//------------------------------// // Chapter Four // Story: Icarus // by Tamar //------------------------------// Rainbow was awoken from her fitful sleep by an abrupt knocking at the door. “What is it?” she called out, irritated at having been disturbed. “General Icarus has sent for you,” a stallion’s voice said through the door. “He says it’s time.” “Fine. Tell him I’m on my way,” Rainbow answered. She waited until she was sure the stallion had left, then let out a deep sigh, holding her hooves over her eyes. She had not slept well, beset by nightmares, false visions, and the one meaningless word that wouldn’t go away: friends. The five ponies from the library kept reappearing, especially the orange one called Applejack. Rainbow was terrified of her, sensing a righteous anger in the pony. As hard as Rainbow tried, she couldn’t justify why the earth pony should be so furious with her personally. Or why Twilight’s eyes kept staring at her, hurt and confused. Rainbow gritted her teeth, swung her legs out of the bed and stood. Tonight would see the beginning of the new empire. She was too old to be having filly nightmares. She shook the last vestiges of sleep from her thoughts, then trotted out of the door, her jaw set in determination. Icarus would not be pleased if she showed weakness. She found Icarus once more on the dome of the Council building. Powerful gusts of wind blew through Cloudsdale, rocking the whole structure. “Rainbow!” Icarus called above the wind. “I had begun to worry that you weren’t coming. I need you by my side for this.” “What’s with all this wind?” Rainbow shouted back. “There needs to be clear sky for the transformation to work,” Icarus explained. “I am going to become one with the Elements, Rainbow, so that with the royal pony sisters and the unicorns subdued, I will be the only pony with magical power. For the unification to work, I must have my hooves on the ground and clear access to the sky, so that I can command all energy from everything above and below.” “Become one with the Elements?” Rainbow said in disbelief. “This is the master plan, Rainbow Dash!” Icarus was still shouting to make himself heard over the growing winds. “This is what pegasi have toiled in secret for a thousand years to perfect! The one thing that could overthrow the royal pony sisters is what they themselves tamed – the Elements of Harmony! If a single pony could tame them further and unite them in one body, he would become unstoppable. Now come, we must descend to the ground – the fog will be almost cleared.” Icarus leaped into the air, beating his wings powerfully. Rainbow suppressed a gulp of nervousness and followed. *** “Applejack, please, we have to stop! I can’t feel my legs any more!” Pinkie stumbled, head down and breathing heavily. Applejack turned. “There’s no time!” she said. “We have to get to Cloudsdale as quickly as possible or it could be too late!” “We’ll be no use to anypony if we collapse before we get there,” Twilight panted. “We need a breather, Applejack. I can hear a brook over there; we’ll take two minutes to have a drink and refresh.” “All right,” Applejack conceded. “You’re right. I guess I was getting a little carried away. Come on, Pinkie,” she said, turning to the pink pony, who had pitched over onto the floor. “Pull me,” Pinkie gasped. “All right.” Applejack grabbed Pinkie’s tail in her mouth, and with a yank she pulled her over to the brook. “Ah, that tickles! Stop it!” “Do you want me to pull you or not?” Pinkie shakily stood and limped theatrically over the bank. The five ponies bent over the brook and drank the ice-cold water eagerly. “Just a couple of minutes,” Twilight panted. “I do wish Cloudsdale wasn’t so far,” Rarity said. “I don’t think it can be much further,” Applejack said. “I can’t tell in this fog, but I have a feeling we’re getting close. What do you think, Fluttershy?” “The fog makes it difficult to tell, but–” Fluttershy stopped and put her snout in the air, sniffing. “What is it, Fluttershy?” Applejack said. “I can’t smell anything. Is it something with the weather?” Fluttershy’s eyes went as round as saucers. “O-oh my!” she whispered. “Something big’s happening… something very windy!” “Something very windy? What’s that supposed to mean? Windy like this?” Pinkie took a deep breath and blew as hard as she could. At the exact same moment, a powerful gust of air knocked the five ponies off their feet and into the brook. “I didn’t think I could blow that hard!” Pinkie said, picking herself up and shaking the water off, struggling to stand in the strong winds. “I don’t think that was you, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Fluttershy, you were right, something big is happening. I’ve never felt so much wind!” Rarity screamed from the edge of the brook. The four ponies turned to her anxiously. “What? What is it?” “My mane!” Rarity said. She struggled to keep her mane down as the wind blew it further and further out of shape. Rarity shrank back from their glares. “What? Some ponies have standards!” “Look!” Twilight gasped, pointing upwards with a hoof. “The fog is clearing!” The fog around them thinned steadily, allowing