Even with my renewed body and desire to be reunited with my friends, my energy was not boundless and I had to slow down eventually. I even stopped to rest for the night, finding the forest to be a much more welcoming environment for a few hours’ sleep. Once I woke up, I took things a little slower, keeping my eyes peeled for more of those berries I had found the day before. Of course I was eager to put the forest behind me and find my friends, but there seemed no harm in pacing myself, I had after all been stone cold dead up until quite recently.
As I travelled, I noticed many varieties of plants I had never encountered before. I had rarely been in the Tranquil Forest during my time, but I had never been this far north in it. There were flowers as tall as the Princess, and trees that sagged with the weight of great big purple fruits. Upon poking one, it instantly deflated, all its juices cascading out like a waterfall into a puddle at my hooves. I opted not to taste it, purple being commonly associated with poisonous things in nature. There were also a great many animals, mainly birds with bright plumage, I was sure Fluttershy would have loved it, and made a mental note to take her sometime when all the madness was behind us.
When I finally stepped out of the forest into the open plains of the Lesser Pastures, I quickly discovered where the pillar of light was coming from. I had caught occasional glimpses of it while I travelled to ensure me I was still on the right path, it only appeared intermittently for short bursts at a time. It was faint, what with the sun shining so brightly, but I managed to just about see it coming out the roof of a small cabin in the distance. Twilight had been travelling to Arclight the last time I saw her, while I wasn’t sure why she was here and not there, it was certainly believable that she could have come back this way. I began making my way down the slope towards the cabin, stopping briefly to chew some grass before immediately spitting it out again.
The Lesser Pastures were well known for its poor quality of grass, not that ponies often ate grass anymore, it was so lacking in nutrition that we would have to eat it pretty much constantly, leaving little time in the day to do anything else. It was early afternoon by the time I left the forest, so it was a very pleasant stroll, crossing the final stretch of grasslands to the stout little cabin. As I drew closer, I noticed a figure was pacing back and forth outside the front door, a figure in silver armour that gleamed in the sunlight, and a mane of many colours that clearly defined her even from a distance.
I broke out into a wide grin as I burst into a sprint, filled with joy to see Rainbow Dash there and know she was alive and well. As I started to close the remaining distance, I saw her ears prick up, clearly hearing the sound of somepony approaching. She looked around and her jaw dropped, I could see the shock and disbelief in her eyes even from the few dozen metres between us. Rainbow quickly pulled it together, and before I could call out to her, she was nothing more than a rainbow coloured blur speeding towards me.
I was strongly reminded of Pinkie Pie as she hurtled into me, knocking the wind from me as she pulled me into a tight embrace.
“You’re okay!” she explained in a voice cracking with barely contained emotion. “I… I can’t believe it, we really thought you were… that you had really…”
“I’m alright now Rainbow,” I assured her, returning the hug. “But you’re being a little rough.”
“Oh, sorry,” Rainbow said quickly, letting me go and backing up slightly while scratching her mane awkwardly. “So yeah, you’re not dead… that’s cool.”
I had to raise my hoof to stifle my giggle at that, Rainbow screwed up her face as she tried not to blush and failed miserably. She then sagged suddenly, a look of intense guilt washing over her.
“It… it all happened so quickly back there,” she murmured. “I was fighting those guys with AJ; I didn’t even see you… or her, not until it was too late.”
“What happened with Gaia?” I asked, aware of the hopeful note in my voice.
“She got away,” Rainbow growled. “I could have gone after her but… but I came back to you. I came back and you were already…”
She drifted off, scrunching up her face as she recalled the details.
“I… I don’t understand,” she said at last, looking at me with a downtrodden expression. “You were gone, I know you were. Then you just disappeared… like your body literally vanished in a bright light, leaving your compass behind. We left and didn’t know what to do… then Twilight Sparkle shows up out of nowhere and tells us it’s going to be okay. What happened Rarity?”
“I’m… not entirely sure,” I admitted. “But I think it has something to do with this stone…”
I reached behind my ear and produced the stone, holding it out to her.
“I’ll try and explain inside,” I offered. “Everypony should hear it, they are here aren’t they?”
“Yeah, they’re inside,” Rainbow said with a nod before holding out her hoof to stop me. “But just before we go in… you saved my life back there.”
“We don’t know that,” I tried to argue. “The bolt might have just hit your armour.”
