“Six months!” Rainbow Dash thew her hooves up in frustration as she hovered in the main room of the Golden Oaks library.
“That's what the publisher said: six months before the next volume is out,” Twilight replied as she closed the book she had been reading.
“Six months is like—forever! What am I supposed to do till then?” Rainbow moaned.
“Are you sure you have read them all? There are an awful lot of them, perhaps you missed one.”
“I'm pretty sure I've read the whole series, most of them twice.”
“Well, let's see, shall we?” Twilight trotted over to the fiction section, to the shelf where she kept the series of books whose titles she knew by heart. Despite having them memorized, she began methodically reading the titles from the spines. “Okay, how about Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet?”
“Duh, of course.”
“…Quest for the Missing Map?”
“Yes.”
“…Mystery of the Fire Dragon?”
“Ages ago.”
“…Forgotten City?”
“Yes!”
“…Mystery of the Tapping Hooves?”
“Yes!”
“…Attack of the Moon Monsters?”
“Yes! What, no! Give it to me!”
“I'm joking—I made that one up,” Twilight giggled, putting her hoof over her mouth.
Rainbow growled. “Don't tease me like that Twilight.” She scowled petulantly and crossed her forelegs.
“Sorry, I couldn't resist.” She walked back to where her friend hovered in the air. “I do have something new that I think might interest you. It's got adventure, drama, romance, political intrigue—lots of things for you to like.”
“Does it have Daring Do?” she snapped.
“No…” Twilight sarcastically drew out the word.
“Then I don't like it.” Rainbow continued to sulk.
“It is about Pegasi in ancient times,” Twilight offered.
“Yeah?” Rainbow's ears perked up, but her forelegs remained crossed.
“Yes, it's a very dramatic historical fiction about—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! History? Are you trying to dump some dusty old text book on me Twilight?”
“No, Rainbow, it's historical fiction. The author takes places and ponies from history and builds stories around them. It's entertainment with a bit of history, not a text book.”
“Well, I still won't read it,” she replied.
“Then you'll just have to wait six months till the next Daring Do is out.”
“Then I will.” She pouted and looked away.
Twilight pursed her lips and sighed. “Can we make a deal?”
“No deals.”
“Rainbow Dash,” she scolded. “You need to expand your reading selections. You can't limit yourself to one author or one genre or you will end up cutting yourself off from some really good stories. And don't forget the practical aspects either: they can only write the Daring Do adventures so fast. Then it takes time to edit and publish them, and I have to secure funds for the library to buy them, and…”
“All right, all right, I get the idea Twilight,” she relented. “So what's your deal?”
“I'll pick out a section in the book that I want you to read—”
Rainbow grunted and looked towards the ceiling.
“—and if you don't like it, you can have me do something.”
A mischievous look spread over Rainbow's face as she lowered herself to the floor. “Do something or anything?”
“What? When did you become a grammarian?” Twilight asked indignantly. “We just have to agree on what it is beforehand, that's my only condition. So, think of something you would want me to do, like a task you hate, or a dirty, disgusting job. If you don't like the section I pick out, I'll do that job for you.”
“Something disgusting…” Rainbow contorted her face as she poured over a list of things she needed done, searching for something Twilight would hate.
“Well, I do have a pile of smelly socks that I haven't washed in about three months…”
“Ewww…” Twilight wrinkled her nose and grimaced. “Three months? Rainbow, that's just—nasty.”
“Hey, I'm busy ya know?” She rubbed her chin, contemplating how she could make the task more disagreeable. “Yeah, sock washing, and you have to do it without magic—and in front of the library where everypony can see you.”
“Okay, here is my part of the deal. You have to read a complete section from the book. You aren't allowed to just look at it and say you don't like it. You have to read the whole thing—every word—all the way to the end.”
“How much do I have to read?” She looked suspicious.
“Less than a chapter in one of the Daring Do books.”
“A lot less?”
“Yes, a lot less.”
