To Die Again
“W-what?”
Rainbow twitched, a storm of emotions raging in her heart that left her at a loss for what to say or what to do. Her jaw moved up and down as she hunted for the right words to say, but nothing came out. Her hoof was reaching for Twilight, hoping to call her back, but if anything, it was only serving to make her retreat more.
The silence was horrible, making every last moment drag on and on for an eternity. The stunned stares of the others were even worse. But the worst part was the look on Twilight’s face. Rainbow shuddered involuntarily at just how hurt she looked. The last time she had seen Twilight looking at her like that had been over two years ago on the Friendship Express.
It was agony seeing that face again, and it made Rainbow want to scream; to double over, bury her face in her hooves, and wail at the top of her lungs over yet another colossal mistake that she had made. It was always Rainbow, wasn’t it? It was always her who made the biggest mistakes, who led her friends into danger, who set them up for failure…
And this was no different.
Finally, Twilight was able to break the silence. She licked her lips and took another unsteady step backward. “What do you mean… ‘again’?” she asked in barely even a whisper, yet even that was all but deafening.
Applejack’s eyes widened considerably. “Ya mean ya don’t…?” she breathed before turning to Rainbow in shock. “She doesn’t know? Rainbow, ya never told her?!”
Rainbow’s lungs tightened in her chest. It was getting harder to breathe and think through the haze clouding her thoughts.
Twilight glanced briefly at Applejack before her expression hardened. She took a step towards Rainbow, her eyes narrowing. “You never told me what?” she asked, her shock steadily being replaced with suspicion.
There was no getting out of this, was there?
Rainbow sucked in a deep breath before letting her hoof thump uselessly back to the ground. She lowered her head and closed her eyes, not able to look at Twilight or any of them in her shame. “...It’s exactly what it sounds like,” she said, her voice all but devoid of energy or emotion. “I… You died, Twilight. In my hooves… you were murdered…”
She could hear Twilight shifting uneasily on her hooves. “But… that doesn’t make any sense. If I died, then, how can I be…”
Rainbow lifted her head to look at Twilight again. “It’s how you became an alicorn,” she went on. “Mom… I dunno how it all works, but… she turned you into an alicorn. That brought you back to life. But… it…” she turned to one side, her eyes focusing on a crystal jutting up from the corner of the chamber. “...It had a really high price.”
“My memories…”
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah…”
A heavy silence filled the room. Rainbow heard Twilight’s hooves traversing the floor until one of them reached out to grasp her chin. She did not resist as Twilight turned her chin so they were eye to eye. “...Why?” Twilight asked after a moment, retracting her hoof. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
Rainbow shuddered. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to look away, to cower down, but she forced herself to look. It took her a moment to find her voice through the thick knot that had formed in her throat, but she eventually managed to speak. “...I didn’t mean to hide it from you,” she choked out. “I was going to tell you, sooner or later… I just…”
Twilight narrowed her eyes. “You just what, Rainbow?”
Rainbow shifted away from her, the shame and guilt eating her alive from the inside out. “I… I wasn’t ready,” she finally managed to stammer. “I wasn’t ready to talk about it… and the more time I spent with you, the more I realized that you weren’t ready to hear it…”
Twilight’s pupils dilated. Her nostrils flared with an instinctual inhale before she took a step back. “Not ready? What in the hay is that supposed to mean?!” she snapped with her wings flaring out aggressively. “It’s my life Rainbow Dash! I’ve been ready to learn about it since the day I woke up!”
“Stop it!” Fluttershy interjected, quickly positioning herself between Twilight and the practically cowering pegasus. “Both of you! Please! Don’t fight!”
“Fluttershy…” Rainbow choked out, her eyes starting to mist over.
Twilight leaned back, her voice quieting down somewhat. “...Did you know, too?” she asked slowly, her eyes being hidden by her mane as she lowered her head.
