Silence.
Thunder rolled.
Kepler craned his neck.
Remna stood dead still.
Twilight and the rest hovered in a tense cluster, their wide-eyes glued to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash remained staring at the heavens. One ear twitched, then the other. For a moment there, her wings drooped worrisomely...
Then Scootaloo's voice broke through with a wandering: "Uhm..."
Rainbow's body flinched. She swallowed a dry lump down her throat and droned: "So what are you tinkering on as of late?"
"Huh?" The awkwardness was mirrored between them. "Oh! Well... with the last manacrystals that Spike lent me, I've... uhhh... fused this tiny motor to a modified shopping cart. Then... erm... I carved a wooden base-board and slathered some upholstery to it, along with a short handle."
"Uh huh..."
"And after some extra modifications, I was able to keep the thing under a minimal speed. It's a super slow, double-wide scooter... I guess you could describe it. But there's a point to the whole thing. Just the other day, I saw the poor old folk at the Ponyville Retirement home just... hobbling around on cranes and crutches. And so I figured that this thing could be useful in getting them from Point A to Point B without having their joints ache."
Rainbow smiled, breathing happily. "That's pretty snazzy there, champ."
"Of course... eheh... I first gave it a test run without the speed modification, and I was able to get the sucker to hit a ramp and leap over four whole carriages—which, for its size and weight—is pretty dang cool, if I do say so myself. Heheheh..."
"Heheh... awesome."
"I know, right! I mean... sure, I can fly now and stuff... but... erm... I-I remember what it was like to not be able to fly for so long and... and sometimes I kinda miss that... I miss being able to create a thrill out of nothing. And... uhm... I... uh..." A swallowing sound. "Those old folk don't need to be leaping over any carriages anytime soon, but... I figured they deserve to have something made out of nothing all the same."
Rainbow nodded. "That's really cool, Scoots." She nodded again. Her muzzle opened, but no words came out.
The voice on the other end was likewise still.
Rainbow's friends looked on.
"Ahem..." Rainbow gulped. "Oh! Uhm..." She fumbled through her saddlebag before producing a familiar article. "Your goggles. They work like a charm."
"No way... you're still using them?"
"Well... wh-when I fly long distances, sure. The straps are still tight as ever, and it fits like a glove. But... eheh... things get bumpy from time to time. One of the lenses has a slight crack... up along the top."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Pffft! Nothing to be sorry for, Squirt! These things have survived entire wars, y'know! And... it's not really that big of a crack. Just... just feel kinda bummed out that I let them get damaged, y'know?"
"That's alright. Really, it is."
"But... y'know..." Rainbow took a deep breath, holding the goggles to her fuzzy blue chest. "...perhaps you could look at them... when I get back, I mean." She gulped. "Only your touch can get them looking perfect again."
Silence.
Rainbow stared. Rainbow blinked. "Kid...?"
More silence. And then: "I know... that I should be wishing you good luck, Rainbow. After all... every pony ahead of me has."
Rainbow clenched her jaw shut. "You don't have to swim with the flow, Scoots."
"That's not it," Scootaloo said bluntly. Then: "I just... want you to know... in case anything happens—"
"I'm coming back, Scootaloo."
"—that... you mean more to me than you'll ever know. And that... while you might not think much of it... you were there for me, Rainbow Dash. You were there for me in my life where... where most ponies weren't, and I-I..." Her voice broke. It almost sounded as if there was some distortion, but Rainbow knew better. "Well..." A firm breath. Rainbow could almost sense a daredevilish smirk through the silvery air. "...now you're gonna be there for the whole wide world. And that makes me happy. I'm happy, Rainbow Dash. Just... know that... and take it with you."
"I will, Squirt." Rainbow clenched her teeth. Then: "I'm proud of you, Scootaloo."
Thunder rolled.
Rarity and Fluttershy cried quietly. Pinkie and Applejack held them close while Twilight Sparkle kept her eyes on Rainbow.
"I'm so very proud of you," Rainbow said. Firmly. "And I always will be." Her brow furrowed. "You look after Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, okay? You know what kind of blubbering messes those little saps can become."
