Blitzkrieg: Redemption

The Dust Settles

     Lighting Dust stared at the small puddle of tears on the floor, growing by the second as more and more tears rained down. The small waiting room was empty, save for a few scattered chairs, recently thrown about in the mare's initial fit of rage. The guards had escorted her to this room right after Spitfire had ripped the golden badge off of her uniform, along with her hopes and dreams. The mare let out a long mournful wail as she settled on her haunches, leaning herself against a wall, still staring at the wet spot on the floor she had produced.

     "Its all because of that damn Rainbow Dash....I-I thought we were friends....What did I ever do to her?!"

     "You did this to yourself, Lightning Dust, it's not Dash's fault, or anypony else's. It's yours."

     Lighting Dust slowly turned her head to the source of the voice, her eyes finally meeting the stern gaze of Spitfire. She hadn't heard the fiery orange mare enter the room, nor did she much care. Her dream was shattered. Spitfire continued to stare into her eyes, not blinking once behind her magenta shades. Her eyes softened as she began to speak.

     "Look, kid, I'm not doing this because I love Rainbow Dash or because I hate you. I swear I really do like you. Heck, I like you a lot, you remind me of myself when I was your age. I really want you to succeed, because I know you have amazing potential, a lot of the ponies I see here do as well. But the disregard you have shown for your fellow ponies today is unacceptable. You almost killed five ponies, you put your teammate trough hell after she clipped her wing and you chose to ignore it, and you purposefully sabotaged three other teams during an obstacle course just to prove your hot stuff. Look kid, I get it, I really do. You wanna be the best, and I think you have a damn good shot at it. But I also realize you need to grow up and see what your actions cause for others. I can't call myself the leader of the Wonderbolts if I can't see that your not ready to be the leader of anything yet. But I am the leader of the Wonderbolts, and your definitely not a leader....not yet."

     The words struck Lightning Dust at her core. Every single thing Spitfire had said felt like a million needles to her heart, her brain filled with thoughts of regret, hatred, and sorrow, all at once. She suddenly realized she hated this pony speaking to her, she hated Rainbow Dash, she hated Cloudchaser, Snowflake, Thunderlane, and every other recruit, she hated the five mares she almost killed with the tornado. But most of all she hated herself. She had become so enthralled with being the best, she lost sight of what it meant to be an Equestrian. She had tried to ruin the other recruits chances of becoming Wonderbolts, yet she didn't care. She had been horrible to the one pony she had cared for at the academy after she caused her to get hurt, she still didn't care. But most of all, she had almost killed five ponies, and  she didn't care. She wasn't a pony anymore, she had become a monster. This was why she hated herself more than anything.

    The two mares sat in silence for an uncomfortably long period. Lightning Dust knew what she had to do, she was just having trouble bringing herself to do it. Finally, she decided enough was enough. She looked up at Spitfire, eyes now dry from too much crying, and spoke.

     "I don't want your pity. I just want to leave."

     Spitfires eyes widened in surprise.

     "Hey, kid, don't get me wrong, what you did was bad, but we weren't kicking you out. We were just going to demote you to wingpony and give you latrine and mess hall cleanup for a month. Believe me we-I don't want you to leave. Just give it tim-"

     "NO!"

      Spitfires sentence was cut off abruptly, the mare's jaw hanging slack at the sudden enraged glare Lightning Dust was giving her. She began to speak again.

     "My whole dream was shattered by a stupid rainbow maned pony who couldn't keep up with me. Her friends shouldn't have been up here anyways! Getting into this academy was my dream! Now I can't walk ten feet without somepony glaring at me, and I know even the staff here thinks poorly of me now! I KNOW YOU THINK IM A FAILURE! I can see it in your eyes, even now! The disappointment, you may have had hope for me once, but it's not there anymore. I have no chance here anymore, no hope of anypony accepting me as a leader, and not a single prayer that I will be treated fairly as anyponys wingpony! I don't stand a chance, so I'm leaving."

