And I Pray I Will Be Forgiven, For I Must Make Many Amends
This is the final main chapter. The epilogue will be out Saturday. 
Thanks again, Raven! 
And I Pray I Will Be Forgiven, For I Must Make Many Amends
Sand...
Only dry sand...
It was the first thing she felt at her back; something of an odd feeling for her, as she had never been on a beach before.
The sound of crashing ocean waves came soon afterward, lightly teasing her eardrum. She kept her eyes shut and soaked in the new environment, letting the salty air grace her lungs with its presence. Never before in her life had she felt so relaxed or at peace, other than perhaps when Lily had first held her, and maybe it was because the terrible pain was now gone. She couldn't even quite remember how she arrived at this beach, but she admittedly did not care enough to warrant getting up.
All she knew was that her pain was now gone. She had paid for everything, just as she had told Twilight she would, and it felt glorious. Her burdens no longer weighed upon her, and her grief had long since faded. At last, she could rest happily on this beach for as long as she so desired, and she planned on that wholeheartedly. The sun beating down on her was not as hot as she was normally accustomed to, and with each passing breeze from the ocean, she breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"D-did...
...
... did I die?" she coolly whispered.
She placed a hoof at her side and ran it through the sand; it was dry and soft, yet cool to the touch. While lazily leaning her head over, she caught a glimpse of the white granules running over her foreleg and the endless beach that extended past it. About a hundred or so yards from the water's edge lied lush grass fields and various dry shrubbery. Suddenly, she noticed her scarlet mane pass in front of her eyes, as it was abnormally long. It was so long, in fact, that she could feel it nearly reach all the way to her flank. She had not grown it out that far in many years.
Getting a little curious, she took her other hoof and rubbed the sand off into her coat, then calmly rubbed over the burned areas of her face... except there were none.
Her wounds had been completely healed, and for some reason, this caused her to smile and lightly chuckle at the fact. She let out a few more small laughs before she finally quit and pulled her legs to her side again, lying completely straight in the sand.
"I did it, Twilight Sparkle," she spoke calmly, "I paid my debts to Equestria, and even Celestia herself. Although, I'm sure you were probably sick of my face, anyway. Who wouldn't be? After everything I've done, this was the very least I could do. It's a shame I could not witness the fruits of my labor... or my sacrifice, but I know in my heart it was not in vain."
She continued to lie still for several long, relaxing minutes, silently pondering if she would stay in that exact spot for all eternity. With all her woes gone, she felt as though she certainly could have. After taking a good bit of time to ponder her actions, she became faintly aware of a new sound-- the sound of hoofsteps in the sand. She wasn't quite sure how she knew, but she could feel they were being made by another pony, and a small one at that.
Without even daring to peek over at the new arrival, she addressed her with total confidence in her voice.
"I suppose I'm dead," she admitted to the newcomer, "Aren't I?"
She was quite shocked when a little filly's voice responded.
"My mommy's been waiting for you very patiently," she said courteously.
Lady flicked a loose lock of hair to the side, letting it fall out of her line of sight. With no obstructions now, she was able to clearly make out the girl's emerald-green eyes staring down upon her. The unicorn filly was almost taken aback by the mare's fierce gaze, though she did not mean for her own red eyes to appear hostile.
"Your mother?" she inquired.
"Y-yeah..." the filly replied shyly, "Will you please get up... and come say hello?"
Lady almost laughed at her request, leaning over onto her side to gain some leverage. With the pain in her body gone, she found standing up to be quite simple.
"Why, of course I'll come say hello," she agreed, "I have all the time in the world now."
"Great!" the filly happily yelped.
She signaled for Lady to follow, and the mare willingly complied, trailing in her hoofsteps among the dry sand. A small grin eased its way into her features as they walked, for she was more than eager to meet this young girl's mother. However, she could not stop pondering about why this filly was here in the first place, wondering if she too had died. The little unicorn seemed so spry and youthful, and she was almost afraid to find out the truth. Perhaps out of sympathy, she walked neatly along her side to keep her company.
This beach was long and vast; it appeared to stretch forever. Lady had come up with a few questions after thinking on it, though she decided to start with the simple ones first.
"So," the mare started, "What is your name, little one?"
"I'm Leya," she replied with a giggle and a smile.
Lady cocked an eyebrow. "Leya? Hmm... I see. Tell me, how old are you, Leya?"
The girl nodded her head to the side and peered over at the mare happily. "Five!" she triumphantly declared.
For one reason or another, that number sent chills down Lady's spine, for she did not wish to fathom how the filly could have died so young, or her mother, for that matter. She was struggling not to let her concern show.
"Five?" she asked playfully, "Well, you're certainly grown-up for being only five."
"I know that!" the filly scoffed, "I used to go out into the woods all the time and hang out there all day!"
"The woods? That can be a dangerous place."
"Not for me!" she cried, "I just thought all the trees and flowers were so pretty to look at, and all the animals were so nice to me. You can't appreciate it all until you stay there for one, entire day."
"Oh but I did, child," Lady replied with a smile, "I spent many days there with my wife. It was one of our favorite places to be."
"Yeah, I know that!"
Lady stopped in the sand, letting the ocean breeze lightly pull her long tresses to the side of her face. Her vividly scarlet mane came within only an inch of reaching the ground.
"How would you know that?" she asked skeptically.
The filly flashed another wide grin. "Because my mommy told me all about it."
Lady was taken somewhat aback by that statement; her features grew more curious. She watched the girl suddenly change course, from walking down the beach to belligerently tromping up a small, nearby sand dune. Staying alert, Lady followed her up the hill. There was grass over its side, she was certain of that much.
