Chapter 5
Dash rounded on Fluttershy with flaring eyes once they'd gotten into the pale yellow pegasus' back yard. All around the little animals who'd been gamboling there sensed the tension between them and scattered, taking up watchful positions in the various nooks and crannies the fences, trees, and foliage provided.
The rainbow maned mare began to pace back and forth, her expression darkening as she kept her gaze trained on her old friend's pensive face. She came to a stop and faced her, bracing her hooves in the grass. "So what exactly have you been telling those ponies?"
Fluttershy lashed her tail uncertainly and cocked a tentative eyebrow. "What...? About the White Mare?" Her brow furrowed. "I didn't tell Pinkie Pie anything. All I ever told her was that the cake was for 'a friend'. Somehow she inferred the rest from random guesses and recipes. You know how she is.
Dash rolled her eyes in spite of herself and gave a slight nod before leveling a searching gaze on her old friend. "What about the unicorn?"
A puzzled expression washed across the yellow pegasus' face. "What about her?"
Resentment clouded the patrol pony's cyan features. "Well, all I'm saying is it kinda hurts that you open up to her and not to me." She flared her wings for emphasis. "We've known each other since we were little. It's not fair! You... uh..."
She trailed off, blinking, and looked down to see a tortoise slowly rubbing his forehead against her hind leg. She ruffled her wings and shoved him away with her rear hoof. "Not now, Tank."
Fluttershy's ears levered back and she pawed at the ground, ignoring the tortoise as he made his determined way back to Dash's leg and resumed his slow motion display of affection. "I didn't tell her anything that I didn't tell you when we were fillies."
She pursed her lips slightly with the barest narrowing of her eyes. "Except that she believed me."
The chromatic maned patrol pony winced and let out a shuddering breath, her ears drooping as she bowed her head. "Okay. I guess I deserved that one. I..."
Fluttershy gave a toss of her mane and huffed. "I honestly don't understand what you're getting so upset about. You've never seemed to care about my trips into the forest or the friends I might have met there."
She drew herself up with a cocked eyebrow. "And speaking of which, since when is the Everfree Forest a 'protected national wilderness zone', hmm? You said it yourself, it's in the middle of nowhere."
Dash's face became stern, and her ears levered back as she replied in a clipped tone. "It's protected. Don't change the subject."
Fluttershy ruffled her wings and her expression hardened in turn. "Oh? That's the first I've heard of it. If anypony deserves to be 'run in' for trespassing, it's probably me."
She stomped a hoof for emphasis. "And maybe I'm not changing the subject, since we really seem to be talking about how much we trust each other with our secrets. What exactly haven't you been telling me? Hmmm?"
At this Dash's wings flared and her neck stiffened, and she bit her lip as she cast a glance around the greenery of Fluttershy's back yard. Her gaze settled on the distant treetops of the Everfree Forest, the sun creeping slowly toward the western horizon overhead. She met her fillyhood friend's aquamarine eyes again, her own maroon eyes glistening as she let out a long breath through her nostrils.
When she spoke again, there was a tremor in her voice. "L-look, you wanna know why I joined the Rangers and spend all my time skimming storm clouds out in the 'middle of nowhere' when I could be out making a name for myself in stunt shows or the racing circuit? The real reason?"
It was Fluttershy's turn to wince, and she peered out from behind her draping pink forelock with tears starting at the corners of her eyes. "B-because you... you wanted to look after your poor, crazy friend who hit her head on the ground too hard and decided to live there with the squirrels and her hallucinations? Rainbow, I'm sorry... I..."
She stopped as the patrol pegasus held up a hoof for silence, and then spoke with an earnest expression on her face. "At first, maybe that was the reason, but that's colors over the cumulous, and this isn't about who's guilty about what, okay? I'm long since done with blaming myself for knocking you off that cloud, and you shouldn't blame yourself for my career choice." She gave a small chuckle and a guarded smirk. "At least not directly."
Dash stepped forward and took Fluttershy's hoof in her own. "I should rephrase the question. Do you wanna know why I stayed in the Rangers, after it turned out you were happy down here and could handle yourself just fine without me lookin' out for you?"
