Epilogue
The Canterlot sky erupted into a an explosion of vibrant color. Cheers broke out as the citizenry of the beleaguered city celebrated the wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, but also the one week anniversary of their victory over the changelings. The Sonic Rainboom would later become identified with that victory, a sign of triumph over adversity.
But for Rainbow Dash, something felt … off with this one. Where’s the rush? she wondered. Where’s the awesomeness? Yeah this is still incredibly amazing, the ponies down there are eating it up … so why don’t I feel it? In truth, she’d been feeling pretty numb since the changeling’s defeat and the whirlwind of activities that had followed it.
Princess Luna's forces had pursued the changeling horde into the badlands, where they had gone to ground, no doubt licking their wounds. Luna informed them that it was unlikely Chrysalis would attempt anything for quite a while. Regardless, alerts had gone out across Equestria. If they attempted another invasion, the ponies would be ready.
The attack had galvanized a sentiment of unity across Equestria: earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, seaponies, merponies, crystal ponies and even the often-avoided gargoyles (or bat ponies), considered themselves part of a single herd. It was like the Hearth's Warming Eve play, Rainbow thought, only with more hitting.
Princess Luna was seen as the hero of the day, which went a long way towards her acceptance by the general public--which had been shocked by the sudden appearance of a second Princess. But her rescue of the wedding guests, in full view of the elite of Equestria, helped cement her position in their eyes. She stepped into Celestia's horseshoes after the battle, letting Celestia recover--she ended up sleeping for a full day and a half after the fight--while Luna supervised the fallout: the citizenry needed reassurances, the ponies who had been abducted needed to be tended to and returned to their families, and the castle needed to be repaired and everything fixed up for the wedding to resume.
Cadance decided to hold off on the wedding until things had calmed down a bit. It took time for all the preparations to be redone, anyway. Rainbow Dash had scarcely seen her friends during the following week--though perhaps that was for the best.
So the Grand Galloping Gala and the Royal Wedding took place as planned, exactly one week later, on--of all days--Hearts and Hooves Day. Cadance had loved that.
At the reception, Rainbow Dash stood off by herself, watching her dance with Shining Armor. They look so happy. Part of her wanted to be out there, tearing it up on the dance floor, chowing on wedding cake, talking with ponies about her Sonic Rainboom and the battle with the changelings--but her heart just wasn’t in it.
She made her way over to one of the tables and stood half-behind some of the ice sculptures. Her ears flicked as she heard muffled voices coming from beneath one of the tables. She crouched down and lifted the tablecloth, revealing a small group of foals helping themselves to generous portions of the wedding cake. All of them stopped as soon as they saw that they had been made. "Uh, hi Rainbow Dash!" Alula grinned, her smile a touch too wide to be genuine.
Dinky hopefully pushed a plate with a slice of cake towards her, the attempt at bribery as adorable as it was obvious. "Wanna piece? This one was mine, but you can have some cuz I love you!"
"I'm good, thanks." Rainbow took a seat underneath the table joining them. "What're you kids up too?"
"Well," Apple Bloom said around a mouthful of cake. "Mah sister and Pinkie Pie made the cake..."
"And Rarity made the dresses!" Sweetie Belle chimed in.
"...so we figured, that meant we got to have an extra piece of cake!" Apple Bloom concluded with perfect foal logic. “Uh … y’all won’t tell nopony, will ya?”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Your secret’s safe with me. You kids doing all right?”
“We’re awesome!” Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash with awe. "That Sonic Rainboom was the most amazing, spectacularly awesome coolest thing I've ever seen!"
That won a proud grin and a fond mane ruffling from her idol. "Yeah, it was pretty dang cool, wasn't it?" Dash asked.
"Ya-HUH it was!" Dinky exclaimed as she got up and hugged her godmother, settling down in her lap. Scootaloo frowned, but was appeased by Rainbow giving her a wing-hug. “It was almost as cool as you beating up all the bugs and Princess Luna going all--” she flailed her hooves in a fillyish imitation of martial arts.
“She’s the best princess ever!” Pipsqueak declared, cake frosting coating his muzzle.
Alula shook her head. “She was really cool, but Princess Celestia is even better!”
