The Return of the Crystal Empire

by dashiesfangirl

Rating: teen
Tags: Maud Pie, Pinkie Pie, Tragedy, Lightning Dust, Gore, Violence, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Death, Alternate Universe, Thriller, Rainbow Dash, King Sombra
Length: 11111

4 Ponies. 1 Tyrant. Many dead, and only one empire. Will Rainbow Dash save the Crystal Empire and protect Equestria? Or will the enemy prevail?

The Crystal Empire has returned. An old tyrant has returned with it. The princess takes immediate action and reassembles the Equestrian Army but with more ponies; confident, foolish ponies.

Rainbow Dash, a mere citizen from Equestria, is one of among 1000 soldiers in the army. She is determined to win this battle, not only wanting to defeat the king, but to help the empire. She befriends ponies along the way to help her achieve her goal, but it gets harder within each step. Ponies she knew and loved were falling. All hope is lost. Trusts are broken.

I mean, whatever it takes to win. Right?

Right...?

Published 2021-05-12 20:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-05-12 20:40:01 UTC

"For Equestria."

War

The Crystal Empire was a glorious, beloved kingdom that had recently returned. But an old threat of it has returned with it.

He goes by the name of King Sombra. The tyrant had been trapped in the Frozen North a long time ago by the 2 sisters, though it seems he has finally found a way to escape.

King Sombra is now back at the empire and expanded it, along with enslaving the residents of it by placing mind control helmets on them.

-

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Greeted a tangerine-orange filly from below. The cerulean pegasus pony she was calling to stopped in the middle of the sky and scanned her surroundings to see where the slightly high pitched voice came from. When she finally spotted them, Rainbow Dash angled her body and flew downwards, landing right in front of the filly. "Oh, hey Scootaloo," she grinned, ruffling Scootaloo's light magenta mane. "Whatcha up to?"

"I'm on my way to start another Rainbow Dash fan club meeting!" Scootaloo beamed. "Are you going to Canterlot?"

"Yup," the pegasus replied. "Princess Celestia has called basically all the older ponies there because of an 'emergency'. Sorry Scoot, I better get going. Later!"

Rainbow Dash bursted back into the never-ending blue sky. It was clear today, and the sun was shining as bright as most days.

Rainbow Dash absolutely loved flying. It was the only thing that helped her escape from the boring reality from time to time, and she was brilliant at it. Her cutie mark was an iconic rainbow lightning bolt coming from a fluffy cloud, which symbolized her love for flying fast and winning.

Despite her wanting to do a few tricks in the air, she knew she was needed for an emergency and headed straight into the palace, where Princess Celestia and hundreds of ponies stood before her.

"Now that you're all here, I needed to discuss with you all a serious matter," the princess sternly announced. "As you all know, King Sombra is a tyrant who once took over the Crystal Empire."

Oh no, this can't be good, Rainbow thought to herself.

"Well," Celestia went on. "He's started to take control of ponies again ever since the Empire returned."

Worried murmurs flooded the room, but the princess only held out a hoof to show she isn't finished. "He wants to take over Equestria and has requested a war for it, and I don't have enough ponies in the Equestrian Army, and he's asked for 1000 ponies."

Gasps erupted from everypony in the crowd. But Rainbow, however, was up for it. "I wanna take part in the war," she raised a hoof up as her voice echoed through the room. "Us too," a pink pony and a grey pony volunteered. Soon enough, more voices agreed with their decisions and wanted to take part in it. "WAR! WAR! WAR!" They chanted.

"I will give you all assignments, the war will be in 20 days," Celestia declared. "If King Sombra is waiting for a war, we'll give him one. For Equestria!"'

The Princess dismissed everypony and they all hurried home, waiting for their assignments to come through the mail. Rainbow Dash flew back to her tall cloud mansion in Ponyville, determined that she would fight as best as she could to keep Equestria's freedom. It was about 6:00, and the sun was starting to set. Rainbow sat by her mailbox waiting for her assignment, planning to start training for it as soon as possible. Time passed by.

6:37. 7:13. 8:25.

The sun had reached the other side of the world, only leaving gorgeous shades of pink and orange. Rainbow had been tired of waiting and wanted to head inside until finally, a light grey mare with crossed eyes came to rest clumsily beside her. Rainbow Dash's ears perked up and she looked at the mail pony, waiting for her to put something in her mailbox.

The mail pony reached into her saddlebag and pulled out an envelope with a golden stamp on it, gave it to Rainbow Dash then went back up to the sky. Rainbow tore the envelope open using her mouth, careful not to rip the letter inside. She took out the folded piece of paper and began to read.

Rainbow Dash: Air Cavalry with the Wonderbolts. Secure sky and scan the ground below.

"YES!" Rainbow cheered. "This is gonna be so awesome!" The Wonderbolts were a well known aerial team that performed everywhere in Equestria, mostly events. Rainbow Dash was also in the Wonderbolt's reserves. She flew up to her 3-story cloud home and, with magnets, stuck the assignment to her fridge, right beside a 'Never Doubt Yourself' sign. She headed upstairs and hopped into her comfy bed. She pulled up her sheets, tucking herself in, and drifted off to sleep, dreaming about her doing well in the war.

-

Rainbow woke up to the sound of birds chirping in the distance. It felt like a normal happy day, like nothing was ever gonna go wrong. And to Rainbow, she believed that. She would never predict that a day could be bad, and, judging by how nice the morning was? She didn't think this day was gonna go wrong at all.

Rainbow got up and ready and trotted down the stairs and opened one of her kitchen cabinets. She grabbed a cereal box and some milk and made herself breakfast. Knowing she had to start training, she didn't bother to sit down to take her time to finish her cereal. She gobbled the whole thing down in like, 10 seconds flat.

She placed the bowl into a stack of unwashed dishes near the sink, took her backpack and zoomed out her front door. She figured she'd head to Wonderbolts' Headquarters to see if anybody's there to train with. After 20 minutes, Rainbow arrived.

She looked around and saw basically every Wonderbolt there. Even the reserves. She landed gently on the side of the runway and walked over to Spitfire, the captain of the Wonderbolts.

"ANGEL WINGS! You call that FLYING?" Spitfire yelled, blowing her whistle. "FLAP HARDER! You're going to be in a WAR!"

Rainbow Dash slowly tapped Spitfire's shoulder. The dandelion colored mare turned around.

"What is i-" She started. "Oh, Rainbow Dash! Glad you came, we have a lot of training to do."

"Yeah! I'm so excited for the war!" Rainbow eagerly said.

"NUH-UH," Spitfire shook her head. "You have a very big chance of getting hurt. War isn't fun at all. But you're Rainbow Dash, so I won't doubt you."

Rainbow nodded with a smirk. "I won't let you down!" She saluted.

"Good. Now GET UP THERE AND GIVE ME 500!" Spitfire screeched. Rainbow Dash immediately took off, dropping her bags. She soared in large circles around the sky and runway, and when she reached her 499th lap, she saw a vaguely familiar pony, flying the same fast pace as Rainbow in front of her. She had a cyan coat and custard-yellow smoothed back mane. She had eyes of a vibrant shade of gold and white lightning bolt as her cutie mark.

Both the ponies landed on the runway. "Lightning Dust?" Rainbow exclaimed. "You're not a Wonderbolt, what are you doing here?"

