Empire of Mercy
Copyright© 2025 by Daelyx Len Auphydas
Chapter 3: Rainbow Dash Flies West
Rainbow Dash trots in through the door of her home with considerably more enthusiasm than she had left it earlier that day. It’s still not that late in the day, and her mother and father are currently having breakfast at the table. But as soon as Rainbow Dash opens the door, they both whirl around, faces lighting up.
“Oh, sweetie, you’re back! Did you have fun with your friends?” Windy asks, and Rainbow Dash shrugs.
“Maybe. Not important right now. I’ve thought it over, and I want to go to Canterlot.”
Windy Whistle blinks at Rainbow Dash, surprised. “Just like that? After all that fussing about you did this morning?”
Rainbow Dash nods, and jumps up on one of the chairs to talk to her more directly. “I made up my mind, what more is there to say?” Rainbow Dash bluntly states. “I mean, I gotta go tell my friends I guess.”
Bow ruffles his daughter’s mane. “There’s the Dashie we know, always eager to run off at a moment’s notice! But, in all honesty that might be for the best. Cloudsdale will be heading south soon and the trip will only get longer. I’m afraid you’ll probably have to fly there, the train from Ponyville isn’t operational yet, and the forest is too dangerous to cross on hoof. That’s quite the journey to undertake. I should go with you.”
“No!” Rainbow Dash rejects the offer quickly, shaking her head so quickly her mane whips from side to side. “No, no, I can get there on my own just fine...” I do not want my first impression in Canterlot to be getting a noogie from Dad...
“But, honey, it could be dangerous...” Windy protests, but the filly just jumps up onto the counter, striking a bold pose.
“You’re always telling me how awesome I am, but you don’t think I can fly to Canterlot? I could fly there with one wing tied behind my back!” Rainbow Dash boasts. “Watch me!”
“That won’t be necessary!” Windy quickly relents, sighing. “Alright, sweetie, we just worry about you, you know that. If you were any other pony, I wouldn’t even think about it, but ... Well, Celestia themeslf showed up and seemed to think you could do it. So, I guess that’s good enough for us.” Windy looks at Bow to confirm, receiving a nervous nod in return. “But, we want you to write to us as soon as you get there! And don’t you even think about leaving us out of the loop, young lady, understand?” Windy tries to say firmly, although the impact is lost as she starts tearing up.
Uh-oh. Better get out of here before the waterworks start. “Well, there’s no time to waste! I’d better set off now if I wanna get there in time, Cloudsdale is moving tonight!”
“Woah there, Dashie, are you sure you’re ready to go, just like that?” Bow asks, reluctantly.
But Rainbow Dash is prepared for such a question. “I can’t keep the princess waiting, can I? What if she changes her mind? And I’m sure they’ll have whatever I need in Canterlot, anyway, so I should only pack the essentials.” Rainbow Dash justifies.
Bow and Windy look at eachother, then back at Dash reluctantly. “You ... Have a point.” Bow admits. “Still, you should at least pack some basic survival equipment. I know you’re a good flier, but ... Bad things happen to good fliers all the time.” He finishes a bit darkly.
Rainbow Dash nods. “Uh, duh, I’m not stupid.”... Even though I wasn’t planning to do anything of the sort until you brought it up. In a blitz of speed, she darts around the house to get anything she needs, and in ten second flat she is once again standing in front of her parents, fully packed and tapping her hoof on the cloud impatiently. “There! Can I go now?”
Bow and Windy just sit there with their jaws hanging open in awe for a long moment. “You really are amazing...” Windy eventually breathes out, almost in shock. “We’ll come see you in Canterlot as soon as we’re able to get time off of work. But you have to remember to write to us! We want to know all about everything you get up to!”
“I ... I guess we can’t keep you around all day, huh?” Bow replies, frowning and glancing out the window. He would have preferred to think this through more, talk to his daughter for longer. But Rainbow has a point, flying to Canterlot will be much harder if she waits until after the cloud city moves, and it isn’t safe to fly at night. Right now is the best time to go. “But be careful, it would kill us if you got hurt!”
Rainbow Dash nods. That’s all the excuse she needs. “Alright Canterlot, here I come!”, and with that a prismatic blur bolts out the door.
“You’re really going, huh? This is ... Really happening?” Gilda sounds unusually hesitant, her cool veneer slipping. “You’re sure?”
Rainbow Dash nods, confidently. “What’s the point in second guessing myself?”
“Well ... Alright. You’ll write, right?” Gilda asks, looking unusually anxious. Rainbow didn’t think she’d ever seen the griffin like this before.
“Uh, yeah, of course.” Rainbow Dash replies. That sure is going to be alot of letters I gotta write... . Rainbow Dash groans a little inwardly, trying to keep her reluctance from escaping. Writing is ... Not really her strong suite. But if all her friends and parents want her to write, then write she will.
“That’s awesome! As soon as flight camp is over, I’ll be able to see you again!” Cloudkicker beams at Rainbow Dash excitedly. “Oh, there’s so much I’d wanna show you in Canterlot, just like you showed me here in Cloudsdale!”
“You know it.” Rainbow Dash winks and hoofbumps the pegasus, then the griffin in turn-even if Gilda is oddly hesitant about it. “Well ... I don’t think I can wait much longer. I’ve got to get a move out if I wanna get to Canterlot before evening.”