“Or it might have gone through my skull,” Rainbow insisted. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m only standing because of what you did, and I hold that kind of debt really seriously. So if there’s ever a time when your life is in danger, I promise I will do everything in my power to save you.”
“Rainbow, there are no debts between friends,” I began.
“Nope, I’m not hearing a word against it,” She interrupted quickly. “Now let’s go see the others, seeing you again will really cheer them up.”
Together we made our way over to the front door of the cabin, I saw all the drapes were shut, so I doubted any of them would have seen me approaching or interacting with Rainbow Dash. Rainbow led the way in, holding the door open for me as I walked into the single room house. They were all sitting there, not a single one of them talking. Fluttershy lay curled up in the corner, her face buried in her hooves, Applejack stood by the stove, half-heartedly stirring a pot of something without noticing that the heat was turned off, Pinkie Pie sat on the single bed, all my possessions strewn about on the sheets while she stared mournfully down at my compass.
Only Twilight didn’t appear to be miserable looking, sitting at the desk with a book open, although I could tell that she did look agitated and a little bit worried, even though she was trying hard to suppress it. None of them looked up to see who had entered, all of them apparently just assuming it was Rainbow on her own. I glanced at her and she gave me a look as if to say ‘What did you expect?’, so I turned to the room and gave a gentle cough to announce my presence. Applejack, Pinkie and Twilight all looked up, the former two reacting similarly to how Rainbow Dash had while Twilight just seemed to relax, smiling as if she knew I would show up eventually.
“Rarity!” the two earth ponies declared, abandoning what they were doing in order to rush over and give me yet more horrific hugs.
I was immediately bombarded with questions while Twilight slowly closed her book and got up from the desk. I could see her walking over to me, but stopping short and looking down at something; following her gaze I saw Fluttershy hadn’t budged an inch. Applejack and Pinkie Pie both let go of me and hushed when they saw what we were looking at. I left them a moment to walk over and kneel down beside Fluttershy, reach out gently to touch her shoulder.
“Fluttershy…” I whispered. “It’s me… I’m alright, I’m back.”
“I know…” she murmured back, taking me by surprise. “Twilight said you would come back, I had no reason to doubt her.”
“I don’t understand,” I muttered in confusion. “Aren’t you happy to see me? We’re all safe now, isn’t that good?”
“You wouldn’t have… they wouldn’t have…” Fluttershy tried to say, snapping her head up to look at me with heavily bloodshot eyes. “None of it would have happened if it wasn’t for me!”
“Fluttershy, I…” I began in a worried tone, glancing back to see the others sharing my expression.
“No!” Fluttershy screamed suddenly, slapping my hoof away from her shoulder as she leapt to her hooves. “Pinkie told me what they did to you! I know how you suffered! I know how you died! And it was all my fault!”
Fluttershy bolted past me, charging right through the others as she sprinted out of the cabin. We all quickly took after her, rushing outside in time to see her take off into the sky. I shouted after her, but she didn’t seem to want to listen, but Rainbow Dash was already in the air. Fluttershy hadn’t a hope of escaping her, and before long they were both back on the ground, Fluttershy squirming uselessly against Rainbow Dash and Applejack who went over to help, all the while sobbing loudly.
“Fluttershy, listen to me!” I snapped at her. “Yes, I suffered… yes, I died… and you know what?!”
Fluttershy stopped bucking a moment to look me in the eye.
“I would go through it all again,” I told her. “If it meant you wouldn’t have to, because you’re my friend, and I would do anything to protect you. What happened to me was not your fault, it was my choice to rescue you, and I don’t regret it one bit.”
“This is Gaia’s fault,” Applejack added, loosening her grip on Fluttershy as her struggling reduced. “Not yours Sugarcube.”
“Yeah, and we need you Fluttershy,” Pinkie went on earnestly. “Your cuteness is the glue that holds this band of ragtag rogues and hooligans together.”
Fluttershy’s eyes welled up once more as she lashed out against Rainbow Dash and Applejack, but this time when she freed herself, she didn’t try to fly away, but rather threw herself around me, weeping into my shoulder. We all moved steadily back into the cabin, where Applejack made some tea for everypony while I collected my equipment. As I did, I thought briefly how this was the first time all six of us had been present in the one location at the same time. As I pondered that, I began to detect a powerful connection, one that I remembered feeling once before… or maybe it was the memory of a memory.