“And what else do I have to do? If I lose do I have to dust the whole library or something?”
“Nope, no penalty—nothing but reading. I just want you to read one, little section of the book, that's all,” Twilight stated confidently.
The Pegasus looked skeptical. “So all I have to do is read part of your dusty old book, hate it, and then you wash my smelly socks?”
“The book isn't old, Rainbow,” she corrected, “it just came out this year.”
“It doesn't matter how old it is, because I know I'm going to hate it, but I'm going to love watching you wash socks,” she cackled.
“We'll see.” Twilight smiled knowingly. “So we have a deal?”
“Deal!” Rainbow extended her hoof and Twilight bumped it with her's to seal the agreement.
“Okay, so how do we do this?” Rainbow asked.
“Well, first, let me get the book.” Twilight levitated a blue book from the middle of a pile near her writing desk, then deposited it on the circular table with the carved wooden horse's head at its center. The pair ambled over to the table and sat down in front of the book.
“Next we need to find an appropriate section.” Twilight opened the book and flipped through the pages. “No… No… Too long… No…”
“Come on Twilight, just pick something.” Rainbow tapped her hoof impatiently.
“Hmmm, this one looks pretty good, but…”
“But what?”
“The action is a little stronger than what you would find in the Daring Do stories. It might not be the best place for you to start in this book. I'm not sure you are ready for this.”
“Of course I am! You know me, I can handle anything!” Rainbow boasted.
“I don't know…” Twilight drifted off skeptically.
“I'll read it,” she replied hastily, but then had second thoughts. “Wait, are you trying to trick me into reading some really long part?”
“Let's see exactly how long it is.” Twilight counted the pages to the section's end. “Nope, not long at all. It won't take more than a few minutes of your time.” She turned back to the starting page. “There you are, start reading.”
“Cool, I'll be hating it in a minute.” Rainbow Dash smirked.
“Of course you will.” Twilight stood up and strode over to the writing desk to resume her research.
Rainbow looked at the book, then over at Twilight, who was already working away with her quill, taking notes on some arcane text. She found Twilight's ease unsettling.
Twilight noticed her friend watching her. “Problem?”
“Yeah, I uh…” Rainbow scratched her head. “I can't concentrate with you here.”
“I see.” Twilight laid her quill aside. “Well, no problem, I'll just take my things and pop into the next room.” She marked the place in her book and began to gather her materials.
“Uh, thanks Twilight.”
“No problem, just remember our deal—read the whole thing, okay?” She suspended her collection of books and scrolls in mid-air in front of her glowing horn and trotted off to the adjacent room.
“Right, the whole thing.” Rainbow looked down at the obstinate book and sighed.
She stared at the page but still couldn't focus on the words. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and looked up. The wooden horse's head looked sternly back at her.
She groaned, then stuck her tongue out at the disapproving face and scooted around the table so it could not look down at her in judgment.
“Concentrate, Rainbow, you can do it.” She took a deep breath and muttered, “Okay, here goes nothing…”
~~~
“Cowards!” Thunderhead bellowed. “Nothing but craven cowards! It is no mystery why we continue to lose battles. Your despicable cowardice drains the spirits of your warriors. All of you disgust me!”
The generals sat across the table from their bellicose king. The war councils had turned into a perverted dance: the generals reported defeats, Thunderhead berated them, then he issued new plans that decimated their dwindling troops. Slowly, but inexorably, the armies and the spirit of the mighty Pegasi were melting away.
“Your Highness,” General Sora pleaded, “we executed your orders to the letter, but the Dragons were simply too powerful. If we had not retreated, we would not be seated here today.”
“I see you have the courage to speak, too bad you did not show such courage in the sky!” the tyrant raged. “My battle plans are not the problem—the problem is that you cannot execute them correctly. How can I rid the sky of these scaly vermin if my generals cannot properly follow the simplest of orders?”
