Loyalty Has a Price, A Purpose
“Exactly how do you intend to reach these five points, Rainbow Dash?” Luna's voice wafted across the cool night winds. “That land you're in sounds unlike any you've ventured through before.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged, looking past Twilight's exhausted figure. “Same way I've always done it, Your Majesty. Winging it. Literally.”
“Over a grand and expansive sea?”
“Yeah. Sure. Why not?”
“From what I understand, you needed to craft a boat in order to cross half the appropriately-labeled Grand Choke.”
“Right. But I couldn't fly through the Grand Choke anyways, remember?”
“Indeed. And although your wingpower has returned, do honestly think you must exercise any less caution now?”
“Huh?”
“You've crossed large distances before, Rainbow Dash,” Luna said. “But you've always had the luxury of dry earth in any direction to land on. That does not seem to be the case here.”
Rainbow sighed. “Princess Luna, I thank you for your concern. Really, I do. But there's simply no other way to do this except through—”
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight Sparkle spoke.
Rainbow looked aside.
The floating unicorn yawned. Her eyes were sleepy and her muzzle was adorned with a tranquil smile. “It's one thing to be enthusiastic. But—for loyalty's sake—don't be so quick to throw yourself into the drink.”
Rainbow Dash shivered slightly. After a sigh, she said, “Twilight brings up a good point, Luna. I... uhhh... I-I shouldn't take the size of this sea lightly. Maybe just winging it won't work the same way it always has.”
“Do you have a plan in motion?” Spike's voice asked.
“Well... yes... and no...” Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “For serious. I think I might be able to... uhhh... curry favor with the right ponies.”
“Pffft...” Twilight chuckled, fighting another yawn. “After the crazy impression you've already made on these ponies?”
“Uhhh... yeah?” Rainbow Dash arched her eyebrow at the unicorn. “Look, you've been out of it for a very long time, but I can move mountains with my charisma!”
“Can you now...?”
“For real, girl! You've no idea! I mean... back in Val Roa I was... like... the friggin' matriarch of diplomacy!”
“Heeheehee...”
“And don't get me started about Durandana.” Rainbow rolled her eyes and smirked. “Friggin' bird-whisperer of the century, lemme tell you...”
“Hmmmmm...” Twilight curled up on the cloud, her eyelids growing heavier.
“Hey...” Rainbow cocked her head to the side. “You've been struggling to stay awake for over an hour now. Maybe you should—I dunno—port yourself off to the 'void womb' place thingy and have yourself some shuteye?”
“You...” Twilight yawned again. “...you really think that will work...?”
“You're the egghead, you tell me.” Rainbow smirked. “Didn't it work before? Overnight? Before the morning when I freaked out?”
“I don't want to make you freak out again, Rainbow...”
“It's okay, Twi. I'm prepared this time.” Rainbow winked. “Go ahead and saw some space logs.”
“I just... I'm...” Twilight stretched and unstretched, producing a phantom trilling sound. “...I'm so... thrilled about this... about all of this. I mean... sure... the sound of making a journey twice as long is daunting, but I-I know you're more than capable, Rainbow Dash. And the possibility of returning to Ponyville... of getting my body back... of all of us being able to live again...”
“Stop thinking, Twilight,” Rainbow said. “Start sleeping. That's an order.”
“Since wh-when were you made a 'Captain' of this trek?”
“I ran a Jury once, y'know.”
“Sure...” Twilight yawned and smiled even more softly. “Sure enough...” She tilted her chin weakly towards the air. “Princess Luna, it's been so... so very good listening to you talk. Spike... I love you as always. I'm so proud of you...”
“Uhhh...” Rainbow cleared her throat and spoke towards the air. “Your Majesty, Twilight Sparkle sends her regards. Spike? She sends you her sleepy cuddly fuzzy pony love nuzzles.”
“Sleep well, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Luna said. “And rest assured, I shall brief Princess Celestia fully concerning this recent development.”
“Yeah, sleep well, Twilight,” Spike's voice said, shaking slightly. “I've got this covered back in Canterlot. Don't you worry. We're gonna get to the bottom of all this. Together.”
