The Equestrian Royal Guard

by Elusive Phoenix

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Shining Armor, Thunderlane, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Rainbow Dash, Romance, Original Character
Length: 13594

The Equestrian Royal Guard does more than just stand at doors. There is a war outside Equestria.

Do you think the Royal Guard just stands at doors with a blank face? Or were you aware that there is a war outside Equestria?
That's how Rainbow Dash felt when she was asked to join the guard. She could be the one to prevent more innocent deaths, or to halt the war altogether. But no matter the outcome, she will still save more lives than she realizes...

(Military experience is from my own knowledge, which is very limited.)

Published 2012-08-01 01:24:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-08-16 02:06:21 UTC

Twelve years after Day: 1 (Prologue)

The Equestrian Royal Guard.

(Prologue)

… And that is how I saved Ponyville from a Hydra!” Rainbow Dash held her hoof up to her black, captain, chestplate to exaggerate how 'awesome' she was.

All of the fillies and colts clopped their hooves together in the way a human would clap their hands for a performance.

Except…with hooves.

“Thank you Captain Rainbow Dash, for telling us all about your adventures in the Equestrian Royal Guard!” said Cheerilee, the cheerful (thus her name) class teacher.

“No problem, Cheer!" ainbow Dash put her hoof back on the wooden floor of the schoolhouse, "I’m glad to educate any future guards of the dangers of being one of the best! Any questions?” Rainbow Dash turned to the class, smiling. A small, very thin colt raised a hoof excitedly.

“You, Mr. Question!”

“How did you get into the guard?” He said with that little, adorable, colt voice.

“Good question! Before I joined the guard, I wanted to join the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash began to pace in front of the classroom, her eyes scanning the children, "I always had a need for speed (and still do), and wanted my speed to be useful for more than just moving clouds. Some nearby guards saw my wondrous abilities, and figured they could put it to use. They suggested that I join the Equestrian Royal Guard. I thought about it for a while, and eventually, I replied to them." She paused for dramatic affect, and stopped pacing, "Yes." She continued her continuous walk, "A week later I was thrown into training. Training is not fun. For Pegasi, we have wing-push ups and agility courses. For Unicorns, we have weights for magic, and dummies for targets. For Earth ponies, weights and agility. You may think this sounds terrible, but trust me, when training is over, you’ll be glad you did it.

"It’s not just physical training, too. It’s mental training. What is and what isn’t against the law, what and what not to do, how to arrest a pony, how to protect a pony in danger, and how to protect yourself.”

Another hoof shot into the air with enough force to knock Rainbow to her knees..

“Yes, filly with the un-kempt mane!”

“I want to join the Wonderbolts when I grow up, so does that mean I will join the Royal Guard instead?” She asked quetly, worried for her future.

Dash laughed quietly, and closed her eyes, “No. You can still be a Wonderbolt! If you just keep your head straight, and your mind set, you can accomplish anything!” She opened her eyes again, ‘I’m starting to sound like those motivational speakers.’ Dash thought to herself.

Another hoof.

“Yes?"

“What about kids who get sent to military camp?” A very fit filly asked. Dash thought she'd be a good addition to the guard.

“Don’t trust those places," Dash shook her head, "They make kids violent and overwork them to the point that they’re weaker than when they started. The only thing they’re good for is making fat kids thinner.” An overweight colt in the back looked down in shame.

“But I’m going to one next week!” The filly who had asked the question exclaimed.

“Tell your parents that military camps don’t work until the pony is eighteen or older, and that captain of the Royal Guard said this. If that doesn’t change their minds, I can’t help you. If they have a question, send the camp a letter and they’ll deal with it as soon as they can. No promises though.”

Multiple hooves raised.

Rainbow glanced at her “wrist” watch.

“Oh! sorry kids, but I’ve gotta go protect Equestria again.” She said smiling.

Multiple moans of disappointment rang around the classroom.

“If you have more questions, ask a local guard and he (or she) will be sure to answer them! Unless he’s guarding something specific, then he won’t reply, or even move, for that matter.” The children laughed.

‘Was that supposed to be funny?’

“Everypony say thank you to Captain Rainbow Dash for her time!” Cheerilee cheered.

A thunderous “Thank you!” roared inside the classroom.

“You’re quite welcome!” Dash replied, stretching her neck higher, to make herself more appealing, “And remember: The Equestrian Royal Guard needs all the ponies it can to help keep Equestria safe!” Dash had kept her eyes on the children all the time she had been speaking.

“Alright Everypony, class is over! Or, as they say in the guard: dismissed!” Cheerily yelled, making sure the fillies and colts could hear her over their whispers.

The fillies and colts shuffled out of the classroom, yapping to each other about what happened in school, or what they will do next with their friends.

“Thanks again, Rainbow Dash!” Cheerilee said, and turned to Rainbow after the children had left, “I knew they’d enjoy some stories from such an important pony.”

“Anytime, Cheer!" Dash smiled, "But I’d better be off. Captain of the guard has to be the captain!”

“See you again soon Rainbow!”

“See ya later, Cheer!” Rainbow yelled as she trotted to the door, and exited the building.

She looked up at the perfect blue sky, thinking of how peaceful life is in Ponyville.

‘But without us, they’d be like a savage bunch of dragons.’

She stretched her wings, and crouched, ready to take off back to Canterlot. But a voice stopped her.

“Rainbow Dash!" it said.

‘I know that voice.’ “What’s up, squirt?” Rainbow Dash turned her head to face the young face of Scootaloo, though not quite as young as twelve years ago.

Scootaloo, much bigger now than last Dash had seen her, skated over to Rainbow happily. She had earned her cutie mark a few weeks after Rainbow joined the guard. A skateboard with a pony trailing flames was implanted on her flank.

‘Who knew she could ride a skateboard better than Pony Hawk?’ Scootaloo would be going up against the best skater in Equestria in only a week. Rainbow didn’t know, or care, who it was, because she knew Scoots was almost guaranteed to win.

“Hi Rainbow Dash!” Scoots said, “Are you going to be able to come watch me open a can of ‘kick-flank’ on ‘Mr. I can’t skate as good as Scootaloo’ this Friday?”

Rainbow chuckled at the ‘name’ she gave her opponent, “I’ll try, but no promises. I might have to save Equestria again.”

“Hehe, yeah! I don't want to wake up with a freakin' dragon peeking in my window!” She joked.

Rainbow's mood darkened at the memories, but she smiled anyway, “Me too!”

“Well, I've gotta go practice! So, I'll see you later, kay?" Scoots cheered.

“Alright, squirt! See you soon!” Dash said, still smiling.

“Bye Rainbow Dash!” She replied, and skated off to Applebloom and Sweetie Bell, who had also gained their cutie marks. Applebloom had a hammer nailing a wooden plank, and Sweetie had a musical note inside of a heart.

Rainbow watched her roll away. ‘You’re lucky not to know what I’ve seen… or what I’ve done…’ Rainbow spread her wings and slowly flew to Canterlot, now, having spoken about it, was re-living her memories.

Re-living war...

Re-living Hell…

Tuesday- One week before Day: 1

Seven days before Day: 1

“Help!” A voice echoed through the air, waking me from a nap on a small cloud. I peered over the edge slightly to get a view of Ponyvile, but my vision was blurry because of the sudden wake up call. I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision, but the attempt failed. 'I swear, I have not once been able to get a full nap without being interrupted!'

I tried to track where the voice came from with my ears, thinking to the few seconds before now. I finally thought I got it. Then the scream tore the silence again, in the opposite direction of where I was heading. And then I saw the pillar of smoke. I face-hoofed.

I dove off the cloud, gained momentum, then leveled off so I could get to my destination faster. When the momentum disappeared, I angled my wings slightly down to move forward yet stay in the sky, and flapped.

I knew where the voice was coming from, and who had screamed, so I was in no hurry.

'How many times this year? Seven? Why can’t Rarity take the time to teach her sister how to cook? Or at the very least have Pinkie teach her?'

I reached Rarity's boutique, and hovered for a moment.

The fire was coming from the regular place. The kitchen.

I pulled out my watch and reset it. I hovered for a second more, began the timer, and dove into the building. I rushed into the kitchen where Sweetie was standing next to Rarity, who wasn't moving, due to shock. Sweetie stayed where she was, a bored look on her face. She looked at Dash.

"Again?" Dash asked.

"Again." Sweetie replied, blushing slightly.

I dashed toward her and Rarity, and grabbed them in my to front legs, and flew them safely outside. I returned inside by flying through the second story window, and grabbed Opal by the scruff with my teeth, and threw her out the window, then grabbed Rarity's hairbrush, then through that out the window. I stopped flying, landed, ran, and did a frontflip out the window. I can be awesome when I want to be awesome.

