Under the Wings of Loyalty

by Drakkith

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, Romance, Adventure
Length: 30749

An intensely personal story of pain, betrayal, sadness, and more. But also one of hope. Of happiness. Of forgiveness and redemption. And most importantly, one of love. The first doorway awaits. Step through and begin the adventure.

An intensely personal story of pain, betrayal, sadness, and more. But also one of hope. Of happiness. Of forgiveness and redemption. And most importantly, one of love. The first doorway awaits. Step through and begin the adventure.

Thanks to bstreetninja for proofreading and Silvernis for pre-reading.
Thanks to Willvasco for cover art.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-10 10:30:02 UTC

Act I

That day, cloudy and rainy a week after Winter Wrap Up, Rainbow Dash sat under an overhang at the train station, shivering slightly in the chill air with her multicolored mane damp and tangled from a few last minute corrections made to the cloud cover that left her exposed when the showers began. Twilight Sparkle sat beside her with an umbrella that matched her purple coat folded up on the ground at her side. A thick book with the words ‘History of the Equestrian Armed Forces, Vol. 1’ written in gold type on the binding was open in front of her.

“Ohhh, listen to this Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said. “Apparently the Royal Air Force was established over two-thousand years ago when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna first fought Discord. It started as a small group of Pegasi that Princess Luna tasked with running supplies by air to the parts of the land that were most affected by Discord’s magic.”

“Yeah that’s great Twilight.” Dash replied. “Does that book tell you when the train arrives? I’m starving. I missed lunch thanks to Thunderlane’s stupid screw up in the cloud cover. It took me over an hour to get it fixed.”

“Sorry Dash,” Twilight said. “But you’ll just have to wait like everyone else. I’m sure the Colonel will be here soon. The train usually runs a little late this time of year.”

Dash huffed and blew a lock of wet red hair out of her eyes. “The Colonel, huh. Why’d the Princess send some Colonel down here anyways? I mean, we’re the Elements of Harmony! We should be able to find those creatures or whatever they are and knock their flanks out!”

“I don’t know.” Twilight sighed. “Shining Armor’s letter only said that Princess Celestia wanted Lieutenant Colonel Storm to personally see for himself what the trouble is.”

“Lieutenant Colonel...” Dash said, rolling the words around in her head a few times. They sounded big and restrictive, and she pictured a greying pony, stiff as a board in his immaculate uniform shouting orders to his subordinates. She shivered at the thought of someone ordering her around like that.

Twilight spoke up, apparently thinking she was asking about the rank. “Lieutenant Colonel, O-5, the fifth officer rank. Its insignia is a silver oak leaf. Comes after Major and before Colonel, which is also called a ‘Full Bird Colonel’ thanks to the rank insignia being a silver eagle.”

Dash ignored her as Twilight went on, reciting facts on rank, history, and a dozen other things as they waited. After a further half hour of shivering in the cold she was seriously restless, and not to mention hungry. Suddenly a pony was shouting.

“Now arriving, Eleven-O-Five from Canterlot! Now arriving, Eleven-O-Five from Canterlot!”

Sure enough the train was arriving. The noise from the crowd suddenly picked up and Dash pinned her ears to her head. The sound of bags being checked mixed with the clacking of hoofs on the floor was nearly drowned out by the roar of talking and shouting as ponies started to move to and from the train. Twilight closed her book and dived into the crowd, snaking her way towards the train in search of their arriving guest. Dash waited. When Twilight failed to return after several minutes she groaned and got to her feet before stepping out into the crowd.

The rain had stopped, but the platform was packed, and Dash searched around for a few minutes before she spied the familiar pinkish-purple streaked tail of Twilight through the crowd. She slipped through and came up behind Twilight.

“Jeez, Twilight, there are ponies everywhere.” she said.

Twilight turned to look at her. “There you are Dash.” She stepped out of the way and a large pegasus came into view. “Rainbow Dash, meet Lieutenant Colonel Thunder Storm.”

The mention of his full name stopped her in her tracks.

She looked at him. He had white fur under his uniform. His mane was a single strip of thick white hair with bright red tips that reached from his forehead, over his scalp, and down his neck, tapering off right before it met his torso. Dozens of small rectangular service ribbons were pinned to the left side of the dark blue service coat he wore, each decoration a different pattern of colored stripes that revealed far more of the spectrum than her own mane. They ran upward, neat and orderly in rows of three, from the top edge of the pocket until they were almost spilling over his shoulder.

“Dashie?” He asked.

She stared at him, trying to match his eyes, their light blue color like that of the midday sky on a cloudless day, with the ones from her memory of a colt long ago. A thousand images flashed through her mind before she suddenly raised her eyebrows in recognition.

“Thunder? Thunder Storm?”

He grinned down at her. “It’s me Dashie.”

She broke into a wide smile. “Ohmygosh it’s been forever!” She leaped forward and caught him in a full embrace, hugging him tightly. Before they could break apart the sound of someone clapping started up. Around them the crowd paused and what started with a single pony, old and grey with tear filled eyes, spread around the crowd like fire to parchment until the entire platform was clapping and cheering for them. Even Twilight was slowly clapping, looking uncertain but caught up in the mood of the crowd.

“They think we’re together.” Thunder said in her ear. “Just wave and say thanks.”

They broke apart and she followed his example, nodding and waving and thanking everyone that came to shake hooves with and thank Thunder for his service. After a minute or two the crowd died down and he picked up a duffel bag at his side before pulling her and Twilight through the remaining ponies, politely nodding as they went, until they were off the platform and out in front of the station.

Twilight spoke up first. “Well that was interesting. I take it you two know each other?”

“You could say that.” Thunder said. “We haven’t seen each other in something like eight years, but I knew Dashie when she was just a filly.” He reached out and quickly ran a hoof back and forth through her mane before she swatted it away. “And she still doesn’t like anyone messing with her mane I see.”

“Yeah yeah.” Dash replied. She shook her head and tried to fix the damage wrought by his attack. “But anyways, yeah Thunder and I go way back. He was like the older brother I never had when I was growing up.”

“Oh really?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, he lived next door with his uncle. Well, if you could call a cloud house thirty feet up next door that is.”

“Yep. I used to fly her to school everyday.” Thunder said. He let out a quick laugh. “I remember she used to flap her little wings on up to my window every morning and hang on the windowsill, tapping the glass with a big grin on her face until I got up.”

Twilight let out a giggle. “That’s so cute!”

Dash groaned. “Oh please.” She shook her head and then noticed something. “Hey Thunder, where’s your cutie mark?”

Sure enough his flank was bare of anything other than his white coat. He shrugged. “Never got one.”

“Really?” Twilight spoke up. “I mean, I noticed when I first met you but I didn’t want to be rude.”

Thunder nodded. “Yeah, I guess I never found what I was special at. But whatever. If I know Dash like I used to she’s about to eat herself from the inside out in hunger.”

“Yes!” Dash cried. “I’m starving! Can we please get some food?!”

“Lead the way Dashie.” Twilight said, getting an angry glare in return. “Fine! Dash it is.”

They left the train station and made their way through town towards the Cafe. On the way their discussion turned to more serious matters. Sightings of so called monsters had become more and more frequent around Ponyville over the last month or so. The descriptions were always vague, usually just large winged creatures spotted at night. No one really thought much about it but after Twilight had mentioned it in a recent letter to Princess Celestia her brother, Shining Armor, had written her, saying they were sending an officer down to investigate. That had actually worried Dash a little. Prior to that she just brushed everything off as either a prank or a few ponies mistaking some large bat for something else. But if the Princess was sending down someone from the military, that meant that there might actually be some truth to the sightings.

When she voiced her concerns to Thunder he simply said, “I’m hoping you’re right and the sightings are just a mistake.”

“And if they aren’t?” Twilight asked. “What are you expecting to find instead?”

Thunder paused for a moment, thinking his reply over in his head before he said, “I don’t think I can tell you that. Not yet at least.”

That momentarily put Dash on edge. But they soon arrived at the Cafe and were inside with food, which definitely helped. Twilight pulled a scroll from her pouch and read off a detailed report of each sighting. Dash tried to pay attention but the constant rubbernecking the other patrons were giving them was irritating. After she had given a half dozen of them glares that sent them looking back down to their food she finally realized what they were staring at. Thunder.

The stallion certainly was impressive in his uniform. His sleek coat seemed to accentuate his muscular form and he filled his uniform well. And his wings! Even folded up as they were she could tell they were probably more impressive than she remembered. He definitely wasn’t the greying old Colonel she had imagined earlier. He was in his prime.

She found herself staring, both at his body and at his uniform. A silver oak leaf was pinned on each lapel, the insignia of his rank if she remembered Twilight correctly. She noticed that many of the service ribbons running up the left side had a smaller silver leaf pinned to them as well. Some even had two or three leaves.

“You alright there Dashie?” Thunder asked.

She nodded towards his ribbons. “What’s those little leaf things?”

He looked down at his chest. “They signify that I’ve received that particular decoration more than once.”

Twilight spoke up. “Wow you must have twice as many as my brother does.”

“Your brother?” He asked.

“Shining Armor. He’s captain of the guard in Canterlot.” She said.

Thunder nodded in understanding. “Ah okay. Yeah I get around a lot more than he ever would since I’m part of the Royal Air Force.”

“What’s being part of the Air Force have to do with it?” Dash asked.

“Well, the Royal Air Force is the eyes and ears of the Armed Forces. We’re the first in the fight and the last out!” He said. “Our most defining feature is our mobility.” He popped a wing out and flexed it a few times before folding it back up. “Neither Earth Ponies nor Unicorns can come close to keeping up with us.

“So you just saw more action than he did?” Dash asked.

“Maybe. I don’t know what he’s done so I can’t say for certain.”

Twilight spoke up, “Wait, what action? I didn’t know Equestria had been in any major battles or wars recently. Nothing I’ve read or heard has mentioned anything.” She levitated a quill and pulled another scroll from her bag and Dash could tell she was starting to work herself up into one of her anxiety attacks. “Even my correspondence with the Princess has been nothing but the standard friendship reports! She hasn’t said anything about war. I need to talk to her about this!”

Thunder appeared to recognize her rising worry and he put a hoof between the scroll and the quill hanging in midair. “Whoa Twilight! No need to panic. Everything is pretty much okay.”

It took a moment but Twilight suddenly blinked and shook her head. “Oh! Oh I’m sorry! I just imagined my brother going off to war and...” She trailed off for a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “You gave me quite a fright there Colonel.”

“Please, just Thunder.” He said. “You aren’t part of the military so feel free to call me by my first name. Besides, as one of Dashie’s best friends I couldn’t stand to be so impersonal.”

“Alright then, Thunder.” Twilight said. She looked around and saw that other than Dash picking at the leftovers of her meal, the three of them had finished eating. “Shall we see to your lodgings?”

“Lodgings?” Dash asked. “How long are you staying, Thunder?”

“As long as it takes. Could be several days or more.” he said.

“Then you can stay with me!” She said. “I’ve got a spare room at my place. It’s way better than any hotel.”

He smiled. “I think I’d like that.”

Her own smile widened. “Awesome! It’ll be just like old times. You, me, and-”

“A bunch of stupid aerial stunts that we probably shouldn’t do?” He interrupted.

“Heck yeah!”

He turned to Twilight. “Well, it’s good to see she hasn’t changed at all in eight years.”

“Smart words coming from someone who needs a place to stay!”

Thunder chuckled and got up from the table. “Excuse me a moment ladies.” He left for the bathroom and Twilight turned to Dash.

“Wow Rainbow, you’re pretty excited. You two must have been close.”

“Are you kidding? Thunder was pretty much my best friend growing up. He’d come hang out at my place all the time. My folks considered him part of the family. They even made him come with us for our family trips.”

“That was nice of them.” Twilight said. “Did he not have anyone?”

“Umm, his uncle never did anything with him that I remember and he didn’t have anyone else. But I don’t think he’d complain. He always had a great time and my dad really liked having him along. Pops always got along real well with him.”

“Did he?”

“Yeah. I remember the day he left for training. Pops had these old flight goggles he kept in a case. Real nice ones, they wouldn’t fog up or come loose while flying. He said they cost him like half a wing when he was young. He only used them a few times that I remember, and only on real important occasions.”

“He gave them to Thunder?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah but...not just that. He had mine, his, and my mom’s cutie marks carved into the back of the head strap. And a little message underneath that said, um...hold on, lemme think.” She tried to remember the words, but they were a lifetime ago in another age that she hadn’t thought about in almost as long. She tapped her head with a hoof. Suddenly they spilled into her mind as if they had been right under the surface the whole time.

“Ah, I got it.” She took a breath. “If ever you’re lost, look behind to where you’ve been. There you will find your way home. To where the Rainbows are.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“Yeah...” Dash said.

“Still, it must feel a little awkward considering he’s been gone for so long.”

“Whaddya mean?”

“I mean, I didn’t see my brother for almost two years and he almost got married to the changeling queen!” She laughed before continuing, “But think about it, eight years is a long time. Who knows what he’s been through. I mean, did you see all that stuff on his uniform? He must have been through a lot. And you’ve changed significantly too, Dash.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Dash said. Twilight’s words brought something back to her that she couldn’t describe. All she knew was that very suddenly her food didn’t taste nearly as good as it did before. She ignored it, saying, “I totally didn’t know he was a Colonel. We never kept in touch after he left for some reason.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “Dunno. Just... didn’t.”

They sat in silence for a few moments. Then Thunder was back. He started to sit down but stopped when Twilight got up and started putting away her things.

“Well it looks like you two have made up for the hour we lost at the train station, so now I have time to take Spike over to Rarity’s. The bow tie she gave him was involved in an...incident, and I promised I’d take him to see her if I had time.” She levitated a scroll over to Thunder. “Here’s a copy of the reports along with other pertinent information regarding the sightings.”

Thunder thanked her and she made her way out of the Cafe.

“You done?” he asked, seeing Dash picking at her food.

“Uh, yeah,” she said. “Let’s go.”

He picked up his bag, threw it over his shoulder, and then Dash followed him outside into the cool air. It was still cloudy and the rain was a light sprinkle that put dark spots on Thunder’s uniform.

“After you Dashie,” he said, extending his wings.

She smirked. “That’s what I always liked about you, Thunder. You were always okay with being second!”

With that she threw her wings out and launched herself into the air. Flapping hard she rose towards the low cloud cover and was through it in seconds. She burst through into the bright sunlight and pitched over, skimming along the upper surface of the clouds and sending up puffs of moisture with each flap. She heard Thunder’s wings beating out a slower rhythm behind her.

Rolling over onto her back she looked behind her and burst into laughter when she saw him. He was skimming along the clouds like her, but swerving left and right and plunging one wingtip at a time into the clouds. An arc of moisture would shoot into the air each time his wing disappeared. He heard her laugh and gave a quick salute before plunging beneath the cloudtops. A moment later he breached the surface, bringing a puff of cloud with him. He repeated the maneuver, plunging in and out of the clouds again and again until a long chain of vapor islands hung over the rest of the clouds behind them.

She slowed to allow him to catch up. He burst through the clouds one last time and took position just above her own upside down form, and for a few wing beats they stared at each other.

“Having fun?” she asked, grinning up at him.

He nodded. “Actually yes. I haven’t flown like this in quite a while.”

“Alright. Time for a little game if you’re up for it.”

“I think I can manage.”

She rose up and whispered in his ear. “Follow the rainbow.”

With that she arched into a backwards dive, blasting back through the clouds and emerging into the rain again. Ponyville was spread out before her. Most of its citizens were inside at the moment, waiting for late afternoon when the rain was scheduled to end. She pulled out of her dive just above the rooftops and started weaving between buildings. Her focus was absolute as she did her aerial dance, even to the point of ignoring the occasional waving pony that was out and about in the rain.

She was halfway through town when she slowed down and took a moment to glance behind her. Thunder was right there, easily keeping up with her despite his encumbering uniform and bag. She laughed and resumed her breakneck pace. This was fun. She hadn’t flown like this with anyone in so long. Most of her close friends didn’t have wings, and the one that did, Fluttershy, couldn’t pull even a basic loop if her life depended on it.

So she pushed herself, determined to get the most enjoyment possible. She felt like she was a filly again and she smiled as memories she hadn’t thought about in years resurfaced. Memories of a white pegasus chasing her through the sky, so much bigger and faster than she was, with enough sense to let her win at least every once in a while. She let the memories take over, and for a few brief moments the wooden buildings of Ponyville were the white, fluffy clouds from her childhood.

A whistle behind her broke through and made her stop. She waited, hovering in place as the clouds faded away until Thunder caught up to her.

“Hey Dash, there’s a filly calling to you,” he said.

Sure enough coming down the road towards them on a blue scooter was a little orange pegasus with dark pink hair that was damp from the rain. She waved to Dash and yelled up at her.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!”

Dash floated down and hovered just above her. “Hey Squirt.”

“That was awesome! Whatcha doing next? Need any help?” Her little wings buzzed as she smiled up at Dash.

“Nah. I’m just taking Thunder here back to my place.” She nodded towards the red and white pegasus hovering next to her. “He’s staying with me for a while.”

Scootaloo’s eyes widened when she looked at Thunder. “Wow...Are you in the military?”

“I am.”

“Cool! What rank are you?”

“Lieutenant Colonel.”

“Is that like a General?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Not quite. I’ve still got a few promotions to go before I get there.”

“Have you ever... umm, killed anyone?”

Her question surprised Dash. “Uh, Scootaloo, I’m not sure you should be asking that.”

Thunder held up a hoof. “It’s fine Dash. I don’t mind.” His face scrunched up and he was lost in thought for a few moments before saying, “Scootaloo is it?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’m going to be honest with you Scootaloo. I think you deserve an answer. But... I don’t think I want to talk about it at this time.”