     Lightning Dust stood with a determined look on her face, and started for the door. Spitfire, still taken aback by the outburst, began to recover and make a move to stop her. A single teal wing brushed Spitfire back onto her haunches, and she could only help but watch as Lightning Dust walked out of the room. Spitfire sat there for a minute, thoughtful. She then looked down sadly and uttered a single sentence.

     "Good luck kid."

     Spitfire never noticed the lone pair of blue eyes peering at her from the dark corner of the room.

                -------------

     Lightning Dust walked slowly towards her quarters, drawing angry glares from most of the ponies around her. It hadn't taken long for her little twister stunt to spread throughout the academy. She had become the target of many insults, the most popular being Lightning Bust, or if one wanted to take it a step further, Plightwing Bust. It hadn't been more than an hour before everypony was giving her the cold shoulder, including the drill sergeants.

      As she glumly shuffled down the hallway, she became aware of two ponies in particular, staring her down from the other end of the hallway. Rainbow Dash and one of her friends, the butter yellow pegasus, stood side by side, the former casting a cold glare while the latter attempted to hide behind her mane. As Lightning Dust locked eyes with Dash, she felt the final push she needed to send her into another fit of rage. She began stomping angrily towards Rainbow Dash, a deathly glare in her eyes.

     "YOU!" Lightning Dust pointed an accusing hoof at Rainbow Dash, who remained unflinching. Fluttershy quickly backed up, making a loud "Eeep!"

     "You ruined everything! This was my dream! This was all I had going for me, and you and your stupid friends crushed it like a bug!"

     Rainbow Dash bucked up at the accusations, bringing her nose to nose with Lightning Dust, glaring into her eyes as she responded.

     "I did no such thing! You couldn't accept just being in first place at everything! You had to take it a step further and completely wreck everypony else's chances as well! You almost wrecked mine! And you almost did a lot more than wreck my friends!"

     Fluttershy took the break in conversation to attempt to stop the argument, albeit in a very ineffective manner. The two mares took no notice of the quiet whispers to stop or the small cane she had procured somehow, now attempting unsuccessfully to push the two apart from a safe distance. Rainbow dash finally piped up first.

     "Lightning, I really thought you were a great pony, and a great friend. But you let your motivation to be the best make you ignore what was best for those around you.....I know because I've been there before, I let my bragging get so out of hand that my friends had to take action to stop it. But I have never, ever, put anypony in harms way willingly or knowingly because of it. You need to learn what's important in life, and being the best isn't it."

     Rainbow Dash's scowl dropped to a silent glare as she backed off to stand next to Fluttershy once more. Lightning Dust struggled to find a comeback, a counter argument, anything that could be used to put the heat back on Rainbow Dash. She couldn't find one. Slowly she noticed the small audience that had gathered around to watch the argument. Thunderlane, Snowflake, Cloudchaser, that pony that looked suspiciously like a mis-colored Wildfire, and even a few drill sergeants, as well as a few others she didn't recognize. The truth in Rainbow Dash's words finally hit home as Lightning Dust saw the looks on all these ponies faces, varying from fear, to anger, to outright disgust. The only exception in this crowd of hostiles was Fluttershy, who seemed to have a look of genuine sadness on her face. It wasn't until she locked eyes with Rainbow Dash again and noticed something different in her demeanor this time. She had a look that looked almost like....regret.

     'Is she...is Dash sad? She's sad that this happened to me? But...I thought she wanted this...to be lead pony? Maybe she's right after all-' Lightning Dust's eyes grew wide with shock as she finally realized the truth. Dash had never wanted to out her for her position, like she had outright assumed. She had legitimately been concerned about everyponies well being...including Lightning Dust's. The sudden realization that she had been a complete witch to somepony who was only looking out for her and others was the breaking point. Tears began flowing en mas, accompanied by mournful sobs as Lightning Dust ran past the growing crowd of spectators. She had to get away, she had to leave before she bucked something else up. Before everypony saw how weak she was....

