//------------------------------// // Settling In and Lectures // Story: Shadow of Loyalty // by Admiral Q Ponyform //------------------------------// It took Rainbow nearly three days to get to Mareapolis, and she had to sleep a full day after arriving to recover her strength. The next day after a BIG breakfast she left to go look for City Hall. While three times the size of Ponyville and more industrious than the farm town, Mareapolis was still a small city, and Rainbow had no trouble finding City Hall, a five story brick building. Rainbow went in through the front door and went to the front desk. A mare with glasses was typing something at the desk until she noticed Rainbow. “Welcome to City Hall, how can I help you?” the mare asked. “I'm looking for your Weather Offices,” Rainbow replied. “Fourth floor, on your right.” “Thanks.” Rainbow flew up the right stairwell. She counted the floors until she got to the fourth. There, she landed and began scanning the doors until she came to a brown wooden door labeled "Weather Management". Before she could go through, though, she heard a voice. “Can I help you miss?” Rainbow look to see a middle age mare looking at her inquisitively. Rainbow gave her a smile and answered. “Just applying for a job, ma'am.” “Oh, well I'm the head weather manager in the city, so let's go into my office.” The mare opened the door and led Rainbow into a conference room twice the size of Rainbow's office in Ponyville. Several side offices were along the walls. The mare led her to the office near the back. Upon entering, Rainbow glanced around and saw diplomas, certificates, and photos of several pegasi in group shots. The mare took a seat behind a desk and looked at Rainbow. “My name is Sky Rain, and I have been leading the weather team for the past ten years.” “Mine's Rainbow Dash, and I used to head the weather team in Ponyville for the past two years, and I worked there for another four before that. I was winner of the last Young Fliers Competition, and I can do the Sonic Rainboom.” That last part may be bragging a bit, but it made her look good, so Rainbow mentioned it anyway. “You have some documentation?” Sky Rain asked. Dash used her wing to open her saddle pack, and she handed over a folder with her documents. Sky Rain look over it and nodded. “Yes this matches what the mayor of Ponyville sent over. She gave you praise for the work you've done and let me know of your style of working. You appear lazy, but you'd always get the job done. However, she didn't mention why you left.” “Personal reasons, ma'am, but I couldn't live there anymore.” “Okay, I can respect that, but I always have my ears open if you need them. The farm section of our jurisdiction needs a new head since our last manager there moved away to take care of his parents. You match the requirements, and you are familiar with what is needed for a farm area. The pay is the same as your pay was in Ponyville. Can you start tomorrow if interested?” “I am interested, ma'am, and I can easily start tomorrow.” “Okay, report to the Fair Deal Office Building at nine in the morning. We have a small space in the building where your branch of our teams meet for assignments or announcements. Sky Walker will help you over there.” “Thanks a lot, ma'am. Anything else?” “No. Enjoy your day, Miss Dash.” With a nod, Rainbow left the office and took a stop to get her mailbox set up and be officially recognized as a resident of Mareapolis. That done, she left the building and decided to tour the city to get a feel for it. There wasn't much of a market place since, unlike Ponyville, farming wasn't its main industry, but what farmers there were set up stalls for those products buyers wanted fresh. Rainbow went down and got a few things to restock her food supply. She saw a Barnyard Bargains and similar stores. Hayburger and Dairy Princess were also present, of course. She did a quick flyby of what's to be her area and found five farms, each about half the size of Sweet Apple Acres. After that, she decided to practice her stunts for the rest of the day. As the sun set, Rainbow entered her home and passed a counter. It was then she noticed the picture there. It was of her and the girls the day after beating Nightmare Moon, and Twilight had just heard she could stay in Ponyville. They were all happy, not knowing what the future was to be. She thought they were her friends back then. With her hoof she slammed the picture frame down so she did have to see it anymore. It hurt too much to look at it now. * * * * * The next morning, Rainbow awoke tiredly. Her sleep