "Yeah, and you're really nice, and strong, and smart and--"

"Yeah, yeah, thanks!" Rainbow Dash swallowed and rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, okay, um, what happened after that?"

"After that? We went to sleep."

"That's it? We just, went to sleep?" Rainbow Dash repeated. "Like, nothing else happened? Like, no touching or, um, that?"

"Well, we hugged," the dragon said. His blush intensified. "Um, you also said I was nice to hold."

"I said what? What?"

"That I was--"

"I didn't mean repeat it," Rainbow Dash said quickly. She hid her rapidly reddening face behind her foreleg. She sighed. "Okay, anything else?"

"No, nothing else. We just went to sleep." The dragon gave her a confused look. "Should we have done something else?"

Rainbow Dash began to say no, but the word stuck to her throat. She coughed. "I, let's talk about that some other time. Right now, I bet Soarin needs some time with, stuff."

"Alright." Spike got to his feet. Once he was back in the tent, Rainbow released a sigh of relief. She went over to one of the canteens and splashed some water onto her face before scrubbing it furiously. In the metal of the container, she caught her reflection. Her mane was as wild as always, made even worse by her careless sleeping arrangements. Even she could tell how scruffy her coat appeared.

"He thinks I'm pretty."

The reflection started to blush.

The day of the assault came sooner than the dragon expected.

The peace he normally found in the skies was absent, as if drained away by the gray storm clouds that drifted threateningly close. The dragon squinted, but he couldn't see past those storm clouds. Lightning streaks and strong winds forced the Wonderbolts to change directions and paths, delaying them with time consuming detours. It was as if the skies themselves had joined Sombra.

The helmet Rainbow Dash wore limited his abilities to communicate. Not being able to see that free and stubborn rainbow mane was discouraging, as if to make him question whether the pegasus he rode on really was Rainbow.

He tried to review the plan, but his nerves made it difficult to concentrate. Every time he managed to gather his thoughts, turbulence from the storm or doubt-inspiring questions would scatter them again.

Come on, it's not that hard. Just break down a stupid wall.

But what if he couldn't? What if it was too big, bigger than he could ever grow? What would he even do afterward? He wasn't sure he wanted to fight. Images of his last battle floated over him like the storm clouds. The dragon tried to shake away such thoughts. He had to fight, to protect everypony.

Again, he tried to see through the blackened sky, but it was in vain. Weren't they there yet? He wished he could ask Rainbow Dash or anypony. A new thought popped into his head. He simply assumed that those helmets designed for the heads of ponies wouldn't fit his, but really, that was just speculation.

The dragon felt Rainbow Dash slow herself. She glanced around cautiously before continuing.

"Negative," she said into her microphone. "Target not in sight."

"Not possible. The capital should be right here. We should be right on top of it."

Rainbow held back her sigh. "This is ridiculous. Even with this visibility, we should still be--oof!"

The pegasus struggled to keep her balance and stay in flight. She reached behind her, and the dragon grabbed hold of her hoof. He was fine, that was good. Now, she could concentrate on what had hit her. Or was it what she hit? Slowly, she inched forward until her helmet pressed against something solid.

Rainbow Dash stuck out her hooves and ran them against the solid object in front of her. As she stared, she began to see an outline and a shape. She tapped against it. A sharp echo rang out like the chime of a bell. "I think I found the wall," she reported. "It's the same color as the clouds, no wonder we're have trouble finding it."

"Acknowledged. Do not touch the structure. For all we know there could be an alarm mechanism or, what was that?"

The entire wall began to ring. Silts opened up within the wall. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as arrows suddenly flew toward her. One struck her right in the chest, stopped less than inches away from her heart by her padded vest. She tried to move further away, but a sudden chill made her motions sluggish. Rainbow Dash looked down and found a layer of ice spreading from where she had been struck by the arrow.

"Ice, arrows," she managed to warn with chattering teeth. The dragon leaned forward and breathed out a short flame that melted the ice. Her fur was slightly singed, but at least now she could move freely. "Is everypony alright?" she called out as she weaved and ducked about to dodge the projectiles, hoping her warning came in time.

"Heavy casualties sustained. Strike team, break that wall, now!"

Rainbow Dash removed the cord from her vest. She raised her hoof. The dragon saw the signal and tapped the hoof with two claws. She nodded and took a deep breath. Good luck.

The dragon flung himself at the mighty obsidian wall. Sparks flew as he dug his claws into the wall. Despite the arrows, Rainbow found herself watching the dragon anxiously. "Come on, Spike," she muttered.

