//------------------------------// // Tomorrow Never Knows, My Little Austraeoh // Story: Yaerfaerda // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// The first thing Rainbow Dash awoke to was a flash of lavender light, or perhaps she had never fallen asleep to begin with. Her head dangled back, her mane dipping into swirling eddies of salt water. Her limp body dangled off the edge of something—presumably her raft, or at least what was left of it. Rainbow sensed her spine dipping below the rest of her body, and she guessed that the logs of the vessel had spread far enough apart that the whole thing threatened to collapse and sink beneath her at any moment. Perhaps the only thing keeping the mess together was Rainbow's battered limbs. She couldn't tell... she could hardly even think. Rainbow gazed up at the sky. Dark clouds hung overhead, and a gray mist permeated the air. All was moist and humid. The atmosphere was no less sweltering, but the lingering vapor from the previous night's storm brought with it a strangely cooling sensation. It only served to torture Rainbow Dash all the more, especially since she couldn't move, squirm or even roll over. Again, lavender streaked in the mare's peripheral. She tried tilting her head back, but her insides spun. It was then that she realized that she was suffering yet another dizzy spell—on top of all her previous torment. With a miserable little trilling sound, the pegasus went limp once more. Her head rolled back, as did her eyes. Blearily, she stared across the turbulent seas. The ocean of the Grand Choke formed an upside down blue horizon before her. Sunlight refracted across the dull clouds, breaking through little clusters that christened the rolling waves like golden tresses. Rainbow Dash knew that just hours ago, this same ocean was tearing her raft apart, bruising and battering her, and yet—for a brief gasp in time—it was all so morbidly calming. Maybe that's what dragged the whimper from her lips. “You know... for a long t-time... I regretted that you didn't end me...” She wheezed, fought through another wave of dizziness, and pursed her chapped lips. “...it was all over. You m-made sure of that. I... I c-couldn't... grkkk... couldn't understand why you let me continue. There was no point in continuing. Every pony I've ever called a friend knew that... or else th-they were dead...” Yaerfaerda appeared. Either it was circling Rainbow Dash, or her raft was slowly bending in a large circle. It didn't matter; the lavender light haunted her either way. It appeared remarkably high along the horizon. She was too tired to do anything but whisper. “...but now... even now... mmmffnngh...” She clenched her eyes shut. After another dizzy spell, tears squeezed out, and her tender little voice limped on. “...I c-couldn't imagine it any other way. All of the blood... all of the tears... mmfhhgg... the laughs and the hugs and... and so many delicious meals we had together...” Her ears twitched as the moist wind fluttered against her bangs. “...loving each other... yelling at each other... but simply being together... I had it all once... but then I had it all again...” Her burnt and chapped facial muscles quivered. “...I never thought I could experience that once more. Even with all the fights... even with all the explosions... even... mmmff... even w-with Lerris...” Her eyes reopened, glazed and glistening. “It was... so... so very awesome...” Rainbow Dash sniffled. “...not even Hurricane had it this awesome. Just so... s-so...” She seethed and squeaked and finally cracked. “Thank you...” A tear ran down her muzzle as she exhaled, her body growing even more limp. The dizziness cleared from the sheer force of her exhale. “...thank you... thank you for... f-for giving me tomorrow...” Yaerfaerda glided along the horizon, faster and faster, forming a streak... a halo around the dying pegasus. “...I think...” Rainbow whimpered. “Yeah, I-I think...” She sighed heavily, her delirious face forming a tired smile. “... … ...I think I'm ready for the sunset.” The clouds grew heavier, the ocean deeper. Rainbow rolled on until she was a hazy blue dot in the immensity of it all, swallowed up in chaos. She greeted it with a smirk, as always.