//------------------------------// // Daylight's alright for fighting // Story: The Ballad of Royal Blue // by PonyWithAPen //------------------------------// Chapter 17: Daylight’s alright for fighting The citizens of Ponyville stood tall, ready to defend their beloved hometown from an army of changelings. By far, the most enraged pony on the battlefield was Royal. While he was gone, someone had set him up. The presence of changelings in the area made it all too clear to him. He’d figured it out earlier that morning, when he overheard Paulie and Chrysalis’s conversation. So, this is how it all went down. I leave for a couple days, and they send in the clones to hurt my friends. Well, I’m gonna bring the pain back on those scumbags. It’s showtime. As soon as Twilight gave the command, he launched himself into a row of changelings like a bowling ball, sending them flying in all directions. He figured if he didn’t make it out of this fight alive, at least he could prove that he hadn’t turned on Ponyville as Paulie had deceived the village into believing. Every blow he dished out was full of pent-up aggression. He had nothing to lose at this point. Twilight and Pinkie had come back to him, but he might have a harder time winning everyone else back. He especially wondered about Rainbow and Scootaloo. He chose to put them out of his mind as he kept bulldozing changelings left and right. This was about him; his redemption to a town that thought he was now an abusive monster. Rainbow, occupied with her own group of changelings, thought she kept seeing Royal across the battlefield. However, the group kept her too busy to confirm anything. This only ticked her off further, as she began thinking she was seeing a mirage. I’m supposed to be searching for my little bro…that must be why I keep seeing him! Meanwhile, the changelings were no match for Big Mac, who effortlessly bucked several groups of the army aside. Rainbow watched him work whenever she had a spare moment. Now where was he during the royal wedding? The tide turned in Ponyville’s favor thanks to Big Mac’s flank-kicking heroics. Clearly, the villainous duo of Paulie and Chrysalis had not counted on such a wild card. With the citizens’ combined efforts, the changeling army began to turn tail, and some fled the battlefield. Big Mac snorted, satisfied with the way the battle had progressed. Unfortunately, one rogue changeling avoided everyone and charged at innocent little Sweetie Belle. Rarity, busy helping Fluttershy and Applejack, did not notice this. Sweetie screamed and covered her eyes. When she opened them, she saw a changeling collapse and there was a familiar shade of blue blocking her. Royal had come to the aid of the little crusader. “Bad move. Nopony attacks little fillies…not when I’m around!” The stallion turned around, only to see Sweetie looking up at him. Having heard from Scootaloo about his absence, the filly could not contain her emotions. She rushed forward and hugged him, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Royal! I never thought I was going to see you again!” This gesture caught the attention of Rarity and Fluttershy. They slowly began to realize who had saved Sweetie. “Is that…” Fluttershy wondered. “No, it can’t be!” Rarity said. They got a better look and confirmed their suspicions. “Royal!” The pair ran to him, tears beginning to flow. “Oh Royal, everything happened so fast! Then you were gone, and, oh my goodness! I’m so relieved that you aren’t gone anymore!” Fluttershy said. Royal smiled. He then noticed a blast heading towards the group from Pinkie’s party cannon. “Duck!” Fluttershy looked around. Rarity pulled her to the ground with her. After the blast whizzed past them, Royal noticed a stunned changeling on the ground behind him. Wow, Pinkie has impeccable aim! Back at the farm, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were growing restless. “I hope Rainbow’s okay!” Scootaloo said. “I know, Scootaloo. I hope Applejack’s okay, too. And Rarity. And Sweetie Belle. And…everypony else!” Apple Bloom said, sighing. She shifted her head, expecting Granny Smith to chime in. However, the matriarch of the Apple Family had fallen asleep at her post. “How can Granny Smith sleep at a time like this?” Scootaloo shook her head. “I don’t know, Apple Bloom, but I’m getting worried. What if something happened? What if Rainbow is…is…” Scootaloo broke into tears, prompting Apple Bloom to hug her and wrap a blanket around her. Rainbow Dash was as fine as ever, smashing changelings with extreme satisfaction. The last changeling she crushed immediately backpedaled into retreat mode. This signaled the rest of the army to follow suit. The citizens of Ponyville looked on as