The walk home from Apple Acres was unusually uneventful, and considering the helluva day he’d been having, he took it as a miracle. He was too torn right now, too unguarded to be caught and ensnared through any sort of conversation. He knew very well now that no matter who he’d talk to in this world, there would be something brought up that would lead his mind to the grim war ahead. Yet in spite of the dire future, in spite of the harsh conversation and revelation he’d had with Apple Bloom, he was looking forward to it. Even if he died out wherever he would fight, at least he would have this year to live.
Entering his home, he made himself a quick sandwich, too lazy from the day he’d had to care for much else. Showering quickly, he laid down on his bed, not quite ready to fall asleep, but more to simply rest. He stared thoughtlessly at the ceiling, trying to find something to keep his mind occupied, but there wasn’t much but that grim future. Finally relenting to a silent urging in him, he stood up and began pacing the room. There was too much to think about with the impending war that he couldn’t think of anything besides it, and there was nothing in the present connected to his future to think of anything else.
Sighing, he ran a hand through his still wet hair, trudging across the soft carpet, wondering things that shouldn’t need wondering about. In spite of his resolve to enjoy the little life he still had left to live, he found himself dreading the after effects he’d have on those he now loved. Was it selfish of him to want this life for himself, when he knew that if he would never return, they would have better benefitted having never known him? Was it merely indulgent that he would have only happy memories with them until he died, and that they would be left here, with only his death as comfort?
Putting his hands over his eyes, he rubbed furiously. He never should’ve attempted to become one of them, one of the happy ones. It was better for him to only exist, and let them live, instead of living with them and having them have to deal with him gone, to war, and then to death.
“But sadness is one of the most difficult parts of living, and one of the most rewarding,” a familiar voice spoke to him.
Ray shot upright, whipping around and looking for the source of the voice. He found himself not in his room, pacing around, but standing in a small opening in a cloud of dark blue and violet. Confused, he called out, “Who’s there.”
A coil of the blue and purple mist pulled itself away from the slowly swirling walls surrounding him, forming into the shape of an alicorn. The forming mist created the wings, snout, mane, tail, and eyes of a familiar figure. As the distinctive “she” opened her eyes, Ray recognized her as one of the two alicorns that had pounced him, the one that had been warning her sister, the one from his previous dream. So he was asleep then.
Taking another look around the mist wall, attempting to appear casual, he asked, “Luna, wasn’t it? I think I caught your name in the midst of you toying around with my memories.”
“Yes, it is,” the alicorn confirmed stiffly. She was wise enough to catch his ploy. He wasn’t too mad about the situation, moreso disturbed, if not slightly frightened. The two most powerful beings in Equestria knew what kind of monster he was. What was more frightening was that they allowed that monster to remain to fight something they had never anticipated. Though it did seem like they had little power in the politics of it all, Ray couldn’t help but feel slightly intimidated by the dark figure.
“What do you want with me,” he questioned, giving her a slightly raised brow.
Sharing a look into the misty void that surrounded them, she simply answered, “I want you to sleep.” Noticing the flash of confusion on Ray’s face, she clarified. “I may not be Princess of Equestria, but I’m still Princess of the Night. I can escape the responsibilities of royalty, but I find myself drawn to the Dream Realm, and more often than not, it’s to help a wayward soul.”
Ray scoffed slightly, earning a sideways glance from the powerful mare. “So how far off the trail am I, Princess?”
“Too far,” she responded steadily with a solid gaze. Ray grunted slightly at the answer. Of course. “You seem to be too connected with the future, and not enough with the present. What you ponder is true, but what you don’t ponder is the truth. Yes, if you fall in battle out in the fields, you will be missed and mourned for, but your contribution would be remembered even better if you lived. Yes, you may harm those by knowing them, but you’d wound them worse if you disconnected from them now. Maybe they would be happier during the war if you didn’t know them, but they wouldn’t be better off. Raymond, you seem to consider the options of pessimistic selflessness. You pity them while giving the absolute worst of the best. You wish them well while mourning that they must be weary on their travels. Don’t fell your heart with the blunt axe you form from your thoughts. True power comes from the heart, but a cracked heart breaks like a rusted spear or a split arrow.
“You need to find yourself Ray. You’ve defined who you are in this world, your place, and have abandoned the livelihood of your old world, but you fail to become what befits you. You resist the mold you’ve given yourself while at the same time accepting the form you must become to be the hero you are. You are ready to face the flames of the furnace to become the sword of Equestria, but you attempt to change the scabbard you must be drawn from. Every great warrior must have a home to fight for, to die for. You’ve found one, but are discontent with what it is because of what you must be. Can you not see the controversy in your own plight? Can you not see the failure your doubts will bring you too?
“You are the hero of Equestria, living and breathing. You’ve given your oath to protect it under your own blood, not for anyone, but for everyone. Accept the future, but live the present. Prepare for, but do not dare to dread. Your only failure to these ponies will be if you allow yourself to be swallowed up in the black tar you roll yourself through. Do not kick yourself for living, and for giving others life. Take it from me, the Warrior Queen of the East, the Conqueror of Ice. War is a terrible, punishing experience. To see so many die, on your side or not, enhances your view of the life you’ve had, and should you survive, changes how you are to live. Don’t regret what you haven’t done when the time comes for you to take up the spear and live the life of a killer. Let yourself be a liver first.”
Ray swallowed hard, facing away from the Princess. These were true words. The hardest words to take, the hardest words to hear. A struggling, grasping piece of him still resisted what the Princess taught, and he wanted to indulge it. But she was right. So Ray intended to stall.
“So this is why you’re here, to force me into the mold,” Ray muttered, still turned to the mist.
“Not to force, but to remind,” she quietly insisted. Truth too. Ray had made an oath, something to hold on to. Whether that oath had been to show his new friends that he would be there, or it was his stubborn, thoughtless way of giving Twilight the finger whilst following the path she’d laid out for him, he didn’t know.
“I’ve seen my own ponies massacre each other,” Luna softly spoke, gaining Ray’s attention. “I’ve seen fear drive friends to betray each other, to cause noble stallions to murder foals and burn villages. I used to wonder why, why ponies who had known each other for years would turn against each other, to kill each other after only a few minutes. For the longest time, I chalked it up to cowardice, but I know now what it was. It was regret for what could have been. They wished for more of what wasn’t, and gained nothing but pain.”
“You’re worried I’ll turn,” Ray presumed, turning around.
“No,” he stated confidently, “but I’m worried you’ll give up. I’ve seen into your mind. One of the great curses of ruling this realm is being able to see a person when they are most vulnerable, when they have no defenses and no guard up. It is then that I see a great deal of pain, torment, and anger. I’ve seen your thoughts, the ones you fail to fully realize, or at least deal with. But you know it.”