I checked my watch, and stopped it.

Time: Ten seconds flat.

I looked to Rarity, who had regained consciousness, and was yelling at Sweetie once again for trying to cook without supervision. Sweetie Belle was lowering her body in shame, but held her position.

“Rarity!" I trotted over to her, and she turned to me, "You need to TEACH Sweetie Bell how to cook! You can't just keep making her do it herself!" I said to her angrily, hoping she could prevent further disaster.

"But I just don't have time! I have-" Rarity started to retort.

"Rarity!" I yelled, and put my hoof on her muzzle, "You find time for everything!" I continued to glare at her, "You make time for your friends, but you can't even find time for your own sister!" I released my hoof from her muzzle. She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. She closed her mouth and looked at her little sister, who sat down, small tears welling up, her eyes pointing at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact. Rarity frowned in pity, and realization.

I heard a grunt behind me, then a low, grumbling voice that could pierce your soul, said behind me the most un-imaginable thing.

“Excuse me miss.”

I had you going there, didn’t I?

I turned to face the source of the mysterious voice. There stood two ponies. Royal guard by the way they dressed. But I’m not sure… (hint: sarcasm) One of them was a private, wearing simple armor and had the ‘Private’ symbol on his chest-piece. He was very thin for a guard, but still quite muscular. The other looked like a gruff, war scarred soldier. Muscles and the regular ‘super-freakin’-tough-guy’ look. He had a 'corporal' insignia on his chest. (I didn’t understand the ranks at the time)

“Umm… can I help you?” I asked them, my eyebrow raising. I couldn't think of anything that I would get in trouble for, so it must be something somepony else did.

The corporal spoke in a high pitched voice like a young colt, “Hello, ma’am. My eyes seem to be deceiving me, but did you just save those two ponies," He pointed to Rarity and Sweetie Belle. I turned to face them, only to find them in a tight hug, Sweetie bawling in Rarity's hooves, "A cat, and a hairbrush in only a few seconds?” He looked genuinely intrigued.

I chuckled a bit at the voice differences. Big guy, little voice. Little guy, big voice, "Yes sir! And being totally honest, it was ten seconds."

Mr. "Low" recoiled slightly in surprise.

"What is you name, miss?"

"My name's Rainbow Dash! Ponyville weather captain, future Wonderbolt, and Element of Loyalty of the Elements of Harmony!"

“Well, Miss Rainbow Dash, I would like to say, you have some strength for a mare! And definitely the agility of one too! Carrying two ponies, and returning for a cat can’t be easy.”

“Are you kidding?" I bragged, "I do this type of stuff every day!” I put my hoof to my chest and stuck my head up.

"Well then. Maybe we could use you." said Mr. Low.

“What do you mean?” I asked him confusedly, my eyebrow, and lowered my hoof and returned my neck to its normal position,

“I’m saying that the Equestrian Royal Guard could use a pony like you Rainbow Dash.” He stared into my eyes, dead serious.

“What?” I backed up a step.

“You heard me correctly.” He continued his glare.

I had thought of the royal guard before, but had never actually been ASKED to. And I eventually noticed that despite the lack of male ponies compared to females around Equestria, only stallions were in the guard. Not once has there been a report of a mare in the guard in a hundred years. That would make it awkward. And I don’t even want to THINK about the amount of stallions that would be hitting on me.

I shivered at the thought. I was never very good with guys.

And High school...

I wanted to barf. It would be like having the WHOLE SCHOOL hitting on me, instead of just half. 'Why does every guy think I'm hot?'

Besides the male/female crap, I have too much energy. There is NO WAY I could make myself stand at a door and do nothing for an hour.

“I would, but there are some… complications… and besides, I have way too much energy to stand at a door for six hours!” I gave him my explanation.

He looked at me like I was insane.

“What?” I backed away another step.

“You think the guard just stands at doors and does nothing?" He stepped forward, making me step back again, "Miss Dash, I understand your concern, but I must ask: Have you been to any of the towns near the borders of Equestria?”

“Well, no, but-” I began

“Miss Dash, we do not simply ‘stand at doors for six hours’. We have a military. And we do what a military does.” The squeaky corporal said

“And what’s that?” I asked, stepping forward to show him I wasn't a total chicken.

“We prevent enemies from entering Equestria and killing or harming our population" hat took me by surprise. What did he mean by enemies? "We prevent ponies from hurting each other in any way possible! Do you know why your life is so peaceful and perfect, and lacks any adventure?" I shook my head, not understanding where he was going with this, "Because we prevent your paradise from becoming Hell! And yet, Hell still finds its way here.” he looked at the ground in depression, “Ponies are killed, and hurt, every day. But we can only lessen the harm, not stop it. You could be the one to lessen it to the point it's rare, or be the one to halt it all together.” He looked to his partner, then back to me, “Think about it. If you decide to join, sign up by next week. Training starts the next Tuesday.” He and his partner turned away. The Corporal peeked over his shoulder and said, “And remember: you could be the one to end it or lessen it, or you could be the one to let it get worse and continue.” And they left trotted away at that, leaving me with a concerned and thoughtful look.

‘What if?’

“Rainbow Dash!”

The voice broke my thought, and I looked toward Rarity, who held a hoof over Sweetie's back. The Ponyville Fire Department arrived (Led by Pinkie Pie, who seemingly lad every department except the guard.).

"Yeah, Rare?" I said, my expression blank. Thought ran through my head, not allowing me to process emotion.

“I just wanted to thank you for saving me and my sister… again.” She smiled happily.

“It’s nothing Rarity, but seriously: teach Sweetie how to cook!”

“I'll be sure to do that!" She looked at Sweetie, who blushed a bit.

"Thank you!" The thoughts stopped for a moment to give me emotion, and I sighed in relief.

"Well, now me and Sweetie have to go and find what we lost!"

"Isn't that everything except the hairbrush?" I asked.

She paused, "...Yes."

I chuckled, "Just don't do it again! I'll see you later, Rare!" I took off into the sky.

"Goodbye, Rainbow Dash!" She yelled behind me.

____________________________________________________________

‘What if I joined?’ I thought to myself as I lay on my bed, covering myself with my sheets, ‘What would or wouldn’t happen? I would have to leave my friends. Give up my dreams!’ There was no way I could give up on being a Wonderbolt!

“You could be the one to end it or lessen it, or you could be the one to let it get worse and continue.” The guard’s voice rang in my head.

‘What if it got worse?’ I realized, ‘What if it reached Ponyville? If we all just started killing each other? For small reasons! And what if it only happened because I didn’t join?’ my heart dropped at one last thought, ‘What if my friends tried to kill me? Or they killed each other?’ Joining the guard would be a complete self-less act, and not joining would be totally selfish. Should I, or shouldn’t I?

The only way to answer a question you don’t know how to answer, is the simplest. I took of my sheets and flew out the window of my big, cloud, castle, and headed for the giant tree that Ponyville had given the name of: THE LIBRARY.

_______________________________________________________________________

I knocked on the door of the overly large tree. Seriously, most ponies don’t really notice, but this thing was HUGE. About the size of a library (Crappy Joke)!

The door opened to reveal a small purple and green dragon.

“Hey Spike! Is Twi here?” I asked him.

“Oh, yeah, hold on a sec,” he turned around and yelled, “Twilight! Dash is at the door!”

“Let her in! I’ll be there in a few minutes!”

Spike turned back to me, “You got a few minutes, or is it important?”

“It’s important, but I can wait, as long as she’s here by the end of the week.”

He looked at me curiously, and then stepped aside to let me in. I accepted his invitation and stepped into the tree. Library. Tree-brary. You get the point. I just sort of walked around the stump in the center of the room, figuring out how I would ask for her opinion.

After exactly four minutes of pacing, Twilight entered the room from a door that led to her ‘basement’.

“Sorry, Rainbow,” She said, “I was busy trying to find out how hooves work.”

“Huh? Never mind.” I shook my head. We walk on these things. I’m pretty sure I know how it works, and I think she does too,

“Twilight, I… I didn’t know who else to come to about this! You’re the most reasonable pony I know, other than Applejack, but I know what she’d say.”

“Yes?” She looked at me with concern.

“This morning, Sweetie Bell set the boutique on fire again-”

“Oh my gosh! Are Rarity and Sweetie okay?”

“Yeah, they’re fine, but that’s besides the point. A couple royal guards saw me do it and said I should join the royal guard!”

“And… you have a problem with this?”

“Yes! Well, no! Kind of! Whatever! I just don’t know if I should join! The guard said that there are possibilities. There is war just outside our borders, and I could be the one to end it, or lessen the chance of failure. And if I didn’t, Equestria could be overrun with war, or that many innocent ponies will die!”

“That makes it sound like a threat!”

