Under Loyalty's Flag

by Gapeagle

Chapter 18: Relationships

Rainbow looked down at the floor of the Pit. The iron bars that surrounded her did not bother her, as she knew she deserved to be behind them. Her right ankle was chained to one of the bars, restricting her little freedom even more. A thick cord tied her wrists together behind her back. The pirates all knew what had happened to her, and not a soul was taking a chance. She was the top threat to everyone present on the ship.

A cold sweat was on her. She had never realized how stifling the Pit could be. However, she was not complaining. She thought she deserved to be there. She could admit she was not feeling herself these days. Her eyes cast down on her chest. She could feel the Element pulsing like it was a heart. Loyalty had not spoken with her much after her failed attempt at killing Caramel. She could only guess it was disappointed in her.

"I am not disappointed," Loyalty spoke.

"I didn't say anything," Rainbow grumbled.

"But you thought it."

"Whatever..."

Familiar steps came down the hall to her. She knew who it was by the sound alone. Only one person on the ship walked like that. Not to her surprise, Caramel rounded the corner and silently approached the cell. She did not feel like greeting him, so she remained silently and simply looked at him expectantly.

"Never in my mind did I think they'd pull off this shite," he uttered.

"Neither did I," Rainbow shrugged casually.

"I'm terribly sorry lass, how have ya wounds been?"

"Their gettin' better. I've had worse, remember? Nothing Zecora's medicines can't fix."

"Jus' for ya to know, we're back in the Labyrinth Isles."

"Already?"

"It's been a week n' half, lass," he said quietly.

"Woah...I've been down here that long?"

"I'm afraid so. Never been in the Pit meself, so I can't understand what ya feeling. Ya so used to work that when ya simply lay about, it seems like time doesn't move a pint."

"It's been a whole week and only now ya see me?" Rainbow crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry, but I've simply not been meself as of late. Zecora's mostly been the one steering these days. I'm not one to be troubles, ya know that, but them making ya a Bearer is troubling to me. Some of me thinks it's best to kill ya. You are either a Bearer or ya dead. There's no gettin' ya real heart back. Bloody kill ya and let Loyalty sink to the bottom of the ocean. I've never killed a crew member that was still Loyal to me. Never have, lass."

"I don't mind it, Cap'n," Rainbow smiled encouragingly. "I rather be dead than try and kill you."

"I know, and that's why I can't get myself to do it. Ya my best pal, ever since I saw ya. Every time I see ya, I think of me younger days when I was simply an ambitious lad. Ya took to sea quicker than any bloat I've ever laid eyes upon. Ya a determined sod that simply doesn't quit. Ya everything that I want to see in a captain. I'd commit murder if I ended ya."

"Then where to now?" Rainbow asked the question with little enthusiasm.

"To Tartarus if I knew, lass." He sat down and crossed his legs right in front of the cell. "One thing's for sure, I'm not gonna bloody keep ya locked up in this cell. An Assassin belongs in here. A Templar belongs in here. A traitor belongs in here. Ya ain't any of those. Now I speak to Loyalty here. I ain't gonna stay runnin' from ya. If ya want to kill me, ya try ya finest!"

In a burst of anger, he stood up and unlocked the cell with a key he was holding. With a furious swing of his large arm, he opened the cell door and stood in its doorway. Rainbow was taken aback by this, but remained sitting on the cold floor.

"Get up!" he snarled.

Rainbow obeyed the captain. Caramel bent down and unlocked her shackles. Once he was done, he took her by the shoulder and forced her out of the cell and into the hall. His breath was close to hers as he kept himself terribly near her face.

"Do you feel like killing me? Huh?" he shouted into her face.

"No! No I don't!" Rainbow croaked.

"What does Loyalty say? What does he tell you?" Caramel held her firm.

"He hasn't said anything."

He continued to growl. "Is he a coward? Tell him to come out and speak! I know he hears me!"

Rainbow's body began to tense up. It was apparent he had angered the Element. Loyalty pulsed loudly within her chest and her face muscles began to twitch uncontrollably. Caramel held her by both shoulders and tried to keep her still.

"Fight it! Fight the Element. There's only one bloody gal on this planet that has the will to beat an Element. That's you, Rainbow! That's you!"

"You doubt me?" The Element half-uttered through Rainbow's lips. A sly, masculine voice.