     In the commotion, nopony noticed the single tear that slid down Rainbow Dash's otherwise stoic face. Well, almost nopony noticed. A gentle hoof came to rest on Rainbow's shoulder. A soft voice followed.

     "It's not right....the way everyponies treating her." Fluttershy whispered softly, the corners of her eyes moist as well. She paused for a second, thoughtful, before continuing. "I know she made mistakes, I know what she did was wrong....But everypony makes mistakes. We're supposed to grow from them, become better individuals. She's just getting beat down left and right. All the glares, the mean names....it's just not right Rainbow!"

     The looks on Fluttershy's face hit Rainbow Dash at her core. It wast often that the Element of Kindness got this worked up. But when she did it was usually a good idea to listen. Dash looked at the floor thoughtfully. She knew what she had to do, she may not want to though.

    "Flutters....she almost killed you girls....you really still want to show her kindness after that?" Dash asked sincerely.

     "Well she didn't mean to! And to be truthful I probably would have remembered my wings before I hit the ground." The last part of her sentence was barely a whisper. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle at her friends forgetfulness of her own species. Fluttershy giggled as Dash wrapped an arm around her friends neck and nuzzled her her cheek.

     "Ok Flutters, you win this time. We'll go talk to her. I still don't think it'll change anything though. She's very hardheaded."

     "Your one to talk Dash!" Fluttershy gave Rainbow a soft knock on the head for good measure. The two began walking towards the dorm rooms giggling, side by side. It wasn't long before they were out of the administration building and making they're way across the runway towards the small profile of the dorms/mess hall. The various drills and exercises of the academy being run by squads of pegasi, their blue and gold flight suits making them look like a flock of birds, all scattered about doing their respective tasks. Before entering the dorms, Rainbow Dash noticed a familiar lavender pony frantically whispering to a nearby wonderbolt trainer. Her face held a worried expression, drawing Rainbow Dash's attention. Fluttershy walked forward a few more steps before noticing the absence of her companion at her side. She quickly scurried back a few steps to rejoin Dash.

     "Rainbow, why'd we stop?"

     "I...I think something is wrong, Twilights pretty worked up about something over there. I'm gonna go check it out."

     Fluttershy quickly glided in front of Rainbow Dash and put a hoof against her chest, a determined look on her face.

     "Rainbow Dash! We need to go talk to Lightning Dust! She wasn't ok when she stormed off!"

     Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. "Look, Flutters, I'm not trying to get out of this or anything. I agree, Lightning Dust needs somepony to help her right now, but I feel like Twilight just found out something that we probably need to know. It'll be quick and then we go talk to Dust, ok?" Fluttershy maintained a worried expression, her eyes flickering between Dash's eyes and the building that held Lightning Dust behind her. She let out a defeated sigh and whispered what sounded like "ok". As Dash was turning around her head snapped back up and she gave a deathly serious glare to Dash.

     "It better be quick though!"

     The "Stare" persisted for another few seconds before all of Dash's nerves broke. She looked away guiltily, a shudder running through her body.

     "Yeah it'll be fast! I promise..."

     'Geez....I didn't even do anything wrong and she has me feeling guilty...' Thought Rainbow Dash as she strode towards Twilight. The mares demeanor hadn't improved any as Rainbow Dash came to stand beside her friend. Twilight took no notice of her as she continued to speak hurriedly to the trainer.

     "-but I still don't understand! Why is Celestia up north while it's so dangerous? If those ponies really are threatening war then she shouldn't be throwing herself in the middle of it!"

     "Look miss, like I said I'm just relaying you the message we received through our mail network. We are to prepare the trained wonderbolts for defensive and offensive flying in the event that the Princess needs us to deploy for special flight operations. I probably shouldn't even be telling you this but since your her pupil you should know. At least I think so. Besides, the princess can handle herself, especially against a nation as small and backwater as Germaneigh."