The pale yellow mare could only nod haltingly, her face pensively curious. A relieved smile blossomed on Rainbow Dash's face as she leaned in close, her sandy voice nearly dropping to a whisper. "Because I found out that you weren't crazy at all, and her highness sure isn't any kind of hallucination."
Fluttershy's eyes went wide in astonishment as Dash gave her a wink and turned so her Sky Rangers shoulder patch was presented. She craned her neck and whispered to it. "Sol non occidat super fidem."
Before her fellow pegasus' wondering eyes, the black cloud and lightning bolt faded, revealing the full disk of the golden sun. In the banner, the words "Sky Rangers" shifted and changed to read "Royal Guard".
Fluttershy stared at the patch as her old friend grinned at her. After a moment, it wavered and reverted to its original appearance, the storm cloud reappearing and obscuring most of the sun. Dash grinned wider. "Like it? A bunch of our unicorn colts in the Archive Service whipped 'em up for us."
The butter yellow mare ruffled her wings and spoke in a mystified voice. "What... what does it mean?"
Dash's expression became serious. "It means that thanks to you I found my real calling. They recruited me about a week after I started volunteering to fly the Everfree beat."
Fluttershy cocked her head, still struggling to parse what her old friend was telling her. "Th-thanks to me?"
Her rainbow maned companion nodded. "Yeah. They've known about you and her highness for a long time. When they found out about you and me, they couldn't get me sworn in fast enough. You're important to her highness, so you're pretty important to us."
The pale yellow mare blinked her eyes and shook her head. "But... but who are you? I... I mean, who are they? I've never heard of any Royal Guard. Celestia's never mentioned them."
Dash ruffled her wings and glanced over her shoulder at the sun. "Long ago, back when her highness abdicated and went to hide out in Area E, she never ordered the Guard to stand down. So they stayed at their posts, passing the tradition down through the years while Equestria changed and everypony forgot all about her highness and them. When the old guard was disbanded, they blended in to the services the new government set up when the Republic was founded, with most of us pegasi going into the Sky Rangers."
Fluttershy's ears laid back and her eyes flared as her confusion took on a bit of rancor. "But... why didn't you ever tell me this?"
Dash laid her hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Orders. We don't stick our snouts in her highness' business, we just wait in the wings and look out for her. She wanted to be left alone, we leave her alone."
She stepped forward and took Fluttershy into a hug, the yellow mare stiffening slightly before relaxing and returning the embrace. "I wanted to tell you, I wanted to tell you sooo bad. But I wasn't allowed to unless you opened up to me first. Which I guess is why I was so cheesed off about you spilling your raindrops for this nosey unicorn."
The rainbow maned pegasus gave her a squeeze. "It's such a flippin' relief to finally tell you. I've been caught in a crosswind over this for so long. I hate keeping stuff from my friends."
Fluttershy let out a tiny sob. "It... it means a lot to me to know you don't think I'm crazy anymore."
Dash shook her head. "Even if you were crazier than a fruit bat you'd still be one of the best ponies I know, Fluttershy. But yeah..."
As the soft yellow pegasus sniffled and blinked the tears out of her eyes, her attention was caught by a glimmer of multicolored light visible through the chicken wire of her henhouse. Her ears perked up as the little shack's denizens exploded from the entry and tumbled down the ramp into their yard in a frenzy of clucking and flying feathers.
She nodded towards the chicken coop as Dash turned with perked ears of her own to see what the commotion was. "Speaking of keeping stuff, there's something I think you should see."
***
Moments later the two pegasus mares stood in the cramped space of the henhouse, the cyan patrol pony staring in amazement at the pile of stone spheres her old friend had revealed beneath the feed bags.
Dash nervously pawed at one of them. "So... so you say her highness left these... things here last night?"
Fluttershy shrugged. "Well, my chickens say she did, but I have no real reason to doubt them."
After a few moments of contemplation, she spoke up again. "Twilight Sparkle says they're something called the 'Elements of Harmony'. Ever hear of those?"
Dash drew in a sharp breath and flared her wings, accidentally bonking her soft spoken friend behind the ears. She took a couple hasty steps back as Fluttershy winced and rubbed the back of her head. "The... the Elements of H-harmony! Wh... Why would her highness hide the Elements of Harmony in your chicken shack?"
