The Incredibly Loyal Heart Of A Winning Pony

by Hallowed

Chapter Six: Faithfulness

We stepped into the castle itself, and in the central hall, we saw what we had been looking for.

Applejack said to Twilight, "Come on, Twilight. Isn't this what you've been waitin' for?"

Twilight came to the front of the pack, and said in wonder, "The Elements of Harmony, we've found them!" Sure enough, a pedestal, similar to what was described in Twilight's book, with a set of stone spheres resting on them, each with a different shape imprinted on the surface.

Fluttershy and I flew up and brought the Elements down to the ground one at a time, Twilight asking us to be careful as we did so. Pinkie was helpful enough to count the Elements as we brought them down: "One, two three, four... there's only five!"

I asked, "So we have five of them, which I assume are the five that we knew about: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. But what about the sixth one?"

Twilight replied, "The book said: When the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed."

Applejack asked, "What in the hay is that supposed to mean?"

Twilight answered, "I'm not sure, but I have an idea. Stand back. I don't know what will happen."

Applejack nodded and said to the rest of us, "Come on now, y'all. She needs to concentrate."

We walked outside as a group, but a minute later, we heard Twilight cry out in shock. We all rushed back inside to see a purple tornado swirling in front of Twilight, the five orbs swirling inside it. Twilight leapt into the tornado herself an instant before it disappeared to our collective shock. We started running around looking for any clue of where she’d gone to, but Rarity was the one to see a tower through one of the windows where light was shining brightly.

We ran as fast as we could towards that tower, and as we approached it, we could hear that distinctive evil laugh of Nightmare Moon, and we all called out to Twilight that we were on our way.

When we arrived, Nightmare Moon stood at the end of the room with shards of what looked like broken stone at her hooves (which I didn't like the sight of), and Twilight between us and her. Twi had a look in her eyes like she finally understood something critically important, and as she turned back to Nightmare Moon, she said triumphantly, "You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here!"

The shards at Nightmare Moon's feet suddenly began to float around her, as Twilight explained, "Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... Honesty!" Suddenly, a group of the shards flew over and began circling around Applejack.

"Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... Kindness!"

"Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... Laughter!"

"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of... Generosity!"

"And Cloud Kicker, who stood true to her friends and family even when offered fame and glory, represents the spirit of... Loyalty!" As Twilight continued to speak, crystals began to fly around each of us in turn. Twilight continued, "The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!"

Nightmare Moon, for the first time, didn't sound smugly confident; she sounded almost desperate."You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!"

Twilight replied, "But it did! A different kind of spark." Twilight turned back to address the rest of us, saying, "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you." She even began to tear up a little, before she turned back to face the alicorn. "The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends!"

A flash of light appeared over us, and a sixth stone sphere appeared, floating down near Twilight, as she finished, "You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!"

A blinding flash of light filled the room-

-barely a year old, seeing my mom in uniform about to leave the house, I tug on her leg to get her attention, and I give her my first salute. She smiles softly and salutes me back-

-at Flight Camp, after Eepy and I became fillyfriends, banging for the first time. We're clumsy the way virgins always are, but I like her so much-

-my friend Rainbow Dash attacking me, and I hit her in the eye. I buck her under the tail as hard as I can, and she goes down screaming-

-walking through the front door at West Hoof for the first time, following in the family tradition, knowing that my parents are so proud of me-

-banging three different mares in as many days-

-running away at graduation. I know my parents are there watching and they have to be so embarrassed, but I just can't go through with it-

-running away all the way to Ponyville and Rainbow Dash helping me get a job on the weather team-

-me, Eepy, and Dash after Derpy's first sonogram telling the pregnant Derpy that we'll always be there for her-

-breathing heavily, just after finishing a threesome with Harpflank and Bon-Bon, the three of us cuddled together-

-fighting off a roc with Raindrops from the weather team to save Silverspeed-

-"I'd never betray Equestria. I'd never betray my family and my clan. And I'd never betray my friends!"-

-and this next part is a little hard to describe, since my eyes were closed, but so was everypony else's, and I know that despite my eyes being closed. Magic is weird.

The six of us were lifted up in the air by the purest form of magic. That magic filled us all, and it was one of the most beautiful things, the power of the six of us united as friends. The Honesty of Applejack. The Kindness of Fluttershy. The Laughter of Pinkie. The Generosity of Rarity. My Loyalty. And Twilight Sparkle's Magic. It rose up in a rainbow colored beam and descended on Nightmare Moon, and she disappeared under the onslaught.

