//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: In Medias Res 
// Story: Morrow 
// by Aurora 
//------------------------------//

"Applejack!" Twilight strained her vocal cords, shouting to be heard over the howling winds and torrential rain. "We need more sandbags! This isn't going to cut it!" The unicorn mare was in full-on leadership mode, but couldn't quite suppress the panicky note in her voice. 

"We're haulin'em in as fast we can, Twi," Applejack hollered back, audibly short of breath as she struggled to find her footing in the slippery mud. The mare came trudging over to Twilight, bearing several of the crucial but heavy sandbags on her back. The heightened center of gravity made it harder for her to keep her balance and she could barely see for the rain and gloom, yet she soldiered on until she had reached her destination. After pulling the brim of her soaked hat bit further down to shield her eyes, she explained, "The goll-darned wagons we brought're all stuck in the mud. Big Mac and some the other stallions're tryin' to get them movin' again, but they ain't going nowhere in a hurry."

Twilight nodded grimly. She'd feared as much. The ragtag group of earth ponies that came staggering in with Applejack were all carrying as much as they could, but it was slow going this way. The purple mare's violet eyes slid past the woefully inadequate line of defense they had constructed so far, then darted to the threat at hoof: the largest river in the Everfree Forest, Styx, seething and overflowing in its banks as the endless downpour fed it into a monstrous state.

This kind of extreme weather tended to be limited to the forest, where nature had free reign. But that did not guarantee that Ponyville would come out unscathed, its magical protection notwithstanding. Along its meandering course the river came dangerously close to the outskirts of the village; because of that, a flash flood could still cause significant damage.

"Ain't lookin' too good for ol' Ponyville, huh?" Applejack said wryly, correctly guessing what was going through Twilight's head. "Don't you worry, Twi. Nopony here'll let their home get flooded, they have anything to say 'bout it." As she spoke, her green eyes looked fiercely at the river, as if it was a foe she could stare down.

Twilight nodded. She knew Applejack had a personal stake in this: Sweet Apple Acres was only a few minutes' gallop away. "I know," she replied, but she worried anyway. "Do you happen to know how the others are doing?"

"Saw Fluttershy helpin' to evacuate a bunch of critters over yonder," Applejack said, vaguely gesturing to the other side of the river. "And Pinkie? She was with me." The orange mare looked over her shoulder with a bemused frown. "Don't rightly know where she got off to though."

"That sounds like the Pinkie I know," Twilight responded with a shrug. "But never mind that, let me get those for you." She lowered her head a little and focused, relieving Applejack of her burden. Directing the floating, glowing sandbags to where she wanted them took only a casual flick of her horn. Behind her, along the bend of the river, the dark of night was dotted with the intermittent glow of dozens of other shimmering horns. The diversely colored lights looked almost festive, but the general mood among the wet and miserable ponies was anything but.

"Thank you kindly," Applejack said gratefully. She winced when she straightened up and stretched her aching back, making several vertebrae pop. The unsettling noise elicited a disapproving click of the tongue from somewhere. Glancing past Twilight, the orange mare grinned jovially at the source of the annoyed sound. "Hangin' in there, Rarity?"

The white unicorn was aiding in the construction of the makeshift dam with her telekinesis like every other able-horned unicorn in town. "I am managing just fine, Applejack," she replied, although she had clearly seen better days. The taxing weight of the sandbags and unwieldy rocks was taking its toll on the mare, who rarely levitated anything heavier than rolls of fabric and the occasional hairbrush. "And if you think I am going to be daunted by a little bit of disgusting blubber, you shall have another thing coming!" she added resolutely, apropos of nothing the other pony had actually said.

Applejack and Rarity. Twilight looked from one mare to the other and noticed something surprising. The two were usually polar opposites, but at the moment, in the dark of night, they were actually pretty indistinguishable. Their long manes were hanging from their heads in lank, dirty strands, bereft of  their unique color and style; their distinctive coats and markings were caked and spattered with mud. Rarity was recognizable only because she had bothered to put on an elaborate designer raincoat, which currently hung from her sides in tatters, having utterly failed to shield her from the elements.

"Thought y'all weren't too fond of gettin' your hooves muddy," Applejack quipped, recalling the prima donna-ish way Rarity had acted during a past thunderstorm they'd weathered together.

"Ahem. I prefer not to muddy my hooves if it serves no purpose," Rarity corrected her. "Given the circumstances I shall endure it. Besides, this is nothing a nice, long, hot bath cannot remedy. You might wish to remember that, Applejack, lest you mistakenly assume that brown was your natural color."

