//------------------------------// // Chapter 24: The Return to Violet Hill // Story: Violet Hill // by TorontoFCBrony //------------------------------// That night Rainbow had trouble falling asleep. The question that Violet posed to her that night, ‘Will he ever come back?’ and her response to that question kept her up, tossing and turning, thinking about many different things. She felt horrible for telling a lie to her pride and joy. The truth was: Rainbow knew that Soarin was never going to come back. It was now just over five years since Soarin’s funeral, and Rainbow had spent the entire time just caring for her filly. She didn't have or even consider having a serious relationship with anypony else. She was able to move on from her loss, and she was content living with just her and her filly. Yet, on this night everything came back to her. Rainbow remembered everything that Soarin had done for her. She remembered their first kiss, she remembered the concert and hoofball games he took her to, but she especially remembered the most magical time they ever had: when he proposed to her. Even though it was now a few years ago, she still remembered every moment. The next day was when the mare’s life changed forever. Soarin left her to go to war, and the only time she spent with him after that was on his deathbed. Rainbow looked over to her night table to see the diamond ring that Soarin had proposed to her with. She still kept it and looked at it every day. Rainbow also remembered her time of being a Wonderbolt. That was her biggest dream, but it only lasted a few months. She remembered the rocky friendship that she had with Spitfire. Spitfire at this time was still serving as a commander in Saddle Arabia, and Rainbow had only received the occasional letter from her fiery pegasus friend. Rainbow’s only friendships over these years came from her Ponyville friends. Her brain also brought back memories of her own parents. Her father loved her dearly, but passed away so soon. She was now in the same place that her mother was in: raising a filly on her own. As the night went on, Dash looked to her alarm clock beside her. It was three in the morning already, and all she did was just toss and turn while her brain tormented her with happy memories that she would never be able to share again. The mare knew that she needed to try to get some sleep so that she could wake up the next morning so that she could get Violet ready to go to her second day of school. Dash needed to fall asleep somehow, but her brain just wouldn't shut off. The pegasus decided to get up and walk around. Maybe the extra energy burned will tire her out, and maybe her brain would finally stop talking and bringing back sad memories. She ended up walking over to Violet’s room. The moon was bright on this night, and the shine from it was reflecting through the blinds and right onto Violet’s closed eyelids. The loving mother adjusted the blinds so that the light was no longer on the filly. She then leaned in and kissed her daughter of the forehead, which caused the filly to squirm a little, though she kept sleeping. As Dash left the room, she saw a smile on her filly’s face, even though she stayed asleep. Rainbow ended up walking downstairs to the fridge, which was always a friend to her. The fridge was always there, and it was great for helping when she was bored, tired, or actually hungry. “Hmm… What do we have here?” Rainbow pondered out loud as she looked around the fridge. There was only enough food for their breakfast, so she couldn't make herself any snack. Just as she was about to close the fridge door, Rainbow said, “Oh, thank you Celestia,” as she noticed that there was an extra bottle of the cider that Applejack had brought over for the adults that were there at Violet’s party. The mare reached down and grabbed the bottle of the alcoholic cider and drank the whole thing without taking a breath. “Ohhhhh… that did the trick,” Rainbow announced as she put the bottle back down. She managed to stumble her way back to her bedroom, and fell like a brick onto her bed, almost instantly falling asleep. -------------------------------------- “Soarin, I’m really sorry that they took your life, it should have been me,” Rainbow said to Soarin her love as they lay down together on a cloud. “Dashie, it’s not your fault, and you will never have to worry about it again. I’m in a better place. I’m here with you right now,” Soarin responded as he stroked Rainbow’s mane. Suddenly, Violet flew up the cloud and started pushing Rainbow with her hoof. “Momma, I have to go to school,” she reminded her. “Violet, how are you flying?” Rainbow asked her daughter. “Momma? Didn’t you hear me? I have to go to school,” Violet reminded her again while pushing her with her hoof. Rainbow slowly opened her eyes to realise