This sparked an intense intellectual exchange of ‘No way!’ and ‘Yes way!’ that made Rainbow roll her eyes. Still, if this was the worst argument between friends, then she figured they were all right. “So!” Rainbow interjected. “You guys having fun?”
Dinky nodded. “Yeah! Miss Cadance looked rilly pretty and was SUPER-nice and stuff! We had cake and I wanna go and dance an’ stuff--oh! I just remembered! Mommy said your friends were looking for you.”
Rainbow almost winced. “Oh. Thanks Dinks.” Her flat tone betrayed her unease.
“Are you okay?” Dinky asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Rainbow Dash gave her a small, encouraging smile. Dinky gave her a Get-Better Hug, squeezing her tight. “Thanks kiddo … you go have fun. I’m feeling better.”
Dinky looked at her suspiciously, “You sure? Cuz I can stay with you and stuff.”
Dash shook her head. “Nah, s’fine. You go. I’m going to go hang out with my friends. Go tear up the dance floor--and make sure your mom isn’t doing that literally.”
That made Dinky nod. “We don’t want Mommy t’break stuff! C’mon Pippy, ‘lula! Let’s dance!”
Giving an exuberant cheer, the foals rushed out and began to dance with childish exuberance and energy, and the coordination and grace to match. Rainbow spied Derpy shaking her flank to the tune of Octavia and Vinyl Scratch’s combination of classical and dub-step. They briefly met each others’ gaze, with Derpy smiling and waving--and almost smacking Trenderhoof’s head. That’s our Derpy. Rainbow Dash grinned, waving back. She left Derpy to her dancing, meandering around the reception with little rhyme or reason, until she found herself being called.
“Rainbow Dash?” She suppressed a wince as she heard Twilight’s voice behind her. Rainbow turned and saw the rest of her friends were with her. Twilight’s ears were flat and her head lowered in shame. “I--we … we wanted to talk to you. About what happened.” The others looked equally uncomfortable. Applejack removed her hat, half hiding behind it. Fluttershy had no hesitation in fully hiding--behind her mane and Rarity, who was chewing her lower lip. Even Pinkie Pie looked depressed, quite literally, as her mane had deflated.
Of course they did. Rainbow shrugged and kept her voice even. “Sure, okay. Let’s talk.”
Twilight fidgeted until Applejack put a supporting hoof on her shoulder. “Rainbow, we’re so, so sorry. We should have listened to you--should’ve believed you.” She almost seemed to shrink down into herself. “I don’t--I wish we knew how to make this right.”
That’s because there really wasn’t any, Rainbow grumbled darkly to herself. Part of her wanted to throw their apology back in their faces and tell them where they could stick it. But another part of her wanted this all to be over with with; to shove the entire mess out of her mind and never think about it again. That part won out so she shrugged as nonchalantly as she could. “It’s all right. I forgive you guys. We’re cool.”
That was what she had to say, she thought to herself. Right? The Elements of Harmony wouldn’t work if they weren’t friends and all this showed how much they needed the elements. And she was loyal. It wasn’t just her Element, it was who she was. She always stuck by her friends, her family and whatever else needed standing by. Even if they didn’t stand by her when she needed them most … the thought came unbidden and she angrily shoved it back down. It’s over. They said sorry and I accepted it. I’m not gonna think about it any more.
But then Applejack cleared her throat. “Sugarcube … Ah don’t need to be a psycho-ologist t’know that yer lying.”
“What’re you talking about?” Rainbow felt her throat clench up a bit. “I got tricked, you got tricked--Chrysalis screwed with all of us. It doesn’t make sense for me to be mad at you guys.” She tried her best to smile, but judging by the looks on their faces, her best just wasn’t good enough.
“We might have all had the wool pulled over our eyes--” Applejack admitted. “But that don’t mean you still aren’t hurting. No matter what you say, this were anything but cool.”
