Raven’s Last Flight

by Chemtest

Dawn

“Light and dark, life and death, happiness and despair, honor and dishonor, order and discord, all of these are considered opposites, to be opposed from one another. Many shall claim that light, life, happiness, honor, and order are all good, while dark, death, despair, dishonor, and discord are all evil. This perceived dichotomy is represented by our most ancient of symbols, Jin and Jang, drawn once by Grand Monk G before he starved meditating beneath Skygon’s cherry blossom tree. Many believe the Jin is good, and the Jang is bad, but this is a simplistic understanding created by our Equestrian friends, who see best in black and white. Light is no better than dark, nor is discord better than order, it all depends on the situation one finds themselves in. The best path, the path to Enlightenment, is where the two connect, the Tao. One will fight nothing but a lack of balance should they devote themselves entirely to Jin, and one shall find nothing more than a lack of balance entirely in Jang. For us, those who wish to balance, we walk the Tao.”

Raven sirs on his bed, using a small skeletal hand to flip through a book, his eyes scanning the pages within, so enraptured by his reading that he doesn’t notice a blue Pegasus with rainbow mane sneaking through his window.

“When met with a rushing river, those who fall into the Jin shall attempt to block it to redirect it unnaturally for their own purposes, they change the river. When those in the Jang are met with a rushing river, they will gleefully toss themselves into it, letting them travel wherever they wish, changing themselves. When those who walk the Tao meet a river, they shall work with the river for their own purposes, changing their plans. Jin, Order, seeks to control, Jang, Discord, seeks to change, Tao, seeks Balance. Jin sees Jang as bad, Jang sees Jin as bad, while the Tao acknowledges that a mix of the both is good. There is no fun without ordered discord, no happiness without despair, and sometimes the most honorable action is the most dishonorable. This, my students, is the way of Neighpon, the way of Tao.”

The rainbow-maned Pegasi grins from beside the bed, looking at Raven, speaking in a slightly rough and scratchy voice, “Master Gyan’s writing, first Crane Master of Neighpon.”

He looks over at her, seemingly not concerned about her having broken in, nodding to her, “You’ve read it before?”

She grins, “Yeah, well, he says a lot of cool stuff, plus I had a Neighponeese friend in flight school. Don’t tell anyone else that I’ve read it, though, they’ll think I’m an egghead.” She extends a hoof with a larger grin, “Name’s Rainbow Dash, fastest Pegasus alive.”

He blinks softly, and then reaches out, bumping her hoof with his own, “Ravens Breath, wizard and scholar. Soon to be a traveling wizard and scholar, once I decide to depart from here.”

She smirks slightly, “Wow, you sound a lot like Twilight. Let’s never get her near you, you’d probably need a dictionary to translate.” She then puts down her hoof and switches to a grin again, “So, look, I’m basically the teacher slash adoptive sister to Scootaloo, right? That’s why I’m here. I wanna thank you for bringing her back home from the changelings. I mean, not like I couldn’t have flown to get her at any time, but…” She trails off, and then gives him a smile, “Thanks.”

He nods back, “You’re welcome, Rainbow Dash. It’s also quite interesting you mention flight, I hadn’t thought Pegasi could properly fly. With Scootaloo, I thought they were just vestigial organs or served some other purpose like swimming.”

She pauses, and then frowns, looking down at him, “Hey, not cool.” She shakes her head, “She’s your friend, don’t make fun of her like that, not cool.”

He pauses for a minute, and then looks away, thinking, “I… yes, it wasn’t very cool of me to say, was it? I apologize, I am simply too used to fully speaking my thoughts, even those which are not true, or are rude. I…” He trails off, and then looks back at her, “Is she my friend? I truly don’t know.”

She blinks and then pauses, “Umm…” She thinks, and then nods, “Well, I mean, yeah, you tried to sacrifice your life for her, and you seem to enjoy being around her.”

He slowly nods, “Is sacrificing myself for another part of being a friend? I don’t know. What is a friend, truly?”

