Of Loyalty and Love

by Pizzema Forte

Chapter 1

A shrill, loud whine came from Rainbow’s right. She let out an irritated grunt as the noise pierced through her mind. Her cyan hoof waved madly as she attempted to silence the vexation of an alarm clock. Even after repeatedly hitting the clock enough to silence it, the loud ringing lingered in her head. The pegsasus’ pink eyes finally opened and focused on the object that had so rudely awaken her.

“9am?...” Rainbow Dash murmured quietly to herself.

Finally, the pony sat straight up. Her multicolored-mane stuck up in all directions. Crusties formed in the corners of her droopy eyes, which were highlighted with dark bags. As unmotivated as she felt, she crept silently out of her comfortable bed. Over half of Ponyville was probably waking up, and her boss had strictly demanded there be not a single cloud in the sky that morning. She wasn’t about to risk making the ill-tempered stallion upset again.

Rainbow ventured downstairs to her kitchen. The room wasn’t large at all. The upper walls were aligned with six feet of cabinets. There was an oven in the center with four burners on top of it. There was a small fridge to the left of the stove, decorated in old pictures of family and friends. She passed by the white, magnetic surface and grinned like she did every morning. Although she didn’t normal eat when she first awoke, she had a job, and she needed the energy. Rainbow opened the fridge. There wasn’t a ton of food: a few bags of different vegetables and fruits, along with some fruit juices. She grabbed an apple and quickly starting munching on it. She tried hard not to concentrate on the hard work day before her as she poured a glass of orange juice.

“Stupid boss…” She grumbled to herself as she swished down a large gulp of the tangy juice. “Making me get up early and do stupid weather jobs.”

She finished her apple down to the very core and disposed of the remaining immediately before a loud knock came from her front door. She didn’t hesitate a moment to answer it. Rainbow greeted the grey pegasus with a smile.

“Mornin’ Derpy.”

Derpy grinned. “Hey, Rainbow Dash!” She pulled a small cluster of letters from her saddle bag and said in a muffled voice. “These came for you.”

Rainbow gratefully took the mail. “Thanks Derpy.”

Rainbow shut the door and by habit examined the mail. Same old stuff she always got: bill, bill, advertisement, bill, hosp-

“Hospital?”

Rainbow stared at the blue envelope in confusion for almost a minute. Her name was written neatly in cursive with her address. She never received letters from the hospital. She didn’t owe them money from an injury. Finally, she decided to rip it open with her teeth and read it. It was written in black ink. In big letters at the top it read; “To Miss Rainbow Dash.”

She was instantly enthralled and continued reading aloud. “We are sorry to inform you of the passing of Mister Rainbolt…..”

That was the first line after the greeting, and her eyes already grew wide. Her jaw dropped agape. She could hardly comprehend what she’d just read. Tears swelled in her eyes, as only instinct drove her to read further.

“He passed away yesterday, the 15th of April. His funeral has been arranged to be held April 18th at Vermillion Gardens in Cloudsdale at approximately 11am…” Tears now flowed from her eyes and she choked on the words as she continued reading. “H-his death w-was-s caused by…” She sniffled, struggling to read the rest. “A weather acid-dent… H-his ch-chest was crushed beneath a-a b-boulder….”

Rainbow didn’t want to read the rest. That was final. She tore the letter in half and ran up to her room, a wet, sobbing mess. She stuffed her head in a pillow on her bed. Droplets of salty tears stained her pillow. “D-daddy…” was all she could say, and is what she kept repeating for at the entire time she was crying.

Rainbow didn’t come out of her house for two whole days. She remained heartbroken in her chamber, looking at a large photo album of pictures of her and her father. There were photos of when she was only an infant up until the last time he saw him; five months prior to then. They met up at a restaurant and caught up with each other. She never imagined that’d be the last time she’d see him. She’d barely ate or slept since the news was brought to her. Hell, she didn’t even go to work like she was supposed to. She didn’t care if she were fired or not, though.

Through all the glum and misery, she still made it to her father’s funeral. She didn’t own that many clothes, but she were a black scarf tightly around her neck, and a black skirt just to hide her flank and vibrant tail. She remembered Vermillion Gardens. It’s where he taught Rainbow to fly. She’d always hold this location close to her then shattered heart.