As if a switch had been flipped in her head, Rainbow felt a sudden surge of fury. “Of course it isn’t feathering cool!” she barked. “I was thrown in a dungeon! None of you believed in me! I almost stopped believing I was me! I’ve crashed into things that didn’t hurt as much.” She seethed, feeling only slightly better for having dished it out a bit. There was a certain satisfaction she got from seeing them wince and fidget uncomfortably … and she hated herself for it. What kind of friend enjoys seeing their friends like that? She idly touched the Element of Harmony hanging around her neck. The Princess had insisted they be worn as a way of reassuring ponies. It might have been Rainbow’s imagination, but she swore the ruby-red jewel looked a little duller than usual.
She was so distracted that she was almost knocked over when Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy suddenly rushed her and pulled her into a tight hug. Rainbow staggered, but managed to remain upright. Fluttershy buried her face in Dash’s chest, whimpering. Pinkie was crestfallen. “We’re soooo sorry Dashie! We never ever ever wanted to hurt you!”
Fluttershy looked up at her, nodding in agreement. “You’ve always been there to protect me and I’m so very very sorry that I wasn’t there when you needed protecting. I’d understand if you never wanted to see me again or didn’t want to be friends anymore...” her eyes welled up with tears.
“Whoa whoa, when did I say that?” Rainbow asked, holding her her hooves to stop her. “Of course we’re friends! I just don’t--I mean we’re--grah!” She stomped her hoof. “This bucking sucks, you know that?” She waited for her friends to nod. “And the worst part--” Rainbow deflated slightly. “The worst part? I can't even feel ticked off at you without feeling like a total mule myself.” She paused as the others looked surprised. “I mean, I spent a week thinking that at least one of you was a changeling--it took me that whole time to realize how ridiculous it all was. You guys wised up in, what, a couple of hours?" She rubbed her face. "I don't know how I can be mad at you for believing Princess Fakelestia when I totally fell for it too--only I still feel mad and dammit, I want to be mad." Rainbow swallowed, feeling a bitter taste in her mouth at the admission. "And I hate that too! You guys are awesome friends and I don't want to be mad at you--I want to be all, y'know, loyal and stuff--but I also want to be mad at you too without feeling guilty about it!"
Fluttershy let out a tiny whimper, and Rainbow immediately felt worse.
Twilight rubbed her front hooves together. "I don't want you to be upset with us--it's perfectly natural that you'd feel that way. And you're right, we all believed Chrysalis. Only I don't think it's quite the same." She risked looking Rainbow Dash in the eye, and was relieved not to see outright hatred in her eyes. "You knew Princess Celestia ever since you were a little filly. Chrysalis played on your loyalty and your close connection with her ... It was only natural for you to believe her, and to feel conflicted about who to trust in that situation." She looked over at the rest of their friends. "But we ... we didn't know Princess Celestia like you did. We only knew her through you. For us to take her word over yours ... that was wrong. And unlike you, we didn't know you were suspicious of us. So none of us had to be confronted by the rest of our friends accusing her, not believing us...and throwing us in a dungeon." Twilight's voice choked off. "I'm sorry!"
Rarity walked over, delicately draping a leg across Twilight's back. "Darling, while I think Twilight is right, and we all feel just awful about what we did … I don't think this is a situation where nopony is without fault. We didn't trust each other because we thought we were all acting ... off."
Rainbow couldn't argue that. "Yeah ... I mean, eventually I realized that none of you guys were phonys--but after Fakelestia put the idea in my head, and I saw how stressed out and weird you guys were acting … I got bent out of shape when I thought you guys were acting off." Rainbow sighed. "S'like I didn't wanna admit that maybe I didn't know you all as well as I thought I did--that there were sides of you I didn't know were there: that I didn't want to admit were there."
"I am vast, I contain multitudes." Twilight softly said.
"Gee Twilight, I didn't think you were that fat." Pinkie commented. "I mean, Applejack's the one with the huge flank..."
"What is this, pick on the farmer day?" the put-upon farmpony grumbled.
Twilight shook her head. "No no, it means ... it means there are a lot of sides to a pony. Nopony is just one thing--even if somepony act one way most of the time, that doesn't mean they'll be like that all of the time.”
Rarity offered her own opinion. "The Wedding--and maybe Chrysalis--put us in places where we were in a position to do what we love for ponies we cared about," she explained. "But the short amount of time we had to work, the pressure we were under--it was simply too much. I know for me that the idea of creating dresses for a royal wedding--and forming connections with the elite of Equestria was so tempting that..."