Fluttershy nodded timidly. “Yes… I… I saw your corpse...” she answered, placing her hoof over her chest and looking down. “It was… I had never felt so bad before. You’re one of my oldest friends, and… I c-couldn’t…”
Pinkie Pie came forwards, her mane drooping along with her ears as Fluttershy began to quietly sob with her face hidden by her mane. Pinkie draped a foreleg over her shoulders and looked back and forth between Twilight and Rainbow, looking torn.
“...and the rest of you?” Twilight pressed on.
“We all knew, Twilight,” Rarity confirmed sadly, running a hoof over her mane with a heavy sigh. “Albeit the rest of us did not learn about your… ahem, ‘passing on’ until after the princess had resurrected you.”
Applejack nodded. “Yeh. RD said she was takin’ it on herself to guide y’all and help ya get yer hooves under ya again. Ah thought she’d told ya already…”
Twilight slowly shook her head. “Well, you were wrong…” she whispered venomously before lifting her head to glare at Rainbow.
Rainbow grimaced, barely pulling herself together to speak up again. “...This is why I can’t let you go through with this,” she said slowly, her hoof drifting up to her Element of Harmony. “You’ve already died once… you’re only alive now because my mom was able to revive you. But it’s not like she can slap an extra pair of wings on you anytime she wants… we don’t get any more revivals, Twilight. If you die again, that’s it, you’re gone. And…”
She screwed her eyes shut, barely stifling the sob that was threatening to ravage her entire body. “I… I c-can’t see that again… I can’t lose you. N-not like that. N-not again…” she opened her eyes, red hot tears burning trails down her cheeks as she locked gazes with Twilight. “I’ve lost too many ponies I love already. My mom, my dad… you… Please… please… don’t make me see that again… I couldn’t bear it...”
In the back of her mind, Rainbow couldn’t help but take note of a cruel sort of irony. She was a princess of Equestria, renowned and highly respected for her role in saving the country three times over, now. She was a hero, practically a war veteran, and a leader… yet here she was, on the verge of breaking down, and begging the pony in front of her to just live.
It was pathetic. It made her feel absolutely worthless inside, but she did it anyway. Feeling worthless was a whole lot better than losing the mare in front of her.
Twilight was quiet for several moments, seemingly thinking over Rainbow’s plea. Finally, she lifted her head to look back towards the Tree of Harmony. A war was raging behind her eyes, though Rainbow had no idea what thoughts and feelings were involved.
Finally, Twilight’s expression hardened. She set her jaw and turned to face the tree directly. “...You and I, Rainbow, are going to have a very, very long conversation when all of this is over,” she said coldly, her wings fanning out. She glanced at the pegasus again, her eyes narrowing. “But that can wait until later. For now, I have a tree to save.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened, adrenaline flooding her veins. “Twilight, NO-” she went to shout, but the words hitched in her throat when, without warning, Twilight’s horn lit up with magic. Rainbow Dash went rigid as her body was encased in the tell-tale tingle of magic. The world began to tremble and shift, and sinister laughs filtered in at the edges of her hearing. She cried out, her breath starting to come in heaving gasps and tears welling up in her eyes.
It was over as quickly as it started. Rainbow was dropped from the hold of Twilight’s magic and crashed to the ground outside of the cave with a grunt of pain. A collection of four other thumps around her made it clear that she wasn’t the only one to be hurled out of the cave.
Gritting her teeth and fighting through the pain, Rainbow forced herself to her hooves and spun around to face the cave. She was already prepared to charge back in and hold Twilight back, but any hopes of such an action died before they could be set into motion.
The entrance to the cave had been sealed off by a wall of solid lavender light. On the other side of it, Twilight stood all on her own, looking back at them with disappointment.
And, of course, floating around her in her magic, were a collection of six familiar gems.
Rainbow’s eyes widened. With panic overriding everything, she tore her necklace off and stared at it. The red lightning bolt gem was gone, having been plucked out of it when she was being thrown out. Rainbow swallowed heavily before looking back up at Twilight. “No! NO! TWILIGHT!” she screamed, throwing the necklace aside and charging the barrier.