     "That's what I'm worried about! Germaneigh is known for war! And being successful at it! And they are anything but backwater! They're also not stupid, so if they're threatening to attack Equestria they must know something we don't!"

     "Look Miss Sparkle, it's nothing to worry about, the Princess-"

     "-Could be in danger! Don't you find it weird that the princess wants the Wonderbolts to prepare for war? The last time you guys were used in combat was when my dragon almost flattened Ponyville! They only send the Wonderbolts out into combat in extreme disasters!"

     "I am aware Miss Sparkle, that this is unusual, but nonetheless we-" The trainer stopped to make a double take on Twilight. "Wait. That dragon was your dragon!?"

     "Ughhh! Not the point I was trying to address here!"

     The trainer facehooved. He let out a loud groan  before he continued. "Look Miss Sparkle, I know nothing more on the situation in Northern Equestria. If you want a firsthoof report on it take a carriage to the Crystal City and have Princess Cadence fill you in. It is primarily the crystal ponies providing the military defense at the moment. Regular Equestrian units haven't deployed yet, besides the Solar Expiditionary Wing, who are with the princess as we speak protecting her. That's all I know, I have things to do, good day Miss Sparkle." And with that the trainer scurried off before Twilight had a chance to reply. She threw her head back and let out a long raspy "ugh!", a noise Rainbow hadn't heard since her and her friends had ignored Twilight when she was worried about being tardy on a friendship report to the princess. That day was over a year ago, however Rainbow Dash was concerned for Twilight now. She put a reassuring hoof on Twilights shoulder. The mare flinched at the sudden contact, relaxing slightly when she saw it was only Rainbow Dash.

     "Hey Twilight, is everything alright?"

     Twilight let out a long sigh before answering. "I don't know Rainbow, I think so....but I'm not so sure."

     "What was all that about the princess and war? Is Equestria under attack?" Rainbow Dash maintained a calm demeanor, however it was fairly obvious how nervous the pegasus was.

     "No, we aren't at war right now....but it seems like a distinct possibility based on what I've heard. Princess Celestia sent out orders prepping all of Equestria's military assets, which includes the Wonderbolts."

     "The Wonderbolts? They aren't part of the Equestrian Guard, they're just stuntponies! Right?"

     "I'm afraid not Dash. It's a little known fact that the Wonderbolts are trained in combative flying. Mainly for support purposes, but they have been known to be sent on high priority missions in times of emergency, like when Spike almost leveled Ponyville. You did notice the Wonderbolts that day, right?" Twilight gave a deadpan stare at Dash, whom was currently tapping a hoof against her chin in thought.

     "Ummm....oh yeah I remember that! But I just thought that was Spitfire's squad being awesome and trying to help out!"

     Twilight facehoofed. "No, they had orders from Celestia to try and hold off the dragon until more forces could arrive. Had Rarity not taken care of it when she did we would have had an entire regiment of royal guards marching into Ponyville." Twilight let out another sigh and began walking towards the waiting chariot at the south end of the runway. Dash fell in alongside her, throwing back a "Just a little longer look" to the growingly impatient Fluttershy.

     "I have to get going Dash, I need to start hitting up my contacts in Canterlot and find out what the hay is going on. Fluttershy said she was going to stay with you for a while before heading back, I hope you don't mind."

     "What, Flutters? Nah, it's cool, she's great company. But anyways, are you sure your alright? I mean your awfully worked up about this war thing, you don't really think it'll happen do you?"

     Twilight stopped and cast a thoughtful look at the ground. She turned her head back to Rainbow Dash, a worried look on her face.

     "Dash, I....I don't know if I do or not....I just don't want the princess getting hurt, that's all."

