Rainbow's Quest

by Zetriax

The Rift

Chapter 26- The Rift
Rainbow drifted through the endless darkness. There was nothing: no light, no sound, nothing. It was like the edge of the world. This was the Void.
It was not a sense of dread that found its way into the pegasus’ heart. Rather, it was regret. She had failed her quest. Rainbow never reached Chrono or the Fate Stone. She would drift here in this perpetual darkness until the entire land of Equestria joined her.
“I’m sorry,” she said. Even though she knew the words were spoken, she didn’t hear them. The sound was immediately sucked into the black nothingness.
As she drifted through the Void, she summoned her memories. Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity had been with her through various trials and heartaches. They were her best friends, or at least she thought so. The image of the five mares began to warp. In their place stood three different ponies: Shadow Flare, Scootaloo, and even little Jade. These were her friends here, in this time. It seemed that, after all they’ve been through, these ponies were her closest friends.
Rainbow wanted to go home. Not to her own time and life, but her new home. The one that she had tried to protect… and failed. Now she would never see the light of day again. She would see none of her old friends ever again. But was there really any reason to be disappointed? Maybe her disappearance would stop the clock ticking towards the end of the world. Maybe her friends would survive. Rainbow felt the stopwatch around her neck.
She couldn’t leave yet. Even if she stayed here in the Void, Chrono was still out there. He would find another way to destroy the world even if his initial plan failed. Rainbow couldn’t fail! She never failed! And she never leaves her friends in trouble!
Determination rose inside her heart. Suddenly, something began to happen. Rainbow saw light tearing through the darkness like a foal tearing into a present. Light swelled around her until all she could see was blinding light. Then she was falling. Falling down at an exhilarating speed towards an unseen destination. Flames erupted along her wings at her insane dive, yet the flames protected her rather than harmed her.
Then she could see again. She was a meteor plummeting into the battlefield below her. With her fall, the darkness brought by the Fallen faded like mist in the sun. Rainbow blazed past several flying Fallen and they vaporized instantly into stardust.
Then her heart skipped a beat as she realized that she was not going to be able to stop in time to avoid colliding with the ground. Rainbow braced herself for the inevitable impact. The ground rushed towards her with frightening velocity. Suddenly there was an explosion behind her. A Sonic Rainboom? No, it was more than that; the entire sky was arced with electricity all emanating from the point where her trail had caused the explosion. The lightning bolts jabbed neatly at the Fallen, causing each one to fall to its brilliant light.
Rainbow came to an abrupt halt. It was not the bone-jarring, life-ending halt she had expected; in fact, she was still in the air. She looked below her to see Shadow Flare directly below her, a green aura around his horn and sweat dripping from his forehead.
“Thank you,” Rainbow said. The flames dissipated from her wings and she collapsed to the ground, Shadow catching her with his magic. He rested her beside him. The two ponies were on the top of a hill that overlooked the land for miles, facing the east. The first rays of light were beginning to peek from behind the horizon, setting the sky a brilliant, flaming orange.
“You did it,” Shadow said to her. “I knew you would.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you, Shadow.” Rainbow replied, resting her head on his shoulder as the sun continued its skyward ascent. His presence was comforting. She let her eyes close, feeling safe once more. The cold from the Fallen was fading, quickly replaced with warm light of dawn.
“Rainbow,” Shadow said.
“Yeah?” Rainbow acknowledged without opening her eyes.
“I,” he began, “I’m very glad you came here. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you. Because of you, I actually have friends. And you… well I think you’re more than just a friend to me.” Rainbow opened her eyes, and looked up at him. He was staring back at her with those brilliant green eyes. “I know you have to go home soon, but I don’t want you to go. I love you.”
Rainbow was speechless. What should she say? Did she love him back? At that moment, she was sure that she did, more sure than ever before. She did love him, no matter how much she wanted to deny it. Rainbow loved Shadow.
“I love you, too,” she whispered. Shadow let out a sigh as if he had been holding his breath. Rainbow rested her head back on his shoulder and watched the sun climb into the sky. It was the most beautiful dawn she had ever seen.
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Scootaloo was observing the aftermath of the battle from the sky. She could see the backs of Shadow and Rainbow as they gazed into the sunrise. The sight filled her with joy and pity at the same time. She saw the way they looked at each other, yet she knew it couldn’t last. It was a doomed love.
Rather than dwelling on what lay ahead for them, she swept her sharp gaze back to the battlefield. There were many injured ponies everywhere. Somepony had obviously gotten hold of the hospital, though; doctors and nurses were by almost all the wounded soldiers’ sides.
“Mama?” Scootaloo heard a voice below her. She turned to see that Jade had wandered onto the battlefield and was over the form of an earth pony with a red mane. It was Rose. “Mama?” Jade said, her voice choking on the word. Scoots soared down and alighted beside the green earth filly and looked down at Rose. Blood streamed from her mouth and she stared blankly into the clear, blue sky.
“Mama!” Jade cried throwing herself onto Rose’s body with a sob. Scootaloo felt tears rise as she watched the young filly grieve over her deceased mother. A few of the doctors heard Jade and looked in their direction but didn’t come over. It was apparent there was nothing they could do.
Scootaloo knelt beside Jade and wrapped a wing around her. “It’ll be okay,” she whispered as Jade mourned openly. Jade turned and buried her face into Scootaloo’s shoulder. Fate was cruel. How would they survive the impending doom if fate toyed with them this way? Equestria had changed since the princesses disappeared. Perhaps harmony was done for. Perhaps it was time for the world to end.