"So, it's real?" Rainbow Dash asked Spitfire as they led the Wonderbolts to pick up their new uniforms.
"Stop asking stupid questions, Crash," Spitfire rolled her eyes, "And asking weird questions doesn't make you sound smarter than you are, of course it's real. This is as real as flight goggles or any other piece of the uniform. You should know, you're going to end up being the Captain when I'm gone."
"But-- Combat uniforms? We're going to fight? Do we even know how to fight?" Dash gawked at Spitfire.
"I would have thought that you of all ponies would get it, with how close to death you came during that last adventure of yours," Spitfire shook her head, recalling how helpless Dash and her friends had been in front of the overpowered trio of villains, "As a branch of the military, we're going to learn how to fight, and it's about time. This is part of Princess Twilight's military reforms. Even she's going to learn more about dueling with magic, to make sure Equestria is ready if the worst breaks out."
As Dash searched for another argument Spitfire opened the door to the barracks, where the uniforms had been delivered about an hour before, during flight practice. She stepped in and the rest of the Wonderbolts complied wordlessly, waiting for Dash's next comment. Some looked anxious, like Dash, other older 'bolts looked faintly amused at the conversation.
"Friendship and harmony has always prevailed in the past, why should it fail now? Why do we need a better military force?" Emotion could be heard leaking into Dash's voice. She sounded scared.
Feeling a bit of sympathy for the younger mare, Spitfire took off her sunglasses and looked Dash in the eye, "You're worried about war, aren't you?"
Dash looked to the ground, scuffing her hoof on the concrete. She nodded slightly.
"There's a lot of sayings, I think the appropriate saying for this is 'the only way to prepare for peace is to prepare for war'. It sounds a bit backwards, but-"
Dash cut in, "What kind of saying is that? It can't be true!"
"May I finish my explanation?" Spitfire raised an eyebrow. Usually interrupting like that was grounds for punishment, but she could see Dash's nervousness.
When met with silence, Spitfire continued, "It may sound a bit backwards, but it means that by being prepared we will never be caught out unprepared. If we have no military preparation, we will be easy pickings for those looking for an easy war. And, yes, there are such nations."
Dash walked into the barracks and towards the area where her uniform had been put. Anypony could see she wasn't convinced. Spitfire shook her head and went to don her own uniform.
Having put it on and secured all the straps so everything fit well, Spitfire took a few test steps. The guards on the uniform moved with her, and didn't restrict her movement at all. The last time she had had a combat uniform fit this well was a good decade ago, during her days of guard service on the Equestrian border, before she was transferred to the Wonderbolts.
She made her way over to where Dash was, and smiled a little at the sight. Dash was struggling with one of the straps. Rather than laughing and embarrassing the anxious mare, Spitfire went over and helped Dash do up the strap, and fit the rest of the straps correctly.
Once they were done, Dash took a few steps, her eyes widening at the ease of movement she had, "It's just as easy as it was before..." She said to seemingly nopony.
Dash sat down and put her head in her hooves, and let out a heaving sob. "Combat, war... Why? It's so dangerous."
Spitfire looked at Dash in incredulity. This clearly was scary exercise to Dash, and they had no war or even combat training scheduled yet. She thought back to what she had said to Dash. She had said that Dash ought to know the dangers that required them to be prepared, and in her mind she had painted the peril of Dash's last adventure as an example.
Dash was acutely aware of the dangers. She had literally faced near death just two months ago. This must have festered in her mind for a while, and built up while she was denying it. And now Dash was being exposed to her fear again, albeit in a less threatening way, but exposed all the same. She needed a therapist, not a combat uniform.
Spitfire put a hoof on Dash's shoulder and looked expectantly at her. When Dash looked up and into her eyes, Spitfire could see tears forming in them.
"We aren't going to war, we're just being ready for it. Why don't you take that off and come with me to my office? I need to sort out some forms with you," Spitfire gently set her hoof down, and Dash gave a teary nod.
The Wonderbolts around them, who were in various stages of trying on their own uniforms, remained quiet for once. Usually there was unhelpful chatter throughout the barracks, but there was no such thing today. Dash walked out the door and towards the admin building, and all the 'bolts looked towards the door where Spitfire was lingering.
"I expect anypony else with similar concerns to book an appointment with a therapist for sometime this week," Spitfire stated to the watching crowd, and walked out after Dash.
Entering her office in the admin building, Spitfire could see a scared-looking Dash standing the the corner of the office. Spitfire dug out Dash's profile and looked through it in silence, checking to see if a therapist had been noted as a contact anywhere. On finding nothing, she went to a drawer of blank forms and pulled out what was needed to set Dash up with one of the therapists she had arranged to have working on site.
"Rainbow Dash, I think you need help."
