I’ll Bring You Home
Chapter Eight; Lights in the Dark
“T-Twilight…”
Rainbow didn’t know what to do. She stood there, staring at the mare she’d been looking for for so, so long. Twilight, oblivious to being watched, just sat there, reading her books. As though she hadn’t been dead for more than a year. As though Rainbow’s world hadn’t been shattered in a single moment.
There she was, right there. It felt surreal. Like it couldn’t be real; another trick of the library’s curse. Some hallucination brought on by far too little sleep. Rainbow blinked, and the apparition remained. It was so real… and then, some part of her realized it was real. And then the rest of her caught up with the fact that she was just standing there, jaw hanging open.
Rainbow Dash took off like a shot, flying down the hall faster than she’d ever flown before. “Twilight!” Her voice cracked, thick with emotions she couldn’t even begin to parse. The mare seemed engrossed in her books, however, and as usual paid no mind to her name being called.
“Rainbow wait!” Clover called out, but it was too late; Rainbow was already well down the hall when a rumbling filled the corridor. But the pegasus didn’t notice. Didn’t care. Her entire world focused in on that purple mare, eyes shining in the darkness as she read her book. That same, idle smile on her face, as though nothing at all had happened.
Rainbow didn’t even bother to slow down as she grabbed Twilight in a full-speed tackle, smashing through the stacks of books around her and bringing the mare to the floor with a surprised squeal. When they stopped Rainbow had already wrapped Twilight in a ferociously tight hug.
Twilight, dazed from the sudden tackle, took a moment to realize what had happened - and who was hugging her. “R-rainbow Dash? What-” she was silenced by the sound of the pegasus’s sobs, and her eyes widened. Pinned to the floor in an embrace like a final lifeline, Twilight just returned the hug, feeling the pegasus cry into her chest.
“Twilight…” Rainbow couldn’t force out any more words. Couldn’t stop the tears. They came unbidden, and she clung to the mare like nothing else. She felt Twilight’s hooves wrap around her back and just cried harder.
Slowly, with the aid of Twilight rubbing small circles into her back, Rainbow regained enough composure to whisper; “I missed you. So much.”
Still confused, Twilight just nodded her head. “I missed you, too. What-” she was cut off as a dreadfully familiar sound filled the hall. A slow, grinding squeaking. Rainbow jumped up, releasing Twilight as she heard that noise. She looked ahead and saw the tell-tale light coming towards them. Turning, Rainbow’s heart sank as she saw the path she’d just come down was now a dead end, with Clover nowhere to be seen. “You’ve got one of those lanterns, right Twi?”
She heard a gasp, and a deep seated dread gripped her. Following Twilight’s gaze, she found herself looking at Twilight’s lantern - once perched atop one of the stacks of books - now lay broken on the floor, surrounded by shattered glass and emitting no light. “No… no no no!” Rainbow stomped her hoof, looking between the approaching Keeper and the broken lantern. “Damn it, Dash!”
Rainbow felt a hoof on her shoulder. “Hey, calm down. We’ll be okay.” Twilight smiled at her, and a weight Dash forgot she’d been carrying lifted from her shoulders. It had been so long since she’d seen that smile. Far, far too long.
She found herself smiling back. “What’s the plan, Twi?”
“The Keepers are pretty slow. I can outrun them. You can definitely outfly them. If you fly us up high enough you can stay out of the light and go over it,” Twilight explained, leading Rainbow a little further into the dead end to give them more space. “You’ll have to carry me, but you should still be fast enough.”
Rainbow gave her a confused look. “Carry you? Why-” she paused, and for the first time noticed that the alicorn next to her wasn’t an alicorn anymore. “T-Twilight? What happened to your wings?”
“Huh? Oh!” Twilight slapped a hoof to her forehead. “I forgot you haven’t seen me since…” she trailed off tellingly, shaking her head. “It’s a long story that I’ll tell you later. It’s coming.” She nodded towards the approaching light, the worn black cloak visible now. “Can you carry me?”
