Scintilla (Go the distance)

“You could’ve done that back in Tayne, you know?”.

“Shut up”.

Rainbow rolled her eyes as Indar bandaged his wounded hind leg. He acclaimed that due to the adrenaline from the chase and the alcohol he drank, he hadn’t really felt it (or he may have forgotten he was hurt in the first place), but now, a day after they left the walled town, the Stallion woke up to a nasty injury that was nagging him and slowing him down. Rainbow, for her part, was playing with the hawk while Indar took care of his business.

“What’s his name, by the way?” She casually asked.

“What?” The cartographer directed his attention towards the pegasus. “Oh, Clingy”. Indar finished wrapping up his leg and stood up.

“Seriously? Wow, you’re terrible at naming pets” Rainbow casually commented as she let Clingy fly to her back, and started walking ahead. Indar quickly catched up to her and walked beside her. “But you’re also terrible at making friends so I’m not surprised”.

“He’s not my pet” He said, deciding to ignore her comment, and by the looks of Rainbow’s doubtful glare, he supposed the pegasus didn’t believe him. “He’s not! Clingy is a free bird, he’s just been pestering me ever since I met him, and he won’t leave. So I call him Clingy, ‘cause that’s what he is”. As the stallion buffed, Clingy shortly screeched in protest.

“Ha! Sounds like you just upset him” Rainbow snickered, walking ahead of him.

“Shut up”.

The pegasus chuckled, and when Indar catched up to her again, Rainbow stuck her tongue out in mockery. It may have been childish, but when was she anything but? The pegasus remembered her pink friend’s philosophy. After all, a bit of fun won’t harm anypony.

“Since yesterday we ran almost the entire way, it should probably be a good six to seven hours before we get to Hellburn. We’re making good time” The cartographer thought out loud, and then he addressed Rainbow. “Remember, we just need supplies for the trip to Nabia, no dilly-dallying, we have enough trouble as it is”.

Rainbow scorned. “Hey, don’t look at me, you’re the one who got in trouble with this Nortus guy”.

“His name is Nohrrus” Indar corrected her. “And… Well, yeah, you got a point. BUT we gotta make sure we don’t get into even more trouble”.

Clingy flapped his wings and started to hover in the air alongside them. As Rainbow rolled her eyes at the stallion, she saw it fit to join the hawk in the air, at least then she would not have to deal with two nuisances along the way. She couldn’t do anything about Indar, unfortunately, he carried the saddlebags.

“Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?” He called to them urgently, looking around.

“Uh, flying?” Rainbow said, in obviousness.

“I can see that. Now, get down!” He demanded.

“You can’t tell me what to do”. The pegasus flapped her wings even harder, raising little clouds of sand to annoy him.

Indar coughed. “Get down!” He coughed again. “This is what I mean with ‘more trouble’!”.

“All I hear is a bunch of pointless blah blah blah”. Rainbow mimicked him. “Why can’t I just fly us to the next town?” She asked. “It would be soooo much faster, and we would avoid all this” the rainbow-maned mare gestured to the sand. Stupid sand.

Indar stopped in his tracks at the question, looking flabbergasted. Was she serious? “Do you want to get killed?” he genuinely asked her. “If so, then be my guest, but you having wings is a big enough problem as it is, and now that I’m wanted by Nohrrus... I’m just saying that’s not a very safe combo”.

Rainbow groaned. “But why is it such a problem that I’m a pegasus?” She questioned him, tired of his secrecy. “Do you have something against pegasi? All the time you keep going on about keeping my wings a secret and the dangers of me being a pegasus but you never say why! Why should I listen to you when you don’t give me a reason to?”.

Indar studied her exasperation in thoughtful silence, he seemed to be choosing his next words carefully. The only explanation he could think of for her lack of caution would be… Suddenly, as if a lightbulb turned on above his head, he realised something. “You don’t know, do you?” He said more than he asked, in his eyes Rainbow saw the faintest hint of emotion.

“Come on! What do I not know?”.

