//------------------------------// // Resolution // Story: Mare Do Well: As The Sky Falls // by ShadeJak //------------------------------// “Rainbow Dash! Wake up! Come on, Rainbow Dash!” a familiar filly’s voice pleaded as the fuzziness faded revealing its owner’s anxious face when the pegasus opened her eyes. “Scootaloo? What…” Rainbow asked, rubbing the back of her head and realizing she had bandages over her hoof, and on her body. “You’re alright!” Scootaloo said with a laugh and hovering in the air for a few seconds before dropping to the floor. “Where am I…” Rainbow Dash wondered, looking around and groaning. “Oh no, am I in the hospital again or did I just dream saving Cloudsdale?” she asked, panicking. “No dream, Rainbow Dash. Your dad here caught you after the explosion. The sonic rainboom must have shielded you from most of it. Razorbeak didn’t have that luxury,” Spitfire said, walking over to her side. “You’re a pretty amazing pony, or possibly the craziest,” she said with a smirk. “Heh, I think I prefer ‘amazing’ over 'crazy', thanks,” Rainbow replied, looking around and seeing Spitfire, Scootaloo, her father, and friends all present. “Good to hear ya soundin’ like your old self, sugarcube,” Applejack commented. “Ya been out for practically a day, they had ta fix a rib or two ta boot,” she gestured to Rainbow’s belly, where some bandages were. “Hope you get a speedy recovery, Rainbow! Don’t wanna miss the hero party I got planned when we get back home!” Pinkie Pie said with a grin. “And Tank’ll be so happy to see you back,” Fluttershy said. “Spike took over on watching him while I’m here.” “Good, I miss the little guy, I can’t wait to tell him all about this,” the young athlete replied. “Any way you can heal me up now, Twi?” Rainbow asked. “Sorry, Rainbow. I can take care of some of the bruises but the fractures are just gonna need time,” Twilight answered, her horn glowing and a few of the injuries faded. “Well, I guess I could use a real rest anyway, last two times were kinda forced on me,” the pegasus said with an embarrassed laugh. “So what exactly happened after the explosion? Are the griffons dealt with? How’s Cloudsdale?” “Cloudsdale’s safe. A lot of cleanup's left to do but the city in the sky still stands proud,” Blitz explained, coming to the other side of the bed. “No sign of Razorbeak, though.” “Dead,” Rainbow Dash muttered, realization sinking in. “She’s dead…” The last thing she remembered seeing was the look of horror on Gilda’s face before she was engulfed in the explosion. “She?” Blitz asked. “Razorbeak… it was Gilda all along.” “Beg you’re pardon?!” Rarity asked. “That uncouth brat of a griffon was behind all this? Why whatever for?” “Revenge. She wanted revenge for on me for ending our friendship after she humiliated herself at that party,” Rainbow explained. “I know she was a rude, selfish bully but I wouldn’t have expected it’d escalate into that,” Twilight said. ” It’s not your fault, though, Rainbow. You couldn't have known.” “Maybe you’re right… but still, maybe if I had at least tried to talk to her after the whole thing with the party, she might have… I dunno… had reason to think twice about how she acted back then,” Rainbow replied. “Ya sure she woulda listened?” Applejack asked. “From what ah saw, it looked like she didn’t want any friends if they couldn’t be on her terms. She didn’t want anypony around her that wasn’t suitin' her ego an' not only does it sound like it never occurred to her she brought it on herself, but she chose her own pride over stayin' friends when ya called out on it. It ain't an easy thing ta say, but ah doubt there was anything ya coulda done. Ya just need to be glad ya stopped her from hurtin’ anypony else.” Rainbow Dash sighed and nodded. It hurt to see the griffoness show her true colors at that party, it hurt to end their friendship, but seeing what Gilda had turned into in the time that followed had hurt far more, and even the assurance from her friends didn’t completely erase the guilt. Blitz came over and gave his daughter a hug, joined after by Scootaloo. After a few seconds, Rainbow Dash smiled and returned it. “Well, I need to go meet up with the others again before we head back to Canterlot,” Spitfire said at last as she glanced at the clock and began heading to the door, but paused and looked back at Rainbow Dash. “I’ll see you when the Academy starts up again. After all you did, I don’t want you doubting you can handle anything we throw at you, got it?” she asked with a smirk, earning a nod from the other pegasus. “Yes, ma’am!” Rainbow answered, managing a weak salute despite her injuries. Returning the salute, the Wonderbolt captain departed. Blitz looked up at the clock as well. “And I need to head back up to Cloudsdale to help with repairs. Scootaloo, I’ll give you a lift back up, your grandparents are fine and I told them I’d bring you back safe,” he said. “Aw, okay,” Scootaloo said, giving Rainbow Dash one last hug and followed him out the door. “Seeya when I’m back in Ponyville, Rainbow!” she said, looking back at her hero on the way out, and Blitz pat her on the shoulder and looked back at his daughter as well. “I’m very proud of you, Rainbow Dash. And I know your mom would be too,” he said. “Thanks Dad,” the pegasus answered with a blush as her dad left with the orange filly to return to Cloudsdale. After a moment of silence, Rarity spoke up. “Now that the crisis has been averted, I believe somepony still owes us an explanation for stealing my costume to go gallivanting about as a superhero,” she said. “What exactly got you into all this in the first place?” “What’s that word even mean?