“That we got so darn focused on th’ task we forgot what were even here for,” Applejack finished. “Ah guess anypony can ferget themselves--or worse, her friends--when somethin' big comes up." She rubbed the back of her neck. "That ain't an excuse, now, but it's what Ah think happened.”
Twilight nodded, picking up her thread from earlier. “And when pushed, ponies can act in a way that seems--out of the ordinary for them: Pinkie Pie can be serious sometimes, and Applejack can be discreet..." she looked to Rainbow. "And you can be mad at us without being disloyal."
Applejack agreed. "Rainbow, there's aint nothing that says you cain't be mad at a friend. Even blood-boilin' furious, if it comes t'that. None of us would blame you for a second if that's how ya feel. Only," she gulped nervously. "I figur' as I was the most suspicious pole-cat outta everypony, y'all should be mad at me, and not them." She shut her eyes and winced, as if expecting to get hit.
Rainbow looked down to see her hoof twitching. She quickly forced it to stop. “I’m not gonna punch you…” she shook her head. “But how do we fix this? I mean, this was really bad. We couldn’t even use the Elements to stop the big crazy bug queen. And next time we need them, we might not have Princess Luna around to save the day.” Rainbow looked around. “How do we fix this? What do we have to say or do make this right?” She ruffled her wings, as if signaling that she wanted to fly through all this uneasy and emotional trouble the way she would a patch of turbulent weather.
Unfortunately, her answer came in the form of an awkward pause that dashed those hopes. “Feels like we should be th’ ones asking you that.” Applejack observed. “An’ if’n you don’t know … maybe there isn’t anything.” Her tone was glum.
Fluttershy shook her head. “Any problem can be fixed, but … maybe not right away.” She shuffled her hooves. “Issues between friends aren’t always worked out after a single talk. But that doesn’t mean we won’t stop working on it. And we’ll never give up on our friendship.”
Pinkie Pie nodded so ferverently Rainbow was afraid her head would go sailing clear off. “Yeah! I know just what we need!”
“A party?” Rainbow drawled.
But Pinkie surprised her by shaking her head. “Nopey-dopey! Even better! We need a vacation for some bestest-friend bonding time!”
“That does sound nice,” Fluttershy offered. “A nice, quiet, relaxing vacation.”
Rarity nodded. “Away from all of this hustle and fuss, I think.”
“The wedding was pretty stressful,” Twilight rubbed her neck. “And that was even before the invasion by evil love-sucking bugs.”
“Weddin's usually are,” Applejack paused. “Not the invasion stuff, the stressful part.”
Rainbow thought about it … and nodded. “Yeah. Guess time’s the only thing that’s gonna fix this,” she grumbled, hating things that made her wait. “If it’s gonna take time, might as well spend it doing something awesome.” A sudden commotion made her turn her head. “What’s going on?”
Applejack leaned forward, putting a hoof up to her brow. “Hmm. Looks like Cadance’s gettin’ ready t’throw the bouquet…”
“MINE!” Rarity surged forward. Feeling her competitive streak kick in, Rainbow flapped her wings and zipped above the crowd. She arrived just in time for Cadance to turn around and toss her bouquet behind her. Dash dived low and snatched the bouquet before it would land in Rarity’s hooves.
Whooping, Rainbow landed and held up her prize. “Ha! I win!” She paused as she tried thinking about what the bouquet was for. “Uh, what did I win?”
“A new dress design, fer starters.” Applejack snickered.
Cloud Kicker, spotting the excitement, trotted over with a grin on her face and a sway in her hips. “They say the mare who catches the bouquet is the one who'll get married next. So ... whaddaya say, Dash?” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. All the color rushed out of Rainbow’s face.
“I think you would make a lovely bride, Rainbow.” Rarity sighed, her envy obvious.
“That is the tradition,” Twilight agreed. “It's really interesting how it got started, actually.”
Cloud Kicker draped a wing over Rainbow’s shoulders. “Don’t want to get hitched? I don’t blame you: who'd want to leave the swinging single lifestyle behind?”
“Nonononono--” Dash shoved the bouquet roughly at Rarity. “Take it! Take it take it take it!”