Rainbow hesitated, but under the circumstances playing twenty questions didn’t seem like the best idea. She took to the air, hovering a moment before wrapping her hooves around Twilight’s barrel and under the unicorn’s forelegs. Just that small contact brought a small smile to Rainbow Dash’s lips, and she nodded. “Yeah, I can carry you. Hold on tight, Twi.”
With a few strong flaps they were hovering near the roof of the hall when the Keeper seemed to notice them, its lantern swinging more quickly as its pace increased. “Let it get closer,” Twilight whispered. “If we lead it into the dead end the halls shifting might separate it from us. When it spots us up here it’ll start floating up, so you’ll have to fly past before it gets high enough for the light to reach us.”
Nodding, Rainbow could feel her muscles tensing, watching as the thing came closer and closer. It slowed, as though confused, and she swallowed thickly. The lantern swung, side to side, and just as it reached Twilight’s pile of books, it looked up, and Rainbow realized there really wasn’t anything at all under the cloak.
“Rainbow! Now!”
Rainbow sped off on the command, flashing by over the Keeper, leaving a billowing wind in her wake. She could hear the creaking of its light as it gave chace, but those sounds were already growing distant.
“Left, Rainbow! Left!” Twilight shouted over the wind howling in her ears. They banked aorund a corner, and when the sound of the Keeper faded entirely Rainbow allowed herself to slow.
“You okay down there?” She asked, tightening her grip on the unicorn. “I haven’t had to carry you in a while.”
Twilight giggled. “It really has been a while, hasn’t it…” she sighed, and looked up at the pegasus carrying her with a fond smile. “I really have missed you all.”
Feeling a few more tears leak from the corner of her eyes, Rainbow grunted her agreement. “I think we’re far enough away. I’m gonna land.”
They alighted on the ground - only somewhat shakily - and Rainbow groaned as she stretched her aching wings. Apparently her injuries from the coliseum hadn’t totally healed just yet. Twilight watched, a conflicted look on her face. Rainbow smiled at her, and asked in a tone far too casual for their current situation; “What’s up?”
“Rainbow…” Twilight chewed her lip, glancing around the hall. “How… how are you here? It hasn’t been that long since I… got here… did… did something happen? Without me?”
Rainbow’s eyes widened. “No, no Twilight; nothing happened. I’m not dead. I’m here to bring you back with me.”
“What!?” Her surprised shout echoed through the corridor, and Twilight cringed at the volume. “Are you crazy!?” She whisper-shouted. “You can’t bring ponies back to life! It violates every natural law! You can’t just-”
“I can and I will,” Rainbow said simply. “We need you, Twilight. The girls. Spike. Equestria… me. I-... I need you back, Twi. I’ve spent the last year searching for a way to bring you home. I’ve been wandering around the Underworld for days to find you.”
Twilight seemed taken aback at the words, and she frowned. “Rainbow…”
“Please, Twilight; come back with me. I don’t care about what’s ‘natural’. I care about you. You… you shouldn’t have… sh-shouldn’t have…” she trailed off, biting back bitter tears and turning away. How was the wound still so fresh, even with the mare standing right there?
Twilight started to answer, but the familiar sound of an approaching keeper echoed through the hall, and they both looked to see the approaching light. “We’re not out of danger yet,” the unicorn said, starting to move down the hall in the other direction. “If we’re going to get out of here we’re going to need to steal another lantern.”
“Steal one!?” Rainbow asked incredulously. “Twi, have you seen what happens to anypony who gets close to those things? How are we going to steal one?”
“It’s okay. They only cast the light in front of them; if you come from behind you’ll be able to grab the lantern,” Twilight explained quickly. “Once you do, the Keeper disappears and the lantern becomes inert. All you have to do is sneak up behind it and grab the lantern while it’s distracted. You should be plenty fast enough to do it before it turns on you.”
There was a ball in the pit of her stomach, and Rainbow already didn’t like the answer to her next question. “Distract it… how, exactly?”
“I’ll be bait.”
