9 - Last Chances

Outside Zecora's hut, Applejack sat down next to a disgruntled Rainbow Dash. “Well, I've been yapping on about what's been going on in Ponyville without given you so much as a chance to talk; what about you? How's life with the famous Wonderbolts?

“Please,” begged Rainbow “Don't talk to me about the Wonderbolts. Ask me about anything except the Wonderbolts.”

“...All right... so Rainbow Dash, what have you been doing this last year?”

“...Nothing.”

“Nothin?”

“Nothing.”

A few awkward moments passed as both ponies inspected their hooves before Applejack tried again. “If you don't mind me sayin',” she said a little cautiously, “Seems to me that you have a bit of a thing for this Storm fella Shining Armor swapped bodies with.”

Was it really that obvious? Fine, it’s not like there was much point in denying it. Rainbow had spent the last year lying about how she felt about almost everything to everypony, it might feel good to tell an old friend the truth for once. She didn't know if what she felt for Storm 'love', (they had only been together for a couple hours after all,) but she had a crush on him the size of Cloudsdale. “I guess a little” she admitted.

“And for a while there, I was almost starten to believe all those stories of you filly foolen around in Canterlot.” smiled Applejack giving her a playful nudge, “Hope it works out for you, I mean, I hope getting involved with one Ranger doesn’t get you involved in the whole Ranger business.”

“Well what would be wrong with getting involved with the Rangers and what they do?” asked Rainbow indignantly. “I mean, someone’s got to do it, right?”

Before Applejack could answer, the Wonderbolts who had been standing a distance off began trotting towards them, with Lightning Streak in the lead, “Hey Dash, can we ask you about something?”

“Shoot,” offered Rainbow.

“Are dragons born really big and then get smaller as they get older, or are they born small and then get big?”

Applejack snickered “Dragons born big and then shrink? Now what would give ya'll a crazy idea like that.”

“Emperor Spike told us.” volunteered Rapidfire

“Emperor Spike?” asked Applejack bewildered.

“Well he used to be the Dragon Emperor, but then he got deposed in this vicious palace coup. All his supporters were killed and so he's hiding out in Ponyville with his unicorn assistant while he plans his re-ascension of his rightful throne.”

“Really?” chuckled Applejack. “I reckon the little guys just having some fun with ya's. He turned eleven last month; trust me, he thanked for the basket that I gave him about thirteen times.”

“But how long have you known him?” High Winds challenged, “Maybe he is really old but just told everyone he was young to avoid attracting attention.”

“Firstly, if that were the case, then why'd he tell you? Secondly, I've only known him for about three years, but Twilight's known him his whole life. She hatched him after all.”

“WHAT!!!” Rapidfire's jaw hit the ground followed closely by the rest of him. “The purple unicorn is his mother!?! As in; she made a nest and laid an egg and sat on it until he hatched!? …Whose the father!??!?”

“It wasn't like that” groaned Rainbow, “Dragons don't take care of their eggs, they just leave them lying around. Ponies pick them up and send them off to Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. Whenever a unicorn wants to join the school they need to cast a spell to hatch one of the eggs as an entrance exam. If they succeed and the dragon hatches, he or she becomes the student's personal assistant. Twilight hatched Spike when she joined the school eleven years ago. Spike was tiny when he was born and since then has been slowly growing and will continue grow for a long time.”

“Oh, that is so cool!” shouted Surprise, “Hey I know! We should all get baby dragon assistants too!”

“That's a great idea!” squealed Misty, “We could train them to be a cheer-leading squad and they could dance at our shows.”

“Can we get dragon assistant’s too Dash?” asked Soarin', trotting on the spot and slobbering in excitement, “Can we? Can we? Huh? Huh? Huh?”

Were they serious? Soarin’ was barely competent enough to take care of those pet rocks he collected. “I don't think so; Celestia seems to want to keep all the dragon eggs for her students. I doubt she'd let us have dragons just for fun.”

“Maybe we can ask for pet dragons as a reward for saving Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.” Suggested Fleetfoot.

“I'll think about it,” answered Dash coldly.

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!” everypony turned to see a yellow filly jumping up and down in excitement. “The red pony wasn't lying, the Wonderbolts really are here!”