     Dash placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "I understand Twilight. Look if you need me back in Ponyville for anything, and I mean ANYTHING, just give Derpy a message for me. She comes here every other day on her mail runs. I'll be back in Ponyville in ten. Seconds. Flat." As she spoke she poked Twilight in the chest, one poke for each sentence. Twilight giggled at her friends antics. The two hugged, and with a smile and a wave, Twilight was off to join the other elements, minus kindness, and depart for Ponyville. As Dash watched the carriage depart, she became aware of a sudden drilling sensation in the back of her head. She turned around to find Fluttershy once again giving her the "Stare". What made this one unique was the fact that Fluttershy was doing it from well over two hundred feet away, still managing to have its full effects on Dash. It unnerved Rainbow Dash to know that her friend could not only use her stare long range, she could do it while she wasn't even making eye contact with the pony in question, and still have the same effect.

     "Ahg! Fluttershy, please stop! I'm coming, I'm coming, geez!"

     With that Rainbow Dash flew off to accompany kindness, once again headed for the dorms. The two walked side by side in the grass median between the airstrip and the campus proper, passing by the welcome center, a small building situated closest to the center of the airstrip. As they passed the building they noticed a set of pegasi guards standing to the sides of the welcome center's glass double doors. These guards wore the standard issue golden royal armor, with a small hoof-sword tied onto a saddlestrap sheath. Inside Rainbow Dash noticed a pure white pegasus wearing what seemed to be a set of golden and silver trimmed armor, which shone much more spectacularly than the standard armor. With her was another guardspony, wearing the same suit of armor, this one being a deep red with an ashy grey mane. The first ponies cutie mark was that of a flurry of snowflakes over a light blue background, which faded softly back to the pure white of her coat. Her eyes were a deep blue, stern and watchful, as if she expected to be attacked at any moment. The red pony had a cutie mark displaying a fireball, soaring downwards. His eyes were steel blue, almost grey, and not quite as stern as the first ponies eyes. Rainbow Dash assumed he was probably the nicer of the two-

     *Thwack!

     "Ow!"

     Rainbow Dash fell on her rump, rubbing her head. As she looked up she could see a giggling Fluttershy standing next to a pole....a pole that Rainbow Dash had appearantly failed to notice as she was looking elsewhere. She glared at Fluttershy as she continued to caress her throbbing head.

     "S'not funny, that really hurt!"

     "Hehe I'm sorry-haha-it's just really funny, you ran right into that thing Rainbow!" Fluttershy shook her head to calm herself and made her way to Rainbow Dash. She gave her an affectionate nuzzle on her forehead.

     "Don't worry Rainbow, it's not that bad, it probably won't even swell....you are pretty hardheaded."

     Rainbow continued to glare at Fluttershy, who's only respond was a mischievously innocent *squee.

     Suddenly the doors to the welcome center swung open, and the two guardsponies waiting inside walked out, followed by a very stressed looking Spitfire. They were talking heatedly about Celestia knows what. Dash's curiosity peaked. Her sudden attempt to sleuth her way over to the three ponies to eavesdrop was halted suddenly by a buttery yellow hoof. Rainbow Dash turned her head to see Fluttershy, once again becoming growingly impatient on the Lightning Dust situation.

     *sigh

     "Yeah, don't worry Fluttershy, your right, we need to go see Lightning Dust and I've wasted enough time already. I'm sorry."

     "It's ok Rainbow, there's a lot going on right now, but I can't help but worry about Lightning Dust. She seemed so distressed, like she needed....she needs...."

     "-Some kindness?" Dash finished with a soft wink towards Fluttershy. The yellow mares eyes became wide and she let out a soft *eep!

     "Ummm....yeah, But can you do the talking Rainbow? I don't know her very well and she seemed kinda mean...." The last part of Fluttershy's sentence was inaudable due to how softly she spoke. Rainbow Dash gave the timid pegasus a gentle pat on the back.

     "Yeah, sure thing Fluttershy, you just let me do the talking. You can be there for....emotional support?" Dash raised an unsure eyebrow at Fluttershy.

     "Ummm....that sounds fine....I guess."

