Longing for the Past

by Fantasia

Simpler Times

Yep, she's here alright...

Rainbow slowed until she came to hover before her home, taking note of the crystallized slope leading to her front door.

"Twilight...?"

She tentatively pushed open the door, to find her girlfriend slouched forward at the window, forelegs crossed atop the sill, her head resting on its cheek.

"Twilight?" Rainbow questioned again, cautiously stepping closer.

Twilight sighed out heavily, her gaze unwavering.

"I wish we could just... go back to a time when things were easier... before all of this..."

"Before our relationship?"

"N-no, I... I'd never willingly give that up, Rainbow, I... I just... Remember how nice everything used to be? Before I fused this, this stupid horn to the top of my head? Before the changeling resurgence?"

"Yeah," replied Rainbow with a light laugh; "I remember how parasprites nearly destroyed our town, and how you nearly died to a hydra."

Twilight perked up, turning to face her. "You knew about that?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Eh, Pinkie may have mentioned it once or twice."

I see... Well... "I was only trying to be brave—l-like you, Rainbow Dash."

"Oh?" She smiled softly, before returning to the point of contention. "Listen, Twilight... Applejack may seem a little mad with us... but she'll come around. We're better friends than that... and besides, she doesn't get that... you had all of us in mind, when you did what you did."

Twilight nodded solemnly, turning back to the view outside. "Still doesn't change the fact that... things used to be so simple. I long for the days when we'd... learn about friendship and have picnics, go on adventures... a-and there'd be no serious repercussions. Nopony ever got seriously hurt, a-and we'd learn life lessons!"

"That's just the way life is, Twilight. The older we get, the more we have to endure. Doesn't mean we have to be miserable though. I mean, you said it yourself. So long as you still have me and the girls—"

"If they'll still be my friend after what Applejack is no doubt already telling them," Twilight lamented, in a low murmur.

"AJ isn't going to tell anypony... and if she does, well... it'll be out of concern for you. It's like I said, Twilight. We're all better friends than that." She flashed her girlfriend a confident grin, who didn't seem to notice, as she continued staring out over the horizon.

"I just feel like... everything's falling apart at the seams..."

"Only if you let it, Twilight. Ponies are looking to you for guidance now."

"I know, Rainbow Dash. I just..." She shrugged apathetically. "What if I can't live up to their expectations?"

"Well, you've already lived up to mine, and Celestia's, so... Now you just... have to believe in yourself."

"Believing in myself has never been my strong suit, Rainbow Dash... But you're right. So long as I have my friends, and they believe in me..."

"You'll have nothing to worry about." Rainbow smiled warmly, leaning down to nuzzle her, and resting a foreleg over her shoulders reassuringly. "We're all here for you, Twilight... and we all believe in you."

Her girlfriend's actions and words, brought a content smile to her own face. "Thank you, Dash," she simply said, nuzzling her back.

"Hey, no prob. So, uh... think you're going to be alright?" Rainbow pulled away, looking down at her in concern.

Twilight nodded back at her. "I think so. I just need some time to get all my thoughts in order."

"I hear ya... Well, if you'd like... I'll give you some alone time. I was actually thinking of hitting the hay."

"Speaking of..." Twilight paused as the thought occurred to her. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Oh, uh, you know..." Rainbow grinned sheepishly. "Not since yesterday evening..."

"Not since..." Twilight's lips slowly parted in disbelief. "You must be exhausted, Rainbow Dash!"

"Who me? Nah, never." She swiftly put on a brave face, only for Twilight to silently stare back at her... not buying a single word of it.

Her smile wavered, becoming less convincing by the second. "Okay, maybe I'm the teeniest bit tired."

Twilight sighed, giving her head a shake.

"Go get some rest, Rainbow Dash." she said. "I'll... just be here in the meantime."

"You're free to join me you know, if you'd like... A-after you're done thinking about stuff!" Rainbow hastily added, a blush staining the fur of her cheeks a faint red.

Twilight blinked, dumbfounded. "Are you asking me what I think you are...?"

"W-well," Rainbow stammered, peering off in embarrassment. "I mean... since we're a couple now, I just thought that... we should get used to sharing a bed, a-and all that." She swallowed down the nervous lump in the back of her throat, before turning her hopeful gaze back towards her girlfriend. "W-what do you say?"

"I... I would love to, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow's eyes widened, disbelievingly at first, before her face lit up excitedly. "Sweet!" she exclaimed, before putting on a more nonchalant front. "S-so uh... I'll be upstairs if you need anything."

Twilight giggled softly, nodding in agreement. Rainbow in turn smiled, before turning, and walking smack dab into the wall behind her.