An understandably irritable Twilight was just about to tell the two of them to cut it out and try to cooperate for once, but she stopped herself when she noticed the playful little smiles on the two mares' muzzles. Twilight shook her head and laughed, making a mental note to have Spike take a letter to Princess Celestia when this was all over. She could highlight the curious fact that friendships could apparently manifest in the form of endless bickering.

The unicorn's revisions to the to-do list in her brain were rudely interrupted, however, when what was best described as a pink flurry of motion performed a spectacular belly slide right next to the trio of already quite soggy mares, deluging them in a tidal wave of watery muck. This move was, of course, accompanied by the obligatory "Wheeeee!"

A sputtering and gasping Rarity gave Pinkie Pie a look which should, by rights, have caused her to spontaneously combust. Applejack, who was blowing profanity-laced bubbles in the mask of mud that now plastered her face, looked none too pleased either. As such Twilight decided to make a quick, strategic decision before all hell broke loose. "Um, Pinkie Pie?" she said with a strained smile, after parting the curtain of dripping mane that had hidden away her face, "Why don't you.. help out.. somewhere else?"

"Noooo problemo!" came the enthusiastic response, "Whatcha have in mind, Twilight?"

Twilight considered the alternatives, essentially trying to decide where the pink mare would be the least disruptive. "Go see if Fluttershy needs any help. I'm sure she can manage the animals just fine, but I imagine she isn't enjoying the lightning too much. She would probably appreciate the company."

"Aye aye, Capt'n!" Pinkie acknowledged, saluting Twilight before cheerfully skipping off a little ways upstream and making her way across the river. She used the only way across that was left for miles: a battered but sturdy wooden bridge which still somehow managed to withstand the relentless onslaught of the river.

Twilight sighed as she watched Pinkie go; sometimes she really didn't know what to do with the eccentric earth mare, especially in situations like this.

After getting rid of her impromptu facial mask, Applejack took off again, too. She crossed the same bridge to get back to her brother and the stranded wagons, albeit it with a lot more caution than the fearless pink pony that preceded her. Twilight really couldn't blame her for being wary. She took one look at the foaming, raging waters and felt an immediate twinge of dread. The thought of somepony getting swept up by that deadly rush of tumbling water, rocks and uprooted trees was one she really didn't want to dwell on.

"We'd better get back to work, too," she told Rarity, who nodded and promptly abandoned a fruitless attempt at fixing her mane. But while the muddy unicorn beside her set her jaw and struggled to lift another one of the sandbags, Twilight dawdled, looking up at the faithless sky. Rain ran down her muzzle and dripped from her horn, and she had to squint to protect her eyes, but it was hard to miss the massive supercell that loomed overhead. It looked disturbingly like a vast, amorphous creature. The dark formation of swirling cloud flashed angrily and in the churning bowels of the storms she saw the shadowy shapes of pegasi flitting about. She knew they were desperately trying to tame the storm from within, thus far to no avail.

As the booming sound of the thunder reached her and a gust of gale-force wind swept through her mane, Twilight found herself involuntarily thinking a thought she had often told herself to stop dredging up. It was still painful after all this time, and irrational to boot. After all, what possible difference could a single pegasus make in a situation like this?

She still wished Rainbow Dash were here.




Rarity gingerly closed the door of the Carousel Boutique behind her, careful not to wake her little sister, who was all tucked in and sound asleep. As a lady ought to be at this hour, the reluctant unicorn told herself. But her beauty-sleep would have to wait. Before she set off the meticulous mare checked off the list of commodities she had packed into her saddlebags; it was going to be a long night after all.

It was nearly midnight when, a few minutes later, Rarity arrived at Rainbow Dash's home. It was fortunate that the Princesses had arranged for another full moon tonight. Without its pale light she would have missed the solitary silhouette of the pony she'd promised to meet, huddled up on the top of a small, grassy hill situated right next to the gravity-defying abode. Rarity paused for a moment, looking up at the extravagant castle and noting the lack of burning lights or any other sign of habitation, before climbing up the winding path to the crest of the hill.

Fluttershy was sitting on her haunches, gazing at the stars. She wasn't actually seeing any of the twinkling lights woven into Luna's grand tapestry, however. Instead she was straining her eyes, hoping to spot one of those distant suns being blotted out briefly, preferably by a certain blue pegasus rather than yet another dark wisp of cloud. The intensely focused pony's ears perked up when she heard the sound of hooves rustling in the grass behind her. "Oh, hello Rarity," she greeted the approaching unicorn, making a valiant (but not entirely successful) effort to mask the disappointment in her voice.