that the whole thing was a dream- a weird, cider-induced dream. “Oh, you've gotta be kidding me,” she said as she opened her eyes and looked to the clock to see that it was only twenty minutes to school time for her filly. Rainbow quickly got up, ran to the mirror to make her mane a little more presentable in the fastest time she could, and then ran downstairs to make a quick bagel for her daughter. She didn’t have enough time to make anything for herself. She grabbed Violet’s backpack, and Violet herself, and put the filly on her back so that she could take to flight to bring her to school. Violet ate her breakfast quickly on her mother’s back. At school, Rainbow gave her daughter her goodbye hug for the day, and left to go back home. She got Violet to school just in time, though not quite ten seconds flat as she would have been able to in her Wonderbolt days. -------------------------------------- As Rainbow spent the rest of her day at home after a shift at work, she just listened to the local Ponyville rock station, Everfree Radio. Throughout the day, Rainbow listened to various songs by popular artists, like: The Manticorez, Radiohoof, Bon Poni, Green Hay, The Ramanes, Foals, The Rolling Toms, Ponny Cash, Bob Marely, and Marevana. A few hours later, after getting herself cheered up by listening and singing along to songs while doing housework, she heard a special, breaking announcement on the radio station. “Fillies and gentlecolts, we interrupt our non-stop music to bring you a special announcement: after a few weeks of heightened attacks from Equestrian forces in Saddle Arabia, the Saddle Arabian government has surrendered a few hours ago,” the male radio announcer said. Rainbow stopped what she was doing and sat down on the couch to listen to the important announcement. The mare who was also on the station then added, “All of the Equestrian soldiers serving in Saddle Arabia will be returned home over the next few days, and the Equestrian prisoners of war are being freed from their captors. More about this developing story after some words from our sponsors.” Rainbow was shocked. The war was finally over. She thought about all of the ponies who will be reunited with their families. She turned on the news on the television to the Equestrian News Network, and they already had reports of Equestrian soldiers returning home to their families. They had a few clips of the families crying in happiness. Rainbow was so distracted over the last few years with her filly that she hardly ever even thought about the war. She didn't care to check the news that often, especially because there was rarely any good news on at all. But this- this was good news to her. She was happy to finally know that there was peace in the world. -------------------------------------- A week passed. All of the ponies serving in Saddle Arabia had now returned home. Peace in the world was on the minds of all of the ponies. Lives had finally returned to normal. As for Rainbow and Violet, life went on as usual and nothing really changed. On this day, Rainbow stayed downstairs on the couch, reading a Daring Do book and listening to the radio once again. Violet played close by with her My Little Human and Littlest Pet Shop toys. As Rainbow leaned back on the couch with her legs crossed as she sprawled across it, she listened to what song was going to come on next. "That was Green Hay with one of their classic and longest songs, Student of Celestia. The next song is a new beauty by Coltplay," the stallion announced on the radio. Rainbow perked her ears up and took her eyes away from the pages she was reading to hear what song was going to play next. Coltplay was her special band, after all. "That's right," the mare on the radio added, "their new song is a protest song against the recently ended war in Saddle Arabia. It's called Violet Hill." Rainbow could hardly believe what she had just heard. Violet Hill? That was her and Soarin's special place! She thought that it must have been just an amazing coincidence that her favourite band would write a song with that title. However, she did know them personally, so it wouldn't have been a shock if it really was for her. The song began with a quiet sound from both the electric guitar and an organ that sounded almost like the wind. The lyrics were sung and a piano playing four four note chords was played. "It was a long a dark December, from the rooftops I remember, there was snow, white snow." Rainbow thought to herself, That sounds like the day that I joined the Wonderbolts. As a few loud guitar strums were played, the song continued, "Clearly I remember, from the rooftops they were watching, while we froze, down below." Okay, it must just a coincidence, then, she thought again. "When the future's architectured by a carnival of idiots on