The broken pegasus took a seat in the small cluster of attendees. There was only her, her only living grandparent, a couple of Rainbolt’s close friend and coworkers, her aunt and uncle, and the host of the funeral. He walked onto the stage slowly. He was an older pony with a gray, thinning mane and tail, He wore large, round glasses and a small, black bowtie.

“We’re gathered here today to mourn for our dear loss. Rainbolt was a loving friend, father, and citizen of this fair country.”

Rainbow got teary-eyed at the word ‘father’ but tried hard to stay strong. The last thing she wanted to do was have an emotional panic in front of the small crowd. She looked at the ground and tried not to remember all the good times. Everything the host said beyond that point was blocked out. She was trying too hard not to let out tears.

“Would anypony like to say a few words about our deceased friend?” was the last line that came through clearly to Rainbow.

The small crowd all put their heads up. Had they all gone through a prayer without Dash realizing?

A light-brown coated stallion raised his hoof to volunteer. “If I may?”

The old pony stepped back with a smile, allowing the stallion room to speak. He stepped up a few wood steps and stood directly in front of his friend’s casket. He cleared his throat, and a deep, but soothing voice emerged from his mouth.

“Rainbolt was a good friend of mine… We used to work together in the same factory, and we’d occasionally get together on the weekends… We were pretty close, and when I found out about what happened…” Even the gruff-looking stallion was restraining tears. “I-It really…upset me… He was a good guy, and he had a lotta life ahead of him.” He wiped a tear from his eyes took in a breath. “That’s it…”

Rainbow watched as the stallion galloped off the stage. She felt like bursting into tears. There wasn’t a way in the world she could present herself on the platform. She’d explode into a volatile mess of tears no doubt.

The next pony to go up to the stage was her aunt Voletta Dash. Her coat was a light shade of purple and her mane was light purple, pink, white, and cyan. She had Rainbolt’s yellow eyes and mellow attitude. She stood in the same places Rainbolt’s dear friend was just standing.

“As Rainbolt’s sister… I’d have to say, I looked up to him most of my life. He was my older brother… He meant a lot to me.” She put her head down as she continued. “I remember when I was eleven and he was fifteen, he snuck me out of the house when I was grounded and took me to an ice cream parlor. Our parents were pretty mad, but it was worth it… I loved him a lot. I just…didn’t expect he’d be taken out of this world so early…” She sniffled, and one could easily tell she was sobbing. “I…wish he were back…”

Rainbow’s aunt ran off the stage rather quickly, and didn’t go back to where she was sitting, but far away. The funeral was outside, so she couldn’t simply exit a building to go up and weep. Rainbow would’ve done the same thing if she weren’t too afraid of making a scene.

Only a couple more ponies said a few words, but Rainbow was too broken to speak. How she ever planned to solder her cracked heart, she had no clue. Rainbow was waiting for a moment alone with her father, and she surprisingly didn’t have to wait much longer. Within another fifteen minutes, everypony left. Rainbow was sitting alone in the chair she chose since the beginning. The funeral host looked at the pegasus in concern.

“Miss? Are you alright?”

Rainbow only sniffled and wiped her eyes of a few tears. “M-may I have a moment alone with my daddy?”

The elderly stallion nodded and left the area slowly. The moment he was gone, Rainbow slowly walked up the wooden steps to her father’s casket. It was constructed of a glassy, smooth material and shone a hue of dark blue. The casket had been currently closed and had a small bouquet of flowers resting on the lower half. Rainbow knew she’d break down and her emotions would take control, but she did it anyway. She placed her hooves on the upper half of the casket, swallowed a large amount of air, and with closed eyes lifted the heavy top. Her heart wasn’t prepared for what she was about to see. She didn’t know why she tortured herself like this.

Slowly, the shattered pegasus lifted her eyelids upon the sight and without another second to pass, she broke into a swarm of tears. She wrapped her hooves tightly around her father’s empty shell. She pressed her tear-stained face against his and cried uncontrollably. Tears streamed out heavily and she could barely contain herself.

“D-daddy… Daddy, no…I love you… “

Rainbow lent down and kissed her dad’s cheek. The warmth she remembered being in his face had vanished completely. It felt cold and unwelcoming, but she couldn’t care less. She kissed him again and again and kept his not responding body secure in her hooves.