“Oh...” She fidgeted on her scooter. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Absolutely not.” He said. “You did nothing wrong. Okay?”

She nodded. Then a voice from around the corner of a building was calling her name.

“Was that Sweetie Belle?” Dash asked.

“Uh, yeah. I forgot I was helping her.”

“Forgot, huh?”

She fidgeted again. “Let’s just say I’d rather hang out with you.”

“Sorry kid, there’s no fun to be had around here. Just two boring adults doing boring adult things.”

Scootaloo threw her hooves up. “But you were just screaming through the air at like Mach thirteen! And you just did a triple loop around Town Hall! While upside down! That’s the very opposite of boring!”

Thunder laughed. “I think I’m on her side, Dash. That was pretty cool.”

“You’re lucky that’s both an insult and a compliment.” She said.

Sweetie Belle’s voice came through the air again, closer this time.

“Go on, Squirt.” Dash said. “I promise I’ll come rescue you next time I’m doing something amazing without the Colonel here to slow me down.”

Scootaloo smiled up at her. “Okay! Bye Rainbow Dash!” She looked at Thunder and gave a small wave before speeding off on her scooter.

“Well that was unexpected,” he said.

“Yeah,” Dash said. “So anyways...Have you ever, uh, killed anyone?”

He smiled, but his ears were down and she could see past his facade. Something in her stomach did a little flip at the sight. “I don’t think I want to talk about that right now.” He fell silent and turned away and the two hovered in the drizzle for a few seconds before Dash shook off the feeling in her stomach and spoke.

“Hey Colonel, your uniforms gonna get soaked if you stay there much longer.”

He turned back and his real smile had returned. “Well maybe if somepony hadn’t decided to give me the scenic tour I’d still be dry.”

“Oh whatever. C'mon, let’s go,” she said.

They took off, flying back above the clouds again, and several minutes later they were at Dash’s house. They had flown hard, performing a few dozen maneuvers and repeatedly climbing and diving all in the span of a few minutes, which was akin to a sprint on the ground. By the time she touched down on the cloud her home sat upon she was breathing hard and her wings and back were burning from exertion. Thunder landed beside her and flopped his duffel bag down. He rose up on his hind legs, twisting and popping his back and stretching his wings out as far as they could go.

Dash’s breath caught for a moment as she stared at him. He was beautiful. He was larger and sleeker than she remembered, and his wings seemed to have grown even more. He’d always had a significant wingspan, but she now realized just how large they were. From tip to tip they had to be almost half again as long as her own were, and she wasn’t lacking in wingspan by any means. The pinions running along the outside edges of his wings glowed in the sunlight like the cloudtops they had just flown over and she had to forcibly drag her gaze away from them.

“Wow, that’s some serious wingspan you got there,” she said.

“They’re not bad,” he said, twisting around and giving her a full view of the upper side of his wings. “Nice house by the way.”

“Yeah, it’s not bad,” she said, smiling back at him.

He laughed. “Not bad? Dash you have a rainbow waterfall! Heck you have like three!” he said, pointing to the multicolored substance falling out of small pools at the edge of the cloud. “You practically have Cloudsdale right here! I feel like I’m back home.” He shook his head as he took in the rest of her house. “I haven’t had anything better than a small cloud or a tent on the ground since I joined. Heck, the hospital in Canterlot was a step up from what I usually reside in.”

She frowned. “Hospital?”

He turned back to her with a serious look on his face. “Uh, yeah. That’s where I’ve been for the last month or two.”

“What for?” she asked.

He paused, searching for words. Finally he said, “I was injured.”

“Where? It must have been pretty bad if you’ve been there for a month. But I don’t see any scars or anything,” she said, looking him up and down. “Unless it’s under your uniform I mean.”

“It’s complicated. It’s more of a magical injury. You can’t see it.”

“But you’re okay? They fixed you?” She asked, sounding a little more worried than she meant to.

He smiled at her. “I’ll be okay.”

Something about the way he said it didn’t sit right with her. “Well, okay then. Let me show you the spare bedroom I guess.”

They entered the house and she took him to the spare room. He tossed his bag on the bed and began to pull off his damp uniform. She managed to tear herself away the scene and went to feed Tank.

“Tank! Where you at boy?” She called.

“Who’s Tank?” Thunder shouted from his bedroom.

“My turtle. Or tortoise. Or whatever. He’s pretty awesome either way.” She said. “Tank! There you are.” The tortoise was slowly walking into the kitchen. By the time Thunder came out, uniform free now, Dash had scooped Tank up and was feeding him at the table.

“So you have a tortoise named Tank?” He asked.

She nodded and bumped noses with Tank. “Yeah, he’s cool. Saved me from wasting away when my wing got stuck under a boulder in Ghastly Gorge. Picked it right up with his head and then carried me to the finish line!”

He stared at her for a moment, as if he couldn’t believe what she had just said. “Okay you’re gonna have to tell me about that one day. But for now I better get started on these monster sightings.”

“You might as well wait until this afternoon when the rain is scheduled to stop.” She said.

“Fair enough.” He joined her at the table and tore off a piece of lettuce to feed to Tank. “So tell me about this Ghastly Gorge incident.”

She flashed a grin at him. “Alright, so there I was, racing through the gorge...”

#

Several hours later found them flying towards Sweet Apple Acres. They had made their way down the list of ponies on the report, getting very little information that they didn’t have already, and then stopped for a quick dinner before visiting the last person on the list. Apple Bloom.

The sun was nearly touching the horizon by the time they swooped in. The air had started to chill, and moisture came out in puffs with each breath. Just ahead was a large two-story house that looked more like a barn than a home. It was surrounded by empty fields and rows of apple trees which stood bare and leafless in the early spring air. Dash couldn’t wait until the weather warmed, when the fields would be full of green crops and the tree limbs would hang heavy with crisp red apples ready for picking. They touched down just outside the front door and were met by a white and brown collie who barked and wagged her tail as Dash approached.

“Hey Winona.” Dash told her. She reached out and scratched her underneath the chin. “Where’s AJ at?”

A door opened and a voice called out, “She’s right here Dash.” The voice belonged to a freckle-faced pony with a light orange coat and pale blond mane and tail, both tied at the end with a red ribbon. Three bright red apples marked her flank and she wore a cowboy hat, which was somehow managing not to fall off despite very nearly sitting on the back of her head. She stepped out of the house, closed the door, and trotted towards them. “Good thing ya’ll are here. One of your dang clouds is scaring the hay outta Apple Bloom round back.” A crack of thunder sounded and they heard a scream from upstairs. “Would ya mind takin’ care of it?”

“Sure, AJ.” Dash said. “Uhh, Thunder, this is Applejack. Applejack, this is Thunder.”

“Beg pardon there, Thunder, I almost forgot my manners.” She reached out a hoof and they shook.

“A pleasure to meet you.” He said.

“You two hang out. I’m gonna go have a little one-on-one chat with this cloud.” Dash said.

She took off and was around the house in a flash. Sure enough there was a small cloud, dark and grey, just above a window on the second story. She went to the window and looked in to see Apple Bloom cowering in her bed under the covers with only her red tail sticking out.

“Hey Apple Bloom, I heard you had a problem with the weather.” Dash told her.

Apple Bloom pulled back the covers and smiled. “Rainbow Dash!”

“Lemme take care of this ugly cloud for ya.” She suddenly had a mischievous idea. “Oh, there’s a cute stallion downstairs that wants to see you.”

“What?” Apple Bloom looked shocked. She trotted to the window. “Who is it?”

“Some military pegasus. Said he wanted to see the cutest filly in town.” She winked at the filly.

Apple Bloom’s face turned slightly red. “But...” she began. “Wait, you’re foolin’ me aren’t you Rainbow?” She had her hooves on the window sill, and was looking Dash right in the eye.

“Go downstairs and find out! Now, excuse me while I take care of this little guy.”

The filly took off across her room and down the stairs, her hooves clopping across the hardwood floor as she went. Dash flew up to the cloud. She prodded it and barely avoided the lightning bolt it emitted at her touch.

“Whoa there! Easy little guy.” She told it. “I’m just gonna take you up here so you can’t scare anyone or start any fires.”

She gingerly put both front hooves on it. It rumbled at her but nothing more. She slowly lifted it up until it was high enough to keep from doing any damage.

“Stay here.” She said, patting it lightly. “I’ll be back for you later.”

With that she dove back down and landed. She saw no one outside so she assumed they had gone indoors and she made her way inside. Thunder was with Apple Bloom in the main room and the pegasus was scribbling down Apple Bloom’s statement on a piece of parchment in quick, slightly messy strokes with his mouth. The filly had risen up on her back legs and lifted her front legs up as high as they could go.

“...and it was like THIS big!” She was telling him. With big ol’ wings! Like a bat!”

“How big were his wings?” Thunder asked. He smiled down at her in amusement and the sight of his smiling face with a feather quill sticking out of it made Dash grin. He shot one of his wings out. “Bigger or smaller?”

“Whoa...” She gazed at his long wing. “Uhh, bigger, I guess. Oh, and it had horns too!”

“Horns?” He asked.

“Yeah! Two horns that came outta its forehead.” She said. “I saw it over past the clubhouse one night last week comin’ home from Sweetie Belle’s. It was dark, but the moon was up and I could just barely see it. It looked at me with these yellow eyes and then...” She trailed off.

“And then?”

“And then it smiled at me!”

“It smiled at you?”

“Uh huh! And it had these really sharp teeth! I thought I was gonna die!”

Dash shook her head in disbelief and trotted into the kitchen to find Applejack and Granny Smith cutting up vegetables for supper. Applejack looked up as she entered.

“Hey Dash. You get that cloud?”

“Yeah. Sometimes they don’t rain themselves out with the rest of the clouds. I’ll take it back to my place tonight so it doesn’t bother anyone.” Dash said.

“Why don’t you just kick it and be done with it?”

“Because I’m afraid it will explode in my face.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Oh. Well, thank you kindly sugarcube. I was about to have Mac get up on the roof and do...” She thought for a moment. “ Well, I dunno what, but something!” she said.

“No problem AJ. Rainbow Dash is on the job!”

“Does Rainbow Dash always talk in third person?” Thunder had walked into the kitchen.

“Only when she’s awesome. Which is usually the case. No wait, always the case.” She grinned at him.

Thunder shook his head. “Anyways, I think we’re done for now. Everything matches pretty well with the previous report. Her statement is actually more detailed than the others. Leave it to a scared filly alone in the woods to give the best description.“

“So what now?” Dash asked.

“Without any leads we just wait and see if any more sightings come up.”

Applejack turned to Thunder. “So they sent you down here just to check on a couple of strange sightings of monsters and whatnot? Seems like a waste of time if you ask me.”

“Just a precaution.” He told her. “ Besides, I’ve been itching to get out and do something. Anything really.”

"They have you stuck inside somewhere?"

“I’d actually rather not talk about it if you don't mind,” he said.

"Well, I don’t wanna pry, your business is your business and I can respect that.” Applejack told him. She turned to find Granny sleeping on the counter and nudged her with an elbow to wake her up before passing her another apple to cut. The quick thumping of knives chopping through apples was the only sound for a few moments.

“Are you alright Mr. Storm?” Apple Bloom suddenly appeared at his feet.

“Apple Bloom! Didn’t you hear him? You leave him alone and go start setting the table for supper!” Applejack scolded her.

Thunder knelt down until he was level with her. “Don’t worry, I’m alright.”

She nodded and was headed into the other room when she stopped suddenly. “Mr. Storm! What happened to your cutie mark?!”

Dash heard Applejack groan. This wasn’t going to go over well.

“Never got one.” He told her.

“What?!” She cried. “Never?”

“Nope.”

Dash thought the little filly was going to cry. She looked down at the floor with a desperate look on her face. If Thunder had never found his special talent, that meant that she might not either. Then slowly her face changed, as if realization had gradually dawned on her. She looked up at him, not with a sad face, but with a smile.

“That means...” She started, as if the idea hadn’t fully formed yet. “That means you can join the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

Dash burst into laughter. “Yeah, that would be something Apple Bloom! I’m sure that’s just what he wants to do, spend all day with-.”

“Dash!” Thunder said, quick and harsh, cutting her laughing off. He turned back to the filly at his feet who was now tearing up at Dash’s words. “The what now?”

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders!” She said again. She wiped her eyes and continued at a quickfire pace. “Me and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo don’t have our cutie marks yet! So we formed a club called the Cutie Mark Crusaders for ponies that don’t have their cutie marks and we go around and try a bunch of different things trying to find ours! Like last week we tried to get our cutie marks in dog training, but Winona’s already trained, so we just ended up building a big ramp outta snow for Scootaloo! It didn’t work either, but that’s okay.” She paused to breathe and went on. “We don’t have many members yet. It’s just us three. Oh and my cousin Babs, but we’re always lookin’ for more! And we got the clubhouse out back!”

“And what are the requirements for this club?” He asked.

“Just a blank flank.” she said. “Our next meeting is this Friday after school in the clubhouse. Can you come? Please!”

“I’ll tell you what. If I’m still here, and I have time, I’ll stop by.” He told her. “Now you better go set the table!”

Her smile beamed up at him and she took off into the other room.

“That’s awful kind of you Thunder.” Applejack said. “I wish I could ask you to stay for supper, but me and Granny weren’t expecting company tonight." Beside her Granny was nodding off again, so she said in a loud voice, "Ain't that right Granny?!”

The mare awoke with a start, saying, "Eh?! That's right! The Princess herself gave us this land back before you youngins were born!"

Thunder chuckled, saying, “That’s alright. Dash and I just ate."

“Well still, I hate to kick you out. How about we all get together Friday for a big supper? Welcome you to town and all.” She said. “I’ll invite the rest of the girls. I’m sure they’d love to meet you.”

Dash spoke up. “Yes! I love Apple Family dinners! Just wait till you try one of AJ’s apple pies.”

“Well I guess it’s settled then. We’ll be here.” Thunder said. “Ready to go Dashie?”

She nodded. “Yep. Cya, AJ. Bye, Granny!”

The old mare waved goodbye as the two pegasi stepped out into the twilight and took off. Dash grabbed the wayward storm cloud that had been bothering Apple Bloom before meeting up with Thunder and the two of them flew off through the cold, biting air towards her place as the sky darkened around them.

She moved close to Thunder, hugging the storm cloud between her forelegs and said, “So you’re really gonna join the Crusaders?”

“Sure, why not?” He said.

“Oh c’mon, you’re a Colonel and you’re gonna hang out with three fillies?”

He looked over at her. She could barely see the scowl on his face in the dim light. “Dash. I seem to remember another filly begging me to join her long ago. Maybe I should have said no back then too? Besides, what could I say after you nearly made her cry? That was pretty harsh.”

That stung. “Whatever.” She moved away from him.

The spent the next few minutes flying in silence as she nursed her pride. She slowly came to realize he had a point. Her irritation at being snapped at faded and she found herself feeling sorry for the filly. Being surrounded by those with their own cutie marks was difficult to handle when you had yet to find your own special talent, especially when most of your peers already had. Something clicked in her mind and she realized that the same logic applied to Thunder as well. No wonder he had been so willing to help Apple Bloom. She spent a minute working up the courage to say something but Thunder spoke up first.

"Well, on the bright side I did get a better description from Apple Bloom than I did from anyone else.”

“Does that help at all?” She asked.

“Mmm...I don’t know. I’ve got a vague idea about what these so-called monsters are, but I don’t wanna say yet.” He said.

“Why not?” She asked.

“I’d like to know for sure first.”

“C’mon, tell me!”

“Nope.”

She swerved close and lightly kicked him with her back hoof. “You’re no fun.”

He laughed. “Oh really?”

A moment later he had her by the tail and she flailed around, trying to shake him loose. After a few seconds he let her go and then went into a steep dive as she came after him.

They spent the rest of the flight back to her house darting around each other in play, reaching her house just as the Moon rose over the eastern horizon and illuminated everything within sight with its silver glow. They landed and Dash reached into the cloud that formed the base of her house and drew out a long thin strand of moisture, wrapping it around the little storm cloud and tying a knot in it.

“That should keep you in place.” She told it. She swore she heard it rumble back at her but she ignored it and trotted over to where Thunder was. He had laid himself down out in front and was staring up into the sky. Even though the chill was getting to her she lay down beside him and just watched him.

It was strange. He was the pony she idolized growing up. He’d helped her Dad teach her to fly. He was the one who inspired her and...and then he just disappeared. She’d heard nothing for eight years and then he just shows back up in her life without warning. Every time she looked at him she wanted to smile, to just throw everything down, grab him by the hoof, and disappear into those wonderful memories of two young pegasi dancing in the sky under the stars. But the memories would always end with him flying away from her as she waved goodbye and she’d shove them away before the feelings could take control.

She got up and stood still for a few moments before he looked up at her. He opened his mouth to ask something and she pounced on him, landing on his back and knocking the breath from him.

“Excuse me while I pick up my lungs.” He said when he got his breath back.

“Oh stop whining. Can’t you handle little ol’ Rainbow Dash anymore?”

“Last time she jumped on me she was half the size she is now.” He shifted under her. “Am I your pillow or something?”

“Mmm...no. Too many lumps.” She poked his side. “But... you are warm.”

She laid her head on his back, just where it met his neck, and closed her eyes. They lay there for a while, with his mane tickling her nose every once in a while before Dash spoke.

“Hey Thunder...”

“Hmm?”

“What have you been up to for so long? I mean, eight years is a long time. You must have been around a bit.”

He laughed, a small snort that she felt through her body. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Yeah? You didn’t forget about us did you?”

“Never, Dash.”

“How far have you been?”