That doesn't really do it justice, but it's the best I can do.

---

We were all out of it for a bit, but we slowly started to come to, and dragged ourselves to our hooves. Celestia, it felt almost like being hung over. Apparently channeling the power of an incredibly powerful set of artifacts is a harrowing experience. Applejack woozily asked, "Everypony okay?"

In answer, Rarity squealed happily, and said "Thank goodness!" Looking over, I saw that her tail was back to it's usual length. And it wasn't just her tail, the wiped-out feeling after using the Elements was disappearing quickly, and almost all of the aches and pains and exhaustion I'd accumulated over this long day and night seemed to wash away with it. Even my aching wings felt much better.

Fluttershy smiled and said, "Why Rarity, it's so lovely."

"I know, I'll never part with it again!" Rarity cooed, looking at her tail with an almost sickening amount of adoration.

Fluttershy replied, "No. Your necklace. It looks just like your cutie mark." I took a look again, and sure enough, Rarity was wearing a golden necklace with a purple gem in it, shaped like the diamonds on her cutie mark.

After a moment looking at the new jewellery, Rarity then pointed out "Ooh, so does yours!" And she was right, Eepy now had a necklace with a butterfly-shaped pink gem. And looking around, most of us had a necklace with a gem shaped like our cutie marks, including my own, with a red gem shaped like my cloud. The only exception was Twilight, who had a tiara instead, with her starburst cutie mark.

After a moment of everyone looking at each other's new accessories, Applejack said "Gee, Twilight, Ah thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but Ah reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship."

Then a beam of sunlight filled the room, as a familiar voice said "Indeed you do." The sun was finally coming up, and with it, a sphere of white light descended and filled the room. When it disappeared, Princess Celestia stood before us all. Twilight Sparkle cantered over to nuzzle her mentor affectionately, while the rest of us bowed reverently. The Princess smiled and said, "Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. I knew you could do it."

Twilight stepped back, and looked unsure for a moment. "But... you told me it was all an old pony’s tale."

"I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now if only another will as well."

The Princess looked to the side, and I saw what she was looking at: Where Nightmare Moon had been before the Elements of Harmony were unleashed on her, a much smaller blue alicorn now lay. Princess Celestia gave the mare a name: "Princess Luna."

Luna gasped, and tried to scramble to her feet, terror in her eyes. Advancing towards Luna steadily, Princess Celestia continued, "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this." The white alicorn kneeled down next to the smaller one. "Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister." Princess Celestia finished by saying, "Will you accept my friendship?"

After a long moment of anticipation from the rest of us, Princess Luna tearfully said, "I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!" and nuzzled her sister lovingly.

Princess Celestia nuzzled her little sister, and said "I've missed you, too."

It was a truly beautiful moment until Pinkie Pie blew her nose with all the subtlety of a foghorn.

---

So Pinkie's answer to all this was to throw a party, of course. All the ponies in town that had been hiding in their homes during the extra few hours of night came and celebrated the return of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

I met up with Blossomforth and Derpy, who looked elated to see me alive and in one piece. Blossomforth ran up and nearly took me off my hooves with a tackling hug. "Cloud! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Derpy hugged me too, and whispered, "Thank you for worrying about me and my girls. They were scared, but Blossom helped, I think. She turned it from being scary into a sleepover at Miss Kicker's house." I hugged them both back, happy that neither of them got hurt while the sun was gone.

I then heard a voice I hadn't heard all day pipe up. "Hey guys. Got any room in there for an awesome pony?" We turned and saw Rainbow Dash, with bandages on her wing and head, limping towards us.

"Always, boss." We went over and hugged her too, being sure to mind her wing.

As we took a seat near the edge of the party, Blossom asked Rainbow, "How are you feeling?"

Rainbow looked a bit sheepish as she answered, "Eh, more or less okay. I'm going to be out of action for another week or so, though. But I'm tired of being cooped up in that lame hospital room. When we got the news about Nightmare Moon showing up when the sun didn't rise, I wanted to rush out and help, but Nurse Redheart wouldn't let me leave. They actually used cheating magic to knock me out."

Rainbow looked positively grumpy about missing the action. "But now that everything's okay, and hearing that my friend Cloud Kicker helped save the day... yeah, they couldn't stop me." Rainbow gave me a big goofy grin and poked the Element of Loyalty. "So is that the magical artifact you used to save the day, and is it yours to keep?"

"Yes to the first, no to the second. The Princess said that while I'm able to wield the Element, it's too dangerous to let them sit unguarded, so she's going to take custody of it until the day comes where we need it again. Her words."