the changelings left them alone. The battle was over. They had won. Sweetie Belle rode on Royal’s back as he walked towards the library with Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. They had agreed upon meeting at the library in order to discuss a plan of attack. Royal knew everything the duo of Paulie and Chrysalis wanted to accomplish. He and Rainbow knew their exact location as well. When they reached the library, Royal was immediately tackled to the floor. Rainbow had found him. As he got up, he felt himself being pulled into a tight hug. Rainbow was crying. The others had huge smiles on their faces. They knew she was happy to have him back. “Royal, I don’t deserve to be your friend. I rejected you…I turned you away when I should have helped you. I…” Royal lifted his hoof to her mouth, silencing her. “I forgive you. All I wanted was to see you again, big sister.” The stallion smiled warmly. “D’aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawww!” Pinkie squealed aloud. Rainbow and Royal each turned a shade of red. Twilight came forward, approaching the pair. “Okay, you two. I need answers. Where is this ‘Swelter Canyon?’” “Just south of Canterlot. You can’t reach it by train. You’ll have to journey there on your own.” Royal said. Twilight nodded. “Okay then, it’s settled. First thing tomorrow morning, we leave!” The group nodded in agreement. After a long meeting discussing the plan of attack, the group went their separate ways. As Royal turned to leave, he felt a light tap on his head. Rainbow had stopped him. She was as serious as ever. “Kid…I don’t think you should come with us.” Royal was taken aback by her request. “What? Why? Rainbow, this is just as much my battle as anypony’s!” His acting older sister looked down. She was not good at this emotional stuff. “Royal…what if we all die? Who would look after Scootaloo? She would be alone again. She’s already lost so much.” Rainbow looked into his eyes. She was crying again. “Please…you have to stay behind. You have to be her big brother. She has no one else! They almost killed you before! I don’t want you risking your life again, you hear me?” Royal stared at her. She was desperate to keep him out of trouble. He had stuck his neck out several times to protect Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow just wanted him to stay safe. Enough was enough. “Little brother…you’ve already done so much to protect us. Please, let us protect you now.” She looked directly in his eyes, tears streaming down her face. “I understand. I’ll watch over Scootaloo.” Rainbow bolted forward and hugged him. “I’m sorry I worried you…” he said. This only led Rainbow to squeeze him tighter for a moment. When Rainbow had calmed down, the pair left the library. Once outside, Rainbow spread her wings to leave for Cloudsdale. “I love you, little bro…” she said. Royal nodded. “I love you, too. Good luck, big sis.” They shared one final embrace before Rainbow took off into the evening sky. Royal stood for a moment and watched her fly away. Be safe, everypony. I’ll be waiting for you. A little later, Royal finally arrived to pick up Scootaloo from Sweet Apple Acres. To say she was happy to see him would have been the understatement of the year. She was so happy she didn’t care if Apple Bloom saw her cry. Not that Bloom would have cared; she was crying herself. Royal made the visit short and sweet, taking Scootaloo with him. To her, nothing else mattered. She had her big brother back, against all odds. For the first time in several days, she felt safe. Nothing could bother her; not Diamond and Silver’s taunts of “blank flank,” nor any of the other schoolyard bullies’ actions. She had Royal again. With her hero Rainbow Dash going off to defeat the bad guys, she was content. What could possibly go wrong? The next morning, Royal and Scootaloo woke up a bit later than usual. The previous day had been a long one and had taken a lot of energy out of them. Scootaloo had gotten her chance to wish her hero good luck in taking down the villainous duo the previous night. Since it was not a school day, Royal had decided he would kick back and take it easy with his little sister, since everything was finally back to some resemblance of normal. His specific plan was to take Scootaloo out for a picnic. Both of them needed a chance to unwind, and a picnic out in the fields away from everyone else seemed like the perfect chance. When they arrived, both of them immediately went to relax under a giant tree. After lounging for a little while, Royal finally spoke. “You know something, kid? This is the life. I love being here. I love relaxing and hanging out with you, and everypony else. Once the girls take care of that