When Friends are Said and Dun

by xenos29

Chapter 38

It seemed peace wasn't quite what Alpenglow had always hoped for as he floated from the ceiling. Instead of serenity and resolution, he felt a disorienting turmoil as he slowly walked out of Ponyville's town hall. No longer covered in vines, which would have at least been familiar, the town had taken on a grainy, grayish air, like that of an old photograph.

He walked slowly, in no rush, the shops and homes silently passing him like strangers on a street. And why should they have been anything but strangers? With a flash of red, the bitter thought began running rampant through his mind. He had been here once before Blight escaped. This wasn't his home or his fight. Both of his were long ago, and he didn't owe anything to Equestria anymore. Looking back, it was surprising to think that he had ever agreed when the Princess asked for his help that night in the library. Oh, and it looked as if he had passed the lushly-canopied athenaeum already.

It didn't matter. It's not like he meant to go inside, so as to satisfy some foolish sentimentality. It didn't mean much to him, and he learned to make good company for himself after the others left anyway. Even with Blight, in the box, he was alone in every way that counted. He might as well relax while he figured out where in the world everypony was. For once, his time was his own.

As he walked on, he felt eyes scrolled across his body. He reached for his sword, but realized it had gone, along with his armor. Slowly Alpenglow took in his surroundings, and in every building, pairs of gray eyes against gray windows looked sadly at him. Thinking back to the cave, the eyes were too familiar and painful a sight, so he turned his back on them and walked away, out of town, across the countryside, until he found himself standing on a beach. More impossibly, he was standing at the bow of a majestic sailboat that could take him away from all this.

Foolish and sentimental though it was, Alpenglow smiled. Back in the day, there were numerous occasions when missions- due to weather, terrain or distance- required the use of a boat exactly like this, and he loved every second of it. Tawny didn't; she said the constant motion was stressful, but to him, it was the most comforting feeling, like the earth cradling him in its arms. Seeing no harm in spending a little time sailing, he quickly climbed aboard, pointed the masts, and shoved off.

Having become utterly lost but not particularly worried, the urge to figure out what had happened to the world gradually fell from Alpenglow's concern as Equestria faded behind him in a haze. A storm of brownish-black clouds with green lightning had descended upon the mountain of Canterlot, as well as the spot that was Ponyville, and Alpenglow was relieved to be finally beyond it. He had no idea where he was going, only that he would stay wherever he happened to land. That would be good enough.

Sleep had come easy on his journey (for a change). One moment, he was lying on his back and staring at the sky, which grew brighter the farther he went from Equestria. The next, he found himself awoken by the sound of surf, and the soft creak of the boat's hull against sand. The golden powder puffed into a glittering cloud as he planted his hooves on the beach. Some grains remained on his face and body, warming him as they gleaned in the sun overhead. Looking around, he had arrived on the edge of an emerald forest with its trees leaning outward onto the beach, shading it like a creek. A pair of cattails grew where the soil met the sand, similar to the bank outside Tawny's old house. In fact, the whole area bore a striking resemblance to the grove where she used to live. If he remembered right, a pair of low hanging branches just ahead concealed the gravel path leading to her house and- yes! He peeled back the branches and there it was, as overgrown as the last time he saw it. He slowly looked up, following the winding trail which traced up the hill, and then he saw it: the cabin, sitting quietly, peacefully, a wisp of smoke pressing ever so gently on the air above the chimney.

An impossible question entered his mind, and he couldn't tell if the urge to know was greater than fear of the answer. But if his hopes turned out to be right, he certainly couldn't leave. The walk up the hill was another nostalgic eternity as he slowly walked, then broke into a trot, then full gallop to the door. He never knocked before, so he didn't now. The door slowly creaked open, and he entered.

An overpowering familiarity nearly drew tears as he stepped onto the wool carpet. Photos lined the wood-panel walls of the cabin, some with all six of them, some with just him. All brought forth cascades of memories, but none so powerful as the smell of the flowers outside, the heat of the fireplace crackling in front of him, and most of all, the sounds of somepony rummaging back in the kitchen.

Even he wanted to, he couldn't move. Why, he couldn't say, but there he stood, frozen at the entrance until the door to the kitchen opened, and the pony inside stepped out.

"Hey, Alp," smiled Tawny. "It's about time you woke up."

He saw it, but he still didn't believe it. Tawny, standing right in front of him. He didn't remember moving, or practically running across the room to hug her tight.

Tawny shook, laughing silently as she hugged him back. "Don't think I've ever seen that before. You doing ok?"

"Yes...yes, I am," he said in choked words.

"I've never heard that before either."

He smiled, blinking several times to clear his eyes before they pulled apart. "I really missed you, Tawny."

She smiled off to the side. "I guess it has been a little longer than usual since we've all gotten together," she laughed. "But here, I need to finish before everypony gets here, so-"

He let go and looked at her. "Wait....the others are here, too?"