Lightning Dust turned around. "You do realize most of the ponies here aren't part of the Wonderbolts, right? But yeah, very nice to meet you here, Rainbow Dash," she squinted her eyes in a sneaky manner.

Spitfire trotted over. "You guys were pretty fast up there! Reminds me of the good ol' days.." she muttered as she walked past them. Rainbow hovered over the runway and flew to a line of backpacks and when she spotted hers, she grabbed a bottle of water. Lightning Dust's backpack just happened to be 2 backpacks next to Rainbow's.

"So... you're a full fledged Wonderbolt now huh?" She scoffed. "Loser."

"Loser?" Rainbow blurted out. "Says the one who got kicked out of the Wonderbolts!" She squeezed her water bottle in frustration. "You literally almost killed my friends!"

"Yeah, and?" Lightning Dust shrugged, taking a water bottle out of her bag. "At least they didn't get hurt, and the tornado I pulled off was the BEST."

"Yeah, whatever," Rainbow snapped. "That was so uncool, Lightning Dust. I'm not surprised they chose you, because you could injure ponies in a heartbeat." She crumpled her empty bottle, tossed it in the trash, and moved onto an obstacle course.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash!" A pony softly approached. It was Fluttershy, Rainbow's best friend since flight school.

"Oh hey Fluttershy!" Rainbow replied, turning over her shoulder as the yellow pegasus walked up closer to her. "Wow, Celestia made you part of the Air Cavalry too, huh?"

"A-Actually, yeah," Fluttershy stuttered. "I'm really scared of participating in the war... Oh, I don't think I can actually even take coming to it!"

Rainbow Dash put an arm on her shaking friend's shoulder. "Well, if you're so queasy about it, just tell them that. A pony like you shouldn't take part in such a hardcore event, no offense."

Fluttershy brushed her silky baby-pink hair out of her face. "Oh, none taken, and I understand. My main assignment right now is to be making combat gear.."

"And I know you'll do well at it," Rainbow assured. She took Fluttershy's hoof and led her through the obstacle course, giving her tips along the way.

-

The sun was at the other end of the world again, signaling that it was, finally, the end of a tiring day. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were sitting on top of a grassy hill, still in Wonderbolts' Headquarters' property, filling up their hungry stomachs. Rainbow Dash looked up at the sky, watching waves of clouds floating away gently. She was right. Nothing went wrong that day.

Spitfire and another famous Wonderbolt climbed up the hill.

"Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy," she addressed, taking off her sunglasses and folding them into her pocket. "Both of you did an amazing job today, keep it up for the remaining 19 days." Spitfire turned around to leave.

"Yeah, good job Rainbow Dash," a pale shaded blue pony named Soarin commented, combing his hair back with his hoof. "You too, Fluttershy."

"Thanks Soar," Rainbow slightly blushed. Soarin and Spitfire started to leave, until Fluttershy spoke up.

"W-Wait," Fluttershy stammered nervously. They stopped and turned around. "What if I don't want to be in the Air Cavalry..?"

Soarin and Spitfire exchanged looks. "Well, you can't do that. It's a war, and it's for Equestria," Spitfire answered. Soarin nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but this is Fluttershy," Rainbow jumped in. "She can't be capable of killing ponies, she's the sweetest thing in Equestria. If she doesn't want to, she shouldn't have to."

"Hmm..." Spitfire rubbed her chin deep in thought. "I guess you're right, Rainbow Dash. Okay Fluttershy, you don't have to participate in the war at all, besides making gear."

"Oh, thank you!" Fluttershy sighed a sigh of relief. Spitfire and Soarin flew down the hill and inside the building. Rainbow packed up her dinner and put on her saddlebag. The time was now at least 9:00 and the sun had fully set. "Okay Fluttershy, I gotta go stay with the Wonderbolts until the war, so you might not see me in Ponyville," Rainbow explained.

"Oh, yeah," Fluttershy nodded, standing up. "You need to get some rest, Dashie. Gotta get all that energy for the war, and I'm sure you're gonna do outstanding."

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash waved goodbye, not knowing when they'll see each other again.

Rainbow flew down the hill and into the Academy Headquarters' locker room, where Spitfire and most of the Wonderbolts were. She noticed that they were all getting manecuts.

"Ah Rainbow Dash, perfect timing," Spitfire turned around. "Everypony just finished getting their manecut."

"Why are you guys getting manecuts anyway?" Rainbow asked.

"Everpony's supposed to get manecuts," a Wonderbolt named Misty Fly explained, smoothing down her glowy white mane. "It's so long manes don't get in your face, and since my mane's already short, I didn't need one."

"Oh," Rainbow hesitated. "I guess if I have to, then..."

Spitfire walked over to Rainbow Dash and turned on her razor. She raised her hoof up to Rainbow's head as Rainbow saw clumps of her infamous Rainbow mane fall to the ground. Soarin brought a small mirror to Rainbow Dash and she gazed into it, adjusting her head to see all angles of it.

"Hey, it's not bad," Soarin complimented.

"I guess.." Rainbow nodded. She kinda liked her new buzzcut. It suited her well.

Soarin moved his head in a motion to signal Rainbow to follow him and the other Wonderbolts as they walked out of the room and into the big bedroom, packed with multiple beds.

-

The routine was the same every single day. Rainbow Dash wakes up and trains for the war with other pegasi, then rests at the end of the day. Sometimes they didn't rest at night and continued to train, not ever going back home.

-

Day 17.

"Listen up!" Spitfire yelled, marching around the room. "We got 3 days until the war, and for today's training, we're taking you all out on a nice, lovely field trip to THE MOUNTAINS!"

A few ponies gulped, but Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust looked visibly brave. Their heads were held high and were looking straight ahead.

"Everypony better stay beside me at my pace," Spitfire instructed. "Or things'll get harder for you." She took off and about 100 other pegasi followed her, trying to fly beside her. Rainbow however, was the first to reach Spitfire's speed and tried not to go any faster.

"That's it, Rainbow," Spitfire said as she hoof bumped Rainbow Dash. "The rest of you are doing terrible, KEEP UP!"

A lot of ponies flew faster and a few, tried as they might, got winded and left behind. Though after they managed to stay a meter behind Spitfire, unfortunately not being able to reach her.

A few minutes goes by and they've reached the highest point in Equestria.

"Okay," Spitfire hovered over the forest with tall trees beneath the mountains. "All of you need to reach the top of the mountain, but be careful, it's extremely windy." Spitfire zoomed into the air and towards the top of the mountains.

Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust shot up to the sky at the same time. "Hey Rainbow," Lightning Dust called. "Wanna race?"

Rainbow paused. "Why not?" She shrugged. Both she and Lightning Dust soared into the air, tied at the same pace. Come on, fly faster! Rainbow told herself. Lightning Dust saw her typical I-need-to-win look on her face and shoved her a bit, jolting her to the side.

"Hey!" Rainbow bellowed. She pushed Lightning Dust slightly a bit harder than she pushed her, and Lightning noticed.

"Oh, so that's how you wanna be, huh?" Lightning Dust snapped as she forced Rainbow over 10x as hard, intending her to fall. But to her surprise, Rainbow Dash hit a ginormous tree. Incredibly hard.

"OW!" Rainbow yelped in pain. She flew up a bit then stopped after feeling a liquid dripping down her face. She lifted a hoof up to it and saw fresh blood.

