Into the Flames
The flames roared around her. Smoke poured through her feathers. Sparks stung at her skin. Rainbow Dash panted, her mask filtering out most of the smoke. Her wings beat the burning air. A sudden wind swooshed flames around her for a moment, heat singing her mane. She waited, listening. There. The scream from the building below sounded again. Without hesitating, the pegasus dove downward again, the fire swallowing her up.

#########

A couple hours earlier, the Wonderbolt practice had been cut short with the sounding of the alarm bell. Everyone rushed into their fighting uniforms, leaping into the air and heading towards the village that was in trouble. Princess Twilight met them halfway there and updated them as they flew. “It’s changelings. Dozens of them. They swarmed through the village and set everything on fire.”

Rainbow turned to her friend. “Did Thorax mention anything that could have warned us?”

“Yes.” Twilight dodged a cloud. “Remember the first time you Bolts were playing Pounder in Canterlot?” Rainbow nodded. “I was there to talk to Celestia about a changeling problem that Thorax had told us about. Apparently, this group of changelings doesn’t like the fact that Equestria and the Changeling Kingdom are now allies, and they’ve been attacking random villages in both Equestria and the Changeling Kingdom.”

Rainbow groaned. “Great. Just what I wanted to do after practice. Fight changelings.”

“You probably won’t have to fight for long,” her friend told her. “These changelings hit and run pretty fast.”

                                                                                    # 

Forty five minutes later, the Bolts and the Princess arrived on the scene. Flames poured out of windows and doors, burst through roofs, and clawed their way onto the street. Ponies were helping each other make their way to the edge of the village, where the smoke was thinner and the flames couldn’t reach. Many villagers had formed a bucket chain from the lake nearby, but it wasn;t doing much good.

“DASH!”

Rainbow whirled and saluted Spitfire. “Sir!”

“Take the speed fighters and look for survivors from the air. The heavy fighters will take the ground. Our armor is partially flame resistant, and your masks can handle the thick smoke above the buildings. SOARIN!” she bellowed, looking at the pegasi around her.

“Sir!” Soarin shoved through the crowd, throwing a hasty salute.

“You lead 2nd Squadron around to the other side of the village and work your way to here from there. Rainbow, take 4th Squadron and do the same from the air. Fleetfoot, you’ll be above me (leading 1st Squadron) with 3rd Squadron while we head towards 2nd and 4th.” The commanders nodded. “MOVE OUT!”

As 2nd and 4th flew over the flames to the other side of the town, Soarin hugged Rainbow close with a wing. “Stay safe, Crash,” he whispered solemnly.

Rainbow hugged him back. “You too, Clipper.”

##################

As Rainbow dove into the flames, she listened for the screams. Left. She swerved and dove through a window, barely making it through a wall of fire. She landed on the hot floor and called into the smoke. “Hello?” Nothing. “Hello?!”

“Help!” a faint voice gasped. Rainbow clambered swiftly over smoldering furniture and dug through a pile of smoking pillows and chairs. A dirty hoof reached out to her and she grabbed it, pulling with all her might. A young blue mare slid out of the pile, landing in a pile in front of her rescuer, coughing. Rainbow ripped the collar off of her uniform and held it over the mare’s mouth, helping block the smoke.

“Come on. You can do.” Rainbow helped the young pegasus out the window into clearer air to the side of town. “Are you good?” she asked, checking the victim’s eyes for signs of smoke or ash. Nothing. Good. A medic stallion galloped over to them, and Rainbow took off once more. As she glided above the burning buildings, she took note of how much ground the water brigade had gained. Several of the rescued ponies who were in better shape were helping make it longer, and some of the royal guard had arrived to help, so there was an extensive chain throughout much of the town. Most of the buildings were only smoldering now.

Suddenly, a clatter from below rang through the smoke. Without a moments hesitation, Rainbow dove down once more, weaving through the leaping flames. A still-burning cinder landed on her shoulder, burning through her sleeve. The pegasus merely flicked it off and kept going. She heard a weak scraping sound, and glided over to a wall. Someone was trapped inside and trying to claw their way out. “Back up!” she shouted, hoping whoever was inside would hear her. She turned and, just like Applejack had shown her, began bucking, her hooves slamming against the already weakened planks. Crack. Almost through. SMASH! Her hooves shot through the wall, sending a shower of splinters inside. She leaped through the hole and landed on the floor. Thick, oily black smoke pooled around her. Rainbow flattened herself against the floor, under the layer of smoke, and looked around. There. About ten feet away, a mare and foal were in a heap on the floor.

The foal had a strip of damp cloth over his face, and he looked to be in pretty good shape. The mother, on the other hoof, was in a tangled heap, her eyes barely open. Rainbow rushed over, ripped her own mask and goggles off, and fastened them around the mother’s face. “Hey, kid,” she said, turning to the foal. “Help me get your mom onto my back.” After a few minutes of struggling, the mare was on Rainbow’s back. “Let’s go.” She scooped the foal up in her arms and climbed out of the hole. The smoke stung her eyes and throat, but she kept on flying. Just a little farther. You can do it, Crash. She landed clumsily on the grass, shaking smoke and sparks off of her body. “MEDIC!” she hollered, her voice hoarse.

As a medic galloped over, Rainbow turned to the colt. “You okay, kid?”

“Y-yeah,” he gasped. “I-is my mommy okay?”

Rainbow glanced over at the medic. He nodded to her. “Yeah, she’s gonna be fine.” She patted him on the head. “You were really strong in there, helping me get your mommy onto my back.”

The colt blushed. A Wonderbolt had complimented him! “It was nothin’,” he replied shyly.

Rainbow smiled down at him. “You keep your mommy safe, okay? I’ve got to head back into the fire.” The colt saluted her and took up a guard position next to his mother. Rainbow collected her mask and goggles and, taking a deep breath to clear her lungs, leaped into the air.

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Sorry, that was kinda long XD

As for the picture, I was trying out a slightly different style of line work, and it was a lot of fun to do. I’m not 100% pleased with the lighting effect, but, then again, I’ve never drawn somepony in a fire before. 🙂

Also, Rainbow’s outfit is #3 from this pic: Wonderbolt Outfits

Hope you guys liked it!

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