Rainbow smirked and said, "That's good, I suppose. Otherwise you'd totally use that to pick up ponies for your weird stuff." Can't say the thought didn't occur to me, but nah. Something like this is too important to use for just a banging aid.

We sat and watched the party for a bit, until looking up at the sky, Rainbow unexpectedly said, "Hey, Cloudy? You did good."

I snorted and said "What, with the weather? Hate to admit it, but Blossomforth deserves a lot of that credit too, as does the rest of the team."

Rainbow shook her head. "Not just that, the rest of it. Sure, you wrangled the weather without the most awesome flyer in Equestria, but then you stepped up when Equestria needed you, you didn't back down or run away, and that's really cool. I wish I could have been there with you. Especially that big speech you gave to Nightmare Moon. That was really awesome."

What.

To my shock, Blossom and Derpy nodded as well, with Derpy saying, "Yeah, I can't believe you stood face to face with that big monster Nightmare Moon, kicked her flank, then told her off like that about how you'd always stand up for your friends."

What.

I almost asked how they knew about all that, then it clicked for me. "You all heard this from Pinkie, didn't you." To which they all nodded.

I blushed and mumbled something under my breath, but Blossom poked me in the side and said "Seriously, though. She offered you a lot to turn on the others, to keep your family safe and make you her right-hoof mare, threatened their lives and ours as well, and you smacked her and called her a nag. That takes a lot of bravery, Cloud Kicker. That said?" Suddenly, I felt a wing whap me upside the head. "I told you not to do anything crazy! What were you thinking?!"

I winced and hastily said, "Hey, she said a lot of really hateful stuff, y'know! Trying to convince me that turning traitor was the only thing to save my friends and family. And she had me trapped; at the time I figured if I could keep her attention on me, the others might have been able to get the Elements and stop her after she was done with me. It was a sound strategy..."

It suddenly occurred to me that might have been the wrong thing to say with the way Blossom was glaring at me. Derpy facehooved, and Rainbow snorted and said, "Seriously? You're a hero and all that, Cloudy, and I know you went to West Hoof and everything, but that whole sacrifice yourself for the sake of the mission thing? That's really kind of dumb."

I sighed and said, "Yeah, it was. But it all worked out. Princess Celestia is free, Princess Luna is free, and there were no casualties in the process. I call that a good night's work."

I then heard my dad's voice behind me say, "I'd have to agree, Cloud." Scrambling up and turning around, I saw my parents walking up in full armor. Overhead, the group of pegasi my dad was commanding flew overhead and landed near the party, presumably to report in to Princess Celestia.

I swallowed my trepidation, stood to attention and snapped off a salute, then confidently said, "Mom. Dad. Sorry you flew all this way for nothing, but I saved the day already."

Dad snorted once in suppressed laughter, while Mom only raised a single eyebrow, though she was still smiling softly, which was rare enough. My dad poked the necklace still hanging around my neck. "So it would seem. Is that the Element of Loyalty we heard about?"

I nodded, but then stopped and asked, "Wait, how'd you hear about it? Did Pinkie tell you the story immediately after you landed?" Yeah, Pinkie's quick, but...

Mom nodded. "At least, I assume that pink pony with a necklace like yours is the 'Pinkie' you're talking about. She was certainly a hyperactive one."

Wha- you know what, no, that's fine. I'm going to stop getting surprised when Pinkie Pie does Pinkie Pie things.

"Yeah, Pinkie's one of a kind. So what are you two and the soldiers going to do now that the crisis is over?"

Dad said "Well, I sent my second in command to report in to the Princess, but since all is well, I expect we'll accompany the Princess, or Princesses now I suppose, and Princess Celestia's student back to Canterlot when they're ready to depart." That sent a stab through my heart. It hadn't occurred to me that Twilight would be heading back to Canterlot. It's not like I couldn't go visit her, but still, I wouldn't see her as often as I liked.

Mom was taking a hard appraising look at me, and finally said "Well, you seem to have come through this unscathed. But I have to ask: Why didn't you get your armor from our cloud home and take your wingblades? I know we raised you better than that." Oh ponyfeathers. I'll take Nightmare Moon any day over my mother's displeasure.

Blossomforth then spoke up, "Well, she left her wingblades with us to protect us, and Derpy's daughters, in case something happened while the sun was down. Granted, we didn't need them, but she was worried about us!" Derpy nodded fiercely to agree, but Blossom, sweetie, you're not doing me any favors here!

