Loyalty

"He's losing a lot of blood!"  A commanding voice notified whoever else was there.

"Move, make room!" Commanded another.

"You are going to be alright."

The first voice told me, gently this time. My vision restored itself slightly in time to see a man. A human man, was leaning in close. A white, slightly bloodied cloth on his face. I wanted to move, to scream, but my body refused to respond and I had no choice but to watch as he regained his posture and continued to move my body to wherever this endless white ceiling led to. I tried to get one good look at whoever this mystery man was, but darkness soon fell when my eyes shut without my permission.

"Ahh" I gasped.

I woke up in a cold sweat. It was dark in the room, and the sun was just beginning to crawl its way over the horizon. Twilight still slept soundly across the room. I brought a hand up to my face to wipe of some of the sweat and to have something to lean on while I attempted to process the nightmare over. Whatever it was I didn’t want it to trouble me further, so I decided to lay in bed for a bit. I am going to have my meeting/date with Dash in a few hours and I don’t want to stress myself now before I get a chance to prove myself to Dash.

After a few minutes in bed I decided I wasn’t tired and got up to start my morning routine early. Once clean and dressed I started to make breakfast. Twilight woke up to the smell of eggs and met me in the kitchen later while I finished cooking the last bits of food.

"You're up early. Exited?" She teased while magically cutting the omelet I prepared.

"A bit yea." I chuckled and smiled while looking down. I hoped I wasn't blushing.

"Act-" I hesitated, thinking that it was better to let the dream go, but Twilight noticed my stuttering and proceeded to give me her concerned look.

"Actually I had a pretty bad nightmare. I woke up in a cold sweat and couldn't go back to sleep so I just decided to start my morning."

I sheepishly admitted. Thankfully this piece of heaven that was my home had caring and nice residents. Twilight was no exception and she questioned me with honest concern, pressing for answers when I refused to give them. Eventually I told her everything and slumped lower into my chair; I began to aimlessly poke at my breakfast while my nightmare once more plagued my thoughts. I was sure it meant something, but I couldn’t understand what.

Twilight was pondering the situation as well, but eventually saw me looking glum, so in an attempt to cheer me up she said:

"Hey, common, you have an important meeting later right? You can't prove your stuff if you’re not focused."

I looked up to meet her slight, teasing smile.

"Knock it off." I chuckled, glad that she was being as supportive as she was, and curious as to whether or not she meant that in a romantic way.

We finished our breakfast with a new topic and I let my nightmare sink and burry itself into the back of my mind. She offered to clean up while I quickly got dressed and packed supplies into the backpack that Rarity hastily stitched together as per my request.

"How do I look?" I asked, spreading my arms wide and spinning to show myself off.

"Good."

Twilight re-assured while she magically corrected my apparel, making the clothes I hastily put on feel more comfortable as they now sat properly on me, and re-adjusting some of the things in my backpack to make it less bumpy and actually wearable.

"Thanks Twilight."  I shouted as I made my way out the door and ran out to town.  I returned shortly and was met with a confused Twilight.

"Uhh the track. Right. Where is that exactly?" I asked while rubbing the back of my head.

Twilight laughed and gave me precise directions.

"Thanks again!"

I shouted once more as I ran back toward the town. I ran quickly, eager to get there on time and get a chance to prove myself. The run was great, the breeze hit me hard as I ran through the deserted streets. I took this time to enjoy the town that I inhabited. It was clean, organized, and radiated security within its borders. Not a bad place to live in, so long as you’re accepted. I rounded a few more corners and the empty track became visible on the horizon. Completing my sprint, I dropped my backpack on a vacant table and took a moment to regain my breath.

In my excitement I failed to realize that I still had an hour until Dash got here. Looking up, I could see why Dash fancied this track. For one it was vacant, not a single hint of life other than my own made itself apparent and taking full advantage of the track for personal use was an easy task. The track itself was well maintained. The marking paint looked new, its bright white color seemed freshly painted. Not a single blade of grass dared to stand taller than the rest. Looking further ahead toward the far edge of the track, a small cleanly kept shed proudly displayed its "Sporting Equipment" sign.