She tried to shake the pain off and keep flying, seeing this as an opportunity to show Spitfire that nothing can hurt her. She kept flying towards the mountains, and caught up to Lightning Dust. "Woah what happened to you?" Lightning Dust jeered.

"YOU happened to me," Rainbow pointed. Lightning Dust laughed.

"You're so weak! I can't believe you chipped off half of your ear and scratched your eye because you couldn't keep balance!" She heckled. Rainbow couldn't believe it. Because of Lightning Dust, she lost half of her ear and hurt her eye.

Luckily for them, they reached the mountains. Nopony else was there, until Spitfire landed behind them, panting.

"Woah you two were so fast- RAINBOW DASH! What in Equestria happened to you?!" She asked, examining the blood-covered cerulean ear and the red line on Rainbow's squinted eye.

"Lightning Dust pushed me, and made me scrape off most of my ear and lose my eye on a tree!" Rainbow shouted at the cyan mare, who was trying to hide her grin. Spitfire's eyes widened in shock.

"Well, as long as it wasn't on purpose," Spitfire remarked. "But knowing Lightning Dust, it was definitely intended."

"And what if it was?" Lightning Dust scoffed. "What are you gonna do? Take me out of the war? I proved to you that I have no mercy and I will harm anypony who stands in my way. Multiple times. You need me."

Rainbow's mouth opened to reply, but Spitfire already beat her to it. "Hmm.. I guess you got a point. Sorry Rainbow Dash, but we can only bandage it for now. You were really brave though and you didn't look as hurt!" But little did she know, Rainbow felt like screaming. Not just because she was hurt, but because Lightning Dust would do absolutely anything to be the best. Even hurt her old friend.

The pegamedics flew up to the mountain and bandaged Rainbow Dash's ear and eye as more ponies flew in.

"Great job, everypony, let's head back," Spitfire announced as she led them out of the mountains.

-

"Woah, what happened to you?" Soarin came up to Rainbow Dash, who was drying her wet mane after a shower.

"Somepony pushed me into a tree," Rainbow chuckled as she grabbed new clean bandages for her ear. "It's okay though, don't worry."

"Honestly it looks kinda sick," Soarin mentioned. "It shows that you're stronger than whatever hurt you."

"Thanks Soarin," Rainbow smiled as she tried to bandage the left side of her face. "Can't... reach..."

Soarin laughed politely and rushed over to help the struggling mare. When they thought they were finished, the bandages fell off. Rainbow looked into a large mirror and peered at her ear, which had stopped bleeding.

"Maybe it looks better like this," she told Soarin, who was looking with her.

"It does," he assured.

-

Day 18.

"Today, you'll be trying on your combat gear," Spitfire declared, marching around the field. "It's a bit heavy but you'll eventually get used to it."

A few pegasi carried a big box and dropped it on the grass with a thump. Ponies lined up and took turns finding their gear, searching for their cutie mark on them. When it was Rainbow Dash's turn, she immediately spotted her vibrant cutie mark. She stepped out of the line and tried it on. It was quite complicated, but Rainbow managed to do it. It wasn't even that heavy.

Rainbow reached into all of her pockets until she felt a piece of folded paper. She pulled it out and unfolded it. 'Hey Rainbow Dash, I hope you do well in the war. We'll be waiting for you back home, take care ! We believe in you.

- Fluttershy'

The note forced Rainbow to stretch the corners of her mouth to form a genuine smile. She folded the note back gently and placed it back in a safe pocket. Soon, everypony had their gear on.

"Alright, we're gonna pick out your weapons too, and they go on the little holder thing on your backs," Spitfire explained. "We already have some assigned for some ponies, and you can get one or two, depending on your strengths." About 10 stallions started handing out weapons to specific ponies. Rainbow Dash and Lighting Dust were a couple of them. Rainbow received an Uzi and a retractable spear.

"Cool!" Rainbow exclaimed.

Lightning Dust got an Ak-47 and a retractable staff. "Hah, looks like I got better stuff than you," she boasted.

"Who cares? It doesn't matter how powerful or not the weapons are, but it's about the pony's strength," Rainbow answered. Lightning Dust pretended she didn't hear her.

"The rest of you, choose your own weapons from this box," Spitfire pointed to a medium sized box right next to her and opened it. Ponies scrambled to the box, trying to get the best weapons.

"Soarin, Fleetfoot, Misty Fly, Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust, Blaze, Fire Streak, High Winds, Surprise, Silver Zoom," Spitfire called. "Head to that part of the field over there and test out your weapons."

The pegasi whose names were called floated over to the testing area. A stallion there provided them with huge shields and extra bullets.

Rainbow Dash and Lighting Dust went at it. They reloaded their bullets and fired them at each other, while trying to dodge their bullets at the same time. When a bullet finally hit Lightning Dust's shield, she flinched a bit. She loaded more bullets, soared to the sky and flew towards Rainbow, shooting at and around her, which made it almost impossible for Rainbow to dodge. A few bullets landed aggressively on her shield though, but she was able to avoid most of them.

"Better work on your aim!" Rainbow shouted as she fired to the sky, trying to hit Lightning Dust. Instead, she hit Fleetfoot.

"Woah Rainbow Dash, you're a natural!" Fleetfoot told Rainbow from above, moving out of the way.

Rainbow Dash continued to load in more bullets, but Lightning Dust saw this as a small window of time to shoot at her. Luckily, Rainbow Dash was paying attention and flew up to the sky, firing at Lightning Dust once again. Lightning Dust's shield looked quite bumpy, bullets here and there. That's when Spitfire hovered up to them.

"Great job, that's all! Definitely made the right choice giving you two the best weapons," she grinned as she patted Rainbow's back. Rainbow Dash gave a friendly smile back but then looked at the rough green grass below. She didn't trust Lightning Dust, and never will.

-

Day 19.

"Wake up, everypony!" Spitfire hollered, her shouts echoing around the Headquarters' bedrooms. The pegasi scrambled to the air and saluted tiredly, all except for one. "Rainbow Dash, you too!" Spitfire facepalmed her face with a hoof and dragged the snoring pegasus out of bed. Rainbow steadily floated up, her eyes wide open. "I'm up, I'M UP!"

"Today I'll be telling you all who's commander," Spitfire continued. "Get to the mess hall and eat up, but you won't have lots of time!"

"Yes ma'am!" The pegasi said in unison as they promptly made their way out the room to get breakfast. They grabbed trays as usual and let the Headquarter cooks serve them food. The food was sloppy, but they were used to it. After they filled their bellies up, they put on their gear and lined up outside, where they usually meet with Spitfire.

"I'm probably gonna get commander," Lightning Dust nudged Rainbow Dash.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up if I were you," Rainbow mumbled, but was loud enough for Lightning Dust to hear.

"According to Princess Celestia, the Air Cavalry's commander will be..." she paused, looking at her clipboard. "Rainbow Dash! All of you are to listen to her and her only."

"YES!" Rainbow whooped, doing loopty loops in the air. Seeing everypony was staring at her, she gently floated back down. "I mean, yes ma'am!" She glanced over at Lightning Dust who was visibly upset, with a scowl on her face. That made Rainbow Dash smirk a bit, knowing that Lightning Dust wanted to be commander more than anything.

Rainbow beamed. She played an important role in the war, and how could she be so bad at it? She knew Equestria would win. 120%.

-

Day 20, 3:00 a.m.

It was a rainy day. The Air Cavalry was lined up on the field, and Rainbow Dash had a list of instructions to tell the pegasi.