Rarity snatched it up, cradling it like it was her child. Fluttershy coughed. “Um, I don’t think it works like that…”
Still smirking at Rainbow Dash, Cloud Kicker patted her back. “So ... wanna practice for your big wedding kiss?”
Applejack had to hide her laughter behind her hat. Rainbow shoved Cloud Kicker away. “Oh hay no! You pull this after every time I save the world. If I don't stop this now, it'll become a habit. And considering how often I save the day…” she trailed off. “Well, let’s just say I don't need you trying to suck my face off every other week.”
"Can't blame a mare for trying," Cloud commented, not sounding put off by Rainbow Dash's blunt rejection.
"I think I can after the thirtieth or so time..."
Cloud shrugged nonchalantly. “Your loss.” She tilted her head. “So ... all your friends are still single, right?”
Rainbow Dash blinked owlishly. “What?”
“Just saying…” Cloud sauntered over to Rainbow’s friends, eyeing Applejack. “If you're not interested, I could always chow down on some Apples.”
The innuendo and accompany mental image made Rainbow put a hoof up to her mouth. “Oh my gosh … I'm gagging and vomiting all at the same time--I'm--I’m gavomiting!” She looked around for a nearby place in case her stomach decided to come back up.
Cloud Kicker pretended not to notice, flicking her tail against Applejack’s hindlegs before continuing on. “So Twilight,” Cloud turned to her. “Is it true that Princess Celestia can invoke jus primae noctis?”
Twilight’s face heated and she started dancing up and down on her hooves. “That’s my brother!” she wailed.
“Uh, prima what?” Rainbow asked, grateful for the distraction.
But Cloud’s toothy grin didn’t make her feel any more comfortable. “Do you want to explain, or should I?”
Still blushing, Twilight grumbled, “It’s--it’s an old never-used law that lets the ruler of a land, um, consummate any marriage.”
“Ooooh...” Pinkie Pie nodded in understanding. “That means Princess Celestia can totally sleep with Shining Armor, right? Or would that be Princess Luna?”
“Why not both?” Cloud tossed in.
“That is a good idea!” Pinkie nodded. “I‘m gonna go ask the Princesses ‘n stuff! Excuse me, be back in a flash!”
Twilight goggled. “Oh no, you are not asking the Princesses if they’re going to sleep with my big brother!” She encased Pinkie in her magical grip.
“Yeah, letting Shining sleep with other mares is what the bachelor party was for!” Cloud snickered. “I had a lot of fun crashing that. His plot has ‘property of Cadance’ stamped on it now.” She grinned, draping a wing across Twilight’s back. “But enough about them, wanna go out?”
“Wh-what? Twilight stammered, blushing madly.
Cloud nodded. “We’re both single, you’re smart and attractive, so why not—” She was cut off by Rainbow Dash’s wing, which had decided to apply itself repeatedly to Cloud Kicker’s head.
“You ... stupid .. perv!” Rainbow shouted, whapping her with her wing. “You don’t--you just don’t, okay?”
Snickering, Cloud tossed her a lazy salute. “Yeah, yeah--I know you want me all for yourself,” she winked and backed out of hitting range. “I’m gonna go make sure Derpy doesn’t demolish the muffin table. Catch you girls later!” She flew off.
“They come to me. They all come to me. How do they find me?” Rainbow wondered of nopony in particular.
“Must be yer magnetic personality,” Applejack joked, and Dash was surprised at how readily the group had fallen back into their familiar patterns.
“So where're we going on our vacation?” Pinkie Pie asked, before gasping and answering her own question. “Oooh! Oooh! I know! I heard there's this new super-huge water park opening up on Horseshoe Bay! I bet they'll have slides and tube rides and wave machines and…”
“Maybe Fillydelphia, I'd love to visit all the libraries and museums there…” Twilight chimed in.
Fluttershy chimed in. “Oh, there's this absolutely lovely nature preserve just outside Las Pegasus…”
“Why Manehatten, of course! The glamour, the sophistication…” Stars practically gleamed in Rarity’s eyes as she envisioned it.
