It was the dawn of a new day.
Literally. It was the day after Rainbow Dash defeated Karkona and the children he had kidnapped were rescued. Rainbow Dash hadn’t even bothered telling anyone about Blizzard when she came back to the city last evening, instead she made a beeline straight for Larkon’s house. Not finding him there she went to town’s square where everything looked and sounded very busy. She was welcomed back by happy mammoths, especially so when she told them that she had succeeded and defeated Karkona, and in the excitement she almost forgot to ask about Larkon in the first place.
But she did. And that took her to the hospital.
While Larkon did his best to not make her feel bad she couldn’t help but be upset at what had happened to him. She felt like it was her fault, and that she could’ve done more. Larkon had absolutely none of that though. As he told her it was his choice and he didn’t regret making it. Besides, she had defeated Karkona and saved the day, which was exactly what he wanted and believed in her to do. Shibu, Alykon, Norma, Ansel, and Mallom all welcomed her warmly and congratulated her on her victory. And soon after the non-family members left to spread the word to everyone else who didn’t already know, Mallom told her that by tomorrow things would be back to normal and she’d be regarded as the hero of the city.
That made her feel a little bit better.
Almost as good as when Samarkon apologized to her for everything he had done and how he had acted. Rainbow Dash smiled and patted his head when he did that, the kid still had a long way to go and repairing the relationship with his family would take time but he had at least taken the first step. Rainbow Dash knew she wouldn’t be here much longer but she wanted to spend some of the time she had left with Samarkon if she could. Some real, personal, time.
If it wasn’t for Larkon’s crippling it would’ve felt good in that doctor’s office. Things could be peaceful again and it was mostly thanks to her saving the day. This was the kind of adventure she had always wanted on this journey.
After Rainbow Dash finished telling Larkon everything the doctor said they really should let him have some rest, so Rainbow Dash and his family bid him farewell for the night and went back home. She gave him a brief hug on the way out and made him promise not to tell anyone about it.
Despite her regrets she slept well that night in Larkon’s guest bedroom.
But now it was the new day and much needed to be done. There were a lot of mammoths for her to meet up with, a lot of celebrating to be had, and most likely a lot of goodbyes that she needed to say before she left. Which was likely today now that her job was done. Other adventures called after all. She wouldn’t rush things but she was going to make it clear to Larkon when she met up with him later that she intended to go soon.
The first thing she did today though was have a big hearty breakfast with Shibu, Alykon, and Samarkon.
“Now this, this is some good kelp,” Rainbow Dash said as she chomped down on her breakfast.
“You don’t have to flatter me, Rainbow Dash,” Shibu said, although she still puffed up in pride. “But I’m glad I’ve made you a true believer in kelp.”
“Mhm,” Rainbow Dash nodded with a mouth full of the stuff. Maybe she could take some dried kelp with her when she left?
“What were you going to do today after visiting Larkon?” Shibu asked her.
“Hm,” Rainbow Dash feigned thought. “Well I’ve got to talk to Bakol and the senate probably, there are some other mammoths I want to check in on too...” her eyes drifted to Alykon. “I’d like to say hi to Dathon and see how he’s doing.”
Alykon smiled, she had been a little melancholic even with Dathon’s return but she was trying her best. “He’d be happy to see you, me, Makom, and Orsal are going to visit him later today too.”
Rainbow Dash grinned. “Great, I’ll tag along.”
She looked over at Samarkon too but he was only paying attention to his food. If Alykon had been a little melancholic then Samarkon was full on depressed. She didn’t feel any of the anger from him anymore or the barely restrained annoyance. He didn’t seem like he was holding himself back from saying something mean to his family, he just had nothing to say. Guilt was hurting him pretty badly. Guilt and sorrow.
Might as well try something.
“Hey, Samarkon? You want to come with me when I go to see your dad?” She asked.
He jumped slightly, surprised that she was talking to him, and looked over at her with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Alykon and Shibu were surprised too, although Shibu’s face was much more reserved. Samarkon seemed to be thinking for a second before he just looked down at the floor and frowned.
