//------------------------------// // II.24 - Storm Front // Story: II // by adcoon //------------------------------// Rainbow slumped down on the cold ground beside his lifeless body, staring at nothing in his empty eyes. She had nothing and felt nothing but emptiness. If she had only been a little bit faster. If she had dug up this grave first instead of the other. If she had left the two Shadowbolts in the prison. If only she had had a breath to give. But she had nothing. She hardly noticed as Flix came stumbling and pushed her aside. The changeling frantically shook her brother and tried to breathe him back to life. Rainbow just stared blankly at them, the whole thing looking so unreal. He had still been alive for a brief moment when she dug him up. If only there had been a breath in her lungs, he would not have died. And now it was too late. Flix dropped him and turned around, her eyes settling on Rainbow. “You killed him,” she said and stared at Rainbow as if lost in a trance. “I told you not to trust the Shadowbolts, but you let them out! I trusted you … You killed my brother!” Rainbow said nothing. “He believed in you!” Flix cried and stumbled to her legs. She swayed as she struck Rainbow. “I'll kill you!” Rainbow fell back as Flix hit her again. She merely cried as the changeling kicked her in the chest and bore down on her. “I'll kill you!” Flix grabbed Rainbow's head and lifted her up, staring madly into her eyes. Blood trickled down Rainbow's face as she stared blankly at Flix, expecting the changeling to make good on her word. She no longer cared, or felt anything but emptiness. Flix stared back for a long time, then leaned closer until their noses almost touched. Her eyes bore into Rainbow's skull, like two needles of ice. “I'll … bury you! I'll bury you too!” she hissed and turned, pushing Rainbow into the hole from which she had dug out Doodlebug moments earlier. Rainbow coughed and scrambled at the dirt. Flix was on top of her in an instant, pressing her head down into the grave. “How long do you think you'll survive?” she whispered. “You don't breathe … should be a long and lonely death!” She leaned down closer and bared her fangs. “And don't think I won't sit here and watch that you don't escape.” “I … I loved him too,” Rainbow whispered and closed her eyes. “He deserved better,” Flix spat, her eyes filling with tears as her voice trembled. “I h-hope he can forgive you, because I won't. I told you … I told you, and you didn't listen to me. And now he's dead.” “I tried …” Rainbow choked on the words. “I tried to do everything right.” “And now he's dead,” Flix repeated with a look of defeat as she sat down heavily next to Rainbow. She lowered her head and covered her eyes with a hoof, sobbing quietly. None of them moved or said anything. Rainbow lay in the hole, staring blankly at the clouds drifting by far above. A drop of rain fell on her muzzle, mixing with the tears and dirt. Next to her, Flix continued sobbing. Rainbow sat up painfully and wrapped her hooves and wings around the changeling. None of them moved or said anything as Kin and Zecora burst into the clearing. Zecora galloped up to the corpse and knelt down beside him. She quickly lowered her head. Kin stopped and looked down. None of them said anything. *** It was far past midnight before Dash finally found herself back in the castle, in the room she shared with Twilight. She dropped the saddlebags in a corner—with both sets of Elements inconspicuously hidden under the books and scrolls from Canterlot—and trotted across the room to the balcony door. The rain was drumming against the cold glass, and the wind was howling fiercely outside. Princess Celestia had arrived promptly with her guards and quarantined the entire village, rounding up everypony within to verify their identity. A few changelings were caught trying to escape the quarantine, others had tried to avoid attention by hiding in and around the castle, but Luna had demanded that every inch be strategically searched. The hunt was still going on, but most ponies had been accounted for, and things were slowly calming down. In all, not more than a dozen changelings were now awaiting trial and execution before dawn. Dash had seen too much death already to stay around for that part. It had been a small but surgical take-over by Chrysalis, compared with the large invasion she had once launched against Canterlot. Of course, as Luna was quick to remark, this only meant that most of her forces were still out there; who knew where and what they were up to. A few patrols had been dispatched to search the immediate surroundings, but so far they had found nothing unusual. Dash sighed and tried to put the whole thing out of her mind as she sat down and stretched her tired wings, wearily preening the feathers in the rainy mirror of the balcony door. She looked as mess. The door behind her opened quietly, and Twilight walked in carrying two mugs in her magic. She smiled and sat down next to Dash, levitating the mug for her and leaning closer. “I thought you'd like some tea, as