“Yeah, alright.” Gilda snorts, the cool veneer sliding back into place. “Cloudkicker and I gotta ... Go ... Practice our flying, anyways.”
Rainbow Dash winces at the coldness of her friends house, but despite that she flaps her wings and lifts off. “Alright, you two. Stay cool, now!” Rainbow Dash salutes the two of them one more time before zipping away.
Despite what she said, there is still one more stop she has to make before she leaves Cloudsdale for real. Returning to her oldest friend Fluttershy’s house, she knocks at the door. A faint-looking Fluttershy peaks through the curtains of the window, trying to be stealthy, though Dash sees her immediately. The yellow pegasus then disappears for several moments, before the door slowly opens, with Fluttershy inside looking a little pale. “H-hello? Did you forget something?”
Rainbow Dash shakes her head. “No. I just came to say goodbye.” She takes a deep breath and puffs out her chest. “I’ve decided to go to Canterlot.”
“Oh, wow...” Fluttershy pins her ears back. “Sounds scary ... I’m glad you’re going, and not me. Though it would be nice to see all the animals there. Ah, maybe one day...”
“I should probably get going. I ... I’ll miss you, but I’ll come back up and visit when I’m able, alright?” Rainbow Dash promises, before giving her longest lasting friend a quick, awkward hug.
“Please do ... I hope you know, I’ll miss you alot, Dash. I’ll always be grateful for all the ways you’ve helped me. I wouldn’t be nearly this confident if not for your help.”
Rainbow Dash resists scoffing at that notion with some effort. “Well ... I gotta go, I guess.” Rainbow Dash finally says. “Duty calls.” Rainbow Dash shoots one more salute Fluttershy’s way, before zipping off. As she goes, she can only dimly hear the ‘Take care of yourself, now,’ that Fluttershy practically whispers on Rainbow’s way out.
Goodbye’s out of the way, Rainbow Dash lands at the northern edge of Cloudsdale one more time. She still isn’t entirely sure how she was able to talk her way out here so quickly, but she can’t deny a certain feeling of nervousness looking over the vast distance.
She’s a good flier, an amazing flier even. Even the princess had recognized it. But still, it’s a long way to Canterlot, and she has never had to fly that far before. Well ... Nothing for it but to go, now. Rainbow Dash’s wings buzz to life and she leaps from the edge of the city. It’s mostly slightly downwards on the way there, so I should mostly just glide to save energy.
As soon as she catches flight beyond the rim of the city, Rainbow Dash feels her nerves relax. Whatever might await her when she arrives, right now, she is free, soaring through the wild blue skies.
The filly closes her eyes, feeling the wind in her face and running through her feathers. This, right here, is what she lives for. That feeling of pure freedom, the rest of the world just passing by in a blur as she soars through the endless blue yonder. Rainbow Dash opens her eyes, just in time to avoid running head-first into a black stormcloud ahead.
Woah! The filly flaps her wings hard, climbing up over the black cloud. That’s right, I’m over the Everfree Forest now! Weather out here is unpredictable, I have to be careful. Rainbow Dash reminds herself, dipping down to the top of the cloud, just enough to dip the tip of her wing in the top. It feels different than the white fluffy clouds she is used to, thrumming with electricity and turbulence. Nopony out here to tell me what to do! Just me and the sky! Rainbow Dash’s grins broadens as she scoops up a chunk of stormcloud in one hoof as she passes over it, watching the dark particles release from it as it dissolves.
“Ow!” It takes Rainbow Dash a second to realize the voice came from herself, as a jolt of electricity stings her hoof. “Stupid cloud...” She mutters, shaking the rest of the storm cloud on her hoof off.
The landscape ahead is vast and untamed, not a pony in sight, as she soars across the expansive forest. The sky is unruly, with an easterly breeze and dozens of clouds scattered at various altitudes. It’s at least one of the most interesting skies that Rainbow Dash had ever seen, and populated with plenty of safe places to rest if she needs them.
It’s only when she glances downwards that Rainbow Dash feels a pang of unease. The forest below her has a grim reputation, and its appearance doesn’t do it any favours either; the canopy seems completely impenetrable, thick with dark needles and leaves. Who knows what kind of things stalk the land in the shadows beneath the treetops? As if the weather moving on its own isn’t bad enough...
Almost right on cue, an unearthly wail echoes from somewhere far below, standing the fur on the filly’s neck on end. Ugh, creepy! Rainbow Dash shakes her head and tries to keep her attention on her destination in the mountains to avoid thinking too hard about what could have made such a noise.
Instead, she focuses on her flight, flapping her wings as hard as she can, trying to imagine like she’s in a race. C’mon, c’mon, Rainboom! Focusing all of her attention, both of her hooves placed perfectly in front of her face t oblock the wind at the cost of visibility, Rainbow Dash dives forwards.
There’s a feeling of weightlessness as she surges through the sky, a familiar rush of exhilaration that reminds her why flying is her joy and passion. She doesn’t even feel the soreness in her wings, long having since trained herself to ignore it and push further. But as she squeezes her eyes to a slit to not be blinded by the wind passing across her face, every fiber of her being straining to go faster ... She stops accelerating, capping out.
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