“I don’t know… I don’t think so,” he said, his voice a shell of its former robust self.
“Come on,” Rainbow Dash said. She put just a little bit of force into her voice so Samarkon would know this wasn’t exactly a request. “I want to talk to you, and your dad will be happy to see you.”
“Umm...” he clearly wanted to decline but he saw in Dash’s eyes that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Alright. I guess we’re going soon?”
“Yep!” Dash nodded. “Just gotta finish eating first.”
After finishing their meal and saying goodbye to Shibu (and promising Alykon that they’d meet back up later today) Rainbow Dash left the house with Samarkon and started to make her way to the doctor’s office Larkon was still staying at. The doctor said he’d only need to be there a couple of days and Rainbow Dash was going to try and see if she could take him out to Tarmok’s Hall so they could speak with Bakol and the others together. She was expecting to have to get in argument with the doctor when she suggested that though…
Rainbow Dash was lost in her thoughts that it was a surprise when Samarkon actually spoke up without being prodded first.
“Why do you want to talk to me? Don’t you hate me?” He asked her, his eyes still looking down at the ground as he walked instead of up at her.
She looked up in thought and rubbed her chin for a second. “Hate? No, not really. Never did actually. I hated Karkona, but you always just came off as a dumb kid. No offense.”
He winced. “I-It’s fine...”
Dash rolled her eyes and lowered herself in the air so she could get right at eye level with him. “Hey. Look at me. You want to know something about one of my friends? Her name’s Starlight Glimmer, she was a huge, huge, jerk who did some awful things. And she did them as an adult too, not as a kid like you. I’m not saying that what you did wasn’t bad or that you can just excuse all of it by saying you’re just a kid. But what you can do is make up for it, and if you’re honest and genuine I’ll be totally willing to be your friend and forgive you. Cause I’m just awesome like that. Everyone makes mistakes, you’ve just gotta be willing to put in the effort to fix things. At least to me it looks like you at least know what you did was wrong.”
“I just… I thought it was right.” Samarkon sniffled.
“So did Starlight,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “It’s at least better than being selfish I guess. That’s one of the reasons I never hated you, and still don’t, sometimes as a kid you can’t help being ignorant and get the wrong idea about things. Or put your faith into the wrong creature. It happens.”
Samarkon was silent for a moment before he looked ahead down the road. “I want to help make things better, for my father. I want to show him that I care now and what I believe in.”
“That’s the spirit!” Rainbow Dash reached over and ruffled the fur on top of his head and then flew in front of him. “Then let the first thing be that you can show him is how you’re friends with a pony!” She stuck out her hoof at him.
Samarkon stood there, staring at her hoof, before a true smile appeared on his face and he lifted up his trunk to grasp her hoof.
Rainbow Dash grinned and shook it up and down. “Friends.”
The two of them continued their walk/flight to the doctor’s office in silence, enjoying each other’s presence and carrying big smiles on their faces. More snow covered the ground than usual this morning as it seems many mammoths were taking a day of rest or helping out with other things that concerned recent events. Town’s square was still a bustling center of activity when they got there as many parents were out having fun with their children or wanting to lift the spirits of the city as best they could. Dash saw a greater number of musicians and performers than she had ever seen in one place before in the city. It was a satisfying and rewarding sight to her. A few masons were also working on fixing up the broken stones from where Rainbow Dash learned last night Larkon had fallen. Soon it would be nothing more than a memory.
Now of course once Rainbow Dash was seen by the mammoths around town’s square she was instantly mobbed by them. Adults and children alike asking her questions about what had happened in detail and thanking her for defeating Karkona. Normally she’d bask in this like a celebrity but she really needed to get to Larkon and this was clearly making Samarkon uncomfortable too. He was shying away from everyone else while they swarmed Rainbow Dash.