     "Alright! It's settled, let's go stir up some Dust!"

     "We're not trying to stir up anything Rainbow."

     "Then let's go ride the Lightning?"

     "That just sounds kind of wrong Rainbow."

     "Ummmm.....Let's go make sure the Dust settles?"

     "I mean....I guess that could work...."

     "Just let me have this one pun, please."

     "Ok Rainbow, whatever you say."

      The two mares giggled softly as they resumes their walk to the dorms, now only seconds away on hoof.

              ----------------

     'A few seconds ago....'

     Lieutenant Snowstorm growled at the receptionist and planted a hoof firmly on the desk in front of her, placing her royal guard credentials squarely in front of the irritated mare she spoke to. Said mare, a slightly aged looking pegasus pony wearing librarian style glasses, continued to look uninterested as she continued to poke keys in on her typewriter. This went on for a few seconds before the receptionist finished typing and took the paper out of the typewriter, which she promptly filed. The mare finally addresses the very angry looking guardspony in front of her, still taking no interest in Snowstorms credentials on the table before her.

     "Look, Miss Snowstorm, I don't care if your here on royal business, or if Celestia herself comes in dancing in a giant banana suit, I can't work miracles, and getting Commander Spitfire away from her private business would be a miracle. You'll just have to wait until she returns."

     "This is a matter of national security, and I don't consider whatever the commander is up to more important than that!"

      Ashfire, the second of the two guardsponies in the welcome center chimes in.

     "Plus I bet she's just signing fanmail anyways." He says with a slight chuckle. The receptionist gets a sheepish grin at Ashfires would be joke. Snowstorm facehooves.

     "I swear if she's signing fanmail and it's keeping me from doing my job I'm gonna go woop her fla-"

     "-I'd like to see you try there marshmallow."

     Snowstorms ears perk up at the sound of the Commanders voice. She turns and casts an icy glare at Spitfire, who returns the favor. Ashfires just sits between the two with a bored but slightly amused look on his face. The receptionist attempts to stifle a giggle at the nickname given to Snowstorm.

     "That's lieutenant to you, Commander 'Tang'."

     "I like Tang, it has a really lovely taste, citrusy too! Now what do you want Jetpuff?"

     Snowstorm glared icy daggers at Spitfire.

     "I'm here to oversee the preparation of the academy in the event war breaks out on the Northern border. By orders of the princess herself. That means I'm your new overseer, you oversized mandarin."

     Spitfire looked over to Ashfire, and pointed at Snowstorm.

     "Is cream-puff here always like this?"

     He chuckled before answering. "Fraid so."

     "Uhg, I don't know how you deal with her. Ummmm.....let's see....oh I've got one. I'm afraid to inform you, Lieutenant Cream Cheese, that this is my academy, therefore, my rules. You can oversee all you want. But that's all your gonna do! See things! And over things! So cut the tough guy attitude, I have a massive headache and a lot of work to do."

      Snowstorm gave a loud snort.

     "I will do what the princess told me to. If you don't comply I'll personally shove my armored hoof so far up your fla-"

     "-Oooooooookay! Now that introductions are done with, what say we get a tour of the academy preparations so we can oversee! Without fighting and the shoving of things up and into unpleasant places! Miss Spitfire, would you care for a quick tour? Please?"

     Ashfire smiled desperately at the two mares, hoping he had diffuses the situation. The last thing he needed was to explain to his superiors why his wingmare got into a fight with the commander of the wonderbolts. Though it would be fun to watch....

      Finally Spitfire looked away from Snowstorm and gave Ashfire a warm smile.

     "Why sure I'd love to give you a tour! I like you! Your officially on the top of my list of favorite overseers! And you," she says as se points at Snowstorm,"you have a special place on the list, let me show you!" She the proceeds to slowly make her hoof spiral downwards in a crashing motion, whistling as it decends. Finally, she mocks an explosion at the end of the spiral, adding a "lovely" farting noise to simulate the crash.