She smiles slightly, “Yeah, I mean, I’d say so, at least. A friend is someone who you’re willing to help, even though it hurts you sometimes. A friend’s someone where you’d be willing to take a crossbow bolt for them, someone who you’d give anything to save if they were in danger. Anything less and I’d say they’re an acquaintance more than a friend, honestly, but I guess it really depends.”

He nods, “Then I…” He trails off once more, “I’ll need to think more on it. Thank you for visiting, Rainbow Dash, please do tell Scootaloo hello from me, I think she would enjoy it. I do hope she’s doing fine.”

She grins, “Yeah, she’s doing great being back home, actually. I’ll make sure to tell her, though, see ya later.” She then climbs out of the window, closing it behind her, then taking off.

As she leaves, the door is surrounded by a blue glow, with someone new trotting in, a white unicorn with a beautiful purple mane, giving him a small smile instantly. She bows her head to him, “Good afternoon, Mister Raven. I’m Rarity.”

He gives her a respectful nod in return, “Good afternoon, Miss Rarity. Ravens Breath.”

She looks up and smiles more, “I’m Sweetie Belle’s sister, and I’ve come to thank you for freeing her from the horrid hive she was kept in. She’s told me about the pure torture you all went through. Mushroom soup, I’d never dream of such cruelty.” She shakes her head slightly, “But… I’m glad that she’s still with me.”

He looks at her, and then gives her another small nod, looking outside the nearby window, “She is a very smart filly for her age, and very tactful in a proper way, respectful as well. It’d be a loss to us all if she were to be gone.”

Rarity smiles softly, “Yes… for all the trouble she can cause me, she is a good filly at heart, and she’s my sister. When she disappeared after the wedding, I felt devastated, I thought… well, I thought maybe the changelings had killed her, or maybe she’d been caught in Cadence’s blast, or something had happened to her, and I wasn’t there to protect her! It was a dreadful few weeks, truly.” She smiles more, “We’re lucky she had a friend like you around, Mister Raven. I dread to think of losing her.”

He slowly nods, “I… suppose that feeling would apply for almost every pony, wouldn’t it? Everyone is the sister, brother, father, son, daughter, so on, to someone else. Every pony that passes is a tragedy and a travesty to them. To their friends. Miss Rarity, if I may ask, what is a friend?”

Rarity loses her smile, “What’s a friend?” She pauses, and then lifts her hoof up, rubbing her chin, “Hmm… that’s… ah, wait, I know.” She smiles, “A friend is somepony you look forward to being around. They’re the person where you don’t feel lonely when you’re with them, and you feel happy. They’re the pony you go to when you’re feeling bad, or lonely, or just want to spend time with somepony else.”

He nods again, looking back to her, “Then yes, Sweetie Belle is my friend. I do look forward to seeing her again, and I didn’t feel that lonely when she was around. I suppose I felt… happy around her. Yes, I would be her friend. She’s my friend. Thank you, Miss Rarity. Please, tell her hello from me, and maybe get her something sweet so she’ll forget that mushroom soup.”

Rarity smiles and nods along, “Of course, Mister Raven. If you ever need anything made, I’m a seamstress, a fashionista, and you’ll be able to get anything from me for free. I hope to see you soon.” She bows her head, and then trots out of the room.

Just then, the door opens up, an orange colored mare trotting inside, wearing a brown hat on top of her head, her green eyes meeting with Raven’s own. She smiles softly and tips her hat, “Howdy, I’m Applejack.”

He smiles softly, “Applejack? You must be the sister of Apple Bloom, she has mentioned you before. You should be proud of your sister, she is wise and perceptive beyond her years. Ravens Breath.”

She smiles widely and nods, “Well, that’s right kind of you, Raven, I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear that. I just wanted to come and thank you for returning her to her family, Granny Smith was nearly bursting with joy when the Princess brought her to us.”

He nods and smiles a bit more, “I’m happy to hear she got back to you safe. I hope she enjoys her freedom, and remains safe.”

