//------------------------------// // Worlds Apart // Story: Longing for the Past // by Fantasia //------------------------------// Another bug-like pony collapsed upon a pile of its brethren, the creatures lying defeated in the center of a small town out west. "Fellow denizens of Equestria..." One pony in particular—a princess—stepped forward from her group of friends, and announced with an growing smile to the gathering number of bystanders in the street, "You are hereby safe!" She breathed in and out deeply, feeling a couple beads of sweat trickle through her fur from the fight, and from the blazing sun. "The changeling threat... is no more!" The villager ponies clapped their hooves against the earth as they cheered. The princess's smile softened, and she fell back onto her haunches, sighing out in relief. It's over... Her friends came over to congratulate her. It... it's over. The changelings' hooves were cuffed one by one—their forehooves shackled by chains connecting the cuffs—and were lead in a line towards a large airship, used for transporting prisoners. "I really owe you one, Sis," remarked one of the unicorn guards, walking over to the young princess who oversaw the bugs being filed away, her friends helping out where they could. "You and your friends helped save a lot of lives today." The young princess smiled modestly. "Oh, we're just... doing our part to keep Equestria safe and sound," she replied, hints of a blush staining her cheeks. "You... really think this town is safe?" The alicorn and her brother both turned to face the changeling who dared speak up. They were the last in line, and a few steps from walking up the ramp into the airship himself. Her brother's horn sparked to life, but the princess raised a hoof, permitting the changeling to continue. Her brother's magic dispersed, and he stood down reluctantly. The changeling shook his head, smiling. "You princesses are so arrogant... You'll never comprehend the full strength of our hive. The sheer size, and strength, of our numbers!" The princess snorted in slight amusement. "At least my friends and I made a dent today then." "Do you truly believe that?" he asked. "Do you... honestly believe that stopping a mere fifty of us in regards to the thousands of us that swarm Equestria—including our queen—that you, and your friends, made a dent?" Her smile fell, and her eyes narrowed. "We saved a town—" "At the expense of how many others?" he questioned, leaving her taken aback, and speechless for a moment. Her brow furrowed inquisitively. "What... do you—?" "Do the math, Princess. Why would so few of our numbers invade this here town? We haven't gone rogue, and if we were starved, surely the entirety of our hive would be here as well." "So that only means..." The princess's pupils slowly shrunk, a lump forming in her throat as her body grew numb. The changeling grinned devilishly. "How many cities fell today because you were helping out here, Hero?" Magic erupted from her horn, igniting into a fiery, flickering aura. "Tell me the names of these places you attacked!" "You don't threaten me, Princess," he hissed, glowering back at her. "Well I think you'll find that ponies aren't always the sweet, gentle beings your kind thinks we are." She glared right back at him, eyes shining white. The changeling however, remained steadfast. "The taste of your love says otherwise," he sneered, egging her on further. The magenta aura surrounding her horn grew in intensity. "Tell me!" "There's places in Equestria even you don't know about. Far away places... that only members of Equestria's hierarchy, or creatures like us—who have been around the world—know about. You may be a princess now, but to you... the world is still so small. Ponyville, Canterlot, Applepoloosa, Manehatten, Cloudsdale, The Crystal Empire... You've been places, Princess; but tell me, where have you really been? Where have you been that didn't fall under Celestia's interests? No one will miss the places we feast upon, because ponies like you are too busy spreading the magic of friendship and living worry-free each and every day in the places Celestia deems valuable, while for others... it's a matter of survival—" "Enough!" Her brother spoke up from beside her. "Twilight... if you want me to take his voice away for the time being, I—" Twilight winced, gritting her teeth slightly. "No!" she snapped, taking a few calming breaths... her magic receding back into her horn. "No... no thank