Mom's gaze shifted to Blossom and Derpy for a moment, then back to me, and I could tell she wasn't satisfied. "Leaving your weapons behind for sentimental reasons, no less? I suppose your armor had to stay behind because that blue pegasus needed it more?" I could hear Rainbow bristle and flare her working wing behind me, but I was far more worried about Mom’s impending wrath than Rainbow's ego.

Finally, Mom just sighed, trotted forward and wrapped a wing around me. "Oh, to hay with all of that. I'm just relieved you're all right. When the sun didn't come up, and there was no word from Ponyville... we feared the worst. And then we heard a rumor that you were trying to fight Nightmare Moon. When Tor was assigned to lead the quick response team, I had to come with him, because the thought of you in trouble..."

I stood in shock for a moment as the words just tumbled out of Mom's lips. My mom was never a nurturing sappy type, and this was so bizarre from her that I couldn't even think of a response. Finally, I just nuzzled her silently.

Dad walked up to my other side, placed a wing over me too, and quietly said, "Where other ponies might not have, you stepped forward, into a great deal of danger and peril, to help make things right. And from what that pink pony said, Nightmare Moon tried to twist the knife in your past mistakes, and convince you to join her side in order to protect your friends and the clan. Where some ponies might have taken the easy way out, you stood your ground for your friends, for clan and country. No matter what happened in the past, we've always known you would do the right thing when you needed to. You didn't walk the path in life that we expected, but I think Shadow herself would be very proud of you today. Celestia knows we are. We love you, Cloud, and we've always been proud to call you our daughter."

I couldn't speak for several seconds, but I finally just said, "I love you both." I didn't need to say anything more than that. I heard one of my friends sniffle happily at the three of us standing together like that. It probably wasn't Rainbow.

After a few moments, I heard somepony clearing her throat, and we all turned to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna walking up to us, a gentle smile on Princess Celestia's face. Princess Luna seemed happy at first glance, but after she met my gaze for only a moment, she looked away, hiding her face behind her mane just like Eepysqueak would. Blossom, Derpy, and Rainbow all bowed, as my parents snapped to attention with a salute. After a moment of indecision, I also saluted Princess Celestia, who smiled with what I thought was amusement.

Dad stiffly said, "I apologize for not reporting to you first, Your Highness. But-"

Princess Celestia shook her head, still smiling. "No, Tornado, no apology is necessary. The crisis is over, and spending time with your daughter is understandable, given what she's been through, and what she and her friends helped accomplish. But I'm afraid my sister and I need to borrow your daughter for a few minutes." My parents nodded, and along with my friends, walked to join the rest of the party. Princess Celestia gestured with one of her wings, and we began walking along the edge of town.

Princess Celestia spoke first, after magicking up an open chest that already contained the other five Elements. "As I said before, we do need to keep the Elements of Harmony protected, in case they are ever needed again." I nodded, and she used her telekinesis to unclasp the necklace and place it in the chest, which then closed and disappeared. "There. I've sent them to a vault in the castle that only I can open, so there shouldn't be any way for them to be taken." I nodded again, and we walked in silence for a couple minutes, enjoying the morning sunrise.

Out of the blue, I heard Princess Luna softly say, "Milady Kicker?" I turned to look at Luna, who still didn't seem to want to look at me. "M-Milady Kicker, we must beg thee for thy pardon."

I blinked in response. "Bwuh?"

Luna shuffled her hooves, clearly uncomfortable. "We...cannot remember all that occurred when we were the Nightmare, but we remember enough. Verily, we owe a tremendous debt to thee and all thy friends, but there were none in thy group we wronged greater than thee." Feather, the Old Equestrian words take a bit to decipher.

Princess Celestia's expression turned concerned, and she placed a hoof on Luna's shoulder. "Luna, you don't-"

Luna's small form shrugged the hoof off, clearly upset. "Prithee, sister, hear our words. We assaulted Lady Kicker's person with words most foul, words whose purpose was solely to cause her pain, and wound her they did, it was plain to see. After that, we whispered slanders to twist her heartstrings and lead her to an ill end in service to a madmare."

Luna finally looked me in the eyes. "Milady Kicker, we are truly grateful thee were able to free us from the Nightmare, for everypony's sake. But even more so for thy own sake, for thy defiance to the Nightmare..." she broke her eye contact, looking down, and I could see moisture in her eyes.