“Okay, okay, thanks everyone but I really need to go do some important stuff today,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew over their heads. “Sorry but I bet you’ll be able to read about it in your newspaper tomorrow—and I’ll try and get back here and celebrate with you all some more later today.”
The crowd was disappointed but they respected her wishes, besides, they had plenty of partying they could do on their own.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash!” One kid holding a balloon said and waved to her.
She smiled and waved right back before heading out of the square with Samarkon. This place was one of the few areas of the city that actually was cleaned up and bereft of snow just thanks to all the mammoths that had been coming in and out. While she went down some of the streets on the way to the doctor’s office she saw so many kids out playing and families having a good time together. She wondered if some of them were senators and their children, she really didn’t know the senators well enough to recognize all but a few of them.
Either way the sight warmed her heart and made her even more proud of herself. She flipped over a couple of times while she flew along and then glanced at Samarkon.
“If you try hard enough then maybe one day you’ll be a mammoth the rest of the city adores,” she said.
He actually blushed slightly in embarrassment, staring at the road as he walked. “I’d like that but I don’t even know where to start.”
“Hey, it’ll come slowly,” she shrugged. “Just start by being nice.”
That was really all the advice that was needed. And even though she was pretty confident in her ability to make rousing speeches she wasn’t as good at this kind of stuff as Twilight was. “Be awesome”, that’s all she needed to say, right?
After that they made it to the doctor’s office in short order. Larkon was staying in a room for recovering patients, at the moment he was the only one in there. When they first flew into the office though the doctor was chatting with another mammoth in the waiting area.
“Sup, doc!” Rainbow Dash waved. “Larkon awake?”
The doctor scowled at her crass interruption and nodded, getting right back to the conversation with the other mammoth.
“Thanks!” Dash said and took the lead as she and Samarkon went through another door in the office and ended up in a hallway that took them to a number of different rooms.
“That mammoth he was talking to was a senator,” Samarkon said when they were in the hallway. “If he had kids one of them might’ve been hurt and is getting treatment here...”
Rainbow Dash nodded and looked down at him. “Hope you’re not letting yourself feel guilty about that? Besides, I heard no one was seriously hurt. Let bygones be bygones at this point.”
“Mm,” Samarkon grunted noncommittally.
They got to the room where Larkon was and Rainbow Dash pushed the door open. Six beds took up the majority of the room, only one of them in use at the moment. Larkon lied on his stomach on the one in the middle and on the left side of the room, his head perked up immediately when they entered and he smiled at his visitors. Rainbow Dash could see the surprise on his face when he noticed Samarkon had come with her but it was the good and happy kind of surprise.
“Rainbow Dash! Samarkon!” Larkon beamed and beckoned them over with his trunk.
“Hey Larkon, how do you feel?” Rainbow Dash asked with an awkward smile on her face. It still hurt to see him like this and know he couldn’t walk anymore. Samarkon was probably feeling way worse too but they still both went up to his bedside.
He dismissively waved his trunk at her. “Fine, fine, don’t bother with that. I assume you came here first thing because you wanted to get the boring stuff out of the way?”
“Kind of… figured the senate would want to know the specifics about what happened, and what you would want to do now,” she rubbed the back of her neck. “Do you think your doctor will be mad if you go to Tarmok’s Hall?”
“Hahahaha,” Larkon laughed at the idea. “Yes, he would be. Tarmok’s Hall is not exactly very accessible to a mammoth in my condition either, but it’s no matter, I’ve taken care of it.”
“Yeah?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.
“I had an assistant of the doctor’s run off to the Hall to fetch Bakol and some of the others so they can come here. Then we can discuss things,” Larkon said.
Samarkon looked back and forth between the two of them while they talked, confused. “Uhh, what do you mean by what you’re going to do now?”
Larkon smiled at his son. “I’m glad you asked, because it’s something I think you can help with a great deal. I’m going to request the senate approve the demolition of the slums and the reintegration of all the mammoths still living there back into the city. It’s the right thing to do. Especially with the threat of Karkona and his most ardent followers gone.”
