Ponyserk I- Egg of the High Queen

Authors Notes: Boy did this one take a while. Sorry about the wait, but between having to find new accomodations and dealing with some rather notable real life issues this took more time to complete then i would have liked. I admit this Chapter isn't the most eventful, but i figured it was necessary to have one that wasn't just devoted to fighting and let the characters have some moments to interact. This is also going to be where i start to take some liberties from the source material and start to add in some of my own plot points, but I'm going to aim to at-least finish off the 'Egg of the High Queen'. Depending on reaction, i may make a sequel but that remains to be seen.

Enjoy the chapter and thank you for reading, i again apologise for the time taken to update.

Rainbow Dash

“Still Chattin' with the birds are ya?” Applejacks words caused the rainbow haired Pegasus to stir from her place on the battlements, rubbing the sleep from her eyes in an attempt to clear her vision. Her head was pounding, no doubt the effects of all the alcohol that they had used up last night. She was surprised the earth pony before her looked so alert, let alone the fact she was awake at the moment. All the other ponies were slumped over themselves or parts of the castle, still unconscious and fast asleep from the festivities of last night.
The pegasus gave the earth pony a mere second of her attention before turning to look at the still rising sun on the horizon. Fog loomed over the previously occupied forest, silent except for the odd noise of local wildlife that seemed to be returning to the area after the raid the mercenaries and herself had performed. The battle was still burned into her mind, of how they had all acted so quickly and methodically under Pinkie Pies leadership: Even now her decision to save her was baffling. Was it because she was capable of flight? Or, was it due to her strength? No, in both cases she had a skill that could easily be fulfilled by members of the mercenary band she was forced to serve. The former by the other pegasus, Fluttershy, and the latter by the giant of a pony that was only known as Machintosh and was often called “Big Mac” for short. In her thought she spotted movement from the corner of her eye, closing her eyes for a moment before turning her head towards the source.
Applejack moved herself to sit up on one of the nearby battlements alongside Rainbow Dash, the pegasus moving her swords hilt that was resting against her shoulder to be placed delicately against the concrete slab against her back as she sat herself up slightly to stare at the earth pony. What did she want?
“So Dash, waddya think o' our group?” The sudden question caught the pegasus of guard, becoming silent for a moment before finally replying.
“What do you mean?” Applejack shrugged in response, a smile crossing her face.
“Well...do ya like it here?” Her tone was oddly casual, but there was a hint of genuine curiosity about the way she spoke as well indicating that the pegasus should answer seriously.
“I havn't figured that part out yet”. She looked again out at the quiet forest below, finding the sight oddly soothing to her troubled feelings. She was so used to being alone, to fighting her own battles and hating the company of others and yet...she felt right at home amongst these ponies.”It's different here, in most mercenary bands it's easy to see the ranks are made up of hoodlums and ponies that are running from the past. It's why I normally prefer to stay on my own. But, somethings different here”.
“Huh, never really thought of it like that but now that you mention it...you're right” Applejack seemed to dip into thought just as she had done earlier.”I guess it's 'cause o' Pinkie Pie, everyone here really admires her. We all expect great rewards to come from staying with Pinkie Pie but, tah be honest we're probably all gathered here because of her charisma. Of-course, we still fight and kill, it's the nature o' our profession an' all but..i think the folks in this band can still live like normal ponies as long as we're members of this band”
“What kind of Pony is Pinkie Pie?” The pegasus found herself still reeling from how odd her new-found leaders behaviour was prone to being, but perhaps the second opinion of a longer standing member would shed some light on it.
“Hmm...”The earth pony frowned, silent for a moment as she appeared to let herself delve into her thoughts, as if trying to find the words. Unfortunately, it was not the answer she had hoped.”I can't really say?”
“You what!?” Rainbow Dash blurted out a bit louder then she intended, earning her a small chorus of pained groans from the hung over mercenaries below.
“Now now, listen it's....”Applejack sighed.”I can't really describe it to ya but...it's like Pinkie Pie believes in something beyond glory an' battle. Now it probably won't be somethin' she's gonna achieve in her lifetime but it drives her. And it's something us normal ponies can't understand”. The earth pony soon chuckled.”Still, it hasn't had any effects on her ability to throw big parties on short notice...”
Rainbow Dash chuckled at this.”Yeah, here I was thinking she was gonna start singing. Thankfully not!” Both her and Applejack laughed at this, grateful they had been able to avoid another one of Pinkie Pies infamous 'ballads'.
“I'll give ya that one. Still, i think that party she threw last night outdid the one she threw for Twili-” The laughter died down not just from the Pegasus herself, but from her comrade seated beside her. She stared in utter astonishment at Applejack, shocked to her core by what had just happened.
How in Equestria did she know all this!? She hadn't met any of them before and she hadn't heard her commander sing. So, why did this feel so familiar to her? And, more to the point, how come it felt like she knew not just Pinkie Pie but this Applejack as well? But, there was also another thing that crept into her mind: Why did it feel as though somebody was missing?
It seemed the earth pony to her side was just as confused by this sudden familiarity, instantly shaking her head as an awkward silence built up between them. It lasted for some time, the silence only broken by the groans and ramblings of the ponies that were recovering or waking from their drunken rowdiness the night before to see the mess they had slept in. All of it, the pegasus would muse, of their own making. Even she was unsure how she had remained sober enough to find her way back to the battlements or how she had avoided falling over them.
“So-” Applejack started to speak, awkwardly trying to break the silence that had fallen over them before a voice rang out below them
“Hey, Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie asked for you” The voice of Fluttershy interrupted the conversation being held by the two, with the pegasus simply sighing as she got to her feet, moving to sheath her sword on her back again.
“Uh..Seeya..” Rainbow Dash spoke as she moved to walk away.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash” The pegasus turned to look back at her, seeing the orange pony grin right back at her.”I have an inklin' that yer gonna fit in just fine here”