"Today is the day of the Crystal War," she read. "We're supposed to meet with the other army divisions right now, in the hidden Equestrian Army camp near the battlefield." Rainbow Dash peeked at the pegasi. Not only did they look wet from the rain, but they looked more ready than ever. "Make sure your weapons are with you!"

They turned their heads to see if their weapons were attached to their backs. Once they checked, they jumped up to the sky, following Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts. They climbed above the rain-filled clouds and shook off the excess raindrops that were on their coats. Rainbow pulled out a compass and a map, directing everypony to the destination. She avoided matte grey clouds while at it, and busting a few. She looked at the blurred moon and felt the breeze caress her mane and tail, making it wave in the air. This could be the last time she ever flew like this ever again, but she didn't wanna jinx it. Fluttershy and the rest of her Ponyville friends were counting on her. She wouldn't let them down. She wouldn't let Equestria down. Rainbow shivered.

Rainbow's thoughts were interrupted by Soarin lightly tapping her shoulder. She was snapped out of her concentration and looked at Soarin, who was pointing on where they were on Rainbow's map.

"Looks like we're here," Rainbow pointed out as she flew down to the hidden camp. It almost seemed impossible to find, yet only the army had access to finding it. The cavalry landed on the grassy land and saw an earth pony a few meters away, calling them over with a hoof. Rainbow Dash trotted over followed by the pegasi and made their way over to the unicorn, who was in the ground.

"Commander Dash," the pale gold pony saluted. "Behold is the Equestrian Army Camp. My name is Igneous Rock Pie of the army's Rock Troop division, and we've been waiting for you, please do come inside." He led the ponies into the underground camp, the Wonderbolts escorting them quickly. Igneous showed the Air Cavalry the camp and led them to the general.

"Your highness," Igneous bowed. "The Air Cavalry has arrived."

"Ah, Commander Rainbow Dash!" Princess Celestia dallied over. "All of you look ready."

"You bet Princess," Rainbow nodded in solidarity. "I mean, General Celestia."

The Princess gave a sweet smile and showed the Air Cavalry the big part of the camp. Ponies of all Rock, Magic and Guard Troops were there. Nopony talked aloud, but a few ponies were whispering to one another.

"Here are where all the troops are staying until the war," Celestia told them. The troops saw Rainbow Dash walk into the room and saluted her then going back to doing whatever. Rainbow sat against a wall and Lightning Dust sat beside her.

"Commander Rainbow Dash, huh?" She whispered, keeping an unamused face. "Commander Lightning Dust sounds better honestly."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Get over it Lightning Dust," she sighed in a sarcastic manner. "It's not my fault that I'm just the best."

"Don't make me make you lose your whole ear," Lightning Dust menaced towards Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash turned her head to the side to face Lightning Dust. "Heh. I'd like to see you try again," she snickered. "You wouldn't wanna see what would happen now, do you?"

"Shut up. You didn't even do anything about it."

"So does that mean I won't ever do anything?"

Lightning Dust squinted her eyes at Rainbow Dash. She looked at the wall across from them. "These ponies look weak."

"It's not like you're any stronger than them," Rainbow replied. She knew this would tick Lightning Dust off, but she didn't care. She wasn't scared of her. She never would be, anyway.

"Pfft," Lightning Dust grinned nervously. "Sure I can." Rainbow Dash just shook her head. Soon, she drifted off to sleep.

-

Rainbow Dash woke up to the sound of a pony's voice. It took her a bit by surprise, so her eyes flickered open as she squinted her eyes at Misty Fly. "Commander Dash? It's time." Rainbow stood on all fours and her eyes wandered about. Everypony was facing General Celestia, who was counting the ponies in the army.

"Looks like we're good to go," the princess nodded, glancing at a clock nearby. It ticked 5:46, and continued ticking as silent seconds passed by.

"King Sombra expects us to be there by 6:00, so let's get a move on! Are you all ready?"

"Yes ma'am!" The army erupted.

"We're doing this....."

"For Equestria!" The ponies hollered in bravery and sureness. Rainbow Dash headed to the front of the pack near the general and floated after her, leading the troops out of the camp. Rainbow Dash squeezed her way through the same sewer gate she entered through as a few of the members of the guard opened a bigger hidden exit. Ponies came trotting, sprinting and flying out of it, following the commander and the general. Rainbow hovered over the field and stared up at the glowing mountains overhead, shining in the full moon's gracious light. These mountains were a bit different than the ones the Air Cavalry went to a few days ago. These ones were covered in deep snow and had pure, purple, magical crystals sprouting out from the surfaces of them. Princess Celestia led the Equestrian Army up a hill and lined the ponies up. She wanted King Sombra to know that they were born ready for this moment.

Rainbow landed on the lush, grimy green grass that had her dimmed shadow over it. She could feel the blades of it rustling against her hooves, and it felt quite spiky. She adjusted the helmet that came with her combat gear with a hoof and stomped it back down, leaning slightly forward. When Lightning Dust saw how ready Rainbow Dash looked, she chuckled to herself.

The Equestrian Army wasn't playing around. They wouldn't let King Sombra win. What's taking so long? Rainbow thought. Mere flashbacks of the ticking clock back at the camp played in her ears, echoing inside her brain as this intense time was upon the world. To pass the time, she listened to the breeze, grasping onto Rainbow's ears then letting go, floating back away into the air as if it were nothing. Rainbow breathed in, and she smelled the misted field. She licked her chops and breathed out, but heard another sound. It was something else, it was a huge clock that seemed miles away. It was faint, but with the peacefully silent atmosphere of Equestria, it rang.

Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong.

It signaled it was 6:00. King Sombra's army soon marched up a mile away from Equestria's army. Rainbow narrowed her eyes and spotted the tyrant, who was in front of the army of mind-controlled Crystal Ponies. Rainbow gulped.

-

The Crystal War.

The General princess flicked her arm and swiftly laid out a hoof towards the Crystal Army, indicating for the Equestrian Army to charge at them. The Rock and Guard troops trampled over to meet the Crystal Ponies who were sprinting towards them too. The Air Cavalry bolted up to the sky, as well as the Crystal Air Force.

The 2 armies met with each other, breaking the mere silence as weapons clashed and cries vibrated through the battlefield. The Air Cavalry soared towards the ground and then swooped back up, buzzing ponies off of their hooves. Rainbow Dash reached for her Uzi behind her as she managed to dodge incoming rocks that were being launched at her by the Crystal Army, which she did flawlessly with all the flying practice she had throughout the years. She pulled it out and made sure it was reloaded. Once she checked, she aimed and pulled the trigger. Rainbow sped up as she shot ponies from the Crystal Army 10 meters below her, making sure not to miss anypony in sight. Her aim was almost off because the bangs that came from the Uzi were powerful enough to vibrate Rainbow a bit, but she was strong and tried to keep steady. Rainbow was only looking below and around her, not above her. Suddenly, a few of the Air Force of the Crystal Army's pegasi assaulted Rainbow, impacting her against the ground. This made Rainbow let go of her Uzi and drop it.

Still on the ground, she swiftly turned around to face the ponies who were holding her down with their hooves on top of her, raising a spear. Rainbow zipped out of the ponies' hooves and fly-kicked them, making them pile up on top of each other on the grass. All of a sudden, another pony of the Crystal Army jumped Rainbow grabbing onto her helmet, but she threw them off, causing her helmet to fly off too. Rainbow's determined sweat revealed as a shadowy figure flew over her head. A couple of ponies had climbed one of the mountain's nearby cliffs and pushed a huge rock over Rainbow Dash.