“You don’t know…” He repeated, sighing. “Look, some creatures can be… ”. The stallion wavered. “Some creatures can be real racist, especially around here. So it’s for the best if we keep you being a pegasus a secret, at least until we get to Nabia” Indar looked to the sand, avoiding her unreadable face, as if he were embarrassed of saying that.

Rainbow didn’t say anything for a while, she just looked ahead in the direction they were following to get to the next neighbouring town. That might explain the questionable looks she received in Tayne, and Randall’s reaction to her mentioning an airshow, but there was still something bothering her, however, she didn’t know what exactly it was.

“Do you know why?” She asked, without turning back.

“No, not really” He honestly admitted.

Rainbow recalled her interactions with the residents of Tayne. Yes, the walled town creeped her out, and almost every creature there was elusive and distant towards her, but those with whom she spoke were nice enough. Randall, ‘cuz Jack and even that crooked old pawnbroker were willing to help her (in their dubious, rather speculative and reserved ways). Then she thought about the day she met Rook, and how kind he was despite her scepticism of him.

They didn’t need to do that, but they did. They did it just because they could. None of them had anything to gain from helping her, so why did they?. Rook knew full well she was a pegasus and he still pointed her in the right direction and gifted her with a canteen of water and his ruana when she was about to die of thirst and insolation. Randall still guided her to the right place when nopony wanted to talk to her. ‘Cuz Jack put his neck on the line and warned them about Nohrrus’ plans – granted, she was there by chance and he was talking to Indar, but he still helped and even sided with her. The pawnbroker advised her on safeguarding her belongings, and was as honest as can be when he still could’ve scammed her.

Then, her train of thought went to her friends. How would they react? Rainbow was sure Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity would have a few things to say, Twilight would mostly be disappointed, since racism is scarce in Equestria – although that is not to say that it doesn’t exist. Their good friend Zecora could vouch for that –, but Fluttershy… Fluttershy always saw the good in the bad, no matter how minimal it was. Her friend stood up for kindness whenever she deemed necessary, despite all odds…

The pegasus contemplated the horizon in silence, and everything Indar could do was to just wait. He waited for her response, to know what this self-assured character of a mare had to say about the reality she now faced. He waited for what felt like hours until she was ready.

“It’s okay” Rainbow started, as she looked back at him and smiled widely. “Even if there is a world that hates pegasi like me, I don’t hate this world just yet. There are still some kind creatures out there. After all, circumstances may change if I’m willing to try”.

Indar frowned, thinking it through, but ultimately said nothing further.

“But still, racism is not okay, there’s never a good reason to hate on any race, and we shouldn't let it slide. That’s poo” Rainbow side-commented. “When did it start?”.

“I’m not entirely sure when, but it’s been like that for a long time, almost centuries” He answered.

“Indar, I wanna ask you something” The rainbow-maned mare landed on warm sand and got closer to him, she tried to lighten up the mood but the question she was about to ask next was a question that needed to be asked, and both of them knew that. Magenta and vivid orange met in what seemed like an everlasting gaze, a battlefield where honesty and trust ruled the combat with the sharpest of details. “Do you hate pegasi?”.

“No” Indar sincerely answered, repulsed by the notion of hating on ponies he never even met. “I have no reason to hate any creature, although I do hate some specific creatures like Nohrrus, and the shopkeeper that won’t lower the price of carrots”.

Rainbow chuckled, then she chuckled again, and soon it turned into a wholehearted laugh. Indar found her laugh contagious and laughed with her – That was the first time he laughed in what seemed like forever.

“Let’s go” Rainbow called, as she walked again and the stallion followed, although when he saw her unfold her wings and start hovering in the air again, he did not reprimand her like he thought he would. Seeing as there was no creature around – and probably there would not be for a good amount of time – he saw no issue with letting her fly nearby to her heart's content.

After all, a bit of fun won’t harm anypony.

The Xatir Group was all Tegur knew. It was all he ever wanted to know. The Minotaur only knew how to do certain things with his life, and the Xatir Group allowed him to do them freely. Some of those things were often frowned upon in any other place, but as long as he was one of the three-- two faces of the Xatir Group, no creature could tell him anything without paying the price.