“I was paraphrasing.”

“I didn’t know you even knew what that means!”

“I am seriously starting to think that you guys think I’m stupid.” Twilight blushed slightly. “Anyway, I don’t know whether I should join or not! I still want to become a Wonderbolt! And if I joined, I’d barely ever see you guys!” I was seriously close to tears in confusion and indecision.

Twilight gazed at me a long while before finally sighing, and replying, “I’m sorry Rainbow, but this is your choice to make. I can’t convince you of whether or not you should.” I looked down in depression.

“Well, thanks anyway Twilight.” I walked out of the tree with my head hanging, and without even saying a proper goodbye. I unfurled my wings slowly, and took off slower than I thought even possible.

‘Now what do I do? Even Twilight doesn’t know!’ I reached a random cloud and sat down on it.

‘Yes or no. Life or death. Personal wants or country’s safety?’ I raised my head higher, and my face became serious,

‘I am the element of loyalty, and the loyal do not abandon others.

I will not let my friends feel the horrors of Hell. I will not let anypony feel those horrors. I’ll go headfirst onto Hell as long as it keeps my friends and others safe and unharmed.’

My mind was made. I’ll head to Canterlot in the morning to sign the papers.

I was joining the EQUESTRIAN ROYAL GUARD.

“Excuse me miss, this is the recruitment center. If you’re heading to the medical center, it’s the building on the far left.” The stallion at the front desk informed me.

“No, I’m in the right place.”

“Ma’am?”

“I’m here to sign up for the guard.”

The stallion laughed, “Sorry miss, but are you sure you’re looking for the guard?”

“Yes.”

This got him bursting in laughter, “In case you haven’t noticed, there are no females in the guard.”

“So? Is there a law that says mares can’t join the military?”

“Well, no-”

“And your point is?”

“Well, there hasn’t been a mare in here for a few hundred years-”

“And?”

That stopped his protesting. He pulled a clipboard from under the desk and hoofed it to me, “Sign your information here, and I’ll deem whether or not you are fit for duty.” I took it and grabbed a pen from the pen cup. I read through and answered the questions:

Full name: Rainbow Eleanor Dash. Previous jobs: Weather captain of Ponyville. Allergies: Poison joke: severe wing disorder. Ponies to notify of injury: Pinkamina Diane Pie, Apple Jack, Fluttershy Libernum, Twilight Tiberius Sparkle, Rarity Dennit, Scootaloo (Unknown last name), Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.

I answered a few more questions about my physique. Weight, height, etc., then I hoofed the clipboard back and deposited the pen back in the cup.

The recruitment receptionist read over the paper. Soon after he began reading, he looked at me inquisitively and said, “Miss Dash, we can’t inform the princesses of every injured soldier.”

“Ever heard of the Elements of Harmony?” He nodded, “I’m the element of Loyalty.” He recoiled a bit in surprise, then returned to reading the information.

When he finished, he looked at me and smiled, “Well, Rainbow Dash, your profile says you’re fit for duty. Welcome to the Equestrian Royal Guard.”

I felt happy knowing that I made the right decision. I will save lives, and I actually get paid for it now! Yes! I hadn’t even thought of that until now!

“Well, Miss Dash, you have a week to choose your bunk in building sixteen, and to move any valuables that you need. Note that you have a very limited space, so keep it small. Training begins next Tuesday morning.” He hoofed me a note of reminder.

I saluted him, and trotted out the building, excited to see where my new job would lead me.

This is much longer than the prologue, but not as long as I’d like.

I will make the chapters after the next MUCH longer. I hope I got Rainbow’s personality somewhat right, let me know! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I still plan on later chapters being MUCH longer. I know this was a bit rushed, but I just wanted to get the beginning out of my way so I can leak random thoughts without knowing where one thing will lead to, until the end, which I know by heart, word for word. Bro-hoof, and see you guys later!

Wednesday- 6 days until Day: 1

6 days until Day: 1

I woke up laying down, curled up in a ball, on the floor. I hate those dreams where you have no idea what happened, then you wake up in a different place than you started.

I stood up and threw my sheets onto my bed, and prepared for packing. I actually surprised myself with how little I had in my house. Food, bed, books, two hats, my winter wrap up vest, which I wore during the whole winter, since I spent most of the time moving, it gets really hot, so I want heat, but not a lot, sunglasses, a whistle, a schedule of the weather, and Tank was in his cage in the corner.

OH CRAP!!!

I forgot about Tank! I can’t take him with me!

‘What do I do?’ I looked around the room, unsure what solution I was looking for. My eyes widened at the solution.

‘No, that would just be cruel!’

‘But you have no choice!’

‘He was there for ten years without a real owner, you can’t just send him back!’

‘You’ll visit him any time you get the chance!’

‘But he might get the wrong idea!’

‘You need to do it. It is your only option!’ I knew I was right.

I opened his cage, and strapped on his turtle-copter that Pinkie made, “Come on buddy, we have to go somewhere for a bit.”

We flew over to Fluttershy’s in less than three minutes, which is odd, seeing as she’s across Ponyville, and we were going a lot slower than regular flight.

Physics are weird.

It was pretty simple: Talk to Fluttershy, reassure her I won’t get hurt in the guard, give her Tank, reassure him I’ll be back, wait for him to complete his smile, fly home and pack.

What did I pack? The things I found most important: Picture of me and my friends, sunglasses for dramatic moments, the first Daring Doo book, my Winter wrap up vest, and my old Wonderbolts baseball cap that I wore when I was a kid.

Seeing the cap reminded me of my greatest possession. If my house was set on fire (I know it can’t) and I had time to grab one thing, it would be this. I pulled it out from

under my mattress.

A small Wonderbolts doll. I grew up with this thing. I never lost it, because I loved it too much to take my eyes off it. I will never let go of this. I pulled out two pictures from under the mattress too. One depicted me at my first Wonderbolt show with my dad, and I was about to get a signed picture.

And the other picture was of me when I was just born, holding the doll in my mouth.

I wanted to cry at how cute I was.

I took all four items and carefully packed each one into my suitcase carefully.

‘Well, I have packing out of my way, now I have a whole week to inform my friends, and enjoy freedom.’

My face drooped. Why don’t I realize these things before?

Who to visit first? Applejack? No, I’ll tell her later, when she’s not busy. Rarity? She’ll make me pose for a dress. Pinkie Pie? NO. She’ll be the last one, and she’ll want to throw me a party. Fluttershy? Informed. I’ll hang out with her later. That left one pony. She’ll be wondering what my decision was.

Twilight Sparkle.

I knocked on the door to the insanely large tree-brary, and patiently waited. Spike opened the door and looked up at me.

“Oh, hey Dash! Need something?” he said.

“Uh, yeah, is Twilight home?” 'Déjà vu.'

“Yeah, hold on a sec.” He closed the door and hurried to get Twilight. The door opened a minute or so later (Why am I so patient?) to reveal Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh, hi Rainbow! How can I help you?”

“I joined the guard.”

“… What?”

“I joined the guard.”

“And they accepted you?”

“Yeah?”

“But there hasn’t been a mare in the guard for over one hundred years!”

“Why, is that a problem?”

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but shut it when she thought better.

“I only have a week left until I’m stuck in Canterlot, so I’m trying to make the best of it!”

Twilight smiled, “Okay! That’s… good!” her smile faded slightly, but still showed signs of sincerity, “Why are you talking to me about this?”

“Because you’re my friend, and I want to spend time with each of my friends before I leave!”

Twilight smiled with more sincerity, “Oh, alright! So uh… what do you want to do?”

I thought for a while before coming up with an answer, “Why haven’t we ever just had lunch?”

“Because you never wanted to go to any restaurants.”

“Well, we should change that!”

“What is this place called?” I asked, taking in the decorations on the walls and ceiling.

“Fancy Dining, it’s the fanciest restaurant in Ponyville!” She replied happily.

‘Well, that explains a lot.’ “Uh, huh. So, what food do they have here?”

“Daisy sandwiches, hay fries, eggs, toast, all sorts of foods!”

“Twilight, you just named most of our daily meals. I could get any of those for cheap in half the time they take to make it here.”

“But these taste AMAZING!”

“They’re still good no matter how well they were made.”

“Just try some.” Twilight stated impatiently.

“*Groan* fine.” We ordered our food, and surprisingly, it did taste better than usual meals. We talked about… well, stuff. You know, normal stuff.

Then came the big statement.

“We’re going to miss you Rainbow. We all are.” Twilight said with a saddened expression.

“I’ll miss you guys too.” I smiled to Twilight, trying to remember this exact moment to

help me on my journey. Moral boosts and all that.

She smiled back.

*Click*. Picture taken.

By the time we left the building, the sun was setting. As we left, Twilight asked, “How long will you be gone?”