I clasped my hands together and mentally motivated myself to begin exercising. I decided a quick sprint to test my time was a good motivator, and fished a timer out of my backpack; I reset it and made my way to the starting line. One long gaze around the entire track and I was motivated to clear it in an impressive time. I was ready to impress both myself and Dash. My foot found its place on the metal pedal. I crouched, fingers pressed to the ground. All of my energy was being quickly pushed to my muscles, which were now tense with anticipation. I was an energy bomb and the last seconds of warm-up ticked away on the timer.

The beep was insignificant in comparison to the quiet emptiness. Its small, pathetic sound quickly devoured and forgotten, but I felt nothing short of an explosion.  All of my energy was released at once. Each fiber of my being bled energy. My speed matched my determination and I flew across the track, kicking up small bits of dirt and stone as I slid around the curved turns. Nothing else mattered now. It was just me and the finish line. Half way through my muscles reminded me of the consequences that come when the body is pushed without a prior warm-up, and resisted my commands as I continued to push them. Almost there I reminded myself as I was rounding the 2nd curve of the oval and ignored the pain.

"Wooh!"

I exclaimed breathlessly as I simultaneously crossed the finish line and marked my time. I bent over and leaned on my thighs, breathing loudly, my lungs complaining about what I put them through. I brought the timer up to my sweaty face.

"Not bad."

A voice answered, reading my thoughts.

I looked up in surprise, suddenly aware of the rest of the world.

"Could use some work though."

Dash continued, doing a good job of concealing the fact that I might have just impressed her.

"That’s…why… I'm here." I answered in between breaths, copying her bravado and straightening my posture.

A familiar smile found its way onto her face as Dash narrowed her eyes.

***

Half way through the pushups that came after 3 laps of jogging, 30 squats, and 30 crunches, and I realized that this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought it would be.

"Getting tired?" Dash questioned teasingly, mid push-up.

"No, you were sweating, and I didn’t want you to be the only one." I answered, keeping up my bravado act while in reality I was glad that I could keep up with her at all.

How the hell does Applejack manage to give her a challenge? I pondered. The work out was intense and it was obvious that Dash loved to push herself to the limit, no doubt to pursue her dream of being a top athlete. She had me sweating and aching since the beginning, and I was sure that the only thing that kept me from collapsing from exhaustion was the fact that I wouldn't be able to spend time with her. The things I do for love.

"Well, now that you're all warmed up, let's start the real part of training." She said, getting up and jogging to the equipment shed, chuckling at the high pitched whine I gave off in response.

I stood outside the shed and leaned against the door frame while she went in to fetch some supplies. I eyed her absentmindedly, silently thanking whatever was responsible for my view.

"Catch."

She shouted, catching me off guard and threw various boxing equipment my way. I caught 2 pairs of hand wraps and bag gloves, which I set down and then moved in to help her with the large boxing bags she wanted to set up.

"I didn’t know you were into fighting."  I grunted, while shoving the first heavy bag into place.

"I'm not, but it's great for stamina and endurance." she replied.

I watched her attack the bag and once more marveled at her body. I paid close attention to the way she moved, the beads of sweat on her brow, how her hair swayed slightly with each movement; not a single detail escaped me. I eyed her wings, the way they remained tucked away, ready to be used at any moment, and once more felt a ping of jealousy.

"You going to continue to stare, or are you going to do something?" She asked, noticing the fact that I took longer than I should have to put on some hand wraps.

I had no words to say. Most of them were already being used to scold myself mentally. I took my place at the bag next to hers, ashamed of being caught staring. I looked at her a moment, only to see her watching me intently. She looked angry, and I prayed she'd forgive me. I returned my focus to the bag and letting my shame fuel my actions, attacked the bag with the same professionalism that I showed at Applejack's farm. I hoped that it was enough to pardon me of my actions.

