Loyalty. The word sticks in her mind. What is loyalty? Is it standing up to insurmountable odds alongside your friends? Standing up to bullies for yourself? Maybe it’s simply doing what is asked of you no matter the price. Perhaps it’s just being there for someone.
Rainbow Dash pondered this as she flew through the skies towards Ponyville. She was the bearer of the Element of Loyalty, one of the Elements of Harmony that she and her five friends represented. Her friends... that reminded her of why she was coming into town on her day off. Pinkie Pie was throwing a Back to Ponyville party after their return from the Crystal Empire, where they had helped defeat King Sombra.
Dash slowly circled Sugarcube Corner as she came in for a landing. She touched her hooves down, flapping her wings to rid them of any excess moisture and folding them to her sides. She flipped her rainbow mane and turned to check herself for any bent or dirty feathers. Her eyes moved over her cerulean blue wings and, seeing nothing, she walked up to the front door and entered the building
The sound of music washed over her as she stepped into the main area of the shop, which normally would be bustling with customers ready to eat something sugary. Today, however, it housed only five other ponies, three of whom were gathered around the sweets table. Suddenly her vision was filled with pink as she was pulled into an almost too tight hug by Ponyville’s premiere party pony, Pinkie Pie.
“DASHIE!! I’m so glad you made it! Not that you wouldn’t make it to one of my parties, of course. I mean, duh! Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty, not showing up when her best friend Pinkie Pie is throwing a party? That would never happen...” As her mind automatically started tuning out the other ponies voice, and her hooves began the all too familiar ritual of separating herself from the hug of the other mare, her thoughts turned inward. What Pinkie said was true, Rainbow would never leave her friends hanging, but a small voice inside her spoke up against the obligation to be at every party ever thrown by one of her friends. Of course she wanted to be with her friends whenever she could, but she wanted to make that decision, not have it made for her.
“Uh, I gotta go. I forgot something at home!” She did what she always did when this voice rose up. She ran out the front door and jumped into the air. After a few strong wing beats, she was soaring through the sky.
As the wind whistled through her ears, it drowned out everything but the immense feelings of joy flying always gave her. There was nothing in the world like flying through the sky, looking down and just knowing that you’re defying one of the greatest forces known to ponykind: gravity. She laughed in the face of this great enemy as it struggled to keep her on the ground. She felt so free, it was unreal even after the long hours she had spent doing such a joyous thing, flying.
She fell into a familiar pattern, looping and flipping through the air. As she came to the apex of her ascent, she snapped her wings shut, plunging downwards. The wind rushed past her as she sped up, dropping closer and closer to the harsh ground. About 25 feet above the ground, she angled herself and spread her wings wide, catching air and slowing her fall immensely. That was always her favorite part, the fall and eventual catch. When she felt she was calmed down enough, she touched back down and walked inside.
“H-hey guys, sorry about that.” She trotted over to the table and got herself some punch. As she sipped it slowly, she looked around the room. The others looked at her briefly, then turned back to continue on with their conversations.
Applejack walked over to her, “Howdy, Rainbow. So, what did you forget at home?” Her tone was conversational, but there was an undertone of worry for her friend.
“Huh? Oh, uh, I guess I didn't really forget anything at all. Just needed a quick flight, my wings were feeling a little stiff. Can’t let these babies go soft on me.” She stretched them out for emphasis and gave a quick flap.
Applejack nodded, “Right, yer wings. Anyways, I wanted to ask you something. Our southern field is a little dry this time of year, so do you think you could take some time out of your busy schedule to water them?”
Rainbow scratched the back of her head, “I guess so, but that would take away some clouds from the rest of the town.”
“Ah think my apples are a bit more important than some houses getting rained on, Dash.” Applejack said with a small smirk.
“Well, yeah, but we can’t just ignore the rest of the town for your fields, we’ve got to ensure the equal spread of weather across Equestria.”
“Alright, just making a small request. Figured it’d be no problem for Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty, to do a favor for a friend but if you think the town is more important.”
“No, it’s not that! I am loyal, but you’re making me choose between my loyalty to you as a friend, and my loyalty to my job.” She closed her eyes, her voice getting low, “You have no idea how hard it is to choose...”
