//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: End of Loyalty // by SteffaniStar //------------------------------// After a few hours, Rainbow returned back to the library. Her friends were still there, laughing and enjoying themselves. They were sitting in the throne room, drinking tea and patiently waiting for Rainbow. This time, they waited, instead of making the same mistake again. They felt if she really wanted, she’d explain everything to them. They didn’t want to force her to anything. They all went silent when the door opened and Rainbow walked in. She slowly walked to her throne and threw the saddlebags on the floor, staring blankly at the desk. Girls immediately noticed something’s wrong. She seemed full of sorrow, and she didn’t even look them in the eyes. She was tired, tired of everything, and she barely slept a few hours. She curled up in the soft crystals, sighing. Twilight and the rest put their cups of tea down on the table and looked at her. Their hearts were breaking, they couldn’t bear seeing her like this. After everything she’s been through… it wasn’t very easy for her. Deathmist took the life out of her. This wasn’t, of course, the first time they were fighting a villain, but it was the scariest and the hardest. She looked tired, but… it was the kind of tired sleep wouldn’t fix. “Sugarcube…you alright?” Applejack spoke first, breaking the silence. Rainbow ignored her and closed her eyes. She started humming something, like a lullaby or a song, while girls were exchanging worried looks. They didn’t know how to reply, how to continue the conversation, how to help her, because she wasn’t giving them any sign or hint. They were dying of curiosity, but decided to approach her kindly. “Look, Rainbow, we… if something’s troubling you, no matter how big or small it is, we will always be there for you. You can talk with us about everything. We know you don’t like to show your feelings often, but… just because you cry, it doesn’t mean you are weak. Now, I will ask you one more time, if you don’t want to, we can forget everything and move on, but if you want to, we’ll listen; is everything okay?” Twilight kindly responded, almost with a motherly voice. She wanted to help her, because nopony should ever go through something difficult all alone. They need somepony to talk to, somepony to help them, somepony to be their light in the darkness, the brightest smile in the deepest sadness. That’s what friends are for, and that’s what Twilight was prepared to do for Rainbow, but she didn’t want to force her. Last time she did… well, she didn’t want to remember that. Rainbow lift her head up, not saying a word. After breaking the eye contact with Twilight, she spread her wings and shut the door behind her, leaving the throne room. “I suppose that’s no.” Rarity sighed in defeat, taking a sip of her tea. “Where did she go? Did she go back home?” Fluttershy asked. “I…I suppose, but I think we should check on her anyway. In a state she was in… this ain’t stalking, this is just a friend worrying” Applejack said and began walking towards the door. She didn’t have to search long. Rainbow stood just outside the door, and she looked she was about to cry. “I… I can’t! I just can’t!” Rainbow shouted, her voice cracking. Her eyes started to water, and she lowered her head. Twilight spoke as gently as possible, like mother talking to her filly, asking her once again. “Rainbow, is everything alright?” That motherly tone in Twilight’s voice broke Rainbow. It was the last straw for her, and she fell into her embrace, crying, while Twilight started gently brushing her mane, surprised by Rainbow’s reaction. “It’s… It’s…” Rainbow tried to speak, but instead, she broke into uncontrollable sobs. All girls wrapped their hooves around her, comforting her. “It’s my mother!” Rainbow finally spoke, continuing to cry. Something struck Applejack in the heart. She knew that feeling very well. It was the worst feeling in the world; knowing somepony who raised you, who gave you comfort, who supported you through your whole life, just disappear forever. It leaves a terrible heartache. She didn’t want anypony to experience it, but it was unavoidable. She couldn’t believe Rainbow lasted this long without crying. She truly was one tough mare. “She had cancer! I had to leave the Academy sometimes to visit her. The cancer was spreading faster every day, and she barely survived surgery! I was always with her, praying she would get better, but she didn’t! She never did!” Rainbow was speaking, still in tears. She was shaking her head in anger, her body shivering. “She was… she was so proud of me when she heard I made it. She was so proud of me when I showed her the uniform. She was so proud of me when she saw me up in the air, the star of the show. She was supporting me the whole time. She helped me to go on, she was my hero, my hope!” “When I saw her, lying in hospital bed, attached to all those tubes and monitors…” --------------------------------------- Rainbow, along with a light purple Pegasus with similar rainbow mane, her father Spectrum, was rushing down the hospital hallways, searching for the room 319. She hated hospitals. The white ocean of walls made her feel dizzy, and the numbers of countless rooms were mixing in her mind. Sterile smell of the hospital and just the look to all medical stuff and hurt ponies made her stomach turn. They were rushing past the nurses, and finally found the room 319. When they opened the door, they saw a light pink Pegasus with the dark blue mane, laying in the bed. Tubes and a breathing mask was attached to her, together with a heart rate monitor, which was beeping regularly. “Mother!” Rainbow shouted and hugged her, her tears falling. Looking at her tired mother made all her hope of her getting better, disappear. She hated, she hated to even think about it, but she had to accept… her mother is dying. And there is nothing she could do about it. “Firefly!” Spectrum shouted and took her hoof, hugging her wife. Firefly looked at them with her tired eyes. The therapy left her in a worse state that before, but she didn’t lose hope. She fought for every breath, every moment of life, but unfortunately… she lost the battle. She slowly spoke through the mask, taking in deep breaths. “You’re…here…” “Of course we’re here! How