There it was. Rainbow shook her head firmly. “No way, Twi; not happening. Can’t you, like, magic the lantern away or something?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “They’re impervious to magic while in possession of a Keeper.” She smiled confidently. “I’ll be fine, Rainbow; I’ve already stolen one, and with you helping it’ll be easy.” Glancing over her shoulder, the unicorn motioned for them to turn. “There should be a good place we can do it up here. I’ll go left, you hide to the right. When the keeper turns to chase me, you grab the lantern, okay?”
“Not okay!” Rainbow couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She’d just gotten Twilight back, and already she wanted to use herself as bait? “It’s too big a risk. What… what if it gets you? I… Twi, I can’t lose you again.”
The groaning squeal came closer as they reached the intersection, and Twilight paused. “I promise I’ll be okay, but you need to do this or we’ll never get out of here.”
Rainbow chewed her lip anxiously, glancing between Twilight’s earnest expression and the rapidly approaching white light. “What if I screw up again?”
“Screw up?” Twilight tilted her head. “What are you talking about?”
Wings fluttering nervously, Rainbow couldn’t quite meet the unicorn’s questioning gaze. “When… Tirek he… if I hadn’t fallen into that trap he… you wouldn’t have…”
“Rainbow?”
“If I hadn’t fallen for that trap, you wouldn’t have had to face Tirek alone. It’s my fault you died, Twilight!” Rainbow closed her eyes, flinching away from her own admission.
“Rainbow…”
The groaning of the Keeper came closer still, and Twilight glanced to the side. Rainbow opened her eyes just in time for her vision to be filled with purple as she was embraced tightly.
“Twilight-”
“It’s not your fault.”
With that, Twilight pushed the pegasus down the hall, turning and shouting. “Hey!” The Keeper reacted to the noise, floating faster and squeaking louder. Twilight smiled as the pegasus stood. “Be quiet. Grab it when you see your moment.” She wheeled around and took off down the hall just as the Keeper rounded the corner and gave chase, its lanter swingingly wildly as it moved.
“Twi-” Rainbow had to force a hoof over her own mouth, holding her breath as the Keeper seemed to slow in reaction to her half-shout, before continuing its chase. For a moment the pegasus watched, before shakily she pursued as well, hovering just above the floor on her wings and making as little noise as possible. She didn’t have time to second guess herself or doubt the plan.
The Keeper was faster than she expected, but nowhere near fast enough, and without much effort she was right on its tail. However, it wasn’t far behind Twilight, either. The unicorn didn’t seem to notice as she ran through the shelves without once glancing back. Focusing in on the lantern, Rainbow watched it rock back and forth. There was a moment, at the peak of its swing, where it was wide open for her to grab. She just had to time it right.
“I’m sorry.”
Rainbow’s wings faltered for a second, and she looked up again.
Twilight shouted without looking over her shoulder. “I should have told you girls everything from the beginning. I… I knew Discord had betrayed us, and I didn’t tell you. I was so focused on getting away from Ponyville, from you. I thought I was protecting you, but…” her voice hitched, and Rainbow realised she was crying. “Celestia said not to involve you but... I should have known from the very beginning that I’d need you girls. That he’d target you all like the first time. Maybe I was too stubborn, maybe I was just blindly following Celestia’s orders like always. It doesn’t matter.
“I’m sorry, Rainbow. Everything that happened; you girls getting captured and… what happened to me. It’s my fault.”
With a flap of her wings Rainbow shot forward, hooves outstretched. The tattered cloak of the keeper passed by right next to her, brushing against her wing, and time seemed to freeze in the moment her hooves touched the lantern, like the moment of time captured in the light of a lightning strike. Twilight was looking back over her shoulder, smiling despite the tears on her cheeks.
Time resumed and Rainbow was past the keeper in the blink of an eye, the lantern held safely in her hooves as she fanned her wings to slow down. She turned, watching as the cloak fell harmlessly to the ground and Twilight cheered, running to catch up.