She opened her eyes to the darkness of pre-dawn. Laying on her back, she stared up at her ceiling, thoughts racing through her mind. The dream had seemed so real, just like it always did. “It doesn’t make any sense, we always have enough clouds to go around. Applejack would never be that pushy, either.” She brushed away the dream the same way she did every time it reared its ugly head. “So why does it keep coming back? Why can’t I just sleep in peace?”
Shaking her head, she climbed out of the cloud bed. She’d never get back to sleep now, might as well get an early start on the day. By the time she had finished breakfast and ready to head outside the dream had already been forgotten.
As Rainbow Dash flew through the skies towards Ponyville, she sighed in relief. Her favorite thing in the whole wide world of Equestria was flying, and there was nothing like flying for yourself, for fun. Much better than flying around kicking clouds and making sure the clear skies scheduled for today actually happened.
She wasn't flying just for fun, however. There was a specific place she went every Wednesday: The Ponyville library. Her friend, Twilight Sparkle, lived there. Twilight was a lavender unicorn with a dark purple mane with a pink streak in it. She was the personal protégé to Princess Celestia, goddess of the sun.
The library came into view, a large tree at the crossroads near the middle of Ponyville. She decelerated, coming in for a mostly safe landing in front of the library’s front door. After a few moments of cool down stretching, she trotted up to the door and pushed it open.
The inside of the library was what you’d expect from a tree made into a building. The floors, ceiling, and walls were made out of wood. Well, technically the walls were mostly books, them being inset with bookshelves filled with, big surprise, books. The smell of tea filled Rainbow Dash’s nose, a familiar smell when Twilight was taking time out of her schedule for herself. Of course she filled this time with reading, books being her favorite thing in the world.
She found Twilight in her usual spot, upstairs in the more private part of the library. Normally the ponies who went to the library weren’t allowed upstairs, but Rainbow Dash was a special case. Twilight was lying on her stomach, legs tucked underneath her, on a dark blue pillow with gold trim. She had a book on the floor in front of her, and she was so intensely focused on it that she didn’t even notice Dash enter the room. Rainbow giggled at the sight, but left the unicorn in peace. She didn’t want to bother her in her peaceful time between appointments.
So she simply grabbed the familiar green book from its perch on top of a bookshelf by the wall. The cover showed a yellow pegasus with a monochrome mane jumping across a pit of spikes. In large letters the title said, “Daring Do and the Doomed Temple” not the most original title, but Dash wasn’t worried about that.
She opened it up to where she last left off, laying down on her back and holding it above her head. Twilight often asked her how she stayed like that for long periods of time, but Rainbow Dash merely shrugged and flexed her wings whenever it was brought up.
It was true, her wings were in the perfect position that they kept her spine from coming into contact with the hard ground. She put all her weight on her wings, relieving pressure from her back and keeping them tense. It was like an intense workout all by itself, and she barely had to do anything.
Her sigh of content as she began reading was enough to break Twilight’s concentration. Not for very long, but it was enough. Twilight looked up from her book, smiling as she saw Rainbow enjoying her book.
Twilight enjoyed books almost as much as Rainbow Dash enjoyed flying. They were her passion, her center. Any information she needed could be found between the front and back cover of a book. It warmed her heart immensely to see one of her friends showing a similar interest in them.
The two fell into the comfortable embrace of reading. A silence permeated the room, broken only by the rustling of pages and the slurping sound of tea being drunk.
A few hours passed before the silence had to be broken. Twilight looked lazily up at the clock, hoping that her suspicions about the time weren’t correct. They were, and time was drawing closer to her next appointment. She sighed and stood up, stretching her legs after the amount of time spent laying. The unpleasant sensation of pins and needles flowed through them, and she winced while she walked around the room.
Her horn lit up, and the pillow and book became outlined in a purple aura, moving into their respective places.
She sighed, “Alright, that’s all the time I had allotted to reading today. Feel free to stay, but please take care of your book when you’re done.”
Rainbow Dash looked up, “Do you really have to fill up every moment with something? It’s so much more fun to be spontaneous!”
Twilight rolled her eyes, “I bet it is, but it’s simply not how I operate.” It was true, if things didn’t go according to her plans, everything fell apart.
Rainbow returned to her book, “Whatever, do what you like. I’ll just stay here and be awesome.”
Twilight smiled at that, Dash loved to talk about herself. She walked out of the room and downstairs. Rainbow Dash continued reading for a few pages before, “Bored now!” She folded down the corner of a page and closed the book, not as gently as Twilight would have liked, but Twilight wasn’t there anymore.
