The Return of Loyalty

… Queen Chrysalis was the victor of that horrible day. Canterlot has fallen to the evil Queen of the Changelings. She looked out the window to relish in the sight before her sickly yellow eyes. Innocent ponies running for their lives, screaming; her army kept growing stronger and stronger and advancing in every direction. It was a brilliant diabolical masterpiece.

She looked back at the captured Elements of Harmony, Princess Celestia suspended from a cocoon in the ceiling inside the throne room. “Nothing will stop me,” Chrysalis said with a sneer. “Canterlot is mine, and soon enough, all of Equestria.”

“You will never get away with this!” said Twilight Sparkle. Chrysalis’ only response was mocking laughter.

“Indeed you and your friends have put up a good fight against me, but clearly that wasn’t enough. Now you have to watch as everything crumbles around you.”

Those words pierced Twilight’s heart deep like a knife. She didn’t the evil queen to be right, but it was becoming clear. Canterlot is falling into chaos and there was nothing she or her friends can do. She looked to her friends to some sort of comfort, only to find apologetic faces for not believing Twilight about the deception of Queen Chrysalis.

There was one pony who refused to give up. Princess Cadence, who was to be married to Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor of the Royal Guard. She was trapped by Chrysalis herself in a deep underground cavern with no hope of escape until Twilight found her. Twilight watched Cadence embrace Shining Armor, who was under a love spell by the evil queen, hoping for a miracle to happen.

Cadence gazed deep into his eyes, which had yellow irises as Chrysalis. She gave him a loving kiss and prayed silently. She looked again, this time seeing something different. There was life in his eyes once more. “Cadence?” he responded. “What happened to me?”

Hearing the voice of her true beloved filled Cadence’s heart with joy. His senses returned to him, and he delivered a smile that could melt any heart frozen in ice and can clear away any storm clouds. Their love for each other cannot be bound by any force on earth, and through that love they defeated the evil Changeling Queen and her army. And thus Equestria was saved, this time not by the power of friendship, but by the power of true love…

Scarlet let out a bellowing laugh. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy “A Canterlot Wedding.” It was a wonderful story, and Queen Chrysalis became one of her favorite villains from the book besides Discord, but the day was saved thanks to the power of love? Nothing can be cheesier than that. But these were stories intended for children. It was a good story either way, despite its sentimental elements.

Scarlet looked at her watch. It was nearly four o’clock. She wanted to get some lunch since she hadn’t eaten since this morning. She hadn’t notice her reading marathon had kept her from her other daily tasks. Scarlet figured she had time for one more story. She flipped through the pages, knowing the other stories were just slice-of-life short stories. They usually were after the sixty-paged novellas detailed how the Elements of Harmony saved Equestria, but there were good ones she liked. She continued to search for a story until a particular title stood out.

The Last Flight of Rainbow Dash.

What did the title mean by last flight? There was no way it sounded good, however she was curious. She eagerly sat back and read the first lines:

It was a time of peace in Equestria. The friendship of the Elements of Harmony became stronger than ever before, as did their bonds to others. Rainbow Dash, bearer of the Element of Loyalty, began a friendship with a filly named Scootaloo which grew into something much more. The young and plucky Scootaloo dreamed of becoming as great a pegasus as her mentor and surrogate sister. Rainbow Dash took her under her wing and made a vow to make Scootaloo’s dreams come true, as well as her own.

As much as Rainbow Dash loved to help others achieve their prospects in life, her favorite thing to do out of everything else was to fly. She even joked that the sky itself gave birth to her. From the days she was Scootaloo’s age, she wanted to prove to everyone of what a great flyer she was. Now it was time to finally prove it to the rest of the world.

She planned to show off her newest routine during a self-imposed aerial performance, the Rainbow-Time Extraordinaireas she called it. For months she has practiced the routine day and night without rest. Now she has perfected, and perfection was all she strived for.

