> Legacy
>  by Ponyville Ranger
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Legacy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

How hard could it be? She wondered this before, but she could never answer the question. "How hard could it be to pick out some flowers?" she wondered. She looked and looked, and finally saw a bouquet of flowers that she thought appropriate. Handing the mare at the register the bits, the light cerulean Pegasus picked up the flowers and walked out of the shop.

She examined the flowers as she walked down the street. They were fake, as she didn't want them to wilt, and were a multitude of gold and blue roses and daisies. She gave a little smile as she nodded. 

"Hey, Rainbow Crash!"

She stopped, her expression dull as she turned to see three stallions standing behind her. 

"Who're the flowers for? You gettin' 'em for your girlfriend? Ha ha!" the tallest one laughed, making the other two laugh as well.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "You done?" The stallions stopped laughing. "If you are, then there's someplace I gotta be." Without another word, Rainbow spread her wings and lifted off into the air, not looking back at the stallions, who were stunned by her not saying something back.

Normally, she'd retort. But this time she didn't. The reason, was she had something on her mind. The sun was starting to set as the Pegasus reached her destination. A little hill in the valley, not far from Cloudsdale. On this hill sat an oak tree, and a lone tombstone. 

As her hooves touched down in the grass near the stone, she took a few steps forward, shifting the bouquet underneath her wing. "Hey, Dad." She brushed off the leaves and grass that had blown upon the stone, revealing the name carved into it. "I brought ya some new flowers." Rainbow gently placed the flowers in front of the headstone, then sat down in front of it. "I know flowers 
weren't really your thing, but I thought ya'd like these." The little Pegasus looked out over the horizon as the sun continued to 
disappear over the land in the distance. A gentle breeze blew, making her shiver slightly. "It's starting to get cooler now..." She 
looked up at the tree, noticing the leaves beginning to change color. "Fall's gonna be here soon." She turned back to the stone, giving a light smile. "I used to wonder why you always wanted to be put here, but now..." She looked out over the horizon again. "...I know why." She inhaled, smelling the refreshing air. She could feel the nip in the air.

Summer was drawing to an end. Fall was nearly upon them. 

"It's peaceful here." She looked back down to the stone. "I got in to the Wonderbolts. You should see me at the academy." She lifted off the ground, doing a spin in the air. "I'm a team leader there!" She held a hoof to her chest proudly. Then her smile softened as she softly landed. "You always said I'd be a Wonderbolt someday." She brightened up. "Oh! And my pal Twilight's got wings now! She's a princess, wouldja believe it?! Twilight, the egghead!" Rainbow laughed. "She's still gettin' used to her wings. I've been showin' her a few things but she's still nowhere near as fast as me." Rainbow's smile softened as she looked at the flowers she'd brought. "You'd really like my friends, Dad." She chuckled. "Twilight Sparkle's an egghead, always got her nose in books. But she's really smart, and knows everything about everything. And Applejack... She's hard working, honest, and a really good friend. Pinkie Pie's always pulling pranks with me, and anytime ya need a laugh, she's the pony to call. And Rarity... She's elegant, and makes the fanciest dresses in Ponyville, probably Equestria. And you knew Fluttershy when I was a filly. She helped me create the tornado to get the water to Cloudsdale. She's still as shy as ever, but all it takes is a little confidence boost and she's ready. 

Rainbow looked out over the valley. In just a little while, night would fall. It was getting chillier, as Rainbow felt the 
tips of her wings bristle from the breeze.

"Rainbow?"

Rainbow turned around, seeing a pink Pegasus standing about twenty feet behind her, her blue hair gently swaying with the breeze. The rainbow haired Pegasus smiled. "Hey, Mom."

Firefly walked up, offering a kind smile. "My, I didn't expect to see you here so late."

Rainbow shrugged. "How come you're here so late?" 

Firefly walked over and sat down next to her daughter, looking up at the orange sky. "You're father and I used to come here quite a bit when we were your age." She gave a soft chuckle. "I guess that's why he always wanted to be buried here." She looked down at the tombstone. "Hi, dear." She looked to her daughter. "So why are you here at this hour?"

Rainbow looked up at the sky, giving a light grin. "I guess... 'cause of the same reason you and dad used to come here. It's really beautiful here, especially at dusk and during the night."

