Sacrifice and Loyalty

Dash was curled up on the same cloud that she'd flung herself from almost a year before now. She had failed another, and she felt tears pouring from her face. Off in the the distance Loyal could be seen flying towards her.

'Why can't I do anything right?' the mare asked herself.

"The coach is here Dashie!"

"I know, I'm coming!" the mare hollered back.

Loyal had hired a coach to take them to Cloudsdale to see Dash's parents and explain the big news to them.

"I'm still not sure this is a good idea." Rainbow mumbled as she entered the carriage.

"C'mon, they're goinbg to love to find out your pregnant."

"I'm not meaning they won't, but they don'y exactly know about you...."

"Mmm? But they were at our wedding?"

"And then you.." Rainbow gulped, not able to get the word out of her throat.

"But when I came back you never told them?"

"I'm so so sorry Loyal it was just all so crazy!"

"It's fine Dashie." Loyal comforted as he drew her into a hug.

The multi hued mare fell asleep on Loyal's side, with Loyal joining her in slumber not long afterwards.

With a knock the two ponies came out from their slumber to realize their journey to Cloudsdale was over.

Hopping out the earth stallion cum pegasi sank about six inches in the clouds.

"Mmmm. Guess I'm still different from an actual pegasus after all." he chuckled as he helped Rainbow down from the carriage.

The two set off into the cloud made city. As they walked throguh the streets Loyal couldn't help but stare in amazement at the marvelous works off art that were the building he walked amongst.

Chuckling at his antics Rainbow felt it only fair to warn her stallion of the attention he was darwing to himself.

"You do realize every pegasi is staring at you right?"

"Oh, at me? Here I thought they were staring at you, and I'd have to teach them a lesson." the stallion chuckled.

Smiling at that the mare realized there wasn't much she could do to make Loyal less noticable. The winged stallion was of sturdier earth stallion build. He was taller and noticeably not as sleek or lithe as most pegasi, but still well toned from running and climbing. His wings, not being of natural make, were more like feather shaped tendrils, and they also were three time larger than the average pegasi due to the pegasus magic to help him stay afloat. Then there was the fact that he sank six inches into the clouds.

They eventually came to stop at the front of Dash's parent's house. Steeling themselves for a response that would be epic in preportions they trotted up to the door.

One fainting spell, 5 or 6 jaws hitting the floor, 25 or so neighbor or passerby pegasi staring, and 3 hours later the couple managed to explain to Dash's mother, Hurricane Flare, and father, Typhoon Flash, exactly what had happened and why a dead earth pony was infact alive and well.

The xcitement was a bit much though and it was late. The two pairs headed off to thier respected beds before Dash had gotten a chance to break to other big news.

Waking up the next morning Dash didn't hesitate to take Loyal out for two reasons. First was to show off Cloudsdale to him, Second was to show him off to Cloudsdale.

They flew through the cloud city, Dash's wings flapping like a regular pegasi and drawing no attention, while Loyal's billowed.

'Sure it's nothing special in Ponyville, but these pegasi need to pick their jaws up!' Rainbow giggled to herself.

Continuing through Cloudsdale, Dash showed off everything. The Rainbow Factory, The Cloud Factory, The WonderBolts Arena, her Flight School, and even the cloud far off in the distance that she had become overly acqauinted with about a year before.

Eventually the two headed home to have dinner with Dash's parents.

Dash had decided that dinner was the perfect time to drop the bombshell, so to speak.

"So Mom, Dad, I've got wonderful news!"

"Really Dashie? What is it?" inquired Flare while Dash dad Flash rolled his eyes.

"Me and Loyal are going to become a trio!" Dash threw out, super excited to se her parent's responses.

Flare gave an immediate squeek of delight as her smile threatened to consume her face.

"This is great new, we're going to be grandponies!"

There was a sudden shattering of glass. All eye turned to the direction of the noise to find Typhoon Flash sitting with a shattered glass in hoof.

"What?" he said thinly.

Dash pressed her ears flat against her head. "What's wrong dad?"

At this Typhoon exploded.

"What's wrong?! What's wrong is the fact that my daughter married an earth pony, what's wrong is that this earth pony left you for a year, conviently returning to save you! You expect me to accept this. Besides now you're having a foal with him! That thing in your stomach will be an aberration, and abomination! How dare you disgrace me this way! You need a real stallion! One that'd do anything for you, not this.....!" Flash sputtered.

Tears pouring from her eyes, and her lower lip quivering at her father's disappointment, Dash took off out the house.

Anger not yet abated the father turned to lash out at Loyal, but found the stallion inches from his face.

"How DARE you. How DARE YOU!" Loyal growled. "You're dispicable. You're daughter entrusted me with something I feel you should know. She has tried so hard her entire life to make up for disappointing you after she dropped out of flight school. Every Sonic Rainboom, every friend she helped or pony she saved. When she took on Dicord, Nightmare Moon, and Chrysalis. All of it was trying to gain your respect because she felt she'd let you down. I see the truth though. You let her down not the other way around."

Loyal made to exit when Flash found his voice, "You dare question my parenting ability? I want whats best for her. I want her to be happy. I want her to have a stallion that would do anything for her!"

"Anything?" Loyal hot back, laying out the trap.

"Yes anything, work for her, suffer for her, help her, love her. I want a stallion that would DIE for her."

'And the fool walks right into it.' Loyal thought before rounding on the poor stallion.

