//------------------------------//
// Private Ann Bishop's Grandad 
// Story: Soldiers Remnants of Us 
// by Ribe_FireRain 
//------------------------------//

'Rainbow Dash? Are you down here?' 

Bishop slowly looked around the basement of the library for Rainbow Dash, wanting to see if she was alright about earlier.
After all, he didn't know how she would react to that name. 

According to David Bishop's diary, he found her chained to a wall in an interrogation room just after his squad had raided it for allies that had been taken captive.

The last time he saw her was when she was brought back to Equestria by her 'Element of Harmony'.

'Rainbow?' Bishop called out once more, but got no response.

He ventured down the wooden staircase and looked around.

There was Rainbow Dash, sat with her back against the wall with something in her hooves. The book looked all too familiar to Bishop...far too familiar.

He could see faint tears were rolling down Rainbow's wet cheeks.

He slowly walked up towards her, the squeaks of his leather boots making a small echo through out the walls of the basement. 

'Rainbow, are you okay?' Bishop asked quietly as he sat net to Rainbow Dash's side, looking at her with concern.

Rainbow said nothing but just sat there and cried.

Her eyes looked a bit bloodshot from her crying.

Bishop placed a hand on her shoulder, as he leaned closer to Rainbow and looked at the book she was holding in her hooves.

The cover was made of a torn,black leather with very few scratches across it, and on the top of the leather was a single word scrolled onto it in italic gold font. 'Diary'. 

Now Bishop knew what it was. It was the diary that Bishop had never found. Now he realized that his granddad had given it to her before she left, like it mentioned in the other diary at his apartment.

'Did he give you that?' Bishop asked softly as he looked up at her.

Rainbow didn't look back to Bishop, instead she kept her eyes on the book that was still being held in her hooves.

'Yes..It's the only thing I have left from him since I brought him back with me.'

Rainbow's voice was quiet.

Bishop could clearly tell she missed having him as a part of her life. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her, not to mention he liked Rainbow Dash.

Bishop reached his arm around Rainbow and pulled her into a friendly and lovingly hug.

Rainbow began to cry on Bishops shoulder as she nuzzled him gently with her nose and caressed his back with her hoof.

'I...I should of been able to save him...It's my fault...' Rainbow sniffled and rubbed her eye, wiping off her tears.

Bishop began to rub Rainbow's back gently as he took off his helmet and took out a picture of his granddad and put it into her hoof.

'Rainbow, don't be too hard on yourself...it wasn't your fault. What happened exactly? To David, I mean?'

Rainbow shed a tear as she stared at the picture of David Ann Bishop. The picture was him in uniform with David holding Ann Bishop as a baby.

The smile on his and Ann's face made Rainbow smile herself.

'I...I...Oh, Celestia...I don't want to talk about the part where...'

Rainbow put her hooves into her eyes, openly sobbing as she dropped the picture.

Bishop pulled her in close to his chest and rested his chin on her head, as he let her snuggle into her, like a baby trying to get warm.

'Bish..did I ever tell you how much you remind me of him?' Dash said slowly as she closed her eyes and laid her head on Bishops leg.

Bishop leaned back onto the wall, sighing as he did so. He reached into his pocket and took out a medal.

The medal was a World War 2 Victory medal. He placed it on the ground in front of Rainbow.

It made a small metallic clang as he placed it gently on the ground, catching Rainbow's attention.

'Whats that?' Rainbow wondered with curiosity.

'Bishop's World War 2 Victory medal.'

Rainbow leaned over to it, sliding it onto her hoof, being careful not to drop it.

After a while she placed it in Bishops hand and closed it.

'Bishop...I...' Rainbow's words trailed off as more tears began to form in her eyes.

'What is it, Dash?' Bishop asked quietly.

'About David...um..' Rainbow didn't look Bishop in the eye. She kept her eyes down to the floor, trying to hold back her remaining tears.

'We were hiking and climbing mountains just outside of Ponyville, in between Fluttershy's house and the Everfree Forest, and when we were right near the top of the mountain....Bishop...um..'

'Bishop tripped and fell off the side of the cliff and slid down and down until....he...he fell off at the end and died...'

'I tried to fly for him, but by the time I was near him, he was already dead.'

A long pause between the two filled the room, tears began to form in Bishop and Rainbow's eyes.

Bishop clamped a hand over his face as he cried after knowing the fate of his one and only granddad.

Rainbow fell to the floor crying and held Bishop tight.

Somehow, something about Bishop must of sparked a memory in Rainbow's mind, as she hugged him, he could sense what Rainbow was thinking of. She thought of Bishop the same way she thought about David Ann Bishop.