the light of the sun to shine through. The winds actively blew at the fog, crashing through and pushing it away. “Look, Twilight! The sun is coming back!” Pinkie danced in a circle around her. “Rainbow did it!” As the sun broke through the fog, Twilight continued staring upwards, confused. Had Rainbow done it? None of this made sense, and she didn’t want to allow herself to hope, in case that hope was dashed. “Hold on,” Fluttershy said. “Look, there’s something up there.” Looming in the fog above them was an enormous shadow, blocking off a large section of the sky. “Woah nelly,” Applejack said above the winds. “Is that what I think it is?” “It’s Cloudsdale!” Pinkie said, grabbing Fluttershy and giving her a hug. “You found it, Fluttershy!” The fog thinned quickly, until clear sky became visible and Cloudsdale emerged from the fog. The five ponies watched in awe as it shook off the final tendrils of mist and sat gleaming in the sunlight. When it was clear, the winds died down. Twilight turned to Applejack. “Wel, what now?” “I don’t know. We came all this way to Cloudsdale, an’ for the fog to just disappear… it seems too easy.” “It’s wonderful is what it is!” Pinkie said, rolling in the grass. “The sun is shining! I can see! I haven’t been able to see clearly for days!” “But look,” Rarity said, pointing in the distance. “The fog hasn’t been completely cleared. The winds have stopped, but there’s still fog in every direction. Just not here.” In the distance, the fog sat like snow drifts, creating a vast ring around the ponies. “D-does anypony else get the feeling we’re in the middle of something?” Fluttershy whispered. “Look up there, somepony’s coming down!” Pinkie said, pointing up to Cloudsdale. “Hide!” Applejack said. “Take cover!” “Don’t be silly. Why would we hide from Rainbow Dash?” “What?” Pinkie pointed up to Cloudsdale again. One of the pegasi was indeed Rainbow Dash. “Even so,” Applejack said, though with less confidence, “we should still watch and see what’s happening. I don’t like this one bit.” “I agree with Applejack,” Twilight said, unable to take her eyes off the small group of pegasi descending from Cloudsdale. “We should hide until we know what they’re doing. Then we’ll have the advantage of surprise.” The five ponies dived down into the brook, and crouching behind the bank, watched with growing apprehension as the pegasi neared the ground. One of them, a grey stallion with a fiery orange mane, seemed to be in charge, and Rainbow was at his side. On his other side was another stallion pegasus, this one white, and behind him were three smaller pegasi. Between them they reverently carried a large chest. “What are they doing?” Rarity murmured. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it,” Applejack said firmly. “What could be in that chest?” Pinkie asked. “I have a feeling we’re about to find out,” Twilight said. Suddenly Fluttershy gasped. “I know that pegasus!” she said. The other four turned to her. “What do you mean, you know him?” Rarity said incredulously. “Well, I don’t know him, but I know who he is. Every pegasus does. He’s the mayor of Cloudsdale,” Fluttershy explained. “He was elected five seasons ago as the most popular mayor in memory. Mayor Icarus!” Icarus and his company had now landed. Icarus directed the other stallion pegasus to stand guard, and indicated for Rainbow to stay close by his side as he took a firm stance with all four hooves very solidly squared in the earth. The three remaining pegasi now brought the chest before him, and set it down on the ground. “Twilight,” Applejack said in a hushed voice, “Do you think that in that box might be…” “I think they are, Applejack. But what he plans to do with them, I have no idea. It can’t be good.” “Patience, everypony,” Applejack warned. “We need to wait until the last possible moment before we move. Nopony go until I say.” *** “Stand by my side, Rainbow. I want you to witness my transformation.” Icarus gestured for Rainbow to stand near him. “You’re going to become the Elements?” Rainbow said in disbelief, still struggling to understand. “No, I am going to become unified with them,” Icarus said. “I will absorb them, and make them servants of my will. When I control the Elements of Harmony, I will harness the full might of the universe, and we will be unstoppable.” Rainbow took a nervous step back from him. “How... exciting.” Icarus’ face creased into a smile. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Rainbow. It’s quite safe to watch.” Despite his reassurance, Rainbow took another couple of steps back as the other pegasi opened the case carefully. “And after this will be the dawn of the new pegasus empire?” “My dear Rainbow Dash, you already living in it! This is Pegasopolis!” Icarus said grandly, gesturing around him. “Right.” Between them, the three pegasi reverently lifted the mayoral chains out of the box. “Careful with them,” Icarus instructed. “As soon as you lay them over my shoulders, the transformation will begin. If this goes wrong, you will wish you had never been born.” The pegasi complied and brought the chains to him with care. They lifted the chains over his head and draped them across his shoulders. “Rainbow Dash!” The shout had come from Twilight, who was galloping towards them as fast as she could, flanked by Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy. Applejack overtook Twilight and delivered a swift kick to the side of Pan’s head, knocking him unconscious. The three remaining pegasi took one look at her and fled, furiously pursued by Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy. Twilight, however, had made straight for Icarus and Rainbow Dash. “You’re too late, unicorn!” Icarus called. Around his neck, the Elements began to glow. “The transformation is starting! Soon, I will be more powerful than you could possibly imagine!” Twilight continued galloping towards them, ignoring his words. Icarus turned to Rainbow Dash. “Stop her!” he snapped. “She mustn’t interrupt the process!” Rainbow jumped in Twilight’s way and pawed the ground aggressively. “Get back, unicorn!” she spat. “Your time here is over!” Twilight stopped in her tracks, staring at Rainbow in horror and shock. “What are you doing, Rainbow?” she cried. “Why are you helping him? He’s taken the Elements of Harmony!” “Icarus is bringing in a new era!” Rainbow answered. “The era of the pegasi, bringing back the rightful kingdom of Pegasopolis!” “Pegasopolis!?” “The pegasi are meant to rule, Twilight! Don’t you see that the royal pony sisters are liars? There can be no equality between the races, just the victorious pegasi, with earth pony and unicorn slaves!” “Rainbow, Icarus is going to destroy Equestria, and he’s fed you lies about the princesses! We have to stop him!” Desperately, Twilight made a lunge for Icarus, only to be caught by Rainbow and forced to the ground. Icarus smiled, the Elements glowing ever brighter around his neck, as Rainbow stood over Twilight, panting. “Good, Rainbow! Destroy her like the unicorn she is.” As Rainbow stood over Twilight, breathing heavily, she battled with conflicting emotions in her head. Those were the eyes that had been staring through her memory all night, the same eyes that had stared at her with shock and hurt and were now filled with terror. Something tugged at the back of her mind. A tiny voice in the far off distance, screaming for her to stop. But why should she stop? This unicorn had tried to harm Icarus. She must be punished. Rainbow put her hooves on Twilight’s chest. “Rainbow, don’t hurt me!” Twilight pleaded. “Have you forgotten who I am?” “I don’t need to know who a unicorn is,” Rainbow snarled. “But you’ve forgotten all the lessons we learned! Rainbow, you’re supposed to be my friend!” There it was again. That word. Rainbow eased the pressure off her hooves, allowing Twilight to scramble slightly more upright. “Don’t you remember the lessons we learned about friendship?” Twilight spoke quickly and breathlessly. “When Applejack refused to accept any help with her applebucking, until we showed her all the damage she was doing? When I was so afraid of being called a showoff, I hid who I was, until you helped me realise that that was exactly what I should be proud of? When Rarity learned how important it was to be there for her friends – for you, when you saved her life?” Rainbow’s mouth fell open. She backed off Twilight, allowing the unicorn to stand up. She began to mouth words from the depths of her memory. “Everypony everywhere has a special magical connection with her friends, maybe even before she’s met them... If you’re feeling lonely and you’re still searching for your true friends, just look up in the sky... Who knows, maybe you and your future best friends are all looking at the same rainbow...” “What?” Behind them, Icarus’ face creased with horror. The Elements around his neck were glowing brightly and he was surrounded by whooshing streams of light. Then he screamed, his voice filled with rage, “Rainbow, don’t listen to her lies! Destroy her!” “Don’t you remember,” Twilight said, blushing slightly, “the picnic in the fields outside Ponyville before the mist came? When I leant against you, do you remember how that felt? Because I remember.” Twilight took a step closer. She was now backed by Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity. “The strongest bond between ponies can never be broken, Rainbow. You can’t cover it up, or avoid it. You can never forget us – your friends!” Rainbow gasped and stepped further back from the five ponies. On Icarus’ mayoral chains, the lightning bolt flashed from grey to bright scarlet. Rainbow looked from her friends to Icarus, and without a moment’s hesitation she leaped up and bucked the Elements off his shoulders. Icarus screeched and fell to the floor, still burning with blinding light. Rainbow watched with horror, fascinated by the disaster unfolding before her. Icarus’ eyes, white hot with rage, swivelled to her. “Rainbow Dash!” Icarus screeched. In his fury and with tremendous effort, he drew himself up from the ground and pointed an accusing hoof at the terrified pegasus. Rainbow quivered under his gaze and shrank back, her ears flatly pressed down. “Worthless foal! Rat! You betrayed me! Even with the transformation incomplete, I can