"How would your mother know that?" she asked finally.
The filly waited until they had crested the dune to answer, letting the mare take in the glorious sight before her.
There was an endless field that stretched on for an eternity. The sky was peppered with gentle clouds, grandiose and welcoming, calmly gliding along an invisible current out to the limitless ocean behind them. The grass was shorter here, swaying and very green. It was all so wonderful, and yet, the landscape took little of her notice.
Only the mare standing within it all took her attention. She instantly recognized her lush, magenta locks, her deep burgundy eyes, and her radiant coat which shined with all the brilliance of a freshly created pearl. The mare smiled warmly at her... and she could no longer contain herself.
"Why don't you ask her yours--?" the filly cut her own speech short.
Lady had already taken off at a full gallop, leaving a trail of tears in the grass behind her.
Her heart's burning desire, the only thing she truly wanted more than anything else in the real world, and it was now within running distance. She had to reach it at any cost. She had to force herself to run faster. The gap had to be closed. It just had to. She'd have given anything to touch her, hold her, and love her one more time -- and now she finally had that opportunity. Her long tresses trailed behind her like a massive, heavy flame.
The lovely mare started to walk her way, and Lady swore that every step she took was the most majestic thing she ever had the pleasure of witnessing.
It took her only a few seconds to close the distance; it flashed by in an instant.
Lady only barely slowed down as she came up to her, and somehow managed to stop just short of running into her at full force, when she suddenly reached up planted the most rich and satisfyingly passionate kiss upon her wife's lips that she could ever remember. Assertively, she wrapped her foreleg around the back of her wife's head and gently pulled her in, deepening the kiss yet further. Lady tried desperately to refrain from whimpering into Lily's delicate mouth, letting her lower jaw slowly contract over and over again, reveling in every passionate kiss she stole as it brought back so many wonderful memories. Her wife happily and obediently complied, reciprocating all of the passion she was receiving with equal fervor and love, letting her wife advance upon her completely unhindered.
Lady's heavy, sorrowful breathing gradually turned into softer sighs after about half a minute had passed. Her tears continued to flow, though Lily took little notice. Once Lady had been assured that it was really her wife she was kissing, she calmly removed her hoof from Lily's head and continued to steal kiss after kiss, each one better than the last. Like a terrible craving, she had longed for the taste of her wife's lips and the heavenly aroma her body gave off naturally. She indeed smelled of flowers, as her name might suggest.
With the sun at their backs and the wind lifting their lengthy manes ever higher into the breeze, they allowed themselves to bask in each other's presence. This was the one thing Lady had been hoping for; this was all she ever wanted. They heard the sound of Leya's hoofsteps, but they ignored her for the time being. The filly couldn't help but gaze in wonder at their nigh divine beauty.
But, only after another minute or so had elapsed, Lady suddenly stopped.
She pulled her lips away...
... and promptly collapsed at her wife's feet.
She hung her head low and cried profusely. Lily's eyes fluttered open, and she gazed upon her sobbing wife with great concern. Lady's long mane nearly covered her entire frame as though a blanket would. She might have even admitted that she was trying to use it to hide her shame. The grass lightly brushed across her nose.
"Oh Lily..." she whimpered through rivers of tears, "I've done... so many terrible things... and... I've hurt so many good ponies... whom never deserved it..."
She buried her face into the turf to stifle her cries, but it was proving futile. Angrily, she pounded a hoof into the ground and kicked up a spot of grass, yet Lily remained quiet. Her wife was accustomed to these outbursts when they lived together, and now was no different. She knew Lady all too well, and the only way to appease her fits was with a gentle hug... and soothing words.
As she did on the first day they met, Lily fell to her hocks and embraced her in the most subtle and nurturing way she knew how. Lady simply relented, allowing herself to be cradled and held like a broken child needed to be. This was a secret of Lily's, for she knew her wife had limitless powers and strengths that she could never begin to fathom. Sometimes, a god's might can not be quelled by another, equally strong power, but only with comfort and equally strong words.
Her voice, ever so delicate and soothing, pacified Lady's tumultuous spirit.
"I love you, Lady," she whispered, "I love you for who you are, not what you have done. I know you never meant to hurt anyone, and you didn't. My wife never would." Lily pulled her in even closer. "We can't change the things that happened to us, but you didn't take anything away that was permanent. I've seen the grief in your heart. I've seen the way you hide your true feelings. And, because of all of that, I want you to know that we can be together forever now, and you'll never have to worry about hiding yourself ever again."
"B-but-- Lily!" her wife retorted, "I destroyed, and burned, and decimated, and terrified so many of them! What I did was unforgivable! It was so hard for me to accept a life without you-- and I just couldn't! You KNOW how my power gets without you around! It had to get out of me! Without you there... I just...
just...
... destroyed everything!
Everything I saw made me angry, and I knew you wouldn't want me to hurt anypony, so I stopped myself! But it never helped! I brought Equestria to the brink of ruin, and what good did all of that prove to be?! I could have easily destroyed entire worlds if it meant you could hold me one more time!! But I know that's not what you wanted, Lily! I know that's not what you wanted-- but it was the only way I knew how!
It was...
... the only way...
... the only way I knew how."
"Shhh..." Lily softly hushed her, rocking her back and forth. "Lady, we both know that Twilight Sparkle forgave you, and she was the one you hurt most. I'm sure everypony will get along just fine with us here watching over them. You've emended your mistakes plenty enough, as far as I'm concerned. And besides, I am your wife. My opinion is what should matter most to you."
"You opinion does matter most to me," Lady whispered weakly, "But I still care about the others, Lily."