“The Dragons have changed their behavior, Your Highness,” General Foehn said. “No longer do they stand as individuals, only reacting to our attacks. Now they work together, against their very nature. A single dragon we can defeat, but an army of dragons? And soon they will be on the offensive: Daily I receive reports of ambushes on my troops, and some patrols disappear without a trace. They probe our defenses, Sire, formulating their battle plan.”
“The Dragons are on the verge of collapse,” Thunderhead waved his hoof confidently. “All I need from you are a few measly victories and we can drive them from our skies. Do you worms think you can do that?”
Sora mustered the last of his courage. “No, Your Highness.”
“What!”
“You are right, Sire, our troops have lost their fighting spirit. The energy from our early victories has been drained by this never ending string of defeats. In the past three months, I have lost one-in-five of my warriors. Is it no wonder they cannot fight like they used to? They are not properly equipped, nor rested, and now they grow hungry.”
Thunderhead glowered. “The Earth ponies will give us what we need as soon as you capture more treasure from the Dragons.”
“And how will they grow that food?” Foehn demanded. “Their crops wither as we fill our armies rather than tend the clouds. They cannot sell us food at any price if they do not have it.”
“If they do not sell it we shall take it by force—it is our right. They should be honored to serve us,” Thunderhead arrogantly declared.
“And the rumors, Your Majesty?” Sora inquired. “Perhaps you have not heard that the Earth ponies seek to negotiate with the Dragons? They fear retaliation should we be defeated, and if the Dragons and the Earth ponies cut off our food, there will be no more victories.”
“They would not dare!” Thunderhead slammed his hoof down on the conference table. “If the Earth ponies deny us food we will crush them!”
“And bring down the wrath of the Unicorns?” Sora's voice filled with panic. “If we cannot defeat the Dragons now, how shall we to do it without food while Unicorn magicians torment us?”
Thunderhead's eyes burned with hatred for all.
“Mighty King Thunderhead,” Foehn beseeched, “your name will be forever remembered as The Defeater of Dragons. When we began this campaign, we followed you and were rewarded with victories. We will savor those glory days forever! But those days have passed, and ahead lays only sorrow. The grand adventure is over, we must put an end to this.”
“You suggest?” Thunderhead contemptuously spat the words.
“Let your name also be remembered for peace and restoration. End this conflict, rebuild our armies, and rebuild our mighty nation. We have gained much territory in the mountains, and we may still leave the battlefield with honor.”
A curious calm descended over the King. “Those were the words I needed to hear.”
The generals smiled cautiously, their gambit an apparent success.
“Hearing those words proved to me that you are all incompetent. My only error has been to choose generals who are better suited to watering daisies than leading warriors in battle. You are stripped of rank, immediately. You will be sent to battle alongside honorable Pegasi who will look upon you with disgust.”
He looked at them and sighed in desperation. “If I were not so weary, I would personally put you to the sword, here and now. But there is no honor in killing worms, so I will leave that task to the Dragons.”
The King rose and his former generals bowed to him. They stood speechless and bewildered as Thunderhead flew towards the door of the council chamber accompanied by his royal guards.
The Captain of the guards and her Lieutenant accompanied their king as he flew though the long hall from the council chamber to the royal residence. Their positions had allowed them to be privy to every meeting since the initial battles. The campaign for treasure against the neighboring Dragons started well, but quickly ground to a halt.
At every war council, the defeats and dead were tallied, and they knew as well as the generals there would be no more victories. They had seen the hollow look of defeat in the eyes of their fellow warriors. In the streets, they saw the dread of mothers wondering if their children would ever return to them, and the anguish of those who knew they never would. Now, with food rationed, they faced the frightened faces of hungry foals who no longer knew where their future lay.
Their king who once led the mighty warrior nation to victory now drove them to doom. There would be no mercy in defeat at the hand of the Dragons. The victorious creatures would revel in destruction and death, leaving no trace that a nation of Pegasi had ever existed.
Kings come and go, the two reasoned, but their nation must remain. And so they made their choice.