She hit it head-on, but it held up under her weight effortlessly. “Twilight, please, NO!” Rainbow screamed hysterically, her hooves beating on the barrier in a frantic effort to break through. Every blow sent another shiver down her spine and made her vision spasm, but she was unable to care right then. She had to get in there!
Twilight scoffed before turning around and advancing on the tree. The vines inside were growing increasingly numerous and relentless in their assault, completely obscuring Twilight from view.
“TWILIGHT!” Rainbow wailed, reaching down and picking a stone up off the ground. She smashed it against the barrier over and over. With every blow, a piece of the rock chipped away until, with a spine-chilling crack, it split in half in Rainbow’s hooves. “DANGIT, LET ME IN! TWILIGHT!”
“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy whispered, reaching out and gingerly wrapping her forelegs around Rainbow’s barrel. “Come on, back up.”
“LET ME GO!” Rainbow screamed, thrashing against Fluttershy’s grip. But despite her desperation and all of her strength, she found herself unable to resist the weaker pegasus’ pull. “PLEASE! TWILIGHT!”
Little by little, Fluttershy dragged Rainbow away from the wall of magic and set her down about twenty feet away. The others soon joined her, staring on at the barrier with apprehension and anticipation. Rainbow’s eyes never once left the light, her breath heavy. Why was she just sitting here? She had to help Twilight!
“She’s going to be okay,” Fluttershy whispered into Rainbow’s ear, holding her closely from one side. “I know it. She’s going to come back to us…”
Rainbow sniffled, one of her hooves reaching up to tightly hold on to Fluttershy’s own. “She b-better…” she choked.
The five of them sat perfectly still, watching and waiting for at least a few minutes. With every second that ticked by, a feeling of dread and hopelessness made itself increasingly known to them. Rainbow shifted on her haunches, trying to will herself into motion.
Suddenly, the barrier flickered. Rainbow’s heart skipped a beat, and it almost stopped entirely when the barrier faded and disappeared entirely. Where the barrier had been, all they could see was a shifting wall of vines and thorns, the scraping sound they made as they slid across one another making Rainbow’s teeth grind together.
“No… NO!” she exclaimed, tearing herself out of Fluttershy’s hooves and rushing forwards again. “Twilight must be hurt! COME ON!”
The only answer she received came in the form of one of the vines lashing out from the wall and into her face. Rainbow yelped in pain as she was knocked off of her hooves and sent flying up into the air several feet. The vine was quick on the followup, coiling around her torso and pinning her forelegs to her barrel. They gave a powerful squeeze, and the sound of bones starting to pop filled the air.
Rainbow’s eyes snapped wide, her mouth hanging open in a silent scream. Her bones were starting to bend under the pressure. Any moment, now, they would start snapping. She could hear Chrysalis’ laugh in the back of her mind and, for a brief moment, she was back in the Crystal Empire, pinned to the ground under the changeling’s hooves as her ribs were broken, one by one.
And then there was light. Rainbow sucked in a desperate lungful of air as the vine constricting her body let go, dropping her unceremoniously to the ground below. She fell for several seconds before she felt a pair of hooves catching her and easing her back down to the ground.
“Rainbow! Oh my goodness, are you okay?!” Fluttershy’s voice came from above her, muffled and distant.
Rainbow blinked, her vision coming back into focus. Fluttershy’s face hovered over her, twisted in worry and fear. Rainbow groaned and went to sit up. “Ugh… what… what happened?”
The light came again. Rainbow looked towards the source, and her eyes flew wide open in awe.
The vines were thrashing about and withdrawing away from the mouth of the cave, from which a blinding white light could be seen. Rainbow squinted and lifted a hoof to shield her eyes, a tiny flicker of hope lighting up in her chest. “Twilight…?” she muttered.
