All Types of Rain [Original]

All Types of Rain

By: The Grey Pegasus

= 1 =

Passports to Hell...

Somewhere Above Gazelland-Vietnam

July 24, 1015 A.B.

1039 Local Time

"Ugh, we haven't even landed and I'm already wondering about how we got here in the first place."

"Well dear, would you rather think of what had passed or what might come to be?"

The two unicorn mares happened to strike a small conversation after Twilight's irritated outspoken thoughts. How she was heard over the rapid rythmic thumping of the rotors and whirring of the engine, well, the purple unicorn must have been more disgruntled by the situation than she thought. She would have been infuriated, but that wouldn't really do any good, and so decided to save her energy for anything more useful.

"If it was possible, neither. Mulling over the past won't change it, and daydreaming about the future is… not pleasant, to say the least, considering where we ended up," Twilight answered. "In fact, thinking about what might happen is only going to help my dwindling mental health degrade more. Once this is all over, I hope I still have some fragments of sanity left."

"If you even make it out alive…" Rainbow duly stated.

"Rainbow! Don't you think we already have too much on our minds?" Rarity scolded.

"It's only a fact..."

"Rainbow, jus' lay off for now. It's all troubling us, alright?" Applejack said. Rainbow turned her head back to observing the passing landscape outside.

"I suppose it's better to think about memories set in stone than negative insights about the future," Rarity said to Twilight, returning to their conversation.

Twilight just gave back a sigh, and went back to her thoughts. She was in too glum of a mood to remember the happy days, so instead, she mentally re-watched the events that set all this in motion.

==+==

Ponyville Public Library

June 12, 1015 A.B.

10:14 AM

Twilight Sparkle had been in the library's main room all morning, pondering over books. In all truth, she wasn't focused on the books at all. She was reflecting on all that had happened since she came to Ponyville.

For her personal life, it had been quite a drastic turning point; she was no longer the shut-in, anti-social, completely study-oriented unicorn, whose only companions were paper, ink, bookshelves, and Spike. By the Princess's command, she reluctantly traveled to the small, quaint town of Ponyville under the guise of being the overseer for the Summer Sun Celebration. She recalled how she essentially regretted stepping on the ground in the first place. But given the unusual string of events that followed, she had been forced to give the other mares a chance to accompany her on her quest. From the end of that day, she dismissed any feelings of bitterness she once held toward being assigned to the town. She had the five best friends anypony could ask for. She couldn't be more grateful for anything else.

Twilight trotted up to her study on the second floor. The latest newspaper from the Equestria Daily had arrived and was now placed squarely on her desk, easily seen to remind her that she was going to read it, even if only in a physical sense. She would not bother to comprehend the texts as she was still deep in thought.

The past few years in Equestrian history had been quite groundbreaking. Equestria was finally moving up in the world. They made new strides to become better connected with the planet they lived on. Ponies had been sent out to study what was back then unknown of. She herself remembered her ecstasy at discovering the scientific expeditions that were to take place.

Princess Luna, banished on the moon for a millennium without any form of social contact, had taken an active role in politics once she returned. It was in one way, a way of being rehabilitated, as even though times and trends change, government was essentially the same organized work. Luna felt at home doing tax work, law reforms, and crunching numbers and other tasks to assist with work up in Canterlot. And so Luna had went further and set up an international partnership for Equestria and its neighbors to ensure that Equestria itself wasn't isolated within it's own borders. This was on some part from her own personal experience, as isolation from others was not beneficial in the long run as she herself had found out the difficult way.

Unfortunately, along with the advantages of being active in the world, there was also the great downside. Those who pondered the matter of sending out teams to travel the places, only known of as lines on a map at the time, analyzed possibilities and created scenarios. Twilight herself was one of those ponies. But they always convinced themselves that by the power of Princess Celestia and her excellent leadership and foresight, the needn't worry. When the news came home, they didn't know what to think. The scholars and analysts knew they already went through this possibility, but then again, they could not blame the unfortunate path events had taken. It was a bunch of random variables lumped together in a mess. Who would've known that they would find weapons of war in the ground? It was exactly the warranty for victory the Gazelles needed to take land. And the Equestrians were the catalysts that no one could have foresaw.

