The Band of Loyalty

"You don't have to keep holding it over my head," grumbled Rainbow. "I said I was sorry."

"Say it all you like," answered King. "You still tried to kill me. That's not something I'm going to let go of."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "If you'd have just trusted me from the beginning, I wouldn't have even thought of such a thing. I just want my friends back."

"Then you should have trusted me. I said I would give them back in good time."

"And I'm going to start working on that right now," said Rainbow, landing on a cloud. "If you're going to keep following me around, that's fine, but you need to keep quiet."

King said nothing in response, keeping quiet as he was told. Rainbow walked across the field, her target location in sight. On arrival, she put up a salute. "Rainbow Dash, reporting for duty, ma'am."

Spitfire turned around and glared at Rainbow through her sunglasses. "Four days late, too. Where the hell were you?"

Rainbow kept her gaze forward. "I was indisposed. The cleanup for my time off took longer than anticipated."

"You mean with the dragon up north, or the temple down south?" smirked Spitfire. "Your parents and your friends seem to disagree with where you've been. It's not like you to be late, so I sent out some probes to find out where you were. Imagine my surprise when I received two different reports."

Rainbow swallowed hard. There was no good answer, but she had to pick one. "I was down south, assisting in an archaeological dig. I don't know why my friends said I was chasing dragons."

Rainbow couldn't see Spitfire's eyes through her shades, but she was pretty sure they'd narrowed. Silence hung in the air above them like the sword of Damocles. Rainbow didn't dare move, for fear of it falling on her.

"Let's pretend that I believe you," said Spitfire. "And you weren't just goofing off again. What made it so that you had to be the one who cleaned up the mess? Why couldn't somepony else do it?"

"Because I made the mess," answered Rainbow. "I had to be responsible for my own mistakes, just as I am now."

Spitfire took a deep breath and let it out. She was so close that Rainbow could smell what she had for breakfast: pancakes, eggs, and a grilled parsnip. "You're lucky I see so much potential in you, Dash. Anypony else, I'd throw them out. Instead, I'm having you run the obstacle course for the rest of the day. I don't want to see you out of the sky until mess call. Do I make myself clear?"

Rainbow saluted once more. "Yes, ma'am."

Spitfire turned and walked away. "And fix that uniform violation!"

"What a bitch," remarked King. Rainbow immediately covered her mouth, but it was too late.

Spitfire turned around. "Did I say mess call? How silly of me. Let's make that sunset, and you can see me in my office after your shower."

Not wanting to risk another outburst, Rainbow nodded as Spitfire left. As she flew up into the sky, she took a deep breath. "Didn't I tell you to keep your big mouth shut? She's the one standing between us and a thousand cheering fans. Seriously, don't piss her off."

"I can take her down," retorted King as they rounded the first obstacle. "All it takes is a bedroom."

"Good luck bringing her into one," chuckled Rainbow. "She's unhappy with me, so she's unlikely to be coerced into climbing into bed with you."

"There's always a way," smiled King. "Trust me, I know."

Rainbow frowned. "I would really rather not force it. She'll let me perform if I do well here, and if you keep silent. I'll convince her, just let me make it that far."

As they rounded their second lap, other ponies were beginning to wonder why Rainbow was talking to herself, and where she had been. They knew better than to ask, though. If they slowed her down, she'd be very cross with them.

It was about half an hour after sunset when Soarin came to Rainbow's side. "We're closing down the course for the night. I know you like to push yourself, but it's time to hit the showers."

Rainbow finished her lap and landed. She was sore, but her pride was partially restored. She'd done as Spitfire commanded, and had even gone beyond that. Surely, she would be forgiven for her absence. She made her way to the locker room, opened her locker, and found it similar to how she left it, but with three notes inside that weren't there before. The first two were from fans, which King read intently. The third was more recent. It said simply, "Welcome back."

Grabbing a towel and stripping out of her uniform, Rainbow made her way back to the showers. Nopony was ever in here this late, so she wasn't worried about being seen. Rounding the corner, she found the room completely deserted. With a twist of the handles, water splashed down around her, washing away the sweat that clung to her hide. Squirting some shampoo into her hands she began to lather up.

As she rinsed out the soap, she heard a voice in the next shower stall. "Are you still in here!?" Jumping into the air, Rainbow found herself staring at Spitfire's tits. "You were supposed to be in my office half an hour ago, and here you are wasting our water!"

"I only just came in," explained Rainbow, recentering her vision on Spitfire's face. "I swear, I was going to come to your office as soon as I was done."

Spitfire chuckled. "I know. Soarin told me you were out late. I was just having a bit of fun." She started up a shower of her own. "I know you're dreading this conversation, but settle down. I stopped being angry a few hours ago. I know what it's like when things don't go according to plan. I commend you for staying to help clean up your mess, it's the right thing to do." She looked back at Rainbow. "However, you could at least send a note if you know you're going to be late."

Rainbow nodded. "I know. I'm sorry, I couldn't send one out in time. To be honest, I could have been back yesterday, but I stopped to talk to a medical professional about something that changed in my physiology."

"Understandable. Your health is a top priority. After all, if you can't take care of yourself, how can you hope to take care of anypony else?"

King nodded. "And there are quite a few ponies I need to take care of."