well.” Dash let go of the wing she had been preening and took the cup carefully, leaning over to nuzzle Twilight as thanks. “Yeah, the castle isn't exactly a sauna. It's kinda chilly in here.” “Aw,” Twilight smiled and hugged her. “Perhaps you need more than tea, then?” “Mm … If I don't fall asleep first,” Dash said and blinked her heavy eyes. Twilight stifled a yawn and nodded, her eyes heavy too. She lifted her cup and took a little sip while staring out at the dark clouds and pouring rain. “We should write to Spike and the others in Ponyville tomorrow. I hope they're all safe and well,” she said after a few minutes of silence. Dash nodded and closed her eyes. “I miss them,” she whispered and rested her head on Twilight's shoulder. “It feels like ages since I was back in Ponyville with them.” “I miss them too,” Twilight said absently. *** A wave broke the shore, rolling across the beach in white surfs of foam before being dragged back out to sea. Rainbow stared at the water, her mouth hanging open from a lack of will to close it or do anything else that required action. A minute passed and another wave rolled in, licking the tip of her hooves where she was sitting in the sand, gazing at the endless wastes of water before her. The tide was coming in, and so was a pony. Rainbow broke out of her lethargic stare long enough to look up at Luna as the princess flew in from the sea. She landed on the beach and folded her wings before walking towards Rainbow. There was none of her usual regal look in her eyes and stature, instead replaced by a sorrowful expression. “You're dead,” Rainbow said without feeling. A statement of something that no longer held meaning or importance to her. Luna stopped in front of Rainbow and knelt down gracefully. “I was, and not for the first time. Nor was it to be my last.” She lowered her head and closed her eyes. “Miss Rainbow Dash, I have wronged you, and I am here to offer my sincerest remorse. What I have done can not be forgiven, and so I do not ask your forgiveness but only for a chance to speak with you and explain.” Rainbow looked down at the water breaking the shore again. “I know this is just a dream,” she said. “Why should I care?” “It is,” Luna said and got back up before sitting down next to her. “But that does not make the words I speak now any less true, or me any less real. I assure you that I am not dead.” Rainbow watched the waves roll in one by one. They no longer quite reached her where she sat. After a while she said, “You knew I was going to try to steal the Elements. You talked to the Shadowbolts in their dreams and they told you everything they knew.” “They worried for you and wanted me to help you. They couldn't have known about Chrysalis.” Luna looked out to sea. “I wasn't aware of her either, but I should have been. I was careless, and Chrysalis took advantage of my weakness. If it had not been for you, I would likely still be her thrall and we would all be much worse off.” She turned to look at Rainbow again. “You saved me, Rainbow Dash. And you may have saved much more in the process.” “I don't get it,” said Rainbow, looking at the princess. “I let her get close to me,” Luna explained. “Her magic I could have matched, but her venomous kiss brought me low. With a bite she turned my own blood against me, and there was nothing I could do. I tried to fight it, but I knew it was a losing battle. I was barely able to hide away a part of my mind, deep within where I hoped she would not find it.” “I knew my body was lost to her will,” the princess continued. “And I could not simply hope for her to be discovered and defeated by Twilight or my sister. I could not regain control of my own body, so I tried to transfer my mind to one of her changeling guards, but their minds are alien, and I was weak and growing weaker.” Rainbow rubbed her temple thoughtfully. “So you took over my mind instead?” “In a manner of speaking.” Luna closed her eyes. “I … replaced your mind with my own, for a time. It is crude magic, but it was all I could manage in my state. It is also absolutely unforgivable, but I saw no recourse. The alternative was to allow Chrysalis to continue unchallenged, using me against my subjects and my own sister, not to mention you and your friends.” “So I used you to kill myself and break Chrysalis' hold over me,” she said and opened her eyes. “It is not the first time I have died, as you may know. I have safely stored away my soul in the moon before. Only, back then I was prevented from returning by my sister. This time I was able to return much quicker, and I am quite pleased to say that Chrysalis is now trapped inside a stone, where she will be staying for a very long time, and her changelings have been rooted from the castle.” The ocean seemed to be moving away, or perhaps the waves just didn't reach as far. She should be happy that her friends were safe from Chrysalis, but it felt like too little and too late. Luna watched her. “This does not please you?” “He's dead,” she said flatly. “The changelings buried him alive, and I wasn't fast enough. And I had no