Fluttershy furrowed her brow. "So you have heard of them."
Her cyan colored companion nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on the spheres. "I've been briefed. All of the Guard have. The colts in the Archive call them Artifact A. They're the most powerful magical doodads known to ponykind. That's about all they know, though. Totally black box, step back and call for back up, board up the windows, don't even tell your pets type stuff."
The yellow pegasus flicked an ear. "Well, they were certainly powerful to enough to pull Rarity, the other unicorn who you threatened to arrest, all the way from Rambling Rock Ridge by her horn."
Dash glanced through the chicken wire of the windows toward Fluttershy's cottage. "So she knows about them too, huh?"
Both pegasi flinched, batting one another on the head with their wings as a chipper voice broke the pensive silence. "Know's about what? Oooh! Those are the biggest eggs I've ever seen! Fluttershy, did you get an ostrich? I heard they can be trained to give ostrich back rides! Can I ride him? Or her, I guess since she's laying eggs. Pretty please with sugar and a cherry and sugar cherries on top? Do ostriches like cherries? I bet they do 'cos they're small enough to swallow without getting a big unsightly bulge in their neck. By that logic I bet they don't like watermelon much, of course if you got a melon baller you could..."
Dash wheeled on the frizzy maned pink pony leaning in through the doorway, scowling as she rubbed away the little stars that were springing from the back of her scalp. She barked out an interruption to the rambling, one mare discussion of fruit and large flightless birds. "Pinkie !? What the hailstones are you doing in here?"
The ebullient waitress craned her neck back and plucked one of two paper plates, each bearing a generous slice of chocolate, vanilla, chocolate layer cake with thick pink icing, from her withers and placed it on a flattened hoof to proffer it to her. "You were missing cake! Nopony misses cake on my watch!"
The rainbow maned patrol pony took it with a huff and fixed the pink pony with a level glare. "Pinkie Pie, I want you to listen very carefully. I need you to make me a Pinkie Pie Promise that you won't tell anypony about these uh... these eggs, okay?"
Pinkie passed the second slice to a bemused Fluttershy and then cocked an eyebrow at Dash. "I don't see the point in that, sooner or later they're gonna hatch and we'll be flank deep in ostriches anyway."
Dash ground her booted hooves on the wooden floor of the coop as she strained for a rationale. "Um... b-because..."
She cast a desperate glance at Fluttershy, who took a bite of cake in response and chewed it slowly with a "You got yourself into this, you get out of it." expression on her pale yellow face. The cyan mare scrunched up her nose and pursed her lips, then finally blurted out an answer. "It's a national security thing, okay!?"
Pinkie rolled her eyes thoughtfully. "OoOOOooh! Okay!" She gave the beleaguered ranger a conspiratorial grin and tapped the side of her nose. "Protecting our strategic ostrich reserve. Gotcha..."
She started doing an elaborate pantomime as she solemnly intoned an oath. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
A beat later Applejack poked her head in the doorway beside the pink earth pony. "Stick a what in yez what now? Whatta yez gals doin' in here anyhow?"
Pinkie drew herself up with a knowing expression on her face. "I can't tell you."
She gave a broad wink to Rainbow Dash, who slumped to her haunches, balancing her slice of cake on one fore hoof as she slapped her forehead with the other and let out a growl. Pinkie gave a little hop as she glanced back at a tray containing a cooly clinking pitcher of fruit punch and some paper cups balanced on the blonde salespony's withers. "Oh good, you brought the punch. Let me get that, sugarcube."
Applejack nodded. "Yeh. I mixed it up just like you said to, but I had ta refill Miss Fluttershy's ice trays before I brought it out."
She glanced around the increasingly crowded chicken shack as Pinkie took the tray off her back and started pouring punch. "Hey Miss Fluttershy, I couldn't help but notice ya keep chickens. Y'know, Apple Smith (incorporated) has a fine range of boidseed and animal feeds, and I could send yez some free samples thru th' mail when I get back to... Woah. What's th' deal with those crazy bowlin' balls?"