The claws dug deeper into the hard material as they began to extend and thicken. The dragon's limbs grew longer, and he pushed forward as they grew. The fire spewing from his mouth got larger and hotter as his head grew, marking the walk with burns. The dragon growled and leaned forward with all his weight. Pieces of the wall slowly chipped off, and lines began to appear. The cracks grew deeper and and increased in number. With one final roar, the dragon slammed his head forward against the wall.

The entire wall seemed to shake. The section the dragon was hanging onto suddenly moved forward, creating a small platform for him to stand on. He continued to push away, moving the chunk of rock right through the wall until it fell out on the other side.

The Wonderbolts cheered as they rushed through the tunnel the dragon had made right through the wall and into the bright city that was Sombra's capital. A bright beam of red light extended from the center of the city that pierced through the dark storm clouds. The light came from the tallest structure, a massive palace made of the blackest crystal.

"Strike team, do you have visual of a large black castle?"

"Confirmed," Rainbow Dash heard Soarin say.

"The crystal heart will be there. Take out that structure immediately but be cautious. Sombra may also be present."

"Acknowledged. Rainbow Dash, guide Spike. Wonderbolts, forward!"

Crystal buildings were plowed through as the dragon followed Rainbow toward Sombra's palace. They charged forward, focusing on the beam extending from it.

"Guys, I've got visual of Sombra, and man he looks--"

The rest of Cloud Chaser's message was warbled by static. "Cloud Chaser? Cloud Chaser, respond. Cloud Chaser?" Rainbow Dash swore under her breath before forcing herself even faster, pushing her wings to their very limit.

"Rainbow Dash, wait, do not engage Sombra! We'll attack together," Soarin yelled. Rainbow ignored the order bouncing around her helmet. The command seemed to spur her on even faster. The palace tower grew more visible by the second.

There, at the very top was a large piece of crystal that was formed in the shape of a heart. Beneath the blue surface was a red glow that she could see even from this distance. The glow seemed to pulse like a heart beat, increasing by the moment. Nearby was the crumbled body of a Wonderbolt.

The sight of the blue flight suit filled Rainbow with fire, an all consuming flame that burned away everything, the pain of her tired body, any thoughts of strategy, all the discipline drilled into her. All that mattered was the armored unicorn laughing over her comrade's body. Rainbow stretched out her hooves directly in front of her, preparing to drive them straight through the tyrant's skull.

Sombra's horn glowed. Strings of light purple plasma sprung from the tower's floor. Rainbow's body went numb, and she crashed at the unicorn's feet. The visor of her helmet shattered from the impact, sending shards across her face. A few dug themselves dangerously close to an eye.

"Rainbow Dash, respond. Rainbow, can you hear me? Where's Spike? Is he with you. Rainbow!"

Sombra watched Rainbow Dash slowly climbed back onto her feet. Her limbs still shook, barely able to hold up her weight. He laughed as the mare before flared out her wings and crouched into a fighting pose. He took a step forward.

Sombra suddenly disappeared under a giant scaly fist. When the dragon lifted his hand, broken limbs, bones, and armor in a puddle of black ichor was all that stood there. Feeling was beginning to return to Rainbow Dash body. She rushed to Cloud Chaser's side.

The mare coughed as she lain in Rainbow's forelegs. "Did, did you get him?"

"Cloud Chaser, is that you? Thank Celestia." Soarin's voice crackled through there helmets. "You and Rainbow need to get out of there now! The Crystal Heart's buzzing like crazy."

The two pegasi turned to the heart shaped crystal on the raised platform. The red glow had darkened to the point of giving the heart an almost black shine. The pulsing grew faster, and the crystal began to shake violent. Cracks were forming, spreading through the crystal.

"Come on," Rainbow Dash said as she helped Cloud Chaser up. "Think you can fly."

Cloud Chaser glanced over at her wings and shook her head. "Something's broken."

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. She gave her own wings an experimental flap. They were at least still operation, but could they handle a second pony? She didn't think so. She looked around for an alternate escape. "How do you feel about stairs?"

"Oh, just kill me now," Cloud Chaser moaned. "Wait, we still have Spike. He can get us out of here."

"Right, right! Spike!" Rainbow Dash carefully removed her helmet, doing her best to avoid pushing the glass shards any deeper. "Hey, big guy, we need an evac. You think you can handle that?"

