Mae govannen all!

so...for those who are wondering-yes. I am a closet My Little Pony fan ;)

this story came to me after scrolling through fanart again. (I really should stop doing that!)

So, Disclaimer: I own none of the characters you know, and though I DO have some OC's, they don't really play a big part in anything.

Please leave a review if you'd be so kind!

Namarïe

The annual Thunder Pegasus race was always held on the equinox.

When the moon aligned with the distant purple glow of Nebula the Gas Giant, the stars dimming in the face of the kaleidoscope of space. It was the only day of the year when you could make out the velvet vastness of what lay beyond the atmosphere. When the stars burned brighter in the violet gloom.

It was the most dangerous race of the year, worse even than the Canyon Crash. The course of Thunder Pegasus left the atmosphere entirely, completed three circuits around Nebula, before barreling through a ring of fire to the finish.

Not for the faint of heart.

The injuries taken during the history of the race were many and serous. As Rainbow Dash should know- her cybernetic wing reminded her of her catastrophic win two years ago. It worked just as well as her real one had; tech had improved here since the early days of the races. Now most wounds could be treated with steel, be they from racing or from the war.

Now she left the racing to the younger, possibly stupider, pegasi. Her partner, Soarin, had helped persuade her to stop; his concern for her heavy in his kind, emerald eyes.

Dear, sweet Soarin with his white coat and shaggy mane and tail of deep navy-blue.

There were upsides to retirement; as the only pegasus to win four times, Rainbow was given the honour of calling the start and finish. She had even trained one of the applicants for this year. Cloudchaser; a lilac filly with hair of pale blue and white. She flew well- flew fast- but sometimes Rainbow Dash got the feeling that her protégée was in her own world. It worried Rainbow, more than she cared to admit. Out there, in space, a mistake during the race meant death.

She was far from in the mood for racing talk this morning, however, as the roar of the crowd rumbled from the stands- accompanied by the drumming hooves. Her heart was in a knot, high up in her throat. Only last week, Soarin had left; called away to join a squadron deep in the Cleft Swamplands. The war was thickest there...and the most common thing to return from the battlefield were letters of condolences.

So-and-so fell in battle at this place, and this time. So-and-so fought bravely against the Unicorns and gave their life for the wellbeing of us Pegasi. Their sacrifice will be noted.

Rainbow had begged him not to go, but she knew as well as he that an order from the queen was not to be disobeyed. And so he was gone; to brown quagmire that oozed between shallow streams and crooked trees that hissed in the wind. To tall rustling reeds, and sly Unicorn soldiers- with their wicked horns and magic. She felt sick just thinking of it. She'd made him promise to come back safely, trying to hold back the tears that came burning up her throat, and stung at her eyes with the taste of salt.

What would she do without him?

No. Don't think like that, Rainbow. He'll be back. He's never broken a promise. Never has, and never will.

"Coach Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head, trying to return to the present.

Where was she?

The roaring...the stamping...banners with stars...

The Bowl.

Stands...crowds...

Right.

The race.

She darted a glance at the sky. The equinox was progressing as calculated. The sky darkening rapidly as the moon slid in front of Nebula like a shroud; dying the sky a deep, lurid purple. Of to the left shone the two crescents of their home planet's moons, suspended like silver sickles in the sky.

They were so far away...

...just like Soarin.

"Coach Rainbow!"

She shook her flanks, folding her wings at her sides. Rainbow had always been proud of her wings. She had one of the largest wingspans of any mare yet to compete in the Thunder Pegasus. Her cybernetic wing made a faint whirring as it moved to obey her command.

Technology truly had evolved... joined to her nerves by microsurgery, the steel limb felt and acted no different than her real wing.

Now, though, she banished all these thoughts and turned to face Cloudchaser. The filly was outfitted in her silver racing armour and visor; her mane tied back behind her head. The galaxy splattered red sash about her waist marked her as a competitor in the race. Those usually dreamy fuchsia eyes of hers were focused.

For now, at least.

"Cloudchaser." Rainbow shot a glance at the gleaming silver stands, rising like twin blades from the grass and stone. They were filled with ponies. When the start was called, the racers would break their barriers, gallop into the air and begin the gruelling ascent up the side of Halfshoe Hill. The crooked skeleton of brown stone spiralled up towards the thin wisps of cloud. From there, it was into space. Racers had been trained to survive the inky depths, devoid of oxygen. A pegasus was fully capable of holding their breath for up to an hour. Untrained.

The sky was nearly all purple now, a shadow fallen over the world.

"Cloudchaser, you should be at the start line." Rainbow Dash spread a wing to usher the filly down from the platform. Only she, the queen, and the monarch's sisters were allowed up here.

"I just wanted to ask if you had any tips," insisted the smaller pegasus. "Y'know...last minute things."

"Don't die," said Rainbow, remembering the young colt who had died five years back; crashing in flames from the ring of fire. He had been so close behind her...she though she remembered that his name had been Thorin. Yes. Thorin Spearfoot. His father had been a casualty at the battle of Sweetwater Peak...killed by a Unicorn.

Cloudchaser nodded seriously. Sometimes Rainbow wondered why she didn't just settle down. What was the damn filly trying to prove?

Then again...what had she been trying to prove? For Rainbow, it had always been a love of racing. Nothing else.