“Y’all have never actually been, have ya?” Applejack asked. “Nah, s’gotta be Appleoosa! Nothin' says 'serenity' like leaves on the desert wind.”
Rainbow grinned. “Nah, you’re all missing out on the best place of all: the Wonderbolt Museum in Cloudsdale!”
The rest of her friends shared an identical, skeptical look. The sight made Rainbow Dash grin and crack up, the other soon joining in. The six mares continued their friendly bickering as they enjoyed the wedding reception.
From her room at the top of her tower, Princess Celestia looked down at the festivities below. While she had physically recovered from her ordeal, she was still troubled. How closely had it all come to being lost, she couldn’t help but think. Her sister, her student, all her little ponies--gone.
A voice from behind her drew her attention away. “I see you’ve chosen to stay in your room, to fret and worry about your doom.”
“Zecora,” Celestia nodded to her. “It isn’t like you stick around after all the excitement is over.”
That won a rueful grin from the zebra. “True, I suppose I rely too much on my mystique,” her gaze darkened. “But then, recent events have left me feeling somewhat bleak.”
“I feel much the same,” Celestia turned back to the view of Canterlot. “When you came to me, all those months ago with your warning--I didn’t believe you. I might even have been more short with you than I would have liked.”
Zecora shrugged her shoulders, causing her necklaces and bracelets to jangle slightly. “It is no surprise, I know. None like to hear the omens of a stormcrow.” She sighed. “Nor, truth be told, do I really care for the role.”
“Except that you were right,” Celestia observed. “Nightmare Moon, Sombra, Chrysalis … the signs are clear. Things have been escalating. At first I could anticipate them, set up preparations and contingency plans … but now they threats are coming faster and faster, each one worse than the last.” Her shoulders sagged and she lowered her head. “Now, I can barely do anything to help.”
“Your ponies are strong and true, they are capable of great things--even without you.” But Zecora’s tone betrayed her own worries. “But will that be enough for what comes next? There are challenges ahead that must be met”
Celestia nodded, straightening herself. “I cannot let my ponies face this alone. Even if it means resorting to … desperate measures.” Zecora joined her by the window, their gazes shifting away from the reception on the steps of the castle, which sprawled out into the city. They looked instead to the castle gardens … and to a lone, twisted looking mishmash statue at its center. The Princess of the Sun’s gaze dropped. “We have no choice.”
She swore she could almost hear him chuckling.
THE END
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Nice ending to a great story.
I like that the problem with their friendship isn't something that can be solved in 22 minutes or less. Hopefully a good vacation will let them all relax and unwind. Maybe Twilight can bring Cloud along as her date? I'm sure Rainbow wouldn't mind that at all.
Interesting setup you've got for a sequel. I can't imagine Rainbow taking Discord's reformation as well as Twilight "the Princess is always right" Sparkle did. And even she still had her misgivings.
Ohhhhh dear. I'm not even going to try imagining what Dashverse Discord would do...
Probably while the Elements are on holiday. Have fun fixing Equestria from the middle of nowhere.
Oh boy...no rest for the weary I suppose.
So now, another chapter of this awesome saga concludes, with another one about to start. Please get it out as soon as possible.
This is a fitting end to the story. It's not her ripping her friends a new one, which I'm grateful for, nor is it them automatically forgiving one another after all the fuss during the wedding. Nice..... now when is Gilda showing up? My OTP must be hinted at or at least RD and her must meet. MAKE IT HAPPEN BUCKO!
Sounds like Rainbow Dash's dreams do occasionally come true.
Dun dun dun.
Whew that was one heck of a ride from start to finish. I quite like the ending unlike a certain episode which glosses right over the non-instant resolution.
A great ending to a wonderful story. Well done.
This has been one hell of a ride, and I wouldn't trade it for all the apples in Equestria! You're probably one of the best Dash writers I've found, if not the best, so every single one of these stories has been a treat!
Now, I wonder what other adventures these Mane 6 can get into... and if they involve more hitting than their canon counterparts.
...if the last few stories are any indication, the answer to the latter is certainly yes.
Well, there are all the cards on the table, there they are having to work on things and there's Discord about to be a big creep to everyone.
Note: I havent read all of this, but I did scan the ending so this comment is based on that.