you, Shining." The changeling smirked, amused by the scene. "There's darkness inside you, Princess." Twilight's eyes slowly opened, gazing up to meet his unreadable, solid-blue ones. "I can see you get headaches keeping it repressed." He leaned in tauntingly, Twilight in turn, narrowing her eyes. "You should really let it out." She clenched her right hoof when, from beside her, came a rainbow blur that tackled the changeling... creating a heap of dust, and the sound of rattling chains. Twilight and Shining shielded their eyes until the dust settled, and looked to see their rainbow-maned friend, a scowl on her face, the changeling pinned beneath her. "Rainbow Dash!" "I could see you were getting upset. I didn't want you to have to dirty your hooves on this one, Twilight. And plus, I... didn't like the way he was dissing you." Dash smiled at Twilight from over her shoulder. Twilight returned it with a small smile of her own. "Thank you, Dash, though... you didn't have to do that." "Hey, well... What are friends for, am I right?" From beneath her, the changeling let out a grunt. "Hurting me won't do a thing, because without love... we'll all drop like flies in whatever prison you stick us in." Rainbow's expression softened, looking back down at the changeling with a slight look of surprise. "Chrysalis wouldn't sacrifice her own. I mean, she's evil, sure, but..." She looked back at Twilight and Shining, who were equally unnerved by his words. "To keep the hive alive..." he continued, "we are but a small sacrifice; and so long as you ponies keep fighting to protect one city at a time, the hive will only grow stronger. You better make this place your home, ponies... or else it too will one day fall." Rainbow fumed, staring angrily at the changeling for a few seconds longer before ultimately tearing her gaze away, stepping off of him. "Get him out of here," she growled. Shining lifted the changeling to his hooves, forcing him to take steps forward with his magic. "Are you alright, Twilight?" Rainbow asked, turning to her friend with a look of concern. Twilight blinked, snapping back to reality, and giving a slight nod in response... her nerves still slightly rattled. Something Rainbow was quick to pick up on. "Hey," she soothed, "don't let any of that bug you. What we did here did make a difference." She grinned warily, giving her a playful tap on the foreleg. Twilight swallowed hard, before breathing out shakily and smiling halfheartedly back at her. "R-right..." "Well, what a day," said Rarity, being the first to step off the train, and onto the station platform. "Nothing says building a sweat faster than fighting crime, and now I do suppose a trip to the spa is just what I need to alleviate all the dirt and stress that came with it." She turned to Fluttershy. "What about you, Dear?" "Oh, uhm..." The soft-spoken mare scuffed a hoof along the floor. "Okay—but not for long. I have to make sure the animals receive their dinner before it gets late." Rarity nodded, then turned to the others. "What about the rest of you—and I do mean all of you, for I am not about to forsake hope that Rainbow Dash will one day join us in one of our spa excursions." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Well, shucks," Applejack said. "I appreciate the offer, Rares, but Ah don't feel tired in the least bit. Wrangling changelings is nothing compared to the work me and my family do down on the farm. Speaking of, Ah should really be getting back to them." "Me too!" Pinkie chimed in. "Or, well, they're not really my family, but Mr. and Mrs. Cake could no doubt use some extra hooves down at Sugarcube Corner, and besides! I need to get a start on our We Saved the Day party!" "Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're all looking forward to that," Rarity replied with a pleasant smile. Even if it is the third one this week... She turned to face Rainbow. "And what about you, Rain—?" "Pass," Rainbow murmured simply. Rarity blinked, then after a moment, sighed expectantly. "Yes, yes, of course. So that just leaves you, Twilight dear." "Hm?" The alicorn glanced up at her, out from her thoughts. "O-oh, um... You and Fluttershy go enjoy yourselves. I have to check up on Spike, and plus I... have some reading I'd like to catch up on." "Oh, very well," Rarity replied. She waved farewell, as she and Fluttershy left for the town. The others waved their goodbyes as well, until it was just Twilight and Rainbow that remained. "Don't