Twilight levitated the unread newspaper back to the desk and continued thinking. The war. Luna's operation, named Vietnam, the same one given by the preceding combatants, despite the fact that the current name of the region was actually Gazelland. What every pony knew it as, becuase it was ever-present in everypony's life. Even more so beginning two years ago, when a draft was called for by the Equestrian government. All healthy and able ponies were eligible to be taken by the government to go to war. Even the mares, but with with the demographics of the population, it could only be a logical decision that the officials concluded on after long debates.

Those in the upper echelons of society made educated and drawn out analyses on why Equestria needed to go to fight. It was the mantra of the ponies to spread love and tolerance and friendship. Then what happens when a country not only revokes their peaceful status, but becomes outwardly hostile? What if said country is directing their hostility towards a nation that the ponies are on agreeable terms with? Equestria was one of the leading powers of the world. They were not able to sit on the sidelines and wait for the situation to simmer down and resolve itself. So they took the initiative to fight back the opposition. They did, after all, also unintentionally helped uproot ideas and long-time issues. The country should only commit to at least help fixing the problem. In other words, it was their fight.

And where did this lead them? To a war with borrowed weapons from a race long gone. To a war that was expectedly long and drawn-out, not at all aided by the fact that they were using devices unfamiliar to them. The ancient civilization they discovered was probably well-practiced in the gruesome art of battle. On the contrary, neither sides of this conflict were well-versed in the game of the reaper. It was comparable to suddenly giving an earth pony a unicorn's horn, and then telling them to tend their crops without moving a single step.

Then came the moralities of the war itself. Everypony knew of them; they were not that naive. Still, not many were prepared for the shock. The drafts just made things worse. There would always be some poor pony that was known all around, and the next morning, poof- the magic letter. They'd like to think that they'd be able to return home safely, but they also knew it for a fact that nothing was guaranteed. Even if they prayed to their princesses for help, the ponies knew that they did not really have divine control over everything.

Twilight reflected the current situation against her own life. Forced to go unwillingly to a place for a task they did not want to do, but in the end, it was for the better. Could this apply to both?

Twilight attempted to peruse the newspaper once again. It was filled with the usual content that papers of the day were delivered with. The news of the war overshadowed a number of domestic events. There were always the casualty estimates and the successful operation, reported by war correspondents, as well as the occasional picture taken by a brave and/or reckless photographer. It was just every week's ordinary news. Suddenly, a series of knocks came from the library's front door, downstairs.

"Library's open, come on in!" Twilight called out while descending the staircase. The door opened. Twilight saw the two-pronged tip of a hat's brim and immediately knew who it was. Applejack appeared wearing a look of despair.

"Ah... ah... I... I got to talk to you 'bout somethin' Twi..." Applejack said in a quiet, quivering voice. She took some steps forward into the main library atrium, then took a piece of paper from her saddlebag; a letter.

Twilight went wide-eyed and spoke slowly, "What is it?" Add up the picture presented to her of a broken mare and a letter that radiated a formal air, and Twilight could gamble a few guesses as to what it was, but she kept quiet.

"It's… uhh… ehh…"

"What is it? Did you have unhealthy apples sent out? Are you being evicted? Is the government taking your land?"

Applejack solemnly shook her head, "N-n-no. N-not quite. The… the government's… taking… oh… it's a draft letter."

Twilight gasped, "...Is it... your brother?"

Applejack shook her head in sadness and went back to gazing at the ground. "No. Well... not exactly... not just... I... I..." she stammered. After a couple seconds of regaining herself and swallowing the lump in her throat, she spoke up again, "...I've been drafted too. The government's taking us."

Twilight could only stare in shock. She desperately wanted to just lunge at her friend and hug her tight, but her dumbfounded brain couldn't comply. Every now and then, she fantasized about a day like this, one where one of her closest friends would have the unlucky chance of being conscripted into the military, and dearly hoped it would never come true. Yet here she was, with the horrid situation materialized in front of her. She was still frozen in shock, her legs locked in place.

Applejack already broke down sobbing on the ground, her Stetson pulled down over her head. "What do I do, Twi? I don't want to go! My family, my friends, the farm..." she trailed off back to her tears.

After giving herself a moment, Twilight finally commanded herself out of her trance and began to move towards the farmer. As luck would have it though, another voice spoke through the unclosed front door.

"Oh Twilight... are you in here? I have an... important matter to discuss with you." Twilight could recognize that exquisite and eloquent voice anywhere. It's owner was exactly how it sounded like; prim and proper. Twilight was hesitant to reply, given the current situation, but it didn't matter. The door was open anyways, and a white unicorn ushered herself in. "Twilight, hello? Are-... oh," was all she got out before noticing the wreck of an orange pony on the ground a couple paces in front of her.

