The Master Mev

by kazamacat

Chapter 55 - Another Offer

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Scootaloo glanced around to make sure everyone else really was gone. She climbed on top of the map table, just as Sweetie Belle had done three weeks ago. She walked closer to sit and face Rainbow Dash directly, again mimicking her unicorn friend.

The orange-coated pegasus filly took a deep breath. She declared to the mev, "Master Rainbow Dash, I'm sure this time. I want to become a servant of yours, even at the cost of the mev bond. I do have a special position in mind, but I'm too small and young. It's not something you really need either. It's more of an excuse and way to spend more time with you, like what we talked about the other day."

"Well, come on, out with it," Rainbow Dash encouraged her. "Entertain me with the idea nonetheless," she added with a sly smirk.

Smiling uneasily, Scootaloo exhaled and timidly glanced side to side. "A bodyguard?" she asked hesitantly. "During the day."

Rainbow Dash's magenta eyes thoughtfully darted up in contemplation. She tapped a sky blue hoof to her chin as she considered the presented idea. Eventually, she met her younger sister's eyes and smiled warmly. "That would be a cool position if you were an adult pegasus, I agree."

"But I'm not," Scootaloo said and looked up, as if waiting for some crushing, rejecting blow.

Instead, she got a possibility.

"True," Rainbow agreed, "but it's a fine idea. I could work with it a little bit."

The filly blinked. "You don't mean…?" Her heart skipped a beat as her thoughts lit up at the idea of Sweetie Belle's adult form.

"I can't turn you into one as pegasus, now can I?" Rainbow Dash reminded her with a confident smile. "Just like Sweetie Belle, it would have to be under very specific circumstances. I'm thinking probably while we're traveling...at least sometimes. There are going to be times you can't actually be guarding me too, when I have to meet with certain officials or friends. You'd have to wait outside the door and give us some privacy."

"But you could do it? That's within your rules?" Scootaloo asked, her voice full of hope.

"The right time and place, yes, it is," Rainbow informed her. "Most of the time, you'd still be a filly. You helped me out on Friday when Spike got his wings as a filly."

"Did I?" Scootaloo asked as if she did not quite believe it herself. She stared down at the table, almost ashamed. The experience was what gave her the idea in the first place.

"You listened when I told you to run. You guarded Spike with Twilight and Zecora. You were ready to come and help me out once he got his wings. You did all of that as you," Rainbow said. She tapped Scootaloo's chest gently with her left forehoof.

"But if I had been a grown pegasus who…" Scootaloo swallowed. "...could fly, I could have done more. Right?"

"Hmm," Rainbow said.

Scootaloo looked up with a blink

"Not necessarily," the master mev continued, drawing out the words in her reply.

"What?" Scootaloo asked in quiet shock.

"The roc wanted Spike," Rainbow Dash remind her. "We weren't just dodging it; we were baiting it too. The best place for you to be in service of what I needed, even if you were an older flying pegasus, and even if you had been a bodyguard then, was on the ground. Twilight did the same as an alicorn and my fledgling, remember?"

"Oh," Scootaloo realized quietly, and her posture deflated. Her voice spoke with a hint of disappointment that she would not be granted such power so easily.

"Chin up," Rainbow said, lifting Scootaloo's chin for her. "A flying ability can have a right time and place too."

The younger pony brightened at that, regaining her posture and a smile.

"You're still my client for the real thing," Rainbow Dash said. "And that means there are going to be limits on what you can know, where you can be, and when I…" The master mev paused, considering her words carefully. "...let's say 'loan' you a fake one. Not to mention I can't really teach you the really cool stuff live with both of us flying because I do have another way of doing that as a regular pegasus."

"You do?" a curios Scootaloo asked.

"Yup. The good news is that with Rarity's help, I do have a report that can teach you that stuff textbook style," Rainbow explained.

Scootaloo's wings fluttered at that, and she grinned widely. "Can I read it before Nightmare Night? Please? Maybe you could at least show me even if I can't do it yet."

"Sure," Rainbow agreed. She moved onto another matter. "But back to this bond we're talking about. You won't get as much privileged information as Sweetie Belle either. I can't tell everyone everything. If you're still thinking of approaching this like Blitz does, I don't actually tell her much. She just does her job and enjoys the perks." With a playful air, she added, "I'm not doing anything super evil, I promise."

"I can do that," Scootaloo said with an encouraged smile.

"You're still staying at your house with your aunts while your parents are gone?" Rainbow asked her.

"Unless you need some kind of bodyguard at your house," Scootaloo admitted. "You're the master, so you know..."

"No, I've made the proper arrangements to protect my domain," Rainbow Dash admitted.

"Do I need a title?" Scootaloo asked.

"Do you have one picked out?" Rainbow asked back.

The younger pegasus shook her head. "I know it's not a mev title, but I think of my title with you as Little Sister or Little Sis. I like that as it is."

"Well then," Rainbow said with warmth in her voice and magenta eyes, "I don't really think it's necessary in this case."

Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief with a smile too. She met Rainbow's eyes with a more serious expression. "So, how do we exchange magic to make this bond?"

"Come to my place tomorrow after school," Rainbow Dash instructed her. "Bring Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom can tag along if she'd like, but she doesn't have to be there. It is going to take longer without a unicorn horn, but I know we can do it. Oh, and if you have any physical object that links to our current sister bond, bring that too."

Taking in all the instructions thoughtfully, Scootaloo nodded. "Okay, Master," she agreed contentedly. "I'll see you then."

The two pegasi hugged, and Scootaloo left.

---

Rainbow Dash made her way to the library to see Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, and Spike.

"What did Scootaloo want?" Twilight asked.