"Yes it is." Firefly looked back to the tombstone. "Your father proposed to me here."

Rainbow gawked. "Wha? You never told me that."

"It's true." She chuckled. "He was so nervous that day." 

Her daughter cocked her head. "Dad? Nervous? Please, Mom."

"It's true, dear," Firefly assured. "He was a nervous fellow when we met, and when we were dating."

"Huh. Never woulda pegged dad for somepony like Fluttershy."

"Oh, but he was still brave. He was somepony you could count on, somepony that everypony loved."

Rainbow smiled. She remembered how her dad was. She looked up to him. He always seemed so brave and fearless. He always told her, "You'll do great things someday, I know it. Just believe in yourself, and believe in your friends." Those words have always stuck in her mind since she was a filly, and carried her to this day.

Firefly looked down at the flowers, and turned to her daughter. "Your father would love the flowers."

Rainbow raised a hoof to rub behind her head. "Yeah, I'm not really the kinda girl to be able to pick out flowers, heh."

Firefly smiled, extending a wing around her daughter. "Doesn't matter. He'd still love them."

Rainbow smiled, and leaned in to her mother's side as the two sat in silence for a moment, looking out over the horizon.

"So how's the training at the academy going?"

Rainbow pulled back a bit, smiling proudly. "Oh, it's going real good! Being the team leader, ain't nopony can keep up with me!"

Firefly chuckled. "That's my daughter. Has that other girl came back?"

Rainbow quirked a brow. "You mean Lightning Dust? Yeah, she's still a member. She just got demoted to a cadet and Spitfire put her peeling potatoes."

Firefly laughed. "They still do that?"

Rainbow chuckled. "Ha ha, they do at the academy. And I was assigned to keep an eye on here and to help better her attitude." 

"And how's that working out?"

Rainbow thought for a second. "She's... improving. I learned when Fluttershy helped reform Discord... Time, patience, and determination."

"So now you're trying to apply that logic to this situation in the hopes of reforming her into a better cadet."

Rainbow quirked a brow. "You been hanging around Twilight, Mom?"

The older Pegasus laughed, and the younger one joined in. As their chuckles died down, a breeze blew, a couple of leaves breaking off of the branches and blowing through the wind.

"You ready for the Fall celebration coming up?"

Rainbow smirked. "Heck yeah! Nightmare Night's comin' up in October! I already have my costume ready to go!"

"Really? Who are you going as this year?" Firefly wondered aloud.

Rainbow smiled proudly. "A Wonderbolt Captain!"

Firefly shook her head with a smile. "I should've guessed." This time it was her time to smirk. "So have you been talking to that other Wonderbolt? The stallion with blue hair?"

Rainbow's eyes widened as she shied away. "I-I don't really get to talk to him that much."

Firefly grinned. "Oh? I saw you dancing with him during the wedding of Princess Cadence and Shinning Armor."

Rainbow gulped, and her mother could clearly see her nervousness. "W-We're just friends! A-Anyway he's second in command, I'm just a cadet..."

"He likes you."

Rainbow looked directly at her mother. "Whut?"

Firefly was still smirking. "He likes you, honey."

Rainbow suddenly grabbed her mother's shoulders. "Did he talk to you? Did he ask about me? What'd he say?"

Firefly chuckled, and Rainbow realized her sudden behavior and let go of her mother, turning away to avoid showing how red her cheeks were now. "I could see the way he looked at you. He likes you. He's just shy."

Rainbow glanced to her mother incredulously. "He's a Wonderbolt, Mom. Second in command? Soarin, shy?"

"And you know his name."

Rainbow huffed mentally. She couldn't outsmart her mother, and she knew it. She might be the fastest in the sky, but her mother was the fastest of wit.

"I think it's wonderful that you like him, Rainbow."

Rainbow turned back to her mother. "Ya do?"

"Of course, sweetheart. It's natural. And it's cute."

Rainbow's ears flattened. "Cute? Ahhg, Mooom!"

Firelfy chuckled.

Rainbow turned back to the tombstone, a silence falling over the two for a brief moment before she spoke. "Do you think Dad would be okay with it? Me and Soarin?"

