Slowly, one hoofstep after another, Rainbow Dash climbed down the ladder inside the Noble Jury's forward crawlspace. When she at last landed on the bottom deck, she sensed a soft shadow in the observation room. Immediately, her head darted forwards.
Bellesmith stood beneath the portside hammock where Rainbow Dash typically slept. Dull shadows swam across the floor, mimicking the swaying limbs of the mare as she dug her front hooves into something. Craning her neck, Rainbow Dash tried to see what it was. She discovered Belle fishing through Princess Luna's midnight satchel. The mare's hooves came out, cradling a pair of goggles with the initials "S.L." on them. A sigh escaped Belle's lips, and she hugged the article to her fuzzy chest.
"I can't stop thinking about her myself," Rainbow Dash muttered.
Belle jumped. She hugged the goggles tighter, careful not to drop them. Turning in the light of the sunrise wafting through the bubbled windows, she gazed Rainbow's way. Her muzzle was moist, and puffy around the eyes.
"But... y'know... she's doing alright for herself," Rainbow Dash said with slight shrug. "According to Luna, at least. She's a mechanic now. Even got her cutie mark in the whole thing."
Belle gulped. She nodded and said rather hoarsely, "I know. I was there when you talked with Luna about it."
"I keep forgetting how much you've witnessed and how much you've just sequenced from my thick skull," Rainbow Dash said with a breathy chuckle. "Quite frankly, it's all a friggin' blur."
"It always is, when the spheres are involved," Belle said. "I've interfaced with far too many sources than a pony can withstand. First you, then Nightshade and her foals, and... and then..." She suddenly winced.
Rainbow squinted curiously at her.
Belle shuddered. "Anyways..." She swallowed and neatly slid the goggles back into the satchel. "I'll always treasure your memories, Rainbow. But it doesn't give me any right to be rummaging through your stuff."
"By now, you should know it's nothing to sweat over." Rainbow Dash trotted over, her eyes warm and soft in the sunlight. "My stuff is pretty much your stuff."
"What I'll never get over..." Belle chuckled bitterly, shaking her head. "What will always amaze me is how reclusive and aloof you were for so long... after... after..." She sniffled. "After you lost all who were close to you, you held the world at a distance, and yet you were willing to make friends with my beloved and me." Belle smiled at the mare, her eyes watering. "You were willing to give us a chance... and t-to bless our lives."
Rainbow shrugged. "Yeah, well, you guys reminded me that the world still mattered to me." She gulped. "And maybe even depended on me."
"And look at you now," Belle said with a soft smile.
"Yeah..." Rainbow exhaled with a shiver. "Look at me now."
"Do you think..." Belle suddenly winced. "Er, no. I shouldn't..."
"Nah. Spit it out, girl."
"Well..." Belle bit her lip. "Do you think... that if you had run into Pilate and me far earlier in your travels, then you would have given a pony like Gold Petals a chance?"
Rainbow blinked at that. She surrendered to gravity, plopping down on her haunches. Blowing a series of prismatic bangs out from over her eyes, she stared into the bulkheads and muttered aloud, "I don't think so, Belle. I mean... sure... maybe?" She winced. "Gold Petals... didn't mean all that much to me."
"Are you certain?" Bellesmith asked. "We both know that she's in your head a lot, Rainbow."
"There're a lot of things in my head," Rainbow droned, staring coldly out the brightly-lit windows. The frames' hard lines slowly swam across her as the day crept along. "The feel of the warm wind in my mane. The fragrance of Everfree leaves. The songs sung during Winter Wrap-Up. Even the smell of the Wonderbolts Poster I hung up in my foalhood home." Her lips curved slightly. "There're so many things about Ponyville that dart in and out of my head, but it doesn't mean I have any hope of reliving it."
"You drank cider again," Belle said.
Rainbow looked at her.
"At Archer Pointe," the mare said. "When we drank together."
"I was with friends," Rainbow blurted. Her eyes fluttered. "And... a-and I knew it." She clenched her teeth. A cold shudder ran through her body, and she muttered aside, "Probably for the last time."
Belle's muzzle hung agape.
"Face it, Belle," Rainbow said. "It's not gonna last very long after you and Pilate are gone. The Jury, I mean. Oh, we'll survive whatever craziness the world has to throw at us. But this... this club never really had much to stand on in the first place. We're less of a cruise ship and more of a bus making frequent stops across the continents. Eagle Eye's gonna find his home sweet home. Props will either find her crazy uncle or some crazy 'sexy' machine that she'll give herself up for. Josho's bound to die of a heart attack at any given moment. Heh. Ebon...? I dunno, but suspect he'll stick with either Props or Eagle. Zaid's the kind of water-off-the-back type of stallion, so I'm sure he'd be happy to pick up a new career wherever he may happen to be. And as for Floydien—so long as his 'Nancy Jane' is in one piece, he's home anywhere."