you have anywhere to be, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, cocking her head. "Not until I know you're yourself," Rainbow replied. Twilight let out a little snort and rolled her eyes, her lips forming a humored smile. "Yes, Dash... I'm alright. Why do you ask, anyway?" "Because you were practically silent the whole train ride home, and... I was thinking maybe what that changeling said messed with your head." "The only thing in my head are positive thoughts, Dash," Twilight assured her. She elbowed her friend's chest playfully. "Don't worry." "Ah, well..." Rainbow smiled in relief. "That's good to hear." She hopped into the air, hovering a couple of feet above it. "You know... that's what villains do. They get in your head, make you doubt yourself, so... I'm glad that you're still you, Egghead." She grinned before taking off... leaving Twilight to dwell on what she had said. The smile fell from her face as she turned to walk home. She trudged inside Golden Oaks Library, letting Spike know she was home with the sound of the door creaking open. "You're back!" She heard his excited voice ring out from the top of the stairs, and put on a smile just for him as he ran down them. "Yes, Spike, I am." He hugged her around her foreleg due to his height, and she nuzzled the top of his head in return. "I'm so happy to see you again." "Me too," he agreed happily. "So, um... How'd the fight against those changelings go?" Her smile softened, her eyelids lowering as she reminisced. "It was... eventful, Spike." She pulled back to look at him directly. "We won the battle but we've yet to win the war, so to speak." Spike nodded in understanding. "You'll get them, Twilight. You always do." "Thanks, Spike... H-hey, how would you like some Hayburger?" "Really? You hardly ever treat me to dinner." His brow creased skeptically. "What's the occasion?" "No occasion, Spike," she said, putting a foreleg around his shoulders and walking with him to the front door. "Today just made me realize... how valuable the time we share together really is." Rainbow leisurely flew through the brisk nighttime air—aimless, and with no real goal in mind other than clearing her cluttered mind of thoughts that had been plaguing it for months... and showed no signs of stopping any time soon. She sped up a little, doing a quick kickflip through a cloud, before corkscrewing closer to the barren streets of the town below... nothing but the occasional chirping of crickets to accompany her. Eventually her thoughts lead her to the residence of one of her closest friends—the same residence she unknowingly found herself flying by each and every night during her late-night excursions. Her cheeks blushed faintly at the sight of the literal treehouse, and she mentally chided herself for a quick moment before preparing to fly somewhere else... when she noticed something—or rather somepony—that hadn't been there every other night. She flew closer to the balcony, taking in the image of Twilight as she sat on her haunches, silent and... seemingly deep in thought. "Twilight?" Rainbow tentatively asked, startling her. Twilight gazed up, a little spooked... only to find her friend hovering above her, sporting a puzzled look. "O-oh, Rainbow Dash." She smiled up at her briefly, relieved to know it was only her... before lowering her gaze back to the wood paneling. "It's nice of you to stop by. I'm sorry, I-I'm just... Now's not really..." Her words faded, and she shrugged apathetically. Rainbow frowned, steering a little bit closer. "What are you still doing awake?" she prodded. "I mean..." She sheepishly averted her eyes as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I was just out here flying to clear my thoughts, I... w-wasn't really expecting anypony else to be—" "What's the point, Dash?" Rainbow blinked, slowly lowering her hoof. "Come again?" Twilight sighed in frustration, and shook her head. "Dash... what have we done?" Rainbow's lips tightened into a wary frown as she came down to sit beside her troubled friend. "I mean... we fight all the big bads, the world-ending doomsday villains, and we fight the good fight, but really... What's changed?" "Weeeell... let's see. Discord's reformed, sorta, Sombra's toast, and we're not living under an everlasting night, so there's those." "And how many ponies even noticed? Discord lives in the chaos dimension, away from us, The Crystal Empire is in its own little world, and do you really think