//------------------------------// // Loyalty // Story: Rainbow Dash and the Nordic Pegasus // by MrTyreste //------------------------------// Part 8 - Ironback Dawn broke as the first of the guards within the village finished their nightly rounds. The captain, feeling exhausted and wishing nothing else but to lay his head down for a short while, sounded the horn to call the stallions to attention. Door after door swung open as the Nordic Pegasi marched from their dwellings, leaving their loved ones behind to face what great unknown lay before them. Chief Brynhoof had called for none but the best and brightest warriors to undertake this voyage, this raid, upon the new world that Commander Hurricane spoke of. A land where all ponies, griffons, dragons, and all manner of sentient life did dwell, according to him it was a magnificent sight. Yet for all his boasting, the Romans were nowhere in sight, as Fjord thought to himself as he reluctantly left his home, the last of his people to do so. "What troubles you, brother?" A familiar voice came from nowhere. Grace Wing, his only sister, came trotting beside him. "You seem distraught, was Lady Spectrum not to your liking last night?" She teased. "Ah, Grace, but she was. Magnificent, in fact. All the more pain in my heart to leave her like this." He said with a heavy heart. Fjord knew that he did not want to undertake this voyage more and more as he ventured closer to their destination, the docks. There drifted two longboats fit for the finest warriors, only able to accommodate twelve each, which made Fjord wonder if things would run as smoothly as he thought. He had no idea how many would be coming. "Brother, have a little faith, she is soon to be your wife after all. I truly believe she will be faithful." Grace consoled him. It wasn't the prospect of her being unfaithful that scared him, there was no question of her loyalty to him, and of his loyalty to her. It was the idea of not being there when he returned, or of himself never coming back. "Well I'll be damned..." He said under his breath. The entire village had come to see the warriors off. Brynhoof must have made the news public just the other day, as within the crowd of hundreds of ponies there stood just eighteen warriors prepared for battle. He smiled to himself, knowing that a small band would be the perfect way to undertake this, and marched alongside his sister to the shores. A small gathering of stallions waited along the coastline next to a large longboat, each one armed to the teeth in chanmail, wooden shields, and powerful longswords designed to fit perfectly along the foreleg or within the mouth. They numbered twenty in all, not including the two Roman Pegasi who chose to stay within their encampment until closer to the time of departure. Grace Wing, sister of Fjord Runner, stood at the head of the herd along with his brother and life-long friend, Ironback. The stallion was massive, his grey coat thick and tough as his mane cascaded around his shoulders. He gave a motion with his head for Fjord to accompany him to the longboats. "Warriors of Clan Duntrot, of Clan Volsuung, and any other sons of bitches foolhardy enough to take on this voyage, listen well to the words of our finest stallion!" The tall, grey stallion proclaimed. He was a good head taller than Fjord, but knew when to respect his superior in combat as Fjord stepped forward. He had never been one for public speaking, but this time was different, the stallions needed a little boost to their morale after where they would be going. "My friends, today we make history as the first Nordic ponies to reach the shores of the new world. Today, we embark on a journey to the land sired by the Earth Ponies, the Pegasi, and the Unicorns including the apprentice of the great Star Swirl the Bearded himself!" This sparked intrigue among the other warriors. It was no secret that despite the Pegasi's disdain for magic in the northern islands, Star Swirl was almost revered by them. Ever since his visit to the island and fought alongside their chief when he faced his dragon using only a longsword forged by his own hooves as is tradition, they honored him as one of their own. "I warn you, our destination will not be easy to reach, for a great spirit of chaos wreaks havoc over the countryside. I speak of a long serpent with the head of our own and the claws of various demons. And the Earth Ponies we may encounter upon those rocky shores may not enjoy our company, but we must hold fast for this shall be our glory!" The stallions stomped on the ground in applause while shouting in an ancient tongue. "From there, we set up our first city, our first step into the new world, and with the help of the Romans we face those demon-worshipping ponies upon the Western Islands. They have defiled our traditions, and by Freyr, by Epona, and by the strength of our ancestors, we will overcome them!" The crowd roared with cheers and stomps of applause once more. The entire village backing the twenty warriors who prepared