“Was it too much?”
I blink at my sister’s voice. I look up to see that, yet again, Daring is alive. She’s missing her gear and weapons and is resting a hoof on my shoulder. She looks at me with concern.
“W-what?”
“The ending. You know, all of this,” Daring says as she waves a hoof around the temple. “I, uh, wanted to do a plot twist, you know? Something you wouldn’t expect. Was it… Was it too much?”
I blink, wiping the last tears from my eyes. Get it together, Rainbow. I clear my throat and shake my head. “No, it was… it was great. I can’t say I expected it.”
Daring smiles at me and nods. “Oh, good.” A moment of silence passes between us. Daring’s eyes fall to the ground as she rubs one foreleg with the other. “Did you have fun?”
“Yeah. I guess I did.”
“Great!” The temple begins to fade away, returning us to the white room that we started in. Daring trots back over to her desk, shuffling some papers around. “That’s all this really was. Just a game.”
“A game,” I repeat. “Right.” I take a breath to steady myself and remember that none of that was real. “Yeah. It was fun. I never thought that beating up a bunch of imaginary jerk-faced monsters would feel so good.”
Daring snorts and rolls her eyes. “Yeah, and saving the day feels pretty good too, doesn’t it?”
I nod absently and look down to see that I’m still holding her helmet. “Oh. Here.”
“Hm?” Daring looks up from her desk. “Oh, thanks.” She takes the helmet and puts it back on her head before going back to her notes.
“So, what happens now?”
Daring tenses at the question. “I… You know, I don’t know. The story’s over now. You can go back to your world now, maybe take a nap. Or whatever it is you do nowadays.”
I move forwards, closing the gap between us. “What about you?”
She blinks and doesn’t meet my eye. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll just… be here.”
Awkward silence passes between us. I have no clue what I’m supposed to say next. Do I hug her, because I might not ever see her again? Do I punch her for trying to get me killed and making me fight her? Do I tell her I love her and… that I’m sorry?
Daring breaks the silence. “Hey, Sis, I need to tell you something, before you go. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I tried to put so much distance between us. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
That catches me off guard. “What?”
“You know. I was jealous of you, Rainbow. You were always just so… awesome. All my school friends would talk about how cool you were. It got kind of tiring, you know? And don’t get me wrong, I was so frickin’ proud of you, but I didn’t want to grow up in your shadow. So I took my trips, tried to be my own mare. I’m sorry I didn’t give you time to--”
“Hey!” I cut her off without really thinking about it. “You have nothing to be sorry for! I’m the one that needs to be sorry! I just shoved you away because I didn’t think you were cool enough! I didn’t read any of your books, or meet any of your friends, or even be a good sister!” I feel the tears coming, but this time I can’t stop them. “I should have known that you were left out! But I didn’t! I… I never even told you that I loved you!”
I wipe my eyes with a foreleg. “And I… I… Damnit, I can’t even say I’m sorry!”
I hate it. I hate myself and my stupid pride, and my inability to just tell her that I’m sorry. I’m such a--
She hugs me. Daring throws her hooves around me and pulls me into a bone-crushing hug. “Rainbow, you never needed to say that, because I knew. I knew that you loved me, even if you had your own way of showing it.”
We stay there, crying into each other for a while. She pulls back, smiling at me. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
There’s a ripple behind her and Twilight steps through with an apologetic smile. The book is still in her magic, along with another piece of parchment. “Sorry, I know you didn’t want me to interrupt, but there was a note tucked in between the last pages. I think you should hear what it says.”
I nod and wipe my eyes again, trying to compose myself, even if Twilight’s been watching my breakdown this entire time. Twilight starts to read. As she reads, Daring starts to speak, and their voices blur together.
“Hey, Sis! Happy Hearth’s Warming! I hope you aren’t too tired out from bouncing off the walls, or whatever it is you did after you got those Wonderbolt tickets. And before you ask, yes, I do have some connections, and no, you can’t ask me about them. Anyways, the tickets were kind of a no-brainer, but I wanted to give you something else. I remember you said a while ago you wished you understood why adventuring was so inspiring to me, so I thought I’d show you. I wrote this book with you in mind, Rainbow, so you could finally see what heroism means to me. It means so much more than just saving the day. It means being there for those who need you, it means being courageous, brave, and loyal.
“Maybe I never told you this, but you have all of those qualities. It might sound a bit too sappy for you, but you’re my hero, Rainbow. I'm sorry I couldn’t be there to share this adventure with you, but maybe we could take it again when I get back. I promise I’ll be home soon, and I really do hope you liked it.
Lots of love, your sister, Daring Dash.”
Twilight looks up at me. “Do you know what it means?”
“Yeah,” I say. My voice breaks a bit as I look at my sister. “I guess this was her Hearth’s Warming gift to me. She was travelling at the time, so I guess that’s what she meant by not being there. Heh. If only she knew.”
Twilight goes over to me and rests a hoof on my shoulder. “I see. Well, Rainbow, the story’s over now.”
I hesitate, knowing what she means. “Wait, before we end, can I have a moment with her?”
She nods and smiles. “Of course.”
As she disappears, I approach my sister again. I take a deep breath, choosing my words carefully. “Daring. I’m… sorry.” I flinch at first. It just sounds unnatural coming from me. “I’m sorry for everything. For a long time I thought all of this was my fault. I never really thought about what you’d think, but I guess that doesn’t matter now. It wasn’t anypony’s fault. I still miss you, and I still wish it was me instead of you sometimes. I know mom and dad feel the same. Daring, I never said it then, so I’ll say it now. You are the best sister I could ever ask for. And you know what, you are a hero, Daring. You’re a hero to your friends and to me. I love you and I’ll never stop loving you.”
I pull her in for another hug. “Rainbow, you really mean that?”
I smirk and give her a quick noogie. “Of course I do, silly. You’re a hero, Daring. Don’t you ever think otherwise.”
Finally, we break the hug and take a step back. We both have big goofy smiles on our faces. “Thanks for that, Sis. Now you better get out of here.”
“Of course. See you around, Daring,” I say.
She winks at me. “See you around, Rainbow.”
I turn away and sigh, closing my eyes. When I open them again, I’m back in the library.
“So I guess that’s that,” Twilight says as she levitates the book back onto the table.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I sigh, shaking my head before glancing at Twilight. “Oh, and could you… not tell anypony about this? I mean, I have a reputation and everything.”
Twilight rolls her eyes and smiles. “Of course, Rainbow. I won’t tell anypony you read a book and you enjoyed it.” She sighs, her eyes drifting to the book again. “But that really was fun. I wonder if she wrote any other books?”
“I’d have to ask my parents,” I say, stretching my wings. “And yeah, I guess it was pretty fun. If I find any other books, I’ll let you know.”
Twilight walks me out. As we reach the door of the library, I pause, staring up at the stars.
“Here,” she says as she puts the book back in my bags. “And for what it’s worth, I truly am sorry for your loss.”
“Thanks,” I reply. “This really did help me, Twi. I feel… at peace with it now. Still miss her, sure, but it’s like a huge weight off my shoulders now.”
She nods sagely. “That’s good to hear. You better get going now.”
“Right. See you around, Twi.”
“Good night, Rainbow.”
As I spread my wings and head home, I can almost feel another pegasus with me, flying right beside me, ready to take on the world.