breath to save him.” She looked down at her shadow falling across the sand. “I loved him. I loved him, and I couldn't save him. I love my friends too, and I can't save them either. I try all I can, but nothing I've done has made any difference.” “For what little it is worth, I am truly sorry. I never wished you or your two friends any harm. I take full blame for what Chrysalis did. It was I who let her in in a moment of weakness.” Luna turned her head to gaze at the sky briefly, before turning back. “I can not undo the past, as much as I sometimes wish I could. But if there is anything I can offer you, as some small token of regret, please ask.” Rainbow watched their shadows drift as only something in a dream could. “I only wish to know that my friends will live and be happy,” she said. “I don't care if I have to go … I just want her, my double to be happy too. Please—” She looked up at the princess “—give Eden what she wants and end all this death and war. That's all I wish.” Luna sighed. “You know I could not give her what she demands, even if I wanted to. The Elements are not mine to give anymore, they belong to you and your friends. Only you seven can give them up.” “But you could convince Twilight and the others to give them up.” Rainbow frowned. The princess shook her head. “I am sorry, Rainbow Dash. To grant you this wish would be to do wrong against all of ponykind, to deny the Magic of Friendship to all of my subjects, and I could never justify that for any pony, no matter how much I owe you. Doing so would make me a monster, and I have already made that mistake once. I would advise you not to make this mistake either, but I see that you are determined.” Rainbow stared at the sea but said nothing. “I never wanted any of this, either,” the princess said more softly now. “But we all have to fight for what we believe, and I choose to believe in the Elements. I don't know what Twilight intends to do, but I know she has a plan and that it frightens Eden. That gives me hope, because … I don't know if giving us the Elements took something out of Eden, but she is no longer what she was. She has become a monster, as surely as I once was.” “Then maybe the monster should be given back what it lost,” Rainbow muttered. “I want to go back to Ponyville. I want to see my friends again before … before we all die. That's my wish,” she said and looked up at the princess as if daring Luna to deny her that wish too. “I want you to order the guards in Ponyville to let me and those with me in and leave us alone.” Luna nodded. “I shall grant you that wish. Give them the password 'Saving Grace', and I will instruct them to let you pass and even help you should you need it,” she said sadly and looked up as the sea began to stir. “But I don't think you will find what you seek there. If we never see each other again, remember that I am sorry.” The world drowned in a wave of foam and was washed away. Rainbow blinked awake and pulled her head out from under a blanket to find herself in the familiar surroundings of Zecora's hut. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes again. *** Dash opened her eyes and slowly rolled around in the bed, coming nose to nose with Twilight. The unicorn was still sleeping quietly next to her, while thin rivers of rain washed silently down the windows. Outside, the darkness seemed to close in around the castle, cold and dismal in the early dawn. Dash pushed a stray book off the bed and sat up in bed as she brushed a hoof through Twilight's mane. Rarity would call it an absolute disaster, but what did she know about beauty? Dash smiled and followed the curves of lavender beauty, tracing her gaze along Twilight's back to the root of her tail and star-blazed flank. Like most unicorns her figure was gracious and slender more than it was athletic. Dash let her eyes travel back along her gently heaving body, sighing at the way she breathed, and leaned down to nuzzle the little spot of her neck below the ear. Twilight smiled in her sleep and muttered something quietly. Dash closed her eyes and breathed in the slight scent of perfume and old paper—you had to be really close to notice—as she paused to whisper in Twilight's ear. “I don't know any pony I'd rather be with,” she said and licked Twilight's cheek affectionately. “I love you, Twilight.” “… you too,” Twilight murmured and stirred at the touch. She breathed in slowly and turned, reaching a hoof out to caress Dash's neck as their lips met. Dash held on to Twilight's soft flank as the unicorn rolled over on top of her, never breaking the kiss. Their bodies pressed together and for a time at least the whole world and its worries were lost to Dash. A soft warm glow of the early morning sun, breaking through the dark clouds for a moment, crowned Twilight's head as she finally broke the kiss and opened her eyes to smile at Dash. There was a moment of perfect bliss, and Dash quite wondered if she had died as she looked up into Twilight's eyes. This time the dream was not broken. This time, there was no dream. This was it, the moment she had dreamed of and wished for. Dash stared up into Twilight's loving eyes and her beautiful spiraling horn. “Déjà-vu, huh?” Twilight grinned. “Oh, it never gets old to me,” Dash smiled and nuzzled Twilight's horn. *** The minutes ticked by as Rainbow lay in the small hut, staring at the rows of bottles and dried herbs, strange masks and stranger painted patterns. She had no idea how long she had slept, or how long she had been lying there awake, trying to summon the will to get up. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, forcing herself to roll out of bed and rise slowly. Tired and beaten, Rainbow crawled out of the bed Zecora had arranged for her, trying not to disturb Flix sleeping on another bed nearby. Her entire body ached, and looking down at herself she looked about ready for Nightmare Night; a messed-up half-zombie half-mummy. She turned and looked at Flix. The changeling didn't look much better off. There was no sign of Zecora or Kin inside. Rainbow sniffed and rubbed her eyes before trudging towards the door. It was raining heavily outside, and the dense black cloud cover offered little light to brighten either day or Rainbow's mood. She stepped out into the bleak downpour and closed the door behind her. All around her the forest seemed cold and dismal, branches drooping and the ground drowning in rivers of mud. Not far from the hut she spotted Kin, standing in a growing puddle while staring at the sky, motionless as a statue. She sighed and dragged herself through the rain towards him. Kin looked down at her as she stopped beside him. When she said nothing, he turned to look uncertainly at the ground where rivers of mud and water wound their way between them. “Hrm, Miss Zecora went out a while ago,” he murmured quietly to break the silence. Rainbow stared ahead of them into the forest. “What is it like?” she asked after a while. “What is it like to lose everything and everyone you ever knew? To live alone for a thousand years with no hope of ever seeing them again and without anyone to talk to at all?” The gargoyle turned up his hand and opened it slowly, staring at where drops of rain quickly pooled together in the palm. Soon the water was trickling out between his fingers. “I don't remember them at all,” he stated flatly. “Years in silence, and they just vanished along with all memory of them. Their faces, their voices, the things we said and did together, I no longer remember. It didn't even take a thousand years. A decade, perhaps two. I couldn't say.” He closed his fist and let it drop back down by his side. “After a time I fell asleep. There was, hrm, nothing for me to do but sleep, and when I couldn't sleep I just sat and stared and thought of nothing.” He looked at her with a rumbling sigh. “I have long since stopped feeling anything for the friends I once had. They may as well have been nothing but a distant and long-forgotten dream. My past self would cry at the thought of losing their memory, but I … find it a mercy.” “All fades and wears away, hrm. Time triumphs over all,” he added solemnly. “Even loss.” Rainbow stared into the forest at some distant point beyond. “I won't live to forget them,” she said. “And I don't want to die without seeing them all one last time.” Kin watched her as she turned back towards the hut. She stopped in the door and turned around slowly. “Do you … do you think there is a life … after this one?” Rain poured down the ancient stone face of the gargoyle. “I hope not for me,” he said. “I have lived and suffered enough in this life. I would welcome oblivion.” Rainbow looked down at the step she was standing on. “I hope I'll get to see him again. And I hope you find your peace too one day.” She turned around and went inside. “But there is one last thing I must try before I go.” *** Dash signed the letter and dipped the quill back in the inkwell. She leaned back and stared at the scroll in heavy silence. These could be the last words she ever told her friends back in Ponyville. She had never spent so long on one letter in her entire life, and still it felt insufficient. She wanted more than anything to rush out and fly back to Ponyville to say the words in person, words she had never wanted to say before because … because they sounded way too sappy. “I love you all,” she said to the room and wiped her eyes. “I love you all so much.” She rolled up the letter and looked out the window. The storm was growing worse, dark clouds swelling with rain and thunder. It didn't seem natural, but the weather of the Everfree rarely did. It often seemed to respond to the mood of the princess, and with everything that had happened in the last few days perhaps the weather had reason to be as gloomy as it was. Perhaps she could take a quick trip to Ponyville to deliver the letter in person. It wasn't that far, not when you happened to be the fastest flier in all of Equestria. Dash had flown under worse conditions too, even if the weather was getting pretty bad now. She stood up and trotted over by the window, glancing out through the rainy glass. It was impossible to see