“Hmmmm... yes...” Twilight murmured, her eyelids finally closing. “...together.” There was a pulse of lavender, followed by another. Then—with a slow inhale—Twilight's body floated forward, disappearing into Rainbow Dash's pendant.
The pegasus drifted backwards, gasping. She felt a tingling sensation across her body, and the ruby pendant of her Element shimmered for a few seconds. “Jeez...” Her teeth chattered. “...like taking an ice bath.” She then hugged herself, exhaling from a warm toasty sensation. “Followed by a tumble through freshly dried blankets.” Her lips curved. “Heh...”
“Rainbow Dash,” Luna's voice resonated. It had a somber tone to it.
Clearing her throat, Rainbow Dash twirled about and looked up towards the heavens. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
Silence.
Rainbow blinked. “Princess Luna?”
“Have... have you not told her?”
“Told her what?”
More silence.
Rainbow's ears folded back. “Oh.” She gulped dryly. “That.”
“You must tell her, Rainbow Dash,” Luna said, her voice breathy but firm. “She is more than a piece to the puzzle. She is your friend. She deserves no less.”
“Luna, Twilight's been dead for months and months on end. As far as we can tell, so have the others. I think they've been through enough already.”
“Rainbow...”
“Look, things are about to ramp up to a higher level of intensity. And...” Rainbow clenched her teeth. “...if I can't afford to be completely confident in my odds, then somepony has to be.”
“This journey used to be solely about you. Now—we know for certain—it is about so much more. Completing your sojourn to the Midnight Armory and back is crucial to restoring the Elements of Harmony. It could very well play an integral role in the fate of the world... or Urohringr at large.”
“Right...”
“The fact that all of this hinges on your questionable ability to survive the trip—even despite your best efforts—cannot be ignored. And it simply cannot be hidden from your friends.”
“Look, Princess, I can do this,” Rainbow said. “It's rather obvious to everyone—including Celestia and Spike—that these flame beacon thingies restore my health! I'm not... like... dying as hard as I originally thought I was!”
“But you do not have full assurance of—”
“I'm going to do this. First, restore my friends. Second, get the Prism. Third, get the heck back to Ponyville.”
“It is far too dangerous to simply ignore the facts—”
“Luna...” Rainbow Dash spoke firmly. “...I've got this.” Her nostrils flared. “That's all that matters. I'm not worried. And as Loyalty is my witness, my friends won't have to be worried either.”
The air was silent for a while. The stars began dying, one by one, upon the advent of morning.
“Very well, Rainbow,” Luna finally said. “It is not our place to dictate how you treat your best friends. But I must issue caution. If you keep them in the dark for too long, you may not enjoy what happens when they are all too swiftly exposed to the light... especially against your will.”
Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, but then Spike's voice carried through.
“You're awesome, Rainbow Dash,” he said. “And loyalty's awesome too. But don't forget, there's always a place for honesty.”
Rainbow's muzzle clamped shut. Her pupils shrunk as she endured a chilling wave of nausea. She sat on the cloud, hugging herself.
“Will... will you at least think about it?” Spike said. “Twilight means so much to me, and I don't want her to suffer anymore. And... and I can't think of how painful it would be to learn the hard way that her best friend is dying... that her best friend has been dying.”
“Don't worry, Spike... Luna...” Rainbow said, shuddering slightly. “I promise you... I promise each and every one of you...” Her jaw tightened. “Our friends won't suffer anymore.”
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Ahh. . . nice plan.
idoubtitwillturnoutlikethis.
... ... ...
Wait, who? Celestia?
It's like EE and Ebon all over again! Tell the truth, it's always better!
Dang it, now Spike is shipping AppleDash. Seems like Rainboarke is crashing like the Jury.
Dash is now the sixth dragon divine. What does she get? Flame, Equinox, Magic, Shadow, Frost? Nope. Diplomacy.
Enhanced diplomacy, with martial arts involved!
Rainbow Dash, listen to them. Don't do this. Tell Twilight the truth. It's better than her having to see it and not know.