Her wife let out a sigh of relief, as if that was the only thing she wanted to hear from this entire conversation. Lady was finally beginning to calm down.
"I'm glad you care about them," Lily nuzzled her wife's ear playfully, "That was the only thing you ever needed to learn, Lady. That's it."
Fire...
Twisting and turning fire...
It flowed around them like the water in river, passing them by as though they were only a mere obstacle. Twilight had attempted her best to shield their bodies, but she was not sure how long she could hold. She could only cling to Rainbow for dear life as they were thrashed about wildly, for the pegasus could only alter their course so much.
They would've been lost if the flame had not taken the path of least resistance, taking with it loose stone and hot rubble. Rainbow was beating her tired wings for two now, and failure was not an option. She had always been told that flying blind was the greatest mistake a pegasus could make; it was actually preferred to halt any progress as opposed to going so recklessly, but they had no choice.
Twilight's spell kept them from colliding forcefully with the walls now and again, and Rainbow sincerely hoped she would not take them headfirst into an impenetrable surface. The pegasus used the natural gust of the flames to guide her to the straightaways. It was at these lengths where she would give another strong flap, alter trajectory, flap again, and then let the flames carry them once more. She could barely hear Twilight's screams over the roar of the inferno, but it was obvious her unicorn could not hold out for much longer.
Every thrust forward the pegasus gave was a slight relief for Twilight. Even with her elevated state of magical prowess, holding up the barrier around them was proving extremely taxing.
The flames sent them grazing past the hard surface of a stony wall on more than one occasion, causing the unicorn to wince in pain and stifle a cry of agony. Somehow, her magic had only held up this far by sheer willpower.
Rainbow felt the wall of flames stutter to the right, so she veered left.
Then, it broke left this time, and she promptly went to its counter.
The tunnels snaked out in long curves at times, forcing her to make small adjustments to her head and chest to compensate, though she was still flying blind. She could have sworn that they were coming close to the exit, but there was no way to know for sure. She could feel Twilight struggling in her grasp, making it much more difficult to keep them aloft than she first expected. The unicorn could not help her situation though, for it felt like there were a million tiny pins trying to puncture her barrier, and she had to fight off every single one.
"STAY WITH ME, TWILIGHT!!!" the pegasus screamed; she wasn't sure if her mare could even hear her.
Twilight only responded with an unintelligible yelping noise, fighting desperately for both of their lives. They briefly impacted with another wall, and Rainbow felt the barrier waver again, causing the unicorn to fidget even further. Her spell was disintegrating, second by second, until there remained only a thin coat of magic surrounding them.
"C'MON TWILIGHT!! WE'RE ALMOST THERE!!!"
It was the last thing the unicorn heard...
... before her head hit a loose stone, dangling low from the ceiling.
Her spell gave out in an instant, and they hit the floor forcefully. They tumbled a few times along the ground, spinning violently as the flames attempted to swallow them alive. Twilight blacked out just as the floor dropped out from underneath them, as if it had suddenly vanished like one of Lady's memories. Her head was spinning, and her willpower had been entirely drained. For some reason she couldn't understand, the fire felt as though it receded too, along with the cave floor.
But the wind was picking up; it grew into a full gust.
Though, she began to wonder if this was really the wind... or if she had entered free-fall.
Her body stopped responding to her commands and she went limp.
"Is she alright, mommy?" asked the little filly; she courteously approached the two mares sitting in the grass.
Lily continued to lightly stroke her wife's voluminous mane, tucking it close to her back. She flashed a smile at her daughter as she sat down with them upon the greenery, listening closely to Lady's breathing. She was calming down, bit by bit, with each passing second. Only her wife's touch could soothe her spirit.
"Yes, Leya," she replied, "I think she'll be fine. She's just been through a lot lately."
"What about her spells on the other ponies?" the girl asked inquisitively.
"Those'll wear off now that she's here with us. She's very sorry for what she's done, as I'm sure you can tell."
The filly smirked and gave a nod in agreement. "So, does that mean we're a family now?"
Normally, a statement like that would've melted Lily's heart, but with her wife still within her embrace, she was given the strength to happily respond.
"Yes, Leya. It means we're a family now."
"Cool!" the filly yelped with glee.
As if on queue, Lady began to lightly giggle at the child's outburst, and her wife calmly let go of her. She sat up fully, taking in one particularly deep breath of the warm, salty air. With a swift hoof, she dabbed away the rest of her tears and turned to the child.
"She's a spry one, Lily," she admitted, "How did you two meet anyway?"
Lily rubbed a hoof under her chin and turned back to her daughter, thinking on the matter.
"Well, there's not much to tell, I suppose," the mare lightly patted her daughter's head, making her smile even wider, "It was almost a week after I passed, I think, and I came out here to this exact place to gather my thoughts, when I saw her playing along the beach."
"I love the water!" Leya added, "I never got to see a beach like this until I got here, though. It's so different than the woods."
"It sure is," her mother agreed; she shifted her gaze back to Lady, "And when I saw no one else out here, I took her with me. I saw how truly special she was."
Lady gave the filly a once-over, as if to gauge her capacities as a unicorn. However, she had come a long way from the critical being she once was.
"She is special, Lily," she noted, "I can feel it."
"Y-you... think I'm special too?" the girl hesitated in asking.
"Of course I do... Leya, was it? That's a pretty name as well."
"T-thanks!" she said with a smile.
"Now," Lady rested a soft hoof on the filly's shoulder, suddenly dropping her own smile. "You don't have to tell me, if you'd like, but... I must ask for my own curiosity, little one."
Leya's cheeks turned into a light frown. She was slightly afraid of her question.
"Please, Leya," she said, "Will you tell me how you passed?"