Fluttershy had lead the rainbow haired mare into the further edge of the courtyard, seeing the rather naked pink pony lift a bucket of water up over her head from a nearby well, tipping the water up over her head. She shuddered for a moment as the cold liquid washed over her, shaking her now soaked hair wildly without a care as though nothing more then a dog. She sighed in happiness as she moved to refill the bucket, as if the task was a source of joy for her before the Pegasus could stomach this no more: She'd had one awkward moment already today, she was in no mood for a second. Clearing her throat with a slightly louder then intended 'Ahem', the pink pony suddenly froze in her movement in tipping the water over her head, placing the bucket instead down beside her and turning to smile at Rainbow Dash.
“Ah, this is the best way to wake yourself up after a long night” Pinkie Pie's smile widened.”Care to join me?”
The query made Rainbow Dash incredibly suspicious, starting to get second thoughts about placing trust in these people: Did this Pinkie Pie just want to get her clothes off after all? Well, she wasn't going to let that slide even if she was indebted to her cause.
“No thanks!” She growled with a shake of her head.”If that's all you wanted me for, then I guess I'll just leave”
“Oh come on, join me! Don't tell me you're afraid of a little water!” Pinkie Pie's expression took on a more mischevious edge to it as she bent over to grab the other bucket of water, making Rainbow Dash put her hooves up in-front of her.
“Will you stop it!” She roared angrilly.”I hate to break this to you but we are NOT foals anymore, so I suggest you drop this before I-”Rainbow Dash's angry tirade was cut short by her face being splashed with water.

“Oh no! I've done it now, havn't I?” Pinkie Pie teased as she burst into laughter, making the Pegasus' anger fade instead into something else: A competitive desire to come out on top. Quickly grabbing a nearby bucket, she broke into a run to the well, aiming to repay watery assault in kind.