“Far.” He said. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His voice got quiet and she could feel sadness in his voice. “I’ve flown so far Dashie. I’ve seen where the Sun and the Moon rest beyond the horizon. I’ve been up so high I could barely breathe and in rain storms so thick I thought I might drown. The stars have been my guide in places you can’t even imagine and yet, throughout it all, I always remembered where I took off from. But I’ve landed now. For good.”

That last part worried her. What did he mean by saying he’d landed for good? She wanted to ask, but his earlier reaction to her concerns about his injury came to mind. She didn’t want to pry if he didn’t want to talk about it. Instead she asked “Where you took off from? Why does that sound familiar?”

“Remember the day I left?” He asked. “A little filly barely half my size saw me off that morning. I remember her mane dazzling in the sun. She gave me a stuffed Wonderbolts pony. His name was-”

“Sidewinder.” She suddenly remembered. “His name was Sidewinder. I had his signature on that doll from when my parents took us to the air show in Cloudsdale ten years ago.”

“Yeah. And it’s still there too. I’ve still got him. He’s just like when you gave him to me. Even the pullstring still works.”

“No way.” She said in disbelief. “Those things break easy. I still can’t believe I didn’t break it before I gave him to you.”

“It still works. He still says ‘Aim High!’, and ‘You’re gonna go far, kid!’. And there’s one I really liked. When I was alone, out on a cloud for the night I’d pull and pull that string until it came up. He’d say, ‘Always remember where you took off from!’. And I did Dashie! I always remembered. I took off that day, a rainbow filly waving to me with tears in her eyes and I flew for eight years.”

He turned his head around and met her gaze with one eye. “That doll hasn’t changed, but you have. When I saw you at the train station...I realized how long it had been. So long I didn’t even recognize you. I left and you were so small...and now look at you. A grown mare, running around saving the kingdom! The element of loyalty itself! I’m so proud of you Dashie.”

Her eyes burned and teared up and her stomach was twisted in a dozen knots. She didn’t know what to say. What to do. Finally she just said, “Uhh...Thanks.”

He chuckled. “Didn’t mean to get so emotional on you. So tell me, what’s it like being the Element of Loyalty?”

“Whaddya mean?”

“Exactly what I asked. What’s it like? How’d you end up representing Loyalty?”

“Oh. Well it’s kind of a long story. Got time?” She asked.

“Yeah, I think I’ve got time.” He said. “Unless you’re planning to let me up soon.”

She squeezed him. “Not a chance. You’re mine until I finish this.”

“That’s fair.”

She laughed and squeezed him again before laying her head back down on his back. “Okay, so...a couple of years ago I’m flying around Ponyville. Then outta nowhere this crazy unicorn with a baby dragon gets in my way...”

And so she told him her story. He laid his own head down as she talked but his ears remained alert and pointed attentively towards her. She spoke of her battle with Nightmare Moon, and how the Shadowbolts had tried to steal her away from her friends with promises of glory and fame. She told him how she had battled Discord, grudgingly admitting that she had fallen for his tricks and only the intervention of her friends brought her back.

She talked late into the night, telling him of the adventures with her friends, until only the warm body underneath her kept her from shivering in the cold air. They lay there for a long while after she had finished, until finally Thunder rolled onto his back and she tumbled off of him. He stretched and yawned, and with the red tips of his mane out of sight she could almost lose him in the cloud. Except for his tail of course. It flared out behind him, twitching every now and then, its red and white striped pattern visible in the bright moonlight.

After a few minutes he stood up. “I think I’m gonna head to bed. You coming?”

“In a few.”

He shrugged and headed inside. Laying there alone she felt like she was in a free fall, screaming towards the ground, unable to tell which way was up and unable to see the horizon. He was back. Her long lost friend. She was so happy to see him she felt she could soar forever. Yet at the same time an underlying sadness sucked the wind from under her wings. He spoke like something terrible was wrong with him but at the same time he said he’d be okay. He certainly seemed to be fine. He was easily able to keep up with her, and his muscular form definitely didn’t look like it had spent the last month or two doing nothing in a hospital. He didn't show any signs of an injury either.

She lay there trying to sort herself out until the Moon was high in the east and she was shivering violently before finally going inside. She paused by his room and listened to his breathing through the shut door for a minute before heading to her own bed and falling asleep soon after.

#

The week passed quickly for Dash. The investigation into the odd sightings went nowhere. No further sightings were reported and no one else came forward with any information. With no leads to go on, Thunder had nothing to do except stay by her side. He helped her work the weather during the mornings and they spent the rest of each day stunt flying, talking, and hanging out. Dash was surprised by his flying skill. He was strong and fast and had an insane grasp of flight mechanics that boggled even her. He said it was due to being a flight instructor for a while combined with the fact that, in combat, your life hung on how good at flying you were.

But she worried about him. They could talk for hours about almost anything, but he barely spoke to anyone else at all. She would often catch him staring off into nothing when he was alone, which was the usual unless he was with her. And no matter how nicely or not she asked he absolutely refused to say anything about what had happened to him over the past several months. But, overall she was nearly ecstatic to have him around and he seemed to feel the same way.

True to his word he showed up on Friday for the Cutie Mark Crusaders' meeting. She found them outside the clubhouse after her weather duties were over, gathered around a long rope that was stretched out on the ground. Scootaloo’s already smiling face brightened even further when she saw Dash.

“Rainbow Dash!” She yelled, waving. A pair of old goggles swung back and forth around her neck as she waved.

“Hey, Squirt. What’s up?” Dash asked.

“Thunder is teaching me how to fly!” She said, flapping her little wings a few times.

“Yeah! And we’re gonna get our flight instructor cutie marks!” Sweetie Belle spoke up. She and Apple Bloom were nearly bouncing up and down in anticipation.

“Oh really?” Dash said.

Thunder trotted over to her. “Well, we’re just gliding today. And you’re just in time. I could use you. Go stand with your back to that tree and get ready to make some wind.”

She went to the nearby tree he pointed to and rose up on her hind legs. She raised her forelegs above her head and wrapped them around the tree to steady herself as he approached with a rope.

“You better not-”

“Tie you to a tree? Nonsense. I’d never do that.” He said, tying one end of the rope around the tree at neck height. “At least, not when the fillies are around.” He poked her in the side once and she giggled, flinching away from his hoof.

“Okay! Bite down on this end when I tell you to, Scootaloo.” He threw the other end of the rope towards the little orange pegasus. “Dash, when I say go I need wind! Lots of wind!”

She leaned towards him and said in a low voice, “Why don’t you just fly with her like instructors usually do?"

“Because then the other two wouldn’t be able to join us,” he said, looking like it was the most obvious thing in the world before trotting over to where the three fillies stood.

“Okay, remember what I said ladies?” he asked.

“Wings out straight! No flapping!”

“Feel the wind! Be the wind!”

“Flying isn’t about strength! It’s about skill!”

“Excellent.” He told them. “Ready, Scootaloo?”

She nodded, pulled her goggles over her eyes, and bit down on the rope, moving backwards until it was taut.

Thunder looked over at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. “Instructors ready?!” He bellowed, his voice suddenly much louder, sounding like Dash’s old flight instructor at the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. The two fillies saluted and he turned to point at Dash. “Ready?!”

She nodded. “Let’s do it!”

“Go!”

She pumped her wings hard, building up a sustained gust that whipped twigs and leaves up and sent them flying away in the distance. The wind threw Scootaloo’s pink mane around and whipped her tail back and forth. She had her wings out as far as they could go and was crouched slightly, looking to all the world like she was about to take off. Dash could barely hear Thunder yelling over the whoosh her wings made each time they came together.

“Tilt your wings back and forth! See how it feels!” He cried. Scootaloo looked at him but didn’t seem to comprehend so he threw out his own wings and tilted them a few times. “Like this! Just get a feel for it!”

She slowly tilted her wings, as if afraid what might happen. Her left wing suddenly caught the air and lifted her up. She rose slightly, lopsided, before she folded her wing up, startled by what happened.

“Wings out!” Thunder yelled.

She extended it again, but now the cant of her wings were out of sync. The right one tilted too far forward, catching the air and sending it down while the other was lifted up, flipping her over and putting her on her back with all four legs up in the air. Thunder looked at Dash and made a quick cutting motion across his throat with his hoof, signaling her to stop.

“You okay?” He asked Scootaloo. She nodded and he helped her to her feet. “This time don’t pull your wing in.”

She nodded again and Dash was impressed with the look of determination on her face. The next few attempts were better, with Scootaloo lightly bouncing up and down in her crouch as her wings caught the air. Thunder would stop Dash every so often and tell Scootaloo to bend her wings slightly, bring them in just a hair, and give her other pointers. A half dozen attempts later Dash could tell she was getting frustrated. Her determined look had started to harden into a scowl and she was biting down on the rope so hard her jaw muscles bulged outwards. A few seconds after Dash started up again Scootaloo’s wings caught the air just right and she surged into the air a few inches before she panicked and tilted forward, slamming into the ground so hard Dash had to fight the urge to run to her.

Thunder was at her side in an instant. “You okay, kid? You did great!”

She spit the rope out. “What? I did terrible! I ended up crashing and I wasn’t even in the air hardly!”

“So? You shoulda seen Rainbow Dash. I helped teach her when she was a filly. She ended up stuck head first in cloud. Three times.” He smiled over at Dash and gave her a wink.

Scootaloo looked over at her. “Really?”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Yeah...but only because HE wasn’t supposed to let me go.”

“You shoulda seen her.” He said, getting on his back and lifting his hind legs in the air. He kicked them back and forth as he said, “Head in the cloud and yelling for someone to get her out as she kicked her little blue hooves back and forth!”

The three fillies burst into laughter.

“Okay, that’s it!” Dash cried. “When we get back to the house I’m burning your stuff!”

Thunder laughed and got to his feet. “Trust me Scootaloo. I trained hundreds of ponies in the Air Force. Some of them didn’t even know they had wings until I got a hold of them. You’re doing great.”

He helped her up and she took position again. At the signal, Dash started up again. Scootaloo did better; she jerked back and forth a few times as she got used to using her wings but managed to avoid crashing again. Dash even thought she saw her get airborne for a moment. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were bouncing up and down like Pinkie usually did at the sight of Scootaloo almost becoming airborne, and they cheered and clapped for her each time they thought they saw her bob upwards.

By the time Thunder signaled for her to stop again, Dash was panting from exertion. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the tree as she rested, waiting while Thunder had Scootaloo rest her wings. She cracked them open a minute or two later and a thrill ran through her as she caught his gaze moving over her. When he reached her face their eyes locked for a few seconds. Her mouth widened into a smile and the rest of her body stretched upwards on the tree a little more. He grinned, just enough for her to notice, and her stomach felt like she had pitched over into a dive during flight.

“Ready?” Scootaloo suddenly asked.

“Sure. You wanna switch, Dash?” he asked.

“Nah. I think I got one more go in me,” she said.

They took their positions again. Scootaloo was more controlled this time. She caught the air just right a few seconds in and bobbed up half a foot into the air. She came back down and Dash thought she might crash, but she popped up again, bobbing up and down a few times before suddenly rising unsteadily two and a half feet into the air where she remained in flight.

“Yes! Just like that!” Thunder cried. “You’re doing it!” The look on his face was like nothing Dash had seen from him since he'd arrived. A grin, wider than any she’d seen in the last week ran across his muzzle. She honestly didn’t know who was more excited, the little filly, airborne under her own wings for the first time, or the stallion next to her, laughing and smiling more than perhaps even Pinkie Pie herself. “That’s it, Scootaloo! Keep your wings out! Don’t over compensate!”

Scootaloo bounced up and down in the air, coming down to touch the ground occasionally, but popping back up right afterwards. Dash couldn’t help but smile as she watched the little pegasus flying at the end of the rope. Finally Dash began to falter. Her wings burned and she was breathing in gasps. Scootaloo landed for the last time as Dash’s wings stopped pumping and the other two fillies pounced her immediately.

“That was AWESOME!”

“You did it, Scootaloo!”

Dash let go of the tree and fell forward to lie panting on the ground. She watched the three of them celebrate. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom hadn’t even stopped to check if they had their ‘Flight Instructor’ cutie marks yet. Thunder trotted over and flopped down beside her.

She poked him with a hoof and spoke between breaths. “You...you look happier... than a pig in mud... as Applejack would say.”

“Absolutely. Did you see her? For someone who lives on the ground and has practically zero flying experience she was amazing!”

“Yeah. Amazing.” Dash agreed.

She was smiling too, though she didn’t know if it was because she was happy to see Scootaloo flying, or because Thunder was happier than she’d seen him all week. She loved the look on his face, like he thought everything was right in the world and nothing mattered but that little pegasus on the end of the rope.

“You really do enjoy this, don’t you?” She asked.

“Yeah.” He said. “I loved being a flight instructor. Wish I could have done it for longer.”

“Why’d ya stop?” She asked.

“Wasn’t my choice. Got moved before my assignment was up. I still had another six months but I was needed elsewhere.” He shrugged. “At least that’s what they told me.”

They lay there for a few minutes until the three Crusaders ran up to them. “What now?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, we didn’t get our cutie marks. And neither did you Thunder!” Apple Bloom said.

“That’s it for today.” He told them. “Unless...” He trailed off and rose to his feet before untying the rope from around the tree and tossing it to them. “Here. I bet the two of you could pull Scootaloo. Why don’t you try it on the way to Apple Bloom’s house.”

‘Yeah,” Dash said. “And tell Applejack we’ll be there for supper in a couple of hours.”

The three of them grabbed the rope and took off down the path towards the house. Dash burst into laughter a few moments later at the sight of two fillies galloping down the trail with an orange Scootaloo kite rising into the air behind them.

“Unbelievable.” She said.

“What?” He asked.

“You. That.” She pointed towards the retreating group of fillies in the distance. “Everything. You know how long it’s been buggin' Scootaloo that she can’t fly yet? And here you come along and in a single day she’s almost there.”

He shrugged. “No big deal. I’m just surprised no one had taken her under their wing yet. I guess Ponyville isn’t like Cloudsdale. If you didn’t know how to fly up there you could hardly get anywhere.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Dash looked away from him as her face heated up. “I mean, I tried a couple of times to teach her, it’s just...”

“It’s just you didn’t really know what you were doing?” He asked. A comment like that from someone else and she probably would have snapped at them, but the way he asked and the look on his face, with those blue eyes, open wide and staring into her own, it was...inquisitive. Not judging. Like he honestly wanted to know.

She thought about it for a moment. “Maybe. I mean, I was never a flight instructor. I’d just take her up and she’d flap her little wings and that’d be the end of it. I just thought she needed to grow a little more.”

“Don’t be too harsh on yourself Dashie. At least you tried. That’s more than a lot of poniesI’ve had to deal with.” He said.

“What, in the military?” She asked. “That’s hard to believe.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well...” She started. “You guys are like the best of the best right?”

“Not always Dashie. We’re mostly just regular ponies. We have the same problems everyone else does.” He sighed. “Sometimes I think half my work as a commander was making sure ponies did their jobs right.”

“Commander? I thought you were a...Lieutenant Colonel?” She asked.

“I am. That’s my rank. A commander is a leadership position. My last position was Group Commander for the 2nd Air Combat Group.” He said. Her blank look caused him to continue. “It’s a unit of organization. You start out at a Flight, which is typically a few ponies if we’re talking about combat flyers. Maybe a few dozen if it’s just support personnel. Then you go up to a Squadron, which has multiple flights. And right after that is a Group, which has several squadrons. Above a group is the largest unit of organization, a Wing. So it goes Flight, Squadron, Group, then Wing.”

“So... you had a bunch of ponies under your command?” She asked, still lost.

“Yeah. When I left I had exactly sixty-three combat flyers and three-hundred and twenty-five support personnel.” He rattled off the numbers without effort.

“Exactly, huh?” She teased.

“Oh, don’t be too impressed. It was on the manning report I had every morning. A quick status update on everyone. Who was on leave, who was sick, who was departing soon, incoming personnel and...” He trailed off.

“And?”

“Casualties.” His face dropped and he looked away from her. She scooted closer to him and draped a wing over his back. “Hey. You okay?”

He nodded but didn’t look at her. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

“What happened to you Thunder?” She asked. “You show up after eight years and with a supposedly major injury, with like a thousand awards on your uniform and there isn’t even an article in the newspaper or anything. Heck, we shoulda thrown a big parade or something! You’re like a hero!”

“A hero huh? I’m not sure I believe that.” He said.

“But why not? I’m no beacon of humility myself, as any of my friends can tell you, but I know when someone’s being humble. And you’re not. What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “I’m just a pegasus who found his way home.”

She pulled him into a hug. “Well, you’re my hero Thunder. You always were.”

He tensed, just for a moment, then she felt him relax and lean into her. She squeezed him tightly, his warm body feeling amazingly good to her own. He took a breath and his body expanded under her embrace as he started to say something, but a sound, far off and indistinct cut him off and sent Dash scrambling to her feet.

“Was that a scream?” Dash asked.

“Yeah, I think so. Come on!” He said, unfurling his wings.

They sprang into the air and headed towards the sound.

* * *

Dash pumped her tired wings, speeding through the air with Thunder right behind her as the two of them searched for the source of the scream. The flight practice with Scootaloo had left her tired and in need of more than a few minutes of rest. She had to force her wings to work and was half glad when they soon came upon an overturned cart in the road. But unease swept her glad feelings away when she saw the terrified mare crouching next to it in attempt to stay out of sight. They landed and Thunder slowly approached her, his voice calm but firm when he spoke.

“Ma’am, I’m Colonel Storm. I’m with the Royal Air Force. What’s your name?”

She was shaking and shrunk from them as they got near, but she managed to say, “Honey Blossom.”

“What happened here?” He asked.

“They...they took him!” She cried.

“Took who?” Dash asked.

“My husband! They attacked us. He tried to fight back but they were so big!”

Thunder knelt down beside her. “Who took him? Where did they go?”