Ashfire chuckles again, while the receptionist is dying in a fit of laughter behind the counter. Snowstorm just continues to glare.

     "Real mature, Commander Charmander."

     "Oh! I love Ponymón! Although I think I'm more of a Charzard myself." Spitfire replies with a wink.

     "For the love of Celestia, can we get going? Please?" Begs Ashfire, finally wishing for the two mares to stop fighting.

     "Only cuz you asked nicely, and because I like you. Not her, just you. Whats your name anyways mister favorite overseer?"

     "Ashfire."

     "Well nice to meet you Ashfire. Ash. Ashy. No, Ash sounds better, can I call you Ash?"

     "Sure-"

     "No! You will address him as Lieutenant Ashfire and me as Lieutenant Snowstorm. I will in turn address you as Commander Spitfire. Now let's go!"

     "Sure thing, Lieutenant Creme-puff! Come on Ash, there's touring to be done!"

     At that, the three pegasi walked outside of the building to begin a tour, with Snowstorm fuming at the commander all the while.

     Nopony in the group noticed the rainbow maned pegasus staring intently at them as they walked.

               ----------------

     "I swear to Celestia Derpy, if you fry my mail in a thundercloud one more time-!"

     "I-It was an accident! I swear!"

     "I'll show you an accident!"

     Derpy Hooves cringed back in fear as the Wonderbolt flight officer started at her. Before he could get any closer to her, the young pegasus about faced and high-tailed it out of the post office.

     "This is the last time Derpy! Don't let me catch your cockeyed snout in here again!"

     Derpy flew as fast as her wings could take her, narrowly avoiding a mid-air collision with a flight of trainees. She made her way to the southern tip of the runway, tears blurring her vision as she attempted to land. In a fit of panic she attempted to pull back to slow her descent, only to have her back hooves catch the ground early, sending her face first into the grass. Derpy just laid there face down, sobbing uncontrollably. Even the pain in her nose wasnt enough to make her get up. Why should she get up? She had no reason to. Her coworkers hated her, her customers hated her, she was pretty sure even the few friends she had probably hated her....Who was she kidding, she had no friends, just a bunch of ponies trying to be nice to her for her sake. Nobody liked Derpy Hooves. She always screwed everything up, made other ponies mad. Ever since that one horrible night. Ever since then her life had gone downhill. She lost her house, she lost her weather license, and now she was going to lose her job.

     Derpy rolled over onto her back and stared into the sky, tears rolling down her cheeks as she continued sobbing.

     "I'm so alone......"

                ---------------

     Rainbow Dash was nervous. Very nervous. As her and Fluttershy walked down the hallway of the dormitory towards Lightning Dust's room, Dash couldn't help but be nervous. After all, she was about to try and console the pony who's hopes and dreams she had probably just crushed. Sure it may have been Lightning Dust's fault to begin with, but that doesn't mean Dash didn't feel bad about it. As the two came to a stop at Lightning Dust's door, Dash looked down and kicked at the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with her companion.

     "Rainbow....."

     "....."

     "Rainbow....."

     "....."

     "Rainbow!"

     "I know I know! Just give me a second....I kinda might've just ruined her life you know....I still feel really bad....just give me a second."

     "Rainbow, it's ok, I know it's sad, it's not your fault. But there's a pony in there that needs somepony to help her. She needs a little kindness...."

     "Isn't that your thing though?" Rainbow Dash smiles weakly at Fluttershy.

     "Well yes but, you and her are friends so I think she needs your kindness more."

     "Were friends...."

     "Are friends, now get in there."

     "Yes mom." Rainbow gives a irritated look to Fluttershy before turning to the door. 'When did Shy get so pushy? Hm, well I guess she's right either way. Here goes nothing.'

     The door opened slowly as Rainbow Dash peeked in.