The dragon didn't respond. He stared past Rainbow, directly at the glowing Crystal Heart with a dull yellow shine in his eyes.

"Spike?"

The dragon reach forward. His claws grabbed hold of the heart and pulled it away from the platform. He held it up toward the sky. The grin he wore as he apprised the crystal unsettled Rainbow. He brought the Crystal Heart to his mouth and swallowed it whole.

The roar he released was unlike any sound he had made before. It was pained, like the sound of a wounded animal, mixed with the triumphant glee made by a sadistic hunter. The sky turned red as he roared. The green flames he shot from his mouth were mixed with blues, yellows, and reds of more convention fires as well as a disturbing ashy black outline, giving that fire that had so often heated their campfires a hellish appearance.

The dragon began to grow but not like how he had before. His limbs seemed to snap and break out of their sockets as they forcefully extended. Scales flaked off, exposing the soft pink flesh beneath that was slowly covered by a new coat of scales, darker in shade and mixed with a crimson color. Bulges appeared on the dragon's forehead, right above his eyes. They continued to grow and grow until white bones suddenly pierced through and continued their path past the skies.

The dragon stared down at the city before him. He roared again, the sound mixed with so many dissonant pitches, it was painful to heard. Rainbow Dash was thrown off the tower by the force of the dragon's screech while Cloud Chaser was knocked into a pillar. Groaning, the mare struggled to her hooves. She raised her shaking head. "Spike?"

The pegasus was swept away by a flood of demonic flames, leaving not even ash in her place. As the flames ate away at the crystal structure, the tower began to collapse. The dragon swung his arm, crushing the rest of the palace.

Pegasi in blue and gray charged forward, burning away like shooting stars as the dragon turned his fire toward them. As the surviving Wonderbolts scattered, the dragon screamed, declaring his victory as the buildings around him burned.

The gray collar around the dragon's neck began to glow.

"Project Twelve."

The dragon's roar was cut off. Rainbow Dash let her foreleg fall limply to her side. The bangle rolled about in the colorful dust.

Chapter 4

"And you can really blow fire?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'm mean, it's green, so I don't know if it's actually fire."

"Cool," breathed the colt sitting beside the dragon. Like the stallion, he wore a matching blue cap and overalls, both worn and dirty. Every inch of his exposed body was covered in spots, either naturally brown ones or more oily black ones. The most prominent were the ones surrounding his eyes. "Hey, how come you don't have wings? I thought--"

"Pipsqueak, shut it and get to work."

Pipsqueak jumped into a salute. "Aye aye, captain!" he exclaimed before running into the station office. The stallion shook his head and sighed as he placed a tray of food in front of Rainbow and the dragon.

"Sorry if the kid's been bothering you. He's just curious. Never seen a dragon before, or a Wonderbolt in person for that matter," the stallion added with a glance at Rainbow.

Rainbow lifted one of the mugs of tar black coffee and sniffed at it. She could smell the faint scent of gasoline. "How much longer do we have to wait?"

"Not much longer. Why, in a hurry?" He drank out of his own cup. "Yeah, I get," he said just as Rainbow opened her mouth, "none of my business, right?"

"If you get it, don't ask." She took a sip and tried not to grimace. Setting the cup down, she took a piece of toast. It was as dry as sawdust, but it was nice to taste warm bread for a change, even if it could a little butter.

"Is it really okay to eat this?" the dragon asked, poking at the round object in front of him.

"Yeah, of course, we give 'em out to all the recruits that come through here," the stallion said. "The last donut they'll taste for a while. Enjoy it while it lasts."

"Um, I think something's missing." The dragon stuck a claw through the hole in the glazed pastry. The stallion laughed while Rainbow brought her hoof to her face.

"That hole's supposed to be there," she explained. "It's, I don't know, it's just for decoration. Just try it. If you don't like it, you don't have to finish it."

"Really?" The dragon's eyes widened in wonder. "I can do that?"

"Yes, you can do that," Rainbow answered tiredly. She took another bite from her toast.

The stallion watched in amazement as the dragon gave the sugary surface an experimental lick with his long reptilian tongue. Sparks seemed to fly from those disturbing eyes of his as he prepared to take a bite. Those frightful fangs of his sunk into the donut and tore off a clean chunk. As he chewed and saliva soaked into the piece of pastry, releasing its flavor to the senses in his mouth, the dragon's eyes began to mist.

"Uh, kid?" the stallion said. "You, uh, alright?"