AppleJack

Looking down at the duo, the orange mare couldn't help the smile that crossed her face, shaking her head with some delight as she moved away from the battlements towards the stairs. Seeing both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow dash so happy and playing about, especially after the action of the previous evening was something that made the mare pleased. But, it also calmed her nerves after what had happened last night. It hadn't been the battle that shook her, such things were a common occurrence in her mercenary life now and she had long since gotten used to it. What truly made her sweat in despair had been what she had witnessed in her dreams the previous night.

It was still a blur to her, her memory having all but left her. She couldn't even recollect just what had made her so terrified, only that it was something that had struck her right in the very heart of the pony she was. It had been something, she just had to remember it.

“Dangit! Cmon, mah noggin' ain't gonna forget something that scares me outta mah britches! So what was it?” She moved to sit back against the nearby wall, perhaps a bit too quickly, the aches from the sudden action making themselves apparent the moment her rear made contact with the concrete floor. She bit back a growl, her eyes squinting shut in concentration, methodically going back through what she had done before this moment and working her way back to when she was asleep: She slammed herself against this wall, she came down the stairs, she saw Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie playing, spoke to Rainbow Dash, walked up the stairs to the battlements, dunked her head in cold water to fight off the hangover from the previous night, seating herself up from where she had fallen that previous night, groaning herself awake-

“Twilight...i don't get it, what's so important about this?”The voice of Rainbow Dash immediately made the earth pony realise she was no longer in the castle, but seated underneath a tree that was overlooking a town below. She wasn't alone either: At her left was Fluttershy, who seemed to be fidgeting about rather nervously. No armour was on her person, her hair much longer and more vibrant rather then the shorter pixie cut the pegasus had given to herself so she could make sure 'it wasn't used against her in a fight'. To her right sat Pinkie Pie who, aside from the armour missing, didn't look any different except for the fact her expression was a bit more vacant. And Rainbow Dash, as naked as the others, was flying in a hover alongside a purple unicorn that was swiftly flicking through the pages of a book. Most astonishingly of all was the strange marks that all of them now had on their flanks, almost like tattoo's of some kind. What did the markings mean? She honestly had no clue.”It's just an Eclipse, what's so bad about that? Besides, sitting around up here is Boring~!”She held the last word in a long groan as if to emphasise her disdain for her current circumstances.
“There is going to be a solar eclipse tomorrow” The unicorn, which seemed to go by the name of Twilight replied, her voice one of concern.
“Still don't see what's so important..”
“How often does an eclipse happen?” The unicorn asked.
“The last one occurred...why, I can't even remember the last time!” Another voice, Rarity's, was heard on the horizon. Much like the others she no longer wore armour even then she was near unrecogniseable. Gone was the greedy smile, the narrowed eyes, the cocky attitude and the greasy hair. Instead, was a well groomed and cheerful looking mare.”I apologise for being so late Darlings. Spikey-Wikey was asking me about...well, I'm here now and that is the main thing”
“What did Spike ask you about Rarity?” Twilight suddenly asked, going over to the unicorn rather hurriedly, seeming to be desperate all of a sudden.
Rarity was silent for a long time, her expression reflecting inner turmoil.“Twilight...i promise nothing is wrong. He just needed to speak to me about....things..”
“What things?” Twilight probed even further, her expression determined.
“Hey now sugar cube, don' you think you're overreactin' just a little bit?”Applejack finally spoke to the others, appearing to know this Twilight on a personal level given how she addressed her.”Just 'cause Spike acted a bit different don't mean he-”
“Yes it does!” The unicorn roared out in anger, stomping her hoof into the grass below.”Nothing has made any sense for the last two weeks..everypony is acting strangely and I don't know why. Even the princesses left after the stars formed that marking and...and...” The unicorn started to break down into tears, slumping onto her backside and starting to bury her face into her hooves.
“Hey...”A sudden desire to comfort the unicorn rushed over Applejack, slowly moving over and placing a hand on the weeping mares shoulder.”Sugarcube, there ain't nothing to cry about”
“They were so scared..Princess Celestia was terrified when she saw those stars form that marking. What could...what could be so bad that could terrify Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?” She took a shaky breath.”Things have been strange since then, everyone forgetting things and acting like they are different people one moment and then act like nothing was wrong the next. And then Pinkie-” Shaking her head, the Unicorn hesitated for a moment before continuing.”It feels like something horrible is going to happen, something worse then anything that's ever happened”
“If something tries to cause trouble then we'll fight it! It's worked well for us so far” Rainbow Dash spoke with confidence, landing beside Twilight with a smirk on her face.