Lady expected the filly to immediately gasp, or at least look puzzled... but she didn't. Instead, she raised a smooth eyebrow and began twiddling one of her hooves in the wavy grass. Lily was about to stop her from speaking, although, in her experiences, that was always a bad thing.
"I don't... really know how," she admitted, "I was just walking through the woods one afternoon. I don't even really remember where I lived, so that was just one of my favorite things to do. I knew my way around enough, and it wasn't really all that scary to me. But... it was nighttime; I remember that much. I was following this light that came from deep in the woods, and it looked like it was running away from me, so I chased after it. It was the reddest red I had ever seen. And then, it just stopped, and it got brighter and brigh--"
"Stop," Lady quickly cut her off, "Just stop...
... please, Leya...
... that's all I needed to know."
Without so much as another word, she quickly took up the filly in a hug, for her innocence and naiveté had simply crushed her soul with those few words. Lily immediately recognized the look of pure dread and guilt upon her wife's face, for she had been emotionally destroyed for the last time. She feared she might not be able to calm her wife's heart this time.
"Oh, Leya..." the mare whimpered weakly, "I'm so...
... sorry..."
Rainbow's eyes weakly fluttered open.
She immediately noticed the moon, which had begun to lose its red coloring, and then the roaring wind and fire. She could not hear it, though, for her ears were ringing. Far above her, a torrential firestorm was escaping from the tunnel they had initially entered, and the mountain itself seemed to be releasing an enormous jet of fire into the sky.
The last thing she could recall was Twilight hitting something, and then the barrier fell. Her multi-colored mane brushed the front of her face, but she did not immediately take the hint. It wasn't until she noticed the mountain rising even higher above her that she finally made the connection.
She was falling... and fast.
"Twilight!" she yelped, suddenly remembering that she was the only one who could fly.
Swiftly, she adjusted her wings downward and flipped herself over in mid-flight. Her eyes briefly caught sight of the falling unicorn several stories below her. Twilight's head was bleeding, and her eyes remained blissfully shut. Her mane and tail whipped around wildly as she reached terminal velocity.
She was out cold, and the ground was fast approaching.
"NOO!!" she quickly screamed out.
With a tremendous heave, the pegasus pushed a hefty wall of air behind her, quickly doubling her speed. Her velocity continued to increase with every second, and the unicorn still remained completely unresponsive. They had fallen a great deal, and she began to doubt whether she could actually reach her in time. She could not bear to see Twilight die now, especially not when she could have saved her. Though her wings were exhausted, she pressed downward, continuing to flap with every ounce of strength she could manage to pull from within herself.
The falling unicorn was only mere seconds from impact.
"YOU'RE NOT DYING ON ME, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!"
Lady began to grieve yet again, stroking the filly's curly, green mane with her hoof. Lily never had the courage to ask Leya how she died, but she could tell by her wife's reaction that it was due to her actions. She came to her wife and Leya's side and huddled with them in one, collective family hug. Lady was inconsolable, and the small filly was still not quite sure why. She had become eerily quiet as she wept.
"Why's she sad this time, mommy?" asked the filly.
Lily tried her best to come up with a small, white lie. Although, there was still truth in her words.
"She's just upset that you passed so young, sweetie," she whispered into the filly's ear, "She thinks you're very special, and wishes that you could have had another chance to grow up in Equestria."
"But... w-why would I want to do that?" she asked hesitantly, "I love you, mommy. I like it here."
"While I love you too, we just think you had so much more to experience back in the living world. You could have grown up, gone to school, made friends, and maybe even had children of your own."
Lady finally and calmly released the filly and sat back up, keeping her head down to hide her river of tears. Once again, Lily had somehow managed to forgive what was unforgivable. It was the best decision she ever made in her life when she asked Lily to marry her. Despite all of her wife's disabilities in life, she was still more perfect than Lady could ever dream of being. She was undeniably proud to call Lily her wife.
"I don't know," Leya replied, "That sounds kinda' boring."
"Child," Lady briefly interrupted, "Having someone to love, and who loves you genuinely in return... is the single most important thing you can ever have in your entire life. Believe me in that... for I speak from experience. Much experience."
"Well of course I know that!" the filly retorted, "Mommy taught me that a long time ago!"
Lady kept her head down unflinchingly, pondering if Leya actually believed what she was saying. Perhaps it was just her innocence speaking, but she felt that her words were genuine. She wanted to cry even more, but stopped herself. She had begged for enough forgiveness for one day.
"It seems," she started to whisper, "That we began reading the books of our lives starting from opposite ends. You started reading from the end and learned the most important lesson first, where as I started reading from the beginning and didn't learn that vital lesson until the very last page..."
The filly cocked her head to the side, running those words through her head over and over, when she at last let another smile break across her features.
"Well maybe," she finally said, "You just need to put the book down and look at the world around you. You can't learn everything from pesky, old books."
Lady was simply taken aback; her mouth hung loosely. She had heard something so eerily similar to that before, back when she was younger.
"That sounds like... something Princess Celestia tried to tell me... back before I was replaced.
Although, I never listened to that advice."
She pondered over the filly, watching how the endless day's sunlight caused her mane to blend evenly with the radiantly green grass. There was only purity and warmth in the filly's eyes, and she knew at that moment that this was the type of unicorn that Celestia so desperately sought out.
"Y-you... could have even been a princess yourself, Leya," she finally admitted.
Lily pressed a soft hoof of reassurance on her wife's shoulders, but remained quiet. She enjoyed the fact her family was learning from each other and growing closer, despite the fact that they had only been a family for about several minutes now. The filly only shrugged her shoulders at the statement and quickly wrapped her forelegs around Lady to show that she didn't care anymore. She wanted to keep weeping for her loss. She wanted to let out the enormous reservoir of grief in her heart, but the filly wouldn't allow it.