Suddenly, the light erupted outwards into a sphere of purifying magic. As it washed over Rainbow, she felt a relaxing warmth seep into her muscles, and her emotional distress was, thankfully, numbed for the time being.
But what was more was that the light was destroying the vines. Anywhere the light touched them, they immediately dissolved and crumbled into dust. In mere seconds, the entirety of the chasm beneath the castle of the two sisters was entirely cleared, and it didn’t look like the light was stopping there. If Rainbow’s trained eye was anything to go off of, it was clearing out the entire forest, and probably Ponyville, too.
“She did it!” Pinkie cheered, jumping in place several times. “Aw, yeah! Go Twilight! WOOHOO!”
A tiny smile appeared on Rainbow’s face. “Yeah… she did it…” she whispered, taking comfort in the light and Fluttershy’s embrace. It was over…
...But at what cost?
A chill ran down Rainbow’s spine. Quickly, she pushed herself away from Fluttershy and broke into a mad gallop into the cave. “Twilight!”
Her eyes fell on the tree first, finding that the sickly look it had taken on under the vines was well and truly gone. The Tree of Harmony was radiant and divine, shimmering with a light that bespoke pure benevolence and hope. A few cracks remained along the trunk, but those were faintly glowing with light and seemed to be slowly getting smaller. On the ends of each of the main branches, one of the Elements of Harmony was embedded, each one glowing with magic as they supplied life and power to the tree.
In the center of the trunk, the Element of Magic stood proud, glittering and sparkling with power. It almost looked satisfied, in a weird sort of way.
The next thing Rainbow caught sight of were the two mounds of vines that had been flanking the Tree. They were the last to go, it seemed, but they were already beginning to dissolve themselves.
Rainbow’s eyes flew wide. “M-mom?! Aunt Luna!”
Sure enough, the two alicorns were revealed beneath the vines. They were both starting to wake up from an unconscious state, their bodies covered in an unhealthy number of bruises and cuts, but they otherwise appeared to be fine.
A tiny laugh slipped past Rainbow’s lungs before her eyes finally settled on the body lying still in the middle of the room. Her smile fell away, immediately replaced by a worried frown.
Twilight Sparkle rested on her back at the base of the Tree of Harmony, her body marred by large bruises, long cuts, and concerning lumps. She was in bad shape, and she wasn’t moving at all.
Rainbow set aside all else for the moment, charging directly for the fallen alicorn and sliding to a stop at her side. “Twilight!” she cried, quickly reaching down and lifting her friends head in her hooves. “Twilight, hey! Talk to me! Say something!”
There was no response.
Rainbow’s heart began to wither in her chest. This wasn’t… It wasn’t true. Twilight wasn’t dead, was she?
A second passed in silence.
Twilight inhaled.
Rainbow Dash let out a heavy sigh of relief, having not even realized that she was holding her breath. “Oh my gosh, thank goodness…” she choked out, holding Twilight’s head up to her chest and burying her face in her mane. “I thought I’d lost you…”
“RAINBOW! TWILIGHT!” Applejack’s voice shouted from the entrance of the cave.
Rainbow lifted her head to see her remaining friends sprinting inside, all of them staring at Twilight’s unconscious body in shock. Fluttershy rushed forward ahead of the rest, falling to her haunches next to Rainbow and giving Twilight a quick examination.
“She’s alive…” Rainbow choked out, an enormous, elated smile on her face. “She’s alive, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy was quiet for a moment before her expression softened. She gave Rainbow a tiny smile. “Yes, she is… She’s a little beat up, but I think she’ll be fine with a few bandages and some rest.”
Rainbow couldn’t help herself. She laughed, pulling Twilight closer against her and closing her eyes. Words could not describe the relief she was feeling at that moment. It was as if the entire weight of the world itself had been lifted from her shoulders.
“Rainbow Dash…?” The voice of Princess Celestia called out groggily. “What is happening?”