Thunderhead winged slowly through the corridor, past the tall fluted columns and the statues of his predecessors. He was preoccupied with thoughts of the Dragons and his generals. For the last time those worthless generals had betrayed him, he thought. Now they would have to fight instead of make excuses. Perhaps in death they could yet redeem themselves: He decided he would posthumously restore their ranks if they died honorably. But his first task must be to find their replacements. No, not replacements, but real generals who could carry out his flawless orders.
He approached the steps before the tall doors leading to the royal residence, where two armored guards holding long pole-arms stood. As the King approached, they stood immovable, blocking his way.
“Stand aside for your king, warriors,” Thunderhead commanded.
The guards remained as motionless as the statues in the hall.
“Have you gone deaf as well as blind?” he yelled. “I said stand aside!”
His path ahead remained blocked, but from behind he heard the voice of the Captain.
“Your Majesty—”
The King landed and glared at the pair blocking the doors. He cocked his head and stared at them perplexed. “What is wrong with these two? Are they bewitched?”
“No, Your Eminence.”
“Then what is wrong, Captain Rime? Has the palace gone mad today?” He spun about abruptly to speak to her. She stood a distance behind him with the Lieutenant at her side, but the usual retinue of guards was nowhere to be seen. He looked to the doorway at the opposite end of the hall. It too was blocked by a pair of guards.
“What is this nonsense?” he demanded. “Where are the guards, Rime? Why do these dumbstruck oafs block my way?”
“Because they are under my orders, Sire.”
“Then order them to stand aside!”
“Not until I have spoken my piece.” Her voice was devoid of emotion.
“You forget your place Captain.” His eyes bored into her. “Your king gives you an order and you obey, or is the academy so distant in your memory that you have forgotten what an order is?”
“Please, Your Highness, I know an order and I know my place. But I also know my duty—”
“Then do your duty and give the order for these two to stand aside!” he commanded.
“I know my duty is to my nation as well as my sovereign.”
“I will not stand here and be lectured by a mere captain,” he scoffed.
“You will listen to her because she speaks for all of us!” Lieutenant Gale yelled. The Captain restrained her by putting a foreleg across her chest.
“What rebellion is this? Guards!” The King glanced rapidly about, looking for any sign of either friend or foe in the shadows.
“When I was invested with my rank,” the Captain began, “I swore an oath of fealty to the king and to the nation. At that time, those two seemed inseparable, but now I fear I must make a choice between them.”
“I am the nation!” Thunderhead stomped his foot in defiance.
“You are a mortal and nothing more,” she said dispassionately. “But the nation has a life that is greater than any of ours, and it is the life of the nation that I seek to preserve.”
“I will hear no more of this!”
“We come to you mighty King and beg—” The Captain and the Lieutenant knelt before him.
The tyrant's harsh laughter echoed through the hall. “First you threaten, then you beg? You two must give lessons to the royal fool! I have not been so entertained in ages!”
The Captain raised her head and scowled. “I find no humor in what I do, Sire. We beg of you, follow the sage advice of your generals and end this conflict.”
“I, too, find no humor here. You are the same worm spawn that has plagued me since this righteous conflict began.”
“The Dragons did us no harm!” Lieutenant Gale rose defiantly. “It was your lust for glory and treasure that began this conflict. We were fools to follow you and bring the nation to disaster.”
“You are fools to defy me!”
“We were fools to let this go on for too long.” The Captain stood to face him. “We believed lies that even a foal could see through, and have paid dearly for our foolishness. But now we can incur no more debts which must be paid in blood. I ask you again: please, Sire, make amends with the Dragons and return our nation to peace.”
Thunderhead's face filled with rage.
“He will not listen, sister, we must act!” Anguish filled the Lieutenant's voice.
“Please Sire, the nation desires peace and will honor you for bringing it to her,” Rime said.