Then there was a rumbling, and the victorious grin faded from Rainbow’s lips as a shelf sprouted from the wall and sealed off the hall in front of her.
“Twilight!” She slammed herself into the bookshelf between her and the unicorn, hooves pounding against the wood. Muffled through the books, she heard a voice.
“Rainbow? Did you get the lantern?”
Rainbow nodded rapidly. “Yeah, yeah I got it, Twi. Just… just teleport over to this side and we can get out of here!”
There was a pause. “Use the lantern and make it back to Elysium. I can’t teleport down here; the halls are powerfully warded against magic. I couldn’t even smash through if I still had the magic of an alicorn.”
“There has to be another way! You have most of this place mapped out, right? Can I get to you?” Rainbow glanced back at her lantern, and from down the hall she saw another white light approaching.
“You can, but by then it’ll be too late.” There was an alarming resignation in Twilight’s voice.
Rainbow shook her head. “Too late? What are you talking about?”
“When you… when a Keeper’s lantern is stolen, and the Keeper… dies. It… it summons the other Keepers on the floor. Usually it’s not a problem, since you’d have a lantern… but…”
“What are you saying, Twi?” Rainbow already knew. She heard the groaning of the Keeper coming from behind her, but that wasn’t the only one she heard.
“You need to go back home, Rainbow. The girls need you.”
Rainbow slammed her hooves against the bookshelf to no avail. “We need you too! I’m not just leaving you!”
“You won’t have a choice soon. There’s one on this side; I’m trapped. I’m sorry, Rainbow. I’m so sorry, but I can’t…”
Rainbow gripped her necklace, holding it tightly a moment and closing her eyes. “Keep your head down.” She yelled, grabbing her lantern in her jaw and trotting away from the wall between them.
Twilight’s confused shout was barely audible as she walked away. “Rainbow? What are you doing?”
The Keeper ahead of her was still coming, and Rainbow watched as it approached. When the edges of their lights touched, she whipped her head around and threw hers. It flew through the air and connected with the Keeper’s own lantern, both of them shattering. The lights faded, and the Keeper’s cloak fell to the ground. “You’ve already taken her from me once. You’re not doing it again.” She turned back to the wall. “Head down!”
Without waiting for a response Rainbow launched herself into the air, hooves outstretched and wings beating as hard as she could. In moments she felt a familiar cone of pressure form, and then burst. The boom echoed deafeningly loud in the confined space, but the contained shockwave gave her a boost in speed.
Then she connected with the shelf, and the wood didn’t stand a chance. In a rainbow coloured explosion of splinters and books she broke through. Beneath her Twilight had ducked into a corner, hooves covering her head, and not far down the hall was another Keeper. She ignored it as she turned on a dime, bleeding off only a little speed as she snatched the unicorn in her hooves.
Twilight yelped in surprise as she was picked up bridal style, and she looked up to see Rainbow’s stone faced look of determination. “Rainbow! The lantern, where-”
“We don’t need it,” Rainbow grunted over the wind. “You know this place; guide us out of here. I’ll deal with avoiding any of those things.”
Twilight stared in shock a moment longer before regaining her senses and looking ahead. “Left!” She shouted, and they made a sharp bank around a corner. “Right!” Again they turned, and up ahead was another Keeper. Rainbow scowled, holding Twilight a little tighter. “Grab me a book.”
“What?”
“A book!” Rainbow growled, slowing slightly. “I need a book.”
Twilight looked confused, but reached out with her magic and snatched a book from a shelf.
Nodding approvingly, Rainbow motioned ahead. “When we get close, throw it over its head.”
Realizing the plan, Twilight charged her horn and waited. At their speed it was only moments before they were in position, and she sent the book flying further down the hall to clatter on the floor. The Keeper turned towards the noise, and they soared past over its head, rapidly leaving it behind as it struggled to catch them.
“Left! Then straight!”
A few corners later and they found the stairwell, and Rainbow slowed to fly up it. “One more floor…”
“Are you okay?” Twilight asked, noticing the strained look on her face.
