Hypothermia of the Heart

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 1
Chapter 5

Chapter 2

Pinkie Pie peered outside at the dark and gloomy sky, watching the snow fall around in a flurry. Pulling a large and rather fluffy blanket tighter around herself, she sighed.

"It's super duper cold out today!! I don't think it's been this cold for a while..."

She felt a strange tremor coming within her, causing her to randomly shake about. She frowned, unsure what it meant. Never before had she had such a strange thing happen to her with her Pinkie sense... It made her all the more cautious about everything around her.

She eyed a loaf of bread suspiciously, before giggling softly to herself. "Oh Pinkie you silly filly!! The bread isn't going to hurt you!!" Pausing in her giggles, she inspected the bread, checking for anything that could possibly be wrong with it.

“I’ve got my eye on you BREAD!” Pinkie gave the loaf of bread her best sinister look before devolving into a fit of laughter.

Sighing happily, she continued to stare out the window with a strange combination of relaxed alertness as she silently observed the storm steadily become worse.

*****
Rainbow Dash pumped her strong, powerful wings, struggling to maintain her normal flight pattern of her patrol. Several pegasi soldiers attempted to talk her out of patrolling today, including Fluttershy. According to the weather pegasi; the clouds that had formed were too dangerous to tamper with and many pegasi should avoid attempting any kind of flight. Nopony was sure what could happen with such strange and dangerous snow clouds.

Dash, of course, had scoffed at the idea of a little snow storm getting the better of her. After all, she was Rainbow Dash! Nothing could ever dream to get the better of her!

The winds, however, had other ideas, and were howling and increasing in force; easily blowing the lightweight mare off course. The snow began coming down in globs, making vision nearly impossible.

"What the heck...?" she grumbled to herself, quickly rubbing her face free of the snow. "I thought snow was supposed to come down in flakes, each all nice and pretty and NOT globby!! What IS this stuff!?"

Becoming even more determined then she initially was, she pushed herself to fly into the strong winds, in order to retain her normal patrol path. She was starting to make progess when a rock sized object slammed into her helmet, knocking her backwards.

“What the HAY?!” Touching where the object connected; Dash felt another collide with her foreleg. Yelping in surprise and mild pain, she finally saw what had been hitting her.

“...Oh horseapples...” Large balls of ice were dropping rapidly from the sky along with the large amounts of snow.

Cursing under her breath she began dodging the icy projectiles as best as she could. She had never been so happy to have learned all the complex evasive maneuvers that Hurricane had taught her; no matter how tedious it was to master. Dash was able to successfully avoid most of the hail; the few that made contact only striking her armor. She could practically feel the bruises beginning to form...

Finally, the hail ceased falling from the sky. Dash groaned, feeling completely exhausted, battered, and above all, cold. She had exerted much more energy than she had planned just to maintain a steady flight. Adding the icy projectiles to the mix just made it even harder. Ice started to form along her armor and wing-blades. Dash could feel herself getting heavier and heavier as she struggled to maintain her flight. Every inch of her body was trembling; attempting to warm itself back to normal body temperature.

Blind fear struck her. Her wings had seized up, and she found that she was falling rapidly to the ground. Struggling to maintain her flight, Dash attempted to beat her wings, hoping to move them enough to keep going; every attempt was met with failure. Squeezing her eyes in panic, she let out a frustrated scream.

A blizzard... She thought, struggling to pull herself out of her dizzying fall. A stupid blizzard took me out... Not by another warrior, a freakin’ blizzard....

She landed with a soft plop in a large snow bank, the snow cushioning the impact of her fall. Her limbs seemed to lose all feeling as she lay in the cold, her mind slowly going blank.

"A....... Stupid blizzard....." she grumbled, her vision slowly going black.
*****
It had become nearly impossible to see out of her window as the storm became nightmare-ish. Pinkie had become fascinated with the storm; pressing her face into the glass in awe as she watched it evolve into the horror of a blizzard that it seemed to be.

She sat unafraid of the ice, whizzing rapidly toward the ground, and even striking her home. No matter how close one got to smashing the window she was squashing her face against, she remained where she was.

Once the ice stopped falling, Pinkie almost stopped watching the storm; quickly becoming distracted with other thoughts. Suddenly her Pinkie sense ripped through her; causing ripples and twitches to form in her mane and tail as her whole body trembled uncontrollably along with them.

As soon as the shudders stopped, Pinkie noticed a large figure slam into a snowbank, forcing the surrounding snow to explode out every which way. She rushed outside with a mixture of curiosity and worry for whatever collapsed just outside of her home. Oh, She thought suddenly, as she saw a metal wing-blade sticking out of the snow bank, covered in ice. I hope nopony got hurt....

Upon reaching the figure, Pinkie gasped in shock. A battered and nearly frozen pegasus lay shaking on the snow pile; slowly becoming covered in snow and ice. She rushed over to the unconscious pegasus and placed a careful hoof on her forehead.

“You’re frozen,” She looked around in shock and worry searching for any sign if other pegasi that could be around to help her. Once she was absolutely sure nopony was around, Pinkie looked down at the fallen figure, concern etched in her face “I need to get you inside, quick!”

Inspecting the cyan ponies face, a feeling of recognition washed through her.

I don’t know any Pegasi... She thought dismissively and then looked down sadly as more memories came back to her. And none of them like me.....

Shaking her head again, she pushed herself underneath the pegasus’ freezing form and lifted her onto her back carefully. Without another thought on the matter, she raced back into the safety of her home and lowered the shivering pegasus onto her bed. “Don’t worry, nopony’s gonna freeze when Pinkie Pie’s on the case.”

The pegasus only shivered more, curling into herself to keep warm. Smiling softly, the pink pony draped a blanket over the trembling body and went to fetch some firewood she kept for emergencies.

Pinkie had many opportunities to practice making fires, so now, when it really counted, she made the biggest fire she could and brought the pegasus over to it. The pegasus was still unconscious, but it apparently didn’t stop her from rubbing her hooves over her chest in a weak attempt to keep herself warm.

Pinkie knew that hypothermia could become quite severe if nothing was done, and thankfully she knew how to prevent it from getting worse. Her father had almost had it last winter and Pinkie was the one that looked after him while the others worked on the fields. He never did thank her for it, though...

Thinking quickly, the earth pony removed the blanket from the pegasus, revealing the multitude of armor casing around her cyan body and wings. She had decided to remove the armor from her forelegs first, placing them near the fire to melt the ice that formed on it, then went to remove the leg-blades. As she removed the weapons from the shaking pegasus, she remembered back to that day when the pegasi and the unicorns came for their yearly harvest.

The pegasus she landed on top of could have easily cut her in two, but instead she looked like she purposely tried to not do that. It was odd to Pinkie that such a mean-looking pony could take so much trouble to avoid cutting her; however, she couldn’t worry about that now. She diligently placed the blades down next to the leggings and went for the stomach straps next.

Pinkie brought her hooves to rest on the pegasus’ chest and felt a warmness spreading from it and into her body. She quickly pulled away and blushed slightly before un-clipping the three straps, careful to avoid anymore contact than necessary.

Having placed the heavy armour sheet from the pegasus’ back and chest down near the fire as well, she moved over to the back of the cyan-coloured pony and took a wing in her hooves. Absentmindedly feeling the warmth coming from the trembling feathery appendages, the pink pony unbuckled the straps that kept the blades in place on them.

As she removed the first blade she hesitated. The pegasus had slowed in her shivering and rolled over, closer to Pinkie, while stretching her wings tiredly.

Pinkie could tell that the pegasus was still firmly asleep, but it didn’t stop the heat from spreading across her face at how cute the cyan pony looked. Shaking her head to rid her mind of such things, Pinkie quickly took the other wing-blade off and placed them both around the fire.

With her job done, the pink pony carefully lifted the slumbering pegasus onto her back again and lowered her into bed, carefully wrapping the blanket back around her tightly.
She smiled at the relaxed facial expression that crossed the cyan ponies face, until she noticed that she forgot to remove the helmet.

It was a study-looking helmet; mostly black tinted, but with a strand of gold around the casing of the metal. Ear holes at the tip were also laced with the shiny metal and on top, in between the two ears, was a plum of magenta-coloured hair, standing straight and proud, out of the helmet.

Pinkie almost didn’t want to remove it out of respect and awe, but she knew that frozen armour would surely quicken the spread of hypothermia to the whole entire body.

So the pink pony slowly took the helmet in her fore-hooves and slid it off the pegasus’ head. She gasped suddenly, unable to look away from the pony before her.

Pinkie stared dumbstruck at the sleeping cyan pegasus with the bright rainbow-colored mane. She had never seen such a beautiful pegasus in all her life - well she had never seen one at all before this, but still.

Breaking out of her trance, Pinkie rushed over to the discarded weapons and hid them just in case the pegasus attempted to attack her. Pinkie shuttered at the small reminder of how hostile everypony was to her.

Returning to the shivering pegasus, she carefully placed her hoof over the cyan-colored pony’s forehead and frowned. She felt warmer to Pinkie than before, but not nearly warm enough to escape severe hypothermia.

Calming her nerves the pink pony climbed under the covers next to the pegasus and pressed herself against her to warm her as best as possible. Body heat is the best way to warm another up.
*****
Dash woke up the next day feeling groggy and weak. Her eyes fluttered open to unfamiliar surroundings. A sudden movement next to her caused her to forcefully shove away whatever was next to her and stand up in a defensive position.

A sudden wave of nausea forced her to collapse bonelessly onto the bed. Feeling the blanket against her exposed fur made Dash freeze in horror. Slowly looking down at her body her jaw dropped; bright cyan fur greeted her.

She heard a yawn and a bright and bubbly voice suddenly began flowing into her ears, “Hi I’m Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie looked down to where Rainbow was staring and looked back up in realization. She started lightly bouncing on the bed as she continued, “You know, that armor’s super heavy; I don’t know how you wear that stuff all the time. But don’t worry, I got you out of that freezy stuff and all roasty and toasty again!”

Dash jerked her head toward Pinkie, fury blazing in her magenta eyes, “HOW DARE YOU REMOVE MY ARMOR YOU WORTHLESS EARTH PONY!”

Throwing whatever objects she could get her hooves on, she chased Pinkie out of the room in a fit of rage. Noticing the armor resting next to the fire place, she quickly slid every piece on as fast as possible, including her helmet, before the adrenaline wore off.

Collapsing from her sickness, Dash began violently shivering as she slowly dragged herself onto the bed and under the warm blankets. Shame flowed through her; how could she let an earth pony remove her armor? Nopony has seen her without her armor in years!

Pinkie slowly poked her head into the room and looked worriedly over to the shivering pegasus, “I’m sorry if I scared you. I found you outside all frozen, like a pegacicle!” Smiling brightly again, the magenta-maned pony bounded back into the room and landed softly beside the bed.

Weak and nauseous from her outburst, Dash just laid on the bed, giving the excitable pink pony a deadpanned expression. She did NOT want any part of this; even if she did saved her from freezing to death.

A loud rapping noise came from the main room of the house. Pinkie jumped up in excitement and gasped, “AJ is here!”

Bouncing excitedly for the door, Pinkie pulled it open and quickly rushed the orange pony inside.

“Jus’ what n’ tha hay is goin’ on Pinkie Pie? Why didja have t'yank me inside like that?” Applejack carefully straightened her hat as she gave Pinkie a stern inquisitive look.

"Oh Aj you'll be soo surprised! I just NEED you to promise me you won't freak out and stuff, okay...?" Pinkie begged, worry filling her eyes as she looked at her friend.

"Ah promise, Pinkie. Jus' what in th' HAY is goin' on?"

Pinkie gave her a suspicious glance, rubbing her chin with her hoof. "Hmmm....." She began, before giggling to herself. "Okay! I believe you! Come on in!"

Cheerfully, Pinkie bounced through the room to the Pegasus, humming happily to herself. Applejack followed her, shaking her head in confusion.

"Ah sure do wonder where y'all git yer energy from, Pinkie Pie..." She commented, watching as the pink pony bounced into the bedroom.

"Oh that's easy! It comes from inside me, silly!" Pinkie replied, spinning around quickly to give her a huge grin.

"I don’t want anything to do with you stupid dirt ponies!!" A gruff voice reached Applejack’s ears.

Applejack's eyes grew wide. "Who in tarnation is THAT!?"

"A Pegasus that fe-"

Pushing Pinkie aside, Applejack stormed into the room. Rainbow was still curled up on the bed, glaring daggers at the intruder. "Who in tarnation are y'all!?"

"I don't have to answer to you!!" the cyan mare spat, glaring hatefully at the orange earth pony.

"Aaww, but we really need to know your name! How ELSE are we gonna be able to help you, silly?" Pinkie cheerfully smiled, trotting over to plant her rump beside the bed.

Rainbow Dash glared at her, snarling furiously. "Leave me alone, or I'll sli- MY WEAPONS!?" Dash looked about her body frantically, her mind renewed in panic. First she wakes up in no armor, now she has no weapons. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BLADES!?"

Applejack jumped, shocked at the outburst. Pinkie just smiled calmly at her patient, her bright blue eyes sparkling.

"Well I had to hide them, silly! I don't want you to go slicey-dicey on all my stuff!!" Pinkie looked thoughtful a moment. "There was another super duper mega important reason, too, but I can't think of it...."

Fury sprung up within Rainbow Dash. "You stupid...! You had NO right to remove my armor, and NO right to take away my blades!"

"What's so important about it?" Pinkie tilted her head curiously at her guest.

"I.... Never mind!! You just had no right!" Rainbow spun around furiously, burying herself into the many blankets on the bed. She hated this feeling of weakness. It wasn't something she was used to...

Applejack wheeled on Pinkie in annoyance, “Why an’ tha hay do yew want to help her?!”

“Because it’s the right thing to do, Applejack. DUH!” Pinkie patted Applejack’s head gently, as if she was teaching a small foal.

Shooting Pinkie another grumpy look, Applejack returned her attention to the bedridden pegasus. She was trembling violently under the covers, yet maintained an air of defensive hostility. She began to feel a little sorry for her. It must not be easy to be sick and weak among those you were supposed to hate. At least the pegasus couldn’t hurt her or Pinkie because of the severe condition she was in.

Sighing, Applejack gave Pinkie a small smile, “What kin ah do ta help, sugarcube?”

Jumping excitedly, Pinkie pulled Applejack into a tight hug. “OH THANK YOU APPLEJACK! I just need you to bring a whooole buncha medicine for hypothermia. I wasn’t sure how I would get the medicine without your help but since you are going to help this is soooooo much easier!”

Laughing awkwardly, Applejack pulled away from the embrace, “O’course sugarcube, Ah'll bring yeh all tha medicine yew'll need.”

A small grunt of annoyance came from the bedridden pegasi. Rainbow Dash did NOT want to be nursed to health by an earth pony, let alone TWO earth ponies! This day just became so much worse now. If anypony from her tribe found out about this she would be ruined! Horrifying images began filtering through her mind after that thought, causing her to twitch uncomfortably.

Applejack was about to snap at the pegasus for being ungrateful when Pinkie bowled her over while bounding swiftly to the side of the bed.

“Don’t worry too much! I still have just enough medicine here to last until Applejack brings everything I need to help you!” Pinkie exclaimed proudly.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, rolling over to her side to stare at the wall. "I don't need any help from you dirt ponies. I need to go back to base. Away from you freaks."

Pinkie felt her ears droop a little, before shaking her head. "If I help you, you'll be on your way home lickity split! Hmm...” She placed a hoof to her chin in thought. “I wonder if lickity splits taste good..... Probably not better then-"

"Ahem." Pinkie jumped to look at Applejack, who was giving her a "get to the point" look.

"Oooh. Right. So I Pinkie Pie Promise you'll get home as soon as possible!! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!!"

A nearly inaudible grumble was the pegasus’ reply.

Applejack sighed, turning to her pink friend. "Ah'll bring y'all sum medicine tomorrow, alraght? Just make sure that there vermin stays wrapped up in them blankets an' eats something nace 'n warm, all right sugarcube?"

Pinkie jumped up, comically saluting. "Okie doki Loki Applejackeroki!! I'll make my super duper yum-"

"Ah mean no cupcakes, Pinkie Pie." Applejack gave Pinkie a stern look.

"Aaaawwww...." Pinkie pouted, disappointed.

As soon as Applejack left, Pinkie began cooking a warm soup for the ill pegasus. Carefully carrying the bowl on her head; Pinkie trotted into the room; where she was greeted by the brooding pony’s back.

“I got some yummy soup to help you feel all better, Crashy!”

Dash visibly tensed at the nickname. “Don’t. You. DARE. Call me that!” There was a dangerous edge in her voice that froze Pinkie in place.

“But I don’t know what to call you... You never told me your name.” Pinkie’s ears and mane drooped. She didn’t mean to offend her after all.

Grumbling, Dash turned and faced Pinkie with a stern glare, “My name is Rainbow Dash.”

Pinkie immediately brightened, “Okie dokie lokie Dashie!”

Eye twitching, Dash turned away from the eccentric earth pony in annoyance. At least she wasn’t calling her Crashy anymore.

“Aren’t you going to eat your soup Dashie?” Pinkie carefully placed the soup on the end table before giving Dash a happy yet expectant look.

“I’m not eating anything you dirt ponies give me.” Dash grumbled “And don’t call me Dashie.”

Pinkie paused for a moment, tilting her head while looking at the sick Pegasus. "You don't like Dashie? I thought it was cute. A cute name to match somepony as pretty as you!"

Dash froze at the praise. Did she just call her pretty? She never had somepony else compliment her before on anything other than her military work. It left a rather odd feeling within her. Shaking the feeling off, Dash snorted, “Flattery will get you nowhere, dirt pony. I don’t need to hear your lies.”

"What lies? I'm super-duper serious!" Pinkie shrugged. "If you think I'm lying then that’s okie dokie!!" She smiled brightly at the cyan mare. "But you really do look pretty!"

Dash wheeled on the earth pony in anger, “STOP TELLING ME LIES! Look if it stops you from saying junk like that then fine...Call me Dashie.” She cringed after saying the word.

"But I'm not....!” Looking down, the pink earth pony sighed. Oh.... N-Never mind, Dashie." She felt her heart hurt a little... She didn't like being called a liar.

Dash felt a little pang in her heart as well; she didn’t mean to hurt Pinkie that bad. Looking away from the suddenly docile mare, Dash hardened her resolve before speaking.

“I’m not eating any of your filth, earth pony.” Dash made a face of disgust at the soup, inching away from it.

"But..... Its really yummy!" the pink mare stated, holding up a spoon with some of the soup in it. "Just like Granny Pie used to make!! Ooohhh, but maybe it was your Granny Dash instead? I wonder if they made soup the same way, ooohhh I bet it was super-duper delicious!!"

Dash’s face contorted at the thought of having a granny. She never knew what it was like to have parents; let alone grandparents. A depressed feeling washed through her turning her voice flat and distant.

“No, Pinkie.”

Sensing the emptiness in Dash's voice, Pinkie decided it would be well to drop the subject of "Granny Dash". Instead, she cheerfully pushed the bowl as close to her unwilling companion as she could without disrupting its contents. "Okie dokie lokie Dashie Washie!"

“HEY, I cross the line at Dashie Washie. Just Dashie or you won’t get to use any nicknames at all!” Dash latched onto her irritation at Pinkie’s nickname, using it to pull herself into a more familiar territory of anger.

"Oh, okie doki Loki Miss Dashie, warrior Goddess of the Pegasi!!" Pinkie grinned at her, smiling brightly.

Feeling her mane stand on end in frustration, Dash grabbed a nearby vase and chucked it at Pinkie.

“Knock off the stupid compliments, alright!” She clenched her jaw, hoping the vase would hit it’s target.

"EEK!!" Startled, the pink pony fell backwards just as the vase was about to collide with her face. She spun around quickly to catch it, just seconds away from smashing into the floor.

"Ooohhh, okay! No compliments for miss grouchy armor then!!" Pinkie’s voice had a multitude of emotions swimming through it.

“Good...” Dash felt her emotions raging inside her. This strange warm feeling seemed to rush into her at the compliment, making her feel queasy. She both liked and disliked the feeling. Noticing the bowl of soup, she shoved it away from her before turning to face the wall.

"Aaawww, no soup.....?" Pinkie stared at Dash’s back in disappointment.

“No soup, ever.” With the air of finality in her voice, Dash pulled the blanket over her head; completely obscuring herself from view.

Chapter 3

“Please Dashie, please eat something!” Pinkie pleaded desperately to the bedridden pegasus.

Snorting in defiance, Dash huddled farther under the blankets; completely ignoring the panicked pink earth pony. She refused to give into her hunger and eat, no matter how many times Pinkie pleaded with her and Applejack threatened her. She hadn’t eaten for a week and a half.

The scent of the recently made soup caused her stomach to growl audibly. Traitor, she thought in irritation.

“See! Even your tummy agrees! Now eat some soup... pleeease?” Pinkie batted her eyes and clasped her front hooves together in an adorable display.

Gritting her teeth, Dash stared blankly at the earth pony. She knew she was only getting weaker and sicker by refusing medicine and food. If she continued this way..... she most likely would die. With a sigh, she knew she couldn’t allow herself to die in such a lame way. Not after all that hard work she put into becoming the greatest, and youngest, lieutenant general in history.

"Okay fine! But I'm not eating this!" Dash growled, struggling to get up. "I want to watch you cook it."

Smiling so wide it threatened to split her face in half, Pinkie began bouncing in place excitedly. “Okie dokie lokie Dashie! Whatever you want! As long as you finally eat something I don’t mind!”

Watching the pink pony, Dash frowned. "I.... want chili." She finally stated, stumbling forward. "Oof!"

Pinkie caught the weak pegasus in mid-fall, “Do you need help walking Dashie?” Concern was etched into her face as she observed the shaking, armor clad pony.

“NO! Especially not from you!” Dash jumped away from Pinkie as if she got burned. She growled, and stumbled forward, using her wings to balance herself.

"Oh....... Okay..... Follow me!" Pinkie sighed, walking ahead of the cyan pony. She kept a close eye on her, in case she needed her help again.

Pinkie slowly led Dash out to the kitchen and began pulling out ingredients for the vegetarian chili. Dash leaned heavily against the counter and eyed the ingredients being laid out before her.

"This is all fresh? It has to be fresh, otherwise you could have poisoned it."

"Yup! Aj brought them last time she was here, silly!" The pink earth pony replied, carefully grabbing a knife to chop the vegetables up.

"That doesn't make me feel better. You two probably ganged up to poison it." Dash moved close to the food and sniffed it, checking to see if she could smell any poisonous substances on it.

“Would it make you feel better if I ate some first before I give it to you?” Pinkie tilted her head curiously at Dash while preparing the food.

Grumbling, Dash nodded, “I suppose so...”

Pinkie picked up a slice of each vegetable. "See? I'll eat it raw, then I'll eat it once it's all cooked!" She began, popping a mushroom in her mouth and chewing slowly, her face scrunched up. "Hmm... Nope! Mushrooms are good!"

She repeated the process of eating the vegetables, smiling at her unwilling companion. During the whole process she made silly comments and jokes, adding whichever vegetable she just finished into the pot she brought out.

Dash slowly allowed herself to relax in the pink ponies presence. Even smiling at a few of the jokes no matter how corny they could be. The aroma of the chili filled the room and she found herself salivating. Her tummy grumbled loudly at the smell, signaling it’s eagerness to be filled.

“Oooh, somepony’s hungry!” Pinkie teased. Giggling sweetly, she filled two bowls of chili and placed them carefully onto her dining table.

"Shut up." Dash glared at Pinkie, cursing at how loud her stomach was.

Giggling, Pinkie pulled her spoon towards her, "And now!" She began, giving Rainbow Dash a huge grin. "I shall sample!"

She dug a spoon into the chili, scooping as much as she could onto the spoon. She carefully put it in her mouth, chewing slowly. "Hmmm..."

Rainbow Dash felt her eye twitch. She swallowed, staring at the spoon. "Okay. Fine. You aren't dead. It isn't poisoned."

Shoving the spoon aside she shoved her face into the bowl and devoured the chili. She had never tasted something so delicious in her entire life. The spices added a special zing to the chili that she couldn’t place but really enjoyed.

Pinkie smiled happily at the sight. She was never happier than she was now at seeing another pony eat food, especially at the pace that Rainbow Dash was eating it. Eating more of her chili slowly, she inwardly grinned. She added medicine to Dash’s bowl without her knowledge.

"This...." Rainbow Dash started to say, licking her lips as she rubbed the chili off her helmet. She paused, grimacing slightly.

I can't admit it was good, She thought, glancing sideways at the earth pony. She frowned.

"I've had better. Yet... It was better then what I thought a pathetic dirt pony could possibly make." Giving Pinkie a dismissive glance, she pushed the bowl away from her and slowly walked over to the fire place and laid in front of it.

Pinkie felt a minor pang of hurt at Dash’s comment but shook it off. If she really hated it so much, she wouldn’t have devoured it in such a ravenous way. Sighing, Pinkie finished up her chili and began cleaning up.

“I’m super glad you finally ate something Dashie.” Pinkie looked over at the pegasus with a grin.

The cyan make gave a grunt in response. Staring intently at the fire, she slowly closed her eyes. In her mind, she knew she had to get back to her commander. Her actions wouldn't go unnoticed, and as much of a "favourite" she was in Hurricane's eyes, there still would be consequences. Just.... Less severe then any of the others.

Finishing her cleaning, Pinkie trotted over to behind the counter, watching Dash. She felt her ears droop, a pang of sadness eating away at her. She just wanted Dash to relax and stop being so hostile...

Sensing a pair of eyes on her, Dash spun her head around to glare intently at the pink mare. "What the buck do you want?!"

Cringing at the violent outburst, Pinkie softly replied, “Nothing Dashie, nothing at all.”

Giving the suddenly docile pony an odd look, she shrugged off the strange response and turned back to the fire. Suddenly, loud rapping noises came from the door.

“OPEN UP!” A loud and very familiar voice shouted.

Jumping up in a panic, Dash raced into the room she had been holed up in and hid. If anypony from the pegasi military saw her in such a condition, with the enemy no less, she would never live it down.

Pinkie trotted over to the door and opened it with a bright smile. “Hi!”

A dark grey pegasus in dark grey armor stood on the other side of the door, her icy blue eyes narrowed in frustration. "Dirt pony! Have you seen a cyan mare anywhere around these vicinities!"

Pinkie blinked, suddenly recalling that this was the leader from that time when the tribes exchanged food. She smiled brightly, shaking her head. "Nopey dopey! The only pony I've seen around here is my friend Applejack!"

Hurricane snarled, spinning around furiously she glared at the timid yellow pegasus. "Fluttershy! Search her house! Meet me in the village in thirty minutes flat."

Shrinking back in fear, Fluttershy saluted Hurricane with a trembling hoof. “Y-yes commander.”
Hurricane narrowed her eyes at Fluttershy before taking off with a powerful burst of strength. The aftershock of her takeoff caused snow to spray onto the two ponies.

“Are all you pegasi grumpy meanie heads?” Pinkie blinked curiously at Fluttershy.

"O-Oh no...... S-she just...... R-Rainbow Dash is her f-favourite, and she's b-been searching everywhere for her...." Fluttershy quietly stuttered, appearing to withdraw into her mane.

"Oooooh, okie dokie lokie! Your name's Fluttershy, right? It's such a pretty name!!" Pinkie beamed brightly at Fluttershy.

Before Fluttershy could respond to the unexpected compliment a loud and brash voice reached her ears.

"Fluttershy!?"

A sudden whirlwind quickly pushed Pinkie out of the door as Rainbow Dash stood in front of her friend, her eyes wide. "Fluttershy!" She exclaimed, throwing her forelegs around her shy friend in excitement.

"R-Rainbow Dash...?!" Fluttershy stumbled backward in shock from Rainbow’s sudden hug.

“You have no idea what it’s like being stuck with that dirt pony for as long as I have!” Dash tightened her grip around Fluttershy; burying her muzzle into her long, pink mane.

“What happened to you Rainbow? Commander Hurricane has been going crazy since you left! She blamed the entire military for not stopping you from leaving!” Fluttershy returned the embrace, happy to find her best friend is still alive and well.

Dash suddenly collapsed in front of her.
Maybe...not so well...

“Rainbow!? What happened to you? What’s wrong?” Fluttershy frantically asked Dash while helping her back into the warm home.

"N-........ Nothing 'shy......" Dash looked away from Fluttershy guiltily.

"She landed outside my house a week ago.... She was really cold...." Pinkie quietly said, looking down at the wooden floor. She felt a pang at her heart at the open friendliness Rainbow Dash was showing to the Pegasus. What am I doing wrong....?

"Oh..... Oh my......" Fluttershy looked at Dash with concern as she carefully helped her onto the couch.

"I've been trying to help her get better.... She just ate finally earlier today...." Pinkie solemnly informed the yellow mare.

Rainbow Dash kept her face hidden from the other two. Her ear twitched at the obvious hurt in Pinkie Pie's voice. She felt herself sigh, and look up at Fluttershy.

Why am I doing this....? "Flutter....? I..... Don't want to go back to base yet..... I..... Want to stay here and...... And get better....." Rainbow quickly looked away, unwilling to see their reactions.

Pinkie felt warmth grow within her heart at Dash’s words. Maybe she does care...

“A-are you sure Rainbow? You would have better access to medicine to help you get better if you return.” Fluttershy gave Dash a surprised and worried look. “W-what if Hurricane finds you here?!” An involuntary shiver raced down Fluttershy’s spine at the thought.

Dash turned to Fluttershy and looked deep into her eyes, “Promise me you will keep this a secret. I will take care of the rest. She will never know, I promise.”

Dash’s firm statement caused relief to flow through Fluttershy. “A-alright, I trust you Rainbow Dash.” She smiled timidly at her childhood friend.

Dash smiled kindly back, “Thanks ‘Shy.”

“N-No problem Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy turned to the now grinning pink pony slowly, “A-Are you sure you’re alright with her staying with you?”

Pinkie’s ear perked at hearing this and nodded quickly, “Of course! By the time Dashie leaves she’ll be a hundred and ten percent better. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” As she spoke her Pinkie swear she did the proper hoof movements and ended it with a swift hoof to her eye.

Seeing the pink pony jam a hoof into her eye with no visible injury from it, Dash couldn't help but chuckle a little. She regretted it after and looked away from the two ponies nervously.

"Flutter....?" Rainbow asked, keeping herself hidden. "Do me a favour....?"

"Of course Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy smiled kindly at Rainbow.

"......... Can you come back again, and bring some real food?" Dash smiled back, if Fluttershy brings her food, then she will know it’s safe.

Pinkie blinked, her face a bit blank. Real food....? She thought, her ears drooping slightly.

"Of course I will, Rainbow Dash." A soft expression crossed Fluttershy’s face. Happy that she is finally able to help Rainbow Dash out after all the kindness she had shone her.

“Thanks Fluttershy! You’re the best!” Dash hugged Fluttershy once more.

“I will visit as soon as I can Rainbow.” Smiling, Fluttershy turned to Pinkie, “Thank you for helping my friend, I really appreciate it. I don’t know what I would have done if I had found her dead...” A sad expression crossed Fluttershy’s face for a brief moment before returning to her timid happy smile.

Pinkie looked blankly at the yellow mare, feeling yet another pang at her heart. "O-..... Oh, no problem..... It was my.... Pleasure......" she muttered, casting her eyes downwards. "I'll.... Keep her safe for you....."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "'Shy, you KNOW you would've never found me taken out by a stupid blizzard! I mean..... C'mon! It's a BLIZZARD." She grinned, flicking her tail.

She's never this happy around me....Pinkie thought sadly to herself.

Giggling quietly Fluttershy turned to Dash, “Of course Dash, whatever you say. I have to go now, Hurricane is expecting me.” Waving goodbye, Fluttershy left quickly, hoping that she wouldn’t arrive too late.

Dash sighed happily; she didn’t realise how much she missed her friend. It felt good to see her again. She will have to hang out with Fluttershy more once she got better. Gotta see how she is doing with that little bunny she saved.

Pinkie gave Dash a strained smile, “I-Is there anything I can do to help you feel better Dashie?”

Rainbow Dash jumped, looking at Pinkie Pie startled. "Uh, no not.... Really."

"......... Oh, okay....." Pinkie looked away from Dash, a pained expression crossing her face.

"You okay, Pinks....?" Rainbow asked, with concern.

Pinkie looked back to Dash with a surprised expression covering her face, “Did you just give me a nickname?”

Realising what she had just done, Dash immediately attempted to cover her tracks, “N-no! I just didn’t want to say your whole dirt pony name! Besides I can’t have the pony that is supposed to make me better all upset. More mistakes would be made and you might try harder to poison me or something...”

Pinkie looked at her, a smile slowly tip hoofed onto her face. "......... yeah........" She turned away, trying to hide her forming smile. "Yeah okay. I guess you don't want to say a dirt ponies full name...... Yet...!"

Rainbow Dash gulped. "Y-yet....?"

"Yet you ALSO called your fillyfriend by a shortened name! So you don't want to say your own fillyfriends name either?!" Pinkie pointed an accusing hoof at Dash with a huge smile on her face.

“H-hey! 'Shy is NOT my fillyfriend! I’m way too busy to even have a relationship with anypony. Besides ‘Shy is like my sister.” Dash defended with a light blush crossing her face.

A light feeling filled Pinkie at Dash’s words. She felt ...relieved... that Dash didn’t see Fluttershy in such a way. A soft smile settled onto Pinkie’s face.

“I like the nickname you gave me Dashie.” Pinkie fluttered her eyelashes at Dash, her smile growing again.

“S-shut up Pinkie Pie...” Dash turned away from the earth pony with an uneasy feeling shooting through her.

This wasn't... A familiar feeling, Rainbow Dash thought, curling up on the couch. She took a deep breath, attempting to settle the feeling. Snap out of it, she thought.

A smile graced her lips. She thought Flutter and I...? She chuckled quietly to herself, stopping the thought in it's tracks. Silly earth pony...

Pinkie watched her guest curl up, a smile dancing across her face. "If you need anything, just let me know, okay Dashie...? I'll whip up anything you want to eat, I swear!"

Dash grunted in response. She did not want anymore strange feelings today. It’s bad enough that she is now willingly staying here with this earth pony.

“Dashie... Why don’t you take your armor off? It looks really uncomfortable. It can’t be very warm either!” Pinkie curiously examined the hard steel in front of her.

Dash’s ears laid back, as her defenses began to rise again. “My armor is staying on, got it? You don’t need to know anything else besides that.”

In that instant, the warm friendly atmosphere that had developed between them quickly dissolved into a cold haze. The air became thick with tension; it’s main source radiating off of the sick pegasus.

Pinkie shrank back, eyes wide in confusion. "But.... O-Okay......"

Rainbow Dash snorted, glaring at the pink pony. It was bad enough she saw her once without her armor, but a second time? She wouldn't allow it.

"Wait," she decided, glaring at the earth pony. "You can do something for me."

"Really!?" Pinkie’s face brightened, happy that she could finally do something that would help the pegasus.

Rainbow felt her wings twitch at seeing how happy the pony looked. She shook the feeling off, letting off a low growl. "Yeah. You can bucking leave me alone."

Her ears drooping, Pinkie slowly nodded her head before turning and walking to a different room of her home. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she took each step, fighting to keep them from falling. Or.... Maybe she doesn't care....

Dash felt guilt creep up inside her as she watched the pink mare walk away, her shoulders shaking slightly. Clenching her teeth, she turned toward the slowly dying fire. It shouldn’t matter that she hurt Pinkie... She shouldn’t feel guilty about anything at all.

Dash found herself shuffling around uneasily on the couch, attempting to fight off this feeling of guilt that lingered within her. A few hours passed by before she could successfully push the feeling out.

A shuffling sound caught her attention. Turning toward the noise she spotted the pink mare working in the kitchen. She was working diligently on something that Dash couldn’t see. Curiosity roared within her. She really wanted to know what Pinkie was doing, but she didn’t want her to know that she cared. Dash attempted to distract herself but to no avail.

She groaned quietly, burying her face in her hooves. Curiosity was winning this battle, a fact Dash didn't like.

I will NOT go see what she is doing, I will NOT go see what she is doing..... Rainbow grumbled to herself.

Only to find her hooves pick her up and transport her into the kitchen.

"Traitors...!" Dash quietly hissed.

She walked quietly up behind Pinkie, glancing over her shoulders.

Pinkie was in the middle of mixing some sweet smelling substance in a bowl. It was a strangely thick and off-white in color. It also seemed to be really gooey and gloppy. Now Dash was even more curious on whatever that substance was. Was it meant for eating? If it was it didn’t look too good...

She stayed silent, watching as the earth pony continued her work.

Pinkie poured the contents into a pan, humming quietly to herself. She then carefully brought the pan over to the oven, pushing it in. She spun the dials, then turned to look at a startled Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie jumped at seeing her so close, but shook the feeling off with a smile, “Dashie, w-what are you doing here?”

Realising she had been spotted, the pegasus turned away. “No reason... I was just making sure you weren’t poisoning anything this time.” She tried to leave, but curiosity had gotten the better of her and she turned back grudgingly. “A-Actually... I was just wondering what... what you were doing.”

Pinkie’s eyes lit up at hearing this. Did Dashie just...? “Really?”

Rainbow shuffled her hooves and nodded slightly. “.... Yeah.”

The pink pony’s mane poofed back up and she smiled a little bit, relieved that Dash was talking to her again, “Well, okay... I was gonna keep it a surprise for you... for later, but I guess I can show you now.”

Rainbow watched as Pinkie bounced lightly over to the oven and couldn’t help but smile at her. She watched her tail bounce up and down for a moment until she realised that the pink mare was staring confusedly at her.

Shaking the warm feeling off her mind she drew on a grumpy posture to hide what she had felt with a boring expression, “O-Okay, so what is it?”

Pinkie nodded and raised a hoof up to the oven window so Dash could look inside. Hesitantly, the cyan-colored pegasus sauntered up, eying the pink pony until she glanced into the window. Within the oven, Dash could see the baked goods rising up from the pan and turning a light shade of brown.

Rainbow stared mesmerized at the fluffy spheres within the small space, but remembering where she was and who she was with, she stepped back away from the oven and huffed. “Doesn’t... look so impressive to me. They seem kinda lame.”

Pinkie’s ears drooped noticeably and she smiled weakly at the pegasus, “I-It’s okay Dashie.... you don’t have to like them or anything, I was just....” She trailed off and turned her head away from Dash. She walked over to a plate of those brown things and became quiet.

Seeing the pink mare so hurt Rainbow felt another unwelcome pang in her heart. She didn’t know what was happening to her, why she felt this way and she wanted no part of it.

Dash wanted to leave... leave and crawl back into the blankets to sleep... but something held her back; she couldn't bring herself to move away. She looked back at Pinkie and could hear small sniffles coming from her direction. A concerned look flew onto her cyan face and she tried to shake it off immediately; why did she care if she was crying? She was Dash, next in command of the entire pegasi tribe; she couldn’t let a few lame emotions get in the way of being the next leader... even if she was kinda cute- No! She thought quickly. What am I talking about?! She’s not cute... she’s a dirt pony. A good for nothing dirt pony that doesn’t need my sympathy.

She began to walk away, freed from the forces that withheld her before. She reached the other room and was consumed with a new feeling. Sadness. Pinkie was singing, softly and solemnly.

“All you... have to do is take a cup of floor, add it to the mix...”

Rainbow walked back in quietly and saw Pinkie sitting on her haunches. She watched her in silence by the entrance for a while, taking in the hurt the pink pony was pouring out to no-pony-in-particular.

“... baking these treats is such a cinch, add a teaspoon of vanilla.... add a little more and you count to four and you never get you filla...”

As she listened to the pink pony’s unusually sad song she couldn’t help but feel responsible. She had been so mean to her and Pinkie did nothing but try to cheer her up and make her better. She walked up behind her and tried to say something... she wanted to say something... apologize, but her pride kept her back. Rainbow stared down sadly at the earth pony and sat on her haunches.

“.... cupcakes, so sweet and tasty... cupcakes, don’t be too hasty... cupcakes. Cupcakes, cupcakes.... cupcakes!”

“.... P-Pinkie?” Dash stuttered out softly.

Sniffing loudly, the pink pony turned her head to look at Dash, “W-What... do you w-want?” Pinkie scrubbed her fore-hoof over her water-logged eyes so she could see the pegasus’ reaction.

The pink pony’s response caught Dash off guard; she could tell Pinkie was trying to sound angry, but her troubling tears and sobs held only hurt. She bit her lip, guilt gnawing at her stomach.

"I..... Um.... I'm...... S-sorry...." Dash meekly apologised, turning away from the pink pony.

Pinkie stared wide eyed at Dash, shocked that she even apologised to her at all. Her shock quickly dissolved into confusion and excitement.

“Do you mean it Dashie?” Pinkie softly inquired, a hopeful look shining in her eyes.

Staring at the floor intently, all Dash was able to do was nod slightly in response. A strong feeling bubbling up within her, making her feel all queasy in an equally good and bad way.

No no no, she thought, stumbling backwards. It became an internal argument to get rid of the feelings, panic settling in her mind. This... Isn't good!

"Th.... Thank you Dashie!" Pinkie cheered, hug tackling the unsuspecting mare.

Rainbow Dash let out a startled yelp, stumbling backwards. She growled half heartedly at the pink pony, shrugging her off. "Get.... Off me."

A blush stained Dash’s face. The intimate contact made her heart race and her temperature rise suddenly as well as fill her with a multitude of emotions she couldn’t clearly identify. Moving away from Pinkie, Dash strained to maintain an annoyed sound in her voice. “I’ll try your cupcakes... ONLY if you taste them first so I know they aren’t poisoned.”

Smiling softly, Pinkie trotted up to Dash and nuzzled her cheek, “Alright Dashie.” She quickly moved away before Dash could retaliate.

Rainbow’s blush intensified greatly causing her to stumble backwards. She glared at the pink mare, feeling her heart pound. What... Is this pony doing to me....?! She thought, looking away.

Pinkie picked up a cupcake, balancing it carefully on her nose. She tossed it up in the air. Dash watched as it spun around a few seconds, before landing perfectly on Pinkie's tongue.

Retracting her tongue, Pinkie began munching noisily on her baked treat. The explosion of sweetness causing her to hum happily. Swallowing, she pushed a cupcake towards Dash and smiled brightly.

Weirded out by what she had just seen, Dash mutely picked up the cupcake and inspected it carefully. Nothing seemed wrong with it...it smelled alright...it didn’t look horrible. Slowly bringing the treat to her mouth, she tore a small chunk out of the cupcake and chewed slowly.

An explosion of sugar coming from the cupcake made Dash blink in shock. She looked at the pink mare, confusion etched across her face.

"It.... It's good....." she quietly stated, frowning. "Really sweet."

Pinkie’s smile was so bright it rivaled the sun’s rays. “Oh Dashie, I’m so so happy you like it!” She felt lighter than air and a searing heat wash through her at Dash’s words. “Would you like to have some more?”

"I..... Think I would. Yeah....." Dash quietly rambled, looking around. She watched closely as the earth pony hoofed over another cupcake, giving her a bright and cheerful smile.

"Here you go!" Pinkie grabbed another cupcake for herself and gobbled it down quickly.

Chuckling at the pink pony’s strange antics, Dash ate her cupcake carefully. She savored each bite. She never had sweets before; this was a whole new experience for her. One that she found herself enjoying more than she cared to admit.

A serious expression suddenly formed on Pinkie’s face, making the cyan mare halt in the middle of chewing. “Rainbow Dash, will you please tell me why you are so against removing your armor?”

"It..... It's considered dishonourable for a higher ranked Pegasus to be seen without armor by anypony that isn't family.... O-or lovers..." Dash looked away from the energetic pony, her eyes wandering around the room.

"Ohhhhhhhhh.....!" Pinkie nodded her head. "So that's why you quickly put your armor back on....".

"I was, and still am, bucking furious at you for that." Dash gave Pinkie a sharp look before relaxing again. “I suppose it isn’t all your fault...You didn’t know. Now you do though... so no more questions about my armor alright?”

Pinkie nodded quickly, her curly pink mane bobbing furiously. “Okie dokie lokie, Dashie!” She felt the warmth that had started within her grow hotter. Having Dash trust her, even just a little bit, made her feel giddy.

“Okay then, since I told you about my armor... I want to know why you aren’t with the rest of the dirt ponies.” The thought had been eating away at Dash for a long time now. This was the perfect opportunity to find out.

Pinkie went quiet. She looked at the plate of cupcakes, her ears drooping slightly. "I.... Got banished.... From each town. From my own home......."

Dash blinked, taken aback. Banished?

"All I wanted was for everypony to have fun and not worry so much about having to make all the food...." Pinkie sighed, looking down.

“.... Even your own family banished you?” Dash was shocked and slightly angry. Didn’t these earth ponies know anything about taking care of their own?

Dash’s eyes widened suddenly, realization washing over her, “W-were you that pink pony that got chased out of the village during the annual food gathering?”

Pinkie nodded slowly.

“Th-The one that crashed into me?” She asked instantly, the memories of that day returning to her.... The feelings.

Pinkie quietly nodded her head again. "Yeah..... That was your Auntie Pinkie....." She replied, attempting to give Rainbow Dash a weak smile.

"You aren't my aunt....." Dash stated flatly.

Pinkie giggled half-heartedly and glanced up to Rainbow again, “Oh.... yeah...”

“But... But how? You... You’re an earth pony... you should be with your kind, right?” Dash smiled hopefully at the pink pony trying to make her feel better. A fiery rage spread through her at the thought of her parents not loving her... banishing her. How... could her parents...?

The earth pony’s eyes began to water, but she held the tears back and kept eye contact with the armored pony, “M... My kind? I... I don’t... belong anywhere..... the only earth pony friend I have is Applejack.... I- I don’t see her much, she... She only comes to drop off food and water every so often, so...” Pinkie looked down and started to shake visibly.

She... only has one friend? Nopony likes her?! The rage built up dangerously inside her and was about to yell out about those horrible dirt ponies for treating their own kind like this, but Dash noticed how Pinkie shook and gulped at what she could be thinking.

Her fury for those ponies rapidly faded into a genuine concern for Pinkie. Something she would never admit aloud, and she stammered out, “.... So?” She crept closer.... Her desire to forget such a question was outweighed only by her need to know what the pink pony was holding deep within her heart.

Pinkie looked up calmly, as if hoping that the pegasus would ask her to continue and at the same time wishing she wouldn’t, “... So you’re the only other friend I have.” Tears flowed down from her eyes and onto her cheeks freely now, “My only real friend ever....”

Rainbow looked shocked. Pinkie thought of her as a friend? She felt a warmth coming over her at hearing such a thing from the pink pony. She hated it.... She hated how she couldn’t say anything in return. She just stood there, hoping the pony before her would keep talking.

“.... I don’t.... want you to go Dashie... Please...? When you’re all better.... Please don’t leave...” Being overwhelmed with her bottled up emotions bursting out in one go, Pinkie quickly leaned forward to nuzzle the pegasus. “Please... I’ll miss you...”

Recoiling a little at the pink pony’s closeness, Dash felt uneasy. Another feeling washed over her, she hated that too. Hated how she couldn’t bring herself to return it somehow. All she could do was stare down at the earth pony, not caring about hiding the blush on her face. She was too stunned to notice anything but the tears dripping onto her armor and the very familiar fluffy magenta-colored mane in her face.

She pulled away, suddenly afraid of what she was allowing... She didn’t need these feelings... she hated them... Hated how she couldn’t react to them.

She turned her head away from the crying pony and tried to settle her heart, “I... have to Pinkie... I- I’m not banished... like you are... My job isn’t being here... with you....” She looked back to see the pink pony sitting on her haunches and her head tilted down at the kitchen floor. … I’m sorry... Pinkie...

She tore her eyes away from the pony and wandered back into the bedroom, wrapping herself entirely in blanket. Tossing and turning in the normally fluffy bed, she drifted into a deep sleep....

She hated it.

Dash sat up, suddenly wide awake and scared. She hated this fear flickering in her heart, to not have control over her emotions.

She looked around at the room to see if anything had changed since she was awake. Nothing had.

Nothing had.

Where’s Pinkie? She thought to herself. Clamoring out of bed in a hurry she looked into the kitchen and saw that everything was put away... The cupcakes were gone and the oven was shut off... Pinkie wasn’t anywhere.

“Pinkie?” Dash called through the hallways of the pink ponies home and frowned at the hollow echo she received as an answer, “Where is she?” She was just about to re-check the bedroom to see if she had snuck in as a prank on her or something when she heard a voice from outside.

Dash’s ears perked and she walked over and opened the front door. Stepping out, she could hear Pinkie’s voice from in front of her. It was just barely enough to be heard, so she quietly flew over and landed behind a tree just a few hooves away from the cliff front.

“.... and mom, I... know you can’t hear me... but... I still love you... and I miss you...... a-and I hope you’re all alright without me....” She struggled to get the last part out and it just came too quickly for her to manage. She collapsed into tears and sobs, looking down and away from the village below, unable to stare at it any longer.

Dash stared at the scene with a mixture of shock and pity. How in the hay could her family just abandon her like that? Yeah...she may not know what it’s like to have a family, but she knew enough about them to know that they weren’t supposed to abandon their foals!

Dash felt a sudden weakness wash over her. Oh...right...she had hypothermia. As fast as she could, she stumbled into the house and collapsed by the dying embers within the fireplace. She pulled a blanket over herself and fought off the sudden darkening of her vision.

Rainbow heard several large logs being thrown into the fireplace, forcing the dying embers to return to their original roaring glory. Turning her head just enough, she locked eyes with Pinkie. The moment seemed to last forever, yet it was only a few seconds.

Pinkie disappeared for a moment and returned with several blankets. Carefully, Pinkie laid the blankets over Dash. Her body temperature began slowly rising to normal levels. The strain that was placed on Dash’s body made her weary, and she began drifting off to sleep. Before succumbing to her dreams, Dash muttered out these few words...

“Thank You, Pinkie.” Her last ounce of strength wained and her eyes drifted shut.

Chapter 4

Several days went by after their exchange of feelings and stories. An awkward tension seemed to have settled between Dash and Pinkie. Dash was unsure on how she should act... nopony had ever opened up to her that much and she certainly never expected it from Pinkie. She attempted to maintain a tough uncaring attitude, but it was halfhearted at most.

She also was plagued by these strange emotions she never felt before and it drove her crazy. The fact that Pinkie thought so highly of her didn’t sit right within her. How could she even see me as a friend? We are enemies! At least we are supposed to be...

Dash looked up in time to see the pink pony trot into the room.

“Hi Dashie, you’re finally awake... you sleepy head.” Pinkie chuckled and hopped closer to the pegasus stopping at the end of her bed.

Rainbow grumbled angrily, trying to hide the small smile that threatened to form onto her face from seeing the pink pony happy again. Looking away from the pink pony’s deep-blue eyes, Dash pulled on the best grumpy expression she could, “What do you want Pinkie?”

“I.... I made you breakfast Dashie.” Pinkie attempted to smile, but Dash noticed that the gleam that was usually in her eyes had faded. She would never admit that she knew about that of course.

Fidgeting, Dash slowly pulled herself out of the bed. “Well...what did you make?” Her tone lacked the edge it previously held. Her expression became softer, almost caring. She didn’t meet Pinkie’s eyes; if she did she wouldn’t be able to hold back the concern that was welling up within her.

Pinkie shifted her hooves around and smiled weakly at the unhealthy pegasus.

“Well, I... made you more of that soup you really like... I... tried not to make it too hot for you like you asked, so...” The earth pony stammered and quietly watched Rainbow tremble slightly, her sickness still gripping her tightly.

Hearing pain laced within Pinkie’s voice, the concern Dash was holding back came crashing through her steel barrier. Glancing morosely at Pinkie, Dash opened her mouth. Only to close it again. Swallowing thickly she forced out the question burning in the back of her throat.

“Are...are you alright?” As soon as she finished she immediately looked down at her hooves; Irritation crossing her face.

“I’m fine... I just... I’m sorry for everything I... might have said to upset you... I didn’t mean to.” Pinkie looked down at her hooves and backed up slowly, turning around to ask the cyan-colored pony another question, “Do... Do you want it right now Dashie?”

“You are a terrible lier Pinkie...If you aren’t going to tell the truth then fine. I won’t ask again.” Turning away from Pinkie, Dash began slowly trotting toward the kitchen. “Yea.. I will have some now.”

Pinkie watched from over her shoulder as the pegasus sauntered through the house to the kitchen. She wanted to say what was on her mind, but couldn’t bring herself to stop her. But... it was the truth... part of it...

Dash settled in front of the meal that Pinkie painstakingly made just for her. Looking down at it she felt a strange feeling fill her before turning to face the slowly approaching pony.

“Pinkie...” The words she wanted to say immediately died in her mouth. “....never-mind... just stop being so mopey ok? You’re making me feel all depressed now with the way your acting!”

Shock ran through Pinkie’s body; she looked to see the sad expression covering the pegasus’ face... a feeling she created inside her. She couldn’t take it; her heart filled with emotions, each one wanting to escape at the same time, “I’m sorry okay? Sorry about everything I’ve done to you... I’m sorry I took off your armor without your permission and for... for being so nosey and bouncy all the time ‘cause it annoys you and now... now that I’m... that I’m not doing those things you’re just... never mind... You should eat your soup... so you can feel better and get back to your kind...”

Pinkie couldn’t stand being in the same room as Dash anymore. She turned quickly and rushed away from her.

Dash stared at Pinkie, dumbfounded by all the apologies she had said to her. What is her problem? Jumping up quickly, Dash flew ahead of the pink pony and landed just before the exit to block Pinkie’s path.

“What’s going on Pinkie? Why are you so sad all the time?” Full blown worry covered Dash’s face and tainted her voice.

Closing her eyes tightly, responded with a strained voice, “No reason... I just... don’t feel like being happy right now... Please... can you... just...”

Attempting to leave the kitchen, the earth pony stepped from left to right trying to make her way around the pegasus, but Dash mirrored her every movement and prevented any escape.

“I heard what you said the other night. How you loved your mother even though she didn’t love you back... What happened between you and your family Pinkie?” A sharp commanding edge manifested itself in Dash’s voice. A concerned and serious expression covered her face.

“I... I don’t...” She stared into the pegasus’ eyes and saw the concern she felt for her and her alone. She felt her eyes water and she gulped down her apprehension to answer such a question. She sighed, “It... It happened a couple months before the annual food trade...”

***
I was planting seeds in the field so we could grow the last of the crop before it was too cold for any food to grow... when my mother called for me from the house...

*****
“Pinkamena Diane Pie! Will you come here please?” Pinkie’s ears twitched at her mother’s sharp voice.

“Coming!”

***
Whenever she called me by my full name I was in trouble for something... She called me by my full name a lot...
***

Pinkie rushed into her fillyhood home and was greeted by stern looks from both her mother and father.

“Pinkamena, dear...Your father and I have been talking. We think it would be a wonderful thing if you go and attempt to cheer up all the other ponies in the village!” Strained smiles covered both her mother and father’s face as they looked down at her.

“Really? Okie Dokie Lokie! How long should I be?” Pinkie smiled happily up at her parents; joyful at the thought that they seemed to be accepting her talent instead of forcing her to be something she wasn’t for a change.

“Why don’t you go for a week Pinkamena. See how it’s like.” Her father’s gruff voice reached her ears. Smiling Pinkie nodded vigorously and prepared for her week long trip.
*****
“...When I returned home, they were gone...The only thing left... was a note.” Pinkie’s paused for a moment to regain her composure and finished agonizingly, “…. It said, don’t look for us. You are not family anymore...” Tears were streaming rapidly down Pinkie’s face as her mane and tail fell straight and dull. She was shaking visibly and could barely stand on her own four hooves.

Dash stared at Pinkie, horror and rage mixing across her face. Calming herself ever so slightly, Dash moved closer to Pinkie and hesitantly nuzzled Pinkie in a comforting way.

Feeling the pegasus’ cheek against hers she gasped and opened her eyes to stare across at Rainbow, with a mixture of confusion and happiness at the contact, “D-Dashie.... what...?”

Dash turned her face away from Pinkie, a bright blush staining her cheeks. “L-look...I’m sorry for what you went through... you didn’t deserve to be treated like that...” She sat on her haunches mutely. Gritting her teeth in agitation and embarrassment.

Pinkie’s tears began flowing faster, her crying turned into heavy sobbing. She lunged at the cyan pony and clinged to her desperately, burying her face under Dash’s chin, the only exposed part of her neck. Her emotions spilling out like a savage waterfall.

Dash nearly tumbled backward at the force of the pink pony’s tackle. She sat there, bewildered at what was happening. She could feel the earth ponies tears soak the fur on her neck. Tentatively, Dash wrapped her forelegs around the sobbing mare, hoping to calm her in any way possible.

“Th... Thank you... D-Dashie... Nopony’s... ever b-been so nice to me before... Thank you...” She continued sobbing into the concerned pegasus’ embrace and smiled with joy.

“R-Really... it’s no trouble... I just didn’t want to see you so sad anymore...” Dash muttered out softly into Pinkie’s ear.

Smiling happily and rubbing the tears from her eyes to look up at Rainbow, Pinkie spoke what was eating at her for a while, “D-Dashie? A... Are your parents... nice to you...? I couldn't imagine another pony being s-sad like me.”

Dash’s gaze hardened and she appeared to be looking off at something far away. “I’m an orphan. I lived in an abusive foster home for a long time before I was moved to the military academy. I don’t know who my parents are, or even what they look like...I don’t even know who my grandparents are.”

Pinkie’s eyes watered even more at hearing how horrible the pegasus’ past must have been; she locked her cyan-blue eyes with Dash’s magenta-colored ones, “Dashie... I’m so sorry... I didn’t know...”

Shrugging, Dash cracked a confident smile. “It’s alright Pinks. If I didn’t grow up that way then I wouldn’t be the super awesome mare that I am today!” Dash held her head up proudly after her proclamation. She didn’t like it when others pitied her on her past; she wasn’t about to let Pinkie do the same.

“A-And if you didn’t... I wouldn’t have you... as a friend right now... I... am your friend... aren’t I...?” Pinkie pushed away from the hug to look hopefully at the armor-covered pegasus for an answer.

Shifting uncomfortably under the pink mares gaze, Dash reluctantly locked eyes with Pinkie. “Y-yea...we’re friends...” Her voice was filled with raw honesty.

“R-Really...? I’m not... just some dirt pony to you...?” Pinkie’s ears perked up and her smile grew larger across her face, but she was still a bit worried about the pony’s reaction. She didn’t want to upset her again... just after they might have become friends, but she had to know for sure.

A warm feeling washed over Dash. Staring down at her hooves she struggled to answer. She was NOT very good with this emotional stuff. “Well...we hugged didn’t we? That’s proof enough.”

Pinkie’s smile now threatened to break her face in two, her mane and tail poofing up and her fur brightening. “We did, didn’t we? Oh Dashie I’m so happy we’re friends now!” Feeling her emotions and a heat spreading through her, she leaped at the pegasus and knocked her over.

Noticing that there were no spikes sticking up from underneath her like the last time she had been on top of Dash; her eyes twinkled as she peered down at the bewildered pony with a new energy, “Oooh, that reminds me... since we’re kinda friends now... do you want your stuff back? I mean all your weapons?” Pinkie tilted her head to the side quizzically and awaited her friends response with wide open eyes.

Dash was only able to splutter out one word. “Buh?” She was having a difficult time processing everything that had happened within the past few minutes. Pinkie sitting on top of her wasn’t helping either.

Chuckling at the ponies lack of reply, Pinkie leaped off her and bounced happily into her hiding place for all things hidden and brought back the weapons to the still stunned Rainbow Dash, “Here you go Dashie... I hope they didn’t rust or anything... I tried to dry them off too, but they’re soo dented it’s hard to get it all clean.” Pinkie tilted her head to the side with a new question on her mind, “What do you do with this stuff anyway?”

Sitting up quickly, Dash began reattaching her weapons to her wings and forelegs. Glancing at Pinkie’s curious face, Dash sighed and calmly replied, “I fight enemies with them. I’ve had to kill many with these blades for the protection of my tribe as well as in defense for the other tribes. We do need you earth ponies and unicorns to provide food and sunlight. I also provide mercy kills to those who need it.”

Pinkie stepped back a bit at this new information, “K... Kill...?” The earth pony froze in place and stared unbelieving into the pegasus’ calm eyes, “How... could you...?”

“I am in the military. It is my duty to destroy those that go against the pegasi tribe. My first test to become a part of the battle ranks of the military was to kill a pony; a terminally ill pony in need of release from their pain. I do what I have to in order to protect my tribe.” Dash’s eyes slowly turned cold during her entire explanation, her tone even and unwavering.

“B-But you don’t have to kill them... they... they have families... and friends and... loved ones.” Pinkie was shaking again, but this time it almost seemed like she was holding back anger.

“Families ask us to do this. We do not decide to do it. I have been thanked for releasing them from their pain. I have been thanked for killing rabid manticores in order to protect the hundreds, and I have been thanked for killing the ponies that have attacked us. I do what I must. This is who I am.” Dash’s tone became eerie and hard. She stared at Pinkie in contempt for questioning her duties.

Pinkie shook her head quickly, “No, it’s not... you can’t... you’re too nice and sweet and kind to have to do that! I don’t... believe you.” She sat sadly on her rump and stared down at the marble floor of the kitchen, not caring if the pegasus responded or not.

Anger sparked instantly within the pegasus, “What you think I wear these weapons as a fashion statement?! They aren’t here to make me look good, they are here to defend and kill! If you don’t want to believe me then fine, but don’t go lying to yourself about what is right in front of you!” A cold fire blazed within Dash’s magenta eyes as she glared at Pinkie.

The earth pony recoiled instantly at seeing Dash so angry. She stared fearfully and confusedly into the pegasus’ eyes for a few moments. The truth was painted on Rainbow’s face and in her freezing stare; she nodded slowly and trotted out of the room as quickly and quietly as she could. I did it again! Why must I be so...?

Halting the berating of herself she saw the comfy bed Rainbow had used for so long. She thought of curling up in all those cosy blankets and falling asleep forever. She knew she couldn’t do that really, but that didn’t help with cheering her up.

Instead, she sat on her haunches and dangled her back-legs off the bed sadly. Her ears drooped to the sides of her head and she held back sniffs.

A low creaking noise alerted Pinkie to the presence of another pony. Looking up, she locked eyes with gentle looking magenta eyes. Halting in the doorway, Dash sat on her rump and addressed Pinkie formally, “Look...I’m sorry you had to find out this way alright? This is probably a lot to take in...” gritting her teeth she forced herself to continue, “I’m...sorry...that I yelled at you.”

“No it... it’s not your fault... It’s mine. I’m just not used to hearing about this kind of stuff... I just can’t see you doing anything so... horrible, even if it is to help ponies... It must take a lot of courage...” Pinkie stared down at her hooves. She couldn't bring herself to look into the pegasus’ eyes anymore.

Shaking her head, Dash slowly approached Pinkie. The gentle look never left her face. “Either way Pinkie, I’m still...sorry....that I scared you.” Once she reached the downcast mare, she gently placed a fore-hoof onto Pinkies. “I...won’t hurt you...alright?”

