//------------------------------// // Trust Exercises // Story: The Magic and Mysteries of Friendship // by The Stainmore Phoenix //------------------------------// The group continued on, with Dangersignal leading them. He was still conflicted on the inside, with his emotions telling him two things-get even with Luna for becoming Nightmare Moon and get even with himself for letting her down. He tried to forget those cold and disgusted thoughts, but they still hovered around him like angry bees. The others realized that he was still wanting to get even with Nightmare Moon and that could easily jeopardize the mission. However, he was cold and closed off to talking about it, because of how angered he was. “I really wish he’d stop being so cold,” Rarity said. “It’s starting to affect him in ways that can’t be good for his mind.” “Yes, thank you, next time I need a psychologist’s report, I’ll come to you,” Dangersignal hissed. “Leave me to my own blasted ways.” “Not a chance!” Applejack huffed. “We’re friends and friends stick together.” “We’re not friends yet,” came the blunt reply. “I only joined in with the laughing to be sociable.” “Really?” Pinkie Pie asked. “But you enjoyed yourself.” “I can put on an act, Pinkie Pie,” Dangersignal stated, simply. “It’s easy to do that when you’ve had “friends” who decided that ditch you and your younger brother when you’ve had hardships.” “Hardships?” the others asked. “When our parents and baby sister were killed in the accident, our supposed “friends” left us because we no longer had anyone to “borrow” money from,” Dragonstorm added. “Ever since then, trusting others has been difficult, or down right impossible, since they only want us to use us for their needs and leave us when we need them.” “I’ve heard of “bad order” friends, but this is the literal definition,” Aquatis Storm said. “Anyway, let’s try to look passed that.” “Yeah, agreed,” Dragonstorm said. Dangersignal nodded, then suddenly, his wings flared. Those who had trained with him knew that something was up. When he took to the sky, something inside the heads of the former guards clicked and they jumped into action. “Get clear! The ground’s collapsing!” he roared. He was right. The ground started to crumble around the hooves of the unicorns and earth ponies. The pegasi, Thestrals and Alicorns had wings to save themselves. Taking charge, Dangersignal barked out orders, like any Field Marshal or five star general would. “Right, now, follow my lead!” he barked out. “Sir, yes, sir!” came the reply. Dangersignal dive-bombed towards Twilight, in hopes to catch her before she fell, but ended up missing the unicorn. Dragonstorm made his way to her while the other pegasi and Thestrals held the group back. Dragonstorm lined up as close as he could to Twilight. “Let go, I can catch you. Trust me, I’ve done this before,” he called. “But your flying! It won’t work!” Twilight yelled down. “Trust in me!” he called back. “I’m a professional! I have years of experience!” Twilight didn’t want to do it, but the ground she was hanging on to was starting to collapse. The others knew that they couldn’t get to her in time. The clock was now ticking, with failure not being an option. Taking a breath, she let go and plummeted down. When she was a fifth of the way down from where the ground she had been hanging on to, Dragonstorm’s horn glowed it’s lime green ethereal magic and caught her. She stared as he flew up to safety. He smiled at the unicorn who was still in a state of surprise. “Okay, now I demand you tell me how you did that?” Twilight snapped. “Normally, Alicorns can’t both use magic and fly. They have to stop one to do the other. The only exception to that rule is Princess Celestia!” “I told you, I have years of experience doing things like this,” Dragonstorm said. “It wasn’t easy to get to that level, but dedication to the craft and time worked well. Being an Alicorn guard basically meant you had to be able to do both without breaking a sweat.” “Ah, is that why you kept saying to let me trust you?” Twilight asked. “Yes,” came the reply. “That and this was a perfect trust exercise for you to understand that I can be depended upon. This was a simple exercise, by the old Royal Guard standards and it worked well. It not only helped us build trust with each other, but it proved to the captains that we were able to work in tandem.” ‘That was a basic exercise? Man, I’d hate to see what their definition of “tough love” was.' Gemstone thought. Nightmare Moon watched from her perch in the shadows. She was shaking her head, in disgust. She thought she had won and the group would leave, but they were showing no signs of quitting. ‘If they aren’t stopped, then my mastermind plans will collapse!' the pitch black Alicorn huffed in agitation. However, she couldn’t help smiling like a mother and a certain voice struck her hard. “You’ll always have some pony to lean on, even if they don’t act like that. I have experience with having both sides of the coin-having some pony to lean on and having no pony to lean on at the same time. Remember this, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia loves you as you two are sisters. You may not see it all at once, but she does show it.” “That’s a lie!” she muttered darkly. “Lie? No. truth? Yes. You are going to need their help. No pony, even royalty is above asking for help of someone who isn’t on their same level. Every pony has experience that some other pony lacks. Think hard, Princess Luna, guardian and bringer of the night.” Nightmare Moon couldn’t help but let her old side, the side of Princess Luna shine through for a minute. “Luna” watched the group, a motherly smile crept on her face. “My trust wasn’t misplaced in Dragonstorm, and Dangersignal’s honor wasn’t broken, I slapped it back in his face,” she said, before turning back into Nightmare Moon.