Letting out a breath, he mumbled, “I’m nothing without this war.”
Luna somberly nodded. “The worst lie. Yet also the greatest. In one hoof, it motivates you to hold yourself higher, to fight stronger, to work harder, and be sturdier. Yet in the other, it allows you the idea that you can’t live through this war. After all, if you do-”
“What next?”
“The terrible after.”
Silence prevailed after the statement as the Princess seemed to wait for Ray’s response. None came. Ray couldn’t imagine what next. There couldn’t be anything after. There was just no reason for being, except as a protectorate of a nation without threat.
With a sigh, Luna began to speak again.
“In my time as Princess of the Night, I’ve never dealt with a creature as strange as you, Raymond. Humans are by far the most emotionally intricate beings I’ve dealt with.” Ray started at that. Humans? Luna seemed to catch it as well. “No, I haven’t come across any of your kind save you. My power only extends to the land of Equestria, for some reason. May it be that there is no other creature beyond this plain that dreams, or that there is no reason for me to care for the other creatures of this world, I do not know. In either aspect, though, I’ve come across both trivial and concerning problems, major and minor, but none as serious as yours.”
“I wonder why,” Ray gruffly added. After a moment of thought, he queried, “You said that in your time as Princess of the Night. Weren’t you born into it?”
“No, I was reborn into it. Nopony but Flurry Heart was born as an alicorn. The rest of us were reborn into the responsibility that is now ours. Me, my sister, Cadence, and Twilight all had to be remade to fit the physical, mental, and magical burden that is Princessdom. Why do you ask?”
“Just trying to gauge how similar we are,” Ray truthfully answered.
“We are similar in situation, Ray, but we are far from similar in nature. You’ll find that I was rather a cruel and unforgiving warrior, and much less of a leader than I should have been. It was why I eventually was weak enough to be dragged into my envious and darker side, Nightmare Moon. Do not try to compare yourself to those before you. You won’t find comfort in the flaws of your predecessors. They arose to arms too quickly, went for blood too swiftly to be judged in the right. Our controversies have been paid for in the torment and consequences our actions brought us. Do not follow down the path of pain, disappointment that my sister and I went through to get to this point. Victory is not worth everything.”
“And that is where you and I will have to agree to disagree, Princess.” Instead of receiving any objection, Ray watched Luna simply nod.
“You are wiser than I am in this regard,” Luna admitted. “Perhaps I need to learn a painful truth here too.”
Silence once again took hold of the two as they stood, staring at each other in a verbal stalemate. Looking to the ground temperamentally, Ray asked, almost timidly, “Why do you bother here? Why do you visit me with respect, but violently while I don’t sleep?”
“I suppose this is a sort of apology meeting,” Luna submitted, looking almost shameful. “I… didn’t know how you would react to me visiting with you physically, so I visited you spiritually. I came to give you the best and most needed advice I could, and to help your rest.”
“Rest,” Ray questioned.
“Yes, to help you sleep,” the Princess confirmed. “I pulled you into sleep, and am ensuring you stay here by causing this dream coil to exhaust your mind. It will not allow you to wake until I deem it unnecessary, or until your body requires it to awaken through hunger, thirst, or other needs. I can feel the weariness of your ever churning mind, and I know how it weathers the conscious and the physical work of the body. Sleep is one of the few necessities that I can help with. Actually, it is probably the only one, so I might as well assist you with strengthening your resting time.
“I won’t be able to pull you to sleep, daily, however, but the dream coil here is personalized. Once you fall asleep, it will ensnare you and allow a good night’s rest. In this way, I can at least secure the welfare of your resting. However, you will need to fall asleep in order for it to work. I suggest some sleeping agent of some sort. I suggest the powder that can be mixed in with tea or milk. A snack before sleep is always a good way to end the day,” Luna added thoughtfully, and for once, she seemed to have dropped her shield of formality, allowing Ray to see the pony behind the wheel.
She was like a mature child, someone who enjoyed, but hid that enjoyment behind the responsible, mature mask her life forced her to wear. She wasn’t the strict, cruel, blunt mare that was the harbinger of deathly truth, nor was she the evangelant god that led with absolute surety. She was a mare who never had the chance to be a child, and would be one when she could, whilst also being the adult that times would require of her. She seemed to be almost too realistic in that moment, a human that Ray could point out in the street, and oddly enough, he found it comforting. There was no god here, just a powerful mare.
Giving Luna a smile, Ray understood now. She was somber purposely, childish accidentally, and a true leader. Imperfect and perfected. The very thing that she was telling Ray he was. From one obligated believer to another.
“Thank you,” he graciously muttered through his smile. The princess returned the gesture, before once again gazing around the mist coil.
“I do believe I should be letting you sleep now,” she spoke, a sincere mask of friendliness and compassion. One that she obviously favoured. “There is still a great deal that you must achieve in these next months, and even a single day should not be wasted in your training. Besides, I can feel the nightmares of others tugging me away. I shall visit them, and leave you to rest well.”
“I understand,” Ray agreed, giving the mare a final wave. “Good night, Princess.”
“Good night, and farewell, Ray Heartbound,” Luna dismissed. “And may these next days pass quickly.” With the dismissal, the mare’s body faded into the smoky dream coil, rejoining the slowly churning wall that now seemed to embrace, instead of confine, Ray. Gently, he felt himself pulled away from the conscious world, his mind darkening as a peaceful, fulfilling sleep overtook his worn mind.
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Fluttershy cried out in horror as another one of the monstrous creatures roared, charging through the bloodied cobble streets of Ponyville. The corpses of many residents lay scattered around, some burning alongside the buildings, others continuing to be mutilated by the ferocious beasts that tore through the ponies. Endless bodies ran and were hewn down by the weapons of the monsters. Friends, acquaintances, and even enemies were torn and scattered about, adorning everything in red and multicolored, disembodied fur. She shrieked once again as half of a pony flew past her head, slapping against the broad, iron thick chest of a minotaur behind her.
It didn’t acknowledge her, simply lumbering past, stepping carelessly on the bodies of the dead and still barely living. The minotaurs seemed to not care for Fluttershy. They only cared about killing whatever their sights locked on, and until it was destroyed, would not be put off. Stumbling away from the graphic displays of violence and death, she turned down the market street, toward the center of town.