So, she accepted Leya's offering, and the three of them sat quietly.
A few more minutes passed, and then there suddenly came a stronger breeze.
The wind was picking up into a full gust, so the three of them huddled together. There were no storm clouds of the sort above them, and everything about the wind seemed out of place. It all felt so unnatural, nearly artificial, and when Lady glanced into her wife's eyes, she saw that this was something that almost never happened.
They all hugged and simply waited for the squall to go on by, and when it seemed to finally die down, they calmly released each other.
Lady was the first to peer up and look around, but she did not see any immediate signs of inclement weather. In fact, everything appeared to be just as peaceful as before.
"Where did that come from?" Leya asked.
Lily patted her head. "I'm not sure, sweetie. Maybe it's time we all left."
Lady simply smiled at her wife, though still looking a little puzzled... when she heard hoofsteps behind her. There was somepony else in the meadow. She quickly snapped her head to the side to see what caused the sound and nearly shrieked at what she saw.
Without hesitation, she quickly stood up to face the new arrivals. Acting on instinct, she moved in front of her wife and child, quite prepared to unleash hellfire upon the intruders.
But then she stopped... and held herself back. There was no feasible way she could attack them.
There were about fifty of them all clustered together.
They all had multiple battle scars and wounds from a fight they had won valiantly.
"We can take her with us," said the lead clone.
Rainbow nearly plowed into Twilight, but she couldn't help it; she was going much too fast.
Her chest had slammed into the unicorn's, and she swiftly wrapped around her for dear life. She pulled back on her wings with all of her might, not trying to stop, but to alter course. Stopping was entirely out of the question at this point.
The tree line was fast approaching, covered in soot and ashes, and she could only hope it would cushion their fall enough no to kill them. With but a second before impact with the ground, she managed to barely careen into the dense thicket of leaves and foliage, stirring up the grey ash and taking it along with her.
She struck a branch at blinding speed and tumbled through the air, taking most of the impact in her shoulders. Luckily, Twilight had been protected by her sacrifice, but the cost she had paid was dear. She came out of one tree and directly into another, and yet another again. The unicorn remained limp in her grasp, yet Rainbow stayed firm, taking every lashing in stride. Her plan seemed to be working, as they were indeed slowing down. She tried reaching for a branch in midair and only clipped it, but it was enough to give her the proper braking she needed.
It left her hoof bloodied, yet she quickly forgot about the pain when her back grazed the side of a large tree trunk. She let out a brief yelp in pain and hit one more low-hanging branch before she finally let go. Twilight fell only a few feet or so before landing on her back. A tumultuous mixture of wet moss and tree roots acted as her landing pad, and her body tumbled loosely a few times. At last, she came to rest beside a calm stream, only a foot away from falling in.
Rainbow tucked her body and bulldozed her way through some underbrush, rolling over helplessly, again and again. The green shrubbery was weak and easily gave way under her weight, but it eventually brought her to a stop. Finally, she came to a rest on her back, taking in the smell of the forest. Her body ached all over; she couldn't even count how many times she had flipped over.
She took several deep breaths, trying to push the pain out through her mouth, and it only seemed to be working by the smallest of margins. Each desperate gasp for life felt harder than the last, and she was somewhat relieved the ash cloud had not reached this far beneath the tree line. Her body was plagued with soot, leftover from the initial explosion. She tried to shake it off, but that did little of anything. Deciding that she had spent too much time dawdling, she tried to get up.
What she expected to be an easy landing when she first asked Twilight to trust her had now turned out to be a colossal failure. She was forced to limp back the way she came, taking long and unsteady steps. The pain in her shoulder was killing her, but she bit her lip and trudged on.
It was a bit harder to see now, as she realized there was no longer the moon's red glow to keep everything alight.
"I-Is... is it over?" she wheezed.
With a quick swipe of her hoof, she smashed away another rather large plant, and finally saw her unicorn laying peacefully by the stream.
Her forehead still trickled blood, but Rainbow couldn't see from this distance if she was breathing or not. She plodded on, taking heavy steps just to keep herself up. The closer she approached, the more worried she became.
"Shit!!" she cried in distress.
With one final heave of her body, she fell clumsily at Twilight's side, placing her ear over Twilight's chest.
She heard nothing.
Twilight wasn't breathing.
"NO!" she yelped again.
Swiftly, she propped herself up and began pumping her hooves upon Twilight's sternum, hoping to restart her heart. She pushed and pushed, pressing on the center of her chest with only as much force as she thought necessary. She didn't want to run the risk of cracking her ribs, so she quickly moved to her muzzle while taking in a deep breath and assertively pressed her lips upon her mare's. With one great exhalation, she inflated Twilight's lungs, trying anything to get a rise out of her.
She pulled away and looked upon her mare's bloody head, hyperventilating out of sheer terror. She had no clue what to do anymore. Nothing she attempted had made any progress, and it was quickly ripping her heart apart. Carefully, she picked Twilight's head off the mossy floor and cradled her. It was the second time in only two days that she had watched Twilight slowly die in her hooves, and the emotional damage was starting to take its toll.
Rainbow gently shook her and whimpered through streams of tears.
"C'mon, Twilight... we won...
We finally won... and now you're dying... and there's nothing I can d-do...
What about that vacation?
I... already had a few places in mind, too."
The pegasus tried to wipe away some of the blood from her mare's head, and it appeared as though it was stopping. Her eyes were serene and peaceful, and her mouth was still slightly wet with Rainbow's saliva, yet she looked so lifeless. Her mare was starting to give up.
