//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Loyal to the Crown // by LichenLeaf //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash groaned in annoyance for the third time in five minutes. It was the eighth time in ten minutes, and louder than any of the previous groans by far. Truth be told, it had evolved beyond being a groan, and was now a scream of frustration. Not a very loud scream mind you, but Rainbow figured pretty soon it’d be enough to wake up even her companion sitting in the seat across from her. She glared at the guard pony, completely missing the annoyed look somepony gave her as they passed the compartment she was currently losing her mind in. It wasn't so much that the pony that was supposed to be escorting her was sleeping, Rainbow was very much accustomed to sleeping on the job. Nor was it really even the fact that Rainbow had been rather brusquely awoken from a nap herself. Although she and this pony were going to have a nice chat about flying etiquette, and that hazy field concerning whether it was okay to kick a cloud out from beneath somepony. Even if they were an escort from Princess Celestia for some important meeting in Canterlot. No, what really ticked Rainbow off was the fact that instead of flying, the fastest and most readily accessible form of transportation, they were taking this stupid train. But not before of course, they had to wait at the train station for an hour for the next train to Canterlot. Which the guard pony slept through. Or before Pinkie Pie threw a Good-Luck-On-Your-Weirdly-Sudden-Meeting-With-The-Princesses party. Which the guard pony slept through. Or before Pinkie’s party made them miss the first train, and they had to wait another forty five minutes for the next one. In which the guard pony got up to use the restroom, before sleeping through. Rainbow’s eye twitched violently at the memory. Rainbow assumed the reason her escort slept so much was because she was used to sleeping during the day. It made sense for a bat pony, after all. Of course, she knew next to nothing about bat ponies. Hardly anypony did. The first time she had ever even seen one had been Nightmare Night a few months back. Heck, she’d thought they were only a rumor, or a scary story to tell foals to make sure they stayed in bed. She’d debated on telling one during the camping trip Applejack, Rarity, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and herself had gone on. No, Rainbow had thought they were only a story until she watched two pull Princess Luna’s cart into Ponyville. If she was being honest with herself, she’d actually thought those two were just pegasi in costume anyway. Rainbow glanced at the clock again. Stewing in her frustration could only kill so much time. Standing up, she gave all her limbs a stretch, giving yet another completely unnoticed glare at the guard. Enough is enough, she thought to herself, before nudging her escort’s foreleg in what some may describe as a “punch”. “Hey! Rise and shine, leatherwings!” The pony jolted awake, brandishing her spear and flaring her wings. “Where are they?! Are we under attack?!” Rainbow flopped to the ground, partly to avoid the spear, mostly because she was laughing so hard. The bat pony’s eyes continued darting around frantically, until she finally put two and two together. “Oh ha ha, you’re a real riot. It would’ve been great if I ran you through with this, huh?” The pony waved her spear a little, narrowing her eyes at Rainbow who was still snickering every time she glanced up. “Scaring somepony really isn’t that-” the bat pony’s voice hitched as she caught her reflection in the window. Her helmet was skewed so badly off her head it was a wonder it was still on, her barding was sagging off her body due to her shifting in her sleep, and she became very aware of a large amount of saliva on the right side of her face. Standing as straight as she could, and with all the dignity she could muster, she began to make herself look presentable. Rainbow was still smirking at the reaction when she let out an exclamation of surprise. The moment the guard had removed her helmet, her ash grey coat had turned a navy blue, and her dual colored mane and tail became a silvery white. “Whoa, why’d your coat and mane change colors?” The bat pony paused in rearranging her helmet, to narrow her eyes yet again at Rainbow. “Helmets of the Royal Guard are enchanted to change the appearance of the wearers coat. Uniformity to intimidate,” she answered curtly, before jamming her helmet back on. “You didn't think they only hired ponies that looked exactly alike to be in the Guard, did you?” This time it was Rainbow’s turn to stand as straight as she could, and scrap together what dignity she still had. “Well duh, I mean that’s something they teach you in like…” Rainbow paused, not quite remembering what grade that was. “In uh, school.” The bat pony just gave her a look, and Rainbow to her credit, met her eye. Or to her discredit as the case may be. Regardless, the guard sat down while shaking her head softly, and glanced at the clock. “We’ll be there in another 15 minutes. No use trying to go back to sleep now,” she grunted, mostly to herself. In an effort to show off her inner egghead, Rainbow asked, “You’ve been sleeping so much because you’re nocturnal, right?” She grinned to herself. She paid attention in school sometimes, and bats slept in the day. Twilight would be proud of her. The bat pony wasn’t impressed however, and rolled her eyes. “You know I’m not literally part bat right?” Before Rainbow could put up a hasty defense, she continued, “You are right, but that doesn’t make you any less of an idiot. And for the record, I’ve trained myself to be diurnal anyway. I just didn’t want to have to deal with daywalkers the entire trip. That pink earth pony… ugh.” Rainbow flared up, her face growing hot. “Watch who you call an idiot, leatherwings. I might have a little talk with Celestia about this.” She knew it was incredibly immature, to the point of it being basically tattling, but right now she just wanted to see the dumb guard squirm and beg for forgiveness. So it was much to her chagrin when all she got in reply was a shrug. “What?! But you’re one of the Royal Guard! Celestia is your boss! Your princess!” Rainbow spluttered. “Celestia is neither my boss, nor my princess. She just happens to be one of the princesses in a diarchy. You’ll do well to remember that.” The bat pony spoke with a certain hardness in her voice. There wasn’t malice in her words, she was merely stating a fact. A fact that was apparently very important to her. Rainbow merely harrumphed in reply and settled down in her seat, staring out the window