As she moved over and put her book back on top of the shelf where she got it, her eyes passed over the cover of the book Twilight had been reading. She froze, staring wide eyed at it.
The word shot out at her, that word, the one from her dreams. It mocked her, forcing her to remember them all. Emotions washed over her, anger, sadness, a sense of loneliness even.
The book forgotten on the floor, she rocketed out of the room, leaving a rainbow streak leading out the window into the wide open skies.
As she frantically flew through the skies, her mind raced. Thoughts bounced around, filling her with a need to escape. She needed to fly faster than herself, fast enough that the thoughts slipped away. In the ocean of thoughts that threatened to drown her, one rang out much louder than the others. Faster it said, Faster and Faster and Faster.
Rainbow Dash’s mind was a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts, but her body was calm, sure of itself. Separate from what it was being told, it kept a steady speed. It turned and began a lazy dive towards the trees. It landed, leaving her in front of a rickety looking rope bridge across a canyon.
She pulled herself out of her mind and looked around, “What the hay? How did I end up here?” This was where it happened, where she made the choice that led to all this.
She carefully crossed the bridge, keeping her wings ready just in case it decided to break again. It didn’t, and she made it safely to the other side. In front of her loomed a stone castle, and behind that a tower that thrust into the sky.
Up a small flight of stairs and through a large archway, a small room greeted her. It was plain, boring really. The only notable things were a pedestal thrusting several feet into the air, holding up a stone stand that spread five arms in a star formation. A sixth stand jutted up from the middle, but there was nothing on any of them.
“Of course not! We took the stupid stones!” She shouted, heedless of anything that might hear her. Here in the center of the Everfree, any number of dangerous things could threaten her. She didn’t care, though, she would even welcome a fight. None was forthcoming, so she continued to the door on the opposite side from the archway.
A longer flight of stairs led her to the tower, the site of their battle with Nightmare Moon where she had been turned back into Princess Luna. Where it all went down, the Elements had chosen them to be Equestria’s weapon against disharmony. Where Loyalty had twisted itself into her, chaining her to its will. All because she had fixed that bridge for her friends, ignoring an offer from the ‘Captain’ of the Shadowbolts, a flight crew that Nightmare had tried to recruit her to.
“It was all a lie! It was so obvious, why would I accept it?!” She was shouting again, trying to vent her frustration. “I don’t deserve it! I don’t want it!” Her voice broke, and she lowered her head, “Why did it pick me?” She whispered.
“Because you are the most loyal pony among your friends.” A voice boomed out from the shadows on the far side of the room. Following the voice, a dark blue pony stepped into the light. She was slightly taller than Rainbow Dash herself, with a deep blue star speckled mane and tail. Her wings were folded at her sides, and a large blue horn pierced the air in front of her, originating from her forehead.
“Princess Luna!” Rainbow exclaimed, lowering into a bow of respect.
“Rise, Rainbow Dash, there is no need for formality here.” Luna looked down to Rainbow and smiled, “I do appreciate it, though.”
Rising to her hooves, Rainbow grinned sheepishly, “What brings you here, anyway, Princess?” Before Luna could begin she said, “Here, where we defeated Nightmare Moon and freed you from her.” She flapped her wings, rising into the air and flitting around the room, “Right here! We were here, and you were over there! W-”
“Be still, Rainbow Dash.” The princess’ voice was calm, there was no emotion in it, but it had an undercurrent of power. It stilled Rainbow’s frantic mind, worming its way in and calming her.
She hovered for a few moments, then landed in front of Luna. “Sorry, Princess Luna.”
“It’s quite alright, I understand. Now, on to your other question, I am here, at the site of your greatest victory, for the same reason you are, Rainbow Dash.” She looked around, taking in the surroundings, “Memories of the past rising up to haunt me.” She sighed and lowered herself until she was eye level with Rainbow. She adjusted her legs under her into a comfortable sitting position, “Now tell me, what is troubling you?”
“Well, it’s a little tough to explain. You see, I’m the Element of Loyalty, and that’s great. It’s just, I’m more than that! My friends, just about anyone really, expect that I act loyal to them all the time. But how am I supposed to be loyal to all of them, when their ideas conflict almost constantly? And then they refer to my Element like it just obligates to do what they say. I am loyal, but not just because I am the Element of Loyalty.” She looked at the princess, “See, and I just mangled that explanation.”