“It’s like a never ending job, with a few breaks now and then. You won’t see me for another five to six months from what I know, or maybe longer.” I moved my leg around Twilight’s neck and pulled her close. She returned the gesture. We stood there for a good ten seconds, hugging each other for the last time in a while.

As we let go, I remembered, “Pinkie is probably going to throw a party later this week, so expect to see me again soon.” I smiled.

Twilight smiled back, “Good to know. See you then!”

“Goodbye, Twilight.” She trotted away to the library, which I could see from here. I unfurled my wings, and took off back home.

I’m sorry, again, but I don’t know what Dash and Twilight would do together, so I couldn’t find another way to make it longer. REALLY SHORT AGAIN.

*Self punch* I’m too lazy to make the beginning longer, I just want to get it away from me.

After that, chapters could be from 5-10K, I dunno.

Next chapter, a day with Applejack.

Thursday- 5 days until Day: 1

5 Days until Day: 1

“Rainbow, stop nappin’ in mah trees!” Applejack barked at me from down below.

“I do what I want!” I yelled back. I could imagine her reaction. Angry, with forced patience.

“Rainbow, you realize that you’ve slept in the same tree four times already, on the same branch!”

“And?”

“It’s just a bit-” She couldn’t finish her sentence. Either that, or I didn’t hear her over the sound of my ‘Oh Crap!’ The tree branch below me snapped and let me fall to the ground.

I landed with an abnormally loud thud.

“I tried ta warn ya.” Applejack stated.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I knew you’d find eventually, and I have something to tell you.”

“What?” She asked annoyed.

“I’ve joined the Equestrian Royal Guard.”

“Yeah, yeah, nice prank. Now get out of mah-”

“AJ, I’m serious, I’ve joined the guard and training starts in a week.”

“Dash, I’ve stopped listening, I don’t need to be pranked right now, I’ve got enough problems as it is, so if you could just-”

“Applejack, this isn’t a prank! In one week, you won’t see me for another six or seven months, maybe more! I’m here to do stuff with you!”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I’m trying to spend time with my friends before I leave!” Applejack stared into my eyes, deciding if I was telling the truth or not.

“Say you were leaving, what would we do?”

“Something relaxing that I’ve never done that you want to do.”

“My way of relaxing is buckin’ trees.”

“Alright.” Applejack recoiled.

“What?”

“We’ll buck apple trees.” She stared at me for a while before saying,

“What have you done with Rainbow Dash?”

“I became myself.”

“What?”

“I’m me.”

“Riiiiiiight... So, uh. Applebucking?” I bucked the nearest tree. One apple fell, and hit me on the head.

Applejack laughed.

“Best I can do.” I stated blankly.

“Here, let me show you how.” She positioned herself under a tree, “Okay, so I’m gonna buck the tree.”

“That’s what I did!”

“You didn’t let me finish! When you buck a tree, you have to position your hooves just right. You’re puttin’ your hooves straight. You need ta turn them away from each other when you buck, so you send the vibrations around the tree, instead of through it, or straight up it like you’re doing.” She proceeded to buck the apple tree, and dropped every apple on it into perfectly placed baskets, “The basket part is pretty complicated, so I’ll do that part-”

“I can do anything you can do!”

“This is one thing that doesn’t come from sport, and you can’t just tell a pony how to do it. It’s something you learn through patience and experience.” She said. I huffed.

“That’s pretty much it. You just have to find the right placement for your hooves by yourself.”

I walked to a random tree.

“Oh, and only do the trees with baskets!” AJ informed me.

“Yeah, yeah.” I bucked the tree as Applejack instructed. Half of the apples fell into the baskets, while the other half remained on the tree. ‘Damn.’

“You did much better than you did before. You’ll have this down in no time!”

Surprisingly, that boosted my morale, instead of angering me like it usually did. I bucked the tree again, only to have one apple drop.

“That’s happened to me plenty of times,” Applejack commented as she bucked a tree successfully, “It’s normal-”

“For a beginner like me?” I stated angrily.

“Well, yeah, but I was gonna say that some trees just don’t cooperate with ya.” She bucked another tree and gathered a few baskets, “I gotta take these apples to the barn. I’ll be back. Keep bucking!” She trotted off to the barn.

I bucked the tree again, dropping the other half. “Ha!” I exclaimed proudly, “Can’t stop me trees!”… ‘I need to stop talking to myself.’

I bucked another tree. Every apple fell perfectly into the baskets. I hoof-pumped. I continued to buck apple trees successfully. ‘This is actually kind of fun.’ And then it hit me. ‘It IS relaxing to just buck some trees! Stretching your muscles and letting the vibrations you sent do the rest!’

After a while of bucking, Applejack returned.

“Wow!” she exclaimed, “You bucked more trees than I thought you could!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I glared.

“I mean you’re better than I thought.”

“Well, duh! I’m Rainbow Dash!”

AJ chuckled, “Just keep buckin’.” So I did.

By sunset, we had bucked at least a fourth of the trees in the orchard.

“Well, Rainbow, I sure do appreciate your help with this. It goes much faster having more than one pony!” Applejack said gratefully.

“No problem AJ! It isn’t as… stressful than I thought.” I said with a smile.

“Well, see you later!” she said and began to trot off.

“AJ, wait!” She turned to look at me, “You know why I did this right?”

“Actually, I don’t rightfully know. Why did ya?”

“Not everything is a prank AJ. I’ve joined the Equestrian Royal Guard, and I’m leaving next Monday.”

Applejack’s mouth hung open. “You’re serious?” I nodded. Her face turned grim, “But won’t that mean you have to leave Ponyville?” I nodded.

“I’ll only be able to see you guys every five or six months, maybe more.” She stared into my eyes.

“Are you sure you should do this?” She asked, her voice grim.

“I’m positive. I’ll write to you guys.” She smiled at that.

*Click*. Picture taken.

“Pinkie will want to throw a party when I tell her, so expect to see me at least one more time.”

“Good to know. I’ll be prepared for a singing telegram for the next few mornin’s.”

“I enjoyed helping you out today Applejack.”

“It’s nice having help when so trouble is goin’ on.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“”Well, somepony’s been stealin’ our buildin’ tools, and I just paid for a new set, only for them to get stolen again!”

“Did you report this to the guard?”

“No! They only ‘guard’, they don’t ‘help’.”

“Applejack, I think you’ve got that wrong. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be joining.”

“Alright,” Applejack replied, “I trust ya. I’ll report it and see if they can help.”

“Good. I’ll see you soon, AJ!” I said, taking off.

“Same! Good luck!” She yelled back as I dashed to my home in the solid orange sky.

Sorry it was so short again.

You know what? Just expect them to be short until training starts.

ADVENTURE AWAITS HER!!!

Yeah. K bye.

Friday- 4 days until Day: 1

4 days until Day: 1…

‘Gone to Canterlot!’ I read the sign on the carousel boutique.

‘Guess I don’t have to stand still for six hours! Oh, how I am so disappointed!’ I thought sarcastically. ‘I guess I can go do stuff with Fluttershy today.’ I stretched my wings and took off, heading for the edge of the Everfree forest.

I knocked on the wooden door to the animal care center, also known as: Fluttershy’s house, and heard a loud squeak of fear.

“Fluttershy, it’s me!”

A few seconds passed before the door opened slightly, revealing the eye of a pony, “Rainbow Dash?” the door opened to its full capacity, “Sorry, you scared me! Umm, would you, um, like to, uh, come in? If-if that’s okay with you.”

I laughed (More of a chuckle) at her politeness, “Sure, why not?” I entered the cottage and looked around at all of the animals. ‘Yep… they’re animals…’ I spotted Tank in the corner.

“Umm, do you, umm, need help with something?”

“Oh, uh, yeah! What were you doing when I knocked?” I asked her.

“Oh, uh, actually, I was just about to go for a walk! If-if that’s okay with you…”

“Oh, cool! Mind if I join you?” This took Fluttershy by surprise.

“Oh, umm, yes, umm, sure! I-I just didn’t know you were into that kind of thing!”

“Not really, but I’m gonna give it a chance.”

“Oh, umm, okay. Let’s go!” And so, we exited the Ponyville Animal Care Center.

It was fun.

Just… walking.

Taking in the scenery from the ground instead of the sky, and talking to a good friend.

“Fluttershy, I realized that, even though I’ve known you since I was little, I know barely anything about you.” I stated.

“Like what?” She asked.

“Well, for instance, I don’t know anything about your parents, or if you had any siblings?”

“Oh, um… my mother… went insane and was arrested for…” she gulped, “murder… and died of old age in prison… and my dad… left one day… he said he’d come back… but he didn’t…”

“I’m sorry, I… I didn’t know…”

“It’s okay… it… feels good talking about it…”

“Any brothers or sisters?”