On a sunny day in the middle of spring every living soul in Ponyville gathered at the park to witness what Rainbow Dash promised to be the greatest aerial performance they will ever see. She did not exaggerate on her promise. Many have said it rivaled the aerial feats of the Wonderbolts. Rainbow Dash flew in ways they never seen her fly before. She zigzagged up and down, left and right, formed shapes out of clouds while a trail of air mist followed her. The ponies below her couldn’t believe what they were seeing, and seeing is believing.

Now it was the time for her grand finale, long anticipated Rainbow-Time Extraordinaire. She had to go through a series of obstacle courses in the sky, fly upwards then descend at high speed, which will create the largest sonic rainboom in the world.

All was not well, however. Her friends were worried about her. They feared she may overexert herself, and suffer injuries if she tried to land. Only one pony believed in her - Scootaloo. She and Rainbow Dash endured good times and bad together. Scootaloo knew in her heart nothing will harm the greatest pegasus who ever lived.

Sadly, it seemed a terrible fate awaited the greatest pegasus who ever lived.

Rainbow Dash soared across the sky and swiftly over the heads of the ponies below. She dazzled the audience with her air-bound twists and turns through the obstacle course until it was completed with ease. She flew up, up, up, until she reached the far stretch of heaven. For the first time in her life the whole world was beneath her. The world above the clouds were cool and quiet, as well as serene. For a moment she was at peace, like every struggle she ever had was gone from her forever.

Eventually she had to come down, so Rainbow Dash descended from that wonderful corner of heaven. She only glide in the air the first time around, then increased her speed several times until it was just right.

A sonic rainboom is a phenomenon like nothing ever witnessed. It was a created by the flight choreographer of the Wonderbolts Commander Easyglider, but it was Rainbow Dash who perfected it, making her mark in history. During her descent there came a sudden explosion that shook the earth and sky. Heaven was washed in a flood of brilliant light and wonderful colors. It could be seen from miles away. The ponies were stunned into silence, for a long moment forgetting who they are and where they were, and when they remembered what happened they sang their joys to the colorful sky. “Hooray for Rainbow Dash!” everyone shouted. “Three cheers for the greatest flyer in Equestria!”

Celebrations were soon cut short when they notice something was wrong. Rainbow Dash had not returned to the ground. Earth pony, unicorn, and pegasus alike searched for her well into night. Some believed she landed on some far-off territory, possibly sustaining injuries. The earth ponies and unicorns searched in areas around Ponyville while the pegasi searched miles away. At twelve o’clock midnight she was nowhere to be found. Her greatest sonic rainboom took her life. The Element of Loyalty was no more, and from that day forth Equestria will never be the same…

There was no more text on the page. Did the story just ended like that? Scarlet flipped through the remaining pages and sure enough all of them were blank. It can’t be the end. Rainbow Dash can’t die like that. What about the Elements of Harmony; will their friendship survive? What about little Scootaloo; she has no mentor to guide her. It didn’t make sense at all.

“It’s not fair,” Scarlet groaned.

She closed the book and fumed with frustration. There should be a law against books ending in a cliffhanger. And why did… whoever the author was, thought it was necessary to kill off the best character ever? Why Rainbow Dash? It would have made much more sense if it was Twilight Sparkle or Princess Celestia, or even Fluttershy. Twilight is the Element of Magic, and her death could have triggered an adventure to bring her back to life. The remaining ponies could travel across Equestria to find magical stones or something like that.

Scarlet inspect the cover of the book. She didn’t know who the author was, or what publishing company mailed it to her. There was only the name of Clovis Magnus. She figured the book must be a prototype.

Scarlet’s stomach churned and growled. She didn’t remember eating anything other than breakfast today. She wanted to stop after reading about the conflict between the Applelosians and the Buffalo, but she kept reading more of the stories. She looked out the window, just in time to see the sunset between two buildings. Scarlet knew she had to give an explanation why she wasn’t at work the next day, but first thing’s first. She had to feed herself. Scarlet will time to think of an explanation later.