“But..what if we can't?” She looked at the pegasus then around at the others, her expression one of utter despair that seemed to suck the hope right out of everyone present.

“Applejack!”
The raised voice of Applebloom finally broke the orange ponies concentration, opening her eyes to look across at her younger sibling and elder brother, now clad in a pair of light green clothes as opposed to the basic leather armour she had worn during the raid the previous night.
“What's the matter, is Rarity bugging you again?” She gave her sister the best smile she could muster, reaching over to ruffle up her siblings hair.
“Uh..no, well..not right now” Applebloom shot her sister a surprisingly excited smile.”They're all bettin' again! But this time Fluttershy's gonna try out, Cmon let's go watch!”
“You came all the way over here to bother me about that?” She said this a bit to harshly then she intended, immediately regretting it as she saw her sisters expression grow dispirited, looking as if she might cry at any moment. The mares expression quickly softened, moving to get to her feet.”Well, I needed to get up an' move about a bit anyway...cmon, let's go watch!” The words were enough to brighten her younger sisters spirits almost instantly which in turn brightened Applejacks own. There was enough suffering in this mercenary band and the world, and her sister was still young. She deserved a chance to be happy off of the battlefield, to be allowed a chance to be happy and above all to be able to smile like any young pony should. If circumstances had been different, she would not have been forced to be here in the first place, and neither would her siblings. But, fate was strange like that.

With a helping hoof from her elder brother to get her off her backside, which she now realised was hurting like no tomorrow as the pain come flooding back, the three siblings made their way over to the nearby crowd of people.
“Hey, can I ask you something?” Applejack could not stop herself from nodding, still feeling the need to make it up slightly for her earlier attempt at brushing her off.”Do you think..we'll be able to find a home again?”
The question caused the orange mare to be silent for a moment, wanting to find a way to reassure her sister but not set her hopes to such unreasonable heights that it would be near impossible to fulfil. Fortunately her brother, in a rare vocalisation, spoke for her.
“Maybe we will, maybe we won't. But, even if we don't it won't matter” He smiled, coming to a slight stop.”Because we're a family. And that's better then any stone wall to block the wind, or any roof over your head to stop the rain. So as long as we're together..even if we don't have all the structural stuff, we still have a home”
“Then I promise I'll to stay with you and sis forever!” Applebloom declared happily, with Macintosh just smiling at her.
“And I promise the same to you” He replied with such sincerity that it touched even Applejack, who couldn't help but smile due to the contagion her siblings had inadvertantly created.
“I'll be with you two no matter what” She spoke at last, finally turning to face the crowd that formed, picking out the faces of Rarity and Fluttershy sitting across from one another.

Rarity

A grin worked its way across the mares face as she collected the bits from the latest unfortunate pony that had lost their earnings to her. He let out a loud cry of anguish as this happened, begging her for another chance to win back what he had lost.
“You know the rules: One shot at glory, nothing more. Now you'd best get going before you're stuck going into battle with sticks and stones..”She laughed tauntingly at the colt as he dragged himself to his feet and made his way back to where his comrades welcomed him with a mocking chuckle, the rest of the crowd smirking in amusement at the poor colts loss.”In the arena of chance, I truly am without an equal...and if my fortune is anything to go by, i'd say my fantastic luck is rubbing off on us on the battlefield as well”
“Y'know you gotta stop bein' so cocky Rarity” Applejack spoke, walking towards her from the crowd with her siblings.”Your luck has a bad habit of always fizzlin' out whenever ya do”
“My darling Applejack, don't you dare think you can dash my spirits right now..my luck is fantastic!” She spoke this surprisingly playfully, swirling the wooden cup containing the dice in her left hoof as she looked over at the scout with her confident smile.