for the remainder of the journey. Rainbow stepped off the train, her hooves barely touching the ground before she was several feet in the air, hovering with slow but powerful flaps in an attempt to loosen up. Forcing herself to sit still for so long was a mental exercise the likes of which she hadn’t partaken in since… probably the last time she and Twilight had hung out. She rolled her neck, energy starting to rapidly flow through her as she waited impatiently for her guard to slowly meander her way onto the platform. Rainbow blinked. It suddenly struck her that she didn’t actually know what the guard’s name was. Pinkie had forced her to spill it out before the guard had snuck away to nap, but Rainbow had been momentarily distracted by the seething rage that overcame her when she realized they missed the train. She flew a bit closer to ground, though never quite touching because of her new vendetta for all thing not of the sky, about to ask when a voice cut her off. “Quick Silver, there you are!” An earth pony of the Royal Guard trotted over to them, relief plain on his face. “You were supposed to be here ages ago!” Rainbow’s guard rolled her eyes. “There was a bit of a holdup. Apparently this one,” Quick Silver jerked her head towards Rainbow, “Needed the blessing of all her friends before she could leave. I guess Princess Celestia’s invitations mean nothing when you’re in her favor.” Rainbow tensed in rage, all of her muscles clenching as she dropped to the ground, shoving her muzzle in the nonchalant bat pony’s face. “Hey! I would have been here in minutes if it wasn’t for you insisting we take the train! It’s not my fault you wouldn’t have been able to keep up with someone as awesome as me!” Quick Silver barked out a short laugh, before glaring at Rainbow stony faced. “You wish you were half as fast as I was.” “Is that a challenge, leatherwings?!” Rainbow exclaimed. They were beginning to attract looks from various ponies nearby, and the earth pony cleared his throat loudly, stepping pointedly between the two of them. “All right ladies, simmer down. Miss Dash, please excuse Quick Silver’s behavior, she isn’t usually up at this hour, despite claiming to be fully diurnal. If you please follow us, we’ll take you to the castle without further delay.” He nodded to Rainbow, who merely snorted and looked away, refusing to move until the two guard ponies were several feet in front of her. She ruffled her feathers several times, in an attempt to release some of the adrenaline that was coursing through her. Her mind was racing, coincidentally with thoughts of racing. Specifically Quick Silver, and relishing the look on her face after having completely trounced her. As a result, she nearly missed the exchange the two were having ahead of her. “-know how much trouble you could have gotten in? How much you still might? For Celestia’s sake Silver, she’s the element of Loyalty! Equestria owes her several times over!” “I don’t care Gallant Heart. I don’t owe her anything. I did my research on her, she’s just an insufferable braggart. Why Twilight Sparkle can’t come instead-” “Princess Twilight, Silver. And how should I know? It’s what the Princesses’ want.” “Hmph. I’m sure it’s what one of them wants…” Gallant Heart merely sighed and shook his head. The rest of the journey was uneventful, and it left Rainbow time to consider what she had heard. She was no egghead, but it definitely seemed like Quick Silver had a problem with Princess Celestia. Well of course she does, she told you that! Rainbow glared at the back of her currently most disliked bat pony. She would have loved nothing more than to confront her again, possibly smack some allegiance to the crown into her, but the only thing stopping her was the thought of being later than they already were. And if there was one thing Rainbow hated, it was being late. She would have raised another fuss about why she couldn’t just fly to the castle, but Gallant Heart seemed all right, and he was at least keeping Quick Silver away from her. That being said, for Equestria’s sake, it was only a few blocks away. Or it was, Rainbow mused, looking up at the tall gate that marked the entry way into the castle grounds. Being properly lost in one’s thoughts had its advantages. She only wished that could have happened on the train. Gallant Heart nodded to the guards stationed at the gate, and one of them signaled for it raise. They passed through, and made their way up the walk and through the large double doors leading into the castle proper. Rainbow glanced around as they continued on, looking for more bat ponies. She’d been to the castle a few times and never remembered seeing one. This visit was no exception, though she did see a statue off in the distance depicting a stern looking bat pony with her helmet tucked under her wing she had never noticed before. Before she could study it further they were already inside, and it was only few minutes more before they were standing before the doorway to the Royal Court. “This is where we part ways, Miss Dash. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are already expecting you.” The look on his face suggested that they had been doing so for some time now, and was very glad he wouldn’t be joining them. He inclined his head towards her, and walked off, pausing for a moment beside Quick Silver. “Behave yourself, Silver.” She didn’t so much as look at him, merely flicking her tail in reply as he sighed softly and left. Rainbow rolled her eyes at the display, taking a few steps forward to open the doors. She stopped just before placing her hoof on the wood, heart suddenly pumping. It occurred to her just how odd this all was. Celestia was summoning herself for some urgent matter. Rainbow hated to admit it, but wouldn’t Twilight be better for anything Celestia herself needed help with? Not to mention how they apparently couldn’t fly anywhere. Rainbow peeked at Quick Silver’s wings out of the corner of her eye. They blended in well with her barding, looking almost like an ornate extension of it. Leathery and perfectly intact. So what gives? Something just seemed off to Rainbow. Quick Silver evidently was through with Rainbow’s contemplating and staring. “See anything you like?” She glared at Rainbow and walked right up to the doors herself, throwing them open and walking into the court, head held high. Rainbow grit her teeth, and immediately followed after her. Now wasn’t the time for misgivings. Now it was time for Rainbow Danger Dash to prove herself worthy of whatever help the princesses needed. She smirked to herself as she caught up and matched pace with Quick Silver. Maybe they need to get rid of a bat infestation.