The Incredibly Loyal Heart Of A Winning Pony

by Hallowed

Chapter Three: Dedication

I tried not to think about the possibility of Nightmare Moon returning as I followed the crowd of ponies moving from the library towards Town Hall. But the possibility of a horrible evil monster getting free had an unpleasant habit of sticking to a pony's mind.

I saw Lyra in the crowd, and I waved a wing at her, but then had to suppress a wince at a fresh spike of pain. Horseapples. It was obvious by now that I had really overexerted my wings today. But it wasn’t the first time it had happened, so as long as I took it easy, I’d be right as rain in a day or two. As Lyra trotted over, I greeted her, "Hey there Harpflank! Did you have fun at the Pinkie Party?"

Lyra nodded and said, "Yeah, definitely! Bon Bon couldn't make it, she had a big order she needed to finish up, but she’s gonna try and make it out for the sunrise. Hey, after the sunrise, do you want to split and maybe hang out at our place?" The twinkle in her eye couldn't be mistaken for anything: I was being invited to a threesome. I could see it now...

...Twilight Sparkle's voice saying, "Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night."

Horseapples. Again. Not even the thought of a threesome could get this off of my mind. A new promise: If it turned out the whole Nightmare Moon thing was a hoax, Rainbow or Blossom must never find out that I had worried more about that than banging. It would bring about everlasting teasing. They would literally never let me hear the end of it.

In the meantime, I shook my head at Lyra and said, "I'd love to, but I've had a rough day and I really should get some rest. And as much fun as fooling around with you two would be, restful it wouldn't be. Raincheck?"

Lyra smiled and nodded, and went to go chat with one of her other friends. I exhaled, just in time to get nudged in the ribs on my other side as Blossomforth asked, "What did Lyra want?" I turned to my friend and smiled knowingly at her. Blossomforth immediately blanched and whispered, "Oh come on, Cloud Kicker! Am I the only pony you don't regularly seduce?!"

I pretend to think about it for a moment, then nod my head affirmatively. "Only because you always say no." I whispered back at her in a teasing tone. Blossom rolled her eyes, but I continued, "And for your information, she approached me, and I said no. Really, I'm too tired from our long day for banging, I think."

Blossom blinked at my admission, looked around for eavesdroppers, then leaned in and whispered, "So does that mean you struck out with Twilight, too? She never left her room the whole time I was at the party, I'd worried that maybe you'd convinced her to..." and trailed off there, but since it's Blossomforth, I knew how she meant that sentence to end.

I patted her on the back with a wing and replied, "No, I never even asked her. She was trying to sleep."

Blossomforth visibly relaxed and said "Whew, the town reputation is safe another day." We walked for a minute before she continued, "I'm surprised she was that tired, though, given that she really didn't have any major work to do like everypony else in town. She sampled some of the food at Sweet Apple Acres, checked on us clearing up the weather, took a look at Rarity's decorations for Town Hall, and probably startled poor Fluttershy and her birds. I'm honestly not entirely sure why the Princess sent her down to us so late, it's not like we needed management or anything, especially on the last day of the preparations."

Oh ponyfeathers. That's a really good point. Why send your student all the way from Canterlot to Ponyville to check on the preparations on the day before the Summer Sun Celebration? If we didn't have things almost ready by now, it'd be too late, there's no way Twilight could have done anything about it before the raising of the Sun. If you really wanted to send someone to oversee the work being done, you send them down weeks before so they can coordinate everyone's efforts. It didn’t make sense, and it added to the pile of concerns on my mind.

I could tell that Blossom noticed my dour expression, and her face showed her concern. "Cloud Kicker? Are you okay? You're not coming down with something, are you?" she asked, holding up a wing to my forehead to check my temperature.

I shook my head to knock away the wing and said "No, I'm fine. Just..." and in that moment, I decided that if something bad was going to happen tonight, I could take care of myself. But I also needed to make sure my friends would be okay too. I leaned in, well past Blossom's personal space, and continued very quietly before she could start objecting, "...do me a favor: when we get to Town Hall, find Derpy. She'll probably have her kids with her. If something bad happens at the raising of the Sun, take them to my house. You'll all be safest there."