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Well, whatever it means, I’m sure it wasn’t why I did it. Look, I’m sorry about having kept all this from you, I wanted to be a hero again, to be able to help ponies when they were in trouble. And after what happened last time, I got so full of it, thanks to seeing all these posters of me, ponies wanting autographs, fanclubs and stuff. I felt all on top like I’d proven everypony who made fun of me growing up totally wrong about me and I couldn’t get enough of it,” she said with a sigh. She remembered how she had acted like it was show, or a game, regardless of what and who was at stake. “Mare Do Well taught me a lesson about what a real hero is, and I thought about how you said real heroes don’t brag, and shouldn’t expect anything in return…” she explained, her friends nodding and listening. “Well, I started having dreams about that moment, and couldn’t stop thinking about it. I was telling Twi earlier that I realized I wanted to be a hero again but didn’t want to end up like I did. I wanted to help ponies and not get caught up in all the glory again. So, I thought if I could hide behind a mask and costume, then Mare Do Well could make me a worthwhile hero.” “Rainbow, have you noticed how you handled what we all told you?” Twilight asked. “You’ve learned how to be. Mare Do Well isn’t what makes you a worthwhile hero. It’s you that makes Mare Do Well a worthwhile hero. You’re loyal, you were very brave—‘ “And awesome. I mean come on, I almost died up there!” Rainbow added in with a smirk. “Well, you risked your life to save Cloudsdale, so I can go with that too,” Twilight said with a chuckle. “I think Princess Celestia could use a letter from you on all of that.” “Yeah, yeah, when I’m back home, I’ll swing by the library and get it done,” Rainbow said. “Duly noted, Rainbow. We’re gonna head back now, we’ll see you when you get back to Ponyville,” Twilight said as she and the others headed to the door. Laying back, Rainbow Dash smiled, a sense of real accomplishment in her life as she, for the first time in a while, drifted peacefully off to sleep. ~ “Rainbow Dash? Again with the surprise visits. Next time you want any of my old outfits, just ask… except for that dreadful thing you had me make you with that ridiculous helmet. I burned those immediately after that disaster of a show!” Rarity said, cringing at the mere memory of those hideous abominations her friends had made her design them. “You said they got stolen by gizmonks…” Rainbow said. “Oh! Did I? Silly me, my memory these days!” Rarity said with a nervous laugh. “So, what brings you back here?” the unicorn asked, eager to change subjects. “Well, it’s about the costume. I brought it back with me but I want to keep it,” Rainbow Dash explained. “What would you need it for? Are you planning to wear it again?” Rarity asked. “Not that it’d do you much good, the hat and mask weren’t on you when your dad brought you in…” “He mailed them to me yesterday. Found ‘em in the factory. The hat’s a bit of a wreck but the rest is mostly fine, a few repairs is all.” Rainbow Dash replied, opening her saddlebag and removing the costume and Rarity floated it up with her magic, looking slightly put off by the damage it had sustained. “Anyway, I learned a lot more then I expected, and I wanna keep it as a reminder.” “Are you sure, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity asked, leaning in with a skeptical look. “My identity’s not totally secret anymore anyway. Maybe if Equestria needs Mare Do Well again I’ll think about wearing it again, but for now, I got a lotta other things I wanna do with my life, you know,” she said, rubbing the back of her head nervously. “I suppose I can work with that,” Rarity answered. “It’ll be fixed by tomorrow. In the meantime, you may want to get ready for that party Pinkie had planned for you. Enjoy a little appreciation, you’ve earned it. Just don’t let it go to your head.” “Oh, I won’t, Rarity,” The pegasus said with a laugh. “And yeah, I probably should get ready. I’ll catchya later.” ~ Dear Princess Celestia, Where can I start? There’s so much to say and I’m not the best with words! Pinkie’s party was great, nothing too big; just the girls, Scootaloo, and my dad even was there, wanting me to tell them all about my adventures as Mare Do Well. When I wore the costume, I felt awesome. When I saved lives in it, I felt more awesome then ever. It wasn’t a game, or a show to play. My life was just as much in danger as those I protected, and it gave me a new perspective on it. Being a hero is about helping others, carrying the weight and responsibility of being there when they need you most, helping the helpless and all that stuff… and sometimes having to make tough choices to protect those you care about even if it means risking your own life. Things the Bearer of Loyalty should be all about. Cloudsdale is doing well, I’m sure you’ve heard. My dad’s sent me letters on progress; the weatherponies have repaired the factory, and the city’s been cleaned up. I heard the Wonderbolts had helped deliver the griffon terrorists that got rounded up, some had retreated and fled Cloudsdale. I also heard while most of them are dead, one of the changelings remains unaccounted for, and they never found the body of that griffon boss Leo that I took down right before my first run-in with Gilda. They better have the sense not to try anything again if either of them is still alive! Gilda… I still think about her sometimes. In the end I can’t help but feel bad for her, like I should have been a better friend and help her realize the mistakes she made before she got worse; but at the same time, I wonder if my friends… my real friends… are right, that she couldn’t understand what friendship really was outside of her own terms and I wouldn’t have been able to change her even if I did things differently back when we fell out with eachother. What’s your opinion on it? Did I do the right thing, or did I help make her into a monster? I don’t know what’ll happen in the future. I’m gonna be returning to the Wonderbolts Academy soon, training to live my lifelong dream! I keep the Mare Do Well costume in a box under my bed; a reminder of all I learned, and everything I did. If the world ever calls to Mare Do Well again, maybe I’ll answer, but for now, I’ve got my life ahead of me and I’m gonna make the most of it with all I learned until that time comes. Your faithful subject, Rainbow Dash