much, but many lights were gathering around the castle and the village of Gloaming. Fortifications were being built, and ponies were trickling in from all around, summoned by the princess to defend their land. An army was taking form as war was coming. She turned around as she heard the door open. “Applejack!” Dash leaped over the bed and wrapped her hooves around the surprised farm pony in the door, surprising herself perhaps even more with the sudden display of affection. “Whoa Nelly,” Applejack smiled and returned the hug. “Miss us much, did ya?” Dash squeezed Applejack tightly before letting go, blushing a little. “Heh, just a little,” she grinned and looked around the hall outside. Guards were milling about on their way somewhere important, but there was no sign of her other friends. “Are the others here too? What are you doing here?” Applejack shook her head. “Just me, sorry to disappoint ya. The others will be headin' to Canterlot instead, but I decided it was here I needed to be, fightin' for my land and all that. So I signed up right away when I heard the princess was sendin' out the call for all able-bodied ponies. Half of Ponyville's probably here somewhere.” Dash gazed back at the window and the lights gathering in the storm outside and sank a bit. “Where's Twilight?” Applejack continued. “The guard said to look for you two up here.” “She's got something big planned,” Dash said and looked back at Applejack. “I think she was going into the castle dungeon to practice her magic.” “Something big, is it? If I ever knew Twilight, I'd bet she'll blow all the dragons out the sky an' turn 'em to snowflakes or somethin' pretty,” Applejack jabbed Dash with a friendly grin, but when Dash didn't look convinced she let the grin drop a bit. “What's the matter, Sugarcube?” “I …” She looked at the letter she had written a moment ago. “I had a, um, letter for you and the others.” A moment ago she had been keen on rushing all the way to Ponyville to say it all in person, but now she wasn't sure what it was she had wanted to say exactly in the first place. And what would it do, anyway? What was going to happen was going to happen, and there was no reason to worry them all sick now of all times. There would be time for reading sappy letters and sobbing once she was gone. Dash paused, then turned back to Applejack and tried to brighten up. “You can read it later, how about we go see Twilight?” Applejack looked at her as if she wasn't entirely convinced, but quickly shrugged and followed. “Sure, why not. I bet she could use a break from all that magic too.” Dash closed the door to her and Twilight's room behind them. “Great. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you,” she said as they walked together down the stairs and crowded corridors of the castle. Applejack nodded, taking in the castle and the guards marching by. Even below the castle, in the old, expansive dungeons, ponies were running around, preparing armor and weapons or looking frantically for somepony or other. Dash was relieved when they finally found the right place. Two guards were standing outside a heavy iron door deep beneath the castle. Bright purple light was burning under the door, and even the thick metal itself seemed to glow, almost turning transparent. “Twilight in there?” Dash casually asked the obvious. The guard gave the door a few light kicks with a hind leg. The sound echoed through the dungeon, loud and clear. A minute passed before the purple light faded and the guard nodded. “Go on in.” Dash pushed open the door and looked around. “Hey Twi!” The room hadn't seen any repair in ages. It was large, largely barren and full of broken pieces of stone scattered across the floor. Several stone surfaces had been scarred and seared by magic, the source of which was turning to look at them. “Oh, hi dear,” Twilight smiled with some effort. She looked like she had been running loops around herself for hours, trying to accomplish Celestia only knew what. She trotted across the room and gave Dash a tight hug before noticing Applejack behind her. “Applejack!” For the second time that day, the apple farmer was tackled enthusiastically. She grinned and gave Dash a crooked look. “Dear? Now I'm sure there's something I want to hear more about. Much more,” she winked. Dash rolled her eyes and quickly changed the subject. “How are things going down here, Twilight?” She took a step into the room and looked at a pile of stone. A sudden brick smashed against the floor right next to her and exploded into three smaller pieces. Dash leaped back in shock and barely dodged another stone. “Whoa! What the hay?!” Twilight ducked her head and pushed Applejack to the side as more stones fell out of thin air and shattered against the floor. A second later she straightened up again and brushed some dust out of her messy mane. “I'm so sorry! I totally forgot to say, um, watch out for that. There might be a few more coming, I lost count.” “Lost count of what exactly?” Applejack said, eying the roof and air around her suspiciously. “I'm really sorry,” Twilight