There was an awkward silence between the three, with the only noise emitting from Applejack laying on the floor of the library. Rarity walked over beside her to ask what was wrong, but then noticed the letter laying face-down on the ground beside her. She levitated the letter over in front of her to read it. She quietly read the letter to herself and once finished, just placed it down where she found it. Rarity had a sad frown on her face and walked over to Applejack. Once next to her, she gently prodded Applejack with a hoof to grab her attention.

"Applejack?" Rarity quietly called out to her friend. She changed her demeanor to a small smile as the apple farmer looked up at her. She continued her small speech, "Applejack, I'm not going to tell you that it will be alright. I won't lie to you. It's truly a terrible thing. I... have something that could, maybe, help you, however. In a sense." At that, her own saddlebags lit up with a blue aura as she removed a similarly looking letter and positioned it in front of Applejack to read. Once she finished reading it, she glanced back at Rarity. "I believe that this gives me the right to say that, if we really want to, we can get through this together."

"You, too, Rarity? Never thought I'd see that day..." Applejack said as she kept her head low to the groound.

Meanwhile, Twilight observed the whole ordeal from the sides. "Oh no... Rarity, You received one of those too?" Twilight didn't want to believe it until she heard it from the pony herself.

Rarity turned to the purple unicorn to answer. "Unfortunately, yes. I came here to consult you about it. If you had anything that could help. Anything. Maybe... a... a way out, or... some information for when I get sent off."

Twilight couldn't think of anything to reply to her. She already had the complications of dealing with one of her friends, but two? The locks in her joints renewed, and she just continued looking forward. Her eyes wandered around, sometimes falling on one of her friends, other times she'd just gaze off into the distance. A migraine would be an understatement for what she'd have after this ordeal.

"Oh, I should have thought of this for the better. I knew this might have happened," Rarity said to the shocked mare. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but... it's the truth. They've called me to give my service to Equestria," she addressed Twilight. "Alongside others unwillingly thrust into arms," she added, turning her head to the earth pony on the ground to her left.

Twilight laid her eyes on the dressmaker. No theatrics, no burgundy velvet sofas, no over-dramtatic acting, just simple words. Truth hit home and she let out tears as well.

The fashionista trotted over to the scholar and held her in an embrace. She released Twilight and looked into her eyes. "I know that you're very worried about us, but please don't break yourself over it. We'll be fine, I promise. Just take care of yourself, will you Twilight?" Rarity was trying to divert the conversation from its somber tone, but well knew there wasn't much point to. Even through all the assurances she was saying, the truth of the matter was still there. They were possibly being sent to never return.

The three remained in their places in silence. No words could alleviate the atmosphere inside the library at that point. They remained in their spots on the floor without speaking.

Twilight hung her head and let out a sigh. She was swimming in a sea of despair. Though she herself did not receive a call to duty, there was the fact that two of her closest friends did, and it allowed her to be dragged into a similar pit of hopelessness. In fact, with her mind sunk in the wretchedness of the moment, she even began creating depressing hypothetical situations for all her friends. Just as she was imagining the most miserable possibilities, another series of knocks was heard.

Except these weren't quite door knocks. They were more resonant and hollow, like somepony was tapping on... glass. Twilight perked her ears and determined that the taps were originating from above her; a window. Twilight only knew of one pony that would dare enter through the balcony entrance- Rainbow Dash. But she usually barreled through it without warning or permission, so what could be different now?

"It's alright Rainbow, you can come in. You've welcomed yourself through that window for the past fifteen years; you're kind of beyond knocking for entry now," Twilight tiredly called up to the pegasus idly hovering outside the closed glass window.

The cyan pegasus pushed open the window and flew in, and uncharacteristically closed it behind her, much like one would do when entering through the front door. Said pegasus also wondered why the window was always unlocked, but that was besides the point. "Oh, uh, hey Twilight! I, um, got something to talk to you about," she said in her usual tactless tone with a sheepish grin.

Twilight couldn't bear it anymore. She knew her longtime companions well enough to recognize when one of them was bringing up a topic of importance. She took a potshot guess as to what Rainbow was referring to and ran with it, "Let me guess Rainbow, you've been called to the military too..."