"Come on, Rainbow! There's a way to fight this! You are the master!" Caramel shouted.

"You liar!" Loyalty growled. His words were barely uttered as Rainbow fought for control. "You hold her back from greatness. There is no master here, only a Bearer and her Element. We fight....We fight for Harmony! Something you pirates lack."

"Rainbow! Think of Berry! Think of me and Neon! You have no friends with the Assassins. They are only using you."

A massive and painful headache made Rainbow cry out in agony. The Element had stopped trying to control her and her body went limp. Caramel's large hands kept her upright, but she was far too dizzy to stand on her own. Seeing that they had won, Caramel started to snicker with pride.

"That's my gal! Listen, we are gonna turn this damn plot against those shites! You are a Bearer, but not a Bearer Loyal to the Assassins. There's no way to return ya back the way ya were, but ya better make sure we'll use this the best way we can. Bearers have powers, you have powers!"

"Not really," Rainbow sighed. "I've only done some eye things and that's it. I don't think I can have the powers unless I let Loyalty have control. Caramel, he'll win eventually. I...I feel like I just fought for eight days straight..."

"Don't talk like that, lass. Don't ever talk like that..."

---

The crew members stared at her with worried eyes as she stood on the main deck among them. Some had their hands on the pommels of their swords, others just were slowly moving away. They all distrusted her, they all were clearly afraid of her. She tried smiling at them, but it did not seem to work.

"What's it like?" a crew member ventured.

"How's it feel?" another gulped.

"Do ya wan' to kill us?"

Rainbow placed a hand on her hip. "Guys, it does feel a bit different, but I guess not as much as ya would think. I ain't gonna kill any of ya, alright? Jus' treat me like ya always did."

Neon took a step forward. "Sorry, Rainbow, but that's going to be hard to do. I mean, you're one of them now."

Rainbow grew red in the face. "I am not one of them! They think they can control me, but they can't!"

"She's bloody right," Caramel muttered. "What we've got here is someone meant to frighten us. Ya see, they want us to break apart. They's trying to ruin our relationships. We won't let that damn thing happen. Miss Dash is gonna be treated like she's the same gal before all this."

A general mumble grew among the crew members. They were obviously unconvinced by Caramel's decision. This obviously upset the captain. His frown grew deep and slammed his fist into the main mast, making everyone jump back at least three feet.

"You'll trust her and do everything I say!" he roared. "If you don't, by Tartarus, I'll crack ya skull with me bare knuckles!"

"Aye, Cap'n!" they yelped in response.

"Good, now carry on, lads," he grumbled.

The crew nodded their heads and acted busy. Rainbow was about to thank the captain, but saw that he had turned and walked away from her. With her eyes now drawn to the deck, she sighed and headed back to where she came. She returned to the Pit, almost out of mindless habit, and then realized that the cell was not her home. Some of her wished to return and shut the door just for the safety of her friends, but she knew that would be an overreaction. No, it was better to go to her hammock and settle there. At least there she would be able to think and not worry so much about the metal bars.

"Could this day get worse?" she wondered.

Even after an hour or so, she did not have the stomach to go back up the stairs. She remained sulking on her hammock, wishing she was more intelligent, careful, wise, and many other things that would have prevented her from being drawn into the woods by that conniving Assassin. Even though she wished and dreamed that she could be different, nothing changed and her heart was still left in some muddy swamp, timidly rotting away without her.

She peered down at her chest. The Element was still there, glowing softly between her breasts. He had been quiet ever since Caramel told her to fight, but Rainbow did not think he gave up, but was simply being an observer. Perhaps he was laughing at her? Perhaps he genuinely cared for her being? She did not know. Some of her simply did not want to know.

"Rainbow?" a familiar voice interrupted her deep thinking.

The young pirate looked lazily at Berry Punch, who had the same lazy look, but with sincere concern in her droopy eyes. It was rare for Berry to hold such an expression, as it usually was gone with two more drinks, but it was clear she was sober, and worried about her dear friend.

"I think I'm fine, Berry," Rainbow told her quietly.

"I don't think you are," she replied. "I may not be the brightest gal out there, but I know missing a heart is...important. It's bad too."

Rainbow could not help but chuckle. "Heh, well, yeah. I'm not gonna kill you..."

