Rainbow Dash streached. It felt good to free her muscles after wearing her armor all day. She was off guard duty, so she could spend the rest of the day as she wished. It was noon now, though her day started at three o' clock, so this was another reason she liked being off duty. After she was done with her mid-day exercies, she'd get herself a cloud and sleep until she was needed for something. Laying down in the warm sun on a soft cloud made her forget the tests of war, both physical and mental.
Canterlot, dispite the bloody conflict that could be soon than three hours away if the Sepratists took Ponyville, was a jewel to the eye when seen from the air. The city in the mountain, built of marble and lined with gold and platnium. One would never had guessed that the first life taken by Equestia's first civil war was in this city. Everywhere that there was fighting there was sever collateral damage. RD remebered that turbulent night that Luna declared her sucession from the royal crown. The devision of families, the riots, Fluttershy and Pinkie...
Rainbow Dash whiped a tear from her eye. The traitors lied to everyone, she should hate them. Expessally what they did to Brownwing. Rainbow Dash choked back a sob. Why did he have to be there? Why couldn't it had been someone else? Why did Pinkie have to... oh Celestia's mane, his body. The blood, the look of definence in his dead eyes.
Dash knew that she needed to get her mind off him. It would had never worked anyways. Both of them had their duties. He was training for the royal guard, she was a grunt. A grunt fighting on the front lines.
That didn't soften the blow at all. Anger and sorrow tossed her insides around like a ship in a stormy sea. The only reason that she hadn't left was because of her, the murderer. Pinkie.
Rainbow swore. Anger was rising quickly. Someday soon, she'll see the little bucker again, and she swore that she wouldn't kill her on the battlefield. Ponies are KIA. Creatures like her get put down. RD swore that Pinkie would suffer for what she did, if not to her, to Celestia, to the whole kingdom.
But she had the present to think about. And at the moment, she needed to ready her body. When she was deploied again, she needed to survie to see Pinkie again. She needed to be strong to beat her down. She needed to be swift to not become her next vitim. She needed to be ready for war.
She began her exersies, working harder than usaul, unaware of a pair of admireing purple eyes watching her movements. Her admirer streached her wings, wishing that they wheren't so weak so she could fly with Dash. Twilight helped her up to the cloudline so she could know what it feels to up there via teleportation. As Dash flew by her, she shouted out a greeting.
This doesn't promt the casual hello that she was expecting. Dash turned, blinked several times, stareing dumbstruck at her.
"Scoots? How did you, have you... wha...?" was all Dash could manage.
"Oh, sorry. Twilight helpped me. I just wanted to know what a cloud felt like and what the air up here tasted like," Scootaloo answred with an acward smile.
"That makes a little more sence. How are the other Crusaders?" Dash said, half-wishing that she haddn't asked. Sweetie Belle had not taken her sister's death well, as could be expected, but latly she had been brooding on it. Apple Bloom was homesick, but because her family was so close to the battlefront that her sister had Twilight and Dash take her to Canterlot. Apple Bloom didn't seem to know that it was her sister's dision, not Twilight's, but it seemed that it would had been better if she didn't know it was her sister, Apple Bloom being so ready to prove herself to her family.
"They're doing fine, why do you ask?"
"Just checking."
"Hey Dash, you trust me right?"
"Sure I do," Dash said, not sure what Scoots was up to. But there was only one way to find out, and that's to hear straight from the horse's mouth.
"I want to know what's going on the front lines," Scoots said, suddenly uneasy.
"Like what?"
"I'd just like to know whatever you know. I just don't want to be left out."
"Why do you want to know so much about the war?"
"Well, Rarity got murdered by those Sepratist monsters, and I'd like to know how hard we're beating those... things that ruined my best friend's life by killing her sister!" Scoots said, her tone suddenly becomeing ferice with anger.
Dash had never seen Scoots angery before. And the reminder of Rarity's death pained her, and this she saw what the collateral damage of a war could do to anyone.
"Well, we're getting ready to do an assult on the Everfree Forest. But without Zecora, it won't be easy to find our way through there. But we have a guide who will be able to get us to her hut, so we might be able to get some directions from her," Dash said, leaving out the fact that she was going to be the guide to her hut, Twilight staying in Canterlot with Celestia and the others either on the other side or can't serve. She didn't want Scoots to worry.
"So your going to finnally end this war?" Scoots said, a creul smile growing on her face. Dash was already regreting this.
"Yes, we're going to storm Nightmare Moon's citadel in a week at the most."
"Thanks for telling me. Can you get me back to the ground please?"
"Alright," Dash said while warping her foreleg around Scoots torso. Dash made her dencent fast, much to Scoots' excitment. In a few seconds, Dash carefully set Scoots on the ground.
"Thanks for the info Dash!" Scoots said while running off.
****
"-and she says that they will be ending the war soon," Scoots relayed what Dash told her to Sweetie and Apple Bloom.
