Cursed Gifts

The Wonderbolts glided over the mountains in formation, well mostly. Rainbow Dash had fallen back to talk with her friend and fellow Element of Harmony, Princess Twilight, who was lagging behind slightly. The sun cast shadows of the pegasus and alicorn on the craggy mountains, slightly overlapping the shadows of the six pegasi above them.

High Winds, Surprise, and Lightning Streak had been chosen by Spitfire to accompany them, in addition to Rainbow Dash, Fleetfoot, and Soarin. They weren't the fastest or strongest out of the Wonderbolts, but then again they had no idea what they would encounter, so neither skill really mattered. They, along with Fleetfoot, had been Wonderbolts the longest, as long as Spitfire and Soarin, so they had the most experience.

Rainbow Dash was admittedly a little smug to be on another mission for the princess. Just another mission to save Equestria, it wasn't that big of a deal, she did it every other week. One thing she didn't like about these ‘missions to save Equestria’ was all the traveling and waiting they had to do beforehand.

They had been flying over the mountains four hours already, and Dash was about to fall out of the sky with boredom. The Wonderbolts probably could have been there hours ago, but they were as fast as their slowest member, Twilight, who was still getting used to her wings and couldn't fly as nearly fast or endure as much as they could.

“I am sooo not looking forward to flying back later.” Rainbow Dash grouched.

“Don't worry.” Twilight said, panting slightly, “I’m planning on teleporting us back to Canterlot as soon as we find something. Once I’ve been there, I should be able to teleport back and forth easily thanks to my alicorn magic.” Of course Twilight would find a way out of flying. Dash spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

“What’s that?” she asked, turning to investigate further. She looked up and saw Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot, Surprise, High Winds, and Lightning Streak fly past her. Apparently one of them had spotted something too. They streaked between two of the peaks, and over above a large clearing. Rainbow thought she heard Twilight gasp in horror behind her, but her eyes were glued to the devastation below her. The clearing was huge. There was a large castle-like building that sprawled across the ground and surrounding mountains. It was gigantic, probably as big as Cantorlot, but it was abandoned. Tall towers had collapsed in on themselves, and walls had crumbled into what she thought were courtyards and gardens. It was also completely barren.

The walls weren't covered with any green moss or lichen, and the gardens were empty. The stone bricks were blackened and the ground was covered in ash. The air was filled with the smell of death, but not decay. Silently, they glided over the ruins and landed in one of the courtyards. It had one of the most intact buildings, which looked almost like a temple.

“What happened here?” Surprise said shakily.

“I don’t know,” Twilight said, looking around. “Whatever happened, there's a large chance it happened 10 years ago when Princess Celestia felt the flare.”

“Do you think there was a fire?” High Winds asked. Twilight bit her lip.

“It looks that way, but if it happened that long ago, there should be at least some plants around, it should have grown back by now.”

“Who could have lived here?” Lightning Streak asked. “How can we not have heard of them?”

“I’m not-” suddenly a scream cut through the air and they all wiped towards it. Lightning Streak stumbled back from Surprise suddenly clinging to his back. It was probably her who screamed, but why would she-

They spotted the supposed source and all tried to not let out screams of their own. A blackened skeleton was laying against one of the walls, almost completely hidden by the ash covering the courtyard and heaped in corners. As soon as they spotted one they spotted more, buried in ash and hidden by the shadows. The closest one was only a few steps away from Spitfire. They all tried not to bolt.

“Twi,” Rainbow said urgently, “I’m not a coward, but can you please tell us what we need to find so that we can leave!?”

“And get away from the skeletons!” Surprise added, still on Lightning Streaks back.

“Right.” Twilight was clearly shaken up, but was trying to hide it and remain calm and collected. “We need to find something that tells us what this place is, and try to find a reason for why it was attacked. It would probably be a good idea to get some ash samples.” She said the last part more to herself than to the others.

They all spread out, hovering a few inches above the ground to avoid the ash. Princess Twilight conjured a few viles to gather samples. Rainbow Dash stayed with Spitfire. She had been acting weird since the day before. Ever since they had left the Wonderbolts HQ she hadn't spoken, which was odd for her. They were just flying over the ruins before Spitfire suddenly dropped down into one of the courtyards. Rainbow Dash landed behind her.

“Did you see something?” she asked her captain. Spitfire didn't answer and instead stepped shakily towards one of the skeletons. Reaching forward, she dusted off the ashes and revealed a gold and amber amulet, seemingly untarnished. The only thing that had survived what had happened. She stared at it, eyes shining. Another pony landed in the clearing and she jumped, but it was only Soarin, who looked more solemn than she had ever seen him. He brushed past her and pulled Spitfire into a hug. Rainbow blinked. Spitfire did not like physical contact unless it was for a split second in one of their shows. To her surprise, Spitfire didn't push him away but instead leaned into him, shaking.

A few minutes later Twilight landed next to her, and she jumped again, and she was not a jumpy pony.

“I think we can leave soon.” she said, “I just have one more thing I want to get.'' The rest of the ‘bolts landed in the courtyard, many of them shooting concerned looks in Spitfire and Soarin's direction.

“Can we leave now?” Surprise asked. “I’m ready to leave this creepy place!” Spitfire looked slightly relieved, but it was hard to tell as her face was hidden. Rainbow hated to burst her captain's bubble, but she had to say something.

“Not yet.” she said, “Twi wanted to get one more thing. What is it by the way?”

“I wanted to get some bone samples,” she answered, sounding way too excited. All the ponies present froze. “Maby Princess Celestia has a spell that can tell us more. Have you noted their all pegasi? I wonder why that is. I just need a bone or two..." Twilight continued, reaching for one of the skeletons.

"Don't touch them!" Spitfire suddenly shrieked, finally showing her face and marking the all jump, and turn to look at her. "Haven't they already suffered enough? You shouldn't disturb them!" To their shock, their normally strong captain had tears in her eyes.

“Spitfire, are you ok?” Lightning Streak asked.

“Spits, what’s going on?” Fleetfoot asked, stepping forward. Spitfire buried her face in her wings, sobbing. Soarin pulled her closer, glaring at Twilight.

“Hey, Twilight?” Rainbow said, still shocked. “Now might be a good time to teleport us back.” Twilight nodded, eyes just as wide as she was sure hers were. Her horn lit up and their vision was filled with bright light. A second later the ruins were deserted once more.