“I...I don’t know! I was so scared...I froze up when they attacked. I didn’t see where they went!” He started to turn to Dash to say something but she grabbed onto him. “Don’t leave! Please don’t leave me here!”

He gently pulled her off. “Ma’am, I know you’re scared but I need to know who did this. What did they look like?”

“They...they were monsters...three of them...” She said. “With huge wings. They were like...like living statues!”

“Living statues?” Dash asked.

“After they grabbed my husband one of those...creatures, it came to me. I was so scared! It stood over me and I thought it was going to kill me.  It was...it was made out of stone!”

Thunder cursed, almost quietly enough for Dash not to hear him. The frightened mare didn’t seem to notice and continued to speak.

“It stared down at me with these glowing, yellow eyes and raised a huge clawed hand. I closed my eyes and waited...but nothing happened, and when I opened them they were gone!”

“And you don’t know where they went?” He asked.

She shook her head. “No. When the fighting started my husband told me to stay near the cart...so I did.”

Thunder stood up. He searched around the area for a moment before calling to Dash. When she came close he nodded towards the ground.

“Tracks.” He said.

She looked down to where he indicated but saw only the brown grass and dirt. “I don’t see anything.”

He knelt and pointed to a few spots that she could only barely discern from the rest of the terrain. “Here. They lead off over that hill.” He pointed to the hill in front of them. It was covered in a light sprinkling of trees and bushes, brown and yet to sprout their new leaves. But beyond it...

“That’s towards the Everfree Forest.” She said. “It’s just a little ways past the hill.

“Damn. If everything you’ve said about that forest is true then it would be the perfect place to hide. Almost no one ever goes in or keeps a lookout on it."

Dash stared back down at the tracks and a thought suddenly occurred to her. “If they have wings, why aren’t they flying?”

“They’re made of stone. Too heavy.” The way he said it was odd. Like he absolutely knew it was the truth. “But they can run fast. See the length of the stride?” He pointed to the tracks but to her eyes they all blended together and she couldn’t make any sense of what he was explaining. “We were quick getting here but I’d bet they’re getting close to the forest by now.”

“What are we waiting for then?” Dash asked. “Let’s go get their flanks!”

He gave her a bewildered look, like she was crazy. “What? We have no idea how many are around the area. I don’t like walking into an unknown situation like this, and I certainly don’t like to go in outnumbered at least three to one.”

“Hey your math is off, I’m here too.” She told him.

“You? Dash have you ever had any combat training?” He asked.

“Hey, I’m the Element of Loyalty! I helped take out Nightmare Moon, Discord, and a hundred of those changelings in Canterlot!”

“Nightmare Moon isn’t an army, Discord didn’t even want to fight, and taking out a hundred starving changelings smaller than yourself isn’t something I’d brag about.” He said.

“Uh, starving?” She asked.

“What, you didn’t think the Queen of the Changelings would attack Canterlot itself en masse without a good reason did you? When your children are starving you consider options that you’d never have otherwise."

“That...that doesn’t matter right now!” She told him. “We’ve got to go after those things!”

“And what about her?” He pointed at the wrecked cart behind which the frightened mare still hid.

“Fine! You stay here, I’ll go after them!” She spread her wings and launched into the sky, skimming over the scattered treetops on the hill that separated the road from the Everfree Forest and ignoring the protests of Thunder behind her.

A few minutes later she neared the tree line and was able to make out a group of moving figures just outside the forest. She pushed herself, but her wings ached and she couldn’t get herself up to full speed. The figures disappeared into the thick foliage just before she could catch up with them.

“Oh no you don’t!” She said. Over the treetops she flew, before slowing as the thick canopy almost completely blocked her view of the ground. Unlike the rest of the area, the Everfree Forest didn’t shed its leaves during the winter, and a thick blanket of green covered the area ahead as far as she could see. This wouldn’t do. With the tree tops as thick as they were she wouldn’t be able to track them from the air. She looked back, looking to see if Thunder had followed her. He hadn’t. She closed her eyes and slowly took a deep breath before letting it out and diving into the Everfree Forest with a determined look on her face.

She snaked her way through the tangle of branches and emerged into the gloom that permeated the forest even during the brightest of days. The air was cool, just like it was outside the forest, but it was moist. Under her hooves grew strange plants of various shades of green that covered the ground and filled the spaces between trees, making the whole place seem more like a jungle from one of Daring Do’s adventure novels than a forest.

Dash crept forward, ears erect and swiveling in all directions as she searched for any sign of her prey. She had been right behind them and hadn’t flown very far over the forest before landing, so there should be some sign of them nearby.

A crunching sound, like someone stepping on leaves, came from her right and drew her attention. She trotted forward as quickly as she dared, trying to keep her own steps quiet as she approached the source of the sound. Without warning the sound cut off and she stopped, listening intently for it.

She wished she hadn’t.

The background noise of the forest was suddenly overpowering to her. The canopy above rustled like it was in a strong breeze, yet there was no wind.

A twig snapped on her left. It seemed to echo around her. Her searching eyes and ears found nothing there.

She took a few steps forward. Something rushed past behind her. She whirled, teeth bared, only to stare at empty woods. Again she listened, straining her ears to hear something other than phantom sounds.

Nothing. She turned back around and continued through the forest, listening for anything that might be out of place. Which, considering that this was the Everfree Forest, meant that everything was out of place.

For a while the sound of trees rustling was all she heard. It made her fur bristle up and a bit of the reckless courage she felt earlier disappeared. She waited...and was rewarded when the crunching sound started up again. Except instead of being in front of her, it was now on her left.

With her wings halfway out and ready for use she turned and inched towards the sound. It was odd. It sounded like someone was just ahead of her, as if pushing past the next clump of thick undergrowth in her way would cause her to stumble upon them. For several minutes she pressed forward and her frustration rose each time she nosed her way through the bushes to find nothing. Finally her frustration rose high enough to push away caution. She increased her pace in an attempt to catch up with the source of the sound. Thorny vines clung to her, their sharp edges leaving thin red scratches under her coat and snagging her colorful mane as she rushed by. But still she couldn’t catch up. Again she sped up, running through the forest at nearly a gallop until a bright source of light appeared ahead of her.

She pushed her way through the undergrowth and came upon a clearing she hadn’t seen from the air. It was large. Too large for her to have missed. Why hadn’t she seen it? As soon as she stepped out of the tree line the footsteps stopped again. She froze, her body rigid and ready to react at any moment. A shriek erupted from across the clearing just beyond the far tree line and she jumped backwards, drifting several feet into the air as her wings unconsciously beat the air. The shriek held steady for a few seconds before fading off into a sobbing wail.

“Hey! Leave him alone and get out here so I can kick you in the flank!” She yelled before taking off towards the other side of the clearing as fast as her wings could take her. She was halfway across when a brown pony came stumbling out of the trees, wobbling on his feet as he made his way towards her. She met him a little ways out from the treeline and he looked up at her with an unfocused teary gaze when she got close.

“Got to...run...” He muttered.

“Hey, you okay, buddy?” She asked.

“She...she took everything...” He said. A rustling sound came from the tree line where he had emerged and she looked up to see a monster.

Her ears pinned themselves to her head and she shrunk down at the sight of him. He was dark, almost the color of charcoal, and tall. Dash doubted she would have been able to match him for height even standing on her hind legs. Huge bat-like wings, almost as wide as he was tall, hung loosely from his back. Two horns jutted from his wide forehead, half as thick as her hoof at their bases and curling up at least a foot before tapering off to sharp points. He looked at her, the glowing, yellow pools of light he had for eyes taking in everything within his gaze. But as shocking as those features were to Dash, they were as nothing compared to his most defining feature- He was made utterly and entirely of stone.

He came halfway out from the trees, striding towards them on the toes of his two clawed feet. A thick tail with a spade on the end swung back and forth behind him as he walked. When he came closer Dash could make out joints and well defined muscles flexing and stretching like they were elastic.

He opened his short snout in a wide smile to reveal sharp fangs and said in a deep voice, “Intriguing colors.”

She forced herself to stand straight. “Just what the heck are you?”

“And why would I tell you that?” he asked.

Her heart raced, but she shoved the urge to run back down and said, “Maybe because it’s polite for rock monsters to introduce themselves before they get bucked!”

“I find that to be a very unlikely outcome.” He pointed to the pony at her feet. “Your friend there tried the same thing and look at him.”

“What did you do to him?!”

He gave a soft laugh and crossed his arms across his broad chest. “You may find out yourself shortly. Just don’t expect to be pleased with the answer.”

With that more stone figures emerged from the trees on each side of her. From her left came a light colored one, far smaller and thinner than the charcoal one. The second one, on her right, was a mix of muddy brown tones and was somewhere between the other two in build. But the third, the one that joined the huge dark creature in front of Dash...she was different.

Dash’s mouth dropped open when she stepped out into the clearing. She was nearly as tall as the dark one but much slimmer. Two golden rings, each with a deep red band adorned each of her horns.  She carried a long silver staff that was topped with a clawed hand holding a large red orb the same color as the bands on her horn rings. But all of this was overshadowed by the fact that, unlike her brethren who were made of stone, she was made of crystal, a deep blue similar to the water in a beautiful lagoon Dash had once been to.

She glared at Dash with silver pools of mercury that burned with an internal light. Then, turning to the dark one next to her, she said, “The first one was useless. But her,” she pointed to Dash with clawed finger, “I’ve seen her flying around the nearby village. Her memories should prove very enlightening.” She turned to look Dash straight the eye. “Get her please.”

The dark one shrugged and motioned to the other two at her sides. The three of them started towards her, with the two on her sides veering slightly towards the rear to block her escape. Dash grabbed the dazed pony and made to take off, hesitating when the creature in front of her shook his head.

“I wouldn’t do that. You will only harm yourself.”

She hesitated a fraction of a second before she launched into the air and flapped her wings as hard as she could, gaining speed and altitude slower than she would have liked thanks to her passenger and her tired state. She made it as high as the tree tops when she suddenly slammed into something, as if an invisible ceiling hung over the clearing. She cried out in shock at the sudden impact, and the world wavered for a moment as pain flared through her head. Then the two of them were spiraling down to the ground as Dash tried in vain to stop both herself and the world from spinning.

They thudded to the ground, and she tumbled end over end a few times before coming to a stop on her back. The sky above tilted back and forth and she was so nauseous she had to fight to keep from throwing up. She heard a groan beside her.

“Gotta run... Honey Blossom...” The pony said. He tried to stand and managed a few wobbly steps towards her before falling to the ground once more.

She rolled over and managed to get to her feet. She stood unsteadily as a stone monster slowly approached her.

“I told you not to fly,” he said. “This wouldn’t have hurt nearly as much had you listened.”

“Yeah? We’ll see how much it hurts when I put my hoof through your teeth,” she told him, struggling not to fall over.

“My dear I don’t think you could reach my teeth in your current state.”

She blinked hard, fighting pain and fatigue, and when she opened her eyes he was right in front of her. She rose to strike him but her balance failed and she stumbled and fell to the side. His hand was around her throat before she hit the ground. His grip was tight and she struggled to breathe as he lifted her up until she was standing as tall as she could on her back legs. He bent down a bit to meet her eye level.

“There we go.” He smiled. “What were you saying about my teeth again?”

She scowled at him, struggling and flailing with her forelegs, but his arm was longer than her legs and she only managed to catch air.

“Put...me...down...” She managed to rasp out.

He laughed. “Your fighting spirit burns strong! Tell me, what is your name?”

“Rainbow... Dash...” She choked out.

“Rainbow Dash,” he said. “Such a...fitting name for one with the colors of water in the sky.” He looked past her at something. “Princess, whenever you’re ready.” Footsteps sounded from behind Dash and the crystal creature, the princess, came into her view. She cupped Dash’s cheek in one crystal hand.

“I warn you now. If you struggle, this will take far longer and will not be pleasant,” she said.

With that the princess closed her eyes and leaned her head back. Both her horns started to glow, dimly at first, but with increasing intensity. Purple sparks danced between them and Dash eventually had to avert her eyes as the glow got too bright to look at. The hand on her cheek moved to her forehead and she felt a warmth start to build up. She thrashed around, grabbing for both the hand at her throat and the hand on her forehead, trying anything to break free.

The dark monster gestured with his free hand and suddenly the other two had her forelegs, holding them outstretched and immobile in their stone grips. The buildup of magic stopped and the princess opened her eyes and looked at her. Those eyes...no longer pools of silver, but a black emptiness that made her breath catch. She felt as if she were about to fall into the emptiness, like everything she was and everything she knew was being pulled in.

“Show me...everything...” The princess whispered.

“STOP!” A voice shouted.

The hand on her head came off and the two creatures in front of her jerked around to the right. She looked and saw him.

A white pegasus with a red and white mane. He was up on his hind legs with his wings out as far as they could go and flapping ever so slightly to maintain balance. When he spoke his loud, commanding voice was without fear.

“I am Lieutenant Colonel Storm! Commander of the Second Air Combat Group! You have violated Equestria's borders and have attacked its ponies. I will NOT have this. Let her go. Now.”

Instantly the two holding her forelegs let go and were on alert, looking around the clearing, their stone ears swiveling back and forth as they searched for more intruders. The dark one holding her by the throat loosened his grip slightly and she breathed easier.

“Storm! How are you still alive?” The Princess demanded. A look of furious hate was on her face and she glared at him, gripping her silver staff so hard it was shaking.

“I won’t warn you again. I know all about your little mission here and I won’t have any of it.”

“I think that’s unlikely,” the one holding Dash said. “But I applaud your bluff.” Then he gave Thunder an odd look and said, “Is it really you Storm? You look different somehow. And how did you survive?”

“I wiped the desert with your flanks, Commander Greywing. That’s how.” Thunder spat back.

“It is you!” He was smiling now, even as he held Dash by the throat, with his dark fangs visible in intimate detail to her as he spoke.“The Unmarked Pegasus! The Desert Storm! Yet again you impress me Colonel, a compliment you shouldn’t take lightly.” Thunder said nothing so Greywing continued. “I must be honest with you Colonel. I hold our battles in the sand in the highest of regards. Tell me, how many flyers did you have at your command during our desert dance?”

Thunder dropped to all fours. “I started with ninety-six...” He said. “and I left with sixty-three.”

“Then I bow to you.” Greywing actually bowed slightly, barely more than a tip of the head, but it was there. The Princess raised a shining blue eyebrow and her mouth dropped open slightly at his actions but she said nothing as he continued. “You managed to hold off the Elite Guard for four days with less than one hundred under your command.” He straightened back up. “But...I believe I have your style now. Should we clash again I think you will find me a much more challenging opponent.”

From Dash’s side the thin, light colored creature spoke. “Sir, I hear movement in the forest. I think we are being surrounded.”

Greywing turned a stone ear towards the trees. “I hear them. But...perhaps another bluff Colonel?"

"You are welcome to find out." Thunder replied, his scowling stare not changing in the slightest.

" Hmm. I think I'd prefer not to press my luck." He turned to the princess and said, “I believe we should retreat Your Highness.”

What?” She pointed her staff at the pegasus staring them down. “But he is alone! Why are you not attacking?”

“Did you not hear my lieutenant? He has troops surrounding us as we speak. I can hear them moving through the forest. I recommend we retreat before they encircle us.”

“We can’t just walk away from this...murderer!” She practically spat the last word at Thunder and Dash could almost feel the hatred coming from her.

“Unless you wish to be captured or killed then we have no choice.”

She looked as if she might attack Thunder herself for a few moments before capitulating. “Fine.”

She turned and ran towards the far tree line, two of the stone creatures trailing behind her. Greywing dropped Dash and she collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Then he saluted Thunder, bringing his closed fist to his chest.

“Colonel. Until next time.” When Thunder did nothing he added, “Come now, no need to be rude Colonel. I salute your skill and your brave dead and I ask that you do the same to mine. After all, you did technically win.”

Thunder hesitated, then slowly brought his hoof up to his temple in a return salute. “To dead heroes Commander.”

“Indeed.” Greywing winked and then turned and was gone from the clearing a few moments later.

Thunder was upon her before he had disappeared beyond the trees. “Are you okay Dash?” He asked. “What did they do to you?”

Her head ached and the nausea was still present, but tolerable. She got to her feet, wobbling only a little. “I’m fine. Just slammed into something up there.” She pointed to the sky above.

He nodded and lingered near her for a few moments, his eyes dancing over her as if he didn’t believe she was okay before he went to the other pony and began to talk to him. He was still dazed, and answered Thunder’s questions with nonsense.

“We need to get him to a hospital.” Thunder said. He raised his head and whistled sharply.

From different spots in the treeline three figures emerged and converged on them. It took a moment for her to recognize who they were thanks to her pounding head. Applejack, Big Mac, and Twilight Sparkle. Twilight stopped a couple of times and looked up at the sky. Her horn glowed each time but nothing came from it.

“There’s some kind of magic barrier above us.” She told them when she arrived.

“Way ahead of you Twilight. My head found it before you did.” She shook her head and was rewarded with a surge of pain.

“Did those creatures create it? If so, they must be very good with magic. That barrier is strong. I don’t think we can get through it.”

“You alright there, sugarcube?” Applejack asked her when she got close. “You look like you just tried to buck an apple tree with your head.”

“I’m fine AJ.” Dash told her. “How’d you guys find me? And get here so fast?”

Twilight answered her. “We were at Applejack’s getting ready for the party when Thunder came flying in with that mare. He told us what happened. We couldn’t just leave you out here by yourself so I teleported everyone as close to the Everfree Forest as I could. Thunder tracked you from there.”

“Which we wouldn’t have had to do if you hadn’t flown off on me.” Thunder said accusingly.

Dash’s face grew warm. Pointing to the pony at his feet she said, “Hey, if it wasn’t for me he probably wouldn’t be alive right now!”