Rarity picked up on the tone but instantly forgave her friend. It had been two whole days since the Pegalympics, without a single sign of Rainbow Dash. She knew the poor pony was worried sick. "You really ought to get some sleep, darling," she told Fluttershy while she shrugged out of her saddlebags, "I can keep watch for you while you rest?"

But Fluttershy merely smiled and shook her head. "Thank you so much for the offer, Rarity, but I don't think I'd be able to sleep.."

"I heard a lot of ponies are out looking for her. Including the Wonderbolts themselves!" Rarity said, trying to sound cheerful and comforting. She opened her bags and magically sifted through their contents, eventually finding a blanket to keep her warm.

Fluttershy had heard the same thing, but knew the search was a lot like looking for a needle in a haystack. A supersonic needle. In a haystack the size of Equestria. "I wish I was out there, helping them look.." she said softly, knowing full well that she wouldn't be of much use. A fact that had never bothered her as much as it did now.

Unsure on how to respond to that without hurting the weak-winged pegasus's feelings, Rarity opted for a short spell of silence instead, joining Fluttershy's nightly vigil and scanning the star strewn skies. She wrapped the blanket more closely around herself and offered a spare to Fluttershy, who politely refused, seemingly unbothered by the cold.

Rarity studied her friend for a while. "You really care about her, don't you?" she said eventually. It wasn't even really a question.

"I do," Fluttershy whispered without a hint of hesitation, before flushing, a bit surprised by her own candidness. "I mean.. she's a really good friend."

"Come now, my dear," Rarity said sternly, "Do you think me completely blind?"

"W-what do you.." Fluttershy sputtered, but she didn't get to finish the feeble protest.

"I have seen the way you look at her, Fluttershy," Rarity interrupted. "I even set up that little rendezvous in the spa, hoping some quality time together would suffice to get the two of you talking."

"You.. you were trying to get us together?" Fluttershy looked confused. "But you butted in at the worst possible moment!" she blurted out, momentarily forgetting herself. She quickly pressed her hooves to her muzzle. "Um, I mean, you couldn't have known of course."

"No no, you are quite right," Rarity admitted graciously. "After coming up with that rather transparent excuse to get you two alone together, I stood waiting outside the door, lis--" The unicorn paused and hastily corrected herself: "Completely respecting your privacy. Ahem. But other ponies wished to enter the hot tub area. They were getting rather impatient; I could only stall them for so long. So I decided to enter first, just in case there were any.. shenanigans.. going on. Better me walking in on anything like that rather than any random old pony, n'est-ce pas?"

"I see. Yes. Perish the thought," Fluttershy said with a nervous giggle, the rosy glow on her cheeks turning beet red. "Sorry.."

"Sorry for what?"

"That there was nothing to walk in on?"

Rarity chuckled. "Well, I need not have worried of course," she teased, "You two were being as frustratingly slow and clueless as always."

Fluttershy smiled wanly, realizing that her friend's observation, however blunt, was completely accurate. "Thank you anyway, Rarity. For trying to help."

"Do not mention it, my dear," Rarity said modestly, although she actually seemed very pleased that her romantic machinations were finally getting the appreciation they so richly deserved. "I have to say that I was surprised when I first learned that you fancied Rainbow Dash, of all ponies, though. I suppose opposites really do attract."

"Opposites?" Fluttershy repeated with a hint of surprise. "I guess you could say that.." She was fidgeting as she spoke.

Rarity, unsatisfied with the half-hearted agreement with something she had considered so blatantly obvious, pried a little further. "Are you perhaps suggesting that you and Rainbow Dash are actually very similar to one and other?" The notion seemed absurd, but she'd known Fluttershy long enough to recognize when the timid pegasus was holding back her own opinion for fear of being too confrontational.

"Not in terms of behavior, no," Fluttershy readily admitted. "She's a little more.. outgoing? If you know what I mean. But I've known her for a long time. Although she always tried to get me to be more assertive, I always knew.." Fluttershy lowered her head as she reminisced, her face soon eclipsed by a lock of the bright pink mane which so often obscured her eyes. "I always knew that she was hiding. Just like me."

"Hiding?" Rarity said, cocking her head. "Not literally I presume?"