“Please Daddy… Please come back…” She took in deep breaths and sniffles in between phrases. “I love you so much… please come back… I’ll do anything…”

She wasn’t quite sure who she was begging. She was simply calling out to anypony that could help. She wasn’t expecting a response, but surprisingly, she received one. A familiar laugh echoed around her and forced her ears erect.

“Oh, poor, poor Rainbow Dash. Lost her father to the cruelty of the world, and is desperate to get him back. How depressing.” The familiar voice seemed to be almost mocking her.

Rainbow lifted her heavy head up and looked around, searching for the source of the noise. She was too depressed for her cocky, defensive attitude to emerge.

“Hello? Is anypony there?” She asked in a weak voice.

The answer came when a small cloud of white smoke encircled the casket and Rainbow as a whole. She watched silently. She didn’t feel afraid, but a bit confused. That’s when it happened. A clustered chaotic body emerged from the smoke. The draconequus emerged with a smile.

“Ah, Rainbow. I haven’t seen your face since I was reformed.”

Rainbow glared at Discord. “Whadda you want?” She asked with a sniffle. “This isn’t a good time, ya know!”

Discord smiled. “Oh, but it is. You see, I can help you with a gift in exchange.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about.”

Discord let out a little laugh. “Oh, Rainbow. Don’t underestimate me. Us draconequi are very, very powerful. I did just happen to overhear you say you’d do anything to have your precious Daddy back.”

Rainbow gaped in shock. “You can…You can bring him back?” She wiped her remaining tears and not another one shed. Discord simply nodded to answer.

“But, on the condition you help me with something.”

A little gleam of hope sparkled in the pony’s eye. “Yes, anything… J-Just bring him back, please…”

Discord smiled mischievously and flicked the finger on the back of his tail. The two were instantly transported to a rather large chamber filled with oddities and strange decorations. Shelves bordered the walls and had all sorts of collectables on them. In the far right corner, though, was a hallow mold. It was shaped like Discord, only a tad smaller and with a seemingly more feminine structure. In the two arm areas there was a wolf paw and the claw of an alligator. The body was filled with a brown strip of fur, and the tail seemed almost dolphin like. The two hind legs were constructed from a cow and a sheep. There was a deer antler at the head part, along with what seemed like a long unicorn horn. One wing was feathered and red, and the other was nothing but an empty slot. Discord pointed to it with a grin.

“You see, Rainbow Dash. I’m the only draconequus left in existence. I’m hoping to create another one so that we may breed and bring our race back into the world. I know what you’re thinking; this is just a scheme to gain power and take over Equestria. That’s not what this is about. No, my aspirations are to create a world where draconequi and ponies can live peacefully side-by-side. What do you say?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow to Discord once again. “How do you expect me to help you with this?”

“I knew this was coming. As you probably know, draconequus are known for having all sorts of animals mixed into us. As funny as it may seem, we cannot properly function if we’re made up of two parts from the same animal. And as you can clearly see, I’m lacking one wing.”

Rainbow took a step back and repulsed at the words. “Y-you…want…my wings?” her voice squeaked.

“Well, naturally. I truly hate nearly killing some animals to take their limbs. But don’t you worry. I promise, I’ll make this quick and painless. Just like when I took them the first time I encountered you ponies.”

“Y-you… You can’t have them! No way!” She folded her wings tightly against her back and cowered.

“Oh, well. I guess you’ll just have to get over your father’s death as time goes on.”

Rainbow quickly stopped him. “No! Wait!”

Discord gave her his attention. “Yes?”

Rainbow gulped. “I-If I give you my wings… my dad gets a second chance to be alive?”

Discord nodded. “And nopony will remember he even died. It’ll be as if it never happened.”

The draconequus’ description was exactly what she was hoping and praying for. She knew deep in her heart that she’d gladly depart with her wings to see her father again for five minutes, but she was also aware that her entire life would change. She’d need a new job, new house, and her cutie mark would seem out of place. She hadn’t the slightest clue what she was going to do in life, but she took in a deep breath, and almost on impulse spit into her hoof and held it out with to shake.

“Deal…”

Comments

[Windhelm Guard]

I have very mixed fealiings about this how about one were Dash becomes a draconequus.

[Windhelm Guard]

3503915 that's a great idea dude!

[Niklashg]

“A weather acid-dent… H-his ch-chest was crushed beneath a-a b-boulder….”

How did a boulder get involved in a weather accident? when I think of weather accidents I see tornados, lightning and hail as big as cannon balls, not boulders.