And talking about things he liked to know and paying the price…

“Where is he?!”. Tegur punched his ‘new friend’ in the face for what was probably the umpteenth time this morning. His disfigured face was draining blood and turning purple under all that fur, most certainly. Ant the Minotaur knew for a fact he had fractured bone a few hits ago.

Since removing the claws didn’t work, taking some of his teeth out didn’t work, and cutting off his tail also didn’t work, Tegur could only do so much to keep his ‘friend’ alive until he told him-- “Where’s Indar?!”. Another punch below the jaw.

Nohrrus watched the scene unfold from the corner, camouflaging within the shadows of their barely lit ‘special’ room. They’ve been at this since yesterday, and he was starting to lose his patience. He inhaled his cigarette once more before stepping in.

“Alright, alright, give him a chance to answer” He said, putting a hand on top of Tegur’s shoulder before he could lay another punch. Tegur brushed him off, but among the few things he knew was to listen to Nohrrus when he said something. “I’ll take care of this” Nohrrus inhaled the last of his cigarette and leaned over to see their ‘friend’ eye to eye. “I understand ya don’t say much, but ya said enough when ya warned him. Y’know…” his hand held the stub to the open wound formed in their guest of honour’s face, burning the flesh and therefore putting out the cigarette. “I meant it when I said ‘whoever sides with him, will also be dealt with’”.

Tegur paced the length of their ‘special’ room while he awaited anything. Up until this point the ‘play date’ had been fruitless, so he was getting restless. Nevermind his bruised knuckles or the scratches covering almost his entire face, he wanted answers, and to find the damned pony who killed Veonu and rip his fuckin’ limbs off-- He was getting ahead of himself.

“Look here, pal” Nohrrus kept talking. “We already kinda know where our friend Indar is goin’, but what we need is confirmation, like any other logical creature would” Nohrrus straightened, somehow appearing even taller than he already was, and circled the chair holding their ‘friend’, and reasoned out loud. “Nabia is the only ‘safe’ place on the continent for him to run off to, I’m thinkin’ he’s planning to go on a boat and run off out of our territory, but our goal is to catch him before he does”. The Minotaur stopped behind the chair and situated his burning hands on the shoulders of their guest of honour, and whispered into his ears. “The thing we need your confirmation on is the rumour circlin’ around. They say he’s got a friend, a very prismatic, very light on her hooves friend. You wouldn’t happen to know anything ‘bout that, would ya?”.

Tegur listened in closely, since it was his job to keep their guest entertained, Nohrrus took care of figuring out shit. This was the first time he was hearing of this.

“No? Nothin’?” The Minotaur sighed. “I gotta give it to ya, your loyalty’s somethin’ to behold. If only you were truly a friend of ours, we would’ve keep ya safe”. Nohrrus looked over to his associate and nodded, going back into the vision field of their special guest, then, as if he were told he just won the lottery, he smiled showing all his teeth, receiving his pick from Tegur. “Oh well, toodles!".

Swing!

Jack’s head fell to the ground.

“Let’s drop this on the southern gate and get goin’”.

The path to Hellburn had been awfully uneventful thus far, but to Indar’s expert knowledge that could only mean something would happen sooner rather than later.

He’d been mostly silent throughout the trip to the neighbouring town, only partially responding to any of Rainbow’s side comments or remarks about whatever crossed her mind at the moment. She was a chatter, that much he figured out, but at least she didn’t tear his ears off with endless conversation. He appreciated that.

Clingy, on the other side, seemed to enjoy flying with her, the Hawk liked to fly all the time. Ever since he met him, Clingy would spend hours just circling Indar in the air and flying wherever they went, and now that Rainbow expressed her passion for flying as well, she and Clingy hadn’t stepped hoof nor claw in the sand for hours.

As much as he hated to admit it, Indar was glad that Clingy had somepony to freely accompany him on the air.

“And then I’d do a loop-de-loop for the grand finale – that’s how I’d get more momentum – to zap through the skies and finally do an awesome Sonic Raimboom!” Rainbow elaborated, mimicking the tricks she would do in a real life scenario. Clingy imitated her as much as he could without getting dizzy. “I only did it twice before, but now that I have, I’m sure I can polish my technique to do it again on command!”.