could I ever leave you?” Rainbow laid her head on the side of the bed, feeling her heart shatter in countless pieces. She felt defeated, lost, hopeless. But she soon felt a motherly touch on her face, rising her head up. Her mother gave her a kind smile. “My Wonderbolt… I’m so proud of you…” “I love you! Don’t leave me, please! How will I live without you? Who will cheer for me?” Rainbow sobbed harder, hugging her mother tighter. “Firefly…” Spectrum softly spoke, looking at her dying wife. Their loving memories flashed in his mind, making his tears fall. Seeing his loving one dying… his life and his heart was shattering. He thought, one day, when they grow old together, they would look at where’ve they come, what’ve they done, and smile, remembering the old times when they were young. That is now nothing but an impossible dream. “I love you… I’m so proud of you… don’t you ever forget that, Dashie…” Firefly softly spoke, coughing. “Mother, please, no…” “Even if I’m not there with you… I will always live… in your heart and in your memories… don’t forget that... I will always be there for you, because I’m your mother, and I will always love you, no matter what… But you have to do something for me…” “What? Anything for you! I will do anything!” “Stay strong… Don’t… give up, no matter what. Remember how were you bullied in flight school? You thought you will always be just an ordinary Pegasus, because you wanted to be the best so badly… yet look how far you’ve come… ponies will always talk… society will always try to bring you down, because they’re jealous… don’t let them. Don’t let them change you, don’t let them see you fail… because that’s what they want. You need to focus on your dream, and work your way up. Carry on through your life, even if it means without me… I will always support you… I will watch over you from the sky… we will meet again, on the other side of the river…” In that time, heart monitor began to drop and beep loudly. Doctors rushed, nurses panicked, Dash screamed. “Mother! No! Mother!” Dash yelled, shaking her mother, begging her to wake up, but the doctor took her and her father out of the room, closing the door. “Firefly!” Spectrum was banging on the door, almost punching a hole. Rainbow sat down on a chair, covering her face with her hooves. Last sound she heard coming from that room was a monotone sound. She sobbed harder. “I’m sorry” doctor opened the door and looked sadly at Spectrum and Rainbow Dash. The words struck Rainbow’s heart and she fell into her father’s embrace. A part of her died. She felt dizzy, and all she wanted was to leave that hospital, bury the bad memories. “She…she’s gone…she’s gone!” --------------------------------- “That three days I was gone… it was… her funeral… I never felt so broken in my entire life… and now, I went to collect some things from the cloud home in Cloudsdale… and seeing all those photos, when she was happy and alive…” Rainbow finished, wiping the tears. Twilight and the rest were in shock, crying as well, struck by Rainbow’s tragic words. What she needed now was support and comfort from her best friends, and they all gave her a warm embrace. Twilight then got the idea. Maybe… maybe it could help her. It was worth a try. “Can… can we visit her grave now?” ------------------- Twilight and the rest laid the flowers on the ground. The grave was simple, a dark grey stone with her cutie mark and her name engraved in it. They stepped back, and let Rainbow speak. She came closer to the grave, laid her flowers on the dirt and began to spoke. “I… I was never good with words… and I was never one of the sappy ones, but all I wanted to say… and I feel it is something I didn’t say you very often…maybe you already knew it but…thank you. For everything.” “You and dad were always there for me…That time I did my first Rainboom… I don’t think I’ve ever seen somepony so proud. And seeing you, made me feel proud. I was talking about it for a whole week, telling you over and over how it happened, and you listened every time. You never got bored of it. You were amazed every time, and you could listen to it all day. Even if dad sometimes complained about it, you never did.” “I think I will never forget the day you and dad took me to my first Wonderbolt show. You saw the talent in me, and you thought I would be amazed. At first I thought you were kidding, how you could ever think some ponies in uniforms with cool hair, be cool to me. Yet, here I am, that same silly Pegasus in that same silly uniform. You were cheering for me so hard I could even hear you up there in the air.” “I will never forget those nights when you were preening my feathers. You could sit there for hours, carefully preening my wings. You used to do that when I was a filly, but I still remember when I came back home, tired from the show… it’s not the same… I guess, motherly touch really is different… and special… I miss those days… I wish I could turn back time…” “Lastly, thank you for giving me hope every day. Many times I wanted to give up, to leave everything, to go at the end of Equestria and never come back. And I would’ve, if it weren’t for you. You were always telling me not to give up. To be strong. That there is a spot for me on the top, just waiting for me. I didn’t believe you. I thought you were only saying that because… well, you are my mom. It’s your job. You were always saying not to worry about what other ponies are saying, that they’re just jealous. Now, I see you were right. You were right about everything. I see that now.” “Thank you for giving me hope, for taking care of me. For having patience with me, for all the good memories. Thank you for everything, because if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be the pony I am today. Watch me from the sky and wait for me on the other side of the river.” Rainbow finished and laid an old Wonderbolt flag on the ground, the one from her first show, and let it wave in the wind. She turned to her friends and slowly walked away from the grave. She hugged her friends, sighing. Twilight gave her a soft smile. The new chapter of their lives, and their friendship, was about to begin. As they were leaving, Rainbow looked in the sky, pink light shining on her face, wiping her tears. She gave the clouds a soft smile, softly whispering, “Thank you mom. Thank you…”