“What are you doing all the way out here Apple Bloom?” asked Applejack sounding concerned and almost hostile.

“I was visiten Zecora.  What are you doen with the Wonderbolts?”

“I don't want you coming into this forest ever again, do you hear? Not without me or another big pony.”

“But I am a big pony” Apple Bloom insisted, “And yu know that I've been coming to visit Zecora for a long time now and you haven't complained before. Why are the Wonderbolts here?”

“Well not anymore.” declared Applejack, “If you really wanna see Zecora come and ask me or Big Macintoch and we'll take you if we can. Otherwise this forest is off limits from here on out.”

Rainbow slid between the sisters before the looming argument blossomed into Apple Bloom being grounded. “I didn't know you were a Wonderbolt fan Apple Bloom.”

Apple Bloom nodded furiously, “Are you kidding? I might not have been that much of a fan back when you lived in Ponyville; but after you joined up with the Wonderbolts, Scootaloo kept on showen me and Sweetie Bell all her Wonderbolt stuff. At first we both thought it was silly, but then we saw just how really cool you guys are. Now I've got all your tradin' cards and all your comic books from seasons one and two and when season three comes out the Cutie Mark Crusaders are all gonna get em and read em together.”

“She's a real fan alright.” confirmed Applejack, “Had me set up her room with your posters and Wonderbolt bedsheets and everythin' for her last birthday.”

“Oh, oh and since we got tired of waiten for the third season to come out; we've started writing our own comic book about yas!” Ah yes the fan fictions. If it was anything like the other fan fiction comics Rainbow had read about herself, it was probably about ten times cooler then the official comic books in print. Ever since the first installments of the Wonderbolt comics had come out, fans from all over Equestria had been writing their own; bizarrely often containing; better stories, better songs, and sometimes even better animation than the original series. All the stories were completely made up of course; unlike Trixie, not even the Wonderbolts had ever even tried to pretend that they went on wild adventures between shows (it’s like they’d have time), but the visage of fearless adventurers the books portrayed still rubbed off on their public image.

“A fan fic eh? What's the story?”

“Well, it start at the next Grand Galloping Gala where there's a big contest to see which set of performers can put on the best show. You and the Wonderbolts do great, but you only come in second.”

“We lose?”

“Ya... sorry about that.”

“Who to?”

“An OC we invented named Ekips. He's a dragon who was going to be a traveling magician, but Sweetie Bell wanted to make him a musical as well, so he's got this magic harp that he plays to cast spells. Oh, and he's the only creature alive to have survived preformen the world's most dangerous card trick! That's what he uses to beat you with at the Gala.”

“...Alright.”

“At first you and the Wonderbolts don't like Ekips cause he beat yas, but then you all become really good friends. But then he gets kidnapped by this really evil Alicorn Princess and so the Wonderbolts need to go fight her to get him back.”

How much would Rainbow pay one of her writers for making a story like this? A thousand bits maybe? Why not just fire her entire staff of producers and start paying some of the kids who were already doing a better job for free. “So do we all slay the princess and save the dragon?” she asked with a smile.

“Yea; but Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo are arguen about how it should end; Sweetie Bell wants there to have been a singen unicorn  who was at the Gala and took third place right behind the Wonderbolts that comes with you to rescue Ekips and those two end up falling in love and becomen' a preformen' duo. Scootaloo thinks that that's too predictable and wants a surprise enden where Ekips turns out to be a giant magic chicken."

Rainbow laughed, more out of concern than amusement, but Apple Bloom didn't seem to notice; "I think you'd better go with Sweetie Bell's idea," Apple Bloom nodded, and Rainbow Dash changed the topic before she could comment anymore about Scootaloo and 'chickens', "So... if you're such a big fan, how many times have you been to one of our shows?”

“Welll... I've never really been to one of your shows. But Big Mac says that if I'm good, he'll take me to the Hearths Warming Eve performance when it's half price.”