He was shaking his head, his face almost a scowl. “It was reckless! I told you we were outnumbered. Did you not believe me?”

“What did you expect me to do?!” She shouted at him. “I’m not in the military, I don’t take orders from you. And I don’t know what you guys do in the Air Force, but I couldn’t just let those monsters take him! I thought you’d understand that with the whole ‘Never leave a pony behind’ thing!”

His face hardened and his mouth opened and closed a few times but nothing came out. Finally he took a quick breath and said, “Don’t try that. Not with me. Not right now. Okay?”

“Why not? You can’t handle a little-”

“Stop!” He cried. The others took a step back from him, unease on their faces. “Just stop. We can argue about this later.” He nodded towards the stricken pony. “He needs to get to a hospital and I don’t think he can walk.” Thunder turned to the red stallion nearby. “It’s Mac isn’t it? Can you carry him?”

“Eeyup. Load ‘em up.” He knelt down and Thunder helped him load the moaning pony onto his back.

“We need to get out of here. Now.” Thunder said when they were done.  He was alert, his eyes and ears dancing around around the clearing, searching for any sign of the monsters. “I don’t know if they have other forces nearby, but I know I don’t want to stick around to find out.”

“What were those things?” Twilight asked. “They looked...familiar. I think I’ve seen them in a book somewhere.”

“Stone monsters with wings, claws, and more?” He asked her. “Gargoyles.”

“Uhh...say what now?” Applejack said.

“I’m sorry, did you say gargoyles?” Twilight asked. “No no no, that can’t be right. Gargoyles are a myth! A legend from thousands of years ago!”

“So was Nightmare Moon.” He said.

“That’s...true.” She admitted. “But how-”

“Twilight!”  He cut her off in a stern voice. “We need to go before they come back here with about a dozen or more in tow. So unless anyone here thinks they can take on a squadron of stone monsters, we need to go. Can you teleport us out?”

“I’d rather not. There’s some odd magic here other than that barrier and I don’t want to risk teleporting everyone when I don’t know what will happen. We could end up somewhere...bad.”

“How bad?”

“Is buried two hundred feet underground bad enough for you?”

“Walking it is.” He pointed towards a spot near where Applejack had emerged from the trees earlier. “Come on, that way.”

He led them out of the clearing as fast as they could trot with Dash still dizzy and Mac carrying the pony on his back. Dash quickly realized that Thunder was keeping near her. He’d pause and look around every once in a while, as if checking to make sure they weren’t followed, or make his way ahead and correct their course, but he’d always come right back to her side where he was so close his flicking tail touched her several times. But his proximity to her wasn’t comforting this time, and she fumed from being berated earlier. Thankfully, they soon saw light ahead of them. The trees ended suddenly and they found themselves back out in the open, with Ponyville barely visible in the distance.

Thunder turned to Mac. “Get him to the hospital as soon as you can.” The large pony nodded and took off at a fast trot. “Twilight, Rainbow Dash tells me Spike can send messages directly to the Princess.”

“That’s right.”

“Then I need to borrow Spike as soon as possible.” He said.

“He should be back at Sweet Apple Acres where we left him.” She said. “I can teleport us there if you’d like, now that we’re out of the forest.”

He nodded and then turned to Dash. “Dash...I think you should go to the hospital. Just in case.”

“No way. I’m fine.” She said.

“Are you sure?”

She clenched her teeth together in irritation. “Yes.”

“Dash, you look terrible. I really think-”

The irritation flared up within her and she cut him off. “Thunder, you’ve been gone for eight years, you don’t how I should look!”

He took a step back from her, surprise written on his face. Silence reigned for a few moments before Applejack intervened.

“I’ll make sure she gets home Thunder. Ya’ head on back to the house with Twilight.” She said.

He nodded and went to stand beside Twilight. The two of them disappeared a moment later in a flash of magic. Applejack joined Dash and the two of them made their way on foot towards Dash’s house. It was a while before either one spoke, and Applejack finally broke the silence.

“Something you wanna talk about Rainbow Dash?” She asked.

“No.”

“Don’t ya’ think it was a bit harsh what ya’ said back there to Thunder?” She asked.

“Well...it’s true AJ.”

“He’s right, Dash. Ya’ look pretty bad.”

Dash stopped. “So?! How’s he supposed to know how I should look? It’s been eight years, AJ! And then he just shows up and suddenly everything is good again. But it’s not! It’s not at all.”

“How so?” Applejack asked.

Dash was pacing back and forth now. “I dunno. Everything's been messed up since he got here. I mean, he’s like a freakin hero AJ! So why aren’t we celebrating? Why are we off fighting monsters in the Everfree Forest?”

“I don’t think ya’ can blame that on him”

“It’s not just that! Every time I turn around he’s half sulking by himself and he won’t tell me why.”

“Sulking?”

“Yeah. He’s all awesome and amazing one second, and then I turn around and he’s got this distant look on his face that makes me wanna just...I dunno...just do something. Anything to change that look. And then he sees me... and it’s just gone! Just like that!” She clapped her hooves together once. “Gone. And then he’s back to Colonel Awesome again!”

Applejack laughed. “Colonel Awesome huh?”

“What? I...” Dash trailed off. Her head hurt and she was having a hard time thinking clearly. “Whatever.”

They started walking again. It was several minutes before Applejack spoke up again.

“I can see how ya’ like him.”

“What?”

“You. Like. Him.” She slowly said.

“We just got attacked by monsters and you’re bringing this up now AJ?”

“No time like the present, sugarcube.”

She shook her head and winced. “Whatever.”

“Like I was sayin’, I can see how ya’ like him.” She continued. “He’s strong. He’s got those mighty impressive wings of his.”

“Mmhmm...” A picture of him, standing on his back legs with his wings stretched out as far as they could go flashed into her mind.

“He’s cute.”

A smile crept to her face. “He is...”

That made Applejack break into laughter for a moment. “Yeah. And he seems like a pretty nice fella. Plus he’s just about the only one I’ve seen that can keep up with ya’.”

“Yeah, well...that’s only because I let him.” Dash said.

“Hah! Rainbow Dash, if that’s true then I know ya’ like him, ‘cause you don’t let anyone keep up with ya’.”

They laughed and continued on. By the time they reached Dash’s house the Sun had fallen to sit a little ways above the horizon, its light just starting to show a hint of orange. They said goodnight and Dash was about to fly up to her place when she remembered the dinner they were supposed to have.

“We can have it tomorrow night.” Applejack told her. “You go on up and get some rest.”

With that, she left, and Dash flew up to her house. She was dirty and her head and wings ached, so she ran a hot bath and stepped into the steaming water, sighing as it covered her. She lay there, soaking and letting her thoughts drift around in her mind. They kept going to Thunder and the events of that day. In particular the part where the Princess called him a “murderer”. What really got to her was the sheer hatred she could hear and feel in the way the Princess said it, as if Thunder had done something absolutely terrible and personal to her.

But what did she know about war and murder? The only things she knew about were moving a few clouds around and the aerial tricks she was going to do to impress the Wonderbolts. But Thunder...if it was true what that other gargoyle, Commander Greywing, had said, then he was apparently a master strategist or tactician or whatever the word was. He had held off whatever the “Elite Guard” was for four days, but lost somewhere around thirty ponies out of a hundred. She didn’t know if that was good or bad.

She shivered and pushed the thoughts from her mind. She didn’t want to think about that right now. Instead she focused on what Applejack had said. Did she have feelings towards Thunder? It was true that he was cute and strong, and he was one of the the only ponies able to keep up with her for more than a few seconds. But she had known him since she was a filly. He had been like a big brother to her. Or so she thought. What was it like to have an actual big brother? Both Twilight and Applejack had older brothers, and Rarity and Pinkie were older siblings themselves, but Dash didn’t have any siblings. Did she and Thunder ever fight when they were growing up like she saw happen at least some of the time with her friends? She tried to remember but her memories were indistinct and she couldn’t say for sure what had happened or how she felt back then. It had just been so long ago and she had been so young, barely a teenager when he left.

She thought of earlier that day when they were alone after the Cutie Mark Crusaders had left and how good it felt when she had hugged him. That and his smile as his gaze swept over her body when she caught him looking at her. That made her grin. She was pretty sure that didn’t happen between Applejack and Big Mac.

She closed her eyes and let her imagination run for a while as she relaxed in the hot water. She was warm and the ache in her wings had died down, and even though her head still throbbed every now and then she felt good. She lay there for a good while, until the water had grown cool and the light coming in from her bedroom window had faded before getting out and drying off. The air was cool, and she shivered as it leeched the heat out of her damp fur as she made her way to the kitchen. Now that the nausea was gone she was absolutely starving.

A half hour and several sandwiches later she felt much better. Fatigue was starting to gnaw at her, but she wanted to wait until Thunder got back before going to bed. She curled up on the couch and opened a Daring Do book at the bookmark and tried to read. Her attention kept wandering from the page to the events of that day and after a while she closed both the book and her tired eyes, meaning only to rest them for a few moments.

When she forced them open again everything was dark except for a small amount of light coming from the kitchen. She had awakened at the sensation of something being draped over her. A dark blue blanket, heavy and rough and worn down in several places was covering her. One of her hind hooves was sticking out through a hole. She could just make out the letters “E.R.A.F.” on it in the low light. A noise came from the kitchen and she glanced over to see Thunder.

Slowly, quietly, he made something to eat. Dash didn’t say anything. She just lay there and watched him work. He made a simple sandwich, like she had done earlier, and began to eat, pausing after each bite and staring into nothing as if lost in thought before finally catching himself and continuing on. Halfway through he tossed it back on the plate and let out a sigh before burying his face in his hooves.

He looked so tired and Dash wanted to call to him, to ask him what was wrong, but her earlier outburst stopped her. What would he say? Was he mad at her? His head came up and he turned to look at her and she quickly closed her eyes to keep him from knowing she was awake. She heard hooves clicking on the floor as he left the kitchen and then felt the blanket come up at the foot of the couch. He pulled it free of her hoof and settled it back down to cover her completely, leaving her whole body warm underneath the rough material.

A few moments later he was lightly running a hoof through her mane. It felt good, and she was disappointed a few moments later when he stopped. But then his warm breath was on her face and he kissed her cheek. His lips lingered for a few seconds before he pulled back, just enough to whisper, “Don’t scare me like that again Rainbow. You’re all I have left.” He got up and left. The light from the kitchen turned off and she was alone in the dark.

Rainbow? She couldn’t remember him ever calling her just ‘Rainbow’ before. It had always been ‘Dash’, ‘Dashie’, or ‘Rainbow Dash’. Then realization hit her and she kicked herself in her mind over and over. He hadn’t been angry with her...he had been scared. Sweet Celestia, he had probably been scared out of his mind when he found her held up by the throat by monsters about to zap her with magic. And she had just yelled at him, told him him he didn’t know what she should look like. What an idiot she was...

She turned over, wrapping the blanket around her like a sleeping bag and thought about what he said. “You’re all I have left.” She didn’t know exactly what he meant, but she realized that she was one of the few friends he had. That brought a lump to her throat.

She lay there for a while, warm in his blanket and tried to push everything that had happened that day out of her mind. Finally, sleep took her.

#

They landed at Sweet Apple Acres the next afternoon for dinner. The day had gone by quickly. Dash hadn’t even woken up until almost noon, and then their visit to the hospital to check on the stallion from yesterday had taken almost an hour. He would be okay, but the doctor they spoke to wasn’t sure what had happened to him. But Dash knew. She remembered those cold black eyes staring into her, about to suck up everything she knew. She was glad when they left and she could push the memory away again.

As soon as their hooves touched down Thunder was beset by Apple Bloom and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders. They smiled up at him, bouncing around with the energy of childhood.

“Thunder! Are you gonna come to the next meeting?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yeah, and maybe you could give me more flying lessons!” Scootaloo said.

The stallion tussled their manes. “I’ll be there if I can. And you keep on practicing Scootaloo. I’m sure your friends,” he looked at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, “will help you out.”

They nodded eagerly and Dash found herself grinning as Scootaloo rose up on two legs to hug him before the trio took off. The look on the filly’s face...was that how Scootaloo looked at her? She was suddenly struck by the fact that Scootaloo didn’t even acknowledge her presence, instead going straight to Thunder like she had done to Dash so many times. She’d never seen the little pegasus act that way towards anyone but herself. She didn’t know how she felt about that. Scootaloo’s idolization of her was touching, and Dash liked the attention, but it was annoying at times. The little pegasus was hard to turn down and Dash had found herself hanging out with Scootaloo instead of taking her usual nap on multiple occasions. Shaking her head, she brushed the thoughts aside and the two of them followed the fillies to the house.

Two hours later they were outside at a makeshift table filled the remains of food dishes. The Apple Family always made amazing food, and Dash burped after the last of her apple pie made it to her stomach.

“So have you received any word from the Princess?” Twilight asked from beside Rainbow Dash. She sat between Twilight Sparkle and Rarity, the latter of which had taken quite well to Thunder, even referring to him as ‘Colonel’ in her sweet, sophisticated way of talking as if he were an officer at a Canterlot ball she was attending. He had protested at first but she had tutted and told him not to be embarrassed about his social position, after which he ceased asking her to stop and grudgingly accepted it. Dash was sure that if Pinkie had been able to make it she’d have come up with something creative to go after “Colonel”.

Across the table from them, past what was left of the cobbler and apple pie and sitting between Applejack and Fluttershy, Thunder swallowed the mouthful of food he had and shook his head in reply to Twilight’s question.

“Not yet. I was actually expecting something by now.” He shifted and adjusted his uniform. Dash had asked him to wear it to dinner since he looked super handsome in it, even though Rarity had commented to Dash that it was a little loose on him. She’d even told Dash to bring ‘The Colonel’ by her shop one day and she’d correct it.

“It’s not like the Princess to wait so long to reply.” Twilight said. “She’s always replied to my important letters in a very timely manner.”

Dash shrugged and pushed away her empty plate. “Well I’m not worried. If the princess hasn’t bothered to get back to us, then it must not be that important. I mean, it was only like four of them, it can’t be that big a deal right?”

“Well, it’s not their number that bothers me, it’s who they were." Thunder said. "You don’t send a princess and one of your top commanders deep into enemy territory by themselves. At least not without a very good reason. There’s something going on here, I just don’t know what. And the fact that neither Celestia nor Luna has gotten back to me doesn’t make me feel any better.”

"Colonel,” Rarity spoke up. “What do you mean by ‘Enemy Territory’?”

Twilight nodded her head in agreement. “Yes, I meant to ask you more about our Gargoyle situation yesterday, but you left before I had the chance to. What did we do to them? The first day we met you said that Equestria wasn’t at war...but if so, why are we enemies?”

“Yeah.” Dash said. “And if we aren’t at war how come you fought that Greywing guy? You said you kicked his flank in the desert. What was that about?”

He leaned back and sighed, running a hoof through his mane and looking into the clear sky for a few moments. Dash’s eyes were drawn to the red tips of his mane waving back and forth like the corn stalks she had sometimes seen blowing in the wind here at Sweet Apple Acres.

“Fine.” He leaned forward and the rest of the table followed suit. “About three months ago I took command of an Air Combat Group out in the desert north of Saddle Arabia. They had been dispatched a few months before to safeguard an archeological dig of a large number of ruins recently found in the mountainous area.”

“Safeguard from what?” Twilight asked.

“Supposedly just bandits and the usual desert creatures.” He said. “Anyways, the archeological team was sponsored by the Canterlot Academy with the blessings of Celestia herself. A few days before I took command they hit it big. They found an opening to a huge network of underground caves and tunnels holding a giant city in and under the mountains. But unlike the other dig sites the city wasn’t ruined. Everything was intact! Even after thousands of years! As if someone had just sealed up the tunnel system and stopped time itself. They were ecstatic I’m told.”

“I can see why.” Twilight said. “A discovery of such a well-preserved ancient city would be an amazing accomplishment for any archaeologist! Easily the find of a lifetime!”

Thunder nodded and continued. “Well, the reason I took command was because of an...incident.”

“Wait...you mean something terrible happened, don’t you?” Dash asked.

“Yeah you could say that. The previous commander was killed in action during an ambush at one of the dig sites. Another pony was critically injured and ended up dying right after I assumed command the next day. The two survivors talked about statues coming to life and attacking them.”

“That’s terrible!” Rarity gasped. “What could possibly make them do such horrible things?”

“I don’t know.” He said. “Maybe we woke them up when we broke in? In any case it didn’t matter. A few days after I got there we started having patrols go missing or come back wounded. I pulled all my flights back and sent word to the palace. And then I waited.”

“Ya’ just...waited?” Applejack asked from beside him.

“Well, not exactly. I waited for orders. But I wasn’t just sitting around on my wings. Plans were developed, strategies and tactics based on the little knowledge we had of our enemy were discussed, things like that. I didn’t know it at the time, but my message never got through. About a week later, in the middle of the night, they struck.”

“Those cowards!” Dash said. “Attacking in the night like that...”

“Their choice to attack during the night has less to do with being cowardly and more to do with a key aspect of their race. I think Twilight knows where I’m going with this.”

She nodded. “According to legend they aren’t stone during the night.”

“And the legend is true. They are living, breathing creatures of flesh just like you and me. And the most important part of that, at least at the time, was that during the night they could fly.”

Something clicked in Dash’s head. “So that’s why they ran to the Everfree Forest instead of flying. They can’t fly during the day!”

Thunder pointed a hoof at her. “Exactly. That’s probably the main reason I was able to hold them back for four days. They can’t move their forces effectively during the daytime. That and they can’t control the weather. We could however, and we used it with great effectiveness.”

“Sounds like you gave ‘em one heck of buckin’!” Applejack said.

