Rejection

by Slender Dash

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, Dark
Length: 1207

The war had convinced Rainbow Dash to join the Equestrian Army, leaving her friends behind in Ponyville. She expects a warm welcome. She does not get it.

Rainbow Dash left her friends for the good of Equestria, their warm wishes and tears following her every step of the way. After two years of war, she finally is able to return home. To her friends. But Rainbow gets a surprise that she never expected, and never wanted.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-01-24 02:39:14 UTC

War is Over

"Rainbow Dash! We need to flank 'em! Move!" My head whipped around to stare at my fellow soldier, Spirit Wave. We had become good friends in the training, but now was not the time to be friendly. I unfurled my wings and sped away, moving quickly to the side of the vicious battle going on in the center of this desolate wasteland. Shooting was going on around the edges of the battle, and the center was full of ponies fighting in hoof-to-claw combat. Spirit wave followed close behind me as we sped along, and we tilted up to gain altitude.

We had both taken training seriously, and we were both very good soldiers. I took my gun and pointed at all of the griffins flying at our level, and I took all of them out, sending them spiraling to the ground, dead or alive. Once the air was clear, both of us picked targets and shot from above. They were helpless.

Griffins catch on quickly though, and a considerable amount of them began to soar up towards us. The shouldered their guns, trying to aim while flying. Only the best trained are able to do that, including myself. I clenched my jaw and pulled the trigger, releasing a wave of bullets that took down three. Spirit Wave loosed her bullets as I reloaded, taking down the same amount. Then we both turned tail and sped, dodging the incoming bullets.

"Evasive maneuvers, pronto!" I called, and she nodded before we started our routine. We flew side by side for a moment, then we tilted and peeled off away from each other, making large horizontal loops. As we turned to face the griffins, we tilted upward into a fast spiral, crisscrossing over each other's paths and swirling around. No one could catch us with their projectiles, and we swooped and twirled out of their reach.

Our courses also allowed for time to shoot, so we took down more of them than they took down of us. All in all, we shoot twenty griffins in under twenty seconds, and we managed a hoof-bump before we dived down lower to the ground.

We began mowing down the line of advancing griffins, holding back their offense and allowing our defense some time to recuperate. We killed some, wounded most, and left the rest of the griffins scrambling to flee. That is, until they gained control and stared fighting back.

Their leader, Thunderous, was very skillful in the art of battle strategy. All at one his griffins took to the air, and they formed lines surrounding three of our sides. Then they all dived, loosing bullets at us as they went, and when they landed, they clawed and scratched on contact.

What we didn't notice was the line of advancing griffins coming from behind, overwhelming us. They smashed into our already busy soldiers, sweeping them off their feet and clawing them to death at once. We were out numbered. Spirit Wave and I opened fire, unleashing waves of death against our attackers. They picked up their guns and fired back, slowly pushing our line farther into our territory.

"C'mon!" I called, pumping another griffin full of lead before leaping behind a stray boulder. Spirit quickly followed, and we ducked.

"What's the game plan?" She asked, a hoof atop her helmet, crouching low. I stood to release another magazine of bullets before squatting down again.

"Don't give up and give 'em hell," I grinned in reply, coaxing a small chuckle from Spirit's lips.

"This'll be one for the records, Rainbow," She stated, "Whether we win or lose." With that she stood and fired, hitting all griffins with a deadly accuracy. I leaped up and joined her, gritting my teeth against the recoil of the gun as it spat bullets into my attackers. I don't know how long we were there for, but we must have shot hordes of griffins. My M60 was a good gun, and I had cleaned it to perfection. Therefore, it worked like perfection.

Then I heard a scream. Next to me. A blur of blue fur and golden feathers jerked into my peripheral vision, and I turned in time to see the image that haunted me for the rest of my life.

The griffin leader, Thunderous, had grabbed Spirit Wave by the mane.  He lifted her off the ground, with her struggling and spitting the whole time. She kicked and bucked, twisted and jerked, but nothing worked. Then he gripped her head in his claws. I heard her scream, watched his hands tense, and noticed as the scream was cut short as he crushed her skull.

For a moment I was frozen in time, staring at the mess of blood and brains now dripping to the ground. My eyes squinted as a tear began to flow, but then...I was unstoppable.

"I'll murder you, you son of a bitch!" I screamed, launching myself at him as he smiled. He swatted my from the air like a fly, and I felt his claws wrap around my hoof. I flew into the air, held back only by his hand, and twisted. I corkscrewed until he finally let go, then I zoomed up, farther and farther into the sky.

When I reached the clouds, I stopped. I let a few sobs escape my lips, then the sadness was gone. What replaced it was rage, pure and righteous, bubbling up and and boiling out until I screamed the scream of a demon. Then I tilted down, a pumped my wings like there was no tomorrow.

I yelled the whole way down, loosing a savage war cry from my inner being. I sped down, faster and faster. I directed myself at Thunderous, who was just beginning to look up to the sky. I was less than a mile from the ground now, and I felt resistance tugging at me. It wasn't the wind. It was something very different.

I whooped as I broke the sound barrier, sending out pulsing waves of rainbow and a clap of thunder. I disappeared for a moment in the colors, then reappeared with my hind legs towards to ground. I fell rapidly, and I was less than one hundred feet away before Thunderous started scrabbling to back up. I came closer and closer, speeding along...

Until my feet hit his feathery head and pushed it towards the ground, smashing it like a balloon once it reached the blood-stained dirt. My hooves were splattered with blood and brains, and I pushed off of the ground into the air again.

I gave a vicious cry of victory, and I laughed sickly as the griffins began to notice their leader's death. They flung into panic, trying to retreat or trying to gain control. The ponies began overcoming them, and I cried another call of triumph, this time with soldiers shouting in return.

The war was over in two hours, and Equestria claimed victory. A ceremony was held for Rainbow Dash, and she held her medals proudly. Sadness slowly crept over her due to the lose of Spirit Wave, but it was fought back by the thought of seeing her friends again after two long years.

It was time to go home.