Blossom blinked and said, "Oh come on Cloud Kicker, stop joking around–"

I cut her off before she could continue, "I'm serious, Blossom. Take Derpy, Dinky, and Sparkler to my house, lock the door, and don't answer it unless you hear me or someone you know at the door. If you really need to, you can get food or whatever from Derpy's house, but stay at my place. My house is smaller than Derpy's, so it's easier to overlook, it's not a cloud house like yours, and I have a pair of wingblades in my closet. They're very sharp, so be careful with them, but if you need to, you and Derpy can defend yourselves with them." Of course, completely untrained pegasi with wingblades is a recipe for disaster and against everything I learned at West Hoof, but we're so far off of the list of things West Hoof teaches that I'd need a map and compass to find my way back. But I needed to make sure my friends would be safe if things turned ugly.

Blossom's mouth had dropped open during my instructions, but now that I'd stopped talking, her jaw worked soundlessly for a few moments before she finally said, "You're scaring me, Cloud Kicker. Are you really being serious? This isn't some kind of prank or stunt to try and bang?" When I nodded, her face paled, and she hissed at me, "Holy ponyfeathers, Cloud Kicker, are you insane? What do you think is going to happen at the Summer Sun Celebration of all things?!"

I shook my head and whispered back, "I don't know, Blossom, and I'm sorry for scaring you, I just have a really bad feeling and want to make sure all my friends are safe if something bad happens. Rainbow Dash is at the hospital, Fluttershy's got a house full of wild animals, including a bear, Lyra and Bon Bon have each other, but Derpy's a single mom with two fillies that will be very very scared. Just promise me you'll all get to my house. Please."

Blossom looked at me a long moment, clearly spooked, then nodded and whispered, "Okay, Cloud Kicker. I promise: If something happens, I'll take them to your house. But what are you going to do?" Concern was showing on her face, despite how much she complained that she didn't like me, she was really worried now. I hated making her worry like this, but this is too important to spare her feelings.

I exhaled the breath I'd been holding in waiting for her answer, then answered, "I'm going to find some way to help. If I can't do that, then I'll come to my house and hole up with you, Derpy, and the kids."

Blossom wrapped a wing over my shoulders and said, "You don't need to throw yourself into danger, Cloud Kicker. You're not a guardpony, and I know that Ditzy Doo's kids would feel safer with you there. Wouldn't you do more good with us than trying to find a way to help?"

I shook my head and responded, "I'm in the reserves, so I do have a responsibility to report for duty in case of an emergency. I can do more good out there helping ponies in danger than sitting in my house. But I need to be sure my friends are safe, including you, and I know I can trust you to help keep Derpy and her fillies safe."

I could see that answer both made Blossom happy that I trusted her that much as a friend, and unhappy that I was going to put myself in danger, but we were getting too close to Town Hall to keep this a private conversation: Ponies were crowding around us and backing up in the process of getting into Town Hall. So instead of objecting further, Blossom nodded and said, "Okay, Cloud Kicker, I'll look for Ditzy and her kids. Just... stay safe and don't do anything crazy, okay?" I nodded in agreement, and she headed off to find Derpy and the kids.

Okay, friends were taken care of, so now I needed to stay close to Twilight Sparkle. I finally picked her out of the crowd with Spike on her back standing next to Pinkie Pie, who was very excitedly talking about how very excited she was (in other words, being typical Pinkie Pie) so I placed myself nearby them so I could keep an eye on Twilight. After a few moments, the last of the ponies filed in and a loud fanfare rang out, accompanied by Eepysqueak's birds, heralding the start of Mayor Mare's speech. I tried to settle down and just enjoy the show. At least, that's what I tried to tell the butterflies bouncing off the walls of my stomach.

The Mayor began talking once the fanfare ended, "Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" The crowd cheered excitedly for a few moments, and once the cheer died down, she continued, "In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria–" insert nice dramatic pause here (Gotta admit, Mayor Mare can give a speech.) "–Princess Celestia!"

Rarity pulled on the rope to open the curtain to the sounds of another fanfare, and in that moment, I thought to myself that I was being silly, and scaring Blossomforth for no reason. Everything was going to be fine, Nightmare Moon couldn't possibly return. It had to be an old pony’s tale, right?

And then the curtain opened to show absolutely nothing behind it.

Oh horseapples.

The crowd started getting restless, and I could hear Twilight Sparkle worriedly say “this can't be good.” The mayor called for everypony to stay calm, but then Rarity exclaimed that the Princess was gone, and the crowd began murmuring to each other anew.

But then a cloud of sparkling purple mist began forming on the balcony, and the bottom dropped out of my stomach as, out from the mist, a black alicorn appeared, the same black alicorn I knew from all the old stories of the time before the Lunar Rebellion. I could just barely hear Twilight Sparkle whisper out her name: "Nightmare Moon!"