“What has happened to the heart of the mighty Pegasus nation?” Thunderhead exploded. “What foul, watery substance has replaced the blood of the warrior in your veins? What cowardice! What treason!” he shrieked as he spun about. “I am plagued by a nation of cowards who deserve to die!”
Thunderhead trotted belligerently up to the guards blocking the doors. “I command you to stand aside!” The guards grimaced and held their weapons fast.
“Obey me!” His voice thundered through the hall, but the pair were steadfast and the doors remained blocked.
“Guards! Where are my guards!” Thunderhead screeched as he stamped about in a circle. There was no reply. He charged at the Captain and Lieutenant.
“You are dead! All of you!” he roared as he reared up. “I will have you drawn and quartered! You are all dead!”
“My life was forfeit the moment I left the council chamber,” the Captain grimly stated. “I believe that I have now completed my obligation to my king.” She removed her helmet and threw it to the floor.
Thunderhead backed up, putting distance between himself and the determined looking Captain. The Lieutenant removed her helmet, and positioned herself between the King and the guards on the stairs.
“Now that I am freed of my duty to you, I am obliged to serve my nation.” She widened her stance and reached beneath her armor, drawing a dagger. The long needle-like blade flashed menacingly as she gripped the weapon and began to fly towards Thunderhead.
“Traitors! You will all die!” he howled in terror.
“You must die,” the Captain said, “so that our nation will live.”
The tyrant's mouth was agape in fear as she approached. He began to back up, only to find the Lieutenant hovering behind him. He took flight in a panic, trying to find escape near the ceiling. Both the Captain and Lieutenant followed in pursuit.
The Lieutenant intercepted him, expertly wrapping her forelegs about his neck while immobilizing his wings with her hind legs. Rapidly flapping her wings, she kept them both suspended in the air. The Captain remained back from the tangled pair, avoiding the King's flailing hooves, waiting for her moment. The King gurgled epithets as the Lieutenant tightened her grip about his neck. She arched her back, stretching him out till he was helpless.
The Captain began her approach. She looked coldly into the terrified eyes of her victim: He knew he had no escape. In his last moments, with his bravado stripped away, he was revealed as no more than a petty despot frightened of death. But no revelation could make her task any easier.
She leveled the blade, holding it close to her body, and dove towards him screaming. She furiously plunged the blade into his body, repeatedly piercing his chest and abdomen. He writhed in agony as the spurting blood sprayed her white coat.
The guards at both ends of the hall neither moved nor made a sound.
At last he ceased to move. Rime withdrew and the exhausted Lieutenant lowered herself to the floor, becoming pinned beneath the bloodied body. Her Captain landed nearby and shoved aside the corpse. She helped her up, then held her tight.
“Rime, I—I…” she whispered.
Rime pushed her back and brushed aside the forelock covering the youth's eyes. There, in those sky blue eyes, she had finally found a refuge, a place where time had no meaning and love could melt a frosty heart. She gazed into that tender face till she could bear it no longer, then pulled her into an embrace.
“Hush, there were to be no words.”
“I love you so much, Rime,” she said through trembling lips. “My sky was beautiful only because you were in it, but now there will be only emptiness…”
She pulled back and lifted the chin of the young mare. “Sentiment my warrior?”
Gale looked down and smiled bravely.
“Remember, protect yourself—protect them—for truth will come.” She released her and took a step back. “The time to be loyal to your oath has come my Lieutenant: act quickly—the less time to think the easier it will be. Now, as we agreed?”
The Lieutenant’s look hardened and her pale blue eyes became cold.
“Yes,” she nodded resolutely, “as we agreed.” She strode over to her discarded helmet and placed it on her head. She snapped to attention and yelled to the seemingly immobile guards.
“Warriors! Your king has been most foully murdered! The vile assassin stands before you!”
The guards at both end of the hall began to fly towards the Captain, holding their halberds at the ready. She reached down and removed the dagger from her victim's chest.
“I love all of you. You have my eternal gratitude,” she called out as she joined them in the air.