Twilight winced, watching as her girlfriend recoiled, bringing a hoof to her muzzle as she meekly looked over her shoulder, back at her.

"Whoops, uh... That wasn't the way to my bedroom, was it?"

She chuckled sheepishly as Twilight smiled, shaking her head.

Rainbow turned and this time headed up the stairs, her smile gone as she groaned internally.

Smooth one, Dash...

Twilight followed Rainbow Dash with her eyes for as long as she could, before sighing softly and turning back to the outside world, fears and doubts once again setting in.

---

Twilight's chin rested on her forelegs as it was bathed in the setting sun, her eyes half-lidded.

Seems Celestia really is looking out for us after all—

A sudden and loud bang came at the door, causing Twilight to jerk upwards.

She stared at the front door with bated breath, half-expecting it to swing open at any moment, and yet... nothing ever came. She tentatively lowered her forelegs as she sat up to investigate what sounded like a pegasus slamming into it. The air after all, had grown colder, and the winds stronger, she supposed. Maybe they had been knocked off course?

Or maybe it was Applejack, having come to offer her condolences? The thought brought a slight smile to Twilight's lips, but as she approached the front door, her excitement was met with a sickening sense of dread.

Maybe it's an angry mob... come to run its very own Frankenstag out of town!

The thought gave her pause.

She put her crystal ear to the door, only to hear nothing but the whistling sounds of the harsh Winter wind.

No voices... Hay, she mused, easing up, maybe it really was just the wi—

She stepped back, startled as the door was blown open by a strong burst of wind.

It whipped past her, filling the room with an icy chill.

Oh no no no no, not good! she fretted, rushing forward to shut it.

It clicked shut, and momentary relief washed over her. She turned as she sat back down, back against the door.

The windigos must be active tonight, she supposed. Though, if that were true...

Her gaze lowered solemnly.

Am I the reaso—?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a scornful voice.

"You really did it this time, didn't you Twilight?"

Twilight's eyes widened as she lifted her head and saw Rainbow Dash at the base of the stairs.

Rainbow? Twilight stared back at her, dumbstruck. "I..."

"The storm, Spaz. Whatever dark thoughts you're having, are causing the storm to worsen!"

Spaz...?

Twilight's expression turned sullen, feeling a bitter pain start to swell from deep down inside her.

She shied away, clutching her foreleg. "I, I-I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, I... I'm trying."

"You could've fooled me." Twilight looked back at her hurt, Rainbow turning partly away from her in disgust. "Why don't you just get out, and never come back. Spare the rest of us before we're all frozen to death."

"How could you say that? You... you said how much faith you had in me, you... you told me how much you loved me—!"

"Maybe I was just holding out hope there was still good in you... but clearly I was wrong."

Twilight continued to stare at her, dumbstruck by the confession.

"I..."

"Everypony close to you dies, Twilight. I mean, how long will it be before your actions get one of us killed?"

"N-none of those were my fault, Rainbow Dash—!"

"Yeah, I know, I know. It was the changelings!" she mocked. "Nopony could've predicted they'd do what they did! They're unpredictable!"

"They are!"

"Then why did you provoke them?"

"Because I was trying to keep you out of harm's way!"

Rainbow snorted. "Well, you've done a great job of that."

"What are you—? Since when are you...? We're not doomed, we... w-we can still fix this!"

"There's no stopping this storm..."

"There's no..." Twilight slowly blinked, clarity washing over her. "You're not Rainbow Dash."

"Whoa, okay, now you've officially lost it. If I'm not Rainbow Dash, then... then who the hay am I?"

Twilight narrowed her gaze accusingly.

"Nightmare Moon."

"Oh, that's rich. You think I'm Nightmare Moon, huh? Care to explain why?"

"Because Rainbow Dash would never snap at me the way you did! She... she loves me, a-and that's what you do! You get inside ponies' heads, a-and try to convince them of things that aren't true! And the one thing I know is true more than anything else, is that Rainbow would never admit defeat—!"

The front door was thrown open suddenly by the body of a blue-coated pony in a sleek black and purple flight suit, goggles, and a darker blue slicked-back mane. Whoever they were skidded along the floor before coming to a sudden stop, letting out a groan before collapsing.

Twilight's startled gaze switched focus, this time to the mare who swooped in, resembling her girlfriend. A second pony laid still in a headlock, dressed in a similar suit.

Rainbow let out a sigh of relief before shifting her gaze in Twilight's direction.