'Rainbow..? Where is he buried? I have to see it...for myself.' Bishop took his hand from his face and looked at Rainbow, who also was also looking at him.

'He...he was buried at Ponyville's Last Rest graveyard, just on the side of town.'

Bishop got up and shook his legs a little, all that sitting down made him feel like an overused pin cushion.

'I need to go see it, pay my respects.'

Without another word he picked his helmet up and placed it back on his head, making a small metal clang as he strapped it on.

'Can you show me where to find the graveyard, Rainbow?'

Rainbow returned with a nod and with that, they both walked up the steps and back into the living room with the others.

'Hey, Bishop! What are you doing?' Major Louis gave a wave over to Ryan and Rainbow Dash.

'Hey there, Major. Me and Dash are just going out for a while, so we might be back late.'

'Sure just don't bother the Sarge. He's still pissed at Dash, so be careful.' 

Bishop and Dash nodded their heads and headed for the door.

'Oh and Ryan? I found your assault rifle in a field. Here.'

Bishop threw Ryan his assault rifle from the side next to the door.

'Cheers, Bish.'

Rainbow and Bishop left without a word more.

Upon moving out, they saw the Lieutenant and the Sergeant.

The Sergeant was sat against a nearby tree with a half empty bottle of Echo Falls wine, and the Lieutenant was smoking a cigar.

As they wondered away from the library, the two didn't take their eyes off them until they were out of sight.

Upon the way, ponies were whispering to one another, no doubt it was about Bishop. Every time he would turn to a pony, they would immediately stop whispering until he looked away.

The way to the graveyard didn't take too long, especially for a soldier, but eventually they got there.

The gravestones were in pretty good condition, with very little traces of decay or moss covering the names and sides of them, unlike the ones back home.

The two wondered about for a while, reading some of the names as they go along.

'Apple Glaze' and 'Apple Cube' caught Bishops attention. Just something about them sounded familiar.

'Applejack's parents?' Bishop thought to himself, but quickly returned with Rainbow Dash to follow the path to his granddads grave.

'Well, there he is. The best man I've ever known.' Rainbow spoke softly, a hint of sadness in her voice.

Bishop stood frozen as he looked at the pearl white cross gravestone. Bishop slowly walked up towards it and knelt down so he could read the neatly chissled writing on the stone.

The words read:

'Here lies David Ann Bishop 1949-1989,
War hero and friend to those of Ponyville and Equestria, a dear friend of Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty.
May he be missed for eternity.
'The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do, the hard part is doing it.- David Ann Bishop'

Bishop and Rainbow were both shedding tears.

Bishop took off his helmet and placed it on the top of the grave that had a bright red poppy placed in a plant pot sitting on the grass and began whistling Vera Lynn's 'We'll meet again'.

He whistled loud and proud, sad at the same time. Rainbow on the other hand was sat down, staring at the gravestone in front of her.

She read the last line over and over again until she memorized it. 

'The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do, the hard part is doing it.' Rainbow whispered.
'Yes, Bishop, it sure is. The hard part is accepting a soldier and loyal friend such as you died in the most painful way I could imagine.'

A tear swept down Rainbow's cheek.

The two of them sat together, mourning David Bishop, and they stayed there for hours, not moving and holding each other close to stay warm and comfort each other.

'Dash, is all that true about what happened at the war? He found you locked up in an interrogation? What were you doing there?'

Rainbow looked up at Bishop, her eyes reduced in size as she thinks of how horrible the experience of being locked up in a dirty and blood smeared room felt like. The things she saw in that room would never leave her mind...

'I...I remember I was flying in the morning and...I think I crashed or something...at least I think that happened, my head was ringing afterwards.'

'I woke up to the sound of soldiers chattering and well...they were torturing a soldier against the wall then....'

'Then what, Dash?'

'There...was an explosion. The wall was blown to pieces and a group of soldiers came in..shooting everywhere and killing the other soldiers..one of those soldiers was David Bishop.'

Rainbow looked back down to the floor, trying not to recollect those painful memories...Bishop could tell it hurt her head just thinking of it.

'Rainbow? Are you alright? Do you want to go back?'

Rainbow scratched her head. 'N-No. I kinda just want to stay here a little while longer.'

Bishop laughed a little. 'He, you like it here then?'

'Honestly, I've not been here in a while, I would only come here to see him whenever I feel alone or sad. Knowing that Bishop is near me, it makes me feel safer.'

Rainbow said as she stroked the grass gingerly with her hoof.

The two of them stayed with each other late into the night, side by side as they gazed up at the night sky and stars above.

From the moment Bishop met Rainbow he knew he already liked her. She was smart, pretty and talented, and admittingly, he was starting to develop feelings for her, but one question stuck to his mind: Did she feel the same way?