He smiled. “You know those tornadoes they use to get water up to Cloudsdale? Imagine one five times larger with a wind-speed twice as fast. And it had lightning.”

“No way...” Dash said.

“Your weather team may be good Dash, but you get nearly a hundred pegasi from my command together and you’d be amazed at what we can do.”

A voice spoke from beside him, quiet and low. “Sounds like you’re very proud of them.”

He turned to the pink haired, yellow pegasus beside him. Fluttershy. “Yeah, I am. They fought for me for four days straight. They gave me everything they had. All that with almost no sleep, with no support, and surrounded by an enemy they had never even heard of and had no idea how to fight. And thirty-three of them gave me more than everything by the time we managed to fight through and get out of there.”

“Was that- if you don’t mind me asking that is- was that the first time you’ve lost ponies under your command?”

“The first time? No. But it was the most I’ve ever lost in one battle.”

“Oh...I’m sorry...I shouldn’t have asked.” She ducked her head down and stared at the plate in front of her.

An awkward silence fell around the table that Twilight broke a few moments later.

“Well...what now? What’s the plan?”

“The plan,” Thunder got up from the table. “is to enjoy the day. I’ve already notified my chain of command, so all I can do now is wait for orders. And maybe Rainbow Dash is right. If the gargoyles in the forest were a significant threat then I’m sure Princess Celestia would have gotten back to me by now. Trust me, they're not gonna attack anything with just four of them, at least not now that they know I’m here.”

“Why’s that?” Dash asked.

He chuckled and started to trot away from the table towards the house. “Didn’t you hear? I’m the Desert Storm!”

She smiled and shook her head at him. Twilight’s voice brought her attention back to the table.

“Well you might not be worried Rainbow Dash, but I am. I searched the library up and down for half the night trying to find some reference to these Gargoyles with no success. I think I’m going to send a request to the Canterlot archives for any information they may have.”

“Well, darling,” Rarity said, “I’m going to follow the words of the Colonel and enjoy the rest of this absolutely gorgeous evening. I’ve had enough worrying today thanks to the mix up of fabric I received. Would you believe I was sent an absolutely hideous shade of burgundy instead of the rosewood I ordered? Unbelievable...I’m going to have to send them a stern letter regarding this incident.”

“Oh yeah, Rarity, that’ll really put them in their places.” Dash said, elbowing her in the side. “And after that you can-”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity interrupted. “I am not in the mood for your antics. If you touch me again, the next time you find yourself in my shop you will find yourself without a mane.”

“Please, you wouldn’t be able to catch this pegasus!”

“Oh, I don’t need to catch the whole pegasus. I just need to catch her mane.” She leaned close to Dash and added, “Something I’m quite sure I can do.”

The two argued back and forth for a few minutes before Applejack finally slapped a hoof down on the table.

“Okay you two, that’s enough. Why don’t we enjoy the rest of the evening like ‘The Colonel’ said, okay? Speaking of...” She nodded towards the house and Dash turned to see Thunder walking back towards them, no longer wearing his uniform.

“Hey big guy.” She said when he got close. “No uniform?”

“Nah, wanted to take a flight and it’s a little awkward flying around in it. Care to join me?”

She nodded and got up from the table. “Heck yeah! I’ve been meaning to show you a few moves I’ve been working on anyways.”

They trotted little ways away and were about to take off when Twilight’s voice stopped them momentarily.

“Be back right after sundown, you two! There’s a meteor shower and we’re going to watch! Oh, and I brought my telescope!” The unicorn was practically bouncing up and down in excitement.

“Okay, Twilight!” Dash yelled.

The two pegasi spread their wings and were airborne above the trees in seconds. Dash went into a loop, arching herself back and raising her head until she could see Thunder. He rolled over and for a moment their gazes locked and he smiled up at her, following her motion with his eyes as she arced over him. Then her loop took her below him and she pulled out of it and came back along side him.

“So...what about those moves?” He asked.

“Just watch me!”

Canting her wings she arced over him, rolling at the same time so that her back stayed facing him. She spiraled around him, just past his wingtips, increasing her speed until she was a rainbow blur in the sky. For several long moments she turned the air around Thunder into a tunnel of spectral brilliance as they flew. Finally, when she began to get dizzy she slowed and returned to his side.

“Nice one,” he said. “What else you got?

She looked around. “Well...usually I have some clouds set up, but there aren’t any around right now. Otherwise I’d show you my Rainbow Slalom. I kinda messed it up last time I did it...but I got it down now that Rarity isn’t flying around with her butterfly wings to distract me!”

His face fell into a disapproving frown that she immediately saw through. “What is this I hear? The great Rainbow Dash trying to blame someone else for her screw-up? I’m disappointed!”

“Yeah well, the great Rainbow Dash is about to put a hoof in the Desert Storm’s flank if he doesn’t cut it out.”

His frown deepened, and a moment later he dodged the hoof she shot out towards his markless backside. He laughed and dodged another.

“Fine! Fine!” He cried. “Anyways, I’ve got a move to show ya.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Stop for a second.”

They came to a stop and hovered in the air. “Okay. Do you trust me Dash?”

That was a weird question. “Uhh...I guess? What’s this about?”

He chuckled. “I guess? That’ll have to do. Anyways, no matter what happens, don’t move. Okay?”

She nodded and he flew a little ways off. Then he started towards her. He accelerated hard, pumping his wings so fast they were almost a blur. She forced herself to stay put in her hover as he shot towards her. He came closer, a white bullet speeding at her. Then, right when he was about to impact her he suddenly twisted upside down and shot upwards, barely missing her by an inch. She gasped, not at the sight of his body almost touching her nose, but at the feeling, right afterwards, of his mane brushing down her back. The realization of what he had just done kept her frozen in awe for a few seconds until he came flapping back into view in front of her.

“Well?” He asked.

“That...that was amazing! You just twisted and went right into a half loop right over my head. That’s one heck of a turning radius at that speed! How’d ya do it?”

“It’s all in the wings.”

“Well yeah, but how did you do it?”

“Here, lemme show you again. Only this time I’ll come from the side and do it right in front of you.” He said.

He did it again and she watched. Roll, lean forward and climb, then arch and pull into a half loop.

“How are you losing all that airspeed when you go into the loop?” She asked. “You should be moving way too fast to turn that tight.”

“I’ll do it again. It’s all in the wings! Watch ’em!” He said.

He did it once more. Roll, lean forward and climb, then arch and...then she saw it.

“What was that you did with your wings right after you start the loop? You just...flicked them about half a stroke.”

“Exactly. Right at the start of the loop, right after your arch yourself backwards you’re still going mostly vertical, but you’re laying nearly horizontal. Flick your wings, hard. That steals energy from your climb and lets you pull a tight loop like I did. I think I actually did it a little too much. Did my mane touch you?”

“Yeah, you could say that. Or you could say you dragged it down my whole backside.” She laughed. “Lemme try it now.”

So she did. It took her a few tries and some pointers from Thunder, but after a little while she had it down. She stopped and took a breather, soaking in the last bit of orange light from the Sun as it inched closer to the horizon.

“Nice job.” He said. “You picked up on that quicker than I thought.”

“What, was it supposed to be hard?” She smiled at him. “I’m the greatest flyer in Equestria! Hard to most ponies is like a nap on a cloud to me!”

“I think I’d be hard pressed to disagree.” He said.

Something about the way he said it made her smile get even wider. Like it was utterly and entirely true and he honestly couldn’t disagree. Some of her friends would have told her to to be humble or something. But his admission of her skill and the way he said it was wonderful.

“So did you use that move in the desert?”

He thought for a moment before answering. “Uh, yeah, I think I did. Why?”

“Just wondering if I should use it if I come up against any of those gargoyles.”

His face got serious and he came closer and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Please, promise me that if you ever come face to face with one of them you will do nothing but fly away as fast as you can. Promise me Dashie.”

“Oh c’mon!”

“Rainbow...please.”

Rainbow. The memory of what he said the previous night came back to her. Was she really all he had left?

She nodded at him. “Okay.”

He drew back and a few moments of silence fell before Dash worked up the courage to ask him a question.

“Hey, uh, last night, you said I was all you had left. What did you mean?”

He gave a small chuckle. “I figured you were awake.” She gave him a questioning look and he continued. “I’ve pulled enough night watch around other sleeping ponies to know when someone is actually asleep. It’s all in the breathing.”

“But, was it true what you said?”

“That you’re all I have left? Yeah, it is.”

She frowned. “What about your Uncle? Where’d he move off to?”

“Uncle Winters? Dash...he died about three months after I joined up.”

“What? I thought he moved away! I just came home from school one day and your house was up for sale. No one told me he had died.”

“Yeah, I was in advanced flight training when they told me. I didn’t go to the funeral. Didn’t figure there was much of a reason to go considering our...relationship.”

“What was up with him? I think I only saw him like a dozen times growing up. You were over at my place way more than you were home.”

He shrugged. “He wasn’t very social and he didn’t have any experience with kids I guess. That and he was pretty old. I kinda just got dropped on him one day. I don’t blame him. He gave me a place to live and food to eat and never gave me a hard time. He just...wasn’t really interested in me other than to make sure I got my school work done. I don’t think I ever had an actual conversation with him.”

“He could have at least seen you off when you left for training. It was just me, my parents, and you. I can’t believe he didn’t come. I mean, the guy was like your father for-”

“No.” He cut her off. “No he wasn’t my father. If anyone was it was your dad, Rainbow.”

“Pops?”

“Yeah. Your dad was always there for me. After all, he’s the one who taught me how to fly properly.” He chuckled. “Maybe he felt bad seeing me struggle just to get back up to the house every day.”

“Wait...my old man taught you to fly?” She asked.

He nodded. “That he did. I think you were too young to remember.”

She never knew that. In Cloudsdale it was practically a tradition for parents to teach their children to fly. Real flying, not the buzzing, barely hovering around kind that Scootaloo had been trying to do. It was a milestone for both parent and child and was something intimate that helped bond them together. At least that’s what she’d always been told. She remembered with great joy the time her father taught her. He had even let Thunder help after she’d practically begged. The fact that her dad had taken it upon himself to teach a colt he barely knew was...well, awesome.

“I owe you and your parents a lot Rainbow.” He said. “I don’t think I’d be the pony I am today without their help. And while the doll you gave me always reminded me of you, this reminded me of them.” He pointed towards the horizon where the Sun had just fallen, casting an orange glow over everything.

“The sunset?” She asked.

“Yeah. Look close. Stare at the horizon. What do you see?”

She stared for a few seconds. “Uh, Red? Orange?”

He moved behind her hovering form and stuck a hoof over her shoulder to point right above the horizon. The other one wrapped lightly around her waist to hold them in place. “Right there. What color is it?”

“Orange.”

“And now?” He moved his hoof up a little bit.

“Yellow?”

He moved up again. “And...now?”

“It’s...ohmygosh...” She saw it. Bands of color ran across the sky, each one almost imperceptibly changing into the next as they got further from the horizon. Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. The blue band gradually darkened as it got higher, but she swore she could see a little violet in it. “It’s a rainbow!”

“Technically no since it isn’t from rain, but I like to call it a rainbow anyways.”

She took in the view, staring up at the subtle spectrum stretched across the cloudless sky. “It’s beautiful...”

“Yes, she is.”

Her stomach did a flip. She was suddenly intensely aware of him. He hovered close behind her, just out of the way of her flapping wings, with one hoof hooked around her waist and the other draped over her shoulder. He slowly pulled her back until she could feel her wings touching his chest with each stroke. She found herself staring over her shoulder into his blue eyes. A smile stretched across her face and her hooves found his and she squeezed them tightly. Then a quiet voice suddenly came from behind them.

“Um...Rainbow Dash...excuse me...”

Dash made to break apart, but the hooves lightly holding her in place didn’t move. Instead Thunder rotated them just enough to see a yellow pegasus fluttering a little ways back.

“Uh, hey Fluttershy. What’s up?” Dash asked.

“I’m so sorry, but Twilight asked me to come get you two. She said the meteor shower is about to start.”

“Oh, Okay. We’ll be right down.”

With that Fluttershy turned and flew slowly back towards the farm. Dash thought she heard a giggle come from the pegasus just as she turned away.

“Shall we?” Thunder asked, nodding towards the farm and making his mane sway back and forth a few times.

Dash's eyes were drawn to it. She remembered him keeping it shorter when they were younger. Reaching up, she ran her hoof slowly up and down that red and white strip of hair. He closed his eyes and made a low noise, almost a purr, that she could feel as well as hear.

After a few moments she asked, “Thunder?”

“Hmm?”

“You sure you aren’t worried? About those gargoyles I mean.”

“Of course I’m worried. There’s just nothing I can do about it at the moment. I sincerely hope my worrying is over nothing, but it’s out of my hooves now and I just want to enjoy the rest of today. That sound okay?”

“Sounds good. Oh, one more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“First one to the farm wins!” She cried, breaking his hold and dashing off. She heard him laugh as she broke loose and the race was on.

She won of course. The sunset was fading and the first hints of stars could be seen in the sky by the time they landed near the farm on the small hill where Twilight was setting her telescope up. A large blanket had been laid out on the ground nearby and Rarity, Applejack, and the others were already laying on it and talking amongst themselves in the fading light. Scootaloo waved to her from the blanket and Dash smiled and waved back. Maybe the little pegasus hadn’t forgotten about her after all.

She pushed the thoughts away and led the two of them to the blanket. She lay down on one end and Thunder lay down on his back next to her. Applejack was beside him and the two struck up a conversation about the farm. For a while Dash just lay there as the sky darkened and listened to her friends voices blur together in a multitude of different conversations. It was enjoyable. She was especially happy that her stallion was getting along with the rest of her friends. He had seemed so lonely most of the week and...

She snorted when she realized what she had thought. Her stallion? Why had she thought that? Certainly he was one of her friends, and could have been her closest friend had it not been for the eight years he had been absent from her life. But the thought of him being ‘her’ stallion...well, it thrilled her. She had to suppress a giggle at the realization. She couldn’t help but stare at him; even as it got darker and his mane’s red tips faded to gray as the color left the world she found herself nearly unable to look away. More than once she caught Applejack’s eye on her and she swore the earth pony winked at her the third time their eyes met.

By the time Twilight joined them on the blanket Dash could see her breath in the air. The misty vapor was barely visible in the night, with only the dim light from the stars above to reveal it as it drifted across them. Finally Twilight raised a hoof, blotting out a slender patch of stars as she pointed to the sky above.

“Ohhh, I saw one, girls! I think the meteor shower is starting.”

“Where at Twilight?” Applejack asked.

“Right between Orion and Gemini. Give it a minute and you’ll see one.”

Dash had no idea where Orion and Gemini were, or even what they looked like. A vague memory of Twilight mentioning ‘Orion’s Belt’ to Rarity when the latter was making their gala dresses popped into her head but she couldn’t visualize the details of the dress. She stared in the general direction that everyone else seemed to be looking. Several minutes passed and a couple of “ohh’s” and “ahh’s” sounded out, but she couldn’t see anything other than the stars. Frustrated, she started to twist and turn, looking around the sky in hopes of seeing something.

“Problem, Dashie?” Thunder asked, whispering in the darkness.

“Uh, where am I supposed to be looking again?”

“C’mere.” He pulled her close with a wing and pointed to the sky. It was so dark she could only see the blackness his hoof made against the night sky. “See those three bright, bluish white stars?”

“The ones all in a row?”

“That’s them. They form Orion’s belt. Now go up a little past that bright orange one nearby and wait a moment.”

A few seconds later a little streak appeared from where she was looking. It was dim and was over in less than a second.

“Was that it?”

“That was a little one. Just wait.” He said.

She lay back on his wing and watched a few dim streaks appear over the course of several minutes. “Kinda boring...” She whispered to herself. Had she not been pressed up to the large pegasus next to her she probably would have gotten up or fallen asleep already.

Suddenly a bright streak blazed into life. It shot across the sky, seeming to pass right over them, turning from a green to a light red, almost pink, and finally flaring up to a whitish blue that dazzled her dark adjusted eyes. She bolted upright as it passed.

“Whoa! What was that?”

Twilight’s voice came from the other side of the blanket. “That, Rainbow Dash, was a meteor. It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it was kinda cool, Twi.”

Rarity giggled nearby. “Rainbow Dash says a meteor is cool. Next thing we know she’ll be inviting Twilight over for telescope parties. Why darling, I could make you two fabulous matching dresses for your observing sessions!”

“Oh please, that’s about as likely as Twilight sprouting wings out her butt and beating me in a race.”

Applejack snorted and Dash lay back down. The wing under her wrapped around and pulled her close. A moment of deja vu hit her. Had she been in this situation before? She wracked her brain, trying to remember the last time she had been embraced by someone’s wing like this.

Suddenly the falling stars were gone and she was a filly again, a little older than Scootaloo, back at Cloudsdale the day Thunder left. He had her wrapped up with his wing as she hugged him tightly. Then she was waving in the bright sunlight and watching those white wings carry him away from her until after long minutes he was gone.

Her lead pony. Her protector. Her mentor. Her beautiful, wonderful friend was gone. And it hurt so bad. Like the best part of her soul had been ripped from her and thrown into the fire to slowly sizzle away into colorless smoke. She swore having her own wings cleaved from her would be less painful. Now she was crying, her tears cascading into a coat that wasn’t his as her father stroked her mane and carried her back home like she was a filly half her age.

Then she was back under the stars; and that cold empty feeling - long buried and forgotten - welled up within her and she fought the tide rising in her eyes. She intertwined her foreleg with his and pulled herself closer until she was snug between his wing and his warm side. The meteor shower forgotten, she lost the battle in her eyes, closing them and leaning her head against his shoulder as silent tears rolled down her cheeks to dampen his coat. A moment later she felt his breath on her forehead as he kissed her softly.