"Not… bad." Dash responded, clearly impressed with my swiftness and moves.

A few moments of exercise, filled with each other's labored breaths, and our training session was interrupted as 3 new individuals appeared, they seemed to know Dash.  A tall, tan male with Brown hair that covered his eyes was flanked by 2 more. A grey fellow with black hair on one side, and a brown one with blonde hair on the other. All three flew down to meet us with unsettling smirks.

"Well look who it is. Our friend Crash and her new friend Artyom the human." The tan one announced upon his entrance. The other two laughed, apparently thinking his statement was incredibly funny.

"Not these guys again." Dash quietly whispered, appearing annoyed with their presence.

I looked at her with concern, then back at the trio in time to get bombarded with insults and rude remarks about my autonomy, and the fact that Dash was only worth having someone as useless as me around to keep her company. I was met with mixed feelings.

Between their laughs and snickering I felt angry, sad, and insignificant.  I was angry, very angry. With each new comment and snicker, my bag swayed more from the punches I was giving it. I was losing it. It was one thing to be made fun of after all my work, after all the times I put effort and emotion into my actions, hoping to be accepted. It was another to insult Dash like that. Whether or not I liked her didn’t matter. She had been accepting enough to put herself out there and spend time with me. Something that not many would do despite coming to accepting terms with me.

I felt sad. Having never been able to be picked on in my empty past, this was a first and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Their remarks started to hurt more than they should have. I was an outsider, a no-body, an Oddity. But was it a bad thing? I was beginning to think my difference here wouldn't be a bad thing, but now I was beginning to think otherwise. Dash saw my frustration. She saw me wanting to do something, to stand up, to punch them, and show them who was useless and pathetic, but like me she knew that I couldn’t for the sake of my standing with my friends and the public. She seemed to know how their words felt, she saw their effect with a familiar look of pity. For a moment I just stood there. Taking their insults, knowing that if anyone interfered then they would be caught by the insults too.

I wanted to stand up for myself, to show them I'm not someone who gets picked on, I was ready to make them nothing but dirt stains against the grass. If I get into a fight now then I won't be looked highly upon by the rest of the residents. I was an outsider, a no-body, an oddity worth keeping. Someone that according to these three, was kept around for nothing more than amusement, but I didn’t care. They'd gone too far.  I was about to turn around and express my frustration before the unexpected happened.

"Hey! Knock it off or else!" I heard. Heard the impossible, the unlikely, and the improbable.

I looked up to see Dash take an assertive pose nearby. Her tone hinted toward a negative familiarity with these three.

She seemed ready to fight, for… me! Me. The oddity, the outsider, the no-body. She was willing to put herself out there when most wouldn’t. I watched as they laughed louder and made comments on her inability to fly well, watched as they called her Crash over and over. Watched as Dash fought for me and herself as well. I snapped. Lost it. My anger bested me and I let it loose.

"That’s ENOUGH!" I barked, catching all four off-guard.  "You can make fun of me all you want, but you do not, I mean do NOT make fun of my friends. My friends, who overlooked my difference and took me in, who accepted me. So listen here. If you came here looking for a fight then you sure got one." I said, showing off my rage and reinforcing my statement by tightening my hand wraps and taking a fighting stance.

Dash watched me with stunned surprise as I placed myself in front of her and raised my fists. She didn’t expect such a forceful argument from me, and the amount of force that was present in my words left all of them surprised. The leader recoiled slightly, taking a step back, his smirk clearly wiped from his face; his two lackeys sharing the same surprise and fear.

"Alright alright. You aren't worth our time anyways." The tan one, the leader, stated.

And just like that the trio flew off without another word. I lowered my stance, breathing heavily.

"Assholes." I muttered quietly enough for Dash not to hear. Cursing wasn’t looked too highly upon here and I wasn’t going to let my anger leave a bad mark on my name. I walked over to my bag and showed it what I wanted to do to those three.