“Hearths Warming Eve?” asked Rainbow “That's months away. Why not right now?” Looking around, Rainbow took quick stock of the glade; white barked trees that grew straight and tall without any low hanging branches, wide open spaces the perform the more complicated stunts, plenty of light, a small lush hill for the Apple sisters to watch from. This would be almost perfect for a small show! “Wonderbolts assemble!” she cried, and felt pride and hope wheal up inside her as it took only a few seconds for her team to line up in a perfect row. “We're going to do the Star Trot for this little filly here. Spitfire, you take High Winds and Wave Chill and form the base. Lightning Streak, Blaze, you've got the stunts. I'll take the lead with Silver Lining and Surprise as my wingponies. Everypony else, you know what to do.”

The Star Trot was perfect for the space they had; it was a personal favorite of Dash since it had been the first real routine she ever choreographed, lasted only lasted a few minutes so it wouldn't wear them out, but had never once failed to revive a standing ovation. Dash jumped ten feet in the air and hovered there for a moment, expecting her Wonderbolts to follow her, but to her dismay they just stood there looking dumbly at her. “Come on, what are you waiting for!?” she asked, even though she regrettably already knew the answer. She'd seen that look on their faces before.

“Um, why are we doing the Star Trot?” asked Fire Streak after a few moments of awkward silence.

Dash dropped back to the ground to face her crew, doing her best to imitate Fluttershy's menacing stare, as she draped one hoof around Apple Bloom and pulled her to her side. “This little filly is the sister of one of my best friends from before I became a Wonderbolt; she's a HUGE Wonderbolt fan but has never seen us in a live performance. We aren’t doing anything at the moment and so were going to give her a performance that she is never going to forget.

“We're doing a show for one filly?” asked Misty in surprise.

“We did the show for Diamond Tiara's party a couple days ago,” Dash growled, redoubling her efforts to do the stare, “There was only about twenty or thirty ponies there and you didn't complain.”

“Does this filly have three hundred thousand bits?” Fire Streak asked dryly.

Dash felt Apple Bloom go stiff when she heard how much a private show with the Wonderbolts usually cost. Dash knew there was no way the Apples could ever afford that, but it didn't matter; Applejack was her friend, Apple Bloom was Scootaloo's friend, and even if they weren’t, for a appreciative fan who couldn't afford a ticked, Dash would have happily preformed for free. She would have... the Wonderbolts wouldn't.

How could they? How could they stand there and shatter a tiny filly's heart, and talk about her like she wasn't even there? Dash knew that they were always like that behind closed doors but they NEVER acted like that in front of the fans. Maybe some fans just weren’t worth pretending for. Dash resisted the urge to beat Fire Streak into the dirt, grit her teeth and forced herself to breath. “Alright” she said, “Do the Star Trot and I might ask Celestia about getting one baby dragon to share between you.”

The Wonderbolts looked at each other and for a moment Dash thought she might have reached a compromise until High Winds asked the next question, “What color?”

“I don't know!” yelled Dash covering her ears with her hooves. “Just forget it! I'm going to go and fly whether the rest of you do or not. Anypony who wants to fly with me that's great. The rest of you, do what you want!”

Dash shrugged off her saddlebags and launched into a frantic series of loops, dives and barrel rolls, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her mind off of the pathetic creatures beneath her that called themselves the Wonderbolts. In the end, Spitfire and Wave Chill were the only ones that bothered to help her, Surprise came in for a few plays, but dropped out when she saw that the rest of the herd weren’t coming.

Of all the performances that Dash had done recently, this one meant the most to her, and it was by far the worst. Her timing was off, her maneuvers were sloppy, and without any decided upon script, she, Spitfire and Wave Chill lacked any trace of harmony, and each mistake only broke her concentration further making her performance deteriorate even more. Dash could imagine what she must have looked like from the ground, and knew she had seen better performances from Soarin' when he was drunk then what she was doing right now.

Dash didn't know how long she scribbled through the air, but after what seemed like an eternity of lameness, she realized she was the only Wonderbolt still in flight. Heaving with disgust Dash finally let herself drop onto the dirt, breathing heavily. Her... 'performance' did not merit a bow, there was no applause. With considerable effort Dash forced herself to make eye contact with Apple Bloom, seeing everything she expected and feared; confusion, disbelief, maybe even a hint of worry, but most of all... disappointment. The dream had died; maybe it was for the best.