“I understood enough, little one. Now, what you’re saying is that the loyalty you exhibit isn’t from the Element you represent. The Element doesn’t initiate your loyalty, it is yours because of the loyalty you showed already.” She smiled when she saw Rainbow nodding in agreement, “You also are conflicted. You have many layers of loyalty to many different things, even among your group of friends. You are not just loyal to them as a group, but individually as well. Then, there is perhaps the most and least important layer, your loyalty to yourself. It is the easiest to cast aside in place of another, but also the loudest if you ignore it completely.”
“So then what am I supposed to do? If I have multiple layers of loyalty, some stronger than others, how am I supposed to pick between them?” She held up a hoof, “If Applejack wants me to help her in a barn raising,” She raised her other hoof, “And Rarity wants me to help model a dress,” Her wing stretched out as well, “But I covered someone else on weather duty earlier and I need to sleep,” She looked up at the princess, “How am I supposed to choose?”
“I know not, Rainbow Dash. The only one who could make that decision is you.” She smiled, “But I know that whatever you did choose, your friends would be alright with it.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. You don’t think of that at the moment, though. At least, I didn’t.” She paused, looking thoughtful, “Hey, Princess?”
“Yes, my little pony?” She turned her gaze upon Rainbow, looking her directly in the eye.
Rainbow lowered her head, not meeting the princess’ eyes, “Were you the Element of Loyalty, too?” She looked up, “It’s just, you know so much about it, and what I’m going through.”
“Rainbow Dash, I am most certainly the only pony in the whole of Equestria who knows exactly what you’re going through.” She looked up, noting the position of the sun, “You are correct, I was the Element of Loyalty more than a thousand years ago. Together, Celestia and I used them to defeat Discord.” She sighed, her eyes growing distant, “Right before she took them all for herself against Nightmare Moon, who had turned me against her.”
“Took them all?” Rainbow tilted her head, “But there are six Elements, and two of you.”
“Yes, my sister and I held three each, but she had taken all six.” Her voice was quieter than before, she just seemed to be responding with no conscious thought, “She held Laughter, Honesty, and Kindness while I owned Generosity, Magic, and Loyalty. After we defeated Discord, I felt elated. It was just Celetia and I, with this new and awesome power to use. We used them to start building the Equestria you know today.
“We started here, in the Everfree Forest, but back then it wasn’t known as such. We built this castle, a great monument to our Harmony together. Gathering ponies from around the world to here, we built them a great gleaming city, a testament to our power. Celestia took over raising and lowering the sun from the unicorn tribes, and I took the moon and night sky.
“I crafted such beautiful nights, the entire sky was my canvas. I created constellations, stars grouped into formations to make shapes. Ursa Minor and Ursa Minor, Scorpius. A completely new sky every single night, and nopony to share it with! I generously gave them myself, created a great many things.” Her eyebrows dropped drastically, a scowl forming, “They slept through every single one! Except a certain special few.” She relaxed herself, “Pegasi, those wondrous ponies. You push yourselves so hard, there’s barely time for you to sleep through my nights. I was exalted for my loyalty to Celestia, and they showed me double the amount, I felt, when they stayed up to see my skies.”
She sighed, “It wasn’t enough, it would never be enough. Back then, I felt that I was giving myself to them generously, I was fiercely loyal to my subjects, but they never showed me the same amount back. I grew to resent them, and that’s how the Nightmare got in. She had been there, a leftover from Discord most likely, twisting my thoughts. She turned me against Celestia, against my subjects. I gathered up those pegasi who had stayed up with me, and we assaulted this castle intent on creating eternal night, so that all would see my beautiful creations.” She looked down, tears falling freely, “Celestia stopped us, and took my Elements. I had turned them, using the power directly against what they had been intended. As she took them, my Loyalty to her broke in the most terrible way. I lashed out at her, and the Element lashed back.
“All the tainted power I had tried to force through my Elements expanded, forcing its way out to strike me down. Celestia used her own Elements to stop mine, shielding me and causing the power to seep into the woods we called our home, turning them into the Everfree. The excess power trapped me, and the Nightmare too, in the moon. It sapped all the Elements of their strength, making them inert until you and your friends saved me from myself. I thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”
Rainbow Dash took a second, realized the Princess was talking to her and said, “Of course, Princess Luna, it was the least we could do.”
