Lightning sits on the edge of the rooftop, staring out at the city. She hasn’t moved since Spitfire and the others left.
She asks what the point is. The point in what they’re doing.
Fiddlesticks tilts her head in confusion.
Lightning doesn’t think that they’ll save the world. Even if they finish what the boss wants them to do. Manehattan will still be wrecked. Their friends and family will still be gone. The world will be the same.
And the worst part, Lightning thinks, is that she’s realized it goes beyond Manehattan. The whole of Equestria is like this. A barren, lawless, empty wasteland.
Fiddle puts a hoof on Lightning’s shoulder. She’s doing this because it gives her hope, Fiddle says. Because she has faith that the boss knows what she’s doing. And that she has faith that somehow, against all odds, Equestria will carry on.
Because Fiddle doesn’t think it’s possible to kill all of Equestria. It lives on, so long as there are ponies who remember it. They’re resilient creatures, Fiddle states. They’ll find a way to survive.
Lightning frowns. There’s still terrible ponies out there, ponies who really don’t deserve to survive.
There always will be, Fiddle thinks. But if there’s anything the Elements of Harmony taught them, it’s that good will find a way. It might take years, it might take more, but if there’s enough ponies willing to do the right thing, then there will always be hope.
And that’s what this is all about. Hope. Fiddle gestures to the city. They give hope to others. To ponies like Bon Bon, Lyra, Caramel, and Sassaflash. To broken heroes like Raindrops and Whitey. To wandering spirits like Midnight Strike.
There’s not a lot of light left in this world. Fiddle knows this. But if they can give ponies hope, then that’d be enough. To her, that’s what this job is. That’s what this life is. It might not look good now. But there’s always a chance that things can get better.
It’s up to them to make sure they do.
Lightning knows. But it’s hard to find something to fight for nowadays. She can’t lie: a part of her wanted to go with Spitfire to Canterlot.
Fiddlesticks nods. She asks what made her stay. Lightning sighs, rubbing a foreleg.
It’s because she’s realized that the world is like this now. A tiny piece of her hoped that the rest of Equestria was still safe, whole, and alive. But talking with Spitfire made her realize how stupid that was.
The world ended forever ago.
Fiddlesticks disagrees. Their planet’s still spinning. The sun’s still rising. The world’s still here. It just needs some fixing up.
It hurts living like this. It hurts having to wake up every day to a ruined city that once held life, and it hurts hearing gunshots echo down the alleys.
Fiddle pats Lightning on the back and pecks her on the cheek.
They’ve made it this far. There’s no sense in quitting now.