The dragon took another bite, then another and another, tearing through the donut like a starved beast. "It's, I..." he tried to say, choking up at each bite.

The stallion slowly leaned toward Rainbow Dash, who also stared at the crying dragon. "So, is this a dragon thing, or what?"

"I don't think he's ever had sweets before," Rainbow explained. "And it's been a pretty emotional day for him so..." She shrugged, just as a horn's blare echoed through the station.

The stallion glanced up. "Sounds like the train's ready." He picked up the leftovers and set the tray on his back. "I have to get to work. It was nice meeting the two of you."

"Yeah." Rainbow got to her feet and gave the stallion a nod. "Take care."

He turned to go. "Hey, dragon?"

The dragon rubbed his face and stood up. "Yeah?"

"Maybe we'll meet again. If we do, I'll get you a whole dozen of donuts."

"Dozen?" The dragon looked to the pegasus beside him.

"He means twelve."

"Wow. Really?" The dragon grinned. "Yeah, okay, that sounds great! Oh, um." He started to look around. "Um, could you let Pip know I said goodbye? He was really nice. I like him."

"Yeah, sure." And with a final wave, the stallion made his way toward the central station building.

Rainbow and the dragon moved in the opposite direction toward the tracks. There stood the mighty locomotive, steam already escaping the stack of the engine. A single passenger car was attached, and following it were several boxcars, each one filled with some sort of provision, food, clothing, or munition.

"So that's a train," the dragon said as they approached.

"Guess you've never seen one of these before either, huh? Yeah, didn't think so," Rainbow said as the dragon shook his head. "Well climb aboard and make yourself comfortable," she ordered, guiding him up the ramp and into the car. Even by her standards, it was incredibly bare. The seats had been stripped of cushions, and the curtains of the windows were replaced with ugly plastic tarp. In the very back was a small separated stall that contained the very bare basics of a lavatory, namely a basin of clean water, a hole, and cheap toilet paper.

Still, there wasn't much she could complain about. Rainbow wanted the earliest train back to the front, and this was it. This train was, for the most part, for freighting supplies, not personnel. It was a blessing that they even had a toilet, primitive as it was. Honestly, it was surprising they weren't just stuffed into one of the boxcars unceremoniously and told to deal with it. Rainbow Dash moved to the bench closest to the exit and plopped herself into it.

The dragon looked around for a moment before climbing into the seat opposite of the Wonderbolt. "So now what?"

"Nothing, except wait," Rainbow answered. "It'll take a few hours before we reach the Frozen North, so you might as well try to relax, maybe get some sleep." She extended her legs and stretched. "There's a short stop at Vanhoover for refueling and more supplies, so we'll take a quick break then to move around."

The car shook. The dragon fell over, and as he got back up, he looked around nervously. "Are we moving?"

There was another shrill whistle. The floor below started to rumble. Rainbow's ears twitched at the sound of metal scraping against metal as the wheels began to turn slowly. "Yep," she said before resting her head on the hard wooden bench and closing her eyes. She could feel the train slowly pick up speed, much too slowly.

"How fast are we going?"

An eyelid reluctantly raised. "Dunno," Rainbow said as she shut her eye again. "Feels like twenty miles an hour, or something like that. Max speed'll hit over a hundred twenty.

"Oh." The dragon counted his claws, mouthing out numbers. "Um, how many kilometers is that?"

Rainbow Dash groaned. "I don't know, fifty?"

"So how far is the arctic?"

With a sigh, Rainbow forced herself up. "It's like, uh, I think a hundred, no like five hundred miles from Vanhoover to the EUP outpost, and like seven hundred between Canterlot to Vanhoover."

"Wait, if the train's going at a hundred twenty miles an hour and the trip's..." The dragon muttered something quietly as he wrote into the palm of his hand with a claw. "...a thousand two hundred miles! That'll take at least ten hours! I thought you said we'd get there in a few hours."

Rainbow Dash threw her hooves into the air. "Then I don't remember. Sheesh. I don't know, maybe I got mixed up with the direct line."

"Direct line?"

"It's the railroad that leads straight from Canterlot to the arctic base. Or it will be, once it's done." Rainbow shrugged. "If it ever gets done."

"Why wouldn't it get done?" asked the dragon.

"Mostly paperwork and logistics," Rainbow Dash responded with a lazy wave. "Lots of ponies aren't too excited about it, since it would lead Sombra right to Canterlot if he managed to capture the rest of the Frozen North."