If she had to pick anyone as a friend, she was likely the closest person to it in this mercenary band. Sure, the two weren't exactly all that close but they had grown to have a certain rapport with one another and an understanding, with even hints of a playful rivalry between them. Her other siblings weren't exactly hated either, but Macintosh rarely spoke a word to her and Applebloom was far to innocent in how the world worked to be of any solid company. She had a soft spot for the young filly though even if she was a bit rough with her sometimes, having been among one of the first to object to her placement on the battlefield and had done what she could to look out for her on the occasions Applejack or Macintosh couldn't. Fluttershy and herself were both loyal to Pinkie Pie, and they could co-operate to an extent but that was as far as their interactions went. The two often butted heads due to how willing Rarity was to be underhanded and dishonest, whilst Rarity was simply confused at how someone so soft spoken off the battlefield grew such a backbone whenever in a fight or following an order from their commander. If she had a greater willingness to ditch her morals and apply her sword skills when not under order from their commander, the mare reckoned the Pegasus could have made a fantastic Bandit.
“Still, you smiling beats you sulking about Rainbow Dash and the party last night...i still don't understand how someone like you could look so depressed at a party. One our commander threw no less!”
Anger once again found itself replacing her happiness at the mention of their new recruit, her eyes narrowed.
“And why wouldn't I have a reason to be unhappy? That bitch killed our men, and then our leader goes and blows all our supplies on welcoming her in. Not just a few, but EVERYTHING! I..didn't even know ponies could eat and drink that much in a single night”.
“Well, it ain't like Pinkie to just use up all our food like that 'less we had reserve funds or somethin'”
“We have enough to replace all our food stocks and still have enough for repairs on the raiders armour and weapons. I told Pinkie Pie herself that in my last report two nights ago” The mare may not have been the best fighter of the band, and her greed was sometimes known to be ill advised but she had one duty above all others that she excelled at: Fund Management.
She had prior experience to joining up with the Band of the Phoenix in dealing with funds and keeping track of how much the mercenaries had left to spend on themselves. While Macintosh seemed to have mathematical skills, Rarity's experience and knowledge of economics had helped the mercenaries in ensuring that they had enough money to keep them afloat.”But that's not the point: When has Pinkie Pie ever gone so over the top for just one person, and over a small victory of all things? It's utterly illogical and it means we all have to make a stop over at the next city when we go to the next job so we can stock up on supplies..and that means less time spent earning money!”
“Always the realist ain't ya Rarity?”Applejack chuckled, to which the greedy mare simply nodded her head.
“Someone around here has to be: We won't keep focused otherwise” She replied before a smirk crossed her face at the sight of Fluttershy approaching.”Now if you'll excuse me, i've got a Lieutenant to liberate the bits from” She turned her gaze to the pegasus as she sat across from her, the expression on her new victim surprisingly neutral but still seeming to avoid eye contact shyly.
“Alright Fluttershy, you know the rules. Call odd or even and if the dice are what you call it, you win. You get one shot and one shot alone, so make it count” Rarity raised the hoof holding the wooden cup, resuming swirling it around.”But first you have to make a bet, wouldn't be a game of chance if there wasn't something on the line”