Rainbow looked over to see her adoptive mother and aunt stumbling their way over to her, both of them looking rather drowsy. Luna had a hoof pressed against her temple, and Celestia’s eyes were drooping.
Rainbow’s smile grew as she was given just one more thing to be happy about. She passed Twilight over to Fluttershy before standing up and throwing herself at Celestia, enveloping her in a tight hug. Celestia grunted from the impact and fell back onto her haunches, but returned the embrace without hesitation.
Luna joined them after a moment, placing a hoof on Celestia’s back while she looked around the cavern. Her eyes eventually settled on the Tree of Harmony and widened in realization. “The Elements… they have been returned,” she said quietly.
Rainbow leaned back from Celestia and nodded. “Yeah. It was the only way to save it.”
“Save it?” Celestia echoed, glancing back at the tree herself. She was quiet for a moment before a nostalgic look came over her. “I presume it was in danger?”
“It sure was,” Pinkie said as she came over, smiling warmly at the group. “There were these really ugly vine thingies that came out of nowhere and started strangling it to death. Fluttershy had a Flash telling us where to go, and we came here to stop it, and Rainbow and Twilight had an argument, and then Twilight gave the Tree the elements and saved it!”
Rainbow’s smile shattered, her good mood plummeting with the reminder of her earlier blunder. She hesitantly looked back to Twilight, still cradled in Fluttershy’s hooves. Applejack had joined them, now, looking back at Rainbow. The stern look in her eyes carried a very clear, and very simple message.
“You tell her everything when she wakes up.”
Rainbow swallowed heavily before nodding and looking back to her family. “Er… y-yeah. That’s the abridged version of events, Pinkie,” she mumbled quietly.
Celestia leaned down, worry shining through her eyes. “Is everything alright?” she asked quietly, immediately catching on to her daughter’s tension.
Rainbow nodded, leaning back into Celestia’s embrace. “Yeah. Everything’s okay. But… Twi and I have a lot we need to talk about when she wakes up…”
Luna hummed quietly, her eyes settling on the unconscious alicorn. There was that cold, hard skepticism that Rainbow had gotten so used to calling her out on. But there was something else mixed in, now. It was hard to pinpoint, but whatever it was, it made Luna’s expression seem less cold and more… torn. Like she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel.
“...She’s wounded,” Luna eventually observed. “They aren’t life-threatening, but she should still receive treatment.”
“Then take her back to the castle infirmary for treatment,” Celestia instructed simply before looking down at Rainbow again. “I will remain here and learn of what has happened in our absence-”
“Actually,” Rarity cut in softly, drawing a curious glance from the two alicorns. She coughed into her hoof and dipped her head into a polite bow. “With all due respect, your majesties, might I suggest that Rainbow accompany Twilight? She could use an examination herself, and the two of them have much they need to discuss.”
Celestia blinked before scanning her eyes across the group as a whole. She frowned a moment later. “From what I can see, all of you could use a thorough check-up with a doctor. You’re all quite the worse for wear.”
“True,” Applejack agreed with a small nod before adjusting her hat. “But we can manage long enough to let y’all know what’s goin’ on and get treatment back in Ponyville. Besides, the rest of us ain’t princesses or alicorns. RD and Twi gotta take priority.”
Rainbow opened her mouth to object, but held her peace for a moment. As much as it deeply frustrated her to admit it, Applejack was right, at least from a practical standpoint.
But she didn’t stay quiet for long. She frowned and leaned forward slightly. “Just make sure you’re all okay, too, you hear? A princess isn’t worth a whole lot without her friends, is she?”
“Aaw!” Pinkie cood before nodding and backflipping to stand next to Applejack. “Oki doki! We’ll get patched up, too! Just go on and have your chat!”
Slowly, Rainbow withdrew herself from Celestia’s embrace. “We’ll talk later, okay mom?”