“Restore your nations honor!” The Lieutenant's voice quavered. “Do your duty!”
The Captain approached the two guards before her as the two behind fanned out to prevent escape.
“Make it clean you buzzards,” she taunted. She raised the dagger high above her head and blindly charged forward.
The guard swung his weapon in a long, smooth arc. The sharp axe blade sank deep into the Captain's neck and she fell lifeless to the floor.
~~~
Rainbow Dash closed the book and tucked it under her foreleg. She slowly flew over to the room where Twilight was busy adding to her copious notes.
“Uh, Twi'…”
“Yes, Rainbow? Done all ready?” Twilight put down her quill and looked at the Pegasus hovering in the doorway.
“Yeah, I'm finished,” she said as she reached out to brush imaginary dust from the door frame.
“Ah, good.” Twilight straightened a stack of books that was only slightly askew.
“Well, yeah.” Rainbow sniffed and rubbed her nose, then turned her head to look off into the other room. “So, since I'm finished and all that, I figured I'd be heading home.”
“Okay, see you later.”
“Right, yeah.” She paused and fidgeted while holding onto the book with both hooves. “And, uh, if you don't mind…”
“Take it.”
“Thanks.” Rainbow smiled sheepishly, then flew to the open window in the library's main room, hesitated briefly, and quickly flew away.
Twilight returned to her studies, grinning and shaking her head.
“I guess,” she thought aloud, “she has to go wash some socks.”
Author's Note
This story isn't supposed to be here.
This is supposed to be story number two in a set of three that all feature Twilight Sparkle. Part of the set-up for the story-within-a-story featured here comes from Circuitous Scholarship, but this story didn't seem to want to wait.
On the weekend of February 2 it snowed a lot here. Not at all at once, but a constant, gentle snow that just kept going. So on Saturday I shoveled: three times. It was easy, because I never let the snow build up, but it took time, time that I spent up in my head, listening to this story.
By Sunday I was sick of shoveling. I did two more stints and then that was it, I was finished. I didn't care how much more snow had accumulated, I wasn't going out again. I made some tea, and at 3:17:45 PM, thanks OpenOffice, I started writing. In about three hours I had the first draft of the Rainbow and Twilight scenes. I had dinner, took a break, then went back to work. By 1 AM I had the rest of the story complete.
I've never done anything like that before.
Thunderhead, his war with the Dragons, and his murder all come from a fragment in an unsalvagable outline for an “epic” that I will never write. His name was chosen so Rainbow Dash could make a joke about it: Dunderhead. That throwaway line ended up being the foundation for this story.
Thunderhead was the only character that started out with a name. His two generals were G1 and G2 for almost two weeks. I had originally considered making Rime and Gale anonymous, as choosing good names is hard. I went with all weather based names:
General Sora – sora is Japanese for sky.
General Foehn – a foehn is a type of dry, warm wind that comes off the downwind side of a mountain.
Lieutenant Gale – her name is self explanatory, but is used to represent her youthful strength and impetuous nature.
Captain Rime – rime is a frost that can beautifully and entirely cover trees. She is our dedicated nationalist: loyal to a fault, hardened, but still capable of love.
Rime and Gale are the trap for Rainbow Dash to identify with in the story. She loves the Daring Do adventures because she becomes that character. Here, whichever one you imagine her identifying with, she is set up for heartbreak.
It's not that I want to do bad things to Rainbow, far from it. But she is like Rime, and there needs to be something to crack her tough shell so we can see that sweetheart that lies within.
I hope you enjoyed this story and stop back for the other two in this loosely coupled series. Circuitous Scholarship and Journey to Seal Rock which I hope to have out in the fall.
A very special thanks goes to Rarityshy, who's eloquent comments showed me things about my characters and thought processes that I didn't know were there.
Revisions
15-MAR-2013 - Original publication
13-JUN-2013 - Fixed "pegasi" typos, thank you Dat Rainboom.