Pinkie shook her head as she passed Fluttershy a cup of punch. "Still can't tell you. Sorry."
She leaned over toward Applejack and held up a hoof beside her muzzle in a stage whisper and nodded in the butter yellow pegasus' direction. "Don't tell anypony I told you this, but you should probably ask her if she'd be interested in buying some watermelon seeds. Just a tip. I can't say any more than that without compromising national security."
Dash's face went red, and she downed her punch with one gulp, scarfed down her slice of cake in a couple of messy bites, and crumpled the plate and cup between her shaking hooves. Scowling through the pink frosting splattering her face, she stood with stiffened legs and jabbed her hoof toward the door. "Out! All of you! Out! Get back in the house!"
***
The rainbow maned pegasus had managed to wipe the frosting but not the scowl off her face as she paced back and forth in Fluttershy's living room with the quintet of other mares warily watching her from the pale yellow mare's couch. "Okay, I want you all to listen up and listen good. As of now you are all confined to these premises until further notice, understood?"
Rarity drew herself up indignantly. "What? You're arresting us? On what charge?"
Applejack cast a scathing glance at Ranger Dash. "This is about those bowlin' balls in the chicken coop."
The pale unicorn arched an eyebrow. "Bowling balls? Well, they're definitely high carat but I'd hardly call them 'bowling balls' darling."
Twilight blinked at them both. "You mean the Elements of Harmony?" Dash gritted her teeth and flinched visibly at their mention.
Applejack looked at her. "The what of huh?"
Pinkie shook her head solemnly. "Still can't tell you."
The lavender mare held her fore hooves apart and gestured something about a hoof wide as she replied to the blonde earth pony. "They're flawless gemstones about so big, which are reputed to be the most powerful magical artifacts in Equestria."
Applejack shook her head. "Nah. These were white bowlin' ball things about three times that big."
Twilight cocked an eyebrow and stroked her chin pensively. "Really? Hmm. I need to check my notes."
She made to get up and was stopped by a pointed hoof and a glare from Dash. "Stay right were you are, pencil head."
Applejack gave her the stink eye. "Ya still ain't charged us with nothin' yet, flathoof."
Rarity brought a hoof to her mouth, her sapphire eyes going wide. "Oh dear, they aren't stolen, are they?" She cast a searching glance at Fluttershy. "You seem like such a nice, kind pony. Tell me you're not a jewel thief."
At this, the soft yellow pegasus spoke up with a shake of her head. "No. Nopony stole anything."
The pale unicorn breathed a sigh of relief and laid her hoof to her chest. "Oh thank goodness. Trafficking with jewel thieves would be just terrible for my reputation in Manehattan."
Fluttershy gave her a slight nod."No, the owner of those... things left them in my chicken coop last night without my knowledge."
She turned a sharp gaze on Rainbow Dash, whose expression became a bit sheepish. "And while we're on the subject of lacking knowledge, maybe if you settled down and stopped barking orders and explained to everypony what's going on, then maybe they'd all be more co-operative, don't you think Dash?"
The chromatic patrol pony flared her wings and replied in a petulant voice. "I don't know what's going on, Fluttershy."
Her soft spoken friend gave a small shake of her head and flicked an ear. "Nopony knows what's going on, Dash, but there's no reason to take it out on everypony like that."
The cyan pegasus let out a weary sigh and ran a hoof through her rainbow mane. "Okay... Okay, Fluttershy. I'll play it your way."
She composed herself and turned to face the others with an earnest look on her face. "All right, all I can say is that the objects in Fluttershy's chicken coop are extremely powerful, extremely ancient magic artifacts, and the fact that they're in there without anypony knowing why is kind of a big deal. I need to contact my superiors to find out how to proceed, and since you all are witnesses, they're going to want to talk to you, and will also want to swear you all to secrecy in the interests of national security."
A pensive silence filled the room as the others mulled over what she had said. Dash glanced out the window at the lengthening shadows and the orange cast of the sunlight outside, and then turned to face Fluttershy. "Speaking of contacting my superiors, could I borrow the biggest mirror you've got. I need to send a heliograph to HQ before we lose the light."