"Yeah..." A shaky voice breathed. "...yeah, I do."
"And try not to be too awesome between now and my return," Rainbow said, smirking slyly. "I've got a reputation to maintain, alright? Don't need a little scamp like you stealing my thunder."
"Sure thing, Rainbow Dash. I'll... I'll try to... to..." Scootaloo's voice trailed off, and then—after an uncomfortable silence—there was a squeak: "H-here are the Pr-Princesses..."
Rainbow Dash leaned forward, as if reaching for somepony. Her lips pursed.
"Rainbow Dash?" Princess Celestia's voice flickered in and out of a tapering band of silver light.
Rainbow gulped. "Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Luna's sp—...—ading."
"I gotcha, Princess."
"I will be in constant comm—...—he Durandanans through the Sword of Solstice."
"Right..."
"Xarchellus' brothers and sisters shall be properly received in Val Roa. That is my solemn promise."
"Thanks a ton, Princess Celestia. And best of luck with the rift."
"I a—...—eady lucky, Rainbow Dash. Harmonic blessings t—...—ou on the Dark Side. Twilight, my g—...—hful student, stay strong, as only you know how."
Twilight inhaled, tears trickling. "Yes, Your Majesty."
The air distorted more and more, the silver light fading. Enix and her flock looked back at the Stardust worriedly. The glow in their slitted eyes dimmed and dimmed.
Rainbow wanted to say something—
"My child."
Rainbow panted. "Yes, Luna?"
"This conc—...—ommunication on the Light Side. We cannot follow you into the Dark."
Rainbow gulped. "Hey... don't sweat it. We'll speak again—"
"My sister and I h—...—rted our wisdom, but I know you for your brazen courage, Rainbow Dash. If y—...—ust take it upon yourself to encounter the Dark Vigil, then I implore you t—...—voke the Blood of Luna. It might sustain you long enough to negotiate, although I doubt it."
"I hear ya."
"On the Dark Side, you won't have us, but you wil—...—ve your allies. You will h—...—ur friends. But, most impo—...—ill have your conscience. And if I had listened to that s—...—ny years ago, I would never have become Nightmare Moon."
Rainbow listened intently. Shivering.
"Rainbow Dash. Your conscience is the only true beacon. And i—...—ike a furnace in such chaotic darkness, more than Yaerfaerda and more than any l—...—hat this world has conjured. Trust in yourself. Trust in th—...—are who has saved Ledomare, Val Roa... and now Rohbredden."
"I... I will, Luna." Rainbow gulped. "Trust me."
"I do, Rainbow Dash. We all do. Fear n—...—or we will b—...—iting. Shining Armor and C—...—re paving the path for you in Ward, as you have b—...—ving the path for my lost children back home to Equestria."
"Awesome, Your Highness. Everything's cool, Luna."
"—on't forg—...—ere's hope at th—...—nd of ev—...—orizo—"
"I'll see you on the other side."
And then...
...the silver light dissipated.
Luna as gone. Only lightning and thunder remained.
Kepler blinked.
Remna silently hung her head.
Rainbow's friends exchanged glances before looking at their anchor.
Rainbow stood in place like a silent sentinel, her ruby eyes still planted firmly against the broiling sky. Her nostrils flared as she raised a hoof up to her dim pendant.
"Well then..." She summoned the courage to breathe. "I guess that's that."
But just in case, kiddo, don't forget: life's always needing a main event.
Yeah...that....that about sums it up.
I can't believe we're gonna be going onward without hearing from Equestria again...
Its really sad that this is going to be the last we hear from them for a very long while. However it was a great send off that's for sure.
Man... still not as bad as leaving the Jury behind in Yaerfaerda (Roarke... ), but it still hit plenty hard. We've lost a steadfast companion who's been with Rainbow since Austraeoh, so long ago. Now she's gone. No more Luna and no more Celestia until Rainbow gets back to the light side again. If she even makes it that far...
The only thing to do now is shoulder the weight of the world and press on into the dark...
Just look at it as motivation to get through the Dark Side that much faster, Dash, so you can get back to those waiting for you to return.