"Could that, could that actually happen?"

"Yeah. I mean, anything could happen. It's war." Rainbow yawned. "Listen, kid, try to go to sleep. The trip'll feel shorter."

"If you say so." The dragon pulled his legs up and onto the bench, curling into a ball.

"Thank Celestia," Rainbow grumbled as she rolled over and closed her eyes. Before long, soft snores drifted from her as sleep overcame the tired mare.

The same could not be said about the dragon lying in the opposite seat. His eyes would close, then open, close, reopen. He shifted onto his back and looked up at the ceiling before turning over onto his side. Every time his eyes began to close, the rumbling of the train jolted them back open. The thin green fins on the sides of the dragon's head flattened, but the noisy rattles continued on. The sudden longing for the dull, sterile cell he felt surprised him. At least it was quiet. At least it didn't shake and move around and play with his nerves.

At least Twilight was there.

His stomach churned, and for a moment, the dragon thought of the donut and the stallion who had given it to him. And there was that colt who actually wanted to talk to him. He called him cool. Maybe, the dragon thought, maybe they could meet again when he came back.

Hours passed by. Slowly, as he silently counted the seconds, starting over each time he lost track after reaching triple digits, the dragon became used to the sounds of the moving train, the chittering chants of the wheels spinning away on the rails no longer harsh to his ears. His eyes closed as the train rocked him to sleep.

"What's war like?"

Rainbow's teeth had just sunk into her meal, a simple carrot and cucumber sandwich. Grudgingly, she removed it from her mouth, leaving bite marks in the rye bread. "Nervous?"

The dragon nodded. His own sandwich sat on his lap in its wrapper, largely untouched. "I mean, you said something, about anything could happen. What if, what if I can't help? I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to do." His claws curled around the collar on his neck. "So how do you war? I have to make sure I do it right and--" He stared at the shaking pegasus and frowned. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because you look ridiculous," Rainbow Dash replied between chuckles. "You're posing." She placed a hoof on the fist the dragon had pumped into the air and lowered it. "Also, how do you war? Geez, the higher-ups are going to love you." Rainbow's laughs faded. "War's one of stupid things that's kind of hard to explain, kind of like life or, eh, love, or something else you'd find poetry for. I guess it also depends on the pony you ask."

"Can't you just look it up in a dictionary?" the dragon wondered.

Rainbow snorted and returned to her lunch. "Then you do that and stop bothering me."

"I don't have a dictionary though."

"Wait, you were serious?" With a sigh, Rainbow Dash lowered her sandwich. "Sure, you'll get a definition for war but not the meaning."

"What's the difference?"

"It's, well, oh!" She pounded her hoof together. "Meanings depend on the pony. Take that purple unicorn, Twilight something or another."

"Twilight Sparkle," the dragon corrected immediately.

"Yeah, her. See, she probably means a lot to you, right?" Rainbow waited for the dragon to nod in response. "Well she probably doesn't mean as much to the SpARDA director."

The dragon suddenly leapt to his feet. "Why wouldn't she?" he demanded. "Twilight's brilliant, and nice, and super smart, and, and--"

"Yeah, she probably cares about Twilight's brains and thinks she's a valuable assistant and everything, but I don't think Moon Danger really cares beyond that. They're boss and subordinate, not friends." She turned to the dragon and smirked. "Not like you and her."

At her words, the dragon's eyes grew large. "Friends?"

"Oh, come on," Rainbow groaned. "Tell me you know that word at least."

The dragon crossed his arms and frowned. "Of course I know that word. I just..." His indignant posture crumpled as he look to the ground. "Do you really think we were friends?"

"Well, yeah. What, you weren't?"

"I don't know. Twilight never called me her friend, so I don't know." The dragon shook his head. "But what about war? If it has so many meanings--"

"You're still on about that? Geez, you're stubborn." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Look, kid, war means different things to different ponies. I'm sure what it means to me will be different to what it means to you, so there's not a whole lot of point in trying to explain it."

"But how am I supposed to prepare?" the dragon protested. "I don't want to mess up. I don't want the things you said about Twilight being a slave and everypony getting captured to be true. I can't mess up!"

The dragon's shout was punctuated by the high screech of a whistle. The source stood several feet away from them, at the station's platform. "That's the warning bell," Rainbow Dash noted. She pointed at the smushed sandwich at the dragon's feet. "If we hurry, we can get you a new lunch."

