"Rainbow Dash!" Bellesmith exclaimed, galloping up to the Noble Jury's edge alongside Eagle Eye and Pilate. "There you are! We were so worried!"
"Heh... wh-why should you be?" Rainbow Dash said with a slight smirk. She nevertheless winced as she unhooked a forelimb from around Jerrio's neck. The stallion helped her down to the ship's top deck with gently flapping wings. "I just t-took a detour on the way back. That's all—whoah." She teetered as soon as her hooves touched down.
Eagle Eye steadied her with expert telekinesis. "Yeesh. You're really out of it, aren't you?"
"Some of us have better luck staying out than in, Eagle..."
"Hardy har har." Eagle glanced over his shoulder. "Belle?"
"Right." The mare nodded and reached in to support Rainbow's shoulder. "Hammock time."
"Hooo boy..." Rainbow wheezed, hobbling alongside Belle. "I certainly won't argue with that."
"You've had a long day," Belle said with a smile. "No shame in retiring early."
"Ugh. Really, Belle. Don't use the 'r' word."
"S-sorry..."
"Is the Sword of Solstice in one piece?" Pilate asked.
"I'm fine, Stripesy. Thanks for asking," Rainbow muttered.
"The sword is undamaged," Jerrio said, hovering in place. "I made sure of that."
Pilate tilted his head towards the stallion. "Is that so?"
Jerrio didn't respond. He watched as Eagle Eye and Belle helped Rainbow into the cockpit and down the vertical crawlspace of the Noble Jury. "Just how long has she been dying?"
Pilate's metal brow furrowed. He said, "Always."
"You knew this when you befriended her?"
Pilate nodded.
"And yet... you stuck by her side?"
"She stuck by our side," Pilate said. "When all we had in our lives was lost and when everything we once trusted had turned on us, Rainbow clung to us like our own fur and led us out of a land of pure destruction."
"Is that so...?"
"Have the two of you been talking?"
"Yes. But not about her past," Jerrio said.
"It's quite an epic tale," Pilate remarked. "With abundant heartache... but great triumph as well."
"Have you ever once considered..." Jerrio hovered lower, gazing intently at the blind zebra. "...that your lives would have been better off if she had never crossed paths with you to begin with?"
Pilate was silent.
"That perhaps all of the things that you're grateful to her for are simply coincidences?" Jerrio leaned his head to the side. "And your lives have actually been sacrificed by her own intervention?"
After a deep breath, Pilate said, "Do I regret leaving our quiet cabin back in Blue Shelf? Do I regret having become enemies of the Ledomaritan Confederacy and having to live life on the run?" He slowly nodded. "Not a day goes by when I don't wish things had been easier on us. But I wouldn't have it any other way."
Jerrio squinted. "And just why is that?"
"Because I would prefer to die in my beloved's arms as a free and righteous pony rather than suffer a life where I submitted one more day to a manipulative regime built on lies and deceit," Pilate said. He took a step forward, speaking in the Durandanan's direction. "Complacency is one of the blackest sins ever, and it can adapt itself to any life and any environment. But just because one feels comfortable with a way of life doesn't make it a good one."
Jerrio frowned. "Every time I hear about the lands beyond the greens, I am disgusted. As far as I'm concerned, it's a disgusting world."
"But it is also a good world."
"How do you know that?"
Pilate's lips curved. "Because there are ponies like Rainbow Dash in it." A pause, and then he added, "And ponies like you."
Jerrio blinked awkwardly. "I don't understand..."
Pilate turned his head towards the cockpit. "It's no mere miracle that Rainbow Dash arrived here safely so late..." He turned back towards Jerrio. "And with the Sword of Solstice... is it?"
Jerrio was dead silent.
"Rainbow has immense respect and faith in you pegasi," Pilate said, then shuffled towards the stern as he felt his way to the stairwell. "For a while, I didn't quite understand why... until now."
The stallion's wings went slack. He perched on the ship's railing, gazing off in silence.
"Have a blessed First Light, friend," Pilate said from a distance.
Jerrio cleared his throat and nodded. "Likewise..."
