Rain without Rainbows
Kindred Spirits
Rainbow Dash slowly rose to the airspace above Canterlot, getting her first real look at the city since her self-imposed exile. The storm had demolished well over half of the city, exposing the innards of buildings and leaving regurgitated rubble along every street. A few fountains in the city had been damaged, spilling their contents to the ground and forming their own network of miniature rivers.
The palace, however, was much better off. A testament to the quick thinking of the princess and the guard, most of the royal estate was unharmed. In fact, the throne room was damaged the most, and that had been before the lightning came down. A few anxious ponies were wandering the various towers in unrest, and Rainbow Dash easily spotted their movements in the lamps they carried.
The pegasus glided around the city for a few minutes before her bruised body forced her to land. She settled on the roof of one of the towers, casting her gaze skyward. The morning was young and dark, the moon bringing the greatest light. Rainbow caught herself thinking about nothing in particular as she drew patterns in the stars.
After a few minutes spent resting, Rainbow lowered her head. She couldn't keep her thoughts at bay forever.
'I guess it really is out of my hooves now. What more can I do, seriously? I can't go chasing after some alicorn I don't know anything about just because I want to. I need to stay here and help in whatever ways I can.'
But then Spitfire’s words sounded in her mind again. "I won't let you stay down. Now get up. Get up, and move forward."
She let her mind go noisy again, barely considering each errant thought. The idea of volunteering for reconstruction came and went, shortly followed by what she could do as a temporary guard. Ideas entered and left, sorting themselves out with no real direction.
One thought made her head lift up, and she searched for something she would have avoided a week ago. In the embrace of night, her sight was limited, but the outlines of the palace grounds still gave away what she saw. Within minutes, she spotted her target and glided down from the tower.
Her destination was a wide-open field with small pillars of stone carefully placed throughout. The city's graveyard. Even this part of the city hadn't escaped damage, though thankfully nothing extended beyond the edge of the site's boundary. Rainbow was grateful, because she was able to find the four gravestones she sought after only a few minutes of searching.
On a small hill were the four stones, each one emblazoned with the bolt-and-wings emblem of the Wonderbolts. Alongside them was a small monolith summarizing their lives and accomplishments, which ended by saying how they were all taken from the world far too early. On the front of that monolith was a golden badge, a symbol for those in the Wonderbolts that identified a leader. The badge was a permanent fixture, yet still had the telling hints of use across its surface. Rainbow correctly guessed that it had been Spitfire's personal badge. The captain had left it with her team.
Rainbow Dash didn't talk. She merely lowered her head and paid her respects to her idols, silently apologizing for all that had happened to them. A few minutes further, and her head rose again, soft sounds of sniffling the only life amidst the dead.
With a sudden push, she leapt into the air once more, ignoring the dull ache in her side as her bruise made itself known. Small strands of the bandages on her body began to curl and peel against the agitation, but she ignored them. She flew hard, pushing her body against its own strain, and rose as though something were chasing her. But the only things she had were her thoughts and her Element.
Rainbow sobbed suddenly and came to a full stop. She had reached the troposphere, a small wisp of cloud just a few yards to her side. Looking around revealed other clouds, spread out across the expanse. A few stray tears fell off her muzzle and fell to the earth. She shook her head and wiped away the rest, trying her hardest not to completely break down.
“I’m sorry, Spitfire...” she muttered to the air. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how to move forward.”
With a deep breath, Rainbow turned downward and began to glide back to Canterlot. Five full seconds later, she angled west, away from the city and the mountains. And a few seconds after that, she let her breath go in a long exhale.
Rainbow flew at a steady speed, despite having reached the limit of her endurance long ago. The dawn would be upon her soon, and she wanted to put as much distance between herself and her regrets as she could. And if she could evade the dawn simply by moving away from it, then all the better.