“We found it in a chest while we were lookin’ for you,” Rainbow explained, snapping me out of my thoughts. “It should all be there, even the compass, it was just left there after you disappeared.”
“I meant to say Pinkie,” I began, glancing up at her. “Thank you for giving me that, you don’t realise it, but doing so is the reason I’m alive at all.”
“Really?” Pinkie asked in amazement. “Sweet! I’m good without even realising it!”
I saw Twilight smirk in the corner of my vision, gently shaking her head in amusement.
“So are you going to explain what that stone is?” Rainbow asked as I confirmed that everything was there. “And how you’re here looking… pretty damn healthy?”
“Well…” I began, taking a seat on the bed while everypony turned to look at me. “When I first set off for Panchea from Equestria… my goodness, how long ago that seems. Anyway, when I first set off, my sister Sweetie Belle delivered a package to me. She said it had been given to her by our good friend Fancy Pants, and that he was given it by… somepony. The package contained a note and this stone…”
Once again I held it out for everypony to see.
“Now the stone used to carry some kind of light within it,” I explained. “The note warned me to keep it close, that it only worked once. While I didn’t know what it meant, I kept it inside a secret compartment in the back of my father’s compass. When I died, I think this is what brought me back.”
“Sounds like you have friends in high places,” Applejack said with a low whistle. “A stone that brings you back from the dead… who do you think gave it to you?”
“I did.”
We all glanced around in surprise, staring at Twilight Sparkle who just looked back at me with a calm expression on her face.
“I knew I saw something in you the day we met,” Twilight started in an even tone. “I had the most peculiar feeling, that one day I would be glad I gave it to you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked; remembering Twilight’s parting words to me when Fluttershy and I first set off to Olympus. “Or write it down in the note?”
“I was worried if you knew what the stone did…” Twilight began uncomfortably. “You would take unnecessary risks.”
“I suppose,” I muttered, a little put off that she considered me to be so reckless. “But how did you end up with this?”
Twilight opened her mouth but then closed it again, pondering her response.
“That’s… a long story,” she admitted. “But I guess the easiest way to explain, is to ask… why are we here at this cabin? How did I know you would appear close by and arrive around this time?”
I frowned as her words sank in, Twilight had come into possession of a stone that could bring somepony back from the dead, and when it activated, it brought me back inside the…
“Wait a second…” I began as my eyes widened, connecting the dots. “You don’t mean that…”
Twilight nodded solemnly.
“That’s right,” she confirmed. “I took that stone from the Demon Shaft, that’s how I knew you’d be there.”
There was a whole flood of questions after that, mainly from my other four friends who all looked horrified at the mention of the place. Twilight outright refused to answer anything, saying it could wait, but encouraged me to tell them all what happened from the moment I woke up. I tried my best to recount the tale, not easy considering what I said about my memory of the experience being so blurry. When I reached the part about the robed ponies, there was a mixture of reactions, from shocked and angry on Twilight and Pinkie’s end, to confusion from the others who weren’t up to speed with everything we knew about them.
My own story came to a short stop while everypony was briefed on what all we knew so far regarding the robed ponies, as well as the new information I had provided, including tomb they were looking for, the Father they mentioned, and the name Covenant. Once that was out of the way, I quickly finished my story about how I left the Demon Shaft and made my way out the Nether vale to where I saw Twilight’s signal, before travelling straight there. Once I was done I was very grateful for the cup of tea Applejack offered me, as my throat was starting to feel rather parched.
“Well this lines up precisely with what I predicted would happen,” Twilight announced at the end of it all. “I’ve been studying that stone for years, and I came to the conclusion that its magic took three days to fully restore the body. Three days plus the couple you spent travelling here, that’s how long it’s been since the incident at Cragsburg… according to the others that is.”
“You weren’t there, were you?” I asked, receiving a small shake of her head. “Then how did you find out what happened? I thought you were going after Blueblood.”
“I… was,” Twilight replied, biting her lip. “But when the stone activated, I detected the pulse it sent out. I knew something big must have happened, so I… I left Blueblood to Stranglethorn and came back.”
“You didn’t need to do that,” I murmured, although I was grateful she did. “Your job was to catch Blueblood, not foalsit me.”
“I did have to,” Twilight argued. “You said it yourself Rarity, we’re friends. Besides, it’s a good thing I did… the others weren’t taking your death well… not that there’s anything wrong with that! I’m just glad I was there to tell them it was going to be okay.”
