Login

Haunted Wasteland

by forbloodysummer

Chapter 7: -

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

“This is a strange situation we find ourselves in, Rainbow Dash.”

Taking a calming breath – filling her lungs even more than the standard cruise flight breathing pattern she was already running on – Spitfire tried to laugh at herself and her situation. Five hours over open waters, three since the sun came up and infused the ocean and the distant islands of the archipelago with azure radiance, and she’d only just worked up the nerve to broach the topic she’d been dwelling on in her head. She could tell herself she’d just been taking her time working out how to phrase it, but that wasn’t the full extent of her hesitation. Or the reason her pulse seemed even more prominent at that moment than usual during endurance flying.

“Ma’am?” Rainbow asked from beside her, and it was a testament to how still the weather was that neither of them needed to raise their voices to be heard, despite being over a full wingspan apart.

“Exactly my point.” The warmth coming off the water permeated through her wings, going a little way towards easing the tension of using them for so long. In that climate, she was glad they’d chosen to leave their flight suits behind, so she stayed cool as the air rushed over her fur. “Ordinarily you’re ‘Dash’ or ‘Crash’ and I’m ‘ma’am.’ ” And that did it; it was too late to turn back the conversation, with no choice but to air aloud that which they’d never discussed before. “That’s who we are in the Wonderbolts, and we turn a blind eye to how you’re one of six ponies who’ve saved Equestria repeatedly, including myself on a few occasions.” She made a firm point to keep her voice just as loud for that last admission; credit to Rainbow where due shouldn’t be lessened just because of Spitfire’s pride.

Surprise had shifted to fear on Rainbow’s face, which in turn mellowed to uncertainty. “I thought that was how you wanted it;” Rainbow’s eyes kept flicking over to Spitfire, probably trying to judge her reaction, “there’s never been a doubt you’re in charge.”

“Hey, in the ‘Bolts, you’d better believe it,” Spitfire said, trying to give what she hoped was a reassuring smile, and that it showed through despite her own discomfort with the subject. “But, while I’m here because of written orders from a princess, and a rescue mission is definitely a military thing and therefore my area, there’s no denying that this is Element business.” And then she was falling, metaphorically. The hard part was done, she couldn’t go back, and all that remained to be seen was how far she’d fall. Clarifying it wasn’t nearly as difficult, “Where you’re the expert, and I certainly don’t outrank you.”

Rainbow’s brow furrowed, and her gaze wandered over the waters below, doubtless while she got her head around the idea. “I see what you mean, ma’a... Spitfire,” she corrected herself.

“Right,” Spitfire agreed, letting a fraction of a grimace show for a second. The sting of being addressed by name by somepony who’d always ranked beneath her was only a tiny thing, but the worry of the trend it might set loomed far larger. It was done, though, so with it out of the way, she could throw herself into business. “So tell me: In your non-Wonderbolt capacity, what do you know about these sirens? Because the princess’ letter was the first I’d heard of them, and I didn’t get much chance for background reading.”

She could have read up the night before while waiting for Rainbow to be flight-ready, but food and sleep before the long trip had been more important, and thankfully she’d at least had enough time for those. And, even if she’d decided otherwise, the only pony to know where such background reading material might be found had been busy dealing with the tail end of the Sonata interview.

So there she was, flying blind towards a confrontation with a sort-of enemy who she hadn’t previously even known existed, for the second day in a row. Relying on one of her squad to brief her was embarrassing, but probably better than no briefing at all.

“Ok,” Rainbow said, scratching her head as she flew, “from what I remember, they were a big deal sometime not long before Nightmare Moon, when they tried to take over Equestria. They were banished to a world without magic, where they’d be powerless.” Just as when Sonata had discussed it, Spitfire couldn’t help flinching at the comparison to being stuck in a world where she couldn’t fly.

Rainbow continued, “A few years ago, Twilight visited that world and made some friends there, not knowing about the sirens, who I guess must be immortal.”

“And the world went from having no magic to containing the Element herself,” Spitfire said. She knew about the mirror, of course, as a high-value asset somepony of her rank might be in charge of safeguarding in a crisis, but she hadn’t quite realised travel between worlds had become such a casual thing.

“Yeah. There was a big battle, and in the end the sirens fled. But they knew that if Twilight had gone there from Equestria–”

“–Then there must have been a way for them to get back.”

“Right.” Displeasure crept into Rainbow’s tone as the tale shifted further from myth to personal experience. “So a few months ago, Twilight got some messages from her friends in the other world. The sirens wanted to come back.” Rainbow simply shook her head. “And Twilight let them.”

Spitfire frowned. “Why would– ah, they’d done their time? The maximum banishment sentence is a thousand years, if I remember rightly.” Silly the things a young cadet looks up when she learns she’ll be interacting with Princess Celestia for the first time.

“Exactly. ‘After a thousand years, anypony banished has to be given another chance,’ ” Rainbow recited.“I told her it was a stupid idea at the time–” Rainbow turned her hooves up helplessly, which must have taken quite a bit of effort with muscles aching from the overnight flight “–but Twilight said it’s tied up with the Elements and stuff.”

So power of the Elements of Harmony came with a built-in requirement to forgive? Or at least reassess that those punished with it were still a threat? Complete with a fixed time limit, even. How very Equestrian!

Once she’d considered the idea, she found it hard to believe that magic based on friendship wouldn’t have something like that. Meaning it couldn’t be used as a permanent solution, just a tool for part of a larger process. Reformation rather than retribution.

“Worked for Princess Luna,” she pointed out.

In fact, that would neatly explain how somepony had been able to make that prophecy that Nightmare Moon would return a thousand years after being banished.

“Not without a tail kicking first,” Rainbow shot back.

