Login

Heart of Loyalty

by PonyAmorous

Chapter 6: Chapter 5

Previous Chapter Next Chapter
Chapter 5

A slight itching. Rainbow Dash could feel a slight itching sensation along the underside of her coat. That was strange. Clouds weren't supposed to itch. She gave a quick sniff. Instead of crisp air and water vapor, or the scent of apple trees, her nostrils filled with the smell of grass and wildflowers. She stretched out a wing and felt around. Yep. She was definitely on the ground. She flexed and stretched her limbs, searching for any injuries as she slowly began to open her eyes.

She didn't nap on the ground. If she was waking up there, she had probably had a rather nasty crash while practicing a particularly reckless stunt and knocked herself out. She didn't feel any pain though, and once her eyes had finally regained focus, a quick visual inspection confirmed that she had no injuries. She turned her attention to her surroundings.

She appeared to be in the Everfree Forest.

...what?

After a moment of stunned confusion, Rainbow Dash immediately got to work recalling what she had done that morning. She had woken up to somepony pounding on her door. There were guards, a trip to the castle. Then Twilight falling. Shouting, flying, adrenaline. She had kicked a guard in the face! She had been about to fight half a dozen guards and buy Twilight time to escape when she had...fallen asleep? She wondered if another guard had somehow snuck up behind her and knocked her out, but she didn't feel any evidence of a knock on the head, or a choke hold or anything. It was as if she had just magically-

Twilight!

For some unknown reason, her marefriend had hit her in the back with a sleeping spell.

Why the heck would she do that? Even if she were crazy enough to want to stay and fight, why knock me out and turn a 6 against 2 fight into 6 against 1? Did she think I was a liability? Some defenseless filly who can't hold her own in a fight? What gives?

Confusion, embarrassment, and indignant anger bubbled up inside of her as she prepared some harsh words and questions for her marefriend, but quickly cooled to concern as she looked around to find that Twilight was nowhere in sight. There was nopony around at all. She was completely alone...in the middle of the Everfree forest. She didn't know who had won the fight while she was asleep, but clearly the situation had gone sideways.

One thing was certain though. She wasn't going to get any answers lying down in the grass. Springing to her hooves, she did a quick check on her primaries and wasted no time shooting up through the forest canopy. Once back in the open sky, she breathed a sigh of relief and began looking around for any clue as to where she was. To the northwest, she could just make out the outline of Ponyville on the horizon.

Okay, so I have some idea where I am now, but where's Twilight?

Twilight had said something about meeting up where they had their one month anniversary date. Rainbow Dash didn't know if the original plan was still on, whether Twilight had been captured or worse, but unless she wanted to try wandering aimlessly in the forest, she didn't see any better options. Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly sure which spot Twilight had been referring to. Their date had taken them all over town and beyond. She would just have to check them all. But where to start? The spa, the park, Sugarcube Corner?

Dash's stomach gave an irritated rumble, bringing her attention back to the fact that she had not had anything to eat all day aside from a carrot early that morning. Sugarcube Corner was quickly rising up the ranks as the ideal starting point. Even if it wasn't the right location, she could at least start gathering their friends. Whatever craziness was going on in Canterlot, they were probably going to need the Elements by the end of it. In all likelihood, Twilight had probably already gathered them together, but if not, they could help her search.

Making a straight line for Ponyville, trees zipping by beneath her, Rainbow Dash did her best to keep her thoughts composed. Though normally cool and aloof in most situations, the combination of low blood sugar, worry over Twilight's safety, and being completely and utterly out of the loop as to what in Tartarus was going on, had left her more than a bit off balance. At least she was well rested from her involuntary nap.

Soon the unmistakable outline of the bakery came into view, the frosted gingerbread house decor already making her mouth water. Quickly dropping down at the entrance, she pushed open the door and stepped inside. Her nose was immediately assaulted by the scent of baked goods. Pinkie Pie stood behind the counter, decorating a freshly baked cake.

"Hi Dashie!" Pinkie bounced excitedly, waving one hoof while the other continued to lay down an intricate pattern of icing.