Firefly was silent for a moment, before smiling softly. "Yeah. He would be. He would be protective of you, but he'd be 
okay with the two of you."

Rainbow smiled, and looked back to the stone. "Mom?" Firefly looked to her daughter. "Do you think Dad's proud of me?"

"Oh, honey..." Firefly wrapped an arm around her daughter. "I know he is. He'd be thrilled that you're a Wonderbolt, that you're following your dream. He'd be so very proud of you. Just like I am." She heard a sniffle.

"...Mom..." Rainbow leaned in to her mother, her voice failing her. A shiver. A sniffle. Firefly felt it. She heard it. It was her only daughter. "...I miss him, Mom..." Her voice was cracking. The normal proud and brash voice of Ponyville's proudest flyer, was starting to break. She tried to suppress her tears, but she couldn't hold them back. "I miss him so much..." At that her voice failed her, as she buried her face in her mother's side and began to weep.

Firefly wrapped her other arm around the younger pegasi, holding her tight, as she too felt her own tears begin to fall. "I know, sweetie. I miss him too..."

Rainbow sniffed. "I just... I wish he was still here... To see me perform. To see my tricks. To cheer me on. To... To see us. So... So we could be a family again..." She lost it, crying once more.

Firefly couldn't stand to see her daughter cry. What mother could? She lost her own composure as she joined her daughter in her sobs. Together, the two pegasi cried for the loss of their loved one, letting the pain flow out with their tears. Time passed, and the sobs had died down. 

Rainbow pulled back, sniffling. "Thanks, Mom... For coming here."

Firefly wiped one of her eyes. "You're welcome, Dashie." She kissed her daughter's forehead, and hugged her. "We're still a family. Just because we can't see him doesn't mean he's not here." 

A gentle breeze blew. And both pegasi turned to look out over the horizon. The sun had long since set, and the moon now hung brightly in the sky, the stars twinkling their hellos to the world below.

"Do you remember what your father said?"

Rainbow looked down at the stone, then up to the night sky as she felt the breeze blow through her hair. She smiled as she closed her eyes, a sense of calm coming over her. "Yeah. I'll never forget it. He said, 'When the sun shines bright, think of my smile. When the stars twinkle, that's me winking at you. When the wind blows, that's me telling you I love you'." She wiped her eyes. "He's gone, yet still here."

"Exactly." Firefly put a hoof to Rainbow's chest. "He's always with us. In our hearts and in our memories. The times we shared together are eternal within us, and although we can't see him, he's here." Another breeze blew, making both mares look up at the night sky.

Rainbow smiled, lifting a hoof to pull back her hair. "Love you, too, Dad. Thank you for always being there for me, and for being my dad. You were the best dad ever. And watch over grandma up there, will ya? And grandpa."

Firefly smiled at her daughter, wiping a tear from her eye. Then she looked up at the night sky. "Thank you, sweetheart. For 
giving us such a beautiful and brave daughter." Firefly looked at Rainbow. "I know he'd be proud of you. He left behind something." She put a hoof to her daughter's chest. "You. He left behind a legacy. You're a Wonderbolt."

Rainbow shook her head with a little smile. "I'm just a cadet."

"But you're still a Wonderbolt. And you're the element of loyalty. You've helped save Equestria how many times now?" Rainbow shrugged. "six."

"You're father would be so very proud of you. You're following your dream, you're being a good friend to your friends, and you're not letting anything hold you back. He would be proud of you. Because I know I am. You've grown into a beautiful young mare. You're brave, kind, and you're our daughter."

Rainbow smiled, wiping an eye, then wrapped her arms around her mother. "Thanks, Mom. I love you."

Firefly returned her daughter's embrace. "I love you too, my little Dashie."

As the two mares pulled apart, Firefly stood up. "It's getting late. We better head home."

"Yeah." Rainbow stood, looking up at the night sky once more before stepping up beside her mother. "Let's go." Firefly smiled, moving a wing around her daughter. Rainbow smiled back, leaning into her mother's side as they began to walk off the hill. On the
stone, the name of a husband, of a father, of a friend, etched into the stone, glistened in the glow of the moonlight. Up above, a single star twinkled as it watched the two mares walk off the hill. It's radiance shining bright as it watched over the two pegasi. 



THE END