still show you the meaning of pain!” A bolt of searing hot light shot from Icarus’ hoof and flew towards Rainbow, who was rooted the the spot with fear. In an instant, Twilight leapt in its path. “TWILIGHT!” Twilight fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. Icarus collapsed, writhing and hissing, the light dancing around him glowing ever hotter. “Everypony get back!” Applejack cried. She pushed Rainbow towards the bank. Rainbow turned and fled with Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity. Applejack slung Twilight over her shoulders and raced to join them, diving for cover below the banks of the brook. The five ponies watched over the edge as Icarus continued to twist and turn on the ground, glowing brighter and brighter with white-hot light. At last, the light exploded out of Icarus, blasting powerfully across the field in a storming front of wind. Applejack held on tightly to her hat and Fluttershy latched desperately onto Rarity. The winds raced across the field, meeting the fog with full force. “The fog is going! The fog is going!” Pinkie squeaked. The ponies watched in awe as the banks of fog were beaten back, pushed by the unstoppable winds. They whipped up into the air and were obliterated in seconds. In Ponyville, Granny Smith looked up from where she had been sitting in the farmhouse with Big Mac, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. “Do you feel that?” she whispered. Scootaloo lifted her nose and sniffed, her eyes widening. “I think–” Her speech was cut off as the howling gale ripped through Ponyville, tearing at the fog. The ponies dashed to the window to see the approaching storm of clouds. The winds came from the north, whistling over the rooftops and pushing through the streets. The windows of the barn rattled as the winds slammed into them, more powerful than the greatest storm Ponyville had ever seen. The winds whirled like a tornado, whipping up all the fog into a central column and shaking the trees of Sweet Apple Acres as the last tendrils of mist were torn away. The sun came crashing through the fog and shone upon the orchards and the town, bathing Sweet Apple Acres in the first sunlight the ponies had seen for days. “Yay!” The three fillies danced around each other while Granny Smith laughed and clapped her hooves for joy. “The fog has gone! The fog has gone!” Big Mac looked out of the window, worry creasing his brow. Granny laid a hoof on his shoulder. “Don’t you worry yerself for one second, Mac,” she said. “Yer sister will be right as rain, an’ so will the rest of them. Takes more’n that to stop an Apple family pony.” Big Mac smiled and hugged her. The winds raced on from Ponyville and climbed to Canterlot. They whirled and twisted over the city, drawing up the fog in one titanic gust until it had all disappeared. Celestia’s bright sun shone over Canterlot once more, bringing with it the summer’s heat. In the streets of the city, ponies of all races ventured into the open, and rejoiced and celebrated at the return of the sun. When the last vestiges of fog had cleared, the winds died into nothing, leaving complete silence and calm. By the banks of the brook, Applejack let go of her hat, and slowly the ponies crept out from where they had been hiding. Where Icarus had been before there was now simply a scorched patch of earth. Pan had awoken and fled. They looked around at the blue skies, feeling the heat of the sun. The warmth had no effect. Each pony felt cold. In silence, Applejack bent down, and allowed Twilight’s form to slip off her back onto the grass. She lay on her side, eyes closed. The five ponies gathered around her, unable to think of anything to say. The sadness and shock hung in the air thicker than Icarus’ fog. It was Rarity who broke the silence. “She... she looks so peaceful,” she said, her voice breaking. She turned and buried her face in Fluttershy’s mane. Pinkie rested her head on Rarity’s shoulder sadly, saying nothing. Rainbow looked up at Applejack, tears in her eyes. “She gave herself up to save me,” she said, her ears drooping. “That bolt was meant for me, and she jumped in front of it. She sacrificed herself for me.” Her voice wobbled. “Yes, she did,” Applejack said. “Twilight was the bravest pony I’ve ever met.” For a while the five ponies simply stood, tears rolling down their faces, with silence hanging over them. The stillness was interrupted when Fluttershy whispered, “Princess Celestia is here.” The ponies turned to watch as the Princess approached, flying gracefully through the sky. She dipped towards the ponies, and came to land beside them, with great sorrow in her eyes. “Princess Celestia,” Rarity began, “we saved the Elements, but Twilight... she...” Rarity was unable to continue, and Celestia lay a consoling hoof over her shoulder. The Princess stood over them, gazing sadly upon the body of her pupil, with her eyes full of the love of a mother. A little distance from the scorched earth, unseen by the ponies, lay the now fully-coloured Elements of Harmony on Icarus’ mayoral chains. The scarlet lightning bolt began to glow brightly, pulsating with light, and was soon