Prologue
Progress Equipika
"When a good man is hurt, all who would be called good must suffer with him."
~Euripides.[1]
"Are you ready?" Cloudchaser asked, the information on her navcom flashing quickly. "We only have a three-second interval to get in."
"Yes, I know Chaser." Trixie said, her face appearing in Cloudchaser's peripheral vision. "I am the one who found them you know."
"Even still," Cloudchaser sighed, a soft smile on her face. "We need to do this quickly."
"Yes, yes I know."
"Well?" Cloudchaser's eye twitched with impatience, as she waited for Trixie to give them the ok. "Are we in? Can we go?"
"Yes, you can." Trixie sighed, the video feed telling Cloudchaser that she was shaking her head. "Though, if you would have stopped pestering me, I'd have gotten you in sooner."
"Go." She said, as her and the three other ponies there jumped off the building, each pony's camfoil kicking in.
"An excellent success!" Cloudchaser boasted, seconds before the holographic projection of the city disengaged. And Rainbow Dash could clearly be seen walking up to the group.
"You call that a success?" She asked, looking at the recruits. "I'd call it a fail. I was watching the whole thing Cloudchaser, your job is to teach them. Not to rush ahead and finish the simulation yourself."
"But..."
"No buts, when I assigned you and Trix to teach the recruits I expected you to take your job seriously." She sighed, shaking her head. "This isn't a vacation Chaser, and the simulation isn't a game."
"I know, but..."
"No, I don't care. Next time, do your job right." At that, Rainbow Dash turned and left the Sim room, as Cloudchaser's navcom retracted into its ear pieces.
"What's with her?" One of the recruits questioned, as he turned to his friends. "So uptight."
"She is that way because it's her job." Cloudchaser sighed, shaking her head.
Rainbow sighed shaking her head. "What the hell is Twi thinking..." She mumbled, a soft smile on her face. "None of the recruits are taking this seriously."
"No idea." Shinze chuckled, looking around. "Maybe you could message her."
"You know that ever sense three years ago interactions between us and the colony are at a minimum." Rainbow smiled, watching Shinze.
"The whole thing with the Lunar Republic going down?"
"Exactly."
Shinze chuckled, nuzzling Rainbow's cheek. "You really do know how to take things literally, don't you?"He said, chuckling still. "Then again, maybe that's what I like about you."
"Are you sure it's not that I'm the only mare that puts up with you?" Rainbow smiled, knowing that that was closer to the truth.
"Maybe." He said, sighing. "Maybe not. You're still my wife."[2]
Rainbow smiled softly, a soft chuckle escaping her. "I still say you drugged me." She said turning away, a slight blush on her face.
"Maybe I did." Shinze said, in his signature troll voice. "Then again, maybe I used some changeling magic on you."
"You know that doesn't work... here." She mumbled, her blush remaining.
"Nor does many of the mind controlling Sigil magics." Shinze noted.
"That is true..."
"So, what all do we have planned for today?" Cloudchaser asked Rainbow, as she and Shinze approached her. "Anything interesting?"
"Beyond training new recruits?" Shinze asked, to which Cloudchaser nodded. "Squat. There is nothing."
"No cases... No sigil users. Or illegal magic users... or anything! By Celestia, I'd even be willing to take regular cases..." Rainbow mumbled to herself, which caused Shinze and Cloudchaser to chuckle. "What? That wasn't funny. I'm being serious."
"We know Dash." Cloudchaser chuckled. "Doesn't change that we laughed."
"She has a point." Shinze said, smiling. "Though, it was kind of funny. Seeing you desperate about having cases... when a few years ago your chief concern was the wonderbolts. You've changed."
"Okay..." Rainbow sighed, turning to look at Shinze. "One, that was thirteen years ago. And two, I'm not desperate. I just can't stand the new recruits, you know that."
"Yup." Shinze smiled, chuckling again. "That's why I told them the combination to your locker."
"You didn't..."
"Yes, actually I did." Shinze said, as he dodged a book being thrown at him. "Oh, I told them yours too Chaser."
"W-what!?" Cloudchaser yelped, blushing. "But... all the new recruits are stallions... Why would you do that?"
"Because it's fun."
"Wait..." Rainbow blinked, in the process of throwing yet another book at Shinze. "Why do you know the combinations to our lockers?"
"Um..." Shinze blinked, looking away. "Let's say I looked them up."
"Shinze, last we check you were a Changeling... OH CELESTIA YOU DIDN'T!" Cloudchaser yelled, her eyes shocked at the realization.
"Didn't what?" Shinze chuckled. "Take your shapes and seduce the combinations out of the guard pony, just so I could prank you guys? Yes, that's actually exactly what I did." He said, as he dodged a book from both of the mares.
"You... Meany!"
"Really?" Rainbow chuckled, looking at Cloudchaser. "That's the best insult you got Chaser? I could have thought of better ones."
"I know..." Cloudchaser sighed, as they both stopped trowing books at Shinze, who had ran out of the room. "So could I but... Well, he is your husband and..."
"Yeah, well that's not how I consider him." Rainbow chuckled, as they flew off to the cloud training grounds. "Were still friends in my eyes... even though I do like him, it still seems to not be real in my eyes sometimes."
Author's Note
As promised, here is the first chapter.
- Spoiler to what will happen in this story? Maybe.
2.I'd call that a spoiler... wouldn't you? Don't worry, I'm going to be really fleshing out their relationship in A New Equestria. That... and thirteen years stuck with someone who spends their free time trolling you... does things...
