Rainbow jumped in place, pumping her fists and trying to get hyped as her company waited for Lightning Dust to arrive and give them their new orders. Word from the grapevine was that the Knights were going on a full-on assault on the Family’s headquarters, and Rainbow was chomping at the bit to learn her part and show what she was made of.

Granted, as much as Rainbow was trying to keep her head in the game, it was a real struggle to focus her thoughts without having them drift right back to thinking of Pinkie Pie. Rainbow didn’t get to talk to Pinkie as much as she wanted to, but the little bit she did get was like, captivating.

Pinkie was sweet, and funny, and cool! Rainbow couldn’t wait to talk to her again and she really hoped that she’d have another chance to work with her.

“Look alive, Dash!” Spitfire barked, Rainbow springing to attention. “The boss is here!”

“Yes ma’am! Sorry ma’am!” Rainbow said with a salute.

As the thirteen members of Rainbow’s company stood at attention, another company of Knights marched into their camp, bearing the shining armor of the Lightning Knights’ most illustrious members that made Rainbow and her crew’s armor look like scraps made from tin cans.

At the center of this company was one of the joint leaders of the Knights, Lightning Dust. She was a fury, a pony-shaped monster with the head of a wolf and wings of a bat, with electricity visibly coursing through her body underneath her semi-translucent skin, and with fangs that made the standard monster fangs look like dull spoons in comparison; she had a shimmering golden mane that was highlighted by her seafoam green coat.

Every movement she made resonated with a supreme confidence that Rainbow was at once supremely attracted to and bitterly envious of. As far as Rainbow was concerned, Lightning Dust was her ultimate rival, and she couldn’t wait for the chance to put her in her place.

Lightning Dust gave her big grand speech about taking on the Family and stuff, and while Rainbow was happy to learn that she was gonna be a part of something big, she found it hard to give Lightning her full attention, since all she really wanted to know was—

“And what about Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow asked once Lightning had concluded her speech.

“Funny you say that…” Lightning squinted at Rainbow and tapped her cheek for a sec, “…you.”

“I’m Rainbow Dash.”

“I don’t care,” Lightning whispered with a smug grin, Rainbow’s cheeks turning bright red as she tried to ignore the laughter of the other Knights. “I’m kidding, Rainbow Crash-” Lightning pinched and tweaked Rainbow’s cheek, Rainbow gritting her teeth through it since she couldn’t exactly balk at her treatment from a superior officer “-in all the times I’ve deployed Pink, we’ve never gotten results like yesterday’s battle.

“Usually that siren appearing on the battlefield is a death sentence,” Lightning ruffled Rainbow’s mane and she just had to grit her teeth through that too, but she at least gave Lightning a furious glare, “but somehow we managed to survive it last time. I’m interested in recreating those results, so Pink is gonna be with your company until further notice.”

“Thank you, ma’am!” Spitfire said with a respectful salute. “We’ll make the most of her abilities, and we won’t let you down, ma’am!”

“You’d better not,” Lightning scoffed, “considering the value of the boon I’m giving you.”

“Hell yes,” Rainbow said, pumping her fists.

“You a big fan of Pink, Rainbow Crash?” Lightning Dust scritched a clawed finger under Rainbow’s chin, drawing the tiniest bit of blood as she forced Rainbow to look up into her eyes.

“I-I just think her magic is a useful resource, ma’am,” Rainbow muttered, and it killed her to have to kiss Lightning’s ass like this, especially since she could see Gilda snickering out of the corner of her eye. “I’m looking forward to using that power again, that’s all.”

“That’s a good girl,” Lightning hummed and caressed Rainbow’s cheek with her thumb. She put her muzzle right up against Rainbow’s and sneered. “Cuz Pinkie Pie belongs to me, and if you even think of muscling in on my territory, they’re gonna find your headless body in a ditch and call it a suicide.”

Lightning punched Rainbow in the gut and she doubled over, and to Spitfire’s credit Rainbow saw her flinch and almost moved to help or make sure Rainbow was okay or something before Spitfire remembered her own position relative to Lightning Dust’s.

“Alright, you’re all dismissed,” Lightning Dust said and waved her hand. “Spitroast, you’re in command. Which means it’s your job to rein in bad girls like Raimbow over here.”

“Yes ma’am,” Spitfire said.

“What was that?” Lightning’s ear twitched.

“I said yes ma’am!” Spitfire saluted and doubled her intensity.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Lightning cackled, and she smacked Spitfire’s ass on her way out. Rainbow’s entire company breathed a sigh of relief once Lightning had disappeared.

“Hey Dash,” Gilda put her arm around Rainbow and buried her in a headlock, “how do Lightning’s boots taste?”

“Shut up,” Rainbow groaned and pushed Gilda away. “We both know she seriously could’ve killed me if she wanted to.”

“Lightning’s behavior aside,” Spitfire cleared her throat, “let’s focus on getting ready for our missions. Not a lot has changed, we’re just marching toward the Family’s headquarters, and we’ll crush every Family member we see.”

“And get the villagers in on our protection racket,” Gilda added.

“It’s not a ‘racket’,” Rainbow scoffed. “We’re protecting them from being brainwashed by the Family!”

“They’re just words, Dash,” Spitfire sighed, “don’t get so bent outta shape.”

Rainbow groaned in frustration and Gilda took that as an invitation to put Rainbow in another headlock.

“What’s the matter, dweeb?” Gilda said teasingly. “This is big! We’re gonna get our hands on that Pinkie girl and then we’re gonna cleave through the Family! This is our moment! FINALLY!”

“Yeah,” Rainbow sighed but then she thought about it for a sec and Gilda was totally right, and that got Rainbow kinda pumped up again. “Yeah! Yeah, okay, totally! This is our moment! We’re finally gonna beat the Family!”

“We’ll be top of the food chain!” Gilda grinned and clapped Rainbow’s hand.

“And once we’ve done that,” Rainbow said excitedly, “we’re not gonna stop at just the Family! There’s six other Circles just waiting for us to conquer ‘em!”

“Hell yes!” Gilda shouted.

“Hell no!” Spitfire barked, completely shattering the mood as both Rainbow and Gilda looked at her with disdain. “We’re not fighting just so we can go and conquer other Circles! We’re fighting the Family so the monsters on this Circle can live in peace!”

“Don’t be such a buzzkill,” Gilda said flatly.

“Yeah, Spitroast,” Rainbow cackled and Gilda laughed too as Spitfire’s face turned red. “Don’t be such a downer.”

“Look alive, you idiots,” Spitfire growled. “We have a battle to win, so let’s get ready to get a move on.”

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Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!