Rainbow grinned at the mare in her hooves. “Fine, Twi. We’re almost out of here. Just a little further, right?”
Though the unicorn didn’t buy it, she didn’t have a chance to argue the point as they came out the next floor up and Rainbow sped up again. With their system in place, it didn’t seem like it was going to be much of a challenge.
Twilight, occasionally shouting directions, focused on the pegasus carrying her. It had been so long since she’d seen any of her friends. She couldn’t even be sure how long; time was hard to track that deep in the halls. The look on Rainbow’s face told her it had been far too long. She looked… different. Older, and the light that once shon behind her eyes was all but gone, replaced by a fiery determination that knew no bounds. It wasn’t a bright focus, but rather a smouldering obsession.
Then she looked down, and saw her own cutie mark resting against Rainbow’s chest in the form of a purple gemstone. It was strange, though; it seemed to glow, subtly. As though calling out to her. Reaching out a hoof, she touched it, and recoiled when it felt as though it had shocked her. She started to ask, but her chance was lost when they rounded a final corner and the staircase ahead appeared. Finally, as they flew up the stairs in a matter of moments, onto the much more brightly lit and cramped floor above, they were safe from the Keepers.
“We should be… safe… up here…” Rainbow’s wings screamed in protest as she finally allowed herself to slow. She set Twilight down on the floor gently before taking a few steps forward and falling onto her side, her saddlebags falling off as she struggled onto her back.
“Rainbow!” Twilight was at her side in an instant. “Are you okay?”
The pegasus just smiled up at her. “Fine, Twi. Just… tired.” She yawned - clearly fakely. Twilight didn’t smile back, and she watched the unicorn’s eyes grow wide.
“Rainbow…” Twilight reached out and touched the pegasus’s shoulder. The wound from the coliseum had closed, but it was still clearly there, and she’d have quite the scar when it healed. Then Twilight looked her over properly, and tears beaded in the corners of her eyes. There were so many wounds. Healed, but obviously fresh. “What… what happened to you?”
Chuckling, Rainbow shook her head. “It’s nothing, Twi.”
“Nothing?” Twilight ran her hooves through Rainbow’s wings, felt the injuries and patches of missing feathers. “How did this happen?”
“I told you; it’s nothing. I’m fine,” She pulled herself to sit upright, leaning her back against a bookshelf. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re a unicorn again?” She shrugged off the look she got.
“You’re avoiding the question,” Twilight muttered.
Rainbow sighed, shaking her head. She looked herself over. “I guess I got pretty beat up, huh? Not a big deal, as far as I’m concerned.” There was a pause, and the unicorn made it clear she wasn’t answering any questions until Rainbow Dash did. “I was being my usual awesome self, that’s all.” She searched Twilight’s face, hoping the explanation was enough.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t. “Rainbow,” Twilight deadpanned, her pointed look forcing the pegasus to look away. “Some of these are serious. How did you get them?”
“I had to fight some things to get to Elysium,” Rainbow admitted eventually. “I was awesome, but they managed to get some hits in. It’s seriously not a big deal. Didn’t even hurt!” She was quick to add. She’d known exactly how Twilight would take the idea of her getting injured for the unicorn’s sake. From the look on Twilight’s face, that was exactly how she was taking it.
“The trials…” Twilight trailed off, realization dawning in her eyes. She looked over Rainbow again, found the wound on her head from the golem. The tears in the corners of her eyes finally fell, and she dove forward for a hug. “This happened because of me…”
Rainbow groaned, though she had to admit the hug felt nice. Just being able to feel Twilight again, know she was there. “Don’t. I did this to myself because I wasn’t good enough. Besides…” she trailed off, returned the hug. “You’re more than worth a few scrapes and bruises.”
“You could have died!” Twilight scolded harshly. “Why… why couldn’t you just leave me? I chose my own fate to save you all. We’d have seen each other again, eventually. You didn’t have to-”
“Yes, I did.” Rainbow released the hug and leaned back again, smiling. “There was no way I was letting you go that easy.” She chuckled. Or coughed. Both. “I wouldn’t be Loyalty if I did.”