"Oh no, not like that. I mean, um.." the shy pony said, pausing to collect her thoughts and brush back her mane. "I mean that she is always trying to keep up a certain image. Always pretending to be confident - even when she's, you know.. not?"

Rarity was beginning to understand what the other mare was getting at. "Ah yes. Her vaunted coolness."

"I remember the day her mother passed away," Fluttershy recalled sadly. "It was years ago; we were still just fillies in Flight School. Rainbow Dash didn't come to class that day. But the next day she was back in her seat as if nothing had happened. I felt so bad for her.. I wanted to talk to her about it. Maybe cheer her up a little, if I could. But.."

"She did not let you?" Rarity guessed.

Fluttershy nodded slowly. "Yes. Her mother meant the world to her, but I never saw Rainbow cry about her death or even acknowledge that it happened. Come to think of it," the pegasus said, her eyes widening, "I've never seen her cry at all."

"Nor have I," Rarity said with a frown. "I imagine she keeps such emotional displays private."

"Yes.." Fluttershy said softly. "There are parts of herself she doesn't share, even with her closest friends. And now.. now I might never get to really know her." She gazed out into the quiet night and despaired, trying to hold back the helpless tears.

"There there, I am certain it will all be alright," Rarity said quickly, attempting to console the exhausted pony, who was clearly an emotional wreck at this point. She reached over to awkwardly pat the pegasus's back, realizing that mere platitudes probably wouldn't be enough. "She will be back tomorrow, you'll see. Why, she probably decided to take a nap somewhere along the way. You know, one of those two-day naps she likes to take.."

Fluttershy gave her friend a watery smile, appreciating the attempt to cheer her back up, unconvincing though it was. Now that she wasn't so preoccupied with keeping watch, however, the yellow pony began to shiver, her chattering teeth extremely audible in the dead of night. That was soon remedied, however, when Rarity triumphantly pulled out the extra blanket she had proffered up before. This time, it was gratefully accepted.

"Rarity? Do you think we could, um.. work? Rainbow Dash and me?" Fluttershy wondered aloud, bundled up in her borrowed blanket. 

"Yes," the white unicorn said immediately, eager to encourage the more optimistic direction the conversation had taken. Quite honestly she had her doubts, but she guessed that the pink-maned pony wasn't looking for advice or detailed answers at the moment. "In spite of your different temperaments, I can see that you two complement each other very well. She needs someone like you to take care of her, I believe."

"Me? Take care of her?" Fluttershy mumbled, "Shouldn't that be the other way around?"

"She is very protective of you, it is true. But that is not what I meant," Rarity explained. "She seems to avoid responsibilities, whereas you take on more of them all the time without a word of complaint. You constantly care for others, whereas she can hardly take care of herself. I mean, honestly my dear, have you ever tried any of her "cooking?""

The worn-out pegasus giggled. "Hmm.. So.. she needs me?"

"I daresay. Why, I remember having an argument with her the other day, concerning her apparent aversion to bathing. She'd just get dirty again anyway, she argued. Obviously I could not abide anypony advocating such poor personal hygiene, so I--" Rarity continued with the rest of the amusing anecdote, and it was a while before she realized that Fluttershy had nodded off. The long, insomniac nights and constant worrying had finally caught up with her.

"Poor dear," Rarity sighed, before gently easing the sleeping pony down onto the grass and throwing her own blanket over her for some additional warmth. She watched her best friend for a while, seeing the lines of care in Fluttershy's face and the way she would twitch or nervously mouth words in her sleep. Even now, in her dreams, her mind was reaching out for Rainbow Dash.

"You had better get back here soon," Rarity whispered angrily to the (frustratingly empty) skies. "And have an extremely good excuse for putting her through all this."




Beyond Equestria, beyond the landmass where ponies, gryphons, dragons, and all manner of other creatures dwelt, lay the Hippocampic Ocean. This seemingly endless stretch of saltwater encircled the known world from all sides and, as far as most of ponykind was concerned, covered the entire planet. During the reign of Discord it had been a churning mass of foaming maelstroms and towering waves (and occasionally lemonade), but in these days of harmony the gales had abated and the waters were mostly calm, lapping contentedly at the coastlines while Luna's tides rocked them gently to and fro.

As the great sea slumbered, its deep blue waters glittered like glass in the light of the blazing sun. Everything seemed tranquil, with the only sign of life being the graceful movements of a lonely seagull drifting stationarily in the wind.

Until something dropped down abruptly from the steel blue sky.

