//------------------------------//
// Seeking Comfort 
// Story: Harbinger 
// by Tealove 
//------------------------------//

	By the time all the numbers were tallied Applejack counted 103 unicorns, 102 earth ponies, 121 pegasai, and forty colts and fillies. Rarity's freshly sewn tents were pitched all along the wall as Rainbow Dash had ordered and ponies were settling in uneasily. Twilight had been overjoyed to find Shining Armor and Cadance there, though the alicorn was in rather rough shape at the triage tents. She'd been far along in the pregnancy of their first child and when the city they'd been living in was attacked Cadance had been in the direct middle of it. She was lucky to make it out with her life. Her child had not been as fortunate.
Laying next to Clover, Twilight sighed sadly. Beside her was Applejack, who placed a hoof over Twilight's. “I'm real sorry, sugarcube.”
“So am I,” the unicorn lamented quietly. “She's so upset.” She couldn't imagine losing a child and her eyes immediately lifted to search for her baby dragon. “Has anypony seen Spike?”
“He's over there,” said Pokey from the other side of Applejack. 
Twilight followed the unicorn's nod and found Spike in his own circle of friends with Apple Bloom, Dinky, Pipsqueak, Silver Spoon, and Archer. Probably sensing eyes on him, he looked up and across the field at Twilight, smiling and giving her a wave. She smiled back as best as she could, then looked at Applejack and Pokey. “Let's change to subject to something else. Like, oh I don't know, you two? When did that happen?”
Applejack and Pokey looked at each other and shared a smile. “Don't really know,” the earth pony admitted. “That first night we were all out there on our own we were supposed to take turns on watch but neither of us could sleep...”
“So we stayed up talking all night,” Pokey finished. “You get pretty close when you're in a situation like this.”
“But we were with you,” Twilight pointed out. “In battle, heading to Manehattan, the hotel. I never saw anything between you that would have suggested anything.” She looked over at Big Macintosh who lay beside a half awake Fluttershy. “Did you suspect anything?”
“Nope.”
Applejack smirked. “That's probably 'cause we didn't think we saw anythin' neither.”
With a nod of agreement, Pokey looked at Applejack. “I knew who Applejack was before all of this and respected her and her family. When we were up together that night, when we found Sweetie Belle, everything that came after it I found myself having feelings for her.”
“An' the mornin' we all parted ways in Manehattan I thought about never seein' him again an'...” Applejack trailed off, a shy smile on her face as she looked up at Pokey. “Somethin' just kinda fell into place.” Eager to get the attention off herself, the earth pony eyed Twilight and Clover. “An' what's the story with you two?”
Color rushed to Twilight's cheeks but Clover just grinned. “I'd marry her right now if she'd have me.”
“Clover!”
He blinked, feigning innocence, and looked at her. “What? Did I say that out loud?”
She had to admit that the past few days in Fillydelphia had brought her closer to the stallion than she ever would have guessed. He was like a female equivalent to Pinkie Pie in many ways in that he was silly and always cracking jokes. But his were less random and more subtle, jokes that sometimes made her think and sometimes just want to shake her head. And he was always so wonderful to her. Despite the situation at hand, every minute Twilight spent with Clover was another minute she felt closer to him. But she didn't want the attention on them anymore, at least not until she could figure out what was going on between them. “What about Big Macintosh and Fluttershy?” she asked in a squeaky voice.
The two quiet ponies just looked at each other, Fluttershy giving him a small soft smile before closing her eyes. Gently, Big Mac used his muzzle to push her mane from her face and left a kiss on her brow. Applejack sighed and looked out across the crowded stadium. “Ponies'll start couplin' up now, bet you anythin'. Stuff like this makes you want to be close to another pony, makes you feel less alone.”
Following her gaze, Big Macintosh caught sight of Raindrops. She was down a ways, her attention in their direction. But as soon as she saw Big Mac look her way she moved hastily to appear busy in conversation with the ponies near her. “Be right back,” said Big Mac as he lumbered to his hooves. It had been almost a week now since the stadium was filled with new ponies, a little more than that since he had been spending most of his time with Fluttershy. Before they'd all arrived at Fillydelphia, Raindrops had been stuck to his side almost like a magnet. Now he hardly saw her and wanted to make sure she was doing okay.