Before Rainbow could do anything, the pink and grey sisters that volunteered along with her back in Canterlot leaped up towards both sides of the rock. These ponies were from the army's Rock Troop division. They dug incredibly fast with their bare hooves on the rock, crushing it to pieces and crumbs before it could hit Rainbow Dash as a whole. The sisters sprung down the smaller pieces of the rock and landed beside the commander, saluting her as she nodded and picked up her Uzi and continued flying.

The war wasn't a pretty sight. Nopony ever thought that Equestria, such a wholesome and what seemed like a sweet home to all, was out taking part in a war. Rainbow flew higher and looked down at the bloody battlefield. A lot of the ponies were unconscious, or even worse, probably dead. Screams continued to erupt as weapons shot, fired, and clanged. The Guard Troopers were on the field, slamming spears and swords towards the Crystal Army's ponies. The Rock Troopers were also on the field, firing humongous boulders and pulverising ponies. A few ponies from the Magic Troopers division were around General Celestia, protecting her and shielding her from anything that could harm her as she was taking Crystal Ponies down herself. Some Magic Troopers were flying using magic or out on the field blasting the Crystal Army. The Air Cavalry was in the sky, firing gunshots at the opposing team, while swooping down and knocking ponies off of their hooves and aggressively landing on them, crushing them to death. The Crystal Ponies were trying to get to Princess Celestia while the Equestrians would try to get to King Sombra, but they miserably failed.

The Crystal Army didn't have troop divisions. All there was was a large group of mind-controlled Crystal Ponies and the Air Force. They were basically doing the same things as the Equestrian Army, desperately trying to have them lose soldiers. Rainbow Dash flew around helping hurt ponies of the Equestrian Army, picking them up weakly with one arm and the other, shooting whatever the Crystal Army did that stood in her way. She would make it safely across the battlefield and to a few ponies of the Magic Troop who would run from the battlefield, taking the injured ponies into the Equestrian Army's hidden camp just about a couple kilometers away. After Rainbow delivered the ponies to get healed, she would get back on the battlefield blasting ponies' wherever. Sometimes Rainbow would shoot them on the leg causing them to trip and fall on the spot, and allowing her to shoot them to kill them. Sometimes she'd shoot them directly on the chest, which after Rainbow would yell "bullseye!". Once or twice she'd blow out their brains perfectly, and Rainbow would do a little dancey dance in the sky before hurling more bullets back on the Crystal Army. She was getting quite the hang of it.

A couple hours passed by and it was the time the gleaming sun was supposed to come out. Princess Celestia, being the Equestrian Army's general, couldn't raise the sun, due to the fact that she was too busy trying to help take down the Crystal Empire. Thus, only the moon shined brightly above the battlefield.

-

Fluttershy's POV

The Crystal War had been kept up for a week now.

I wonder how Dashie is doing... she's got me more worried than ever.

Maybe I should've stayed with her; helped her maybe..?

But though, I already lost my spot in the Air Cavalry, even the Equestrian Army.

Would they change their minds?

All I want to do is to help my best friend. Is that not too much to ask?

I'm stuck here, in Ponyville away from the dreadful battle.

Sewing up combat gear with strong stitches and red pricked hooves.

Harvesting eggs from my chicken coop and taking care of the animals that had to hide away during this terrible time.

Oh how I wished I shouldn't have backed out?

No.

I must stay here.

Ponyville needs me.

But Rainbow Dash...

-

Day 9.

Shoot, these stupid clouds keep getting in my way!

Lightning Dust fumbled her Ak-47 while hiding on top of a cloud, but dropped the bullets.

After cursing under her breath, she took out another pack. What she didn't notice was a navy blue pegasus from the Crystal Army saw the bullets that Lightning Dust had dropped falling to the ground from the corner of his eye. He flew up and saw Lightning Dust, who was well aware somepony would have noticed the falling bullets by now. Fortunately, Lightning Dust had her bullets loaded in on time, and she shot the Crystal Soldier's chest, placing a hole in it and sending him descending from the sky.

Lightning Dust arose from her cloud and moved to another one, trying to get closer as she caught a glimpse from a fight in the air that involved a few pegasi from both the Air Cavalry and Air Force. She figured the Cavalry needed extra hooves and weapons and luckily, Lightning Dust was the right pony. Inserting her Ak-47 back on her back compartment, she pulled out her staff. She stealthily flew up to the Crystal Soldiers and with a few swings, bashed them on their heads, knocking them out and made them fall to their deaths.

Lightning Dust blew the top of her staff and spun it around her hoof. She retracted it and placed it back into her pocket and withdrew her Ak-47. "Thanks for saving our flanks," Blaze nodded towards Lightning Dust as they moved on closer to the ground. Lightning Dust hadn't had a meal in days. She was starving. So she zoomed over to the camp, making sure nopony saw her. She went to a table where all the food was and quickly chomped it down and quenched her thirst with a bottle of water. She rushed out on the battlefield, continuing to fight.

-

Day 67.

The soldiers of both armies soon grew exhausted, and were tired of seeing the dim lighted moon in the sky and feeling the cold breeze dancing on their fur. The fight seemed endless, and they almost felt like surrendering. But the Equestrian Army, (who had only about 750 ponies left) knew that this would mark history. They couldn't just lose, and they were fighting for their land. Rainbow Dash soon wore out her wings from flying 99% of the time since the war. She landed safely on the field and sprinted to a nearby boulder for cover. The boulder beside her was used by Soarin and Spitfire. Spitfire had a AA-52 machine gun and was violently shooting bullets between seconds of each other and blasted a lot of Crystal Soldiers. Soarin had a sniper and was sniping people effortlessly.

Bang!

"SOARIN!!" Spitfire screamed. The greyish blue pegasus lay there behind the rock, with a gunshot bleeding out in the middle of his chest. Rainbow Dash turned to her side to see Spitfire trying to bandage Soarin up.

"Stay with us Soarin," Spitfire breathed, panicked. "Rainbow Dash, take Soarin to the camp, I'll cover you both." Rainbow crawled quickly over to their boulder and carried Soarin over her shoulder and started flapping her wings, even though her right wing kinda burned a little. Spitfire turned back around to shoot the incoming Crystal Soldiers, but was unfortunately shot in the arm. Spitfire let out a small yelp and continued to cover for Rainbow Dash and Soarin, who were close to the camp. Spitfire eventually lost a lot of blood and passed out, bleeding out on the grass.

When Rainbow Dash arrived at the entrance of the camp, she crawled in. She darted towards the camp emergency room filled with beds and placed Soarin on one gently. Soarin's eyes were peacefully shut, and he looked pale. Rainbow Dash frantically looked around the room for a medic and found one. She called the medic over and the medic rushed to the side of Soarin's bed with extra bandages. As she bandaged Soarin up, Soarin twitched in pain and fluttered his eyes open. Rainbow Dash, who was standing near the doorway of the room with welled up tears, saw the life slip away from Soarin's eyes, as she saw Soarin whisper under his breath.

I love you, Rainbow Dash. Thank you.

And after that, he took his last breath.