With a silent nod the pale yellow pegasus led her back to her bedroom where they took the mirror off of her vanity and carried it outside. Dash took it between her fore hooves and launched skyward with powerful beats of her wings.
Fluttershy looked up from the ground below, absently petting a little squirrel's head as she watched her Sky Ranger friend angle the mirror towards the distant, hazy smudge that was Cloudsdale and proceed to flash a series of signals. She squinted her sharp, aquamarine eyes as a tiny speck of light at the pinnacle of the cloud city blinked red in return.
Dash touched down shortly thereafter with a grave look on her face. She met Fluttershy's gaze with a furrowed brow. "They're calling a Code Spooky, which is, like, reserved for all Tartarus breaking loose. I've been ordered to stand guard over Artifact A and you and the rest are confined to the premises until backup arrives."
She gave her old friend an apologetic look. "I hope you don't mind a lot more company. They'll be here by sundown." Fluttershy stared at her in confusion as silence fell between them as a wind picked up, rustling the grass.
They both gave a start and turned as Pinkie Pie's shrill voice called from the back door of the cottage. "Hey you guys!"
Dash rubbed her temple with the tip of a hoof. "I really wish she'd stop doing that."
Fluttershy turned to face her with a lashing tail. "What is it now, Pinkie?"
The pink pony pointed inside. "There's this black and white striped pony at your front door. She seems really upset and everything she says rhymes. I dunno if she's rhyming 'cos she's upset or upset 'cos she can only talk in rhymes, but you better come see her."
Fluttershy traded a confused look with Dash, who gave her a nod and went over to the chicken coop, where she snapped to attention in front of the door with flared wings and an impassive, watchful stare on her cyan face.
The pale yellow pegasus wheeled and trotted inside after Pinkie.
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Always a good day when I see that this story has updated.
More to the point: Well that's an interesting development, re: Dash. Colour me most intrigued...
I wonder what other alternative characters we'll be seeing. Now Zecora, who next?
Huh, Dash is a member of a secret society/cult/government agency. Go figure!
So Zecora arrives! Great development here, I loved Dash's super secret patch and the fact that she's in the "passed through the generations" secret guard.
New chapter!!
stream1.gifsoup.com/view6/2745106/kermit-yay-flail-o.gif
ohgosh I can't wait to find out what's got Zecora's stripes in a bunch.
also dash is freaking awesome as a guard/ranger, even if she is a bit overzealous.
3677697 Colour you intrigued, color me all the colours of the rainbow!
Well, This was A Lovely Christmas Present. Australian Christmas rocks
For one brief instant I thought Dash was implying that Celestia, despite having appeared to have abdicated a thousand years ago, is actually still running all of Equestria behind the scenes with the aid of her loyal Royal Guard. And my mind was blown.
You are all kinds of awesome. I love every each and one of your slightly different yet recognizable characterizations.
And huzah for the supper secret royal guard remnant!
Hmm. I would be lying is I said I did not guess this was coming.... or is it the other way around.
I'm going with Zecora is the "It's the end of the world!" character.
Hmm... now I like the idea for the Guard. They never stood down, never left their posts, even in the Republic they hold the line against the Night, forever loyal to the Twin Thrones. For Honor and Duty, For the Sun and Moon- Concordia Invicta.
3677964
Well, technically that's the case with the whole sun and moon thing, although the rest of the government operates without her. It's more like she lumbered off into the woods a thousand years ago and the Guard is standing by the phones waiting in case she wants to order some room service.
3677860
Ah, Australian Christmas.
Santa comes riding on a surfboard loaded with toys, pulled across the sky by eight tiny (and highly poisonous) marsupial reindeer.
Merry Christmas!
Interesting counterpart to "water under the bridge", never heard that one before on FimFiction
Oh wow, things have really gotten real! Really love this story. Heh, after Twilight, Rarity and AJ's intro, I expected Fluttershy would have to give Pinkie and Rainbow a bath too. =P
And RD's role in the story is really unique! I really like her being part of a secret group and her actually knowing more than most of the others.
And now Zecora? This story is really awesome!
Ooooo, so a secret Royal Guard remnant inside the pony armed forces, interesting.