joined by the butterfly, the balloon, the apple, the diamond, and finally the star. They glowed brighter still, pulsating in unison. Applejack noticed the glow, and looked up. “Woah,” she said. “Look, everypony, look at the Elements!” The ponies watched in amazement as the Elements continued to glow brighter and brighter, until they rose off the ground. “Twilight!” Fluttershy squeaked. Twilight’s body had begun to glow along with the Elements. The Elements rose higher, until in a brilliant flash of light the mayoral chains exploded, leaving the Elements hanging freely in the air. “Stay back from her, y’all,” Applejack said, “I think something’s going to happen!” The Elements rotated individually, spinning round and round, slowly at first, then faster and faster, with a brightly coloured glow dancing around them, until it was faster than the eye could see. A rainbow formed from the star-shaped Element of Magic, and arced out from the Elements, reaching over to Twilight’s body and bathing her in its bright warm glow. As the ponies watched, Twilight’s body glowed brighter, bolts of coloured light racing over her skin. Her eyes flashed open, searing white light shining out of them into the sky, and she was lifted off the ground in the rainbow aura. As the Elements stopped spinning and fell gently to the ground, the aura around Twilight disappeared too, lowering her slowly. When her hooves touched the grass, she stood shakily and looked about at her friends. “Greater love has no pony than this,” Celestia said quietly, “that she lay down her life for her friends.” The glow left Twilight’s eyes. She wobbled slightly, and collapsed into Pinkie’s hooves. There was a moment of shocked silence. “Twilight! You’re all right!” Pinkie cried with joy, bouncing up and down. The ponies rejoiced, laughing and dancing around her. “Oh Twilight, I thought you were a goner there for sure!” Applejack said, hugging her tightly. “So... so did I,” she said, smiling weakly. “Darling, that was divine!” Rarity declared. “There were rainbows dancing over you and everything!” “It was wonderful,” Fluttershy said. Rainbow stood to one side, unable to smile or look at any of her friends. “Rainbow?” Celestia asked quietly. “Are you not happy that your friend has returned?” Rainbow jumped, startled. She turned to Celestia sadly and said, “I let my friends down. I’m supposed to be the Element of Loyalty, but I betrayed them so badly that Twilight almost died. How can they ever accept me?” Celestia smiled warmly. “You do not give your friends enough credit, Rainbow Dash. I think you will find they will be endlessly happy simply to have you back; far happier than they could ever be angry at you for betraying them.” Rainbow managed to smile back,, and swallowed. She approached her friends, saying, “Twilight–” Twilight turned to Rainbow, eyes brimming with joy. “Rainbow!” she exclaimed, throwing her hooves around the pegasus’ neck in a hug. Rainbow extracted herself from the hug and said, “Twilight, I – I’m sorry for what I did. I don’t know how Icarus managed to convince me of all his lies. And I’m sorry that you had to–” Twilight cut Rainbow off by holding a hoof up to her mouth. “Say nothing of it, Rainbow. I did what I did because you’re my friend, and you always will be, no matter what.” “We don’t care what Icarus said or did to make you act the way you did,” Applejack said with a grin. “All that matters is that you’ve changed back to the Rainbow we know an’ love. Friends forgive each other, an’ we forgive you.” Relief washed over Rainbow, and tears began to form in her eyes again. She grabbed Twilight and hugged her tightly, not noticing the blush that rose to Twilight’s cheeks. “Group hug!” Pinkie said, and the remaining four ponies piled in, laughing together. Celestia laughed with them, then said, “Forgive me, my little ponies. As soon as I regained my strength, I flew here to ensure that you were safe. I can now see that you are more than so, so I must return to Canterlot. My subjects will be wondering where I am.” She was about to take off when Twilight trotted up to her. “Wait,” she said. “What did you mean by what you said?” “Greater love has no pony than this, that she lay down her life for her friends,” Celestia recited. “It’s one of the oldest sayings in Equestrian language, and it is the oldest type of magic in the world; the magic that the Elements are founded upon. To love another pony enough to sacrifice yourself for her is so intensely powerful that it lent enough force to the Elements to restore you to health. But it would not have worked if your friends had not also loved you so powerfully. You all have each other to thank for Twilight’s safe recovery.” With that, Celestia turned, spread her wings, and flew into the summer sky. “Wow,” Rainbow said, watching her go. “Come on then, Twilight,” Applejack said, collecting the Elements into her saddlebag. “We ought to be going too. I can think of a few ponies in Ponyville who will want to know we’re safe.” Twilight grinned. Together, the ponies set off back to Ponyville laughing together, reunited as six ponies once more, one for each Element of Harmony.