He picked up the sandwich and shook his head as he rubbed his eyes against his arms. "It's fine," he assured shakily. "I'm fine, I can eat it like this."

"Alright then, let's get going."

As they made their way to the awaiting train, the clouds above clustered together and darkened. Something wet struck the dragon's forehead. He looked up.

"It's rain," Rainbow Dash said. "Guess you've never seen it?"

He nodded slowly.

"Want me to explain it?"

The dragon started to nod, then quickly shook his head before lowering his gaze.

"You sure? That I can actually explain."

He nodded.

They continued their way in silence. The train car door shut behind them, followed by another loud whistle scream. They took their seats across from each other and settled in just as the wheels began to spin. The dragon glanced at the window, through a small opening in the tarp covering, and watched the station grow smaller as they picked up speed.

"Too bad, we didn't have time to visit the city. Not a whole lot to see, but Vanhoover's got some great maple syrup." Rainbow Dash sighed. "You know, what you said, about messing up at war?"

The dragon looked over to Rainbow. Her gaze, in turn, went to the window. "You can't fight a war by yourself. I know I said you'd be useful, but I didn't mean it'd just be you against Sombra." Her hoof traced the hard edges of her left wing. "So in case you've got any silly ideas of winning the war yourself, lose them. You're not alone, okay? I don't exactly know what the higher-ups have in store for you," Rainbow admitted, "but it won't be just you fighting out there. You listening?"

The dragon sat up and nodded vigorously. After each nod, however, he seemed to lose energy, and the confident look he wore was soon replaced with one of confusion. "Um, but what does that mean?"

"It means you've got others watching your back," Rainbow Dash explained, turning to the dragon. "It means making sure that if you somehow do end up making a mess of things, you'll still be around and able to clean everything up. You want some advice on preparing for war?"

He nodded immediately.

"Well, it's not much, but here it goes." Rainbow cleared her throat. "One, find squad mates you can trust, who won't abandon you. Two, find a commander you can trust, who's first priority is their subordinates and not their record. And finally," Rainbow Dash said, raising a hoof, "make sure they know they can trust you."

"Trust me?"

"Yeah, that they know you won't abandon them, that you'll be by their side and fight right next to them, that they know you've got their back and will help them even when they won't help themselves." Rainbow Dash leaned back and looked up at the roof of the car. "Most important thing I've learned since joining the Wonderbolts, and that's saying something, cause I've learned a lot. Like, you know you can brew--" She interrupted herself with a chuckle. "Heh, story for another time. Point is, skills don't win wars, loyalty does."

"But how do I get, um, loyalty?" the dragon asked. "How do I find ponies I can trust? How do I know who to trust, and how do I get them to trust me?"

"That's, uh, a pretty good question." Rainbow shook her head. "I mean, it's through experiences and spending time with them, that sort of thing. I mean, I'd say it's like making friends, but..." She wave her hoof carelessly. "Like, it's like, here." She sat up. "Okay, so there was this mare, an officer. Her name was Spitfire. On my first mission, fresh out of the academy..."

The helmet hid the pegasus's grimace as static crackled into their ears. "No contact," they said between tired, labored breaths. "Looks like we still have a local connection, so the loss must be one their end."

The pony before them nodded wearily. They turned to the rest of the squad. "Alright, anypony up for recon and maybe a rescue?"

A few weak hooves were raised, but the rest of the pegasi, all in blue and gray armor, simply kept their eyes on the floor. "Didn't think so," the captain muttered. "Alright, then. You and, uh, you." The pony pointed at the two closest volunteers, who brought their hooves up to their foreheads to salute. "You sure you'll be okay?"

The first nodded. The other grinned through their helmet's torn mouth guard. "We can handle a bit of flying, sir, if you don't mind me saying."

"Alright, you're with me. The rest of you," the captain ordered, gesturing, "hold this position. Return to the forward camp if we're not back by..." They glanced down at the watch attached to the front of their foreleg. "...1612. Understood?"

"Captain, you're going with them?" the pegasus who had first spoken said.

"1612, Lieutenant. Have I made myself clear?"

"Captain, you don't have--"

"Have I made myself clear?"

The pony hesitated. "Yes sir," they finally said, snapping to a salute along with the rest of the squad.

"Good." They turned to the volunteers. "Follow my lead and my orders. No heroics."

"Sir, yes sir," the two responded in unison.

"All ready? Then let's go."