Rainbow Dash let out a sad sigh and returned to the battlefield. She found Spitfire in a pool of blood and rushed her to the medic as well, but she realized it was too late, and the medic covered Soarin and Spitfire with silky sheets, marking her clipboard with their times of deaths. When Rainbow continued to fight in the battlefield, it was raining hard, causing her mane and fur to get soggy and wet.

Rainbow thought she had to try harder than ever to win this battle.

-

6 Months Later

The fight still kept going on, and it seemed like it wasn't going to stop anytime soon. The Equestrian Army and the Crystal Army were losing ponies, and now they were down to about 300 ponies. Many attempts of ponies charging at Celestia and Sombra failed in brutal ways.

Rainbow Dash flew and held out her front hooves and positioned them towards a group of Crystal ponies. With a few swings, she knocked a couple out. One though, got back up on his hooves and laid a firm punch on Rainbow's stomach in return. Rainbow hadn't eaten in days so it hurt more than it was supposed to, and she grunted in pain. This was satisfaction to the Crystal soldier and he came at her by throwing hooves. Rainbow was alert however and dodged and blocked them. She retrieved her spear and ended the soldier's life with one swift lunge. The Crystal pony dropped dead. Rainbow breathed in and flew upwards into the sky. She also hadn't slept in what seemed like days too and her eyelids were struggling to stay open. She flew about 50 feet up in the air and searched around for the pegasi from the Crystal Air Force that she could take down. Instead, she spotted Lightning Dust.

"How much ponies have you killed?" Lightning Dust flew over and tilted her head slightly, observing the drained pegasus.

"About at least 50 maybe, heh," Rainbow looked down and scratched the back of her head. "When is this war gonna sto-"

"WATCH OUT!!" Lightning Dust flew over Rainbow Dash and behind her. Rainbow turned around and noticed her sworn enemy had sacrificed her life to save hers. Lightning Dust came plummeting towards the ground.

Rainbow gasped as she bolted through the clouds and chased after Lightning Dust, who had been shot by a faraway sniper in the abdomen. When she had finally caught up with her just a couple seconds above the ground, she snatched her and swooped upwards and towards the camp. Bullets were being fired at Rainbow Dash, but she went in zig-zag patterns in the sky to mess up their aim. She eventually got shot though, on her hind leg.

"OW!" Rainbow squeaked through gritted teeth.

At last, they've finally made it in the camp. Rainbow set Lightning Dust down on a bed as a nurse came over.

"Ooh, this looks quite bad," the nurse tutted, examining Lightning Dust's stomach area. "She's got a low chance of being able to survive.

Lightning Dust yelped in pain as the nurse treated her wound. She peeked over at Rainbow Dash, who had a worried look on her face.

"Why did you sacrifice yourself for me....?" Rainbow whispered, with her hoof on her heart.

"Look Rainbow Dash, we might go way back but I'm not that predictable," Lightning Dust rolled her eyes. "You're really brave, and you gotta win this war."

"Pfft, you really switched up, huh?" Rainbow nudged Lightning Dust's shoulder. "Thanks though. Even if you almost made me lose half my face."

"I didn't mean to hurt you that much, and when Spitfire asked, I saw it as a great opportunity. I took advantage of you getting hurt, and I'm sorry," Lightning Dust sighed, shrugging. "You better get back out there ASAP and kick some major rump! Not me telling you what to do even if YOU'RE the commander."

"You sure you'll be okay?" Rainbow lilted as the nurse wrapped a bandage around her hoof.

"Won't let you down, Commander."

Lightning Dust saluted weakly as Rainbow flew out of the camp, and back in the battlefield, as usual.

-

A week has passed.

"Take that!" Rainbow gloated as she uppercutted a soldier of the Crystal Air Force, causing him to have a nosebleed. She kicked more tail than usual, because she was feeling motivated that they could win the war. The battlefield was still pretty loud but the shouts finally quieted just a tad. She made a brisk fly out of the battlefield and over to the camp to retrieve some water. She ran into the pink and grey pony who saved her life on the first day of the war.

"Commander Rainbow Dash," the pink one saluted. "Glad to see you're still alive, haha!"

"Yeah, I just came to grab some water," Rainbow nodded, grabbing a water bottle with her wing and popped open the cap with her teeth. "Thanks for saving me a few months ago by the way, what are your names? I feel like I've seen you around before."

"My name's Pinkie Pie and this is my sister Maud," Pinkie introduced as her sister came up to them. "We both live in Ponyville."

"Oh, you're that crazy good caterer that works at Sugarcube Corner, right?"

"Yeah, that's her," Maud said in monotony. Pinkie Pie shook her head up and down.

"Maud and I were gonna try going after Sombra," Pinkie explained. "You seemed pretty powerful out there, so would you wanna... come help us?"

Rainbow looked to the side. She thought it'd be dangerous, but she was up for it. "Sure."

"Okay, here's the plan.." Pinkie huddled excitedly with Maud and Rainbow Dash.

-

Ponyville

Fluttershy was tired of being cooped up in a farm called Sweet Apple Acres, where they were making extra combat gear and harvesting/cooking food. She had befriended a pony named Rarity, who was also making combat gear.

"When will this ever stop?" Rarity whined. Her friends knew her for being quite a drama queen.

"Ooh, I don't think my hooves can stitch more gear..." Fluttershy muttered as she wiped her forehead. "I hope the war will be over soon."

"You and me both, Sugarcube," an orange earth pony with a strong country accent sighed as she walked over to the table Fluttershy and Rarity were working on and handed them a couple slices of apple pie.

Fluttershy and Rarity shoved their sewing things to the side and took a bite out of their pies.

"Where do you want these boxes, ma'am?" A yellow pony approached, looking at the boxes on her back.

"Just outside on the truck to get hauled, Carrot Top," the cowgirl instructed.

"You guys are familiar with Rainbow Dash, right?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, she's the commander in the war apparently, and I haven't heard from her since."

"You mean that lazy, muddy, obnoxious pegasus? Well yes dear, I've heard of her," Rarity answered, tossing her mane.

"Obnoxious?! Oh my, don't you think that's a bit harsh?" Fluttershy said surprised and twiddled her hooves.

"No, that fits her description just fine," the orange pony nodded her head in agreement. "That pony's always restin' in my apple trees!"

Fluttershy silently exhaled and took another bite out of her pie. She felt quite concerned about her best friend. She hoped to see her soon.

-

Scootaloo sat on the highest point in Ponyville and stared up at the sky. It was still dark, of course, since the sun hadn't been up for a long time. She got quite used to it and kinda loved it, oh how the wind blew through her short mane and gets the grass shuffling on the bottom of her rump. The trees swaying side to side and the owls' hoots echoing faraway. There was nobody to guide the night at that time, not even Celestia. Her sister was the princess of the night but got banished about 1000 years ago. The moon shined overhead and gleamed upon Equestria.

"Scootaloo?" A filly's voice erupted from behind her.

Scootaloo turned her head. "Oh, hey, Apple Bloom!" She greeted.

"Yeah, hey. Whatcha doin'?" Apple Bloom sat down beside her friend.

"Just spending some time with the night, that's all," Scootaloo replied, looking down on Ponyville. It was... quiet. "What about you, what are you doing up here?"

"Ah came to find you to ask about the war, and ah knew you'd be here. AppleJack's too busy to be talking to me right now."

"Oh, yeah. It's not over yet, that's all I know. I hope Equestria wins soon, and I just wanna see Rainbow Dash come home safely.."