She, Merry May and Scribes were huddled together going over a list of some sort and smiled up at Big Macintosh as he joined them. “Evenin',” he said cordially. “Any y'all ever sleep?”
Merry May furrowed her brow, feigning ferocity. “We can sleep when we're dead.” A quiet pitiful sound from Raindrops had Merry May blinking. “I mean, we're not going to die or anything. We're going to live. All of us. There's just so much work to do...it's a saying, you know?”
“I know,” Big Mac chuckled. His green eyes settled on Raindrops and he asked, “Got a second?”
“Merry May and I were just leaving,” said Scribes politely. She rolled up the parchment they'd been going over and headed off with the green pegasus, but not before receiving a thankful smile from Big Macintosh. He waited until they were out of earshot before turning his attention back to Raindrops and the cast on her left foreleg.
“How's your leg?”
“Okay I guess.. Luna said it broke so easily the second time because the first time it was healed with magic. Bones don't set as well with magic as they do if they healed normally.”
“If anypony'd know it'd be Luna I s'pose.”
Raindrops gave him a tight, awkward smile before looking at the group Big Mac had left, specifically the sleepy pegasus. “How is Fluttershy?”
“Better'n better each day.”
“I can't imagine what it would be like to lose one of my wings. I'm more awkward on my hooves than in the air.” She shook her head. “I feel really bad for her.”
“I'm gettin' the sense that she's a lot stronger than many ponies have given her credit for.”
“And she's got you.” Raindrops gave him another awkward smile. “I'm sure that helps.”
“Raindrops...”
“Please don't. I'm sorry. I know I just made things really awkward. But it's fine. I'm fine. It was silly of me to think anything...I mean, it's probably just everything, and we've been together since the beginning. You took care of me and every mare wants a stallion who will look out for her and I've never had that before. And besides if it was between Fluttershy and me I'd pick Fluttershy, too. She's so pretty and gentle, and-”
“Now hold up,” said Big Mac gently. “Don't go puttin' yourself down like that. You got a lot more courage'n you give yourself credit for. I know a lot of ponies who wouldn't have been able to come through all we did an' be all right. You're made of tougher stuff than you think.”
She smiled sadly. “Thanks, Big Mac.”
“I'm glad I had you on my side, Raindrops. An' sure as I know apples fall down, not up, I know there's somepony who's gonna love you an' take care of you the way you deserve to be.”
“I guess I'm just scared of being alone.”
“You won't be alone. You're part of the family now. You, Merry May, Silver Spoon...even Pokey. Though I have to admit I'm a little on the fence about this thing between him an' Applejack. I always thought he an' Pinkie Pie'd be a good pair.”
“She's been spending a lot of time with your cousin.”
This made the stallion smirk. “Well I reckon if anypony'd be a match for her energy and enthusiasm for just about anythin' it'd be Braeburn.” He glanced back over at the group he left before returning his attention to Raindrops. “How about you come sit with us for a spell?”
She grimaced. “I wish I could but we're working on a project. Rainbow Dash wants to get as many stories about that first day as we can. She's put us in charge of it and wants Scribes to put them together in a book.”
Big Macintosh nodded thoughtfully. “Not a bad idea.”
“It's weird to think that our children, our children's children will learn about this in school someday.” The pegasus shrugged and looked up at Big Mac. “Are we good?”
He nodded again, a small smile on his lips. “We were always good.”
“Thanks, Big Mac.” She flapped her wings to give her a little elevation, then moved forward to give the stallion a hug before hurrying off to find Scribes and Merry May.



Outside by the main gates into the city, Luna and Rainbow Dash sat together atop the inner wall. The usual unicorn patrol was on guard all around Fillydelphia but nothing beyond the city moved. It had been a week of silence from the enemy and a week for Luna to lose hope of ever seeing her sister again. She'd been raising the sun and the moon for almost three weeks now and it was hard for her to be optimistic when it came to the subject of Celestia. She'd fallen in with the ranks of the other ponies, taking both unicorn guard duties as well as scouting circuits with the pegasai, and found rest only when she could go on no longer without it.