Diving at breakneck speed and at a very steep angle, the object just barely managed to pull level with the surface of the water before crashing into it headfirst. As it soared mere inches above the swell of the waves sheer velocity left a violent spray of whitewater in its wake. It wasn't long before it began to skim the surface, the resulting friction causing rapid deceleration. After skipping like a pebble a few times - the water being about as yielding as bedrock at these speeds - it finally came to a violent halt.

The unnatural rainbow bridging the sky and the sea sparkled beautifully for a while, before gradually fading away.

Rainbow Dash lay floating on her back, her body motionless but for the gentle rising and falling of the water in which she was now adrift. Her submerged mane lifted and swirled around her head, making it look as though it was bleeding colored ink, although the color red seemed to be predominant. The fallen pony's eyelids trembled as she forced them open, her pink eyes staring blankly and groggily at the skies, until a splash of salty water washed over her face. It stung horribly. Emotionless, irritated tears welled up, adding a few superfluous saline drops to the vast, uncaring sea.

Her concussed brain couldn't even formulate a coherent, final thought. It did dutifully register the fact that her hind leg throbbed with a sharp pain, but that seemed inconsequential given that the pegasus pony was already rapidly losing consciousness. The last thing she heard was the mocking cry of the seagull, already distorted by the water that was slowly swallowing her whole. In the end, only a stream of bubbles betrayed the location of the crashed mare. It mattered little: nopony was out looking for her.

She was utterly alone.

Beneath her, only unfathomable miles of lightless, crushing depths.




"Stoppit, all of you! Stop acting like she's dead!" Scootaloo cried angrily, stamping her small hooves.

She was addressing a small gathering of ponies on a hill situated between Ponyville and Cloudsdale, where an informal memorial service was being held. The site was marked by a tall, solitary tree, already clad in its yellowed fall regalia, which could be seen for miles around. Scootaloo's narrowed eyes, however, were fixed on a slender stone erected beneath that tree. It bore a familiar symbol, which was the cause of her ire. The young pegasus could not bear to see it there, etched into the dull, gray stone: the cloud with the bolt of multicolored lightning shooting out of it. It wasn't right.

The silent, somber crowd looked at the filly with a mixture of shock and pity, but she ignored their attempts to shush or placate her. "Rainbow Dash.. Rainbow Dash can't be dead!" the little pony protested, "She's the coolest.. fastest.. bestest pegasus of them all. Like she'd die in some stupid crash!" Despite the petite pegasus's insistence, her confidence was already beginning to waver. "It's.. it's probably just a prank! She'll be here any second. T-that's right. And she'll be laughing! Laughing at us 'cause we all fell for it.."

The young pony looked eagerly at the horizon, and the glimmer of misguided hope kindled in her eyes broke Twilight Sparkle's heart. In lieu of Scootaloo's conspicuously absent parents, she reached out to the desperate little pony, but the feisty filly wasn't having any of it. "Lemme go! I don't want a stupid hug!" she said sullenly, while trying to avoid the unicorn mare.

"Scootaloo," Twilight said gently but firmly, "Listen to me. I know it's very hard to believe, but it's been months since Rainbow Dash disappeared. If she was okay, no matter where on earth she was, she would have made it back by now." 

Avoiding the mare's eyes, the blank-flank stood staring at the ground, still wearing a rebellious expression. In truth, though, she was feeling a little surprised that Twilight wasn't talking down to her like most adults would. It made her feel a little guilty for acting like such a foal. The amber filly swallowed hard, but made no response to Twilight's argument otherwise.

"I also don't believe she'd ever pull a cruel prank like that," Twilight continued. "The Rainbow I knew wouldn't do that to us. She cared about us. About you, too."

That did it. The filly made a small choking noise. "I.. I wanted to fly with her someday.." She looked up at Twilight, her eyes shining. "She'd show me one of her awesome moves, and then we'd practice together until I finally got it. And then she.. she'd tell me I did a good job.. that she was proud of me.." Scootaloo's lower lip was trembling, her voice fragile and small. "Twilight..?"

"Yes?"

"I don't want her to be d-dead."

Twilight closed her eyes when she felt Scootaloo press into her side and bury her tear-stained face into the soft, purple fur. She could feel the little pony trembling, her small frame softly convulsing as it was wracked with sobs. "None of us do, sweetie," she whispered, blinking back a few tears of her own. It was odd: she thought that she'd spent these last few weeks coming to grips with the fact that Rainbow Dash was gone. But somehow unraveling the last, flimsy shreds of false hope that Scootaloo had clung to affected her as well. As if somewhere, deep inside, an irrational part of her had been hoping for much the same thing.