Hours passed.
Rainbow tossed and turned in her hammock.
She winced, her lips murmuring indecipherable words.
At last, with a gasp, she jerked up in the swinging bed.
"Gnngh! Discord! Guys, h-he...!"
Silence.
Rainbow panted and panted. Her eyes twitched as her body went limp. Gritting her teeth, Rainbow covered her face with her forelimbs. She sat there for a while, combating shivers.
At last, stretching one wing after another, she hovered off the cockpit and landed on the floor of the observation room. She almost stumbled upon a warm body. Squinting in the starlight, she spotted Bellesmith lying on a mess of gathered blankets. The mare had chosen to stay close to Rainbow overnight.
Glancing towards the doorway, Rainbow saw Pilate—likewise asleep—lying with his haunches propped up against the doorframe. She gazed at the couple in silence.
Belle's breaths shuddered slightly. She curled up, hugging her exposed body.
Rainbow gently grasped the edge of a blanket in her teeth and laid it over Belle's figure. The mare relaxed in mid-sleep, her breaths growing softer, quieter.
Without saying a word, Rainbow drifted out of the observation room altogether.
Ascending the crawlspace to the second floor, Rainbow evened out then hovered down the thin hallway full of sleeping cabins. Halfway towards the mess hall, she stopped, levitating in place.
She leaned her head towards one cabin door. Inside, she could hear Eagle Eye's even breaths. They weren't alone. Another stallion was sleeping peacefully alongside him.
Rainbow inched from the doorway without a word. After a contemplative breath, she glided into the mess hall and through the kitchen beyond.
With a quiet squeak, Rainbow twisted open the rear hatch to the engine room. Her ruby eyes squinted against the lavender glow coming from the tome in the very center of the compartment.
Beyond a glossy sea of consoles, Rainbow spotted a cot lying just beside Props' workbench and communications array. Two figures were fast asleep on the bed. A blonde pony nestled in the limbs of a lanky stallion while his forelimbs gently wrapped around her.
Even from afar, Rainbow could see soft smiles on Props' and Zaid's muzzles. She gazed at them for a little while, then made a quiet exit, closing the engine room door as quietly as she could behind her.
Rainbow lingered. She hesitated.
Her limbs fidgeted beneath her, and she was biting her lip to the point of bleeding.
At last, after one or two deep breaths, she found the nerve to knock on the door in front of her.
There was no response.
She knocked again.
Still, dead silence.
At last, holding her breath, Rainbow went on ahead and opened the door to the lower hangar.
She peered her head into the compartment, glancing left and right. As the shadowed interior came into focus, she realized that there was no sign of Roarke. There was no sign of the Lounge transport either. The place was completely empty.
A very familiar feeling.
Rainbow Dash sighed.
"She's out, in case you're wondering."
Rainbow Dash spun around. "Huh?"
Kera stood against the doorframe, rubbing her tired eyes with a little hoof. "Mmmff... you're looking for Roarke, aren't you?"
Rainbow Dash squinted. "Shouldn't you be in bed, kid?" she whispered.
Kera frowned. "Why's that always the first thing that comes out of adults' mouths these days?"
"Because it's the easiest thing," Rainbow droned. "You'll use it when you're my age. Trust me."
"You'll be a lot older by then," Kera said with a smirk. "Like... wrinkly old. So wouldn't I be saying the same thing to you?"
"I doubt you'll have to worry about that."
"Huh?"
Rainbow sighed and flew past her, ascending the stairwell. "Go to bed, kid."
Rainbow Dash sat along the port side of the Noble Jury. Waves of crickets echoed from the treetops below. She kept facing the east horizon, watching as a thin glow of gold light formed along the distant Sky Stabs.
Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and spread her wings, focusing on the brief currents of warm wind that blew her bangs in intermittent waves.
From behind her: "She'll be back eventually, y'know. I'm sure if you hung around long enough, you could talk to her then."
Rainbow sighed and opened her eyes. "What part of 'go to bed' don't you understand?"
"Oh, I understand it," Kera said in a warm voice as she waddled closer. "I just don't give a flying feather."