"What? No, it's... umm..." Rainbow Dash attempted to avert the serious matter as usual. After a pause, she gave in, "... yeah. But don't worry about me Twilight! I'll be fine! I'll make sure to have a great time too... heh..." Rainbow was trying to stay optimistic about it, but knew she couldn't put it off for long. The saddlebags she carried were a testament to that. "Really, Twi, I'll be sure to come back. No sweat. Just clean up some gazelles and come right back with a medal with the war over," she said trying to keep a happy outlook. And as per most situations, Rainbow was delayed to noticing her surroundings, "And what's with Applejack and Rarity?"

"They brought the same letter as you did, Rainbow," Twilight wearily declared. Rarity gave a weak smile, while Applejack breathed a sigh of sadness.

"Another one of our number," Applejack concluded.

A medal, Twilight thought, hopefully it isn't a Purple Heart or a posthumous Medal of Honor.

No! You can't think like that! Twilight's mind argued with itself.

But it's thinking realistically. It's only a plausible outcome.

But *it doesn't matter.** You can't lose hope on her. Them.*

Are you desperate enough to convince yourself that everything will end up perfect in the end? Twilight's mind wickedly retorted. Some will live, some will die. It's the way of war.

And it might happen if you keep thinking this way. Send them off with luck and best wishes, not doubt and pessimism.

Before Twilight could continue the internal argument she was having, yet another series of pounds echoed through the room. It was again the hollow sound of wood. The front door. In all honesty, Twilight was still saddened by the turn of events that morning, but she was also getting infuriated at the plans fate had for her and her friends. "Let me guess, Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy?! Library's public, just open the door!" she angrily yelled at the door. The door swung in, and revealed both mares mentioned, actually.

Pinkie's hair was slightly less frizzy, but for the most part, maintained it's usual curls and bounce. Fluttershy, on the other hoof was vigorously shaking in her stance. "ALRIGHT, JUST SHOW ME THE DRAFT LETTERS AND GET FAREWELLS AND APOLOGIES OVER WITH!!" Twilight furiously yelled out into the air.

Fluttershy was startled as usual by the outburst and curled up into a yellow ball on the ground, obviously not at all aided by recent unsettling mail. Applejack, who had gotten over her initial sorrow, walked over to comfort her. "There, there, Fluttershy, it's alright. Twilight's jus' had a... rough mornin', to say the least." Applejack returned her eyes to Twilight. No hostility was conveyed in her expression, just one that pleaded for an explanation for the reaction she gave.

After noticing Applejack's look towards her, Twilight fully realized what she had done and closed her eyes with her head hung low. "I'm sorry, girls, but, Applejack's right, this morning hasn't really been easy on me. Now I have all of my five best friends being sent off to some jungle in the southeast, and I don't even know if any of you will or will not return. I'm sorry," she apologized. "I've always thought of a day like this, but only one or two of you at most. Even still, I'm not prepared to deal with even one of my friends being sent out," she added. If her mind was dumbfounded earlier, it was thunderstruck now.

"It's okay Twilight," Pinkie spoke out. "We'll take care of each other if you'll hold the fort down here!" she said in her usual peppy tone. Though even through her bright mood, everypony in the room could discern the worry in the party pony's voice. "And I'll be sure to dedicate one of my craziest parties down there to you, Twilight! Maybe it'll even be one of the surprise ones I'll have for those meanie gazelles..." she added with an sinister undertone.

Either everypony didn't hear her or they just did their best to ignore it, because Rainbow spoke up again, "Don't worry Flutters, they'll probably assign you to a hospital post or something like that. You'll be out of most of the danger and be able to help the injured, just like you always do."

Fluttershy let out a frightened whine, despite the reassurance. "Oh, but I'll have to tend the wounded ponies, and the trauma, and... and... Oh, it's all too much..." It must have been an achievement for her to speak at all.

"And how about you, Twilight? Aren't you eligible for drafting?" Rainbow inquired.

"Possibly, yes. I'm physically able in that sense. But I'm the prized student of Princess Celestia herself," the lavender mare being referred to pointed out, "She's probably put in a word to make me exempt of it. In fact, I don't know why you five are being drafted, either. We're the six Elements of Harmony for Celestia's sake! I'm going to send her a piece of my mind on this..."

The rest of her distraught friends shared a glance. "Well, no matter. At least we know you'll be safe, Twilight," Rarity interjected. "We'll have something to hold onto back home, if fate continues to take this course."