Rainbow had been fully expecting a change of power, just waiting for everyone to start listening to and taking orders from the alicorn. But Luna made it very clear that the pegasus had been doing an exemplary job so far and did not wish to upset a system that was already working so well. So she, too, took orders from Rainbow. 
Now they sat in silence, staring out at a seemingly naked plain that they both knew to be littered with invisible opponents. Every night after raising the moon Luna would stand at the gate and use a pulse of magic to illuminate their shapeless forms. Every night they were still there in the exact same spots.  This was the first night there seemed to be less of them.
“What do you think it means?” Dash asked, breaking the quiet with her hushed question.
“It is hard to say,” admitted Luna. “I know so very little about them. Perhaps they fade over time with nothing to feed off of. Perhaps it is a trick to lull us into a false sense of security. Perhaps their master is satisfied with the amount of ponies left alive and is moving on to other nations. There are many things is could mean.”
“Every day that passes here puts us more in danger.”
Luna looked over at the pegasus. “What do you mean?”
“We were all out there for awhile, fighting to survive, to eat, to find ponies we cared about. Here it's like we're slowly becoming out own city. Yeah they're still scared, but these ponies lose a little more of their edge each time they go to sleep after another day of peace. I'm afraid we're going to get some comfortable here that we'll become complacent and vulnerable.”
“Not with you as their leader,” Luna assured. “Rainbow Dash, you have done splendidly in care for and protecting these ponies. It is not only your friends that look up to you but ponies you have never known before in your life. You command attention and respect, and you are worthy of both. If you feel there is a weakness it must be addressed and remedied. We cannot afford the luxury of true rest.”
Dash frowned and shook her head. “I know we can't but there's only so much we can do. Twilight's been working with the unicorns, teaching them shielding spells and stuff. Applejack's been running drills with everypony and teaching them offense and defense. I was hoping Soarin would help me teach some maneuvers to the pegasai...”
“He still will not leave his tent?”
The rainbow maned pony shook her head. “As soon as he was checked over and got a tent he disappeared inside and hasn't come out since. He won't talk to anypony or let anypony in to talk to him except for Nurse Tenderheart.”
Luna frowned. “Have any of the other Wonderbolts survived?”
“No,” Dash said quietly, “and I'm sure that's the main reason why he's being all anti-social, but he's gotta snap out of it!”
“You must remember, Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts were as much a family as you and the other Elements are family. He must be devastated knowing he is the only one left.”
“Fancy Pants seems to be doing fine. He's the only Canterlot survivor and he's been one of the most helpful of the new arrivals.”
“No two ponies handle grief the same. While Fancy Pants appears to have abandoned his old life for a new life helping those in need here, Soarin may not be capable of doing the same.” Luna looked up her her moon and sighed quietly. “Some ponies are driven to great works through their grief, some to terrible things. Some are simply immobilized by it.”
They fell into silence again, both ponies lost in their own thoughts. Eventually Rainbow took to pacing the wall, checking the corn cannon, checking in with the unicorns below. All the while Luna stayed quiet, watching, waiting for a sister she feared she would never see again.



The next morning just after breakfast, Applejack stared at Pinkie as she bounced excitedly before her. “You wanna do what now?”
“Have a party!”
“Pinkie Pie, this is hardly the time or place for-”
“Of course this isn't the place for it, silly! This is a place for being sweaty and dirty and grr-y, and throwing a ball at each other.”
“To, not at.”
“And besides, with all these tents and tables and fire pits and other stuff in the way you couldn't really have a real party in here anyway!”
Applejack touched a hoof to her forehead and sighed, closing her eyes. “Pinkie, you know I love you, right? But we're in the middle of somethin' real big an' real dangerous here! Ain't nopony in the mood for a party!”
“Have you asked them?”
The earth pony opened her eyes to see Pinkie's head tilted inquisitively. “Uh...well no, but-”
“Hey there's Apple Bloom! Let's ask her. Apple Bloom!”
The little filly was walking back toward her tent when she saw Pinkie waving and trotted over. “Hey Pinkie Pie!”