“I had a brother… we lost communication after I moved out…”

“What was his name?”

“Terrain Shiner.”

“Did you two get along well?”

“Well, not like Twilight and Shining Armor do, but we still enjoyed each other’s company.”

“Tell you what, when I get into the guard, I’ll look for any information concerning him, or his whereabouts.”

“Oh, thank you Rainbow Dash, that would be wonderful!” She leaned in and hugged me.

“No prob, Flutters!” She pulled away from me, tears in her eyes.

“What about you?”

“My mom passed away about three years ago, and I never knew my father.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. From what I heard from my mom, my dad was a jerk. As for brothers and sisters, I would have had a sister but she… she didn’t survive birth…”

“Oh…”

“Yeah…”

“Umm… what made you want to become a Wonderbolt?”

“Well, I saw a show when I was a kid, and then I got my cutie mark… guess it just stuck with me…” Actually having to think about why I wanted to join the Wonderbolts, I realized the one reason I wanted to join them: I wanted to be fast.

‘But I could do that any time I wanted! I get paid enough to survive here! I’m already famous for being an Element of Harmony! I don’t need more fame than I already have! Man, just joining the guard has made me realize a lot of things!’

“So, umm, what were your mom’s name?” Fluttershy asked me.

“Her name was Firefly. She was famous for her flexibility and speed, not in flight, because she was born with her wings missing their primary feathers.”

“Wow…”

“How about your parents’ names?” I asked.

“My mother was Posey, and my dad’s name was Cloudsplitter.”

“Interesting…”

We reached the center of Ponyville.

“Hey,” I asked, “We’re near Sugarcube Corner. Want a snack?”

“Oh, um, sure, I-I guess.”

“Alright! It’s on me!”

“Hey, Fluttershy?” I said through a mouthful of cupcake.

“Yes?”

“So, I know you’re just an animal doctor, but what do you know about doctoring ponies?”

“Oh, umm… I guess about as much as I know about animals.”

“Really? That’s quite a bit!”

“Well, I mean, most wounds are pretty much the same on most creatures, so a pony isn’t much different.”

“Because I was thinking,” I swallowed the bite of cupcake, “You could volunteer to be a nurse for the guard! I bet they could use a pony like you!” Fluttershy shied slightly.

“I don’t know… what if I fail?”

“I know you’d be able to do it! You’d be the best nurse they have!” Fluttershy blushed at the compliment.

“I still don’t know… I don’t think I know enough about medical experience to do it! And I don’t think I’d be able to do anything under so much pressure! I’m sorry Rainbow, but I don’t think so.”

“Alright. I’m just saying, they could use you!” I finished off my cupcake.

“Come on, let’s head back through the park.” I left the required bits and followed Fluttershy out the door…

We walked through the park, sky turning orange from the setting sun.

“Hey Rainbow, see that cloud?” Fluttershy pointed to a nearby small cloud.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“I bet you can’t make it look like an alligator!” she challenged.

“Challenge accepted.” I dashed up to the cloud and began carving the shape of a large reptile into it.

As I finished, I came down a bit too fast, and smacked my right hind leg on a tree branch, and I felt a huge surge of pain shoot up my leg. “Agh!” I hit the ground on my back, having used reflexes to grab my leg, and knocked the breath out of me.

“Rainbow!” I made out the voice of Fluttershy, very disoriented, “Rainbow, breath out and hold it for about three seconds, then breath out, hold it for three seconds, out… in…” She guided me through regaining my breath, “out… in… out…”

When I could breath, I sat up, then immediately grabbed my leg in reflex as it sent pain through me once again.

“Let me look at your leg.” Fluttershy said, and tried to pry my hooves away. “Let me look!” she snapped. I did as told, and moved my hooves away from the injured leg. Fluttershy examined the leg for a good ten seconds before turning to me, “It looks as though you’ve cut and dislocated your leg. Sit here for a minute.” She backed away and galloped to a nearby bush, and I replaced my hooves on my leg.

‘What happened? All I remember is coming back down, then my leg just snapped!’

Fluttershy returned with some leaves and vines, and wrapped it around my cut. She looked me in the eye, “I need to put your leg back in place, so this will hurt a bit, okay?”

I nodded and lay back. ‘Fluttershy is gentle, so this shouldn’t hurt that-’ “AAGH!” I screamed, tears coming out of my eyes.

“There, you should be able to stand in a couple of minutes, then we need to get you to a hospital for proper care.” Fluttershy said to me. I laid there, groaning on the ground, for about five minutes before I made myself stand.

“Hold on. Let’s get you to a doctor, or at least somewhere where I’ll have proper medical supplies.”

I nodded, and unfurled my wings, only to fold the left one again.

“It seems that you landed on your wing… it’s only bruised, so it’ll heal soon. We’ll walk to the hospital, it’s not that far.”

I took my place at Fluttershy’s side for support, and we began our trek to the hospital.

As we reached the town, we were next to Twilight’s library.

“Perfect! Twilight must have a first aid kit somewhere in there!” Fluttershy led me to the library and knocked.

The door opened and Twilight stood in the gap.

“Oh, hey Rainbow! Hey Fluttershy! Can I help-” She stopped when she saw the bloody leaves wrapped around my leg, “What happened?”

“Do you have a first aid kit?” Fluttershy asked briskly.

“Uh, yeah, come inside and take a seat on the couch.”

We entered the room as Twilight hurried off to get the kit. I laid myself out on the couch on the opposite side of the room.

“Fluttershy,” I said.

“Yes Dash?”

“I thought you said you weren’t very good with injured ponies?”

“I said I can’t do it under pressure.”

“Well that was quite a lot of pressure. Seeing your friend cut a gash and dislocate her leg, then be the only one who can help her, and then you DO help her, and succeed, is not an easy thing to do.”

“I… I guess you’re right.”

“You think you can’t help now? You could save a lot of lives!”

“Well… no! I know I can help!” She hugged me, “I’ll volunteer soon! Thank you Rainbow Dash! I hope I can help as many ponies as you say!”

“No prob, Shy! That’s what I’m here for!” I said as Twilight returned with a first aid kit.

Fluttershy took the kit, opened it, and took out the bandages and… well, bandaged me. I figured it might be useful for when I join the guard to know how to bandage myself, or another pony, properly, so I watched closely.

“So,” Twilight started, “What happened?”

“I took an arrow to the knee.”

“What?”

“Inside joke.”

“Right... so what happened?” She turned to Fluttershy, who now had glasses for some reason.

“She flew down too fast and hit her leg on a tree branch, dislocating it, and opening a gash, which I just bandaged properly, thanks to you.”

“Oh, well, glad I could help!” Twilight cheered.

“And thank you!” Fluttershy turned back to me, “Your wing should be alright by tomorrow morning as long as you don’t sleep on it, but you should probably leave it alone until Sunday. As for your leg, stay off of it until Sunday too, and it should be fine.”

“Thanks Fluttershy, but where am I gonna sleep if I can’t fly to my house?”

“Oh,” Twilight began, “You can stay here until you’re better!”

“Thanks, Twilight, I appreciate it!”

“No problem!”

“And thank you, Fluttershy,” I turned to her, “For fixing my leg.”

“You’re welcome! I’m going to go home now. If-if that’s okay with you?” She replied.

“It’s fine. Go home before it’s too dark to see.” I said.

Fluttershy said her thanks to Twilight for the kit and for letting me stay there, then stepped out the door.

‘Oh!’ “Fluttershy, wait!” I called.

“Yes?” She stepped back in to look at me.

“I really appreciate what you did, and what you’re doing.” She smiled.

*Click*. Picture taken.

“You’re welcome, and I know that it’s the right choice.”

And with that, she left the room.

‘Now I have to convince Twilight to let Pinkie hang out with me in her house tomorrow…’

Saturday- 3 days until Day: 1

3 days until Day: 1…

I sat on Twilight’s couch reading the most recent Daring Doo book. I noticed Twilight constantly glancing my way. ‘Why? Is it that she’s envious of sitting on the couch reading? The fact that I was bleeding on her brand new couch last night, and is worried about the stains? Or just straight up worried about me?’

My eyes followed her around the room, as she organized scrolls and books on their shelves. I heard whispering outside the library door. Twilight knew my plan, and had realized my inability to make it to Sugarcube Corner to do things with Pinkie, and invited her over for me, and it was most likely Pinkie outside the door. I lay on my left side on the chouch, facing the door, and extended my good wing, ready for Pinkie’s ‘think fast!’.

The door burst open and revealed a pink pile of energy, which yelled to me, “Hey, Dashie! Think fast!” A blue beach ball flew toward me, and was sent back to sender as I hit it with my wing. Pinkie caught the ball in her hooves, then shoved the thing down her throat.