Apple Bloom sat in silence, thinking of what else to say. Scootaloo fell back on the ground lying down. "Woah, look at that!" She gazed in awe as she pointed up to a shooting star.

Apple Bloom tilted her head up and watched the star zoom by. "Ah really like this hill now," she smiled and flopped on her back.

Scootaloo grinned and tried to find more stars in the sky. Instead, she could only see gorgeous grey clouds. "Hey, that cloud looks like you!"

"Where??"

"Up there." The cloud had a pony shaped head and puffy hair, along with a faint shape of what seemed to look like Apple Bloom's hair bow.

"Oh yeah, it kinda does look like me!" They both giggled.

Apple Bloom's ears perked up. "Apple Bloom, where in Equestria are you? It's yer curfew!" She heard someone call.

"That would be AppleJack," Apple Bloom said sheepishly as she stood on her hooves. She dusted the dirt off her tail and began going. "Gotta go, Scootaloo, see ya tomorrow!"

"Bye, Apple Bloom!"

The Next Day

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Maud all set hoof on the battlefield.

"Hit the deck!" Rainbow yelled as a rock came flying towards them. Luckily, they all ducked in time.

"Okay, just as we planned," Pinkie directed.

Rainbow floated above the ground and started flying forward, leading Pinkie Pie and Maud towards King Sombra, who was a few 1000 meters away. Rainbow sped up as the earth ponies who were following her sprinted. Ponies of the Crystal Army set sight on the trio heading for King Sombra and acted.

The Crystal soldiers surrounding them placed their spears at an angle towards Rainbow Dash and charged. Rainbow pulled out her Uzi and shot all around her.

"C'mon, we can make it!" She told the sisters and accelerated.

"There's too much of them," Maud mentioned. "Pinkie and I will hold them back and catch up with you, Commander Dash."

Pinkie Pie and Maud stopped running and turned around. They backed up against each other and held out their fists as the about 20 ponies jumped towards them. Pinkie gave a swift jab and punctured one's side, and continued to throw hooves at an atrocious speed. Maud swung her hooves around, hitting ponies on their faces. They've only knocked out a few, and kept going.

Rainbow Dash seemed alone. Well, except the fact that there were about 30 ponies chasing after her, she was flying by herself. She was way too fast for the Crystal Air Force to keep up with her, but still they tried. When Rainbow turned her head and saw them catching up, she beat her wings faster, flying up and down to avoid bullets being fired at her. Some ended up being shot from the Air Cavalry, but a few were still up, trying to catch up to Rainbow Dash.

"Get the commander!" One of them demanded.

Rainbow thought a bit. She came up with a brilliant idea and turned around, shooting the pegasi behind her. Most of them fell to the ground, except one, who was extremely ticked off and kept chasing after her. It was the commander.

"I've gotcha now, Rainbow Dash," he smirked.

"Hah, well think again!" Rainbow briskly pulled out her spear and swung it 360⁰. The Crystal pony ducked and kicked Rainbow Dash in the stomach. Rainbow thrusted her spear a few times but missed, as the other commander tried to grab hold of her.

"I could do this all day," he mocked.

"Lucky for you, there's more where that came from!" Rainbow Dash caught the commander off guard and stabbed him, impaling his neck. Rainbow let the pony slide off her spear brutally and he fell to his bloody death.

Rainbow tried to shake off the extra blood off her spear and kept it in her hooves just in case. She started flying upwards and leaned forward to increase her speed. She flapped her wings harder and left her signature rainbow trail behind. King Sombra happened to see Rainbow from afar and sent a few of the Air Force to take care of her.

A few pegasi from the Air Cavalry were behind Rainbow, trying to attack the pegasi of the Air Force who were heading towards Rainbow. She swooped down after she saw the ponies of the Air Force getting closer right in front of her, and the Cavalry and the Force collided with each other in the air. Rainbow Dash looked up and saw pegasi from both armies killing each other. She got out of there as fast as she could.

Rainbow squinted her eyes and spotted King Sombra standing on a mountaintop, waiting for her. He had a devilish grin plastered on his face.

Rainbow feared nothing. She was the bravest pony she'd ever known, and she's not gonna start being a coward today. Her speed accelerated as she flew her way up the mountains, clutching her spear close to her. Her ears fell back due to the speed she was going and the wind was nipping at her rear hooves. She was almost there.

Rainbow Dash.

"C'mon... almost there..." Rainbow told herself through gritted teeth.

Rainbow Dash!

She was ready.

RAINBOW DASH!!

She made it.

RAINBOW DASH!!!

Thud.

Fight The Fear

"Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow slightly opened her eyes, but couldn't fully because of the blinding light above her head. Where am I? She thought to herself. She sat straight up and examined her surroundings, concluding that she was back in the camp.

Rainbow turned her head to face a blurred pink pony. "She's awake, she's awake!"

"Pinkie...Pie? How did I get here?" Rainbow muttered, scratching her head.

"I tried to call your name while you were flying to King Sombra. I was actually a few feet near you, climbing up my grappling hook as fast as I can," Pinkie explained, using her hooves. "My Pinkie sense told me that you were gonna get ambushed, and you did! I guess you passed out so Maud and I carried you back safe and sound. Except not, because your wings are still pretty damaged."

After processing what Pinkie Pie had said, Rainbow gasped and tried to check her wings. Instead of 2 of her real original wings, there was only one; the other replaced by a metal prosthetic.

"What happened to my wing?" Rainbow asked aloud.

"Pierced. By a spear," Maud answered.

"Oh," Rainbow cringed just thinking about it.

"Woah, what happened to you?" A familiar voice sounded.

Rainbow turned to see Lightning Dust in the bed next to her. "Lightning Dust... You're alive?"

"Yeah, duh, I'll be out there pretty soon though," Lightning Dust chuckled. "Pinkie and Maud told me about the 'take down King Sombra' plan so yeah."

"Oh, sweet. Need all the help we can get," Rainbow replied, hoof bumping Lightning Dust.

"The nurse said you're gonna be fine Rainbow, but try to stay off your wing if possible, it's still healing but luckily it didn't hit one of your wing bones."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's get to it!" Rainbow cheered.

-

Lightning Dust, Pinkie Pie and Maud set hoof on the hill above the battlefield and turned to face the commander standing between them. Rainbow took out her Uzi and made sure it was filled to the max. Lightning Dust had her Ak-47 in hoof, and Maud and Pinkie had their spears.

"C'MON!" Rainbow yelled, giving them the signal as they ran towards the battlefield. Ponies from both the Crystal and Equestrian War were too caught up in fighting each other, but only some noticed Rainbow Dash and acted.

"There, the commander!" A Crystal soldier pointed, alerting 5 others. The group of trampling ponies rumbled the ground beneath their hooves as they went after Rainbow with their spears.

Rainbow held out her Uzi and killed 4 of them, but one managed to dodge the incoming bullets. Enraged, he sped up and got his spear ready facing Rainbow. With one pull of the trigger, Lightning Dust shot the soldier at his hooves, then making sure he was dead by aiming at his head and firing one more bullet.

The team of 4 kept making their way through the battlefield, taking down ponies around them as they headed towards Sombra.

Soon, they were 75 meters away.

"WE GOT THE GENERAL!" A pony shouted triumphantly.

"GENERAL CELESTIA!!" A few ponies cried.