It wasn't long before she found herself coasting above the thick boughs and tangled vines of Everfree. The forest seemed like a world unto itself, peaceful and ignorant of the disaster so narrowly averted. She spotted the far edge of the woodland, beyond which was the lonely cave she had hidden in for so long.
Rainbow kept on flying. The bandage around her foreleg was unwrapping, so she placed her Loyalty necklace in her mouth to tend to the fabric. After two failed attempts to re-wrap the bandage, she simply took it off completely and let it float to the earth. Rushing air irritated the spot where her IV had been.
When she looked up again, she spotted the border of the nearby town. Ponyville. The hamlet she once called home, and could call home once again. A moment later, her hooves touched down on the edge of the town.
With quiet steps, Rainbow slowly entered Ponyville properly, looking at each building and mailbox with newfound appreciation. The town had noticeably expanded in the years she had been gone. But much remained the same - the shops, the carts, the homely dirt roads. Even the scent had remained unchanged, the air sweetened with the aroma of grass and dust.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and enjoyed a moment of peace. Her home was still there, awaiting her return, almost as though it had always known she would come back one day.
“So...the main road,” she muttered to herself. “I always had to make sure weather patterns were centered around here. It leads into the town square and the mayor’s office, and Applejack would always have a big cart to sell her treats along the way.”
She took light steps along the path, not at all interested in being hasty. Truth be told, her head remained filled with doubts and questions despite her mouth making observations. Both were attempts to drown out the other.
“I wonder if she let Apple Bloom work the stand again. After the mix-up with her cutie mark obsession-”
‘This is all I have now? Coming back to Ponyville and letting Celestia take over?’
“-likely to ban her from selling apples at all! Oh, right, and the bakery is over there...Sugarcube Corner. I haven’t had a good-”
‘Why does this make me feel so useless, then? It’s like I’m being asked to sit still even though I have the answer right in front of me! Nopony will let me reach for it!’
“-long, long time. Is that...? No, no, she had a temporary stage. I don’t think she’d come live here after being humiliated by Twilight-”
‘Ugh, but is that really so bad? All I needed to do was make things right, and I’ve done that. At least, I hope I have. There’s nothing else that I actually need to do, is there?’
“-she would make me look humble. I bet if I- oh, what? What happened there? ...oh, that was probably when Alucard’s magic arrived. My friends told me how it tore out some walls-”
‘I...I feel so confused. Did I make things right? Or did I just push some problems on to other ponies? And how can I move forward if nopony will let me?’
“-nearly killed her. Right here. If Luna hadn’t...oh, man, I need to thank her for saving Twilight. For saving the town. She really came through in more ways than-”
‘Since when have I needed other ponies to tell me what to do? Well, since I started caring more about them than me. And that’s been for a long time. So it’s not about me at all? Even if I feel useless?’
Rainbow’s two-sided monologue continued for a while further, during such time she found herself no closer to closure. Each question seemed to answer itself, but never gave her a solution. It was like she had been promised freedom a long time ago, only to discover that the freedom she had earned was not the kind she had expected.
Eventually, she found herself on the other side of town, stopped next to the library and staring at scorched earth. The area was where Luna and the Canterlot unicorns had held the dark magic captive for several days. The fact that Twilight lived in the library gave Rainbow Dash a shudder - sleeping and reading while a killer was literally outside her window.
“Hmmph,” she growled. Her anxieties were giving way to frustrations. “I can’t just stand around doing nothing. I can’t go chasing down somepony I don’t know. So what am I supposed to do? Can’t somepony tell me that?”
She turned away, looking back toward Ponyville, when something caught her gaze. Something in the air, hovering completely still, a presence she had not noticed in the dark. She focused on it, all of her worries giving way to confusion. After all, what she was looking at shouldn’t have existed.
“What the...what? How...?”
She was looking at her cloud home. A grand, billowy structure made possible by pegasi craft, imposing and welcoming at the same time. Even from the ground, Rainbow Dash spotted the supporting columns and spouts for liquid rainbow to pour. The latter had run dry a long time ago, leaving colorful stains against the pure white of the cumulonimbus.
