//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: End of Loyalty // by SteffaniStar //------------------------------// It was a sunny day in Equestria. The sun was shining and you could feel happiness in the air. Poines laughed and enjoyed the weather. Twilight and the rest waited for Rainbow Dash at the train station. Two months ago, she fulfilled her dream-she became a Wonderbolt. She is already promoted, and now she is the best flier, along with Spitfire. Her friends followed her at her performances, the last one was in Las Pegagus, where the Rainbow was in the center of the show, and in the end was a Sonic Rainboom. You could hear crowd cheering for her as the rainbow was splashing over the sky. It was that moment in which Rainbow felt pride and her friends a couple tears of happiness. After all that hard training, she finaly got a month off. Her friends can't wait for her because Pinkie already planned to throw her a surprise party, and, of course, they need to catch up with all the news. But, in the morning when she needed to come, Twilight received a short letter from her. It was very suspicious, but the only thing she could do is hope everything is okay. Rainbow only explained that she's needed three more days. Everypony was shocked, especially Pinkie Pie. It looked like she'll explode, but, somehow, she made it. It's practically a miracle. When the train finaly arrived, her friends were waiting patiently. They couldn't find her, but then Pinkie screamed: "IT'S HER!!! IT'S RAINBOW!!! THERE SHE IS!!!" she jumped, pointing at the other side of the train. Rainbow didn't look so happy at first, but when she saw her friends, the smile shun on her face. "Hey guys!" Rainbow said, running towards them. In less than a second, Pinkie jumped at her: "YOU'RE BAAAAACK!!!" Pinkie hugged her so tight, Rainbow could barely breathe. "Pinkie...I can't... breathe..." Rainbow squeeked, trying to get out of Pinkie's embrace, but Pinkie didn't care. "I MISSED YOU SOOOO MUCH!!! Even tho I saw you, and that Sonic Rainboom was AMAZIIIING!!" Pinkie yelled, and all the ponies at the train station looked at her. "Pinkie... please..." Rainbow again tried to escape, until finaly Pinkie let her go. "Okey dokey lokey!" Rainbow was gasping for air, and when she breath a couple of times, she was able to speak normally. "We watched all your performances and you were absolutely stunning! Oh my, I still can't believe you are Wonderbolt!" Rarity said, and tears of hapliness blurred her vision. "I'm so proud of you, sugarcube" Applejack added, and they all hugged. "Thanks, and I really like the new Wonderbolt flying costume!" Rainbow flew, showing off. "It does need a bit of fixing, they could always go with something a bit more modern, but if you like it, I also like it" Rarity said and started thinking about better designs for the costume. Twilight was still carefully looking at Rainbow, but it looked like someone inflated all her happiness from a moment ago like a balloon. Twilight thought it's not the best time to ask her, but she needed to. She was worrying too much to keep it in. "Rainbow, would you tell us why were you needed three more days?" She asked, but with a calm voice, so Rainbow wouldn't get angry. "Yea, I barely survived! Don't ever do this again, okay?" Pinkie was jumping around her. "Oh, I...I... um... I-I had some job with Spitfire. You know, being a new member of the team and that" She was trying to come up with an excuse. She thought they believed her, but Twilight didn't. She knew she was hiding something. She couldn't keep her mouth shut, so she asked again: "Are you sure that's the reason? You don't look so happy, and you were talking about that Wonderbolts since the first day I met you" She worried. She tried to comfort herself thinking it's nothing, but it didn't work. "You know you can tell us what's troubling you" AJ added, smiling at her. "I know it's hard for you darling, but you'll feel better" Rarity added and hugged Rainbow. She, and all of them, knew very well how hard it was for her to open up, and she wouldn't do it often. "I'm fine" Rainbow shortly replied. She was holding back the tears and covering them up with anger. The rest looked at Twilight. She was thinking if it's better to keep asking her or just accept her reply before it turns to fight. Actually, either way, it won't end good. "Aw, don't be sad Dashie!" Pinkie hugged her, but, this time, Rainbow pulled herself out of her hooves. She turned her head and closed her eyes. "I'm fine" she again replied, but this time, she sounded angry. That was not a good sign. "Rainbow, please..." Twilight added, trying to avoid the fight, but she couldn't. Fluttershy noticed that, and tried to calm thinngs down. "Oh dear... please... if you would just-" Fluttershy whispered, too afraid to raise the voice. She was cut off in a mid-sentence by an angry Rainbow. Fluttershy then hid behing Applejack and Rarity. "I said I'M FINE!" She shouted and took off to the sky, leaving behind her worried friends and a trace of a disappearing, fading rainbow. "Rainbow, wait!" Twilight spread her wings, but Applejack stopped her. "Let her go. Maybe it will be better if we just let her calm down" "Did you see her? Oh, I've never seen her like that" Fluttershy whispered, still behing AJ and Rarity. "Me neither. What happened to her?" Rarity asked, looking at the sky. "I don't know, but I agree with Applejack, I think she only needs to rest" Twilight explained, but she and the rest, knew very well that there's much more to it than just "rest". "She's hiding something, but I am up for the challenge!" Pinkie put on her hat, trying to play detective. "Oh, but what am I going to do with all the conffeti and balloons?" She added. She was planning to throw Rainbow a surprise party. "Don't worry, Pinkie. She will come to your party" Twilight comforted Pinkie. "Well, as we wait for Rainbow, you could eat some cake in the meantime!" Pinkie jumped. Yes, she made an extra cake. You could never have enough cake. "That sounds wonderful!" Twilight added and they went to the Sugarcube Corner. Meanwhile, Rainbow was in her bed, looking at the old, and a bit of dirty Wonderbolt flag. That was the flag she used to carry around when she was just a filly. Tears blurred her vision, and they were about to fall down her cheeks any moment, but she didn't let them. "I didn't have to shout at them like that. They were just worried about me. And I left them alone at the train station. That's not what a loyal friend should do." The first tear fell down, and she wiped her, angry at herself. "I'm sorry, my friends, but I need to make it through this alone. To prove I'm tough. To prove myself, and to others, that I can handle anything!" She knew it was a bad idea, but she was stubborn. As soon as she said those words, she started crying. "C'mon Dash, keep it together! You can do this!" She said, but when she looked at that old flag, she sobbed. "Okay, I need to calm down" Dash said, washing her face. After a few minutes, when she was completely sure there are no signs of tears, she looked at the framed picture of her friends. "I really should go and apologize to them, before it's too late" Rainbow said, but they couldn't still be at the train station. Where could they be? "Sugarcube Corner! Pinkie is definetly going to throw me a party, she always does" she thought and flew over to Sugarcube Corner. When she got there, everypony yelled "SURPRISE!" and there were decorations everywhere. "You like the party? Come on, try some cake!" Pinkie jumped. Twilight and the rest followed Pinkie. "Look, I'm sorry I acted like that. It's just that... thing weren't going so well the last few days and..." "It's okay, we understand. Do you want to talk about it?" They said, hugging and comforting her. "I'm fine, really. It's not that bad" "NOW LET'S PARTYY" Pinkie said, and turned on Rainbow's favourite song.