My thoughts at the moment were a little more simple than that: Oh buck. And then Nightmare Moon began to speak and I pushed the panic away, and began to listen. Panic never helped a soldier, and right now, I needed to be a soldier. Lives may depend on what happens in the next few minutes.

Nightmare Moon began her speech with, "Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces." Nobody in the crowd seemed willing to be the first to challenge the alicorn, so Nightmare Moon continued, "What's this? None are eager to welcome me in place of your Princess Celestia? Am I not royal enough for you? Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?"

As she spoke, she loomed over Fluttershy, and I tensed, ready to take flight. Things might still be weird between me and Eepy, but I absolutely would fight to defend her if Nightmare Moon decided to start hurting ponies. Thankfully, the alicorn backed off after a moment, and instead got in Rarity's face, continuing, "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?"

And to my surprise, Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, and in a loud, steady, and determined voice, called out "I did. And I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!" to a chorus of gasps from the ponies in the crowd. Wow, really didn't see that coming from the bookish mare. I'm impressed.

Nightmare Moon also seemed impressed, but I couldn't tell if she was being genuine or not as she purred, "Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here."

Twilight seemed to lose a bit of her nerve at this point, stammering, "You're here to... to..."

Nightmare Moon chuckled at this point, cutting in by loudly proclaiming, "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" and began cackling as lightning flashed within her magical aura, the sound of thunder crackling throughout Town Hall.

Finally, Mayor Mare seemed to come to her senses, and yelled out "Seize her! Only she knows where the Princess is!"

The three pegasi Guardponies in the room flew towards Nightmare Moon, who imperiously shouted, "Stand back, you foals!" and with another crack of thunder, the three Guardponies were flung away to slam against the floor in the back on the room, as she disappeared back into thick purple mist and floated through the room and out the door, the crowd diving out of the way of the cloud. I got knocked over by a couple ponies in the chaos, and by the time I got to my hooves and to the door, most of the crowd was in the process of fleeing, and I couldn't see any of the mist. But then I took a look at one of the guardponies that Nightmare Moon had sent flying, recognized him as one of my cousins, and my gut tightened. Thankfully, he only looked stunned, not injured or worse, and one of the nurses from Ponyville’s hospital was tending to the guards.

However, I did see something that raised my spirits a little: Blossomforth with Derpy, Dinky, and Sparkler, and it looked like they were headed in the direction of my house. I muttered, "Thank you, Blossom." and started to make my way through town. I needed to report as a member of the reserves and get into the chain of command. Once the Royal Guard in Canterlot found out about this, they'd be descending on Ponyville to start searching for Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon.

However, something made me stop and think. Twilight Sparkle saw this coming. Nopony else did but her. So maybe she didn't just see this coming, maybe she knew what to do next. So I changed course to go to the library.

As I ran to the library, a curious thing occurred to me. I had listened to Princess Celestia deliver a speech or two in my life, and anyone that listens to the Princess for any length of time learns to love that voice unless you somehow manage to make its owner angry. Princess Celestia's voice was maternal, supportive, loving even. She truly cared about all of her ponies. Nightmare Moon's voice was similar, and yet so very different. Her voice had the same maternal and loving tone, but behind it was a taunting, malicious edge. A voice that could promise you your heart's desire if only you'd do what she wanted.

Suddenly, I had context on how Nightmare Moon could be so dangerous beyond even the endless night. It’s always been true that some ponies could be bought, with bits or with blackmail. But Nightmare Moon could sway ponies by strength of her seductive personality. Convince ponies to join her side, even if they know it’s wrong, just because they couldn't stand to refuse her. And that’s not even considering that some ponies probably wouldn't wait for her to twist their leg. With the lasting night and no Princess Celestia, some ponies, like some of the noble families of Canterlot, might see Nightmare Moon as the conqueror of Equestria and decide to throw their support behind her. Even if we could find the Princess, those families might still support her. Which would be the new Lunar Rebellion I was worried about before, only with a madmare alicorn at the forefront. I doubled my pace to the library.

I arrived at the library to find it a mess. Twilight was throwing books everywhere, muttering to herself, "Elements... Elements... Elements... Ugh! How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?" I cleared my throat awkwardly, and she looked over at me, and I could tell she was confused as to why I was here, but quickly said, "I'm sorry, Cloud Kicker, but I don't have time to chat right now–"

I cut her off and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "I know, Twilight. You said something about stopping Nightmare Moon, which is why I'm here: I'm here to help." Twilight’s mouth worked for a moment in shock.