With the sounds of the explosions high above them beginning to die away, she began to slowly rock Twilight back and forth; it was all she could think to do.
"Come on, Twilight... we won..." she whispered.
Lady faced a wall of herself, all of the clones she had sent to do her bidding were now staring down upon her. She wasn't sure whether to feel grief for their sacrifice or fear that they would turn against her. Lily sat motionless, holding her daughter close.
"I'll say it again," said the lead clone, "We can take the girl with us."
Lady lowered her horn aggressively. " And what do you mean by that?"
Her clone was almost just as shocked by her leader's sudden display of hostility, but she had meant what she said. She had to appeal to her better judgment.
"Leader," she addressed her; that caught Lady's attention instantly, "We have been listening to your conversations with your wife -our wife- and we have come for the girl. We wish to take her back to Equestria, so that she may live again."
"Preposterous!" Lady scoffed, "How would that even be possible? You should have all returned to the Mirror Pool anyway upon the instant of my death!"
"You endowed us with a great power, leader," her clone replied, "But, you also endowed us with a great curse. While we were supposed to simply return to the pool, our connection to you caused us to feel the pain of a true death for ourselves. While our agony may not have been as great as yours, it was still unbearable in the highest order. We could not simply go back to the Mirror Pool... without following you here first."
Lady withdrew her horn, carefully eyeing every exact replica of herself. She wanted to weep for all of them, for she never knew the true consequences of her bonding spell. She never anticipated that they would have to feel the pain of death, and that alone gnawed at her heart.
"I'm... sorry... for all of you," she said. "It was never my intention for you to die, and even if you did, I only thought you would do so painlessly."
Her lead clone smirked at her and began to approach; her familiar, red eyes twinkled in the endless day's sun.
"We do not hold grudges, leader, for we are far above you in that respect. However, we have done just as much wrong here as you have. While you made us with free will, we still followed your orders as instructed, even against our better judgment. It will take Equestria a very long time to repair the damages we have caused, but there is one mistake we can correct."
"And what's that?" Lady asked.
Her clone pointed past her toward the filly wrapped in her mother's embrace.
"We can give her another chance at life, if you so desire. With the rest of our collective power, it should be rather simple, and when our magic is finally spent, we may return to the Mirror Pool... and forget the pain we have caused."
"What?" she scoffed.
Without so much as a word to her mother, Leya pulled away and stood up from the grass, then carefully made her way on over to Lady. Lily got up and quickly followed, but remained extremely hesitant.
"Lady, wait a moment," said her wife, "Let's talk this over."
The unicorn turned away from her clone and met Lily's gaze with concern as Leya stopped promptly at her side.
"I think they speak the truth, Lily," she noted.
"Of course they're telling the truth," said her wife, "But don't you think this is something for Leya herself to decide."
"Certainly," Lady responded, quickly turning to the filly, "Leya, I must ask you to take great consideration over this matter, for there is no reversing it once it has been carried out. My clones have offered to use the last of their magic to give you a new chance at life in Equestria, and we must know whether or not you accept it."
The filly carefully eyed the clones, not afraid of their presence in the least. However, when she turned to her mother, she appeared nervous.
"Will I ever... get to see you again, mommy?" she asked weakly.
Lily came to her and gave the filly another warm hug. With her voice just as soft and gentle as ever, she whispered into her daughter's ear, trying to choke back tears.
"Yes, Leya. You will get to see us again... But, please promise me that you'll do all the things we talked about. I want you to make some friends, go to school, fall in love, and have a family of your own... because I know you can do these things. Lady and I will watch over you, and we won't be far if you ever need to speak to us, okay?"
"Um... okay, mommy," she replied hesitantly.
"But, Lily," Lady added, "Where will she stay? We have to find a home for her, and somepony who would be willing to care for her."
Her wife simply smiled. "I think we both know who would make the perfect candidate-- or candidates, I should say."
Lady searched her memory and quickly made the connection. "Wait, you mean Twilight Sparkle? And Miss Dash?"
"Why not?"
"B-because-- !" Lady stammered, "They only just discovered their feelings for each other, Lily. A child is a weighty responsibility, and I only want the very best for Leya, as I'm sure you do too. She deserves as much."
"I've seen what they are like more than you have, Lady," she replied hospitably, "They've been through a lot, and I thought you'd see by now that they are more than capable of caring for her. Personally, I can't think of two ponies who are more qualified to care for her... other than us, perhaps."
Lady lowered her head, afraid she had hurt her wife's feelings.
"Lily," she quietly responded, "I know they are more than capable... I've seen it too. I was just afraid for her because of--"
Her wife swiftly cut her off by placing a gentle hoof over her mouth, and slowly pulled it away. Nothing more needed to be said, which was something Lady absolutely loved about her relationship with Lily. Neither of them was ever dominant over the other, and both of their opinions equally mattered. She needed a pony like that in her life to keep her temper and power in check.
Seeing as their small argument was over, they each turned longingly back to the filly. Quietly, they had one final group hug as a family, letting the moment sink in for all of them. Lily nuzzled her daughter's head one last time, squeezing her tightly and affectionately.
"Do us proud," Lily told her, "Remember... we're here if you ever need us, sweetie."
Her daughter squeezed her back.
"I love you, mommy."
Lily's lower lip would not stop quivering; she did not know whether to feel elated... or deeply sad.
The filly quickly gave Lady a firm hug as well, and the mare was quick about straightening her hair into a presentable fashion. She said nothing of her appearance, but it was something her own mother used to do for her when she was little. It was the first time she had ever received a hug from a pony younger than herself, and she wanted to make sure she had done it correctly.