A warm feeling started from her hoof and worked its way up to her heart and her face. She slowly looked up at the pegasus dressed in armor. Seeing Rainbow’s sincere expression a knowing smile bounced across the pink pony’s brightening face, “... I know...”

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable under Pinkie’s gaze, Dash pulled away and cleared her throat. “W-well good! You should know better.”

Pinkie giggled and hopped up from the bed, walking over to Rainbow and bumped her teasingly, “You’re silly Dashie... I think it’s about lunchtime now... Do you want anything?” She asked happily and trotted into the kitchen.

Startled by the bump, Dash almost didn’t hear Pinkie’s question. Shaking her head she trotted after her, a grin set on her face. “Buck yea I do! I’m starving!”

“Great! So do you want soup again? I’ve still got some of your favorite left.” Pinkie checked each cupboard and noticed the cupcakes from the week before wrapped up in the freezer. She glanced over her shoulder at the approaching pegasus and looked back to the fresh-looking minty cakes before her. She couldn't bring herself to shut the door; she could only stare fondly at the small sweets at the memory from the week before. She said she liked them...

Tilting her head in confusion, Dash stared at the mesmerized pony curiously. “What are you looking at that is so interesting, Pinkie?” Trotting closer, she attempted to shove her way beside the pony to see what it was.

Pinkie, happy to let her see, bounced aside and smiled kindly at her friend, “O-Oh, sorry Dashie... I was just thinking about when I made you those super yummy cupcakes. I forgot I put them in the freezer. They should still be good though, I think... I can test them for you if you want. Make sure they’re not dangerous or anything.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Dash grabbed a cupcake and popped it into her mouth. She chewed quietly on the cupcake, relishing it’s sweet flavor. “They seem fine to me.” Dash reached for a few more and trotted over to the couch to relax. “Let me know when lunch is ready ‘kay?”

“Okie dokie Dashie! Dashie’s favorite miracle healing soup coming right up!” Pinkie giggled at what she said and trotted over to the stove top to set it up to cook the chili. She hummed along to a tune only she could understand properly as she filled the pot with water and placed it on the stove to heat it up. ‘I’ll have it done in two shakes of a pony’s tail!” She spoke, shaking her tail once and gasping, “I better time my shakes better.”

Dash shook her head at Pinkie’s crazy antics, still not use to her odd behavior. Instead of annoying her like it use to, it made a small smile form on her face. Realising what she was doing, she quickly schooled her expression to look bored and uninterested at what was happening.

Pinkie noticed and chuckled softly at Dash’s attempt at hiding her obvious excitement at having those cupcakes AND her favorite chili at once. She turned back to her work as she heard the water boiling. She prepared the ingredients and dumped them carefully into the pot as if she had made this a million times before. She probably had.

Dash found herself drifting toward the kitchen. The smells making her stomach growl loudly. Her wings involuntarily began fluttering, causing her to hover above the pink pony so she wouldn’t distract her from cooking.

Pinkie, however, felt the cooling breeze coming from her wings and looked up at the pegasus, while still facing the stove top and the pot of chili in her hooves, “Hiya Dashie! Too hungry to wait? Here, you can have the first taste of the chili!” Pinkie lifted a spoonful of chili up toward the pegasus.

Fluttering closer, Dash carefully slid the spoon in her mouth and pulled away the contents of the spoon with a satisfied moan. Her lips puckered together when they clasped around it. Pinkie found herself blushing at the display. “H-hey Dashie...Would you like to have a few more bites?”

“W-Well, I... I don’t...” She looked down at the chili pot, at the spoon, and back at Pinkie. She felt heat spread over her cyan face as she gulped lightly, her wings tensing up slightly, “I... I would love some...” She smiled down at the pink pony with an increasing blush in her cheeks and a hungry look in her eyes. A sudden fearful feeling clenched at her heart, halting her actions.

Looking around for anything to diffuse the situation, she grabbed a nearby bowl and presented it to Pinkie. Giggling, Pinkie stared at Dash with an almost predatory look gleaming in her eyes. “It’s not ready for that silly...but I can give you a few more spoonfuls.”

Heart pounding so hard, Dash swore Pinkie could hear it, she fluttered away from the pink mare. She was still wary of her and didn’t want to...complicate things...

“W-Where are you going Dashie?” Pinkie stared wide-eyed at the retreating form. Why did I do that?! Now she’s mad at me for sure! She turned her head down to stare at her hooves in anger of herself.

So she didn’t notice the pegasus look over her shoulder at the pink pony with a small smile and a light blush still present on her face. She turned back around quickly and made her way into the bedroom to think about her situation.

What am I doing? She needs to stay a friend... I’m even pushing it with her being a friend. I have to keep whatever... THIS IS from happening. This CAN’T happen. It’s for both Pinkie’s and my safety. I have to keep pushing her away... Determination washed over her; decision filling her. I will NOT be responsible for this pony’s death.

Filling the bowls she had grabbed from the cupboards, Pinkie sighed. Okay... enough of that... it’s just lunch and Dashie’s my friend... It’s her favorite lunch... She looked down at the chili. Oh, I hope it’s cool enough for her this time.

As she approached the bedroom she could see Dash seated on her flank in the center of the room and gulped. She walked forward, cautious and noisy so as not to startle the pegasus from her thoughts, “H-Here you go Dashie! I hope it’s right this time...” Pinkie hoofed over the bowl and sat down a few hooves away from her with her own bowl.

Dash mutely lifted the spoon to her mouth and began eating it slowly, not focusing on anything in particular. All of her attention was on the pink pony; prepared to move if she tried to get any closer than what she was now. e could feel the fur on the back of her neck rise; as if she was preparing for battle.

Pinkie never even looked her way. She merely focused her eyes on her chili and when she was finished she only smiled once in Dash’s direction, careful not to make eye contact. She got up and walked back into the kitchen quietly.

The awkwardness that had finally dissipated only a few hours ago had returned twice as thick between the two ponies. One unsure how to act, the other building up walls to keep the other away.

What she had thought would be better to have happen had become the opposite. She shook that thought from her mind. No, it’s better this way... Her thought trailed off and she looked into the hallway at the entrance to the kitchen. But... what now...? She looked back down at her finished bowl and sighed. I guess... I should at least put this in the sink... She got up hesitantly and, as casually and coolly as she could, walked into the kitchen and set her bowl down.

Turning to head back to the room, she was shocked to find an uncharacteristically serious pink pony staring back at her. Shuffling backward, Dash collided with the counter. She was trapped.

“Hi Dashie... did you like it? The chili I mean?” She quickly added, backing away to let Dash breath easily, “S-Sorry... I forgot... about your space...” She looked down slightly, but could still make out Rainbow’s calming expression at seeing her further away.

“Oh yea it was good...Don’t worry about it.” Dash smiled awkwardly at Pinkie. She didn’t like these feelings that were rushing through her so violently. They somehow increased in power from the last time she felt them.

She looked back up, but stared at the stove top just passed her, “O-Okay... that’s good... I’ll just... be outside for a bit okay? Call me if you need anything.” She began lightly bounding her way to the exit, never making any motions or glances towards the cyan mare as she hopped out of sight.

Rainbow Dash’s heart clenched painfully in her chest. This is for the best...this is for the best. She attempted to calm herself with these thoughts...but it did nothing to help. Frustration began to build rapidly within her. Her frustration finally manifested itself in a solid punch- straight through a cabinet door.

“Dashie!” Pinkie called from outside and quickly found herself a few hooves from the angry pegasus, “What happened? Are you hurt?”

Snorting, Dash looked down at her hoof. Blood oozed from the soft part under the hoof, chunks of wood lodged in the crevices. Turning her attention to the obliterated door, she felt satisfaction flow through her. “I’m fine Pinkie, I’m fine.”

Looking down at Rainbow’s hoof, she gasped at the blood dripping freely to the floor. Her heart raced and she felt fear take hold of her emotions, “But... But your hoof... I-I’ve gotta get some bandages quick! I promised myself and your friend that I’d look after you and I haven’t been. Wait here!”

Pinkie zoomed off to get the first-aid kit and returned the next second. “Sorry I took so long.” She huffed.

Dash looked up at Pinkie absentmindedly; she was currently picking out the chunks of wood. Any other pony would have been crying out in pain, but Dash was able to remove them with a strange sense of calmness surrounding her. Dislodging the chunks caused the tissue to tear further; the bleeding intensified and flowed freely down her upturned foreleg.

“Dashie STOP! Let me help you!” Pinkie cried out loudly to the pegasus, hoping to grab her attention.She extended a fore-hoof, but remembered what doing that got her into and lowered it, “... Please...?” She whispered, almost to herself.

Dash’s ears twitched, she turned to the visibly upset pony and sighed in defeat. “Here.” Dash thrusted her bloody hoof toward Pinkie. A somewhat guilty expression washing across her face. She didn’t mean to freak her out.

Pinkie recoiled at the sudden offering of help and backed up a little. She stepped forward and went to grab the extended hoof with her own to wash it in the sink, but froze again. What if this upsets her more...?

Pinkie adopted a calm and somewhat sad expression as she moved away from the injured mare. She looked back at Dash, “C-Come on Dashie, you... you should really get it all cleaned first...”

The frustration that had been ebbing away returned at full force. “DARN IT PINKIE!” She slammed her injured hoof down on the stone counter, cracking it. “What in the hay is your problem now?! At least I have a reason to...n-never mind...” She turned away from the stunned mare and began cleaning her injured hoof.

Pinkie gulped and stepped back again, lowering her head in defeat, “W-Well... whenever I get close or... touch you... or do anything you... get all uncomfortable and I don’t want that to happen to you, so I... just... don’t do anything... I don’t want you to hate me Dashie...”

“Well don’t WORRY! YOU MAKE IT TOO DARN HARD TO- uh... you shouldn’t think stupid things like that...You didn’t do anything wrong.” Dash felt her face heat up with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

“Then... why do you act so weird when we start talking? Do I scare you or make you nervous... ‘cause I don’t mean to...” Pinkie stammered slightly, but regained her composure quickly and finished, “... I don’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, I... want you to get better... so you can see your friends again and return to your tribe...”

Freezing at Pinkie’s words, Dash finished bandaging her hoof before turning to face her, “Look... What I am doing... is saving your life. You can act however you want alright?” Tension built inside Dash, forcing her to turn away from the pink mare.

“Why do you keep SAYING that?! How do you expect me to know how you feel when you don’t TELL me how you actually feel?!” A sudden heat of anger and frustration rose up in the pink pony’s body and it burst out freely at the dumbfounded pegasus.

“....Because telling you is dangerous...” Dash had an unreadable expression covering her face. She clenched and unclenched her jaw rapidly as she glared off at nothing.

Pinkie’s anger continued to build and she stepped forward, glaring at the pegasus, “Why? Because you hate me? Or- Or like me? Or you despise me?! What is so dangerous that I can’t know about-?”

Taking in a sharp breath, Dash’s smoldering eyes locked with Pinkie’s blazing eyes. “Because if you knew, you would die...and I don’t want that to happen.”

“I don’t care! Not knowing is more dangerous to me than knowing ever is... I don’t want to hurt you either...” Pinkie’s anger subsided into an inwardly sad expression and she let her head drop finally. “... I really don’t...”

Dash swallowed thickly, her emotions roaring wildly within her, “Pinkie... I... can’t. I don’t want to be the reason why you are killed. It’s just not safe...” Her emotions made her tremble madly; she was itching to hit something, anything to vent away the emotional roller coaster she was involuntarily riding.

“But...” Pinkie looked up into the pegasus’ eyes and saw the hesitation in her eyes; it was too much to bare. She looked away and trotted into her room without another word to the armored pony. Why...? She thought to herself.

As soon as Pinkie left, Dash cried out in a blind, emotional driven, destructive rage. She began smashing anything she could with her bare hooves. Not feeling any satisfaction using her blades. By the time she was finished her bandaged hoof was soaked with blood. Her other hoof didn’t fair any better. Blood dripped liberally from the torn flesh. She sat in the middle of the torn apart room growling in frustration.

In the bedroom the pink pony covered her ears with her two pillows and curled up into a ball, wanting to escape both physically and mentally from the exploding situation in front of her. She clenched her jaw and her eyes shut hoping that she wouldn’t be able to hear the agony the pony in the other room was feeling, if not by her wounds, by something else.

Dash mutely shuffled through the destroyed room and began treating her ruined hooves yet again. She stared blankly at the pink water flowing down the drain as she washed them carefully. Looking up from the blood tainted water, she began surveying the destruction that had just taken place. Smashed cabinet doors, some even ripped straight off the hinges, cracked stone counter and walls, shattered dishes, dented pots and pans, as well as torn blankets greeted her. Her blood stained many of the objects within the room.

She sighed, looking down at her wounded fore-hooves. This isn't going to help..... She thought. Pushing her away makes her upset, yet if I don't...

She carefully walked into the living room, watching the fire flicker. She sat down in front of it, allowing herself to become lost in the flames warm glow. She let her mind wander, unsure of her own actions.

"What am I going to do....?" She groaned, hanging her head. "This is too hard....."

A quiet, timid voice called from the hallway, “D...Dashie...? Are you- Are you alright...?”

Dash quickly threw her head up and met the pony’s cyan-blue eyes. She froze again and let out a difficult sigh before answering her, “Y-Yeah Pinkie...”

The pink pony suddenly rushed in taking the bandages in her mouth and sitting down in front of the pegasus. Taking the gauze in her hooves she looked into Dash’s eyes, “Here Dashie... It’ll be easier if I do it.” Pinkie waited intently for the Rainbow to show any acknowledgement before attempting to help. She still didn’t want to startle her again after all this.

Dash slowly presented her severely injured hooves to Pinkie, looking everywhere except in the direction of the pink mare.

Ignoring the pegasus’ apprehension to look at her, Pinkie focused on wrapping the bandages carefully around her hooves. Unable to hide a smirk the earth pony looked up to Dash when she noticed the other fore-hoof bleeding, “Again, Dashie...?” Pinkie clicked her tongue jokingly and continued wrapping them.

Dash’s ears laid back in partial guilt. She had completely obliterated Pinkie’s kitchen and here she was still here helping her. “I’ll... clean up my mess. Alright?”

Pinkie shook her head and finished bandaging up the other hoof, “Nopey dopey Dashie. You’re too hurt right now to help. You need to rest your hoovsies... Your Auntie Pinkie Pie has it all taken care of.” The earth pony shot Dash a genuine joyful smile and brought Rainbow’s hoof gently to the ground, “Do ya think you can get to bed by yourself?”

Dash snorted, “C’mon Pink’s I have had way worse than damaged hooves before, and I continued doing my job. It doesn’t even bother me.” To punctuate her point, Dash trotted easily around the room. “Let me help. I destroyed your stuff, I should clean it up.”

“Uh...” Seeing the pegasus’ determined expression Pinkie held back her argument and nodded gently, “Okay... but if you end up getting yourself hurt again you’re going straight to bed, got it?” She ended her speech with a head tilt directed at the cyan pegasus and waited for her reply.

“Yea, yea... fine.” Waving off Pinkie’s concerns, Dash began gathering up the destroyed material. She worked diligently. Taking care in all of the unharmed belongings so they wouldn’t get ruined. Buzzing around the home with her wings, she managed to clean up most of her mess all by herself.

Pinkie watched Dash work for a few moments, taking in how dedicated to helping with the clean up she was, only until she realised she wasn’t doing anything. She quickly got to work, starting at the opposite end that Dash had began at and carefully picked up the broken plates and dented pots and pans that lay scattered along the floor.

She worked diligently, not really paying attention to her surroundings except for those smashed and broken objects on the floor. She made her way along and bumped into something hovering a few hooves above her. It was Rainbow Dash.

“Oops... sorry Dashie. Guess I should watch where I’m going, huh?” She looked cheerfully into the magenta-colored eyes of the pegasus and smiled her bright, friendly smile.

Before Rainbow could make a reply though, Pinkie bounced off a tad shyly to the other side of the room to place the plates that weren’t broken back in the shelves. She wiggled her rump and tail absentmindedly as she did so.

Dash immediately turned her head away from Pinkie. A light blush staining her cheeks. Why did she have to do things like that? Attempting to distract herself from what she had just seen, she poured every ounce of energy into cleaning up the damaged goods.

Pinkie’s head turned back around to find a warmth spreading across her face as well. She tore her eyes away from the cyan mare and cleaned up the bashed in cupboards on the floor. She didn’t want these feelings to take hold of her. No Pinkie, you can’t do that... It upsets Dashie...

Finishing up her side of the room, Dash surveyed the area to make sure she didn’t miss anything. Feeling satisfied, she gracefully landed on the, now clean, floor. A small wince shot threw her. Oh yea...I hurt my hooves. Shrugging it off, she trotted over to the couch again and laid down to rest.

Noticing the lack of blue and grey in the area now, Pinkie surveyed the kitchen before poking her head into the living room and spotting the missing pegasus splayed out on the sofa. Turning away hurriedly the pink pony blushed deeper and tried to shake off the feeling she had, “Oh, hi Dashie... you okay? I mean, of course... you’re okay... never mind... uh... How about dinner...?”

Dash had never seen Pinkie so flustered before. She found the entire display, adorable. Smiling brightly at the pink pony, Dash nodded vigorously. “Sure Pink’s. Dinner sounds great!” She was completely captivated by the entire scene. Unable to control her actions, she was running on pure emotion.

Pinkie was taken aback by Dash’s excited response and swallowed thickly, “O-Okay... What would you like?”

“Whatever you want to make. I bet it will be awesome!” Dash gave Pinkie a small, secret smile.

Gulping, Pinkie stepped back clumsily and hit the wall with her flank. Looking first at her rump and then back at the pegasus, the pink pony smiled weakly, “... Uh... heh well, okay... I’ll make you the bestest most tastiest meal you’ve ever had EVER!” Being overwhelmed by the look Dash was giving her, Pinkie darted out of sight and into the kitchen. So... what was that...?

Chuckling in amusement, Dash’s smile turned gentle and, dare I say, loving. She had become lost in the emotions that she had been so desperately pushing back only a while ago. She watched the flustered pink pony rush around the kitchen. Noticing how she seemed to mutter to herself whenever she forgot something important to the meal, like the pan to cook it with.

Picking up the pan Pinkie did talk to herself, but it wasn’t about forgetting the pan, “If... If I can’t do that stuff, why can she...? She tells me not to ‘cause it’s dangerous, but then she does that...” She places the pan down on the stove top and sighs heavily into it, “What’s so dangerous about feelings anyway...?”

Realising just what she was doing, Dash shook her head violently in an attempt to rid herself of the thoughts growing in her mind. Tearing her eyes away from the pink mare, she snuggled deeper into the couch. Reminding herself that she needed to keep Pinkie away, her ears fell flat against her head and her mood rapidly dropped.

Pinkie busied herself in the kitchen, preparing the meal for the night and keeping those creeping feelings out of her pink head. She made chili, soup, and spaghetti all from the recipes she’d learned by herself, after she discovered parties. She had molded them into perfection and needed no recipe books or directions to make them; she had them drilled into her head.

Unfortunately, being the pink pony that she was she couldn’t shake the feelings she had off and kept coming back to them. “No Pinkie, she doesn’t feel that way... and neither should I... She’s just being nice... A good friend...” She looked down at the finished chili and remembered when Dash had been so keen to try it straight from the spoon. She smiled lightly and turned the element off to wait for the rest of the dinner to be juuust right.

Dash, being inpatient, trotted into the kitchen and peered at the food. “Is it ready yet Pinkie?” She moved closer, accidentally brushing her tail against Pinkie’s flank. She was so focused on the food she didn’t even notice, even when the pink mare tensed up beside her.

“D-Dashie...?! D... Don’t do that...” She looked up into magenta-colored eyes of Dash and saw her silent apology. She sighed and glanced back at the stove top, “... They’re almost ready... Do you want the chili right now? It’s cooled off enough...” Pinkie managed to smile at the pegasus and inwardly chuckled to herself at how she tried so hard to get the temperature for the chili right.

Feeling mildly embarrassed, Dash shrugged. “I suppose...You know you don’t have to make my favorite all the time Pink’s. You can make whatever you want, it won’t bother me.”

“I... I know... but it just makes you look so happy... you deserve to be happy all the time...” She smiled across at the pegasus and filled the bowl with the chili before freezing with the spoon, “Do... Do you wanna...?”

Without thinking, Dash gently pulled Pinkie’s hoof toward her. She carefully slid the spoon in her mouth and slowly pulled the chili off the spoon with a satisfied moan. “It’s good Pink’s. You make really good chili...”

“Th...Thanks Dashie... The other stuff should be ready, so I’ll get it all set up for you... You can just... sit at the table while I do all the kitchenie stuff...” Pinkie giggled and grabbed the spaghetti pot in her hooves, carefully scooping out the noodles into the bowl.

She then took the sauce from the back element and drizzled it over the spaghetti. She did the same thing twice and moved onto the soup, using a soup ladle to remove the contents of the pot into the bowls.

Nodding with a job well done, Pinkie turned to find that the pegasus was still watching her carefully maneuver around the small space, “Oh, Dashie... Here you go... Dinner is served.” She smiled pleasantly at Dash and waited for her to take the bowls.

A strong appreciative feeling washed over Dash. Carefully taking the bowls, she nuzzled Pinkie’s cheek affectionately and pulled away quickly once she realized what she was doing. “I...uh.. Thanks Pinkie.” Flushing brightly, she carefully carried the bowls to the table and settled into her seat.

Pinkie felt as if her face caught on fire. Determination set firmly within her as she marched straight up to Dash. “Dash...I know you said it was too dangerous for me to know, but...I want-no...I DESERVE to know. Please! Tell me why I can’t know your feelings! Why are you acting this way!”

Dash leaned back in her chair as far as she could. Pinkie’s stare was hard and unwavering. Her hooves rested on the armrests of the chair, leaving Rainbow trapped. Turning her head away from Pinkie, Dash muttered out an answer.

Straining her ears, Pinkie leaned closer to Dash, “What was that?”

Jerking back to face Pinkie with a pained expression covering her face, Dash ground out irritatedly, “Because I think I LOVE you!”

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Chapter 6

Several pegasi halted their early morning activities as soon as the spotted the cyan pegasus flying back into the tribe. Many started cheering wildly, others saluted her; deep respect shining in their eyes. The excitement drew out Commander Hurricane, whom spotted Rainbow Dash almost immediately.

Rainbow Dash was currently being smothered by relieved pegasi; getting hugs and warm salutes from her lower ranking officers when Hurricane burst through the crowds to soar across and land directly in front of the cyan mare.

“Lieutenant General Dash, where have you been all this time? The pegasi military was just about to confirm your death.” Irritation was clearly present in the Commander’s thundering voice as she stood above the blue pony, waiting for her reply.

Dash saluted the pegasi leader and began her long explanation that she had come up with on the spot, “Commander. My apologies, but as I was on patrol in the storm a group of a hundred thousand unicorns ambushed me and in cased me in an impenetrable wall of energy!”

Dash waved her forelegs around dramatically, “They slammed me to the cold hard ground, breaking several ribs in the process. Agonizingly, I managed to stand up and I beheld the entire unicorn horde surrounding me. Thinking quickly, I sped forwards aimed at the largest cluster of unicorns that still stood out of formation. I nimbly flew around and through the fields of energy created by the multitude of unicorns around me. I managed to cut through the wall of pony easily with my wing blades spread and I soared up and out of reach of their energy beams.”

Several pegasi gasped in awe; the pegasus had to hold back giggles at how melodramatic they all looked. It reminded her of Pinkie’s long gasps of air whenever she thought something was surprising, amazing, or exciting.

Dash stood on her hind-legs posing dramatically, “I had just pictured freedom when I felt the pain in my ribs increase exponentially and my wings crumbled under the stress of holding my body up any longer. I steadily fell from the sky and managed to regain my flight, but unfortunately another entire squadron of unicorns lay in wait in case an amazing ambushed pony such as myself attempted to escape.”

Dash flared her wings aggressively, “Unable to turn out of range quickly enough the unicorns blasted me with magical energy and I fell back shaken, burned, and paralyzed as the rest of the unicorns approached.” Rainbow collapsed to the ground in the best Pinkie impersonation she could muster under the circumstances and looked up at the pegasi around her.

Dash pressed a fore-hoof against her heart, and drooped her ears in mock sadness, “I watched helplessly as I was carried quite uncomfortably back to their base of operations. I still have some cramps from that actually if you wanna take a look at it later.” Dash motioned to her back briefly while smirking at one of the nurse pegasi at her side.

“Anyway, for the next few weeks they kept me under strict surveillance. Never letting me eat or letting me out of the field they had formed around me. Now I’m never one to give up, so every chance I got when the lame unicorn snobs weren’t watching I would test the walls of the barrier for subtle weaknesses that might break when put under stress.” Dash boasted with a smug look crossing her face. She thought of how the earth pony would see right through her attempt at coming up with something to describe this kind of a situation. She smiled lightly.

“Unicorn magic had one weakness when it came to their walls: something this powerful had to be done by at least thirty unicorns for it to work properly... and in some cases one unicorn might have been feeling... a little under the weather. ‘Cause you know how pompous and over exaggerated they can get when it comes to weather conditions.” Dash rolled her eyes and inwardly smiled at the murmur of agreement throughout the crowd. She imagined Pinkie disagreeing with her and saying how nice she was sure they all could be to one another and everypony else if given the chance... or a proper party.

“I could never find the exact location of such a dent in the frame work of the energy field, but I knew that if I was given a chance of escape nothing would stop me from getting out of there. So for a while I stayed quiet... biding my time until they would allow me some food in. Every time they did I would watch the walls for any signs of a gap I could break through and finally be rid of those annoying ponies.” Rainbow Dash smiled deviously. Several young pegasi cheered her name. She thought back to when Pinkie would call her by ‘Dashie’ and how she would always tell her to knock it off. That seemed long long ago now though... almost non-existent. Almost.

Dash suddenly looked down, solemn and sad for some reason, “They never told me why they did it; why they trapped me in for so long, but I didn’t care. I swore to myself that I would get back at those ponies somehow... As I got used to being around unicorns all the time I took to pulling pranks on them, as a little TASTE of revenge for what I would do to them once I got out. They thought I was just pissed about something, but I got to them anyway. I was testing them... to see if the walls had any significance to letting them in or... if there were doors for them to walk into.” Dash chuckled to herself at the thought of all the pranks she could have done...if this actually happened. She thought of how fun it would’ve been with the pink pony.

“A month had passed by, by now and I was just fed up with all their annoying talk about fashion and being high-class and prissy... when I saw my chance of escape. A small door just to the right of me opened every time a unicorn walked by, regardless of whether they entered or not. I formulated a plan then.” Dash stood straight, with a superior look forming on her face. She stopped and stared at all the ponies in awe before her; hanging on her every word and phrase. She thought of how Pinkie probably would have burst out laughing at all of them by now for falling for such a silly story.

“At night, when their was only one guard standing watch outside I would fake an injury or make it sound like I was free. Anything to make them come running over to that spot so I could finally take my leave of their irritating blather. So, by the weeks end, I had readied myself for my perfect plan of escape. I always think best under pressure... or incredible annoyance of other pony’s non-sense, so the unicorn stood away making sure not to activate the door unless it was necessary and I lifted myself up. I flew as high as I could while inside the cramped space; which by the way was really tiny, so it was amazing that I could do that.” Dash flexed her wings proudly, showing off the strength they contained.

“At the top I flapped my wings as hard as they could go and started shouting out; “I’m free you pompous weirdos, try capturing the Dash again and see what happens this time”. The stupid snobicorn fell for it; ran straight to the door and inside.” Dash stopped her story to chuckle at the ground.

“I had already flown outside... so when he turned around... he was trapped inside it himself!” Dash was nearly rolling around in hysterical laughter at her lie and how all the pegasi, even Fluttershy, seemed to be lapping up. She would never SAY that was the reason for her laughing, but it fit with the story so she let it slip.

Regaining her composure Rainbow sat up and finished her brave tale, “So... then I just stormed a little bit through the unicorn’s post and changed a few things... like packing up their tents for ‘em... with them still in it... and causing a massive storm to stampede through the camp and hitting the leaders tent dead on. Her mane was soooo messy...” Dash chuckled as she remembered when she had been so shy towards Fluttershy when she noticed how messy her mane still was after her little... encounter with Pinkie Pie.

Stifling her giggles for another time, Dash looked up into the Commander’s stern eyes and completed her story, “So after that I met up with Fluttershy on my way back and she nursed me back to health before we came here.”

Commander Hurricane smirked, “Well done, Lieutenant General. I shall have our best medicinal pegasi assist you.” Turning toward Fluttershy, Hurricane’s expression became serious, “You have really shown your worth Private. You deserve to be promoted despite the fact that you insist on working with such useless dirt animals.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in shock. She saluted Hurricane quickly,”Y-yes, thank you Commander!”

“Since you are the best here, you will attend to Lieutenant General Dash’s issues.” Turning back to Dash, Hurricane clapped Dash good naturedly on the back. “Welcome back.”

“Yes, Commander. Thank you!” She answered with a firm salute to her leader.

Hurricane nodded silently and turned to the other pegasi angrily, “What are you all looking at?! Get back to your duties and allow this pegasus her space.”

The others saluted their leader quickly and flew off, not wanting to anger the already grumpy Hurricane. Only Fluttershy remained, huddled behind the cyan mare for protection.

When the Commander finally left in a huff, Dash turned to her shy friend and smiled, “She’s gone now ‘Shy. You can relax.”

Fluttershy crawled out from behind her friend and smiled back weakly, “O-Oh, sorry. I... It’s just that... s-she’s been getting angrier and angrier... ever since she found out you disappeared. I was worried at what she might have done if you hadn’t come back at all.” She lowered her head as she trembled a little at the thought.

Dash reassuringly placed a fore-hoof on the yellow pony’s shoulder, “Well you don’t have to worry about that now... I just... have to worry about how I’m supposed to get out of her again. Security will probably be a lot tighter now because I’ve been gone for so long.”

“A-And I’m not sure that little story you told... helped at all either.” Fluttershy added, from underneath her pink mane.

Dash chuckled, “Nah, they would look for UNICORNS not earth ponies. What could an earth pony do to an airborne pegasus anyway?”

“I... I don’t know, but it won’t be easy to see Pinkie Pie now... I just hope you know what your doing Rainbow.” Fluttershy muttered out meekly.

Dash sighed heavily, “Yea...Me too.”

Dash returned to her normal duties the next day after receiving a clean bill of health from Fluttershy. She threw herself at training harder than she ever had before. She had even destroyed some of the equipment. When she was set off to kill rabid animals, she was even more ruthless than before. She had been struggling to ignore the ache in her heart that grew everyday. Being away from Pinkie was hard.

Dash was even more forceful during mandatory meetings with the other tribe leaders. Especially toward the earth pony leader, Chancellor Pudding-head. Commander Hurricane was pleased with Dash’s attitude. Hurricane felt as if Dash finally learned to completely despise the other tribes; to not let them get away with anything.

Whenever they returned to the pegasi tribe, Dash would loudly complain about how obnoxious Princess Platinum was or how stupid Chancellor Pudding-head was. “WHO THE HAY WEARS PUDDING AS A HAT?! It’s soooo stupid! I guess that’s what you get from a no good dirt pony...”

The other pegasi nodded in agreement at her words and continued on with their duties. With the soldiers leaving the area, Dash was allowed to settle her nerves. I don’t know how I’m ever going to get out of her to see Pinkie Pie again. I never noticed how packed with ponies this place is. She shook that thought from her mind and firmly stated to herself that she would find a way... she was Rainbow Dash after all... and Rainbow Dash always keeps her promises.

Satisfied with herself, she began flying towards Fluttershy’s cloud home and remembered that day in the woods with the bunny. “I gotta see how she’s doing with the little guy.” She zoomed forward and quickly spotted the small cloud home, low to the ground. It was surrounded by a large field of flowers and trees, seemingly missed by the storm front... either that or Fluttershy removed the snow herself. Rainbow was never sure with that mare, but she valued her friendship and landed just outside the cloud door.

Knocking quite loudly on, she was met with silence. She knocked again. Nothing. She looked around to see if Fluttershy was near her and she was met with a soft voice coming from the fields.

Dash’s ears perked at the familiar sound. Her heart beat faster; her emotions rose up within her. She could have sworn Pinkie was singing to her from far off. She was overcome with the emotions of being able to see the pink pony again. She completely shut off the voice inside her saying that it couldn't be Pinkie and instead raced ahead and into the wooded area. It HAD to be her.

Her hopes rose as she neared the sweet-sounding voice; she couldn’t contain her excitement or how much she truly missed the earth pony any longer and she yelled out, “Pinkie Pie!”

She stopped in her flight to stare at the pony that the voice belonged to and stammered out, “F-Fluttershy?” She was flushed with the emotions of seeing her pink pony again and the sight of the yellow mare caused her temporary high to fade into a depressed sigh, “S-Sorry ‘Shy... I thought you were...” She clenched her jaws together and sat down on her haunches miserably.

Looking concerned, the shy pegasus flew over to comfort the seated Dash, “Rainbow Dash! Are you alright?” She asked as she placed a fore-hoof over the cyan mare.

Retracting her hoof from Fluttershy’s, Dash stuttered, “I-I’m fine ‘Shy... N-No problem...” She darted her eyes away from the pegasus, afraid to show her emotions to anypony but Pinkie.

Fluttershy stepped back a bit to give the armored pony her space before replying, “You... You miss her... don’t you Rainbow?”

Dash looked up in surprise, but Fluttershy cut her off, “I see... how you treat the other ponies now... For how they treated her...”

Clamoring up, Rainbow looked away from the pegasus’ light blue eyes to stare at a bright pink flower all on it’s own, “I... I don’t...” She took a step towards the flower and hung her head, sighing, “I need to go see her Fluttershy... So badly...”

She sat down in front of the flower and sniffed it’s fragrance. It smelled sweet. Very sweet.

Carefully sitting down next to the upset pegasus, Fluttershy hugged her gently, “... Then... Then you’ll need some help to get to her...”

“COMMANDER HURRICANE!” Dash rushed into the military base with Fluttershy close behind.

“What is it Lieutenant General?”’ Hurricane gave Dash a mildly concerned look as she absentmindedly shifted through the paperwork in front of her.

“Uh... Fluttershy needs me to come with her to protect her while gathering medicinal berries! We are all out and if there is a rampart outbreak of pegasi-pox then we will all be doomed!” Dash desperately cried out to the commander, more in hopes of getting the ok to leave than to help out her tribe.

Arching an eyebrow at the two pegasi; Hurricane turned toward Fluttershy, “Is this true, Chief Sergeant Fluttershy?”

“O-oh yes...It will be devastating to the tribe if I don’t gather more.” Fluttershy spoke meekly, her salute shaky and unsure.

“Very well...” Hurricane nodded resolutely. Dash almost couldn’t contain the joy that filled her. “But you should bring another troop along just in case there’s trouble.” In an instant the joy she felt had evaporated.

“AIRMAN DERPY HOOVES! YOU WILL ACCOMPANY CHIEF SERGEANT FLUTTERSHY AND LIEUTENANT GENERAL RAINBOW DASH!” Nearly flying through the cloud wall in her rush to reach Commander Hurricanes side, Derpy saluted with a happy wall-eyed expression.

“Well Derpy? Do you accept this mission or not?” Hurricane tilted her head to the side a bit confused at how the grey pegasus entered.

Derpy only smiled brightly and yelled, quite pleasantly, “MUFFINS!”

Rainbow and Fluttershy gave each other weird looks and turned their heads back to the cross-eyed mare. Commander Hurricane, on the other hoof, just huffed and returned to her work with a final word, “Very well... Be cautious. We don’t need three ponies disappearing now.”

Dash saluted one last time with her hopes rising once more at having Derpy with them, “Yes Commander!” Without waiting for any other replies, she flew out of the military base and into the air towards Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy and Derpy followed swiftly and eventually caught up to the speeding cyan pegasus, relaxed that they had survived that ordeal, “... I can’t believe she believed us... I thought that she would have saw right through it instantly.”

“MUFFINS!” Was all Derpy gave as an answer.

Dash rolled her eyes and turned to Fluttershy, “Me neither ‘Shy, but that’s not important to me right now...” She turned her head back to the front and flew on towards Pinkie’s house in the mountains.

Pinkie Pie was outside, diligently building her fiftieth snow-pony. She had done everything to distract herself from missing Dash. She had baked everything she knew how to make as well as some new creations. Some were more successful than others. She cleaned her home so many times she could see herself in the stone floor. She even went as far as cleaning the outside of her home, refurnishing the igloo with ice furniture and making a pet snow alligator just for fun. She named him Gummy.

And no matter how hard she tried to prevent it, every pony came out looking exactly like Rainbow Dash. This one was no different and this one looked like Dash the last night she saw her flying away.

Pinkie gazed up into snow pony Dash’s eyes and her lower lip started to tremble. That tremble turned into sniffles as she collapsed into the pony with a tight hug. Her shoulders shook and she could hold back her tears no longer; they just dropped freely from her eyes and down her cheeks like streams.

Gulping down her tears, Pinkie stood shakily up from the embrace with the snow pony and sniffed again. She looked into her snowy eyes once more as her eyes began to glisten, “When are you coming Dashie...? … Please... come soon...”

Not receiving a reply from the ice sculpture, Pinkie lowered her head and turned away from the multitude of Dashie’s in front of her.

“PINKIE PIE!” A loud, brash voice suddenly invaded Pinkie’s ears.

Turning quickly to face where the voice came from, she spotted the cyan mare speeding toward her. “DASHIE!” Pinkie leaped high into the air and locked her forelegs around the pegasus.

Startled, Dash frantically grabbed Pinkie. “Jeez Pink’s... What if I didn’t catch you or you didn’t get high enough to grab a hold of me?”

Giggling, Pinkie snuggled into Dash, “I know you would’ve caught me silly!” Smiling cutely at Dash, Pinkie gave her a joyful kiss.

Sighing happily, Dash pulled the pink pony close as she landed carefully, “I’ve missed you Pinkie.”

Hugging the pegasus tighter in her hooves, Pinkie buried her head into Dash’s neck desperately, “I missed you too Dashie.”

Blushing slightly at the contact, Dash stuck her snout into the pink pony’s curly mane and remembered how sweet she smelled. Really sweet.

Gripping Dash’s hooves, Pinkie began pulling her inside her home. “Come on Dashie! I made some new sweets! You just GOTTA try some!”

Nearly falling on her face, Dash struggled to remain upright as the hyperactive pink pony pulled her. Once inside, a strong sweet smell attacking her. “W-what is it?” Dash was a little terrified of the unknown treat. It was as large as a male pony, lumpy and green.

“It’s my experiment! I smooshed together every tasty thing I could think of and that’s what came out!” Pinkie grinned proudly at the somewhat disturbed pegasus.

“I-is it safe to eat?” Morbid curiosity probed at Dash’s mind as she fluttered closer to the concoction, prodding it experimentally. It was squishy.

“I dunno!” Pinkie bounced toward Dash. “Wanna try some?”

Eyes widening in horror, Dash backed away from the treat slowly, “Uh...No thanks Pinkie. I’m good.”

Pinkie’s grin became teasing, “Aww...Is the big bad Rainbow Dash scared?”

“NEVER!” Flaring her wings, Dash took a big bite of the green treat. After chewing for a few moments, Dash began to gag. She rushed to the trash and spat the treat out. “HOW MUCH SUGAR DID YOU PUT IN IT?!”

Tapping her hoof against her chin, Pinkie hummed to herself in thought, “About.....42 bags. Why?”

Dash blanched, “Don’t you think that is a liiiiiittle too much?”

“Nopie dopie!” Pinkie bounced happily over to the treat and ate half of it in one bite. “MMMMMM. Juicy!” She turned back to see Dash’s mouth hanging wide open and eyes just as huge as her jaw. Pinkie tilted her head quizzically at the absolutely stunned pegasus before her, “What’s the matter Dashie?” She asked, licking her lips cheerfully.

Dash just stood there a few moments, unable to do anything else except stare at the pink pony and her very nearly gobbled sugary creation with slack-jawed awe. She closed her mouth shut and blinked her eyes a couple times to regain her focus on the situation.

“You... You just ate that thing in... And... and it’s so huge and... And you said it was juicy? I...” Rainbow looked at Pinkie and saw the beautiful and warm smile she always wore when around her and settled into the fact that this fun-loving pony couldn’t be explained. “Pinkie Pie, you are soo random.”

“Maybe that is why you taste so sweet...” Dash muttered quietly to herself.

“What was that Dashie?” Pinkie cocked her head to the side, a curious expression washing over her face.

Blushing violently, Dash stuttered out a reply, “N-nothing Pinks. Eh heh.”

Pinkie eyed Dash suspiciously for a moment before a bright blinding smile broke out onto her face. “Whatever you say, Dashie.” Pinkie gave Dash a flirty wink.

The heat rose up in her cheeks, but before she could do anything about it Pinkie gasped with sudden realisation, “Dashie... How did you get here? Were you hurt? Did anypony try and stop you from coming?”

Placing a comforting hoof over the stressed out pony’s lips, Dash calmly answered her, “Relax Pinks. Nopony saw me... well... nopony who saw me will tell, or actually be trusted much for that matter...” She chuckled at her light-hearted joke towards Derpy before returning her focus to Pinkie.

“W... What do you mean?” Pinkie strained out while grabbing the pegasus in a tender hug around her middle.

Dash giggled into the embrace and wrapped her hooves around Pinkie’s neck, “Well I got a little help from Fluttershy on this one... and another pony’s help, but she won’t be a problem for us. We’re safe. I’m safe Pinkie... and you’re safe with me, okay?”

Beaming up at Dash, a sudden question sprung into Pinkie’s mind, “Hey Dashie...Can I see you without your armor again?” She looked up at Dash with her big blue cyan eyes.

Blushing bright red at Pinkie’s suggestive question, Dash’s wings spread out stiffly and her magenta-colored eyes darted from left to right tensely, “W-Why would you a-ask that?”

“Oh, no reason. I just thought you’d wanna have some more fun while you’re here, that’s all.” Pinkie adopted a seductive stare directed at the cyan mare.

All Dash could do was gulp, quite thickly in fact, at the pink pony’s ‘offer’. Her wings flared dramatically.

“So... anyway... do you wanna see the rest of the stuff I made for yo-” The rest of Pinkie’s response was cut short by Rainbow’s lips pressed tightly against hers.

Without hesitation, Pinkie wrapped her fore-hooves around the cyan pegasus and returned the kiss with a fierce intensity.

While Rainbow continued desperately into the embrace, she began removing the armor and blades from her forelegs. When she had taken them off she immediately went for her wing blades, only to have Pinkie’s hooves reach them first, “It’ll be easier if I do it Dashie...”

Dash moaned softly at Pinkie’s tender hooves against her wings and brought her lips to the earth pony’s neck as she clumsily removed her weapons wrapped around her.

Groaning in response, Pinkie pulled Dash tighter against herself and began massaging the exposed wing carefully.

This earned a larger moan of pleasure from the cyan mare and she tensed her jaw around the pink pony’s neck. Pinkie groaned heavily and grabbed Dash’s wing tighter in her hooves, stroking it with more intensity than before.

With her face growing hotter and a fire roaring in her heart with Pinkie’s moaned approval, Dash lowered her hooves to rub at the pink pony’s cutie-marks. Pinkie tensed up with heat spreading through her and she scrambled to unhook the rest of the armor.

With a hot and wet desire overcoming every other thought on her mind, Pinkie pushed her entire chest against the pegasus to remove the plate of steel covering the pegasus’ back and made her way to her bedroom as she groped Dash’s tensed up wings.

Dash relaxed into Pinkie’s massage and grabbed her tightly with her hooves, shutting off every troubling image she had about being discovered with the pink pony. She moaned and arched her back blissfully at the earth pony’s desperate touch and lifted Pinkie up, pushing her against the wall just outside the bedroom.

She began licking at Pinkie’s neck while rubbing her cutie-marks faster. When this earned a shock of pleasure rippling down the earth pony’s body, Dash groaned as the air-borne mare tightened her grip on her wings almost to the point of feeling pain shoot through them. She quickly moved lower, licking Pinkie’s chest all over in an attempt to remember every taste the pink pony held.

Pinkie moaned and arched her back against the wall in bliss, releasing the cyan mare’s wings from their pleasurable massage. She lowered her hooves down to Dash’s hips and pulled them tighter to her own. As she held Rainbow’s cutie-marks and groaned in pleasure at the cyan mare’s quickly descending tongue, Pinkie began grinding her groin against Dash’s.

Feeling Pinkie’s groin against her body and the juices soaking into her coat, Dash let out a surprised groan of pleasure and buried her muzzle into the pink pony’s fur. She clenched her teeth against Pinkie’s body and basked in the desperate feelings the earth pony held within her for so long.

Pinkie ground herself against Dash harder, wanting to feel like she had that last night before she had to leave. She let out a stifled moan and brought the rainbow-maned pegasus’ groin closer to her own, getting a soft grunt from Dash to continue.

Another rush of heat flew through Dash and she lowered her head to lick at Pinkie’s clit with hot intensity. Feeling the sudden tensing of her muscles, Pinkie arched her back once more and groaned loudly with a shock of pleasure accompanying Rainbow’s wet tongue against her groin.

With the last strength left in her fore-hooves, Pinkie grabbed Dash’s helmet and tore it off in a blind fury so she could see the pegasus like nopony else can and collapsed into moans and groans at Rainbow’s soaking tongue.

Dash, enamored by the removal of her helmet, dove in licking the inside of Pinkie’s vagina and lapping up the juices that still remained inside. Pinkie shook violently with raw pleasure and grabbed Rainbow’s ears, locking her in place to continue her licking with only groans of long awaited happiness reaching Dash’s ears.

Feeling tensed up in Pinkie’s grasp Dash licked more viciously, finding the most stiff areas of her vagina and massaging them with her tongue. Pinkie’s hold on her intensified and she had to steady herself after she had let out her pleasurable groan into the pink pony’s opening.

Her wings had flew open and frozen, stretched out to their fullest. It was almost painful to move them. With her stiffened wings keeping her balance, Dash licked deeper into the pink pony’s vagina and grinded her tongue along the inside slowly.

Pinkie tugged hard on Dash’s ears, ferociously gripping them as if her life depended on it and let out a soft moan of pleasure at the ceiling. Another flush of heat washed through Rainbow and her licking became desperate; lapping at every inch of Pinkie’s vagina until the pressure built up inside was too much.

Pinkie tensed up and the walls of her vagina closed around the invigorated pegasus as she came. Her orgasm tore through every fibre of her being as she cried out, “D...DASHIE!” With one last moan of pure bliss, Pinkie loosened her grip on Dash’s ears and fell into the cyan mares hooves.

Dash lapped up the juices greedily as Pinkie came and licked her lips of the blissful wetness that still covered them. She looked up into Pinkie’s eyes and saw an almost predatory gaze returned to her.

“It’s your turn Dashie.” Pinkie knocked Dash over onto the floor and wrapped her fore-hooves around the cyan mare as she kissed and nipped at her neck. Pinkie laid her body out so their groins were yet again touching and gently rubbed her body against Dash’s.

A moan escaped Rainbow’s lips and she reached down at Pinkie’s cutie-marks, grinding her groin against the pink pony’s more viciously. She arched her back at the contact and groaned louder as Pinkie clenched her teeth on her exposed neck.

Pinkie stifled a moan against Dash’s neck and began to massage the cyan mare’s wings ferociously, earning her a sharp groan of pleasure from Rainbow as she stopped grinding to feel the bliss of Pinkie’s hooves against her tensed up wings. As the earth pony continued to rub at Dash’s wings she kissed the pegasus on the lips, sealing her moans away into Pinkie’s opened mouth.

She pressed her tongue into Dash’s mouth and started licking at the inside; Dash gasped slightly and returned the embrace with earnest, licking and sucking each other’s tongues heatedly. She rubbed her hooves up and down the pink pony’s body absentmindedly until she reached her cutie-marks. She focused on Pinkie’s kiss and began massaging the tender areas of Pinkie’s flank, getting a shocked gasp and moan from her.

Feeling invigorated from Dash’s touch, Pinkie felt a shock of pleasure through her and slowly broke the kiss. She looked teasingly into the cyan mare’s magenta eyes before sliding her body down lower, grinding as she did and settled to lick and nip at the pegasus’ legs.

Dash pushed her hooves down across her stomach and on top of Pinkie’s head; she groaned with pleasure as Pinkie lapped up the fluid draining from her vagina and continued to lick at her playfully.

With another tense moan, Dash grabbed Pinkie and positioned her over her opening. Giggling a little at Rainbow’s reaction to her teasing, Pinkie began licking at her clit. Her back and wings tensed up and she gripped Pinkie’s head tighter in her hooves, preventing her from playing with her anymore.

A silent moan escaped Dash as Pinkie plunged her tongue into the cyan mare’s opening, her mouth opening wide and her back arching with raw pleasure. Pinkie licked at the pegasus’ vagina, lapping up the fluids and massaging the tensed spots with her hot tongue.

Dash groaned and tightened her grasp on the pink pony, wrapping her back-legs around her as well, “Pinkie...” She growled quietly as the earth pony rubbed her cutie-marks carefully.

Pinkie’s ears perked at this and she began licking her vagina vivaciously, earning an exasperated moan from Dash. Heat washed through Rainbow and she closed her eyes as her wings and back-legs tensed up. She arched her back and groaned loudly as Pinkie licked her dry of fluids.

She continued to lick at her vagina until Dash’s entire body tensed up and she screamed, “PINKIE!” Pinkie caught most of the juices in her mouth as Dash came and she licked at her clit before standing up shakily and sitting down comfortably on top of Dash.

She nuzzled Dash’s chin and curled up in her strong fore-hooves as Dash sighed pleasantly. They lay there on the floor, with Dash’s back-legs still wrapped gently around the pink pony until the cyan mare lowered her head onto Pinkie’s curly pink mane and spoke softly, “I love you Pinkie Pie...”

She snuggled up closer to the pegasus and looked up into her magenta-colored eyes. She placed her lips over Dash’s in a long passionate kiss before smiling softly, with half-closed eyes, “I love you too Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie then proceeded to lower her head onto the rainbow-maned pony’s chest and sighed in time with Dash’s rapidly beating heart.

Suddenly, the sound of Pinkie’s front door slamming open forced Dash to leap out from under the pink mare and stand over her protectively. “WHO’S THERE?” Dash growled menacingly.

Fluttershy rushed in and immediately blushed, her wings flying open. “O-oh my gosh! I-I’m soo sorry!”

Dash blushed in embarrassment. Beneath her, she heard Pinkie growl out possessively. Dash felt a small grin form on her face. Pinkie seemed to notice Fluttershy’s wings react.

“H-here let me get your armor...” Rushing back into the main room, Fluttershy grabbed up the discarded armor and weapons and quickly flew them over to Dash. She looked everywhere except for Dash and refused to look until Dash finished putting on her armor.

“Is there something you needed Fluttershy?” Dash asked with great amusement in her voice as she carefully slid her helmet back on.

“W-we have to go back to the tribe now. If we stay out any longer they will think something happened to us.” Fluttershy quietly answered, still mortified that she saw Dash without her armor and above her partner no less.

Pinkie scrambled to her hooves and stared worriedly at Dash, “But you can’t... you- you just got here... There’s so much we need to catch up on...” She moved closer to the pegasus with glistening cyan-colored eyes.

Rainbow turned to face the pink pony and saw how much she had been missed; she also realised just how much she had missed Pinkie and wrapped her in a loving embrace to stop her from crying. Once the both had calmed down enough, Dash spoke quietly and tenderly to the earth pony in her hooves, “... I know Pinks, but-”

Pinkie tightened her grip on the pegasus, preventing her from continuing. Dash looked down at the pink pony and saw her smiling back at her, “You have to go Dashie... just... for a little bit, okay?” She closed her eyes and pressed her snout against the cyan mare’s chest in an attempt to quell her tears from forming in her eyes.

Dash watched as Pinkie’s breathing became erratic and she pulled the earth pony closer to her, placing her chin on Pinkie’s curly mane, “I’ll be back as soon as I can, Pinkie. I’ll... stay for longer next time... and you can show me everything you’ve done... Alright?” Tears fell from Dash’s eyes like rain drops and she huddled up to the sniffling pink mare in her hooves.

All Pinkie could do between her sobs was nod and moan her agreement.

Fluttershy waited patiently by the door, looking out over the hills and mountains covered in the winter’s blanket of snow. She turned back in time to see Dash and Pinkie break their embrace so they could saunter out of the house and into the breezy weather outside.

As they turned their attention to the wind, they saw a grey blur crash into one of Pinkie’s fifty finished snow ponies and scramble to get out again. Dash sighed and flew over to the troubled mare and yanked her quickly out of the snow pile, with Pinkie stifling a giggle behind her.

Finding her composure, or lack there of, Derpy joined the other three ponies and giggled softly at how cold that pony she bumped into was.

No words were spoken between the four ponies; they only walked up to the cliff front with small honest smiles spread across their faces. Pinkie turned suddenly to nuzzle the cyan mare one last time. It was a gesture that Dash returned gratefully before she took flight and grinned down at Pinkie before soaring off back to their base with Fluttershy not far behind.

No words were spoken. No words were needed. Pinkie smiled softly at the fading image of the pegasus. Dashie will be back.

Chapter 7

Dash felt lighter than air as she flew back to the pegasi tribe. Seeing Pinkie gave her a huge boost. Everything around her seemed awesome, like nothing could possibly go wrong.

“Who was that pony?” Derpy asked with a curious smile. She was flying upside-down.

Immediately the good feeling was gone. “None of your business, Derpy.” Dash growled out in annoyance. She didn’t feel like sharing personal information with anyone except for Pinkie or Fluttershy.

Derpy merely looked confusedly at Dash and looked around, suddenly worried, “Muffin? Where are you muffin? Muuuuffin!”

Dash rolled her eyes at the grey pegasus and looked over at Fluttershy, “Fluttershy? Do you think Pinkie will be okay?”

Fluttershy turned to her friend and smiled, “I’m sure she’ll be alright Rainbow Dash. She seemed to be happier than last time you left.”

“Yeah...” Dash sighed and looked down at the snow-covered land below her and thought about what the pink pony had said before she left. “... I have to go see her again soon... She said she had lots of stuff... to show me... I need to know what she meant.”

Fluttershy nodded gently in agreement, “Maybe... we can get you more time to spend with her next visit.”

Rainbow smiled at her long time friend. She was always so helpful, even in times of great danger, “Thanks ‘Shy. I owe you one.”

Arriving at the military base, they rushed in to speak to Commander Hurricane. “Commander Hurricane, the mission was successful. We have gathered enough to last us through the rest of winter.” Dash saluted with a ridged stance.

“Yea! Even with that random stop Lieutenant General Dash made!” Derpy gleefully commented rather loudly.

Dash could feel her mane stand on end at Derpy’s words.

Commander Hurricane’s eyes narrowed. “Oh? What kind of random stop, Airman Derpy Hooves?” She carefully analyzed each ponies behavior in front of her as she spoke.

“It was at this house with all kinds of snow ponies in front of it! Lieutenant General Dash came out with a bright pink earth pony next to her! They hugged and I think I even saw them hug with their faces!” Derpy beamed at the rigid form of Hurricane. A slow fury growing within her as she stared at Dash. Watching as she seemed to become a nervous wreak before her very eyes.

“D-Don’t listen to Derpy! She’s crazy remember? One too many hits in the head during training right?” Dash awkwardly slung her foreleg around Derpy, a strained smile coming onto her face.

“MUFFINS!” Derpy gave Hurricane a huge wall-eyed grin, causing Hurricane to doubt the information that was just delivered to her. Just a little.

Dash just smiled weakly at Hurricane, trying not to give any hints to what the grey pegasus had said until, “I guess you’re right. Derpy does have... a way of looking at things, so I suppose you are excused Lieutenant General.”

The Commander sauntered away casually and Dash was allowed to relax. Her shoulders hunched over in exhaustion at what had happened over this day and how difficult it would be to make another believable excuse for next time, “That was close... I hope she doesn’t send Derpy with us again.”

Fluttershy walked up beside the cyan mare and placed a comforting fore-hoof on Dash’s shoulder, “I’m sure everything will be fine Rainbow... Just don’t give up okay? You... You did promise Pinkie you’d be back.”

Looking down at the shy pegasus’ hoof, Dash managed a small smile, “So... how am I gonna get more time to spend with Pinkie?”

Fluttershy smiled softly at Dash. “Don’t worry Rainbow, we will figure out a way.”

As the three pegasi left, Hurricane watched them suspiciously. Rainbow Dash had acted strangely, especially during that accusation. Sure, Derpy wasn’t the most reliable ponies on information, but she wouldn’t fabricate a story as absurd as that. She was going to have to keep a closer eye on Rainbow Dash.

The following week Dash was in a really good mood. Almost unnaturally so. Her cheery attitude made many of her fans happy yet it made Hurricane’s suspicions more solid. The following weeks her mood would diminish until she became almost constantly grouchy and on edge.

Her training easily reflected her mood. The first week she would appear to float around projectiles and be more gentle with her combat training. Now she would viciously attack whomever had the misfortune of being her sparring partner. She wouldn’t even attempt to dodge projectiles. Instead she would slice them in two with a frustrated glint in her eye.

Hurricane watched as Dash growled furiously, pushing herself to her limit. She was currently working on strength training. Pulling far more weight than what she normally did. She strained as she pulled six large boulders up a steep hill. Digging her hooves into the ground for leverage, it seemed she was putting herself through so much work just to avoid something; but what?
*****

While Dash struggled to rid herself of missing Pinkie, Pinkie was struggling to forget how much she missed Dash. She had tried to mold the snow pony Rainbow Dash’s into other ponies, but that just made her think of her family. Turning away from the snow sculptures, Pinkie sat staring off into the town and noticed an orange pony strolling up the hill to her home.

Jumping up from her misery the pink pony ran straight for Applejack and threw her arms around her in a tight Pinkie-hug, “Applejack, you’re here! I missed you.”

“Sugarcube... Ah can’t... breathe...” Applejack struggled to say through the earth pony’s iron grip.

Letting go Pinkie sat down and looked down at her hooves, blushing lightly, “Oops... Sorry Applejack...”

“It’s alright Pinkie, but... why are ya out here? Shouldn’t you be attending to yer patient inside?” Applejack looked from the shivering pony to the house and back once she heard sniffles coming from the pink pony below her. “Pinkie... ?”

Pinkie was looking down at the ground as she relied, “... She... She had to go... The pegasi... missed her and... she promised she wouldn’t abandon them...” Wet tears dropped to the floor and Pinkie clenched her teeth, trying o hold them back in front of her friend. She said she’d be back you silly pony... Stop doubting her.

Applejack looked oddly at the mare planted on her haunches and sat down slowly in front of her. She placed a comforting hoof on Pinkie’s, “... Is everything okay sugarcube? Isn’t that a good thing... Last time ah saw you, you were going on about how grumpy she was towards you and how much she wanted to get back to her tribe.”

“That was before... Before...” Pinkie turned her head away suddenly and sniffed again, looking out over the cliff to the town below.

Applejack stood up and looked over into Pinkie’s reddened eyes with a sympathetic expression, “What’s been goin’ on between you two Pinkie? You always seem to be so angry with each other when ah’m around and when ah talk to you about it afterwards... You... get like this...”

“I... I like her, Applejack... A lot...” Pinkie looked up at the orange mare with new tears forming in her eyes.

“What do yew mean sugarcube?” Applejack questioned slowly, a suspicion forming within her mind.

“I-I love her Applejack. We are fillyfriends now. It’s hard...knowing she has to be away for so long...I really miss her...You...hate me now don’t you...” Pinkie lowered her head, tears falling from her eyes and hit her floor leaving a small puddle that formed around her hooves.

Applejack shook her head, “Aww, sugarcube... I could never hate ya fer followin’ yer heart. If ya truly love her Pinkie, then ah’m happy fer ya too. ‘Though ah never expected such a thing from you Pinkie Pie... How long has this been goin’ on?”

“I... I think I loved her from when we first met... I just didn’t know it until she said she loved me too...” Pinkie looked down and smiled at how happy and all together shocked she was when she heard the cyan mare admit that to her, “That was just before winter... at the annual food trade with the unicorns... Her eyes were so beautiful...”

“Well hog-tie my heels and call me Sally, that’s great ta hear Pinkie Pie.” She smiled down happily at the pink mare and found that her cheer was lost in Pinkie’s cyan eyes.”What’s the matter now? Shouldn’tcha be happy you two are together?”

Pinkie gulped thickly and rubbed her eyes with a hoof, “If Dashie’s tribe finds out about us... they’ll probably kill her... pegasi and earth ponies aren’t supposed to get along... And we can only see each other when she makes up an excuse to come and see me. I don’t want her to get hurt... but I love her Applejack.”

Applejack brought a hoof around her shoulder and hugged the pink mare comfortingly, “It’s alright Pinkie. Rainbow Dash’s a strong pony if ah ever saw one; she’ll be back fer ya, ah promise.”
*****

Dash slammed Fluttershy’s door in a frustrated huff, causing Fluttershy to nearly slam into her ceiling in terror. “GAH! Do you have an idea yet Fluttershy? I can’t take all this waiting!” Dash plopped onto her haunches in the middle of the room, fuming.

Fluttershy drifted down next to Rainbow Dash. “I know Rainbow Dash, but we don’t have a good enough excuse to go anywhere yet.” Fluttershy tried her best to calm the distraught pony but to no avail.

“THAT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FLUTTERSHY!” Dash had turned on the yellow pegasus and screamed at her in a rage. Seeing Fluttershy cower, guilt washed over her. “Sorry ‘Shy....” She looked away from the yellow mare, a dull look in her eyes.

“I-it’s alright Rainbow. Y-you are just upset.” Dash shook her head with a small smile. Sometimes Fluttershy was too kind for her own good.

Sighing, Dash wrapped a friendly wing around her trembling friend. “I...really am sorry ok?”

Fluttershy had a shocked look pass across her face before it settled on a small smile, “Pinkie sure is influencing you to be less....brash.”

Startled at Fluttershy’s words, Dash quickly jerked her head into Fluttershy’s direction, “She is not!” A small pink blush formed on Dash’s face as she said those words.

Giggling, Fluttershy smiled wider, “Oh don’t worry Rainbow. I think Pinkie would find it adorable.”

Dash’s small blush immediately covered her face. Fluttershy could practically see the heat radiating off of Dash’s face. “S-shut up!” Dash immediately moved to the opposite side of the room, hoping to avoid anymore confrontations.

“Oh Rainbow, you don’t need to be so embarrassed.” Fluttershy fluttered quickly over to Dash and gave her a friendly smile.

Sniffing indignantly, Dash held her head high, “I don’t know what you are talking about...”

Giggling at Dash’s denial, Fluttershy nuzzled Dash, “Of course not.”

Grumbling, the cyan made pulled away from her fried to look at the window. "Whatever..." She muttered, frustration clenching at her heart. "Being away from her is.... Is too much. I can't get her off my mind no matter what I do... It's like she's ingrained into my brain, every last detail I know about her keeps throwing itself at me."