“Was that... it?” asked Apple Bloom after a agonizingly painful wait. “Cause that was... well-”

“Now Apple Bloom” cut in before her sister said what they both were thinking, “Rainbow Dash is a great flier, the best, she's just not acten' herself today.” Applejack turned to Dash with genuine concern written across her face, “Are you OK sugarcube?”

Dash didn't know what to say. She wanted to pretend that that had all been a joke and then give the performance of her life, but her wings refused. She wanted to go bury her head in the dirt and scream in defeat, but that didn't seem like a good idea either. Instead she just stood there, looking like a fool and a leader of fools. “I'm just... that was-” she stammered, but her tongue was even less cooperative then her wings had been.

“Perhaps the mare, just needs to rest; before she can fly at her best. But the time has passed for you to roam, come Apple Bloom, I will take you home.”

From out of nowhere Zecora had appeared in their midst. Apple Bloom looked at Zecora, then at the Wonderbolts, then to AJ and finally towards Zecora's hut. “What's going on here?” she asked suddenly, “Why are the Wonderbolts really here? Why has Rainbow Dash forgotten how to fly? Who was that red pony?”

“You don't need to know” answered Applejack quickly, “Now be a good girl and go home with Zecora.”

“And what are you gonna do?” the filly retorted looking around at the strange gathering, “Every pony has their saddlebags on like they're goen someplace; and look they've got our apples.” Apple Bloom pointed to an apple core Rapidfire had left on the ground. “You’re goen on an adventure with the Wonderbolts, arn't you? Where are you goen?”

Rainbow knew Applejack wouldn't want to lie to Apple Bloom, but neither could she tell her the truth, so Rainbow decided to help her out. “Well you know how the Wonderbolts acted so mean before?” Apple Bloom nodded, “Well that’s because they've all been put under a curse by an evil enchantress that's made them lose their brains their hearts and their courage. But there's a good wizard who lives in the forest who’s able to make them all cool again, and so we're off to see the wizard!”

Apple Bloom's eyes widened in amazement, “Is that what happened to them?”

“Eeyup; and I just found out now that the spell took away my flying skills as well, so that's why I sucked so bad before.” This was a good save. It vindicated her and the Wonderbolts, gave the illusion they were doing something cool, and explained their presence in the forest. Rainbow mentally gave herself a high-hoof.

“If you’re under a curse y’all should talk to Zecora. She's got cures for everythin.”

“This is a special kind of curse, and it can only be broken by the wizard in the forest.”

“I ain't never heard of this wizard. What's his name?”

“His name? ...Awesome. His name is Awesome, but he prefers Awes for short; so ponies call him the Radical Wizard of Awes! He's the only one who can make the Wonderbolts awesome again, because... he's so awesome.”

Apple Bloom scrutinized Rainbow's story for several moments and then looked to her sister in confusion, “Is she tellin' the truth?”

Applejack smiled but shook her head. “I don't think so, though she might have been sayen somethen right about them Wonderbolts.”

“Then why are you going?” insisted Apple Bloom, “And don't lie, I'll know.”

“Your sister's judgment you should trust, and come with me without a fuss” chided Zecora as she began prodding Apple Bloom along with one hoof.

“No” she stamped. “I wanna know what's really goin' on.”

“You beat my patience as though like a drum. Our time wears thin and so now you must come.” Zecora reached forwards to pick Apple Bloom off the ground but Applejack placed a hoof on Zecora's.

“I'll talk to her” Zecora gave Applejack a concerned glance but released Apple Bloom and stood back. Applejack placed both front hooves on her sisters shoulders and looked her in the eye. “Apple Bloom listen to me. I might be close to finden out what really happened to our parents.”

“Is Awes gonna tell you?”

“I dunno, but one way or another I'm gonna find out the truth.”

“Then ahm coming too!”

“No you ain't! You're goin' back to the farm with Zecora right now!”

“But-”

“No buts! Your leaving now and that's final! You can walk with Zecora or she can carry you. It's your choice.”

“I... I'll walk” Apple Bloom finally conceded in defeat.

“Then come along and let’s make haste, lest more time we come to waste” said Zecora as she started down the path to Ponyville. Apple Bloom gave Applejack a quick hug and then trotted off after Zecora. Applejack watched them leave with a grave expression on her face, “She'll try to follow us” she said a cold certainty.