"Thanks, Twilight," Scootaloo muttered when her sobbing had subsided a little. The grief-stricken filly backed away and wiped furiously at her eyes and runny nose. She seemed embarrassed by her outburst; even though she was still shaking the young mare fought hard to keep her erratic breathing in check. Twilight felt for her. She looked into the tough little pony's expressive eyes and hated what she saw. Some of the foallike naivety and wide-eyed innocence that had shone within them had been snuffed out, replaced with something both wiser and more cynical. These were eyes that would no longer register surprise whenever the world demonstrated how terrifically unfair it could be, only resignation.

"We're all here for you," the purple mare assured her. "Now why don't you go and find your friends?" All the glares and hushed conversations around them were clearly making the filly feel worse, and from Twilight's own experience she knew the best salve for a wounded soul was the presence of friends. She watched the pint-sized pony hobble off, ducking through the crowd in search of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, and decided she should probably heed her own advice. She most desired to speak with Celestia, whose wisdom and warmth could always calm her down. But to the best of her faithful student's knowledge, the Princess had not yet arrived to pay her respects. Spotting a familiar cowboy hat nearby, the unicorn mare settled for less elusive company.

Twilight found Applejack standing over the empty grave, holding her hat to her chest and softly speaking to the silent stone. The approaching pony slowed her pace and stopped just out of earshot, maintaining a respectful distance.

When Applejack became aware of the other mare's presence she turned and smiled heartily, but she was blinking an awful lot and complained unconvincingly of something getting in her eyes. "Been meanin' to ask you, Twilight," the earth mare whispered, redonning her hat, "Ain't there something we can do? Y'all're so good with magic - gotta be somekinda spell that'll--"

"Bring Rainbow Dash back?" Twilight said wearily, tired of having to dash one hope after another. "I'm sorry, Applejack. I know it may seem like there's nothing that cannot be achieved through some impressive spellwork, but a pony's life force is a magic more ancient and formidable than you can imagine. No magic we unicorns possess is sufficient to even get a Cutie Mark to appear, and that's just most trivial manifestation of the endless potential embodied by--"

"Whoa there, Twilight. Got me all wrong," Applejack stopped her. Despite all the fancy words, the orange mare had quickly realized her half-uttered question had been misinterpreted. "I know y'all can't work miracles. Was just wondering.. Can't we at least find her.. y'know.." Applejack seemed to have trouble spitting it out. She gritted her teeth, annoyed with her emotions. "Her body. Don't feel right leaving her out there somewhere. All alone.." The mare's voice cracked a little when she spoke those last few words. She sniffed audibly. "Darn it. Gimme a second."

Twilight shifted uncomfortably but understood the sentiment. It was incredibly hard to get any kind of closure without tangible proof of their friend's death. Being forever in doubt about Rainbow Dash's ultimate fate was an unimaginably painful prospect. "I.. I tried, Applejack, " the unicorn replied haltingly, still upset by her failure to find any trace of the pegasus, "Believe me I did. But I couldn't--"

"I believe you, Twi," Applejack said firmly. "Known you long enough to know y'all tried everything you could. Just checking, y'know.." The earth pony trailed off and stared at the lonely gravestone standing amidst the gathering leaves. "Would've liked to say goodbye.."

Twilight nodded sympathetically, but she could already felt her eyes beginning to prickle again and quickly dropped the subject. "How's Fluttershy holding up?" she asked. Hard as it was for her to deal with Rainbow's passing, she couldn't even begin to imagine how the other pegasus in their little group was coping. She had to admit it came as a surprise when she'd learned that the two winged ponies had had feelings for each other - a fact virtually everypony but herself had been aware of, apparently - but now that she knew her heart went out to poor Fluttershy.

"She's tore up plenty," Applejack said, never one to sugarcoat the truth, "And well.. see for yourself." She shot a stealthy glance somewhere to their right.

Twilight followed her gaze and quickly spotted Fluttershy amidst all the other mourning ponies. Her heart sank at the sight. Leaning heavily on a miserable-looking Rarity, the pink-maned pegasus seemed to be staggering around in a daze, the weight of a thousand crushed dreams resting on her frail shoulders. She wasn't crying, but this seemed to be due more to exhaustion than her emotional state. Her dull eyes were red and puffy and blinked at the harsh light of the sun, unable to comprehend a world which already seemed intent on moving on without Rainbow Dash.