"Hah. Cute," Rainbow blurted in a neutral tone. "You can make a pegasus pun."
"I knew you'd like it."
"Kera, what are—?" Rainbow stopped in mid speech, clenched her teeth, and sighed in defeat. "Mmmmf... I-I haven't been very awesome, lately."
"Huh?"
She turned to look over her shoulder with a tired smile. "I haven't been keeping track of you. I'm sorry for that, kid."
"You... uh..." Kera squirmed where she stood. "You've been very busy n'stuff."
"Still, it's no excuse. You guys are like family to me." Rainbow stood up and shuffled around until she faced her. "How are you doing, girl?"
"You mean... you're not gonna keep grinding my gears over being up?"
"That'd be like... uhm... the pot holder drawing the corn kernel black... or something."
Kera giggled. "How about we both stick to stuff we understand saying?"
"Pffft. Agreed." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I'm no Belle or Pilate."
"You could say that again."
Rainbow tilted her head aside. "You don't like them? I figured they were basically your folks by now."
"Please... I love 'em to death!" Kera trotted over to Rainbow's side. "But you wouldn't be you if you just repeated them all the time." Her emerald eyes narrowed like daggers. "Especially around me."
Rainbow gulped. "Gotya."
"You've been sick or something?"
"Huh?"
"Everypony on the Jury keeps talking about how you keep getting dizzier and dizzier," Kera said. "A lot of them are worried sick, but I don't think they've got the guts to talk about it."
Rainbow gulped. "Even Roarke?"
Kera blinked. "Why you so bent out of shape over Roarke?"
Rainbow bit her lip and looked away. "Forget I ever said anything."
"Why?"
"Because... it's n-not important..."
"Why?"
"Because it's true!" Rainbow suddenly barked. "I am sick and it's not getting any better!"
Kera leaned back, blinking awkwardly.
Rainbow winced. "I... I-I'm sorry, kid... I..." She ran a hoof through her hair and shuddered. "Enough about me." She gulped. "How are you holding up? For real, though?"
"I... uhm... I'm getting along, I guess." Kera squatted down on folded legs. "At least I think so..."
"Oh yeah?"
Kera sighed out her nostrils. "Yeah." She gulped. "But, like, everytime I think I'm A-Okay... something rears its ugly head and I'm a shivering mess." She rolled her eyes. "I can't stand it. And, if you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it."
"Heh... fair enough," Rainbow said. "But, for what it's worth, you're doing super-well in my book."
"Since when did you read books?"
"I mean it, kid," Rainbow said. "An adoracute little smartass is a stone's throw from a drooling ragdoll anyday."
"Heeheehee..." Kera smirked. "I wasn't that bad."
"Yeah." Rainbow nodded firmly. "You were."
"Mrmmmff..." Kera rested a pouting chin on her forelimbs and stared off. "Whatever. At least Belle, Pilate, and Roarke have been super supportive."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Roarke?"
"Mmmmhmmmm."
"What did Roarke do?"
"She let me throw a huge boulder at her."
Rainbow blinked. "Oh..." She blinked again. "...really?"
"Yeah. I nearly killed her. It was cool."
"Sounds like it."
"Apparently I've got a lot of super powerful mana juice inside me or something," Kera said. "I mean, I knew I always had what it took to make major sparkles happen, but apparently it's all real earth-shattering stuff." Kera shrugged. "I used to think having that much power would be cool. But now that I'm owning up to it..."
"It weighs on you a lot more than you had hoped, huh?"
"Yeah. Kinda sorta." Kera tilted her chin up. "How did you know?"
"Because I've lived it, girl," Rainbow murmured with a nod. "Through in through."
Silence.
Kera asked, "So... are these ponies your brothers and sisters or something?"
"Hmmm?"
"You keep spending long days outside of the ship, hanging with these pegasi."
"Yeah. I guess I have."
"The others are saying that it's because they're related to you or something."
"More or less. I mean... they're descendants of ancient Equestrians."
"That's where you came from, though, right?" Kera asked. "Equestria?"
