Author's Note

I know it's been a long while since I last posted and I'm sorry. Life has been in the way along with a bout of writer's block.

Sound the Bugle

Twilight was restless, sitting at the window of the room she had been given. The stories she heard earlier were still floating through her thoughts, making her open the window and let in a cool, strong breeze to try to clear her head. It wasn’t helping.

Hearing what had happened to Zephyr’s sister and Rainbow’s parents had been bad, but expected. Twilight had heard plenty of stories from Spike about this and that… but he’d never talked about the consequences, not in detail… now she knew why he never told her about the aftershocks.

Trixie told her story next, revealing that her mother had been just your average sky pirate that found love in a whirlwind fight against a captain and his crew. The ship they were on had been passed down to Trixie after a raid went wrong. Apparently the ship they had attacked had a single Particle Annihilator Core powering the whole thing and a fault or stray shot had sent the generator into a meltdown.

The sailors had simply started to talk. Sharing stories on the wind as sailors do. The action, something bordering on normalcy to pass the time. Tempest had grown up in a small flotilla called Vanhoover, and as far as she knew her parents were still living there. When she was old enough, Tempest bought a shuttle for her birthday and took her friends out on a flight. Disaster struck as the shuttle was attacked by a creature from The Storm, killing Tempest’s friends and breaking her horn before the unicorn was able to kill the Storm Creature herself. She floated on the creature’s corpse for a couple days before Rainbow found and rescued her. Tempest had been a loyal crew member since then.

Their stories made her realize that she had everything handed to her. Compared to them, her own struggles seemed... insignificant. A brother and parents that loved her, another she considered a brother came from her test to become Celestia’s student. The toughest thing she ever had to do was gather evidence against those that were stealing from Canterlot, and that wasn’t more than snooping around some.

A voice broke through her thoughts, floating on the breeze. It took Twilight a few moments to recognize that it was Rainbow Dash singing, “Sound the Bugle now, play it just for me...”

Why is she...? Twilight thought, confused as Rainbow continued.

“As the seasons change, remember how I used to be.”

Her eyes widened as she realized this wasn’t something she should be hearing, that Rainbow thought she was the only one awake. The tears were audible in her tone, her attempts at song to comfort herself choking between memories. I can’t even imagine what she’s going through, and she’s hiding how much it’s hurting her from everyone....

“Now I can't go on, I can't even start. I got nothing left, just an empty heart...”

“I don’t like the sound of this...” Twilight muttered to herself.

“I'm a soldier, wounded so I must give up the fight. There's nothing more for me, lead me away... Or leave me lying here.”

Twilight’s ears folded back and she grimaced. I need to do something....

“Sound the bugle now, tell them I don't care. There's not a road I know that leads to anywhere... Without a light, I fear that I will stumble in the dark. Lay right down, decide not to go on...”

Another voice barely reached Twilight, singing, “Then from on high, somewhere in the distance. There's a voice that calls-”

Acting quickly, Twilight stuck her head out of her window and loudly sang, “Remember who you are! If you lose yourself, your courage soon will follow.” Some bond of emotion struck out at her, and her voice lowered, “So be strong tonight, remember who you are...”

A short pause filled with only Twilight’s heart in her throat, and the second voice continued. Now with her head poking out of the window, Twilight recognized Tempest’s voice, clear as day. “You’re a soldier now, fighting in a battle, to be free once more.”

Twilight couldn’t make out the rest of what was said. She pulled her head back inside and sat, her thoughts a whirl of nothing conclusive. After a few more minutes a knock came from her door.

Opening the door, Twilight saw Rainbow standing there, looking just as awkward as Twilight felt intruding on the moment. Tempest right behind her with an unreadable expression.

“Hey, can we come in?” Rainbow asked, rubbing her right front hoof against her left foreleg.

Twilight didn’t quite know how to answer that. She stepped back from the door and made space for them to enter as she stared. Being head bosun didn’t prepare me for this…

“So…” Rainbow looked around, anywhere except Twilight, “You heard all that huh?”

“Y-yeah...” Twilight sighed and sat down on the bed. “I don’t know how... that affected you, but I couldn’t just stay quiet. I’ve heard plenty of stories and tragedies, but...”

“It’s never been so close before,” Tempest spoke up, glancing at the door and deciding to close it.

Twilight nodded, looking down at the floor. “Yeah, and hearing your pasts... it feels like I don’t belong.”

“It’s not about ‘belonging’.” Tempest almost irritably corrected.

“Yeah- you stuck with us. That was a choice, not something that you were born into.” Rainbow shrugged, “That makes you okay in my books.”

Looking at Rainbow, Twilight started to say something only to be interrupted by Tempest, “Don’t. You think yourself lesser because you’ve had a cushy, happy life after hearing about us. I’m actually glad that you don’t know how we feel. That you haven’t lost anyone.”

“I agree,” Rainbow said, still looking awkward. “I don’t know about Zeph or Trixie, but it’s... comforting, that you’re here?” She sighs and shakes her head. “I’m really bad at this sort of stuff.”

Twilight chuckled, “I don’t think I know anyone that’s good at this aside from Celestia herself, but she’s had centuries.”

“Yeah... Still, I’d rather you were here instead of heading back to Canterlot.” Rainbow moved over and sat next to Twilight, putting an arm around her withers.

Before they could say anything else, the ship was rocked by an explosion and the last thing Twilight saw was a beam from the ceiling heading straight for her.