I then heard a very familiar farmer's voice behind me continue, "An' so are we. You know what's going on, don't you, Twilight?" I turned to see ponies entering the library: Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and... Fluttershy, trying very hard not to look at me. Oh Tartarus, I don't think Eepy understands just how dangerous this is going to be. But I couldn't say anything to her now with everypony else here, not without embarrassing her.

After a moment of looking at the five of us, Twilight Sparkle sighed and said, "I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don't know what they are, where to find them; I don't even know what they do!"

At that moment, Pinkie Pie piped up from a bookshelf on the far side of the library, "The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide." What.

Twilight literally knocked Pinkie out of the way in her rush to get at the book, and asked in a dumbfounded voice, "How did you find that?!"

Pinkie Pie, in a carefree, sing-song voice replied, "It was under E!" What.

After a few minutes of reviewing the ancient book, Twilight began reading aloud, "There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now–" and swallowed nervously before continuing, "–The Everfree Forest."

Ponyfeathers. The Everfree Forest was literally full of unpleasant creatures like cockatrices and timberwolves, to the point where nopony ever went in there if at all possible. Even the weather coming from the Everfree was unpleasant and difficult to wrangle, and made being a weather pony in Ponyville anything but routine. But if these Elements of Harmony were in the Everfree, then somepony would have to go in. And from the looks of the other ponies that lived in Ponyville they were thinking the same thing. Well, I assume Pinkie was thinking the same thing, but there's no way of telling with that pony.

Applejack nodded and said "Well then. What are we waitin' for? Let's get to the Everfree Forest and find those Elements!"

Twilight shook her head and said "Not so fast. Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather do this on my own."

Applejack shook her head right back at Twilight and retorted, "No can do, sugarcube. We sure ain't lettin' any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone. We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple."

Pinkie interjected, "Especially if there's candy apples in there." When the rest of us looked at her dumbfounded, she continued, "What? Those things are good." And bounced in place with her constant smile on her face.

Rarity nodded primly and said "What kind of friends would we be if we didn't help you out when you needed it most? Even if there's bound to be... mud." Oh Celestia, Rarity in the Everfree? Now I just had to go.

Fluttershy leaned forward a little bit and whispered, "I couldn't stand it if you got hurt in there. I don't know if I can help, but I'll certainly try. After all, you're my friend too." and then shrunk back again.

Twilight looked at these ponies saying that they were her friends with an expression that seemed to combine mild horror with exacerbation. She then turned to me, "What about you, Cloud Kicker? Why would you take a risk like this on a pony you've only met today?"

Without any hesitation, I put on my best cocky grin and replied, "Well, I could say that it's my duty as a Kicker to help fight against Nightmare Moon, and it'd be true. But, the real reason? Mares dig heroes. What other reason would I ever need?"

Author's Note:

This chapter is twice as long as each of the prior two chapters, not entirely by design. Cloud Kicker telling Blossomforth to help keep Derpy and her kids safe is something that I hadn't planned on, but just seemed to make perfect sense to me as I'm writing, and just kind of wrote itself into the story. It's also something that could really change the dynamic of how Derpy and Blossom interact in the future in a positive way.

And yeah, there's a little bit of a sequence break at the end where the conversation that happens at the Everfree Forest more-or-less happens at the library instead, which is something I didn't originally plan on either. It makes far more sense that they'd have the conversation BEFORE walking all the way to the Everfree Forest. But I understand that visually, the way the show did it originally makes for an very nice transition.

I also have to apologize for how long it took to get this chapter out. I had planned for the whole story to be done before January ended for the Winningverse group's AU month. Unfortunately, a bit of writers of block accompanied with Real Life Drama was a one-two combination that threw me out of writing for a good week and a half. But I'm keeping at it. The next chapter is about half-done, and it's going to be a long one too.

Thanks as always go out to my pre-readers!

Next time: Twilight Sparkle lets herself go into Cloud Kicker's arms!

Comments

[comicfan616]

Thanks to comicfan616 for being nice enough to provide a cover image for my fic!

My pleasure, sir.

[Scurvy]

"Mares dig heroes. What other reason would I ever need?"
Mare also dig mares in uniform, might want to grab your wingblades and that armor in the attic. At least I think her parents have the house in Ponyville.