"Heh. You know your stuff, kid."
"So... are you going to point them west so that they could fly home or something?"
Rainbow gulped. "It's not that simple. And even if it were, I wouldn't have them leave this place."
"Why not?"
"Just because they're descendants of ancient Equestrians doesn't mean that they absolutely belong in Equestria." Rainbow took a deep breath. "However... they do deserve to know about where they came from."
"If they've been living here for so long, I can't imagine they'd give a crap."
"Yeah, well, there's no sense in letting them live on without knowing the truth."
"Sounds like something Pilate would say."
"And lemme guess," Rainbow murmured. "Not what Belle would say."
Kera shrugged. She tapped her chin, then looked up. "What do you think?"
"I... I think..." Rainbow lingered. "...I think that I can only do so much for these guys. I've done too much as it is to leave them on their own."
"Huh?" Kera blinked. "What do you mean?"
Rainbow was silent.
"Rainbow...?"
"Can... can you k-keep a secret, kid?" Rainbow murmured. "If it meant a lot to me?"
Kera silently nodded and nodded.
After a deep breath, Rainbow gazed off the ship's side and said, "I don't think we'll be having many future conversations like this. Face it. We're out of Ledomare. Stratopolis is a bunch of burning ashes. Elma got dropped off someplace where she'll be happy. On top of that, you guys have what it takes to deal with Val Roa. But as for me..."
"You're... y-you're staying?"
"Please..." Rainbow gritted her teeth. "I... I-I still gotta figure out a way to break it to Pilate and Belle. But... it's the only thing that makes sense at this point."
"How does this m-make sense?!" Kera stammered. "I mean... you're the whole reason the Noble Jury sticks together!"
"We stick together because we're a damn good team," Rainbow said. "And it'll do well even with one member short."
"You're not just a member, Rainbow Dash!" Kera stood up, shaking slightly. "You're the most awesome pegasus there is!"
"Kera..."
"Are you crazy?!" Kera frowned. "We can't do crap in Val Roa without you!"
"That's something you're going to have to deal with one way or another!" Rainbow hissed back. Then, her ears drooped as she spoke in a calmer tone. "I... I-I don't have much in me left, Kera."
Kera blinked. "Your illness," she murmured.
"If I stick with you guys, I'm just dead weight," Rainbow said. "It's time I faced the music. I've had my tailwind, Kera, and it gave me some good distance. But now?" She shook her head. "I'll be lucky if I make it out of this crater alive. And even then... what good would I do? If I'm gonna kerplunk, I'd best do it in a place where I don't have to slow anypony down."
"So, you'd rather die here instead?"
"I... I'm of some use here," Rainbow said. "These pegasi can learn a lot from me, and I'm sure I could learn a lot from them. I mean... all this 'Austraeoh' crap has been about fate this and destiny that. Doesn't seem like no small coincidence that Durandana would exist here of all places, at the end of my journey."
Kera's eyes narrowed. "It's only your end if you make it, Dash."
"I'm no more a fan of it than you are, kid. But a strong mare knows when her number's up." Rainbow gulped, her voice hoarse. "It's been awesome, but... I-I just can't do it any longer."
Kera shivered slightly, hanging her head. "Why'd you tell me, then? Before the others, I mean."
"'Cuz you're a lot stronger than everypony gives you credit for, Kera," Rainbow said with a slight smirk. "Perhaps Roarke has been the first to help you see your own potential. If that's so, good for her. But sooner than you know it, you'll have to step up and prove yourself to everypony else. They'll try and treat you with foal's gloves, only because they love you. But you can't let that stop you from pulling your own weight and saving their skin when the moment demands it."
"You mean Belle and Pilate?"
"Especially Belle and Pilate. They're a good pair, those ponies, but they can be real sissies every once and a while. Countless times, I'ved had to ignore all of their whimpering and just kick flank for them anyways. I figure the same thing's gonna be true with you, kid, because you're getting old and they're not getting any younger and who knows what's in store for the Jury in Val Roa."
"The way you talk about us..." Kera tried not to sniffle, but failed. "It's like you know us inside and out."