Fluttershy sat and listened as Rainbow Dash spoke. She closed her eyes a little bit, allowing what she was saying to sink into her.

"I can't do anything without being reminded of how much I miss her, 'Shy...." Dash finished, looking at the ground. "It really hurts..."

"I wish I could understand your pain, Rainbow...." Fluttershy whispered, closing her eyes. "I wish you didn't have to feel so....... Uhm......"

"Empty. I feel empty without her..." Dash muttered softly.

Concern filled Fluttershy as she opened her eyes to look at her friend. "Rainbow...."

"I need to see her soon, Fluttershy.... No more putting it off..... Help me think of an excuse..." Dash’s ears lay back against her helmet and a pleading, sad puppy expression covering her face.

"O-Okay Rainbow..... Let's start thinking....."
***

Pinkie sat outside in the igloo she had made over a month ago, busily pushing snow in cracks and dents that had appeared. Applejack’s visit cheered her up a bit, but she still couldn't shake the nagging sadness.

Her growing feelings for the cyan mare made her departures all the more painful. It didn’t help that she had the constant worry that the military would find out. If they found out she may never see Dash again...and she would never know until it was too late....

Shaking her head in an attempt to free herself from such negative thoughts, Pinkie focused on the task at hand. Surprise washed across her face. She had carved both hers and Dash’s name into the wall of the igloo with many flowery hearts surrounding it.

"How did....? I guess my Pinkie self doesn't want me to forget about Dashie, even if I'm so sad..." Pinkie quietly muttered, letting her hoof rest beside Dash's name. "She's really special to me.... I hope she makes it back soon and okay...."

Something blue caught the peripheral vision. Turning toward it quickly she found a single blue feather that had blown inside the igloo. Gently picking it up, Pinkie grinned; this was Dashie’s feather. Hugging it tightly to herself, Pinkie rushed inside to put it somewhere safe.

She placed it on the mantle of the fire, before quickly shaking her head. "No no, not here..." She muttered, diving towards her room. "In here...!"

She pulled out a small box and delicately placed it inside. Smiling softly, she placed it back in its hiding place. Knowing that she had a small piece of Dash with her made it not nearly as bad that Rainbow was gone. She is always here in spirit, she thought, smiling.

She walked slowly to the kitchen, nosing her way into a cupboard. "I want some chili..... It's Dashie’s favourite!"
*****

“What in the HAY is going on with Lieutenant General Dash? She’s been acting loopy all week!” Hurricane paced back and forth in her office complaining to private Pansy. The small mint green pegasus with a powdery pink mane, listened with rampart attention, afraid that if she didn’t pay attention she would get in serious trouble.

"I mean.... In the last week she zoned out SEVERAL times!! This ISN’T like my prized student who WOWED the preschools principal at such a young age!" Hurricane whirled on her companion, fury dancing in her eyes. "PRIVATE! What have YOU noticed?!"

Nearly jumping out of her own skin, Pansy calmed herself before answering, “S-she has been a little off with everypony else...When she isn’t zoning off she’s throwing herself so hard into her training that it’s become way too dangerous for anypony to even spar next to her, let alone with her!”

Pansy had to stop countless sparing matches because of how deadly Dash had become during practice. The one and ONLY stallion to actually hit her ended up in the infirmary for four days.

"Exactly. Something is deeply wrong. Even that silly mare Derpy Hooves had such a bothersome report after that "mission" they sent themselves on....." Hurricane growled out.

Hurricane thought back to that, frowning. "What would Rainbow Dash be doing with a dirt pony is beyond me...."

Making a quick decision, Hurricane slammed open her office door and bellowed, “AIRMAN DERPY HOOVES! MY OFFICE, NOW!”

The grey wall-eyed pegasus fluttered in with a bright smile on her face. Turning to face her fuming commander, she saluted quickly.

“Airman Hooves. Tell me more about what you saw of Lieutenant General Dash and this mysterious dirt pony.” Hurricanes, eyes narrowed onto the happy-go-lucky mare.

“Well! I saw this briiiiiight pink pony come out with Lieutenant General Dash. They looked sad...” Derpy frowned for a moment before brightening up again, “They gave each other this super nice hug too! But it was more like those super friendly hugs that I’ve only seen my mommy and daddy do!” Hugging herself with a joyous grin, she looked up earnestly into the commander’s eyes, “I think Lieutenant General Dash promised to see her again. MUFFINS!”

Hurricane felt herself twitch. "Are you one hundred percent positive she would say that, Airman Derpy?! She promised to see a bright pink dirt pony?!" Rage and curiosity built up inside her. "The same Lieutenant General who purposely makes fun of dirt ponies?"

Derpy nodded her head vigorously. “YEP! It was like they loved each other!!!” Derpy became wide eyed for a moment, with an awestruck expression on her face. “Muffins?” Her normal wall-eyed stare and goofy grin quickly returned.

Hurricane growled, glaring at the wall eyed mare. "PRIVATE! Give her her muffins. I'm going on a little expedition....."

She spun around, storming out of the room. "If that whole herb thing was an excuse to see that fictional dirt pony.... Let's see what she does if I give her some...... 'time off'."
******

Dash was currently pouting in the middle of Fluttershy’s living room with an annoyed bunny on her back. “Oh Angel. Please don’t bother Rainbow Dash. She’s feeling awful as it is and I don’t think she likes you bouncing all over her.” Fluttershy quietly pleaded with the small bunny.

Turning toward Fluttershy with an irritated look on his face, the bunny stuck out it’s tongue and continued bouncing all over Dash.

"If I knew how rude this thing would be, I would have NEVER......." The cyan mare grumbled, glaring at the young bunny. She sighed, and stood up with the bunny on her back, "What am I going to do, 'Shy...?"

"Chief Sergeant Fluttershy!" A loud booming voice filtered into the home.

"MEEP!" Fluttershy cowered behind Dash, Angel bunny jumping onto her back and hiding in her long pink mane.

Dash spun around as Hurricane stormed in, her eyes blazing in fury. "Have yo- Oh. Lieutenant General Dash is here."

Rainbow Dash as Fluttershy both saluted, confused at their leaders statement.

"Yes Commander Hurricane?" Dash asked.

“I’ve been hearing about how your duties have been going since you returned from your little trip to gather medicinal plants. Care to explain why?” Hurricane gave Dash a sharp look, her icy blue eyes flashing dangerously.

Idly scuffing her hoof across the floor, Dash answered quickly, “I’ve just not been feeling too well. I try to make it up by working extra hard when I feel my best Commander!” Tiny beads of sweat began to form on Dash’s forehead, “Why? Have there been complaints?”

"No... Just some........... "Concern". I want you to take the next three days off, and I BETTER see you in tip top shape afterwords, do you understand?" Hurricane gave Dash a critical look.

Rainbow felt her jaw drop. Three whole days?! "Y-Yeah you bet!!" She exclaimed, enthusiasm strong in her voice. "I'll be so in tip top shape!! I'll be a whole new awesomely awesome mare!"

Rainbow’s wings twitched in anticipation. She was finally going to be able to spend time with Pinkie. At least three days worth of time. She had to force herself to not rocket out of Fluttershy’s house right then.

Hurricane kept a skeptical eye on her second in command. Excited about three days off, when in the past she refused to take days off?

"You won't even belie-" Started Dash excitedly.

"That's enough, Lieutenant General. You are dismissed." Hurricane’s stern voice cut Dash off immediately.

Gulping, Dash nodded her head eagerly before bolting off quickly. Should she take anything? Maybe something for Pinkie Pie.....

Watching the cyan pegasus go, Hurricane quickly turned on Fluttershy, a gleam in her eyes. “You don’t happen to know where she will spend her three days off now do you?”

Finding herself shrinking under the Commanders gaze, Fluttershy meekly saluted again. “N-no Commander...I-I have n-no idea...” Fluttershy’s heart was racing a mile a minute.

Commander Hurricane moved toward the yellow pegasus, a sense of purpose shining in her eyes, “You better be telling the truth, Chief Sergeant. We don’t want to lose any more good pegasi now do we?” A small sinister smile slithered slowly onto Hurricane’s face.

Fluttershy could have sworn that her heart stopped from the blind terror that shot through her. Squeaking in reply, Fluttershy began trembling violently under the Commanders malevolent gaze.

"I see. Perhaps it's just best for me to follow then. Chief Sergeant, you are under house arrest for the next four days. Do you understand?" A cold expression washing over Hurricane’s face.

Panic shot through Fluttershy. House arrest? "Wh-Whatever for, Commander.....?"

"Flat out lying to me. And this way, you can't warn Rainbow Dash." Hurricane’s glare could freeze fire. Fluttershy shrunk down into a tiny ball, tears pricking from her eyes. “For both your sake and Rainbow’s. You better hope she doesn’t go or do anything against the tribe...”

Unable to handle the extreme stress, Fluttershy fainted in the middle of her living room. Tears streaming down her face.

Hurricane stared dumbfounded at her, confused as to why she was in the military. She shook her head, and strode out, her mission deep set in her mind.
*****
Rainbow Dash flew through the clouds, her heart pounding. "Almost, almost...." She whispered, spotting the Everfree Mountain. She landed on the tip of it, looking down at the dirt pony village far below.

"Scum..." She growled quietly, hating the village even more for kicking her Pinkie Pie out. She carefully slid down the Mountain. Unaware of her surroundings. She kept the lone house in her sights, excitement surging through her entire body.

"Three whole days...!"

Dash snuck up on the house, her ears perked excitedly. Any moment now, she would bolt inside and find her Pinkie Pie. Any second.

She was so focused on her target she didn't notice somepony had followed her.

Hurricane landed silently on a cloud at the mountain peak, keeping her eyes trained on the cyan, armor clad mare sneaking up to the house. She growled silently, disapproving.

For her sake, she inwardly grumbled, she better be sabotaging the home.

She watched as her second in command snuck up to the house, pressing herself against the wall. Hurricane nodded in approval, impressed with the secrecy her lieutenant general had. She held her breath as the door opened, her eyes narrowing as a very familiar bright pink dirt pony bounced out, humming softly to herself.

"C'mon Rainbow Dash..." Hurricane mumbled, leaning forward. "Make me proud....." Hoping that Airman Hooves was making up some silly story to get attention.

A large grin shot onto Hurricane’s face. Rainbow Dash had lunged at the earth pony and tackled her straight into the ground, snow exploding around her. Feeling overjoyed, Hurricane started to fly toward Dash when she halted suddenly, horror crossing her face.

The pink dirt pony had removed Dash’s helmet and kissed her passionately. Dash didn’t even appear to be disgusted. Instead, she pulled the pony into a strong embrace and deepened the kiss.

"No..... No no no!!" Hurricane gasped, rage rising inside her. "How.... DARE she!"

She spun around quickly, bolting off towards the tribes base. "She.... She KISSED a dirt pony! That.... That TRAITOR!!"
*****

Rainbow Dash felt joy engulf her as she felt Pinkie against her. It had been too long since she was last like this, blissful with her partner. It had been too long....

"Dashie!!" Pinkie exclaimed, kissing the cyan mare again.

"Hey, Pinks...." Dash smiled softly down at the mare.

“Could you let me up? The snow’s all freezy.” Pinkie punctuated her point by shivering and snuggling closer to the pegasus above her.

Smiling, Dash scooped Pinkie up bridal style. Pinkie giggled cutely before snuggling into Dash.

Dash was even able to grab her helmet before flying inside, a bonus if she ever saw one. She held the pink mare close to her, setting her down on the couch gently. "Guess what?"

"What Dashie?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head to the side. Dash felt a smile slip onto her face as she squirmed eagerly.

"Three."

Pinkie looked at Dash confused, frowning. "Three?"

"Yup. I have three whole days to be with you!" Dash was beaming with delight.

Eyes becoming as wide as dinner plates; Pinkie launched herself at Dash, a happy squeal escaping her lips. “OH MY GOSH, DASHIE! We are gonna have the bestest time!”

Laughing as Pinkie nuzzled into her, Dash wrapped her forelegs around her in a protective and loving embrace. “I know, right?” Elation tinged Dash’s voice.

"We can bake, make snow ponies, snuggle....! Oh there is SO much to do!!" Pinkie exclaimed, quickly tugging Dash's armor off. "We can do EVERYTHING!"

Dash helped Pinkie remove her armor, feeling the usual sudden lightness wash over her body. "You bet, Pinks. Everything and everything."

Dropping her blades next to her armor, Dash turned toward a curious looking pink pony, “Dashie...What happened to your back?” Startled, Dash looked over her shoulder at the several shining scars that crisscrossed her back.

“Oh... those are from when I was a filly living in the orphanage.” Dash shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s no big deal, don’t worry too much about it Pinks.” Dash turned toward Pinkie and gave her a charming smile.

Frowning, Pinkie slowly nodded her head. "If you don't..... wanna to talk about it... then I guess...."

Sighing slightly, Dash gave Pinkie a calm look, "It's in the past, Pinks. I'm okay. I've completely healed, haven't I? All they are now is just a reminder to never let my guard down..... Unless I'm with you."

"Okie dokie lokie, Dashie. Just..... Promise me you'll tell me what happened one day. Okay?" Pinkie stared hopefully into Dash’s bright magenta eyes.

Scuffing her hooves on the floor nervously, Dash looked away from the pink pony’s gaze. “Uh...well...I guess so...” She still wasn’t very comfortable with sharing with Pinkie; anypony really. Not even Fluttershy knew about her scars. A gentle kiss on her cheek startled Dash.

“Thanks Dashie, for trusting me.” Pinkie’s large, blue eyes stared deep into Dash’s. Love and devotion shining brightly within them.

Dash felt her face heat up. She was still unused to another pony feeling such strong feelings for her. “...N-no problem...”

Feeling like her point had been made, Pinkie began bouncing in place in front of Dash, “So Dashie, what do you wanna do first?”

“Well, I...” Rainbow’s face flushed with warmth at the pink mare’s joyful attitude, but staring into her cyan eyes Dash had a sudden idea. “I... I want you to teach me.... how to bake...”

Pinkie’s whole face lit up at hearing this and she stared wide-eyed and hopeful that she had heard the pegasus right, “Really Dashie? You want ME to teach you how to bake?”

She shuffled her hooves around on the floor and nodded slightly, “... Yeah.... How you bake... It seems kinda relaxing.”

“Okie dokie lokie! Come on Dashie, let’s just start you off with an easy one... Baking cupcakes!” She sang as her bouncing resumed. She grabbed Dash by the hoof and bounded toward the kitchen.

As they reached the kitchen there appeared to be baking trays and baking ingredients already set up on the tables. Dash had decided to fly just off the ground so the pull from Pinkie’s erratic bouncing would be more manageable, but when she saw this she looked over at the pink mare confusedly.

“Pinkie? Why do you have all this stuff out already?” She noticed a slight tinge of worry in her own voice. Pinkie always baked tons of things when she was upset. The memory of her previous conglomeration drifted into her mind, making her shiver in disgust. WAAAAY too much sugar.

Pinkie let go of Dash’s hoof suddenly and trotted forward a little before turning around to face the pegasus solemnly, “Oh, I was just... making a party for myself.... to cheer me up while you were gone... But now it can be a party for the three days we have to spend with each other.”

Dash stepped closer to the quiet earth pony, her worries for her time away from Pinkie being realised, “Pinkie... How many parties have you had... since I left?”

“Uh... oh, just... a few...” She sat down on her rump and glanced at the floor tiles. Cyan and magenta. She sighed a bit and looked into Dash’s eyes sadly, “I’ve missed you... a lot Dashie... I was afraid you... wouldn’t come back... That they might kill you for loving me, and I just got so sad... I don’t want you to die over me...” Pinkie’s eyes began to water and she shut them tightly, trying to hold the tears back.

She suddenly felt warm, tender hooves wrap around her and she opened her eyes in surprise. “Please Pinkie... don’t say that...” Dash replied from over Pinkie’s shoulder, “I’m not going anywhere, okay?”

Pinkie returned the hug and pulled Dash tightly against herself, relaxing into her warm embrace, “Were... Were you worried about me, Dashie?”

“Of course I was Pinks... You’re the only thing I do worry about.” Dash gently rubbed Pinkie’s back soothingly, a small smile on her face.

Snuggling deeper into Dash’s embrace, she gently ran her hooves down Dash’s back and felt the dozens of smooth scars mingling with her soft fur. A small frown tugged at Pinkie’s face as she carefully caressed her back.

“Why didn’t I notice these scars before?” Pinkie quietly questioned, loud enough for only Dash to hear.

A devious smirk crawled onto Dash’s face, “Well...we were a little...preoccupied.”

Pinkie giggled, smiling up at her. "Yeah, I guess we were...."

Dash frowned a little, her eyes glancing across the room. "I don't really want to worry you with these scars..... Okay?" She spoke calmly, her eyes settling on Pinkie again. "It's over, and I've healed. That's all that matters to me."

“Okie dokey Dashie.” Smiling up to Dash, Pinkie settled herself back into the loving embrace.
*****

Hurricane stormed into her office, a trail of destruction left in her wake. Slamming the door so hard it nearly broke off its hinges, she let out a primal scream of rage before attempting to break her desk in half.

Private Pansy timidly peaked inside the raging Commander’s office, “W-what’s the matter Commander Hurricane?”

Blazing eyes locked onto Pansy, causing her to freeze in terror. A second later a grey hoof grasped Pansy by the scruff of her neck and yanked her into the room.

"That..... That TRAITOR!" Hurricane screeched, slamming the door once Pansy was inside. "That VILE, LOATHSOME, IRRESPONSIBLE TRAITOR!!"

Pansy shrank into a corner, confusion clouding her thoughts. "C-Commander.....?"

"I TRUSTED HER!! I TRUSTED HER WITH THE FUTURE OF THE TRIBE!" Hurricane snarled out, her anger flaring.

Hurricane, deciding the desk couldn't be broken in half, picked it up in her fury and threw it across the room, barely avoiding a scared Pansy.

"M-Maybe you should..... C-Calm down and.... Explain....?"

"THAT TRAITOR IS TAKING HER TIME OFF TO BE WITH AN EARTH PONY!!" Hurricane screamed, grabbing her helmet in frustration. "She..... She's BETRAYING the tribe!!"

For a brief moment, shock won out over the fear she was feeling for being in the same room as her raging Commander, “Are you sure? She hates the other pony races! She has never betrayed anypony since she’s been apart of the military.”

Stalking up to Pansy, Hurricane gripped her by the neck and pulled her close, “Are you insinuating that I am a liar Private?” Her voice ground out in a cold intensity while her eyes contrasted with a blazing inferno of pure hate roaring within them.

Purple eyes dilating in pure terror; Pansy shook her head quickly. “N-n-no! N-never!”

Hurricane spun around, banging her head against a wall. "Where did I go wrong, Pansy....? Rainbow Dash was my most promising... Most valued recruit... Did I put too much pressure on her....?"

She closed her eyes, sighing quietly. "I pushed her too far, didn't I...? She's still far younger then I was in that position... She has too much responsibility...."

"I-I think-"

Hurricane cut Pansy off before she could finish her reply. "No, you're right!! She should be honored to have received so much responsibility! It took me a good solid decade to build up to this position!" She stormed over to her battered desk and flipped it.

Pansy whimpered quietly. "O-Of course, Commander."

"I know what I have to do now!" Hurricane stated, slamming her right fore-hoof on the desk, punching clean through the solid surface. "She WILL regret all the lies she told me!"

Hurricane turned away from the desk and trotted to the front door. She placed a hoof on the door and glanced back into the room, suddenly calm. She looked around at the destruction of the room and stopped when she met Pansy’s eyes, “And clean this mess up. Whoever did this has no respect for furniture.”

“Y-Yes... C-Commander.” The door shut and the pegasus was allowed a relieved sigh.

Chapter 8

Charging pegasi tore the door off it’s hinges in their haste to apprehend their target. Fluttershy was found trembling under her bed, eyes wide with fear.

Heavy metal chains clasped tightly around her legs and neck as she was hauled out to the military base. Fluttershy trembled in fear as the base loomed from the distance. Backpedaling away from the building a sharp prod in her flank propelled her forward with a startled eep.

Many pegasi civilians halted their daily activities to sneer and glare hatefully at Fluttershy. A young foal chucked a rock at her and nailed her in the snout. Blood dripped steadily from her nose as Fluttershy attempted to shrink into herself, tears streaming down her face.

Several pegasi cheered at the violent action. Many began gathering their own projectiles and started launching them at Fluttershy as she passed. By the time they reached the base entrance, Fluttershy had several new dents in her armor as well as many cuts and scrapes on the few places that weren’t covered.

Fluttershy’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks. Trembling violently, she whimpered in absolute terror. Standing in the center of the base was Commander Hurricane. A malevolent gleam shone in her eyes and a twisted sneer graced her lips.

"Hello TRAITOR!" Hurricane snarled viciously at the trembling yellow mare. "I'm sure you know why you're here... covering for another pegasi that's betraying her own tribe is one of the worst things a pegasus can do."

Hurricane sauntered up to Fluttershy, a look of pure disgust on her face. "You're a disgrace to all pegasi!"

Hurricane spat in Fluttershy's trembling face. A cruel smile forming as she observed her pitiful state, saliva slowly dripping down her face.

"How long has this travesty been going on Fluttershy?" Fluttershy shuttered under Hurricane's sharp words.

".....l-longer t-than a m-m-month..." Fluttershy managed to choke out that meager response. Dread filling her veins like ice.

Hurricane eyed her angrily at hearing this, “How long have you been helping her?”

“I... I d-don’t know... I don’t...” Hurricane leaned in close, causing Fluttershy to shut her eyes tightly out of fear.

“You’d better be sure you’re aren’t lying to me. If I find out that you have been helping this traitor the entire time, your punishment for such an insult to the pegasi way of life will be much more severe.” She stepped away from the shuttering pegasus and turned to the pegasi guards beside her, “Private Pansy, I believe our little traitor friend will be wanting a warm welcome... back to our base. Make sure we do not disappoint her.”

Pansy saluted the Commander with a shaky hoof, “Y-Yes, Commander Hurricane.”
***

“Ugh! That’s it! You’re done for! I’m gonna finish you off for good and you won’t be able to annoy me anymore!” Dash raised a hoof into the air angrily, “This is what you get for disobeying the-!”

“Dashie!” A stern voice called from the other side of the room.

“Uh...” Dash froze in her anger and slowly turned around to face the pink mare trotting up next to her, “Yes... Pinkie?”

Pinkie clucked her tongue at Rainbow, “Dashie, what did I tell you about making cupcakes?”

The pegasus pony shrugged nervously and looked down at the tray of poorly poured cupcake batter, “Cupcakes are made with love... not anger.”

Pinkie smiled triumphantly at the embarrassed mare, “That’s right.” She threw her hooves around the pegasus and kissed her cheek before bouncing towards the oven, “Now come on Dashie. We gotta get those cupcakes in the oven or else we’ll be eating slimy gooey batter for lunch instead.”

Dash chuckled lightly at the earth pony’s statement and took hold of the tray, “Right behind ya Pinks.” She trotted over to the oven and placed them on top so she could open the door.

This gave Pinkie enough time to inspect the yet to be baked treats before they went in. She smiled pleasantly when the cyan mare looked towards her expectantly, “Great Dashie, these look super tasty... even better than the last batch.”

Dash sighed and smirked at Pinkie, “And how many does that make this one?”

Adopting a look of concentration, the pink pony placed a hoof under her chin as Rainbow shoved the tray into the oven. “Oh about 42... but I’m sure this will be a perfect batch of cupcakes. You got super close with the last one.”

She smiled and nuzzled the pink mare lightly, “Thanks Pinkie. You’re a great teacher... I’m just not much of a student.”

Pinkie shook her head rapidly, her pink mane following swiftly after, “Don’t be silly Dashie, you’re a great student too... The only one I’ve had yet.” She replied with a thoughtful expression.

“Really? I’m the only pony you’ve taught to bake?” Dash’s ears perked and she raised a surprised eyebrow.

“Yep. Nopony ever wanted me to show them how to bake.” Pinkie’s ears fell flat and she lowered her head slightly, “I was the only pony in town to bake instead of plant seeds in the fields. I didn’t even show my parents... they’d... probably say it was unnecessary or silly anyway. I didn’t wanna make them upset with me.”

“Well that’s over now Pinks. It’s their loss they didn’t let you teach them how to bake.” Dash placed a comforting hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder and flashed the saddened mare a winning smile, “Now come on Pinkie, we’ve gotta get started on the next batch right?”

Pinkie’s ears perked as she raised her head and smiled back at the cyan mare, “Okay Dashie... just... make sure you go easy on the cupcake batter this time.”

Dash chuckled and kissed Pinkie on the lips, “Maybe I’d better let you do that bit Pinks.”

The bell for the cupcakes rang minutes later and the two ponies rushed in to check if they had cooked long enough. Dash was surprised at how good a teacher Pinkie was, encouraging her and giving easy to understand directions when she was feeling frustrated or confused.

She would even gobble down those few cupcakes she managed to burn and give them her approval. That would always make Rainbow smile, how much Pinkie went through to make her happy. The cyan pegasus was quite shocked that she hadn’t burnt more, but she would never admit that to Pinkie.

As Pinkie removed the cupcakes from the oven, Dash looked over her shoulder nervously, “Well Pinkie? Are they any good?”

All she could hear as a reply were rapid chewing noises and hums of joy from the pink mare. “Great job Dashie! They are even better now then last time!” Pinkie punctuated her point by eating two in one bite.

Chuckling, Dash snatched the pan away, “Leave some for me won’t you Pinks?”

“Aw... But they were sooooo good Dashie!” Pinkie leaped onto Dash’s back and reached over her head for another cupcake. Dash held them just out of reach, a devious smirk growing on her face.

Rearing onto her hind legs, she heard Pinkie yelp in surprise and lock her forelegs tightly around her neck. In that short moment, Dash took off like a shot and zoomed around Pinkie’s house while preforming various spins and loops.

Pinkie began squealing in delight. She locked her hind-legs completely around Dash so there would be less drag.

Dash landed gracefully in the center of the living room, a smug look on her face. Pinkie slid off Dash carefully before assaulting her with a bone crushing hug. “THAT WAS THE MOST FUNNERIFIC TIME EVER DASHIE! Is that what you pegasi get to do EVERY DAY?!”

Pinkie seemed to vibrate in excitement as she tightened her grip on Rainbow Dash. “P-Pinkie! Can’t....BREATHE!” Dash managed to gasp out while attempting to claw her way out of the aggressive embrace.

“Oops! Sorry Dashie, I forgot how strong my hugs are.” She released the pegasus from her grasp and sat down on her rump to let Dash catch her breath properly.

Rainbow gasped for breath and managed to sigh. She turned and faced the pink mare, smiling weakly, “Yeah.... So did I...” She rubbed her neck softly and looked back up to see Pinkie smiling back at her.

“So Dashie... What do you wanna do now?” She tilted her head to the side quizzically and waited for the pegasus’ answer.

Dash put a hoof to her chin in thought. She hadn’t really thought of anything she could do with her. She did like flying with me around the room... “I’ve got it.” She trotted over to the front door and looked back at the confused mare.

Pinkie smiled brightly and hopped over to the cyan mare, “Climb on Pinkie.” She kneeled down for the pink pony to jump on.

“Huh?” She replied, tilting her head to the side quizzically.

The pegasus turned to face Pinkie and dragged a hoof along the ground, “Well... I was just thinking... since I was your first student with baking, you could be my first student with flying... I’ve never had the chance to really teach anypony what it’s like to fly and... seeing as how you’re an earth pony I just assumed- Ooph!”

Pinkie jumped up and landed on Dash’s back. She leaned over to look at the cyan mare, “Silly Dashie, of course I’m an earth pony... and I’d love to be your first flight student... hmm, even though I’m never really gonna fly... but what if we’re caught?”

“Oh, we won’t. No pony patrols come through here at this time.” Dash stated confidently as she prepared herself for takeoff.

In an instant, Dash and Pinkie were soaring high in the air. Fearless, Pinkie sat up on Dash’s back with one hoof in the air. “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” She gripped Dash around the middle tightly with her hind legs before lifting both forelegs in the air in excitement.

Whipping her head back to face the pink mare in alarm, Dash began scolding Pinkie, “What the Hay are you doing?! You are going to fall off doing tha-” WAM!

Dash flew straight into a tree and dropped heavily onto a thick branch directly beneath her. “Oh my gosh, DASHIE! Are you ok?” Worry thick in Pinkie’s voice as she looked down at the groaning form beneath her.

“I-I’m fine Pinks.” Dash gingerly lifted herself up and slowly glided down to Pinkie’s home with Pinkie still perched on her back.

The second they touched the ground Pinkie leaped off Dash and immediately began inspecting her for injuries. Poking and prodding anything that looked damaged.

“Pinkie I’m FINE!” Dash pushed Pinkie away after wincing when one of the more tender spots got poked.

“No you’re not! Lemmie help you!” Pinkie rushed toward Dash. Dash quickly back-pedeled and dodged the advancing pony.

Pinkie spent the next several minutes chasing down the proud pegasus. Eventually tackling her into the ground which didn’t do Rainbow Dash any favors.

“OW! Pinkie Pie!” Dash growled out in muffled annoyance, she was currently face-planted into the cold stone floor.

“I’m sorry Dashie but you just wouldn’t stay still!” Pinkie responded simply.

“Ow... Pinkie! Get off me!!” She screamed from under the pink mare trying to push her off, but Pinkie held firm on top of the rainbow-maned pegasus.

“Sorry Dashie, but you asked for this.” She replied, carefully prodding her bruised areas with a gentle hoof.

Rainbow Dash growled in minor pain, attempting to once again break free. You've grown soft, Dash, she thought to herself, shame filling her mind. You've grown so soft around her....

Pinkie nodded to herself, and quickly jumped up to grab something from her bathroom. She came back, surprised that Dash hadn't moved.

"Uh..... What's in your mouth?" Dash questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Comfy leaves, parsley, and cabbage!" Pinkie smiled cheerfully. "They're really great for bruises if chewed up and placed on the bruised areas!"

Dash felt her mind go blank. "..... Wait yeah 'Shy's always saying something about that...."

"I can chew it all up Dashie, just stay still okay?" Pinkie asked.

"It’s.... not like I have much of a choice there Pinks." Dash muttered quietly.

Pinkie grinned, grabbing a few leaves of each plant and popping them in her mouth. "It'll heal right up!" She smiled, chewing each plant carefully without swallowing any of the juices. "It'll take an hour or so, though...."

She carefully spat the mixture onto her hoof. "And it looks yucky."

"No kidding..." A deadpanned expression settled heavily on Dash’s face.

"It works!" Pinkie reassured, gently rubbing the mixture into Dash's bruises. Dash felt herself unwilling relax as Pinkie massaged the medicine into the bruises, allowing her wings to stretch out with pleasure.

"Wow Pinks...." She quietly hummed, closing her eyes as a smile graced her face.

"Does it feel better, Dashie?" Pinkie asked with a small smile on her face.

"Loads." Dash sighed out the word, lost in the gentle massage she was currently in. Her tense muscles slowly un-knotting at the pink mare’s caress.

Smiling affectionately down at the relaxed pegasus, Pinkie found her attention being drawn to the two powerful wings standing erect. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Pinkie pressed her tongue against the base of the wing and slowly licked upward. A sharp gasp quickly turned into a deep throaty moan from the cyan mare.

Excitement welled up within Pinkie at the positive response. Feeling encouraged, she began nipping at Dash’s wing while stroking it carefully with her tongue. Dash trembled in pleasure, cooing softly.

Moving to the other wing, Pinkie carefully positioned it with gentle hooves before repeating the treatment the other wing received.

“P-Pinkie...” Dash gasped out her name, her mind clouded in bliss. Pinkie felt herself blush from Dash’s heated statement.

Smiling softly, Pinkie nuzzled the cyan wings affectionately, “I love your wings, Dashie...they’re so strong...” Pinkie wrapped her hooves around the out-stretched wings and massaged them sensually.

Dash melted into a puddle of pure ecstasy. Her mouth hung open as she panted heavily. Her wings twitched under the loving caress they were receiving. She could vaguely feel a wetness slowly soak her fur where Pinkie was sitting.

Pinkie leaned down and gently peppered kisses around the base of the wings. Small shock-waves of pleasure shot through Dash, nearly pushing her over the edge. Grinning deviously, Pinkie roughly yanked on Dash’s wings.

Dash went rigid in pure ecstasy, moaning loudly as she came. She pawed at the floor looking for leverage as she rode out her blissful orgasm.

Giggling softly, Pinkie brushed her lips against Dash’s cheek. Her forelegs wrapped carefully around Dash’s neck. “I love you, Dashie!” Pinkie buried her snout in Dash’s rainbow mane.

Chuckling softly at the pink pony’s antics, Dash shifted onto her back so she was laying face to face with the pink mare. Before Pinkie could react, Dash darted forward and locked Pinkie in a deep, passionate kiss.

Pinkie moaned into the kiss, shifting so she could get even closer to the cyan mare. Pinkie locked her legs around Dash in surprise as Dash suddenly rolled so she was pinning her to the floor. Dash quickly turned the kiss aggressive, pushing her mouth heavily against Pinkie’s. Her hooves began rubbing and stroking at Pinkie’s body roughly. Pinkie trembled in anticipation as her touch slowly drifted lower and lower.

Pulling away from the kiss slowly, Dash moved to Pinkie’s ear and began nibbling on it making Pinkie coo softly. Dash’s hoof glided slowly above and around Pinkie’s aching need. She would briefly brush her hoof against her swollen vagina forcing pinkie to arch desperately.

“P-please...D-Dashie...” Pinkie pleaded with a faint whine in her voice. Grinning, Dash pressed her hoof against her swollen clitoris. Pinkie cried out loudly, her fore-hooves digging into Dash’s back.

Flashing Pinkie a winning smile, Dash slid down between Pinkie’s lower legs and flicked her clit with her tongue. Her fore-hoof prodded Pinkie’s entrance making the pink mare lock her hind-legs around Dash and grip Dash’s mane desperately with her fore-hooves.

In one swift motion, Dash locked her lips around Pinkie’s clit, sucking heavily and plunged her hoof inside Pinkie. A half moan, half scream ripped its way from Pinkie’s mouth. She nearly arched completely off the floor and yanked painfully on Dash’s colorful mane.

Dash pumped her fore-leg in and out of Pinkie in a steady rhythm. Her tongue swirled around Pinkie’s clit, pressing it roughly against the swollen appendage. Pinkie’s hind-legs twitched, her groans and moans were streaming from her mouth. She gripped Dash’s head as if she was afraid Dash would suddenly stop.

Dash grazed her teeth against Pinkie’s clit and plunged her hoof in as deep as she could. The vaginal walls clamped down on her foreleg as Pinkie violently came. Pinkie’s hind-legs locked tightly around Dash’s head forcing her face into Pinkie’s crotch.

“DASHIE!” Pinkie screamed out passionately, delirious in euphoria. Once Dash was able to lift herself out of Pinkie’s groin area, a pair of pink forelegs gripped her tightly and pulled her into a heated kiss.

Dash’s eyes shot open in surprise at the sudden embrace before relaxing and returning the kiss. She found herself on her back again with a brightly smiling mare looking down at her.

“There’s something I wanna try Dashie!” With a flirty wink, Pinkie swiftly spun around so her newly wet vagina faced Dash. Laying directly on top of Dash, Pinkie began vigorously licking at Dash’s clit forcing Dash to groan in pleasure.

Gritting her teeth, Dash wrapped her forelegs around Pinkie’s round flank and began sucking on Pinkie’s clit.

Moaning into Dash’s vagina, Pinkie gripped Dash’s cutie marks tightly and began licking desperately. Gasping out from the shock of pleasure, Dash felt her competitive spirit rise up. She began massaging Pinkie’s cutie marks tenderly and grazed her teeth over the clit while sucking hard.

They spent the last few minutes attempting to one-up the other before they both orgasmed. Pinkie twitched violently on top of Dash while Dash gripped Pinkie tightly against herself. Pinkie’s juices spilled down onto Dash’s face as she attempted to lick it up.

Dropping her forelegs in exhaustion, Dash barely registered Pinkie shifting so she was snuggled under Dash’s chin, her forelegs wrapped tightly around Dash’s chest.

“Hey Pinkie...” Dash muttered softly, a small smile on her face.

“Hmm?” Pinkie quietly responded, She was slowly drifting in and out of sleep.

“I love you too.” Dash’s smile became a full grin.

Shifting, Pinkie lifted herself long enough to plant a soft kiss on Dash’s cheek. Giggling softly, she snuggled back into Dash’s chest with a blissful smile on her face.
*****

Fluttershy was chained to the cell wall with heavy metal chains. Several angry red welts seemed to glow on her body. Hurricane stood in front of the tormented filly, her eyes blazing with cold hatred.

“I always knew something was wrong with you, Fluttershy. Always wanting to spend time with useless dirt creatures...I blame you for corrupting Rainbow Dash.” With a growl, Hurricane snapped the flogging stick down sharply on the trembling mare. A sharp pained cry escaped Fluttershy’s lips at the contact.

“I had the troops search your house,” Hurricane glanced at Fluttershy, a cruel glint in her eye, “They found this useless dirt creature hiding in your room.” Fluttershy snapped to attention. Hurricane lifted a small, white, and very annoyed rabbit into view.

With a malicious grin, Hurricane snapped the rabbit’s foreleg. Fluttershy shot up onto shaky limbs, tears springing into her eyes, “NO! PLEASE! Don’t hurt Angel anymore!”

“Why not? It’s just a useless dirt creature, nothing special...” Hurricane gave the agonizing rabbit a dismissive look.

“B-because...Rainbow Dash gave him to me...and...he means so much to me...” Fluttershy pleaded desperately to Hurricane, tears flowing freely down her face.

Clenching her teeth in suppressed rage, Hurricane threw the injured rabbit at Fluttershy. Fluttershy was barely able to catch him when a grey hoof slammed into her eye; cracking her skull against the prison wall. Fluttershy fought to remain conscious as she held the Rabbit protectively away from Hurricane.

“You’re pathetic.” Hurricane gave Fluttershy a disgusted look before turning to leave. “PRIVATE PANSY! Clean up this trash.” Hurricane gestured toward the semi-conscious pegasus.

Nodding quickly, Pansy shank away from Hurricane as she stormed out of the cell. Rushing forward, she began carefully tending to the injured pegasus.

“P-Pansy..?” Fluttershy muttered out quietly.

“Shh...Rest please...You have been through a lot today.” Pity filled Pansy’s eyes as she gently washed one of the glowing red welts marring the yellow pony’s coat.

“I-I need to use....the first-aid...” Fluttershy gasped out in minor pain as she reached for the kit.

Nodding solemnly, Pansy pushed the first-aid kit closer to Fluttershy. She immediately went to work setting and splinting the poor Rabbit’s shattered limb, a sad smile on her face. At least he was safe...

Finishing up, Pansy began gathering up the medical wraps and tools. She paused long enough to gently wipe away the tears streaming down Fluttershy’s face, startling her.

“I’m sorry Hurricane did this to you Fluttershy...”

Fluttershy leaned into the friendly touch, craving comfort. After a few minutes, she looked up at the kind mare with worried eyes. “W-what’s going to happen when Rainbow returns?”

Pansy recoiled as if the question had burned her. Hurricane had relayed her plan in excruciating detail. Looking into the concerned mare’s un-blackened eye, she swallowed down her fear and retold the plan.

There was an audible gasp of horror reverberating throughout the prison.
*****

Dash had awoken to a gentle hoof tracing her various scars. Turning her head slightly she noticed a forlorn expression on Pinkie's face. Sighing good naturedly, Dash sat up slowly and plased a comforting kiss on Pinkie's forehead.

A small smile slid onto the pink mare’s face. She wrapped her forelegs tightly around the cyan mare’s middle and buried her face into her chest. Holding the distraught mare against her, Dash buried her muzzle into her poofy magenta mane.

"Do you really want to know what happened Pinkie?" Dash softly muttered into the puffy mane, her words becoming slightly muffled.

Pinkie nodded vigorously against Dash's chest, her grip tightening marginally. A soft smile graced Dash's lips before a solemn expression settled on her face. Carefully disentangling herself from Pinkie, she softly began retelling her memory.

"Well, like I said I was in the orphanage when I received these scars..."

Rainbow Dash frowned, recalling the memories. "I lost my parents before I could even speak..." She began, choosing not to look at the pink mare beside her. "I was in the orphanage longer than I could remember. I was a lot smaller then a lot of the other fillies and colts there...."

Rainbow paused, a heavy feeling settling in her chest. "I didn't belong anywhere. I would watch as everypony would be adopted or taken to schools. Eventually, some bullies came to visit the orphanage each day..."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "For some reason they automatically honed in on me. And began picking on me, punching me...." She jerked her head backwards, frowning. "They got it in their heads one day it'd be a fun game to burn me with lit sticks."

She sighed. "It was the worse pain I had ever been in. I never wanted to go through it again.... So I started fighting with myself, shadow boxing every night.... A few weeks into the placement school some of the jerks that burned me picked a fight with me. The principal saw how eager I was to fight and set me packing to military school....."

Rainbow looked down at her hooves and closed her eyes for a moment. She had never opened up to anypony about her past, but she suddenly felt like she could say anything to Pinkie; tell her anything she was worried about and the pink mare would understand whatever she told her.

Gazing back up to meet Pinkie’s eyes, Dash spoke, “So that’s how it happened. I never wanted to talk about it again... I didn’t want to remember it, but- Ooph!”

Pinkie wrapped her hooves tightly around the seated pegasus and buried her snout into her chest, sobbing, “Dashie... I didn’t know... h-how m-mean your past was... I... I’m s-so sorry I asked you to remember such a horrible place...” Her hooves gripped tighter around Rainbow’s middle and she sobbed into her marefriend’s coat.

“It’s okay, I...” She stopped herself for a second and then wrapped her hooves around the pink mare before she continued, “... I needed this Pinkie. I needed to be able to tell you this stuff... I can’t hide these feelings from myself anymore... and I can’t hide them from you...”

“Dashie...” Pinkie raised her head to look at the cyan pegasus contently; she hadn’t been allowed to see this side of Dash before. It was a vulnerable side, filled with fears she had never told anypony about, yet it was also a strong and enduring one, with hope and a desire to protect all that she cared for. It was an expression of bottled up emotions that caused Pinkie’s heart to flutter and spread a warmth throughout her body.

She leaned forward and locked her lips with Dash’s longingly before resting her pink head on her shoulders, nuzzling her neck affectionately, “You can tell me anything....”

Rainbow pulled the pink mare tightly against her body, letting her tears fall freely down onto Pinkie’s mane. She didn’t have to hide these feelings from her; she knew what it felt like to have a troubled past. They both had broken memories of their pasts, but somehow they both survived and were able to meet each other.

Dash still had trouble expressing her fears and doubts, but something about Pinkie made it okay to let them flow through her. She would never give that up.
*****

Hurricane sat in her office, meticulously sharpening and polishing her favorite blades. They gleamed dangerously in the light, hinting at the destruction they could cause.

“It’s been a while since I used you...” Hurricane softly spoke, looking down at the reflective surface of the blades. “We are going to spill some blood soon...I’m sure you are excited for this opportunity. Whipping out useless trash is always a great way to start the day.”

A dangerous glint flashed in Hurricane’s eyes as she carefully pulled the blades onto her forelegs. Turning toward a deceased enemy skull, she narrowed her eyes. In one swift movement she sliced through the skull effortlessly. It was like a hot knife in butter.

A large, deadly grin formed on her face, “Perfect.”

Chapter 9

“You will come back soon Dashie?” Pinkie locked Rainbow Dash in a tight embrace, a small quiver in her voice.

“I will try Pinkie.” Dash gently rubbed Pinkie’s back in attempt to soothe the distraught mare. Leaving Pinkie behind was becoming harder and harder for Dash to do. A few minutes went by before Dash had the strength needed to pull away from Pinkie’s loving embrace.

Pinkie gripped Dash’s foreleg desperately, a pleading look in her eyes. Giving Pinkie a sad smile, Dash kissed her gently. Pinkie pressed herself into the kiss, clinging to it and drawing it out as long as possible. When Dash went to move away, Pinkie moved with Dash until strong hooves managed to push her away.

“I will be back Pinkie. I promise.”

Nodding mutely, Pinkie pulled Dash into another quick embrace. Letting go, Pinkie smiled sadly at the cyan pony’s retreating form.

Rainbow Dash frowned, gliding above the clouds. "I.... Can't keep doing this. I didn't even want to leave...." She sighed quietly, shaking her head. "No no, c'mon Rainbow Dash, snap out of it!!"

She angled herself upwards, squeezing her eyes tightly. She felt the wind against her face, allowing herself a small smile. "It's time to go home..." She decided, halting her ascend.

She dove down, dodging her way around random trees. She grinned, seeing familiar buildings come into view. Feeling better for returning home, Rainbow landed carefully at the entrance to the camp and looked around gladly.

But what met her was not crowds of welcoming ponies and populated streets of military pegasus that valued the authority of the second in command. What she saw instead was an empty camp, vacant of ponies both weather and military.

Her eagerness to get back to training quickly became a look of confusion on her cyan face as she walked cautiously through the area, glancing around at the thick snow and cliffs that enveloped the base with raised eyebrows and a racing heart.

“Where is everypony?” Her eyes shifted from left to right, trying to find a reason for why there was an empty camp before her. She beat her wings and lifted herself into the air, looking across the field and facing Fluttershy’s home, situated beside the flower grove that she had imagined hearing Pinkie’s voice through the air.

She landed in front of the house, feeling oddly insecure about the situation, “Where did everypony go?” She didn’t know why; she felt like she was being watched from all around her, not being able to settle her nerves even as she reached the front step. This doesn’t feel right...

Stern sneering pegasi began filtering out toward Rainbow. The largest of the ponies holding heavy chains in their mouths. The pegasi formed a dome around Rainbow Dash, preventing any chance of escape.

“What the hay is going on here?!” Dash barked in a mixture of anger and fear. Refusing to back away from the advancing pegasi, she flared her wings aggressively and shifted into a defensive position.

Her defensive stance triggered the mob to rush her all at once. In a few short moments, a slightly bruised Rainbow Dash was being dragged by chains forcefully by several cut and bruised pegasi. Her wings had been tied down to her back with heavy chains. Her wing blades and foreleg blades were torn forcefully from her in the violent scuffle.

Gritting her teeth, Dash rose her head up to see where she was being led to. Seeing the military base emerge a cold fear settled heavily in her chest. An ominous and foreboding aura seemed to radiate off the building the closer she seemed to get to it. Refusing to let fear take over, Dash held herself in confidence and strode toward the building a defiant stare settling on her face.

Passing through the heavy metal doors Dash immediately locked eyes with Hurricane’s icy blue eyes.

A delicate whimper caught Dash’s attention. Turning her head toward the sound her face contorted in horror. A bandaged and bruised Fluttershy trembled in a heap on the stone floor. Fury roared through Dash, she shifted her blazing glare toward Commander Hurricane.

“I’m glad you finally made it...TRAITOR!” Hurricane’s voice held false cheeriness before it broke into a heated shout.

Cringing slightly, Dash attempted to maintain composure as she was brought face to face with her Commander. She focused on maintaining a stern expression as she glared at the enraged pegasi leader.

Hurricane shifted into a more relaxed state, “Your actions have cost you AND Fluttershy dearly...I hope you know this.”

Fluttershy was prodded forward with sharp sticks, making her cry out in agony before limping next to Hurricane. Dash’s tough expression cracked upon closer view of the yellow pegasus. Ugly purple welts shone brightly against her yellow fur. Her left eye swollen shut and dark, her snout had dried blood matting her fur around her mouth.

"I hope I get to know why you're 'threatening' me, Commander." Dash growled, glaring up at the commander. "Last I knew, you had given me time off."

Hurricane snarled. "You LIAR! I SAW you with that vile pink thing with my OWN eyes!"

Fear set deep inside Dash's mind. Oh no, she thought, refusing to show her panic. She grimaced, attempting to come up with a quick excuse. Unable to come up with one she resigned herself to admitting the truth.

"Fine. You caught me." She glared, refusing to listen to the shocked gasps echoing throughout the room. "You bucking caught me."

Hurricane paused quickly, confused. She wasn't going to deny it?

"I'm a traitor. There. You happy? I'm a traitor by dealing with ONE freakin’ earth pony. Not the whole bucking village. I'm the traitor who's trapped between two bucking loyalties. Happy with that, Commander?" Dash growled, looking up at the ice blue eyes of her Commander. "I'm not afraid of you. Do whatever the bucking hell you want. I'm. Not. Scared."

Rainbow Dash continued to glare keeping her eyes level. She felt fear swim up inside her, but not for her. She wasn't scared for herself.

If Hurricane saw me with Pinkie, Dash began thinking, then she knows where Pinkie lives..!

Hurricane regarded Rainbow Dash with hate. "Well, it's good that you admitted it yourself, Traitor." She walked forward slowly, glaring at the cyan mare critically. "I'm glad you did. Your punishment has been lessened....."

Uncertain relief flooded into Dash. She didn't relax, but felt relief.

"But."

Relief vanished. Dash put herself on edge, attempting to control a growl that was dying to escape her throat.

Hurricane spun on Rainbow Dash, connecting her hoof with the side of Dash's head. The helmet flew off, with Dash stumbling backwards. She felt dizzy, her mind woozy.

"WHAT THE BUCKING HAY?!" The cyan mare shouted, her rainbow mane falling over her magenta eyes, fury boiling inside her.

Hurricane regarded the furious mare with a cold glare. "You're excused, Rainbow Dash. For good."

Dash felt her eyes go wide. No, she thought. No no no!! "What?!"

"From the military, from the tribe, from this territory." Hurricane’s sharp voice cut into Dash. “Unless...”

“....Unless what?” Suspicion and frustration filled Dash’s voice as she eyed Hurricane distastefully.

“You kill this traitor,” Hurricane gestured to the trembling and whimpering Fluttershy, “And that filthy pink dirt pony.”

“I would rather die.” Dash spoke instantly, with an icy edge in her voice.

In a blind rage, Hurricane slashed Dash with her foreleg blade. Nearly blinding Dash’s right eye, she left a deep cut from Dash’s eyebrow down and across her muzzle. Gritting her teeth, Dash refused to cry out in pain.

“Take her to the edge of the pegasi territory and beat her.” revulsion oozed from Hurricane’s voice, “Take this traitor too.” With a growl, Hurricane grabbed the trembling yellow mare by her mane and yanked her to her hooves.

Lifting up Dash’s discarded helmet, Hurricane slammed it heavily onto Dash’s head, “Keep your tainted armor.”

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were swiftly led to the outskirts of the pegasi territory. They began tearing Rainbow’s armor off her body cracking their hooves against Dash’s firm body, bruising the unprotected flesh.

Four of the pegasi began forcing Dash onto her back, giving several swift punches to her gut and face in order to get the upper hand. Dash fought back as best as she could but found she was fighting a losing battle. A violent crack against her jaw made blood drip freely from her nose and mouth, disorienting her and making it easier for them to pin her.

One of the pegasi had brought Dash’s weapons. After securing Dash onto her back, the grinning pegasi began carving into her exposed flesh. Dash, refusing to allow herself to appear weak, growled furiously. Her mind whirled, feeling herself slowly slip into unconsciousness.

No! She growled at herself, determination setting inside her. I..... Have to save Fluttershy. Save her. Save Pinkie.... Pinkie.....

Rainbow Dash let out a furious yell, adrenaline aiding her to kick the Pegasus carving into her in the gut.

"GET OFF OF ME!" She screamed, letting her mind drift into the familiar territory of the instinct to fight. She couldn't see what they were doing to Fluttershy, concern settling into her heart.

No, focus on driving them off..... Dash directed herself, fiercely punching the nearest pegasi in the jaws. She heard furious yells and words of hate yell at her, but she ignored them. I can handle this pain. I can't handle them hurting MY Pinkie. I can't handle that thought....

A quiet whimper of pain made Rainbow Dash aware of Fluttershy's pain. I most definitely WON'T stand for them hurting my friend!

"That's ENOUGH!" Rainbow growled, rearing back on her hind legs, holding her forelegs in front of her in defense. "You did your bucking job! No get back to your STUPID tribe and your STUPID commander!" She growled, authority firm in her voice.

Her former tribe members froze, backing off. She growled again. She may not belong to the tribe anymore, she thought, but I still know how to easily kill them with the flick of a tail. And they knew it.

The blood dripping from her chest gleamed brightly making Dash’s vision swim. One of the male pegasi noticed her suddenly weaker state and slammed his hoof directly into her right cheek making her fall heavily onto the ground.

“That’s what you get, Rainbow CRASH!” A deep, cruel voice washed over her.

Feeling the blood from the deep gash Hurricane left her with flow freely again, she looked up at the large pegasus, Dash’s eyes widened in recognition, “Dumbbell?”

“The one and only!” Smirking he smashed his large hoof against her chest, cracking a few ribs. Dash hissed in pain, glaring up at him.

“You need to learn your place Rainbow CRASH!” A sadistic grin grew on his face.

Horror filled Dash’s heart at the implications of his statement when a terrifying shout startled the attacking pegasi.

“YOU LEAVE RAINBOW DASH ALONE YOU BULLIES!” Fluttershy zoomed over to Dash and stood over her protectively. Her eyes held a piercing glare that bore into each and every pony’s soul.

Complying to the suddenly very formidable yellow mare, the pegasi dropped the chains and Dash’s weapons and bolted back to the tribe. One managed to drop their saddlebag in the haste to escape.

Fluttershy turned quickly to the cyan mare collapsed on the floor and crouched down in front of her, concern spread across her face, “Rainbow Dash, are you alright?”

“How... How did you... do that?” The pegasus struggled out, trying to stand and feeling a sharp pain rip through her chest. I can’t... let this happen... Pinkie...

“I... don’t know... It just happens sometimes... I don’t really have much control over it.”

Dash managed to smirk and look up at the timid pony, “Well I’m glad you did that... whether or not meant to use it.”

Finding the strength to stand on her hooves and ignoring the pain in her gut, Rainbow rose from the snow and stocked forward, “I need to get to Pinkie... right now... Fluttershy, stay here... I don’t want you to get hurt because of me. It’s my fight.”

Fluttershy shook her head, “No Dash... if you get hurt more, or anypony else, you’ll need my help.”

Dash opened her mouth to say something, but saw the intent look on the yellow pony’s face and nodded. Her legs buckled suddenly, the pain in them winning out and she fell to the floor again. She growled out in anguish at the damage down to her stomach as it contacted the snow covered ground.

“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness.” Fluttershy shouted as she attended to the fallen mare’s injuries with the gauze she had found in a saddle bag one of the pegasi had left behind when fleeing, “Rainbow, don’t move... you’re in no condition to be going anywhere.”

Rainbow groaned out and placed her hoof over the timid pony’s, “Make it quick, Flutter... I got... a pink mare to save...”

Fluttershy’s eyes began to water at the dedication the mare had to her partner; she nodded and placed some gauze over Dash’s right eye to soak up the blood dripping from the wound.

She cleaned the rainbow-maned pegasus’ wounds and wrapped the pony’s stomach in bandages, careful to allow Rainbow to breath easily and regain her strength. She tended to Dash’s bleeding mouth and nose, careful to avoid the forming bruise on her cheek.

A stinging sensation shot through the cyan mare and she stifled a groan. She cringed and thought of what was happening to Pinkie right now. She wouldn’t let her own suffering prevent her from protecting the one she loved.

She promised.
*****

Pinkie sat on the edge of the cliff looking out at her old home town, but this time she smiled up at the clouds above her. She was content to sit on her haunches for a moment before she went back into her house. For once her mind swam with happy thoughts of what she and Dash could do when she returned.

She heard rustling noises from down the hill and turned to it, hopping up; her smile widened at having another guest at her home.

Applejack’s head poked out from the cover of the snow on the ground and she tipped her hat at the pony, “Howdy sugarcube, just thought I’d stop by ta see how yer doin’. Did Rainbow show up agin ta cheer ya up?”

Pinkie bounced up to the cowgirl pony and nodded rapidly, “Yep. You just missed her actually! We had three whole days together ‘cause the pegasi gave her some time off.”

“Well that’s great ta hear Pinkie,” Applejack smiled gladly at the bouncy attitude that she had almost forgot the pink mare was usually bursting with. But a sudden thought occurred to her and she tilted her head to the side, worriedly, “Uh, Pinks... What are ya’ll doin’ out here anyway?”

Pinkie merely smiled back and sat down on her rump, “Oh, I just felt like sitting out and watching the clouds roll by. It’s... been a long time since I wanted to, but I can’t think of anything else to do.”

“Well... okay then. I guess.” Applejack shrugged her shoulders.

“Hey Applejack, can you come and sit with me? It’s much more fun to cloud watch when there’s somepony there to listen to you.” Pinkie smiled brightly at Applejack.

The orange pony nodded confidently, “Sure Pinkie, I’d love to. Been a long time since I had a chance to relax too.”

The two sat on the cliff, Pinkie dangling her hooves over the edge and rubbing her fore-hooves together silently and Applejack pointing out a cloud that looked to her suspiciously like a barn full of apples.

“When Dashie gets back,” Pinkie started, looking up at a fluffy cumulus cloud over head. She smiled softly and continued, “we should do this. I’m sure it’ll get her mind off being all worried too.”

“Ah hope so Pinkie. She’s not really one to... relax much.” She said, chuckling softly.
*****

“Are... Are you sure you’re ready to fly again? You should really...” Fluttershy stuttered as Dash struggled to her hooves once more, grimacing at the shock waves of pain spilling from her chest.

“There’s no time to take it easy Fluttershy,” She said sharply, interrupting the timid pegasus’ plea, “Pinkie’s, ugh, in danger... I have to get her out of here.”

Determined, Dash fought through the pain as she slid her armor and weapons back into place. Double checking everything, Dash spread her wings and gave a test flap. A minor twinge of pain shot through her but it was nothing serious.

“Ready Fluttershy?” Dash cocked her head toward Fluttershy, concern etched on her face.

Smiling softly, Fluttershy trotted up to Dash. “Ready.”

Both pegasi leaped into the air and began flying as fast as they possibly could toward Pinkie’s home. Dash blocked out her bodies protests of agony, determined to get to Pinkie no matter what it took.

After several excruciating minutes, Pinkie’s home came into view. Diving quickly, Dash noticed the pink earth pony sitting outside with Applejack. Hitting the ground hard, Dash collapsed heavily on the ground from the agony that rushed through her body.

“Careful Rainbow!” Fluttershy rushed to Dash’s side and inspected her bandages, making sure she didn’t reopen any of her wounds.

The commotion brought Pinkie’s and Applejack’s attention on the two injured pegasi. Horrified at their condition, the two earth ponies rushed over to the pegasi.

“Oh my gosh Dashie! What happened?!” Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the deep bruising and blood stained bandages of her fillyfriend.

Grasping Pinkie’s shoulders desperately, Dash began speaking in a panicked voice. “We need to leave now Pinkie Pie! The military... THEY KNOW!”

“Sugarcube yew two don’t look like yeh could stand on yer legs. Yew need rest!” Applejack was currently holding up a woozy Fluttershy. Her earlier adrenaline had run out and she was slowly fading out of consciousness.

“It doesn’t matter; Fluttershy is in no condition to fight, but... I need to get Pinkie out of here before the pegasi get here...” Dash shut her eyes with a sigh and looked down at her shaky hooves, “Hurricane... saw me with you Pinkie... it’s my fault, I told you I would protect you and...”

“No Dashie, if anypony should be at fault it’s me. I told you I’d be happy as long as I was with you and now all of my friends are paying for how selfish I was.” Determination set firmly on the pink mare’s face and she turned to Applejack, still supporting the trembling pegasus pony, “Applejack, you need to get Fluttershy out of here. She’s in no condition to be on her hooves so you need to get her somewhere safe. I have some medicine stuff you gave me a long time ago in the kitchen; she might be good with medicine, but she can’t bandage herself up to easily.”

Seeming a bit shocked at first to be hearing orders from the pink pony, Applejack nodded once and let the wounded mare lean on her as she walked to the door.

Pinkie then turned to Rainbow and her expression softened; she leaned down and supported the cyan pony as she tried to lift herself up off the ground, “Are you okay Dashie?”

Dash stood up and let her head drop to the snow covered ground; she shook her head openly to the earth pony, “No Pinkie, but... I still gotta get you out. I’m not gonna let you get hurt... I made a promise after all.” She smiled weakly up at Pinkie and felt her shoulder seize up; she fell to the side heavily, unable to hold herself up.

Pinkie’s eyes widened and her ears perked at the groan of pain that escaped the pegasus’ mouth as she prevented her from collapsing to the ground, “Dashie!”

Dash grunted as she leaned against the pink pony for support, still keeping that small grin on her cyan face, “I’m fine Pinks. But if we don’t get out of here soon, I don’t think we’re gonna make it.”

“Come on Dashie, I know a place we can go that nopony else knows about. But we’ve gotta go fast, or we’ll lead them all right to it and it won’t be a secret anymore.” Pinkie’s eyes were wide as she spoke rapidly to the injured pegasus.

Rainbow went to comment again on how the pony didn’t seem to be taking this seriously again, but catching just a hint of fear in Pinkie’s bright cyan eyes Dash could tell she knew full well of the danger they were in.

Instead she nodded and started walking, “Let’s... go.”

Pinkie followed beside her, close enough to keep her from falling again if needed and she said nothing. A sad smile crossed her face at how determined she seemed to be to save her.

“Pinkie...” Dash started, curiosity and anxiety winning out as she wondered where Pinkie could be leading her, “Are you sure this place is hidden? I mean, we’ve got the whole pegasi military after us.”

“Of course silly, I never seen another pony down there before, and I don’t think anypony will be changing that... not even a whole TRIBE of pegasi.” The pink mare responded, letting Rainbow brush her side against hers before getting her stance back.

“W-Why?” She couldn’t help herself, the word spilling from her mouth as her stride lessened.

“‘Cause it’s in a freezy-weezy ice cage silly filly. Why else?” Pinkie giggled softly, “Nopony ever wants to be ponycicle, not even pegasi, and especially not you. But we don’t really have a choice, until we can figure out what to do about those meanie-pants.”

Even though she knew the pink pony was afraid about being seen, I mean what pony wouldn’t be... except herself of course, Dash still envied how calm Pinkie seemed to be about the whole situation. It kind of bugged her, but then she saw the pony’s ear twitch slightly and snapped out of it.

“Uh, yeah... we’ll figure something out.” A searing sensation ripped through her chest. She gasped out loudly, heat spreading across her body as she landed heavily on the cold floor.

“DASHIE!” Pinkie shouted crouching down and wrapping a fore-hoof over the cyan pony’s back, “Dashie, you’re hurt. You need to rest.” She cooed softly into her ears.

Dash gritted her teeth to erase the pain in her chest from her mind, “I... can’t... Whoa! What the?”

Pinkie buried her head into the snow and lifted Rainbow up onto her back, “Hmm... I haven’t done this in a while. Not since you were unconscious in the snow and I warmed you up.”

A blush formed on Dash’s cheeks and she turned away angrily, trying to hide her forming smile, “Sh-Shut up. You’re lucky I’m so injured already.”