As gently as I could, I said "Your Highness, it's okay-"

Luna cut me off, shaking her head and sending tears scattering. "Neigh, it is not okay! If the Elements had not worked, had not freed me... I shudder to imagine what could have happened-" The fact that she stopped using the royal "we" was not lost on me.

Without thinking further, I rushed forward and hugged Luna, cutting her words short. I whispered, "Princess, you are forgiven. You didn't even have to ask, of course you're forgiven. It wasn't you, it was Nightmare Moon."

Obviously flustered from her tone, Luna interrupted, "But Milady Kicker, we were-"

I interrupted her back, "It doesn't matter to me. You're sorry, and that's all that matters. I've made some mistakes in my life, same as anypony, and at the end of the day, my loved ones forgive me when I screw up. Princess Luna, as far as I'm concerned, you are forgiven."

I heard a tiny sniffle from her head in my shoulder, and in a trembling voice, said "Thank thee, Milady Kicker."

It was about then that I realized Oh feather, I am hugging a Princess of Equestria, I should not be doing that and let her go, smiling gently at her. "Please, Princess, it's just Cloud." and bowed down to her.

Luna sniffled again and said, "Please rise. And again, thank thee." and began walking down the path again.

At that point, I remembered Princess Celestia was there, and I saw that she was smiling softly. Just quietly enough so her sister wouldn't hear, she whispered, "Thank you."

I nodded and just as quietly said, "I have a little sister too, Princess."

Once we caught up to Luna, after a moment, Princess Celestia, still smiling at me, said, "Cloud Kicker, you certainly have walked a very unique path in life, and certainly not one that anypony could have predicted."

I shrugged, and replied, "I think it's more about the ponies I share that path with, who I have with me."

Princess Celestia nodded, but we both knew that wasn't the answer to the question she was really asking. The Princess asked the question far more directly next: "Do you think you made a mistake when you chose to not join my Guard?" Princess Luna cocked her head, obviously curious to my answer.

I slowly answered, "I don't know, Your Highness. I made the choice then, and I've been trying to live with it. But my life would probably have been more fulfilling and less complicated if I’d joined the Guard. I like working on the weather team, but the Guard is the family business and all, and Kickers have always been proud to serve."

Princess Celestia nodded again and said "You speak as if you abandoned your destiny, that you were supposed to join my Guard, and didn't, and that choice has caused terrible consequences." I nodded a little at her explanation. The Princess pursed her lips, then simply said, "If that is true, consider the events of the past day."

After thinking about it for a moment, it dawned on me. I looked up at the Princess and said, "If I'd joined the Guard, I probably wouldn't have been here today. I'd have been in Canterlot, or away on the Long Patrol, or wherever else I would have been posted. Even if I was posted to Ponyville, I wouldn't have been handling the weather, which is when I met Twilight. So if it was my destiny to join the Guard, that would have doomed Equestria. Is that right?"

Before Princess Celestia could answer, I continued, "Come to think of it, Rainbow Dash busting her wing is what made me meet Twilight. If she hadn't been hurt, she would have been covering Ponyville, not me." I became aware that I was babbling, and closed my mouth with a audible snap.

Though, I could easily see Rainbow Dash being the Bearer of Loyalty. Her ego and all that aside, she really will never leave her friends hanging.

Princess Celestia spent a long moment looking at me bemused, and I swear I could hear her say, "Twilight's rubbed off on her." under her breath. Then, to my disbelief, she shrugged and said, "I am not an expert on your, or any other's, destiny, my little pony. But I can tell you that no matter what some ponies say on what you were "supposed" to do, what you did was exactly what you needed to do, and where you were is exactly where you needed to be.”

“If you had not been there, maybe things would have turned out as well as they did, perhaps not. We will never know. All we can do is make the best decision we can in any moment." She let that sink in for a moment, then continued, "That being said, there are consequences to some actions, and they eventually must be faced."

I swallowed nervously. I had a feeling I knew what consequences she was talking about. Princess Luna then asked, "Wait, what actions and what consequences?"

I didn't want to let the Princess try to explain my crimes away, so I spoke up instead, "I attended the military academy at West Hoof, but on graduation day, I... well, I just couldn't take the pressure, the expectations, or the impending feeling that the rest of my life would be set in stone. So I flew away. Which, even though I'm in the reserve, probably makes me a deserter."

Princess Luna blinked in confusion, then her expression darkened. She turned to her sister and asked, "Sister, thou dost not mean to punish one of my saviors? Neigh, I will not have it. If you do not set this right, then I certainly will!" Wait, what?