“Zecora seems like a responsible mare,” comforted Rainbow, “Don't worry.”

“She's a slippery one that filly. I hope your right Rainbow Dash, cause if she gets away and comes after us, after what Shining Armor said about the forest...” Applejack couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, and neither could Rainbow.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Storm had been sleeping peacefully, having a wonderful dream about something he couldn't quite remember when he heard what sounded like Cadance's voice calling to him from a long way off. He tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, but then felt something hot dab against his mouth. He licked his lips and his taste buds sang with something like sweet lemons. Storm opened his eyes first to see Cadance crouching to one side of him, and then to a bowl of some sort of tea she was levitating in front of him.

“Try to drink this” she offered compassionately, “It will make your throat feel better.”

Realizing how parched he was, Storm opened his mouth and Cadance carefully lifted the bowl to his lips which he drank down in thirsty gulps. It was good, very good, Storm didn't know he could make this with the supplies he had, (then again, it had been years since he had viewed food for more than it’s nutritional value). The warm sweet tea flowed over his tongue and down his throat, soothing the terrible pain that had made every word before then an agony. A small drip of tea dripped down his chin and almost onto his hoof but Cadance noticed it and gently wiped it away with a cloth.

With the bowl emptied, he looked over to Cadance to thank her, surprised to see her eyes were moist with tears. At first he thought she was just upset to see him in the condition he was in, but she didn't seem sad at all, she looked... happy. Storm wasn't sure, but he thought he remembered that some ponies cried when they were happy as well as sad. It seemed strange that opposite emotions should cause the same response, but then, Storm had little interest in understanding emotion aside from how to block it. He knew that Rangers who were prone to strong emotion usually didn't last long in the forest, while Rangers who didn't feel much emotion lived. What good was it to love another pony anyways? Eventually one of you would die, and caring just made it painful for the survivor.  Besides, what reason did Cadance have to be happy? She was stuck in a one-room house, deep in the forest with a fake fiancé. She was probably just too stupid to realize the danger she was in and yet... was it possible that simply thinking she was with somepony she loved, and helping him when he needed her most, was enough for this simpleminded mare to feel glad?

Storm finished the tea and the empty bowl floated back to the bench. Not feeling his voice was fully ready to try and talk, Storm smiled at her in thanks. Cadance replied with a wordless answer of her own, a kiss, placed gingerly to his disfigured cheek. This wasn't right. Sooner or later she was going to find out he wasn't Shining Armor, and the longer she remained deluded, the worse she would feel when she learned the truth. But what would she do if he told her? She would almost certainly be less inclined to care for him, knowing he was a stranger; but she'd probably care enough about Shining Armor's body that she wouldn't just let him die. What if she tried to leave the burrow to search for her missing fiancé?

Storm tried to forget about Cadance and go back to sleep but his conscience wouldn't let him rest. He had made far too many mistakes already, adding any more guilt to his burden would make it even more unbearable. So long as he could convey some measure of her need to remain in the burrow, and so long as she was still willing to keep him alive, it would be better for her to know the truth and be upset then to frolic on in blissful ignorance. “Cadance” whispered Storm, finding his throat was already improved. Cadance had been on the far side of the room, examining Storm's inventory of supplies, but immediately came and knelt down beside him with her ear close to his mouth. “I'm not who you think I am... I'm not Shining Armor-” was all he got out before Cadance gently placed her hoof over his mouth.

“Shhh.” she cooed gently “Yes you are. You've been through a lot, but don't worry, I'm going to look after you. You'll get better, you'll remember who you are... and who I am. I promise.” Storm felt too tired to try and argue, at least he had tried. Cadance gently nuzzled his neck and then lay down next to him again. Wrapping him once more in her wing, she began singing softly as Storm fell back to sleep.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Rainbow and Applejack sat next to each other, silently, until the door to Zecora's hut opened to reveal two unicorns. Ordinarily, Rainbow would have noticed the belt fastened around Twilight's girth, studded with deadly knives, or been curious about the dozens of clay pots tied to rope harnesses that hovered in the air, but it was the other unicorn that came out who caught Rainbow's attention.

