The Band of Loyalty

“The Band of Loyalty...” Rainbow held it in her hands, captivated by how it shimmered in the light. She’d thought it would have tarnished over time or grown a patina, but no. It was just as shiny now as it had been when its master was alive. “I can’t believe we actually found it.”

Daring rolled her eyes. “Of course we found it, kid. Longitude’s maps are always right. If you know how to read them.”

“Well, yeah, but he couldn’t have known the belt was still here after all this time.”

There was a loud crash behind them as one of the stone statues collapsed. Looking to the other side, there was some manner of stone piston about to push over the other one. Several clunks were heard all around the room, indicating other mechanical pieces moving around inside the wall.

“That’s our cue to leave, kid,” said Daring. “Hold tight to that belt and follow me.” She zipped across the room with Rainbow following behind her. Back into the chamber with the dog statues, the floor had collapsed into a pit. From the bottom of the chasm, a small stream of lava was beginning to rise. Rocks were collapsing from the ceiling in chunks, splashing the lava up.

“Who comes up with these traps?” asked Rainbow. “And how? This is ridiculous.”

“Who cares if the traps are ridiculous?” chided Daring. “They’re still dangerous, and we have to leave before they ensnare us. Keep your breathing slow and stable, that lava is producing toxic vapours.”

Rainbow clenched her grip around the belt and flew to the other side of the room, turning around just in time to see Daring struck by a collapsing piece of ceiling. She wasn’t killed, or even knocked out, but her wing was injured, in a rather debilitating way. She couldn’t fly in this state. It took all of her effort to glide to the edge of the room where Rainbow was.

With great concern, Rainbow reached down and grabbed Daring’s wrist, trying to pull her up. Despite the fact that she was a world-class athlete, one arm was not enough to lift Daring up, and Rainbow could feel herself slipping. She needed both hands. Draping the belt over her waist and holding it down with her wings, Rainbow pulled Daring back to solid ground.

The duo ran up the corridors, back through the entrance chamber, and out of the temple. The hallways had acted as a chimney for the lava flow, and had quickly filled with smoke. As they came out to open air, they both suffered massive coughing fits, their lungs filling back up with fresh, clean oxygen.

Daring Do rolled onto her back and looked up at the sky. “Thanks for your help in there, Dash. I’d have been a goner if not for you.”

Rainbow chuckled. “Did you think for a second that I’d let you fall? Who’d write your books?”

Daring joined her with a bigger laugh. “I guess you’re right.”

“How’s your wing? Can you still move it?”

Daring rolled over, and gave her wing a small wiggle. It wasn’t broken, but it wasn’t in the best shape. She couldn’t fly like this. “I’ll be fine in a few days. Do you still have the belt?”

Rainbow looked down at her waist. The belt had shifted during the run, and as the two ends had come together, it had secured itself to her hips. “Uhhh...”

“What’s wrong?” Daring looked at the belt wrapped around Rainbow’s waist. “That’s not good. We need to find out how to take that off. We can’t just have you standing in a museum for the rest of your life, can we?”

“And after al the trouble it took to obtain, I don’t want to cut it off.”

Daring stood up. “Well, it’s not going to just fall off. Let’s make our way back to camp. We’ll consider our options there.”

Their flight from the temple to the camp would have been quick, had they actually flown. With Daring Do grounded for the time being, walking was the order of the day. The density of the foliage made the path more difficult than it needed to be, so the three miles that would normally only be a half hour took until sunset. They were relieved to find that their large tent was still standing, as it meant they could retire for the night easily once they were done with dinner.

Daring swallowed her last spoonful of potage and tossed her bowl into the washing water. “Now then, how do we want to try taking that belt off first?”

Rainbow belched as she took her last bite. “I’m thinking we should start by looking it over. Maybe there’s some kind of release?”

Daring nodded. “If that doesn’t work, I have some cooking oil. We can lube you up and try to slip you through.”

The two spent the better part of the next two hours looking over the belt for some manner of latch. They found a keyhole, but they didn’t have the key. They reasoned that it would be much easier to have a locksmith open it if it wasn’t attached to a pony. They adjourned to the tent for privacy, Rainbow’s pants came off, and the duo tried to squeeze the belt over her oiled up hips. It was times like this that Rainbow cursed her athleticism. Fat could easily displace and shift, but muscle was tight and fibrous. It didn’t squeeze and shift quite so easily.

“If only your hips were a bit less muscular,” grunted Daring. “I can’t stretch the belt enough to pry it from your waist.”

Rainbow gave a few more desperate pushes, to no avail. “It seems we can’t take it off this way.” She pulled it back up to let it loosen around a thinner part of her body above her hips. “I think Twilight might be smart enough to be able to take off the belt. We can rest tonight, and in the morning, we can start in toward Ponyville. I think if I cover it with a loose shirt, nopony will notice.”

Daring raised an eyebrow. “Can we trust her to keep silent about this?”

“Of course,” Rainbow chuckled. “She’s a great friend. She’ll know what to do, and she’ll keep it quiet if we ask her to.”

Daring nodded and took off her shirt and shorts, tossing them in the corner near the clothing they’d removed from Rainbow. “Fine by me. Let’s lie down for the night, then. We have a long way to go tomorrow, and I want to start as early as possible.”

Rainbow took off her shirt, leaving Daring in her bra and panties and her in only a bra. “Yeah, I’m pretty tired, myself,” yawned Rainbow, lying down on the opposite side of the tent. “See you in the morning...”