for the journey ahead. "Arise, my brothers, for Equestria awaits!" =========================== Equestria - Present Day Rainbow Dash awoke feeling well-rested, relaxed, and just a little happier than usual. It had been a very long time since she had slept in the same bed as a stallion, even though that really had been all they had done. She wasn't Rarity, she thought to herself, she had to be WITH the stallion for a while before that was even brought up. Someone like Rainbow Dash had to keep a somewhat clean reputation, after all, since she was terrible at keeping things private about herself. The Pegasus mare jumped from the bed onto her hooves and turned to see the side of the bed where her friend slept was empty. The mare began to wonder where he could have gone before making her way downstairs. Maybe he went for a walk or something, she thought to herself before smelling something strangely good. She looked down past the stair rail to find her entire house cleaned from top to bottom, and a beautifully prepared breakfast of bread and what looked like fish sitting on a long tray on the kitchen table. Rainbow Dash was speechless. Never once in her life had a stallion cooked for her, much less clean her entire ground floor. "Fjord, did you-" "Miss Dash!" The stallion boomed from below the stairs, scaring Rainbow Dash. "I hope you do not mind, but I took the liberty of preparing you something to eat and fixing up your home. I pray that it is to your liking." He said kindly. Rainbow Dash only nodded and grinned as she walked closer to the food, smelling the perfectly cooked bread, the butter, and her favorite trout. It was no secret that Pegasi loved the occassional fish, and it was hard to find it in Ponyville save for a few select restaurants that catered to Pegasus ponies. "Dude, when did you find fish?" She asked, still trying to take it all in. "I caught them earlier this morning, around dawn. It was the least I could-" "Whoa whoa whoa, you were up at dawn?! That's crazy! My hooves don't even touch the ground until after nine at least, and that's if it's not cider season." She said defiantly. But then she realized something that made her eyes shoot wide open. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Cider season! I completely forgot!" She rushed out the door fast enough to make Fjord's head spin. "Perfect..." He sighed. "So much for that movie thing." --- "Alright everypony! Last mug for the day!" Applejack yelled to the dismay of the other ponies. "Come on back tomorrow, and we'll get ya-" She tried to say but was stopped short by the arrival of the rainbow-colored mare. "Rainbow-" "Applejack! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about helping with the cider this year, I'll do better tomorrow, I promise. I've just been so preoccupied with this stallion that I saved from a frozen cave and I...I..." She said, but stopped when she saw a grin creep across the Earth pony's face. "Sugarcube, you're alright. Twilight told me you'd probably be a might busy with this new stallion you've been seein'. Glad to see ya didn't let the thing with Soarin' kill your opinion on colts too much." She gave a wink. Rainbow Dash HAD promised to be there bright and early for helping with the preparations for the cider sales, she had even been promised a small barrel of her own for helping with the entire week of sales, though it seemed unlikely to happen now that she had missed a day, but perhaps AJ would be a bit forgiving. "Ah, well thanks I guess." She stammered. "Well, I should probably be getting back, the big guy is expecting a movie tonight, and he did fix a really good breakfast." Applejack raised an eyebrow and snickered to herself. "Wow, RD, he's that good, huh? Did you..." "Oh?" She asked, then blushed. "Oh! Oh, nononono!" She shook her head. "Not that kind of pony, AJ, you know that. But man I wanted to, his smile, his long mane, you know not many stallions have manes that long these days it looks so...so brilliant. And he's tall, oh so tall, and he's handsome, and he knows how to cook and clean and fight and-" She could have gone on and on, but Applejack stopped her. "You really should be getting back, sugarcube. Sounds like a keeper." She laughed. "Just try not to repeat what happened with Soarin', ok Rainbow?" She placed a forehoof on her shoulder. "I know ya do still have some trust issues to work out, but maybe it'll be ok." She smiled, and she was right. Even to this day, the fact that Soarin' had acted so nice to her just so she'd sleep with him, and then dumped her for Spitfire still hurt Rainbow to the point that she almost never wanted to date a stallion again. But there was something different about Fjord. She couldn't put her hoof on it, but he seemed more loyal than other ponies, almost like he matched her sense of loyalty and commitment point for point, and it made her so happy. She didn't say a word in reply, Rainbow only nodded and flew back towards her home. Back to the stallion she was determined to try and trust.