“Apple Bloom, I have a really important question to ask you.”
“No she doesn't, Apple Bloom. You run along now.”
“Don't run along, stay!”
“Run along!”
“Stay!
“RUN ALONG!”
“STAY!”
Apple Bloom blinked and looked between the two. “Um...I have to go to the bathroom.” Before either of them could protest the filly dashed away to leave the two friends to scowl at each other. Their outburst had drawn attention and Rarity trotted over, smiling diplomatically.
“Girls, girls. What seems to be the problem here? Surely we can settle this over a nice cup of tea and some sugar free cupcakes, hmm?”
“Pinkie Pie wants to have a party.”
“A party?”
“And Applejack is being a meany mean pants by not even listening to my idea.”
“Well surely Applejack just wants-”
“I ain't bein' mean, I'm bein' sensible!”
“Pinkie Pie, I do believe Applejack has a point. You see-”
“You're not being sensible, you're being grumpy!”
“Applejack, you do have a tendency to be on the grumpy side when-”
“An' you're bein' ridiculous!”
“If we could just stop yelling-”
“GRUMPY!”
“RIDICULOUS!”
Pokey sidled up to the three, smiling as Rarity had. “Ladies.” He looked over their heads at other who were staring in their direction and nodded. “Hey, how's it going?” When then onlookers turned away, the unicorn looked down at the fighting friends. “What is going on here?”
“Pinkie wants a party and Applejack doesn't,” Rarity reported with a dramatic sigh.
Applejack looked up at him with narrowed eyes. “Don't you take her side, Pokey Pierce. I know how much you like parties.”
“I'm not taking sides!” he said quickly. “I am just an uninvolved third party...er, fourth party. Hey, look! There are Clover and Twilight! They want to be uninvolved parties, too.” The stallion waved them over with urgency in his eyes, and Twilight looked at the group in confusion.
“We're having a party?”
“Yes!'
“NO!”
Rarity facehoofed.
“Will you just listen to me for a second?” Pinkie asked. “I know this isn't the most conventional time for a party, but don't you see what a good idea it is?” She looked specifically at Applejack now. “When was the last time you and I had a fight?”
The earth pony, still scowling, thought a minute. “Other than that time I broke a Pinkie Promise? Well...I reckon we really haven't had a real fight.”
“Exactly! Everypony is so scared and wound so tight that we're all at the point where we're going to snap. We need to do something that will help us not be so tense for once. I know we're in the middle of something big and dangerous, but what happens when we're all so knotted up that we can't think about how to work together when we really need to? Everypony is bickering and nervous, and I just think we need a night to try and forget about all of that!”
When no one said anything, Rarity said very quickly so as not to be cut off again, “Pinkiehasapoint.”
“Really?” Applejack asked sarcastically.
“No, I think she does,” said Clover. Now everyone looked at him, Applejack and Twilight wearing uncertain expression. “Pinkie's right, you guys. If we don't do something to chill everyone out we're going to fall apart at the time when we need to be together the most.” He met Pinkie's hopeful gaze and nodded. “Dash and Luna have been keeping watch, Filly has been safe since we built the second wall. Honestly, I think it's the best plan I've heard all day.”
“And it just gets better!” Pinkie enthused. “We're going to have a carnival!”
Now Clover's expression changed. “We're what?”
“Epona said when she went out looking for parts-”
“Oh, her?”
“That mare is crazy.”
“Have you seen that weird look she gets when she talks about machines?”
“Darling, I get that look when I talk about chocolate.”
Pinkie Pie pursed her lips together, turned around and walked away from the group, leaving them all standing there to watch her leave. She didn't stop to talk to anyone. Even Spike, when he tried to wave, was met with nothing more than being ignored. Pinkie wanted nothing to do with anyone and headed right into the tent she shared with Fluttershy, hoping to at least have her quiet friend to talk to, but found she was alone. Now sighing in sad defeat, the pink pony plopped down onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow. 