Princess Celestia shook her head and said, "Do not worry, little sister." then turned to address me. "While you could be called a deserter, you have done a tremendous service to Equestria, and to me personally." The Princess sighed, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth as she looked at Luna. "Cloud Kicker, you helped give my sister back to me after a thousand years. As important as family is to you, you can imagine how much that means to me." After I nodded solemnly, she continued, "And I suspect you will continue to do great deeds for Equestria in the future. So the least I can do is put an end to your awkward status within the Guard."

A scroll materialized out of thin air and floated into my hoof. I opened and read it. Then I read it again. Finally, I looked at the Princess, and read the scroll's header aloud, "'General discharge - Convenience of the Crown? Excused from military service due to the recipient performing alternative duties for the Crown?' Your Highness, what is this?"

Princess Celestia smiled reassuringly and explained, "Because of the bonds of friendship between you and the other Bearers, it would be cruel to put you in a position where you would either have to serve in the Guard, leaving the other Bearers behind, or potentially face a court-martial and possible imprisonment." The Princess didn't need to say it, but I knew what she also meant: that separating us like that would cause the Elements to no longer work.

"I know your father helped to protect you from punishment, but the story of you and your friends is going to spread, and spread quickly. And, there may be an unscrupulous news reporter or an officer that will want to make a story, or an example, out of you being a deserter for their own benefit. That being said, since you're serving Equestria in a far different role than in my Guard, I do not believe it is fair to hold you to that obligation anymore. So a general discharge seems the appropriate measure to resolve this problem."

I took a long moment to think about this, and finally said, "Thank you, Your Highness, but I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this. I had a lot of years where I wasn't serving and could, or should, have been. And I'd always thought that if things changed, or if I was needed badly enough, I could maybe accept my commission..." and trailed off there, unsure of how to continue.

The Princess stopped, and placed a hoof on my shoulder. "Please understand, my little pony, that I am not dismissing you for any shortcoming. And take heart, Cloud Kicker. Just because I cannot accept you as my Guard now does not mean that will always be the case. One can never predict the course life will take, after all."

Luna piped up with, "And if our sister wouldn't, we certainly would!"

I looked at the Princesses, and nodded. I could be content with that.

---

The party went on for a few hours, but eventually ponies had to get back to their jobs. Life marches on.

Rainbow insisted that since that I was one of the heroes of the day and I did almost as awesome of a job as she would have, I got the day off, and Blossom said she'd make sure the weather was handled.

The other Bearers didn't have Rainbow as a boss, though. Applejack had her farm, Fluttershy had her pets, Pinkie Pie had baking to do at Sugarcube Corner, and Rarity had dresses to sew at Carousel Boutique.

So I wandered town for a while, had lunch, window shopped at the growers market. It was weird, though. Everypony knew who I was before, and a lot of ponies had their opinions about me. But now I'm one of the big heroes that saved the day, literally, and a lot of ponies, including some that wouldn't give me the time of day before, were looking at me with some weird mix of admiration and respect. I wasn't sure that I liked it that much.

Funny, growing up, I'd dreamed of becoming a big hero Guardpony that saved Equestria. Now I had helped save Equestria, and lots of ponies were looking at me like I was some big kind of hero, and I didn't feel like one. If anyone was a hero, it was Twilight Sparkle. She's the one who knew what was happening, that brought us all together. I just did my part, nothing more.

Finally, my wandering brought me to the library, where a certain purple unicorn was levitating boxes off of a cart, and I smiled happily. Thankfully, Princess Celestia had allowed Twilight to stay in Ponyville and continue her studies here, learning about friendship and living in the library with Spike.

Twilight saw my approach and waved, setting down a box twice her size with a very solid *thunk*. "Cloud Kicker! What are you doing here? I'd thought you'd be busy working on the weather again, with Rainbow Dash still injured."

I shook my head. "Nope, Rainbow's still the boss, and she gave me the day off. Just been kind of wandering around town since everypony else is back at work."

Twilight nodded and said, "In that case, mind giving me a hoof here with these?" Her magic opened the box, and revealed the contents: Books. Lots and lots and lots of books. This box must've weighed as much as a pony or two does. And she was levitating this?

I whistled, then said "Wow, are these your books? Seems like a lot."

Twilight Sparkle giggled and said "Nope! Those are just some new books the Princess arranged for the library to help my studies. The boxes still on the cart are my personal collection!" I looked back at the cart and saw four more boxes, each twice the size as the first. I gave Twilight a flat look, and she laughed nervously, but then I couldn't help but start laughing after a moment, and we spent a good minute laughing together while passing ponies gave us an odd look. It felt good to just laugh for no reason.