“I… me? You think I can help with that?” Samarkon pointed at himself with his trunk.
Larkon chuckled and nodded. “Yes, if you want to.”
The young mammoth seemed hesitant and he looked up at Rainbow Dash to see what she thought. A quick wink from her gave him all the assurance he needed. He gulped. “I’ll do it.”
“I’m proud of you, Samarkon.” Larkon reached out his trunk and pulled his son into a hug. “I meant what I said yesterday. And don’t you dare ever blame yourself for what happened to me. Same as Rainbow Dash.”
“Okay...” Samarkon sniffled and leaned into his father’s hug.
Rainbow Dash smiled at the warm family moment before stretching her wings and letting herself plop down onto the bed right next to Larkon’s. “So I guess we wait now until Bakol and whoever else is coming gets here? I wonder if I should have the doc take a look at me? I feel pretty good thanks to how tough the Spring made me but Karkona still got a few nasty hits in.”
“Speaking of that...” Larkon said as he looked across at her. “How long will that power stay with you? Did it truly go off without a hitch?”
“Far as I can tell?” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “And I think I’ll only be like this for another day maybe. I already feel different from yesterday.”
Larkon nodded and sighed in relief. “That’s good, no offense to you of course but I don’t want that power to be used at all if possible.”
“Naw I get it. I know what it means to you, I don’t care that I’m gonna lose it soon, I’m pretty much pure awesomeness even without it anyways,” she said.
Samarkon snorted. “How many times have I heard you say something like that?”
“Heh,” Rainbow Dash laughed—that was the first thing Samarkon had said or done lately that seemed like his own self, but much friendlier. “Don’t lose your lip, kid.”
Rainbow Dash had to do something she hated after that: wait. It took some time for Bakol and the others to get to the doctor’s so she spent the time just talking about nothing with Samarkon and Larkon. It was kind of okay though since for the first time Samarkon was interested in hearing about Equestria and some of the other stuff Rainbow Dash had done before she got here to the mammoth city. By the time their visitors made it here she was already halfway through telling him how her one time nemesis Starlight rescued her and her friends from the Changelings. But that friendly conversation had to pause for now as they heard voice and the sounds of multiple mammoths coming down the hallway. Soon the door to the room was opened and in stepped the party from Tarmok’s Hall.
The first thing Rainbow Dash noticed was the crutch Bakol was using to walk with thanks to Karkona stabbing him only two days ago. It probably wasn’t an easy trip for him but he had made it here anyways. The second was the familiar senator Harrak, Ansel, and Mallom all being in the group as well.
“Larkon,” Bakol smiled sadly when they entered the room and saw him there.
“Hello, Bakol, everyone.” Larkon greeted.
“Hey,” Rainbow Dash waved as well.
An awkward silence hung over the room for a minute before Harrak spoke up. “We… the senate I mean… would like to apologize to the both of you. For perpetuating this situation and ignoring what you said about Karkona.”
“There’s nothing we can do to thank you enough,” Bakol said. “Especially you, Rainbow Dash. This isn’t even your city, your people, and you still put your life on the line for us.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “It’s just what I do. I’m glad you guys and your kids are okay, but yeah, this probably wouldn’t have happened if you listened to Larkon.”
“There are other things too that we need to talk about,” Larkon said to the assembled mammoths. “Not just about what recently happened with Karkona, but problems that have been in our society for too long now.”
Bakol and Harrak shared a look and the speaker looked back to appraise Larkon. “It seems you’ve been wanting to have a talk like this for a while.
Larkon nodded. “Yes. And there is much to discuss.”
With the actually important government and rebuilding stuff out of the way for her, Rainbow Dash wanted to spend a little more free time in the city revisiting some of the mammoths she had met during her stay. If this was her final day she at least wanted to show her face around one more time. She had left Samarkon with Larkon for now so they could talk one on one, something they sorely needed to do. And after saying bye to Mallom and the others she had sped off out of the hospital. Too many mammoths to see and places to go in one day. And she didn’t even have a full day free to herself to do it since she’d need to meet up with Alykon and say hi to Dathon and the others too later.