"Sorry if I spooked ya, Twilight." the rainbow-maned mare apologized, putting on a sorry smile. "So what'd I miss? Aaaaannd why exactly is there another me standing there? Wait wait wait, hold up... the changelings hightailed it after Chrysalis bit the dust, right? And... aren't these the illusions brought to life by..." It all of a sudden dawned on her. "Oh crud."

The two pegasus ponies changed into smoke, Rainbow jumping back in startlement as the smoke reunited with her doppelganger.

"I... had hoped my Shadowbolts would keep you distracted... rainbow nuisance," Nightmare Moon growled out, morphing back into her true form.

Rainbow glared back at her.

"That's Rainbow Dash!"

She landed with a small huff beside Twilight, who turned to her worriedly.

"You're okay... aren't you, Rainbow Dash?" she asked, lifting a hoof in concern. "T-they didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Hm? C'mon, Twilight... it's me you're talking about!" She grinned at her confidently, before taking on a more serious tone as she turned to address their intruder.

"Why the hay are you here, Nightmare Moon? Why come after Twilight?"

"Mind thy tongue when addressing nobility, pest."

Rainbow's feathers ruffled.

"Pest!?"

"Then tell me," Twilight cut in, stepping forward, "from one royal to another... Why come after me?"

Nightmare Moon smirked, and reared up onto her hind legs as her eyes burned a brilliant white.

"To snuff out that last bit of precious light you hold so desperately near!"

Twilight and Rainbow braced themselves as her hooves came crashing down, fracturing the floor into pieces.

Their legs buckled as it grew more uneven and threatened to drift apart from the clouds the ground was built upon began to dissipate.

"Twilight!" Rainbow yelled out to her, throwing her foreleg out in her direction.

Twilight reached for it, and came within a hair's breadth when the floor shifted once more. "Nngh..." She drew back her foreleg before turning her attention back to her girlfriend. "R-Rainbow—!"

Lightning crackled from Nightmare Moon's horn.

"Say goodbye!"

Rainbow and Twilight raised a foreleg to their eyes as lightning branched out in every direction, slicing through the walls and ceiling, and rippling through the thinning clouds.

The whistling of winds from the outside began creeping in through the cracks of the floor as, bit by bit, it fell to earth.

The two of them glanced up as drywall shook free from the ceiling—the second floor caving down the middle; and knowing what was about to happen, caused their ears to flop.

The whole place is about to come crashing down on us... That is— Twilight's gaze solemnly turned to her hooves. —if we don't fall first...

Rainbow's attention snapped back to Twilight in time to see her head dip, hope fading fast from her eyes.

Darn it, Twilight—! Everything drowned out around her as she rose up off the floor, her focus solely on her friend. Now's not the time to doubt yourself! You can't lose hope, you... "You can't let fear control you!" she shouted out.

Twilight's ears lifted slowly, her head turning in Rainbow's direction, a bit taken aback.

Rainbow—

Rainbow began to fly closer, when, in the blink of an eye, Nightmare Moon appeared before her.

"Actually," she sneered, rearing her hind leg back, "that's exactly what I want."

Before she could even react, Nightmare Moon sent her flying out the front door with a swift, powerful kick.

"Rainbow!" cried Twilight, reaching out after her.

The floor shifted once more, and the block beneath her own hooves gave out.

Her stomach sank as her eyes slowly widened in realization.

Her forelegs reached out for a brief moment, longing desperately to grab hold of the remaining floor before giving up... the gap she slipped through gradually growing smaller.

The sound of wind filled her ears as she squeezed her eyes shut, silently weighing her options as time seemed to slow.

Rainbow will catch me, she told herself. She, she will, she... That's who she is! Always swooping in at the last second, she'd...!

The memory of Nightmare Moon swatting her aside played out once more before her eyes, and she became a little less hopeful. Never let me down... Right. She averted her eyes in thought, then back towards the crumbling cloudominium with a wistful look. A crystal sphere began to take shape around her as she slowly sealed herself inside.

She's done so much for me... Maybe it's time I—

Her body was thrust forward as the makeshift shell smashed into the ground not a second after... shattering into hundreds of crystalline fragments.

Comments

[Midknight Defender]

Hmm. Dropping 2 more chapters minutes after I catch up... careful, there, OBA, you'll set up an expectation for the rest of 2020!

[Midknight Defender]

"To snuff out that last bit of precious light you hold so desperately near!"

So much for the whole "Luna could take control again effortlessly if I didn't hold up my agreement not to hurt anypony" schtick?

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

What’ll happen next!?

[Fantasia]

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Trust me, this will actually be explained, come next chapter. For now, let's just say Nightmare Moon found a way to operate independently for a short while, without inference from Luna.