//------------------------------// // What Needs To Be Said // Story: Urohringr // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// "Your Highness, you don't understand," Rainbow Dash spoke with a heavy sigh. She hung her head. "It really is my fault. I should have been there for these guys. Even after Lerris, I... I've made nothing but mistakes." "And do you truly think that I am unfamiliar with the wages of death and anguish, my little pony?" Celestia spoke. "That I would not have made the same mistakes—if not transgressions a thousand times worse—in all my years?" Rainbow Dash bit her lip. Belle glanced up while Pilate leaned an ear towards the source of the magical voice. "Since the days that the Alicorns first came to this plane, I have endeavored to maintain harmony at all cost. The price has been exceedingly steep, and even at my greatest strength, I've only been able to keep peace consistent within a small pocket of geographical scale, the land that we know as Equestria. Do you truly think an immortal life equates to an immaculate one? It is nigh impossible to keep harmony stable in a land adrift in chaos. I have ventured to great lengths to protect the interests of the mortals of this plane, and this has inevitably cost the lives of many other mortals. I have seen dragons turned into mindless beasts. I have witnessed beloved siblings betraying themselves to darkness. Countries have fallen into the ash of endless strife and bloodshed while I've been forced to watch—helpless—from afar. For over ten millennia, I've used my magic for the betterment of Equestrian kind, and while my sister and I have maintained a rich state of equilibrium, there is ultimately one resolution I can make from the entire experience." Silence. Pilate lifted his muzzle. "Uhm... what is that, Your Highness?" "That there will always, always be events that we cannot control. Most especially the tragic ones." Belle hung her head. Celestia continued. "You three have suffered a terrible fate. Whether your suffering exceeds that of the ponies of Lerris or darling little Kera, it matters not. You have survived. You are the ones who must lucidly deal with that which has taken place, and it does not benefit any one of you to be consumed by the pain that was dealt that day. If anger and regret exists between you, that is understandable, but you must exorcize it if you are to move on and spread harmony like you were born to." "Princess Celestia, I don't..." Rainbow Dash bit her lip. A sigh, and then she muttered, "I'm not angry at either of these ponies. I failed them. It's as simple as that. I've... I've kept them at forelimb's distance because I'm just scared that... I dunno... something stupid will happen again." She gulped. "That the monster will have its way with them as it's had its way with me." "Rainbow Dash, even you can't deny that anger and frustration is far more real than any supposed 'monster.'" Rainbow sniffled and glanced up towards the luminous night sky. "Huh?" "How often have you and I spoken during all of the full moons that have passed since your journey began?" The pegasus bit her lip. "Rainbow, you can fly as far as you want, leaving everything and everyone you know behind. But I made it clear to you from day one that I will always be here for you." "Mmmmf..." Rainbow folded her forelimbs, suddenly shivering. "I know that, Your Highness..." "And I am more than willing to hear anything that you wish to say." "Whatever I needed to say to you has already been said," Rainbow grunted out the edge of her muzzle as she gazed towards the frozen horizoin. "Back in Silvadel, I let it out. Remember?" "Rainbow Dash..." "I forgave you, Celestia. Nothing's changed, alright?" "Forgave me for what?" "Dang it!" Rainbow snapped, spinning in midair. "I told you I—" She froze in mid-air, lip quivering. She gulped and murmured, "Why'd you have to let it happen? Didn't you love her? Wasn't she your 'good and faithful student' and all that crap?" Rainbow's wings went limp as she landed awkwardly on the deck. "Weren't she and all her friends what made the whole 'magic' thing w-work?!" Rainbow sputtered. "Couldn't you have seen the path that we were gonna cross with Discord?!" She gnashed her teeth. "You can raise the sun. You can lower the moon. But you can't bother to hammer one measly gargoyle statue in your royal garden to bits?!" Rainbow Dash stood, trembling, hyperventilating. At last, Celestia's voice drifted in a low tone. "I am so exceedingly sorry, Rainbow Dash—" "Well, not as sorry as I am!" Rainbow's voice cracked explosively. "You're not the one with an expiration date! You're not the one with nothing to live for but the horizon! You're n-not the one who h-has to close her eyes every n-night, knowing that she'll see that vision of their faces again... of their screams... their bodies twisted in pain as one by one they... th-they..." Rainbow's face contorted in a sob as she fell to her belly, weeping into the wooden deck. Belle watched with her muzzle agape. Pilate's ears hung limp on either side of his skull. Sniffling, hiccuping, Rainbow Dash gradually pushed herself back up into a standing position. "I know. I-I know." She gulped. "There was n-nothing you could have done to stop Discord. Nopony knew just how crazy p-powerful he was... or what the elements would have d-done when they tried to fight him without me. I... I-I don't want to h-hate you, Celestia. I never have. I love you..." She squeaked, running a hoof over her tear-stained muzzle. "Oh gosh, I love you. How c-can't I? You're all I have left..." After a while, Celestia's voice gently drifted over the sound of Rainbow's shuddering voice. "Am I truly the only one...?" Rainbow Dash sucked her breath in, clenching her jaw. Slowly, she turned around, staring painfully at Belle and Pilate. The two ponies sat in reverent silence. Slowly, with meager grace, Rainbow trotted closer towards them.