He seemed taller than Storm had been clad nose to tail in a suit of armor. Against the foliage surrounding Zecora's hut it seemed to blend in, as though its wearer had become one with the bark; but when he moved into the sun it was as though the armor was alive with fire. Two wicked retractable spikes protruded out from the chest piece, looking as though they wanted to impale an entire army on their razor sharp peaks, near the shoulder there were several small sockets on either side, holding contraptions that looking like fireworks, and on his back were the scabbards of two massive swords. If Rainbow had thought Storm looked stunning without his armor, now he was... was... Twilight's brother, engaged, and a total douche.

“Gather the Wonderbolts” ordered Shining Armor when he and Twilight had joined Rainbow and AJ, “We'll go over the plan once in detail and then move out.”

“Tell the plan to me and then I'll pass in onto them.” Rainbow interjected, “I'll be able to translate it from military lingo to Wonderbolt lingo and things will go faster.”

Shining Armor paused, and Rainbow could imagine him scrunching up his face under his helmet, but he didn't object. “There's no 'one size fits all' when it comes to field dressings, so we have a variety of remedies for different injuries. The pots are color coded so remember what you have, if Twilight or I call for a medicine you're carrying, get there quick. The smaller jars are for throwing. Each jar has several compartments filled with different chemicals, when the jar breaks the chemicals will mix, creating a gas cloud that will disrupt the magic changelings use to shape shift and terrmorongers use to create illusions.”

“So their tricks won't work if they're in the gas cloud?” asked Applejack.

“Precisely,” Shining Armor picked out eight jars and hoofed them to Applejack, then turned to Rainbow Dash. “Can you divide these among the Wonderbolts?” he asked indicating the rest of the pile.

“But what about you and Twi” interjected Applejack, “You aint saven any of these for yourselves.”

“That's alright.” said Twilight confidently with a hint of embarrassment. “Shining Armor taught me a revealment spell that will disperse the illusions with my magic; and Zecora gave us each a few of these flares” she pulled one of the firework like things from her saddlebag, “They can only be lit by magic, but will burn for almost a minute and any illusions caught in their light will disperse.”

“Keep in mind” warned Shining Armor, “The clouds the jars release will only last for a few seconds and it's a long journey, so, use them wisely.”

“Just how far out did Storm and Cadance teleport?” Applejack asked worryingly.

“There are four completed dragon walls that stretch across the forest with a fifth well on its way. Zecora believes Storm's post was holding open a section of forest that will eventually become part of the fifth wall. This information is two months old however and he may have moved since then, but if we don't get better intelligence from the Rangers along the way, that's where we will begin our search.”

“How big is each dragon wall?”

“There are brief respites between each wall which are patrolled by Rangers. Each dragon wall, along with its respite, is meant to take about a day to cross if you take it easy; I hope to have crossed all four dragon walls, by the end of the third day, and begin combing the forest for Storm and Cadance on the fourth. Each dragon wall we cross will bring us closer to danger and we will run a higher risk of being attacked, though I doubt we'll see any action before the third wall. Terrormongers usually won't attack unless they have the advantage, and any force large enough to challenge seventeen competent fighters, wouldn't make it past the third wall undetected.

Whenever we pass one of the walls, we will have to break into two squads that circumvent a dragon’s territory on opposite sides so we're not attacked. I'll take one squad, with Rainbow Dash and six more Wonderbolts; Twilight will lead the second squad with Applejack, Pyromite, and the remaining Wonderbolts. If at any point I'm not around; Twilight's in charge.” Twilight's mouth flew open when Shining Armor named her his lieutenant. She gawked at him for several moments before trying to compose herself, making a concise effort to look the part she’d just been given.

“When we find Storm and Cadance,” continued Shining Armor, “We'll group together, and I'll activate a portgem that will take us back to Canterlot. Any questions?”

“None from over here” said Rainbow hitting the air with one hoof, “Just show us the baddies and the Wonderbolts will show you what we can do.”

“Don't get cocky.” warned Shining Armor, “At the end of a battle there's no points for looking cool; there are the living, the dead, and those who have had their minds permanently destroyed. I knew a mare once who acted a little bit like you; she spent three hours trapped by a terrormonger and spent the rest of her life in a hospital, thinking she was a dog! Any more questions? No? Good. Let's move out.”

Chapter ten>>> Into Darkness