Daybreak
Rainbow Dash awkwardly stood on top of the hill that once concealed the shrine beneath it. Down below her, the lagoon was filled with the ponies recovering from the tortures of the night—the survivors of a twisted ritual. They sat in a rough circle in silence as the gravity of what had barely passed them by weighed down on their shoulders. Rainbow suddenly had the distinct feeling that she wasn’t the only one suffering from survivor’s guilt.
But now that she’d had her time to cry and feel vulnerable, she felt strong enough to face her friends and companions and offer them her shoulder to lean on instead. She was the closest thing to a leader these ponies had, and she knew she had to appear strong after the horrors they’d all barely survived. But strong didn’t mean callous. She knew there would be few brash or cocky smiles to be shared down below. There would only be a quiet mourning for all they’d lost.
Spreading her crimson-streaked wings, Rainbow hopped off some rocks on the hill and simply glided down to the lagoon. She landed a short distance away from everypony else and cautiously approached, quietly hoping that somepony would notice her before she had to be the one to announce her presence to the group. Thankfully for her, Rarity saw her approaching along the beach, and Rainbow could practically see the weight of worry and unease evaporating from her shoulders. “Rainbow!” the siren exclaimed, happily splashing her tail through the water. Rainbow had no doubt that Rarity would have tried to rush up to her had she not been an enormous siren on a beach full of exhausted ponies, so she flew over to Rarity instead.
“In the flesh,” Rainbow said, sitting down on the water’s edge just in front of Rarity. Sighing, she flopped onto her back so she could look up at the siren without craning her neck. “Celestia, it’s… it’s been a long night.”
Rarity nodded and happily hummed now that Rainbow had finally shown herself once again. “I’m just so, so happy that you’re alive, darling,” Rarity said. “I thought… I-I feared that I’d never see you again after you flew into the shrine alone.”
“I didn’t think I was gonna make it out either,” Rainbow said. “I was fully expecting Soft to kill me in there, and she got close. I did stall her enough before she could kill Champagne…” Rainbow craned her neck around and glanced at the other survivors. “…but I was too slow to save all of them.”
“You can’t possibly blame yourself for that, Rainbow,” Rarity said. “You did more than anypony else could have possibly done. If you hadn’t flown ahead and so selflessly risked your life, then we’d all be suffering in eternal dark by now. You’re a hero!”
“I’m no hero,” Rainbow said. She spotted Chirp sitting in a tree nearby, nonchalantly masquerading as nothing more than an ordinary macaw. “Chirp’s the real hero.”
Rarity blinked. “What?”
“I mean it.” Rainbow extended her wings, letting Rarity see them for the first time. “When I went to go stall Soft Step, she lost her temper and beat me within an inch of my life. Then she decided that wasn’t enough, so she crumpled my wings like paper. It was… it was probably the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
Rarity gasped and held a hoof over her beak. “Oh, Rainbow…”
“She was gonna sacrifice me in place of Champagne,” Rainbow said. “Then you cracked open the shrine, and it distracted her. Chirp flew in like an angel and put his feathers in my wings. They fixed everything. It was magic, I swear.” She smiled across the lagoon at the bird, who fluffed his wings and yawned. “He fixed me and gave me the strength to go do that rainboom. And now I’ve got some sick crimson feathers in my wings, too.”
“Are they permanent?” Rarity asked. “They certainly are very pretty.”
“I don’t know,” Rainbow said. “They’re rooted in place. I might lose them come next molt, though. Enjoy them while they last.” But, sighing, she shuddered and closed her eyes. “I just wish they wouldn’t remind me of everything horrible that happened down there.”
“It’s over, Rainbow,” Rarity said, her voice soothing and sweet. She lowered her neck until she could gently rub her beak against Rainbow’s cheek and smiled. “You don’t have to worry about it anymore, okay, darling? The nightmare is finally over.”
Rainbow nuzzled Rarity’s beak and managed to sit upright. “Yeah, I guess you’re right, Rares,” she said. “I just… just wish that we didn’t have to lose so many to make it happen.”
“We’ll give them a proper burial,” Rarity said. “Ratchet, Gauze, Melody, and Soft… we’ll give them the rest they deserve.”
“I… I-I still can’t believe Melody is gone.” Rainbow’s voice hitched and she coughed to try and clear it. “She spent decades here, trapped and looking for a way to go home. And then she died trying to help us fix our mistakes…”
Her limbs trembled and she struck at the sand in frustration. “It’s not fair,” she growled. “It’s not fair at all. We failed her, Rares. We failed her. We were supposed to help her get out of here and go home to her mother and family. And we failed.” Rainbow shook and shook, but she lacked the energy to actually cry out. “Even when we win, we still lose.”
“No, Rainbow.” Rarity drew back and shifted to her right, her eyes looking out over the gap between the hill and the ridgeline that dominated the east end of the island. “We didn’t lose. Sure, it cost us much more than we could have ever anticipated, but we still won. Melody wouldn’t want us to grieve on behalf of her account. She’d want us to be happy that it’s over.” She raised a hoof and pointed toward the yellow glow sitting on the horizon, glittering where the sky met the sea. “Look at that.”
Rainbow raised her head and took wing, flying up to Rarity’s eye level to see what the siren saw. There, to the east, the first sliver of sun began to rise above the horizon. Cheerful and yellow, bright yet so far away, it chased away the shadows and the darkness of the night. Minute by minute it grew and grew, rising higher above the sea, slowly filling out as Celestia dragged it out of its sleep, hundreds of miles away. Its glow was like a beacon of hope, and finally, after such a long and horrid night, the comforting light of day broke through.
Rainbow didn’t even realize she was smiling until she saw the matching smile on Rarity’s face. “Huh,” she said, wings lazily flapping to keep her hovering in place. “We did do it, didn’t we? I never thought I’d see the sun again last night.”
“Me neither,” Rarity admitted. “But it sure is beautiful, wouldn’t you say so?”
“Yeah.” The pegasus nodded and turned her gaze to the siren next to her. “Probably the most beautiful sunrise I’ve ever seen.”
Rarity hummed, and she offered the length of her snout for Rainbow to perch on, which the pegasus happily took. Dropping down onto the bridge of Rarity’s elongated face, she squeezed her legs tight against it in an approximation of a cuddling embrace and kissed the scaly top once. Then, together, the couple watched the sun continue to swell and rise, promising a new beginning and a new hope to everyone in the days to come.
The night had ended.
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So this darkness has at last passed.As much as it pains me to say, though, now would be a good time to remember that there is always another nightfall.
This is like Frieza vs Goku saga. It goes on and on, and you're totally into it, then everything culminates in a great way, ending on a hell yeah.
I don't care if they have to wait until the day one of the pegasi die, years from now, to lower the shield. It's going to be a bitter sweet ending no matter what happens.
This isn't a miracle story where everything is fixed by a magic spell, loses happened and each are affected for it.
Someone should draw Rainbow with her new wings!
chapter 333 - Things Finally Seem To Be Going Well
...It still ain't over, even if the sun rises again on a new day...
That's an understatement...
Hopefully.
But we had thought that a few times already and it didn't end.
9033046
Huh, didn't notice that until you pointed it out.
Do you think that was intentional?
9033207
no, but it would be really cool if it was
9032869
9033046
9033072
Now is where we discover that the evil moon god was the only thing holding the evil sun god in check
Right.... things get bittersweet soon
9033200
... You're right. They should test. Using Roger's heart.
9033909
Can't, Roger doesn't have one