I'm loving Dash in this 'verse. I like to view her Wonderbolt dreams to be a sort of military service aspiration anyway, so I'm always a fan of her in uniform.
3678478 Moping alone in the deep, dark forest for a thousand years eating chocolate cake...
Angstlestia!
3678566 Wow wouldn't have seen that if you haven't pointed it out.
I was a little wary about Rainbow Dash being part of a super-secret order based on a dead government, but i'm naturally paranoid 'bout that kinda thing. I see a lot of interesting story potential with the potentially-conflicting loyalties there.
So now they're adding Zecora to the mix?
I don't think it was coincidental that all the ponies were drawn to the Elements. I have no doubt whatsoever that they are... calling to them.
Interesting that Rainbow is a member of a secret society that still believes in the Princess. Celly and Luna might ultimately have some problems on their hooves if, after the Nightmare Moon issue is resolved, the Royal Guard try to push them to reclaim the Dual Thrones.
I suppose "Semper fidelis" would be a bit too on-the-nose.
In any case, great stuff. I especially love all the pegasus expressions that pepper Dash's speech. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing.
Eagerly looking forward to more. Especially whatever's got Zecora's stripes in a knot.
Dear Warren,
I just want to let you know that you publishing this story in the last month was one of the best christmas presents ever.
And I got nothing for you in return^^
Have a very Merry Christmas!
Care to translate the Latin?
so I wasn't expecting the Royal Guard to turn up like that - and that's a handy way to get the exposition in naturally too! Nicely done, detective
Zecora, heck yes, awesome
Okay, it bugs me how it seems like everypony is at another's throat
and I could really use a bit more exposition on how this Equestria differs from canon 
, but I do think this could be the beginning of something wonderful. I'll definitely have my eye on this 
Sol non occidat super fidem. The sun never sets on faith.
That could be the motto of fanfic readers. Gotta have faith that a great story will be eventually completed.
That's one of the reasons that you are my favorite MLP fanfiction writer, Warren: Not only is your stuff always fun to read and in keeping with the spirit of the show, but you always finish what you start. I'm looking forward to more of this (and more of Book of Days).
I know that I am not alone when this chapter made me think of the Rangers of Babylon 5. To paraphrase their mantra:
We are Her Royal Guard.
She walks in the dark forest no others will enter.
We stand on its edge, and no one may pass.
We live for the Sun, we fly for the Sun.
3678979 Hey! We have THE same PIC! ...
WAIT! DID U STEAL MY PIC OR NOT? l NEED ANSWERS PLEASE!
My God this is an awesome fic. Definitely one of the best AUs I've seen.
Hello Zecora.
Now we just need Nightmare Moon to crash the party.
3745399 I was first!
3755212 U know what, it doesn't really matter.
I mean it's a PHOTO! There could be MILLIONS on here who have the same PHOTO as US!
Brohoof!
3755955 Brohoof!
3756559 That's how it's DONE! BOOM!
Wow. I really did not foresee Dash being secretly in the know, nor that there is a secret core of Royal Guards still going on after all this time. Interesting!
3769248 Thx dude! And yeah it is pretty funny!
Poor Fluttershy, it's just one thing after another. I really like how this story is told entirely from Fluttershy's perspective.
images.wikia.com/mlp/images/9/94/FANMADE_Fluffle_Puff.gif
Here's what I thought:
Okay, the LUS is getting way out of hand at this point.
All in all, I felt this was a decent chapter. I do wish you didn't go throwing Zecora into this, though. I mean, seriously, enough fan pandering; we don't need every single character in the show trotted out one at a time. So far all of the characters have legitimate reasons for being in the story, and I'm sure your excuse for Zecora will be equally appropriate, but that doesn't change the fact that she doesn't need to be here. At what point do we stop introducing new topics and ideas and actually get on with the story?
Man, the references to the canon MLP!
...Because you're the Bearers?
Seriously, why else would the last Bearer leave them here, instead of (for example) returning them to the Tree of Harmony, or keeping them with her?
5176614
I'm sure Fluttershy's right with you on the introductions front. She just wants to get stuff done.
Dear fellow reader:
In this case, Google translate is not your friend.
Taking context into account, I think it's: "The Sun never sets on Duty"