Rainbow turned her head and saw the princess, surrounded by ponies from both sides, with a bleeding hole in the middle of her neck. Her expression was lifeless; oh those pink half-open eyes. There was no doubt she was dead.

"No. We need to go back!" Rainbow yelled. "We need to help the princess!"

"Commander.. She's gone.." Pinkie had to let her know for sure.

Rainbow turned her head back around and forced her tears back into her eyes. "A-Alright. Let's win this war."

"That's the Rainbow Dash I know," Lightning Dust winked. Rainbow smiled weakly and trotted up the hill faster. Sombra was there, waiting for her. He evilly grinned as more ponies from his army ran towards them, aimed at Rainbow Dash.

"Lightning Dust!" Rainbow yelled. Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash took out their guns and fired wherever, hoping to hit all of the Crystal soldiers. When Rainbow accidentally fired Maud, Maud had no expression whatsoever.

"Uh. Maud..?"

"Boulder saved me." Maud pulled her pet pebble out of her pocket where the bullet was fired and slowly smiled. Maud and Pinkie held out their spears and swung and stabbed the incoming ponies. Lightning Dust, Pinkie and Maud Pie and the commander looked unstoppable and they were. They surprisingly took down Sombra's ambush army and now, climbing up the final steps of the mountain... they made it.

"King Sombra." Rainbow echoed at the top of the mountain with a determined look on her face.

"Commander Rainbow Dash," the tyrant bellowed. "I've been waiting for you. You won't win this war."

"Try telling that to the spear, buster!" Pinkie jumped forward and thrusted her spear into Sombra's chest.

Sombra looked at where the spear pierced him and looked back at Pinkie with terrifying eyes. "Did you really think that'll do anything?" He gently smirked. He used a hoof and threw Pinkie Pie to the Rainbow, knocking over the others.

"Now lemme guess." Sombra held his head up and walked slowly towards the ponies. "You're here to stop me? Oh, so selfish. Your princess is dead and did you pay any attention?" He held up Rainbow's chin. Sombra put his famous purple dome over the ponies and gave them... fear.

-

"W-Where am I?" Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes and looked around. It was nighttime in the Everfree forest. "I'm... back home? But how?!" She saw light and tried to run towards it, but the forest felt like a void and tried to suck her in. Once she got close enough to see where the light was coming from, she called out. "FLUTTERSHY! Open up! Did I win the war?!"

Fluttershy was outside, tending to her flowers. She turned around to face Rainbow Dash, who was fighting the forest. Rainbow ran faster until she couldn't run anymore and fell in front of Fluttershy.

"You disappointed everyone," Fluttershy gently whispered, but gradually started yelling. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO LOSE THE WAR? NOW EQUESTRIA IS DONE FOR. FOREVER."

Rainbow looked up fearfully and scooted away from Fluttershy, who seemed to be filled with rage; she was flying, summoning her birds and animals, and commanded them to go after Rainbow Dash. Rainbow realized she had both her real wings and flew out of Fluttershy's presence, heading back up into the air and on a cold cloud. She caught her breath and cried. She looked down with disappointment in herself and watched as her tears formed a puddle on the cloud before it sunk into it and fell to the ground.

White elegant hooves appeared in front of her and she carefully looked up.

"Princess Celestia? You're alive!" She hugged her. Celestia took a deep breath and looked at the moon.

"No," Celestia sighed. "I am long gone. But I have used the last of my remaining powers to tell you something."

Realization hit Rainbow as she pulled away from the princess. "Is this a dream?"

"It is Sombra's dark magic. He made it look like you failed, but trust me, you are so very close to the end. It will happen. Soon."

"What'll happen?"

"I can't predict the future." Celestia lowered her head to look at Rainbow. "You need to win over Equestria. And stop the king."

The last of Rainbow's tears fell and she looked to the side. "What if I don't-"

Celestia caressed Rainbow's face before hugging her. "I believe in you. Fight the fear."

Wind sounded from below as the world of fear began to crumple up and disappear. Celestia flew up and reflected herself upon Rainbow, her voice bellowing. "FIGHT THE FEAR!"

Celestia withered up into dust and surrendered to the wind. Rainbow knew what she had to do.

-

"Taking Equestria back is what the princess would've wanted," Rainbow scowled, her eyes green and misted with tears. She jumped to her hooves. "And we're gonna do just that!" She swung her spear and knocked Sombra off his hooves. Sombra growled and pulled out his own spear and went after Rainbow.

Pinkie, Maud, and Lightning Dust awoke from their fears.

"Guys! HELP!" Rainbow called out to them.

Pinkie and Maud pulled out their spears and pinned King Sombra to the ground, while Lightning Dust shot off his horn.

"GET OFF ME!" Sombra strained. "I have a country to take over!"

"Heh. Too late for that, buddy." Rainbow smirked and plunged the spear into Sombra's brain, darkness soothing out and the shadows leaving him. Sombra's physical form crumpled up and rotted right then and there.

Lightning Dust gasped, her eyes wide. "Did... Did we just beat Sombra?"

"Well that was way easier than I thought!" Pinkie spinned her spear on her hoof and placed it back on her back. They all stared at Rainbow, who was in shock.

"We... we really did it."

"THE COMMANDER KILLED SOMBRA!" Ponies shouted from below as they looked up the mountain. Unfortunately, Maud saw the darkness from King Sombra fit itself inside the Crystal Soldiers' helmets, making them much more powerful.

"We have to retreat!" Maud shouted.

"Why?"

"LOOK!" Maud pointed off the mountain and saw that the Crystal Soldiers were taking more of the Equestrian Army down. Rainbow seeing Fleetfoot die was it for her. She just can't risk losing anymore.

"Call it, Rainbow!" Lightning Dust pleaded. "Say it!!"

Rainbow took a deep breath and hesitated. Her army was in a bigger risk but she didn't wanna stop. She made her final decision.

"RETREAT!!"

Her voice bounced off the edges of the mountain as the Equestrian Army heard, screamed, turned around and made their way out of the battlefield, with the Crystal Army in hot pursuit. Suddenly, a group of ponies from the Crystal Army climbed up the mountain insanely fast and chased Rainbow.

Rainbow pulled out her Uzi and shot a few, missing some, and taking down some again, until she had no more bullets left.

"We got you!" Pinkie shrieked as she ran in a straight line, piercing through the Crystal Soldiers and stacking them on her spear. Maud followed her sister in the same technique and killed a few too. Lightning Dust shot at some, but more kept coming. Pinkie Pie eventually got thrown off the mountain and Maud dove after her. "PINKIE!"

Rainbow gasped and didn't know what to do. Lightning Dust was fighting all she could, and she was doing it. Rainbow looked at her hooves and charged at some, punching and kicking with all her might. Once it looked like there were none left, they settled down and breathed like they'd just run 1000 miles.

Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust sprinted over to the edge of the mountain and tried to spot the Maud sisters. Rainbow saw them and pointed. Maud was wailing at the bottom of the mountain, holding her pale baby sister, who was covered in blood. Maud's voice rang so loud that it alerted soldiers nearby and shot her. Rainbow couldn't look away. She was enraged and filled with tears.

Lightning Dust sighed and turned around. She squinted her eyes and saw in a faraway mountain, there was a Crystal pony with a sniper.

He was aiming at Rainbow Dash's head.

"Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash, LOOK OUT!"

Rainbow slowly turned her head at Lightning Dust and back at to where Lightning Dust was pointing. Before either of them could make a move, the sniper fired.