The three pegasi took to the air, just a few feet at first as they glided above the icy wasteland below. Slowly, as they grew further away from the rest of the ponies, they gained speed and altitude, though the cold flurries limited both, keeping them at rather unimpressive pace and away from the clouds.

The three shifted from a close V formation, with the captain in the center and in the front, to a more linear arrangement, spread out to be able to search more of the ground, looking for both their target and any potential danger in the vast sea of ice and snow.

"Captain?" the one with the torn mouthpiece suddenly said, their words made harsh and dissonant by the arctic winds and damaged microphone. "Fleurs."

"Say again?"

"Flares." The pegasus pointed toward the ground. Three green lights plus one purple one could be seen, along with a few ponies in dark colors.

"They Sombra's?"

The captain shook their head. "No helmets. There's a unicorn with them. Must be our missing scouts."

"I only count three, sir, over."

"Acknowledged. Prepare for extraction." The pegasus quickly checked their watch. "We've got some time so no rush. If they'd wounded, we can send a message to the others and--"

The captain suddenly paused. They looked up and glanced around at them clouds.

"Sir?"

"The wind's dead. Prepare for an immediate extraction. No time for niceties, ignore all ground equipment."

There was a brief second of silence before, "Acknowledged," echoed through their helmet. The three dove toward the ground, their wings tucked against their sides. As the ground approached, their wings extended, slowing their descent. They landed nearly on top of the ponies below, frightening them at first until they saw the blue of their armor and the golden lightning bolt insignia.

"No time," the captain said, stopping one of the earth ponies with a hoof. A thick wire was extended from the armor's pouch and was wrapped around the pony's body, attaching him to the captain.

"Everypony ready?" the captain said into their mouth piece.

"Affirmative."

"We're good to go."

The pegasi shared a nod before taking off. The extra weight and the condition of their packages slowed their ascent. Even as they got used to the weight and adjusted themselves accordingly, they had to force themselves to limit the acceleration their wings yearned for. Within their mask, the captain was sweating, more from desperate fear than from the additional effort.

"All wings report. Everything green?"

"Affirmative."

"Cord got a little loose on takeoff, but it should hold." There was a nervous laugh. "Hey, for a second I actually--"

The echoing shriek everypony heard froze the blood in their veins. The captain could feel the pony attached to them shudder. They reached down and held the shaking pony tightly. "Go, go!" the captain screamed, their wings beating furiously without concern. The others did the same, panic fueling their muscles as they sped up. Their passengers's conditions and comforts no longer mattered, to the Wonderbolts or to the passengers themselves.

All that mattered was getting away, away from the abomination behind them.

"Your cord!"

The pegasus with the damaged helmet fumbled with their wire as the unicorn attached struggled in desperation. "I need to land," they exclaimed. "I can't--"

"No! Do not land. That's an order!"

"But sir, my package, he'll--"

"If he falls, he falls," the captain snapped. "Do not land at any cost!"

"But--"

The captain's instincts screamed, Down!. Without hesitation, they did so, swooping into a decent just in time to watch a series of glaciers pass over his head. The others dodged to the sides, escaping the strike, but the movement freed the unicorn from his pegasus.

The pegasus dove for the flailing, falling stallion. "Come on," the others could hear through their headsets. "Almost, almost." Pushing aside the wild limbs, the pegasus grabbed hold of the unicorn. "Ha, got you!" They grinned triumphantly as they prepared to extend their wings.

The second blow clipped the edge of their wing, slicing through the primaries. The pegasus lost their balance and quickly lost height as they and the pony they held on to spun toward the ground. The pegasus's wings flapped uselessly, trying to regain flight or, at the very least, slow the fall. The ground grew closer. The pegasus shut their eyes.

Something struck them from below. They heard a pained grunt. Their eyes opened. "Captain?"

"Try to hold on," the captain wheezed. They reached back and took the cord, tightening it around their own. As another shriek filled the air, the Wonderbolt captain forced themselves forward. Their wings beat frantically, spurred on by dread, but the effort was barely enough to counter the sudden extra weight. Sweat bled through the absorbent flight suit as the captain's body shook with each forceful breath they took.

The disabled pegasus could feel the loss of altitude, and as realization settled in, they grew colder, more so than from the arctic weather. They were falling, slowly but inevitably, even as the captain did everything they could, with their every inch and ounce. A thought formed in the pegasus's mind, a dark thought. They reached for the cord, preparing to release it from their body.

"Checkpoint in site, sir. They see us, Captain." The pegasus looked up. Relief filled them as they saw the rest of their squad speeding toward them.