“Sounds reckless” Indar commented.

“Sounds awesome!”. Clingy supported her statement by screeching in approval, and the pegasus smiled victorious. “See? Clingy understands”.

The stallion rolled his eyes. “What is a ‘Sonic Rainboom’, anyway?”. Upon hearing this, Rainbow Dash gasped loudly and looked aghast, drawing his attention and making Indar stop walking. “What?”.

“You need to get out more” Rainbow said. “A Sonic Rainboom is my signature move!” She smiled cockily. “It’s a supersonic explosion that happens when I break the sound barrier while flying, it also makes a pretty cool rainbow in the process”.

“Yeah, right. No creature can fly that fast” Indar buffed.

Rainbow frowned. “That’s why it was considered a pony legend up until I did it when I was a filly in flight camp” She affirmed. “And I did it again last spring during the ‘Best Young Flyers’ Competition”.

Now it was Indar’s turn to look at her with scepticism. The sound speed was around 761 miles per hour, and if any other pegasus were to fly at that speed whichever the circumstances, they would most certainly break their wings in the process due to the force of impact, after all, Pegasi had hollow bones. And even if Rainbow could perform this ‘Sonic Rainboom’ as an adult, she said she first accomplished the feat when she was a filly, now that’s impossible, otherwise she would have broken her wings, crashed and squashed into the ground like mashed tomatoes. So, seeing as she was here alive and breathing, Indar determined that that was pure-- “Bullshit”.

“What?”.

“That’s bullshit” He repeated. “It’s impossible, you’d be dead”.

“It’s not!”.

“It is!”.

“Nah-huh! I’ll show ya!”.

As Rainbow prepared to ascend into the troposphere, Indar grabbed her tail with his mouth and stopped her before she even had a chance to. “Don’t be stupid, you’ll just die, and I’ll be damned if I have to carry your squashed body to Hellburn”.

“You’re stupid!” Rainbow flapped her tail and kicked him in the face with her back hoof. “And let go of me!”.

“You’re stupid!” Indar bickered in retaliation. “You’re the one who wants to become rainbow pulp!”.

“I won’t! And I’ll show you I can do it!” Rainbow flew upwards into the sky, but was soon dragged back to the sand. Although this time, Indar wasn’t the one to stop her, instead she was wrapped in metal chains with heavy weights on the ends that forbade her to fly, or even unfold her wings again. “Hey! What gives?”.

“Rainbow Dash!” Indar screamed, running towards her.

“Well, well, well, thought I’d never see ya again, sleepin’ beauty! Ya broke my heart when ya left!”. Both Rainbow and Indar – who was trying to untangle her from the chains – Glanced in the direction the voice was coming from. Then, Rainbow groaned. “Good thing we was prepared!”.

As the Bandits showed themselves from the top of a dune, Indar tried to free the pegasus from the chains faster. “You okay?” He asked her, removing the final chain.

“Yeah” Rainbow stood up, and meanwhile Clingy set himself on her back, she addressed the unicorn leading the guild. “Aye! You’re gonna buy me a drink now?!”.

“You have my sword?!”.

The pegasus laughed nervously. “Sorry, I needed the money!” She said, rubbing a hoof on her nape, then she took one of the chains and raised it up in the air. “Hey, these look fancy too! Did you get these just for me?!”.

“Only the best for ya, sugar!”.

“Rainbow Dash” Indar whispered, drawing her attention from the bandits. “Stop playing around and let’s get outta here”.

“Aw, but I was starting to have fun” Rainbow complained. “Hey, how much do you think these chains are worth?” Upon Indar’s glare, the rainbow-maned mare rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay, I’m done-- Aye!” She called to the bandits. “It was nice to see ya again but we have to go soooo…!”.

“I’m afraid that ain’t possible!” The unicorn exclaimed, and he directed the rest of the bandits closer to the pair. “You see, sleepin’ beauty, you sold my sword, so now there ain’t no way in hell I’m lettin’ ya go!”.

“Fuck…” Indar murmured under his breath.