     "Lightning Dust? Hey are you ok-"

     Rainbows eyes scanned the empty room. Well, almost empty, as Lightning Dust had yet to pack her belongings, they were scattered about in a messy fashion. Posters of the Wonderbolts were ripped in half and scattered about the floor, along with what little clothing the mare had brought with her. Her bed was unmade and messy, and the pillow had a dark wet spot, signifying that she had been crying not long ago. Her dresser drawers were mostly yanked out of the dresser, while the top was littered with food wrappers and a single picture frame. The frame contained a picture of a young Lightning Dust being hugged tightly by a older pegasus mare. Judging by the similarities it was probably Lightning Dust's mother. A quick glance to the closet showed that it was entirely empty, except for a few hangers dangling on the pole inside. Seriously, why did they have closets anyways? They barely wore cloths! Rainbow Dash returned her gaze to the foot of the bed, where the small form of a Wonderbolt trainee outfit could be made out underneath the messy and unkept white sheets of the bed. She walked in and picked the  uniform up, cringing immediately. The rip from the medal being pulled off early was now a full blown gash. The rest of the uniform fared no better, as appearantly Lightning Dust had simply opted to rip the thing off. Rainbow Dash turned her head away and closed her eyes, a sad sigh escaping from her lips.

     'She must really hate me and everyone else for this.....'

     A small creak of the door brought Rainbow's attention back to the room. Fluttershy peeked in nervously, her eyes adjusting to the dark interior of the room.

     "Dash, is everything alrigh- oh my......" Fluttershy's eyes went wide at the sight before her. Her sadness evident in the tears welling up in them.

     "Flutters, I'm not sure of I can really help her at this point....I really think I destroyed her dream....I know she hates me...."

     "B-but we still have to try....she's probably scared and lonely and needs help and-"

     Fluttershy went silent as Rainbow Dash hugged her tightly. She couldn't help but feel awful about all of this. But she knew what she did was right, she was protecting her friends, protecting her fellow trainees, she was even in a way protecting Lightning Dust from herself. With that said....why did she feel so bad about it?

     *sigh

     "I'm sorry Fluttershy, you can't help everypony...."

     As Fluttershy continued to cry softly, Rainbow Dash simply nuzzled her, trying to calm her down. After about ten minutes of this, the yellow mare finally stopped sobbing. With a long sigh, Fluttershy broke the embrace and backed up, her eyes still red and puffy from the tears they brought. Dash smiled at her warmly.

     "Here let's far away from here Shy."

     "O-ok......"

     "You gonna be alright?"

     "Yeah I'll be....I'll be ok."

     *growl

     Fluttershy blushed at the sound emanating from her stomach. Dash let out a soft laugh.

     "Not of you starve to death Flutters! Haha let's head to the mess and and get some cho-"

      "AHHHHHHHHHHH! SOMEPONY HELP! SHE KILLED SPITFIRE!"

     Rainbow Dash recoiled in shock. As soon as she could think again she realized she was already halfway down the hall to the source of the scream. She bust through a crowd of ponies surrounding Spitfires room, and nearly puked at the sight before her.

      Spitfires body was mangled, her limbs broken, bone exposed, and blood pooling onto the floor. The worst part about it was Spitfires head. It had been turned well past the breaking point, and was hanging limply from her body, blood coming from her open mouth. Her eyes were wide open, and the pain she must have gone through before death was evident in her eyes, filled with agony. Rainbow Dash felt nauseous. Her stomach was turning over and over. Hot tears began to build in the corner of her eyes, the floodwaters threatening to burst. Slowly her eyes began to rise to the figure standing right behind Spitfires corpse. As she began to take in the bloody figure, fury began to well in her chest. Finally her eyes stopped as they locked into the deep amber irises of the murder. Lightning Dust stared back. Neither pony moved, neither pony flinched. Suddenly the rage billowing inside Rainbow Dash burst. She stepped forward and screamed at the top of her lungs.

     "I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE! I'LL KILL YOU LIGHTNING DUST!"

               ---------------