"Hey Pinkie. I need your help. First, get me something to eat. I'm starving."

"Okie dokie!" Pinkie replied, as she produced a large banana cream pie from behind the counter.

"Thanks. Second, have you seen Twilight?"

"Nope. Haven't seen her all day. She must be really popular today though, your friends there came around asking about her earlier."

"Friends?" Rainbow Dash followed Pinkie's gaze, glancing over her shoulder to see two royal guards who had just entered the building behind her. Something told her they weren't there for a cupcake. She quickly turned back to Pinkie. With the back door and upper exits almost certainly covered, the only way she was getting out was through those two. She looked up at Pinkie and pointed at the pie in front of her. "Better make that two actually". Pinkie shrugged and pulled out a second, identical pie, placing it next to the first.

"Thanks. And sorry about the mess."

Before Pinkie could ask what she meant by that, Rainbow Dash spun in a blur of motion, scooping up a pie in each hoof, and hurling them directly into the faces of the two guards. Wasting no time, she launched off her back hooves, taking flight and bowling over the two stallions while they were temporarily off balance. As soon as she was through the doors, she made a hard right turn to narrowly avoid the two that were waiting just outside. From the corner of her eye, she could see guards peeling off the sides of the bakery to give chase.

Soon she was leading an entire squadron in a high speed chase through the streets of Ponyville. Though she had speed, agility, and intimate knowledge of the terrain on her side, every time she ducked around a corner to disappear, there were always more guards coming in from that direction. It was as if they all shared a telepathic link, every guard knowing where she was and moving to cut her off.

This is getting ridiculous! Did they send a whole freaking platoon to Ponyville?

Of equal annoyance, was the fact that the streets seemed to be filled with an implausible number of elderly ponies and foal carriages. Such obstacles had cut her off of her preferred path more than once (often only managing to change direction in time thanks to a clothes line with surprisingly high elasticity), and forced her on a brief detour through Chez Clee's Wooden Crate and Plate Glass Emporium. She briefly considered that the worst might be over, until she looked ahead to see that she was heading straight for the Ponyville Farmers Market.

***

"Thank you ma'am." Applejack nodded as she accepted the hooful of bits and pushed a bushel of apples forward to the tan mare. As soon as her customer had left, she turned and smiled at her brother. "Twenty customers in the last fifteen minutes. Can you believe that Big Macintosh?"

"Nope."

"If business keeps up like this, we'll be able to get Granny a new hip and Applebloom parasailing lessons, with enough left over to build a second barn, burn it down, and build it again!"

"Eyup."

The market was suddenly filled with a cacophony of crashes and the cries of ponies startled by several stalls seemingly exploding without warning, launching plumes of projectile produce high into the air. Applejack's ears had barely registered the forlorn cry of "My cabbages!" from within the chaos, when her own cart was smashed to pieces by the sudden impact of Rainbow Dash.

"Wha- RAINBOW?! What the heck are you do-" Rainbow Dash shook her head clear and jumped to her hooves, cutting Applejack off.

"SorryAJnotimegottagobye!" Dash blurted out before launching back up into the air.

"Oh no you don't!" Applejack shouted back as a lasso snaked out and caught the pegasus by a hind leg. Applejack planted her hooves firmly on the ground, bracing against the cobblestone as she pulled with all her strength.

Unfortunately, Dash had already acquired quite a bit of speed and was just starting into a turn when the rope went taught, and the laws of rotational mechanics asserted themselves. Rainbow Dash found herself pulled into a tight arc, swinging back around like a living flail towards the first guard to recover from the chaos below and resume the chase. She braced herself and struck out with a foreleg, delivering a punch that sent the guard rocketing back into the cabbage cart from which he had emerged, thoroughly obliterating what remained.

Dash continued to swing around in circles, the plane of the orbit wobbling with increasing amplitude as Applejack struggled to keep control of the rope. On a particularly low pass near the ground, she managed to snag a knife off of a nearby cutlery cart.