Once again, my favorite Rainbow Dash writer knocks it out of the park with the emotions and the logic behind it all. You could easily take the lines that Dash says here and apply it to Twilight as well. This is why I shake my head at the Canterlot Wedding fix fics that have Twilight running away, or just yelling out at them and being a child about it. That isn't how a person would really act and that isn't how friends would act.
No, they would work through it and they talk through it. They work together as one an take the time to build on their friendships. That is who they are and what they do. Yeah, she could be mad at them, but hate...no. They would be like adults and work through their problem with time, and friendship. That is what I will always love about the work you do.
And...that is why I am so going to look forward to doing the first Rainbooms and Royalty one day soon.
Another great ending to another great story! I especially love how the confrontation wasn't just a quick apology and then it's back to being friends again. While RD didn't lay into them like I hoped she would, I'm glad they at least acknowledged how wrong they were to turn on her like that...
Also, Discord's the next villain. CALLED IT!!
another great story. can't wait for whats next.
Oh God...not Dipscord
Alright *rubs hands together* when's the next one?
What is next? Rainbow Alicorn?
NOOOO!!! You were so close.... I had such high hopes for you... You were the chosen one. You were supposed to make CloudDash happening, not destroy it
But on the other Hand: bloody hell, where do you get all the awesome? Because i shure as hell am looking forward to seeing you unleash more of it with discord's return. Party on!
6289147
Just going to point out that if this was an anime Rainbow smacking Cloud and calling her stupid pervert would practically be a declaration of undying love.
A perfect way to wrap up a fantastic tale. And hint at the sequel of course. I very much look forward to reading it.
Nice ending to this story.
6288142
Maybe Discord isn't the Big Bad who gets reformed in this universe... maybe something in the next story allows Rainbow to keep her promise to Sombra.
6288115 Fluttershy might, though. I'm sure I remember her saying she had a thing for Cloud. Maybe even enough to assert herself.
6289162 It's true.
ya
_______________
acts
_____________
Ah
you / ya [y'all is plural.]
________________
I feel ambivalent to the end of this ... but meh. I do look forward to the next fic. This chapter though, had all the awesome chapters before it to live up to, so I can't really blame it on over all quality.
So Discord is next in line for baddie beat down. I can't wait to see how it goes. Nice wrap up to the wedding, glad to see it was Celestia being replaced. Though I do admit I would have liked to see the results of a Changeling Rainbow who honestly thought she was the real deal and if she would side against Chrysalis. It would be one way to see if a Double Rainboom is possible!!!
That's just the pageant, I would lay money on the original events having a fair amount of hitting too.
National unity, Luna's public status, looks like we're getting several different silver linings out of this crisis.
I'm glad to see that the girls are having this conversation, they really needed to deal with the elephant in the room.
Good save, Twilight.
A vacation for the girls sounds like a decent enough plan. Just go somewhere other than the honeymoon destination, that could be pretty awkward.
Now that's just a little ominous.
Good story, was a wild ride.
6289162 hmmm.... Fair point sir
It also probably wouldn't have killed Medivh to shower once in a while.
Now that was unexpected. Rainbow giving Celestia a lesson. She really is growing and maturing over the course of your stories, and kiss me, I love it.
Fluttershy's animal horde rescue was hilarious, and a much better use of her outdoor voice and rampage than the disastrous Best Night Ever. Even tops some of the more exotic background pony fighting previously seen. But all of that pales to 'The Night is Coming.' Never have those four words been uttered by a hero and sounded So. Frickin'. Awesome.
Humor is top notch, story is engaging and fun, I felt for the drama (seriously, right in the feels), and as always looking forward to more of the over-arcing tale. A vacation sounds like it could indeed be the perfect thing for the Mane Six to relax and relate to one another. Especially if it all goes horribly, catastrophically wrong. Someone is clearly howling at the moon.
Guessing its Discord first, as a preparation for... worse things still... hell, compared to the agony Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis, and King Sombra put them through... Discord probably won't do much more than liven up their vacation.
Why was there no rainbow dash dancing with soarin
you should sooo put soarindash in the next one 
Very nice ending. Handled a lot better than the actual episode, too. Although Cloud Kicker skipped over about a dozen lines, there.