The earth mare only giggled at the pony’s nervousness, “Oh? What would you do if you weren’t all injured Dashie?”

Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated and rested her hooves drearily on Pinkie’s shoulders; she sighed softy and lowered her head down comfortably on her back, “Nothing.” She replied simply.

The pink mare smiled and trotted lightly towards the entrance of the cave.

“But don’t get any ideas.” Came a sharp grumble from Dash, but it held a joking tone that Pinkie picked up immediately.

“Who me?” She chuckled and rolled her eyes a little as she reached the cave, “Don’t be silly Dashie, you know me.”

Rainbow sighed again, “Yeah... I do.”

“Okay, I’m gonna put you down now. And then we’ll see about those owies.” Pinkie stated simply. She lowered her onto the ground in a patch of snow carefully and slipped her head out.

Dash stared up at her weakly, feeling insecure suddenly about the pink pony touching her, “Pinkie you don’t...”

“I wasn’t there for your other ones Dashie.” Pinkie spoke quickly, interrupting Rainbow with a stern look on her muzzle, “I wanna be there for you this time.”

Dash opened and shut her mouth dumbly before swallowing and nodding quietly, her fear subsiding.

Pinkie checked her bandaged up eye first, gently placing a fore-hoof over the wound on her muzzle. She removed it quickly, seeing the worried expression on her fillyfriend’s face and she moved to her chest.

As the pink mare cared for the injured pegasus, the cave grew colder. Ice encasing the ceiling of the tunnel and rapidly flowing down to the floor. A mist formed in the air just above the pair of ponies and it lingered, as though testing whether or not they could fight back.

The ice reached the floor and crept along it in silent malevolence, surrounding the preoccupied mares in a perfect circle of frost. An icy cold hoof reached out from the mist and shot into the ground, forcing the ice to speed towards Pinkie’s hind-hoof.

But as it reached its target, the ice melted and flowed over her hoof, stopping its deadly intent in its tracks. The rest of the floor dissolved into the warm liquid and draped itself along the two ponies, gaining the attention of the pink mare.

She looked down at her wet hooves and around her, taking in the spectacle before her. She turned to face Rainbow and smiled softly, “Dashie look... its trying to help. Cave water is super useful for scratches.”

“I think I have a bit more than a few scratches... but... I gotta say it feels nice.” Dash found herself grinning back at the earth mare and she managed to stand herself up, feeling better from her long needed rest, “Now come on Pinkie. We need to help the others. They couldn’t have gotten far with ‘Shy’s wounds.”

“Wait Dashie. I need to re-bandage your wounds!” Pinkie grabbed the discarded gauze and quickly cleaned them in the clean cave water that flowed freely around them. Wringing out the bandages she carefully reapplied them to Rainbow’s injuries.

Dash had laid back down while Pinkie was carefully cleaning the bandages. A soft loving smile on her face as she watched Pinkie gently wrap the bandages around her wounds again. Once Pinkie finished with the last of her exposed wounds; Dash darted forward and gave Pinkie a soft kiss.

Pinkie blushed slightly at the contact and smiled hugely, “What was that for?”

“For... everything, Pinkie.” Rainbow smirked, leaning back and rolling over onto her stomach.

Lifting herself up carefully, Dash smiles at the increased steadiness and strength she had gained during her short rest. A sudden wave of fear washed through Dash, “What if the military finds Applejack helping Fluttershy? They might kill them!”

Shock rushed through Pinkie at Dash’s words, “We should go help them!”

“NO! Not you...They will kill you if they see you...Please, stay here.” Dash spoke in a worried yet commanding voice, her stance rigid.

“But...Dashie...”

“NO BUTS PINKIE PIE! I...I can’t lose you...” Dash began trembling, her tough front cracking slightly. Without a backward glance, Dash rushed out of the cave. She was nearing Pinkie’s home and spotted Fluttershy being helped out of the home with Applejack carefully supporting her.

Dash relaxed slightly when the sound of several beating wings filled the area. Blind terror filled Dash’s heart.

“I didn’t realise you had a dirt pony of your own Fluttershy! I knew there was something unnatural about your love of pitiful dirt creatures, it was only a matter of time before you attempted to be with a filthy dirt pony!” Hurricane’s cruel voice echoed loudly as she quickly descended, a small group of military pegasi in tow.

Applejack stood protectively in front of Fluttershy, whom had crouched low to the ground in fear. “Now hang on jis a darn moment! Me and this here pegasus aint in a relationship!”

“How dare such trash speak to me in such a way!” Hurricane moved to strike the orange mare when a cyan hoof collided with the side of her face; blood splattering everywhere as she stumbled backward.

Collective gasps of horror came from the small group of pegasi as they witnessed the spectacle.

“Leave them alone Hurricane! I’m the one who caused all this.” Dash snarled ferociously, her wings spread aggressively. The wing blades gleamed dangerously in the light.

Hurricane slowly turned her head back toward Rainbow Dash. A sinister smile on her face as blood slowly dripped from her mouth. Her eyes glinted with deadly intent.

“You just signed your death wish, Rainbow Dash.”

Chapter 10

“KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL! Leave the traitor and her pink trash for me...” The small military group rushed the three ponies. The intent to kill the orange and yellow mare set deep into their minds.

Dash launched herself at the advancing pegasi when a sharp blade sliced her across her bandaged chest, leaving a shallow cut.

“I won’t be ignored TRAITOR!” Hurricane snarled viciously at Dash. Anger and betrayal swam in her eyes.

“I don’t have time for you Commander.” Dash swiped her wing blades violently toward Hurricane, forcing her to leap away to avoid a deadly cut to her neck.

Applejack bucked one of the pegasi in the face, knocking him out and crushing his nose in an instant. An arrow whizzed over the fallen pegasus and embedded itself in Applejack’s flank. Crying out in a mixture of shock and pain, Applejack wheeled around in frustration.

Fluttershy was doing her best to dodge the attacks from her fellow pegasi. There were several close calls. One left a shallow cut on her neck that shown brightly with her blood. Hearing the pained cry coming from Applejack, Fluttershy became more aggressive. Her timid nature washing away to show her strong yet kind spirit within. She would do anything to help her friends.

Dash mostly dodged Hurricane’s violent attacks, striking only to get her to back off just so she could prevent the other pegasi from killing her friends. Blood stained her blades as well as her body. She had killed three of her former tribe members already, and she was prepared to kill more.

“I didn’t realize you were so completely turned against your tribe Rainbow Dash. Maybe I should have prevented that pitiful friendship you formed with Fluttershy while you were in military school. Maybe then you wouldn’t be the traitor that you are today!” Hurricane slammed into Rainbow Dash, sending her flying into the solid stone wall of Pinkie’s home.

Dash slid down slowly and coughed up some blood, marring the white snow beneath her hooves. Her vision blurred as she tried to focus on the approaching figure. A pink blur seemed to come out of nowhere and smash into Hurricane, sending her flying into some of her pegasi troops.

“NOPONY HURTS MY DASHIE!” Pinkie stood in front of Dash protectively.

“Pinkie! I thought I told you to stay hidden!” Fury as well as fear filled Dash’s voice as she looked up at the pink mare.

“I couldn’t let you or anypony else fight while I hide...” A sad yet caring look settled on Pinkie’s face as she looked back at Dash.

“Hey! I remember you!”

Pinkie and Dash snapped their attention over to a scowling Hurricane. Dash moved between the advancing mare and the earth pony with a determined look in her eyes.

“She’s that trash that was thrown into you during the annual food harvest! I knew you should’ve killed her for touching you with her filthy dirt pony body! Now she’s corrupted you as well after your mind was weakened by that pathetic excuse for a pegasus!” Hurricane bared her teeth aggressively as she stalked toward the two ponies.

“She is not trash and Fluttershy is not pathetic Hurricane!” Dash snarled viciously at the dark grey mare.

Looking past Dash at the stunned pink mare, a sinister grin formed on Hurricane’s face, “I’m going to enjoy killing you, dirt pony.”

*****
Applejack fell to the ground in a bloody heap. She was fading in and out of consciousness from a heavy blow to her jaw. She could vaguely make out the image of the pegasus approaching her to finish her off when a sharp crack was heard before he fell heavily to the ground.

Fluttershy had snuck up behind him and snapped his neck. She trembled in disgust at her actions. She never really liked this part of the military, if only she wasn’t forced into it....

Shaking her head to rid herself of the unnecessary thoughts, Fluttershy rushed over to the orange mare’s side and stood protectively in front of her. A soul crushing glare formed on her face, terrifying the remaining pegasi.

“YOU LEAVE ME AND MY FRIENDS ALONE! YOU GOT THAT YOU BULLIES!” Shrinking back in terror, they raced away from the yellow mare.

Fluttershy sighed in relief. At least Hurricane brought new recruits and not seasoned warriors. This must have been a test for them....

Fluttershy scanned the ground quickly, spotting several unconscious and dead pegasi. Despair gripped her tightly. Many were barely even a mare or a stallion....

Turning away from the depressing scene, Fluttershy turned to Applejack. Completely determined to help her she didn’t notice one of the unconscious pegasi stir. In an instant the heavy hammer the colt held smashed heavily against Fluttershy’s helmet, knocking her out cold on top of Applejack.

“HEY!”

A pink hoof cracked against his cheek, sending him to the ground. Before he could react the pink mare leaped onto his chest and sent several more heavy punches to his face, effectively knocking him out.

“You don’t hurt my friends.” A look of uncharacteristic fury blazed in Pinkie’s eyes.
*****

“I have to admit, your trash moves fast.” Hurricane swung wildly, just missing Dash’s exposed throat.

Dash was breathing heavily, her chest heaving in exertion. Many of her wounds had reopened, draining her of needed energy. Her vision swam slightly as she watched her opponent critically. Attempting to focus on Hurricane, Dash prepared herself for her next attack.

With a quick swipe of her foreleg blade Dash managed to slice into the fast approaching Hurricane’s cheek as she somehow dodged the close range attack just enough that it wouldn’t be fatal.

“She’s not trash Hurricane! Yo--AHH!” Dash fell heavily to the ground. Hurricane managed to aim a deadly kick to her hind leg, effectively snapping it in two.

“You were always terrible at ground defense Rainbow Dash.” An evil smirk formed on Hurricane’s face, “Now you get to lay there while I kill your precious dirt pony.”

Dash watched in a mixture of agony and horror as Hurricane rushed toward the pink mare. Pinkie seemed to sense the approaching pegasus and leaped out of harms way at the last moment.

“Stay still dirt pony so I can gut you!” A sickeningly sweet voice came from Hurricane as she grinned manically.

Pinkie managed to dodge several lunges, swipes and jabs. Her attacker was wearing out, breathing heavily as she attempted to injure the elusive mare. Grinding her teeth in frustration, Hurricane stormed over to Dash, whom at the moment was trying really hard to remain conscious. Her injuries finally taking their toll on her.

Grinning maliciously at Pinkie, Hurricane slammed her hoof down on Dash’s broken limb. Dash cried out in agony, small tears of pain leaking from her eyes as her vision blurred.

Pinkie’s demeanor immediately changed from fear to rage. She stalked forward, letting out a low growl. Hurricane smirked evilly at the fast approaching earth pony. Promise of torture gleaming in her eyes.

"Get. Away. From. My. Dashie." Pinkie darkly growled, standing in front of Hurricane. "Or. Else."

"Or else WHAT, Dirt Pony?" Hurricane sneered.

Pinkie chose to ignore the comment. A knowing smirk formed on her face, “You know what, Commodore Meanie-head? Ponies with helmets can’t see very well from a heavy snowball fight.”

“Huh?” But before she could say anymore, the pink mare scooped up a pile of snow and whipped it at her head; getting her right in the face, “GAH! Why you little-!”

The earth pony took this time of freedom from the Commander’s gaze to build a stack of snowballs; cradling them in her arm as she stepped back away from Dash, “You wanna snowball fight? You got one. Pinkie Pie style!”

If Hurricane hadn’t wiped the snow off her face viciously by now, it probably would have melted anyway from the heat radiating off her face, “Ugh, that’s it! First I’ll deal with the filth, then I’ll get to the traitor!” Her frustration towards the earth pony turned into a smug look at Dash, “After all, she doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere.”

“Come on then; you can tell me all about my Dashie while we have some shivery snowball throwing fun outside,” She chucked a fast ball at Hurricane; she ducked out of the way, but it hit her wing blade, effectively splitting the snowball in two.

The Commander growled at the force and accuracy of the throw and shook the remaining snow off; she smirked pleasantly, “Not bad... for a DIRT pony. You’re pretty good at this. I think I’ll have a wonderful time watching you DIE.”
*****

“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!” Came Fluttershy’s voice inside Applejack’s vibrating skull.

Shakily, the orange mare lifted her head up and was immediately overcome by a throbbing pain at the base of it, “Ughh, what happened?”

“Please Applejack, stay still. You have a concussion.” She started wrapping gauze around her head again; her voice soothing and welcoming to the pony’s ears.

“Yer tellin’ me, sugarcube. Where is everypony?” She tilted her head only slightly to look around the area and avoid more pain in her noggin; it didn’t help much and she held her bandaged head with a hoof.

“I... um, scared them away...” Fluttershy admitted, giving the mare a shy smile at her shocked expression.

“You? But... But how?” Confusion and disbelief was present in the farm pony’s green eyes as her ears perked; she was looking intently at Fluttershy, thinking that seeing her face would make her believe her explanation more easily.

The yellow mare shuffled her hooves along the snow quickly before responding, “I... well, I’m in the military you know... I... have to be trained; but... I only use it when I have to protect my friends... like now. I’m... not gonna let my friends- Ugh!” She pressed a hoof to her fore-head suddenly and steadied herself with her other before collapsing.

Applejack’s face contorted in worry over the shy pegasus, and she brought a comforting hoof onto her shoulder, “What’s wrong sugar?”

“N... Nothing, we... need to find the others... Rainbow Dash’s injuries weren’t even close to fully healed yet.” She eased her hoof onto her fore-head once more before managing to stand up shakily; she looked around and spotted something in the snow, and she felt her heart twist, “No.”
*****

Pinkie dodged wing blade after wing blade from the furious Commander of the pegasi tribe as she lead her away from Dash. If I can get her far away enough from Dashie, She thought tensely. The others can get her to safety and all patched up.

Intense pain followed her thought, and she leaped away from danger; she supported herself easily on all four hooves, but her heart still pounded against her ribcage. She looked up and into the gleaming eyes of the pegasi leader as she took her bloodied wing blade to her mouth; and licked it slowly.

“Hmm, I don’t remember how long it’s been since I tasted an earth pony’s blood.” She moved her wing blade and flexed them towards the pink mare, the steel shining coldly at Pinkie. The sun rose overhead, gleaming off of the blades.

It’s okay, Pinkie thought. As long as Dashie is alive. She smiled warmly at the thought of seeing her again, and her gaze grew serious.

For what ever reason their could be, in Pinkie’s eyes, Hurricane actually looked a teeny bit shocked at her change in stance. Just for a moment, she sensed a weakness; but then she quickly wiped that surprise off and huffed, “Oh, are you finally serious about all this?”

Pinkie smirked widely. She had an idea. Instantly, she whipped a cluster of snowballs at Hurricane; the older mare dodging each of them smoothly, and when she looked back up at the hill where Pinkie stood she found it empty.

“What?”

“SURPRISE!!” The pink ball of fluff appeared behind the Commander and snatched one of her wing blades from her. She smiled quickly before bouncing out of harm’s way by a swift slice of Hurricane’s other blade.

“He he he, this is the most fun I’ve EVER had!” Hurricane lunged at the mare, and swung her wing with skill and swiftness; Pinkie only managing to block them with the blade clenched in her mouth, “Do you ever get tired, or are you always this hyper?” Her blade clanged against Pinkie’s, making the pony’s mouth tingle.

“Do you think it’s a nice feeling when somepony breaks your leg?” The pink mare raised an eyebrow for Hurricane to explain further, confusion and pain present in her cyan eyes. A tiny smile grew on the pegasus’ face, and it twisted itself into a larger smirk as she obliged her with a reply, “Hmm, I might have to ask Dash that when I’m through with you... of course I’d have to refresh her memory after all the time we’ve spent here, don’t you think?”

The implications of that statement set in immediately. Pinkie used the time to her advantage to step aside, causing Hurricane to lunge forward awkwardly and allow the pink pony to slice deep into the Commander’s leg.

She groaned in pain and took to the skies suddenly to escape anymore possible strikes from Pinkie. She placed a hoof to the injury and sighed, “Humph, lucky.... SHOT!” She threw herself at the mare, growling angrily and raising her foreleg blades towards Pinkie.

Pinkie’s eyes widened, and one thought crossed her mind before her stance stiffened. Her gaze never left Hurricane’s growing form as she prepared herself for another onslaught. I hope you’re alright Rainbow Dash.

A series of slices from Hurricane’s foreleg blades came in high-speed; Pinkie managing to dodge or block them in quick succession. Instantly after the last strike was made the pink mare lost her footing and staggered. Hurricane used this opportunity and tore into the pink pony’s shoulder blade.

Pinkie collapsed onto the snow-covered ground; a gash up her shoulder and the pegasi leader standing over her with a victorious grin spread across her face.

“I’m impressed pink one. No earth pony before you has held their ground for so long without collapsing from pure fear of me; what’s your secret?” She raised a fore-hoof in questioning Pinkie of her abilities, and the pink mare only stared back before struggling to her hooves. One hoof in front of the other, “Heh, I almost expected you to give up.”

Pinkie brought the piece of steel she had pulled from Hurricane’s wing up and clenched it in her teeth tightly.

“I’m glad you didn’t... RAH!” Hurricane shot forward, wings spread out. Weapons clanged, echoing over the chilled mountain tops. Hurricane continued to pelt Pinkie with steel, cutting shallow grooves into the pink mare’s coat and staining the ground with blood. “Keep THIS up and I MIGHT end up RESPECTING you just a little.” She clanged her wing blade against Pinkie’s and smiled slyly, “But I doubt it.” She scooped her wing blade under Pinkie’s and tossed her back.

Surprising the Commander and making her grunt softly, Pinkie landed deftly on all fours; but her shoulder still shook. “What is it that drives you to do this? You aren’t trained for this, so how can you possibly be able to continue?”

Even when she tried to prevent the slight shake in her voice from escaping with those questions, Pinkie still heard them for what they were. Hurricane was in shock, and they both knew it. She let a smirk of her own appear between the blade in her mouth, but she didn’t speak; and that only made the older mare more angry.

“Answer me filth!!” Her eyes narrowed into slits, frustration showing through at the earth pony’s reluctance to answer. She took flight, her blows heavier, forcing Pinkie to dodge more than she blocked.

She supported herself more on her left shoulder, to lessen the pain and to have more maneuverability. She knew she was quicker than Hurricane, but she was already too weak to strike back at her. Suddenly, she caught something out of the corner of her eye; a thick forest of trees lay just behind her. Pinkie sensed a weakened stroke of the Commander’s blade. Her shoulder throbbed agonizingly as her Pinkie sense took over.

She swung out and threw off Hurricane’s trajectory, causing her to turn sideways and steady herself. This allowed Pinkie the time she needed to rush into the dense foliage and prevent the danger of any aerial attack from the pegasus.

“Good thinking. I can’t use my foreleg blades in there, but that won’t save you.” She walked slowly into the trees and looked around cautiously, “I know you are weak. All earth ponies are, deep within themselves. And they all KNOW it.” The pegasus turned suddenly and slashed out quickly; the pink mare slammed into the trunk of a tree and collapsed to the ground.

If this wasn’t the last moment of her life the pink pony might have thought being covered in the resulting snowfall from the tree would have been comical. Blood flowed from the gash in her chest, and her muscles finally relaxed; she spit out the blade and lowered her head to the ground, “I... hope...”

“What?” Hurricane’s ear perked at Pinkie’s whispered words to the snow.

“I’ve experienced too much pain already to be frightened by YOU,” Pinkie looked up with a consciousness still fully present in her beautiful cyan eyes, and she spoke firmly to Hurricane, “You aren’t anything... but another bully that doesn’t want or doesn’t even try to get to know another pony because they’re different.” Pinkie gasped suddenly and clamped a hoof to her chest in agony, but she ignored it, “At least... I met somepony... different from me that liked me.”

Hurricane huffed, “It doesn’t matter to me anymore. This has been a relief to get back into the swing of things; you were my most enjoyable opponent out of everything else so far. I can only imagine what your Dashie will do when she finds out.” She raised a foreleg blade over Pinkie’s head to finish her off; but the blade was quickly blocked and the pegasi leader was turned about and bucked in the gut, “GAH!”

“NOPONY calls me that but PINKIE!”

“Dashie!” Pinkie’s face lit up for a moment, cheer enveloping her at hearing the cyan pegasus’ voice again; but remembering what she must have looked like, Pinkie lowered her head back down sadly.

Hurricane landed ruffly on the ground and shook off the resulting snowfall from above. She lifted herself up and growled at Dash, resulting in a hateful glare from the cyan mare before she focused back on Pinkie.

“Pinkie, you okay? Please... tell me...” Her voice, soft and shaking, faltered as she looked at Pinkie’s wounds.

Galloping into the woods, the other two ponies joined them and gasped at what they saw; a pink pony with her left hoof up, comforting a teary-eyed pegasus beneath the trees. “I’m fine Dashie.” Her heart pounded against her ribcage, but she smiled despite it all, “I’m okay now.”

“Oh spare me the emotional farewell, Dashie. It’s soo cliche.” Hurricane’s smirk was almost too wide to seem bearable, yet there it was, and it only made Dash boil over with anger.

She let herself stand, and that was all Dash could do calmly before she exploded with fury at the Commander, “Don’t CALL me that!!” She lunged at Hurricane and clashed wing blades with her.

“Oooh, now we’re getting somewhere.” Gleefully, Hurricane deflected the blade and sliced out with it; but Dash wheeled around in the air and blocked it with a leg blade. “I see. You always were better at aerial combat Dash, but not when you have an injury such as THIS!” She kicked out a foreleg and smashed it against the cyan mare’s broken hind leg.

Dash cried out in agony and fell to the ground. Hurricane stood up on her hind-legs and attempted to slam her hooves full force against the cyan mare’s chest, but Dash managed to roll away in time and take to the skies again.

“I see you still know well how to ignore pain Rainbow Dash; this certainly won’t be a BORING fight. But let’s see how much pain you CAN take.” Hurricane smirked widely at the cyan pegasus, and rushed forward, brushing steel with steel as Dash sliced back.

Dash swung a wing blade high and horizontal, causing Hurricane to duck her head and allowing the cyan mare a chance to catch her jaw as she came up. With her good hind leg, Dash kicked out at the older mare’s face; but Hurricane saw it coming and brought her head back up just in time. She grabbed Rainbow’s good leg and threw her at a nearby tree.

Dash turned her stomach to the tree and stopped herself from colliding with it with her fore-hooves. She looked back at Hurricane, still clutching the bark of the tree, as the pegasi leader started to chuckle jokingly.

“Now Rainbow Dash, you really must have a strategy when fighting. Even your pink earth pony knew that.” Hurricane stood away from the pegasus to allow her to turn around and land on the snow, and when Dash did, she was smiling, “What’s so funny?”

“Your helmet.” She pointed to the ground behind Hurricane and noticed the helmet settled on the snow, “I knocked it off with that kick. You know, I never saw you without it... and now I get to tear your face up properly for what you did to Pinkie.” She growled out those last words at Hurricane and snorted angrily.

“Well, far be it for me to keep you waiting.” Hurricane smirked at the cyan mare and waited for her to take a stance.

Dash suddenly catapulted herself at the leader of the pegasi tribe, leg blades stretched out in front of her as she caught Hurricane off guard. Hurricane lifted herself clumsily off the ground to escape and Rainbow quickly put her hind legs out in front to land just under the older mare, ignoring another intense feeling of agony in her hind leg; she grabbed Hurricane’s back legs and slammed her hard into the snow bank.

With a swipe of her wing blade Dash cut into Hurricane’s chest and pinned her down to the cold ground. Hurricane groaned out in pain and Dash ignored it, “It’s over Hurricane. You are going to-”

“NO!” Dash’s ears perked, and she looked over at the pink mare that had called out to her; she was standing on all fours, but the other two ponies stood on opposite sides in case she fell from blood loss. A bandage wrapped tightly against her chest slowed the bleeding from such a deep injury, “You can’t do that! She’s a pony too Dashie. She doesn’t deserve to die, even if she is a big meanie pants.”

Frustration showed itself on Dash’s face and she prevented the older mare from struggling below her by pushing the blades down more, “But Pinkie, if she lives she’ll keep hunting us down until WE are dead!”

“If we kill her we’re no better than SHE is!” Pinkie countered firmly; but her expression softened considerably and she gazed into Dash’s magenta eyes pleadingly, “Please... we need to go.”

She whispered those last words, and Dash nodded in agreement; but before she got up from Hurricane, she took her leg blades and sliced them into the older mare’s hind legs. She groaned out in pain and Dash grabbed her by her mane, “But if you EVER come near me and my Pinkie Pie OR my friends again, I WILL kill you.”

Through the anguish in her face, Hurricane managed an evil smile, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Wait a sec. What’s that sound?” Applejack asked as she limped forward to hear better.

Their ears perked as they turned to see a group of pegasi flying over head. Dash turned and flew over to Pinkie, picking her up in her hooves and calling to the others, “We gotta go NOW! FLUTTERSHY!”

Without another thought, Fluttershy’s stare intensified and she glared up at the approaching pegasi. They dropped down beside their leader and looked away in blind terror as she and her friends made their escape.

Dash sped off immediately and Fluttershy, with Applejack on her back, were close behind her.

“What are you DOING you IDIOTS?! KILL HER!” The pegasi stayed in place as they watched the yellow pony soar away, much to their relief; but Hurricane became enraged and swiped a bow and arrow from one of them before shoving them away.

With her legs useless, Hurricane sat up and aimed one shot at the cyan pegasus. Her sight was true and she let it shoot towards Dash.

As Dash cradled Pinkie in her arms, the pink pony could look back over Dash’s shoulder and see the arrow zooming up to them, and she gasped in fright.

Her cyan eyes widened with fear and she gripped the mare in her hooves tighter, “DASHIE!”

THK!! Dash felt a searing heat surge through her wing, and she groaned out in a sharp intensity; she was still conscious when she began to fall from the sky and she looked back up at the rapidly shrinking forms of Fluttershy and Applejack. A warm smile suddenly stretched across her face, and she tightened her grip on the pink mare; flexing her good wing in the air.

“Rainbow Dash! What are you doing?!”

From in the air the two ponies watched, helplessly, as Dash and Pinkie plummeted to the snow covered earth.

"No...."

Only Fluttershy knew what the cyan pegasus was doing. Her eyes grew wide as she watched the two ponies fall down, plummeting to their expectant deaths.

"NO!!"

Chapter 11

Fluttershy was frozen in fear, her green blue eyes locked on the cyan Pegasus and the pink earth pony. Rainbow Dash had wrapped her forelegs tightly around Pinkie and used her uninjured wing as a rutter to turn herself mid-air.

"She's..... NO!!" Fluttershy yelled out.

Applejack strained her eyes to watch her two friends fall. "That crazy...!"

Dash had placed herself below the pink mare, and wrapped both her wings around her in an attempt to cushion her from the inevitable impact. Tucking her head down toward Pinkie, Dash gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead before bracing for impact.

"THEY'RE GOING TO CRASH!" Fluttershy screamed out. Without another thought Fluttershy began rushing toward the falling forms. Applejack clung tightly to Fluttershy, afraid that if she loosened her grip just a little bit she would fly off.

"WOULD Y'ALL SLOW TH' HAY DOWN?" Applejack hollered, squeezing her eyes shut.

"RAINBOW DASH IS GOING TO TAKE THE FALL! IF I DON'T HURRY SHE'LL DIE!!" Came the frantic reply, tears streaming from Fluttershy's eyes. "I AM NOT GOING TO BE WEAK AND HELPLESS WHEN MY BEST FRIEND NEEDS ME!!!"

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie disappeared behind the treeline causing panic to rise within Fluttershy’s chest. With a final burst of adrenaline, she bolted to the treeline. She dodged and weaved around several trees before a loud crash was heard up ahead. Her heart sinking, Fluttershy rushed toward the sound.

"Rainbow.....? Pinkie......?" Fluttershy quietly asked, her ears scrambling to pick up any sound.

Applejack watched in silence, biting her lower lip. Please let them be okay, she thought, jumping off Fluttershy's back to search the ground easier. Don't let them be dead...

The orange earth pony skidded to a sudden stop, her heart felt as if it stopped beating.

In the center of a clearing, was the broken body of Dash with Pinkie clinging desperately to her, tears streaming down her face like waterfalls.

“FLUTTERSHA! AH FOUND 'EM!” Applejack galloped over to the two prone figures, dread in her heart. Fluttershy swooped in soon after, tears of worry fresh in her eyes.

Fluttershy raced over, her eyes wide. She felt sadness clench her heart upon seeing her friends, skidding to a sudden halt.

"No no no, Dashie wake up....." Came Pinkie's voice, it's usual hyper tone replaced with soft shakiness. "Please Dashie don't..... This isn't a funny joke okay.....? Please....."

Fluttershy slowly trotted over to the two fallen mares, “Pinkie, I need to see if Rainbow is ok...I need you to get-”

“NO!” Pinkie gripped Dash tighter, an agonizing sob escaping her throat, “I can’t leave Dashie’s side! She needs me!”

Applejack moved next to Pinkie and gently stroked the frantic mare’s mane, “We need you to move in order to help Rainbow Dash, Pinkie.”

Pinkie felt tears well up in her eyes, a fresh round. "No..!! Please don't..... Please don't make me!" She begged, absently stroking her partner’s cheek. "I.... I don't want...."

Applejack hugged the pink mare in silent understanding. "Ah know, Sugarcube... It'll just be a few minutes, understood...?"

"Please don't make me....."

An unnoticeable movement alerted Fluttershy. She looked past Pinkie, her trained eyes trailing over Dash's body, looking for any sign the battered mare was still alive. A slight rising of Rainbow Dash's chest made the yellow pegasus’ eyes grow wide.

“Please Pinkie! Just for a moment.” A caring yet stern stare fixed itself on Fluttershy’s face. Trembling, Pinkie complied to Fluttershy’s wishes. She buried herself in Applejack’s strong embrace, attempting to obtain as much comfort as she could.

Fluttershy grabbed the saddlebag that she had obtained from one of the fallen military pegasi and searched for a flask of water. Carefully grabbing the flask, she tipped a little into Dash’s mouth and rubbed her throat in order to get her to swallow. A small cough from the cyan mare, brought relief to the yellow pegasus.

"DASHIE!!"

"Shhh...." Fluttershy soothed, smiling kindly to Pinkie. "Hold on a moment."

The yellow Pegasus searched the bag further, pulling out bandages. She paused, then looked at Pinkie. "I-I um..... I need to take her armor off to bandage her up.... If..... If that's okay with you I mean....."

Pinkie nodded quickly, eyeing the broken pegasus with hopeful eyes.

Smiling reassuringly at Pinkie, Fluttershy began carefully removing the weapons and armor from Dash. Eventually, Dash’s bloody body came into view, making the ponies around her cringe in horror.

“I had no idea she was hiding so much...pain...” Fluttershy stuttered out as she critically analyzed the wounds.

Fluttershy began on the most serious injury, Her stomach gashes. They had torn open and were bleeding heavily. In a rush, Fluttershy began stitching the wounds together with an expert hoof before immediately applying pressure to the wounds to stop the bleeding.

Pinkie pulled away from her friend, only to lay as close to Dash without getting in Fluttershy's way. She gently kissed the cyan mare's ear, quietly whispering to the unconscious mare.

"Fluttershy's fixing you right up now!" She explained, keeping her voice as soft as she could. "Sorry it's so cold... I'll make it up to you as soon as I can, okay...? I promise!!"

Wrapping the bandages tightly around the cyan mare’s middle, Fluttershy tied them off quickly before moving down to her broken hind-leg. She removed the tattered bandages and broken splint and reset the bones in the leg. Grabbing two strong splints she carefully set them on either side of the leg before wrapping them tightly.

Fluttershy carefully prodded Dash’s rib cage, checking for broken ribs. She felt several small fractures but none were life-threatening. She carefully wrapped her chest with soft materials in order to protect the fragile bones.

"She sure knows what she's doing, Dashie! You were such a smart pony in being friends with her, even if.... I was jealous of her a bit...." If Fluttershy or Applejack heard the quiet rambling, neither of them said a word. Both kept quiet, Fluttershy finishing her check over and Applejack watching, her green eyes surveying the area.

Fluttershy carefully re-bandaged the large gash on Dash’s face. She carefully arranged the bandages so Dash could see from her right eye while her wound stayed covered..

"It's a lucky thing having a medic pony as a friend, like my Granny Pie always said. She would love you, Dashie. She always said blue was such a pretty colour..."

If Rainbow Dash heard any of the pink mare's words, it didn't show on her face.

"Fluttersha? Her wings?" Applejack asked, looking at the medic.

"O-Oh yes! Right! She needs those fixed!! I need.... To flip her over gently...."

"Did you hear that, Dashie? We need to flip you over, so I'm gonna hold you all nice and snuggly so Fluttershy can fix your wings...." Pinkie moved so she would hold all the weight of the cyan pony as she helped Fluttershy roll her onto her tummy. Pinkie gently nuzzled Dash’s cheek.

Fluttershy used Dash’s wing blade to cut the arrow head off before gently pulling it out of the wing. Gently feeling the wing, she found it broke at the joint. After another set of stitches for the cyan mare a pair of splints were carefully placed on either side of the outstretched wing, Bandaging the wing carefully, Fluttershy had to wrap around the chest and opposite foreleg in order to keep the wing in place.

Moving to the other wing, Fluttershy found it to have been dislocated. After careful maneuvering a wet popping noise was heard as Fluttershy pushed the ball joint back in place. Careful wrapping around the base of the wing soon followed.

All through this Pinkie kept up her constant rambling, whispering softly. "Ooohhh, Fluttershy's all talented and scary with those needles! Well I for one know who to call when I get all hurt! She'll have me fixed in a Pinkie Cinch! Or maybe it's a Fluttershy Cinch since she'll be fixing me up? I'd rather it be a Dashie Cinch. See? Your name makes everything prettier..."

The pink mare sighed quietly, placing a gentle kiss on Rainbow's cheek. "Please wake up, Dashie... I'm..... Really scared without you...."

Fluttershy ran a careful hoof down Dash’s spine, checking for any abnormalities. Aside from minor bruising everything seemed to be ok.

“Thank goodness you landed in the snow...” Fluttershy muttered to herself quietly.

Applejack moved closer to the pink mare quietly muttering to her lover. “We need ta go sugarcube, before they try ‘n’ find us or somethin...”

Fluttershy frowned, looking at Applejack. "She..... Needs to stay motionless!"

"The ice cave."

Two pairs of eyes locked onto Pinkie with confusion.

"The what now?" Applejack asked.

"The ice cave. Dashie can be safe there..... I can get her there no problem. She won't even know she moved...."

***

Darkness. That's all the Pegasus could see. It went on for ages, never ending, as if it was limitless.

it wasn't silent, she noted, closing her eyes. Well at least she thought they were closed... It was hard to tell in the darkness.

But no. It was far from silent.

She could hear the quiet whispers of a pony echo around her, the softness in the voice pulling a content smile on her face.

I can listen to that voice forever.... She decided, floating in the void of darkness. Forever.

It might as well be forever, she realized.

"He-..... Hello?" She called out, shocked to hear her voice sound so shaky. That's my voice?

"Is anypony here...?"

Silence.

I don't... Think this is right... The mare frowned, somehow finding footing as she lifted herself onto trembling limbs. She backed away, her magenta eyes glancing all around.

Darkness.

"Where am I?!" She demanded.

Silence.

The quiet voice started again. The mare looked all over, suddenly eager to find the source.

"...See? Your name makes everything prettier..."

The mare froze. That voice!

"Keep talking!! Please!!" She cried out, running forward as fast as she could.

That's right! That voice! The mare thought, skidding to a halt. She looked around, surprised to see the darkness wasn't so dark anymore. That's.... The only voice I'll EVER answer to...

"Please wake up, Dashie... I'm..... Really scared without you...."

Her voice is so sad....

"I'm coming, Pinkie!!" The mare yelled out, squeezing her eyes shut as if it would increase her voices volume. "I promise!!"

Darkness greeted her again.

***

The three mares stumbled into the cave. Applejack carrying the armor and weapons, Fluttershy carrying medical supplies, and Pinkie carefully carrying Rainbow Dash. Finding a dry spot in the cave, Applejack rushed out and gathered several large leaves to build a makeshift bed for the severely injured pony.

Laying Dash carefully down on the bed of leaves, Fluttershy pulled out a rough brown blanket from the saddlebags she carried. Smiling at Pinkie, who was carefully stroking Rainbow’s mane, she carefully draped the blanket over the prone figure.

"She just needs rest..." Fluttershy hummed, looking at the worried pink mare. "I.... You should get some too."

"Ah reckon we all need th'rest..." Applejack sighed, looking at the opening of the cave with worry. "But y'all need it th'most. Ah'll stand guard an' make sure none of them Pegasi show up, all right?"

Pinkie wordlessly nodded her head, diving under the blanket herself to rest comfortably beside Dash. She kissed the broken mare’s cheek, quietly singing a song in her ear.

"Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head..."

***

"...Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed..."

Tears streamed down her face.

"Don't sound so sad...!"

She looked around in her darkness, a prison, in desperation.

"Let me out!" She screamed, flaring her wings.

Silence.

"She NEEDS me! Can't you hear her?!"

Darkness.

"She's BROKEN without me!"

Emptiness.

"I'm..... I'm lost without her....."

***

Pinkie soon fell asleep. She had curled into Dash as much as she could, gently clinging to the cyan mare as if her life depended on it.

Fluttershy finally relaxed as the adrenaline that had been rushing through her slowly ebbed away.

Applejack stood at the mouth of the cave, determination set firmly on her face. She had spotted several pegasi flying above but none seemed to attempt to search the forest.

One of the pegasi groups held a figure that seemed to be laughing. Twitching her ears slightly Applejack heard the cruel sound flowing from the pegasi’s lips. Growling in anger, Applejack pawed at the ground aggressively as she carefully watched the group disappear. She would never forgive Hurricane for what she had done.

The night carried on. Applejack felt her mind wander, her eyes searching the sky in silence. It'll be a miracle if Rainbow survives..... She thought, her mind drifting to darker subjects. Ah hope Pinkie knows that...

***

I'm not....

Giving in!

The mare flew skywards, feeling wind ruffle and play with her mane. There's wind here?

"I'm not leaving her side!" She declared to the darkness, her voice ringing loudly in her ears, echoing in the cold prison.

She shrugged off the sadness she felt that seemed to attack her, favouring instead for the joy she pushed to the front of her mind.

"I'm not going to die!" She screamed, pushing all emotions away, favouring the ones that spoke fondly of the pink mare she knew was by her side.

"PINKIE PIE!!"

***

"P..... Pin...."

Applejack spun her head around, green eyes growing wide.

Rushing into the cave, Applejack began prodding Pinkie urgently, “Sugarcube! Ah think Rainbow’s wakin' up!”

Pinkie seemed to wake up in an instant. “Dashie! Dashie wake up Dashie!” Hopeful tears sprung from the pink mare’s eyes.

Fluttershy was shaken awake by the frantic orange mare, “Rainbow’s wakin up sugarcube!” Fluttershy sprung into the air like a shot and rushed over to Dash immediately.

“Oh please oh please oh please oh please!” Fluttershy seemed to mutter to herself as she fluttered anxiously above the cyan mare.

“P-Pinkie...” Dry cyan lips managed to croak out the pink pony’s name.

***
I won't give up!! I'll NEVER GIVE UP!

Flying faster then before, fast enough that she felt the sound barrier, she pushed herself even further.

Never give up.

NEVER GIVE UP!

She felt the explosion of the sound barrier giving way to her. She felt the unconsciousness fade.

***

Magenta eyes opened slowly at first, then rapidly. She looked up at the ceiling of the cave, feeling short on breath. None of it mattered.

"P-Pinkie Pie.....?!" She whimpered, attempting to sit up. "Where....."

"Dashie!!" A relieved voice cheered.

Forelegs were suddenly around her, squeezing her gently. Rainbow Dash coughed violently, slightly shocked.

"Pinkie!! She needs to heal before you hug her so tight!" Applejack warned with a mixture of awe and concern in her voice.

"Sorry!!" Pinkie apologized, dropping her forelegs. Her cyan eyes were wide, the joy clearly displayed all over her far. "Dashie!!!"

Rainbow's mind felt fuzzy. Really fuzzy. "What...... Where am.....?"

"You got really sliced up..." Fluttershy explained, her voice softly soothing Dash. "Really sliced up.... I'm...... I'm surprised you're awake...."

Dash felt a snort was appropriate. "....C'mon... You thought.... I'd never wake up again?" She looked around at her friends, chuckling quietly. "Y-... Yeah right! Nothing can st-... Stop me!"

"I was so worried about you, Dashie..."

Rainbow glanced at her partner, her magenta eyes softening. "I.... I know..... I heard you....."

“You... You did...? How?”

“It was like in a dream... all around me was darkness a-... and silence. I didn’t know if... I would get out or not...” Her eyes shifted over to Pinkie Pie, who still couldn’t believe that Dash was awake again... talking. Dash smiled softly, “But... then I heard a pony’s... voice in my ears... and all around me.”

Applejack and Fluttershy exchanged confused looks, yet the pink earth pony still stared into Dash’s beautiful magenta eyes; tears still flowed from her face, but now they were tears of happiness. Tears of relief and silent appreciation for having her Dashie back.

“... she was calling to me... Just me and nopony else...”

Applejack’s ears perked. A noise from outside, and she went to check; Fluttershy followed as well, but Pinkie stayed and sat next to Dash. She couldn’t bring herself to speak; a phenomenal sight in Dash’s eyes. She would have to remind her of that when she was all better.

“I think she’s the pony that kept me going... kept me wanting to get out of there...”

Pinkie lay down on her stomach and wiggled her way closer to the cyan mare, curling her tail around Dash’s. This was enough for Dash to know that Pinkie was happy to see her and hear what said next.

“... I don’t think I would have gotten out... without you Pinkie...” A tired smile worked its way onto Pinkie’s face, and fresh tears welled up in her cyan eyes. Dash smiled back and nuzzled Pinkie’s cheek gently, the pink pony returning it quickly.

I... saved Dashie? “But... But how?”

Dash blinked. She remembered what had happened when asleep, but she’d prefer to not have to speak of it out loud, “Ugh, don’t make me say it... it’s soo... cliche... and sappy.”

“Okay Dashie, I understand...” Pinkie smiled and snuggled closer, but that smile quickly twisted into her evilest Pinkie Pie smirk, “... you know, you’re cute when you’re embarrassed.”

“Am not!”

Pinkie giggled and wrapped her right hoof over Dash’s back, sending a twinge of pain shooting through her injured shoulder. She cringed slightly before relaxing into the embrace with the pegasus, “See? Cute.”

Another groan and Dash noticed the pained look beneath Pinkie’s sweet smile, “Pinkie... are you okay? You... You looked.....” She shut her eyes tight, and she remembered the flash of pain that washed across the pink pony’s face.

But Pinkie only softened her smile and nodded, “Hurricane cut me in the shoulder when I was thinking of something... it was my fault it happened.”

Dash stared at the injury on Pinkie’s shoulder to the bandage on her chest; her heart twisted in pain at seeing her so beaten up because of her. She lowered her head down to look at her hooves; but she felt her head being lifted up again by a tender pink hoof.

“It was MY fault Dashie... I wasn’t paying attention... I didn’t blame you and I still don’t...”

A sound from outside entered the cave, but she ignored it.

“... you were hurt and Hurricane was stepping on you and I didn’t know what else to do...” Pinkie swallowed, and let her fear wash away again. “... I wanted to protect you... so I lead her away so Fluttershy and Applejack could help you...”

She lowered her hoof and looked into the cave, “You always said... you’d keep me safe, if anything happened to us; but... when... you were on the ground... I couldn’t, and Hurricane...”

“But you did protect me... you... saved me from Hurricane... remember?”

“That... was already too late Dash... I wanted... to rescue you, and be the pony to comfort you... instead of me being the pony that needs it.”

She smiled back at Dash, “I lead her away so I could... be the hero; rescue everypony and let you be safe... and you still saved me from all of that... I knew I couldn’t win, but I just wanted to give you enough time... and show you I could be strong too... I just wanted you to know...”

Dash placed a hoof on Pinkie’s cheek and hugged her neck tightly, swallowing her pride and the intense pain she now felt in her wings, “You are my hero Pinkie... a long time ago, I almost died...from a stupid blizzard...”

Dash’s ears drooped in embarassment and she nuzzled into Pinkie’s fluffy mane, “But...you were there...and you took me in and saved me...even when I was being a jerk to you...you saved my life...in more ways than one Pinkie...”

“What do you mean Dashie?” Pinkie softly muttered, trembling from raw emotion.

“You showed me that there is more to a pony than how they look...you loved me for who I was....not because I was some big shot...you showed me that all I ever truly needed...was somepony that loved me.” Dash managed to choke out the remaining words, a bright blush crossing her face.

Rainbow Dash hated being sappy. It wasn't something she was used to. But...

The look on Pinkie's face though....

"Dashie...." The pink mare muttered, rubbing her eyes free of tears.

Dash looked at her, a feeling of contentment washing over her. The expression on Pinkie's face was completely worth it. “I love you Pinkie; and I’m sorry for not realising that sooner...”

“Dashie....?” Pinkie pulled back; confusion on her face mixed with a slight fear at Dash’s words.

“You were there that day Pinks... that day when all the tribes gathered... and...” She recalled having the pink pony crash into her from Princess Platinum, and blushed at remembering how bright Pinkie’s cyan eyes were that day, “... and I couldn’t take my eyes off you...”

Then Pinkie did something Dash had never thought possible to happen to such a bouncy energetic pony like her. She actually seemed... embarrassed.

“You were just... so different from all the other earth ponies and unicorns...” Dash continued, unable to stop herself, knowing that she had to say this and just let it flow out of her, “... those eyes, still had so much happiness to them even... after all that stuff..... hehe, but now that I think about it...” Dash paused, finding something she had no hesitance to speak.

Pinkie raised her eyebrows and waited for Dash to continue, ears perked in complete interest in what the cyan mare had to say.

“... I think... the look on Platinum’s face was when you had me... and... how you didn’t even... mean to do it too. You’re just a crazy pony sometimes Pinkie...” Rainbow placed a hoof over Pinkie’s tenderly, and smiled softly at the blushing pony, “... and I wouldn’t change anything about you... even if there was anything.”

And suddenly, Pinkie was smiling back at her, but there was something different about it than the other times she made that smile. Maybe a little around the edges, Dash imagined.

Pinkie brought her other hoof over Dash’s; keeping that confusing grin on her face when she said, “That’s really cheesy Dashie.”

“Uh...” Was all Dash managed.

“I mean REALLY cheesy... like, maybe the third cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard? Or maybe it would be the second... hm, I’m not sure; but it’s up there.”

“H-Hey, you... you can’t be serious... how-how many cheesy things have you heard from other ponies? You... You can’t say mine was... and what you said before... uh...” Pinkie was grinning at her. A huge smile only she could manage, and there it was... and Dash hated it deeply.

All Pinkie did was smile back at her, and the pegasus soon found herself smiling too. It was somewhat annoying how Pinkie could cause her to panic so easily, but the look on that beautiful pink face always calmed her down again.

It didn’t stop her from groaning in irritated defeat at being caught so nervous. She turned away, still unable to wipe that smile from her lips and getting more upset because of it.

“Now Dashie, I was just foalin’. You know that right?” Pinkie giggled softly as she observed the irritated cyan mare.

A soft grunt was her answer.

“Come on Rainbow Dash, you know you can’t stay mad at me for looong... Dashie...” She began to tickle Dash’s sides playfully, getting stifled giggles in response from the mare.

“N-No! St-Stop... he he, just... leave me ah, alone...” Dash held back laughter as she tried to squirm away from the pink mare’s prodding hooves.

“Not until you’re happy again.” A soft smile settled on Pinkie’s face. A smile only Pinkie Pie could give her...

“Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie!”

Pinkie jumped slightly, and felt her chest twist in pain; she had stopped tickling Dash and looked behind her at the approaching ponies.

Dash gasped for breath at the onslaught of tickles and turned in the same direction, only to notice a new pony; and she recognized her immediately. “Pansy!” She stood up quickly, and cringed at the wounds she had sustained before being able to talk, “What are you doing here?!”

Pansy’s wings spread in shock at the sight. A low growl rumbled its way from Pinkie’s throat as she eyed the pegasi’s spread wings in annoyance. She scooted closer to Dash and rested a possessive hoof on Dash’s flank.

“It’s okay Rainbow. She’s not going to hurt us; she came to help.” Fluttershy spoke quickly while gesturing toward the pegasus. Pansy nodded timidly and held out a first-aid kit. A small blush settled on her face; this was the first time she ever seen Dash without her armor. A small part of her felt as if she was intruding on a private moment.

“How do I know I can trust her?” Dash growled in annoyance as she subconsciously placed herself between Pansy and Pinkie Pie.

Applejack stepped forward, feeling frustrated at Dash for her not trusting the nervous pegasus, “She brought us a buncha supplies fer any injury we mighta got durin’ this whole mess. Pinkie, can’tcha say anything teh make ‘er believe she’s on our side?”

Pinkie looked at Applejack and Fluttershy, serious expressions on each of their faces. Her worried cyan eyes drifted over to the pegasus before they fell on Dash’s splinted wing, and felt her stomach knot with regret.

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. She wanted... she didn’t know, but she knew she didn’t want this; not after what she had done to the pegasus before.

Rainbow looked down at the mare and saw her look away, shutting her eyes tightly.

Pinkie Pie’s tears were falling freely now, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at anything; afraid to see Dash’s expression. If I hadn’t said to leave... she would never have been like this... It’s all... Warm hooves wrapped around her suddenly, and she gasped, opening her eyes once again to see Dash hugging her quietly.

“You were right you know?” Dash whispered in Pinkie’s ear.

“Huh...?”

“When you said killing Hurricane would be bad... I agreed with you... so... When you said you don’t blame me for what happened to you out there, whether it was me or not that did it... I don’t blame you for... this either.” Dash tightened her embrace around the pink mare, gently stroking her mane.

A surge of emotions assaulted the pink mare, reducing her to heart-wrenching sobs. She clung to Dash and spilled out apology after apology over what happened. How she was afraid she would never see her again. How she thought she lost her....

Dash held Pinkie throughout the entire exchange. Holding the pink mare tight against her as she whispered calm reassurances in her ears. Her injured wings twinged in protest as she reflexively attempted to wrap them around the sobbing mare.

A few minutes went by before Pinkie had calmed down. She huddled close to Dash, refusing to break the embrace.

Gently kissing Pinkie’s forehead, Dash turned her attention to the three mares that had witnessed the entire exchange.

The first aid kit lay discarded on the floor, and appeared to have laid their for several minutes. Pansy’s jaw nearly touched the floor. She had never seen such a thing before. Rainbow Dash, tough, second in command Rainbow Dash, just comforted and hugged another pony. The fact that it wasn’t a pegasus made it even more shocking.

“Um...do you need to lay down for a little while, Pansy?” Fluttershy gently prodded the frozen mare, concerned.

Shaking her head, Pansy smiled apologetically at Fluttershy before returning her gaze toward the two mares huddled together in a close embrace.

“I have no reason to harm you or your friends, Lieutenant General Dash.” A kind expression settled on Pansy’s face. “If it makes you feel better, I will remove all of my weapons before I approach you and your...lover.”

Dash’s hardened expression softened slightly, “Call me Rainbow Dash. I am no longer a Lieutenant General. I am undeserving of such a title.”

Pansy shook her head vehemently, “No. You would have been a great leader. A leader our tribe really needed....” A saddened expression crossed Pansy’s face as she carefully removed her weapons and set them on the cave floor.

Dash bit back a bitter laugh, “You mean your tribe.” Glancing up at Pansy a small smile crossed her face. “Thanks...for the help, Pansy.”

Pansy flushed in surprise. Gratitude was a rare thing she experienced, especially working with Commander Hurricane. Grinning, she rushed forward, grabbed the first-aid kit, and practically flew over to Dash.

Pinkie securely wrapped her hooves around Dash as she watched Pansy approach. Her eyes trained on Pansy. She was suspicious of the other mare’s intentions.

Dash chuckled to herself. It seems Pinkie interprets flared wings as a sign of attraction if the pony isn’t angry. Someday I will tell her that it doesn’t always mean that... but right now though... Gently nuzzling the pink mare, Dash turned to face Pansy with a confident grin. I can live with this...

“No matter how painful this will be, I can take it!” Dash stated confidently as she pulled away from Pinkie slowly and laid down so Pansy could easily inspect her wounds.

Pansy rushed forward and began carefully unwrapping the bandages around Dash’s middle, wincing at the amount of blood that had soaked into the bandages.

Pinkie watched Pansy with a frown. "How did... Hurricane even find out...?"

"Airman Derpy Hooves made a comment that bugged Commander Hurricane... So she questioned her further and.... She decided to give Lieu- Rainbow Dash three days to 'recover' fully from her..... Uhm......" Pansy frowned, unsure of how to label the cyan mare’s story.

"My fib? The excuse I made up to explain why I was gone?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"... Yes. She followed you after that and..... Came back in a furious fit...." Pansy shuttered at the memory.

Pinkie sighed, leaning gently into her partner. "I'm sorry......"

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Nu uh, Pinks. It's my fault.... I wasn't careful enough when Derpy had to come with us....." She looked at the group of ponies gathered around, feeling a relaxed grin spread across her face. "Heh.... Too bad. If I had just been more careful I could have been the coolest leader the pegasi ever had!"

Pansy nodded her head, an amused smile crossing her face. “You may have been the leader the tribe needed...” She sighed, pulling out a bottle of hoof-made disinfectant. “This may sting a bit...”

Pansy carefully poured the liquid over the hastily stitched wounds, electing a sharp hiss of pain from the cyan mare. The liquid began foaming around the injury sites, working to kill any bacteria that could cause infection.

Gently placing soft gauze against the cleaned injuries on the cyan pony’s tummy, Pansy began carefully re-wrapping the wound with fresh bandages. Pansy quickly and carefully repeated the process on Dash’s stitched wing and deep gashes on her face and chest.

“Did this pink mare receive any kind of disinfectant?” Turning to face Fluttershy, Pansy was met with a quick nod of confirmation.

“There was just enough left when I bandaged Pinkie.”

Pansy frowned slightly, “Dash may get an infection. Many of these wounds seem several hours old...Repeated reopening of the wounds, plus all the dirty substances they came in contact with....I’m not sure if I have any medicine with me that can combat infection.”

“Y-you mean...Dashie might still die?” Pinkie whimpered out softly. Her hooves wrapping around Dash’s neck in a tight yet careful embrace, fear and worry radiating from her.

A gentle nuzzle broke Pinkie from the trance, “No way, Pinkie. I’m to awesome to let an infection kill me.”

Pinkie looked at Dash worried. "You might....I-I can’t..."

"Make sure Pinkie gets healed, if you can. My injuries are nothing compared to hers. Her life's more important." Rainbow quietly explained,steadfastly ignoring the sudden tremble coming from the pink mare holding her in a terrified embrace, "I don't care about my life... It's hers I want to keep safe....."

Pansy frowned. Turning to look at Fluttershy, she spoke softly. "You're the medical expert...."

“W-we won’t know for sure if she has an infection right away...I will have to watch her closely... I was...afraid this would happen...” Fluttershy turned to Applejack with a serious expression. “Applejack, could you bring any medicine from your tribe that will be useful against infections?”

Applejack nodded sharply, “Ah will bring all ah can, Fluttersha.” Turning quickly, Applejack galloped out of the cave and toward her home.

Fluttershy returned her attention to Pansy, “I need to search for medicinal herbs and plants...Just to be safe...Will you stay here for a little while longer?”

Fluttershy’s eyebrows knitted together in concern yet her eyes remained hopeful.

Pansy smiled kindly, “Of course I will.”

Fluttershy softly smiled in return, “Thank you.” She rushed out of the cave as fast as her wings could take her.

“Dashie...I...” A gentle hoof rested against Pinkie’s trembling mouth.

Dash’s eyes glowed with affection and warmth, “I Pinkie Pie promise you, I will survive this.”

Pinkie gulped heavily and nodded weakly, sniffling feebly. Dash lifted her hoof up and gently wiped away the sobbing earth pony’s tears, smiling back softly at Pinkie as she pulled her in for a hug.

Pinkie Pie wrapped her own hooves across the pegasus’ back and clenched her teeth together to stop the flow of tears. “A-and nopony b-breaks a Pinkie promise.”

Dash chuckled and pulled the earth pony tighter into the embrace. “... not if Fluttershy’s here with us... she’s never let a pony down before... and it’s me you’re talking about... i won’t let you down Pinks, okay?”

Pinkie nodded silently into Dash’s shoulder and smiled softly.

Chapter 12

Applejack charged through the forest, ignoring the dull ache in her injured flank along with several small gashes and bruises. She was on a mission. She wasn’t known as the most dependable pony in her tribe for nothing after all.

Bursting from the trees, Applejack found herself in the clearing where Pinkie’s house stood. All the bodies, unconcious, injured and dead, had been moved. All that was left was blood saturated snow, a few broken windows, and a blood splattered wall on the house.

Applejack shivered at the memory of seeing Dash crumpled on the ground, her leg laying at an unnatural angle, and her breathing labored. Shaking her head in exasperation, Applejack continued on her way, determination set strongly in her heart. She would not let her friends down, not when they needed her the most.

*****

Hurricane smiled smugly. The traitor and her trash had been taken care of. No longer would she taint the pegasi tribe with her filthy dirt pony loving ways. It was an added bonus that she got to get rid of that lousy pegasus that always seemed attached to the dirt animals all the time.

Hurricane winced at the actions of the inexperienced medic pegasus. Minor problem, she lost the best medic the tribe had ever had. She was sure they could train another to be just as good as Fluttershy, maybe even better! She was also quite sure she could easily find a replacement for the traitor.

"Only problem....." Hurricane muttered to herself, ignoring the startled looks the medic was giving her. "Was training her took a lot of years..."

Her thoughts quickly shifted back to Dash. She had spent over a decade training that ungrateful traitor to someday become future leader. All those years, wasted. Hurricane clenched her teeth in frustration. She was almost like a daughter to her... Finding out that she had betrayed her and the tribe in such a horrendous way cut her deep.

“She would have been a great leader...” Hurricane’s ears drooped slightly before a determined grin formed on her face.

“I bet I could find a foal whom could be three times the leader Rainbow Dash could have ever been! One that wouldn’t become such a reached traitor.” Hurricane spoke confidently, sitting up, suddenly and accidentally, knocking the medic over.

Ignoring the pained moan coming from the medical pony, Hurricane critically examined her bandaged limb. Sloppy. Hurricane snorted in annoyance.

*****

"I shouldn't of been so obvious..."

Pansy sat across from Pinkie and Dash, concern gracing her face. "Oh, I'm sure you were the least obvious."

Chuckling, Dash shook her head. "You don't have to treat me with respect anymore, Pansy. I'm not part of your tribe anymore. Hurricane made that plenty clear."

The three sat in an uncomfortable circle, each struggling with conversation. Pansy desperately trying to keep it going, not wanting her presence to be awkward.

"I-I'm not acting. I've always respected you, even now. There's no reason not to." A nervous smile crossed Pansy’s face.

Pinkie nuzzled Rainbow Dash's cheek, snuggling up to the cyan mare carefully. "What was Dashie like? Before........ Me......."

"Don't answer that." Dash gave Pansy a sharp look, but held a teasing smile.

Pansy chuckled quietly. "Lazy, to a degree. Everypony respected her. In fact she actually dealt with the tribe more then Commander Hurricane did...." She sighed quietly, shaking her head.

“That’s only because she wanted me to be ready to take on the role as leader.” Dash spoke evenly, “That, and when it’s my time, there would already be many young members of the tribe that would look up to me as the leader they could be proud of.”

Pansy chuckled softly, “Commander Hurricane is a rather good leader when her anger isn’t taking over...”

Dash nodded when a sudden look of realization crossed her face, “How did you find us Pansy?” A glint of suspicion shown in Dash’s eyes.

Pansy smiled calmly, “Commander Hurricane wanted me to go make sure you two were dead. I ended up grabbing one of these medical kits while everypony else was busy.” Pansy gestured toward the discarded metal box.

“I spotted your crash site, there was a lot of blood on the snow...” Her ears laid flat against her head at the memory, “ I followed the trail you all left. It was rather hard to follow, Fluttershy did a really good job covering up the tracks.”

Pansy shifted her attention to the cave opening, “I almost thought I lost you when I noticed the orange earth pony at the mouth of the cave.”

Returning her attention to the two mares, Pansy smiled, “I’m just glad I was able to help you out. You didn’t deserve such harsh treatment...”

Dash shrugged, before wincing in slight pain. "Oh well. Hurricane's loss....." she snorted, an arrogant grin forming in her face. "Good luck to her finding a new leader trainee."

*****

Hurricane paced in her office, a scowl deeply set on her face. She didn’t have to deal with recruits for a long time, aside from the beginning and ending of the school's year. Usually the traitor dealt with such things. She shook her head, her blue eyes darkening.

"Just my luck..." she grumbled, stopping in front of her desk. "I don't even have enough time left and I need to spend years training somepony to take over from me. That bloody traitor!"

She whirled around, glaring at a random space in the wall. "What the Horseapples am I going to do?!"

When it came down to choosing a new leader, they needed to have specific traits that a good leader should have: Bravery, Dedication, Determination, and Loyalty. Rainbow Dash displayed all these traits flawlessly. Many pegasi were lucky to have at least two of these traits, some had none of them. They usually became weather ponies.

Many of the young foals she had the pleasure of observing their training didn’t hold the same spark that a leader needed to have. Hurricane slammed her fore-hoof onto her new desk in frustration. Where was Pansy at when she needed her....

*****

"Oh..... I suppose when your friend returns I should go back....." Pansy quietly commented to herself.

"You shouldn't have to go back to that meanie pants, Pansy..." Pinkie muttered, keeping her eyes on her partner. Worried about Rainbow Dash’s condition even though she appeared to be doing ok at the moment.

"Oh, I really should. Hurricane's most likely looking for a new recruit or something... I doubt she'll find what she's looking for, so somepony has to attempt to calm her temper." Pansy smiled softly, shrugging.

"Doubt she'll find one. None of the new recruits are good enough....." Dash muttered, her magenta eyes darkening slightly. "Believe me. I know."

*****

A full week had gone by and Hurricane was beyond frustrated. None of the new recruits had the skill and the qualities necessary to become a good leader. Many were either too headstrong, too cowardly, or just plain horrible.

Hurricane found herself needing to spend at least two hours in the training facility, beating the crap out of the training dummy for hoof to hoof combat to calm her nerves. Pansy sat in the background holding a medical kit nervously. So far somepony always seemed to get hurt during Hurricane’s time in the training area.