"Now, Leya," she addressed her softly while looking into her eyes, "Please behave for Miss Sparkle, though I'm sure that won't be difficult for a sweet, unicorn filly such as yourself. She has been through a great deal lately, so go easy on her. I'm sure she'll love you just as we do, and she'll probably be thrilled to teach you everything she knows about magic... Just please be sure to show her the life away from the books as much as you can. Understand?"
The filly's frantic nodding caused her to break a smile.
"Excellent," she added.
Leya finally stood up and gathered herself, as did her adoptive parents. Lady's clone signaled for her to approach, and she complied hesitantly. Another strong breeze blew across the field, whipping around the red manes of all the ponies gathered around the little girl. Her initial fear had mostly subsided, and she casually turned back to her mothers, standing and waiting for them all to eventually leave.
Lily stuck close to her wife's side, eyeing her filly carefully. She seemed happy enough and gave her mother a joyful wave with her hoof.
Bit by bit, the clones at the back of the group began to break away into small particles of light, starting at their hooves and on to the rest of their bodies. Lady silently nodded to her lead clone, whom returned the gesture in earnest. She was sure Leya would be safe.
They continued to dissolve away into the wind, floating like the seeds of a dandelion would, far off into the distance. At last, Leya began to fade away too, yet she did so with a confident smile. The last thing the two mares saw of their daughter was her still waving hoof, before it finally faded away as well.
The breeze died down, and all at once... it struck Lily.
The weight of the mare's sadness caused her to collapse to the soft grass beneath her, and Lady immediately took her rightful place at her wife's side. She placed a steady foreleg around her frame, trying to comfort her as best as she could.
"Lily," she said worriedly, "I thought this was what you wanted."
"It is... Lady," her wife whispered to the ground, "But she's all I have had since I died... It's just so hard to let her go. I know she'll be happier this way, but I'll still miss her."
Lady had a few choice words for this exact situation.
"Believe me, Lily, I think she will miss you more than you could ever know. Ever since the day I lost you, I searched to every far end of Equestria for something that could fill the immense hole in my heart. But, without you in my life, I realized that nothing I could ever hope to find, no matter how perfect it was, could ever replace something as perfect as you. One day, Leya will consider it a true honor and a privilege to have known you as her mother... and I'd find it hard to believe if she does not do so already.
You're truly perfect, Lily."
Her wife responded by glancing at her, allowing their eyes, colored various shades of red, to meet. Their lengthy manes floating softly in the wind would make even the most beautiful ponies envious.
Lily smirked, letting a single tear fall down her cheek.
"Lady... you have the most lovely eyes."
Lady bit her lip only once, anticipating something.
"They are surpassed only by my wife's."
With the salty breeze still blowing in from the ocean, filling their lungs with warm, comforting air, Lady leaned in close...
... and kissed her wife with such passion that they fell over into the grass, locking each other up in a firm hug.
Kissing her wife was Lady's true heaven.
And she had reached it.
Rainbow only wept...
and wept...
and wept further still.
No amount of crying could bring her back to reality, and no amount of love could bring back Twilight.
She was so lost in her sorrow that she had not yet noticed the rain beginning to fall around her... or at least, it only looked like rain.
There were red lights all around her, glowing white-hot, trickling down through the tree canopy. They flickered like a swarm of fireflies, yet acted like mist. They were the shards of the shattered moon that had broken off from the collapse of Lady's spell. With her magic no longer keeping it all together, the lights had simply fallen back to the earth below; seeping into the tree leaves, dissolving into the water, and plunging into the ground.
When Rainbow at last peered up through her tears, she gazed in wonderment at the spectacle. Before her, a few particles of light began to coalesce and take a new shape. They stuck themselves together, one piece at a time, until a small, pony-sized clump collected on the forest floor. The lights dimmed at last, all along the clusters of thick foliage and underbrush, and even over the tiny mass that had taken shape. At its top, dark green tresses began to take shape, along with a delicately proportioned head. Its frame turned a light purplish color which shimmered in the rest of the departing, red glow, letting Rainbow see every strand of the forming pony's coat. The filly looked as though she were napping in a sitting position, and when the last of the glow left, she lifted up her head slowly to let the pegasus see her earthy, olive-green eyes.
The sounds had long since quieted, leaving a somewhat awkward silence between the two. The filly smiled warmly at Rainbow, yet suddenly realized she was in great distress. She gave a cursory glance to the unicorn that she was holding close to her body, noticing instantly that she was not breathing.
Wordlessly, the filly stood up, silently mouthing the word 'Twilight' to herself. She trotted over, looking to Rainbow occasionally to assure her that she meant no harm. The filly appeared so calm and docile, and the pegasus just wanted any help she could get. With Twilight lying helplessly in her embrace, she let the girl get even closer.
"W-who are you?" she asked weakly.
The girl didn't immediately respond, instead looking a little perplexed at what she had just been asked. She nervously touched a hoof to one of her ears, as if feeling to see if it was still there.
"I-I'm... Leya," she said quietly.
The filly came to her side, looking down thoughtfully at Twilight. Her horn began to glow with a faint, green aura, and slowly the wound upon the mare's scalp began to heal itself. Rainbow remained hesitant as she watched the filly work her magic, but her fear gradually began to subside.
"Will that... help her?" she inquired.
Leya remained silent, diligently wrapped up in her divine labor. This was a skill her mother had taught her.
"Um... Leya?" Rainbow asked again.
Again, nothing out of her.
