Author's Note

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The Mission

Her friends lay around her, sprawled out and twitching in abject pain. She was covered in bruises herself, her left wing bent out of shape and the other unable to even unfurl. As her enemies stomped closer to her, their hooves kicking up dirt along the way, Rainbow Dash smirked.

She wasn’t out of this.

Not by a long shot.

“... So that’s why we’ve called upon you.”

“Um, Princess Celestia, your highness,” Spitfire addressed her ruler, “I’m still not sure I understand. Why are you asking us for help, and not the Elements?”

Rainbow Dash took this as her cue to answer her captain, cutting off whatever reply Celestia had. “I already told ya, Spitfire. Twilight and the others had to go solve a problem in Yakyakistan. So that leaves it to us!” She boasted.

“Well, if you’re sure…” Soarin commented, finally arriving alongside Fleetfoot. “But I’ll be honest, I doubt we’ll be able to do much.”

“Psh, whatever,” Fleetfoot chuckled, disregarding him with a wave of her hoof. “We’re, like, the most awesome team in Equestria. Those bad guys won’t know what hit ‘em!”

“Well, regardless, I’m expecting great things from the four of you. Rainbow Dash,” Celestia addressed the Element of Loyalty, eyeing her with the grace and love Rainbow had come to know, “if anything happens, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You have the amulet I prepared for you?”

Rainbow Dash nodded, pulling the item in question out of her satchel. The ruby adorning the front shimmered in the light of the castle’s grand stained glass windows, reflecting an image of Celestia that radiated confidence in her little ponies.

“So this will let us send a letter to you, right?” Spitfire asked, eyeballing the gorgeous piece of jewelry. “No matter where we are?”

“Absolutely,” Celestia nodded. “I had out top magical engineers work on crafting this for you, given the fact that Spike is with the rest of the Elements.”

“And what happens if we lose it?” Soarin asked.

“Well then I guess we won’t be able to send a letter, will we?” Fleetfoot replied. “I swear, sometimes you ask the silliest questions.”

“That’s why you love me, though!” He replied, laughing.

“Alright, guys, simmer down.” The three Wonderbolts were quick to obey their captain, ceasing their chatter and returning to attention. “So here’s the situation. A group of ponies has kidnapped a Saddle Arabian noblepony, and are holding him prisoner.”

“Demands, ma’am?” Fleetfoot asked.

Spitfire shook her head. “None that we know of, is that right, Princess Celestia?”

Celestia cleared her throat, her horn lighting aglow and presenting the four with an image of the perpetrators in question. “Not as of yet. All we know of is that a pony on vacation there, Featherweight, was able to snap this photo.”

The photo showed a group of ponies clad in what looked to be enchanted armor, dragging the noble behind them. On their waists were swords and shields, and one had a crossbow.

“Dang, they’re locked and loaded,” Rainbow Dash commented. “Did they use those weapons on anypony?”

“According to witnesses, no,” Spitfire replied. “But that doesn’t mean they aren’t prepared to, so they should be treated as if they have been.”

“Do we know the name of the pony they’ve foalnapped?”

“His name is Saddleadin,” Celestia said. “He’s an important asset to us as far as our economics are concerned. Probably the biggest reason we’re able to export so much product from Manehattan to Saddle Arabia.”

“Do we know where they’ve taken him?” Fleetfoot asked. “Is it somewhere cool?”

“That’s the thing…” Rainbow Dash said, scratching the nape of her neck nervously. “They, uh, took him to…”

“Yeah?” Soarin prodded her. “Took him to…?”

Spitfire sighed. “The Gates of Tartarus. They took him to Tartarus.”

“Um… why?” Fleetfoot asked. “What the hay is in Tartarus that they could want?”

“No idea,” Rainbow Dash said. “But we’re wasting precious time talking about it when he needs our help. So can we hurry up and get a move on?” She asked, looking to her captain for approval. Spitfire nodded, and Rainbow Dash grinned as she flapped her wings, taking off through the main door to the castle.

“See ya when we’re done, Princess!” she shouted back. Her fellow Wonderbolts were quick to fly behind her, following her lead as she took off towards the familiar Gates of Tartarus.

“Yo!” Soarin called out to her. “Which way are we heading!?”

“We’re heading past Ponyville and through the Everfree!” Rainbow Dash called back. “This is where me and the other girls took down Cozy Glow!”

And so they flew, zooming through Ponyville and wowing the many residents below. As they soared, the many trees and rivers below them kicked up in the wind. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash spotted something in the woods of the Everfree Forest and zipped down to the ground below.

With a few idle steps towards what she had spotted, she called out to it. “Hello? You alright?”

“What do you think!?” The pony she had spotted called back, annoyed. “Who are you, anyways?”

“Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria!” she said boastfully. “You?”

“My name is Crystal Hooves,” the pony said. “Think you can help me up?”

The rest of the Wonderbolts approached as Rainbow Dash helped up the pony, who appeared to have a wound on her left calf. “How’d you get that?” Spitfire asked.

“Some ponies came through here and one of them cut me,” she answered, wiping the dirt away from her front legs. “They were dragging some dude behind them.”

“What did he look like!?” Fleetfoot demanded, zooming over to the pony and booping noses with her. “Did he have a beard!?”

“And a yellow coat?” Soarin added.

“Uh…” Crystal reached a hoof up, pushing Fleetfoot out of her personal space. “Yeah. To both.”

Spitfire grinned, slowly clip-clopping her way over to Crystal. Her face was painted with a look of determination that even Rainbow Dash couldn’t match. “Tell us everything you know, Crystal.”