“What’s wrong, Rainbow?” He whispered.

Rainbow. Something rose up, clashing with the cold emptiness within her, pushing it back with a burning intensity that filled the void. It was back. That part of her soul she thought had been cast away and lost forever had come back. It was a phoenix rising from the ashes, blackened and wounded, but strong. It embraced her in its wings and turned her tears of pain into ones of joy. She turned onto her side and wrapped a foreleg over him, nuzzling his neck.

“Don’t you leave me again...” She whispered. “Okay?”

He didn’t say anything. He just squeezed his wing around her and slowly ran a hoof through her mane. They lay there holding each other in the dark while the stars ignited and burnt out their lives overhead.

#

Rainbow Dash was soaring. Her breath came in quick, regular gasps and her heart beat in her chest faster than her wings beat against the cold night air. She climbed upwards towards the Moon that illuminated the landscape below. Another pair of wings sounded in the air behind her, following in her wake and belonging to what was part of the reason her heart beat so quickly.

She rolled and went into an arcing dive that brought her low, pulling up less than a foot from the treetops. A single leaf slapped her face and left it stinging as she streaked by. Ahead, her house came into view, quickly growing larger and larger as she got closer. She smirked and shot forward to blast through one of the rainbow waterfalls showering down from the cloud base. Wiping the liquid from her eyes she pulled up hard, driving her wings faster as the ground below receded and the stars above became clearer through the thinning air.

Finally, when the air was cold and her wings burned from exertion she stopped and hovered. A few seconds passed and Thunder was suddenly in front of her. He was breathing hard, sending out a large cloud of moisture at quick intervals that she could easily see in the moonlight. Bright light from the brilliant, cratered orb glinted off the silver and brass on his uniform. He smiled softly at her and her stomach fluttered. Then he spoke.

“You should see yourself. You look like you crashed into an actual rainbow.” He brought a hoof to her cheek and gently wiped away a bit of multicolored liquid. It had gotten all over her, leaving dozens of colored, damp splotches all over her coat.  “You’re so beautiful.”

The fluttery feeling turned into a storm of butterflies and she smiled wider than she thought possible. “An officer and a gentlecolt, huh? You’re not so bad yourself handsome.” She reached out and grasped his hooves. “Now c’mon, I’m getting cold.”

She pulled him into a dive. Together they fell from the sky, hoof in hoof, leaving not a bright burning streak, but a long rainbow that was nearly invisible in the night. They landed outside her front door and she pulled him down. They fell to the soft cloud and she wrapped herself around him, nuzzling and kissing his neck.

His lips found hers and the butterflies in her stomach suddenly exploded. She hesitated just a moment, not believing that this was really happening before she pressed herself into the kiss. After several long seconds they broke apart. They lay there, staring into each others eyes and she found herself running a hind hoof up and down his leg. He returned the gesture by running a hoof down her neck and across a wing. She shivered a moment, unused to anyone touching her wings like that, but it felt so good...

She kissed him again and went to stroke his chest only to find his uniform was still on. Only now it was covered in multicolored streaks that matched up with the ones on her front side. She pulled lightly at the collar and felt the small amount of slack in it.

“Heh. Rarity was right.” She said.

“Hmmm?”

“She noticed your uniform was a little loose and wanted me to haul you over to her shop so she could fix it.”

His hooves stopped working and he gave her a weird look. “My uniform...” He pulled at the collar and felt it himself. “No...oh, no...”

Suddenly a weight was pressing into her chest. “What’s...what’s wrong?” She asked.

He let go of her and sat up. His face and ears had fallen and he looked at her with sad eyes. “I...I’m sorry.”

The weight on her chest seemed to coalesce and moved to her stomach. “For what? What’s going on?”

He was shaking his head. “I can’t do this Dashie. I’m so sorry...I shouldn’t have come here.”

Tears were in her eyes. “Why not? Did...did I do something wrong? What is it?!”

“It’s not you! It’s me! I just...I can’t...”

Anger flared up inside her in an attempt to block out the pain. “Hey, don’t pull that crap with me! If it’s me just say so!”

“It’s not you!” He cried. “It’s not you, Dashie! Please, please believe me. It’s my fault. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I...I don’t understand. What’s wrong? C’mon, you can tell me.”

“No no no. I can’t. I’m sorry.” He was up and pacing now, shaking his head back and forth. “I shouldn’t have let this happen. I knew it was a mistake but I couldn’t help myself.”

She scowled. “A mistake? What about it was a mistake?”

“All of it!” He yelled. “Us tonight, the whole week before this, me coming here...all of it.”

Her stomach felt like it had been kicked. She wanted to scream at him, to yell until her throat was raw. She opened her mouth and out came the worst thing she could think of. But it wasn’t a yell. It was quiet, just above a whisper. “Then leave.”

“Dash...” He said.

“Leave. Just like you did last time.”

And so he left. He trotted to the edge of her cloud, spread his wings, and was gone into the night.

She stared at the spot. He was gone. He was actually gone. Ohmygosh he was actually gone. She collapsed and lay there. How long, she didn’t know. Finally, when she was shivering from either the cold or her emotions, she went inside. She found herself in the bathroom in front of the mirror looking at herself. Her messy mane; her ugly coat, still covered in multicolored streaks; and her red eyes, puffy and bloodshot, with damp trails running down her cheeks. Those streaks of color, just like on his uniform. A sob exploded forth from her, unbidden and unwelcome.

The sight of herself sobbing in the mirror was too much for her and she ran from bathroom into the living room, falling onto the couch and grabbing the dark blue blanket that was still there from the previous night. She managed to stifle her sobs after a few minutes but lay there for a while half covered by his blanket. A knock on the door finally got her up.

She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes on the blanket before going to the door. She opened it and found a dark pony with a flowing mane of purple and midnight blue. Her horn glowed a soft blue as she held up a few small objects in the air. Then Dash saw her wings.

“Princess Luna!” She backed away from the door. “Uh, come in.”

The princess entered. She was big, taller than even Thunder himself. But she was slender, and Thunder had far more bulk on him than she did. The princess looked surprised to see her.

“Rainbow Dash? Is this your residence?” She asked.

“Uh, yeah. This is my place.”

“I am sorry to come at such a late hour. I am looking for Colonel Storm. I did not realize he was staying with you.”

A sharp pang shot through her and she had to take a breath to keep herself from tearing up again. “He’s...not here right now.”

“I see.” Luna bent her head down, looking in her eyes and eyeing the rainbow colored streaks smeared all over her. “Are...are you alright child?”

“I...uhm...” She couldn’t find the words to say anything else so she just shook her head.

The Princess placed the items she was levitating on the nearby table and came to her. “What is the matter?”

For a moment Dash couldn’t say anything. She started from the beginning, from earlier in the week and slowly, haltingly told the Princess everything that had happened. Halfway through the story was pouring out of her like the tears she had shed earlier. When she was done the Princess simply hugged her.

“I am so sorry,” she said.

“Yeah...”

“Do not worry. He will be back.”

“How do you know that?”

Luna smiled down at her. “I spent some time with Colonel Storm while he was in the Canterlot Hospital. I believe I know him well enough to say that he will return.”

“You visited Thunder? Why?”

“It was my duty. He is a highly decorated officer of the Royal Air Force, a force that I myself established over two thousand years ago. Now that I have been reunited with my sister I have resumed my role as their commander.”

“And you visit all the injured soldiers?” Dash asked.

“I visit those I can. And for those I cannot I do my best to calm their dreams and pull them from their nightmares.”

“What about Thunder? You said you spent some time with him. That means more than just a visit.”

“It does. After the awards ceremony I found myself visiting him frequently.”

“Ceremony?” Dash asked.

“Yes, the ceremony where I awarded him his second Royal Medal of Honor.”

“He has a Medal of Honor?”

“He has two. Did he not tell you of this?”

She shook her head. “No. He never talked about his medals and I’ve only seen him in his uniform twice. I didn’t think to ask about them.”

“I see. Well...after the ceremony I made it a priority to visit him as often as I could. And he would sometimes visit me during my watch as well. At least until his injury made that impossible.”

“You know about his injury?”

“I do.”

“Then what’s wrong with him? He won’t tell me.”

“I do not think it is my place to tell you.”

“Dammit, why not?! Why won’t anyone tell me what happened to him?”

“I know it is difficult, but I respect the Colonel’s privacy. And I think he needs to be the one to tell you.”

She started to say something when the door opened and Thunder stepped in. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the Princess.

“Luna! What are you doing here?”

“Good evening Colonel. I wish I could say it was just to visit, but it is urgent that I speak with you. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

Dash spoke up. “You can use the kitchen. I’ll just wait out here.”

“No.” Thunder said. “I think Dash should hear whatever this is. She is the Element of Loyalty after all. I trust her.”

“Very well Colonel.” Luna’s horn glowed blue and a large scroll levitated over. “This is the latest intelligence report concerning the Gargoyle threat.”

He took the scroll and opened it to read. His eyes widened more and more as he read. “This...this is bad.”

“What?” Dash asked.

“Our local Gargoyles aren’t alone. Not at all. There are reports of strange creatures all over the area, not just in Ponyville. Ponies have been reported missing or attacked. Even in Cloudsdale.”

Dash couldn’t believe it. “What? How?”

“I don’t know.” Thunder said. “We don’t have any details on their forces or capabilities. Especially their magic. But I do know that Equestria wasn’t prepared for this.”

“Whaddya mean?”

“We face an enemy which has managed to infiltrate our borders without being seen, the methods they used to accomplish this are unknown, and they operate almost solely at night. They have the enormous advantage of near total surprise. We just never expected anything like this.”

“Colonel, there is more.” Luna said.

He took the second scroll she levitated to him and opened it. After a few moments his face scrunched up in confusion. “This doesn’t make any sense...”

Dash opened her mouth to ask what, but he looked up and cut her off before she could speak.

“They haven’t attacked our forces in Saddle Arabia. They’re just...rebuilding.”

“Rebuilding?”

“Yeah. All of the major dig sites we established were on top of or near major ruins. Scouts report that most of them are being rebuilt.”

“So they’re infiltrating Equestria, but not attacking?” Dash asked.

Luna spoke up. “That is correct.”

Thunder rolled the scroll up and paced back and forth for a few seconds. “What the hell are they doing?” He came to a stop and handed the scrolls back to Luna, who levitated them to the table where the final object, a small blue box, sat. “Anything else Princess?” He asked.

“There is.” She nodded towards the box on the table. “Open it.”

He went to the table and took the box. It was small, barely bigger than a hoof, and covered in soft velvet of dark blue. The box must have meant something to him as it held his attention for a few seconds before he flipped the lid open and looked inside. His face softened and he stared down into the container for a long moment before slowly reaching in and pulling a small object out.

“My wings...”

Dash moved closer and got a good look at the object in his hoof. It was a small badge of silver in the shape of a pair of pegasus wings viewed from above. It was exquisite, with every tiny feather engraved upon it in painstaking detail. A far more elaborate piece than anything else she could see on his uniform.

“What’s that for?” She asked.

He opened his mouth to speak but Luna started first. “Combat Wings. They signify that a pony is ready and capable of performing an air combat duty role.” She moved closer until they were crowded around the badge held in his hoof. “I am here to reactivate you Colonel. If you are willing. The Second is being transferred here tomorrow to help deal with this new threat. They are the only unit with experience against these gargoyles and I want you back in command.”

“Why me?” He asked. “Why not someone else? Major Tailwind was right there with me in the desert. She’d make an excellent replacement.”

“She was not the one who saved hundreds of lives, Colonel. You are. Your skill, valor, and personal sacrifice ensured the survival of almost the entirety of your command. And as bad as our relations are with this new Gargoyle nation springing back up from the depths of history, your foresight and judgment probably kept it from getting far worse. You are the only one with the experience needed to get the job done right.”

He stepped back and was shaking his head slightly as if he didn’t believe her words. “But...this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. This isn’t what was supposed to happen when you and your sister sent me out here.”

“I am aware of that.” She said.

“Dammit, this isn’t what you promised me Luna!” He cried. “I was just supposed to come out here and make sure everything was okay! Just make sure nothing was wrong. And then I’d be left alone, and...” He trailed off for a moment, staring down at the silver badge. “And that would be it.”

“I know.”

He let out a long sigh and sat on his haunches. Closing his eyes he said, “Do you need me?”

“Equestria needs you. Its citizens need you. Your friends need you. And most importantly, I think you need this.”

“Luna...” He said before slowly repeating, “Do. You. Need me.” He didn’t open his eyes.

“Yes. For as long as I can have you.”

“Then you have me.”

Luna’s horn glowed blue and she took the badge in his hoof. Three small covers slipped off the backside to reveal small spikes that she stuck through the right breast of his uniform, just above the nameplate. She secured the spikes with the covers to keep the badge in place and spoke.

“Lieutenant Colonel Thunder Storm, I hereby remove you from medical leave and place you back into active combat status. You are to take command of the Second Air Combat Group as soon as they arrive tomorrow. Further orders will follow.”

He nodded, still sitting there with his head bowed and his eyes closed. She went to him and surprised Dash by what she did next. She hugged him. She wrapped both forelegs around his neck, squeezed him tightly, and then planted a long kiss on his forehead before saying, “Thank you. You brave, wonderful pony. Thank you.”

He didn’t say anything or move the whole time. Finally, Luna broke her embrace. Her eyes were wet. “And you need to tell her the truth.” She said.

“I know.” He nearly whispered.

Luna turned to Dash. “Farewell Rainbow Dash. Thank you as well.”

“For what?” Dash asked, but the Princess didn’t answer. She went to the door, opened it, and was gone into the night, leaving Dash and Thunder alone.

They sat there, not speaking and not moving until Dash finally couldn’t take it.

“Thunder...what’s going on?” She asked. He was still sitting with his eyes closed. She moved to him and a lump appeared in her throat when she saw dampness running down his cheeks. “Hey, c’mon, talk to me, big guy.”

Slowly he opened his eyes and raised his head to look at her. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that.” She told him. “Just...just tell me what’s going on. What’s wrong?”

His mouth opened and closed a few times, like he couldn’t make the words come out. He took a deep breath and tried again. “It’s...difficult to.”

“Why?”

“Because...I don’t know.” He said. “Because it is. I know I need to tell you, but it’s hard. It’s so hard Dashie.”

“What’s so hard about it? Just say it.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?!”

“Because it hurts!” He cried. “And it’s gonna hurt you, too.” He took a breath. “Dammit Dash...I knew, right in the back of my mind, that this was going to happen, and I couldn’t stop it. I just...I just saw you standing there on that train platform staring at me in surprise, with your beautiful mane nearly soaked, and I couldn’t help it.”

She didn’t know what to do or say. The lump in her throat seemed to have grown twice in size. When she didn’t say anything he continued.

“When I left, my last memory of you was of this pretty little filly, still young but almost a mare, waving to me as I flew out of her life. And I hated it. I hated it so much, and you know why? Not because she was waving goodbye, but because of all the pain I was causing that she had locked up inside her.”

He brought up a hoof and touched her cheek. “She tried so hard to hide it, right to the very end, and I was so proud of her for trying. But I knew her too well. I saw right through that mask. I saw right down to that very first time we met outside her house when she bucked me right in the knee because she thought I was going to steal her Wonderbolts doll.” They both had a small laugh. “I saw...you.”

He took her hoof in his and squeezed it. “But every time I thought back to that little blue pegasus in my memories I had to fight past knowing that pain she had, that pain that I caused. And now, eight years later, I find myself causing her pain again. And all because I screwed up. Because I loved that mare I first saw at the train station. Her smiling face, her wonderful wings, and the way she grabs the day with her teeth and just makes it her own! Since then, whenever I thought of her, I didn't have to think of the pain. I just thought of her smile and I couldn’t resist her. But now, because I couldn’t resist, every path I see ahead leads to a little Rainbow Dash waving at me through tears. And it hurts...”  He took a deep breath.

“Why does it hurt so much, Rainbow...” He choked on a sob and she was suddenly wrapped around his neck, kissing his face, wishing with all the world she could stop his pain.

“It’s okay...I’m right here. Whatever it is we’ll get through it.”

“I’m so sorry Rainbow...” He said. “But I need to tell you this.” He took a breath and pulled her away to stare her in the eyes. For long seconds he said nothing. They stared into each other eyes and she was about to say something when he finally spoke.

“I’m dying.”

Something bucked her in the stomach. Hard. “What?”

“I’m dying Rainbow.”

She let him go and took a step back. “But...how? I mean, look at you! You’re in perfect health!”

“No, no I’m not. It’s that magical injury. Right before we escaped the desert, right there at the end, I got hit by a spell from the Gargoyle Queen herself. But it didn’t kill me. Not then. It lingered. Like a parasite. Draining me down to nothing but skin and bones over months! That’s why I spent two months in the hospital.”

“Then why do you look fine? How do you know it’s going to kill you?”

“Because I already died Rainbow!” He said. “It already killed me! Or at least it should have. The end was right there.” He laughed a small laugh. “The Pale Pony himself had finally caught up! We had been distant friends, waving as our paths occasionally crossed, never stopping to really get to know each other. But not this time. Not since I got hit with that spell. My distant friend became a predator, wearing me down like a rabbit before the hounds. And finally, when I had spent the last of my strength, when I had nothing more to give, He was upon me. I was tired... so tired of running Rainbow. He came close as I lay there, whispering to me. Offering to take away the pain, the responsibility, the worries. He held out his hoof, like an old companion beckoning me to join him on a grand adventure. And I almost took it. Then...Celestia appeared.”

“Princess Celestia?”

He nodded. “She...she said I was still needed. For one last thing. I should have said no. I should have turned from that painful burning light that struck back the darkness and made me strong again. I should have taken the hoof I was offered. But I screwed up. I didn’t take it. And now I get to go through it all again and drag you along with me...I’m so sorry, Rainbow...”