"Sorry Applejack! It's been a bit of a crazy day! No time to explain! Tell Fluttershy to feed Tank for me!" Waiting until she was entering the rising arc of the orbit, Dash quickly cut the rope, slingshotting herself up into the sky.

The rope falling limp beside her, Applejack stood dumbfounded, staring up as several guards launched up into the air after her.

"Well.....that happened."

"Eyup."

***

Okay, so that could have gone better. Rainbow Dash reflected on her less than successful visit to Ponyville. A visit, she reminded herself, that she shouldn't quite be thinking of in the past tense yet. The four guards quickly rising up from below indicated that the chase was still ongoing. Though now that she was in the open sky, no longer boxed in or cut off any time she tried to climb out of the streets, it may as well have been over. Things were about to get very one sided.

Alright, time to get out of Ponyville for a while. I guess I'll go check out that waterfall cave in the forest. Even if Twilight isn't there, I can lay low for a while until this heat dies off before trying to sneak back into town again.

Finally slowing as she reached the height of her ascent, she pulled in her wings and leaned forward, angling down. She began to fall, rapidly picking up speed as she pointed herself directly at the cluster of oncoming guards. They were quickly growing from the small specks they had started out as a few seconds ago. Rainbow Dash pushed forward, adding her own acceleration to work in harmony with gravity, instead of mocking it as usual. The guards did not stray from their course, having no intention of losing this foolhardy game of chicken their target had decided to engage in. They closed ranks and braced for impact, preparing to subdue their opponent after the initial confusion of the oncoming collision.

Rainbow Dash simply grinned as she felt the air pressure begin to build. She could see the envelope forming around her forelegs, forming a cone around her body that grew steadily narrower and narrower. A brief expression of panic crossed the face of one of the guards as he remembered something from one of the dossier files, but it was far too late.

Mere feet before impact, Rainbow Dash ripped through the cone of air while simultaneously throwing herself sideways at a nearly perfect right angle, technically losing the game of chicken. Unfortunately for the winners, their prize consisted of a rapidly expanding rainbow shock wave. The guards were scattered like dandelion seeds from a little filly's breath. By the time they had regained control and recovered from the temporary blindness induced by the flash, all that could be made out was a rainbow blur quickly fading out of sight.

After she was finally confident that she had put enough distance between herself and Ponyville, Rainbow Dash dropped below the treeline and settled down for a landing. Though it was hardly the most strenuous workout she had ever engaged in, she needed a break to recover from all the adrenaline that had flooded her system since Sugarcube Corner. A timely rumbling of her stomach reminded her that she still hadn't had a decent meal yet. In the middle of letting out a sigh that was half relief and half irritation, she felt a quick sting just above the cutie mark on her right flank. She whipped her head around to investigate, but didn't have time to see what it was before she suddenly found herself on the ground, entangled in a net that had hit her from the left at high speed.

She could see grey paws in the dirt, and could just make out a voice say "Pony match picture. We get pony, then we get gems!". Then the world faded to black.

***

Celestia rubbed a hoof to her head as she exited her chariot. The incessant headache that had plagued her that morning had only grown stronger as the day progressed and the reports from Ponyville had come in. Reports describing a high speed chase between sixteen guards and the Element of Loyalty through crowded streets, the destruction of several produce carts, resulting in panic and general chaos throughout the market square, and the detonation of a sonic rainboom in the airspace above Ponyville. Upon first reading those reports, she had shed a silent tear in remembrance of her naive hopes of this crisis being resolved in any manner that could be described as quiet or subtle.

Now she was here to put out the figurative (though knowing Ponyville, it might be too much to hope that they stayed that way) fires. Celestia gave a sigh and mentally prepared herself for the unpleasant task ahead of her. A task she knew she would have to face eventually, but had hoped could wait until after Twilight and Rainbow Dash were in custody. Explaining the situation to Twilight's friends.

She didn't have to look long before the ponies in question spotted her and galloped over to bombard her with questions.

"PRINCESS CELESTIA! WHAT THE HAY IS GOIN' ON HERE?!"

"WHY ARE GUARDS BURSTING INTO MY BOUTIQUE AND ASKING ABOUT TWILIGHT AND RAINBOW DASH?!