She was well aware of how careful Fluttershy was in these betting matches: It seemed to be her one vice so to speak, but the unicorn suspected that Pinkie Pie may have pressed it as a way of interacting more with her fellow comrades. She was a shy one, her name oddly appropriate in that regard, but she was also very cautious when it came to this activity. It almost made it boring..if not for the fact that Rarity was aware she always won these bouts. It was almost too easy.
As three bits made their way onto the ground, the unicorn raised an eyebrow: She had gotten more adventurous then her usual one bit investments, making the unicorn feel a bit so herself.”Let's make this interesting” She pushed all of the bits she had earned from her recent exploits with a grin.”That's everything I have, and if you guess right it'll be yours. Throw everything in, can't have this be unfair can we”
“Umm...o-ok...”Fluttershy murmured so quietly that the unicorn was lucky she had even heard it, watching as Fluttershy timidly retrieved the rest of the bits on her person, placing it out infront of her.

Her eyes flashing with a desire to have those bits be hers, the unicorn slammed the wooden cup down on the ground between them, perhaps with a little bit more force then necessary with a grin on her face.
“Call it! Odd or even?”
“O-odd...” Fluttershy murmured so quietly that even Rarity didn't pick it up.
“Pardon?”
“I..I said Odd” She spoke louder, enough that Rarity understood what she chose and only made her smile grow more sinister.
“Then I call Even!” She chuckled.”You really don't stand a chance you know! My luck has seen me throughout this far, and my luck says that your bits are mine-” Removing the cup, Rarity immediately stopped, her expression contorting in despair at what greeted her. The dice all added up to seven, causing the confident smile to fade to a quivering lip and the eyes that were once narrowed in determination to be wide in a pleading manner.”B-best two out of three...?”

“Wasn't it the rule that you only had 'one shot at glory, nothin' more'? Or did that change just now?” Applejack spoke mockingly, shaking her head at the unicorn.”Now go on and pay up” The crowd immediately started to laugh at Rarity's sudden turn in fortunes, the mare growing both embarrassed and angered at this turn of events. With a quick shove of the bits she had lost towards the pegasus across from her, she moved to her feet and stormed away, grumbling to herself in an incomprehensible rage whilst the rest of the ponies present celebrated the Fluttershy's triumph.

Rainbow Dash

It had been a long, almost gruelling, duel between the two ponies for who would submit first in the duel but eventually Pinkie Pie had submitted. She sat back against the well with a loud laugh, throwing her hooves up.
“Enough enough! I surrender!” She said in jest, slumping back in exhaustion with a tired yet happy smile on her face. Seeing an opening, the pegasus quickly tipped the still full bucket of water she had over the pink mares head. This caused her to cry out in shock, stumbling over from the sudden action before shooting the pegasus a filthy look. It made her happy in a way to see someone who had so easily beaten her before seem so threatened and surprised all of a sudden, but she found she lacked any of the animosity from when they had last dueled. She didn't know exactly why, but she couldn't find any rage towards this mare across her any longer.”Hey! I said I surrendered!”
“Had to make sure..but now we're even” Rainbow dash chuckled, sitting herself beside her newfound commander with her back resting against the well.
“You're definitely stubborn” That wasn't exactly the word Rainbow Dash had been expecting, slowly turning to look directly at Pinkie Pie. She inched back a little bit due to how far the mare leaned over towards her, not liking the sudden closeness.”You will do whatever it takes to win, even if it means resorting to unwholesome methods. You're a remarkable pony” The pegasus didn't find herself listening to these words, her gaze instead drawn to what lay around the mares neck.