“And-- Oh!” The unicorn stopped dead in his tracks, examining what was in front of him, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. “No fuckin’ way… is that-- Indar?” He asked, directing himself to the stallion. When the pony eluded his gaze, that only helped to confirm his suspicions. “My, oh my, oh my! It is Indar! We thought you was gone for good!”.

Rainbow, confused, glanced at the dark stallion with a questioning look in her eyes, expecting an answer – although, knowing him, she won’t get one –. Indar avoided looking into anypony’s eyes.

“What, you don’t know?” The unicorn this time addressed Rainbow Dash, noticing her concern. “He--”.

“Leave her outta this, Shalab”.

The pegasus looked back and forth between both stallions, she then looked at Clingy hoping he may know what was going on, but the bird just blankly stared back in silence.

“Ah, c’mon, Indy. This is a joyful reunion!”.

Rainbow chuckled. “‘Indy’?”.

“Shut up-- ”.

“Woah, woah, woah!” The unicorn – Shalab – stopped Indar. “That ain’t no way to treat yer fillyfriend”.

“I’m not his fillyfriend!”.

“She’s not my fillyfriend!”.

Shalab appeared to take pleasure in their embarrassment, since he did not acknowledge them in the slightest. “As I was sayin’, this is a joyful reunion!” the unicorn directed his words to the bandits behind him. “We get double the reward! We have our sleepin’ beauty--” He pointed at Rainbow Dash. “And a spineless deadweight!” He pointed at Indar. “What to do, what to do~ ?”.

As Shalab turned around, something in the corner of Rainbow’s eye caught her attention. Far in the distance, and to be more specific in the same direction they were heading, there was an enormous brown cloud approaching the group. It didn’t make any noise as it advanced towards them, but the breeze caught up to her before it did anypony – being a weather mare and a skilled flyer made her susceptible to the slight changes in the air –, it still seemed a bit far, but the intensity and denseness of the could could only indicate that it was a sandstorm.

“I guess what we can do is start by takin’ what’s ours” The unicorn said, stepping in closer to Rainbow Dash, and as she frowned at him, he glanced at her neck. “Eye for an eye, sugar”.

“Like hay” the pegasus said. “You’ll have to catch up to me again, first”.

“Say what, prin--” Before Shalab could finish his question, Rainbow headbutted him in the face, making him step back. The Pegasus then threw the chains at the unicorn, hoping they might buy her a bit of time.

The chains executed their job – albeit not completely –, and Rainbow raised up in the air. Indar took her attack as her sign to sprint behind her.

Everything would’ve gone smoothly, if it were not for the rest of the bandits being prepared for her sudden aerial escape. More chains enveloped Dash as she dropped to the ground once more; at her side, Indar’s body also fell victim to the weapons.

“Ya think that’ll work on us twice?” Shalab asked, holding the chains she had thrown at him with his magic. “Sorry to disappoint, sugar”.

“I had to try” Rainbow said. She wasn’t giving up just yet, there had to be something else she could do, but what?

The pegasus wiggled around to try and loosen up the chains, but it was fruitless. A pair of hooves took the other ends of the chains and some pony started to drag her through the sand. She kicked and wiggled some more, and in a last attempt to free herself, she started to roll around, but the chains would not come undone.

Rainbow looked to Indar, who laid on the ground unmoving. “Hey!” She called to him, but he would not respond. “Indar!” Rainbow kicked a particular hoof that touched her knee.

The stallion had not moved, not even when the bandits started to drag him as well, nor when one of them stepped on his head, forcing his muzzle into the sand. Rainbow doubted he could breathe. "Eat sand, you traitor!" One of them said. "You should've died with yer mother!". Another stallion started to punch him in the back. Hard.

"Stop it, you'll kill him!".

“Don’t sweat it, sugar” Shalab leaned over to talk to Rainbow Dash as she watched the bandits keep on punching, hitting and kicking the unmoving stallion. “Dead or alive, he’s just a spineless deadweight”. The rainbow-maned mare jerked her head at the proximity, but she could only do so much with the chains restraining her every move. "He ain't worth nothin'".