Rarity fared a little better, but not by much. She'd bravely volunteered to look after the countless critters under the pegasus pony's care, but dealing with animals clearly wasn't her forte. She looked dead-tired, with traces of filth best left undescribed sullying her perfect hooves and stray chicken feathers flecking her usually well-coiffed mane. And.. were those bunny bite-marks?

Tearing her eyes away from that sorry sight, Twilight realized that only one pony from their circle of friends was still absent. "Applejack," she said doubtfully, "Where's Pinkie Pie?"

Applejack made no reply. Twilight blinked and asked again, pressing the orange mare for an answer. "She ain't comin'," the blond mare eventually admitted. "Said we were all being silly. That Rainbow ain't dead. I tried to reason with her, but you know how she gets.."

"But.. But I don't understand!" Twilight exclaimed, bewildered by the pink pony's behavior. "She's the one who predicted.."

"Settle down, sugar cube," Applejack broke her off, her ears twitching from the sudden increase in volume, "No need to holler at me, I was there."

"Sorry, sorry," Twilight hastily excused herself, "But it just doesn't make any sense."

"Pinkie not makin' sense?" Applejack said with a sarcastic snort, "What's the world comin' to?"

"Oh, haha, Applejack. This is serious! It isn't healthy for her to refuse to deal with the situation like this. She's clearly in denial."

"I'd say," the earth pony sighed, "Though I think Pinkie just don't deal well with death. Maybe even feels responsible, being the one saw it coming and all that.."

"I.. hadn't thought of it like that," Twilight admitted, trying to imagine how that kind of prescience could affect a pony. "We should keep an eye on her, Applejack."

"I hear you," the other mare said earnestly. "Gotta look out for each other, times like these."

"Oh, by the way," Twilight suddenly remembered, "Have you seen--" But like so many of her sentences, the poor unicorn never got a chance to finish her question.

A murmur traveled through the previously quiet crowd. Heads turned and eyes were directed heavenward. Overhead, a group of pegasus ponies in blue, lightning-streaked uniforms approached, literally from out of the blue. Flying in a tight V-formation at low altitude, they dove into a spectacular flyover which drew gasps from all the ponies who'd come to pay their respects. Abruptly, a single orange-maned skypony near the front peeled off from her companions, soaring up to dizzying heights before disappearing from sight altogether. Her companions carried on on the same course, still together, but with a noticeable gap left in their ranks.

A void that could never be filled. 

"Heard they made her an honorary Wonderbolt," Applejack said when she could bear the long stretch of silence that followed the impressive display of aerial acrobatics no longer.

"She would have been proud.." Twilight responded absentmindedly. She was lost thought, dwelling on the memories of her brief time with Rainbow Dash. Every so often she'd look around, her searching eyes scanning the spectators for something. But the only thing they seemed to find was more disappointment.




Also watching the aerial salute were two familiar blank-flanks who had briefly escaped the watchful eyes of their big sisters and the stifling presence of so many long-faced ponies. They might have been unaware of the exact history of the Missing Mare Formation, but the heavy symbolism was not lost on them. Still, to them the whole scene seemed downright surreal. The dreadful finality of death had yet to sink in.

"Where d'you think ponies go when they die?" Sweetie Belle asked Apple Bloom after staring after the Wonderbolts until they were little more than dots on the horizon. It was a poignant question, and one the young unicorn clearly hadn't given much thought up until this point. 

"Nopony rightly knows," Apple Bloom answered gravely, adopting an air of authority she felt was appropriate given the fact that she alone of the Crusaders had some experience with death. "I asked my sis when grandpa Smith died, but that's all I could get outta her. Told me I should mosey on along and go play." The young pony rolled her eyes. "So I asked grandma. She 'splained that when a pony dies they get put in the ground so that the trees and flowers can grow big 'n' strong."

"Oh," Sweetie Belle said doubtfully, furrowing her brow. "But.. we didn't put Rainbow Dash in the ground, did we?"

"Uh.. right, yeah. Knew that," Apple Bloom said sheepishly.

"I asked Rarity just now and she said something about her going to heaven," Sweetie Belle offered.

"Heaven? Like, the sky?" This time it was Apple Bloom who looked skeptical.

"Guess so. She wasn't very clear about it." There was a small frown, and then: "Also, she didn't really sound like she believed it herself very much... I could tell."

"Well, it's kinda dumb anyway," Apple Bloom scoffed. "Pegasuses already live in the clouds!"

