"Loyalty" Begins With an L

by shortskirtsandexplosions

iv

"I got the park covered with some leftover rainclouds to spare," Raindrops said from the four pegasi's perch on a tall hill overlooking Ponyville. "And so I thought I'd touch up the schoolyard since it was looking parched. I... uhm... had to wait for classes to end so that no foals got drenched. That's th-the excuse for why I'm late, Rainbow."

"And Thunderlane and I not only got the flower gardens," Blossomforth said, smiling. "But we had enough precipitation left over to cover Grey Whinny thicket to the north!"

"Grey Whinny thicket..." Rainbow Dash murmured aloud, gazing thoughtfully towards the lengths of Ponyville as the rain clouds dissipated on their own. "That's out by the lake house, isn't it?"

Blossomforth and Thunderlane jolted.

"Uhhh..."

"Lake house?"

"What lake house?"

"I don't—ahem—know what you're talking about."

"Hmmm..." Rainbow Dash flexed her wings and turned towards the three. "It doesn't matter. Good job, everypony. That's another perfect execution that the Weather Commission can thank us for." She raised a hoof. "Here's to the best weather team in all of Equestria! Put 'em there!"

Thunderlane breathed with relief and slapped Rainbow's hoof along with the other two. "Woo! Yeah!"

"We're rocking the skies and making rivers!" Blossomforth chuckled.

"Heheheh..." Raindrops winked. "I bet you were."

Blossomforth and Thunderlane blushed again.

"Well, that's all for today," Rainbow Dash grunted.

"What's with the book?" Thunderlane asked with a tilt of his head.

"Never you mind." Rainbow Dash stared fixedly at the group. "The Commission's got an even bigger quota for us tomorrow. We'll be covering the night watch. A cold front is moving through, but we need to make sure there's a bright dawn for the day after. So that means a lot of late-evening cloud kicking. You think you're all game?"

"Oh heck yeah!" Thunderlane flexed his wing muscles. "We're more than game! We're the whole dang season!"

"Wait until twenty-four hours from now to get into the zone," Rainbow Dash said. "We'll be meeting on the roof of town hall at six o'clock sharp. I don't want a single pony late! Get a message out early if any of you fall sick."

"We'll be there with bells on, Miss Dash," Raindrops said with a smile. "Hey! How'd you like to join us at the Cider Station in about an hour?"

"What?" Rainbow's face scrunched up. "You mean the bar on the edge of town?"

"Yeah! All the cool pegasi hang out there!" Blossomforth added. "Well, all the cool pegasi besides you, that is. Uhm... There'll be darts, singing, and all the cider you could ask for! Okay—maybe not Sweet Apple Acres cider—but a good substitute!"

"Blossomforth..." Rainbow Dash stared coolly her way. "There is no substitute."

"Eh... I-I suppose you're right," Blossomforth uttered with a nervous smile.

"Still!" Raindrops leaned in. "Would you like to come? You could bring your book!"

"Thank you, but..." Rainbow Dash shifted where she stood, gazing at the Carousel Boutique from afar. "I think I'll pass."

"Awwww..."

"I've... got things to do. So, you all have your fun," she murmured, then added with a glare, "But don't you dare get so sloshed that I'll have to pull your worthless wings out of bed!"

"Yes, sir!" Thunderlane said with a heavy salute. The other two ponies giggled.

Rainbow Dash said nothing.

"Well, let's go!" Blossomforth hovered up. "Race you there, Raindrops?"

"You're on!"

"Uh uh!" Thunderlane flew up. "Don't you girls even think of out-flying me! I swear, the Cider Station will feel as though a meteor hit them once I arrive!"

"Thunderlane, wait here one second," Rainbow Dash said in a cold tone.

"H-huh?"

"You two girls go on ahead," Rainbow Dash waved.

"But... But..." Thunderlane stammered.

"Uh ohhhhh..." Blossomforth waggled her eyebrows. "Somepony's gonna be making it rain upside down—"

"Shhh!" Raindrops leaned into her friend and hissed, "Knock it off." She smiled Rainbow's way and nodded. "Better hurry up once you're done, Thunderlane! The cider's not gonna sip itself!"