Luna smiled, “Well, it’s getting late. I’m afraid I must be going. Sorry to have kept you with my silly old mare’s tale.”
Rainbow shook her head, “No, that was a lovely story. Thank you for telling it.”
Luna stood, gathering her power in her horn, “Farewell, Rainbow Dash. If you have need of me again, I will be there. Also, do not be hesitant to bring your problem to your friends, they are eager to help in any way they can.”
With a bright flash of light, Luna disappeared, and Rainbow Dash found herself back in her home.
Getting teleported from the Everfree to her home had taken a little out of her. The moon was full in the sky, and Rainbow estimated that it was late. She decided to go to bed and she would talk to her friends sometime the next day. Settling down and hoping the dreams wouldn’t come back, she closed her eyes. Sleep crept up, bringing her into its sweet embrace.
She woke late in the day, the sun was almost directly overhead.
The sun was beginning its slow descent towards the horizon, marking the time around six or seven. Pinkie Pie would have closed up shop, eating any leftover treats she could get her hooves on. Rarity would be in bed, she needed her ‘beauty sleep’ as she called it. Twilight would be in her meeting still. Applejack would be squeezing as much of the last bits of sunlight out of the day as possible, bucking apples and storing them.
That was it, Applejack was the second most dependable of ponies after all. Even while she was having a crisis of faith in herself as the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash was most definitely the most loyal pony there was. Dependable was just another word for loyal, after all.
Her decision made, the cerulean mare jumped off her porch, spreading her wings and orienting herself towards town. She fell into a leisurely pace, not too fast yet not too slow. She needed some time to sort out her thoughts. Besides, if she showed up this close to the end of the day they might make her do work. Her friend Applejack may be, but she wouldn’t willingly do any more work than was needed.
She flew into town, passing over the buildings and losing herself in the flight. It distracted her, making everything seem so distant, like they couldn’t touch her. Of course, nothing could touch her up here unless she wanted it to. As she touched down in front of Sweet Apple Acres, the all too distant thoughts suddenly crept up on her, coming much too close for comfort. With no small amount of anxiety, she walked among the familiar orchards, the uniform rows of trees surrounding her.
The sound of hooves striking wood reached her ears, causing them to turn towards the source. The rest of her body oriented that way as well, and she soon found the orange farmpony kicking trees. Her forehooves planted, rear hooves connected with the tree, causing a hoovefull of apples to fall into the carefully arranged baskets around the tree. Her faithful stetson hat remained planted on her head. She was in her element here, a perfect maneuver practiced many many times.
All it took was Rainbow Dash saying, “Hey, Applejack.” to break the routine. Applejack turned to look at the same time her back legs shot out, off balancing her. She missed the tree, and with only two hooves to steady herself she fell over, her back hooves striking a basket. It flipped, scattering apples all over her to uproarious laughter from her prismatic haired companion. “Gets you every time!”
“Gosh darnit, RD. Ah’ve told you not to sneak up on me like that!” Applejack planted her forehooves and pushed herself up. Getting her hooves beneath her, she fixed Rainbow Dash with an unamused stare. “Does everything have to be a joke with you?”
Still trying to rein in her laughter, Rainbow sputtered out, “It’s just.... pfft hahaha.” Composing herself, she began again, “It’s just so easy. You always fall over, and the apples cascade so perfectly. I can’t help it!” She fell over backwards, lost in another fit of giggles.
“‘Cascade’? You’ve been spending too much time with Twilight, sugarcube. She’s turning you into a regular egghead.” It was Applejack’s turn to laugh as Rainbow stood up, her face turning red in embarrassment and anger. “Does she bring out the blackboard, tryin’ to expand yer vocabulary?” She held up her hoof, moving it as she spoke, “And this is a verb, you use it as an action.” Her voice devolved into giggles.
“‘Use it as an action’? Applejack, I don’t think I’m the one who needs vocab lessons from Twilight.” She chuckled, “Reading my Daring Do novels has been expanding my vocabulary slightly.”
“Right, right. Anyway, why did you decide to interrupt my work?” She picked up a basket full of apples and started heading towards the barn. “Ah hope it’s something important.”
“Yeah... well you see.” Rainbow Dash pawed the ground, looking down and away.