There, a singular figure stood, fighting against the endless horde of devilish creatures, merciless and bloodthirsty as the very things he fought. Ray swung his great, terrible spear about, severing heads, impaling minotaurs, and disemboweling any that dared challenge him. He was surrounded on all sides, but he continued to kill emotionlessly, simply kicking aside the bodies of those he felled. There was no possible way Fluttershy could pull her gaze away from the scene of the one hope for all of Equestria relentlessly tearing through body after body, the same way that the enemy he killed did with ponies. Was this what heroes of war must do to win?
Finally, though, there was an overwhelming surge in the enemy, a force seeming to have pushed the minotaurs into a blood fed frenzy. They tore through the few ponies who still stood with their bare, cloven hands, rammed their mighty, pony-long horns through them, and bludgeoned the remainder with whatever they could use to kill. They didn’t care about effectiveness, but mere brutality, and it showed even worse now that they raged with the loss of so many of their own at the hands of Equestria’s merciless hero. Fluttershy could feel the raw energy of hate coursing through the veins of the minotaurs, and it frightened her worse than anything she’d ever had to face in her life.
And then came the dreaded climax to the nightmare. The apogee of hate, bloodshed, and vengeance. The killing of Ray, their last warring opposer.
They began to stab, slash, and tear at him as he began to lose his footing on the hill of bodies he’d made. One strike landed across his cheek, opening a deep cut. Another pierced his stomach, blood hastily draining from the open wound and mixing with the minotaur blood spilt on him another to the back, and one more to the arm. Slowly, ray weakened until, at last, he fell to the ground with a resigned air of defeat. However, before the most brutal demonstration, came the worst part. As he slid to join the pile of bodies he’d created, he looked directly into Fluttershy’s eyes, and cried with a broken, pained voice, “I shouldn’t be here.”
Fluttershy turned away from the boy, tears sliding down her cheek, but she couldn’t escape the sounds of his mutilation. His everlasting screams of pain, blaming her and her friends, and the sickening squelching of his innards being removed. Fluttershy had made the mistake of watching once, and she hadn’t been able to sleep, let alone eat, for the entire day. Instead, she simply cried for the fallen hero, her fallen love. There was nothing else to do.
Abruptly, however, the sounds stopped, leaving a tranquil silence to the entire scene. Time froze, ashes of the burning town hanging in the air, embers and flame stopped harshly, floating beside the tearful mare.
“Fluttershy, oh poor, dear, Fluttershy,” a familiar voice called out to her. Fluttershy turned to Princess Luna, accepting hastily the offered hug. She needed it, more than she’d ever thought she’d need anything. For minutes, she cried into Luna’s shoulder like a filly startled by a thunderstorm.
Luna simply shushed her, tightening her grip on the mare, allowing her to break down within her loving, understanding grasp. There was no end to Fluttershy’s tears, as the terror of the repeating mental wraith consumed her.
Why did it have to plague her so? Why did she have to suffer the fear for Ray, why did she have to be tormented like this? Couldn’t she trust Ray to win, to defeat the enemy conventionally. But that was it, wasn’t it? The only conventional method here, in the face of such a brutal, disconnected force was the destruction of it. Destroy it before it could destroy those that mattered the most to her. Why was savagery the only answer to savagery? Death to death?
Gently, the Princess of the night pushed Fluttershy away, just enough that she was able to brush away the tears from the pegasus mare’s eyes. Fluttershy leaned into the hoof, trying the milk any amount of comfort she could from the older, loving mare. Through the tears, she could see her sympathetically smiling down on her, giving her the doting attention she needed. Struggling, and finally failing, to get any words out, she simply rested her head there, against Luna’s hoof, pinning it against her shoulder.
Finally, Luna spoke. “Another one?” Fluttershy meekly nodded against her hoof. “Fluttershy, I can dispel the nightmares, but you mustn’t feed the fear that drives them. They will return if you do, as you can see. Let go of it, like I’ve said. It is more likely to harm you if it burns in your heart unchecked.”
“But how can I,” Fluttershy meekly protested. She sat straight up, pointing around her, where the scenery of her worst fears were fading. “If all of this is possible, then why shouldn’t I fear it?”
“Fear of the possible future only ruins the possible present,” Luna told her with a pointed look. “I know of this. My fear of being forgotten, my jealousy towards my sister for all that she had which I wished to have, the love and attention, blinded me to somepony who did love me, someponies who did care. I ended up hurting them and myself simultaneously for lust of that which I wanted more of. The possible is not the probable, only a potential future for those who enact it to be so. This may be a future for our ponies, and an end for them, but that is less likely than you presume it to be.
“I’ve spoken with your champion on this very night about the subject. He too fears that which may come, that which may potentially happen if he were to fail. But he is less scared of that than something else. He fears that he has brought harm to you by knowing, and yes, loving you and his new family and friends. He thinks that he will die out there, in the oncoming war, and that it would be better if he did. Yet at the same time, he doesn’t wish to bring you harm through his demise, and thus, he is stuck in a constant contrasting of the present and future, unable to enjoy the former for fear of consequences in the latter.”
“R-Ray thinks he’ll die,” Fluttershy asked in abashed horror, staring into Luna’s eyes for confirmation.
“I should say that he presumes to know that he will die,” Luna amended, her face going somber, compassion leaving as she bore the solemn news. Fluttershy stumbled over her words as she attempted to process the words, trying to think through the pounding in her chest. “He feels that, even if it harms you, even if it makes you hate him for never having returned from the turmoil, it will be worth not knowing a killer. He hates himself for the blood he hasn’t yet spilled, whilst also being upheld by the oath he’s made.”
“And where do I fit in this, Princess,” Fluttershy questioned hopelessly. This was all too much, too devastating to hear. She didn’t want to lose Ray, yet that seemed like an impossibility with him willing himself to die.
“You, your friends, his family, and whoever else he cares about must convince him otherwise, unless you wish him to die,” Luna bitterly answered. “Despite my words, I can feel his discomfort with the idea. He has tethers to those in Ponyville he knows, but they are of rope, and can be deftly cut by the sword of war. Chain him to these people, convince him of his worth. His heart is too true for his own welfare, too knowledgeable of what may come to pass through his engagement. What he fears most is paining you, whether through his death or through his life. As with Discord, you must find a way to both comfort and guide him to the truth. The Element of Kindness is the most spiritually powerful, and through it, one may find the power within their heart to change.”
Fluttershy chewed nervously on the words, tasting bitterness in her mouth. Forcing it down, she began to nod, only for Luna’s embrace to wrap around her once again.
“You are the bravest mare I’ve met in a while,” she whispered in Fluttershy’s ear. “There are few left willing enough to give their love for a lost cause. But a lost cause is merely somepony who needs guided back to the truth, somepony who needs the power that comes from love.”