A sigh followed the message echoing in the pegasus's helmet. "Good," the captain managed to say. Suddenly, even the captain's efforts to delay their fall ceased, and they collapsed into the outstretched forelegs of their fellow Wonderbolts.

The others took hold of the scouts and the disabled Wonderbolt, attaching themselves to them with their own cords as they hovered before returning to formation. "We're returning to forward camp ASAP. No objections, Captain?"

There was a cough, then, "None, Lieutenant."

Behind them echoed a frustrated scream, too high pitched and pained for any living creature. "They shouldn't be this close. What's going on here?"

"Don't know. Command needs to here this. Maybe the scouts can tell us more."

With the sun slowly setting behind them, the pegasi flew onward. Several small shelters eventually began to cover the ground, and the squad started their descent. Several ponies, pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns, were waiting when they had landed with stretchers ready. The rescued scouts were the first to be taken away, followed by the pegasus with the damaged feathers, despite their protests.

"You sure you don't need any aid?" the lieutenant asked when the captain refused the offered gurney.

The captain tore off their helmet and let it drop into the snow. A long blue mane pillowed out as the stallion rubbed his neck. "Coffee would be nice," he said, his voice raspy. "And what I wouldn't do for a pie slice." His face cracked into an exhausted grin as he picked up the discarded headgear.

The lieutenant removed her helmet as well, exposing her own white mane that was kept neat by a hair tie. "Hope you don't mind it black," she said, to which the captain gave a groan. The two started toward the shelters. "Come on, Soarin, you're a captain now."

Soarin released a sigh. The smile vanished. "You don't have to remind me. Being called my rank all the time makes it hard to forget."

"What I meant was that seeing a Wonderbolt captain take his coffee with four creams and six sugars would be embarrassing," the mare said, shaking her head. "Besides, supplies are low."

"Right." He sighed again. The mare stared at him for a moment before striking his shoulder. "Fleetfoot, the heck?" Soarin hissed, clutching the inflicted area.

"You're sulking again," Fleetfoot simply stated. "Hey, forget I said anything about coffee. Take it anyway you want, so long as it doesn't start cutting into our rations. Just, I didn't mean to compare you to, well, her."

The two were silent as they walked through the rows of makeshift buildings. "She always did hate sweet things," Soarin finally said after a while. "I don't think I could ever do that, but..." He frowned. "Today was my first real assignment as a captain. You think, you think Spitfire'd be proud?"

Fleetfoot snickered. "Her, proud? Please. But I don't think she'd be too disappointed with you."

Soarin looked up into the sky and grinned. "Good." He rolled her shoulders and yawned. "Try to get to bed a little earlier tonight. Don't forget, our squadron's got a quick performance review to take of back at the arctic outpost, so we leave early in the morning."

"Good idea," Fleetfoot said as she stretched. "Don't stay up too late on the report, okay?"

"What am I, a cadet?" Soarin scoffed. "I can take care of myself."

Fleetfoot rolled her eyes as she lifted her hoof into a salute. "Whatever you say, Captain."

Epilogue

It wasn't her first time in Canterlot, but the city had once again changed so dramatically, it might as well have been a new settlement. She couldn't take one step without walking into some cheerful mare or happy stallion who would point out her military dress and make a scene as they begged for a picture or a hoofshake, maybe a quick trip to their favorite bar. As she declined another offer of drinks, the pegasus was beginning to think she preferred Canterlot when it was almost deserted..

She reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out a strip of paper. Rereading its contents was pointless, she had memorized the address a long while ago. The act was nothing more than to delay.

The houses that had once been covered in dust and in disrepair were restored as they received new owners and were inhabited once more. She moved past them, not bothering with their well groomed lawns or white painted fences. She ignored how uneven her mane was compared to those private patches of grass or how messy her uniform was compared to those pristine wooden stakes that couldn't keep out bunnies much less hostile invaders.

She stopped before one of the many occupied homes in Canterlot. As she made her way to the door, she tightened her grip on the scuffed wood box she held.

Inside was a single purple scale and a simple gold lightning bolt adorned with white wings on both sides. A Wonderbolt badge. Her Wonderbolt badge. A silver star with red ribbons took its place on her chest. The trade bothered her less than she expected it to.

She knocked on the door. A unicorn mare answered it. The unicorn recognized the uniform first, then the features of the one wearing it.

"Lt. Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Twilight Sparkle? Do you have a minute to talk?"