Twilight bit her lip, drawing back slightly. “You…” tears fell from smiling eyes. “You’re so stupid, you know that?”
“Never did win a spelling bee back in school.”
They shared a laugh, and for the briefest moment they felt… normal. In that one second nothing had happened. They were just two friends again, sitting around and having fun.
Then Rainbow’s laughed trailed off into coughing, and the illusion shattered. “Hey, there’s some water and food in my bags. Could you-” the canteen was already floating next to her head in a lavender glow. She accepted it happily, greedily chugging a few mouthfuls before offering it to the unicorn.
“I don’t need any,” Twilight said gently, pushing it away.
Rainbow frowned. “You sure?”
Sighing, Twilight nodded. “I suppose I should tell you. I’m… I’m dead, Rainbow.” She glanced away, scanning along the shelves. “I don’t have a physical body any more. I don’t need to eat or drink or sleep. What you see-” she motioned to herself “-is just a magical manifestation of my soul. That’s why I’m a unicorn; I became an alicorn only because of the magic that dwelled within me. It didn’t change who I was underneath it all; my soul is still just the soul of a nerdy unicorn from Canterlot.
“That’s also why… why I can’t come back with you.”
“Twi-”
“Listen!” Twilight snapped, their eyes met, and she cringed away from Rainbow’s hurt look. “Sorry. I’m… I can’t come back with you, Rainbow; I don’t… I’m just a soul, now. I don’t have a physical body. Without a body I can’t even leave Elysium, never mind make it back to the mortal plain. There’s not enough magic beyond Elysium to sustain me. If I enter the Underworld, I’ll become a lost soul. The remnants of my magic will be drained from me, I’ll lose my memories… the pony I was would be gone forever, until even my soul disappears.”
Rainbow frowned. “Twi, trust me; I’ve already taken care of it. I have a new body for you waiting back in Equestria. I-”
“What?”
“Yeah, listen; I met this mare who’s helped bring loads of ponies back from the dead. She’s the one who showed me how to get here. I’ve got it covered,” Rainbow explained hastily. “I’m already here. There’s no reason for you not to come back with me.”
Twilight gasped. “You mean… the mare with the pomegranate cutie mark?” Rainbow nodded. Twilight fell back onto her haunches. “She’s real… I’d… I’d thought it was strange, that detail occuring in so many of the stories. But I just figured they shared the same ancient root myth. I never thought…”
The pegasus smirked. “Real as they get, Twi; she’s growing you a new body right now. We just have to make it back to her.”
Shaking her head, Twilight sighed. “That’s only one of the problems. Even if I would have a body back home, I would never make it back through the Underworld with you… unless…” She looked at the pendant around Rainbow’s neck. “Where did you get that necklace?”
Rainbow glanced down at it. “Huh? Oh, Ce-...” she bit her tongue. “Harvest. The mare who got me here gave it to me. Said you’d know what to do with it.” She didn’t quite understand why, but everypony had been adamant about not mentioning the Princess’s involvement in her journey.
“It can’t be…” Twilight reached out and touched it, once again feeling a shock race down her leg. It didn’t hurt. More like a slight, almost pleasant tingle. A familiar tingle of magic. With her magic she popped the gem out of the metallic backing, and her jaw nearly dropped. There, stuck to the inside of the pendant, were a few thin purple flakes. Twilight quickly slotted the gem back into place, muttering to herself. “If those are what I think they are, and that gem is…”
Rainbow blinked. “Uhh… Twi? What’s goin’ on? What is it?”
“If, if that is what I think it is - and that is a very, very big if - you… this might actually work.” Twilight scratched at her head, staring intently at the pendant. “I think those flakes are… shavings. Of my horn. My actual body’s horn. How… why would she even have those? How would she have access?” She shook her head. “Not the point. If that is what they are, it provides a focal point I can bind my soul to, and if that gem is-”
“English, Twi; english. What are you saying.”