"What about Roarke?" Belle asked.
Rainbow squinted. "What of her?"
Belle suddenly avoided her gaze.
Rainbow blinked, then spoke with a shrug, "Roarke... I can never figure out. I doubt I ever will. She deserves a future, and that can't involve flying with me forever. Nopony can go the lengths that I'm going. I knew this ages ago. That's why I can take this all in stride, y'know..."
"Rainbow Dash—"
"So, to answer your question, Belle." Rainbow sighed. "No, it would never have worked out with Gold Petals. And it never will. And you know why?" She trotted forward, then placed a gentle hoof on the mare's shoulder. "There may only be one type of loyalty, but there are different types of love. And... well... some things just can't grow back, no matter how much magic or friendship you throw at it. But listen to me when I tell you this..."
Belle gazed at her with glittering eyes.
Rainbow stared at her sharply. "I do love you, Belle," Rainbow said. "And I love Pilate and I love scampy Kera and Eagle Eye and Props and the rest of the cooly-crazy ponyfolk who fill up this ship and if it weren't for you, I would... I-I mean I wouldn't..." She gnashed her teeth.
Their joint gaze broke as the pegasus shuddered.
"I was n-nothing but a fr-freak before," Rainbow whispered. "A lame freak and a monster. I had blood on my hooves." She gulped. "I st-still do, Belle. But you? You and Pilate? Kera?" A tear squeezed out of Rainbow's eye. "You've somehow hugged it all away. You've given me something to fight for instead of the lame days that I have left to buck off and... and I-I found so much meaning..." She hid her face in a trembling hoof. "I-I thought I'd find death, adventure, and m-maybe even thrills... b-but I never thought I w-would find m-meaning when I started flying..." Her voice came in panting little squeaks. "You know... I-I hope you know that if I die now—and I will die—I'll b-be cool with it, y'know? I can let it happen... before I c-couldn't... but n-now...?"
Belle hugged her fiercely. She kissed the pegasus cheek and nuzzled her deeply. "Live, Rainbow Dash. Live long and live far. I want you to promise me that you'll do everything... to stay on this earth."
Rainbow shuddered, burying her face in Belle's shoulder as her wings drooped behind her. "You g-got a deal, Ding-Dong," she cooed, her teary face breaking forth in a tender smile.
If the last 13 chapters are this depressing, then I don't think I'll be able to go on ;-;
Ow, my heart
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Oh Rainbow my dear, you disappoint me.
3988736 IC is the Oracle! He shall lead us in out time of darkness!
3988698 I know man, I know.
Self-denial thy name is Rainbow Dash. There are several nightmares you woke up from crying out for Petals that say otherwise.
3988833
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Something has to happen. I can't take these feels anymore.
Gah, I can't believe I'm almost wishing for Shell to show up. I hate him so much.
I feel a great disturbance, as if hundreds of shippers suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
Oh gawd, you just had to bring up Gold Petals, didn't you?
Really emotional chapter, as is your forte. The number of remaining chapters is still concerning to me. If you continue writing chapters like this, we'll be incapable of having feels ever again by the fifth book, and you risk ending in anti-climax. The only other options are for something to still happen - a final shit-storm, as t'were, likely unforeseen (though time is running out for such to happen).
Whatever happens, I think Belle, Pilate, and Kera's departure is a done deal at this point. These goodbyes are too heartfelt, too... permanent-ish... for them to simply say, "Oh, never mind. We'll stick around after all!" They've crossed the departure event horizon. I'll be sad to see them go. Especially Belle and Pilate, partly from the standpoint that they were the normal, level-headed pair grounding a crew otherwise consisting of weirdos and eccentrics. I shudder to think of Floydien, Props, Josho, Zaid, and Roarke on a ship together in the arctic with nothing but an increasingly fatalistic pegasus and a maybe!changeling to buffer between the force of their personalities.
Eager to see how this plays out.
All these long goodbyes are tearing at my heartstrings, damnit.
Oops.
3988861
ANARCHY SHALL WIN THE DAY
PRAISE BIRD JESUS AND THE FRESH PRINCE OF SHELL AIR
For a brief moment I was thinking shipping. IC spoils us with it.