"I'm also quite confused and would like to know what's going on."

"I'M ALSO YELLING!"

"-APPLES EVERYWHERE! THEN SHE TAKES OFF LIKE A JACKRABBIT IN A FRYING PAN!"

"-MUD EVERYWHERE! COMPLETELY UNCIVILIZED!"

"I mean, if you don't mind that is."

"STILL YELLING!"

"-CAN'T GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER OUT OF ANYPONY!"

"-THEY'RE NOT HURT ARE THEY?"

"If that's okay with you I mean."

"RABBLERABBLERABBLERABBLE!"

Celestia raised a hoof for silence. The incoherent shouting died down, with a last contextless comment about oatmeal fading from the air.

"I know you all have many questions, and are eager for answers. Please follow me to the library. I'll try to explain there."

The four ponies followed in silence as she led the way to the library. She hoped that at some point during the walk, she would be struck with inspiration that would make the conversation that awaited her easier and less painful, but no such revelation occurred. Soon the Golden Oaks library came into view, two guards stationed at the door nodding at her as she approached. As she passed through the door, she saw a highly agitated Spike turn his attention toward her.

"FINALLY! Princess Celestia! I've been sending letters all day! What is going on here?!"

"Yes Spike. I got your letters, and I'm sorry for the wait. I promise everything will be made clear now." She decided against sharing the fact that after the fifth letter, she had started automatically redirecting them to the trash can. It was a little callous, but she had had her hooves quite full all day.

The rest of the ponies filed in and took a seat. Eager eyes turned toward her, hungry for some kind of explanation.

"So...I imagine you all must be fairly confused about some recent developments, not least of which is the increased guard presence in Ponyville." Spike gave a quick huff.

"A bit of an understatement. They've been tearing the library apart for hours asking about Twilight. I told them she left for Canterlot and hasn't come back yet, but they just keep asking about who she talked to recently, and if she has any secret hideouts."

"And why is Rainbow Dash of all ponies being chased by royal guards?" Applejack interjected. "Nopony will tell me anything. It's all 'confidential orders' this and 'security clearance' that. We got a right to know what's going on here. Is Rainbow Dash in some kinda trouble?"

"We are trying to apprehend Rainbow Dash for her own safety" Celestia reassured. "We have reason to believe that she may unknowingly be under the influence of malicious magic. We want to help her."

"And that's why you're also trying to find Twilight?" Rarity asked. "To seek her help in undoing this enchantment?"

Celestia's face fell. "Not quite."

"What do you mean?" Pinkie asked. "Twilight's the best at magic. No silly curse or hex will last long against Twilight and her stacks of books."

"Unfortunately..." Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath "...it seems that Twilight is the one responsible for the enchantment." A silent pause hung over the room.

"Y-You mean like some kinda accident right?" Applejack choked out.

Celestia shook her head.

"W-What kind of enchantment are we talking about?" Rarity asked.

"You are all aware of Twilight and Rainbow Dash's recent relationship, correct?" All assembled ponies and dragons nodded, unsure where this was going. "Well it seems that said relationship may not have arisen entirely by natural means. We believe that Twilight has cast some kind of love spell on Rainbow Dash."

One could hear a pin drop in the heavy silence that fell across room. Five sets of eyes stared back blankly as their owners tried to make sense of what they heard. It was Spike who spoke up first.

"That's ridiculous! Twilight wouldn't...what?!"

"I'm afraid I must agree with Spike here" Rarity added. "It just seems so...implausible. They've been together for months now, and I've never once thought anything was amiss. Are you saying that all this time..."

"Yes" Celestia responded. "We believe Twilight has been magically manipulating Rainbow Dash the entire time."

Spike and Rarity wore expressions of shock. Fluttershy's face a was a mixture of surprise, fear, and worry, while Pinkie stood with a look of confusion, as if still struggling to understand what everypony was talking about. Applejack however, was stone faced and serious.

"And yer sure about this Princess? Dash was magicked into this relationship against her will?"