Twilight continued pondering the matter while she wrote, when an idea appeared in her head. She was so reliant on her friends that she couldn't let them down. They've been through many dangerous adventures together, and made it out in one piece because of the support they gave each other. She might not have been the Element of Loyalty, but all six shared a significant degree of devotion between each other. If the Princess was allowing them to be sent off with no choice, she'll make the choice to send herself off as well. Twilight decided to add this newfound proposal in her letter.

Luckily for Twilight, her forever number-one-assistant arrived through the door way just after she finished writing. "Hey Twilight, I've got the week's supply of quills for you again! In fact, there was even a special sale on ink, too!" a deep voice announced through the doorway.

Fifteen years had done much for the dragon. He was no longer the cute little baby reptile that first landed in Ponyville. He was as grown up as those other dragons from thirteen or so years back that they encountered. The difference was that he was a lot more respecting, and also appeared as a much more fierce contender. He'd grown, that's for sure, as his scales, spines, and claws were a lot more sharp and menacing. Yet even under all this was an honorable dragon of good reputation, that cared for his friends and the town of Ponyville.

"Oh hey, Spike! You're back, and just in time, too. I need you to send off a letter for Princess Celestia for me," Twilight informed him as she placed the message in his claw tips with surrounded by her purple magic.

"Sure thing, Twi'," he acknowledged. He puffed out his green sending flame, the paper being engulfed in it and the correspondence sent off in mystical ashes. "What was it about? Oh, hey guys," he said to the other five company in the room.

Twilight took all five uniformed papers, from those on the ground, to those not removed from the saddlebags they were carried in, and superimposed the complete set of them with her magic in front of Spike to scan over.

After getting the gist of the matter from the letters, he gaped at the five mares that it applied to for what felt like an eternity. "Oh, wow. Geez, I... I mean, that's... deep." Before he could provide further commentary on the current conditions, however, he coughed up a scroll, complete with the royal red wax seal from the monarch herself. "You want to read this out, Twi?" Spike asked as he held out the letter.

Twilight nodded, brought it over to her, and broke the seal.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

My dear student, I did all I could. But the Parliament reached the conclusion after long, heated debates that the Elements no longer needed to be commissioned in this day and age. Therefore, their goal was to provide the best for national interests instead of protecting national treasures. As mares receive equal, and sometimes even greater respect on the front lines, they also believed that bringing in the five Elements could boost the morale of the troops if they found out that they are fighting alongside those who were once Equestria's greatest assets, warriors, and defense. I apologize for my inability to grant the five of your friends immunity from military service. It must pain you very much, but I'm also sorry to inform you that Parliament has also put any more further attempts by either Luna or me out of our reach. We may be the ruling monarchs, but one must listen to subordinates, as is the constitution of the reformed Equestria.

As for you deciding to enlist, I may not wholly understand your motives, but I for the most part I do understand how you are making this reasoning and commend your efforts. You are willing to put yourself in the face of death so that your friends will not have to do it alone, even if they have each other. Either nopony or everypony. Though I highly advise against it and just be content with the protection I have been able to give you, I will not restrain you or prevent you from doing so. It is strictly your choice to make, what influences to listen to, and whether to take them into account or not. You and your friends will always be the Six Elements of Harmony, and have proven that together, you can persevere through any challenge.

Your loving teacher,

Princess Celestia

Twilight read it out loud, and once finished, took a moment to take in the scene of her five friends in front of her. She looked around and wondered: This might be the last time she ever saw them. A stalemate occurred between the occupants of the room, none daring to move. Then, a weak smile formed on her face.

"Well girls, you heard the Princess. It's either nopony or everypony. And so I've made my decision... I'm coming with you," Twilight decided.

The other five looked down with sad smiles, then walked over to her to encircle her in a group hug. This, in turn, elicited tears from all six of them.

How was it that they could stare down an army of changelings and not falter, but here, in the wake of another battle with another army, they break down their composure? Unfortunately, that was a simple answer. It was because this was true war, and the dangers had all been heard of. These were not magically-inclined enemies planning for a hostile takeover and complete some sort of magical goal of being the overlord or such. No, these were simple creatures of the land much like the ponies, and their goal was to simply deliver death to any adversaries in their way. In this case, the six ponies would fall into the second category, beside their many allies. They knew that they were just as liable to become the next fallen comrade as the next pony. Might the enemy have second thoughts about killing them? Maybe. Would they hesitate in the midst of battle? Most would likely not.