"You'll do fine, Cloud," said Rainbow Dash softly. "Now go."

Behind her, Rainbow heard the royals mounting the tasseled platform as Cloudchaser fluttered away, their golden shoes ringing on the steel. They were the only four pegasi to possess spiral horns like unicorns.

The queen was foremost, as always. Celestia, with her flowing mane and tail of emerald, sapphire, amethyst, and pink. Her tri-pointed crown was hammered from rose gold, a metal so rare, that only the nobility and royals could afford it. Her immense wingspan dwarfed her sisters, and Rainbow too; but her face was kind. Her spiral horn glowing softly, white coat shining in the purple light.

Behind her lurked the dark one, her coat a dark, smokey blue- Princess Luna; with her rasping voice and azure-blue mane. Her tail held streaks of silver, her adornments and jewellery all made of deep black iron. Luna was the one you had to watch out for. The cruel one.

Then came the next in line, Princess Cadence. She was a gentle soul, all soft laughter and smiles. Her coat was a dusky pink; her mane and tail striped with violet, fuchsia, and pale yellow. Her adornments matched that of her eldest sister, though more modest. Rainbow's secret favourite had always been Princess Cadence.

And then there was the youngest sister, Princess Twilight Sparkle. She was rumoured to have been born under Nebula's light one equinox. Twilight's coat was lilac, her mane and tail deep navy-blue, shot through with a peculiar streak of lurid pink and purple. Her golden adornments were a shade lighter than those of her sisters...her violet eyes closed off and expressionless as usual.

Rainbow bent a leg and knelt before Celestia, lowering her head. "Your majesty."

"Rise, Rainbow." Celestia gave her a smile that could almost be called mischievous. The queen seemed to be in a bubbly mood. "My goodness! What a noise! It seems the whole of our people are here to see the race!"

All save Soarin and the soldiers fighting and dying while we sit here... thought Rainbow, though she only nodded.

"You know," added Celestia. "I can't remember weather I asked you before, but when are you going to settle for a family?"

Rainbow's feathers rattled in agitation. Maybe one day when I get Soarin back... "I never thought of having foals, your majesty."

"Such a shame." Celestia sighed. "I think you'd make a wonderful mother."

Princess Luna snorted. "A reckless mother, I think..." she rasped, her mouth curled in a strange thing Rainbow would have called a smile...if it was on any face save Luna's. "A one-winged ex-racer, who has not the courage to raise any young..."

Rainbow gritted her teeth. She truly hated Princess Luna. The dark mare was head general of the army. It was her summons that had stolen Soarin.

Fuck her.

"I think it's time to begin," said Cadence quietly, nodding to the speaker. "The moon is in place."

So Rainbow Dash shook out her rainbow mane, cleared her throat and bellowed into the radios.

"Fellow Pegasi!"

Wild cheers. From up here, she could see the racers gathered behind the barriers, getting into position. Cloudchaser waved a hoof from Gate 09, her face a grin of excitement. Rainbow gave her a small wink, hoping to bolster the filly's courage yet further.

"Are you ready for another Thunder Pegasus?"

Stamping hooves, voices rising to a fever-pitch. The stands vibrated with the hullabaloo, even Princess Twilight looked down at her feet with a frown of trepidation as the steel shuddered.

"Racers, are you ready?"

The race master, a tall, willowy umber mare by the name of Fallow raised her flag. She was ready.

"On my mark!" Rainbow's throat was burning already. "One! Two! ...Three!"

The horn sounded, the gates were broken, and they shot free in blurs of speed and color. Rainbow lost sight of them before they were halfway to Halfshoe Hill.

Lightning Speed, Cloudchaser... she thought, gazing up at the purple sky, Soarin's handsome face in her mind's eye. Fly well, fly fast, and come back safe...

Rainbow's luck never held.

Not a surprise, for she knew luck was a fickle little thing. Prone to infidelity and the like. Though it would have been nice if it had had the grace to remain a while longer.

The messenger came just as the first three racers sped through the great ring of fire, their feathers mercifully free of flame when the emerged out the other side.

Rainbow didn't see Cloudchaser coming in second to the lead colt.

She didn't hear the cry of joy from her protégée, Cloudchaser throwing loops in the air, her coat dyed darker by the equinox.

All she could see was the thin sheet of paper lying before her. Tattered, spotted with blood and mud. The messenger took wing and sped away, no doubt to go and destroy another's life. Rainbow Dash felt her legs give out underneath her, folding to lower her to her belly. The tears made it hard to see; like a veil that needed to be raised. She knew her body was shaking. Knew her sobs were wrenching from her against her will. Far off came a dull echo of voices, though who she didn't know.

Nothing mattered.

Nothing but that piece of paper.

The one that had ruined her life.

...her love.

...her laughter.

Rainbow Dash, Your Partner Soarin fell in battle in the Cleft Swamplands, defending a fellow wounded soldier. It will have been three days past when you receive this letter. Soarin fought bravely against the Unicorns and gave his life for the wellbeing of us Pegasi. His sacrifice will be noted.

Yours in grief,

Commander-General Wenmore

...Soarin...gone.

Rainbow let go a scream of agony. You promised me! You promised me, Soarin!

...You said you'd never leave me alone.