A Dash of Raine

Chapter 2: The Pegasus

I entered the soldiers hall once again and walked to my bunk. Placing my newly issued uniform onto the brown blanket, I began to undress. Starting with my black hoodie, I peeled it over my head and let it hit the floor. Then came the white t-shirt I wore underneath, which was more noticeably dirty from all my adventures and travels. Layer after layer came off, my scarred body became visible under the fluorescent lights, and I heard a voice gasp behind me. I didn't bother to turn and look at who it was, I always got that kind of reaction, and I didn't care to see the pity in their eyes. I began redressing into my new uniform as Dash came to stand next to me.

As I put my armor into place and tightened it to fit, I turned and looked at him. But as his eyes bore into mine, they held no pity, no disgust, not much of anything really. "I knew you had seen a lot from that scar on your face, but damn dude, those scars are kinda sick." I growled at him for a moment and stepped toward him, happily leaning down into his personal space. "They aren't sick, I got to live with them while my comrades died. You had better not die too," I spoke, my voice filled with anger and spite for those we fought. "Your annoying energy should be what fills this team's morale. They're gonna need someone like you while they're bleeding out. I am a good soldier but useless at comfort, I don't really even understand why someone like you would choose to be a soldier. You should be a medic if anything." I growled out displeased that this little ball of happiness would put himself at risk for someone like me, "Because I want to save people like me, I also want to prove myself. I came from the stable, and I got lucky. I haven't seen as much as you have, and most everyone thinks that stable creatures like me are too soft and useless to do anything like this. I want to prove them wrong." He responded, his eyes slightly downcast. I found myself bubbling with newfound respect for this deer but scowled regardless.

"You have nothing to prove. We all come from different backgrounds. Some of us get lucky, some of us don't, that doesn't mean you have to punish yourself. That and you certainly shouldn't be putting your life on the line for someone like me. You don't know of my sins." I turned to my bunk sitting on my flank upon the cold, hard floor and shoving around the contents of my bag. He sighed and sat down next to me, watching me search through my things for my cigarette case. "That may be true, but I'm still gonna prove that we can be useful out here. Also, for the record, we've all done bad things out here. The fact that you have some semblance of regret tells me that you're worth saving." I nodded my head, trying to hide the shock and the emotion storming through my eyes. Finally finding my case, I opened it, pulled out my match box, and two cigarettes. I offered one to Dash, and he shook his head, "No thanks." I nodded, placing it back into the case. I placed the cigarette between my lips and lit the match on the wall, placing the flame up to the end, lighting it.

I tossed the cooled match stick into the trash can nearby and took a long drag. Making sure to expel the smoke in the opposite direction of Dash. I thought for a moment, enjoying the silence before turning to him, "wanna go topside?"And do what?" He asked as he turned towards me, I rose from my sitting position, taking another large puff. "I'm not sure, maybe we could go to the traders or somethin'." I then saw him slowly break out in a smile. My frown deepened in response, "what?" "I knew you had a soft spot, Raine." "I don't. You just look more pathetic than usual when you're sad." He chuckled, and I stared at him displeased with what he said, but I had already offered, so I offered a hoof to help him up. He took it and stood dusting himself off. I turned toward the bed and grabbed the sunglasses just in case.

We walked toward the door and looked at the sunglasses on my head curiously. "Bat pony, the sun really limits my vision and hurts my eyes quite a bit." He nodded as we continued forward. We decided to come up near a place called 'The Chipped Hoof' which was a saloon and a bit old timey which I found charming. He smiled as we walked down the dirt paths, him leading the way as he seemed more familiar with this place than me. In the past, I had only happened to pass through.

After a bit of walking, we came across a fenced area with a sign above it that read 'trade' in large painted letters. We entered the fenced area, and I caught sight of a dog on the left. I looked to Dash, who had approached the pony working the counter and quietly snuck my way over to the cute dog. I had always loved animals like birds, dogs, cats, and the like much more than I liked other ponies. I thought back to Dash, or any creature for that matter. I crouched down and ran my gloved hoof over the dog's head, and it seemed to smile at me while it pressed its head into my hoof. I smiled softly, fangs shining in the sunlight, and the dog just continued to smile at me and roll around. I stifled my laughter until I heard someone's throat clear from behind me. Fixing my face into its usual uninterested expression, I turned to face the source of the noise and saw a blue pegasus standing behind me with a scowl. "I know this place is a wasteland now but, there was a time when it had some class." I rose to my full height, looking down to the smaller pegasus. I said nothing as I looked closely at this pegasus, "Are you mute or something? What are ponies like you doing here? Making this land more disgraceful?" At that, I smirked ever so slightly, sensing his heart rate pick up at the sight. I took a step forward, leaning down to him. "What business I have here is none of yours, why don't you toddle back to your school house little colt, you don't know who you're talking to, and you don't know what you're talking about. Turn around and leave, or I promise someone will get hurt."

I once again rose to my full height as I heard hoofsteps approaching me. I looked over to Dash as he came to a halt next to me, looking excitedly over what he had purchased. He turned towards the pegasus and gave him a once over before shrugging it off and beginning to talk animatedly. "Raine, they have some of the coolest stuff here. Look, I got this little thing that glows. It comes in multiple colors like blue, red, green, and even yellow. Oh, and look at this," he said as he pulled out some sort of liquid in a bottle, "I'm not sure what it does, but it looks interesting! Maybe I could use it in battle or something. And look at this!" He said excitedly, pulling something that looked oddly like an epi pen from the stack. "I got this thing, I don't know how it works, but it seems really interesting. The trader pony told me that it gives you more strength.. with some side effects. How cool is that?!" I just nodded along with him as he rambled, keeping my eye on the pegasus next to me.

While he talked, he threw his hooves around, and I was fairly worried he would drop something, but thankfully, he eventually stashed everything into his pack. "And that's all I bought today. I had quite a bit of caps to spend from saving so." He paused and looked at the pegasus, "who is this? They've just been standing here listening to me talk, and I'm not sure how I feel about it." I shrugged and watched as Dash approached him. "Hey, I'm Dash Strider. Who are you?" "My name is none of your concern, but the fact that you hang out with and seem to enjoy the company of such filth makes me worry for you." Dash chuckled, "I don't see any filth here, but you, you think that hating on a species makes you important or special or something? It makes you look like an idiot. This bat here is strong, I haven't had the chance to fight alongside him yet, but I know when I do, I know he would lay down his life for me, and I will do the same." He looked at me, "he may not think we're friends yet, but I still think he's special." He turns back to the pegasus, "you on the other hoof, should go get a life. There's enough hatred out here. No one needs your assistance in spreading it. So go spread your philosophy to someone who gives a shit." He smiles at me and starts walking. And I won't admit it, but I was in a state of surprise as I followed after, leaving the shocked pegasus behind me.

°A/N: Thanks again for reading, I hope y'all are enjoying it thus far. Give it a vote if you wouldn't mind! Shoot me some ideas of what you would like to see for later chapters as well.

Thanks again!