Those goggles were one of the possessions she first started out on the journey with, and the only one she still has, aside from the saddlebags (which have been extensively repaired). If she still has them at the end, I wouldn't be surprised. And in the event this series has a bad ending, I imagine they'll be right there, the last thing she has to hold onto.
We all love you, Scootaloo.
And that concludes something that started in the very first book. Damn, this chapter hit hard.
There's a bright golden road ahead of you Dash.
-Companions are abound, frozen spectres hound. Utaan.
There are no words that can do this justice. Only memories remain. Memories and hope.
Those goggles though. They mean so much, in so many ways.
Go forth Dash.
She awaits your return.
He awaits you.
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*Bittersweet
Let me believe...
Well then...
...forward unto darkness.
It hasn't sunk in yet for me that we wont be hearing from the princesses in a very long time (if ever) that's gonna suck when it does. Kinda awesome we got to hear from pretty much everyone back in ponyville though. Just dash and the Herald from here on out. Wonder if we'll make new friends on the dark side..
7584949
Don't worry, I can't think of a single fiction that skirts wrote that ended badly for the main character...
I think it's awesome how everyone gets a clear transmission all the time but whenever the princesses or Spike speak up shit starts breaking up immediately.
.-.
I kinda want one of these things now.
This chapter was so heavy that it has caused an emotional singularity where reality is skewed and Luna has become the physical manifestation of absence.
I was going to say about me Dad looking at a 40 mph road legal mobility scooter for £2000 with wheels bigger than the origional Mini.
At least we have an advantage over the Princesses, freinds and family.
We get to know what comes next, almost no matter what.
No Luna for a whole while boys and girls....Take some time and let that sink in.....
And Gold Petals and Cold Canter stare off into the sunrise every morning, never knowing what happened to the strange mare that passed through their lives.
Oh, the memories. See you later, Princesses! Bye...
There may be no more Equestria Monthly, or an East ahead of us. But Scootaloo is still best filly.
Guess all that is left to say, is see you, on the other side.
Farewell, imparters of wisdom, of conscience, of being there for Rainbow.
All that I can say is... we'll see yah on the other side.
How many full moons will pass and draw pensive looks from those awaiting her return?
Home remains in the most awesome hands. Something worth keeping in mind when plunging through whatever hellscape we're building up to.
Snaaaaztastic
7585260 Until they meet a strange elk in a giant flying crystal with strange spit
Well that's more than enough incentive.
Triumph, Rainbow. You are expected back home.
Whelp, Once More Unto The Breach....
Oh geez.
I just realized that it'll probably be at least a book if not two, before we get back to the light side. That's a long time without any moon speak.
i.imgur.com/aUrI8iI.jpg
7585852
I'm betting that we won't get back to the light side until the last book.
So let's see about the Equestrians: we have prepared to leave them for a long, long time, check. There's been a big, sappy farewell scene, check. There have been promises of a bright future and happy forever after on their part, check. Promises of Rainbow returning have been made, check. I think the case is clear, guys.
Equestria is about ot be burned down by Shell.
Well, about that last part...
7584759 They shall be laid out at the foot of the Tower.
7585852 if it took two years to cross half the world (we can assume a year and a half because various stays in cities and comas and such) I think it'll be three years or so before they get to the light side again barring Prism action. That means we probably won't get much moonspeak until the last book, or the end of the eleventh.
Luna can't speak to Rainbow until she crosses over on the west side of the light side. As far as we have been informed up to this point, Luna probably doesn't really have any 'friends' she can talk to all the time. Rainbow was the closest friendship that Luna has (to my knowledge) and now she can no longer talk to her until she emerges victorious. And the worst part is that if Rainbow does fail, Luna won't know. Rainbow's journey from the halfway point to the eastern edge of the world took roughly...16 months? 2 years and 6 months spent in a sarcophagus and another 2 outside Val Roa. If we were to double that, Luna and the rest of Ponyville will be waiting for 4 years with no replies. And after 4 years, they'll start to wonder if she made it. "She could just be taking longer. It is darker over there. She can't fly with her grounded companions." It could be 5 years of just worrying whether or not Rainbow's alive anymore. And the more time passes, the worrying grows larger.