"To be my servant as a bodyguard so that we can spend more time together," Rainbow Dash told them all plainly.

"Wow, another one?" Spike asked. He hovered nearby in the air.

With a follow-up question on her mind, Twilight asked, "Did you accept and bond?"

"I have accepted, but the actual mev bond hasn't formed yet. It's going to need some extra care and time without a unicorn horn," Rainbow Dash informed her. "We'll take care of it tomorrow at my place."

"Just giving her a unicorn horn to do it is against the rules?" Spike asked.

"It's certainly not a good practice when I have a pretty good idea of what to do without it," Rainbow Dash told him. "Pegasi got pegasi magic, you know."

He smiled pleasantly in response.

"Do you think this kind of thing spreads?" Starlight wondered. "You're a master, and you just sort of collect servants connected to your servants as time goes on?"

"And one day I shall take over all of Equestria," Rainbow Dash boomed facetiously, followed by a diabolical cackling laugh.

The two fledglings laughed as well, and Spike looked at them curiously before shrugging. "I guess I could mention that I don't have a mev bond with you, Rainbow Dash, and I'm around all of you more than any outsider at all."

"Then you shall be the one to stop me," Rainbow Dash replied with a jovial air in her voice and a friendly wink.

Spike giggled, now just as amused as the fledglings.

Starlight cleared her throat to catch Rainbow's attention.

"Back to the question," the master mev said, understanding her Primeva's point quite well. "I don't know. My gut's helping me out on what to do next after an offer, but the very first offer was not something I sensed coming at all.

"Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle didn't really hide that Scootaloo was interested, so that wasn't as surprising. Anyone else? You got me. I joked around with the students the other day about the idea, but I don't really think any of them are considering it. Or would."

"The students?" Twilight asked. Her voice teetered with a hint of worry.

"Yeah. Ocellus, Gallus, and Silverstream stopped by while I was exercising in the gym the other night. We chatted. Not for long. I sent them on their way to get the sleep they needed," Rainbow explained.

"Is there a particular reason you did that?" Twilight slowly prodded her.

"Well, Ocellus wanted to talk to me about mev stuff, trying to ask me before the field trip, but it's kind of hard to work in the time to do that during the day with the four jobs. I mentioned I sometimes stop by at night for the exercise and said I could talk to her then. I learned some cool things I'll tell you more about at the pack meeting," she offered with a playful grin.

"Hmm," Twilight noted.

"Have any of them slept in your classes?" Rainbow asked. "I did say we couldn't chat like that again if they did. Let me know if I messed them up, and I'll stop."

"Now that you mention it, the opposite seems to have happened," Twilight remarked. "Gallus has been more attentive, and Ocellus has been more open about asking questions during class on both Thursday and Friday. Silverstream is...well...she was already both those things."

"That I like to hear," Rainbow Dash said, now smiling proudly. "All is well between Headmare Twilight and Professor Dash then?"

Twilight nodded with a soft smile and silent amusement at the educator titles in use.

"Great," Rainbow said, "Let's change the subject. Did Starlight already tell you two about the idol of Boreas?"

Twilight and Spike nodded before Twilight said, "What do you think of what you found? Is it going to do what we hope?"

"Too soon to say. It seems complicated. Hold onto it until the pack meeting. Hopefully the seven of us and maybe some help from our three privileged outsiders can find an answer. Assuming Discord still plans on coming," Rainbow noted.

"Say, I hope you don't mind my asking," Spike began, scratching the back of his head as he hovered by Twilight, "is there a particular reason you always let Discord stay? I get why Sweetie Belle and I are around as assistant and Rhezenda, but he's not anything like an assistant to Fluttershy. He just kind of hangs around and gets a say in the discussion even though he's not in your pack. He could just teach you magic after a meeting is over."

Rainbow answered the young dragon seriously. "I respect the Lord of Chaos a great deal. Even though the students from the other kingdoms were actually the first creatures to call me 'Master,' they did that in a state of fear and with Blitz helping them out to deal with me.

"With Discord, it's different. He was the first one to knowingly call me by my title to respect me. That book's not kidding around. That word matters to me. On top of that, he played a big role in helping me form the pack, and he willingly gave me chaos magic to teach me about it.

"I didn't even ask. With someone who has given me so much, I am hugely grateful. Letting him stick around in pack meetings is my way of saying 'thanks' and that I respect him too."

"Oh," Spike blinked as he thought about it. "Cool."

The rest of Sunday passed with Rainbow Dash staying to spend time with her three friends and eventually just Twilight for the flexchange. She took on the alicorn form again for her Rexa. Afterward, the two ponies went to the library for their night reading. Starlight even joined them for a short while before she herself went to sleep. The two active mevs enjoyed the rest of their night together before parting ways, as had become customary for Sunday nights and early Monday mornings.

Author's Note:

Discord (small channel for story project updates, may include mild spoilers about chapter images)

Comments

[superfun]

heh, nice.

Wonder if Bloom's going to join them as well eventually.

[kazamacat]

10631740
Thanks. I was hoping you'd like this development.

I won't spoil the answer to that either.

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great chapter!

If Scootaloo wanted a name, what would it be?

[kazamacat]

10631819
Thanks!

To be honest, I don't know, but if I did, I would aim for a similar pattern as what I did with Sweetie Belle (still end with an "a", something related to the bodyguard role, something related to Scootaloo herself). I ultimately couldn't think of one but didn't mind that since, in my opinion, it makes the Rhezenda title for Sweetie Belle all the more special.

[Prismfire Productions]

10631884
Soror mea is Latin for "My Sister", and Satellium is Latin for "member of body guard"