Twilight grunted. “If I’m right, I can use that necklace to make it through the Underworld with you. This… this might actually work.”
Though she understood very little of the how or the why, Rainbow cheered. “So problem solved! You do your magic thing, we go back to Equestria.”
“That is… a gross oversimplification. But… accurate,” Twilight admitted with the ghost of a smile tugging at her lips. “You might be the only pony capable of pulling this off.”
Rainbow gave her signature cocksure smile. “I’m nothing if not amazing, Twi-” she cut herself off with a yawn. “But… could this wait for a bit? I know you might not need to sleep, but I’ve been down here for ages and I could do with a power nap.”
“Oh!” Twilight nodded rapidly. “Of course! I’m gonna find some books on this, make sure I know what I’m doing. You can rest.”
Glancing nervously down the stairwell not too far from them, Rainbow shuddered. “Books? You… don’t need to go back down there, do you?”
Twilight giggled. “Of course not.” She lit her horn, and a small purple portal appeared next to her. A half dozen books floated out, and then it closed. “I kept a store of books I wanted to read later. Some basic magical texts that were lost to the ages, some on field manipulation theory, there’s one on advanced spell matrices. Oh, and this one’s-”
Letting loose a loud, exaggerated snore, Rainbow had already pulled her sleeping bag out from her saddlebags. “Right. Nerd stuff. Got it.” She yawned again. “I’m gonna hit the hay. You uh… do your thing.” Glancing around, Rainbow shrugged and laid down along the shelf, staring up at the ceiling a moment. A thought struck her, and she glanced over to the unicorn, already reading her books just a few steps away.
“Hey… Twi?”
Twilight looked up, tilting her head at the worried look written plainly across Rainbow’s featured. “What’s wrong?”
“Just…” she trailed off, scowling. “Do me a favour. I know this is gonna sound silly, but... promise me you’ll still be here when I wake up.”
“Rainbow…” Twilight shuffled a little closer. “Of course I’ll be here. I’m not gonna go anywhere without you. Why-”
“I dunno,” Rainbow interrupted, frowning. “It’s stupid, but I just… ever since I found you, I’ve had this feeling like… like this is all a dream. And I’m going to wake up and-” her breathing hitched and she had to fight not to let any tears fall. “-and I’m gonna wake up and you’ll be gone again.
“I know it’s stupid. I know this is real, I know you’re here. But I just… I can’t shake that feeling. So please, just… just promise me that, okay?”
Twilight nodded slowly. She reached down and grabbed Rainbow’s hooves in her own. “I promise; I’ll be right here when you wake up.” Their eyes met, and Rainbow knew she wasn’t lying.
“Thank you. I… I know it’s dumb but… thank you.” Rainbow released the unicorn’s hooves and rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment before closing her eyes. Exhaustion rapidly caught up to her, and with that promise she felt herself relax.
Twilight watched her breathing a moment before turning to her books, a newfound determination fuelling her. She hadn’t known how much her sacrifice had wounded her closest friends. Hadn’t known the scars she left behind would still be so fresh. All she knew was that she had to make it right.
Rainbow heaved a heavy breath, and gradually drifted off to sleep to the strangely comforting sound of turning pages.
Rainbow suddenly found herself falling. The bubble Tirek had her in had burst, and it took her a moment to catch herself. When she did, she shot towards Twilight. The alicorn was screaming in agony, writhing on the ground and clutching her head.
“Twi! Twilight, can you hear me?” Rainbow held the alicorn upright by the shoulders. Her screams tapered off as she was surrounded by her friends, and when her eyes opened they glowed a blinding white.
“I’m sorry, girls,” Twilight whispered, barely audible and clearly strained. “It was the only way.”
“C’mon, Twi, hang in there,” Rainbow urged desperately. “You’re gonna be fine, okay?”
A beam of magic shot straight up from the unicorn's horn, a pulse spreading across the sky. The light faded from her eyes.
