Rainbow Dash Around the World

by MagicS

One Last Look

If Equestria had an actual physical border, if there was a line on any maps, she had flown over it a moment ago.

After taking a bit of time before moving again, Rainbow Dash was flying through the night sky. She did plan on resting somewhere soon but for some reason couldn’t bring herself to stop just yet. But it felt good to be home. In fact, she totally recognized, even in darkness, the lands below her. She had been to the hot and dry lands around Appleloosa a couple times by now after all. If she looked down she could even see the rail tracks that led to and away from it. There was just enough light from the moon and stars.

She could’ve easily flown down into Appleloosa, see a familiar face or two, have a nice apple to eat, and fall asleep in a comfortable bed. She didn’t want to. Rainbow Dash wanted her friends to be the first familiar faces she saw. Just… she just had to see them, back in Ponyville. So no stopping at Appleloosa, no going to bed in any town.

She’d find some nice quiet hill to rest on or some clouds a little north of Appleloosa.

And then after she woke up the next day—she’d fly right into Ponyville and the journey would be over.

“All the way around the world...” Rainbow Dash said to herself.

There were no companions with her now at the end of her journey, nopony chasing her, nothing watching her. She had flown by them all. She had left behind those she cared about—in a better place for the most part—and she had surpassed those who had tried to stop her.

Rainbow Dash was home free.

And yet she wasn’t smiling just yet.

For some reason, ever since saying farewell to Full Heart, Rainbow Dash just felt tired. It had been too much. She really needed to stop and she knew that but she still just couldn’t right now. She felt like she might breakdown completely if she didn’t keep moving. Her emotions and her body had both been stretched to the extreme, rubberbanding back and forth had done such a number on her. Terrified, angry, dead… straight to joyous, sympathetic, and more alive than she ever had been. That was kind of a weird hour now that she thought about it. How was she going to explain all of that to Twilight once she got back home?

In short, Rainbow Dash had been through a lot today.

And within the hour she was actually looking down on the town of Appleloosa. She could see lanterns lighting up the streets, a few beams of light coming out from windows from ponies who hadn’t gone to bed yet. Some buildings she recognized but not much else—she had only been to Appleloosa once or twice after all. In the distance she could see their apple orchards though and her mouth briefly twitched upwards into a smile before settling back down.

A big sigh came from inside her and Rainbow Dash just as quickly passed over the northern outskirts of the town, heading into the heartland of Equestria.

She took a look around the sky—flying actually quite a bit lower than she usually did—and didn’t see any clouds. Probably would be best to find a comfortable hill then. Hopefully things out here weren’t too dry and rocky and she could find some grass to lie down on. Thankfully even as she left the brighter town behind and the night got darker and darker her eyes were more than sharp enough for her to keep seeing. It was probably midnight by now but the lack of clouds also let all the light from the moon and stars through.

So she kept going for a bit longer because why not?

If she didn’t want to stop yet who was going to say otherwise?

Exhaustion—exhaustion greater than she had expected—was hitting her though. Her body and mind needed that rest as much as Rainbow Dash was trying to deny it. No matter how she tried to fight, the late night was weighing on her.

Shaking a little bit even though she didn’t fully understand why, Rainbow Dash finally let herself slowly drop towards the ground below.

Her hooves hit a hill of dirt and rocks. No grass. It wasn’t going to be a pleasant night of sleeping by the look of it. That didn’t really bother her though, not with knowing that home was so close, and not when she had just gotten done with something far more important. She had just about completed the circuit—connected the world in harmony—that was something bigger than being comfortable for a night.

Rainbow Dash finally pulled her wings in and closed them, sighing as she stood atop the hill and looked north.

In the darkness, tears began to spill from her eyes and flow down her face.

Her entire body quivered and shook while drops of moisture rained down on the ground.

Her legs failed her and she first fell to her knees and then onto her side.

“Ahhhhh...” Rainbow Dash cried out, wailing, words completely failed her. All she did was cry, and cry, and cry. There was too much inside her, too much had happened, and now she had to let it all out. It wasn’t about being sad, or happy, triumphant or disappointed, or any single thing. It was just… everything. Everything hitting her now that she was at the end. Especially after some of the very recent things she had been through.

She couldn’t help but cry. Lame as it was.

“I don’t even know why! E-Everything… everything just!” Rainbow sobbed and cried even harder, crying for minutes on end in the middle of the night. “F-Finally… I’m finally home...”

She quietly wheezed and sniffled for a long while after that, still lying limply on the ground. Too tired and worn out from crying to move. Her chest went up and down a few more times and with each breath Rainbow Dash felt her eyelids becoming heavier. She’d be sore when she woke up but she lacked the will to move. It was too much effort to care about something like that right now, she just wanted to sleep and wake up and not have to cry anymore. At least it was all out.

Tomorrow she’d wake up and that would be it. No more crying, nothing, she had had her moment.

There was no way Rainbow Dash could come back into Ponyville and start crying in front of her friends. So it was even better that she had done this now. Collapse and get all her feelings out here before it happened sometime after she got back. Obviously, she knew she was going to get emotional again whenever she told her story to her friends, but it would be different. She wouldn’t breakdown. And she could talk out everything with them if need be.

While her eyes closed fully and she started to drift off to sleep, Rainbow Dash thought about her friends. Seeing them again for the first time in… she never had kept track of the days. Didn’t matter, it had been too long. Much too long.

A smile lifted up the corners of her mouth as she fell asleep.

Comments

[RoboRed]

buffy.mlpforums.com/post_images/sig-4732544.tears_of_joy____by_rontoday2012-d61earw.png

[redmar]

She has one last of flying to go.