//------------------------------// // Loyalty and Treachery // Story: So, You've Grown Wings // by Steel Resolve //------------------------------// Twilight and her friends looked upon the living elements, which in turn looked at them. Celestia's former friends were in a sudden conflict with their own minds. While it was not absolute, each of them had been under the subtle control of the two entities which now found themselves distracted by a furious assault from Celestia and Luna. The source of their unity, despite feelings of hatred for Discord, had been Discord himself. He had been imposing his will by a spell he was unable to concentrate on at the moment. He was currently countering flaming strikes from Celestia's horn with exploding cream pies. The Draconequis was a bit busy. The source of their hatred for Celestia, Luna, and the six ponies staring at them, was Nightmare. The hatred was a mental projection, and she was unable to maintain it while shifting forms. She was alternating between mist and physical forms while Luna sent meteor strikes, magical blasts, and even sonic blasts at her. Nightmare found herself otherwise occupied for the moment. Under the circumstances; finding themselves in a battle none had wanted, loathing themselves for being so weak, and filled with revulsion even for each other when not compelled to remain, they did the only sensible thing: They each bolted in a separate direction. Twilight boggled at this, but only for a moment. "After them girls!" The six friends gave chase. ------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash strained to approach Tornado, she was FAST! Too fast perhaps... Everything Dash tried to increase speed was only barely managing to keep her from losing sight of the living element of loyalty. Rainbow was not a very bright pony. This was not to say she was unintelligent, she simply did not grasp new concepts quickly. When she researched, it was all action, she tried, and tried, and frequently, she failed. Failures sometimes lead to mere dust ups on the ground, and on multiple occasions they had lead to a trip to the hospital for sprains, fractures, and one break. This was not to say she was incapable of study in the traditional sense, just that she was not likely to think of such a thing. Cann had finally given up on teaching her very advanced magic, but he had taught her a useful spell she employed now. Casting it upon her own eyes, she now was able to see magic patterns as they moved. She looked back on Tornado and marveled at what she saw. The mare speeding before her was not employing the technique Pinkie had taught her. Cann and Thissdens had been impressed at the concept, displacing air with telekinesis to reduce drag and provide lift and power to her flight. This was something quite different, and very interesting. It was a shield, shaped like a wedge, formed around each wing, drag was all but eliminated, as the air was being redirected to exactly the right portions of the wing for maximum lift and speed. A second spell was redirecting the heat from the friction on the main body to the rear. This was not displacement, she was slicing through the air like a hot knife through butter. Dash, finally seeing what she was doing, emulated the spells, and suddenly found herself not just catching up, but actually overtaking Tornado. Tornado watched the rainbow speed trail pass her in sorrow. "Just leave me alone! I can't face them, and I won't face you! Let me go!" "What is your bucking problem T? I finally get my mind settled enough to face you, the madpony who flew into my life and basically declared you would pass judgement on my princesses, and you run? What kind of villain are you?" Rainbow looked quite flummoxed. "I am no villain! You don't understand, my friends... I wanted to be loyal to them, but they were angry at Celestia and Luna! I couldn't be loyal to everypony! It was all so simple, I had my anger, I had my hatred, I could go on. I found solace in remaining loyal to the larger group of my friends, now all I can feel is shame for betraying Celestia and Luna! I can't be loyal without being treacherous! There is only one way to be loyal to all, and it's to remove myself from the conflict. I won't support either side, I won't have to be disloyal to anypony!" She cried, her eyes full of tears and self hatred. Dash screamed back. "You can't just ignore everypony to avoid hurting anypony! They need your help!" Tornado glared at Rainbow. "Who are you to dictate my actions? I will crush you like the insect you are!" The skies around them darkened, and the wind began to howl. Air currents swirled around Tornado as she formed her namesake directly above her. While it was true an Alicorn could survive most injuries, Tornado reasoned if Dash were torn to shreds her body would not heal from it. The storm above her gathered debris from below as the funnels converged. Trees, rocks, even sand soon reached speeds at which they were deadly projectiles. Dash watched the scene in growing horror, at an estimate the storm far exceeded the destructive power of the strongest naturally occurring tornadoes. The Everfree had been known to produce some very wild weather, but this was a class unto itself. She knew she could not affect the storm with mere weather manipulation, this was beyond her. In desperation she formed her own tornado, hoping the two would cancel each other out. The two storms converged, but rather than exhaust each other, they gained strength from each, a double funnel soon whirled dangerously around the gray alicorn. Dash could see only one conclusion to this, and it was one she couldn't live with. So she did the only thing she could think of. She began to streak into the upper atmosphere. Tornado looked about her, the brief flash of rage was gone, only sorrow remained. She could see the rainbow trail gaining altitude. Good. She would be far from the power that she had brought on herself because of her hubris. She did not hate Rainbow Dash, in another time, given other circumstances, they would have been friends. That was over now, Tornado would cease to exist very soon, and she was filled with a sense of relief. Soon these conflicting feelings would be over. A roar approached. Good, the storm was approaching critical mass, it would consume her soon, she would be at peace. Her doom surrounded her, it was almost comforting. The roar grew louder. This... was not from the storm! She looked all around at the deadly objects waiting to tear her flesh from her bones. Finally, she looked up. Rainbow Dash streaked through at that precise moment. The shock wave that followed her was powerful beyond all belief. the storm was not dissipated, it was utterly annihilated. The Rainboom effect spread outward in a blinding rush of colors. The colors washed over Tornado, and in place of the gray, her coat and mane were now a fire red. She spied the pony plummeting to the earth at break neck speeds and sped after her. Rainbow had overdone it again. Tornado caught her, and landed them both on a cloud that had somehow escaped the blast. She looked down at the pony who had risked her life to save an enemy. "Why? Why did you do it?" Rainbow coughed, and looked up. "I'd never leave anypony hanging. By the way, you look good in red T." Tornado gazed at Dash quizzically. "That's the second time you have referred to me as "T". Why are you doing that?" Rainbow looked at her and laughed lightly. "I like to give my friends nicknames. Applejack is AJ, Rarity is Rare, Twilight is Twi, Pinkie is Pinks, Fluttershy is 'Shy. I didn't want to call you Torn, Ado sounds weird, so you're T." Tornado had nothing to say to this. Rainbow looked at her seriously. "T, you have to understand, sometimes loyalty means telling your friends they are wrong. Sometimes it means helping ponies when they don't want your help. Couple free friendship lessons for ya." Tornado smiled at this. "Where did someone so young gain such wisdom?" Rainbow smiled. "I'd have to tell you a couple stories for that, one is about how I got my pet, he's a tortoise! Another is about a mysterious mare called Mare Do Well." They flew back to the battlefield, Rainbow regaling her. Tornado listened and laughed. In Twilight's Laboratory, the Element of Loyalty glowed. It regained it's former shape of a red lightning bolt. Cann looked on in interest. "Good job Dash, good job."