But the fact that she could see any of it was disturbing. Pegasus nature demanded the need to constantly move about, and that also applied to any dwellings they constructed. Many pegasi never made roost anywhere except Cloudsdale, so anything they called ‘home’ beyond there was usually only home for several years before they broke down their buildings and began anew somewhere else. Most importantly, anything made from clouds demanded constant upkeep. They were clouds, after all, and suffered the damage and influence from weather systems far worse than any terrestrial building.
Naturally then, seeing her home still standing, per se, after four years in hiding was a disturbance. Nopony had lived in it except her. And only she knew the intricate nuances that her home employed to allow such columns and rainbow falls to work at all.
Her questions forgotten, Rainbow’s curiosity prompted her to spread her wings again and rise to the structure. The exhaustion she suffered due to flying from Canterlot to Ponyville started to overwhelm her by then. She began gasping for breath and felt the sting of sweat invade her eye, but she reached the front landing of her home with no problems. Rainbow spent a moment to grip her hurting midriff, grimacing as the pain sharpened. Clearly, the booster shot she had been given was wearing off.
‘I think I deserve a good, long nap,’ she thought as the pain ebbed.
Though Rainbow Dash stood before her old home, she hesitated to do more than look around. She sat down and took in the state of the structure, noticing that it had, in fact, deteriorated with time. Much of the main cloud landing was gone, leaving it at a fraction of its original size. A column near the front door was partially missing, causing the once-supported clouds above it to sag. The entire third floor of the house was gone, while the second floor had a few gaping holes where windows once rested. To either side of the main landing were empty pools where liquid rainbows once gathered. All across the walls of the house, the effects of storms and winds were spotted in pockmarks of smaller holes and tears. Even the front door had been shorn away, though the frame remained intact.
“Somepony’s been keeping this place held together,” she muttered to herself. “At the seams, at least. Why? And who?”
The questions entered the world, but went unanswered. With a grunt, Rainbow stood again and mustered the desire to find the answers on her own. She took measured steps forward, staring intently at the vacant door frame. The faint light of pre-dawn only extended a few precious feet before giving way to a murky darkness inside. She hesitated.
“What am I so scared of?” Rainbow asked aloud.
Her own mind answered her. ‘I already know what I’m scared of.’
“But I built this place. It shouldn’t scare me!”
‘What does that mean? I built up my own skill and pride, but those were used against me.’
“It’s...just dark in there. I’ve handled worse.”
‘Why would I want to handle it again?’
“Come on, Rainbow, you can do this. Just a little further.”
‘But what’s waiting for me inside there?’
“It’s probably nothing.”
‘Then what am I so scared of?’
She swallowed, then took a step. Then another. And one more, and again, one after the next, until she found herself surrounded by the damaged walls and cooled air that resided within. Her eyes moved from one side to another, gathering what details could be gained from the few spots of moonlight that filtered through.
The state of things inside her home fared no better than the outside. What little she could actually see was barren, merely spots of empty cloud. The rest remained too dark to make out more than faint outlines. It was just enough to know that something was there.
“See?” she reassured herself. “Not so bad at all. This is one darkness that can’t hurt-”
It was at that moment that a brief stirring to Rainbow’s left caused her to panic. She flinched and jumped aside, causing her bruise to radiate hot pain again. With a groan she couldn’t contain, Rainbow sank to her haunches and held her side, keeping one eye open and focused on the spot from where the movement had been.
The stirring continued, an almost indiscernible shape emerging from the floor of her home. Whatever it was, it grew until it was almost her size. The soft sounds of breathing came forth, steadily increasing in what appeared to be excitement. The figure slowly moved forward, only seen as a faint shadow. Then it came to a halt, still obscured in the darkness.