“I understand,” Fluttershy replied with surprise. She did. Instead of feeling daunted by the task Luna presented her, she felt empowered. This was Ray. In her short time of knowing him, he’d been only kind to her, if not sharp when an open wound was grazed. All creatures were like that, be it pony, human, or rabbit. She could handle this well. She was his friend, and he hers. If not more, an increasingly louder portion of her brain theorized. Shoving the thought aside, she pulled back, looking Luna in the eyes.
“I can do this,” Fluttershy firmly told the Princess.
“You are the only one,” Luna confirmed with an animated smile. She looked around, and Fluttershy’s gaze followed. The scenery had changed.
The sun was still setting, but instead of to the ashes and flames of a burning world, to the sights and sounds of ordinary life. Ponies walked about carelessly with smiles and gleaming eyes. They all seemed oblivious to anything terrible having happened, and for the first time, Fluttershy didn’t feel dread. She felt hope.
As she took in the sight with wonder, her sight fell on the only human in the world, walking cheerfully down the road, smiling and waving to the other locals. He wore a light blue shirt, his hair casually messy, trousers spotted with some sort of mud. Her heart jumped uncontrollably as she saw who stood beside her. Walking beside him, holding his hand, was Fluttershy.
“It looks like you’re dreaming now,” Luna observed slyly, giving her a slyer wink. Before Fluttershy could finish flushing, the Princess of the Night had faded into the dream’s scenery like morning mist into the air.
Fluttershy looked around, at the cheerful, bustling town, and without hesitation, let the dream carry on.
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As Luna had blessed, the week passed by at a speed Ray couldn’t comprehend. Life seemed to accelerate around him in such an uncanny fashion that he suspected magic. He would wake up in the morning, finding himself suddenly out of the door, then doing some sort of drill Skalos, and then on the farm with his family, before ending the day scouting out the town, meeting the residents, and more than often, completing minute chores.
He bought himself a watch one night, acquired a map another night, and was even able to find some laundry soap at one of the two actual stores in town. He found out rather quickly that most food products were sold in markets, along with homemade -but apparently reliable- clothing and horseshoes. Not much help to him, but rather interesting nonetheless. He was also able to find a strange blue powder that was exactly what the princess had suggested to him. Dissolvable and efficient in practice, allowing him to fall asleep quickly. This led him to start consuming more tea, as the stock that Twilight had provided him consisted of a tasty ginger variety.
During his little time before he would fall asleep, he would read a little out of the books that occupied the space beside his little desk. He was mostly concerned about the finances and history, for both practical and personal information gathering. Very quickly, he found himself understanding the general worth of the bits he had, though seeing as Ponyville was a very capitalistic town, prices often inflated or decreased, depending on the stall and demand for the product. Still, it was at least better to know the standards in the larger towns and cities, if he should ever need to visit them.
At first, Ray was concerned that Otolo had begun to show disinterest in him and would leave him completely, as she went missing for the majority of most days, only randomly turning up now and then, and somehow ending up pecking at his window as he was falling asleep. However, Ray quickly began to notice the cause of his aerial friend’s disappearances, as the flower box in front of his window had begun to fill a suspiciously large, bowl-shaped pile of twigs, sticks, grass, and hay bits. It seemed that, despite the approaching fall and eventual winter, Otolo was willing to stick with Ray through it, or at least until late into fall. It was heartwarming that, despite the fowl’s constant chortling and avian teasing, she was willing to go through the effort to stick around.
Ray’s training with Skalos was unusually calming as well, and while there wasn’t much conversation through the training as Ray focused on the forms and technique he was being taught, he could feel a sort of bond growing between them. The little conversation they had was also rather revealing as well, as Skalos became less reserved with what life for so long in Tartarus was like. Despite this, though, he seemed to grow tighter about himself as he grew more open about everything else. There was always an unseen line that Ray wasn’t able to cross without the Fallen completely clamping his jaw shut with a hard stare. Whatever Skalos wished not to reveal was either too personal, too shameful, or something too distracting for him to reveal, and Ray was fine with letting him be.
The training itself didn’t seem to be progressing much, as for the entirety of six days were spent on merely jabbing in two different stances, each which he had to spend a day to perfect completely. Ray had told Skalos so, but the Fallen had curtly responded that he would soon enough see what the difference was. While he didn’t doubt his instructor’s command, he did doubt that there would be so much change from simply being able to quickly poke someone from a set stance. Still, progress was progress, and Ray already felt a little better with his chances. Maybe he could kill a few minotaurs before he died?
On Twilight’s coronation day celebration, Skalos didn’t give him leave, which was fine with Ray. They both had a silent agreement that they wanted to get him as trained as possible in the next year, and that they needed to milk every second they could of every day. There was no such thing as a holiday or weekend, though Skalos did mention that occasionally, and hopefully rarely, he would have to travel down to Tartarus to deal with the matters of Fallen there. Until then, one of the hundreds of Fallen Ray had managed to meet, Ormisis, had command, though technically Ray was still the commander.
During his free day that was Twilight’s crowning anniversary, he stayed at home, trying to figure out what to do with his house. It was amazing that he already owned his own household, but compared to how occupied he was, it was little more than a glorified bedroom he could cook some food in. He also figured out that, seeing as laundry machines weren’t really a common thing, he would have to hand wash his laundry. The same went with dishes, but that was something he was already used to doing, simply another skill he was able to bring from Earth. It was oddly satisfying to spend the day working on household chores, as it allowed him to forget the turmoil he was facing within himself.
Luna’s words raised a storm in the back of his mind, but thankfully, the acceleration of his life and the work he put himself into in the meantime, along with the blessing of solid sleep from the mare, kept it at bay. However, it was during the few hours he spent alone in the trees, helping with the harvesting of apples, that he found himself plagued by the cursed words. It seemed that to him, there was so little he could do either way to prevent the future whilst also attempting to enjoy the present. How could he with such a looming threat, darkening the path ahead. Yet at the same time, it was hard to ignore those lights that shone in his life, as he was reminded every time he ate lunch.
It was many of the small, newfound blessings of having joined a family once again, and one that wasn’t bogged down with the weight of life so severely. Every time at about one by his watch, there would be somebody who would come and get him, or a bell to summon him. Then they would sit around outside in the shade of the barn, and talk about their labors, experiences in town, or more often, everything Ray had yet to learn of the world he now inhabited. The most interesting conversation he’d had was brought up by Apple Bloom, when she inquired of her sister when the oldest Apple mare would finally get married.
The teasing jab got the usually stalwart mare to blush profusely, tossing her head to the side with a notable glance to the sky. A whole tempest of teasing wrapped poor Applejack up, as each of the family members began to toss out names Ray had never heard before, though each one was solidly denied. Notably, however, not a single name was male, or at least, sounded masculine to Ray. Then again, he’d found that determining the sexes of ponies based on their names here was always rather difficult for him. Still, the idea that he may one day have a second sister-in-law was equally amusing and thought provoking.
