//------------------------------// // So Long, Dark Reach // Story: Ofolrodi // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// "This is the lever Flynn told us about, right?" Ariel remarked. Rainbow nodded. "Eeyup." "Okay..." Ariel took a deep breath and reached towards a console situated in the heart of the generator room. "On the count of five. One... two..." "Just pull it, girl." "Er. R-right!" With an inward grunt, Ariel yanked at the lever. Bzzzzzzzzt! Sparks flew from the core of crystals overhead. And then... Thoooooooooooooooooooooom... The heart of Darkreach lived up to its name once again. Seconds later, a ruby lightning bolt illuminated a beam of redness from below Rainbow's neck. "Whelp..." Rainbow took a breath. "That's a wrap." "Considering all the effort it took to find this place and settle down..." Ariel shuddered slightly. "It's kind of chilling how easy it is to turn it all off." "Uh huh..." "I mean, this place was lying dormant for hundreds of years!" Ariel remarked, gazing up at the shadowed heights of the generator room hanging over them. Her echoes stood out all of a sudden. "The only reason it was ever lit up again was because we came here! The changeling certainly didn't make that happen." "Well, you're certainly treating this very... uhhhh..." Rainbow Dash shifted where she stood. "...poetically." "I can't help it." Ariel sighed, squinting beyond the penumbra of Rainbow's spotlight. "This placed helped us out in so many ways. And it means so much more than that, y'know? This was the culmination of countless ancient ponies' lives. Their entire work and commitment was poured into this place." "Well, let's make it worth their while, huh?" Rainbow motioned with a fetlock and made for the nearest stairwell. "Come on. We've got... er... a hover plank waiting." Ariel buzzed after her on flapping wings. "Just like that? You're ready to part with this place?" "Why not?" "I dunno. Just..." Ariel squinted as they ascended the steps. "Don't tell me you never felt a sense of wonder in all your travels." "Oh, it's been pretty wonderous, alright." "All of those continents you've spanned," Ariel said. She smirked slightly. "All of those kingdoms you've visited... kingdoms you've saved." "Just because I might not seem too saddened about leaving Darkreach doesn't mean I don't understand how cool everything is—once and a while at least." The two mares evened out on a long corridor, leading them to the common room. The edges of Rainbow's spotlight caught hints and glimpses of the age-old detritus left behind in that tomb of a base. "Back when I was light-side, I'd be scaling entire mountains all on my lonesome. I could see for miles and miles around in every direction. Whatever the starlight would touch—my eyes saw it. And then a crazy thought occurred to me." Rainbow calmly looked over her shoulder. "I realized that no other pony had likely ever touched the same pieces of rock that I did... or had seen all of the cracks and fissures in the timeless stone like my own eyes had witnessed. It was pretty awesome at the time. I gotta admit." "But..." Ariel cocked her head curiously to the side. "...not quite so awesome anymore?" "Hey, what's awesome is always awesome. It's just... hard to see it the same way anymore." Rainbow's nostrils flared as she trotted into the common room, shining her light across the multi-tiled mosaic. "What used to make me awesome nowadays sorta makes me feel small." "You're hardly small, Rainbow Dash," Ariel said. Rainbow looked at the other mare and made particular emphasis of how she had to lift her chin for their eyes to meet. "Uh huh." Ariel rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean." A smile. "You're the Austraeoh. You're the key to bringing harmony and life back to this dying plane. Beyond that—who knows? But you're the same bright Spark you've always been." "That's true." Rainbow gulped. "That's what makes it even sadder." "Ehhhh..." Ariel playfully shoved her shoulder. "We gotta get you outta that funk, girl. Maybe a nice fight or two with chaos monsters will get the blood flowing again." "I'd rather us get to the Midnight Armory with the least amount of motherbuckers knowing." "Huh." Ariel blinked. "Okay." Rainbow bore a bitter smirk. "Not what you thought you signed up for when you joined the Herald?" "Nah, it makes sense. Just..." Ariel shrugged. "Was sorta hoping to see you in action once again. You kick so much butt when push comes to shove." "For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure that sorta crud is inevitable." "Right." Ariel took a moment to glance at the dimly-lit surroundings. "Gotta admit... for the time that we were here... it was kinda cozy." "Won't argue with that," Rainbow droned. "Although..." Ariel chuckled dryly. "I'm sure it was even livelier back in the day. Just think about it. Ponies lived here. This was there home. Dozens if not hundreds of former Emeraldinians and Cylindrimanians just... trotting around and buddying up and doing experiments and making maps and plotting for the salvation of their world..." "I gotta admit it has its quirks," Rainbow said. "But... it's no Noble Jury." "Eh?" "I was living in that airship for months and months," Rainbow Dash said. "I may not have admitted at the time... but when that thing crashed and burnt to ashes outside of Val Roa? Whew... I was heartbroken as heck." Ariel nodded gently. "Must have been like losing a home." "It's the ponies who matter in the end," Rainbow said. "Family. Friends." She looked at Ariel. "We're still in one piece, and that's all I care about. Whether we're here in Darkreach or on Flynn's hover-plank-thingy." "Does Seraphimus count among all that?" "Mmrmmrmmfnghhhlughhuuuuu..." Ariel smirked. "Best answer is best." "Uh huh." Rainbow finally aimed her pendant at the mosaic. The tower of Verdestone stretched before her eyes for one last time. She inhaled the moment—along with her thoughts. Ariel quietly spoke: "I bet that's one thing you're gonna miss." Rainbow nodded. "Y'know... one thing that never gets old about this whole journey thing..." "What's that?" "Remembering where I've been." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, that never stops being cool." "The Mother Matron's sister would be proud of you, Rainbow Dash," Ariel said. "I'm sure of it." "She always was," Rainbow muttered. "So far, knowing that hasn't let me down." Ariel performed a gentle curtsy before the mosaic of Verdestone. "Your Majesties... Onyxxus, Mortuana, and Whitemane... thank you so very much." She stood up straight, proud. "Ranort, Warhol, Gwen... best wishes and gratitude." "Yeah." Rainbow waved to the air. "Don't let the Harmonic Plains hit ya where the ancient pegasi split ya." "Snkkkkt!" Ariel struggled not to laugh. "The hell is that?! Some sort of Ponyville expression?" "If not, it sure as hay is now," Rainbow's voice cracked as she motioned Ariel towards the exit. "Come on. Let's boogey."