Rainbow dared to take a breath, and it came ragged. Her sense of panic still tugged at her, bringing with it a very real desire to get as far away as possible. She managed to keep both her eyes open, and she stared ahead toward whatever was just a few feet away. The sounds of breathing - both her own and another’s - were the only sounds present.
After a few seconds, a soft, scratchy voice broke the air. It came from the figure in the dark, barely above a whisper and filled with guarded hope. “...am I...dreaming...?”
Rainbow Dash held her breath, trying to place the voice. It was no use - whoever had spoken had spoken too quietly.
“Is this just...another dream?” the soft voice asked again. “But this...this is different...than the rest.”
“I hope it’s not a dream,” Rainbow replied. “I don’t trust them anymore.”
The voice in the dark held its own breath in what seemed to be surprise. After a moment, it spoke again. “It...is you? Really you?”
The pegasus curled her lip, trying to look more intimidating than she felt. “And just who are you?”
“Huh? You don’t-” The figure shifted slightly before realizing it was still obscured. “...oh. Uh, here...”
Rainbow pulled back on instinct as the figure moved forward once more. The shape of a hoof entered the spot of moonlight from the vacant doorway. Another joined it soon after. Then fly-away strands of an unkempt mane appeared. Next followed a head and two open eyes, which looked directly into Rainbow’s own. The eyes were tired, but there was no mistaking the genuine happiness seen beneath that threatened to boil over.
When Rainbow saw the eyes, her breath caught in her throat. But for once, it was not out of fear. This time, only disbelief caused her throat to catch.
The eyes she saw were a gentle violet. The coat of the speaker - who she now saw had wings- was orange, partially hidden by a worn-out blanket covering the body. The mane was purple as well, brighter than the eye color. The figure was a friend. The friend was a pony. The pony was a pegasus.
“It’s really you,” she muttered around her cautious smile.
A word came forth in reply. “Scootaloo?”
The smile widened. The caution faded. “Ha...you haven’t forgotten.”
Of all the things for which Rainbow Dash could have prepared, seeing Scootaloo in her dilapidated home was not one of them. In fact, seeing Scootaloo at all was a shock. She was supposed to have been in Canterlot with the rest of-
Rainbow blinked. Her mind connected the dots, reminding her that Scootaloo was nowhere to be seen with the rest of the evacuees. While she and her friends were inseparable during their foalhood, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had been without their pegasus friend that morning. The fact made Rainbow wince - she hadn’t even noticed the absence of her number-one fan in the wake of all that had happened. In fact, none of her friends had mentioned it either.
That left questions. Legions of them. But Rainbow could only voice one. “What are you doing here?”
Fear struck Scootaloo’s face. “I-I just...I’m sorry for coming into your house, but I...”
“No, I mean...why aren’t you in Canterlot with everypony else?”
The younger pegasus tilted her head. “Is that where everyone went?”
“You didn’t know?”
“Well, I knew something was happening...” Scootaloo paused to stifle a yawn. “I woke up one day and saw a bunch of guards. I didn’t want to cause any trouble, so I...just stayed hidden. Then when I looked out later, most of the town just looked...empty.”
“You...why? Why were you hidden at all?
Rainbow sat up properly, releasing her hold on her hurt side. The movement allowed Scootaloo to finally see the state of the pegasus. She couldn’t hold back her gasp, Rainbow’s question instantly forgotten. “What happened to you?”
The question went unanswered. Rainbow continued to look at Scootaloo, the wheels in her head connecting the dots like they had several times before. The state of the house, the absence of the younger pegasus, and the hesitation while she spoke were simple truths that lead Rainbow to a disturbing theory.
“Have you...” she began in a whisper, “...been here the entire time? Ever since...I left?”
Scootaloo paused, then gave a small smile.
“Why?” Rainbow demanded.
“...you needed a home to come back to.”
The answer was so simple that Rainbow was taken aback. A truth so unreal, she questioned whether or not she was awake. It just didn’t seem possible, yet it was right there before her.
