Equestria's Ray of Hope

by The_Darker_Fonts

Revitalization

It had been six months since Ray had seen an Equestrian sunrise. The snow sparkled with new, golden light as the cold made his skin rise, a welcome sensation. It was almost impossible to believe how long a time it had been since the last sunrise he had seen was, but at the same time, six months was a comparatively very short time. Still, given how bland Tauran sunrises were, the beauty of this one felt like a renewal to Ray. Snow and sun somehow worked together here thanks to the early December weather, but even knowing that it could thanks to the Equestrian winter, Ray’s mind refused to fully believe it. The sun burnt up the land and made the ground brittle and hot, while snow was reserved for dark, which it never quite was in the Tauran plains.

They had only just stepped outside, teleporting to the site of the massive sunport mere moments before the sunrise per Twilight’s suggestion. Like the one across the sea, it was made of silver embedded into the earth itself to prevent it from burning up from the sheer energy that would be passed through it. Located just outside of Baltimare, it was a new area of Equestria he hadn’t been to before, chosen for its incredible capacity to rapidly produce and consolidate resources.. More south of Canterlot, and thus received more sunlight, even if still cold. However, in spite of fresh snow, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky per Twilight’s orders, which meant everything was in perfect condition for the sunport to work.

Watching his breath puff in the cold morning air, Ray silently waited. The sun only needed to be up for a few minutes for the sunport to be effective, but those few minutes would be uncomfortable not from the cold, but from Twilight, who stood watching him silently. He knew why she wasn’t talking, still frustrated that he had refused to talk with the ponies who had waited for him. Along with sending Spike a thanks for sending some sleeping powder for Ray, she had informed them that Ray would be… “unavailable”, as she phrased it. He also knew she didn’t blame him for it, which concerned him because if not him, she would only blame herself. Grimly, he shifted the bag of sleeping powder from finger to finger in his hand while he waited.

The sunport was quite spectacular, actually, hundreds of wooden boxes stacked on top of each other into piles sometimes twice as tall as Ray. Hundreds of thick, sealed barrels full of water also lined the entire perimeter of the stacks. Here and there were other oddly shaped items, such as rolls of fabric to help rebuild tents if necessary or bags filled with feathers for stuffing pillows and sleeping bags. It felt oddly utilitarian to be standing on the outside of this massive stack of supplies in the middle of a random field with only there. However, in spite of the oddness, Ray smiled to himself.

Otolo was alive and well, like he had felt.

That gave Ray an unprecedented boost that he knew he needed. His little friend, the companion that had witnessed many of his trials and helped distract him from the bitter future, was missing trying to get back to him. While he wanted her to stop, a selfish part of him hoped she would somehow fly across the sea to him, a small piece of Equestria that remained with him as he fought through the Tauran plains. The miracle of Ohs’ wellbeing was something he could hold onto as an uncorrupted moment of joy, especially now that times were going to get hard.

“Ray…” Twilight began, trailing off uncertainly.

He wasn’t quite ready for conversation either, but feeling the tension, he forcibly told her, “We haven’t got long, Twi.”

“I know, but I still think I should join you,” she insisted, stepping closer to the human.

“Twilight, it’s too danger-”

“You chose a secure spot to set camp, right,” she determinedly interrupted. Sighing, Ray nodded his head, crouching down to be eye-level with the mare. “It shouldn’t be dangerous then, right? I can teleport myself back to Equestria as soon as I need or want to, since I know the areas by choice. Besides, then I can also teleport back and forth to the Tauran plains myself if you ever need me.”

“That’s the dangerous part, Twi,” he chuckled dryly, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You’d teleport back and forth every day, probably multiple times a day. It wouldn’t be helpful to you, me, or the Fallen. A lot of them wouldn’t mind the visit, and in fact, I think Skalos and the generals would love to spend the day talking with you. However, what if things go bad, or you get worried and things are bad when you show up. I won’t have any way of knowing you’re there or not and couldn’t protect you. Besides, Equestria still needs their Princess, and the Fallen don’t. That’s what makes us capable of fighting the war. You’ll be what makes us want to survive it.”

“I… I don’t- No, that’s not…” Twilight tried to argue, cutting herself off with frustration.

“There’s no logical argument against that, Twi,” Ray shrugged, giving her a kind smile. “Trust me, I’d love to show you how our army is in person, but it wouldn’t be beneficial. It’d only put you in danger.”

“Fine,” Twilight snapped, looking away from Ray in frustration. Smiling softly, he reached out and pulled her into a tight hug, the alicorn’s fur warm on his skin. For a few seconds, she ignored the embrace, however, with a shaky breath, she threw her hooves around his neck and ducked her head into his shoulder.

“Why do you have to be so complicated,” she complained into him.

Laughing at the question, the human replied hardily, “I don’t know, but it seems to be a question I or someone else is constantly asking.”

“Yeah, you should really get that figured out,” she joked, the last of her apprehensiveness leaving. “Maybe somepony should stop you from going out there so we can get a conclusive diagnosis. Then again, it may take too long to be valuable.”

“It’s almost as if human nature is a bit weird and messed up,” Ray chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

Twilight gave him a short squeeze, muttering softly, “Then again, it’s also what makes you the wonderful person you are, so maybe we should stop complaining about it.”

“Just wish it wasn’t so damn complicated,” he sighed, still holding the alicorn. He had never noticed it before, but her wings also joined in the hug, draping his shoulders almost protectively. Idly, he wondered if that was intentional or just habitual by this point. He had only ever known Twilight as an alicorn, but he knew she had been simply a unicorn not too long ago. Had she already gotten used to the two new, strange additions to her body in such a way to use them as she was now, or was this simply reflexive? Either way, it was something he found uniquely intriguing, that she was putting all of herself, new and old, into this embrace.

Slowly lifting her off of him, he gave her his warmest smile possible, telling her calmly, “I’ll see you next month, I promise.”

“I believe you,” Twilight assured him, as he set her down. Lighting her horn to begin the sunport, she smiled contently as Ray leaned back onto a stack of crates.

The warmth of the light beginning to take him, he shouted cheerfully, “Things are about to get very exciting, Twilight!”

Author's Note:

A short little chapter that I also managed to finish over the weekend for y'all. As always, questions, comments, and concerns welcome and wanted.

Comments

[AgentKorpsman]

Wait so twilight is in love with ray?

[TheVirtuousOne]

Eeeeeeh.... I'm not quite sure if it's the big L word, pretty ambiguous so far. Wanting him not to die, and only seeing him once a month, even if they're just a good friend, would warrant a strong hug.

[The_Darker_Fonts]

11754035

11754157
Noooooo... they do have a love for each other, but more like the one Ray and the Matriarch share. It's complicated, as Ray said_{though there is a draft where they fall in love}.