I spent a good hour helping Twilight and Spike shelve the books in the library, flying up to the top shelves for her. I suppose that living in the library made her the librarian by default, but it was a job she seemed to be throwing herself into with gusto.

After we finished, my stomach rumbled loudly, and Spike whistled in admiration. "Wow, that was almost as loud as one of mine!"

I chuckled awkwardly, and said "Hey Twilight, what say we go grab lunch. As I'm sure you’ve heard, I'm hungry!"

Twilight nodded energetically and Spike chimed in, "Let's go to Sugarcube Corner! Pinkie Pie said she'd try to get an emerald from Rarity and bake it into a muffin for me!" Uh-oh. Hopefully Derpy didn't end up getting THAT muffin.

Twilight smiled at Spike and said, "Sure! It'll be my treat, Cloud Kicker, since you helped me with the restocking!"

I chuckled and replied, "Ooh, being taken out to lunch by a cute mare. My day's sure looking up!"

Twilight gave me that same odd look she's been giving me over the last day, and after a long moment, turned to Spike and said, "Spike, can you do me a favor and pick us up something?. I need to talk to Cloud Kicker for a bit."

Spike furrowed his brow for a moment, but nodded and waddled out the door with our orders, Twilight's magic shutting it behind him. Twilight then turned to me, and asked bluntly, "You keep saying that I'm cute and a bunch of weird stuff in that weird voice. Why?"

A long silent moment passed before I very slowly said with a warm smile, "Because, well, you're cute? And flirting is a good way to express the opinion that a mare is cute?"

Twilight's left eye started twitching. Huh. Don't usually get that reaction when I tell a mare she's cute, except from Blossom... oh. Ohhh.

I gently asked, "Twilight, you've been hit on by ponies before, right? Like, at Celestia's academy?" Twilight shook her head, and I sighed. Okay, time to shelve the irresistible charm for a bit.

I couldn't help myself, though: I grinned a little and said, "Well, when two ponies love each other very much-"

That snapped Twilight out of her shock, and she snapped, "I know about stallions and mares! But we just met, and you're telling me about how cute I am and all that?! It can't be that simple, and you couldn't possibly mean it!"

I nodded my head vigorously and emphatically, saying "Yes, it can be that simple, and I do mean it. I wouldn't ever lie about something like that. Not to you, or anypony else." Twilight's mouth worked silently for a couple moments, before she finally sat down, blushing a bit. I considered this for a moment, then sat down in front of her and said "Y'know, Sugarcube Corner can wait. I told you before that I'd tell you about me 'later'. Well, it's now 'later', if you want." Twilight hesitantly nodded.

So we talked, for a big part of the day, over tea. About her and me, our lives, our families, and some of our stories. Spike came back with lunch and was then given the rest of the day to keep exploring their new home, as she told me about hatching him, being the student of the Princess, and I told her about my clan, West Hoof, running away. About coming to Ponyville, and Rainbow Dash getting me in with the weather team. And finally, I explained a lot about how I loved banging. About my rules, and that it was, if done the right way, harmless fun and a great way to express love that you feel to a pony that you're close to. Twilight seemed to struggle with a lot of it, objected a bit to some of the more squishy specifics, but we talked it out, and in the end she seemed to accept it all. Which I suspect became a friendship lesson and letter to the Princess. Which come to think of it, it might be a bit weird to have a letter detailing your sex life sent to the Princess. For all parties involved.

Ultimately, I finished with, "So yes, it's really this simple: you're absolutely adorable, brilliant, incredibly brave, and already my friend. I'd love a chance to get to know you better than I already do, and see where it takes us. But only if that's okay with you too."

Twilight, blushing more than a little, shook her head and said, "Your definition of love is… well, a lot different than mine, Cloud Kicker. I'm honestly a little uncomfortable with that whole dating or sex thing personally, and I'd really rather not get involved with anypony, stallion or mare, because of some personal reasons that I really don't want to get into right now. I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings, but that's just how I feel."

I nodded and said, "I understand, Twilight, and that's completely okay. I won't hit on you if you're not comfortable with it, and I'll let my other friends in town know the same if they ask me about it."

Twilight blinked and said, "Wait, really? Just like that?"

I smiled. "Just like that. You're a wonderful mare that'll make some stallion or mare very happy someday, I'm sure, but if you're not ready for relationships and everything deeper that goes with that, that's your choice, and I'll always respect it. And if you ever need to talk about it, my door is always open to you, Twilight." I then sheepishly grinned as I continued, "You, uh, just may want to knock first and make sure I don't have company over already."