"Thanks for the support Dash. It… It meant a lot to me." I told her, having stopped my rampage on the bag and sat down.  "I couldn’t do anything at first because I didn’t want to get in trouble, but after they started making fun of you… I… I lost it. I'm sorry for my outburst. I never had friends before, and I couldn’t stand seeing you get insulted like that after being so accepting of me."

I rambled on, not being able to stop my explanation short as I felt that I needed to redeem myself for my actions. I wished I had a little more self-control, wished I could have handled that way more cleverly. Dash stopped my monologue with a light smack on my arm, and I look at her as she sat down beside me.

"Hey, no problem. Those guys were always jerks. They bothered me when I was a kid. And even though I proved their remarks wrong, they still feel like they should bother me. They act tough, but when it comes to doing something they chicken out." She laughed a bit before continuing. "In fact, thank you for standing up for me too. I haven't seen them run away that way before and it was a great sight to see."

I smiled, her words meant more to me then she knew. I hugged her with one arm. The action caught her off guard and the anticipation of her response scared me too. To my surprise she accepted it and leaned in to contribute to the hug. I felt proud, scared, and light headed all at once. We sat there for only a moment, but to me it felt like forever. After breaking the hug we noticed it was getting late and packed up all of the equipment we used.

"Nice hanging out with out today, anytime you feel like working out, you know where to find me." Dash said as we faced each other near the table that had my bag on it.

"I thought it was great too. You were right with your earlier statement of being awesome, and anytime you want to hangout, just ask, I’d be glad to." I responded, a new confidence handling my responses for me.  I was certain she accepted me.

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks." Dash responded.

A fist bump (or at least as close to a resemblance of one as I could think off) later, and she flew home while I watched in the silence of the sunset. I was exhausted, but my excitement over getting closer with Dash than I initially hoped gave me enough energy to sprint hope. It took a lot of willpower to not jump up in the air and do a cartoonish yeehaw heel clapping jump.

When I got home I dropped my bag and nearly fell with it.

"How'd it go?"  Twilight asked, looking up from a book she was reading.

"Food first, answers later." I responded, realizing how hungry I was.

She laughed and rolled her eyes, but got up and helped me make dinner. As we ate I recalled the day's events for her and we chatted for a while before I decided that now was as good of a time as any to ask her what has been on my mind the whole time. I once more considered my options, but I was too nervous to come up with a clever way to ask. Instead I dropped my hands on the table, got up with force, and asked:

"Twilight… Are you ok with me trying to date Dash?"

My question caught her off guard and she sighed a bit, taking time to address the elephant in the room that I pointed out.

"Artyom." she began.

"Look Twilight, I'm sorry. I know this can't be comfortable, I know I'm different, odd, but I meant it and I need to know I have someone's support in this. You and Applejack have been the most accepting by far, but only you know of this. Please Twilight. I need answers. Honest ones." I interrupted, frustration clearly making itself present in my voice.

"Artyom. Yes, you are different. Not like her, or any of us, but love shouldn’t have boundaries. You have shown considerable amounts of determination to fit in, and your hard work didn’t go unnoticed. To tell you the truth, Dash didn’t seem like someone who was too into relationships, but if you are one to change that, then there shouldn’t be a reason to stop you. You seem like a good guy and unless that changes, then as a friend of both of you, all I want is the best."

I walked around and hugged her. I loved her at that moment more than any other. She had been my support through a tough time, and I thanked her for that.

"Thanks Twilight. This is new to me too, and I'm just glad to have your support. It… It means a lot to me."

She laughed and embraced my awkward hug. We finished out meal and continued to chat a while longer before night fell, and we retired to our beds. My body remembered the stress it endured, and eagerly collapsed on the bed once within distance. Once again, I reflected on the day's events. The dream, the hurtful comments, Twilight's support, and Dash. Dash. She was something. Beautiful, charismatic, all I wanted in someone that I would devote time to. There were many words I could use to describe her, and as they ran through my mind the last one stuck. Through our differences and my strangeness she still expressed great,

Loyalty.