Her friends never used to shoot her down so quickly. Couldn't they see that a break from all the doom and gloom was necessary? Ever since they'd all been sent from Ponyville nothing had been the same. They weren't friends anymore, they were more like fellow soldiers in a war. Even her friendship with Luna felt strained. Applejack was always busy giving orders and training ponies, Twilight was either with Clover or working with the unicorns, Dashie was almost never available just to spend time with, Rarity was helping Nurse Tenderheart and when she wasn't doing that, she and Fancy Pants were talking to ponies about ponies they lost and trying to help them. Worst of all, Fluttershy didn't talk anymore. Not to her, not to Big Mac, not to anypony. Pinkie had never felt more alone before, even when she threw a party she thought no one wanted to come to.
“Pinkie? Y'all right in there?”
She sniffled and turned her head on the pillow, feeling a little less alone knowing who was on the other side of her tent. “I'm okay, Braeburn.”
“You sure? You don't sound okay. You sound kinda sad, truth be told.”
“I am kinda sad, truth be told.” She sat up and wiped her eyes, giggling softly. “You can come in you know.”
“I don't think it would be very appropriate, me comin' into a lady's quarters.”
Her smile grew as she hopped off the bed to join Braeburn outside. Without prompting, she hugged him. Though he was surprised, Braeburn smiled and returned the gesture. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
“For what?”
“Being my friend.”
As they parted Braeburn beamed. “I'll always be your friend, Pinkie. Wanna talk about what's got you down in the mouth? Maybe I can help.”
Pinkie took a deep breath in and said, “I wanted to have a party but Applejack said no because she's a meany old scroogy head who works so hard sometimes that she forgets a pony needs to have fun to even function and then Clover said it was a good idea and I was all Yay! because that meant somepony was on my side but then I mentioned it wouldn't be just a party and it would be a carnival and I was going to tell them what Epona found when she was out scavenging but as soon as I said her name it's like they all shut down and decided whatever else I was going to say just wouldn't work because of her!”
Braeburn blinked, then tilted his head thoughtfully. “What did Epona find?”
Now it was Pinkie's turn to blink. “You got all that?”
“Sure I did!”
“Wow. Usually my friends just kind of nod and smile after I go on like that.”
The stallion grinned. “So? What did she find?”
“She found the amusement park!”
Now Braeburn stalled a little, confusion entering his expression. “Fillydelphia has an amusement park?”
“Yeah, on the other side of town closer to the harbor! It's got rides and games and lots of fun things! I thought maybe we could all take a night and just go and have fun. We've still got electricity so we can run things, Epona said a lot of the rides weren't difficult to run, she'd just have to make sure they were all working right. We could blow up balloons and have fried dough and lots of fun!”
“I gotta be honest with you, Pinkie Pie. I think that sounds like a faaaa-aaa-aaaantastic idea!”
“You do?!”
“I sure do. An' I bet a lot of other ponies would think so, too. I think we should round up as many ponies as we can and see about gettin' a carnival together as quick as possible.”
“Okay! Let's go!”



As the day progressed another war seemed to break out. One side was for the carnival, the other staunchly against it. Rainbow Dash could see the points on both sides of the argument and decided to stay out of it. The way she saw it, those who wanted to go could go, and those who wanted nothing to do with it could stay put and stew. She had to admit that the idea of a night of fun was alluring. She hadn't had any fun in weeks and Rainbow used to live for fun. Now it felt like she lived for giving orders and trying to keep everypony safe. It was exhausting and it was never ending. Even as she settled in for bed that night in the tent she kept for herself, she fell asleep with tactical plans on parchment sitting on her chest and her light still burning on the table beside her. It was just never ending.
She awoke with a small jolt, realizing she'd fallen asleep when she was supposed to be working. When she got her bearings and realized she was no longer alone in her tent she jumped back so fiercely that her spine hit the wall of the field that her tent was propped against. Standing there, lazily watching the tactical plans flutter to the floor, was a worn and haggard looking stallion.
“Sorain?” Dash whispered harshly. “What in the hay are you doing here? It's the middle of the night!” Rainbow peeled herself from the wall and simply stood on her bed, looking at him. This was the first time she'd seen him just as he was, no uniform, no fancy wedding clothes. He was just a stallion with healing and bandaged over wounds, and the look of a pony already defeated. It made her sit slowly. “Are you okay?”
“They're all dead,” he said, so quiet Dash almost didn't hear him. He didn't even look up as he spoke, just kept his emerald eyes on the parchment on the floor. “They're all dead, Rainbow.”
She nodded slowly. “I know. I'm sorry.”
He laughed mirthlessly and finally looked at her. “Why are you sorry? It's not your fault. Did you ever notice that's how anyone reacts? Their first inclination is to say their sorry when, in reality, they had nothing to do with whatever happened. Don't say sorry. It's not your fault. It's mine.”
“It's not your fault either.”
“You don't know what happened,” he insisted, taking a forceful step forward. It made Dash flinch back slightly but she made herself stay where she was. “It is my fault. They're dead. Spitfire, Fleetfoot, Rapidfire, High Winds...all of them. They're dead. I'm alive.”
“Soarin, just because you're alive doesn't mean-”
“Yes, it does!” He reared back and took her withers between his hooves. “Don't you get it? They're dead [i[because I'm alive! I flew away instead of trying to help them.”
His grip on her was tight and Rainbow looked into his eyes, feeling oddly out of control and afraid. “Soarin...”
“Don't tell me you would have done the same thing.” He let her go and sat beside her on the bed, head hanging. 
Rainbow Dash, for the first time in recollection, did not know what to do. Here beside her was one of her heroes, a pony she'd admired and looked up to for so long, had harbored a crush on since the first time she saw him flying with the Wonderbolts, and he was completely and utterly defeated. It was hard to believe this same stallion was once a somewhat dopey, pie-loving, silly high flyer.
“I was higher up than the rest of them,” he said after a few minutes of awkward silence. “None of us knew what was going on at first. We were in Baltimare and that crowd is always a little hard to read sometimes. But they started acting really weird. Turning on each other, you know? Not all of them, just some of them. Then it got violent and it just got rapidly worse and worse. I didn't notice the void in the sky behind me until pegasai from the crowd started taking to the sky. We thought they were flying to get away but half of them were flying to attack us. Fleetfoot went down first, then Lightning Strike. That was when I started to look for a way out and noticed the void. All I heard below me were screams and snarls, and I panicked and flew away as fast as I could.” His eyes closed and he shook his head, clearly fighting tears of shame. “They died because of me.”
“No,” Dash countered softly. “If you'd have stayed you might have died, too. Getting away was the right idea, Sorin.”
He shook his head and spoke with a strained voice. “Every time I close my eyes, I see them. I hear their screams in my dreams, hear them begging for help.” Dash reached over and touched a hoof to his cheek, unsettled by the tears she saw in his eyes. “Everyone thinks I'm a hero but I'm nothing more than a coward.”
“Shhh.” Rainbow pulled Soarin to her, wrapping her forelegs around his neck and cradling his head against her shoulder as he cried. She took a breath in and looked up, silently praying for wisdom. This was not a situation with which she was familiar on any level. Even when her friends were crying it took a lot to be there for them. Tears were never her thing. Just because the world had changed, it didn't mean she had.
Running a hoof over his mane, Rainbow rested the side of her face against Sorsin's head and just held him tighter. She felt his forelegs snake around her middle and embrace her as though she was the only thing keeping him alive. “I'm sorry,” she finally managed, startled by the thickness in her own voice. “I'm so sorry. I wish I could take it away.” And she did, more than anything. There were ponies she saw and heard in her own dreams, who haunted her thoughts when she had an idle one to spare. It was torture for those few passing seconds. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to have that feeling all the time.
And then something started to change. Soarin's head moved and his lips grazed over her neck. Rainbow Dash instantly froze, no idea what was happening. In her embrace, the stallion traced kisses over her neck, under her chin. A million tiny butterflies flittered through Rainbow's stomach as she realized what was now happening, what it was Soarin wanted to make it all go away. She lifted her chin so he could get a better angle, so he could lift his own head and kiss along her jawline. She now had the power to make it better, just for a night, or to make it infinitely worse.
Keeping her hooves around him, Rainbow Dash pulled Soarin down on the bed with her, turning her head to blow out the light.