[D48]

This was good, and you were definitely right on the money with Cloud sending Blossom to watch Derpy. It is exactly the kind of thing she would do to make sure her friends are safe before shit goes down, and it fit in beautifully here.

Also, Cloud Kicker's reasoning for going after the Elements was perfect. Screw duty, being a hero will make it easier for her to get laid.

Finally, I am really wondering how you were thinking you could finish this story in a month. There is a ton of content in the first episode you will have to work through and lots of fallout to deal with after the fact, and that is assuming you end the story there and make subsequent episodes sequels.

[Web of Hope]

That 'moments writing themselves in' thing is pretty much the best thing that ca happen in writing, so definitely go with it!

[StuJLaird]

I really like the scene with Blossomforth; both as a character moment, and because it helps give a certain boost to CK's credentials where Loyalty is concerned. Though I don't think she comes off as badly in that regard as some of the comments on the first two chapters seem to suggest; I mean, OK, she isn't exactly a paragon of loyalty, but neither is Dash, at least on actual evidence at this point - counting only stuff that happens up to this point, what shows of loyalty do we have from Dash? Sticking up for Fluttershy at Flight camp (Assuming we're following Winningverse canon on this, Cloud did much the same) Her throw-away line about never leaving Ponyville hanging. (Yeah, 'cos a boast is great evidence) Trying to charge Nightmare Moon, demanding to know what she's done with Celestia? (OK, that one does fit with her line in Return of Harmony about always being loyal to the Princess, I'll grant you.) All in all, not that high a bar to meet.

OK, sorry; that got a bit ranty. Moving on... it's going to be interesting to see the effect CK has on the group dynamic... especially where Fluttershy's concerned, since we're obviously pretty much on Winningverse standard where that's concerned.

[Ponibius]

An interesting start to this story that could be fun to read. I'm a bit cautious about this just being the first two episodes of the show with some Cloud Kicker commentary and small changes to other scenes, but I'm willing to sit back and see how it develops.

[D48]

I just had an amusing thought for this continuity. When Trixie comes to town, Cloud should totally go up on stage to show off her "other" special talent.

Also, how is the next chapter coming? I really like this AU and want to see where it goes.

[Hallowed]

4313305

I'm still alive! Real Life has been most unkind to me the last couple months, but the next chapters are almost ready to go to my pre-readers, and will get posted as soon as possible.

I'm glad you and others are liking it, and hope you'll enjoy the second half of the story as much as the first!

[StuJLaird]

4313305

I swear I remember a fanfic that used that premise. Not with Cloud Kicker, though. Hold on a second, I'll just look it up... Ah. Random Elements, by Stryke. Let's just say that that AU's Trixie led a somewhat different life from that point on. So... yeah, if this AU continues to the point of Boast Busters, and nopony has managed to tie Cloud Kicker down by that point (unlikely, I know...), then I thoroughly approve of this idea becoming part of the plot

[ShadowLDrago]

Thisq should be fun...

[vullture]

Great fic. I'm really liking it so far and I look forward to whenever the next update comes.

[Whiteeyes]

So, is this still happening?

[Hallowed]

4633346

Yes, this is still a live story!

My apologies to everyone waiting on the story. Real Life has been unkind to me the last few months. However, I have a great amount of writing done. I'm not quite satisfied with some parts of it, but I'm about ready to get it out to you all, I think!

Thank you to everyone who's read the story and waited for it to be finished, but I promise to get it done as soon as I can.

[Xerzes]

Well, this was fun. Favorited it for later reading when it was new, just got to it now.

[Honeytongue]

Dang! Somebody already wrote an A/U with Cloudkicker as a mane 6 member. Oh well. Mine's also gonna have Sunset, Maud, Vinyl, etc.

[Ebony Gryphon]

I like it. Gotta question her loyalty considering her... proclivities, and bailing on the Guard. But she can't be any worse the rainbow

[Ebony Gryphon]

You do realize though that once she's a bearer, that's pretty much it for her as a soldier.

No way in heck Celestia's going to put such a resource at risk

[Honeytongue]

When can we expect more of this story?

[Hallowed]

5268365

Good news! It's taken me far too long due to Real Life being a jerk (unemployment, and the being catastrohpically broke due to said unemployment, sucks.) But the second half of the story has been passed along to the pre-readers. There's a lot of words to go through (over 18,000!) so it may be some time before it's ready to be posted. But the wheels are turning again!

[Honeytongue]

5410117
Awwwh, that does really suck.
But it's great to hear that a new chapter will be on here again.