Two days after Twilight’s coronation anniversary, Ray awoke to the familiarizing sound of his alarm. Giving it the usual gentle smack to shut it off, he jumped out of bed without thought, and proceeded to continue to follow through eating his usual cereal breakfast and running the usual morning jog down to the Acres. However, unusually, when he arrived, he didn’t find Skalos awaiting his arrival, nor did he find that there was any sign of preparation for his lesson. There was simply the cold wind blowing against the grass and making ripples in the lake, an eerily tranquil but equally threatening scene.
Walking up to the lonely wood door set in the grassy knoll, he found a roughly written note, signed by the absent Fallen.
Unfortunately I have been called off for the day. Enjoy this day as a break. Perhaps attend the “Running of the Leaves”. If this note is here on the morrow, take the same advice mentioned above. Do not be alarmed. I should be back by morning tomorrow, but if that is not the case, I shall surely be back the day after.
-Skalos
Ray quirked a questioning eyebrow at the note before looking around the barren green hills, attempting to see if this were some sort of test of his character. He glanced back down at the note, checking it’s authenticity, but only finding it vague, mysterious, and ever so slightly concerning. There was some sort of trace of alarm in it, like a silent beckoning one might see in the eyes of another panicking. But Skalos surely had nothing to panic on. Surely.
With another brief glance to the hills, he left the note on the door, settling to wait the hour out to see if Skalos was indeed testing him. It may be a slight waste of time, but Ray recalled from memory that Applejack had stated the Running of the Leaves, -some sort of race to knock the leaves from their tree branches to introduce the new autumn season- was to take place precisely at noon. He hadn’t remembered the exact date of the event, but apparently it was today. Glancing at his watch, Ray saw that the time was nearing seven. He would leave five before eight then, and hopefully catch somebody that knew where the North Royal Trail was.
Settling back against the hill, and staring into the sky, he found his eyes following some faintly familiar figures dancing among the clouds. Squinting slightly, he found that they were the two familiar figures from the first time he’d arrived in Ponyville; the orange, yellow, and red streak, and the thundercloud silver blot. Apparently the two, who he was now able to identify as pegasi, were going about their job, clearing clouds before the day’s main event. Even as the thought crossed his mind, the silvery blot rammed gracefully through a small puff of white, causing it to collapse on itself and disintegrate. The sight was strangely satisfying, like watching water in a pond ripple with the disruption of a pebble in it.
Smiling, he watched intently as the two seemed to dance around each other, blowing through cloud after cloud, sometimes meeting briefly before bursting away. Rainbow had told him all about the strange sensation of flying through a puffy cloud like the ones inhabiting the sky currently. The brief cold, wetness that covered your body before you were suddenly blasted by roaring winds and then the familiarity of the wind back through your cleansed feathers. Strangely amusing and satisfying indeed. Eventually, they ran out of clouds, and when Ray checked his clock, he was surprised to find that he’d overrun the timer he’d personally given himself by almost ten minutes.
Standing up and stretching fully, he looked around. The wind had picked up considerably, evidenced by the flapping of Ray’s hair across the front of his face and accompanied by the lapping of waves on the shore of the lake. The wind was heading east, into the lake and across it. Smiling into the wind and closing his tearing up eyes, he began walking back. Skalos had truthfully failed to show face, so Ray used it as justice for returning back to his home.
He failed to see anyone he recognized on his way back, though he remembered this time to use the back path through the edge of the Everfree. Chuckling slightly as he found the answer in his own statement, he exited the forest and approached his house promptly. There was no reason to be precise in his pathing, so he took a few moments to familiarize himself with the hills around his solitary home. There were a few large ones that seemed to loom slightly over the eastern face of his house, though the other hills faded into slightly raised grassland. The landscape seemed to flow into existence, forming from small raises in the grassy ground, to hills a couple hundred feet tall at nature’s crescendo.
In the distance, he heard the distinct, sharp sound of Otolo’s chirping calling him back to his home. Deciding that he would later appreciate the warm up he was receiving, he ran up and down four hills until he reached the one occupied by his sturdy house. Grinning as the incessant chirping continued, he felt a small weight land on his shoulders.
Giving Otolo a sidelong glance, he asked, “You didn’t tear up one of my blankets again, did you?” After a chirp of denial, she fluttered impatiently, before letting out a series of low tweets that seemed to be her way of sincere instruction. “Well, what is it?”
Having approached the front door, the little bird fluttered up again, sweeping a wing to point to the flower box in front of his bedroom window. Chirping inconsistently, she seemed to be telling him to observe the contents. From the doorway, Ray could see a few stray pieces of hay sticking out, along with a bent flower, but nothing else. With a false sigh, he entered his home and clambered up the stairs until he entered his own room. Checking the window, he saw the steadily growing pile of sticks, hay, and scraps had transformed into a mostly circular formation that resembled a nest.
“Ah, so you’ve finished it,” Ray half questioned. Otolo chirped in confirmation before raising up a slightly musical series of chirps and tweets. She flew into her newly finished nest, before nestling deeply into the bed she’d made. There was a noticeable amount of space for several eggs and a partner, if she ever had either, but she also looked completely content with it being just her. Lifting her head and ruffling her feathers a few times, she twittered proudly, expecting some sort of praise.
“Yes yes, very well done Ohs,” he congratulated, giving her a pat on the head lightly as she playfully nipped at them. “You look like you’ve made a very good nest. Mind if I sleep in it?”
The bird’s eyes widened fearfully as she retreated from his hand, hastily chirping at him. There was a harsh tweet added at the end as a sort of barb to his size, but Ray simply rolled his eyes and gave her a small push with his pointer finger.
Stepping away from the window, he settled back against his bed, wondering what to use to fill the time. With sudden derisiveness, he wished that Skalos hadn’t decided to vanish for the day, but he amended his venomous thoughts with a simple fact. There were things neither of them could control, this most likely being one of them. There was no need to be bitter over simple business. That was a fact of life, one that was something he could do nothing about, and something he’d have to be alright with.
Deciding that laying on his bed and contemplating was both too dangerous and too unproductive, he walked down the stairs, grabbed a pocket of the blueish powder that served as his sleeping drug. Pouring about a quarter of it into a small cup of water before chugging it down. Heading back up to his room, he reset the alarm to about fifteen minutes before the schedule said to meet for the Running. Flopping on his bed, he drifted into dreamless sleep, but it didn’t last long at all. Almost as soon as he’d fallen asleep, he awoke to the alarm. Rubbing his eyes to wake him up, he glanced at the clock, and saw that it stayed true.