"Oh yeah..." the young unicorn said, scratching her head. "I guess adults really don't know either then?"

"When a pegasus dies, their spirit becomes a star in the sky," a third voice said resolutely, causing the two philosophizing fillies to wheel around.

"Scootaloo?" they exclaimed in surprised stereo. And indeed it was. Their friend wasn't crying anymore - though she still showed signs of it, with the light fur around her eyes and on her cheeks left damp and darkened - but something in her expression still startled them a little bit. She wasn't even looking at them; her eyes were focused on the sky. Though it would soon start getting dark, it was still too early to see the stars of which she spoke. But the young pegasus knew they were there, just beyond the blue veil. She longed to see them more than ever.

"W-who told you that?" Apple Bloom inquired carefully, not sure what to make of the apathetic manner that their usually boisterous and energetic fillyfriend had suddenly adopted. She didn't know why, but she thought Scootaloo suddenly seemed.. older.

"They watch over us from high above. Serve as beacons to help us find the way when we are lost," Scootaloo continued, completely ignoring the question. She spoke as though she was merely repeating something she had memorized, in words that were not her own. "And sometimes.. sometimes, when you see a shooting star, a pegasus is coming down from the great skies beyond to help guide those left behind." The filly finally turned to face her friends, and though she hated herself for it she could not stop the tears from running down her cheeks. "Rainbow Dash told me that." It was clear that this simple fact made it gospel to the young pegasus. "I found her this one time, way after bedtime, when I'd run away from home again. She was looking at the stars and was acting really strange. And she started to tell me that story. Said her mom was up there."

"Wow.." Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exclaimed in unison, their mouths hanging open. Their awed expressions actually managed to make Scootaloo laugh, making for a confusing mix of emotions. It wasn't long before a Cutie Mark Crusaders Group Hug was loudly called for, and although she made a token effort to express how much she hated mushy stuff like that, it was just what Scootaloo needed.




Twilight was falling. The sun had all but disappeared, with only diffuse dregs of its brilliance remaining. An aptly named purple unicorn stood on the outskirts of Ponyville and gazed gently at the dying of the light. She had been heading home unhurriedly from the memorial on the hill, alone and lost in thought, but paused to watch the day's passing, realizing that she'd never really taken the time to do so.

The scenery left a bitter taste in her mouth, however. Seeing the sun move reminded her of the one responsible for its journey across the sky and how disillusioned she currently felt. Twilight had always idolized her mentor, but even she could not excuse the alicorn's absence on this day. Sure, she knew Equestria's ruler was kept very busy with her royal duties, political issues and crises big and small. But when one of the Elements of Harmony - one of her favorite student's friends - passed away, surely she could deign to appear for a little while? Or at the very least send her condolences.

The purple pony sighed. She felt too drained to muster any real anger at this shocking betrayal of her faith in her teacher. Sometimes, she felt that Celestia was as distant and unapproachable as the heavenly bodies after which the alicorn was named. It was a fact she was just going to have to live with.

Like she was going to have to live with other things..

When she turned to her way back to the library, however, she spotted something that had been left on her doorstep: a rolled-up piece of parchment bearing a official-looking wax seal. She immediately recognized its sun-shaped design, but was too puzzled by its presence there to peruse it right away. The Princess never had letters delivered like this, they always used Spike as a conduit for their correspondence. It was far more efficient. The baby dragon had seemed pretty inconsolable, though, so maybe Celestia wanted to spare him the discomfort of having to regurgitate her message?

How considerate, Twilight thought, a bit disturbed by her own bitterness.

When she took a step closer, however, the magical mare became aware of the little hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Closing her eyes, she felt her horn resonate with the powerful spells that had been woven around the innocuous-looking piece of paper. That explained a lot - this message was intended to be for her eyes only, it seemed. However convenient Spike's ability to convey letters was, the little dragon did have a habit of reading Twilight's mail..

It took mere seconds for the impatient unicorn to levitate and tear open the letter, nearly impaling the parchment on her horn as she leaned in close to read it, her eyes darting from left to right at an astonishing pace.

My dearest Twilight Sparkle,

First and foremost, my sincerest apologies for my absence during the memorial service held in honor 
of your dear friend Rainbow Dash. I ask you to forgive me, and to trust that I abstained from coming 
for good reason.

Please come and see me in my private chambers at Canterlot at your earliest convenience.
I have an urgent and sensitive matter I wish to discuss with you in private. It concerns the above.

Yours most sincerely,

Princess Celestia.