‘That can’t be healthy.’ “Hey Pinkie, how’s it going?” I asked.

“It’s good! But I was thinking: Is my mane really pink? Or is it light-ish red?”

“You know the name for light-ish red? PINK.”

“No, because this isn’t really pink! This is a lighter than red, but still red-ish red than pink.”

“Right… yeah, whatever.”

Twilight entered the room, and was surprised that it wasn’t destroyed or had party supplies and decorations scattered around, “Oh, hi Pinkie! Umm, if you’re doing stuff together today, can you PLEASE try not to make a mess?”

“Well, I can’t do that without possibly hurting poor Dashie! Oh, and what do you think? Is my mane light-ish red? Or pink?” Pinkie replied.

“The definition for the color pink is light-ish red.”

“Oh, you guys are no fun! You and your science!” Pinkie bounced over to me as Twilight trotted out the door on her daily errands, “Twilight didn’t tell me what happened! How did you get hurt?”

“I hit my leg on a branch and landed on my wing, which is fine now.”

“Then why aren’t you flying around?”

“Are you kidding? Flying for extended periods of time is tiring! Plus, my posture wouldn’t be very good, and would take more strength than usual.”

“Okay!” Pinkie replied cheerfully, “So, what are we going to do?”

“Pinkie, do you know why we’re hanging out today, despite my disability?”

“Because you need cheering up because you can’t fly! And I’m the best pony for it!”

I chuckled, “Kind of. Pinkie, I’m joining the Equestrian Royal Guard.”

“Oh boy! Now you can guard Sugarcube Corner!”

“No, Pinkie. I’m going to war.” Her face fell slightly.

“You mean you’re going to go fight other ponies?”

“Well, I’m not exactly sure if they’re ponies. Actually, I have no idea what I’ll be up against!”

“Well, at least we’ll still see you!”

“Yeah, but every like, seven months!” Then her face fell. It was as if the whole world had decided to take away her very being. Her hair deflated.

“Why? Why would you do that? How can you just leave us behind like that?” She whispered in sadness.

“I’m sorry. It’s already hard for me to do anyway! But… I could save lives! Prevent things like what you’re feeling right now from happening!” Pinkie’s frown lessened, “And it’s not like I’m never coming back! It may be long periods of time, but I’ll still be here!” I smiled at her. She smiled back.

*POOF*, Her mane regained its Pinkie Pie-ness, “Well, I need to throw a ‘Goodbye Rainbow Dash good luck in the military see you in six or seven months’ party!”

“Can we do that tomorrow?” I asked.

“Of course silly! So, wuwegonnado now?” She asked.

“…Board games…?”

“…C4?...”

We sat on the ground, me having shifted from the couch onto the ground. We had been playing board games for a few hours. Now, we were playing BattleCloud.

“…miss…J2?...”

“…You hit my cumulous…”

“OH BOY!!!” Pinkie began to prance around the room in joy, “I finally beat Rainbow Dash at BattleCloud!” You’d think with Pinkie being Pinkie, she’d have won already. Well, every time she played this against me, it was as if she couldn’t tamper with time and space. She won Chess, checkers, Monopony, everything! She beat me every game we played to that moment, today, or ever! And yet, she just never beat me before on BattleCloud. Now she had, “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said depressed. ‘I finally lost… it was bound to come someday.’

“Oh, cheer up Dashie! It’s not like having your wing broken again! You can still fly around and have fun! This was just one small loss!” I glared at her.

“Oh, right! You ARE injured again!”

“Yeah.”

“Do you need a song! I know a song that I heard from a gypsy a few days ago that would work perfectly in this situation and make you feel better!”

“I don’t really feel like it, but I know it will help anyway; so why not?”

Pinkie inhaled a giant breath:

“When you’re rife with devastation there’s a simple explanation,

You’re a toymaker’s creation trapped inside a crystal ball,

And whichever way he tilts it,

Know that we must be resilient,

We won’t let them break our spirits as we sing our silly song!

When I was a little filly,

A galloping blaze overtook my city,

So they shipped me off to the orphanage,

Said ‘Ditch those roots if you wanna fit in!’

So I dug one thousand holes and cut a rug with orphan foals,

Now memories are blurred and their faces are obscured,

But I still know the words to this song!

When you’ve bungled all your bangles,

And your loved ones have been mangled,

Listen to the jingle jangle of my gypsy tambourine,

Cause these cord are hypnotizing and the whole world’s harmonizing,

So please children stop your crying,

And just sing along with me!”

“… I’m not really sure if that made me feel any better. Because I felt joyful from the song, but the lyrics were really depressing.” I said, slightly more depressed from the song.

“Honestly, the only word I could understand was ‘mangled’, and your leg is mangled, so I thought it would be a good song! The rest of the song’s words didn’t make proper sentences though!”

“It was an… interesting song… does my leg really look that bad?”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it!” She said, completely ignoring my question, “Do you feel any better now?”

“It didn’t really make me feel any different.”

“Do you want me to sing it again?”

“No, I’m fine!” I said hurriedly. I didn’t want to feel any more depressed.

“Okey, dokey, lokey!” Pinkie smiled, “So, what are we doing now?”

“What do you want to do?” I asked.

“Oh, silly Dashie! You’re leaving soon, so we need to do what you want to do!”

“We always do what I want to do! Which is exactly why I want to do what you want to do!”

Pinkie thought for a second, “Sounds legit. Okay! We’ll steal all of Twilights food and make experimental cupcakes!”

“Can we do something that doesn’t involve stealing, or me moving?”

“There was a song that I heard the Gypsy sing to Applebloom! I could sing that!”

“Pinkie, I don’t want to feel depressed!”

“Oh, Dashie! Even in the darkest of days, there is always something to be happy about!” She said, confident that it was true.

‘And it probably is. I’ll have to remember that.’ I thought, then said, “What else can we do?”

“Think fast!”

“Wha-” I barely said before a beach ball was hurdled my way. Without thinking, I smacked the ball with my hoof, directing it toward Pinkie’s face. When they collided, I was glad it wasn’t something heavy, because just the force of my blow was enough to push Pinkie onto her flank.

“Dash…”

“Oh my gosh! Pinkie I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to hit it that hard-!”

“That was AWESOME! Do it again!” Her grin stretched from one corner of her face to the other as she threw the ball at me again.

Still not understanding her joy at suspected pain, my reflexes worked faster than my brain, and hit the ball again, straight at Pinkie. She expected it this time, and bumped it back, full force. Now understanding this predicament, I let my reflexes do the talking, and hit the ball. Pinkie ducked as it came at her face once more, and the door to the library opened. The ball impaled itself on Twilight’s horn, and let out a low whistle.

“Oh, Twilight, you popped our ball! Now we can’t play bounce the ball!” Pinkie said sadly.

“That ‘game’ had a name?” I asked.

“Does now!”

“Are you two little fillies? Don’t hit a ball like that INSIDE! You might break something!” Twilight fumed.

“Twilight, it’s a beach ball! I don’t think we can break a bone with that! Especially not anymore!” Pinkie replied.

“UGH! I’m going to my room to take a nap!” Twilight trotted up the stairs, angry at us for roughhousing.

“Okay, Dashie! I’d better go, before Mister and Missus Cake start getting worried! I had fun playing though!” She smiled widely.

*Click*. Picture taken.

“I enjoyed it too Pinkie! When is the party?”

“Tomorrow at three!”

“Alright! See you tomorrow!”

“Bye, bye, Dashie!” She waved to me, and I waved back as she left the premises.

‘Two days left. Two days of freedom. And one I’ll be spending learning the military grounds. Tomorrow will be my last day in Ponyville…’

Sunday- 2 days until Day: 1

2 days until Day: 1

“Your leg isn’t fully healed, but should be okay by tomorrow morning, and your wing is perfectly fine!” Fluttershy said smiling, glad to have successfully helped me, “It feels good to know that I’ve helped somepony in need!”

“I’m glad you feel that way!” I said, “And thank you for your help! I don’t think any other pony could have repaired me as well as you did!” Fluttershy blushed.

“Finally! Get out of my house! You are so annoying!” Twilight said sarcastically.

At least I think it was sarcasm.

“Alright! Will I see you guys at the party?” I said as I used my wings to lift me, and hovered in the library.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Twilight said, smiling genuinely.

“Of course! Although, the world might come first. If-if that’s okay with you…” I laughed at her innocence.

“Of course, Flutters! I’ll probably see you in the guard once and a while!”

“Alright! Everyone okay? Good! Now get out of my house.” THAT was not sarcasm.

Fluttershy and I flew out the door, and Twilight closed it behind us.

Fluttershy and I glanced at each other, and simply nodded, then flew separate directions.