She smiles more, and then nods, slowly losing her wide smile, becoming smaller, “She will be. Raven, you’ve done right by my family, and the Apple Family don’t forget those who’ve done right by them. If you ever need anything, or you need a place to stay, you find the nearest Apple Family orchard and they’ll give it to you. No questions asked, no need for worry, you helped us, we’ll help you.”

He looks at her for a second before speaking, “That is quite… quite nice of you, Applejack. I’m not used to treatment like that, thank you.”

She smiles and then nods, “You’re basically family now, Raven. A friend of Apple Bloom who saved her life? Big Mac would give you the biggest hug ever if he was here.”

He slowly nods, “I… might I have a smaller hug in his stead?”

She blinks, “Well, I ain’t the best hugger, but I reckon, sure.” She then trots up to him, and gives him a large hug, hugging him close with a smile, “Anything for a friend of the family.”

He slowly leans into her, pressing his head into her, and wrapping his hooves around her, as best as he can. He speaks again, this time with a slight quiver to his voice, “Applejack?” He takes a second before he continues, “What… is a family, and a friend, truly?”

She smiles softly as she thinks, “Well, that’s a pretty difficult question, ain’t it? I reckon a friend would be a pony you enjoy being around, someone you can rely on when you need them. And family… whew, that’s tough. Family’s the ponies who you rely on, and who rely on you. They’re the type where you can’t imagine a life without them. They’re your kin, the ones you can share your deepest fears with. Maybe you don’t always get along, maybe y’all fight, but you’re there for each other, always.”

Raven takes a deep breath, pulling away from her, slightly surprised to see a slightly damp patch on her coat. He reaches up, wiping tears from his eyes, slowly releasing his breath, “I’m… sorry for the questions, Applejack, and for getting your coat wet. It’s been… so long.” He takes a small, shaky breath, “So long since I’ve had a friend, or a family. I’d forgotten what they are, and… affection, like hugs, it’s been… so long…”

Applejack pulls him a bit closer, “There, there, it’s okay, nothing’s wrong with a little emotion.” She smiles softly, looking down at him, “I’ve had Apple Bloom in this position many times, it ain’t new to me. Just take your time.”

He slowly nods into the hug, keeping at it for a few minutes more, before he then pulls back, smiling softly, “I… thank you, Applejack. You remind me of my mother.” He looks down as he says that, and then wipes his eyes of some tears, “I lost them a long time ago. They were… they were killed in a fire by some soldiers.”

She looks at him, and then sits on the bed beside him, taking off her hat and setting it down, looking at the nearby window as the sun moves slowly down, “I lost my parents too, when I was young. They didn’t die due to soldiers like your own, but… they died to a storm. There was a severe storm that blew in from the Everfree, nothing we could do to control it, so we were getting into our storm shelter to wait it out. My ma wanted to get some photos from their bedroom, so they wouldn’t be ruined by the rain, but lighting struck a tree that was right next to the house. It fell over, right onto their room, where she was. My pa, he gave me his hat, told me to keep Bloom safe while he went and helped ma, then he went galloping off. He didn’t return all night, and when the storm died down, and we left in the morning…” She sighs, “Lightning struck our house and started a fire. He was too busy helping her to notice, and by the time he did, it was too late. It was… it was a hard day.” She reaches up to wipe her own eyes, “I’m sorry for what happened to your parents, Raven.”

He looks over at her, his green eyes meeting her own, with him then leaning against her, “I’m sorry for what happened to yours.”

She slowly nods, her hooves messing with her hat, before she then takes a deep breath, releasing it, “You know, Raven…” She pauses, and then looks at him with a smile, “There’s plenty of room on the orchard. Long as you help with the chores, we’d be happy to have you there. You might not be blood, but…” She smiles a bit softer, “Given time, I think you’ll be family anyway.”

He looks at her, and then just slowly nods, “I… would like that, Applejack. To be with your family for a while. To become your family. The type of pony that I can’t imagine my life without.” His eyes harden a tiny bit, “But I can’t do that now. There’s something I must do first.”

She nods along, “You gotta stop Chrysalis from taking over?”

He stands and gives her a resolute nod, “Yes, Applejack. I’m going to stop Chrysalis, so I might live with family, in peace.”