wasn't the most restful, as she relived the reveal of Mare Do Well and the others' treachery. What was weird, though, was that she could swear she saw Princess Luna in it. But she wasn't in Ponyville when that crap went down. Well, she thought, first day of work. Better grab some grub and head out. She had already located the building yesterday, and she could she why Sky Rain rented an office there. The eighth floor had a balcony, perfect for pegasi and, thus, the weather team. She spotted the banner for her team and landed. A couple of pegasi were still on the balcony chatting when they noticed her. Rainbow waved at them and went inside. She looked around the space they had and noticed that it was simple. A break room, an office for herself, and a conference room that could fit ten ponies. She headed back to the office and noticed some papers there. Looking them over, she found it was the weather assignment for the week. So the workers would come to the office once a week. She could deal with that. Punching in from the break room she headed back into the conference room, seeing some of her team already there. She went over to study the map hanging on the wall. At the assigned time, the rest of her team came in. “Morning, everypony. My name is Rainbow Dash, and I'm your new team leader.” She saw a few eyebrows go up as some recognized her. “The bosses want sunny, but partly cloudy, days till Friday, when they want a light drizzle over the farms. Which one of you is Sky Walker?” A stallion with white fur and a dirty blonde mane lifted a hoof. “Okay, I want you to assign who goes where for the time being. You know the team and what they are used to better than I do. I might change it later if I feel the need. Any questions?” Rainbow waited a minute before looking back at Sky Walker and giving him a nod. He got up and went to the map and started assigning sections, and Rainbow made note of who was who and where they were going. Sky Walker looked back at Rainbow and asked a question. “Miss Dash, where would you prefer to go?” “A farm area if one's available.” She said as she lounged in a chair. “Well then, you can have the carrot farm and park area.” Thank Celestia he didn't give me the apple farm; too many bad memories with that one, Rainbow thought as Sky Walker finished up. “Okay, team, now head out to your assigned areas, and unless there's an emergency, we'll see each other Friday before the storm.” Rainbow ended the meeting with that. Everypony started to leave except one of the mares. She had yellow fur with a green mane in a style that was uncomfortably similar to Rarity's. Her name was Cloud Tipper if Rainbow remembered correctly. “I just have to say I'm honored that the legendary Rainbow Dash is leading our team.” That brought a smile to Rainbow's lips. At least I still have good rep somewhere, she thought. “Thanks, Cloud Tipper. I'll see you in the sky.” Cloud Tipper nodded and both of them moved out. * * * * * Rainbow flew over her area and noticed too many clouds. “Time for some old-fashioned bucking,” Rainbow said, beginning to zip in. She did various stunts as she bucked the clouds, getting her work done in ten seconds flat. Looking over the area again, she made sure the carrot fields were clear and sunny, while the park area had the bulk of the remaining clouds so ponies had some shaded areas, not to mention good napping spots. With that done, she decided to see how her team was doing. She got more stunt practice done between the sections and spent a few minutes in each section watching her team work, seeing if they needed help or not. Luckily, it seemed she had a good team assigned to her, but it will take a few more days to be sure. With everypony in good shape, she flew back to the park. She found a good cloud and lay down on it, planning a good nap and forgetting Ponyville. * * * * * Twilight yawned as she awoke from a difficult sleep. The reveal the day before did not go as planned. While she had always planned on revealing who Mare Do Well was to Rainbow, she never had a set time. And when Pinkie was revealed, Twilight decided to wing it. She thought that, after the reveal and explanation, Rainbow would thank them for caring so much. Instead, she yelled at them and called them backstabbers and hypocrites. She must have missed something, but what? Well, maybe after a few days, Rainbow will calm down and realize what they were doing. Twilight will explain that she never meant to hurt Rainbow, just teach her a lesson. She washed up and was heading downstairs to the kitchen when she heard a knock on the door. Odd, we