I'm not sure I would call this depressing. Long goodbyes are not really my thing, but these are the first friends Rainbow has truly lived to fight for since she left Ponyville. Truly, even Gold Petals didn't mean quite as much to her as the Jury. I venture to think of Gold Petals as a too-soon rebound affair now.
3989377
Oh hey, your'e here. Don't talk much, do you?
3989192
Rainbe confirmed for best pony.
Oh wow, Gold Petals. Haven't seen her in a long time.
3988698 I'm in it for the LONG haul. I made it this far. No matter how rough it gets I'm going onward, lol.
The feels. They just keep coming. There's no way we'll survive at this rate.
I'd like to throw in my petition for Snublocka as the name for the next romantic interest.
No relation to Snublock.
Words to live by.
There's really not much to say about all that sap. There's a lot more to feel.
3988949
That's right, Shell's crazier than ever and still following, isn't he? And he friggin' hates Belle's guts now. Oh shi-
Some things are meant to be felt, not said. This is one of those moments.
That said, owwwwwwww.
There is the moment i've been waiting for.
3989525
I am okay with this. All praise Rainbe.
3989377
While obviously unintentional, I think you've just destroyed my image of Eljunbryo.
Suddenly, Shell's voice is Will Smith. He was shooting some basketball, when the Xonans started making trouble in his Confederacy. He lost an eye and the Council got scared, and told him he's researching.their living weapon in Blue Shelf.
Top rank, it wasn't bad, as he drank orange juice from a champagne glass.
But then the doctor rebelled and when Rainbow Dash got out he saw the residents and the Council glaring there with his name out. He didn't want to lose his job, he just got it, so he sprang with the quickness of lightning in pursuit.
He whistled for a battleship and when it came near, the Steel Wing's plate said "fresh" and it had dice on the bridge. If anything going to Foxtaur was rash, but he said "Nah, forget it, yo homes, follow Dash!"
And now I'm rereading all Shell's lines in Will Smith's voice.
What have you done to me?
3989377
It all makes sense now! Rainbow dash has wings and is saving the world. She's bird jesus!
If Dash ws bird Jesus, wouldnt that mean to follow her would be to follow the raptor?
Someone really needs to nail Shell down inside an active volcano just toget rid of him. Hes worse than He Who Walks Behind.
3989524
Dude, I'm a like a bad fart in an elevator. I never really go away.
3988861 Austraeoh plot twist: the Midnight Armory holds the helix fossil.
3992223
~Basso
when's the next luna time?
3991611 Who is He Who Walks Behind?
3992863
He Who Walks Behind is a really nasty demon that Harry Dresden, Chicago Wizard of The Dresden Files, has real problems with.
I dont beleive I can link to the excelent crossovers here on FimFic due to possible ratings conflicts.
In fact, I apologise if the information here is too much of a link, please delete if so, and Im sorry for the mess up on my end.
3992898 Why don't you just PM me?
3992863
Demon Outsider from Dresden Files. Basically, he is behind you. Always. You can't turn fast enough to see him, though you might get a glimpse in a mirror. He is also unimaginably strong, and hates everything.
Its going to be so hard for Rainbow without Belle, considering she's never opened up to anyone about her past before. Then again, she never even opened up to Belle in the first place (forced sequencing~). So hopefully Dash starts to trust the rest of the Noble Jury crew more!
P.S. I'm liking all the Twitch Plays Pokemon references in the comments
I have a feeling that promise will go a long way.
Stop making me feel...
Gut punch feel
3988959
I love you guys, the noble jury. Don't stop being awesome with me.
I suspect in Rainbow's greatest hour of peril, when all hope seems lost and she just feels like giving up, she'll remember this deal.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
This is a different kind of finale. Instead of action, it's feels...sniff. This was pretty sad. I liked this conversation. Also, I'm still banking on Shell showing up at some point. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Well, I'm going to Arizona for a vacation for about a week. Sadness...oh well though.
I'm not quite sure how honest Rainbow is being with Belle – or, perhaps more importantly, herself – here. On one hoof, it might be true. On the other hoof, there's this part from Innavedr:
-Spirit
3988861
BLASPHEMY!!!!!
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YOU CONSULT THE MAGIC CONCH, PEASANT!
Eljunbyro's final blessing and act.
At least Dash gets some closure in the end.
In the end of days, we will cry out for some reprieve
some brief moment of mercy from our feels
and Skirts will look down upon us and say
"No."