-Spirit (Yeast and Treacle)
Daww sleepsy Purple Smart~
*sigh*...This is only going to come back and bite Rainbow in the ass...
I enjoy having Twilight around, though it does get confusing when jumping between different Twilight-centric fics.
5888262
Funny, this story began with Rainbow's friends all dying and leaving her as the only one alive, but now I get the distinct feeling it'll end with her friends aliving and leaving her as the only one dead.
5888262
Wrong A word. roundstable.com/forums/images/smilies/dash-shutup.png
All it will take is the inevitable dizzy spell, and Rainbow's gonna have some 'splainin' to do.
Rainbow, I really fucking hope that step four of your plan is 'return to Val Roa and make sweet love to my mechanical ex bounty hunter turn politician marefriend. Crazy how she has managed to all but push her out of her mind in a mere two months.
And then IC gave an icy chuckle as he plotted ways to make them all suffer for the sake of good storytelling.
5888469
Political power comes from the barrel of a horse.
And still deny and stubbornness remain the greatest defenses of the mind.
Sad to see that RD can't seem to understand that not telling her now will only lead to a harsher blow when the truth comes out.
Careful, Rainbow. Just because you are not about to die hard right now, doesn't mean you won't die harder later. With a vengeance, even.
5888243
But the Jury is still flying.
So...
wonder what happens to twi during a chaos attack
Honesty.
I wonder how Rainbow will handle Applejack actually coming back.
Man oh man, Rainbow, I cannot support entirely what you're doing right now. It's simply not right to tell some of the information and not all of it. I really don't want Luna's warning to come true.
5888243 don't know 'bout you, but I'm stickin' with RainBoarke even after Aj comes back.
Rainbow Dash has an even longer journey ahead of her, and she expects Twilight and the girls will be okay with her hiding the truth for as long as she can? They're going to find out anyway so I don't see the point in hiding it much longer. Honestly...
That may be, Rainbow, but does the time between Xona and Amulek not ring a bell!? Impulsiveness is one thing, but gambling on the chance these flames are going to be where you want/expect them to be is another.
I hope she tells them.
5936056 I too shall crew the SS Rainboarke. Perhaps we will do mighty battle against the Appledash.
5889559 She will live free or die hard.
5936056 You monster. With that statement you have divided the comment section into two opposing camps. The right ones and the wrong ones (like you.)
that is until IC throws us for a loop and AJ never comes back or something.
6825256
Then helped take out an army of murderous zombie goo. Nor would she. We see how Equestrian's view murder when Dash talks about it. Then you got the whole, AJ's Dashie's Imre. While with Roarke they connect on a deeper level. Even if they still care about the other lost love.
But after promising herself to Roarke. And giving herself to Roarke. I doubt the Element of Loyalty would betray that love. It'd go against everything she stood for.
5936056
6581414
Dash being the Element of Loyalty. And never telling AJ the depths of her feelings for her, but instead giving herself and her love to Roarke. I doubt she'd break her loyalty and love to Roarke. That won't be loyal of her in the least. And Dash in this AU is 120% about Loyalty.
Heh, you said...
1. Friends
2. Prism
3. Ponyville
4. ???
5. Cuddles.
Also, you're kinda embodying all six right now, so...
I just had a thought. considering that rainbow absorbed the elements of harmony and discord. i don't think the ring is just using harmony to fix itself, maybe the ring needs a massive amount of power to pull itself back together, so it's drawing from the harmonic plane and chaotic plane to meet that demand. why have one massive power source when you can access two simultaneously!.
Just a theory
spoiled because, what if I'm onto something
That’s kinda of cool, to know all 5 of her friends have been right there in her pendant, right there with her the whole time.
8415380
First of all, cahos is space. If it needed chaos power, it could just sponge the shiz up from it's outer atmosphere.
Second; you may be onto something.
Ah yes, a master class in taking the wrong lesson from that conversation.
That's ...I mean....technically???
Jeez Spike...
Oh good! You so aren't gonna tell them, are you? :D