“And boy am ah glad you were right,” Applejack stated. “Not that ah believed you for a second, ah thought for sure it was too good to be true.”
“So what do we do now?” Fluttershy asked in a small voice that drew everypony’s attention. “We’re all glad Rarity’s back, but the Children of the Earth are still active, and now these… Covenant ponies are doing stuff as well, and that’s not to mention the Duke who’s still on the loose.”
“We do seem to have our hooves full,” Twilight agreed. “I’m sure if we put our heads together we can…”
“Nope!” Pinkie declared, cutting Twilight off mid-sentence.
“What? Pinkie I was speak…” Twilight began, slightly annoyed.
“Nope!” Pinkie interrupted again. “Sorry Twi, but Rarity just got back; she deserves a break before we go off to save the day again.”
“But Pinkie,” Rainbow tried to say. “Those mules in Cragsburg…”
“Can wait,” Pinkie finished firmly. “We’ve all pushed ourselves enough for a while, it’s time to take it slow for a bit before rushing into more danger.”
Twilight stared at Pinkie, gaping in surprise at her surprisingly reasonable proposal.
“Ah… think Pinkie might have a point,” Applejack commented. “A sane, completely rational point, and isn’t that just the scariest thing.”
There was a small chuckle shared across the cabin, it certainly felt nice to be able to laugh about things after everything we’d been through.
“Come on Rarity,” Pinkie said, grabbing hold of me. “There’s something outside I want to show you!”
There was a chorus of groans from the other four.
“Oh Pinkie, don’t,” Fluttershy mewed, looking slightly sick.
“Yeah Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash added. “Applejack was just about to make dinner; you don’t want Rarity losing her appetite.”
“Ah’m doin’ what now?” Applejack asked in confusion.
“Well you've piqued my interest,” I said with a small sigh and a roll of the eyes. “You might as well show me now.”
Pinkie grinned as she pulled me out of the cabin; together we walked some distance from it, making our way towards a sunken patch of earth that appeared to be a bog. I rolled my nose up as a truly awful stench hit me, it couldn’t just be the bog itself, so I set about looking for the source and quickly found it. Half buried in the swamp muck, was a creature of such bizarre proportions. It was tall and gangly, with a wiry frame, two long spindly arms ending in spider like hands. It had an unusually small head with no features whatsoever; it just looked like a raw, fleshy bag had been wrapped around a skull.
The creature, whatever it was, was heavily decayed, bits of flesh eaten away to reveal rotting muscle and mouldy bones. Clouds of flies swarmed around the corpse, feasting upon it and laying their eggs in the carcass. It was a truly revolting sight, and I had to wonder what Pinkie could possibly have wanted me to see it for.
“I see that look you’re giving me,” Pinkie said quickly, as if reading my mind. “But look at the shackles around its neck and wrists.”
I did as I was told, and yes, there were indeed rusted, iron shackles clamped tightly around the monster’s limbs. I wasn’t sure what this was supposed to tell me, so I gave Pinkie another look in the hopes she would elaborate.
“This is the monster I told you about,” Pinkie explained with a small groan. “When I ran into you and Twilight down by the lake, I told you I found a monster near an abandoned cabin. This is the monster, the one that supported my idea that the Covenant’s ‘test subjects’ referred to these monsters.”
“Oh I see,” I said as I recalled her story. “So this is how you killed it, led it into the swamp?”
“Yeah, I had to,” Pinkie replied. “That thing was damn fast, even for somepony like me. If I took my eyes off it for even a second, it would be right behind me before I could say ‘oh bugger’.”
“You know Twilight’s right,” I muttered. “We can’t sit about here for long, we have work to do. Ponies need us to finish what we’ve started.”
“I know,” Pinkie responded calmly. “And we will, but for a little while I just want to stop and celebrate the fact that after everything that’s happened, we’re all still here, alive and well.”
“I suppose that does sound fair,” I admitted, a little touched by her admirable statement.
“Yes…” Pinkie began, her serious expression cracking. “Now let’s get back there and raise the roof off that cabin!”
“Why did I expect anything else?” I muttered, Pinkie’s infectious smile spreading to me.
It was a time to celebrate, not only was I alive and reunited with my friends, but all six of us were together at last. And while we didn’t know it at the time, we had just begun into the final stages of our journey… together.