"FOAL, I HAVE DIED FOR HER! OR DID YOU FORGET?! DID SHE EVEN TALK TO YOU ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED!?"

Realising the trap now, but with no other path, Typhoon Flash replied, "Yes she told me what happened."

"SO YOU DARE QUESTION MY FAITH TO YOUR DAUGHTER. YOU HAVE EVER SINCE OUR MARRIAGE. THIS MEANS YOU QUESTIONED MY FAITH TO HER AS I STOOD BETWEEN HER AND A GANG. QUESTIONED MY FAITH AS I STARED AT THE HILT OF A KNIFE BURIED IN MY CHEST!" Loyal thundered as he pointed to where a scar showed the healed wound. "YOU QUESTIONED AS I RIPPED THE KNIFE FROM MY CHEST AND USED IT TO SAVE YOUR DAUGHTER! YOU DARE QUESTION STILL, AFTER I FORCED MY WAY OUT OF HEAVEN PURELY TO ENSURE THAT DASH DID NOT SPEND ETERNITY IN TARTARUS,EVEN THOUGH FROM ALL UNDERSTANDING I HAD AT THE TIME I'D BE GOING THERE NEXT TIME I DIED! YOU BUCKING DISGUST ME. YOU AND MY FATHER WOULD BE A PERFECT MATCH!"

With this final insult, the worst that Loyal knew to give, the stallion spread his wings and took off after his mare, knowing exactly where she'd be.

Flash stood there in shock. He turned to face Flare, only to be met with a slap across the face as she left after her daughter and son-in-law.

The tone in Loyal's voice as he was compared to Loyal's father, and everything that he'd been told, came crashing down upon the stallion as he laid down and cried. He had singlehoofedly destroyed his family.

Dash was curled up on the cloud. She'd gotten it's place sealed in history after a heated arguement with some Cloudsdale officials. It was the cloud that she'd been on when she'd attempted to end her own life. It was the cloud that brought Loyal back. It was now the cloud she cried into as she realized that she'd let her father down again.

Dash heard the wind whistle slightly and another form lay down next to her and wrap her in an embrace.

"It'll be ok Dashie."

The chromatic mare turned and sobbed into Loyal's chest.

"I failed him. I've always failed him."

"No, you have failed nopony."

"But I couldn't make him happy?" Dash replied confusedly, tears still running down her face.

"It's not your job to Dashie. You can't make him happy, only he can. You can't live your life for everypony else, you have to live it for yourself."

"But you gave yours for me!?" Dash sobbed as her nose ran across the scar on Loyal's chest.

"I did die for you, but when I died you know what was going through my head? 'This is where I belong.' Even as I pulled the blade from myself, and the excruciating pain that racked my body, I was content to see you safe."

Dash thought on that for a while before muttering to herself.

"What was that Dashie?"

"Buck him."

"Mmmm?"

"I said buck him. It's his choice whether he wants to be family. I won't let it bother me." Dash replied in her usual confident tone.

Smiling at her, Loyal carried her back to Flare and Flash's home and took her straight to her bed.

Stepping back out of the room he made to head downstairs to the kitchen when Flare spoke up from the hallway.

"Thank you.."

"It just make me happy to see she's ok."

"Well yes, obviously thank you for taking care of my Dashie, but also for not pound Flash into the ground. Thank for keeping calm."

"Sometime a pony just needs a good yelling at. I wouldn't have struck him anyway. It would have upset Dash."

At this his mother in law started giggling.

"What?"

"Is everything you do for my daughter to make her happy?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Why?"

"Makes me happy."

Striking Flare deeply with this comment Loyal turned to head downstairs, but still caught Flare's final comment.

"You'll make an amazing husband and father."

Loyal got his glass of water and downed it in one gulp.

'Grrr needs a lemon.'

Just then Flash slunk in.

Loyal eyed him negatively as Flash started to talk.

"Loyal I'd like to apologize. What I did was horrendous," Loyal nodded, obviously irking the proud pegasi, "and I feel reealy bad about it. I'm sorry for how I was to you. I'm also sorry for what I said to my daughter. Can you tell her I'm sorry?"

Eyeing the stallion, Loyal's next comment struck like thunder.

"No. She needs to hear it from you."

With that said Loyal trotted past and headed up to bed.

The next morning was tense as the four ponies waited for breakfast to be reay.

Loyal kept giving Flash pointed looks until the stallion finally had enough.

"Fine then!" he snapped, drawing everpony's attention.

Flash took a deep breath and started his apology. At first it was stuttered and halting, but didn't take long to become a torrent from her father's mouth as he cried, realizing how much neglect he's had towards his own daughter.

As Flash's apology came to a close Dash leaned in to his ear and whispered.

"I forgive you dad, it's what family does." and threw her forelegs around him.

The rest of the visit went off without a hitch.

Loyal had convinced Celestia to get him and Dash a private audience with the Wonderbolts. Dash had explained alot of her tricks to them, not performing due to her belly being a bit rounder. Dash also convinved Loyal to show them his free running. After a whil;e they'd fallen into regailing old tales. Dash let it slip that even though she'd broken the sound, Loyal had broken the barrier between life and death. After giving the Wonderbolts their story a very slackjawed Spitfire offered them both invitations to join the team once Rainbow had her foal.

After that little meeting the two ponies boarded their carriage for their trip back to Ponyville.