said and walked up to give Dash an apologetic nuzzle. “This is difficult magic, and when the time comes there's no room for mistakes, so I have to squeeze in every second of practice I can. But there's just so little time,” she sighed. “I feel like I'm running myself dry here, but I can't fail. My best just might not be good enough.” Dash wrapped a wing around Twilight and nuzzled her back. “I know you can do it, Twilight. I have complete faith in you. Trust me, I know you can pull it off!” Applejack nodded. “Aye, that's the right thinkin'. And just remember that you've always got your friends, if not by your side then thinkin' of you and cheerin' for you.” Twilight watched another stone tumble out of the air and hit a wall before rolling across the floor. She sighed and closed her eyes. “I hope you're right, girls.” *** Rainbow leaned over and stretched her neck to look past Kin. The gargoyle was proving handy for forging a path through the overgrown and overflowing forest, but it was hard to see where they were going from behind the walking rock. The rain and howling wind wasn't making it easier, or their progress any faster. Zecora hadn't been happy to let them go in their current state, and Rainbow would much rather have licked her wounds and tended her grief under a warm blanket, but there was no choice. She only had one chance. If this didn't work … if she failed again, everything would have been for nothing, including his death. “What exactly are you going to do?” Flix complained behind her. The changeling had not been too happy about leaving in this weather either. Rainbow cursed at her soaked bandages and aching bones. “I'm going to Ponyville, to see my friends. It may be the last time I get to do that.” She looked around. “You know you didn't have to come with me,” she said, trying to sound happier than she was. “I know,” Flix mumbled. “But I'm coming anyway. I don't trust that zebra too much. And I bet you'll need someone to save your ass before the day is over, even though you don't deserve it. Have you forgotten the last time you went to Ponyville?” “I have to try,” Rainbow sulked. “If I can't convince Twilight and my double to give up the Elements, perhaps I'll have luck with the others. Fluttershy would listen to me, and if enough of them agree then Twilight would have to listen to us too.” None of them said anything more as they pushed their slow way through the storm. As they neared Ponyville, Rainbow began to feel ill at ease. The storm clouds looming over the whole forest did little to reassure her or lighten her spirit, and what had the princess meant when she said that Rainbow wouldn't find what she sought? “I want you two to stay behind when I go to see them,” she said. “I'm not sure a changeling and a gargoyle is going to make it easier for me to convince them I'm not crazy.” Flix muttered something, but otherwise kept quiet. The forest began to thin out and the wind grew fiercer. Rainbow looked up as they left the forest and came out into the open. She lifted a hoof to shield her eyes against the driving rain and looked across the village before them. “Looks like everypony's left,” Flix said as she came up beside Rainbow. Rainbow looked at the village in dismay. Most of it looked abandoned, only a few lights were still on here and there. “Perhaps it's just the storm,” she whispered, trying to convince herself of it. “Okay, you two stay here. I'm … going to find my friends.” “Hrm, good luck,” Kin said and settled down, unheeding of the rain and wind. Flix continued on. When Rainbow turned to her, she quickly gave her a look back. “I'm looking like a perfectly plain pony, for your information. And I'm coming with you whether you care for my company or not.” Rainbow frowned and opened her mouth, but quickly shut it again and sighed. “Thanks, Flix.” “Hmph. I just don't care to sit out here in the rain,” the changeling said as they continued down the path towards Fluttershy's cottage near the edge of the forest. Rainbow's heart took a leap at the sight of light in one of the windows, and she picked up her pace a little. Three guards came towards them as they neared the cottage. “Identify yourselves, please,” one of them said tiredly. Even the stoic faces of the royal guards were falling slightly at the rain and cold. “My name is Rainbow Dash, and I was told to say 'Saving Grace',” Rainbow said, eying the three guards uncertainly. She hoped the princess had indeed not been a dream, and that she hadn't been lying either. The lead guard nodded and bowed his head slightly. “My apologies, miss. Go on, get yourselves inside before you catch a cold.” He gave both of them a closer look. “You look like you shouldn't be outside in the first place.” They thanked him and hurried on. Despite the light, Fluttershy's cottage looked only marginally less abandoned than the rest of the village. “Please be home,” she prayed under her breath as she knocked on the door. “W-who is it?” Fluttershy's frightened voice sounded through the door, and Rainbow could hear hoof steps inside approaching. “It's me … Rainbow