As for Discord... ah, that asshole. Seal him up and dropkick him into a black hole!
Not bad at all. Should be interesting to see where the Discord angle goes.
I really can't wait to see what you have in mind for the eventual Sunset Shimmer vs. Rainbow Dash confrontation though. Why do I have a feeling it will likely involve both of them beating the crap out of each other while in the human world? Heck, it'd be even funnier if Dash was surprised that a "bookworm unicorn" could actually pack a mean right hook.
This...this is where I think Trinary succeeds where so many 'fix fics' fails.
As I said eariler in the comments- No, they would work through it and they talk through it. They work together as one an take the time to build on their friendships. That is who they are and what they do. Yeah, she could be mad at them, but hate...no. They would be like adults and work through their problem with time, and friendship. That is what I will always love about the work you do.
Why? Because they aren't so weak as to let this keep them down. They'll cry and talk about it off scree, repair it after a lot of talking and crying, but they'llfix it because they know that they are worth it. That is the strength of thier friendship.
Oh, and I got so much I want to talk about here, but I want to save it for later. Right now...I just want to see what's next.
Uh, I realize that saying "this was a good story" by itself isn't really insightful, but... this was a good story.
Chrysalis was one of the smartest I've seen, weaving all the slice-of-life breakdowns into a fighty episode played to Royalty and Rainboom's strengths (characterization while being kickass), most of the events feel like they could have been in the show itself, the Elements not working was a nice twist, Luna kicking ass kicked ass, and the moral was one of the better ones I've seen for wedding fics.
I'll have to go back and read the Sombra story now, to make sure I'm up-to-date when the next Dashverse story comes out.
6288115
Please. How depressing would it have been if the actual episode ended like that? This was a good story, but seriously, why was everyone praising the fact that the story ended with their friendship still in shambles, especially if it means that bitch Chrysalis won in a sense?
6288287
How is them not forgiving one another in any way a good thing?
7411536 It's a case of everybody screwed up but it was not something they could control.
7411536
Because an automatic, weak 'I'm sorry' like in the show fixes precisely shit. It not only needs to be sincere, but needs to be backed by ones actions. Saying sorry is all well and good, but it takes more than just that to rebuild trust.
7486021
I know. Still, everything was hunky dory in the show between Twilight and the others when all was said and done. Honestly, in this universe. all the girls should just get the hell over themselves and let bygones be bygones. I mean, sure, Chrysalis was repelled, but the girls' friendship is still in tatters, meaning that bitch still won in a way...
6288719
For Faust's sake, WHY is everyone so happy it wasn't an "Easily Forgiven" situation? I mean, their friendship is ruined, so Chrysalis still won in a way...and I do NOT like it when bad guys win. Seriously, with every reformed antagonist in the show, the fans are always bitching that they were forgiven too easily. If you ask me, holding grudges and withholding forgiveness, especially when the other party is genuinely penitent, is a sign of weakness.
6288521
Pisses me off they even HAVE to work through it, and not just let bygones me bygones...
7486021
And I have to wonder: WHY is it so damn hard fo rebuild trust? It wasn't a problem in the show....
6288287
I've said it before and I'll say it again: withholding forgiveness is for pussies, and the fact they couldn't just let bygones be bygones makes them out to be a bunch of whiny foals...
7969105
status quo is god i cartoons
8713654
It's a reference to a moment in the video game Persona 4 wherein the main characters get drunk (sorta) and play what is ultimately a variation on Truth or Dare they call King's Game. Only half the characters out of the eight present actually seem to enjoy themselves, and everyone else is vocal in their dislike of it.
In hindsight, it probably would have been better if I'd written, like "TRUTH OR DARE!" or something like that instead...
This has always been my favorite series, and one of the originals I found when I first came to this site. I remember waiting anxiously for each new chapter to see how the adventures would unfold. Years later and rereading it all over again brought back those same feelings and I cannot thank you enough for a wonderful concept and imagination, as well as writing ability.
Genuinely well done, sir.
7411533
Because in real life trust is a very easy thing to destroy. I'm glad the real episode didn't end this way. But I like that in an au story the characters have depth in a fanfiction.