anypony noticed Nightmare Moon's return outside of Ponyville? Hay," she lamented, "most ponies probably got a few extra hours of sleep due to the sun not rising on time..." "Twilight..." Rainbow looked down at her friend in worry. "What that creep said has been bugging you, hasn't it?" She then backpedaled. "No pun intended." Twilight formed a lukewarm smile. "Dash... he's right, you know. Our armies are no match for the changelings—they outnumber us one to one hundred, their shape-shifting makes them almost impossible to detect, and... it's like we realize this... so we pool our forces and protect ourselves, because we just... can't protect everypony—" "That's crazy talk, Twilight!" Twilight raised her head and looked over at Dash, surprised. "I mean, sure there's been a few losses here and there, and believe me, if anypony hates losing, it's me." Dash grinned softly, seeing Twilight let out a little chuckle at that. "Seriously though, Twilight. All we have to do is catch Chrysalis and they're finished." "Ever the optimist, huh Dash?" "Oh, well... yeah, totally. I gotta be if I'm ever going to be a Wonderbolt." Twilight nodded, the two of them slipping into silence for a long couple of moments. "You know, I... still remember the times when I thought Nightmare Moon was the worst thing that could ever happen to Equestria... never considering it could get this much worse..." "Guess the world's a much bigger place than we ever imagined it was," Rainbow mused. "So I've heard," Twilight replied solemnly. "If only we could be everywhere at once..." Rainbow smiled at that. "I see your princess-ness is shining through," she joked, a little teasingly. Twilight however, didn't find it so funny. "Why, because I want to protect Equestria?" she asked accusingly, Rainbow recoiling at her little outburst. Twilight's eyes bore into her pegasus friend. "I didn't know you had to be royalty to care about ponies." Rainbow's brow lifted, and she raised her hooves assuredly. "T-that's not what I meant, Twilight, honest," she insisted, only for Twilight to cut her off before she could. "N-no, it... i-it's okay, Rainbow Dash," she assured her. "I'm sorry, i-it's just... I-I've always wanted to play a part in protecting Equestria, even before I met you girls. Now though, for the first time, I'm... questioning how we're protecting Equestria." She sniffled a little as her guilt-stricken expression sank to the floor, heartbroken and filled with frustration. "We do what Celestia says, we go where she sends us, and we get to live each and every day worry-free because of it." "So... what you're saying is... we'd be better off if we didn't live in Ponyville?" Rainbow asked. Twilight bit her tongue. "Urgh, I don't know, Dash!" Her hooves clenched in frustration, and she grit her teeth. "I... don't want to be better than anypony else, but... I enjoy knowing that our home and places like it will always be protected because they fall under the princess's protection." "I'm pretty sure Ponyville, o-or Canterlot, for example... are just as vulnerable as anywhere else," Rainbow remarked after a moment, giving her friend the chance to cool down. "Yes, Dash, they are; but at the end of the day, they're still standing because we have armies and The Elements of Harmony to thwart any threat that comes their way. Other towns don't. Hay," she snorted in annoyance, "have you ever noticed any guard ponies outside of Canterlot? The ones in The Crystal Empire are mostly all transfers..." "Well... I guess it's because they're needed here, to protect Canterlot—and to back us up, because if we, or the capital of Equestria were to ever fall... then those other towns certainly wouldn't stand a fighting chance..." Rainbow waited for a moment, giving her words a little time to sink in before letting out a sigh. "Look, Twilight, I... get it. I get wishing you could've prevented something, and... I get wishing you were fast enough, I... live with that everyday." Twilight's expression softened, and she looked over at Rainbow in surprise. "You do?" Rainbow nodded and Twilight bit her lip, reaching over, and placing a hoof on her friend's foreleg comfortably. "What happened, Dash?" Rainbow smiled softly at the touch, feeling it give her the confidence boost she needed. "N-nothing, nothing, just... My folks... died, when I was a filly." Twilight's eyes widened. "I, I-I'm sorry, Dash, I...! I..." The two slipped into uncomfortable silence, Twilight struggling to