Out of all the towns and cities he had seen throughout the world, Fancy Tome found Ponyville to be very…normal, well normal as a town could be. Cities like Manehattan or Las Pegasus stood out in Equestria due to their scenery and it was easy to get lost in such places. Here was the complete opposite: no bedazzling sites to set your sights on or famous eateries that drew in many a crowd (though he did hear Sugarcube Corner did make wonderful pastries and he was certainly going to make a trip there before he left) but that wasn’t a bad thing. Here it was quiet and some preferred that, especially nowadays with the war finally being over.

Fancy sighed slightly as he sat on a bench in the middle of the town square. It had been almost a year since that terrible war finally ended and yet it still haunted everyone to this day, no matter where he went. Places like Manehattan and Fillydelphia were unaffected and as such many went there to forget about those dark times. He himself had seen the war first hand in his native Vanhoover: the city had been under siege for almost three months and, somehow, the Equestrian Army had managed to hold it, but not without half the city almost being reduced to rubble.

Fancy had been an author for over a decade now and he was well-known all across most of the world for his works, mostly auto-biographies or biographies of major cities or countries. That was why he was here in this small town in the middle of Equestria. Most of his auto-biographies were about ponies (and sometimes other creatures) that had been long dead for many years. This time he would be talking to an actual person, getting his writing material from an actual source. The pony’s name was former Lieutenant Rainbow Dash of the Wonderbolt Division, a veteran and survivor of what was now being called the Equestrian Civil War.

This would be the first time Fancy has actually done an interview; most of his material came from books or from people who he usually communicated by letter. Still, there was a first for everything and he was sure this project, once it was completed and published, would take him to an all new level.

But he wasn’t doing this for money and fame. He had both of those already and he certainly wasn’t doing this to claim himself the first author to publish and address the happenings of the war. No, he wanted to get the message out, to have his readers understand what happened and what these brave mares and stallions had to go through in a war that no one asked for.

The idea came to him a few months ago while taking a break from writing and spending some quality time in Vanhoover. Equestria as a whole was trying to adjust back to peaceful life but it was taking longer than expected. One day, he was walking through town and he came upon the memorial site for the fallen and it suddenly occurred to him: these ponies gave their lives but no one knew their stories and even the ones who survived seemed to want to forget all of that even happened. It seemed crazy but he was now determined: he would find someone to interview and put their story on pen and paper.

Of course, finding someone and letting their story be published was easier said than done. He did find a few veterans and as soon as they found out who he was, they wanted no part. This continued on for a bit until just a few weeks ago. Originally, he wanted to ask multiple ponies about their ponies and get each of their perspectives of the war so readers could both connect to the characters as well as broadening the setting before them. It was then he decided it would be better to get one pony and their perspective and it was then he learned about Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash was one of the best flyers the Wonderbolts had ever seen and that wasn’t her boasting, it was a reoccurring message he heard from many commenters. It was perhaps his last chance and instead of going to her directly, he decided to write to her.

He tried to be as disengaging as he could, explaining why he was so invested into this project and he hoped he could hear her story so that he and others could understand the memories she went through. Much to his surprise, a week later he received a letter back and the mare said she would be willing to meet him in person.It was then he packed a small bag and took the next train to Ponyville.

He then looked at his watch before getting up and continuing his way towards Rainbow’s house, which happened to be on the outer limits of the town itself. Once he got a look at the house itself, he had to stop for a moment to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

The house itself was unique in that it differed greatly from anything he had seen in Ponyville, mostly because this house was made of clouds. Fancy had never been to Cloudsdale and as a unicorn it was good reason since Pegasi were the only ponies that could walk on the clouds without falling to their untimely deaths (though there is a spell which makes you less dense than the clouds itself but mages only knew that spell and unfortunately he never went beyond the basic stuff when it came to magic). It almost made him wonder if she was born there and this was a way of reminding her of home.

He soon found out that the clouds were more dense than previously thought as he went up the steps to her door and he then knocked on her door three times. There was no response. He waited a few moments and then knocked again. He was about to wonder whether she wasn’t home until she heard someone yelling on the other side. “I already told you ponies I’m not doing any ribbon cuttings or attending any foals hospitals so for the last time buck off! If you come back knocking again so Celestia help me you’ll be leaving here missing a limb!”

That…sounds like the description I’ve been given of her… Fancy thought with a mixture of amusement and concern. “Lieutenant Rainbow Dash, it’s Fancy Tome. I wrote to you about a month ago.”

It was quiet for a few moments and then the front door suddenly unlocked and opened slightly. A cyan mare with a rainbow mane poked her head out. “…You’re the author right?”

“That’s correct. I received your letter and decided to come as soon as possible. I hope this isn’t a bad time?”

“No…it’s fine.” The mare looked back and forth. “Nopony followed you right?”

“I…don’t believe so,” Fancy said, looking behind him. “Is it alright if I come in?”

“Sure, and uh…sorry about yelling.”

“I’m guessing some of the townsfolk are bothering you?” Fancy asked as he came inside. Right away Fancy noticed something very startling. The mare before him was obviously a pegasus but she happened to have one organic wing and the other appeared to be cybernetic of some kind. He tried to look away but she had to have noticed.

“Yeah, long story there,” Dash said as she lead him into the house. “Let me guess, first time you’ve seen a cybernetic wing?”

“I…well…”

“Don’t worry, I’m not bothered with you staring. Honestly I’m kind of used to it but…I don’t go out as much as I used to.” They then found themselves in the living room and Dash almost plopped onto the couch, motioning for him to sit down. “Anyway, why reach out to me of all ponies? I know you said you wanted to write about what happened during the war.”

“That’s right and I admit your name came up by chance but that’s because you’re apparently well known.”

Dash sighed. “Of course I am…Okay, maybe I did play a big part in the war but I’m not bragging about it…I mean I used to brag about stuff easily but…well, war changes you. Since you’re here I’m guessing you wanted to get this started?”

“If that’s alright with you,” Fancy said as he grabbed the bag he had been carrying along with them as he pulled out a notebook, pen, and a recorder. “The recorder is to help me later on onceI start drafting and of course to make sure sure I quote you accurately when appropriate.”

“Right…I guess you want me to start back towards the beginning?” Dash asked.

“You can start wherever you like to. This is your story after all.”

“Okay…but before we begin I want to make something very clear.”

“I’m listening.”

“First of all, I’m not doing this for fame or fortune, or recognition. I already have fame whether I like it or not and as for money there’s plenty other ponies out there who need it. Second, I want to get my story out because it’s not just me but so many others that contributed to this horrible war. Many of them never went home and many of those that did survive will never be the same again. If people do read this book, I hope they know the sacrifices it took for us to win.”

“I understand, and I’ll make sure the readers find that out right away. Now, understand you can take your time and whenever you feel the need to stop, we’ll stop. If at some point you get second thoughts we’ll just stop and that’ll be the end of it, I have all the time in the world right now.”

“Okay, okay I get it,” Dash said, though a small smile was on her face. “Least you’re one of those polite interviewers.” She then laid back, looking towards the ceiling. “It was about two years ago…I had only been with the Wonderbolts for a few months and at this point the war was already well underway. I was a newbie still and unfortunately my first battle happened to be the Battle of Galloping Gorge, one of the bloodiest battles at that point of the war...”

Author's Note

You may recall I did a story just like this not too long ago...well honestly I wasn't happy with it and I decided to trash it but for awhile now I wanted to redo the whole thing and focus more not just on Rainbow but the Wonderbolts as well. As such, everything here will be from Rainbow's POV.