On another note, if Rainbow x Roarke, and Rainbow x Ariel, (and Appledash too) then uh, is Rainbow x Luna a thing...? No?
Right in muh feels
This didn't hurt as much as the goodbye to the Noble Jury but it still brought some feels. It is great that the Ghost Five and Rainbow were able to hear from those back in Ponyville. I am sure these little tidbits of good news will be some of the only comforts they will have after experiencing what is to come on the dark side. Though this also means that Rainbow has even more pressure on her to survive the journey, when she already had quite a lot riding on her. Still, it was good to get some closure here before communication was cut off for good.
7585043 it's also awesome that noise doesn't loop from one end of the conversation to the other and back and forth creating a feedback loop that causes everyone's ears to bleed.
7586019
Utaan needs [Sad] tag...
7586785 It's only been a bit over two years, and 11 months of that was in the sarcophagus. I suspect the dark side would only take a year or a year and a half since while Dash would need to travel twice as far, she would need to stop alot less.
Beautiful and well written. I can't wait to see what happens next :)
7585012 *cough*background pony*cough*
*Slowly waves goodbye.*
7588207
That was a great story, but I don't remember who it was about. Might read it again.
7586010 7586233
Good points. Might I add?
Dash doesn't need to fix everyones problems as she goes, like on the Light Side. Celestia even insisted such. Less time helping more time easting.
Also with chapter limits gone, speculation on how many books until Light Side is pretty much conjecture at this point.
I also don't think the home stretch will be as simple as one book. There is still a dragon inbetween even if helping. The Divines have always been trouble at some point so far.
7586233 7588659 I'm guessing anyway that we'll see the Midnight Armory as the end of Ofolrodi and the return to the light side right before the last arc of Ilrifa, barring the very likely event that Rainbow gets sidetracked and her goals change yet again.
From there, it would follow that she'd get the Prism back to Ponyville at the end of Book 11, and there would be all of Book 12 dedicated to the finale, the rest of Urohringr, Ponymonium, probably seeing the Jury and all the old allies again, and everything that's inevitably going to come up between now and then.
Also, a reminder that there is still a Sentinel out there. Provided it's not being used as another lair of evil (or can be cleaned up), it could be a perfect tool for exploring the Dark Side in a reasonable amount of time, and serve as a spaceship later on.
7588785 I agree with all of this, and particularly like the last idea.
Now that you mention it, I'm concered that the other sentinal might be the source of the soul sucking.
7588785
7588997
the real question would be: "how will dash go across the edge on the west side?"
we know that for this side she has the mostly finished alicorn blood tunnel, but unless there is another alicorn family at the west edge constructing a harmonic highway for dash (or if the sentinel can cross the border but never tried in all the millennia before), she may be forced to head west all the way back
7589212 There are quite a few ways she could get across, actually.
The sentinel is definitely one. The reason the one from Urohringr was destroyed was due to harmonic interference, which we know to be weaker on the edges (plus, it had probably been structurally compromised by the recent island-bashing, as well as corrosive smooze). As for why it wouldn't have crossed over already, only the Austraeoh can activate it (the control room is locked away behind a Urohringr door, and only Rainbow could move the island controls in the top room). Changelings can circumvent this, but Tchern and Chrysalis's hive minds are separate, and Tchern has no way of getting an Austraeoh blueprint.
Another is that for whatever reason- the Harmonic Prism, interference from the armory, possibly even a redeemed Tchern or something that's not even on the horizon yet, Axan regains her dragon form. She could easily fly Rainbow and the Herald around the edge.
Aid from the Sarosians is another possibility, since we know they were able to get to the Dark Side somewhat reliably in the first place. Their stockpile of lunar rock probably can be used to make a safe transport.
They might not even have to cross back at all, if teleportation is on the table. And Luna implied that just might be so, with talk of the Elements and the Moon. That, however, would require a way to use the Harmonic Prism without the Princesses (or for one of them to come to the Dark Side), which is pretty far out there at the moment. Totally not impossible, though.