aren't open for another hour. Maybe it's Rainbow wanting to talk, she thought as she went over to the door and opened it. It revealed Scootaloo, one of Applebloom's friends. She was scowling at Twilight. ”Scootaloo? What are you doing here?” “Here to give these to YOU!” Scootaloo threw Mare Do Well cape and hat at her. “Why?” Twilight asked, shocked at the filly's actions. “Because I know about you, MARE DO WELL. But you are only one part of the so-called hero, aren't you. But considering that you saved Winter Wrap Up, I figured you had to be the head part. Thanks to you, Rainbow Dash is gone. I was going to ask her to take me under her wing one day, but that will never happen. ALL THANKS TO YOU! Rainbow deserved better friends than you five,” Scootaloo said with tears in her eyes. She jumped on her scooter and took off for school. Twilight stood there in shock for a few minutes before taking the cape and hat inside. She looked out a window for Rainbow's home. It was gone. Her eyes became pinpricks. This couldn't be true. Rainbow, gone? Wait. Rainbow was the weather manager. She had to go the mayor to quit. Twilight raced over to Townhall and into the mayor's office. “Miss Sparkle!?” was all the mayor managed to say before Twilight interrupted. “Mayor Mare, where's Rainbow Dash?” “If she's gone, then she's likely on her way to Mareapolis. She resigned from her position yesterday claiming we all threw her under the carriage for Mare Do Well and that she couldn't stay anymore.” Twilight left the office barely giving the mayor a goodbye. On her mind was only how her plan had blown up in her face. They wanted to teach Rainbow humility, but instead they drove her away. How could it have gone so wrong? She was so focused on her plan's colossal failure that she didn't notice the white mare in front of her until Twilight bumped into her. Twilight shook her head and looked up. “Princess Celestia! I'm so sorry.” Celestia smiled at her before saying, “It's okay, Twilight, but I have come with disturbing news.” “Disturbing news?” she asked. Just what I need right now. Celestia's smile vanished and she explained, “Twilight, I was inspecting the Elements when I discovered this.” Using her magic Celestia presented the Element of Loyalty. It looked the same except for one glaring difference. The lightning bolt-shaped jewel, the shape signifying its bond to Rainbow Dash, was gray instead of the dark red it usually was. “Twilight, I can only conclude something has happened to Rainbow Dash. Any idea on what that may be?” Twilight sighed and told Princess Celestia about the events leading up to and during the Mare Do Well incident, finishing up with how Rainbow initially reacted. “And now, I just heard that Rainbow has left for Mareapolis. I just don't know what went wrong.” Twilight looked up at her Princess, who had a frown on her face. “Twilight, gather your friends together. We need to have a talk.” All the warmth the Princess usually had was gone. Twilight hurried to do her task. It was fairly easy to get most of them. Fluttershy was the hardest since she was bawling in her cottage with Angel running interference. But a Princess's summons managed to get her out. It was an hour later when she had all her friends minus Rainbow Dash with her in the library and Celestia began. “Twilight has told me of recent events, and I am disappointed in you all with your actions in this issue. I know that Rainbow Dash has a strong ego which tends to get to her head, but it sounds to me that you didn't even talk to her about it. Yes, Mare Do Well was a viable option, but it should only have been a last resort, just like my having to use the Elements on my own sister.” Twilight heard Princess Celestia's voice crack a bit on that one. “I had tried everything else first before using them on her. I carry the guilt of not paying attention to her pain earlier and having been forced to do that. But what makes your actions worse was that you did this to the bearer of the Element of Loyalty. As its bearer, Rainbow Dash values loyalty above all else, and the clearest sign we see of how she feels about your actions is this!” She showed them all the gray Element of Loyalty. They all gasped at the sight. “Thanks to your actions, Equestria's first line of defense is gone. Harmony is broken, and now it is up to you girls to renew the bonds of friendship if it is possible. Next time, try thinking things through before acting, or you may make the same mistake I made a thousand years ago.” With that, Celestia teleported away, leaving the five mares with shame on their faces.