I sat on my bed and stared out the window, watching the sun rise. I normally never took the time to just… look at stuff. But since the walk with Fluttershy, I’ve really started to notice my surroundings, and how beautiful everything really is. The violet sky, the orange sun peeking over the mountains. It was a perfect sight.

As the sun reached over the mountains, and the sky became blue, I climbed off of my bed and trotted across the soft cloud floor to my front door, and opened it. I stood there, staring out at Ponyville in the distance. I could see the town slowly waking up and going about their daily errands. I stepped back inside and headed for my shower. Why not look clean on my last day in Ponyville?

I pushed the shower button, but only a few drops came. ‘Out already?’ I flew outside and grabbed a nearby rain cloud. I pushed it carefully into my house, and positioned it in my shower, and pressed the shower button. A spray came from the rain cloud above, dropping water onto my back, giving me a soothing sensation. The magical enchantments of my shower room allowed any cloud with large amounts of water inside to rain slowly, and instead of cold rainwater, it heated it to a warm temperature.

*Pitter patter*, the water droplets splattered against my hide and coat, and I let my mane fall and soak in the water. After allowing my coat to be soaked, I grabbed some soap off of a shelf in the shower, and began to rub it around my body, getting every small stain or piece of dirt out of my coat.

After soaping myself, I grabbed some shampoo. Funny word, isn’t it? SHAMPOO.

I hoofed some through my mane, getting other small things out of it. Mainly dirt.

I need to stop crashing so hard.

After my mane was done I dumped a bunch onto my tail, and swished it around to get it in and on my tail, to get dirt out. I simply stood there for a few more minutes, soaking up the warmth and soothing feeling. But all things must come to an end, and I pressed the shower button once more, and the cloud stopped its small barrage of droplets. I stepped out and shook myself, then grabbed a towel and rubbed it across my body. When I finished, I brushed my mane into its usual position.

When I exited the bathroom, I headed over to my coat hanger and grabbed a newer, adult size, Wonderbolts baseball cap and slipped it onto my head. I opened my front door and flew off to do whatever I felt like until three, when the party started…

I flew down to Sugarcube Corner and stood at the door, hearing the bustling of party setup. I glanced at the clocktower, recently installed in the town square.

2:58.

‘Two minutes early isn’t bad. She should be ready by now!’ I pushed the door open and entered the building.

There was no sign of Pinkie in the main room. In fact, there wasn’t any trace of party setup. Just Sugarcube Corner. I headed to the front desk and rang the bell.

Pinkie came down the stairs pushing a party cannon, “Oh, hi Dashie! You’re early!”

“By one minute? That’s hardly early!”

“But it’s still early!” She reached the bottom of the stairs, “Oh and Dashie!”

“What?”

“Duck.” She slammed her hoof onto the ‘fire’ button. Due to my reflexes, exercised from ‘Think Fast’, I ducked under the barrage of party decorations and confetti, which set themselves up around the room, covering tables, placing balloons, plates on the tables, a cider barrel, a game of ‘pin the tail on the pony’.

I had just witnessed the magic of WHAT THE BUCK WAS THAT.

‘You know what? I don’t even want to know. I’m afraid my brain would melt.’

“Well, that happened.” Was all I could say as I looked around the completely re-modeled room.

“Of course it did! Otherwise, it wouldn’t have! And then I’d have to set up the party by hoof, which takes SO LONG, and it makes me feel less excited, because I’d know what would come out! With the party cannon, it’s always a new surprise!” She dragged the cannon back upstairs using her teeth.

I sat there in awe of the ‘instantly party ready’ room. Just as I began to remember that reality was a thing, Fluttershy entered the room.

“Hi Dash! How’s your wing doing? I fixed it alright, right? Did I mess up? Oh, I messed up didn’t I? I’m so sorry! I did  what-”

“I’m fine Fluttershy! You did good! My wing and leg are fine.” I reassured her.

She sighed, “Oh, good, I thought I didn’t do it well enough.” Pinkie re-entered the room.

“Alright! Let’s PARTY!!!”

I had originally thought it would be just me, my friends, and maybe a few others at the party.

ALMOST HALF THE TOWN SHOWED UP.

Only naming a few: Derpy, Scootaloo, Colgate, Carrot Top, and ‘The Doctor’, as he calls himself, and Lyra.

Rarity was back in town. I was sad I couldn’t do anything relaxing with her. Even though all she’d say is, “Make a dress!”, or “Go to the spa!”.

I chatted with each of my friends, all congratulating me and giving farewells. A song played in the background, and I felt like I’d heard it before, but this was a different version. Every few minutes, one or two ponies would wish me luck in the military. I was a bit freaked out because I caught The Doctor staring at me from across the room multiple times. I eventually decided I’d go see what he was doing, but was stopped by Lyra, wishing me luck. She kept blocking my line of sight of The Doctor, and by the time she left, he was gone. I glanced around the room, searching for him, but he seemingly disappeared. I finally decided he was just looking at me… really awkwardly…

The party continued normally. We played games, drank cider, ate cake, etc.

Pinkie and I stood at the front door and thanked ponies for coming as they left Sugarcube Corner when the party ended. The music had stopped

As Scootaloo walked toward the exit, she looked at me sadly, and said, “I’ll miss you Rainbow Dash.”

I hooked my leg around her and gave her a noogie, “I’ll miss you too, Squirt!” I let her go and she left the building.

Appljack approached me, “I’ll see ya soon! Good luck, and see if you can put mah buckin’ tips to use!” She winked at me.

I returned it, “Of course.” And she trotted out the door.

Rarity trotted up, “Try not to get too violent while you’re there, will you? I hate violent ponies!”

“I’ll do my best, Rare. See you soon!” She smiled at me.

*Click*. Picture taken.

Next, Twilight hugged me, and I returned it, “I’ll see you soon, Rainbow! If something important happens, I can make the princess pull you back!”

“Don’t plan on it Twi! I’m there to save lives, not chicken out!” We broke the embrace, and Twilight opened the door with her magic, and trotted out, slightly teary.

Fluttershy flew toward me, “I- um, guess I’ll see you soon then, if that’s okay with you…”

“It’s perfect! See you soon, Flutters!” She flew out the door slowly.

I looked at Pinkie on the opposite side of the door, “Thanks for the party Pinkie! I enjoyed it!” Pinkie nodded, tearing up, but still smiling.

Then her tears burst out, and she hugged me to a point I could barely breath, “I’ll miss you Dashie! I’ll miss the days we’d prank our friends, and the days I would throw a party, and you were always the first one there, and the days I made too much cake, and you would eat it with me, and the days whee-aaaaaaAAAAHHHHHH!!! I’m going to miss you so mu-huh-huuuch!!!”

Her tears were beginning to flood the floor, and I still couldn’t breath, “Pinkie!” I said with a raspy voice, “I’m still coming back, and we can still do those things! It will only be a long break for you!” Her grip loosened, and I could breath again.

“Alright Dashie,” She said, still frowning in sadness, “But you better come back!”

“It’s not like I’m abandoning you!” I smiled at her.  She smiled back, tears sliding down her face, “I’ll see you in a few months!” I hugged her, and she hugged back, softer this time, allowing me to breath.

We separated, and said our final goodbyes, and I left Sugarcube Corner for the last time for seven months…

I sat on the side of my bed, staring out the window once more, watching the sun set. The sky was more beautiful than I’d ever seen it. Purple clouds dotted the orange abyss, and eventually, the abyss turned to darkness, and bits of light began sprouting inside of it.

I climbed under my bed sheets, and drifted off to sleep.

Tomorrow would be the day I leave Ponyville…

Monday- 1 day until Day: 1

1 day until Day: 1

I hefted my suitcase and flew out of my cloud home, heading off to Canterlot. I was sad to be leaving Ponyville, but was excited to start training and save somepony’s day!

As I reached the Barracks, I hovered above and looked for building sixteen. I caught it out of the corner of my eye, and flew down to it. As I landed, the door to the building opened, revealing an unarmored guard with a stone grey coat and a black, spikey, mane in the same style The Doctor had.

“Oh,” He said when he saw me in front of the door, “You must be the new recruit!”

“Well, yeah!” I smiled at him, and he smiled back. There was a ten second pause before I said,

“Are you not surprised I’m a mare?”

“Of course I am! But nothing gained by b****ing about it!”

“I’m liking that plan! So, this is my ‘new home’?”

“Sure is! I’ll give you a quick tour!” He stepped back into the building, and I followed. He pointed around the room, “This is your new room!” In the room were nine beds lining the walls, and five lockers on either side of the front and back doors, whichever one was which, “There’s only one bunk untouched, so I guess you’ll get that one.” He pointed toward a bed across the room, “This locker,” he patted the locker to his right, “is yours. You can put your stuff in here now if you want.” He opened it, and I stuffed my case inside. “Well,” he said, “it was nice meeting you! I’ll see you every night and morning miss…?”