Dash,” Rainbow called. “Please, Fluttershy, I really, really need to see you.” The door opened a crack and Fluttershy peeked out at them. Her eyes went wide at the sight of the two drowned and beaten ponies. “Oh goodness!” She scrambled aside to open the door fully for them. “Come in! Oh, you look terrible. I'll, um, I'll … I'll make you some tea and …” She looked around a little lost at the room. Rainbow stepped inside and took in the room while Flix closed the door. Most things had been packed down or put away. It was clear that Fluttershy had been busy packing and was about to leave town. “What's happening, Fluttershy? Where is everypony going, and why are you leaving?” she asked as the shy pegasus scrambled to find a pot and some tea leaves. “Are the others here?” Fluttershy managed to fill a pot with water and set it down on the cold stove. Rainbow decided to help her while they talked. “Oh Rainbow, it's this awful war. Applejack left this morning; she was going to fight with you and Twilight against the d-dragons.” She searched a box and found a bag of tea. “Pinkie and Rarity left with Spike for Canterlot earlier, and I'm supposed to go there with Soarin' later. Princess Celestia says we'll be safer there.” Rainbow sank down on her haunches in front of the flickering flames of the stove. A sudden memory flashed through her mind, of Ponyville abandoned and standing stones with carved names … her own name, and Applejack who had gone to fight in the war. Followed by a vision of Canterlot and Pinkie's lifeless body swinging from a rope. Nothing had changed at all, had it? Eden's vision had been true all along, everything was going to happen just as she had predicted. “Fluttershy …” she said, feeling very weak. “Oh dear!” Fluttershy rushed to her side. “I'm so sorry, you look terrible. What happened? I'll get you some bandages and—” “Fluttershy,” Rainbow cut her off. “I need you to listen to me. This is very important,” she said and tried to fix her eyes on the quivering pegasus. Fluttershy stopped and looked at her, eyes full of worry. “What is it?” “We … we won't make it,” she said and sank at the words. “We won't win this war, Fluttershy. And … and you won't be safe in Canterlot. We're all going to die, all our friends … but Twilight won't listen to me. I really, really need somepony to listen to me,” she cried and hugged Fluttershy. “I'm listening,” Fluttershy whispered. “I'm listening to you, Dashie.” Rainbow closed her eyes. “We need to give up the Elements of Harmony. I need you to promise that you'll give up yours.” She looked back up into Fluttershy's eyes. “It's the only way to save everypony.” *** Twilight yawned and rubbed her eyes. Her mane was an utter mess and her face was lined by exhaustion. Dash sat down on the bed and rubbed her back, hoping to massage a bit of life and spirit back into the pony she loved. They were silent for a long time, Twilight looking like she was already sleeping while Dash watched the sky through the window. It had stopped raining for now, but massive storm clouds still hung low over the castle and the forest, and distant thunder rumbled low and menacing far above. Dash turned to look at Twilight. “This is it, isn't it? We might never have another night together.” Twilight opened her eyes and stared at the floor. After a moment she nodded quietly. Dash reached out a hoof to brush Twilight's mane away from her face. “It's okay,” she said. “I still believe in you, Twilight. I always will.” “Dash, I—” Twilight looked at Dash, pain in her eyes. “Shh …” Dash leaned in to kiss her. “Just tell me what I have to do when the time comes.” Twilight looked down at her hooves. There was a look in her eyes, the same one from back in the library. Something was carefully being left out of what she was about to say. “Luna tells me your double is in Ponyville. She will try to convince our friends to give up the Elements, but only Fluttershy is still there. Applejack is here, and Rarity and Pinkie are already in Canterlot.” “Fluttershy will listen to her, I bet,” Dash muttered. “Yes, I have no doubt she will, but it's okay. She can't be allowed to convince the others, however,” Twilight lifted her head with some effort to stay awake. “I need you to find her. I need you to keep her moving. Chase her, race her, keep her away from Canterlot, and away from here. Don't let her escape you. Don't worry, she'll do her best to get away from you, because you'll both die if she doesn't. She won't have any choice but to try to get away from you, and you must not let her.” “What about you?” Dash looked at Twilight worried. “What about the dragons?” “The information we have suggests they will be here tomorrow, early. But don't worry about that. Luna and I will deal with the dragons, and with Eden. Trust me,” she looked at Dash. “Find your double, chase her, don't lose her. And … remember me, Dash. Remember that I love you.” Dash looked into Twilight's eyes and reached out to wipe a tear away from her cheek. “I'll never forget you, Twilight. And I'll always love you too, no matter what happens.”