“He’s not a spineless deadweight!” She yelled, hoping Indar would hear her. Shalab drew a hoof to the back of her neckline, grasping ever so slightly the ends of the element of loyalty. Rainbow tried to jerk her neck again. She couldn’t let him take it. She wouldn’t let him take it.

Rainbow expected to feel Shalab taking the element at any moment now, but that moment never came. Instead, she could only hear the exalted yells from the unicorn. Rainbow turned around as much as she could, only to see Clingy assaulting Shalab's face with his claws. Her eyes widened in surprise, the rainbow-maned mare could only guess the pain he must be in, but she had no time to preoccupy herself with such matters, she had shackles to loosen up.

The pegasus wiggled some more and rolled over just as Clingy took his sweet time with being a worthwhile distraction. It took her several tries, but soon she could undo one of the chains wrapping her up, and when one of them came undone, the rest would surely follow.

Shalab battled with the hawk to get him out of his face, the rest of the bandits tried to intervene but Clingy was too clever for them, at any given moment a bandit managed to grasp one of his feathers, the hawk would release the unicorn, assault his next victim, and then go back to the leader of the bandits. Clingy repeated the same process a few times more until Rainbow managed to release herself from the chains.

The pegasus took a chain in her mouth and ran to Indar, whose face was still being pushed to the sand. She launched the chain to the bandits that were stifling him like a whip, and the weight on the ends managed to trap them together. Rainbow Dash jumped in the air and kicked them both out of the way. "Come on, come on!" She called, helping free the stallion. Rainbow took off the chains one by one, using them to entangle anypony that came close to them. Granted, to free the stallion was an easier feat than to free herself, since she had full mobility of her body now. "Get up, come on!" Once free of the restraints, Rainbow took Indar by the shoulders and shook him up. "We gotta go!".

He coughed. "Wha--".

Rainbow slapped him in the face, they had no time for this. "Shut up and snap out of it, idiot!" She chastised him, pressing both her hooves on his cheeks. "There's a sandstorm coming, I can fly us over it!".

"RAAH!" A bandit approached them, and Rainbow turned her attention to them. She held one of the chains in her mouth and waited for them to get closer, and when they did, she trapped him within the metal bonds.

"I'll carry you if I have to!" She yelled at the stallion, who was trying to refocus his gaze. Another one of the bandits tried to attack her from behind, but Rainbow saw his shadow and kicked him with her back hooves right on the face, sending him to sleep. She ought to apologise to AJ for stealing her move.

The mare ready herself to carry Indar on her back, if he did not move on his own, there was nothing left for her to do except get creative. She took one of his hooves on her own and started to raise him, but the stallion was heavier than expected. "Damn, what was in those bottles..." She muttered, yet Rainbow had no time to continue, for three bandits ran towards them. She sighed. "Honestly, you all won't let a girl take a break". The rainbow-maned mare let go of Indar and heard him drop to the ground again, and she took the last chain with her mouth. "This better work". She thought.

In a swift motion, Rainbow raised the irons and threw them when the three ponies came close enough, catching them all up in the shackles. "Woohoo! Score!".

As the pegasus got back to Indar, she saw him stand up with a pained yet inexplicable look in his eyes. She did not question it, but she was glad he was starting to look alive again. Rainbow made a mental note to ask him later when they had the time.

"The sandstorm..." He said, punching one of the bandits that tried a sneak attack in the guts and then hitting him again on the face. Clingy came back to them and hovered in the air, and as Rainbow took another chain and threw it towards a pair of earth ponies approaching, he spoke. "We'll go through it" The dark stallion accommodated the cloak he was wearing to properly cover him. Rainbow nodded, making sure the element was still pressed against her neck.

Both ponies ran towards the approaching sandstorm, Clingy hot on their trail, and so were the bandits.

As the pair sprinted forward, the stallion got closer to Rainbow Dash. "It'll get darker the deeper we go, so stay close!" He forewarned, to which the pegasus nodded. Indar whistled a quick note to the hawk, and soon after Clingy landed in his back and clung to his cloak. "Try to keep your mouth close!".