Mostly the damage came from unknowing pegasi entering the room, startling Hurricane enough that she lashed out with a quick attack before she registered who was actually there. Other times it was because Hurricane had pushed herself so hard that her wounds on her hind legs would reopen.

Today was no different. An absent-minded weather pony entered the room in search of their friend and had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting Hurricane’s hoof with their snout. A loud crack resonated through the room, quickly followed by a garbled agonizing scream. Pansy was at his side in an instant carefully treating the whimpering pony.

Breathing heavily, Hurricane looked down at the scene in surprise before hardening her expression.

“Sorry for that Sky Dancer. You will receive as much time as you need off to heal.” She spoke in near monotone.

Pansy patched the weather pony up, quickly sending him on his way. "Hurricane...."

"Don't start with me Pansy!!" Hurricane snarled, spinning around furiously to once again punch the dummy. "I told you I'm FINE!"

"... It doesn't look like it to me, Commander. You've been like this since you....... 'killed' Lieutenant General Rainbow Dash....." Pansy calmly stated, worry in her eyes.

"DON'T SAY THAT TRAITOR’S NAME!" Hurricane bellowed furiously, taking another vicious swing at the dummy.

Pansy flinched, looking down. "I-..... Sorry. But you've been so stressed..."

Letting out a furious snarl, Hurricane rested her head on the dummy's stuffed body, closing her eyes. "I'm frustrated, Pansy. Why the buck can I not find a suitable colt or filly to replace that traitor?!"

Pansy slowly got up, nervous. "Because you can't?" She carefully walked over to the leader and stood beside her, nervously resting a hoof on the grey pony's shoulder. "Not that I'm..... Doubting your actions, Commander, but maybe it could have been dealt with so you won."

"What do you mean?! I already HAVE won!" Came a furious snarl.

"Doesn't look like it." Pansy muttered, loud enough for Hurricane to hear.

Growling in annoyance, Hurricane smacked Pansy’s hoof off her shoulder. “I DON’T need you questioning MY decisions, Private!”

Shrinking back, Pansy shuffled her hoof nervously, “I-I’m sorry Commander...”

*****

Fluttershy carefully wiped the sweat off of Dash’s forehead; a worried expression covering her face. Dash had succumbed to infection, and was reacting poorly to the medicine. Her breathing was labored, she was delirious, and dehydrated. It was a struggle just to get the pegasus to drink water and keep it down.

Pinkie had suffered a minor infection in her shoulder. The deep gaping wound in her shoulder finally healing normally after several applications of medicine. Fluttershy was relieved that she had recovered; taking care of two agonizing ponies put a huge strain on her.

Fluttershy sighed, a distressed look on her face. She was going to have do the last resort to try and save Dash from the clutches of the infection.

“Pinkie...” Fluttershy slowly spoke the pink mare’s name. Attempting to soothe the pony and persuade her to allow her to do this procedure...

Pinkie held the cyan pony’s head in her forelegs. She huddled close to Dash, desperate hope radiating off of her. She whispered small encouragements into Dash’s ear, raw emotion forcing her voice to crack. Barely taking any time to sleep or eat, she didn’t notice Fluttershy’s attempt to speak to her.

Fluttershy redoubled her efforts for Pinkie’s attention, “Pinkie Pie...Please listen...” She gently shook the pink mare’s shoulder. The pink mare winced in agony, her injured shoulder throbbing in agony at the touch. Fluttershy pulled her hoof away quickly, muttering a soft apology.

“Yes...Fluttershy...” Pinkie spoke in a soft, defeated voice. Her eyes never left the pony’s head she carefully cradled in her forelegs.

“I-I need to do a last resort procedure on Rainbow to try and save her. It’s rather...dangerous and untested, but I can’t think of any other way to help her...Will you allow me to try?” Fluttershy spoke in a serious yet calm voice, praying she would get the pink mare’s approval.

Hard determination shone in Pinkie’s eyes as she finally looked up at Fluttershy’s eyes.

“Do it.”

*****

Hurricane slumped against her desk, her face planted on a stack of papers. Paper work sucked, she decided, groaning quietly.

"Paaaaaaaaansyyyyyyyyyy!" She called out, somehow managing to pull her face just barely off the stack to have her voice clear. "Paaaaaaaaansyyyyyy! Where's the pony who usually does the paperwork......?"

The small mare poked her head into the room, a smug expression clear across her face. "Oh, her? Don't you remember?"

"No I don't.... don't be a smart-alack and wipe that smug look off your face!" Hurricane groaned in frustration.

"Rainbow Dash did the paperwork." Pansy chuckled, pulling her head back out of the office.

A dull thud confirmed that Hurricane had once again dropped her head onto the stack of papers, complaining loudly. "You can't be SERIOUS! The traitor always-?! Argh! I don't even KNOW half the newer recruits!"

"Should of thought about that before you tried to kill her!" Pansy's voice chirped from behind the door.

"Shut up!"
*****

Rainbow Dash laid on her back, somewhat aware of the bandages being removed around her middle. She was also vaguely aware of two sets of hooves. One set holding her forelegs down, the other holding her hind-legs down.

She briefly remembered Fluttershy’s explanation as Pinkie tearfully moved to hold her forelegs down and Applejack moved to her hind-legs. All she really knew was that they were going to keep her from thrashing around and potentially causing herself more harm.

Fluttershy visibly shuttered upon viewing Dash’s infected wound. It was sickly green and oozed puss. The area around it was swollen and bright red and seemed to radiate heat. Her cyan fur had begun falling out around the injury site.

Applejack and Pinkie turned their heads away from the sight, their stomachs turning violently. Fluttershy felt tears slowly glide down her face as she carefully examined the wound, calculating the best possible way to start the procedure.

Satisfied with the examination, Fluttershy quickly pulled out and prepared the necessary tools for the job. A knife, a flat metal tool, a thick sturdy wooden stick and a jar of leeches.

“Rainbow... Will you please hold this in your mouth during the entire procedure?” Fluttershy held the stick in front of the ill mare’s lips, encouraging her to open her mouth and take it.

Dash hesitantly brought the stick in her jaws and clenched it loosely. Fluttershy smiled; this was important to keep Dash from biting off her own tongue...

Fluttershy quickly started a fire near them and gently placed the flat metal tool in the fire. She also placed the knife in the fire in attempt to sterilize the surgical tool. Pulling the red-hot blade out of the fire she dunked it into a bucket of fresh water set next to her.

“Everypony ready?” Fluttershy looked at all the mares, a stern look on her face. The two earth ponies nodded quickly; doubling the pressure on Rainbow’s legs. Ignoring the twinge of pain from her shoulder, Pinkie dipped her head down next to Dash’s ear and began whispering soft encouragements into her ear.

Nodding, Fluttershy brought the knife down onto the infected flesh.

*****

Hurricane marched in front of a line of young recruits, each of them keeping their eyes well trained on her.

"As you know, the old Lieutenant General is now gone." She began, standing dead center of the gathered six.

"Why is she gone, Commander....?" An orange filly burst out, her purple eyes shining in defiance. The five surrounding her gasped quietly, shocked that the filly would speak out of turn. "Everypony loved her! You know that!"

Hurricane let out a frustrated sigh. "For the last TIME, Scootaloo, she was a traitor to the tribe! Now would you PLEASE stop que-"

"But she was Lieutenant General. You spent ages training her, my parent's said so!" Scootaloo challenged.

"Would you stop already?!" Hurricane spoke in an exasperated tone.

"Not unless you admit you made a mistake." Scootaloo looked up at the large pegasus, an angry gleam in her eyes.

"NEVER!" Fury tore through Hurricane. How DARE this filly challenge her like this! She raised a hoof, her eyes locked on the offending filly in question.

"HURRICANE!"

The pegasi leader flinched, spinning around to glance nervously at Pansy. "What?! That filly has no respect what so-"

"I'm sorry, foals...." Pansy sighed, pushing Hurricane towards the way she had came. "Return to class. Hurricane isn't feeling too well...."

"More like going mentally insane." Scootaloo snorted rudely.

"One hit, Pansy. That's ALL I ask. One hit, and I'll-" Hurricane snarled, glaring daggers at the young filly.

"No." Pansy sighed, successfully pushing Hurricane out the door. "You need to stop, and you need to rest. Losing Rainbow Dash, to your OWN foolishness, is destroying you."

Hurricane grumbled, looking to the side, away from Pansy. "It is NOT!"

"It has."
*****

Dash howled in agony, her teeth digging deep into the stick clenched tightly in her mouth. Fluttershy had cauterized the bleeding blood vessels with the white-hot metal tool; allowing the wound to remain open. Leeches were placed around the outsides of the wounds, sucking up the infected blood.

Pinkie nuzzled Dash while continuously whispering encouragements in her ear. Tears streamed heavily down her face, the sound of her lover in such pain hurting her as well. Periodically she would place gentle kisses against Dash’s tear-stained cheek. She steadfastly ignored her own injuries screaming in protest from the exertion she was placing them through in order to keep Dash still.

The knife began scraping out the infected flesh, gathering in a separate bucket placed next to Dash. Periodically, Fluttershy would pour fresh water into the wound, flushing out anything that could still be in there. Soon after the water hit, she had to re-cauterize the wound. She continued this process over and over in a steady rhythm.

Applejack and Pinkie struggled to keep Dash’s flailing limbs still. There were several moments where Applejack had a close call from getting bucked in the face. Pinkie had an easier time. Even though Dash was in horrible pain, she still didn’t want to harm Pinkie, and was still aware of her wounded state. At some points Dash responded to Pinkie’s gentle and comforting caresses by leaning her head into the pink mare.

Fluttershy replaced the leeches with new; set in new areas in hopes of draining the infected blood out of the system. Feeling confident that she had removed all the infected flesh, she turned her attention to the small pustules that remained. Realising she forgot to grab out a tool, she quickly rushed over to the first-aid kit and grabbed out a large bulb-shaped, rubber object that had a thin nozzle.

Returning to Dash’s side she began squeezing and releasing the bulb. It began sucking up the pus that had been growing and draining from the wounds. Careful to empty the contents into the bucket, she always immediately cleaned the tool with water before returning to clear out more.

They were almost done.
*****

Hurricane sat in her office, her window open to the gloomy sky. She could hear tortured screams from far off, her ears flicking in confusion.

"I wonder what kind of creature could make such a sound..." she muttered, leaning back in her chair. "If I didn't know any better, I would guess that was the traitor making those sounds...."

She sympathized with whoever, or whatever, was making the sounds. She truly did. Only a week had gone by since Hurricane had begun attempting to find the perfect recruit to be leader, and yet nothing.

She wanted to scream, she had realized, and blame it all on Scootaloo.

"Pansy!" Hurricane shouted.

"Yes, Hurricane?" The mare asked, sticking her head once again into the office.

Hurricane glared at her. "Chicken."

"Per-cautious, more like it." Pansy countered. Ever since speaking to Dash, Pansy felt more confident around Hurricane.

Hurricane sighed frustrated. "Did... I let my temper get the better of me...?"

"Many times." Pansy stated quickly, a teasing smile forming on her face.

"I wasn't asking about THOSE times! I'm talking about-!" Hurricane snapped, eyeing Pansy.

"I know." Pansy's smile softened, and she walked into the room slowly. "You felt hurt, and what you deemed to be betrayed. It's natural, Hurricane. Personally you could have used that pink mare to our advantage, but y'know...."

"What the buck are you talking about." Hurricane snorted, her steely blue eyes glaring daggers at Pansy. "A dirt pony is of no use to me."

"I was talking more about motivation for Rainbow Dash." Pansy shrugged, sitting down. "Either way, what's done is done."

"What do you mean....." the grey mare questioned, giving the Private a suspicious look.

"You really want to know?" Inquiring purple eyes locked with hardened blue.

"Yes."
*****

Fluttershy finished her final stitch, leaving a neatly sewn wound in its wake. The plump leeches had been removed and the wound as well as the area around it had been cleaned thoroughly with fresh water.The reddened flesh seemed not as bright, and the wound seemed not nearly as hot as before.

Pinkie carefully lifted the stick out of Dash’s mouth. Deep bite marks were left behind, nearly biting the stick in half. She kissed Dash lovingly, happy that she could finally relax after the ordeal she just went though.

Applejack carefully prodded Dash’s broken limb, testing to see if anything shifted during Dash’s struggle. Her other limb had a deep purple bruise in the shape of Applejack’s hoof, which made the orange mare’s heart twist in guilt. Finding nothing wrong with the broken limb, Applejack sighed in relief.

Fluttershy carefully applied ointment to the injured area she just worked on for the past hour and a half. It cooled the area while preventing infection from starting again. Satisfied, Fluttershy began carefully bandaging the area.

Dash’s throat was raw from screaming. She panted heavily, fading in and out of consciousness, completely exhausted. A small trickle of water met her lips, and she found herself lapping up the water greedily. Pinkie had pushed Dash up slightly onto herself and gently coaxed her to drink.

Dash laid heavily against her chest, pressing against the gashes left behind by Hurricane. Clenching her teeth, Pinkie smiled softly down at the cyan mare.

“Everything will be ok now, Dashie...”

*****

Pansy carefully explained her ideas to Hurricane, recalling how the blue mare had acted around the pink one. "If you had paid careful attention, Hurricane, you could of noticed that the earth pony knows exactly how to grow food."

"We already use the Dirt Pony's tribe for that Pansy!" Hurricane grunted in annoyance.

"I'm talking about extra food.... And judging by how defensively Rainbow Dash-" Pansy calmly began before the Commanders sharp voice cut her off.

"Don't you DARE say the traitors name!"

"...... How SHE protected her you could of used her as motivation for getting stuff done." Pansy finished, shaking her head. "I mean..... If she had finished all her duties for the day you could of allowed her to spend the rest of the day with the earth pony.... You know how she always seemed to slack off during the day."

Hurricane went silent, glaring at Pansy. "I hate you."

"No you don't." Pansy's reply was quick and playful.

"Yes, I do. Get out." Annoyance danced in Hurricane’s eyes.

Smiling to herself, Pansy quickly cantered out of the room. "I don't know if either of them are alive, Hurricane. I never found them. I could search again and bring them back here, dead or alive, if you wanted....?"

She paused as she waited for Hurricane's response, flicking her ear as she stood by the door.

"...... No. Not now. Not this soon. I don't want to have to look at another dead pony’s face for a long time, Pansy....." Hurricane whispered, closing her eyes before dropping her head on her desk.

"All right, Hurricane...."
*****

Pinkie gently brushed the vibrant colored mane out of the sleeping cyan mare’s eyes. She had fallen asleep immediately after she finished the water Pinkie had offered to her, and had been asleep for several hours.

Pinkie had curled herself around Dash, snuggling close to her. Rainbow Dash’s head rested on her left foreleg, her right one draped protectively over her chest. She had intertwined their tails together during the first hour of closeness and hadn’t moved it since.

Periodically Dash would moan in pain. Pinkie immediately responded with a gentle caress, or a soft and loving kiss. She would then attempt to cuddle closer to the distressed mare in an attempt to comfort her to the best of her ability.

Every hour that went by, Fluttershy would unwrap the bandages around the wounds, wash and reapply more ointment. She also took those times to observe any physical changes with the injury site. Periodically she would attach another leech to an infected area.

Applejack stumbled into the cave with a large wagon full of apples and other various foods. With one mare recovering and two busy caring for her, they needed somepony to help them with food.
*****

Hurricane watched the sky darken from her seat, noting the sloppiness the weather team had.

"Everything is going down..." she noted, tearing her gaze from the window for a more favored area to look at. "No pony seems very happy at all. Ugh, why does this always happen to me?!"

She rested her eyes on the wall opposite of her, gazing at each painting that rested on the wall, each holding the portrait of a previous leader. She cringed as her eyes went over their expressions, guilt residing in her gut.

"Even they seem disapproving..." She muttered, lowering her gaze. "The tribe is at complete loss without Rainbow Dash...."

She got up, trotting over towards the bookshelf that rested to her right. She gazed over the miniature paintings that rested on one of the shelves, sighing. She picked one up, one of her favourites, and stared at it.

"I don't know if I succeeded in killing her and her..... lover..." Hurricane mumbled, setting the painting back in its place. "For all I know I did. Was it really her being a traitor.....?"

She shook her head, spinning around and walking out of the room. "Maybe a good flight will clear my mind and help me think straight....."
*****

Dash seemed to have slipped into a stress induced coma from the ordeal. She hadn’t woken up in three days. Fluttershy constantly watched Dash’s condition, watchful for any changes while keeping her injuries as clean as possible. There was a possibility that Dash may never wake from the coma if she re-obtains the serious infection that had festered within her during the last week. That thought alone kept Fluttershy up and moving, no matter how exhausted she was.

Pinkie never left Dash’s side the entire time. Bed sores started to form on her body. Fluttershy and Applejack pleaded with the mare to get up and walk around but she stubbornly clung to Dash. Applejack even went as far as attempting to pull Pinkie away from the cyan pony but was met with a vicious bite to her ear, nearly biting it off.

Fluttershy slowly approached the pink mare, “P-Pinkie...could you at least...lay on your other side? I-it will allow your sores to heal...and you can still cuddle with Dash...”

Ears drooped, Pinkie slowly nodded. She stood up shakily, limped to the other side of Dash, and laid down in a similar position that she was in on the other side. Fluttershy nearly cried seeing the large bloody sores that had developed on the pink mare.

Without another thought, Fluttershy immediately began disinfecting and bandaging the sores that covered the pink mare’s left side.
*****

Hurricane, as what was deemed to be usual currently, sat in her office, glaring at the wall. No pony entered the office unless they wanted to be killed, thus nopony knew what she did in there. Pansy attempted to coax the leader out of hiding with her favourite foods, which usually ended in failure for the small mare.

"For the FINAL time, Pansy, I REFUSE to leave my office!" Hurricane growled, glaring at the door. "So STOP trying to lure me out!"

"You have to eat! Everypony knows you didn't mean to put Defense Shield in the clinic!" Pansy pleaded.

Hurricane dropped her head on the desk, groaning. "Would you STOP bringing that up?! I destroyed the tribe, NOPONY is happy with me! I REFUSE to leave this office until I die!"

Pansy pushed herself into the room, carrying a tray of hay sandwiches on her back.
"Hurricane, would you please stop saying that....?"

"It's true!" Hurricane grumbled, ignoring Pansy as she settled the tray on the desk. "First I drove them insane with searching for Rainbow Dash, then I angered over three quarters of them with my revelation of her betrayal, then-"

"They understand Commander. Please calm down." Genuine concern rested on Pansy’s face.

"No they don’t.... I can't even find a replacement for Rainbow Dash...." Hurricane sighed, lifting her head up to stare at the sandwiches. ".............. Did you use-"

"They're fried. Just the way you like them, Hurricane." A soft smile settled on Pansy’s face.

"With a-"

"Dash of sunflower seeds and daisy petals of course." A matter of fact look shone in Pansy’s eyes.

Hurricane stared at Pansy, blinking. "What about-"

"Of course there's hay-fries in it too. I know the unhealthy habit Rainbow Dash got you into." Pansy cut her off, rolling her eyes with a smile. "Speaking of, I assume you've....... Um.... Forgiven her?"

Hurricane stared at Pansy in confusion, "I don't understand what you're-"

"You called her by name, not by ‘traitor’." Pansy smiled, pushing the tray of sandwiches underneath Hurricane’s face. "Please eat, Commander..."

"..... I deserve to die, Pansy. I killed the one pony who could've improved the tribe... Why can't you leave me alone to die already...?" Despair hit Hurricane like a ton of bricks once she allowed herself to look past the wall of denial she had built around her.

Pansy froze, looking at Hurricane with wide eyes. "Hurricane...."

"Just.... Go."
*****

Several days went by before Dash awoke from her coma.

“P....Pink..Pinkie?” Dash croaked out quietly.

In a flurry of movement, Dash found herself in a tight embrace with loving kisses peppering her face rapidly.

“Oh Dashie, I was soooo WORRIED!” Joyful tears streamed down Pinkie’s face as she held the weak mare in her forelegs.

Fluttershy and Applejack beamed happily as they rushed over to the newly awoken Dash. Tears flowed freely from their eyes as they joined the embrace, turning it into a massive group hug.

Dash chuckled softly at the shower of affection she was receiving from everypony. Eventually Applejack and Fluttershy left the embrace in favor of retrieving water for her. Carefully, yet greedily drinking the water she felt quite content despite the pain. Looking over at Applejack, confusion washed over her face.

“What...happened to..your ear?” Dash rasped out as she stared curiously at the orange mare’s bandaged ear.

Snorting in amusement, Applejack locked eyes with a suddenly guilty Pinkie Pie, “I made the mistake of trying ta move Somepony that didn’t want ta move an’ avoid worsening her sores. Shown her discomfort by me tryin ta move her by nearly bitin mah ear off...”

Dash began laughing, twinges of pain keeping her from becoming hysterically loud. The sound of Dash’s laughter had put everypony at ease, and eventually they all joined in.
*****

"I SAID NO!"

Pansy grunted in frustration, scrambling as she tried pulling Hurricane from the office, which had slowly began smelling rather foul. Not that the grey pony was any better off. Pansy found that her fear for Hurricane had quickly turned into concern. There was no reason to fear her...

"Hurricane for the final time you SMELL! And so does that office! I'm taking you to get a bath and that's FINAL!" Pansy growled, biting down on Hurricane's bright yellow tail. "If I have to wash you myself then so be it!"

"I am NOT leaving this office!" Hurricane yelled, biting onto the doors frame.

"You're acting like a foal Hurricane!" Pansy yelled through clenched teeth as she pulled hard on Hurricane’s tail.

"I don't care!! It's better then having to look at the chaos I caused!" Hurricane retorted, suddenly realizing she had released the door frame. The two of them, due to Pansy's attempts, flew backwards into the wall opposite of the door.

Both mares groaned, each picking themselves up from the crash. It took Hurricane a moment to realize that several pegasi had instantly flown into her office, slamming the door, while Pansy began to push the confused grey mare down the hall.

"Pansy I demand you to-"

"NOT until you've bathed and your office has been cleaned and aired out!" Pansy retorted, pushing her down the many halls of the building. "Depression is NOT an excuse for not taking care of yourself!"

"I am not depressed!" Hurricane snorted indignantly.

"Bull." Pansy muttered flatly, attempting to push her leader into the bathing room. "Get in there!"

"No!" Hurricane scraped her hooves into the floor, pushing back against the mint green mare with all her might.

"So help me Hurricane, I will strip you myself and force you to wash up if I have to!" Pansy threatened, giving a final shove before successfully pushing her Commander into the room. She rushed in quickly and locked the door, adding multiple locks Hurricane had never seen before in her life.

"Stop treating me like a foal!" Hurricane growled, searching the room for any exit she could escape from. To her dismay there were none.

"Then stop acting like one and get in the bath!!!" Pansy stood in front of the door, defending the only exit.

Hurricane sat on the edge of the bath, staring into the water. She glanced quickly at Pansy, a smirk set on her face. "Think fast."

"What?"

Quickly, Hurricane dipped one of her forelegs into the water, quickly splashing Pansy with lukewarm water. "Ha!"

Surprised, Pansy shook the water from her face, glaring at Hurricane. "Oh it is on!"
*****

Dash stared at Pinkie’s new bandages, sadness filling her heart. Even though Pinkie had refused to move the entire time she was unconscious, she still felt responsible for the sores. If she was supposed to protect Pinkie from this kind of stuff....

Noticing Dash looking at her bandages, Pinkie nuzzled her gently, “Please don’t feel guilty...This was all my fault.”

Dash leaned into the caring touch, her injuries protesting slightly at the movement, “I still feel bad, Pinks.”

Rainbow Dash was carefully propped up on a rock,allowing her to stay laid down but made it easier for her to drink and eat. Small slices of apple were fed to her, in fear that any more would make her sick.

Ignoring the painful throb in her shoulder and chest, Pinkie trotted around Dash in excitement for a few hours before settling down next to her and snuggling into her side. Dash happily accepted the embrace with a large smile and a nuzzle. With the euphoria fading, Dash finally was able to focus on the damage Pinkie had gone through while she was unconscious.

“Pinkie...if..if I ever go unconscious again... will you promise me that you won’t get these sores? … you could have gotten an infection.” Dash looked into bright cyan eyes, a serious yet pleading expression on her face.

Pinkie nodded quickly before snuggling under Dash’s chin, wrapping her hooves tightly around her chest.

“I Pinkie promise, Dashie.”
*****

Hurricane snorted in laughter, ignoring the itchiness the wet armor created. Pansy's mane was dripping wet under her helmet, the pale pink mane covering her face.

"You are a cruel leader, you know that, right?" Pansy muttered, attempting to move her soaking mane out of her vision line. "I'm going to have to go home and dry off or something... Thanks for that."

"Join the club. I'm itching up a storm here." Hurricane shifted uncomfortably in her armor.

Pansy sighed, rolling her eyes. "This would of never happened if you would stop acting like a foal and just wash up. You smell just terrible, almost like rotten flesh, and if that was the case your wounds got infected we should probably take you to the clinic....."

"They're fine! Besides, only one pony was trained to deal with infections and she's gone too....." Hurricane grumbled, glaring at Pansy. "Wait and why are you in here if you want me to get cleaned?!"

"To make sure you GET clean." Pansy replied quickly.

"....... Pansy you know there's a rule about this." Hurricane gave Pansy a pointed look.

"Would you of gotten clean otherwise?" Pansy sighed, turning around to rest her forehead against the door.

"......... Point taken."
*****

Dash was nearly jumping in joy as Fluttershy unwrapped the bandages around her wings.

“You can’t fly right away Rainbow, you still need a few days for your wings to set up. I still need to remove the stitches in one of your wings as well.” Fluttershy spoke sternly, knowing perfectly well that the moment she was finished, Dash will attempt to shoot off into the sky.

Dash groaned in frustration. All this time on the ground was making her wings twitch in anticipation. She stared longingly at the cave opening, looking at the small bit of sky that shown through.

Pinkie bounced up to Dash and nuzzled the wing that was fully exposed. “Your feathers are so fluffy and soft Dashie!”

Dash felt heat rush to her face, her wings stiffening slightly.

“P-Pinkie! Please don’t do that! Rainbow needs to heal, and causing her wings to pop will put a strain on them! You also need to stop bouncing around, you’re straining your injury on your shoulder!” Fluttershy scolded Pinkie, a light blush of embarrassment dusted her cheeks.

“But her wings are so soft and cuddly!” Pinkie absent-mindedly stroked Dash’s feathers, gently rubbing her cheek against the feathers.

A sharp yank on Pinkie’s tail pulled her away from the strong feathery cyan wings. Looking behind her, Pinkie came face to face with an unamused Applejack.

“Try an not mess with Dash for a few more days...Ok Pinkie?”

Pinkie nodded her head rapidly, “Okie Dokie Lokie!”
*****

“Pansy... where did I go wrong?” Hurricane whispered, as she once again lay her head on the stacks of paperwork that had yet to be filled out.

“Huh?” Pansy asked, walking worriedly into the Commander’s room.

Hurricane let out a heavy sigh and looked out of her window at the dark clouds surrounding the camp. “... if I hadn’t done all this... we would still have somepony to take my place. Be a better leader and bring the pegasi tribe out of this terrible position.”

Pansy listened quietly and tentatively, feeling how sorry the Commander was for what she did to Dash, until she had an idea of her own. “... w-well, Commander... she isn’t one to just give up so easily... even with her wings surely broken, she... still could be alive out there. We tried to look for her and... spotted a few trails of blood away from the crash site... maybe you could follow those.”

“And you didn’t think to search them yourself?!” Hurricane inquired, frustrated.

Pansy blinked at the pegasi leader and shrank a little under the gaze of Hurricane. “W-well, I-” so much for not being afraid...

Hurricane jumped up with a determined expression, “That’s it! Enough with all you lazy pegasi sitting around and doing NOTHING! I’m going to find Dash... but... but what if I find her... and she isn’t...” Hurricane gulped and looked at the paintings of former leaders.

“If you don’t look Hurricane, there will never be a chance to save your tribe.” Pansy spoke with a large grin forming on her face.

“The tribe needs a true leader to look forward to for the future...Have your best medical ponies waiting for when we come back.” Hurricane marched up to Pansy, a serious tone in her voice.

“Commander?” Pansy stared at Hurricane, stunned at what she was hearing.

Dark icy blue eyes locked with bright violet eyes, “You are coming with me... and we’re bringing Rainbow Dash back, with or without the pink earth pony.”

“You mean you-?” Pansy stuttered out.

Sighing, Hurricane turned away from Pansy, “It’s time I did something right for a change.”

Chapter 13

Hurricane walked sternly through the camp, her eyes locked onto the direction Dash had fled to save Pinkie Pie weeks before, with Pansy following closely behind.

“B-but Commander, why do you need me to come along? Shouldn’t I be getting the medical station ready for your return?” Pansy trotted beside Hurricane, a confused expression covering her face.

“No Pansy. I need you with me.” Hurricane responded calmly, turning to face the timid pegasus. “If you said you found those blood stains leading away from the crash site, they will likely already be gone. So... you are going to lead me to those ponies and then we will carry them back here.”

Pansy’s eyes widened in surprise at the bizarre order. “M-me? Lead you?”

Hurricane stopped suddenly and looked across at Pansy with a small knowing smirk. “Is there something wrong with that Private?” The Commander held back a chuckle at the expression on Pansy’s face, dark blue eyes locking with bright purple.

The timid pegasus shook her head, and her shock grew even further when she noticed a gleam in the pegasi leader’s eyes. “N-no, uh, I was just wondering if I heard you correctly... l-let’s go then, follow me.”

Pansy spread out her wings and took to the skies, eyes trained on the site where the two ponies had landed. I’m not sure if I’m more terrified of angry Hurricane, or this new happy one.

Hurricane’s smile grew at the stuttering mare and she watched her take off before spreading her own wings. “Heh... I guess I should try smiling more often. If it makes ponies listen to me this quickly, I won’t even need to get angry.”

The Commander whipped up a cloud of snow behind her as she darted after Pansy, determination to find the cyan mare set in her mind.

“Please still be alive Rainbow Dash.”
*****

Dash stretched her wings excitedly, finally free from the tight bandages they were in. She almost ran out of the cave in anticipation of flight once again when a stern voice, and her broken leg, stopped her.

“RAINBOW DASH! You are NOT allowed to fly yet! Please be more careful, your leg isn’t ready to support your weight.” Fluttershy marched in front of Dash, blocking the view of the outside.

Pouting, Dash dropped into a sitting position. “But I’m boooooooored! I can’t do anything with all these injuries. Especially these dumb stomach ones.” Dash gestured angrily at her once infected wounds and crossed her hooves over her chest like a little filly would when she didn’t get what she wanted.

“I know Rainbow...I wish I could help you heal faster but I just can’t do that. You just have to learn to be more patient.” Fluttershy adopted a motherly tone as she gently nudged Dash away from the exit.

“I hate being patient.” Dash snorted in annoyance, casting a longing look past the yellow mare toward the mouth of the cave.

Sulking, Rainbow Dash allowed herself to be pushed back to her make-shift bed and sat still for a moment.

Dash sighed defeated, and looked over to where Pinkie and Applejack were currently making something out of all the apples that Applejack brought in earlier that day.

Curiosity got the better of her as the cyan mare jumped up lightly to sit beside Pinkie, watching as the two ponies worked. So far it looked rather mushy, but it smelled really sweet and made Dash’s mouth water.

Looking up, Pinkie waved excitedly to Dash with her good leg. “Hiya Dashie! Wanna help me and AJ make some applesauce?”

Smiling softly, Dash shook her head, “Nah, I’ll probably just mess it up. I’ll just watch you guys make it.”

“Okie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie beamed at Dash before returning her attention to an apple and smashing it. It splattered all over the two earth ponies; and from under the gooey substance, the pink mare blinked a couple times in surprise. That just keeps happening, She thought to herself.

Wiping off the squashed apple, Applejack gave Pinkie a deadpanned look. “Thas the sixth time yew did this Pinkie. Please be more careful!”

Pinkie licked off all the apple that covered her face before smiling sheepishly at the orange mare. “Oopsie.”

Dash snickered softly at the apple covered mares and sat down between them, taking an apple in her hoof and smirking. “Hey Applesmack, maybe you should take some having fun lessons from me and Pinkie. Gets your work done faster.” The cyan mare squished the apple in her fore-hooves, covering the three ponies in squished apple.

“Hey! Watch it!” Applejack cried, wiping off the apple and glaring at Rainbow Dash.

“Oops.” Dash shrugged and turned to see the pink mare, or at least the parts of her that weren’t covered in applesauce, giggling away underneath it.

Pinkie licked her face clean of the apple splatter and grinned at the cyan pegasus. “Dashie.”

Dash looked away and began to whistle until she heard soft giggles coming from Pinkie. She turned back and chuckled with a smile on her face, but when her eyes met with Pinkie’s, Dash gulped in fear. “Uh oh.”

The earth pony grinned slyly and covered Dash’s face with a hoof full of applesauce, before planting her rump back down on the floor of the cave.

Rainbow wiped the applesauce off her snout, groaning in annoyance, and taking a hoof full of it herself. “It is on!”
*****

Pansy flew quickly through the clouds as they neared the crash site, her mind blank. She didn’t really want to think of what would happen when she lead Hurricane to Dash and the others.

But then a sudden thought occurred to the pegasus, and she turned to look at Commander Hurricane questioningly. “Um, Commander, if we do manage to find Dash alive, what will you say to her to try and get her to trust you again?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but hopefully if we get to her she’ll be in a good mood to forgive me... or at least in a good enough mood so she doesn’t kill me on sight.” Hurricane chuckled to herself, and landed at the crash site, while Pansy cringed at the thought of that happening.

“Well Pansy?” Hurricane encouraged, snapping the pegasus out of her troubled thoughts. “Which way did they go?”

“Uh, oh, right. It’s this way.” Pansy pointed a hoof in the direction of the cave, after a moment of looking at the tracks on the ground, and brushed her wings against the snow, pushing herself off and quickly picking up speed as Hurricane flew up beside her.

“I hope you’re right about this Pansy. It’s already been several weeks... and with those kinds of injuries...” Hurricane swallowed and petered off, not wanting to finish what she had said.

Pansy looked critically at Commander Hurricane, not giving a reply, before facing back in the direction she was flying. So am I...
*****

Dash whipped the applesauce at the pink mare, earning a direct hit and a squeal from Pinkie as she tried unsuccessfully to dodge out of the way.

She licked it off quickly and growled at Dash before zooming over to one of the barrels of applesauce. The cyan mare followed swiftly after, smirking at Pinkie as they both started flinging hoof fulls of it at each other wildly.

“I’ll get you for that one Dashie!”

Dash chuckled quickly and threw another at Pinkie, hitting the wall behind her. “No you won’t!” The cyan mare responded teasingly.

“What in tarnation are yew two doin’?!” Applejack screamed, getting a face full of applesauce as her first answer.

Pinkie giggled and chucked some apple at Dash, hitting the wall and splattering Rainbow’s back as she tried to duck out of harm’s way. “What does it look like? We’re having an applesauce fight!”

Applejack grunted in defeat and let her head droop, quickly being covered in the applesauce that had taken so much time to prepare.

The orange mare sighed. Well, at least they’re havin’ fun.
*****

Hurricane glanced around her at the icy path Pansy was now intently leading her on, feeling unsure of the terrain placed in front of her.

“Are you sure it is this way Pansy? Where would they even go to find shelter in a place like this?” Hurricane asked, lifting a hoof up to get Pansy to glance around.

Pansy nodded calmly, keeping her eyes low and away from Hurricane in case her face gave anything away. “I’m sure of it Commander Hurricane. The hoof prints in the snow were more difficult to follow, but the tracks here amongst all this ice are far more noticeable... even after all the snow we’ve been having lately.”

Hurricane looked up, following the trail of marks from the ponies, and caught sight of the ice cave in the distance. “They seem to be leading into that cave over there... either that or I’m just delirious from all the snow around me.”

Pansy chanced a look at the Commander and raised a curious eyebrow at the pegasi leader. What’s with all jokes all of a sudden?
*****

“Sugarcube take cover!” Applejack called over to Fluttershy, who was presently only managing to dodge the incoming projectiles from Dash’s side.

“Oh, Applejack, where is cover?” The timid pegasus squeaked out as the orange earth pony ran up to her.

Applejack looked around quickly, trying to find a separate cavern or crevice that they could hide out the worst of the fight in.

“There!” Spotting a small ditch in the cave, Applejack grabbed Fluttershy’s hoof and dove behind some rocks and into the trench.

“Phew, we’ll be mighty safe down here.” The orange mare declared proudly, seeing the frightened look on Fluttershy’s face.

The yellow mare nodded lightly and picked herself up over the rocks to see the two ponies throwing tons of applesauce at each other, and she hoped their injuries wouldn’t be affected by such movement. “Oooh, I hope Dash’s leg heals up properly... with all the moving around she’s doing, it might take longer.”

“Aw, that knuckle-head’ll never learn anything Fluttershy, but I’m sure she knows when ta call it quits... ‘specially after being with Pinkie fer this long.” Applejack replied, placing a comforting fore-hoof on the yellow pegasus’ shoulder.

Dash wiped some applesauce from her face and snorted in playful aggression. “I’ll get you for that Pinks. They didn’t call me Lieutenant General Dash for nothing, you know!"

Pinkie giggled from behind her rock an scooped a hoof full of applesauce from the barrel beside her. “Oh yeah? Well they don’t call me the, uh, well... what do ponies call me? Oh well, I’m still gonna get you good Dashie, and there’s nothing you can...” Pinkie stood on her hooves and prepared to throw the applesauce at her target, but instead her cyan eyes widened with fear and her voice trailed off suddenly.

“Gotcha!” Dash stood triumphantly above her with her barrel held high above her hooves as she dumped it all on top of the pink mare, splattering the entire cave as it ricochet off the floor and zoomed towards the entrance.
*****

“Are you absolutely sure they came in here? It doesn’t seem at all hospitable for any pony to live for so long in here.” Hurricane asked suspiciously for possibly the fifth time just outside the cave.

“Yes, I’m sure Hurricane. Just go in and see for yourself.” Pansy watched as Commander Hurricane paced slightly, up and down the entrance of the cave. Pansy’s eyes widened in realisation. “Commander, are you nervous about something?”

Pansy locked eyes with the pegasi leader and saw Hurricane look to the side slightly before replying. “N-nervous? Me? What would I have to be nervous about, Pansy?”

The small pegasus smirked and walked up beside her Commander. “Well, you don’t exactly have much to say to the ponies if you find that they’re alive... Also, if they are alive, they would probably be quite angry with you... After all the..... You know, stuff.”

Hurricane stood there, staring and listening to Pansy in silence, until she was finished; and she snorted. “Shut up.”

The dark grey pegasus began walking into the cavern, with a newly smiling Pansy walking along next to her.

As they strolled past the entrance, a noise from within stopped Hurricane. Her ears perked to hear the sounds from deeper within the cave, her eyes narrowing in concentration. It sounded like ponies yelling at each other about... Applesauce?

This only caused the two pegasi more confusion until Hurricane noticed an incoming projectile and swiftly held up her wing to protect Pansy from being hit. The off-white projectile splattered against Hurricane’s wing, completely missing the smaller pegasus.

The mint green pony’s eyes shifted from the wing in front of her to the pegasus standing straight next to her, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Hurricane looked over at the wide-eyed pony with a smirk. “And THAT is what I was nervous about.” She quickly withdrew her wing and licked the applesauce off before beginning her walk again. “Hmm, applesauce. Not the expected choice of... weaponry, but still...”

Still a bit stunned that Hurricane had protected her like that, even if it was applesauce, Pansy followed quietly into the cave beside the Commander.

“I wonder if who ever is in here has some homemade pies to throw too.” Hurricane said to nopony in particular, causing Pansy to raise another confused eyebrow at her usually grumpy leader.
*****

Dash sat up suddenly, hearing somepony talking from the cave entrance. Somepony she immediately recognized. She jumped up from the floor where Pinkie had tackled her to just after her involuntary applesauce shower and stood between her and Commander Hurricane.

“You! What are you doing here?!” Dash pawed at the ground aggressively, crouching low in a defensive posture. She ignored the sudden stab of pain in her stomach, choosing instead that protecting Pinkie and her friends was more important.

“Me, uh, yes... well I’m here to... uh,” Hurricane turned slightly to the pony beside her and whispered to her. “Pansy what am I here to do?”

Pansy leaned over, still staring straight at the two ponies, and whispered back. “You’re here to apologize.”

“Right, uh... quick, tell me something else I can do first.” Hurricane was met with a disapproving stare from Pansy, and her face contorted into a frown. She groaned. “Ugh, fine... I, uh, just came by to... say... sorry... for everything.”

Applejack, recognising the new voices, quickly jumped up from behind her rock to stand beside Rainbow Dash. “Okay, and what’s yer real reason fer bein’ here huh? Finishin’ us off?”

Fluttershy flew over to, to stand slightly behind the other two and help Pinkie Pie up from the ground. “Pinkie, are you okay?”

The pink mare nodded cheerfully and turned to face Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy.

“Why do you think we’d trust anything you would say?” Dash yelled angrily, flaring her wings in fury at the dark grey pegasus, once again ignoring another wave of pain.

“I-I don’t expect you to do anything, especially believe me anymore. I just wanted...” Hurricane petered off as she stared into the cyan mare’s blazing eyes and the multitude of injuries she had given her.

Pansy placed a hoof on Hurricane’s shoulder to comfort her when, to everypony’s surprise, Pinkie started bouncing towards Commander Hurricane.

“Pinkie?! What are you doing?” Dash shouted from across the cave at the pink earth pony.

While the other two ponies gaped at what the pink mare was doing, Pinkie just kept bounding up to Hurricane and dropped her rump down in front of her with a curious look on her face.

She tilted her head sideways, frontways, and the other sideways, not to mention upside down before a soft smile set firmly on Pinkie’s bright face.

“You don’t look like a meanie head right now. What else are you here to do?”

“Uh, you... believe me?” Hurricane spoke quietly, confusion spread across her face.

Pinkie nodded quickly with a quick mention of “Mm hm” as her fluffy magenta mane followed the erratic movement of her head.

From across the room, Applejack was shaking her head stiffly. “That Pinkie... believin’ anything that says it’s sorry.”

Dash stormed up to Hurricane and stood next to Pinkie, draping a protective wing across her back. She eyed Hurricane critically before growling out a retort, “Why should any of us even accept your apology Hurricane...? You nearly killed all of us!”

Dash’s fury wavered as she felt the pink mare next to her nuzzle her neck affectionately. Turning to face the pink mare, Dash found herself become captivated by loving cyan eyes. “Don’t be so worried, Dashie. She said sorry, and she totally means it! I can tell!”

Hurricane gaped at the display. Never had she seen Dash’s anger so easily reigned into a controlled state from such gentle caresses and soft words. Shaking her head, Hurricane cleared her throat before attempting to speak again.

“Look...Rainbow Dash...I am..really sorry for everything. I-if you want to return to the tribe you are welcome. You can get your old position back and everything, and you will still become leader as planned.” Hurricane smiled awkwardly. Apologising was hard work, she could feel the tension build up in her as she stared at the cyan pegasus.

Dash eyed the grey mare suspiciously, “How do I know this isn’t some elaborate trick? You could have an ambush waiting to kill us all if we let our guard down.”

Hurricane cringed at the harsh words, “Because...you are like...the daughter I never had...I just...didn’t realise it before.”

It was now Dash who gaped vacantly at Hurricane, unsure she heard right, “Uh..I think there was some applesauce in my ears...” Dash rubs her ears roughly in attempt to clean out the non-existent apple residue, “W-what did you say?”

Taking in a shuddering breath, Hurricane looked directly into Dash’s magenta eyes and spoke with sincerity, “You are like the daughter I never had, Rainbow Dash. When I found out you....went against the tribe...I felt betrayed and...let my anger get the best of me. I realise now that you didn’t do anything wrong...I was wrong.”

Dash felt tears fill her eyes at Hurricane’s words. She never had...a mother...somepony that cared for her in such a way before. Without thinking, Dash burst forward and wrapped her forelegs tightly around Hurricane.

Nearly stumbling backward in shock, Hurricane carefully returned the embrace. She held Dash against her like a mother would their own foal. “I-I’m so sorry...”

Pansy watched the scene in complete and total shock. It was like she was watching some kind of alternate reality Hurricane and Rainbow Dash hugging like family. Never had she thought she would ever see the two toughest ponies, near tears, embracing.

Fluttershy smiled happily at the embracing pegasi. Tears of joy spilling down her face silently. Applejack sat dumbfounded next to Fluttershy, completely confused by everything that happened.

Pinkie sobbed tears of happiness, “I-it’s s-sooo b-b-beautiful!” Pinkie ended up grabbing the nearest pony, Pansy, in a tight embrace while she sobbed in elation.

“It’s like today I woke up and found myself in bizzaro world or something.” Pansy muttered in amusement at the whole development. Shifting in the sudden embrace she was sharing with the pink mare, she carefully pulled herself away. Trotting up to Hurricane she gently nudged her shoulder.

“We got to bring these injured ponies to the clinic, Commander.”

Shaking her head quickly, Hurricane looked over Pansy and nodded. “Right. Dash. I know what I did was wrong and you probably don’t trust me completely, even now... but will you trust me enough to get you and your friends back to camp so we can heal you properly?”

Dash wiped her eyes and nodded slowly at the dark grey mare. “But, my wings.”

“I’ll carry you Rainbow Dash, and Pansy will take care of your fillyfriend as well.” Hurricane smiled and looked at Fluttershy and Applejack still standing away from her. “And I believe Fluttershy has already carried the orange mare once before.”

The yellow pegasus nodded and stepped forward, followed hesitantly by Applejack. She was still slightly suspicious of Hurricane’s intentions after, but trusted her friend’s judgement.

Pinkie just kept smiling at the two pegasi in front of her until a thought struck her. She gasped hugely and started to bounce in place excitedly.

“Yes Pinkie?” Dash said with a smirk directed at the earth mare.

“Ooh, Dashie, we forgot your armor and weapons and stuff! We can’t leave without all that!” Pinkie Pie zoomed off to get the pegasi armor from inside the cave, leaving everypony but Dash in slight confusion of Pinkie’s abilities.

“Where does she get all that energy?” Hurricane asked dumbfounded as she stared at the disappearing pink figure.

“Well, a lot of it comes from all the sugar, but... the rest... I don’t think even she knows where it all comes from.” Dash responded shrugging back at the dark grey mare.

While waiting, Hurricane observed the disaster area of the applesauce war. “So...how was your battle with your lover?” A smirk formed on Hurricane’s face as she watched Dash bristle in embarrassment.

“Well..you know...It was fun...and stuff...” Dash pouted as Hurricane snorted in amusement.

Pinkie returned with the items held triumphantly in her mouth and on her back. Carefully setting them in front of Dash, Pinkie tilted her head curiously. “Do you need help putting them on?”

Pride fueled Dash to refuse the offer. It was already slightly bruised by Hurricane’s ‘comment’ and it wouldn’t allow her to take any more hits to her pride. It took nearly twice the amount of time needed for Dash to replace the armor thanks to her injuries. Pinkie patiently waited for Dash to finish, knowing that attempting to help would only frustrate the cyan mare more.

Finally completely armored, Dash smiled proudly. A gentle kiss from the pink mare turned the prideful smile into a goofy one. Quickly hiding the expression, Dash turned to Hurricane.

“I guess I’m ready to go...” A serious and threatening look crossed Dash’s face, “If you are lying to me, I will kill you. Slowly."

Hurricane smirked, “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Lieutenant General.”

Pansy sighed in exasperation. There were the Rainbow Dash and Commander Hurricane she knew. Smiling at the exchange between the two high ranking pegasi, she didn’t notice the pink mare leap toward her until she nearly fell to the ground in surprise.

“READY TO GO!” Pinkie sat on the mint green pegasus, smiling brightly at everypony else.

Chuckling, Hurricane lowered herself to the ground, allowing Dash to easily climb on her back. Swallowing back her pride, Dash carefully pulled herself onto the grey mare with minor difficulty. Hurricane carefully stood back up, attempting to keep from aggravating Dash’s injuries too much.

Applejack carefully climbed onto Fluttershy, afraid to harm the yellow mare. She knew she was capable of carrying her with no problem, but she still worried that she might accidentally harm her. This also made her self conscious. What if she was too heavy?

Fluttershy lifted the orange mare with little difficulty, shifting slightly to gain a more comfortable position for her to use her wings. Flapping them experimentally, she smiled softly at the group.

“Is everypony ready?” Hurricane inquired with a stern commanding voice.

She eyed the two pairs of ponies critically, assessing whether or not they were really ready. Pleased with her inspection she trotted swiftly out of the cave.

“Lets go.” Flaring her wings in preparation, Hurricane kicked off the ground and soared into the air, the two groups following close behind.

“Commander, when we get back to camp... what are you going to tell everypony?” Pansy questioned, flying up next to Hurricane.

Hurricane stared forward in silence for a moment, seeming to be in thought; but then she turned her dark blue eyes to Pansy and smiled softly. “The truth. That I bucked up big time,”

“Aww, you weren’t so bad.” Came a perky bouncy voice from Pansy’s back, “Everypony makes mistakes sometimes, you just gotta know when you’ve made ‘em and work to make things right again... even if that’s not so easy sometimes.”

Hurricane stared shocked at the pink earth pony mouth agape. Blinking she narrowed her eyes questioningly, “You believed me from the very start. Why?”

Pinkie just smiled back, looking from the confused look on Hurricane’s face to the curious stare on Dash’s own. “Just the way you said it... that you were sorry. I have to believe that when anypony says that, they truly mean it... or else... what can a pony say to make them believe you?”

“... Thank you... Pinkie Pie... believe me when I said, I had begun to respect you in that fight... you sacrificed yourself... for everypony.” Hurricane turns to look over her shoulder at Dash and she smiles warmly. “And I’m grateful... that you could do that.”

Pansy just stared wide-eyed at the Commander. She never thought she’d see Hurricane apologize for anything, let alone thank anypony; but there it was, and all she could do was smile at her.

“No problem, ‘Commander Hurricane’.” Pinkie Pie replied jokingly from on top of Pansy, with a comedic raise of her hoof; and Pansy felt a knot forming in her chest.

Pansy cringed and prepared herself for the worst. Oh no, now she’s done it. Now Hurricane’s gonna-

“That is all Private Pinkie.” Hurricane returned with a salute of her own before she, along with Pinkie and Dash, broke out into giggles and laughs, leaving Pansy and the others completely dumbfounded.

“Well wouldja lookit that.” Applejack chuckled from Fluttershy’s back, feeling oddly serene to be so high up suddenly. She let her head fall onto the yellow mare’s back and gazed down at the ground far below her.

“Hurricane actually...” Fluttershy fell silent, letting her unfinished sentence float in the air and just allow herself to smile at the four ponies beside her.

Being careful to keep the pink mare on her back, Pansy’s eyes shifted from the three mares as thoughts raced through her head. Hur-Hurricane just... a-and Dash is... Pinkie too and... oh forget it.

Letting her mind clear Pansy just started laughing along with them, leaning in and gently elbowing Hurricane in the side with Pinkie tickling Dash slightly before they flew back out of harm’s way.

Hurricane’s dark icy blue eyes drifted from Pansy to Rainbow Dash, before a stern expression washed over her face. Dash nodded back eagerly, a devious expression forming on her face. She gripped the dark grey pegasus tighter in her hooves in preparation.

Commander Hurricane quickly turned and bumped her side roughly into the other two ponies, getting shocked gasps from Pansy and Pinkie.

Determined looks followed on each of the defending ponies as Dash wrapped her hooves around the pink pony and started to tickle her intently, feeling a rush of happiness overflowing.

Off in the sidelines, far enough away that they wouldn’t be in the fray of battle, Applejack and Fluttershy watched with amusement before the orange mare shook her head.

“This is gonna be a long trip.”

Chapter 14

“Okay okay that’s ENOUGH!” Hurricane shouted, laughter tinging her voice.

Dash chuckled as she pushed Pansy and Pinkie away. Feeling slightly off balance from the push, she attempted to regain herself before she fell of her Commander’s back. “Come on. I’m gonna fall over guys. We'll do stuff like this again sometime.... Hopefully when I’m not all, you know, injured.”

“Aw, but Dashie, Pansy and I were winning!” Pinkie chirped, humming happily.

“Actually...” Hurricane began, looking past a group of clouds. “We probably should. We’re nearing base. I’m sure that Rainbow Dash would receive a very warm welcome...”

“Especially after Hurricane nearly destroyed the tribe.” Pansy snickered softly, glancing over at the grey mare.

“Pansy! She doesn’t need to know that!” Hurricane gave Pansy a false panicked look, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Dash felt her mind go blank. “Destroyed the TRIBE?! The hay did you do Hurricane?!”

“Many things. One of them not bathing. That, and sending Defense Shield to the clinic. Oh, as well as maybe sending various others to the clinic for bloody noses and various other things.” Hurricane gave a nervous laugh. “I was..... Very stressed.”

“Isn’t that what a parent normally does when a child goes missing?” Pansy asked carefully, flying her and Pinkie a safe distance away from Hurricane. “Become worried and stressed...?”

Huffing in annoyance Hurricane looked over at Pansy, “S-shut up...”

Pinkie giggled softly, “Somepony’s a little defensive...” She muttered quietly into Pansy’s ear. An amused smile slowly formed on the green mare’s face.

As they neared the tribe, Hurricane paused, hovering in midair causing the other two groups to stop.

“Why are we stopping?” Fluttershy inquired quietly.

Applejack shrugged, “Maybe miss Hurricane has somethin ta say.”

The two groups approached Hurricane with identical looks of confusion.

“Are there special orders you have for us Hurricane?” Pansy recognised the look that formed on Hurricane’s face...It was the same look she held whenever she was leading troupes to battle.

Hurricane addressed the group with a stern commanding voice. "Chief Sergeant Fluttershy, Private Pansy, protect the earth ponies. Some may not be so welcoming of them."

"If they lay ONE hoof on Pinkie I'll rip them apart limb by limb!" Dash growled.

Pansy nodded, shifting her weight. "Yes, Commander Hurricane!"

Fluttershy saluted quickly, mentally preparing herself for the shock of returning to the tribe after being attacked and humiliated by many of them. Fear crawled down her spine, making the yellow mare shiver involuntary.

“You alright Fluttersha?” A concerned voice drifted softly into the yellow mare’s ears.

“I-I’m just a little....nervous.. Applejack.” Fluttershy squeaked out, staring at the tribe with growing anxiety.

“Now don’t you worry none sugarcube. Me an everypony else here won’t let no nasty varmints do anything bad to ya.” Applejack calmly spoke, comforting the agitated mare.

The odd group slowly descended into the Pegasi tribe. Many immediately stopped what they were doing, watching the odd spectacle dumbfounded. Dash groaned in annoyance, she didn’t like that everypony got to see her looking so vulnerable. Many of the pegasi immediately locked onto the two groups behind Hurricane, eyeing the earth ponies with suspicion and hostility.

The second they landed Pinkie and Applejack leaped off of the backs of the pegasi that carried them. Dash slid off Hurricane slowly, attempting to keep her stomach wounds from tearing open. Her facial bandage caught on Hurricane’s armor and ripped the bandage off, exposing the partially healed gash that dug into her face.

Ignoring what happened, Hurricane, Rainbow Dash, Pansy, and Fluttershy surrounded the earth ponies at all four points with their wings flared defensively at the increasingly confused and hostile crowd.

“What the hay is going on?”
“Why are there dirt ponies here?”
“Aren’t those two the traitors?”
“Why did the Commander come back with them?”

A blur of orange cut through the crowd and screeched in front of Dash, halting many of the questions.

“Rainbow Dash! You’re BACK!” Scootaloo cried in elation, hugging Dash’s foreleg in excitement.

Nearly stumbling back in surprise, Dash smiled kindly down to the small filly.

“Hey Scoots! How have you been while I’ve been away?” Dash smirked, ruffling Scootaloo’s mane happily.

“Great! But I was worried about you. Hurricane said you betrayed the tribe by being with an earth pony. She said you were a liar and a traitor and then she said you were dead , but I knew you weren’t any of those things.” At that, Scootaloo glared at Commander Hurricane and snorted softly.

Dash scratched the back of her head and chuckled nervously. “Eh, yeah... about that.”

“I made a mistake.” Hurricane interrupted, stepping forward still with her wings flared out and covering the two earth ponies. “A huge one that I regret even now, but this is not the place to talk about it. These ponies need medical attention, and I plan to give it to them...”

The Commander looked around at the shocked and slightly angry faces of the pegasi as they stared on at the new ponies, and she growled deeply. “With or without the help of the tribe.”

Seeing the usual threatening gleam in Hurricane’s eyes, the other pegasi stepped aside and relaxed their gazes on Pinkie and Applejack.

“You-you’re hurt Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo replied, suddenly noticing the scar on Rainbow Dash’s face and looking worried. “What happened to your face?”

Dash started walking forward through the crowd and spoke from over her shoulder at the young filly. “Gotta go squirt. I’ll talk to ya later okay? When me and my friends are all better.”

“Your... friends?” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow and looked behind her at Pinkie Pie and Applejack. “Dash is friends with earth ponies? W-well if they’re friends of Rainbow Dash, then they’re friends of mine.”

Seeing Dash walking on ahead towards the tent, Pinkie started bouncing forward, until she noticed the small pegasus staring at her curiously.

Pinkie stopped and smiled brightly, turning to face the filly. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie, are you friends with Rainbow Dash?”

Scootaloo nodded slightly, “Uh huh. How long have you known her for?”

“Oh since this year’s food trade. We kinda bumped into each other unknowingly.” Pinkie giggled at the inside joke, with Hurricane smiling slightly from behind, and the pink earth pony started bouncing. “Well, it was nice to meet you Scootaloo. I’ll see ya after me and Dashie get fixed up by these nice ponies.”

Pinkie bounced away with Pansy following quickly behind her to guard her until she caught up with Dash at the tent. Scootaloo stared intensely at the pink mare, mouth agape. “Dashie?”

Pinkie leaned against the cyan mare carefully, smiling warmly at any Pegasi she happened to meet eyes with. "Everypony is so nice Dashie!"

"Once they know going against Hurricane's order will most likely get them killed, sure." Dash muttered, rolling her eyes. "Just be careful, Pinks..."

"Duuh!" Pinkie chirped back, leaning forward to kiss Rainbow's ear before smiling brightly at a group of shocked Pegasi.

“Stop polluting our tribe Rainbow CRASH!” A brown, male pegasus shot up in the air and chucked a large stone straight at Dash.

In a rush of movement, Hurricane deflected the rock into the ground and pinned the unruly pegasus to the ground; blade pressed against his neck.

“What do you think you are doing, Staff Sergeant Dumbbell?” Cold fury flashed in Hurricane’s eyes as she stared menacingly down at the terrified pegasus.

“C-Commander...s-s-she’s with an...” The brown pegasus pauses to gag dramatically, “A DIRT pony!”

Hurricane freezes, looking down at the colt in shock. Was...was this how I acted...

Sensing the dark grey mare’s change in mood, Dumbbell became bolder, “She’s bringing trash into our tribe! She’s not fit to even be called a pegasus anymore!”

A small murmur of agreement came from a few of the pegasi in the crowd. Some slowly advancing toward the small group of pegasi.

A sharp crack resonated throughout the area, followed by a garbled scream of agony. Hurricane lifted her blood splattered hoof away from the wounded colt. The rebelling pegasi halted, many returning back to the crowd meekly.

Hurricane glared down at Dumbbell, her eyes colder than ice, “That is no way to talk about your commanding officer, Staff Sergeant.”

Hurricane released the trembling colt. He scrambled away desperately, holding his broken muzzle. Turning to face the crowd, Hurricane growled.

“Anypony else want to say something?” Her dark eyes scanned the crowd. Many pegasi wilting under her gaze. “I’d be happy to hear it, if you would like to speak up.”

A gentle nudge broke Hurricane’s concentration. Turning towards the source, her eyes locked with soft purple ones.

“Commander, they learned their lesson. Please...stop..” Pansy pleaded quietly, looking up meaningfully at Hurricane.

Hurricane’s wings twitched. Huffing, the grey mare returned to the group of injured ponies, followed by a smiling mint green pony.

“Is the medical team ready Pansy?” Hurricane asked, stepping aside to allow the smaller pegasus entrance to the medic tent.

Pansy nodded to her Commander and the others as she walked on ahead and peeked inside, speaking urgently to the ponies within. She pulled her head back out and opened the tent’s flap, directing the injured ponies in.

They all filed in quickly, feeling piercing eyes on them, but ignoring them all the same. As Hurricane neared the entrance, she glared out at the group of gathered ponies, causing most to disperse except for ponies eager to see if they were alright.

Hurricane turned back and saw Pansy smiling at her to enter. Walking closer to Pansy, the grey pegasus nuzzled her gently. “Thank you... for helping me so much, Pansy.”

The icy blue eyed pony walked briskly into the tent, leaving Pansy to question the inner machinations of Hurricane’s mind even more.

“You...you’re welcome.” She whispered and stepped into the tent as well, seeing that all the injured ponies were seated comfortably in the beds.

The nurse pegasi stood off to the side of the tent, glancing around worriedly at the four injured ponies as they each became settled into the beds. Hurricane sat in the middle of them, glancing at each of the beds occupants worriedly.

Pansy walked in slowly, stopping next to Commander Hurricane and addressing the pegasi she had asked to set up the tent.

"Now... I know you’ve never had earth ponies here to treat before... and I’m sure you’re not exactly eager to help them either, but...” Pansy looked to Dash, staring at her reassuringly, and then at Hurricane, before continuing, “... they are friends of Lieutenant General Rainbow Dash, and I think you could make an exception.”

"But she was banished from the tribe!" A pale purple stallion mumbled, looking bravely at Hurricane. "Plus you sent a quarter of the tribe after her to kill her."

“I have recalled her to duty, as well as Fluttershy.” Hurricane started, smiling at Dash and Fluttershy kindly. “The earth ponies are their friends... and... why I became so upset with Rainbow Dash in the first place wasn’t something she or the others deserved, even if they are dirt ponies.” Hurricane smirked jokingly at Pinkie; the pink earth pony grinned back at her. “So, would it be alright if you could attend to these ponies’ injuries immediately?”

At hearing the Commander’s surprisingly soft words of help, the nurses nodded firmly and began examining the ponies’ injuries. With Dash’s wounds seeming to be the most pronounced, and with a little encouragement to help her from Pinkie Pie, the doctors focused mainly on the cyan mare, while Pinkie and Hurricane watched.

“Do you think she’ll be alright?” Pinkie asked quietly, so as not to disturb the nurses.

Pansy stood next to them, concern for the cyan pegasus etched on her face. “It’s hard to say, those injuries were pretty bad, but that was back in the cave. We didn’t have all the supplies necessary to treat such wounds. Now here, we are much more prepared, and these were some of the most qualified nurse and doctor pegasi I could find other than Fluttershy.”