She left her building disappointed on how the book ended. It took away all of the joy she had reading The Story of Equestria. Why would anyone write an amazing book with no ending?

On her way to the diner Scarlet thought about the stories, particularly the last one. There was never a time in her life she invested her time reading a book. It was a strange experience, but one that was worth it. Every story in that book was well-written, with a few exceptions. Scarlet wish she had good friends like Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, and even Pinkie Pie - but she had a personal connection to Rainbow Dash. They were both dreamers who wanted something more from life, and wanted to reach for something many thought to be unobtainable. Although Rainbow was everything Scarlet wasn’t - brave, daring, resourceful - she thought they still would have been good friends.

But there was something that troubled her. It was the way Rainbow Dash died. Scarlet thought about the dreams she’s been having recently. She had wings and flew up in the air until she was blinded by light, and sometimes color… exactly the same way of how she went out in a blaze of glory. Did it mean anything?

“It doesn’t mean anything,” she said to herself. “It’s just coincidence. Nothing but coincidence.”

She stopped at the red light of the intersection. Although this side of the street was mostly quiet during nightfall, she felt something was amiss. The was a presence near her, and not the good kind. Scarlet turned her head and notice one of those ponies in a trench coat and fedora on the other side of the street. She pretended not to see him.

The mysterious pony was walking toward her.

Scarlet didn’t wait for the light to turn green. She quickly crossed the street and trotted, making turns whenever she can so the pony wouldn’t catch up with her. “Don’t turn around,” she muttered to herself, and kept trotting briskly.

For a moment she was safe, then more ponies in trench coats emerged from the shadows. Scarlet made the mistake of running into an alley, hoping to find safety. She found a brick wall between the buildings. The trench coat ponies slowly advanced toward the alley, walking in unison as they cornered her. Scarlet looked up to search for a beacon of hope. There wasn’t a fire escape she can climb on.

“W-what do you guys want?” she stammered. “I don’t know anything.”

“Scarlet Penhoof, you have been found guilty of subversive behavior,” one of them said. There was something very unpony-like about his voice.

“I’m sorry for whatever it is I’ve done! Please leave me alone!”

“You neglect to appear at your workplace, lying to an officer of the law, and obtaining unauthorized, subversive material in your living space.”

Scarlet was silent. Had they found out about Penny skipping school? One of the ponies reached into his coat and pulled out a metallica circular device with blinking red lights on opposite ends. What kind of officers were these?

The pony holding the device reached for her head while the others readied to hold her still. Scarlet closed her eyes. There was nowhere to run.

“Scarlet!” someone cried.

She opened her eyes, instantly speechless upon seeing an odd flying contraption heading toward her direction. A filly was riding it. Wait a minute… she knows her. Was that Penny? Yes it was. The filly hovered over head, smiling at her. Even the ponies stopped what they were doing, trying to comprehend the sight before them.

“Subversion!” one of them finally said.

Penny reached her hoof out to Scarlet. “Come quick!” she commanded. Scarlet was in no position to protest, so she climbed the flying machine. The filly pedaled Scarlet couldn’t then the machine rose steadily and soared in the air in swift motion. The ponies on the contraption felt the wind blowing on their skins and hair as they rode through the evening.

“Are you okay? Those guys were going to get you for sure!”

“What the heck are you doing?” Scarlet said frantically. “What are you riding? What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain everything later. Right now I have to take you to my uncle.”

“Your uncle? You mean the librarian?”

“Of course. Well, he used to be a librarian. We hide in an abandoned house now ever since we got here.”

“Got here? What are you talking about?”

“Like I said, everything will be explained later.”

Everything was happening so fast. Scarlet told herself to wake up. This had to be a dream. Scarlet held onto dear life as Penny maneuvered the flying machine. She was definitely caught in the middle of a fairy tale. Scarlet held on to Penny and prayed they didn’t run into an unfortunate bird.

“By the way… did you enjoy the book?” asked Penny.