And then around supper time, Larkon said that the whole family would be coming to the doctor’s office to visit him, along with Abalun. Rainbow Dash decided it was then that she was going to tell everyone she was leaving.
But Rainbow Dash’s speed was no empty boast and now that she wasn’t leisurely flying around just looking for whatever she could at least get to anywhere she wanted in the city in an instant.
And outside of the city in an instant, since the first place she actually ended up going to were the farms and the quarry. The pony from Equestria was briefly popping in to visit everyone she had before and show her face around the city. Now she wasn’t just some guest but a celebrated hero and she flew low everywhere she went so mammoths on the ground could see her and she would wave down and smile at them.
There weren’t really any mammoths out working at the farms today but there were still mammoths around, and the ones who lived out at the barns and big farmhouses. Rainbow Dash remembered her first visit here, and her second one didn’t really end up being any longer. She ducked her head in and said hi to the surprised old farmer and his mammoth family while telling them they had a great city and she was really happy to be able to visit and see it before she flew back out onto the next stop.
The quarry was actually even more devoid of other mammoths but there was a skeleton crew who had come to make sure the snow didn’t bury too much and do a modicum of work to make it so things didn’t fall too far behind. Again Dash only showed her face for a moment to say hi to the overseers and the few teams of mammoths working down in the quarry. Everyone deserved to see her at least one more time before she left the city so that’s what she was going to do. These guys were friendly and she had a good first visit here, she owed it to them that they personally got to see their new hero.
Her next stop was Captain Gollak and the docks. She hoped he was around there since she had no idea where he actually lived. But fate was smiling on her (like it normally did) and she found him at the same building for sailors that she had first met him at. He was surprised to see her again, and eternally grateful for what she had done for his people. His one wish that she sadly couldn’t let him fulfill was taking her out on a cruise over the lake again. She said goodbye to him and his crew after a few minutes of talk and telling them how exactly she had beaten Karkona, then she was off into the sky.
To get a nice snack at Norma’s.
Naturally Norma was more than happy to give Rainbow Dash an herb crusted roll of bread for free, which Rainbow graciously accepted. She also was forced to accept a crushing hug. But it was worth it if it meant the great food. She told Norma about talking to Larkon today, and how he was looking alright, something she was very happy to hear. Besides that Norma wanted to know if she was doing alright too, and the same with Samarkon. Well even if Rainbow was feeling bad she wouldn’t let anyone know it so she just told Norma that she was fine too. Samarkon would need a little more work still though. Norma hoped that Larkon and his son would be getting along better now, and on that point Rainbow Dash gave her a smile and reassured her that they definitely would.
After that there were only a few more minor stops for her before she eventually went to find Alykon. She visited the stylist and her daughter that had worked on Rainbow Dash’s mane at the behest of Shibu, she visited the jewelers that she had also first met thanks to Shibu. And then kind of backtracking across the city she also hung out with Orsak and his guards at the eastern gate to the city, playing another couple of rounds of cards with them before flying off again. Her flight took her over the eastern wall and she checked out the area around which those punk kids had tried to bother her, the Trunkball court where she had also first met Alykon’s team was in this area too. It was nice to just be flying over everything without anything hanging over her head. Rainbow Dash was well satisfied (for the moment) in her desire for adventure and excitement. So now she was just giving all the mammoths a treat and appreciating their city at the same time.
From there she went all the way to the other side of the city and flew over the homes in the old part of town where a lot of the elderly mammoths lived. Even they had become aware of what had happened and greeted Rainbow Dash with smiles when she flew in low down their streets.
The slums were right across the river too… but Rainbow Dash decided not to go back to them. She had seen enough of the slums and soon they would be gone soon. Now it was Larkon and Samarkon’s job to fix and help the mammoths that lived there. It wasn’t a task for Rainbow Dash.