show, you better lie low. If you love me, won't you let me know?" Rainbow was stunned at this point. That sounded like a mix between a dream she had and things that Soarin had said to her years ago, but she couldn't quite remember fully. Violet heard a knock at the door, and when the filly saw that Rainbow was too entranced in the song to notice, she walked over herself to go and open it. Just before she opened the door, Violet at first asked, "Momma, can I open the door?" Rainbow just shushed her as she continued to listen to the song. As the song went on, the lyrics just spoke to her and the music just blew her mind. Meanwhile, at the door, a stallion looked down to Violet to see her big, beautiful green eyes. "Why, hello there. Is Rainbow Dash home? I was told that she was living here," the stallion asked. "Hi, I'm Violet," the innocent filly said to the mystery stallion at the door. Violet tried to shout to Rainbow, "Momma, there's a stallion at the do-" "Violet, please be quiet for just a second!" Rainbow interrupted and yelled back. The song finished quietly with a quiet piano and acoustic guitar. "I took my love down to Violet Hill, there we sat in the snow. All that time she was silent still, and said 'if you love me, won't you let me know? If you love me, won't you let me know?'" "Wasn't that amazing?" the stallion from the radio station added after the song. "It truly was," the mare added. "MOMMA!" Violet yelled at the top of her lungs from the door to get her attention. "WHAT?!" Rainbow yelled back, but in a joking tone as well as she got up with her book tucked under her wing and went towards the door. But as she turned the corner and looked at the door, the mare went nearly into a state of shock and dropped the book on the floor. She could not believe her eyes. It must have been a dream, or she was seeing things, or she was drunk off of cider. But after realising that it wasn't a dream, she began to cry and run towards the door, instantly hugging the stallion at the door. She put her forelegs all the way around him, and gave him the strongest hug she had ever given anypony. It was Soarin, and it wasn't a ghost. It was him, in the fur, and he was hugging Rainbow back. Rainbow cried her eyes out as they continued to embrace for about a minute longer. As Rainbow leaned back, still with their forelegs around each other, she looked in his eyes. Her eyes were red and drenched. Neither of them had said anything yet to each other, as the shock for Rainbow was still on her. After another hug, and a kiss on Rainbow's cheek by Soarin, she leaned back again and asked, "I'm dreaming, aren't I?" "Nope," Soarin replied while wiping her tears away with his hoof. "But... how? You were dead, I was at your funeral," Rainbow tried to tell him. "Funeral? Really? I never did die, you know," Soarin informed her. "But-but." Rainbow tried to get her words together. "But you were shot, your heart stopped, and then the place you were in was attacked and burned to the ground. How... just... how?" Soarin was distracted as he looked into his mare’s eyes so much that he couldn’t answer her question. "Dashie... wow, it's been so long since I've been able to call you that. You are as beautiful as you were years ago; in fact, you are even more beautiful now." "Momma, who's this?" Violet asked. As Soarin looked down beside Rainbow, he could hardly contain his tears as he saw his very own daughter for the first time ever. Rainbow and Soarin both spread their wings to give them balance as they stood on their hind legs, and Rainbow reached down and grabbed her filly. "This is Soarin, your daddy," she said as she brought their filly in for them to have their first hug as a family. Violet closed her eyes firmly as she felt the loving touch of her father for the first time. She closed her eyes and grinned from ear to ear. "I'm so happy you're back from war," Violet said. Soarin looked to Rainbow with an eyebrow raised. He knew right away that Rainbow couldn't have told her filly the truth, or at least what she thought to be the truth. The three of them sat down on the couch, with Soarin on the left, Rainbow on the right, and Violet in the middle. "Where do I begin?" Rainbow thought out loud. "Okay, how about this: where the heck were you, how did you not die, not that I'm complaining, and how did Coltplay know about our special place and my dream?" "Wait, what dream?" Soarin asked. "I got the colts in the band to write that song for you based on our courtship and a dream that I personally had. I guess we had the same dream. We planned it perfectly: the song played on the radio as I came to your door. Thank Celestia you were listening to the right station!" "You planned that, just for me?" Rainbow asked after she nearly d'awwd. "Of course. I needed a special way to come back to you. I