And that prophecy hadn’t exactly helped, since nopony had remembered it at the time, and only knew it now from how word of Twilight Sparkle saving their hides had spread.

Rainbow added, “And not at all for Tirek. I’m thinking the sirens aren’t exactly redeemed, either.”

Suddenly, focusing on Sonata and the miserable day Spitfire had had to spend with her didn’t seem so bad, not when compared to memories of Tirek and the one time she really hadn’t been able to fly.

“I was in the room with one, though,” Spitfire said, “and there was no sign of dark magic.”

“Nah, they can’t do that anymore. The battle with Twilight in the other world wrecked their magic gems, and Twilight sorted them out with a shape-changing spell, so they’re earth ponies now.”

Earth ponies, all three of them? So how did Adagio manage a teleport...? Fluttershy could have been misled, or even lying, but nopony saw her leave. Adagio could have found some magical artefact, or a way to access powers she once had as a siren, possibly. The most likely solution, though, was that she had an accomplice. But what magic user that powerful would willingly carry out an abduction for an earth pony? What kind of hold could Adagio have over them?

Sonata had been intolerable to spend a day with, but as far as individuals who tried to take over Equestria went, she hadn’t been that bad. Could the other two be so much worse?

“But they’ve behaved themselves until now?”

Rainbow nodded but also turned her lower lip out, the two contradicting each other into something of an unimpressed partial agreement.

“Sort of. Two of them disappeared the night they arrived. Twilight was able to trace one – who we’re going to see now – but lost track of the other.”

No lead on the desert castle, then. Tracking things under cover of darkness was tricky, but not impossible. Had Rainbow been the pony doing the tracking, for at least one siren? Probably not; she was Wonderbolt trained, but she was hardly the best-suited for covert surveillance. If the ‘Bolts had been brought in from the beginning, perhaps this whole mess could have been avoided.

“So that just left Sonata,” Rainbow carried on, “and she was, meh, no worse than Discord really. She caused some controversy around Ponyville, but nothing illegal until this stuff with Fluttershy.”

Spitfire could well imagine Sonata’s antics with a married stallion raising a few eyebrows in the sleepy town. But she also had a feeling that the inhabitants of Ponyville, of all places, would be most likely to recognise happiness where they saw it, and the casual answers she’d received from staff in the hospital while getting food had seemed to confirm that. Sonata was something of a pariah, but the ponies Spitfire asked had admitted through their frowns that the couple did appear very happy together, in an unconventional way.

“Speaking of Discord, where is he?” Spitfire said. “You mentioned a while ago that he and Fluttershy are friends, of sorts.”

And if the sirens weren’t put off kidnapping somepony who had Discord for a friend, they might be very dangerous indeed.

Or all as dim as Sonata. That was an option too.

Rainbow said, “He and Trixie are off doing some wandering roadshow at the moment, half the time performing magic in different cities, and the rest shaking gourds around a campfire or something.”

No way to get a message to him, then, if nopony knew for sure where he was. Mixed feelings there. Discord would be a powerful ally of course, but Spitfire’s overwhelming memory of him, however many galas she’d seen him at since, was of him dressed as a waiter, feeding her flight magic to Tirek. A powerful ally, but never one she’d trust.

“I wonder if the sirens’ stunt with Fluttershy was timed with that in mind,” she frowned, considering the planning and inside knowledge it would have taken to coordinate with when Discord would be out of the way.

‘Could be,’ said Rainbow’s raised eyebrows and pursed lips. But then she looked ahead of her, craning her neck towards something in the distance and narrowing her eyes.

Directing her own gaze the same way, Spitfire saw a light smudge on the horizon straight ahead of them. Absently identifying and keeping track of the small but lush islands they’d passed over on their flight had left little doubt they’d been heading in exactly the right direction, and recognising the final island they’d overflown twenty minutes before had confirmed it, but all the same, it was reassuring to see their destination in sight at last.

“Ok, listen up,” Spitfire said, unthinkingly slipping back into squad leader mentality, but deciding to stick with it after realising. “Hopefully this is completely unnecessary, and everything’s fine with Fluttershy, and she’ll be home of her own accord soon enough.”

Glancing across, she saw Rainbow’s muscles tightening, in spite of the Wonderbolt training to keep them relaxed when cruising. Rainbow turned her head and locked eyes with Spitfire, offering a curt nod.

“But,” Spitfire held Rainbow’s gaze, “in case she isn’t, then this may be our only chance.” Tension appeared around Rainbow’s eyes, but otherwise she kept up her determined front. Which is the best to be hoped for, really. Treating it seriously but not letting it get to her. “So if you see an opportunity, take it. And more than anything, hold on to your temper, ok?”

There weren’t many phrases more aggravating than that, Spitfire knew, but if she didn’t say anything and Rainbow then lost it, there’d be no way back.

“Yes, Spitfire,” came the reply through a jaw more set than before, said in a way that very slightly accented her own name. Nothing belligerent, just enough to point out that Rainbow wasn’t the only one known to snap when provoked. And if Rainbow kept up that level of careful control – and I can too – they ought to be ok.

“Touché,” she muttered. The island of Marewo grew rapidly nearer.

Author's Notes:

Happy to be back with the second movement! Flying over tropical oceans makes for quite a change from dimly-lit interview and observation rooms :twilightsmile:

The rest of the chapters from this movement should follow one every three or four days.

Sorry about the hard-to-click chapter title :facehoof: When I thought of the naming scheme for the chapters, I didn't have much to say about Aria, so I thought her bit would be shorter and so her short name would work well. Then I found loads to say, and just four chapters wouldn't be enough :twilightsheepish:

Next Chapter: A Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 17 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch