Solar Beginnings

Chapter 17

I made my way into the meeting room where there were many people waiting for me. The most notable was Rainbow Dash, who I was surprised to see here. She had a piece missing from her ear, and her usually free-flowing hair was cut as short as any stallion would have it. My hair was uncut, but RD, as we call her, had her hair much shorter than mine. She smirked as I entered the room, and I saluted and cut it in turn. She returned it, cut it, then addressed me.

"So, you're the Summer Flare everyone keeps talking about. At first glance, you don't seem like anything special, but from what reports from the Princesses say, you've got enhanced abilities and senses. Am I correct?" She asked me, curiosity burning in her eyes.

"Yes Ma'am. I'm notably stronger than the other warriors out here, though likely only slightly stronger than you. My endurance is much higher, and my reflexes are much faster." I told her. She threw a knife at me with no warning, and I ducked it easily, though even if I hadn't it would've only grazed my hair.

"Wow. It takes a lot to impress me, but color me impressed. Most ponies wouldn't have realized what happened until after the knife was stuck in the wall, but you acted as if you expected it." She noted out loud, walking over and removing her knife from the wall. "You may actually be able to do as the princesses say and turn the tide of this battle." She told me.

"Like I said. heightened reflexes. And so many ponies are saying that, but why does my abilities make me more of a valuable asset than any other pony here? Surely in the long run I won't be more important than the mare or stallion next to me?" I said. Just because I had more ability than anyone else, to me, didn't mean my life was more valuable than anyone else's, friend or foe. I'd do what I had to do in order to protect myself and my fellow warriors, but all in all my end goal wasn't to kill more changelings than anyone else, it was to stop the changelings from gaining any more ground, push them back to their border with Equestria, and end the war. But clearly it was gonna be much easier said than done.

"Are you kidding? If we lose you, we lose this war. We couldn't stop the changelings from gaining ground before you came along, but now-" She cut off as another officer came into the room. They saluted each other, then the officer spoke.

"General Silver Sunset reporting. The changelings have withdrawn from the battlefield." The general said.

"Any idea why?" I asked her. The changelings suddenly stopping was weird, and instantly something felt off.

"As much as I hate answering to a Private Class One, they seemed to slow down when they saw you take down the changelings you did. The fighting kept on for a few minutes, then they suddenly retreated. I only told you because you seemed to be involved." She told me. 

"They either know about Summer's abilities, or they're planning for a massive assault, all of them at once. Be ready for anything. Dismissed." RD told Silver Sunset. They saluted again, then Silver Sunset turned and left. I looked at Rainbow Dash, and saw her looking at me with triumph. "Do you see why we said that you can turn the tide of this war? They fear you. And that will be our greatest weapon against them. Dismissed."

I wanted to argue, to tell her that I didn't want to be a weapon for them to use, but I know that anything I said would've been disregarded. Everyone was so set on finishing this war that I was only a weapon for them. At this point, I didn't know if I was even seen as a pony anymore, or someone that they expected to just blatantly follow orders without asking questions, and that scared me more than the fiercest changeling.