"I know that," Berry cut her off. "I'm not worried about myself, I'm worried about ya. I...I don't want it to simply ditch you. Some of the crew think you're a temporary Bearer, like, once your job or whatever is done, it'll jump right out, leaving you to die. I don't want my only real friend to die."

"I...I don't know how to respond," Rainbow choked up. "That could be the case. To be honest, one of the Assassins said that."

Berry was deeply saddened by this. She hung her head low and looked only at the dark floorboards. Seeing her pitiful reaction, Rainbow regretted her words. She could no longer look at her friend and sat up in her hammock, joining in Berry at staring towards the floor.

"Berry, I uh..." Rainbow tried to encourage her. "I'm sorry all this happened. I'm sorry that I dragged you on this ship and brought both of us into this crazy war. I was jus' looking for some gold, some money to change our fortune. The last thing I expected...heh, was a big crystal in my chest," she said as she began to smile. "I never predicted I would become heartless."

Rainbow started to chuckle at it all. She could not help but see the ridiculousness of the situation. Berry too, saw the humor in her joke and gave the little grunt of laughter that was normal of her. Rainbow stood up from her hammock, gaining only a couple of inches in height, and spread her arms out to her friend.

"C'mon, Berry, give ya girl a hug!" she said.

Berry said nothing and accepted the offer. When they embraced, Loyalty hummed a melodic tune. They did their best to ignore his song and continued to hug tightly. Berry, being so much bigger than her friend, had to bend over for their heads to be equal. It had been a long time since they had hugged so dearly and now they wondered why they waited so long.

"Ya know, Dash," Berry said, "maybe this'll be good for you. Maybe you'll finally get a man. Like, men fall for a girl with such a chest?"

"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Only you'd say that. So ya wanna go drink some of the cider? I doubt anyone is going to get in my way today."

"Naw," Berry shook her head. "I'm done with that for now."

"Really?" Rainbow pulled her out to arms' length to look at her face. "What happened?"

She shrugged, which made Rainbow frown.

"C'mon, we've got plenty of drink and good reason to drink it! I mean, Berry, it'll be like old times."

Berry simply shook her head. "Well, back then, I thought I could jus' drink everything away. Today, I've got nothing to drink for. Dash, I think I'm content. I don't know this feeling well, but I like it. Makes me jus' wanna watch the waves or something. I'm jus' glad that you're still you, and if I have that, then I got nothing to worry about. Dash, I really thought you were crazy when ya made me get on this ship, but I don't regret following you. I don't regret any of this. Neither should you. We're on a damn pirate ship, with actual pirates and a great captain. We're on an adventure going up against people we've never heard about. Ya know, a hidden war. Man, Dash, can you believe that? I never heard something like this since when my grandma told me those old tales. We're living a legend! And we should not be sad about it. If this is to our death, then let's go! I rather die out here then....then drink my whole life away. We don't need to drink, not today. Let's just be content."

Rainbow was quite shocked by her friend. Berry had never uttered so much with such meaning. Her mouth hung slightly opened and her eyes began to form tears. It was beautiful, she thought. They embraced once more, but now without jokes or humor, just a feeling of well-being. A feeling of being utterly content.

Without a single word, they held each other for some time. No one interrupted them, not the crew, the captain, or even the ever-watching Element. After a while, they headed above deck and as Berry wished, they stood by the stern of the ship, watching the wake that the Ragnarok created. No one cared to notice how long they did this. With peace in their souls, a day that was supposed to be terrible, became great. And for that day, it almost seemed everything was all right.

~

Comments

[badninja]

Great to see this story back! I do wonder just how long it will take for Loyalty to get the picture that Rainbow Dash is going to be that headstrong? So now we know how Rainbow Dash was able to fight he Elements control.

[Gapeagle]

8314946
Yeah, I'm sure it'll take some time. But I think Loyalty just accepted it gladly towards the end.

[Iron Comet]

8314300
Wait? I lament a cancelled story and it gets updated? I must use this power only for evil!

[Gapeagle]

8314989
Actually, all ya did was reminded me that I had a chapter almost done. And ya caught me in a writing mood.

[Iron Comet]

And a great chapter too!

[Gapeagle]

8315173
Thanks!

[TheNootofToot]

great story. since it was updated over a year ago, i dont hold too much hope that it will be updated again. but there is still some measure of hope. this is one of the best ive read on here

[Yubella]

Just like in cannon the whole name is a fraud.