And not just that - not just the simple answer. There was also what the answer meant. Scootaloo had taken it upon herself to keep Rainbow’s home as intact as possible, all for the single purpose of giving Rainbow a place to call home when she returned. And that also meant that Scootaloo had never lost hope, just like Applejack. She had just gone about it in a much different way.
But most importantly of all, it was undeniable proof that Rainbow was always wanted back in Ponyville. Her cloud home was something she crafted in her own vision. It was part of her. And somepony close to her didn’t want to see it disappear into the world like she had done. That part of Rainbow Dash, which had stayed behind when she fled, was in danger of being destroyed - and that would have removed the last trace of her from the town.
Yet Scootaloo found a way up there, and she made it her mission to keep it together. She took it upon herself to make sure the structure still stood when Rainbow finally returned. An anchor, a beacon, a simple place to rest. It had been kept alive this entire time.
“What happened to you?” Scootaloo asked again. The words broke through Rainbow’s reverie, sinking into her body and sparking something else entirely. The weight of the truth she stood in was still pressing in on her, but it was warm and soothing. Much like the lightweight feelings she felt back in Canterlot.
But there was something else as well. Deep inside her, another feeling grew in place of her regret of four years. It was a solid, agonizing heat that seemed to rise as an army. It was a direct contrast to the comfort she felt outside, and neither were unlike the tranquility she experienced half a day ago. Only this time, the feelings kept growing and pressing on her until finally, with a small sniff, Rainbow broke.
Small streaks of tears formed on Rainbow’s muzzle. Her throat clenched, and tiny hiccups forced their way past her lips. Every time she blinked, she felt a brief sting around her eyes. But she had no words to describe how she felt. She knew she should have answered, but at that moment, all she could do was cry.
Scootaloo gave a gasp and stepped forward, the blanket she held falling to her hooves. The younger pegasus didn’t hesitate in wrapping her forelegs around her mentor. She didn’t even know what was wrong. All she knew was that her idol and friend needed someone at that moment.
Rainbow Dash sobbed violently, and gave in to the embrace. For four years, she had lived in a dark sea of regret for an action that was never her own. Now that regret had been forgiven and redeemed, but in its place emerged a soreness. One deep inside her, heavy as iron and hot as betrayal - for it was, indeed, a guilt about her leaving her friends and home behind.
The truths Rainbow had learned in the last several days had revealed nearly everything to her. Her flight into the storm four years ago was a mistake, and she was not the only one who paid for it. It may have been true Loyalty that prompted her escape, but it was that same Loyalty that told her how much pain she had caused her loved ones anyway. None of them deserved such a change. And this time, there was truly nothing she could do to make up for it.
So she let herself go. She let the feelings of guilt and relief envelop her until her body collapsed into Scootaloo’s embrace. She allowed herself to be lowered to the cloud floor, even as her young friend repeatedly asked what was wrong. The only sounds she made were pitiful sobs and bleats as both guilt for her exodus and happiness for her return weighed her down.
“Rainbow, Rainbow!” Scootaloo begged. “Talk to me, please. What’s happened to you?”
After several moments, the cyan pegasus responded. She began with the sudden concert where she had met Alucard, and told of the wish that she never should have made. She explained the entire tryouts incident, the feeling of waking up in the care center, and the utter panic she allowed to seize her. She spoke of the lightning that struck her down, the storms that gave her fever, the starvation she eventually accepted, and the hundreds of painful weeks spent alone.
Rainbow spoke of the trip back to Ponyville. She spoke of the magic that was pulled from her. She spoke of her last attempt to die, of the shame she felt when she awoke, of the confusion when her friends said they couldn’t blame her. She spoke of Spitfire, she spoke of Soarin’, she spoke of the Wonderbolts and their graves. She spoke and spoke and spoke, letting the story flow without thought, and long after her throat began to ache from all the words and feelings. She kept speaking, telling her entire story to Scootaloo, who simply laid down next to her and listened.