Celestia nodded. "Yes. We're fairly certain. Princess Cadence herself is the one who detected the enchantment."

"Maybe it's just a misunderstanding? We should talk to Twilight. Maybe she has a good explanation?" Fluttershy nervously squeaked.

Celestia Shook her head. "Unfortunately, we were unable to question Twilight on the matter. She fled the castle, incapacitating several guards, and is currently on the run, along with Rainbow Dash, whom we assume is still under her influence."

Once again, silence settled over the room, and once again, Spike was the first to break it.

"Wait...so...she just took off and left? She left me behind?..." Tears began to form in the corner of his eyes.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry." Rarity placed a hoof on the distraught dragon's shoulder. "You are of course welcome to stay with me for the duration of this unpleasant situation.

"I-thanks Rarity. That really means a lot." He replied, wiping his eyes and trying to put on a brave face for the moment.

She turned her gaze back towards Celestia. "So is there anything we should do? Anything we can do to help?"

"The best course of action is to just stay here and go about your lives as usual. Please don't try to get involved. Just let Luna and I handle it. I promise we'll find them both, and Rainbow Dash will get the help she needs."

"And Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.

Celestia frowned. "This is a very serious crime she is accused of. The laws are...strict. I want to do what I can for her, but so much depends on her at this point, and she seems in no hurry to turn herself in."

A third time, uncomfortable silence settled over the room.

"Well, that's all. Again, please just carry on with your lives and leave the search to us. I just thought you all deserved to know the truth." With that, Celestia turned and exited the library.

There. That's done with.

She was glad she had managed to leave before anypony thought to ask about how this impacted the use of the Elements of Harmony. That was one of the issues she hadn't even begun to unravel. Plans for Twilight's inevitable trial and sentencing, handling of political fallout, and the deprogramming of Rainbow Dash all needed serious work, but first she had to actually catch them. Preferably without half of Equestria being leveled in the process.

***

"DASH?! DASH WHERE ARE YOU?!" Twilight called into the woods around her. It was the dawn of a new day. Despite her greatest efforts trying to follow the path of the sonic rainboom the previous evening, she had finally been forced to admit defeat when it had gotten too dark to see more than a foot in front of her, even with an illumination spell. She had reluctantly returned to camp and finally given in to her exhaustion, falling into a fitful sleep plagued with nightmares.

Between disjointed images of her friends and family reacting to her with disgust and anger, something had been hunting her in the darkness. She didn't know what it was, only that she had to run, had to hide, because if it found her, something terrible would happen.

She wouldn't claim to be well rested, but the fatigue had left her horn, and now that the sun was up, she could continue her search. Now back to her closest extrapolation of Dash's path, she kept her eyes peeled while continuing to call out. "DASH?!"

A small patch of blue caught her attention from the corner of her eye. A small blue feather sat on the ground. Excitement at finally finding a clue quickly turned to worry as she saw several tracks nearby. They looked like paw prints. About three different sets.

Diamond Dogs?

She glimpsed a bit of red a few feet away, which turned out to be the feathered end of a discarded dart with a long hollow needle. Beneath it were drag marks, showing that something large, roughly pony sized, had been moved. The relative shortness of the marks, along with the increase in definition of the paw tracks indicated that whatever it was had been picked up and carried off. A quick reconstruction of events played itself through Twilight's head.

Oh no!

She took off at a gallop, following the trail of paw prints as best she could. She stopped when she heard rustling from a nearby bush, taking a defensive stance and readying her horn. A wave of surprise and relief washed over her as she saw her marefriend emerge from the bushes with a grin.

"Wha-? Dash?! You're okay!"

"Yep. Good to see you too."

"But...But I thought you were captured by diamond dogs?"

Rainbow Dash gave a casual shrug. "I escaped. A couple mangy mutts aren't gonna keep me away from my mare." She gave a small lick of her lips before approaching with a hungry look in her eyes. "I missed you."