“She’ll be alright. I know for a fact that Dash would never let an injury beat her, even a bunch of them at once...” Hurricane spoke calmly, but suddenly she was smirking again and looking at Pinkie in her seat, “and I think a certain somepony might have something to do with it as well.”

The pink mare stared confusedly at the Commander before a realisation struck her, and she raised a hoof to her chest. “Me?”

“Yes you.” Pansy gestured to the seated earth pony, “She’s been fighting for you this whole time.”

Pinkie blushed, keeping her eyes trained on Rainbow Dash. Hurricane watched the pink mare, curious. "I wonder why, though. You must be pretty special for her to fight for you."

"I'm nothing special," Pinkie chirped in reply, smiling happily at Hurricane. "Really lucky, more like."

"Either way. I suppose we're going to have to find a home on the ground now, assuming you'd be willing to stay." Hurricane looked ahead of her, watching the pink earth pony out of the corner of her eye. "I don't think that house in the mountain is quite suitable, especially after what happened... And assuming you have no where else to go."

Pinkie and Pansy each sat in stunned silence.

"Me? Stay here?! But I'm not a Pegasus!" Pinkie squeaked in response, her eyes wide. "A lot of ponies looked like they wanted to kill me! I'll just be in the way, and everything is all clouds!"

"I'm pretty sure the only way Rainbow Dash would stay is if you stayed," explained Hurricane, turning to smile at Pinkie. "And think of it as the beginning of my apology to you both."

Tears of joy burst from Pinkie’s eyes. She launched herself forward and nearly knocked over a startled Hurricane with a tight embrace. I...I finally belong somewhere...

Everypony in the room froze, watching the scene with curious and horrified eyes. Patting Pinkie’s back awkwardly, Hurricane looked up and glared at the prying eyes.

“What are you looking at me for? Get back to work!” In an instant all the medical pegasi returned to work, a little more frantic than before.

Clearing her throat, Hurricane gently pushed the pink mare away. “You should go see how Lieutenant General Rainbow Dash is doing. I’m sure she would like to see you... so you can tell her the news.”

Leaping in the air, Pinkie gasped loudly, drawing several curious eyes at the pink mare. “Oh my gosh you are so right!” Grabbing and hugging Hurricane a little too tightly around the neck in thanks, Pinkie rushed over to Rainbow Dash to tell her the news.

Coughing and gingerly rubbing her neck, Hurricane felt another pony press slightly against her as they sat down. “That was really nice of you, Commander Hurricane.”

Pansy looked up at Hurricane, eyes sparkling with an emotion that the larger grey mare couldn’t quite identify. Fidgeting slightly under the green mare’s gaze, Hurricane looked away from Pansy with a slight huff.

“Yea well...they deserve it after all the things they went through...” A small smile crepted its way onto Hurricane’s face. Pinkie and Rainbow were embracing happily, looking as if nothing in the entire world could ever bring them down.

Pansy smiled happily at the couple for a few minutes before a small frown formed on her face. “Commander...there is a serious matter I think needs to be discussed.”

The sudden change in atmosphere weighed heavily on the two pegasi. “What is it, Private?” Hurricane calmly addressed Pansy, turning toward her giving the green mare her full attention.

“There’s something wrong with the clouds. None of the weather pegasi can manipulate them. The clouds continue to get worse and worse, and have begun snowing heavily without any sign of stopping...” Peering out of the tent, Pansy sighed in slight relief, “The snow seems to not be nearly as bad as it has been but...it’s still rather bad.”

A serious expression clouded Hurricane’s face, “Why wasn’t I told of this before, Pansy?”

Pansy looked at her hooves, embarrassed, “Because before you were depressed. I didn’t want to put more pressure on you than what you already had.”

Hurricane stared critically at the nervous pegasus before sighing heavily and moving slightly closer to the mint green mare. Hurricane gently set a hesitant fore-hoof over Pansy’s. “... I’m sorry I worried you so much. I realise now that what you were trying to do was cheer me up about what I had done... so thank you... and that bathroom thing was a sneaky little trick..... but it was fun.”

Pansy’s heart fluttered at the contact. A light blush covered her face as she looked at the dark grey hoof covering her own. Why...am I feeling this way?

A messenger pegasus burst into the medical tent, effectively ruining the moment. “Commander! We are running low on food! Some of the storage buildings got seriously damaged and all the food in there has been ruined!”

A grim look covered Hurricane’s face. “How much food did we lose?”

The messenger visibly drooped, “O-over half of our stock...”

“Over half?! Oh no, does that mean you’re gonna have to borrow more food from the earth ponies?” Pinkie spoke with a worried tone. She had been shooed away from Dash so the pegasi doctors could continue their work.

Sighing, Hurricane turned toward Pinkie with a serious expression. “Yes...we are going to have to get more food from the earth ponies. Pegasi aren’t skilled enough to grow food. It’s some kind of magical connection earth ponies have with the ground that gives them such abilities. Besides, Pegasi are meant to be airborne..."

“But we need that food Hurricane.” Applejack trotted over to Hurricane, her injuries already treated and re-bandaged. “We don’t have enough for yew.”

“Well if you dirt ponies didn’t try to hog most of the food every year we wouldn’t be having this problem.” Hurricane’s eyes narrowed slightly at the orange mare.

The room seemed to become deathly quiet. Almost everypony in the room watching the two ponies snarl at each other in their heated argument.

Growling, Applejack met Hurricane’s glare with one of her own. “Taint mah fault yew got faulty buildings. Besides, Ah just deliver the food to Chancellor Pudding-Head. She always has the ponies that work for her separate the food into different piles for each tribe.”

“So this is all your leaders fault...” Angry thoughts sped through Hurricane’s mind, “The clouds must be the good for nothing unicorns trying to control everything so we have no choice but to bend to their will.”

Face contorting into a snarl, Hurricane stormed out of the tent heading straight for the military base. In her haste she nearly trampled a small orange filly waiting outside of the tent for her hero.

“Watch it, Scootaloo.” Hurricane snapped.

Hurricane’s anger built with each step she made toward the base. By the time she made it into her office she was practically livid. Crying out in fury Hurricane did the only thing she could think of. She smashed her hoof into her desk, making the stone surface crack and crumble slightly from the force.

“Please don’t break another desk, Hurricane.” A timid voice floated into the furious grey mare’s ears. Whipping around Hurricane came face to face with Pansy.

"Why should I listen, Private?!" Hurricane snarled, spinning away to stare at the wall behind her desk. "This is a nightmare! One mistake after the other! Those other two tribes are ruining everything for everypony!”

Pansy felt a pang in her heart at the harshness of the grey mare’s words. Slowly approaching, Pansy began pleading softly. "Hurricane, please ca-"

"Don't you DARE tell me to calm down Pansy!" Came a sharp reply, only momentarily followed by a desk smashing into the wall right above Pansy. "How DARE you! If I don't do something the tribe's going to die!"

Pansy stood frozen in her spot, eyes locked on Hurricane. "Would you please-"

"GET OUT PRIVATE!" A vase flew at Pansy, with the green mare only having enough time to duck quickly in order to prevent herself from being knocked out. "GET OUT RIGHT NOW!"

Pansy bolted, fear and hurt clenching her heart. As much as the past week had changed Hurricane, it still wasn't enough to cure her from her anger. She raced towards the medic tent, determined to speak with Rainbow Dash. If only to prepare her for Hurricane's fury.

"Rainbow Dash...!"

Dash was sitting outside the tent, talking to a group of pegasi that surrounded her, Pinkie right at her side. Both mares looked up as the green mare as she skidded to a halt beside them.

"What's up? Something happen?" Pinkie chirped, looking at Pansy with wide curious blue eyes. "You look reeeeeally upset! OH I should throw you a party to cheer you right up and-"

The pink pony’s voice cut off as Dash placed a wing over her mouth, her magenta eyes focused on Pansy. "Hurricane's going on a rampage again." The cyan mare stated, a frown growing on her face. "Because of the clouds and the food storage buildings been destroyed."

Pansy gaped at Dash in shock, "How did you-?!"

A slight grin formed on Dash's face, before she looked around at the crowd. "Take a guess.”

The smile faded quickly and was replaced with a stern serious expression. “Lightning Bolt, take a group of twelve to round up any food that isn't spoiled. Speed Flare, I want you to take a group of ten to the forest and gather up material to either repair the storage buildings or build a new one. Morning Dew, get your weather patrol team ready to try and figure out what’s going on with the clouds. If needed, I'll send a group of military to assist you."

"Yes, Lieutenant General!" The three pegasi saluted, before bolting off in separate directions.

"Wow!" Pinkie muttered, glancing at Pansy with wide eyes. "Dashie is SO good at dealing with everypony!"

"She isn't next in line to be leader for nothing..." Pansy smiled at the pink mare. Turning to face Rainbow Dash her smile fell into a frown. "What are we doing about-"

"First off, give her time to calm down. Second, have a huge tray of those sandwiches she likes ready. After that, we need to deal with her, then the other two tribes to see if this is happening to them as well." Rainbow interrupted, frowning. "After that, who knows."

Several hours went by before Pansy attempted to see Hurricane. Carrying a tray of hay sandwiches on her back, courtesy of Pinkie Pie, she slowly pushed open Hurricane’s office door. Just like when Hurricane found out Dash was secretly seeing an earth pony, Hurricane’s office was a disaster area. Almost everything seemed to be smashed or broken, debris cluttering the entire area. Small streaks of blood stained some of the destroyed objects.

Hurricane sat in the middle of the rubble, head bowed and ears flat against her helmet. Hearing movement, the grey mare peered over her shoulder, too drained to do more than that, and spotted the mint green mare.

“What do you want, Pansy.” Hurricane spoke with a hoarse croak.

Pansy moved slowly into the room, carefully shutting the door behind her. “I wanted to see if you were ok Commander...I even brought your favorite food.”

Hurricane’s ear twitched, the sound of Pansy’s concerned voice confusing her emotions, “I don’t want them...”

Ignoring Hurricane’s words, Pansy moved around the subdued pegasus and faced her, shock forming on her face. Blood-dried fore-hooves rested in a small puddle of dark red blood that had slowly started to dry and crack. Hurricane never became physically hurt from her rage fits before.

"Hurricane your-!" Pansy sighed, setting the sandwiches down. "You need to be more careful, Hurricane....."

"Didn’t I tell you to-" Hurricane began with a half hearted glare.

"Well I'm not listening. Please, Hurricane... You're hurt. I'm not going anywhere until you're patched up." Pansy groaned, nudging Hurricane’s hooves out of the puddle of blood. "I won't let those wounds get infected, Hurricane."

"..... Why are you doing this....?" Hurricane asked, accepting the help. "I don't deserve this..."

Pansy remained quiet, quickly trotting out of the destroyed room to return with some medical supplies. "I... don't know... I don't want you hurt, Hurricane...." Because I care about you...

Pansy shook that thought from her head, carefully cleaning the dried blood off of dark grey hooves and carefully breaking the formed scabs off to treat the wounds for any infection. "We already have Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy injured... We don't need our Commander injured too....."

Hurricane just continued to watch Pansy, her mind blank. "Worry about them. Not me. I don't deserve anything....."

"Yes you do." Pansy retorted, looking at Hurricane. "You deserve it just as much as anypony else does. Okay...?"

"I don't-"

In one swift movement, Pansy grabbed the neck of Hurricane’s armor and yanked her down at her eye level. “Yes. You. Do.”

Flashing purple eyes locked with wide dark blue. Hurricane’s jaw hung open in shock as she searched the hard determined face of Pansy. A quick fwooshing sound startled the two mares. Looking over her shoulder, Hurricane stared in a mixture of horror and embarrassment at her outstretched wings, feathers flaring dramatically.

Blushing brightly, Hurricane shoved Pansy away from her and carefully lowered her wings. A irritated and disgruntled expression forming on her face as she sat with a straight and rigid posture. Looking down at her bandaged hooves, Hurricane sighed softly.

“.....Thanks...”

"N-...... No problem, Commander......" Pansy muttered, looking down.

Hurricane stood up, walking carefully to look out the window. She ignored the tray of sandwiches, and Pansy for that matter. "Bring in Rainbow Dash. I need to speak to her about organizing pa-"

"She's already got those sent out." Pansy interrupted, keeping her eyes closed. "She sent a group to gather up the remaining food, a group to get building supplies to fix the storage buildings, and she sent a weather patrol out to try and figure out what's going on with the clouds."

Hurricane paused. "I...... Great. I want a full report on everything every half hour."

Pansy looked up at the dark grey pegasus, eyes shining with emotion."Hurricane I......"

"And this will never be mentioned, Pansy. Ever...." Hurricane sighed, shaking her head. "Understood, Private?"

Pansy’s voice wavered as she softly replied. "............. Loud and clear............."

Hurricane closed her eyes, shaking her head. "N-.... No wait......."

Pansy froze, "What, Hurricane.... Make up your mind..." She spat out the bitter words, her eyes narrowing.

Hurricane took a deep breath, and turned to face Pansy. "Forget..... I said that..... It happened and...."

Say it, Hurricane thought, closing her eyes. Just say it already.

"I'm..... Sorry I'm making you worry..." Keep going. "I.... I really care about you....."

It was Pansy's turn to sit in shock, her eyes wide as she stared at Hurricane. "Wh-..... What?"
*****

Pinkie bounced around Dash excitedly as Fluttershy slowly lead them to her home.

“Dashie, isn’t it so great to be out of that cave? I think its really awesome! I get to make all kinds of new friends now too!” Pinkie seemed to vibrate with excitement.

Shaking her head at the pink pony’s antics, Dash turned her attention to Fluttershy. “What happened to that bunny I gave you?”

Fluttershy froze, her hoof just resting on the door to her home. “H-he died...” Tears slowly fell from her eyes. “Dumbbell got a hold of him...a-and...”

Dash froze, slowly turning to look at Fluttershy. "He.... Killed him?"

A nod. Dash felt fury build up inside her. "That. Bully." She snarled.

"O-oh don't worry Rainbow! It's.... Fine. I promise. Please don't hurt him...." Fluttershy faced Dash with pleading eyes.

"Dashie.... Take a deep breath of air, okay? We can really throw him off with AWESOME partying skills and stuff okay?" Pinkie smiled brightly, her eyes shining with worry.

"But he KILLED your pet, 'Shy!" Dash nearly shouted in exasperation.

"It's fine. I promise..." Fluttershy placed a reassuring fore-hoof on Dash’s shoulder, giving her a meaningful look.

"Dashie. Deep breath." Pinkie instructed, bouncing right in front of the cyan mare. "Don't lose your temper, Dashie."

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Sorry....."

"Okay uhm... This is my home...!" Fluttershy announced, pushing her door open. "Feel free to come in..."

"Oohh! It's so pretty Fluttershy!" A loud whoop escaped from Pinkie as she bolted inside, nearly knocking the yellow Pegasus off her hooves. "There's so many animals! It's like.... Like..... GASP! A PETTING ZOO!"

Fluttershy rushed in after Pinkie, trying to keep the excitable mare from causing too much of a racket. "Oh do keep it down the mice are trying to sleep...."
*****

“You heard me, Private.” Hurricane huffed in embarrassment, turning away from the green pony and crossing her forelegs across her chest.

Pansy slowly approached Hurricane, pressing against her side gently. Hurricane bristled at the contact.

“Hurricane I-” Pansy began softly.

“Well look at that, my office is a mess! I guess I better clean it up.” Hurricane rushed away from Pansy, cleaning up the rubble and scavenging for items that weren’t too broken. She was on edge, unsure how to deal with these new feelings.

Feelings she was surprised to have.

Pansy watched as Hurricane ran around the office, picking up everything that wasn't broken and putting them back on the bookshelves, moving the remains of her desk back into it's place, doing everything in her power to not look at the green mare.

"Hurricane...." She began, attempting to step in Hurricane's path.

"N-.... Not now you're in my way you're standing on the sandwiches I was going to eat those can you please move so I can-" Hurricane rambled, biting her lower lip. "Can I just-"

"Fine..." Pansy muttered, leaning forward and kissing Hurricane's cheek. Hurricane felt her face flush with heat, her wings twitch. "Fine. I'll leave you alone.... I'll be back with the reports..."

Spinning around, Pansy quickly left the office and it's owner. She closed the door, before bolting away as fast as she could, making as little sound as possible.

Hurricane sat in the middle of the floor, her eyes glued on the door.

"What's going on.... why do I feel like this...." She whispered to herself, closing her eyes.

It had been a LONG time since she had felt anything like this. A very long time. The last pony she had ever cared for, before she began training Rainbow Dash, had been killed in battle. Hurricane looked at the few paintings that remained on the wall, her eyes stopping on the one that sat just above the door to her office.

Her dark blue eyes softened a bit as she continued to look at the painting, a smile forming across her face. "Yeah, I know, Blizzard..." She mumbled, getting up to pick up the tray of slightly squished hay sandwiches. "I know exactly what you'll say. ‘Don't push her away, Hurricane’, right?"

She shook her head, picking up one of the sandwiches to take a bite. "I won't anymore..... Mmm, perfect..."
*****

"I wonder where my new home will be...."

Rainbow Dash bit into the cookie she was holding, watching as Pinkie and Fluttershy chatted. She blinked a few times, completely forgetting what the pink earth pony had told her earlier.

"Wha?" She asked, her mouth full of cookie.

"Rainbow Dash!" Came a stern scowl from Fluttershy. "Swallow what's in your mouth before speaking!"

"Oops." Dash muttered.

Pinkie giggled, bouncing up. "Hurricane said I can stay in the tribe with you, Dashie! She said she'll build a house and everything! All on the ground!"

"Yeah guess my home’s really out of the question since it's a bunch of clouds... A bunch of REALLY awesomely sculpted clouds, if I do say so myself." Dash beamed proudly at the two mares sitting in front of her.

"Rainbow Dash is pretty talented with cloud shaping..." Fluttershy smiled, nodding to Pinkie.

"Hurricane's always joked I should have been a weather pony..." Dash chuckled, making a grab for another cookie. "These are really GOOD, 'Shy! I didn't know you baked!"

"..... Pinkie made them." Fluttershy spoke with a small smile on her face.

"Silly Dashie!" Pinkie giggled, bouncing up. “Don’t you remember me making these cookies?”

Dash put her hoof to her chin in thought. “I remember you rushing into Fluttershy’s kitchen and the explosion of flour everywhere...but then I got distracted...” She glared down at the sleeping monkey that had decided it would be fun to leap onto her back and yank on her mane.

Sensing Dash’s sudden change in mood, Pinkie yanked the cyan mare into a tight embrace. “Will you stay with me Dashie?”

“I dunno Pinks. The tribe may need me to stay in my home. It’s much closer to base so if there’s any emergencies I can immediately respond to them.” Dash calmly replied.

Turning her head to face Pinkie, she froze at the big watery cyan eyes staring back at her. A small trembling frown on her face. Rainbow Dash felt her wings twitch, instantly hating herself for making Pinkie upset.

"Maybe we can get it built close to base....?" She finally muttered, glancing away quickly.

"REALLY?!" Pinkie squeezed Dash, nearly cracking some bones in her excitement.

"Y-Yeah." Dash choked out.
*****

The better part of half an hour was spent devouring the sandwiches Pansy had brought in. The other time had been spent cleaning, yet as Hurricane looked around it really did not look any better then it had when she started.

"Oh horseapples," Hurricane muttered, dropping her face down so it made a dull thud against her.... Very destroyed desk. "This place is a mess still..."

"Hurricane.....?" A soft voice came from the partially cracked door.

Hurricane bolted up, vaguely aware of her wings spreading instantly at the voice. "Come in!"

The door opened, and Pansy stepped in, her eyes glancing over the still destroyed office. "Uhm.... The reports.....?"

"Oh, right." Hurricane nodded.

Pansy walked forward, keeping her eyes trained on the desk. "Well.... We managed to salvage at least three quarters of the food, and the storage is being rebuilt and reinforced. The weather patrol says that nothing they do can move the clouds. It seems like there’s an unknown force controlling them.”

"Magic." Hurricane grumbled, sighing. "Anything else?"

"Oh, uhm, no." Pansy shook her head. "That’s it, as far as the three that Rainbow Dash had put in charge of the patrols had to say, at least."

“Good....Pansy, there’s something else I would like to talk to you about...” Pansy’s head shot up, her eyes taking in a nervous, fidgeting grey pegasus.

“...Well...” Hurricane hesitated, feeling increasingly uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by. “I just...you see...uh..”

Pansy watched the scene unfold with wide, unbelieving eyes. Never before has she ever seen Hurricane act so vulnerable. This moment easily topped the strange sight of seeing her and Dash hugging.

“..Never-mind, Pansy..” Hurricane’s grumbled, annoyed at herself for being so nervous. She almost didn’t notice the green pegasus circling the desk, slowly moving closer to her.

Sitting up as straight as possible, Hurricane held her head up high, almost afraid about what could happen. Pansy stopped in front of the grey pony, their chests nearly touching. Her bright purple eyes locking with blue, freezing the larger mare in place.

Green forelegs carefully wrapped around Hurricane’s neck, pulling her head down to Pansy’s height with relative ease. Pansy’s eyes fluttered closed as she slowly moved toward Hurricane.

Hurricane felt as if her heart was trying to beat out of her chest as Pansy slowly closed the distance between them. Not being in control of the situation was seriously disorienting Hurricane. Lifting a bandaged hoof, she gently placed it against Pansy’s chest, halting her movement.

Pansy opened her eyes, a mixture of hurt and confusion swimming within them. Hurricane let out a shaky breath that she didn’t know that she was holding in, her eyes closing in a mixture of relief and frustration.

The gentle grip on Hurricane’s neck suddenly became tight and forceful. Dark eyes shot open, locking with purple eyes that flashed with determination. Pansy darted forward and aggressively kissed Hurricane, nearly toppling the dumbstruck mare.

A few seconds went by, and then Hurricane was returning the kiss with just as much passion as Pansy. Bandaged hooves wrapped tightly around the slim waist of the green pony, holding her firmly in place. Several minutes went by before the two ponies broke the kiss, gasping for air.

Both pegasi’s wings were fully extended, eyes dark with lust. Frantic hooves tore armor from their companion’s body, pausing long enough to explore and grope the exposed body. Locking themselves in a heated kiss, Hurricane forcefully pushed Pansy onto the ground. Pansy’s hind-legs wrapped tightly around the grey mare’s waist, her fore-hooves buried in a bright yellow mane.

Hurricane pulled away from the kiss, diving down to the nape of Pansy’s neck and biting it roughly. A strangled moan tore its way from Pansy’s throat, her hooves digging into Hurricane’s scalp. Pansy’s hind-legs trembled and loosened around Hurricane’s waist.

Gently licking the bright red mark, Hurricane grabbed and moved one of Pansy’s legs in-between hers, angling their vagina's together. In one smooth motion, she ground down into Pansy. A shared groan, thick with pleasure came from the two pegasi.

A steady grinding rhythm began between the two pegasi. Engorged clits rubbing against each other. Hurricane threw her head back in ecstasy, exposing her neck. Gasping, Pansy darted forward and bit almost hard enough to draw blood, her hooves digging into Hurricane with each thrust.

Nimble green hooves quickly drifted to the large grey wings outstretched above her and began rubbing and yanking on them vigorously. Hurricane nearly collapsed on top of Pansy, legs weak with pleasure. She ground desperately into Pansy, the new angle rocketing new sensations through the two pegasi.

“H-Hurricane...” Pansy moaned out the grey mare’s name, bringing her full attention to the mare writhing beneath her. Eyes locking once again, their movements slowed to a more gentle pace. They slowly drew closer, lips touching in a soft and tender kiss.

Bright yellow and pale pink tails curled around each other as they slowly parted from the kiss. Hurricane slowly planted soft kisses down Pansy’s neck, eliciting a soft coo from the mint green pony. A wet squelching noise came from their connected vagina’s rubbing together, the gyrations speeding up to a fast and steady pace.

Green hooves stroked the entire length of both wings, massaging the joints and knots out of the sensitive appendages. Hurricane let out a low whine, trembling in pleasure. She buried her face in Pansy’s pink mane, dragging her tongue along the shell of Pansy’s ear.

They simultaneously ground into each other, becoming more and more desperate until they both orgasmed. Pansy clamped her teeth down on Hurricane’s shoulder yanking hard on her wing, letting out a garbled moan. Hurricane clenched her teeth, collapsing on the smaller mare with a whimper. A satisfied smile grew on Hurricane’s face as they lay there, comfortable in each other’s grasp.

"I love you..." Pansy muttered into Hurricane’s ear, gently kissing it.

Hurricane froze, her eyes growing wide at Pansy's statement. "L-love?”

Chapter 15

Rainbow Dash stood on top of the base, watching the dark clouds slowly form around the tribe’s home. Beside her Morning Dew was informing Dash about what the weather patrol had attempted with the strange clouds.

"We can't even land on them, Lieutenant General..." Morning Dew sighed, her pale green eyes watching as the last of her team gave up.

"Okay, so all we know about them is that they don't respond to our actions, right?" Rainbow Dash frowned, narrowing her eyes. "The only kind of clouds that wouldn't respond to Pegasi are magic made, yet I doubt the unicorns know enough about weather to manipulate it."

"That's the only thing we can think of, though!" Morning Dew cried out, ears drooping.

"Yeah yeah, I know. I mean I'd try Sonic Rainbooming those things out of here, but 'Shy wants me off my wings for another week." The cyan mare muttered, shrugging. "I'll organize a meeting with the tribe leaders. ‘Sides, we need to get the food issue resolved anyway."

Morning Dew stared at Dash with a confused and curious look on her face. "............. If Chief Sergeant Fluttershy wants you to not use your wings, how did you-"

"Not important," Rainbow Dash interrupted, shaking her head quickly. "Anyway, take the weather team and go help rebuild the storage. Got it?"

"Yes, Lieutenant General!" Morning Dew quickly saluted, flying downwards instantly.

Dash looked at the clouds, and sighed. "Magic? Dunno...." She looked down, frowning as she noticed a certain pink mare bouncing around. "What the hay is she doing.....? Better go fi-"

"Hi Dashie! Whatcha looking at on the ground?" Pinkies voice chirped happily from behind her.

Jumping, Rainbow Dash spun around to see Pinkie grinning at her. "What the-?! But you were just-?! How did you-?!"

Pinkie tilted her head, looking at Dash with curious eyes. "How did I what?"

"You were just on the ground! I saw you!" Dash gestured dramatically toward the ground.

"Oh yeah! That! Don't worry about it, Dashie!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing slightly in place. "I wanted to show you the PERFECT place where our new home should be!"

Dash shook her head, the pony’s crazy antics going over her head. "Uh okay?"

"Great!! Okay see that building riiiiiight over there?" Pinkie sang, pointing to a cloud home floating almost across from them. "Right under there! It's a really pretty home. I wonder who's it is?"

"Pinkie, that's my home." Dash spoke with a mildly amused tone.

"Oh! Wow it really is pretty! You made it? Woooooow you did a good job Dashie!" Pinkie stared at the floating home as if it was the greatest thing she had ever seen in her entire life.

Rainbow Dash chuckled at the pink mare, trotting over to lean gently against her. "Glad you think so. When my wings are better I'll show you around in there. For now, I should probably talk to Hurricane about getting that meeting with the other two tribes organized..."

*****

Hurricane shuffled through the two sets of armor that littered the ground, snatching up her armor and sliding it on quickly. Pansy watched the scene unfold, her heart clenching. After she had admitted her feelings for Hurricane, she practically launched herself several feet away as if she was burned.

“Hurricane...” Pansy’s voice held heartbreak and desperation, freezing Hurricane in mid-motion.

Taking several deep breaths to calm herself, Hurricane spoke with a strained voice. “What is it, Private?”

Pansy felt as though her heart was being trampled and torn apart by an angry manticore. Shakily she got onto her hooves and approached the dark grey mare, a small flame of hope flickering within her.

“Hurricane...why-” Pansy was cut off by a pair of glaring blue eyes staring into her.

“You’re indecent, Private. You know the rules about wearing armor.” In that single moment, the small flame of hope was snuffed out by Hurricane’s cold words.

Tears filled Pansy’s eyes, pouring down her face. Dropping to the floor she sobbed silently, shivering and hugging herself for comfort.

Hurricane watched sobbing mare in horror, a heavy weight dropping in her chest. Clenching her teeth, she turned away from the crying green mare, trying to pretend that this wasn’t happening. Replacing the final piece of armor to her body, she gently pushed Pansy’s armor next to her in a neat pile before leaving the room.

*****

Rainbow Dash landed on the ground with a dull thud, wincing slightly at the pain in her stomach. "Okay, note to self... Going up is easier then going down."

"Aw...Poor Dashie." Pinkie frowned, landing next to Dash.

Dash winced, and looked at the pink mare. "I'm not even going to ask how you got down..."

"With a hop, skip, and a jump!" Pinkie smiled, bouncing in place. "Everypony knows that, silly!"

"...... Everypony but me, apparently. Okay, follow me," Dash sighed, turning towards the military base building. "I might as well show you around, since this is your new home and all."

"Really?!" Pinkie’s eyes grew wide and sparkled in excitement.

"Duh..." Dash grinned, leaning forward to plant a kiss on the hyper mare’s cheek. She glanced up as a group of weather pony fumbled with their clouds, all staring at her with dumbstruck eyes. "Er..... C'mon let's get inside."

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie chirped, bouncing after Rainbow Dash as she lead her into the building.

Dash grinned at the pink mare’s antics, leading her through the maze of a building. "If you ever need me, usually asking Falling Star in the front desk is the way to go..." Dash muttered, nodding to a pale blue pegasus sitting behind a desk half asleep. "Well, when she isn't asleep, I mean."

"These ponies could seriously do with a party, Dashie. It's so boring in here." Pinkie muttered, glancing around at the pale greys and whites of the walls.

"Yeah, it's suppo-" Dash began before running into something solid.

"Watch i- Oh, Lieutenant General! This saves me the trouble..."

Both the mares looked up to see Hurricane before them, ruffling her wings uncomfortably. Rainbow Dash blinked a few times, noticing how her Commanders helmet looked slightly off, and how the grey mare looked... Distracted.

"Hurricane, is something up?" Dash asked, glancing suspiciously at her.

"Why would you say that?! Everything is fine! I need to speak to you!" Hurricane snapped defensively, glaring at the cyan Pegasus.

Shocked by the outburst, Dash muttered out a soft apology."Oh, well sorry...."

"Look, we need to discuss the issue with the clouds, and-" Hurricane began, her demeanor rapidly changing to a more serious, business like tone.

"Yeah yeah, I know. Pinkie and I were on our way to send Derpy to the other leaders to request a meeting, anyway." Dash interrupted, waving one of her forelegs in dismissal. "Before I go do that, are you even up for a meeting with the leaders? I mean, after the last few weeks and Pansy telling us about how you were really stressed and all."

Hurricane visibly tensed after hearing Pansy’s name. “O-of course I’m up to it! Anything that will help this tribe I will be ready for.”

Raising an eyebrow at Hurricane’s odd behavior, Dash shrugged. “Whatever you say, Hurricane.”

*****

Dash sat in the rafters of the earth pony meeting hall with several military pegasi yelling angrily behind her. Below, Commander Hurricane argued loudly with Chancellor Pudding-Head and Princess Platinum. Instead of joining in with the yelling of everypony in the room, Dash found herself distracted by a distraught, mint green mare.

“Pansy, are you alright? You've been moping around for the past few days.” Dash nearly shouted her question, attempting to be heard over the crowd of angry ponies.

Pansy, whom had been staring intently at Commander Hurricane, tore her eyes away from her and looked calmly at Rainbow Dash.

“I’m fine, Lieutenant General...” She grinned weakly, hoping to sate the cyan pony’s curiosity.

Sighing, Dash nodded. This wasn’t the time or place to be trying to help out other ponies anyway. She nudged Pansy in a friendly manor before returning her attention to the heated argument below.

“If there is anything wrong, you can talk to me.”

A genuine smile slowly formed on Pansy’s face, “Thank you, Rainbow Dash.”

Hurricane felt on edge during the entire debate. She could feel a set of purple eyes burning into the back of her skull. Her tension easily rubbed off on the other two leaders, quickly degenerating what was supposed to be a conversation about what was going wrong into a big blame game.

Several times Hurricane nearly started a physical fight. Something was holding her back, controlling her fiery temper. Maybe it was because an all out war would be devastating to her tribe, or maybe it was because she wanted to prove to all the other tribes how she was the better leader. Or... maybe it was a small, mint green pegasus.

*****

"What a load of horseapples THAT did....." Dash muttered in annoyance as she trotted into Fluttershy’s home.

"Huh?" Pinkie asked, poking her head from behind a door and looking curiously at Rainbow Dash. The two had been staying with the yellow medic while their home was being built.

"Oh! Wait! You're both back! How'd the meeting go? Are you hungry? I made chili!" Pinkie bounced excitedly toward Dash, almost tackling her in a tight embrace when she remembered her wounds. Instead, she gently hugged her and nuzzled her neck.

"The meeting went down the drains REALLY fast...." Dash muttered, watching Fluttershy rush off to feed her animals. "The earth ponies can't grow anymore food ‘cause of the clouds and are blaming the pegasi for it and the unicorns for possibly sabotaging the clouds, while the unicorns are blaming the pegasi for the clouds and the earth ponies for being lazy.” Dash rolled her eyes, “Meanwhile, the pegasi are complaining and blaming the unicorns for the clouds and the earth ponies for hogging food....."

"Oooohhhhhh." Pinkie listened eyes widening in interest.

"Hurricane almost started twelve hoof to-hoof fights," Dash sighed, trotting into the kitchen. "Princess Platinum put her crown on upside down, and once again no pony understood whatever Chancellor Pudding-Head was saying."

"I-It was such a miracle nopony got hurt...." Fluttershy stated, walking in the room. "Even MORE a miracle that.... Hurricane DIDN’T start a fight....."

"Does Hurricane always start fights?" Pinkie chirped, tilting her head to the side as she dished the chili into bowls. She pushed each bowl to her friends, sitting down before her own bowl and began gulping it down noisily.

Dash snickered, “Pinkie, it’s weird when Hurricane doesn’t start a fight. Though usually with other tribes she ends up doing crazy little mind games, like the time she got that earth pony kicked out--”

Pinkie looked up at Dash with big sad, cyan eyes.

“N-nevermind...” Dash muttered quietly, guilt filling her. “....Sorry, Pinkie Pie...”

Pinkie smiled softly, “It’s ok, Dashie.”

*****

Hurricane sat in her newly repaired office, her head resting on her new desk; this time made of metal. Hurricane’s head was swimming with frustration, not just at the failed meeting, but at the feelings that were tormenting her.

Sighing, she looked up at the painting of Blizzard sadly, “I messed up... I... I guess I’m... scared... to love another pony....”

Tears of sorrow and frustration pooled in her eyes, but Hurricane refused to allow them to fall. “I guess... I don’t want to go through losing somepony I love again...”

Memories of Blizzard falling in battle filled her mind. How she was immediately forced into becoming the new leader, way before she was ready. How she had to learn to cope, how she learned to do everything...

All on her own.

A single tear splashed on the desk.

*****

Finally, the day had come.

Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash all stood outside Fluttershy's home, braving the wind and snow the weird clouds had made. Hard determination was set on Dash's face, her wings carefully spread.

"Are... You sure you don't want to wait for a nicer day?" Fluttershy whimpered, gently pulling and prodding at Dash's wings to make sue they were fully healed.

"'Shy, I'm going crazy on the ground. The only good thing about it right now is Pinkie. I am NOT delaying my first real flight in ages because of some freak storm." Rainbow Dash snorted, shaking her head out quickly. "I'm ready to do this."

"Just be careful Dashie...." Pinkie begged, worry thickly accenting her voice. "Don't get hurt....."

Rainbow Dash flashed the pink mare a winning grin,"Don't worry, Pinks. I won't let a blizzard take me out again. Besides, it's just a quick flight around 'Shy's yard, then I'll be back at your side."

"..... Okay....." Pinkie’s concerned expression never left her face, but she seemed to relax just a little bit at Dash’s confident words.

“Rainbow...” Dash nearly tumbled over, her initial boost upward suddenly halted by Fluttershy’s worried voice.

Sighing heavily, Dash turned to Fluttershy, “What is it?”

“Sorry...” Fluttershy muttered quietly shrinking into herself a little before continuing, “Your stomach wounds aren’t healed yet...so please be very careful.”

Giving a sharp nod, Dash launched herself in the sky. Exhilaration raced through her as she took flight. Several loops, spins, dives, and barrel rolls later, Dash landed in front of a nearly catatonic Fluttershy and an awestruck Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy rushed forward, her stare set firmly in place making Dash shrink back a little.

“ARE you CRAZY?! You could have gotten HURT! You could have TORN OPEN your WOUND!” Fluttershy’s chest heaved with heavy breaths as she calmed down. Finally relaxing since Dash was no longer in immediate danger, she hugged Dash. “I’m sorry...I was worried.”

Smiling softly, Dash returned the embrace. “It’s alright, Shy.”

“That was SO AWESOME, Dashie!” Pinkie nearly tore the cyan pegasus from Fluttershy’s embrace by her neck and hugged her tightly to her chest. “When you get all better I hope you can show me all your super amazing tricks!”

Fluttershy giggled at the dramatic display of affection the pink mare was pouring out. "Careful, Pinkie Pie...."

"Seriously I'm FINE, 'Shy!" Rainbow Dash snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, I know...." Fluttershy smiled, taking a few steps away from the two. "I'm just worried about your ego."

"Hey!" Dash snorted indignantly.

*****
Hurricane awoke several hours later, slumped heavily on her desk. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, as she looked around the darkened office. Her face felt wet, she noted, recalling how, despite her best efforts, she had ended up crying for an hour or so.

"This is such a mess...." She muttered, quickly glancing around the room. "I'm such a mess...."

She got up, stumbling her way towards the door. "I should just go home and let Rainbow Dash take over for the day....."

Opening the door, Hurricane found herself face to face with the last pony she wanted to see. Pansy stared at her, insecurity radiating from her as she struggled to maintain eye contact with the dark grey mare.

"Is there something you need, Private." Hurricane spoke in a clipped tone. Her eyes hardened into a glare as she waited for the meek pegasus to respond.

"Hurricane..." The grey mare’s resolve nearly crumbled from the desperation that oozed from Pansy's voice. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Acting like what, Private?" Hurricane winced as her voice wavered.

Pansy's eyes narrowed. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Commander."

Pansy stalked toward Hurricane, her desperation replaced with hurt anger. Hurricane found herself unconsciously moving backward, in a futile attempt to escape the green pegasus.

"You told me you cared about me...you have a really funny way of showing a pony how much you care, Commander." Pansy's eyes flashed dangerously.

Hurricane cursed under her breath as her rump hit the far wall of her office. "I-I care about everypony in the tribe."

Pansy snorted, rearing back on her hind-legs, wings flared aggressively. “Yeah, except you don’t have sex with everypony else in the tribe now do you?”

Hurricane found herself pinned to the wall by the smaller mare. It wasn’t as if Pansy was stronger than her...it was just...Hurricane didn’t want to hurt her. That, and the look in Pansy’s flaming purple eyes did a marvelous job at freezing her in place.

“....Uh...” Hurricane’s mind went blank as Pansy leaned in close, her hot breath blowing against her muzzle.

Pansy visibly shook with heartache, her eyes wavering between anger and sorrow. It took all of her willpower to not collapse into Hurricane’s chest and cling tightly to her.

“...Hurricane.....please...”

A blur of grey flew through the open door and smashed into the far wall, startling the two pegasi. Derpy Hooves popped up, holding an important letter in her mouth. Spitting it onto the desk she beamed brightly.

“I brought you a letter!” Derpy seemed oblivious to the tension that had built in the room, her goofy grin never leaving her face.

“Airman Derpy Hooves!” Hurricane practically shouted the other mare’s name in pure joy, happy to have a way to escape the situation she was in.

Wriggling her way out from being pinned to the wall, Hurricane rushed over to the wall-eyed mare and slung her foreleg around her, good-naturedly. “Your services are always outstanding! You will definitely get extra muffins in appreciation for all your hard work, as well as a pay increase! How I never saw such a great job you did before is beyond me!"

Pansy glowered at the two grey pegasi. “Airman Derpy...would it be alright if you came back later? Commander Hurricane and I were having an IMPORTANT discussion.”

Glancing at Pansy nervously, Hurricane ignored the green mare’s words. “Well I got some important stuff to do...somewhere else...so if you need anything else Derpy, you may talk to Lieutenant General Dash or Private Pansy.”

Snatching up the letter, Hurricane zoomed out of the office so fast it would have made Rainbow Dash proud.
*****

"And this is where I usually am!" Dash exclaimed, pushing a door open.

Pinkie’s eyes widened in awe as she stepped into the office. "Wow, Dashie! It's so bright!"

Dash followed her, glancing around at the colours she used to decorate. Mostly blues and oranges splashed on the walls, some forming lightning bolts shooting out from grey fluffy clouds. "Yeah. I mean, if this was the one place I was in more than my home and out training, I wanted it to look somewhat nice."

"Oh! There's some pink!" Pinkie exclaimed, rushing up to a randomly placed pink balloon. "It's.... Why is it here?"

"I.... Put that there after 'Shy and I came back the first time...." Dash slowly admitted, walking up to stand beside Pinkie. "I really missed you....."

Pinkie stared at the balloon in silence, slowly turning to smile at Rainbow Dash. "That's so sweet of you, Dashie...."

"Yeah well, it's nothing compared to your snow sculptures....." Dash shrugged nonchalantly.

Pinkie smiled, bouncing around the room. "But it's so blue and orange! What if we added some MORE pink, and maybe purple, oh and DEFINITELY green and yellow! Oh let's not forget red...! GASP! We could throw up some streamers and confetti and bean bag chairs and make it a party away from a party!"

"Let's not and say we did..." Dash chuckled, watching the pink mare run around the room, looking at various things. "’Sides, when I become leader I'll have to take over Hurricane's office. Not much point, really.... We could save it for when our home’s finished and you can go wild decorating...?"

"EVEN BETTER!" Pinkie beamed.
*****

Hurricane skidded to a halt, looking at her surroundings, her heart racing. That was close, she decided, sitting down with a deep sigh. She glanced up at the sign she sat before, biting her lower lip.

"The Cemetery...." She quietly muttered, getting up again.

She walked under the sign, glancing around at the tombstones before her. Even if she hadn't been here since she began training Rainbow Dash years before, she knew the path to Blizzard’s grave by heart.

She came to a halt before the stone, feeling her heart clench up.

"Blizzard..." She whispered, sitting down in front of the tombstone as close as she could. "Blizzard I'm so lost...."

She pulled off her helmet, letting her yellow mane fall into her eyes. She leaned forward, resting her head against the cold stone, closing her eyes before any tears could form again.

"What do I do.....?"
*****

Pansy dragged herself slowly out of Hurricane’s office, her head hanging in despair. She had somehow gotten Derpy to stop asking her about what was going on. Thank goodness for muffins...

Pansy halted at the sound of soft giggling. Turning curiously toward the noise, she trotted quietly up to Lieutenant General Dash’s office door and peered inside. She spotted Pinkie and Dash locked in a passionate and loving kiss, hooves holding each other tightly.

Shooting away from the door embarrassed, Pansy felt her heart clench painfully.

“Is...there something wrong with me?” Pansy quietly whispered.

Thoughts of Hurricane being so desperate to get away from her tore at her heart. She unconsciously wrapped her tail around herself in comfort, hoping to drive these lonely feelings away.

Looking up at Rainbow Dash’s office door, she sighed sadly. “Why can’t we be like that...’
*****

After several moments at Blizzard’s grave, Hurricane finally opened up the letter Derpy had rushed to her office. As she read it, it became harder and harder for her to restrain herself from smashing in one of the headstones in rage.

Princess Platinum had demanded that the pegasi tribe fix the weather. Otherwise they would take extreme measures and take their food; which Platinum claimed to be rightfully theirs. Hurricane was just about ready to fly all the way to the unicorn tribe and pay a special visit to Princess Platinum herself, when an idea struck her.

Why do we even have to stay here anyway? The land was becoming more and more harsh and the upper cloud levels of the pegasi tribe have become tainted with magic, leaving several pegasi homeless and struggling to find some ground shelter. Her tribe was starving and losing hope with each day that passed.

A determined grin formed on Hurricane’s face. She was going to find her tribe a new place to live, no matter what it took.
*****

"You want to WHAT?!" Hurricane rolled her eyes as Rainbow Dash stood in her office, eyes wide and mouth dropped to the ground.

It had been several days since Hurricane had received the letter from Princess Platinum. It had taken the Commander a few more days, most of which spent finding hiding places to avoid Pansy, for her to reach her decision.

"You heard me, Lieutenant General. Move the tribe. The clouds are ruined, all tainted with some mysterious magic. Besides, you said yourself the rabid manticores were increasing day by day at an unnatural rate." Hurricane spoke with finality in her voice.

Rainbow Dash shook her head free of her confusions. "Yeah, but moving an entire TRIBE, Hurricane?! It's impossible! There's way too many new foals being born, and not enough-"

"I've made up my mind!" Hurricane snapped, glaring at the cyan Pegasus. "Go inform everypony of this decision!"

"Hurricane, what's WITH you lately?! Sheesh, you've been in such a crabby mood!" Dash muttered, ruffling her wings in preparation of taking off. "You and Pansy have been acting weird since I returned..."

Hurricane visibly tenses at the green mare’s name. Dash frowned, glaring suspiciously at her Commander. "What did you do?"

"Nothing." Hurricane snorted, looking everywhere except the cyan mare staring at her accusingly.

"....... Liar." Rainbow Dash sighed, shaking her head. "Hurricane, you know there's going to be zero happiness about this, right?" Dash frowned, recalling how Pinkie had just started decorating their new home. "I'm pretty sure this can all get sorted if we just-"

"Why are you not informing the tribe?!" Hurricane growled, glaring at Dash. "Or are you trying to tell me you would openly help the Unicorns take our food supply that feeds the tribe?!"

"No- Ugh! Fine I'm going, I'm going....." Dash grumbled, turning and stalking to the closed door of the office. "Don't blame me if there's riots....."

Ripping the door open, Dash was startled to find Pansy on the other side. “Pansy?”

“I’m afraid the Lieutenant General is right....Nopony would be happy about this news, especially since we wouldn’t know where we are going. We should send out a small search party of two ponies to find someplace better first before we make such hasty decisions, Commander.” Pansy’s tone was harsh and bitter, making Hurricane’s fur stand on end.

“You know she’s right, Hurricane.” Dash began ever oblivious to the thick tension that had developed in the room, “We should send out some pegasi to search for someplace better. This way nopony will feel as if they are being led on some crazy wild goose chase!”

Hurricane fidgeted, avoiding the piercing gaze of the green pegasus, “I suppose you are right.... Wait, Private why were you listening in on this conversation?!"

Pansy’s ears twitched in annoyance, “It seems to be the only way I can get information about things I’m supposed to know about, Commander.” A scalding glare shot from Pansy’s eyes, making Hurricane unconsciously shrink slightly away from the gaze.

An idea suddenly popped into Hurricane’s head. “I could go out and search for new land. This is my idea after all, everypony would be much happier if I do it.”

Dash grinned at Hurricane. “That’s a great idea, Hurricane! Everypony WOULD be much happier if you did that, and they would be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more willing to follow you to the new land! Great. Conflict averted, we can all go ho- wait." The cyan pony rubbed her hoof against her chin in thought, “who would we send to go with you?”

Pansy stepped forward, her gaze never leaving Hurricane, “I will go with her.”

Hurricane froze, ”N-no way, Private. Everypony else needs you here!”

Before Pansy could retort, Dash responded with a grin, “We can do without Pansy. Fluttershy is back at the head of the medical team, and all of her other duties can easily be taken care of by several other ponies.”

A smug grin formed on Pansy’s face.

“Besides, what if you get hurt? You'd need an experienced medic with you.” Dash finished, a proud smirk on her face. "See aren't I a genius?"

Hurricane stared back at Pansy like a deer caught in headlights. “A-are you sure there is nopony else?”

Pansy’s eyes narrowed, “You already know the answer to that, Commander.”

Sighing in resignation, Hurricane unceremoniously dropped her head onto her desk. “...Fine....”

*****

"And thus Commander Hurricane will be finding a new place for the tribe to live!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, gesturing to the grey mare. Hurricane glared at Dash.

"Indeed. Give me five days. At which point I want all of you packed and ready to leave." Hurricane grumbled, completely ignoring the minty green mare at her left side. "Have I made myself clear?"

A chorus of "Yes Commander" echoed around her. Hurricane nodded, and turned to Rainbow Dash. "The tribe is yours for five days. Make sure everypony is ready to leave upon my return."

"Seriously?! That's a LOT of work..." Dash groaned.

"Any free time you have may be spent with Pinkie Pie." Hurricane spoke with a slight smirk.

"YOU GOT IT!" Came Rainbow Dash's enthusiastic response. The cyan mare saluted her Commander before bolting off to get the tribe organized. Hurricane turned towards Pansy, dread curling up in her stomach.

"A-.... Are you ready to set out, Private?" Hurricane shifted uncomfortably under Pansy’s gaze.

“I am ready for more than that, Commander.” The scathing look that followed, made Hurricane swallow thickly.

Hurricane nodded quickly. Rushing away to prepare for the long journey and to escape the penetrating stare from Pansy.

“Dash is going to pay for this.”

Chapter 16

Hurricane and Pansy started their trip early the next day. Saddlebags full of supplies they took to the air immediately. Hurricane made a conscious effort to stay several hooves away from Pansy at all times.

Dark, heavy clouds hung above them ominously while heavy winds pushed the two pegasi back as they flew. It seemed the harder they fought against the weather, the worse it got. Eventually snow and small chunks of hail rained down on them heavily, making it almost impossible to see.

Both pegasi struggled against the onslaught of wind, snow and ice. Pansy, being smaller and more lightweight, was knocked backward by a particularly strong gust of wind. Spinning out of control, she squeezed her eyes shut in terror as she attempted to stop her rapid decent.

Strong forelegs snatched her out of the sky and held her close to a dark grey chest. Pansy found herself looking up in shock at Hurricane, whom continued to battle the storm in search of shelter. Spotting a cave, Hurricane descended quickly into the temporary shelter.

“I think we will be safe in here.” Hurricane peered out of the cave, unaware that she was still protectively embracing Pansy.

Heart fluttering in her chest, Pansy wrapped her forelegs tightly around Hurricane and buried her muzzle into her dark grey chest. Hurricane froze at the movement, emotions warring violently within her. A few moments passed before Hurricane regained composure and ripped herself away from Pansy.

Pansy nearly fell flat on her face from how fast Hurricane shot away from her. Sitting up slowly, Pansy glared heatedly at Hurricane, whom at the moment was completely on the other side of the cave, breathing heavily.

“Although I appreciate being saved from falling to my death, I don’t appreciate nearly breaking my muzzle because somepony is jumpy.” Hurricane winced slightly at the scathing remark.

“.......Sorry.....” Hurricane muttered out just loud enough for Pansy to hear.

*****

“Awwwww...but why?” Pinkie pouted as she looked at Dash with big sad eyes.

Feeling guilty for upsetting Pinkie, Dash gently nuzzled the pink mare, “I know Pinks. It’s for the best though. It’s getting way too dangerous to live here.”

"But Dashie! I almost have everything properly planned out!" Pinkie sighed, looking around. "See?"

Rainbow Dash looked around, eyeing the decorations Pinkie had placed everywhere. Warm colours were splashed on the walls, balances out with bright, cool colours on the furniture. "I'm so sorry, Pinks... I tried explaining to Hurricane but....."

"It's okay.... Just means I'll have a tooooootally new house to decorate, right?" Pinkie spoke, brightening up dramatically.

"Yup!" Dash nodded, a relieved grin forming on her face, "Want to come do some combat training with me? We're saving the gym for last in packing, so we should be fine."

Pinkie bounced up, nodding eagerly. "You should teach me to fight better! I could be even MORE help to your tribe if I could fight like you!"

Dash paused, looking at the pink mare. "Pinkie, this is your tribe too..."

“Other ponies here keep giving me dirty looks when you aren’t around...and this one brown colt keeps throwing things at me.” Pinkie looked down sadly.

“Dumbbell...” Dash growled out with a frown. “He just doesn’t know when to stop being such a feather-head!”

Storming out of the home, intent on giving Dumbbell a new facial scar as well as some broken bones, a pink blur flashed in front of Rainbow Dash and grabbed her in a tight embrace.

“Please don’t start a fight, Dashie. You are better than that and you aren’t even fully healed yet.” Pinkie tightened her grip on Dash, hoping to calm the irate pegasus.

Sighing in frustration, Dash gently returned the embrace, “Fine...but if I ever see him or anypony else throw things at you or treat you like dirt......I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

Pinkie giggled, “I know, Dashie.”

*****

Awkward silence filled the cave for several hours, tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. Both pegasi sat on opposite ends of the cave, shivering violently from the harsh icy wind that blew into the mouth of the cave.

Pansy, being much smaller, was starting to black out from the intense cold. Dropping to the cave floor heavily, she struggled to keep herself alert and aware. Sharp stabs of icy numbness slowly creeped up her legs, her breathing becoming shuttering gasps.

Terror filled Hurricane’s eyes as she watched the small mare collapse weakly to the ground. Without a second thought, Hurricane rushed over to the trembling mare, pulled her behind some rocks to keep some of the wind off her, removed her armor and laid on top of her.

Hurricane tucked herself tightly around Pansy, sharing as much body heat as she could. Carefully shaking her helmet off, Hurricane tucked her head next to Pansy’s, resting her cheek against the green pony’s. Pansy unconsciously pressed her cheek against Hurricane’s, soaking in as much warmth as she could.

Pansy slowly warmed up with each passing minute, her violent shivers replaced with slight trembles. Hurricane shivered from the onslaught of freezing wind, tensing up around the smaller mare and huddling closer to get warm.

They had a long night ahead of them.

*****

“Jus’ what in the hay is goin on here?” Applejack trotted through the pegasi tribe, eyeing all the ponies rushing around and gathering up things into crates and carts.

“APPLEJACK!” Was the only warning the orange mare had before being tackled into the ground with one of Pinkie’s famous hugs.

“Oh my gosh! I’m sooo glad you are here! Mine and Dashie’s home is all built and I nearly finished decorating!” Pinkie wore a bright smile that slowly faded into a pout. “But now we have to move.”

"Wait huh?" Applejack face was the picture of confusion.

Pinkies bounced, nodding cheerfully. "Hurricane decided that it was too dangerous for the Pegasi to stay here anymore, so she and Pansy are out looking for a new place to live!"

“Really? Chancellor Pudding-Head got the same idea! Both her n Smart Cookie left a few days ago.” Applejack paused, a thoughtful look forming on her face, “Ah wonder if the unicorns are doin’ the same thing?”

A loud amused snort sounded above the two earth ponies before a cyan pegasus dropped to the ground next to them.

“Are you serious? Princess Platinum would be too afraid to chip a hoof before even thinking about searching for new land.”

Applejack snickered, “Yea, yer right, Rainbow. Them unicorns are too prissy fer that stuff.”

The orange earth pony slung her foreleg good naturedly around Rainbow Dash as they devolved into a heavy fit of laughter. A few seconds went by before Pinkie joined in on the laughter, rolling around on the ground with glee.

“Why are we laughing?” Pinkie managed to spit out in between hearty giggles.

Before anypony could answer, a panicking weather pony dropped next to Dash, “Lieutenant General! There’s a huge storm coming straight towards us at an unbelievably rapid rate! We can’t control it no matter how much we try!”

Dash immediately sobered up from the laughter, “Warn everypony! Inform them to gather in the Safety Bunkers immediately!”

Saluting, the shaken up colt shot off immediately. Dash turned to the two earth ponies, a grim expression on her face.

“There is no time to waste. Help me gather up the foals and the elderly, they will have the most trouble making it to the Bunkers safely.” Dash eyed the pegasi that pushed and shoved each other out of the way in an attempt to make it to the bunkers.

“But...they might not want help from an earth pony.” Applejack spoke, a worried tone in her voice.

Dash looked straight into Applejack’s eyes pleadingly, “...I...really need your help...” She shifted her attention to Pinkie, whom was staring at her with a stern expression, “Please.”

The orange mare looked taken aback for a moment, before a focused look came over her. Applejack nodded quickly. “You got it Rainbow Dash. Pinkie, ah’ll get the pegasi on the North and West side of the camp and yah’ll can get the pegasi on the South and East. This storm’s already comin’ in.”

The three mares look into the sky and see the icy blackness surrounding the pegasi camp. Dark clouds enveloping the clear blue in a thick fog and snow and ice began to fall from it, the wind suddenly picking up and whipping around anything that isn’t secured to the ground.

“C’mon Pinkie, we’ve gotta get a move on!” Applejack shouted hurriedly, trying to be heard over the howling winds blowing in from the storm.

Pinkie nodded silently and watched the mare rush off with an old mare and her grandcolt. Her expression stiffened and she turned to face the cyan pegasus.

“I know I can’t talk you out of doing anything for your tribe, Dashie, but please be careful while doing it okay?” Pinkie stepped forward and nuzzled Dash’s cheek before sprinting off to be shrouded from view in the fog coming from the East end.

“Don’t worry Pinkie, I will be.”
*****

The density of the storm was far greater at the cave Hurricane and Pansy were trapped in. It had been several hours since the green mare had collapsed, and she seemed to be recovering from the blinding cold, but the weather showed no signs of clearing up.

As the cool winds buffeted the rock Hurricane had chosen as protection. The larger mare began to feel a bit hazy, her vision beginning to blur from stress. The only thing that kept her awake was the thought of keeping Pansy warm and away from the icy temperatures from outside.

“Hur-Hurricane...” The small pegasus whispered from the grey mare’s embrace.

Hurricane held Pansy closer beneath her and drew her wings down to cover her body more. Kissing Pansy lightly on the cheek, Hurricane spoke softly, “Don’t worry Pansy.... I’m not leaving you... Not this time.”
*****

“Everypony inta the bunker quick! The storm’s gettin’ close!” Applejack now had to scream out to be heard over the fierce winds of the storm.

She had managed to gather all of the pegasi, some with a little more difficulty to persuade given that she was an earth pony. But once she had gotten the ponies to notice the black clouds in the sky they seemed much more agreeable to the idea of listening to her.

The door to the bunker was about to close when Applejack spotted a pink blur coming from the misty side of the camp.

Two pegasi were quickly slamming the door shut, but the orange mare shot up to them and pointed their attention at the rapidly approaching ponies.

“Hi Applejack!” Pinkie chirped from inside the crowd. She leaped from the front and landed before the orange mare, smiling brightly and looking out at the ponies she had gathered. “I got all the pegasi I could find and brought them straight here. Uuuum well ,I might have stopped a little on the way for some snacks, but I just told everypony we’d have to get here quicker.”

“It’s okay sugarcube, jus’ get them ponies in fast so we can get outa this freezin’ storm.” A small amused smile creeped onto Applejack’s face from the pink pony’s antics.

As the last of the pegasi came from the fog, Pinkie began to look around uncomfortably. She stepped away from some appreciative ponies to step up beside Applejack, unusually quiet for her normally bouncy nature.

“W-where’s Dashie?” Pinkie asked as all the ponies rushed in through the doors of the shelter.

Applejack shrugged. “I ain’t seen her since we left a while back.” At the worried poster Pinkie took from hearing that, the orange earth pony threw her hoof over Pinkie’s back reassuringly. “C’mon now Pinkie. You know Rainbow Dash better than that. She won’t let a storm like this get her anymore.”

Pinkie managed to smile at the earth pony’s encouraging words. “Thanks Applejack.”
*****

Dash stood perched on a hill near the shelter, guiding some foals to the shelter. Her eyes shifted from pony to pony until she saw a pink mare and an orange mare standing together outside the door.

“Good work you two. I knew I could count on you both. Whether you want it or not, I think you’re already a part of this tribe.” Her magenta eyes stayed locked on the pink pony until she heard a soft shout of pain from her left.

Turning her head away quickly from Pinkie, Dash squinted into the storm and spotted movement from far away. Her heart sank as her vision cleared from the storm. “Is that.... Scootaloo!”

In the distance, a small orange and purple dot appeared to be struggling violently against something. Without a second thought, Dash flew straight into the harsh, heavy blowing winds to reach the poor filly. Her stomach wounds stretched and twisted painfully as Dash pushed herself through the violent weather.

The closer Rainbow Dash got, the easier it was to see what was pinning Scootaloo down. A large wooden beam from one of the ruined food storage buildings had been torn off by the strong wind and was pinning the filly to the ground.

“R-Rainbow Dash...Help!” A pained plea came from the small orange filly, small trails of blood dripping from her nose.

Rushing over to the beam, Dash strained to lift the offending object. Her injuries screamed in protest as she slowly lifted the beam up high enough for Scootaloo to crawl out. Panting heavily, Dash dropped the beam and rushed to Scootaloo’s side.

“Oh no...” Dash’s eyes widened when she saw the severity of Scootaloo’s condition.

The orange filly’s wings were twisted, bloody and nearly torn off from the force of the beam smashing her into the ground. Two of her ribs snapped and were jabbing at her skin, threatening to tear her open.

Dash carefully wrapped her forelegs around Scootaloo, avoiding the injuries as best as she could. Lifting up the poor filly, she flew as fast as she could back to the shelter. Debris slammed into the duo, forcing Dash to hold the small filly tight against her chest.

Diving into the Safety Bunker, Dash began searching frantically through the hundreds of pegasi.

“Fluttershy! Fluttershy, Emergency!”

*****

A light dusting of snow covered Hurricane. She had passed out hours ago from exhaustion, the storm finally passing as dawn hit. Pansy remained pinned under the larger mare, still a little weak from collapsing the night before.

“Hurricane?” Pansy whispered, trying to wriggle free of the pony on top of her. “Hurricane are you alright? The storm’s over... you can get off me.”

Hurricane’s eyes opened blearily as she felt the small pegasus shifting beneath her. Feeling a surge of emotions rush over her, the grey mare lifted herself off Pansy. “S-sorry... well I suppose we’d better keep looking. I just hope Lieutenant General Dash is doing all she can to help the tribe.”

Pansy slowly stood on her hooves and walked up to the Commander, now standing at the entrance to the cave and looking out into the snow covered hills before them. “Hurricane you... you saved me again... why can’t you just-?”

Hurricane’s wings flared angrily and she turned to face the green mare. “You collapsed from the cold and exhaustion Private! What was I supposed to do, let you die? Nothing in the name of pegasi kind... could make me do that...” Her wings drooped back to her sides and she whispered those last words softly; just enough for the mare to hear them. She turned away from Pansy trying to escape her pleading purple eyes.

Pansy stared at Commander Hurricane in shock and surprise. The stare quickly evolved into a heated glare at the larger mare. Her wings flared out suddenly, gaining Hurricane’s attention once again. “Fine. Let’s find your new homeland to avoid me in just like before.”

Hurricane stood silently in front of Pansy and looked suddenly nervous. “Uh, you know, I kinda... removed your armor when the storm hit... to-to keep you warm I mean...”

“What?!” Pansy’s eyes widened and she looked at her hooves, an embarrassed flush covering her face. Looking around frantically, Pansy spotted her armor near the rock they had huddled behind moments ago.