Daylight broke over the horizon. Streams of sunlight began to set the skies aflame with red and orange. As the sun rose into the sky, the moon gently fell beyond sight. And while the night traded with the new day, Rainbow’s confession shifted as well.
“You shouldn’t have done this for me,” she was saying. “Staying here and house-sitting this place. I...I-I was gone for years, Scootaloo; you should have been living your life! I can’t...make this up to you!”
“But I wanted to, Rainbow,” she whispered.
“You shouldn’t have! I’m telling you, you shouldn’t have done this!”
“So I was just supposed to accept was ponies were telling me? Accept that you were a killer?”
“Wha- no! You should have just moved on without me, kid! I wasn’t worth this!”
Scootaloo shook her head. “No, Rainbow, I won’t accept that. I never will, like I never accepted the stories about you killing the Wonderbolts.”
A moment of hesitation passed between them as Rainbow thought. “Scootaloo, look, I appreciate that...really, I do, but it doesn’t change the fac-”
“You listen to me,” Scootaloo interrupted. Her tone became harsher, a matter-of-fact voice. “The fact is you were attacked. You were scared, and you ran away, leaving all of us here to move on without you. And the fact is that the ponies who did move on did so believing you were a murderer! That, Rainbow, is one thing I will never, ever accept.
“You’re not a killer. You’re not a coward. But ponies said you were, and you had still run away. None of them would listen to me, so I decided to keep you here in the only way I had left. I was afraid, Rainbow - I was afraid that everyone would just forget about you! I had to keep you here, I had to!”
Rainbow Dash wiped her nose against her foreleg for the umpteenth time. “But it was your life, Scootaloo! Your time! You gave that up just to keep this place in the air.”
“And you gave up yours so we would be safe! Or were those times you tried jumping off cliffs just dramatic effect?”
The older mare hesitated again, her arguments crumbling in large pieces. “But those were my choices. They were always meant to keep all of you safe, here at home. I made those decisions so your lives would be protected.”
Scootaloo hissed. “You were a part of my life, Rainbow Dash! My friend, my role model! I refuse to let you say anything different, and I still refuse to let your good name die! You are good, you are fair, you always have others in mind - even when you let your ego get the best of you! And all of that was just going to be forgotten while everyone called you a murderer.
“Oh, they tried to convince me, oh yes. They sat me down many times, telling me about how you had changed, how you were not the Rainbow Dash we thought you were. But I didn’t listen to them, and they wouldn’t listen to me. None of them believed me, so I decided to let them go. I never meant to stay here all the time...it just happened. But I figured out what to do, and I made sure that your house stayed right where it belongs.
“Because you’re not a bad pony, Rainbow Dash. You’re not a criminal, and you’re not a murderer. You were just scared, that’s all. And I think the best way to stop being scared is just coming home.”
During her talk, Scootaloo had reached over and pulled Rainbow for another hug. Both of them shuddered in the silence that followed. Rainbow Dash, realizing she was wrong again, admitted defeat and sank into the embrace.
‘Get up, and move forward...maybe it’s not supposed to mean ‘keep fighting.’ Maybe Spitfire was telling me to move on.’
“You sound a lot like Applejack, kid,” she muttered. “She also kept saying ‘home’ when we talked.”
Scootaloo chuckled and released her hold, sliding back to look at her idol properly. “Sounds like she hasn’t changed.”
“Mmm. She says she’ll have a big homecoming dinner for me tomor- er, tonight. I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to eat.”
“More than a mushroom, I hope.” The orange pegasus nudged her friend in good nature.
“Ah, well...I’ve never been able to resist their home cooking. Y-you should come, too.”
Scootaloo paused, looking around the cloud home. The ambient sunlight had better revealed the emptiness inside. “What about this?”
With a laugh, Rainbow looked around as well. “I say you’ve done a fine job of keeping the foundation solid. Don’t worry, we can rebuild.”
The younger pegasus blinked. “We?”