Seeing that Otolo was still awake and still purposefully adjusting and fixing up her nest, he called out, “Hey Ohs, I’m gonna be heading out to town, if you want to join me.” The bird cocked her head questionarily, nestling into her nest as if it were the answer. “Okay then. See you tonight.”
Otolo remained silent as he left the room, before eventually retreating from the house entirely. Deciding that he was done with running until the race later on, he took his time leisurely strolling down the hill and towards the homely town.
He quickly found himself entering Ponyville, and much to his delight and surprise, a couple of familiar faces had popped up among the growing crowd. Rainbow and Pinkie were chatting while they moved, Rainbow flying and Pinkie bouncing in an almost normal way. They were both headed his way, or at least, down through the northeastern side of town. Pinkie noticed him almost instantly, her head shooting from her friend to the approaching human with a lightning jerkiness to it. Rainbow followed the pink mare’s gaze until it locked on him, her smile brightening slightly as she shot him a quick salute.
Pinkie’s welcome, however, was neither quiet, quick, or private. She shot across the road at breakneck speed, launching straight into his chest, knocking the wind out of him as she wrapped her front hooves around his neck.
“Heeeeeey, Ray,” she squealed loudly, obviously humored by her rhyming welcome, before adding with slight pain, “I don’t regret it!”
“Hey,” Ray responded, giving the pony a bashful pat on the back, looking around at the townsfolk. They seemed to hardly notice beside a few shaking their heads and continuing on their ways. Apparently Ponyville’s residents had gotten well used to Pinkie’s exuberance and hyperactivity, though he guessed that was to be expected by now. “You, uh, don’t regret what?”
“The leap and rhyme,” she answered, popping off of him, pointing to her stomach. “I need to remember that my baby doesn’t like the leaps, hugs, and squeezes I do.”
So far, there was no noticeable bulge in the pregnant mare’s stomach, but Ray hadn’t actually seen a pregnant pony, or animal, in his life before, so he may not have been able to discern any difference either way. Smiling slightly at her, he was about to comment when Rainbow flew up and gave him a rough jab in his shoulder.
“Hey, Ray,” Rainbow greeted, repeating Pinkie’s little rhyme, much to Pinkie’s pleasure and Ray’s slight displeasure. “You mind if we get to that race yet? We can do a sort of Running of the Leaves race, see who finishes first, if you’re down for it. I’ve been practicing my running, and already have a rope ready!”
“Wait, why do you need a rope,” he questioned.
“To ensure I don’t try to fly, duh.” A cocky smile overtook her welcoming and enthusiastic one. “Otherwise, I would completely destroy you.”
Ray bit back his tongue from cheekily responding something less suitable for public ears, noting that they still were on a well used road. Despite his acceptance into the town by everyone, including the local mule family, he knew that his language from Earth was less than welcome. Instead he muttered, “I’ll destroy you then.”
Of course the athletic pegasi heard the comment, which spurred her to laugh haughtily, responding, “Tell that to Applejack!”
Ray was about to, when he realized that the mare actually wasn’t in the plaza, or around at all. He could see Rarity and Fluttershy down the street approaching them, and thought the red and orange streaks he saw were Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, but the farmer was nowhere in sight. That led him to ask, “Where is Applejack?”
Dejectedly, Pinkie announced, “She said she had some sort of trouble at the farm, and that the Apple family would be too occupied by everything to be able to come.” She brightened up instantly and turned to hug both Rarity and Fluttershy, who had just barely entered speaking range. “Howdy, girls!”
“Hello Pinkie,” Rarity said, returning the notably gentler embrace than Ray had received, though it still squished both of the mare’s cheeks up a little. “Glad to see you are doing well. Come to commentate the event again?”
“Abso-dudily-utly,” she confirmed cheerfully. “Eleven years and I ain’t gonna stop no time no how,” she pressed with an added Southern accent.
“And of course you know it wouldn’t be any party without me,” Discord suddenly exclaimed, popping in between Ray, Rainbow, and the other three, hanging upside down in the air. Ray jumped slightly at the sudden appearance of the draconequus, as did everyone else but Pinkie, who turned to face him with a questioning eyebrow.
“Uh, this isn’t a party, Dizzy,” she informed with uncharacteristic sincerity. Reaching up to her mane and miraculously pulling a notebook and reading glasses from it, she flipped it open precisely to a page marked with squiggles and frosting stains. Pushing her hoof into the page, she officially announced, “The Running of the Leaves is a traditional, cultural, and celebrative way in which Ponyville residents run willy nilly along a path, knocking down the leaves to usher in the fall. A party is a celebration for anything funny, happy, or, in Rainbow words, ‘cool’.”
“Ah heck yeah,” Rainbow jutted in.
“Um, Pinkie, dear, you used ‘celebrative’ and ‘celebration’ in both definitions,” Rarity informed.
The pink mare paused, shoving the items back into her mane before pressing a hoof to her mouth. Finally, she stated, “Well, you can be celebrative of somepony’s birth, but you can’t have a party for celebration then and there. I should know,” she grumbled, before springing back. “So, in conclusion, this is not a party.”
Ray and Discord both simultaneously rolled their eyes at the exasperative ramble, inexplicably causing Fluttershy to giggle. Both gave each other a look, Discord’s of confrontational competitiveness, and Ray’s of begging for them to not.
Taking the hint, Discord remained silent for all of two seconds before pointedly exclaiming, “Well, I’m absolutely starved! Why don’t we go snack on something nice, like hayburgers or a daisy sandwich!”
“I agree, though, isn’t that a bit… normal for you,” Rarity asked precisely.
“Oh come on, normal is abnormal for me,” Discord exclaimed, whilst simultaneously losing his arms and a horn. “Besides, the food all tastes the same to me! I just need something neat to look at to entertain my feasting. It’s also hilarious to see the look on ponies’ faces when I start munching on books or nails.”
Pinkie giggled right alongside Discord at the statement, snorting slightly before agreeing, “It is! Just like the look on a ponies' face when they try one of my cheesy cilantro cupcakes!”
Pinkie and Discord continued to laugh while the other four shared disgusted looks at the thought of the concoction. The laughter was short lived as a loud horn rang out through the town. A pony -the mayor, he recognized- stepped up to a podium in front of the main office building.
“Hello mares and gentlecolts,” she announced cheerfully. “Please continue to the Trail of Leaves in an orderly and respectable fashion, as we will begin the Running of the Leaves soon. If you could all promise me a good, civil run, then this may be a Run to go down in the books!”