The sandstorm had gotten close very fast, and Rainbow had to crane her neck upwards to the ginormous sand cloud in order to see the top, it was like a huge wall that forbade entry to any and all travelers on it's path, but not even that would stop them.

As the sandstorm gobbled them up in one fell swoop, everything went dead silent. Both ponies kept running but no sound could be heard, only the resound of the winds and sand. Rainbow looked behind them at the remaining bandits that did not fall prisoners of the chains, there were at least five or six plus Shalab – who looked very angry and wounded. That was going to leave a scar for sure –. "It'll pass in a few minutes, but we have to move quickly!" Despite the urgency in Indar's voice, his yell could only be heard as a whisper, as if he were miles away. "Dash! Stay close!".

Rainbow did what she was told, running by his side and trying to not lose sight of him. The strong winds and the sand blowing in her face were vastly different than when she would fly through a regular storm, this was harsh, extremely dry, and it felt like somepony was rubbing coarse sandpaper through her exposed body. Whereas, when flying through a regular storm, Rainbow would usually have to deal with the heavy raindrops and the random gusts of wind that would try to set her off course, but that was what made it fun: the challenge. But this?, this was torture.

The pair ran in a straight line, the light around them was starting to dim, if she wasn't aware of the circumstances and the time, she would have thought that night arrived several hours early. Rainbow placed a wing on top of Indar's back in an attempt to stick together, but she also did it to cover Clingy from the blasting sand, she knew how rough these kinds of winds were on one's feathers.

The pegasus looked back to see if they were still being followed by the bandits, but alas, they were not. The storm may have been too harsh on them – given their open wounds, courtesy of Clingy –, or maybe they couldn't let the rest of their guild behind. Whichever it was, Rainbow was glad to have lost them yet again.

Rainbow Dash and Indar soon reached the heart of the storm, and everything went dark. If it were not for her wing on his back, they would've lost each other. Everything was silent, not even the strong winds made a sound, or maybe they were so loud she tuned them out, it didn't matter to her right now, the only thing she wanted was to get out of this storm.

The sand in her eyes made it hard to keep them open, she squinted and shook her head in order to try and get rid of it, but to no avail, so she kept them shut and used Indar as her guide pony. The winds were too strong and it felt as if her face was ripping itself apart. Her wing was no better, since she kept it on his back, the sand clashing against the appendage was ripping and breaking her exposed feathers.

Just as soon as the sandstorm arrived, it went away. Rainbow Dash and Indar reached the other end in a matter of minutes, but a lot can happen in a matter of minutes. She was glad the deafening silence brought by the storm was starting to dim out, but her wing and the exposed parts of her body were aching, and she could feel the scratches left by the uninterrupted powerful gusts of sand.

The pegasus opened her eyes again and teared up a little. It got clearer by the minute, and as they reached the very end of the sandstorm, the air suddenly felt like a gift from Celestia and Luna themselves. Both Rainbow and Indar came to a stop, taking deep breaths and coughing. It's not like they held their breaths back in the sandstorm, but every intake of air inside it hurt their nostrils.

Indar looked to Rainbow to see how she was holding up, he doubted the pegasus had ever gone inside a sandstorm in her life. Her eyes were teary, and she had scratches all over her, her mane was windswept and even more tangled than it had been before, and her wing, feathers broken and in disarray, and harbouring a few droplets of blood, spasmed every few seconds. A part of him wanted to reprimand her for taking her wing out and damaging it greatly, it looked fucked up, but then he saw why she had it pressed against his back; she had been protecting Clingy.

The stallion took a few more breaths, he seemed to be thinking on what to say, but could not find the words, so he opted to say nothing more than what was necessary. "We-- We should go". He stammered.

"Yeah". Rainbow nodded in response, but she did not take her wing from his back. Indar didn't really seem to care, he could only imagine how much pain she must have been in right now, so he let her keep it there and they started walking again. Hellburn was just an hour away now, and the Sandstorm provided their pursuers would be staying put for a while, but they had to move fast.

"Once you feel up to it, we start to run again" He announced. "We're close, but we gotta be fast".

"Yeah" Rainbow nodded again.

"Yeah" Indar also nodded.

The rest of the journey to Hellburn was spent in silence.