"See ya!" And the two were gone.

Thunderlane flew back down to the hilltop with a sigh. He heard the hooves of Rainbow Dash shuffling closer, and he gulped. "Uhm... Is there a problem, Rainb—er... I mean Miss Dash, sir?"

Rainbow Dash stood in front of him. "Why do you call me that?"

"Call you what?"

"'Sir.'"

"Huh?" Thunderlane did a double-take. "Are you serious?"

Rainbow Dash merely stared at him.

"Oh. Uhm... well..." He smiled nervously and shivered a bit. "It's because... Well. You see... I... er..."

"Do I intimidate you, Thunderlane?"

"Intimidate m-me...?"

"Do I freak you out?" Rainbow Dash nearly growled.

"Well, n-no! I mean, yes... I mean..." Thunderlane chuckled nervously, his ears drooping. "You're my boss, Rainbow Dash. You're the head weather flier here. If I do something to disappoint you, it could affect my score in the eyes of the Weather Commission."

"Yeah..." Rainbow Dash nodded towards the horizon. "I guess that makes sense..."

"Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?"

Rainbow Dash glared at him. "Why? Should I be?"

"I-I..." He flinched immediately upon the glint in her eyes. "See? That's just it. I don't know—"

"Am I an angry pony?" she asked, leaning forward. "Do I strike you as a pony who loses her cool a lot?"

"Well..."

"Is that why you call me 'sir?’"

"Jee, I never thought you'd ask me that." He shrugged. "It's not like I'm the only pony who calls you 'sir.'"

"Raindrops and Blossomforth don't call me that."

"Yeah, but other ponies do."

"Since when?"

"Since... since you became the boss of all the weather fliers, I guess!" He gulped. "I swear, we don't mean to be disrespectful or anything. It's just that you're so..."

"I'm what?"

"Well... Heh..." He smiled with a suddenly easy breath. "It's like this, I guess. Remember last Hearth's Warming when you played the role of Commander Hurricane? We all thought you filled the role so well."

"Who's 'we?’"

"Well, y'know... the whole weather team. We all watched you in the Play of the Founding Ponies, Rainbow. We were happy that such a cool pegasus from Ponyville was representing all of us. But then when you actually started speaking Commander Hurricane's lines, we were floored! It was like you were—I dunno—born for the role or something. You sounded on stage just like you do when you shout us commands while we cloud-kick around town. We all joked that you were a pegasus general reincarnated, and so we started calling you 'sir' just like Fluttershy did on stage. I guess we didn't think much of it. It was the best thing to say whenever you ordered us around."

"But Commander Hurricane was also a mare."

Thunderlane blinked, quite obviously puzzled. "What... does that have to do with anything?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head and ran a hoof over her face. "Nnngh... Nothing. Nothing, I guess. Sorry..."

"Is... Is everything okay, Miss Dash?"

"Yes!" She frowned at him. "Why wouldn't it be?!"

"S-sorry!" He flinched from her. "I didn't mean to make you angry!"

"I'm not angry!" She snarled. "I'm just... just..." Her face softened, and she waved him off with a hoof. "Forget it. I kept you from enjoying cider, and that's a flippin' crime. Take off and enjoy your time before we work tomorrow."

"Absolutely. Yes, sir—er—ma'am—er... Rainbow!" He saluted shakily and darted off in a streak.

Rainbow Dash stared lethargically after him. Once he was a distant speck above the rooftops of Ponyville, she slumped back on her haunches and gave the book in her hooves an equally bored look.

Comments

[Csquared08]

Dash is clearly bothered about something beyond that "sir" business...

[Mithrandir]

This is such a great story, I love it's dialogue focus, Rainbow's emotions come across so well, I can't wait to finish this!

[Ponky]

Particularly well written, even for you. This plays out perfectly in my mind's eye.

[Lurks-no-More]

And the mystery deepens. Clearly, it's not that Dash has romantic designs on Thunderlane - or at least not only that.