"Yeah, Nautilus said they'd be by in a little while. I wasn't expecting anypony else so early."

"Tawny..." He lead her silently to the couch in front of the fireplace and sat the two of them down. Tawny's eyes danced an ethereal dance in the flicker of the fireplace, and every word that swam in his mind failed him, ignoring how many times he had imagined what he would say to her if ever given the chance.

Tawny made a pouty smile. "I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say you want to talk about something." He nodded. "Ok..." she warned, "but you'll be the one explaining to Honeydew why the food isn't ready for her to inhale the second she gets here."

"I think I can handle that," he whispered.

"You sure you're alright? You've been sleeping out on the bank for almost an hour. I thought you'd be up sooner."

The bank? He muttered, "I was just sleeping on the boat."

She frowned slightly. "Ummm...nope, you were just down the hill, up against that old willow like always."

"Huh?"

"...Though I bet Nautilus would be impressed if you managed to get that monster of his all the way upstream."

"Stream?" He stood up and made his way to the window opposite the fireplace. From the hill, he'd be able to see past the tree line where the boat landed. Instead he saw only forest, no vast sea separating him from Equestria, no greenish-black storm. Those things wouldn't have made sense, anyway. He was at Tawny's house in the middle of Equestria, just west of the princesses' old- no, current- castle.

"I guess I just...dreamt it."

Tawny shrugged. "I guess. Must've been some dream."

"Yeah, it was." The question was where the dreaming had ended...and the waking began. It was easy to reason that he must have fallen asleep on the bank, dreamt being on the boat and sailing away from Equestria, but what about earlier?

"What was it about? Sounds like it wasn't just another of Luna's pranks. Remember that one Vera talked about? The one with the troll and the zap apples?"

"It was about Blight."

"Oh..." Tawny got up and stood next to him at the window. "So that's why you're so out of it."

"Tawny, I know it's weird, but...what happened that day you and me went into the cave?"

"What, you don't remember?" He shook his head. "After we split up, Blight got the drop on you, had you in some kind of trance. I barely found you in time to help, but we managed to turn him back to stone. Lost the Elements of Heroism, but we all got back safe. And the Princess was able to unthaw everypony else. It was months before everypony was back to normal." She frowned worriedly. "Any of this ringing a bell?"

"Where's Blight now?"

Tawny's eyes narrowed. Her lips pursed, as if reluctant to stay on the subject. "Underneath the castle. He's been there ever since we got back. You really don't remember, do you?"

He shook his head again. "I dreamt...you were gone, and Blight destroyed the elements, but then, I found a way to stop him. There was a box that sealed both of us away, like Tartarus, and a long time after, he escaped. It was almost a thousand years later. He'd taken over this town called Ponyville, and I met up with these six mares and...their baby dragon." The more he thought about it, the more it sounded ridiculous to him, too. "I'm really happy to see you, Tawny."

She smiled tiredly. "You were always sweeter than you let on to the princesses."

"Maybe I should've been more like that to Bridge or Nautilus back in the griffin kingdom."

"It was a bad time. But you did you what you thought was right then. That's what you've always done."

"None of it would've happened if I had just stopped."

She sighed. "You know...when we got back, the Princess asked me what happened."

"What'd you tell her?"

"The truth. All of it. And you know what she said?"

He shook his head.

"Nothing. Not a word. She knows you're a good pony. And that's all she's ever wanted from you." She leaned closer. "What's done is done, Alp.' You can't change the past, but you still deserve a future. I want you to have one."

"We all do," said a motherly voice.

Alpenglow turned towards the door. It shut behind Princess Celestia as she and Luna and sat on the couch with him and Tawny.

"Princess..?"

"You always did make good company for yourself, Alpenglow," said Luna.

"I don't understand. What's going on?"

Princess Celestia smiled. "You've come a long way since your time as our student, even further since you faced that nightmare in the cave. But even now, we can tell you have doubts."

"Ever since you were a colt," explained Luna, "we told you difficult decisions would lie ahead. Now that you've made such decisions, you fear that you must become like Blight- harsh and cruel- to continue making them, to stop him. You feel that is your duty. But it is not."

The Princess put her wing over him. "However you acted otherwise, deep down, you always wanted to do what was best for Tawny, Nautilus, and the others."

"And you would've given anything to see us again," Tawny finally let out.

At that, Alpenglow's eyes widened, and he stood up in front of the fireplace and looked at all of them, suddenly not too sure of where he was.

The Princess's words calmed him once more, "Are you happy here, Alpenglow?"

The hazel in Tawny's eyes shimmered anew as he pondered the question. Finally he answered, "Yes. I'm...confused, but I'm happier than I've been in a long time. And...I'm not sure I want to leave."

"That's a problem," a new voice said.

By reflex, his eyes went to the door. It opened, revealing an old unicorn with a cane. His graying mane was tied back, giving full view of the pony's tired, yellowed eyes- those yellowed eyes that Alpenglow knew as well as his own reflection.