"I can't help it, kiddo," Rainbow said. "We're like family. And I'm sorry if it hurts to hear me say all this, but there's no sense in padding it up any." She gulped. "Back where I come from, there was a little foal with a lot of spunk... kind of like you. And I discovered too late how important it was to sh-share with her a piece of my mind... to tell her how much I believed in her." Rainbow gulped. "And I believe in you, Kera. You've got what it takes to go places... even longer distances than me."
Kera's head was bowed. She shook and shivered.
"Kid... come on..." Rainbow trotted softly towards her. "Look at me..."
"If you say th-that we're like f-family..." Kera looked up, her eyes glossy. "Then why are you leaving us, Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow froze in her tracks.
Kera frowned as a tear ran down her tattooed face. "What do these winged freaks got that we haven't?"
"They... th-they aren't freaks, Kera. They're Equestrians at heart and—"
"So what?!" Kera stomped her hooves. "They don't know how awesome you are! They haven't had their skin saved ten times over by you in the past!"
"Kera—"
"They haven't survived dragons and chaos creeps and Xonans and zombies with you!" Kera's voice cracked. "And you're gonna ditch us just to cuddle up with them?!"
"You think I like making this decision?!"
"Then don't do it!" Kera barked. "You're awesome! You can do whatever you want!"
"Kera, I'm dying. Don't you get it?"
"And don't you?!" Kera frowned even harder. "When has that ever stopped you? When in your entire friggin' life has that stopped you from chasing the sun and going the distance?!"
Rainbow was suddenly speechless.
Kera took a shuddering breath. "I know you care about these guys. They mean a lot to you. But—like—more than Belle and Pilate?! More than Eagle Eye and Josho and Propsy and Zaid and Ebon and Floydien?!" She gulped. "More than me?"
"You... guys mean everything to me, Kera," Rainbow stammered. "You... you know that..."
Kera hung her head again. She muttered bitterly, "I once made a decision to stay someplace and leave you guys. I thought it was the right thing to do. I thought it was best for everypony. But I was wrong."
"Oh Kera..."
"I should have made a decision based on my heart. And look where it got me!"
Rainbow reached in and scooped Kera towards her in a hug. "It's... it's not the same, Kera. Don't think like that..."
"Isn't it, though?" Kera buried her face in Rainbow's chest. "You belong here, Rainbow Dash. You belong with your family."
"Kera, I... I-I just can't stick around forever," Rainbow stammered. "I'm in a race where I cannot win."
"And since when did that st-stop you?" Kera looked up with wet eyes. "I thought you hated losing."
"I know, it's j-just that..." Rainbow blinked awkwardly in mid speech. She held Kera closer as she gazed off towards the western horizon. "... I-I suppose I gave up that hate." She gulped. "I gave it up for ignorance. I knew my lease would be up eventually. I chose to keep on flying anyways. But you gotta understand, Kera. That's not a triumph. That's—"
"You're alive, Rainbow," Kera said. "You're all that's left of your friends, your home. And yet you've carried it all this far." Kera sniffled. "Isn't that triumphant enough?"
Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "You're something bigger than the legacy of Lerris, kid. Don't you ever think different."
Kera snarled, "And I intend to prove it. Can you say the same?"
Rainbow's ears folded.
"Don't ever stop flying, Rainbow," Kera said. "It's what makes you you."
Rainbow breathed and breathed harder. Her eyes moistened as she murmured, "I-I can't just leave these ponies." She gulped. "Not after what they've learned. They need guidance. They need answers..."
"And is that your job to do?"
"Of course, I have to—"
"Is it something you can do?"
Rainbow's muzzle hung open. She eventually sighed. "No." A cold shudder. "No, it's not..."
Kera stared at her.
Rainbow blinked. Slowly, like a sunrise, a warm smile crept across her lips. "But it's somepony else's..." She grinned. She beamed. "Yeah..." Her wings fluttered. "Yeah..." A giggle; a chuckle. "No friggin' duh! Why haven't I thought of it before?"
Kera stuck her tongue out. "'Cuz you're a damned idiot?"