was only freed from my prison a few days ago. I called the band members, after we met and spent some time together, we wrote the song quickly, and I got myself ready to come." "So... you were in prison? Goodness sake, you have so much you need to tell me!" "Yes, well, there really is so much I need to tell you," Soarin agreed. "There is almost enough to write a whole book about, but I'll just tell you what happened in short: I went into a coma after you saw me for the last time, but the Equestrian doctors in Saddle Arabia thought I was dead. They still kept me hooked up to the machines just in case, but Arabian forces attacked our base. I was taken as a prisoner of war, and I recovered for many months in a prison. The only thing that got me through it was the hope that I would be able to see your face again." Soarin reached over and slowly rubbed his hoof on Rainbow's cheek. She stared back at him with semi-closed eyes of sheer contentment. She also looked him up and down and saw all of the scars he had, including where the bullet had went into him. They were all healed though, and he seemed to not be in any physical pain any more. Rainbow leaned in and kissed him on the lips tightly, which caused Violet to quietly stick her tongue out in disgust from underneath them, because she was in the middle on the couch. "I still... I mean... we gave you a tombstone and we thought we had your ashes," Rainbow tried to say. "I just... this is all just too much for me right now." "Dashie, those could have been ashes of anything, you know." "... I never really thought of that," Rainbow admitted. "But enough about me, how did you manage while I was gone?" Soarin asked his reunited love. "I got by with a little help from my friends. They helped me get through it, they have me this house, and they helped me get through the many times that I felt like giving up." "I am so glad you didn't give up," Soarin said. "I am also so glad that I didn't come here to find you with another stallion!" Rainbow grinned, knowing that she had made the right decision to stay single and raise her filly alone. At times she felt lonely, but she just couldn't love anypony else like she did Soarin. Rainbow replied, "I still have the ring, I look at it every day. Every time I saw any other stallion, even if I only just spoke to them for a minute or two, I could only think about you. I couldn't even hug another stallion without thinking about you." "That kinda stinks, though,” Soarin replied. “I sorta wanted to come back to you and some husband of yours so that I'd have I fight him for your love. That'd be pretty cool," he joked, which caused his mare to chuckle in reply. It was almost like the two of them didn’t even miss a second. It was nearly six years since they had seen each other, but the love between the two of them was still as strong as ever. Even though Rainbow was able to move on partially, she still always had him on her mind. However, Soarin did not forget Rainbow, not for a single second. She was all he thought about, and she was the only reason why he was determined to survive and come back home. “Hey, maybe we should go back to our special place, just for old times,” Soarin suggested. “I was thinking the same thing,” Rainbow replied. -------------------------------------- The leaves were just beginning to change on this September day. Rainbow and Soarin brought their daughter to the spot where they fell in love. Rainbow had only brought Violet here when she less than a year old, so that Violet would not be able to read or even remember Soarin’s tombstone. The two parents told Violet to go play in the fields just below the hill, while remaining still in their sights. The filly agreed, and she went off to play with the squirrels and other animals in the fields. “So, this is my tombstone,” Soarin said as Rainbow brought him to see his ‘final resting place.’ “Yeah, we had a small funeral with only our closest friends,” Rainbow said. “Here is where I cried my eyes out, and I wished that you weren't dead. I guess wishes really do come true,” she said while smiling towards him. Soarin quickly bucked the tombstone down, and hid it behind in a whole in the bottom of the tree so that Violet would not be able to see it. It would just raise too many questions for such a young foal. The couple lay down under the tree and cuddled up against each other just like old times. They looked out to the fields, full of the violet coloured flowers that grew there. They saw their filly chasing a few squirrels and rabbits in the fields, giggling like the little schoolfilly she was. Dash and Soarin gazed into each other’s eyes, and went closer until their lips met. It was a perfect moment; a moment that came years too late. But they were reunited at last, and many more perfect moments were yet to come.