As she frantically flew through the skies, her mind raced. Thoughts bounced around, filling her with a need to escape. She needed to fly faster than herself, fast enough that the thoughts slipped away. In the ocean of thoughts that threatened to drown her, one rang out much louder than the others. Faster it said, Faster and Faster and Faster.
Rainbow Dash’s mind was a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts, but her body was calm, sure of itself. Separate from what it was being told, it kept a steady speed. It turned and began a lazy dive towards the trees. It landed, leaving her in front of a rickety looking rope bridge across a canyon.
She pulled herself out of her mind and looked around, “What the hay? How did I end up here?” This was where it happened, where she made the choice that led to all this.
She carefully crossed the bridge, keeping her wings ready just in case it decided to break again. It didn’t, and she made it safely to the other side. In front of her loomed a stone castle, and behind that a tower that thrust into the sky.
Up a small flight of stairs and through a large archway, a small room greeted her. It was plain, boring really. The only notable things were a pedestal thrusting several feet into the air, holding up a stone stand that spread five arms in a star formation. A sixth stand jutted up from the middle, but there was nothing on any of them.
“Of course not! We took the stupid stones!” She shouted, heedless of anything that might hear her. Here in the center of the Everfree, any number of dangerous things could threaten her. She didn’t care, though, she would even welcome a fight. None was forthcoming, so she continued to the door on the opposite side from the archway.
A longer flight of stairs led her to the tower, the site of their battle with Nightmare Moon where she had been turned back into Princess Luna. Where it all went down, the Elements had chosen them to be Equestria’s weapon against disharmony. Where Loyalty had twisted itself into her, chaining her to its will. All because she had fixed that bridge for her friends, ignoring an offer from the ‘Captain’ of the Shadowbolts, a flight crew that Nightmare had tried to recruit her to.
“It was all a lie! It was so obvious, why would I accept it?!” She was shouting again, trying to vent her frustration. “I don’t deserve it! I don’t want it!” Her voice broke, and she lowered her head, “Why did it pick me?” She whispered.
“Because you are the most loyal pony among your friends.” A voice boomed out from the shadows on the far side of the room. Following the voice, a dark blue pony stepped into the light. She was slightly taller than Rainbow Dash herself, with a deep blue star speckled mane and tail. Her wings were folded at her sides, and a large blue horn pierced the air in front of her, originating from her forehead.
“Princess Luna!” Rainbow exclaimed, lowering into a bow of respect.
“Rise, Rainbow Dash, there is no need for formality here.” Luna looked down to Rainbow and smiled, “I do appreciate it, though.”
Rising to her hooves, Rainbow grinned sheepishly, “What brings you here, anyway, Princess?” Before Luna could begin she said, “Here, where we defeated Nightmare Moon and freed you from her.” She flapped her wings, rising into the air and flitting around the room, “Right here! We were here, and you were over there! W-”
“Be still, Rainbow Dash.” The princess’ voice was calm, there was no emotion in it, but it had an undercurrent of power. It stilled Rainbow’s frantic mind, worming its way in and calming her.
She hovered for a few moments, then landed in front of Luna. “Sorry, Princess Luna.”
“It’s quite alright, I understand. Now, on to your other question, I am here, at the site of your greatest victory, for the same reason you are, Rainbow Dash.” She looked around, taking in the surroundings, “Memories of the past rising up to haunt me.” She sighed and lowered herself until she was eye level with Rainbow. She adjusted her legs under her into a comfortable sitting position, “Now tell me, what is troubling you?”
“Well, it’s a little tough to explain. You see, I’m the Element of Loyalty, and that’s great. It’s just, I’m more than that! My friends, just about anyone really, expect that I act loyal to them all the time. But how am I supposed to be loyal to all of them, when their ideas conflict almost constantly? And then they refer to my Element like it just obligates to do what they say. I am loyal, but not just because I am the Element of Loyalty.” She looked at the princess, “See, and I just mangled that explanation.”
“I understood enough, little one. Now, what you’re saying is that the loyalty you exhibit isn’t from the Element you represent. The Element doesn’t initiate your loyalty, it is yours because of the loyalty you showed already.” She smiled when she saw Rainbow nodding in agreement, “You also are conflicted. You have many layers of loyalty to many different things, even among your group of friends. You are not just loyal to them as a group, but individually as well. Then, there is perhaps the most and least important layer, your loyalty to yourself. It is the easiest to cast aside in place of another, but also the loudest if you ignore it completely.”