"And a lucky one!" Rainbow spiraled up into the air, tossing Kera in her forelimbs. "Woohoo! Kera, you're the best foal this damned idiot could ever ask for!"
"Uhhhhh..." Kera winced into Rainbow's chest as the pegasus hugged her. "You're welcome? Also... ew?"
At Second Light, Fawful stood with her muzzle agape. She turned to glance back at the other Gray Feathers of Central D, all of which looked no less shocked. She pivoted back to face Rainbow. "You wish to do what?"
"It's not something I wish to do," Rainbow said. "It's something I'm going to do." She unsheathed the Sword of Solstice from her saddlebag. As the golden glow illuminated her face and the Durandanans around her, she held it out towards Fawful. "Take it. Keep it. It was a gift from Princess Celestia to Commander Hurricane. You already have at least one artifact of the Valkyrie's. It's fitting you get the blade that matches that armor."
"But... but..." Fawful glanced at the sword, squirmed, and gawked at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, your travels. Surely you need this to speak with your rulers back home!"
"I've got Luna's moon spell to do that," Rainbow said. "And... heh... let's face it. Havin' this sexy sword was a little too convenient. Even a magical talking space elk can't top that."
"But... but..."
"Believe me, it ain't easy," Rainbow said. "Not just giving this thing up, but the whole 'Austraeoh' business that defines me as well." She looked at the elders who were gathered atop the platform. "For so long, I've been trying to figure out if my life is something made from destiny or made from choice. And I'm starting to think that maybe it's both. It doesn't make sense to me that I'd be dying before I finish my travels, but it does make sense that this sword belongs to you..." She finally dropped it in Fawful's hooves. "And so do the words of Princess Celestia. You can't rightfully make a decision concerning the knowledge you've learned overnight. Let Equestria's ruler guide you... slowly... faithfully... over time and at a pace that you deem fit."
"And... your Princess agrees to this?" another elder asked.
Rainbow nodded. "I already had a long, long talk with her and Luna about it," she said. "It's why I showed up so late today. They think it's poetic justice at it's finest. I couldn't agree more." She bore a bittersweet grin. "Face it. As awesome as this place is, I really don't belong here." She shook her head. "I'm a different kind of awesome. And if I stuck around... I-I just wouldn't be home."
"Then just what is your home, Rainbow?" Fawful asked.
"Something I gave up a long, long time ago," Rainbow said. She gulped. "My crew... my family needs me, even if for just a little while longer. Dying or not, I'll take each sunrise as it comes. That's how I've always done it, and I wouldn't be myself if I didn't do that which I do best. It's how I win at things, after all."
Fawful nodded... then nodded again. She held the sword close to her body. "Since the first time we talked, I knew you were capable of great wisdom, though you hide it with great humility."
"You're not too shabby yourself, babe," Rainbow said with a wink.
She smiled, but another elder trotted up with a worried expression. "I only wish it was this simple, outsider."
"What do you mean?"
"Since yesterday's conversation with your princesses, there's been a great deal of anxiety and worrisome debate among the Towers."
"In what way?"
"Despite the Gray Feathers' insistence, there's a small group of Durandanans who feel passionately about seeing the world beyond the Greens. Though we're certain they haven't turned their backs on the scrolls, we fear that they will not be at rest until they see for themselves the world that your rulers have spoken of."
"Like..." Rainbow leaned her head to the side. "They wanna ditch this place?"
"Whatever they want, they will still be stuck here," another elder said. "We simply do not have the means of leaving this basin. Only you and your fellow outsiders have the technology to depart."
Fawful spoke up, "Rainbow, not to put a great burden on you, but I fear for Durandana's future." She gulped. "It may be a small group now, but if other youths catch wind of the passion that these gusters have, then what may have started as an intense curiosity could turn into an unsettling rebellion."
"Haven't you considered giving them the freedom to—y'know—leave this place?"
"Don't you understand?!" an elder exclaimed. "We don't even know how! Nopony does!"
To that, Rainbow smirked devilishly. "Well, you're in luck. Because I can totally show you how..."