obnoxious bird and his partner, they’ll be back home and things will finally be back to normal.” Scootaloo turned her head and glanced at him. “Do you think they’ll be okay?” Royal smiled. “As long as they’ve got the Elements of Harmony, nothing can stop them! They’ll fry that chicken!” Scootaloo smiled, reassured. After the pair finished their picnic lunch, they traveled down by the side of a big pond. Scootaloo galloped over to the shore and found a shapely rock. She threw it at the surface of the water and skipped it several times to Royal’s surprise. “No way! That was amazing, Scoots! Where’d you learn how to skip so well?” The filly smiled wistfully. “Dad taught me. He was a champion rock skipper.” Scootaloo became silent. Royal approached her and hugged her tightly. “He was amazing…so was Mom. I…I miss them so much!” “They would be so proud of the progress you’ve made on your school work, kid. I bet they were just as proud when they were around.” There was a brief pause. “Royal?” Scootaloo asked, meekly. “Yeah?” “Please don’t ever go away like that again. You’re my big brother. I…I need you. Please, you have to promise me…” she clung tightly to him. “Shh…it’s okay. I promise. I won’t ever abandon you like that again, little sister.” He gave her one last squeeze and then they separated. “So…I’ve always wanted to learn how to skip rocks like a pro. Do you think you can teach me?” Scootaloo smiled and wiped her eyes. “You bet, big bro!” The scene was celebratory at Swelter Canyon. Chrysalis, Gilda and Paulie were sitting inside the throne room, discussing their imminent victory. “A toast to us, dear Chrysalis! Any moment now, I expect our army to return from decimating Ponyville with Twilight Sparkle and all of her little friends in tow. Once they are out of the way, there will be none who could stop us from conquering all the corners of Equestria!” Paulie said, cackling. Gilda remained quiet. Suddenly, a noise interrupted them. Much to their horror, the changeling army had returned to the base in shambles. Chrysalis, loving mother that she was, scampered over to her army of children. “My babies! What happened?” The mother of the changelings listened as her baby told of the struggles in Ponyville. She nodded as she received details. “What? A blue stallion did this to you?” Paulie’s eyes lit up, as did Gilda’s. She began chuckling, before launching into a full-out laugh. Paulie became enraged. “Gilda, why are you laughing at this? What can you possibly find so funny?” Gilda stopped laughing. “You made a big mistake when you kidnapped those little fillies, Paulie. I figure anything that kid does to you, you deserve it.” Gilda had hidden her anger at Paulie’s methods to capture Royal for his earlier plans. Kidnapping was not the way to go, especially not when it involved defenseless fillies. “Oh, really? Might I remind you that after that awful little pink pony sent you crawling back to our home turf, I became your one true friend? That’s because no one else likes you. And me, I’m starting to see why. You’re a heinous beast, Gilda. A foul specimen that deserves every tear you’ve cried! I’m glad that pink pony shunned you. I’m glad that your precious Dashie shunned you!” After Paulie’s unnecessary verbal beatdown, Gilda’s face turned to a look of betrayal and sorrow. She was speechless. “Good…don’t talk. You shouldn’t speak, anyway. Nothing remotely relevant ever came out of that hideous mouth of yours! Now get out! You’re off the mission. Get out of my life, now!” Gilda was filled with shock and disbelief. She left the canyon immediately and flew away as fast as her wings could carry her. Tears started to form in her eyes. Several minutes later, she found a field in a remote location. After making sure no one was around, she let her emotions go. Night had fallen on Ponyville. Scootaloo was resting on Royal’s back as he carried her home from a fun day together. She had taught him most of the rock-skipping tricks she’d learned from her father, and he was honored to have been the one to learn these abilities. He sighed contently as he walked along. She really loves her dad…as I loved mine. We really are two peas in a pod. My little sister and me. Eventually, they had returned to his house; the building from which he’d fled in a huff just a few days prior. Scootaloo was sound asleep by this time. He laid her down in the main bedroom and tucked her in before kissing her on the forehead. Thank you, kid. You never fell for any of Paulie’s lies, and you never abandoned me…even if the others did. I can’t be your dad, but I will always, always be your big brother, and I will protect you. This I promise. Scootaloo smiled in her sleep, almost as if she had heard him.