Rainbow smiled. “Kiddo, you’ve been living here for four years. Safe to say it’s as much your home as it is mine.”
Scootaloo gave a wide smile at the decision, but Rainbow instantly realized something in what she said. “Hey,” she continued, “how’d you ever manage to get up here, anyway?”
“Uh, I flew up here.”
“With your wings?”
Scootaloo stood up and stretched her wings. They had always been stunted, but had grown with her body over the years. As Rainbow looked them over, she corrected herself. They were smaller than most, yes, but certainly not incapable of flight anymore. However, they would never carry her as high or as far as others.
“It was hard the first time,” Scootaloo explained. “I actually had to ask for some flying tips from a few other pegasi. But after a while of practice, I was able to get some lift. They’ve been getting stronger ever since.”
“Oh really? And how fast can you go?”
Just then, Scootaloo got a certain glint in her eye. One that Rainbow recognized - a challenge. “Want to find out?”
Without waiting for a reply, Scootaloo trotted out the front door and into the cool morning air. Rainbow Dash stood and followed her, tasting the familiar charge in the air as the challenge was recognized. The two pegasi reached the edge of the front platform, looking westward across town. The sky was brightening across most of the space, but a zone of soft darkness rested at the horizon.
“Don’t know if you remember, but I was able to dodge lightning a few hours ago,” Rainbow said.
Scootaloo snorted. “So did Rarity!”
“...I don’t even know if that’s an insult, kiddo! Now, if it were Fluttershy...”
“She did, too. So maybe it’s not so special if everypony can do it!”
Rainbow laughed - a true, mirthful laugh. “Maybe, but it’s still something. Think you can top that, pipsqueak?”
Scootaloo looked at her idol with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve got bruises and bandages all over your stomach.”
“Th-that shouldn’t matter!”
“Then yeah, I think I can top it. By the way, you still owe me a promise. If I do well with this, you have to make good on it.”
“Heh. Deal.”
With a few seconds and a deep breath, both pegasi leapt off the platform and began to fall to the earth. Rainbow took a chance and closed her eyes, allowing the sensation of the rushing air occupy her mind for that fleeting moment. She didn’t think about cloud homes or murderous alicorns or wishes she regretted. She simply thought about what she was about to do.
Her eyes opened, and she spotted the ground rising up to meet her. She waited three heartbeats before letting instinct guide her actions - a twist of the neck, a snap of her wings, and the stretching of her feathers. She felt the air break and bend to accommodate her, granting her lift beneath her wings. In that split second, she turned upward and shot into the air, spotting the orange-and-purple of Scootaloo only a few yards ahead.
Dawn pushed ever forward to begin the new day, and two pegasi above Ponyville were the only creatures who stirred in the town. They flew without any real direction, and eventually without any need to go faster than the other. They simply flew, letting the air warm up and the world light up around them.
Rainbow Dash felt her worries melting away as she flew. Some went away with no trouble, while others fought to stay in her mind. Most of them simply retreated to the edge of her thoughts, content to let her enjoy the moment she had earned. Because even though her struggles had wounded her, they were no longer burning - they had scarred over.
She was finally free.
The sensations filled her to the brim. ‘Home.’
Her part in the story was over.
End chapter seventeen
Author’s comments: Sincere apologies for the delay in getting this one out. I had to ask one of my close friends to wish me luck, and to give my muse a stern pep-talk. She responded with a cheer, complete with pom-poms. So yes - don’t thank me, thank the pom-poms.
The epilogue is next. See you guys there.
Final chapter: When a storm takes away that which is dear to you, the decision to rebuild is yours alone. And when the storm takes away much more than that, the decision is that of so many others. For some, the real struggle is picking up the pieces and taking the next step. And for a very specific few, those pieces are so heavy, they will need the help of each other to begin the road to recovery. But the road is before them, and very little remains undecided. The only question becomes “when” - when will they take the step, and when will they feel brave enough to look back.