Again she embraced him, stroking his mane as she spoke. “She didn’t cure you?”

He shook his head and his mane danced over her face. “No. She can’t. It’s back and I’m already wasting away.

“Why can’t she just keep doing whatever it was she did to heal you?”

He pulled his head away and looked at her with a cold look. “No. I won’t let her do it again. I don’t deserve it and I refuse to play whatever games she’s playing. I’m tired Rainbow. These wings have kept me aloft for so long. But they can’t hold me up much longer.”

She squeezed herself tighter around him as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Then she took him by the hoof. “C’mere.”

She led him to the couch and lay down with her stomach to his back, stroking his mane and holding him. After a long while he said, “Rainbow?”

“Yeah?”

“I was wrong.”

“About what?”

“It wasn’t a mistake to come here. It was just a mistake to wait so long.”

Out of everything that had been said, that hit her the hardest. It spoke of all the dashed possibilities that would never happen. Of happy times that wouldn’t exist. But most of all it spoke of regret. Regret for a thousand things, from the last words when he left to the first words back at the train station. And for some reason that she didn’t understand, that scared her more than anything.

#

It was morning at the Carousel Boutique. Dash had slept poorly and felt it. She was amazed she even managed to get any sleep considering the revelations from the previous night. Thunder was dying. She almost couldn’t believe it. And it wasn’t just that. The entire week had been an emotional roller-coaster that she hadn’t been able to stop and get off. There was no operator, no breaks - just one loop after another - and it didn’t look like the ride was going to stop any time soon.

Thunder was in a surprisingly good mood however. She assumed it was because he had finally gotten everything off his chest. Even she knew that holding everything in was a heavy burden. He had woken her up at dawn with breakfast and then the two had made their way to Rarity’s shop. He struck up a running conversation with Rarity as she tailored his uniform and they hadn’t stopped talking since. Dash wasn’t in the mood for their cheery exchanges and was happy when it appeared they were done.

“There we are, Colonel. All done! And may I say you look exceedingly handsome. I just love a stallion in uniform after all!” Rarity said, pulling back a sewing needle and a spool of dark blue thread from Thunder’s uniform coat. “What do you think?”

He shifted and twisted on the small platform he was on, trying the fit out, and then turned to her. “It’s excellent. Thank you.”

She tugged on various parts of his service coat and shirt and finally gave an approving nod. “Yes, a perfect fit if I do say so myself.” She stabbed the needle into an empty purple pincushion on the nearby table and set the spool beside it.

Thunder stepped down and came over to Dash. “Hey, I’ve got a meeting with the Mayor in fifteen minutes. Can you meet me in the center of town at noon? Oh, and bring a cloud.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Uh, sure I guess. What are we doing?”

“The Second is flying in and we’re going to give Ponyville a bit of a show. You’re going to have a front row seat.” He poked her lightly in the shoulder.

“Oh, okay.” She said.

“Come on, Dashie, where’s your enthusiasm? It’s going to be one heck of a show!”

“Just not really feeling it today.”

He sighed and then said, “Listen. The last thing I want is to see you moping around in sadness because of me. So I’m ordering you to smile, soldier.” He pulled one corner of his mouth back in a grin.

She gave a small laugh and managed to force a smile onto her face.

“That’s my girl. I’ll see you at noon!” He thanked Rarity and left.

Rarity trotted over to Dash. “What did I say would happen if you came in my shop again Rainbow Dash?” Her horn was glowing and she had a wicked grin on her face that made Dash take a step back in surprise.

“Uh, what?”

A pair of scissors floated out from behind the unicorn. “I want that mane, Rainbow.”

Dash scowled. “I’m not in the mood, Rares.”

“Oh but I am Rainbow. I so very am.” Rarity said as she stepped closer.

“Hey! I’m serious here.”

Rarity’s grin disappeared and she levitated the scissors to the nearby table and put them away.

“Rainbow, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Why would you think anything was wrong?”

“Because, my dear, you look absolutely exhausted and you haven’t made a single joke or fallen asleep from boredom the entire time you’ve been here.”

“Oh.”

“I can understand the fatigue, especially after the way you and The Colonel were getting along last night. How did that go by the way?”

“How did what go?”

“Oh come now, you two weren’t exactly subtle about your feelings towards each other yesterday. Besides, Fluttershy is surprisingly easy to get information out of.” She smirked as Dash glared at her. “And even then, I saw you two lying together after the Moon came up last night. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look happier, Rainbow. All wrapped up in his gorgeous wing and-”

“Okay okay, I get it!”

Rarity giggled. “Anyways, considering he is staying with you and the way you both flew off last night I assumed that things would get a little, well, heated.”

“You can say that again...” Dash mumbled.

“But, based on your attitude today I’d guess things didn’t go the way you’d hoped?”

That brought a laugh out of Dash. “Rarity, that is the biggest understatement I have ever heard anyone say.”

Rarity came close. She locked eyes with Dash and the two stared at each other for a few long seconds. It felt like the unicorn was staring into her very core and Dash looked away first, unable to bear the scrutiny.

“Something terrible happened. I can see it in your eyes, Rainbow.”

Dash scoffed. “Oh please, I don’t believe that.”

“It’s not the eyes themselves, Rainbow. That’s just the way the saying goes. It’s the whole face, the whole pony. It’s how your eyes aren’t fully open. The way your eyebrows scrunch upwards in the middle. It’s the sagging posture, the different attitude, and the tiniest bit of extra moisture in your eyes. You’ve been crying, haven’t you my dear?”

“And what if I have? So what? Is it so bad that Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, has a reason to cry?”

Rarity smiled at her and brought a hoof to her cheek. “Not at all. Everybody cries sometime, Rainbow.”

Dash sighed and then said, “Fine.”

And so she told Rarity everything that happened the previous night, from the wonderful flight from Sweet Apple Acres, to the sudden departure of Thunder and the arrival of Luna, and finally the horrible truth.

“I am so sorry sweetie.” Rarity said when Dash was done. “That is... well that is simply unbelievable!”

“Yeah...”

Rarity embraced her. “Listen, if you need me, for anything at all, you be sure to tell me. I’m here for you Rainbow Dash. I’m here for both of you.”

“Thanks Rares. I...I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime sweetie. Anytime.” She let go of Dash.

“I better get going. I’ve got weather work to do before noon.”

“Yes, what is the weather going to be like today if I may inquire?”

Dash looked at her. “Cloudy. At least till noon. But I’ll make sure some sunshine gets through. You know, to warm everyone up.”

“I understand completely, my dear.”

Dash trotted to the door and was about to open it when a thought occurred to her.

“Rarity?”

“Hmm?”

“That needle you used on Thunder’s uniform. Can I have it?”

"Of course.”

A minute later Dash was flying towards her house. She carried a purple pincushion with a single needle in it. She didn’t know why she wanted it. She didn’t even know what she would do with it. But she felt she needed it. She set it on the counter top in her kitchen and then was off to work.

#

Just as Dash had said, it was cloudy that morning. But she made sure to leave a few holes around town so that some sunlight made it through. And specifically one over the Carousel Boutique, coming back every hour or so to kick a new one in the cloud cover as the Sun made its slow journey through the sky overhead.

Now she lay on a medium sized cloud and watched Ponyville below. It was an hour before noon and most of the clouds were gone, leaving the day cool, but warming as time passed. The Mayor had just finished gathering everyone for a town meeting and was speaking to them, telling everyone the news. From her vantage point Dash could hear only bits and pieces of what the Mayor was saying, but she was pretty sure she got the gist of the speech. Stand together. Watch out for each other. Be strong, be vigilant, but do not fear. And no matter what happens, remain calm. Carry on with your day to day duties and activities in defiance of the enemy at our doorstep.

There was a flutter of wings behind her and someone landed on the cloud. She sat up but didn’t turn around and a moment later a pair of white forelegs embraced her. Thunder. She leaned backwards, feeling his warmth even through his uniform.

“Hey...” He said.

“Hey.”

They said nothing else, and she turned to see his face. It was...sad. Tired.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You were so much happier this morning. But now...”

“Yeah well...” He looked away, something she noticed he did a lot when he didn’t want to say something that might hurt her.

“What?”

“I watched you work the sky for a while after I met with the Mayor. I looked for it, but I couldn’t see it.”

“See what?”

“The gusto, the enthusiasm, and the passion I’ve seen from you for the last week. I looked for it, but it was gone.”

“Oh come on!” She cried. “You just told me you were dying last night! Did you expect me to be excited today? To just run around with a giant grin on my face like everything in the world is right?”

“No, not at all. This is exactly what I expected.”

“Then why are you surprised?”

“I’m not. It just makes me sad to see you this way.”

She laughed. “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!”

“What?”

“You! You’re like Mr. Perfect or something!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean that here you are, freaking dying, and of everything you could be doing, everything you could be worried about, you’re worried about me. Me! Rainbow Dash! A mare from Cloudsdale. A weather pegasus. A Wonderbolts fan. I mean, I know I'm awesome and all, especially with the whole Element of Loyalty thing, but It's like you don't even care about yourself."

“So?”

“So? So why aren’t you out there living it up while you still can?! Why aren’t you out parading around? With that uniform and those medals you could get half the mares in any town you went through!”

“Why would I want all that?”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“Would you?”

“Of course! I’d be out there living the good life while I still could!”

“The good life?”

“Yeah! You know, partying, sleeping in till like noon, going to shows and seeing the sights and everything like that. Instead you’re back in uniform, about to fight some kind of war or something. Is that how you want to spend...” She trailed off.

“Spend the rest of my life?”

“Yeah...”

“Well...” He started.

“What?”

“I’ve... got a story for you. But I can’t tell it right now. Just take my word for it when I say that right now there is absolutely nowhere I’d rather be than right here on this cloud with you.”

Despite everything, the butterflies in her stomach were back. She rose up and kissed him. Just a quick, light kiss, and then she broke off.

“Rainbow...”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you afraid of getting close to me?”

“Huh?”

“I’m dying. And yet here you are kissing me. Why? Why aren’t you flying as far away from me as possible? You have to know it’s going to hurt in the end.”

“Thunder...”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up and just hold me for now. Okay?”

He laughed. “Roger that.”

They sat there, facing north as the Sun climbed higher in the sky. Dash could barely see the mountain that Canterlot was on. It was so far away that it was indistinct and whited out, like she was looking through fog or dust. She noticed that as the time passed Thunder seemed to get more and more agitated. His leg started to twitch a little and after a while it was shaking badly, as if he was having major trouble sitting still.

“You okay?” She asked.

“Hmm?"

“Your leg’s shaking. You nervous?”

“I...I guess I am.”

“Why?”

“It’s been months since I’ve seen them. My unit, I mean. Officially I’ve been their commander for three months, but I’ve spent most of that in the hospital on medical leave. I was really only their commander for about two weeks. And during those two weeks a third of their brothers and sisters died under my command. So yeah, I’m nervous.”

She reached down and put a hoof on his shaking leg. She stroked it slowly, and he gradually stopped shaking.

“Hey, you’re gonna do fine.”

“Thanks.”

A few minutes passed and he spoke. It was quiet, and she didn’t know if he was speaking to her or himself.

“I wonder if they’ll hate me...”

She remained silent, unsure what to say. Instead she reached back and stroked his neck. He closed his eyes and she felt that purr-like groan in his throat. Leaning back, she put her head on his shoulder and against his neck so she could hear it. It was a pleasant sound, and it made her want to do nothing but sit there all day with her head on his neck and listen to him.

“You really like this, don’t you?”

“You’re damn right I do...” He nearly whispered.

She laughed, harder than she meant to, and then kissed him on the cheek before closing her own eyes and spending the next few minutes just listening to him while they sat in the warm sunlight. Suddenly felt him straighten up. Opening her eyes she saw him staring off into the distance. Then he smiled. She looked and saw what appeared to be a flock of birds approaching.

“That them?” She asked.

“Should be.”

As she watched, a single speck seemed to be getting larger a little quicker than the others. Soon it had grown to a recognizable shape, a pegasus. Thunder unwrapped himself from around her and sat to her right with a stiff posture that made him look every bit the colonel he was.

The approaching pegasus landed and Dash was surprised at her coloring. Horribly bright yellow and green streaks made up her short mane and tail, as if someone had taken two highlighters to her hair. It contrasted greatly with her dark red, almost maroon coat. Dash wasn’t a stylist, but she’d bet anything that Rarity would have fits when she saw the color coordination of this mare.

The pegasus had a shocked look on her face as she approached. “Storm? Is that you Colonel?”

Thunder smiled at her. “It’s me Major.”

The Major broke into a grin wider than Thunder’s and bounded forward to hug him. He looked amazed, but didn’t push her away. Dash also noticed he didn’t hug her back. Finally the Major pulled away and sat at attention in front of him.

“Uh, sorry sir. I just can’t believe you look this good considering...well, you know.”

“Don’t worry about it Major.”

Suddenly her eyes widened. “Oh yeah.” She shot a hoof up to her temple in a salute. “Sir! Major Tailwind reports to the Group Commander as ordered!”

He returned the salute and then said, “As you were.” Turning to Dash he continued. “Major Tailwind, meet Rainbow Dash. Element of Loyalty and personal friend.”

They shook and Tailwind said in a cheery voice, “Glad to finally meet you! I’ve always wanted to meet one of the Elements of Harmony.”

“Uh, thanks.” Dash said.

Tailwind turned back to Thunder. “Sir, I’ve got the Second behind me, where do we set up camp?”

He pointed off to the west, towards the Everfree Forest. “There’s a hill about a mile outside of Ponyville that should do nicely. I’d like to get everything set up as soon as possible. We’re on a little bit of a time crunch here.”

Dash stiffened at his words.

“Sir?” Tailwind asked.

“They’re up to something in the forest. We need to find out what that is and stop it before they can execute whatever plan they have.”

“Yes sir.”

“Oh, what are the numbers, Major?”

“A hundred and twenty combat flyers, sir. Thirty of them greenwings. And three hundred and seventy-five support personnel. The ones that could fly are with us, and the rest will be here in two days. Oh, and there’s a detachment of Royal Guard coming from Canterlot in a week. Don’t know how many yet.”

He nodded. "Outstanding." Then he looked up towards the approaching storm of wings. "Feel up for a flyby?”

Tailwind laughed. “Absolutely sir! What’s it gonna be?”

A wide grin spread across his face. “Line ‘em up Major! Breakaway, on me, by evens and odds, and then give the folks below a show! Oh, and spread the word. Loyalty herself is watching.”

“Yes sir!” She launched herself off the cloud and made her way back to the quickly approaching group.

Thunder stepped behind Dash and put a hoof on each of her shoulders. Leaning close he said, “Rainbow Dash...”

Ahead the pegasi formation had started to collapse into a single line.

“May I present...”

She could hear the beating of hundreds of wings coming towards her.

“The Second...”

She could make out Major Tailwind with her green and yellow hair at the front.

“Air...”

Thunder put pressure on her shoulders. She looked back and saw he was slowly rising up on his hind legs as he spoke.

“Combat...”

Thunder rose up to his full height. She glanced to the front for a moment. The formation that was so close that she could see Tailwind’s eyes.

“Group!” He yelled, slamming his right hoof up to his temple in a salute and throwing his wings out as far as they would go.

Dash looked forward just in time to see Tailwind pop her hoof up in a return salute and break to the right, screaming by them at a breakneck speed. And she wasn’t the only one. There seemed to be an endless torrent of pegasi. They came blazing in with their hooves in a salute, alternately breaking left and right less than a dozen feet from them before spiraling down towards Ponyville and finally heading west towards their campsite. Dash’s mane was blown back by their wake, and they whooped and hollered as they flew by. Shouts of ‘Colonel!’ and 'Loyalty!' filled the air. The experience was...magnificent. Hundreds of wings of different colors, sizes, and shades rocketed past, and her heart was racing more than it did during a Wonderbolts show. She even found herself genuinely smiling in spite of her earlier mood.

Yet as much as the flyby affected her, it was as nothing compared to what happened when she looked up at Thunder. He was still up on his hind legs, saluting with his wings out, and as magnificent as he looked, no, as awesome as he looked, it was his face that got her. He was happy. He was more than happy. He was absolutely lost in it, laughing and smiling as his pegasi flew by, and the sight of him hit her like a bomb. Some feeling, warm and blissful, exploded from her chest and swept outwards, burning through her like nothing she’d ever felt before. Never in her life had she felt such an intense emotion at seeing someone else just being happy. It reminded her of something she had once stumbled across when she borrowed a Daring Do novel from Twilight. A small, pocket sized How-To-Write-A-Novel book had fallen out from behind the cover. She had skimmed over it after finishing the novel and one thing from it had stuck in her mind.

In every novel, there is a doorway the protagonist passes through. It represents an event, so profound to the character, that it forces them on their journey, their quest, towards whatever lies ahead, be it good or bad. But this doorway is one-way only, and closes forever once passed through. That look, that shock-wave in her chest, that was her doorway.

And the door had just slammed shut behind her.

Whatever had happened between her and Thunder before that could have simply ended. It would have hurt like nothing else, but if he had just flown away she wouldn’t have followed. But no longer. Whatever it was she felt, be it love, lust, or something else entirely, it had bound her to him with a chain made of iron. Of steel. Of something even stronger than steel. And she loved it.

But, there is a second doorway. The one that must be passed through to reach the ending, the finale, the climax of the novel. Be it a happy ending, a sad ending, or a terrible ending, that doorway must be passed through. And between the first and second doorway is where almost everything terrible that ever happens in a novel takes place. She didn’t know her ending, or exactly what would happen before then, but she’d face it like she had faced everything else in her life.

With her friends, and loyal to the end.

Act I

Exit Stage Left

Please Hold Handrails

They Get Lonely and Cold