"It will be ending soon if a few loose words don't get to the wrong person," Sweetie said as she jotted down the last sentance in the letter she wrote. "Well done Scoots. I swear, I could just kiss you right now. Figurtivly, of course."
"Well Gabbygums, I think that this will be somthing that a few ponies we know would love to see. It's a very, very juicy story right?" Apple Bloom joked.
"So, we're all agreed on this?" Scoots said while looking over her two friends.
"Even if both of you bailed, I'd still do it. I'm not stupid. I saw my sister's body, and I saw what was carved in her chest. She wasn't murdered by a Sepratist, she was murdered by one of Celstia's agents! I swear, I'm doing my part in this war if it kills me!" Sweetie Belle said with anger.
"And I don't care how high you may rank in Celstia's court, no one splits up the Apple family!" Apple Bloom said, slaming her hoof on the small coffe table that surved as their writing desk.
"I'm in this too. Now I know what the true face of this government looks like. I'm aware that Dash will be put at risk, but she is a small price to tearing down this tyran. I'm sorry Dash, but there can be no rest for the wickied," Scoots said, a small look of uncertenty entering her eyes as she mentioned Dash.
"It's settled then, time to rondveoe with Fluttershy," Sweetie said as she packed the letter into her saddle bag.
"I hope this is the last letter that we have to write. This might give Luna the edge that she needs to win this war and be done with it," Scoots said.
"I hope so too. I really do," Sweetie said, feeling a tug of guilt in her chest.
"We're wasteing time talking about it, Fluttershy won't wait for forever," Apple Bloom said while walking out of the room. Slowly her two friends followed.
****
Fluttershy and Pinkie stood before their queen. Nightmare Moon was adorned in armor, and around her her elite guard stood, cloaked in robes that consiled the intracate mechanisms that dealt death to their oppents from the dark. Fluttershy knew that there where more than the 5 near Nightmare Moon in the room, but she didn't even bother thinking about them, they would be able to kill her without her seeing them if she made a wrong move, so it wasn't a good idea to look nervious.
"Report," Nightmare Moon said coldly.
"Well, we have quite the juciy story for yah from Gabbygums," Fluttershy said with a triumphant smile while holding the letter up. "Sorry to read your mail, but I had to make sure that it was worth your time."
"Well done. Those little fillies have served their perpouses havn't they? You always had a way with children."
"Well, Pinkie helpped more than she realizes. That sun on Rarity's chest was what gave Sweetie the motivation to turn on Celesia, I could even say that Pinkie had a greater eye for detail than Rarity ever did."
"Please, don't make me make me blush infront of our Queen. I may take pride in my work, but I try to be humble in it," Pinkie said while faking a Canterlot acsent before bursting out into spassims of laughter which Fluttershy joined in on.
"As much as I love seeing your two having a good time, I need that letter if I'm going to use it," Nightmare Moon said, trying to hide her honest enjoyment of Pinkie's joke.
"Yes ma'm, here you go," Fluttershy said while aprouching the throne without fear. She beamed as she handed the letter over to her Queen.
"For your work Fluttershy, I'll let you pick out some prisioners to have your fun with. Try not to kill too many of them. I want a few alive so I can interrigate them. Gabbygums can only write so much," Nightmare Moon said with a smile.
"Thank you my Queen," Fluttershy said before giving a brisk trot out the room, Pinkie following, bouncing along like her usaul self.
"How come I don't get any of the action with the prisoners?" Pinkie asked in mock indegnatity.
"Don't worry, you can watch," Fluttershy said with a smerk.
"Well, I guess that's the next best thing. Seeing you work is amaseing."
"Oh, and you tell me not to make you blush!"
"Look at those two, my greatest creations. They where weaklings before, and now their warriors, and they are actaully enjoying it. I shouldn't had doubted them," Nightmare Moon said to a guard derictly to her right.
"Indeed my Queen, even I admire them," the guard repiled.
"Don't worry, they won't replace the Shadow Guard Alafern."
"Wouldn't even imagine it. Expesally with that failed assaination attempt of their's."
"They have their strengths, but they just aren't cut to even train for our elite. They have to start young."
"Yes my Queen, the children do make good trainies. Too bad that so many generations of them didn't see action during your banishment."
"Yes, the Shadow Guard waited for orders just like the soldiers they where. And now, you are fighting for my return to glory. As for that invasion, I need you to gather your men, the Forest must not be penitated too deeply. I'll be sending Fluttershy back to give a letter to the Crusaders to tell them to let us know when Celestia's troops start moving out. I won't subject you to the garish light of day after so many years out of it, so you will stay in the forest if our finnal march happens during the day."
"Thank you my Queen. I will send the word to our other troops. The trainies will love this news, they've been waiting for a chanse to prove themselves for quite some time," Alafren said before walking off. The scilent vegrel of the guards now had an air of eaggerness to it. Nightmare Moon could feel their need to fight, and soon enough they will have that need fullfilled.