Taking the hint, the pegasus turned her attention once more to her mare. The blood on Twilight's face had dissipated along with her cuts, but her face kept still. Leya started to put even more effort into her magic, wincing in frustration, staying focused all the while. She began panting heavily through her effort, so Rainbow placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder for support, and a familiar, green glow seemed to emanate from the top of Twilight's and a space over her chest. It flashed sporadically several times, then suddenly ceased all at once, leaving the air still and calm once more.
Then, to Rainbow's amazement... Twilight coughed.
"Kah!" she placed a discomforted hoof over her forehead, "Ohh... what happened?"
"TWILIGHT!" Rainbow joyfully exclaimed; she hugged the unicorn as hard as she possibly could.
Twilight nearly choked, her embrace was so tight. She happily returned Rainbow's hug, breathing a heavy sigh of relief and contentment as one of her eyes slowly crept open. She barely managed to stifle a yelp of surprise when she saw the filly right next to her.
"L-leya?!" she cried.
The little unicorn silently nodded and joined their hug without hesitation, quickly wrapping her forelegs around both of the mares' waists. Even Rainbow was more than happy to let her join in, returning the filly's embrace all the same. However, Twilight was slightly more hesitant, and looked down at her with deep puzzlement in her eyes.
"But, Leya... how did you--?"
"She saved you, Twilight," Rainbow interrupted, "She just showed up... and saved you."
While Twilight was still more than happy to see both of them, she calmly broke the hug and faced the filly directly. It was obvious the filly thought nothing of the situation, but the older unicorn knew better. Something was amiss.
"Leya, how did you get here?" she asked, "I thought you were... you know..."
The filly's expression turned slightly somber as she turned away to the ground. Rainbow was still not entirely up to speed with what was going on.
"My mommy sent me," she finally whispered, "And my other mommy helped... or the ones that looked like her did."
"Your other mom?" Twilight asked, "You mean... Lady?"
For some unknown reason, the filly seemed to ignore her, still looking down at the barren ground. Twilight began to wonder why she was taking so long to answer, afraid she had inadvertently hurt her feelings. She placed a gentle hoof under the girl's chin and raised it until their eyes met again.
"I'm sorry..." she cracked a weak smile, but it quickly faded.
"Don't be sorry, Leya," Twilight assured her, "I just wasn't sure if you heard me. I didn't know if I hurt your feelings or not, and got a little nervous is all."
"No," the filly whispered again, "It's just that...
...
I can't hear you, actually...
... I can only read your lips."
In that instant,
Twilight's heart went numb,
and she silently took up the filly in another hug.
"Oh, Leya..." the unicorn whimpered, "I'm so sorry."
While still clutching the filly tightly, Twilight glanced at Rainbow, her eyes glossy with tears. The pegasus leaned in and gave her mare another soft kiss on the cheek, showing that she was there for her. Although, by the look in her eye, Twilight needed to tell her something.
"Rainbow?" she asked.
"What is it, Twilight?" her mare replied with great concern.
"I'm... so tired..." she closed her eyes to hold back more tears, whispering ever so delicately. "I'm so tired, Rainbow... I just want to go home with you. I just want Ponyville and all of Equestria to go back to normal. I just want to see AJ, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie too. I want to see my brother... and the princesses. I just want to see everyone, but I'm just so exhausted... I feel like I could sleep forever."
Her grip suddenly loosened on Leya and the filly could only watch as Twilight gave her pegasus a return kiss on the cheek. With nearly every ounce of willpower gone from her body, the extensive damage from the events of the past few days had finally taken its immense toll.
She leaned over on her side into a dense pile of leaves, then lazily rolled onto her back. With a serene smile on her face, she rested her head down and slowly closed her eyes. Knowing she had two special ponies to watch over her, she let her mind begin to drift off.
Her body relaxed.
She remembered the last conversation she had with Lady.
She knew Leya was sent to her for a reason,
but she would think on it later.
All she wanted now... was sleep.
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Are we allowed to dance the groove of awesomness, now?
May I have this dance? 
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4115713 WHEN THE EPILOGUE IS OUT!!!
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AAGH... THE FEELS...
4115828 I'm glad you liked it!
Sleeping forever is a bad idea...
4115997
I swear my heart exploded out of my chest and danced ragtime on my laptop after reading this.
4116036 Well, I hope that's a good thing.
That's kinda what I was going for.
4116048 Yeah, it's a good thing. I've already told you, We LOOOVE when stories do this. The feelbombs are just radiating awesomeness, even as it rips apart our insides with sheer adorableness.
4116410 The epilogue might do that too, but that's tomorrow.
It's a nice change of pace.
Just a quick question are you ever gonna make a sequel or another twidash fanfic any time soon. P.S I loved this story almost as much as I love me sum pancakes
4117417 Glad you like it, friend.
And yes, I was planning on doing more stuff with TwiDash!
As far as a sequel goes, I was going to put a little blurb in the Author's notes when I release the Epilogue sometime today. 
Whoa, so awesome. So cute. I like it
This chapter is a torture. But I loved it. Every time there was more then two blank lines I thought that Twilight was going to die and not return. As far as I can tell, this is one of the biggest emotional rollercoasters I've read. Thank you so much for this story. Onward to the Epilogue!
4117669 Thank you!
Working on the Epi as we speak.
Awesome chapter, love it.
That's the closest I will get to knowing what a heart attack feels like without actually having one, I think. And starting the first two sections like you did with the sand and then the fire was really powerful. Heading to the epilogue now. Sorry it took me so long to get around to this. I'm visiting my dad in Arizona. Only complaint:
Ocean breezes will blow inland, not out to the ocean, I'm pretty sure. Something to due with the air over the ocean being cooler than the air over land.
I wish there could be an video animation for this! I would love it!
11107073
Me too