"How did you escape though?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "They're pretty dumb, so it was fairly easy to turn them against each other. 'He said you're ugly.' 'They said you're the stupid one.' 'Why should you share your gems with that guy when you clearly did all the work?' That kinda stuff. When the inevitable fighting broke out, I worked on the ropes with a sharp rock and made my escape." The hungry look returned to her eyes as she moved in closer. "Now how about a kiss from the beautiful mare as the hero's reward."

"Just like in the third Daring Do book?" Twilight asked with a laugh.

"Yeah. Just like that."

Without warning, Twilight fired a concussive blast that knocked the blue pegasus backwards.

"That's in the fifth book, and the real Rainbow Dash would know that!" she said to the changeling, now returned to its natural form after being rendered unconscious by either the blast or the impact with the nearby tree. She continued to shout at the surrounding vegetation. "Come on out Chrysalis! I know a drone isn't going to be wandering this far from the hive without supervision, and I know you'd want to personally oversee any operation involving me!"

The bark of another nearby tree rippled and turned to a shiny perforated black, as the changeling queen dropped her camouflage and stepped forward.

"Twilight Sparkle. So lovely to see you again."

"What do you want?" Twilight asked icily, keeping her horn trained on her target.

"What do I want? Oh Twilight, what I WANT is to sink my fangs into your neck, wrap you up in a cocoon, and gorge myself on that love you're flaunting all over the place. It's so rich and potent I can smell it from a mile away. Mmmm, and laced with just the right seasoning of desperation. You really are quite the tease."

Twilight's horn glowed brighter and her legs tensed. "I've cleaned your clock once. I'll do it again." She wasn't sure how the relative power balance would work out without the presence of a magic amplifying comet this time, but she was prepared to put up a fight.

Chrysalis continued on, ignoring her remark. "Alas, that's not the reason I'm here. Business before pleasure I'm afraid."

"What kind of business?" Twilight asked, still prepared to open fire at a second's notice.

"It has come to my attention that you have developed a rather interesting spell, and that this has made you, shall we say...unpopular with the Equestrian authorities?"

"And just how exactly did you know that?"

"Please Twilight, give me some credit. My spy network is second to none. I know how many cubes of sugar Celestia takes with her tea, that Luna keeps stuffed animals in her bed, the thread counts of each outfit in their respective wardrobes, and whose flanks they ogle when they think nopony is looking. Of course I heard about your little incident at the castle."

"And?"

"I've come with an offer. It must be quite difficult living on the run. I offer sanctuary within the changeling hive, where you and Rainbow Dash can be together in safety. In return, you use that ingenious little spell of yours on a few choice targets to generate plenty of food for the swarm."

"So you want me to betray Equestria and enchant innocent ponies so you can feed on them, build up an army, and attempt another invasion?"

"A slight regime change may be involved in the long term plan, yes. With changelings in charge of course, any charges against you would be dropped, and you'd be free to live in Ponyville, Canterlot, or wherever you wish again. What do you say?"

In response, Twilight fired a crackling ball of electricity. Chrysalis managed to swat it to the ground with her own magic, mere inches before it struck her in the face.

"Would you like me to repeat that louder for you?" Twilight growled.

"Alright, I can clearly see you need a little time. My offer remains open. Think it over until the next time we meet. And I guarantee we will be meeting again. Sooner than you think."

Before Twilight could respond, tall dark green flames rose to obscure the changeling queen. When they subsided, she was gone. Twilight finally relaxed, letting the magic fade from her horn as she gave a sigh of relief.

If Chrysalis and her changeling swarm insisted on getting involved, things were going to get a lot more complicated. However, there were more urgent matters to deal with at the moment. Rainbow Dash still needed saving. She glanced back down at the tracks below her, picking up the trail again.

It's time to see some dogs about a pony.


Author's Note

I did it! After a brief lull in the storm of research I was doing for my thesis (we have to wait for some results from a lab we sent samples to) I had the chance to write again. I promptly ignored it as I went back to work and played a bunch of FFXIV at the urging of my roommates. Still I managed to finally get this chapter written and published as something of a birthday gift from me to you (27 today). May be slightly rough as I gave it only a cursory editing. Let me know if you spot any typos.

Next Chapter: Chapter 6 Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 48 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch