Where We Belong

by BlazzingInferno


A Final Wish

“You’re kidding, right?” Rainbow folded her forelegs while she looked down on Spike in every possible sense. “So all we’ve gotta do is say ‘I wish Rarity had the Element of Generosity’ and we’re done?”

Spike nodded. “I know it sounds crazy, but… yeah, that’s about it. That’s how Rarity and I survive down here.”

Rarity laid an affectionate hoof on his shoulder. “We’ve progressed far beyond merely surviving, in my opinion. The clothing you're all wearing now is proof of that.”

Applejack paced around them backwards, inspecting her own hoof prints in the process. “Take it from an earth pony, Rainbow, this ain’t no ordinary soil under our hooves; it’s got more funny stuff going on in it than a month-old apple.”

“Wow, you’re right!” Twilight’s voice bordered on bubbly, compared to her previous stoicism. She’d leaned down to touch her glowing horn to the snow. “I’ve been so focused on casting my own spell that… I should be taking notes for a research paper!”

Rainbow groaned. “After we save the world, right?”

“Right, right. Good idea.”

A circle of six ponies and one dragon quickly formed, and wishes ranging from “I wish Rarity had the Element of Generosity” to “I wish we could save Equestria” were spoken aloud. Rarity glanced around the circle, conscious of each pony’s well-meaning contribution as well as the disharmonious cacophony of the sum total. So much for easy victories.

Spike left his position beside her and ran into the circle. “That’s not how it works, everypony. Think about somepony you want this for, and nothing else, got it? You’ve got to feel so generous that you’re not thinking about yourself anymore.”

A glance in her direction was all it took for Rarity to start the process. “I wish, with all of my heart, for Spike to have his adoptive mother and mentor back.”

“Fluttershy?”

“I wish for all my animal friends to get to see the sun again.”

“Applejack?”

“I wish for the crops all over Equestria to start growing again, so nopony goes hungry.”

“Rainbow Dash?”

“I wish for Nightmare Moon to not be the queen anymore, so everypony can be free.”

“Pinkie Pie?”

“I wish everypony could have a birthday again, because those are way, way more fun than just having birth-nights.”

“Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight drew in a deep breath. “I wish all of the elements of harmony were back together, so everypony else’s wishes could come true!”

“And I wish—” Spike wrung his hands “—I wish that… that Rarity—”

Warmth shot through Rarity, as sudden as a lightning bolt and as welcome as the embrace of a loved one. A quintet of gasps sounding in her ears made it clear that the others had felt it too, but she kept her focus on the ground before her, where Spike had already started to dig. “I believe we’ve found it, everypony.”

Twilight stumbled forward, her legs unsteady and her horn sputtering. “Wow. That’s… something all right.”

“I’ve come to think of it as pure generosity, darling.”

“Hey, if one Element of Harmony can turn a little selfless wishing into that, then… maybe this crazy plan actually can work.”

Rainbow was in the air next, checking on the quickly deepening hole and grinning broadly. “Of course it’s gonna work, Twilight. Nightmare Moon’s history!”

Rarity eyed the two of them with raised eyebrows. “Honestly I expected the two of you to be on opposite ends of that argument, for Rainbow Dash to be the skeptical one when it comes to all things magic.”

“Oh no, I absolutely think the Elements of Harmony are powerful enough,” Twilight replied, “what I’m skeptical about is how we’re supposed to use them.”

“And how is that?”

Rainbow punched the air. “That’s the best part! All the books and stuff Twilight read say we just have to trot up to Nightmare Moon with the elements, and bam!”

A conspicuous eye roll was the kindest comeback Rarity could muster.

“I-I’m still hoping for someting… safer.” Fluttershy whispered between fearful shivers. “M-maybe we can use the elements from really, really far away. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Twilight approached the ever-deepening hole Spike had disappeared into, her horn aglow with the locator spell. At long last, the second compass needle had found its mark, somewhere below her hooves. “How’s it going down there, Spike?”

His voice was distant, and regularly interrupted by labored breaths. “You and Rarity have… unicorn magic. Applejack and Pinkie… are super-strong… earth ponies. How come… I’m doing… all the digging?”

Rarity joined Twilight at the hole’s edge and smiled down at her beloved. Spike had systematically burrowed through the snow and into the black soil beneath it. Clumps of dirt were piled on the hole’s opposite side, along with wisps of thin tree roots. “We all owe you a debt of gratitude, Spikey.”

Applejack took a whiff of the excavated soil. “Careful now, Spike. You’re right on top of a whole mess of tree roots. It’d be mighty good of you to avoid doing too much damage.”

Spike paused for a moment to glare at her. “Seriously? You’re taking the tree’s side?”

“Us super-strong earth pony farmers tend to, sugar cube,” she said with a wink.

Chuckling, he turned back to the knot of roots beneath him and went to work, peeling back layer after layer. “Hey, I think there’s something here! I think I found it!”

The others crowded around the hole as the dull groan of disturbed roots gave way to the glassy clink of dragon claws on crystal. Rarity’s breath caught in her throat when she saw it: a bright purple jewel so brilliant it seemed to glow of its own accord. Dirt and debris slid away, and moments later Spike was holding the sizable gem above his head in triumph. “I’ve got it! I’ve—whoa!”

Twilight had Spike out of the hole in seconds, but when her magic refocused on the Element of Generosity clasped in his claws, he held on tight. “Uh, Twilight? Is it okay if I—”

The magic aura surrounding his hands grew stronger. “Come on, Spike. That’s not some gem you can munch on. We need it to—”

Fluttershy nudged her with a wing, smiling a knowing smile. “He knows how important it is, Twilight. It's okay.”

Twilight gasped. Her magic vanished and her gaze sank to the ground. “I'm sorry, Spike! I-I didn't mean to imply that just because you're a… or that you're not…”

Stepping forward, Spike hugged her with his one free hand. “Don’t worry about it. I get how hard it is to make friends, trust me. I just wanted to give this to Rarity myself since… well… I don’t get a lot of chances to give her stuff. It’s not like The Pit has a gift shop or something.”

Twilight returned the hug, a relaxed smile visibly overtaking her grief. “You're a great friend. All of you are.”

Rarity cleared her throat, touched by the friendship forming before her and, to her surprise, slightly unnerved by another mare draping her foreleg over her dragon. No matter. She’d gotten used to The Pit; she could get used to these new friends too. “Shall we, then?”

“Bust out the full set, Twi!” Rainbow called. “Let’s do this right.”

Nodding, Twilight produced a wooden box in a purple flash. “Gather round, everypony.”

Before Twilight could undo the box’s clasp, Rarity turned her attention to the dragon walking toward her. The purple gem he held was a sight to behold, as was the adoration in his eyes. “You’re going to help save Equestria, Rarity. I always knew you could do amazing things.”

Batting her eyes, Rarity waved her hoof at him dismissively. “Says the dragon who showed me every possible kindness when I deserved none at all. As far as I’m concerned, this our victory, Spikey, not mine.”

The purple gem, the Element of Generosity, began to glow as it came closer. Rarity couldn’t help staring into its sparkling depths, and as she did so the glow increased from a mere flicker to that of a roaring fire. “What’s happening?”

As if in answer, the brilliant light faded away. Her ability to breath quickly followed. The huge gemstone was gone, and in its place Spike held a beautiful necklace wrought in gold with a purple, diamond-shaped stone in its center.

She’d seen necklaces before, of course. Once or twice she’d even taken long, wanton looks at pieces in the Queen’s treasury, to say nothing of all the jewelry stores to grace Canterlot. Was it the magic that made this one different, that made the necklace before her put the crown jewels of Equestria to shame? Perhaps it was a change within herself, or merely who she was facing.

Whatever the reason, her heart backflipped as Spike’s hands slid around her neck and fastened the clasp. The necklace didn’t feel heavy, or even cold. The metal seemed to melt into her skin, and the gem it held was an extension of her being rather than a simple accessory. The generous feeling she’d grown so familiar with had taken on a physical form.

“Oh my. This is… it’s—”

“It’s awesome!” Rainbow shouted as she zipped through the skies with a necklace of her own glinting in the sunlight.

Similar necklaces adorned every pony Rarity turned to, each one holding a gemstone that resembled the wearer’s cutie mark, and each one glowing with the same ethereal energy that she felt flowing through her.

“Uh, Twilight?” Spike asked. “Where’s yours?”

Rarity’s eyes widened as she too pondered Twilight’s suspiciously bare neck. “Twilight, darling… When you briefed us on this plan I was under the impression that you had found all the Elements of Harmony, save mine.”

Twilight nodded quickly, a little too quickly in Rarity’s estimation. “It’s… complicated. The sixth element is shrouded in mystery, but according to what I’ve read… once we have the other five…”

“Out with it!”

“This is why we have to be friends.” Twilight mumbled, the wooden box vanishing along with her smiling façade. “The sixth element is said to appear when you have the other five, and when… when you have the spark of true friendship. It seems like you all have that. I just hope I can too, someday.”

Applejack pressed her hat to her chest. “Shucks, Twilight, it ain’t that bad. We had some fun today, right?”

“I guess so, but that can’t be enough.”

Pinkie landed between Applejack and Twilight, and wasted no time in pulling them both into a bone-crushing hug. “Of course it is, silly! We’re bestest buddies forever now, right?”

Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes. “Best buddies forever, huh?”

“Yeah!”

“First you gotta let me breath!” Apple wheezed through Pinkie’s inadvertent headlock.

Rainbow tilted her head to the hot air balloon looming over the trees. “So we can go now, right? Playing in the snow is fun and all, but nighttime out there is way warmer than noon in here.”

“Do you two need a minute?” Fluttershy smiled at Rarity. “I wish I’d gotten one before I left my home in Ponyville.”

Rarity nodded. “That’s very kind of you, Fluttershy. Spike and I… We’ll meet you at the balloon. We shan't be long.”

The others made their retreat quickly, glancing back every so often, and always flashing a warm smile when they did. Rarity did her best to return the gesture, despite the contrary thoughts swirling in her head. Her escape was finally at hoof, the moment she’d once thought impossible and eventually deemed unnecessary.

Spike took a deep breath. “We can still go back for your saddlebags. What do you want to put in them? I don’t think we can get all of your clothes in there.”

“Oh? And what of your possessions, Spikey? Are you really willing to part with your blankets and gold?”

Spike shrugged. “It’s not like we have a big set of luggage. We’ve got to leave something behind, and I can live without my stuff.”

Rarity turned her back on the balloon, opting to face the cave instead, and draped her forelegs across his shoulders. “In all honesty… I can live without mine as well, save this.”

Her magic plucked her prized possession, the golden sewing needle, from the tangled curls of her mane. “It’s not that I don’t treasure our modest possessions, but… How do I put this: I was forced to make an entirely fresh start when I landed here, and became a much better version of myself as a result. Don’t let me stop you from retrieving anything you like, but—” she gave him a squeeze “—I have everything I treasure most with me already.”

That truth resonated through her with seemingly unshakable conviction. She didn’t need an extensive wardrobe to face down Nightware Moon. What happened after that remained frighteningly uncertain, but her rustic, quaint excuses for fashion likely wouldn’t help there either. Of course, being out of style might be the least of her troubles, what with her having a dragon for a mate.

“Is something wrong?”

Startled, Rarity met Spike’s gaze and managed a brief smile. “I certainly hope not.”