The rest of her time was spent with her just meandering about in the skies above the city, she flew all over, said hi to any mammoths she saw, hung out at town’s square for a little while and partook in the happy festivities. It was a Rainbow Dash kind of day. There was only so much she could do before she ran out of time though and had to find Alykon. So she finished up the snowcone she had gotten with a bunch of mammoth children and said her farewells to them, blasting away from the square while the hundreds of mammoths all waved their trunks at her.
It ended up with her meeting Alykon back at their house and the two of them taking a nice walk all the way up to Harrak’s house on the north side of the city. Rainbow asked that they went through backstreets instead of going through town’s square again right after she left it. Alykon was talkative, telling Rainbow Dash how happy she was that Rainbow had stopped Karkona, and because of her that Dathon was okay. She also made it clear that she was still angry at Samarkon, something Rainbow couldn’t blame her for but at least tried to persuade her to give him a chance. Alykon also went on about how nice it would be to play Trunkball together with her team again and have Rainbow Dash coach them. Something which sent a pang of guilt through blue pony.
At least she’d get to see Dathon, Makom, and Orsal before she left. Those three earned it and she hoped they would keep getting better and better at Trunkball and become a real team that could contend with the best.
The welcoming at Dathon’s house was very warm, his mother personally thanked Rainbow Dash for what she had done as well. And Harrak ended up apologizing some more. As much as she told him to stop. After that was done with though she just hung out with Dathon and the others, who had already arrived before Dash and Alykon. They asked Dathon what being kidnapped and stuck in the slums was like and he rolled his eyes in annoyance. Then naturally the Trunkball players were very interested in how Rainbow Dash had fought against the unstoppable Karkona. And of course Dathon, Makom, and Orsal all asked her to help them at their next practice and watch their next game, just like Alykon had.
She had to brush that off.
But she still gave them her undivided attention while she was here and when it was time to go she shared a hoof bump with all three of them and waved goodbye when she and Alykon left through the front door. She was going to miss them, they were some cool kids. At least she knew how much she had helped them and all the confidence she had given them. One more accomplishment in this city.
This big city… she was going to miss all of it.
The patients’ room was very crowded when Rainbow Dash returned to it. The doctor had begrudgingly allowed this get together just because of it being for Larkon and Rainbow Dash’s sake. So now Larkon stayed on his bed surrounded by his wife, his children, his old friend Abalun, and his new friend Rainbow Dash. Shibu had brought a thin stew from home for them all to share for supper, it was something Larkon could more easily stomach than something solid.
“You really didn’t all need to take the trouble to do this,” Larkon said to his gathered friends and family.
Shibu playfully slapped him on the head with her trunk. “Yes we did.”
“Even if you’ll be fine to go home in a few days I figured you could use something like this too,” Abalun said.
“I hope you don’t really have to use a cart to wheel yourself around in forever, dad,” Alykon said as she came up beside his bed.
“It looks like I may have to,” Larkon said as he hugged his daughter. “But if it was for all of you then I would make that trade again and again.”
Samarkon looked like he wanted to say he was sorry again but stopped when he remembered his father’s earlier words. “I’ll help you out however you need me too, dad.”
“Thank you,” Larkon smiled. “I imagine I will have some difficulty getting used to it at first, I’ll probably need to rely on you all for a bit of time.”
Rainbow Dash then flew over by his head. “Don’t worry dude, you’re pretty awesome so I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it quickly.” She smiled and offered him her hoof and Larkon grinned back before bumping it with his trunk. Rainbow Dash then stretched and looked over at Abalun. “So what about you? What are you going to be up to now?”
“Actually Larkon asked if I could help out Samarkon with his task, since I know the most about the slums and the mammoths that live there,” Abalun said and looked over at Samarkon with an appraising eye. “I look forward to working with you.”
“Me too,” Samarkon nodded.
Larkon smiled and looked across the gathered mammoths (and pony). “I’m glad we can all be here together like this. I’m glad things are finally alright in this city.”
Dash smiled too and there was a moment of silence between them all. Which to her was as good a sign as any that now she should finally speak up.