"Surprised to see me?" said Blight.

Unaccustomed to the sight of Blight without his vines, it didn't occur to Alpenglow's temper to flare. "This is impossible," he stammered.

"In here, it most certainly is," Blight replied.

"How?"

"You know," said Tawny.

Alpenglow turned to her, and a frost grew over his heart. Tawny's body had become ghostly. He could see clear through as the light of the fire touched the couch behind her.

"Tawny!"

Around him, the cabin began to lose its color, with pictures, wallpaper, fading as they gave themselves up to time. Tawny continued to smile, looking at him expectantly. He held his face in his hoof and admitted sadly, "You're not real. This all in my head. Blight...all of it...it wasn't a dream. I thought...I hoped..."

With a remorseful smile, Tawny shook her head. "You wanted to so badly. You remember what the Princess taught us that one afternoon in the garden? No matter where you go, you carry a part of everyone you know and care about. They shape you, as you shape them. Think of us...as echoes of the ponies you've known."

His teeth clenched as he looked at Blight. "Then why are you here?"

Blight, being himself, answered his question without hesitation. "Whether you like it or not, the part of you I shaped doesn't want you to stay here. How ironic, I know. It's the part that's obsessive, callous, and realizes that as happy as you'd be here, nothing you do or say would matter, would make a difference."

"Then why can't I leave?"

"I knew you would eventually figure out this wasn't real and would want to leave- but only out duty and obligation, as always. No, it's not enough to want to leave, Alpenglow. You have to want to go.

He shook his head. "Go to where?!"

"Not to where, silly! To who!" chimed a cotton candy voice.

Another, very bookish, corrected, "To whom, Pinkie."

Those voices, so very familiar, lingered in the faraway realm of fantasy until Alpenglow turned back to the doorway, and saw nopony other than Twilight Sparkle standing in it. She stepped inside, followed by Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike, and stood by the princesses. Unlike them, so full of color and life, Tawny was even fainter now, her face and smile little more than his imagination. Not that it had been anything more before. Yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but look at Twilight and her friends. Like those moments when he was falling from the observatory, he was surprised by the warmth seeing them brought to mind, and the sadness he knew would replace it if he wasn't there to help them.

Blight cocked his head. "Ever since I saw you with them, I thought you were the one coming to their rescue. I was wrong. It's the other way around."

"They looked out for each other, Blight," said Tawny, blinking once. "That's what friends do." She paused. "Alpenglow, it's time for you to prove once and for all what that's worth to you."

Luna nodded in agreement. "As you have given Twilight one last lesson to learn as a princess, so must you relearn the lessons they have taught you. To finally move on, to fully accept the gift they have offered, and become again the pony you were meant to be."

Even in his head, Luna managed to speak with such grand diction. But one last thorn stuck though he realized she was right. "If I go..." he said weakly, "...I'll lose everything here. This is the closest I'll ever get to seeing any of you."

Four armored, shadowed figures had appeared behind Tawny. Unlike in the cave, their stony faces glittered with laughter and shared memories, and on their behalf Tawny whispered, "Alpenglow...what we have here, right now, is just a dream. I wouldn't've traded it for anything either, but it's still just a dream. Your dream. And you don't want to live in it forever, not when you have friends out there counting on you."

A sob of uncertain origins seized him as he let out, "I had to tell you...I'm sorry. For being here. For not saving you. You weren't just my friends, you were...you were my family, and I...just wanted you to be here again."

"We'll always be together, Alpenglow. Even if you can't talk to us. But you've got responsibilities, and you need to...go now."

Everypony but Tawny faded away completely, suddenly. He struggled to keep her in his mind's eye as she became harder and harder to see, but eventually she came to rest and exist only in his head. The first time she left him, he had no tears as he picked up her helmet. This time he had plenty as emptiness filled the cabin, their heat as they streamed down his face a reminder of how it feels to care about anything so much as to cry about it.

"Thanks, Tawny."

Then he ran- down the hill, off the beach, across the sea, and straight back into the thorny jaws of Ponyville town hall.

It was still dark when Alpenglow opened his eyes, but around him he could feel the vines, their grip slowly rotting away as the spell tying him to the fantasy broke. Had his heart been free to move on its own, it would have leapt from his chest and buried itself in the flower to return to the cabin. In a few seconds he had lived a lifetime, and as he pulled himself back together and looked down, he realized he was far from alone. Twilight, the princesses, and everypony were below, fighting a desperate battle against the plants as Blight watched from a rafter no more than three feet below.

Though drained, Alpenglow felt his lips crack into a thin smile. Maybe loyalty was his weakness, but vanity was Blight's, and the old pony was going to sincerely regret his carelessness, not to mention his cheap attempt at manipulation. Wings picking up speed, the knight carefully rose to the very top of the ceiling, took aim at Blight, and a heartbeat later, let the weight of the world drop him like an armored meteor.