“So then what am I supposed to do? If I have multiple layers of loyalty, some stronger than others, how am I supposed to pick between them?” She held up a hoof, “If Applejack wants me to help her in a barn raising,” She raised her other hoof, “And Rarity wants me to help model a dress,” Her wing stretched out as well, “But I covered someone else on weather duty earlier and I need to sleep,” She looked up at the princess, “How am I supposed to choose?”
“I know not, Rainbow Dash. The only one who could make that decision is you.” She smiled, “But I know that whatever you did choose, your friends would be alright with it.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. You don’t think of that at the moment, though. At least, I didn’t.” She paused, looking thoughtful, “Hey, Princess?”
“Yes, my little pony?” She turned her gaze upon Rainbow, looking her directly in the eye.
Rainbow lowered her head, not meeting the princess’ eyes, “Were you the Element of Loyalty, too?” She looked up, “It’s just, you know so much about it, and what I’m going through.”
“Rainbow Dash, I am most certainly the only pony in the whole of Equestria who knows exactly what you’re going through.” She looked up, noting the position of the sun, “You are correct, I was the Element of Loyalty more than a thousand years ago. Together, Celestia and I used them to defeat Discord.” She sighed, her eyes growing distant, “Right before she took them all for herself against Nightmare Moon, who had turned me against her.”
“Took them all?” Rainbow tilted her head, “But there are six Elements, and two of you.”
“Yes, my sister and I held three each, but she had taken all six.” Her voice was quieter than before, she just seemed to be responding with no conscious thought, “She held Laughter, Honesty, and Kindness while I owned Generosity, Magic, and Loyalty. After we defeated Discord, I felt elated. It was just Celetia and I, with this new and awesome power to use. We used them to start building the Equestria you know today.
“We started here, in the Everfree Forest, but back then it wasn’t known as such. We built this castle, a great monument to our Harmony together. Gathering ponies from around the world to here, we built them a great gleaming city, a testament to our power. Celestia took over raising and lowering the sun from the unicorn tribes, and I took the moon and night sky.
“I crafted such beautiful nights, the entire sky was my canvas. I created constellations, stars grouped into formations to make shapes. Ursa Minor and Ursa Minor, Scorpius. A completely new sky every single night, and nopony to share it with! I generously gave them myself, created a great many things.” Her eyebrows dropped drastically, a scowl forming, “They slept through every single one! Except a certain special few.” She relaxed herself, “Pegasi, those wondrous ponies. You push yourselves so hard, there’s barely time for you to sleep through my nights. I was exalted for my loyalty to Celestia, and they showed me double the amount, I felt, when they stayed up to see my skies.”
She sighed, “It wasn’t enough, it would never be enough. Back then, I felt that I was giving myself to them generously, I was fiercely loyal to my subjects, but they never showed me the same amount back. I grew to resent them, and that’s how the Nightmare got in. She had been there, a leftover from Discord most likely, twisting my thoughts. She turned me against Celestia, against my subjects. I gathered up those pegasi who had stayed up with me, and we assaulted this castle intent on creating eternal night, so that all would see my beautiful creations.” She looked down, tears falling freely, “Celestia stopped us, and took my Elements. I had turned them, using the power directly against what they had been intended. As she took them, my Loyalty to her broke in the most terrible way. I lashed out at her, and the Element lashed back.
“All the tainted power I had tried to force through my Elements expanded, forcing its way out to strike me down. Celestia used her own Elements to stop mine, shielding me and causing the power to seep into the woods we called our home, turning them into the Everfree. The excess power trapped me, and the Nightmare too, in the moon. It sapped all the Elements of their strength, making them inert until you and your friends saved me from myself. I thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”
Rainbow Dash took a second, realized the Princess was talking to her and said, “Of course, Princess Luna, it was the least we could do.”
Luna smiled, “Well, it’s getting late. I’m afraid I must be going. Sorry to have kept you with my silly old mare’s tale.”
Rainbow shook her head, “No, that was a lovely story. Thank you for telling it.”
Luna stood, gathering her power in her horn, “Farewell, Rainbow Dash. If you have need of me again, I will be there. Also, do not be hesitant to bring your problem to your friends, they are eager to help in any way they can.”
With a bright flash of light, Luna disappeared, and Rainbow Dash found herself back in her home.