After a moment, she nodded her head towards it.
“What is that thing?” The earth pony blinked for a moment, turning her gaze downwards to the piece of jewellery. She gently ran her hoof over the bauble, smiling down at it as if it were just a small child.
“It's called a Behelit” She moved to grasp the edges of the makeshift necklace, removing it from her neck.”An old fortune teller gave this to me when I was still very young..” She was silent for a moment, off in thought about something that was so very far away.”I never knew my parents, at-least not really, but I was lucky enough to be taken in by some kindly old bakers that raised me as their own. We never had much, usually just scraping by with whatever we could earn from sales, so I never could expect anything extravagant for a birthday. But, there was one thing my adopted family used to do” She smiled fondly.”They used to take me to see the castle: My adoptive father used to work there and knew how to sneak into the castle grounds so I could take a look around, and he used to do that every birthday..it wasn't much, I know, but it was something I enjoyed. But, on one of my birthdays as we went to go to the castle I ran across an old fortune teller in the street and she just handed me this” She chuckled.”It was odd, but she said that 'who ever wears this will rule the world'. I never quite figured out how to get it to work though..” She suddenly blinked in surprise, looking right at the pegasus with an almost unreadable expression before laughing.”It's strange, i've never told that story to anyone but..here I am telling you, a pony I have known for only a week all about me”
“Can I?”The pegasus held out one of her hooves, naturally wishing to look closer at the item in question. With a simple nod of her head, Pinkie handed her the item with a great degree of care, the pegasus holding it up to her face to get a better look at it.

This Behelit was definitely an odd but ugly thing, circular in shape like an egg and coloured red as though it were an organ. It was a solid object, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was alive in some way, getting a great sense of unease whenever she stared down at it. It looked as though somebody had taken parts of a face and rearranged it onto a sphere. A closed eye was up on the top left of the bauble, while another was down on the bottom right. On the right side of the sphere was what looked like a closed mouth, whilst in the centre was..what looked like a nose. She could tell from the nostril holes when she tilted it downwards that it was meant to be one but, it didn't look like one any pony would have. It looked like something that would belong to a totally different species, but not one that the pegasus was familiar with.
As she completed turning it over in her hooves, she noticed it shift in some way: One of the eyes suddenly opened, revealing it to be bloodshot and narrowed in a slight glare. The retina was colored a dark blue whilst the sclera while still white also seemed to have a dulled yellow tinge to it. The action resulted in a quick scream to escape the pegasus' lips, launching the Behelit up into the air while she suddenly moved backwards to put some distance between her and the item.

By luck, Pinkie Pie caught the piece of Jewellery as it fell, looking at Rainbow Dash with a curious expression.
“Keep that thing away from me!” She roared out, making an amused smirk cross Pinkie Pie's face as she waved the item out infront of her. The eye had long since closed again.
“Be afraid, the Behelit is coming for you!” She waved the jewellery infront of Rainbow Dash's face, letting out a low sounding 'woo' as if pretending to be a ghost before the pegasus finally got sick of this subject and opted to change it.
“Why did you come back to save my life last night in the forest?” She found it strange that a commander would so willingly risk themselves to save a common troop, especially one she had known for such a short time.
“I wasn't about to let a warrior like you die in such an insignificant fight, especially after I put so much work into obtaining you” Pinkie Pie replied, getting to her feet.”Dash, you must believe me, we've only just begun. Us, The Band of the Phoenix, victory in several battles..but this is only the beginning for us” She turned to look directly down at the pegasus, her gaze one of self-assured confidence.”I will have my own kingdom Rainbow Dash. You will fight for me, because you are now mine. And as such, I will decide when and where you will ultimately die” The way she spoke almost made it sound like it was fact rather then just possibility. They hadn't even earned a single title, and yet she sounded so confident that she could rise up to become ruler of a kingdom, just as that fortune teller had told her.

“Oh, that reminds me, why I asked you here today” Pinkie Pie suddenly returned to her more bubbly self.”I was really impressed with how you took out all those ponies back there and protected so many of us. So, I'm making you our Commander of the Raiders” The pegasus was speechless, surprised at this very sudden and rapid promotion to a position of responsibility: She was a warrior, not a leader!
“P-Pinkie, I-”
“Oh you'll be fine! Now go and tell everyone silly, and don't let them forget you're COMMANDER Dash now Alright?” She giggled, the certainty of their last conversation all but forgotten as the pegasus found her feet again, just nodding and turning to leave, still surprised by the sudden turn of events.