“Uh, I have something to say,” she said as she raised her hoof for everyone to see.
“What is it?” Larkon raised an eyebrow at her while the rest turned to look.
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and steadied herself, dropping to the floor. “I’m leaving. Tonight.”
All of them reacted at once, with Shibu looking sad, Abalun and Samarkon surprised, Alykon incredibly shocked and disappointed… and Larkon knowingly with a small and sad smile on his face.
Alykon actually ran right up to Rainbow Dash and nearly bowled her over. “You can’t leave! What about—what about everything?!”
“Sorry, Alykon, but—I’ve got other places to go,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “This was great but I’ve still got more adventuring to get back to. I was never going to stay here for that long in the first place and now that Karkona’s taken care of… there’s just nothing that I need to do here anymore.”
“But does it have to be so soon?” Shibu asked her as Alykon sputtered.
Dash nodded. “Yeah. Sorry again but I can’t get caught up for days and days saying goodbye to everyone and getting roped into other stuff. I wanted to say goodbye to you all for sure cause you’re all important to me but otherwise I need to get back out there. If I don’t leave now I don’t know when I’ll get it in me to leave again.”
“That’s not fair!” Alykon cried, wiping away the newly forming tears at her eyes.
“Alykon, don’t be like that,” Shibu said.
“But-” Alykon started.
“It’s alright,” Rainbow Dash said and flew up, patting Alykon on the head. “You just keep being awesome and win your next Trunkball game for me, okay? And then the one after that and the one after that too.”
Alykon sniffled and looked like she wanted to say a whole lot more but in the end she just nodded. “Okay...”
Rainbow Dash grinned and looked at the others. “And that’s the same for the rest of you too. Keep being awesome.”
Samarkon, Abalun, Shibu, and Larkon all smiled back at her fully now. The first true friendships between mammoths and ponies since… ever. They had created something amazing here.
“I knew you would want to leave soon,” Larkon said. “Though I wished you would stay longer I won’t try to convince you to. Adventure calls, doesn’t it?”
“It really does,” Rainbow nodded.
“I have one request then,” Larkon got serious. “When you return to your home, tell them about us. The good and the bad. Let others know the truth about us mammoths and that we’re still here doing the best we can. If on your journey you’re asked what you’ve seen so far in the north tell them about us too. It has been too long that the mammoths have been locked away and forgotten. Even if we are met with fear we will simply have to face that and do our best to make others love and trust us.”
“You’ve got it, Larkon. You don’t have to worry about anything, I’ll set the record straight on you mammoths,” Rainbow Dash told him.
Larkon smiled, a single tear glistening at his eye. “Thank you.”
Rainbow Dash took in a breath and exhaled. “Well, guess that’s it then. I’ll be going now.”
“Wait! Hold on just one moment,” Shibu said before Rainbow Dash could go.
“What’s up?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at her.
“I’m giving you a parting gift,” Shibu winked and walked up to her, her trunk reaching to Dash’s mane and beginning to curl up the wild locks.
Rainbow’s eyes widened and she attempted to back up, but was caught in the mammoth’s grip already. “No! No way! No more hair braiding!”
“Oh hush now,” Shibu smirked. “You’ll let me do this one last time for you, won’t you?”
“Oh come on… guilt tripping me like that isn’t fair,” Dash blushed.
“You look good in braids anyways,” Larkon laughed at her.
“Shut up...”
And so her last few minutes in the mammoth city were spent in supreme embarrassment as everyone watched Shibu braid her mane and then made a number of very appreciative and complimentary comments about it. After that was finished she said a final goodbye to them all and made her way out of the doctor’s office. The sun was close to setting as she rose into the sky over the city and gave it all one last look, her gaze lingering on both Tarmok’s Hall and the slums for a moment before a smile broke across her face. Tossing her braid over her shoulder she spread her wings and aimed herself true north—the next part of her journey, whatever it may be, was dead ahead.
Someone further north knew she was coming.