“Of course,” Celestia gave Rainbow an affectionate nuzzle. “But… are you certain? Traveling with Luna would require magic, and-”
“She will be fine,” Luna assured, already levitating Twilight over in her magic and setting her down on her back. “Rainbow Dash has come a long way, mentally. Troubled though as she may yet be, a simple teleport will cause her no harm. Not anymore.”
Rainbow’s snout wrinkled at the mention of her being troubled, but honestly, she couldn’t exactly deny it. She gave Celestia a nod of confirmation before turning and trotting up to her aunt. “Kay, I’m ready,” she said after a moment.
“I will see you soon, my daughter,” Celestia called after her as Luna’s horn sparked to life.
Rainbow shot her a small smile before looking up at Twilight. She focused entirely on the slumbering mare, ignoring the feeling of magic tingling across her flesh before the world was suddenly replaced by blinding blue light. There was still one more challenge she had to face tonight, and she knew it would be the hardest one yet.
When the light faded, Rainbow, Luna, and Twilight Sparkle were gone.
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Glad we weren't stuck on the cliffhanger for long!
A little bit surprised Twilight was quickly angry with RD, rather than being in shock more. I guess I'll blame Discord.
REALLY good job on this latest chapter. The exchanges, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up are all well done in all the right places. Have to say, I DO feel sorry for BOTH sides here. Yeah Rainbow did the "lie by omission" (she admitted Twi was badly hurt earlier, but not HOW badly) but I can understand why she would be worried about wrecking Twilight's mental recovery by revealing that info before its time. And, yeah, I can understand why Twilight would be so upset about having somebody she trusts more than anybody else omitting stuff that important from her. Still, glad to see Twi was able to get the Elements to the Tree in time AND survive so she and Rainbow eventually have SOME chance of making up once Twi has recovered enough from her injuries.
VERY definitely looking forward to the next seven chapters/final chapters of this story.
I feel bad for Rainbow Dash.
The ending may not be a good one for both her and Twilight.
That’s just one of my guesses.
Maybe Luna And Celestia can help.
How many chapters long will this story be?
9967983
We're at 44 Chapters right now, and there are around 7 left. Assuming all goes according to my plan, we're looking at a 51 chapter story in total.
The benefits of taking the slow road: When you have those moments with Rainbow being thrown out of the cave and then banging on the barrier as she PLEADS for Twilight not to go through with it. I FELT every one of those bangs. Just..... WOW.
No box? Eh, not really important. Rainbow actually needs to tell Twilight everything she's been hiding now...
Calling it now, there is no way the current situation between Twilight and Rainbow is getting resolved within 7 chapters. Especially once Twilight realizes that Discord offered to restore her memory, but Rainbow decided to keep him petrified out of fear he might have been lying. Mark my words, by the end of this story, Rainbow and Twilight's relationship will be strained at best.
Man, you're really trying to ruin Dash. First making her powerless at Saving Luna, who was helping with her PTSD. Now having Twilight subdue her using magic, and being powerless to save the pony she loves from potentially dying again. I can't tell if her PTSD is supposed to be better or worse when this story is over.
9968161
Discord implanted a message in RD's head to make her attack Starlight, so RD's fears of him doing something similar to Twilight is entirely legitimate. Plus there's nothing saying he could do that anyway, or that if he did, he wouldn't tamper with the memories he restores. There's also the point that even if he stays out of Equestria, he could easily provoke the other nations into attacking. Keeping him trapped was a good move, even if it maybe hurt Twilight.
9968161
Rainbow's decision would have been wrong if she was talking ONLY about Twilight's memories, but the deal Discord made was for his freedom, and the threat he loses to Equestria absolutely does outweigh that.
9968680
That’s the thing with being Princess: The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
Or the one.
Ye olde classic "not telling someone something they should know thinking you're protecting them but actually making it worse in the process".
Would be very unconvinient at second time. "Behold, our new model, a quadricorn!"
I counted and you lied. 8 chapters.
LIAR!