The mayor said this with a direct glance to where Ray and his friends stood, gaining a few looks of interest. Smiling fakely, he decidedly shrinked behind the ponies beside him slightly, not fully invested in having so much attention placed on him. With the action, and the attention, however, Discord began to soak it in leisurely, picking up his fallen arm with another one, before giving it little wings so it could float. With his floating arm holding up the other, he waved at the crowd, causing several to visibly squirm at the sight of the disembodied limbs.
With an uneasy smile, the mayor exclaimed, “Let’s get this party started!” to which Pinkie promptly yelled back, “Even though this isn’t a party!”
Everyone began walking or trotting in the direction of the northwest side of town, where the trail would wrap eastwards and around the town. Ray followed closely, keeping an eye on the flow of ponies heading towards the starting point. There was a fair amount of chatter from the crowd, as they excitedly spoke amongst themselves of the event and potential going-ons during the event. He heard tale of some sort of legendary treat presented to those who finished the race within an hour, though the task didn’t seem too hard. After all, the run around the entirety of Ponyville seemed to be about four and a half miles around, and considering most people could walk that in an hour, he was confident he could make the time in half that running.
They made their way from the town’s core to a lonely side street, Discord happily floating over them as he chatted cheerfully with Pinkie and Fluttershy. Rarity was talking with a mare who had walked up to them, both describing different artistic styles of fashion making. Apparently this was one of her former assistants, and now a friendly competitor who she compared fashion with. They talked distinctly of their work, and both conversations taking place around Ray seemed focused primarily on the speaker, leaving him out. He was alright with that, as he took to observing a relatively unexplored area of town.
They had actually left the last of the cozy straw top homes, entering a grassier, almost overgrown field of green, headed towards a tamer and less wild forest. The leaves were a myriad of brown, yellow, and red, with some still tinged a dying green. The trees were mainly brown oaks, but a few white birch were scattered around. Already, leaves scattered the ground, a sign that nature had started taking some toll on the surrounding trees. A few broken branches laid on the ground as well, including one that was halfway on the now dirt road. There was still an abundance of leaves on the branches of trees, but they looked so frail that the mere thought of exertion would cause them to fall.
There was an air of overwhelming excitement, and mixed in with it competitive pride. This was best demonstrated by Rainbow flying forward, landing in a position in the road that seemed no different from any other, save for its slight curvature. She characteristically called out that the victory was hers, despite several calls that this was no competitive race. Just as many ponies called out that they would stake claim to the victory, with one or two wary glances towards the accompanying human. There was an obvious question in the air: Would this strange creature be joining in the Running, or was it merely being babysat by the Elements.
Ray had realized some time ago that that was what most ponies saw and thought. He was an unexplained, strange, potentially dangerous creature, so obviously the heroes of Equestria would be watching over him. However, Ray also noticed that, unlike what he’d previously assumed, even expected, they saw that he was not some senseless thing, and many of them treated him kindly. The shopkeeper who sold him the watch he now wore had treated him with respect, and was quite helpful finding one that would actually fit his human sized wrist. The marketplace ponies and shopkeepers often greeted him with nods or smiles of greeting, even when he didn’t approach their business. More than anything, they didn’t seem to be afraid of him anymore. As soon as they had seen him standing around Fluttershy and the others. They’d passed him off as harmless.
There were still flashes, as he’d taken to calling them mentally. He would look at a shopkeeper, selling melons to a mother and son, and suddenly see the cart overturned, the shopkeeper buried brutally beneath the wreckage, mother mutilated, and son missing entirely, a blood pool all that remained. He would be walking down the street, returning home after exploring the town some more, when suddenly the lanes became drenched in red, the buildings lining the street burning, burnt, or otherwise destroyed, cobblestone, wood, and char littering the street. Even now, as if the remembrance of the gruesome visions called for the occurrence of another, the forest vanished, replaced by burned stumps and blackened earth, the noon sky tainted with smoke and the haunting glow of fire. The road flashed bloodily in his eyes, and he gulped down a sickening roll in his stomach, clenching his eyes shut and turning his head away.
“You okay, Ray,” Discord asked, sounding halfway concerned and halfway teasing in the question. The Lord of Chaos, with whom he hadn’t spoken to since the morning of his challenge, would of course be the first to notice the strange twist in Ray’s attitude. “You’re looking a little seasick.”
The ground suddenly rolled beneath Ray, causing him to lose the terrible vision, and stumble briefly. This seemed to satisfy the draconequus, as the rolling immediately stopped beneath his feet. With a glance at Discord in thanks, Ray uprighted himself and continued to the tree Rainbow had stopped at, as she had gestured at him to do.
“Here, tie me up,” she instructed him, holding up a rope to him. Ray quirked an eyebrow at her, to which she flushed and exclaimed, “Don’t think about it too hard!”
Complying, he wrapped the rope around her wings and belly, tying tightly enough to be firm, but just loose enough that it wouldn’t squeeze her too tightly. There was a general consensus not to speak as he completed the act, as several ponies watched with great interest. Seeing the crowd, Rainbow smiled, and when Ray had finished pulling the knot tight, flexed her wings out. They stayed put, holding true to their job, and caused a good deal of the viewing to nod keenly. They seemed to be the ones keeping the unspoken competition fair, despite not even knowing who was competing or what the competition was over.
“Alrighty then, now that you’re properly tied up like a piñata, I think we should mention the race isn’t for another forty eight minutes,” Pinkie joked, suddenly springing out from behind the tree.
“Welcome to the annual Running of the Leaves,” the mayor called out again, causing Pinkie’s statement to be falsified. “Before we start the race itself, I would like to remind those of you who are participating for the first time that this is a well respected, traditional race, and in no way a competition.” There was a pause as a good few ponies glanced at Rainbow. “Today is about welcoming in the fall season and attempting to enjoy it in the best way we can. For those of you who haven’t heard yet, participants who finish the race in under an hour receive a special reward: a ticket to one free ice cream at any restaurant in Ponyville city limits.”
Ray raised an eyebrow at the unusually cheap and also weirdly desirable reward. Well, small town, low budgeting, maybe it was to be expected.
“Will all participants please line up on the line while we wait for this year’s commentators, Pinkie Pie and myself, to enter the hot air balloon.” The mass of several dozen ponies moved to an obscure black and white checkered line placed on the ground. There were whoops of excitement and proclamations of victory, even some competitive hoof stomping in preparation to the run’s beginning. When both Pinkie and the mayor were secured in the balloon, the latter called out, “On your marks, everypony! Three. Two. One. Go.”
