My dear Twilight,
Forgive me for leaving you in the field so quickly yesterday. I would love to have stayed and accompanied you on your journey back to Ponyville, but with the disappearances of both me and the clouds of fog, Canterlot was in some confusion and I was urgently needed to help calm everypony down. I trust that you and your friends arrived home safely and without trouble.
Everypony here is clamouring for answers about Icarus: why he filled Equestria with fog, how he did it, and what he hoped to achieve by it. I can only urge you not to dwell on the subject of Icarus and Cloudsdale. Let me assure you that the best ponies in Canterlot are investigating Cloudsdale to find who else was involved, and how Icarus was able to gain so much control.
For the meantime, the best thing for you and your friends to do is relax. Enjoy this wonderful weather that we have all missed! Don’t worry yourselves about what is in the past. We may never know how Icarus came to be filled with such hatred and loathing, or what drove him to spread such lies about the history of Equestria, but what matters now is that he is gone, and he is never coming back. What he wanted above everything was division between the races of ponykind, and the strongest way to show that he failed to achieve his goal is to forget about him entirely.
After all, once the evil itself has gone, the only thing that keeps it alive is its memory. When that has been forgotten too, it will truly have been defeated.
Good luck, my most faithful student.
– Princess Celestia
“Hello, Twilight.”
Twilight looked up from her letter to see Rarity approaching her along the path. She had been reading on the bench by the fountain again in the outskirts of Ponyville, the trickling sound of water over pebbles soothing her mind. Rarity was once more wearing her ludicrously sized hat, with Opal curled asleep on her back.
“Hello Rarity! Are you ready for our picnic?”
“I think I am. I spent hours deliberating, but I want you to tell me your honest opinion, Twilight – does this hat really match my mane?”
Twilight laughed. “Oh, Rarity, it would be beautiful no matter what colour you chose.”
Rarity smiled as Twilight rolled up the letter and lifted into her saddlebag. Then Twilight set off, trotting in the direction of the meadow with Rarity following. “What were you reading?” Rarity asked.
“A letter from the Princess,” Twilight said. “She didn’t say much; just that they were investigating the situation in Cloudsdale and we shouldn’t worry ourselves about Icarus any more.”
Rarity nodded. “I quite agree. I’d rather not think about that horrible stallion, now that he’s gone for good. Besides, it’s far too lovely today for worrying about silly things like that!” She gestured expansively with her hoof at the sapphire blue sky. Sunlight oozed through the treetops, and all around them ponies laughed and played in and out of the dappled shade.
In the meadow, the rest of Twilight’s friends had already gathered by the big oak tree. Applejack waved, holding a basket of apple treats in her mouth.
“Hnn Twlt!” She said thickly. She dropped the basket and tried again. “Hi Twilight! We were beginning to think y’all weren’t coming!”
Twilight shook her head, grinning. “Oh, no, I would never miss our picnic.”
Pinkie bounced up and down excitedly next to Fluttershy, saying, “Wee! Wee! I said we should do this more often!”
Twilight trotted up to Rainbow and gave her a nuzzle.
“Hi, Twilight,” Rainbow giggled. “What was that for?”
Twilight smiled broadly and said, “I’m so pleased to have you back, Rainbow! We were so worried about you over the last few days, and I still haven’t quite got used to seeing you here, safe and sound.”
“Well, I’m not going anywhere,” Rainbow said, still chuckling. “Now come on, I’m starving and these treats look awesome.”
Spike spread a rug in the cool shade of the oak tree, and Applejack and Pinkie set out the food they had brought. Together, the friends ate, drank and laughed away the summer’s afternoon. High in the sky, the sun continued to shine, unhindered by cloud or fog, filling Equestria with its warmth.
“So, Rainbow…” Pinkie began, munching on a cupcake. “What did Icarus tell you? Why on earth did he want to overthrow the Princesses?”
“Now now, Pinkie,” Applejack said. “All that’s in the past.”
“No, it’s all right,” Rainbow said. “It’s good to talk about it. Icarus said that the pegasi were supposed to rule over the earth ponies and the unicorns from Cloudsdale, and that the royal pony sisters weren’t the rightful rulers.”
Twilight gasped. “Where did he get that idea from?”
“He told me a lie about the Hearthwarming tale,” Rainbow said. As she spoke, she avoided the gazes of her friends, instead choosing to study the chequered pattern on the rug. “He said that the truth was that at first only the pegasi made it to Equestria, which they called Pegasopolis, and that they eventually consented to have the unicorns and earth ponies live in Pegasopolis as long as they submit to pegasi rule. Then he said that Celestia and Luna overthrew the pegasi, and became the rulers of Equestria by force. He said he was restoring Equestria to the original balance.”
There was a stunned silence from Rainbow’s friends.
“I just… I don’t know how he made me believe him,” Rainbow said, still looking at the rug. Her ears drooped slightly. “Or made me do the things I did.”
“Icarus was a very powerful politician,” Fluttershy said. “We all voted for him. His greatest power was persuasion.”
“It’s fascinating,” Twilight said. “I’m sure pony historians will be trying to figure out his motives for centuries.”
“I’ve been to Wingham, where Icarus originally came from,” Rainbow said. “It’s a very strange place. Those pegasi generally keep themselves to themselves. I could believe that they started a myth about a false Hearthwarming tale, and over the years it became so powerful that one of them believed it enough to try to make it true.”
“How awful,” Rarity said, “To be so consumed by hatred to want to enslave two whole races of ponykind.”
“But what matters,” Applejack said pointedly, “is that all that is over an’ done with. Princess Celestia is investigating in Cloudsdale, an’ she’s going to sort out exactly what happened an’ why. The best way for us to show Icarus didn’t win is to keep living the way we always have.”
“You’re right, Applejack,” Twilight said. “The Princess specifically said that the best thing for us to do was relax and let her sort things out.” Rainbow’s ears perked slightly, and she looked up and grinned.
“And what a day to relax on!” Pinkie said, gesturing widely at the sky. “Why, it’s so peaceful I could–” Pinkie collapsed to the rug mid-sentence, snoring loudly. The ponies laughed and continued eating peacefully.
When they had finished the food, the ponies lay back on the ground and one by one began to drift off to lazy sleep. The sprawling branches of the oak tree afforded them dappled shade, and the shimmering breeze drifted easily through the leaves, rustling them quietly.
Twilight was sure that everypony had fallen asleep, and was about to drift off herself when she felt somepony lie down beside her. She opened her eyes, and saw Rainbow staring straight at her.
“Rainbow?”
“Shh,” Rainbow said, looking around. “I wanted to wait until the others were asleep.”
“What is it?”
Rainbow took a deep breath, as if she had been preparing her speech. “In the field yesterday, when you jumped in front of the bolt... you saved my life, Twilight. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t be here. I still can’t quite get my head around it, but I can at least understand one thing.”
“And what’s that?”
Rainbow looked directly into Twilight’s eyes. “I owe you my life, Twilight.”
Twilight smiled. “And I owe you mine, Rainbow. If it hadn’t been for the strong bond of friendship between all of us, the Elements would have been powerless to save me. So you can consider your debt paid in full.”
Rainbow’s face creased into a wide grin, and she leaned over and nuzzled Twilight gently. Twilight returned the gesture, cementing their powerful friendship. The two ponies drifted off to sleep, side by side in the warm summer sun, surrounded by their friends.
Back in Twilight’s library, each of the six Elements of Harmony was glowing warmly, and brighter than ever before.