Twilight smiled and gave me a hug that I returned. "Thanks, Cloud. You're a good friend. Why don't we go to Sugarcube Corner for a treat?” When I nodded my agreement, she continued, “Go on ahead, I need to grab something real quick."

I smiled and nodded. As I headed in that direction, I realized that ever since I and the five other Bearers had left the library this morning, my life had become far different and far more complicated that it was yesterday. And with Twilight Sparkle in it, I got the feeling that things were going to be getting far more interesting around the little town of Ponyville. But with the six of us, I knew that everything was going to be just fine.

---

Twilight Sparkle watched that strange but loyal pegasus leave the library, and once the door closed, she let out the long breath that she was holding in, and slumped a bit on her hooves.

Looking back, Twilight realized that yes, stallions and even a few mares had been hitting on her at Celestia's school, and she'd just been too absorbed in her books and studies to really notice, until Cloud Kicker had started explaining herself.

Which was for the best, honestly. She didn't really have a lot of time to get involved with ponies romantically because of her position and her studies. But as she picked up a bag of bits, she couldn't help but remember what Cloud Kicker said about her, and blush a little again, thinking to herself "Cloud Kicker was really very nice to say those things. And to take my rejection without even batting an eye was really considerate of her."

And though she wouldn't admit it, her blush deepened a little as Twilight thought "And she's kind of cute too..."

THE END...?

Author's Note:

And that's a wrap! G'night everybody!... okay, not really. We're not done here yet.

Rainbow Dash, by virtue of the accident that got her out of the way for Cloud Kicker, couldn't be part of my story, but I knew before I started even writing, that I had to include her in the party at the end. Just because Cloud Kicker is the Element of Loyalty doesn't mean that Rainbow's getting Put On A Bus. Cloud Kicker can't just replace Rainbow Dash: Rainbow's still the manager of the weather team, she'll still be a big part of Ponyville's day-to-day life, and she's still the only pony able to pull off a Sonic Rainboom. She'll still be fillyfriends with Pinkie. She's just not one of the heroes that saved Equestria.

This entire story has been kind of a love letter to the Winningverse, and Cloud Kicker. There's lots of ways that events in the Winningverse get changed by virtue of CK becoming the Bearer of Loyalty, and a lot of those are positive. It isn't a magic "get-better" button though, I still imagine a lot of the events of Life and Times will still happen. But now CK will have renewed friendships with Fluttershy and new friendships with Rarity, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle, to help. (or make things worse with super-meek, terribly overdramatic, overhonest, and completely inexperienced advice)

The flashback references scenes from What's in a Name by Comma-Kazie, The Incredibly Grumpy Life of a Weather Pony by Ponibius, and of course, The Life and Times of a Winning Pony by Chengar Qordath. All excellent stories by excellent authors. If you haven't read them, I highly recommend them.

I want to be clear: I am *not* saying that Cloud Kicker and Twilight Sparkle are totally going to bang in this alternate universe. Maybe they will, sure. But it's not likely. The big reasons why were explored in the excellent Study of a Winning Pony by Ponibus. Seriously, go read that if you haven't.

But in the original Winningverse, I imagine that Twilight Sparkle and Cloud Kicker probably met under less friendship-inspiring circumstances, probably with Rainbow Dash warning Twilight about how Cloud Kicker is. But in the Incredibly Loyal Heart universe, Cloud and Twilight met with no pretenses, and Twilight's gotten to see Cloud Kicker "at her best", so to speak. She's not just "Rainbow Dash's weird friend that really likes to bang", she's an incredibly loyal and brave mare that's far more than just "likes to bang": She's Twilight's Friend.

Like I said: we're not done here yet. I've got something a little different in store for the last chapter, but you're not getting a spoiler for that.

Comments

[Honeytongue]

Can't believe I never read this til now. Wonderfully done. I sure hope you already have other stories from this universe for me to read.

[Ponibius]

can you do me a favor and pick us up something?.

You've got an extra period on this sentence. Otherwise not a bad read at all.

[kitsune119]

loud Kicker was really very nice to say those things. And to take my rejection without even batting an eye was really considerate of her."
And though she wouldn't admit it, her blush deepened a little as Twilight thought "And she's kind of cute too..."

Him and he's

[kitsune119]

i can picture shiny suddenly feeling murdurus and cracking a cup in his grip that he was just going to drink from and being totally confused