Ray, who had barely had time to prep, took off, nearly trampling the two mares in front of him. He leapt over them deftly, and soon found himself outpacing a majority of the mass. Looking behind him, he could see the strange effectiveness of the ponies’ tradition of shaking the leaves off. With the large amount of ponies all running in a large area, there was a great amount of trembling in the ground as hundreds of hooves pounded on the ground. The noise was also extraordinarily loud, so much so that Ray sped up, trying to distance himself from the tumultuous crowd.
Turning back to the winding dirt path ahead, he saw that, indeed, Rainbow was ahead, by about ten to fifteen feet, he guessed. There were also a few earth pony stallions who outpaced him by several feet as well, but already, he could tell that he was going to outrun them. They were slowing down, their initial burst of speed and energy running out quickly. The only problem seemed to be that Rainbow was the only one continuing to increase her speed. Just a couple minutes and turns later, she looked to be about thirty feet ahead, and still running strong.
Deciding that there was no way he could outrun her by using all of his energy, he slowed down, almost to a mild jog, focused only on keeping her barely in his vision. There wasn’t much he could do to threaten her, but maybe if he was able to conserve enough energy, he could beat her in the last couple hundred meters.
Strangely enough, he felt rather relaxed by the run, though he was already starting to feel a bit winded by the first mile marker. Perhaps that initial burst of speed was unnecessary, as his infrequent glances back proved that there was no competition between him and the rest. He could actually visibly see the mass moving, evidenced by slightly shaking branches and a churning cloud of dust that followed. Rainbow and him had escalated to a new part of the path, one that inclined onto a small hill, and he was able to spot some ponies between the shaking trees and falling leaves.
Concerningly enough, Ray lost sight of Rainbow after the next turn in the path, but he quickly found out why. The pathway here was a straight dash for the rest of the mile, he guessed, but no one ran along it. Instead, with a glance to the side, he saw Rainbow slowing down slightly among the forest’s confines dutifully. Confused, he slowed to a stop, before following the pegasus mare.
After losing sight of her a couple times amongst all the trees, he found himself suddenly facing a wide patch of open grass, which looked slightly yellow in the late noon sunlight. There, standing at the edge of a sudden sheer drop off, he saw Rainbow. She had sat down and was staring intently at the sky, which was dotted with white puffy clouds. Ray approached her quietly, following her gaze up to the heavens, noticing the same two orange and silver streaks of color flying through the clouds like previously. Slowly, he sat down next to her, and watched the two pegasi fly through cloud after cloud in a near careless motion.
“Hey, what’s up,” he asked Rainbow with a concerned nudge.
“Huh,” she exclaimed with a jump, apparently not having even noticed that Ray had followed her. Glancing back to the sky, she sighed dejectedly, answering, “Oh nothing, just got distracted.”
“Okay…” Ray muttered back unsurely. “Why were you distracted by them?”
“I… well, um, I…” Rainbow trailed off into a sigh, not looking like the usual hothead she was. She sat straight up suddenly, looking over to Ray apologetically, “Look, Ray, I’m sorry I ruined the race. You didn’t need to stop and all this. You should just go back to the trail and finish the race while I…”
“While you what,” Ray questioned.
“Mope,” Rainbow responded with another sad sigh. Ray was slightly taken aback by the mare’s sudden attitude swing, her drooping ears and frowning, downturned muzzle. This was certainly not the mare that Ray had been introduced to.
Uncertainly, Ray held up his hand and slowly patted it against her back. “Okay. I’ll mope with you then.”
Rainbow chuckled mirthlessly at the statement eyes still trailing the blurred pegasi figures hundreds of feet in the air. He didn’t want to ask why they were moping, and he was content with not knowing, but Rainbow spoke up again.
“Sorry for this, I just… those two, and well, the past seemed to speed up to me. I just... needed to watch the two of them, I think. I don’t know, but, it... it’s just too… complicated,” she tried to explain helplessly. “I’m sorry, I’m making no sense. I should probably just go home, but… Oh I don’t know!” She exhaled sharply, seeming angry at herself. Ray just gave her a tight half smile, patting her back again.
“I think I understand, though,” he told her. “What do they have to do with your past, though?”
“My love life, more like it,” she corrected sadly. “I’m what most ponies here call a twiced, or somepony who… is attracted to both mares and stallions.” She paused, as if waiting for Ray to rebuke her or something.
“So,” he asked. “Why does that matter?”
Rainbow let out a relieved sigh that Ray thought she didn’t mean to. “Well, it's just that those two are Spitfire and Soarin. I work with both of them as a Wonderbolt, and I was in love with both of them. I figured that one of them would reject me, but figured that I may as well go after the other one in the case. But it seems like I have high favor with life, and, well, they got engaged four months ago.”
Ray’s eyes widened as he looked down at the mare, cringing. “That’s… that’s rough Dash,” he consoled.
“Yeah,” she agreed hoarsely, before once again unhappily chuckling. “I guess I was just too ambitious. In high school I was pining for Fluttershy, but being her best friend, I rather quickly found out we were only gonna be best friends, and nothing more. I’ve gotten over that one, but, ever since then, it feels like life’s trying to turn me straight.”
“So you’re just gonna give up,” he questioned, adding a bit of harshness in it. “You decide who you are and who you like, not some ‘life’ figure. I mean, hell- er, heck, you know the kind of crap I’ve gone through, we’re going through. I want to give up. You just need to rely on those close to you, and those who are there to help.”
Rainbow suddenly perked up, looking over to the human with a quirky smile. There was a little haunt of the sadness still there, but it was overwhelmed by gratitude and pride. The thundering of hooves turned their attention over to where the road would be, through the trees. A cloud of dust closely followed, along with the gentle rustling of the leaves falling to the ground.
After the rumbling passed, Rainbow said, “You know, the reason I wanted to race you wasn't all competitive.” Ray turned back to her with a questioning glance. “I’m… not good with apologies. To be frank, they feel too mushy… and usually I’m too stubborn to admit I’m wrong. But, I do want to apologize for how I treated you after you first arrived. I know everypony else already said sorry, and that probably doesn’t matter anymore, but for what it’s worth, I’m sorry being a jerk and for treating you like a monster. You’re a really good kid, Ray.”
“Thanks,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what you did anymore, but I’m glad you still care enough to apologize. You aren’t any bad yourself.”
“Now,” Rainbow began, looking off in the direction of town, and beyond that, Sweet Apple Acres. “I think there’s somepony I need to talk to.” Turning back to Ray, she said, “Thanks for everything Ray. I know you’re gonna be the best hero Equestria could ever need.”
Before he could respond, the mare had taken off, flying through the air speedily in the direction she’d looked. The words died in his mouth, instead morphing into a gentle, congratulatory smile. No, he wouldn’t be the best hero, but he would be what they needed.