Hurricane watched the pegasus gather her armor and looked away slightly when she began to put it on, feeling her face heating up. “Oh, and that reminds me. I also took my helmet off when I laid on you to warm you up.” The grey pegasus touched her hoof to her mane and looked over to the armor on the floor.

“I don’t care! Have your stupid helmet back!!” Pansy grabbed the piece of armor and chucked it at Hurricane. She earned a direct hit on the larger pony’s nose and a sharp yelp of pain from the Commander as she covered her now throbbing nose with a fore-hoof.

Pansy’s hardened look softened a bit at the grey mare’s shout, but turned her head away in anger at the nervous pony. She continued to slowly pull her weapons and armor back on, ignoring Hurricane completely.

Her nose bloody and dripping, Hurricane took one last look at Pansy before silently walking out to grab her helmet from the snow outside.

*****

“Scoots! Kid! Fluttershy, please tell me Scootaloo’s gonna be okay.” Dash looked over Fluttershy’s shoulder anxiously, fearing the injuries would be too much for the small filly to handle.

Fluttershy worked diligently to try and save the filly’s life, attempting to reset the wings broken bones and joints as best as she could. “It-it’s hard to say right now Rainbow Dash. She isn’t in good condition, but... it’s good you found her when you did.”

Applejack put a comforting hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “Come on RD, let Fluttershy do her job. It’ll only be worse if yah’ll keep askin’ her stuff.”

“Please Dashie, you gotta let her work. I’m sure Scootaloo will be fine.” Pinkie tugged on Dash’s foreleg gently, urging her to leave Fluttershy alone.

Dash finally let herself be pulled away, watching as Fluttershy made small incisions in the little filly’s chest to reset the broken ribs. Feeling emotionally drained, Dash dropped onto the ground heavily. Mean spirited snickering broke through the emotional haze Dash found herself in.

“Way to go, Rainbow Crash. If I was leader nopony would have gotten hurt...” A devilish smirk formed on Dumbbell’s face, “Except for dirty traitors like you and Fluttercry.”

“Now jus’ hang on a moment. She worked her flank off trying to save everypony here.” Applejack snarled angrily, storming up to the offending stallion.

“Eww..a dirt pony!” Dumbbell smashed his hoof against Applejack’s eye, cracking the bone and splitting the skin.

The orange mare fell heavily to the ground, fading in and out of consciousness. Before Dash could even respond, Pinkie was standing over Applejack protectively.

“You are the biggest meanie-head I have ever met! You DON’T hurt my FRIENDS!” Pinkie glowered angrily at the smug stallion.

“Oh look, the sex toy is going to defend this farm trash. You know she doesn’t really love you, I mean, why would she? You are the most pathetic of all the dirt ponies! Enough that they dumped you from their dirty tribe to go rot on your own!” The brown stallion grinned sadistically, watching Pinkie’s eyes shimmer with unshed tears.

“How do you know about that, Dumbbell?” Dash spoke in a clear and calm voice, her face darkened by her helmet, betraying no emotion.

Dumbbell laughed cruelly, “I was there remember? Helping take a share of the dirt pony food. You were probably too distracted ogling this filth to even notice.”

A sharp crack resonated throughout the whole bunker. Dumbbell dropped lifelessly to the ground, a gaping hole in his chest where the armor didn’t cover. Dash stood over him on her hind legs, her wings flared dramatically. Her right hoof was soaked in blood, slowly oozing it’s way down her foreleg.

“That was a long time coming, Dumbbell.” She growled out softly as she glared coldly at his body.

Remembering where she was, Dash looked up. Everypony was staring at her in fear and awe. Many of the foals that had looked up to her with admiration were instead hiding from her in their mother’s protective embrace. Turning toward Pinkie, she felt as if her heart stopped.

Unrestrained terror filled Pinkie’s eyes, darting between Dash, the corpse, and the bloody hoof. Grabbing Applejack, Pinkie scrambled away from Dash as if her life depended on it. Trembling, Dash looked down at what was once Dumbbell.

“I-I'm so sorry...."

*****

Hurricane stood at the base of a cliff, looking out at the expanding territory around her. She remembered this place to be surrounded in vibrant lush green outstretches of pine and grass for miles. Now it was ice covered and cold. Lifeless, uninhabitable.

“We should probably keep moving. Those clouds overhead don’t seem to be getting any nicer.” The grey pegasus turned from her post and looked behind her at the expressionless Pansy.

The smaller mare sighed. “Yes Commander.”

Those two emotionless words cut Hurricane deep. She felt a pang in her heart and immediately stifled the feeling, looking away instead, to another cliff head in the distance.

“There. That’s our destination.” Hurricane stated quickly, pointing her hoof in the direction of the cliff.

Pansy walked up beside the larger mare and groaned. “You said that two destinations ago.”

“Well this time I’m positive.” Commander Hurricane turned to the green pegasus, determination set on her face.

“You said that before too.” Pansy stared at the cliff, avoiding any eye contact with Hurricane. She was still using that toneless voice the larger mare hated to hear from her.

Instead of doing anything, all Hurricane did was look at the cliff, before throwing out her wings to their full splendor, “This all seems so familiar to me.” The grey pony took off into the skies, heading for the cliff ahead.

Pansy watched the rapidly fading form of the pegasi leader, wondering what she could have meant by that.

Sighing, Pansy spread her own wings and shot after Hurricane.

*****

Rainbow Dash sat curled up as far from her tribe as she could. Panic was set in her mind, her eyes closed tightly. “I am not..... I didn't just...... “She thought, curling up tightly into herself.

She had killed Dumbbell. As much as he deserved to have been hurt or something, death wasn't it. Maybe a black eye or a broken leg or something...

“I'm going to turn out just like her...” Dash thought, letting out a shaky breath. “I'm going to turn out just like Hurricane.....”

She could hear her tribe talking and whispering behind her, the shock and disbelief heavy in their voices. Dash could tell none of them were happy with her at all.... Ignoring them, her ears sought out one particular voice.

“Pinkie's scared of me....” The cyan mare felt a single tear slide down her face.

The pink mare in question was sitting at the front of the tribe, her eyes focused on Rainbow Dash. After the initial shock of watching Dash kill Dumbbell had worn off, she became worried about the cyan mare.

"She's killed before...." Fluttershy whispered, looking at the pink mare. "Hasn't she told you?"

"I know, I know...,." Pinkie muttered, glancing at the medic. "I... didn't think she would have killed him though."

Applejack held ice against her swollen injury, a sad expression on her face. “She’s really beatin’ herself up over this.”

A small filly suddenly broke from the group of pegasi. She was a little orphan, nopony held her back as she slowly approached the distraught cyan mare. She paused in front of Dash, looking directly into her magenta eyes.

The small filly lunged forward and wrapped her small hooves around Dash’s neck.

“You’re still my hero, Rainbow Dash.”

Everypony froze in shock.

The first to recover were the foals. They tore themselves away from their families and trotted quickly over to Dash, hugging her tightly.

A small smile slowly formed on Rainbow Dash’s face.

*****

"Huh...I guess you were right this time." Pansy muttered, in awe of the lush surroundings.

"See?! I told you this was our destination!" Hurricane beamed proudly.

Pansy looked around, a small frown on her face. "Gee, perfect, great, now can we go back to the tribe and bring them here?"

“Hang on Private, we need to check to make sure there’s nothing wrong with this place.” Hurricane launched herself at the nearest cloud, dropping herself on it unceremoniously.

“This place is perfect!” The grey mare smiled brightly, poking her head up from the fluffy cloud.

Pansy couldn’t help but smile back with just as much enthusiasm as her Commander. A small blush tinged her cheeks as she watched Hurricane. Hurricane hopped from one poofy cloud to the next, like an excited filly.

Dropping her saddlebags, Hurricane pulled out a collapsible pole and a flag. Setting up the items, she triumphantly stabbed it into the cloud she was currently perched on.

“I claim this land as Pegasopolus!”

“Unicornia!”

“Earth!”

Hurricane peered down through her cloud and gaped at who was below her. “Huh? You! What are you two doing here?!” She growled and took to the sky again to glare at the ponies.

Princess Platinum tossed her royal blue mane and smiled smugly up at the Commander. “What does it look like Commander? I am here to claim this land in the name of the unicorns.”

“Well I am here to claim it as Dirt-ville!” Pudding-head stamped her hoof, as she glared up at Platinum.

“Uh, I thought we agreed on Earth.” Smart Cookie muttered, rolling her eyes.

“Oh well whatever I named it, I’m not going to let some snobby unicorn declare it her own.” The brown earth pony growled, jabbing an accusing hoof up at the white unicorn.

“And I will not let some brutish pegasi leader take this gem-filled land from under our hooves.” Platinum crossed her forelegs hauntingly, her nose turned up at Hurricane.

“Oh, whys that Platinum? Got your hooves done this morning?” Hurricane felt her muscles tense, preparing her for battle.

“As a matter of fact I did, and I would appreciate it if you would not touch anything here with those dirty hooves of yours. This is our land after all.” A challenging gleam shown in Platinum’s golden eyes.

“Your land? We got here first! I didn’t see any of you standing here waiting for me to put my flag down.” Hurricane snorted, rushing at the unicorn leader.

“Oh, well that’s ‘cause I got here earlier than first. Waaay earlier than any of you two. Plus, I brought along a map for this occasion to find a new land.” Pudding-head sat proudly, staring up at the two ponies with bright strawberry colored eyes.

“‘S`cuse me Chancellor Pudding-head, but I think we lost the map back when you decided to take a detour through that waterfall. After that we just walked in a bunch of circles until we got here.” Smart Cookie sighed heavily.

Chancellor Pudding-head blinked and then gasped in remembrance. “... oh yeah, that was fun too... but this is serious business, we got here before you two!”

“I am afraid you are wrong. It was I who arrived first!” Platinum frowned deeply at the brown earth pony’s antics.

“No, I got here first and put my flag down before you even got yours out with your so called magic.” Hurricane jabbed Platinum in the nose with her hoof, eliciting an angry growl from the white unicorn.

“Uh, Princess Platinum?” Clover the Clever tentatively walked up to the two feuding ponies, attempting to get her leader’s attention.

Fiery golden eyes locked in a glaring match with dark blue, Platinum refused to break eye contact as she responded to the green unicorn.

“Not now Clover the Clever. I am dealing with the brute.”

Smart Cookie’s brown eyes widened dramatically, “Hey, Chancellor Pudding-head? You might want to take a look at the weather.”

The Chancellor waved a dismissive hoof in the light yellow pony’s direction, “In a minute Smart Cookie, I did do that just ten minutes ago. Hey, is it snowing?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to-” Smart Cookie began with a frustrated sigh.

“Hey Hurricane, think fast!” Pudding-head scooped up a small amount of fallen snow and chucked it at the grey mare’s head.

Hurricane cringed and spun around to face the giggling dessert headed mare. “Ugh, why does everypony enjoy throwing stuff at my head?!”

“It is a rather large target.” Platinum snidely commented.

“Commander! It’s happening again! Another storm!!” Pansy frantically flew toward Hurricane, eyes wide.

“What? Oh no! This is all your fault!” Hurricane jabbed Platinum in the chest, growling with rage.

“My fault? You probably tainted this land and its gems from your barbaric behavior- ooph!” Another snow ball had been hurled and smashed directly in the face of the unicorn leader. The snow melted off the enraged unicorn’s boiling red face.

Before the enraged unicorn could respond, a large chunk of ice whizzed by, nearly slamming into her. A small crater was left in its wake.

Everypony gaped vacantly at the softball sized ball of ice until several more smashed heavily into the ground. Panic hit the group, all of them scrambling to avoid the deadly hail. In their desperation they worked together, searching for shelter.

After several near misses, and some agonizing hits, the odd group limped as fast as they could into a cave.

*****

Dash smiled thankfully. Nearly her entire tribe had forgiven her for her....slip up.... Many of the pegasi that forgave her had suffered from his brutal, bullying behavior. Even with everything turning somewhat back to normal, there was still one pony she really wanted to forgive her.

Dash’s ears fell flat against her helmet. The look Pinkie gave her was burned into her brain. Every time she closed her eyes, it was like she was reliving the moment over and over.

The sudden feeling of forelegs wrapping around her startled the distraught mare. Turning her head behind her, she came face to face with a softly smiling Pinkie Pie.

“P-Pinkie..I-” Dash was cut off with a gentle kiss. Dash’s eyes opened so wide she wondered if they would pop out of her skull.

"It's okay, Dashie..." Pinkie smiled, nuzzling the cyan mare’s cheek softly. "I forgive you...."

Strong overwhelming emotions rushed through Rainbow Dash. Reaching for the pink mare, Dash locked her into a deep and passionate kiss. She poured all of her feelings into that loving embrace. By the time she broke the kiss, Pinkie was panting heavily and felt just a little lightheaded.

Glancing at the crowd of ponies staring at her and Pinkie, Dash chuckled awkwardly, “Welll...uhh..thank’s for...you know..forgiving me and stuff..”

Turning her attention back to Pinkie, she was nearly taken aback by the smoldering, seductive look she was met with. Leaning forward, Pinkie wrapped her hooves around Dash’s shoulders and began whispering in her ear.

“If forgiving you makes you kiss me like that, I should do it more often.” She finished with a quick flick of her tongue against the shell of her ear.

Dash trembled in excitement.

*****

Hurricane had just finished bandaging Pansy’s foreleg. The deep gash carefully cleaned and stitched together. Her wings were fanned out behind her, in an attempt to give Pansy some privacy from the other two tribes.

Both pegasi didn’t speak to each other during the exchange. Instead, Pansy inspected the several smaller gashes that peppered the Commander’s legs. The largest gash was on her left cheek. Blood slowly dripped from Hurricane’s chin as she took care of Pansy.

As soon as Hurricane finished, Pansy immediately began cleaning the grey mare’s banged up legs, cleaning and wrapping them tightly. She left the facial injury for last.

Hurricane’s eyes drifted to the other tribe leaders and their travelling companions while Pansy worked, taking in the level of damage the two different tribes had suffered.

Unicorns, thanks to their magic, were able to surround themselves with a weak shield. Most of their injuries were superficial. Of course, that didn’t stop Princess Platinum from agonizing over her ruined royal gown as if it was her most beloved treasure.

The earth ponies suffered the worst of it. Without the protection of armor or a magical shield, the hail had an easier time causing more serious damage. Both earth ponies had to remove their clothing in order to treat the wounds that littered their body’s.

A gentle hoof against her cheek, startled Hurricane out of her thoughts. Pansy had begun carefully cleansing the wound, preparing it for stitches. Carefully angling the grey mare’s head, Pansy began stitching the wound. Hurricane clenched her teeth tightly as she felt the sharp needle tear into her skin and slowly pull her skin together.

“Oh just look at those brutish pegasi over there, stabbing each other with needles.” Platinum snorted, finally tearing her attention away from her ruined gown.

Hurricane growled, doing her best to not turn and threaten the white unicorn. At least not until Pansy had finished stitching and bandaging her last injury.

Not a second after Pansy finished, Hurricane bolted over to Platinum, grabbing her by the neck of her robes and yanking her in the air.

“You better learn some bucking respect, you snobby inbreed!” Hurricane snarled into the white unicorn’s face.

An aura of light green magic surrounded Hurricane and Platinum, tearing the two away from each other.

“Please, we need to work together if we want to survive this.” Clover pleaded with the feuding ponies, as she gently set Hurricane and Platinum down.

Platinum snorted indignantly, "But Clover, did you not SEE such barbaric behaviors those bru-"

"For your information, Princess, it's the best way to treat wounds!" Hurricane barked, stomping her hoof to the ground. "I don't see any of you snobby unicorns offering to help fix our wounds!"

"Hurricane, Clovers right..." Pansy attempted to reason with the irate pegasus.

"Not NOW Private!" Hurricane snarled, making the small pegasus shrink back in shock.

"Oh PLEASE, you even treat your companion with such brutish antics!" Platinum huffed, sticking her nose up in the air. "Clover! Fix my gown!"

"Hey!! None of you should be complaining!! Smart Cookie and I have WAY worse injuries and neither of US are moaning and howling about it!" Pudding-head interjected, trotting up to glare at the other two leaders. "So you should just-"

"Chancellor, your side's bleeding again." Smart Cookie chastened, rushing up to the brown mare.

"Oh. Oops." The Chancellor muttered out, looking at her slowly bleeding wound.

"And Commander," Platinum began, ignoring the two earth ponies. "Would you PLEASE keep your filthy hooves away from me."

Hurricae growled at the unicorn, spinning around to face Pansy. "Pansy! Mark out our territory!"

The green mare sighed, flapping her wings and quickly taking flight. "Yes, Commander..." She muttered, dragging her hoof along the ground.

"See?! Everything on THIS side is OUR territory!" Hurricane flared her wings aggressively, positioned near the edge of the crudely drawn line.

"Hardly is that fair!" Platinum argued, stomping past the freshly drawn line. "That's over half the cave!"

"Yeah!" Pudding-head argued, stomping up to the line. "Besides! We hardly got a say in it!"

"Yeah well ya snooze ya lose!" Hurricane snorted, roughly shoving each of the other leaders back over the line. "So there!"

Pansy glanced at the cave entrance, her eyes growing wide. Ice had begun to slowly cover the entrance, sneaking its way into the cave. With a gasp of shock, she quickly shook Hurricane's shoulder, pointing at the ice covered entrance.

"Commander!"

"What?!" Hurricane snapped, spinning around to face the cave opening with wide eyes. "Oh no!"

"Well now look what you've done!" Platinum huffed, stamping her hoof to the ground. "Now we're trapped here forever!"

"My fault?! Why don't you take a look at your stupid pedicured hooves to see who's fault this is!" Hurricane retorted, pulling Pansy with her to a wall as far away from the two other groups. "This sure as heck isn't MY fault!"

"And I didn't do anything!" Pudding-head shouted, pushing Smart Cookie to the far corner as well. "This is all your faults!"

"Well, I NEVER!" Platinum argued, using her sparkling blue magic to drag Clover to the opposite wall of the other two tribes.

“Why don’t you snotty unicorns and dirt ponies stay over there, we might catch some kind of disease from you.” Hurricane snorted.

“Hey! Just because we are earth ponies, doesn’t mean we are dirty! It’s the unicorns and their freaky magic that we all have to worry about!” Pudding-head gestured wildly at the white and green unicorns, eyes wide.

“Try not to breathe too hard over here, dirt pony. Your rancid breath would kill manticores.” Platinum held her hoof to her nose, a mean grin on her face.

Ice creeped along the cave floor, circling around the tribe leaders and ensnaring them in their icy grip. The three ponies not captured in the strange ice, backed away slowly eyes wide with horror.

“What in the hay did you do Platinum?” Hurricane growled out, a tinge of fear in her voice as ice rapidly climbed up her legs and surrounded her body.

Pudding-head was in near hysterics, yanking and tugging in a vain attempt to escape the solid ice. “S-Stop it, Platinum! Please!”

Platinum’s horn glowed brightly as she attempted to tear herself out of the ice. “I-It must be something the pegasi did!”

With the ice closing around the three leader’s heads, Hurricane looked directly into Pansy’s terrified purple eyes.

“I’m sorry...”

Chapter 17

“Is she going to be ok, Fluttershy?” Dash stared at the immobile orange filly, concern etched into her face.

Fluttershy bit her lip, ears lowering slightly, “Her injuries are pretty bad, Rainbow. Especially with her wings. If she ever recovers....she may never fly.”

It felt as if a cold, dead weight dropped into Dash’s gut, “ W-why won’t she be able to fly? I broke my wings! I can still fly!”

Tears filled Fluttershy’s eyes from the look of desperation and pain on the cyan mare’s face.

“She’s a growing filly. Her bones haven’t finished developing yet. If she is lucky, then hopefully none of them broke around any of the growth plates.” Fluttershy paused. A frown set on her face. “One break in any of the growth plates will ruin her chances at flight, forever.”

Dash hung her head, despair filling her. She had promised Scootaloo that she would help her learn to fly when she was old enough.

Determination set on Dash’s face as she stared down at the unconscious filly, “You can do it, Scoot. I know you can, and once you are old enough, I’ll show you how to fly. Just as well as me.”

*****

"No no no no...!!" Pansy muttered, scrambling away from the advancing ice. "Oh no oh no...."

"And you're SURE this isn't unicorn magic?!" Smart Cookie asked, scrambling away from the ice statue that was her leader.

"I told you!" Clover exclaimed in panic, quickly scurrying to the center of the cave. "If Platinum couldn't break the ice it isn't our doing!"

"If you're sure..." Smart Cookie murmured, panic tinging her voice.

Pansy glanced around at the ice, looking at everything but the ice encasing Hurricane. "Does anypony know what this stuff is...? I don't think ANY of the weather teams would have the ability to make something like this!"

She felt her back collide with something. She spun around only to come face to face with the other two. "Well...?"

"It has to be some kind of magic!" Smart Cookie muttered, glancing at Clover. "But if it isn't unicorn magic, then wha-"

A loud wail interrupted Cookie, making the three scream in confusion. They all looked up to see pale blue creatures rushing around the ceiling, creating icy chills and consuming ice. They looked down at the three pony’s with cold, unforgiving eyes.

"What," Smart Cookie began, turning to look at Clover with wide eyes. "in tarnation are THOSE?!"

"I-if I'm not mistaken, those are Windingos..!" Clover gaped in shock up at the mystical beasts.

“I learned about them from my apprenticeship with Starswirl the Bearded. They are magical creatures that thrive off of hatred and in return make the land as cold as the hate they consume.” Pansy and Smart Cookie stared up in horrified awe during Clover’s explanation.

“W-well I don’t hate you guys.” Smart Cookie muttered earnestly.

“I don’t hate you two either!” Pansy spoke honestly, attempting to move farther away from the fast approaching ice.

“I don’t hate either of you as well.” Clover spoke with a terrified waver in her voice. Ice began encasing her legs.

“No matter what.” Smart Cookie began, fear thick in her voice as the ice slowly crawled up her body, “We are all ponies.”

A small spark ignited between the three ponies as the ice slowly encased their heads. The flicker of warmth concentrated between the three and shot upward through the green unicorn’s horn. A ball of pink flame burst into the air and instantly melted the ice ensnaring the three ponies.

Stumbling awkwardly, the three ponies looked up in shock at the glowing, heart-shaped fire that freed them.

“I didn’t know that unicorns could do that.” Smart Cookie was in wide-eyed awe of the blazing inferno.

“No...I think that came from all of us. The kindness and friendship we shared...this is how we will save this land and our leaders!” Clover spoke excitedly, shaking Smart Cookie by her shoulders from her enthusiasm.

Pansy smiled, “ I don’t think I hate any of you ponies.” Thoughts of how Hurricane treated her recently rushed into her mind, “I actually hate Commander Hurricane more...” Memories of the kind things Hurricane did, along with her apology drifted into her mind, “Well..actually I don’t hate her...I just really really really really dislike her sometimes.”

The group of ponies giggled joyfully.

*****

Where.... Am I?

Hurricane looked around her surroundings, completely confused. Almost what looked like an ocean of clouds. And snow. Lots of snow. She stood up, feeling as light as a feather.

"Hurricane."

The dark grey mare froze, her body stiffening. That voice, she thought, her eyes growing wide. It was...Him...

She spun around, her eyes landing on the white Pegasus stallion.

"Blizzard!" Hurricane shrieked in joy, racing forward to tackle the stallion. She wrapped her forelegs around him, burying her face into his neck. "Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard!!"

"Oof!" Blizzard gasped, stumbling backwards slightly. He chuckled, wrapping a foreleg around the dark grey mare. "Hurricane, you crazy Pegasus..."

"I missed you so much!!" Hurricane’s voice was muffled as she buried herself deeper into Blizzard’s embrace.

"I know." He smiled softly.

"Wait......" Sudden fear struck her like an arrow to the heart.

"You aren't dead. Not yet....." Blizzard sighed, managing to pull himself away. "Hurricane...."

"I'm not dead? Then what....." Hurricane asked, looking around at her surroundings. "Then where am I...?"

Blizzard smiled at her. "Almost dead. Almost alive. It could go either way." He sighed, and shook his head.

"What does that mean?" Hurricane demanded, glaring up at the stallion she loved. "You're saying I could die or I can live?"

"It depends on how Pansy and the other two react with each other. Speaking of Pansy..." Blizzard began, gesturing for Hurricane to sit. "We should talk."

"What's to talk about?" The grey mare tilted her head in confusion.

"Hurricane, you can't keep pushing her away." Blizzard began, looking away from Hurricane at the snow. "I... Love you. I always will. But I'm gone.... You really need to accept that."

Hurricane sat frozen, her dark blue eyes wide and hurt. "So..... You don't....."

"Hurricane, you have a long life waiting for you," Blizzard interrupted, looking at the grey mare. "Please live it..... For both of us."

"Blizzard...." Hurricane felt her heart clench painfully in her chest at the stallion’s soft words.

"You don't need to worry about losing Pansy... She's a tough mare. Determined to stay by you, Hurricane. Don't be stupid and continue to push her away..." Blizzard sighed, smiling gently at his former love. "Besides, you know it's hurting you just as much as it’s hurting her... Just please...... Hurricane."

"......... I love you, Blizzard." Hurricane whispered, looking down and closing her eyes in an attempt not to cry.

"I love you too, Hurricane." Came Blizzard's gentle reply.

"I won't ever forget you." A small tear managed to escape, slowly gliding down her face.

"I don't expect you to." The stallion gently wiped away the tear.

"..... Please stay with me......" Hurricane spoke in near whisper, throat dry.

"Always." The stallion gently embraced the grey mare, holding her close.

"I'm going to miss you so much....." Hurricane held him tightly, losing herself in the loving hold.

Blizzard smiled, gently pressing his cheek to Hurricane’s, "So will I, my beautiful Hurricane. So will I..."

*****

Several hours went by before Scootaloo began to stir. Whimpers of agony escaped from the small filly’s mouth, alerting Rainbow Dash. She bolted to the injured filly’s side, gently nuzzling her.

“It’s alright, Scoots. Everything will be alright. You're safe now.” Dash laid down next to Scootaloo, draping her wing over the filly for comfort.

“R-Rainbow...Dash?” Scootaloo croaked out, prying her eyes open to look at her hero. “W-what...happened?”

A small frown formed on Dash’s face, “You got hurt, Scoots. You got hurt pretty bad...” A comforting smile made its way onto Dash’s face as the little filly looked up at her, “You're safe now, though. That is all that matters.”

“Did...you save me?” Scootaloo’s purple eyes shown with emotion as she stared up at Dash.

Instead of gloating like she would normally with a smug grin, she smiled softly down at Scootaloo. “I helped you out from the pole pinning you... But Fluttershy is the one who really saved you. If it wasn’t for her, you wouldn’t be here.”

Scootaloo scooted closer to Dash, gently pressing against her side. “Thank you Rainbow Dash....You really are my hero.”

Dash felt her heart fill with affection for the small filly. She carefully removed her helmet, and placed it on Scootaloo.

“You are my hero, Scootaloo.”

*****

"...So it was up to Twilight and I to pull Rarity's cat away from her!" Clover chuckled, smiling brightly at the two sitting across from her. "It was hilarious, Rarity's mane was completely destroyed!"

Smart Cookie giggled. "I bet. Probably not better then the one time Chancellor challenged Applejack to a cider drinking contest! Those two got so drunk, Chancellor thought I was a saddle rack!"

Pansy smiled warmly, watching as the two shared stories as if they were close friends. When she was certain neither were looking at her, she quickly glanced at the corner where Hurricane stood, frozen within her icy prison.

"Hey, Pansy?" Clover called out, mildly concerned.

Startled, Pansy jumped and spun around, her eyes wide. "Uh, yeah?"

"You're really quiet. Is something bothering you?" Clover asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah. You keep looking back at your frozen leader like there was something wrong or..... Something." Smart Cookie added, leaning forward. "Y'know you can tell us if somethings wrong, right?"

Pansy smiled a bit, shaking her head. "Nothing’s wrong. Just... Thinking. That's all. Thanks for being worried!" She tilted her head to the side, thinking. "I don't have as many funny stories as you two do, anyways. It's nice listening."

"Oh c'mon it doesn't have to be funny!" Cookie chuckled, grinning at the mint green mare. "Just a story, any one you can think of.”

Pansy thought for a moment. "Hurricane's known for destroying desks. She's gone through almost twelve the last month alone."

"Whoa." Clover giggled. "You must need to make really reinforced desks."

"Well..... This month, she's broken four wooden desks, six stone ones, and she's just started on a metal desk." Pansy smiled fondly, shaking her head. "That, and her office is nearly always in shambles."

“Sounds like Hurricane is a real hot-head.” The light yellow earth pony snickered.

“Yeah..she really is.” Pansy looked down at her hooves, smiling softly, “She isn’t all bad though. She really cares for her tribe and would do anything for their benefit, even though she goes overboard sometimes. Well...... Actually pretty much all the time...."

Looking up, Pansy froze from the knowing looks she got from the green unicorn and the light yellow earth pony.

“W-what?”

“You like Hurricane, don’t you?” A small smirk formed on Cookie’s face.

“So.....” A bright blush bloomed on Pansy’s face.

A small frown settled on Clover’s face, “This must be really hard for you... I’m sorry.”

Pansy swallowed thickly. Turning to look at Hurricane, a hollow feeling filled her, “I hope she’ll be ok...”

“Well we better hurry up and melt the ice faster then!” Smart Cookie slung her foreleg around Pansy good-naturedly, startling the mint green pony.

“How?” Pansy tilted her head curiously at the proudly smiling earth pony.

“We could come up with a song! That would be fun, right?” The brown eyes of the earth pony darted between the two ponies, waiting for their input.

“That sounds like fun! What should we sing about?” Clover smiled, excited.

“We...could come up with our own song. Something we can create together.” Pansy rubbed her hoof to her chin, “But what should it be about?”

“Oh I know! How about our new friendship!” Smart Cookie spoke with elation, “We could call it...the friend-zone!”

Pansy and Clover stared blankly at Smart Cookie. “What?”

“You know, because we are in the friend-zone.” The yellow earth pony smiled.

“But....we don’t even have the lyrics for the song yet.” Clover tilted her head in confusion,

“Oh... well, lets come up with lyrics first and then name it?” I meek grin formed on Cookie’s face.

“That sounds like a great idea.” Pansy grinned brightly at the two, looking forward to the song they were going to create.

*****

Rainbow Dash returned her helmet to her head as the small filly drifted off to sleep. Smiling thankfully down at the filly, Dash carefully pulled a blanket over her before slipping away quietly.

She was nearly a yard or so away when a pink blur slammed into her, giving her the tightest hug she ever had.

“Oh Dashie, you were so cuuuuute!” Pinkie gushed as she squeezed the cyan mare against her chest.

“P-Pink...c-cant...” Dash gasped out, in the bone crushing embrace.

“Oopsie.” Pinkie loosened her grip with a sheepish smile, nuzzling Dash lovingly against her cheek.

“You are soooo good with foals, Dashie! How did you get so good?” Pinkie smiled brightly, tilting her head with a questioning glimmer in her eyes.

“It’s because I’m awesome! How else would I be their hero?” Dash replied with an arrogant grin.

“You are so right, Dashie!” Pinkie crushed Dash to her chest again, “You would be a great parent when we have foals of our own!”

“Wha... foals... own?” You could hear the gears in Dash’s brain grind to a halt from Pinkie’s words.

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack called out, rushing toward the embracing ponies, cutting off Pinkie’s response.

“Huh?” The cyan pony squeaked out, her brain slowly working its way back to full power.

“The storm outside! It’s startin’ to let up!” Applejack grinned, “I can go back to mah tribe and check on mah family!”

“Woah there AJ. Just because it sounds like it’s letting up doesn’t mean it’s safe.” Dash spoke seriously, “It could become dangerous at any time and you live too far away to make it safely!”

“Now jis hold on an apple pickin’ minute. Mah family needs me! Ain’t no way I’m stayin’ here while they suffer!” The orange mare growled out, eyes narrowed.

“I think they would rather you be alive than found dead halfway between tribes, Applejack!” Dash snorted, glaring at the stubborn mare.

“Rainbow is right, Applejack,” Fluttershy approached, attempting to calm the small quarrel, “Nopony wants to see you hurt...or worse.”

Applejack huffed in annoyance, “Fine...but the minute it’s safe, I’m goin’!”

Dash grinned victoriously, “ Relax AJ, I’m sure your family is someplace safe.”

“Yea.. I reckon they are too. The Apple family is too tough to let a lil' storm take us out!” Applejack stated proudly.

“WOO! We should have a party!” Pinkie bounced in place excitedly, her grip on Dash tightened in excitement.

“What kind of party could we have in here?” Dash questioned, trying to calm down the excitable mare.

“A the storm is starting to go away party of course!” Pinkie beamed brightly, already planning the party in her head.

“Why don’t we wait until the storm is over? Then it can be a big the storm is gone away party.” Dash suggested, amused.

Pinkie gasped loudly, earning several odd looks from the nearby pegasi.

“You are soooo smart, Dashie!” Pinkie’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, “I better start planning right away!”

The pink mare shot off, releasing Dash suddenly. The cyan mare in question dropped to the floor like a rock. She chuckled good-naturedly, a fond smile forming on her face.

“You are so random, Pinkie Pie.”

*****

“Alright I think we did it!” Smart Cookie smiled happily.

They had debated over the lyrics of their friendship song for hours. Parchment littered the cave floor from Clover crumpling them up in frustration. The ink well and quill were held delicately by softly glowing magic.

“What should we name it?” Pansy asked curiously, reading over the lyrics.

“Circle of Friends?” Cookie said, a little unsure. With the last song name rejected she was a little more nervous about this one.

After a little thought, Pansy and Clover broke out large grins, “That is a great name Cookie!”

The yellow earth pony beamed at the praise. “We should sing it! It will be so much fun!”

Pansy nodded excitedly. The feeling of something amazing would happen filled her. She took a second to glance at Hurricane’s frozen form. She really hoped that the grey mare would be ok.

Clover was a little apprehensive, “I’m not much of a singer...”

Pansy smiled kindly to the green unicorn, “You will be great, Clover.”

“Yea! What Pansy said!” Cookie nodded earnestly, a hopeful gleam in her brown eyes.

With a soft sigh, Clover nodded with a soft smile gracing her face. Both earth pony and pegasus cheered, stomping their hooves on the ground joyously. The three ponies huddled together as the parchment hovered just in front of them.

The fire of Friendship lives in our hearts
As long as it burns, we can not drift apart!
Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few

The ice covering the cave walls and floor began melting rapidly, receding back as if it was a burned creature attempting to escape a fire. The Windingos howled in anger, attempting to pour more power into the ice and overcome the trio.

Laughter and singing will see us through!
(Will see us through!)
We are a circle of pony friends
A circle of friends, we'll be 'til the very end!

The strength of the three ponies’ friendship exploded throughout the cave. Whimpering in agony and defeat, the Windingos transformed into a deadly mist and vanished through the cracks in the cave walls.

The icy prisons began melting rapidly, slowly freeing the leaders from the head down. Each pony rushed to their respective leader, concern growing in their hearts as they approached.

Pudding-head was the first to be released. Dropping heavily to the ground, she was unconscious yet her vitals were still working just as strong as ever.

Smart Cookie sighed in relief, “Good thing earth ponies are able to handle harsh and brutal treatment.”

Platinum broke free second, Clover’s green magic catching her before she fell to the ground. Her breathing was shallow and heartbeat slow. Clover immediately wrapped the unconscious unicorn in her ruined garment and focused her magic within the mare, coaxing her heart to speed up to normal speeds and her breathing to become deeper.

Finally, the last of the ice that had ensnared Hurricane melted away. Pansy barely had time to catch the grey mare as she collapsed. Checking her vitals, Pansy felt terror fill her.

Hurricane wasn’t breathing.

*****

Hurricane felt completely at ease snuggled up agaibst Blizzard, her dark blue eyes closed with content.

Blizzard had explained he didn't know how long it would take for Hurricane to wake up, saying that time worked differently here then in the living world. It didn't matter to Hurricane... The more time she got to spend with Blizzard, the better.

Most of the time was spent in comfortable silence. The rest Hurricane talked, filling Blizzard in on minor things that had happened to the tribe since he died.

"... And it was a huge surprise when the placement school's principal told me they were placing a filly in early!" Hurricane chatted, smiling up at Blizzard. "I mean, she was barely in the school a week!"

Blizzard smiled good naturedly, kissing Hurricane’s forehead. "You taught her well, Hurricane. Even with your slip up..."

"....... Was she here? Rainbow Dash's best friend said she had severe wounds...." Hurricane’s eyes shown with guilt.

"I saw her. She was struggling on her own," Blizzard confirmed, looking ahead of him. "Her family wanted to help, but they knew she needed to do this on her own."

"I can't believe I almost killed her...." Hurricane mumbled, closing her eyes. "She's pretty much my daughter and I almost killed her...."

Blizzard remained silent, gently nuzzling the dark grey mare’s cheek. "Ponies make mistakes, Hurricane."

Hurricane remained silent, leaning against him. "........... I feel weird."

"Pardon?" The white stallion looked down at her confused.

The grey mare frowned, looking up. "Something isn't...... Right?"

"Hurricane...." Blizzard frowned, looking up. "Hurricane you're...."

"Dying?" The question came out in a near whisper.

The white stallion froze, his eyes wide. "Hurricane, you have to wake up!"

"You don't want me to stay...?" Hurricane asked, her dark blue eyes wide with hurt.

"Hurricane think! Do you really want to die?!" Blizzard begged, his voice almost frantic. "Do you really want to leave Rainbow Dash, who thinks of you as her mother? Are you absolutely su-"

"Lieutenant General will be fine without me." Hurricane’s eyes hardened, no trace of doubt in her voice.

"Do you really want to leave the mare who loves you, Hurricane...?" Blizzard asked, looking down sadly at Hurricane. "I'm not worth anything compared to her, Hurricane. I mean... I love you.......but are you so sure you want to leave Pansy...?"

Hurricane opened her mouth to argue. She froze, tears welling up in her eyes. "I-... I don't know....."

“You need to decide, Hurricane. You're running out of time.”

*****

Pansy desperately pounded on Hurricane’s chest, tears flowing heavily from her eyes. She desperately tried to restart the dark grey mares heart, pausing long enough for mouth to mouth resuscitation.

The earth pony leader had already woken up, but was struck silent at the heartbreaking scene between the two pegasi. Clover could barely focus on tending to Platinum, whom was slowly coming to. She wanted to help, but she was still needed to keep the white unicorn’s pulse at a regular rate, at least for a while.

“Hurricane, please!” Pansy sobbed heavily, pressing down on the grey mare’s chest rapidly. She stopped long enough to press her ear to the grey mare’s chest, fighting back another heart-wrenching sob. There was no pulse.

“Hurricane, no...I love you..” Pansy choked out, renewing her efforts to revive the fallen mare. After several grueling minutes, Pansy collapsed onto Hurricane’s chest, sobbing.

Everypony bowed their heads, tears trickling down their faces. The pain and anguish Pansy felt became their own.

A small beat startled Pansy. Immediately pushing her ear to Hurricane’s chest, she strained herself. Listening. Hoping.

A tentative heart beat was heard along with soft breathing. Pansy nearly cried out in joy.

“P...Pan......Pansy...” Hurricane rasped out, only loud enough for the smaller pegasus to hear.

“Y-yes, Hurricane?” Pansy shifted, moving herself so she was staring directly at Hurricane’s face. Her ears perked, ready to hear anything the grey mare had to say.

Hurricane creaked open her eyes slowly, locking dark blue with purple.

“I love you too.”

Pansy lunged forward, locking Hurricane in a desperate and heartfelt kiss. She trembled, tears of joy streaming down her face. Hurricane wrapped her forelegs around Pansy weakly, tears of her own gliding slowly down her face.

*****

“The storm is lifting everypony!” Cried a pegasus soldier from the door to the bunker.

Rainbow Dash looked up from the softly sleeping Scootaloo to stare at the outside, visible from the open door. “It’s about time. Fluttershy, you good here while I look around for Pinkie to tell her the good news?”

“Of course Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy nodded kindly. “I’m sure she’d enjoy hearing that from you.”

Dash smiled at her friend and turned to address the pegasi tribe. “Alright everypony. It looks like the storm has finally dissipated, so soon we will return to our land and finish packing. In case it starts up again, we will be on high alert until I am able to check the weather conditions.”

The ponies nodded their understanding and wandered to the door, quietly discussing their plans. With that, the cyan mare began fluttering around looking for Pinkie Pie. It wasn’t a very large bunker, just enough for the populace of the pegasi tribe, so it shouldn’t take too long to find the pink mare.

After a few minutes of searching, however, she was just about to think otherwise on the time it would take when the sound of rushing hooves met her ears before whatever it was tackled her from behind.

The pegasus fell to the ground with a thud. The smell of cupcakes wafting in the air. Lifting her head up in a daze, she saw a few strands of pink mane dangling in front of her eyes.

“Hiya Dashie!” Pinkie shouted from atop Rainbow Dash.

Dash rolled herself over to look up at the pink mare in confusion and awe. “P-Pinkie? How long... where did you come from?”

“Oh, I was just coming from baking a batch of cupcakes for everypony.” Pinkie stated simply, a proud smile on her face.

“Cupcakes? But... but how could you? We’re in a bunker.” Dash stared up in confusion. The bunker didn’t have an oven, at least she didn’t remember one.

“Hmm, then how did I get these cupcakes?” Pinkie pulled a pan full of cupcakes, seemingly out of nowhere and presented them to Dash.

“I...I don’t. What have you been doing this whole time?” Dash stared blankly at the pan, attempting to comprehend the anomaly she was just presented with.

“Oh, I was looking for things we could use at the party. I managed to find some streamers and a few party poppers.” Pinkie beamed brightly at the cyan mare.

“How?!” Dash threw up her hooves in exasperation, staring pleadingly at Pinkie for an explanation.

“Oh that’s silly Dashie. How I find everything I use to throw parties,” Pinkie giggled and backed up off of Dash, allowing the cyan mare to stand on her hooves again, “So Dashie. Has the weather changed outside yet?”

Dash looked down at the tray of cupcakes that now rested on the floor of the shelter. The dumbfounded pegasus then shook her head and focused back on the pink pony in front of her.

“Oh yeah, it should be fine now. I’m just about to take a look for myself, but i wanted to come and find you first.”

Pinkie tilted her head to the side in question at Dash. “Really? Why’d you wanna do that Dash?”

“Oh, well I just wanted to tell you first and stuff. I thought you would like to know so we can have a real party outside...and in a place where you can cook things.” Glancing back at the tray of sweets, Dash chuckled to herself.

“Aww, that’s sweet of you Dashie. Okay, let’s go.” Pinkie started bouncing forward, stopping in time to look back at Rainbow Dash.

“What do you mean?” Dash asked, staring in confusion at the pink mare.

Pinkie smiled at the cyan pegasus and trotted closer to Dash. “Well, now that you’ve got me interested too. I want to see if it’s safe outside too, so I’m going with my Dashie.”

Dash grinned widely and walked forward, ruffling her feathers slightly and standing up proudly. “Okay then. Shall we?”

Pinkie Pie nodded and turned to saddle up next to Dash, smiling around at the ponies and grinning back at her fillyfriend. “Yep.”

Snickering back in return, Dash started walking to the entrance with Pinkie bouncing softly next to her.

“So Pinkie, do you think you can get all of the ponies here to come to your party?”

“Of course silly. I’m Pinkie. The best party maker out of all earth ponies.” Pinkie stated proudly, with a giddy smile.

“Hehe, you’re probably the only party making earth pony in that tribe.” Dash nudged Pinkie playfully, a soft smile on her face.

“Yeah.....so...do you really believe I’m a part of this tribe now Dashie? I mean pones give me looks when I act all bouncy around them.” Pinkie spoke softly, her voice a mixture of hope and concern.

“Well heh, it’s not that. It’s just something they aren’t used to. Hurricane had them all so strict and stiff natured that...well a pony like you isn’t something they get.” Dash gave Pinkie a reassuring grin.

Pinkie nodded slowly, her curious eyes locked on to Dash’s as the cyan mare explained the tribe’s hesitance to trust her.

“I’m sure they’ll all accept you in time, Pinks. Don’t worry okay?” Dash stated confidently.

Pinkie leaned slightly on Dash and nuzzled her neck calmly. “Okay Dashie. I believe you.”

Feeling a rush of emotions Rainbow Dash lowered her head onto Pinkie’s mane and nuzzled her back. Members of the tribe still stared in slight disbelief at her actions, but Dash and Pinkie didn’t notice. They were relaxed in each other’s gentle caress.

“Hey ya’ll!” A voice cried from the side. The two ponies had reached the door and turned to see an orange earth pony trotting toward them.

“Hey Applejack. Whatcha doin’?” Pinkie tilted her head to the side quizzically at the blonde mare.

Applejack stiffened a little at the innocent question and dug a hoof into the ground. “Oh ah was jus’ waitin’ fer you guys ta show up...so ah could say a proper goodbye.”

“What’s the matter Applejack? Aren’t you happy that you can go back to your family now?” Dash asked, a mixture of concern and amusement in her voice.

“Well sure as hay I am. No question...but...ah guess ah jus’ didn’t wanna leave without saying so. Ah’ll miss yah’ll.” The orange mare spoke softly, smiling sadly at the two mares.

Pinkie walked forward and wrapped her hooves around the orange pony in a reassuring hug. “Awww, Applejack, don’t be silly. You can come and visit us anytime you want. Just like you did with me when I was all by my pony lonesome in the cabin.”

“Well shoot sugarcube, ah’d be happy tah stop by if ah get the chance.” Applejack returned the embrace, smiling.

“Before Hurricane comes back with the news to leave that is.” Dash stated roughly as she looked to the closed door of the building.

“Oh...I guess I forgot about that.” Pinkie stated sadly.

“Aww, it’s alright Pinkie. Maybe ah can stay fer a little bit and come with ya when yah’ll leave with Hurricane. Jus’ tah maybe get an idea of where ya live.” Applejack grinned at Pinkie, draping a friendly foreleg around Pinkie’s neck.

“Oooh neat! That sounds like a great idea, and we can have a quick party to celebrate!” Pinkie bounced with excitement, her mind working three times as fast, coming up with new ideas for a party.

Rainbow Dash chuckled at the pink mare’s enthusiasm and turned her attention to the two guard pegasi at the door. “Alright you two, let’s see if things have cleared up enough.”

*****

Hurricane watched as the five other ponies talked with each other, pain gnawing at her heart. She did something she swore she'd never do in her life. She had left Blizzard.

Her eyes drifted over each member of the odd group, noting the mild changes in each of the other leaders. We were all frozen, Hurricane thought, finally looking at Pansy. What froze us...?

Pansy stayed beside Hurricane, leaning against her a little.

"I'm sorry..... Pansy." Hurricane spoke softly, avoiding the other mares gaze.

"For what, Commander?" Pansy asked, looking up at Hurricane with confused purple eyes.

"......... I'll tell you on our trip back to gather the tribe..." Hurricane draped a large grey wing around Pansy, eyes glazed over in thought. Pansy smiled softly and shifted closer to the grey mare.

"Oh! Hey! I had a genius idea!" Pudding-head exclaimed, bouncing up while pulling the two other leaders towards her. Pansy nearly fell over from the sudden absence of the large grey mare. "Since we all pretty much find this amazing land, how about we all-"

"Live together, in harmony!" Platinum interrupted, tossing her mane behind her. "Yet I still vote we call it Unicornia."

Hurricane glared at Platinum, yet began to think. "A land where we ignore our own specific tribes needs and focus in the main problems for all three together. Where ponies are free to chose what they want to do, not what they're forced to..."

"What would we call it?" Smart Cookie asked, looking at the three leaders in disbelief.

Each leader looked at the other, sharing an almost knowing look before returning their attention to the three mares.

"Equestria."

Chapter 18

Each leader lead the group to their individual tribe, displaying the companionship the three different pony races shared.

The earth pony tribe was the first stop. The mild-mannered ponies took the news the easiest, and willingly went along with the joining of the tribes.

The unicorn tribe wasn’t so understanding. Platinum’s "a few minutes", quickly escalated into an hour, to explain the situation. Once the tribe saw that neither of the earth ponies nor the Pegasi had attacked at this point they settled.

"Really," Platinum huffed, tossing her royal blue mane. "Do you truly have little faith in my judgment?"

"I would..." Hurricane jokingly muttered. Her amusement evaporated quickly when a green hoof jabbed her in the side.

"Ow!"

Finally, it came time to travel to the pegasi's tribe. Both Hurricane and Pansy became uneasy, glancing around.

“Never thought I’d be rueful about having a military focused tribe...” Hurricane muttered quietly.

Pegasi were generally quick to anger; the military background on most of them making this far more dangerous than it needed to be for the other two pony races that were following them.

“Just keep close. I don’t want any of the more “excitable” members of my tribe thinking you are challenging them.” Hurricane spoke with a serious tone, thinking of Dumbbell and his little gang of troublemakers.

"Understood," Platinum agreed, nudging Clover.

"Ugh..." The green unicorn muttered, turning to inform the tribe. "Keep close."

"Well DUH! A lot of you Pegasi are hotheads! Us earth ponies will do fine, RIGHT Cookie?!" Pudding-head chirped, grinning widely.

"You bet, your Chancellorship." Cookie muttered rolling her eyes good-naturedly at her leader.

Hurricane stayed silent, walking past the tribe borders. It was eerily silent, buildings along with various debris littered what was once a bustling pegasi tribe. Her eyes grew wide in panic.

"Oh no!" She whispered, bolting around. "There was a STORM?! How did these fall over?! Is every pony okay?!"

Hurricane searched around broken buildings and fallen roofs as silence became her answer. As she kept fluttering around at the empty village, the other ponies walked up behind Pansy observing the devastated scene.

“It’s like a ghost town in here,” Smart Cookie whispered from out of the gloom.

“I know, you could hear every sound something would make if they stepped here.” Chancellor Pudding-head took one step; a soft thud resonated throughout the area.

Smart Cookie raised her eyebrow at the brown earth pony as she made accompanying sounds to her hoof touching the ground.

"Shh!" Hurricane quietly growled. Pansy remained close to her commander’s side, looking around.

"The bunker?" She asked.

"Worth a shot."

*****

Rainbow Dash watched as the rest of the tribe gathered the last of their supplies, a smug satisfaction clear across her face.

"Well! We got everything ready in under a week!" She cheered, gliding down to help a foal with a box. "Good job every pony!"

"And you know what THIS calls for!" A bubbly voice exclaimed, suddenly blowing a party horn in the. "A PARTY!"

Various Pegasi groaned, rolling their eyes at the cheerful pink earth pony. Dash chuckled.

“Not yet Pinkie. Let’s wait until we make it to our new home.” Pinkie pouted, and nodded from the cyan mare’s friendly decline of a party.

“Lieutenant General Dash!” A large, white pegasi dropped in front of the pegasus with an urgent look on his face. “Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy are back and they are being followed by the earth pony and unicorn tribes!”

“What?” Dash blanched. “Are you absolutely sure?”

The stallion nodded vigorously. Frowning, Dash rushed to the entrance and peered out. Sure enough, she spotted Hurricane and Pansy leading two pony tribes straight toward the bunker.

“What is she doing? She......she made it back from the storm.” Rainbow Dash brushed open the door cautiously and stepped out. “Hurricane?”

The Commander’s ears perked at the sound of her name. She recognised that voice.

“Rainbow Dash, you’re safe!” She felt relief rush over her at finally seeing somepony in the tribe. Hurricane began walking forward, but the pegasus stopped as Dash took a defensive stance.

“Hold on!” The cyan mare shouted from in front of the bunker, a serious look on her face. “Before I let you any closer, tell me what they are doing here. They’re not here to hurt anypony are they? Did they hurt you?”

Hurricane looked confused for a moment and glanced back at the earth and unicorn pony tribe leaders. Realisation struck the mare and she gritted her teeth slightly. “Oh yeah, them. Well it’s a funny story...kinda. We agreed to a peace between the tribes.”

At this Rainbow Dash relaxed her stance, and she sighed. “Alright. What happened to make you agree to that Hurricane? A raging thunderstorm?”

Princess Platinum trotted forward with her mane whipped back behind her head, “Try a raging Windigo storm.”

“Huh?” Dash stared at the unicorn in confusion.

“Yeah, and we were frozen in blocks of ice after they came ‘cause we didn’t cooperate on anything.” Chancellor Pudding-head announced loudly to everypony.

The bunker opened wider and out hopped a curious looking pink mare. She gasped as she saw the two earth ponies again, and bounced over to Dash.

“Wow. Hi guys, I never thought I would see you two again. And why are you here anyway?” Pinkie gasped, “Did you get kicked out of the earth pony tribe too?”

“No, they’ve come here to show the unity between all of our tribes.” Hurricane answered the mare’s question.

“Then, the storm ended up bring you all together? That’s great, but how did you get all together if you were frozen?” Pinkie tilted her head curiously at the trio of leaders.

Clover the Clever stepped forward, beside Princess Platinum, and retold what had happened within the ice cave. “Oh, well only the tribe leaders were encased in ice while Smart Cookie, Private Pansy, and I kept the spirit of friendship burning.”

“Well at least you’re all alright. So you want to speak to the tribe then? They’re all inside the bunker, getting ready to move.” Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded her head to the open door.

Hurricane’s eyes widened remembering what she had been so afraid of before. She looked seriously into Dash’s magenta eyes. “What happened here? Is everypony alright? Any injured?”

Dash’s face turned grave for a moment. “Unfortunately, Scootaloo got caught out in the storm and had some serious injuries to her wings and ribs. She was in critical condition for a while. If it hadn’t been for Fluttershy, I don’t think she would still be alive.”

Pinkie placed a comforting fore-hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder, and Dash smiled back at her.

“So, you wanna go and see your tribe then Commander Hurricane?” Pinkie asked the pegasi leader, beginning to bounce up and down happily beside her fillyfriend.

“They should know you are okay, Hurricane.” Pansy said to the Commander with a gentle nod.

Hurricane kept her eyes trained on the open door, determined to face her tribe and tell them the truth of the situation.

“Okay, remember be cautious. This is a military tribe, so you should all stay back until I have told everypony why you are here.” The ponies nodded in reply and Hurricane started into the bunker.

Only Pinkie and the other pegasi walked in with her, to explain what had happened to them in the storm.

“Rainbow Dash, where is Dumbbell and his group of troublemakers? I want to be sure he knows not to mess with the other tribes.” Hurricane muttered seriously to Dash, her eyes scanning the crowd for the aggressive pegasus.

“Oh....well...” Hurricane immediately turned to Dash, suspicion filling her as she watched the stuttering pony.

“What happened.” Dash flinched away from Hurricane’s demanding tone, lowering her head.

“Well some things happened...and then things moved really fast.” Dash spoke waving her forelegs dramatically, “Suddenly, he was on the ground and my hoof was bloody and everypony went all quiet and...”

By now the cyan mare was ranting almost as fast as she flew. Her movements rigid, her eyes avoiding Hurricane’s gaze.

"Rainbow Dash..."

"I didn't mean to! It was just.... Snap!" Dash exclaimed, her magenta eyes wide in panic.

"Lieutenant General. Calm down." Rainbow Dash froze at her commander’s words, looking down. "How did the tribe take it."

"Not good at first....." Dash muttered softly, shifting uncomfortably.

Commander Hurricane sighed heavily, “Well we can’t really do anything about it now...Just be sure the other two tribes don’t hear about it and it will be fine.”

Dash sighed in relief.

“But you are still going to be punished for killing a tribe member, no matter how much of a flank he was.” Hurricane spoke in a stern voice, “We can’t have foals thinking it’s ok to kill somepony just because they are a jerk.”

Dash grumbled to herself, trotting behind Hurricane with a slight scowl.

“Hi everypony, it’s been a while.” The pegasi leader stood in front of the open door and looked at each pegasus, some squinting to see her through the light from outside.

The pegasi started to whisper amongst themselves.
“Is that really Hurricane?”
“Did she find us a new place to live?”

“As you can see, Pansy and I survived the storm and have found some new territory for us all to live in,” At that the murmurs became louder and more excited, ponies smiled at one another at the new opportunity for a base.

Hurricane stepped into the bunker a little more, grabbing the tribe’s attention once more, “But first I must tell you that we will not be going alone.” The ponies looked at each other in confusion and then back at the pegasi leader.

The crowd quieted down and Commander Hurricane glanced over her shoulder. Pinkie and Dash were sitting together next to Pansy, who waved a hoof for her to continue.

Hurricane looked back at the silent ponies and told them how she and the other tribe leaders became trapped together during the storm. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash listened intently along with the other pegasus ponies.

When she finished, the bunker was quiet. Hurricane stood still waiting for the pegasi to start talking, only mumbles entering her perked ears.

“That’s good isn’t it?” Came Pinkie’s cheerful voice from behind the Commander. “Doesn’t that mean nopony has to fight or be mean to each other anymore?”

“It means we can stop arguing with each other and get along.” Dash continued, walking forward to stand next to her leader.

Hurricane felt a little stronger, knowing that she had the three ponies’ support and kept going. “Dash has already shown us that pegasi and earth ponies can get along. If we can look past the differences and...little annoyances of the other tribes, we can live together in harmony.”

She looked to each pegasi inside the bunker and saw that they were considering the matter quite readily. They still seemed to trust her when she needed them to understand an important situation.

The pegasus ponies began to nod their agreement, and Hurricane smiled. Pinkie and Pansy took their places next to her and smiled brightly at the pegasi leader.

“We have been to the other tribes already to tell them what I have told you. They all agree that we should have peace between us. The earth and unicorn pony leaders are waiting outside, for our decision.”

With those words, Hurricane turned and led the pegasi out to meet the two other tribes of ponies.

The two tribes eyed the pegasi warily. They wore offensive weapons and fierce armor that few unicorns or earth ponies even had the chance of seeing, besides the select few that participated in the food exchange.

The worries were nullified by two ponies. One pink, the other cyan. They trotted down to the other tribes, pressed together with friendly smiles on their faces.

If these two ponies could be friendly, why couldn’t they?

Relaxing, the three tribes started tentatively interacting with one another, bonds slowly forming between the three races.

Hurricane smiled at the scene, chuckling at the irony of the situation. A few months ago she would have sent a pony to an institution if they told her she would be partially responsible for uniting the tribes.

A slight shift in movement and suddenly Pansy was pressed against her side, nearly startling the grey mare.

"That was unexpected..." Hurricane smiled, leaning against Pansy with a smile.

"Them agreeing so quickly?" Pansy asked, looking up.

"Exactly....." Hurricane nodded.

The two continued to watch the crowd, enjoying each others company in silence.

"Pansy, listen I'm sorry......" Hurricane began, in a low voice.

Pansy gazed up at her Commander, flicking her ears to show she was listening. Hurricane continued, paying no attention to her surroundings.

"My.... behavior wasn't appropriate. I wasn't over Blizzard.... and I was scared I'd lose you just like I lost him..." Hurricane muttered.

"Hurricane.... you could have just said...." Pansy sighed, resting her head against Hurricane’s shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere.... I promise, and with the peace between the tribes I'll always be by your side through anything."

"Yeah.... I know....." Hurricane smiled. Her grin faltered, and she glanced down at Pansy, "I.... I'm sorry I scared you in the cave..."

"It's okay... You're okay.....that’s all that matters." Pansy wiggled a little closer to the pegasus, and turned her attention to a group of chattering ponies.

The pegasi leader draped a wing over the smaller mare and lifted her head, observing the ponies around her.

Dash and Pinkie were talking to the earth and unicorn leaders in the center of the crowd.

“Hey so, I’m sorry about calling you names Princess Platinum. It wasn’t cool.” Dash rubbed a forehoof against her other as Pinkie watched her apologize.

“Not at all. I accept your apology and I must also apologize for what I said to you.” Platinum replied, shaking her head lightly.

“Oh, hi again Chancellor Pudding-head.” Pinkie asked loudly, suddenly bouncing up and down in front of the tribe leader. “What have the earth ponies been doing so far without me?”

Pudding-head followed the hopping pony awkwardly. “Um, oh, cold and hungry.”

“Hmm, well I guess that would make sense what with it being winter and all.” Pinkie placed a hoof under her chin in thought.

Dash’s eyes narrowed at the brown mare, “You seem a bit tense....feeling bad about something?”

“Dashie! Don’t be mean to her! She didn’t mean to be such a grumpy pants!” Pinkie scolded in a sing-song voice, a small smile playing across her lips.

"Fine...." Dash grumbled, reluctantly complying with the pink mare’s request. She eyed the earth pony leader suspiciously as she approached Pinkie Pie.

"I'm sorry Pinkie. I shouldn't have dismissed you just because you were different from everypony else." Pudding-head looked down at her hooves sorrowfully before finding herself in a bone-crushing hug by a brightly smiling pink pony.

“That’s okie dokie! Everypony makes mistakes!” Pudding-head stumbled backward from the tight embrace.

Huffing in annoyance, Dash began to speak when a bright blue magical aura surrounded her and yanked her over to a well groomed unicorn.

“Darling! Your tail is absolutely gorgeous! You must let me style your mane!” Dash stared at the gushing unicorn in shock.

“Rarity! You can’t just grab ponies just because you think their mane is ‘fabulous’!” A purple unicorn reprimed the white mare with a sharp look. “Sorry about that. I’m Twilight Sparkle, apprentice of Starswirl the Bearded.”

Twilight smiled and held out her hoof respectfully. Dash stared at it confused, before bumping the outstretched hoof with her own. Twilight, not expecting the violent move, nearly fell forward from the force.

“Yeah sure...I’m Lieutenant General Rainbow Dash! I’m the best flyer and soldier in all of the land!” Dash posed proudly, grinning.

A few seconds later, a pink pony landed on the cyan pegasi’s back, nearly knocking her on the ground and effectively ruining the impressive display.

“She’s also super duper cuddly!” Pinkie punctuated her point by burying her muzzle into the cyan mare’s neck with a giggle.

“P-Pinkie!” Dash’s voice cracked, an embarrassed blush covering her face. “Wouldn’t you rather make some new friends?”

The two unicorns that had been chuckling at the display froze suddenly when the pink mare’s face shot up, a brilliant grin on her face.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! I know we are gonna be the bestest friends!” Pinkie leaped off Dash’s back, throwing herself at the two unicorn mares. She enveloped them both in a tight hug, chattering about all the fun they will have together.

Rarity grunted at the force of the impact and pushed herself away from the earth pony. “Well Pinkie Pie, that’s quite the hug you’ve got there.”

“Yes...it is.” Twilight choked out, still struggling to escape the vice grip of Pinkie Pie. She tried to pull herself free, but just as she did the pink mare let go and the lavender unicorn collapsed onto her back.

“Oh yeah, Mom said I was always good at hugging ponies. Dashie says that too sometimes.” Pinkie giggled and looked over at her fillyfriend with a bright grin on her face.

Dash scratched the back of her head and chuckled softly. “Yeah, you are pretty good at that.”

“So, is everypony getting along?” Dash’s ears perked at the familiar voice and turned to see Hurricane and Pansy smiling at her.

