The Band of Loyalty

Rainbow came back to her senses two days later, just after a show. King was in the shower, scrubbing himself. "Back with us?"

"You've been very busy," said Rainbow, the anger apparent in her voice. "I wasn't happy to receive so many guests. I suppose I should be grateful that you didn't take any children."

King sighed. "Yeah, they were all gone. No matter, I can come back later and collect them when their location is more stable."

"Don't you dare!" growled Rainbow. "I'm already disgusted by your previous actions. I told you that I didn't want you to take over Ponyville, and you did it anyway. I'm beginning to suspect that you have no integrity."

"Now, Dash, answer me this: Did you see Scootaloo in there?"

Rainbow kept her mouth shut. While countless ponies had been added, and a whole flock of sheep on top of that, Scootaloo wasn't counted among their number. What's more, Fluttershy hadn't said anything about King taking advantage of her, so he probably didn't do anything to her.

"I made a few promises to you, and I kept them all. Scootaloo will not be enslaved, and Fluttershy will be back to her old self soon. On top of that, I've kept up appearances with the Wonderbolts. Only Soarin and Spitfire suspect you, and they're down for the count."

The rest of the shower continued in silence. There wasn't much else to say to each other. Rainbow dried herself, put on her casual clothes, and returned to her room. She needed some time to be alone. Completely alone. No King, no angry ponies accusing her of raping them, no brainwashed sex slaves, just being alone with her own thoughts. She lay back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

She wasn't alone for very long, as there was a knock at her door a moment later. Begrudgingly, she stood up, walked to the door and opened it, ready to berate the pony that had disturbed her.

"Hello, Rainbow," smirked Scootaloo, brushing past her and sitting on the bed. "Close the door, we need to have a talk."

While Rainbow didn't have to take Scootaloo's orders, she was tired of hiding everything. Perhaps a few small answers were harmless. She closed the door and sat down as the small desk in the corner. "What did you want to talk about?"

Rather than answering the question, Scootaloo unfastened her belt and pulled off her pants. "Let's talk about this, why don't we?" Rising up between her legs was a long, slender cock. "Would you care to explain where this came from?"

Rainbow was aghast. "What happened to you!?"

Scootaloo scowled. "That's what I'm asking you! I was a regular girl last week, then you sent me off for bioweapon treatment, and now I have this... thing."

"It's called a cock," said King. "And it's there because you've been chosen as my second in command."

"Second to what!?" demanded Scootaloo. "I didn't agree to this!"

Rainbow didn't have an answer. She had no idea what had happened in Ponyville while King was in charge.

"My dear Sir, come forward and speak."

"Must I?" came Scootaloo's voice, but by her reaction, she hadn't called for it. "I suppose there's no stopping it now." Scootaloo's expression and posture changed to something prim and proper, not unlike something one of Rarity's friends might use. "Is there something you needed, my King?"

"Not I," smiled King. "It is our hosts that need to be informed of our existence. Especially yours."

Sir cleared his throat. "Well, they should both be aware now. May I go back to my rest?"

King nodded and Scootaloo scooted across the bed back into the corner, covering her mouth with her eyes open wide. King let Rainbow take control, and she rushed to Scootaloo's side. "What did you do to her!?"

"I told you, she's the host for my second in command. You may call him Sir."

"I will call him scum! Send him away, right now!"

King shook his head. "Not even a possibility right now. I guess you'll have to wait. Hey, at least she's not a slave, right?"

"This is worse! Change her back, right now!"

No response.

"Now, King!"

Still nothing.

"KING!!"

It was no use. The two of them were alone. Rainbow turned back to Scootaloo. She was quivering with fear.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of this," she said, stroking Scootaloo's mane. "This is all my fault. I was careless, and King took over. No matter how much I fight against it, I can't do much to stop him. When you came out to talk to Sweetie Belle at your old clubhouse, that was the last time I was able to fight against him. It took everything I had to keep him from making you his sex slave."

"Is that why you wanted me to stay away?"

Rainbow nodded. "I wanted you to stay safe. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom hate me now because of what he did to them. I couldn't bear to let him do that to you, too."

Scootaloo reached up and threw her arms around Rainbow's neck. There were tears rolling down her cheeks. "What do I do?"

Rainbow draped her arms around Scootaloo's shoulders and held her close, gently rocking from side to side. "I don't know, Squirt. I really wish I had an answer for you, but I don't." Rainbow began to tear up herself. "If only we still had Twilight, or Zecora, or hell, I'd even take Pinkie Pie at this point. Anypony that knows how to take down a pair of incubi."

Scootaloo sniffled and wiped her face. "Okay. You can count on me, Rainbow." As she pulled away, her expression was a determined grimace. "While you keep them busy, I'm going to gather up all the information I can regarding fighting them. I'll do my utmost to make sure this information never reaches King or Sir."

Rainbow smiled warmly. "I owe you big time for this one, Squirt. You're more than I deserve."

"You'll come around. You're the greatest pegasus to ever exist, Rainbow. If you need my help, even if I'm not good at it, you'll have it. All of it."

They hugged again, but rather than being scared for each other, they were supporting each other. After a few moments passed, they lay down next to each other and went to sleep. It had been a difficult night for them both, and they were tired. It may not have been the best arrangement, but they could only depend on each other from this point forward.