“Rainbow Dash.”

“Terrain Shiner.” He extended his hoof to me.

“Really?” I asked, “You’re Terrain Shiner?”

“Why? You heard of me?”

“Is your sister Fluttershy?” He recoiled in shock.

“You know Fluttershy?”

“Yeah! She’s one of my friends and asked me to see if I could find out what happened to you. Well, I found you, so quest complete!” He smiled.

“She’s been looking for me? I’ve been looking for her since we were separated.”

“What happened?”

“I was kidnapped and taken to the Gryphon kingdoms to be a slave.” I gasped. “I escaped, but the stallion who helped me surely died. He showed me that some things can be fixed. That is why we’re in this war. To stop the Gryphons from making the Equestrian paradise into a slavery hell.” A loud bell rang. “I have to go. It’s my shift until nine, so I’ll see you tonight.”

“I plan on it!” He trotted out the door, leaving me alone in the room. I examined the rest of the room. Blank walls, rounded roof, a desk in the corner. Nothing else, really. ‘This is even worse than my house.’ I headed to my bed. The mattress didn’t even look like a mattress. It looked more like a rock. I sat down on it. It FELT like a rock. I tested the pillow. Felt like a pillow. Just less… fluffy… After that, I left the building. Outside was bustling with guards heading to their stations, some in armor, some not.

I noticed that all of the guards in armor were white or grey, and all of the unarmored ones were multicolored. ‘There must be some sort of enchantment.’ All Earth ponies and Pegasi were white, and all unicorns were grey.

I took off into the sky, and hovered, then examined the area.

To my right was about fifty or sixty more small barracks, and to my left was a field of obstacle courses, bow range, gyms, and tracks. In the sky were a few rings of cloud, built for Pegasus agility tests. I watched as a few Pegasi, dawned in armor, flew through the courses, and unicorns fired arrows at targets and dummies. A few Earth ponies did obstacle courses on the ground, jumping over hurdles, ducking under barbed wire, and bucking dummies. Some Pegasi were doing wing push ups, and some were dropping rocks on dummies.

‘They must have a lot of dummies.’

I hovered for a few minutes just watching, examining my future in training. There was going to be a long road ahead. And I had to travel that road, no rests. I had to feel pain and suffering before I went to Hell…

A few hours later, I sat on my new, rock hard, bed and read Daring Doo and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone.

Terrain Shiner entered the room, followed by about eight or so muscular guards stripped of armor. One had a scar down his eye, and another was limping slightly.

‘I hope they don’t all sound like Mr. Squeaky.’ I chuckled and trotted toward him.

“What’s so funny?” Terrain asked.

“Nothing.” I said still smiling.

“Right. Anyway, meet your roommates! This is Jade Groove!” He pointed to a maroon colored Earth pony with a dark green mane, same style as mine. He wore a hat similar to Applejack’s.

“Well,” He said with an accent the same as Apple family’s, but his voice was soft, above a whisper, but not normal talking level, “It’s nice to meet you miss… Dash is it?”

“Yes, and the same to you, Jade!”

Jade walked to the other side of the building and lay down.

“This is Oddball.” Terrain pointed to a yellow unicorn with a brown mane which made a zigzag shape, “He’s mute, but he uses telepathy, so don’t be freaked out if you hear a voice in your head.”

“I had a friend who specialized in magic, so I’m used to weird magical things!”

‘Good!’ I freaked out, ‘Sorry. But don’t worry, Everypony does that the first time.’ I calmed down, then smiled.

“Dude. That’s awesome!... wait… can you read my thoughts too?”

‘Yep.’

“That’s… uncomfortable…”

‘I can choose whether or not I want to, and right now, I’m not.’

“You’re lying, aren’t you?”

‘Yep.’

“Thought so.”

‘I know you did!’ Oddball trotted by me happily.

“This is-” Terrain started, pointing at the scarred stallion. He was HUGE.

“I’m Weight Lifter. Got any problems that need solving? I’m your guy!” He smiled at me. He was missing a few teeth.

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

He trotted away, keeping his eyes on me at all times.

“Right, well, this is Allon Sea.” He pointed to a Pegasus wearing a medal in the shape of a Phoenix, “He’s the chief master sergeant of the Pegasus air force.”

“We have more than just the guard?” I asked.

“Of course! Some Pegasi are in the air force, and some are in the primary attack troops.”

Allon Sea extended his hoof to me, and I shook it, “Allon Sea? I feel like I’ve heard that name before!”

“Well, I’m main captain of the air force! What do you expect?”

“No, I mean, as a word…”

“My mom named me after a word her imaginary friend said a lot.” He sighed, “She was obsessed with this guy. She always went on and on about how he flew through time in his magical blue box, and insisted he was real! Sorry, I go off on tangents sometimes. I do that a lot. I don’t know why! It might be genetics or-”

“We get it Allon.” Terrain stopped him.

“Right, sorry!” He trotted off to his bunk.

“This is Night Blaze!” Terrain allowed the Limping Earth Pony to step forward.

“Well, I’ve never seen a mare in the guard before!” He circled me, “It’s nice to see some… new things in the area…”

“Umm, yeah! And uh, please stop circling me, it’s freaking me out! You’re like a freakin’ vulture.”

“Why is that? Not enough space? Or too much?” He came behind me and flicked my flank with his tail.

“Hey!” I turned around and faced him as he circled me.

“What’s the matter? Uncomfortable? Want me to shift positions?” He stopped circling and put his hoof on my neck.

I backed away, “Look, there’s no chance! That’s NOT going to happen!”

“Fine, fine!” He stepped back, “I’ll leave you alone!” He began walking to his bunk, “But let me know if you change your mind!”

“Not a chance!” I glared at him.

”Well, that was awkward!” Terrain said, “Anyway, next up, we’ve got mystery,” A lime green Pegasus with a similar green mane hovered over to me.

“Umm, hi…” He said, and hovered back to his bunk.

“What’s with him?” I asked.

“That’s why we call him mystery. Takes orders, and does them right. He rarely ever speaks, and when he does, it’s when he’s asked a question and is ordered to answer it.”

“Well, if he won’t say his name, how did he get through training when someone asked his name??”

“He faired well and completed every task set before him, but he was beat for not answering a question from a superior officer.”

I gasped in shock, “They can’t just beat ponies!”

“You think the enemy will refuse to beat you because ‘it’s against the law’? Quick tip Dash: Do as your superior officers ask, or be beaten to a f***ing pulp.” I swallowed.

“And last but not least, we have Jelly Sandwich. Lease don’t make fun of his name, he has anger issues.” I was barely able to suppress myself from smiling, but my mind kept saying it.

‘Jelly Sandwich, Jelly Sandwich, Jelly Sandwich…’

A blue unicorn with a red mane trotted up, “I know. My parents were frickin’ morons, and couldn’t come up with a real name. They thought it was cute.” He said flatly, then trotted to his bunk.

“Those are your new roommates. And including me, of course!” He struck a heroic pose.

“Yeah. Thanks Terrain. I’m sure knowing ponies that I’m probably not going to get to know very well is going to be very useful in the future!”

“Trust me: It will be good to know. Well, time for bed!” He yawned, “We’ll all wake up to the alarm clock.”

“In case you haven’t noticed,” I said, “There isn’t an alarm clock in this barracks!”

“Oh, you’ll see what I mean in the morning!” And with that, he trotted to bed.

I turned to do the same, seeing Night Blaze in my bed with a rose in his mouth.

“Where did you even get that?” I asked.

“Maybe you could change your mind just for one night, eh?”

I proceeded to the bed and bucked him off.

“Fine! I’ll try again tomorrow!”

“I’d prefer you never try again!”

“Oh, why so grumpy? You need some fun to keep it from getting worse!” I threw my book at him, “Alright, alright, alright!” He trotted to his bed, allowing me to climb onto mine.

“Hey, Oddball?” Weight Lifter said.

…

“Mind turning off the lights?”

…

“You’re the only unicorn in here, and we’re all in bed already!”

…

“Ugh, fine!” Lifter stood up and headed to the light switch, but before he could flip it, it gained an orange-ish glow, and flipped, drowning the building in darkness.

“Oddball?”

…

“You’re an a**hole.”

…

“Screw you too!” And I heard hoofsteps head to the place where lifter’s bed was.

“Night guys!” I heard Jade say.

“Night, Jade!” I heard Terrain reply.

“Cut the friggin’ friendly ‘good night’s and go to sleep!” Yelled Allon Sea.

I spent the night thinking of what morning would bring, and thought myself to sleep…

Only to be woken up a moment later with a buck to the back…