Rainbow didn’t even notice her cutie mark returning. “Stay with us, Twi.”
Twilight reached a hoof up, gently tousling Spike’s spines. “I’m glad you’re safe… all of you.” She closed her eyes, and a second beam shot from her horn, this time flying off towards the horizon. The her breathing stopped, and Rainbow felt tears running down her face.
“No… Twilight no… please no… no, no, no…” There was a flash of magic, but Rainbow didn’t even look away. She just stared at the pony in her hooves, a serene smile on her lips. “No, Twilight… you can’t…”
Something was happening. There was shouting. Her friends were saying something. Rainbow couldn’t hear any of it. Her ears were ringing. If felt like someone had filled her head with cotton. “Please Twilight… wake up... you can’t be… you can’t…”
Somepony said something. Rainbow felt the tears come on stronger as she hugged Twilight’s lifeless body to her chest. “I… I never told you…” She was sobbing. Tears dripped onto Twilight’s face, and for a moment she thought it would be like all those scenes in all those trashy stories where Twilight’s eyes would open. But they didn’t, and Rainbow just cried harder.
She felt somepony trying to pull her away, trying to take Twilight from her, but they couldn’t. She wouldn’t let them. Twilight’s mane shifted in the struggle, and when Rainbow shook the hooves off her she fixed the stray strand of hair. “I… I love you, Twilight… please… please you can’t… you can’t…”
They were shouting her name. Trying to take Twilight away from her again. She didn’t have the strength left to stop them, and when Twilight slipped from her grasp she fell to the ground, clutching at her own chest. It hurt. It hurt so much. Why? It felt like somepony was stabbing her with a red hot knife, over and over and over.
There were hooves wrapped around her, and she was vaguely aware of four other crying mares and a dragon embracing her. It didn’t matter. It didn’t feel right. It never would again. There was a pair of hooves missing. A smiling face that would never smile again. A pony that was gone, and never coming back.
Rainbow’s heartbroken wail echoed across the battle scarred land, and all who heard it knew a small fraction of her pain.
Rainbow Dash jolted as she awoke suddenly, eyes snapping open and filling with lavender. It took a moment for her to realize where she was, and a few more for her situation to sink in. Her head lay in Twilight’s lap, and a hoof ran slow, gentle strokes through her mane. She blushed. “Twi?”
Twilight’s hoof stopped. “You were shouting in your sleep,” she explained, hearing the unasked question and closing her book. “My mom used to do this for me when I had nightmares. It usually helped.”
Rainbow groaned, rolling over and away from the unicorn. “So not cool…”
Giggling, Twilight shrugged. “Maybe not, but you seemed to calm down. Did you… want to talk about it?”
Rainbow grimaced, recalling the dream. It hadn’t been an exact memory; they never were. But it was close, and it was as real as the day it actually happened. “No… no it was nothing. Just a bad dream, is all.”
“Are you sure? I find talking it out helps-”
“I said I’m fine!” Rainbow snapped. She recoiled at the venom lacing her own words. “Sorry. I just… I’m fine, Twi. How long was I out?”
Frowning, Twilight searched the pegasus’s face. It was clear she didn’t want to talk about whatever it was, and the thinly veiled change of topic was just that. She sighed. “Several hours, at least.”
Rainbow grunted, her mouth already full of a granola bar. “Find anything in your books?”
“I think so?” Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know. There’s so little information regarding any kind of soul magic. It’s a big taboo, and has been for centuries. A few unicorns did some research, but often it resulted in them being imprisoned or banished. As a result they rarely kept any kind of proper documentation, and what they did keep was heavily encoded.”
“Eh, I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” Rainbow said with a shrug. She finished her breakfast and packed away her sleeping bag. “You ready to get going?”
With a roll of her eyes, Twilight nodded. “I suppose. It’s still a long walk from the… entrance… what is that?” She turned, ears swiveling. Faintly, there was the dreadfully familiar sound of a Keeper’s lantern. They both looked to the stairwell, and saw a ghostly white light emerging from the dark.