“Yes Commander. Everypony seems to be getting along quite well with each other so far. Just that-”

Pinkie gasped suddenly, interrupting the cyan pegasus’ response and drawing everypony’s attention to her. “That reminds me. Is Mom and Dad okay? Did they come back when I left?”

Pudding-head shook her head slowly. “Sorry Pinkie. I haven’t seen them in a long time. I’m afraid they must have left all together.”

Pinkie visibly drooped at hearing this. Her mane and tale became less poofy and her coat wasn’t as bright as before. “Oh, well...that’s okay I guess.” She hung her head. Everypony looked at her sympathetically.

Dash walked over and hugged her tightly, gently brushing her magenta mane with a forehoof. “It’s okay Pinks, I’m sure they would want to see you after all this time. They have to.”

Pinkie wiped her snout and smiled at the cyan mare. “Thanks Dashie, you’re really good at cheering me up.” She returned the hug and her curls and colors burst back to life in the embrace.

The rainbow-maned pegasus chuckled and pulled away from Pinkie. She turned to face her Commander. “Great, so now that everypony’s got being sappy and apologetic crossed off their list...what are we going to do to bring them together?”

Hurricane nodded and cleared her throat, getting everypony’s attention. “Now that we have an understanding of one another, it is time that each tribe leader brings their tribe to our new land. This won’t be an easy trip, but we should all meet at the same place to begin the journey.”

Rarity turned toward Princess Platinum and cleared her throat. “So, this new home. Is it nice? Filled with tons of gems and jewels I hope.”

The unicorn nodded her head and flipped her mane. “Oh yes, it is quite lovely. It hadn’t seemed to be hit by the storm...until we got there of course.” She looked away guiltily.

“It’s not your fault silly,” Came Pinkie’s cheerful voice from in front of her. “...well it kind of is. But what I mean is, it’s not just your fault. It’s really all of ours for not accepting each other for being different, so I guess you are involved in the pony fault process, but you’re not the only pony involved in the-”

“Pinkie!” Dash shushed the pink mare and looked the leader of the unicorns.

“Oops. Sorry, I just meant we’re all at fault here. So you don’t have to be all sad and responsible for it.” Pinkie smiled softly at the unicorn and started bouncing lightly in place.

“She’s right Princess Platinum. You don’t need to feel bad for everything that happened.” Clover the Clever rested a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder and nodded at the pink pony.

“No problem.” Pinkie whispered to the green pony and bounced off to stand next to Dash again.

Platinum smiled and raised her head to look at both ponies happily. “Thank you Pinkie, for saying that and you too Clover the Clever. I’m sorry I mistreated you both in the past.”

“Aww, that’s okay.” Pinkie waved a dismissive hoof at the unicorn and kept hopping in place next to the cyan mare.

“Well, I guess we better get our tribes together then.” Dash smirked at the crowd and her commander as she flapped her wings and hovered in the sky a little. “We should meet where the mountains intercept each other. It’s right on each of our former borders, so we should all know where that is.”

The tribe leaders nodded their agreement and spoke their good-byes. Hurricane lifted herself into the air and hovered next to the cyan pegasus and nudged her, smiling. “Good thinking Lieutenant. I think you would have made a fine leader of the pegasi tribe.”

“Thanks Hurricane.” Dash smiled and nudged the mare back. Just then both pegasi were tackled from behind by a cheerful pink pony.

“Isn’t this great guys? Now that we’ve solved all our problems, we can live happily together forever after.” Her bright voice rung in both ponies’ ears as the shock of the impact subsided.

“Is this what happens to you every time she thinks something is good?” Commander Hurricane whispered to the cyan mare as Pinkie began to release them from her hug.

Dash shrugged and blushed slightly. “The cute way she acts afterwards is worth it.”

Pinkie gasped melodramatically and bounced high in the air once. She landed in front of Dash with a huge grin on her face. “You think I’m cute?”

“Uh well...” The cyan pegasus turned away, blushing harder as a smirk came to Hurricane’s face. Pinkie just kept smiling at Dash, which gave the older mare time to step back.

“I’ll just let you two sort out which one of you is adorable and cute while I round up everypony for the long trip.” She held back a snicker at the surprised look on Dash’s face as she began to walk away.

“H-hey I didn’t say anything about-”

“Whatever.” The dark blue eyed pony said quickly, interrupting the pegasus’ response. “Pansy, help me gather all of the pegasi near the entrance to our camp so we can count if we still have any missing.”

“Yes Commander.” The smaller pony nodded and spread her wings. She took off from the ground in search of stray pegasi.

Hurricane turned back to Dash and Pinkie and stepped closer. “Lieutenant Dash. You said Scootaloo was injured severely. Where is she now and who is looking after her?”

Dash’s head turned up immediately and stared at the bunker. “Fluttershy’s still in there taking care of her wounds. She looks pretty bad, but I gotta-” Dash felt a forehoof on her shoulder and turned to see Pinkie smiling kindly at her.

Hurricane shook her head at the distraught mare. “Pansy, Pinkie, and I will make sure every pegasi is accounted for. You should go and see how Scootaloo is doing.”

Dash rushed off to the bunker, nearly colliding with Fluttershy once she reached the entrance.

Grabbing the timid pegasi’s shoulders, Dash nearly shook her as she spoke. “How is Scootaloo? Will she be ok?”

“She will live...but...” Fluttershy’s eyes drifted down to her hooves, her voice seizing in her throat.

“But what?” Dash asked urgently, squeezing the mare’s shoulders tighter in desperation.

“I...checked her wings.....she...will never fly.”

An icy feeling creeped into Dash’s chest and clenched tightly around her heart. Looking over at the little filly, tears started to fall silently from her eyes.

“She never got to fly....”

Silently, Dash trotted over to the injured foal. The closer she got the more visible the tears were that covered Scootaloo’s face. Swallowing thickly, Dash layed down next to her, draping a comforting wing around the disabled pegasus.

“H-Hey squirt...” Her voice cracked ever so slightly, “how’re you doing?”

Scootaloo took one trembling look up at her hero before breaking down into heart-wrenching sobs. She clung to the cyan pegasus tightly.

“It’s not fair, Rainbow Dash...I wanted to be just like you. I wanted to matter to ponies....I’m always picked on for being a blank flank..now I’ll just be made fun of for not being able to fly too...and...and......”

Scootaloo buried her face into Dash’s chest, sobbing heavily. Dash carefully held the small filly close, tears of her own mixing with her small companion.

“Scootaloo...you do matter. You matter to me, and don’t you ever forget that.” Dash felt the little filly tighten her grip around her torso.

Several minutes went by before Dash emerged from the bunker. Scootaloo carefully resting on her back, Dash’s helmet resting on her head once more. She carefully cradled her wings around the injured filly, keeping her warm and steady on her back. In mere moments, the two were joined by the bouncing pink mare and the two unicorns they had met earlier.

"Couldn't give them air, Pinks?" Rainbow Dash chuckled, smiling fondly as Pinkie bounced ahead of her, her mane and tail acting as airy and springy as her own personality.

"Why, Darling, we merely followed simply because Miss Pinkie here is such a delight!" Rarity chasted, clicking her tongue in slight annoyance.

Dash glared at her slightly, taking a defensive step closer to Pinkie. "Yeah, well she's mine, so don't get any ideas, understood?!"

"Lieutenant General!" A stern voice, originating from behind the group, startled the five. They spun around quickly to face the three leaders of the tribes.

"Yes, Commander?" Rainbow Dash asked, feeling the filly on her back shift slightly.

“It seems everypony is here and ready to begin the journey. We should get going, if you and the rest are all set.” Hurricane nodded to the filly on Dash’s back and smiled.

The cyan pegasus smiled back. “Yeah, we’re all set. Though I might need to stay on the ground for the whole trip since-”

Pinkie gasped loudly from beside her, interrupting Dash’s explanation and getting everypony’s attention. “You mean you and Scootaloo are gonna be walking there with me? Woohoo! We’re gonna have so much fun, and I can point out all the neat stuff I’ve seen out here to both of you and-”

“Okay, I think we get it Pinks,” Dash told her, muffling the pink mare’s long winded speech with a forehoof. She smirked and turned to the group of ponies around her.

The two unicorns smiled kindly at the two ponies. A loud high pitched shout startled the unicorns, Rarity in particular groaning in annoyance.

“Sweetiebelle! I told you to stay with mother and father!” She huffed, turning toward the small, cream colored filly.

“But I want to travel with my big sister!” Sweetiebelle whined, staring up at Rarity with large watery eyes.

“Alright...but next time you should stay with mother and father.” The white unicorn smiled softly, nuzzling her sister.

Before Pinkie could even think about making friends with Raritiy’s sister the sound of approaching ponies caught the attention of everypony.

Fluttershy and Applejack approached the group, a small pale yellow filly with a bright red mane following behind her.

"Howdy. Figured yáll'd be travelin' together with Pinkie," Applejack smiled, tipping her hat as she noticed the pair of unicorns. "Howdy. Name's Applejack. This here is mah sister Applebloom."

“Golly! It’s sure neat to meet some real pegasi and unicorns!” Spotting Sweetiebelle, Applebloom trotted over with a large smile, determined to make a new friend.

"Rarity," the white unicorn frowned, clicking her tongue in disapproval of the country mare's hat. "Really, Darling?"

Applejack frowned. “What’s the matter wit mah hat?”

A sharp look from Twilight silenced the white unicorn.

"Rarity, not now. My name's Twilight Sparkle..." Twilight cordially introduced herself, extending a forehoof.

Applejack grinned, taking Twilight’s hoof in her own and shook so hard the purple unicorn vibrated from head to toe.

“Sure nice to meet ya, Twilight!”

Twilight pulled away from the rather violent hoof-shake, her eyes spinning slightly. “T-thats quite a grip you have, Applejack...”

Rainbow Dash grinned at the group of ponies, "Is everypony ready to get going?"

Around her was a chorus of six voices agreeing, accompanied by an enthusiastic whoop from her hyperactive fillyfriend.

Dash grinned.

“Let’s go.”

Chapter 1

It was late in the day and the coldness of winter seemed to be consuming the land of the three pony races. Dark storm clouds covered the sky, blocking the earth ponies and their crops from some much needed sun. The clouds had long since burst forth with a thick snowfall, burying the fields of the earth ponies in a blanket of snow and shrouding the lands in a dense winter storm.

A pink earth pony appeared from behind a well-crafted igloo with a kind smile spread across her face. Her bright cyan-coloured eyes peered down over the cliff of Everfree mountain at the small village. She saw dozens of earth ponies labouring to pick the last of their harvest before it became too cold to grow anything at all.

The small happy smile she pretended to mimic, along with the long lost feelings it used to bring her, faded slowly into a mournful expression she wore almost every other day. As her eyes caught sight of a rather small house with a silo just outside the frozen-over village, tears began to form in the pink pony’s beautiful eyes. She turned her head away and sighed at the igloo she was currently building.

“I wonder if Applejack will come today?” Pinkie mused softly to herself. She slowly frowned.
“I wonder what it would have been like if I was more like my sisters...."

***
“PINKAMENA DIANE PIE! GET UP THIS INSTANT!”

Pinkie awoke with a start, her mother’s voice ringing loudly in her ears. She quickly scrambled out of her fluffy bed and rushed down to the kitchen; confused about the harshness in her mother’s voice.

She hopped down the last step and saw her Mother staring impatiently back at her. Being the cheerful pony she was, Pinkie only returned her Mother’s glare with a wide grin. “Hey mom, sorry I took so long, I must have been super tired from yesterdays party I threw! It was a doozy!” She bounced in place happily with her pink hair following quickly after.

Her mother frowned, shaking her head in disapproval. “Pinkamena! You must get this ridiculous notion of parties out of your head, there is far more important matters to attend to.”

Pinkie felt herself deflate at her mother’s scolding and her bouncing became less eratic, “Aww, but Mom, my talent is cheering everypony up. How am I suppose to bring joy when I’m forced to be a big Saddie Pie all the time?” She turned her head and her smile upside down quizzically to await her Mother’s response with a confused look covering her bright pink face.

Pinkie’s mother sighed irritably and stared at her grimly, “You aren’t taking your work seriously Pinkamena.”

The earth pony gasped dramatically and raised her hoof with a super shocked and offended expression covering her face, “Of course I take my work seriously! Look at how hard I work at planning my parties!” Pinkie started bouncing cheerfully as a bright smile bounded across her face once again.

“That’s not the kind of work I am talking about young filly!” Pinkie’s mother spoke sharply. “You need to work harder on the farm.”

“OHHHH, that kind of work. Don’t worry mom! Your auntie Pinkie Pie will work loads harder!” Pinkie saluted with a serious look on her face before bouncing out of the house, giggling.

“Pinkamena, I am your mother.” A flat look crossing the older mare’s face.

Pinkie stops hopping at the door and looked back with a fore-hoof to her chin in thought, but then she smiled brightly as her bouncing resumed. “Oh yeah!” She bounded joyfully out of the house and into the fields.

Pinkie diligently grabbed a bag of carrot seed and carefully plants them in a balloon formation before exclaiming excitedly, “Look! I made a balloon!”

Her father looked over and groaned in disbelief at his daughters shenanigans.

The pink pony looks over at her father and waves with a bright smile spread across her face, “HI DADDY!” Pinkie bounced off happily to plant more seeds.

“Pinkamena, how many times have we told you that you need to plant the seeds in a strait row?” Her father’s gruff voice carrying annoyance as he spoke.

Pinkie pauses with a hoof to her chin, “About five thousand four hundred and seventy two times!” Her bright blue eyes closed cheerfully and she raised her head proudly, with a smile gracing her pink face.

The old stallion stares at her blankly, “Then why don’t you at least plant it in straight rows?”

“Because it’s more fun this way!” Pinkie smiles brightly before continuing her ‘work’.

Shaking his head, the old stallion trotted briskly into the house to speak to his wife about his eccentric pink daughter.

“What are we going to do about Pinkamena, Sue? We can’t let her continue to ruin the farm.” The couple watched their daughter throw seeds in the air like confetti before bursting into a fit of giggles as they dropped to the floor.

“I have an idea Clyde.” The old mare began seriously.

***
Sighing sadly, Pinkie shook her head, “I haven’t been home since...” The glum party pony gulped sadly and turned away from her parent’s home, tears forming in her eyes. “... If I had just worked harder... none of this would have happened.”

Sniffing miserably, Pinkie continued to build her igloo; pausing long enough to look back at the village, “ I miss you Mom and Dad.”

***
After she left home, things went down hill for Pinkie Pie. Her cheerful attitude had never sat well with the residents of the earth pony’s land and now that she was trying to spread her always happy demeanour to the grumpy-pants ponies of the village, they found it even more annoying.

Applejack was a very kind pony and became her first and only friend. All the other ponies in the village disliked her carefree party attitude and would groan in annoyance and continue on with their boring, earth pony farmer work.

She had attempted to bond with the other pony villagers in vain. Once Pinkie had zoomed down a rather large chimney into a house that held a rather huuuge family. Landing heavily on her rump, she burst out of the fire place in full party gear and waved around at her unsuspecting party guests ecstatically.

“Hey everypony it’s PARTY TIME!!” She exclaimed, quickly bouncing up and throwing confetti and streamers everywhere. Some of the brightly coloured streamers landed on the angry pony’s heads, covering their tired and confused and just plain grouchy faces with pink and blue and yellow party decorations.

Moments later would the happily dressed pink pony found herself thrown out into the streets. “Okie dokey guys! Maybe later then!” She shouted cheerfully as she looked back at the straw-roofed house. The ponies slammed the door loudly and the noise it created seemed to vibrate over to and through the pink pony, causing her mane to deflate and fade to a duller magenta shade.

Each rejection she experienced would cause her to deflate a little bit more into a depressed state. Every failed attempt at bringing cheer to the grey-coloured residents caused Pinkie’s overly joyful stride to lessen and become less and less bouncy.

The last family she had tried to cheer up was the Apple family. She found herself in a familiar situation, thrown out into the streets on her flank. This time she just couldn't maintain her upbeat attitude; she sat on her haunches with tears forming in her eyes, a forlorn expression plastered onto her face. Suddenly, she felt a foreleg wrap around her shoulders.

An orange earth pony, Applejack, sat next to her with apologetic eyes and a freshly baked apple pie balanced carefully on her head. Pinkie stared at the apple pie with a confused look on her face before a humongous grin was bounding back onto her pink face and her eyes brightened up again. She eagerly accepted the gift which they shared in quiet, friendly companionship.

Fall arrived, bringing representatives from the unicorn and pegasi tribes to collect the food promised to them. Both tribes brought their respective leaders along with their second in command with several lower ranking ponies in tow. The two higher ranking ponies would observe the exchange, to avoid sabotage.

Pinkie, whom had never seen a pegasi or unicorn before, was extremely curious of both. The unicorns were dressed in purple-coloured regal flowing apparel, while the pegasi wore heavy black plate armor.

Pinkie leaped forwards, through the large crowds of grumpy looking earth ponies to land in front of the unicorn leader, throwing her remaining confetti everywhere, “Hi I’m Pinkie Pie! Welcome to our village! Wanna party?” Her pink head tilted to the side questioningly and waited cheerfully for the unicorn’s response.

The unicorns stared at her disapprovingly, “No, we do not wish to… 'party'. Now if you’ll excuse me, we have some business to attend to.” She replied as she brushed a fore-hoof dismissively at the super excited bouncing pink party pony in an attempt to make the pony step aside. This attempt was completely lost in Pinkie’s beautiful blue eyes and her Pinkie Pie-mind.

“Ooooh, what kinda business?” Pinkie tilted her head again, even more curious to hear what this new pony had to say.

The unicorns frowned, “Food business, now please-”

Pinkie gasped and bounded forth, invading the unicorn leader’s personal space, “Food? Ooh, I brought a cake with me just in case somepony was hungry. Here.” She brought a cake to the pony’s face from seemingly out of nowhere, with a widening grin spread across her face.

“Eww, what is that?” The colourfully dressed unicorn asked, undisguised disgust covering the her face.

Pinkie tilted her head, a blank look covering her face, “This? It’s a cake. I just told you that silly!”

“It looks disgusting. Get it away from me!” The disgruntled unicorn shoved Pinkie away with her magic before turning on Chancellor Pudding-head and began complaining loudly.

Pinkie flew backward from the push, colliding with a solid figure; forcing it to tumble with her in a huuuge pink and blue blur before landing uncomfortably on the floor, behind the ranks of the pegasi leader.

Pinkie, picking herself up as if nothing painful had happened in the last couple seconds, noticed quite a few super pointy metallic blades sticking up from underneath her. Looking closer she saw that the blades were attached to cyan-coloured wings and forelegs. With the realisation that she had nearly avoided injury, she stared down at the owner of the wings and her eyes locked with the magenta-coloured eyes of the pegasus.

The two ponies looked speechlessly at each other with confusion and shock spread across their faces. A few moments passed between them before the pegasus shook her head, snapping out of her daze and quickly tossing Pinkie off of her, careful not to injure the pink pony in the process.

Leaping to her hooves, Pinkie witnessed as the cyan pegasus rushed into the unicorns face.

“You unicorns better watch where you throw things, or you might find yourselves in a whole lot of trouble!”

“Then you better hope that the trash around here leaves us alone.” The unicorn leader gave the pegasus a dismissive look.

Pinkie watched as the cyan pegasus flew back to her leader. Halfway there, she turned her head and locked eyes with Pinkie; an annoyed expression set on her face before quickly continuing on her way. Pinkie’s eyes never shifted from the heavily armoured pegasus pony, that she had just recently been pushed into. The cyan mare then settled next to her leader, where they held a quiet, yet forceful, discussion.

Suddenly Pinkie heard the angry voices of the unicorns demand double the amount of food to compensate for the “indignation they suffered”.

“If we give you double the amount we won’t have enough to make it through the winter!” Several of the earth ponies shouted in protest.

Sniffing hauntingly, the unicorns snidely responded. “That’s not our problem. You should have grown more for yourselves as well as learn to control your more.... excitable dirt ponies.”

Pinkie smiled awkwardly, feeling several pairs of angry eyes glare hatefully at her.

Outraged by the snide insults from the unicorns, a shouting match erupted between the unicorns and the earth ponies.

Suddenly, the pegasi leader rushed in between the quarreling tribes. “How dare you earth ponies cause such problems and how dare you snobby unicorns dishonor us by throwing dirt at the second in command! We demand twice the amount of food to make up for this disgrace!”

“How dare you, Commander Hurricane! I have already commanded that these dirt ponies pay us twice the promised supplies.” The unicorn leader snapped.

“So? That doesn’t mean you own it, Princess Platinum!” The cyan mare shouted, wings spread aggressively.

Pointedly ignoring the cyan mare, Platinum turned to address the earth ponies with a sharp edge in her voice. “ Earth ponies! If you do not give us our rightful supplies we will cause night to arise here for as long as it takes for you to retrieve what we ask.”

Leaping into the air, the cyan mare flew above the two opposing tribes with her forelegs crossed. “And if you don’t fork over our food, we’ll cause a drought for as long as it takes to get what we want!”

Bouncing toward the airborne mare, Pinkie flails her forelegs erratically attempting to get everypony’s attention. “Hey, wait a minute you guys! How about we just all cheer up and have a party instead? Then we could have tons of food and snacks and we’d have a bunch of fun.” She punctuated her statement by grabbing everypony near her into a biiiig breath-taking group hug.

Princess Platinum screeched in disgust. “GET THESE DIRTY EARTH PONIES AND THESE PEGASI BARBARIANS AWAY FROM ME!”

“You aren’t so perfect yourself, Princess Pinhead.” Growling indignantly, the cyan pegasus retorted.

Everypony in Pinkie’s grasp ripped themselves away from her as fast as they possibly could, in various states of anger.

Princess Platinum pointed at Pinkie with an enraged expression. “Forget the first demand; I WANT THAT PINK PARASITE OUT OF HERE!”

Commander Hurricane nodded in agreement. “I never want to see that pink pony here ever again; she is nothing but trouble.”

Chancellor Pudding-head nodded as well in agreement. “That pony has been nothing but trouble since she arrived.”

All the earth ponies nodded in agreement while eyeing Pinkie with distaste. Pinkie felt herself deflate into a depressive state similar to before she earned her cutie mark. Pinkie fled from the village, feeling the leering stares bore into her retreating form.

Before she was able to leave the village, Applejack had managed to stop her with a forlorn expression on her face.

“Sugarcube wait, don’t go! There’s an abandoned house about half a day’s walk away from 'ere in the mountains. Ah'll still be yer friend... Ah'll visit y'all every two weeks and ah will bring yeh any supplies y'all may need, a'raght? Go on now Pinkie, before they try to force you out.”
Reaching into her saddlebag, Applejack gives Pinkie a crudely drawn map leading to the house.

Smiling sadly, Pinkie hugged Applejack as a goodbye and left, running as fast as she could.

***
“It just *sniff* isn’t fair...”

Cold tears splashed onto the partially made snow block. Pinkie trembled in her saddened state. All she ever wanted was to have somepony be there for her no matter what and like her for who she was...

******
A large rabid manticore drew in a strangled breath before collapsing in a bloody heap on the cold ground, staining the snow further with it’s crimson blood. A lone figure hovered above the body, an icy smile slowly creeps across her face. The manticores’ blood dripped slowly off her razor sharp blades that are fastened to her forelegs and wings. Her armor was dented and marred from many vicious battles.

“Here I thought I was going to have a challenge...” Her cold magenta eyes bore into the lifeless form, disappointment shining through.

Turning to leave, a sudden snapping noise alerted her to another animals presence. Her curiosity piked, she begins searching around for the source of the noise. Pushing some branches aside she was shocked to see a lone baby bunny attempting to hop away. Watching the poor innocent creature, she felt a stirring within her heart and memories.

***
Rainbow felt herself slam into the ground from a violent shove from behind. Cruel laughter filled the air as three young colts surrounded her.

“Nice going Rainbow Crash!” Leaping up and flaring her wings aggressively, she stares down the tall brown colt.

“Why don’t you say that to my face!” She snorted angrily.

“What are you going to do about it, Rainbow CRASH!” He jabbed at her roughly, a snide expression covering his face.

Howling in rage, Rainbow felt her hoof collide with the colts vulnerable eye. Within moments, an all out brawl broke out in the middle of the school playground. Several teachers rushed out to separate the four battered foals. Each were in various bruised and bloody states. Rainbow snorted angrily toward her bullies, disregarding her injuries, itching to continue fighting.

Rainbow was sent back to the orphanage early that day with a note to her foster mother hanging around her neck, advising her to enroll Rainbow as quickly as possible into the Military Academy.

Upon arriving she was smacked across the face for being sent home early; her foster mother assuming she had gotten in trouble again. Tearing the note from her neck, the bitter mare quickly read the letter.

Giving Dash a sharp look she pointed to her room, “Pack up all your belongings; you’re going to military school.”

Dash felt excitement well up inside her. Finally she was she to gain the respect that she never had and desperately wanted.

***
Dash flew quickly back to her tribes base, the bunny cupped carefully against her. Passing by several pegasi, they all saluted her with deep respect before carrying on with their duties. Avoiding distractions, she quickly began searching for the home of the only pegasi she had ever become close friends with.

***
Rainbow trotted around the academy, in awe at her surroundings. Excitement welled up inside her as she spotted a grand statue of their leader, Commander Hurricane. Pulling herself up into a proud position she saluted the statue.

“I am going to be the greatest military officer that ever lived!” A sudden loud commotion tore her attention away from the statue.

A lanky yellow pegasus with a light pink mane was being shoved around by several sneering bullies.

“What’s the matter FlutterCRY! Are you going to run off and cry to your little dirt animals?” Tears welled up in the bullied ponies eyes when suddenly Dash appeared between her and her tormentors.

“Why don’t you ponies just leave her alone!?”

Snorting in amusement, the lead bully stalks up to Dash, “What are YOU doing here? Only REAL pegasi get to come here!” Flaring her wings aggressively, Dash began to retort when a large shadow fell across her.

“What seems to be going on here young foals?” A smooth authoritative voice inquires.

Shuffling backward, the bully leader meekly replies, “W-well, that rainbow maned filly is not suppose to be here. She’s way too young to be in the military academy!”

Smirking, the large figure rested a large grey fore hoof on Dash’s shoulder, “I’m afraid you are mistaken, she does indeed belong here.”

Shock seemed to radiate from each of the young bullies. Looking up, Dash saw none other than Commander Hurricane herself stare down at her with approving sapphire blue eyes, her electric yellow mane falling slightly in her face.

“Come with me, Rainbow Dash. Let me give you the tour of your new home.” Hurricane carefully led Dash away from the dumbstruck bullies.

***

Fluttershy cautiously opened her door, coming face to face with the intense gaze of Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, hello Rainbow Dash. What can I help you with?” Rainbow gave Fluttershy a friendly smile before holding up the small baby rabbit she brought with her. Squealing in delight, Fluttershy scoops the little rabbit into her forelegs and cuddled him carefully.

“Oh you poor thing! You are freezing! Aw you must be starving too!” Rushing into her house she grabs a small carrot for the little bunny to munch on. Dash shook her head with a small smile on her face before inviting herself in. Watching Fluttershy carefully feed the little rabbit, yet another memory surfaced within her mind.

***
Rainbow and Commander Hurricane left early in the morning, along with several other Pegasi whom were each carrying baskets for the food they were to be collecting. The strict silence was thick with gloom at the thought of having to deal with the snobby unicorns and the dirty earth ponies. They landed in the small village just before the unicorns had arrived.

While uninterestedly observing the exchange of food, Rainbow noticed a bright pink earth pony bouncing along happily through the crowd of bitter villagers.

Intrigued by the ponies odd behavior, Dash secretly watched her interact with the ponies around her. As she continued forward, the pony said hello to all of the villagers, and receiving agitated looks and grumbles in return for her efforts.

To Dash though, it seemed like the pink pony didn’t even notice the agitated ponies apathetic and irritated replies. She seemed to be more interested in the whole boring food exchange thing between the three tribes. Rainbow saw her rush towards the unicorn tribe with a rather large smile spreading across her face.

A small bemused smirk crossed her cyan blue face from the interesting interaction between the pink pony and Princess Platinum. The animated earth pony bounce up and down cheerfully as she spoke to the unicorn Princess. The next thing she knew the pink pony was thrown backwards at her; a magical aura surrounding the pony. The small earth pony slammed into her chest, forcing her to tumble along with the pony until landing in a huge heap on the ground.

Eyes spinning, Rainbow shook her head to reorient herself and attempted to sit up. Finding herself unable to easily move into an upright position, Dash blinked in confusion and looked up to find herself locking her magenta-coloured eyes with brilliantly coloured cyan blue ones. Several moments passed as the two ponies stared at each other in a daze of shock and confusion.

Suddenly realizing what had happened and where she was, Dash shook her head rapidly and shoved the earth pony off of her, careful to avoid cutting the pink pony with her blades strapped to her forelegs and wings.

Launching herself in the air, she sped into the face of Princess Platinum, annoyance clearly displayed on her face. “You unicorns better watch where you throw things, or you might find yourselves in a whole lot of trouble!”

Princess Platinum gave Rainbow a dismissive look. “Then you had better hope that the trash around here leaves us alone.”

Scowling angrily, Dash turned away from the unicorn leader and began flying back to her tribe. Halfway there, she felt a set of eyes staring at her intensely. Turning her head to find out who it was, she ended up locking eyes with the pink pony yet again.

Annoyance sparked within her, ‘why is she staring at me?’ She furiously questioned herself.

Turning away, she quickly settled herself next to Hurricane.

“Why didn’t you teach that dirt pony a lesson for knocking you over like that?!” Hurricane muttered quietly with a subtle edge in her voice.

“It was all that snobby unicorn’s fault that she slammed into me. I’m not going to hurt something just because it was thrown at me.” Hurricane snorted in annoyance before turning back to the food exchange.

Suddenly the bellowing voice of Princess Platinum permeated the area with her demand for double the amount of food. Angry shouts soon quickly filled the area from many disgruntled earth ponies. An evil smirk slowly inched it’s way onto Commander Hurricane’s face. She suddenly rushed forward and demanded that the pegasi deserved the double rations of food. Princess Platinum retorted angrily to Commander Hurricane, making Dash’s mane stand on end in fury.

“So? That doesn’t mean you own it, Princess Platinum!” Rainbow Dash shouted, wings spread aggressively.

Princess Platinum pointedly ignores Dash, and demands that the earth ponies comply with them otherwise they would suffer eternal night.

Leaping into the air, Rainbow Dash flew above the earth and unicorn ponies with her forelegs crossed, “And if you don’t fork over our food we’ll cause a drought for as long as it takes to get what we want.”

Out of Dash’s peripheral she notices the pink pony from earlier bounce energetically toward the center of the commotion flailing her forelegs around erratically. “Hey, wait a minute you guys! How about we just all cheer up and have a party instead? Then we could have tons of food and snacks and we’d have a bunch of fun.” Suddenly Dash found herself being pulled into an involuntary group hug by the joyful pony.

“GET THESE DIRTY EARTH PONIES AND THESE PEGASI BARBARIANS AWAY FROM ME!” Princess Platinum screeched.

Wincing from the irritatingly loud voice pouring directly into her ears, she growled back a retort, “You aren’t so perfect yourself, Princess Pinhead.” Dash tore herself out of the pink ponies grasp snorting indignantly.

“Forget the first demand; I WANT THAT PINK PARASITE OUT OF HERE!” Princess Platinum pointed accusingly toward the pink earth pony; an enraged expression covering her face.

Commander Hurricane nodded her head in agreement. “I never want to see that pink pony here ever again; she is nothing but trouble.”

Dash noticed a devious micro expression flash across Hurricane’s face as she said those words.

Chancellor Pudding-head nodded as well, “That pony has been nothing but trouble since she arrived.”

Every earth pony in the area seemed to turn on the pink pony. The pink pony figuratively and literally deflated right in front of everypony. Dash watched the pink pony turn and sprint away from the leering glares of the crowd.

“Good riddance!” Princess Platinum snorted.
***
One thing’s for certain, nothing that interesting will happen again during the annual food collection. Dash smirked in amusement: the enraged look that crossed Princess Platinum’s face was the most entertaining thing she had ever seen and definitely would not be forgetting it any time soon.

Chapter 5

A stony silence passed between the two mares. One with shock covering her face, the other fear. Pinkie was frozen, leaning heavily on the chair that Dash was currently seated in. Dash on the other hand fidgeted restlessly, hoping to get away.

"You...... You see it's dangerous for you....." Rainbow began, looking away from the shocked pony. "If.... Hurricane or anypony else in my tribe found out....... They'd kill you....."

Pinkie looked at the armored mare, dumbfounded. "I...... You......."

Unable to stay this close to the pink pony, Dash pushed her way out of the chair and fluttered on top of a shelf. Turning toward the wall she sulked angrily. She was never supposed to know this...

Pinkie fell over, losing her balance. Dashie.... "You.... You think you....."

"I'm not saying it again!" Came a furious response.

Pinkie scrambled up, staring intently at her friend. "If it's dangerous..."

"I don't want you to get killed, Pinks....." A solemn expression crossed Dash’s face. Resting her head against the wall she attempted to calm her frazzled nerves.

“What makes you think they will find out Dashie?” Pinkie’s sweet voice reached Dash’s ears, making a trembling feeling shoot up her spine.

“Just...Drop it Pinkie...” Rainbow Dash’s eyes shone with un-shed tears. This hurt far worse than any injury she had suffered during her time in the military.

Pinkie looked down quietly, before picking up Dash's plate of food. She walked quietly over to where the pegasus was, placing the plate near her. "Dashie....."

Dash turned to look at her, looking sadly at the kind pink pony. "The military always finds out, Pinks..... I don't want to take that risk..... It hurts too much thinking of all the ways they'd try to kill you...."

“But...You’ll protect me...wouldn’t you?” Pinkie’s large blue eyes locked with Dash’s own.

Gritting her teeth, Dash turned away, “It doesn’t work like that Pinkie Pie! I can’t protect you from them! It’s the whole bucking military we are talking about! I have to follow orders! I can’t...I..”She found herself unable to continue her rant; the words dying in her throat.

"But you would..... Wouldn't you....." Pinkie stared up at Dash, eyes shining with emotion.

Rainbow Dash risked a glance at the pony, feeling a tug in her heart. "I..... I don't know, Pinkie...."

Pinkie climbed up to the shelf Dash was perched on and leaned close to the troubled mare, nuzzling her cheek. "Well okay...." She smiled adoringly at the mare, her eyes sparkling. "... I'm glad you told me. Even if it's..... 'dangerous'."

Grumbling, Dash turned to Pinkie with an irritated expression, “Pinkie this isn’t a joke! This is serious! You could DIE! Why don’t you ever take anything I say seriously?!”

Feeling emotionally drained, Dash leaned heavily against the wall. Her eyes dull and unseeing.

Pinkie looked down. "You should get to bed Dashie. You're really tired...."

"The hay I'm tired....." Sighing, she got up. "Fine....."

"Um, Dashie? Since you said why and all..... I think I love you too." Pinkie muttered, hopping away from the shelf. "And I'll be really sad when you hafta leave....."

Pausing, Dash turned to the pink mare. “This can’t happen Pinkie.” Turning away from Pinkie, she continued to the room she had been staying in for so long.

Pinkie felt her heart rip in two. Even though Dash said she cared for her in that way...The fact that she refused to allow any chance between them hurt a whole lot. Trembling, Pinkie found herself rushing toward the cyan mare.

"Dashie....!" She called out, quickly skidding to a halt in front of Rainbow. "Dashie please...."

"Please what?!" Rainbow snarled, flaring her wings. "Please reconsider this whole 'it can't happen'?! No!"

"But...." Pinkie’s eyes shimmered and her lip quivered.

"I'm not going to let you get hurt! Do you understand!? I'm not going to risk your life, I would never forgive myself! Whatever possibly between us has to end, NOW." The cyan made growled, pushing past her obstacle.

"I don't want to lose you....." She quietly added, looking at the stone floor.

Dash froze mid-stride. She was completely torn between comforting the disheartened mare or ignoring her until the problem went away. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Dash turned to the mare and trotted over to her slowly.

“We...can still be friends...alright?” Dash carefully nuzzled Pinkie in what she hoped was a friendly way. Before she knew it she found herself in another involuntary hug. Pinkie buried her snout under Dash’s chin as she held onto her.

Rainbow Dash blushed slightly at the gesture, looking at the mare confused. Without thinking, she hugged the pink mare tightly. She let out a long sigh, finding herself relax into the hug.

"Pinkie Pie....." All her reluctance melted away. As she held Pinkie close to her she could feel the walls she had tried so hard to build crumble. “T-this can’t...”

“Shh...” Pinkie nuzzled closer to Dash, feeling a joy she never experienced before as she settled into the embrace. Feeling the cyan mare’s strong forelegs pull her flush against her, she could feel her heart race. She knew she couldn’t live without this...she needed this...she needed Dash.

Finding her will, Dash broke away from Pinkie, looking at the ground. "Pinkie Pie....."

Pinkie looked at the Pegasus, her blue eyes sparkling. "Yes Dashie?"

"I..... I need to.... Think this out....... I don't want.... Anything bad to happen to you...." Dash avoided eye contact with the hopeful mare.

".......... And this is bad......." Pinkie felt her hope crumble slightly at Dash’s response.

".... Extremely." Using all of her willpower Dash returned to the room she was staying in and shut the door, blocking Pinkie entrance to the room.

Several days went by. Dash diligently avoided any kind of contact with Pinkie no matter how hard she tried to get her attention. She even managed to keep herself from comforting the now depressed earth pony. Instead she attempted to pretend that whatever Pinkie was feeling didn’t matter to her.

Dash never felt more drained than now. She was constantly on edge. The slowly forming friendship between her and Applejack had become strained because of this. They had gotten into a lousy argument. About apples of all things.

"I don't care about your stupid apples!" Rainbow Dash groaned, glaring at the stubborn orange mare.

"Ah'm not talking' 'bout apples, Rainbow!" Applejack snorted, giving the Pegasus a frustrated look. "Ah'm trying' t'ask yeh what in tarnations wrong' with Pinkie Pie!"

“How the hay should I know, Applesmack! You have been her friend the longest, why don’t you ask her yourself?” Rainbow gritted her teeth in annoyance. She could have sworn they were talking about apples a few seconds ago...When did the conversation suddenly change?

“But yew have been stayin’ here!” Applejack shot back, “If anypony should know, it’s yew!”

“ASK HER YOURSELF!” Slamming her hoof down on the table, Dash stormed out of the room. With everything going on, she could barely handle being lectured by another dirt pony that had somehow wiggled her way into the status of friendship.

Applejack was about to storm after her when a dull pink hoof stopped her. “Let her go....She needs to get better...her tribe is more important to her.” Bitterness tainted Pinkie’s voice as she stared blankly at the room Dash just stormed into.

“Sugarcube...” Worry and sadness tainted Applejack’s voice.

“Thanks for the supplies and the visit Applejack. It was superific!” A strained, smile was forced onto Pinkie’s face as she quickly thanked Applejack for the visit. She didn’t want her to ask any questions; the answers, even if left unspoken, would tear her heart apart.

“If yew need anything sugarcube...ah’ll be here for yeh.” Pulling Pinkie into a tight hug, Applejack left. She was needed back on the farm.

Pinkie hung her head, a curtain of straight pink hair covering her face. She began trembling from her pent up frustrations and agony. A dry, heart-wrenching sob escaped Pinkie’s lips.

Dash gripped her pillow in shame. She knew that she was the cause of Pinkie’s depressive state, and she desperately wanted to comfort her. Make her feel...NO this CAN’T happen! No matter how much she wants it as well.

Pinkie had collapsed on the floor in a trembling heap. Loud, wailing sobs ripped violently from her as she lay in such a pitiful state. She had been rejected her entire life...Having the only pony she ever...loved...do the same thing....

A creaking sound made Pinkie’s ears perk curiously. Her sobs quieting down just enough to hear any movement of any kind. Light hoof-falls reached her ears, prompting her to look up at the source. An apprehensive yet concerned Rainbow Dash greeted her.

Her eyes narrowed, “Oh..What do YOU want, Rainbow Dash?” Her tone was heavy with hurt and resentment.

Swallowing thickly, Dash looked down at the disheveled pony, “I just wanted..to be sure that you were okay. I am your friend after all.”

Pinkie shot up, an indignant look covering her face as she stalked toward the pegasus. “Oh REALLY? You sure haven’t been ACTING like one! You’ve been ignoring me for DAYS! You made it perfectly clear how you REALLY feel! Don’t bother with your lies...” Pinkie ended her rant, snout pressed aggressively against Dash’s.

Dash fell back onto her haunches in shock and mild fear. She had never seen Pinkie so hostile before...It was a little disconcerting. “W-well I do care alright! I’m trying to avoid anything that would...endanger you. Isn’t that enough?”

"I don't CARE if I'm in danger!" The pink pony yelled, glaring at Rainbow Dash.

Dash frowned, watching the pony stare at her. "Well I do..... I don't want you to get hurt because of me...."

"So?! If I get hurt I get hurt! I don't CARE about being physically hurt, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie growled, tears springing from her eyes. "Right now, you ignoring me and not even talking to me hurts more then being banished from my village and my family....."

Rainbow's eyes went wide. "I..... I didn't mean....."

“You know what?! BUCK THEM! I would rather have a short time of happiness than live a long time being miserable!” Pinkie was breathing heavily; a small stream of tears gliding down her face.

Rainbow Dash froze, keeping her eyes trained on the furious pink pony. She took an unconscious step towards her, her mind blank.

"You don't care if you get killed...." She asked, feeling her heart hammering rapidly in her chest.

"No." Pinkie defiantly said.

“B-but..” Dash stammered out softly before Pinkie cut her off.

“NO BUTS! If you really cared you would accept how I feel about this....Don’t you want me to be happy...?” Pinkie’s earlier hostility slowly deflated into an empty ache in her heart.

Rainbow looked away, before turning to look fiercely at Pinkie. "....... Okay."

Stepping forward the last few steps, Rainbow Dash quickly wrapped her forelegs around Pinkie in a tight hug, allowing herself to drop all the walls she had attempted to build inside her. "If you don't care...... Then neither do I....." She quietly muttered.

Pinkie immersed herself in the cyan mares embrace. The heaviness that surrounded her heart during the last few days dissipated immediately. She clung to Dash as if her life depended on it. A joyful grin spread across her face.

"I'll..... Protect you, Pinkie Pie....." Rainbow confirmed, holding the mare close against her, a small fear if she let go she'd vanish. "As best as I can I promise......."

“I know you will, Dashie.” Pinkie’s smile grew even larger. She tucked her head under Dash’s chin and nuzzled affectionately.

“P-Pinkie...I...want to show you something...” Dash stared off, an accepting and loving look flashing across her face as she held the pink pony.

"Yes, Dashie.....?" Pinkie pulled away just enough to look Dash in the eyes.

"Just.... In a bit......." Rainbow sighed, hugging Pinkie closer. "I... Don't want to let you go....."

"Okie dokie lokie, Dashie...." Pinkie settled back into the embrace, a contented sigh escaping her lips.

A few moments passed before they finally parted. Their eyes locked as they parted, Pinkie began moving closer to Dash when she placed a gentle fore-hoof on her mouth. “Let me show you something first.”

Slightly disappointed, Pinkie nodded quickly and followed Dash into the bedroom. Dash moved several paces away from Pinkie. “Do you remember what I told you about my armor?”

Pinkie nodded again with a slightly confused look on her face. Her confusion suddenly turned to shock and awe.

Dash had begun to remove her armor in front of Pinkie. Slowly, painstakingly Dash removed each individual piece until only her helmet was left. Smiling softly at Pinkie, she slowly removed the helmet, revealing her messy rainbow mane.

"D-.... Dashie....!" Pinkie stuttered out in shock.

Rainbow Dash set the helmet down, shaking out her mane. She walked carefully over to Pinkie, feeling as light as a feather. "I... Love you." She confirmed, nodding her head. A lock of her mane fell in her eyes.

Fresh tears filled Pinkie’s eyes, but instead of sadness they were tears of joy. Pinkie lunged at Dash nearly knocking her backward, her mouth locked with Dash’s. Raw and passionate, the kiss seemed to last for hours even though it was just a minute or so. Elation filled Pinkie as she clung to Dash; finally able to have complete contact with her.

Dash held the mare close to her, kissing her again. "Only.... You get to see me like this....." she quietly whispered, feeling oddly complete. "No pony else....."

Warmth spread throughout Pinkie as she pressed herself as close as possible to the cyan mare. She planted several affectionate kisses along Dash’s face and jaw. Rainbow smelled of spice and rainclouds...

Dash squirmed with content, planting gentle kisses on the pink mares ears. She sighed, hugging her close. "I'm not letting you go, Pinkie Pie.... Never."

"You better not..." Pinkie smiled cheerfully, planting a kiss on Dash's nose. "I won't let you. Ever."

Chuckling at Pinkie’s words, Dash began gently nibbling on the other mare’s ear. A soft gasp eased its way from the pink pony’s mouth. Feeling encouraged, Dash began running her hooves carefully along Pinkie’s body. Small mews of approval floated to Dash’s ears.

Pinkie rested heavily against Dash. Shocks of pleasure shot through her from Dash’s actions. She began rubbing and groping at Dash’s body, feeling the taught muscles contract sensually. Pinkie’s mouth latched onto Dash’s neck. A startled, throaty moan ripped itself from Dash’s mouth. Her wings spread to their full extension, quivering in excitement.

Standing up on her hind-legs; Pinkie began gently pushing Dash backward toward the bed. Dash tumbled backward onto the bed with Pinkie landing on top of her. Giggling, Pinkie gazed down into Dash’s lustful eyes.

“I love you, Dashie.” Pinkie whispered out the proclamation before leaning forward and locking herself in another passionate kiss. The kiss quickly became heated and desperate as the sexual tension that had been building between the two mares began spilling out.

Pinkie explored Dash’s exposed body; attempting to memorize every inch of exposed cyan fur that held strong developed muscles. She lapped hungrily at Dash’s chest, forcing a soft gasp from the cyan mare.

Dash squirmed under Pinkie’s touch, her fore-hooves burying themselves into the thick curly mane. A fire ignited within her, influencing her to flip positions and pin the pink earth pony beneath her. Dash’s spread wings shaded Pinkie as she stared up at Dash with large wanting eyes.

Leaning down, Dash began attacking Pinkie’s collarbone with her mouth. Nipping and sucking on it vigorously. Arching her back in pleasure, Pinkie locked her forelegs and hind-legs around Dash; forcing the cyan mare closer. Excitement rushed through Dash as soon as Pinkie’s limbs locked around her. She raced her hooves down to the pink pony’s cutie-marks and massaged them tenderly. Her tongue gliding slowly up the moaning pony’s neck.

Pinkie felt hot. Her vagina leaked arousal in copious amounts. Dash was in a similar situation. “I *AH* want to make you *NNGH* feel beautiful, Dashie.” Looking up at Pinkie, her eyes locked with a smoldering heat that seemed to blaze only for her. Feeling as if her heart was going to beat straight out of her chest, Dash nodded dumbly. She carefully rolled onto her back, allowing Pinkie the control she desired.

Pinkie gazed down at Dash. Noticing the mild nervousness in her eyes, Pinkie kissed her reassuringly. “Don’t worry Dashie. I won’t do anything you wouldn’t want me to do.”

Relaxing, Dash smiled up at Pinkie, “I know.” Brushing her lips against Dash’s once more, she slowly trailed her way down to Dash’s aching wetness. She admired the cyan vagina with the dripping pink center. Moving closer, she placed a tentative lick against Dash’s clit. Dash arched violently, letting out a strangled moan.

Smiling brightly, Pinkie dove in. She massaged the whole area with her tongue thoroughly. She maintained contact with Dash’s clit, sending violent shock-waves of pleasure shooting through her. Dash gripped the sheets desperately as she let out another cry of pleasure.

Suddenly Dash’s entire body tensed up. Her orgasm ripped through her, forcing her to cry out, “PINKIE!” She arched so much she was nearly off the bed. After several moments; she collapsed bonelessly, breathing heavily.

Pinkie caught most of the juices in her mouth as Dash came. Gulping it down greedily. She even licked Dash clean of her fluids. Licking her lips, she hummed in enjoyment. Dash tasted sweet and spicy. Like cupcakes with hot sauce.

Dash pushed herself up, a predatory gleam shining in her eyes. “It’s your turn Pinkie.” Leaping up, she pinned the pink mare to the bed. A devilish grin forming on her face. Pinkie trembled in barely contained anticipation as Dash gazed at her with hungry eyes. She was aching for Dash’s touch.

Kissing Pinkie aggressively, Dash ground her newly aroused vagina against Pinkie’s. Pinkie moaned heavily into the kiss. She began moving her hips in time with Dash’s, increasing the friction.

Eager to taste Pinkie’s arousal, Dash quickly moved down her body and gave her vagina a long, slow lick. Pinkie spasmed uncontrollably; kicking out her hind-legs in excitement. Swirling her tongue around Pinkie’s clit, Dash carefully sucked it into her mouth and gently grazed her teeth against it.

“Oh DASHIE!!!<3” Pinkie clamped her hooves onto Dash’s ears and gripped tightly, holding her in place. Excitement rushed through Dash at Pinkie’s sudden forceful grab. Giving her clit a few more flicks with her tongue, Dash stroked lower with it until she reached Pinkie’s opening.

She slowly circled the opening with her tongue before entering. Pinkie gasped loudly as the wet, wriggling tongue invaded her vagina in the most pleasurable way. Dash massaged the walls within Pinkie as she thrusted her tongue within the writhing earth pony.

Suddenly, Pinkie’s vaginal walls clenched around her tongue, as a wave of arousal exploded from her.

Pinkie orgasmed violently. She kicked out several times, gripping Dash’s ears almost painfully. “AHH! R-RAINBOW DASH!”

Swallowing the liquid, Dash smiled contentedly. She tasted sweet; very sweet.

Pulling herself up from between Pinkie’s lower legs, she nuzzled the panting mare affectionately. Pinkie smiled happily and stared lovingly at the rainbow maned pegasus above her. Confusion washed across her face suddenly. “Dashie...Why are your wings spread like that?”

Blushing violently, Dash stuttered out an answer, “W-well that just means that I’m excited...sexually.”

Pinkie’s eyes lit up, a sultry smile forming on her face. “We better take care of that...after all, I’m still excited in that way too...” Playfully winking at the stunned pegasus, Pinkie moved her hooves up to Dash’s wings and began stroking them.

Dash mewed in pleasure, leaning into the gentle caress. Mind clouded in pure bliss, Dash focused on bringing Pinkie enjoyment as well. Sliding her hoof down to the, once again, soaking wet vagina. Dash began massaging it with her hoof.

Pinkie moaned loudly; stoking Dash’s wings harder with a more firm grip. Gasping at the roughness of Pinkie’s touch, Dash dropped her head heavily into the crook of Pinkie’s neck. Her gentle caress of Pinkie’s vagina became more firm and precise.

Dash had begun probing at Pinkie’s entrance. “May I...?” Dash breathed out the question into Pinkie’s ears. Her reply was a rapid nod of Pinkie’s head. Smiling, Dash penetrated Pinkie.

Pinkie arched deeply, her mouth wide open in a silent scream of pleasure. Her grip on Dash’s wings became almost painful. Dash moaned loudly at the treatment they were getting, her juices drizzling onto the pink pony beneath her.

Dash thrusted her hoof in and out of Pinkie as fast and as deep as she was allowed. Pinkie kicked and moaned desperately, her hind legs wrapping around her, forcing her hoof deeper inside. Pinkie’s strokes became uneven and rapid.

In an instant, both mares orgasmed together. Pinkie’s vaginal walls gripping Dash’s foreleg tightly as her juices spilled out, Dash pouring out large amounts on the writhing mare below her. Pinkie pulled hard on Dash’s wings; biting violently into her exposed neck. Dash cried out in a mix of pleasure and pain.

Dash collapsed onto the heavily panting pink pony. Satisfaction filling both as they lay there. Dash eventually rolled off of Pinkie, allowing her to snuggle into the side of her. Pinkie rested her head on Dash’s chest, tucked comfortably under her chin. A protective foreleg and wing wrapped around Pinkie as they basked in the afterglow.

Pinkie tangled her hind-legs with Dash's, attempting to get as close as she possibly could. Smiling softly, Dash buried her muzzle into Pinkie's thick and fluffy mane. Breathing in deeply, Dash grinned at the scent...baked goods.

"I love you, Pinks...." She whispered quietly, holding the pink mare closer to her.

Pinkie squirmed contently, kissing Dash's neck. "I love you too, Dashie..."

Smiling, Dash quickly grabbed the blankets on the bed and pulled them over top of herself and her partner, snuggling right up into the pink mare. She kissed Pinkie's forehead, nuzzling her affectionately.

Pinkie giggled. She was in bliss. Dash's tender and intimate affections was a huge change from earlier. A change that Pinkie absolutely adored. Finally...finally she found what she had been seeking desperately all these years. Somepony that loved her.

Dash nuzzled Pinkie's cheeks, feeling complete with herself. She recalled all the years it had taken her gain the respect she had wanted, only to realize now that she didn't want respect... She wanted this.

Sadness drifted into Dash's heart. She was going to have to leave soon. She had been getting better quite rapidly. She couldn't stay. Not with all the close calls they had whenever her tribe’s military attempted to do an impromptu search...

She shook her head, deciding not to ruin the most perfect moment with the sad knowledge.

Unfortunately Pinkie picked up on her short mood switch.

"Dashie...?" The pink mare softly asked, kissing Dash once again. "What's wrong...."

"N-.... Nothing, Pinks..." Dash's voice held feigned happiness.

Concerned, Pinkie moved so she was looking directly at the cyan mare. "What is it?"

Dash sighed quietly, kissing the pink mare’s cheek. "I'm getting better really fast, Pinks... I'm going to have to leave soon....."

Suddenly feeling lonely, Pinkie climbed on top of the cyan pony so she could be as close as possible while continuing the conversation. "You...will come back...to see me...right?"

"Every chance I get...." Rainbow Dash confirmed, kissing Pinkies cheek lovingly. "Every single chance I have...." She kissed Pinkie affectionately on the lips.

Pinkie kissed back, strong emotions fueling her. She wrapped her forelegs around Dash; afraid to let go.

"You better, Dashie....." She quietly muttered, keeping the mare against her.

"I will....." Dash locked her forelegs around the distraught mare and rubbed her cheek against her mane. "Promise."

"I'll miss you." Pinkie buried herself into Dash's strong embrace, drawing out as much comfort as she could.

"So will I...." Rainbow whispered, hugging Pinkie as close as possible. "Let's get some sleep..... We don't have to worry about this right now, okay...?"

"Okie dokie lokie, Dashie Washie." Pinkie beamed up at Dash. Her earlier euphoric feelings returning rapidly.

Dash cringed slightly. "I would still rather not be called Dashie Washie."

"Aaawww, okay....." Pinkie playfully pouted, nuzzling the mare’s cheek. "Dashie works just fine, I guess..."

"Heh, well you are the only one that even gets to call me that. Be happy." Dash spoke with mock annoyance.

"Oh, I am!" Pinkie playfully smiled, kissing Dash's nose. "But.... It lacks something, silly...."

Dash gave Pinkie a questioning look. "What?"

"I dunno. I thought you knew." Pinkie blankly replied.

Dash mentally face-hoofed. "Pinkie Pie, you are soooo random." Shaking her head good naturedly, Dash pulled the pink mare into a close embrace. "Goodnight Pinks."

Snuggling close, Pinkie closed her eyes with a huge smile on her face. "Goodnight, Dashie."

The two fell asleep, both drifting into different dreams.

Over the course of the night, Rainbow Dash jolted awake, looking around widely. She felt her heart hammering, as if she had been flying for a long time. She gripped the bed beneath her, confirming she was still safe in bed, safe with Pinkie.

"What's.... Going on......?" She whispered to herself, glancing down at the sleeping pony beside her.

Pulling herself out of the sleeping pony’s embrace. Dash snuck out of bed, pulled her armor and weapons on quickly and began to investigate the area.

"Who's there?!" She demanded, glaring as she quietly approached the living room. "Show yourself!"

A timid figure came into view. "Fluttershy?" Dash gaped at the trembling form. "What are you doing here so late?"

"R-Rainbow Dash, Commander Hurricane's going crazy....!" Fluttershy muttered, glancing around the room. "Sh-She's panicking you're g-gone for good...."

Rainbow froze. "She's...."

"Please.... Please can I tell her you're okay....? J-just to put her at e-ease...?" Fluttershy had a pleading look on her face.

"How are you going to tell her without her demanding that you show where I am or who gave you the information? Telling is way too risky Fluttershy!" Panic oozed off of Rainbow Dash's voice. Her eyes wide and frantic.

"O-oh yes um.... I guess....." Fluttershy looked at Rainbow, her eyes suddenly confused. "R-Rainbow..... Y-your mane.... I thought you kept it perfectly pinned under...... You helmet....?"

Confused, Rainbow Dash rose a hoof to her face, feeling it graze gently across her mane. She froze, realizing she must have not put it on carefully. "N-No reason...!!"

Fluttershy's eyes widened at Dash's uncharacteristic response. " Did...something happen?"

"N-no! Nothing happened!" Dash felt a shiver of fear rush through her.

"Rainbow... You can tell me...." Fluttershy reassured, looking at her friend calmly. "I-I mean... Only if you want to, that is."

Rainbow Dash bit her lip, looking away. "I...."

Fluttershy moved closer to the nervous cyan pony. "Yes?"

"I...slept with Pinkie Pie..." Dash immediately adverted her eyes, not wanting to see Fluttershy's reaction.

"You took her as a partner? Oh, how wonderful!" Fluttershy clapped her hooves together happily.

Rainbow spun to look at her friend, her eyes wide. "What?! You aren't mad of upset or angry?! Pinkie's a DIRT pony, Fluttershy!"

Futtershy looked down, shuffling her fore-hooves in embarrassment. "I.... I really don't see the difference, Dash..... I-I mean if you love her it shouldn't matter r-right....?"

"But it DOES matter! I'm supposed to be the next leader of our tribe, Fluttershy! I... well... this would be horrible if anypony else found out! They would kill her!" Dash shook Fluttershy as she rambled out her fears.

"O-Oh...." Fluttershy muttered out softly.

Dash let her go, turning to pace about the room. "Hurricanes panicking that I'm missing.... Pinkie's scared I'll never come back..... Oh sweet Aurora what do I do......?!"

"Oh...Rainbow..." Fluttershy pulled the hysterical pegasus into a tight, friendly embrace; attempting to calm her nerves.

Pinkie had awoken due to all the noise the two pegasi were making. She stumbled out of the room sleepily and spotted the embracing pegasi.

"D-.... Dashie.....?" Pinkie choked out.

Rainbow Dash jolted, spinning to look at the pink pony. Her face looked positively crushed, her ears drooping. Dash lunged forward, pulling the pink mare in a tight and loving embrace.

"You..... Love her don-" Pinkie began with a pained tone in her voice.

"Pinkie Pie don't be stupid!" Rainbow Dash quietly groaned, kissing the saddened pony. "I love you. Remember...? I told you, 'Shy's like my sister..... She was just here because...."

"R-Rainbow Dash needs to come back soon...." Fluttershy quietly interjected, earning a confused glare from Pinkie. "C-Commander Hurricane values Rainbow s-so much, considering her the pride of th-the entire army...."

"'Shy said that Hurricane's about to give up on ever finding me, Pinks...." Dash quietly stated.

"Isn't that a good thing? You could stay here...with me." Pinkie looked hopefully up at Dash.

"No. I have sworn loyalty to my tribe. I cannot betray them this way." Dash spoke with a calm yet firm voice.

Pinkie's ears drooped. "You don't want to stay with me, Dashie....?"

Dash froze momentarily, looking at her upset partner. "I..... I do, Pinks...... More than ANYTHING....... I just..... I can't abandon my tribe...."

"B-but Dashie..." Pinkie pleaded quietly.

A calm yet cold expression formed on Dash's face. "No Pinkie. I will not abandon them." Pulling away from Pinkie, Dash trotted over to Fluttershy. "C'mon ‘Shy. Lets go now."

"A-Are you....?" Fluttershy stammered shyly.

Pinkie's ears drooped, looking at the ground. "You'll....... Still come back, right Dashie.....? Please..... Please say you will....."

Rainbow Dash flew over to Pinkie, wrapping her in a warm embrace. "I already promised you I would, didn't I....? I ALWAYS keep my promises.... Right 'Shy?"

Fluttershy nodded firmly. "She’s never broken a promise since I have known her Pinkie."

Pinkie looked over from Dash’s embrace to see the honesty in the yellow pony’s face. With glistening blue eyes, Pinkie turned back to nuzzle under Dash’s chin desperately, “... I... miss you already...”

Dash tightened her grip around the trembling pink pony and kissed her cheek lovingly, “I’ll miss you too... I’ll be back as soon as I can... alright?”

Pinkie nodded silently in response and continued to hold the armored pegasus in her hooves, “Please... come back...”

Rainbow swallowed thickly and lowered her head to nuzzle the pony’s cheek, “I will...”

Fluttershy patiently watched the two by the entrance for a few moments before they separated. Pinkie stared down at the floor sadly before Dash brought her snout under her chin and raised it back up, smiling softly at the earth pony.

The touched noses one last time and Dash stepped away from Pinkie. She turned to Fluttershy calmly and resolutely, “Let’s go Fluttershy.”

The shy pegasus nodded lightly and flew out of the open door ahead of the cyan mare. Dash walked towards the entrance and watched the yellow pony fly off into the night until she turned back to Pinkie.

They stared worriedly into the other’s eyes for what seemed like hours, but was only a few heart-aching moments. They became locked in each other’s gazes until Dash managed a small smile across her cyan face, “I love you Pinkie Pie...”

Turning away suddenly from the pink mare the rainbow-maned pegasus took flight grudgingly and followed Fluttershy into the cool misty air of midnight. Before she was out of ear-shot, Dash looked over her shoulder and spotted Pinkie standing in the snow on the edge of the cliff front.

“I love you too Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie screamed at the top of her lungs to make sure the words made it through the howling winds above her.

Tears ran down their faces freely now, but Dash kept a confident look in her eyes as she replied, “I’ll be back for you... Don’t you dare think otherwise...” Using all of the will power she had left, Rainbow tore her gaze away from Pinkie and flew off into the storm clouds of winter.

As the grey-armored pony faded into the fog of the night, Pinkie lowered her gaze to the cold, unforgiving snow below her hooves, “I believe you...”

Slowing down so the cyan mare can catch up, Fluttershy turns her head to the side in worry of her friend, “Rainbow Dash, are- Are you going to be okay?”

Dash just stared below her sadly until she noticed the question from her long time friend. She shook the worried thoughts from her mind and smiled weakly at Fluttershy, “I’m fine Flutter... Don’t worry about me, I’m Rainbow Dash remember?”

Confident that she had reassured the shy pegasus of her fears, Dash allowed herself to fade back into the self-created dread of not being able to see Pinkie for a long time... or... not being able to see her at all... No! Of course she’ll see her again... She promised she would... and Rainbow Dash always keeps her promises. Always.