think of the right words to say. After several long moments she managed to ask, "Is... is it okay if I ask how they—" "It was this... incident in the weather factory, Twilight." Rainbow shrugged indifferently. "I don't know why, o-or how. I just..." She breathed in shakily, shutting her eyes tight. "H-hey, hey... it's okay." Twilight wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow's shoulders, as far as her angle permitted anyway. "You know," Rainbow continued after a long pause; "despite this... you girls showed me that in spite of what I had lost, I still had so much to lose." She turned her gaze back to Twilight, forming a halfhearted smile. "This is so cheesy... I can't believe it's coming out of my mouth, you know?" Twilight smiled back at her. "Be that as it may, I'm happy you opened up to me." Another moment passed before she asked, a little teasingly this time, "So is that the reason you act out so much?" "Weeeell," began Rainbow, playing along, "that, and because I'm so awesome." Twilight lifted a hoof to her lips as the two shared a soft laugh. "Seriously though Twilight," continued Rainbow, the last of her laughter passing her lips, "you see what I'm getting at? We can't be everywhere, and... there's going to be times where life kicks you when you're down, but, if you hold onto hope, then... things will get better in time. We'll rebuild, and heal, a-and hay: we're not soldiers, Twilight. We're just, like... messengers of peace and friendship, who occasionally kick flank." She grinned sheepishly after speaking the last word. Twilight nodded understandably, looking off into the night sky. "You're right about us not being soldiers, Rainbow, but we still have a duty to Equestria. Nopony deserves to feel helpless, and, well... I can't stop until I find a find a way to keep everypony safe." "Well... you wouldn't be you if you didn't," Rainbow remarked, leaning over and nudging her foreleg. "Yeah," Twilight chuckled in agreement, turning back to face her. "Maybe it really is my inner princess-ness." "Or just the caring pony me and the girls all know that you are," Rainbow replied with a kind smile. Twilight blushed, flattered by her words. "Thank you, Dash," she murmured happily, then gazed away, back up at the stars. "You know... this is nice. We never spend any time together, except for the times you come over to read, and even then I'm off doing something else." "Right? Like... what's up with that?" "It's like, we only ever talk or hang out when we're saving the world, or with the others." "And aren't we like, supposed to be best friends?" "We are!" The two shared another laugh together. "So... let's rectify the issue," Twilight decided, gathering her composure. Rainbow froze, her head tilting. "Er... Rectify?" "Fix." "Ah." Rainbow nodded, then asked, "How do you propose?" "Simple. We spend the whole day together—so long as nothing comes up, that is!" Twilight smiled meekly. Rainbow's face lit up in unabashed excitement. "Really?" She leaped into the air, her wings buzzing as she celebrated with a hoof pump. "Awesome!" Twilight watched her as she hovered, smiling in amusement. "I didn't know you admired me so much, Dash." Rainbow froze, blood rushing to her cheeks. "Admire?" She flew back down. "W-who said anything about admiring you?" Twilight blinked, taken aback. "Well, I did. Just now." "N-no, I mean..." Rainbow sighed, clarifying, "I mean, what gave you that idea, Egghead?" "Oh, well..." Twilight shrugged innocently, averting her eyes in thought. "Y-you just seemed really excited." She looked back at Rainbow a little hurt, her ears lying flat. "You don't admire me?" Rainbow's eyes widened, and her heart lurched. "No no, of course I do, I...! It just sounded like—! Ah, forget it." She turned her head away, huffing out in frustration. "It's nothing." "Are you sure?" Twilight asked in concern. She lifted a hoof slightly, longing to reach out to the pegasus. "Because—" "Y-yeah," Rainbow assured quickly with a reassuring smile, "yeah, I... I-I'm sure." She leaped back into the air. "So I'll stop by tomorrow then," she noted, leaving Twilight a little unsure of how to react. "Er..." She nodded slightly, her brow furled. "Y-yeah. See you." Rainbow waved her goodbye before turning and flying off into the night, leaving Twilight to contemplate her friend's sudden, strange behavior for a short moment, before she too headed in for the night, something else still gnawing on the back of her mind...